#he has like. 500 outfits PER DAY

[slugtranslation-hypmic]

Hi Slug! I know you are very, very busy so idk if you have any time for it, but if/whenever you get the chance, I was wondering what your thoughts were on the new Hypmic wardrobe (winter style!). I thought your comments on the last one (spring/summer) were really funny.

Oh heck yes, I love doing these. There's nothing like speaking with confidence on something I know absolutely nothing about.

Here's the approximately 3 pixels we'll be scrutinizing.

And for those interested, here are my thoughts on the last wardrobe.

Under a cut for length

Ichirou: Even though this man has perhaps the most stereotypical Japanese name on Earth and is in every other respect completely, 100% not white, I have never once understood the meaning of the phrase “white boy swag” until I saw him. Now I understand everything.

Jirou: This is a pallette swap of Holden Caulfield. Saburou’s a phony confirmed.

Saburou: The way he’s doing his bangs makes him look like he’s got a trust fund, a 30% share in his father’s Fortune 500 company, and a pony. He looks like his name should be Lucius. The rest of his outfit is just... idk, it’s cold outside. He’s being practical. I like it. Simple is good. It’s probably going to be better than the rest of this set.

Samatoki: Apart from him being blasted in the face with a wind machine, I can dig whatever’s going on here. It’s simple and nice. That sort of skinny, all black look is dope. He looks if David Bowie was about 40 years younger and modeled for men’s sportwear magazines.

Juuto: I would really like more than 2.7 pixels to tell what’s going on here, but my initial thought is that he’s trying to cosplay as the little German boy people on Tumblr are always talking about. You know, I could see Juuto in lederhose. I’m not saying it’d be a good look on him, but it sure would be something! It’s either that or he’s some Skyrim NPC.

Riou: Every time I see Riou not in military uniform, I am thrust back into the year 2003, whereupon he is my older cousin playing the PS2 and teaching me how to play Pokemon Silver. I’m not sure why, especially considering that I never saw my cousin do either of those things and Riou doesn’t look anything like my cousin, but I see him and I immediately know that this is an Older Lad who is at all times only seconds away from racing you in Mario Kart or taking you outside to throw a football around. I don’t think Riou is a dad, per se, but in about 20 years he’ll somehow skip straight to prime uncle stage.

Ramuda: Up in some top-floor suite of the King Records office building, the big hotshot, Mr. Records himself, is smoking a fat cigar. A nervous young assistant tentatively steps into the room, bent double under the weight of a stack of reports almost as big as she is. “Sir,” says the assistant, “Hypnosis Mic is cornering the otome market and making billions of yen a day. We’re rich beyond our wildest dreams! But...” Mr. Records takes a long draw on his cigar. “But?” The assistant can’t quite meet his eyes. “There’s just...” She falters before screwing up her courage and taking the plunge. “There’s just one demographic we’re not... maximizing our profits with.” Mr. Records leans forward, shifting his impressive weight in the chair. He looms like a mountain, the monolith of the Japanese entertainment industry that he is. “And what’s that?” he asks, in a voice so low it’s almost a growl. The assistant gulps but, to her credit, doesn’t flinch. There’s barely a hint of a waver in her voice as she says, “The... the straight men, sir.” “Bah!” Mr. Records snaps. Bits of tobacco-stained spit flies from his meaty jowls, mercifully missing the assistant by a hairs’ breadth. “What’s that all about? Why, we’ve got... what’s the word... woo-men aplenty, don’t we? Come on, isn’t there that one broad with them big ol’ titties? The boys should be eating her up like hot cakes! What’s the damn idea?” “Yes,” the assistant says, “you’re right, sir. You always are. It’s just that... well... Our straight, male audience is hoping to see a bit more of a... moe touch, sir.” Mr. Records eyes gleam. “Moe?” he repeats. “Oh, they want moe, do they? I’ll give them moe! Just you wait, boys! You’re about to get so much moe you won’t know what to do with it!” Anyway, that’s roughly what I think happened here.

Gentarou: I can’t even joke about this. This is just a priest’s cassock. You can literally buy something almost identical on fucking The Catholic Company.com. Everyone else is trying to serve looks, and Gentarou is serving communion.

Dice: Every time one of these rolls around, I always say, “Yeah, I’d wear that.” But this is always a lie. I would not wear that; I am only trying to give in and meet Hypmic halfway in the hopes that they won’t offend my sensibilities as hard next time. Yet this time, I would actually probably wear this. There is no personality in this whatsoever. The only reason Dice is wearing it is because Ramuda and Gentarou were too preoccupied (with bamboozling potential new viewers and leading mass, respectively) to stuff him into something fashionable.

Jakurai: Half the time Jakurai shows up in these, he gives off such a strong MSLF feeling. What’s a MSLF? A mother someone would like to fuck. I’m not about to do it, but I’m sure someone will take one for the team and go nuts over this art.

Hifumi: Love the faux fur stole thing going on here. He looks like a Disney stepmother. He’s got Cruella de Vil on speed dial.

Doppo: ?? Is it just me, or does this not look like Doppo? He looks like he wandered in out of EnStars or something. Sir, are you sure you’re in the right series?

Sasara: Probably the most normal-ass thing Sasara’s ever worn in his life. He just looks like an anime Columbo with ear muffs.

Roshou: You can play chess on this bitch. He looks like the shy girl librarian character who’s the tsundere love interest in a beloved 90′s anime with 300 episodes. By episode 287, she and her love interest (probably Columbara up there) have their first kiss, leading to wild, vitriolic ship wars on message boards between fans who have been waiting since episode 1 (which aired in 1983) for the two get married and the kind of dudes who take “If she breathes, she’s a thot” literally.

Rei: Man, take this bitch to the bank! Gold bar-looking ass.

Kuukou: I actually have a slightly better image of BAT, so this final part may be more coherent. (Emphasis on the “may”) First off, I hope we can all agree this is a bath robe. You can’t tell in the image above, but there are chains on these glasses (???) making him look like a grandmother. I think the general vibe is supposed to be ninja...ish... but it’s like if a ninja was crossed with the spirit of Miles Edgeworth. Also, what the actual hell is that white thing at his waist? Does anyone know?

Juushi: HELL YES, I can fuck w/ that hair. I do not know what is going on with the rest of the outfit. He and Hifumi are both responsible for slaying some poor faux fur beast. I feel like, if Hifumi is a Disney stepmom, then Juushi is the protagonist who’s a witchcraft practicing teen girl that must navigate her parents’ divorce and remarriages, fight off the forces of evil with magical powers, and navigate her life as an ordinary high schooler and teen gymnast in this 2010s Disney Channel show. Call it Hex and Balances.

Hitoya: Love the fact that he and Juushi are both wearing heels to flex on Kuukou. It’s a good thing no one in BAT owns a cat, or they’d be having a field day with the drawstring that goes almost all the way to his knees. Honestly, I really don’t know what to say here. I have less of an issue with the designer potato sack he’s wearing (looks comfy af tbh) as opposed to the face he’s making. He looks like he rolled out of bed and isn’t entirely conscious yet. I think someone should be more awake if they’re in such close proximity of Kuukou, so I wish him the best of luck in surviving this encounter.

#not a translation #asks #humor asks

[mareastrorum]

Thoughts on "The Nine Eyes of Lucien"

I finished the book on 11/1 and then thought about it for a day or so to collect my thoughts. Unfortunately, the more I think about it, the less I like the book. Here is a bit of a breakdown of these initial thoughts. I might change course on some of them later, but I'd love to hear some other perspectives as well.

Books as a Medium

The main problem I have with the book is really that it is a book. Books have to sell, and there are numerous traits that affect the story simply because it needs to be optimized to make money, or else publishers won't bother with it.

In particular, word count and page count are the limiting factors that came into play here. I was surprised at the font size because so many young adult fiction novels (discussed in a later section in more detail) tend to choose larger fonts. This book likely had a smaller font because it needed to fit more in. I was excited by that at first, then realized that it still was not enough to fix the problem.

Lucien's story is just too long to fit well within a book. 300 pages is long for a novel these days (100 pages longer than most!), and it still felt like so much was glossed over. I wish I knew what had been drafted and cut, or what plot lines were never even written.

I also have to say, this is not a criticism of the creative use of font types or text across multiple pages. I felt those added to the story, I have no issue with those. Again, the problem is that books can only be so long, and that means a lot has to be cut.

This is the key issue because it was the first domino that seemed to cause, or at least influence, all of the following problems.

Copyright Limitations

I think one of the more subtle issues with the book is that copyright considerations meant that a lot of the D&D lore, items, magic, and mechanics had to be covered with a veneer or replaced entirely. Some of those caused bigger ripples than others.

For example, the Tombtakers' equipment, particularly Lucien's swords. When Lucien is introduced in the stream, and later when he's chatting with the Mighty Nein, he has black metal swords. People who are familiar with D&D lore were like, "Oh damn, two adamantine swords, that is a red fucking flag." Adamantine is expensive, rare, and has niche uses. Adamantine costs 500 gold per weapon extra over the original cost of a weapon in D&D, not including enchantments, and Lucien's swords were both enchanted, as was his leather armor. Lucien's weapons and armor combined easily cost several thousand gold. All of the Tombtakers had enchanted weapons and armor. That is not something that any random mercenary group could afford. It's a warning to savvy players that this is a BBEG, do not engage combat lightly, and you can see it on Liam's and Taliesin's faces when the swords are brought up and when they spot the enchantments using detect magic.

That also made sense in the stream because the Tombtakers have very limited spell-casting potential. Only Otis had proper spells to use, and those were limited to a few 3rd level spells. (Note: I'm ignoring Cree's spell-casting because she focused on support, and we barely saw what she could do in her last stand.) Outfitting them as very well-armed and armored, experienced, higher-level blood hunters was the only way to balance them properly against the Mighty Nein, who had more numbers, two healers, and multiple spell-casters. Lucien's abilities as the Nonagon would not have been enough to make it fair.

But adamantine is part of D&D lore, and the book did not license anything from Wizards of the Coast for the story. So that had to be replaced. A lot of items had to be replaced. This starts to open up a bunch of plot holes.

I won't go into all of the ones related to this, but one plot hole is that the Tombtakers are portrayed in TNEOL as somehow very powerful, corrupted mercenaries that never have any money. The story does not proceed as if they get paid a ton of money and then spend it, it's that they constantly get ripped off, underpaid, or run into bad circumstances that drain all their funds. That severely undermines the ability to build them up as menacing, serious BBEGs that could take on a larger group that otherwise would outclass them easily.

And if they're poor, then there is no way that Brevyn could have afforded one, let alone two, adamantine swords as a gift for Lucien. So that reduces his swords to just being black and edgy, rather than having some substantive meaning that correlates to his success as a mercenary.

And of course, if they had no money, that means they went to Eiselcross with basic weapons and armor that they scrounged together. Not very intimidating.

Those narrative decisions severely diminished Lucien and the Tombtakers from hardcore, experienced mercenaries to a bunch of unlucky misfits that were in over their heads everywhere they went. I can see that maybe it was intended to make them more like the Mighty Nein, which brings me to the next topic...

