#i need a good art tag that doesnt get mixed up with what others use

[kicksnscribs]

did a bunch of toriyama style studies today using Monster Hunter monsters as a base,

you can see where i started to give up on following the style 1:1 and just started having fun with it lol

#rathalos was first and then it snakes down from barioth in terms of how much effort was put into studying the style lol #odogaron was...interesting to say the least i love him so much #i need a good art tag that doesnt get mixed up with what others use #since tumblr is a webbed site #mh posting #skribblins #<- yeah that'll do #monster hunter #style study

[anthraxplus]

forgive me for writing so much about tumblr but i have a lot of thoughts

here's the thing about tumblr. i've found it interesting how we continue to call our profiles our "blogs" even though they function differently to the common idea of a blog (like livejournal). but in a way, calling our profiles our blogs makes sense. they're our place to post things we've made or repost content we like. it's more personal than twitter, which has an "information" or "discourse" lens applied to it. the focus on twitter has increasingly been to encourage sharing of information (i.e news or opinions). tumblr's focus has always (afaict) been to encourage sharing of our creations, kinda lumping blogging in there as "self expression" or something to that effect. technically speaking, artists should be more at home on tumblr than on twitter.

but people using their blog as ONLY a blog (no reblogs, just their thoughts or creations - like a livejournal) are in the minority on this site, right? make no mistake, i follow tons of artists who use their blog in a very focused way, but mostly we're all reblogging other people's posts, putting their art on our blogs and riffing in the tags on people's jokes. it is very much a site of Content, Things To Share. the fact that we can blog on here almost feels oddly secondary. but, ok. tumblr is a site for people to post their creations/content, and said content finds an audience through being discovered or reblogged.

so why is it so damn hard to find anything?

like, ok, obviously we can do that. type words into the search bar and you will definitely find posts. but dont you often wonder why the hell some posts showed up in your search and others didnt?

you're telling me filtering searches by top posts of all time isnt showing me the post that has this exact string of text (+- punctuation), but is showing me posts that... have those words in them, scattered, and sometimes not even that exact word ("piss" vs "pissing")?

what about when you try to search for a word or phrase that you KNOW is on a blog in some post, but searching for it brings up NOTHING? i just had to deal with this when searching someone's blog for a specific post i had just seen on my dash - i can only imagine tumblr told me no such post existed because it wasnt tagged with that word.

and all of this feels so obviously wrong, right? even without tags, we should be able to search for words or phrases in a more reliable way on both the site and our blogs. i dont think im alone in the thought that the search function is almost useless - even if it gives me what im looking for sometimes, it can be a struggle, and mostly it just doesnt feel worth it. this is how we can keep ourselves in insular circles and struggle to break out of them. it is literally easier to do this than it is to find new shit.

so, yknow, staff isnt wrong when they say this:

tumblr does need growth, but not necessarily by attracting new users (though, idk, i wouldn't mind that). tumblr needs internal growth. this site is stuck in the early 2010s in a way that is baffling to me, and it has continuously failed to adapt to its userbase's needs in a way that honestly doesnt make sense, and when they do change something, it just ends up causing more strife between staff and users.

so, for example: tumblr needs money to keep functioning, obviously. the common practice is to have ads on the site. but oops, the ads suck and everyone hates them. ok, allow users the option to pay to get rid of ads. but oops, a lot of people dont want to give money to the site that continuously breaks itself (among many other complaints). ok, meet users in the middle and allow them to pay to advertise their stuff - this should be, like, the perfect mix of everything, right? being able to advertise your content on the content site? but oops, this is only a good option because finding new content is so goddamn hard that random people shoving their posts onto your dash is the only remaining viable option. when you have to rely on pure chance/luck for your posts to even be found, even when you do everything in your power to increase their visibility, you're not gonna want to stay here.

i feel like addressing the search function should be the staff's top priority before they implement anything else. we need to be able to find content on the content site. i think thats pretty obvious. once it works the way it already should have, then they can worry about what comes after. i think people feel this animosity with staff because we're struggling to continue to use this site while they struggle to find ways to get money out of us. i think if people felt they could actually use tumblr in the way it intuitively feels like it should be used, that kind of animosity would be more rare*. but until we get that, any change to the site is going to feel wrong.

fwiw though, i'm glad to see staff say that the site basically doesn't work. like. goddamn. took them long enough. i just hope (probably baselessly) that their acknowledgement of this issue will lead to some fixes that benefit the foundational usage of the site.

*yes, there is animosity towards staff for other reasons - like, yknow, how innocuous selfies of trans women get flagged as "mature" (among other things) - but that's an issue of culture/enforcement and not necessarily the raw function of the site, so i feel like it's best suited for a different post

tl:dr PLEASE FIX THE FUCKING SEARCH FUNCTION, IT NEVER SHOULD'VE BEEN ALLOWED TO BE THIS BAD AND I THINK ITS ISSUES HAVE BEEN A MAJOR REASON FOR TUMBLR'S STEADY DECLINE

[hauntedtotem]

Do you have any drawing tips?

•When it comes to digital art, if you struggle making lines clean or sharp enough, using a textured brush erases that struggle because the whole point is not being clean or sharp.

^left is obvious where mistakes were made and had to be erased, looks choppy and needs cleaned up. right does not need cleaned up much. saves time and energy!

•if a drawing looks a little too bland or unfinished, but you don't know what else to do about it, adding a texture overlay does a lot, especially for solid backgrounds

•For both traditional and digital artists, do👏art👏studies👏. No, this doesn't mean sign up for expensive art classes, it means spend a page in a sketchbook just practicing one thing. So instead of drawing say, a character portrait like usual, have a page that's just full of hands in different poses (use references! Very important for studies!)

2016 example, but you can tell which ones had references (hint: only 3 of them did,but they're way better than the rest)

the only recent example I had was an unfinished page of bird skulls :/

Which brings me toooo

Learning to draw realistic skeletons can also really help with anatomy, if your character looks wonky, think "could a skeleton fit in there?"

Thinking abt how their skeleton looks can help notice things like the eyes being too high up or the mouth being too low, or having no room for a brain

*this is not a dig at people with this style! It's okay to have more exaggerated features and you don't need to draw realism! The skeleton rule does not apply to cartoony characters obviously. Just some advice from someone that used to put the mouth too low all the time

•if you get stuck where you feel like you aren't improving, try different art styles out.

•If you have art block and don't know what to draw, try the 'dtiys' or 'draw this in your style' tags and pick something there, or do screenshot redraws from games or shows

•If you usually listen to music when you draw but it's just not doing it atm, switch to something like long YouTube commentary videos or documentaries, and vise versa. Sometimes the brain wants music, sometimes it wants information or gossip. When you get burned out from one go to the other

•this applies to traditional and digital art too! If you have art block on one medium, switch to another! If digital isn't working, grab a pencil or paintbrush, or play with some clay! Sometimes the brain isn't bored of art, it's just bored of the medium.

•If you're trying realism and struggling, break it down to simple rules.

And I don't mean the shape thing everyone suggests, I mean things like "the inner corner of the eye lines up with the mouth, the outer corner of the eyes lines up with the ears, your nose bridge leans into your eyebrows, feet are the same length as your elbow to your wrist, use the collar bone to guide the shoulder position, the armpit curves into the breast, etc.

*this doesn't apply to everyone or every expression! Remember the mouth moves around and comes in all shapes, it's a very loose "rule", and people's eyes aren't always the same distance or angle, just keep the ear around that general eye area

Glasses test: can your character wear glasses?

carlos passes glasses test- a better rule for mouths is to imagine smile lines, even if whoever youre drawing doesnt have wrinkles, theyre a good guide for mouth placement

•doing color palette challenges can help practice composition and shading with abnormal colors, and helps understand color theory

•for digital, you can overlay colors over a drawing to make the palette more uniform. Don't be shy abt messing around with it

•Watch speedpaints! Watch pencil animation clips! It helps

•don't be afraid to use your art supplies. Ik the struggle of "but I don't wanna waste it", but that paint will go bad if you keep it on a shelf for years! Use it already! Doodle in the "fancy" sketchbook! Yolo!!

•use cyan and magenta for mixing paint, not blue and red. The "primary colors" rule doesn't always apply to all mediums.

•keep your old art! Do not tear it up or throw it out just because you're not proud of it, it's cool to reflect or even redraw it years down the line (backup your digital art somewhere, even the ones not posted online because your computer could just die one day for no reason and take everything with it. It sucks)

•IF you sketch on paper and then digitalize it later, you can draw the pieces seperately and photoshop them together. So dont worry if you drew a really good hand but it's at the slightly wrong angle, or too far away from the body. You can put it where it needs to be without having to erase and redraw it

[mamaladykt]

Quarantine Q&A

I was tagged by @queenrisa14 which whaaaaaaa!? God when will the Sally Fields "they like me!!!" feeling go away when ever I am tagged in anything? Does it ever? I'm always stunned people are aware of my existence. Thanks girl! Anywho!

Are you staying home from work/school?

Soooooooo, about this. Hehehe. I was working. I was considered essential. To the point that my 4 day a week job turning into 7 days a week, 12 hours a day for TWENTY days straight. It took a toll. On me and my kids. So, because my kids are now out of school for the rest of the school year, my schedule not allowing for any flexibility or a leave of absence, I put in notice last week and my last day was Monday night. I felt really good about it, felt free, came home tuesday morning and filed for unemployment on grounds of childcare needs (which was immediately flagged 🙄😭) and slept. Today was a new day, started cleaning my house for the first time in over a month...... and it went down hill from there. Horrendous night and not feeling great about the uphill battle that will be getting my kids (and husband) back on track. TL;DR yes I'm home, it's a mess.

If you're staying home, who's with you?

That would be my 5 children, my oldest daughter is 11 (dear God tween hormones are no joke!) and my 4 sons, who are 9, 7, 5, and 3. My husband is still working and I miss him during the day and wanted to boot him out tonight. Sigh.

Are you a homebody?

Yes!!! I'm an introvert. If I was well and truly alone, I would never need to leave my house. I have no issues with the idea of ordering groceries online, I just ordered my first ever iPad online and I'm trying to navigate buying glasses and contacts online (PM me with links of websites if you've done this and had a good experience). I just need Amazon to get their shit together and ship my stuff! This isn't the 90's it doesn't need to take a month to get me something. Gah! Also, if I could figure out how to get my ADHD diagnosis from home via telemedicine that would be greeeeeeeeat. Seriously never want to leave my house again.

What movies have you watched recently?

Hahahahahaha!!!!!!! Omg you think I watch movies... That's adorable. Yea, noooo. The last movie I watched was Frozen 2 when it hit Disney+ a month ago. I am, however trying to gear myself up emotionally for watching Avengers Infinity War and Endgame this Sunday. It's been a year..... I'm still not ok. And I haven't watched since that fateful day in the theaters. No seriously, I cried last night just hearing the opening notes to the IW TRAILER! The trailer y'all. "There was an idea....." 😭😭 Ugly sob.

