Mastering Construction: Insights from a General Contractor

Embarking on a construction project can be both exhilarating and daunting. Whether you're building a new home, renovating a commercial space, or tackling an infrastructure project, having the right guidance is crucial. That's where a skilled general contractor comes into play.

The Role of a General Contractor

A general contractor serves as the orchestrator of a construction project, overseeing every aspect from start to finish. Their responsibilities include hiring subcontractors, managing timelines and budgets, obtaining permits, and ensuring compliance with building codes and regulations.

Effective Communication is Key

Communication is the cornerstone of successful construction projects. A seasoned general contractor excels in maintaining open lines of communication with clients, subcontractors, suppliers, and other stakeholders. By fostering clear and transparent communication, they can mitigate misunderstandings and keep the project on track.

Attention to Detail

From initial planning to final inspections, meticulous attention to detail is imperative. A skilled general contractor possesses an acute eye for detail, ensuring that every aspect of the project meets the highest standards of quality and craftsmanship.

Adaptability in Problem-Solving

Construction projects rarely unfold without unexpected challenges. A seasoned general contractor is adept at problem-solving, swiftly addressing issues as they arise and implementing effective solutions. Their ability to adapt to changing circumstances ensures that the project stays on course despite obstacles.

Quality Assurance

Delivering superior quality is non-negotiable for a reputable general contractor. They meticulously inspect workmanship, materials, and finishes to uphold the project's integrity and longevity. By prioritizing quality assurance, they earn the trust and satisfaction of their clients.

Building Strong Relationships

Successful construction projects are built on trust and collaboration. A skilled general contractor prioritizes building strong relationships with clients, subcontractors, and suppliers. By fostering a positive and respectful work environment, they cultivate a team-oriented approach that leads to project success.

Embracing Innovation

The construction industry is constantly evolving, with new technologies and techniques reshaping the way projects are executed. A forward-thinking general contractor embraces innovation, leveraging cutting-edge tools and methodologies to enhance efficiency, sustainability, and safety on the job site.

In conclusion, mastering construction requires a combination of expertise, dedication, and effective leadership. A skilled general contractor plays a pivotal role in bringing construction projects to fruition, ensuring they are completed on time, within budget, and to the highest standards of quality. By embodying the qualities of communication, attention to detail, problem-solving, and innovation, they set the stage for success in the dynamic world of construction.

⚖️ Δικηγόρος εξειδικεμένος στο Δίκαιο Αλλοδαπών & τ.νομικός σύμβουλος στη ΜΚΟ 'ΑΡΣΙΣ' σε θέματα προσφύγων και μεταναστών.

💼 Ενδεικτικά,αναλαμβάνονται υποθέσεις που έχουν να κάνουν με:

• αίτηση για πολιτικό άσυλο

• άδειες διαμονής προσφύγων και μεταναστών

• προστασία από απέλαση και κράτηση

• οικογενειακές επανενώσεις

• διαβατήρια

• αιτήσεις ακύρωσης και αναστολής, • προσφυγές - υπομνήματα

• πολιτογράφηση-κτήση ελληνικής ιθαγένειας

• Golden Visa υποθέσεις κλπ.

The real issue is that Israel has no right to self-defense against the territory and the people that it occupies. According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, it has a duty and a responsibility to protect those people until the reversion to a status quo ante that preceded hostilities, meaning until sovereignty is returned to the Palestinians. Of course, Israel denies that this is applicable, because it denies that Palestinians are a people, and so they say there is no sovereign to whom to revert. Israel also claims that this territory belongs to them. They claim that they had the right to acquire it by force, which proceeds from their claim that the 1967 War was a war of self defense. Neither of those claims are true. Israel insists that the attack that launched the 1967 War—in which it destroyed Egypt’s entire air fleet while it was still on the ground—was a preemptive strike against an inevitable attack by Egypt. In reality, Egypt was cooperating with the United States as it worked toward a mediated agreement. This was not a defensive war—but even if it was, since the adoption of the UN Charter in 1945, there has been no principle in international law that permits the acquisition of territory under any circumstances. Israel has created and perpetuated legal fictions to deny the applicability of international law. For one, Israel says there is no occupation. It says the territory is “disputed” and applies occupation law on a de facto basis, which allows it to cherry-pick the provisions with which it complies. It has created a sui generis regime that has no analogy or precedent, and thus it neither recognizes Palestinians as part of its domestic order—which would characterize its confrontation with Palestinians as a civil war—nor acknowledges the existence of a regular war against a nascent sovereign fighting for national liberation. Instead, Israel has been creating new law to cover what it calls “armed conflict short of war.” This enables Israel to usurp Palestinians’ sovereignty, and associated policing power, while also using military force against them.

