Topics

I don't think it's in any way a secret that social change needs to happen.  The reason I've put a religious spin on this is because of a TED talk from Kwame Anthony Appiah called Is Religion Good or Bad? (This is a Trick Question).  Appiah claims that 'no important form of social change can be brought about except through organised religion'.  So, what do you think?  How would you use religion to incite social change?


Before I start, I am aware that this is a divisive topic.  I may insert my own opinions and research into the mix later on, but there are a few things I'd like to request first.  I don't care if your argument reads more like an assertion than an argument, but I'd appreciate it if it was something people could reasonably pick into.  If you think 'religion poisons everything' (Christopher Hitchens), you need to explain why.  Christopher Hitchens wrote a book on it - you can write a paragraph.  The same goes for religious people.


This could be a really, really interesting debate but only if we don't dismiss people's views right off the bat.  If someone seems to have a controversial view (that isn't obviously provocative), probe it!  Find out more!  Then argue it a bit more! 

i thought it would be fun to come up with ridiculous 'baby names' through subversion etc of usual baby names


my first example is naming your child ted.  when people ask if it's short for edward, it's not.  it's not short for theodore, either - stop assuming.  it's short for technology engineering and design.


thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[abilities]

this goes out to everyone who just wants to play around without any of the pesky battle pressure


abilities
pick pokémon based on which abilities match you best (i tend to also include a couple for my brother because he's had a massive influence on my personality)
mine is as follows:
competitive - gothitelle
guts - machamp
klutz - lopunny
moxie - krookodile
own tempo - purugly


then, one for my brother:  justified - arcanine


in this way, you nab yourself a pretty personalised team, which is pretty cute


colours
this one speaks for itself: pick pokémon based on your favourite colour(s):
mine are pink and yellow, so i go for:
-cherrim
-audino
-ninetales
-ampharos
-beautifly
-bewear


this gives you a sik aesthetic for your team


interests
if you like technology, you might go for magnezone and bronzong.  medicine, you could go for blissey.  just pokémon, nothing else?  sorry, bud, you're stuck with electrode.
i'm into archaeology, so i go for:
-claydol
-unown
-marowak
-alakazam
-porygon z
-banette


personality traits
pick 6 personality traits (or 3 key, whatever floats your boat), and pick pokémon based on those.  i go for: talkative, lethargic, irritable, emotional, two-faced and smart:
-exploud
-snorlax
-primape
-gardevoir
-ditto
-metagross


and there u have four ways to build teams without the crushing pressure of having to worry about them.  particularly good for ocs and fic.

Voltron!  Five Guys!  No Fries!  Aliens!  Robots!  A Princess!


This is the big pee kay emm enn dot net Voltron topic, here for all your Voltron needs!!  So far I'm on episode three (season one) and I relate to Pidge and Hunk on an emotional level.  Also Keith is such an edgelord and I hope Allura yells at him properly soon


Remember to tag your spoilers pls friends

The Once and Future (Slow)KingOver a thousand years ago, King Arthur, accompanied by his Arcanine and his Slowking, reigned over Pokémelot.  The greatest King ever to reign, it was not long before he fell into conflict with neighbouring kingdoms.  Amid battle, one of Arthur's prized knights, Mordred reveals his deep-seated resentment for Arthur – by stabbing him.  Under his wife Guinevere's reign, Pokémelot flourished – but not so under his son.  Pokémelot slowly fell to pieces, and very soon it was nothing more than a myth.

Now, rumours that the key to Pokémelot has been discovered are rife amongst both professional and amateur Pokémon Archaeologists.  They have been flocking to Oldale Town in droves since the press first released the find – but whilst the Professionals and Amateurs squabble amongst themselves, a group of people who wish only to find Excalibur and harness its great power – the Elgin Group – are nearing their terrible goal.

*

I'm not going to bother with general rules – I think everyone knows not to godmod, limelight etc., and I trust most of you to be respectful and polite.

Specific Rules
I have the right to refuse to accept you based on the standard of your application.
Please give the wiki page on Arthurian Legend a cursory glance before making your first post.
Creation Sheet
Name: (All fair game)
Age: (Amateurs 16+, Elgin Group 16+, Professionals 22+)
Gender: (Any – please specify pronouns here if necessary)
Amateur, Professional, Elgin Group:
Appearance: (Doesn't have to be long, but no images please)
Personality: (Longer than appearance, please.)
History: (A cursory glimpse is fine, take it easy on the tragic backstory.)
Hometown: (All fair game)
Pokémon: (Maximum of two, no Growlithe or Slowpoke evolutionary lines, no final stage evolutions unless your character is older than 35, NO legendaries.)
Other:

[someone was stealing the cow]

essentially just those things that happen to you, or your friends, or friends of a friend that you think could give someone a laugh or a smile or a warmed heart on a bad day


i will start


i have this friend who's egyptian, and when shes in england she's the most intelligent, studious english literature/politics/theatre studies/wine nut you'll ever meet: she's hermione granger.  that's not an exaggeration - if you met her, you would be like 'this is hermione - wow' because a) she's got the hair, b) she's head girl and c) she's literally the brightest girl in the world probably.  she gets like hundreds of pounds a year through winning story, poetry and essay contests and the head actually increased the size of her bursary so she could afford to stay at school.  she also loves puns and is bffs with my girlfriend-who-is-not-quite-a-girlfriend-but-sort-of-is.  it's complicated.


so, anyway: that is her academic life.  when she's in egypt, though, she helps out on the family farm.  she told us this story in class today about the time she went back around 10 years ago.  when they got there, everything was normal and in order - no unprecedented livestock deaths, everything was as expected.  a week later, though, she headed outside and there was a forklift by the farm, which was very confused about so she headed closer to it to get a better look.


plot twist: it was not just a forklift.  someone was stealing the cow.  at about seven years old, there was literally nothing she could do about this, so she just watched as the cow was lifted and placed gently on the back of the truck. 

hello please read the first chapter of my book about a lesbian superhero n her roommate written for the sole purpose of getting me to enjoy writing again because i'm stuck in a rut


posted on wattpad because im a neek




https://www.wattpad.com/story/84580756-we-stumble-together-a-superhero%27s-memoirs

[What is this thread?]

What is this thread?
I have made this thread with the intention of allowing people to discuss any school/uni/work-based work they might be doing at the moment.  This does not need always to be filled with complaints - it can be updates or you might just want to talk about work that you're finding particularly exciting.  On the other hand, it can be used to ask for explanations or resources to help with a particular piece of work.


What is this thread not?
A place in which you can get other people to do work for you - which is my first and foremost concern in making this.  It is also not a place to brag about achievements (being proud of a good grade is fine; implying that your grades make you better than anyone else is not) - and if someone's happy about a C and you're unhappy with a B, do not rub it in.  I will only express that particular sentiment once.  A sense of one-upmanship on how much work you have is also the sort of thing that will rub other people the wrong way.


-


I'm doing some English work for McEwan's Atonement right now.  It's been my absolute favourite book since I was eleven, so I'm pumped that I get to analyse it this closely.


I'm not going to lie - it's harrowing, and some of it is really hard to wrap my head around, but it's also beautifully written.  This particular homework is about 'evidence for the self-conscious narrative'.  My teacher said it would only take around forty five minutes, but I'm probably only just halfway through and I've been working for an hour.  That's okay, though, because my ADHD meds are a wonder and it's so nice to actually be able to concentrate on anything. 


Also finding it really hard to properly, truly dislike Briony in spite of everything.  I think I relate to her a little too much.

for the first time in forever i get to see my lawyer children again so im making a topic to celebrate


please remember to put all spoilers under tags!


