Bad News: Our boss locked the keys inside the building.
Good News: We didn’t have to wait around for a locksmith.
Bad News: My boss finds it very concerning that I know how to pick locks, and tried to unlock my Tragic Backstory™. I was too embarrassed to admit that the reason I learned was because, at thirteen, I figured that was the kind of skill that would impress cute girls.
Good News: A cute girl saw me do it.
Bad News: It was Maggie, and since she’s already seen me fall out of several trees, cry because I saw a fawn that was just too damn small, and knows I can ride a unicycle, she’ll never think I’m cool no matter what I do. It’s too late. She knows.
2010 me: who are you
2016 me: im you but gayer
These are my doggos
All I could see was the outline of my mother's shadowed hunch backed figure, slowly turning towards me.
Not even sorry
brah fuck it im just die
I don’t care if Hillary Clinton is corrupt. I don’t care if she lies, if she cheats, if she eats bowls of newborn chipmunks for breakfast.
She is literally the only thing standing in the way of a fascist dictator becoming President of the United States with a Republican majority congress that guarantees he can do anything he wants and nothing will be able to stop him.
I was and still am a Bernie supporter, and I hate a lot of things about Clinton, but none of that matters anymore. If Trump is elected, people are going to die. Women are going to die when Roe v Wade is overturned and Planned Parenthood is defunded. LGBTQ people are going to die when conversion therapy is further legalized and more bathroom bills are passed. POC are going to die as Trump rounds up Mexican immigrants, gives more power to the police, and fuels the fires of Islamaphobia. Poor people are going to die as Obamacare gets overturned and further cuts are made to welfare programs. And that’s just in this country. That’s not even taking account the all-too-likely outcomes of Trump starting new wars in the Middle East and having control of nuclear bombs that he’s said he ‘would not rule out’ using.
This is no longer even about ‘the lesser of two evils’. This is not ‘scare tactics’. This is literally life and death. Don’t fuck around and tell me you’re voting third-party or not voting at all, because you don’t have that luxury.
I heard that a large reason why Yuri on Ice is so popular in Japan is because of how realistic it is.
I gave it some thought, and I think that’s not restricted to Japan at all - it’s a genuine reason regardless of the nation.
I think that stems from the lack of typical anime tropes. It’s what makes the anime accessible to newcomers or to people who haven’t previously enjoyed anime. I know for a fact that many fans of YOI have never seen anime before or never enjoyed the concept of it but easily got into Yuri on Ice.
I think this is precisely the lack of anime tropes that adds to its realism and makes it easy to pick up for anyone. Of course, it’s not trope-free, not at all, but let’s list a few of the ways in which it managed to defy the popular tropes: it’s not set in high school, the characters are adults (but the life of those who aren’t isn’t centered around school), there are no annoying female characters, no female body related fanservice, doesn’t rely on the same gags repeated ad nasueam, the main character is considered “weak” because of an actual mental illness and not just being wishy washy and bland, the protagonist doesn’t always win gold (in fact, he never does, but sometimes he doesn’t even place on the podium), there are no villains and no heroes, all the characters are likeable in some way, most of the stunts they perform are imaginable in real life (even if not always 100% doable), the gay relationship isn’t passed off as a joke and doesn’t involve typical BL dynamics, the characters actively use social media (like most people these days) and change their outfits every day.
There’s even more that you could add to the list, but I think this shows enough already.
Of course, that’s not to say that Yuri on Ice features no anime tropes because it does, but they’re usually not as invasive or off-putting as in many other anime.
I think realism really is an important part of Yuri on Ice and why the anime was able to gain so many fans, especially among people who were nver particularly interested in anime as a whole. Through not pandering to otaku culture, it was able to show a natural, organic story, one that most people could relate to or at the very least imagine in real life.
I think it is really is the realism in it that struck a chord with so many people - it felt grounded in real life, presenting situations and conversations that could actually happen, as well as people (and their cultures) from all over the world, all with their strengths, weaknesses and motivations that were believable and often relatable. I personally think it was the anime that you should show to someone who thinks that anime is just flashy fights and pink-haired girls with huge breasts and tons of screaming.
Yuri on Ice was a story in anime form, but it wasn’t what you could call a ‘typical anime’ and I think that’s partly what made such success possible. Through not following usual paths set up by many popular anime and manga series, it was able to go beyond the otaku community and grab the hearts of people who would never otherwise watch anime.
Websites for Critique:
Authonomy It’s been a while since I used this website in particular, but it’s useful for helpful critique and to get your original works out there. If your book get on the top five list at the end of the month Harper Collins will read it for possible publication.