Why Panama is on Strike

From afar the Panama protests look like maybe a bunch of hypersensitive eco-fools or maybe like those people who think throwing paint on museums is making any difference instead of going directly to the companies. 

The reality is that Panama is protesting way more than just the “contract”. But, let's start with the contract. 

First, the company can own Panama by owning land property of the Panama state" inside or outside the 17,000 hectares from what was licensed.” This means that the ANATI (the National Authority of Land Administration) HAS to give it to the mining company with no setbacks.

The mine puts danger around 8 countries of Centroamerica with already reported 200 environmental damages

If the company wants to own private lands that are located inside or outside of hectares of the land that was licensed. The company can own the land and pay nothing in exchange, with no questions.

The contract was done with random permits without the proper process of acquisition. 

The contract promises to give Panama a very small quantity of payment to Panama when Panama already spends millions of dollars on the state. This means the company will give Panama less money than what Panama already invests in the country. So we are selling parts of Panama for less than what we already invested. 

Panama's government is allowing a foreign company to NOT pay 70% of their taxes during the first 10 years of copper extraction. 

The community of Donoso (where the mine is located) says they see tons of copper trucks going out every week and at the same time they complain they haven't seen improvements in their community. Ejm: railroads, electricity.

The company threatens with an international lawsuit of millions of dollars if Panama doesn't sign the contract. But if the company fails to comply with the contract, claims it will only pay 70 million dollars (Which is less than what they make extracting copper from the mine).

The contract has a clause that makes an actual law. The contract will reign according to the laws of Panama, except if a law looks inconsistent. In other words, if Panama makes a law that prohibits mining or a law that obliges them to pay taxes, because of their contract it will not apply at all because of that clause. 

The joke was that the president signed the contract in less than 3 hours.

Now, going to the other complaints of the population. Panama already has tons of issues and complaints that are not resolved. These issues have put the whole country on the verge of exploitation.

In September, there were massive protests in several parts of the country because of the sexual assault of the minor Madeleine at the hands of the National Juvenile Assembly. To keep it short. Every year the country makes a national juvenile assembly and this kid was from outside the city representing her district. She ate and drank with each political party and told a classmate to check on her because her water tasted like medicine. The kid hours later was attended by an ambulance with no notification of this to her mom. After this, the kid was behaving erratic and paranoid with a location on her phone that wasn't at the hotel in Panama where all the kids were. The other claims of the event were that all the minors had those dinners with the political parties representatives and on those tables were "Gringos" (foreign European or North American people). Why those kids were sharing tables with gringos in the first place?

When the kid arrived from the trip, she was in a catatonic state and with constant PTSD attacks. There's still no justice or any trace of who were the ones who committed those crimes, and even no accountability by the MEDUCA (The Ministry of Education of Panama).

It is not the first time since such an event happened at the hands of the state. In 2021, we had another state scandal when it was reported that one of the deputies ( Arquesio Arias) of the national assembly raped several women in the indigenous Kuna Yala region. Of course, you can imagine he was dismissed from the charges and when that announcement was published, one of the victims tried to kill herself and got into the ER.

Then there are the deputies who name some of their relatives to the state payroll and don't even work in the state but take tons and tons of money monthly. Meanwhile, the oncologico hospital keeps getting shortages of injections and gloves.