Genre: Young Adult Fiction

I'll disclaim right at the start: I am not the target audience of this genre, and I knew that going in. I held out hope regardless, but I am disappointed.

YA Fiction is a difficult genre when the protagonist of a book is the villain of another story. The usual tropes that come with these perspectives usually make the protagonist less villainous in order to make them more likeable. Part of that is an ethical dilemma about whether or not YA target audiences (teens, young adults) should be sold books that portray villains in a positive light. I can see why publishers and authors alike would shy away from that when they're trying to make money. I completely understand that it is simply part of the business.

So while I am disappointed, I'm not really surprised.

In the stream, Lucien was a menacing, charismatic, egotistical manipulator. He could control the Tombtakers through the eyes, but he did so sparingly compared to his screen time, mostly for creepiness factor. He spoke indirectly and gave half-truths until it was time for an old-fashioned villain monologue.

In the book, until he had the eyes, Lucien was far more up front with his thoughts, people rarely listened to him unless they were manipulating him, he let other people take the reins unless he felt he had no choice, and his lies were less about controlling people and more about self-interest. In other words, he was a lot like Molly until he read the book, which corrupted him into the Lucien we knew from the stream.

That retcon was probably the most disappointing thing about the book. Matt mentioned during a Talks Machina that Molly was the best parts of Lucien. So when I read TNEOL, I expected to read a book about a menacing, charismatic, egotistical manipulator (or someone who grows up to be that) who had some good elements to him that balanced him out until his soul was scattered. Instead, I feel like I read a book about Molly falling to pieces and turning into Lucien.

But that is the downfall of choosing the YA genre for a book about a villain. It usually ends up softening the character or twisting them into someone else.

I grew up in poverty and gang neighborhoods for the first 10 years of my life. I went to 6 different schools by the time I finished high school. Violence and lawlessness were everyday experiences in my life. So while I am glad that TNEOL did not romanticize that sort of environment, it was clearly skipped over much of that because that is not the sort of thing that many YA fiction novels can portray accurately without running into the same ethical issues discussed above.

I fought with fists, teeth, feet, rocks, sticks, razors, chains, pipes, chairs, bats, and any other improvised weapons I could find, and I was younger than Lucien during those sections of the book. I didn't eat every day. I had numerous stints of homelessness. I was vicious, hateful, cruel, and manipulative. I was willing to do almost anything to anyone, as long as it gained me something I wanted. I did a lot of things I do not and will never regret, but that I should have never had to do. I wasn't even one of the kids to worry about. I'm the Kid That Got Out. I was One Of The Good Ones.

That is what happens to kids in those places. That is what so many kids have to be if they want any sense of agency in their life.

And I feel betrayed that the effect of growing up in those sorts of places was glossed over because those sorts of stories cannot be told in YA fiction.

Breadth of the Narrative

Another downfall of the book is that the amount of content that it attempted to cover was overly ambitious. Fitting anyone's life into 300 pages is a challenge, and it's even more so when it's a character as complicated as Lucien and Molly.

Lucien's life could be organized this way (just for discussion's sake): childhood, adolescence, the Claret Orders, mercenaries/the Tombtakers, Eiselcross expedition with DeRogna, the Nonagon and the ritual, 2 years in the Astral Sea/2 years as Molly, the Nonagon redux, and Kingsley.

Damn, that is a lot to cover in 300 pages. And two of those sections are already set in stone from certain perspectives, so while they cannot be skipped, there only so much leeway.

So the obvious result is that several sections were glossed over or reduced to very specific story lines that attempted to give the reader a sense of Lucien's typical life and experiences during that time. Unfortunately, that reduces a lot of the character building that can take place, both for Lucien and for all of the supporting characters.

I think the part that bothered me most, and which caused several plot holes, is that Lucien had no memory or experiences whatsoever during the 2 years that his soul was shattered across the Astral Sea. That conflicts with the stream because Lucien claimed that it was during his 2 year convalescence with the Somnovem that he learned about them and ultimately decided to betray him. It could be that he was lying, but in the stream, Lucien always lied for a purpose. It would be weird to lie about when he had decided to betray the Somnovem to a bunch of people he plans on assimilating into the Pattern, especially since then they would know the truth eventually anyway.

And that plot hole causes a bunch of other ones. If he didn't learn about them or plot to betray them then, the book now has to add when and why. That might have been done intentionally to add some content to the section that was otherwise dominated by the Mighty Nein narrative, but it caused a bunch of other ripples.

Without those 2 years, Lucien has to get frustrated with the Somnovem during the Eiselcross expedition, which means he has to be in regular contact with them. Thus, voices, all the time! They're constantly chiming in on his thoughts. But if the Somnovem can always hear Lucien's thoughts, how the hell didn't they hear his plans to betray them all? Shit, gotta fix that. So they have an argument and they give Lucien the silent treatment for a while. But wait, just because they're silent doesn't mean they wouldn't listen. Isn't Vigilan supposed to be paranoid?

That also steamrolls the aspect that Lucien never acted like he was constantly hearing voices in the stream. Instead, he said the Somnovem spoke to him in dreams, and that even though he doesn't sleep anymore, he can dream while he is awake. While it's totally within reason to interpret that as Lucien having hallucinations and calling them dreams, he never acted like he was hallucinating in the stream. That absence made it seem like the dreams he was describing were more lucid or controlled than rampant hallucinations.

The stream also never mentions the Somnovem speaking directly to any of the Tombtakers. Instead, in the stream, Cree explicitly stated that Lucien shares his dreams with them and that the rest do not hear from the Somnovem directly. But in the book, instead of Lucien being clever and ordering Otis to steal Fjord's Bag of Holding, now it's that the Somnovem circumvented Lucien by sending a vision directly to Otis, who was awake. What do they need the Nonagon for if they can just send visions at any time to anyone else with eyes? It's never explained. It doesn't make sense that they would put in so much effort to revive Lucien as the Nonagon if they don't actually need him. The Tombtakers already had eyes, so why not use them and let Lucien stay scattered?

So that shows how trying to cover so much can cause gaps that blossom into plot holes, which just get exacerbated by all the other factors listed here. It's a frustrating thing to deal with as a reader, and I realize that it was probably a ton of work to try to sort for the author. I don't think there is any proper way to deal with that except spread the story out to multiple books or narrow the breadth, and those are not necessarily acceptable choices to a publisher.

Lack of Meaningful Character Development

Oh man, I do not envy writing a novel with this many characters. The word limit aside, that is a lot of work. I think the sheer number of characters had an impact on character development.

I feel like I missed something, and I've already gone through the book twice. Lucien did not change much at all during the story, and I don't know how to reconcile that with the fact that Molly was able to point out Lucien's mistakes. Lucien's characterization felt static, and all the key negative traits (as mentioned above, menacing, charismatic, egotistical, manipulative) only really bloomed after he read the book. That's not really development as much as losing his mind. It made me feel like the author intended for the reader to decide that Molly is the real Lucien and everything left over was just an hollow puppet like his brother. That doesn't work well when Matt mentioned that Molly is the "best" parts of Lucien.

I have the same gripe with the Tombtakers. They never developed, they just got corrupted by the Somnovem. The only noticeable change was Jurrell dies and Tyffial mourns her. They are Lucien's closest companions! Their development would have been excellent foils for Lucien.

Characters have to learn. There were a lot of things that happened to and around Lucien, but there was a paltry amount of him assessing a situation, reflecting on his past, and adjusting tactics based on those experiences. The only one that comes to mind was Lucien's decision to bring more people with him to Aeor because he thought the mad mage's mistake was bringing too few, but that was Lucien learning from someone else's mistakes, not his own.

Static characters are not necessarily problematic, but again, Molly pointed out Lucien's mistakes. And Molly wasn't basing it on his own experiences with the Mighty Nein, he was doing it based on Lucien's experiences. Does that mean we're supposed to conclude that Lucien was only able to learn and grow as a person as Molly with a blank slate for a past? That is a much worse lesson than I think the author intended.

If the story was intended solely to chronicle Lucien's descent into madness, then sure, there was a substantial amount of scenes and changes to show that. But it's not satisfying. Lucien was the end villain for a 3-year D&D campaign. Reducing him to Molly-but-he-goes-insane is just so disappointing.

As its own note, I enjoyed Vess DeRogna's characterization right up until she is retconned into turning against the Somnovem and trying to hide from them using a veiler. The eye necklace that Lucien takes from her is an Amulet of Proof Against Detection and Location, which Critical Role reskinned as "veilers" used by Volstrucker to hide from divination magic. It could be that Vess was trying to lie to convince Lucien to let her go, but why would she think that opposing the Somnovem would do that? If she was telling the truth, then why is she in Eiselcross? It was such a weird turn and nothing came of it.

Simplification

I mentioned several examples of this already, but I wanted to point it out separately as well. It's no surprise that a book about a complicated character's life is going to require simplification to fit into 300 pages. It is a feat to tackle those choices, and I don't envy anyone who had to work on that.

My main gripe here is that the simplification of the Tomb Takers whittled them down to paltry threats that the Mighty Nein severely overestimated. The Tombtakers were half-starved, exhausted, stricken by frostbite, sick, under-equipped, insane, and aloof before even going into Caleb's tower. I don't understand how that was supposed to go unnoticed except by assuming that the Mighty Nein are that dumb. They can be dumb, surely, but that only really works in D&D where you get a single perception check, not in a novel where you have characters staring at each other for hours each day.

It could be explained by the dark magic the Tombtakers had, but there were very few examples of it. A reader who never saw the stream might take that at face value, but most readers will know the story already, so they would know what the Mighty Nein are capable of. Realizing that the Tombtakers were all bark and no bite is just so unsatisfying.

Weak Themes/Motifs

I think a key part of this issue was that, again, this is a book with just 300 pages to do a lot. But the themes were lacking.

I am vehemently upset that the butterfly theme was replaced with a puppet theme. There is so much potential eldritch horror that could have been in the novel for butterflies. The stream gave excellent pieces to work off of. Instead, the butterflies were just Brevyn's tattoo, and the real horror of Lucien's downfall was that he was a puppet for... nothing. There was no one pulling his strings in the novel after he dispatched the Somnovem. The key problem with a puppet theme is that there is supposed to be a puppet master. The lack of someone controlling the puppet doesn't add any horror factor to me, it just makes the theme seem like it doesn't fit.

Blood family versus found family could have been explored better, but it was so incoherent that I'm not sure it was actually there. It felt like references got stamped into certain sections so that it was checked off a list. Adding more information about the Tombtakers' families would have been a nice way to develop that, but only Lucien and Brevyn had meaningful interactions with their families. I also felt very little when reading about Lucien's family. I feel like that would have been so much more impactful and horrifying with actual scenes with the family instead of flashbacks or references.

Dreams and ambition were not developed as defining traits of Lucien's character, and instead they were just side effects of insanity, which was a key theme. That makes him more tragic than villainous, and while I can understand why they would take that road, it is not what is portrayed in the stream. Insanity is a fun theme to explore in horror and tragedy, but I wanted to enjoy Lucien being a villain, not just reading 300 pages of him being others' victim.

All that said, I did enjoy the King in Yellow shout outs.

