#ignore any spelling mistakes it's 2:30 am and i have not edited any of this

[tranakin-skywalker]

The padawans found out about it first, as padawans are wont to do. Getting into trouble without realizing the full extent of it, stumbling right into something so much larger than they could understand. In any other scenario it would have been fodder for their masters to tease their apprentices over and -later- rib one another with. But not with something like this.

Jedi, as a whole, didn’t tend to concern themselves with things such as the holonet. When there was a crisis somewhere out in the galaxy, they were typically brought into the know before even the news outlets were told, their response being what led the rest of the Republic forward.

There were of course those who would tune in to certain channels to watch their favorite soap operas, or catch up on the goings on in the parts of the galaxy outside of the Jedi’s jurisdiction, but it was really the younger generation who had any sort of presence on the ‘net.

So really, it shouldn’t have come as any surprise when a crowd of junior padawans and older initiates had gone running in search of Master Nu during their recreational time in the archives (or the several dozen senior padawans with their own personal access to the holonet who’d screamed across their quarters for their masters to come and see). 

It did not take long for the news to reach the Council members, who immediately called an impromptu session to watch and review. There were many angry holocalls sent out inquiring why the Jedi hadn’t been informed of this development sooner, mostly by Adi Gallia. There were also many headaches developed, also by Adi Gallia who both dealt and received.

Mace Windu also had one such headache, brought on by watching the recording for the fifth time- or was it the sixth now?

The image was grainy, implying poor equipment, but the shot held remarkably steady throughout which spoke to some level of familiarity with filming. The grandiose excess of a Hutt residence decorated the space, covering over hard packed adobe walls and tiled floors covered in a thin layer of sand. It was apparent that this was no Nal Hutta, but the exile planet of Tatooine. This was the domain of Jabba Desilijic Tiure and- to a lesser extent- Gardulla Besadii the Elder. 

Or it used to be.

The holo paned slowly over the large interior of the palace, lingering on the forms of a number of sentients, many of them scantily dressed, some of them no more than children, all of them with heavy collars around their necks. Some looked healthy, deceptively so, but there are others- thin with protruding bones, or open gaping wounds leaking out bodily fluids, and those missing whole limbs. The first few minutes were nothing but the camera moving through the inside of the palace, taking in the misery and the horror, from up in the audience hall all the way down to slave quarters deep below the palace.

There were other figures too- those dressed in dark desert weave and wearing a wide collection of masks over their faces. Some of them had what looked suspiciously like lightsaber hilts hanging from their belts.

They worked to remove the chains from the slaves while a voice spoke over the recording in Huttese. Mace wasn’t much familiar with the language, only understood a handful of words spoken. They were still working on getting the poor audio translated, but from what they were able to gather it was a rallying cry for other enslaved worlds to fight back.

The holo lingered a long moment on an opened metal collar, dried blood and bits of flesh stuck to the inside where it had rubbed skin raw. Then it cut suddenly, the screen black for a fraction of a second before suddenly illuminated with the blinding light of two suns.

The new perspective showed a town center of some sort, huge crowds of people gathered in streets and on the roofs of buildings, the camera panning down to capture the thousands of faces looking up toward the platform.

A slave auction block, they found out later.

The camera turned from the crowd to instead film the group standing atop the platform. There were more figures in black and brown, but unlike when they were within the palace, these had brightly colored cloth thrown over the rest of their attire, ponchos and scarves and wraps. Mace assumed there was some sort of cultural significance to it, but he didn’t know enough about the planet’s people to know for certain.

These, too, wore metal masks.

Beneath the desert suns it was easier to make out that most were fashioned into abstract animal faces, with fangs and horns and sweeping pieces that might have been feathers. All of them carried metal cylinders at their hips.

In the middle of the platform, surrounded by more masked guards with lit sabers in hand- colors a wash of oranges and yellows and greens and even one that looked pink- was Jabba the Hutt. Large gashes and lesions covered the expanse of his body, a heavy chain wrapped several times around his neck. It didn’t seem to be connected to anything- seemingly more of a humiliation rather than something to keep the Hutt confined.

The lightsabers pointed at him likely did well enough a job of that.

Standing between Jabba and the crowd was a lone figure in all black. If they were sweltering in the heat, they gave no indication of it, their long layers and heavy helmet seemingly inconsequential. It was a tall figure, humanoid and seemingly male in stature- though that was hard to tell beneath the dark clothing that seemed almost a parody of Jedi robes. The helmet they wore was dog-like, or at least that of a canine skull, with jaws that looked less like jaws and more like a muzzle. There was something altogether disquieting about the figure.

Tilting its head like a curious predator, the figure turned to look the camera lens dead on. It didn’t feel like someone looking into a camera, but like something looking straight through and into the view beyond.

Each time Mace had watched the recording, that single look managed to make hair prickle up on the back of his neck. An animal response.

The figure in black spoke in Basic, addressing the holo’s audience and not the crowd actually present. The voice that came out was distorted through a vocoder into something that was more hard and mechanical than organic, it was still distinctly male, and distinctly authoritative. The rest of the video would prove that this was likely the leader of the whole affair, but even in the opening minutes, it was easy to tell here stood the catalyst for all that would crumble down after.

“You say that slavery is illegal in your Republic,” the voice growled from behind the melted teeth of the dog’s jaw. “And you say that Tatooine is part of your Republic. Then what is this we stand on? What is it that the Hutt empire has made its fortunes off of? What your own halls hide and Senators pedal behind closed doors. Look at what you have turned your blind eyes away from.”

With a gloved hand, he reached to his belt and unclipped a black and gray hilt. “We will not let you look away.” He then turned to the crowd and raised the saber hilt high over his head, calling out something in a language that sounded nothing like Huttese. The crowd thundered back in unison.

The saber lit with a wash of red as violent as a wildfire.

Lowering his arm slowly, the man turned to finally face Jabba, his blade hungry and crackling at his side. He spoke again- softer this time- but still loud enough for the gathered populace to hear. Huttese again, Mace was pretty certain, something about punishment- or maybe it was justice.

For a split second on Jabba’s face there was a look of pure unfiltered terror- the sudden fear in falling with the knowledge that the ground was coming and coming up fast. 

Then that hungry blade slid easily into thick Hutt skin that couldn’t be cut by any other means, sinking into the hilt, fat bubbling and cooking with the heat of it.

Jabba made a noise that Mace never, ever wanted to hear again.

The man dragged the blade down- slowly- guts spilling out from where the Hutt was being unzipped like a field-dressed carcass, still wriggling. Jabba moved a lot less than someone being methodically disemboweled should, but that might have something to do with the dog-skulled man’s left hand being raised up like an open claw. Like he was pinning the crime lord in place with sheer will or- more concerningly- with the Force.

That obsidian black mask seemed to give a jackal grin as the red blade was pulled from the Hutt’s body and Jabba Desilijic Tiure was unceremoniously dropped to slowly die on the same platform where thousands of people had been bought and sold.

Stepping away from the smoking body, the Sith- for what else could this monster be but a Sith?- flicked his blade to the side as if trying to rid it of gore. A useless endeavor for a plasma blade, but there was something almost poignant about the move.

He stood facing the screaming, cheering crowd, but his head was tilted sideways just slight enough to look back at the camera from the inky black socket of the dog’s eye.

“You’ve spent long enough ignoring us. I suggest you start paying attention now.”

The feed cut to black.

#my writing #fic: groundwater #fic excerpt #ignore any spelling mistakes it's 2:30 am and i have not edited any of this

[thevoiceofthepeople]

My Rules and About Me

POV Be Me: Dexter or Dex or Dee or whatever. (He/They, heavy preference on They tho)

Age: 32, soon to be 33.

I've been rping on and off for about twenty years I believe, I got the One piece bug after going through my old rp blog and missing my gurl boss Seda. I have adhd and a not so busy but really full list of things I should be doing most days so I may dip in and out of here when I have free time.

When it comes to rping, the key to me is fun. If I'm not having fun I'm not doing it. So that being said, I don't make overly flashy/stylized posts. Graphics design is not my passion and so I don't find any of that stuff fun for me to do personally. Same with making a Carrd or any of that. Everything you need to find about me and my gurl will be on this blog and tagged accordingly. If you are looking for something in particular let me know and I'll gladly tell you. I have maybe 4 spoons on a good day and I'm not using up my good spoons doing something I dislike when I could be doing something I enjoy.

If you need a post formatted a certain way, let me know, otherwise you are getting it raw, baby!

Just don’t ask for the text to be too small. I have dog water eyesight so I still have to make it accessible for myself.

I yam an artist tho so I'll be more inclined to include art with any post about Seda I make because I'm a visual learner. And sometimes, a quick image gets the job done.

Da Rules

1. The basics: Mun =/= Muse, Don't tell me what my character is doing, don't get overly shippy without us talking about it out of character.

2. Don't be a dick. If you are flinging around isms and phobias, then I will unfollow and drop any threads we are having. If it's something that can be talked about cause it's a misunderstanding then we're cool. But if it's a "Actually, I don't think brown people should have rights." You can fuck right off with that. I'm a black bisexual trans person, so anything that goes against my fundamental human right to exist is conversation ending.

3. Both mun and muse are in their 30s and so, if there IS any shipping, let's keep it gucci with someone close to her age range or older. And I'd like to rp with people over 18. If you are younger, I'm going to ignore you. Sorry.

4. I do adore shipping, but I'm not hungering for it if there is no connection. Same with friendships. If it doesn't feel right, let's not force it. Seda is more than willing to talk with someone she loathes and I think that's a fun dynamic to rp out. Duplicates of anything are just fine with me. In her old form, Seda was bffs with at least three different luffys and she loved them all to bits.

5. There will be talk of sensitive subject matter as is the nature of One Piece, but anything truly nsfw will be put under a read more or moved to private discussions.

6. Speaking of nsfw, I have a pathological inability to write nsfw rps in public, so very likely, anything saucy will go fade to black. I will likely draw it though, just, having to put a mirror to myself and then telling everyone "Hey y'all, look at this vulnerable display of passion and lust that I'm writing with my own two human hands with another person!" fills me with dread.

7. Because I have adhd and the brain of slug sometimes, I make spelling mistakes. I try and catch them but I'm sure there are at least 5 in this post alone. It's just gonna have to be something you accept. No matter what I do, I don't see the mistakes.

8. My main focus is on One Piece characters but I'll rp with characters from other fandoms or just fandomless ones.

9. Anything about Seda is subject to change because that's the nature of life baby. She's had a lot of play testing from my blog ten years ago so this version of her is the stable 2.0 edition, but if I see something I like or decide a piece isn't meshing right, I reserve the right to change it. (Just as we can change anything about ourselves, yada yada)

10. And number 10, don't be a dick x2. I truly am just here for a good time and to play around in this little sandbox we call Tumblr Rping. When it stops being fun for me, I'll stop. But until then:

#About the Mun #The Rules #I'm a goof ball #a jokester #Just a little guy

[lancermylove]

BlackStar Theater Starless Gameplay Guide (1/2)