Panama is considered an international hub, one of the richest countries of Latin America and still we struggle with poverty and access to vital things for the population, why? Because people of the state and international companies steal the money, they sometimes build roads and bridges and the costs are higher to the price from the real costs of those constructions, for example, the Odebretch scandal. They charge lots of money, so they can bribe some of the money to both parties (the construction company and the one who is soliciting the construction.

But then again bribing is part of the panamenian culture as we say "juega vivo", bribing the police, the hospital, and the system is all about money and taking advantage of situations as they come even if it is illegal.

Is funny we are all fighting for water, Well my friends here where I am with the famous "Panama Canal" that provides us with most of our income as a nation while having lots of rivers and geographically we are surrounded by both the Pacific and the Atlantic Ocean, having all of that I get shortages and cuts of water for more than 6 times a month.

This week, the IDAAN (the company that provides water to the whole nation), has been making shortages all week. My family and I have been saving water tanks each day because of the shortages. I keep joking internally that I have a toxic relationship with the IDAAN since we kind of got used to this and the irony is that while the entire country struggles with the shortages they still sign a contract that will even affect the water flow to the Panama Canal in the long term.

The protests are not just because of the damage to nature is that the government sold us to a foreign Canadian company that has shareholders from the US and China to exploit us leaving us with nothing.

My biggest worry right now is that our current president is sick, the whole country knows he has cancer and during his last speeches, he has been looking like a corpse with now rumours of him leaving the country to intern himself to a hospital in Houston Texas. If he dies then probably the vice president has to take charge, but he has been missing since the protests and people HATE him. So yeah, Panama is on the brink of chaos and if that happens .. well

Bruce & Jason fic recs: sweet and bittersweet

Some of the best sweet and sweet-and-sad fan fiction featuring the bond between a Good Batdad and his scrappy birdson.

>Sweet - light and fluffy, minimum hurt with maximum comfort

"Call Me Hopeless" by incogneat_oh - Bruce says good night to Jason and Dick.

"Alternative Means of Acquisition" by Imbecamiel - In which Bruce Wayne arm-wrestles Lex Luthor.

"home is such a lovely place" by evanescent - Jason's first time sneaking out to patrol doesn't go as planned. (He didn't mean to get sick, alright?)

"White Christmas" by LemonadeGarden - Jason's been in the manor for a few months now. Bruce is a pretty cool guy, sure, but he's not exactly sure what to expect from him. And then they go to Siberia in the winter on a case. It goes horribly wrong, and then pretty well.

"Not Guilty, Sir" by incogneat_oh - Robin smoked.

"Safe Space" by Cerusee - Turns out, Bruce and Jason aren’t quite on the same page about who’s parenting whom. Bruce is going to need to clear some things up.

"Sold to Wonder Woman (by my evil adoptive father Batman)" by JeanjacketCarf - Jason writes some fan fiction. It's totally not a self-insert.

"Mint Chocolate Chip" by LemonadeGarden - Summer vacations have been going on just long enough for Jason to start getting bored, when he gets an unexpected visitor. From the future.

"Cookies And The End of The World" by AnActualCrow - Jason has a bad day at school. Alfred and Bruce make him feel better.

"I Love You" by DetectivePrettyBoy - Jason wants to tell Bruce that he loves him.

"don't take your guns to town" by kreestar - batman comes home from a night patrolling to find a 10 year old jason todd waiting for him in his kitchen. across gotham, at the same time, red hood is stopped by a 25 year old bruce wayne.

"The legends and the myths" by orphan_account - Jason Todd is the best liar Bruce's ever met. Jason Todd is the worst liar Bruce's ever met.

"Growing Like A Breeze" by whaleofatime - April 27th isn't anyone's favourite date, but it's somehow worse than usual today when Bruce gets his car stolen. It's nice of Red Hood to come to his rescue. Nicer even that Jason keeps him company afterwards.