Brevyn

Okay, so she gets a whole section because wow. In no particular order:

Brevyn wasn't in the stream, and she very much seems a like Mary Sue. Especially since blood hunters don't have molten lava/earth fists. Extra props for making her human with blonde hair (but she's also half-goliath, so she's got a smidgen of exotic flavor to make her extra special without deviating too much from the young white girl identity that sells so well).

I don't understand how Lucien is so torn up about Brevyn's death when he had fully intended to never see her again because he ran off to find his sister. Those events happened just a few months apart. That sideswiped me because I thought, "Yeah, Lucien's a disloyal jerk, makes sense that he'd run off to a new life without even saying a proper goodbye to his best friend or girlfriend. [a few months later] Okay, sure, it's shocking and traumatizing to see a death like that, but shouldn't he have gotten a grip after a few months? [years later] Dude, you didn't care that much, what the fuck is this Yasha is Brevyn bullshit?" This could be reconciled if the point was to show that Lucien gets overly attached to one person at a time (Aldreda, Brevyn, Cree; hey look, it's even ABC), but Brevyn breaks that pattern at #2, so that can't be it. It's also stated that Lucien had a long string of lovers, so if they were constantly on/off again or poly, that makes less sense. You expect me to accept that the guy who burned his parents to death and doesn't regret because they forced him to lure other people to a witch so they could be murdered so that the family could have a puppet older brother that they loved more than him will be forever broken because his girlfriend died while fetching a book? That is a lot of guilt to shoehorn into a man that has experienced so many things (parents, brother, witch, sister, Orders, crime, mercenary) that should have taught him that he doesn't want to or need to carry guilt. It's even a core trait of Molly to just shirk off guilt.

The butterfly tattoo bothered me so much. Why can't guys just like butterflies? Why does it have to be because of a love interest? Just let the dude want to be a butterfly. It had so much potential for a developing theme from an interest in beauty and ephemeral existence to ambition/transformation to body/eldritch horror, but nope, it's just a dead girlfriend's tattoo.

Beau is so much more like Brevyn than Yasha was as far as personality is concerned. It's not even acknowledged. I have no idea how that is supposed to be reconciled in a way that makes sense when Lucien hated Beau (which is glossed over).

Lucien saved the witch's pendant, melted it down, had it forged into a necklace for Brevyn, then gave it to Cree years later and lied about who it was for. There are so many leaps of logic in there. First, I can't think of a single reason why Lucien would want to keep the pendant as a keepsake except to stare at it while wallowing in hate. Why would he ever give that to someone he cared about? It would make more sense to fence it and buy something new, unblemished by such memories. Second, if he was going to give it to Brevyn, what was he waiting for? Was that supposed to imply he was planning to use it in a proposal even though he had intended to run out on her months before she died? Man, that is a jump. Third, why would he keep it for so long after her death? They needed money so many times, and his swords had far more sentimental value than a necklace he had planned to give to Brevyn and didn't. Fourth, why even give that to Cree? It's a necklace forged from metal from a witch he hates that he meant to give to the dead woman he loved and then he gave it to his best friend after they get to Eiselcross? There are so many conflicting reasons about why he should not be attached to that necklace. (We're not getting into the holy symbol requirement for cleric spells, okay.)

Brevyn was boring and unnecessary. I understand that this is really because of the limitations of the novel, all discussed above, but that is a strong reason not to add new characters. I did not feel connected to her character because she did not have flaws, and that is boring. Or are swearing and spending time to grieve supposed to be flaws? I've seen argument that it's a third person limited perspective so of course Lucien didn't think she had flaws; that is bullshit. There is no fucking way that anyone in a relationship with a childhood friend genuinely thinks their partner has no flaws. Just no.

I do not like the trope of adding romantic interests to a character's life to make them more likeable. Lucien is likeable without any romantic entanglements. People can be single and happy and likeable and whole. I feel like it adds to so many messages to young adults that love lives are going to have the biggest effect on their lives and happiness. They don't and they won't unless someone chooses that.

---

Those are at least my first thoughts. I wanted to get them down before really diving into others' reviews as well.

All that said, the book was entertaining. I enjoyed it during the first read, but lost that enthusiasm by the time I got to the halfway point and realized that Lucien was not going to be a villain in his own right, but only as a victim of the Somnovem. If someone isn't so attached to that idea, they would probably enjoy the book much more than I did.

There was a lot the book did right, and Roux is a good writer. My criticism of the book is focused on narrative decisions, and again, much of that comes down to the medium as a book and the limitations that come with that.

#tneol #the nine eyes of lucien #critical role #lucien critical role #the tombtakers #mighty nein #lucien tavelle

[bakersstreetirregulars]

Super Cookie Fashion Week

2/27/23 - 3/27/23

⚙️ A Cookie Fashion Show? According to this brochure, this year’s theme for the S/S collection is “Transformation”. I wonder who the main model’s gonna be.

⚙️ OF COURSE IT’S MR. ORDINARY! Who else would be so… ORDINARY enough to be chosen to undergo a full fashion transformation?!

☁️ Well, he does say “Simple is Best.” Not to mention, Curator Emmental Cheese and Pastel Meringue Cookie also had the same horrid reactions as you because of his outfit… or in this case, the lack thereof. However, a true designer must be capable of turning someone ordinary like him, a fashion disaster, into a fashion superstar! Other well-known faces such as Sour Belt Cookie of A.C.i.D and Chocolate Bonbon Cookie of Choc’au Latte will also be joining the show, but we’re also welcoming two new rising stars to the fashion show. Pastel Meringue Cookie is a designer from Rococo-oriented fashion brand Romantic Sugar. Our other new challenger is Currant Cream Cookie of Crown Punky, a fashion brand that focuses on punk fashion styles. Together, all four of them will be throwing their hats in the ring to give GingerBrave the best fashion makeover ever! That’s where YOU come in!

⚙️ Here’s where the REAL damage comes into play. YOU get to design an outfit for the running fashion disaster that is the one and only GingerBrave! Each designer has their own stage. For the first 2 weeks, you’ll be playing with Pastel Meringue Cookie and Sour Belt Cookie.

In each stage, your goal is to grab as many Fabric Jellies on the map as you can in one run. All Combi level options are capped to make the competition more “fair and balanced” for everyone else. Treasure Enhancements and Invocation Cards are disabled. Plan carefully though, YOUR CHOICES ARE LIMITED. In some cases, even more limited than the Flames of Longing event last month! If you haven’t unlocked any Cookie or Pet featured in this event, you can still run with them at level 1. You need one Event Ticket to run, and they recharge once every 10 minutes up to a maximum of 20.

Any Fabric Jellies you collect from your runs can be taken to that stage’s workshop. In Normal mode, you’ll only be able to create one costume set in the Apprentice’s Workshop with Apprentice Fabric Jellies. Create every costume piece in the Apprentice set to unlock the next stage.

Achieve an S-Rank too, and you’ll unlock that stage’s Hard mode and that stage’s Production Workshop with even more design options with Production Fabric Jellies. The map is much harder to run on, but you’ll be able to rank on the leaderboards and get an event-end reward! Production Outfit pieces can be produced as normal like the Apprentice Outfits, but you can make a second Outfit piece immediately by paying 500 Crystals or watching an ad (once every 12 hours). If you create a duplicate Production outfit piece, you’ll get 10 of your Production Fabric Jellies back instead. There’s a chance that random chaos will happen, however…

☁️ Somebody else showed me a picture of GingerBurger. Yikes.

⚙️ The Lookbook is a menu where you can dress up GingerBrave in all kinds of outfits in all 4 brands. Additional slots with their own prompts will unlock as you complete stages and unlock Hard mode in those stages. When saving an outfit to a specific slot, your outfit will be evaluated and scored based on the Fashion Points of the theme. Successfully get your outfit evaluated, and you’ll get bonus rewards and a score buff for that brand’s stage!

Here’s the catch: higher-difficulty outfits require more Fashion Points and sometimes require specific costume pieces. Other costume pieces that deviate from the theme may lower your score or automatically fail your evaluation. Regardless of whether you pass or fail the evaluation, your outfit will be saved to that slot.

You can submit 10 outfits for free per day, but you can still submit more using Crystals. The outfit in the upper-left page of your Lookbook will be considered your “Signature Outfit” regardless of whether it fits the Romantic Sugar theme.

At the end of the event, the player that is ranked in 1st Place on the overall leaderboards will have their Signature Outfit turned into a new Costume for GingerBrave and given to EVERYONE for free! The Costume’s release is planned for April 12, 2023. If the leading player does not have a full outfit of 3 costume pieces ready for their Signature Outfit, then the highest-ranking player with a full Signature Outfit will have their Costume turned into reality.

Designers

Stage 1 - Romantic Sugar - 🧶 Pastel Meringue Cookie

Stage 2 - A.C.i.D - ✂️ Sour Belt Cookie

Stage 3 - Crown Punky - 🤟 Currant Cream Cookie - Opens 3/13

Stage 4 - Choc’au Latte - 🪡 Chocolate Bonbon Cookie - Opens 3/13

???!?!?!? - ?!?!?!?! - 🖼 Curator Emmental Cheese - Can be found randomly in any Production Workshop

☁️ The event ends on March 27th, 2023, where the free Costume will be finalized and set for release on April 12th! If you think you can topple a titan of a whale, then go for broke and make your fashion dreams for GingerBrave a reality!

#cookie run #crob #new update #super cookie fashion week #gingerbrave #pastel meringue cookie #sour belt cookie #currant cream cookie #chocolate bonbon cookie #curator emmental cheese

[roonilwazlibimagines]

s.b Holidate extras - tik toks (1)

Pairing: Sirius Black x Female Reader (holidate reader) Word Count: 1.6k Synopsis: i really wanted to write something, but I needed to write something easy and lighthearted, and this has been on my mind for months, so this was born. it's really just cutesy and fluffy and light hearted, i see your asks, and i will get to them, your love and support means the world to me, i love you <3 (this is not proof read) 

Masterlist | Holidate Masterlist

There is, like, nothing canon in my holidate series, so who is to say that Tik Tok doesn’t exist? Anyways, I have all these cute ideas and I need to share them with you. This is just all fun, I will probably add to this as new trends arise

★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

I have class and you don't :)

They’ve been dating for a while now, and they’re about to go to some random event where she is all dressed up. They’re getting ready at her house and she’s waiting in her bedroom, while Sirius uses her ensuite to finish getting ready. There’s not a hair out of place and not a single crease, and yet, she still got ready quicker than Sirius who comes down in a pair of jeans and a random shirt.

And while she was waiting for him, she was scrolling through tik tok when she found this sound and she immediately thought of her and Sirius. And then, when he comes down dressed like that, he only proves her point.

She doesn’t say anything about his outfit, but as he starts putting on his leather jacket she whines, “Sirius?” and he raises his eyebrows at her, not knowing where this is about to go. “Film a tik tok with me?” She’s taken a step closer to him and she just reaches his head in her tall shoes. “Please?” She continues, as if Sirius would ever say ‘no’ to her.

“Where do you want me?” He sighs dramatically, as he fixes his jacket. She sets her phone up and gets the timer ready.

