#it just took what? 30 volumes to get the payoff | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

deadcfnight · 4 years ago

Text

Did you see that? I could have sworn that I just spotted [ SUMMER BISHIL ] ducking into the shadows. Oh, it was just [ BRIAR PAUZIÉ ]. They’ve always been kind of odd. You know, I’ve heard rumors that they are actually a [ VAMPYRE ] and work as a [ NIGHTCRAWLER and DOCTOR ]. I don’t know if that’s actually true, but I do know that they are PROVOCATIVE & MAGNETIC, which is nice, but they also are INFLAMMATORY & HEDONISTIC when you piss them off.

BIRTH NAME. Fabrizia da Firenze USED NAME/S. Briar Pauzié, Bri AGE. internally: 625 — visually: 30s GENDER. Female, she/her SPECIES. Vampyre SEXUALITY. Anything’s worth trying once RELIGION. Atheist BIRTHPLACE. Florence, Italy HEIGHT. 5'5" PHYSIQUE. Slender but well toned, endowed with strength and grace LANGUAGE(S). Italian, Latin, English, Russian, French, German. CURRENT OCCUPATION. Doctor (& Clan’s Nightcrawler) MBTI. ESTJ-T / ESTJ-A, “The Executive” ENNEAGRAM. 98% Type 8: “The Challenger” — sees themselves as strong and powerful and seeks to stand up for what they believe in. 95% Type 6: “The Skeptic” — preoccupied with security, seeking safety, and liking to be prepared for problems JUNG. ESTJ VIRTUES. Quick-witted, provocative, proud, ambitious, cunning, magnetic, eloquent VICES. Inflammatory, hedonistic, cocky, pernicious, mercurial, wrathful, begrudging MORAL ALIGNMENT. Chaotic Neutral, day-to-day. Neutral Evil, under pressure TEMPERAMENT. Choleric

QUICK FACTS & HEADCANONS ❦ Dominates the night shift schedule at the hospital, much to everyone’s awe and relief.

❦ After participating in various Renaissance celebrations, throwing herself into international city nightlife, and an extensive 1920s partying stint, she doesn’t find any appeal in introducing foreign upper and downer substances into her system. Drinking is not a comfort habit she ever developed, having died before she was able to develop a fondness or crutch on such things.

❦ Similarly, she doesn’t find much enjoyment in music. Classical, she associates with her horrendous excuse of an uncle. Pop and bass heavy numbers are too stimulating. Atmospheric nature sounds or the hum of overlapping conversations soothes her best. The only genre exception, if one could call it that, would be bard compositions or medieval instrumentals, since she has positive memories of her time in England.

❦ Is indifferent towards the supernatural elements of the world. She tolerates each equally, though is most wary of fire wielding witches and young vampyres. The level of volatility she has encountered with the two manifestations left an unforgettably unfavourable impression upon her memory — she possesses no interest in re-hashing old wounds nor maturely turning the other cheek. In her mind, both are best avoided altogether lest irreversible mistakes be made.

❦ Has a tendency to use very dated phrases or insults that don’t always age well or translate into the zeitgeist’s vernacular.

❦ Irate at all times, simmering beneath the surface, but has grown so adapted to the perpetual persistence of the feeling she appears entirely placid at face value. A few lifetimes of trial and error and discipline has equipped her with the knowledge that it serves no one to betray the tumultuous nature of her inner workings through body language or unnecessarily drawing attention to herself. She’s well-aware nothing about her situation (past and present) can be changed by letting any impulsive immature desires run rampant. Only the sharpness of her tongue provides the occasional preview of her bitter and wrathful edges, to those paying close enough attention, exclusively reserved for the informal company (AKA the presence of any supernatural being).

❦ Whilst entirely professional in her workplace, she has her moments of despair if triggered by a sensitive circumstance. Usually it revolves around encountering children burdened with a terminal illness or catastrophic injury that cannot be helped, despite all modern medicine’s best efforts. When an innocent can’t be saved. Neglectful guardians/foster figures evidently just invested in the money aspect of fostering and not their child’s health are no better. To avoid unpacking her own personal baggage around such issues and the self-reflection required to adequately process her emotions into any other form but frustration, she has falls into an episode of madness. It’s almost as if she reverts to her 14th century deathbed’s self except empowered by mobility, wherein she’s nothing but mercurial, broody, and intolerant until the haze wears off and she resumes her regular routine. Usually she can anticipate the bad news/encounter before the flare begins and she can identity precisely when it is time to carefully isolate and distance herself from others.

❦ Is unaffected by the sight and scent of blood, proudly so. Additionally, she’s quite the purist when it comes to the blood she will consume, preferring to only engage with the healthiest or privileged of sources — usually someone rich, upper class, who can afford to lose a little energy now and then. Outside her practice, when it comes to feeding, alongside an aftercare dose of glamour, she still likes to politely siphon blood with the butterfly needles (a stash kept on her at all times). Doing so leaves minimal trace, rather than causing a puncture with her own teeth — it’s a chosen boundary, believing it separates her from ever stooping to savage animalistic urgency.

FULL BIOGRAPHY

Known by a multitude of names over her 625 years of “life”, once upon a time, Briar was known as Fabrizia. Born in the late 14th century Florence during the Italian renaissance, it was a time eventually celebrated for the many of the scientific, artistic and cultural advancements. However, in its early stages, there were more obstacles than rewards faced by lower class citizens. Both her parents were struggling artists, additionally her father taking on a job as a textile worker after she was born in order to keep their family afloat.

Fabrizia spent most of her childhood years in the shared studio of her parents. She was always naturally curious, growing up to mimicking their artistic gestures on canvas scraps. As stubborn as she was creative, often Fabrizia would stay up late into the night alongside their candlelit figures, awaiting the moment exhaustion finally caused their hands to tremble and officially announce bedtime. She was an adored daughter, inspiring both her mother and father to keep working hard despite the lack of immediate payoff. One day, they hoped to earn enough that slaving away all day would no longer be necessary. In the meantime, idyllic family life was put on hold.

When Fabrizia entered adolescence, she began to show signs of sickness. Modern medicine would have been able to identify it was unnaturally high exposure to the toxic fumes and particles let off by the compounds in her parents’ cheap yet vivid paints - no match against her weak constitution. Soon, her presence became too disruptive in the studio. The volume of her coughs, fidgeting, and whining of feverish discomfort made her a nuisance to paint alongside.

When it was gently yet adamantly advised she spend time outside with the neighbourhood children, Fabrizia threw the first of what would become a chain of tantrums. Her father, more stern and stronger than mother, took matters into his own hands and contacted his brother across the city - Fabrizia’s uncle, Lorenzo - a struggling composer at the time. The task of babysitting her was reluctantly taken on, but due to his craft being less sensitive than the focus of her parents’ skillset (plus the handsome sum put on offer each session despite her family’s poverty) made it an offer hard to refuse.

Lorenzo’s efforts of keeping her hidden inside to avoid local ridicule over her ill state did nothing to assist in the speed at which further symptoms manifested. Her parents knew they couldn’t yet afford to get her the treatment she needed, and neglected to address her increasing list of health problems in the hopes that she would grow out of them. An art sale was just around the corner that promised connections could be made that would be enough to sustain them for many years to come. Assuming she could hold on a little longer, trusting Lorenzo’ abilities as her primary guardian, they turned away from their daughter’s mysterious ailment to focus on their work.

Fabrizia’s teen years only ushered in further health deterioration, until her uncle - highly religious, adhering strictly to the belief that ‘God has a plan for everyone’ - could finally take no more and brought her to a strange decrepit church on the outskirts of town. Deeming her possessed by something unholy, she spent several months under the care of nun-like figures who laced anything that graced her lips with pernicious doses of arsenic; every ounce of water, broth, and handmade medicinal syrups.

Fabrizia returned home sicker, but in too frail a state to do much of anything. Bittersweetly, in the time she was absent, her parents had indeed successfully earned enough money to be able to further address her needs and swiftly admitted her to a hospital. They didn’t know it would be the last time they would see any real life in their daughter’s eyes. Words like “lunacy” and “hysteria” haunted the air around Fabrizia as much as the unfamiliar and identical series of masked faces. It was impossible to keep track of the time that passed there. Experiments which led to pain and numbness saturated her days, which turned to weeks, maybe months…

Fabrizia was returned to her family’s home, in an indefinite catatonic state until the one (un)fateful day her uncle paid a visit, bringing with him a “special” priest. She could only follow the mysterious man with her eyes, barely registering it as peculiar when he dipped out of sight by her neck. Her vitals had been checked countlessly over the years. However, it wasn’t the press of fingers that awaited her this time - but fangs.

Fabrizia died in 1425, re-emerging from the earth in a frenzy of confusion, lithe movement, and ability she had not experienced in years. Only the face of the so-called priest remained nearby, explaining to her what had happened and what was expected of her henceforth. The impulse to hurt him felt suddenly stifled by a confounding sense of loyalty. Instead, she channeled her energy into the unfortunate strangers passing nearby. Once her hunger was curbed, a good time later, she demanded to see her uncle - the cause of this shift. Cloaked by a new moon, she located her uncle at his Florence home. At first sight, he called her reanimation miraculous. She called him dead.

For a long while Fabrizia begged to be destroyed by her maker, tried to step into the sun, tried to break any law she knew of - but every time, an inner subconscious and unbreakable instinct to survive forbade her from proceeding beyond an irreversible point. Fabrizia felt only rage and resentment for her fate, her instinct to consume blood not aligned with her disinterest to continue walking upon earth. She developed the habit of starving herself until forced to feed in a blind frenzy - after each encounter, “waking” to behold the damage she had caused and realising she was no better than the selfish and cruel man who had sentenced her to this fate. In an effort to protect hurting any more innocents and curve her bloodlust, she began working at the Ospedale degli Innocenti where she bided her time taking care of abandoned and orphaned children, developing discipline. It was easier to resist and protect weaker bodies - less appealing in their malnourished state. Only their abusers received harm, if she could track them down in the span of a single evening.

Decades of service later, she finally plucked up the courage to seek out her family, only to learn that too long had past - time no longer meant what it used to - and not only had her lower class parents progressed in the world well enough to become aristocrats, but they had died 30 years earlier. Only distant family members remained, none of them recognising her with anything but fear and distrust.