So I have received some messages asking about Theater Starless’s gameplay. I am not sure if someone has already done this, but here’s the game info and gameplay in slight detail. (Some pictures have spelling mistakes, please ignore that because I’m too lazy to go back and change it. XP)

~~~~~~~~* ~~~~~~~~* ~~~~~~~~* ~~~~~~~~* ~~~~~~~~* ~~~~~~~~

Home Screen

1. Daiya - in-game currency (you can purchase daiya with real money by clicking the "+" next to the daiya amount) obtained through spending money, reading stories, finishing daily challenges, logging in, event store, and special occasions.

2. Yell - in-game currency, obtained through performance and daily challenges.

3. Heroine status - depending on the amount of points you gain, you will receive daily gifts (S rank gives rehearsal bottles, SS gives blue (performance) tickets). Increase status by performing, rehearsing, gift purchases for cast members, spending chips, and logging in (to name a few).

5. Heroine level - increase your level by rehearsing.

4. MVP - highest and lowest ranking members get an additional boost on their stats. If there is an ongoing event, then the main characters of that event will gain MPV points when you finish missions (more about this in “Event Page”). Other main ways to change MVP are by gifting rings, penlights, and chips.

5. Current ongoing events/gatchas - click on the banner to go to that event. Gatcha banners disappear after the end date, but event pages stay for additional days and the event store can be accessed even after the event ends.  

—————

Menu 

1. Cards - shows you all the cast cards you have.

2. Character info - character profiles, current teams/team members.

3. Card enchantment - you can level/update cast cards here. To look at a specific card, press down on the card for a second. 

4. Burn cards - burning cards get you badges. Be careful because if you accidentally burn a card, you won’t get it back!

5. Team/Support setup - you can edit your performance teams here. 

6. Items - you can see all the items you have here. 

7. Store - boost items for rehearsals, performances, yell gain, and heroine level. You can also buy monthly cards here by spending money.

8. Friend page - you can see the list of your friends, their support card, and player profile. You can also see the people who have added you to their friend list. 

9. Player profile - you can update your player profile here, change your icon, display your cards for others to see, find your player id, among other things.

10. Player rank - same as your heroine status on the home page.

11. Settings - [1st column top to bottom] help, data transfer, return to the title screen. [2nd column top to bottom] options, clear cache, contact us.

12. Help - same as the help option in settings. You can find info about the gameplay here.

13. Daiya history - your gain, purchase and spend history for the daiya. 

14. Support - same as contact us in settings.

15. Mini games - for special events. So far we have only had one mini-game, and the answers can be found in the fanbook (mookbook) assuming that it’s still available. 

—————

Stories

1. Main story - all the chapter stories as well as the season end stories are available here. Reading each part of the chapter (of the ongoing season) will get you 50 daiya. 

2. Character stories - login messages, intimacy level, and card stories for each character are available here.

3.  Unread - if you want to see only the sections you have not read, click this button. 

—————

Gatcha Page

1. Friend pts - used for the friend points gatcha to get 1* to 3* cast cards. 

2. Featured cards info - you can see the stats and skills for the featured cards here. 

3. Card rates - the gatcha drop rates for all the available cards can be found here.

4. Get star card - when you get extra copies of fully ascended cards, you can get star petals. When you get all the petals filled 30 times, you can get a star card. Star cards are free 5* cards that you can use to ascend ANY of your 5* cast cards. NOTE: use these cards wisely as they are incredibly difficult to attain!

5. Paid vs Free daiya - free daiya are obtained in-game, but paid daiya are purchased through real money. For paid daiya press the “+” next to your daiya amount (2,158 in the picture above). 

—————

Rehearsal Page

1. Cast in Rehearsal - these members will appear in the rehearsal. You can change the cast member by clicking on their name. The little circle on the upper left side of cast member means they are the main characters in the ongoing event (more info on this in “Actual Rehearsal”).

2. Cast total reha level - you can get cast rehearsal cards by rehearsing cast members a number of times. You can check their total rehearsal levels here, as well as how many levels left to get a copy of their rehearsal card.

3. Standard members - by clicking this button, your rehearsal team will be set to the original team members of the selected song. This button is useful to train "stamen" members for daily medal challenges (more about this in "Performance Settings”).

4. Stamina amount - the amount displayed at the bottom of the button will show how much stamina will be consumed from your total stamina bar. You can select between 10, 20, and 30. The higher the amount of stamina, the more chances of bonus boosts during rehearsal.

—————

Actual Rehearsal

1. Higher point gain - the higher the number of orange arrows, the more points you'll gain for rehearsing that cast member.

2. Intimacy level - unlocking higher levels will unlock intimacy conversations in the character story section. Also if you're using 3* cards, then you will receive a score boost based on the intimacy level of that character. This bar will NOT appear every time you select the characters.

3. Ongoing event special - this bar will only appear when there is an ongoing event with that cast member. Unlocking the levels for the "linked" cast members will unlock side stories for that chapter/event story.

4. Chance for additional points - always select cast members with "!" for a chance to get additional points. Depending on the type of bonus, the points will vary.

5. Autoplay - unless you are using 10 stamina at a time, try to avoid using this button. If you have autoplay selected, the game will pick the center cast member EVERY TIME. You will miss the chance to get additional bonuses.

—————

Performance Page

1. Current selected song - rotate up and down to change songs. Clicking on the song cover will lead you to the support card page (more about this in “Support Cards”).

2. Song type - your support card choice will be based on it. There are 4 song types songs Act, Vocal, Dance, and Flat. Flat means you can select the “type” for the song! Some songs will have a combination of act, vocal and/or dance, and your support choice will depend on your team stats.

3. Song difficult - there are 3 difficulty levels: normal, hard, advance.

4. Current event songs - this option will only appear if there is an ongoing limited time event. You will have an option to play the original track, side A, and side B (more on this in “Event Page”).

5. Story missions - during ongoing events you will get missions to unlock the story. Once the missions are complete, “Clear” will appear on that tab. It’s generally a good idea to complete the missions during the event, but in case there is a VERSUS event ongoing and you want to support only one character, you will get a chance to complete the unfinished missions even after the event has ended. You can find these unfinished story missions in the Past event songs section.

6. All chapter songs - all the non-event songs can be found here.

7. Daily challenges - the chapter songs have daily challenges you can complete. The rewards include, but are not limited to, yell, daiya, orbs, gatcha tickets, friend points, medals, and rehearsal bottles. You will have a good amount of time to finish these challenges, so it’s HIGH recommended to complete them.

8. Past event songs - special event, side A/side B, and limited time songs can be found here. You will need pink tickets to play these songs.

9. Unfinished past story missions - explained in story mission.

—————

Performance Setting

1. Performing team - this team will be performing: 

Highest MVP will be shining with yellow sparkles, lowest MVP will have black sparkles. 

The gold writing on the top right of the cast cards means a high event boost, while silver writing means cast boost for the event. 

2. Item drop level - the higher the level, the higher the chance to get item drops post performance.

3. Team reha level -  the total rehearsal level of your team.

4. Stamen team -  the "original" performing team for the song. This team is used mainly for the daily challenge missions. 

5. Your selected team -  the blue diamonds are fixed teams, but the yellow diamonds are teams you set.

6. Edit team - pressing this will take you to "Team Formation".

7. Performance/Skill settings - you can change the note speed and turn on/off skill animations.

8. Auto/Manual play - blue means auto mode, black means rhythm (manual) mode.    a. Autoplay: notes are autoplay, but you have to manually activate character skills.    b. Manual play: you will have to manually tap the notes, but skills are on auto.

9. Start performance - during events you can select to consume 2 tickets per performance, but for daily challenges, you can only use one ticket at a time. 

TO ACTIVATE CHARACTER SKILLS WHEN PERFORMING: wait for the skill gauge to fill and pull character icon down. You can lock the character icon by pulling the icon down and holding it for a second; this will lock that skill and will continuously spam skill every time the skill gauge is full. 

—————

Support Cards

These are the best support card right now. The icons are of the unbloomed versions, the bloomed (ascended) card art looks different. 

—————

Friend Page 

1. Friend profile - switch between friend profile and their equipped support card

As mentioned earlier, you don’t have to be mutual friends in this game to use support cards! If you use support cards from mutual friends or people you follow, you gain a higher amount of friend points. 

#bsts #ブラックスター #blackstar theater starless #ブラックスター theater starless #bsts gameplay

[itscookieoverlordtoyou]

40 Questions — Meme for Fic Writers

Don’t you sometimes see those ask games and wish you could just fkg do them all? On this sunny Saturday, we make our dreams reality lolol

1.  Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic.

Short fic, I usually get a small scene I want written so I write around it, plus I love short stories with interesting punchline.

2.  Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

Probably, I don’t know them all ^^’

3.  Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole?

Writing about stuff that disgust me I guess.

4.  How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them?

Like 5-6? I want to write about a restaurant but set in a world where people have powers I think the combo could be very funny. The main character has the power of insight, the plonge is a giant pool where you swim around cleaning. Backstories of characters with shitty and amazing powers and how they ended up here. Rival to lover character that has the power to see into the future.

5. Share one of your strengths.

Dialogues, subversion, and humor; classmates often said I have a touch to spin a sad story into something positive/happier.

6.  Share one of your weaknesses?

I get tired when I describe something for longer than 4 sentences.

7.  Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

“In what kind of trouble have we walked right into?”, I ask my companions as they’re idly fixing their attire. Together, we’ve face many perils and this mission ranks among one of the most dangerous. Yet, the others had been…how should I say it…professional! Rescuing kidnapped princesses, vanquishing terrifying monsters, quests to restore mythical artifacts, save nations from insidious plots. Oddly enough, “Does this dress make me look fat?”, is not the answer I’m looking for.

Ribbon in my hair is the first time I wrote about my knights, I first dreamt about them when I as 18, my boyfriend at the time called my idea stupid and my world building pointless so I only started writing about them when I was 21. Now I write about them a little bit every year :)

8. Share a snippet from one of your favorite dialogue scenes you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

“Do you really want your last words to be complaints?”

“I die as I lived.”

“Will we become a fruit tree?”

“I don’t think so, it’s never been the case for my ancestors.”

“I’d love it if we could turn into a banana tree.”

“I’m not from the southern regions, plus I like apples more.”

“Just imagine, our fruits could have been banana flambée”

This death scene was a big finale to a story I wrote for a class in Uni, a story of war between clan of forest and volcano people, of the supposedly brutal death of a Goddess, of a mysterious apple tree whose fruit give vision of the past. I should revisit it.

9.  Which fic as been the hardest to write?

My analysis on D’Artagnan and the figure of the hero. Granted it’s an essay for school but I deeply loved it. I was too afraid to write or ask for help from the professor in charge of me (which made our relationship tense ^^’) but when I did, it was beautiful and I was very proud got 89% :D

10.  Which fic has been the easiest to write?

A play called Adelaide where an old couple reads their old fairytale book about a Prince on a quest to save a Princess. They bicker about the other misreading the story but we finally get to the part where the Prince tosses the princess apart to get a better view of the dragon of which he falls instantly in love. The book is actually their wedding album.

11.  Is writing your passion or just a fun hobby?

It’s one of my passions, but it’s not something I think I could live on so I delegated it to my hobby.

12.  Is there an episode above all others that inspires you just a little bit more?

The wedding scene in Shrek 2, my mind was blown when I saw it in theaters and when I need inspiration to write, I rewatch it.

13.  What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across?

Presentation is important. If trying to read you gives people headaches, they’ll stop. Choose a nice big font, space with paragraphs, be mindful of your spelling and missing words. Read out loud because some things written are bad said.

14.  What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across?

I must’ve been lucky in this regard, I don’t think I’ve ever received advice that made me go NO, but I did have to listen/read stuff that made me gag.

15.  If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose?

I would love to the Adelaide acted out, some adjustments would be required because I’m no expert in play writing but I think I’d be great.

16.  If you only could write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be?

Luyenor’a and Taram, names are placeholders as of now but they’re two of my knight, being the “only pairing I’m allow to write about forever” means I’d get more knight shenanigans done.

17.  Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order?

I’m doing bullets point of what I want to happen and write stuff without much order. Some days I have no inspirations for what goes in the beginning but have loads for a later point. I surf the wave when it presents itself.

18.  Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines?

Word on my computer, a notebook in my bag, the note app in my phone.

19. Stephen King once said that his muse is a man who lives in the basement. Do you have a muse?

I have little trinkets all around my computer to invite inspiration.

20. Describe your perfect writing conditions.

Freshly woken up, having eaten, drinking something sugary and sometimes apple cider because the alcohol help lower my inhibition.

21.  How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting?

I read out loud at least once the whole thing, helps with missing words but dude I reread my stuff on ao3 and always find mistakes still ^^’

22. Choose a passage from one of your earlier fics and edit it into your current writing style. (Person sending the ask is free to make suggestions).

I’m not going to put here because it’s in French and I don’t want to translate now but I wrote Vision of a world, mine when I was 16 and damn was I already depressed then?

23.  If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?

The Princess and the Soldier, some gay fairytale I think my first one, I’m sure I can do better bow

I also have one about a janitor and it’s a murder mystery I could redo

24. Have you ever deleted one of your published fics?

Once by accident, I was so angry I never rewrote it.

25.  What do you look for in a beta?

I don’t really use beta (beta reader right?) but I guess I’ve had like 3-4 when I was in Uni and had to read people’s wip and they read mine. They’d talk about what they liked, links they noticed, things that seemed weak or to change

26.  Do you beta yourself? If so, what kind of beta are you?

