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the-evisceration-station · 5 years

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Pairing: Jade/Castiel

Warnings: mentioned character death, swearing

AO3 Link:

Jade is watering the aloe when an unusually notable customer shuffles into the apothecary, Castiel of Crowstorm. Something of a low-key celebrity to break up the routine of the day. In truth, Jade maybe, sort of knew him by association when he was kid, but that’s probably not something Castiel remembers at all. He supposes it doesn’t matter much anyway. A customer is a customer after all, celebrity status or not.

“Afternoon,” he chirps in greeting. “Can I help you?”

“Hopefully,” Castiel huffs, wincing as he gives a little head shake. “I don’t really believe in this junk, but a friend of friend who’s into all this witchy stuff swears by it and I’m desperate.”

Jade lifts a brow, feels the corner of his mouth quirk up. “Witchy stuff?”

Castiel waves his hand. “You know, plant potions, kale cleanse mumbo jumbo.”

Jade chuckles, propping his elbows on the counter. “So if you don’t believe in it, why are you here?”

“Like I said, I’m desperate. I’ve got a concert in an hour and my throat is killing me. Came on crazy fast and I don’t have a whole lot of options.”

And now that he’s said that, Jade realizes that he does sound kind of rough. Sandpapery syllables, words sort of whittling out at the end.

“This close to curtain, I’d think most artists just lip synch or cancel.”

A stubborn spark lights up his eyes.

“Are you kidding?” he scoffs. “Posers who do that aren’t real artists.”

Jade finds himself smiling. “Okay, okay, so mad respect…but I’m not the herbalist. Unless you know what it is you want, I don’t really know what to give you.”

“Seriously?” he groans, frustration seemingly more directed at the situation than Jade, exactly. “But you work here, right? You gotta know something, man.”

“Well…ah, alright. I might know a couple things. Mind if I take a look?”

Castiel glances around and gives a shrug, stepping back. “Sure.”

So Jade sidles around the counter and presses his hands under Castiel’s jaw, carefully probing the way Eweleïn showed him to. It’s the first time he’s ever done this too a customer though, let alone one who’s this hot. And god, is Castiel hot.

He was good looking in high school but early adulthood has sharpened the edges of his features. He’s filled out some more, stands taller, and his style has grown up with him. He really owns the rockstar look now, doesn’t look as try-hard as he did at sixteen when Jade would glance up from pruning the plants to see him gagging in the courtyard on cigarettes he didn’t really know how to smoke.

He smells nice too, Jade notices, standing this close. Sort of spicy-sweet, like cinnamon gum. For a moment Jade thinks it’s his attraction to Castiel that’s making it feel like his skin is scorching under his touch. Then his brain yanks his heart out of its stupid, gay starstruck stupor and back to reality.

“Oh, man, you’ve got a fever…”

“Fun.”

“And your lymph nodes are swollen, uh, open up for a sec.”

Castiel complies and Jade’s concern spikes to alarm. His tonsils are huge, bloated like overinflated beach balls about to burst. Glaring firetruck red and streaked with sickly patches of white.

“Ooh, wow. Uh, okay, so I do believe in this stuff you call junk. The plant potions and kale cleanse mumble jumbo?” Jade drops his hands, grimacing. “Yeah, I believe in all that and I’m still telling you to see a doctor. It’s bad, you need antibiotics.”

Castiel pauses, humming an unhappy sound as he reaches back to adjust his hair tie. Jade watches, tracing the tattoos on his arms and hoping he doesn’t look as enticed as he feels.

“Again, little short on time here,” he says eventually. “Think you can hook me up with something just to get me through the concert and I’ll do all that tomorrow?”

“…how are you standing up right now?” Jade asks, because he vividly remembers the misery that was his own bout of strep last year, not just the pain like scorpions nesting in the tender meat of his throat, but the pounding headaches and the body aches that made his legs feel heavy as concrete blocks.

Castiel barks out a laugh he flinches from and flashes Jade a wolfish grin.

“Espresso and energy drink cocktail.”

Jade gapes.

“On the rocks,” he adds with a wink.

And all Jade can think is that it’s infinitely unfair for this guy to be this sexy while sick.

“I can get you some teas that should help,” he says, stepping back and slinking along the shelves. “They’re not going to be a cure-all, though.”

“Do they taste gross?” Castiel raises a brow.

Jade finds the tins of herbal blends he was looking for, breathing a laugh as he strolls back behind the counter.

“Beggars can’t be choosers.”

“Fair enough.” Castiel crosses his arms. “So is it just the fever playing tricks on me, or have we met before?”

Jade stops, lagging like an overloaded phone. This isn’t real. Castiel can’t possibly remember him. No way would this guy, sexy-when-he’s-sick, singer-in-a-band, popular punk guy remember him. But he’s looking expectant like he does, and Jade swallows as his heart flutters and his lips stretch wide.

“Uh, yeah. I went to a different school, but I was in the gardening club at yours.”

“Ah, that’s right. My friend had a crush on you.”

“I remember you too,” Jade continues. “From then, I mean. Not from Crowstorm. You were in a different band then, and the other guy was the singer. Lysander, right? We didn’t talk much, but he’d hang out in the garden sometimes, writing your songs.”

Castiel’s expression changes, sorrow swallowing the devil may care demeanor and jaw tightening. Damn it. Jade just stepped on a landmine.

“Uh-oh. Bad band breakup?” he asks nervously, absently thinking that the question could be a tongue twister in one of those activity books for kids. Bad band breakup. Say that five times fast.

Castiel shakes his head. “He died. Hit-and-run a few months before graduation.”

“Shit,” Jade gasps, soaking in the shock of the news.

It’s not like he knew Lysander well or anything. Just a casual conversation here and there, they were barely acquaintances. But it’s still jarring to realize that somebody he talked to died. Died young and violently, at that.

“I’m sorry,” he says next, low and sincere.

“He’s still with me,” Castiel murmurs, looking at the floor as his fingers stroke the feathers inked into his forearm. “On my skin and when I sing. Sure as hell would rather have him next to me, though.”

Jade nods solemnly, ringing up the tea and bagging the tea. Empty words don’t ease grief, and so he offers none. Castiel seems to appreciate the moment of quiet before he fishes in his pocket and digs out his wallet.

He pulls out a plastic card and Jade shakes his head.

“Sorry, cash only.”

“Really?” Castiel sucks his lip between his teeth. “Shit. I don’t have any on me.”

“You know what? It’s on the house.” Jade types in the payment and makes a mental note to get his own wallet before he clocks out.

“I appreciate it. So here’s this, for you and your girlfriend.” Castiel grins and thumbs something else out of his wallet, slapping it down on the counter. Two tickets to tonight’s concert.

“Thanks! I, uh, don’t have a girlfriend though.”

“No?” Castiel arches a brow, smirks almost teasingly.

“Nah.” Jade licks his lips and takes a chance. “Honestly, girlfriends aren’t really my style.”

Castiel bobs his head and swipes the other ticket off the counter. He puts it away and replaces it with something else, a shorter but thicker laminated printout. It’s a backstage pass.

“In that case, you can have this instead.”

Jade tries to be suave even though he can feel his face bloom with the heat of a blush, his heartbeat quickening and his palms getting sweaty. He tries to say something, anything, something cool, or flirty, or even just a thank you. But his tongue suddenly won’t work.