"Rise Up With The Sun" by blacklettered - His son came home on a Wednesday evening and Bruce did not call for the slaughter of the fattened calf but it was a close thing. Jason quietly decides to come home, and Bruce is quietly delighted. (Also there's a bunch of freaky Edgar Allan Poe shit happening in the background because lowkey Jason Todd is a revenant who walks the earth as if living and yet remains irrevocably connected to the forces of death and decay—but that's not as important.)

"Bet on it" by Lysical - Damian asks Jason for a favor.

"homerun" by someplacewarm - Bruce backs out from a baseball game with Jason last minute. They handle it just about as well as they handle anything else: bad, then better.

"the reflex" by TheResurrectionist - Jason takes a smoke break.

"Boof" by strikeyourcolors - When Bruce finds Jason turned into a dog in an alley, he tries to take care of him. He didn't plan on getting along so well with this canine form…or getting so emotional.

"Late Night Langoustining" by whaleofatime - Jason steals a live lobster from a supermarket.

"bred in decency and order" by OkayAristotle - Bruce cuddles his giant son. (Contains brief vomiting.)

"Sealing the deal" by orphan_account - In which Bruce Wayne is kidnapped and it’s somehow not the most difficult part of anyone’s day.Or, in which Jason Todd is a selkie.

"Plus-One" by Goldmonger - All the kids were permitted to bring a guest to the gala. Dick brought Barbara, Tim brought Bernard, Duke brought Ana, Cass brought Steph, Damian brought Jon, and Jason brought a forty-year-old 6’6” man with no sense of personal boundaries. Bruce is getting too old for this nonsense.

"the road home" by drakefeathers - Set during Lost Days. An injured and exhausted Jason succumbs to homesickness.

"the clay steals the clay" by zipadeea - Bruce discovers that Jason is alive in the sweetest, funniest way possible.

>Bittersweet - sweet mixed with melancholy, lots of hurt with some comfort; may contain mentions and depictions of child death

"Beneficiary" by sirsparklepants - The beneficiaries of the estate of Jason Todd.

"bird of winter" by knowsphere - Damian meets a ghost. Based on the short story "The Delusions of Alfred Pennyworth" at the end of Batman: Gotham Knights #34.

"A Proper Goodbye" by ceemobster - The emergence of the Red Hood throws Bruce into disarray, and then Jason pays him a visit. The epilogue of the "Under the Red Hood" story... set after Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

"this gun needs no bullets" by sacrr - A true Knight is made, not born. Or: the story of Jason Todd. [Batman: Arkham Knight]

"when you were young you used to dream about fires" by someplacewarm - Bruce travels back in time and finds himself in Jason's childhood home. Things aren't easy, but they were never this hard.

"through the valley of the shadow" by Goldmonger - Jason gets kidnapped and tortured. He rescues himself, partly.

"a little bit louder now" by mx_chrx99 - A mission gone awry, too many memories, too much blood, and not enough time. Bruce races to save a son he couldn't save before.

"Haunting" by the_authors_exploits - A child dies of neglect on the streets of Crime Alley; even then, the Batman won't give up on him.

"rip up the floorboards" by orphan_account - Content warning for non-graphic discussions of past CSA. When Jason was young and starved, he hid something like a corpse in his own body. Hurt/comfort.

"Wayward Birds" by LanternWisp - Featuring hilariously crunchy overbearing parent Bruce, who forbids his kid from consuming coffee or dairy.

"Moderation" by orphan_account - In which the Riddler accidentally saves the city a few years early by helping rescue Robin II from Joker’s clutches. Out of pure and vicious spite. [Arkhamverse]

"You're Just A Baby, You Can Not Fly" by BabblingBookends - Batman visits Jason's grave to say goodbye to his partner.

"To See the Stars" by lurkinglurkerwholurks - Jason and Bruce go for a hike.

"Younger Bruce, Older Jason - Shorter Fic" by whatomen

"Knock On Death's Door" by CastleGachi - Red Hood rescues a wounded Batman.