“Just stand there and look pretty,” she teases, as she aligns it so she’s standing in the forefront and Sirius in the back, standing there, and looking pretty. He lets out a breathy laugh, but does as she says.

The timer goes down and when the sound starts, she mouths it. “Yes, you want to know the difference between us, I have class and you don’t.” Her hands point to herself and Sirius at the right times and just as it cuts off she rolls her eyes and Sirius’ eyebrows furrow together.

“Hey,” he whines, “that wasn’t nice.” But she’s already laughing and going to watch it on her phone. He walks up behind her to watch it over her shoulder and she shushes him before he can continue.

She’s smiling as she watches it again, and even if Sirius is mockingly offended, he can’t help but smile with her.

“It’s funny,” she explains and she knows that he rolled his eyes at her. “Can I post it?”

She hadn’t posted many videos on Tik Tok. She had posted three in total. One of a montage of what she does in a day that has around 100 views (she wants to have a ‘that girl’ aesthetic, okay?), one of Siruis as a dog with about 300 views (Sirius thought it was funny and promised her it would get her tik tok famous - it doesn’t), and one of her doing a fit check with a good 500 views (which she was lowkey pretty proud of). And she only had a rough 150 followers, so Sirius didn’t see the harm in it.

“If you must,” he sighed dramatically. And so she posted it without a second thought.

She didn’t give it a second thought throughout the event either. Nor did she think about it when she went back to Sirius’ because they take every chance they get to be together. (They weren’t allowed to sleep over the other’s house - their parents are very traditional, but she could go back to his house. Just not for too long.)

Regardless, it doesn’t cross her mind until she’s in a pair of Sirius’ tracksuit pants and one of his shirts with her makeup off and her hair tied in a bun. They’re laying in his bed - with the door open per Walburga’s request - and Sirius’ back is resting against the backboard and she’s practically sitting on top of him, with her head resting against his chest, the blankets resting on their laps.

She opens the app and immediately squeals.

“We’re tik tok famous!” And when she shows Sirius the app he lets out an impressed, “wow.” The video she posted is close to a million views and she has something like 300k likes and another 150k+ comments.

She’s ecstatic. Her first thought is that now she can post more daily montage vlogs.

She opens the comment section, naturally, and Sirius is watching over her shoulder. She’s grinning and Sirius is genuinely impressed, but as she goes through the comments, her grin starts to fade.

‘if hes not classy enough for you ill take him🥵🥵’

‘as if you have that and you complain :/’

‘being classy is overrated anyway😌’

‘i am not classy either, in case you were interested :’)’

‘babes, can you move out of the way, im trying to look at my boyfriend😍’

“What the fuck?” She pouts, as she finds out every comment is along those lines. She’s pretty sure these random people frothing over her boyfriend isn’t part of the ‘that girl’ aesthetic.

Sirius lets out a laugh, but he's unsure. Her being jealous is still new territory and he doesn’t really know how to deal with it.

“This is disgusting,” she says, her eyebrows furrowed together as she lets her phone fall in her lap as she turns to face Sirius. “It’s pathetic,” she continues, “it’s…it’s…” Sirius wants to interrupt her and tell her not to worry, but he also wants to see how she’s going to finish the sentence, “embarrassing.” She settles on and when she turns to Sirius, he smiles, because he wants her frown to go away, even if he thinks it still cute.

“Princess,” he starts, “don’t work yourself up over it, I’m obviously not going to leave you for user 231837520485,” he rambles and the crease between her eyebrow goes away.

“That’s not the point,” she complains, but he knows it’s what she wanted to hear, “it’s not a good look going after someone’s boyfriend.” She crosses her arms over her chest and Sirius sighs dramatically.

“It’s the price you have to pay for being tik tok famous, princess. You can’t have it all.” She gives him an unimpressed look and he wraps his arms around her waist and brings her closer to him. “I’m kidding,” he whispers in her ear. “Don’t work yourself up over this, I have no interest in them, you know that. I only ever have eyes for you.” He feels her relax under his touch.

“But I can’t let them get away with acting so…” she thinks of the word, “desperate.” And Sirius knows that it will eat her alive if she doesn’t do whatever stupid thing she’s about to do and so he asks, “and what are you going to do?” She sits up.

She picks her phone up again and scrolls through the comments. Sirius wants to take the phone away from her, and delete every single comment that’s making her feel upset, but he knows she probably wouldn’t appreciate him controlling the media she consumes, even if he knows it would be what was best for her.

“I’m going to film it again,” she says confidently. Sirius doesn’t understand, but he plays along.

“Do it,” he says convincingly and she quickly gets her wand and says, ‘Lumos’ so when she faces the camera at her, her face is visible.

Sirius is in the background again, his hair in a bun and his arms, obviously wrapped around her. She plays the sound again and lip syncs the words once more, but this time, there’s emotion behind her eyes and just before the camera cuts off, Sirius decides ‘fuck it’ and licks her cheek.

The video finishes just as she starts to scrunch her nose.

“You’re disgusting,” she says as she types her caption, ‘@ the people who think it’s cute to hit on my bf’

“To show you’re mine,” he explains. She rolls her eyes.

She watches it back and sighs. “This is lame.”

“Completely,” Sirius agrees and she turns around to scoff at him. She sighs and goes to delete the video, but Sirius cuts her off.

“Nuh uh,” he tsks, “you’re allowed to be lame, you already have me.”

She’s not sure how to react or what to say. She turns her head to look at him, trying to read what is going on in his mind. He has a cheeky grin on his face and his hand is resting over hers from when he tried to stop her from deleting the video.

“So you want me to embarrass myself on tik tok?” She asks.

“Well you’re famous, so nothing you do is embarrassing,” he shrugs.

And maybe, she’s a little tired, and maybe, she really wants to post it. So she shrugs back and posts it.

The video doesn’t do as well as her first one. It stll gets 700k+ views and a good 300k+ likes, and another 100k+ comments because people have a lot to say apparently. But Sirius makes her promise not to read them, which, she eventually does anywhere and quickly apparates to Sirius because it made her upset.

“What did I tell you, princess?” He chided.

“Not to read them,” she pouts.

“And what did you do?” He raises an eyebrow at her.

“Read them.” And she buries her head in his chest as his arms wrap around her. He takes her out to get a chocolate treat and she’s happy within thirty minutes.

She then, tries her ‘that girl’ aesthetic videos which don’t do as well. They get like 100k+ views, 50k likes, but still like 100k+ comments because people keep asking where Sirius is.

‘followed you for our boyfriend and you wont even share him with him:/’

‘where is your bf? 😤’

‘respectfully, no one cares what you ate for breakfast today, show us the bf’

‘babes, i need to know our bf is doing okay, pls’

‘more bf content !!’

She eventually posts more videos with Sirius, but I will make a part 2 for that :) 

#sirius black #sirius black holidate #sirius black imagine #sirius black blurb #sirius black fluff #sb #sbb #sbf #holidate extras

[borrebitsch77]

Coronavirus Causes Americans to find Easter Fun at least 6 Feet Apart

New York - Easter is a special holiday for 6-year-old Nora Heddendorf. It's a time when she's a sucker for dressing up in a fancy dress and shiny shoes and spend time with her family and friends searching for brightly colored eggs.

The coronavirus epidemic forced her to adjust this year. She'll finish her Easter outfit by adding a white paper mask and disposable gloves in blue, and disinfectant wipes. And after hearing that her New Jersey town's annual egg hunt could be cancelled She came up with the idea of an "rock hunt."

Article content Nora's hunt does not only replace brightly colored stones for eggs, which are in short supply at some stores, but it also lets her neighbors do their hunting during their walks.

Article content "I was devastated that the school was going to be cancelled because of the virus," the kindergartener said to Reuters in a phone interview. "I would like to make people happy."

The pandemic has affected everyone from the White House to small towns parks. It has also led to the cancellation of traditional Easter egg hunts across the United States. Closed churches and plans to scotch Easter dinners with extended families have been cancelled.

However, many Americans are still finding ways to have holiday fun, from an Oregon candy maker making chocolate bunnies wearing face masks to an Texas church hosting a virtual egg hunt using the video game Minecraft.

Article content Nora and her mother started organizing their hunt in Medford Lakes a few weeks ago. She put together a number of DIY kits, each with five rocks, four paint colors, instructions and all packaged in plastic bags. Of course, she wore disposable gloves and applied disinfectant to the materials.

She then left the kits outside her home for pick-up by people who want to take part. The young artist, Nora's Rocks requested her friends return the adorned rocks she left to her for hiding.

"Thank you for helping Nora’s Rocks bring our community closer but also separating us," she wrote in the instruction letter she included with the kits.

Samantha Heddendorf, Samantha's mother and president of an environmental cleanup firm which has been cleaning up the buildings affected by the coronavirus crises She said that the hunt will begin on Good Friday and run until Easter Sunday. New batches of painted rocks being hidden each day.

Article content The goal of this project is to install 500 stones "eggs" in every corner of the 1 mile (2.6 km) town.

"People are able to look for Easter eggs or even rocks on their social distancing walks." Samantha Heddendorf stated that they could find something to look for, take them home, and have at least smiles to celebrate Easter.

In Central Point, Oregon, chocolatier Jeff Shepherd had a brainstorm to save his Lillie Belle Farms from shutdown in the wake of the coronavirus. Srazy.info He shared with his Facebook fans that he'd make "Covid Bunnies" - milk and dark chocolate ones with white face masks , and white chocolate ones with blue masks for faces.

It was a roaring success. Shepherd was able to hire back the full-time staff of seven who he had let go and has sold 5,000 bunnies and is scurrying to fill back orders, and is now limit purchases to six per customer.

Article content Safe distancing to thwart spread of the virus is what prompted the Tate Springs Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, to move to digital for its Easter Egg hunt, using Minecraft but disabling potentially scary game elements such as monsters.

Reverend Curtis James stated, "Our primary goal in life is to share the gospel. We also want children to have fun celebrating Easter."

Nora was delighted to discover that her idea was so well-received in New Jersey. The mayor stopped by to see her stuff the kits and the Lions Club invited her to lunch "when the entire thing is done."

Her favorite "thank you" was gift-wrapped rolls of toilet paper one of the essentials such as eggs being hoarded by people panic buying during the pandemic.

Nora said, "My mom smiled when toilet paper came in." (Reporting by Barbara Goldberg, New York Additional reporting by Rich McKay, Atlanta; Editing by Rosalba Obrien

#Srazy #Info

[stantondyer]

Coronavirus Forces Americans to find Easter Fun at least 6 Feet Apart

New York Easter is a memorable holiday for 6-year-old Nora Heddendorf. It's a day that she is a fan of dressing up with fancy shoes and dresses and go on a hunt with her family and friends to find brightly colored eggs.

The coronavirus pandemic forced her to change her clothes this year. She'll finish her Easter outfit by adding a white paper mask, disposable gloves in blue, and disinfectant wipes. After learning that the annual egg hunt in her New Jersey town might be cancelled she came up with an "rock hunt".

The hunt of Nora's article does not only replace brightly colored stones for eggs, which are in short supply at some stores, but also lets her neighbors hunt while they are on their walks with friends.

Article content "I was devastated that the school was going to end up being cancelled due to the virus" the child told Reuters in a telephone interview. "I would like to make people feel happy."

