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lilyginnyblackv2 · 1 year

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Animate Times did an interview with Kazuki and Rei’s Japanese VAs. Here’s a rundown of the interview:

1. The interview asked how they were able to act out characters that have a job that basically involves killing other people. Rei’s VA brought up the fact that a work doesn’t always have to be super realistic in its approach, and Kazuki’s VA added on to that, saying that the basic premise is that they are humans beings first, assassins second. Their job just happens to be killing people, so they don’t waver in regards to that, but that is their only main difference between ordinary people.

2. Kazuki’s VA’s favorite scene, even after Episode 6, is still the scene between Misaki and Kazuki in Episode 3. He likes the complexity of it, specifically on Misaki’s side, and how it showed that the series was more than just a comedy. When the interviewer asked, “You don’t sympathize with Kazuki?” Kazuki’s VA states that he does, of course, understand Kazuki’s side of things and that the theme of the series is “parenting is eternal” (or more natural put, “parenting is a life-long commitment”), but that he also understands Misaki’s side of the things as well.

3. Rei’s VA’s favorite scene was seeing Miri at the zoo in Episode 6. He liked seeing how she acted and behaved without Kazuki and Rei around, seeing her get into arguments and how her dynamic is at the daycare, etc.

4. When asked what their impressions were of Miri, Kazuki’s VA was like, “SHE’S SO CUTE!” lol (I feel that is so in-character too!). He then mentions how she was very proactive for a 4 year old, like it was the TV show “Old Enough.”

Rei’s VA says, “I think I can hear the theme song. (lol).” And Kazuki’s VA goes on to say that he thought that there might be some camera operator around, lol. He then talked about how his own daughter, who is around Miri’s age, isn’t as proactive as her.

5. They continue to talk about how Miri isn’t shy and is pretty skilled at a lot of things (for her age). They bring up that there is a bit of a maturity to her, but that she still has a child-like innocence and that a lot of fathers likely would not be able to resist her cute smile, forgive her, and dote on her. haha

6. Rei’s VA referred to Kazuki and Rei together as “The Buddies” (バディ), lol, and he also praised Miri’s VA. He also talks about how Rei is very concentrated on his own interests and keeps to himself a lot, but that Miri has helped him break out of his shell (lit. brought a new wind into his life).

7. The final thing that the interviewer asks about is what facial expressions of Miri’s the two of them would like the audience to pay attention to.

Kazuki’s VA: “Hmm, well, she’s basically cute all the time!”

Rei’s VA: “But, her facial expressions change quite often.”

We learn from Kazuki’s VA that the back of the script has a picture of Miri’s face on it, and that the expression is different every time. He also mentions how he likes the way Miri’s VA does Miri’s laugh.

Rei’s VA finishes off the interview by saying that while Miri makes a lot of cute faces, she also makes a lot of comical ones too, so be on the look out for those!

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A link to the interview will be in the comments below. It was such a cute interview and honestly feels very in-character to both Kazuki and Rei. I also love how Kazuki’s VA is a father and has a daughter right around Miri’s age, I think that aspect of his own personal life experience likely adds another layer to his performance.

#Buddy Daddies #BD #KazuRei #Kazuki Kurusu #Rei Suwa #interview #translation #English translation #kinda #more like a summary of the interview rather than a direct translation #this is a very long post

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highfantasy-soul · 2 months

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Storylines NATLA Cut

While the 8 episodes of season 1 managed to weave together most of the plot lines (or at least themes from the episodes) from the animated show into the live action, there were a few notable storylines that were cut. I wanted to go over those plots and speculate as to why they might have been cut and whether we might see them in future seasons woven in (like how a couple things from future seasons were woven into this season).

Imprisoned

One of Katara's first big leadership moments was in episode 6 of the animated series when the Gaang stumbles upon an earth nation village taken over by the Fire Nation. All their benders had been rounded up and sent to a prison so that they couldn't fight back - the Gaang obviously get involved, plot ensues, and Katara gets herself arrested so that she can find the prison and free Haru (the earthbender she inadvertently gotten arrested). With the help of Aang and Sokka providing the earthbenders with some coal to bend, she inspires them to fight back and they free the prisoners.

I think this storyline actually naturally fits much better in book 2: Earth. The focus of season 1 of the live-action was water bending and the avatar state - I think a storyline focused on earth bender resistance fits perfectly in season 2 where we get to see even more of how oppressive Fire Nation rule is and how they're 1) seeking to take out all the other benders and 2) doing their whole imperialist thing with stealing natural resources from the populace they're colonizing.

Katara has her moment to speak on her mother with Jet in episode 3 of the live-action and I think it's a natural change to keep the rebellious side-character count manageable for now. Jet fills the role to show Katara's desire for rebellion and standing up to the fire benders and while I think the Imprisoned storyline is really important, I think they've got plenty of room to do that in season 2. A big part of that story was Katara leading people to stand up when they hadn't been before and I think there's a nice homage to that in the final episode of the live-action when she gets all the women in the North to stand up to Pakku and demand to fight.

So I don't think they've fully nixed this storyline, I think they'll include it in the Gaang's trek through the Earth Kingdom on their way to Ba Sing Se. To me, the live action is doing a better job at building the characters rather than starting out with them fully formed. Katara has learned through the first season of the live action about all different leadership styles and has grown emotionally to a point where she's not only confident in standing up against injustice, but also leading others in that fight against oppressors. I think moving her leadership skills from episode 6 of season 1 to season 2 will let us really see her journey to that point rather than just having her start there.

2. The Pirates

In the animated show, Katara doesn't get the Waterbending Scroll until episode 9 of season 1, everything she does with waterbending up until that point was just stuff she figured out herself. In the animated show, the Gaang stops and Katara starts training Aang in waterbending, he shows off and washes all their supplies away so they have to go into town to buy more. This is where Aang randomly buys a bison whistle (why a shopkeeper in the Earth Kingdom would have a bison whistle is not explored) and the group also is invited onto a pirate ship to brows their wares. Katara notices a waterbending scroll and it's far too expensive for them to buy, so Katara steals it from them (as they made it clear they stole it from its rightful owner). A main theme of this episode is showing how naturally gifted Aang is and Katara getting frustrated because she's had to work so hard for her little bit of waterbending and Aang just surpasses her immediately. Zuko and Iroh show up looking for a pai sho piece and shenanigans ensue with the Gaang fighting off both pirates and Zuko, but of course, they manage to escape.

So the two main things in this episode were 1) getting the waterbending scroll so Katara could learn more formal forms and 2) dealing with how the dynamic of the group changes as Aang easily surpasses Katara in waterbending power.

I like that the live action tied the waterbending scroll directly to Katara's family and them hiding their culture to keep it alive until the time came when they could revive it once more. I think it's a much more impactful way for her to get the scroll than just some random pirates. It also allows her to actually train from the beginning rather than just being naturally good - in the live-action, Katara really has to work at her waterbending and get help. While she's a naturally fast learner and super powerful, she needs at least some form of guidance whether that be how to get in the right spiritual mindspace for bending or the physical movements for different forms provided by the scroll. Animated Katara has already been doing very advanced moves (bending water out of Aang's lungs, lifting a fish, throwing water and freezing it, etc) and it doesn't really feel like the animated show continues to show the new stuff Katara learns from the waterbending scroll - it's just the water whip and then the scroll is forgotten (almost like this is an episodic kid's show where each story is largely self-contained and plot points rarely arc into other episodes).

As it's the episode were Aang really starts learning waterbending and they've held off on having that part of his journey in the live action for now, it makes sense that they nixed it. It's a fun character building episode, but in the grand scheme, everything accomplished here can be accomplished elsewhere (and possibly in season 2). Katara feeling a bit miffed that Aang picked everything up quickly while she had to work really hard at it can easily be moved to season 2 when they address Aang learning the new bending styles. I also like how they moved him getting the bison whistle at a random shop in this episode to Bumi having made it for Aang back when they were both kids.

Of course, they do give easter eggs for this plot as well as the great divide one in episode 6 of the live-action, so it's possible the Gaang did have similar adventures, just off-screen.

3. The Fortune Teller

I'm perfectly fine with them nixing the plot of this storyline and moving the themes of 'take destiny into your own hands, don't look to others to tell you what to do without examining their methods of determining your own destiny' and scattering it through the entire season. The hard plot sets up Kataang as a couple which I didn't particularly like, nor did I feel like it followed the actual theme of the episode. Katara is obsessed with believing everything the fortune teller predicted and for part of the story, the lesson is 'that's bull, make your own destiny, just because she said it doesn't make it true' but then when it comes to her marrying a powerful bender, suddenly that lesson is thrown out and she realizes that Aang is a powerful bender so maybe they will end up together? It felt like a lot of mixed messages with the goal of setting up a 12 year old with a 14 year old and like I've said before, I'm not a fan of child romances. Once they turn 15, ok, but 12? No.

4. Aang's part in Bato of the Water Tribe

I think it was a great beat in the animated show to have Aang so afraid that Sokka and Katara might leave him for their "real" family - then have them confirm to him that they're with him all the way. The storyline does hammer home how alone in the world Aang feels and his fear that everyone will leave him either because they have 'family' of their own or his path is just too difficult. While the character beat was good to include, I think it's too big of a character beat to be relegated to only a portion of an episode in the live-action. I think if they want to explore Aang's fear of abandonment, they'll need to spend a good deal of time on it not only because it's a big part of him but also because to this day, some fans haven't forgiven Aang for hiding that map - if they want to do it justice, we're going to need more than a quick blurb to understand Aang's motivations and give the audience time to forgive him.

I'm glad they took Sokka's part of that episode and gave him the spotlight - and the spotlight could remain on celebrating Water Tribe culture rather than having Aang in the background making throwing up faces at everything. I think that the live action can still add in the ideas around Aang's insecurity over Katara and Sokka leaving him to go back to their people, and if they add it into season 2, I think it'll hit even harder after already seeing Bato in that season 1 flashback.