In honour of the discovery, Fabrizia processed her mourning by changing her name to her mother’s - Beatrisia. Soon after, Beatrisia went on to explore the lively culture of England’s Renaissance. There she learned skills of metal smithing, carpentry, and ceramics. She found satisfaction in tasks which were long but with purpose, helping time not feel like the monotonous imprisonment it had become.

From England, she followed word of the witch hunts causing unrest in Sweden and Finland. What began as a morbid curiosity to witness the stupidity of mob mentality humans soon progressed into a deal of sorts. Beatrisia would locate convicted witches in small untraceable towns and ask if she could feed on and turn them, the following night letting them have revenge on those who wrongly outed them. Beatrisia found the bond created in the process of creating a progeny bewildering and nauseating, but - for better and worse - the newborns’ irresponsibility made them easy targets, insatiable desires for blood foolishly leading them away from the safe cover of their small countryside towns to city limits that quickly captured and killed them for good.

The loss of the vivid connection hurt, at first. But Beatrisia learned to dull the sensation, as she did with most feelings. Through the maker-fledgling connection, Beatrisia had a taste of the agony that occurred and refused to subject herself to the seemingly easy escape route. After enduring the pain of her human life, she would never again suffer in order to die - it would be on her own terms, and it would be done well.

The agreement to turn supposed criminals into vampyres served both Beatrisia’s disdain for witch-hunting and allowed enigmatic human women, wrongly deemed witches, to get revenge. However, upon one significant instance, there was no error in the town’s uproar. An authentic witch named Sigrid was on the verge of having her freedom literally burned at the stake. Sigrid ruled over the fire element; a wild and beautiful woman that clearly needed no saviour. Yet, Beatrisia was still inclined to give her the same offer - immortality and vampiric ability for the sake of revenge. Sigrid was unlike the others, she was powerful, cunning and accomplished. It was as if she’d seen Beatrisia coming. Sigrid introduced a new deal; what if she henceforth travelled with Beatrisia as her self-nominated blood bag, making herself useful. In exchange, she would help Beatrisia find legitimate witches, and truly free them.

Over time, the lines of their arrangement blurred - first through infatuation, then love. Beatrisia eventually refused to feed on Sigrid any longer, desiring a different sort of intimacy. The two swiftly became lovers, intertwined and unstoppable for several years until the bond was abruptly severed after an explosive argument when Sigrid’s freedom plans included mercilessly killing village children descendant from hunters and Beatrisia’s death wish were brought to light. Irreconcilable differences which saw Sigrid erupting into infuriated flames which Beatrisia could not halt, nor desired to prevent. Her first experience with romantic love was one furiously stripped away from her, watched turn from flesh and bone to ash. But Beatrisia learned to dull what being heartbroken felt like, as she did with all other feelings. Loneliness always suited her best.

Seeking distance from any companionship for the forceable future, Beatrisia changed her name to Katya and retreated to less hospitable conditions - Russia. Eventually she met a shy diamond jeweller named Jeremie; an expert at working with jewels, but unfamiliar to noble metals. He hired Katya as one of his subcontractors to metal work, during which time she learned how to work with and identify authentic versus counterfeit jewels. It grew to be a highly esteemed position, with commissions sought out from Russian Imperial court's jeweler. After Jeremie’s death, his old age not dawning on Katya until it was too late, the chief court jeweller’s disdain for having to collaborate roared its ugly head and cast Katya out to find work elsewhere.

Katya changed her name to Briar, letting the old version of her die alongside her cherished mentor. She stayed in St. Petersburg long enough to idly apprentice under a goldsmith within a jewellery store in a basement shop. There, she caught wind of the Russian nobility's Francophilia, associating France with luxury goods.

Always on the brink of an identity crisis, Katya used status elevation as an excuse to visit Paris to get an ear for the dialect amidst earning better wages. This pursuit of knowledge developed into making a hobby of further travelling and studying the languages of neighbouring European countries. She had all the time in the world.

With the rise of 1900s political issues, Briar hid in Swiss mountains for the illusion of peace. Getting involved with humans’ affairs had burned her before, after all. However, whilst keeping a low profile there she encountered a nomadic group of local vampires, hungrily anticipating a bloody aftermath would solve the world tensions. Much to Briar’s charging, it re-ignited her stubborn urge to protect the innocent or injured inhabitants of the world around her. Already believing her tolerance well-formed and stable, to truly test her limits, she signed up to be trained as a nurse. It was a vocation which led to a placement at the frontlines of WW1, no amount of infection or blood causing her to tremble. It gave her purpose, value, and - most importantly - distraction. Thus, after the war’s conclusion, she pursued becoming certified as a doctor.

Briar flew to America in the 1920s, indulgently partying and pleasure seeking like there was no tomorrow wherever she could as she bounced between borders until WW2 occurred and she leant her services once more. Keeping her senses immersed in the cacophony of iron and injury kept her focus off of the magnetic tug of The Yearning, until war passed and yearning was all she had left to listen to. She tried to ignore the feeling, fiercely independent before it occurred to her that the very place she was resisting may hold the pivotal answer she desperately sought - what if she could harness the power that seemingly teemed there and finally find a way to destroy herself, once and for all? Stranger things had happened in her “life”, after all.

Briar made her grand entry upon the territory of Roldche River in the 1980s, remaining untethered and impartially observant for a while before assimilating the the society developed there, earning a job with her medical credentials. The simultaneous task of protecting the region by dark proved useful in keeping aware of the activity that teemed amongst the town - no new face slipped past her. For each new arrival, she secretly wondered if they would be the one to help her sever her so far unshakable tie to earth.

#about.#some ✨bonus facts ✨for the helluvit.

1 note · View note

alexistitania · 6 years ago

Text

TOKYO GHOUL ENDED AND I AM EMOTIONAL

Like, it legitimately ended. That’s it. No Part 3. I mean there IS material for potential Part 3 but this is the definitive closure to the story.

AND GUESS WHAT? IT AIN’T A TRAGEDY?!

I know people are always gonna be divided on this, like I’m seeing actual hate in the tag, and I guess that’s to be expected, this always happens when a popular series is ending. But I don’t think this particular ending deserves so much hate, and hopefully there are more people who are happy with it. Personally, I will FOREVER be thankful for this chapter! It’s not perfect, but then again, no ending is. Yes, it could’ve wrapped up more loose ends, but I think it did enough. What’s more important is that it’s not bad (in MY opinion ok chill thanks). No, it’s SO far from bad! For me, it’s an overall GREAT ending, more or less along the lines of how I always imagined TG ending. I just never really believed it WOULD end this way, like I was legit afraid Ishida would go for the tragedy thing instead, but hey, thanks anime gods!

I think most people expected a tragic ending with Kaneki dying and everything being hopeless or bittersweet at most, but we actually got an extremely pure and happy chapter, with a neat bow on top, and I for one am LOVING it! Because I’ve been following TG since 2014, and I’ve wanted a happy ending for Kaneki and all of these characters for so long, and now I’m finally getting the payoff for all those years of suffering, don’t TOUCH ME I AM FRAGILE!

It still feels kinda weird though, seeing genuinely happy things happen in this manga, it’s like a dream I never thought would come true, but it did! Obviously, you can’t please everyone, and there will always be people who will hate this ending because they envisioned it differently, but I think at the very least the ending shouldn’t ruin the rest of the story, for anyone! Of course, people will have to take some time to recover before they decide exactly how they feel about the series after its ending, but I mean, we all stayed for the ride, didn’t we? And although this final arc - for whatever reason - felt rushed toward the end and stuff, I think Ishida made the most out of the final chapter, considering where the previous chapter left off!

So we have TSC instead of CCG now, and good riddance, I hated that organization lol, although I loved a lot of the characters who were a part of it. I really like how it’s emphasized in this chapter that nothing is really over yet, the fight still continues. The difference is that there’s a new enemy of both humans and ghouls now. As expected, for the two species to finally coexist, a mutual enemy was necessary. But even though a lot of ghouls are now living peacefully with humans, thanks to the two races’ joint effort, it’s not like everyone is willing to make peace. Speaking of peace, I like how we have the title “peacekeepers” now instead of investigators (it reminds me of one of the home worlds from the Spyro the Dragon game, but that’s just my own nostalgia speaking), although it’s just in Tokyo, because apparently, other branches of CCG are still active and fighting the ghouls that are disrupting the peace. Hopefully the investigators have a new policy now, and they don’t attack friendly ghouls nowadays. Of course, there are always gonna be bad feelings from both sides, but hopefully the hostility isn’t as strong anymore. I actually wish the chapter had gone into a bit more depth and explained the nature of an investigator’s job in this new world, since some of the characters we know stayed investigators, but oh well.

Basically, both species have obviously made incredible progress in the past six years, but it’s not all flowers and rainbows, not EVERYONE is happy with this new world. And that’s so very like real life. What I think is great about this chapter is how it builds this new society as broadly as possible, and tries to explain as much as possible from different angles, because so many things have changed, it’s practically entirely new worldbuilding. It’s surely only a glimpse of what this new world looks like, but I believe it’s as detailed as the 30-page format allows. And I actually LIKE how we aren’t given everything, I feel like that’s very much Ishida’s style, leaving some things open. Because, nothing is really concluded, this fictional world didn’t just magically reach Nirvana, nor did it completely crumble down; it’s just transformed, it’s still transforming, PANTA RHEI MY DUDES! The overall theme of this chapter goes perfectly with the message of Kaneki’s speeches about the world and the never-ending change. I just really, REALLY like how the chapter emphasizes that constant change. And I like how you get this sense of cause & consequence from the chapter, as it’s made very clear that, while the Dragon war was definitely horrible, it actually allowed for new technologies to develop, which ultimately led to a better world, a changed world. We’re definitely meant to see this chapter as a closure, or actually more of an afterword, but we’re also urged to realize this is not the end of the story; the story goes on, and we were only shown a fragment of it. Like, that’s real poetic stuff right there my man.

