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bush-viper-cutie · 4 years

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Love Me Roughly: Motel for the Night

Pairing: Snape x fem!reader

Word Count: 2,008

Rating: E for Everyone

Plot: Severus has arrived to his new city and must now find a place to stay and get in contact with the wizards who can safely find him a new home.

A/N: This is part 2 of 7 for the week 1 schedule for Snape Appreciation Month! Thank you @snapeloveposts for organizing this!

DISCLAIMER: I have edited (drawn over the original) the artwork (taken from a 80′s bodice ripper novel) for the purpose of this short series and will post more information about the original work here.

Posted: 6/2/20

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The plane ride wasn’t as agonizing as he thought it would be. In fact, he slept for the majority of it. After finding his seat, and after seeing that take off went alright he closed his eyes until a woman with a snack cart came by. It reminded him of the Hogwarts Express, except with only orange juice and peanuts. He closed his eyes again and woke up once the descending turbulence hit.

Everyone stood and grabbed their luggage and Severus followed along. He felt very much like an outsider, needing to observe everyone else to know what to do, which he normally avoided doing by researching and studying but of course he did not have any time for that during his tenure at Hogwarts and as a spy under both Dumbledore and the Dark Lord.

He exited the plane and looked around the airport once more, grabbing another coffee to wake himself up – “Caramel Vanilla with extra whipped topping and hazelnut” – and found his way to the exit. The doors were sliding open as people neared them and the night-time wind finally reached his body.

Severus shivered and clung to his muggle coat, “Fuck that’s cold.” He reached for his knitted hat and shoved it over his head, making sure his ears were covered, and wound his scarf around his neck tight. No way was he catching a cold the first day of freedom.

He pulled his trunk along and exited the airport. The air wasn’t as chilly as he initially thought so he let his scarf down so he could breath in the Alaskan air. He wasn’t sure exactly what time of night it was, but the stars were shining bright in the sky.

He walked over to a taxi-cab line and waited his turn. He finished his coffee and looked around for a bin to throw the empty cup away.

“Over there.”

Severus turned to see it was the same woman as before who had sat next to him in London. He nodded his thanks and threw his cup in, walking back and nodding again to her for helping him and not cutting in line while he was gone.

“Are you from London, or from here?” she gave him a short but polite smile.

Does it matter? Go away. He nodded and looked ahead, turning his back to her.

“I’m from here,” she said a little louder, obviously trying to keep up the conversation.

The line moved and he was able to get the next cab, putting his trunk in the back and opening the door. The man asked where he was going and he responded with “motel” only to be asked which one. How am I supposed to know? What do I say?

“Oh! Go to Aurwa, it’s cheap but one of the nicer ones!” she lowered her hands from her mouth and gave hm a thumbs up.

“Aurwa,” Severus rolled his eyes and climbed in.

The ride was around twenty minutes and he found himself a little pleased to have gotten the suggestion from the woman. The motel looked rather nice and the sign at the entrance mentioned a sauna and free breakfast. He paid the driver and got his trunk out, breathing in the air again.

It was only a few degrees colder than what he was used to and the greenery around the area surprised him. He had thought it would be snowing and that the land would be covered in a white blanket of glitter and day dreamed on the plane that he’d be able to wear layers upon layers with the perfect excuse to cover most of his face.

He sighed and entered, heading straight for the front desk. He rang the bell and an elderly woman came out from behind a door. She opened up a binder and uncapped a pen, holding it ready to write down his request.

“One room …” he looked around even though it was just him and the old woman in the tiny room. “And the number for this city’s worst plumber...”

The woman looked confused but wrote it down and stated the price of an available room per night. He paid and took the keys from her and headed to the very last room with his number on it. He jammed the keys inside and held his breath as he turned the knob and opened the door.

He reached for the lights and flicked them on, letting out his breath as he realized the room looked decent. He had slept in much, much, worse in the past. He closed the door and locked it. He shut the curtains and took out his wand to clean up all the dust off the bed, floor, and drawers.

He moved onto the bathroom and used Scourgify on every surface. He stripped down to just his underpants, throwing his clothes on his bed, and remembered he had his strawberry cheese filled bagel in his trunk still and that book...

He took them out and walked back to the tub, turning it on and sat on the toilet lid eating his bagel as it filled. He licked his fingers and slid out of his underpants, tossing them onto the sink’s edge and lowered himself into the tub.

He levitated the book above his face and sunk deeper under the water, forcing his bent knees out, as he began to read.

‘Robin flung a tight satin robe around her naked body and ran to the balcony doors, closing them shut. She sat at her dresser and rang a little gold bell, calling for her beloved friend and butler, Stephano.’

After about forty minutes of dozing off in the warm water, someone knocked on the door. He wrapped a towel around himself and picked up the note that had been slid under the door. It was the number for the worst plumber in Fairbanks.

He sat on the edge of the bed and dialed the number, hearing an annoying ringing and finally an answer.

“Prosaic Pipes! How can I help you?”

He hesitated at the sound of the cheerful voice coming through the phone. He sighed and laid back on the bed, “I’ve just moved to Fairbanks. I need a home and the Blue Jay package… At the Aurwa motel room 30.”

There was a click and the line cut. Severus placed the phone back, dressed in his wizarding clothes, and waited. Within minutes there was a scratching at the door. He opened it and looked down to see a tiny dog looking up at him with a blue package on it’s back like a tiny backpack.

The dog barked and entered before he could reach down and untie the package.

“Hey,” he turned and followed the dog to the bed where it had curled up with its ears perked.

He scoffed and removed the Blue Jay package, avoiding the dog’s little tongue as it tried to sniff and lick him. Inside was a black bank key with a thorn sticking out from the loop. He pricked his finger and watched as his blood dissolved and the key turned bright gold like the Gringotts ones. He picked up the note from inside the package and read his appointment time for tomorrow behind the motel in the forest, “… ‘seventeen steps deep’.”

“Great, thank you… dog. You may now leave.”

Severus pointed to the open door, but the little dog stayed at the foot of his bed. He growled and picked the dog up, placing it outside. The dog ran back in as Severus closed the door and jumped back onto the bed.

“Do I look like a dog person to you? I’m not going to feed you.”

The dog barked and wagged its tail.

“No, I said I WASN’T going to feed – ” another bark “you… Alright fine, if I do will you leave and go back to wherever you came from?”

The dog barked again and stood, wagging its tail so hard his little body shook. He picked the dog up and left the room, heading to a vending machine. He scanned all the options for the most dog-like food item and bought a jerky stick.

“Here,” he unwrapped it and handed it to the dog, “Deal’s a deal so – ”

The dog took it and ran around the corner, back towards his room.

“No,” Severus chased after it and caught it scratching at the door still wagging its tail.

He gave up and let the dog in, deciding to ignore it until it came time for his appointment in several hours. The sun was starting to rise and he could either stay awake until it was time to leave or rest. Guessing by how hard it was getting to keep his eyes open he decided to take a nap.

“Just a few hours,” he sighed and took off his clothes and slipped into his night shirt. He slid into bed and frowned. The dog was looking at him and refused to budge as he slid his feet under him. “Excuse me. But this is not your bed nor will I accept the company.”

The dog tilted his head and barked, wagging his tail. He stood up, finally letting Severus extended his legs, and walked over the sheet and nuzzled under Severus’ arm.

Appalled, he pushed him aside, “No. Sleep over there. On that side.”

The dog jumped back over his body and nuzzled under his arm again, licking his chin repeatedly until Severus turned around. The dog followed again but this time kept his tongue to himself and Severus sighed, giving up.

“If I wake up covered in slobber, I will NOT buy you another jerky,” he pushed the dog slightly more under his arm, pleased with the extra warmth.

He picked up his wand and summoned his book, ready to continue where he left off.

‘Stephano finally arrived with the tray of honey glazed crème brulee and set it down on the nightstand by her bed. Robin sighed and thanked him greatly, asking if he could do her one more favor. She pulled down the robes that were covering her naked body to around her bare shoulders and pointed to a spot on her bare neck that had been so sore lately.

Stephano could practically read her mind, using everything he knew about his oldest friend to perfectly predict everything she wanted ahead of time. He pulled back his tight sleeves with his large manly hands to reveal incredibly large bulging muscles perfect for the job on her dainty bare neck.’

. . .

“Mmm, stop it,” he pushed the dog away and opened his eyes.

The tiny dog had his tongue out ready for another lick. Severus sat up and rubbed his eyes, looking around the room for a clock. He squinted and read the time, seeing that it was only an hour until the meeting time.

“Are you trained as an alarm clock too?”

He got up and stretched, cracking several bones, and scratched his back. He buttoned up his clothes and made himself a sandwich from the food he had backed from home.

Chomping on a large pickle he looked down at the tiny dog, “Let’s go get your jerky, then.”

The minutes ticked by as he observed the dog bite at each end of the stick until a piece came off and swallowed it whole, only to throw it back up and finish chewing it. He wasn’t sure what animal he would have wanted to be, but he certainly would never want to be a dog. Or a cat for that matter.

He saw how students treated every cat that crossed their path in the corridors. Hugs, pets, and kisses from complete strangers? Perhaps a bird though… Ah, what he would have given to be a pigeon perched above Lockhart’s desk, sending down little surprises every hour…

“Well, your time is up. Let’s go give you back to your irresponsible owner and get myself a new house, preferably with a large bath.”

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bikeforlife · 3 years

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Bike Tour Blog

I honestly can’t believe I made it from the Pacific to Atlantic. This morning I woke up in my own bed for the first time since early February. Oh my god it felt so good. If a mattress maker wanted a testimonial, today would definitely be the day to get one from me. After 45 days straight of being on a bike it feels really good to be home.

On the first week we made from San Diego to Tucson Arizona. This section had some significant climbs through places like Alpine CA and Pine Valley CA and lots of desert riding in eastern tip of California and the state of Arizona. We camped in San Dunes CA where ATV’s are very popular and in places like desert view towers that had insane views of the Ko-Pah mountains. We also slept in a town park in small town in Arizona called Welton. I did snap my chain in Pine Valley but Tone was right there to help out. It was also the first time I rode my bike on the interstate and the first time I ever had rode a bike 10 miles straight downhill from the Ko Pah Mountains to Ocatillo California.

The next few week would take us through New Mexico and the beginning of Texas. The highlight of this section was the climb through the Gila National Forest on our way to Emory Pass. This section had absolutely breathtaking views and an abundance of nature. We climbed to over 8200 feet of elevation at the peak and went through awesome towns like Silver City NM and Hillsboro, NM. A couple days later we crossed the border into Texas at El Paso. This mammoth state would be approximately 1/3rd of the total miles we would cover. Many parts of the Us but especially Texas had recently experience significant weather event with snow, freezing conditions, and a failure of the local power grid. Fortunately we got to the state about a week after the weather had passed.

In Eastern Texas a significant portion of our miles would be on US highway 90. This would feature some awesome small towns like Marathon and Sierra Blanca Texas. The route also had remote areas of riding where there wouldn’t even be a gas station for 80+ miles. I found myself having more to think and unwind than at any part of my adult life. It was also during this stretch that we stayed at some great state parks. Seminole Canyon State Park and Lost Maples State Park in particular stood out to me. There is something magical about looking at the stars on a clear night without light pollution.

Eventually we went through Austin, Texas and I got to reconnect with my friends Jason and Max. After so much time pedaling through remote areas it feels really good to see friends and be in a city. Austin as a city has grown so much since I was there last. I ate great food during our off day and found an amazing bike mechanic that help me resolve a derailleur issue that had been lingering since San Diego.

We would hit a few more state parks on the eastern half of Texas and eventually crossed into Louisiana. After being in a very dry part of Texas the swamps of Louisiana offered a very different riding experience. For the most part the terrain was flat and the roads were in good condition. This part of the tour was special to me because of the amazing friends we made. During one week we stayed with Mandy in Deritter, LA and Perry in Jackson, LA. These amazing people took us into their homes and did everything they could to be helpful and make us feel at home. We were able to take a day off in New Orleans which was awesome. My friend Chris and his friend Bobby came down from from Jackson Miss and we all got a chance to hang. It was great to see Chris again after almost a decade of not seeing him. Hopefully I’ll make it to Mississippi at some point

The final stretch would have us riding through Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. During this time we met even more incredible hosts. Kellie/Mason in Bay Saint Louis and Dave/Stacy in Bagdad, Fl were both incredibly kind and generous. Thank you for everything. The ride took us through places like Dalphin Island, Alabama. I never knew there were islands in Alabama . They are absolutely gorgeous.

We stayed in a couple more awesome state parks in this stretch. In Bainbridge Georgia we stayed in the east bank campground operated by the army core of engineers. They gave us a site right by the water and it was a pretty magical experience. The final section of the tour featured a massive uptick in the number of bugs in these parks. I found that during camping were almost always under attack from mosquitoes or being visited by either argentine ants, caterpillars , or bees. Bug spray can help but sometimes you just have to cover every single bit of skin on your body.

During the final day push to the ocean Tone and I split up. The original route that we were using had us going through Jacksonville to Saint Augustine Florida. He wanted to stick to the route while I made a decision to go directly to Jacksonville which was more direct to the Atlantic Ocean. For me the final day was filled with a range of emotions and thoughts. Admittedly even 10 years later I still have some anxiety of my past medical condition. As i’m riding i’m feeling a huge sense of accomplishment and simultaneous release of anxiety/stress. To be able to survive a full coast to coast tour of the United States on a bike is the kind of proof that the only limitations are the ones I place on myself. I think about my life with Riana over the past 10 years and how fortunate we’ve been to be able to experience living in larger cities, traveling abroad, and getting to start our own business.

I think about how grateful I am to Tony for doing this tour with me. I’ve known him for 15 years and he’s always pushed me to do things outside my comfort zone. From helping me get first passport stamp, to hosting great events, to now riding through the US on a bike. Particularly on this tour he went above and beyond. He help me with mechanical issues which i’m not particularly good at, he lead our route navigation almost every day, he found places for us to stay, and helped lead us through all kinds of unique day to day challenges.

My tour came to a strange end. I was on my way to stay at my friends Stephanie’s house in jacksonville when I stopped at a convenience store. When I came out my bike and all of my gear was stolen. This included my passport, clothes, tent, sleeping bag, paneers, bike tools, food, journal, and more. I tried my best to look through the neighborhood and called the police but no luck in recovering any of it. As unfortunate as this situation is, I'm grateful it happened on the final day of the tour just a couple of miles from my friends house. I won’t let that person take away my memories and diminish the experience. They are worth infinitely more than the material value of the bike and my belongings.

As i’ve had a couple of days to relax before going back to work i’ve been reflecting on the experience more. I absolutely would recommend doing something like this to anyone I know for a few reasons. It’s a great way to decompress. You have time to actively think and it helps your focus significantly. The riding is tough but manageable. I only rode my bike on a couple training rides beforehand. I was also asked a ton of questions from people about my experience. So I wanted to answer them one by one below.

What did you eat?

Being a vegan on a bike tour has its challenges. I ate a lot of clif bars, peanut butter banana burritos, trail mix, , Fritos chips, subway Veggie Delights without cheese and Impossible burgers from Burger Kings. Honestly a lot of days on tour it was challenging to find vegan friendly dishes. Thankfully our hosts made some really nice home cooked vegan meals and every large city we visited had great vegan options.

Where did you sleep?

It was a mix of hotels, backyards , rv parks, state parks, town parks , and then random wild camping. On nights where it was too cold to camp we opted for hotel most of the time.

What gear did you have? This was my packing list before the bike was stolen.

Tools Bag

Park tool Allen key Hand pump Kevlar spoke Back up derailleur Baby wipes Chain scrubber Degreaser Spare tube x2 3 tire lever adjustable wrench Poncho Hand warmer Head lamp

Food Bag Varies but generally 3 portable camp meals Clif bars

Back paneer 1

Extra water plastic jug - Nalgene Sleeping bag (40 degrees) Sleeping bag liner. (10-15 degree etc) Micro fiber Towel Waterproof socks Large winter gloves Small gloves Zip ties

Back paneer 2 Short tech shirts (red and green) Socks (long wool, short cotton Medium wool Blue t shirt

-Toiletries bag

Deodorant dr Bonner liquid and bar soap, bug spray toothbrush toothpaste back up Masks Hand sanitizer

Electronics bag Solar charger Headphone and charger Cell charger Extra water container - 3 liter emergency

Duffle Sleeping pad Wind pants Under armour Long sleeve shirts (grey , black , blue yellow winter Jacket

What was the hardest part? I suspect every single rider will have a different answer to this . For me there were two things that probably equally as challenging. First and foremost there are large portions where people are not wearing masks. It was very demoralizing to be in situations constantly where people have made a conscious decision to disregard the health of others. Since the services were so spread out I found myself having to get food from places that have anti mask propaganda on their front door.

Secondly this tour really taught me that I am more comfortable in cities and around people. It was charming to spend days riding our bikes through farm country in remote roads but eventually it began to wear on me and I found myself crave cities. Also in cities the percentage of people wearing masks shot up significantly.

What was your favorite small town?

I really enjoyed Silver City New Mexico. It was a quirky mountain with good architecture and really nice people. There was also a very helpful bike shop, great co-op, nice motel, and the town was filled with cool art.

What was the weather like?

For the most part we had good weather. I would say were typically 50-60’s during the day on the first half but colder at night. We were able to avoid some of the extreme weather that hit Texas but still found ourselves that was a little too cold to camp in. Most of the biggest issue that would we would face would be consistent headwinds. After a first week full of tailwinds the rest of the tour would almost always deal us 10-25 mph headwinds.

How many issues did you have with your bike?

There are always some day to day issues but the most common were flat tires ( I think i had 5 throughout the trip), My front derailleur was a consistent issue. The fenders on the bike were kind of a pain. However for an old 80’s bike with an older drive train it held up pretty well. I would recommend to anyone thinking about touring to consider customizing their bike to their own needs as opposed to buying a brand new touring bike. There will always be maintenance.

How did your body hold up?

For the most part I wasn’t in a lot of pain on this tour. Everyone’s body is different. I found that if I got a majority of my miles during the morning I would do much better. However on days where we were riding until close to sun down i found myself in a lot of pain near the end of the day. Most commonly knees, butt, lower back, quads. Occasionally my hands would be numb on long riding days.

How long did it take?

45 days coast to coast. During that period we took 3 full days off and had a number of short days (30-40 miles). I’m told that this was a very quick trip as many folks take between 60-70 days to complete this route.

What would you recommend to someone doing this?

There are a million things but i’ll try to summarize here.

If you’re touring with other people try to have honest conversations in advance about things like how many miles you want to shoot for a day. How early in the morning do you want to start pedaling. Where you are you comfortable staying. What kind of timeline you’re under with work? What food you’re comfortable sharing. If you’re comfortable deviating off the route to save miles/time. Ultimately the more you and your riding partners discuss this in advance the less confusion you’ll have day to day.

With your work I would communicate to co-workers honestly how involved you want to be while away. Some have traditional jobs that allow them to totally leave work and decompress. In my case as an entrepreneur I found myself involved on almost daily basis with work. For me that was comfortable but for others it might take away from their experience.

I would also make sure that you have a good instinct for eating food even when you’re not hungry. I had to learn this throughout the tour as my food options were limited with a vegan diet.

I would recommend that you try to do some level of training in advance. On my first bike tour I did almost no training and I was in pain almost right away. On this one I did some cross training and some scheduled rides. It made all of the difference in the world as far as my day pain levels.

Would you do it again?

I don’t personally know if I would do a tour of this length again. While I enjoyed the experience and the bucket list aspect of it I found myself going through the motions on a lot of days. I think I would enjoy much more doing a tour of a 7-14 days. Possibly if I’m ever retired I may feel differently but the looming pressure of my career was a bit hard to get through mentally.