Castiel pops his lips as he takes his tea and turns around, headed to the door.

“F-Feel better,” Jade finally manages, grinning like a fool.

Castiel tosses a wink over his shoulder and ducks out.

#mcl rarepair week #my candy love #mclu #mcl jade #mcl castiel

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southernmamaspeaks · 7 years

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The Callback List

Confession: I am a Show Mom. Sort of.

Two of my five biological children participate in Christian Youth Theater, otherwise known as CYT. They sing, they dance, they act, and they put on gorgeous Broadway-style productions by kids ages eight to eighteen in our local community. This week marks another set of auditions, and something every thespian young, and old loves to hate:

The Callback List. But is there more?

On the surface, a Callback list is a compilation of names, or numbers generated by a production team, of potential cast members who are requested to return to participate in further rounds of selection based on the quality of their initial audition. For us at CYT, the release of the list normally follows two nights of open casting calls where brave, and hopeful kiddos present a one minute song selection, and monologue from a list of options provided by the production team. It is a beautifully scary, and harrowing experience to watch someone you love stand in front of strangers to be judged worthy, or unworthy based on less than two minutes of interaction. As so little time is available to make a good impression on the artistic team, much thought and effort is placed into every detail of the audition. As the indelible Mary Poppins states, everything must be “Spit Spot” to ensure the best possible outcome: a Callback.

Let me stop right here, and say this was not my idea. My oldest daughter had a friend encourage her to try out for a show about a year and a half ago, and the rest is showbiz history. Yet as she has gotten older, and improved on her dramatic skills, auditions have taken on a slightly more intensive tone. We stopped hoping to merely make it into a show, and started hoping for her to get specific roles. And as her mom, of course, I think she should get every role for which she tries out. After all, she is beautiful. Beyond beautiful. Don’t believe me? Take a look at this headshot from uber-talented photographer Amber Trementozzi of AMT Digital Photography (or click a link to her Facebook page here- https://www.facebook.com/AmtPhotographyDigitalDesign/ :

I told you she was gorgeous. Also, her voice is beautiful, she dances gracefully, her Improv skills are spot on, and she has a real gift for comedic timing. (And she took that headshot photo after she was dancing at rehearsal for something like two hours. I mean, who actually looks that good AFTER they sweat? It boggles my mind.) However, as we rolled into the Winter show season, my daughter, Sharaia, decided she was going to audition to be Betty Hanes in the CYT Fredericksburg production of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas”. I have to admit, I thought her chances were good. Sharaia was called back for a lead role before, when she wasn’t even trying. She has a good relationship, and reputation among the adults in charge, and the ability at nearly sixteen to hit some of that sultry alto register like Rosemary Clooney. To say we got our hopes up for the part would be an understatement.

Auditions came, and Sharaia sang a Rosemary Clooney song from “The Pajama Game”. I teared up when nerves got the best of her for a moment in front of the audience, as she was putting so much weight on herself to put in a fabulous audition. But I was so proud of her as she pulled it together, and put in a solid performance. We felt good leaving auditions, but were still very nervous about the outcome. Sharaia and I stayed up until midnight waiting for the Callback list to be posted on the website. I think I squealed almost as much as she did when we spotted her callback number in a list with twenty-two other girls to come back the next day at the studio. Saturday was very intense. I packed Sharaia a lunch I knew she would not eat, and we drove in relative silence the twenty minutes to the studio. I told her how proud I was of her to get this far, to just be herself, to have fun, and enjoy the experience. I wished her a cheerful “break a leg” as she exited the car, but underneath it all I may or may not have considered going inside to bribe the director with hefty amounts of cash to give Sharaia the part. (Thank God five kids, and a ridiculous house payment toss my family into near-poverty each month so I could avoid the temptation of throwing cash at the production team.) I drove away praying that they would see my daughter for who, and what she is, and that Sharaia would have comfort and strength to persevere through the day.

As the day wore on, the audition stakes seemed to get even higher. Sharaia made it through two rounds of cuts, as they whittled the potential Judy’s and Betty’s down to only six girls after about eight hours of rehearsing. Sharaia would sneak calls into me, and tell me with pride how well she performed in a scene, or sang a song. I was finally able to pick her up at about 10pm. And we sat in the parking lot of a local fast food place as she binged on a burger after being too sick, and nervous to eat anything all day. She was excited, and hopeful. I was excited and hopeful for her.

The Other Show Kid

Around the same time, my son, Craig Scott, was auditioning for a lead role in the CYT Fredericksburg production of “Junie B. Jones”. He is another very talented, and totally adorable kiddo in my quiver.

Craig Scott loves football, running, breakdancing, and tap. He is incredibly compassionate, and wants to help everyone he meets. He sort of fell into the whole CYT-thing because of his older sister, and has reluctantly accepted he is amazing at what he does. Because of some scheduling, CYT was going to be putting on back-to-back shows. Thus, both of my kiddos were auditioning right at the same time. Craig Scott’s story, however, is very different. Relatively few boys take time out of sports to sing, and dance. I am blessed with a husband that thinks it is just as masculine to perform a kick-ball-change as a split-back offense, so he did not bat an eyelash when we said we were forsaking travel football for Junie B. Jones. Always a jokester, Craig Scott turned in a very funny monologue during auditions as he tried out for Sheldon Potts. And, in what I have found to be a true theater/show business reality, Craig was one of only six boys called back to fill-in the leading male roles. His callbacks were much shorter, and a little more fun, as the female hopefuls rotated between the boys auditioning to read their parts, or sing songs. And before he left, Craig Scott felt very solid about landing at least some named-part in the production. Both of my babies seemed destined to get what they were hoping for.

The Final Call

The days of the final Cast List were fast approaching after Callbacks. Again, this list is posted late in the evening the day after Callbacks have been completed, and the production team toils over who stays, and who goes from the final list. We sat at our electronic devices and refreshed the webpage repeatedly until the lists were finally posted for each show. We hooted and hollered as we found out Craig Scott was cast as Sheldon Potts. We waited with anticipation to see which part Sharaia would receive. As the cast list finally came out, we broke into tears. Sharaia had not obtained the part of Betty Hanes. She was not named as the understudy. She was not a Featured Dancer. She was cast in some ensemble roles in the play. Out of the six girls who made it to the end, only she and one other were relegated to the Ensemble. My girl was devastated. I was devastated for her.

How should a parent handle the moment when a child does not achieve their goals? I have seen, and participated in many of the examples. I will admit I cursed heftily under my breath when I saw the list in the other room. How could they?! How could they not see her for the fabulous, wonderful, “perfectly perfect in every way” girl that I did? Sharaia cried. She may have even stomped. I certainly know she asked me why, and I couldn’t answer. It was a tough night. My son asked if he could ask to give up his role in his play so that Sharaia could get a leading role in hers. I fell in love with him just a bit more after that, but had to tell him that was not the way the world worked. You couldn’t sacrifice yourself to give to another…

And then I realized how wrong I really was.

For me life is often made up of two forms of consciousness. The first is me fumbling along trying to make it through the day, remember which kid has to go where, whether there is something in the fridge I can make into a passable dinner, and the name of the child to which I am currently speaking on the first try. The second, and decidedly more rare, is that moment of absolute clarity when I realize the Lord is trying to teach me the most perfect something, and I actually hear it. That is what this moment turned into for me.