Now, I also have a few things to say about some of the characters featured in the chapter. There are so many, I can’t even remember half of what was said about most of them, although I reread the chapter three times. It’s just extremely text-heavy. So I’ll just list the things that were important to me personally, mostly the things concerning the main characters. Otherwise, this post would get waaaay too long.

We actually got these little notes about pretty much every character I can think of (man this manga has so many CHARACTERS), telling us what all of them have been up to during the six-year timeskip. My only real complaint is that there was no mention of Eto, even though the previous chapter didn’t really bother to explain what exactly happened to her. It would’ve been fine if she’d never even come back at all, but this way, it kinda feels like the author just forgot to mention her lol. Maybe I’m just reading too much into it, it’s probably just that when the Dragon died, so did she. I was also hoping for a Rize mention, since she was such an important figure in Kaneki’s life, but at least we got a mention of the Washuu clan. And that was actually really sad, but it’s a fitting outcome, the main branch going extinct. Because first Furuta died, and then Rize shortly after, although her destiny had already been sealed much earlier. The fate of these two, and especially Rize, foreshadowed this outcome; Rize & Furuta equals Washuu inside the narrative, and when they disappeared, the Washuu they symbolized had to disappear as well.

Ok, I lied, I have another real complaint, and it actually bugged me much more than the lack of Eto mention. And that is, we only got a cameo of Akira and Amon, and no textual explanation of what was going on with them. We actually didn’t even see their faces, when literally 384576 other minor characters made an appearance. Like, they’re super major characters, what’s up with that? I guess we’re just supposed to assume they got married and lived happily ever after, but other than that, what else? Like what do they even do these days? Even just one sentence for both of them would’ve sufficed, and I really hope it’s included in the volume version of the chapter. Like, it didn’t really ruin the chapter for me, but I kinda felt like I was left hanging. And they deserved to have their faces shown one last time for closure, why all the mystery? They were both pretty important in the final arc too. Maybe we’ll get an omake about them in the final volume, who knows, but they still should’ve been shown in the last chapter. Well, I’ll admit it IS kinda poetic how we only see their backs and how it’s implied they live peacefully nowadays, and this closure IS kinda fitting for them, but still, I’m a little salty. Another thing I felt was missing was a note about Touka. I was really looking forward to learning where she ended up, other than being a mother and a wife. I mean, it’s still amazing that she was blessed enough to be able to have a normal life with her family, but the girl also wanted to do things. So yeah, it’s another thing that I hope will be added in the volume version.

Other than that.... I think pretty much everyone else was mentioned, but then again, I am not a machine and I’m pretty sure I’m forgetting a lot of characters already, so I’ll just talk about what really made me happy personally. I really liked how the narrator of this chapter was Hide, it allowed for a kind of outside look at the very end of the story. It wouldn’t be the same if it were Kaneki who was narrating, and anyway, having slept for weeks, he wouldn’t even be able to tell us the full story of the events that took place right after the Dragon war. Hide was the perfect choice for the narrator, because he’s so involved with everyone and everything. We even got Hide’s very summarized backstory, and although I believe he deserved to be exposed more thoroughly much earlier, I’m thankful Ishida didn’t completely forget about it, and that he told us basically all we needed to know. It would’ve been nice to know more, since Hide is one of the main characters, he could’ve been given a more meaningful backstory, but as it stands now, it seems that his story isn’t really crucial to his character or the series overall, so I guess I’ll take it. One thing that made me extremely happy about Hide’s ending is that he’s literally travelling and changing the world, he’s like some kind of hero history books will talk about. That’s the ending Hide deserved! And DAMN, he deserved to stay Kaneki’s friend for the rest of his life! They’re finally together, and together they’ll stay, and my heart is so full right now! Oh and another thing. I’m pretty sure the part of the translation where it says Hide was adopted by fatherS was just a typo or a mistranslation, since there is no plural form of nouns in the Japanese language (so you can’t always tell if it’s father or fathers), but it was nice believing Hide had gay dads for a while, even if it was a short while lol rip.

I like what Tsukiyama ended up doing, he’s helping rebuild the society and his family, basically being super important and leading the entire ghoulkind, more or less. The boy will go down in history! I knew he had it in him, his character growth has been incredible, and he’s finally getting the recognition he deserves! But I still think wedding planning would’ve been the ideal career choice for him.... Also, the way he spoils Touken’s daughter later in the chapter is ADORABLE! And he has different hairstyles in these two scenes, I like the second one better. And there’s Banjou, awww he’s also a really important figure now, I’m happy for him! Old man Marude got a new hairstyle too, and a beard, why am I not surprised? And he’s still the boss, so that’s cool. Ah, Kiyoko being such a forever single mood lmao. Ui boy’s doing his best and I am proud of him, but he’s missing his girlfriend rip... As for Hirako, damn, the boy looks so distant, I hope he’s doing ok. Well, he’s finally living a normal life, even if he’s detaching himself from his comrades. And wow Yusa really out here at the top of his game, both his career and his looks, damn.

The Qs also got their own satisfactory endings, I believe. I nearly sobbed at Urie searching for Shirazu’s body, this boy’s amazing development and how he constantly goes back to Shirazu in his mind has seriously cost me a few years of life. And then him visiting Shirazu’s grave, with Shirazu’s sister there! I was hoping to see her, we finally know what her condition is, and can sleep peacefully knowing Shirazu would be so incredibly happy that she’s all up and healthy again! It’s kinda sad how Mutsuki seems to not be around as much, but at least he chose his own path that hopefully fulfills him. And it’s super sweet how he sends Touka apples, like I was totally not expecting that, but I am so glad they are on good terms now and Mutsuki is doing much better emotionally and mentally. Also, I was totally expecting like a Moment™ between Mutsuki and Urie but I guess not lol... I don’t really like actively ship it, but I like their relationship, they could have gotten more of a wrap-up, so there’s that I guess... And then there’s Saiko, who has just... become so beautiful? Like what the hell, she’s just so gosh darn pretty? And is apparently living her best life, so you go Saiko! And she’s such a CUTIE when they’re visiting Touken family, calling Touka “mama-wife” and everything, baby you are my ANGEL!

And then comes the Suzuya squad, and they’re all doing fantastic, bless. And then Suzuya and Shinohara and I jUST! I’ve been waiting for this scene for so long, and I am SO glad it didn’t just happen off-panel during the timeskip! We actually got to see it, got to experience it first-hand, the full emotional impact of it! And let me tell you, this is the scene that FINALLY made me sob! Wtf so many years of suffering paid off, and Suzuya crying at the top of his lungs, but out of happiness, paralleling that panel where he was crying out of despair in Part 1 of the manga? I’M CRYING! AND THEN! Suzuya’s also like the literal star of this whole TSC project, YOU GO LITTLE MAN! AND THEN! And then Naki and Miza, and just... WOW! Miza, how much D can you even take?? NINE KIDS??? I mean good for you, I love you both, but DAMN! Man, I’m just so happy they’re both alive, I seriously thought Naki was a goner until a few weeks ago, so seeing him and Miza happily together like this is so surreal. And then we have another very important ship, Nishiki and Kimi, and damn Nishiki is either having a bad hair day or that’s simply a bad haircut lol. Like dude seriously, go back to the fantastic hairstyle you were rocking before. But anyway, I’m so happy seeing him and Kimi together and MARRIED? BLESS! Been waiting for that for literal years! Kimi is doing such an amazing job, helping create a more peaceful society, even though she’s using her boyfriend as test subject in the process lol. LOOK AT MY GIRL CHIE YO! She be going PLACES! SEIDOU! DUDE! Why you gotta be an Edgelord like that, please come back! Well, he’s probably too broken to fit into this new society, so he’s working out ways to live his life the best he can, helping in his own way. But don’t make such a sad face Seidou! I was hoping to see a bit more of him, but I guess we’re not meant to know much. He’s a loner, a mystery even for the readers.

And now... AYAHINA IS CANON MY DUDES! THAT IS ALL! Listen, I don’t even like... hardcore ship it, but it’s just plain obvious, it’s just right THERE! Hinami is playful, Ayato is tsundere, and love is in the air! PEACE! Also, Ayato sure saved his brother-in-law’s ass back there, just like we’d hoped he would, he really does care! Hinami is a teacher *sobs* Kaneki you taught her well, and Ayato’s this cool Main guy, look how far he’s come! I’m just so happy for both of them, I’ve been rooting for these kids for so long, Hinami is finally free from all her burdens and is genuinely Happy, and being Ayato is no longer suffering, can y’all believe??? And then we have Yoriko and Takeomi and a new addition to their family, how precious is that! Now, I would’ve liked for those notes about each character to say something about Yoriko’s relationship with Touka, I mean they were best girlfriends! And their friendship was kinda huge, I think it deserved at least a mention. Just something like “She visits Touka regularly” would’ve been enough. Ishida probably just forgot lol, the poor man, having to think about so many characters and their entire lives, I don’t blame him for just randomly forgetting to include some things. I just think this is one of those things that are kinda hard to forget, considering how meaningful this friendship was for Touka, and how it even played a big role in the final arc of the manga. But hey, maybe there’s hope that it’ll be included in the volume version lol. Or maybe in the omake! Ishida you have the opportunity to give us such pure, domestic omake, you’ve never failed us before, do your magic!

YOMO!!! RIBBONS! YOMO WITH RIBBONS IN HIS HAIR!!!!!! This transcends all the levels of adorable of anything ever! We were right, Yomo is the most doting uncle in existence, and it’s all I ever wanted! And damn, he still bangable af. AND THE SMOL TOUKEN BABY! Well, she’s actually like six now, BUT BABY! THE TOUKEN BABY IS A GIRL is this Ishida spoiling the shippers again? And she looks like a tiny Haise, can y’all believe?! Even Haise practically made a cameo, through this precious child. Amazing. I guess she has no name, so we’ll just keep calling her Pleasure-chan, sorry baby, it’s your parents’ fault. And I guess the Clowns are just doing their thing as usual. Clowns always have the last laugh, so of course this new society has nothing on them, they’re just laughing at everything and gathering for drinking games on Friday nights. Uta is still the Sasuke to Yomo’s Naruto, I guess some things never change.

