#and my portfolio isnt as full as it could be

[1eos]

i might become a girl in it to fund my artsy lifestyle after all

[sixtyeightdays]

Only you, Marinette. Only you.

in which marinette lifts thors hammer with no knowledge of how great it is to wield mjolnir 😔✋🏻

kind of crappy but thats okay

-

Normally, when Tony Stark's name was brought up, the following words would be either 'Avengers', 'Iron Man', or something along the lines of cool and amazing.

But this time, as Tony Stark's name fluttered through the compound of College Francois Dupont, the following words were 'Why her', 'What happened', and'Marinette Dupain-Cheng'.

See, throughout Lila's entire reign at Francois Dupont, unknowingly to the Italian, a certain bluenette had been giving her and all of her classmates choices.

Lila chose to ignore Marinette's warning.

Alya chose to believe Lila and cut off all ties with Marinette.

Nino chose to follow Alya and ignore Marinette.

Adrien chose to remain quiet for fear of Lila getting akumatised.

The class chose to believe Lila, drinking up her lies and claimed connections to celebrities that'll 'boost their careers in the future'.

Now, Marinette wasn't normally one to show off her connections to the world, unlike Lila, who lied about celebrities with every breath she took.

No, Marinette preferred not to mention her celebrity contacts.

However, this time, she had thrown all caution out the window and texted him.

-

mari <3

cant wait to see all of you soon!

do you think you can pick me up at my school drop off point after i end school instead of the bakery next week?

the one and only

sure thing, mari

everyone misses you too and they cant wait to see you again

any reasons why the sudden change though

mari <3

no reason

-

It was a week before he arrived. A week full of taunts and bullying from the people who used to be her friends.

But the day had come, and Marinette was about to leave this place for the summer, and was finally going to be where she wanted to be again.

It was the last period, and Marinette, having finished her work already, started on a new design. She had just finished it when the door crashed open, making Mlle. Bustier and the class jump.

The shock turned into exciting adoration, however, as standing there in all his glory were the Avengers.

Steve Rogers, Bruce Banner, Thor, and of course, Tony Stark. Pepper was also there, trailing behind with Natasha who were muttering about how dramatic the boys were.

Alya immediately jumped to her feet, fumbling for her phone that she held with shaking hands, and started a livestream.

'Hi everyone! It's your Ladyblogger here, and today the Avengers came to visit! Oh, I bet Lila got them to come, she is Tony Stark's goddaughter after all.'

No one noticed Marinette snort into her palm.

Max gaped at his idol in the doorway, his glasses sliding off his face in his shock before he hastily placed them in it's proper position.

Thor ignored the reporter, making his way to the back of the class where Mari sat, placing his hammer on top of Mari's sketchbook, much to her chagrin.

The devious smile the god gave her confirmed that he did it on purpose, and Mari smacked him in the arm and glared at him.

'Was it really necessary to break down the door?' She deadpanned, unimpressed.

Alya gasped. 'Marinette! Don't be so rude to the Avengers! They're here for Lila, not you.'

Thor frowned in confusion. 'Who is this.. Lila you speak of?'

Alya gasped again. 'She's Tony Stark's goddaughter!' She frowned at the god disapprovingly.

'She spends her summers there, how could you not recognise her?' The Italian in question was sinking into her seat, regretting the lie she told.

Tony clicked his tongue.

'I have a goddaughter, yes, but it isn't this Lila girl. I have never heard of a Lila. No, I'm here for Marinette, my actual goddaughter.' He shot a pointed look to Alya at the last bit, before he and everyone else walked over to Mari.

Pepper passed by Alya and handed out two stacks of papers.

Alya cautiously picked it up and Pepper said, 'These are lawsuits for both you and Lila. It is for defamation and slander of different celebrities, as well as spreading false information.'

Alya gaped at the blonde as she made her way up the stairs to where Mari and everyone else was before turning to Lila with a glare.

'Were you lying the whole time?'

The class erupted in shouts at the girl, until she broke and called out that Adrien had known, but didn't say anything.

'It was for the best! Her lies weren't hurting anyone!'

'I didn't submit my music portfolio because Lila said she'd guaranteed me a spot.' Nino uttered quietly, realising that he had lost a chance to have his big break.

Mylene looked gobsmacked. 'I passed up the offer of meeting Alexander Hamilton because Lila said she'd get him to meet me for free.'

One by one, the students began listing everything they missed out because of Lila's lies, from Alix not being able to be in the X-Games like she was promised, to Kim, who had quit his swim team because Lila told him she'd get Michael Phelps to train him personally.

Adrien cracked and admitted that yes, he was wrong, but Marinette knew too!

The class suddenly remembered Marinette.

Marinette, who had been telling them all along that Lila was lying.

Marinette, who they had bullied because they thought she was jealous.

Marinette, who was scolding Tony Stark right now, wait what?

Sure enough, the bluenette was reprimanding the billionaire, who's head was hanging low like a kicked puppy, with Natasha smirking in the corner.

'I told you to come after school! There's still 15 minutes before school ends, Uncle Tony, you couldn't wait another 20 minutes?'

He hung his head and Steve snickered, until Marinette turned to him.

'Why did you let him come so early? I thought you were the responsible one.' She pinched the bridge of her nose.

The class took advantage of the momentary silence to swarm Marinette, until the Avengers glared at them and they backed away slightly.

'Girl, we're so sorry for believing that liar! Will you forgive us? We'll be best friends again.' Alya looked excited, a gleam in her eye.

'Do you think you can get me an interview with Tony Stark?'

Marinette looked at her in disbelief.

'So you want to be my friend again, just because I'm Tony's goddaughter.' Pepper and Natasha looked furious as well, while Tony eyed his goddaughter's class.

Steve placed a hand on Marinette's shoulder.

'Besides, Marinette already has a best friend.'

Alya spluttered. 'Who?'

A swarm of black and blue flew into the room and crashed into Marinette, causing her to fall back into her seat.

'Peter!' She laughed. 'MJ! Ned! Great to see you guys too!'

Peter smiled gave her a brotherly kiss on the cheek, while MJ gave her a hug and Ned fistbumped her.

'Oh! That reminds me, MJ, I'm done with the design for the dress you wanted! Let me show you!' Mari looked around for her sketchbook before noticing it under Thor's hammer.

Thor, noticing this, moved his hand forwards to pick up the hammer, but his jaw dropped as Marinette easily picked up the hammer with one hand, holding it up while she moved the sketchbook underneath it away before placing it back on the table.

She flipped through the pages of it, not noticing the shocked looks on her classmates and family's faces, and the pale face of Lila. She had become enemies with a girl who could lift Thor's hammer!

Alya, who was still live streaming, looked like a fish, and her hands, which were still raises in the position of recording, trembled.

Marinette let out a small 'aha!' when she found the page she was looking for, and looked up to see her friend's shocked face.

She frowned. 'Do you not like it?'

Adrien, still rather astonished, spluttered out. 'Marinette.. you just lifted Thor's hanmer!'

At the sound of his name, the god snapped out of his stupor, and lifting his hammer, he pointed at the bluenette. 'She is worthy! I must take her to Asgard with me!'

Marinette cocked her head. 'It's just a hammer and it wasn't even that heavy. Now you big babies, let's go back to New York!'

She grabbed MJ's hand before picking up her bag and running out, she and MJ excitedly chattering about the dress, Marinette having not understood the implications of lifting Thor's hammer, and MJ, who had seen weirder things in her life.

The Avengers, Ned and Peter blinked before filing out of the room slowly, following the excited bluenette and brunette.A certain blonde god staring at nothing in particular.

'She doesn't know what lifting my hammer means?' He snorted. 'Only you, Marinette. Only you.'

