#attempting to make past designs are a lot more difficult than it seems

[loppy-darii]

Whoops i think i went way too far back in time.

#oneshot game #oneshot #digital art #the author #kip #rachis #george #plight #lamplighter #magpie #attempting to make past designs are a lot more difficult than it seems

[supersaiyanjedi14]

SABEZRA DAY 2024

Prompt: Speaking Love Language/Free

@sabezraweek

*My AU; Ezra looks to communicate his feelings in a way Sabine will instantly understand.  If only his sources of guidance weren’t butting heads.*

“This right?”

“Almost.  It needs a bit more of a curve around…here.”

“That’s exactly where you pointed last time.”

“And it’s not right yet.”

“Why didn’t you say so before?”

“Do you want my help or not?”

“I’m seriously starting to wonder if I do!”

Throwing up his hands, Ezra marched away from the work bench, resisting the urge to smack the other man in the mouth.  He had been working on this for the past week, every second of his precious little spare time dedicated to making it perfect.  When preparing a gift for the woman you love, you naturally feel compelled to make sure it is just that.  On paper, consulting someone familiar with the designs you are tying to replicate would be an ideal situation.

In practice, the fact that the only one available is the brother of the object of your affection, a brother who seems to relish in being as annoying as possible, makes the situation a bit more complicated.

Tristan laughed at Ezra’s dramatic distress.  “If it makes you feel any better, it’s a lot closer than it was when you started.”

“Yeah?” Ezra replied sharply, “Well maybe, next time, get the big details right on correction #1, not #17.”

“I didn’t correct it that many times.”  Tristan protested.

Ezra rolled his eyes.  “Wanna bet?  I’ve been keeping track.”

“What’s all the commotion?”

Turning to the new voice, Ezra saw three men walking into the rec room.  One of them, garbed in a pilot’s fighter jacket, was only familiar to Ezra by reputation.  The other two, a second Mandalorian in blue armor and an officer with a dashing cape across his shoulders, were far better known.

“Hey, Lando, Rau.” Ezra greeted his friends.  He turned to the other two.  “Lt. Janson, right?”

“That’s me, sir.” The pilot responded with a light salute.

“At ease, at ease.”  He turned back to Lando.  “Not much.  Tristan’s just being difficult.”

“For the love of-“

“Relax, Tristan,” Fenn Rau reprimanded the younger Mandalorian.  “You should know better than to be baited by his teasing by now.”  Rau turned to the bench.  “Ah,” he realized, “still working on this little pet project for Sabine?”

“If I meet Master Wren’s exceptional standards,” Ezra flamboyantly gestured to a pouting Tristan, “it should be done soon.”  He held up his work for the others to see.  “What do you guys think?” he asked.

Lando nodded.  “Not bad.  Though I think working on it out here in the open might be risky.  In my experience, the best gifts come with an element of surprise.”

Rau groaned.  “Really, Calrissian?”

“Just giving him some pointers.”

Janson snorted loudly.  “From you?  That’s rich.”

“Like you’re one to talk,” Tristan shot back.  “Wasn’t it that Mirialan on Onderon that you scared off by eight parsecs?”

Janson’s face went red.  “it was one time, Wren, one-“

“Okay, enough.”  Ezra cut in before an argument about Wes Janson’s love life could break out.  “And to answer your question, Lando, don’t worry.  Everyone in this room is sworn to secrecy.”  He turned to the far side to the man in commando fatigues watching a holodrama.  “Isn’t that right, Dameron?”

Dameron paused his show and raised a hand.  “Silent as the grave, Commander!”

Sadly, Ezra’s attempt to avert conflagration were futile.  Janson regained a measure of his flair and turned to the commando.  “Oh,” he said in a slow, sarcastic tone.  “So he rejects our sage advise, but turns to you?”

Dameron got up at the challenge.  “He doesn’t ask anything.  If he did, though, I’d happily offer him tips.”

“Oh, so you’re an expert on romance?”

“Well, considering I’m the only one in this room who’s married, yeah, I’d say I am.”

“So what?  I’d actually be able to-“

“He didn’t want Calrissian’s schmoozing tips,” Rau cut in, “why would he want yours?”

“Schmoozing?” Lando blurted out in mild offense.  “I’ll have you know-“

“Oh, give it a rest.”

“I don’t see you adding anything, Wren.”

“Maybe because I don’t have anything to compensate for.”

“Why you little-!”

Whatever the conversation had turned to was thankfully muffled once Ezra slid the door to the rec room shut.  He considered putting the project on himself for a little extra filtering.

“Romantic advise isn’t that helpful tonight, is it?”

Turning around with a jolt, Ezra instinctively hid his gift behind his back, but relaxed when he saw the Twi’lek standing there.  He let out an exasperated breath.  “You have no idea.”

“You’d be surprised.” Hera grinned.  She turned to look at what Ezra was holding.  “So that’s what you’ve been slipping out to work on.”

Ezra nodded and looked down at it.  “I wanted to do something up her own alley, you know?  Show her how I feel in a way she can understand the best.”

Hera looked at the gift.  “I think it’s beautiful.”  She smiled warmly.  “Sabine’s going to love it.”

“You sure?”

Hera shook her head and placed a hand on his shoulder.  “Positive.  Besides,” she murmured as she walked off, “it’s not like she can’t already read you like a datapad.”

“Huh?”

“You’ll see.”

Ezra just shrugged.

XX

A few hours later, there was a knock on the door to Sabine’s cabin.  Setting her airbrush down, she walked over to answer.  She was greeted by the sight of her smiling boyfriend, who was holding a hastily wrapped mass in his hands.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” she answered brightly.  She gestured to the package.  “What’s that?”

“Let me in and I’ll show you.”

“Hmmm,” Sabine mused, “I don’t know.  Strange men coming to my door bearing unexpected gifts.  I think my mother warned me about such things.”

Ezra’s face warmed a bit.  “Strange? Lady Wren, I must protest.”

Sabine let out a laugh.  “Come on, get in here.”

Regaining his composure, Ezra smiled and strode into Sabine’s quarters, the door closing behind him.  The two sat on her bunk and Ezra passed her the present.

“Go on,” he said.  “Open it.”

Normal, Sabine would have been happy to play hard to get.  Even all these years later, that light teasing they engaged in hadn’t faded away.  Experience often allowed one to see things others would not be able to perceive so easily, and the two of them had a knack for wrapping their earnest remarks in layers of sass, a little puzzle to piece through.  Now though, her curiosity got the better of her.  She quickly tore the flimsi off in one swipe.

Her eyes widened at the sight before her.  It was a shoretrooper helmet, but decidedly non-regulation.  The tan helm was now a vivid magenta, with blue markings along the jowels and orange stripes across the nose.  The forehead was adorned with a pair of purple arches, with a bright green spot right in the middle.  It took only a few seconds for her to recognize the markings.  The Nite-Owl, just as what her own helmet bore.  And looking closer at the blue markings, she saw them clearly.  The jaig eyes, the mark of honor for courage.  A little stylized and not in the traditional place, but jaig eyes all the same.

“Wow,” she said in genuine wonder.  Ezra wasn’t exactly the artist type, yet she could see dedication a parsec away.  He had clearly gone the extra mile to do something in her own style.  Not quite as complex as her own work, but the care he had placed into this was undeniable.  “This is…Ezra this is amazing!”

“Thanks,” he said as he placed a hand behind his head in a bashful look.  “The helmet came from that mission to Valo a couple months back.  I asked Tristan about how to do the symbols right, though the hard part was finding the right shades of paint.”

Sabine’s eyes snapped back to the helmet at that last word.  Paint.  Color.  Ezra wouldn’t have chosen just anything.  Taking a careful look at the gift, she began to unpack what she saw.

In Mandalorian tradition, certain colors held significant meaning.  Many warriors were known to paint their armor with specific colors to represent their chosen undertakings and causes.  While Sabine had never been picky enough to stick to one hue for a mission, she knew the significance of these shades by heart.  She checked off what she saw.

Blue jaig eyes on the sides.  A green center to the Nite Owl.  The orange nose stripes.  The pink and purple base.

Blue, for reliability.  Someone who you could always count on come hell or high water.

Green, for duty.  For a person driven to uphold whatever they believed in and see it through to the end.

Orange, for a lust for life.  Someone who treasured every day, every experience, and everyone they shared it with.

Purple and pink had no explicit meaning to Mandalorians.  But they didn’t need one.  Those colors spoke of something more specific.  Someone more specific.  Someone who considered those colors her personal favorites.  Someone who exemplified all the other colors on the helmet, yet was something all her own.  Someone the creator of this masterpiece loved above all else.

Ezra had been babbling on about his ongoing work for the past minute, but the deep kiss she quickly pulled him into shut him up.  No other words were needed.  He could tell exactly what she was thinking.

#star wars #sabezra #ezra bridger #sabine wren #sabezraweek #sabezraday2024 #happy valentine's day

[m4g3114n1c]

You have my attention. Don’t waste it.

Midas (Fortnite) x Fem!Reader

tags: NSFW!, explicit, pretty raunchy 🥰, AFAB Reader, Established Relationship, Smut, Aftercare, Vaginal Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Backshots, WHO WANT BACKSH💔TS??, Porn With Plot, slight plot, Creampie, degradation kink, Spanking, Midas is kinda sadistic, Mild BDSM themes, Unsafe Sex, Light Sadism, Dom/sub Undertones, CROSS-POSTED

im back also im writing a smut prequel to all this bs with slight plot into what the reader and Midas’ relationship was, so next thing I write is going to be intern reader x boss/ceo Midas

jus a warning he’s not going to be like he is now and is strictly about sex and no feelings he’s kinda cold guys 😞 but leaning more about sub/dom next part

You and Midas knew it felt appropriate to separate yourselves from each other for now. He needed to focus on this, you weren’t really helping him focus. As smart and useful as you were, it was far too difficult for him to have you in the room with him.