From the White House to small town parks The pandemic has prompted the elimination of traditional Easter egg hunts and "rolls" across the United States, closed churches and scotched plans for Easter meals with extended families.

However, many Americans are still finding ways to have fun during the holidays, from an Oregon candymaker making chocolate bunnies with face masks to an Texas church organising an egg hunt that is virtual with the game Minecraft.

Article content A few weeks ago, Nora and her mother started organizing her hunt in their town of Medford Lakes. She gathered a plethora of DIY kits, each with five rocks and four paint colors, instructions and all packaged in plastic bags. She put on disposable gloves and sprayed all the contents with disinfectant.

The kits were then placed outside her house to be picked up by those who wish to take part. The young artist, Nora's Rocks requested her friends return the rocks she left to her to keep for herself.

"Thank you for helping Nora's Rocks bring our town closer but remain separated," said the instruction letter she included in the kits.

Her mother, Samantha Heddendorf, president of an environmental cleanup company that has been decontaminating structures affected by the coronavirus crisis The hunt will begin on Good Friday and continue until Easter Sunday, when fresh batch of painted rocks to be found each day.

Article content The goal is to place 500 stone "eggs" in every nook and cranny of the 1 square mile (2.6 square km) town.

"When people are taking their walks with friends, they can look for rocks, or what are known as Easter Eggs. They could have something to look for and then grab them and at least have a smile to share the joy of Easter with," Samantha Heddendorf said.

Central Point chocolatier Jeff Shepherd has come up with a solution to save his Lillie Belle Farms in Oregon from being shut down by the coronavirus. He informed his Facebook followers that he was going to create "Covid Bunnies" which are dark and milk chocolate with white face masks , and white chocolate ones with blue masks for faces.

It was an instant hit. Shepherd was able to hire back the seven full-time staff who he had let go and has sold 5,000 bunnies and is scurrying to fill back orders. He is now restricting purchases to six per customer.

Article content Safe distancing to stop the spread of viruses is what convinced the Tate Springs Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, to go digital with its Easter Egg hunt, using Minecraft but disabling potentially scary game elements like monsters.

Reverend Curtis James stated, "Our primary goal in life is to spread the gospel. We also want children to still enjoy Easter."

Nora was delighted to discover that her concept was well received in New Jersey. The mayor came to visit her to fill the kits, and the Lions Club invited her to lunch "when the whole thing is finished." MINECRAFT SERVERS

Her favorite "thanks" was gift-wrapped roll of toilet paper. This was among the most popular items that people shopped for in the panic of the pandemic.

Nora said, "My mom smiled when toilet paper arrived." (Reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York; Additional reporting by Rich McKay in Atlanta; Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)

#Minecraft servers

[gallegospham9]

hermes crocodile bag 20

Himlayan Birkin A 2017 research revealed that the worth of Hermès Birkin bags has elevated 500% within the final 35 years, an increase of 14% per yr. One of essentially the most coveted models comes from Hermès' Himalaya collection, which comes in three sizes. Often referred to as the holy grail of handbags, the white Himalaya Birkin bag features 18-karat white gold hardware and greater than 200 diamonds. The 35-centimeter mannequin specifically is very uncommon and has sold at report prices 12 months after 12 months. Most recently in 2019, it offered for over half a million dollars. Professional sports betting advisor David Oancea, also called Vegas Dave, made the record-breaking purchase. One of the only locations that sources and sells genuine Hermès products is Luxity, which holds the title for the most expensive pre-owned handbag in SA. This was the Hermès Epsom Birkin 35 Menthe, which was offered for R220,000, and had a retail value of R280,000. In the meantime, begin investing in our different coveted Hermès beauties, not solely are they essentially the most coveted luxurious designer items in SA, however they're additionally uncommon and are sure to make any outfit scream luxury. We cannot start a discussion about the most costly Birkin bag without a good understanding of the brand’s historical past and heritage. If a “-” single hyphen is what you see, you have Veranus Niloticus in your palms. The scales of this lizard are similar to that of Veranus Salvator, and could be very difficult to distinguish except compared simultaneously. The scales of Niloticus Lizard are more ovate than round, and the webbing is tighter between every scale which minimizes the general hexagram form, however the end impact is quite much like Veranus Salvator. Coming in close second in phrases of resale worth, we've Niloticus Crocodile. This pores and skin is harvested from Crocodylus Niloticus crocodiles, a freshwater species native to the Nile River region of Africa, however discovered broadly across the continent. Hermès’s sources are situated at the southernmost tip of the Nile River, in Zimbabwe. I’m pretty sure it’s a selected tanning process that produces this shade. Albino crocodiles are so exceptionally uncommon, and even they won’t produce this colour. Luxury purchasing and charitable work aren't mutually exclusive. I know lots of people with closets bursting with luxury goods. Although together with still costly for ordinary individuals. Namely the Tabby Shoulder Bag 26 in Colorblock from the Coach model worth Rp. Berk stories this bag was bought in 2013 in the Las Vegas boutique for round $250,000, and today he feels strongly it'll simply break $500,000. What compels someone to spend over double the acquisition price? If you're a bag collector and have the means, proudly owning this bag could make you considered one of few individuals on the earth to ever put your hands on it. And from what we’ve been advised and from our research, there might have by no means been one other bag like this made. Both with fantastic, small scales, they make unbelievable night baggage for any excessive profile occasion. The colour of this emerald green Rio Vert Pochettedefines luxurious and wealth and contains a exceptional wooden and gold clasp, making it a uncommon collectible for any Hermes lover. For a slightly more feminine look, this glorious fuchsia Kelly Cut Mini is a terrific bag for these wanting to mix youthful exuberance with traditional luxe. If you have to select, you possibly can't afford the Hermès white Himalaya crocodile diamond Birkin bag that Christie's simply unloaded for $379,261, making it the costliest handbag ever bought at auction. Measuring 15.75” x eleven.5” x 8”, this bag is within the larger measurement 40, a fantastic size for packing in objects for a busy day at the office, a day trip with family, or an overnight keep. [newline]The inside of the bag features a zippered compartment and additional flat compartments for straightforward organization. Acquired in pristine condition, this Hermès handbag is retailer recent and in the identical condition as when it left the manufacturing unit in Paris. The strapless sequin gown featured a contrasting bejewelled waistline and was paired with a set of statement drop diamond earrings. The 2010 Golden Globes may need been affected by dangerous weather but Diane Kruger’s bubblegum pink gown actually helped to brighten the proceedings. The floor-length costume, which was designed by Christian Lacroix, featured a sq. neckline decorated with gradating pink ruffles and a small white bow at the waist. Nicole Kidman attended the 2005 Golden Globes sporting a bodycon costume designed by. The cobalt blue gown featured a fishtail-style skirt that accentuated her silhouette and was given a quirky contact with the addition of a single peacock feather strap. Beyonce attended the 2007 Golden Globes wearing an Elie Saab costume customary from hundreds of gold sequins. Old and August the fashion house could undoubtedly be, however its beginnings are steeped not within the glamour and glitz of excessive society, but the humble story of a harness maker. The earlier and new information of the most costly handbag are bothKelly's. wikipedia hermes crocodile A Peta activist protests in opposition to Hermes purses in Hamburg, Germany. The bag back in the marketplace and out there to buy through Christie'sprivate sales team, making it the perfect present this holiday season for the one who has it all. An worker holds an Hermès diamond and Himalayan Nilo Crocodile Birkin purse at Heritage Auctions offices in Beverly Hills, Calif., September 22, 2014. The purse has 242 diamonds with a complete of 9.eighty four carats. Both luggage proceed to hit prime of the charts with fashionistas the world over, including prime celebrities like Mary Kate Olson, Rachel McAdams, and Nicki Minaj. Beginning as a supple leather-based bag for actress and singer Jane Birkin, the bag rapidly rose in recognition and is now the symbol of wealth, class, and fashion. It’s highly recognizable design makes it a staple of the fashion industry and it’s gorgeous craftsmanship provides it the appeal each fashionista dreams about. Are you looking out information about the Hermes Bag Prices? You can’t simply go into an Hermes retailer and buy a Birkin. https://phoenet.tw/replicas-hermes-bags/hermes-crocodile-alligator-bag.html And lastly, with the bottom value at $12,000, you generally need to be in a certain wealth bracket to afford them. In 2014, Jeff Koons turned several Birkin bags, together with one owned by Sofia Coppola, into readymades for a charity auction. And Kanye famously gifted Kim a Birkin bag hand-painted by artist George Condo.

#hermes crocodile bag #hermes crocodile #hermes alligator #hermes alligator bag #hermes crocodile bags #replica hermes crocodile

[lopez75blake]

hermes crocodile bag 8

Christies To Public Sale Hermés White Crocodile Himalaya Kelly Bag In Asia The Hermes Birkin controversy is increasing the dialogue to include fashion’s toll on the animal kingdom in the most high-profile means, by targeting the very image of luxury, the vaunted Hermes brand. A 2006 blue model of the purse sold for £100,000 on the identical auction on Tuesday. The Hermes Constance Bag can simply be famous as some of the versatile and classical bags by Hermes. It’s attractive, unique type can easily be matched with any outfit and might go from a chic day bag for the office to a whimsical evening bag thrown over the shoulder as you trollop by way of town. Although originally launched in 1959, the bag was revamped in 2010 with an extended form that women liked. A 2017 study revealed that the worth of Hermès Birkin bags has increased 500% within the last 35 years, a rise of 14% per 12 months. One of essentially the most coveted models comes from Hermès' Himalaya collection, which comes in three sizes. Often referred to as the holy grail of purses, the white Himalaya Birkin bag features 18-karat white gold hardware and more than 200 diamonds. The 35-centimeter model specifically could be very rare and has bought at document costs 12 months after yr. Most recently in 2019, it offered for over half 1,000,000 dollars. Professional sports betting marketing consultant David Oancea, also known as Vegas Dave, made the record-breaking purchase. As may be seen in one photograph, Roxy has no much less than three 35cm sized Birkins – thought of to be the preferred bag on the planet amongst trend collectors. “It’s like a murals to me — it’s a sense of accomplishment,” she informed viewers of her baggage on her I Am…Roxy particular. As seen in a photo, Roxy owns a minimum of three 35cm Birkins – thought-about the preferred bag in the world amongst trend collectors. “Jane Birkin has expressed her issues regarding practices for slaughtering crocodiles. Her comments don't in any way affect the friendship and confidence that we have shared for many years. Hermès respects and shares her emotions and was additionally shocked by the images recently broadcast. You can’t simply go into an Hermes retailer and purchase a Birkin. And lastly, with the base price at $12,000, you typically should be in a certain wealth bracket to afford them. In 2014, Jeff Koons turned a number of Birkin baggage, including one owned by Sofia Coppola, into readymades for a charity public sale. And Kanye famously gifted Kim a Birkin bag hand-painted by artist George Condo. If a “-” single hyphen is what you see, you've Veranus Niloticus on your palms. The scales of this lizard are similar to that of Veranus Salvator, and may be very troublesome to differentiate until in contrast simultaneously. hermes crocodile bag The scales of Niloticus Lizard are more ovate than round, and the webbing is tighter between each scale which minimizes the general hexagram form, but the finish impact is kind of similar to Veranus Salvator. Coming in close second in phrases of resale worth, we have Niloticus Crocodile. This pores and skin is harvested from Crocodylus Niloticus crocodiles, a freshwater species native to the Nile River region of Africa, however found broadly throughout the continent. Hermès’s sources are situated at the southernmost tip of the Nile River, in Zimbabwe. I’m pretty sure it’s a specific tanning course of that produces this shade. Albino crocodiles are so exceptionally rare, and even they won’t produce this shade. Luxury shopping and charitable work aren't mutually exclusive. I know a lot of people with closets bursting with luxurious items. Many bag lovers know in regards to the Hermès Himalaya luggage, but in speaking with Berk, I’ve learned some extra attention-grabbing details. Berk shall be releasing a new e-book quickly, Moneybags, and to assemble information for the book, he spoke with Hermès employees and shoppers who're educated (often more so than most Hermès employees) about the brand. "Jane Birkin has expressed her concerns concerning practices for slaughtering crocodiles," said the firm in an announcement. "Her feedback do not in any way influence the friendship and confidence that we now have shared for a couple of years. wikipedia hermes crocodile Hermès respects and shares her emotions and was also shocked by the pictures just lately broadcast." Feel free to achieve out to the Madison Avenue Couture staff with further questions or inquiries, alternatively, if you need us to make an introduction, we remain at your disposal. When you log in the first time utilizing a Social Login, we gather your account public profile information shared by the social community, primarily based on your privacy settings. We additionally get your e-mail tackle to routinely create an account for you on PurseBlog. Once your account is created, you will be logged in to this account. Both bags continue to hit high of the charts with fashionistas across the world, together with top celebrities like Mary Kate Olson, Rachel McAdams, and Nicki Minaj. Beginning as a supple leather bag for actress and singer Jane Birkin, the bag rapidly rose in reputation and is now the symbol of wealth, class, and style. It’s extremely recognizable design makes it a staple of the style trade and it’s beautiful craftsmanship provides it the attraction each fashionista goals about. Are you looking out information about the Hermes Bag Prices?