Shows?

Umm, I was watching Outlander at work. I binge watched the first four seasons in like a month back in January. Couldn't wait for season 5 and lost all steam once it started. I dunno. I think it's the Brianna story line. Other than that I honestly throw on Downton Abbey or Victoria again when I need something to watch. (can you tell I have a thing for accents...) I'd love to binge watch in order from the beginning The Big Bang Theory! If anyone knows where I can get the series to stream, let me know. I've watched it out of order for years and years and love it so much but seeing it start to finish sounds like a perfect quarantine activity.

What event was cancelled that you were looking forward to?

My kids going to school on a daily basis?? Lol. No, you know what's funny. I've never gone, didn't have plans to go, but I actually shed a tear when they cancelled Comic Con 2020 in San Diego. I was hoping to go next year so it was a mix of disappointment over not streaming this year's panels/the historical significance of there not being one and feeling like next year is now unattainable because all the 2020 ticket holders will get that one? It's weird and all hypothetical and stupid. Honestly I'm a mom and I don't get to do anything. The most exciting thing on my "to-do" list that was postponed was the Black Widow movie. I have waiting 10 goddamn years for my girl to get a solo movie! TEN YEARS!!!! I needed this to distract from the 1 year anniversary of losing Tony Stark Endgame. Gah. I'm also holding my breath that Sailor Moon Crystal the movie doesnt get postponed from September to God knows when. And my October trip to Orlando for Girl Scouts USA Convention isn't canceled. I'm going to Disney World!! If Florida isn't stup.... Yea ok. 😑😒😞

What Music are you listening to?

My Seiya playlist. I have a playlist of music that I think Seiya would sing. Cuz I love him and he's cheeky and in my head he's a weird mix of Adam Levine and Brendon Urie and that's what the playlist is full of. And this one song by Dermot Kennedy called Outnumbered that is just, IMO Seiya's parting words to Usagi. That and I'm kind of obsessed with Dance Monkey by Tones and I.

What are you reading?

Other than articles about the CARES act regarding unemployment benefits, reviews of cases and accessories for my new iPad Pro (it's the 12.9 and I had no idea I bought the big one and that it's basically a touch screen iMac and I'm overwhelmed with trying to find something to protect it from my children....) or homeschool tips and tricks for kids with autism.......

So help me God, I am reading The Unintentional Seduction of Chiba Mamoru if it freaking kills me. It's been on my to-read list for freaking ever and I am dying that I haven't read it yet. And kind of hating myself. Come on KT, get your ish together sis!!! I'm sorry @floraone !!

What are you doing for self-care?

I quit my job for one. That was the ultimate self-care move. That and for my kids.

Also, Online shopping? I have purchased things for myself that I have never done before. Makeup which is so fun. Like I bought the whole Sailor Moon makeup collection from Colour Pop. I got my first Morphe palette. And big girl concealer from Tarte. Yaaaaas! My iPad and all the pink accessories I can find. A pink throw blanket because my kids have a million blankets but we have no throw blankets for the couch. What the hell? And my favorite thing, I bought a bunch of stuff from teepublic with my profile picture on it from the artist @briannacherrygarcia (seriously her work is amazing! Go check her out, I can't get enough) that created it. I mean, how cool is that. I'm usually too poor to support the content creators for which I am so grateful for. After working three 84hr weeks, I figured I deserved to splurge on something that wasn't in anyway shape or form a need. A pure joyful want. Cant be excused as anything else. It felt so good. I got stickers and an art print and a coffee mug (because coffee mugs are my favorite thing and I somehow do not have enough of them so if anyone wants to send me pretty coffee mugs!) And a hoodie!! I'm so excited.

That last question is amazing. I was feeling so down and overwhelmed by just how bad my home and everyone in it was doing after I was working so much. I am not exaggerating saying it going to take weeks to put this back together and help my kids get used to having rules and structure again. Because it wasn't gonna be a quick fix I was hating life. But listing all the ways that I managed to take care of me, something I never do, because that's what I needed the last month to literally survive, reminded me that I am in a good place and that I have time now to get this done. It took a month to get to this level of chaos it only stands to reason that it's probably gonna take a month to put it back. And shit it's not like we're going anywhere. What's the rush? ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Thanks @queenrisa14 for this! This was great and fun and so needed for my psyche. I tag anyone on my follows list who hasn't done this. Do it and say I tagged you.

MamaLK says take care of you and the rest will fall into place! 😘

#quarantine activities #self care #we got this #tagged

[potatassium]

50 Questions for your sim: Somi Lee

50 Questions For Your Sim: Lee Somi

I was tagged by @citrusswig​ tysm, i’ve always wanted to do this!!

1: How old is your sim? She’s 17 now, 18 in a few months!

2. When is your sim’s birthday? December 21

3. What is your sim’s zodiac sign? Sagittarius

4. What is your sim’s ethnicity? She’s very korean but her family migrated to brindleton bay when she was little. she really loves the korean culture and hope to travel there someday but san myshuno will have to do!

5. Does your sim have any nicknames? She’s mostly just called somi by her friends but her family calls her So-ya

6. Do they have a job? If so what is it? She’s an aspiring writer and maybe part time painter, but that mostly depends on her mood

7. Where does your sim live? She was raised mostly in brindleton bay but she always wanted to live in the city.

8.Who does your sim live with? she lives alone and it does get a bit lonely but she’ll adjust to that lifestyle eventually

9. What environment did your sims grow up in (strict, loving, cold etc.)? They’re a very loving family but they also have rules that they need to follow like curfew and etc. her father is the scary one if you break one of the rules but so far, the Lee kids are good kids so it wasn’t so stressful for her parents.

10. What are your sim’s favorite food? she likes exploring new stuff so she hasn’t decided on what her favorite is yet.

11. What is your sim’s favorite drink? Likes the idea of coffee but not really very into coffee, it’s not really bad she’s just very picky on what type it is.

12. If they have one what is your sim’s favorite color? well any shade of blue is always welcomed in her heart, also yellow! she likes the contrast 

13. Does your sim believe in any clichés (like love at first sight, etc)? She’s a bit naive so i think she would believe in love at first sight. she thinks karma is real and is a total B. she also has no stand in religion.

14. What is your sim’s sexuality? Straight.

15. What is your sim’s gender identity? Female.

16. Is your sim type a or type b? do you mean blood???? i’d say a type 0 but theres only A & B as options

17. Is your sim introverted or extroverted? she’s extremely extroverted and very friendly, she’s basically friends with everyone in her neighborhood and most of brindleton bay

18. What is your sims favorite woohoo position? She’s very vanilla. she’ll probably do woohoo after marriage but we’ll see where faith leads her ;)

19. Is your sim a pet person? If so what is their favorite animal? YAAAAAAAASSSSSSSS she LOVES dogs very much!!! she can’t keep pets on her flat though and she wouldn’t have time to manage one.

20. Does your sim have a best friend? she has a childhood friend Luke Keller who lives on the same neighborhood. they used to be super close but their friendship faded away as time passed

21. What is/was your sim’s favorite school subject? She likes language & culture class!

22. Is/was your sim a high, mid or low achiever in school? I’d say a bit high up in her grades! she was a very good student and tried her best at everything

23. Are they planning to go or have they already been to college? If so, what would be or what was their major? Nope, she wants to start exploring on her own right after graduating highschool

24. What are your sims political beliefs (if they have them)? She doesnt have a stand to it. she has no complaints about the people who run brindleton bay though, they’re nice and loving.

25. What is one thing your sims wants to do before they die? Hopefully raise a family, write a legacy book, travel? who knows

26. Does your sim have a favorite TV show (cable) and/or movie? She likes watching cliche romance films, she cries over them

27. Is your sim a Netflix viewer? If so what are their top 3 shows. Yes!! She’ll watch some architecture & art stuff, Lucifer (pretty great, she loves this) and bojack horseman! she loves watching it!

28. Does your sim like books? If so what’s their favorite one? Well she absolutely loves rick riordan’s work!

29. Does your sim enjoy video games, if so what is their favorite one and do they play on PC or console? Not really that much, her sister loves those though!

30. What is your sim’s personal style? She’s very fashionable but she also likes the casual look, she doesnt own much clothing so she usually mix and match for most of her outfits

31. Does your sim have a lucky charm? Her notebook (is this considered a charm?) she left it at brindleton bay though, she’d have to go back and get it

32. Is your sim religious? Nope, she has no stand on it.

33. What kind of music does your sim listen to and who is their favorite artist? kpop, mostly IU, and seventeen, maybe a bit of twice every now and then, mamamoo is on her playlist as well.

34. Is your sim a festive person? If so what’s their favorite holiday? Yesss!! she’ll go to every festival.

35. What is your sim’s favorite type of weather? Every one! she likes the seasons changing and how nature changes depending on what season

36. Does your sim prefer to start fights or finish them? She’ll probably talk it out but she’ll be anxious about the whole thing though

37. Does your sim have a dream job? Being a writer is enough for her! she loves it and will continue to pursue that path!

38. Does your sim have any siblings? Yes, she has an older sister who lives with her parents and a younger sister who also lives there.

39. Does your sim get along with their family? She loves her family to bits!

40 What is your sims favorite hobby? She loves walking around, finding new inspiration

41. What does your sim look for in a romantic partner? She likes the whole cliche stuff that happens in romance films, but in truth she just wants to find someone who’ll be there for her and loves to have a family with her someday. she believe’s that her first boyfriend will be her last!

42. What is a secret about your sim? She likes to drink beer but she does it secretly 

43. What is a wish your sim has? Good healthy life for her and her whole family!

44. What is a flaw your sim has? Naive, but not too much, she trusts too easily but once you break her trust she’s hard to get back with.

45. How do others generally perceive your sim? I think they’ll say she’s a very bright and happy person! 

46. Does your sim have a greatest achievement? If so what is it? Being a writer is enough for her but maybe, just maybe, become a world renown writer!

47. If they have one, what is your sim’s greatest regret? Not having the time to actually enjoy herself because of her curfew, also she really wanted to have a boyfriend during highschool but her dad disagreed and she respects his dad.

48. Does your sim have a favorite emoji? the flowers emojis for sure! all of the flowers!

49. Does your sim use simstagram? If so what’s their @? Something basic like @leesomi 

50. What is the last text your sim sent (and who did they text)? It was to her family GC, it was a selfie of her out having streetfood for the first time at san myshuno! 

Anyways thank you so much for tagging me! I won’t be tagging anyone bc i still need to memorize all the names of the (amazing!!!) people i’ve met on tumblr! They are alot so i havent fully known each one! Im sorry about that :’)

ALSO UPDATE:

Updates for lee somi’s story will be changed bc school has just started for me but i’ll do what i can and update when i can!