An apt Midas was working away on the monitor already on the desk, and trying to keep himself focused with contacting his team properly after being gone for so long.

Every now and then, he’d spare a quick glance to the side where the large window had displayed you outside. You were relaxing with a two piece bikini on, with no motivations to even dip in the water.

He figured you were just sunbathing. His suspicions did grow, however, on what your true intentions were with wearing that because you sat right next to the window where he’d be.

You sat on the sofa instead of the area where the group of beach chairs were, designed for that kind of thing. He considered that, possibly, you liked how more cushioned and comfortable it was.

In spite of all his conjecture, he knew you wanted him to be tempted. Beguiled, he might say to your successful attempts at making him shy his attention away from his work.

Now, you might as well be in the same room as him right now because he absolutely could not keep his eyes off.

After a few failed attempts at working, he blankly stared ahead. His eye caught the bed, which was now tidy and made, prior to the events yesterday. Well shit. The peaceful and clean bed only made him think about you pleading for more under you the other day. That didn’t help with progressing more in his work.

Midas glanced outside again, to which you had now placed your sunglasses on. You leaned over as you were sat up on the sofa, thoroughly spreading what seemed to be sunscreen. He felt like he was eyeing his prize if he got to finish his work.

Sitting outside, you could feel just how Midas’ gaze was locked in on you while still separated from the thick glass; his stare making the glass separating you both deemed useless.

He looked pissed in a way, his eyebrows furrowed, and his mouth tightly pressed in a tight line; the thought of him pissed at you turned you on a bit.

It was amusing seeing somebody who is usually locked in on his work a lot of the time get distracted by something tiny like his girlfriend wearing a bikini.

While you smeared sunscreen on yourself, your legs, your arms, the sun immediately caught against it which in turn made Midas look at you like pure gold, his most prized treasure.

You placed the sunscreen back on the table, picking up your book and reading where you left off. The sound of the waves helped you settle yourself into a calmer environment, than if you were inside it’d feel way too quiet.

Birds flew past obnoxiously just as you thought that. You grumbled, trying to get back to your book, to which you were literally gripping at.

Soon your relaxing environment was now beginning to piss you off, the waves sounded repetitive and was driving you crazy, the sun felt too hot right now and the wind wasn’t even blowing in the right direction.

You sounded so bitchy and whiny, getting tired of everything outside, but you had the right to, you’ve been out here for at least two hours.

Wait.

You halted in your tracks when you began to pack up your book, your sunscreen, your phone, and your water bottle.

He would probably think you were trying to distract him from his work if you came back inside. Even if not in the same room as him, just knowing that you were in the interior of the yacht might’ve tempted him.

Another side of you wanted to go, because who cares? The other side told you to sit your ass down and deal with more of it until he was done his work.

The Gods answered your prayer, because as soon as when you packed up, Midas seemed to be finished. He looked like it. His body language was more open, body more relaxed, and he wasn’t staring at the monitor anymore.

He was absentmindedly pushing the chair around slightly. You shrugged to yourself, thinking this was the best time.

When you got inside of the room, placing your things at your designated table, Midas was staring at you. Although he didn’t want to overdo it at the point you felt uncomfortable.

“You finished?” You asked warily, not to piss him off. Midas caught on that quickly, raising an eyebrow that was one of confusion but he nodded. “Yes, sent the alerts out, might take them a while to find us though.” He leaned back in his chair, quite relaxed that he was finished.

You took the chance to go behind his chair, hands working at his tense muscles connecting his neck and his shoulder. You remember when you first pointed out how tense his shoulders were.

It still felt like yesterday when Midas still saw you as his intern, whom he didn’t trust much. He thought you were way too happy go-lucky to be a real person, nobody is sunshine and rainbows.

The fact is, he needed somebody like you in his life to balance out just how shitty he is. You knew you were working for a villain, yet you were still sitting around in his building, supporting him as if he were the best man alive.

Without your outgoing personality, he probably wouldn’t have managed to approach you in the first place and ask you out for dinner that cost way more than your pay check.

Your attitude was beginning to rub off on him.

Your thumbs pressed harshly, but it was working. Midas sighed out of relief, needing you to come do this for so long.

“Is this alright?”

His breath hitched, the immediate moment your mouth was near his ear. The feeling of you so close was alluring him.

“That’s—yes, it’s alright.” He said under his breath in a tone that hinted that he was ready for what you were about to do next.

Heat bloomed on his face, blood rising up to cover his cheeks in chagrin. Still massaging him, you experimentally pressed your lips on his neck. He kept himself composed, not daring to make a sound.

He didn’t protest to stop so you continued, sucking hard, completely stopping the massage. Midas groaned under his breath, cursing.

Before he could even process it, you were now straddling his lap. In all of your bathing suit glory, he could already feel himself getting hard. He could tell you were impatient, just by how you clung to him.

You cupped his face, eyes closing as you kiss him slowly. The long drag of the kiss was passionate. Midas hand came down to squeeze your ass, pulling you flush against him.

Just by doing that, the immediate feeling of his cock growing harder, trapped in his slacks had you moan during the kiss. He smelt like aftershave, and his body-wash that you had no idea what the brand was but knew it was expensive.

The kiss then turned more eager, before you knew it, Midas’ tongue was already exploring your mouth, pressing itself against the roof of your tongue or sucking your tongue.

He had a bad habit of always kissing so rough. You felt him nip hard enough to break the thin barrier of skin of your lip. He pulled away, eyes wandering brazenly onto your kiss-bruised lips. He definitely had some sadistic tendencies. Midas chased your lips once more, making you moan when he pushed back against your tongue.

You rubbed yourself against him, the only thing separating you and him were your bikinis and his stupid fucking slacks. You wanted to rip off his clothes and you were so sure, he wanted to do the same.

Midas pulled away, eyes were low-lidded, stare intense and it felt like he was stripping you with just his eyes.

“I wanna fuck you so hard right now,”

“What’s stopping you?”

That set him off. The moment you said that, it was over. You stood up from your position, only for Midas to turn you around, roughly bending you over the table.

You wish nobody was cruising around in the ocean today. There was no space where there was a solid wall was obscuring the view, the room was just all full body windows. The thrill of being so out in the open did make you grow even more embarrassingly wet.

“Remember when I fucked you the first time like this in my office?” He basked in the view of you bent over, and so easy to access. You remembered just how rough he was with your intern-self. Your relationship back then was complicated, and he didn’t even know if he wanted a relationship with you.

It was a strict sexual relationship, if that made sense, which then slowly eased into an actual relationship. Which then included all of the feelings, and all the softness of his heart that you found so hard to believe actually existed to come to light.

“Yes, I remember,” You fared to say, voice shaky. Midas pressed his clothed erection against your half bare ass.

His fingers he then placed in front of your mouth. The sun glinted on his golden hands, he brought his fingers closer.

“Suck.” He pressed himself firmer, leaning forward to say in your ear. The fullness of his voice slightly startled you but you obeyed his commands. You came forward to take his fingers into your mouth yet he still coaxed you to practically push them farther.

You hummed, withdrawing his fingers before pulling them back in again, tongue dragging across the underside and the pads of his fingers. The hot wet feeling of your saliva covering his fingers had him breathing more intense than usual.

“Just like that,”

Midas breathed out, rolling his hips against your ass again as if imagining he was fucking you already. The way he was getting impatient made you moan around his fingers.

He withdrew them, pushing the fabric of your bikini, slowly, he stretched you out with one finger. Then his second finger, pumping them in and out with a steady pace. Midas’ eyes were glued at how wet you were and how you tightened at every movement of his fingers.

You began whining, not being able to do anything with your hands due to the fact Midas left hand was pinning them behind your back.

“You’re so wet, and we haven’t even done anything,” He laughed softly, not out of complaint but out of shock. The shock of pleasure made you jolt, as he curled his fingers in your cunt, the tip of his fingers pressing against your spot.

He continued, the squelching of your pussy had him quickly unbuckling his belt with the hand he was pinning your wrists behind your back with. At such an awkward angle, you turned around to meet his eyes for a split second. He was still fully clothed and you were in half a bikini.

The soft clinking of metal made you moan even more desperately, wanting him to hurry up and fucking put it in already. He pulled his fingers out, sucking and licking his fingers clean of your arousal.

“Let’s see if you feel just as good as you taste, yeah?” His voice was dripping with a tantalizing and warm tone.

The sound of Midas spitting on his palm and stroking his cock filled the room.

“Hands on the desk,”

You followed, resting your palms against the edge of the desk.

“Fucking take that off,” He shortly huffed, but not having the heart to not help you. He tugged down your bottom piece of your bikini, throwing it and leaving it on the floor.

He prodded his tip at your soaked pussy, before purposefully missing to part your labia; his slick length just brushing up against your clit to give a small amount of friction. You whined.

“Sorry, baby,” He laughed softly, even though he definitely did that on purpose.

That was definitely a first. He’s never called you baby. Never in the relationship he’s ever called you nicknames, especially something as simple as that. Only you’ve called him nicknames, not him. It made you feel special, because shit, who the hell is just casually getting called baby by Midas? Nobody. Ever.

Maybe he called his past wife that.

You didn’t really care when he was so close to being inches deep in you.

“Tap my thigh if it’s too much, alright?”

He didn’t even have to slowly go in when your cunt was soaked. You gasped out his name when, hearing him groan behind you. He bottomed himself out, balls deep with just one movement. Whenever he prepared you with his fingers, it never really prepared you due to the fucking size of him.

“You’re so tight,” He sighed sharply, not stopping to wait anymore.