I usually just point out the stuff I like

27.  How do you feel about collaborations?

For a class in college, we had to act out a play we wrote collectively. Ten sketches written in pairs/alone. I made sure I was alone so I wouldn’t be saddled with someone else to write my sketch

28. Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much.

I don’t follow fic writers; I just am in a mood for a ship and read what’s available. I do like my friend @alumort ‘s fics tho ^^

29.  If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose?

There was a Phineas and Ferb fic focused on Perry I really loved. Their world building was something I’d never seen and they abandoned the story, so I did fanfic of a fic. Never dared to post it anywhere I mean it was their world to begin with.

30.  Do you accept prompts?

Of course, when inspiration is given I accept

31.  Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant?

I don’t care about canon but I do love using it when there are little trivia to enrich the character.

32.  How do you feel about smut?

Love to read it sometimes, would love to write it. Some I’m like………….youveneverhadsexhaveyou…………………

33.  How do you feel about crack?

Love it!!!!!!!! I’m too self-conscious to write it tho. Oh maybe that could be a never before written trope I could try?

34.  What are your thoughts on non-con and dub-con?

Rape I can’t, dub-con where underlying requited feelings exist but anxiety™ don’t let the characters express them but they’re drunk so it surfaces is okay

35.  Would you ever kill off a canon character?

Hell yeah! I do when/if the death makes sense (I am still pissed at Kishi for Neji)

36.  Which is your favorite site to post fic?

Ao3 is where I post,I used devianart when I had one

37.  Talk about your current wips.

Marry Me for the Love of Cake: God I’m so sorry to the few people who followed it, I said I’d pick it up before the end of 2019 and well……I have the ending in bullet points

Yours, with Love: I hope I’ll finish it…I have most of the ending in bullet points

I guess I’m into rom com at the moment lolol

38.  Talk about a review that made your day.

I made my best friend read All this for a Roll Cake, and she laughed so much at my work, I took a picture I look at from time to time to remain humble.

39.  Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them?

Thankfully I’ve never received a rude review. My professor once told me it seemed kinda unnatural how unlucky my protagonist was vs. how lucky his love interest was (All this for a Roll Cake) but that was the whole point of the story so I just ignored her.

40.  Write an alternative ending to [insert fic title] (or just the summary of one).

Writing this I realised I lost my final version of All this for a Roll Cake T^T so I guess I’d rewrite the ending I have of the before the last version I still have.

Well this was fun ^^ got to revisit my works and remember many beloved pieces of fiction I wrote, I look forward to my next projects

#have fun reading lolol #will writing this inspire me to continue my wip? #who knows

[cindylouwho-2]

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

[carmineclock]

Why Don't You Do Right

Snowman 11:10 PM

> Fade from black before Scratch's desk. "James.  We have a situation."

Scratch 11:13 PM

> You look up at her with eyes strained from reading. Why cant it ever be good news. "Oh good, Id begun to worry the quiet would last." > Sit up and prepare for the worst.

Snowman 11:14 PM

"Diamonds Droog's daughter is dead.  Three has killed her."

Scratch 11:17 PM

> Your first thought is that shes not really his daughter, but they never see it that way. "Trace has. I knew he shouldnt have been left alone. I assume hes on his way." > Youre actually a little impressed. Pissed, mostly. But still.

Snowman 11:21 PM

"Yes. Three, Five, and Seven here are on their way here. I will also call for Nepeta shortly. Five has known of it and has been covering for Three, perhaps since it occurred." > You light up a cigarette. "You know what this means."

Scratch 11:24 PM

> You stand and stretch, joints popping dully as you shake the exhaistion from your bones. "It could mean quite a many things, my dear. War, being the foremost."

Snowman 11:30 PM

"Diamonds torched the scene of the crime--a lashing out quite unlike him. Trace has brought war to our doorstep." > Take a deep drag. "It's only a matter of time before the Crew comes to our doorstep as well. Time we have lost a precious amount of while these...fucking imbeciles tucked tail and hid the truth from us to avoid consequences." > Blow the smoke at the ceiling. "If this were the old regime, they would be culled and recycled for parts the moment they walk through these doors. This is the last straw, James."

Scratch 11:37 PM

> That brutality is one of the many things you love about her. And she has a point, in this being the last straw. "A fair point, though humans are far more difficult to recycle than carapaces." > You set about making tea, strangely calm despite the slowly building rage. Maybe its shock. "We'll have to be ready, though preperations for defense can wait until I have all the details. The grievous misstep was in waiting to say anything. Selfish man, we'll have to do something about that terrible personality."

Snowman 11:44 PM

> You lean against the ledge of his desk, arms crossed, as you consider the back of his head. "I do not know all of the details myself.  So far as I was aware until a few minutes ago, there had only been a shadow magic fire that took out a funeral home in the Crew's territory.  I had Three and Five investigating--god." > Click your tongue distastefully. "They lied to me.  To my goddamned face.  Fin made some excuse, said Trace was still... I bet they never even left the comforts of their room.  I cannot... And to tell Clover before me.  Who else have they told?  What were they thinking."

Scratch 11:54 PM

> That pulls a frown across your previously placid face. That wont do at all. "That will be our opening, I should say. Whatever the war ahead brings, the lying must stop." > Your hand grips the kettle tightly, anger rising as steam billows around your face. Lies, deciet, fear, and cowardice to top ot all off. You should have nipped this in the bud before. "How is it such a small man can cause such large problems."

Snowman 11:59 PM

"By getting off as easily as we've been letting them." > You ash your cigarette and nearly miss the tray. "Should have broken every bone in their miserable goddamned bodies after all the backsass and trouble they've been giving us. Especially together..." > Chew your lip. "If only your lot were as easy to reprogram as my lot.  That would solve these issues in less than a heartbeat.  But it never should have gotten to this state in the first place.  How did it come to this?"

Clover 12:00 AM

> Knockknock, knockknock.

Scratch 12:02 AM

> Tea done, you call for him to enter. Though you werent expecting him first, you were expecting him. He likes to get involved,even when he shouldnt.

"Its true, there is something to be said about the faulyt of unruly soldiers lying in thoer commamders. I blame myself as much as them."(edited)

Clover 12:04 AM

> Let yourself in and close the door behind you, hands hooked behind your back and a rather somber expression on your face.

Scratch 12:06 AM

"Stay quiet, stay calm. If you make a scene, youre out. Understood?"

Clover 12:06 AM

"Understood."

Crowbar 12:16 AM

You lead the way to Doc's office. The door is cracked so you announce your arrival and let yourself in, standing aside so Trace can go ahead. You're both surprised and unsurprised to see Clover. You acknowledge him with a nod.

Trace 12:18 AM

> You're on your way, tailing right behind Crowbar. Time for the walk of shame. You pass him, and when you spot Clover on the way in- Urgh. Here you thought your heart - or you, for the matter - couldn't sink any lower. You enter and quietly wait in the middle of the room. Quiet, but far from calm. A stress headache is pounding in your head and being stared down by all three bosses and the guy next to them that probably hates you the most does not help in the slightest.

Fin 12:26 AM

Your face is still red from the slap you got from Snowman. You get inside the office  noding to your bosses and wishing you could hug your husband. Clover is completely ignored for now as you stand right next to Trace hands behind your back

Nepeta 12:31 AM

You finished quickly  throwing on some clothes and trying to wash your tears away. Water doesn't hide your bloodshot eyes though, or the fact that your hair hasn't seen a brush today so far. You look like a mess, fitting to your mental state. You briefly glance at Fin and Trace as you enter the office but quickly look at your bosses instead. Less painful.

Snowman 12:36 AM

You remain poised, leaned against the edge of Scratch's desk, arms crossed tight over your chest.  The cigarette between your lips is smoldering, filling the air with its smoke, but it is not near so smoldering as the glare you send around the room.

Clover 12:39 AM

Fin is likewise ignored as he enters, but for Trace you briefly glance to his eyes before tearing your own away. Nepeta, though, is given a sympathetic look and an attempt at a tiny smile.

Scratch 12:54 AM

An absolute party, and you, the ever gracious and gentle host, will be the one to kick things off, as it has always been. "Now then," You say, standing behind your desk. "Lets start with the facts, only. We can deal with emotions later. As it stands, and as I have it, Trace has taken it upon himself to end the life of Diamonds Droogs adoptive daughter, one Aradia Megido. Resulting in a funeral parlor in crew territory being burned. After this, an investigation of the events was carried out by Trace and Fin. Those are most of the facts, but we are missing some." Deep breath, steady eyes, looking around the room slowly. " Snowman, Crowbar, when were you notified of Traces actions, and by whom. Trace, how many days has it been since you killed the troll girl. Fin, when did the investigation of the fire take place. Nepeta, what was your roll in this. All facts we must add together to have the full picture."

Crowbar 12:58 AM

You stand in front of the door like a sentry, holding your crowbar behind you. "I found out moments ago, sir. I instructed Trace to inform the rest of the Numbers promptly before being called into your office."

Trace 1:11 AM

More people enter, first Fin, and then Nepeta. You turn your head just enough to recognize her, then fix your eyes back towards the front. On the desk, not Scratch himself. You can't stand to face anyone right now, but least of all your lovers. You've managed to drag them even deeper into this. Great. You collect your thoughts to answer to Scratch. "I have killed her on New Years Eve." (Which would be maybe a day ago. No more than a day and a half. This should be the evening or night of the 1st, considering Trace didn't want to wait too long after talking with Kankri.) With that, your response to Doc should have been finished. He's not looking for more words from you just yet, you know that. But if there's any time left to do stupid mistakes, it is now. Quickly, before anyone else can speak up, you continue. "When given the order to investigate, I knew it would be too dangerous, with police and crew about and surely watching the scene. Green would have been more than a bad look. So I told Fin to stay put while I figure out how to approach you with this topic. Nepeta has purposefully not been involved in any of this. The plan was mine, and mine alone."

Fin 1:24 AM

After Trace finishes you clear your throat and answer " I did not follow Snowman instructions of investigating the burned  building , I wanted to give Trace time to talk about the truth to all of you and because as Trace mentions it was a dangerous thing to do"

Nepeta 1:37 AM

You do look at Trace when he speaks, even though it hurts. He wants to talk for you and you aren't sure how much you appreciate that right at this moment. You know he means well but it leaves a small frown on your face. You speak up on your own anyways. "I was unaware about all of this until the day after, when Trace confessed to me.  I should have immediately contacted you but..." But you didn't want to rat them out, even after they hurt you. You don't think you have to spell it out. "I only told Clover. I'm sorry."

Snowman 1:51 AM

You clutch tighter to the inside of your elbow, eyes leveled between Trace and Fin both.  "I knew of the fire shortly after it happened, and had tasked both Three and Five with investigating it, should it prove to useful to us.  I found out about the murder a few minutes ago, when Clover called me and forced Fin into a position to confess to me."

Clover 2:42 PM

Discontent and distaste boils in your stomach as you watch all of them, though still all your expression shows is a deep worry for Nepeta. She's the worst hit here, and she never deserved this. You wish you could help.

Scratch 4:20 PM

You let each of them speak in turn, waiting patiently, logging the information to write down for later. The timeline is slowly filling in, giving you a much better picture. "So there it is, all the facts are out in the open. The deed was done a day or so prior, and it was only today that any of those with actual power found out. Very interesting." You let that sit for a moment as you pour yourself some tea. "So, then, as it stands, of the three of you, none of you are without fault. Nepeta, yours is the least, only in that you told no one despite having the information. For that, consider this your second strike. Im sure Traces actions will find a way to punish you further. Fin, your fault is almost equal to that of Traces. You knew of his plans, allowed them to take place, and not only that, when given an express order from your superior, you ignored it in favor of your lovers instructions. If it was dangerous, if it was a bad idea, then you should have blamed Trace for whatever may have occured. Instead you decided not to follow orders because you knew. You knew what would happen. You should be on your knees, begging for forgiveness, because Snowman will be in charge of your punishment, as it was her order you shirked." Your eyes turn to Trace, thin, icy, a muted rage in their depths. Your gut had warned he would do sometging stupid, but you trusted him.

"As for you, Trace. You dont get hand out instructions. How dare you contradict Snowmans order. If something befell Fin in this investigation, then he should have suffered the consequences doing his duty. The plan was yours alone? Are you an idiot? Did you really think your actions wouldnt effect others around you, especially those closest to you? If you needed time to approach us, all that tells me is that you knew what you did was the wrong move. Nepeta was left out of it? Really? After eveeything shes been through with Droog, you think this incredible offense wont effect her going forward far more than it will you? Cruel, cowardly man, to bring ruin on your own partners" Your tone turns darker. "Worst of all, Trace. Worst of all, is that you left it for us to find out. Fearful of the reprecussions? You dont know fear. But you will. A man who knows fear does not make fruitless mistakes for the sake of his own vanity. It seems our last talk left less of an impression than Id hoped. So let me make this clear. You are going to lose everything. The specifics will take time, we will have plenty of time to go over them. Snowman, please escort Fin and Nepeta out of my sight. Crowbar, stay, I will have need of you."

Crowbar 2:26 AM

You can't help but swallow, your collar feeling tight around your throat as Doc speaks. Even though he deserves it, you empathize with Trace. He is your friend at the end of the day. You fear he will not be the same person for very long. Stepping aside, you leave room for Fin and Nepeta to exit.

Trace 2:30 AM

You listen with quiet horror. Of course, not even a day was good enough. Of course all of it is getting turned against you. When the strike for Nepeta is mentioned, you go as pale as your green skin can. You open your mouth in protect, but you don't say anything. Bullshit. That's. That's not okay. That's not fair. Your mouth closes as Scratch continues with your own repercussions, almost numb to what you hear. A loud ringing takes over your senses. Fuck. You're frozen to the spot. He didn't say that you're dismissed yet. Even if, you're not sure if your legs could carry you with how weak in the knees you feel. From the sound of it, your first punishment may be delivered by Crowbar himself. Great. Not like threatening and punishing your lovers was already bad enough.

Fin 2:38 AM

Your eyes are ringing with the blood that is flushing when you hear about Nepeta's strike. This was not the way you two intended things to go, even with Trace assuming all the blame you know you were there to encourage him and offer him help so obviously you are partially to blame for what happened too but she didn't deserve this at all. You almost miss the moment when Scratch dissmisses you as you were too tense and that shows in the way your shoulders slouch once you have to walk out of the office. As you get escorted outside you take a second to reach for Trace's hand and touch it for a second, you wanted to say so many things but you just softly whisper that you will be waiting for him.