"here in our house, reminders of you" by jesamnelovelace - A Christmas present from Jason becomes Bruce's closest connection to his son after his death.

"a broken piece of what we used to be" by Cerusee - Bruce and Jason messily yet lovingly deal with the ramifications of Damian's resurrection and Nightwing's supposed death.

"Mask Of Blood" by Kieron_ODuibhir - When Jason is trapped in the past, Bruce turns to Jason Blood for help.

"By Any Other Name" by ManURonaldo - Jason thinks of Bruce and Batman as separate people.

"Someone That Hates To See Me Go" by AutumnHobbit - Or, how Jason realizes his family wants him to live, and how he realizes he does, too. (Oprah voice) Your fave gets hurt/comfort! And your fave gets hurt/comfort! They all get hurt/comfort!

"through death and time" by sparkycap - After a mission that takes Batman and Nightwing back twenty years in the past, they end up with time to kill. Bruce does what he does best: he finds a kid. Luckily this one is already his.

"Mighty" by Sparkypants - Five things Bruce taught Jason when he took him in, and one thing Jason taught Bruce.

"it's always sunny in coast city" and "the alignment of the planets, and of you and i" by atlasky - In which Uncle Hal Jordan loves Jason, but Bruce absolutely adores him with every fiber of his being.

"Trapped" by lurkinglurkerwholurks - Bruce and Jason end up trapped in a collapsed building. Jason really dislikes being buried alive.

Question for anyone who's read some of Touching Sentiments!

I'm currently in the process of building a visual timeline that's more precise than the text-based timeline (which I am planning to overhaul once the visual version is done).

Fic titles will be laid out by month/year and dated if applicable, and arcs will be labeled. The only 'events' I have labeled so far are character movements (ex. Essek returns to the Vurmas outpost, Caleb leaves Eiselcross, etc.) and Caduceus's progress on Temple of the Gods.

Here's an example of what the timeline is on track to look like:

Question:

A Note To All Employees

To: You fucking lunatics All Gage Acquisitions Employees From: Healer Mathye Bishop

Subject: Immunizations By this point, it is probably common knowledge amongst you maniacs everyone that in four months’ time, the adventurer core of the business will be heading out on a new venture to Tural—the New World.  As the entire country is unknown to us Eorzeans, I’m sure many of you will be engaging in new and wonderful experiences with the locals and the native wildlife.

(I fully anticipate some, if not all of you are going to get horribly eaten or maimed.)

To that end, it is now a requirement that every single one of you get updated immunizations for all known Eorzean diseases, and for the more notable illnesses of Tural. 

I repeat.  It is now a requirement. I am not asking.  The medical team is not asking.  Gage is not asking.  Dark is not asking.

“But whyyyyy???” I hear you whining.  I shall tell you why.  Unlike Ilsbard, and unlike Doma and Hingashi, there has not been that much interaction between us Eorzeans and the people of Tural.  Which means we are more than likely to be very susceptible to their illnesses, and they are more likely to be susceptible to ours.

…

For the dumbasses: We can make them sick and they can make us sick.

Which means as representatives of our landmass as a whole and for our various nations, we must set a good example.  This means everyone getting their shots.  This also means practicing basic medical courtesy should we get over there and someone gets sick but that’s a different lecture for another day.

Everyone.

There is no getting out of this.  This comes from Gage and Dark respectively.

I understand there are many who are afraid of needles.  That’s fine.  That can be worked with.  I understand there are many of you who hate me and would like to fling my corpse out of a window.  That is fair.  There are others on the medical team who can help you.

However.