[spoiler]i've just finished the first case and i have so much love for rayfa padma khu'rain i cannot describe it.  the start of case 2 looks intriguing also and im expecting apollo and trucy will be finding out that theyre siblings soon???[/spoiler]

i figured that since a lot of people here have ocs and it's really hard to get appreciation for ocs in most places, i'd make a topic devoted to it!!

u can describe ur ocs here, or post a picture u've drawn, or a character sheet!! and other people will give u love!!

rules
+it should go w/o saying but site rules apply
+put ur big massive character sheets under spoiler tags
+don't use other people's art w/o permission
+for every oc u post, give someone else's oc some love. describe exactly what u love about their oc. try to give love to an oc who hasn't got much love.  this is probably the most important fundamental thing about this thread.

ok so leaving aside the fact that the first ever post i made on this site was about pets

post regular updates on your pets here, tell us about them, post photos, let the entire pkmn dot net population fawn

today's update on shadow:  hes been asleep on the stairs all day but he spent the morning meowing at me because there was a wasp in the house

i'm not requesting you guys to beta read don't worry


essentially i'm not new to the fanfiction game but i'm new to the beta-reading game as i've decided to enter the fullmetal alchemist big bang challenge and i just have no idea where to find a good beta reader.  the challenge blog has released a small list but for the most part their fanfiction seems a little..... removed from the genres i usually write for and i wondered if there were any #veterans who could tell me the signs of good/bad beta readers etc

ok so here are some samples (winry rockbell w a magnemite, franziska von karma w an aerodactyl)


and here's some stuff to be aware of:
i dont own a scanner so things wont be excellent quality
i'm inexperienced so things wont be excellent quality


stuff i will do:
draw any character including ocs (but note that if i look up the character and they're inappropriate and/or immoral i have every right to refuse)
give your request a good go
be nice about your character tastes
try to develop my style and get a little better every time


stuff i won't do:
draw anything overly complicated
draw anything i'm not comfortable with
draw u masterpieces
colour work unless i get a scanner


ok thank u no worries if u don't wanna request please concrit

happy birthday blaze


u've grown up a lot since u were 14 n thats my honest feeling


idk what else to say but im sure everyone else will get it down just as well as i could


happy birthday blaze

so yeah share ur workout plans here mostly so i can scrub them off u and look healthier and more attractive than i do right now


i haven't actually started yet but the plan is jus to do a butt-ton of cardio ie run one day swim one day until i've lost a bit of weight with thursday and sunday as rest days (yoga/pilates on thursdays probably although the yoga is relaxation and not bikram)


so yeah share ur schedules here

i couldnt find a better board for this im sorry


but yes the musical


im legit baffled by how good it is??? like you have your two perfect girls n it's funny and everything and then WHAM BAM i've got a secret and that's some heavy stuff like


idk just talk to me about the musical please

ok i don't know why im asking on a pokemon forum of all places because i don't trust 99% of you to give me solid advice but there's a pretty solid queer community here and thats basically my issue lies


so like theres this girl im at school with and i take 2 out of my three classes with her.  she's very sweet and i've done presentations with her in the past.  thing is i have no idea whether or not shes gay and my friendship group is like completely different to hers so i can't just go 'yo she gay??'.  so like,, i want to ask her out but i don't want to seem predatory or make her uncomfortable (+shes a model so like,,, im really below her and if she does like me its a miracle) if anyone has any advice please help.


also thinking ahead if she does like me back can someone help w first date ideas bc shes a vegan and i don't want to go anywhere that'll make her uncomfortable

ok so it's delicious scout's birthday today he's 21 today etc etc happy birthday bud i hope you have a good day and that please send this man birthday wishes and all that jazz. 

So as it's Shrove Tuesday, I thought it was probably worth making a topic about pancakes. Talk about recipes, toppings, gluten-free recipes, egg-free recipes, etc...