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thesealfriend · 3 years

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*puts on Serious Game Dev Hat"

This one might get really rambly so it's going under a read more. Main topics are Games, Crunch and University.

(For folk seeing this who are curious but completely divorced from the games world, because even though it's in the news a lot lately it's hardly the universal topic people think it is, Crunch is the term for when creative studios, in this particular case games studios, overwork their employees by "incentivising" them to work longer hours or produce more content for little to no compensation, usually towards the end of a development cycle when deadlines are looming. I put "incentivising" in quotes because a lot of companies say they don't force workers to crunch, it's voluntary and workers are just so passionate! But actually, taking a stand and enforcing boundaries can often come with consequences within the workplace - workers who stand up to crunch might be first for layoffs or receive bad references from employers when trying to move jobs. It's hardly as "voluntary" as they make it seem.)

Anyway, rambling already! Let's begin...

So I studied game design at uni. This is no surprise to those who know me or note my "game dev hat" tag. I don't work in the industry right now for Reasons™ but I plan to one day.

My across my degree, grades were based on about 70% coursework, 30% exams/class tests. Funnily enough, the best way to learn games is to make games. So out of that coursework, I'd say the fair majority was, if not "make a game", then at least "produce a design document"/"prototype a game"/"create a level". There was a decent amount of essay-based coursework, writing about the psychology of games or theory of play etc, as well as reports on projects, but I'd say at least half of my grade came down to some aspect of actually creating games.

And that was a lot. It's understandable for the kind of course it is, but we often found ourselves working on 2-3 games or levels in 12 weeks. Which, when you vaguely run the numbers and compare the expected output to the time, was about doable. We weren't making AAA masterpieces of course, we were working in groups of 2-4 usually to make a vertical slice prototype (all functionality of a game across a small segment of the content) or a level or two to fit a brief. But!

We were expected to put in 40 hours a week for uni, as though it were a full time job. That explicit expectation means I can try and step around trying to calculate hours in the day and subtract for travel, leisure, eating etc. I'm using the numbers we were given. So that's 40hrs total, over 12 weeks, but that's including all the time we spend

Depending on the semester we had about 12-16hrs of teaching time, sometimes plus up to 4 hours unsupervised lab time to work on class exercises, so let's call that 16 hours overall in uni. That leaves 24 hours per week, to work on usually 3 classes at a time. That's 8 hours, per class, per week. Multiply that by 12 and you get 96 hours. 96 hours in which to complete each class, assuming we spend the exact amount of time we're meant to on uni work.

Now that sounds fine, right? That's two whole Global Game Jams* for each class, and that's not including time one would spend at a jam eating, sleeping or resting. People make pretty impressive stuff at jams, so why not be able to do that over the course of 2 jams comfortably?

(*for the uninitiated, GGJ is an annual event where game developers (including designers, programmers, artists and musicians etc) cram into a room for 48hrs straight, get given a surprise theme and make a game out of it. It's entirely for fun and I love them. Also some jam sites give you free pizza.)

Well, the thing is, I've led you all down a bit of a rabbit hole going purely by the numbers. I've not gotten into the nature of some of the work, and the overall system, which makes a difference. See, unis want to teach us good time management, and they want to actually steer us away from crunch. I've been verbally told many times that Crunch Is Bad And We Shouldn't Let It Happen. So they build in systems like interim reports, and enforced team meetings with minutes taken and then rating your team members' performance, appointments with tutors throughout the year for bigger stuff. These are all meant to ensure that you're working on projects at the "right rate" and keeping up with deadlines. And honestly? For some of the less game-specific coursework (psychology projects, essays on theory of design etc) this works fairly well. Universities have been structuring courses the same way for decades, why change it now?

But the thing is, game development is game development whether you're in the "controlled environment" of a university or the Real World™ of the games industry. Quite frankly put, shit happens. And this goes for all university courses, not just games. You get the usual tech issues ("my computer broke and I'm having to do this work at the library/elsewhere on campus", "my internet is down and I can't collaborate with my group" etc etc) as well as the personal life interruptions, both of which are highly tied to class and that's a whole other essay ramble. You also just get that one person who assigns themself task XYZ then never does it, which you could have managed to do yourself if you'd known they weren't going to do anything, but they assured you they would! These are the things we're warned about, told to give extra time to account for, and if it's really bad most unis have some kind of "oh shit something outside my control happened" form you can fill in for extra consideration, as well as individual tutors offering extensions.

But on top of that you also get the games-specific issues.

You get that one animation that, no matter how much skill and effort you put in, you're not happy with. You get that weird code that won't compile, and nobody on StackOverflow can recreate. You get the creative block. My god, the creative block. And then, you get the last minute changes to the brief or structure, or if you're unlucky enough to be working for a real world client, you get *weekly* changes to the brief or structure. You get the fact that the software you've been given doesn't fit what you've been told to do. You get the natural period of downtime because you've worked on your character model, and you're waiting for another group member to finish an animation and there's bugger all you can do in the lull. Most of these are just, things that happen, and we're expected to work around them because they happen in the real world too.

But in the Real World™, whenever "shit happens", that's when a studio, if it's a good one, can work around the issues. They hire the right people, and the right number of people for each role, knowing the kind of work that's expected, rather than just going "ok we have more programmers than artists this year so the teams will reflect that, good luck". They vet the software to ensure it meets the needs of the employees and their tasks. They have producers to keep on top of the brief, and liase with clients to make sure everyone knows what they're going to be doing ahead of time and throughout. And on top of all that, they remove the time pressure. They set goals, that "we'd like to have XYZ done in 6 weeks, and a beta released in the coming months" but they don't expect the workers to perform miracles.

But universities can't, or won't, do that. At the end of it all, the end of the semester is approaching and you've been putting your best work in all term, but there's 2 weeks to go and so much left to do if you want to submit something you're happy to be graded on. You could ask for an extension, but if everyone who was in that situation did so there just wouldn't be deadlines. You could just push ahead at normal pace, and submit what you have and hope for the best, but then you're risking failing the class and having it all be for nothing. And some people will do either of these things + they'll sacrifice a grade and do a resit in order to give themselves more time to finish another concurrent project, or they'll glean a few days' extension for a very specific issue, but for a lot of folk, you do what feels natural when deadlines loom and you're behind. You crunch.

And much like industry, uni society encourages crunch implicitly, even though it explicitly shames it. The tutor tells you, "last year's students managed this project in the same length of time!" but they don't mention how all of them probably crunched too. They blame your time management, not realising that if 75% of the class are having to work around this then the issue probably isn't with individuals' time management. The students talk among themselves about who got the least sleep over the last two weeks of term, and it's a badge of honour (again, not necessarily game dev-specific, but there's definitely an enhanced culture of it there) and who put in 8hr shifts after uni to crush the bugs.

And we're taught about passion. One of my tutors, who is the most Explicitly Anti-Crunch man I know, was also the first one who told me that "If you aren't working on other stuff in your personal time you can't expect to get a job easily". He didn't say it in a positive way, but he knew it was the case and didn't encourage us to fight it. And sure, if game dev is something you enjoy as a hobby that will stand you in good stead. But if every student or young dev is told they have to go "above and beyond" to succeed, then that shifts the bar for what "above and beyond" means. Exactly the same as companies "incentivising" 60 hour weeks, so that everyone works 60 hours to prove they're passionate, and then 80 hours is above and beyond.

And you know the worst part about all this? From a purely productive standpoint, it works. For every class I got a good grade in, I'd crunched. And sure, I'd have probably just about passed most of them if I hadn't, but crunch in my case (and other folk I've spoken to) isn't the difference between an A and a B in games courses, it's the difference between an A and a D. Because sure, I'd submit 80% of the work, but without that final 20% tying it together that 80% of the work might make up 40-50% of the grade requirements. It's a very all-or-nothing discipline, except you can't physically do "all" because if you satisfy all the grade requirements, you get 80-90% because "there's always something more you could add to make it better". Which is also a whole other rant.

Anyway, my point with all of this is that, despite how it seems, studying game design at uni sets prospective employees up for crunch. The magnitude is lower, but the attitude is there. They know that they've done it before, that if they can just pull through a couple of weeks doing double time, they'll get it out the way. And so far, that has worked for them, because deadlines rarely do move. But in industry, they work their two weeks double time only for the worst of the studios to say "actually we see you working hard but also we're not gonna make it, you've got another month". And then they have to pull that time for another month. And maybe again after that. As a student, that kind of extension happened to me once - my 3D coursework was meant to be due before the Christmas break, and with 2 weeks to go, the lecturer announced we had til the start of the exam period (mid-January). But because we had that extra time, he expected the quality to reflect it. We weren't getting extra time so we could do the same amount of work without crunching - we were getting it so we could do more work. Again, the exact same pattern we see in industry right now.

So what's the solution? Honestly, I don't have one. Reviewing workload for students in creative subjects is a sticking plaster, and removing time pressure from coursework would require an overhaul of the system that I can't see coming any time soon. Acknowledgement of the problem is the best we can do for now. If you or someone you know is in or studying for an industry prone to this kind of behaviour, talk about it. Push the idea that the institution is flawed, and that whatever kind of unhealthy habits people pick up while studying don't have to become their life.

Look after each other. Peace out!

#game dev hat #long post under cut #ramblings #mild rant #game dev #crunch #this got away from me once more

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mysideblogofsurveys · 4 years

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Survey 16.

Favorite beverage: Well, Water I guess. I like drinking Mt. Dew or Coffee but I’ve cut back on all that stuff (but I will have a cup of coffee every morning)

When was the last time you had ketchup? On Saturday. We made Sweet Potato Fries but they don’t really good with ketchup

What is the most recent gift you've been given? My co-workers gave me a GrubHub gift card for all the help (they’re working from home but I still go into the office so they e-mail what they need to do to me so I can do it for them - I actually hate doing it but..we don’t really have a choice). Anyway, they wanted to give me something as “Thanks for all the help” and I told them a simple “Thank You” is all I want but people don’t listen. (Not to be ungrateful but I don’t like receiving gifts from anyone other than family and NO ONE listens and gives me things anyway).

Did you leave the house today? Not yet, I’ll be leaving about 8:10 to go to work

Are there bumper stickers on your car? Yes :) a “Straw Hat” pirate one from the anime One Piece and an EXO sticker for the kpop group.

Are you watching tv right now? Kind of. “Dark” on Netflix. I paused it briefly though to read these questions - its in German so I need to read the subtitles.

Are you wearing anything blue? No

Do you have a job? Yes..but I’ve been thinking about quitting so I can move back to the city I loved. Life is too short to live in a place you don’t like and I’ve seen other jobs I can apply for so I’m not worried.

Is your car messy? No, I like to keep it clean.

When did you last have whipped cream? This morning..I like using heavy whipping cream in my coffee (as opposed to the other creamers that are all sugar). My husband uses the canned/aerosol whipped cream in his coffee though.

How far away is the closest house? Literally down 2 flights of stairs. I live on the 3rd floor of an apartment.

What street do you live on? On one that has a cool name

Are you dating anyone? I’m married.

What color is you computer? Both my laptop and desktop are black

Do you own an iPod? What color is it? I do! I won an iPod at my high school graduation celebration (my class had a “lock in” at the school - basically they “lock” you in the school (from like 6pm to 6am) where you can play games, nap if you want, eat all sorts of junk food or just hang out and have a party for everyone graduating, it was a lot of fun. They had a raffle before everyone went home the next morning and I won an iPod (this was in 2006 so a long time ago lol) But it was just the standard black one.

What is the most recent picture on your phone/camera of: UGH OMG so I forgot I took a picture of this DISGUSTING roach that I found in our apt on Friday night. They’re not the tiny/infestation ones, they’re large “Palmetto Bug” roaches that tend to wander into houses that have cracks and our vents. Since I live in an apartment, theres not much I can do about it. I can’t wait to move!!!

Have you ever shot a gun? Oh definitely, we like to go to the gun range with my father-in-law. Its a great way for us to bond and I hope to God I’ll never ever have to actually use one but I like the idea of not being completely defenseless if someone breaks into my house (as I’m small and could easily get overpowered)

What temperature is it? Maybe 70 in the apt but probably 80s outside? Do you know anyone with a third nipple? Uh..no.

What do your parents do for a living? My Mom is a dental hygienist and my Dad is an Electrician.

Have you ever had a pet that had babies? No :/ I always thought that would have been fun though

Which grocery store is closest to you? Publix

Do you have a hamper in your room? Yes

Do you know anyone that's a nurse? Yes but I haven’t talked to him in years.

Do you know someone with the name Alaina? No

What color is the blanket on your bed? Ahh, black blankets, blue blankets, purple blanket..we have like 4 or 5 blankets on our bed.

What are your parent's middle names? Well, one starts with an “S” the other starts with an “E”

Have you ever broken a bone? Yes, kind of

Do you wear braces or glasses? I wear glasses and had braces growing up.

What color are they? I’m assuming my glasses? They’re black and have tiny stars in the corner.

Are you currently reading a book? Yes, I’m reading “Legends of the Alfar” by Markus Heitz

When did you last get your blood drawn? Its been quite a few years

Have you ever done hard drugs? No, I’ve smoked weed before but didn’t like it.

How many contacts are in your phone? A lot but thats because I haven’t deleted them. If I deleted everyone I don’t talk to, there wouldn’t be many.

Does your toilet have a seat cover? No.

What's currently on your grocery list? I have a whole list. We haven’t been to the grocery store in a few days but we need to go when I get off work.

What things do you take with you everywhere? Wallet, phone, car keys..and my Zune (yes, the MP3 player from like 2000 lol)

Do you know someone that is/was over 100 years old? No but my Great-Grandpa is still living and he’s 96

Was your HS principal a girl or a boy? Woman I think..I actually don’t remember

Have you ever eaten a raw egg? No

Do you own any rings? Yes

Have you eaten fruit today? Not yet. I’ve peeled 2 clementines for my breakfast when I get to work though

What about milk? Nope, not for a couple weeks.

What letter does your state start with? F

Could you list all 50 states? Easily.

What about their capitals? No, I used to be able to though

What internet browser do you use? Firefox.

Do you know anyone that lives in Wyoming? No, but my Husband and I joke about just leaving everything and moving there sometimes (to just get away from all the idiocy we see in this city). I can’t believe there are only 500,000 people living in the entire state!

Do you smoke cigarettes? No

Which person you know has the most unique name? A few I suppose

Do you know someone that's missing a limb? No

Do you have facial hair? I don’t but my husband does Are you a bad person? I’m not and I hope no one thinks I am

What was the last swear you said? Bullshit (referring to my state closing beaches for Independence Day - yes I realize this was over a week ago but it still annoys me)

Have you ever called the police on someone? No

What is the most amount of pets you've had at one time? Two - a cat and dog

When did you last check your email? Yesterday.

Have you ever had a 3rd degree burn? No

Have you ever ridden in an ambulance? Yes, I fainted at work on time and they brought me to the hospital to find out what was wrong - thankfully it was nothing major

How long is your hair? About the middle of my back

Do you lock your doors at night? Oh yeah, they’re always locked even when we’re home.

Does your bedroom have a lock? Our bedroom doors do not

What do you have at your bedside? I have a table with old mail, a clock and sometimes my book (I want to read more before bed instead of looking at my phone)

How big is your bed? King

Do you know someone that was murdered? No

Do you know someone who's pregnant? No. My friend was pregnant recently but she miscarried :(

Do you wear a watch? No, but I want to start wearing one!

What was your first pet? A cat

How much jewelry do you own? Not too much. I don’t really wear jewelry.

What is the closest purple thing? My EXO pencil bag - it has their logo in a galaxy themed colors (purple, blue and green)

Green? Same thing as above

What time is it? 7:44am

What is your ideal profession? I wish I knew!! I have no idea :(

How tall are you? Like 5′0

Have you ever gotten x-rays? Yes

Do you wear gloves in the winter? I would but its never Winter in FL.

Do you consider yourself smart? Eh, so so. I’m not stupid but I”m also not a genius. I’m just average.

What color eyes are the prettiest? Gray-Blue eyes or Dark brown

Are your teeth straight? Yes

Do you like chocolate milk? I do but I don’t drink it because of all the sugar

Do you own a bike? No, I haven’t in years. I want to buy one though but theres not really a place to bike where I live right now.

Are you taller than your mom? No, she’s like 5′1 lol so she’s just barely taller than me

Have you ever been engaged? Yes :)

What, in your opinion, is the ugliest name? I dont’ know, I don’t particularly like the old style names though

#survey #surveys #questionnaire #about me

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nerdygaymormon · 6 years

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David Simmons

David Simmons is a professor of Film Studies and Humanities at Northwest Florida State College (NWFSC) in Niceville, FL. That’s a very small town about half-way between Pensacola & Tallahassee in the Florida panhandle which is “the reddest of the red part of Florida.”

He attended BYU for both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degree, and taught at the Missionary Training Center during that time. While at BYU he performed in several operas and plays, and was in Concert Choir and BYU Singers. He earned his Ph.D. from Florida State University.

He makes a big impact in his north Florida community. He organized an on-campus Film Club, and a Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA). As faculty advisor to the GSA, he’s helped them organize the area’s first LGBTQ Masquerade ball, which was open to the public. He also organized the city of Niceville’s very first Pride Walk.

He attends his local ward where he’s the choir director. “It’s difficult being gay and being a member of the church. It shouldn’t have to be. The Gospel is for everyone. But sadly, some members don’t think that.” He describes his ward as “a very conservative, military ward” (there’s an air force base nearby).

Can you imagine being a queer kid in this conservative little town of 12,000 and all of a sudden, there’s someone openly gay who is making safe spaces and raising the profile of the queer community?

This past week he was invited by his bishop to speak on ministering to LGBTQ members during a joint 3rd-hour meeting (5th Sunday). He says “There was a lot of pushback after I finished the talk, but that’s OK. I want to help church to be more loving for those who come after me.”

—————————————————————

“By This Shall All Men Know Ye Are My Disciples” Dr. David C. Simmons Sep. 30, 2018

On the last night of his mortal life, Jesus invited Judas to leave so that He could give a special message to his remaining 11 apostles (John 13:27-31). In Jesus’ Final Sermon, He gave them a sign, a way to tell who are Jesus’ true followers and who are not: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).

In other words, Jesus knew there would be some who would claim to be His followers, but are not. We can recognize them, both in and out of the Church, because instead of loving those who are different than they are, they put them down in a self-righteous way.

Jesus went to the outsiders of his local community: the sinners, the poor, the lame, the blind, the lepers. He was teaching His true followers, in both word and deed, how to develop the capacity to love like He does.

In our day, some of the ones who have been treated the harshest by Christian churches are members of the LGBTQ community. A few supposed-Christians use passages of scripture, or proclamations, or words from bygone leaders as weapons to harm the very natures of these children of God.

I work with LGBTQ students at the College. I’ve listened to their stories. I’ve heard time and time again how they have been rejected by their families, their churches, and their communities, just for being who they are.(1)

Many of their “Christian” parents, thinking they were “doing God service” (John 16:2), threw them out of their homes and families. Now these teenagers are homeless. LGBTQ youth are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than their peers.(2)

LGBTQ youth are also 5 times more likely to commit suicide than their peers.(3) Nearly half of all LGBTQ youth have attempted suicide more than once.(4) And rates are even worse among LGBTQ youth who are members of the Church. Teen suicide rates in Utah have doubled since 2011, while the rest of the country did not see an increase.(5)

Why is this?

I want you to imagine that you were born as a member of the LGBTQ community. You grew up in Primary singing, “I Am a Child of God.” But then, at some point you were told by those who are closest to you, by those whom you love and trust to tell you the truth, that God doesn’t love you—that He has no place for you in the plan of salvation.

What are your options at that point? It seems that none of them are very good:

1) You can remain in the Church and live a lonely, pain-filled existence.(6) While everyone around you is boasting about the joy of marriage and being part of a family, you are constantly reminded that that is not for you.