-

well yeah there isnt exactly a ship for this but i wanted to write something where mari lifts thors hammer bc i dont see enough of those

mj and peter are together, in case u didnt know

kind of lost interest in the end but thats okay lmao so the endings kinda crappy but i think weve established that i cant write for shit

thank u for coming to my tedtalk ok byee

[noritoshiikamo]

driver’s license 

cause you said forever, now I drive alone passed your street [au where suna is a doctor specialized in memory removal and his last patient of the day is his ex]

pairing: suna rintarou + fem!reader genre: pain, angst, doctor!suna + patient!reader tags//warning: medical procedure of mind erasing, slight suicide ideation, alcohol abuse note: the obligatory trio of mine: not well edited, lowercase intended, english isnt my first language im sorry if i murder it. the songs made me brawled i had to write something about it and i just so happened to finish haikyuu

“it’s odd,” he looked up from the computer screen, osamu approached him pointing to the screen, the last name listed in the appointment schedule under dr suna rintarou. please don’t say it please don’t say anything, he begged silently in his head. “she kinda has her name. haven’t heard her name in ages,” osamu shrugged, grabbing his next patient’s files, “want to get lunch later?” the doctor popped in another stick of gum, leaving before suna could even said a word.

funny that osamu said that. that is his girlfriend. he moved the cursor and clicked at the name. the birthplace, the date, her eye colour, the address and her number; it matches everything he ever memorized of her. except they are no longer together. it has been a month since their breakup.

 she’s an architect. not by choice but she likes art. she’s talented and had once held an art show during school’s open day where they met. she didn’t draw him until they started dating, but she had known some of his close friends who was the subject of her drawings. her parents disproved of her ambitious and to compromise, she agreed to take architectural instead. she stopped drawing completely and suna was the only person in japan that has the largest collection of her paintings stuffed in boxes and behind shelves.

 suna rintarou has been a doctor in inarizaki institute for 5 years now. inarizaki institute was different from others. it was the only medical institution that had successfully developed a procedure to remove unwanted memories. he’s one of the qualified doctors for said procedure. he had done the procedure multiple times now, even on his former high school friends and families but never his own girlfriend.

 is it him she’s removing from her memories?

 he didn’t remember how they broke up. maybe it’s because he was too busy. maybe it’s because she had fallen out of love with him. maybe they just couldn’t stand being in each other’s spaces, but it happened so quickly. she moved out from their apartment, returned when he left to clear out her stuff and he just threw himself back to work.

 he did remember how they met. she was the miya brothers’ neighbor. one night when he came to visit them during semester break years ago, they were in their parents’ car with a girl. suna felt like he had recognized but couldn’t think of where or when. “oi, suna,” the window rolled down and asamu called him over, “come in!” despite being weirded out, he entered the back door of the car. “we are teaching our friend how to drive; can you believe it? she’s in our university and can’t drive to save a life.”

 “shut the fuck up, atsumu or i’ll run you over,” she muttered angrily as she moved the driving gear.

 suna saw the stick going down to reverse instead down further and he immediately reached for her hand. the girl startled at the stranger’s sudden touch. “what the fuck are you d-doing?” she choked up.

 “you’re going to reverse into the wall,” he muttered bluntly, pouting his mouth to the gear. grabbing the stick through her hand, he pulled the gear into drive before letting her hand go. the light from the post shined in and he could see red flush on her face as she nodded, “oh okay, yeah d,” she muttered to herself. she started driving. she wasn’t exactly bad; she just needed a lot of practice.

 so he came over every day of his semester break and accompanied them as she practiced her driving.

 “i can drive you home?” she offered on the last night of his break before he returned to school.

 “you don’t have too.”

 “i insisted,” to which suna agreed and she glanced back at the miya brothers, “get the fuck out.” despite their disgruntlement and the it’s my mum’s car argument, she managed to kick them out. it was just two of them together. “so, i know we went to same high school and university. how come we have never crossed path before?” she questioned as she took her first turn. she memorized the roads to his home. suna shrugged as he fidgeted with the corner of the jacket’s zipper, “i played volleyball in high school.”

 she chuckled, “i’ve never watched any sport matches in high school, sorry. anyway, i’m a last year architectural student by the way. are you taking the same course as osamu?” she glanced at him with a smile. his heart skipped a beat. “y-yeah. i’m in my 5th year of medical.”

 “why not volleyball player?”

 “i got bored.”

 she let a soft exhale and shrugged, “fair enough. i took architectural to please my mother so i’m in no position to give any advice.” she slowed down in front of his house before pulling into a full stop. she pulled into parking and pulled the hand brake. she smiled and fist pumped herself, “did you see that? perfect stop!” suna didn’t expect what was going to happen next. he watched out of control as his arm reached out for her face and pulling her close. what he remembered being in control was asking her boldly whether he could kiss her.

her eyes sparkled and she smiled so widely, “yes.”

so, he did.

she moved into his apartment at the end of his graduation. she didn’t get any job for the first few months while he entered inarizaki institute as medical officer. she took commissions online and waited tables while going to a couple of interviews. he saw a decline in her motivation. when suna returned one night, he found her behind the sofa, drunk out of her mind. what spooked him wasn’t the bottles of whiskey on the floor but the stainless-steel paint scrapper she stabbed the canvas with. she could’ve hurt herself. but, putting her into therapy and pulling strings with some of her friends, she recovered, and he got her an interview. suna watched as she dreadfully shoved her portfolios and files into her bag. 

“you’ll be alright,” he reassured, bringing her a cup of coffee. she sighed and pushed her bangs back, “i don’t know, rin. i just don’t feel like getting another rejection after another and then i’ll just spiral into a-” he stopped her rambling with a kiss. he tasted like coffee; she tasted like their toothpaste. every time she tried to pull away, he pulled her back into the kiss and she could feel him laughing against her lips. “this is going to turn into something else,” she whispered between the kiss and he nodded. he was half aroused. she drank the coffee and kissed him one last time. he felt her fingers slipped from his grip. she stood by the door and waved back.

 “see you?” she beamed.

 “always.”

 suna snapped out of his own memory when an alarm blared out. he looked up past the nurses’ counter and saw a patient being pushed out of room B by a couple of nurses. he knew what goes on in that room; he helped in perfecting the procedure. osamu followed soon. he tugged the blue gloves off and shoved them into the yellow bin. “you would not believe who I met in the waiting room?” by the look of his face, osamu already got the feeling that suna already knew. osamu flipped his file and pulled out a pen. he signed the bottom of the pages and dumping it in the completed pile. “did she tell you?” suna asked.

 “about?” the other doctor asked.

 “the memories she’s erasing. did she tell you?”

 osamu shook his head and pocketed his hand in the white coat. “she asked about you. whether you’re around. i said yeah, he’s on call and she just smiled.” suna stood up and grabbed the file. he felt conflicted. osamu stopped the man before he could enter the room. “look man, I’m sorry about whatever happen between you guys and I’m in no position to judge at all.”

 suna shrugged and smiled, “it’s fine. we were just ruining each other.” the other man nodded understandingly before excusing himself. suna wanted to move but his feet felt heavy. he was glued down. room B was just a few feet away, but he couldn’t move. this is it. the end of them.

 he forced himself into the room. standing in front of the panels and monitor, separating him and her was a one-way mirror. she sat on the seat, talking to the nurses in charge. his heart hurts. she had bangs now framing her face. she’s slight thinner and no longer wore the charm bracelet he gave during their first anniversary. the nurse placed a heart-beat monitor on her thumb and attached a couple more of sensors to her brain, forehead, and neck. his monitor lightened up and spitted out the information. this is it. “doctor, she’s requesting of removal of memory from 2009 up to last month,” the nurse’s words went in his ears and out. it’s of him.

 all his own memories flashed through his mind.

 the memories of every kisses, hugs, the late nights and the earliest of days, the coffees, the spilled paints. memories of every tear he ever wiped and for ever meals she had ever cooked. memories of all the paints of him that she had gifted to him and every night she drove down his streets. for every missed calls and unread texts. the way she touched him and the way she made him felt. he felt suffocated.

 how could he ever love someone else?

 “everything is accordingly. you may press the start, doctor.”

 he looked at the flashing button and back to her. she was looking right at him. she might not see him, but she is looking straight at him and she looked so beautiful. a small smile appeared on her lips as her fingers fidgeted nervously. he felt tears prickling his eyes. his fingers brushed against the button and he slowly pressed it. 

 it took them 7 years to build this much of memories together and it took him 3 minutes to erase it clean from her mind.

 she was drowsy and she had tears running down her face. the nurses rushed in after the red light disappeared and green light beamed. the alarm rang. another memory successfully. “I’m okay, I’m okay.” he heard her from the opened door. shutting off the machine, he immediately rushed out for the door, feared that he might bumped into her and lost it. he hid his shaking hands in his pocket and gritted his teeth.

 “doctor?”

 he stopped. the world stopped spinning and he felt lightheaded. the way she called for him didn’t change, the tone and the pronunciation were the same. it was always melodious yet painful. he turned around to see her being wheelchaired out of the room by the nurse. her eyes were slightly red, and her nose were puffy. the nurse passed her a cup of water. she smiled politely, thanking her and took the cup in her hand. she took a sip, coughing at the coldness of the water down her dried throat. it’s the side effect of the procedure.

