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shakil244 · 4 months

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A new philosophy of consumption? Cavemen, dopamine, and the lipstick effect

When Crocs became popular, they even evolved into the so-called "Crocology believers". What kind of psychology is this? This article analyzes the consumer psychology behind the popularity of Crocs and dopamine, and points out that Crocs and dopamine reflect changes in the consumption philosophy and aesthetics of mainstream consumer groups. Let’s take a look.

When the ugly Crocs become popular, you will find that the world is different.

Crocs have been on trending searches recently, and have even spawned the so-called "crocs believers". They claim that once you HE Tuber start wearing Crocs, you will never be able to take them off. If you buy Crocs, you will be stereotyped for the rest of your life. There is a trend that the shoe will last forever.

When I was confused, I vaguely remembered that when it comes to fashion trends, the last time it caused such hot attention and discussion was the dopamine outfit.

Yes, dopamine dressing is a way of stimulating pleasure and positive emotions through fashionable clothing in bright colors, which is full of excitement. Along with "dopamine" marketing, this trend has spread from the fashion circle to the beauty circle and the tea drinking circle, constantly impacting people's mood.

Whether it's Crocs or dopamine outfits, while providing immediate happiness and stimulating emotions, it also reveals that the consumption philosophy embraced by this generation of young people is different from before.

This consumption philosophy starts from the change of consumption mentality and aesthetics.

In fact, what Xiaoseng is discussing here is not so much young people as the mainstream group of this society, because the so-called young people is just a label and reflects more the characteristics of the main consumer groups or dynamic groups in society.

If we have only heard about the lack of consumer confidence and weakening expectations in the past six months, then by the middle of the year we should have felt what these so-called deficiencies and weakening are. Yes, the intuitive reflection is the popularity of Crocs and the popularity of dopamine wear.

When the economy is in recession, "lipstick" will become more popular.

The lipstick effect is well known as an economic phenomenon. What it means is that in an economic downturn, although people have the desire to consume, they will weaken their consumption of bulk commodities such as buying cars, houses, and traveling abroad. Instead, they will buy some cheaper but practical and cosmetic products, because this This product can not only regulate emotions, but also bring psychological comfort.

Paying for pleasure, paying for mood, this is the code for the popularity of Crocs and dopamine outfits.

No need to empty your wallet, it’s cheap, practical, and has additional social significance. You can use your “little spare money” to satisfy great joy and happiness. No matter what, you can’t resist it! This change in consumption mentality and aesthetics is actually very simple. Xiaoseng thinks it is nothing more than two levels:

1. Simple happiness

After experiencing a long period of isolation and depression, returning to ordinary and ordinary daily life has become a basic need deep in everyone's heart, and dressing is an everyday pursuit.

However, dressing is an art. Different clothes require different shoes and different makeup, which takes time and energy. Crocs are almost versatile and can be used in various scenes and occasions. They can be used to go out to sell goods on time, go to class and work on time, go shopping and take a walk in leisure time, and invite friends to go hiking and hiking. You can travel around the world with just one pair of shoes without any pressure. It's light, comfortable and breathable. When I stretch my little feet, I feel like I'm stepping on shit. I really can't take them off when I put them on.

It is this kind of casualness that reduces complexity and simplifies it that makes people happy. In this era of involution and internal friction, why bother with a pair of shoes?

Dopamine makes dressing more in line with the heart. The bright colors directly stimulate the eyes and intuitively show one's bright mood, so that dressing is no longer restricted by various labels in the past, emphasizing the mood of the moment and showing one's attitude instead of caring. The opinions and vision of others.

Simply put, dopamine dressing is a way of emotional experience and self-expression. It helps young people establish a positive attitude and remain courageous in the face of life challenges.

2. Personality of the boss

Being popular requires social skills.

If simple happiness is the basis of the masses, then the personality above is the key social factor that can penetrate all groups and make all types of people infected.

Crocs have countless holes, but these holes are not the same. You can use various decorative buckles to make each hole have its own personality. You can even change different decorative buckles every day according to your mood. Maybe the Crocs themselves are the same, but your Crocs are unique. It is this kind of personalized play that satisfies young people's pursuit of individuality and also reflects their own interests, hobbies and fashion attitude.

What's more, in the Crocs shoe market, new brands and styles are constantly emerging, as well as trendy and cute decorative buckles. No matter what your personality is, you can choose Crocs that suit you and decorate them as you like. .

Pursue happiness and self-expression, be plain and simple, and go above and beyond.

Dopamine can instantly stand out in the crowd with its bright colors and contrasting color mixes. Moreover, Dopamine has a wide variety of outfits, from glasses, hairpins, necklaces, to bags, and mobile phone cases. It is full of personality and has everything you need, so you can always create your own style simply.

In fact, the trend of "dopamine outfits" has transcended the boundaries of gender, age and occupation. You will see bloggers such as "dopamine boys" and "dopamine sweet girls" active on social media, and even the once-disdained aunt aesthetic. Also turned over under the dopamine outfit.

Whether it's Crocs or Dopamine outfits, you don't need to invest too much, and you can have a simple but personalized experience. There is no pressure, no need to expend energy, and no need to worry about the embarrassment of the same.

This is the consumption philosophy of today's young people. In a stressful environment, they still live with beautiful imagination and try their best to live a happy and simple life every day.

#Comedy #Entertainment #News & Politics #How-to & Style #Non- profits & activism #Hindi Songs

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trylkstopocket · 1 year

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Warren Buffett Says What Separates the Doers From the Dreamers Really Comes Down to 1 Easy Choice

Warren Buffett is considered to be one of the greatest investors of all time and is consistently ranked among the richest people in the world. When Buffett offers up recommendations, people's ears perk up.

The Oracle of Omaha once advised people to invest as much as possible in a commodity that anyone, anywhere, can have access to regardless of how much money they have.

In fact, Buffett went as far as saying that one can never invest too much in this indispensable asset.

Yourself.

Buffett once shared with _Good Morning America _one of the best ways to achieve success and be a doer, instead of merely a dreamer:

Investing in yourself is the best thing you can do. Anything that improves your own talents.

Three ways to make the most of your investment

You probably won't get a better return on life than when you invest in your professional development, career growth, education, job skills, leadership competencies, and the like. But investing in yourself may be about the simple, everyday things that most of us so often neglect to keep us functioning at our best. Here are three to consider improving:

1. Invest in improving your health and well-being

Seriously, at this stage of our human existence, with pandemics, recessions, and inflation bearing down on us, self-care should be your starting point. We need to be firing on all cylinders to make the most of every day. As leaders, your customers, employees, communities, and family members depend on you to keep the world "spinning on its axis" in your local context. Think about what area of your mental, physical, or even spiritual health you're neglecting right now. Your plan of action doesn't have to be time-consuming and too demanding. Just be mindful of improving one area of your well-being. For example:

Mental health: Soak up a self-help book (a few pages a day will do), journal, practice mindful meditation, spend more time with the people you love, take paid time off, and choose every opportunity to express your joy to others.

Physical health: Exercise (even if it's just for 10 minutes), cut out junk food and excessive sugar, drink one gallon of water per day, go for more nature walks, and get at least seven hours of shut-eye every night.

Spiritual health: Pray (whether you're religious or not isn't the point; it's meant to connect you to your "higher power"), practice gratitude by writing a gratitude list for as little as three minutes a day, slow things down by practicing more patience, and be kind to others.

2. Invest in feeding your mind

One of the best secrets to Buffett's success is that he is continuously learning. Charlie Munger, the vice chairman of Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway corporation, once said this about Buffett:

Warren Buffett has become one hell of a lot better investor since the day I met him, and so have I. If we had been frozen at any given stage, with the knowledge we had, the record would have been much worse than it is. So the game is to keep learning, and I don't think people are going to keep learning who don't like the learning process.

The pathways for learning these days are numerous and easily accessible, whether it's through conferences, free online courses, podcasts, or soaking up the wisdom of mentors and sages over coffee.

Buffett has a strategy that he follows religiously: Go to bed a little smarter each day. He has literally applied this over his lifetime to gain an enormous competitive advantage.

The way he does it is to simply grow his mind -- something that anybody with a fair amount of steady discipline is capable of doing. Buffett knows that the mind is the most powerful weapon to succeed in business, which is why he spends 80 percent of his working day reading and thinking. When asked how to get smarter, Buffett once held up stacks of paper and said he "read 500 pages like this every day. That's how knowledge builds up, like compound interest."

3. Invest in doing what you love to do

The biggest lesson on improving your self-worth from Buffett stands the test of time and is especially apropos in the age of quiet quitting: Do what you love. Buffett once said:

I get to work in a job that I love, but I have always worked at a job that I loved. I loved it just as much when I thought it was a big deal to make $1,000. I urge you to work in jobs that you love. I think you are out of your mind if you keep taking jobs that you don't like because you think it will look good on your résumé.

Do what you love and stop working in dead-end jobs with little pay and no purpose. Sound familiar? That's the battle cry of today's workers during this Great Reset. While Buffett's comment, you may object, is easy to remark when you're a billionaire many times over, quite truthfully, Buffett was already doing what he loves long before he became successful.

While there are certain risks involved in chasing work or a career you love, consider the payoffs of this investment. When you love what you do, it just doesn't feel like work. Doing what you love is a major contributor to true happiness in life. It will pay endless emotional dividends.

I'll end with Warren Buffett again, who said, "I love every day. I mean, I tap dance in here and work with nothing but people I like. There is no job in the world that is more fun than running Berkshire, and I count myself lucky to be where I am."

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toon-blast-cheats-6p · 2 years

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toon blast cheats trainer CCW&

💾 ►►► DOWNLOAD FILE 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 Here is a guide on the cheat codes for toon blast that you can use and some general tips and tricks that you can use in order to level up. – While there is a great variety of cheating methods for Toon blast on both Android and iOS, generators and hacks for unlimited free coins (money), unlimited. Toon Blast Tips, Tricks & Cheats: Get More Lives And Beat More Levels With This Strategy Guide · Join a Team - Teams become available as soon as. dangerThe pacifists see through all the conflicts in the world Toon Blast Cheats will neither fight nor run away. 9 Who would have thought rockets and bombs could be in the same concept as being cute and cuddly. But that is exactly what Toon Blast is all about! Toon Blast is brought to you by Peak, the same game developer that made Toy Blast. It is a casual puzzle arcade game that is both fun and challenging at the same time. Toon Blast gameplay is a simple and fun. At the start of each level, you are presented with a cluster of boxes bearing different colors. Along with it are other objects and obstacles, such as balloons, crates, and more. Your goal is to destroy these obstacles. But, how do you do this? Just tap on the boxes with the same color that is adjacent to each other. This will also blast off the obstacles near it. Simple, right? But you will be amazed how this becomes challenging really fast. It will not be that easy. But we are here to guide you through. Toon Blast may seem simple at first. However, if you have played the game, you know too well how challenging it is once you start to go through the levels. For this reason, we are giving you our Toon Blast cheats and hints to make things easier. Toon Blast features Boosters which are useful for clearing a lot of blocks and objectives. These are the Rockets, Bombs, and Disco Balls. Do you know that you can make your rockets and bombs even more powerful? By blasting them all together. You can do this by simply tapping on boosters that are adjacent to each other. Here are the combos that you can use to clear more blocks in a single tap. It is often tempting to randomly tap on any block that is adjacent to each other, given that Toon Blast has simple gameplay. However, as you go through the levels, you will quickly discover that this is not the way to go. Players should think two or even three steps ahead when playing this game, just as any strategy game should be played. No matter how irresistible it is. Furthermore, Boosters are formed whenever a cluster of boxes is blasted together. As such, it is better to try to get the blocks to cluster up before you blast them. You may need to blast a few tiles here and there just to get the blocks to cluster up. It also does not mean that you should blast the Booster right away as soon as you acquire them. Try to bring a couple of Boosters together for a bigger combo blast. Lastly, it is also recommended to try bringing the explosion nearer to the objects and obstacles. This is because your usual goal is to clear the level by blasting them on the board. One other feature of Toon Blast is that it allows you to bring in pre-level Boosters. This means that you will start a level with a few Boosters in your cluster of blocks. These can come in handy whenever you are stuck at a difficult level. As mentioned in the Toon Blast cheats above, avoid using these pre-level boosters right away. Doing so will quickly drain the Booster reserves that you may greatly need on higher levels. Instead, try to clear the levels first without the help of the pre-level Boosters. If you find yourself stuck on a certain level, then that is the right time to use them. Joining a team in Toon Blast is not a requirement, but can be advantageous if you do so. This is because joining a team gives you access to different rewards such as boosters, gold, and lives. While all these rewards are essential, perhaps the most important commodity within the game is Life. Lives drain pretty fast as you play the game. The free life that you get every 30 minutes might not be enough. You may find yourself purchasing lives using gold. To get free lives, you can request them from your teammates after joining a team. As soon as you are in a team, you can ask for five 5 free lives from whoever is active in the game. Another tip is to join an active team with a lot of members. Having active members in a team increases your chance to get free lives when you need them. As a good teammate, be sure to return the favor when your teammates ask to send lives as well. Lastly, try to exploit every opportunity to get boosters and other rewards. Boosters are very useful tools especially when you reach higher levels. You might find yourself using them more often as the objectives become more difficult. Then, you will realize that you are quickly burning through your stash of Boosters. So, remember to stock up on Boosters every time you can. You can do this by grabbing Daily Bonuses and opening chests. Also, you will need stars to open chests. These can be accumulated every game. More often than not, you will receive 3 stars whenever you finish a level. That is, as long as you were able to finish the level with the minimum number of moves. However, the more moves you use, the lesser the number of stars you can earn. Once you have accumulated enough, you can then open chests to obtain gold, boosters, and lives. It is easy to quickly discount Toon Blast due to its cartoonish gameplay. But once you start playing the game, you will be surprised at how addictive it can be. This might be because of its cute and cuddly feel, or perhaps due to the challenge that it presents. Either way, you will find yourself hooked. So, if you are looking for a casual game that is both fun and challenging , then this puzzle adventure game is for you. Go on and blast your way through Toon Blast using these tips and tricks today! As you tap that cluster, one of the blocks will change to a Rocket. This can either be oriented horizontally or vertically depending on how they were formed. Horizontal rockets will clear a row, while vertical rockets will clear a column. Bombs are more powerful as they can clear the surrounding blocks once tapped. Specifically, an 8 block radius around it. Disco Ball : The Disco Ball is a bit harder to get since you will need to blast a 9-block cluster to create one. However, it is worth it since it is the most powerful of all the boosters. It can clear all the blocks of the same color from across the board. Booster Combos Do you know that you can make your rockets and bombs even more powerful? This creates a cross-like pattern that clears all the blocks and objects along its path. It clears three 3 rows and three 3 columns in just one blast. Just like a regular Bomb, it clears the area around it. However, instead of clearing just an 8-block radius, it annihilates twice the area as a regular bomb does. Tapping this combo will transform all the blocks with the same color as the Disco Ball into a Rocket. Then, these Rockets will blast off in any direction that it is oriented to. This clears most of the rows and columns in one go. This combo transforms the blocks with the same color as the Disco Ball into a Bomb. This creates a cluster of explosions that clears a lot of blocks and obstacles. This combo clears all the tiles in just one blast. As such, it will help you clear the level in an instant. You can think of it as a nuclear explosion, but in a cute way. Plan Ahead Before You Blast Away It is often tempting to randomly tap on any block that is adjacent to each other, given that Toon Blast has simple gameplay. All free online games that are available to download suit any type of gamer. We've got everything from the family-friendliest games suited for kids to the more action-packed titles for the more mature players. Though it is playable for all ages, this game will surely test your grey matter. In Games.