5. Sokka's Strategies

20 episodes in the animated show gave Sokka a lot of opportunity to come up with unique strategies to win in unexpected ways such as using explosives to 'open' the door to Roku's temple, the ventilation shafts to get the coal to the earth benders in Imprisoned, and him tricking the pirates into fighting Zuko and co. While at first, I thought not having so much of that in the live-action was taking away from Sokka's character, on a re-watch, I realized that they didn't remove it, they actually gave the origin for it. Sokka's character journey in season 1 of the live-action was about him accepting that he could be more than 'just' a big strong warrior to help his people, he was allowed to explore his ingenuity too. It's only after he meets Sai the Mechanist that he starts to come up with plans to get them out of situations or form battle strategies. I think it was a great, subtle, way to show Sokka coming into his own and beginning to come up with great plans alongside his warrior skills.

I know some fans of the OG show absolutely love every side quest - and more screen time in plots that aren't all that important give a lot of space for character 'down time bonding' that a tighter story structure just doesn't have room for. I think that most of the animated show's character beats and lessons in each of their episodes was really good (with a few exceptions - one of which in The Great Divide I think the live action actually took and made much BETTER) but when making an adaptation in a completely different format, stuff is just going to have to be left on the cutting room floor.

I LOVE everything the live action added in it's place (expanding Aang and Zuko's conversation during the Blue Spirit section of episode 6, all the Fire Nation royal family stuff, everything about Gyatzo, and Sokka and Katara's spirit visions) so I'll forgive leaving out some beats from the OG. I still think that several of these storylines will make their way into season 2 in one way or another, so I'm holding off on fully declaring them 'nixed' from the live action.

#natla #avatar the last airbender #netflix avatar #natla positivity #atla

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supercap2319 · 1 year

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Shower Shenanigans

Tyler Galpin x Male Reader

“That was the best game of Death Ball ever!” Y/N cried as he pushed through the door to his shared dorm,Tyler right behind him as he closed it behind.

Today, they had the Poe Cup tournament of Death Ball that pitted all the cliques of the school against each other until only one team remained. Since Y/N and Tyler were the only half breeds at the school as everyone else had supernatural parents who were the same species, they were put on a team together as they faced off against the Fangs, Furs, Stoners, Scales, Shifters, and Psychics.

It was a great tournament and Y/N and Tyler managed to come out on top, surprising not only their fellow students, but the professors as well. There were congratulations and cheers of happiness, but they were also looks of distrust and whispers of cheating about their epic win. Though, if their sweaty purple raven T-shirts were any indication that they worked their asses off to win the heavy golden trophy, they were carrying into their room. They had, in fact, not cheated at all to win.

“It was, but I feel bad though,” Tyler expressed as he sat on his bed close to the window and removed his shoes and sweaty socks.

Y/N had finished putting the trophy on the desk before he looked at the Sheriff’s son. “Why? We won this trophy fair and square. We both practiced hard for today, and we beat all the odds stacked against us. The Furs had the strength. The Fangs had the speed. The Stoners had the moxie. The Scales had the charm. The Shifters had the mimicry. And the Psychics had the perception.” Y/N listed off as he sat on his own bed across from Tyler’s and lifted up his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face as Tyler got a good look at his boyfriend's body all wet and smooth as he turned away, a blushed danced across his face.

“I mean, the coach said we could use any of our skills to win, and we did. Ty, what’s this really about?” He looks at the curly haired barista as he sighed softly. “It’s just… there are some who think we cheated because you had Hyde on your team… and I’m not sure they’re wrong.” He’s had this fear ever since his dad cut a deal with Nevermore Academy. Tyler doesn’t go to jail if he attended their school, which was ironic since Nevermore banned Hyde’s from their school 30 years ago. The same time Tyler’s mother went to school here. Now that he was here, Tyler had trouble fitting in. The people at normie school hated him. And now the outcasts of Nevermore hated him, too.

“Hydes are artists by nature, but equally vindictive in temperament. How long is it going to be before I lose control and kill someone? How long before I betray you again?” Tyler looks at Y/N, his features sad with the corners of his eyes wet from almost shed tears. He never should have trusted Laurel Gates, but she was kind to him. Caring in an almost motherish sort of way. Tyler fell for her kindness and now he was paying the price for it. He threw his head in his hands and shook his head. “I should just leave. I don’t belong here…”

Tyler was about to get up, but Y/N took a hold of his hands as he rubbed a thumb over the top of them. The barista looks up as Y/N gives him a reassuring look. “Ty… I can’t change what happened, or what Thornhill did to you. How she tortured you to make you this monster, but it doesn’t matter. Because it wasn’t your fault. It was out of your hands and all that matters is that you’re here, and you're with me. Safe and sound. I’ll take that any day.” He brought Tyler’s hands close to his undead heart. “You have people that love you. People who care for you and will miss you if you leave.”

“Really?” Tyler dared not hope that these comforting words were true. That there were people out there that could actually accept him for who he was.

Y/N smiled. “Of course. You have more people in your corner than you realize.”

The barista smiled and chuckled as he wiped away his tears. “I’m a real mess, huh?” The other boy walked up and straddled his hips as leaned close to Tyler, and kissed his lips softly. Tyler moans, putting a hand behind Y/N’s back as they continue to kiss, grinding against each other before pulling away. “That’s what I like about you.”

Tyler laughed as they kissed once again. “So, a shower sounds good right now.”

“It does. Luckily, being the winners of the Death Ball Poe Cup gives us a private bathroom.”

“Really?”

“Yup. With bragging rights for a year and a shiny trophy and a private shower,” Y/N said.

Tyler smiled. Maybe he could make it here after all. As long as he had someone as amazing as Y/N in his life, the past could stay the past. This was the present. “Private shower, huh? Can’t wait to check that out.”

“Neither can I, mister Galpin. Feel like getting wet with me?” Y/N had a suggestive smile on his face as images of them underneath the shower head and soapy handjobs flashed through Tyler’s mind as he shivered.

“You made it sound dirty on purpose, didn’t you?” Tyler asked him.

“You know it, Baby.”

#x male reader #male reader insert #male x male #tyler galpin x male reader #tyler galpin x y/n #tyler galpin x reader #tyler galpin #hunter doohan x male reader #hunter doohan #wednesday 2022 #Hyde #nevermore academy #outcasts

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donnerpartyofone · 4 months

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We can all agree that pedestalizing people is bad for various obvious reasons, but I think a lesser-discussed subtext of this behavior is the implication that the pedestalized person gains caretaking responsibility as a natural consequence of their alleged superiority. Put differently: If you get turned into Superman, it becomes your job to save people.

I have a dear old friend who has a bad habit of idealizing people. It starts out as sweet and flattering, then it becomes kind of overbearing--any kind of distorted perception of oneself becomes burdensome even if it's positive--and then eventually she starts making noises to the tune of "Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope!" Like if you accept that you're her hero, the expectation is that you have to do what a hero does, and suddenly you have all these chores and favors and stuff lined up that are not really great for the friendship. In the case of my friend the behavior is not consciously manipulative; anyone will tell you that she's not, like, a bad person. She's just deep into this idea that somewhere out there is someone who can fix all her problems for her, she's really not into resolving things on her own. She's a classic self-help addict (could use more emphasis on the "self" part imho) and, hilariously, she has been "fired" by more than one phone psychic who she wouldn't stop calling. Like those people chose to stop taking her money in order to push her out of the proverbial nest. And of course, like a lot of people with this disposition, she doesn't actually take the advice she's given, just does whatever she wants instead...and then comes back in short order to ask for more advice.

Perhaps ironically, she is a very talented and energetic person who actually CAN do a lot on her own, and a few years ago she started writing a fun, quirky, topical book that we all agreed was a great idea and might actually make money. In a moment of epic stupidity, I offered to give her "friendly feedback" whenever she wanted a reader. Soon I was embroiled in a weeks-long argument about how she could pay me even though I didn't want money, and then when I named a price she couldn't pay it, and if I lowballed her she'd say that was "unfair" to me and my supposedly valuable services, and eventually I had to have this like meeting with her at a neutral location that was mediated by her ex-girlfriend to find some kind of rational end to the conversation. That's how I became her editor, even though as I frequently and forcefully reminded her I am most certainly not an editor and have none of the necessary skills or education other than the ability to read; all I ever offered was the "friendly feedback" thing and suddenly I wound up in this nightmare business relationship that was predicated on her delusions about how I'm the smartest bestest writer in the whole wide universe and I simply must save her poor little book project or it will perish.

It wasn't long before I was getting these late night phone calls telling me I was doing a bad job because I had to be "REALLY BRUTAL" and "TEAR IT APART" and she couldn't figure out why I wasn't doing that. I reminded her over and over that I'm not a real editor and I'm doing only what I am capable of doing and I'm certainly not being dishonest with her, which was the unpleasant subtext. If she's unhappy she should get a real editor, or at least a lit student who could use the pocket change. Then one day she changed her tune and told me I had actually edited her book so hard that it completely removed her personal voice from the text, and she was forced to start the whole thing over from scratch. I was deeply relieved.

...but of course, I've never stopped hearing about it. Once a year or so she comes around to remind me of what a totally radical job I did awesomely editing her super book, and don't I want to come back and finish it with her? I make a civil reminder of the fact that actually she was totally unhappy with everything I did on the book, and I don't think it's a good idea for us to work on it anymore. The response is always something like "hahaha i dont remember that LOL" (I think she really doesn't!), and I just have to back away slowly. This is not even the most fraught thing she's involved me in; hopefully I will not get started on the time I agreed to pick her up from a minor outpatient procedure, which transformed from a simple favor into a plan for an elaborate slumber party in a hotel featuring more and more people including her crazy mother who she was in a vicious fight with...while I just tried for weeks and weeks to get her to tell me where and when the procedure was happening so I knew when to pick her up. And I never even found out the answer after all, somebody else took care of it in the end, for some reason.

Anyway I'm typing all this out now because It Is Happening Again, she's trying to rope me back into the book thing which she somehow remembers as this great experience, and she wants "a friend, not some stranger" to help her finish it. And I'm trying to figure out if I should a) remind her yet again that she was very unhappy with my work on the book, and I am not a real editor, and maybe "some stranger" would be really great for her because the situation will be more professional and there won't be any impact on any of her personal relationships, or b) just tell her I don't have time, good luck! I kind of feel like being more explicit with her might give her a much-needed wake-up call about how she's been mixing business with pleasure, to her own detriment. I also feel like it would be the more respectful thing to do, to treat her like an adult who can hear something tough and make a rational choice with that information. But on the other hand maybe this is a good time to set a boundary and NOT act like it's my job to help and guide and save her, even if it's just with tough love this time. Ugh!