Trace 2:56 AM

Your heart skips a beat when you feel Fin's touch, but you don't dare looking up at him, nor at Nepeta when she follows him. You don't need to see their worried looks. You know them well enough to imagine how concerned they might be about you, the idiot that got them into this, while the guilt over the trouble you caused them is already quickly eating away at you.

Snowman 10:34 PM

You feel nothing much beyond, perhaps, pity for the part of Nepeta, though even that is minimal in light of the circumstances.  Though you are curious to know what will lie beyond this door once it closes behind you, you have other things on your mind: namely, the man already slinking out of the door ahead of you.  Nodding to James, you take Nepeta lightly by the elbow and steer her out of the room, eyes fixated on the back of Fin's head as you walk.

Clover 10:53 PM

Some part of you deeply wants to get up and bolt out the door to follow her, to protect her, to be her lucky charm- but you know there's nothing you can do until this is through. You watch them go until the door closes, and then you watch Scratch alone.

Scratch 1:17 AM

Silence takes the room as they file out, and you find a sort of solemn sadness taking the place of anger. Youd trusted Trace. Of course he was always going to be an idiot, but you never expected...well, it doesn't matter now. "So here we are." You say quietly, in almost a whisper. "You know, however it may seem, Ive always had high hopes for  you, Trace. Youre strong, and  fiercely loyal." Thin, gloved fingers trace the rim of your teacup idly. "It had been my hope to one day groom you for leadership. You have everything youd need, except the brains. Youre not half as smart as you think you are, Trace. You dont know, but you act like you do. Did the thought ever occur to you that I might actually want the girl dead? That there were ways to take her out that may have benefited us all? I hope you understand that youre not being punished because you killed her. Its not so simple." You sigh, looking up to Crowbar and beckoning him over with a sharp flick of the wrist. "You need to learn to think before you do, Trace. That the things you do effect other people. That there are other ways than your ways. I know you hate me, I dont pretend to be kind or pleasant, but I do know what Im talking about. Its why Im in charge, and have been for longer than youve been alive. When I call for your respect, its not because I think Im better than you, its because I have experiences that can help you be better and I want you to learn, I all but begged you to learn. Unfortunately now you have to learn the hard way." You move around your desk, standing in front of it now. "Its going to be a slow, painful process, but with any luck, youll come to understand why this has to happen. Come here, hold your arm out, place your hand face down on the desk."

Trace 3:39 AM

Suddenly the room felt much quieter, despite the fact that barely anyone but him has talked the whole time. Maybe it's also just your senses your senses going more and more numb by the second. What a lecture, all these wonderful backhanded compliments, just as he's about to give you probably the worst time of your life. You're left with a sour taste in your mouth when he mentions all his grand plans. Groom you for leadership. God, just what you need, a job you hate even more. You try not to look around the room much, eyes still fixed on the desk, the very platform that's about to become your scaffolding. You do take notice that Clover didn't leave the room yet though. Does he really want to watch this? Boy, does he hate you that much now. You welcome any thought that distracts you from what's about to happen, but this train of thought leads you to even more unpleasant places. Makes you wonder just how flippant his feelings are, or if he ever really cared about you if he is so easily swayed. You know what is expected of you and step forward. You briefly consider which hand to offer since it hasn't been specified - they're your most important tools after all - but decide on your right one, keeping the one with the ring safe, if at all possible.

Crowbar 8:33 AM

If you're nervous, it doesn't show. You take a swift breath and approach as you are motioned to do. You stand by Trace, a chill running through your veins to numb any sense of sentimentality. You have to distance the personal from the business. Looming over Trace, you turn your attention to Doc, awaiting further instruction.

Scratch 7:42 PM

"Nothing to say? You pleaded so nicely for Fin and Nepeta, nothing for yourself? The bravado died rather quickly once your lovers left, you may want to think about why that is." From your jacket pocket you pull out a dark green marker. Such a damn shame. Not only do you have Trace's mistakes to clean up, you also have to ruin a perfectly nice suit. Whatever his flaws, the boy has has style. You step over to his outstretched arm, eyes wandering up until you find a spot you prefer. Its so hard to stay classy when doing dirty work, but you do what you can. You mark the middle of his arm, drawing a fat line across his sleeve. You think the instructions speak loud and clear, so you pop the top of the marker back on and tuck it back into your pocket. Now you'll see what Crowbar's word is worth.

Trace 8:38 PM

You stay quiet. No, nothing else to say. What would even be the point? Beg for forgiveness? There's nothing that will sway Scratch from his ruling, and frankly you had it coming, right? And the last thing you need is talking yourself even deeper into trouble. You purse your lips and close your eyes, preparing for the pain. You don't need to watch that, you'll be feeling it soon enough. If anything, you're sorry for Crowbar having to do this.  He's stern and hard-working, sure, but still caring at his core.

Crowbar 8:42 PM

You watch Scratch carefully and when he watches you, in turn, you know it is your time to step forward. Gripping your crowbar tight, you focus on the line drawn on Trace's arm. Your heart gives a single empathetic squeeze before the cold steals away your remorse. A job is a job. You plan to do yours well. Without a word, you raise your weapon up and bring it down with a sickening crack.

Clover 8:45 PM

You flinch, just a bit, as the weapon swings down. You don't have the job that he does for a reason- you don't know how to willingly remove yourself from someone you've spent so much of your life with. You didn't watch.

Trace 8:57 PM

A sharp excruciating pain shoots through your arm. You do your best to hold back your reaction lest someone out there hears you. It's not quite a yell, but an agonized grunt escapes you. As the pain dulls, your head starts getting dizzy and you slowly sink down onto your knees before your body can force you. Last thing you want is to pass out right here. You pull your arm close to your body, lean against the desk for some support and wheeze heavily as you wait for further instructions. God, he better not plan to break any more bones.

Scratch 10:09 PM

Your eyes never stray. You watch the crowbar hits its mark, the way his arms snaps like a biscuit under the weight of the blow. This is your order, and you'll see it through. Theres no room to flinch, or to look away, not for you, not for Crowbar. He did well. In a world of self serving men, you're glad for someone like him. "Well struck, Crowbar." You compliment easily, eyes moving down now to Trace as he falls. You have more to say to him, but not here. Not on the showroom floor. "Though I really should  have the other one as well, we'll let that stew for a bit before taking any more. Please escort Trace down to the  holding cells."

Crowbar 10:12 PM

"Yes, sir." You slip a hand under Trace's good arm, hoisting him up to his feet and placing him between you and the door. "Come on, Three," you say, an almost gentle tone hiding beneath the stern command, "You know the way."

Clover 10:24 PM

It's been some time since you felt your heart pound with so much raw emotion that you can't even pin down what it is. Your chin is tilted down to the floor, and you await your father's comment or command.

Trace 10:39 PM

You go along with Crowbar. You have little intention to resist any of that, but his support certainly helps getting up and walking out of the door. Off to the cells, huh. Sure will be an unpleasant night, it seems.

Scratch 10:48 PM

So the curtain falls on another show, well performed all around. The only one who reacted differently than you expected was Clover, but you have your own reasons for wanting him to be here. You turn to him as they leave, stepping between them and him as the door shuts behind them. It was important for him to be here, as far as you're concerned, there was more accomplished here than just the breaking of bones. "My, that was certainly exciting, wasnt it?" You say cooly, tilting your head towards him. You wonder if it was worth it for him. You wonder if he was glad to be here.

Clover 12:20 AM

"You could call it that," you reply with a shrug. Your expression is something around the ring of neutral, and you lean against his desk. Your heart cries at you to chase Trace down to the cells, to tell Nepeta everything as soon as possible. You silence it.  "Word I'd use is tiring."

Scratch 9:19 PM

"Tired, are you?" You move back around your desk and pull out your notebook and a pen. "It seems to me the tiring times are only just beginning. Especially for you and your position so delicately balanced between the factions." You start writing. It will be easier for you to remember all the information if you write it down for later. This is just one of many outrages you have documented.

Clover 9:23 PM

"Shocker, right?" You shoot him a lopsided smile, stare up at the ceiling. "Everything I've worked for is going to have to be rebuilt."

Scratch 9:40 PM

"Hmm. Can it be rebuilt? Thats good to hear." Youre only half listening now, trying to recount things as they happened. You still have to clean Traces room out and also go and see him in the holding cells. "Do you regret being here when it happened, or the part you played in it all?'

Clover 9:46 PM

You consider it for a fair moment, as you often do before you give him his answers. Would you have rathered someone else in your place? Would you have preferred that you didn't act as you did? "....No."

Scratch 9:55 PM

Interesting. Such a complicated boy, this one. Even though he didnt watch, he still preferred to be here for it. "They certainly wont thank you for it." They meaning Trace and Fin, if you have a proper understanding of their relationship, that is. But youre glad he was here, and that he stayed. It shows them how much more hes like you than them. "Ah, just for my own curiosity, when did Nepeta tell you about all of this, and how long after Fin explained the situation to you did you involve Snowman?"

Clover 10:24 PM

"About an hour and a half or so ago I spoke with Nepeta, then immediately sought out Trace. Once I had spoken with Trace, I left him to make the decision if he was going to inform Crowbar of the situation as he should himself and sought out Fin. I found him not long before this meeting was called and called Snowman shortly after confirming he was complicit in the plan."

Scratch 4:18 PM

You make a note of it. An hour isnt bad at all, timing is everything in these matters. In most matters, really. Not that you would honestly know how to punish Clover if he did make the wrong move. Lucky for both of you he's smart enough to know better. "Right. If thats all for now then, you're dismissed. Please keep in mind that Trace is not allowed visitors." Except for you, but you're the exception to all rules, considering you make them.

Clover 4:24 PM

"No hug or gossip?" > Little smile. "I s'pose you've got a lot to do."

Scratch 4:31 PM

You smile, taking a pause in your writing. "Unfortunately you're right, theres much to do. In any event, I didnt think you would be in the mood for a hug, everything considered. Last I recall you were rather close to those three."

Clover 4:41 PM

"You'll get it eventually," you say, the tiniest hint of teasing in your voice.

Scratch 8:55 PM

Honestly, you're not entirely sure what he means. Whats there to get. "What is it I'm meant to be getting?"

Clover 9:03 PM

"Me, of course!" > It's on that note that you turn to leave, humming.

Scratch 10:01 PM

You dont go back to writing right away. Why do you feel like he got you? Did you just get got? Whatever. You have too much to do, and as always both too little and too much time to do it.

Trace 12:57 AM

Shortly before arriving at the cells, you stop. It's hard to think or remember much of the conversation through the fog of pain and shock, but parts are slowly coming back and one hits you especially hard. 'You're going to lose everything.' It's hard to imagine the extent that Scratch means, but if he says everything... you have little doubt that he very much means everything. "Crowbar. Can I- can I make a request."

Crowbar 1:01 AM

You pause. Take a deep breath. Doc might not appreciate you showing hesitation or concern in this situation but he isn't exactly around. Can't hurt to hear him out. You ask, "What is it, Trace?"

Trace 1:05 AM

You wince a little as you let down your broken arm, now without support, as your other digs into your pocket. You pull out a little bundled tissue, inside the rings from your most recent engagement. You hesitate for a moment, not sure if you should really dare to ask. But you're not sure what else Scratch got planned for you and you don't want to put these at risk if you can avoid it. "Could you... give these back to Nepeta?"

Crowbar 1:09 AM

You furrow your brow, taking the tissue and inspecting the rings. Your mouth opens and closes as your mind conjures up conflicting responses. Cold, warm, understanding, curt... You can't decide. With a heavy sigh, you tuck the rings safely into your breast pocket. "Anything you'd like me to tell her?" you ask.

Trace 1:20 AM

That's actually more than you expected. You think for a moment, trying to find the right words. "That I trust her. I want to trust her. I really do." You blink a few times as tears are welling up again. You wanted to tell her yourself, but you're not even sure when you'll get the chance for that. "Thank you.."

Crowbar 1:24 AM

You nod, patting the rings hidden away on your chest. You keep your words of sympathy to yourself but you feel it goes without saying. You continue on your way, regardless of your heavy heart.

Trace 1:25 AM

You follow, at least one little worry lighter, but still too many remain.

#logs #I can't believe Trace is gonna die #violence tw

[i-amusemyself]

1 To 116.

Thanks anon!! Thats my boredom cured for the evening

1: Let’s start with a tricky one; what is the real reason you are confused right now?

I’m actually not confused right now, which is a bloody rarity. I suppose I could say I’m slightly confused about my gender, but I try not to think about that tbh

2: Do you ever get “good morning” texts from anyone?

Occasionally, though to be fair I’m never awake in the mornings atm lmao

3: If your significant other smoked pot, would you care?

On a rare occasion? No. All the time? Probably.

4: Do you find it easy to trust others?

Fuck no lmao have you met people?

5: What were you doing at 11PM last night?

Umm...I was with my bf..

6: You’re drunk and lost walking down the road; who is with you?

Probably my mate from uni @bookdragonphoenix

7: What would you do if you found out you had been cheated on?

Instant break up. No excuses for that.

8: Are you close with your dad?

Hoo boi that’s complicated! It varies honestly, but more so than some people I guess

9: I bet you kissed someone last night, right?

Yeah

10: What are you listening to?

I’m listening to Ke$ha’s Die Young. It’s a tune okay?

11: You can only drink ONE liquid for the rest of your life - what is it?

Coke Cola (that is how you spell it right? Fuck im dumb). I live off it anyway tbh

12: Do you like hickeys?

Um, I like getting them but I get embarrased if some people see them lmfao

13: What time do you go to bed?

Like 12am? Usually about 2 hours after I’m tired enough to sleep smh

14: Is there someone who continuously lets you down?

Besides me? I guess a couple of people that are...distant friends and possibly a few family members, not to call anyone out

15: Can you text as quickly with one hand as you do both?

Well no lmao

16: Do you always answer your texts?

90% of them

17: Do you hate the person you fell the hardest for?

I don’t know who I fell the hardest for. I don’t really recall past emotions that well.

18: When was the last time you talked to one of your best friends?

Todayy

19: Is there someone that makes you happy every time you see them?

3 or 4 people yeah!

20: What was your last thought before you went to bed last night?