 “have we met before?” she asked, innocently.

 suna shook his head and smiled weakly, “no, we haven’t.” he turned to the nurse and nodded. before the nurse could ushered her away, she called him out again. 

 with a smile on her face, she waved goodbye, “see you, doctor?”

 “always.”

[aprilmayblossoms]

Day 4 // 100 Days of Code

1/12/21

Just realized I’ve been dating everything ‘20 instead of ‘21. How much more disorganized can I get? Blahhhh.

So, I kind of gave up on this one. Honestly I think I maybe could have achieved what I was going for if I’d have started writing the code fresh instead of trying to make all the changes of the page I’d originally done. Like. I was basically completely redesigning the page, it was silly to start with the code from the first one.

But lesson learned I guess. I hope so, at least, because there’s no way in Hell I’m even looking at that page again omg. Dealing with the centering issues was such a headache, I spent my hour today and then some working on it and really there’s not much to show for it. Gaps and just no color and ugh. Idk. On the bright side, I believe I only have one more webpage to build, so that’s exciting. 

Day 4 Summary

Project you are working on: Product Landing Page Progress today: I got it done, I guess. Put the video in a fixed position on the left under the logo so there isnt just the empty space. Adjusted the margins so that the links jump to the right areas on the page without hiding the head under the nav bar. Centered everything and changed the fonts. Not great, but not awful. I'm not doing anything else with this one Challenges you faced: Centering everything under the right 7/8 of a page instead of the full page was a huge pain. Adjusting the top margins worked so the links jump to the right place but it adds ugly gaps that I'd prefer not be there. Tasks for tomorrow: Personal Portfolio webpage

[saioumazine]

Hey there! I literally. Just found this account. Which is cool! But it means I would only have a day (maybe??) to audition- which is a big yikes since I don't have a portfolio ready. I'd love to audition as a writer, but if I haven't ever really posted my work, what should I do? Hope this isnt a bother ^^

Hey! It's the same person that sent in the ask about being late for auditioning as a writer and asking for ideas of what to do. I don't wanna annoy so, uh, sorry!! Aaa What if I just typed up some quick works, or used roleplay responses? Those are usually 5-6 paragraphs, which is mega short, but it could help with the feel for my writing! Again I know this is probably all just a hassle so I'm sorry, but this seems really cool! Definetly a reminder I need to make a portfolio.

Don’t worry! Any cohesive writing pieces will work fine. A good example of a portfolio could simply be a google drive full of previous writing examples. They don’t have to be long - because to be honest it only takes a couple paragraphs to get a feel of someone’s writing!

As well! The piece FOR the zine itself won’t be long. It’ll only be around 1500-2000 words max, so a couple paragraphs fit the ball park just fine!

[persucsion-blog]

*stums guitar* *shrieks* this is my FINAL demon , ironically names ANGEL because he’s actually the worst ! hit that lil ♥ and i’ll slide into your dms for some plotting !

( xavier serrano, cismale, he/him ) ↷ hey, that’s ANGEL CORTES who’s originally from BARCELONA, SPAIN. i heard they’re TWENTY-SIX and have been working on the ship as a PHOTOGRAPHER for A YEAR AND A HALF. other passengers seem to say they’re SUPERCILIOUS and CALLOUS, but are also known to be MAGNETIC and UNCONVENTIONAL. when they’re missing home, i heard HIS FAVORITE LIQUOR, PHOTOS OF THE SEA, & UNEXPECTED CONVERSATION can always cheer them up. ↷ ( cee, sher/they, 24, est. )

kay angel is an idiot i just wanna make that clear he’s rude n dumb and should be your worst enemy 

 although somehow his stupid ass is super magnetic and he thinks and acts in certain ways thats DIFFERENT and appealing so people wanna be around him but hes just ....... callous

anyway lets back up

BACKGROUND.

this demon boy was born in BARCELONA , SPAIN to two incredibly loving parents

he was super loved but was always a TOUGH kid to raise. always talking, always getting into trouble, always doing what he shouldn’t be doing

his mom and dad had their hands full raising him tbh 

and then his younger sister was born and she was basically his whole world

little angel loved his baby sister sOOoO much and she is 100% the only person in the world he’s 100% with

SO ANYWAY !!! TIME FOR SOME SAD

wait not im kidding its not time for sad

when he was just over 18, he was discovered on the streets of barcelona and started some modeling

he liked it, and though incredibly confident in his ways, he was more interested in being behind the camera

however, modeling was going well for him and he didn’t bother trying to do anything else bc it was making him money at such a young age

so he keeps doing that and he’s growing his portfolio and all is well

and thennnnnn

NOW ITS TIME FOR SAD !!! sad comes with death , car crash, alcohol abuse , and general sadness tws !!!

 his world was p much rocked when his parents were caught in a a bad wreck while they were visiting the states. they hadn’t seen their kids in over a week and everyone was excited for them to be back, but they never made it back home

when word made it back to spain, angel was devastated. he was thankful that his sister had decided to stay home with him. 

is he wasn’t already a big jerk, losing his family pretty much shut him down

he was still doing the modeling thing but cut it off completely and spent a few weeks drowning himself in alcohol 

thankfully, his sister was able to pull him from... some of his funk and he’s been coping ever since

OK UR CLEAR OF ALL TWS NOW !!!

it’s been about three years since then and he’s still pretty ... Permanently broken and he never really did mourn them properly because he went right into self blame and pity

but he went into therapy and ended up getting into photography because he helped him focus and he had a passion in it

it was harder building that career then modeling, but he loved it ... so much more

his sister was the one who had him apply and he’s been on the ship for about a year and a half now

he has been getting better and is a lot happier now but he also drinks his feelings away & doesn’t know how to function like a human so theres that

PERSONALITY

well, he’s...... the opposite of his name

he’s super blunt and will say exactly whats on his mind

p much the definition of acts like hes the best bc he thinks hes the worst or w/e

he definitely hates himself but we dont need to talk about that

ANYWAY !!!!! he does have this oddly magnetic personality which he loves and he hates 

bc he will .... Manipulate someone if needed but he also doesn’t always want attention so its a double edged sword

he is 100% self aware and knows he is the way he is and he doesn’t try to blame anything or excuse himself

people tried to use his tragedy as an excuse for him and hes like nah i just hate people /shrugs

i feel like throwing him ‘hes not that bad’ is needed bc he really .... isnt hes just super blunt and doesn’t have time for people

though i feel like he has so much potential to be a good friend / partner / etc hes just ......... SAD YOU KNOW HES SAD

and he doesn’t really allow himself to be sad hes gotta be Mean and Rude

but when hes working hes SUPER NICE to the guests ??? he also loves flirting w/ them so theres that

flirts w whole ass couples hes taking pictures of bc hes a hoe

100% your go to fwb bc he is a pansexual king and has no time for feelings or emotions

also super transparent about that too he doesn’t make it seem like he wants you although he 100% could

but he probably breaks hearts anyway bc hes got that Magnetic almost trustworthy vibe ?? but im telling u now

in the words of our lord and savior 3oh!3 , don’t trust a hoe

THANK U GOODNIGHT

other stuff

wanted connections

im trying to decide that age of his sister but she could potentially be a wc

[orbemnews]