He pulled himself out until he was fully out of you, before slamming back in. His momentum continued, settling on a neutral pace, keeping you on a level to not immediately cum. With every drag of his cock, a moan pushed itself out of you both.

“Come on,” Midas rasped out.

“Tell me, has anybody fucked you as hard as I do?”

You sometimes forgot how conceited he was about that. You remembered the first time you walked through his building and spotted his statue of himself made out of gold. You thought, wow, he must really love himself.

Well, you know you got your assumptions right.

He had every right to be that goddamn egocentric, he was hot, smart as hell and also knew how to fight. He got out of the underworld for Christ’s sake, of course his ego would be inflated.

You found it extremely attractive that he found himself this capable during sex, because he was right. Nobody has ever done it like he does.

A sharp pain on your rear end had made you instinctively whine.

Did he just slap your ass?

Your assumptions about him being sadistic were now proven to be true. His hand that slapped your ass was still on it, rubbing the swollen skin to alleviate some of the pain. His gentleness paired with his perverted dispositions had you feeling confused. You liked it.

“Are you having trouble hearing?” He kept his strokes to a steadying momentum as if to try and teach you a lesson.

His hand made sharp contact with the same spot again. You leaned more forward on the desk, elbows resting on the actual desk.

“I’m sorry—I, nobody has. Only you, Midas.”You were practically drooling, getting fucked out of your mind like this by your own boss was something you thought you’d never get to do. It was still something else working under him while being your boyfriend.

If there was a photo for the word, “cock drunk,” you’d be on the front page.

“I better be,” Midas found that answer particularly pleasing so his strokes picked up its pace. “Yes, don’t stop—please,” You gasped out, the sounds of skin smacking against skin filling the room.

Midas’ hand gripped on your waist, hard enough to bruise, guiding you with his pace. His free hand managed to snake its way to your clit, his large fingers pressing and rubbing circles against it. The pain but also pleasure tore another moan out of you.

The extra stimulation had you feeling like your legs were about to collapse beneath you. His pace picked itself up even further, his cock unforgiving and ruthless. Your breaths were now staccatos, short and cut off with every thrust of his hips.

“I’m close, Midas—God, I need it.”

“Fuck, yeah. You need to cum? Say it.” He sternly spat out in between breaths.

“I need to cum, please Midas. Let me—“ He smacked your ass one last time, and the feeling had you on the brink of cumming.

“I’m gonna fill you up and you’re gonna take it, alright?” He leaned forward to brush his lips against the shell of your ear, his voice hardly audible. “Yes, I’ll take it. Please. Just let me cum.”

His finger kept rubbing against your clit, yet he came first. He filled you with his hot cum to the hilt, groaning as he continued to give you your orgasm. “Shit,” He hissed, feeling you come and follow shortly with mewl. You tightened around his still semi-hard cock, and he had to pull himself out with ease.

You almost felt the weight of your legs take you down to the floor but Midas’ strong arm caught you, leading you to the bed and gently lying you down face up. Your chest heaved heavily, forehead damp with sweat, feeling the cool air hit your skin. Midas’ hair was slicked back awkwardly because of the sweat as well.

“Are you alright?” He worried, eyebrows knitted as his eyes wandered to your hips which were bruised.

“Were you trying to kill me?”

He breathed out a short laugh.

He said your name with a sigh. “That was one round,” His tone seemed to be about how he does go harder when it’s more than one round. He does, you know, you haven’t forgotten when you went specifically four rounds non-stop and you got sick the day after. He felt bad that morning.

You laughed at the ticklish feeling, feeling his nose nuzzling into your neck. “Okay, yeah, yeah,” You said with a smile and he pulled away.

His libido works differently and oddly enough, he never seems to get tired.

“Whatever,” You rolled your eyes playfully, standing up and giving him a chaste kiss on the lips.

“Where are you going?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at your sudden departure.

“The washroom, I need to pee your cum out, idiot,” You said, now farther away, but he still could hear.

“You want me to get a UTI?” You scoffed, shutting the bathroom door with a click.

“Of course not,” Midas laughed softly, scratching the back of his neck.

[netherworldpost]

Hi Atty! First, thank you for being a source of spooky, otherworldly joy in the world and on tumblr. Secondly, a while back (possibly quite a while back) you shared a link to some starting-a-small-business resources that (I think) you made. It was possibly a google doc? I had the link open in a tab for a very long time, but now that I’m about to finally start starting my own colorful business, I seem to have lost that particular tab, and tumblr’s search function is…well…it’s tumblr’s search function, and therefore less than functional. Am I correct in that recollection and/or what advice do you have for someone who has never done anything like this? I’m excited, but also a bit worried!

I cannot locate the document either, I'm afraid. I've been in multiple arguments discussions arguments (is correct) over the last several months as I've ventured into "Hey I have thoughts, maybe they are useful!" so I might have deleted it.

I can sum some basics up

Keep your costs low, especially as you start out. You have to build an audience and this takes time (that's the bad news). Once you build an audience your audience helps you build a larger audience (that's the good news). The tipping points of scale are invisible and you won't know you've reached them until you're past. Just keep going.

If you aren't making a profit consistently, this is a hobby. There is no moral difference between a hobby and a business. It boils down to "am I making money on this, or am I spending money on this."

If running the thing makes you more You than not running it, keep going, even if it costs you money -- but, doubly so here, keep the costs to an enjoyable limit.

The point I want to express is a lot of people start a weird business, it costs them a small fortune because they attempt to spend their way to success, it collapses under the weight of said costs, and they feel a failure.

Unless money is no object (because of financial resources external to the business or you are creating something that does not have a production cost), failure fundamentally does not exist.

Making money is hard. The more you make, the harder it is to make more, so keep all of this in mind when you're designing your labor systems. "I can put a card in an envelope" is easy. "I can put 100 cards in 100 envelopes" is more than 100x harder.

This is not to dissuade you, it is to prepare a bed of moss for when the honeymoon cloud ends.

Focus, tightly, why you're doing this.

If you want more money, a second job is going to give you more for less hours of work. If you want the world to be different, this is a great way to do it.

If you want both -- if you want this to be a solid source (if not your main source) of income -- that's great. I cannot stress this enough: prepare for the long haul. Decades -- not years, decades. I started in the mid 90s. I got successful in the mid 2010s.

The best news is you don't have to make that decision permanently, you can decide every day to do what you want, it's your shop.

When you get a lucky break and you think "did I deserve this lucky break" put that thought to bed. It doesn't matter.

When you get an unlucky break and you think "should I have done something different to prevent this" put that thought to bed. It doesn't matter.

Your main competition is going to be people you post your things without crediting you -- 99/100 times without malice. Your competition is not the people who make similar things as you.

Once you reach a threshold, "giant corporations who steal from you" can be added to that list.

The point: worrying about another independent creator's work is not useful energy. Unless they are directly stealing from you, just keep going.

This is a difficult set of tasks. Keep going. Every problem you have will have an industry built to solve it -- not a singular vendor, an entire industry. Find who you are comfortable with and can afford.

When you want to do ABC and you can't afford it, reduce scope. If you can't afford Extra Fancy Packaging then use something cheaper. If you can't afford Extra Fancy Project Production then reduce the fanciness.

If it drives up the retail price out of what your customers will pay, if it takes too long to assemble and put into an envelope to ship, if it's too complicated to handle efficiently -- reduce scope.

Listen to me very carefully. Get uncomfortably close to ensure you understand this.

This is not cheating.

This is business. This is how business works. You continuously measure "what is possible vs. what is sale-able vs. what is profitable." and then go with the center of this diagram.

If you don't want to reduce scope, if you want costs-be-damned-I-want-what-I-want: treat this as a hobby. That's fine. See above points.

I cannot begin to explain how many books I have built that were Massively God Damn Complicated Oh God Why WHY and the why was "so it exists in the world." That has been my hobby-stuff.

I cannot begin to explain how many books I have built that were "hm, I shall streamline this, I shall enjoy it, my audience will enjoy it." This is business-stuff.

Sometimes I'll take a business-stuff thing and make a single special edition with water color or gold leaf or a special box etc. as a gift or just to keep. That's a blend. Acceptable.

Do not work for exposure.

Do not work for a large company that says "we'll give you so many business contacts if you just give us one for free."

Do not give free stuff to a social media influencer for a shout out on their channel.

The validity of these strategies is irrelevant until you have enough cash on hand and experience and an audience big enough to build an advertising campaign. If you cannot afford an advertising campaign, then you're in the realm of "reduce scope."

Your logo set in Arial in a single color with default font settings is going to last until you can comfortably say "I want more" and then build more or hire someone to build more.

Your website in a free Shopify or Big Cartel (etc) theme) is going to last you until you can comfortably say "I want more" and then build more or hire someone to build more or buy a template.

Last point.

Your brand is "I make X, it is of Y quality, it is available at Z-location" is 99% of branding.

You get to do this. You are doing this on purpose. You are doing this for a reason.

For a very long time, your profit levels will be less than the interest a high yield interest savings account would offer you for your investment cash. That is to say you could be making more money with 0 effort than you are with A Significant Amount of Effort.

I am talking about money a lot because it is the connection that links all businesses together.

This is your shop. Own it. Keep in mind, "This is my shop. I run it how i want."

If you are running out of resources, reduce scope. If it's not fun, reduce it to a hobby. If you're scared, reduce consequences of things not working out quickly. If people laugh or deride your work, block them.

I love business. I love the weird, complicated problems it brings. It gives me a focus. I love coming to the office and bothering my best friend with my intense nonsense that somehow puts food on tables and roofs over heads.

My life would be so much more straight forward if I just made art and either put it into the world or held onto it in private. I would be making so much more art in if I went down this path.

But running a shop, running a business, makes me more me. The shop and the art are not two halves of a singular piece, they wound together on a molecular level.