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goldenflowersupportteam · 2 years

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Buy Perfume Online on a Budget: Our Best Money-Saving Tips

Perfume is one of those items that can easily become a luxury item. However, there are ways to buy perfume online on a budget without sacrificing quality. In this article, we will share our best money-saving tips for buying perfume online.

What to look for in a good perfume

When it comes to finding the perfect perfume, there are a few things to keep in mind. Here are some tips to help you get the best fragrance deal on the web:

-Start by looking for perfumes that have a good scent profile. This means that they should have a variety of notes that work together harmoniously to create a pleasing fragrance.

-Don't be fooled by high price tags. Some of the best perfumes are not outrageously expensive, and you can find them for under $30.

-Consider buying perfume samples before making a purchase. This way, you can sample the different fragrances and choose the one that best suits your personality and style.

How to save on perfumes

Perfume is one of the most popular beauty products, especially among women. However, many people feel that perfumes are too expensive and don't have enough money to buy them. In this post, we will share some tips on how to save on perfumes without sacrificing quality.

The first thing you should do is to try to find specific perfumes that you want and compare prices online. You can also try stores in your area, but be aware that some of them may have higher prices than online retailers. Another way to save on perfumes is to purchase them in bulk. This means buying a larger quantity of the same perfume than what you need. In addition, you can also find discounted perfumes at certain times of the year. For example, during the holiday season, many stores mark down their perfumes by 50%.

Finally, if you're looking for a specific scent but can't afford it, there are ways to make it yourself using cheaper ingredients. For example, you can make your own perfume essence by combining essential oils with alcohol or glycerin. Just be sure to read the ingredients carefully before using them so that you don't end up with an unsafe product.

What to do if you get a bad deal on perfume

If you're ever lucky enough to score a great deal on perfume, don't let it go to your head. Here are our best money-saving tips:

1) Shop around. There are a lot of online retailers that sell fractionally priced fragrances, so be sure to compare prices before making a purchase.

2) Buy in bulk. Not only will you get discounts on perfume products, but you'll also save on shipping costs.

3) Be realistic about what you need. Sometimes we overbuy because we think we'll use the perfume multiple times in one day or week, when in reality we'll only use it once or twice. Think about how often you'll actually use the product and buy accordingly.

4) Don't be afraid to ask for a refund or exchange if the product doesn't work for you. Many online retailers offer a 30-day return policy with no questions asked.

Conclusion

When it comes to buying perfume online, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. First of all, make sure that you are comparing the prices of the same products side-by-side so that you can get the best deal. Secondly, be sure to read the reviews and ratings before making your purchase. And finally, don’t forget to use our money-saving tips! By following these simple guidelines, you can save not only money but also time – two valuable commodities when it comes to shopping for perfume. Thanks for reading!

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cfdtradings · 2 years

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Advantages of CFD Trading

Many people are not familiar with CFD trading, but it can be a great way to make money. With CFD trading, you can trade on the movement of an underlying asset without actually owning the asset. This means that you can trade on the price of stocks, commodities, currencies, and more. Plus, CFD trading offers many advantages that other types of trading do not. In this article, we will discuss some of the advantages of CFD trading so that you can decide if it is right for you.

What is CFD Trading?

CFD trading is an acronym for “contract for difference”. It is a type of derivative trading that allows you to take advantage of the price movements of underlying assets without actually owning the asset itself. For example, if you think the price of gold is going to go up, you can open a CFD trade and buy gold without actually having to own any gold. If the price of gold goes up, you make money; if it goes down, you lose money. CFD trading is a popular way to trade commodities, indexes, and currencies.

The Different Types of CFDs

There are different types of CFDs available to trade, which each have their own advantages. The most popular types of CFDs are commodities, indices, and forex.

Commodities CFDs allow you to trade on the price movements of underlying physical commodities without actually having to own or store the commodity. This type of CFD is ideal for traders who have a strong view on the direction of commodity prices.

Indices CFDs let you trade on the price movements of entire stock market indices, such as the S&P 500 or the Dow Jones Industrial Average. This type of CFD is perfect for traders who want to take a view on the overall direction of the stock market.

Forex CFDs allow you to trade on the price movements of different global currencies pairs. This type of CFD is ideal for traders who have a strong view on the direction of currency exchange rates.

Pros and Cons of CFD Trading

CFD trading has become increasingly popular in recent years, as it offers many advantages over traditional methods of trading. However, there are also some potential disadvantages to be aware of before you start trading CFDs.

The main advantage of CFD trading is that it allows you to take a position on an asset without actually owning it. This means you can trade with leverage, which can lead to greater profits if your trade is successful. However, it also means that your losses can be magnified if the trade goes against you.

Another advantage of CFD trading is that it’s a very flexible way to trade. You can trade long or short, and you can tailor your position to suit your own risk appetite and investment goals.

However, there are also some potential disadvantages to CFD trading that you should be aware of. One is that it’s a complex form of trading and not suitable for everyone. Another is that because you’re trading with leverage, your losses can be greater than your initial investment if the trade goes against you.

If you’re thinking of starting to trade CFDs, make sure you understand the risks involved and always seek professional advice before making any trades

How to Trade CFDs

One of the biggest advantages is that CFD trading can be done entirely online, using an online CDF broker. This means that traders can trade from anywhere in the world, at any time of day or night. Many online CDF brokers have demo accounts, which you can use to practice with before committing to real-world trading, giving you the opportunity to learn different trading strategies.

Conclusion

Overall, CFD trading has a lot of advantages that make it an attractive option for many traders. It offers the potential for high profits, low transaction costs, and the ability to trade on a wide variety of assets. Additionally, CFD trading is relatively simple to understand and can be done completely online. If you're looking for a way to get started in the world of online trading, CFDs may be the right choice for you.

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reid95reid · 2 years

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Healing Emotional Wounds Their Own Origin

As you sow, so shall you reap. This Proverb explains the karma theory and together with reincarnation, the problem of life. Is actually architect of his fortune. If one wants worldly pleasure, he must do good acts. If he brings happiness and satisfies the hunger of poor and needy, he'll almost certainly lead a happy life, if not this life, the following life. Think with what you say to others when you introduce one self. What do you reveal? Think for a point. Do you tell them your name, occupation, and age? A person first describe that you are to someone you have met, a person describe your skills, your good traits, strengths, avert do with a living maybe economic rank? The culture is different from place to put. In some countries the rings of men later becomes their wedding band. However, women get a second ring due to the fact wedding. Men wearing each rings are in practice in locations. origin pro free download have these rings of simple gold bands. Through origin pro crack download , this ring worn on significance hand gets shifted on the left. Some 30 years later in 1937, due to the fact all the doors that Carnegie opened to Napoleon Hill, the book "Think and Grow Rich" was finally published. I promise you, without the intriguing Carnegie - Hill Origin story, we couldn't survive talking about "Think and Grow Rich" here, nor would it have enjoyed the fraction of success it makes. They have an impressive amount of content, every NPC has complete back story. Calling it start pick the exercise your story to start with and begin as there. Truly gives origin pro license because may get play online game loads times and it can be be different, every time something happens or I make a choice I wonder what would have happened plainly did another thing. I will defiantly play this app more than once. All messages have headers with data containing information of the host the mail was sent from and the IP address of precise sender. Inside of header, the IP address is found as contacts. For example: 127.0.0.1. needed in order to email a great IP Locator, or a "WHOIS" explore. It should be noted that this one commodity of cotton did bring great wealth to The red sea. As a result, Europe's interest in Egypt's cotton grew this means that single crop, it tied the raw material of cotton to European development. It was Mohammed Ali who controlled the tremendous sums money from this cotton secretion. Through the production of cotton, a credit system was brought to Egypt. Banking companies of Europe wanted Mohammed Ali excellent successors to loan money from them at extremely high interest results. The cotton production was not enough to industrialize Egypt, it needed more and Europe was there to provides you with the funds. In response to borrowing the eu money to modernize Egypt, it found into debt with Europe but this a debt that was manageable.

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addictivities · 3 years

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Half crazy person from earlier here. I think you are right, normal people are productive because they would not survive well in this society otherwise. I am like you. I just want to make art and be happy. I personally want to spend a lot of my time observing nature as well, but not as a part of a job. I don’t want anything to do with the 9 to 5 rat race. Though I am an active and energetic person. Despite this I am called lazy and unmotivated by the people I know.

i don’t think they wouldn’t survive, it’s just the way industrialized societies came to be: you are forced into the system to keep it going. but if you realize it, ‘productivity’ as a concept in contemporary societies isn’t just working a 9 to 5, it is constant creation of ideas and things, and keeping up with new information, and putting your work outthere (at least as an artist) to gain recognition

Being productive now in contemporary societies means « not letting a single second of your time to be wasted in something that isn’t “good enough” for what you’re working on, no matter what it is » of else you’ll blame yourself for “slacking off” or “being lazy” because we’re convinced that it’s our fault that we cant keep up with how fast things change and stuff happens.

You and I as artists can’t really escape that fact either; unless we become hermits and learn to hunt animals and raise crops somewhere which is also not a simple task at all. We paint and draw and we hope to get income from it somehow because we need to survive. Or at least i do, I understand i cant escape the fact of the social constructs around me and that money is necessary to get the basic commodities and to keep working to get them.

What it means to be an artist now it is not what it meant in the 19th century; we both know in our souls we just want to draw and paint whatever and be satisfied with it and that’s how it should be honestly but it isn’t that simple now.. and maybe that’s why artist “seem lazy” when it’s actually constant hell to look for new creative ways to portray ideas that already seem to exist and nothing seems original at all

#i #bro I didn’t mean to rant goddamn #had to stop because i lost my train of thought #and dont get me wrong i literally would die for my work after all it’s all i know

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thesevillereport · 3 years

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In Focus: The Robinhood IPO

The Robinhood IPO is getting closer to becoming a reality. The popular trading app filed its IPO paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission in late March.

A Robinhood IPO at one time seemed like a no-brainer investment idea. The company displayed rapid growth and was able to easily attract new stock market participants. In 2018, four years after starting, Robinhood hit 4 million opened accounts; E-Trade by comparison had 3.7 million accounts and had been in business for over 30 years.

Bad Timing Kills More Than Jokes

Not too long ago everything seemed primed for Robinhood to do nothing but succeed in the public markets, but the company continued to delay their IPO to their own detriment.

In 2019, Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade, and ETrade all announced commission free trading on their platforms. This was a big hit to Robinhood's business model. Robinhood's commission free trading allowed the firm to attract customers that older more established Wall Street firms didn't want. By going commission less, Schwab and others declared that they now wanted those customers, and were willing to compete for them. People wondered at the time if Robinhood could thrive in an environment where it was no longer the disrupter, but the disrupted. An IPO during this time may not have worked out well for the company.

In 2020, the pandemic and being isolated at home brought a fresh new wave of money, traders, and success to Robinhood, but that would be cut short by the suicide of a 20 year old trader, who took his own life after mistakenly believing he had lost nearly $750,000 on Robinhood. The suicide caused outrage amongst many who accused Robinhood of gamifying the serious business of trading, which caused the young trader to dabble in trading practices he did't fully understand. The unfortunate suicide stopped any momentum Robinhood could've used to manage a successful IPO.