#lee somi #sims 4 #challenge #sims 4 challenge #ts4 #ts4 gameplay #sims 4 gameplay #the sims 4 #the sims story #potatassium #qna #question and answer #thank you for tagging me!!! #challenges potatassium

[worstfruit]

BEASTMASTER

playing with names. zh'ang, bastardization of the romanization OF a translation meaning warsong, but i was just trying to find something that could sound gith so that doesnt really matter! he never goes by this tho, as his subordinates just call him master, sir, or boss. i think he would be very private about his life before joining a company (one i havent plotted out yet, though i like the idea of whatever mercenary crew he’s apart of following the idea of using assigned nicknames or titles in place of true names, even amongst the non-magic users, just for their safety or rather the integrity of the company so that their private information can’t easily be used against them).

yiz'shi, same bastard deal, this time im thinking beastmaster could be something he gained before joining a company and he just translated it to common. im not sure if the gith would have a need of surnames. i assume they’d be like uh ‘conan the brave’ or whatever, a sort of similar idea i’ve establish for my goblins where their surnames are based on trade and can changed based off merit, and their first names are given after a personality begins to appear. i think gith may be given names, then a ‘the brave’ or ‘unholy’ may follow depending on how they choose to live their life. 

zizshangi --> yizshangi --> some sort of mix between warsong/beastmaster. perhaps his true name is obscured and not even his minions know it!

im thinking he will be a shadow monk who uses his telepathy to rise in the ranks! i dont like multiclassing but i also really want to incorporate aspects of a whisper bard into this character or at least one of his underlings. i think after coming out of slavery under some mindflayers, he joins the company that frees him and starts using his monk training from the astral plane to...not convert, but to translate into the way of shadows. he would recruit the help of those who others overlook, such as kenku, kobolds, gnolls, and goblins. he’s very quiet, very observant, wears a mask often and even when he doesn’t he pretty much as a complete poker face. He chooses his words carefully but does relax around those he knows/trusts, and has a sort of dry sense of humor. Despite his psionic abiliities he’s sort of like, an idiot socially and can’t actually read people all that well. he relies on his extrasensory input and Maud (explained below) to navigate relations mostly. I’m not too sure what he looks like yet! I do want him to have the sort of vaguely asianic features a lot of githzerai have however, and i have a monk outfit in mind based off some Absolver outfits. He’s worked his way up in company rank enough to become a sort of espionage expert within the troops! This has earned the ire of some other company members, but for the most part i think this mercenary group would be pretty civil and view each other as respected associates and comrades. 

His main crew consists of two kenu, two goblins, and a tabaxi. He’s known the tabaxi longest-- im thinking she was also an underling in the company who helped him get back on his feet when they picked him up. She was a teen looking to hone her skills as a rogue and he helped her learn the art of stepping lightly and always keeping an ear to the ground. Looking at tabaxi names I’m thinking she probably has some dumbass one like ‘quick of paw’ but they just started calling her Maraud, which turned into Maud LOL. She’s all black and has short, sleek, shiny fur, brownish/maroon irises, pointed ears and big paws with her claws usually unsheathed. She’s become a mastermind rogue who trains two (also totally black, yellow eyed) kenku twins as a thief and scout under Beastmaster’s tutelage. She’s very streetsmart and has a gravelly sort of raspy voice from years of working as a slave (able to rise as a slavemaster who was tasked with yelling orders to the other slaves and cracking the whip). She’s a bit matronly, very wry and slinky and coy, and very good with people. Typical scorpio but with a flair of aires determination and single mindedness. She’s very driven, but has the life experience to keep herself grounded and logical. She’s beastmaster’s most trusted associate and essentially the brains behind his crew, at least second to him. She’s the boss when he’s not around, but while strict, she has a HUGE softspot for her sort of adopted siblings. She gets along well enough with the rest of the company.

The two kenkus are fraternal twins, a bit younger than Maud, named Lasher (girl) and Bowstring. Lasher is the thief and Bow is the scout. They were orphaned and picked up by the company shortly before absorbing the refugees from the Mindflayer slaveship so they never really had birthnames afa the company was concerned. They speak through sign language, body language and gesture, facial expressions, and a sort of quick-hand morse code they’ve developed from both thieves cant as well as the company cant. They can’t easily speak to people outside the company, and even within the ranks they have trouble communicating without parroting, which they don’t seem to like doing unless it’s to mock someone. Their inability to speak, however, lends to their spy nature as people often underestimate their intelligence and perception. Though they can’t fly, they’re quick when racing across building tops and through tree canopy and prefer high vantage points to preform their work. Beastmaster is a very silent person who gets along well with these two, using his telepathy and patience to forge a mentor relationship with them and cultivate their infiltration and investigative skills. Lasher loves to read anything she can get her feather little fingers on, and often steals what she can’t buy. She’s not too girly but does enjoy fantasizing about the high life noble ladies lead and likes to collect trinkets she thinks represent this such as bows, perfume bottles, bits of mirror and buttons. Bowstring likes to help his sister with her plights but is much more grounded and serious. he’s dry and sardonic and takes himself a little too seriously. even for a mute, he’s very silent and a little shy and prefers to hide behind Maud or beastmaster or even Lasher. He get’s his name for his skills as a ranger, whereas lasher gets hers from her talons and tendency to use them when people get too close to her or her brother. she gets along better with the rest of the company however, and likes to be seen as cute even if she feels she’s being condescended on. she and her brother work spectacularly together, along with beastmaster and maud, and don’t mind being separated for missions or otherwise.

The two goblin (identical!) twins’ names are Fritz and Racket and they are, respectively, a storm sorcerer and a storm barbarian! obviously they’re not as subtle as the rest of the gang despite being gobs, in fact they get their nicknames from their quirks of being loud, aggressive, and favoring a sort of berserker approach to confrontation. Fritz is the caster, Racket is the muscle, and both feed off each’s other whole uh, storm bullshit. they both worship an elemental goblin deity but very very casually, it’s more of hero worship, and beastmaster sorta thinks they might have a touch of wild magic and a fixation on LOUD and FLASHY shit hence the storm kick. they’re very loyal, very brave, and only a little stupid. they both have tempers and don’t like comments about their height. very easy to bait into confrontation especially if they’re together. they’re not the kinda twins who walk together in unison and finish each other’s sentences (like the kenku twins, who similarly work off each other’s energies for their work), but they are usually together and look almost exactly alike. Fritz is a bit slimmer and taller, a bit pointier and a bit more spastic and shrill. He’s weaker than his brother but is smarter. He also has a worse temper and despite not being a melee fighter, will not hesitate to tackle anyone and just use his claws and teeth. Racket is a bit calmer but dumber, more gullible, and a lot stronger. He’s only a tad quieter than his brother but is also more physically aggressive and tends to stomp and throw shit around, hence his name. he usually follow’s frtiz’s lead if beastmaster isn’t around, but the both defer to Maud for instruction. They’re technically younger than the kenku twins if you account for the fact that goblins age quicker than kenku, they’re only slightly older! they’re more immature, however, and usually need more corralling than anyone else. unlike lasher and bow, fritz and racket dont like being seperated, but usually dont have to be since they don’t do much espionage. if they are dispatched for such tasks, it’s usually a matter of blending into busy, or sketchy environments rather than being silent and shadowy. they’re useful for intimidation, distraction, firepower, and muscle.

the last notable character i’ve cooked up is a kobold, the youngest (but again due to kobold age, its not like hes a baby technically) named Rak! he’s not very skilled in anything but he considers himself an inventor and makes really pathetic little stick contraptions that use like. shitty venoumous bugs and stink bombs LOL. i dont even know what class he’d be. no magic skills, too dumb and loud for espionage. he’s sort of a little mascot for the company and everyone treats him like a pet, but beastmaster took pity on him and lets him tag along with them. fritz and racket think hes funny and usually just throw him in a bag or like, if they have to fight, put him in a pocket till theyre done. he doesn’t get in the way too much and every now and again is a bit useful to get into super small places or to do errands like deliveries or shopping or cleaning. he got his name bc he makes a sorta RAK sound a lot when scared or startled or hurt or excited or mad. like a mouse goes EEK but he’s a stupid lizard guy so he goes RAK!

[15001700tt]

Mix And Match

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6.

Part #4

“If you blow that air-horn one more fucking time, I will beat the shit out of you with it.” Jong In’s voice broke through the silent room. Baekhyun's laughter rang through the closed door as he walked away. I turned to face him smiling at his threat. I ran my hands through his hair, he closed his eyes in return, bringing me closer.

“I hate you, baekhyun” he mumbled against my head, chuckling at him i untangled myself from him.

“Come on sleepy head, you have work.” i pull off the covers from his body as he whines more.

As we made our way to the dining hall, he filled me in on how the war is going. It didn't look good from our side. In my opinion, this war is pointless, we’re literally fighting over something that happened long time ago. I admit it was a stupid mistake on the Pack’s part bu i think they apologized. But then again, it was stupid mistake. Who in their mind thinks they can turn a baby vamp into a werewolf, because they wanted to end the feud between the two kinds. And so were suffering from their bad decisions. Even after the New Age, they didn't want to meet us halfway with our apology. The Pack is now fighting a war, although the casualties are small, that doesnt mean that the effects of it arent. Jong In and his knights found out that they were planning a surprise attack on them, and The Pack is planning a winning strategy and not a killing strategy.

Although they havent found one yet. But Jong In tells me that they might go on defense and try to make it out alive. That doesn't sound comforting at all.

The doors were open, i could see that everyone was present. I am guessing that Jong In was going to tell them the plan over breakfast so that the mates know too. I smiled at Minseok as he cheerfully smiled back at me. He was the only one that still hasnt found his mate, he looked lonely but i tried to help by hanging out with him while Jong In was in his meetings, we got really close and became really good friends.

Jong In started to explain his plan, as he talked, i made eye contact with Ji Mi and then Hyun Jin. we agreed silently that we want to go with them. We know how to fight like professionals and we would be good assets on their side. As Jong In came to a close and had decided that Baekhyun, Chanyeol, Minseok, Kyungsoo and Junmyeon. I interrupted.

“I want to come too.” i calmly added. Jong In started shaking his head furiously, Hyun jin and Ji Mi chimed in, “us too, we all know how to fight, we can help” Kyungsoo was wide eyed, while Baekhyun started shaking his head and refusing to even think of the idea.

“look , you said youre going to be taking the defense, that means we arent going to be in as much danger if we were taking offense, and you need more hands.” i persuaded.

“If i did i would take Yixing, Sehun and Jongdae if i needed but i am not going to put you in danger.” he retaliated. I wasnt going to give up.