#hermes crocodile bag #hermes crocodile #hermes alligator #hermes alligator bag #hermes crocodile bags #replica hermes crocodile

[falkenbergfalkenberg87]

hermes ostrich bag 23

Della's House Of Style For light cleansing, just wipe the bag with a dry soft leather buffing cloth from time to time. So try to defend the handles from oils, perspiration, and direct sunlight too. If your bag gets exposed to the light for lengthy intervals of time it could also develop shade zoning. While ostrich is not used on the slouchy and casual Evelyne, Hermes does manufacture ostrich Picotin baggage. As is the case for other Hermes products, the Birkin is handmade by an unique craftsman throughout the whole process. Just hold it away from gentle and heat and wrap your bag’s handles with twillies for defense. However, new handles might end up trying lighter or darker than the relaxation of your bag. This will delay the darkening of the handles and will make your bag look even prettier. Don’t use a hand lotion or cream if you’re going to be dealing with your Hermes ostrich bag. The terms discuss with the tone or color of the hardware and never the actual material used. If hardware consists of valuable strong metals this shall be referenced in the description. 35cm Birkin done in Blue Roi Ostrich leather with Gold Hardware. A discontinued color - Hermes no longer produces Ostrich Birkin's on this measurement, making this bag extraordinarily uncommon and collectible. Ostrich leather is especially sturdy and the quill pattern, colour, and dimension determine a bag’s worth. re-pin.me hermes ostrich birkin Lizard pores and skin could be very sought-after and rare, even within the exotics sphere. Mother, 43, was left blind for three days and went into anaphylactic shock after applying out of date hair... Peaky Blinders followers are devastated as gangster is dealt ANOTHER blow days after the... Jared Leto, 50, flashes his toned chest in a mesh high paired with red rhinestone gloves as he attends a particular screening of Morbius in Berlin . A 2017 study performed by luxury on-line retail platform Baghunter, found that the worth of Hermes Birkin luggage has elevated by 500 % within the last 35 years, a rise of 14 percent per 12 months. And in 2020, research compiled by the Knight Frank City Luxury Investment Index revealed that luxurious purses gained a 13 p.c enhance in value in comparison with art which solely saw a 5 percent return. The elusive Hermes Birkin bag also holds an elusive price tag. Often marketed as $POA, it completely is dependent upon availability on the time with prices typically rising every year. Varying stories recommend the ‘entry-level’ Birkin with plain hardware is priced at $9,000 USD and roughly $12,000 to $15,000 AUD for Australian prospects. For any and all issues the place you are returning an item because of authenticity , we are going to double your a refund. Bleu bags, especially shades similar to Bleu Marine and Bleu Saphir, are extremely coveted for Birkins. Some shades are part of the Hermès canon, together with Rouge Hermès, often recognized as Rouge H, and have been collector staples for half a century. The Hermes Constance Bag can easily be famous as one of the most versatile and classical luggage by Hermes. It’s beautiful, distinctive type can simply be matched with any outfit and can go from a sublime day bag for the office to a whimsical night time bag thrown over the shoulder as you trollop through city. The artisans of the dupe alternative polish the leather to create the identical matte or shiny finish. This step makes the dupes look more like the unique Hermès Crocodile Birkin. Back in 1983, Hermès revolutionized the leather-based goods industry by introducing the world to the rarity of the Birkin Handbag. Since then, this luxury model has designed and crafted beautiful collections of the original Birkin which have adapted to the fashion currency of the time. On Farfetch, Hermes Birkin Bag prices vary from $16,762 AUD for a pre-owned 2002 Birkin 35 tote with the price of a pre-owned 2014 Birkin 35 tote reaching $48,655 AUD. Luxury consignment retailer, The Real Real, retail the Birkin bag at a starting value of roughly $9,383 AUD with crocodile iterations promoting for upwards of $50,000 AUD. They clarify that whereas vitality or protein bars appear healthy at first look, and may be marketed as such, they're typically too excessive in energy — upward of 350 energy every. Thankfully, we have more healthy alternate options that aren't just plain water. Medical News Today reviews that stevia is a superb different to table sugar, and similar to artificial sweeteners, accommodates close to no energy. It also tastes sweeter than sugar, and has turn out to be extra mainstream over time, to the purpose that many grocery stores now carry stevia-sweetened sodas that style similar to the opposite sodas. Hermès distinguishes between Porosus Crocodile, sourced primarily in Australia, and Niloticus Crocodile, originating in Zimbabwe. Porosus Crocodile is in reality essentially the most valuable amongst Hermès’ unique skins and obtainable in a matte or shiny look, the so-called “Lisse” end. Unlike an artificial coating or glazing, Hermès artisans skillfully buff and polish the crocodile disguise with agate to create the shiny shine. Bought in retailer, a Birkin 30 Porosus Crocodile Hermès purse prices round €44,000 and normally scores above its retail value on the resale market. Porosus is especially used for bigger sizes, beginning with the Birkin 30, making smaller sizes particularly uncommon and desirable. This Kelly, within the Sellier style, is in Bleuet Ostrich with gold hardware and has tonal stitching, two straps with front toggle closure, clochette with lock and two keys, single rolled handle and removable shoulder strap. The Birkin 25 saw a rise of 3%, whereas the Birkin 30 noticed a rise of 2.65%. The worth improve for 2022 is expected to be inside that range, too. Frustrated by the ordeal, Birkin started ranting that nice luggage were never quite big enough to carry a quantity of things, and this is when inspiration struck Dumas. wikipedia hermes ostrich PETA documented that ostriches are forced into restraining units, many slipping and falling while being violently dealt with, electrically stunned, and slaughtered by having their throats minimize. There isn't any justification for supporting such blatant cruelty. Please stop buying and selling accessories produced from ostrich and other exotic skins instantly. In addition to the attainable counterfeits that each one well-known manufacturers are topic to, fake Hermès bags—including the Birkin bag—are alleged to have been made by a group together with seven former Hermès workers. Ten folks went on trial in June 2020, alleged to have made dozens of counterfeit baggage that offered for tens of thousands of euros each, for a complete revenue of over €2 million. The crime was discovered by police investigating unrelated stolen merchandise.

#ostrich birkin #birkin ostrich bag #hermes ostrich bag #hermes ostrich birkin #hermes kelly ostrich #hermes birkin ostrich bag #pink ostrich birkin bag #ostrich kelly bag #mini kelly ostrich #birkin 25 ostrich #kelly ostrich #replica hermes ostrich bag

[bamboobagel5]

Maine Power Firm Presents Electric Car Grants

The powerful and politically related auto insurance sector orchestrated an enormous campaign to kill the idea. The final time the NDP promised publicly run auto insurance coverage in Ontario — during the 1990 election which introduced then NDP leader Bob Rae to power — it turned into, pardon the pun, a complete train wreck. The outcome is a superb microhistory during which on an everyday basis issues and people’s lifestyle concretize common development. Donate $48 to keep away from wasting the individuals killed every 48 minutes by drunk driving. MADD offers free supportive providers to the victims and survivors of drunk and drugged driving, as nicely as underage ingesting. Adults drink too much and drive about 121 million times per yr – or more than 300,000 incidents of ingesting and driving a day.

Believing Henry’s illness to be an try to keep away from his responsibility as a serviceman, Miss Van Campen has Henry’s depart revoked, and he's sent to the entrance as soon as the jaundice has cleared.

If you do not take full advantage of this match, you are leaving money on the desk.

Think Big.’ In maintaining with that, we advocate starting with an emergency fund savings goal of simply $500.Learn extra about emergency funds here.

And the subject of college golf equipment and hazing is an effective angle for a novel—pair this with The Chocolate War.

Every different metric of human well-being has additionally improved, from earnings to entry to well being care to nourishment to wash water access.

This guide is based on highschool kids, it exhibits how these group of associates grow into a bonding family after a tragic state of affairs.

Additionally, the initiation rites have turn into increasingly humiliating and degrading. รับจำนำรถไม่มีเล่ม , in the end, drive Jericho to make some robust choices, like missing his trumpet competition to pledge for the Warriors of Distinction. He wanted one of the slick silk and leather jackets that the seniors had. So did all the different pledges, considered one of whom, died tragically. Against his better judgment, he endures humiliation, mind video games & numerous indignities to become a Warrior of Distinction.

Congrats On Finishing The Pledge!

Mazda3 models bought in New Zealand are outfitted with "push-button beginning and keyless entry through a radio-equipped key fob," writes Arstechnica. Of course, the autos are all fitted with guide mechanisms too — however the Smiths say they weren't told of that and, regardless of trying to find them in the course of the incident, couldn't locate them. They're underneath the armrests and to make matters worse, the automotive handbook was inside the house.