PS There's actually a secondary component to this which is that she's a hairdresser, and that's how I originally befriended her. She's intensely affectionate and emotional, but she's also a huge flake and I almost never get to see her if it isn't for an appointment--which she often has to reschedule several times anyway. A little while ago I told her I need to grow my hair out and save money and she panicked, seeming to realize that if she has to make actual social plans she won't be able to stick to them. So her way around this appears to be getting me back into a business relationship where we're trading haircuts for editing, and I don't want to do any of it. I just want her to like be normal with me, but that is entirely too much to ask of some people.

#complaints dept

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psalacanthea · 4 months

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Fanfic Friday

Y'all voted on banters this week! I went for 'end of act 1, in the Underdark' Baldur's Gate 3 banters for the companions and my drow bard Tav, Zynatheri.

There's no only Gale banter because they're not speaking to each other at that point (because Zyn will not stop bullying him).

if you see these and think the idea is fun, I would love to see yours for your Tav or Durge! Just tag me if you do so I can enjoy it! :D

...

Zynatheri: All right. Shuffled thoroughly back into the deck. Now, as I call upon the mystic powers of the Talis…are you watching?

Karlach: Harder than I’ve ever watched before.

Zynatheri: I draw from the very top of the deck, and…Nine of Winds. Is this your card?

Karlach: Holy shit. It is! That’s my card!

Zyn: The cards always know.

Gale: They most certainly do not.

Karlach: I didn’t show her the card, Gale.

Zyn: Yeah, Gale, just because the powers are beyond your comprehension doesn’t mean they’re not real.

Gale: Your provocations fall on deaf ears. I refuse to succumb to your clumsily strewn bait.

Zyn: That’s fine. Karlach, do you want to see another magic trick?

Gale: Stop calling it magic!

Karlach: You ever think of playing music while we battle?

Zyn: Would make casting spells hard.

Karlach: What about right at the end, then? When I crack the last skull and then we look for loot.

Zyn: Like victory music?

Karlach: Yeah!

Zyn: Sure, sounds like fun. Just save me any jewelry you find.

Karlach: Fuck yeah!

Lae’zel: You and Wyll fight similarly.

Zyn: We probably learned the same style of fencing.

Lae’zel: Why is he more skilled than you are? Was your instruction inferior, or are you?

Zyn: Insult or observation?

Lae’zel: If my observations insult you, that is due to your own weakness. I only speak truth.

Zyn: No, you speak ignorance, not truth.

Lae’zel: Explain. Alleviate my ignorance.

Zyn: No thanks.

Lae’zel: Kainyank.

Lae’zel: During our last battle I asked repeatedly for healing and was ignored.

Zyn: Sorry, I was feeling too weak and inferior.

Lae’zel: Ah. You were attempting an object lesson.

Zyn: Sure, it was definitely that and not me being petty.

Lae’zel: Wyll also employs magic, and his blade does not falter as yours does.

Zyn: Wyll was given magic. Nothing against him, but it’s true. I earned mine through hard work, creativity, and talent.

Lae’zel: That is no excuse to neglect your sword.

Zyn: Ah, well, see…I’m also lazy.

Zyn: Where there’s a Wyll, there’s a way.

Wyll: Not bad, but I have used it before. What’s wrong with ‘provoke the Blade and suffer its sting’?

Zyn: The more mottoes the better. How about ‘if you seek the Blade, be ready to pay’.

Wyll: It does rhyme. ‘Anger the Blade, and prepare to pay?’ It’s quite pithy.

Zyn: Oh, you’re talking about revenge. I was working from more of an advertisement angle.

Wyll: (Laughs.) I am not an adventurer for hire, my friend.

Zyn: I could make a poster that might change your mind…

Wyll: Hmm. Show it to me later.

Shadowheart: I believe I found some of that moss you mentioned.

Zyn: Great! I’ll show you how to prepare it tonight. We’ll just need oil. I’m going to need some of the eyeshadow for my own uses, though.

Shadowheart: Since you’re the one teaching me to make it, I assumed as much.

Zyn: Oh, not for me. I was going to paint all over Astarion’s face while he’s in reverie. Of course a cock is classic, but a giant glowing eye on his forehead in the dark would look striking.

Shadowheart: (Laughs.) Why are you so terrible?

Zyn: I’ll save the cock for Gale. He deserves it.

Astarion: What were you and Shadowheart whispering about?

Zyn: You.

Astarion: Well, naturally, darling. What about me? Hopefully not spilling too many intimate secrets…though I wouldn’t blame you, of course.

Zyn: She was asking me if the giant mole on your face made it difficult for me to kiss you.

Astarion: The what?

Zyn: Did you not– okay, calm down. Calm down! It was a joke.

Astarion: Don’t talk to me.

Zyn: My dear, sweet viper. Please, stop sulking.

Astarion: I am not sulking. I simply have no desire to speak to you. Or look at you.

Zyn: Such a shame. I guess Drizzt isn’t sneaking into your tent tonight.

Astarion: How dare you threaten me!

Zyn: It works and has no repercussions.

Astarion: Well, yes, but that isn’t the point.

Zyn: I’m teasing you. Don’t worry. Just a quick polymorph, and you’ll finally get your hands on the legendary blade Icingdeath.

Astarion: Gods, you ruin everything.

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 banters #Tav: Zynatheri Rivati #it could be worse astarion she could have said Twinkle instead of Icingdeath

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morlock-holmes · 10 months

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Okay, I'm not a communist or a Marxist, but for a long time I've felt that one of the major problems with capitalism is that individual laborers sell their labor on the open market, but, because of the nature of being a person, they are subject to constraints and pressures that larger entities like employers are not, which distorts the market.

I think modern capitalist ideology, to the extent that it bothers to be coherent at all, understands people like me as tiny owners of capital. I own a piece of capital called my physical body, and with my physical body I produce man-hours of work which I can then sell to buyers on the open market, in the same way that the owner of a widget factory produces widgets which he then sells on the open market.

Here's one problem with that. Say you own a widget factory, and you sell 50 widgets at $100 apiece. I own a different widget factory, and I sell 100 widgets at $50 apiece. We make the same amount of money, and there's a good chance that neither of us is better off then the other. In fact, maybe I'm better off than you; if my widgets are just as good as yours, then my low prices will give me a big opportunity to take your market share.

Meanwhile, suppose you make $50,000 a year and work 40 hours a week. I make $50,000 a year and work 80 hours a week. In this case, I am strictly worse off than you. Working that much will erode my life in a lot of ways and be very hard on my body. In addition, there is an absolute hard cap on how many hours of labor I can produce. I can't work 30 hours in a single day.

In other words, owners of capital can react to lower prices by moving more product, but if the price at which I can sell my labor decreases, I have a lot of trouble moving more product and at some point it's entirely possible that I just can't increase production anymore.ro

Problem number two: As an individual laborer, particularly a low-paid one, if your little piece of capital called your body shuts down, you, what's that called? Oh yeah, you die.

For a variety of reasons this tends to be far less true of owners of other kinds of capital. People in my circle like to talk about the razor-thin margins on which Wal-Mart operates, but I promise you the Walton Family is not operating on such thin margins. If government interference destroys Wal-Mart's profit margin and shuts the whole company down, you still won't see Sam Walton wrapped in a dirty blanket begging for change on the corner.

The laborers who work for Wal-Mart, on the other hand, are very often operating on exactly those kinds of margins, where they themselves will end up on the street if something changes the margin on the sale of their man-hours.

This, of course, results in an asymmetrical negotiating power between the company and the laborer.

Industrial processes exacerbate this asymmetry; because a lot of large profitable companies rely primarily on a large work-force of low-skill laborers, they can often afford to leave a position unfilled for long periods of time.

For example, say I'm the best McDonald's fry cook who ever lived, and I have moved to a new city. I go to the local McDonald's, and say, "I'm the best fry cook ever, so if you want to hire me, you'll need to pay me a higher salary and give me six weeks paid vacation."

McDonald's may well say, "No, we aren't doing that. The best fry cook ever doesn't add much value to our assembly line over a C- fry cook, so we'll just leave the position unfilled until we find someone who is willing to take our offer, which we will."

There's a chance that you might go, "Well, never mind, I'll take the position you offered" because you need a position as a laborer today more than McDonald's needs the position filled today. In fact, it's exactly that need to support your physical body that makes McDonald's so certain they'll eventually fill even a bad position. Someone who doesn't have any better prospects will come along soon enough and if he's desperate enough we can get some unpaid overtime to him.

The idea that people who are committed to capitalism as an ideology always float is that you should get gud, if you don't like how much you are paid go into a field where the supply and demand ratio allows you to sell your work at a higher cost.

As I have pointed out before, the idea that all workers should work in high skilled jobs where the demand for workers is far higher than the supply is called Luddism. It's also a bit like explaining that the Army should be made up entirely of generals.

Which brings us to problem the third: As mechanization becomes more sophisticated, more and more jobs that used to be high-skill jobs can be done by masses of low-skill workers; a potential end-point, perhaps not so far off, is a world in which all labor can be performed more cheaply by robots then by human laborers. How could a person possibly sell enough man-hours of labor to survive in a market like that?

There are a bunch of ways to deal with this dynamic, but fundamentally as far as I can see they all involve some sort of structure in which workers band together to take advantage of economies of scale used by the capitalists, whether that's unions, UBI, workers owning the means of production, whatever.

My big problem with capitalism is that I see no reason why it must produce such structures; it seems equally plausible that a functioning capitalist labor market might simply continue to concentrate wealth in the hands of a small number of owners who exploit an increasingly desperate and disorganized proletariat. Such a world seems perfectly in line with capitalist ideology and, it seems to me, is one of the paths of least resistance in the capitalist world.

#economics #econ 101 #politics

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richincolor · 1 year

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We have six books on our radar to kickstart May. Which ones are on your TBR list?

Ander & Santi Were Here by Jonny Garza Villa Wednesday Books

Finding home. Falling in love. Fighting to belong.