As long as that exists in my core, I'll be making a business. If it ever does not, I'll make it a hobby.

Don't measure penalties or lost opportunities.

Measure wins, big and small, of things that went well because you're smart and capable, or your lucky and smart, or your lucky and capable, or you royally fucked up but it worked out anyway, or you learned a lesson because of a past failure, etc.

This isn't a competition. It's a thing that makes you You more You than if you weren't doing it, so you are, to the best of your ability + the limit of your desire.

[battle-of-alberta]

Can you tell me more about the wildlife in alberta? there seems to be lots of it! I heard there used to be bison? Have the bison come back or are they extinct now?

Parks Pass: What are Bison?

I've been working on this for well over a month, although I've been thinking about it since I received this ask last fall. Bison are so central and important in prairie history, ecology, spirituality, etc. and I feel that they exemplify this more than perhaps any other living thing here... I don't think I will go this in depth into other wildlife for this series.

I am not a naturalist nor do I represent Parks Canada or related organizations, all of this information has been sourced through reports from Parks Canada, organizations like CPAWS, etc. There are a lot of questions surrounding ecology, legalities, and reconciliation with Indigenous peoples that I just am not equipped to answer by myself... but I wanted to give as clear an overview as I could of the challenges and successes around bison in Alberta.

More notes, close ups, etc. below. I will try to link to some sources in the notes as a reblog.

I tried my best to make each panel stand mostly on its own so that you could read them in any order, but I hope there is a bit of a flow to the information... The pieces were slightly bigger than my scanner, so I apologize for some blurry writing and cropped edges!

(yak left, bison centre, buffalo right) (You will find all three domestic in Alberta, at least at agricultural fairs if not commercially)

[ badum tishhhhhhh]

I tried to get the moose and our guides to scale physically, but it was tricky! Also: the summer ochre cape tends to appear on male plains bison.

There is debate as to whether wood and plains bison should be classified as separate species at all. The fact is, there remains a legal distinction in Alberta that will become relevant in a few panels.

This safety tip is if you're on foot- in a car, obviously stay in your vehicle! Don't attempt to drive through bison either, just let them pass!

The "Ecology" title got cut here, my apologies.

Some other ways bison improve the ecosystem is by literally rolling around and trampling on the landscape, the churning of the land and the fertilization from buffalo dung helps plants and insects thrive, which in turn benefits all creatures along the food chain. Cows do not nearly replace the magnitude to which bison benefit the prairie.

Often in school, the sole fact one might learn about the First Nations of the plains involves a diagram of all the uses of each part of a bison. These descriptions have almost always been in the past tense, in order to place Indigenous peoples and their ways of life purely in the past. This is not a reflection of reality- many Indigenous folks in Alberta are still maintaining their traditions and their relationships with bison today. The tee pee here is based off of a Blackfoot design featured at the Royal Alberta Museum. Also pictured is a drying rack of meat, and a bison stomach suspended as a cooking pot. Pemmican is often described these days as a "superfood" or the ultimate protein bar; it is a mixture of dried meat and berries that both preserves well and is extremely nourishing.

It is difficult to summarize the impacts of colonization in a short space, especially where bison are concerned. The creation of Treaty 7 in Alberta, particularly, was a result of an intentional and devastating eradication of the bison by settlers. This forced First Nations such as the Blackfoot Confederacy into impossible positions: follow the buffalo into the United States and risk attack from the Americans or the Sioux as the herds became smaller and smaller, or to agree to the Canadian government's terms to stay on a fraction of their traditional territories in order to keep from starving to death.

At the same time, anthropologists, collectors, and tourists tried to buy or take anything they could get their hands on from what they perceived as the end of an era: salvage anthropology of First Nations in the West painted an image of "pure" native culture that was about to be lost forever, while First Nations peoples were being forcibly assimilated, excluded, or eradicated by settlers.

There is still a lack of understanding in mainstream settler Canadian culture of the human labour that went into the creation of the "natural" "wilderness" of this land. This is something that the settlement, the industrialization, and the creation of national parks in Alberta and elsewhere ignores or erases, but there is a growing awareness and acknowledgement of the relationship between First Peoples and the land.

The prairie ecosystem remains extremely endangered and little understood, especially as environmental activism tends to focus on deforestation or pollution of the ocean rather than the destruction of native grasses and shrubs.

Cameo ft. Mac representing Wood Buffalo National Park, which spans the border of the Northwest Territories and Alberta. Obviously, the main cause of environmental destruction surrounding the park involves human industrial activity: logging, mining, and development of the oil patch. Disease can be easily transmitted between bison and cattle and can easily wipe out already struggling populations.

I was shocked to discover that all bison were considered livestock as recently as two years ago and could thus be harvested by anyone, anytime, and anywhere outside a protected area. Plains bison still do not have status as "wildlife".

The province did recently expand the "buffer zone" outside of Banff National Park, giving the Park a chance to recover bison that have wandered outside of the barriers before they become 'fair game', as it were.

Also worth noting: B.C. and Saskatchewan both protect bison under their provincial wildlife acts, but plains bison leaving those provinces and entering Alberta or Manitoba would be considered livestock as they are unprotected.

Elk Island stocks bison across the continent and around the world, which is incredible! Not all of those original 700 were sent to Elk Island, unfortunately those sent to what was once Buffalo National Park did not make it.

Likewise, a project to reintroduce bison to Jasper didn't bear fruit. An article via Jasper Local I had found earlier (that no longer seems to work) describes the discovery of a bison skull at Talbot Lake that most likely represents a bison from this recent reintroduction attempt.

The Banff bison reintroduction pilot (2017-2022) is the most recent attempt to reintroduce bison to areas of Alberta, and so far from the initial Spring 2023 report one of the more successful projects. Public sentiment both locally and internationally is very positive, with a lot of attention on social media, articles, and other outreach methods. The project is also partnering closely with all the First Nations in Treaty 7, as well as other community stakeholders such as visitors to the park, local residents, nearby ranchers, etc.

Phew, I just threw a ton of info at you! I hope this answers the question :)

#projectcanada cities #pc: banff #pc: jasper #pc: fort mcmurray #pc: edmonton #eleanor crandell #jasper swift #reginald buffalo #edward murphy #traditional art #ink #pencil crayon #watercolour #gouache #mixed media #boab ask #boab park pass

[dragonsfell]

jaheira banter from bg2, part 1.

DO NOT REBLOG. Here's some conversations from Jaheira in Baldur's Gate 2; that I wanted to highlight. I owe the enhanced editions of the originals and play to plan again, but I wanted to share some some the interactions Jaheira had; to see where she came from // i wanted these saved on the blog // a warning that given the age of these games and the edition of D&D they spawn from; fantasy racism was at its height and everywhere and alignments were ever present & very black and white

With Aeerie ; a wingless avariel (winged elf) and lawful good cleric

Aerie: This... this light makes your hair look really pretty, Jaheira. Jaheira: Don't be a fool, it does nothing of the sort. Aerie: But— Jaheira: Put your silly romantic notions aside, Aerie. This isn't some childish fantasy, nor some grand adventure. Any one of us could die out here at any moment. Aerie: But we can go to the priests and—and they raise us from the dead again, as good as new, can't we? Jaheira: Sometimes they don't come back! Sometimes some people, no matter how much you love them and no matter what you try to do, get... they get taken away. You're young, Aerie... You'll figure it out soon enough.

the rest will be under th cut, because there a lot I wanna share. DO NOT REBLOG.

With Anomen ; a lawful neutral human fighter/cleric

Anomen: Lady Jaheira, it seems quite strange to me that a woman of clearly noble past would choose the life of an adventurer. What has brought you to this dangerous path? Jaheira: It is a path of conscience. Some druids choose a contemplative lifestyle, but I sought a more active role in the furthering of nature's cause. And you? Did you become a priest of Helm only for honor and glory? Anomen: Of course not. The righteous path ever beckons. It is merely a dividend of the Order that a member can make a place for himself in this difficult world. Jaheira: I see. What place you choose to make for yourself remains to be seen. Anomen: It does, but I assure you that you will not be disappointed. - - - - - Jaheira: You wear the scars of battle with pride, Anomen, like one who truly believes his cause. Anomen: I must. It is what pushes me forward. Doubt is the enemy. Jaheira: Those that never question do not see the whole of the issue. Anomen: The whole issue is not important. There is only the here and now, and what can be done within. Jaheira: Your world is small, if focused. The more impressive picture is always larger than you can see.

With Dorn ; a neutral-evil half-orc

Dorn: You have fire. I respect that. But I warn you, druid: Attempt to poison me again and you will not see the next sunrise. Jaheira: What nonsense are you babbling? Dorn: This concoction. You neglected to account for my orc blood. Next time, try something more potent. Jaheira: Do not be ridiculous. I am a druid, not an assassin. Dorn: Then how do you explain this vile brew? Jaheira: It is a mixture of myrtle and willow— Dorn: IT IS POISON. Jaheira: Drink it, Il-Khan. Or next time I will leave your wounds untended.

