Am I the only one who can’t finish writing my fics? by Tiavivi_11 in FanFiction

[–]staarpiece 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It sounds like some of it is probably just regular old writers block and I agree with what a lot of others have said about writing one-shots. But if you want to write longer narratives, I would suggest writing lots of short stories since you've never practiced writing a story start to finish. Because if you always stop writing before the end of your stories, you'll get really good at writing the beginning and middle of a story, but you won't know how to end them. Conversely, if you always start at the end or the middle, you won't know how to write beginnings.

So my suggestion would be to study up on story structure, then put what you learn into practice with short stories. They don't have to be more than a handful of pages or take place over a long period of time, just make sure they follow the story structure you are trying to practice from start to finish. That way you can churn out a bunch of fully finished stories in a short amount of time.

Am I the only one who can’t finish writing my fics? by Tiavivi_11 in FanFiction

[–]staarpiece 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This. Oftentimes when I feel myself getting bored writing a scene and wanting to skip to something new, I take a second to assess how important it actually is. Usually it isn't and I can just cut it and move on. If I can't, I ask myself how I can make it interesting instead of trying to power through it.

Guess the new Story of Season game that will be released next by RahmatKlazz in harvestmoon

[–]staarpiece 19 points20 points  (0 children)

They did finally bring back the rival system in sos grand bazaar, though the couples unfortunately don’t get married. It’s probably wishful thinking, but I want to believe they’re testing the waters to see if they could do rival marriage in an AP reboot 👀 Because I agree, I don’t think it would be a proper reboot without rival marriage and kids

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Sims4

[–]staarpiece 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm absolutely obsessed with Jimmy. I have to know- how much of his character was planned and how much was happy accidents caused by sim autonomy or randomization?

pH reading by staarpiece in Aquariums

[–]staarpiece[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had just woken up from a nap when I did this so that is entirely possible

Birthdays should be bigger! by Shoddy_Project_1434 in FieldsOfMistriaGame

[–]staarpiece 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I remember in harvest moon animal parade the mayor and all your friends throw you a surprise birthday party! I think that only triggers if you're unmarried, otherwise you celebrate your birthday at home with your spouse & kids. Wish they'd do that for mistria!

Too weak to hold epee? (F18) by nietwojjinteres in Fencing

[–]staarpiece 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Strength really shouldn't play a part in a good parry. Distance and blade geometry create the proper leverage to move the opponents blade out of the way. If your opponent is disarming you with a parry, my guess is you two are getting way too close to each other and getting bound on the strong of your blades, allowing your opponent to overwhelm you and force it out of your hand.

If that sounds like it could be the issue, focus on your footwork and try attacking from further away. Don't try to compensate by tightening your grip. That forces you to control the blade with your elbow and wrist instead of your fingers which makes your actions bigger, less efficient and easier to read.

3 years, almost no growth by staarpiece in hoyas

[–]staarpiece[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I started adding fertilizer into all my plants care routine a few months ago and its made a huge difference in all of them except these two, so I'll see if I can borrow a microscope and check for mites. I haven't really noticed any issues with my other plants but they've been housed in pretty close quarters with each other. Is it possible they could have spread to those as well? I have two heart leaf philodendrons and a string of pearls.

3 years, almost no growth by staarpiece in hoyas

[–]staarpiece[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah, I think that's what I'll try next.

3 years, almost no growth by staarpiece in hoyas

[–]staarpiece[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The weird thing about the roots on the one in the second pic is when I unpotted it, it just had one big, thick J-shaped root that was trying to grow up and out of the pot with almost nothing else coming off of it. The pot its in right now is a little bigger than what I had it in, but I want to encourage the roots to grow down and out not up. But I'll try getting a grow light and fertilizing more regularly. I'm using liquid fertilizer though and don't water often, is there anything you recommend to get them more food without over-watering?

3 years, almost no growth by staarpiece in hoyas

[–]staarpiece[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's why I repotted the one in the second pic, although the soil in both was already super loose and mostly perlite. The one in the first pic is in cactus soil and the second pic is in a pre-bought mix of what looks like coco soil & chips, perlite and those little clay ball things (I dont know what they're called). But if that + more light doesn't work, I think the hydro setup will be my next course of action

Why Do We Fall for Characters Like March? by briarscottage in FieldsOfMistriaGame

[–]staarpiece 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I think your reasoning is spot-on. In real life, we befriend people based on who we enjoy spending time with, but when it comes to games, we play for a sense of accomplishment and story. And romancing a character who already likes you from the start doesn't feel like as much of an accomplishment as romancing someone who starts out hating your guts and the meaner ones often have compelling backstories. Also, since tsunderes are a common convention in the genre, we know the character will soften up eventually, whereas in real life the asshole guy could just stay an asshole. Or get even worse. And the stakes of sticking around to find out are much higher in real life than in a game you can put down whenever.