The first thing I realized was that there are so many lists we all try to get onto so very frequently in this life: friend lists, party lists, job lists, house lists, calling lists, credit lists, school lists. Lists that go on and on. But there is really only one list that matters. And, believe it or not, it IS a Callback list; although not the kind you may think. At the end of the day -the end of this life- the only list I want my children to be on is a Callback list from the Lord. I want them to “shew thee my faith by my works…[for] faith without works is dead” (James 2:18-20). Craig Scott had offered himself up in return for his sister. Sharaia had comforted countless friends as heartbroken as she was. None of us had fallen victim to anger, or backbiting. Because the second thing I realized is that every other list forces us to be judged on something superficial. And while some are more worthy than others, only God can judge our hearts. And who do I want my Father in Heaven to say my children are? Ultimately, my greatest hope for them is that he will look at them and say to them as in the parable of the talents, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things” (Matthew 25:21). Craig Scott had achieved his goal. He had made the list for which he was hoping. But Sharaia, like so many of us in our life, had not. Not yet, anyway. Did that make her less? Was she less talented, less graceful, less wonderful than those other girls? Absolutely not. She simply had not achieved her goal yet. My second realization was that goals, roles, and lists come and go in this life. They change with the times, and the seasons. But our goal of Returning to our Father in Heaven should never go away. We may be Betty Hanes for a moment, but we are children of God for an eternity. And we should seek to do His will “in all times, and in all things, and in all places” as we stand as witnesses to God, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As I spoke to Sharaia and Craig Scott about their most essential Callback list in this life, I do not know that it lessened the sting for what was not achieved. But what I do know is that it re-focused our attention to the things which matter most, and helped re-instill in my daughter her infinite potential and worth as a Daughter of God.

Craig Scott auditioned for a part last night in “Willy Wonka”. Sharaia is busy working on her Original Oratory for Forensics this season, and honing her dancing and singing skills to try out for “Shrek” in the Spring. But in the end, I am not completely absorbed with which role they will, or will not get. Mostly because I already know whose list they are already on.

Love,

Mama

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operationrainfall · 4 years

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Title Galaxy of Pen and Paper +1 Edition Developer Behold Studios Publisher Behold Studios, Plug In Digital Release Date April 8th, 2020 Genre RPG, Simulation Platform PC, Mobile, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One Age Rating E for Everyone 10+ – Fantasy Violence, Language Official Website

I was actually introduced to Behold Studios by the Knights of Pen and Paper games. I picked up both of them for a steal on a Steam sale years ago, and was pleasantly surprised by the clever banter and colorful aesthetic of both games. While I’ve been watching Behold bring those games to consoles in recent months, I was waiting to see if Galaxy of Pen and Paper would make the Switch. When I saw it happen back in April, I knew I had to ask for a review copy, and luckily my request was granted. The only question is how well this series devoted to tabletop RPGs translated to the Nintendo Switch.

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Part of the reason I enjoyed the earlier Pen and Paper games was because they played like streamlined Dungeons & Dragons. There’s a large part of me that’s always been interested in playing tabletop RPGs, but for various reasons haven’t been able to devote sufficient time to that hobby. So when I get a game that simplifies the complex bits, such as dice rolling and intensive character creation, and just let’s me experience it solo, I’m a happy boy. Galaxy of Pen and Paper +1 Edition takes that formula from the Knights games, and brings it to the science fiction realm. No more gargoyles and goblins, now we have alien species, robots and other assorted menaces. Thankfully, the general combat, humor and aesthetic come along with that genre transition.

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The story in Galaxy of Pen and Paper +1 Edition is split between two perspectives. One is occurring in-game, where your party plays their specific roles and the GM directs you. But there’s another narrative, focused on the turn of the new year (the game takes place in 1999) and all the potential problems that entails. I won’t go into specifics, but there’s a certain event that everybody was worried about back in those days, and it ties into both narratives in interesting ways. That said, because you’re basically directing the entire story, there’s not much in the way of character development. There’s none, really. Though I do feel your selection of class and race might affect statements given in the heat of the moment. For example, I had one party member that was a Simian, and he immediately became the dumb brute on my team. Not by my choice, mind you, though perhaps my decisions for his typing did play a role. Oh and because I’m a fan of many things, I named my entire party and ship after Mega Man characters. Cause I’m that guy.

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At the start of the game, you’re allowed to create two party members. You choose everything about them, including their class. That last part is very important, though their race can define passive abilities, such as my Green party member occasionally getting a free ability use, while my Simian would sometimes inflict spread damage on groups of enemies. What’s crucial is that you only have two characters to control for the first Episode of the game, and you’ll have limited class choices. Later on, you’ll be able to recruit two more characters and also take on quests to unlock more classes. Once that happens, the game really opens up in a wonderful way. Unfortunately, getting to that point was more than a bit of a chore. A large reason for that is early on, you can only have one ability equipped per character. What’s crazy is they come to you with a ton of ability choices, and picking just one is tough. As you level up, you’ll gradually unlock more ability slots, which is great. What’s less great is that you need to choose whether to devote those slots to active or passive abilities. Suffice to say, this made combat early on really difficult and grindy. Especially when you factor in your team and most enemies have a regenerating shield, and if you can’t do enough damage each turn to whittle it down, you’re gonna have a rough time actually inflicting damage. It’s no exaggeration that in the game’s first Episode, I constantly lost to battles with just one or two foes. And keep in mind, you’re almost always the one that’s allowed to choose the size of enemy forces arrayed against you. Thankfully, once I got through that first Episode and started to unlock more options, my adventure got easier and much more fun.

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Besides the combat, you also generate your own missions, as well as continuing the main campaign. You can only have two mission types active at the same time. What this meant was I would often take on smaller quests, such as searching for resources or hunting dangerous space criminals, to get experience and cash in between the main story beats. You generally only get a minor amount of cash, so it’s good to try the same mission again and again. Just the process of wandering around planets nets you a little experience, and you’ll occasionally come across random encounters that also offer rewards. Often these will be an item or a chance to improve your team’s reputation. I’m not entirely sure what reputation affects, but I never let it dip into the negative either. The bulk of the game is combat though, and it’s both fun and slightly lackluster. It’s standard turn-based RPG fare, with an ATB, attack selection and the like. The tricky thing is that if you’re beaten in battle, you go back to your ship’s med bay to heal up. Sometimes this will cost you, either cash or even experience points. This happened a lot early on in my adventure. I only learned later that you can return to your ship at any time to heal for free, but that wasn’t really spelled out clearly. Boss battles are a bit more interesting than the standard fare, since you don’t have any input on the size or difficulty of those encounters. There’s some really zany foes, including a pop duo, cultist praying mantis and elder deity pasta. No, you didn’t hear that last one wrong, and it’s easily my favorite boss in the entire game.

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Once Galaxy of Pen and Paper +1 Edition gets rolling, it’s tremendous fun. This is a great game to just sit and unwind with a few minutes at a time. Though my entire playthrough took some 16 hours, I was also taking my time to just enjoy the experience. It was only held back by a series of unfortunate glitches. Now to be fair, Behold Studios has already addressed one of the worst ones in a recent patch. Namely, the game didn’t showcase how much total money I had acquired. Another patch has made it so that instead of moving from one planet or node to the next, you move a cursor around like a computer mouse to both select and see your environment. Though I’m not sure that last one helped much, the currency problem was a very necessary fix. Unfortunately, there’s a host of others I’ve encountered. They’re more minor, such as planets not displaying properly in mission creation or the cursor on the ATB bar being out of sequence, but they do bring the game down a bit. I haven’t checked if these bugs are present in other versions of the game, but I do hold out hope that Behold will address them as soon as possible. Besides glitches, I also had some issues with the UI at times. Mostly just it being vague about gameplay elements. It’s nothing a tutorial or two wouldn’t fix though. And lastly, there’s some grammatical problems in bits of the dialogue, though overall it’s well written, funny and whip smart.