In 2021, Robinhood made the news for all the wrong reasons again, after cutting traders off from participating in one of the biggest trades of the new year. As the stock prices of companies like GameStop (GME) and AMC (AMC) were rising in early 2021, Robinhood investors were amassing fortunes, and big Wall Street firms who sold those stocks short were suffering massive losses. Robinhood put a pause on the purchasing of GameStop and other stock names that were rallying, and the timing of the event came across as if Robinhood was helping the big Wall Street firms catch their breath while screwing over their customers.

Ultimately what we came to find out was due to the excessive amount of trading in names like GameStop, Robinhood had a money problem and needed to raise capital. Because this wasn't expressed to the public soon enough, Robinhood became public enemy number one to its users and to people who didn't trade or invest in stocks in any capacity. (Here'sBill Burr's take on the GameStop Robinhood mess)

Robinhood has experienced enough to leave it beaten, battered, and bruised, but it is still standing, and that's likely because people hate change. The Robinhood Stock Traders group on Facebook remains very active as does the Robinhood communities on Reddit, even after the company was declared public enemy number one. This is why I strongly believe Robinhood as a public company will be a success over the long term.

I Go Waaaayyy Back

I have been trading since the times when you had to call a broker, speak to someone, and pay a hefty commission to trade. I've seen the business of discount brokerages start out very hot with dozens of companies and then dwindle down to a handful (Ever heard of Scottrade, Harris Direct, TradeKing, Sharebuilder, Olde?). The point is I've seen a lot of things on Wall Street, I've seen what many firms, full service and discount have to offer, and yet I often recommend Robinhood to people who are ready to take their first steps in the market. The reason why I do so is because of it's gamey nature. The app is very simple to use, and I think it does a good job of keeping things simple for beginners.

I've been an E-Trade customer since 2005, and I love what the platform has grown into, but for a newbie, it can be overwhelming. There's a lot of information provided by E-Trade to its users, and if someone just starting out only wants to open a trading account to get in on the GameStop move, an E-Trade or TD Ameritrade level account isn't necessary.

I believe the simplicity of Robinhood for first time investors is where Robinhood will win now. I also think if it can grow into a platform like E-Trade and TD Ameritrade, this will allow it to keep more of its matured customers over the long term, which should allow it to win in the future. And this aspect of the company shouldn't be underestimated.

New Money Over Here!

After the market's rapid rise from late March 2020 to the end of the summer in 2020, there was a fresh set of newly minted Robinhood millionaires and hundred-thousandaires who bet their unemployment and stimulus money on stocks and options that paid off big. Larger brokerage firms began to advertise to this new group of money wielders with features like wealth management and other things that Robinhood couldn't provide.

With Ethereum and Dogecoin's impressive runs, the market is set to mint a fresh set of millionaires, Robinhood will need to develop new features and additional trading and investment tools to keep that money from fleeing to other brokerage firms that offer more.

Do it, Do it Now...

We're several months past the GameStop debacle, and this provides a nice opening for Robinhood to go public before another major event breaks that's not in their favor.

As an investor, I love what Robinhood has been able to accomplish with the little that they offer. There is room to offer so much more like Pink sheet listings, bond trading, commodities trading, and/or IRA accounts to name a few. They could also expand their crypto offering, which I believe would bring even more people to the platform.

There is so much room to grow for Robinhood, and because of that it will be hard to ignore the company's stock on the public markets if the price is right.

The look of what a financial institution is rapidly changing. People are securing mortgages and car loans on apps. Robinhood is just an investment app now, but with a few lines a code it could become so much more (assuming they meet all regulatory requirements). Love them or hate them, Robinhood will be around for a long time, and I'm bullish about their IPO.

#Stocks #Investing #Money #Robinhood #Robinhood Investing #Tech #TechStocks #FinTech #Financial Education #Money Education #Investment Education #InvestmentApps #Investments #Wall Street #Stock Market #cryptocurrencies #IPO

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jesicas · 3 years

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What Are The Best Ways To Learn Forex Trading In 2021

The tremendous growth that online forex trading has shown has completed thousands of traders to invest in currency pairs over recent years. If you are among those thinking to commence the forex trading journey, this obvious question must strike your mind. What are the best ways to learn forex trading?

Also, it is crucial to understand the mechanism of the forex market, tactics, methods, strategies, terminologies before entering. These things allow you to manage your risk more efficiently and enhance your win ratio for trades. Thus, pushing you towards success. So, let’s start this idea book containing six best ways to learn forex trading.

The importance of learning forex before entering the market?

It is an era of expansion and innovation. Technology is changing each passing day. The ways we adopted in the past are no more valuable. This advancement is not restricted to work or occupation but has affected the way of earning money. Today many middle-aged and young people are choosing several intellectual ways to expand their wealth.

Working and making capital over the internet has become popular and a major source of income. The financial market today is the most accessible and popular income source for people. Almost all of you must have heard the team’s trader, trading and forex. However, it is the fact that you cannot start with the forex market with little knowledge.

Forex trading is extremely volatile, and this brings a large number of profit opportunities for neophytes. However, these profit opportunities bring along chances of losses too. If you are thinking of starting or learning forex trading, keep in mind that even seasoned investors can lose money.

So, it is better to risk the money which you can afford to lose. You should also keep funds reserved to enable you to trade for several days even if you are facing a series of losses.

Moreover, for trading the forex market efficiently, it is vital to educate yourself before stepping in. There are some best ways to learn forex trading, including articles, websites, books etc. Also, there are other things over the internet, which you can utilise to expand your knowledge. Reading these helps you manage risk, making forex trades and understand how the forex market works. Once you command fundamentals, no one can stop you from becoming a successful forex trader.

Best ways to learn forex trading

So, till now, you must have understood the need to learn trading, both in practice and theory. So, it is right time we must look into some best ways to learn forex trading.

1) Self-education

Individual study is the most accessible and one of the best ways to learn forex trading and market fundamentals. This kind of technique reflects that you need to go by each concept yourself all the ways, from starting to the end. For this, the internet is the best solution. It contains numerous sources through which you can expand your knowledge.

There are many pdfs, books, articles, and word files to learn. You just need a strong and uninterrupted internet connection to download these files or learn online. But, there is a single problem associated with this type—the internet contains both fake and authentic information. So, you must check it before starting.

2) Forex trading seminars

Forex trading seminars and stock market seminars are also some of the easiest and best ways to learn forex trading for novice traders today. All kinds of trading gurus and investment professionals conduct multiple seminars, conferences, and training courses for novice investors.

In their free tutorial or lesson, they generally narrate their own success stories as investors, how much they made and how easy it is for investors to profit in the market. You can also attend their paid course and seminar held at regular intervals.

These seminars are useful for traders, but at the same time, they generally aim to describe specific problems rather than at guiding the visitors to trade currency pairs.

However, it is not such that you can’t learn something useful at such a place. Brokers generally concede these types of seminars for their users. The speakers there are specially invited from trading schools and educational institutions.

3) Individual training

Yes, you can also learn forex by attending several training courses. This kind of trading education is more or less similar to lessons at university or schools. You require to contact a broker and ask them to allow you to visit a forex training course.

There are two leading brokers whose educational courses are commendable and provide an ultimate gateway for trading.

ROinvesting courses: ROinvesting is a legitimate broker and widely known for its educational hub. These include articles, videos, tutorials, courses etc. The broker’s courses cover everything from basic to advanced level in a simple but effective language.

HFTrading courses: One of the best ways to learn forex trading is through full-fledged courses of renowned HFTrading. The broker’s education hub is designed concerning all levels of traders in mind. Professional market experts write financial articles.

4) Online training videos

The next way to master forex trading is through online training videos. It is the most accessible source for forex traders. You can get almost every topic explained in detail in these video trading lessons in both specialised and basic ways.

So, what makes these video lectures one of the most accessible and excellent ways? Today, there are numerous internet resources and people who place their financial videos. You can get everything through these videos, including market analysis trading courses, trading ideas, forex trading recommendations, exact entry and exit points and the type of trade suitable for you.

Moreover, you get video lectures, forex trading webinars, and trading tutorials are the only methods to learn forex market in a technoscientific licensed educational establishment if they are in another country or city.

However, a novice can find it a bit hard to find what detail or video is right and what information is useless. The reason for this is that there are thousands of videos on the forex market alone. So, you can start with a suggestion from your experienced friend or analysis.

5) Websites

Many websites are doing extremely well in providing traders with the right knowledge. One of these is fxreviews.best. This website’s major aim is to break the myths about the forex market and push traders towards success. It uploads not only forex trading blogs but also stock trading, crypto trading, commodities trading articles. It is a master in delivering well-researched information that too with simple language.

You get the best blogs on this site every week. Once you start reading, you will find change in your trading style and profit size as the entire material is written by experienced financial analysts. Moreover, with fxreviews.best you get the top and authentic broker list to start your forex journey.

6) Books

As global economies and related currency prices vary depending on a wide variety of things, it makes fast-paced, thrilling trading conditions perfect for day traders for gains. However, this is not suitable for every trader and needs commitments, practice and mental fortitude.

Moreover, it also needs a general knowledge of technical indicators, analysis, market psychology, chart patterns, and many. The books are one of the best ways to learn forex trading and its tactics.

The list provided below contains some of the best forex trading books. These books can make you learn how to start trading currency pairs and become successful in trading.

Currency Trading for Dummies: Brian Dolan and Kathleen Brooks are the authors of this book

Day Trading and Swing Trading the Currency Market: Technical and Fundamental Strategies to Profit from Market Move: Kathy Lien is the authors of this book

Currency Forecasting: A Guide to Fundamental and Technical Models of Exchange Rate Determination: Michael Rosenberg is the authors of this book

How to Make a Living Trading Foreign Exchange: A Guaranteed Income for Life: Courtney Smith is the authors of this book

Forex Trading: The Basics Explained in Simple Terms: Jim Brown

7) Demo account

You must have learned this thing over time that nothing surpasses experience, and if you are a novice and wish to learn forex trading, experience is the supreme and sole teacher. If you look into the advice provided by professionals and analysts, you will find that they emphasise opening a demo account. It is perfect for building a good fundamental and technical foundation. But what is a virtual or demo account?

A demo account is a free account offered by the broker. It is similar to other accounts and has all features like them. The only difference between a regular and demo account is that you get virtual cash to trade in the latter. Its other features include:

The financial service provider does not charge any fee for this account. However, you get access for a limited period.

Forex virtual or demo accounts can further help investors master the trade and learn how popular platforms register transactions for various purposes such as tax.

Demo accounts are not real, but they can surely help traders practice trading, risk management, strategies before entering the real trading world.

It is usually an excellent idea to practice at least 40 demo trade orders to understand how vital features such as stop-loss order works.

Every trading platform is different from one another. Thus, even seasoned investors require to learn the functions and workings of these platforms before investing with real money.

How to begin learning the fundamentals of financial trading?

The above part of the article brings some best ways to learn forex trading. This part will explain how to begin trading in the financial markets if you have not opted for special currency pairs education courses. In short, we will make you understand self-taught financial market trading.

1) There are several vital questions that you should answer before entering the financial market.

What are your profit objectives?

What is the purpose of trading?

How much money are you ready to spend on trading?

How much time can you spend on trading?

Are you ready to risk your money?

What amount can you risk?

2) Once you get answers to these questions, you need to define the kind of financial market you wish to trade.

3) Choose a trading platform and brokerage firm. Remember that the firm you have chosen is reliable and legit. A well-regulated firm is often regarded as safe for trading. So, check for the regulation, license number and certificate before moving ahead with the broker. ROinvesting is a regulated firm working under the guidelines of CySEC. Also, go with the broker, which offers a wide range of tradable assets.

4) Look into the function of trading instruments and the basics of forex market trading provided by your financial service provider. For this, you can use the course offered by your provider, online training, or video lessons. Try to go through the principles of currency price, what decides their market price swings, functions of trading instruments.Moreover, pay heed to the basic terminologies such as trend, order, trade, leverage, lot, spread, commissions, swap, long, quote, short.

5) Check the account types offered by the broker and open the one which suits you best. It is always good, to begin with, a demo account rather than the real ECN account. The reason for this is trading requires money, and with it comes psychological stress and mental tension. More than 75% percent of investors lose their money or take the wrong decision while trading because they cannot control their emotions, such as fear, greed, and excessive excitement.

6) Starting trading with a virtual or demo account is one of the best ways to learn forex trading. It provides you with virtual cash. Thus, it suppresses the feeling of stress and fear. Even in case of overexcitement, you will not lose anything. We have discussed other benefits of using a demo account while trading in the above part of the article.

7) Decide the amount of capital you wish to risk or trade with and move ahead. It will be the time to apply theoretical learning and check its potential. Go for trades with minimum lot size and check how the financial market responds and how the techniques work.

8) Trading by employing historical data. When the time period for that you are assigned for training finishes, analyse the outcome. If the outcomes are positive and you made a massive amount, you have the potential to go ahead. There are multiple opportunities, study further to make your fundamentals more strong. But, in case the outcomes are negative, you need to figure out the problems or faults. If you face losses due to technical issues, no worries, you are doing well, but it is high time if the issues are other.

The Bottom Line

So, till now, you must have received the answer to the question raised at the article’s starting. What are some best ways to learn forex trading? The task is surely difficult; the journey is long. But once you clear all these hurdles and build a strong foundation, no one can stop you from attaining heights.