2) You can leave the Church and find love and a family. But then you are left without the great spiritual helps the Gospel of Jesus Christ can offer.

3) You can marry someone of the opposite sex and may not be fulfilled. The Church does not encourage this anymore(7) because divorce rates in mixed-orientation marriages are far higher—80%(8)—and then often involve children.(9)

Can you feel that none of these options are fulfilling? Perhaps this is why so many LGBTQ members of the Church lose all hope and purpose and then may choose to end their lives.(10)

The Church is concerned about this. Just last month, on August 9, 2018, ward councils all over the world received a document called “Preventing Suicide and Responding after a Loss.” It begins with: “Members of the Church everywhere are invited to take an active role within their communities to minister to those who have thoughts of suicide or who are grieving a loss.”(11)

The Church is changing considerably how it ministers with love to its LGBTQ members.(12)

When Dan Reynolds, the lead singer of Imagine Dragons, organized an Aug. 2017 concert in Provo called LoveLoud, to let LGBTQ members know they are loved,(13) the Church put out an official statement endorsing that event: “We applaud the LoveLoud Festival for LGBT youth’s aim to bring people together to address teen safety and to express respect and love for all of God’s children. We join our voice with all who come together to foster a community of inclusion in which no one is mistreated because of who they are or what they believe. We share common beliefs, among them the pricelessness of our youth and the value of families. We earnestly hope this festival and other related efforts can build respectful communication, better understanding and civility as we all learn from each other.”(14)

Just two weeks ago, on Sep. 17, 2018, the Church called Elizabeth Jane Darger, a longtime LGBTQ advocate,(15) to be on the General Young Women’s Board.(16) What a powerful voice to have advocating for LGBTQ youth in the Young Women’s program!

The Church also has an official website, Mormon and Gay (mormonandgay.lds.org). It features the stories of many LGBTQ members, which are helpful for putting yourself in their shoes, so you can grow in understanding.(17)

This Church website also teaches several important principles:

1) “God loves all of us. He loves those of different faiths and those without any faith. He loves those who suffer. He loves the rich and poor alike. He loves people of every race and culture, the married or single, and those who. . . identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual. And God expects us to follow his example.”(18)

2) “No true follower of Christ is justified in withholding love because you decide to identify [as a member of the LGBTQ community].”(19)

3) “God’s plan is perfect, even if our current understanding of His plan is not.”(20)

We don’t see the whole picture right now. As Paul taught: “For we know in part, and we prophesy in part” (1 Corinthians 13:9-13). Since we only “see through a glass, darkly” in relation to many eternal things, instead of pretending that we fully understand God’s will in all ways, shouldn’t we act on what He has called us to do: love? That was the Savior’s prime commission to His followers. Indeed, it’s how they would be identified by others as His true disciples.

The problem may lie in our understanding of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters. Some members may look at them as having a physical impairment that needs fixing. Both Elder Holland, in General Conference,(21) and the Church’s official website explain that this is not true(22). LGBTQ members are not choosing a “lifestyle”; it is how they are.

If we could learn to see our LGBTQ brothers and sisters like the Savior sees them, it would change our entire worldview and behavior. We would never make jokes about the LGBTQ community in our daily interactions. We would never express disgust at someone whose gender or sexuality was different than ours. We would never teach a child to turn off the TV when an LGBTQ person talks about their life.(23) Such actions not only contain unknowing bias and privilege, but are also doing untold harm to the lived lives of our brothers and sisters.

Statistically, at least 5% of the population is a member of the LGBTQ community,(24) with some recent surveys having this percentage far higher.(25) Even if we take the lower figure, that means that in a ward of 500 people, there may be at least 25 LGBTQ members. That so many of them are now less active is telling.

You and I both know multiple members, including young men and young women, who have passed through our ward, and been told they were “others,” or “less than,” or “outsiders” because of their gender or their sexuality. They sat through well-meaning but uninformed talks and lessons where a statement or teaching was weaponized against them. They were made to feel as though there was no place for them in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Today, many of them have left the embracing arms of the Savior, His atonement, and His restored gospel. What a breathtaking, unbelievable loss for us, for them, and for God.

We still love them. But wouldn’t it better if they had these things to bless their lives too? Aren’t they better off inside the Church, rather than being forced away because of the unkind words and deeds of those who should be followers of Jesus Christ? Isn’t that what true ministering is all about? Reaching out with love to people no matter where they are on their spiritual journey?

Last month, speaking in a BYU Devotional, Eric D. Huntsman, a Professor of Ancient Scripture, explained our need to minister with love to our LGBTQ brothers and sisters: “We should never fear that we are compromising when we make the choice to love. . . . Accepting others. . .means simply that we allow the realities of their lives to be different than our own. Whether those realities mean that they look, act, feel, or experience life differently than we do, the unchanging fact is that they are children of loving heavenly parents, and the same Jesus suffered and died for them, as for us. Not just for LGBTQ+ sisters and brothers but for many people, the choice to love can literally make the difference between life and death.”(26)

Undoubtedly, there are those in this room who will have children, other family members, or friends who will come out to you. It will be one of the most painfully vulnerable moments of their life. Decide right now, that you will respond immediately with overwhelming love and kindness. That’s all you have to do. Just put your arms around them and say, “Thank you for telling me. I love you just like you are.”

Think to yourself, “How would the Savior reach out with love?” Then love like that. It may take having to unlearn some of the things your local culture has taught you in order to walk the higher way of the Law of the Gospel (loving like Jesus loved).

Seek out LGBTQ people in your circles of influence. Get to know them and their stories. Instead of correcting and instructing, just listen, feel, and love them for who they are. Become a powerful friend and ally.

If you don’t have the strength to do this yet, cry out to your God for strength, for courage, and for the ability to develop the capacity to love as He loves.

If you are a member of the LGBTQ community, try this experiment. Go home tonight and pray in secret: “Dear Heavenly Father, do you love me?” Feel God’s immense peace and love wash over you as He confirms this with certainty. You are His child and He loves you. The Gospel is for you too.

Conclusion The Holy Ghost bears record to our souls that God loves all of his children, not just his straight children. He loves his gay children, his lesbian children, his bi children, his trans children, and those who are still trying to understand the divine way he made them. The atonement of Jesus Christ is for everyone.

Nephi taught this sublime, eternal truth: “[The Savior] inviteth all to come unto him and partake of his goodness.” What does “all” mean? It means “all.”

“And he denieth none that come unto him.” What does “none” mean? It’s means “none.”

“Black and white, bond and free, male and female; and he remembereth the heathen [that means non-member]; and all are alike unto God” (2 Nephi 26:33, emphasis added).

It’s my testimony that the Savior’s atonement is for everyone. He wants us to establish Zion right here and right now. But that can only be done by partaking of the atonement, and allowing our natures to be changed so that we are filled with love for everyone, especially those whom our local culture deems as “outsiders.” Then we can’t wait to go forth, becoming the Savior’s hands to lift, to minister, and to love others.

In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

[If you need someone to talk with about the ideas presented here, please email me (David Simmons): [email protected]]

Appendix 1: Scriptures, Quotes, and Resources for Further Study

“Mormon LGBT Questions.” Bryce Cook, March 17, 2017. This is the most profound resource on how the Church’s view on LGBTQ members has changed over time. I think every member of the Church should read it. If it’s too long, read a summary here:

“LGBT Questions: An Essay.” By Common Consent, March 19, 2017. This is a summary of Bryce Cook’s landmark “Mormon LGBT Questions” document.

Mormon and Gay. This is the Church’s official website. They recently changed the name from mormonsandgays to mormonandgay to acknowledge the many members who are both.

“Hard Sayings and Safe Spaces: Making Room for Struggle as Well as Faith.” Eric D. Huntsman. Aug. 7, 2018, BYU Speeches. A masterful talk given last month at a BYU Devotional about our need to love each other wherever we are on our spiritual journey.

“A Mission President’s Beautiful Response When a Missionary Came Out to Him as Gay.” LDS Living, Aug. 27, 2018. Cal Burke’s inspiring story about coming out to his mission president and being received with love.

“Mormon and/or Gay?” By Common Consent, Aug. 20, 2018. How we often unknowingly use “othering” language in our discourse about our LGBTQ brothers and sisters.

“To Mourn with Gay Friends That Mourn.” By Common Consent, Oct. 4, 2017. Why we often correct and instruct rather than listen and feel when we talk with our LGBTQ brothers and sisters.

“An Open Letter to Latter-Day Saints: When a Gay Person Shows Up at Church.” By Common Consent, Nov. 8, 2015. A discussion of the unbearable choice given to LGBTQ members.

That We May Be One: A Gay Mormon’s Perspective on Faith and Family. Tom Christofferson. SLC: Deseret Book: Sep. 2017. An apostle’s gay brother tells his experience of being unconditionally loved and supported by his family and bishopric after coming out to them. You can purchase it here.

President M. Russell Ballard • “I want anyone who is a member of the Church who is gay or lesbian to know I believe you have a place in the kingdom and I recognize that sometimes it may be difficult for you to see where you fit in the Lord’s Church, but you do. We need to listen to and understand what our LGBT brothers and sisters are feeling and experiencing. Certainly, we must do better than we have done in the past so that all members feel they have a spiritual home.”(27)

Elder Quentin L. Cook • “As a church, nobody should be more loving and compassionate. Let us be at the forefront in terms of expressing love, compassion, and outreach. Let’s not have families exclude or be disrespectful of those who choose a different lifestyle as a result of their feelings about their own gender.”(28)

Matthew 9: Loving Outsiders is More Important than Church Ritual • Matthew 9:10-11 “And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?” Here, church leaders and members are rebuking Jesus for being with tax collectors (a hated segment of society, that were often excommunicated from the synagogues) and sinners • Matthew 9:12-13 “But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy [Greek: eleos, “love” or “compassion”] and not sacrifice.” Jesus is here quoting Hosea 6:6, where He once told the prophet: “I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices” (N.L.T. Hosea 6:6). In other words, showing love to the outcasts of society is more important than church rituals. It’s more important than partaking of the sacrament. It’s more important than going to the temple. If you don’t love others (especially the outsiders, like Jesus did) than none of the rituals • N.L.T. Matthew 9:13 “For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.” Jesus is very clear with these church leaders and members who think they are following all the rules, but yet are looking on the outcasts of society, that they are in a far worse position than those they look down on. They are the greater sinners.

Humble Outsiders Will Go Into the Kingdom of God before SelfRighteous Members • Matthew 21:31 During His mortal ministry, the Savior had some of his harshest words to say to members of the Church who were afflicted by self-righteous-itis. They thought they were better than females, or the poor, or those outside certain family lines. To them, He said: “The publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.” • Matthew 22:1-14 Jesus also told the parable of the marriage of the king’s son, where those who were bidden to the marriage dinner “would not come,” so the king tells his servants to go out to the highways and gather as many of those the world deemed as outsiders, to come partake of the feast. He said to do this because “many are called [baptized members of the Church], but few are chosen [to live the way the Savior lives].” • The Savior Himself went to the poor, the lame, the leprous, the blind, to those whom society deemed outsiders. If we want to be like Him, we shouldn’t align ourselves with the self-righteous in our day and put down the vulnerable and the outsiders. We should instead follow His example and seek out those who may have been labeled “outsiders.”

The Outsiders Will Go Into Heaven Before Complacent Members • Luke 14:15 “And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.” Since this teaching may not be absolutely clear, Jesus gives a parable to explain it—the Parable of the Great Supper. • Luke 14:16-17 “Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: and sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.” What’s the supper? Feasting on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is such a beautiful image. When we take it inside of us, it becomes part of who we are (Schaelling, C.E.S. Institute Lecture, “Great Supper”). • How do we accept the invitation to the Supper? Through baptism (Schaelling, C.E.S. Institute Lecture, “Great Supper”). • Luke 14:18-20 “And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee, have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.” What excuses do people make not to come to the feast? New ground, new oxen, new wife. There are many reasons that people can give for not putting the Gospel of Jesus Christ first in their lives. Do we ever put possessions, or even family members, before the Savior? What does Jesus say about this in verse 26? “If any man come to me and [Greek “doesn’t love less”] his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also; or in other words, is afraid to lay down his life for my sake; he cannot be my disciple” (J.S.T. Luke 14:26). This is tough. What do you do if your wife wants you to stay home instead of doing your home teaching? What do you do if your parents tell you they will disown you if you get baptized into the restored Gospel of Jesus Christ? When I was on my mission in Texas, there was an 18-year-old non-member girl named Letti who went to seminary with some of her friends, felt the Spirit of God tell her it was true, and knew she needed to join. But her parents told her that if she did, she would no longer be considered one of their family. What a tough choice for anyone to have to make. Yet, she went through with her decision to be baptized anyway, for she could not put other things—even family—before the Savior. Letti was being a true disciple of Jesus Christ. She put him first above all things, even her own family • Luke 14:21-24 “So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.” What does this mean? • 1) Since the Jews, the Lord’s covenant people, were rejecting the supper, that great feast of the Gospel was just about to go to the spiritually poor, maimed, halt, and blind: in other words, the Gentiles, beginning at the time of Paul (Schaelling, C.E.S. Institute Lecture, “Great Supper”). • 2) For me, individually, it means I need to come and partake of the Savior, and his Gospel, and have this mighty value change in my life where I realize that earthly things are only here to be turned into eternal things by using them to help other people, so that my place at the eternal feast doesn’t go to someone else who is more giving, more loving, and more compassionate than I am. I need tobe like the Savior.

Matthew 19:30 The First Shall Be Last and the Last Shall Be First • Jesus said: “But many that are first shall be last; and the last shall be first.” • As Dr. Fatimah Sellah recently said: “I’ve long believed of the marginalized of this church and the world, that if the first shall be last and the last shall be first: I’d be careful if I were first right now. I’d be careful if I were the ones at the pulpits and held the power. God is a God of disruption and flips things on its head.”(29)

Ephesians 2:19 There Are No Outsiders in God’s Church • “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God.”

President Brigham Young • “The least, the most inferior person now upon the earth . . . is worth worlds” (Journal of Discourses 9:124).

President Dieter F. Uchtdorf • “Sometimes we confuse differences in personality with sin. We can even make the mistake of thinking that because someone is different from us, it must mean they are not pleasing to God. This line of thinking leads some to believe that the Church wants to create every member from a single mold—that each one should look, feel, think, and behave like every other. This would contradict the genius of God, who created every man different from his brother, every son different from his father. . . . As disciples of Jesus Christ, we are united in our testimony of the restored gospel and our commitment to keep God’s commandments. But we are diverse in our cultural, social, and political preferences. The Church thrives when we take advantage of this diversity and encourage each other to develop and use our talents to lift and strengthen our fellow disciples” (“Four Titles.” Ensign. May 2013).

Bishop Gerald Causse, First Counselor in the Presiding Bishopric • “During His earthly ministry, Jesus was an example of one who went far beyond the simple obligation of hospitality and tolerance. Those who were excluded from society, those who were rejected and considered to be impure by the self-righteous, were given His compassion and respect. They received an equal part of His teachings and ministry. • “For example, the Savior went against the established customs of His time to address the woman of Samaria, asking her for some water. He sat down to eat with publicans and tax collectors. He didn’t hesitate to approach the leper, to touch him and heal him. Admiring the faith of the Roman centurion, He said to the crowd, “Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel” (Matthew 8:10; see also 8:2-3; Mark 1:40-42; 2:15; John 4:7-9). • “In this Church there are no strangers and no outcasts. There are only brothers and sisters. The knowledge that we have of an Eternal Father helps us be more sensitive to the brotherhood and sisterhood that should exist among all men and women upon the earth. • “A passage from the novel Les Misérables illustrates how priesthood holders can treat those individuals viewed as strangers. Jean Valjean had just been released as a prisoner. Exhausted by a long voyage and dying of hunger and thirst, he arrives in a small town seeking a place to find food and shelter for the night. When the news of his arrival spreads, one by one all the inhabitants close their doors to him. Not the hotel, not the inn, not even the prison would invite him in. He is rejected, driven away, banished. Finally, with no strength left, he collapses at the front door of the town’s bishop. The good clergyman is entirely aware of Valjean’s background, but he invites the vagabond into his home with these compassionate words: “‘This is not my house; it is the house of Jesus Christ. This door does not demand of him who enters whether he has a name, but whether he has a grief. You suffer, you are hungry and thirsty; you are welcome. … What need have I to know your name? Besides, before you told me [your name], you had one which I knew.’ “[Valjean] opened his eyes in astonishment. “‘Really? You knew what I was called?’ “‘Yes,’ replied the Bishop, ‘you are called my brother.’” (Les Miserables 1:73). • “In this Church our wards and our quorums do not belong to us. They belong to Jesus Christ. Whoever enters our meetinghouses should feel at home. • “It is very likely that the next person converted to the gospel in your ward will be someone who does not come from your usual circle of friends and acquaintances. You may note this by his or her appearance, language, manner of dress, or color of skin. This person may have grown up in another religion, with a different background or a different lifestyle. • “We all need to work together to build spiritual unity within our wards and branches. An example of perfect unity existed among the people of God after Christ visited the Americas. The record observes that there were no “Lamanites, nor any manner of -ites; but they were in one, the children of Christ, and heirs to the kingdom of God.” (4 Nephi 1:17). • “Unity is not achieved by ignoring and isolating members who seem to be different or weaker and only associating with people who are like us. On the contrary, unity is gained by welcoming and serving those who are new and who have particular needs. These members are a blessing for the Church and provide us with opportunities to serve our neighbors and thus purify our own hearts. • “Reach out to anyone who appears at the doors of your Church buildings. Welcome them with gratitude and without prejudice. If people you do not know walk into one of your meetings, greet them warmly and invite them to sit with you. Please make the first move to help them feel welcome and loved, rather than waiting for them to come to you. • “After your initial welcome, consider ways you can continue to minister to them. I once heard of a ward where, after the baptism of two deaf sisters, two marvelous Relief Society sisters decided to learn sign language so they could better communicate with these new converts. What a wonderful example of love for fellow brothers and sisters in the gospel! • “I bear witness that no one is a stranger to our Heavenly Father. There is no one whose soul is not precious to Him. • “I pray that when the Lord gathers His sheep at the last day, He may say to each one of us, “I was a stranger, and ye took me in.” Then we will say to Him, “When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in?” And He will answer us, “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:35-40). In the name of Jesus Christ, amen” (“Ye Are No More Strangers,” General Conference, October 2013).