I'm mostly a lemon and sugar person (though ice cream's cool too) - I always find syrup and chocolate spread too heavy.  In terms of savoury pancakes it's just ham and cheese for me as all the recipes I've found for other stuff seem to involve condiments or creme fraiche that I won't eat.

as in like sleep dreams and not the mark you aspire to make on the world

pretty much just post any weird/interesting/just normal dreams you have here if you want in any kind of detail. i'll start with my dream last night bc it hecked me up and i thought my brother's girlfriend was dead for a little bit after i woke up. preemptive warning for incoherence to follow:

so i'm sitting in the living room and my brother's texting his girlfriend except like i could see the texts as if they were being sent to my phone and i see that she's died.  cut to loads of shots of everyone trying to get over it and also possibly the most significant one which was of my brother and me having a heart to heart and it ended on a hug which was rlly nice and makes awake-me a lil bit emotional. and then scene change i'm walking down the street with my best friend and she's like 'what are my flaws??' and i'm internally like '*sweating* do i say it all posh or do i just say it normally' and then outloud i deadpan 'you're an airhead.' and she gets all pissed and walks away from me and i'm like 'but you asked me also my sister in law is dead damn i can't win' and i don't remember what happened after that but i remember waking up all sad like 'oh damn.'

First thing's first, I'm going to put forth the reason I made this topic.

It is twenty-five to midnight, and I am too scared to go to bed because - as the last few weeks - I know exactly what I'm going to think about if I lie down in a dark room with nothing to distract me:  GCSEs.  Sounds pretty dumb, right?  I agree.  Even so, that's what I keep thinking about.  I've spent nights crying myself to sleep because I'm worried I'll disappoint my parents and my teachers by getting bad grades, I've had dreams where I don't get above a C on any of my GCSEs, and I've had nights where I've woken up shivery and nauseous and not been able to think of anything except my exams.  During the day, I am often completely and acutely aware of the fact that I could well be sitting in an exam room wondering why I spent so much time doing dumb stuff like rereading Harry Potter for the 479385794th time, or worrying about what will happen if I'm struck by a migraine halfway through an exam.  I'm a little sick of it, particularly as I've been told by so many people that GSCEs aren't anything to worry about and also that GCSEs don't matter.  That being the case, I'm going to hand this over to you guys:

   
• What makes you stressed?
• How do you cope with stress?
• If - like me - you don't cope with stress very well, can you think of any ways to turn that into something productive?

It is a clear evening in early August, and a young man sits at a computer, alone.  It has been a gruelling night of work – mental, too – far removed than the physical labour he is used to.  The Spanish Sun beating down on his back whilst flies make his back a comfortable home is something he can handle, but trying to match up to Richard's talent is enough to drive him into hysterics.  He breaks up the jargon with the occasional unseemly comment.


He glances up to his wall and cringes. 'August 7^th' shouts to him from the calendar.  He cringes harder at the 23:59 blinking at him from the alarm clock on the side of his table.  August 8^th looms over him like a Gengar out of hiding.


And then comes the inevitable shock to his system. 00:00.


Happy Birthday, Scout.

I have a Lenovo G570 Notebook (not a brand I'd recommend if you use the laptop a lot - the hinges are really bad) and a Lavolta 90W AC Adapter.  I have - rather unfortunately - noticed that the laptop won't charge very well (read: at all).  I went to use the bathroom and came back to see the power button flashing.  It was quite disgruntling, but the 'top was charging.  The button doesn't flash when the adapter is out.


Now, it won't charge at all.  The laptop works without an adapter, so I'm fairly certain that the battery is fine.  I'd like to avoid having to replace anything, but I'm taking a trip to PC World tomorrow anyway so it's not a massive deal if I do.

Recently, I've been finding that if I leave a one line gap between my paragraphs on the site they'll end up double spaced anyway and I'll have to go back and edit the post after posting.


Example.


There was that - do any of you have any idea why this is happening and how I might fix it?

Alas, I cannot line you all up in pairs and march you into the cinema like an angry schoolteacher, so I have to settle for gushing about the film here.  Only, gushing would defeat the purpose of - oh, I don't know.

Frozen, though.  It was great. Well, I thought it was great, anyway. This did have a Song-by-song synopsis, but I thought 1,238 words for a synopsis on an online forum was a bit excessive, so it's lying on a word document, crying about how unloved it is. 

Throw your opinions at me! Love it? Tell me! And tell me why! Hate it? Do the same!
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