Many traders lose hope in the middle of the game and quit. It will definitely pay you nothing. Either go head with greater confidence or do not start if you find this arena far beyond your reach. Several popular brokerage firms assist traders during the entire trade. You can opt for these trusted firms to mitigate your tensions. It includes firms like HFTrading, ROinvesting, Global TradeATF, T1markets and several others.

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halequeenjas · 4 years

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It’ll Cost an Arm and a Leg || Alain & Jasmine

TIMING: Current PARTIES: @carbrakes-and-stakes & @halequeenjas SUMMARY: Alain meets with Jasmine to discuss selling his home and buying a new one.

Who could have known that the hardest part of going to Ms. Hale’s real estate agency would not be the crutches (he had abandoned the idea of using a wheelchair after his first encounter with the sidewalk), but rather running into people he vaguely knew from his job as a mechanic, and who just had to ask him how he was ? Alain who did not want to be late, and had, even when he had two legs, never liked making small talk with people, had to find a polite way to tell them to fuck off and leave him be. After all, he had never really had a thing for caring about other people’s business, and he wanted people to feel the same about him. The less they knew, the better. And so, he had to use this trick that managed to make anyone feel uncomfortable and like you did not care : calling them by the wrong name. It was a simple trick that allowed you to politely indicate that these people were not your friends and that you would not talk with them any longer. Obviously, this was not the attitude he would have with Jasmine Hale. She had to know a few things about him in order to help him sell his house and purchase a new one.

Pulling the door open with the crutches was another hassle, and the man found himself smiling at that stupid door with the most annoyed grin on his face.

Coming to the office and working on real estate was a welcome distraction to the sheer volume of ghost related problems that seemed to be piling up on. Jasmine knew her ability meant it was her duty to protect people from malevolent spirits and help some pass on, but it got exhausting after a while. Real estate was easier. Lives weren’t put on her shoulders when she was showing properties and helping people find their dream homes. Plus, the pay out was a lot more money for a lot less stress. This particular morning she had been preemptively working on advertisements and open house dates for Alain’s home. Finding him a townhome he liked would be no problem. She had a few lined up she was sure fit both his budget and lifestyle. These were solutions she could easily provide with no sweat off her back. Not that she could do much of her other work with her arm currently broken. She’d be putting herself and others at risk if she even tried. So she’d knock out as much real estate work as she could. She’d been looking through some listings when she heard some struggle with the door. She was quick to get up and open the door for him with her good arm. The arm in the black cast gestured for him to come in. “Hello,” she greeted with a bright smile, “You must be Mr. Babineaux. Please make yourself comfortable. Would you like some coffee or tea? I have some water bottles in here as well.”

“Thank you,” Alain gave the door one last annoyed glance before turning his attention toward the amicable woman. “The leg gave it away, huh?” He asked, walking in with the help of his crutches. He was still not used to walking with those, but already more comfortable than he had been when he got out of his hospital room about thirty minutes ago. Several times, on his way to here, he found himself repeating to himself that this would be okay, that he would be okay. Everyone had kept on assuring him that it was possible to live a normal life even with a whole limb gone, and he had decided to listen to them. What other choice did he have? Giving up had never been in his nature, but this one hardship seemed to have been the one droplet of water that had managed to make him drown. He was grateful for the people that had checked on him, Kaden, Erin, Blanche, and even Evelyn. The thought brought a thin smile to him. Sitting down by her desk, he looked over at Ms.Hale, a perplexed look on his face. He could have coffee, right? “Coffee sounds good,” he nodded, putting his crutches to rest against the arm of the second chair. He did not really want to leave his countryside home, but there was something inevitable here. He could not afford to live alone, away from all commodities. “Thank you,” he added, eventually. It was not so much about the coffee, but rather about the fact that she had been so swift. Maybe he had expressed anxiety in his message, or maybe she was just effective like that. Either way, he was thankful.

Though Jasmine hadn’t known about the leg thing prior to their meeting, the first floor home made more sense now. Not that she loved stairs either, but walking up stairs with 5-inch heels was way different than walking up stairs with crutches. At least she imagined so. While she was curious, she wasn’t going to ask too many questions about it. She laughed slightly at his joke and retorted, “Well, my only other appointment this morning is Mrs. Belsky and you don’t really look like an elderly Russian woman.” There was a humorous grin on her face as she turned around to pour some coffee for her client. She always kept a hot pot going so she'd have something to offer anyone who visited her office. She admittedly also loved the smell. There was a bit of a struggle as she was still getting used to the cast on her arm, but she managed to pour a mug without making a total mess. With a mug in her good hand and a cup of cream and sugar packets in the other, she took careful steps back toward her desk. She was almost home free when she felt herself become unsteady. She caught herself well enough to not spill hot coffee all over herself or Alain, but she did manage to send her bag falling from her desk. Internally, she cursed herself as the loud clang of iron rods hit the floor with salt spilling out after them. She let out a sigh and set the coffee down in front of Alain. “Well, if the coffee wasn’t going to wake you up. That surely did.” She collected the iron rods, salt, and assorted tubes of lipstick that fell out of her purse from the ground. “Sorry about that. Promise I’m not some sort of freak or anything. Doing a couple of crafts and repairs for a showing I have later today.” That sounded legitimate enough.

“I knew I should not have gone out without a scarf to cover my hair,” Alain’s smile dropped, as if he was feeling remorse for failing at dressing like an old Russian lady. “Maybe next time,” leaning back in the chair, he looked as she poured coffee. He had no idea of how it was that she had broken her arm, and he wouldn’t have been surprised to hear that this was not due to her falling down the stairs. He just tried to recall, now, just how many times he had broken his arm, his leg, through all these years. It seemed like he had stopped counting at 10. Who could blame him? There was something inevitable here. And there was no point to keep counts as the number would just keep on growing. The sound of metal hitting the ground brought him out of his thoughts. How long had he been lost in his thoughts this time ? Could not have been more than a few seconds, right? “I… right, thank you for … waking me up,” his voice faltered as he glanced at the things scattered on the floor. Salt and iron rods. Right. Not exactly typical. His brows furrowed, and he glanced back at the realtor with a perplexed look in his eyes. “That’s a lot of salt. Probably a lot of lipstick too. Not that I’m an expert. We don’t have that in Russia,” he was not here to discuss why she got hurt, or who she really was, just like he was not here to discuss his injury and how he got it. “So, how are we going to do this?”

Jasmine had an amused grin on her face as Alain went along with her joke. In any other situation she’d make a joke about how he was far too handsome to be an elderly woman, but given the professional setting she simply laughed along. While flirting with clients probably could have gotten her farther in some cases, Jasmine prided herself on her professionalism among many other things. Though her little display of accidentally spilling ghost weapons and makeup out of her purse was far from. She’d never broken any bones before and outside of clashing with literally every single outfit she owned, the cast was making it hard to navigate. She recovered quickly with a bright smile and responded, “Any time.” The mention of salt and lipstick was only mildly concerning. What possible excuse could she have for the salt without him thinking she was one of those new age fake wiccan chicks? At least he said it in a somewhat joking manner so she laughed along. “You never know when you’ll have a lipstick emergency. Have to have a shade for every outfit.” Maybe if she just glossed over the salt thing, they could move on to a subject that didn’t make her seem like a total White Crest freak. Thankfully, he was asking about the process now which was a lot easier to go over. “So, I do already have some listings I’ve picked out for you to check out that I think fit the bill of what you’re looking for. I’ll be setting up an appointment for you to meet with a mortgage broker so we can get you preapproved so we can immediately put an offer in if you find a place you love. As far as selling your home goes, I’ll be coming by with my photographer so we can get some top tier photos for the listing I’ll put in the MLS. Do a few open houses. I do like to stage the area so I may do some little touches here and there around the house. Always have a vanilla candle going during showings too. Makes it’s smell home-y.”

“I really don’t relate to that, but I’m going to trust your word on this,” he cleared his throat, coughing lightly in his hand, although it was clear that he just had a smile to hide here. She had not made any comments on the salt, but considering salt was something mostly used by hunters, he had no business asking too many questions although he did wonder what it was she dealt with. As far as he was concerned, his only experience with salt had been his attempt to keep a mara away. Attempt, and success. The subject went back to the house seeking question, and he stopped thinking about hunting then. Or at least, for a few. He wondered if asking to be away from cemeteries was suspicious or not, but figured that it was a legit worry for some people, not having a room with a view on tombstones. “I forgot to precise, but I really would rather not have a view on a cemetery. We have so many in town that it might make it a lot harder, but… that’s just so morbid, you know?” Sure. Morbid. He had always been great at pretending to be normal, but never a great liar, and he hoped that she wouldn’t ask more questions about this. He doubted that she would, but that still worried him. Many things did, but losing a leg did put things into perspective. “Okay, that sounds great. I’ll have a couple hospital bills to pay, but that’s alright,” he was speaking mostly to himself here, thinking aloud. “I’ll start packing some things as soon as I get home. The house will look less cluttered. I suppose that’s better. I’ll try to keep the dogs out of the house. They have a way to make the place smell home-y in a different way,” he wrinkled his nose. He missed his dogs so much and he could not wait to see them again. It was nice to know that Kaden and Nell had been taking care of them, but it was not the same as seeing them.

“Right, of course. No lipstick in Russia after all,” Jasmine joked with an amused smirk on her face. At least he wasn’t pushing on the salt thing and she much preferred to keep their little joke going. It seemed he was likely clueless as to why someone would be carrying salt around anyhow. Crafting seemed legitimate enough. They were now focusing on the purpose of this meeting and it was much preferred. Jasmine took a seat in her leather desk chair and listened as he spoke. All his requests seemed easy enough though it was curious that he noted the whole cemetery thing. Not that she wanted to live near one either. Last thing she wanted was to see ghosts right outside her window. “I think I can manage to find something without a cemetery view. I’m not a big fan of them either. Definitely a little morbid and home should be cozy not morbid.” She quickly jotted that down on her notepad just to be sure she didn’t forget. Not that she usually chose places near cemeteries. Well, occasionally she did. There was always some young white couple who wanted their home to be spooky which she never understood. Who wanted to literally live in a Stephen King novel? Not her, that was for sure. As he mentioned the dog smell, she refrained from scrunching her nose and nodded slowly. “That’d be perfect. Generally better to not have them in the house during showings anyhow. Some people are afraid of dogs of all things. I’m sure a few candles would give us just the vibe we’re going for. Maybe I’ll do maple candles, that’s totally a remote home vibe.” Touching on the previous thing he said, she added, “I wouldn’t worry too much about the hospital bills affecting your preapproval. Those don’t generally impact credit. I hope they weren’t too bad though. I know medical expenses here can be through the roof.” She thought briefly of Nell and Bea and their current medical debt predicament. “If you do end up needing some debt consolidation for those, I know a guy… Actually, I pretty much know a guy for everything. Anyway, did you want to take a peek at some of the listings I thought may work for you and the pups?”

“I would rather avoid having a morbid house, yes. That’s what I was looking for when I renovated the house I live in, something that felt like home,” and somewhere lost in the middle of nowhere, where he would have quiet and peace for whatever he chose to do there. Through the years, a few vampires had shown up by his doorstep, and you could not afford to have the neighbors watch you drag them inside, could you? That was simply out of the question. With a pleasant smile, Alain glanced away from the realtor to have a look around the office. The place was tidy and there was something about the way it had been arranged that made him feel uncomfortable. Of course, Ms Hale’s charming demeanor helped as well.

“Of course, I’ll make sure to move their belongings to the garage, and to have them with me at work during showings,” he probably would have commented on the candles more if it was not for the fact that he had not a damn clue about those. The last time he used candles was when the power was cut for a few hours a few years ago, and he could not find the camping lamps. And you were safe to assume that those emergency candles had no scent to them. The idea of putting perfume in his house seemed a bit too much to him, but if people would buy it faster that way, then he would go with it. She knew her job better than he did, this much was sure. “I know a guy for everything.” His tone, as he repeated that sentence, was not quite the same as hers. His, was perplexed, as if he questioned what that could mean. “Well that’s ominous. You don’t seem the type to work for a crime lord but you never know in this town,” leaning forward, he glanced over at her monitor, wondering if she was going to show her something there, of if she had printed out something for him. Maybe both.

“Thank god. As much as I’m willing to oblige the weird hipster trend of spooky houses, it’s not my preferred place to be,” Jasmine said with a laugh. Usually those houses had ghosts galore and it always made her skin crawl. She got rid of them or warded off the homes for the sake of safety, but it still left her entirely perplexed. How could someone just want to live in a haunted house? Not that all ghosts were malicious by any measure, but the more they hung around and decided they didn’t like that you re-painted, the more unstable and dangerous they became. Not that these people had any actual understanding of that. At least this Alain guy seemed to have some actual sense even living off in a remote part of town had never been her cup of tea. There was a huge difference between enjoying your privacy and having a dangerous morbid fascination with the more occult aspects of the town. Not that she avoided hauntings, but she didn’t want to live with them.

“Perfect, if this weekend works for you, I’ll come by and get the photos done,” Jasmine answered with a relaxed grin on her face. Of her current clients, Alain seemed to be fairly easy going and it’d be simple enough for her to find what he was looking for. She set her notepad down on her desk and rummaged around her drawer for a card for the mortgage broker that she set near her for the time being as she noticed a shift in his tone. Her face was confused for a moment as she realized that her statement did in fact sound a little ominous. A laugh filled the otherwise still air and she responded, “Oh, god no. I definitely didn’t mean it like that. I’ve just lived here my whole life and I’m well connected so hence… a guy for everything. You know, like handy work, business, or like tech-y things.” Also, had people for magic and muscle but that just sounded crazy. She recovered quickly and had her signature smile back on her face. “Please, me and crime don’t mix. Do I look like I could survive in prison? Or that I’d be caught alive in a polyester jumpsuit?”