Princeton Federal Credit Score Union

Points (if you're a seller), service charges, credit investigation fees, and interest regarding tax-exempt revenue, such as curiosity to buy or carry tax-exempt securities. The ranking, launched as part of T&E and Stand.Earth’s new Travel Smart marketing campaign, grades 230 US and European firms based on 9 indicators, relating to emissions discount targets, reporting, and air journey emissions. The evaluation sheds gentle on the significant efforts sure international businesses have still to make to reduce their corporate travel emissions. Out of the 230 companies, 193 fail to act with sufficient pace and ambition to sort out company travel emissions. This ensures they are paid on time, in full to keep away from late charges. If traveling by automobile, through I-5 plan for about forty minutes travel time with out major visitors delays. For some, the future-is-now really feel of a self-driving automobile is simply too novel. Others fear about hacking vulnerabilities for computer-controlled automobiles, and many say they're shopping for a car to drive, not simply to get somewhere. But if any automotive manufacturer can do it, it might be Volvo, whose pioneering security has been setting industry-wide standards for decades, making three-point seatbelts and rear-facing automotive seats the norm. Bank of Hawaii World Elite Mastercard®, you’ll earn 60,000 Bonus HawaiianMilesafter spending $2,000 on purchases within the first ninety days.

#รับจำนำรถติดไฟแนนซ์ #รับจำนำรถไม่มีเล่ม.

[emikonii090909]

Atlantic City gambling club laborers look for 'critical' increase in salary

Atlantic City gambling club laborers look for 'critical' increase in salary

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — As Atlantic City's gambling clubs work to recuperate monetarily from the Covid pandemic, the specialists who keep those club working are attempting to do likewise.머니라인247 온라인카지노

The fundamental association addressing club laborers in Atlantic City tells The Associated Press it is looking for "critical" wage expansions in talks that are as of now under way.한국어지원 해외배팅사이트

The objective is to hold laborers back from falling behind in an economy where work deficiencies are expanding compensations in different businesses, yet expansion is destroying customers' buying power.에볼루션바카라

Existing agreements with eight of the nine club terminate on May 31; the Ocean Casino Resort has been working without an association contract yet has been sticking to its terms.

Bounce McDevitt, leader of Local 54 of the Unite Here association, said that club laborers - like their managers — are looking work on their funds in the third year of the pandemic.

"It is our aim to move our laborers all the more solidly into the working class," he said. Association laborers started wearing buttons on their outfits last week that say "Club Workers Need A Raise."

Bethany Holmes, a representative for the association, said it hasn't marked another agreement with gambling clubs in Las Vegas during the most recent two years.

The association wouldn't agree that the amount of an increment it is looking for. Yet, McDevitt said it should be sufficient to permit laborers not exclusively to stay up with increasing costs, however to acquire some ground and advance their circumstances.

Janey Negron, a barkeep at the Tropicana for quite some time, has five youngsters and deals with her mom also.

"The wages are not what they ought to be," said Negron, who lives in Egg Harbor Township, close to Atlantic City. "Everything is going up: gas, food, lease. Medical care costs alone for my mother and children are going far up. Dislike (the club) can't do it. They're bringing in cash, and we moved them along through the pandemic. They ought to repay us for that."

Rodney Mills is a servant at Tropicana, where he has labored for quite some time. He is a solitary parent of youngsters ages 3, 5 and 7 following the demise of their mom last September, and is depending on his folks for help.

"I don't have a vehicle or a house — two things I want to carry strength to my family," Mills said. "Raises need to occur no matter how you look at it."

In reality, they as of now are at numerous gambling clubs. McDevitt, the association president, recognized numerous club have singularly expanded pay for laborers past the levels determined in existing agreements; those additional installments normal around 10% more than called for under the agreement.

Among them was Hard Rock.

"We just gave our representatives raises before discussions," said Joe Lupo, Hard Rock's leader. He said his gambling club and others understand higher wages are expected to draw in new workers and hold existing ones.

Charge Callahan, head supervisor of the Ocean Casino, said he is "confident to have a sanctioned arrangement in the impending days" that will bring about wage increments for some workers.

Chiefs of four different gambling clubs didn't answer demands for input.

The association likewise plans to address what it says is a lack of key laborers at the club resorts, including maids, a task that McDevitt expressed has somewhere around 500 openings in the city.

The accentuation on higher wages addresses a switch for the association, which throughout the many years has focused on far reaching health care coverage and annuities over huge increases in salary, McDevitt said.

He said the club business is showing strength in the third year of the pandemic, helped by solid exhibitions in the web betting and sports wagering ventures. Last year, as per the state Division of Gaming Enforcement, the gambling clubs prevailed upon $4.2 billion in joined gambling club, on the web and sports wagering income.

However, gambling club leaders have long said the on the web and sports wagering income streams are not what they appear on the grounds that the club just keep around 30% of that cash, with the rest showing up for outsider suppliers.

They contend that cash won from face to face card sharks on their premises is a more genuine sign of the wellbeing of the business. Last year's face to face income figure was $2.5 billion, which is beneath the degree of 2019, preceding the pandemic hit.

McDevitt said he is hopeful that new agreements can be reached rapidly with the club, and Lupo repeated McDevitt's appraisal of the functioning connection between the association and the club as a positive one.

[unworthythors]

Stede’s many outfits throughout season one

Ed’s version (x)

#our flag means death #ofmd #ofmdedit #stede bonnet #rhys darby #userbbelcher #chewieblog #tvedit #tvfilm #dailyflicks #he has like. 500 outfits PER DAY #not every outfit is in this bc like. i'd have to make 10 more gifsets lmfaoooo so if you see one missing my bad #i love his lil spin and flourish in the blue outfit you go my funky lil pirate #mine #*tv #1k

[slightlyrebelliouswriter23]

hey so i'm hoping to get some writing advice about creative burnout? like i seem to write in fits and spurts. some months i can churn out a oneshot or chapter everyday and some months i can do one (1) creative thing only. so i'm wondering how to prevent creative burnout and how to just create more smoothly <3 thank you!

Creative Burnout & How To Ward Against It

First, I’d like to preface this all by saying you’re definitely not alone. You probably already know this, but sometimes it’s nice to be reminded.

I know from personal experience that creative burnout can leave you feeling hopeless, detached from yourself—the kind of identity crisis no one needs in 2020. 

So buckle in, folks. It’s a dosy.

I. The Symptoms

Not to be the local WebMD page here, but signs of burnout can include:

Procrastination (more than usual)

Dreading writing and feeling stuck or overly perfectionistic when you try

Physical tiredness and/or irritability

Feeling like everything is monotonous

It’s more than just writer’s block. It’s a physical and emotional exhaustion response to something that goes deeper than a simple lack of inspiration. In my experience, and from a bit of research, I’ve found that what your brain is really looking for is dopamine.

Dopamine is essentially your brain’s chemical reward system for doing something interesting or exciting to you. As someone who is diagnosed with ADHD, I have chronically low levels of dopamine, so this is a constant struggle for me—but it is absolutely made worse by creative burnout.

II. The Problem

Studies have shown that the more we do A Thing the less that thing will give us dopamine (unless a component of the activity changes regularly). This is because eventually our brains desensitise to the stimuli provided by the activity, and subsequently, we become disengaged.

But it’s not necessarily The Thing (i.e. writing) that becomes boring. Actually, more than a few factors could be at play here, and the first step to finding a solution is to identify the problem.

1. ENVIRONMENT LACKS EXCITEMENT/CHANGE—

Sometimes, the monotony of everyday life can feed creative burnout. This becomes especially applicable in quarantine when you’re not leaving your house.

What we don’t realise is that even something as small as the variables of driving to and from work, or interacting with passing coworkers, gives us dopamine. So if you have the same routine every day that does not involve any added variables, your brain will begin staunching that dopamine supply.

2. EITHER TOO EASY OR TOO CHALLENGING—

In 1975, Hungarian-American psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, coined the term “flow”, which refers to a heightened state of creativity and concentration on an activity. Csikszentmihalyi posited that if your skill level is equal to the level of challenge in any given activity, you will experience this state of flow.

The chart below is taken from Csikszentmihalyi’s own study on the subject of flow and motivation. It examines “your skill level” on the x axis in relation to the “challenge level” on the y axis.

Essentially:

Too much challenge + not enough skill = anxiety, worry (which might lead to procrastination and perfectionism)

Too much skill + not enough challenge = boredom, apathy (which might lead to monotony, irritability, and other depression-like symptoms)

Skill level = Challenge level = Flow

3. NOT ENOUGH “ACTIVE” STIMULATION—

When it comes to dopamine seeking, there is a distinct difference between active and passive stimulation in the brain.

Active stimulation is any form of activity that you have to actively engage in. For instance; exercising, doing a crossword puzzle, or reading a book. These kinds of activities not only give you dopamine, they also facilitate critical thinking and problem solving thought processes, which act as catalysts for creativity.

Passive stimulation, on the other hand, comes in the form of television, social media, and YouTube. It’s anything you can consume without having to actively engage. Passive stimulation will indeed give your brain dopamine, however, it won’t activate your creativity.

The problem also lies in the speed at which you receive the dopamine from passive activities. Passive stimulation is so easy to access that the more you consume, the harder it becomes to pick up active stimulation. Your brain expects a hit of dopamine just by picking up a phone or turning on the TV—it becomes addicted to the quick fix of a Netflix binge.

III. The Solutions

Based on the problems mentioned above, I am going to list a few solutions. Keeping in mind that not every solution will work for everyone, these can act as both preventative measures and remedies for someone who is currently burned out.

1. CHANGE UP YOUR ENVIRONMENT/ROUTINE—

Aim to do at least one thing per day that will add “variables” to the monotony. This can be as simple as going on a long walk, dressing up in that bold outfit you always wanted to wear to the office but never did, or sitting at a different workspace in your home.

Anything you can do that’s simple, but might provide an extra variable to your day to spice things up. Note: this shouldn’t be the same thing every day.

2. CHALLENGE YOURSELF MORE—

If you find yourself bored by your work, try challenging yourself more. This could mean setting goals for yourself that go a bit beyond what you’ve been doing. 

For example, if you’ve been writing 500 words per day, see if you can beat your own word count every day for the next week. If you’ve been writing mainly fluff pieces, switch it up and do an angst piece. See if you can write a book in a month, or start a blog where you don’t write fiction at all!

Anything you can do to add a little kick to your workload. Note: Beware of challenging yourself too much! This can lead straight back into burnout.

3. CHALLENGE YOURSELF LESS—

If you’re on the flip side of that coin, and find that you are anxious, procrastinating, and perfectionistic when it comes to writing, fret not. Just because you’re experiencing any of these things, doesn’t mean you’re incapable of doing the job with your skillset.

It just means your perception of the job needs to be shifted.

Procrastination, at its heart, is a fear of failure, which results in actively avoiding the negative emotions associated with the task that causes this fear. Perfectionism is a type of procrastination that is a combination of a fear of failure and a fear of success (or, more accurately, other’s critiques of your success) all at once.

Neither have anything to do with your actual skillset, but they have everything to do with your perception of your skillset. Obviously, this is a harder thing to fix, as it has to do with deeply ingrained levels of self-esteem.

What I can offer you is a tactic to trick your mind into thinking you’re capable.

If you have a task, big or small, and you are feeling overwhelmed by it (like you might go curl up in bed and scroll Tumblr), immediately break that task up into smaller tasks. Keep breaking up the smaller tasks until you have the smallest possible part of the bigger task without doing nothing.