ENDNOTES ——————————

(1) McKeon, Jennie. “NWFSC Students Hosting Inaugural Gay Ball.” WUWF. Sep. 20, 2018. http://www.wuwf.org/post/nwfsc-students-hostinginaugural-gay-ball

(2) Silva, Christina. “LGBT Youth are 120% More Likely to Be Homeless Than Straight People, Study Shows.” Newsweek. Nov. 30, 2017. https://www.newsweek.com/lgbt-youth-homeless-study-727595

(3) “Facts About Suicide.” The Trevor Project. https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/preventing-suicide/factsabout-suicide/#sm.001r5tfiv1doccqtqy6168cjea5zn

(4) http://www.speakforthem.org/facts.html

(5) Utah Department of Health, https://ibis.health.utah.gov/pdf/opha/publication/hsu/SE04_SuicideE piAid.pdf See also: Hatch, Heidi. “Is Utah’s Youth Suicide Rate Linked to Utah’s Culture Surrounding LGBT?” https://kutv.com/news/local/isutahs-youth-suicide-rate-linked-to-utahs-culture-surrounding-lgbt See also the Church’s official page on LGBTQ suicide: https://mormonandgay.lds.org/articles/depression-andsuicide?lang=eng

(6) “My Life at BYU-I as a Gay Mormon.” https://zelphontheshelf.com/mylife-at-byu-i-as-a-gay-mormon/

(7) “President Hinckley. . .made this statement: ‘Marriage should not be viewed as a therapeutic step to solve problems such as homosexual inclinations or practices.’” https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/interview-oaks-wickmansame-gender-attraction

(8) Kort, Joe. “Mixed-Orientation Marriages.” GLBTQ. 2015. http://www.glbtqarchive.com/ssh/mixed_orientation_marriages_S.pdf

(9) Carol Kuruvilla, “Gay Mormon Who Became Famous for Mixed Orientation Marriage Is Divorcing His Wife.” Huffington Post. Jan. 29, 2018. https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/gay-mormon-josh-weeddivorce_us_5a6f331be4b06e253269d34a

(10) Lang, Nico. “‘I See My Son In Every One of Them’: With a Spike in Suicides, Parents of Utah’s Queer Youth Fear the Worst.” Vox. March 20, 2017. https://www.vox.com/identities/2017/3/20/14938950/mormonutah-lgbtq-youth

(11) This document outlines the warning signs for suicide: • Looking for a way to kill themselves • Talking about feeling hopeless or having no reason to live • Talking about feeling trapped or in unbearable pain • Talking about being a burden to others • Acting anxious or agitated or behaving recklessly • Withdrawing or isolating themselves • Showing rage or talking about seeking revenge • Displaying extreme mood swings When you many of these there are three things to remember: Ask, Care, Tell.

1) Ask. Ask the person directly if they are thinking about suicide. If they say yes, ask: “Do you have a plan to hurt yourself.” If the answer is yes, call a crisis helpline. (The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255.) If the answer is no, move to step 2: 2) Care. Show that you care by listening to what they say. Give them time to explain how they are feeling. Respect their feelings by saying something like: “I’m sorry you are in so much pain. I didn’t realize how hard things are for you right now.” You might offer to help them make a Suicide-Prevention Safety Plan that helps people identify their personal strengths, positive relationships and healthy coping skills. 3) Tell. Encourage the person to tell someone who can offer more support. If they will not seek help, you may need to tell someone for them. You may want to say something like: “I care about you and want you to be safe. I’m going to tell someone who can offer you the help you need.” Respect them by letting them pick the resource, such as a someone on the free crisis helpline.

(12) For the best, most-thorough examination of the how the Church’s position regarding LGBTQ members has changed since the days of President Kimball, see: Cook, Bryce. “Mormon LGBT Questions.” March 17, 2017. I think every member of the Church should read this. https://mormonlgbtquestions.com/2017/03/17/what-do-we-know-ofgods-will-for-his-lgbt-children-an-examination-of-the-lds-churchsposition-on-homosexuality/

(13) A documentary called Believer (2018) tells the fascinating, dramatic story of the lead-up to this concert: https://www.hbo.com/content/hboweb/en/documentaries/believer/a bout.html Here’s how you can watch it: https://heavy.com/entertainment/2018/06/watch-believerdocumentary-online/

(14) Official Church Statement, August 16, 2017, https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/church-statement-loveloud-festival

(15) Cynthia L. “New YW and RS Boards Include Two Black Women, ‘Common Ground’ LGBT Inclusion Advocate.” Sep. 18, 2018. https://bycommonconsent.com/2018/09/18/new-yw-and-rs-boardsinclude-two-black-women-common-ground-lgbt-inclusionadvocate/#more-106875

(16) https://www.mormonnewsroom.org/article/new-latter-day-saintgeneral-board-members-named

(17) https://mormonandgay.lds.org/stories?lang=eng

(18) https://mormonandgay.lds.org/articles/church-teachings?lang=eng

(19) https://mormonandgay.lds.org/articles/who-am-i?lang=eng

(20) https://mormonandgay.lds.org/articles/gods-plan?lang=eng

(21) “I must say, this son’s sexual orientation did not somehow miraculously change—no one assumed it would.” Holland, Jeffrey R. “Behold Thy Mother.” Oct. 2015 General Conference. https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2015/10/behold-thymother?lang=eng

(22) “A change in attraction should not be expected or demanded as an outcome by parents or leaders.” https://mormonandgay.lds.org/articles/frequently-askedquestions?lang=eng

(23) Nick Einbender, Post on “Mormons Building Bridges,” Sep. 18, 2018. https://www.facebook.com/groups/mormonsbuildingbridges/permali nk/1513907792043410/

(24) Steinmetz, Katy. “How Many Americans Are Gay?” Time. May 16, 2016. http://time.com/lgbt-stats/

(25) It is likely a much larger percentage. In another study, 20% of Millennials (ages 18-34) self-identified as LGBTQ; 12% of Generation X (ages 35-53); 7% of the Baby Boomers (ages 52-71). The discrepancy likely arises from an increase in acceptance and safety in the culture the Millennials are growing up in. This makes them more likely to come out as LGBTQ. There are probably equal numbers throughout history, but it wasn’t as safe for older generations to come out for fear of violence, rejection, loss of job security, and loss of standing in the community. See Gonella, Catalina. NBC News. March 31, 2017. https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/survey-20-percentmillennials-identify-lgbtq-n740791

(26) Eric D. Huntsman, “Hard Sayings and Safe Spaces: Making Room for Struggle as Well as Faith,” Aug. 7, 2018, BYU Speeches, https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/eric-d-huntsman_hard-sayings-andsafe-spaces-making-room-for-both-struggle-and-faith/

(27) “Questions and Answers.” BYU Speeches, Nov. 14, 2017. https://speeches.byu.edu/talks/m-russell-ballard_questions-andanswers/

(28) https://mormonandgay.lds.org/articles/love-one-another-adiscussion-on-same-sex-attraction

(29) Dr. Fatimah S. Salleh, Affirmation Conference, July 22, 2018. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyoXa9z76v0

#David Simmons #lgbt history month #lgbtq+ mormons #lgbtq+ lds #queerstake

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katsvra · 5 years

Text

Tagged by @ryuzakki thank you so much anthea <33

tagging: @kuruisu, @lovekuramas, @ocarinnas @kishitan-iis @usagiyamah @haru-kaas

rules: answer these 85 statements about yourself, then tag 15 people

LAST

1. drink - green tea !

2. 📱 call - my mom

3. text - a friend texting to ask about concert merch

4. song you listened to - idk the name of the song but its the yakuza 0 soundtrack

5. time you 😢 - yesterday tbh

HAVE YOU EVER

6. dated someone twice - never even dated anyone once lmao

7. 😘 someone and regretted it - never kissed anyone either

8. been cheated on - nope

9. lost someone special - yes, when i was quite young

10. been depressed - yeah

11. gotten drunk and thrown up - never thrown up after drinking

FAVORITE COLORS

12. (pastel) pink !!

13. purple

14. blue

15. yellow !

in the last year have you

16. made new friends - yes !!

17. fallen out of 💛 - nope nope

18. 😂 until you 😢 - yes i have !! ive got some funny friends :’)

19. found out someone was talking about you - nope but im sure people are

20. met someone who changed you - um i didnt meet anyone knew but i got closer to some people who changed me!

21. found out who your friends are - not really

22. 😘 someone on your facebook friends list - nope nope

GENERAL

23. how many friends from your fb friends list do you know irl - all of them except tania and joanne

24. do you have any pets - i have a hamster named beanu !

25. do you want to change your middle name - not really, its my chinese name and i quite like it c:

26. what did you do for your last 🎂 - i thought we were throwing a surprise party for my friend but when i showed up, it turns out they were all throwing a surprise party for me and it was super sweet :’) we ended up going for korean bbq and karaoke !

27. what time did you wake up today - 12pm /sweats

28. what were you doing last night at midnight - working on my midterm notes

29. what is something you can’t wait for - MARIANAS TRENCH CONCERT !! this wednesday!!!! i havent shut up about it for weeks !!!

30. what are you listening to right now - still the yakuza 0 soundtrack !

31. have you ever talked to a person named tom - i knew someone named tommy which i think is close enough

32. something that gets on your nerves - when people :)) are late :))) and they dont notify you that they will be late :)))) so you just sit there for an hour, not sure if they are actually going to show up :)))))))

33. most visited website - twitter & youtube & probably my school website

34. hair color - auburn ish with black roots now lol

35. long hair or short hair - i have rlly long hir and i like it on me ! altho i think short hair is adorable in general

36. do you have a crush on someone - nope

37. what do you like about yourself - i like that i try to view things optimistically, that im decently good at art, that im a big dreamer

38. want any piercings - i used to until i found out im allergic to whatever they make earrings etc out of

39. blood type - tbh they told me and i forgot

40. nicknames - carz, carmine, weeb, dumbass, sunshine (which is still???? the cutest??)

41. relationship status - nonexistent

42. zodiac - virgo

43. pronouns - she/her

44. favorite 📺 show - hmm i havent watched tv in a while but the first that come to mind are b99 and doctor who. also rosy business!!! and scarlet heart (the original chinese one) was rlly good!

45. tattoos - love it on others, not so much myself

46. right handed or left - right!

47. ever had surgery - i mean,,, not that i can remember?

48. piercings - I mean pierced ears but they are closing so ??

49. sports - i love skiing, skating and rollerblading !!! basically i dont like team sport, i like sports where i can just enjoy being outside c:

50. vacation - we are planning a trip to BANFF!!! and im so excited!!! BANFF is such a gorgeous park and its just one of my dreams to go hiking or canoeing there omg ;; ^ ;;

51. trainers - ??? are these running shoes??? i wear them in the summer bc i walk a lot, not so much winter bc canada is freaking cold

MORE GENERAL

52. eating - just gum

53. drinking - green tea, its all i ever drink

54. i’m about to watch - nothing since i need to study (but realistically, im going to watch yu yu hakusho)

55. waiting for - the concert ! and also for my acceptance (or rejection) letters to come in

56. want - a degree that can actually get me a job lol

57. get married - let me actually get into a relationship first before i think about this lol

58. career - dream career? field ecologist or working in a sanctuary or really anything environmental. realistically? teacher or nurse

WHICH IS BETTER

59. kisses or hugs - hugs def

60. 👄 or eyes - eyes

61. shorter or taller - taller

62. older or younger - older, im already immature enough for the both of us

63. nice arms or stomach - ?? neither tbh

64. hookup or relationship - relationship

65. troublemaker or hesitant - a bit of both !

HAVE YOU EVER

66. 😘 a stranger - nope, im literally the most boring person

67. drank hard liquor - yupp, actually more often than i should

68. lost glasses - yeah ^^;;

69. turned someone down - i think? in like elementary?

70. sex on first date - nope

71. broken someone’s ❤️- maybe?? but like in elementary??? so does that even count lol

72. had your 💔 - not really but ive felt super betrayed by friends

73. been arrested - not yet

74. 😢 when someone died - ,,,, yeah

75. fallen for a friend - yes but she straight af so

DO YOU BELIEVE IN

76. yourself - on good days !

77. miracles - not really

78. 💛 at first sight - with fictional characters maybe. irl? nah

79. 🎅 - lmao santa vixx maybe

80. 😘 on a first date - ?? idk let me go on a date first and ill get back to you eventually

81. angels - only friends sweet enough to be angels

other

82. best friend’s name - they all have unique names so let me use their nicknames: uma, sai, rita & veanu, what would i do without them :’(

83. eye color - brown

84. favorite movie - Lord of the Rings & Howl’s Moving Castle !!!! and a bunch of really old movies that im not gonna bother listing

85. favorite actor - i mean i really liked andy lau for a long time. and also wayne lai & sheren tang because i just ADORE rosy business. and ryan reynolds. always ryan reynolds.

#carmen talks #.txt #i literally have no relationship exp dhajdsaljjas #but thank you for tagging me!!!#tag games

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themjinterviews-blog · 5 years

Text

48. Put your hands in the air and say hell yeah. Captain Jack! Johnny Depp!

What motivates you to do what you do? Sheer necessity, usually.

What was the weather like the last time you went out? Hot. It’s Arizona so it’s probably near 100 + sunny.

Do you go for walks often? I’m pretty lazy and try to avoid it. You sorta gotta trick me into walking, like take me to a big shopping mall or something so I inadvertently walk around it whilst shopping.

What color shirt are you wearing? Gray.

What is your favorite type of youtube video to watch? I don’t really watch any. I just use it to occasionally look up songs or to record snippets of stuff to remix songs.

Do you need any new clothes right now? I got plenty.

What’s the next project you are excited to start? I’m working on a nonsensical Adult Coloring Book featuring animals committing crimes.

Do you collect anything? If so, what? Used to collect rocks and Pokémon cards. I suppose in a sense I collect all sorts of art/office supplies.

^and if not, what would you like to collect? Nothing really.

What was the last disappointing thing that happened to you? I don’t know. Suppose work being closed for renovation for 2 weeks kinda sucks because I sort of need cash.

What is something God has healed you of? I don’t really do the whole God/Religion rigamarole... Chances are if we are healed of something, there is a psychological, sociological biological or generally rational explanation.

Have you ever experienced a miracle? Like, a phenomenal coincidence? I think as much as I hate to be a downer, there's probably a lot to do with our perceptions of events

What was the last thing you ate? Lucky Charms.

Do you ever eat food that’s intended for kids? Well, Lucky Charms. I also love pizza rolls and chicken nuggets. But I’m not eating Gerber Peas&Carrot baby foods or anything crazy like that.

What was the last stupid thing you did? Define “stupid”? Most things I do are probably stupid to others but perfectly acceptable to me.

Do you get embarrassed easily? Sometimes.

Are you wearing pants or shorts right now? I never wear shorts.

What are your top three names you like for a daughter? Elliot (this is also my pick for a boy name), Tara, Hazel.

Would you ever film a vlog of yourself giving birth? Ew. Fuck no. Honestly, adopting/fostering sounds way more my style anyway. To be totally frank, pregnancy sounds gross and being unable to take my adderall sounds awful. I’d gain like, a million pounds.

Do you like getting caught in the rain? It’s usually a refreshing break from the heat out here.

Do you think your hair looks best straight, wavy, or curly? Messy, or in a side-pony.

What was the last craft project you completed?: Coloring books for my friends’ kid.

Name 3 youtubers you would like to meet in person: I don’t know any.

Has anyone ever spread an untrue rumor about you? Sociopath ex. Not sure he actually said them aloud to people other than myself, but I was constantly being accused of weird stuff I absolutely did not do.

What’s one rumor you’ve heard about yourself, and is it true? N/A. No idea. Not aware of any relevant or applicable rumors. I literally just keep to myself and do crafts.

What color are your nails painted currently? Not painted.

Do you use a pill box? Jesus, I’m not 80.

List 3 people you know who were loving and then turned cold: it’s kind of generic to assume either of those things as permanent traits. But probably most flings or whatever. It always feels cold when one party loses interest.

Have you filmed a youtube video today? Never filmed one in my life.

Do you leave the house when you’re on your period? Um yes. Life doesn’t stop just because I have cramps.

^If not, why not? -

Have you ever felt threatened for your life? Yeah. Sociopath ex would get overtly paranoid and mistake harmless or unrelated things I did or said to be conspiracies against him. And occasionally my imaginary betrayals would lead to violent words or actions. Like, a bundle of index cards with Carrabba’s menu items and their ingredients, word for word, from the Carrabba’s menu, was somehow coded plots to who the fuck knows to have him killed. Irrational stuff like that.

What are you behind on? Student loans. And when I say behind, I really mean that I actively chose not to pay them.

Do you get enough sleep each night? No because night is my time to be productive, uninterrupted and without bothering anyone. I hate having to stop my thoughts just because other people are making noise or trying to converse with me.

Which did you like better: high school or college? Absolutely college.

Which year of your life stands out to you as the most significant so far? Probably last year or two.

…and why? Big personal transitions and revelations in my life philosophy.

What was the last store you shopped at? Walmart, most likely.

Do you have a favorite pharmacist? I used to back in NY. Her name was Evie. She wished a customer Happy Thanksgiving on Valentine’s Day accidentally once and it cracked me up and we had a running joke about it.

Do you have a favorite cashier at the grocery store? I don’t shop frequently enough and I switch up stores when I do.

What was the last thing you ordered at Starbucks? Probably a toffee nut Frappuccino.

What’s something you discovered recently?

What makes you more creative? Emotional turbulence, certain drugs.

What’s the last magical thing you experienced? Um…Magical? The herd of unicorns crossing the I-10.

What is the theme of your bedroom? None. We are staying in a spare room at a friend’s. But we're actually moving this week because being micromanaged and constantly scrutinized was getting old.

Have you ever lived in a dorm? Yes, for a few years

Who is someone whom you admire, and why? I guess the lady at work, Amanda. She’s like 64 and works open-close every day, and still has a great attitude.

When was the last time you stepped outside of your comfort zone? I don’t know. I test the waters every once in awhile.

Where would you like to travel to next? Nowhere crazy. Just back to New York for the Renaissance Faire.

If you could win three dream vacations to anywhere, where would you go? Portugal—New Zealand—Ireland.

Would you rather ride a camel or an elephant? Camel. They’re fuzzy.

Are you a free spirit? I don’t know what that even constitutes. I think outside the box and I question social conformity and other preset patterns of thought. But I don’t know that has much to do with my spirit.

Do you want to lose weight? I think I’m okay for now.

Which insects scare you, if any? They don’t scare me, they just creep me out …spiders, centipedes, millipedes, roaches…ugh.

Do you think it’s silly to be afraid of a tiny insect? It’s not like I think they’re going to murk me with a sawed off shot gun. I know they’re harmless and therefor not technically scary…but they’re still creepy and unsettling somehow.

Have you ever experienced paranoia? To some degree.

Have you ever hallucinated? Indeed.

Were you raised religious? We were raised Roman Catholic. Didn’t stick.

Have you ever been abused? Psychologically, emotionally, physically and sexually. #sociopathic ex.

Do you think the cops should do more about bullying? I think cops have enough shit to worry about as is and don’t know how effective extensive police interference would even be. I think the anti-bullying message is stronger when conveyed by people closer to kids like teachers, parents, siblings or a celebrity figure they idolize.

Is there a coffee shop you like better than Starbucks? I like them all about the same.

If you could afford to get your hair professionally done, what would you get? Probably dye and highlights. Definite trim of my bangs.

If you had a lot of money, do you think you would use it wisely? Absolutely not. I have little to no money now and I don’t even use *that* wisely.

Do you know any rich people who are very irresponsible? I don’t know many people to begin with.

List five careers that you’d like to have: Lawyer (like A.D.A. Barba!)...Graphic Designer...Psychologist...Self-Help writer...and oddly wouldn't mind being a waitress still.

List five far-out things that you’d like to do before you die: I genuinely do not have a bucket list. If I stumble upon something that seems cool, I do it. Making unrealistic lists won't help my quality of life very much.

Do you dream big? Quite the opposite. I sort of just fly by the seat of my pants. Weird expression. Can’t recall ever having very fixated dreams or visions for myself.

What was your first imaginary friend’s name? N/A

What was the name of the first pet that you loved? Comet. <3

What was the first work uniform that you had to wear? Waitress uniform of sorts. I wanna say it was white button down and black pants.

Do you like to go barefoot? Usually. On some surfaces it’s intolerable and I hate the texture, though.

Do you like the same colors now that you did as a kid? Pretty much.

Do you have a blog? You’re on it, buddy. This is a survey blog.

Do you have a youtube channel? What would I even post videos about?? I assure you, I do nothing that the general public would find entertaining.

#survey

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steve0discusses · 6 years

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Yugioh S2 Ep2: Fire, Screaming, More Fire

Last we left Yugi, he’s yet again endangered his life by ditching school in order to duel some magic weirdo in an abandoned warehouse instead of just calling the police. Bakura’s been staring at the outside of this warehouse for at least a few minutes, probably deciding if it’s worth the effort. A rough decision.