With Haer'Dalis ; a chaotic neutral tiefling blade

Haer'Dalis: Why do you stare at me so, Jaheira? Have I offended you? My manner is oft grim, but I did not think you so sensitive to it. Jaheira: No, no, I find your wit a treat, especially when it is unleashed upon the hapless that did not see it laying in wait. Haer'Dalis: Then why the glances as my head turns away? Jaheira: Forgive me the curiosity, but you are quite alien to me. You are not of this place and do not fit into the natural order, at least not by design. Haer'Dalis: Ahh, then you are wary and are intent on keeping me under guard?Jaheira: Not so much, but I am interested to see where your niche finds itself. I am wondering what you will balance, for all things have their counterpart. Haer'Dalis: I see. Perhaps I straddle the fence, providing my own balance. Perhaps I drop things on either side as whim dost take me. Jaheira: Or perhaps you enjoy the discord of chaos because you have not found that niche yet. We shall see. - - - - - Haer'Dalis: Ah, my hound, this city be the great world of commerce! Perhaps we can sell Jaheira? Jaheira: *groan* Cut your wit, bard. The day has been long already without adding hours to it. Haer'Dalis: Cut my wit? Why, certainly, if I could only use your nose's razor edge to perform the task. Jaheira: Aye, it seems I've sharpened it upon the grindstone of your heart. Haer'Dalis: Well, my frumpy ptarmigan, I must protest— Jaheira: "Methinks thou dost protest too much." Aye, I can quote the poets too. If you must protest, I respond only to hunger strikes and, even then, too late. Haer'Dalis: Oh, <CHARNAME>, raven of sympathy! Yon woman is stifling my creativity and stealing thunder from my wit! I swear I cannot work amidst the lashings of her tongue!

With Hexxat ; a neutral evil vampire thief

Jaheira: You should know that I neither trust nor like you, Hexxat. Hexxat: I'd have been happier simply suspecting as much. Jaheira: <CHARNAME> seems to like you well enough, and I have great respect for HIM/HER Hexxat: As do I. Jaheira: I know you did not seek to become what you are. I will try to look past it as best I can. Hexxat: Thank you, Jaheira. I shall try to prove myself worthy of your respect. - - - - - Jaheira: I must admit you have surprised me, vampire. Hexxat: Oh? Jaheira: I expected you to betray us at the earliest opportunity. Yet you still remain by <CHARNAME>'s side. Hexxat: I would feel the same in your position. Jaheira: I would still slay you, given the opportunity. Hexxat: I'll be sure to bear that in mind. Jaheira: But for now... I am willing to accept your place in the party. Hexxat: That means a lot to me, Jaheira. Sincerely. Thank you.

With Keldorn ; a lawful good human inquisitor

Jaheira: Keldorn? You look pensive. Are you well? Keldorn: I am well enough, Jaheira, though our circumstance gives me reason to pause. Jaheira: Hmm. I have been thinking as well. It is hard to draw a line in the sand and say, "This side represents balance; this other side does not." Keldorn: Balance? Would that balance were the worst of our worries. Jaheira: Ah. Having trouble with the black and white aspects? Keldorn: That would be an understatement. I am quite certain of what evil lies ahead, but I am finding problems with identifying the "good" path around it. Jaheira: I'm not sure what to say. We do what we can when the opportunity presents itself. Keldorn: That would be all that can be asked. Torm guide us; we need his wisdom.

With Mazzy ; a lawful goodd halfing fighter

Jaheira: Oh, omnipresent authority figure, what are your commands now?Mazzy: Jaheira, there is a level of sarcasm in your tone that is perhaps unnecessary. We have a leader that honestly tries to anticipate our needs... 1. Player: Heed Mazzy well, Jaheira. Mazzy: As I was saying, <HE/SHE> has enough trouble keeping this ragtag group together. Perhaps it would be better to be more constructive, and less... Jaheira: Bitchy? Mazzy: If that is how you wish to put it, yes. Jaheira: Worry not for the feelings of <CHARNAME>, small one, as <HE/SHE> and I go far back and have an understanding of sorts. Mazzy: As you will. It was only a humble suggestion. I've no wish to intrude upon your relationship with <CHARNAME>.

#[ ABOUT ] Jaheira #i wanted to throw some of these out for study #i am gonna be playing the og games #and while the jaheira romance is weird for a lot of reasons #( she's old friends w/ gorion and like an “aunt” to GW + her husband of 10 years has only been dead for like days/weeks for her romance ) #[ STUDY ] Jaheira #[ ABOUT ] All Headcanons

[bacchicly]

So I used my bullet journal this morning (after setting it up on my wanderings this weekend) and it felt good. Update after the cut. This is just a personal annoying thing. Includes reference to Gretchen Rubin's "Better than Before"

I don't have the "must put this notebook in the freezer to stop obsessing over it" I had when I first tried bullet journaling - nor am I being particularly ambitious in format but I am being more "regulated" than my last few attempts to "just make sure I have a notebook with me" which failed.

I also am using a new period tracker on my phone which is not perfect but seems simple enough and a bit more flexible and helpful than Fitbit period tracking. Again I am trying to be clear but minimal with the tool.

We'll see how this round goes. I am cautiously optimistic.

I also use audiobooks as a type of guided meditation and self reflection and have been re-listening to Gretchen Rubin's Better than Before. I don't love everything about her the book; and in particularly. find it triggering from a body positivity standpoint.

And, even though I am a champion of the idea that people and projects can't be perfect or do everything all at once, I find it problematic that she geberally mute on her privilege. I also find it challenging that she does not do more than wink at the potential impacts of culture, disability, neurodivergence, and poverty on an individual's effort to change behavior through habits.

However, the attention she pays to minutia and her attempts to be non-judgemental are helpful guides to working through some of my current challenges.

I am also about to take on more of a design project where I can impact organizational behaviors and habits at work and her clarity around how different strategies can work for different people is helpful.

Things have been hard. Really hard. In the last two weeks I have had more intrusive thoughts than I have in a long time - but I am trying to focus on the fact that I did what I could to care for myself and did better than I might have in the past. I have been fighting a cold (not COVID), as has my family, work has been a particular flavour of difficult, and my and my husband's challenges with budgeting and saving money have been in high relief as we try to get back to somewhere a bit less scary since our encounter with cheerleading, illness in our extended family, caring for a senior cat, and our impulses to tip extra big and rely on a lot of take out and dining in restaurants as a way to deal with COVID are coming home to roost.

Anyways...things are going a bit better. Yay!

Tomorrow will be tomorrow.

#bacchic dances #tw mention of intrusive thoughts

[bro3256]

The Console Paradox

If you've been following me on social media for the past several months, you've probably noticed quite a bit of complaining on my end regarding the mix up between the Famicom and NES. At first I had a minor annoyance with it, such as when YouTubers mention that the NES released in 1983 when in reality that's the year the Family Computer or Famicom came out, the NES wouldn't release until a test launch in New York in 1985. It seems like a ton of people get this wrong due to being unaware of what the Famicom even is. Soon though, I've grown to have a very strong opinion regarding this.

But why should this even matter? Isn't the Famicom just a Japanese NES? If we're going by that logic than the NES is just an American Famicom, cause the more you start to think about this you start to realize that we have quite a problem on our hands regarding what we even call a platform like this overall. Unlike with modern consoles that are identical globally no matter where you live, consoles from a few decades ago not only look different but have separate identities that only exist in the territories they were released in. Despite that however, most of the internet seems to be happy with mixing everything up into things we're familiar with, but I believe that has resulted in tons of confusion and misinformation regarding older video games.

Now before I can really get into the topic at hand, I need to establish some definitions just so we're on the same page. Terms like console and platform are thrown together interchangeably whenever used in discussion but for this post I will be treating both terms as meaning different things.

Console: A computer designed to play software made for it.

Platform: An ecosystem that encompasses the games designed for specific consoles.

These aren't perfect definitions but my aim is to illustrate that different consoles can exist but still fall under the same general platform. So lets take the Famicom and NES again, both would be separate consoles but fall under the same platform. Now ask yourself this, what would you call this platform?

If your immediate answer is the NES then congratulations this is the reality we live in at this very moment. Of course this isn't a problem exclusively to these consoles, there are plenty of other examples you can point to with this exact dilemma such as with the Super Famicom and SNES, the PC-Engine and TurboGrafx-16, the Mega Drive and Genesis, just to name a few. Currently we do not have a neutral term to call these video game platforms, and it seems like we are content with keeping it this way for the foreseeable future which is really bad in the context of video game preservation.

(Wikipedia is the closest thing we have to a general site documenting video games in general)

Documentation regarding video games is already sparse on the internet, and this mix up certainly does not help whatsoever. That's not to discount the many projects currently in operation, my point is that we currently do not have good easy to access documentation regarding video games, anything remotely obscure is extremely difficult to find information for let alone in your native language. The tools in place can absolutely be improved and I believe clearing this console paradox up would be beneficial to everyone.

Think of it this way, consoles such as the Famicom and NES are in their own lanes. The Famicom side has its own set of things going for it and so does the NES side but the road itself is what holds the two together. If you attempt to drive on the Famicom lane and hastily merge within the NES lane you'll get into an accident and that accident is either misinformation or getting a false misunderstood narrative. Weird analogy at first but this is the best visual I can give whenever information regarding one console is applied to another.

Now before I wrap things up, I want to make it clear that a lot of this is my own opinion, that being said I am open for discussion whether you think a line needs to be drawn somewhere or that separating consoles like this is unnecessary.

(Note: I mainly used the Famicom and NES as examples in this post but as stated before this also applies to other consoles with this general platform issue.)

[baicautofan]

4 Chinese Auto Manufacturers Aiming To Conquer South Africa

Haval and Chery aren't the only Chinese brands looking to take over the South African market.

South Africa's automotive landscape is undergoing a seismic shift as Chinese car brands continue to gain traction and make their mark. Haval and Chery are leading the way and have quickly become household names, an astounding achievement when you consider no one knew what Haval was two years ago.

The days when Chinese vehicles were considered cheapo knockoffs are firmly in the past. Today, Chinese automakers are producing high-quality, top-seeded vehicles and South African consumers are paying attention.

So Haval and Chery are the clear leaders in the Chinese invasion, there are a lot more where they came from. Here are five more Chinese cars that are planned to drop before the end of the year.

Ora Cat

We’ve spoken about the Ora Cat before, but only because everyone else in the motoring community is too.