Then do that smallest possible thing.

If your goal is to write a 2000 word one shot, a small part of that task is writing half of it. An even smaller part of that task is breaking the one shot up into “scenes” and writing one scene. For instance:

Jude wakes up to a sore throat, a runny nose, and a fever.

She tries to go to work, but Cardan, being the mother hen that he is, threatens to never make her another grilled cheese sandwich (her favourite food) ever again if she doesn’t stay home.

Jude agrees begrudgingly, and Cardan sits her down in front of the TV with a bottle of Gatorade. He leaves to go get medicine from the store.

When Cardan comes back, Jude is worse than before. He makes her soup and saltine crackers and spoon feeds her.

She complains the whole time and, in her feverish state, threatens to never buy him another bottle of wine (his favourite food) ever again if he doesn’t let her feed herself.

Each bullet point represents one “scene” of about 200-400 words each. Obviously, there will be more details that you work out as you write. But with these five smaller scenes, your goal is no longer writing the 2000 word one shot. Your goal is writing the first of the five scenes.

If you complete the smallest possible task, you can stop, and you’ll still feel like you’ve accomplished something because you can cross off that task from your list. But chances are, by the time you cross off one task, you may have inspiration enough to keep going.

4. ENGAGE IN ACTIVE STIMULATION—

Since active stimulation has been proven to turn on the creative “tap”, try incorporating more of these activities into your daily routine:

Exercise: As the resident couch potato, I hate to say that exercising is good for creativity, but it is. Even if it’s just going on a short walk, so long as you’re moving.

Reading: Sometimes you have plenty of ideas, but no words to fit those ideas. Fill your well of words by carving out an hour or two each day for reading a good book.

The Creative Process: In the writing world, the creative process is a process of about 20-30 minutes that the writer partakes in every day before they start writing. This process should be creative, but also have nothing to do with writing. You can try colouring in a colouring book, painting, organising a page in your bullet journal. Anything that is creative but does not make you think about everything you have to do that day. Think of it as creative meditation.

Listen to music: Having APD, I personally can’t listen to music while I write. However, studies have shown that if you listen to at least ten songs per day, it will significantly benefit your dopamine levels and overall mood. If you’re like me and prefer to work in silence, maybe stick on a couple songs during your creative process. If you can manage music and writing together, get out those headphones!

5. KEEP A REGULAR SCHEDULE—

I know this is the most cliche point in the book, but it’s valid. This doesn’t mean do the same thing at the same time every day over and over, because ultimately we’re looking to avoid monotony. 

But having pillars of structure to bolster the excitement can definitely work to keep you from slipping into burnout. Going to sleep, waking up, and having your meals at relatively the same time every day are good examples of this. 

Feel free to change up the things you do between breakfast and lunch, but make sure you have those pillars of consistency so your brain knows that a break is on the horizon and doesn’t get tired.

6. PACE YOURSELF—

This is particularly difficult for those of us who are coming out of a creative burnout, but I urge you to pay special attention to this one. If we are suddenly hit by inspiration and the writing is flowing and flowing and flowing, eventually we will hit the point of highest dopamine capacity for writing.

Not putting a check on the flood of inspiration coming out of a creative burnout, I’d argue, is actually a guarantee that many of us will experience burnout all over again. It becomes this vicious cycle in which we are trapped.

While it feels great to write non-stop and receive immediate validation for that work, try to limit yourself to how much you’re writing and how immediately you post your writing (if you plan on posting it).

Whenever I finish a one shot or a chapter of something, I like to allow at least one day for editing before I post. This timeframe is important, because it acts as a buffer of rest between writing marathons. 

You can take however long you need for the editing process, but definitely make sure you have a set amount of time in place. Otherwise, your brain might not have enough time to come down from what is essentially a writing high, and you will always need to reach greater heights in order to achieve that same level of dopamine.

~~~~

Overall, the most important things to take away from all of this are: 

Change up your environment

Keep your brain actively stimulated 

Have pillars of structure between which you can run about chaotically to your heart’s content

PACE YOURSELF!

Hope this helped. Happy writing!

-Em 🖤🗡

Writing Tip Masterlist

Fic Masterlist

Celebrate 2K with me!

#this one was a spiritual one y'all #thanks for the ask babes! #writing #writing tips #writing advice #writeblr #writing tip masterlist #writer #writer's desk #writer's life #writer's problems #writer's block #ao3 #fanfiction #creative burnout #asked and answered #em answers #danaanruhn #thank you for 2k!! 🥳💜

[yawnjunie]

| genshin characters txt would main

yeonjun: the dodoco haver

idk why, but i feel like he would main klee

it’s bong bong bakudan time when he logs on to carry his members in co-op (maybe just soobin)

his klee build is probably a “work-in-progress” (as he calls it)

he claims doesn’t have a lot of time to spend farming domains, but his klee is already oneshotting mitachurls

his goal is probably to one day one-shot dvalin, or better yet, three-shot azdaha

rng is his best friend

probably plays with a straight face while his on-screen numbers for pyro damage reach 500k... a worthy opponent of taehyun’s

surprisingly still a casual player, doesn’t keep up with upcoming characters

something random he would probably do: pick flowers and stand in the flower field while listening to the claming bgm to get inspiration for his next song

soobin: the low ar player

eula main. he is 100% a claymore user

used to main aether, then accidentally got eula (cryo aristocrat!)

eula came home just like that... on his first ten roll ever

...but he has no idea how builds work. not a clue.

the only reason she has pale flame and noblesse on her is that it fits her outfit

she has the favonius greatsword on her for the same reason

so... who’s gonna tell him? or will he find out that the reason he keeps dying in the ascension quest is that he’s been running defense and hp artifacts on eula all along...

he hopped on the trend later than his members, who told him that he “doesn’t need to worry about builds”

something random he would do: make like 500+ lighter-than-air pancakes and then try to make them irl and vlog it

beomgyu: the madlad

the type to have the most cursed builds

if you think dps barbara is sacrilege, you haven’t seen his builds yet

probably gave bennett thundering fury just to clear abyss, made xingqiu a physical dps, built zhongli on hp, and made ningguang a healer

as for who he mains, it’s probably the geo archon

yeah he has like 50k hp, but somehow still does 100k on average for his ult

breaks into a laughing fit every time taehyun calls him out for his weird builds

will throw hands if anyone tries to touch his builds

the most threatening thing he’s heard was taehyun saying “next time, i’ll go on your account to put mappa mare on ningguang and give her archaic petra” (he has prototype amber and a full maidens set on her)

all in good humor ofc  ヽ(・∀・)ﾉ

something random he would do: confuse everyone in co-op when barbara deals physical damage and lisa heals

taehyun: baron bunny expert

the true gamer

he’s an amber main, and has like 3 of her constellations

amber’s charged shots probably deal like 30k per hit, and he probably goes into abyss with her AND manages to clear it every time with 9 stars

he also probably built childe as a burst “support”

flexed on everyone during the windblume festival balloon minigame

“not everyone has perfect aim"

the real build expert (probably watches tony to) who’s annoyed, but also lowkey impressed by beomgyu’s cursed builds

likely has 100+ ways to kill timmie’s birds

has all the starter characters built and maxed out

something random he would do: watch soobin struggle with the ascension quest for an hour straight before pointing out that he has terrible builds

hueningkai: the dodoco wanter

mains the only gun owner in the game: the prinzessin der verurteilung, fischl

he’s at friendship level 10 with her, and probably knows all her crazy long voicelines by heart

he would be a klee main (who doesn’t love the sparkle knight and her dodoco? the dodoco plush is probably on his bday wishlist, too)

...only if rng didn’t hate his guts

and unfortunately, rng does have favorites

losing your 50/50 and getting qiqi instead happens to the best of us

when that happened to him, at least yeonjun was there to comfort him: “that’s rough buddy. i’m sure she’ll have a rerun in the future.”

the good news is, sayu’s coming up! he’s probably saving his primogems for the cutest claymore healer <3

something random he would do: spend time creating a really expansive serenitea pot; it’s filled with animals of all kinds, and he has cute decorations everywhere

a/n: idk i just felt like i needed to write this,,, sorry if you don’t play genshin hgahsgha 

#txt fanfiction #txt headcanons #tomorrow x together #tomorrow by together #genshin #genshin impact #yeonjun #soobin #beomgyu #taehyun #hueningkai #kpop #kpop fanfiction #yeah again i have no idea what to tag xp #but like as i was writing this... man i was so indecisive #taehyun would also main klee... maybe #anyways lmk who you guys think he would main lmao

[meaningofmotorsport]

Mid-Week Motorsport Headlines - 23rd February 2022

F1

Testing has begun today, and as per usual; it is easy to read too much into what we are seeing. Hints are being made though as to the strength of Ferrari and McLaren compared to Red Bull and Mercedes, it could well be 4 teams in the fight for the title. What is clearer, is the struggles of Alfa Romeo and Haas, who both found it difficult to log laps out there. Haas are sporting a radically different car to what was shown for the livery reveal, which could suggest hope for a better year for them.

The biggest news of the week, is the intention for Andretti to launch their own F1 team, in time for the 2024 season. This was quite the bombshell when it broke a few days ago, and was maybe unsurprising given their attempt to buy Sauber last year. Their application is currently being reviewed by the FIA; however, they do apparently have the funds to pay the $200 million entry fee. If this does all go through, it would be huge for the sport, and really boost the American market of the sport, especially with American drivers.

IndyCar

Rahal believes that he will be in title contention this year, after not really being able to do so since 2015. Each year he has shown pace at some races, but through a lack of luck, or other reasons, it has never translated into the consistent results needed to launch a title hunt. Personally, I think it will be hard for him to be in that title fight, as there are so many strong outfits in IndyCar, who can fight for the title, and outside Indy, RLL don’t seem strong enough to do that.

Formula E

Teams like Nissan and Mahindra are trying to make deals with potential customer teams for the start of the 2023 season. There are 4 teams without powertrains for next year, however Maserati may take up one of those teams, and the future of the Mercedes team could go anyway. It is not easy for the customers to choose where to go, as it is a clean slate for Gen3, and a team like Nissan could go straight from the back to the front.

Other News

It was the Daytona 500 over the weekend, which kickstarted the real NASCAR season. The Next Gen car held its own fairly well, although there were issues with the single nut tyres, and we saw Burton flip onto his roof, due to the flat underside of the new cars. On the other hand, the racing did seem better, with cars being able to make runs and push the cars in front. It was the usual melee of incidents, but luckily, we had no interference from mother nature. At the end, it was Cindric, in his first full NASCAR season, who won the race, after pushing his teammate into the wall. It was a harsh move, but it is becoming normal in races like these. He has shown pace on these tracks before, so it wasn’t a huge shock either.

In rather shocking news, for the credibility of the open wheel junior series, Chadwick has had to return to W Series for a third year, despite winning the title twice. The idea of the series, was to give the winner enough money to progress into series higher up the ladder, to promote diversity. So, the inability of her to do this, shows the blatant issues there still are in the industry, and that real changes need to be made in the culture of the sport.

-M

#f1 #f12022 #f1testing #f1 2022 #indycar #indy500 #formulae #nascar #motorsport