The Santos Vista neighborhood of San Antonio, Texas, is all Ander Lopez has ever known. The smell of pan dulce. The mixture of Spanish and English filling the streets. And, especially their job at their family's taquería. It's the place that has inspired Ander as a muralist, and, as they get ready to leave for art school, it's all of these things that give them hesitancy. That give them the thought, are they ready to leave it all behind?

To keep Ander from becoming complacent during their gap year, their family "fires" them so they can transition from restaurant life to focusing on their murals and prepare for college. That is, until they meet Santiago Garcia, the hot new waiter. Falling for each other becomes as natural as breathing. Through Santi's eyes, Ander starts to understand who they are and want to be as an artist, and Ander becomes Santi's first steps toward making Santos Vista and the United States feel like home.

Until ICE agents come for Santi, and Ander realizes how fragile that sense of home is. How love can only hold on so long when the whole world is against them. And when, eventually, the world starts to win.

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

Perry Firekeeper-Birch was ready for her Summer of Slack but instead, after a fender bender that was entirely not her fault, she’s stuck working to pay back her Auntie Daunis for repairs to the Jeep.

Thankfully she has the other outcasts of the summer program, Team Misfit Toys, and even her twin sister Pauline. Together they ace obstacle courses, plan vigils for missing women in the community, and make sure summer doesn’t feel so lost after all.

But when she attends a meeting at a local university, Perry learns about the “Warrior Girl”, an ancestor whose bones and knife are stored in the museum archives, and everything changes. Perry has to return Warrior Girl to her tribe. Determined to help, she learns all she can about NAGPRA, the federal law that allows tribes to request the return of ancestral remains and sacred items. The university has been using legal loopholes to hold onto Warrior Girl and twelve other Anishinaabe ancestors’ remains, and Perry and the Misfits won’t let it go on any longer.

Using all of their skills and resources, the Misfits realize a heist is the only way to bring back the stolen artifacts and remains for good. But there is more to this repatriation than meets the eye as more women disappear and Pauline’s perfectionism takes a turn for the worse. As secrets and mysteries unfurl, Perry and the Misfits must fight to find a way to make things right – for the ancestors and for their community. -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

We Don't Swim Here by Vincent Tirado Sourcebooks Fire

From the author of BURN DOWN, RISE UP comes a chilling novel told through alternating voices that follows two cousins as they unravel their town’s sinister past, their family’s complicated history, and the terrifying spirit that holds their future captive.

Bronwyn is only supposed to be in rural Hillwoods for a year. Her grandmother is in hospice, and her father needs to get her affairs in order. And they're all meant to make some final memories together.

Except Bronwyn is miserable. Her grandmother is dying, everyone is standoffish, and she can't even go swimming. All she hears are warnings about going in the water, despite a gorgeous lake. And a pool at the abandoned rec center. And another in the high school basement.

Anais tries her hardest to protect Bronwyn from the shadows of Hillwoods. She follows her own rituals to avoid any unnecessary attention—and if she can just get Bronwyn to stop asking questions, she can protect her too. The less Bronwyn pays attention to Hillwoods, the less Hillwoods will pay attention to Bronwyn. She doesn't get that the lore is, well, truth. History. Pain. The living aren't the only ones who seek retribution when they're wronged. But when Bronwyn does more exploring than she should, they are both in for danger they couldn't expect. -- Cover image and summary vie Goodreads

Chasing Pacquiao by Rod Pulido Viking Books for Young Readers

Self preservation. That's Bobby's motto for surviving his notoriously violent high school unscathed. Being out and queer would put an unavoidable target on his back, especially in a Filipino community that frowns on homosexuality. It's best to keep his head down, get good grades, and stay out of trouble.

But when Bobby is unwillingly outed in a terrible way, he no longer has the luxury of being invisible. A vicious encounter has him scrambling for a new way to survive--by fighting back. Bobby is inspired by champion Filipino boxer Manny Pacquiao to take up boxing and challenge his tormentor. Then Pacquiao publicly declares his stance against queer people, and Bobby's faith--in his hero and in himself--is shaken to the core.

A powerful and unflinching debut that will both shatter and uplift hearts with every read. -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Men of the 65th: The Borinqueneers of the Korean War by Talia Aikens-Nuñez Zest Books

Since the regiment’s creation in 1899, the men of the 65th have proudly served the US through multiple wars, despite facing racial discrimination. Their courage, loyalty, and patriotism earned them hundreds of accolades, including the Congressional Gold Medal in 2014.

But the honor and fidelity of the men of the 65th came into question in 1952, in the midst of the Korean War, when ninety-one Borinqueneers were arrested and tried for desertion and disobeying orders. How could this happen in one of the most distinguished and decorated units of the Army?

In this telling of one of the forgotten stories of the Korean War, author Talia Aikens-Nuñez guides us through the history of the Borinqueneers and the challenges they faced leading up to what was the largest court martial in the entire war. Rediscover the bravery of the men of the 65th through Aikens-Nuñez’s thorough writing and the soldiers’ firsthand accounts of the Korean War. -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Your Plantation Prom is Not Okay by Kelly McWilliams Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Harriet Douglass lives with her historian father on an old plantation in Louisiana, which they’ve transformed into one of the South's few enslaved people’s museums. Together, while grieving the recent loss of Harriet’s mother, they run tours that help keep the memory of the past alive.

Harriet's world is turned upside down by the arrival of mother and daughter Claudia and Layla Hartwell—who plan to turn the property next door into a wedding venue, and host the offensively antebellum-themed wedding of two Hollywood stars.

Harriet’s fully prepared to hate Layla Hartwell, but it seems that Layla might not be so bad after all—unlike many people, this California influencer is actually interested in Harriet's point of view. Harriet's sure she can change the hearts of Layla and her mother, but she underestimates the scale of the challenge…and when her school announces that prom will be held on the plantation, Harriet’s just about had it with this whole racist timeline! Overwhelmed by grief and anger, it’s fair to say she snaps.

Can Harriet use the power of social media to cancel the celebrity wedding and the plantation prom? Will she accept that she’s falling in love with her childhood best friend, who’s unexpectedly returned after years away? Can she deal with the frustrating reality that Americans seem to live in two completely different countries? And through it all, can she and Layla build a bridge between them? -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

#ander and santi were here #warrior girl unearthed #we don't swim here #chasing pacquiao #men of the 65th #your plantation prom is not okay #new releases

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nxthero · 2 years

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𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐌 𝐒𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐄𝐓 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒 [𝟏/?]

Skarlet could reach Elder God level power, but it would require giving herself completely to the Blood Code, essentially turning her into little more than a vessel for it. By the time MK11 comes around, she’s grown strong enough that she could maybe control the full power of it for a short period of time, but she knows better than to keep pushing her luck when it comes to letting such a dangerous, mind-controlling entity consciously inhabit her mind. (As for MK9 Skarlet, she would have no chance of harnessing that power without being overcome by the Blood Code. She can get close, but she doesn’t really reach the point of being able to handle it properly until MK11 when she’s grown much more resistant to the temptation.)

I never anticipated digging into Skarlet’s opinions on glitter but here I am. Copious amounts of glitter are the bane of her existence, apparently. Seeing clothing coated completely in glitter makes her skin itch just looking at it. She doesn’t mind a splash of elegant sparkles or some well-places rhinestones but thinking about her body covered in fairy glitter makes her shudder. She’d rather fucking die thank you. No seriously, we joke about throwing holy water at the blood mage but just throw a bucket of glitter at her she’ll flee instantly. She also hates tiny loose particles in general because of the mess but glitter in particular is Big Yikes for her.

Skarlet is incredibly touch starved. Throughout all of her life, she’s received only ounces of genuine physical affection, so even the simplest of gestures can carry a great weight with her.

Skarlet indulges way too much in luxury when it is accessible to her. She grew up fighting to survive, so if she has the opportunity to feel like a HighSocietyBitch™ for an hour, she’ll leap at the chance. She spends an obnoxious amount of money on products for her skin and hair so she can pamper herself, mostly, and don’t ever take her to a spa or anywhere high class and offer to pay because she might accidentally drain your bank account faster than she could drain your blood.

Skarlet is the only living conduit for the Blood Code in existence. She was the first, and any attempts to create another like her have failed; moreso, the knowledge of how she was created died with Shao Kahn, as the ritual was something of his own creation and was not a genuine practice in blood magic. Even Skarlet herself does not know how to replicate the ritual.

Shang Tsung’s guidance was the most valuable to Skarlet during her imperial days, outside of Shao Kahn’s, of course. Even though he was subtly manipulating her at the emperor’s behest, a lot of the guidance he gave her was solid and she still holds much of it to heart despite her opinion of Shang Tsung having changed once she realized the true nature of her purpose in Shao Kahn’s court.

Skarlet is a master at stealth. Stealth was survival for her during her youth, whether it was to steal food or hide from the guards that pursued her. She learned to apply stealth into kombat while serving under Shao Kahn, and her skills impressed him to the point that he used her as an infiltrator more than a bodyguard. She was his best spy, so well-concealed that her existence was not even general knowledge to those outside of the Kahn’s inner circle. Blood Magic has made it even easier for her to fade into the shadows, as she can use the Blood Code’s inter-dimensional capabilities to remove herself from an occupying space in the literal sense of the phrase (basically the same application of teleportation without an immediate reappearance).

Skarlet is most talented with her twin Kodachi, a single dagger, or throwing kunai, but she has picked up a versatile range of weaponry skills. She’s an adaptable survivor above all else; she can find a way to use whatever she gets her hands on to her advantage. Her blood magic has furthered these capabilities and her ability to experiment with her skills, as being able to create any weapon she wished for out of blood takes away the requirement of accessibility. Scythes and whips have become a favorite of hers, and javelin spears are another type of weapon she finds particularly useful. Projectiles of any form are effective tools for her, as her marksmanship is pristine. She has a natural aptitude for visually measuring distance and other factors that could effect the path of her projectiles, and if she miscalculates, she could always use a little bit of blood magic to compensate for her mistake and correct the flight path.

Outside of using blood magic for medical purposes, she has a lot of practical knowledge and experience regarding medical treatments. She’s always been her own doctor, and if she hadn’t learned how to be the queen of first aid as fast as she did, she would probably be dead. Her medical skills have gotten more advanced over the years and have become yet another thing to complement her blood magic.

