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aronarchy · 1 year

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https://twitter.com/butchanarchy/status/1428192146603929603

A 101 on the basic structure and function of the State:

[image ID: A flow chart titled “Basic Structure and Function of the State.” Created by: Lee Shevek @/butchanarchy

The chart has “Politicians” linked to “The Wealthy” at the top. They are connected by a box reading “Same interests and often the same people.” “The Wealthy” is linked to “Wealth = access to resources.” Below this is “Centralisation of Power” linked to “Each power imbalance (hierarchy) creates dependence on the State structure for those who have more power and a source of resource extraction from those who have less.”

This links to: “Government Services, such as forest service, welfare, infrastructure.”

Third box: “Keeps populace too busy and tired to have energy for other projects or engaging in politics.” This links to: “Pointless jobs, long work hours, unnecessarily difficult working conditions.”

Final box: “Provides distractions, naturalises the State via propaganda, manufactures public consent to State actions.” This links to: “Media/Entertainment Industry.”

/end image ID]

https://twitter.com/butchanarchy/status/1428198109172043780

This chart is based off of a thread I did earlier this year with the same general information. You can find it here in written form if that’s easier for you:

https://twitter.com/butchanarchy/status/1428372465760145414

Disclaimer that this is a simplistic and basic framework for understanding the state, it is not (and cannot be) entirely comprehensive or capture every aspect of how State power works because… it’s a singular chart lol. Just made it to help folks get a basic grasp on it.

https://twitter.com/butchanarchy/status/1354964276348219393

Okay here’s a breakdown on State power. *deep breath*

The State is represented by wealthy people who get paid by other wealthy people to work in the State to further their interests. The State can only function if it has these four things: police, prisons, borders, and armies.

The reason a State needs these four things is because it must have a claimed citizenry, and a non-citizenry. It needs borders to make external distinctions of that, it needs prisons to manage internal distinctions of that.

And, of course, a State needs police and armies to enforce those distinctions. Otherwise, those wealthy people who represent it would only be some random people declaring things in a room together. And they wouldn’t be wealthy either.

So, every law that is ever passed is fundamentally either a police order, or a military order, as it falls on those two arms of power to actually enforce it, regardless of what it is.

Wealth isn’t money. Money, as we’ve seen, is a social construct that is meant to reflect/stand-in for wealth. Wealth is access to resources. We were all equally wealthy on earth once. It was only the consolidation of POWER that makes so few of us wealthy now.

Even were something as nebulous as the stock market to vanish tomorrow, the wealthy of today would still be wealthy because of their access and control over resources. Those resources were and are continually stolen from the rest of us.

The State uses other constructs beyond wealth or citizenry to divide and conquer a populace. It has structural patriarchy to create imbalance of power among genders. It has structural white supremacy to create imbalance on the basis of socially constructed race.

In settler colonial States, it has structural colonialist practices to create an imbalance of power between settlers and Indigenous people, whom the State also needs to displace to create its power and set its borders.

Imbalances of power are what keep the State stable. They need a hierarchy that goes into as many relationships as possible, so that many people involved are dependent on the system to maintain whatever power they have, even as they are being crushed by someone else’s power.

All that said. The State is also porous. It consists entirely of people just showing up to work. Government workers AND non-governmental workers. Were any substantial amount of people to just, collectively not show up to work one day, it would all stop in its tracks.

Even with all the State’s power in both armies and police, those forces only ever amount to a tiny percentage of the population. Were the above thing to happen on large enough scale, there would be nothing they could do. So, what they actually do is project their power.

What’s stopping anyone (who isn’t morally opposed) from shoplifting when they need to? Not the fact that a cop is on every corner. But that a cop could be on any corner. That’s what projecting power means.

So, what about electoral politics? Well, electoral politics is based on this simple myth: that we can all reduce our political agency to a symbolic demonstration (voting) every few years, and that in return the State will limit its OWN power.

But, as we know, this is not how this works. Power congeals. Power protects itself. Any time that the State ever comes across something that threatens its sovereignty, it crushes it. It will never limit itself in self-preservation regardless of what its official policy says.

Electoral politics, when said and done, is allowing space in political discourse for people to blow off steam, but at the end of the day still go home and yield to State power. Investing it with legitimacy because, you know, at least they got to yell about it.

Capital also works on you, from the other side of things. You have to work, hustle, grind for 40 hours a week to make a living. What do you do when you’re exhausted by that? Buy something mind-numbing and check out until the next shift starts.

That is how they also keep people from engaging in their political agency. They burn you out, burn you up, and keep you going until you drop. Keep giving you scraps and then taking them back from you until you die or otherwise check out from the world.

They keep weekly work hours long and hard, even when it doesn’t make sense (ex: making cashiers stand all day). The more you are likely to see that the system doesn’t function for you, the harder they will work you to make sure you don’t resist.

And always on the outside of the grind is the ever-present threat of houselessness, starvation, death, for you or your loved ones. And the inside of a jail-cell if you do resist. Where they’ll keep working you at literally cents/hour. All of this so you’ll submit to their power.

This is, of course, simplified and incomplete, but it was all that could be done on a single Twitter thread! If you have anything you’d like to add, reply or qt and I’ll retweet you if I think it’s a solid and accurate point!

#repost of someone else’s content #twitter repost #butchanarchy #theory #the state #anarchism #anti capitalism #abolition

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ashbi-creative-studio · 1 year

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To get your readers’ attention and keep it, you must ensure that your blog posts are designed well. The design of a post is just as important as the words themselves. Your post should be easy to read and look good on any device. The design of your blog post is what will keep your readers reading. Here’s how to ensure that your posts’ writing is top-notch. Related: Writing Tips for Content Marketing Write a headline that is clear and concise. The headline is the first thing your reader will see, and it’s essential to keep it clear and concise so readers can get a general idea of what you will discuss in your article. Your headline should also be relevant to the content of your blog post—otherwise, they’ll click away before they get to read anything! When writing your blog post, think of it as a story. Your readers want to be entertained and engaged, so ensure you hire1 them with your account. Write in an active voice; using passive voice can make your writing sound bland. Interlink your posts To build a beneficial blog, you must include links to other related blog posts rather than just a collection of posts. A great way to do this is to include links in each post that points to related posts on your blog. This will allow people interested in a specific topic to quickly find more information about it. Related: 10 Principles of Good Web Design Choose the right tone for your audience. When writing blog posts, one of the most important things you can do is choose the right tone. But your tone still matters even if you’re writing about something lighthearted, like baking or travel. How you deliver information makes a difference in engaging your readership. If your brand is known for its humour and wit, you’ll want to ensure that spirit is reflected in your blog posts. Often, if you want people to take your content seriously and read it carefully rather than skimming over it, it is best to write with a professional tone in an active voice. Include a call to action You should always add a call to action in your blog post. A CTA prompts readers to take action, like signing up for an email list or reading further into other related blog posts. Your blog posts should have an end goal they want their readers to reach—and there’s usually some benefit associated with achieving that goal. Goals might be getting more leads for your business, learning a skill or purchasing a new product or service. Related: How a Local Business Can Use a Website to Grow Break up text with small paragraphs and subheadings One of the most basic ways to break up large blocks of text is with subheadings. Like chapter titles and subtitles work in books, subheadings give readers an idea of what they’re about to read before they do it. You want to keep your readers engaged with your blog post. To do that, you need to break up text into small paragraphs, and this will make it easier for readers to digest the information and absorb it. Format your text to be readable on all screen sizes If you want to design a blog post that’s easy to read, then it’s essential to use a 16-pixel font so your text can be read on all devices. You also want to use a font that will not strain your reader’s eyes. Use Contrast White on black can be too much contrast for some readers (especially those with vision problems). The darker gray text allows for more contrast between the text and the background light gray, still being easy to read. Keep paragraphs narrow and short. In addition, text paragraphs should not be too broad. A comprehensive section is more challenging to skim than a short paragraph because there are too many words per line. Too many long paragraphs can make text hard to follow because of how much information is crammed into one area. Related: Is Your Marketing Copy Connecting to Your Audience? Conclusion After reading this article, you should feel confident that writing and designing a blog post is not as complicated as it might seem. http://dlvr.it/Sf4c39

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astralhugs · 4 years

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Hi! May i request the RFA + Saeran reacting to an MC that is too stressed bc of school/work so she starts crying? ♡

I’ve added bonuses bcs yall seemed to enjoy it and its also an apology for taking too long TT enjoy~~

masterlist

requests : open

YOOSUNG

* omgomg he understands

* HE RELATED TO YOU SO MUCH

* You’d both usually study together, take breakd together.

* It wasn’t too bad.

* Well...until final exams were coming up and Yoosung’s finished sooner before yours even started

* So you didn’t wanna bother him anymore.

* Third day of studying accounting and you passed out on the desk 🤩

* Yoosung was awake in the middle of the night, getting water when he saw you weren’t in bed.

* He checked on the desk to see you, asleep on the desk with some notes and reviews scattered around.

* He also saw some dried up tears probably from a few hours ago due to stress.

* He gently picks you up, checking the clock.

* 1.37 AM.

* The next morning, he woke up extra early to give you breakfast in bed.

* When you were about to leave, he would kiss you for good luck.

* Will help you when you have some problems during studying!

* Would even stop playing LOLOL just to help you study!!

Bonus (since most of yall loved these~) :

MC! Wahh! I can’t believe you made it this far! You did your best this school year, I believe in you okay? I can’t help you study all the time but I’m always cheering on for you~ All the best!! ♡

ZEN

* he was a good student up until middle school

* so whenever you needed help with a problem uhh he feels bad but he can’t solve it either.

* Unless its like language or a reading comprehension then he’s good at those!!

* A few days before your presentation, about some character analysis that you were still reviewing and ZEN had just gotten a new role.

* Did I mention its a major character role?

* You didn’t want to distract him so...you decided to try studying on your own.

* It was until you got too stressed out about it and started crying.

* You weren’t able to memorize it and had to look at the slides all the time.

* Zen finished his practice when he came back to see you with teary eyes, in a dark room, your laptop with full brightness.

* Zen immediately turned on the lights, worried your eyes would get hurt.

* He saw your eyes were still puffy and immediately held you in his arms.

* “Babe, you could’ve asked me...I would’ve made time for you.” he softly whispered.

* He lets you cool down for a while and asks you with a soft voice to show him your presentation.

* He started to read through it and realized what was wrong with it.

* He started to explain, little by little. Not wanting to stress you out again

* Rewards you with little kisses, be it on the lips or on the neck idk

* Its relaxing studying with him.

BONUS : Babe! <3 why are you stressed out? TT Oh! You’re studying? Take it easy~ I know exams can be important, especially during this time but please make sure to take care of yourself! Drink water and eat, okay? Love youuu mwah mwah mwah

JAEHEE

*empty i’ll write hers soon once i know what to write for her*

BONUS : Oh dear...are you still up studying? MC, I’m working late tonight so I can’t help you but I hope you’ve eaten and have been taking care of yourself well! Please know I’ll support you even from the C&R Building to my place and always will!

JUMIN

* He’s smart.

* Like high IQ smart

* Its canon

* Anyways, he saw that you were struggling with your business classes.

* One day, you were finishing up your graphs when Elizabeth got on top of it and scratched it.

* Tearing the paper apart.

* You widened your eyes, you were too tired to scold Elizabeth so you just sat there and shut down for a while until Jumin came home.

* He saw Elizabeth in the front door looking bad and poiting her paws at you.

* Jumin saw you, sitting down, staring at a torn paper and immediately saw what happened.

* He placed Elizabeth on the couch and went up to you and hugged you from behind.

* From there, you started crying.

* “I-i worked so hard on it, I’m not blaming Elizabeth but-“

* “My love, don’t worry. I’ll help you, okay?” he said in his calming voice.

* Starts from scratch with him again.

* It was easy for him because 1. he’s the ceo in line 2. he has a high IQ 3. hes a business man? tf?

* Very relaxing to study with him, though its not often, he’d try to make time to teach you<3

* Won’t yell at you if you get it wrong.

* Rewards you like kisses and ruffling your hair everytime you get an answer correct.

BONUS :

Its you. I’ll be running late tonight, Assistant Kang needed a few more files finalized before showing them to my meeting tomorrow so I won’t be able to come home early tonight. If you’re studying, please be sure to drink and eat somethinf healthy. I’ve asked Mrs. Kim, our maid to watch Elizabeth to watch her to make sure your work won’t be destroyed so I hope that helped. I’ll see you soon, my love. Wait for me.

707

* ANOTHER SMARTY

* Idk if it was mentioned but I remembered reading somewhere he had a high IQ

* WELL

* Your compsci class was teaching you how to code with C++

* You struggled with ‘HELLO WORLD!’

* Well...Saeyoung and Saeran just reunited so...you obviously didn’t want to bother both of them.

* Saeyoung was peeking around to check if you were eating when he saw your laptop, opened with C++ on it.

* “MC! Where did you learn how to hack?” he asks cheerfully.

* You turned around, tears in your eyes, “Why can’t I do it?”

* Saeyoung was shocked, he saw the piles of papers and the textbook.

* He smiled, while holding your hand tightly, grabbing a chair and sitting down next to you.

* He scanned through your code and immediately saw the error.

* He fixed it for you and taught you the basics.

* Dropped some easy hacking materials for you to impress your peers.

* Would definitely have a study session together! All three (four if Vandy wants to join) once every two weeks.

* Saeran would read the textbooks his brother would give to him and try explaining it to you while Saeyoung does the computer stuff.

* Studying with the choi twins? I’d like that.

BONUS :

DUNNNNNNN! Is my precious MC sad??? :((((, O-oh no, I didn’t mean to make you more sad! Ahh I’m not making this easier for you huh? MC, I hate seeing you sad...even if its just from a screen. Studying may be a bit hard. I was there. But I will always support and love you. Even if we are from different universes so take care, okay? :>

SAERAN

* OOO BIOLOGYYY

* You were learning about flower languages and you knew Saeran was good at it...while you weren’t.

* So you decide to ask him for help.

* Well...that day, he was in a bad mood but wanted to calm down so he thought teaching and reviewing with you would calm him down a bit.

* Well it for sure didn’t buddy.

* You showed him the book and he scanned through them.

* “How do you not get this? Are you dumb? An airhead?”

* Ever since he stopped drinking the elixir, he never really said those words to you so...it was kinda painful for you to hear that.

* He saw the tears in your eyes and regretted what he said.

* He snapped out of it and immediately held you tight in his embrace, “I’m sorry I’m sorry....” he mumbled, stroking your back gently.

* Tries not to get mad when you get it wrong.

* Would secretly put candy under your book everytime you get a question correct.

* “Princess, is that a candy you placed under your book?” he secretly placed it there.

BONUS :

Ah. Don’t ever think of yourself as an airhead when you’re studying! You’ll feel better when you don’t do that! Whenever I scold you...scold me back! Don’t just accept it and cry- hhh, please take good care of yourself even when you’re studying. I um...I love you okaythisisembarassingbyeee

OMGMGMFKFKF IM SORRY I ANSWERED TO THIS SO LATEEEE I JUST FINISHED SCHOOL LIKE TWO WEEKS AGO AND FOUND INSPO TODAY TT SO SORRY

requests : open~

have a great week guys <3

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urmomsstuntdouble · 3 years

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ok not sure how comprehensible this post is gonna be but! regarding the languages discussion, here are my thoughts about the anglo americans. be warned this post is long as fuck, but thank you so much if you do read all of it, and i’d love to hear your thoughts about it as well!

so i just wanna start with alfred’s name- alfred. i think he may be named after alfred the great of wessex, who may or may not have been the first king of england. he wasn’t technically the king of a unified england that we’d think of it as today- he was the king of wessex, as his title implies, but there was a point at which he was “in charge” or however you want to put it of most of present day southern england. anyway this presents the first of his issues with his identity. he’s permanently tied to britain beyond just his culture and most common language- his name is a reminder of who he “belongs to.” of course most people don’t know that and they just think it’s a little odd that this 19yo miles morales type is called alfred but eh, what are you gonna do.

then you have the fact that there’s no official language in the US, which makes things a little harder for him. he’s never sure what language he’s supposed to be speaking in, as the human representative of america. he thinks it should be english, seeing as that is the lingua franca, but there’s times when he just doesn’t vibe with english as a language. i mentioned before that he struggles with keeping his (spanish) dialects straight (which @cupofkey summed up as immigrant-kid-syndrome and that’s exactly it), although its not limited to just spanish. he also has a hard time keeping other shit in line, to the extent where his thoughts are a messy jumble of languages, concepts, images, and feelings. this is most evident when he’s nervous, because his accent will get super thick and he’ll start just saying the words that pop into his mind, even if they’re in another language or straight up not words at all. the only peson who can understand him when he’s doing this is canada. both of them are countries of immigrants, although they are different in who immigrated and when, so they dont have the exact same nervous tick language, but it’s close enough that they can communicate well. it’s sort of like a more global version of europanto? might sound something like this to an outside observer, but again, more global (also for the video they dont start talking until 1:17).