If I hear, if I find out, if I witness one of you going over to Tural and inflicting disease upon the natives because you couldn’t be arsed to do the right thing and get your fucking shots, NOT ONLY WILL I ENSURE THAT YOU ARE IMMEDIATELY DEPORTED, I WILL ALSO REPORT YOU TO THE LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND ENSURE THAT YOU ARE NOT PERMITTED ENTRY AGAIN.  THEN I WILL REPORT YOU TO THE RESPECTIVE AUTHORITIES IN EORZEA, IN ADDITION TO WHATEVER PUNISHMENT GAGE AND DARK WILL HAVE FOR YOU, AND THEN I WILL PERSONALLY BEAT YOUR IGNORANT AND BIGOTED ASS INTO A PULP.

Expect notifications of when you can come in for your first round of immuizations.

Also if any one of you come near me with Valentione items I will also beat you into a bloody pulp.

Blessings of the Twelve/have a nice day/whatever the fuck motivational thing gets you going, I don't fucking care.

Workshop Progress: Post Summer Update

Hello Workshop followers! We've been hard at work over the last few weeks separating and voting on the second set of lines from our VA, as well as completing another commissionship session with Mr. Warren this past Sunday. While usually we feature the work being completed by all three teams separately, we'll be summarizing the current state of the mod in a single long post for this update; as we approach the finish line in wrapping up the framework rebuild, more and more of our staff are working with the CK & Assets team to assist with build testing and finalizing various features.

So firstly, the benchmarks we're most proud of:

All assets have officially been replaced with high texture models! Everything from Kaidan's physical appearance, to his armor and weapons, to the little cherry tree you can marry him under, have been updated.

The CK & Assets Team have completed their rebuild on all but two quest frameworks -- specifically for his personal quest 'Blood and Fire' and his Mehrunes Dagon quest commentary. Our nickname, pronoun, and outfit systems are all functional as well. All of these quests are now ready for line implementation and beta testing.

As of our most recent VA session, we are officially over 50% done with the total script revoice, with 836 lines out of the original 1400 projected lines recorded. The final total of lines will fluctuate a bit to accommodate the extra lines being added for the aforementioned new systems, as well as the new platonic Autumnwatch acquisition route, but it shouldn't be by very much. We will update the community with a final total in a future 'community receipt' post detailing our full business expenditures.

We continue to operate solidly under budget! Using the formula outlined in our budget breakdown post, we have enough money for approximately 7 1/2 hours of Mr. Warren's services ($1885/$250), but the remaining scripts should be completed in approximately 5 hours. As we get closer to our final sessions with Mr. Warren and the final total for that budget surplus becomes more concrete, we will be able to hash out the details of what else the community can vote to have added in the 1.0 launch. You can read about a few of those ideas here, but feel free to submit your own ideas via our inbox or on our Discord.

So what's next on our plate?

Completing the last of the framework rebuild

Continued line implementation as voting and splicing permits, as well as necessary subtitle corrections and emotive animations to match the new lines

Staff bug and beta testing to tweak new system functionality, as well as editorial reviews by the Writing Team to tweak in-game journal updates and other miscellaneous text

Finalization of new dialogue for acquisition of Autumnwatch

Scheduling our final 2 - 3 VA sessions (woo!)

Getting distracted by Baldur's Gate 3

Our Community Team will be setting up another series of livestreams to feature lines from our third commission in the coming weeks. This round of scripts included his commentary on the main quest & factions (College of Winterhold, the Companions, etc), the dialogue associated with gifting him books and having him read some of them back, as well as his personal quest involving Shadowgreen Cavern.

Thank you again for all of your continued interest and support!

the blorbo-ification of korvin kwan

set in a combo of @vermillioncrown's 'the pros and cons of digging your own grave' and my 'a sunset every hour,' i wrote a scene for verm as gift fic, because i was so affronted by how mean the narrative was to My Boy (korvin) and how much i wanted him to get wrapped in a blanket and also have a dental visit. hence the title--i spiritually adopted him in a hopefully less cracked version of 'you lost the rights to your oc bc you were mean to them.' (we've all seen the screenshots of those posts, right???)

so this is allie finding out that dick grayson has been hiding an entire twelve year-old from her. she is not well pleased lmao.