Thinking about Skarlet’s self-perception hurts me. Appearance-wise, she’s solid. She’s subjectively hot, and she knows it. She will actually tell you how gorgeous she thinks she is if you ask her. You’re never going to hear her call herself any variation of ugly in a physical context. She could honestly be considered conceited in this regard, and she wouldn’t deny any accusations of vanity. I can’t think of any appearance-related insults that could actually crack her. Her self-confidence in her looks is godlike. Her inward self-esteem, however, is almost nonexistent by the time MK11 happens. She accepts that her choices were for her survival and she will never apologize for trying to live, but the weight of everything she has done has crushed her value in herself as a person. Younger Skarlet would never confront herself with the true reality that she was a person that did horrible things for Shao Kahn because she deemed them a necessity, and in her mind, that was supposed to outweigh any guilt or blame that could be placed on her shoulders. She was wrong, of course, because it never completely sat right with her in the first place, and now current Skarlet has to deal with all of the repressed guilt that younger Skarlet kept trying to hide and excuse herself from. Hindsight has destroyed any positive self-perception related to who she is and the choices she makes.

#✧ 𝐒𝐊𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐄𝐓 ── ❝ The Crimson Assassin. ❞ (𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓)

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espensenherskind4 · 2 years

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William Knight Author Associated with Generation: A Writer Speaks

William Knight is definitely a British-born writer and technologist at the moment living and doing work in Wellington, New Zealand. He's chased a varying profession starting in performing, progressing to music, enjoyed a brief flirtation with ladies handbag manufacturing and had been eventually wired straight into technology. In the year 2003 he published their first feature throughout Computing magazine plus has since created about the several successes and failings of high-tech regarding the Guardian, Economical Times and BASSE CONSOMMATION Focus among several other publications. He continues to compose, and maintains some sort of lively IT consultancy. If you had to offer a quite brief synopsis regarding your book, precisely what might say should you only had 30 seconds to say that? Journalist Hendrix 'Aitch' Harrison links systems stolen from the renowned forensic research enclosure to the influential medication company specialising within genetic modification. Helped by Sarah Wallace, a determined and even beguiling forensic entomologist, he delves directly into a grisly entire world of clinical trial offers and also a viral remedy beyond imagination. Although Aitch must struggle greater than his concern of technology to be able to expose the sombre fate of the particular drugged bodies bestowed to scientific research. Here's some fun queries, at least they may fun for us. Are usually most overrated virtue? Crap, which hard. Intelligence, most likely; Only the really ridiculous among us have typically the confidence to inquire queries that chase elephants from rooms. What is the 1 thing other people constantly seem to find wrong about an individual? That I is confident. I'm not, I'm shateringly shy with some sort of stomach-squirming ability to act like the confident person. My partner and i shudder at the speeches and presentations There are made, and in my personal hideaway am deeply embarrassed at perhaps innocuous mistakes We have made in social situations. Even publishing these words sends a tingle associated with pain up our spine in situation these are read by simply anyone. If you could change a single thing about the particular world what might it be? My partner and i would remove all the fossil fuels, coal, gas and oil from the particular planet. Climate transformation would be fixed, we wouldn't have noisy polluting automobiles spoiling our fantastic cities, petro-political battles would end, plus the communities would the natural way reform around towns and villages. All of us pay a wonderful cost for fossil fuels as well as the price is going upwards constantly. What pet peeve do an individual have about other folks? My wife often leaves lids un-tightened on the side bottles, cisterns, toothpaste tubes in addition to the like. This kind of irritates to muddiness. I pick upward jam by the particular lid and it also terme conseillÃ© to the floor leaving me holding the lid; I am unable to count how several times I have lost a jar of gherkins in order to the kitchen ceramic tiles. Is there any kind of occasion if it's OKAY to lie? Zero, of course not really. (err.. just inside cast that won't find in textual content, what a lie). (In any case, hype is really a lie, the book is some sort of lie, it really is total of lies from your first page for the last. Isn't that this point of fictional? ) Now let's take a talk about the particular writing. What will be your philosophy associated with writing? This problem is best served by my favourite writing quote: "The art of publishing is the skill of applying the particular seat of typically the pants to the seat in the chair. " When I publish, I do lots of sitting. I imply A GREAT DEAL. more info believed a bus car owner will do a lot involving sitting, but that will is nothing in comparison to the time I expend sitting. I am a king of sitters, and with some point, right after sitting for the big part of my entire life, a book converts up. What's the particular name and type of you reserve? The book is called Generation, it is definitely a corporate-crime thriller with an treatment of horror. Some have said really Science Fiction together with a horror decoration, and I'll enjoyably call it risky fiction. But it's meant to end up being real; so near to possibility you'll be afraid it merely might happen. That is the group for this book? Really an adult guide, ad advertisement chiller intended for lovers of criminal offense, science, SF, plus did I talk about there are a bit associated with horror. Describe the protagonist and illustrate the challenges typically the protagonist should get over and the determination for overcoming them. Hendrix Harrison is a techno-phobic journalist. Approaching middle age, plus out of issue since an emotional discharge from the services, he is incapable to steer his / her career in some sort of "worthy" direction. Because its a "bit of fun", this individual works for some sort of "conspiracy theorists wank mag" chasing ghouls and mythical-beasts about the English region side, but inside of he dreams involving breaking a major story. He must defeat his anxiety about technology and face the particular reasons for their discharge to dominate. Above all, he must re-visit typically the bunker in Afghanistan that stole his / her confidence, but this time through he must go back again for his acquaintances. Describe your antagonist and talk concerning motivation. DeBonfort is definitely a lover of fine architecture, excellent English shoes along with the money that enables him to find them. In the beginning they are motivated only be the wanting to be able to do his job within an effective and even professional manner. By simply the end he is backed into a corner of the own vanity, incapable to fact the truth but unable both to back lower. Quote a passing through your book that will you love. There is a quote in writing to "Kill your darlings. " Therefore it is quite likely the passages I personally believe are great, are usually the very phrases I should include cut out throughout the edit. Nevertheless, here's a hundred words I've individually chosen to reveal with you, cos I love these people. "For fuck's sake, you have to get over this. Look across the road and you will see a store outlet. It's named a shop. Purchase a new phone. I am going to pay for this. These web-fired meedja grads think is actually the only thing that matters, in addition to we've made a commitment to the brand-new owners to update. I'm only asking you to send a few texts, in addition to only then when you're out and about. We've obtained kids queuing upwards to follow you on Twitter, you aren't our star copy writer, and you're missing a trick in case you don't give them something on their terms. " Elaborate on the meaning in the verse. This passage is definitely spoken by to the protagonist, Hendrix Harrison, by their editor attempting to enthuse Hendrix with modern technology. It can easily be taken at face value, just about all introduces a continuing theme about the duality (good and bad) of technological advances. Hendrix's do not like of technology helps prevent him being followed by hi-tech evil doers later in typically the novel, but the final embrace of the technological generation not only motivates the novel's subject but also leads to his final victory over the villain. What surprising things did you learn while writing this particular book? I am a new perfectionist. I used to be constantly aware I had fashioned the particular capability to care deeply about just how things were carried out, from experiences together with decorating and building my own furniture. But when I create -- and am take pleasure in the cutting and even editing more as compared to writing the very first draft -- I actually will spend times sitting and gazing until I find the appropriate set of words, and the perfect flow of ideas. How has your childhood influenced you publishing? Brothers and sisters are very powerful bashers of objetivo. There are six littermates. I hope I was a realist, and I hope my personal work is available to any or all, even in the event that they don't just like zombies. Where would you live and exactly how does that affect your writing? Each and every book I compose continues to be set on the last major town I occupied. Generation is established in the North Distance of England, exactly where I spent a new year moving into Jesmond and where My partner and i met my partner. Perform you prefer fermented or distilled? Fermented. When you have a job outside of composing how does it squeeze into your life as a copy writer? Honestly I don't believe it does suit. I work as a computer advisor, and in while much as I make enough money to spend a month writing the following manuscript every 18 months or therefore, it works nicely, but I'd very much rather be creating novels full moment. Nevertheless , I would spend six decades working like a technology journalist for various magazines and newspaper publishers including the BBC and The Guard, however quite to be truthful, I found living as freelance writer very lonely. There is really not enough press-junkets and excursions abroad, most associated with the work is front of a new desk in a good office intended for 1. Do you have a particular routine a person go through before you begin writing? Wake up, squeeze a new few spots within the mirror plus sit at the particular chair. That's the interview Thanks for listening,

#WEB CONFERENCING #more info #here #read more #website #get more info #check here #Additional hints #Additional info

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katejyublog · 18 days

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KIDS NEED TO EXPERIENCE CAMP

WHETHER ONE WEEK OR TWO-OR LONGER, KIDS NEED TO EXPERIENCE CAMP.

The positive aspects of summer camp are numerous and invaluable. Kids independence, problem-solving skills, resiliency, and social adaptability. Even with all the lessons kids learn, one of the best parts about camp is the fun they experience.

Most kids are so excited about camp, they count the days. Literally Especially for those who have a experienced it. The kids who attend camp at Canyon Creek enjoy it so much, they come back year after year.

But what about the kids who aren't excited about it? The ones who worry about separation anxiety or making new friends?

Or what if it's the parents who are anxious? Maybe they fear their child will experience homesickness or get sick or injured.

instead of missing out on an amazing camp experience, get creative in finding ways to overcome anxieties and worries. Once they come home from camp, they will thank you. And you will appreciate how much stronger, more mature, and confident your child has become.

CANYON CREEK HAS THE CHILDREN COVERED

The money you pay for camp is for more than food and crafts. Of course, the kids get lots of great food and have plenty of craft opportunities, but camp is so much more. Canyon Creek employs a host of counselors and professionals who are committed to the children. They are well-skilled at fostering a fun, safe, and nurturing environment.

You can rest assured we put in the due diligence it takes to staff our camp with the best people possible. Of course, all our staff have passed a background check, but that is only a small part of our recruitment. We go the extra mile—in fact, many extra miles—to ensure we can handle whatever each child needs while away from home.