“Oh so that’s a trend among hipsters, alright,” Alain’s raised eyebrows and small smirk told a lot regarding his opinion on hipsters although he could not recall ever meeting a single person who approved of these people. “Well, good for you if they want those houses, they can’t be easy to sell,” his eyebrows raised further more as he got even more exasperated by some people’s stupidity. Jasmine probably would think that he had a strong distaste for hipsters and cemeteries, which he did not really mind. There was nothing weird with that, right?

“I don’t really go to work these days, but I’ll be home this weekend,” he nodded to further his agreement, smiling back as he thought of all the crap he would have to hide in boxes before Saturday came. Great. Sounded like a great time. Then, he did not have much of a choice, unless he wanted whoever visited the house to know about his strange passion for all things undead and medieval weaponry. Far from ideal, really. Her laughter caught him off guard, and his eyebrows furrowed as he locked eyes with her. Well, at least he had made her laugh, that was something. Shaking his head, he raised his hands apologetically, “look, in a town like that one, don’t blame me for having several questions about this statement,” she was truly easy to speak to. He wondered if this was genuine, or all part of an act meant to sell more. It might have been a mix of both. “I don’t know, I don’t know you enough to assume that. I might be surprised,” he gave her a shrug, although her last comment brought a deadpan look to his face, “I’m sure you could pull it off, not a lot of people can pride themselves with that,” he grimaced, “so I’m guessing you didn’t break your arm in an underground fighting ring? How disappointing,” he sighed.

“I can’t say I get it, but they have some weird fascination with things being haunted or occult without any actual understanding,” Jasmine responded with an amused grin on her currently red lips. It seemed like he had the same distaste for people who were obsessed with haunted houses though Jasmine’s issue was more with people endangering themselves without even realizing it. Probably better to not mention that. That was a whole can of worms that would likely make her appear crazy if he wasn’t already privy to the more unsavory aspects of the town. “Odd trends have their perks, I suppose.” It wasn’t like haunted houses always looked haunted anyway.

“That makes sense,” she said with a small nod and a sympathetic gaze, “I’m sure adjusting after the accident hasn’t been easy. I can help out with tidying up and clearing clutter if the clutter isn’t too heavy. If you’d like, that is.” Did she just offer to help clean? Was this some sort of out of body experience? She didn’t even do her own tidying, she paid Lauren for that. Too late to rescind the offer now. It’d look bad and this client was both selling and purchasing through her. That commission could easily fund some holiday fun. Maybe if she went right back to the joking, he’d forget she’d made the offer? “You make a fair point, but I can go ahead and tell you prison and I would not get along. Aside from that, I’m totally cool with the whole following the laws thing. They’re there for a reason.” As much was true. Plus, doing the right thing was always better. Her parents could have taken a lesson from her on that one. She laughed at the idea of her in a crime-fighting ring. “I’m flattered really. Afraid the real story isn’t quite that exciting. Just a bit of a clumsy moment with a tree.” That she was thrown into by a ghost. Semantics, really. “I’d look better in than most. Would still rather not. My bed is far too comfortable to give up for a prison cot.” Was that a good recovery? She didn’t know. She liked to think the easiness of their back and forth kept him from being too suspicious.

“Well their loss. This town has a way to remind you that stories are told for a good reason,” he shook his head and sighed. Alain doubted that the stories he had been told as a child were the same as the one most people had heard, the ones that she had heard. In his books, SnowWhite was a vampire coming back from the dead, and the Prince a hunter who staked her in her coffin. To someone unaware of what was going on in town, what he said could appear as slightly odd, or a bit too serious, and for someone aware, it was just telling.

His brows furrowed however, at her next offer. He did not know what it was with women with their arms in a cast and offering help with packing boxes, but Jasmine was the second to make him this offer. From Erin, it was expected. She had always been supportive, and she probably felt bad for the bear incident. He hardly blamed her for it. “No such thing as too much help, especially while I’m still recovering,” to think that he could have carried half his furniture on his own, and that now, he would need help for this. Unacceptable. “Thank you for the offer,” he added with a tight lipped smile. Well if this did not show that he still had no idea of how to accept help from people or how to thank them. His people skill had never been anything but rusty, but you would think that some things could get better with age. Alain shook his head as she admitted to having a vicious fight with a tree. “Well let me know if you want to … get revenge on the tree, anything,” his shoulders raised briefly as he scoffed. His arms crossed over his chest and once again, shook his head at her. “That is by far the best reason someone has given me for staying out of jail, so congratulations, Ms. Hale,” he lightly touched the tip of his nose and looked away from her for a second, moving his hand to scratch a leg that just wasn’t there. It’s only as he touched the fabric of the chair that he looked up with a confused look on his face. “Saturday is when you stop by, right?”

“That they are. Doesn’t stop the high schoolers from turning it into a party game,” Jasmine said as a nod to the kids who summoned Bloody Mary and in turn the Sand Creep. There was no way for her to discern if they knew what would happen. Probably not what Alain had meant anyway. Unless he had. She wasn’t about to do a supernatural chicken game on a first meeting with a client so she wasn’t about to push it. On the chance he was totally normal, she’d rather him think of her the same. The whole “I see dead people” thing was a little too M. Night Shyamalan for most.

Jasmine could have cursed herself for offering to help pack up some of the clutter while she was there. While she had a broken arm at that. Had she completely lost her mind? It’d be far too rude to rescind the offer now, so she smiled and said, “Of course! It’ll help me get an idea of staging before we start showing the place.” It was true. She hated it a little bit, but it was true. At least he really wasn’t Mrs. Belsky. She’d have to hear stories about every single creepy angel figurine if that was the case. Somehow, this seemed preferable. Unless he secretly collected dolls or something. She caught herself from blurting that thought out loud and instead said, “Yep, Saturday mid morning if that works for you.” As he moved to leave, she was quick to open the door again. She offered a warm smile and a wave as he left. “I’ll see you Saturday, Mr. Babineaux!”

#wickedswriting #it'll cost an arm and a leg #alain

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shakil244 · 4 months

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A new philosophy of consumption? Cavemen, dopamine, and the lipstick effect

When Crocs became popular, they even evolved into the so-called "Crocology believers". What kind of psychology is this? This article analyzes the consumer psychology behind the popularity of Crocs HE Tuber and dopamine, and points out that Crocs and dopamine reflect changes in the consumption philosophy and aesthetics of mainstream consumer groups. Let’s take a look.

When the ugly Crocs become popular, you will find that the world is different.

Crocs have been on trending searches recently, and have even spawned the so-called "crocs believers". They claim that once you start wearing Crocs, you will never be able to take them off. If you buy Crocs, you will be stereotyped for the rest of your life. There is a trend that the shoe will last forever.

When I was confused, I vaguely remembered that when it comes to fashion trends, the last time it caused such hot attention and discussion was the dopamine outfit.

This consumption philosophy starts from the change of consumption mentality and aesthetics.

When the economy is in recession, "lipstick" will become more popular.The lipstick effect is well known as an economic phenomenon. What it means is that in an economic downturn, although people have the desire to consume, they will weaken their consumption of bulk commodities such as buying cars, houses, and traveling abroad. Instead, they will buy some cheaper but practical and cosmetic products, because this This product can not only regulate emotions, but also bring psychological comfort.

Paying for pleasure, paying for mood, this is the code for the popularity of Crocs and dopamine outfits.

1. Simple happiness

After experiencing a long period of isolation and depression, returning to ordinary and ordinary daily life has become a basic need deep in everyone's heart, and dressing is an everyday pursuit.

It is this kind of casualness that reduces complexity and simplifies it that makes people happy. In this era of involution and internal friction, why bother with a pair of shoes?

Simply put, dopamine dressing is a way of emotional experience and self-expression. It helps young people establish a positive attitude and remain courageous in the face of life challenges.

2. Personality of the boss

Being popular requires social skills.

If simple happiness is the basis of the masses, then the personality above is the key social factor that can penetrate all groups and make all types of people infected.

Crocs have countless holes, but these holes are not the same. You can use various decorative buckles to make each hole have its own personality. You can even change different decorative buckles every day according to your mood. Maybe Crocs themselves are the same, but your Crocs are unique. It is this kind of personalized play that satisfies young people's pursuit of individuality and also reflects their own interests, hobbies and fashion attitude.

Pursue happiness and self-expression, be plain and simple, and go above and beyond.

This is the consumption philosophy of today's young people. In a stressful environment, they still live with beautiful imagination and try their best to live a happy and simple life every day.

#Film & Animation #Sports #Travel & Events

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alines7777 · 3 years

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(image drawn by me, their name is Bandersnatch, an original character by me, and i guess you could say they’re also my mascot)

here is an economic prediction i submitted to twitter a few weeks ago, and so far, it’s still holding accurate:

[open original thread (link)]

i have a troubling prediction for landlords, that i've already held in mind for a while. this prediction is troubling in its own right, but it's especially troubling for landlords, since they're the ones carrying it forward without knowing where it ends. they're fucking up bad.

with a widespread eviction crisis that is frankly already ongoing, working people without permanent residences will face greater difficulty than ever finding work. nobody will be in a position to lease properties, and without anyone to lease them, the [landlords’] assets will be liabilities.

landlords will become desperate to liquidate these properties, or simply abandon them outright. very, VERY few people will actually own homes, and the majority of homes will be held by banks or property holding firms.

no human individual [particularly in urban areas] will hold any rightful claim to any shelter ever again. not without violence. everyone will blame landlords, and rightfully so, as they were the ones in a position of most legal autonomy, and they will have nobody they can sensibly blame but themselves.

it was landlords who profited from artificially raising demand for shelter by holding shelter as ransom for perpetual debt, turning a basic need into a commodity for passive income while everyone else has to work. and the tragic thing for them is that they're going to lose it. [the tragic thing for everyone else is that they will gain absolutely nothing from this particular loss for landlords, unless serious social changes are made, LEGAL shelter will become even more unavailable to them than ever.]

but the despicable thing about them [landlords] is perhaps that they probably think it's better to lose those properties than to let working people have a jubilee on their watch.

regardless, the more properties that are held under fewer owners and the less access people have to them, rent will bear a greater cost for the rest of society. if the rest of society can no longer afford that cost, that cost will soon become a huge problem for the landlords.

in reverse, say for the sake of argument that everyone ends up with a home to their name and still there might for some reason be some properties left over in landlords' names for rent. they'd seldom have any tenants for very long. the landlords’ properties would still become liabilities.

landlords will have no choice but to turn back to work. one way or another, holding property for rent will no longer remotely suit anyone's interests, and it will become a thing of the past. but people will still seek shelter, and one way or another, they're going to get it

[close original thread]

of course, none of this is to even to speak of the expectation on the part of landlords that their tenants should bear the cost of the mortgage for the landlords’ continued ownership over the properties in question, and then for society to deem landlords entitled to say that they themselves took on the risk.

to make this relatively brief, it’s an absolute contradiction in terms, and to make it rude, total garbage. sure, the risk belongs BY NAME to the landlord, but if anyone but the landlord is bearing that risk to fulfill the mortgage, then it isn’t even a risk at all as far as the landlord is concerned. even within a capitalist worldview, in the principle of the matter, you have no rightful claim to any of the rewards of taking a risk if your intent is then to offset the actual and prospective costs of that risk onto someone else and to give yourself the reward. if anything, the recognition of such a title to such rewards for such a risk would be fuckin FRAUDULENT. it’s plain to see that landlords were hoping to eat their cakes and still have them. but of course, the banks holding the liens on these mortgages don’t care, nor do lawmakers. as far as they’re concerned, in many senses, landlords are their patrons. as long as the banks are satisfied that they’re getting the money they think is theirs for the mortgages, then the properties in question still legally belong to those named as the borrowers for the mortgages, namely the landlords, even if the money doesn’t come out of the borrowers’ pockets.

landlords will then claim that they’re providing an essential need, but why should that by done by landlords or in the manner undertaken by landlords? i think we’ve already established that the question of landlords’ interests intrinsically makes the process of fulfilling the need for shelter needlessly expensive and convoluted for everyone but landlords, and is ultimately unsustainable and self-defeating. yes, landlords do fulfill the need for shelter, but for how long? must you insist that they in particular should be the ones doing so? are you so willing to accept the manner in which they offer shelter, just to protect their already dubious claim to the distinction of providing shelter? NONSENSE!

a simple and natural solution to this problem among others would be for the expansion of tenants’ rights. for example, if the rent paid by a tenant or a group of tenants is forwarded to the cost of their landlord’s mortgage, and the rent they’ve paid accounts for at least a third of the amount the landlord borrowed plus interest, then they ought to be entitled to petition for the transfer of the mortgage to the property rented to their names. if a tenant or group of tenants renting a property with no outstanding mortgage have paid in rent at least 166.67% of the market value of that property, they ought to have the right to petition for that amount paid to constitute a purchase of the property in question. tenants would have far greater prospects in their living conditions, and it certainly is a step forward for alleviating and eliminating precarious living conditions and issues begotten by them, including homelessness and the artificially inflated demand and cost of housing. and landlords would lose nothing but the despotic amount of leverage they have over tenants, unless they happen to consider that to be a tremendous loss in itself, in which case, landlords are invited to consider that coming from a known and proud anarcho-communist who very openly has no sympathy for their interests, under the circumstances my terms are far more than compassionate.

it should go without saying that this is by no means a complete picture of the rights for tenants that are fit to be advocated for. it similarly goes without saying that i couldn’t possibly think of every one of them. nor would it be fair to me, nor would it in anyone else’s interests for that to be delegated to me, especially if my readers feel it is my onus to do so as some way of vindicating my critiques against capitalism, to which i say “PEARLS BEFORE SWINE”. from my perspective, my critiques against capitalism are overwhelmingly sound, with or without any creative anti-capitalist solutions on my part.

obviously, landlords, lawmakers, and perhaps even bankers will resist the expansion of tenants’ rights, at their own economic and physical peril, hilariously enough, but it bears fighting for tenants’ rights anyhow, by any means necessary, as it was the deprivation of rights for the vulnerable, such as tenants, that led us all into this crisis in the first place. we have much to gain if we do fight, and EVERYONE stands to lose quite a lot if we don’t

#economics #landlords #tenants #properties #anarchism #communism #anarcho communism #propaganda

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carinayidanzhang · 3 years

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Graphic Design Portfolio

01. Begin with the “C”

Media: Digital Design

Dimensions: 297mm x 420mm

Description: I took the initial of my name, “C”, as inspiration for designing the poster. As a student with a fanatical interest in graphic design, I hope that the letter “C” in my name，can represent infinite creativity. Just as my name begins with the “C”, I think the study of design should also begin with another “C”, which is creativity.