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Aesthetically, Galaxy of Pen and Paper +1 Edition is attractive and reminiscent of many classic games. There’s lots of use of bright colors and a variety of models for friend and foe alike. It looks like a better SNES game, and I had no complaints. Lots of creepy insectoids, arrogant aliens and eldritch monsters. Musically it’s a bit more withdrawn, but not in a bad way. There’s sufficient tunes for space exploration and battle, just nothing really memorable.

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In the end, I did have a good time with Galaxy of Pen and Paper +1 Edition. Sure it started slow and grindy, and it does still have its share of glitches, but despite that it put a smile on my face. And for only $12.49, you really can’t go wrong. I had a lot of fun playing it, and hope this isn’t the end of the Pen and Paper series. I think Behold Studios is a talented team, and expect they have a lot more stories to tell us.

[easyreview cat1title=”Overall” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”3.5″]

Review Copy Provided by Publisher

REVIEW: Galaxy of Pen and Paper +1 Edition Title Galaxy of Pen and Paper +1 Edition

#Behold Studios #Dungeon & Dragons #Galaxy of Pen and Paper +1 Edition #Plug In Digital #RPG #tabletop

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brettseaton · 5 years

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Category Product Reviews: Avail

[Note from editor: The Geek Estate Mastermind is a real estate tech think-tank comprised of 200+ founders, executives, VCs, and practitioners. Our mission is to attract the 1,500 most forward-thinking, and diverse, innovators.

Below is a sample of one of the in-depth category reviews from our small landlord property management software mini-series that members have full access to for only $109/quarter.]

Without further ado…

Category Product Reviews: Avail (Series I, Part V)

BY DREW MEYERS Last Updated Jun 16, 2019

Avail is property management software for DIY landlords that serves 115,000 landlords and more than 200,000 tenants / renters. Their product streamlines online rental listings, applications, lease templates, rental payments, maintenance requests, and tenant vetting. Landlords are managing single family homes, condo units, and small multifamily buildings in 17,000 zip codes nationwide.

Founded in 2012 and a member of MetaProp’s 2015/2016 class. Have raised $5.4 million, including $2.5 million this year. Formerly operated as Rentalutions until their re-brand in June of 2018.

MARKETING

the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service

Usability

Entering photos, pricing, and availability is straightforward and clean. Publishing a property is an 11 step process.

No native iOS or Android apps.

Differentiation

Rent Analysis: The 6 page report helps determine the optimal monthly rent for the specified property. Powered by Rent Range, Avail charges landlords $19.99 per report.

Marketing Website: It’s one click to activate a marketing website, for those on a paid plan. This is geared toward the landlords with 5+ properties.

Auto populating home facts: After inputting the property address, beds, baths, and square footage are auto populated.

Utilities Included: The ability to indicate which utilities are part of the monthly rent is a nice feature for tenants. In my case (renting a townhome from a DIY landlord), garbage and water are covered in the rent while electricity, internet, and gas are not.

Amenity Icons: While not crucial to improving the software’s functionality, it’s a nice design touch.

Insights

With Zillow’s Rent Zestimates as a free alternative to paid rent reports, I question how many landlords pay for the in-depth reports.

I like the ease of activating their marketing websites that landlords can use for their own lead generation efforts. The sweet spot is those without enough properties to make investing in a professional website worthwhile, but want a landing page to bring added legitimacy. They are following a similar strategy as Zillow providing agent websites, but for landlords instead of agents.

Links

Rental Listings

Rent Analysis

Sample Rent Analysis Report

Rent Range

Example marketing website: http://aljackmgmt.com

ADVERTISING

a public notice. especially: one published in the press or broadcast over the air

Usability

Avail syndicates active listings to Zillow, Trulia, Hotpads, Zumper (which we reviewed in Part III), as well as Apartments.com, apartment list, Walk Score, and PadMapper.

Differentiation

Breadth of Syndication: While Facebook and Realtor.com would be nice additions, they syndicate more broadly than any of their competitors.

Rental marketplace: A search portal for tenants to find properties posted on the Avail platform.

Insights

They are betting big on syndication. Cozy syndicates to Realtor.com and Doorsteps.com, while Zumper has a relationship with Facebook Marketplace. The Zillow relationship is crucial for Avail, and I have to imagine a Facebook partnership is at the top of their wish/priority list.

Building their own rental marketplace is a smart long term play that will give them leverage. A network/portal will increase their future ability to add tenant facing features such as a loyalty program, financing (such as a deal with Rhove or Digs), and verified properties. That said, accepting listings from other sources will be required if they ever plan to be a viable rental search portal. Building a search portal is a risk in terms of splitting product focus/resources in the short term.

Showcasing Redfin in their “My Team” section indicates they are thinking about monetizing landlords who choose to sell rather than continue renting.

Links

Avail — Designed for Part-Time Landlords (CREtech 2017)

Avail as a Cozy Competitor

Landlording Has Never Been Easier Thanks To This Company (Forbes 2017)

New Study Shows the Evolving Relationship Between Landlords and Technology (Propmodo 2018)

APPLICATION

a formal request to an authority for something

Usability

Simple to request applications. If you haven’t collected Renter Profiles using syndication partners or the lead generation website, then simply enter the email address of the prospective tenant to send them the application.

3 tiers of tenant verification, powered by TransUnion:

Renter Profile (Free): Job History, Rental History, Income Verification

Credit Report ($25): Credit Score, Adverse Items, & Credit History + Renter Profiles.

Full Bundle ($45): Nationwide Criminal,Terrorist List, Sex Offender List, & Evictions + Renter Profile & Credit Report Info

Differentiation

Choice in Payment: Landlords can cover the application fees or have the potential tenant pay.

Re-Use of Applications: Tenants can apply to multiple properties using the same application, saving them from paying another fee.

Customizable applications: An upgraded feature that requires you to be on the Landlord Plan or higher. Allows for adding customized questions into the applications on a per applicant level, or across all applicants. You can complete this in the “applications” tab under step #3 when sending off an application request.

Privacy: Avail’s business model allows them to make a promise to not share tenant data with 3rd parties.

Insights

The option to absorb the screening costs is a great feature for landlords in need of differentiating to secure a desirable tenant. They are the clear winner in flexibility, made possible by their business model.

I’m anxious to see whether they crack the nut of allowing screened tenants to use their credit/background reports to apply to properties posted outside Avail’s ecosystem.

Making privacy a core part of the pitch to both landlords and tenants is an opportunity to differentiate against any media/portal model (e.g. Zillow and Zumper).

Links

Rental Applications

Credit and Background Check

Rentalutions Service Review (BiggerPockets)

Printable Application

TransUnion

How Renting Can Help Your Credit Score (TransUnion)

SCREENING

to select, reject, consider, or group by examining systematically

Usability

It’s easy to compare tenants, communicate with them, and quickly access their reports.