america and canada also have a sort of inextricable bond because of the first nations people. the first tribe that comes to mind are the members of the okanagan national alliance, which straddles the present day border of british columbia and washington state (this is also something america shares with mexico). it’s caused a lot of pain between them personally, and with the okanagan nation. just as the border itself is vague- though the us-canada border is more respected than the okanagan borders- the parts of their identities are also vague. they feel bits and pieces of themselves ebbing and flowing, and matt and fred have gotten into arguments about it because they struggle to define their identities and they just want to be able to explain themselves to themselves. but you know that often winds up causing friction with the okanagan nations, because whatever issues with identity regarding their indigenous people fred and matt are having. they’ve got it worse, only in a sort of..negative image. like whereas fred and matt feel it on the fringes of themselves, making it so they cant tell where they end and other nations begin, the okanagan nations feel themselves being slowly eroded. none of them want each other to suffer, though, because the okanagan people can be americans and canadians and okanagans all at the same time.

this also applies with the american border with mexico, seeing as there’s some areas in the southwestern us where spanish is spoken more than english. when he’s down there, freddie finds it easier to communicate than when he’s speaking english. chicano is his language just as much as english is- he just sort of became able to speak it when the west was colonized, and he already knew spanish for business purposes, so there ya go. there are some issues with that though because the spanish in the west is primarily from mexico and central america, whereas the east is more from the caribbean- like how miami has a large cuban minority. so he’s got a weird sort of chicano english too, because it’s no longer “pure” chicano. pure is a very loose term there because there is of course variation within southwestern chicano speakers. angelinos don’t have the same chicano as nuevomexicanos. anyway i think he’d get it mixed up with spanish proper or spanglish a lot because of the similar phonetic rules. i’m not sure about any indigenous tribes who have land that straddles the us-mexico border, but that’s probably not alfred’s biggest worry with That Border. actually no i think he might purposefully talk in an aggressively chicano dialect whenever someone in the government wants to talk to him about the ice concentration camps. like he usually doesn’t try that hard to keep the wrong language out of his mouth but he will go Full Chicano, just to make them uncomfortable and to try to get the point across that he can literally feel the physical pain of the people trapped at the border in those camps. but this also causes some tension with the countries of origins of those people, seeing as they can also feel that pain. there’s quite a lot of discourse between america, mexico, guatemala, honduras, and el salvador about that, because none of them quite know what to do. they argue again about whose pain it is and how they should, as nation personifications, deal with it.

another thing that he struggles with where matt is concerned is with his indigenous languages. the languages of his northernmost people are the most at risk and endangered, and some are actually in the process of dying. he hates that, because as much as he wants to act like he speaks just SCE and quebecois, he doesn’t. he knows all of his people’s languages, and it makes him feel like he’s losing his identity a little bit when his indigenous languages start fading away. the worst part about this is that he doesn’t even always know it’s happening until the fading feeling kicks in, so sometimes he’ll just make a point of going up to the northwestern territories and try to hang out with the oldest inuit people he can find to try and have a chat. and it’s ROUGH communicating at first but when he can get back into it he feels more solid and defined. i think this isn’t unique to him, and that the other countries in the americas do this too, but bc of the way civil rights work in canada, it’s a little different for him. because indigenous canadians are recognized as a certain class of citizen, indigenous canadian governments have a collective legal bargaining power and could theoretically ask for legal protections from the ottowa government for their languages. however, this doesn’t apply to the northwest territories, so that’s why matt goes there specifically to talk to old ass indigenous people. their languages aren’t protected legally in the same way that french and quebecois are, so he sort of takes it upon himself as mr canada to do preserve the languages and history. it’s especially sad when a language dies out forever, because then he’s one of very few people who still speak it and if he wants anyone else to know about it he’d have to teach them. but since the language is dead, there’s no one for him to get help from. the people who once spoke it are gone or use other languages now, and it’s all very weight of the world on his shoulders. i think this makes him very sad, because of the weirdly smug left wing anti-american nature of canadian nationalism. like he understands exactly the sort of pressure freddie is under but also has a cultural pressure to not say anything about it or even offer to help.

this is also why he has the most boring and basic idiolect out of perhaps the entire anglosphere- even arthur has a distinct posh dialect that he uses most of the time. matthew talks like a textbook. a very polite and anxious textbook, but a textbook all the same. and matthew williams actually kind of likes what alfred jones has going on, but canada doesn’t. canada fell into british hands after the end of the 7yr war, which happened to be the war that sparked the american revolution (speaking of which the ages for america and canada make no goddamn sense, ask me about it if you want more detailed thoughts). loyalists fled to canada, and developed a superiority complex around the idea that they weren’t ungrateful. then it was about how they weren’t slave owners- which isn’t entirely true- and in the present day, even in hetalia canon, canadians often define themselves in relation to america. that is, they are better than americans because of xyz political thing. right now, to quote the anime, it’s “our free healthcare and lack of gun crime, eh.” this also poses some difficulties for canada in terms of culture, though, because if that much of their national pride comes from being better than america, what do they have to make a name for themselves? for anglo canadians, that’s a more complicated question. for quebeckers, it’s that the’re not anglo canadians. but quebec is also annoying as fuck and canada actually has nightmares about there being a successful secession movement there, so. i don’t know what the average anglo canadian thinks of quebec seeing as im not an average anglo canadian, but i do know that i hate their accents so now matt does too, although he will respect their right to have their language protected by the ottowa government (because quebec, that’s why).

anyway i do have one last thought and that’s that nobody will ever really know america or canada like they know each other. they struggle with a lot of the same issues regarding language, but america has just sort of given up. in some ways, matt’s jealous of him, and in others he’s so glad he’s not the united states. but they do understand each other a lot as the anglo americans, and as some of the number one destinations for immigration out of the entire world. so yeah, i dont have any specific strong conclusion ot this post, but would absolutely love to hear your thoughts about languages in the americas! shit’s wack in this neck of the woods my dudes.

oh actually one last thing. i think america and canada struggle a bit with their identities because they dont fit into any one specific group, linguistically or otherwise. they feel a bit isolated from the rest of the world specifically due to the intensity of the melting pot effect, and even within their own countries sometimes. people will be like oh you’re too white or you’re too black or you’re too dine or too much whatever other culture, so they often feel isolated from that stuff because they are all of those things, and have a deep connection with all of it. anyway they’ll always be there for each other

#hhh this is Long #good job if you read all that its just pure unfiltered thoughts about the anglo americans #anyway sorry if the stuff about indigenous languages was weird or wrong #i have family who are dine so i tried to echo what they've told me about their relationships with that aspect of their heritage #as white passing dine latinos #but also just thinking about how fucking painful it must be to be a country #like my heart really goes out to them #specifically these lads #just because of the treatment of minorities within their borders..like how in the us you have so called patriots who are violently racist #im not sure how exactly i think stuff like domestic genocide or ethnic cleansing works in hetalia #but i think it might be analogous to self harm #idk #anyway enjoy this #hetalia #hws #hws america #hws canada #hws mexico #sort of #hws languages #this took..way too long to write but eh i enjoyed it #ceros posting

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tosikoarts · 4 years

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SFW Alphabet | Kikuta

Ogata is next. You can check tosikowrites tag for more. Warning: there’s a lot under the cut.

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Kikuta is so serious that it comes off extremely funny. He hasn’t been in a stable relationship for quite a while so getting back in the game gives him headache and upset stomach. For a person that pompous, with a damn jacket made of collected guns, he acts awkwardly sweet and romantic, and he is also a little afraid that it will push his potential partner away. In short, Kikuta is a mess.

Opposite to his own state, Kikuta wants to bring peace to his loved one’s life. He tries to pull off image of ideal man, one that will take off his jacket and cover a puddle with it just for his partner to stay clean. Seeing encouragement makes him more confident, less nervous, and therefore more refined. You’ll be drowning in attention, gifts, praise. Later, Kikuta gets comfortable with his own clumsiness and awkwardness and just laughs it away.

Relaxing together is a must. Impromptu rest in hot springs, not in those controlled by establishments, but in wild ones, is a great example. Reading aloud? Yep. Chilling under the blankets? Yep. Massages and back rubs? Yep. Kikuta manages to make everything wholesome. Thankfully, war couldn’t kill his kindliness.

He voluntarily takes on the role of a guardian angel to protect his loved one from world’s harshness. Kikuta wouldn’t want them to see what he has seen - pain, cruelty, disease - so he made it his goal to improve himself and the world around.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

The highest possibility of becoming Kikuta’s friend is either being soldier of 7th division or being nurse that patched him up few times. He is rarely seen out of his missions so chances to get acquainted with him randomly on a street are low.

Kikuta is the friend that bails you out of problems, no matter how serious they are. In a street fight, he will kick any thug’s ass and make them beg for mercy. If you lose the bid while gambling, he will offer his own money and give you a chance to win some back. Overall, you can always rely on him.

Get ready for philosophical conversations over the glass of whiskey. He likes to talk on a variety of topics, especially abstract ones, like life and death, moment and eternity, love and hate. Most of the reasoning comes down to Kikuta’s military experience but can you blame him for it? Many allegories with weapons: “time flies like a bullet”, “life is just being at gunpoint without realizing it”, etc.

Most likely, he will be looking for a person whom he can serve as a father figure. Kikuta needs someone to look after thou he will rather die than admit it.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Kikuta has to be in specific mood to initiate cuddles and receive them. If he is busy, he will give his partner a faint smile and ask them to wait a little. Surprise, he doesn’t like spooning since it deprives him of the possibility of seeing their adorable face. Half-spoon sounds good and gives more opportunities like kissing his loved one in the top of their head or ruffling their hair. Honeymoon hug is the all time favorite that he likes to initiate right before falling asleep.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

Mediocre in both cooking and cleaning, but, boy, does he want this domestic life? Absolutely. Kikuta dreams about getting away from military, finding a new, maybe, not that exciting, stable job, and settle down with his favorite person and few pups. Hardly anyone knows about it, but thought about a small yard where one can sit and watch the slowly falling leaves in autumn or play in a first snow with his own child in winter makes him so soft. Waking up in the comfort of own bedroom, cooking dinner for the whole family, wandering around his own house… Kikuta can’t wait for it.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

Comprehensive information about the break-up will be presented at its best in oral or written form. Kikuta addresses everything they are interested in, from reason to the wish to stay friends since his care for their feelings is infinite and he wouldn’t want to leave them without proper closure. After parting ways, Kikuta gives them space to recollect themself, let off the steam, and recover but he plans to come back in their life as a good friend (if they are okay with that, of course).

Kikuta is one of the people that got your back even after bad break-up. You could throw a tantrum, tell how much you hate his guts, and still he will check up on you, protect your name behind the back, and treat you with the same respect as always.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

Typical traditional looks on marriage, would want to get married after 1-2 years of relationship. After the appearance of attachment, Kikuta can’t imagine himself with anyone else even if there is a more suitable partner right under his nose. His trust in them is immeasurable: their worst flaws do not don't bother him that much, and when they do, Kikuta tries to gently persuade his loved one into more appropriate behavior. Their past doesn’t matter either unless it is associated with straight-out high treason. Like he doesn’t justify anything but doesn’t seem to emphasize attention on the past wrongs. He is one of the most committed man around, really.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

You have to have Kikuta’s heart set on you for him to show the gentle side. He is polite, it's true, he knows how to court person, but he must force himself to put tenderness in action. Good news: it works like a physical exercise. The more often you do this, the easier it gets. Over time, Kikuta feels comfortable enough to call them pet names like angel or dearest, even in public, without worrying to appear vulnerable.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

Not the biggest fan of the hugs, but likes to put one arm around loved one’s shoulder. There is no particular reason, Kikuta is just too awkward when someone hugs him. Only his fingertips land on their back or waist, never the whole palm, and he tries to keep some space between them too. The exception to the rule is first meeting after long time apart when Kikuta wants to press them into himself, hold them as close as possible, and live this moment to the fullest.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Hard to say. If Kikuta sees frivolous attitude on their part, if he feels that he is just another pit stop on the road of their love victories, he will keep confession for someone else. Also, Kikuta either chooses the best romantic moment to confess or does it in the most awkward inappropriate time possible, no in between. After this, he is still hesitant to throw sweet words to the left and to the right but he eventually thaws and turns in the softest man, muttering sweet nonsense in his loved one’s ear.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Kikuta can be characterized as selectively jealous with a high threshold of tolerance. He has few people he wouldn’t want see his loved one around and he doesn’t care about everyone else, seeing them as unworthy opponents. One of the chosen people is Usami. Despite belonging to the same division, Kikuta doesn't trust him one iota. Superior private irradiates chaotic energy and aggression that easily can transform into harassment just to annoy Kikuta and bug him. Another one would be Tsurumi, known for the persistent love conquest and violent ways of achieving his goals. The last one would be Tsukishima, simply because he looks like a competitive man in his silent seriousness and devotion.

Poorly tolerates his loved one acting flirtatious, especially with three people listed above. His main coping mechanism is distancing which allows Kikuta to think about the situation and make sure he isn’t overreacting. After that, he decides to discuss the problem since he does want to make this relationship work.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Sensual kisser. He starts out as a man who knows what he is doing, skillfully and gently, and grows pretty demanding over the time. Kikuta likes to kiss in a secluded environment where there is no need to worry about anything other than the person in front of him, completely surrendering to growing passion. Yep, lip biting, tongue sucking, everything at the right time and in the right place. Lip kisses are his favorite because Kikuta knows nobody does it better, okay, but he is down for anything else too. He likes to kiss his loved one on the neck as well as plant kisses on both of their hands. And where he likes to be kissed? Lips and, who would expect, clavicles, and chest.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

Seeing little kid automatically makes Kikuta nervous since, despite the efforts made, he has difficulties in communicating with them. The only fear Kikuta has is not death, nor prison, it’s crying baby that won’t fall silent after few coos and short cuddle. After several unsuccessful interactions with kids, he wondered if he could become a good father in the future and self-given answer was depressing. If his loved one wants to have children with him in the future, they have to rake the mountain of his doubts.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Chances are you won’t catch Kikuta in the morning because of important business he has to run through the work week. Maybe, you will hear the sound of a slamming door or receding footsteps but nothing more. On the weekends, this man always wakes up earlier than his partner, and almost immediately gets out of bed. Half of the times there will be an easy breakfast waiting for you on the table, and the other half you’ll find Kikuta industriously doing varied housework Cuddles (or something more intimate) are rare, but Kikuta is more than willing to make up for it during the day.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Balances time at home and nights out well. Small dinner parties play great role in Kikuta’s life, he loves to invite guests to come over for a cup of tea and small talk or for whole evening of playing hanafuda. Kikuta isn’t the best host but with the help of supportive partner he will be more confident and better one. Spending time alone with the loved one, he likes to talk about the future and about anything at all, play games, or simply cuddle. If we speak about nights put, Kikuta is a big fan of Japanese theater, especially Western-derived shingeki that gained popularity in 1900s, and he insists going there at least once a month.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

First, he needs to get accustomed to the person, to observe their actions towards others so he can build an approximate image of them in the head. After the probationary period, Kikuta begins to gradually open up: his personality is revealed in short conversations over a cup of tea, in talk by the flickering fire, in single phrases like greetings or goodbyes. He often brings up old memories but needs a slight push to go deeper than nostalgic sighs. Never ever has word outburst so you’ll never hear information not meant for your ears.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

Scarily cold-blooded when angry, but you have to push to piss Kikuta off, put some effort into it. He is used to deal with all kinds of people. Therefore, there’s already dozen of prepared lines of conduct that can be put to work when somebody is deliberately trying to mess with him. When angered, Kikuta’s first reaction is to shut the person up with one sentence if not a single word. Usually, it works. Sucks that it doesn’t when it comes to broken plate or spilled hellishly hot tea.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

Here is the deal: good memorization doesn’t guarantee correct interpretation. Just like the case about the relationship between Ogata and Yuusaku, Kikuta may confuse something and come to the wrong conclusions, so often he chooses too subtly ask a leading question about thing that interests him. He is quite attentive and catches slightest changes in their behavior, listens carefully to the words they speak, but Kikuta can make a fool of himself once in a while. Like he forgot that they have a peach allergy (and he bought like 2 kilos) or they are scarred of big dogs (and he thought they would want to pet that sharp-toothed Kai Ken).

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

His favorite moment would be either proposal or moving in together. Both events mark a new stage in the relationship and keep him on the tiptoes. The day before Kikuta loses his composure: everything falls out of his hands, he cannot eat, cannot drink, cannot sleep because electrifying thoughts don't let him concentrate at all. The limbs seem foreign to him and Kikuta reaches new peak of awkwardness, tripping over his own legs. When the time comes, he is calm again. With the last bit of strength, he puts on a confident face and does his thing. The selected ring fits finger just right as well as his lips land exactly on theirs. After all Kikuta is absolutely sure of his choice and would not want to spend life with someone other than his chosen loved one.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

The closer the person gets, the more worried Kikuta becomes. You never know who is friend and who is enemy in the ongoing treasure hunt, who can stab you in the back because of newly devised action plan. To calm the soul, Kikuta may teach them self-defense both barehanded and with the use of firearms. Also, he is always straightforward about people to be careful with and people who can be trusted. For example, he will do his best to hide his loved one’s existence from 1st Lieutenant Tsurumi even if it means Kikuta has to stage their death.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

Kikuta is your dream man when it comes to dates, he keeps things classy in the best sense of this word. Outside the military profession, Kikuta has the ability to appeal to the more refined side of himself and share his views with other. He is the one to take his loved one to historical museum or secluded beach at sunset, the one to look for a restaurant that follows Japanese cooking traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation. The only thing that can make him late is the doubts while choosing the best bouquet. On the anniversaries, there’s no tangible difference since he is used to spoil them with attention pretty much every day. Performs home tasks diligently as well.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Kikuta can be stubborn as donkey, godlessly, unapologetically stubborn. On some occasions he agrees with what another person is saying but still does it his own way, without any explanation, just because he thinks his option is better. It is more common in in the professional field but may pop up in domesticity too.