Allie’s pretty sure that she’s timed Dick’s work schedule correctly, but she’s also willing to wait outside the doorstep of his latest safe house until he arrives and soothes her frazzled nerves about his general state of being.

What Allie is not expecting is for not-Dick to answer the door, and especially she isn’t expecting that someone to be a wavy-haired East Asian boy who opens the door but doesn’t undo the chain lock, peering through the gap between door and frame all squinty-eyed.

“Um,” says Allie, eyes flashing to the 302 on the door, which is exactly the number it should be. “I’m…looking for Dick?”

The evaluative quality of the kid’s stare does not diminish. “You’re too young to be a girlfriend.”

She’s helpless against the instant full-face squinch that sentence causes. “We’re more like mutually adopted siblings,” she hazards, voice tight, and regretful that everything regarding the usage of Dick's name sounds inappropriate for the public, especially under-eighteens.

A pause.

“Mr Richard didn’t tell you he underwent child acquisition,” he observes.

“He didn’t, and he’s going to rue that fact until the day he dies.”

“Sounds like siblings, yeah. You’re Allie, then?”

“He talked about me to you but couldn’t be bothered to mention you to me?” she mutters, mostly to herself.

“I was trying to pretend to not-hear him talk to you on the phone. Not really possible in this shoebox.” Some of the squinting eases. “If you can prove who you are, I can let you in until Mr Richard gets back. Otherwise I’m calling the cops.”

Allie is…impressed by that statement, she's pretty sure. “I haven’t got a driver’s license yet, but I’ve got a learner’s permit and a library card. Sufficient evidence?”

A hand pokes through the gap, fingers making grabby motions. Three minutes later has her standing in the kitchen, shoes and coat off, and peering at the meal prep in progress.

“Korvin,” as she’s been informed is the kid’s name, “I know Dickard’s idea of a good meal is take-out, but what the fuck? Do you seriously have to cook it yourself if you want a vegetable?”

“Mr Richard makes sure I get fed,” is the dodgy reply, and Allie knows what covering for someone you don’t want to get in trouble sounds like. So she decides straightforward is best.

“Look, I love Dick to bits,” she tells Korvin. “But his life is held together by silly string, boyish charm, and Barbara. Fuck,” she realizes, pulling her flip phone from her back pocket. She holds the power button until the screen lights on. “Yeah, hope that freaks them both out and gets him over here tout de suite.” She puts her attention back on Korvin, who is regarding her with similar wariness as when he first opened the door. “My point is, if you’re not getting taken care of, you tell me, and I make sure it happens. Capische?”

Korvin seems a little too stunned or cagey or something to reply.

She flips her phone back open and opens her contacts before pressing the device into his hands. “Put your number in and text yourself so you can contact me. Which, by the way, is an ‘anytime’ kind of offer.”

Another, slightly wide-eyed look, and Korvin follows her instruction.

Twenty minutes later and even the way that Dick opens the door tells Allie that he knows he’s about to get the ass-chewing of his life. He slinks through the entry like a dog pretending it doesn’t know a thing about the torn up couch cushions, grinning brightly and waving at her across the apartment where she’s removing vegetables from the oven.

“Hey, Allie!” She’ll give him credit that nervousness makes his voice waver only slightly. “See you and Korv met!”

"Hm."

More uni work, iterating upon rulandr’s concept art from last week and refining it to represent his character more, as well as a character sheet to contextualize him within the world I am creating. 

The points summarized, if my handwriting is hard to read hfmfhgm:

Ruland’r is a harpy, and all harpies are exclusively born female, but through magic (or just social transition) can be transmasculine, as he is. He is 60 years old and has lived in Solaris for roughly 20 years of his life as a “civilized” harpy, retiring from adventuring to settle down and start an antique shop that specializes in the sale of occult items. While he is retired, he can still hold his own, and though he doesn’t usually go out to find his own occult items to collect or sell anymore, occasionally when no adventurers are willing, he still delves into dungeons alone.  He is the only one with a legal permit within a several hundred mile radius around Solaris, which has given him quite the ego boost, and has allowed him to set his own prices for magical items, given that you either buy and sell to him, or risk getting arrested. There are no cheap trinkets in his shop, anything he doesn’t find useful to him sold but still very much magical, so he has a lot of money and indulges in opulence often. Despite being “civilized,” he still comes from harpy culture, where things such as “clothes” and “modesty” are a foreign concept, and so most of his fashion is very open, exposing his chest. He doesn’t care to adapt to Solaris’s culture in that sense, and actually revels in watching his customers -- most of which are rich stuck up nobles looking for the latest fun trinket to buy -- squirm as they try not to say anything, given that they have nowhere else to buy occult items.  Thanks to his patronage as a warlock of the mysterious entity called “The Archivist,” he has magical powers in exchange for his constant acquisition of knowledge. He was gifted three magical skulls that aren’t of any still-living species, but he has a single favorite one, carved with three eyes on it, that he can speak to the Archivist through. It’s usually either on a podium, prominently displayed, or on his person.  As a result, he often dabbles in dangerous and occult magics for his hunt for knowledge, and his hubris knows no bounds. So far he has evaded severe consequences, but he always comes a hair’s breath away from them. He hoards the most powerful and dangerous of items, locked away in a small pocket dimension given to him by The Archivist, but other smaller trinkets that are of no interest to him are sold once he has gleaned all the knowledge he can from them.  Most of his emotions are just some shade of irritation, but around his husband he does in fact soften up. He is not very good at people, unable to pick up on social cues and not bothering to try, figuring that other people should simply deal with him or get out of his store. He has no filter, but it does at least guarantee honesty from him, even if its brutal.

WIP Wednesday

Was tagged by @pricemarshfield last week! I have nothing exciting to show, but can give a preview of Chapter 3 of 'Blood in the Wine'. Might be ready sometime next week.🤞

For those interested in a snippet of the abbey's Chapter Meeting...

—-

“Prior Szarr, I leave it to you to lead today’s meeting.”

“Of course, Father Abbot.”

As Father Raphael returned to his seat, Prior Szarr stepped forward to stand as the abbot’s right hand. With tight lips and a condescending gaze, the gaunt-faced prior browsed the flock and stopped on the tallest, most broad member in the room.

“Brother Halsin, how is the harvest coming along as we prepare ourselves for winter?”

Brother Halsin shed his hood and stood. “God has blessed us with a bountiful yield, enough that, if permitted, I would like to visit the farmers in the northern province who have yet to recover from their blight stricken lands. I wish to provide them with what crops we can spare and, for a few days, assist where help is needed. I pray that their land becomes fertile for the next season.”

“As do we all,” Prior Szarr said. “You are permitted to leave tomorrow. You are also to remind the farmers and their families to hold onto faith. Should they survive the winter, as we have seen before with the neighboring farmlands, their crops will flourish again - fivefold than what was previously accounted for.”

“Thank you, Prior. I will prepare myself for the visit later this evening. In my temporary absence, I would like to make the request that Sister Nettie lead in the organization and storing of the crops.”

“I will discuss with the Mother Superior. Thank you, Brother Halsin.”

Finished, Halsin sat.

The prior returned to slowly scanning the monks.“I would like to open the floor for suggestions and concerns.”

Another monk stood and dropped his hood, revealing the stern, long-faced brother she’d seen at Matins.

“Yes, Brother Rolan?”

“In my cataloging of our latest acquisitions, I have found a number of caricatures of myself between books. I am making a formal request that these caricatures cease immediately, and I am wholeheartedly against the idea that I’m always frowning - I’m not always frowning.”

Tav heard Astarion snort, which earned him a glare from both the Prior and Rolan - the latter of whom was frowning. 

She fought to not crack a smile.

“However harmless, this abbey is not a place for practical jokes,” chided the Prior. “Whomever is the illustrator of these drawings, it is hereby declared that you cease your tomfoolery with our librarian.”

“Thank you, Prior Szarr.”