AND THEN TOUKA MY LOVE! She looks so pretty, so beautiful, so dazzling, so fresh! I am so happy for her and so proud! She finally has a peaceful home and a happy family she’s always dreamed of having, IT’S WHAT SHE DESERVES! And on top of that, she has all these amazing friends who come to visit her! So many good things for my favorite character, thank you Ishida for my live! Again, I would’ve liked to know more about what she’s doing in life, but I can still hope the omake will tell me that lol. I’m just satisfied knowing she’s living her absolute best life, after struggling so much through life, suffering from such an early age, having to deal with abandonment issues her entire life, and then selflessly waiting, AND IT PAID OFF MY GIRL IT ALL PAID OFF!

AND THEN COMES OUR BOY! OUR BOY! The lonely boy who has gone through so much pain, lived his own tragedy for most of his life, never even imagining he would ever find joy or fulfillment or that he would ever heal. YET HERE HE IS! HERE IS THAT BOY WHO ONLY WANTED TO GO ON A DATE BUT GOT HIS LIFE TURNED UPSIDE DOWN INSTEAD! And now his life is finally, FINALLY fixed and things are OKAY and he is so LOVED and has a FAMILY! And yes, he’s definitely not 100% ok, and he never will be, but he has matured so much and come so far in life, he’s able to at least be at peace with himself and live a somewhat normal life. IT’S WHAT HE DESERVES! Like, I know we were all expecting Kaneki to face the consequences of his actions. From the narrative point of view, it seemed logical. But looking at it now, it wasn’t really necessary. Kaneki’s already learned his lesson. And he’s not living a life free of burdens either. He’s still an active part of the collective effort to recreate the world, and the chapter gave us a glimpse into his mind and his feelings. He is still unsure and conflicted, and it’s frustrating not being able to do anything, but he has to live with it. Finally, Kaneki has to settle for “there are things I cannot do”. He has to settle for a new and different life, and learn to live with himself and everything his actions caused. The consequences follow him every day, in the form of this new conflict. He has already suffered enough, is torturing him more really that necessary, just because he’s “the tragic protagonists”? Characters have gotten away with worse things, just saying. Also, judging from the marks on his face and neck, it seems he’s still having some trouble with his RC levels and healing and stuff, I just hope it doesn’t affect his body in bad ways. I mean he’s damaged his body so many times, it would be unrealistic not to expect consequences, but at least it’s not serious. Otherwise it would’ve been addressed. I mean, judging from Touka’s round tummy, it appears he managed to fill her up yet again, so yeah, he fine. (All the condom jokes can end now, Touka and Kaneki are nothing compared to Naki and Miza.)

In the end, Kaneki’s story ends on a positive, hopeful note, although still somewhat bittersweet. And it pulls the whole narrative, with all the other characters’ individual stories, along with it. The cycle of tragedy is finally broken. And personally, I just couldn’t be happier! I’ve been hoping for this kind of ending for so long, I literally never really wanted a tragic ending! And don’t give me that “Happy ending = Bad ending” NAH! You can’t deny that happy endings can be good if written right! It’s true that the general profile of Tokyo Ghoul screams “TRAGEDY” but that’s exactly why I think this ending is a beautiful twist! You might have expected it, you might have not, but it’s certainly a neat contrast to the rest of the story, but instead of ruining the “vibe” imo it worked unexpectedly well! Now, if your problem doesn’t lie with the type of ending we got, but the execution of it, then I guess we’re just not on the same page lol...

Now, this ending certainly wasn’t 100% happy, which is GREAT, but it’s still very hopeful and kind of bittersweet. All in all, I’d say it’s a beautifully positive closure to an incredibly sad story. It gives a positive message, that things can sometimes work out even if life seems hopeless. We may not always have control over it, but we can damn well do our very best! And it’s not unrealistic, it’s just real life! And it’s not your typical “happily ever after “ type of ending either, because, as I said earlier, the story isn’t actually over! The author simply decided to stop telling it at this particular point. And by teasing some future events, he made this chapter feel not just like an ending, but also a new beginning, a very hopeful one at that. And one that leaves infinite possibilities for potential Part 3, if Ishida ever feels like writing one, though right now I doubt it. I think he’s done with this series, and what an amazing job he’s done, for seven years!

Well, I think that’s probably all I wanted to say lol. My emotions are all over the place and I’m practically slamming my keyboard in excitement right now, so I’m probably forgetting a lot of other thoughts that were going through my mind as I was reading the chapter. But this encapsulates most of it, probably.

Tokyo Ghoul has been one of my main fandoms for four years now, and I’m so thankful for all the time and effort Ishida put into this work! It’s so unique and means a lot to me! It has helped me through some tough times in life (which is probably hard to believe since the story itself is sad but yeah...), so seeing that all the suffering wasn’t in vain, and that it all led to THIS, is just so amazingly fulfilling and satisfying!

Thank you for everything Ishida-sensei, get some rest now!

#tokyo ghoul #tg spoilers #I have #FEELINGS #long post #excuse any typos I wrote this in life 15 minutes #I'm easy to please lol

11 notes · View notes

xerantic · 6 years ago

Note

for the uncommon questions: 4, 7, 12, 23, 25, 27

30 Uncommon Character Development Questions ( send me a number )

4. Do they have any verbal tics? Do they have trouble pronouncing certain words or getting their thoughts across clearly?

Nothing really stands out as terribly unusual or difficult for him to pronounce properly. In terms of explaining subjects thought-wise, he often has difficulty identifying and describing his feelings, but on more logical topics, he seems to do fine.

He naturally talks in a rather low volume most of the time, and even when yelling he doesn’t seem that terribly loud. His voice has a swaying sort of cadence with both volume and pitch in which his words run smoothly into each other, haunting, creepy, and some words tend to trail off or sound mumbled. It’s got an indescribable childlike quality to it but not…innocent.

When he’s angry or resentful, his voice does get a little gruff, but it’s almost in a strangled sense more than a growl. When he’s excited/gleeful, the uncanny factor skyrockets into creepypasta territory. Speeding up, tighter, higher, almost whispering at times, barely-contained enthusiasm. Just…I don’t even have the words; go listen to that masterpiece.

7. How does your character perceive themselves? Positive? Negative? Neutral?

Complicated. He doesn’t naturally focus on deep introspection, often finds critiquing and putting words to his essence uncomfortable. He is much more geared toward identifying what he needs to do, whether that means taking an action or changing the way he operates. Even considering what he needs to be is easier than thinking about what he is. He learns more by analyzing the best ways to achieve what he wants rather than staring hard at himself in the mirror (literally and figuratively) and pointing out what he sees.

He knows what he likes and what he doesn’t, is increasingly recognizing (and controlling) his own tendencies, but the ‘why’ is largely too intimidating a concept to delve into too deeply. Honestly, he’s not sure what he’ll feel about what he concludes (or doesn’t understand), and as his feelings are already a force that is both mysterious and hard to control…it’s just too dangerous for his ego.

So essentially, the answer is that he projects a positive perception of himself to the outside world (especially strangers and the untrustworthy), allows those closer to him to see his neutral self-perception, and avoids his negative perceptions like the plague, even pushing them away from himself. This is somewhat of a coping mechanism, as he used to be more depressed and gave into crushingly low self-esteem when he was younger, with disastrous personal results.

12. Describe 5 unusual characteristics your muse has.

Surprisingly tolerant to physical pain. Doesn’t flinch away from potentially getting hurt, doesn’t panic when he sustains serious wounds, continues to move and act despite aggravating his injuries.

He’s not a huge fan of water. Not very interested in drinking it much, touching wet things isn’t his favorite, dislikes the ocean, hates swimming. Likes cloudy days and even thunder and lightning but tries to avoid being caught out in the rain. The effects of his quirk are significantly, if not completely, hampered by wet object or wet hands.

He has a bit of a weak spot for the poor/disadvantaged/destitute. He’d much rather tear down those who think they have it all, the arrogant, the overrated. As a side note, he has never wanted for money ever since All for One took him in. He doesn’t have a large interest in finances or budgeting, but he naturally tends not to splurge for sheer materialism’s sake. On the other hand, he can be casually generous in lending financial aid for his comrades and allies.

He doesn’t actually have a favorite color. It just depends. His aura is violet like his grandmother’s though.

Despite his former base being a bar, he actually isn’t very keen on heavy drinking. When he does drink, he prefers something light and…just one. And there are plenty of non-alcoholic beverages he might opt for instead. The dehydration-like side effects of his quirk lend to very unpleasant drinking side effects. He gets a lot of suffering without much payoff. If he has gotten any kind of intoxicated, you can bet he was roped into it by someone else, and will most likely regret it.

23. Do they prefer romance or affection? What is the quickest way to your character’s heart?

Affection. That stuff is real, and romance seems so…fakely ostentatious to him? He’s not really sure how it works. Who decided rose petals on a bed is the thing to do? Affection is a lot more straightforward, and it feels good…even when it’s embarrassing.

I’d say the quickest way to Tomura’s heart is devotion. Trustworthiness and loyalty–those two are also connected. Then there’s understanding and compassion. Be there when he needs you, keep in confidence what he’s trusted you with and never use it against him, stand up against those who try to undermine him or tempt you away, try to see things from his perspective, and care about the things he cares about.

25. Do they have any weird bedroom habits? Any unusual kinks?

W-we’re both too embarrassed hesitant to point out things individually, so I made [this list], so you have to sift through and find what’s weird or unusual about his tastes for yourself…! …Keep in mind he is a virgin.

27. If your character had one thing to say to their parents before they died, what would it be?

“For the love of god, don’t let me touch you.” *COUGH*

“…I’m sorry.” That’s all he has to say.

#headcanons #asks #Anonymous #yessss I finished it!#long post

5 notes · View notes

dazombi3fari3 · 5 years ago

Text

Hey doll hey. How are you today? Good I hope. I’m having an OK Fibromyalgia day… low pain day and have a few spoons left.

Today I will be reviewing the full line (minus a lip product) of Benefit Cosmetics. I decided to do just 1 post today because I’m running low on spoons and this makeup day has put me in a bad mood…. Spoiler ….. I truly hated applying makeup today… read on and you’ll understand why….