Speaking of work, Kikuta tends to over-work himself when case includes the thing that really interests him. Digging in paperwork brings him a feel of being needed and sense of stability, both of which are not always present in relationships with people. A person can drastically change his mind and words, stab you in the back, leave… but work? Work could never.

Kikuta can be a bore that wants to stay in one place, talk with the same people, speak out the same ideas. Such company will seem dull to over-active, expressive, and extraverted people.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Oooh, you can’t tell it from his face, but Kikuta takes good care of himself. Not a metrosexual, but a type that wants to be presentable at any time. His style is consists of neutral dark colors, smooth lines, as the opposite of his sharp facial features, and even his casual stubble is thought-out accessory. Probably carries his favorite comb in inner pocket to keep his hair smooth.

He has a collection of neckties for all occasions as well as he knows how to tie them in different, often whimsical ways. Kikuta would really like to pass on his knowledge to the son since in his imagination this is excellent example of cool father-son interaction.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Impeccable self-control helps to get though the loss partially. Right after the break Kikuta excuses himself and leaves. He needs fresh air and, maybe, cigarette. Or a drink. Or start his evening routine hours earlier than usual. Crushing awareness comes day later, when he cannot habitually hug his loved one or get an unexpected kiss on a cheek. Heartsore grows harder and goes away for weeks before Kikuta gathers strength to let them go. Restrains himself from relationship for year or two and secretly hopes they will come back.

If they were killed, Kikuta does not pursue the idea of revenge at any cost. He bears the loss steadfastly, self-reflects through long conversations with Ariko, and plunges in overtime work. If Kikuta gets a chance to cross roads with a killer, he will strangle him with them with bare hands, looking straight into the eyes, and watching their life slips away.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

Kikuta is a dog person that has never in his life owned a dog. When a stray dog runs up to him on the street, Kikuta always scratches it behind the ear, and asks “who is the best boy”. While in army, he took care of fluffy mongrel that was sneaking around the military base until First Lieutenant Tsurumi ordered to get rid of it. Kikuta still has a dream to adopt few dogs with his loved one so they both can take care of them (and the puppies).

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

Eccentric personas. The man is already working with Usami, he is already under tremendous pressure, okay? His psyche can tolerate one freak but no more. Eccentric persona does not mean a common person who has one or a couple of distinctive features. We all have specific oddities. No, we are talking about a walking circus, loud, bright, and defiant. Kikuta tries to avoid this type of people at all cost.

Outrageous rudeness makes him tic too. Ill-timed swearing, terrible table manners, inability to behave in society. Small annoying details add up to one big picture that Kikuta physically cannot ignore. He'll definitely try to change that in person.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habit of theirs?)

Kikuta has an evening ritual he performs every day before going to bed. It starts with attentively checking if all the doors are closed, then he puts out the lights everywhere except bedroom and bathroom. While washing his face Kikuta makes plans for tomorrow. He revises them while choosing clean outfit for the next day and putting them next to his bed so in the morning he could instantly jump into his shoes, pull on pants, shirt, and run on important government affairs. Kikuta is mysteriously silent whole time. Attempts to break the silence with small talk result in short dry answers. This routine never changes, even if someone requires an urgent meeting, since repeated actions bring at least some stability to his life.

Calm sleeper until he has to share a bed with another person. Kikuta’s peaceful sleep turns into terrible insomnia, bags under his eyes start to resemble Tsukishima’s, and he feels just awful trying to explain another person that it is not their fault at all. Intensive training, special meditation, counting sheep do not work so he quietly lies on the back and listen’s to another person’s breath.

#golden kamuy #kikuta #golden kamuy headcanon #golden kamuy imagine #tosikowrites

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thejudgingtrash · 4 years

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My unpopular opinion: Chiron is a horrible teacher, protector, whatever. He’s as bad dumbledor. He often manipulates children and put them in danger? Also is RR really trying to tell me not one single demigod from before percy’s generation made it to adulthood? Not even demigods of minor gods? If not then why haven’t we heard from them, why weren’t they called to fight in the war so that literal children didn’t have to? I have more but I’m not brave enough to post them lol

Fuck, I gotta check my asks more often. Too much stuff laying around and oh please people! Send your stuff in! Don’t be shy! It’s so interesting to see what’s on your mind! Let’s have that conversation and ask me!! :D I mean a bunch of people agreed and disagreed with my stances (Part 1/Part 2), let’s see how I feel about yours!

Anyway HERE WE GO BOYS! LET’S GO LESBIANS LET’S GO!

LET’S HAVE THAT WHOLE DAMN ESSAY!

Chiron is clearly a self insert from Riordan. I mean come on…

That’s a solid Chiron if I see one. Which is pretty ironic as Chiron’s the shitty teacher who we all know and love. Got something to admit, Riordan? You as a former teacher? HMM?

Hiding incompetence under the disguise of the gentle old wise teacher is definitely something that Dumbledore and Chiron share. Chiron is the old centaur who lived for aeons and helped out the most famous heroes of their times, so shouldn’t modern times be considered to be an easier job for him? He’s barely present, highkey vague and has absolutely no problems with tossing children literally out into the open across the entire fucking US and A to clean the gods’ bathroom messes.

Had the heroes been in their 20s like in the original myths (or even older) it would’ve made more sense to let them find their own ways. It would be rude, but somewhat okay. You could expect adults to find the way and connect the dots. But this is just messing with a bunch of 12 year olds because you can at this point.

Chiron is that supposed sweet teacher that just fucks up. We all had one, you know the one. Seems gentle and nice and but has clearly chosen the wrong job. Don’t know if that’s the trauma of living that long and/or seeing kids dying constantly that’s hitting him in the back of the head.

I have the feeling that people are projecting their teacher fantasies on to him just like step-father fantasies that include Paul. Because we want a guide who is trustworthy, we want an authoritative figure that we can share our concerns with and who guides us to solid solutions without betraying our trust.

But like I said, he’s essentially sending out kids to deathly missions and encouraging deep traumas. Yes, we can partially blame Chiron, but most of the blame goes to the gods who enable and encourage this weird dynamic. Would all of them straight up cut the bullshit and mostly resolve their own issues without using their children as pawns, it would’ve been easier for everyone involved. Additionally, there are many kids in camp to keep busy, look after and care for. I don’t know how many there were pre-TLO but I’d assume the number was in the hundreds? Of course, in larger cabins are camp counsellors that help out and guide next to camp schedules. But since Percy’s the only kid in the Poseidon cabin I guess that thought went south? Percy being the special kid would actually mean that there should be a focus on him unless you’re going for the “I’m neutral” spiel. Chiron knew from day one that Percy was walking Poseidon seed, come on.

Also like I somewhat implied, seeing people die left and right might have impacted Chiron to make him feel indifferent/despressed (could also be a stretch, who knows). Which isn’t an excuse, but might explain some takes. Explaining the same stuff for millennia in its essentials is probably getting tiring.

I think this is the third time that I mentioned it on my blog but showing and telling are the most powerful story telling concepts/fundamentals and you see Rowling and Riordan constantly failing at that which is concerning. Instead of Chiron (or Dumbledore) just simply getting down to the point and telling and explaining stuff briefly, he only eludes, vaguely formulates and it is simply confusing especially for a child in a brand new environment who just lost his mother (if we’re speaking about TLT). This does nothing but add more stress in such a fragile situation especially when a new and bigger threat makes its way.

There’s also the discussion on how much of Greek myth Percy actually gets. He has the basic/ obvious knowledge which many tend to forget. He doesn’t come in with no knowledge. He had Latin classes back at the academy, he studies with Annabeth, he knows some of the monsters. What he simply doesn’t know, is the magic of it all. That is the most confusing part for him.

The actual magic is not explained, which it doesn’t have to be in all of its entirety, but needs to be addressed somehow and gradually.

Percy asking a simple question like how the camp stays sunny and covered 24/7 and how the wardens work and Chiron casually sitting here like you a stoopid one

doesn’t help.

What many people forget: Magic doesn’t erase logic. Even in a magical setting, unless clearly stated, there has to be some kind of logic to connect the dots. It doesn’t need to be a clear cut A to B, but it should be comprehensible for both the readers and the characters in a particular situation. And that’s just not happening for Percy as the character. This also sets up the premise of Percy being ”stupid” which he isn’t. He is surrounded by incompetent teachers and staff that don’t bother telling him how things work and assume that he’ll just manage.

Yeah. Both Dumbledore and Chiron are awfulness in a sweet calm disguise.

Onto part two of the ask. I have had so many talks with people on that exact problem. It simply boils down to one issue:

Rick Riordan‘s inconsistency in world building and setting. The story telling doesn’t make any sense.

So kids are dying like flies before 18 but many are also super famous and in powerful positions? Many are historical figures that made it well over 18? Make that make sense. Also was WW2 supposed to be kicked off by some 12 year olds with that logic? The biggest man made catastrophe of the modern era boiled down to a bunch of fighting kids? No. We all know it. Just simply no. I actually don’t mind the WW2 background but Riordan should’ve given it another thought and be a bit more sensitive…? Like the whole fascist gang being team Hades? Uhh… sure…. nope.

Also the same logic applies to Civil War? You’re telling me a bunch of kids were supposed to have started this stance? Who was for and who was against slavery then? What in the actual fuck? Using children as child soldiers to stand in for these large complex historical issues that stretch over years and show many of humanity’s horrifying sides is just….eh.

No. This whole thing about campers dying as soon as they reach the magic number of 18 are either bedtime stories to scare the kids or toughen them up orrrr my guess, Riordan actually managed yet again to fuck up his own lore.

It’s the same logic with New Rome. You have a whole city full of adults but have a few kids run that bitch? You did your ten years of service as a child soldier and then do one of these?

As if adults magically exit this world. Like is that the reason why Percy’s been 17 for a whole damn decade? Because otherwise he gotta hand riptide in and all of the boys scout medals he has collected so far? Adults would’ve had the experience and expertise to win those fights but it would break the magic and charm of the books that a bunch of kids are saving the world for the younger demographic. Let’s do not forget that the targeted audience of the books are middle schoolers. Makes somewhat sense with PJO but with HOO Riordan really shot himself in the leg. He should’ve matured the OG characters at least.

(Also speaking about the actual myths again. A good chunk of them died in their 20s/30s/40s. Odysseus guided as an old man. The heroes weren’t twelve and dipping by the age of 16. The Trojan war went on for 10 years for example. So whereas the real Perseus lived a longer life and had a somewhat happy ending in comparison to his peers, he wasn’t the only one that made it into adulthood.)

Riordan mixing up his own lore is just a shame. Yes, it’s human and he already gets a lot of flag for other stuff. I also get it as a writer with my fanfic where I really have to scroll up to search tiny details that I’ve embedded and not noted down. Perhaps it’s my inner capitalist speaking, but for I’m way more forgiving towards a free product, a gift like a fanfic, rather than something I’ve paid actual money for when it comes to this. The process of publishing a book is large. You mean to tell me that there was no editor at Disney that bothered to fact check? Riordan got a check from us all and doesn’t even bother looking up his own stuff. A little bit more effort, Ricardo. Please. You have an entire damn wiki you could use to check for free if you’re too lazy to read your own books/don’t use authors softwares. Like what?

It’s stupid. You know it, I know it. And as you can see, I fully agree with you.

#ask #ask me anons #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #pjo #chiron #chb #rr crit #rick riordan #hoo #heroes of olympus #my rants #camp half-blood #dumbledore #pjo hot takes

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internetandnetwork · 3 years

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5 Top Web Design Trends That Will Storm the Web This Year

Last year turned out to be a turbulent period, from the everlasting pandemic to a new surge of movements demanding social justice to a highly disputed presidential election. While most of us fail to realize how wider social events and technological developments influence design, web designers must be informed about broader trends, mainly when designing sites for the rapidly changing web.

As we have stepped into a new year and are about to start designing for the web, we must take several rising trends into account springing from last year. From a more significant emphasis on inclusive design to offering more immersive web experiences, these emerging trends will plan the future for web design in 2021 and beyond.

What follows is a list of five top web design trends that we think will dominate the internet in 2021. However, if you wish to utilize these web designs in your work, ensure that you have the appropriate web design tools available at your disposal to implement them effectively.

Web Design Inspired by Print

Visual designs that draw inspiration from print fulfill the users’ wish to connect with anything from the natural world, even more so now, given that most of these connections are currently cut off due to the ongoing crisis. What might appear outdated is, in reality, taking inspiration and enhancing on time-tested tactics of engaging and hooking an audience.

Your web design can be inspired from print without feeling antiquated or cumbersome. In case you plan on using this design, keep these critical steps in mind to boost your chances of getting success:

Select the right typography: This one is easy to accomplish, particularly when we consider that headings and titles should be bigger in size and bolder and should be written in a way that makes it easier for people to read it.

Design for readability: A block layout with strong borders can distinctly line up a website’s section and is evocative of a style often seen in comics. While doing this, be sure to focus on the flow and readability.

Besides this, web designers can quickly draw inspiration from the layouts applied in newspapers and magazines on designing for scale. Earlier, newspapers used to fill up the whole page, and this is a useful lesson for designers to learn as they continue to analyze the scale and canvas sizes for the web.

Immersive Experiences Using Augmented Reality

AR or Augmented Reality is a fairly underutilized tactic for connecting with your target audience and introducing your products or services to them in a more persuasive and extensive manner. You can use this design for both B2B (business-to-business) as well as B2C (business-to-consumer) companies because it completely occupies the audience. And that immersive experience can be shaped to fit any business or product, or service.

With the crisis still ongoing, most customers are unable to experience products in the flesh and therefore are looking for substitutes that let them experience a particular brand appropriately, even if not in-person. In addition to this, the sales department is badly suffering because they cannot travel anywhere for events, business meetings or even for product demos. In the light of these prevailing limitations, B2B companies are progressively using AR to build immersive experiences since it helps with data visualization and prototypes. It makes the digital content feel like it is part of the real world around the viewer.

However, if this sounds like too much work for you at the moment, you can opt for numerous other ways available to step into the world of augmented reality slowly. For instance, Apple’s ARKit is an excellent place to start. However, if you are just seeking a simpler project to only dip your toes in right now, you can get started by creating a branded Instagram AR filter.

Custom Cursors

Cursors are not typically given much heed or regarded as an aspect for remarkable design, which leaves plenty of wiggle room for web designers to convert them into something catchy and unforgettable. Tiny, personalized details such as custom cursors can make the viewers feel a bit more connected to your website and thus to the brand, message, and product or service it presents. Moreover, it quickly draws the visitors’ attention towards itself.

While updating your cursor, you need to keep a couple of things in mind. First of all, review the core aspects or images that set your brand apart and try to connect this around the new design of your cursor. Try and keep it as simple as possible and something that comes across as eye-pleasing when small. Remember, comprehensive or complex ideas won’t render well.

Apart from all this, bear in mind that your cursor serves the purpose of communicating function at its essence. Therefore, make sure that you pick a custom cursor that adds personality and mirrors your brand while maintaining its function. Once you have finalized your cursor, test it out across multiple web browsers, and also be sure to add an alternative for instances where your custom cursor is not supported.

Muted Colors

Colors lose their trendiness value from year-to-year. Do you recall the millennial pink trend we observed back in 2016? Businesses should keep their websites up-to-date to send out the message that they are a modern and flexible brand.

We believe muted colors will be dominating the web this year along with the other trends because they naturally draw the visitors’ attention towards the illustration or the prime focus of the specific page. Moreover, muted colors do a fantastic job in diminishing the eye strain, communicating to the audience that they can take as much time as they want with your website. Muted colors stand out to be the ideal complement, particularly with the current growth of grain-accented backgrounds and hand-drawn illustrations.

For example, using a light color scheme for your web design together with pieces of a dark color(s) will give off a very contrasting appearance to your website. You can use this to distinguish particular sections of your site.

To pull off this type of web design effectively, be sure to select colors with sufficient contrast so that all the content on your page is still easy to read by visually impaired site visitors.

No Code Web Design

Although no-code web design might sound a bit clashing or unsettling, it does not imply the complete end of website coding. Instead, it evens up the website building to people of all backgrounds rather than letting the few with an in-depth understanding or experience in intricate coding and web design handle the entire process.

For readers who are getting confused, wondering what no-code web designs will even look like can be rest assured that their website will still look just as modern and sophisticated as you want it to be. In fact, some brands have already started using this type of web design, and if you look those sites up, you can see that they appear just the same as a coded site – no differences. Now coming to the perks of using such web design, you and your organization will be much less dependent on a single person and their skill set. Doing so will allow you to update your website as frequently as you’d like and with inputs from various people in your organization. This approach will dominate the internet given the current condition where more and more teams are practicing remote work due to which businesses will need to take an all hands on deck approach to adapt to these shifts in priorities and schedules.

WRAPPING IT UP

If there is anything that we have learned in these few weeks of January, it is that this year too, is going to be full of unexpected events. However, unless we have a crystal ball, we cannot simply predict the future. But according to the current circumstances, it makes sense for these web design trends to storm the web in 2021. Nevertheless, if you decide to employ any of these designs in your work, make sure that you have proper web design equipment available to do so.

Happy web designing!