REMEMBER YOUR AWAY-FROM-HOME EXPERIENCES

What did you gain from sleepovers as a child? Think back to overnight fun with friends. Playing games, socializing, having fun. Especially if it was a group sleepover. What are your fondest memories of being away from home? How did it feel to spend your wings outside of your parents guidance?

Did you experience camp? Maybe you went to Church camp, Summer Camp, Day Camp, Sixth-Grade camp, or Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts Camp. Possibly you experienced more than one. What did you enjoy the most? Did you make friends? Learn lessons? Enjoy special activities? Play on a team sport?

Maybe you have been camping. Even if you went with your parents, you experienced sleeping away from home. Nature all around you, a sleeping bag, and maybe an awkward bathroom situation. Did you roast marshmallows and hot dogs over a campfire? Possibly sang songs and told stories?

If you had any negative experiences away from home, how did you handle it ? Did going through this and figuring out a solution help you learn and grow?

Hopefully, all these memories help you understand the importance of allowing your children to experience some of the same things you enjoyed.

SHARE YOUR MEMORIES WITH YOUR CHILD

Tell stories of your away-from-home experiences. Make them interesting and exciting, But don't draw the stories out or embellish. Keep your stories truthful, short, and sweet.

Share about the fun things you did and the friends you made. Discuss the negative experiences with a positive ending. Talk about how much fun it was to hang out around the campfire while singing songs acting silly.

Look for ways to help your child from the lessons you learned. Maybe you learned not to swim in chlorinated pool without goggles? Or the importance of having your flashlight handy at all times. Maybe the best lesson you learned was to step outside of your comfort zone and make a new friend.

Help your child see the benefits of being able to make their own decisions and become more independent.

KEEP POSITIVE ABOUT CAMP

While you don't need to ignore possible challenges and difficulties, worrying about things you can't change doesn't help. If you dwell on your concerns, it only makes you feel more helpless. Get the facts. Don't expect the unexpected but find out the process if something does happen. It may be scary to send your child away without a cellphone, but there are phones at the camp. Keep emergency numbers handy. And realize we have your number as well.

If you are anxious, do not let your child know. Children mimic their parents, and if they know you are anxious. They will become anxious. Avoid reassuring your child by saying things like, "Everything will be fine. There is no need to worry." Statements like this only make your child think there is something to worry about.

Do not set your child up for failure by providing a way out. Setting up a plan for picking up your child if they want to come home early takes away their chance to be independent. It lets them believe they will want to come home early. Instead, encourage them to talk to their counselors if homesick or having a rough time.

Focus on the positives. Let them know how much you look forward to their letters ad seeing pictures. Tell them you can't wait to hear all the stories when they get home.

NOW THAT YOU ARE READY

Sending your child to camp can be one of the hardest yet most rewarding things a parents can do. The most important decision isn't whether or not to send them. The most important decisions is which camp.

You can trust the experience of Canyon Creek. We have been doing summer camp for two decades. We have helped thousands of families enjoy a nurturing, positive environment.

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pacificworldschoolnoida · 2 months

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Your Ultimate Guide to Summarizing Articles

The fast-paced world of academics, business, personal research and more proves to the point that the ability to summarize articles effectively is a valuable skill that will not only save time but also streamline information gathering. There might be students who try to summarize lengthy research papers or those who are in corporate trying to extract key insights from industry reports, it is true to believe that mastering the art of summarization can enhance your productivity and comprehension, of course. Read on the blog below to dig into the mandate insights about step-by-step article summarization guide, and summarizing techniques for articles that will make the process easy and efficient for real.

Why Does Summarization Hold Importance?

Before we move on to the specifics of how to summarize articles effectively, it’s also important to recognize why this skill is essential for everyone out there. We can agree with this to some extent that we are all overburdened with vast amounts of data and content daily. Without the ability to distill this information into manageable ones, it is easy to become overwhelmed and lose some sight of the most important yet critical points.

Step-by-Step Article Summarization Guide

Read Carefully and Identify Key Points

The first step in summarizing an article is to read it thoroughly, paying close attention to the main ideas, arguments, and supporting evidence. The moment you read it, highlight and jot down key points that will grab the author’s central message.

Create an Outline

Once you’ve identified the key points, organize them into a logical line. This will serve as the structure for your summary and help ensure that you cover all essential aspects of the article.

Write in an Expressed Manner

When writing your summary, it is important to have your aim to be concise and to the point to the readers. Avoid unnecessary repetition or elaboration and focus on conveying the main ideas in straightforward language.

Paraphrase and Synthesize

Rather than simply bringing everything up in the author’s words, aim to paraphrase and merge the information in your own words. This shows your understanding of the material and helps prevent plagiarism.

Check for Accuracy and Clarity

Before finalizing your summary, take the time to review it for accuracy and clarity. Make sure your summary accurately reflects the original article’s content and is free from grammatical errors or uncertainty.

Summarizing Articles Made Easy

Summarizing articles may seem complicated at first sight, but with practice and patience, it can become second nature. By following the step-by-step article summarization guide mentioned above, you can showcase and simplify your information processing workflow and extract valuable insights from even the most complex texts.

What if you come across a school that is not only the best leading school in Greater Noida West but also knows the importance of developing strong critical thinking and communication skills? Well, naming it – Pacific World School follows an approach where it directs its goal towards providing its students with the relevant tools and resources they need to succeed in an ever-changing world. The school’s approach toward academic excellence, character development, and holistic growth makes sure that it is always ahead in nurturing the next generation of leaders.

As the top CBSE school in Greater Noida, it offers a rigorous curriculum that challenges students to think critically, communicate effectively, and collaborate with their peers. Even the dedicated teaching faculty members are passionate about inspiring a love of learning in every student and developing a supportive and inclusive learning environment.

Thus, mastering the art of summarizing articles is a valuable skill that can enhance your academic and professional success. By following the summarizing techniques for the articles mentioned above, you can showcase your information processing workflow and pick out the key points with ease. When it comes to providing a world-class education, Pacific World School is already considered the best leading school in Greater Noida West. Download the school’s brochure or check out the website: www.pacificworldschool.com to learn more about the education and its facilities.

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jasonp01 · 3 months

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KIDS NEED TO EXPERIENCE CAMP

WHETHER ONE WEEK OR TWO-OR LONGER, KIDS NEED TO EXPERIENCE CAMP.

But what about the kids who aren't excited about it? The ones who worry about separation anxiety or making new friends?

Or what if it's the parents who are anxious? Maybe they fear their child will experience homesickness or get sick or injured.

CANYON CREEK HAS THE CHILDREN COVERED

REMEMBER YOUR AWAY-FROM-HOME EXPERIENCES

If you had any negative experiences away from home, how did you handle it ? Did going through this and figuring out a solution help you learn and grow?

Hopefully, all these memories help you understand the importance of allowing your children to experience some of the same things you enjoyed.

SHARE YOUR MEMORIES WITH YOUR CHILD

Tell stories of your away-from-home experiences. Make them interesting and exciting, But don't draw the stories out or embellish. Keep your stories truthful, short, and sweet.

Help your child see the benefits of being able to make their own decisions and become more independent.

KEEP POSITIVE ABOUT CAMP

Focus on the positives. Let them know how much you look forward to their letters ad seeing pictures. Tell them you can't wait to hear all the stories when they get home.

NOW THAT YOU ARE READY

You can trust the experience of Canyon Creek. We have been doing summer camp for two decades. We have helped thousands of families enjoy a nurturing, positive environment.

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dragonmasterkaylz · 11 months

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Attack on Titan 2- Character Sheet

Name: Kayleigh Gregson

Age: 15

Birth Date: March 25th, 835

Place of Birth: Wall Maria, Shinganshina

Height: 5’7 / 170cm

Regiment: Scouts

Squad: Special Operations Squad (Levi Squad)

Best Friends: Sasha Braus, Mikasa Ackerman, Jean Kirstein and Petra Ral.

Mentor: Levi Ackerman.

Enemy: Reiner Braun (Until Part 2 of Season 4)

Eventual Spouse: Reiner Braun.

Headcannon ENG VA: Anne Yatco.

Headcannon JP VA: Miyuki Sawashiro.

Personality:

You will have never met someone as sweet, kind and as understanding as Kayleigh. She can be a little shy when it comes to meeting new people, especially people as eccentric as Hanji. She also finds hard to adjust to new places and at times, her nerves can get the better of her. However, on the battlefield, that all changes. She becomes a true team leader, especially when no one else is willing to stand up and take that position. She may not be as intelligent as Armin, but she isn’t stupid either. She’s able to make decisions based on the situation, even if it’s not easy to do so. She’s far from reckless as well and will never go head to head against a Titan without some kind of plan. And, she isn’t above disciplining and lecturing one of her fellow comrades if she needs to. This is always to help them see that they have to continue fighting on, even if the end result isn’t so pleasant.

Scores:

Fighting Ability- 7/10

ODM Gear Skills- 9/10

Leadership- 8/10

Relationships with her Comrades- 10/10

Trust- 10/10

Cleaning Ability- 8/10

Intellect- 6/10 (Depends)

Fear of the Titans- 2/10

Titan Slaying Skills- 8/10

Opinions of Her:

Eren Jaeger: She’s a really sweet girl, even helped me out while I was in the Special Operations Squad. But, if I’m being completely honest… she scares me sometimes! Her skills are amazing! I don’t really want to get on her bad side!

Mikasa Ackerman: She’s a true leader. I’m honestly surprised that her main goal is to keep her fellow comrades and friends alive. I wish we had met her when we were kids. We did all live in Shinganshina after all~.

Armin Arlert: Kayleigh’s a very kind person, always looking out for us. But she doesn’t give off that Goddess-vibe, like Christa. Of course, she cares for us, but it’s more like she sees us as her family.

Levi Ackerman: There’s a reason why I chose her to be apart of the Special Operations Squad. She really impressed me in our mission to wipe out the Titans in Trost, even saving the lives of my fellow comrades. She was going to see the mission through to the end and she wasn’t concerned about her kill count or anything as trivial as that. She’s a natural-born leader and that’s all there is to it. Also… her cleaning skills put the others to shame and she makes good tea.

Sasha Braus: She’s my best friend!!! Has been since the first day of Cadet Corps. She ever volunteered to run with me after Shadis gave me that punishment… hehe. She even gave me some of her leftovers after she had dinner… since I wasn’t allowed to eat for an entire week. Ohhh… that was the worst punishment!