Fuck me I don’t know. Probably ughhh can I fall asleep pls

21: Is anyone else in the room with you?

Nope. I havent even seen another human today lmao

22: Do you believe what goes around comes around?

To an extent, but it’s not always guaranteed unfortunately

23: Were you happier four months ago than you are now?

Fuck no lmao

24: Is there someone you wish you could fix things with?

That depends on the definition of fix. If it solely relies on me doing things different, then no. But if it means someone else can themselves be fixed, sure.

25: In the past week, have you cried?

Nah, wish I could though I feel like I need to

26: What colour is the shirt you are wearing?

Grey

27: Do people ever call you by your last name?

Not people I see anymore

28: Is anyone ignoring you right now?

Don’t think so. I think people are just busy.

29: Do you have a best friend?

I have multiple

30: Would it be hard seeing someone else kiss the last person you kissed?

Very :/

31: Who was your last call/text message from?

@oneshappyplace bc she loves it when i throw random shit her way and vice versa

32: Are you mad at anyone?

I mean besides the people I have long term issues with? Nah

33: Have you ever kissed someone older than you?

Haha yeah

34: How old will the last person you kissed be on his/her next birthday?

20. Oh jeeeeesus christ that’s a scary fucking thought. Nope-ing away from that.

35: How many more days until your birthday?

8 months ish?

36: Do you have any summer plans yet?

I’m going away to quite a few places. There’s more I want to do but I don’t know if it will ever get organised.

37: Do you have any good friends of the opposite sex?

Besides my bf, not good ones. 

Edit: I completely forgot about one of my friends, yes I do

38: Are you keeping anything from your best friend(s) now?

Not intentionally. Idk. Don’t ask don’t tell I guess.

39: Do you have a secret that you’ve never told anyone?

Yeah bc it aint anyones business

40: Have you ever regretted kissing someone?

I don’t think so. 

41: Do you think age matters in relationships?

To an extent. Massive age gaps are weird, especially if one of them is hella young

42: Are you available?

Nein

43: How many people have you had real, strong feelings for since high school ended?

2

44: If you had to get a piercing (not ears), what would you get?

Eyebrow piercing

45: Do you believe exes can be friends?

I guess? I mean I probs couldn’t do that but I guess for others 

46: Do you regret anything?

So fucking much omfg

47: Honestly, what’s on your mind right now?

How shit I am at communication. I’m really starting to get mad at myself and wonder what the fuck is wrong with me.

48: Did you ever lose a best friend?

In a way, yeah

49: Was your last kiss a mistake?

No

50: Why aren’t you pursuing the person you like?

I...am ig

51: Has the last person you kissed ever seen you cry?

Yup

52: Do you still talk with the person you LAST kissed?

Wow this is relentless with the kissing. Yah

53: What was the last thing you ate?

An orange

54: Did you get any compliments today?

Nope

55: Where are you going on your next vacation?

Suffolk for latitude festival. How I ended up going there is a long story lmao

56: Do you own anything from other countries?

Tons of stuff I guess. I mean I’m wearing my ohio state tshirt haha

57: Are most of your friend guys or girls?

Girls

58: Where have you lived most of your life?

In the middle of england

59: When was the last time you took a long drive?

Fucking hell, like 7 or 8 weeks ago when I came back to uni

60: Have you ever played Spin the Bottle?

Who hasn’t?

61: Have you ever TPd someone’s house?

Nah 

62: Who do you text the most?

Probably @oneshappyplace or @apricot-el they get all my bs

63: What was the last movie you saw?

It’s called Chronicle, it was p good

64: What’s preventing your current boyfriend/girlfriend from going back to their ex?

Don’t fekkin ask that lmao! Hopefully the fact they’re happy and their ex is now miles away

65: How many boyfriends/girlfriends did you have in 2011?

Zero

66: Is the last person you kissed younger than you?

Nein

67: Do you curse around your parents?

Yeah, much to their dislike

68: Are you happy with where you live?

Yeah, but I’m only here for 3 more weeks

69: Picture of yourself?

No chance. Just imagine stereotypical androgenous kid, but lanky af

70: Are you a monogamous person or do you believe in open-ended relationships?

Personally I prefer monogamy

71: Have you ever been dumped?

Um...I actually can’t remember

72: What do you most like about making out?

Feeling wanted ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (sweet sweet depression and anxiety)

73: Have you ever casually made out with someone who you weren’t seriously involved with?

Nah

74: When you kiss someone for the first time, is it usually you who initiates it or the other?

Strangely enough, me

75: What part of a person’s body do you find most attractive?

I cannot seriously pick one part

76: Who was the last person you talked to last night before you went to bed?

You guessed it it’s @oneshappyplace

77: Had sex with someone you knew less than an hour?

I mean I’m alone

78: Had sex with someone you didn’t know their name?

Nope

79: What makes your heart flutter and brings a big cheesy smile to your face?

Just cute unexpected gestures I suppose

80: Would you get involved with someone if they had a child already?

I mean, maybe not currently but who knows if I was older

81: Has someone who had a crush on you ever confessed to you?

Yeah

82: Do you tell a lot of people when you have a crush?

Just my closest friends and the person I have a crush on *eye roll*

83: Do you miss your last sweetie?

No

84: Last time you slow danced with someone?

Years ago

85: Have you ever ‘dated’ someone you’ve never met?

I mean I’ve met them now but yes 

86: How can I win your heart?

Be a kind, understanding human being with a damn good sense of humor

87: What is your astrological sign?

Libra

88: What were you doing last night at 12 AM?

Bothering friends lmao

89: Do you cook?

Occasionally. I used to a lot more but depression

90: Have you ever gotten back in touch with an old flame after a time of more than 3 months of no communication?

Yeah, but it only ever seems to be me making the effort, so every time I’ve let them go again

91: If you’re single right now, do you wish you were in a relationship?

see like all previous answers lol

92: Do you prefer to date various people or do you pretty much fall into monogamous relationships quickly?

Monogamous stuff

93: What physical traits do you look for in a potential interest?

I honestly don’t know. I can never figure out my type, just, hotness lmao

94: Name four things that you wish you had!

Dopamine, money, the power to help others more...thats it thats all I want

95: Are you a player?

Nein

96: Have you ever kissed 2 people in one day?

Nope

97: Are you a tease?

I can be but not in a cruel way

98: Ever meet anyone you met on Tumblr?

Two people and we’re still close

99: Have you ever been deeply in love with someone?

That’s a loaded question yikes. I dont know.

100: Anybody on Tumblr that you’d go on a date with?

I mean I don’t know their tumblr but yh

101: Hugs or Kisses?

Both. I can’t choose. I’m bi.

102: Are you too shy to ask someone out?

Probs idk

103: The first thing you notice about the opposite sex?

....their face?

104: Is it cute when a boy/girl calls you babe?

Sure

105: If a sexy person was pursuing you, but you knew he/she was in relationship, would you go for it?

Not until I knew wtf they were playing at

106: Do you flirt a lot?

I’m hopeless at it

107: Your last kiss?

Yesterday

108: Have you kissed more than 5 people since the start of 2012?

I haven’t kissed that many people, full stop.

109: Have you kissed anyone in the past month?

Yikes see 107

110: If you could kiss anyone who would it be?

The bae tbh

111: Do you know who you’ll kiss next?

I have a p good idea

112: Does someone like you currently?

I fekkin hope so

113: Do you currently have feelings for anyone?

Yeah lmao

114: Do you like to be in serious relationships or just flings?

Serious shit 

115: Ever made out with just a friend?

Once when drunk 

116: Are you happier single or in a relationship?

In a relationship, for sure

[taetaejoah]

A BTS screenplay / Fanfiction

so I wrote this for my screenwriting class last semester and decided to upload it. There might be some spelling mistakes and the way it copied over from my screenwriting program to here is a bit odd so I’m sorry in advance if its really fucked up and unreadable.  I will probably go back and edit the format if when it isn’t 2 am. but I'm uploading this in a spur of the moment sense of courage.  It stops at the end of what would be the first episode. Anways, I hope you enjoy! 

INT. DORM HALLWAY- DAWN

Illuminated by the soft early morning light, are SEVEN BOYS, all in different levels of undress/dress. They are all Korean in their late teens to mid- twenties. The boys are fumbling around trying to get ready.

The dorm room is a mess, clothes and shoes litter the floor, and there are cups and plates everywhere.

JIMIN, a shy 19 year old who is small for his age, is brushing his teeth outside of the bathroom door.

He pounds his fist against the door and wails with the spit still in his mouth:

JIMIN Kookie! Get outh! I haff ta spit! And shower!!

He bangs on the door again, and a cloud of steam erupts from the door, follOwed by:

JUNGKOOK, the youngest of the group at 17 years old, cocky, who has his waist wrapped around in a TOWEL and is singing a GIRLS GENERATION song. He stops when he sees Jimin.

JUNGKOOK Jiminiee~~ ah, there’s no more hot water...

He laughs giving Jimin a devilish grin and a wink before continuing to sing the rest of the girls generation song.

Jimin, mouth full of spit, and toothbrush still in his hands, stomps his foot and storms away into:

INT. DORM KITCHEN - DAWN

Jimin SPITS into the sink and turns around to see a disgusted:

YOONGI, 22 year old rapper, perpetually tired, with a “fuck this” attitude, sighs with his hands cupped around a BLACK COFFEE.

Jimin frowns and looks back at the disgusted Yoongi, who rolls his eyes.

JIMIN (to himself)

Stupid Jungkook.

He sits in a huff down next to:

JIN, 24, the oldest of the group, broad shouldered and tall, who has just finished stuffing his face with food.

JIMIN (CONT’D) (to jin)

How can you eat so much so early?

JIN Breakfast it good for you, it

helps you grow big and tall.

He gets up, noticeably taller than Jimin, and teasingly pats him on the head ruffling his hair. He then heads to wait with the others in:

INT. DORM LIVING ROOM - DAWN

As Jin sits down on the couch the dorm room door opens with a loud THUD, banging against the door and startling:

NAMJOON, 20 year old rapper and leader of the group, who is already dressed and playing with his phone. He looks up at the door to:

HOBEOM, a bear of a man, the groups manager who constantly looks like he is about to come undone, rushes into the room holding a stack of papers that look like a SCHEDULE, eyes frantic. He looks around the dorm

2.

He looks that the

HOBEOM Why isn’t everyone ready?

at around at the various states of disarray boys are in and pulls his hair.

HOBEOM (CONT’D) You have an interview in 30

minutes! Get moving! Namjoon get the boys together!

Namjoon YELLS for everyone to get to the living room and the members who are not already there emerge from different places.

Namjoon looks around satisfied and does a quick head count

NAMJOON 2..3..4..5..6. Who are we

missing?

He looks around the room at, trying to place who is not here in his mind when his eyes fall on:

HOSEOK, 22 years old, bopping along to music in head headphones,loud enough to hear without wearing them, and pulling out various dance moves when the chorus hits.

Namjoon looks to the left of Hoseok and notices he is sitting alone, when a lightbulb goes off in his head.

Namjoon pulls the him a stern look

Where is

Hoseok avoids his looks towards the

headphones off of Hoseok, and gives

NAMJOON (CONT’D) your partner in crime?

gaze, and shrugs his shoulders, but direction of his dorm room.

He reaches for his headphones but Namjoon is taller and holds them up out of his reach. He jumps for them but its no use. Hoseok sighs, missing his music.

3.

HOSEOK Im sure you know exactly where

he is Namjoon, you know he’s not a morning person

He laughs under his breath and scratches the back of his head.

NAMJOON Well he’s the only one not here

and your his roommate AND his Hyung. Go get him!

Hoseok gives Namjoon a defiant look but hops off of the couch towards where he knows the last member already is, he turns down the hall and opens the door to

INT. DORM BEDROOM A - DAWN

TAEHYUNG, 20 years old, with the personality of an alien, is still in bed, snoozing happily.

Hoseok grabs a PLUSH from the shelf and throws it at him.

HOSEOK Wake up dork. You’re the only

one not ready.

Taehyung groans and turns over, ignoring Hoseok, who this time pulls the blankets off of the bed causing Tae to sit up and whine

TAEHYUNG Hyungggg, its too early. I’m

not going.

Hoseok laughs and ruffles Taehyung’s hair before teasing:

HOSEOK If you don't wake up, Ill make

you sit by Yoongi in the van~

4.

He falls back onto the bed and rubs the sleep out of his eyes.

TAEHYUNG (softly)

Jerk.

Hoseok goes to the closet and picks out clothes for Tae, throwing them on the bed, he smiles softly at the boy while Taehyung reluctantly gets dressed, complaining the entire time before they meet the others at the front door.

TAEHYUNG (CONT’D) Who even listens to the radio this early? The only person I know up at this time daily is

my grandma.

Hoseok rolls his eyes and pushes Taehyung out of the door.

INT. RADIO BROADCAST ROOM - DAY

A large “on air” sign lights up red and a song plays quietly through a speaker.

The seven boys sit around a large table each with their own set of HEADPHONES and MICROPHONE. They listen as a song ends and the RADIO DJ HEECHOL starts to speak again.

RADIO DJ HEECHOL Welcome back to k104, Im your host Heechol, here with an up

and coming K-pop group known as Bangtan Sonyeondan or BTS? Is that correct..BTS?

across the table at the nervous boys and Its a while before anyone talks.

He looks smiles.

5.

NAMJOON Yes sir! BTS is correct, we

actually go by that more than our official name!

RADIO DJ HEECHOL Interesting, you mentioned earlier your worries about

debuting with such a long name, is that the reason for shortening it?

NAMJOON Part of it, yes, we wanted our

name to be easy to remember! The same reason goes for our stage names!

RADIO DJ HEECHOL Ah yes! I can’t wait until

those are announced later this month! Stage names are an integral part in the life of a kpop idol! Do you guys have any preferences

The boys nervously agree, shifting in their seats and fidgeting with things on the table in front of them.

HOSEOK I personally want something to

do with hope, or encouragement. To remind fans and members that we can do this and that our debut will be a success!

JIMIN Ahhh..Hoseok Hyung always

brings the mood up in the group! He’s our Hope!

RADIO DJ HEECHOL Something like Hopeseok? That

seems like a mouthful haha. (MORE)

6.

RADIO DJ HEECHOL (CONT'D) Speaking of Debut, you are

scheduled to have a debut stage.. This month, is that correct? That must be exciting seeing as you come from such a small company. Finally get to compete with the big dogs huh?

YOONGI Yes! I’ve been waiting a long

time to see this group debut. Its going to be an amazing experience and I hope we go far! We’ve worked so hard, and even now we don't skip a day of training.

Yoongi looks around the room at his fellow members who smile and nod.

Jungkook is looking down at his lap, and Taehyung is fiddling with his hands nervously.

The rowdy and loud boys from the dorm are gone as the nerves of debuting and the thought of failing are brought to the surface.

RADIO DJ HEECHOL Well we here at k104 are highly

anticipating your debut! We can’t wait to see what you’ll create! Unfortunately that is all the time we have for today! It was a pleasure talking with you all, is there anything you want to say before we sign off!

JIN Please treat us kindly! We will

work hard to be the best for you!

TAEHYUNG I wont disappoint you mom and

dad!

7.

The group laughs, but Taehyung looks completely serious.

NAMJOON Please anticipate our debut at

the end of the month! 1..2..

EVERYONE BANG..TAN! We are BTS! Thank

you for having us!

The on air button goes off and the boys begin to unhook themselves from the mics and headphones.

Several HAIR AND MAKEUP ARTISTS rush towards the boys and begin to fix their hair and makeup.

The boys are then placed in front of a blank wall and PHOTOGRAPHED in different poses.

After the photo session the boys shuffle towards

INT. OUTSIDE OF VAN - DAY

The boys begin to pile into the van, complaining and fighting for the best seats.

Hobeom, their manager, stops Yoongi and Namjoon just outside the van, telling them about the rest of their schedule for the day.