Hariom Balhara is an inventive person who has been doing intensive research in particular topics and writing blogs and articles for E Global Soft Solutions. E Global Soft Solutions is a Digital Marketing, SEO, SMO, PPC and Web Development company that comes with massive experiences. We specialize in digital marketing, Web Designing and development, graphic design, and a lot more.

SOURCE : Web Design Trends

#Web Design #Web Design Trends #web designer #tireless it services #digital marketing #website #SEO #tirelessitservices

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cobbsandra1989 · 3 years

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cheapest auto insurance in missouri

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare quotes from different companies :insurancereviewsite.xyz

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rigelmejo · 4 years

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im thinking about how i heard avenuex once say that mxtx writes a bit simpler than priest... like they said mo dao zu shi is like... easier to read (although not as ‘literary’ whether i guess that’s good or bad depends on tastes?)...

and i’m at a midpoint with this opinion cause on the one hand: i do think maybe the descriptions in modaozushi are a bit more straightforward. However, everything is xianxia genre (is that the right genre for mdzs? i get confused between xianxia and wuxia). And although I know some key noun words, the way people TALK in this genre is a different style... like the MDZS opening alone is like ‘people rejoice the evil is dead’ and ‘for a generation he’s presumed dead’ and ‘the jiang clan, lan clan, jin clan, wen clan, the sect leaders, the yiling patriarch’ and... so many of those words like sect and clan and the society type words are all really genre specific. So like yes, the descriptions are clear... but how people talk? Sort of??? Until I get used to the genre.

Whereas... like Guardian is an example. It has a few god-past scenes like the one with Shennong and Kunlun that I’ve read without help. The ‘fantasy’ and ‘past’ elements in Guardian are like... idk they feel almost like they create themselves, like their in-story contained mythology to some degree (even if some parts are taken or inspired from broader genre and mythology ideas). So its simple to follow: Kunlun is god of mountains, Shennong is dying, Shen Wei is a ghost king, Shen Wei loves Kunlun, Kunlun knows he’s going to die, Kunlun talks with Shennong about how everything eventually has to die including Kunlun, the world is old and this is the early days and its just gods and the world and the ghost monsters at first. It’s hard to explain but... in some ways I feel like a bit of the old-fantasy scenes in Guardian read like a creation story, so they introduce themselves more based on ‘assume reader doesn’t know what is what or how it works yet.’ And the words they use in the old-fantasy scenes are generally dialogues I find easily comprehensible. However... a lot of my comfort with Priest’s version of the genre, is I have a lot of familiarity with the story-specific vocab for Guardian, whereas in MDZS I have more general xianxia vocab and proper nouns vocab, but not necessarily familiarity with the speaking styles.

Also... some of Priest’s novels, like Silent Reading, are modern. That story’s setting is just easier in general to follow with less context, since its all real life applicable words. Guardian, while fantasy, often has mundane real life applicable settings and words, which also helps with figuring out words and context - in a way mdzs has less of.

However... I definitely think Priest’s writing is... complex. While there’s some context that gets easier... well...

The sheer number of adjectives I don’t know? The amount of descriptive lines? Some are chengyu, some are likely self created metaphors by the author, some are clearly lines that have like 3-5 layers of meaning and imply extra meaning from their extended context (like if I knew who Shennong was in actual mythology? If I had more background on the Kunlun mountains? I imagine the scenes I read would mean a LOT more in terms of depth of implications). Beyond simply comprehending the actual actions taking place in the story, and the barest guess at how characters are physically showing emotion - Priest is doing a hell of a lot more with the writing.

I read the intro to Silent Reading yesterday. The first paragraph is literally just about the city - about how its split in half, east and west, and its like a beautiful picture masking a monster like a woman concealing with makeup. How the old part of the city is poorer, the newer part is the shopping district and is flourishing, and how developers are buying up the poorer parts and raising the value of the whole city but putting more pressure on the poor. And then it goes MORE in depth - this is just the parts I could comprehend. It took 2 readings of the paragraph for me to catch the second half - how the wealth is affecting the city and how business interests are affecting it. And you know damn well the societal implications of this unequally effected society are going to come up again and again in the novel, since hey it was mentioned LITERALLY IN THE FIRST PARAGRAPH. How is that for establishing a theme? Along with the intro paragraph establishing that this city has HISTORY, that its CHANGING, and that it contains monstrosities - precluding the buildup of the eventual murder cases that will make up the bulk of the future plot. On the surface, its just a physical description of location - and that physical description was the easiest part for me to catch. But if its read more in depth, its saying a ton of stuff with just a few physical description sentences. And this was just... stuff I could pick up on... I’m sure there’s more.

Priest’s novels are so chock full of this stuff its a bit daunting. Nevermind the fact that since EVERYTHING is interwoven into main details, its more of a struggle to comprehend the main gist of the plot since deeper more meaningful descriptors and metaphors and stylistic choices are intrinsic pieces of each sentence.

I tried reading Tian Ya Ke the other day, and I only got through a few paragraphs. One of the hardest parts was just following who is who, since Priest likes not always giving names at first, so its a mystery of who someone is at first and you have to get to know them as mysterious people based on what they do. At least, sometimes. Random unnamed coffee buyer turns out to be main character in Silent Reading - and the deliveryman an important secondary. In Tian Ya Ke unnamed man who visits a secret prison has some ties to spy organizations and is presumably a main character. So I can’t just speed through an ‘unknown’ persons details - I might need to hold onto them later in case they turn out to be a named character later, where I need to remember what they did before they were named. Also on these unnamed - there’s galore descriptions of how they smile, their noses, their eyes, their hair lengths, their glasses, their style of clothes - get comfortable sifting through gratuitious physical descriptions which will ALSO be full of things with deeper meanings if you can catch them!

I’m not sure how much MDZS does this too, because I imagine it does all of this to some degree. And my impression is skewed, since I have a traditional copy of the first mdzs novel - so I’m mostly lost because of traditional characters, before I even get caught on the genre words. But I do think it... ramps up the plot a bit faster than Priest’s? If that makes sense. Like, plots in Priest are fast, but I feel like there’s also a lot of ‘what’s in this character’s head or perspective’ moments (which is a lot like I write so I love seeing it). And idk it can be harder to interpret that sometimes, since all narratives are biased and you get heavy details in one perspective narrative then fall into another one with new biases and details.

Tamendegushi, meanwhile? By far the easiest writing style wise. I think that also makes the ‘depth’ of the writing easier to notice - you have to do less comprehension of the basics, so it takes less time to notice what the basics might be conveying beyond their exact details. Very beginner friendly... I recommend this baby FIRST if you’re a beginner like me. ToT

I do wonder if mdzs would be easier for me to read rn...

#rant #i love priests writing and it gets better the more i can read it #but its also #involved...

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bonetrader · 5 years

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Unusual RPG combinations

I like to tinker with mixing and matching rpg settings and systems. I will try to collect the ones I'm most fascinated with. I haven't found the opportunity to actually try any of these combinations, but I guess it doesn't hurt to put them out there in case someone finds any of them interesting.

Shadowrun redux

Setting: Shadowrun

System: Blades in the Dark

I adore Shadowrun. It takes all the bleakness of reality, amplifies it, but also mixes it with a lot of magic and wonder. And if you read the books selectively, even with hope.

But playing it can get convoluted, especially if your group is prone to overplan. And we know that plans always go sideways. There's no such thing as a milk run. Spending an hour on planning can be annoying in itself. But it's extra painful if it has to be thrown out the window in the first five minutes of execution.

Enter Blades in the Dark that instead of planning ahead encourages to use flashbacks on the spot to reveal how you prepared in advance to get past an obstacle. That makes pulling off daring heists a lot more easier for the players. Infiltration is way less stressful on the player if they can make up any forged backstory on the go, and do a flashback to make sure it's believable. There's still some minimal planning, but it's practically just setting the starting scene of the run. You don't have to specify anything beyond that.

The concept of crew from Blades also fits nicely with Shadowrun. It can tell the GM what kind of runs the players prefer, and gives the players the ability tospecialize their team. Blades was created for a different level of technology and magic. But it mainly focuses on the hierarchy of the criminal underground, and that translates easily even to a modern world. So I expect the same crews to work with Shadowrun, but more thematic options could be added to tie it closer to the sixth world.

The concept of hunting grounds should be reconsidered. In Blades it means a specific neighbourhood the characters are more familiar with and usually target. In Shadowrun it makes more sense to make it a specific scenery they usually operate in. For example it could be a specific megacorporation they often go up against, or a type of gang that's common in the sprawls they operate in.

Blades also offers a nice subsystem for handling reputation, growth, notoriety, and even stress and trauma between runs. Incorporating a specific vice for each PC also seems completely in line with Shadowrun's concept.

The biggest difference will be in character creation. Blades' system is more abstract than Shadowrun's. In Blades you have to pick a specific playbook for your character. I think that's OK. While Shadowrun allowed building characters skill by skill, it always encouraged working toward specific archetypes like face, rigger, or adept. Your playbook determines your starting stats, but you can still somewhat specialize it. Blades also allows crossing from a playbook to a new one, but that's long term character advancement.

Adding some elements of Shadowrun might not be trivial. Spirits could be more or less handled as the ghosts in Blades. But magic and technology would have to be specifically addressed. Some of it could be treated like fluff, making it mechanically irrelevant whether your efforts are more effective because of training, because of an implant, or because you are infusing them with magic. But at least mages, riggers and deckers would probably need their own playbooks.

Twisted Houses of the Drow

Setting: any fantasy setting with drows, but I have a specific campaign idea for Spelljammer

System: Houses of the Blooded

This is a re-skin of Houses of the Blooded. The ven and the drow have different values and cultures, but I think they share a similar style. Decadence and intrigue runs deep in their societies. I'd replace the virtues (attributes) of the original game with corresponding vices. And each vice would be linked to a drow god instead of the totem animals of the original game.

Instead of the romance mechanic there would be rivalry. It would work the same way, just with a different flavour. Drows could pick someone as a rival, driving each other to greater feats. Instead of creating art drows could develop schemes. Same as the art mechanic. The scheme could give a bonus to those it was shared with. Seasons, regions, holdings, and blessings would have to be reworked, but I think renaming them would be enough in most cases.

My campaign idea is for a group of drow renegades employed by the elven admiralty as covert agents. They would be sent for long term infiltration missions to places where surface elves are not welcome. Each of them would have an affiliation with a drow god as well, and each would have their own hidden agenda. It might even work if not all characters are drows. I could imagine one or two elf, half-elf, or shapeshifter mixed in.

If I ever got to it seasons of the campaign would include: Building up a career of piracy in space (remember, Spelljammer) to get on the good side of a notorious and elusive pirate king, and lead the elven navy to its hideout. Instead of holdings the players could manage trade routes they raid, and their ships. Another would be infiltrating a drow city to stop an invasion. I think this would be the closest to the original Houses game. And finally I'd drop them in a mission to arrive as inmates to Elfcatraz, the secret prison of the admiralty (named by one of my players) to find out who's really in control there.

Around Cerilia in 80 days

Setting: Birthright

System: Primetime adventures

This one is kind of cheating, because Primetime adventures is quite setting-independent. So I rather mean it's a better fit for the kind of stories I'd like to run in this setting.

Birthright's setting works on a comprehensible scale for me. Most fantasy worlds have gigantic continents with dozens of large countries. They are too large for me, and I end up with a vast countryside where everything's the same for weeks to go. But Birthright has a small continent, maybe more like a large island with five distinct cultural regions. And each of those regions have a dozen provinces, each province described with its own flavor. It's not complicated, but colorful.

I guess it was done this way to accomodate the strategy aspect of Birthright that was one of its main features. While the concept of ruling provinces sounds great, the setting really makes me want to have a game about just travelling through this world. Not with adventurers, but rather with tourists, merchants, travelers who are going there to see a foreign place, or do business with the locals, and not just to explore a dungeon that happens to be there.

Ever since I saw the Roman Mysteries TV series I've been particularly fascinated with the idea of having a bunch of kids as player characters who are brought along by one's aunt/uncle on business trips to foreign lands, and get into trouble there. For example a trip from a frontier barony to the capital city, traveling through the woods of wary elves, then sailing down the river, stopping in a few more interesting port. Or a journey to the magnificent kingdoms in the east, although there are many perils both natural, and man-made on the way.

Thinking in Primetime adventures terms each province or city could be a separate episode. And the peculiarities of the place could be used to decide which character's spotlight episode should happen there.

Even domains of awnshegh (people and animals infected by the power of a dead god of darkness, becoming "monsters") don't have to be off limits. Some of them were quite sociable, and even more ruled over people whose perspective could be interesting.

Crown of Wings

Setting: Council of Wyrms

System: Birthright's domain management

Council of Wyrms focuses on playing dragons from various clans who work together. Despite the central role of the council, and the politics between the dragon clans, Council of Wyrms didn't touch much on the actual politics and realm management. It was the same AD&D, just scaled up to dragon PCs.

But I think there's so much more potential in the setting. I could easily imagine dragons ruling the land, managing guilds, and churches, and building out ley line networks to cast spells affecting whole realms. So everything that Birthright's system offered.

The setting isn't fully fleshed out, but it lets us fill in the land with fantastic locations. Some cities and towns were mentioned at unusual places, full of various races. So players could run wild with ideas when they create their own domain. Should their be trade routes with a merfolk city, and underwater ley lines? Absolutely. Could there be a church based on promoting the halfling lifestyle? Why not?

And then there's the Council. Domain Power could determine the character's status in it. Regency Points, and Gold Bars could be used as bargaining chips.

But what should be its purpose? I have seen enough of the trope of warring factions who have to be unified against some common threat, maybe with a traitorous faction thrown in the mix. I mean it makes for a fine story, but I'm getting a little tired of it. This time I'd rather see a council as a way to trade, to exchange ideas, and to help everybody improve their own clan. It doesn't make for a strong narrative, but I think it's a more positive message overall.

I think the biggest restriction in the setting is that dragon clans are too homogenic. Like, each clan consists of just one kind of dragon. That doesn't help in putting together a game with diverse characters. The original game concept solved that by making the PCs agents of the Council who may come from various clans.

For a more political game we could introduce mixed clans. So the characters could be part of the same clan, while still coming from various places. Maybe they are outcasts or survivors who created their own clan. Or maybe their clan was open minded, and was located in a central place, so it naturally lead to it becoming more diverse.

Or we could say that they are from different clans, but their clans are neighbours and allies of each other. At least if you're like me, and you don't want to set the players up for PvP by putting them to opposing sides of a clan feud.

Custom Quest

Setting: Your long-running campaign

System: Fiasco

I think any campaign that went on for a while should be an easy source for creating a Fiasco playset for a one-time play. Fiasco is about nobodies trying to pull off something bigger than they are. It's about petty people, and half-baked ideas going wrong. And while that might still sound like your average adventurer party, here we know they can't win. They will be lucky if they don't end up in a lot worse situation they started in.

For convenience I will refer to the PCs of the original campaign as heroes. It's okay if they are not actual heroes. That happens pretty often. But they had the greatest influence on the campaign this one shot is based on, so we have to heavily rely on them.

So the player characters in this one-shot are probably just background noise in the original campaign. I think this is a great way to explore how the actions of the heroes might affect the common people in unexpected ways. Objects driving the character dynamics could be things the heroes brought back, created, or just used in a memorable moment. Maybe an artifact they sold off is making its rounds on the blackmarket, and someone sees an opportunity in it. Or evidence surfaced that could incriminate one of the heroes.

And it's not just Objects. Their shenanigans might have brought the unwanted attention of a powerful cult to the city. Or the local barkeep loathes the heroes because they trashed his place one too many times. And he's just looking for some idiots to exact his revenge. Really, just look for whomever the heroes might have ever slighted or aided to get a plethora of petty plots and strange driving forces in the community. This can give you the Needs and Relationships between the player characters.

Locations could be places well known by the players, preferably close to a place the heroes frequent. The heroes, and the more memorable NPCs could give some enjoyable cameos. And finally they could become part of the Tilt table to turn a bad situation worse in the middle of the game.

#tabletop rpg #fiasco #drow #Houses of the Blooded #Birthright #shadowrun #spelljammer #Blades in the Dark #Primetime Adventures #Council of Wyrms #rpg #rpg combos

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monisse · 5 years

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Goodbye Yesterday

Pairing: Brianna / Roger (Mentions of Claire, Mandy and Jemmy) Spoilers: Missing scene between A Breath of Snow and Ashes and An Echo in the Bone, set in 1978 Summary: Nothing had prepared Brianna for the heart wrenching feeling of taking Mandy and saying goodbye to her parents, losing them for what would likely be forever. Brianna reflects on choices and home in the 20th century.

Boston, 1978

The fluorescent lights, high above in the ceiling of the pediatric ward, were intense in their incandescence. Brianna had grown unaccustomed to artificial brightness, a consequence of living for the past years in a world lit by sun and candles alone, and she felt her red rimmed eyes burning again. One of the lights flickered persistently and in any other circumstance its constant buzz would have been exasperating, but in contrast with the turmoil already rampant inside her, that irritating event was of no consequence.

In the last few days, Brianna had barely been able to remove her eyes from the baby cot containing the small form of her daughter, and only allowed to be pulled away, albeit with some resistance, when her body demanded rest. And even then, on the brim of complete exhaustion, sleep would not come easily.

In contrast, Amanda rested at ease even among the steady noises of machines, leaving Brianna constantly marveled at the peacefulness of her child, as if she had not spent hours under the skilled scrutiny of surgeons just a few weeks ago. She had counted the days since then, all of them an excruciating passage of time while observing only small improvements and expecting the words that would relieve the weight on her chest.