Jean Kirstein: Honestly, when I first met her, I did think her ODM skills could do with some work… and after some training with me, she was suddenly a lot better than I was! I didn’t think it was possible at the time, but she’s very much aware of how much fuel she has left, as well as how many blades. She pays attention to things like that! I couldn’t ask for a better comrade if I’m being completely honest!

Petra Ral: When the Captain told us that we were getting a new comrade, who had just come out of the 104th Cadet Corps, I was honestly surprised. But after seeing her in action, I know why he chose her! She’s not only skilled in combat, but she cares for all of us! Sometimes I think that she and Oruo have a rivalry that even she doesn’t know about yet. Also… I think Levi treats her like his own daughter~! Hehe~!

Hanji Zoë: Kayleigh is by far the most capable and kindest girl I’ve ever met. She even helps me catch Titans, without me asking her to! Unlike the rest of the Levi Squad, she wants to help me further my studies! Yahooo! I adore her so much!!!

Erwin Smith: I’ve never met such a kind Scout in my life. Usually, after a few missions, some of them turn sour but not her. She does have a bad habit of thinking about her comrades lives more than her own. But other than that, she’s a model soldier and I wish a lot of the other Scouts would follow her example.

Fun Facts:

She always wears a pink silk scarf that her Father bought for her when she was younger. Taking it off isn’t an option for her. The only time she will is when she’s going to sleep.

She always wears her green cloak, even out of battle, and people often wonder why. The only three people who know are Mikasa, Sasha and Petra. And they won’t tell people why she always wears it. It’s strictly confidential!

Levi tends to dote on her more than the other Cadets, not even realising that he does so. Usually, Hanji will point out that he��s like a Father to her and he will deny it with ever fibre of his being. But if she ever gets hurt… God help the Titan or person who did hurt her.

She carries a journal with her that is absolutely top secret. She likes to put in her thoughts about other people and also about what she’s learned from the higher ups, especially from Commander Erwin. Only Hannes has ever seen what’s inside and he was very impressed with her attention to detail. She has said made it very clear though, that if she ever dies, she wants it to go straight to the higher up of the Scout Regiment, as she believes it will be very useful to their cause.

She holds her blades a certain way so she can perform her own special technique, which wasn’t taught. She learnt it all on her own and is very proud of it. Most people believe that her special technique is a lot like Levi’s, but it couldn’t be any further from it. This technique does allow her to go a lot faster, however she can go from Titan to Titan without taking a scratch with this technique. The first time she ever used it was in Trost to save Jean.

She had a huge crush on Reiner, until it was soon revealed that he was the enemy and she was heartbroken for days after that. Mikasa and Sasha tried to cheer her up, but nothing worked. She felt betrayed and she hated the feeling.

Her Past:

As a young girl, she was a delight to be around and she had admired the Scouts from day one. Exactly a year before Wall Maria was destroyed, she talked her Mother into seeing the Scouts off to their mission and told her that she had a present for ‘Humanities Strongest Soldier’. Helen agreed to watch them and Kayleigh walked up to Levi, giving him a silk cravat that her Father had brought back from Wall Sina. He was surprised, but he took it from her, patting her head as he did so. “Thanks”. “You’re welcome, sir!”

‘I sure hope a sweet girl like her doesn’t intent to join the Scouts’.

A year later, tragedy struck and she watched as the Armoured Titan broke down the inner gate of Wall Maria. A large boulder crushed both of her parents right in front of her and she was carried onto a boat by a Garrison Soldier. Once there, she heard Eren’s speech about destroying the Titans and vowed to do the same to avenge her parents. After many years had passed, she joined the Cadet Corps and vowed to become a Scout. She didn’t get into the top ten, but she wanted to become a Scout nonetheless.

That’s when her actual story starts….

Other Characters She’s Like:

Rias Gremory- Highschool DxD

Strict but fair when it comes to Leadership. She will put her comrades in difficult situations, but she will never let them die.

Asuka- Senran Kagura

Especially kind and sweet, but serious when it comes to her training. Will follow her friends to the very end. She’s also hardworking, but can be clumsy at times.

Dean Winchester- Supernatural

She’s a good fighter and won’t ever give up, but she’s willing to die for her friends. But you don’t want to make her angry. That adorable and sweet look can go the second she’s been betrayed or hurt. And if you ever ask her if she’s okay, she’ll lie to you… because she’s not. She just doesn’t want to talk about it. She hates worrying people, especially Captain Levi, so she won’t say anything until she explodes one day.

Harley Quinn- Suicide Squad

Once again, she’s a good fighter… but once she’s backed into a corner, she won’t hesitate to kill people in order to survive. She’s also incredibly athletic and flexible, as well as strong. She’s loyal to her friends, no matter what and will help them… even if she had to get her hands dirty and go a little crazy.

In Conclusion…

She’s the most adorable and sweet girl in the Scout Regiment, but she’s also very determined and will fight for her friends until the bitter end. She follows orders, no matter how much she might disagree with them. And everyone believes that she’s the only one who can defeat the Armoured Titan, because of her strong will to avenge her parents. Everyone who has ever met her, likes her and believes that she’s what they all need to keep them all motivated. Sure, she didn’t give a speech like Eren did, but it’s not like she had to. She’s a leader, which is why she was excepted by her comrades in the Special Operations Tactical Squad. They all believe that she has a strength within that no one else can claim. Something stronger than revenge. Something stronger than being Humanities Strongest Soldier. All she has in her fragile heart is love. That is what humanity needs to survive. Love.

Thanks for Reading~!!!

#attack on titan #attack on titan 2 game #attack on titan oc #don’t like don’t read

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alligatorzone · 1 year

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How to prepare students for the future of work — a synopsis of our recent town-hall meeting.

Do not delay explorations until college.

October 24, 2019 — Recently, NATS Tampa had organized a town-hall meeting where I had the privilege of presenting our findings to a group of high-school students and their parents, on how students may prepare for career success in industries of the future.

In our journey with AlligatorZone, we have learned that a vast majority of college-bound students start with undeclared majors and start exploring the world only after they start college. Our AlligatorZone events, where students and startups come together in meeting rooms to have conversations are one of the greatest forms of exploration you can find, and lately, we see high-school students taking an active part in our programs.

Here’s an excerpt from The Hechinger Report that’s worth highlighting.

Nine out of 10 incoming freshmen think they’ll graduate with a bachelor’s degree in four years or less, according to an annual national survey conducted by a research institute at UCLA. But the U.S. Department of Education reports that only 41 percent of them do. The average student takes 4.4 years to earn a bachelor’s degree from a research university and 4.8 years from all other kinds of institutions, the advocacy group Complete College America says.

Changing majors is a huge contributor to this. It means many students end up taking courses they don’t need, then scurrying to complete the ones they do. The result is that bachelor’s degree recipients take and pay for 15 credits, on average — an entire semester — more than they need, according to Complete College America. Some give up altogether.

Explorations delayed till college come at a steep cost, both financial and emotional. Such delayed exploration also impacts student-debt.

That is why AlligatorZone has started an awareness campaign for both students, as well as parents, so that families know there’s affordable help.

I appreciate the invitation from NATS Tampa for this town-hall meeting. They do phenomenal work in Tampa Bay.

Given below is a synopsis of the talk, for those students who missed the session.

It’s hard to seek internships when an employer does not know what differentiates you from others seeking internship.

That is why it is important to think of personal branding.

Personal branding can be about something personal, such as a hobby.

The idea is to provide a peek into your mind, by communicating your thoughts, your ideas, your projects, and your view of your world.

This need not be a high-maintenance endeavor. It could be something as simple as a blog.

What is hard is to know what to write in your blog.

The important thing is to learn how to write like a marketer — to influence, inform and impact your audience in a positive manner. After all, we are selling the idea of having an employer give us that internship position, or we are selling the idea of a college official grant us admission to that coveted seat.

That is where the exploration programs of AlligatorZone help. They help you add substance to your style in whatever you create.

Whatever you create is incomplete until you document it.

The next thing to do is to explore where your values will align with how different industries operate, to figure out where you might like to make an impact.

To make an impact, find out what comes naturally to you and what kind of skills you need to develop.

Last, but not the least, learn about a variety of things with an open mind.

Ideas from completely unrelated areas may help you solve a problem in a unique manner.

Some of the parents approached me for one-on-one coaching, so if you want that, please feel free to reach out to me.

Picture credit: NATS Tampa

Other parents expressed interest in our home-based program.

Finding the right information and making various pieces of the puzzle fit to tell a coherent story, is the hardest part.

That is one of the areas where AlligatorZone helps you.

We believe that one can effectively begin on this exploration in the 8th grade. However, I have seen even 5th graders do really well. Our youngest subscriber right now, is a 9 year old girl, who is doing really well.

College students who are still with undeclared majors, or undecided and switching majors, will also find AlligatorZone incredibly valuable.

In other words, it is never too early and never too late to join AlligatorZone.

We believe in the power of story-telling to create hooks for students to start exploring.

That is why we launched AlligatorZone’s at-home program.

High-school students in the audience mentioned that the school counselors mainly provide advice on colleges.

There aren’t many resources to explore the world of work and industry, they say. Our home-based explorations may be a good place to start by visiting https://AlligatorZone.org/programs.

If you think this talk and the ensuing discussions will help your high-school cohort or your middle-school students, contact us and AlligatorZone will present a special townhall meeting for your school.

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dammitadolfnomorecake · 2 years

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**Cultivating Love**34**

Lance was starting to suspect Keith was bored of him. Locking Krolia and Keith in the same place had led to the bedroom being burnt out by Keith’s temper, but they seemed to have talked. Keith still did not like Krolia to be left with him, yet he was willing to talk with her more and more, so Lance took comfort in feeling smug that his plan had worked.

Knocking the training sword from Keith’s hand, Keith cursed lightly as his other hand gripped it, shooting Lance an annoyed glare

“What was that for?”

“You stopped paying attention to me. Am I boring you? I feel I must be boring you”

Keith sighed, shaking his hand off then picking his sword back up

“It’s not you. I’m thinking about the mission the rebels are currently on”

Not that anyone had told Lance, but Krolia was on said mission. Her skills invaluable

“All we can do is trust in her. She is your mother, and she seems to be every bit as tenacious as you”

“She does. Why haven’t you asked me about what we talked about?”