BASE: I primed my face using the Benefit The POREfessional Hydrating Primer ($13 for the mini on their website). I didn’t color correct so that I could test out the concealer to see how well it covered. I concealed using the Benefit Boi-ing Cakeless Concealer ($13 for the mini on their website) in the color No. 5. I purchased 2 foundations to try so today I chose Benefit Hello Happy Soft Blur Foundation ($10 for the mini on their website) in the color 4 Medium Neutral. I set my full face using the Benefit Hello Happy Velvet Powder Foundation ($30 on their website) in the color 4 Medium Neutral. I bronzed using the Benefit Hoola Bronzer (it came as part of a trio for $30 on the Beautylish website).

EYES: I primed my eyes with Tarte Shape Tape ($25 at Ulta) in the color Light-Medium Honey. I set the Shape Tape with Wet n Wild Color Icon ($.99 at Walgreens) in the color Brulee. I started to try and do an eye look with the Benefit Vanity Flare Nude Eyeshadow Palette ($34 on the Beautylish website) but it was just a horrible mess, so I took off my makeup and started again…. I pulled in my Urban Decay Naked Ultimate Basics Palette ($25 on their webstie and at Nordstrom Rack) and after priming and setting the primer with Brulee …AGAIN …. I used, from the Urban Decay Palette, Faith (a mid-toned grey based brown matte) as my transition shade. I used, from the same palette, Lockout (a slightly deeper grey based brown matte) for my crease color. on my lid I used, from the Benefit Vanity Flare Palette, Shimmering Nude (a deep champagne gold shimmer). I deepened the outer v with with Black Jack (a dusty black matte, from the Urban Decay Palette). Along my lower lash line I used Extra Bitter (a burnt orange matte, from the Urban Decay Palette) and I then took what was left on the brush into my transition shade to warm it up a bit. I defined the lower lash line by using the color Faith again. I highlighted my inner corners with Satiny Heather (a pale pink shimmer, from the Vanity Flare Palette). I lined my water line with BH Cosmetics Power Pencil ($8 on the BH Cosmetics Website) in the color Beige. I did a wing liner using the Benefit Roller Liner Liquid Eyeliner ($12 for the mini on their website) in the color Brown. For my brows I used the Benefit Precisely My Brow Pencil ($14 for the mini on their website) and Gimme Brow Gel ($14 for the mini on their website) in the color 4.5 Neutral Deep Brown. I carved out my brow line with BH Studio Pro Brow Highlighter ($5 on the BH Cosmetics website) on the matte side. I set the brow line with Wet n Wild Color Icon ($.99 at Walgreens) in the color Sugar. For mascara I am using the Benefit Roller Lash mascara ($13 on their website).

CHEEKS and LIPS: On the cheeks I am using, from the Babe on Board face palette ($30 on the Beautylish website … it is limited edition), Rockabye (a mid-toned Coral satin). I highlighted my cheek bones, tops of the brow bone, and cupid’s bow with Dandelion Twinkle (a pale champagne). I didn’t like any of the lip selections through Benefit so to line my lips I chose NYX Suede Matte Lip Liner ($4 at Ulta) in Whipped Caviar and then filled in my lips using ColourPop Ultra Matte Lip ($7 on their website) in the color Gingham (a mid-toned true Coral).

Hold on to you seats dolls … I have plenty to say about this Benefit purchase ….. so here we go.

The Review….

Benefit The POREfessional Hydrating Primer: B This primer is billed as being a primer that moisturizes and refreshes skin, as having a natural finish, and as being able to minimize the look of pores and fine lines. You get .75 fluid ounces for the full sized and .25 fluid ounces for the mini sized. There is nothing special about this primer. It did nothing to minimize my pores or my fine lines. It did not feel moisturizing at all. It’s a tacky primer that grips on to foundation, but does nothing it claims to do. It’s just an OK primer. I’ll finish using it but I will not be repurchasing it.

Benefit Boi-ing Cakeless Concealer: C It’s billed as being a lightweight, 24 hour long wearing concealer that doesn’t cake up. It comes in 12 shades, 4 of which are for darker skin. You get .17 fluid ounces for the full sized and .1 fluid ounces for the mini sized. The color I chose is spot on perfect for my complexion… but you should only use the smallest amount possible. I used a bit too much and had to blot it away. It did not cover my under eyes well at all… you can still see the dark circles under my eyes. It does emphasize the fine lines but did not look cakey… it just looks dry and dull …. there is nothing special about this concealer. I’ll use up what is left of this concealer but it’s a hard pass for me … I will not be repurchasing it.

Benefit Hello Happy Soft Blur Foundation: D It’s billed as being a light medium coverage, that blurs imperfections and has a natural matte finish. You get 1 fluid ounce in the full sized bottle and .2 fluid ounces in the mini sized bottle. This foundation comes in 12 shades with 5 shades for deep skin. The shade I purchased was billed as being medium neutral but has way too much yellow undertone in it. This foundation emphasized every pore I have. It also clung to dry patches I didn’t know I had. It went on patchy and streaky and took forever to buff in. It didn’t look good at all … that is until I powdered and used setting spray… then it looked half way OK. I wont be using up the mini I bought I threw it out and definitely will never repurchase this foundation.

Benefit Hello Happy Velvet Powder Foundation: B+ It’s billed as being lightweight and breathable and having a natural matte finish. You get .25 ounces of product. It comes in 12 shades, 5 shades for deep skin. It’s finely milled and creamy. It gives a descent amount of coverage and in the color I purchased was said to be neutral medium in color … it was a perfect match. It is a good finishing powder… I don’t think it’s a good foundation powder, but it works as a finishing powder. I will use it up but may not be repurchasing it.

Benefit Babe on Board Face Palette: A- This is a limited edition face palette offered on Beautylish’s website. It comes with a Hoola bronzer (it seems to be a bit lighter than the one I have in the box version) a blush in the color Rockabye (Beautylish says it is a warm rose with a natural finish, however it’s more like a true mid-toned coral with a satin finish) and a highlighter in the color Dandelion Twinkle (Beautylish describes it as a nude pink with a shimmer finish, it’s more of a pale champagne with a slight pink shift). This is a descent face palette. It gets an A- because there is glitter in the highlighter … I didn’t give it a lower score because of the glitter because the glitter seems to dissipate with wear so it doesn’t bother me as much as other highlighters with glitter do. I really like this palette and this is the first Benefit blush I have tried and I love the finish of it. I am definitely picking up a few more blushes. I will not be able to repurchase this as it is a limited edition palette.

Benefit Vanity Flare Nude Eyeshadow Palette: F!!!!! This was the worst palette I have ever tried in my life…. no that’s not hyperbole …. that is straight up fact. There is no pigment to these shadows … the mattes are not mattes they are satins and the satins are not satins they are shimmer … I tried to make this palette work, really I did, but after 6 layers of the mid-toned colors with no color payoff at all I got fed up and washed my makeup off and started over. When you apply the darker shades to the crease and transition you don’t get color you just get this weird shimmery mess that picks up on every little spot of dry skin on your eyes. The kick back is terrible with this the pan was covered in shadow… and the fallout is just as bad …. this is just a hot mess… I know that Benefit has other shadows but after this experience I am hard pressed to not even attempt to purchase another eye palette…. it’s a definite hard pass for me. I’ll be using it in tomorrow’s Full Face of Benefit, only because I still need to test out the other foundation I purchased… then I am tossing it straight into the trash…. to bad I had already tossed the uni-carton or I would have returned this palette to Beautylish.

Benefit Precisely My Brow Pencil: A+++!!! It is billed as having natural looking hair like strokes that lasts for 12 hours. It comes in 12 shades. You get .002 ounces for the full sized and .001 ounces for the mini sized. After trying the eye shadow palette I was deflated and getting moody and really starting to hate this brand. This pencil is heaven! HEAVEN I SAY!!!! I was able to block my eye brows out fast and without skipping or having to retrace my lines. I was able to fill in my bald spots without having the pencil pull at my brow hairs. The color is a perfect match for me and I think this is the best my brows have ever looked. I am so happy I purchased this product. It went a long way to helping my mood about doing my makeup today improve. This product didn’t bead up on my skin, it didn’t smear, it didn’t yank at my hairs, It didn’t get crumbly around the hairs that are growing back…. I love this brow pencil. I am so going to use this product up and I am most definitely repurchasing this in bulk.

Benefit Gimme Brow Gel: A++ This product is billed as a brow tint that volumizes and tames brows for a buildable natural looking brow that is water resistant and long wearing. It comes in 8 shades. This gel held my brows perfectly without being to crunchy. The brush applicator is the perfect size and doesn’t rip at the hairs. There is perfect amount of product on the brush and doesn’t get messy. I really like this brow gel. I will use up my mini and then purchase the full sized version. Definitely a good brow gel. I think it’s better than the Anastasia Beverly Hills brow gel.

Benefit Roller Lash Mascara: A+ This product is billed as a mascara that grabs, seperates, lifts, and curls lashes. It claims to hold the curl of the lashes for 12 hours. It comes only in black. You get .3 fluid ounces for the full sized and .14 fluid ounces for the mini sized. I missed the boat on this mascara when it first came out. I backed away from it because of the fact that it has a plastic bristle wand and I hate those. This mascara is great. I really like it. With one coat my lashes looked strong and full. I used a 2nd coat to see if it would over power the lashes and it didn’t it just defined my lashes even more. I will definitely use up the mini and then I will purchase the full sized.

Benefit Roller Liner Liquid Eyeliner: A+ This eyeliner is billed as being a matte liquid eyeliner that goes on smooth and is water proof and lasts for 24 hours. It comes in 2 colors… black and brown. You get .03 fluid ounces in the full sized and .01 fluid ounces in the mini sized. I normally steer clear of liquid eyeliners with a felt tip because they catch on the fine lines of my lids. This liner went on effortlessly smooth and pigmented. It was the easiest time I had doing a winged liner. I really like this product. I will definitely use up my minis and I will be purchasing replacements once I’ve used the minis up (i purchased both the black and brown). The brown is a deep brown color and it goes on super opaque. It’s a great liner.

Final Thoughts….

All in all Benefit seems to be a good company. Some of the products were just OK for me but others were true winners in my book… despite the drama with the eyeshadow palette. There were more products I loved verses products that were either just OK or that I hated. I would give the brand as a whole a grade of B++.