“I am going to go” i stated. He shook his head.

“Were doing this for your safety. I am not going to be able to focus if youre in danger.” he added.

“Fine, but i dont like this.”

“If this helps, at least you can help protect the girls with Yixing and Sehun and Jongdae if they decide to attack the castle.” Junmyeon chhimed in trying to diffuse the tension. I looked at the two girls, they didn't look like they were going to give up. I smiled at their persistence even if they loved their mate to death.

3rd POV

Ji Mi didn't give up on the idea of going, but they needed a way to convince Kyungsoo, so after breakfast, Hyun Jin and Ji Mi took a walk around the gardens, and try to to figure out how to tag along to the battle. They stumbled against Yong Sang trying to convince her husband once again but no avail.

“He wont let me.” she huffed.

“Maybe if we seduce them into saying yes?” Hyun Jin suggested, they started to laugh.

“Thats funny, but it might work on Baekhyun but not Kyungsoo” Ji Mi rolled her eyes. Hyun Jin shrugged her shoulders and excused herself to go and try one more time with Baekhyun.

“What about you?” Yong Sang asked Ji Mi.

“I am thinking of proving to him that i can take care of myself.” she responded

“That might actually work” she praised. As they continued to walk, Yong Sang admitted that she might as well stay in the castle because Jong In wasnt going to budge especially since shes a princess and all.

“Its fine, i have a duty as a younger sister to protect the future queen.” she reasoned. Ji Mi nodded in understanding, she gets it but that doesnt mean she has to give up too. They parted ways and Yong Sang wished her luck.

“Can i at least prove that i can take care of myself?” Ji Mi said after a few tries of persuading him.

“I know that you can take care of yourself, but this is different then advancing suitors, this is a battle with vampires, who are ten times stronger and faster than humans” he retorted.

“But can i try still?” She pressed on.

“Fine lets see, but that i am still not letting you go” he agreed and started making his way to the training grounds.

As they arrived to the practice mat, he rolled up his sleeves and gave her small smile, before telling her, “try your best”, making her roll her eyes, before she got into her stance. She had a plan, she was going to go easy on him, then shock him with her swift moves. And so they started.

“Was that a punch? I couldn’t actually tell.” he teased when she feigned a punch to his face and he expertly avoided it. She tried to swing her other hand at him, he caught it before it made contact with his jaw, but this was what she was waiting for. As soon as he grabbed her hand she used all of her momentum and grabbed his and flipped him to the ground and victoriously sat on him.

“It seems all the Songs know that move” a voice started from the doorway, the initial shock wearing off and Kyungsoo relaxes under Ji Mi��s body and rests his hand on her waist as he turns to Baekhyun.

“You know, i feel like i should have expected this but i still didn't, what does that make me?” he dramatically said.

“Whipped” Baekhyun stated to answer his rhetorical question. With a laugh Ji Mi rolled of his body as he got up and made a face at Baekhyun’s smug one. Kyungsoo turned to Ji Mi and motioned for her to try again. Her stance was different this time, didnt have the obvious mistakes she faked the first time, but it had a professional feel to it, and Kyungsoo could feel his muscles tightening in anticipation. She stuck her leg out and tried to make his lose he footing but he successfully avoided it and tried to land a hit on her stomach, but she jumped back, she ackflipped out of the way, also trying to land a hit with her flipping feet. Kyungsoo swiftly but barely avoided it. His next move was to roundhouse kick but she blocked it with her hand and latched to his foot that was no hanging in the air. She twisted his foot and made him finally land on the mat back first.

“Never in my life have i seen someone beat the crap out of you so efficiently.” Baekhyun mused from his seat. He got up and wiped the sweat of his eyebrow. Ji Mi expected a scowl to be etched on his face, instead a small smile was playing on his lips.

“I am guessing Hyun Jin and Yong Sang have the same fighting style?” he conversed as he attacked Ji Mi, who barely processed his question.

“Same training just different style. Hyun Jin uses more bows and arrows and Yong Sang more daggers. But were all good with hand to hand” she revealed.

“Wow, our mates are awesome” Baekhyun wolf whistled. He watched as Kyungsoo kept attacking and she kept defending. She looked like she was concentrating hard to block but also to try to land a hit back.

“What about you?” Kyungsoo asked as he avoided a jab in the ribs. She then tried to grab onto his extended arm and hike herself on his back with one of his arms bend back. He hissed, before she let his arm fall back to its normal position.

“My specialty would be swords and martial arts.” she responded falling from his shoulders onto the mat before jumping up from the ground. And dusting off her pants.

“Do you also happen to use seduction as a fighting technique?” Baekhyun asked abruptly causing Kyungsoo to growl at his comment.

“Not Ji Mi, i meant, Hyun Jin literally just tried to seduce me into saying yes” he explained. Kyungsoo burst out in laughter, Ji Mi chuckled, shaking her head.

“She thought that would help.” she admitted. A second after she was blocking a surprise attack from Kyungsoo’s fisted hands. She twisted them and kept them against his back.

“So can i please come with?” she asked still holding him hostage.

“No” he gritted out. She huffed before she maneuvered his hands in front of him and flipping him again towards the floor but face plastered against the floor. Once again she sat on him.

“Please?” she whined.

“How the fuck do you keep doing that?” Baekhyun exclaimed. “He's heavy as fuck and you just flipped him like no big deal!” he continued.

“No i didn't, he did” Ji Mi innocently said, from on top of a sighing Kyungsoo.

“She uses my own strength and momentum” he murmured, as he flipped around and was now on his back. He looked sideways as the gaping BAekhyun.

“Wow she really is your mate” he said, he got up and headed toward the exit.

“Where are you going?” Kyungsoo asked.

“I want to find out how Hyun Jin fights just for research purposes” he yelled back before disappearing. Ji Mi looked at Kyungsoo with a raised eyebrow.

“He wants to get laid.” he grumbled

“And you will not if you dont let me come with” she countered, his eyes growing wide and mouth wide open.

“How is that fair? I am trying to keep you out of danger, and i am trying to come back safely and you still wont reward me?” he whined. She shook her head rolling off of him.

“You wont die because of lack affection if you dont die in the battle.” she waved off as she grabbed her water.

“It sounds almost like you want me to die out there” he faked his hurt.

“Well at least as youre taking your last breath, you realize i could have saved your life if you took me with you” she huffed and turned away from him. He took a few steps and hugged her from behind.

“You're scared” he stated.

“Shitless” she breathed out.

#kyungsoo #exo #exo ot9 #exo fanfiction #ot9 #baekhyun #chanyeol #chen #exo fanfic #kai #jongin #scenarios

[liikeglitterandgcld]

CHARACTER MEME !

FULL NAME   Velvet Crowe

GENDER, SEXUALITY   Female; Bisexual

ETHNICITY, SPECIES   Daemon, Therion—Formerly human

BIRTHPLACE, BIRTHDATE   The Village of Aball, Eastgand, July 26th 

GUILTY PLEASURES   Velvet is hardass. Plain and simple. She’s a hard to get to know, let alone talk to, but once she lets down her guard, Velvet has a soft spot for flowers, dogs, someone with a knack of puns (even if she says she hates them), in general sweet gestures like making coffee or tea for her. 

PHOBIAS    Does abandonment count as a phobia? Well if so.... Loneliness through abandonment—regardless real or imaginary with her overthinking. Dying without fulfilling her ambitions. Not sure if this counts as a phobia as well, but she has stage fright.

WHAT THEY WOULD BE INFAMOUS FOR   She’s earned a reputation, given rather, the title of “Lord of Calamity”— the unholy, the ugliness of human emotions, how dangerous human emotions are. Someone who seeks to destroy homes and cities, leaving them in ruins.  Leaving a mount of dead bodies—be it human or daemon in her wake. A daemon with the ability to eat other daemons.

WHAT WOULD / HAVE THEY GOTTEN ARRESTED FOR  Her existence as a daemon alone is enough to have be thrown in prison for 3 years. On top of inciting a prison riot, breaking out of prison, kidnapping, multiple counts of murder, destruction of property. Arson. She even ruined a town’s economy by destroying their trade. There’s probably a few more I’m missing

CHARACTER YOU SHIP THEM WITH    Within her own canon? Eizen and Magilou. I absolutely adore EiVel/Veizen, probably more than MagiVel. Both ships show different sides of Velvet and have different dynamics with her and I LOVE that. 

As far as my own muses + muses I would like to see play out because of dynamics and history be platonic OR romantic.... You have DM me if you’re curious (*≧艸≦)  But I will say that  I’m a sucker of two broken people coming together and becoming whole. All of Velvet’s ships be it canon or crossover reflect that to some degree 

shut up I found my shipping trope

CHARACTER MOST LIKELY TO MURDER THEM   If she hasn’t killed herself first by thrusting herself into death’s grip first? Out of my muses......... Noctis probably? If Velvet hasn’t  tried to devour him like she would a daemon. Either Noctis or Ruby Rose from my muses. Ormy AU Eva Sparda for a entirely different reason...........

FAVORITE BOOK GENRE    Something informative and useful, like cookbook. Outside of that, just give her recommendation. probably some sort of contemporary novels. She likes multiple genres in novels as opposed to focusing one genre in particular. Fantasy elements she tends to like, and usually those go hand in hand in adventure/exploration settings. Types of mystery tend to hold her attention as well. 

LEAST FAVORITE BOOK CLICHÉ   Velvet hates the idea someone needing to change who they are in order to find love.  Romance novels tend to bore her anyway. She’ll read it once if it was okay, but if a book has someone who changes themselves just for someone to love them will. That’s will be in the trash.

TALENTS OR POWERS  - Velvet’s main ability is from her left arm—her daemon arm. She can devour basically almost anything (almost as in she has standards). Daemons, humans, or Malakhim/Seraphim— it doesn’t matter. She’ll eat anyone that gets in her way I won’t lie, it is akin to cannib/alism of sorts, especially during her cutscenes regarding her traumatic nightmares. Another important is that Velvet can absorb a being’s malevolence* (mass of negative emotion) into herself. 

Another important aspect of her daemon arm is that Velvet can absorb  magical attacks. Say a fireball flung at her. She can absorb it and toss back at back. Or—in terms on gameplay—can create certain types of attacks based off the type of daemon and hit their weaknesses (it’s that hard  to translate in an rp or in a fanfictions setting to be truthful)

Velvet is also incredibly acrobatic. While she is proficient and professionally taught to use a one handed sword, she prefers using martial art(e)s with heavy focus on her legs and feet as most of her attacks (aided by boot blades). She’s a mix of professionally taught and self taught in her style of fighting with use of her gauntlet blade and hidden boot blades compliment her style.