High fees and pricey cowboy boots: Why crypto spending isn't about to go mainstream We’d spent lots of time discussing the various signs of market mania that had cropped up in the past year — including the rush into NFTs, the digital tokens feeding a boom in virtual art. My goals were simple: To spend far less than the $69 million ponied up for the first NFT artwork to sell at a major auction, and to get a chuckle out of my dad. In the end, buying him an image of a blue cartoon cat did not cost millions. But it was far more expensive than I expected. Why? Fees. Fees to buy the cryptocurrency ether, to transfer it to my crypto wallet, and to execute a purchase, which included an eye-popping mining charge due to congestion on the network. For my father’s sake, I’ll stay mum about how much I ultimately spent. I will say, given that the fees cost more than the NFT itself, it was more than I’d typically recommend shelling out for a quick laugh. Because I spend most of my time writing about finance, the episode also made me wonder: Between volatility and high transaction costs, do cryptocurrencies really have a future as a widespread means of spending? PayPal (PYPL) certainly thinks so. Last week, the online payment system launched a new “Checkout with Crypto” service. Customers with crypto holdings in their PayPal wallets will now be able to switch them to fiat currencies when making purchases. The company pledged “no additional transaction fees.” But even after addressing added costs, the massive run-up in the prices of popular cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether may make people hesitate to part ways with them. A video PayPal shared of CEO Dan Schulman purchasing a pair of ostrich boots inadvertently made this case. Schulman sold bitcoin at roughly $55,280 to buy a pair of $299 shoes. By Friday morning, however, bitcoin was worth more than $59,400. He may wish he’d just used his American Express. “I don’t think people are looking at it from a spending perspective. People are looking at it as an investment still,” Eleesa Dadiani, a London-based art dealer and crypto broker, told me. Dadiani had a simple message for people deciding whether to use bitcoin to buy items like a Tesla (TSLA): Don’t do it. “Why would you want to spend an appreciating asset on a depreciating product? It just makes no sense,” she said. Bill Zielke, the chief marketing officer at BitPay, which executes crypto transactions between businesses and consumers, agrees that fees remain a barrier. But there’s lots of innovation happening that could solve such problems, he said. “I think the industry is very aware that fees are something that has to be addressed for us to continue to see growth,” Zielke told me. On volatility, Zielke notes that customers can hedge their bets by holding multiple cryptocurrencies, or by liquidating some of their portfolio at an opportune moment. He acknowledged that there are still plenty of people in the crypto community who want to hold their coins — or HODL, in industry parlance — while they increase in value. But as bitcoin, ether and even dogecoin gain steam, Zielke said there’s been growing interest in translating gains into luxury purchases, from boats and watches to homes and planes. That makes him optimistic for the future. “As consumers continue to HODL, and that balance continues to grow, at some point they’ll … leverage it and spend,” he said. “And we want to be there.” Clashes over human rights complicate business in China Companies that want to do business in China have long made compromises in the pursuit of success. Now an escalating diplomatic dispute over human rights is underscoring the stark choice facing Western executives: put profit or principles first. The strains over Xinjiang — where US, EU and UK authorities have accused the Chinese government of repressing Uyghurs and other minority groups through forced labor, mass detention and sterilization — has ensnared a growing number of businesses and trade relationships in recent months, my CNN Business colleagues Jill Disis and Selina Wang report. Beijing has vehemently denied all the allegations, and says its camps in the region are “vocational training centers” designed to combat terrorism and religious extremism. But late last month, a landmark investment deal between the European Union and China was cast into doubt after officials traded sanctions over Xinjiang. Days later, H&M, Nike (NKE), Adidas (ADDDF) and other Western retailers were threatened with a boycott in China because of the stand they had taken against the alleged use of forced labor to produce cotton in Xinjiang. H&M was even dropped by major Chinese e-commerce stores. “We are working together with our colleagues in China to do everything we can to manage the current challenges and find a way forward,” H&M said in a statement Wednesday. Beijing has made it clear that multinational corporations have to follow its rules if they wish to operate in the country, and gaining favor can require anything from abiding by restrictive regulations to saying a few good words about China. Many companies have traditionally been willing to play along, given how enticing the giant economy is as a market for everything from cars and clothes to movies and luxury goods. But the escalating political blowback may make some of those relationships untenable, especially as lawmakers and investors step up pressure on Western companies to scrutinize their supply chains for evidence of human rights abuses. “These companies are just squeezed in the middle and there is no magic answer,” said James McGregor, chairman of consulting firm APCO Worldwide’s greater China division. Read the full story here. Up next Monday: ISM Non-Manufacturing Index Tuesday: Reserve Bank of Australia policy decision; International Monetary Fund economic outlook Wednesday: Reserve Bank of India interest rate decision; Carnival (CCL) earnings; US crude oil inventories; Federal Reserve minutes Thursday: US initial unemployment claims; Conagra (CAG), Constellation Brands (STZ) and Levi Strauss (LEVI) earnings Friday: China inflation data; US Producer Price Index Source link Orbem News #Boots #cowboy #crypto #fees #high #investing #isnt #mainstream #pricey #Spending #Stocksweekahead:Whycryptospendingisn'tabouttogomainstream-CNN

[dipulb3]

High fees and pricey cowboy boots: Why crypto spending isn't about to go mainstream

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/high-fees-and-pricey-cowboy-boots-why-crypto-spending-isnt-about-to-go-mainstream/

High fees and pricey cowboy boots: Why crypto spending isn't about to go mainstream

We’d spent lots of time discussing the various signs of market mania that had cropped up in the past year — including the rush into NFTs, the digital tokens feeding a boom in virtual art. My goals were simple: To spend far less than the $69 million ponied up for the first NFT artwork to sell at a major auction, and to get a chuckle out of my dad.

In the end, buying him an image of a blue cartoon cat did not cost millions. But it was far more expensive than I expected. Why? Fees. Fees to buy the cryptocurrency ether, to transfer it to my crypto wallet, and to execute a purchase, which included an eye-popping mining charge due to congestion on the network.

For my father’s sake, I’ll stay mum about how much I ultimately spent. I will say, given that the fees cost more than the NFT itself, it was more than I’d typically recommend shelling out for a quick laugh.

Because I spend most of my time writing about finance, the episode also made me wonder: Between volatility and high transaction costs, do cryptocurrencies really have a future as a widespread means of spending?

PayPal (PYPL) certainly thinks so. Last week, the online payment system launched a new “Checkout with Crypto” service. Customers with crypto holdings in their PayPal wallets will now be able to switch them to fiat currencies when making purchases. The company pledged “no additional transaction fees.”

But even after addressing added costs, the massive run-up in the prices of popular cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and ether may make people hesitate to part ways with them.

A video PayPal shared of CEO Dan Schulman purchasing a pair of ostrich boots inadvertently made this case. Schulman sold bitcoin at roughly $55,280 to buy a pair of $299 shoes. By Friday morning, however, bitcoin was worth more than $59,400. He may wish he’d just used his American Express.

“I don’t think people are looking at it from a spending perspective. People are looking at it as an investment still,” Eleesa Dadiani, a London-based art dealer and crypto broker, told me.

Dadiani had a simple message for people deciding whether to use bitcoin to buy items like a Tesla (TSLA): Don’t do it.

“Why would you want to spend an appreciating asset on a depreciating product? It just makes no sense,” she said.

Bill Zielke, the chief marketing officer at BitPay, which executes crypto transactions between businesses and consumers, agrees that fees remain a barrier. But there’s lots of innovation happening that could solve such problems, he said.

“I think the industry is very aware that fees are something that has to be addressed for us to continue to see growth,” Zielke told me.

On volatility, Zielke notes that customers can hedge their bets by holding multiple cryptocurrencies, or by liquidating some of their portfolio at an opportune moment.

He acknowledged that there are still plenty of people in the crypto community who want to hold their coins — or HODL, in industry parlance — while they increase in value.

But as bitcoin, ether and even dogecoin gain steam, Zielke said there’s been growing interest in translating gains into luxury purchases, from boats and watches to homes and planes. That makes him optimistic for the future.

“As consumers continue to HODL, and that balance continues to grow, at some point they’ll … leverage it and spend,” he said. “And we want to be there.”

Clashes over human rights complicate business in China

Companies that want to do business in China have long made compromises in the pursuit of success. Now an escalating diplomatic dispute over human rights is underscoring the stark choice facing Western executives: put profit or principles first.

The strains over Xinjiang — where US, EU and UK authorities have accused the Chinese government of repressing Uyghurs and other minority groups through forced labor, mass detention and sterilization — has ensnared a growing number of businesses and trade relationships in recent months, my Appradab Business colleagues Jill Disis and Selina Wang report.

Beijing has vehemently denied all the allegations, and says its camps in the region are “vocational training centers” designed to combat terrorism and religious extremism.

But late last month, a landmark investment deal between the European Union and China was cast into doubt after officials traded sanctions over Xinjiang.

Days later, H&M, Nike (NKE), Adidas (ADDDF) and other Western retailers were threatened with a boycott in China because of the stand they had taken against the alleged use of forced labor to produce cotton in Xinjiang. H&M was even dropped by major Chinese e-commerce stores.

“We are working together with our colleagues in China to do everything we can to manage the current challenges and find a way forward,” H&M said in a statement Wednesday.

Beijing has made it clear that multinational corporations have to follow its rules if they wish to operate in the country, and gaining favor can require anything from abiding by restrictive regulations to saying a few good words about China. Many companies have traditionally been willing to play along, given how enticing the giant economy is as a market for everything from cars and clothes to movies and luxury goods.