The Ora Cat is poised to become a game-changer in the South African market and word on the street is that this is the electric vehicle (EV) that could make this category properly mainstream. We wait in anticipation as a proper release date has yet to be announced.

More importantly, pricing is what will really make or break the Ora Cat. Industry speculation is that it will retail for R600 000, which isn’t exactly cheap, but might be an acceptable price for new technology. Currently getting an EV in South Africa means having to fork out a million Rand or more. At that price point, R600 000 seems like a bargain.

Tank 300

Going in a completely different direction is the Tank 300. The name should tell you all you need to know. If you want rugged and robust, look no further than the Tank 300.

A sub-brand of GWM, the Tank 300 off-roader is a combination of exceptional durability and no-nonsense design. Its bold, commanding presence basically says I’m not here to play, I’m here to work. While it is difficult to honestly comment on its off-road capabilities at this juncture, the Tank 300 has a lot of positive buzz and looks ready to conquer South Africa's challenging terrains.

JAC T9 Hunter

South Africans always seem to require a versatile and capable bakkie and, if nothing else, the JAC T9 Hunter at least looks the part. I’d go so far as to say it's the best-looking bakkie I’ve seen in years.

Taking on the mighty Toyota Hilux and the Car of the Year-winning Ford Ranger is probably not the smartest play in the South African market. And yet JAC will attempt just that with the T9 Hunter, a double-cab bakkie meant for work and play.

But you can't underestimate the Chinese, GWMs P9 range of bakkies have represented themselves well, so there’s no reason to think JAC can’t do the same.

BAIC B80

While JAC is planning on fighting with Toyota and Ford for the bakkie crown, the BAIC B80 is chasing down the likes of Mercedes-Benz and their G-Glass.

Other BAIC new cars which are extremely popular already.

It’s an obvious match-up - just look at its, err, looks. It's clearly trying to ape Merc’s iconic G-wagon. Reported features include 17-inch alloys, xenon headlights, LED daytime running lights, leather upholstery, aluminium sports pedals, ambient lighting, heated and ventilated front seats, dual-zone climate control, a digital driver display, a sizable infotainment unit, a reverse camera, keyless start, front and rear parking sensors, and cruise control. So it’s also trying to match the Merc in creature comforts.

However, the reported price tag is R1 million plus. At that point, you might as well just get the Merc.

BAIC new car range currently offered includes an off-roader, namely the B40 Plus which is certainly worth a look. Of course, there is the Compact Family COTY winner, the Beijing X55 in the new car stables from BAIC too.

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News shared from https://www.capetalk.co.za/articles/

#baic #automotive #cars

[blundergato]

I finished Sea of Stars yesterday, got the true ending and all.

Very good game overall! The ending had quite the impact on me.

I think one of my favorite things about the game is that while it was modeled after classic JRPGs of the past, it also took measures to make sure not to waste the players time. Most of the dungeons created shortcuts, so that if you had to backtrack, it was very easy to go through them again.

Not only that, but I think the dungeons themselves were designed to be a pretty perfect length. At no point while playing the game did I feel like "Oh, when is this dungeon going to be over" which is something that USUALLY happens when I play rpgs (and a lot of games in general tbh).

I think one of the main weaknesses of the game (sort of) are the main leads Valere and Zale. They really didn't have much to differentiate them from one another and in terms of their personalities, they were just "the hero." It's almost like they were in the mold of silent protagonists, but they had lines. I say that this was a sort of weakness because I think the game was designed that way and the emotional weight is carried by the rest of the cast, specifically Garl.

The first few hours of the game were enjoyable, but I was questioning how the main two didn't really seem to have a whole lot going on other than being a typical hero, but then the ending rolled through and I got a lil choked up, so it makes me believe it was set up that way on purpose, which is neat!

The battle system was fun. It was pretty challenging and you had to stay on your toes to get through even random encounters. I game over'ed about 3-4 times, one of those times being against a random mob because I forgot to heal between battles and the momentum can shift almost immediately if you start off on the back foot. Enemies do a chunk of damage when they hit you, even if you perfect block.

Compared to the other RPG I played this year, Chained Echoes, the battles are nowhere near as punishing, but they still offer a lot of tension. When you see a boss charging up some big super move and there are like...9 locks you have to attempt to break in 2-3 turns, it makes things extremely tense.

Another thing I noticed, but didn't test out myself, is that the game offers a lot of different accessibility options if you just want to enjoy the story more and deal less with the difficult battles; options like auto perfect guarding, double HP for the whole party, auto double hit on attack, stuff like that.

The music was also pretty good and funny enough, there were a couple of times where I was listening to the music and thought "Man, this kind of sounds like Xenogears music" and then I looked up the OST and what do you know, they actually got Yasunori Mitsuda to do some of the tracks. I've listened to the Xenogears soundtrack enough times in my life to be able to pick out Mitsuda's stuff.

In any case, I would recommend Sea of Stars if you like JRPGs. It's a pretty streamlined experience that isn't that focused on extending its playtime frivolously and it has a story that makes an impact.

[arclantis-blog]

“What Is Poverty?”

Asking good questions and finding good answers can be part of the process that leads to effective solutions to problems. Imagine a little girl sitting on a chair, her legs dangling. She’s licking an ice cream cone when she overhears a word she hasn’t learned yet. “Mommy, what is poverty?” she asks earnestly. Her mother tries to think of an answer that the little girl will understand. “Well, it’s not having enough of what you need.” The little girl ponders this and then asks, “So if I need more ice cream, then I have poverty?”

We may laugh or even grimace at this perspective, but the little girl is asking a real question that deserves the world’s best answers and solutions.

The World Bank, a global organization committed to ending poverty, estimates that there are as many as 700 million people worldwide who live at or below poverty, meaning they subsist on or with less than $1.90 per day.[1] This is the international standard of poverty, but to many of us, it seems an absurdly low amount that doesn’t fully encompass poverty’s reach.

The little girl in our example is eating an ice cream cone that probably costs more than that, and it is a treat in her life, not her family’s daily income. It’s important then to understand the use of this $1.90 a day figure.

“Almost all national poverty lines are anchored to the cost of a food basket—what the poor in that country would customarily eat—that provides adequate nutrition for good health and normal activity, plus an allowance for nonfood spending,” the World Bank explains. “Measures based on an international poverty line attempt to hold the real value of the poverty line constant across countries, as is done in making comparisons over time within countries.”[2]

When the World Bank asks, “What is poverty?” they are using factors like purchasing power of currencies, inflation, and standard incomes and expenditures for countries.[3] It’s a way of leveling a worldwide playing field in order to understand the larger number of 700 million people living at that rate of income. A step further would be to give an extreme poverty definition, which is living on even less than $1.90 a day.

But maybe the mother’s response to the little girl is closer than we realize. What does poverty mean? Is it not enough food, not enough clothing, no adequate housing, not enough school supplies, no access to regular healthcare and hygiene? Most of that doesn’t fit in the World Bank’s food basket.

Poverty defies easy categorization in the reasons behind it.

“We can monetize a lot of the aspects of poverty—access to clean water and access to health care, for example, are put in monetary terms in our model—but there is a legitimate debate about the multidimensional aspects of poverty,” explained Ana Revenga, senior director of the Poverty and Equity Group at the World Bank. “When you talk to the poor, they will talk about a sense of dignity and about having a job, not just receiving money. How do you monetize that? You can monetize access to schooling, but it is more difficult to monetize the quality of schooling.”[4]

GFA World sees past the numbers and statistics to the very people our mission longs to serve. Our mission in life is to be devout followers of Christ and to live lives fully pleasing to Him. God has given us a special love for people in need who do not know of Christ’s love, and it is our desire to minister to them and help them through ministries like education programs, health initiatives and practical gifts, and through the spiritual transformation that brings about peaceful hearts, restored relationships and mended lives. We do this all in community and in partnership with the global Body of Christ.[5]

There is not one reason for poverty; therefore, there cannot be one solution. This is the design behind GFA’s Christmas Gift Catalog. Each item or service that can be sponsored through the gift catalog provides a way for an individual or family to take a step away from poverty that addresses multiple issues at once.

For instance, a mosquito net may not seem like a way to help a family avoid or get out of poverty, but to them, it is a safeguard for their health. If the main breadwinner of family becomes ill with a insect-born disease, then the family that was already barely making it now totters near the edge of financial ruin.

Likewise, women’s literacy training is the key that unlocks safety, skilled labor, advocacy for her children and more. Vocational training has similar benefits, as does clean water, both things that can be sponsored through the gift catalog.

Through GFA missionaries, these gifts are distributed along with the love of Jesus Christ. GFA missionaries are from the countries where they serve, so their hearts are uniquely tied to their mission field and the people they serve. By understanding the multiple dimensions of poverty, they can help individuals and families get connected to these life-changing gifts that come from people like you.

Click here, to read more about this article.