“Because you’re allowed to keep things to yourself. You’re allowed to not be ready. I only aimed to have you talk things out. What you choose is purely your choice. Now fight me like you mean it. I have too much energy and you aren’t paying me enough attention”

Charging Keith, Keith instinctive parried Lance. Lance smiling as they stood face to face

“That’s better”

“You asked for this”

“I did”

Lying in bed next to Lance their sparring had turned heated. Keith curled into Lance, hips sore in the best of ways. He’d only been bedded from behind by Shiro, yet Lance had been in a mood and he needed to felt held. His tail wouldn’t stop flicking, his mind back on Krolia and all she had told him. Pidge and Hunk had asked him about their talk, yet when Lance hadn’t, he’d wondered if perhaps Lance didn’t care given his new nature.

Running his hand up Keith’s side, Keith sighed softly under Lance’s touch

“We’re good at this”

“The sex? The sex is good. Top three of the people I’ve slept with”

“Better than Matt?”

Lance snorted

“Are you still so jealous as to care?”

Yes and no. Lance had started this

“Of course I care. I wish I could go back and change things so he’d never laid a finger on you”

“He was helping me. It wasn’t sex with feelings. At least not on my side”

“He said he’d try make you his”

“And he would have failed. He flirted chronically… yet, he was nice, and he was gentle. I won’t apologise for it again”

“I’m not blaming you. It’s not like we treated you all that well. But no, Matt was not on my mind”

“That only leaves Krolia”

Sighing again, Keith nodded

“It does. She did not know my father passed or that I would be shunned by the clan. She also said she’s proud of all I accomplished, though does question my tastes in men”

“In men in general, or the one beside you now?”

“We both know she meant you. Never mind, how do you feel?”

“Sated. Content. Still scared this could shatter at any moment”

“Pidge and Hunk are busy with the rebels and discussions”

“You know very well that is not what I meant. I dislike this peace. It feels to artificial to be real. Almost as if Zarkon has left this base occupied in his grand scheme”

Keith had noticed that Lance had covered every mirrored surface he came across. Reaching out, Keith flicked Lance on the forehead

“Now who isn’t believing in Krolia. You cannot tell me to, then cast your own doubts”

“They’re not doubts, they’re observations. You knew him for a month and I much longer. It feels a little like the divine beast. Zarkon forced to wait until he had two divine spirit beasts before playing for it and being thwarted. Any energy Krolia left that day be can traced, as could Pidge and Hunk”

“Krolia explained this place had some of the highest demonic energy within the realm, which protects them from such things”

“And we both know that every living thing, no matter how long it lives for, leaves a trace on the world. If I keep educating you, I may make a scholar of you yet”

Keith gave a playfully growl, grabbing Lance and rolling him back so as to straddle him

“Not every problem can be solved by overthinking it”

“No. If that were the case then you and Shiro could have parted in better terms. Sometimes physical intimacy is what you need”

Lance walked his fingers up Keith’s chest, Keith playfully snapping at with his teeth as Lance to flick him in revenge, earning him a teasing scowl

“Don’t do that. If you bite me, I will bite back”

“I might just like it”

“And if I were to take you into my mouth as deeply as I could and then bite? I think you’d be less than pleased. If your mind is on Krolia, we should go see if there’s news”

Keith groaned. Why must Lance always bring his mother up at the worst of times?

“And if my mind is on you?”

“Then you’ll have to wait. I wish to bathe and then eat. Come, big boy. You may have spirited me away for a few hours, but we have our roles to play and you’ll only continually be distracted by her instead of me. I have a right mind to be jealous”

Reaching up, Keith pulled Lance down to kiss him as he rolled his hips. Being distracted by Lance was all he wanted. And he would have succeeded… if Pidge and Hunk hadn’t chosen right then to walk in on them.

Screaming and momentarily blinded, Pidge slammed the door to Lance’s bedroom closed behind her, leaving Hunk inside before remembering him, opening the door, grabbing her best friend, pulling him out, then slamming it closed again. Kolivan had told them that Keith and Lance were training, yet hadn’t been in the small area used for training… Now she could not unsee Lance in Keith’s lap as they kissed.

Patting her on the head, Hunk chuckled nervously

“Thanks for remembering me”

“Why is it every time we take our eyes off them, they disappear to do that? Are they trying to scar me?”

“I don’t think it’s personal, besides, you were so excited that you forgot to knock. And walking in on Keith and Lance has to be less jarring than Lance and Matt”

Pidge wrinkled her nose

“He slept with Matt because he needed it. He’s sleeping with Keith because…”

She didn’t have a because, Hunk explaining again to her for the far too manyth time

“Because Lance has too much energy. Keith told me. Sex helps Lance be less murdery”

Rolling her eyes, there was only so much she was allowing the demon realm to be blamed for

“Then why does have hands? My eyes, Hunk. My poor eyes”

“It’s better than him neglecting Lance. Though I do worry about their relationship with Shiro when we return”

“Shiro who? Oh, you mean that guy who failed to make peace with Keith and left him crying in your arms?”

“To be fair, I know for a fact Keith also cried in Shiro’s arms more than once”

“If I didn’t see it, then I don’t believe it. Do you think those two are dressed yet?”

“We are. Thanks for asking?”

Pidge jumped behind Hunk as Lance’s voice came from the now open door. Hunk laughing at her as they waited for Keith to hurry up and join him. She didn’t miss the way Keith wrapped his arm around Lance’s waist and pulled him back against him. Pidge had a right mind to kick Keith and steal Lance back off him. She missed her best friend, heck, she even missed Keith, despite how annoying he was. Keith asking

“What do you two want?”

Pidge huffed. She took it back and wouldn’t admit it again that she missed Keith

“That’s rude. You two totally disappeared on us. Repeatedly, I might add. While you two were busy doing unspeakable things, we’ve been working with the rebels, organising our route to where the portal will be”

Keith scratched the inside of his ear as Lance stepped on his foot. Pidge feeling it served Keith right for looking bored

“You’ll have to excuse him. He’s worrying over Krolia. Correct me if I’m wrong, but weren’t you guys already doing that? What else has happened?”

“We think we can send a message to Allura. It’ll be one way, and it’ll have to be short… and we don’t actually know if it’ll send. We wanted Lance to come help us out, but you’ve used up all your energy”

Being pleased with themselves, Pidge expected more from Lance and Keith. They could send a message to Allura to let her know they were safe, or to open the portal ahead of time. She didn’t expect Lance to start shaking his head

“I’m sorry, Pidge, but I cannot help you with this”

“But this a message to Allura. She can open the portal…”

“And if it lands in Zarkon’s hands, he’ll slaughter everyone”

“That’s why we need to…”

Lance crossed his arms, his tone deathly firm, so deep that Pidge had a shiver shoot up her spine as he spoke

“No. No and you shouldn’t have started work on this. I’m assuming you want to use my vast amounts of demonic energy in conjunction with my connection with Allura. I’m assuming the medium would be through a mirror. No mirror in this realm is safe. Zarkon has spells to see and hear through them. If even one rebel is swayed by his cause and grants him access… that’s all Zarkon needs to wipe us out. I’m not taking that risk”

She understood where Lance was coming from, but she and Hunk had worked hard on this

“We’ll take the proper precautions… all we need is to find a group of demon beasts headed for our realm and…”

Lance shot her down in same serious tone

“Do you know where to find them? We use matrixes to close and warp space, but not every hole between realms can be closed. Even the smallest gap can be reopened by Zarkon. Besides, if we’re going far enough to find demonic beasts, why would we not pass through the tear in the realm with them? You and Hunk are the smartest people I know, surely you must see why we cannot open a portal from this side? Zarkon and his rotten family already know how to move through the realms. He’s going to notice the energy that it’d take. I’m not going to place that target on our backs”

Pidge was frustrated. Lance had walked all over their hard work without being willing to listen to them. Throwing her hands up, she was utterly ropable

“You’re acting as if you don’t want to go home. You and Keith might have a life here, but what about Hunk and I? What about Shay? And Shiro? And Allura? Do you not care?”

Lance snapped and he snapped hard

“Of course I care! That’s why I cannot let you go ahead and do this! I hate this. I hate all of this. Yet what can we do that will not place risk upon the rebels? Nothing. We can do nothing except wait and I loathe it. If it were up to me, I’d face Zarkon alone, yet it is not. We’re friends. It’s natural that I do not want you harmed. Rushing things will only lead to more danger”

Trying to deescalate the situation, Hunk started

“We’ve done the maths on this… we thought we could talk them through…”

Lance wasn’t prepared to budge for Hunk either

“I’ve said all I am willing to say on this matter, Pidge, Hunk. I shall assist you if I can, but I cannot do this and do not ask me again. We need to wait. You’ve been in the demon realm long enough to know you need to be scared. I’m living proof of what Zarkon can do to people he finds useful… imagine the horrors awaiting those whom aren’t”

Moving forward, Lance placed his hand on Pidge’s hair. Pidge wanting to slap it away, yet holding her temper

“Pidge, I would never ever recover from seeing you hurt or killed. I know you want out of her as badly as I, but we must wait. I’m going to go bathe, then get something to eat. I suggest you do the same”

Leaving them, Keith trailed after Lance. Pidge feelings so frustrated that she punched the wall, then looked Hunk who sighed as he shrugged

“If we can’t make him listen that’s that. We both knew it may play out like this”

“I know. But… we could talk to Allura. We could tell her about Zarkon”

“I know. The time between then and now only gives Zarkon more time to prepare. Lance knows this too”

“We tried so hard…”

“We did, and it’s not like we cannot use it if we have an emergency. Let’s talk to Kolivan?”

Kolivan wasn’t Lance, nor was he going to make her feel any better. She thoughts she was antisocial until she’d met Kolivan and realised she was beat. Nodding, there wasn’t much else they could do now

“Alright. Maybe Kolivan can convince Lance? Hunk, I want to go home”

“I do too, but we won’t be here forever. Chin up?”

When Hunk opened his arms, Pidge shuffled into his hold. She missed them having Lance’s attentions almost as much as she missed home.

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