But the escalating political blowback may make some of those relationships untenable, especially as lawmakers and investors step up pressure on Western companies to scrutinize their supply chains for evidence of human rights abuses.

“These companies are just squeezed in the middle and there is no magic answer,” said James McGregor, chairman of consulting firm APCO Worldwide’s greater China division. Read the full story here.

Up next

Monday: ISM Non-Manufacturing Index

Tuesday: Reserve Bank of Australia policy decision; International Monetary Fund economic outlook

Wednesday: Reserve Bank of India interest rate decision; Carnival (CCL) earnings; US crude oil inventories; Federal Reserve minutes

Thursday: US initial unemployment claims; Conagra (CAG), Constellation Brands (STZ) and Levi Strauss (LEVI) earnings

Friday: China inflation data; US Producer Price Index

[floralkittygambler]

Return of The Thing

Sort of. By thing, I mean me. But I love this movie and the meme. Ok, context for this post: - Where I’ve been - Why I left - Whats hip happening -  Where I’ve Been:

Long story short, I’ve had real life matters to deal with. Firstly, my entire household contracted COVID. Well, *almost*. We’ve been through constant testing, quarantine zones, and had the ambulance up numerous times. My parents and 2nd oldest sister were hit the hardest. My 3rd oldest sister was positive and asymptomatic. Now something none of us could predict that I would be completely COVID free despite my compromises. Despite that I was in close contact with them all, including the 2nd oldest who contracted it first and accidentally being coughed on a few times lol. I went through the exact same testing and yet nothing. No symptoms. No presence of COVID. And I took no precaution to isolate from my family as I presumed in our small house we’d all get it, so I was more preoccupied with caring for the sick. Ultimately, I’ve either gotten off scott free this time or there’s a chance I may actually either be highly resistant or even immune. Even then, I WILL be having the vaccine as and when my family are eligible. And we all still follow regulations set.  I’ve also had other real life obligations, much of it either mundane fixing up my living circumstances to more personal matters. Overall, I have been extremely preoccupied.

A mini update, the stray cat Big has been in our porch a lot more in recent times due to the snow as well as being even more affectionate. And Queefster passed away after a good life and a full tummy. Why I Left:

Aside from COVID, business, and my own health declining, I’ll be blunt. I left because of how disgustingly toxic most fandoms are nowadays, but Hazbin is one of the WORST for it. That includes harassment, death threats, mocking MI and triggering an ED. In fact, I’ve even seen others get rape and death threats. So yes, even if YOU are a decent fan, collectively most of you arent doing any favours. Even some critical blogs seem to be overtly catty in ways no one else seems to pick up on under this ‘look how blunt I am’ look and it’s just... You dont have to be a prick to have your say, to be honest and to disagree with the trending. That’s a few on and off of tumblr, and no one I follow anyways. 

In regards to my ‘sensitivities’ - two things: 1) Of course trauma is going to hurt, 2) Im fully aware of kids doing and receiving much of this, which hurts MORE. I have my own lil squids and Im worried of them eventually having to deal with this shit. And no, no one SHOULD have to put up with such rude and poor behaviour. Agree to disagree doesnt live in some people’s realities, but by God harassment and bullying seems ok if YOURE doing it or enticing it. That ISNT ok. Even if it seems like nothing to you it could kill another. I certainly will not take your shit. 

On huskerdust I STAND by my words. It’s fucking creepy and there is sexual harassment and obsession. And there are large triggers. I will not go into detail here because Ive done that dance before and I’ll be refining it again. YOU may like it, however it triggers my very real traumas as well as those in my bloodline. Be respectful and keep that shit away from me. And for goodness sake, parents PLEASE dont raise your children to behave as such online. And no, being anon isnt actually fully anonymous. Also to send hate and threats anon is not only traceable but also cowardice. Grow a pair and find a hobby. I avoid my traumas for the most part. I will not allow you to weaponise or diminish my own or others experiences for your fictional based gratification. Likewise, if it becomes canon, I’ll just make an AU where it is not. Simple. You can hate it but Im not your personal circus so go be toxic elsewhere. IF you like HD and follow me, honestly... Youre probably better to unfollow as I am deeply and passionately against it and stolitz, and valvox, and am very vocal on that. Dont mistake my traumas and discomfort as a personal attack - and dont personally attack me over it either. And before anyone claims homophobia, no. This is nothing to do with sexuality. You arent the victim. If you love these pairings with your soul to the point of a ‘stan’, then youre best off unfollowing because I really am too old for extremists and rabid fans more crazed than the infected in REC. Also I never used to hate angel but now... Fans behaviour is abhorrent and hes so over saturated that I honestly really dislike him now. Doesnt mean you have to hate him too, but just bloody respect that angel isnt loved by all, he can be triggering to some as well as toxically enabling [incl. past addicts], a vile homophobic gay stereotype and just overall a lack of knowledge and respect of sex workers as a whole. When you know a lot of the ins and outs and victims, it’s hard to overlook. I respect your triggering ships by avoiding that mess. Respect others.  The problem with Viv - and I will elaborate in the future - is that your audience is often a reflection of your work and it’s message/presentation. And most of the fandom Ive met are awful. Honestly, though lonesome I find more comfort keeping distant from fandoms because yall often extremely toxic and petty. Perhaps others have had better experiences than I however Im drawing a line in the sand. For MY sake. I’m annoyed with virtually anyone I sense great potential in that becomes wasted. Im angry at Viv because she can do so much better but is blocking HERSELF. This is from a creative and business mindset. When someone has potential that gets wasted - especially creatively - it burns me. Im just passionate on artistic fields. It doesnt mean I hate them. I hate the waste of full potential.

I’ll state things here people disagree with but encouraging harassment, hate or just being an overall cunt just aint on- It’s like people charade as being this fair being but its all bullshit. Self improve and sod off, I do NOT have time to parent you online. 

And obviously there are RL duties I must fulfil. Some in which I will need the publics assistance for if you can spare it. Overall, Im just... Fandoms behaviour generally disgusts me. Disappoints me. We SHOULD be better than this. It’s like listening to bloomin incels rant on fuckin chad or some bullshit pill theory instead of looking to improve themselves too. Honestly... I do mostly acknowledge my own flaws and faults and try to improve each day. It just feels fewer folk see that in themselves and do the same. And that’s coming from an old cunt whos far from fuckin perfect. Also, my fuckin laptop broke so I waited a week for a bloke nearby to fix it. What a fuckin lifesaver, he’s the real mvp!

Also Also, one of you did privately apologise and I appreciate that. I certainly hope we agree to disagree and continue to grow as people on our separate ways. Trust me, I dont forget small acts like this. Even the trauma that caused and the aftermath, please dont think I dont appreciate the apology. However you’re also entitled to know that the forgiveness and healing side may take longer for me due to various factors that occurred - much that few are aware of, including yourself especially. I wish you well and safety.

Hip Happenin Now:

Still busy but slowly visiting. I’ll reply and reblog soon, be patient please. Ive still many things to sort which take priority as well as other things. Im trying to get money n shit for a future and whatnot. Health issues are strong in the blood rn and Im spending extended time with both Big and the other pets to keep up harmony, especially now that Big is accepting slowly that our porch is a welcome shelter for him and he’s free to leave and stay whenever. Trust me, overloaded isnt even the word. Im prepping shit early this year and from now on. Also, my God Ive been dealing with more physical issues as well and had to play doctor. May even need medical interference but holy shit I could never see this coming. Still... It’s... An experience- If you could call it that. Staying more active and healthy. Cat’s nearly clawed my eye out in my sleep (to which I can only presume Billy got too close or hyper) but it’s fortunate placement so Im alright. Most of my body is in pain to the point of absolute normality at this rate. And I plan to make space for a better altar. Future of the Blog: 