Click here, to read more blogs in Gospel for Asia.Net

#Abject Poverty #About Gospel for Asia #Absolute Poverty #Absolute Poverty Definition #Child Poverty in India #Child Poverty in the World #Cycle of Poverty #Define Absolute Poverty #Definition Absolute Poverty #Definition of Destitute #Definition of Extreme Poverty #Extreme Poverty #Extreme Poverty Definition #Facts About Poverty #Generational Poverty #Generational Poverty Definition #Gospel for Asia #How to Reduce Poverty #Poverty #Poverty Alleviation #Poverty Alleviation Program #Poverty and Hunger #Poverty Cycle #Poverty Facts #Poverty Issues #Poverty Reduction #Poverty Worldwide #Systemic Poverty #The Cycle of Poverty #The Poverty Cycle

[simsjuel]

Beneficial Tips To Help You Beautify Your Own Home

Many people would jump at the ability to have their own residence adorned, but are scared because of time or cash to make it happen their selves. This information will allow you to understand how to redo your home in the simplest way feasible. Keep reading for suggestions and recommendations linked to decor. Start off your decor task having a disposition board. A frame of mind table is really a big cardboard exhibit with various ideas for an area pasted through to it and written on it. You can find ideas from publications, on the web and from tv shows. The board will provide you with a visible of your very own design, and help you to layout a room that fits your taste. A great way to revamp your home is usually to reface your kitchen cabinets and change out your hardware. It is an affordable task that a lot of men and women is capable of doing themselves. There are a number of hardware items sold in equipment stores, and this will make it readily available items which fit your own personal fashion. Before starting anything, possess a talk about finances and costs. There is nothing even worse than starting up a task once you cannot afford it. This will likely limit the anxiety and tension whilst developing. Make imaginative usage of bedroom pillows and rugs. These are generally affordable and may change the frame of mind of your space very quickly. Play with different designs, colours, and printing to discover what fits you greatest. The greatest thing about special pillows and carpets is that you could relocate these people to an additional space when you want some other seem. Be sure you have got all the storage area you need. You'll never ever have a space seems like it became available of a magazine if there's clutter all over the place. Search for attractive storage containers included in the textile which fits the rest of the room. Once you make storing an element of your style, it's effortless to create a place look fantastic. Make certain that each and every space has exceptional lighting effects. Top quality lights will allow you to display your house, and will help a room truly feel larger. If there's a room in your house containing dark sides in spite of the lights excited, select a fashionable new light fixture. It'll make your complete room appearance far better. Pick washroom illumination cautiously. In the bathroom, a single overhead lighting will cast an undesirable shadow, rendering it difficult to apply makeup or shave. A sconce on either side of the medicine drawer will offer you an even level of light-weight, perfect for proper grooming. Incandescent lighting is much better to luminescent lamps, which can produce a bluish strengthen. Try holding your picture structures at an eyesight-level, rather than better up on a walls. Graphics hung way too high gives the optical illusion of reduce ceilings. Retaining support frames in a reduce level also causes them to be a lot more apparent, and keeps visitors from being forced to look up as a way to watch your gorgeous art work. Lighting is essential in almost any home. It is because illumination produces a certain mood. Kitchen area and washrooms call for satisfactory lighting to be able to functionality appropriately. Nonetheless, thiết kế nội thất biệt thự vinhomes riverside can task a lot of electricity for rooms exactly where you will want subtler mood. If you are going for a more at ease look in a room, including the living area or room attempt gentler lighting fixtures. An excellent indoor-design hint is not really to have too insane with all the current photos of your own little ones or maybe your loved ones. Whenever people enter in your property, they anticipate seeing a number of these types of photos. Even so, lots of will slip any individual out, and it may well seem a shrine. While nội thất inox know, interior design isn't just for the awesome artistic. You might give your property a stunning appearance that people will truly speak about should you use the ideas you've gotten in this post.

#đá nhân tạo #thiết kế nội thất #thiết kế chung cư

[caldwellcarson0]

hermes pochette kelly 4

Hermès Kelly Pochettes I will definitely cope with this firm once more. Received watch in 1 day..seemed like by no means used..additionally shocked to obtain extra first time purchase $50 low cost. By far one of the best online firm that I have ever used. True Facet's customer support is really exceptional. Being obtainable in different material and a hues of colours, it is a uncommon species in handbags, you just don’t find it in lots. For Hermès, what began as a maker of leather equestrian goods for European noblemen would finally grow into one of the most storied fashion labels on the planet. In 1837, German-born French entrepreneur Thierry Hermès opened a saddle and harness purveyor in Paris. Hermes Birkins handbags are normally extremely priced, thus they could go far past most middle class people's attain. For these people with limited budget a replica one may be the best substitute. There are many distributors and sellers offering replica ones on-line. This is made of one piece and matches the relaxation of steel hardware. Fake Hermès baggage use a clunky thick H that usually contains a seam the place the two items are joined. 3) Kelly Bags made earlier than 2001 have simple D-rings, but in 2001 and after, Hermès began to make use of a customized double D-ring. These rings are just split D-rings - one side is attached to the deal with and the opposite side is connected to the shoulder. 2) The high handle is extremely difficult to make. It's manufactured from six pieces of leather-based and takes three and a half hours to construct. I even have bought a quantity of items of jewelry on the True Facet Website and have had a fantastic experience coping with them. They help you listing, price and promote your objects in a brief time. I even have been thrilled with how easy listing my objects with them was. Consigning on-line was extremely hassle free and allowed me to reach a much bigger viewers then making an attempt to promote by myself. I would positively listing with them once more and look forward to buying gadgets on their web site as properly. Another barely edgy look for an evening bag because of the hardware, I am a huge fan of the extra organized interior of the Verrou Clutch, with each a snap pocket and a separate inside pocket. The Kelly Pochette and Kelly Cut are two smaller versions of the Kelly bag. Both have small adjustable top handles and both open and close by way of the sangles and turnlock. The dimensions of each are totally different, with the oblong Kelly Pochette having a flat backside and the longer but flatter Kelly Cut having nearly no backside at all. https://phoenet.tw/replicas-hermes-bags/replica-kelly-pochette.html The Kelly Cut is “cut” from the Kelly Longue, which was basically a bigger model of the Kelly Cut, but which is now not in production. Have you seen studs at the bottom of any designer bag? Perhaps that's as a end result of, for many years, there were no new Mini Kellys whereas Pochettes have always been a basic but uncommon Hermès offering. The Mini Kelly additionally is finished within the Sellier design, whereas the Pochette tends to be more forgiving. For this purpose , many report that the Pochette actually holds extra, regardless of technically thought-about a clutch. It’s not just terrific in its outlook, the interior is splendid as properly. The Hermes Kelly Pochette opens to a matte inside that is more than sufficient to hold your i-phone, makeup, cards, cash, and sunglasses and so on. We determine market pricing based mostly on the type of item it's, brand, and mannequin and measure that in opposition to all closest opponents. Experiences auctioned on Charitybuzz.com undergo a particular redemption course of to coordinate particulars and full. wikipedia handbags That course of normally involves messaging and scheduling between all parties (i.e. winners, charities, donors, venues). Details mentioned include however are not restricted to experience dates, arrival procedures, airfare, lodge lodging, restrictions, will-call requirements, and some other on-site notes. Scheduling requires an initial request sent by the client, and a followup affirmation submitted by relevant redemption contacts. The interior is lined with Rose D'ete chevre and has an open... At Xupes we all know that purchasing a pre-owned handbag on-line may be daunting. We goal to make your experience as seamless as potential, assuaging any concerns you might have when purchasing your purse on-line with us. You could be assured that each merchandise is fastidiously selected for our collection and is checked by our experienced in-house specialists to ensure authenticity. I’m still making an attempt to determine who this may be a fantastic investment for at any time. Please be mindful that this piece has led a previous life, and will inform its story via minor imperfection. Purchasing this merchandise continues its narrative, so that you can be assured that you’re making a POSITIVELY CONSCIOUS choice for the planet. These three Kelly’s had been launched from 2017 through 2018, taking their inspiration from archival sketches and scarf designs Hermès has employed within the years and many years previous.

#kelly pochette #hermes kelly pochette #mini kelly pochette #kelly pochette bag

[rasch51rasch]

This Guy Hacked His Way Through Every Single Captcha Page On Wikipedia

With all of the latest discuss of hackers and cybersecurity, it is no surprise that lots of individuals are questioning what to do if they encounter a captcha AI . In fact, there's all the time the choice of just ignoring them however for some individuals, that's not an possibility. As this text discusses, there is actually a straightforward method for people to get via them!

Introduction

This guy hacked his means via every single Captcha page on Wikipedia. He started by discovering simple Captcha pages, like the one for the article about Captcha. After he solved these, he moved onto tougher ones, just like the one for the article about the Turing check. He completed by fixing all of Wikipedia's Captcha pages! This is an incredible accomplishment and it's a testament to how skilled this guy is at solving Captchas. If you are ever stuck making an attempt to solve a Captcha, or simply need to see how tough they are often, make sure to check out this man's website.

What's a captcha?

A captcha is a popular safety measure used on websites to forestall automated spamming. A consumer is requested to enter textual content that seems in a picture, and if the textual content is appropriate, they're allowed to proceed. Captchas are often discovered on articles related to safety and authentication, as they assist protect in opposition to bots and different automated assaults. This guy hacked his manner by means of each single captcha web page on Wikipedia! He began by discovering widespread patterns among the many captchas and then understanding how to bypass them using simple programming strategies. This demonstrates just how easy it is for somebody with malicious intent to use widespread online safety flaws. If you're ever asked to finish a captcha on a web site, be sure that to use the same basic techniques this guy used!

The History of Captchas

Captchas have been around for some time, going all the way back to the 1800s. They're used to verify that someone is human, and so they're nonetheless in use in the present day. But what is the historical past of captchas? And why are they so popular? Captchas were initially designed to forestall automated spamming on websites. They were very simple – you would input text into a box, and if the textual content was mechanically generated, the field would reject it. This was useful as a result of it allowed web sites to automate their spam filters, but it surely also prevented malicious customers from submitting bogus articles. Since then, captchas have advanced into one thing extra. They're still used to prevent automated spamming, but they're also used for different purposes. For example, you may see a Captcha whenever you sign up for a brand new account on a website or if you make a purchase order. These Captchas are used to verify that you're human and not a robot. Captchas are also widespread because they are difficult to unravel. This makes them more challenging for robots than strange text boxes, which makes them more difficult for them to exploit. As well as, captchas will be personalised to make them

Sorts of Captcha

There are a couple of different types of Captchas that can be found on Wikipedia. The most typical kind is the ReCAPTCHA, which is used to stop spamming. Other kinds of Captchas include the Google Captcha and the Microsoft Captcha.