Differentiation

Tenant pays: They default to tenants being charged for reports, though landlords can absorb those costs.

Reference Checks: They automatically reach out to prior landlords via email so tenants/landlords don’t have to.

Side-by-side Comparison: A nice feature when whittling down a list of prospective tenants.

Grouping of roommates: Important feature for those renting larger houses to a set of roommates rather than to one individual.

Insights

The reference checks is a fantastic built in marketing channel. My last three landlords have all been DIY and none have used Avail. Each of them were notified of Avail when I put them into my renter profile.

Links

Rentalutions Partnership with TransUnion Makes it Easier for Renters to Build Credit History via Rent Payments (January 2018)

Tenant Screening

SIGNATURES

a person’s name written in a distinctive way as a form of identification

Usability

Digital signatures with their leases are supported.

Insights

Digital signatures are table stakes in today’s property management software landscape.

Links

Digital Lease Signing

MOVING

to relinquish or take possession of a new property

Usability

They recommend Two Men and a Truck to tenants to help with moving.

Differentiation

Tenant + Lease Data: The combination of renter profiles with current address and lease agreements with the new rental address allows for production of a moving quote without a plethora of additional tenant data input.

Insights

With their partnerships with State Farm and Two Men and a Truck, I’m surprised they don’t have an integration/partnership with a cleaning company to further improve efficiency of the move-in/out process. One major challenge is the lack of nationwide solutions with the on the ground operations required to serve their client base.

Links

The Tenant’s Ultimate Moving Checklist

Two Men and a Truck

PAYMENTS

to give in return for goods or service

Usability

Standard credit card authorization for submitting applications.

ACH and credit cards accepted for monthly rent payments. Follows National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) standards to process rent payments.

Seamless for tenants to connect bank accounts from a wide variety of financial institutions.

Differentiation

FastPay: A new feature, lets Avail process payments the next day rather than the several day turnaround time required by ACH transfers.

CreditBoost: A nice feature for tenants to benefit from on-time payments by reporting them to TransUnion. Landlords, if they turn the feature on, can send a negative report for late payment of more than 30 days.

Multiple Bank Accounts: Ability to add multiple payment sources, so that tenants can alternate monthly payments if needed. Or put a payment on a credit card when cash is in short supply. I’ve successfully paid rent with both my Bank of America account and my girlfriend’s CitiBank account.

Property specific bank accounts: For landlords who run multiple properties through separate LLCs.

Insights

It’s clear they’ve spent considerable time making payments a core part of their offering. The FastPay is an impressive technical feat to deliver next day processing, though it wouldn’t seem so from the surface. The breadth of their financial integrations is a significant strategic advantage.

Links

Online payments

FastPay

It’s Time Tenants Got Credit For Their Rent: Now Announcing CreditBoost

Avail Review: Automated Administration for Landlords (The College Investor)

National Automated Clearing House Association standards (NACHA)

COMMUNICATIONS

the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information

Usability

Simple for tenants to log a repair request with a description and photos. The landlord can communicate status updates via the in-app messaging system.

Differentiation

Maintenance Requests & Tracking: A huge pain point usually handled via long emails/texts with photo attachments. Centralizing the entire process makes Avail even more critical to the landlord’s day-to-day operations.

Insights

Avail has ample opportunity to integrate with a maintenance solution such as Keepe, ZingFix, or even a home manager service such as Setter. Doing so would be a win for landlords and tenants, as well as Avail’s bottom line.

Links

Maintenance Tickets & Tracking

COMPLIANCE

conformity in fulfilling official requirements

Usability

They provide lawyer-approved, state-specific templates and integrated rental insurance.

Differentiation

Compliant Landlord-Tenant Leases: Their leases include all the clauses, disclosures and attachments needed to be compliant with local ordinances.

Insights

While aggregating state laws is not a defensible moat since it’s all public information, it’s a nice feature to set themselves apart.

They have a longstanding partnership with State Farm allowing them to monetize renter’s insurance while increasing compliance. Adding other options such as Hippo and Lemonade would give tenants choice and increase trust in the process.

Links

Digital Leases

State Landlord-Tenant Laws

Washington (State) Landlord-Tenant Law

A Guide to Renters Insurance

State Farm and Rentalutions® Help Landlords Manage Their Small Business (State Farm 2017)

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND

MetaProp Demo Day Presentation:

youtube

Ryan Coon interview with Nate Smoyer:

youtube

GEEK ESTATE MASTERMIND BRIEFING

A PRIVATE GROUP OF INDEPENDENT THINKERS, FREE FROM SPONSORED MESSAGES, SALES PITCHES AND NOISE

There are four parts to membership:

Long form articles covering the spectrum from shipping container co-living spaces to the battle for listing acquisition in the first iBuyer world war (Weekly Transmission).

Curated real estate, startups, & built world links & analysis blended with out of the box ideas (Weekly Radar).

Special reports (our first is a category review of Small Landlord Prop Mgmt Software).

Networking opportunities with 200+ innovators from across the globe through the private forum & in-person gatherings.

Membership is $109 / quarter

OUR MEMBER PROMISE

We deliver an exclusive, objective lens into the trends, companies, people, and ideas shaping real estate technology with thought-provoking analysis and conversations that keep you inspired every week.

We help you make better, more well-informed decisions to help grow and support people and companies making a difference in real estate.

We enable discovery and meeting others with shared interests online and in person (whether they live near you or are traveling to the same conference).

We’re looking for the best and brightest founders, operators, innovators, & investors in the industry…

READY TO JOIN RIGHT NOW?

Apply for Membership

The post Category Product Reviews: Avail appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

Category Product Reviews: Avail syndicated from https://oicrealestate.wordpress.com/

0 notes

cathrynstreich · 5 years

Text

Category Product Reviews: Avail

Below is a sample of one of the in-depth category reviews from our small landlord property management software mini-series that members have full access to for only $109/quarter.]

Without further ado…

Category Product Reviews: Avail (Series I, Part V)

BY DREW MEYERS Last Updated Jun 16, 2019

Founded in 2012 and a member of MetaProp’s 2015/2016 class. Have raised $5.4 million, including $2.5 million this year. Formerly operated as Rentalutions until their re-brand in June of 2018.

MARKETING

the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service

Usability

Entering photos, pricing, and availability is straightforward and clean. Publishing a property is an 11 step process.

No native iOS or Android apps.

Differentiation

Rent Analysis: The 6 page report helps determine the optimal monthly rent for the specified property. Powered by Rent Range, Avail charges landlords $19.99 per report.

Marketing Website: It’s one click to activate a marketing website, for those on a paid plan. This is geared toward the landlords with 5+ properties.

Auto populating home facts: After inputting the property address, beds, baths, and square footage are auto populated.

Amenity Icons: While not crucial to improving the software’s functionality, it’s a nice design touch.

Insights

With Zillow’s Rent Zestimates as a free alternative to paid rent reports, I question how many landlords pay for the in-depth reports.

Links

Rental Listings

Rent Analysis

Sample Rent Analysis Report

Rent Range

Example marketing website: http://aljackmgmt.com

ADVERTISING

a public notice. especially: one published in the press or broadcast over the air

Usability

Avail syndicates active listings to Zillow, Trulia, Hotpads, Zumper (which we reviewed in Part III), as well as Apartments.com, apartment list, Walk Score, and PadMapper.