Errr, it’s my fuckin space so it’s whatever I want really. Ill still have my Viv rants (ie, pros and cons of her work, HH/HB, other shit like that) however I just really dislike most the fandom at this point as well as the poor management and lack of professionalism and attitudes of staff. It’s just draggin me down and making me ill. I also want to showcase more of MY work (from redesigns to projects to some dumb 2am shit), cosplays, fashion, hobbies, spiritual practises - MY. SHIT. I feel like Ive strayed slightly. But I WILL be honest. And damn well will it upset people. And if it does and I’m genuinely ding something wrong/harmful - guide me patiently. Educate me. If it’s like this HD shit where Im not only allowed my opinions but justified on my traumas or mocking my disabilities or features, then just yeet yourself elsewhere. Also some of my gaming shit too. Getting to know folk who interact with my stuff and just... Create my space. For me. Something hopefully others can enjoy. Something that can function as a bit of an art portfolio as well. Critiques and whatnot.  But I will continually not stand for anyone’s shit or poor handling of serious matters. You will not cause me to doubt and invalidate my experiences like you have to others.  For now, Im tottering but slowly returning. For those who I previously and daily interacted with, I will get back to you. And Im sure you’re patient and understanding of my situation - it’s appreciated. But in terms of any fandom, more so if it’s known to be as hostile, I’d rather keep a healthy boundary between us. That’s for newer folk. Perhaps we may bond further and you’re welcome to try, however I do feel far safer not getting involved into other people’s shit any longer. I will put anon back on but any toxic shit will be reported as well as compiled so at least I have a reference on the actual toxic nature of fandoms. Likewise, Im slowly getting there but god theres a lot of fuckin work. So much that not even my closest friend has heard too much from me until recently. I’ll be returning to the grind for now as I have duties, as well as many demanding felines for my attention. Alongside some physical medical concerns which require additional care, I’ll be popping off now.  Im thankful for those who have checked in on me. I will reply shortly. Take care

[lovebunnie]

nick carraway and jay gatsby are both gay and heres why

its 11:30 at night and i have class tomorrow but ive been itching to make this post for about a week so im gonna do it. this wont be centered as much around jay and nick being in LOVE, since id have to read and analyze it a bit more to make honest to god claims and opinions for that, but these r some of the reasons that point to both of these characters being completely gay. also, im going to be issuing some points from others sources, but ill include links to the original texts which i recommend reading!

1

so the great gatsby was written in 1925, a time full of alcohol, financial bliss, and parties like u would not believe. many of these themes are prevalent in the novel, making themselves known all throughout. even the term ‘gatsby-like’ is extremely well known. needless to say, this book is extremely well known in every front. one of the ones i saw the most was calling the great gatsby ‘the greatest love story ever written.’ and before i read the novel myself, i wouldnt have been able to tell u any different. but when u read it, and really, how u analyze it, really shapes how u see the characters. to some people, it really could be an amazing love story. but to me, this story is written about someone obsessed with a facade, denying himself who he is, and a man who watches his downfall and can do nothing to stop him.

one very important thing to acknowledge is how this novel is told: its told completely in nicks perspective. we only know how he feels, we only know these characters based on how nick sees them. it is immediately biased towards nick. and what he does is describe a hell of a lot of people. but it is very distinctive in the way he does it; men and women are very differently described.

nick describes daisy in her voice and the power it has over people. all of nicks flowery language goes into daisys speech, but not in great length about what daisy looked like. with jordan, nick does a bit more describing in the way she is ‘small-breasted’ and had the ‘shoulders of a young cadet.’ these traits are masculine, and we know from the novel that nick does enjoy jordans company and he does say he ‘enjoys looking at her.’ hell, even the name ‘jordan’ is traditionally masculine. nick sees jordan leaning more towards masculinity than femininity. but even still, the flowery language is not as grand as it could be, not as we know nick can get.

its when nick is describing men that things get bold and expressive. even while describing tom does nick go into great and intimate length with him;  ‘ He had changed since his Haven years. Now he was a sturdy straw haired man of thirty with a rather hard mouth and a supercilious manner. Two shining arrogant eyes had established dominance over his face and gave him the appearance of always leaning aggressively forward. Not even the effeminate swank of his riding boots could hide the enormous power of that body he seemed to fill those glistening boots until he strained the top lacing, and you could see a great pack of muscle shifting when his shoulder moved under his thin coat. It was a body capable of enormous leverage -- a cruel body’ the author of this paper literally said this passage ‘pulses with sexual energy,’ and this is for a character nick doesnt even like. it obviously means more in the way nick describes him, has more heart and passion put into it.

and now gatsby, who nick, in the final chapters, dwells on even more. we know gatsby is attractive, that much we can tell without nick even really having to describe him. but even in a single paragraph about his smile does it provoke more feeling than anything else about daisy or jordan;  ‘ He smiled understandingly-- much more than understandingly. It was one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you might come across four or five times in your life. It faced --or seemed to face-- the whole external world for an instant, and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself, and assured you that it had precisely the impression of you that, at your best, you hoped to convey.’

like. damn nick. this is only about gatsbys smile. this was no accident or cruel twist of fate; nick is enamored with jay and obviously finds him attractive and also enjoys looking at him, like jordan. nick sees men and women differently. this could be chocked up to ‘it was the olden days’ and ‘sexism,’ but nick isnt rude to these women, nick is simply not interested in them, at all.

but how do we know nick is gay? wheres the textual proof? its written out word for word, you just have to know where to look. and where to look is at the very end of chapter 2.

so chapter 2 does a lot for the plot; it basically introduces nick to the life these people live and makes him see how unappealing it is. we meet a large cast of characters and expand on others, like myrtle, her sister, and most importantly to the subject of nicks sexuality, mr. mckee.

mr. mckee is described as a ‘pale feminine man’ and nick offhandedly describes the smudge of shaving cream on his cheek. weird right? later in the night, nick describes himself as ‘ Taking out my handkerchief I wiped from his cheek the remains of the spot of dried lather that had worried me all the afternoon.’ nick has been LOOKING at this married man all night and cleaned him up when he was messy like come ON. plus, a ‘pale feminine man’ could very easily be a stereotype of a gay man, especially in the 1920s.

but then comes the most important part about nicks sexuality in the entire book: the ellipses.

the great gatsby is relatively short, only about 200 pages or so, give or take. fitzgerald would not include anything he wouldnt need, as he is also an expert in metaphors and making things seem as they are not. everything is masterfully placed and paced, making it seem to flow like water. 

the scene in question describes mr. mckee and nick on an elevator, leaving the party. mr. mckee walked out, leaving his wife, and nick decided to follow. heres the scene:

Come to lunch some day,” he suggested, as we groaned down in the elevator.

“Where?”

“Anywhere.”

“Keep your hands off the lever,” snapped the elevator boy.

“I beg your pardon,” said Mr. McKee with dignity, “I didn’t know I was touching it.”

“All right,” I agreed, “I’ll be glad to.”

. . . I was standing beside his bed and he was sitting up between the sheets, clad in his underwear, with a great portfolio in his hands.

“Beauty and the Beast . . . Loneliness . . . Old Grocery Horse . . . Brook’n Bridge. . . . ”

Then I was lying half asleep in the cold lower level of the Pennsylvania Station, staring at the morning Tribune, and waiting for the four o’clock train.

LIKE. WHAT.

those ellipses separate the time between nick and mr. mckee on the elevator and nick and mckee at his home, with one in underwear and then nick leaving for the train at 4am. there is a large gap of time missing from this, and nick decided to leave it out while fitzgerald decided to keep it in. it means something, and the use of ellipses gives the audience enough to know what is happening without explicitly telling them. it is the authors ‘wink wink nudge nudge’ to the audience. think of the environment nick was in; tom was cheating with myrtle, the heavy metaphor of the eyes watching over the sins we think no one can see. this party was full of mischief and nick fucked a married man.

mckee does not seem intoxicated, he invites nick out to lunch while gripping the elevator handle, which are always objects shaped like dicks. plus in the novel, the scene does feel somewhat out of place; nick does not spend too much time discussing the interactions between mckee and himself, it seems thrown in. i get the impression that nick almost didnt want to include it it his writing, and put it in last minute. however, nick is fictional and i dont have much to go on off from an almost 100 year old book. its open to personal interpretation, but it seems like nick and mckee had sex and nick left on the 4am train, leaving mckee in his underwear at his own home looking through his pictures.

even at the beginning of the novel, nick is planning on living in a house with another man before the plan falls through and he goes to washington dc. could this be a failed boyfriend? we cant say. but it is a possibility.

nick carraway ends the novel mourning his friend jay gatsby, moving back to the midwest alone and away from the glitz and glam of new york. his ending does not involve getting married and having kids and riding off into the sunset, which seems bittersweet for our narrator. however, given the way things planned out for other characters, this is the best ending we could hope for for nick, one away from the destruction and one where he can at least begin to to to be happy again.

and now we move onto jay.

ill admit, this has little to do with textual evidence; i cant point out a place where jay fucks a dude or describe the way jay sees men and women; with nick being our narrator, again, he only know his perspective. but we do hear things about jay from other characters, how he acts and acted before nick and the type of man he is.

wolfshiem describes jay as ‘ very careful about women. He would never so much as look at a friend’s wife.’ this means that jay knows women and knows when to back off, never advancing on someone he had no claim to. this is very important to me for several reasons.