Among the general numbness that filled her body these days, she most acutely felt her breasts painfully heavy with the milk she could not yet feed to her demanding daughter. That new inability to provide for her own baby only added to the sense of uselessness when all she could do was watch and wait. A demanding effort for someone who had struggled with patience all her life.

Eager to provide at least comfort, Brianna leaned forward and touched Mandy’s little hand. She gripped back fiercely with newfound strength, her little nails no longer purple as they had been when her mother made the diagnosis that sealed their fate and carved a fear so deep within her that it was yet to leave.

She had once traded the commodities of the 20th century for the comfort of family, until she was faced with a pain for which comfort alone would not suffice. So, before they left, Brianna had begged her mother to spare no details explaining the surgery, because if she could deconstruct and rationalize the information in her mind towards all possible outcomes, perhaps then the fear of the unknown would not be so crippling. Back then, in her mother’s distinctive analytical voice, the steps had been laid out before her, setting her and Roger’s lives in motion again with no choice but to leave a time that was not their own.

And since then keeping track of time had been a tricky business when one’s life revolved around a hospital room. When day and night became indistinct from each other, and rest would not come easy, she attempted a brave smile, would take Jemmy by the hand and step out into the burning sunlight. In those brief moments when Brianna sat alone with her son, she tried hard to temporarily pause her worries and allow Jem to fill the silence with a stream of questions that her foggy mind struggled to assimilate all at once. And all she could do was hold him through the waves of wonder as he absorbed the brand-new world that surrounded him. Had the world been this loud before? She kept wondering as she found herself a little in awe as well in spite of the immediate shock of being back to the 20th century.

As certain as she was that it would only take a short while for her, Brianna was not quite sure Roger would ever be completely at ease in this time again, for even in the few weeks since they had arrived, she noticed Roger struggling to conciliate both worlds, a shocking antithesis of each other. It was also clear that he was holding back his thoughts, afraid that it would crumble the impeccably strong pretense he wore every day to support her and Jemmy. But Brianna saw the worry firmly etched in the wrinkle between his eyes, which had not left since the diagnose. She read it in the desperate manner he often sought her hand for comfort, and in the soothing whispers in Gàidhlig to Mandy in the middle of the night. And as a sort of escape from the concern running freely through his mind, Roger consumed newspapers voraciously every day as he sat beside her, distilling the world he once knew into comprehension again.

But right now, Brianna did not care if the world was headed towards destruction and humankind had learned nothing whatsoever in the past centuries. She barely took notice of her surroundings while being completely absorbed in the consuming worry for her child. A part of her world lay in that cot, so terrifyingly helpless among modern medicine.

As she held on to Mandy’s small hand, a familiar smell rose once more in the surrounding air, which forced Brianna to twist her nose to get rid of it, though it filtered through her pores nonetheless. The constant coming and going of nurses made the room smell of that sort of antiseptic that had mingled with her mother’s perfume a lifetime ago. Memories of her childhood often came as an amalgamation of senses, and this one stood out vividly. Brianna had despised that scent while growing up, for it reminded her of the place that consumed her mother’s attention and often left her waiting hours for her to come home, valiantly fighting sleep. After a while Brianna learned that waiting was futile and accepted, begrudgingly, the few moments of undivided attention she would get. And as time went on, Brianna found that she would rather be surrounded by the stuffy scent of her Dad’s study, of hardwood, pipe and paper, comforting scents in the absence of her mother. Their time spent together made Brianna fiercely devoted to her father while her mother was sometimes dethatched from the surroundings, inhabiting the privacy of her own thoughts.

Brianna sighed. Even after all this time she was not being completely fair. She spent the early years of her life resenting her mother based on a hidden narrative, while she found refuge in what she loved to do in order to hide a broken heart. All the while she tried hard to build a family with a man that, even though was dear to her, could never substitute the one she had loved the most. Now, through the perspective of time and truth, Brianna understood that her mother had done the best she could with the choice that had been made for her. Just like Brianna was trying to do as a mother, now for the second time, and finding for herself that it meant the ability to be selfless as she matured and grew into her own self.

She missed her mother terribly, and even though she had always seen herself as independent, she now realized how much she truly leaned on her mother, on both her parents really, for support. She even missed the new scent of herbs her mother had acquired, which in hindsight was much more fitting to the kind of woman she was, like she had always meant to belong to the earth itself, looking more at home than she ever had.

The absence of her parents burned in her chest and her arms felt oddly empty with the desire to hold her mother. Instead she took a fussing Mandy from the cot and held her carefully against her chest, feeling the strong heartbeat vibrate through the little body. Mandy’s features were fuller than before with a soft pink glow constantly on her round cheeks. As Brianna looked down, her daughter’s eyes, already vivid and fully aware, stared back at her as if fully trusting the comfort and support her mother would always provide.

She held in her arms the baby she had yearned for quite a long time, although she came with the bittersweet cost of leaving part of her family behind. Brianna had lived a thoroughly sheltered life as a child, which left her painfully immature to her own world, let alone an 18th century one. The growing pains had been hard and numerous, though nothing had prepared her for the heart wrenching feeling of taking her baby girl and saying goodbye to her parents, losing them for what would likely be forever.

“Oh, mama…” She sighed with closed eyes as she kissed Mandy’s silky black hair.

She felt a large hand closing gently on her shoulder then, while a smaller one came to rest on her arm. Without opening her eyes Brianna knew that Roger and Jemmy had returned and stood reassuringly beside her.

“It’s alright to miss her.” Roger said softly.

Not for the first time she was surprised at how in tune with her thoughts he was, or perhaps they were just so clearly visible on her face that it was hard to miss.

“I was once used to be apart from her, to be on my own.” She said looking into his eyes. “And we had said goodbye before, so I thought it would be easier this time, but now I find myself wishing she was here with me.”

“Aye, I miss her too. Both of them actually.” He paused for a brief moment then began again nervously. “Do you regret our decision?”

“Absolutely not!” She said vehemently. “I’ll miss them for the rest of my life but will never regret this.”

Roger nodded silently, visibly relaxing, and surrounded her shoulders with his arm. He placed a tender kiss on her forehead and waited patiently for her to fully empty her mind of some of the pain he knew had roamed it for days.

“It’s just that mama’s still so vivid to me, you know?” Brianna said looking down again at her daughter. “As if we have only moved to a different place, but the fact is that right now she's-"

Dead? Gone? She could not bring herself to complete the phrase and no word seemed suitable to describe the novelty of leaving loved ones 200 years in the past. In a sense she was mourning all the people they had left behind, altogether in one dreadful, all-encompassing moment.

Silence filled the room as the three of them came together around the baby in Brianna’s arms, so lost between memories of the past and the uncertainty of the future, that they were unaware of the sound of footsteps that came towards them. The arrival of the doctor caught them off guard with the news they had all been silently praying for. Amanda was sufficiently healed already and they could finally take a healthy daughter home, and after a brief discussion they were left alone once more.

“Home?”

She heard Roger’s rough voice questioning no one in particular, as if the word itself was absolutely foreign to him in this context.

Home. A strange concept indeed. A surge of panic gripped her heart and made her hold Mandy even closer. She suddenly became painfully aware that there was no home to go back to.

Brianna looked around her. A pair of small blue eyes and another pair of green ones stared at her with that sort of innate determination that burned deep in the Mackenzie bloodline. Her frightened heart slowed down a little under their equally intense gazes and the solid weight of the baby in her arms. It dawned on her then, as clear as their love for each other that wherever, and whenever home was, at least they were together.

#brianna mackenzie #roger mackenzie #outlander fanfiction #roger x brianna #themackenziesarehere #claire fraser #outlander #brianna x roger #amanda mackenzie #jemmy mackenzie

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pennyfynotes · 6 years

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8.2.18 // 4:30pm // school subjects and AP exams oh my

so i recently (ok not so recently i’m sorry super busy rn) got an ask from an anon about subject specific tips and ap exams. this is the masterpost i told you to look out for ;). there are no ap exams in college, but some of the stuff is still applicable. i did my best to be as comprehensive as possible and dump everything in one place. hope this is helpful! xoxo, m ps. guess where the actual tips are? if you said “under the cut” then you’re right bc i’m predicable af

tips by subject:

languages (i took spanish): 1. flashcards are your friend. i don’t care if they’re digital (would recommend quizlet or studyblue) or paper, but they help immensely with either vocab or things like remembering literature.

2. charts are also your friend. conjugations giving you a hard time? write out a chart of the different tenses and the conjugations for each subject. put down some of the irregulars too.

3. acronyms/pnemonics are also also your friend. a lot of these already exist, you just have to go find them. i’m pretty sure i still remember what “wedding” stands for for the spanish subjunctive.

4. it’s ok to start over. it’s easy to start a sentence based on what you’d say in english. you’re doing fine until *bam* you hit that word/phrase you really need but you have no clue how to say it. whether it’s an oral or written exam, take a few seconds to think about it and, if you can’t figure it out, just back track. restart the sentence and rework it. better to do that than to lose all your time thinking of one word you may or may not know.

5. skirt around things. if you can’t remember how to say fridge but you really need to say it for something, just say “machine that keeps food cold” or something. it might sound silly, but it gets the point across and removes the road block.

6. make a list. no, not a to do list. if there’s phrases you find yourself reaching for all the time, but you can never remember, make a list of them and their translations. it might be because its a phrase/part of a sentence structure you use a lot in your native language or whatever. make that list and drill just those few phrases into your head. it’s helpful

english/language arts: 1. proofread. i guarantee you’ll find a mistake, a sentence that makes no sense, or one that just sounds cringy. thank me later.

2. have a damn thesis. its ok if you just need to write and spit words/ideas out for a while to figure it out. but figure it out.

3. conclusion ~= introduction. for those of you who didn’t get the tilde, it means not. yes, they both tie your points to your thesis but they are not to same. do not just reword the same information in the conclusion. push your ideas just a little further. i usually like the push them a little bit outside the realm of what i talked about in my paper. for example, if i focused on the first 5 chapters of the book in the rest of my paper, i’ll expand the ideas to the rest of the book. or if i’m talking about female characters and focus on just one or two, i’ll use the conclusion to potentially connect it to another.

4. have favorites. pick a few fav transitions, sentence structures, and fancy vocab words. basically build a toolbox. this way you won’t have to think as hard when you want to “spice up” your work.

5. summaries only go so far. once you get to higher level english classes, there will be a lot of analysis of specific imagery, or wording, or dialogue. reading cliff notes is only going to give you the plot and none of this. if you don’t have time to read and you’ve been assigned a pretty standard english novel/play/whatever, take the time to look up some famous quotes or symbols. they’ll probably come up in discussion and this will help you look less unprepared.

6. have on question/comment ready. if your teacher/prof is into discussions and grades on participation, it’s handy to write down one (or a few) things. it’s easy to forget what you were going to say while you follow the discussion and it sucks to get docked points for not saying anything. even if it’s just a thoughtful question, jot it down.

history: 1. lol prob my weakest subject, just go see the apush (ap us history) section bc i don’t have much more for you than that.

science: 1. back to basics. i say it all the time, i’ll say it again. really understand basic concepts. they will come back. i’m serious.

2. pattern recognition. science problems are often times about recognizing patterns. once you identify the type of problem it is, even if you’ve never seen the exact one/something similar before, solving it becomes way easier.

3. make a recipe book. tied to the last one, but once you recognize a type of problem, you need steps to solve it. go through any practice problems you’re given to determine all the “types” of problems. once you’ve categorized them, make yourself a step-by-step guide on how to solve.

4. flashcards. you’ll have to know polyatomic ions or random biology facts. see languages tip #1 for more.

5. note your errors in lab. if you do something wrong, don’t just try to brush it under the table and forget about it. not that it’s a big deal, because its not, so don’t freak out. they’re just great opportunities to note sources of error. i mean obviously dont write in your lab report that you weren’t paying attention and mixed the wrong chemicals, but something like “we may not have waited sufficient time for the product to dry” can explain why you got 800% yield.

6. have a toolkit. kinda like a recipe book, but just a collection of straight facts that come up often. knowing common molecular weights and chemical properties (is ammonia acidic or basic?) will make things go faster. like i said earlier, polyatomic ions are also great.

7. brush up on some simple arithmetic. similar to the tool kit, this will just make things go faster. being able to quickly add things and calculate easy percentages (ex: 30%) will make things like hw and exams go faster. i’m of the opinion it’s always good to know how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide w/o a calculator (on paper, not all in your head)

bonus: math #5 and #7

math: 1. see science #1

2. see science #2

3. see science #3

4. see science #4. see a pattern here? you might wonder why you need to flashcard math, but it’s good for learning equations or the names of certain techniques. if the prof asks you to solve something using X technique and you don’t know what that is, that’s gonna pose a problem. also good for the unit circle (don’t get me started)

5. figure out your speed. this is applicable to most everything, but i find it most relevant for math. is it better for you to speed through the whole exam and then do it all again/check it over 2x? or for you to take it slow so you know you got everything right the first time? personally i use the first approach, but i’m a fast taker and prefer to have time to process between repeating problems instead of staring at it forever once and never looking again.

6. science #7. a lot of teachers will expect you to be able to do this.

7. go over the material a couple times. also applicable to everything. i find it’s easier to remember things when i know that concepts are connected. you might have learned X 3 weeks before Y, but if you go back over, you might realize they’re closely related. this will help you if you’re not sure on a test because you can reason through things using the connections you’ve drawn

tips by ap course (obv look at the subject above bc i will be giving *really specific stuff* here that i’ve gathered from experience. they’re also ordered by when i took them, sorry it’s not super logical but i didn’t want to forget one)

general ap course/exam tips: 1. practice exams. you need to be familiar with what will/will not show up. you don’t always need to simulate and real testing situation, but i’d recommend doing at least 1-2 that way. also *know how many questions they’re are you so can pace yourself!!!!*

2. college board is pretty good about giving topic breakdowns. use those. go through and figure out what topics you’re solid on and which need more work. the above tip is to help decipher what the topics actually mean bc it can be confusing.

3. give the free response a quick flip through. do the ones you’re confident on first.

4. make sure you know the policies/what you can bring. don’t want to forget something. also once our test administrator tried to stop us 10 minutes early, but we were on top of our shit and all gave her a death glare bc we knew when we were supposed to finish.

ap chemistry: 1. polyatomic ions and molecular weights. know them

2. chapter/section reviews (in addition to class notes) and how-to guides. my teacher made us make them and let’s just say your girl did *really* well (and i’m damn proud of that one)

3. do a quick skim of the free response. applicable to most exams but, the year i took it, they’d just remade and re-curved the exam and put *way* too many free response. like no one finished them. if that’s still the case, make sure you do the one’s you’re confident on. also, i did not get to like 3 questions and still got a 5. they may have fixed this idk. (sorry this is redundant but i wanted to give this ap chem exam specific info)

ap environmental science: 1. there is a lot of damn information here. i would use chapter outlines and pick out key terms, policies, and events etc. treat this like a history class.

2. for the exam, use common sense. most of the time, the most environmentally friendly answer is the right one. if you just have a general gist of the course and its topics, but don’t know a lot of details, go with your intuition and you should be fine. i didn’t have a lot of time to study for this one and this method worked for me.

ap calc bc: 1. memorize standard derivatives. power rule, sin and cos, chain rule. that’s important.

2. similarly, memorize standard integrals.

3. don’t forget +c for indefinite integrals. just don’t.

4. similarly, if it’s definite, don’t forget to evaluate at the end! super easy thing to do, but also super easy way to lose points if you forget.

5. if the integral looks complicated, that probably means there’s a “trick” involved. u substitution, integration by parts, trig substitution. something like that.

6. memorize some standard series’, operations, and types (arithmetic, geometric etc)

7. if you’re looking at a word problem, understand what is dependent on your variable and what isn’t (in other words, what’s a constant). for example, if it says the water flows into the barrel at 50 mL/s and flows out at 1/5 times the volume, that translate to F = 50 - (1/5)V. don’t make things more complicated by trying to write everything in terms of V (in this example). also, your equation might just be a constant term or just a variable term doesn’t have to be both.

8. know what your derivative is with respect to/what it really means. aka if your problem is talking about flow and volume, how are they related to each other? flow is the change in volume *with respect to time*. so if i differentiate volume with respect to time, i get flow. if i integrate flow with respect to time, i get volume. this also helps you make sense of word problems.

*disclaimer*: it is been 5 years since i took this class and i have taken quite a few math classes after. i apologize if i introduce anything that is a little irrelevant.

ap spanish language: 1. flashcard. like seriously. there’s gonna be vocab involved.

2. understand what’s asked. for the persuasive email. *be persuasive*

3. toolkit. i mentioned this before but this was probably the most useful for this class. our teacher gave us a bunch of fancier words to use instead of causar (to cause) because that was a word we’d need a lot. the one that still sticks with me 4 years later is fomentar. have a few alternatives for these kinds of super common words, a good greeting and closing for your email, and a set of good transitions. *make sure you know how to use them properly*

4. write stuff down during listening. you can either answer questions during the first listen, then take notes the second to catch stuff you missed or vice versa.

5. it’s ok to backtrack in the speaking. don’t let yourself get stuck and just not say anything. it’ll freak you out for the rest of the exam and will rob you from showing off what you know. also take notes of things you want to mention based off cultural knowledge of the situation related to the dialogue.

6. don’t zone out. with everything going on and all the stress, it’s easy to zone out (esp during the conversation). don’t do it or you’ll have a hard time responding and freak yourself out (again)

7. don’t lose your place in the convo! they give you a sheet that shows you how many times the other “person” will talk. i lost track and said goodbye one segment early. it was bad ok. all these conversation tips are from personal experience.

ap statistics: 1. know the different kinds of tests inside and out. know the differences and the conditions. if you’ve got that, you’re like 75% the way there.

2. be familiar with sample vs population. it’s a bit confusing, but take the time to understand.

3. ok sorry i really don’t remember anything else. this exam really isn’t that difficult (in my opinion), you’ll be ok.

ap physics c: 1. free body diagrams. understand how to draw them *and draw them*. they will carry you through mechanics. draw gravitational force, normal if there’s a surface, and then any other given forces.

2. basic equations. you get an equation sheet, but knowing the equations means you know the concepts and the relations between them. big ones are f=ma and the equations relating position (x), velocity (v), and acceleration (a). also friction f=uN.

3. *normal isn’t always the opposite direction of gravity!!!!* gravity is straight down. normal is perpendicular to the surface.

4. vector components. please don’t just add vectors. break them down into components and then add or you are so fucked.

5. get familiar with triangles. this will help with the whole component thing.

6. kirchoffs rules are so helpful. know them.

7. understand the relations between voltage/potential and current in terms of the properties of circuit elements. that means the equations for resistors, capacitors, and inductors.

8. know how to add in parallel and series. it’s important. also! if the circuit is drawn “weird” a good way to know series vs parallel is that parallel elements share two nodes and that series circuits only share 1.

9. sorry i kinda blocked out E+M bc i didn’t know what i was doing (or so i thought). i still got a 4 tho so that curve is generous.

ap us history: 1. chapter outlines. pretty self explanatory.

2. make a timeline. put important events, sentiments, policies, and presidents. if you can associate these things together into time periods it will be easier. most of the time, any one question (esp long response or whatever they’re called) will only focus on 1 time period.

3. sentiments are important. if you know nothing else, know these bc they will help guide you through questions by reasoning even if you know nothing else.

4. gilder lehrman (or similar us history summaries). these are tailor specifically to apush bc they are organized by period (i think that’s what they were called?). i actually fell asleep listening to these bc i didn’t have time to study. they were mildly helpful, but every little bit helps right?

ap psychology: 1. chapter outlines/flashcards. this course is based heavily on key terms and less so on larger concepts.

2. ok sorry i took this online i remember literally nothing except how annoying my teacher was and that the exam was easy. if you know terminology i think you should do fine.

ap biology: 1. there is a lot. go through all the topics and make sure you’re solid. start with the big picture, then think about narrowing down.

2. know how charts work. things like pedigrees, punnet squares, and evolution trees (that’s def not the right term). some of the exam will just be interpretation of this.

3. i am so sorry i remember nothing else.

ap spanish literature: 1. flashcards. title, author, time period, short summary, key elements (a line, character, symbol). this is *so helpful*

2. think about the works in relation to each other. you might be asked to compare them. even if they ask you to compare something on the reading list with something new, you’ll be familiar with the points you might talk about.

3. know the lit terms. more flashcards. associate them with a particular work if you can/need to.

4. don’t freak on the listening. a lot of the recordings are old and shitty quality. take a deep breath and try your best. know that the rest of the test takers (excepting maybe natives) are experiencing the same thing.

5. use that tool box. see general spanish and ap spanish lang.

this is so freaking long and i think the moral of the story is that i blocked out my senior year ap exams. i hope this was helpful and, if you have more questions, or want more stuff like this, let me know!

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cindylouwho-2 · 5 years

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RECENT NEWS, RESOURCES & STUDIES, June 2019

Welcome to my latest summary of recent news, resources & studies including search, analytics, content marketing, social media & ecommerce! This covers articles I came across from May 31 to June 21, although some may be older than that.

(Unfortunately, a few of this edition’s entries were lost somehow, & I could only remember one of the missing, so if you know of an article/post that should be included, please let me know, & the piece will be added here as well as to the next post.)

My busy few months are now mostly over, so I will have more time to get working on this Tumblr, new blog posts & the new forum I want to start; expect more frequent updates starting in July.

TOP NEWS & ARTICLES

Shopify is going to run fulfillment centres for its US customers within the next 2 years. “Right now Shopify will offer early access for merchants who ship between 10 and 10,000 items per day, and by the end of the year the company aims to offer two-day shipping to 99 per cent of the United States.” They announced other plans at the same time, including better shop tools.

If you have your own website, conversion rate optimization is something you should be looking at. Why? Because “[a] simple tweak on a landing page can double or even 10x that page’s conversion rate” which can be much easier to do than doubling your traffic. [Note that this is not a short article; it’s a full guide.]

Matching searcher intent is a crucial part of great rankings. This long article tells you pretty much everything you need to know on making that happen with your content, with real examples for their site.

Mary Meeker released her annual internet trends report; shorter summary here. “If you're looking to connect with the next generation, you should be maintaining at least some awareness of gaming culture, which is where attention is increasingly shifting.” “Some 51 percent of the world — 3.8 billion people — were internet users last year, up from 49 percent (3.6 billion) in 2017...E-commerce is now 15 percent of retail sales. Its growth has slowed — up 12.4 percent in Q1 compared with a year earlier — but still towers over growth in regular retail, which was just 2 percent in Q1...Customer acquisition costs — the marketing spending necessary to attract each new customer — is going up.

ETSY NEWS

Etsy retired several of its Support/Help email addresses, including [email protected], all without any official announcement.

You can now link photos to variations - but only with one variation, not both.

Etsy’s annual report for 2018 is out; I didn’t see much new here, but if you catch something, please leave a comment or send me an email so I can add it to this summary. [They actually mentioned “abilities” in their list of things they accept diverse ranges of, but as usual, they only give any details about gender, race/ethnicity and sexual orientation. Disability is invisible for them.]

A new bunch of US states will have state taxes charged for online sales as of July 1.

Ryan Scott will be Etsy’s new Chief Marketing Officer as of June 24.

SEO: GOOGLE & OTHER SEARCH ENGINES

Google broke with tradition & decided to warn SEOs about the core search algorithm update that started rolling out on Monday June 3 and ended on the 8th. There are multiple reports of some UK news companies taking a hard hit while others picked up visibility. It’s still too early for much comprehensive analysis, but here is a summary and another more recent one.

At the same time, Google also rolled out an update that increases site diversity in search results, often limiting each website to 2 entries in Google’s top pages. Think of it as Google's approach to “clumping”. They insist it is separate from the core algorithm update. Early analysis finds that it didn't change much for most searches.

Websites sometimes rely too much on Google traffic, which is dangerous whenever they change something (i.e., daily). Here are 5 ways to make your site/pages more resistant to algorithm updates.

Most decent SEO tools cost some money to get the full value, but here is a list of 55 free tools including keyword research, stats, linking, and technical tools. (Some have paid versions as well, but just ignore what you don’t need.)

SEO sometimes requires stating the obvious; check out this tweet with a graphic from an SEO conference.

Rand Fishkin did a major review of clicks from Google search, & found that nearly 50% of US google searches result in a click (often questions such as weather, or spelling). Only 45% led to clicks on non-paid links, & non-Google companies. But “for every click on a paid result in Google, there are 11.6 clicks to organic results. SEO is far from dead.” Search Engine Land did a TL;DR (too long; didn’t read) summary here.

Fishkin also has some good insights on making a profit through SEO. [video and full transcript] I think the point about having a strong profit margin is really important - it is going to get more expensive to sell online as time goes on. Etsy is not the only provider trying to squeeze more pennies out of its customers. (Fishkin’s whole push lately is that you must be a known brand to survive; I am reserving judgement on that for the moment.)

Most blogs haven’t done their SEO correctly, but you can fix that. [video & full transcript]

Hate it when your site/business gets mentioned online, but they don’t link to you? There are ways to get other companies to link to you.

The latest Google mobile search redesign has folks pitching fits about how ads now look like organic search results. For your own website & other sites where it is possible, make sure you have a favicon that stands out from paid ads. [If you Google “CindyLouWho2″ on mobile, my blue fossil coral avi shows for my website & this Tumblr blog.]

Voice search isn’t taking off like people thought it would, although around 30% of Americans use virtual assistants regularly.

Is audio SEO going to be a thing? Dr. Pete looks at Google’s decision to post podcasts in search results.

CONTENT MARKETING & SOCIAL MEDIA (includes blogging & emails)

Facebook announced its move into cryptocurrency with Libra, which will launch in 2020.

Contrary to some reports, it seems that fewer people are using Facebook regularly. While time spent on FB drops, Instagram in particular is seeing more interaction.

Getting the right image sizes and dimensions is really important for each platform; here is an infographic on all image sizes for Facebook.

“[T]he right time for you to post on Facebook will be different than the right time for someone else to post on Facebook.” A summary of multiple studies on the topic, with tips on using your Facebook Analytics to narrow this down for your business.

After banning mass messaging earlier this year, WhatsApp is prohibiting sending newsletters through the app as of December.

A decent guide on using Twitter for your business. “...tweets with images get 150% more retweets”.

Thinking of running a Twitter chat? Here’s a complete guide, including Hootsuite templates.

You can get new content ideas from Reddit. “Reddit.com saw 542 million visitors in March 2019 alone.”

Pinterest is expanding its shopping program, now called Pinterest Partners, to provide more shopping opportunities on the site.

A study of the 500 top-followed Pinterest accounts shows that home decor is most popular among influencer topics. [infographic with text.]

Short video platform TikTok is still showing rapid growth. “Digital wellbeing is more important than it has ever been. Since tech companies started optimising for user engagement, the user is unable to escape the app. You will always feel dissatisfied when you close the app, because the notifications keep on coming and the content never seems to end. To us it seems, TikTok has taken this idea to another level and built the user experience to deliberately create addiction.“

ONLINE ADVERTISING (SEARCH ENGINES, SOCIAL MEDIA, & OTHERS)

Using Google Ads for your website? Make sure you avoid these 7 common mistakes.

Google now allows you to target people who are “regularly in your target locations” - but it doesn’t really define how they calculate that.

Instagram Shopping is most popular with younger people (at least in the UK).

Good tips on improving your Amazon ad effectiveness, especially cost-effectiveness.

Some tips on Microsoft Audience ads, and how to get the most out of them. It includes some good general tips, like looking at your profit margin.

Facebook produced an infographic on how to best create FB ads, especially, for mobile.

STATS, DATA, OTHER TRACKING

Google has purchased analytics company Looker; Etsy uses the platform already.

The Google Search Console is now giving users 90 days of data for some reports.

Here’s a new WordPress plugin that tracks clicks on pdfs on your site through Google Analytics.

ECOMMERCE NEWS, IDEAS, TRENDS

Paypal has developed “a customizable e-commerce platform”.

Amazon has extended 1-day Prime delivery. Their ability to do that largely depends on how they are taking control of the shipping methods used, moving away from using other big companies.

Amazon closed Spark, its social media competitor, and it redirects to a page of customer-curated collections.

Some Goodwill stores are now selling thrift items on online platform OfferUp.

Opinion article: is feature-driven retail preventing people from buying?

BUSINESS & CONSUMER STUDIES, STATS & REPORTS; SOCIOLOGY & PSYCHOLOGY, CUSTOMER SERVICE

Human brains like stories, which is why you should use them in your marketing. “Stories do another thing: They trigger the release of this neurochemical called oxytocin, which is known in some circles as the love drug. About 10 years ago, all we really knew about oxytocin is that it’s released when, say, a mother is with her baby. But what we’ve discovered since then, through the work of neuroscientists like Dr. Paul Zak, is that stories trigger the release of oxytocin in much the same way.”

Sell luxury goods? The market is changing as younger people make up a larger chunk of the core. Millennials will make up 50% of the market by 2025. The article has some interesting stats on the luxury resale market: “Overall 45% of true-luxury consumers participated in the second-hand luxury market, and more than one-fourth (26%) have bought pre-owned goods” which is a trend some luxury vintage sellers might want to watch.

Generation Z prefers personalized content & isn’t as worried about privacy as older generations.

US adults now spend more time on mobile devices than they do watching tv. Much of that time is spent on mobile apps instead of browsers, & audio (podcasts & music streaming, mostly) accounts for a large chunk of time spent.

US retail sales grew by half a percent in May, less than predicted.

MISCELLANEOUS

As the US looks at starting an antitrust case against Google, articles are reminding the government what other countries found, and what they should be looking at now. Businesses big & small have filed complaints.

The Google Cloud outage on June 2 that took down YouTube, Snapchat and Shopify among other sites points to the need for everyone to have a backup system. [Remember, Etsy is also moving all functions to Google’s cloud.]

Sick of writing product descriptions? Imagine if it was your full-time job, and you didn’t have any hand in making or curating the products.

#seo #search engine optimization #search engine marketing #etsynews #analytics #stats #Social media #contentmarketing #ecommerce #smallbiz #cindylouwho2newsupdates

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kuriquinn · 6 years

Text

The Springtime of Our Lives [2/3]

Original Prompt: “Can you write about team 7 going through puberty? – Anon"

Author’s Note: It’s weird writing about puberty from the male perspective when you’re a woman…this was an interesting exercise for me. Also, because I don’t think Sasuke was the typical teenaged boy...

Beta Reader: None just yet. Will get to it when I get to it :P

Part I

Part II: Stripling

Not again.

The sentiment is the only coherence Sasuke’s mind is capable of just then as he rouses suddenly and uncomfortably from his sleep. His heart races, lungs heaving and legs shaking, and he’s agonizingly conscious of the unpleasant dampness across his legs and belly. The last of the haze fades with his sleep, annoyance and disgust rapidly replacing it.

Somehow, the cold darkness of his room seems even more so in his discomfort.

Fuck.

He shoves his thin blanket aside and bolts from the hard cot, stripping off his clothing with economic efficiency. He ignores his body’s instinctive shiver of protest as he stalks across his cavernous quarters.

The grotto where he sleeps is dimly lit with torches, but he doesn’t really need their glow to light his way. His eyes are better than any lamp, and though the rock of the riverbed is slippery beneath his bare feet, his footing is certain.

Like most of Orochimaru’s hide-outs, the cavern complex is located underground in one of the numerous damp and twisted tunnels. Sasuke normally feels a distant sort of annoyance with life underground—it feels too much like hiding to him, which is a coward’s way—but this bolthole is to his liking. It’s constructed around an underground river, one of whose tributaries flows through Sasuke’s own lodgings. That means instead of the communal facilities in the centre of the complex, he can bathe or wash his clothing in privacy.

Right now, he does just that, scrubbing doggedly at the loose black trousers he sleeps in. He beats them against a rock outcropping, intending to eradicate every trace of stain there. It’s not blood, though he’s had to clean that out of his clothes often since arriving to train with the legendary Sannin; Orochimaru does not pull punches just because of Sasuke’s age.

In some ways, it’s so much worse than blood.

Despite the cold, Sasuke’s cheeks burn.

When he first started having mornings like this, waking surrounded by damp bedsheets, his immediate reaction was panic and shame. Bedwetting is the action of a child and—barring the horrible months directly after his clan’s murder, when memories of Itachi’s genjutsu often loosened his bladder at night—Sasuke hasn’t wet the bed since he was three.

Unsurprisingly, realising the actual reason for the soggy sheets in the morning did not make him feel better or less ashamed.

A shinobi’s education is beyond comprehensive for matters of biology and physiology, and that doesn’t even account for everything Sasuke has learned since Orochimaru started teaching him. He had classes in biology at the Academy, of course, and memorized that information with ease.

The connection between physical body and chakra is more than a mental one, often manifesting physically. There’s also the necessity of knowing the exact placement of internal organs, or the junctures where joints are particularly weak, or the exact breaking point of certain bones. Shinobi are often assigned assassinations, after all.

Even before he lost his family, and along with them anyone with whom he might connect personally over these types of problems, he was passive in his knowledge of the human body. It was just another tool to mould in his ever-present quest for revenge.

He spent almost ten years of his life forcing his body to bend to his will and obey him in everything.

To discover that this was something he had no control over was…frustrating, to say the least.

And it didn’t stop him from trying to control it.

Once the confusion and shame wore away, replaced with angry resolve, Sasuke dealt with the matter as well as he could. He woke up earlier than before, pacing back and forth until his traitorous flesh returned once more to his control. He wore looser clothing to disguise his lower body during the day and became an expert at making comments that distracted others from noticing his physical discomfort. Or worse, when he had to readjust his shorts.

He soon learned fretting did nothing; if anything, it made his problem last longer. There wasn’t anything more to do than sit uncomfortably and grit his teeth, because any wrong movement sent tingling jabs of sensation shooting up through his body.

There was one morning that he took care of the issue himself, impatient to make it go away faster. The task itself wasn’t unpleasant, and for a brief moment he actually experienced fully body relief as the coiling tension within him let go.

But almost immediately, he experienced a sense of shame and rebuke well up within him.

How could he dare to give in to his unruly hormones and treacherous body? How could he dare feel anything good, or let his mind focus for an instant on something other than his lofty goals for revenge?

His inner recriminations were enough to erase whatever pleasure came from the act, and eradicate any future temptations for self-gratification.