Differentiation

Breadth of Syndication: While Facebook and Realtor.com would be nice additions, they syndicate more broadly than any of their competitors.

Rental marketplace: A search portal for tenants to find properties posted on the Avail platform.

Insights

Showcasing Redfin in their “My Team” section indicates they are thinking about monetizing landlords who choose to sell rather than continue renting.

Links

Avail — Designed for Part-Time Landlords (CREtech 2017)

Avail as a Cozy Competitor

Landlording Has Never Been Easier Thanks To This Company (Forbes 2017)

New Study Shows the Evolving Relationship Between Landlords and Technology (Propmodo 2018)

APPLICATION

a formal request to an authority for something

Usability

3 tiers of tenant verification, powered by TransUnion:

Renter Profile (Free): Job History, Rental History, Income Verification

Credit Report ($25): Credit Score, Adverse Items, & Credit History + Renter Profiles.

Full Bundle ($45): Nationwide Criminal,Terrorist List, Sex Offender List, & Evictions + Renter Profile & Credit Report Info

Differentiation

Choice in Payment: Landlords can cover the application fees or have the potential tenant pay.

Re-Use of Applications: Tenants can apply to multiple properties using the same application, saving them from paying another fee.

Privacy: Avail’s business model allows them to make a promise to not share tenant data with 3rd parties.

Insights

I’m anxious to see whether they crack the nut of allowing screened tenants to use their credit/background reports to apply to properties posted outside Avail’s ecosystem.

Making privacy a core part of the pitch to both landlords and tenants is an opportunity to differentiate against any media/portal model (e.g. Zillow and Zumper).

Links

Rental Applications

Credit and Background Check

Rentalutions Service Review (BiggerPockets)

Printable Application

TransUnion

How Renting Can Help Your Credit Score (TransUnion)

SCREENING

to select, reject, consider, or group by examining systematically

Usability

It’s easy to compare tenants, communicate with them, and quickly access their reports.

Differentiation

Tenant pays: They default to tenants being charged for reports, though landlords can absorb those costs.

Reference Checks: They automatically reach out to prior landlords via email so tenants/landlords don’t have to.

Side-by-side Comparison: A nice feature when whittling down a list of prospective tenants.

Grouping of roommates: Important feature for those renting larger houses to a set of roommates rather than to one individual.

Insights

Links

Rentalutions Partnership with TransUnion Makes it Easier for Renters to Build Credit History via Rent Payments (January 2018)

Tenant Screening

SIGNATURES

a person’s name written in a distinctive way as a form of identification

Usability

Digital signatures with their leases are supported.

Insights

Digital signatures are table stakes in today’s property management software landscape.

Links

Digital Lease Signing

MOVING

to relinquish or take possession of a new property

Usability

They recommend Two Men and a Truck to tenants to help with moving.

Differentiation

Insights

Links

The Tenant’s Ultimate Moving Checklist

Two Men and a Truck

PAYMENTS

to give in return for goods or service

Usability

Standard credit card authorization for submitting applications.

ACH and credit cards accepted for monthly rent payments. Follows National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) standards to process rent payments.

Seamless for tenants to connect bank accounts from a wide variety of financial institutions.

Differentiation

FastPay: A new feature, lets Avail process payments the next day rather than the several day turnaround time required by ACH transfers.

Property specific bank accounts: For landlords who run multiple properties through separate LLCs.

Insights

Links

Online payments

FastPay

It’s Time Tenants Got Credit For Their Rent: Now Announcing CreditBoost

Avail Review: Automated Administration for Landlords (The College Investor)

National Automated Clearing House Association standards (NACHA)

COMMUNICATIONS

the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information

Usability

Simple for tenants to log a repair request with a description and photos. The landlord can communicate status updates via the in-app messaging system.

Differentiation

Insights

Links

Maintenance Tickets & Tracking

COMPLIANCE

conformity in fulfilling official requirements

Usability

They provide lawyer-approved, state-specific templates and integrated rental insurance.

Differentiation

Compliant Landlord-Tenant Leases: Their leases include all the clauses, disclosures and attachments needed to be compliant with local ordinances.

Insights

While aggregating state laws is not a defensible moat since it’s all public information, it’s a nice feature to set themselves apart.

Links

Digital Leases

State Landlord-Tenant Laws

Washington (State) Landlord-Tenant Law

A Guide to Renters Insurance

State Farm™ and Rentalutions® Help Landlords Manage Their Small Business (State Farm 2017)

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND

MetaProp Demo Day Presentation:

youtube

Ryan Coon interview with Nate Smoyer:

youtube

GEEK ESTATE MASTERMIND BRIEFING

A PRIVATE GROUP OF INDEPENDENT THINKERS, FREE FROM SPONSORED MESSAGES, SALES PITCHES AND NOISE

There are four parts to membership:

Long form articles covering the spectrum from shipping container co-living spaces to the battle for listing acquisition in the first iBuyer world war (Weekly Transmission).

Curated real estate, startups, & built world links & analysis blended with out of the box ideas (Weekly Radar).

Special reports (our first is a category review of Small Landlord Prop Mgmt Software).

Networking opportunities with 200+ innovators from across the globe through the private forum & in-person gatherings.

Membership is $109 / quarter

OUR MEMBER PROMISE

We help you make better, more well-informed decisions to help grow and support people and companies making a difference in real estate.

We enable discovery and meeting others with shared interests online and in person (whether they live near you or are traveling to the same conference).

We’re looking for the best and brightest founders, operators, innovators, & investors in the industry…

READY TO JOIN RIGHT NOW?

Apply for Membership

The post Category Product Reviews: Avail appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

Category Product Reviews: Avail published first on https://thegardenresidences.tumblr.com/

0 notes

clarencevancleave · 5 years

Text

Category Product Reviews: Avail

Below is a sample of one of the in-depth category reviews from our small landlord property management software mini-series that members have full access to for only $109/quarter.]

Without further ado…

Category Product Reviews: Avail (Series I, Part V)

BY DREW MEYERS Last Updated Jun 16, 2019

Founded in 2012 and a member of MetaProp’s 2015/2016 class. Have raised $5.4 million, including $2.5 million this year. Formerly operated as Rentalutions until their re-brand in June of 2018.

MARKETING

the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service

Usability

Entering photos, pricing, and availability is straightforward and clean. Publishing a property is an 11 step process.

No native iOS or Android apps.

Differentiation

Rent Analysis: The 6 page report helps determine the optimal monthly rent for the specified property. Powered by Rent Range, Avail charges landlords $19.99 per report.

Marketing Website: It’s one click to activate a marketing website, for those on a paid plan. This is geared toward the landlords with 5+ properties.

Auto populating home facts: After inputting the property address, beds, baths, and square footage are auto populated.

Amenity Icons: While not crucial to improving the software’s functionality, it’s a nice design touch.

Insights

With Zillow’s Rent Zestimates as a free alternative to paid rent reports, I question how many landlords pay for the in-depth reports.

Links

Rental Listings

Rent Analysis

Sample Rent Analysis Report

Rent Range

Example marketing website: http://aljackmgmt.com

ADVERTISING

a public notice. especially: one published in the press or broadcast over the air

Usability

Avail syndicates active listings to Zillow, Trulia, Hotpads, Zumper (which we reviewed in Part III), as well as Apartments.com, apartment list, Walk Score, and PadMapper.