The boys have choreography and dance with their HEAD CHOREOGRAPHER.

HOBEOM You need to change as soon as

you get to the studio, you have dance for 5 hours before you begin vocal lessons. Make sure you arrive on time.

Namjoon nods and Yoongi sighs to himself before turning to Namjoon

8.

said all cool and

Namjoon rolls his van.

Just get

INT. VAN - DAY

I had to do was look rap.

eyes and pushes yoongi into the

NAMJOON in the van.

YOONGI I swear when I signed my

contract at Big Hit Hobeom PD

All seven of the boys sit in the van and head to the studio for dance practice.

Taehyung sits next to Hoseok, and lays his head on his shoulder.

Jimin is sitting next to Yoongi, and the two are already asleep.

Jin and Namjoon talk quietly in the front seat, and Jungkook is sat in the back next to Taehyung, bouncing up and down.

They all look EXHAUSTED, except for Taehyung and Jungkook, who are excitedly reenacting the interview.

JUNGKOOK (in a radio Dj voice)

Ah yes, Taehyung, how does it feel to be famous and wealthy?

Jungkook, who is using his hand as a mic, holds it out for Taehyung to answer.

Taehyung

grabs the younger’s hand and answers.

TAEHYUNG Oh its just wonderful Kookie!

But, I'm sure you would know, being a famous idol yourself. I heard that you are rumored to have a solid gold tub, is that correct?

9.

JUNGKOOK When your as famous as I am,

most of, if not all of your possessions are in fact, solid gold.

Jungkook pretends to act as a famous person on a red carpet as Taehyung dissolves into a fit of laughter.

Jungkook falls backwards into his seat and accidentally hits a sleeping Yoongi.

Taehyung goes still and tries to hide behind Hoseok, who has been quietly watching the boys.

Yoongi wakes up and gives the boys a “say another word and you’ll die” glare.

YOONGI Shut it.

The boys apologize and the van becomes silent.

INT. DANCE STUDIO - DAY

The boys are in a dance formation looking towards a mirror and practicing choreography.

They finish the run through and pant before getting into formation again.

Jin, who his spot

CHOREOGRAPHER Do it again. Jin, try to keep

up. Follow Hoseok, he knows what to do.

is out of breath, nods and gets back into in the formation.

The boys wait for the music and start again, only a minute passes by before the choreographer stops them.

CHOREOGRAPHER (CONT’D) Yoongi, you’re off center. Make sure you hit your mark when you

come up to rap. Again.

10.

The boys reset, and begin to dance again, but are stopped even earlier.

CHOREOGRAPHER (CONT’D) Don’t dance lazily. Try again.

You can do this. Focus.

Without a word they reset and begin again. The boys stare intently at themselves in the mirror and look determined to finish the song all the way through. They are DRIPPING in sweat.

This time they make it all the way through. They begin to get back into formation when the choreographer unplugs his phone and turns off the music.

They look to the choreographer, who stands up.

CHOREOGRAPHER (CONT’D) Its been 2 hours, go ahead and

eat lunch. We’ll pick back up after your break. You have 30 mins. Don’t forget the choreography while you eat.

The choreographer walks out of the studio and the boys walk towards their bags lined up against the walls.

On the way, Jin stops Hoseok, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him to the side.

JIN (looking at the floor)

Hoseok, could you...uh...could you stay behind for a bit and help me with this part

Jin begins to swing his arms and move his legs, showing Hoseok the part of the choreography that he doesn’t understand.

Hoseok laughs, and pulls Jin towards his spot in the formation.

11.

HOSEOK Aishhh...Jin...That doesn’t

even look like our dance...

JIN Im the visual! Im supposed to

just stand there and look good! They both laugh and Hoseok begins teaching him

HOSEOK As your lead dancer, I’m

offended by that statement. Don’t worry you just need a little extra practice. Lets start from here.

Hoseok puts his feet and hands into position

7..8..hand, hand, sweep, da,da,da

Jin fumbles, and looks to Hoseok like a lost puppy.

HOSEOK (CONT’D) No no, stop stop, like this...

Hoseok, moves his arms and a tight sweeping motion, and counts along while doing complicated footwork. Behind him, Jin looks completely lost and puts his head in his hands.

INT. LUNCH ROOM - DAY

The remaining boys are sitting around a table talking excitedly about their upcoming debut.

JUNGKOOK I honestly don’t think the

company is going to give you the name “Rap Monster” Namjoon.

JIMIN If anything you're more of a

Nerd Monster

12.

JUNGKOOK Nerd mon!!! I like it, I vote

nerd mon.

Namjoon goes to protest but is drowned out by the approval of the rest of the boys chanting his name

EVERYONE Nerd Mon, Nerd Mon, Nerd Mon...

The chants die out as the boys begin to eat again, stuffing their faces with various sorts of foods.

Taehyung over the

TAEHYUNG Are you excited to debut? In

all honesty I'm a little afraid.

YOONGI Its been a long time since I

signed a contract for this company, of course im ready. I’ve been ready. I'm just excited we are actually getting somewhere

looks down at the table and a silence falls group.

JUNGKOOK We’ve been working really hard;

we’ll make it. In two years time we’ll win Mnet. We’ll have loads of fans. I’m sure of it.

YOONGI Lets hope so kid.

Yoongi shoves food into his mouth and the conversation devolves back into light hearted comments and jokes.

NAMJOON We’ve only got 5 minutes left

for break, lets go in and practice before our choreographer comes back.

(MORE)

13.

NAMJOON (CONT'D) I’m not in the mood to be

yelled at for the next 3 hours.

JIMIN Whatever you say Nerd Mon,

you’re the boss.

NAMJOON Hey, I’m your leader!

YOONGI You’re still a nerd.

Namjoon pulls a face and orders them to clean up after themselves.

INT. STUDIO - DAY

The boys walk into the studio to see Hobeom standing in the middle of the floor with unfocused eyes. His hands are folded across his chest. The boys look around the dance studio and then back at each other.

YOONGI What is this? What’s going on?

You never show up to our practices. Don’t tell me we are changing the choreography again.

Yoongi steps forward from the boys to approach Hobeom.

The boys

HOBEOM I think we should all grab a

seat. This is something you’re going to want be seated for.

JUNGKOOK Is everything okay? Is anyone

hurt? Did someone say something they weren’t supposed to in the interview?

grab seats in a circle and look at Hobeom.

14.

HOBEOM I’ve got some bad news. We got

the reports back from marketing and we didn’t pass. You guys aren’t popular enough to debut by the end of the month. We have to push it back.

The room gets incredibly quiet and the boys look at each other in shock.

NAMJOON What do you mean? We can

release the music and the fans will follow.

JIN Yeah, I finished learning the

dance too!

JIMIN We’re ready. We’ve practiced so

hard and our vocals are so good!

Jimin looks down at the ground defeated

HOBEOM I’m sorry. We can’t risk the

album not selling well against the other bands. We’ll give you six more months to gain the popularity you need.

Hoseok goes to speak, but it takes a moment before he can put the words together in his head.

HOSEOK But..What happens if we don’t

make it?

The boys hold their breath as hoseok asks the question everyone is too afraid to hear the answer to.

15.

HOBEOM Well..uh..you guys...You guys

will be dropped from the label.

TAEHYUNG NO! WE CANT BE DROPPED! MY

PARENTS! THEY PAID SO MUCH FOR ME TO BE HERE.

YOONGI This is bullshit. Dropped from

the label? Are you kidding me?

Yoongi stands and goes starts to pace around the room, flinging his hands into the air and yelling to himself

YOONGI (CONT’D) ITS BEEN 5 YEARS. I SIGNED MY

LIFE AWAY TO YOU. 5 YEARS I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR AN OPPORTUNITY, I’VE BEEN STUCK WITH 5 DIFFERENT BANDS, YOU FINALLY STICK ME WITH PEOPLE I ACTUALLY LIKE AND NOW YOU’RE TELLING ME THAT WE HAVE TO FUCKI-

Namjoon stands and puts an arm on Yoongi’s shoulder, stopping him from his rant.

Yoongi goes to rip his shoulders away from Namjoon, but he’s too strong.

NAMJOON Watch your tongue. Hear him out

first at least. Yoongi sighs heavily, but relaxes a bit.

HOBEOM We have you guys scheduled to

appear on a rookie show at the end of the month.

16.

JIMIN Will that really help that

much? I mean, We’ve done interviews and been on TV shows.

Yoongi looks as if he is going to explode, but keeps it in after a glare from Namjoon.

JUNGKOOK How do we get more fans faster.

If we can get them in the next two weeks we can still debut right?

HOBEOM You guys should go home for the

day and get some rest. Let your families know. Six months should be more than enough time to get popular. Stay positive.

Hobeom gets up and leaves the studio. The boys all sit around unable to speak for a minute.

Yoongi gets up and kicks a water bottle into the wall while Namjoon gets up and starts pacing.

Taehyung curls his knees up to his chest and places his head on them while Hoseok puts his arm around him and Jin together.

Jungkook and Jimin look at each other and then back down on the floor.

NAMJOON Okay, you guys. Let’s head

back.

The boys stand up, and share a look at each other of pure defeat. They walk with their heads slightly hung out of the studio and head towards the van.

17.

INT. DORM ROOM - EVENING

The boys file in to the dorm with their heads hung and Yoongi is last. He slams the door.

YOONGI FUCK. This is so unfair. A

rookie show? Im not going to sit around and do stupid punishments for fans. It’s all just fan service and stupid rewards. Aren’t we supposed to be actually making music?

Yoongi knocks over the papers and snacks from the counter in a fit and lets out an aggravated yell.

Taehyung and Jungkook step back in response, but do nothing to help. They look towards Namjoon.

NAMJOON Clean it up.

YOONGI Fuck off.

Yoongi storms away to his dorm room, slamming the door behind him and leaving the others to stare in silence.

NAMJOON I’ll go talk to him in a bit.

He just needs a bit of time to cool off.

Jungkook begins to cry silently and Jimin steps toward him and leads him to the couch where they sit down.

INT. LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS

Jimin hands him a bottle of soda and they both open the soda. The pop breaks the silence.

JUNGKOOK This is all my fault. I’m the

youngest. I’m not ready. (MORE)

18.

JUNGKOOK (CONT'D) I should have worked harder,

stayed later at the studio. I just joined and I ruined it for all of you.

JIMIN No, no, this isn’t your fault.

This is on all of us.

They both sip quietly. The sounds of Yoongi in his room screaming into his pillow can be heard.

JUNGKOOK There’s just so much to learn.

I feel so overwhelmed.

JIMIN You shouldn’t feel like that.

There’s a reason we call you the golden maknae. You’re doing a lot better than us when we were at your age.

Jungkook starts crying again and Jimin scoots a little closer.

JIMIN (CONT’D) Why are you crying?

JUNGKOOK Half out of sadness and half

out of gratitude. That really means a lot to me.

Jimin puts an arm around Jungkook and looks out of the window into the city below. Jungkook takes a shaky breath in.

JIMIN We’ll work harder these next

few months and push each other to be the best we can be. They’ve given us a chance with the show, and I know that Hobeom and the company care

about us a lot. (MORE)

19.

JIMIN (CONT'D) I know we will make it. We just

have to stay positive and keep our heads up.

Jungkook looks towards Jimin and sniffs, wiping his tears away with the sleeve of his shirt.

JUNGKOOK Thanks Jimin, I know we can do

it if we try, im just worried about Yoongi and the other Hyungs.

JIMIN Everything will be okay. We are

a great team an-

Jimin is confused and sad daze. He looks off out the window before catching the gaze of the two boys in front of him.

HOSEOK Jin has made food, you two

should go eat. It’ll make you feel better.

Hoseok goes to walk away, his usual bright demeanor his gone, and his head hangs low.

JIMIN Hey- hey Hyung

Hoseok stops and turns around to face Jimin

JIMIN (CONT’D) We’re gonna be okay, right? I mean Taehyung looked a little wrecked. I’ve never seen him-

HOSEOK I don’t know. He’s never been

like this. He’s not one to show his feelings. I think he’s just a little shocked.

cut off as Hoseok enters the room in a

20.

JUNGKOOK Is he on the phone? I saw him

walk toward your room.

HOSEOK Yeah I think so, but its been a

while. You both go eat, i’ll go check on him.

Hoseok heads out of the living room and walks to his and Taehyung’s room.

INT. DORM BEDROOM A HALLWAY - NIGHT

He creaks open the door silently and watches through a sliver of light Taehyung lying on Hoseok’s bed, the phone to his ear.

His face is flat and something shiny seems to be falling from his eye. From his spot at the door Hoseok can hear him choke out a sob.

Hoseok peaks into the room some more, and debates going in only to be stopped by the sound of Teahyung’s voice.

TAEHYUNG I should’ve stayed. How are we

going to pay for this. Im so sorry. It’s too much. I don’t want to fail you.

Hoseok’s eyes go wide as he listens to the boys conversation.

Taehyung leans in

is quiet as he listens to the reply. Hoseok a bit more, straining to hear.

TAEHYUNG (CONT’D) I miss you guys, I thought this

would be a way to help with money.. It just seems now that everything is falling apart. The others are worried. Its never been like this.

21.

Teahyung’s crying becomes more persistent, and he rubs his eyes as he listens to the person on the other end.

Hoseok wipes his eyes as he begins to feel emotional towards his fellow bandmate.

TAEHYUNG (CONT’D) Thanks mom, I wont let you

down. I love you too.

Taehyung hangs up and locks his phone and turns on his stomach placing the phone next to his pillow. His back starts to heave and the sound of crying starts to get louder and louder. Before he sees Taehyung bury his face into a pillow to cover the sounds of his tears.

Hoseok, who can’t take it anymore silently walks into the room and walks towards Teahyung.

Hoseok lays down in his bed next to Taehyung and pats his back softly.

HOSEOK Shhhh, its okay. Its gonna be

okay.

Taehyung shudders, and curls himself into a ball away from Hoseok.

HOSEOK (CONT’D) Hey, Tae, look at me. Come on,

turn around.

Taehyung turns around and faces Hoseok. His eyes red and puffy from crying.

Hoseok looks at Taehyung’s face and wipes away a stray tear.

HOSEOK (CONT’D) Shhh... we will be okay. Don’t

get yourself down. We are all going to get through this together. As a group.

(MORE)

22.

Taehyung

HOSEOK (CONT’D) Jin made some food if you feel

like eating. looks up at Hoseok and shakes his head.

TAEHYUNG I don’t think I could eat even

if I was hungry. I just want to go to bed.

Taehyung turns back around facing away from Hoseok and pulls the covers over his head. Hoseok frowns

HOSEOK I feel the same way. I’m just

going to go to sleep too.

Hoseok pauses for a moment before getting into the covers and resting his head on his pillow.

HOSEOK (CONT’D) Tae...uh..i know you want to

sleep, and you are upset, but... you’re in my bed.

TAEHYUNG I know.

Hoseok looks at the boy confused, propping himself up on his side,

HOSEOK You know?

Taehyung turns back around and nods his head before hiding his face. He sniffs avoids Hoseok's eyes.

HOSEOK (CONT’D) If you know then...

Hoseok stops to think of what to say

23.

Taehyung himself.

TAEHYUNG It smells nice, like vanilla,

and I, I don't know I just don’t want to be alone. We don’t have to cuddle or anything, I’m not gay, I just miss my family and I'm so afraid and nothing is turning out right an-

HOSEOK Sure

TAEHYUNG Sure?

HOSEOK Yes, sure, you can sleep with

me tonight. You don’t have to be gay to need some comfort. So, yeah, sure.

smiles and pulls the covers closer to

TAEHYUNG Thanks Hoseok, you really do

bring me a lot of hope.

The boys turn to face opposite walls and drift off into a sad sleep.

INT. DORM ROOM - DAWN

A LOUD KNOCK on the door wakes Jungkook, who had fallen asleep on the couch the night before, startled, he gets off the couch and pulls his discarded shirt back on over his head and heads to the door.

Jungkook opens the door as the knocking continues and is met with the excited eyes of Hobeom, who today is holding an even thicker looking schedule.

24.

Hobeom steps in to the dorm and heads back into the Living room. He twists the schedule around in his hands and looks around expectantly.

He looks

He turns have him

HOBEOM (to Jungkook)

Why isn’t anybody up? Its a new day!

JUNGKOOK Its 5 am, and yesterday you

told us we weren’t going to debut. I don’t think anybody wants to be up.

HOBEOM About that! I have news! News

about your Rookie show! down the hall and yells

HOBEOM (CONT’D) BTS!! Wake up boys! I’ve got great news!

towards Jungkook and motions his hands to go wake the rest of the boys up.

HOBEOM (CONT’D) Go! Go get them!

INT. DORM LIVING ROOM - DAY