WHY SOMEONE MIGHT LOVE THEM    While Velvet is hard person to befriend, let alone talk to, she is incredibly caring person. Not to the point of doting. She prefers not to let that show often as part of her reflection that’s a daemon, a monster. Let’s be real, anyone who falls in love with her and genuinely cares about her is foolish person not to mention reckless. Which is she herself but regardless. The more they can get Velvet with her guard down the more her humanity shows—if someone she cares is injured by their recklessness, she’ll angry because she’ll be worried about them. She’s goal driven and ambitious.

Velvet doesn’t take bullshit and stubborn, which is both a positive and negative. She can blunt with her words—as a means to encouragement and not to do things without regrets. Synergy on the battlefield, if one keeps up with her. And, her cooking. Not saying that is not the only reason why someone might love them, but it’s a nice bonus. She also gets flustered when embarrassed.

WHY SOMEONE MIGHT HATE THEM     I mentioned this already, but Velvet is a closed off person. She is not easy to befriend. She’s is incredibly stubborn person, she’ll headbutt with people on their views and opinions that close to home to her. Not only is she selfish, Velvet IS without a doubt, self absorbed, mostly due to her one track mind of her goals. She has no problem with killing people—be it people who stood against her or as an act of mercy. Velvet gives 0 fucks if you hate her or dislike her. In her mind, that’s their problem, not hers. She’ can be seen as callous and heartless because of that.

For someone who IS a daemon, she feels emotions deeply and strongly. And because of that, arguments and clashes are bound to happen.

HOW THEY CHANGE   - Spoilers for Tales of Berseria

Before finding out who Innominat was and how exactly the therions were connected, Velvet had one track of mind of vengeance, against the man she had once called family. There’s a chunk where the game doesn’t sugar coat that Velvet is a terrible person, but there moments where’s parts of herself, the loving sister, that she locked away emerge bit by bit as Laphicet traveled with her. But the more there closing in on the reveal, the more obvious Velvet is completely focused on her goal, the obvious how broken is she and that the only thing driving her will to live is by killing this man who is basically the game’s version of the pope.

After the reveal, Velvet is a broken mess, lashing out. Everything she’s done in was in her brother’s name, her only reason to stay alive during those 3 years in prison fighting daemons day in and day out. And it was for nothing. Every single thing. Before Velvet basically tries to sacrifice herself which??? she’s basically trying to commit suicide essentially?? Laphicet, this tiny malak boy that had befriended her and the others, that slowly started becoming his own person and free will, (and by extension Eizen) tells her to snap out of her and that he’ll always be there for her. After that Velvet starts admitting to herself that her actions, her motivations was for herself and using her brother as an excuse (there’s some truth it is for her brother but its more for her than anyone else). Velvet also starts to mellow out. She’s still a terrible person but has more chill.

WHY YOU LOVE THEM   Velvet is a terrible person. She is.. Anyone who’s played tob knows this. She’s starts out as this villainous person (she still is in what the game’s militant church views her.) As the game goes on, she becomes an anti-hero. The game doesnt sugar coat that she’s done some terrible things all for the sake of revenge. She is this hardened person who’s cynical, jaded, and unbeliveably bitter. Yet deep down she’s a good person,who cares deeply and strongly for those she loves and cares for.

Another spoiler but! There’s a point where if she doesn’t stop to reserve the effects her brother in law cleansing, the world is fucked basically. But she doesn’t do that for humanity’s sake. She does so out of responsibility—this is her family and she’s the only one capable of stopping him and his god— and because of her goal. She’s committed to her goal of killing him. Helping save the world meant little to her and was a beneficial side effect of her actions. ToB has its own share of flaws but it shines it shines brights.

tagged by: @e0nian​ [ thank you ♥ i took so long to figure out who i wanted to use for the meme 

tagging:  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯   steal it if you want

#( ✕ — cosmic oddities | headcanons ) #♔— all in the details || headcanons ( velvet ) #I love velvet with all my heart #i cant articulate how much i love her and her character arc #tob spoilers #tales of berseria spoilers

[pensurfing]

Caitlin’s Three Things List

Okay, so moments (probably hours by the time I finish this) ago I wrote a goals list that I think is good for self-evaluation. (Keyword: This is what I think. results may vary depending on what you’re looking for.)

I’m going to hop to it and answer some of these that I laid out in hopes of having a better idea of what I want to accomplish. 

The Three Things Lists!

1) Three things that went well this year.

* Audience growth

So once upon a time, I grew a pretty decent following due to creating an Inktober Prompt list. My expectations: Maybe two of my friends would do this, maybe. And then one stranger that has followed me for a while. (There are a few followers I recognize their username because if I post something they always like it and for some reason that keeps me going.)

But because of this prompt, I was exposed to MANY new creators and illustrators that I now enjoy chatting with and following! Instagram had the biggest maintained growth. I’m excited to create for an audience that actually expects me to create and not just for friends who see my things “whenever they aren’t busy”. (Not to bash them or anything, just there are a lot where unless I tell them, they don’t see the posts I make.)

Another surge of growth in my audience was due to tabling at conventions this year. I was terrified to show my work let alone attempt to sell it to someone. Tabling at cons not only boosted my confidence but also quieted one of my ever going demons. “YoU sUcK aT dRaWiNg CaItLiN.” “How do you have a degree? oh right, you just barely passed.” I can’t say this is the case, there is an audience that genuinely enjoys my scribbles. So I am forever thankful to Atlanta Comic Con for giving me that chance. It honestly opened a few doors for me.

**Process

I’ve gotten more comfortable with showing my process. It can be messy, crisp, and illogical. But turns out the people who enjoy my content enjoy my scrambled thoughts. It’s something about not being alone in this sort of sense that calms the nerves.

So I can say with chest poked out that sharing process has gotten MUCH better. I can thank a self-help book I bought this year that was a FANTASTIC BUY. Austin Kleon has [two] (currently? If he has more then I’m buying it like people buy a name brand.) books that helped me see that it is GREAT to share not only the process but advice. “Show Your Work” is the book I’m talking about for now. Great tips, the outline is on the back of the book. So if you’re like me, I need to clearly see what I might be getting into, you might have a ball.

And finally, (not calling myself out on this but other) If you’re going to respond to people when they ask you “how do you___?” do not answer “Google it”. That is the rudest thing I’ve seen some of even my FAVORITE illustrators do; that response can burn in hell. PERIODT. (my one typo allowed.)

*** Art Style Exploration

For those who think college will help you establish an art style that you’ll enjoy or help nourish the one you currently have.... Let me save you over 80K.... No, the fuck it won’t.

That was the biggest thought I had going into art school. If anything, it confused me more and utterly destroyed what little confidence I had in my drawing style. After graduating, I had a huge swing from how I used to draw to how my art currently looks. I stopped trying to please the one professor who stood between me and my degree and started drawing to please my tastes. And guess what? That did something. And that something WORKED. I love what I draw now; I see why I chose this as my career path. I’m genuinely happy with how my pieces turn out versus in college just wanting to turn the damn thing in and hoping it isn’t an F.

2) Three things you could have handled better.

* The loss of a good paying client.

Now hear me out when I say this: A good paying client DOES NOT EQUAL a good client. Say that three times and then exhale.

Back earlier this year, I had the opportunity to work with a writer who gave me hell and back. And even that is an understatement. I dealt with her because in school you were taught “if they pay on time, finish the work and get the exposure.” 

I’m here to tell you my lesson learned: A good paying client DOES NOT EQUAL good exposure, good pay, a good client. 

I was doing the work of three for the price of one and a half. (And was always told I charged too much.) She tried abusing this power with friends of mine, with other illustrators. When things turned out bad, she tried saying it was my fault. She read my contract and then tried telling me I changed the wording, I purposely did this thing, another thing was my fault. I could go on with this story.

The part that I wish I handled better?

How I treated myself afterward. I’m so used to people telling me, “Cait, this is what you do wrong. This is how you fix it.” that I don’t consider my own feelings, and when I bring my feelings into the scenario they no longer matter. Because they tell me they don’t matter. In this case, I wish I had treated me better, because my feelings, my mental health, DOES matter.

**My Patience Getting Into Conventions.

Pretty self-explanatory. I got into one, finished one, and wanted to do eight more in a week. But this sort of thing just takes time and I need to accept that.

***My losses

I had to listen to a Little Mix song to actually learn this one. The context of the song is nowhere near the topic at hand. But a verse from Power feat Stomzy really packs a punch after this year: 

“ You look him in the eye and say, "I know I'm not a guy But see there's power in my losses and there's power in my wins" “

I had to look one of my demons in the face, and state something similar. My loses mean I’m trying. My loses piling shows I’m not willing to give up easily, and that is something that took a while to be content with.

3) Three things artistically you want to improve on.

*Composition

It’s not awful, but it can be better.

**Color

I told this BOLDLY if I might add while critiquing someone else’s portfolio; “Your color palette is boring. All your [things] look as if they are from the same universe, during the same time of day, with the same kind of mood. After three photos it’s bland, boring, and understood you have a preference.” 

Can you say damn Cait? The statement was, in fact, true, but I certainly could not talk. My color palette is mainly bright, pop, and happy. In order to tell a story, I KNOW it is best told with color. And I failed myself this year. But I sure won’t next year.

***My Damn Tag

Okay, alright. Why is it well-established artists have their tag figured out? Even some who’s art style is so recognizable (I’m looking HEAVILY at you Gabriel Piccolo.) we know it’s theirs, seem to have a tag that suits them and works for them. But more importantly, they put it in A VERY DECENT SPOT. SOMEONE SHARE THIS SCIENCE WITH ME? CAUSE APPARENTLY I DON’T GET IT.

4) Three things you want to focus on trying.

*More backgrounds.

As much as it pains me, I need to improve on backgrounds and perspective. When I do make backgrounds, I’m told I make great pieces. That I should look into becoming a background artist. And don’t get me wrong, I like them. But I don’t like them.

I feel as though I need to improve in that region so that way I don’t feel as though it’s a weakness of mine. My backgrounds are nice, but they aren’t nice to my standards.

**More designs

I love character designs, but let’s be real. If you were to scroll down my site or my Instagram page, or even this Tumblr archive, could you tell? 

I draw characters a lot sure, but none are designs. No process, no sheets, no turnarounds, none of that. So that’s a huge goal of mine for 2019.

***Scheduling posting

At one point I was pretty good at this. Live stream in Instagram and Twitter, cool. Videos on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Cool. Everywhere gets a photo, everywhere gets a silly one-liner. Yay. I’m not leaving anything out.

Well by the end of this year that totally crumbled. 

SO I want to try getting better at that thing there. Because having attempted this at the end of the year was cool, but it still wasn’t enough apparently.

5) Three positive things to tell yourself.

* You are an inspiration. That’s all you wanted to be in life, you did it. I’m proud of you.

**You didn’t kill yourself like you tried to; you opened up about it for once and used that pint up anger creatively. That is very hard to do, trust. I’m proud of you.