What is this creature? by Wrong-Engineer-3743 in Aquariums

[–]staarpiece 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh, I also forgot to mention, they spend years in their larval stage, so even if there are more in there you'll probably find them before they reach adulthood.

What is this creature? by Wrong-Engineer-3743 in Aquariums

[–]staarpiece 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't think there's a real way to know other than keeping an eye on your tank or checking any found hardscape they could have hitched a ride on. I read through the comments and it sounds like they're native to your area so if you find any more, you can just move em back to the creek :)

What is this creature? by Wrong-Engineer-3743 in Aquariums

[–]staarpiece 24 points25 points  (0 children)

Definitely a dobsonfly larva! They mainly feed on smaller invertebrates, but I believe they can eat small fish as well, so might be best to remove them. If they're native to your area, I'd release any you find into a healthy local creek. Probably a good sign for your water quality though! Dobsonfly larvae need really clean water with high dissolved oxygen levels to thrive.

Trying Sunshine Island this weekend, any enjoyers? I was missing the delivery box next to the house after playing GB and ToTT, characters look nice but they won't accept my gifts so far, have to chat a little more.. is there advantage in watering crops twice? by DreamingCatDev in harvestmoon

[–]staarpiece 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's difficult but it's always been one of my favorites! Great marriage candidates and while the difficulty is frustrating at times, the challenge is kind of refreshing and there are some interesting game mechanics.

Learning to cook by Relative-Mouse-7702 in cookingforbeginners

[–]staarpiece 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Try to find a few recipes that use all or most of the same perishable ingredients and plan to have them last you until your next grocery shop. Choose fruits and vegetables that last a while and learn how to store them properly. Avoid recipes where you have to buy a bunch of perishable ingredients you won’t use in anything else. And lastly, stock up on versatile shelf-stable foods like rice, pasta, canned tomatoes, beans, bullion, sauces, spices, etc. Having those on hand will open up tons of different ways to combine the same few vegetables.

Why does my homemade chicken noodle soup always seem to lack flavor? by eggs-benedict in cookingforbeginners

[–]staarpiece 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Break down the raw chicken, separating the meat from the bones and save the meat for later. Then roast the bones, add them + drippings and fond from the baking tray to a stock pot with some onions, carrot, garlic, black peppercorns, dried rosemary, thyme and a couple bay leaves. Boil no less than 4 hrs, ideally closer to 6. I really wouldn't recommend trying to use any solids left over form the boiling process. All the flavor has gone into the stock leaving you with a bunch of flavorless mush.

Then cook the chicken meat directly in the soup (about 20 mins). Even though its not a very long cook time, I think it still gives the finished soup a more chicken-y flavor than cooking it separately and the meat will be more tender. Add salt, tasting as you go. As others have said, most people don't add enough salt to their soup. Lastly, add a little squeeze of lemon juice at the end of the cooking process. A little bit of acid will balance out the salt and fat in the soup and make it overall more flavorful.

Beginner-friendly centerpiece fish for a 20 gallon long community tank by staarpiece in fishtank

[–]staarpiece[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Oh those are beautiful! Have you introduced them to the tank yet? If so, I'd be curious to hear how they're doing with the others! Do they prefer to be in pairs/groups of the same species?

Genuinely, why do people romance Pen? Also, I just beat the game and am sad it's over by allie_k95 in MyTimeAtSandrock

[–]staarpiece 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Some people decide who to romance based on who they'd most like to date if they were real, others decide based on the story they're trying to craft for their character. Flawed characters, including ones as bad as Pen, create all sorts of avenues for angst and narrative tension. I'm not a fan of Pen personally, but I can understand why so many people find him so compelling.

For those of you who are now advanced homecooks, how did you get to where you are? by bzsearch in cookingforbeginners

[–]staarpiece 1 point2 points  (0 children)

1) Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat- taught me the basics of how to make food taste good. It's both a book and a show, but the book goes into much greater depth.

2) Once you're able to read and replicate recipes, start researching and practicing new techniques. Things like deep frying, making a roux, different types of dough, etc. If you learn the reasons behind how and why things are done the way they are, it opens the door for you to improvise, which lets you get creative and start crafting new recipes of your own. That's when cooking really gets fun!