These days, Sasuke sleeps on his side, training himself to keep blankets or clothing from twisting across his body. When he wakes, he tries to move carefully, not wanting any part of his body to react to stimulus. On particularly difficult mornings he recites whatever technical treatises Orochimaru or Kabuto give him to read, anything pedantic enough to keep is mind busy while his body returns to its normal state.

But every now and again—more often than he would like—there a mornings like this one, where he wakes to the evidence of his body’s rebellion.

Despite the fact that he has an excellent memory, and the Sharingan preserves images so well, Sasuke never remembers the dreams. Probably it’s because they’re the product of an overactive brain, and not something his eyes have copied.

(He thinks that’s probably for the best.)

The icy burn of the water temperature is almost painful now, to the point that he would almost—almost—rather wait out his discomfort on his bed. But that has its own complications.

Cohabitating with someone like Kabuto has been an experience.

The medic is always taking skin or hair samples from other subordinates, those who have volunteered or been co-opted into Orochimaru’s experiments. The whole practice unnerved Sasuke when he first realised what Kabuto was doing. That was about the time he started being very careful about leaving any trace of himself within reach of the medic. Before leaving his quarters, he would study his room with the Sharingan for minute traces of anything that might be used for…untoward activities.

Perhaps not wanting to alienate an already distrustful child, Orochimaru decided that Sasuke’s physical health would be monitored personally by him.

By them, Sasuke corrects with a small frown, stumbling over the best way to describe his teacher. The confines of grammar are somehow insufficient to deal with a being like Orochimaru.

Sasuke hasn’t had to worry about needles or invasive tests or anything beyond what he would undergo in the care of a regular physician. The only difference is he undergoes monthly physicals instead of biannual ones, as a means of keeping track of his progress, as well as a regimented diet to optimize his energy output. There’s not as much fruit and vegetables to it as Sasuke would like (it’s mostly bioengineered soldier pills), but it does the job.

It strikes him as odd, and perhaps a little ironic, that he feels less threatened by the Snake Sannin than their subordinate. But then, Orochimaru has always been up front about their intentions and the way they intend to achieve those.

Kabuto speaks out of two sides of his mouth.

It’s clear that he is used to finding peoples weaknesses and exploiting them without mercy. It’s a tactic Orochimaru uses, too, but somehow different. The Snake Sannin always has some larger goal in mind and doesn’t mock or taunt beyond the exact increment needed to achieve a desired result.

Sasuke was surprised in his first months training with Orochimaru to discover that they were not an entirely the malicious entity he had expected. In fact, he’s come to realise that Orochimaru is just very, very amoral. They’re a scientist first and foremost, and it’s the pursuit of results in their studies which have made them ruthless.

Kabuto does not seem to have any other goal but to manipulate those around him.

It’s easier to trust a scientist than a spy, I guess, Sasuke decides, wringing out the sodden material in his hands. Goosebumps spread across his bare skin, up the flesh of his calves and back, eradicating whatever lingering warmth might remain from the nocturnal…incident.

Sasuke hates his human body for it inborn weaknesses.

Worse than the embarrassment are the erections themselves, because those aren’t limited to his sleeping hours.

It happened to him during training a few weeks ago, and luckily he was sparring with Orochimaru at the time, instead of Kabuto.

“This is a normal biological function,” the Snake Sannin dismissed when Sasuke’s flustered anger led him to make several obvious mistakes. “Simple evidence that you’re a healthy adolescent male. Undisciplined, perhaps, but healthy. There’s no reason such a thing should distract you.”

Sasuke snarled at that, not wanting to acknowledge the subject.

“The human body is but an earthly vessel for the spirit—a temporary transport. You know this,” Orochimaru continued, gesturing to their own host body. They had long since shed the outward appearance of their last host. “Your mind can control that when you’re awake, but when you sleep, you relinquish some of that control.”

“Then how do I stop?” Sasuke demanded at last, albeit through clenched teeth.

“Practice, of course. What do you think I’ve been trying to teach you? It’s not just training your body to become strong, but your mind must be strong as well.”

Or else it won’t survive the Fushi Tensei, the snake Sannin didn’t say, though Sasuke was just as aware of his teacher’s end goal as always.

“I can’t focus on training either when I’m dealing with this,” he complained. As if to add insult to injury, his voice cracked, making his words end on a high, questioning note rather than a low growl of menace.

For a wonder, Orochimaru hadn’t mocked him, though they looked amused.

“If you are so impatient to control your baser human urges, there are other options,” they suggested. “A simple operation, and that bothersome testosterone will never trouble you again.”

“No.”

Sasuke surprised himself with the speed with which he refused that offer. And though Orochimaru chuckled at it, they didn’t pursue it.

Sasuke frowns in the darkness, going over the incident again.

Oh, he doesn’t believe that he’ll ever have children. Given the fact he’s dedicated himself to annihilating the last of his family, he doesn’t believe he deserves to build another.

But agreeing to a sterilization procedure might suggest he believes Orochimaru to be some kind of threat that might use Sasuke as the progenitor of countless, mindless Sharingan-wielding bodies. It would seem like a coward’s safeguard, a confirmation that he worries Orochimaru will defeat him at that arbitrary future date.

And Sasuke is too stubborn to give the old snake the satisfaction of that.

Against his will, his thought stray to Sakura and Naruto and Kakashi. He tries not to dwell on the idea that losing himself to Orochimaru has anything to do with them. It’s a challenge, but one that gets easier each time.

He no longer thinks of his home or the people in it with a gnawing feeling of regret. Sometimes he can even manage distant detachment, when he’s exhausted himself of chakra and his body no longer moves at his command.

That surprised him most when he first arrived here: the homesickness.

It wasn’t that his resolve wasn’t strong; he’d almost killed his best friend in his determination to prove that. But severing bonds, it turned out, wasn’t like the cut of a sharp sword. Much as he tried—and he should have known this from the years spent grieving and hating Itachi—his emotions persisted in longing for impossible things.

It honestly felt more like the fruitless hacking of a blunt axe than anything else.

He knows Naruto is no longer in Konoha—Kabuto reported that a few months after Sasuke defected. He suspects his former teammate has gone off with that white-haired degenerate who taught him the Rasengan. And Sakura might have remained behind in the village, but she’s training as a medic, according to Kabuto reports.

Having seen what Orochimaru’s underling is capable of, Sasuke understands just how dangerous an opponent this will make Sakura, should they ever encounter each other. The way Orochimaru speaks of the Fifth Hokage is never in the same dismissive vein as their feelings on Jiraiya. There’s a grudging respect there that Sasuke has only ever detected when the Sannin speaks of the Third Hokage or Hanzō of the Salamander. Sasuke imagines the only times the Snake Sannin has ever come truly close to death has been during encounters with one of those three.

He’s even more curious about whether Orochimaru would change the outcomes if they had the chance. Orochimaru enjoys learning from mistakes almost as much as succeeding.

His clothing now clean and his raging blood once more under control, Sasuke climbs out of the water and pads toward his bed. Beside it is the only furniture in the room, a low table, where his garments and belt are folded.

Taking up the clothes to dress in, he lays out the wet trousers flat so that they can dry better. Though they are now clean, he still scowls down at the wet fabric.

It could be worse, he thinks grimly, as he shakes out his white shitagi. I could still be in Konoha right now and going through this nonsense.

第七班

I hope I voiced Sasuke okay in this. I figure up until a certain point in his life he probably viewed sex as an obstacle, so I tried to evoke that here.

And yes, Orochimaru is gender-neutral. I don’t care what anyone says. Also, based on how he answered Mitsuki’s questions, I figure he would be pretty chill about puberty stuff. Like, of all the adults except for Tsunade, he’d probably be the least embarrassed. I’m always reading these fics where Orochimaru is after Sasuke in a sex way, and (except for that one fic where it was only just alluded to), I just don’t see it. I’m pretty sure he’s ace or some permutation thereof and getting involved in anything sexual just takes time away from becoming immortal or whatever.

クリ

Next Chapter (in progress)

#naruto fanfiction #prompt fic #fic prompt #sasuke uchiha #orochimaru #slice of life #hidden years #puberty #awkward #introspection #character study

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not-a-statement · 6 years

Text

Chasing ghosts. Chapter 1

I’m finally posting the first chapter.

Forgive me for my grammar, like I said I'm not a native speaker, but I hope you'll find it at least readable.

As always big thanks to @edward-or-ford for all his help and guidance

I’ll soon figure out how to create a master post, but just for now I’ll leave a link to a prologue (if you haven’t read it) here

Hope you guys enjoy this chapter

New City, NY, August 31st 2024

Dipper set aside the empty glass and glanced around at the merry people gathered to celebrate the Pines twins’ birthday. There were friends, a couple of relatives, colleagues. Mostly the Zach Turner’s colleagues: Dipper himself did not have personal contact with many people every day. A freelance journalist is called freelance for a reason. But if you are a stockbroker, even a beginner, then you might be in this kind of crowd. All of them fit, most of them tanned (probably from a solarium), wearing fancy Trussardi polos, a full set in order to impress you. To make you believe that you are looking at a wealthy confident man who knows no worries and ready tackle any money issues.

No, It’s not that Dipper could blame them, it's just their job to look successful and reliable. But from all this dazzling crowd hanging out in the backyard of the house he began to feel a ruffling sensation in his eyes. As if somebody poured a bucket of transparent glue on each of them and after they were shot with a sequins canon or whatever. It’s just seemed that each movement of these people somehow refracted the rays of sunlight at such an angle to hit Dipper directly in the eyes with a piercing beam. But anyway, Mabel was probably over-delighted with this kind display. Somehow it became a sort of tradition for the past ten years: what was painful for Dipper was pretty joyfull for Mabel.

Pines mentally kicked himself for that last thought. It sounded terrible, even if he didn’t say it out loud. And it sounded even worse coming from the thoughts of a loving brother.

Hah, a loving ... brother. It's odd even to put these two words in one sentence…

Another mental kick. Don’t you even dare to think about your feelings for your own sister, not now. Better to not ever.

Disgusting thoughts.

Wrong feelings.

Bad brain. Very bad and being an ass right now. We need to focus on what is important: today's birthday. Stan could get to us from his backwoods. Dad and Mom are also going to visit in a couple of days, when they return from the next trip around the country. They are probably happy with their new life without the constant care of children, busy only with each other and with their dreams.

Everyone was happy. Why couldn’t Dipper at least relax a little and pretend that he enjoyed this noise, instead of constantly thinking about escape paths from this house filled with smiling mannequins and idle talk? From the house where every piece of furniture, every spoon from the gift set and every word uttered by its inhabitants would forever remind Dipper of what he lost, and more than that, what he could never get. It was taken away from him by this slender hard-built bastard with a radiant smile from ear to ear and the sweetest speeches that he poured in huge doses into the ears of everyone around him. All these manners, courtesy. Damn, was it really only Dipper that was sick of this man-made likeness? Did no one else see his essence? Why did no one else see him as the dirty bastard he was? And why was Mabel, sweet smart Mabel, so blinded by all his fake ... this fake ... facade?

Dipper let out a deep sigh and reached for the glass again.

You know what? Forget it. You once again begin to come up with wild ideas and seeing things. Not every man hovers around Mabel actually turns out to be a psychopath, a juvenile maniac or a bunch of wild Fae creatures.

Yes, but I was right then!

Because then you tried to protect your sister, not the girl you are in love with.

As if there is any difference.

Newsflash. Of course there is. Want an example? Okay second year at college, the black guy what’s-his-face? Always found an excuse to hang in your dorm room with Mabel. You do remember him, right? And how long did it take your eye to recover from swelling.

Hey, it's not my fault that he got into a fight.

It happens when you get a lot of suspicious glares.

There weren’t so many of them ...

Dude, he still probably thinks you are a racist or something.

The rumble of a bourbon being filled in a glass was almost a lullaby. Dipper did not even notice how he filled the vessel almost to the brim.

Well, that was great: he was talking to himself now! Not that it was the first time. He often arranged internal disputes on this or that topic, clashing his rational part with itself or with the sensual, but never before his emotional side sounded so offended and pitiful.

Dipper frowned, sipping an amber drink, which burned his tongue and throat, but at the same time it became a little easier to consider everything that was happening and himself in it. With this ease, eyelids grew heavy, thoughts became slower - only the footage of the last six months of his life began to flash before his eyes.

If it could be called that. A life ...

Life is something sensible, controlled in the most of things. With no comprehensible forecast, only with assumptions - and that's enough, believe me.

And this kind of floating in the time-space with rare interactions with random objects floating there as well could hardly be called a life. It's like flying on autopilot without a specific purpose. And even you can not enjoy a journey in spite of what they say. A kind of asteroid in the cold space.

Or more like....

Perhaps it's ... like a satellite? Yes, a satellite that spends its entire life quietly orbiting its planet - a circle after a circle, year after year. It's boring, but you can adapt, especially if you do not think about why you get in this orbit and what happened before. If you do not replay in your mind moments from the past when at the age of fifteen you started to notice things that should not have been noticed, when your sweating hands, weak legs and lack of words turned the simplest conversation into an attraction of strangeness and awkwardness. If you do not replay memories of prom night over and over again in your head, which you found an excuse not to go to having no date to bring along, and your sister spent the whole night accompanied by that tall blond guy from her Spanish class and returned only the morning after. Or how you secretly threw out letters from the MIT that was ready to tear you away from the opportunity to choose a college in the same city as Mabel did.

Collect all these pieces together, and here you are - Dipper Pines - a proud mayor of the city called "What am I doing with my life?". Population: one person.

No, not like that.

And you are ready to go out into the streets and tear leaflets to passers-by with an invitation to the seminar "Are you too happy with your life? I will tell you how to get rid of this feeling. Every Sunday at a local community center. BYOB"

Yes, that's better. I can at least raise a little money.

Wait, what am I talking about? I need to open my eyes ...

A little more ... a little more ...

Oh, No! Bad idea!

Too light! Too light and too many people!

Oh... damn it …

Hmm ... although what am I? This was like it before I fell into my thoughts.

And yes - I'm still here. In the backyard of this hellhole, where Turner dragged my May ... um ... my ... my sister in his clawed paws. And from this hell I will never get her out of.

Dipper opened his eyes a little wider and looked at Zach's two-story house with complete disdain. Painted in a sky blue color, with windows washed up to the illusion of their absence and a neat backyard with garden gnomes, miniature paths lined with wooden footbridges, solar-powered lanterns and a low fence separating this site from the neighboring ones, it fit perfectly into a quiet family scenery, which New City of himself represented. This house came in no comparison with a small apartment in Brooklyn, where the twins has lived for almost a year after moving to New York. The apartment, which was a witness of moments of happiness and sadness, where the TV sometimes wasn’t turn off til morning because of the another marathon of cheesy horror movies, which housed the whole world of two closest friends, who loved each other sincerely and unselfishly. And which kept the secrets of one of them about where in its sincerity and disinterestedness there were footnotes in small print.

At the age of sixteen, Dipper told himself that only time was needed and that everything would end, everything would pass.

Now that’s a funny statement. Like a film or a book with an open ending, it gives a choice. For example, how long will it take or what will end? How many more will a small gray spinning top spin before shaking and gradually slowing its course until it stops? And will it stop at all?

Well, anyway, Dipper learned one thing - nothing can depend only on his will and obey the dry logic and, therefore, control. At the age of eighteen, he began to feel how gradually the situation began to develop according to his own scenario, regardless of his efforts to manage it. At twenty-two he could hardly find an explanation for his actions and decisions, and six months ago …

Six months ago, the satellite nevertheless descended from orbit and began its journey through the cold dark and empty nothingness. Six months ago, time had finally passed and everything was over.

On that day he walked from the editorial office with a new assignment. It was Friday, there was nowhere to hurry, although on the streets of New York even if you do not want to you have to merge with the eternally rushing crowd. There was a smell of spring in the air, and no matter how cliched this phrase was, damn it, it was true. Even Dipper felt something like that. Light and warm whiff. For the short time that he walked from the editorial office, the world around acquired more color, more smells - not literally, New York, with its busy streets, always supplied smells even above normal. Everything around seemed to come to life, blossoming in all its glory.

Not surprisingly, Mabel was always so happy about the arrival of spring, wherever we were. Maybe I should learn from her? Observe her today while taking a walk in Central Park - why the guy can’t invite his sister to take a walk in Central Park? Also, it’s now so beautiful there - bare trees are just beginning to be covered with the first signs of foliage, old men and women and young lovers are walking slowly along the paths of the park, contemplating what’s happening around them ...

It is possible to pretend that there is no hidden sadness that there is no emptiness inside. You can just move your legs, do not think about anything and absorb the sensations. And all this next to the most beloved person in the whole world …

Immersed in these thoughts and not particularly paying attention to scurrying hurried to and fro people around him, Dipper did not notice how a lazy and pacified smile began to creep across his face.

At least today life is good!

Mabel was waiting for him in the Ferrara bakery on Grand Street, where she was heading after another interview. It turns out that it's not so easy to find a job in New York for a mobile designer, but Mabel was not one of those people who despairs even after four months of searching. Although it seemed to Dipper that her enthusiasm was already at an end, and only by some miracle she still finds the strength to get up in the morning. He wanted to cheer her up, somehow raise her spirits, even if she does not admit that she is sad. Show that he is near, that he was always and will be there.

He planned everything: meet Mabel after work, a walk in Central Park, pizza for dinner and several pre-prepared playlists to choose from - romantic comedies, musicals, horror films and detectives. When they were sixteen, they could spend the whole night before the TV screen watching this kind of marathon of films. It's clear, they are older now and they have work and responsibilities, but, hey - today is Friday.