***You moved on, matured, and let it go. Even when the goddess inside you told you these peasants didn’t deserve your light, your friendship, your greatness. I’m proud of you.

I’m just proud of me for not snapping when I had every right to; not everything deserves a reaction.

6) Three negative things you want to leave for 2018.

*Comparisons 

Oh boy. I am extremely guilty for this: I’ll compare myself to a well-known illustrator my age. I’ll compare myself to friends who are in the field having a blast and getting work; I’ll compare myself to friends who aren’t in the field and they struggle at getting work. I’ll compare myself to the kid I graduated high school with who is traveling the world, is able to eat, come home to his dog and relax because he doesn’t have tuition to pay. I’ll compare myself to these goddamn baby boomers who keep repeating “We didn’t have it hard, you’re just being stupid. Millennials aka our children deserve to starve. We’ll just put our faith in our grandchildren because screw the kids we raised and refuse to pay accordingly. $7 an hour worked in my day, they need to make it work now.” I’ll compare myself to fake people I created in my head and purposely made scenarios and wonder why I’m not like them, said creations I made because I was pretty low for ten minutes...

I just compare myself too much. To any damn body. It’s draining, obnoxious and most of all pointless. My new motto for next year is: “Unless it is helping you grow yourself, your brand, your spirituality, don’t do it.”

I’m not comparing my chapter two to someone’s chapter thirty-five. I’m not even comparing my chapter two to someone else’s chapter two. I need to stop doing that PERIOD! My journey is different, unique, and worth seeing through.

**Listening to negative others.

A couple of years ago, I lost a close friend around the time my aunt passed away. During this time I was hypersensitive to any and everything done or said; I also kept many walls up to hide my mourning. He caught the crossfire of all of that. I kept secrets from him I was too prideful of admitting and lashed out because of the emotional turmoil I kept suppressed. While in the midst of packing his things and leaving my life, he mentioned that I was a failure because I was unemployed and artistically speaking I hadn’t accomplished anything; that I would remain that way because that’s just the person I deserved to be. Now mind you, I graduated college that year; he was a flunk out. I changed my art style dramatically compared to when I started school to pass; he thought just posting crappy pictures of lukewarm sketches were equivalent. I started attempting trends and all he could do was copy. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t to bash my old friend. If he were to come back into my life and move on like nothing had happened I’d do the same. (With some limitations.)

It’s just while typing out this scenario, of our four-year friendship I can’t think of one nice thing/compliment/gesture he has said to me. That’s my problem.

I can be praised, admired, and look highly upon for years straight. But my problem is I let others negative thinking and comments marinate with me for a long while. Too long of a while.

Another example is my mother’s friend. (My mom has many friends that do this shit, but this one stung more.) 

This friend always roots for me; treats me like a person, and encourages my artistic journey. I consider her family before my actual relatives. 

We went over for some barbeque the family was having and I was ready. Black Hallmark Cookouts, laughing, good food, good music, shit talking others teams. She asked me a harmless question of when was I going to quit my day job. Seemed like nothing at first, until the added gest of what she continued with. “All I’m saying is you can’t do [your day job] forever. That will get old. If the art thing doesn’t work out next year what’s plan b?”

I’m not a calm person (usually). Normal Caitlin would have cursed her out and mentioned how just because she chose a job to settle and be miserable at for most of her life doesn’t mean I have to follow suit. But again, of all the nice encouraging things she has done, said, and showed, for a while, I couldn’t think of it. 

So I pray I let go of this nasty behavior in 2018; it’s going to be hard but it is dire.

***Saying I’m Not Enough

Alright, now put the combination of the two above in a bowl and what do you get? A Caitlin who struggles in interviews and applying for jobs because I let comparisons and negative comments rule my thoughts. This stopped me from applying to jobs I would have been perfect for; internships that could have helped me; posting art online.

We (including me) have to stop thinking that in order to be an illustrator means we have to pass a certain threshold of struggle, success, and a huge number of followers. That isn’t the job description. NO JOB DESCRIPTION has ”must have at least 10K followers on Instagram or Twitter.” nOnE. 

So we (including me) need to stop treating ourselves this way. Period.

7) Three things you’re looking forward to in 2019.

*Going to move conventions.

**Adding pieces to my portfolio to try again at job hunting.

***Becoming content with the fact that my current situation isn’t my permanent situation. Unless I laze around and make it so.

Alright, so this was basically me calling myself out on my noise. Lashing out my demons and putting it in writing what I want to accomplish. I hope this inspires you to write yours, even if you keep it private. I hope it guides you and maintains your vision.

I’ll see you in 2019

A new wave

Caitlin xx

#pensurfing #new years #new years resolution

[furiousharmonykryptonite-blog1]

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Hi, I'm planning to get either a Motorcycle License or a Private Aircraft License. I know for a fact that the minimum cost of a Private Aircraft License is around $10,000 CND for ground school, 40 hours in an airplane and your examination. From then on its around $120 CND for an hour in a Cessna. My question is, How much is a Motorcycle insurance? I heard its a lot and that is the reason why i'm choosing between these two licenses. - I am 16 (17 in December) - Grade 11 (86% avg) - Toronto, ONtario - I have my g1 and so far no tickets or accidents -Planning to get either a 2008 Ninja 250R or Honda CBR125R Thanks So how much will insurance will cost me?""

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Pls help me in selecting the best insurance policy for children. Should I go with LIC or private insurances like HDFC Life, Aviva, Max Newyork ?? Is unit linked policy reliable ?""

How much would insurance be for a '69 mustang for a 17 year old with a 3.6 gpa?

Yeah, I really want a mustang but my parents are killing me about the insurance. So i want to find out how much it really is so I can tell them if i can pay for it or not. I really want this car, I know alot about cars so i'm not an idiot , i know what i'm doing. I just need to know. Thanks alot.""

Can auto insurance company refuse to pay claims if Company Vehicle?

I have a company vehicle for 5 years now and ok to use for personal needs. Now they have come out with new company policy. It states if in an accident on weekends or whenever it is used for personal reasons and I am in an at fault accident all damages and claims will be denied. Another words if I get in a wreck and do damages to vehicles, bodily injury or whatever while driving after work hours or weekends their insurance company will not pay any claims. It states I am responsible for all damages if using for personal use in an at fault accident. Question is can they actually do that. Can their insurance legally deny all claims due to the fact the I was using the vehicle outside of normal hours and for personal use.""

Insurance for my baby?

I am researching insurance options for my baby. The baby will be born in few months. I know that the baby will be insured 30 days after he is born. This is my question. Should I find an individual plan for the baby or should I add the baby to my insurance? I did not even know one can add the baby to an existing insurance. I am just trying to find the best deal. If I have to have an individual plan for the baby, I am looking only for Blue Cross or Blue Shield of California (PPO only). If you have any suggestions, please share. Thank you""

Car insurance for teens !! Help?

So I live in Benton Louisiana and I'm 15. I'm about to turn 16 and my mon said that she won't let me drive or get me a car because insurance is expensive. How much is insurance for 16 year olds?! It just really makes me mad because at first she was all for it and said that she would get me a car since she ruined my 15th birthday. Now, she just let my hopes down once again. That's why I want to know like about how much is car insurance for teens. Thank you!!""

Cheapest car to insure?

Hi Everyone, im 21 male from ontario canada and im looking at getting my frist car, I've been driving my parents mini van for the last few years as I am a college student and live with then when him home, which isnt very often because im in school all year round. So im wondering, what are some cheaper cars to insure, both new and used? Thanks""

Will my auto insurance rates increase if I put a claim in for the theft of my keys?

My purse (along with car keys) was stolen a few weeks ago. I called Toyota to get an approximation as to how much it would cost to replace the keys (just over $350 for a remote and transmitter key). My mom (I'm still under my parent's insurance) contacted our insurance agency and they said they would cover it and our rates would not increase. I figured the car should be rekeyed too since the thieves had my address. I went to Toyota to get a written estimate - they were having trouble printing off a written estimate and wrote it on a card - rekeying would be just over $350 so keys+rekeying = just over $700. My mom sent my dad today to get it written on company letterhead, etc. and he came back with an over $2,000 estimate - it looks like they actually want to pull the locks out and replace a computer??? So my mom is saying we're not putting in a claim because our insurance rates will increase (even though no one has said they would increase) in the meantime I have to worry about my car being stolen (I have a club on it), people going into it, etc. So, typically, would one's auto insurance rates increase after putting in a claim for theft? Does it make a difference if it's $700 or $2,000? I would just figure the insurance company wants your car to be as safe as you do so you don't have to claim even more for a stolen car.""

Insurance on small cars example punto ?

hey everyone iv just passed my theory test today and i want to buy a punto for my fist car i need advice on de price off tax and insurance like for example i would probably purchase any punto from 1997 -2001 and im 19 does anyone av any advice for me cause i don wanna be ripped off thanks for readin you guys xxxxxxxxxxx

NO Car insurance! Will i get 6 points?

I was a named driver on my Dad's insurance, he had not paid one of the instalments for the insurance but did know! I was driving the car when i got pulled over. I did not no i had no insurance as i did not deal with the payments. Will i still get 6 points as i need my licence to get to university :(""

In what company can I buy cheap car insurance.everybody are very expensive.?

In what company can I buy cheap car insurance.everybody are very expensive.?

Can my dad by a motorcycle and put it under his insurance for me to drive?

ok im conused about this whole thing i know for a 16 year old motorcycle insurance is crazy. So how would this work my dads been driving all his life(Harley-Davidson) and his insurance is cheap, now for me its gonna be alot of money so can he buy the bike and put it under his name then i just drive it so then it wont be so much $ on me? can this work or is that illegal for me to be driving someone elses bike? is there anyway like i stated above to make my insurance cheaper if this doesnt work?""

Insurance Price for a teen driving a Toyota Celica?

I'm 14 about to turn 15 and get my restricted. I've been looking for a car and I found a 2000 Toyota Celica GT for $5,000 list price which is well within my price range. The car is a manual which I'm fine with, The only thing I'm worried about is the insurance cost for a teen driving a sports car and wanted your opinion on the price of insurance and on how good of a first car a Toyota Celica would be. Thanks for any and all help, Grant""

What kind of vehicle would have the cheapest insurance?

I need to buy a new car, and have pretty high insurance. I was wondering what types of vehicles would have the cheapest insurance for a newer car (2000+)

Health insurance info?

I'm trying find my boyfriend affordable health insurance that also covers his want/need for counseling. We live in Georgia and I need some advice since I'm still currently considered a dependent for the time being. Thanks!

Can you buy Insurance to cover accidental injury only?

My kids have no health Insurance. Can i buy an Insurance which can cover them only for accidental injury caused by fall or skate boarding?