Differentiation

Breadth of Syndication: While Facebook and Realtor.com would be nice additions, they syndicate more broadly than any of their competitors.

Rental marketplace: A search portal for tenants to find properties posted on the Avail platform.

Insights

Showcasing Redfin in their “My Team” section indicates they are thinking about monetizing landlords who choose to sell rather than continue renting.

Links

Avail — Designed for Part-Time Landlords (CREtech 2017)

Avail as a Cozy Competitor

Landlording Has Never Been Easier Thanks To This Company (Forbes 2017)

New Study Shows the Evolving Relationship Between Landlords and Technology (Propmodo 2018)

APPLICATION

a formal request to an authority for something

Usability

3 tiers of tenant verification, powered by TransUnion:

Renter Profile (Free): Job History, Rental History, Income Verification

Credit Report ($25): Credit Score, Adverse Items, & Credit History + Renter Profiles.

Full Bundle ($45): Nationwide Criminal,Terrorist List, Sex Offender List, & Evictions + Renter Profile & Credit Report Info

Differentiation

Choice in Payment: Landlords can cover the application fees or have the potential tenant pay.

Re-Use of Applications: Tenants can apply to multiple properties using the same application, saving them from paying another fee.

Privacy: Avail’s business model allows them to make a promise to not share tenant data with 3rd parties.

Insights

I’m anxious to see whether they crack the nut of allowing screened tenants to use their credit/background reports to apply to properties posted outside Avail’s ecosystem.

Making privacy a core part of the pitch to both landlords and tenants is an opportunity to differentiate against any media/portal model (e.g. Zillow and Zumper).

Links

Rental Applications

Credit and Background Check

Rentalutions Service Review (BiggerPockets)

Printable Application

TransUnion

How Renting Can Help Your Credit Score (TransUnion)

SCREENING

to select, reject, consider, or group by examining systematically

Usability

It’s easy to compare tenants, communicate with them, and quickly access their reports.

Differentiation

Tenant pays: They default to tenants being charged for reports, though landlords can absorb those costs.

Reference Checks: They automatically reach out to prior landlords via email so tenants/landlords don’t have to.

Side-by-side Comparison: A nice feature when whittling down a list of prospective tenants.

Grouping of roommates: Important feature for those renting larger houses to a set of roommates rather than to one individual.

Insights

Links

Rentalutions Partnership with TransUnion Makes it Easier for Renters to Build Credit History via Rent Payments (January 2018)

Tenant Screening

SIGNATURES

a person’s name written in a distinctive way as a form of identification

Usability

Digital signatures with their leases are supported.

Insights

Digital signatures are table stakes in today’s property management software landscape.

Links

Digital Lease Signing

MOVING

to relinquish or take possession of a new property

Usability

They recommend Two Men and a Truck to tenants to help with moving.

Differentiation

Insights

Links

The Tenant’s Ultimate Moving Checklist

Two Men and a Truck

PAYMENTS

to give in return for goods or service

Usability

Standard credit card authorization for submitting applications.

ACH and credit cards accepted for monthly rent payments. Follows National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) standards to process rent payments.

Seamless for tenants to connect bank accounts from a wide variety of financial institutions.

Differentiation

FastPay: A new feature, lets Avail process payments the next day rather than the several day turnaround time required by ACH transfers.

Property specific bank accounts: For landlords who run multiple properties through separate LLCs.

Insights

Links

Online payments

FastPay

It’s Time Tenants Got Credit For Their Rent: Now Announcing CreditBoost

Avail Review: Automated Administration for Landlords (The College Investor)

National Automated Clearing House Association standards (NACHA)

COMMUNICATIONS

the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information

Usability

Simple for tenants to log a repair request with a description and photos. The landlord can communicate status updates via the in-app messaging system.

Differentiation

Insights

Links

Maintenance Tickets & Tracking

COMPLIANCE

conformity in fulfilling official requirements

Usability

They provide lawyer-approved, state-specific templates and integrated rental insurance.

Differentiation

Compliant Landlord-Tenant Leases: Their leases include all the clauses, disclosures and attachments needed to be compliant with local ordinances.

Insights

While aggregating state laws is not a defensible moat since it’s all public information, it’s a nice feature to set themselves apart.

Links

Digital Leases

State Landlord-Tenant Laws

Washington (State) Landlord-Tenant Law

A Guide to Renters Insurance

State Farm™ and Rentalutions® Help Landlords Manage Their Small Business (State Farm 2017)

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND

MetaProp Demo Day Presentation:

youtube

Ryan Coon interview with Nate Smoyer:

youtube

GEEK ESTATE MASTERMIND BRIEFING

A PRIVATE GROUP OF INDEPENDENT THINKERS, FREE FROM SPONSORED MESSAGES, SALES PITCHES AND NOISE

There are four parts to membership:

Long form articles covering the spectrum from shipping container co-living spaces to the battle for listing acquisition in the first iBuyer world war (Weekly Transmission).

Curated real estate, startups, & built world links & analysis blended with out of the box ideas (Weekly Radar).

Special reports (our first is a category review of Small Landlord Prop Mgmt Software).

Networking opportunities with 200+ innovators from across the globe through the private forum & in-person gatherings.

Membership is $109 / quarter

OUR MEMBER PROMISE

We help you make better, more well-informed decisions to help grow and support people and companies making a difference in real estate.

We enable discovery and meeting others with shared interests online and in person (whether they live near you or are traveling to the same conference).

We’re looking for the best and brightest founders, operators, innovators, & investors in the industry…

READY TO JOIN RIGHT NOW?

Apply for Membership

The post Category Product Reviews: Avail appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

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thecoroutfitters · 6 years

Link

Written by Guest Contributor on The Prepper Journal.

Editors Note: A guest contribution from Evan Michaels at Know Prepare Survive to The Prepper Journal. And a Happy and Safe Veteran’s Day to all who have served, to those that currently serve and their loved ones who make their service possible with their love and support.

As always, if you have information for Preppers that you would like to share and possibly receive a $25 cash award as well as be entered into the Prepper Writing Contest with a chance to win one of three Amazon Gift Cards with the top prize being a $300 card to purchase your own prepping supplies, enter today.

There’s something raw and primitive about hunting. It takes us back to our roots.

I am not a fisherman. Or a doctor. Or a very good listener. Where was I going with that…

Right, fishing.

The closest I have ever been to catching a fish with a rod and reel was hooking a bat that decided to investigate my bait as I cast the line.

That is not to say that I have never eaten fish I caught myself.

I once caught a fish with a spear that I made myself. Which is so much more manly than a silly stick and string.

I know you probably think that I’m some amazing Bear Grylls-esque mountain man that would make Paul Bunyan look like a hipster. And you’d be mostly correct.

But if you want to learn how to make your own spear and hunt prey like an Alpha male (or female, I don’t discriminate) like me, you’ve come to the right place.

What Will You Need?

All you’re going to need to make your very own spear is a straight stick, a knife, and maybe some other stuff.

The stick is pretty obvious but you DO have a knife, right? Every survivalist should carry a knife with them at all times (except at sporting events and family gatherings).

If you call yourself a survivalist and you find yourself in the woods without a knife, you better have gotten kidnapped and left for dead. Because that’s the only excuse.

The Spear-it Stick

The most exciting method of hunting with a spear is to lash your knife to a branch and make a pokey stick out of it.