Simple and sincere. Only two of them, together.

It sounds like a date. Something like that…

From Worcester Street, on which stood the editorial building, it was ten minutes to go to the venue. Turn to Grand Street and go east, bypassing Green, Mercer, Broadway, Crosby, Lafayette, Center, Baxter and Mulberry Street. Piece of cake.

Despite the fact that after the turn the only thing that he had to do was to be on the straight line all the time, Dipper repeatedly checked the route in Google maps to make sure that he does not get lost and will be in place on time. Yes, it sounds odd, but New York is a big city, and it needs to be able to navigate. He didn’t want to repeat the story when Mabel mistakenly left for Jersey City and Dipper had to explain to her how to send her geolocation message to find it and pick her up.

Although now, probably, Dipper with all the desire could not not find the place where his sister was waiting. Huge signboards to the owners of the establishment seemed to be not enough, so they hoisted a giant plastic cones with a multicolored ice cream on both sides of the entrance, put a showcase with sweets on the street, and on the visor above the entrance for some reason they’ve put an old red baker's truck or something like that. Only the red carpet leading inside was missing. Oh, no, here it is …

Mabel sat in the far corner at a table for two. Before her stood a half empty mug of latte (obviously with a syrup of bubble gum, how can one drink it at all?) And a barely touched strawberry cheesecake. A slight dreamy smile played on her lips, a look through half-open eyelids was directed against the wall opposite her, the cheek is propped up by the palm, and the head is slightly tilted. Oh, so might it be that today she was at luck?

And how did it always happen that in any situation, in any position and with any expression of her face, Mabel was more beautiful than all the girls, that he’s ever seen in his life?..

"Hi, sis," Dipper said with a smile. "How was today?"

Whatever Mabel dreamed of, she was deep in her thoughts, because only the creak of the chair being moved in front of her and the appearance of her brother in her field of vision could bring her back to reality.

"Oh, hello, Dip," she chirped smiling wider. "I didn’t expect you so early."

“What?” Dipper was slightly taken aback. “I thought that I was even five minutes late ... wait, is this sarcasm? ...”

"No, no," Mabel said, quickly removing her elbow from the table and tucking the hair into her ear. She scanned the bakery, as if not quite understanding where she was.

“What time is it now?”

"Um, seven o'clock, just the time we agreed to meet”

"Oh, already?" Mabel lowered her eyes slightly and began fiddling with the tips of her hair.

"The time flew by so quickly," she added in a half whisper. Her cheeks glowed softly.

“Yes, already” something suspicious was in the behavior of the sister. But put it off, Pines. You were going to offer something.

"Well, how did it go this time? Everything’s worked out? Looking forward to the call?”

"Or I can call first," Mabel playfully giggled.

“Mmm? Can you call them first for what?”

Mabel raised her eyes to her brother, in which a certain perplexity was read. For another couple of seconds, the sweet mist of dreams in her gaze dissipated until something clicked in her head, and she finally realized what Dipper was talking about.

"Ah, yes," she did her jazz hands "an interview. Well, it seems that next month you’ll still have to pay for the apartment. "She sighed and took a mug of coffee with both hands, lowering her head," again ... "

"Hey, hey," Dipper reached out and covered Mabel's arm, "it's all right. It's not important, the main thing is that you find a place where you’ll be appreciated and where it’ll be interesting for you to work and manifest yourself. You're the most creative person in this world. Heck, they're just idiots, if they didn’t take you right away!”

Mabel looked into Dipper's eyes and sadly, but sincerely smiled.

"I'll help you with what I can and will be around," Dipper smiled back.

God, how beautiful she is. There were so many guys in high school who liked her that the fingers of Ford's hands would not be enough to count them. True, none of those who had the luck to be with her, did not last more than two or three weeks, because none of them saw that behind the beauty of her there is also a very sharp mind. The whole universe with its rules and colors was stored in this charming fair-haired head. But none of them seemed to notice this.

Unlike Dipper.

Mabel embodied all the things that he lacked so much: freedom, creativity, infinite energy. Without it, he would not be a whole person. No one would have him learn to enjoy life and look at the world from a different angle, different from the position of dry logic.

"Thank you, bro bro," Mabel said quietly. "It means a lot to me, really”

"Any time, May," Dipper snapped his hand away and looked at his watch. "We still have plenty of time until the sun sets. It's about 20 minutes by metro to the Central Park, so I thought that we could wind up our heads a little. What do you say? You didn’t have any plans for tonight, did you?”

Mabel looked away and blushed profusely, covering her mouth with her palm and softly giggling.

Oh no. No no no! He screwed up, did he? He said it as if he was inviting her on a date. Oh, damn, oh, damn it! He rehearsed this phrase so much that it sounded like a simple friendly proposal in order to funk up anyway ?! She knows, she knows for sure, and now this situation will become even more awkward.

Set the panic aside! I need to figure out how to get out of this. Just laugh it off or try to explain what he meant.

Shit, why his palms are so sweaty? Is he in the eighth grade again?

“It sounds tempting, Dip. I’d really like to take a walk now …”

Oh, my God, phew. Everything is fine.

"... but, you see ..."

But? What’s for but? But what?

"... I really don’t know how it happened ... it seems that I have a date tonight!" Mabel finished her phrase. Her eyes were just glowing with happiness. The smile was broader and more dreamy than before, which made Dipper feel cold in the lower abdomen.

“I really didn’t know that this is the case in real life, but when I was walking from Five Points here ... i mean, our eyes just met, and I realized that he’d come up to me and ask me some question or say something... I just don’t understand how you constantly experience such stress every time you try to talk to a girl, this has never happened to me ...”

But Dipper wasn’t listening anymore. Only now he finally noticed all the details surrounding them. Strawberry cheesecake - when was the last time Mabel allowed herself something sweet in the city? Of course, they were not so poor, but given the fact that Mabel still did not have a permanent job, she tried to save money and not squander the money of her brother over trifles. So it was a treat. Then, how did Dipper not notice the empty espresso cup standing on his side of the table? He was too busy contemplating his sister to draw attention to this and to the fact that Mabel was constantly fiddling a napkin in her hand, on which was visible the pen-written sequence of numbers and one word.

Zach.

He left her his phone number. Who does this now? What kind of moron should one be to do this, instead of just dictating a number to be recorded in the phone?

That invisible, light breath that warmed Dipper so far from the moment he left the editorial office was instantly replaced by an importunate cold draft, from which all the muscles of his face grew cold and numb, turning nis face into a fixed mask that did not express any emotion. The bright March evening began to be replaced by a dark emptiness.

And Mabel kept talking and talking. She was extremely excited by what was happening: so many emotions, so many assumptions and hopes. As many as many times the only one phrase sounded in Dipper's head:

It happened again …

Sooner or later, it should have happened, but why today? On the day when he finally felt a barely perceptible wave of happiness?

Sometimes it seems that the universe itself is against you. Whether you achieve something desirable say some fun and joy come to life - bam! Sign here, please.

On the one hand, you can, of course, decide that this is "designed" so, that it’s fate and junk, that everything is natural and the time has come. The time for whatever - for example, the time to give up.

On the other hand, one can regard this same "bam" from the Universe as an appeal not to relax and to act further, to become better, to grow and all that.

You can, of course, just not react at all.

It depends.

A lot of dependencies happens to be all around us. Someone sits for hours with a guitar, learns to play the way his or hers favorite performers do, someone shoves career needle into his or hers veins, someone’s obsessed with science - yes, there are plenty of examples.

And love is something you can depend on too.

It’s even addictive.

And for someone who already has a strong addiction, something smoother will ... be like ...

Damn ... words ... how to make them into sentences? ..

So, enough for today's memories.

And speaking about strong and smooth ... I need another drink.

The glass stood on the table right here. Where is it ... hey?

Hey!

What the...?

"You tell me. That's enough for you, kid."

Kid? Oh he didn’t...

Dipper opened his eyes, trying to make out the speaker with him. It would have been better if it was anyone, but Zach.

"I think you might have the wrong glass, buddy," he croaked, trying to focus on the figure of the man next to him holding a vessel with amber corn liquid.

“Oh yeah? And didn’t you have the wrong party, knucklehead? The last thing I want to see right now is how my nephew gets drunk as hell at his birthday party”

Wait…

Stan? ..

“No, Pope John Paul II. Who do you think?”

In a second, Dipper's eyes flew open, and consciousness returned to online mode. Was he talking all this time out loud?

“I ... um” Dipper uncomfortably fidgeting on the chair, adjusting the edges of the shirt that was pulled up and briskly brushing his hair with fingers.

"Stan ... how long ... are you sitting here?"

"What? You wanna know how much of that nonsense that you muttered I heard? Don’t worry, your secrets will die with me.”

Oh no…

Dipper swallowed nervously and nodded uncertainly, looking before him. Stan responded with a laugh and added, changing his tone from more strict to good-natured:

"It's a joke, kid," he lifted his massive hand onto his nephew's shoulder, "there's nothing for me to blackmail you. This time.”

If they were in another place and under different circumstances, Dipper would have laughed along with his Gruncle. Now he did not even try, because together with laughter it would have turned out to be some silly awkward likeness.

"And yet, what made you to portray that guy ... Kain Rivers? Give you a piece of cake in the hand, and there’ll be complete similarity.”

"You mean Keanu Reeves?"

“Him, too.”

Dipper sighed and lowered his head, covered his face with his hands. Stan, having sipped a little bourbon from the glass, put his hand on his shoulder again.

“Seriously, Dip, what's wrong?” he added worried.

“Nothing, I'm fine” telling lies to a man who has proved over many years that he is the most understanding and caring member of the family left a disgusting taste on the tip of his tongue. If someone than it would be Stan to always be able to hear out and help. He would lay down his bones for the well-being of his family. Maybe he can at least somehow pour out his soul? ..

“What did you feel when Gruncle Ford disappeared in the portal? What’s it like to understand that your closest friend’s gone forever?”

Stan also sighed, setting aside his glass, and turned to face Dipper.

“Listen. You and Mabel, as long as I can remember, have always been together. You grew up, studied, moved to another cities. As I said, you rarely see such a relationship between a brother and a sister. But sooner or later, both of you should have had other companions of life. This is normal - it’s so arranged in the world. People get married, have families, children, invite each other to their dinners, go to work, dig in the garden in the backyard. It’s not the same as getting lost in another dimension for thirty years. Mabel just got married, she didn’t disappear from your life. Yes, now you’ll be separated not by the walls of the rooms, but by a good one and a half hour drive, but ... I’m not a good speaker... anyway,” - he drank some more whiskey.

"You two are better than we were with my brother. I'm telling you this, Ford claimed it until his last breath - believe me. Even if you were separated by space and time, you’d find a way to find yourselves... I mean to find each other. Do you understand what I mean?”

Dipper looked at the old man. In Stan's glance, God bless his heart, confidence and love were read. As always. And although he did not come even a bit close to understanding what was going on in Dipper's heart, his words still warmed.

"Yes, I do, Gruncle," Dipper smiled slightly. "Thank you."

"Well, it takes more than a simple thanks to be stuffed" Stan laughed and rose from his seat, leaning on the cane, "if you knew what they feed you on the plane, you’d understand what I mean. Next time I fly business class, and you pay. I spotted like a table with snacks inside, it's time to visit it.”

With these words he headed toward the house, stepping unsteadily and constantly leaning on his cane. Dipper saluted him in the style of Lando Calrissian and frowned. It was not fair to upset Stan today with talk like that. So much of a burden was falling on his shoulders lately, and then there's just a glimpse of joy. Still, not every day his grand-niece marries.

It's a pity that Ford did not live to see this day. I definitely need to take a couple of days off and go to Oregon. Stan becomes too weak to regularly care for the grave.

“Dipper! Bro-bro!”

Oh no.

Dipper pulled a smile on his face and turned to the source of the sound. There she was, flying to him in a light purple summer dress with a white collar.

"Silly drunken little brother. Where did you disappear?“ Mabel laughed, catching him with an empty glass and a half-empty bottle.

Dipper rolled his eyes and smiled wider.

"Mabel, we're the same age. Also I noticed that one bottle of champagne was open before the guests arrived”

He frowned in a mocking way and rubbed his chin,

“Hmm ... But who drank the champagne?..”

He pretended to be chewing a pen, thinking hard.

Mabel stuck out her tongue at her brother and laughed loudly.

"You’re such a nerd!"

She plopped down next to him and laid her head on his shoulder.

“Just think of it, we’re twenty-five now. Do people even have to live so long?”

"I'm still surprised that you even lived to be of age, considering the amount of sugar you absorb daily ... Ow!" light elbow pokes from her still caught him off guard.

“You deserved that. Be grateful that Mister Tickles didn’t show up for such conversations with your sister.”

“Okaaaay. Mabel, are you sure you’re twenty-five?” Dipper quickly moved away from Mabel, who was ready to attack on his brother's ribs with his fingers spread out, and raised both hands, "Okay, okay! No more of that!”

"Good brother." Mabel nodded with a satisfied look. "And now, if you'll allow me, jokes aside."

She took a small rectangular bundle from her handbag hanging from her shoulder on a thin chain and solemnly handed it to Dipper.

“Here!”

Dipper took the package from his sister's hands and for a few seconds admired this neatly wrapped in a nice-to-feel gift paper object. It was a pity to spoil such beauty.

“Come on, open it!”

In one motion Dipper opened the package, and in his hands was a large, thick notebook of dark blue. On his soft leather cover was woven golden threads of a small pine tree. Dipper carefully opened the title page, which was encoded with a neat letter. This time Dipper's face was lit up with a sincere smile - they invented the cipher together, many years ago, when in the classroom they passed notes to each other or left them in lockers.

"Wow ..." Dipper sighed. "I ... um ... thanks, Mabel."

"You're welcome, Dip," his sister shone, "I just wondered where it's seen that Dipper wouldn’t have a journal, would he?" she again laughed and wrapped her arms around him, pulling her brother in a bear hug.

“Happy birthday, Dipper.”

"Happy birthday, Mabel," he replied, breathing in the fragrance of her floral perfume. "I ... um-uh ..." he cleared his throat and pulled away. "My present ... it... I decided not to carry it with me, so it's in the house, but ... I'm sure you'll like it too.

“It would be better if it was so.” Mabel said haughtily. With these words she jumped up, grabbing Dipper by the sleeve of his shirt and dragging him toward the house.

"There's a whole bunch of them there! Gifts!” she skipped off to the house, taking her stumbling brother along with her. "Let's go! I can’t wait to open each one right now!”

* * *

“Son of a…” the lighter was still sent to the garbage because of malfunctioning, and now all the hope remained that the houses still had matches. Dipper had already rummaged through all the drawers in the kitchen, but not even one sucker was found in this abundance of kitchen utensils and cutlery, such an absurd abundance for the apartment, now serving as a lonely young man's refuge.

Dipper's gaze wandered around the kitchen, the space in his eyes doubled, quadrified - in general it was multiplying in every possible way, and it was extremely difficult to focus on something definite.

Was it really necessary to get so drunk? He did not have a car in New York for the time being, he used to travel by public transport and a taxi, but this is not an excuse for finding a pub on his way home to Brooklyn and staying there until midnight. The morning will be very bad. Very painful and bad.

But, it looks like this is the problem of tomorrow's Dipper, not today's, who has a real business to do now.

He held his hand to the countertop, and staggered to the gas stove, which looked like the last chance to light a damned cigarette, clamped in his teeth. Unsafe last chance. After meditating for couple of seconds, Dipper shook his head, muttering "No, sir," and went to investigate further. Still an eternity, according to the present chronology of Dipper, was wasted - there were no lighters or matches in the house, so that the stove was again in his field of vision.

Still adhering to the nearby interior for a safety net, Dipper drove to the suspicious fire-breathing inhabitant of his house. The fire was only lit from the fifth attempt, and, bending over to the hotplate itself and almost putting his shirt collar on fire, Dipper finally sucked in the pungent tobacco smoke.

And, it turned out that trying to smoke his first cigarette in life right now was a bad idea. Even disgusting. Not only that, he immediately became overwhelmed with a heavy cough and the shaking of his diaphragm awakened something dark in the stomach, consisting of half of bourbon, and half of the birthday cake.

Oh, shit, shit, SHIT!

To the left from the kitchen into the corridor, to the end ... lights on...

Where’s this switch ?!

Oh no! ..

FUCK!!!

At the last second Dipper managed to touch the toilet before he utterly unpleasantly vomited. All thoughts and emotions were compressed into a dot, leaving the consciousness with a devastatingly pure emptiness.

At some point, it might even have seemed that Dipper had blacked out, but as soon as the last urge receded, he straightened leaning with his hands on the rim of the toilet bowl and stood on his unsteady legs and went to the sink, much more tired and much less drunk.

At least giving the face a splash and rinsing the mouth with a freshener will not hurt.

And what do we have here? Oh, nothing, just your dirty still green face with a week stubble and some substance smeared around your mouth.

Oh, gross, ew!

He pulled off his shirt right over his head, doused his face with cold water, rinsed his mouth and staggered into his room.

Well, that's my life now. Drinking, no permanent job, a broken heart ... what could be better?

Dipper hobbled to the bed and plumped on it, without even bothering to remove the veil and pull off his trousers.

At least here I can quit pretending, he thought, as the tears came down bombarding his pillow.

#pinecest #fanfiction #chasing ghosts

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