Also, I mentioned this last episode, but it became super apparent in this episode with all these slow pans on this kid, but he used to actually look like a child last season but now looks...different? This awkward teen had a real big growth spurt over the past few arcs he was away. Apparently Bakura joined the local barre class or did Keto or maybe just used dark magic? I dunno.

They very clearly were like “we gotta sex up Bakura, he’s just so hard to look at” but then they changed nearly everything BUT the hair? The one irredeemable thing? The most cringey thing to look at on Bakura? they left it? They made him tall and fit but then left this weird mass of shapes on his head?

Anyways, he came out here just to track the puzzle but realized instead, he got a 2 for 1 package deal today.

(read more under the cut)

...he can just un-possess people? Ring beats wizard staff? (or rod, or whatever it is that this guy is holding off camera in the shot below. I think it was called a Millennium rod or something. Makes sense. It’s gold and has an eye on it.)

Keith has been possessed for...who knows how long, and he has a lot to take in. First off, he’s in a different country when last he remembers he was stranded in the ocean. Secondly, he’s in an abandoned warehouse with a minor which is all sorts of awkward to explain to the police. Third off, he’s playing cards? And then fourth off:

So glad I got to post this Bandit Keith meltdown in July. Even when he’s dumped in the ocean, possessed, trapped in a cult, shipped to Japan, and forced to dress like a knock-off heartless, despite alll of that, the flag bandana remained? You can remove all of Bandit Keith from Bandit Keith, but he will always wear his USA pride like someone who’s originally secretly born in Ontario and is desperately trying to hide it from their Texan Mother in Law.

That or he’s totally bald under that bandanna. Like one of those gas station redneck hats.

Here’s a redneck hat for the people in the room that aren’t from the States:

Like I’m 80% certain that Keith’s hair is not his real hair.

Also, damn, this brand is called “Mullet On the Go” and that is the best business name I’ve ever heard.

Yugi just assumes that Bandit Keith is mad about losing...and it says a lot about how much people freak out in this universe in how Yugi can’t tell the difference between when someone loses a game and when someone is possessed and trying to regain control of their mind. The two type of meltdowns really do look strikingly similar.

Even the bird looks like he’s just embarrassed to be here. Especially when this happens.

OH.

This is possible!?

I just assumed all those pieces welded together magically or something. But apparently this is hella possible!

So, possessed Bandit Keith decides to pull “A Mokuba” Which is what I call it, when someone peaces out halfway through the game and just steals stuff so the other person can’t play anymore. Still the ultimate move. Unrivaled in how effective it is. So far one of the only risk-free sure fire ways to beat Yugi Muto (other than threatening to kill yourself, which is option #2)

Does it count as a death if Pharaoh is already dead? Probably not, huh? Anyway, Ryou Bakura snaps out of it, goes back to Ryou, buttons up every single button on his shirt and jacket all the way up to his neck because he’s like way too much of a prude when he’s nice to show off that he’s been running that 5K, and then...decides to do this????

Is this how he’s been working out this whole time??? Has he just been Footloosing it through warehouses in his off hours, how is he so good at this???

Bakura kinda switches back and forth from being nice and being...Bakura. It’s not clear if Ryou is a face Bakura’s wearing just to deceive Yugi, or if Ryou is doing his best to interfere but just can’t interfere with the important stuff like this:

Yugi, reunited with the many pieces of his puzzle, looks at them with this big dumb smile while, at the same time, Bakura hashes out for us, the viewers, a reminder/recap about everything we learned about the history of this puzzle thing from last season.

TBH it’s a fair way to do recap for an entire season. Instead of having it slapped together at the beginning like some boring book report, instead just have it naturally slip in when you actually need to remember all this content. Although, TBH, if you just started watching Season 2 without Season 1, I doubt any of this recap would have helped make any of this make sense. Especially the part where a Pharaoh had Yugi’s hair. That’s just...that’s sort of a stretch, ya?

And Bakura does all of this within 2 feet of Yugi.

I guess we get to go back to Brain Fortress at some point. Have fun with the floor traps, Bakura. Have fun dealing with every corner of Yugi’s mind including the room that is just that really weird huge bowling pin and 50,000 oversized legos.

And then, Bakura just falls off this platform and flat on his ass, which kind of summarizes this guy altogether. Lots of trying so hard to look cool that it ends up going full circle and making him more awkward than just being...chill.

But, once the dust has settled, and the Bakura ancient curse has left the field, Bandit Keith decides he’s not dead and fully wakes up because the jetlag is apparently very real when you’re possessed.

WHAT!?

WHO!?

Just two rando cans of leaky ass gasoline???

Ah, now we’re watching Yugioh.

Yugi, the genius he is, decides he must save the puzzle. But like...why? Pharaoh’s already dead. He’s not going anywhere. But maybe Yugi never attended enough class to learn that most metals don’t melt in a house fire.

I mean this is magic metal so like...probably needs way more than fire to get rid of it. Probably have to toss it straight into space.

Oh man, the big new chain came back to bite him in the ass yet again--and not just this time, but multiple times this episode it keeps coming back to “why the hell did you get such a strong ass chain!?”

This chain is Yugi’s hubris. His Icarus wings.

Busting through the door with their feet, Joey and Tristan come across a whole lot of random things that happen all at the same time and it’s just them saying WTF WTF WTF over and over again until the episode ends.

They assume that Keith was the only one in this building quickly entering the first stage of Hell, but they had a feeling they should just double check, just in case, and their reaction to seeing their best friend here amongst the fire was “ah damn it, not again.”

Very surprised that Yugi’s hair has held up and has not gone up like a match. Maybe it was hair washing day and so it wasn’t full of grease yet?

Also, it’s nice to think that somewhere, just a few blocks away, Kaiba and Ryou are just having a wonderful day on the soccer field, birds singing, sun shining. A soft breeze in the air.

Meanwhile:

That’s not a joke I made--Yugi really did pass out like this. Which is how this bizarre scene happened:

This show has MOMENTS.

When they realize they should maybe pull the ring out instead of in, they finally got it out.

How did Bandit Keith get it in there in the first place!?

I’m pretty sure I can count on one hand the amount of times I’ve seen someone in an anime carry someone from the front.

Yugi wakes up in a hospital, everyone is covered in anime battle damage (you know how when you get 3rd degree burns they just toss a couple bandaids on your face?), and he has some pretty choice jammies.

The episode ends on a weird note of Tea just getting real dark out of nowhere. OK

Bakura didn’t feel like coming to the hospital? Man. I can never tell with that kid.

Well that was a lot of...fire...right out of the gate, next week, on Yugioh:

Will Pharaoh and Bakura have a wacky Odd Couple situation in the puzzle chamber? Does Yugi change in the tow chain for a series of combination locks? Does Bandit Keith get stranded in Japan without any money, and have to race ducks like he’s in Shenmue?

#yugioh #yugioh recap #photo recap #s2 ep2 #fire #bandit keith #yugi muto #tea gardner #tristan taylor #bakura #like that was a lot of fire for a 2nd episode

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sage-nebula · 6 years

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#Just Paradigm Shift Things, #Just Kova Things

Sequel post to this one, but this time it’s a Kova Edition™. Inspired by conversations with my bff @severalbakuras.

Kova’s ranking of the team, in order from Most Favorite to Least Favorite, is as follows: 1.) Narti 2.) Keith 3.) Acxa 4.) Zethrid 5.) Ezor 6.) Lotor The reasoning is:

Narti is His Person™, the one he is telepathically bonded with, so obviously she is his Most Favorite™.

Note: This is only because Haggar’s not around. Haggar (because she is actually Honerva) is his Most Most Favorite™ and he makes that known by purring like a little traitor whenever he’s in her presence.

Keith pets Kova in just the way Kova likes, and also lets Kova nap on his chest / stomach when he’s lying down in the lounge. Keith is also nice and quiet, generally, and also talks to Kova like Kova is an adult person, and all of these qualities of Keith’s are ones that Kova likes.

Acxa is very similar to Keith, except she doesn’t let Kova nap on her, so that loses her points. She does, however, sometimes dangle things for Kova to play with, which Kova will do on rare occasions when no one else is around to see and he doesn’t lose dignity for it. So he still likes Acxa a lot, just a little less than Keith.

Zethrid talks to Kova like he’s an adult person, but she also pets way too roughly most of the time, and Kova doesn’t like that. So she loses mega points. (She also tries to roughhouse with him, and he highkey doesn’t appreciate that. However, she does give him space catnip sometimes, so. She redeems herself a little.)

Ezor, no matter how many times she’s reminded he hates it, babytalks Kova. Kova is not a baby. He doesn’t appreciate being talked to like one. And yet, Ezor does it anyway, and then complains when he blows her off as a result. So she’s one of his least favorites, especially since she also sometimes tries to pick him up when he doesn’t want to be picked up, and then complains when he scratches her. (It’s her own fault, in his opinion. She should know better.)

Lotor is Kova’s absolute least fave because of the following list of Crimes™:

Has said many, many disparaging things about Haggar, not the least of which being that he consistently refers to her as “the witch.” You know how, in The Sims, characters get little red minus signs above their heads when other sims do things they don’t like? That’s Kova in this situation. Every time Lotor badmouths Haggar in front of him, Kova gets those double red minus signs above his head. (The others disparage Haggar as well, but Kova figures this is because of Lotor’s bad influence and so he’s more willing to forgive them.)

Got himself exiled to Revender in childhood, which led to Kova being sent with him, so Kova was separated from Haggar in the first place.

Did not perform well enough in exile to get himself out of exile so they could both leave.

Left Revender anyway, and left Kova there. (Kova was well taken care of but that’s not the point. The point is he wanted to go back to Haggar.)

Only went back for Kova years later. This was a Crime™, but was also somewhat forgiven because Lotor gave Kova to Narti, and Kova likes Narti a whole lot. Not more than Haggar, but it’s close. Still though. Still.

Once had a large cat tree purchased for Kova that came in an equally as large box, and then had the box thrown away before Kova had a chance to even sit in it once. Possibly one of the most heinous Crimes™ Lotor has ever done, in Kova’s esteemed opinion.

Also just, in general, Haggar doesn’t like Lotor, and Kova loves Haggar, so Kova figures Haggar knows what’s up and follows her lead.

As you can figure, Lotor has tried many, many times to get Kova to like him, to no avail. This started during his exile, wherein Kova was literally the only living soul in his exile he felt that he could actually potentially have companionship with (Diak was there, but as we know Diak did not treat him well at all), but Kova wasn’t having it no matter what Lotor tried. And over the years, Lotor has tried many things, including (but not limited to):

The purchase of the aforementioned cat tree.

Trying to tempt Kova with toys, catnip, and treats.

Asking Kova plainly how they might establish a better relationship (to which Kova hissed with his ears back before returning to grooming himself). And nothing worked. Every now and then he still tries, though. He still tries.

Quintessence is very addictive, and Kova’s immortality is due to being given quintessence when he was younger. He’s not quite as addicted now, but that addiction resurfaces if he’s ever exposed to raw quintessence. When this happens, usually en route to the storage room, Kova sits outside wherever it’s stored for hours (sometimes days) and meows incessantly to try to get someone to give it to him. This video is a good example of what Kova sounds like. Narti does not lose her patience often, but she often loses it whenever Kova has gotten wind of some quintessence, because he is her eyes and his obsession means she ends up “staring” at the door to the storage room until he finally gives up.

Speaking of, Narti always has to cut their connection at night when it’s time for her to sleep. The reason for this is because Kova likes to make it his nightly mission to rampage throughout the castle corridors, and if she doesn’t sever their connection, she’s kept awake by his Feline Zest For Life™ as he sprints hell for leather around the castle doing god knows what for god knows what reason.

Kova has great respect for the Lions. This great respect inspires him to bring the Lions tributes. These tributes are the corpses of small space rodents and pests hunted from whatever planet they land on (whenever they land on a planet), often left in the cockpit of the Lions. (The Black Lion only gets one if Keith was the last one to pilot her. If Kova gets in there and smells Lotor’s scent more strongly, Black does not get a tribute that day.)

The team themselves also get presents in the form of dead rodents, usually left on their pillows. Note that this doesn’t include Ezor and Lotor, because he doesn’t care about them enough to do so.

The space mice, if anyone is wondering, are alive and well and living with Allura and Coran on Hauli. Kova did try to eat one or two when they were first discovered, but Keith told him “no” and Narti got him to spit them out before any lasting harm was done. Kova was disappointed, but he listened to Narti. The space mice are fine. Kova’s kills are other creatures.

The auxiliary team members, even if they think Kova is cute at first, tend to not be very big fans of him after about a week or two in the castle. This is for two main reasons:

The sofa in the lounge, you may have noticed, is white. Kova’s fur is black. Kova’s fur gets all over that sofa (and all over everything else tbh), and the auxiliary teams often have chore duty that requires them to clean it. The couch needs a thorough cleaning about once a week. Everyone takes turns, but the couch in particular is a monster and no one likes having to lint brush up that much cat hair.

They also have to undergo Kova Bath Duty™.

Kova hates baths. Kova really hates baths. He does not like being wet, he does not like being scrubbed down. As a cat, he can do a lot of self-grooming, but sometimes he does still need a bath, and he hates it, and so does everyone else.

Prior to the auxiliary teams being recruited, it was a full team effort to bathe Kova. It literally did take all six of the main team to not only catch him (once he realized it was bathtime, he was out of there), but also to wrangle him into the tub. All of them have scars from his claws and fangs due to his efforts to escape what he saw as unjust torment. Even Narti.

This got foisted onto Auxiliary Team One once Auxiliary Team One was formed, because to be honest it’s beyond Teams Two and Three. (However, those on Teams Two and Three can volunteer to try, and if they succeed it greatly increases their chances for promotion. Many often volunteer because they think it’s a joke, but once they actually attempt the gauntlet they realize it is no joke, it is sheer Hell. So far, no one has succeeded.) Team One members usually go for it in full armor. The main squad thinks this is a wise decision.

Kova has a very nice cat bed that Lotor puchased for him once that had a price tag of 80 GAC. He has never once slept in it. Narti has not had the heart to tell Lotor this.

Kova does not like to eat his food at his bowl. Instead, he will get a mouthful of food, carry it to wherever Narti is, drop it on the floor, and then eat it one piece at a time. This means it is not uncommon to find cat kibble scattered around the castle, particularly since Kova will leave behind pieces he doesn’t like, despite all of the pieces appearing relatively the same to everyone who isn’t him.

To make sure he gets an appropriate amount of exercise, the team has set up a Kova Mode in the training room, which basically consists of about fifty laser cannons set up around the training room that point lasers at various places on the floor and walls for him to chase. The lasers are harmless---even if Kova runs straight into them, they won’t hurt him---but the point isn’t to hit him with the lasers, anyway. The point is to make him run around the room chasing the lasers, which he does, with great determination. (And it is determination, not enthusiasm, how dare you accuse him of being enthused by the lasers. He’s not. He’s not, do you hear him? He’s not.)

Sometimes Kova likes to crawl into the tiny little ducts around the castle, and it is always a challenge of the utmost degree to try to get him out again.

Keith does end up eventually getting the space wolf in this reality as well, albeit under different circumstances and with no secret altean colony nonsense to go along with it. He names this wolf Nyx. This information is relevant to Kova because when Nyx joins the team, Kova decides to show Nyx who is boss pretty much immediately. This results in Nyx placing her paw on Kova and holding him down against the floor---not enough to hurt him, but just enough to show him that she is not going to be bossed about by him. Kova gets the message, but he is not happy about it. As such, he changes his ranking of Most Favorite to Least Favorite as follows: 1.) Narti 2.) Acxa 3.) Zethrid 4.) Ezor 5.) Keith 6.) Lotor As far as Kova is concerned, Keith bringing Nyx to the castle was a Crime™ of the highest order. Bad enough Keith started having a romance with Lotor, but then he brings a wolf to the castle? Unacceptable betrayal. J’accuse! Kova will not forgive this, not ever. (Or at least not for a very long time.) It should be noted that the Black Lion is thrilled about this, beacuse it means that she no longer has dead animals left in her cockpit courtesy of Kova.

At some point after Nyx comes to the castle, Kova is exposed to quintessence again and thus takes up his standard position of yowling outside the door to get some. Nyx figures that Kova might calm down if she sings him the song of her people, and thus begins howling. This does not calm Kova down, but instead results in him yowling more loudly so that he can make sure he is heard over Nyx . . . who then begins howling louder because he must hear the song of her people to be moved by it. All in all, this results in the castle being filled with the dulcet tones of a yowling cat and howling wolf for hours on end. No one is amused by this.

#series: paradigm shift #Kova is a high strung little bitch of a cat and no one will convince me otherwise #he also tries to steal food off people's plates so they always have to be careful #he doesn't permit the auxiliary teams to pet him but they DO have to clean up his fur #(and bathe him. and no one - Kova included - is happy about that)#kova #prince lotor #narti #keith kogane #acxa #zethrid #ezor #also yeah just because i hate most of s6 doesn't mean i can't take what i like and what i like is that space wolf #i LOVE wolves and i've said for AGES that Keith would be a wolf person #i can dig up the post if you want i made it months and months ago #so i'll keep the teleporting space wolf from s6. that can stay #everything else however is trash and can go straight in the dumpster where it belongs tyvm

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pandemicperipatetics · 3 years

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Big Bend National Park

The Verdict: We loved our trip to Big Bend! The scenery is stunning and otherworldly; we were just waiting for the dinosaurs to show up and reclaim their epic territory. We definitely recommend visiting.

WHAT TO DO (2 DAYS):

Ranked starting with our most favorite (though all were amazing):

Lost Mine Trail (5 miles out and back, moderate)

Santa Elena Canyon (2 miles out and back, easy/moderate)

Emory Peak (10 miles out and back, strenuous)

Windows Trail (5 miles out and back, moderate) & Window View (0.4 mile loop, easy)

Russ Maxwell Scenic Drive (22 miles each way)

Note: We did all of these in one (long-ish) day except Emory Peak, which we did on a second half-day.

Lost Mine Trail (5 miles out and back, moderate)

This is a pretty steep walk up a mountain with incredible panoramic views at the top. It really reminded us of Kauai. It was tiring, but absolutely worth it. Take a windbreaker – the summit is windy! There wasn’t much shade and it was very sunny on the way down; we drank about 2 liters of water each on this hike. It took us just over 2 hours.

Logistics:

Parking: Extremely constrained. Get here early or be prepared to wait for one of the 15-20 spots (when we were there the park had blocked off about 5 spots with traffic cones). The wait wasn’t terrible, though; we ate our lunch in the car while waiting about 25 minutes, during which time 4 cars left the parking lot. The upside of the constrained parking is the trail wasn’t very crowded.

Bathroom: None

Location: Trailhead very close to Chisos Basin Visitor Center, the central area of the park. Closest lodging is Chisos Basin Campground or Chisos Basin Mountain Lodge.

Other: There is a sign at the trailhead that picnicking is not allowed on the trail.

Santa Elena Canyon (2 miles out and back, easy/moderate)

A few miles past the end of Russ Maxwell Scenic Drive, this is one of the park’s most popular attractions. You’ll walk through a stunning high-walled canyon filled with water (at least it was when we went!). Some people even waded in. It’s absolutely worth visiting, but there is a surprising amount of stairs/elevation for a hike marked easy. It was unpleasantly hot (low 80s), sunny, and crowded when we went around 3:30 p.m. It’s worth noting the crowds here were different than the other hikes we did – largely unmasked tourists with poor trail etiquette -- perhaps a cost that comes with doing an “easy” hike. We spent around an hour here.

Logistics

Parking: Somewhat limited; we snagged the last available spot when we got there.

Bathroom: Disgusting. Two unisex hole-in-the-ground type structures that stank morbidly.