Uses of Captchas

Captchas have become considered one of the most typical security measures used on web sites and applications. They are often used to forestall automated submissions, but they can also be used to ask for person input. Captchas will be used in a number of ways, together with as a form of authentication, to check user input, or to determine whether a user is human or not.

Conclusion

If you're searching for a mind-blowing feat of hacking, look no additional than this man. After spending months meticulously cracking every captcha on Wikipedia, he has managed to compile a complete checklist of all of the Captchas which have been implemented on the website. If you are ever stuck with a Captcha and need a simple resolution, ensure to take a look at this guy's listing!

#captcha AI

[cubannylon05]

Good Oral and Dental Hygiene

Introduction Dental hygiene has not constantly been how this is now, simple! Many people take this kind of daily routine very lightly and experience the consequences afterwards. Sooner or later they will end up in the chair along with a lot of light perfect on their teeth. Today maintaining healthy teeth plus gum is a lot easier when compared to the way what it employ to be rear a few thousand years ago. Many of us can be walking close to today with a mouth full involving bad odors and in some cases a mouth without having teeth if many of us were still practicing oral hygiene the particular old way. Inside of the Beginning... Found in the beginning dental care hygiene was absent. Around 3500 M. C. people pretty much ate their food and went about their own business until the Egyptians invented some sort of form of toothbrush simply by using a stick frayed towards the end to help make it soft. To clean up the teeth typically the soft end regarding the stick has been rubbed contrary to the bubble gum and teeth in order to clean them. This was done without any cleaning material such as our found day toothpaste. In some instances, people used porcupine quill to pick and choose food particles from in between their crooked smile or chewed on the stick in order to clean them.

After around the 1400s Chinese made a significant improvement in the style of toothbrushes. These toothbrushes were made from bamboo crops and bristles through the backs associated with wild boars have been used as brush bristles on the clean. Drawback in using this toothbrush seemed to be that the bristle were too difficult and caused serious bleeding of typically the gum after applying it. To deal with this problem, people at some point replaced the tooth brush bristles with tresses from the backside of horses, which often were much better than boar bristles. Another 400 years would go by before a chemical breakthrough discovery will alter the course of evolution for the toothbrush. It had been not until 38, after the discovery of nylon simply by Dupont in 1937, when Dr. Western world invented the initial toothbrush with synthetic bristles. The essential design and style of the toothbrush has been unaffected after that. Need A lot more than a Toothbrush 1 of the 1st example of individuals using a liquefied as being a mouthwash to be able to freshen their breath was by wash it their mouth using a glass regarding donkey? s milk. The problem is that everyone did certainly not own a donkey. The Romans discovered that will ammonia had great anti-bacteria properties, yet at that time there was clearly only one particular known supply of it. It was seen in urine and the particular main source regarding urine was by human. Therefore the Romans used human urine as mouthwash. Incredible. Today ammonia is definitely still one of the ingredients in mouthwash and contains been replaced by alcohol consumption in some brands. The first antibacterial mouthwash did not appear on the market until 1893. Once again, it was the particular Egyptians who emerged up with the thought of using something within the toothbrush to boost the cleaning regarding the teeth in addition to at the same time remove oral malodor. They made a new powdered mixture contained rock salt, mint, and pepper. The particular mixture was combined with saliva and put on the gum. The downside to using this kind of was the same old problem of bleeding gum. Persians likewise gave it the shot of producing toothpaste. They attempted making toothpaste through the ashes coming from burnt goat? h feet. This also brought to gum hemorrhage and widespread diseases. Obviously, a great deal of people passed away from this. Within the eighteen-century, the British also attempted their hands in making toothpaste. The toothpaste was made associated with brick dust, depressed china, and nitric acid, yes nitric acid! This tooth paste caused serious erosion of the the teeth enamel. I do not think this toothpaste stay all-around long. By the nineteen-century, there was various types of toothpaste available. There was initially a toothpaste found in particular made coming from, amazingly, charcoal powder. They must had to put up some sort of? No smoking? indication somewhere before scrubbing. Can you think about seeing an indication stating, "No smoking combing teeth is within progress"? A lot involving these toothpastes have been designed to make teeth cleaner and whiter and with the same time leave the user with a fresher breath. Barbers Did More Than Minimize Curly hair Despite just about all these developments, oral hygiene and oral hygiene were still in the black ages. Until the particular 1800s, there were not any such thing because a dentist because we know this. In ancient instances people dealt with their particular dental pains until the tooth possibly fell out or until it has been yanked out simply by someone or they will simply died by the infection. Evidence of dental work such as drilling offers been dated as far back as 7000 B. D. in what will be now Pakistan. Analysts are not confident whether the drilling was performed for treatment or beauty purposes. By midsection ages, blacksmiths generally performed the unpleasant task of removing a tooth in addition to most cases typically the end result was a serious injury to be able to the person? s chin where the patient experienced even more pain compared with how before the procedure. These people used the acquainted forceps and some sort of tool called typically the? Pelican?. The? Pelican? tool had the shape of pelican? s beak because viewed from the side. By typically the 1700s they were replaced by a tool named a? dental major? modeled following your tips used in entry doors at that time. In the 1800s if you experienced a toothache, an individual went to your doctor or barber. Barbers often used this particular tool to accomplish dental extractions with disastrous results such as broken jaws and soft tissue damages. He or she would slip this tool over the teeth and twist right up until it came out. These procedures were really painful because local anesthetics, or painkillers, were not used for oral alignment until the mid 1800s. Throughout fact Novocaine was initially used in 1901 as a local anaesthetic in dentistry in addition to before that Crack was first used in 1884 like a painkiller. Other chemicals these kinds of as ether, chloroform, and nitrous oxide were also used regarding general anesthetic but these were highly flammable. Better Oral Hygiene at Last Significant improvements in oral hygiene did not happen right up until the turn of 20th century. Ahead of now many teeth were in fairly bad shape. Tiny was understood regarding the factors behind the teeth decay, so handful of people bother to completely clean their teeth. Right now there were a great deal of brown teeth people jogging around then. Lots of people with discolored or perhaps crooked teeth was required to live with their very own imperfections because they could not afford the dental services accessible. Even wealthy men and women lost all their own teeth when they reached middle age. Replacement smile was still made from wood and were really painful. Look with the portrait regarding George Washington I understand he acquired wooden teeth. Individuals should not have accomplished that much the kiss until very recent times. The situation began to improve any time the first dental care school was established in 1840 plus the first oral hygiene school had been opened in 1913. By 1930, Us drugstores were stocked with toothbrushes. Men and women were beginning in order to take oral cleanliness more seriously. And even a case of bad breath no more meant a chew of donkey? h milk or individual urine. https://www.dentist.com.au/dentist-detail/maylands-dental-centre/A11000254 , a new swig of Listerine and flossing would certainly do the trick in a number of minutes.

#dentist

[wenxin1214]

Evaluation

This is the last project of my Foundation year.

Initially I wanted to design a costume based on the concept of Chinese shadow puppets, as it has always been my vision to bring traditional Chinese elements to my designs in a new way.

But I also came across a great opportunity to design performance costumes for the play A Midsummer Night's Dream. I have always had a strong interest in plays and although A Midsummer Night's Dream is not one of my favourite Shakespearean works (actually my favourite is The Merchant of Venice), I really enjoyed the forest wonderland part of it. As a female designer I have always been interested in female characters; Hipplyta and Titania both seem to me to be feminine and powerful characters. At the same time, as a young designer, I wanted to bring something new to this classic work.

I developed the project through primary and secondary research, costume silhouette research and fabric swatch exploration; I built the moodboard from my research on the characters, used exaggerated silhouettes to enrich the visuals and tried to develop a costume style suitable for the stage. This was my first time designing and making costumes for a stage performance, and I used this project to get a general idea of the process of designing and making costumes, and to try to work out some personal design styles.

I felt more surprised than satisfied with the final outcome. Although I had a hand in everything, I was really pleased with my finished costume; at the beginning I really didn't think I would be able to finish it. I had failed and tried many times throughout the process, and doubted whether I could really pull it off, and even regretted why I had designed such a difficult piece to complete. So I was really happy when faced with a piece that seemed to me to be so well finished.

I must thank Louise, Natalie and Paula for their guidance and help, they always gave me references to help me achieve my goals when I was unsure of how to achieve my designs. I would also like to thank Becky, Wendy and Adela for being so positive about my designs and I'm really looking forward to Adela's show! And of course Dana, who gave me lots of advice on fabric and colour choices, she is a very reliable and enthusiastic partner.

I'm glad that my Sketchbook can show the development process of my research over the past two months or so, I can see that little by little I'm moving in the direction I want to go, and every attempt is valuable to me. But if I had a little more time, I might have tried making headpieces to flesh out the characters a little more.

But this time I wasn't very happy with my blog because most of the time I was so engrossed in making the samples that I always forgot to photograph some of the making process, which resulted in me having a lot of photos that I couldn't show in the blog. I'm really not very good at expressing things in writing, but I'll try my best and hopefully do my best to express what I've been going through while completing this project. From my point of view, I've made a lot of progress from the first project; I'm going to enrich my English vocabulary over the summer, my English is really limiting my expressions and I do sometimes wonder if I'm using the right expressions and I hope I can reduce some of my linguistic mistakes as much as possible.

Overall I am very happy with the outcome of the project, it was a more complete process of developing the idea. Visually, the final costumes are very appealing and I have also used my sketchbook to inspire and help me with the final costume design, creating a new style of Midsummer Night's Dream costume. I'm really looking forward to the show and to the rest of my studies!