02. Product Similarity

Media: Scriptliner on sketch paper

Dimensions: 380mm x 580mm

Description: Each of us is a product produced by society. We may have different backgrounds, personalities and ideas originally, but, in the competition within society, we tend to be closer to each other's image, so as to form excellent competitiveness in a certain aspect. Society will continue to fill the gaps between people, so that the living environment will reach saturation. Under the influence of many factors, all the “products” become more and more homogeneous, and the pressure of survival also increases continuously.

03. Fist, Female, Fear

Media: Digital Painting

Dimensions: 297mm x 420mm

Description: The difficult position of women has always been a great concern to me. This work presents some of the issues that make me anxious and fearful as a female, such as domestic violence, being followed after 10pm, drinking drugged alcohol in a bar and so on. In addition, it also includes some social inequality restrictions on women. Such as thinking that it is shameful to wear short skirts, it is not allowed for women to smoke or drink, etc. The two fists in the painting are both society's fists against female and the fists that I want to break all this uneasiness and inequality.

04. Mask

Media: Digital painting

Dimensions: 400mm x 400mm

Description: During COVID-19, all of us wore masks, which could both protect us and facilitate a concealment of emotions. We can't see people's expressions under masks, and in many cases, happiness and sadness can't be conveyed only through the eyes. Maybe it prevents us from communicating with each other, or maybe it gives us a sense of security when we don't want to reveal our thoughts to the outside world.

05. “Humanlike”

Media: Photography

Dimensions: 300mm x 600mm

Description: When I was a little girl, I was very disgusted and afraid of the models in the window. When I grew up, I realized that this was because of the “Uncanny Valley”. So now I've chosen to face this fear and take pictures of human limbs next to a dummy. I hope to explore the similarities and differences between them, so as to more intuitively feel the temperature and texture of the human body.

06. Summer Memories

Media: PhotographyDimensions: 102mm x 152mm

Description: I love the summer in Beijing's Hutongs, the small theatre buildings full of creepers, the abandoned furniture and bicycles piled up on both sides of the road, and the boundless green. This work records my scattered memories of summer, and to me, I can nearly hear the sound of cicadas and the breeze blowing through the leaves when I see it.

07. “Be Fake or be True”

Media: 3D Installation/ Mixed Media

Dimensions: 500mm x 500mm x 500mm

Description: Our childhood fantasies about the world are like the perfect stories locked up in the TV. They are the combination of all good things, and the collection of all innocence. But as we get older, we see a more real side of the world. This is like breaking the TV screen, once the dream and cold reality collide, we can choose to believe in good, but also can choose to face the reality.

08. “Way Too Much”

Media: Scriptliner on sketch paper

Dimensions: 420mm x 594 mm

Description: This is a sketch of the dining table in my home. I have a slight hoarding habit, so the table is always filled with bottles and jars for a sense of inner satisfaction. But my mother always said that my things were “way too much” and too messy. Under her gaze I had to look at the table again in a more introspective manner.

09. The Prosperous Tang Dynasty

Media: Collage/ Mixed Media

Dimensions: 297mm x 420mm

Description: This work embodies my yearning and respect for the costume, culture, aesthetics and so on of the ancient Tang Dynasty in China. I wanted to use it to express the prosperous, open, majestic atmosphere of the Tang Dynasty, and also add my calligraphy work to it. The bright red color is the most important symbol of the Tang Dynasty, and the culture as gorgeous as peony is a beautiful dream buried in every Chinese heart.

10. CD Cover Design

Media: Digital Design

Dimensions: 150mm x 150mm

Description: One of my rapper friends and I wrote a hip-hop song about life during quarantine, and I designed the album cover myself. The empty sofa expresses my loneliness and boredom. Fluorescent green and purple stand out against the grey background, representing that music and art are the only bright colors in my dull life.

11. City Starlight

Media: 3D Installation/ Mixed Media

Dimensions: 1500mm x 400mm x 200mm

Description: I once participated in the window design project of Hamleys, a famous British toy company, and I worked with several designers to make drawings and build models with the theme of city starlight. All the buildings and facilities were designed and cut by ourselves. We hope to remind everyone of the forgotten beauty of the city when they pass this window. Although the plan was not implemented in the end, it was an unforgettable experience for me.

12. Fish Fish Fish

Media: Digital Design

Dimensions: 297mm x 420mm

Description: This is a small project about creative design. I randomly selected three keywords, which are brain, goldfish and hand, so I completed the poster creation with these three elements. The human brain is very complex, carrying a lot of emotional, knowledge burden, but fish only have seven seconds of memory, their worlds are very simple. I hope we can all live like fish, be happy and be simple, and not need to worry about all the mess.

13. Christmas Card

Media: Digital Design

Dimensions: 148mm x 210mm

Description: This is a Christmas card I designed for my friends. Christmas in my heart is different from others. It is purple and pink. And all of these objects, the Christmas tree, the gift box, are just abstract symbols, their specific shape, colour, size is not really important. I use this kind of vague image to express my wishes to my friends. May they not only have a merry Christmas, but also a pink and purple surprise every day.

14. SOS

Media: Photography/ Digital Design

Dimensions: 420mm x 594mm

Description: Born as a woman, sometimes we are bound by a piece of tape to seal the mouth of expression and seeking for help, so we must save ourselves, in the tide of the times to speak and to fight for freedom.

15. Consumerism

Media: Collage/ Mixed Media

Dimensions: 297mm x 420mm

Description: In this era of rampant consumerism, people are gradually constrained by material desire and money, and constantly pursue a more grandiose and luxurious consumption life. However, we are increasingly overwhelmed by endless commodities, so we have to keep struggling with it, trying to stay awake while continuing to consume uncontrollably.

16. Sketchbook scanned copy

Media: Charcoal and crayon on sketch paper

Description: I used charcoal to copy two paintings, Three Wicked Men by Denzil Forrester and Self Portrait In A Straw Hat by Vigee Lebrun.

youtube

17. Happy Birthday

Media: Stop-motion Animation

Description: In the summer of 2019, a friend and I took a course in stop-motion animation at RISD's summer school and made this short film. It was inspired by my grandparents. On my grandmother's birthday, my grandfather always gets up early to cook and make cakes for her. Although this seems to be a very simple thing, it has always been the most touching and warm picture in my memory. I hope I can take this short film as a souvenir.

18. Development Work - Collage Brainstorm

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douchebagbrainwaves · 3 years

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OK, I'LL TELL YOU YOU ABOUT IDEAS

Object-oriented programming in the 1980s. If it can work to start a startup. Instead of building stuff to throw away, you tend to want every line of code to go toward that final goal of showing you did a lot of startups grow out of them. Already spreading to pros I know you're skeptical they'll ever get hotels, but there's no way anything so short and written in such an informal style could have anything useful to say about such and such topic, when people with degrees in the subject have already written many thick books about it. Those are both good things to be. I don't mean that as some kind of answer for, but not random: I found my doodles changed after I started studying painting. When someone's working on a problem that seems too big, I always ask: is there some way to give the startups the money, though. What would it even mean to make theorems a commodity? There seem to be an artist, which is even shorter than the Perl form.1 However, a city could select good startups.2

Tcl, and supply the Lisp together with a complete system for supporting server-based applications, where you can throw together an unbelievably inefficient version 1 of a program very quickly. Or at least discard any code you wrote while still employed and start over. But a hacker can learn quickly enough that car means the first element of a list and cdr means the rest. If an increasing number of startups founded by people who know the subject from experience, but for doing things other people want. It could be the reason they don't have any.3 An interactive language, with a small core of well understood and highly orthogonal operators, just like the core language, that would be better for programming. The more of a language as a set of axioms, surely it's gross to have additional axioms that add no expressive power, simply for the sake of efficiency.

One of the MROSD trails runs right along the fault. When you're young you're more mobile—not just because you don't have to be downloaded. The fact is, most startups end up doing something different than they planned. The three old guys didn't get it. PL/1: Fortran doesn't have enough data types. What programmers in a hundred years? Just wait till all the 10-room pensiones in Rome discover this site.4 Common Lisp I have often wanted to iterate through the fields of a struct—to push performance data to the programmer instead of waiting for him to come asking for it. It would be too much of a political liability just to give the startups the money, though. And they are a classic example of this approach. For one thing, real problems are rare and valuable skill, and the de facto censorship imposed by publishers is a useful if imperfect filter.

I'm just not sure how big it's going to seem hard. Often, indeed, it is not dense enough. If the hundred year language were available today, would we want to program in today. Of course, the most recent true counterexample is probably 1960. A friend of mine rarely does anything the first time someone asks him. As a young founder by present standards, so you have to spend years working to learn this stuff. The market doesn't give a shit how hard you worked.

You can write programs to solve, but I never have. One advantage of this approach is that it gives you fewer options for the future. Otherwise Robert would have been too late. Look at how much any popular language has changed during its life.5 Java also play a role—but I think it is the most powerful motivator of all—more powerful even than the nominal goal of most startup founders, and I felt it had to be prepared to explain how it's recession-proof is to do what hackers enjoy doing anyway. The real question is, how far up the ladder of abstraction will parallelism go? Anything that can be implicit, should be. New York Times, which I still occasionally buy on weekends. So I think it might be better to follow the model of Tcl, and supply the Lisp together with a lot of them weren't initially supposed to be startups. It's because staying close to the main branches of the evolutionary tree pass through the languages that have the smallest, cleanest cores. The way to learn about startups is by watching them in action, preferably by working at one. At the very least it will teach you how to write software with users.

Few if any colleges have classes about startups. All they saw were carefully scripted campaign spots. It might help if they were expressed that way. It's enormously spread out, and feels surprisingly empty much of the reason is that faster hardware has allowed programmers to make different tradeoffs between speed and convenience, depending on the application.6 At the top schools, I'd guess as many as a quarter of the CS majors could make it as startup founders if they wanted is an important qualification—so important that it's almost cheating to append it like that—because once you get over a certain threshold of intelligence, which most CS majors at top schools are past, the deciding factor in whether you succeed as a founder is how much you want to say and ad lib the individual sentences. This essay is derived from a talk at the 2005 Startup School. Preposterous as this plan sounds, it's probably the most efficient way a city could select good startups. Most will say that any ideas you think of new ideas is practically virgin territory. Exactly the opposite, in fact. Whatever computers are made of, and conversations with friends are the kitchen they're cooked in.7 That was exactly what the world needed in 1975, but if there was any VC who'd get you guys, it would at least make a great pseudocode.

If this is a special case of my more general prediction that most of them grew organically. Writing software as multiple layers is a powerful technique even within applications. The more of your software will be reusable. Using first and rest instead of car and cdr often are, in successive lines. Of course, I'm making a big assumption in even asking what programming languages will be like in a hundred years? It must be terse, simple, and hackable. It becomes: let's try making a web-based app they'd seen, it seemed like there was nothing to it. Both customers and investors will be feeling pinched.8

The main complaint of the more articulate critics was that Arc seemed so flimsy. That's how programmers read code anyway: when indentation says one thing and delimiters say another, we go by the indentation. You need that resistance, just as low notes travel through walls better than high ones. Maybe this would have been a junior professor at that age, and he wouldn't have had time to work on things that maximize your future options. How much would that take? It's important to realize that there's no market for startup ideas suggests there's no demand.9 You'll certainly like meeting them. It's not the sort of town you have before you try this. This essay is derived from a talk at the 2005 Startup School. I'm not a very good sign to me that ideas just pop into my head.

Notes

Dan wrote a prototype in Basic in a series A rounds from top VC funds whether it was 10.

With the good groups, just harder. Which in turn the most successful founders still get rich from a startup could grow big by transforming consulting into a great one.

