Man fancy writing

So Justin will lose to Hiraku, I am sorry man, the writing is clear as day. Justin was emphasize that he is very young. Being young mean he has no experience, he will lose to experienced fighter like hiraku.
For hiraku, he was called the bounty hunter, so he is probably like mutaba, he is at best a high A, he would give gaolang a mid diff win so gaolang can conserve his energy for the final.
For julius, well, after this match I would start calling him agito's otakemaru, because that is what he is, agito would use him to perfect his principle.
Then we would have agito vs lolong in the semi final, just like how in KAT and BB, the semi final pretty much is the best match of the tournament. Sandro even purposely put agito vs lolong in the second half since he knew gaolang vs hiraku is gonna be a easy mid-diff fight, so he is saving the steak at the end. Then we would have gaolang vs agito and agito would win and become a full fledged principle user. Then he would meet ohma and gensai, which also achieve principle after their training with shen, and then with raian together they are ready for Kengan vs Worm.
​

I (20F) have been dating my BF (20M) for a bit over a year. In April, he asked me to meet his friend group (4 people, all 20M) and I thought everything had gone fine - I had a decent-ish time and as long as my BF is fond of them, their underdeveloped humour was none of my business. On Sunday I randomly remembered this outing and realised I hadn’t asked my BF what his friends had thought of me, so I asked.
He said “Oh why did you have to ask that” and I thought it meant to be witty, so I encouraged him to tell me and that I wouldn’t be upset. Well, I was definitely mistaken.
In short, apparently his ‘friends’ began calling him gay after they met me, because I am too ‘masculine’, and insisted that I was secretly a transsexual hooker. As well, they ‘jokingly’ constantly ask my BF to send a photo of me naked to confirm I did not have a penis and implicitly that he isn’t gay. And until he sends the said confirmation, his friends will keep calling him gay and spread rumours that I am a male prostitute to any mutual acquaintances we might have.
The respect I had for my BF and the choices he made dropped significantly after this. I questioned why he would consent to this sort of humiliation, and he defended it saying it’s a joke and it’s not mean-spirited. I asked for more information, and he showed me texts: of his friends taking guesses about my ‘penis’ size and calling my BF homophobic slurs. He didn’t defend me once.
That didn’t seem like a joke to me at all, so I told my BF that I’m not willing to stay together with someone with such little self-respect.
I don’t care about 4 nothings fantasising about me being a man because of their fear of a woman being taller than them, but the fact that my BF is putting up with this ridicule, of the both of us, is just pathetic. I told him I felt disrespected by his lack of action toward the behaviour of his friends and that I don’t wish to be a joke. Therefore, he had to choose between me and his friends, because apparently we cannot coexist.
He proceeded to call me ‘selfish’, ‘controlling’ and said I was trying to isolate him from anyone who isn’t me and that I couldn’t possibly understand how male friendships work. I told him to text me when he makes his pick. This was on Sunday - and he only texted me this morning. A long, long paragraph telling me he doesn’t want to give me up, that he wants to keep his friends, and that if I love him I will understand he can’t choose. He promised to get his friends stop mocking me.
I haven’t texted back yet. While writing this I’m realising how silly this is for people in their 20s. I’m pretty confident I haven’t overreacted, but maybe I have, so an objective opinion would be appreciated.

Hey, all.
I'm not exactly new to theory, but I'm new enough to be completely lost right now:
I'm writing a song, kinda grunge (think Deftones)), and I found these two fancy-shmancy chords (?) that sound AWESOME together:
Chords (Drop-C):

• 0 - 8 - 10 - 10 - x - x
• 8 - 8 - 8 - 9 - x - x

They have this sort of dissonance that I really like, but I don't know whether or not that dissonance belongs in the scale or if I'm just grabbing a nearby note for some extra emotion? How can I even tell what key this is in?

Every time you write do it to be a better writer than you were the last time.
Every time you write a story, write an ending and know how the main conflict will get resolved.
Your idea or the basic synopsis of an outline or pitch is not the story.
I often see folks asking about the quality of their general story idea.
When people ask others if their idea is good they do it like a trailer... but there is no product beyond the trailer.
Or, worse, they'll share their basic notes and ask if they are worth pursuing, as though character attributes is what makes a good story.
Does it matter if others like or dislike the basic idea that hasn't even been outlined or plotted?
No, it does not.
Lord of the Rings can basically be reduced to: a small guy has to throw away a piece of trash and it is really difficult.
Would you want to read that if somebody asked you if that was a good idea for a story?
Luckily JRR Tolkein did write it despite the almost ridiculous simplicity of the idea it is built from.
The film The Gods Must Be Crazy also builds a great adventure out of that basic plot.
Whatever you want to write about that interests you is probably the best thing you can write about.
If it truly moves you, it will probably move others.
If it surprises you, it will probably surprise others.
If it scares you, it will probably scare others.
If you genuinely find it funny others probably will, too.
But don't just write something about some subject that intetests others unless it actually interests you, too.
If you like vampires, write your vampire story.
If you like the uncertainty and weirdness of first dates, write a first date adventure.
If you like cruise ship mysteries, write a cruise ship mystery.
Write what you know, and enjoy writing it.
If you don't know the subject and/or find the researching and writing joyless or even pointless, then (unless it's for school or some necessary report or blog or whatever for work) it probably isn't worth your time to write it.
But it's NOT what the story is about that makes it good, it is the way it is written.
So I love this idea because it is very ingenious, it is not mine:

Scientists on Earth are developing a new weapon which would explode light and that scares Aliens and they come to warn us and threaten us and stop us.
If we would explode light, that could cause a chain reaction that would effect all light, everywhere in the Universe, at the rate of quantum tunneling, and that would destroy the Universe.
Humans ignore the warnings and continue with scientific progress toward the Solaranite Bomb, and so the Aliens use electromagnetic manipulation to reanimate the recently deceased to attack Humans, instead of direct confrontation from the Aliens.
This almost leads to a worldwide zombie panic.

It just ends there; this is the basic breakdown of Edward D Wood, jr.'s Plan Nine From Outer Space long and wide considered by many to be the worst movie they have ever seen.
The final bit that I left out is:

Instead of a worldwide panic, an alien spaceship catches fire and blows up... but it is just one of the many alien ships... and then it just ends.

Ed Wood was long considered the worst director and screenwriter who ever lived, though, nowadays thanks to direct comparison with movies like "The Room" and "Vampire Men Of The Lost Planet" readily available at the touch of a finger, we can see that he wasn't all that bad--but was bad--but also had a few glimmers of obvious genius in his work.
What to do with your idea:
A story goes: situation leads to conflict leads to resolution which becomes a new situation or resolves the entire story.
When the primary conflict is resolved, the story ends.
Scene is long and drawn out like a setup and sequel is abrupt like a punchline and it either leads into a new scene or concludes a chapter or ends the whole story.
Your primary conflict and what it leads to could be anything at all but I want to illustrate with this classic exercise:
Get a man up a tree and have him realize he is afraid of heights. Now get him down.
Situation: Man climbs tree. Primary Conflict: Man is scared of heights and cannot get down. Resolution to Primary Conflict: Man gets down.
When the primary conflict is resolved, the story is over
Scene is his climb and sequel is the realization he is afraid to climb down which leads to scene he ponders a way down leads to sequel it won't work OR sequel he gets down.
If it's sequel it won't work and he is still up the tree then that leads to scene he must try something else. Perhaps a stranger will come by and he can ask them to help him down which leads to sequel the stranger climbs up the tree to help or runs away to get help or throws a rock at the man causing him to fall and he is down.
If it is sequel the person climbs up the tree to help, that leads to scene you now have two people stuck up a tree tying to figure out how to get down.
If it is sequel the person runs away to get help then that leads to scene the man wonders what kind of help will come which leads to sequel the person returns with a tool to help the man get down or the person returns with more people.
If it is sequel the person returns with a tool that leads to scene setting it up and sequel the man gets down.
If it is sequel the person returns with an axe and/or a saw that leads to scene cutting down tree or cutting limb from tree which leads to sequel man is down.
If it is sequel person returns with another person that can lead to scene two people help each other climb up the tree and sequel all three are stuck.
Or that can lead to throwing rocks at the man or forming a human ladder or getting the fire department or stopping traffic to get a ladder off a work truck or confusion about the nature of the emergency bringing a poison control unit out to the tree and they park their truck next to the branch so the man can climb down and just before he reaches the ground they grab him and strap him to a gurney and then they go through all standard poisoning emergency activities like feeding him ipecac and pumping his stomach or maybe the army gets called in and there's a miscommunication about troop movements leading to a huge war or maybe a portal to parallel universe opens and the man walks through it and he becomes the tree and then he finds another portal and it comes out two feet above the branch he was already stuck on so he goes back through and no portals open again anywhere ever or maybe anything you can imagine.
But when the primary conflict is resolved, when the man gets down, however he gets down, the story is over.
The hero may get the girl (or guy) and the gold (or fame or power) but as soon as the primary conflict is resolved--as soon as the plans are transported, delivered, and acted on, the story is over.
Consider the plans from Star Wars IV: A New Hope, the recovery of which were Darth Vader's initial reason for overtaking Princess Leia Organa's Corellian Corvette The Tantive IV, those were the plans which she input into Artoodeetoo that "he" has to get to Obi-Wan, plans that Obi-Wan Kenobi has to get to The Rebels, and it is in an attempt to deliver the plans to the Rebels that, along with Han, Luke, Chewie, Artoodeetoo, and Ceethripio, He discovers the remains of Alderaan as an asteroid field, and when Han Solo decides to pilot The Millennium Falcon over to a small moon, to recalibrate the obviously malfunctioning--or is it?--hyperdrive, they all together discover that it's not a moon, it's a space station, but that's impossible because it is over 2,000 km across, and then they have the opportunity to rescue Princess Leia, who they do rescue and who knows how to extract the data from Artoodeetoo and she knows the way to the secret Rebel stronghold hideout where they need to deliver the plans to, Yavin IV, making Obi-Wan redundant, so Darth Vader kills him, which raises the stakes for Luke, who saw Obi-Wan fall, and to whom the stakes are now as high as they already were for Leia, who saw her home planet destroyed; and so, she told Han how to pilot The Millennium Falcon to the Rebel stronghold hideout where Luke would become a Rebel pilot, and, there, she implemented the plans for their initially intended ends which culminates in Luke's destroying The Death Star, which was the space station they had already been aboard, you'll recall, where Luke had seen Obi-Wan fall; and so, Luke got his revenge; and so, Princess Leia got her revenge, since that was the space station that destroyed her world; and so, Darth Vader's dreams were dashed because Han showed himself to brave enough to go into battle and good enough a pilot to shoot him down; and so, the plans, from the very start of the movie, no longer matter because they were Death Star destroying plans and they had been used to destroy The Death Star, in a way that tied-off a bunch of loose-ends at once in a satisfying climax, and the story is over; and the medal-giving scene seems to just be there because John William wrote a heroes' march and they had a bunch of extras standing around, and unused dressier costumes as opposed to the uniforms and casual-wear costumes worn elsewhere throughout the movie, and so, George Lucas opted to include the medal-giving scene, but the story really ended when The Death Star blew up.
The preceding story description will only really make sense to someone who has both watched Star Wars and read the official novelisation.
Your writing will only get anywhere if you rewrite your story so that it can make sense to someone who doesn't have your personal frame-of-reference and cannot imagine through your mind.
A sentence is a noun and a verb: a thing and an action.
A story is a series of statements about characters and/or things doing things with other characters and/or things with other characters and/or things and/or for other characters and/or things and/or to other characters and or things and/or against other characters and/or things generally for the benefit of themselves or to aid or injure some other character and/or thing, or for some greater ideal than themselves in heroic self-sacrifice for faith that this act will help others survive.
Do this for every character in every new scene:
Who? Do this for every character and every action and every perspective.
What? Do this for every character and for every object mentioned and for every specialized location.
When? Do this with every sentence. Maintain a chronology as a fluidly ordered sequence-of-events and actions, and make sure the reader knows the time of day.
Where? Do this for every location, every character, and every object.
How? Do this for every action and for every sequel and for every situation and for every conflict and for every resolution.
Why? This is unimportant unless you really want to spend the time psychoanalyzing your idea of your character and maybe plotting an entire life history, and perhaps even going so far as inventing a whole history and prehistory for your entire world.
Some do.
Consider the chronology of these examples:
The shot that made [EXAMPLE VILLAIN]'s head explode like a snowball thrown hard at a brick wall was fired after [CHARACTER EXAMPLE] picked up the explodiola gun from the table. [CHARACTER EXAMPLE] had leaned forward to grab it by extending their arm across to it, and then they cocked the hammer back whlie they were turning around. [EXAMPLE VILLAIN] called [CHARACTER EXAMPLE] a weenie and, then [CHARACTER EXAMPLE] said "Hasta mañanas, Poopsie!" and finally put their finger to the trigger and then squeezed it back. [EXAMPLE VILLAIN] had been performing [STOCK "EVIL ACT"] and wouldn't stop.
Versus:
[CHARACTER EXAMPLE] leaned forward and extended their arm as they reached their hand across the table and then grabbed the explodiola gun. Then they spun around, cocking back the hammer, and then faced [EXAMPLE VILLAIN] performing [STOCK "EVIL ACT"], and they wouldn't stop, they had, in fact, called [CHARACTER EXAMPLE] a weenie; so [CHARACTER EXAMPLE] said, "Hasta mañanas, Poopsie!", stuck their finger to the trigger and squeezed it back. [EXAMPLE VILLAIN]'s head exploded like a snowball thrown hard at a brick wall.

Huge shout out to u/ryguy637 & u/-Eterox for helping with Brainstorming and Co-Writing this.
As always, all credits for the original Nature of Predators and it's content goes to Space Paladin15, thank him for allowing artist and writers to use his original work of art for their own uses.
Gaian Ref Sheet-Here, Done by the artist u/Roddcherry
As well as a *Huge* thank you for Julian Sky's for filling in for being an editor again for this chapter! This chapter will be pulling away from the subject memory transcription, instead exploring one of the new regions within the Venian Commonwealth. The "Dark Corner"
[FIRST] [PREV] [NEXT]
"This program is a special update to the Thafki Advocacy’s situation on their new home world, Ayzife. Originally we here at WTWN had done a piece a couple of years back towards the last days of the War, and now we wanted to send one of our reporters to find out- has anything changed? With that, we'll let Rux Limpbut take it away for this one. And please do be aware, user discretion is advised.”
The date of my arrival to Ayzife, the new Thafki homeworld, had arrived. It was a part formally called by our government the “New Re-Seeding Sector”, but It had gained a painful nickname as quickly as it was given its government one. “The Dark Corner”.
A group of Thafki, listless and confused, is shown, as a small group of Gaians seem to herd them back into a recently finished project. A Gaian man is showing us around, telling us of the hardships, his face has been blurred for their safety.
“What am I to do?” The thick Mountaineer accent rang out from the man’s scarred face. He was one of the first officers that had come across the cattle ranches and the true extent of the horror that laid within them. “The adults can't speak, they can't learn. The children are really the only hope…” his accented voice trails off as he checked within some of the residences, some of the seemingly adult Thafki, stunted and confused, are being hand fed. They do not respond to any orders, at least not to ones in any other language except that of the prey killers, or that of our Horned and able bodied Sister species.
The children are crowded around their parents, speaking in a mix of Thafki and a Piggish- like squealing imitation of Arxur. One approaches me and the cameraman, asking us a question.
“Savageness?” They eek out. Compared to the parents, the children seem blissfully unaware to what they or what their loved ones went through, their eyes shining brightly, even if they're glazed over in a mountain of unrealized horror. Our guide calls over a shabbily dressed Thafki, in an overly large uniform. Hand-me-downs from our sister species. It has been hemmed to solgalik and back, but it was still painfully apparent that it barely fit comfortably.
The Thafki, as I was to learn later, “Guzifi” or police, takes the child away and back into the building we peered into. Our cameraman zooms into the back of their necks, a painfully visible barcode and scratched in number can be seen. I stand aghast, before our guide comes back to us, his eyes sullen and shrunken into his head, hammered with fatigue.
“As I was saying…*most* of them can't do anything. But the ones like Curzix there-” he gestures to the man, who is now knelt down, stroking the child's hair, a faint giggle echoing in the sparse abode “-He escaped early into his stint, it hardened him. He was one of the first to sign up once we finished the terraforming process at the beginning of this year.”
We are hurried on, “Curzix” soon rejoins us as we continue to inspect and report. Only months ago this entire section we were in was a barren wasteland, only recently finished terraforming. Now? It's crammed with tightly knit buildings, services, and other amenities. But it's not enough. “Reservists” from our Sister species, as they called them, are the majority of people dealing with the Thafki here, only a handful of Guzifi are to be seen amongst the crowds and herd of broken.
Soon we find ourselves in a “rehabilitation” facility, so to speak, the local baker is the first to greet us, head to toe in traditional thafkian garb, and a small basket of baked goods they had made earlier this morning. She gestures for us to take some, which me and the cameraman do.
“And this-” the Provincial-Governor who had been tailing with us begins, before the Thafki finishes for him
“I'm Zaifi.” She sticks her hand out, and I do the same in kind. I quickly noted that she seemed to be the only light in this icker of dark, bitter sadness that assuaged us. She turns around and begins to wander through the halls as we begin to trail behind her, questions outpouring.
“Are you one of the Free Thafkis that came here?” I ask, she nods in response while clearing her throat..
“Yes. I might be one of the few to even go so far as to say my life's been better since I came here.” She responds. I nod along, taking her words in as I take a bite of the customary “Cionn” bread.
It's one of the signs of the Thafki Advocacy's-now Thafki Republic-Efforts to Re-Seeding their culture and themselves. I'm later told it's an offshoot of a more savory dinner bread, softer and less sweet called Uniffin'Dath, although I'm also told that that type of bread is used in conjunction with Striou (not Strayu) soup.
While I do so, however, I take glances behind me and to the sides of me. Behind me, the Gaian Sector-Governor, Halim and the Thafki Republic’s first Councilor, Ralikenn are having a heated discussion. Something our camera notices as he increases the sensitivity on the recording equipment.
“...I can't believe you all….a junta that…” are the words picked up from Ralikenn, as Halim begins to frown heavily, and begins to speak back.
“... Can't you… supplies arrived…” The discussion continues as Zaifi grabs my attention, the cameraman I'm with peering into the doors we pass by.
The camera pans to Thafki children, in various states of appearance, are sat down in school desks. At the front of their rooms either a Gaian or Thafki teacher can be seen, teaching anything from their language, their dress code, etiquette and more. Soon the camera pans back to Rux and Zaifi.
“So while I serve the food here, I also try and show them the history of us and our resilient culture through it. The background of it, how it came to be and how it weaves with us.” Zaifi continues as we walk down the hallway, she veers off into one of the rooms, and hesitantly I follow.
The inside was quite well worn for how new the building was, already indentations, marks, and other scratches and scuffs could be seen. Signs of hard work and labor, something that is unsurprising considering Zaifi and her duties. As she begins to work, it's time for me to ask her about her thoughts on the situation.
“Compared to the last couple of decades, where do you think your species is at now? I mean, a lot has changed. From being a species with the large portion of your population being cattle to now having a government and world handed to you, it's got to be a bit jarring?”
Zaifi nods, the trademark pearls on a brooch around her neck click and clack gently together, the synthetic pearls a sign of what the Advocacy group had been able to hold on to throughout the centuries.
“Well-” she starts off, as she begins to knead a greenish-blue dough on the distinctly brown work surface, the faint smell of Saltwine being smelt from where I was standing. “I wish we got a welcome, as good as the Paltans and the Gaians gave us. I mean, they split half and half on things here and there around the village!”
The camera pans around the room, bits and baubles of Zaifi’s own life being dotted around it. A bottle or two of sea wine, a basket of synthetic pearls, hints of oceanic theming bedazzle the room.
Zaifi begins to portion out the Bread-a serving of Cionn. A serving of the more savory Uniffin'Dath. Both are seasoned with a spice that is only rarely mentioned in some cookbooks, “Izuzdath.” The process is lively, a stark contrast to last year's report at a holding world as they finished terraforming here.
If you were to have told me that a Thafki would be smiling while knee deep in this grime that is misery, I would've called you a liar. But apparently…
“So how long have you been around here? Or rather should I say, with the herd?” I ask. It causes Zaifi to stop and look at the basket of pearls. Each of them are inscribed with a loved or close one that died, and the date on which they did so. Many of them aren't her relatives, rather they are the few Thafki she has bonded with while staying here.
“Physically? Only…a year or two. But mentally-” The dull sound of the bread being put upon a pre-oiled stone, an smoothed coral stone no less, echoed softly while the grinding of such a stone sliding into one of the waiting ovens as it did so was a stark contrast. The clasp of the oven door closing caused her to turn back to us. She sighs as she pats down her apron.
“Centuries. I guess we grew accustomed to being the odd ones out. Now that my herd- my people, have a place to call their own…” She is sullen for a moment, before her eyes meet the window, overlooking a courtyard. The smile reappears just as quickly as it disappeared.
“Ya know. I'll take this for now, the funniest thing ya know-” she gestures to me to come over and look. The courtyard has a simple watery filled pit. A “pool” as our sister species had dubbed it, seemed to be the eye and star of this little facility, at least for the attendee's. A whole gaggle of Thafki children, in a wardrobe of mismatched, shabby clothing suited for the water could be seen as they ran about it. What I could only assume was their teacher watched over them.
“Your saplings are quite the good match. Even they seem to want to bring the water to themselves sometimes.” She says to herself now in a far more reassured tone. As I begin to smile myself, just a little, a tap is felt on my shoulder. It's Curzix, the Guzifi that has been assigned to us.
The camera now zooms out from the pool and the other recreational activities happening in the center of the U-shaped facility, and turns around quickly, now focusing on Rux and Curzix.
“We'll we're ready to go when you are, you all wanted to get the full experience yeah?” Curzix stuffs his paws into the oversized and hemmed coats pockets, the armband with the symbol of Guzifi. He meanders off as we begin to follow him, I say my goodbyes to Zaifi, and she returns them in kind as we are led back out of the hallway.
We start off now checking the facility in depth, taken into one classroom in particular. It is here that our cameraman points out something peculiar. The extreme range of coloring in the Thafki children here. Looking past numerous ranch markings, numbering, and a word inscribed on the arm of each in the Ruinous Lizards language, the Thafki children are striking.
The camera makes cuts to each of the Thafki children in the room. The variety of blues is numerous. Some are in a vibrant luscious blue, other ones have a dull, greyer one. And yet these are the least eye-catching ones. Some have sporadic spots. Some have a sickly greenish blue hue. And yet some are completely devoid of their regular blue, replaced with a dull brown. The camera now returns to overlooking the entirety of the room from the doorway.
As I entered the room the teacher, who had requested that their face be blurred, comes to me and shakes my hand. They gesture to the Thafki pupils, who are in varied state of affairs. Some of them are paying attention, while others are far more focused on their desks or some portion of the wall.
“You came in at a good time, we're trying to teach them Thafki. It's been a bit of a struggle, but we've been making some slow and small progress.” the teacher comes alongside one of the brightly colored pupils, resting their hand gently on their shoulder. The child flinches for a bit, expecting something as they tense up, before they relax.
“Are they a handful?” I ask to the teacher as they themselves point onto a piece of paper in front of the pup, pointing something out
“From time to time. But whenever the horned fellows come along they calm down quite a bit.” the Thafki’s eyes dart occasionally from the paper on the desk to the doorway behind us, looking back shows the Sector-Governor that has been with us this entire time.
The last time we had visited a rehabilitation center-albeit it was just after the war had wrapped up-the facility was in a far more ramshackle situation compared to now, but while the situation is improving, there's still more to do.
With our little visit to the center done our entourage made our way outside. As we did so a rumbler, an armored vehicle used by our other half, came rolling by. A gaggle of Thafki on it, a Gaian within the group giving us a glance as they went by.
It's here where the uncomfortable nature and scandalous portion of the Re-Seeding comes in. The Laborer gangs, seen as a solution to perceived laziness on Ayzife from some of the Ex-Cattle. The concept is basic and rudimentary both in premise and execution, anything simple is offered up to the gangs first, before giving up to the more general labor sections assigned to the planet.
We keep trudging along, the plethora of buildings being assembled or constructed is numerous along the trail we're taking. Along our way, Ralikenn begins to talk about how far they've come in such a short time span. He gestures to the buildings before he begins to speak.
“All of this-” Our cameraman moves and angles his camera to the row of unfinished buildings, in various states of construction. “In just about a year, it's nearly unbelievable to be honest. I had, tearfully, resigned myself to a forgone conclusion to our species. But now?-” They begin to tear up clearly overwhelmed at this point, they attempt to speak but all that happens is their mouth staying agape for mere moments, before closing and just shaking their head.
And yet there's still more to see. More to do and more to make right. I only hope we can do it in time, as a herd.

Just confirming courses selection for 2024/2025 is for both fall and winter terms? Not just fall? I have to choose ten courses overall (5 per semester) but I’m having trouble. The majority of courses I want to take are second level and higher but I need at least 4 credits first meaning all ten classes I choose have to be first level. But I can only come up with 5 first level courses I want to take :(. I feel like whatever 5 other courses I take are just gonna end up being filler. And I’m not playing thousands of dollars for courses I don’t even wanna take. Does anyone know if I could do 5 first level courses in semester one and then 2 first level courses and 3 second level courses second semester? I know it’s not 4 credits before I take second level courses but maybe it’ll work? How easy is it to get permission from the instructor to bypass the free prerequisites?
What’s the sound proofing like in the dorms? For example, if I were to bring my sewing machine would it be loud enough to annoy my neighbours or just a slight hum they could ignore with headphones? (I’d talk to them first regardless to come up with a schedule on when I can and can’t use it based on when they are out and when they go to bed etc.) I don’t want to be that neighbour lol but I love sewing!
What’s the limits in terms of dorm decorations? I know no paint and stuff but could I say replace the light switch cover to a fancy one? And then switch it back to the old one once I move out? What are some other things I could do? Like is temporary renter friendly wallpaper an option?
Can you take more than one option? I want to get both the creative writing and visual arts options because I’ll most likely fill the requirements for those anyways. Are they even worth it? Like would that even mean anything to employers?
How do i get emails from my Trent email address? When I go in the Gmail app and press add another account it won’t work.
thanks!

If you work at a pharmacy or are the person who takes 10 minutes, what’s up? Maybe it’s naïveté, but is there anything more to it than just getting the call that your Rx is ready and telling them your name and dob and then going on your merry way?
P.S. yes, I am writing this from the pharmacy where each of the cars ahead of me has taken over 10 minutes. I thought the drive through would be faster than waiting in the store. Man, was I wrong.

First / Previous / Royal Road / Patreon (Read 12 Chapters Ahead)

When the sun had finally fully set, Pale put her plan into motion. She took one last glance out at the checkpoint ahead of them, then turned to Kayla.
"Lie down on the ground and cover your ears."
"What?" Kayla asked. "What does that mean? What are you planning to do?"
"You'll see. Just do it."
Kayla pursed her lips, but didn't argue, instead following Pale's directions to the letter. Once she was situated, Pale turned her attention back to the checkpoint. She'd done some thinking about this, and ultimately decided that the most efficient and least destructive way to get through would be to sacrifice a pod. This was a bit of a problem, as she only had a few pods to begin with, but it was better than using heavy ordinance in order to punch a hole clean through.
"You ready?" Pale asked.
"What?" Kayla said, looking to her in confusion with her hands still clamped over her ears. "What'd you just say?"
Pale took that as her cue to act. She snapped her fingers, and a few seconds later, a flaming piece of metal came hurtling down from the sky, embedding itself directly in the center of the berserkers' checkpoint. From inside, she heard panicked shouts escape from the occupants, as well as a few pained moans; clearly, the impact had incapacitated a few of them.
Then the pod exploded.
The log walls to the checkpoint buckled under the shockwave, rolling across the ground before coming to a rest a short ways away. Through the ringing in her ears, Pale heard the men from inside the fort screaming in terror and agony. Several spells were being launched blindly in the night, their casters unable to hit anything thanks to being disoriented from the blast and blinded from the resulting cloud of smoke and dust.
Pale grabbed Kayla and thrust her to her feet, then charged in towards the camp, shotgun in hand. The smoke had begun to clear just as she got there, revealing the full extent of the destruction. Mutilated bodies lay littered across the field, scattered around a large crater dug deeply into the center of the area. From the looks of things, most of the bandits had been killed outright by either the impact of the pod or the explosion, and the few survivors had been completely deafened by it and were riddled with injuries. Many of them looked like they could barely stand, and several were only being kept alive thanks to that same red magical aura from earlier.
Pale didn't waste any time. She shouldered her weapon, then took aim at the nearest bandit and fired, reducing his head to little more than a fine pink mist. Pumping her shotgun, she transitioned to her next target, putting him down just as easily. Next to her, Kayla opened up with some of her lightning, sending streaks of it arcing through the night and towards the nearest survivor.
That seemed to be too much for the few who were still left. Rather than stand and fight, they turned and tried to run away, sprinting off into the night. Kayla immediately stopped engaging; Pale, meanwhile, took aim and continued to fire until her weapon ran dry, riddling each fleeing man with a shell full of buckshot straight to the back.
And just like that, it was over. A heavy silence fell over the camp, the only noise that interrupted it being the nearby waves lapping at the shore. Pale began to thumb loose shells into her weapon, then motioned for Kayla to follow after her.
"Come on," she urged. "I think I see some boats over on the shoreline."
Kayla tore her gaze away from the carnage around them, looking back to her. Pale half-expected her to say something about how she'd just shot fleeing men, but Kayla stayed silent, instead simply nodding, stone-faced. Together, they made their way over to the shore, and sure enough, there were several boats lined up on the sand.
"Do you know how to work one of these things?" Kayla asked. "I've never been on one before…"
"We'll figure it out," Pale said. "Take that small one, it looks like it has room for three people."
Kayla looked at her, surprised. "Only three? What about the others?"
"If there are any others, they'll have to fend for themselves."
"We can't just leave freed slaves there!"
"And we won't," Pale assured her. "Slavery is a taboo even among my creators, and they made sure to pass their hatred of it on to me as well, but our first priority is getting your father back safely. Once we've done that, we can start going back for others. And as much as a large boat would help us with that right now, it's simply not feasible with just the two of us here to operate it. Understand?"
Reluctantly, Kayla nodded. "...I suppose so. Alright, let's go get him."
–
As it turned out, the northern isles weren't too far from their current location – as dawn broke, Pale realized they were actually visible in the distance through the steady morning mist that had descended upon their boat.
Unfortunately, the boat they'd commandeered was little more than a small sailboat with some oars attached in case the wind was unfavorable, which it had been since they'd first stepped into the water. For the past few hours, her and Kayla had been forced to row, even through the night. Only now, as the sun began to rise, did the wind shift and start to blow from behind them, allowing them both to rest for a time.
It was still going despite that, however. Logic dictated that they ought to have taken turns sleeping or otherwise resting up during this time, but somehow, Pale couldn't bring herself to do it, and neither could Kayla.
"Nervous?" Kayla asked.
Pale shrugged. "Eager, more like. This entire quest has taken the better part of a week, by my estimation. In that time, I have killed several people, nearly been killed myself multiple times, and have apparently been inducted into someone's family, whatever that means. Frankly, I am ready for this to be over so I can resume finding a way back to my home system."
Kayla hesitated for a moment. "About that… what made you think I was able to assist in the first place? I-I mean… not that I'm ungrateful for your help or anything, quite the opposite, but… I'm so… normal. I don't know anything about space travel, and hells, I barely know anything about the world outside my small little village. And yet, you seemed to think I was capable of helping you when we first met. Why was that?"
Pale shrugged. "I ascertained that this was uncharted territory for anyone from my system pretty much the moment I arrived here. From that point on, I knew I was going to need someone who could not only lead me around, but that I could learn the language from and trust to watch my back. Serendipity did the rest."
"Ah… what does that-"
"It means you were in the right place at the right time for both of us," Pale specified. "You need help, I needed help, and now we're helping each other."
"And… you don't regret doing this?"
Pale shook her head. "I have no reason to regret anything so far. This quest has only taken about a week, which is nothing for me in the grand scheme of things. Plus, you have been very reliable so far, particularly in combat. You have kept your cool in a way that suggests some kind of training."
"Oh… um, I'm not really trained." Kayla brought a hand up to rub at the back of her head. "I-I mean… I'm my father's apprentice, of course, but I don't have any kind of combat training. All the offensive spells I know, I only know because he insisted that a young woman like me should know how to defend herself if she's going to be heading off on her own."
That got Pale's attention. She sat up a bit straighter in the boat, focusing on Kayla. "You were planning to go your own way?"
"Mhm," Kayla confirmed with a nod. "There's a very prestigious magic academy down south, I was hoping to take their entrance exam sometime soon, before… well, all this happened. I don't really know what I would do after that – being a fire mage restricts me in a lot of ways; I'd basically be forced into a combat role for something, whether that was as a professional soldier or as a bodyguard or something along those lines – but all I know is I really want to study magic more in-depth. My father is an excellent teacher, but he doesn't have the same resources the Luminarium does."
"There's something I've been wondering," Pale admitted. "No offense, but you're… meek, to say the least. You don't like to fight or hurt people, and yet you use fire magic. Why is that? Did something make you pick it in particular?"
"Pick?" Kayla asked, tilting her head. "I didn't pick my affinity. Very few people can. Really, your affinity is determined when you unlock your sjel – and before you ask, generally speaking, that happens when you come of age, which for most people is around fifteen years old, maybe a bit younger or older depending on who they are. To put it briefly, when your sjel is unlocked, an Archmage – basically a very accomplished caster who has dedicated their life to the study of magic – can serve as a witness, and somehow determine the type of magic you will have an affinity with. Generally, it's not something you choose; the vast majority of people just are naturally more tuned to one type of magic. Nobody knows why, but that's just how it's always been. Occasionally, you get someone who has multiple affinities, but that kind of thing is very rare. Come to think of it, it really only ever happens with the royal families…"
Pale scowled at the implications of that, but said nothing. Instead, she watched as Kayla shook her head.
"Anyway, that was my plan for after we rescue my father," she said. "What about you? How were you hoping to get back to your people?"
"Truthfully, I do not know," Pale replied. "The technology of this world is far too primitive to be of any help to me. I was hoping a magical solution existed somehow, but if not, then I will have to take matters into my own hands, and essentially kickstart my own industrial revolution."
Kayla gave her a panicked expression, but Pale held up a hand, calming her.
"It's different than an actual, violent revolution," she assured Kayla. "Ideally, there would be no bloodshed involved."
"Ideally…? What would you be doing?"
"Using the knowledge gifted to me by my creators to rapidly improve the technology of this world to the point where it would actually be useful to me," Pale specified. "I would go more into detail, but that would likely be premature. All you need to know at this point is that, should no other solution present itself, I will begin pushing the technology of this world forward at an incredibly rapid pace."
"How rapid?"
Pale thought for a moment. "By my estimations? Basic space flight within twenty-five years, off-world colonies and terraforming within forty, faster-than-light travel within fifty."
Kayla began to sputter. "Y-you…! Are you serious?!"
"Deathly so, yes. I know exactly what is needed in order to get there, the problem is obtaining and refining the materials for it all. But give me time, and I can have you all looking at colonizing other planets within four decades." Pale suddenly peered behind Kayla, a deep scowl crossing her face. "But this conversation will have to wait, I'm afraid."
Kayla went deathly white. Slowly, she turned to look behind herself, and began to tremble when she saw land fast approaching.
"We're here," was all Pale had to say.

Special thanks to my good friend and co-writer, Ickbard for the help with writing this story.

Hello all. I’m looking for a longterm rp based on one of the pairs below. For these RPs I prefer if they were a mix of romance and adventure in order to keep things interesting and I would prefer if you could write a minimum of a paragraph if possible.
Jock/Nerd Zombie apocalypse Jock/Goth Gods among us humans Celebrity/normal person Royalty/normal person Rich people/normal class person Alien/Human Superhero/Normal person Enemies to lovers Hero/Demon Queen Childhood friends Paired marriage from childhood Android/Human Older Woman/Younger Man BoxeReporter SingePerson Angel/human Demon/human Harem rp Detective/Psychopath Hero/Villain MonsteAlien Sports playecheerleader Sports Playesports player And many more
And for fandoms some of my favorites is dbz, tekken, street fighter, tmnt, mortal kombat, pokemon, dc, marvel, my hero academia, chainsaw man, jujitsu kaizen you can ask me for more in dms

Hey, I’m Canadian a trans man looking for a relationship. I’m kind, caring and fiercely loyal. I love to read and I write poetry. I’m in the EST time zone.
I struggle with mental health (depression, anxiety) along with neurodivergence (ADHD, Autism). I’m 5ft5 and curvy, I’ve got short brown hair and greenish brown eyes.
In the fall, I’m going to university for a bachelors in mathematics and minor in political science in hopes of becoming a teacher. I’m trilingual; French being first then English and Spanish. I love music of mostly any kind, I also play some ukulele and guitar!
Dm me if interested :)

To the King player who might think I plugged, I am sorry man. I was that Yoshi with Ashura face. It was a fun match. Hope we could end it. It seemed like I plugged on your grab, but it wasn't the case. Hope you'll see this as I am writing this instantly.

1. Plot: Two inspectors investigate a crime in a house, starting with a party where everything went wrong and resulted in deaths and unconscious people.
2. Characters: Includes the party hostess, a photographer, twins, an older lady, a "stud" and others.
3. Scenario: A house where it is snowing.
4. Genre: Comedy with elements of drama, mainly comic.
5. Memorable scenes: • Pizza delivery man writes the cure for cancer before he dies. • Hostess hits her head and becomes unconscious. • Sex between brothers and an older woman. • Pizza delivery man waiting outside. • Rock room.
6. Final scene: Hostess being taken away on a stretcher after breaking her neck.

( i used google translator for this!)
my friend is trying to find this movie that she watched like 2 years ago feel free to ask anything

I'm 24 (M) with a HS diploma, I went to college for a year but due to my bad decision making with the school I chose, it became too expensive which forced me to give up school completely. Instead of seeking alternatives for cheaper schools to continue to path to obtain my degree (which is what I thought I wanted at the time) I felt pressured by my parents instead that I needed to work or I was out the house. Once I got the job at 19, I felt like I was doing pretty good with the salary + benefits I got at the time, I was able to live comfortably having that security within my workplace knowing I was a great employee always looking to learn more. Then I turned 20, my parents ended up moving out without me which led me to take over the apartment we once lived in together and have an instant overhead of about $1500/monthly. I was only making around $2300 so it was kind of rough for a few months until I was able to get a roommate for a year or so which allowed me to split costs 60/40 and be complacent, just not "comfortable" to my standards at least. Even with the roommate I felt like it was still hard to save money and be able to get out of the hole I was in after taking over the apartment so I was presented an opportunity to try a different avenue of work which allowed me to make the most money I'd ever make in my life working in Healthcare IT. I took the risk of leaving my job at the time which I was unhappy doing because of all the countless hours, heavy lifting and little to no incentive to grow within the company so I felt like I had to jump ship and risk it for the biscuit to see if this was worth it because I've always loved Tech and Computers growing up so I felt like it was a great opportunity to transition from working in a water treatment plant/warehouse to working in different hospitals/clinics around the world teaching different softwares where I don't have to get myself super dirty or deal with the politics that come with working with a bunch of grumpy old men either. Once I turned 22, I made the jump and found myself getting paid 3-4x what I was back at my old job in a month span and it felt really good, being my age traveling the world all expenses paid, staying at different locations for 3-6 weeks working and experiencing new places and people have really opened my eyes on life and the true value behind it. It was also a big downfall for me since getting paid way more money just meant that I created more problems for myself. My finances were all over the place as I was spending more than I should've on my WANTS and barely focusing on my NEEDS. This found me in a lot of bad situations at different times, especially from the point when I switched careers, my roommate left me and I couldn't find no one to fill the apartment that could be trustworthy enough with my work scheduling and traveling so much, I felt like I was able to handle everything that came with this transition, so I took on the challenge of being independent to keep up with my image of a responsible young man to my peers but behind the scenes I was the opposite of that. A lot of my bills were late due to me just HATING paying for my needs and it was hard for me to understand that at the time because I was so focused on living in the moment with a mentality of "I'll figure it out whenever it happens" so fast forward to the beginning of last year, I get evicted from my apartment from nonpayment... A big eye opener for me as I felt like "that could never be me" and sure enough, it was. I was working as a contractor which means I didn't work all the time but when I did, it paid enough to where I didn't have to. If there was work that came up and I said no, then it was up to me which was my downfall, why would I say no to working if I claimed I wanted more money? I wish I could go back and fix things to be a different person and be disciplined enough to where all that money I made could've been used properly and turn lemons into lemonade, I have nothing to show for those lemons now.
Of course we know we can't change the past so now I feel like with that experience of being so low with nothing to show for it, I have a chip on my shoulder and extra motivation to never feel like that again. As of right now my current situation is me crashing at my brothers place on his couch while he lives with my two nephews and I have a great support system around me where in situations where I feel like I have no one, I can always rely on my family even though I don't like getting help from others, it's just part of my character but I am very grateful to have a support system like them. I still travel for work and get contracts but not as much as I used to. I really would love to get a full-time role so I can have job security rather than waiting around for work to be thrown my way but in today's economy the job market is really terrible. I've had the past 3 years of gaining experience within the Healthcare IT industry that I feel like I should be qualified enough for a lot of entry-level positions that are out there but once again, the job market is terrible so instead of just relying on just that one avenue, I would love to discover more and really focus on changing my life around to really be a better person and get out this shell of who I once was. I'm starting to see how easily distracted I can get with things that are apart of my daily life that provide no benefits to my life currently so I feel like it needs to be put on hold so I can become something. My biggest distractions at this moment are:

• Friends: As much as I love them, I find myself being around them and conversing with them too much for my own good where I'm so worried about helping them and not myself. I need a break to be selfish
• Social Media: Probably the biggest thing for a lot of us young folks but you can't help it sometimes. I've got rid of my pages last year for a whole six months to really get me away from the "false reality" that others live on there and I think I'm ready to do it again if it means focus/concentration. I don't care much for it other than to keep up with current events or sports.
• Women: I find myself building different relationships with different women at different times but somehow it can never work the way I want it to because as a man who enjoys being a provider, how can I give my significant other the life I want when mine is all fucked up? I plan on taking a break from dating because it is selfish to be a burden to anyone.
• Gaming: Something that has been apart of me since I was young, I'm very talented but not talented enough to where I could be gaming professionally. I do feel like if I put more time into it then I could possibly find ways to make money from it whether it be streaming or content but if I'm not making money now then it can wait.
• Smoking: This one is not so big to me since I do smoke but I'm not someone who smokes by myself either, I enjoy smoking in social settings with my friends. It shouldn't be too hard to give up since I only find myself smoking in a group, I just need to stay away from it to allow myself to have a clear mind and build more discipline.

Now with all of that, I look to make a lot of drastic changes before my birthday in December when I turn 25. I use 25 as a turning point because I'm almost halfway to 30 and I feel like by that point in time, I should have a lot more things figured out rather than waiting for it to come to me. I'm hungry and looking to become more proactive with my life and that's why I've come here, I love the mystique of you not knowing who I am exactly so I don't feel as embarrassed from all my shortcomings but why am I so comfortable spilling my life story to you guys? Because I feel like Reddit has a lot of intelligent open-minded individuals who may see a crack in my path and can offer to fill it with concrete. I'm writing this now while I'm at work and I would love to hear the feedback you guys have for me. With all that being said, here's the questions I have for you and myself.

• What can I do to help me change?
• How can I turn words into actions?
• What can I do to stay focused on this new path?
• What books can I read to help me?
• Where should I look for different job opportunities with my experience?
• Any career suggestions you may have for me?
• Can you relate to my experience in any way? If so, how and what age were you when you went through it?
• What resources can I replace social media with to allow me to be informed/stay focused?

(sorry its long haha)
I (17F) hate my father. theres so many things I want to say but theres just no word to describe it
we grew up going to church every sunday. it was very important to my father that we didnt miss it. i dont think i ever believed in god but i went because i had no choice obviously. this is where the title comes in. its very literal. i prayed? to god asking if my father could just die so i could be happy. looking back on it now.. jesus i cant believe it was so bad that as a child this is how i felt :(
when I was around 10, he sexually abused me. he would frequently come into my bedroom naked, undress me and get on top of me.
thats not even the worst though, I vividly remember my mother standing in the doorway once when it happened. she wasnt worried or angry or confused. this was normal behavior apparently in her eyes
how it started with my father was he would act like it was a game. he would tickle me so i would laugh and he would start taking off my clothes. i remember laughing too. I didn’t understand it. I was just a kid.
fastforward years later I’m 17, still living here. writing this just now because we just had an arguement that reminded me of what a disgusting fucking person he is
I feel betrayed. A father is supposed to care for their child, not belittle them, treat them like property and so much more
he says things that fill me with so much rage . “I’m the man of this house’ , FUCK YOU
something I feel like i should mention is that he was also abused as a child. he grew up as the eldest of two in a poor family. his father I’m guessing was also not a great person because sometimes he says stuff that makes me think like wow.
i know thats not an excuse for abusing your own children but sometimes we have sweet moments where i would regret typing out something like this. he would do something as small as bring me home a fucking sandwich and i would be thinking like i WISH i had a good relationship with him.
i talk about things i would love to do places i’d love to go, and he’d be like ha you’ll never do that youll never go there. the negativity is like build inside of him.
i do alot of research on the topic of abuse and stuff just out of interest so i try to explain it sometimes to him but he flares up like a toddler having a tantrum and i just want to cry
i used to go to my friends home all the time and seeing her family function like normal and how i could tell they genuinely loved each other and everything .. how they radiated so much joy. it made me so sad. i cried when i came home.

Hello all. I’m looking for a long term fandom rp. Please send more than one sentence based on a few fandoms. Naruto, MHA, DBZ, Persona, Pokemon. I would be playing a oc and you’ll be playing one or canon characters and it won’t be negotiated. For these RPs I prefer if they were a mix of romance and adventure in order to keep things interesting and I would prefer if you could write a minimum of a paragraph if possible.
Some characters I’m looking for
Naruto- Sakura, Ino, Tsunade, Kushina, Kurenai, Mei, Konan, Karui, Anko, Tenten, Hinata, Karin, Kaguya or Temari
MHA-Momo, Uraraka, Miriko, Midnight, Mt Lady, Momo, Jirou, Negire, Camie, Rei, Mei, Shimaru, Lady Nagant, Ryuko, Bubble Girl or Mina
Tekken-Jun, Asuka, Kazumi, Emilie, Xiaoya, Nina, Anna, Alisa, Christie, Eliza, Ruby, Katrina and Azucena
DBZ- Chi-Chi, Bulma, 18, Fasha, Towa, Ereza, Kale, Caulifa, Kelfa, Vados, Heles, Cheelai, Launch, Android 21, Videl, Miza, Iwaza, Kikazi, Cocotte or Zangya
Persona- Ann, Kawakami, Makoto, Haru, Takemi, Hifumi, Chihaya, Ohya, Yumi, Marie, Chie, Yukiko, Naoto, Ai or Rise
Fairy Tail- Lucy, Mirajane, Juvia or Erza
Mortal Kombat- Sonya, Jade, Sareena, Kitana, Jade, Nitara, Li Mei, Melina or Scarlet
Street Fighter- Camie, Chun-Li, Juri, Makoto, Monan, R. Miku, Sakura or Elena
Kanto:Misty, Jessie, Erika, Sabrina, Team Rocket Grunt, Green and Lorelei
Johto:Khris, Jasmine, Clair, and Karen
Hoenn:Flannery, Winona, Courtney, Shelly, Team Magma Grunt, Team Aqua Grunt and Zinnia
Sinnoh:Gardenia, Maylene, Cheryl, Team Galactic Grunt, Jupiter, Mars, Cynthia and Dawn
Hisui:Arezu, Mai, Palina, Cyllene, and Cogita
Unova:Rosa, Hilda, Bianca, Lenora, Elesa, and Skyla, Team Plasma Grunt
Kalos:Alexa, Viola, Serena, Shauna, Valerie, Malva and Diantha
Alola:Lillie, Lusamine, Olivia, Wicke, Mallow, Plumeria, Mina, Lana, Aether Paradise Grunt and Team Grunt Grunt
Galar:Marnie, Gloria, Nessa, Sonia, Bea, Klara, Oleana, Honey and Peonia
Paldea:Nemona, Penny, Katy, Professor Sada, Rika, Geeta, Miriam, Dendra, Iono, Tulip, Eri, Carmine, Perrin, Carmine, Briar or Mela
One Punch Man- Tatsumaki, Fubuki, Psykos, Do-S or Mizuki
Marvel- Black Cat, Gamora, Spider-Gwen, Silk, Gwen Stacy, Black Widow, She-Hulk, Silver Sable, Mary Jane, Storm, Wasp, Captain Marvel, Electra, Spider-Woman or Rouge
Dc- Catwoman, Harley Quinn, Poison Ivy, Wonder Woman, Babara Gordan, Raven, Jinx, Black Fire, Starfire, Black Canary, Zantanna, Power Girl, Super Girl, Vixen, Hawkgirl or Copperhead
Chainsaw Man- Makima or Power
Jujitsu Kaizen- Maki, Mai or Nobara
Nintendo- Peach, Daisy, Rosalina, MinMin, Samus, Lucina, Pyra, Mythra, Impa, Dr.Purah, Bayonetta, Edelgard, Zelda, Pauline, Marie, Callie, Marina, Frye or Shiver
Cartoons-April O’Neil, Karai, Ms.Bellum, Marceline, Princess Bubblegum, Shego, Esmeralda, Frankie, Gwen, Courtney, Heather, Bridgette, Velma, Daphne, Hex Girls, Chel or Jessica Rabbit

Here’s part 4 and the finale of my posts on forgery in the New Testament. Today I’m looking at the letters of James and Jude. These letters seem to be written under the names of Jesus’ brothers, mentioned in Mark 6:4. But were they really by them?
First off is the letter of James, which has some pretty terrific teachings. For example:
“What use is it, my brothers, if a person says he has faith but has no works? Is faith able to save him? If a brother or sister is naked and has no daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and be filled,” without giving them what their bodies need, what use is that? So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead, being by itself.” (James 2:14-17)
Many scholars have noticed that James seems to be opposing Paul at several points. For example, in Galatians Paul writes:
“We know that a person is not justified by the works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ; so we ourselves have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because no one will be justified by works of the law…. Thus Abraham “believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.” You see therefore that those who have faith are the children of Abraham.” (Galatians 2:16; 3:6-7)
The author of James says:
“But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from works and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one? You do well: even the demons believe, and they shudder. But do you wish to know, O shallow man, that faith apart from works is barren? Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? You see that faith was working with his works and faith was completed by the works. And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” And he was called a friend of God. You see that a person is justified by works, and not by faith alone.” (James 2:18-24)
Both James and Paul cite Genesis 15:6 to make their point. Interestingly enough, the letter of James seems to be challenging a misunderstanding of what Paul means by “works of the law,” a misunderstanding that also occurs in Ephesians. When Paul talks about works of the law, he means following Jewish customs- observing the Sabbath, keeping kosher, etc. He doesn’t mean not working to help other people. However, later followers thought that was what he meant and so James writes to counter that view.
So, could James the brother of Jesus have written this? For one, the James of the letter doesn’t claim to be that James but it certainly seems like he wants the reader to believe so, as James was a major figure in the early Jerusalem church. It was accepted into the canon because the early church believed James the brother of Jesus wrote it. But did he?
For one, the letter of James was written in Greek, while James himself was a lower class peasant from Galilee. If he had learned to read, it would’ve been in Hebrew, and he probably didn’t write. He would’ve spoken Aramaic. We also know from Galatians that James was particularly concerned with followers of Jesus keeping Jewish law, and he and Paul had disagreements about it. Those concerns are completely absent from the letter, which is strange if the writer is countering Paul’s views on things.
Next up we have Jude. One of the brothers of Jesus mentioned in Mark 6:4, Jude claims to be written by “Jude, the brother of James.” This is a more clear cut claim of authorship by a brother of Jesus. This book is written in opposition to false teachers in the early Christian community:
“Beloved, …I found it necessary to write to you in order to exhort you to struggle for the faith that was delivered to the saints once and for all. For some people have secretly snuck in who were written about long ago as being subject to this condemnation. They are unholy people who corrupt the grace of our God, changing it into licentiousness, denying our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Jude:3-4)
While this passage certainly is relavent to certain Christians today, could it be written by Jude, the brother of Jesus? Probably not. We don’t know too much about Jude’s position in the early Church, or if he came to believe in Jesus as his brother James did. But the reasons for him not writing this are similar to James- he simply probably could not write and if he could it would not be in highly effective Greek. The author also speaks of “remembering the predictions of the apostles” (Jude:17) as if he is living after their time.
So that concludes this series! I’m hoping to post on more on what I’ve learned from studying the Bible if anyone is interested!

Yesterday I completed Maniscalco's Capturing the Devil, which is the last book of her Jack the Ripper series. I started this series in 2021 for a literary project when I was in college. I have to say, ending this dark yet intriguing series is bittersweet for me because throughout the books, I've experienced, learned, and felt so much. The highlights I would say drove the stories were the actual history (Victorian era, Jack the Ripper and his victims, Houdini, Dracula, H.H Holmes, etc.) which served as a base for the plot, the characters in terms of how real they felt, and the adventure where the characters traveled to different parts of the world (London, Romania, New York, Chicago) to solve murders that seem to happen as well as connect themselves to the killings of Jack the Ripper.
There was many characters I liked, but my two favorite is obviously the two main ones, Audrey Rose Wadsworth and Thomas Cresswell. I loved Audrey for her strength, confidence, and determination as a brilliant female forensic scientist. She has overcome many obstacles in her career, more so in the second book where her gender was always considered in the forensic field. If anything, the challenges that she faced only made her stronger and more resilient as a character. I love Thomas for his unique intelligence, support and loyalty to Audrey, and goofiness. His deductive reasoning where he tries to think like the killer in order to put the scattered puzzle piece together makes him a great asset in the story and a wonderful duo for Audrey. He cares and supports Audrey and never gives up on their relationship despite the many challenges they faced. He is always on her side and is the one man in the story who sees her as his equal rather than the traditional women that Victorian society expects her to be. However, my favorite characteristics about Thomas is his goofiness where he always seems to purposely annoy Audrey earning his occasional nickname from Audrey as a "scoundrel." The pair make a perfect duo for solving crime and a great ideal couple as well.
What I love most about the series was how the fictional plot blended well with the historical references. The author would use the point of view of the main character, Audrey to explain what life in the Victorian era was, especially as a women. She made Audrey's character seem more like the women of today's era through her rebellion of Victorian societal expectations and want for female equality. I guess that is what makes Audrey seem more like an actual person than a fictional character. And the incorporation of historical figures ( Harry Houdini, and H.H Holmes) as characters made the story all the more compelling. My favorite character incorporated would be Harry Houdini since his character is supposed to show the start of his career before he became the famous Houdini.
I believe the author's purpose in writing this series had to be because of her fascination with the history of the Jack the Ripper murders. She even expresses how interested she was in researching about the serial killer in her Author's Note. The way she placed images of historical forensic tools, and artifacts and using the history as a base for her plot shows her passion in writing the series. I just like to know how she came up with such unique characters such as Audrey and Thomas, especially Thomas. I wonder what historical figures they are based on. Could it be a Victorian detective? A detective of the current times? Someone she perhaps personally knows?
I wonder...
If anyone of you has read the series or is currently reading the series, what are your thoughts?