Location: Trailhead close to Castolon Visitor Center. Closest lodging is Cottonwood Campground. It was about an hour’s drive from Chisos Basin, the central area of the park.

Emory Peak (10.6 miles out and back, strenuous)

This hike is a seemingly unending uphill climb that ends in phenomenal 360 degree views. It starts out on the fairly well-shaded Pinnacles Trail (4 miles each way), which is like a forest of low trees and shrubs with increasingly impressive views of mountain canyons. Once you feel you can no longer move your legs, you take the Emory Peak Trail (1.5 miles each way), which starts out deceptively flat, becomes very steep and rocky, and ends as a rock-climbing-for-novices adventure.

I had read on earthtrekkers that the last 25 feet of the hike are a “rock scramble”, which evoked images of something harmlessly diverting, like a breakfast burrito. In reality, getting to the peak is a seemingly impossible straight-uphill climb; we saw an extremely fit-looking young couple do it with obvious trepidation, and a few people rock-scrambled onto a peak a few feet away that looked a couple of feet shorter. Having braved the insane stairmaster of a trail to get there, we couldn’t just leave; we found ourselves in the latter group, and the rock scramble wasn’t as difficult as it looked. The views were, indeed, epic – but if you’re not into rock scrambling, the Lost Mine Trail is a good substitute.

This took us 5 hours, 10 minutes. We were fortunate to have a relatively cloudy day, with some but not a lot of sun exposure. Between the two of us, we drank 7 liters of water.

Logistics:

Parking: Parking is at the Chisos Basin Visitor Center and is decently plentiful, though it does get crowded as it is shared with several other trails.

Bathroom: The bathroom at the parking lot had normal toilets and was pretty clean. There is also a compost toilet at the top of the Pinnacles Trail, but we didn’t check it out. There is a sign up there recommending peeing outdoors and saving the compost toilet for other uses :)

Location: Right by the Chisos Basin Visitor Center, a couple minute drive from the Lost Mine Trail trailhead.

Other: A lot of people brought walking sticks, which may be useful especially for the steep, rocky descent. The trail warns of bears and mountain lions, but all we saw were a few tiny cute mice at the peak.

Note: The South Rim is another popular hike, known for spectacular views of the Chihuahuan desert, and is also accessed via the Pinnacles Trail. Some people hike the South Rim trail instead of Emory Peak (approx. 12 miles roundtrip) or do both (approx. 15 miles total). We didn’t have enough water, time, or confidence to take on both of these strenuous hikes in one day, but this sounds like an interesting option if you are less into rock scrambling or want to do both.

Windows Trail & Window View

The Window View is a 0.4 mile loop to a scenic overlook. It’s very nice and there is a bench right at the overlook that is a nice place to enjoy a snack, if it’s not too crowded.

The Windows Trail is a descent into a canyon where you’ll get closer to “the window.” The scenery along the trail was mostly cacti and desert-looking shrubs, and since you start with a descent, you then have a pretty steep ascent on the way back up. The hike is decent until the last ~10 minutes, which is awesome. We found ourselves in a gorgeous canyon that was stunning to walk through. Finding your foothold can require some dexterity in certain areas, but it wasn’t too tough. The window is a really cool view and has some boulders that look perfect to sit on for a snack with a view, if it isn’t too crowded.

Logistics:

Parking: Same as Emory Peak, parking is at the Chisos Basin Visitor Center and is decently plentiful, though it does get crowded as it is shared with several other trails.

Bathroom: The bathroom at the parking lot had normal toilets and was pretty clean. I’m pretty sure there was also a bathroom just off the trail not long into the hike.

Location: Right by the Chisos Basin Visitor Center, a couple minute drive from the Lost Mine Trail trailhead. The trailhead starts right next to the Pinnacles trailhead for Emory Peak.

Russ Maxwell Scenic Drive (22 miles each way)

This is a breathtaking drive through a winding canyon that starts around 10 miles from Chisos Basin and extends south to Santa Elena Canyon. There are several hikes along the way; most look flat and unprotected from the sun, so we didn’t try them. This is on the way to Santa Elena Canyon, so if you go there you’ll drive it anyways.

WHERE TO STAY

Having gotten to know the park a bit, we’d recommend (in ranked order):

Chisos Mountain Lodge – the only non-camping accommodations available inside the park. We didn’t stay here because it was booked out, so can’t comment on how good it is. The location is great because it’s so central and right by several of the hikes that start at Chisos Basin. There is also a visitor center, convenience store, and gas station very closeby.

Chisos Basin Campground – the most centrally located camping accommodations. If you want to hit the trails early, this seems ideal. We weren’t able to get a spot here and can’t comment on how nice or not the campground is. We read that it can get pretty cold here at night because it’s in the mountains.

Cottonwood Campground – located by Santa Elena Canyon. If you can’t get a spot at Chisos Basin, this is conveniently closeby to another of the park’s major attractions. Again, we didn’t visit the campground ourselves.

Rio Grande Village Campground – the only other campground inside the park. We got lucky and managed to snag a spot here about 6 weeks before our trip, likely due to a cancellation. This is located at the remote east side of the park and isn’t close to any of the hikes we did; it was about a 45 minute drive one-way to Chisos Basin, and further to Russ Maxwell Scenic Drive/Santa Elena Canyon. There are some attractions here, such as the Boquillas Crossing to Mexico and the Hot Springs, but these were closed when we visited due to COVID-19. There is a gas station, convenience store, and RV campground with electrical hookups. The campground is flat, and part of it has campsites located in clear view of one another. There are other campsites that are more secluded and border what looks like a forest. We had one of the latter, which was lovely due to the privacy from humans, but apparently was VERY well-trafficked by animals. Throughout the night we heard animals walking around, panting, and eating nearby, which we corroborated in the daylight when we found javelina droppings within a few feet of our tent and coyote or fox droppings right by our car! Our neighbors encountered a bobcat by the bathroom in the evening, and we encountered a javelina (which ran off immediately) when we took a late-night bathroom trip. It was quite an experience. Luckily, the bathroom was clean and had drinking water closeby (though it tasted weird).

Terlingua: This seems to be the closest town outside the park and when we checked Airbnb, had the most available accommodations. You can camp, glamp in a teepee, stay in an RV, and I think there were also possibly some homes and hotel accommodations. We drove by and it definitely didn’t look fancy.

Alpine: This was the next big town after Terlingua and was about 90 minutes outside of the park. There are lots of hotels here and we stayed at The Antelope Lodge on the night after we left the park. It was basically a one-room motel room with a fridge and microwave: spare, clean, and met our basic needs. There are plenty of chain restaurants – Pizza Hut, Subway, etc. It seems inconveniently far from Big Bend, so less than ideal to stay here unless on your way out. Alpine also happens to be about a 25 minute drive from the infamous Marfa, TX.

GETTING THERE

If you’re road-tripping, the closest major cities are El Paso or San Antonio/Austin, which are a couple hours away. We took I-20 through Dallas to Abilene and then Midland, which was extremely long, no real views, and the “textured pavement” on I-20 after Abilene was very loud and unpleasant to drive on. We turned south at Midland and the views became gorgeous. When we hit Marathon, TX, we stopped for dinner at Big Bend Pizza. We had about a 20 minute wait and the vegetarian pizza was loaded with veggies and tasted pretty good. We were surprised by how barren Marathon is – we didn’t even realize we were driving through it until we had passed it and had to turn back for pizza – and from there we had a (stunning) 2-hour drive to get to our campsite. We entered the park through Persimmon Gap Visitor Center and barely encountered any hikes until we hit the center of the park, Panther Junction Visitor Center, which is just 3 miles from Chisos Basin.

OTHER LOGISTICS

Wifi/cellular connectivity: We barely had any connectivity in the park. We got cell reception in the Chisos Basin parking lot, Marathon, and Alpine. In Terlingua, we couldn’t get any reception and had to stop and ask someone to direct us to the closest gas station.

Gas: Fortunately, there were two gas stations inside the park. It is a vast park, so helpful to have such easy access. We never filled up in the park, but assume the gas prices were pretty high, as they were when we filled up on our way out in Terlingua.

Food: The Chisos Basin Mountain Lodge sells food, but when we visited their cafeteria was only open until 4PM. The convenience stores also seemed to close early, and we never checked out the groceries available there. We carried all the food we ate; given the very long drive from our campsite to Terlingua, we never left the park to pick up a meal.

Animals: This seemed like a park where it might be beneficial to pick up bear spray. We didn’t have any, but our campground and many of the hikes warned of bears.

Getting oriented: We stopped by the central Panther Junction Visitor Center on our first morning in Big Bend and picked up a park map, which was perfect for navigating through the park.

#bigbend

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notanotherinfjblog · 7 years

Text

The types as people I know of the types (from an INFJ point of view)

INTJ: - no one is better at discussing society and the human mind and politics with at 2am than him - his many coping mechanisms make him look like he’s full of himself to most people when he’s actually a giant ball of insecurities - successfully manipulates people in his work place in such a subtle way over months in order to get rid of a person he deems incompetent for the job - but if he chooses to do so, he’ll tell the person he’s about to get rid of about his plan because he has “a little piece of morality left in him and views this as a courtesy to them” (that person always thinks he’s joking. and then they’re gone 3 months later, oops) - awful sense of humour that is rather endearing - very very emotional and has no idea how to cope with them - give him all the love you have inside, he needs it

INTP: - starts his day with googling stuff and eating cake he baked for himself - it’s nice going on about deep questions with him, but he only listens for the most part. Uncomfortable theories are countered by “No, I don’t believe that”, but it’s obvious that he’s thinking it through. He’ll usually end the discussion with “I’ll have to think about that. I’ll tell you tomorrow what I think of it.” - gives himself such a hard time because he wants to work independently from everyone else, but has everyone’s best interest at heart. So, if someone is sick and still tries to do the laundry or fetch themselves a coffee, he’ll go mad because it stresses him out so much that the sick person deliberately overextends themselves, so he has to hurry up in order to do the things for them in their place but faster - “I’m always right. I know that sounds pretentious, but it’s true. I don’t want to always be right, sometimes I wish I wouldn’t be. But what can I say, I just am always right.” - despite supposedly always being right, he misinterprets other people’s and his own emotions with a confidence 24/7

ENTJ: - the most sociable person to exist - the best liked person to exist - was always elected as representative for group projects, for the class, for the whole school, and now even in local politics - probably our future chancellor in 20 years time - miraculously good at everything - I once asked a friend of him an organisational question to which that friend replied in all seriousness “I don’t know, I’ll go ask Napoleon” and went straight to this ENTJ - stormed into the principal’s office with 30 other people behind him once after he find out that our homophobic principal unrightfully accused a gay guy in our year of pedophilia, so he gave her hell

ENTP: - “What’s the password of this computer?” he asks. “I don’t know, that’s your computer”, one of his students replies. “...what...”, he says as his eyes widen in confusion. - I don’t understand how a person this intelligent can be this forgetful - frequently almost broke his neck by falling down the same and only existing stair in the lecture hall. every. single. week. - invites not only his friends to lunch, but also everyone who is in close proximity at that time, no matter if you’re someone with two doctorates or a college student in the first semester - tells a student waiting in front of his office for half an hour because he’s late to their meeting that he was just so very busy and ran over there as fast as he could, even though there were witnesses who saw him sauntering out of the cafeteria - broke a leg while carrying a friend’s little daughter on his shoulders who wanted him to gallop like a horse

INFJ: - has the same ridiculous sense of humour as me, so many absurd stories and so many puns - gesticulates just as weirdly as I do when she’s telling a story - very sociable despite being socially awkward, yet very bad at socialising - “Do you think ‘I didn’t know what else to do with my life and figured this field of work is just as good as any’ is a good starter for my letter of application?” - sometimes we only communicate in forms of ironic overdramatic gifs - too awkward and too precious for this world and I smile every time I think of her - makes you feel like the best possible version of yourself every time you’re with her - casually drives 2 hours to meet you and doesn’t even mention it a single time - every secret is safe with her - “It usually takes me a few years to open up to people. Except with you, I don’t why. I feel like every time I’m with you, I talk more than during the entire week. What is this?”, she says, which is funny cause I, as another INFJ, feel the exact same way with her.

INFP: - very shy and socially awkward - she sat down right next to me on the first day of uni in an empty lecture hall and it was obvious that she wanted to befriend me as I saw her struggling to find a way to open a conversation, but she just couldn’t do it (she seemed so relieved when I made the first move hahaha) - we don’t talk often, but when we do she admits that she wanted to ask to meet up weeks ago, but only now found the courage to do so and laughs awkwardly about it - it got a bit awkward when we were in a restaurant once and I told her a story and her fork with pasta was hanging right in front of her mouth for a few minutes because she focused too much on listening to me and forgot to eat - I start to miss her as soon as we say goodbye - tries to keep the conversation far from emotional topics because then she’d be incapable of looking you in the eye and giving you a proper answer

ENFJ: female ENFJ: - the most sociable and popular person I have ever met - gives the best hugs - an absolute cinnamon roll with a heart as big as the whole town - makes you feel very special - when we were little I was so scared that I didn’t mean as much to her as she did to me because she had more good friends than I had distant acquaintances (until she suddenly bitterly fought another friend of mine for “stealing” me from her haha) male ENFJ: - the overenthusiastic guy I started uni with who ended up getting his Bachelor’s degree after two years and then skipped the Master because he already had a Master’s degree in physics and is now doing a doctorate for linguistics and I’m like ???? - he likes to ask personal, very disarming questions but in a curious and friendly way - seemed like the weird kid at first, turned out to be an absolutely odd sweetheart who constantly giggles about his own jokes

ENFP: - takes everything you say serious and doesn’t really understand that 80% of the things I say are nothing but jokes - every time I dramatise a slight inconvenience or problem that I don’t actually worry about at all, she thinks I’m crying for help and gives serious advice, which is really really endearing - pricks you repeatedly in class in order to find out how far she can push you until you get angry - has a very loud, but very nice laugh that makes you laugh too immediately - wants to make everyone feel included - one minute, she behaves like a little child, and the next, you wonder when the hell she turned into an 80-year-old wise wizard guiding you on your journey

ISTJ: - loves talking to people and doesn’t realise she’s a bit socially awkward - is a good person in disguise - painted over all the love letters she got from her husband in fear of anyone else ever reading them - her only way of showing you her love for you is by sharing knowledge and giving you interesting little articles she cut out from the newspaper for you - very bossy - can still recite poems she learned in primary school - the only 80-year-old from a tiny tiny village that I ever met who is this open-minded, like “Oh, my son adopted a girl from Africa? Yay, what a sweet grandchild!” and “Our new mayor is an immigrant? I live in such a good town that the people here are so accepting and open, this is great!” and “I don’t understand how two women could love each other, but if they are happy together, then so am I!”

ESTJ: - interrupts a professor in his talking because she felt like she could explain it better. Now she’s working for him, so she got that going for her. - very insecure about coming off as arrogant when she is so overeager to explain things because she really only wants to help people as best as she can - such a workaholic - the first person to offer help with anything and without hesitation (and when I say anything, I mean really anything) - has friends and acquaintances wherever she goes, no idea how - no matter what time it is, she will text you back immediately - “Do you know person XYZ? No? Awww I never really noticed her until last month and then I talked to her and she’s so shy and quiet but so sweet and funny, I love her.” - I’m starting to believe that she has a time turner like Hermione Granger in The Prisoner of Azkaban cause there is just no freaking way that she manages to do so many things in 24 hours, it’s just not possible

ISFJ: female ISFJ: - stops everything she’s doing because something reminded her of a story about her cat that she needs to tell immediately - an absolute sweetheart - always roots for the underdog - smiles a lot and giggles a lot male ISFJ: - a popular yet genuinely nice guy back in high school who, for whatever reason, nominated me to become our class representative and convinced other people to vote for me (the quiet invisible person). And I won? Against the ENTJ I talked about above? I don’t know how. Or why. No matter how much time passes, I’m still so confused about this. - smiles every time he happens to meet a person he knows - I remember how sweet he was to his girlfriend in 9th grade and how they held hands sitting next to each other in class

ESFJ: - spends half of her life talking with shining eyes about every child she knows - judges people for not thinking she is the centre of the universe - overprotective hen - makes you take that sweater with you because “it could be cold outside some time today” when it’s hot as hell - makes all of the 12 people present talk a foreign language if her friend doesn’t speak their native language very well - always means well, but in doing so, she brings everyone close to her in awkward or embarrassing situations without noticing - can’t directly tell someone that she doesn’t like something, so she waits until her spouse or children are out of earshot for a minute and says that they are the ones who don’t like it even if they do

ISTP: - extremely stubborn and independent on the outside - yet thinks of so many nice little things to do for other people, but would never admit that he’s doing nice things for them, so he invents ridiculous reasons to cover up his true intentions - becomes awkward and restless after he did such a nice thing for someone and didn’t get a positive reaction immediately, but is so obviously relieved once he gets that positive reaction (but still denies that he did it for them of course) - very good cook - denies that he has any emotions, but as soon as a slightly bad thing happens you see him struggling internally

ESTP: - the class clown - makes inappropriate jokes - craves to be liked by people but would never admit it - makes fun of you until you fight back, then suddenly turns into your biggest supporter - a very nice person once he finished school and was out of that toxic environment of peer pressure - travelled the world after graduating

ISFP: female ISFP: - dances weirdly in public and doesn’t care one bit - pretends to be drunk women’s friend in order to protect them from creeps - takes the train at midnight to go eat fries in another town because she just felt like it - too cool for you - writes a comment under any photo I post saying that I’m cool, and then she comments from another account under that same photo, tagging her other account how right she is - has a whole arsenal of inappropriate jokes and shoots them all out in the most embarrassing situations - can be absolutely ruthlessly sarcastic male ISFP: - the only guy I’ve ever met who openly says that his favourite movie is a very kitschy movie and then recommends you some other good romantic movies (honestly, his taste in movies is amazing) - said he can’t wait for the day that he graduates from university so that he can finally move up north to his girlfriend, no matter if he doesn’t find a job there and might have to work as a taxi driver or something

ESFP: - the most emotional person on this Earth and unafraid to show it - very open, very nice, very funny and very pretty, so it’s no surprise that 90% of the guys she gets romantically close to treat her like a bag of dirt because they think she’s “easy” until they get to know her and say she’s “too high-maintenance” - makes you feel more alive than you’ve ever been and makes you laugh harder than you ever have - has an inferior Ni induced existential crisis every other week - socially capable as hell but scared as hell of socialising - likes talking about herself a lot, but is also a good listener - more stylish than you will ever be - Person: “Hey, we should totally meet up tomorrow!” ESFP: “Yeah! Looking forward to it!” ESFP to a friend, 5min later: “Oh my god, why did I say that, I don’t want to meet them, oh my god, what should I do?” and is too scared of hurting their feelings so she doesn’t cancel the meet-up and just stays home wallowing in her bad conscience

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bringbackmaes14 · 4 years

Text

I found this “About Me” template here on Tumblr. I’ve reblogged it on my account if you wanna see the blank one.

1: Name - Gracie

2: Age - 19

3: 3 fears - The dark, heights, and spiders

4: 3 things I love - Ducks, math, and singing

5: 4 turn-ons - Being dependable, a good listener, funny, and artistic

6: 4 turn-offs - People who are messy, narcissistic, only care about looks/like me for my looks, and ignorant

7: My best friend - My sister, Caroline

8: Sexual Orientation - Panromantic Demisexual

9: My best first date - I saw Black Panther and got ice cream with my boyfriend

10: How tall I am - 5’8”

11: What do I miss? - South Carolina

12: What time was I born? - 7:57 a.m.