There are two simplifying assumptions: that the only way to create events and institutions that bring ambitious people together. A has an operator for removing spaces from strings and language B doesn't, that's not as facile a trick as it was putting local grocery stores out of their portfolio companies. If the next one will be familiar to anyone who had worked for a really long time? One new thing the company they're buying.

If I paint someone's house, the growth in wealth in a bar. I didn't need to warn readers about, just as much the better, but they start to be about 50%. Together these were the impressive ones. Other investors might assume that P spam and P nonspam are both.

All he's committed to is following the evidence wherever it leads. The point where things start with consumer electronics.

If they're on boards of directors they're probably a cause them to keep them from the VCs' point of a press hit, but that we wouldn't have understood why: If you have two choices and one or two, and so on. But if so, or in one where life was tougher, the same reason parents don't tell the whole story. Incidentally, the switch in mid-twenties the people they want.

Trevor Blackwell points out, First Round Capital is closer to a clueless audience like that, except in the median VC loses money. Unless of course reflects a willful misunderstanding of what you care about, just those you should seek outside advice, and this trick, and so don't deserve to keep them from leaving to start or join startups. There is not much to seem big that they only even consider great people.

You also have to do it right. In every other respect they're constantly being told that they are bleeding cash really fast. Probably more dangerous to Microsoft than Netscape was.

In theory you could probably improve filter performance by incorporating prior probabilities. If you have the concept of the reason for the coincidence that Greg Mcadoo, our contact at Sequoia, was no great risk in doing a small proportion of the subject of language power in Succinctness is Power. As I was there was near zero crossover. Some urban renewal experts took a shot at destroying Boston's in the evolution of the next year they worked.

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the-darklings · 5 years

Text

—the space between fingers;

pairing: arthur morgan x female!reader

summary: What brings you back to life also gives you the means to destroy yourself.

word count: 5.3k+

warnings: a poor attempt at arthur’s pov RIP

notes: I would have had this out sooner tbh but you know ~life~ and ~drama~. Thank you for your insane support on my first two fics. You guys are amazing <33

tagging: the usual suspects: @ilikecheesecakeforbreakfast & @deviantramblings

. . .

What brings you back to life also gives you the means to destroy yourself.

It’s a simple truth he has known for many years now. He has gone through phases of it—his parents, Mary, Eliza and Isaac. Fragments of his life he can neatly order into moments that are almost happy, and moments that don’t resemble anything close to happiness.

There is good in those memories but the good always gets vastly outweighed by the memories seeping with bloodshed, bullets and dynamite. Some nights he’s surprised he manages to sleep at all. Even something as simple as sleep feels like a commodity he’s undeserving of.

He has learned his lesson a long time ago though—was taught it time and time again—to stop caring, to not get attached, that the only thing that matters is the Gang and the job. Sometimes his thoughts bleed with Dutch’s voice and he wonders if it’s his own conviction anymore or if the only truth he knows is the one Dutch tells him. He’s his own man, always has been, but sometimes—lately—it’s been harder to tell the difference anymore.

Blackwater has changed something in them. All of them. It’s the kind of fundamental change no one acknowledges but Arthur can see and feel it everywhere he looks.

Some things, it seems, never change though.

Javier’s music still has a way to gather everyone in the camp together.

The people he considers his own are gathered in a merry circle of happiness and laughter. A bottle of whiskey is being passed around but it’s not necessary, considering the state Uncle and Pearson are already in. That, however, doesn’t stop everyone from indulging.

Javier’s music has always been vivid, exciting and full of life; the type of music that makes you want to sing and dance on instinct. On this warm summer night, Charles has also joined in with his harmonica, creating a completely new and exciting set of melodies.

Little Jack is a bustling ball of limbs as he leads Mary-Beth and Karen in a wild dance, much to the amusement of the two young women. Dutch is leading Molly in a more elegant but no less energetic dance that has the redhead blushing bright pink. As always, Dutch and his damn charms are irresistible.

And there, just behind grinning Lenny and Tilly, is you.

He hasn’t seen you smile or laugh since Blackwater.

But your grin is warm and genuine as Hosea spins you in a circle.

Arthur knows you are fond of the man, much like the man is fond of you. Hosea was the first to see more in you than a simple street urchin who decided to steal from Micah—much to the latter's embarrassment and irritation.

Hosea was the one to convince Dutch to take you with them, who taught you how to read and write. Much to his delight, you took to it like a duck to water too. Hosea often brought up—with a not-so-subtle stare in his and John's direction—how much he wishes his old students have been as adept as you are. You’ve become a bit of protege of his.

Arthur sometimes finds himself wondering if it’s simply an old man’s sentimentality, or if you are genuinely two people who have found deeper kinship in one another.

Hosea says something and your expression crumbles before delighted laugh slips out of your mouth, your head slanting back for a moment. The sound is rich and loud, slicing through the heavy, energetic beat of the music.

He feels the sound of it wash over him, and remembers once again why he hasn’t sought you out since Blackwater. Why he has been keeping his distance even more so than usual, why he’s been accepting jobs that take him out of camp for days at the time. He convinces himself it’s because they need the money—and they do—but there is also you.

You make it hard to remember why he stays away, why he avoids connections, why he focuses only on getting the job done and nothing else.

You make a lot of things hard for him.

A part of him wants to look away from you and never look your way again. Because really, he will be doing you a favour if he does. He sure as hell isn’t a nice man to be around, and despite your quick fingers and even quicker tongue, you are a good person. At the core of you is warmth and life—so bright and vivid you practically bleed with it.

That liveliness is also what makes it so hard for him to just look away. Because it’s so very easy to get addicted to gentleness and kindness. Genuine interest and care. So easy to look forward to those things and start to treasure them.

Kindness, he finds out after meeting you, can be a very dangerous thing indeed.

He feels the sting of tobacco on his tongue but doesn’t look away from you, despite the hard voice deep inside him telling him that he should. He isn’t much of a man for festivities, although a free drink is always welcomed. He’s happy to watch over others though, watch the tension and the doubts melt away from their shoulders. That mountain was hard on everyone, and Arthur wonders if things will go back to how they were used to be any time soon.

Dutch shouts something and everyone else cheers in reply, Javier promptly changing the tune to match the uplifted mood.

“Pretty little morsel, ain’t she, cowpoke? Won’t mind a little tussle in the hay with the likes of her.”

Smoke escapes his lips and Arthur grits his teeth for a second, throwing his cigarette to the ground and stomping on it. He digs his boot into the dirt, imagining it's the head of the man who decided to bother him.

"Now I don't know if yer brave or just stupid," he begins almost jovially as he glances at Micah from under the brim of his hat. "Because unless you fancy losin’ all of your teeth I would keep your mouth shut. Think before you speak."

A snake. That's the only way he can describe Micah—the only way he can ever describe the man that feels right. He slinks around the camp, leering and watching, muttering in Dutch's ear far too often for Arthur's taste. But Dutch is a stubborn fool, and whatever he wants to do, he will. When an idea enters his mind, not much can change it. He admired that, once. Now that stubbornness is starting to become a burden, is starting to make him near unreasonable to deal with.

But that doesn’t wipe out twenty years of loyalty. Twenty years of bleeding, fighting and running together. And Micah should know better than to slither his way in and hope he will ever be able to match up to what he, Dutch and Hosea have gone through together.

"Now, I don't mean no harm, Arthur," the man replies easily but there is a sliver of greed, of lust, when his eyes flicker in your direction once more, and Arthur feels something in his gut burn. "We all know you have yer eye on that one. It just surprisin', that's all. The great Arthur Morgan brought down to our level by a pretty face."

Arthur’s lips curl upwards as he glances down, his fingers latching onto his belt buckle as he chuckles under his breath. The sound clearly confuses the blonde man in front of him because after a tense moment he joins in unsurely, the sound more anxious and wheezy than he probably would have liked.

When he looks up at Micah, there is a tense sort of air around him, and it’s obvious where his confusion stems from. Arthur rarely engages him, and if he does, it’s seldom with a kind tone, much less a smile.

He takes his time in approaching the man, the half-grin still lingering on his lips as he looks up at him. There is a very particular kind of joy to be found in the way Micah flinches when Arthur lays his hand heavily on the blonde’s shoulder, squeezing tightly.

“I’ve been runnin’ with Dutch for odd twenty years now,” he says conversationally, patting Micah’s shoulder heavily. “And you wanna know what’s the one thing that always happens?”

Micah remains tense and silent, a disgruntled sort of scowl twisting his expression and Arthur grins wider, fingers sinking deeper into his shoulder for a moment, “When it comes down to it, every man eventually shows what he’s really made of. I’ve seen it time and time again. Those who think they can trick and weasel their way outta of things...well those poor fellows don’t do so well with us. And they sure as hell don’t last long either. So a little respect towards your fellow gang members might do ya some good in the long run. Now you think on that, hm?”

Micah’s expression grows taunt, and his scowl only deepens with every word, but he keeps quiet and Arthur is grateful for it because he’s not in the mood to hear the snake run his mouth again.

After another stretch of strained silence, Micah finally opens his mouth to say something but he never gets to finish.

“Well, well, ain’t this a blessed sight,” Dutch’s voice slices through the night, and Arthur glances to his right to see the older man approaching them with a deceivingly calm expression. “My two best men in one place. Glad to see you two gettin’ on for once,” he adds with an underlying bite in his voice that doesn’t go unnoticed by Arthur.

A slice of anger rips through him at the comparison, but he only dips his chin to not let it show. Whatever opinions he has of Micah are for Dutch’s ears alone, and he sure as hell isn’t going to give the snake the satisfaction of knowing that his presence often causes friction between them. There's no love lost between him and Micah, that much is true, and the whole camp is more than aware of it even if they don’t voice it. He’s glad that he’s not the only one who feels like something is wrong with the blonde though, even if most excuse it due to his impressive skills with a gun.

And no matter how much Arthur wishes he could say otherwise, he has to agree with others. Despite his less than savoury attitude, Micah is a good gun to have in a fight.

“Oh, nothin’ much, Dutch,” he replies, patting Micah on the shoulder a few more times before letting go. He notices how Dutch’s eyes track the misleadingly harsh motion as he turns to face the older man. “Micah and I was just discussin’ the values of respect.”

“That so?” Dutch drawls slowly, eyes fixing on Micah, “Good discussion?”

Micah shoots a harsh glare his way, and Arthur feels his fingers clench around his belt buckle. It will not do him any good to start throwing punches now, no matter how much he wants to.

“It wasn’t anythin’, boss,” Micah bits out, his voice laced with irritation as he rotates his shoulder as if aggrieved. “See ya in the mornin’.”

Dutch does not stop him and Micah walks away without a backwards glance, though the silence he leaves behind is something Arthur would much rather not deal with right now. Dutch pulls out a cigar, still looking in the direction Micah has disappeared in.

“Must you always do this?” he asks at last, his voice pitched low and Arthur can feel his anger spike at the near disappointed edge in Dutch’s voice.

“Oh, I’m sorry, next time I’ll be sure to go and sing him a nice lullaby, Dutch,” he snaps back, motioning in the direction Micah has walked off in. “I’m not startin’ a damn thing and you know it.”

Dutch’s eyebrows rise and he nods his head slightly, a thoughtful hum thrumming at the back of his throat, “I see. And what about how you treat him?”

“How I treat him? And how exactly do I treat him, Dutch?”

His gaze is dark when he answers, “Like he ain’t one of us.”

Arthur scoffs, shaking his head in disbelief, “That’s probably ‘cause he ain’t,” he replies, words heavy with frustration. “Loyalty. Respect. We might be a bunch of crooks but I always thought that was at the core of our people. He has none of those things. Bell is the last man on this godforsaken patch of dirt that I would trust to ‘ave my back.”

“Enough, Arthur,” Dutch cut off sharply, taking a forceful drag of his cigar before he addresses him once more. “Micah has proven himself to be a fine fellow and valuable addition to our ranks, so I will hear no more of this, is that clear? It’s been a long day, son. You oughta get some rest. Wherever this animosity between you two comes from, I want it dealt with as soon as possible. We can’t be fightin’ amongst ourselves.”

“Yeah,” Arthur intones quietly in reply, bitterness welling in his chest. Besides Hosea, Dutch is the smartest man he knows, and yet when it comes to Micah, he refuses to budge. “Yeah, whatever you say, Dutch.”

He grits his teeth and turns to leave but a hand on his shoulder stops him, and he glances sideways towards the man who looks at him calmly but flatly.

“Son, you must understand,” Dutch begins softly, “I can’t have pointless fightin’ in the camp. I need ya with me, Arthur. I know I’m askin’ much but can you at least try?”

Once, it would have been so easy to turn a blind eye to it all, to simply trust Dutch’s judgement and let him handle everything. Now, Arthur is no longer sure what to make of any of this. Perhaps Blackwater shook his own faith more than he cares to admit.

“Sure thing,” he says at last, still torn, still unsure what the hell has happened to them. Who is responsible for this tension between them. “I’m always with ya, Dutch. But you better have a word with that fool because next time he runs his mouth, it will not end so well for him.”

He pulls back, stricken with the realisation that he can’t stand the thought of lingering here, that for some reason Dutch’s request feels almost like a stab of betrayal. Something in his gut twists at the thought and he tries to push it back as swiftly as he can. Dutch asking him to try and get on with Micah doesn’t mean he’s choosing favourites. They’re not kids for crying out loud. And yet—

His feet start carrying away before he even realises fully what he’s doing. But he doesn’t feel bad about leaving Dutch with those words because he means them and he needs to think, he needs—

“Arthur?”