Is my credit card insurance enough for car rental?

I do not live in the US and do not have a car insurance policy in the US. I will rent a car when I visit and use my credit card to do so, but is the coverage that comes with the credit card use enough? Should I also purchase the rental company's policy?""

How can insurance companies offer zero premium medicare insurance?

Trying to help my mom sort out medicare vs medicare plan vs medicare gap insurance. Just got a post card from an insurance company that says there is zero premium. How is that possible? She still has to pay the premium for the Part B medicare, so does that simply go to the insurance company instead? Thanks""

What is the cheapest car and year range to insure for 18 year old?

My wife is 18 and got her license a few months back. What would be the cheapest car and of what year range, if insured in the USA? Which insurance companies insure 18 year olds, as I am aware most dont.""

WHAT COMPANY PROVIDE THE MOST AFFORDABLE CAR INSURANCE?

IM PAYING ABOUT 350 EVERY 6 MONTH I WAS WONDERING IF THERE MIGHT BE MORE AFFORDABLE CAR INSURANCE OUT THERE.

The best insurance for juniors?

i just turned 18 and i need to get new insurance any ideas????

What insurance group?

I'm interested in the Mazda RX8 but would like to know the insurance group without having to go for a quote. I'm not looking at a specific car just love the cars and am interested.

What kind of car insurances exist?

I know there is the one required by law, the liability, in which you'll cover another car's damage, and one where you ensure your own car (I don't know the specific name of it). What other kind of car insurances exist, and what are they called?""

Where can i find cheap moped insurance?

i have just applied for my license and i am going to get a 50cc moped (WK Wasp 50). i was looking around for the price of full comprehensive insurance and the cheapest is around 650... is this cheap? please advise me on any cheap firms thanks!

How to find free medical insurance?

i m cheap person who work partime and i can t afford to pay alot money so do u guys know any free medical insurance or dental ?

Would insurance be high on a 1999 pontiac firebird ws6 v8?

I am 19 years old and am currently paying about $130.00 a month for insurance. I am looking in to buying the car listed above, how much more would I be paying on insurance? I do believe it is considered a sport, but its a 1999. Maybe age makes a difference? I am curently driving a truck.""

How much is a low rate car insurance cost? how much would it be ??? ?

How much is a low rate car insurance cost? how much would it be ??? ?

What is insurance quote?

What is insurance quote?

Affordable car insurance?

Hi; I recently bought a 2002 Pontiac Grand Am from a used car dealership and need to find some insurance on the cheap side for it. What I'm really looking for is something that simply makes the car legal, as I can't really afford anything over $40. I'm 23 and living in Harrisburg Pennsylvania so any insurance you guys know of that fall into my parameters would be great; really need this car for work.""

Insurance price for a 16 year old?

I'm 16 live in Minnesota and i want to get a car maybe around $5000 just wanted to know how much a month it would cost for insurance with and without my parents

""Found a Cheaper Car Insurance, What to do?""

Dear Mate, My car insurance is just started 5 days ago. I have paid them around 300 as deposit. I have found somewhere more cheaper then recent one. If I want to finish my policy with them, How much do they Refund me. Please help me if you knows. Thanks""

How much does insurance range to for motorcycles?

How much does insurance range to for motorcycles?

Car insurance car location?

Hi, im looking to buy a car that i would occassionally use. i work in birmingham and live in the city centre but need a car for oncall. when im not oncall i get the train. when i dont need the car i would leave it in nottingham with my parents where my dad would occassionally use it. the car would be kept more at the nottingham address than my birmingham one. insurance is cheaper at nottingham so can i put that as the car location even though it would sometimes be in birmingham. it sounds obvious but an insurance company has really confused me saying it must be in birmingham which makes no sense as the car would be kept more in nottz. ive been told insurance companies will try there hardness to avoid paying out say for example if the car was stolen. please help!""

Average cost of car insurance for 18yr old?

never been in an accident, driving a car over 10 years old and has good grades?""

What color cars are cheaper to insure?

its bugging me lol. i would like to know what colors are considered aggressive like red,black ect. and what colors they wont rape you over. so a list of aggressive colors and a list of calm colors. thank you for your help!""

Good classic car insurance proposers?

i have a Ford Fiesta L 1979 and l would like to know some cheep classic car insurence

What is the cheapest & best health insurance plan in the state of New York.?

I live in Great Neck. Need insurance for a family of four two adults around their 30's, and two young boys. -Dental Insurance -Health Insurance -Eye Insurance""

Auto insurance quotes?

Auto insurance quotes?

What is the best kind of health insurance for fertility treatment?

Shopping for insurance and would like an honest answer from the people. I know I will be seeing a fertility specialist and doing lots of lab tests. Does anyone know which kind of insurance would best fit my needs? fyi, I live in northern California. Would a health savings account work?""

What kind of vehicle would have the cheapest insurance?

I need to buy a new car, and have pretty high insurance. I was wondering what types of vehicles would have the cheapest insurance for a newer car (2000+)

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/cheaper-put-your-parents-car-insurance-get-own-daryl-preisentanz"

[trendingnewsb]

Fighting Al Capones Beer Wars

Red: BLOODY TRAIL

Hed: Fighting Al Capones Beer Wars

Dek: John J. Binder is an assiduousand often contrarianhistorian of the gang wars that plagued Chicago, and in a new book he sets the record straight on just who shot whom and why.

SEO: Fighting Al Capones Beer Wars

Byline: Ronald K. Fried

Vertical: arts/culture

Tags: Al Capone, prohibition, gangsters, organized crime, Chicago, Beer Wars

Its surprisingly difficult to get at the facts behind the history of organized crime. The topic doesnt typically attract the attention of Ivy League history departments. And most of the key witnesses to significant eventsrub-outs and the likeare either dead, because theyre the victims of organized crime, or are themselves criminals, and thus professional liars. Then theres the challenge of penetrating the fog of sentimentality perpetuated by films from The Godfather on down.

Yet, as is proven by countless volumes lousy with hearsayand an astonishing number of websites catering to a curious breed of mafia hobbyistit can be fun and profitable to romanticize old-school sociopaths.

John J. Binder is not in that business.

Anyone whos watched a documentary about the Chicago Outfitas Chi-towns mob has come to be knownhas likely seen Binder with his walrus mustache and thick mop of salt-and-pepper hair as he supplies expert commentary in his splendid Chicago accent.

Binder may now be able to claim the title of leading scholar of organized crime in Chicago thanks to Al Capones Beer Wars, his new 400-plus-page book about what really happened in the vice-ridden Windy City between 1920 and 1933. This, of course, is when Prohibition kicked in. And all students of mob history agree that Americas disastrous experiment in outlawing booze was the greatest gift the bad guys ever received.

Binder approaches his topic with the academic rigor youd expect from a retired professor with a Ph.D. in finance and economics from the University of Chicago. A diligentif not obsessiveinvestigator, he ferrets out untapped primary sources and submits them to statistical analysis.

Based on a meticulous examination of 729 Prohibition-era gangland murders documented in a Chicago Crime Commission study, for example, he argues that there were far fewer bootlegging-related killings in Chicago than had been believed.

Everyone has seen the numbered list, Binder told me when I interviewed him in

Chicago. But no one studied the victims case by case to determine who they werethe what, where, and how they died.

Binder and an equally indefatigable colleague, Mars Eghigian Jr., the author of a biography of Capones successor Frank Nitti, did just that. Their study was published in an academic journal.

If you go and look at each individual case and study the weapons used and the motives, Binder said, the evidence suggests that virtually every conclusion about gangland killings in Chicago during Prohibition is wrong.

Of the 729 killings, just 41 percent were related to bootlegging, and only 140 of the victims were members of an established bootlegging mob, according to Binder.

Binder also tackles the conventional wisdom that the Tommy gun was the weapon of choice for mob hits. Not so, he said, because automatic weapons are very inaccurate.

If youre trying to not hit bystanders, and youre trying to just hit the target, that becomes a bit of a problem, he said. In terms of gangland killings, which are essentially assassinations, quite often a pistol or a shotgun is sufficient. If you cant kill the victim or victims with a pistol or a shotgun, youre in the wrong profession.

None of which is to say that Chicago wasnt a pretty dangerous place back in the day, as Binder reminds us in his book by quoting from a 1932 newspaper advertisement: Bullet Holes Rewoven Perfectly in Damaged ClothesLow Price.

Among Binders other findings: The Beer Wars were not simply a conflict between the Italian Capone South Side gang and the Irish North Side gang. Nor were these gangs by any means the only gangs involved in bootlegging. At the start of 1924, there were 12 major bootlegging gangs in Chicago. By 1932, 11 major bootlegging mobs remained inside the city limits.

This Irish North Side vs. all Italian South Side, thats a laughable description of the ethnic development of the city of Chicago, he said.

Capones gang was admirably inclusive. His chief lieutenants included Jake the Greasy Thumb Guzik, who was Jewish, and Murray Humphries, a Welshman.

And the nominally Irish North Side gangs were not exclusively Irish.

If you look at the leaders of the North Side gang from Dean OBanion to Bugs Moran, Binder said, only one of them was Irish and that was OBanion.

Bugs Moran, the intended target of the Saint Valentines Day Massacre, was actually the child of French immigrants who arrived in Chicago via Canada. And his predecessor, the not-very-Irish-sounding Hymie Weiss, was not, as his name suggests, Jewish.

He was buried in a Catholic cemetery, Binder reports. He carried a Bible around with him every day.

Binder spends nine pages refuting the claim in a recent Capone biography that

Capone did not order the Saint Valentines Day Massacre. And he disputes the theory promulgated by a prominent Chicago newspaper columnist that Capone was a figurehead who took the heat for the true Outfit leader, Paul The Waiter Ricca.

Binder also challenges the widely accepted notion that the execution of seven of Bugs Morans men in the garage on North Clark Street on Valentines Day in 1929 promptly ended the Irish North Side Gang.

Theres this myth that starts the day after [the massacre], Binder says. You have headlines in at least two papers, Moran Gang Wiped Out. I have no idea who conjured that up. Because its easy to name 15 top guys, major guys, in the North Side Gang who were still alive, plus the probably 200-plus gunmen who were in that gang.

Capone, with his roly-poly figure and comic book face, was a curious mix of pop-culture anti-hero and brutal killer, a gangster who couldnt resist speaking to the pressalways a bad idea for a mob boss. He is often referred to as both an organizational geniusand something of a clown. So how smart was Capone?

I dont think Capone was stupid by any means, Binder said. He had the two major skills required of a gang leader, especially a gang leader during gang wars. One, he had the military ability. He could lead a gang effectively and fight his enemies during the Beer Wars.

The second talent was, of course, his business savvy.

An army, regardless of how big it is, runs on something. There has to be an economy it runs on, Binder said. And Capone effectively ran a multi-million-dollar business empire.