1. it implies jay is not a cheater

2. it implies jay has been around enough women to know who is who

3. it shows jay is respectful

this also says to me that jay is not bi; he only has eyes for daisy, and not other woman. and those eyes for daisy are questionable.

we know daisy and jay had last seen each other 5 years prior to the events of the novel. in that time, jay had collected numerous things about daisy, built a house just so he could see her, and blew thousands of dollars every weekend for parties in hope that daisy would show up, even obtaining money illegally just to impress daisy.

jay gatsby is obsessed with daisy.

this is obvious from the text, the behaviors he puts forward are strange and creepy in pursuit of daisy. gatsby stares longingly out the window, cant hold a conversation with nick, and flat out bolts out of a restaurant to avoid embarrassment. he is an awkward guy, no doubt. and he lives his life as trying to be someone else, specifically, the man he thinks daisy wants from 5 years ago. when the car crashes with myrtle, all gatsby cares about is how daisy feels; when hes literally about to get ganked all he thinks about is daisy, daisy daisy daisy.

this isnt love, and i think deep down, jay knows it. this is the equivalent of dudebros who go above and beyond to prove they arent gay but end up the most gay of them all. gatsby is compensating for his feelings and trying to push the limit to deny himself more and hide back into the closet. he wants to seem the most manly he can get and basically say ‘wow i love women! i love women so much! look what i did for this woman! look at how much i love her!’

daisy is the first person jay felt he could be himself around, could begin to feel happy. and when he went to war, he no longer had something to push all his feelings onto. plus he was surrounded by other men, and for someone so in denial about their own sexuality, it probably drives them to pretty bad places. pretty obsessive places. he needs daisy, not because he loves her, but because he needs to security blanket. he needs to feel validated.

those glaces and stares out at nick feel like cracks of the real jay poking through, one who likes men but cannot admit it to himself. after all, as a man so attached and desperate for the ‘american dream,’ back in the 1920s, that did not include marrying a man. jay lives with internalized homophobia and tries to calm his nerves with his pretend love of daisy.

i could go on and on about this forever but its 12:30 and i have class.

if u take nothing from this, let me leave u with these main bullets:

TL;DR

nick fucked a dude

nick describes men erotically while he describes women very dully

nick almost lived with another man

jay is obsessed with daisy to repress his emotions

the separation and wartime made things worse for him

his internalized homophobia causes the plot

his longing stares out the window at nick are cracks in his facade

ty and goodnight

[kbgamesfmp]

MoSCoW Techneque

The MoSCoW method is a prioritization technique used in management, business analysis, project management, and software development to reach a common understanding with stakeholders on the importance they place on the delivery of each requirement; it is also known as MoSCoW prioritization or MoSCoW analysis.

this will allow me to p-lan my work acordenly and so that i can look at all my steps to stay away from or to complete for the final project. as i love plans to follow this is really helpful and i will defienlty be keeping an eye on all the steps below , this will make me not get behind and so that i can prtopperly focus o0n the tasks at hand.

Must Have -

the character must have a full set of some sport of armour / clothing on the character . can be any sort of clothing but must be inished to have clothing to make the character finished and to look good.

The character must have good level of detail-

thisw character must have a in depth amounbt of detail , so that this character looks realistic , to do so i will be making and puttinjg clothing onto the character so that they are more reaLISTIC so that they dont just look liike 1 still thing.

must be able to be re3ndered into 2d image , so this allows me to savce it and to share online on my personal portfolio , this allows for me to be bale to share my skills and artwork with the industry. if it is rendered correctly , thisd allows me as a creater to get my work out there to be seen by pertential companys.

should have -

should have hair rendered , so that textures could be used on the character to give a more realistic tone of detial to the character. this allows it to look for pleassing on the eye and also makes the character have incvredible realsitic body parts and features , which really make the character a complete image.

should have weopons made so that the character looks fully complted with a weopon that could be used , this will make the character look more fearce and also i think its completes the whole scene / c0oncept art.

texture rendered , this character should have a varietyof textures used , this allows the character tolook humanly and realistic, obviously it isnt such a big problem if this doesnt work.

could have -

my character could have wings to make the character more detailed and i think it would make the character look so awsome. it isnt a big missif this isnt added but i think it would look more phisically pleassing and would give the character more of a dynamic way and allows them to look more like a crature.

i could add my character into a scene , this would show off the character would look like , this would test toi see if this could nactually be used in a gaming envirement , this could change the way things are added or removed as it could cause problems in  the engine. this woulod make it to see hoiw the chara\cter runs in the gaming engine like unreal or unity , the cvharacter might cause engine fails or could work extrmely well, this allows for imporovments to be made or things to be taken out of the character.

could include a hybrid between two species ,this allows for more of a dynamic aqpproach . this would give a complex feel to the character.

wont have -

wont be annimated in a animator application , i dont want the charater annimated as its not a mjst have a i dont want to worry and stress about something that is not needed for my wor4k to be showcased ,i want it to be shown as a 2d view concept art , pertincally on a portfolio of my work.

my desing wont have loads of characters , im focused on one awsome character. this allows me to full;y focus and zoom in one one character , this alolows for loads of detail and i can chill and work alot slower as if i made alot of characters i thinkit would add necissarly stress when not needed.

wont worry how it works in 3d , as i want it o be shown , and to not be rendered into a game engine at thbis time , i could in the future add it into a engine , if the character comes out looking amazing ,but its defiently not needed for this project. i will do that if i really want to showcase my abiliity in the character making industry and to make my work unique and to get a better edge over another concepy art desiner.

[nothingbutbark]

me like a month ago: its fine this isnt gonna be like. a portfolio blog or whatever. its just a way to give my some semblance of a writing schedule. its fine if everything is wips me, now, posting wips: [biting my own fingers off]

He gasped, and fell forward onto his hands and knees. 

That fucking hurt.

And yet, looking over himself, nothing was broken. It was if all the actual damage had just been...

Absorbed.

He flexed his hand. Neat.

Thundering footsteps made his head snap up in time to get a face full of boot. His head slammed back against the wall, and there was a sickening crack that he hoped wasn't his skull.

"Well," said the man, leering down at Mason, grinding his foot down on his face. "I don't know who the hell you are, but there's a voice in the back o' my head telling me you're gonna get in the way o' my freedom."

Mason glared at him as best he could with a foot on his face, forgetting, for a moment, his mask.

"And I don't like that," the man continued. "So, freak, think they're gonna bury you in that outfit?"

Mason grabbed the man's ankle with both hands, and slowly pushed the foot of his face. He grinned. "Think they’ll bury you in yours?" He pushed to his feet and, unbalanced, the man fell on his back with a cry.

Mason tightened his grip on the guy's ankle and spun, slamming the man into the wall. It didn't crack like it had behind Mason, but it did sound like it hurt. The throbbing in his chest and on his face burned with satisfaction at that. The man dropped the ground and rolled onto his back, groaning. A necklace with an ornate horseshoe on it jostled out from under his shirt. Rage boiled in his veins. Mason walked over, raised his leg over the man's chest, and slammed it down.

[bsleycasestudies]

Resy

Portfolio: Resy

I spent a year at Resy, helping them relaunch their guest experience on iOS and Android. I've taken a stab at summing up what me and my team did below.

I left Starbucks in January 2018 to join the Resy team in New York. I'd worked with my friends at Canlis for years and gotten a glimpse of what good software could do to a dining experience and buisness. Resy and only a few other players were at the center of that.

In the reservation space, OpenTable had long been a monopoly and Resy was challenging the behemoth, going after some of the best restaurants in America.

Resy had spent most of their time focusing on their primary product: the restaurant app itself. Reservations, hosts, and servers used Resy to take reservations, cater to guests, and organize their inventory for years. This was the bread and butter and what ultimately sat at the center of their business proposition.

The next big step for Resy was the guest side of things. The iOS and Android app had been largely underserved and the user experience hadn't seen much change since its launch.

I worked along side of John Neidermeyer, on the heels of the work he and the engineering team did in relaunching a new resy.com. I began revisiting their iOS and Android apps for the best reservation experience and updating the whole suite to feel like one cohesive brand. I dig into some specific features below.

I worked closely with the Tomor Molovinsky (Product Manager), Tobin Schwaiger-Hastanan (iOS), and Rob Glover (Android) to prioritize where we wanted to put our focus the most. Core parts of the app were litered with dsyfunction and we had to juggle a big pile of low hanging fruit along with some bigger aspirations like a rewards model and smart ways of personalizing the app.