You may have a chance of losing your knife if you do this, so be sure to have a spare. If you only have one knife (tsk tsk), I’ll cover what you can do later.

To make a knife-stick, you only need three things:

A knife – You want to use a moderately large knife with a fixed blade, no pocket knives or folding blades.

A branch – The branch should be straight and of reasonable thickness. It should be comfortable to hold and not droop from the weight of the knife, so about 3 inches in diameter and three to five feet long. Hardwood is preferred. Fresh, green wood is not preferred.

Cord or other lashing material – Almost anything will work for this, from paracord to shoelaces to sinew.

How to Make a Hunting Spear/Knife Stick

Step 1. Prepare the branch. You want it to be as straight and smooth as possible, so trim off any bits that stick out and cut down any knots. You may also want to remove the bark. Woof woof.

Step 2. Make a shelf on the branch to hold the knife. Take the end of the wood that will hold the knife, and lay the knife handle against it, with the blade parallel to the wood and pointing away from it (duh). Mark how far down the knife lays on the branch.

Good Shelf; not so good a knife for this purpose.

Now take your knife and use it to split the end of the wood down the middle. I would recommend batoning, a very useful skill for anyone who wants to use a knife in the woods.

If you are unfamiliar, basically you insert a fixed blade knife into the wood close to the base of the blade, then use a stick or mallet to strike the spine and handle to split the wood apart. Make sure to use a sturdy knife.

Once you reach the marked point, cut into the wood from the outside and break off that half. You should have a more or less L shape in the wood which fits your knife.

Step 3. Place the knife handle into that shelf, then take your cordage and lash the knife to the branch as securely as possible.

Seriously, wrap that sucker tight. If it is loose, it will affect your stabbing skills, you can lose your knife, and you’ll look like a total dweeb.

Congratulations! You have a spear you can use for hunting.

Pro Tip: If your knife starts to get dull after all of this sawing and hacking, you can use your watch band to sharpen it!

Different Spear Types

Primitive Spear

If you only have one knife and don’t want to attach it to the end of a stick, you can create a primitive spear.

That’s right, there’s an even more primitive way to make a spear than just tying a knife to a stick.

Step 1. Instead of creating the shelf and lashing the knife to the branch, you take one end of the branch and whittle it to a sharp point. Carve into the wood towards the tip, away from you.

Like before, you’re going to want to use a sturdy piece a wood that’s relatively straight, about as big around as a shovel handle and as long or longer than a shovel handle. You don’t have a shovel handle, do you? Because that would be perfect.

Step 2. When you’re whittling your spear point, be sure to make the pointy bit at least 6 inches long. Try to make it look like one of those yellow #2 pencils from school, but bigger.

Optional Step 3. For a stronger tip, insert the point under the coals of a campfire and slowly rotate. You do not want to burn the wood, but rather harden it using the heat. It still will not be as sharp as a knife spear and will not last as long, but should still be able to penetrate a deer’s hide.

Boar Spear

Wild pigs can be a good source of food, but they are a fair amount more dangerous than a lot of wild animals. A wounded boar is a vindictive beast, and they will move towards you, pushing the spear through themselves!

To keep the hunter safe, boar spears tend to have a cross brace a little ways below the head of the spear. To make one of these:

Step 1. Make a spear (primitive or knife-stick)

Step 2. Use your knife to create a V shaped notch in the wood of the spear shaft, and a corresponding V shaped notch in a branch of similar thickness (though only about a foot long.)

Step 3. Align the notches and lash the two pieces of wood together. Do not skimp on the cordage, as you want this brace to be strong. Just remember, it’s got to hold an angry wild pig with tusks from goring you. Kind of want to wrap it a little better now, huh?

Now, if you spear a boar and it tries to gore you, the brace will prevent it from getting close.

The brace also has the added advantage of preventing the spear from sticking too far into the animal, so you can pull it out and strike again if necessary.

A boar spear should also be thicker and longer than one made to be thrown.

Pro Tip: If a boar is charging at you, plant the butt of your spear into the ground and aim the pointy end at, you guessed it, the rampaging mutant pig. This will use the boar’s momentum to do all of the hard work of getting the pig on a stick for you and keep you from getting any pesky splinters. Or, you know, getting gored.

Fishing Spear

These spears are shorter and lighter than the other types, as you do not need a long reach or to keep an animal at bay.

Plus, you’re going to miss A LOT so the heavier your spear is, the faster you’re going to tire out.

You can use a lighter version of the primitive spear for this. Same concept, smaller stick.

When hunting with a fishing spear, you wait above the surface of the water, and try to impale fish as they swim under you.

Remember, light refracts as it travels through water. You will have to adjust your aim. Practice poking the spear in the water to learn how you will have to change your aim.

It might be good practice to “spear” underwater rocks. I would, ah, use one of your “mistake spears” for that, though.

Advanced Fishing Spear

Have a little bit more time, or having difficulty fishing with a simple spear? There is a more advanced fishing spear method. Creating it still requires using a knife, but you do not need to attach it to the shaft.

Step 1. Take your branch, and wrap a few inches of cord around, about a foot down from the end of the spear. This will help keep the shaft from splitting.

Step 2. Take your knife, and baton about halfway down to the cord. Remove your knife, now baton perpendicular to the split you created, so you create four points. Go all the way down to a few inches above the cord, then use your knife to baton the other pieces the rest of the way.

Step 3. Now take two twigs, about the size of your pinky and a little longer than the branch is wide, and jam them down between the split pieces of the wood so they splay out. Secure them in place with the cord.

Step 4. Now take your knife and carve sharp tips into the four points. With four times the tips, you are more likely to spear that fish!

Hunting with a Spear

There are two basic ways of hunting with a spear. They are similar to hunting with other weapons, but you have to get closer. These methods are stalking and still hunting.

Stalking is when you sneak up close to the animal. When using a spear, you have to get very close. This is easier with boar than with deer, especially during the heat of the day when the pigs are trying to cool themselves, but is still not easy.

Shovel handle with a milled blade.

Still hunting is when you lay in wait for the prey to come to you. Learn where the deer trails are and lay in wait upwind of them so your stink doesn’t scare off the prey. That’s also good dating advice.

Hiding in a tree close to a deer trail may be a good idea as well, as deer have a tendency to not look for predators above them. The downside then is that you have a harder time striking at their vital organs.

No matter whether you are stalking or still hunting, there are also two ways you can use to strike your prey. Lunging with the spear is effective, and allows you to strike again if you miss or need to, but requires you to be VERY close.

Throwing your spear naturally lets you attack from a longer range, but if you miss then you will not have a second chance. Plus you just threw your weapon away, which is a bad idea if you face something which fights back, like boar.

To practice throwing your spear, create a second primitive spear and throw that one until you are comfortable.

Could you stalk or ambush prey with a just a knife, without a spear? Sure, it is possible. But it will be much more difficult and more dangerous. The shaft of the spear increases not only your reach but also your leverage, making the weapon much more effective.

So if you decide to hunt boar with just a knife, take out life insurance, write your will, have someone hold your beer, and send me the video.

Author Bio (unedited)

Evan Michaels is a jerk. He generally enjoys playing with fire, running with sharp objects, and watching SEC football. He also writes for Know Prepare Survive with some other jerks. You’d probably like it. (Editors Comment: How many times can YOU watch Alabama football?)

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