Given Binders deep knowledge of Capone and the Outfit leaders who succeeded him, I found it hard to resist running a few other mob legends past him.

First, Binder doesnt believe the stories that Capone had squirreled away millions, money that he could not locate after his release from prison once syphilis-related dementia had set in.

Its nonsense to think theres a lost Capone fortune, Binder said. Capone spent it as fast as he got it. He kept thinking that theres always going to be more.

What about Chicago mob boss Sam Giancanas widely cited claim that the Outfit swung the 1960 election in favor of JFK?

Theres no convincing evidence, and some of the assertions are worse than empty, Binder said.

In 1960, certain Democratic wards in Chicago were entirely controlled by the Outfit. They called the shots. They appointed the political leaders of the ward. They appointed the alderman, he said, adding that these were wards that regularly voted 85, 90 percent Democratic. Therefore, Jack Kennedy, an Irish American Catholic, was especially popular in some of those wards and got a very large plurality.

The districts hardly needed the Outfits strong arm to sway them. But after Kennedys overwhelming victory in Chicago, Giancana shot his mouth off and took credit for it, Binder said.

Is it true the mob stayed out of the narcotics business?

Not really, according to Binder.

Even during Prohibition, there are a number of references to Capone being involved in narcotics. Its a myth that the Chicago mob didnt touch narcotics, said Binder. As a friend of mine says, they did everything else. Why would they shy away from narcotics?

Did the mob kill JFK?

No evidence whatsoever. Lots of innuendo and assertions. Because on this side of the Atlantic, if you want to concoct a good conspiracy theory, it must involve the mob and the Kennedys. This is what people do to sell books.

Binder, though, is not averse to earning a buck from his expertise. Along with a partner, he owns a huge collection of photos of Chicago mobsters and mob hits, which he routinely licenses to the producers of TV mob documentaries.

Binders book, naturally, is sprinkled with 114 photos from his archives. Its a gruesome gallery of scary-looking dudes and grotesque murders, and I for one am grateful that the photos are in black and white.

I have some mob hits, color photos, from the 60s and 70s, and those can be quite vivid with the red, Binder said, especially when they put the shotgun right up to someones head and take off parts of the anatomy. You tend to bleed out quite a bit.

Binders collection now includes about 2,500 photos.

It began as a hobby, he told me with a smile, and got totally out of control.

Read more: http://ift.tt/2t4Ecta

from Viral News HQ http://ift.tt/2sP0OM3 via Viral News HQ

#IFTTT #Viral News HQ

[trendingnewsb]

Fighting Al Capones Beer Wars

Red: BLOODY TRAIL

Hed: Fighting Al Capones Beer Wars

Dek: John J. Binder is an assiduousand often contrarianhistorian of the gang wars that plagued Chicago, and in a new book he sets the record straight on just who shot whom and why.

SEO: Fighting Al Capones Beer Wars

Byline: Ronald K. Fried

Vertical: arts/culture

Tags: Al Capone, prohibition, gangsters, organized crime, Chicago, Beer Wars

Its surprisingly difficult to get at the facts behind the history of organized crime. The topic doesnt typically attract the attention of Ivy League history departments. And most of the key witnesses to significant eventsrub-outs and the likeare either dead, because theyre the victims of organized crime, or are themselves criminals, and thus professional liars. Then theres the challenge of penetrating the fog of sentimentality perpetuated by films from The Godfather on down.

Yet, as is proven by countless volumes lousy with hearsayand an astonishing number of websites catering to a curious breed of mafia hobbyistit can be fun and profitable to romanticize old-school sociopaths.

John J. Binder is not in that business.

Anyone whos watched a documentary about the Chicago Outfitas Chi-towns mob has come to be knownhas likely seen Binder with his walrus mustache and thick mop of salt-and-pepper hair as he supplies expert commentary in his splendid Chicago accent.

Binder may now be able to claim the title of leading scholar of organized crime in Chicago thanks to Al Capones Beer Wars, his new 400-plus-page book about what really happened in the vice-ridden Windy City between 1920 and 1933. This, of course, is when Prohibition kicked in. And all students of mob history agree that Americas disastrous experiment in outlawing booze was the greatest gift the bad guys ever received.

Binder approaches his topic with the academic rigor youd expect from a retired professor with a Ph.D. in finance and economics from the University of Chicago. A diligentif not obsessiveinvestigator, he ferrets out untapped primary sources and submits them to statistical analysis.

Based on a meticulous examination of 729 Prohibition-era gangland murders documented in a Chicago Crime Commission study, for example, he argues that there were far fewer bootlegging-related killings in Chicago than had been believed.

Everyone has seen the numbered list, Binder told me when I interviewed him in

Chicago. But no one studied the victims case by case to determine who they werethe what, where, and how they died.

Binder and an equally indefatigable colleague, Mars Eghigian Jr., the author of a biography of Capones successor Frank Nitti, did just that. Their study was published in an academic journal.

If you go and look at each individual case and study the weapons used and the motives, Binder said, the evidence suggests that virtually every conclusion about gangland killings in Chicago during Prohibition is wrong.

Of the 729 killings, just 41 percent were related to bootlegging, and only 140 of the victims were members of an established bootlegging mob, according to Binder.

Binder also tackles the conventional wisdom that the Tommy gun was the weapon of choice for mob hits. Not so, he said, because automatic weapons are very inaccurate.

If youre trying to not hit bystanders, and youre trying to just hit the target, that becomes a bit of a problem, he said. In terms of gangland killings, which are essentially assassinations, quite often a pistol or a shotgun is sufficient. If you cant kill the victim or victims with a pistol or a shotgun, youre in the wrong profession.

None of which is to say that Chicago wasnt a pretty dangerous place back in the day, as Binder reminds us in his book by quoting from a 1932 newspaper advertisement: Bullet Holes Rewoven Perfectly in Damaged ClothesLow Price.

Among Binders other findings: The Beer Wars were not simply a conflict between the Italian Capone South Side gang and the Irish North Side gang. Nor were these gangs by any means the only gangs involved in bootlegging. At the start of 1924, there were 12 major bootlegging gangs in Chicago. By 1932, 11 major bootlegging mobs remained inside the city limits.

This Irish North Side vs. all Italian South Side, thats a laughable description of the ethnic development of the city of Chicago, he said.

Capones gang was admirably inclusive. His chief lieutenants included Jake the Greasy Thumb Guzik, who was Jewish, and Murray Humphries, a Welshman.

And the nominally Irish North Side gangs were not exclusively Irish.

If you look at the leaders of the North Side gang from Dean OBanion to Bugs Moran, Binder said, only one of them was Irish and that was OBanion.

Bugs Moran, the intended target of the Saint Valentines Day Massacre, was actually the child of French immigrants who arrived in Chicago via Canada. And his predecessor, the not-very-Irish-sounding Hymie Weiss, was not, as his name suggests, Jewish.

He was buried in a Catholic cemetery, Binder reports. He carried a Bible around with him every day.

Binder spends nine pages refuting the claim in a recent Capone biography that

Capone did not order the Saint Valentines Day Massacre. And he disputes the theory promulgated by a prominent Chicago newspaper columnist that Capone was a figurehead who took the heat for the true Outfit leader, Paul The Waiter Ricca.

Binder also challenges the widely accepted notion that the execution of seven of Bugs Morans men in the garage on North Clark Street on Valentines Day in 1929 promptly ended the Irish North Side Gang.

Theres this myth that starts the day after [the massacre], Binder says. You have headlines in at least two papers, Moran Gang Wiped Out. I have no idea who conjured that up. Because its easy to name 15 top guys, major guys, in the North Side Gang who were still alive, plus the probably 200-plus gunmen who were in that gang.

Capone, with his roly-poly figure and comic book face, was a curious mix of pop-culture anti-hero and brutal killer, a gangster who couldnt resist speaking to the pressalways a bad idea for a mob boss. He is often referred to as both an organizational geniusand something of a clown. So how smart was Capone?

I dont think Capone was stupid by any means, Binder said. He had the two major skills required of a gang leader, especially a gang leader during gang wars. One, he had the military ability. He could lead a gang effectively and fight his enemies during the Beer Wars.

The second talent was, of course, his business savvy.

An army, regardless of how big it is, runs on something. There has to be an economy it runs on, Binder said. And Capone effectively ran a multi-million-dollar business empire.

Given Binders deep knowledge of Capone and the Outfit leaders who succeeded him, I found it hard to resist running a few other mob legends past him.

First, Binder doesnt believe the stories that Capone had squirreled away millions, money that he could not locate after his release from prison once syphilis-related dementia had set in.

Its nonsense to think theres a lost Capone fortune, Binder said. Capone spent it as fast as he got it. He kept thinking that theres always going to be more.

What about Chicago mob boss Sam Giancanas widely cited claim that the Outfit swung the 1960 election in favor of JFK?

Theres no convincing evidence, and some of the assertions are worse than empty, Binder said.

In 1960, certain Democratic wards in Chicago were entirely controlled by the Outfit. They called the shots. They appointed the political leaders of the ward. They appointed the alderman, he said, adding that these were wards that regularly voted 85, 90 percent Democratic. Therefore, Jack Kennedy, an Irish American Catholic, was especially popular in some of those wards and got a very large plurality.

The districts hardly needed the Outfits strong arm to sway them. But after Kennedys overwhelming victory in Chicago, Giancana shot his mouth off and took credit for it, Binder said.

Is it true the mob stayed out of the narcotics business?

Not really, according to Binder.

Even during Prohibition, there are a number of references to Capone being involved in narcotics. Its a myth that the Chicago mob didnt touch narcotics, said Binder. As a friend of mine says, they did everything else. Why would they shy away from narcotics?

Did the mob kill JFK?

No evidence whatsoever. Lots of innuendo and assertions. Because on this side of the Atlantic, if you want to concoct a good conspiracy theory, it must involve the mob and the Kennedys. This is what people do to sell books.

Binder, though, is not averse to earning a buck from his expertise. Along with a partner, he owns a huge collection of photos of Chicago mobsters and mob hits, which he routinely licenses to the producers of TV mob documentaries.

Binders book, naturally, is sprinkled with 114 photos from his archives. Its a gruesome gallery of scary-looking dudes and grotesque murders, and I for one am grateful that the photos are in black and white.

I have some mob hits, color photos, from the 60s and 70s, and those can be quite vivid with the red, Binder said, especially when they put the shotgun right up to someones head and take off parts of the anatomy. You tend to bleed out quite a bit.

Binders collection now includes about 2,500 photos.

It began as a hobby, he told me with a smile, and got totally out of control.

Read more: http://ift.tt/2t4Ecta

from Viral News HQ http://ift.tt/2sP0OM3 via Viral News HQ

#IFTTT #Viral News HQ