13: Favorite color? - Purple

14: Do I have a crush? - Do crushes on fictional characters count? If so, my current crush is Fatgum from My Hero Academia

15: Favorite quote? - “Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you, and don’t be afraid to be the dumbest one in the room because that gives you the most potential to learn.” - Markiplier

16: Favorite place? - Lexington High School

17: Favorite food? - Ambrosia

18: Do I use sarcasm? - Frequently

19: What am I listening to right now? - My cat purring

20: First thing I notice in a new person - Probably their hairstyle

21: Shoe size? - Women’s 13

22: Eye color? - Hazel

23: Hair color? Dark Brown

24: Favorite style of clothing? - Graphic Tees or Dresses; there is almost no in-between

25: Ever done a prank call? - Nope.

26: Meaning of my url - My URL (BringBackMaes14) is based on one of my favorite animes, Fullmetal Alchemist (Brotherhood is better you can fight me) and one of its characters, Maes Hughes. His death was the first anime character death I experienced, and he died in 1914 which is where the 14 comes from.

27: Favorite movie? - Robots (2005)

28: Favorite song? - There’s a Platypus Controlling Me from Phineas and Ferb

29: Favorite band? Panic! At the Disco

30: How I feel right now - A little bit tired, and my back hurts, but my mood is good

31: Someone I love - My sister, Caroline

32: My current relationship status - Single

33: My relationship with my parents - My relationship with my dad has always been bad. He was pretty abusive. My relationship with him is okay right now, now that I don’t see him but once a year. I’ve always been really close with my mom, and a big part of that is I’ve been disabled my whole life and so I’ve always needed her by my side, so we’re just together all the time. Things are a little rough right now though.

34: Favorite holiday? - Thanksgiving. It has all the same big meals and family gatherings as Christmas, but I don’t have seasonal depression then or gifts staring at me from under a tree for three weeks, driving me mad with anticipation.

35: Tattoos and piercings I have - My ears are pierced

36: Tattoos and piercings I want - I want a rubber duck tattoo, probably just a small one on my shoulder

37: The reason I joined Tumblr - To look at anime memes

38: Do my last ex and I hate each other? - No, things ended on good terms. We’re still friends and we talk occasionally

39: Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night” texts? - No

40: Have I ever kissed the last person I texted? - No

41: When did I last hold hands? - It’s been a few weeks

42: How long does it take me to get ready in the morning? - On a regular morning? Maybe 10 minutes. On mornings that I shower? About 45 minutes

43: Have you shaved your legs in the past three days? - I haven’t shaved my legs in 19 years

44: Where am I right now? - In my living room

45: If I were drunk and couldn’t stand, who would be taking care of me? - Probably one of my sisters

46: Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level? - I only turn songs way up when they have great bass

47: Do I live with my mom and/or dad? - I live with my mom, my two sisters, and my brother-in-law. It’s my older sister and brother-in-law’s house. I have a brother who still lives back in South Carolina where I’m from

48: Am I excited for anything? - I’ve got a virtual Halloween party I’m going to this week

49: Do I have someone of the opposite sex that I can tell everything to? - No

50: How often do I wear a fake smile? - Not very often. I wear my emotions pretty openly

51: When was the last time I hugged someone? - Last night I hugged my younger sister

52: What if the last person I kissed was kissing someone right in front of me? That’s none of my business really. We never actually dated and I don’t talk to her a lot anymore.

53: Is there someone I trust even though I shouldn’t? - Not that I can think of

54: What is something I disliked about today? - It rained while I was in the middle of going on a walk.

55: If I could meet anyone on Earth, who would it be? I’d like to meet J. Michael Tatum. He’s a voice actor in a lot of animes that I’ve watched and I really like his voice.

56: What do I think about the most? - Probably myself

57: What’s my strangest talent? - I wouldn’t call it talent but I can make a really disturbing horse-like noise.

58: Do I have any strange phobias? - I’m afraid of swingsets and trampolines

59: Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it? It doesn’t really matter to me. I don’t take a lot of pictures of myself, but it doesn’t have to do with not liking having my picture taken

60: What was the last lie I told? - “I’m not in a lot of pain.”

61: Do I prefer talking on the phone or video chatting online? - I actually prefer video chatting. It seems more personal.

62: Do I believe in ghosts? - Yes. I’ve seen my twin sister’s ghost several times in my life.

63: Do I believe in aliens? - Yes

64: Do I believe in magic? - No

65: Do I believe in luck? - Yes

66: What’s the weather like right now? It’s 60 degrees Fahrenheit and cloudy

67: What was the last book I read? Mother Knows Best: A Tale of the Old Witch Best by Serena Valentino

68: Do I like the smell of gasoline? - No

69: Do I have any nicknames? - Boo, Gracie Pie, Dot

70: What was the worst injury I ever had? - I broke my spine when I was 16

71: Do I spend money or save it? - I tend to spend it but I’m trying to save it right now

72: Can I touch my nose with my tongue? - Yes. I can also touch the bottom of my chin with my tongue

73: Is there anything pink within 10 feet of me? - Yes, there’s a pillowcase and a blanket

74: Favorite animal? - Panda Bear

75: What was I doing last night at 12 a.m.? - Sleeping

76: What do I think Satan’s last name is? - I don’t know, Smith? We’re probably all overthinking it and it’s something much more simple than Morningstar

77: What’s a song that always makes me happy when I hear it? - Flashy by GameBoyJones

78: How can you win my heart? - By not judging me based on my past and my disabilities

79: What would I want to be written on my tombstone? - Quacked to Death

80: What is my favorite word? - Feshnickit - the act of consuming alcohol until a point is reached where an individual is unable to function normally

81: My top 5 blogs on Tumblr - lady-raziel, just-shower-thoughts, plus-ultra-writings, drawing-prompt-s, and writing-prompt-s

82: If the whole world was listening right now, what would I say? - What that tongue do? (Idk I think it’d be really funny if the whole world just randomly heard that in their heads). If we’re talking like I’m on tv and broadcasting to the whole world and I’m not just telepathic/mind reading, then I’d probably say something about rights for women, colored people, and LGBTQ+ people

83: Do I have any relatives in jail? - Nope

84: Superpower of choice? - The power to affect probability. What’s the probability that I’ll ace this test? 100% What’s the probability that it will rain on my wedding day? 0% What’s the probability that my dad will shit his pants every time he hears the word “dragon”? 80%

85: What would be a question I’d be afraid to tell the truth on? - Have you been handcuffed before and if yes, then why?

86: What is my current desktop picture? -

87: Had sex? - No

88: Bought condoms? - No

89: Been pregnant? - No

90: Failed a class? - Yes. I failed IT twice and Java Programming once.

91: Kissed a boy? - No

92: Kissed a girl? - Yes

93: Have I ever kissed somebody in the rain? - No

94: Had a job? - It wasn’t an actual paid job, but I worked as a student aid in my school’s library in my senior year of high school.

95: Left the house without my wallet? - Yes

96: Bullied someone on the internet? - I’ve bullied people in real life, but not on the internet.

97: Had sex in public? - No

98: Played on a sports team? - I played basketball with a church league for 6 years

99: Smoked weed? - No

100: Done drugs? - I take prescription drugs for my disabilities, but I’ve never “done” drugs, no.

101: Smoked cigarettes? - No

102: Drank alcohol? - No

103: Am I a vegan/vegetarian? - No

104: Been overweight? - I currently am

105: Been underweight? - No

106: Been to a wedding? - I’ve been to 4 weddings

107: Been on the computer for 5 hours straight? - Yes

108: Watched TV for 5 hours straight? - Yes

109: Been outside my home country? - No

110: Gotten my heart broken? - Yes, but not in a “I got dumped or turned down” kind of way. Someone close to me told me something really devastating.

111: Been to a professional sports game? - I once went to a Clemson Tigers vs University of South Carolina Gamecocks game, which was a pretty big game for South Carolina

112: Broken a bone? - I broke my L5 vertebrae

113: Cut myself? - Never on purpose, but yes. I sliced open my thumb knuckle once and had to get 3 stitches.

114: Been to prom? - I threw my own prom at home my junior year of high school because my school’s actual prom was 3 days after my spinal surgery so I wouldn’t have been able to go. I went to my school’s prom the year after and the theme was Emerald City from The Wizard of Oz

115: Been on an airplane? - No

116: Flown by helicopter? - No

117: What concerts have I been to? - I once went to a concert at my church for a Christian barbershop quartet called Soul’d Out

118: Had a crush on someone of the same sex? - Yes

119: Learned another language? - I took Spanish classes for 3 years and French for 6 years

120: Worn makeup? - I’ve worn makeup before for stage performances but I don’t like to wear it regularly. Every once in awhile I’ll wear some mascara.

121: Lost my virginity before I was 18? - No

122: Had oral sex? - No

123: Dyed my hair? - I’ve dyed my hair purple, and blue. I liked it better purple.

124: Voted in a presidential election? Voting day for the 2020 election is in 8 days, and it’s the 1st presidential election I’ll be old enough to vote in, but I don’t think I’m going to vote.

125: Rode in an ambulance? - Several times. I had a lot of seizures when I was a little kid. My longest one lasted at least 2 hours.

126: Had surgery? - I’ve had 2 major surgeries: I had my gallbladder removed and I had a spinal surgery to fix my broken vertebrae where they screwed 3 of my vertebrae together and used part of my hip to make a bone graft to cover it.

127: Met someone famous? - Unless the guys from Soul’d Out count, I don’t think so.

128: Stalked someone on a social network? - Definitely not (and if I had, I probably wouldn’t tell you guys)

129: Peed outside? - Do Porta Potties count?

130: Been fishing? - Yes. I went once when I was maybe 8 years old, and I was the only one of my siblings to catch a fish. I caught it by the eye socket though and its eye fell out. I’m still not sure exactly how that happened.

131: Helped with charity? - Yes. I don’t remember what the charity was called, but I worked in a warehouse once to collect shoes for homeless shelters

132: Been rejected by a crush? - Yes, but it was when I was 11 so I don’t know if that really counts

133: Broken a mirror? - No, but I’ve punched a hole in a wall before

134: What do I want for my birthday/Christmas? - The number one thing on my list is some Artemis Drawing Figurines. They have adjustable and interchangeable hands, and they come in both male and female shapes.

#about me #this is about me #all about me #what do you want to know #any additional questions

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universi-tea · 7 years

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With so many people from around the world talking about there experiences in school, it can be a little confusing to figure out what it all means. All states have different standards so things can vary a lot, but here’s a general guide to help you figure out what the heck your American friends are talking about.

Read on after the cut to learn more about grade levels, classes, high school, college, and a lot more!

Grade Levels and Ages

Preschool is optional, but many children attend. It teaches basic skills like shapes, colors, and numbers, plus helps to develop social skills and prepare children for school. It often only lasts until lunch, depending on the parent’s schedule.

Kids typically start the first year of school, kindergarten, when they’re five years old.

Grade level + 5 is a pretty good estimation of someone’s age.

K-5th grade is considered elementary school.

6th-8th grade is considered middle school, but 6th grade classes are often still held in an elementary school building.

9th-12th grade is high school

Freshman year = 9th grade, Sophomore = 10th, junior = 11th, and senior = 12th

Types of Schools

Public schools are where the majority of students go. They’re free to attend and government funded, so depending on the funding they vary in quality. These schools do not require uniforms but do have dress codes.

Private schools are, you guessed it, privately funded. Student’s must pay tuition or receive scholarships to attend, and some schools require admittance exams. They may be religion-based, and may also have a more rigorous curriculum. Uniforms (or strict dress codes) are usually, but not always, required.

Charter schools are publicly funded but privately operated. They often act as an alternative to under-performing public schools in the area, and may offer a specialized curriculum.

Magnet schools, much like charter schools, are publicly funded but offer specialized a curriculum which draws students from across districts (like a magnet) to attend. They usually offer a focus in a certain subject, like science, for students with special interests and aptitude for that field.

Home schools, are exactly like they sound. Students learn at home, but still must follow state guidelines for class requirements. A special license is required in order to teach your children at home, and students must take yearly standardized exams to show they are on track. Classes may be taken through special homeschool work books, videos, online, or classes offered at churches, community centers, or colleges.

Schedules

In elementary school, students typically stay in the same classroom with the same teacher for all of their core subjects. They’ll leave to go to recess, gym/PE (physical education), lunch, and sometimes electives like music or art.

Middle and high school classes are taken in seperate classrooms and students get to choose their schedules relatively freely.

The school day typically starts around 8 and ends around 3.

Depending on the school, students may take either four classes for a semester and switch after winter break or eight classes all year.

The same classes meet everyday with these schedules.

There’s also something called block schedule where block ‘A’ will meet Monday, Wednesday, and Friday with block ‘B’ on the others day, and then switch the next week.

Classes

Core classes are considered English, math, science, and social studies. Students are required to have a certain number of classes in each to graduate.

Students are also required to take a certain number of electives, some of which must fit certain requirements like foreign language and fine arts.

Every state is different, but as an example the high school graduation requirements for North Carolina are, as taken from the NC site: 4 credits of English (I,II,III,IV); Foreign Language not required for graduation, but 2 credits required for admission to a state college; 4 credits of math (Algebra I, II, Geometry & one beyond Algebra II), 3 credits of science (A physical science, Biology & Earth/Environmental Science), 4 credits of social sciences (Civics & Economics, World History, American History I and American History II), 1 credit of health/physical education, and 6 elective credits (chosen based on student’s interest and availability at their school).

Especially in high school, students have lots of electives to choose from. Anything from interior design to baking may be offered, depending on the size of the school and funding.

Students may also take advanced placement (AP) classes. They’re more difficult, and last the entire academic year (even if other classes are on a semester schedule). They also count for college credit.

Honors classes are also more rigorous courses, but do not count for college credit.

Students and their advisors choose classes together that fit the student’s future goals.

All classes have some sort of exam at the end of the term.

Grades

GPA (grade point average) is used in high school and colleges. Each grade is given a corresponding number -- 4 for A, 3 for B, 2 for C, 1 for D, and 0 for a failed class (add one point for AP classes). These are averaged together, leaving you with your GPA.

Grading systems vary, but a pretty standard scale is the 10 point. By this, 90-100 points is an A, 80-89 is a B, and so on.

A pretty common question was if it was actually possible to get straight A’s all through high school, and as for grades in the overall class -- totally possible. Not a breeze, but possible. It’s unlikely that someone would make an A on every assignment in every class all four years, but that’s not out of the question either. It all depends on the person!

SAT and ACT

These are standardized tests meant to gauge how well a student will do in their first year of college. They are not the same as end of year exams. different colleges prefer different tests, so students may take one or both, depending on where they're applying. The SAT covers writing, critical reading, and math. The ACT covers English, mathematics, reading, science, with an optional essay.

Extracurricular Activities

Having extracurricular activities that show your interests, talents, and ability to manage your time well is a really important part of college applications. This is why nearly every American student is involved in multiple extracurricular activities.

High school sports can lead to college scholarships, which is why they’re a popular option. If you’re really talented, colleges may recruit you and give you a ‘full ride’ (pay all of your tuition) to get you to play for them.

Other popular activities are special interest clubs, yearbook, choir, debate, after school jobs, and volunteering.

College

College is the term used conversationally for what is called ‘university’ in most other countries.

Community or junior colleges allow students to earn an Associate’s (two year) degree for a much lower cost.

Traditional four-year colleges typically have “university” in their title, and students earn their Bachelor’s degree from these.

After undergrad (earning a bachelor’s degree), some students go to grad school. For professions in the medical and law field, students must go to med or law school right after graduating because, well, would you want a 22 year old doctor?

For other fields, grad school ranges from basically required to find a job to totally unnecessary.

Programs can take anywhere from two (master’s) to five or more for a doctorate degree.

In college, students will always have a major and often have a minor.

A major is your major field of study, which will usually be listed on your degree (ie, major in biology to earn a Bachelor of Science in Biology), though sometimes a more general department (major in advertising for a Bachelor of Art in Communications) will be listed instead. All schools and programs are different as far as what will be listed on a student’s degree.

A minor is another area of interest which is used to fill other hour requirements for graduation. This will not be listed on the degree, and may either support and help refine a major (fine arts minor + elementary education major = art teacher), or may just be to explore interests outside of a student’s field. Minors are not required at all schools or in all programs; students may choose to double major or simply take independent electives to fill hour requirements instead.

At many schools, students aren’t required to declare a major until their junior (third) year. The first two years of classes are typically general education, like math and English, that are required for all degrees.

Hopefully that cleared up some of your questions, and if you have any more I would be happy to help!

#mine #studyblr #study #study tips #school #studyspo #academlets #medblr #lawblr #new studyblr #elkstudies #heysereena #us #school system