Well that’s all for now dolls… stay tuned tomorrow when I do a Revisit of Benefit with the second foundation I purchased.

I hope your day is good and as always save a spoon for a bit of lipstick.

XOXO

Benefit Cosmetics Full Face Review and Face of the Day Hey doll hey. How are you today? Good I hope. I'm having an OK Fibromyalgia day... low pain day and have a few spoons left.

#Beauty #Benefit Cosmetics #Face of the day #Makeup #makeup review #Product Review

0 notes

kasetski · 5 years ago

Text

The Best Way To Utilize Hashtags On Instagram For Small Business

Are you aware an Instagram article with a minumum of one hashtag averages 12.6% more involvement when compared to the usual pole with no Hashtags? Hashtags are all powerful. They might support your posts reach a target audience, attract followers into your niche, enhance participation, and produce a far more confident and recognizable brand image.

Maintain your Hashtags organized.

To create an reliable hashtag method, you need to use Excel or an instagram id Analytics tool. If you choose a excel sheet, you're need to manually maintain tabs on that Hashtags you utilize, how often, and also which ones correlate to some most popular articles. With time, you're observe relationships involving certain Hashtags and also your most popular articles, and this can allow you to select which Hashtags work better for your own brand.

If you have an even more advanced level social media team, you might want to think about a tool like Iconosquare, which stores top insta hashtags and provides reports which Hashtags reach one of the maximum folks.

Figure out your magical amount.

Most top makes -- 91% of these, to be accurate -- utilize seven or fewer Hashtags a post, therefore that it's simple to presume this is the magical amount for everybody else... appropriate? The point isyou can't ever understand the amount of Hashtags work best for you personally before you test that. For HubSpot, it took the group several months to get a couple that worked most useful, and during our trial period, we ranged from seven to five to 30. Give the exact same flexibility for trial and error.

Slim your Hashtags.

You will find just two significant motives more specific, smaller-volume Hashtags are better for your brand: firstyou can compete in a smaller swimming pool. HubSpot, as an instance, doesn't ordinarily use the hashtag #marketing as it truly is overly broad. If you hunt #marketing, then you're find movies of pubs, inspirational quotations, caked hair style pictures, and also memes.

Explore exactly what other People Today have been hashtagging

A simple way to bring in hashtag ideas is always to earn a list of your followers or competitions and explore exactly what they truly are hashtagging on their photos. It may likewise be specially helpful to investigate everything influencers on your sector are hashtagging -- definition, influencers are individuals who have a sizable social media after, so they have to do some thing right.

Test out related Hashtags.

When you type a hashtag into Instagram's search bar, Instagram demonstrates to you connected popular instagram hashtags in the scroll-down menu. Instagram additionally delivers related Hashtags on the subsequent page once you just click on a hashtag. This really is an easy way to make a lengthier set of Hashtags to try .

Practice your hashtag.

After your own hashtag is an effective method to interact with different individuals talking about your brand and acquire improved relationships using them.

Create a fresh campaign hashtag.

This is the trickiest item among the, but should done properly, it will payoff big time. Some organizations have attracted followers by making their own effort hashtag. A campaign hashtag has to be humorous, smart, or at least memorable so as to work. Campaign Hashtags are particularly helpful for promoting a new products or upcoming event, and sometimes even merely inspiring men and women.

Given that we've covered the significance of utilizing Instagram Hashtags for the enterprise, you might be thinking about just how exactly to hunt for Instagram Hashtags within the app, or how to make use of the lookup functionality to discover related notions.

#instagram hashtags #best instagram hashtags

0 notes

dillenwaeraa · 7 years ago

Text

Unconventional Content: PR Stunts for SEO

Why would a stunt work for SEO?

SEO is ever evolving, and here at Distilled, we have been looking at more interesting and unusual types of creative to generate brand awareness.

We are growing our creative outputs as the Google Gods get ever more powerful and all-seeing. One of the ways we’ve done this is with PR stunts. A stunt is a great way to involve your target audiences, create a dialogue, increase social engagement and, contribute to your branded search volume. Larger companies with decent audiences on social will benefit best from this type of play.

What was our idea?

This post is about the whys and hows of a stunt we created for Interflora (the UK’s largest flower delivery network) for World Kindness Day. We asked members of the general public to pass on a rose to a stranger, all in the name of kindness. The client's goals were:

Goals

Organic performance (through brand awareness and links)

Brand awareness

Primary KPI’s

Social impressions

Page views

Secondary KPI’s

Editorial links from top-tier publications

How do I create a stunt that works for my brand?

Your stunt will need to have a product or brand message tie-in, or both.

Fortunately for us, we were able to give away flowers during the stunt - if your product is cars or yachts, you might have to think up a different approach. Your stunt doesn’t have to feature your product, but it must feature your brand message/ethos in some way, whatever that might be e.g.:

Green living, clear conscience

Fast broadband, spend time on the things that matter

Reaching your personal best is all you need

How did our idea tie in with Interflora's brand message?

Flowers are all about reactions. Flowers are given to make another feel happy, loved, or even reflective. Instead of spreading happiness just to those close to us, we decided to widen the net, and show how a gesture of kindness to a stranger could make someone feel better. London can sometimes feel like a cold unfeeling city, everyone is in a rush and often people are sceptical when approached by a stranger.

But when challenged we found this facade dropped and people were genuinely warmed by our experiment. We found this warmth and conversation continued online, into trackable and measurable KPI’s. People even went as far as to talk to us about their own small gestures of kindness.

How to find a narrative for your stunt

People need to feel a connection to the characters in your video, to empathise with their plight, to be willing them on, wishing for them to succeed (or fail, if that is more amusing). Like all great stories, you need a beginning, a middle (the reveal) and an end. To add greater depth and meaning to our narrative we interviewed a psychologist specialising in “kindness” and elements of this were interspersed throughout the video and related press releases.

Questions to ask yourself to make sure your stunt hits those KPI’s

What emotions are your viewers going to feel? Sadness, empathy, elation, informed, moved, empowered, nostalgic?

What is going to spur your audience into taking action? Liking, tweeting, commenting, challenging a friend, or following your brand.

Not always easily trackable but later on, at the bottom of the funnel, the purchase. If you can make your audience feel something, your brand will be front of mind when it comes to the crunch. We remember emotions. Stunts can even inspire action from your audience.

But isn’t a stunt a risky thing to do?

Carrying out a stunt can seem risky, there are lots of variables and a lot of time and money invested in something that relies on the participation of the general public. Promising a client a viral video, saying ‘oh sorry the stunt didn’t work’ is never going to cut it. Don’t worry, there are things that you can put in place to ensure your project is a success.

Plan for each eventuality meticulously

Plan for the worst case scenario and hope for the best. Within reason, always overcompensate, whether that is with time or the number of products you need. We had 200 roses on the day of our shoot. For the shots we used, we only needed 50, but many others were required for those shots that didn’t quite work. The roses that were left over at the end we were able to distribute to the general public during the 5 pm rush hour. These stems now made their way into the hands of loved ones houses within the commuter belt, again reinforcing the brand; so nothing lost there.

Plan early To shoot on a ‘red route’ and in the borough of The City of London, we needed to have two permits, which had a 2 week processing times. These are not costly, but early prep means you can be sure your location is free for shooting.

Allow lots of time to work with the general public Working with the general public takes time. You will need to explain to them the purpose of their participation. Often numerous takes are required, they are not actors and can not be expected to be fantastic on camera first time. After the footage has been captured get a consent form signed, so there is a paper trail, just in case any appearances are disputed at a later date.

Be aware of unavoidable eventualities During the rush hour on London Bridge people were much less likely to get involved, they were busy rushing to work. Whereas the stampede of people was great for those ‘masses of people holding yellow roses in a sea of grey shots’ it was not so great for getting people to participate in giving out a rose.

Plan for bad weather Shooting on location or outdoors has many more variables than a narrative that just requires a studio. We got a licence to shoot on two days to double our chances of a dry day. Logistically this was tough, the actors and film crew also had to be on standby for a second day of filming. Luckily the weather was in our favour.

Don’t stick to the script Plan a narrative, but be open to new ones on the day, you never know what could happen. Your camera team will need to be agile, to capture the idiosyncrasies of the general public, who will become the characters in your story. We had one man who took some time to approach someone with his rose. Watching his plight helped entertain the viewer through the full video. They were willing him to succeed, willing him to find that someone’s day to brighten.

Let the brand do what they know best Interflora was, of course, in charge of the flowers. The flowers arrived at our base at 5 am and were specially treated to ensure long-lasting freshness. The roses had been processed so that they were just the right amount of open to ensure they lasted for a good amount of time in peoples homes and looked great on camera (the real key here).

Be prepared for the unknowns When the roses arrived in buckets we were surprised at how long the stems were. The buckets looked half empty and the stems looked as if they would topple out they were so long. Action stations! Commence 5 am trimming of 200 rose stems. The roses needed to look the right height in the branded buckets on camera, and the quantity needed to make the buckets feel full.

Don’t let uncertainty tame your message/idea Don’t let unknowns scare you into choosing a tamer or all-round less interesting concept. Throughout the planning and production of your piece always go back to the message, what it is you are trying to capture/ say/ make people feel. Retaining that message is key. And remember, sometimes the bigger the risk, the greater the payoff.

How can timing affect the launch of your stunt?

Recently we made a piece to push out on World Curry day, only to find when we spoke to a journalist at The Mirror that he had already been approached by 30 other content marketers with every content type and angle under the sun. Tying in with a day, especially the biggest days of the year, e.g. Christmas day or Mother’s day, just really doesn’t make you that original. It also gives you one stab at success. Danger! That said more obscure days can give some tie-in, with less competition, World Kindness day worked for us.

Fanfare: Announcing our very own Jono Alderson’s ridiculous and very comprehensive list of all the possible days you could ever dream of.

Why would people care?

Creating a stunt is a great way to drum up attention and social experiments lead audiences to wonder ‘What will happen? We’re all inherently interested and entertained by the behaviour of other people. A stunt also shows your audience that you are experimental as a brand and willing to try new things.

How successful was our stunt?

Within one week of launch, our stunt was the top viewed video on Interflora’s Facebook page receiving over 150k views. It also garnered:

1.7k Likes

100+ comments

300+ shares

Coverage in The Evening Standard (DA 85), Huffington Post (DA 87), BT.com (DA 85)

Here are examples of the types of comments the piece received:

‘I’ve been doing ‘Pay it forwards’ all year. It’s amazing and reminds you that even a small act of kindness can make someone’s day.’ - Laura Preston

‘Giving is so much better than anything else, giving with a true heart is a blessing, watch the smiles grow.’ - Ruth Marshall

How do I maximise the content’s traction online?

Always have a ‘Tease’, ‘Launch’, and ‘Post’ strategy for your content. How will you ramp up the excitement and what will your content calendar look like surrounding the piece to get as much engagement over as long a period as possible? Ask yourself ‘What assets can I make?’ and ‘What questions can I ask the audience to keep the conversation flowing?’ We worked with a press photographer to capture high-quality photography of the day too, these assets were invaluable on both Interflora social channels and for press coverage.

Stunts don’t have to be scary or risky and, as we saw, they can really pay off. Have you created a stunt? What were the lessons you learned?

from Marketing https://www.distilled.net/resources/unconventional-content-pr-stunts-for-seo/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

0 notes

anthonykrierion · 7 years ago

Text

Unconventional Content: PR Stunts for SEO

Why would a stunt work for SEO?

SEO is ever evolving and, we have been looking at more interesting and unusual types of creative to generate brand awareness.

Here at Distilled, we are growing our creative outputs as the Google Gods get ever more powerful and all-seeing. One of the ways we’ve done this is with PR stunts. A stunt is a great way to involve your target audiences, create a dialogue, increase social engagement and, contribute to your branded search volume. Larger companies with decent audiences on social will benefit best from this type of play.

What was our idea?

Goals

Organic performance (through brand awareness and links)

Brand awareness

Primary KPI’s

Social impressions

Page views

Secondary KPI’s

Editorial links from top-tier publications

How do I create a stunt that works for my brand?

Your stunt will need to have a product or brand message tie-in, or both.

Green living, clear conscience

Fast broadband, spend time on the things that matter

Reaching your personal best is all you need

How did our idea tie in with Interflora's brand message?

How to find a narrative for your stunt

Questions to ask yourself to make sure your stunt hits those KPI’s

What emotions are your viewers going to feel? Sadness, empathy, elation, informed, moved, empowered, nostalgic?

What is going to spur your audience into taking action? Liking, tweeting, commenting, challenging a friend, or following your brand.

But isn’t a stunt a risky thing to do?

Plan for each eventuality meticulously

How can timing affect the launch of your stunt?

Fanfare: Announcing our very own Jono Alderson’s ridiculous and very comprehensive list of all the possible days you could ever dream of.

Why would people care?

How successful was our stunt?

Within one week of launch, our stunt was the top viewed video on Interflora’s Facebook page receiving over 150k views. It also garnered:

1.7k Likes

100+ comments

300+ shares

Coverage in The Evening Standard (DA 85), Huffington Post (DA 87), BT.com (DA 85)

Here are examples of the types of comments the piece received:

‘I’ve been doing ‘Pay it forwards’ all year. It’s amazing and reminds you that even a small act of kindness can make someone’s day.’ - Laura Preston

‘Giving is so much better than anything else, giving with a true heart is a blessing, watch the smiles grow.’ - Ruth Marshall

How do I maximise the content’s traction online?

Stunts don’t have to be scary or risky and, as we saw, they can really pay off. Have you created a stunt? What were the lessons you learned?

Unconventional Content: PR Stunts for SEO was originally posted by Video And Blog Marketing

#Video And Blog Marketing

0 notes

daleisgreat · 7 years ago

Text

Roseanne - Season 6

-Choo-choo! That’s right, the Roseanne blog train of 2017 is still chugging with this entry covering season six (s6 excerpt)! If you missed previous editions, click here to get caught up. The goal is to hopefully wrap up all nine seasons by the end of the year just before Roseanne makes its long awaited return to ABC after an absence of just over 20 years! Onto the job roll call… -Roseanne (Roseanne Barr), Jackie (Laurie Metcalf) and Nancy (Sandra Bernhard) are still holding down the fort at their self-owned diner, The Lunchbox. However, the trio has enough of Roseanne & Jackie’s mom, Bev (Estelle Parsons) and talk her out of her ownership stake of the diner. Bev gets the last laugh though, as she sells her share to Roseanne’s former, antagonizing boss, Leon (Martin Mull). As I mentioned in prior blogs, I am a huge fan of Roseanne & Leon’s dynamic in season’s three and four, though now both are equal owners of the restaurant, but that does not change much of their awesome love/hate relationship that is a delight to indulge.

Dan (John Goodman) is running his own business though I am not quite sure what exactly it is. I recall towards the end of season five he picked up some work renovating houses that families move out of, so I am presuming he took that over and is now running it. The show does not really say, but there are a few episodes that have scenes of him at his office. He ends up hiring Mark (Glenn Quinn), who makes his return to the show several episodes into this season. Becky (now portrayed by Sarah Chalke) returns too and she picks up a job working at the Hooters knockoff, Bunz. -So yeah, Becky and Mark are now back on the show. Before we get there though, as you recall at the end of season six Darlene (Sara Gilbert) decides to go to college in Chicago. Darlene moves there in the first episode of the season, but she is not taking a huge sabbatical from the show like Becky did, as Roseanne has episodes with Darlene phoning home semi-frequently, or Darlene visiting home every two or three episodes since she essentially lives a few hours away. Darlene is only absent from six or seven episodes this season. A few episodes into the season, David (Johnny Galecki) makes up a lie to move in with Darlene. That only lasts several episodes and the way it plays out is the awesome disaster I anticipated!

So for a few episodes it is just DJ (Michael Fishman) as the sole child living in the Conner household until Becky and Mark move back. I will not spoil the show’s explanation for it, as it seems the writers wanted a fresh mix of young’ns back in the Conner house and picked a random reason out of a hat. Regardless it is a blast to get Becky and Mark back in the mix. Sara Chalke is a fine replacement for Lecy Goranson. I recall watching the series as I grew up I was too naïve to realize she was replaced since a year and a half went by on the show without her. It seems the show does not want to overdo it on forcing Chalke in your face either as she is only a featured actor in a handful of episodes and is primarily in the background for most of her duration this season. Speaking of dialing it back, I am glad Darlene got dialed back more this season too, as the writers went overkill with the Darlene character in season five and she is a little less crass and not as reliant on cheesy-one liners as before. -This is a big season for Jackie as she meets and hooks up with Dan’s coworker, Fred (Michael O’Keefe). Jackie winds up expecting after their one night stand, and watching the season unfold as Fred wanting to be supportive for Jackie, but Jackie trying to ignore Fred’s advances was fun to keep up with throughout the season and it led to an awesome payoff in the season finale. O’Keefe is a natural fit for the show and is perfect in portraying Fred. He won me over after just a couple of episodes with him.

-This season DJ finally gets to be more prominent for the first time throughout a season. He has several episodes with him in the forefront, and they are actually good! DJ joins a church group and constantly questions his family’s decisions, while in another episode the family finds out DJ has begun masturbation which culminates in Dan having a raucous heart-to-heart talk with his son! Finally, in a “special” episode Roseanne loses it and goes overboard punishing DJ and has an emotional scene with DJ apologizing for her actions in one of the most powerful scenes of the series by far. -Speaking of “special” episodes, the show brought them full force this season with a two-parter involving Dan finding out that his mom is mentally disabled and has to move her into a mental hospital. These are the only two episodes this season that feature Crystal (Natalie West) and Dan’s father, Ed (Ned Beatty). Dan and Ed have a few intense/aggressive scenes which had a surprising resolution I did not see coming. Seeing the blowback from this and how it affected the whole family was very impactful to watch, and my hat is off to Barr and Goodman for delivering on some dramatic scenes to take in.

-On a lighter note, the writing for season six is easily my favorite for the entire series up until this point. Almost every episode has several moments where I found myself nodding along to another excellent line of dialogue. This is most apparent in the annual Thanksgiving/Halloween episodes both standing out as blowing away all other prior holiday shows from Roseanne. Instead of good-natured ‘spooky’ gags past Halloween shows relied on, this one is all about just trying to have the best prank, and the depths the family went to prank Roseanne this year and later on that show how Roseanne pranked Jackie had me losing it! Roseanne has constantly pushed the envelope each season with tackling controversial topics like homosexuality, child abuse, mental illness and they can add another one to the list with promoting pot as Dan and Roseanne rediscover their 20-year old stash in an unforgettable scene. -Season six is the first of the DVDs to contain zero extra features so that will wrap up my take on this year of Roseane. This is a much-needed pick me up from the mixed results of season five, and ranks right up there as one of the best seasons of the show so far. Once again, I will give credit to the writers for delivering with a strong script throughout most of the season. Past TV/Web Series Blogs 2013-14 TV Season Recap 2014-15 TV Season Recap 2015-16 TV Season Recap 2016-17 TV Season Recap Adventures of Briscoe County Jr: The Complete Series Angry Videogame Nerd Volumes 7-9 Mortal Kombat: Legacy - Season 1 OJ: Made in America: 30 for 30 RedvsBlue - Seasons 1-13 Roseanne – Seasons 1-9 Seinfeld Final Season Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle Superheroes: Pioneers of Television

#roseanne #roseanne barr #John Goodman #sara gilbert #sarah chalke #Laurie Metcalf #Natalie West #ned beatty #Estelle Parsons #glenn quinn #sandra bernhard #michael fishman #johnny galecki #michael keefe

0 notes

parkrangercirca2016 · 7 years ago

Text

Season Two; Episode Fourteen

A four-day weekend and a visit from Mom and Dad was a nice break.

Tonight I will need to catch up on all of my sleep. We stayed a little busy while they were visiting and saw a few things. On Friday night the two of them flew into Bellingham International Airport and had just barely snagged what was probably the very last rental car in the entire state of Washington. I didn’t get home until after 10:30 and found the two of them waiting for me in the driveway.

On Saturday morning they joined me for my morning boat tour. It was a beautiful day with good weather and mostly clear skies. I think that it was a pretty good tour. There was one rambunctious group that was excited to be there. I think that there was good payoff for the people that came along. We were allowed to go inside Ross Powerhouse and view the turbine pit for Generator 44. My co-guide took a nice picture of Mom, Dad, and I in front of the dam.

The afternoon following the tour was nice. I got to show Mom and Dad Ladder Creek Falls and Gardens, and introduce them to Sara and Amy in the SIC. I made the mistake of spending too much time showing them the sights in Newhalem. Part of this was because I had planned on driving over to Winthrop to eat dinner and had forgotten how long of a drive it is to that town. We didn’t leave for Winthrop until just before 5:00 and got to the Old Schoolhouse Brewery for dinner around 7:00. One of the reasons that I wanted to go over there for dinner was because we would be able to drive over Washington Pass, which I wanted to show Mom and Dad. I don’t think that they were as impressed with that area as I am.

Dinner at the Old Schoolhouse Brewery was okay. The place was busy and a little pricey. And for a Saturday night during the height of the tourist season many of the shops in that town were closed. It seemed like they should be open more. We also spent nearly fifteen minutes trying to get gas because there were three trucks of wildland firefighters getting gas at the same time. There was a big camp of firefighters outside of town because of the Diamond Creek Fire north of Winthrop and Mazama. The fire is now over 30,000 acres! Because we made it over to Winthrop around 7:00, it wasn’t until after 10:00 that we made it back to the house in Rockport.

Getting back late meant that we were (or at least I was) tired for the Powerhouse Tour on Sunday. I thought for sure that Mom and Dad were going to miss it. Mom wasn’t up when I left for work, but Dad was and I reminded him that he should plan on leaving the house for the tour no later than 9:15. The check in for the tour started at 9:30 and at 9:30 nobody had checked in. At 9:40 nobody had checked in. At 9:45 nobody had checked in. Sara and I were supposed to have 12 people on the tour. At a quarter to nine I texted Mom to ask if they were coming. She said that they were only a couple of miles away. At ten minutes till ten people finally started to show up for the tour.

And it ended up being the best Powerhouse Tour that I’ve ever been on. There was a good group of people that decided to sign up for the tour. I felt a little bad for the powerhouse operator because he’d been sick the day before and still wasn’t really looking like he was back to 100%. But he seemed to do alright. And I also found out during the tour that Dad had told some of the other visitors that I was his kid. When we all got back to our picnic lunch they were very excited to tell me how happy they were that my parents were visiting.

We stayed around the house on Monday. On Tuesday we drove to Pioneer Square in Seattle which was kind of a cool neighborhood. I got to see some of the light poles that were designed by none other than JD Ross.

I enjoyed walking around with Mom and Dad seeing the town, even though we didn’t do much outside of visiting the Klondike National Historical Park and CenturyLink Field.

Wednesday was pretty cool. We went and visited the Boeing facility in Everett. It’s the biggest building in the world by volume. The tour seemed rush and didn’t have much of a theme. But we got to see some of the newest planes being built out of a composite material rather than ALCOA aluminum. I would have enjoyed being able to walk down on the factory floor, but I don’t think that Boeing would have liked that very much.

Today Mom and Dad flew out. They’re staying the night in Las Vegas and then flying home tomorrow. It was a fun week.

0 notes

mnefaulkerson · 7 years ago

Text

‘Should I Earn Some Side Income While Working on My New Business?’

Note from Celes: Hi everyone! After MANY months of hard work, I’ve finally launched the new version of Be a Better Me in 30 Days Program, my 30-day character transformation program! You would have gotten the mailer on this if you’re on the PE newsletter. If you don’t have the program, read about 30BBM here. More details at the end of this post!

(Image: Markus Spiske)

“Dear Celes, I have been wanting to reach out to you for a long time, you were always one of my top mentors and it’s really amazing the sheer volume of things you have done and accomplished in your business and life. I have always wanted to have my own business and this year I finally quit my job so that I can focus on doing it once and for all. The problem is, suddenly I have no income (no surprise), and searching for another job is probably going to start the whole cycle of not being able to do much on my business again. My ex-company is kind enough to offer me freelance jobs, however, the rates are not superb and I’m worried that I might need to always check my inbox and spend way too much time on those freelance gigs. Plus I really don’t align with them. But it seems the safest way to get some income for now. What should I do?

Thank you and love you.” — Increa7

Hi Increa7, thank you so much for your kind words! I’m really happy for you that you’ve taken action to focus on your business. Yet, you are right — the state of not having income can be an unnerving one. So what should you do?

Whether you should earn side income (or even look for a new job) while in the process of building up your business really depends on the following:

How much you need this money

Whether earning the money will make a difference (to you)

Whether you can create more value by spending this time on your business or the side job

What do I mean?

How much you need this money refers to your financial status. How long your current savings can last you until. Your comfort level before you feel that you need to look for a job. For some people it’s $1,000 in savings; for others they may feel like they need to look for a job when they dip below $10,000 in savings. This is a personal figure.

Whether earning the money will make a difference. Perhaps you don’t really need the side income but you feel disturbed by a decreasing bank balance. Earning some side income will give you emotional relief.

Whether you can create more value on your business or the side job. While starting a new business, not all our time spent will be productive. Maybe some of this time can be better spent by gaining experience or building your portfolio in a different job / side job, in a way that helps with your business. Or earning side income that can be used to grow your business.

When I started my business in 2008, I decided to earn some side income (as a private tutor) after two months. Why? I didn’t have any financial trouble and my savings would last me for another 1.5 to 2 years, at least. I did this to err on the side of caution, because I wasn’t sure when I was going to earn my first dollar. While I had a goal and a plan, I was also in a totally new industry, and let’s not kid anyone — anything from absolute success to absolute failure could happen. I knew that I was going to achieve results as long as I stuck to my strategy and plan, but it wasn’t 100% clear when these results would appear.

So as contingency, I sought out some side income. Nothing that required major time, just some simple tutoring assignments (I already gave private tuition back in school). By doing so, I was able to put my fears to rest. Even though I was just earning a few hundred dollars a month, at least I knew that I was having some income coming in. I was still having a net decrease in my bank balance each month, but I knew that I could easily increase it by take up more tutoring assignments when needed. I was simply minimizing my risks so that I could work on my business without worry (because we all know how helpful worrying is).

In the end, doing so helped me put my 100% into PE without reservation, and was possibly one of the reasons why things took off so quickly. I quit my side job after 2-3 months because I was already earning money through my business, and every hour spent on my side job was more costly than useful. Working on my side job also gave me exposure to different situations (coaching different kids) which gave me ideas and inspiration for my work too.

I do feel that if I hadn’t had side income coming in, I wouldn’t be as bold and fearless in my endeavor. I would still be taking lots of action of course, but second guessing and worrying at each turn. It was by creating contingency plans (getting side income; ensuring I had job options if I were to return to work), and allaying my fears, that I was able to 100% commit, without fear or doubt, to my business plan. And this confidence (along with persistence, hard work) was very important in helping me succeed. After all, when you walk into something with fear, you bring fearful vibes with you, which affects your actions and results.

3 Questions if You’re Considering a Side Job

For you Increa7, if you are considering a side job, there are 3 factors you can look at:

Does this side job require a high investment of time? Ideally you want a low investment but high payoff option. Just put in the hours, get the money, and move on and work on your business. Even if the earnings are not high, that’s okay — you are not doing this forever. It should be worth your time, in that you can’t earn this $$ by spending this same time on your business.

Do I need this money? Even if for emotional relief, if it gives you a peace of mind, then it’s worth pursuing.

Does this side job move me closer to my vision? Will it help you learn skills, gain experience, or build connections that will help you in your business?

It sounds like working for your ex-company (freelancing) will satisfy #1 (low investment of time) and #2 (meets a need), but not really #3 (relevance to your business). And that’s fine as I don’t think a side gig needs to fulfill all criteria. It is, after all, just a side gig to tide you through. Your main objective is to succeed in your business and earn a living from it. Everything else you do is to help you move forward to your final goal.

Of course, if you can pick and choose assignments that fit your goals, that would be great. You can also let your ex-company know your preference, and perhaps work something out. Or you can use this freelance job as a temporary solution, and shift to a different side job later if you come across a better opportunity. But you shouldn’t spend a huge amount of time finding or making your side job happen, unless you really need the money.

In the meantime, keep your mind sharp on the end goal — to make money in your business. As you work on your business, hopefully you will start to earn some income — $1, $100, $200, $500. Soon, your time taken away from your business to do the side gig is not worth the money you earn from the side job anymore. That’s when you can ween off your side job assignments and spend more time on your business, to the point where you can stop working on the side altogether.

Setting a Cutoff

Finally, what will help is (1) to set a cutoff on the number of hours you are willing to put aside to earn side income, and (2) to recognize that the side job as simply what it is — a side job.

On (1), having a cutoff helps you limit the hours you spend on the side gig, so that you don’t divert too much. Let’s say you are willing to spend only 10 hours a week on this side job — keep to this number. Take up assignments that will match this amount of time, and stop once you’ve met your quota. Spend the rest of your time on your business. Use time management strategies to maximize your time.

On (2), sometimes we may feel discouraged when we don’t get as much income as we did before. But this is pointless because it is not an apple-to-apple comparison. The point of the side job is to tide us over and bleed less in expenses each month. It is not a source of profit or massive profit. Your end goal is to succeed in your business. So keep your eyes on the final prize.

Remember that you quit your day job because you didn’t have the time to fully focus on your business. Yet at the same time, working on your business fully at the start can be unnerving since there is $0 in earnings. The side job is to make this transition less jarring — by giving you a little income, not a lot but enough to cover simple expenses, and most importantly still give you some time/freedom to work on your business.

At every step of the way, your goal should be to find new strategies to grow your business, get the word out about your business, and start earning your first dollar (from your business) by giving great value to your customers/clients.

I’ve written a lot on earning money with your passion/business in my passion series, so do check that out. My post on The Passion, Market, Skills Framework will also be important.

All the best Increa7, and I wish you godspeed in your business journey!