After several minutes of rushing around the dorm and waking everyone up, the seven boys sit together on the couch. This time they are quiet and stare straight ahead or at the ground.

HOBEOM I know you all are a little upset at the news you received yesterday. Trust me, we all are.

Jimin gives a silent nod while Yoongi huffs out a noise of disbelief.

25.

HOBEOM (CONT’D) 

But the show we’ve found is really popular, and they have agreed to run your spot at one of the more heavily viewed times. We’ve already made an apology statement to the radio company and your scripts will arrive tomorrow.

He pauses to look at each of the members staring blankly back at him

HOBEM You are also going to be doing a dorm tour and separate interviews so that the audience can get to know you. I’ve come here to discuss your stage names and get you ready to meet the producers of the show.

JIN When do we begin filming? How was this set up so fast?

YOONGI He must have known we weren’t going to debut. It seems like he had it all ready to do.

HOBEOM I...i mean we had back up plans of course

Yoongi scoffs and makes to stand up.

YOONGI I knew it. You had no faith in

us as a company. I wont do it. Count me out. Im not dressing up like an idiot for strangers. I’m here to make music.

Taehyung looks to hoseok afraid, and hoseok squeezes his arm to reassure him it will be okay.

26.

HOBEOM But you will be making music. And it will play, on the radio.

The boys look to Hobeom in shock, confusion spreading across their faces.

NAMJOON We’ll be making music? How?

YOONGI 

He’s lying

HOBEOM Im not, part of your contract with the show is that you produce a song throughout the course of Rookie King.

JUNGKOOK So we will actually get to sing?

HOBEOM Yes, and your choreography and vocal lessons wont stop either.

Namjoon looks to yoongi, who seems to be contemplative.

JIMIN And if our song gets a lot of feedback at the end of the show? Will we be able to keep our contract?

TAEHYUNG Does that mean we debut as a band?

All seven of the boys wait manager to answer.

HOBEOM Yes. Thats exactly what it means.

#bts fanfic #bts fanfction #BTS rap monster #BTS jimin #BTS v #bts jhope #BTS suga #BTS jin #bts #BTS jungkook #vhope #bts meme #bangtan #bangtan boys #bangtan sonyeondan

[alhexedander-blog]

100

1. What’s your middle name, and do you like it? Emre and yes. 2. Are you artistic? Yes. 3. Have you had your first kiss? Yes. 4. What is your life goal? To make movies. 5. Do you have any experiences with a famous person? Yes. But some aren’t particularly interesting and others are very negative and I don’t care to name drop or regale. 6. Do you play any sports? Yeah. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and while it’s not a sport, rather a military system I have started Escrima. 7. What’s your worst fear? I can’t imagine and even if I could I don’t think it would be wise to release it on social media for all to see. 8. Who’s your biggest inspiration? Jackie Chan. 9. Do you have any cool talents? I can draw. 10. are you a morning person? No. 11. How do you feel about pet names? Indifferent. 12. Do you like to read? Yes. 13. Name a list of shows that have changed your life. Perhaps Friends, it made me think about having a social life. I’ve always been a workaholic and after a while I considered maybe dedicating more time to my friends. 14. Do you care about your follower count? Not even a little tbh. I follow who I find interesting and I am grateful that I have so many people that are interested in my content and follow me. But, followers mean very little to me. I have blogs other than this one and there are about 4 followers on one of the ones I am very active on. It’s not about the followers for me. It’s just like an online scrapbook. That’s also why I make new ones, it’s kind of like getting a fresh scrapbook to distract me from my big one haha. 15. What’s the best dream you’ve had? Ah, who knows. I’ve been blessed with many pleasant experiences and therefore pleasant dreams. 16. Have you ever kissed someone of your same gender? Yup. 17. Do you have any pets? My parents have a cat named Lucky. One day I would like to have a Siberian Husky. 18. Are you religious? I am very spiritual but religious, no. I was raised muslim but I converted to buddhism as a child. However, my mum continued to teach me muslim values. Still, I believe her to be an example of a good muslim. She never said that I couldn’t be a buddhist. She believed I would pick up good values from it so she allowed it. As I grew older I looked to science more. I do not believe in a lot of buddhist beliefs such as reincarnation. However, I do believe in the concept of improving mind of matter, inner-peace and connectivity with the world around you through meditation. 19. Are you a people person? There are instances when I have been. But, for the most part I would say no. I can be quite difficult to like at first as I’m a little rough around the edges. It’s just who I am. I was actually raised in a home that has a decent amount of money. Just, as I took to the arts I saw swearing as a means of expression, so I began to swear frequently. I was curious about my military heritage, so I began martial arts. I have been told by quite a few that it took them a while to warm up to me. I feel like it could also be a cultural thing. Being half-Turkish I am very expressive and passionate when I talk at times and it might come across as a bit much or aggressive to someone who isn’t used to me, so I’m trying to improve on that haha. 20. Are you considered popular? Despite all that I just said, yes. I have many friends. I am a nice person, I play big-brother to everyone. I’m just difficult to warm to. 21. What is one of your bad habits? I swear like a sailor. 22. What’s something that makes you feel vulnerable? Ohh. Not much these days. I used to feel very vulnerable if I cried. But these days I’ve recognised that it’s actually just a very healthy form of catharsis. It allows for the relief of stress and since I’ve become more secure about crying and expressing emotion I’ve actually become far more secure in my masculinity and the fragility of my ego has drastically improved.   23. What would you name your children? I have no idea. Not sure I want kids. 24. Who’s your celebrity crush? Where to start? Aly Raisman, Jay Park, Daniel Dae Kim and Ariana Grande. 25. What’s your best subject? Filmmaking, art and sport. 26. Dogs or cats? Both! I’m not deciding. 27. Most used social media besides tumblr? Twitter. 28. Best friend(s) name(s)? Kirsten, Alex, Jay, Lizzie, Sarah, Katie and Emin. 29. who does your main family consist of Myself, Emily, Ezgi, Ata and Emin and Lynsey. 30. Chocolate or sugar? Chocolate. 31. Have you ever been on a date? Yeah haha. 32. Do you like rollercosters? Once I’m on them yes. 33. Can you swim? Yeah. 34. What would you do in the event of an apocalypse? Depends what kind. My brother and I are super well prepared for a zombie apocalypse. We are gonna collect a stockpile of weapons and head into the water cos zombies can’t swim. We will fish for food and in the event we get stranded there will be camping gear including a makeshift electric fence to keep zombies away. 35. Have you struggled with any kind of mental disorder Yeah. Bipolar Disorder. 36. Are your parents together? Yeah. 37. What’s your favourite colour? Blue. 38. What country are you from/do you live in? London, England. 39. Favourite singer? Loads. I love Jay Park and Panic! At the Disco. 40. Do you see yourself being famous some day? Perhaps but I don’t really want it so meh. 41. Do you like dresses? On girls yeah. 42. Favourite song right now? This is Gospel. 43. Does talking about sex make you uncomfortable? Nope. 44. How old were you when you first got your period? I’m not a girl. 45. Have you ever shot a gun? I wanna. 46. Have you ever done yoga? Yeah. 47. Are you a horror girl? Totes. 48. Are you good at giving advice? Sometimes. 49. Tell us a story about your childhood: I used to do stuff like forge sick notes from my dad and I am dead-ass serious when I say that there was like five spelling mistakes per note but somehow I managed to forge his signature exactly the same way and it’s something that’s baffled all of us to this day. 50. How are you doing today? Good. 51. Were you a cute kid? Yeah I guess. 52. Can you dance? No. 53. Is there anything you do that you can’t remember ever not doing? Basically every time I’m drunk. 54. Have you ever dyed your hair? Loads of times. 55. What colour are your eyes? Green. 56. What’s your favourite animal? Dogs. 57. Have you ever made a huge fool of yourself? Every single time I’m drunk haha.  58. Do you have a good relationship with your parents? Meh. 59. Do you have good friends? Yeah. 60. Are you close with anyone of the lgbtq+ group? Yeah. 61. What’s your favourite class? Film & TV. 62. List all the TV shows you are watching: Doctor Who, Prison Break, OPM, Rick and Morty and American Dad. 63. Are you organised? Yeah. 64. What was the last movie you saw? Opinion? Assassin’s Creed. Shit. 67. Which TV character do you relate to most? Maybe Zuko.  68. What are some things that stand between you and complete happiness? Nothing. 69. If you received enough money to never need to work again, what would you spend your time doing? What I’m doing now. 70. What would you change about your life if you knew you would never die? Nothing. Live hard. 71. What would you do differently if you knew that no one was judging you? Nothing. 72. If you could start over, what would you do differently? Yeah. 73. Would you break the law to save a loved one? Yeah. 74. When was the last time you travelled somewhere new? A year ago. 75. When you think of your home, what immediately comes to mind? My heavy bag. 76. What have you done to pursue your dreams lately? How about today? I edited my screenplay and enrolled in a world-class Escrima academy. 77. What did you want to be when you were a kid? An artist. 78. If you dropped everything to pursue your dreams, what would you be risking? Nothing really, that’s what I’m doing. 79. When did you not speak up, when you know you really should have? These kids were bullying another kid and I knew in my heart I should have stopped them but I didn’t and I kicked myself for the longest time. 80. Describe the next five years of your life, and your plans, in a single sentence: become a filmmaker.  81. What would happen if you never wasted another minute of your life, what would that look like? How I’m living.  82. If you could live forever, how would you spend eternity? Trying to be as happy as possible. Learning to meditate and enjoy life. 83. How would you spend a billion dollars? I’d buy a flat and travel/live comfortably for the entirety of my life. 84. If you could time travel, would you go to the past or the future? Past. 85. What motivates you to succeed? Art. 86. What dream that you’ve had has resonated with you the most? I was a hit-man on a boat and killed everyone including my family. It has me shook to do this day. 87. Would you rather live in the city or the woods? Why? Woods. Because it sounds like an adventure.  88. Do you believe in life after death? No.  89. What teacher inspired you the most? How did they? School has been a prison to me and I long to escape.  90. What’s your fondest childhood memory? I have many. Living in the mountainsides in Turkey strikes a fond chord.  91. If you could have dinner with any one person, living or dead, who would they be and why? Bruce Lee. I’d want to pick his mind. 92. What would you have to see to cry tears of joy? World peace. 93. What is the hardest lesson you had to learn in life? People don’t hand you shit you have to go out and take it and you have to be willing to literally bleed for it.  94. What do you think happens after we die? We decompose and reunite with the earth.  95. What would you do if you would be invisible? Girls’ locker room. 96. What’s something you can’t do no matter how hard you try? Beastiality.  97. Would you want to choose the sex and appearance of your offspring? Yes. Playing God FTW.  98. How did your first crush develop? Basically we were bffls in Primary School and I got a crush on her and she got a crush on me. 99. Is there a feeling you are trying to ignore? What is it? Depression. Well, I’m not depressed now. But after certain events a little while ago I tried to take my life. Since then I’ve pretty much just lived my life in the way that makes me that happiest.  100. Do you live or do you just exist? I live.

[bern33chaser]

10 Tools and Resources to Write the Perfect Resume

If you read my post of resume tips a few weeks ago, you’ll already be familiar with best practice for writing a great resume.

While there’s nothing wrong with hand-crafting your resume in Microsoft Word (or your word processor of choice), there are plenty of online tools that can save you lots of time by formatting your resume in seconds.

Plus, if you’re still struggling with exactly what to put on your resume in the first place – there’s lots of great advice out there.

Before we get into the list of great tools and resources, there are a couple of crucial things to keep in mind:

Whatever tools you use, employers will expect a resume that conforms to a standard format. There are some nifty tools out there that let you create a resume that looks like, say, an infographic: unless you’re very certain that’ll go down well with your potential employer, stick to something a little more conventional.

Tools can be hugely helpful … but they can only do so much. If there are major issues with your resume (like a huge unexplained gap in your work history, or a total mismatch between your listed skills and what an employer wants), you’ll want to fix those problems before trying to format your resume beautifully.

With those caveats out of the way, here’s the list:

Online Advice and Support on Creating Your Resume

#1: “Resume” Category (free), Ask a Manager

I love the blog “Ask a Manager” by Allison Green (though be warned, it’s an easy place to spend a little too much time reading about other people’s weirdly dysfunctional workplaces). There’s a whole category of advice about “Resumes”, which is well worth a read.

(Allison Green is a manager who’s been extensively involved in hiring and really knows her stuff. You can submit your own questions to her, if you have a resume query that hasn’t already been covered on the blog.)

#2: Resume Samples (free), Resume Genius

If you’re writing a resume for the first time – or after a long time away from employment – then you might feel quite unclear on how a resume should even look. Going through some resume samples can be really helpful, because it gives you a good feel for what potential employers will expect.

There are plenty of sites out there offering sample resumes, but Resume Genius is a particularly easy-to-use one, with samples categorised by industry, and with related samples like cover letters, plus additional tips. You can click to download a sample as a Microsoft Word document without having to sign up or put in your email address.

Tip: Don’t assume that the wording or layout of a sample is perfect (or that it’s perfect for the role you have in mind): it won’t necessarily be appropriate to copy a particular phrase that a sample resume or cover letter uses, for instance. In any case, you should be very careful about using wording from any sample unless it’s something very standard (like “I am interested in applying…” or “Thank you for your consideration”), unless you have express permission – otherwise, copying the sample is plagiarism.

#3: CV Tips: this is what a recruiter can see after 30 seconds with your resume (free), The Independent

This is a single article, but one I wanted to link to because it provides a very honest and valuable perspective from the other side of the fence. It’s easy to end up agonising over things on your resume that don’t really matter – or giving too much importance to areas that employers simply aren’t that interested in (like your educational history).

Tip: Although published by a UK newspaper, the author of the piece (Ambra Benjamin) is American, so the advice here applies fairly well on either side of the Atlantic.

#4: 43 Resume Tips That Will Help You Get Hired (free), The Muse

This is another single article, but one that’s packed with practical tips and lots of links to further information, from the big picture (focusing on recent, relevant jobs) to the little details (avoiding using the same words repeatedly). Note that the article is aimed at US readers, so if you’re in a different country, you may find that some of the advice doesn’t necessarily apply – and even if you are in the US, don’t feel that you have to follow every single point slavishly.

Give this a skim-read when you’re first putting together your resume; you can then go through it point by point as you edit and polish your resume, following the links to further information if there’s a particular area where you need extra help or want more details.

Tip: There’s some particularly good advice towards the end of the article about saving and sending your resume – do make sure that it displays correctly once emailed (you can send it to yourself and check it on another computer), and make sure you include your name in the file name, not just “Resume” or “CV”.