Component-Based Design:

Product designers tend to like systems but beyond a loose ideal, I learned the value of a component-based design system at Starbucks. I was at the center of developing a design system for our web and ultimately all native platforms.

First on the list at Resy, regardless of the feature we needed to tackle was to reign in dozens and dozens of styles and build a small system of reuable parts. This included typography, color, UI components and some rules around when we used custom components vs. just relying on tried and true native interactions.

The challenge was that iOS and Android had a wildly different look and feel from the newly redesigned resy.com. We wanted to leap forward into the future of what the app could be but we also didn't want to c reate scenarios where brand new screens that looked entirely different than a screen you'd just screen would disorient you and ultimately impact our user e xperience.

The compromise was to settle on an interim design languagen that used the same font as the existing UI and a dark theme. Later, I'd go through these same set of components and revisit them to reflect the visual choices on resy.com. In fact, this was consistently updated in tandem.

Performance:

Resy app was built when Resy was small. So many of the issues we had were a direct result of growth that wasn't kept up with. It's a soapbox of mine, but user experience isnt limited to visuals and the things a designer is typically assigned to. In this case, our biggest issue was performance, specifically when you opened the app. I worked with Kevin Schumacher and other back end engineers to take our 16+ second load time down to 4. From there, Tobin and I built in ways to load the content incrementally, not letting things like large images and big map areas block loading content that could be immediately visible.

Sign up:

As far as features go, we started with the top. A lot of users were bouncing due to a difficult sign in process which required an email, full name, location etc just to look at what restaurants we had in the app. I simplified this a ton, asking for just a phone number, then using Twillio to send the user a code, that they could easily pop into their app and become a user immediately. This increased new user conversion a ton, drove up our app store ratings, and gave us a much more dependable phone number for guests that we'd later use for reservation confirmations.

You can see this feature live by downloading the Resy app here: XXXXX

Profile:

There was a lot of appetite for change in the app but when it came to making big shifts in the UI, allegiance to the way things were became a barrier to getting things done. One of the ways me and my team navigated this was by choosing a relatively isolated part of the app, Profile and proving we could make big, meaningful improvements without interupting the core experience of browsing restaurants. I have Tomer to credit for driving this strategy.

Profile was all the obvious things you'd expect under "Account" but also managing your reservations, past and present. The existing screen was a flyout menu of titled sections. The terms in many titles were unclear and the most important actions a user would want to take were buried under a couple taps. I worked with real users in testing and data from Mixpanel to identify key actions and figure out a way to elevate those beyond just browsing a heirarchy.

This also required revisiting the whole information a rchitecture and parent/child relationships within Profile. I used a tree test to validate and investigate multiple different models of organizing the sections before landing on the one Resy uses today. Listening to the language real users used to describe their actions was key to clear labels and easy to find actions.

You can see this feature live by downloading the Resy app here: XXXXX

Map vs. List:

This interaction was tough. We explored a bunch of different models. Tested them in coffee shops. Used principle.

Search:

Before leaving Resy to work at Goodthings, my last feature was Search.

Reccomendations

Autocomplete

Filters

Sort

Testing different models of re-arranging the screen.

Everything is search!

Tada!

big image to tie it up.

[saleoutletsneakers-blog]

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[havaheart]

im gonna ramble here for a sec to get my head in order bc i have no other good way to organize my thoughts (i should just put this on a google doc but im also a hoe for validation so Shrug)

ok i got this job fixing up the website for that company my moms doing the legal work so i might have somewhat of an Income i can put away for conventions n other shit

i have plans for some bday gifts i gotta finish putting together: some of them i might need neon’s help w/ (esp the computer bg one like i wanna do a tiled one but i might just have to do a full res one) 

i gotta email that prof about a recc for applications but i think im probably only gonna apply a few places and i should put together a online/physical portfolio which means doing art w a deadline and god am i not gr8 at that 

and and and and i wanna write that video essay about women & media bc thats like.......my fucking focus in life tbQUITEh like idk if im going into something everyone already talks about and my perspective isnt that unique asside from being gay and nb along w growing up as a girl and seeing that reflected in the media i consumed and uughjdfg should i use this for my application essay like a summurized/shortened one??? or is that unoriginal. is that too already done?? 

maybe if i do it about video games bc theyre such an involved media and a widespread one due to eeryone owning phones and mobile games being a large part of the video game industry holding together not to even fucking mention how video games for kids are still marketed towards boys still like ugh ok im getting ahead of myself again. 

maybe i could redo the boyband essay from my senior year. idk. 

okok back on track. gotta cleanup my work email, finish that comission price sheet (bc i should continue doing those maybe just icons for now so i can save cash for super?? ehh), i gotta make a budget for my self goddamn, check what cosplays i still have and what i can finish b4 july, gotta email that prof and hope to every god that she rememebrs me and still likes me, i gotta finsih those applications, make somethign resembling a portfolio (and get a domain of some sort), write down my other thots for those essays, finsih the itinerary (i should do that now whiile i have the energy (also its been more than a month godamnit i should just wait for 612 to upd8 at this point fuk me), uhhhhhhhHHHHHH and go to sleep at a reasonable time and not 4am again. ok team lets GO! 

[jamieclawhorn]

Watch out! I’d never waste my money on this big-yielding FTSE 100 investment trap

Participating in the stock market is the best way to make your money work for you. Investing in a cash account may be considered less risky than snapping up shares, but these low-yielding options won’t help most of us to build a large cash pile, or protect us against slipping into pensioner poverty.

That said, there are plenty of shares that look good on paper but which threaten to decimate your savings. Kingfisher (LSE: KGF) is one such company where the risks far, far outweigh the potential rewards on offer.

The DIY specialist launched its ONE Kingfisher restructuring plan three years ago to bolster sales and margins, and give annual profits a boost to the tune of £500m by 2021. It can’t be disputed that the plan is failing though — latest earnings details showed pre-tax profit plummeted by 30.1% to £281m for the February to July fiscal half — and that has raised speculation over whether chief executive Veronique Laury will be forced out.

It’s a trap!

Broker forecasts would suggest that things aren’t as bad as all that. Just a fractional improvement in earnings per share has been estimated for the year ended January 2019, although Kingfisher’s performance is expected to improve markedly in the current fiscal period (a 16% bottom-line rise is currently anticipated).

Glass-half-full investors might be tempted in by this. A forward P/E ratio of 8.9 times provides a margin of safety and bakes in the chances of this positive reading being blown off course, they might argue. And a chubby, inflation-smashing 5.2% dividend yield provides the cherry on top of the cake.

I say that’s wrong, wrong, wrong! There’s a reason why Kingfisher is this cheap and it’s because the broader market has little faith that the home improvement retailer has what it takes to turn things around. A share price fall of 36% in the past year alone illustrates this, and I for one fully expect the Footsie firm to keep on sliding.

Sales slumping

Whilst Kingfisher’s turnaround plan has been a massive disappointment, the significant deterioration in its two key markets of the UK & Ireland and France certainly hasn’t helped. Unfortunately for the B&Q owner, conditions only appear to be getting worse, setting the stage for the possibility of further share price weakness.

Latest quarterlies showed like-for-like sales in France fell 3.4% between August and October, worsening from the 2.4% drop of the first half and driven by a shocking 7.1% revenues fall at its Castorama stores. As if this wasn’t enough, in the UK & Ireland like-for-like sales dropped 0.7% in Q3, worse than the 0.5% reversal in the first half.

Problems across the Channel were the chief driver of group like-for-like sales falling 1.3% in the quarter, and such is the scale of the challenge to turn around its slumping French stores that Kingfisher will exit Russia, Spain and Portugal to double-down on this critical region. Rather worryingly, though, Laury commented that reinvigorating its France region is likely to be “no quick fix.”

A world of hurt awaits for those thinking of snapping up Kingfisher, in my opinion, and it’s a share that should be avoided like the plague. There are plenty of brilliant blue-chip dividend shares that could make you rich, but I’m afraid this embattled retailer isn’t one of them.

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Royston Wild has no position in any of the shares mentioned. The Motley Fool UK has no position in any of the shares mentioned. Views expressed on the companies mentioned in this article are those of the writer and therefore may differ from the official recommendations we make in our subscription services such as Share Advisor, Hidden Winners and Pro. Here at The Motley Fool we believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors.