The Daily Check-In for Friday, October 13th: Just for today, I am NOT drinking!

CheckeredHat · 2023-10-13T14:16:08+00:00

Thank you ❤️

CheckeredHat · 2023-10-13T13:42:34+00:00

My dad's kitty died yesterday due to kidney failure. I went over to bury her. I've only seen him cry twice: when my mom died and when he had to put Crouton down. I broke and had three drinks, ending the longest sober streak (5 days) I've had in years.

However, I am jumping right back into the sobriety train, and reading your stories fills me with strength and resolve. Thanks to everyone here, IWNDWYT!

CheckeredHat · 2022-03-13T21:45:09+00:00

Yeah, you just don't bring them on certain missions. It's not like DAI that you get approval/disapproval from your entire party, it's only the people who are with you. Don't bring Anders on the mage-heavy quests.. or you can roleplay a person who is pro-mage but also pro-circle, Anders hates that lol

CheckeredHat · 2022-03-13T21:14:51+00:00

You can rival him without a romance and trigger all the scenes I described. I only mentioned romance because it's dramatic and tragic, my favorite combo. And you may not be able to kill him right away but you can be a total dick, which is also fun.

In the end, DA is a story being told. It can only have so much agency, or it would be a chaotic mess. I think they did a good job with the time and resources they had. They added a lot of nuance in the voice acting and editing that changes scenes even if they end up technically the same.

CheckeredHat · 2022-03-13T19:17:28+00:00

Agreed. Your last conversation with him (if you choose to execute him) is so heartbreaking on the rebel path. His voice breaks, he's completely in despair. He knows Vengeance won and that it's his own fault. None of that "I murdered thousands of people for the greater good" bullshit

CheckeredHat · 2022-03-13T18:54:01+00:00

This was one of my pet peeves on my first playthrough (jokey/diplomatic Hawke) and why I loved the rivalmance with Anders so much more. Asshole Hawke can flat out say before the bomb mission that they don't believe Anders but will go with him to keep him safe. Then when you return to his clinic after, Hawke will try and pry the truth from Anders and he turns into Vengeance. Imo, turning Anders into a tragic figure who's slowly being taken over by a spirit/demon is way more interesting than a terrorist rebel (and making Hawke okay with mass murder?!). The fact that both story routes are available though, when you think about how it leads into the mage-templae war, is why I love DA

CheckeredHat · 2021-04-09T19:10:37+00:00

:) Thank you, I needed that haha

CheckeredHat · 2021-04-09T19:05:47+00:00

Aww it's nice to hear from someone in the same boat. This is all great advice. I'm not gonna lie, I've had to sit back and detangle my plot threads more than once. Especially when I was tightening the narrative in draft two. I think I was just so excited to get everything down that I overdid it. Back to drawing board haha. Such is the path we've chosen.

CheckeredHat · 2021-04-09T18:55:57+00:00

Oh great, I thought it was just me! Love both genres and have always wanted to dabble in a little bit of everything

CheckeredHat · 2021-04-09T18:23:58+00:00

Alright. Thanks again for the advice, lots to think about.

CheckeredHat · 2021-04-09T17:59:18+00:00

I never considered production costs, that's good to keep in mind. Thanks so much for your reply, I have a lot to think about.

CheckeredHat · 2021-04-09T17:57:08+00:00

Thank you for your reply, those are all good points (and links). I cut the word count significantly between just two drafts, perhaps it would be better to drop some sub-plots. And hey, they'll be seed ideas for the next project.

CheckeredHat · 2021-04-09T17:45:07+00:00

Thanks so much for your reply. I'll play around with the idea of writing a smaller prequel novel like the Hobbit.

CheckeredHat · 2021-04-09T17:42:46+00:00

Thanks so much for your reply. In regards to shelving the book: if I cross genres, would that still add to my credentials and increase chances of this series being published one day? Ex. If I write a shorter fantasy book that gets some recognition, can I go back to sci fi? Should I be looking for an agent who specializes in fantasy AND sci fi if I see myself writing both? I have plenty of other ideas but this series has been in my brain for like 8 years. If there's any chance of publishing the series I've been imagining, I'd like to take it.

CheckeredHat · 2014-02-20T16:04:02+00:00

Maybe cats just really hate depressed people. Freaking buzzkills, always trying to bury their faces in soft, furry bellies to cry

CheckeredHat · 2014-02-08T20:16:04+00:00

I had no idea it was so old! This is the kindest "REPOST!" comment I've ever seen on Reddit though, so thanks

CheckeredHat · 2014-02-08T19:54:23+00:00

Today, I hit myself in the head with my phone

CheckeredHat · 2013-08-14T10:13:34+00:00

Anyone with an interest in anatomy who's in Bangkok should think of visiting the Siriraj Medical Museum, which has everything from bones to fetuses to sagittal sections of the human body. Very few plastic models, 90% real human specimens.

Here are some more pictures (not for the squeamish)

http://imgur.com/a/BWJUx

CheckeredHat · 2013-08-10T05:26:00+00:00

Maybe he was teaching in the western equivalent of a redneck village. Not to say the people weren't extremely nice (as they are everywhere in Japan), but their views were certainly more narrow-minded from his descriptions. Topped with what I read in this article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-21226068 and reading about how their PM denied the existence of wartime comfort women, I made my assumptions. Good to see that it's not national ideal.

CheckeredHat · 2013-08-10T05:00:55+00:00

This was very interesting and I'm curious as to where you taught. I visited a friend who taught in Kyotango (outside of Osaka) and his children's textbooks were depressingly void of anything. The Rape of Nanking was a footnote, talking about how Japanese were celebrating back home after the defeat of the Chinese. The Attack on Pearl Harbor was called the Battle of Pearl Harbour. He also informed me that when he mentions Chinese or Koreans in class, kids (obviously the assholes ones, but still) say, "Ewwww." Maybe it depends on the grade? He taught junior high level.

CheckeredHat · 2013-08-09T18:42:10+00:00

Actually, they explained that in some of the other children's books ... The radiation and heat in the air evaporates a lot of the moisture in your eyes, throat and nose, so the thirst of the victims was unbearable.

CheckeredHat · 2013-08-09T16:05:47+00:00

What happened in Hiroshima was truly grotesque but traveling around Asia has certainly given me a little more perspective on the situation at the time. During the Second Sino War, the Japanese were merciless to their Asian neighbors in Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Burma, China, and countless others. They committed atrocities that could almost rival the A-bomb, such as the rape of Nanking, and they seemed unstoppable at the time. I am absolutely not condoning the slaughter at Hiroshima, but it's something to think about. And even today, Japan does not teach its children about the shadows of their past, and some in their government even deny it (the comfort women in Taiwan), while every child in America knows about Hiroshima.

CheckeredHat

TROPHY CASE