#5: 103 Resume Writing Tips, Resume Genius

This piece, like the one from The Muse, collects together lots of practical tips – with links to further help when needed. It’s a little different, though, in that it’s a collection of common mistakes – things that the team at Rescue Genius see on a daily basis when reviewing people’s resumes (like “forgot to use action verbs” or, worryingly, “misspelled own name”).

Some of the mistakes might seem like obvious ones to avoid, but others are ones you might never have thought about before – like “weak bullet points displayed before strong ones” and “not bringing multiple copies of it to interview”.

Tip: The article is US-focused, but a lot of these tips will apply wherever you are in the world.  There might be cases where standard practice in your own country is different, though – so do seek local advice as well, and ignore the tips/mistakes that don’t apply to you.

Tools to Create Your Resume

#6: Google Docs templates (free), various creators

If you want a straightforward way to create a resume, why not use Google Docs’s templates? Click on the link above to go straight to the “Template gallery”, then click “General” to view them. You should see a whole series of different templates: scroll down to get to the resumes.

Click your chosen template to load it up, then simply fill in the details. Keep in mind that once you’ve chosen a template to edit, you can’t switch your text to a different template – so you might want to try a few before you settle on one.

Tip: Most of the resume templates have a corresponding “letter” template that uses the same colours and fonts. You might want to use this for your cover letter (if you’re not simply including the cover letter in the body of an email).

#7: Kickresume (free/paid), Kickresume SRO

Kickresume is a free and straightforward site that lets you create a standard resume, providing templates for both resumes and cover letters (plus websites). It’s simple to use, though you will need to create an account (or you can login via Google, Facebook or LinkedIn).

To save time, you can import your LinkedIn profile, by downloading a .zip file from LinkedIn and uploading it to Kickresume – full instructions are provided. You can change the template you’re using at any time, without losing any of the text you’ve uploaded or inputted. There are only three basic, free templates though – if you want to use the “pro” options, you’ll need to upgrade to the paid plan ($15/month or $48/year).

Tip: Some of the resume templates include space to put a photograph of yourself. This isn’t standard practice in the US or UK for resumes, so if you’re in those countries, you may want to choose a template that only has text content.

#8: CV Maker (free, paid), CV Maker

CV maker offers several basic templates for creating a resume. You fill in your information in a form, and you can then switch between different templates if you want to. While it’s possible to create your resume without logging in, you’ll need to create an account if you want to save your CV and edit it in the future.

It’s free to create an account, and you’ll get full access to the basic templates and to the save/download features. The premium level (which gives you lots of advanced options) only costs $16/year, too – so you might decide it’s worth upgrading.

Tip: CV Maker’s site is available in a wide range of different languages: if English isn’t your native language, you can easily change this from the drop-down menu at the top of the site or the list in the footer.

#9: Standard Resume (free, paid), Minimum Works

Standard Resume has a very straightforward LinkedIn import – you can bring in all your information from LinkedIn, then edit or add anything you need to. As with Kickresume and CV Maker, the basic templates are free; you can pay for a premium account ($5/month or $20/year) to tailor your resume further.

Unlike some other sites, Standard Resume keeps the templates simple and straightforward: you won’t find profile photos or odd infographic elements here. If you’re applying to a fairly traditional industry, or if you just want to keep things as simple as possible, that could make Standard Resume a great option for you.

Tip: The pro level also lets you see when your resumes have been viewed and/or downloaded, which you might find useful.

#10: Slick Write (free), RussTek LLC

In Top 10 Online Tools to Help You Write the Perfect Essay, I covered the popular spelling and grammar checking tools Grammarly and Hemingway. Slick Write is similar: you can paste in a passage of writing (or use a Chrome or Firefox extension) and it will automatically flag up potential problems. You could use it on your cover letter or any emails you need to send, as well as on your resume.

While I don’t think any tool can replace careful proofreading – and ideally, a second pair of eyes on your resume – Slick Write can help you to edit your work. It’s completely free, so well worth a try. (It is, however, funded by ads, which you may find slightly intrusive or annoying.)

Tip: As with any grammar checker, don’t feel that you have to follow every single recommendation. You might decide that your phrasing is fine as it is!

—

Whatever tools you use to help, writing a resume can be tough. You need to convey, clearly and concisely, exactly why you’ll be a good fit for a particular role – in a standard format that supplies potential employers with all the information they’ll expect. For further help on knowing what to include in your resume, take a look at my article Top 10 Resume Writing Tips for 2018.

Best of luck with your job-hunting.

You are subscribed to the free version, which is delivered only twice per week, contains ads and doesn't include exercises. Pro subscribers receive our tips daily, with no ads and with interactive exercises. Click here to activate your Pro subscription today!

Publish your book with our partner InstantPublisher.com! Professionally printed in as few as 7 days.

Original post: 10 Tools and Resources to Write the Perfect Resume from Daily Writing Tips https://www.dailywritingtips.com/tools-resources-write-perfect-resume/

[mrsteveecook]

10 Tools and Resources to Write the Perfect Resume

If you read my post of resume tips a few weeks ago, you’ll already be familiar with best practice for writing a great resume.

While there’s nothing wrong with hand-crafting your resume in Microsoft Word (or your word processor of choice), there are plenty of online tools that can save you lots of time by formatting your resume in seconds.

Plus, if you’re still struggling with exactly what to put on your resume in the first place – there’s lots of great advice out there.

Before we get into the list of great tools and resources, there are a couple of crucial things to keep in mind:

Whatever tools you use, employers will expect a resume that conforms to a standard format. There are some nifty tools out there that let you create a resume that looks like, say, an infographic: unless you’re very certain that’ll go down well with your potential employer, stick to something a little more conventional.

Tools can be hugely helpful … but they can only do so much. If there are major issues with your resume (like a huge unexplained gap in your work history, or a total mismatch between your listed skills and what an employer wants), you’ll want to fix those problems before trying to format your resume beautifully.

With those caveats out of the way, here’s the list:

Online Advice and Support on Creating Your Resume

#1: “Resume” Category (free), Ask a Manager

I love the blog “Ask a Manager” by Allison Green (though be warned, it’s an easy place to spend a little too much time reading about other people’s weirdly dysfunctional workplaces). There’s a whole category of advice about “Resumes”, which is well worth a read.

(Allison Green is a manager who’s been extensively involved in hiring and really knows her stuff. You can submit your own questions to her, if you have a resume query that hasn’t already been covered on the blog.)

#2: Resume Samples (free), Resume Genius

If you’re writing a resume for the first time – or after a long time away from employment – then you might feel quite unclear on how a resume should even look. Going through some resume samples can be really helpful, because it gives you a good feel for what potential employers will expect.

There are plenty of sites out there offering sample resumes, but Resume Genius is a particularly easy-to-use one, with samples categorised by industry, and with related samples like cover letters, plus additional tips. You can click to download a sample as a Microsoft Word document without having to sign up or put in your email address.

Tip: Don’t assume that the wording or layout of a sample is perfect (or that it’s perfect for the role you have in mind): it won’t necessarily be appropriate to copy a particular phrase that a sample resume or cover letter uses, for instance. In any case, you should be very careful about using wording from any sample unless it’s something very standard (like “I am interested in applying…” or “Thank you for your consideration”), unless you have express permission – otherwise, copying the sample is plagiarism.

#3: CV Tips: this is what a recruiter can see after 30 seconds with your resume (free), The Independent

This is a single article, but one I wanted to link to because it provides a very honest and valuable perspective from the other side of the fence. It’s easy to end up agonising over things on your resume that don’t really matter – or giving too much importance to areas that employers simply aren’t that interested in (like your educational history).

Tip: Although published by a UK newspaper, the author of the piece (Ambra Benjamin) is American, so the advice here applies fairly well on either side of the Atlantic.

#4: 43 Resume Tips That Will Help You Get Hired (free), The Muse

This is another single article, but one that’s packed with practical tips and lots of links to further information, from the big picture (focusing on recent, relevant jobs) to the little details (avoiding using the same words repeatedly). Note that the article is aimed at US readers, so if you’re in a different country, you may find that some of the advice doesn’t necessarily apply – and even if you are in the US, don’t feel that you have to follow every single point slavishly.

Give this a skim-read when you’re first putting together your resume; you can then go through it point by point as you edit and polish your resume, following the links to further information if there’s a particular area where you need extra help or want more details.

Tip: There’s some particularly good advice towards the end of the article about saving and sending your resume – do make sure that it displays correctly once emailed (you can send it to yourself and check it on another computer), and make sure you include your name in the file name, not just “Resume” or “CV”.

#5: 103 Resume Writing Tips, Resume Genius

This piece, like the one from The Muse, collects together lots of practical tips – with links to further help when needed. It’s a little different, though, in that it’s a collection of common mistakes – things that the team at Rescue Genius see on a daily basis when reviewing people’s resumes (like “forgot to use action verbs” or, worryingly, “misspelled own name”).

Some of the mistakes might seem like obvious ones to avoid, but others are ones you might never have thought about before – like “weak bullet points displayed before strong ones” and “not bringing multiple copies of it to interview”.

Tip: The article is US-focused, but a lot of these tips will apply wherever you are in the world.  There might be cases where standard practice in your own country is different, though – so do seek local advice as well, and ignore the tips/mistakes that don’t apply to you.

Tools to Create Your Resume

#6: Google Docs templates (free), various creators

If you want a straightforward way to create a resume, why not use Google Docs’s templates? Click on the link above to go straight to the “Template gallery”, then click “General” to view them. You should see a whole series of different templates: scroll down to get to the resumes.

Click your chosen template to load it up, then simply fill in the details. Keep in mind that once you’ve chosen a template to edit, you can’t switch your text to a different template – so you might want to try a few before you settle on one.

Tip: Most of the resume templates have a corresponding “letter” template that uses the same colours and fonts. You might want to use this for your cover letter (if you’re not simply including the cover letter in the body of an email).

#7: Kickresume (free/paid), Kickresume SRO

Kickresume is a free and straightforward site that lets you create a standard resume, providing templates for both resumes and cover letters (plus websites). It’s simple to use, though you will need to create an account (or you can login via Google, Facebook or LinkedIn).

To save time, you can import your LinkedIn profile, by downloading a .zip file from LinkedIn and uploading it to Kickresume – full instructions are provided. You can change the template you’re using at any time, without losing any of the text you’ve uploaded or inputted. There are only three basic, free templates though – if you want to use the “pro” options, you’ll need to upgrade to the paid plan ($15/month or $48/year).

Tip: Some of the resume templates include space to put a photograph of yourself. This isn’t standard practice in the US or UK for resumes, so if you’re in those countries, you may want to choose a template that only has text content.

#8: CV Maker (free, paid), CV Maker

CV maker offers several basic templates for creating a resume. You fill in your information in a form, and you can then switch between different templates if you want to. While it’s possible to create your resume without logging in, you’ll need to create an account if you want to save your CV and edit it in the future.

It’s free to create an account, and you’ll get full access to the basic templates and to the save/download features. The premium level (which gives you lots of advanced options) only costs $16/year, too – so you might decide it’s worth upgrading.

Tip: CV Maker’s site is available in a wide range of different languages: if English isn’t your native language, you can easily change this from the drop-down menu at the top of the site or the list in the footer.

#9: Standard Resume (free, paid), Minimum Works

Standard Resume has a very straightforward LinkedIn import – you can bring in all your information from LinkedIn, then edit or add anything you need to. As with Kickresume and CV Maker, the basic templates are free; you can pay for a premium account ($5/month or $20/year) to tailor your resume further.

Unlike some other sites, Standard Resume keeps the templates simple and straightforward: you won’t find profile photos or odd infographic elements here. If you’re applying to a fairly traditional industry, or if you just want to keep things as simple as possible, that could make Standard Resume a great option for you.

Tip: The pro level also lets you see when your resumes have been viewed and/or downloaded, which you might find useful.

#10: Slick Write (free), RussTek LLC

In Top 10 Online Tools to Help You Write the Perfect Essay, I covered the popular spelling and grammar checking tools Grammarly and Hemingway. Slick Write is similar: you can paste in a passage of writing (or use a Chrome or Firefox extension) and it will automatically flag up potential problems. You could use it on your cover letter or any emails you need to send, as well as on your resume.

While I don’t think any tool can replace careful proofreading – and ideally, a second pair of eyes on your resume – Slick Write can help you to edit your work. It’s completely free, so well worth a try. (It is, however, funded by ads, which you may find slightly intrusive or annoying.)

Tip: As with any grammar checker, don’t feel that you have to follow every single recommendation. You might decide that your phrasing is fine as it is!

—

Whatever tools you use to help, writing a resume can be tough. You need to convey, clearly and concisely, exactly why you’ll be a good fit for a particular role – in a standard format that supplies potential employers with all the information they’ll expect. For further help on knowing what to include in your resume, take a look at my article Top 10 Resume Writing Tips for 2018.

Best of luck with your job-hunting.

You are subscribed to the free version, which is delivered only twice per week, contains ads and doesn't include exercises. Pro subscribers receive our tips daily, with no ads and with interactive exercises. Click here to activate your Pro subscription today!

Publish your book with our partner InstantPublisher.com! Professionally printed in as few as 7 days.

Original post: 10 Tools and Resources to Write the Perfect Resume from Daily Writing Tips https://ift.tt/2wfMK0d