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platonic-bellarke · 6 years

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Do all of the number asks

Wow ok 1: Full nameSarah Abigail Large 2: Age163: 3 FearsDrowning, being considered an annoying friend, being ignored 4: 3 things I loveMusic Frank iero Art5: 4 turns onTattoos Dark hair (on guys on girls anything)Blue eyes Being able to listen to me rant and talk about things I love 6: 4 turns offRepublicans Homophobic people Ignoring me Hypocrisy 7: My best friendShe goes to my school 8: Sexual orientationBisexual9: My best first dateI have never dated anyone lmao10: How tall am I5’4 and a half11: What do I missMy Chemical Romance and my best friend in elementary school and middle school 12: What time was I bornI think around 12:35 in the afternoon 13: Favourite colorAnything blue tbh (pretty much cool colors)14: Do I have a crushYes, I actually have 2 lmao here’s this girl and my school and this guy at this other school 15: Favourite quote“Sometimes you have to kind of die inside in order to rise from your own ashes and believe in yourself and love yourself and become a better person” or “All your quirks, all your problems-even your depressions and your failures-it what makes you, you” both by Gerard Way (or just “keep running” from danger days) 16: Favourite placeMy bed with my dog and cat listening to music 17: Favourite foodI love banana and grapes 18: Do I use sarcasmOccasionally 19: What am I listening to right nowThe white album by Weezer (specially the song L.A. girlz)20: First thing I notice in new personEither hair and facial features or, if I talk to them, their personality 21: Shoe sizeLike 8-9 (in US women’s)22: Eye colorLike blue, green, grayish 23: Hair colorbrown with some natural blonde highlights 24: Favourite style of clothingI love flannels and black jeans and beanies and hoodies (idk just like that aesthetic)25: Ever done a prank call?Yep27: Meaning behind my URLThe joke of bellarke being platonic and “platonic bellarke” being an oxymoron 28: Favourite moviePretty much any marvel movie (mcu) especially winter soldier or Ragnarok 29: Favourite songFamous last words, mama, the ghost of you, bulletproof heart, literally any thing by My Chemical Romance A Rush of Blood to the Head and Clocks by Coldplay Knights of Cydonia by Muse Jesus of Suburbia by Green Day Say it ain’t so and My Name is Jonas by Weezer Ode to sleep by Twenty One Pilots (I couldn’t narrow it down to one sorry)30: Favourite bandMy Chemical Romance (coldplay and Muse and close seconds)31: How I feel right nowAnxious (over nothing) tired, a little sad32: Someone I loveFrank iero, my best friend, my family 33: My current relationship statusSingle (hmu)34: My relationship with my parentsReally good 35: Favourite holidayHALLOWEEN 36: Tattoos and piercing i haveNone :(37: Tattoos and piercing i wantI want my ears and nose pierced. I want a My Chemical Romance, Coldplay, and muse tattoo (and many more)38: The reason I joined TumblrI made my first account in 2013 because my friends had tumblr and I want to blog about bands and tv shows. I made this one in 2016 because I want my tv shows and movie posts to be separated from my band blog. My band blog is less active now and has less followers lmao39: Do I and my last ex hate each other?Don’t have an ex. Never dated anyone 40: Do I ever get “good morning” or “good night ” texts?Nope :/41: Have I ever kissed the last person you texted?No42: When did I last hold hands?My sister will grab my hands randomly haha43: How long does it take me to get ready in the morning?For school like 10 minutes but like if I’m going out and actually care about my appearance like an hour to an hour and a half 44: Have You shaved your legs in the past three days?Nope45: Where am I right now?The bath46: If I were drunk & can’t stand, who’s taking care of me?I have never drank (and tbh don’t plan on it) but probably my friends (?)47: Do I like my music loud or at a reasonable level?In my headphones: loud. In a public area: reasonable bc I don’t want to bother anyone 48: Do I live with my Mom and Dad?Yep I’m only 1649: Am I excited for anything?YES I AM MEETING AND SEEING AWOLNATION, JUDAH AND THE LION, AND DAN AND PHIL 50: Do I have someone of the opposite sex I can tell everything to?nope. I have 0 guys friends bc I go to an all girls school 51: How often do I wear a fake smile?Lmao when ever I talk to someone who talks for too long or when I’m talking to teachers 52: When was the last time I hugged someone?Like 2 weeks ago not sure 53: What if the last person I kissed was kissing someone else right in front of me?I never kissed anyone lmao54: Is there anyone I trust even though I should not?Haha yep55: What is something I disliked about today?My body 56: If I could meet anyone on this earth, who would it be?Frank iero (or Gerard Way or Chris Martin) 57: What do I think about most?How much i hate my body and how much I miss my Chemical Romance 58: What’s my strangest talent?I don’t really have any talents (I can whistle really well) 59: Do I have any strange phobias?Ladybugs60: Do I prefer to be behind the camera or in front of it?Either (I want to become a film maker or an actor so)61: What was the last lie I told?Told my friend I was busy the other day when really I just wanted to be alone and watch Lucifer and runaways 62: Do I perfer talking on the phone or video chatting online?Depends on the person but usually phone 63: Do I believe in ghosts? How about aliens?No for ghost yes for aliens 64: Do I believe in magic?Nope65: Do I believe in luck?Nope66: What’s the weather like right now?Super cold but I like lt (like 33 degrees and sunny) (0 degrees if your a Celsius person)67: What was the last book I’ve read?I am reading the umbrella academy comic by Gerard Way currently but for a book... I don’t really like to read books (for school I just read summary’s lmao) so the last full book I read was probably the hobbit in middle school (I love that book)68: Do I like the smell of gasoline?Yes 69: Do I have any nicknames?Abea, Dabby, anby70: What was the worst injury I’ve ever had?I got a cut on the top of the head when I was little and my dad had to stick it back 71: Do I spend money or save it?I try to save it but it usually doesn’t happen 72: Can I touch my nose with a tounge?No 73: Is there anything pink in 10 feets from me?Yes, a shampoo bottle 74: Favourite animal?CATS75: What was I doing last night at 12 AM?Watching Stephen Colbert 76: What do I think is Satan’s last name is?Either trump or Morningstar (I have been watching too much Lucifer Help)77: What’s a song that always makes me happy when I hear it?Vampire money, famous last words by My Chemical Romance Mr. Brightside by the Killers 78: How can you win my heart?Liking the same music or shows and movies as me/Being able to listen to me rant about things I either love or hate 79: What would I want to be written on my tombstone?Idk something meaningful not sure yet 80: What is my favorite word?Idk I like the word nonchalant81: My top 5 blogs on tumblrI refuse to narrow it down to 5 82: If the whole world were listening to me right now, what would I say?Listen to conventional weapons by My Chemical Romance 83: Do I have any relatives in jail?Nope84: I accidentally eat some radioactive vegetables. They were good, and what’s even cooler is that they endow me with the super-power of my choice! What is that power?Either teleportation/Shrink and grow at will/or change my appearance and look like whoever I want 85: What would be a question I’d be afraid to tell the truth on?Why I am sad86: What is my current desktop picture?I have like 10 back grounds but my main ones are my meet and greet with 30STM, a pic of frank iero I took at his show, and a pic of Matt Bellamy I took at a muse show 87: Had sex?No but I would like to 88: Bought condoms?Nope89: Gotten pregnant?Nope and hopefully I never will90: Failed a class?Nope91: Kissed a boy?Nope, but I would like to 92: Kissed a girl?No, but I would like to93: Have I ever kissed somebody in the rain?Nope94: Had job?Nope95: Left the house without my wallet?Yep96: Bullied someone on the internet?No97: Had sex in public?Nope98: Played on a sports team?Yep, I swam and played soccer when I was younger 99: Smoked weed?Nope but I would like to100: Did drugs?No101: Smoked cigarettes?No and I don’t want to102: Drank alcohol?Yes, my parents will let me try their drinks. I have never liked them 103: Am I a vegetarian/vegan?I don’t eat any meat besides occasionally chicken 104: Been overweight?Yep105: Been underweight?Nope106: Been to a wedding?Yep107: Been on the computer for 5 hours straight?Yep108: Watched TV for 5 hours straight?Yep 109: Been outside my home country?Yep110: Gotten my heart broken?Kinda, one of my friends told me some pretty awful shit that made me hate myself and convince my self I have no friends so I hate her now and we used to be very close but whatever 111: Been to a professional sports game?Yep112: Broken a bone?I broke my finger once113: Cut myself?No but I have tried 114: Been to prom?No but I will this year !115: Been in airplane?Yep (was actually on one yesterday haha)116: Fly by helicopter?Nope117: What concerts have I been to?Boi so many. I have been to over 15Including Fall Out Boy Three Times Panic! At the Disco 3 times Twenty one pilots 3 timesWeezer 3 times (a 4th this summer)PVRIS 3 timesMuse30 Seconds to Mars Coldplay Frank iero and the Patience Bastille twice Judah and the lionBlink-182Green DayMaroon 5 118: Had a crush on someone of the same sex?Yep, I currently do119: Learned another language?Nope 120: Wore make up?Yes, I love makeup 121: Lost my virginity before I was 18?Nope, I’m only 16 though 122: Had oral sex?Nope123: Dyed my hair?Yep124: Voted in a presidential election?Nope125: Rode in an ambulance?Nope126: Had a surgery?I got my wisdom teeth removed does that count (?)127: Met someone famous?Yep, 30stm(Jared Leto), Tyler Joseph of twenty one pilots, panic! At the Disco, misha and Jared and Jensen from Supernatural, and Victoria justice 128: Stalked someone on a social network?Yep129: Peed outside?Yep130: Been fishing?Yes I hated it 131: Helped with charity?Yep 132: Been rejected by a crush?I have never asked anyone out 133: Broken a mirror?Nope 134: What do I want for birthday?Concert tickets, a s.o.135: How many kids do I want and what will be their names?I never want kids omfg 136: Was I named after anyone?I don’t think so 137: Do I like my handwriting?Hahah no 138: What was my favourite toy as a child?I loved Thomas the train shit139: Favourite Tv Show?Either the 100, sherlock, or Gotham 140: Where do I want to live when older?I would like to live in Europe for some time in my life but I’ll probably stay in Tennessee for most of my life but I would love to travel everywhere 141: Play any musical instrument?No but I am trying to learn bass 142: One of my scars, how did I get it?There’s a scar on my knee from when i was climbing rocks to get to a rope swing and I scraped my leg on a rock 143: Favourite pizza toping?Extra cheesy haha (also cold pizza is better)144: Am I afraid of the dark?No I love the dark145: Am I afraid of heights?No I LOVE heights omg 146: Have I ever got caught sneaking out or doing anything bad?No bc I don’t really like doing bad things 147: Have I ever tried my hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end?Yep haha148: What I’m really bad atTalking about my feelings 149: What my greatest achievments arePassing some hard classes, swimming a 50 freestyle in under 30 Seconds 150: The meanest thing somebody has ever said to meOh boy that “friend” to me that:-no one cares about me-I have no close friends -I’m selfish -I take what I want from others -I pride myself on being nice 151: What I’d do if I won in a lotteryUse most of it to have a safe future but some for concert tickets and band stuff 152: What do I like about myselfTbh nothing, maybe the fact that I am ok at makeup (?)153: My closest Tumblr friendDon’t really have any close Tumblr friends. MESSAGE ME IF YOU WANT TO 154: Something I fantasise abouta My Chemical Romance reunion, what it would be like to be in a relationship 155: Any question you’d like??

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danielrabaiolifitness · 4 years

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Bench Press Programme For Ultimate Strength and Size Gains ^^

If you’re still doing straight sets for 5×5, don’t be surprised when your bench press stops going up. That’s not to knock five-sets, they’re great and safe. They’ll get you benching more than your body weight. They probably won’t get you to 1.5 times your body weight and they definitely won’t get you to 2 times.

If you want a better bench press, you need a better programme. This is exactly what is in this article, a programme to obtain full potential from your bench.

This article is for intermediate to advanced trainees. If you’re a man who can’t bench at least 1.2 times his bodyweight, or a woman who can’t bench at least .75 times her bodyweight, you’re not ready for the programme, although items 2 and 3 on the list might still be helpful to you.

Cluster Sets:

Cluster sets are a specialized training technique in which sets are divided into several (usually three) mini-sets, with short intra-set rest periods between them. In this programme, you’ll be using two different types of cluster sets for two different purposes: Building strength and practicing your technique.

Strength Cluster Sets:

For strength clusters sets, you’ll use a weight that’s roughly your 3-rep max, or around 90% of your one-rep max.

Perform two reps, then re-rack the barbell.

Rest 20 seconds, then grab the barbell and do two more reps.

Re-rack and rest another 20 seconds, then perform one final rep.

That’s one strength cluster set.

You’ll do five reps total at a weight you could normally only lift for three reps.

The advantage of strength cluster sets is clear: you can lift heavy weights for greater volume than traditional strength training methods allow.

By lifting heavy, you’re recruiting your high-threshold motor units on every rep, rather than just the later reps in each set. By doing five reps per set, you’re able to get enough volume while keeping your workouts short.

Technique Cluster Sets:

Technique cluster sets are designed a bit differently from strength cluster sets. They’re designed to let you perform a large number of reps with minimal fatigue, focusing intently on your technique with each and every rep.

You’ll be using a lower weight, roughly your 6-rep max or around 80% of your one-rep max.

Set a timer for ten minutes.

Do one rep, then re-rack the weight and rest 15 seconds before the next rep.

Repeat until the timer goes off.

As you start to get fatigued, raise the rest periods, to a maximum of 30 seconds.

If you reach a point where you feel like you’re not back to your full strength after 30 seconds of rest, end the set early.

The beauty of technique cluster sets is that in the space of ten minutes, you can perform about 20-30 reps, at a weight only slightly lower than you use in your working sets, all with good form and without producing enough fatigue to interfere with your strength training.

By re-racking and resting between each rep, you’re able to practice the entire movement (including picking up and re-racking the weight) with each rep rather than once per set, and by taking a short break to collect your thoughts with each rep, you’re able to focus on your technique better.

Check yourself & your form:

At least once a month, record footage of you training your bench press, preferably on one of your technique days.

Capture a couple reps each from the front, rear, side, and 45-degree front/side angles.

Review the footage after your workout and review it again prior to the next few bench press sessions. Specifically, make sure you’re doing the following:

Bar Path: A vertical bar path over the chest puts you at a mechanical disadvantage, making the bench press unnecessarily difficult and causes shoulder impingement. You should have the bar follow a slightly diagonal path, such that it’s over your chest at the bottom of the movement, but over your shoulders at the top.

Chest: Your chest should be raised towards the ceiling via arching your back (while keeping your glutes on the bench) and rotating your rib cage up slightly. This shortens the bar path and points your body so that you’ll naturally press at a slight diagonal.

Shoulders: Keep your shoulders tucked in. Squeeze your shoulder blades together like you’re trying to hold something between them. When you push the bar, your shoulders should be pressing into the bench, not pressing towards the floor on either side of the bench.

Grip: Keep the bar low (the bar should be resting on the heel of your hand, not mid-palm) and outside on your hands (you should feel most of the bar’s weight on the outer side of your hands, below your pinkie and directly above your wrist). That keeps your wrists straight and the bar directly above your wrist and forearm.

Elbows: Your elbows should be tucked in so that they are directly below your wrists and they should stay in that position for the entire eccentric (descent) portion of the bench press. They should not be tucked in so far that they touch your torso at any point in the movement.

Elbows, Part 2: For the concentric (ascent) portion, things get slightly more complicated. The concentric should look like the eccentric in reverse, except that your elbows should flare out for a brief instant around the middle of the concentric portion. Done properly, this flare-out should be subtle enough that someone would have to be looking out for it to notice it.

Feet: Foot positioning is crucial for bracing the body and supporting leg drive. Your feet should be slightly behind your knees. There are two ways to do that: either your feet can be tucked under your thighs with the heel raised off the floor, or spread out to the sides and flat on the ground.

Leg Drive: The purpose of leg drive is not to directly aid in pushing the bar, and you shouldn’t be pushing upward with your legs. Instead, leg drive should push your body back towards your head. Done right, this helps keep your butt pressed into the bench while creating tension in the upper body, which helps the muscles of the upper body exert more force. Done wrong, it just makes your glutes lift off the bench.

Consistency: The bar should be following the same path on every rep. It can be useful to touch the bar to your chest for this purpose, if it doesn’t touch your chest at the same place every time, you know you have a consistency issue.

Push Yourself Away from The Bar: This isn’t a specific technique fix so much as a mental technique. Instead of thinking about pressing the bar upward, imagine you’re pushing yourself away from the bar, down into the floor.

To Pause or Not to Pause

Pausing at the bottom of each rep saps your strength and deprives you of momentum, making it harder to lift the weight back up. If your only goal is to bench as much weight as possible, don’t do it.

However, pausing at the bottom does provide a good opportunity to spot-check your form. For that reason, you may want to pause at the bottom only on technique days and only for the first few minutes of your technique workout.

On the other hand, if you’re training for a power lifting meet or you just want to measure your max bench press in accordance with competitive power lifting rules, you should always pause at the bottom.

Auto-Regulation:

Giving your body the right amount of exercise can be tricky. Train with too little volume and intensity, and your progress will be slower than it could be, maybe even non-existent. But push yourself too hard, and your training program is worse than useless.

Training too little is better than training too much. Most training programmes include more rest days than they need and/or have pre-planned de-load weeks every four to six weeks.

There’s a whole family of techniques that can give your body precisely the optimal amount of growth stimulus it needs. They’re collectively known as auto-regulation techniques and elite competitors use this to accelerate their results.

Auto-regulation allows you to increase or decrease the training stimulus on the fly, mid-workout. Rather than making those decisions based on a subjective feeling or spur of the moment decision, auto-regulation use pre-planned rules to systematize this process.

For this programme, you’ll be using two such techniques (reactive de-loading and conditional contrast training).

Reactive De-Loading:

When you fail to make the required number of reps on a set, you lower the weight for the remaining sets of that one exercise, just for the remainder of that workout.

Additionally, the remaining sets will be performed at high-speed, allowing you to work on building explosive strength while minimizing time under tension and therefore training fatigue.

Here’s how that works with cluster sets.

In this programme, you’ll be doing 3 sets of 2-2-1 clusters per workout. You’ll initiate a reactive de-load if you fail to hit five good reps- either you can’t complete the fifth rep, or the fifth rep is incredibly sloppy due to fatigue, or the fourth rep is extremely sloppy due to fatigue so you don’t even try for number five.

For the bench press, you’ll want to lower the weight by about 30% for the remaining sets. You’ll also limit all remaining sets to four reps: a 2-1-1 cluster set, without that final rep.

Example: you’re benching 225 pounds, but on the first set you fail to make the final rep. You lower the weight to 165 pounds. The remaining two sets are performed as 2-1-1 cluster sets, at high speed.

Now let’s consider the opposite scenario. Suppose you complete all fifteen planned reps and after the last rep you feel like you could have kept going?

The way you do that is by incorporating post-activation potentiation (PAP), also known as contrast training. PAP is a training method wherein a heavy, low-speed compound movement is paired with a low-weight explosive movement using the same movement pattern. In this case, the bench press with plyometric push-ups.

Here’s how you’ll be using it:

When you complete your third and final strength cluster set, if you made all fifteen reps and completed the last rep with good form and you feel like you have enough left in you that you could do another set, immediately get on the floor and do a set of 5-6 plyometric push-ups right next to the bench.

Here are the workouts:

You’ll be bench pressing three or four times a week, alternating between strength days and technique days. You’ll also be starting all of your workouts, including non-bench press workouts, with a warm-up specifically designed to support bench pressing.

The Warm-Up:

Pushups: 10 reps.

Wall stick-ups: 12 reps.

Jump squats: 8 reps.

Rear foot elevated kneeling hip flexor stretch: 10 reps per side.

One-armed dumbbell rows: 8 per arm.

Seated cable incline-decline press: 12 reps.

Cobra pose: 4-5 reps, hold for 5-10 seconds each time.

If you’re doing a bodyweight workout at home, replace the cable incline/decline press with 8 pike pushups. I would also perform this workout once a day on non-workout days.

Strength Workout:

Bench press strength cluster set

Sets: 3

Reps: 2-2-1

Rest: 20 seconds between mini-sets; 90-150 seconds after the last rep

Notes: Apply reactive de-loads and conditional contrast training as needed.

Goblet squat

Sets: 3

Reps: 8-10

Rest: 90-150 seconds

One-armed dumbbell row

Sets: 2

Reps: 8 per arm

Rest: 30 seconds

Dumbbell walking lunges

Sets: 2

Reps: 8-12

Rest: 30 seconds

Dumbbell shoulder shrugs

Sets: 2

Reps: 6-8

Rest: 60 seconds

Side plank

Sets: 2

Time: to fatigue each side

Rest: 20-30 seconds

Ab suction (on hands and knees)

Sets: 2

Reps: 12-16

Rest: 20-30 seconds

Note: on every exercise except the bench press, you should be stopping 2-3 reps short of failure. The idea here is to give the rest of your body enough of a workout to maintain muscle mass boost the testosterone and GH response from this workout, without compromising your recovery on the bench press.

Technique Workout:

Bench press technique cluster set

Weight: roughly your 6-rep max, or 10-15% less than what you use on strength days

Time: 10 minutes, or until fatigued

Rest: 15-30 seconds between reps. Start at 15 seconds and raise by 5 seconds every few minutes.

Yates bent row

Sets: 3

Reps: 8

Rest: 60-90 seconds

Military press

Sets: 3

Reps: 6

Rest: 60-90 seconds

Barbell front squat

Sets: 3

Reps: 8-12

Rest: 60-90 seconds

Dumbbell hammer curls

Sets: 3

Reps: 8-10 per arm

Rest: 60-90 seconds

Front plank

Sets: 2

Time: to fatigue

Rest: 20-30 seconds

Mountain climbers

Sets: 2

Reps: 20-30

Rest: 20-30 seconds

The Schedule:

You’ll be doing each of these workouts two days a week, which means you’ll be benching four days a week. To prevent overtraining, you shouldn’t be lifting heavy in the gym for any additional days, but I would add in a bodyweight workout for metabolic conditioning and to hit your slow-twitch fibres.

Here’s an example of how that would look for someone working a standard Monday-Friday schedule:

Mon: Bodyweight workout

Tue: Strength workout

Wed: Rest or brief cardio workout

Thu: Technique workout

Fri: Rest

Sat: Strength workout

Sun: Technique workout

Note: if you find yourself plateauing on this schedule, add two or three hundred extra calories on workout days, reduce bench pressing frequency to three times a week.

Week 1:

Mon: Bodyweight workout Tue: Strength workout Wed: Rest Thu: Technique workout Fri: Rest Sat: Strength workout Sun: Rest

Week 2:

Mon: Bodyweight workout Tue: Technique workout Wed: Rest Thu: Strength workout Fri: Bodyweight workout Sat: Rest Sun: Technique workout

Finally, once a month, add in an extra rest day and test your one-rep max on a day when it’s been three days since your last bench press workout.

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