Teen Ink
Figment
Fiction Press
ReviewFuse
and of course… Tumblr
Other Websites:
Write or Die is great if you want to give yourself a certain amount of time to write a set amount of words.
Tip of my Tongue for when you can’t remember the exact word
Character Traits Form
Online Thesaurus where you just type in a word and you get a cluster of different words
Characters
Top 10 Questions for Creating Believable Characters
How to Create a Fictional Character
Describing Clothing and Appearance
The Difference between Ethnicity and Nationality
Describing a Voice
Characters (part 2)
How to write Funeral Directors I’ve read quite a few fanfics where they just have funeral directors slapping clothes on a body and calling it a day. As a former funeral services major I can tell you that’s not the only thing they do.
How to write Drug Dealers
How to write Gamblers
Interview with a Hitman
Terms for royalty
Naming Characters
Behind the Name
Top Baby Names
Looking for a name that means a certain thing?
7 Rules of Picking Names
Most Common Surnames
Medical/Crime/Legal
Coma: Types, Causes, etc
Tips for writing blood loss
Gunshot Wound Care
Examples of Hospital Forms
Common Legal Questions
The Writer’s Forensics Blog
Brain Injury Legal Guide
Types of Surgical Operations
Types of Mental Health Problems
A Day in the Life of a Mental Hospital Patient
Global Black Market Information Because where else would you find out how much money it takes to get a 16 year old girl to kill someone in Mexico?
Crime Scene Science
Examining Mob Mentality
How Street Gangs Work
Other Helpful Stuff
Poisonous Herbs and Plants
The Psychology of Color
The Meaning behind Rose color
Compare Character Heights - I personally love this site so much.
Types of Swords
Color Symbolism
How a handgun works
Blueprints for Houses
The Six Types of Haunting Activities
The Difference Between lay and lie
10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling
5 Easy Tips to Improve Your Writing
How to Write a Eulogy
Types of Crying
Career Masterpost
Avoiding LGBTQ Stereotypes
Tips for Writing Ghost Stories
A Spell to See Spirits
Make Graphics out of Quotes
Superstitions and More
The 12 Common Archetypes
Language of Flowers
Military Sign Language
A Visual Dictionary of Tops
Describing Tiaras
What author do you most write like? (I’ve gotten Stephenie Meyer)
12 Realistic Woman Body Shapes
Japanese honorifics
Dress Up Games I personally like to find games that I can make my OCs with.
Azalea’s Dolls
Doll Divine x
Dress Up Games
Shidabeeda Games
Free Writing Software
Google Docs (automatically saves as you write. 100% recommend)
EverNote
OpenOffice (a free version of Microsoft Office)
Articles
25 Steps To Edit the Unmerciful Suck out of Your Story
10 Rules for Writing First Drafts
10 Things Teenage Writers Should Know About Writing
Create a Plot Outline in 8 Easy Steps
Publishing Agencies to Stay Away From
5 Ways to Make Your Novel Helplessly Addictive
Books:
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
Elmore Leonard’s 10 Rules of Writing
Chicken Soup for the Writer’s Soul
Writing Great Books for Young Adults
Inspirational Quotes: x x
And I couldn’t find the original post for these so (pictures under the cut)
Read More
The standing rock tribe are being silenced about what is going on up there with the Dakota access pipe line.
I beg of you to help me get the topic out. It will affect millions of lives. The pipe will leave into the tribes only source of drinking water. We are trying so hard to get this out on twitter and facebook, but we are being silenced.
Today a security team came into the middle of a peaceful native american protest and numerous people got maced and bitten by the dogs.
I want you all to take a look at the terror on these young girls faces. Then I want you to take a look at the two aggressive dogs. When did it become OK to use dogs against children, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters OUR freakin people!!! The police will only let a dog go if the suspect runs or the suspect is violent and causes a threat to the public of the officer. Do you see a weapon in these young girls hands? Do these girls look dangerous? The answer would be no. No they don’t. The people with the dogs aren’t even police officers! They are security guards. They couldn’t even keep control of their own dogs leading to them being attacked also.
Most of you won’t even bat an eyelid at my posts, others will be annoyed because of my constant posting.This is happening right this second and threatening millions of lives. I have to help. We can only break the silence if you join us in this fight. Just sharing my post helps the reality of the situation get out there. I now beg of you to share this post in support of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. Give them a bigger voice. Help them shout this from the roof tops. Please… Rachael <3 <3 #NoDAPL