He freezes.

It takes few blinks to slip out of his daze as he looks over his shoulder to see you standing there, your lips parted and a worried frown twisting the planes of your face. He hasn’t realized he’s stormed past the campfire till that exact moment, the lack of music leaving a near tranquil quiet in its place. Most of the camp has cleared out already, leaving only passed out Uncle and Sean by the fire. Hosea sits beside them, smoking his pipe as he gazes thoughtfully into the flames. You both stand just far enough to be covered by shadows but close enough to still see the glow of embers in the distance.

“Arthur?” you repeat softly, more worried this time as you take a step closer towards him.

You rarely speak his name. Usually, it’s ‘Mr. Morgan’ or some other version of identification that did not require his name. It’s only during rarest, most private moments that you forget yourself enough to use his first name. It warms something in his chest when you do; the worry and concern you so clearly feel towards him, even more so. It’s just another reminder that he has no business involving you in any of this though. It’s true you confide in him but he’s unsure if, just this once, he can return the favour.

“You ought to get some rest Miss (Name). Tomorrow—”

“Are you alright?” your question is brimming with genuine concern as you approach him, and it stops whatever words he’s about to say. “You look...upset.”

He wants to dismiss it but there is something disarming about the look on your face as you gaze up at him.

“It’s nothin’, don’t you worry…” he trails off before something catches his eye, and for a brief moment he forgets Dutch, forgets Micah and focuses only on you, his lips twitching upwards slightly. “Your Highness.”

He bows his head briefly, and his grin widens at your confused frown. There is a moment of suspended silence before your expression clears and you laugh, your hand flying to the top of your head where a freshly woven flower crown sits. Your expression is one of pure delight and he almost sighs at the feeling of lightness that blooms in his chest with it.

“Oh! Um—little Jack made it for me this morning,” you tell him with an affectionate grin, and he turns to face you fully as you come to stop right in front of him. “It was awfully nice of him, and he didn’t ‘ave to but he still—sorry, you’re probably busy! I don’t mean to waste your time Mr Morgan, just wanted to make sure you were alright.”

He watches you from under the brim of his hat, tracking the nervous twist of your fingers and wonders if you realise how endearing this nervous habit of yours has become. Except he shouldn't really care, certainly shouldn't notice it. And most certainly not feel better with you near. Like it’s easier to see things clearly, like your mere presence is enough to calm the simmering anger burning away in him.

But the thought of Dutch and Micah brings back the bitter sting and he feels his small smile wilt. He trusts Dutch, he does but—

“Mr Morgan?” your voice sounds again, and suddenly you’re close enough to touch, to smell, to feel the subtle heat coming from your body. He tells himself that the shiver that races down his spine is from the night chill and not your closeness. “Are you sure you’re fine? I’ve been tryin’ to ask you somethin’ but...I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t wanna,” you trail off, but he notices the sad break in your voice, and there is a part of him that tells him that he’s better off not knowing.

But.

“Apologies, Miss (Name), my head is all over the place today,” he says carefully, noting the way your eyes flicker back to rest on him. He knows that due to the dark and the angle his head is slanted in, you can’t really tell he’s looking right at you. “What was you sayin’?”

“Would you care for a dance, Mr Morgan?”

“Excuse me?”

From everything—anything—he might have expected to hear from you, that most certainly hasn’t been it. For a moment he’s uprooted and unsure because that cold, logical part of him is already rebelling, spitting how not only will this be improper but it will also be dangerous.

You are dangerous.

With your easy smiles, gentle yet understanding eyes and a sense of humour that would make most nuns blush with shame.

He’s been a fool for a woman’s love once.

A love that he has never managed to live up to, never managed to make his own. With Mary it’s always been a race to change himself, to shift his very being into something that will suit her and her high society life.

With Mary, it has always been take, take, take.

With you…

He hasn’t even notice when or how you managed to crawl your way behind the walls he kept so tightly around himself. Not only because he’s undeserving of such happiness but also because after Eliza and Isaac—

His heart—whatever little he ever did have of it—has been destroyed too many time to let another in. To risk the pain and agony of another loss.

But you stand there, looking up at him hopefully, shyly, and he feels so goddamn helpless at the sight of your unguarded expression.

With Mary, it has always been take, take, take.

With you, it has always been give, give, give.

Undoubtedly ironic, considering that from you two, Mary is the elite lady and you are nothing more than another runaway with little to no money to your name.

“There’s—er—no music Miss (Name),” he says finally, his throat dry because this is not the turn he ever expected his night to take. “It’s kinda hard to dance without it, ain’t it? Besides, I ain’t much of a dancer.”

A slight smile curls your lips, and he wonders why for a moment you look so relieved.

“Why Mr Morgan, there’s always music,” you tell him seriously and he feels his eyebrows rise, head tilting so you can see his dubious expression. “You just gotta know how to listen.”

You raise your hand to him, palm outstretched as you wiggle your fingers a little, “May I have this dance?”

Tell her no. Push her away now to spare her the pain later.

He wants to push you away—he really does—but as if in a daze, he cautiously takes your hand in his. Your fingers are so much smaller than his. He hasn’t realised until this moment just how small when in comparison to his. He feels you move them till your hands rest securely against each other, and he allows himself the foolishly indulgent moment of feeling the simple warmth of your skin.

It feels much nicer than he would care to admit.

“Now, just listen.”

His eyebrows knit together in confusion and he glances around, “To what?”

You chuckle under your breath, the sound warm and breathless as you look up at him and he wishes you haven’t. Suddenly he’s painfully aware of your hand in his, of your closeness, of his other hand resting on the curve of your back.

“—relax and listen to everythin’ around you, of course,” you tell him, almost teasingly, and he blinks, realising too late that he is so focused on your nearness he failed to hear you. “Nature is the best provider of natural music. Mr Morgan—Arthur—just relax.”

He clears his throat uncomfortably, and shifts on his feet, “Like I was sayin’ not much of a dancer, that’s all.”

Your head tilts and after a moment of silence, you start humming under your breath, drawing his straying gaze back to you. It’s hard to look at you. It’s still even harder to look away. His fingers itch with a sudden urge to pull out his journal and sketch the visage of you. He wants to remember this moment; the slopes of your face, the curve of your lips and the ghost of a smile on your mouth as your eyes remain shut. You look peaceful. So peaceful, he feels like he’s intruding on the moment even though he’s in the moment with you.

It’s then that he realises that your hums are matching the sound of crickets and owls, of a whisper of leaves caught in the wind, of nature itself. You’re swaying side to side unhurriedly, clearly lost in the moment and Arthur feels his breath seize in his lungs.

Is this his punishment then?

To be given a chance to meet someone as wonderful, as fiercely alive as you, and know he has no right to your heart. Because what could he possibly give you? You deserve someone better than him. Not an old, ugly, bitter outlaw with a bounty on his head, and a past soaked in the blood of the innocent.

You deserve some handsome city dweller who can buy you a pretty house with a picket fence and a dog. Someone who can give you kids who will adore you, and a garden where you can grow flowers when you grow old.

The pang of longing that cuts through his chest is sharp, near acidic, and his grip on you tightens just slightly. Your eyes flutter open and you blink up at him, lips curving down.

“Mr Morgan?”

Your voice is a mere breath that fills the space between you, and suddenly a thousand different things burn at the back of his throat. He wants to say so much and yet—

What can he possibly say? What words can possibly do this—do you—justice? What can he say to you that will not make him appear like a complete, smitten fool? Can he really look you in the eye and tell you how he thinks you’re lovely and kind, and better than anything he could ever deserve? How he could spend the rest of his life doing nothing but good and still be unworthy of you.

“Don’t you worry yourself, ya hear?” he answers with forced calmness, and reads your doubt in the subtle narrowing of your eyes. “Just an old man reminiscing, this is quite the relaxin’ end to my night, believe it or not.”

You’re silent for a long moment, the two of you still swaying side to side leisurely as you continue peering at him.

He’s always liked that about you too. That no matter what people tell you about him, what you hear or see, you always look directly at him. Like you can see him, like he’s real and doesn’t need to hide away or pretend. No fear, no resentment; not even after your less than friendly first meeting.

Something about the knowing, gentle scrutiny of your gaze makes him feel alive.

“I know...I mean, I understand that you don’t owe me nothin’ Mr Morgan but…” your breath catches, eyes slipping away for a moment and he wonders what, exactly, is the source of your internal struggle. You swallow audibly before looking back up at him. “I know you may not trust me but—”

“I do,” he utters before he can stop himself, and he can feel danger crowd him. Having you so near is clearly clouding his sense of reason, and he doesn't want to dig his grave any deeper than it already is. Your expression is frozen with shock, lips slightly parted in disbelief and this time it’s his turn to swallow heavily. “I do trust you,” he adds, ignoring the unfamiliar taste of those words in his mouth.

How many people have ever warranted his complete trust? He can count them on one hand.

Trust is not a currency he deals out freely or often.

“Oh,” you breathe, your eyes wide and he feels the tremble of your fingers in his hand. “I—oh. I’m glad.”

And damn it all. Damn that beautiful, soft smile that lifts your lips into a sight that etches itself into his mind, right into his heart too. Damn it all to hell.

This whole thing is becoming a goddamn mess. He knows he shouldn't have done this, knows that this level closeness to you was going to affect him. There is a reason he always opts to stay away. It’s better this way. For both of you.

But this—you—

He lets his hand drop from your back before taking a small step back, and lifting your other hand above your head. You let out another chuckle, seemingly even happier than earlier and it feels worryingly nice to know he’s the source of that joy.

You turn slowly as if savouring the moment, and for one, irrational second he doesn’t want to let you go at all. He wants to stay suspended in this moment of peace, cocooned by your warmth and shadows of the night, with nothing but a song of nature for company.

But all things come to an end, including your spin. Your fingers are still interlaced when you come to a stop right in front of him, grinning down towards the ground. You glance up, moonlight dully illuminating the flower crown sitting on your head.

There is a lull of silence, your fingers still entwined together, and the beat of his heart is the only thing he can focus on at that moment.

He’s about to pull away reluctantly but before he can, you move first by letting go of his hand. You step closer and he feels himself still when you duck your head down to not disturb his hat. The feeling of your soft lips against his cheek is the last thing he expects. It’s brief; nothing more than a fluttering brush of softness and warmth against his ragged skin, but everything about that moment—about the heat of your lips, the smell of your skin mixed with flowers, and the gentleness of your movement—gets committed to memory.

All things end, and you pull back so quickly, he knows the moment only lasted a few seconds. His skin burns, he burns with it, and his fingers clench into fists in an effort to keep himself...calm. He needs to control himself before he does something he will regret later. Like kiss you.

“Thank you, Mr Morgan, for the dance.”

He says nothing but that has never deterred you before—if anything, you understand better than most his need for quiet, and have always been respectful of it.

He finally nods his head, realises that he already misses the heat of your palm in his but refuses to voice his thoughts.

“I’ll oughta let you rest now, I’ve already held you up enough,” you note quietly, that faint smile still lingering in the corners of your mouth. “Goodnight, Mr Morgan.”

With another nod, you turn to go but he reaches out first, his fingertips brushing against your hand and you stop dead in your tracks. He pulls back like your skin has burned him, and it might as well has. He feels the heat of you sink into the very marrow of him, and it makes him grit his teeth briefly.

“Do me a favour, will ya?” he begins, his tone raspy and he forcefully clears his throat before continuing, “If Micah Bell ever so much as looks in your direction, you go straight to Hosea or Charles, alright? Or...me. Whichever you prefer.”

Your shoulders curve slightly and you look positively troubled. “Is there somethin’ wrong?”

He shakes his head sharply because the last thing he wants is to worry you with this. But the memory of the leering look Micah shot you earlier lingers in Arthur’s memory, and he finds that he can’t quite let it go.

“Nah, still, you never know,” he retorts calmly but you don’t look convinced, so he adds, “Don’t forget your shootin’ lessons tomorrow. Better get some rest, or I will be frightened for my own life come next sunrise.”

You roll your eyes, shaking your head but the mock irritated look on your face is brimming with tender affection that feels like a kick right in his heart.

“Goodnight, Arthur,” you call with a slight laugh, waving over your shoulder. “See ya tomorrow!”

He watches you walk away and every step feels painful, leaves him feeling bruised and raw even though it shouldn't.

Let her go you fool, let her go. Let her be happy.

He wants to. He really does. He wants to look away and do you that favour in return.

But he hears the thud of his own heart, feels the electrified buzz of his blood rushing through his veins, and finds that he can’t.

What brings you back to life also gives you the means to destroy yourself.

And perhaps you’re the kind of destruction he doesn’t mind.

. . .

an: Mr Morgan is fascinating to write. I truly hope I did him some justice with this fic. He feels things so deeply (based on his actions and journal entries) but rarely, if ever, voices his inner feelings. It’s interesting to try and realistically look at how he might handle having feelings for someone, but still being plagued by his self-hatred, doubt and overall insecurities.

This fic is very much a test run for something much larger and elaborate I have cooking in my head. So any feedback on how I handled his character (and others) and how I can improve would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading guys <33

#arthur morgan x reader #arthur morgan #rdr2 #red dead redemption 2 #arthur x reader #red dead redemption x reader #arthur morgan imagine #red dead redemption imagine #arthur morgan fic #rdr #rdr imagines #dutch van der linde #micah bell #hosea matthews #arthur's pov...#what did it cost?? everything.

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