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adagioapassionato · 1 year ago

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playlist focus…a-spec tunes!

Happy Ace Week! For this Ace Week, I wanted to make a special post of songs that I think speak to experiences on the a-spectrum. With just how hard it was to select my favourite ace-friendly songs, it’s clear there are not many songs a-spec folks can relate to, so I put together just a few for you all to enjoy with a little description for each. I tried to represent as many a-spec experiences as I could – for me, my ace and aro experiences are tied quite deeply together so a lot of the songs might represent both of these. Nonetheless, I hope you find some fun music that you can relate to from this post.

I think the ace/a-spec experience for me comprises a few different feelings, and I have chosen songs that represent each feeling for me. The first is a deep sense of confusion and maybe even dislike for the sex- and romance-obsessed society we live in. Wondering why everyone is so concerned with these things that we do not understand because we cannot really feel them, and wishing people did not keep expecting you to engage in something you don’t care about and aren’t interested in. The second is a sort of sadness and pain – these types of love and intimacy are so glorified that you wonder whether you’re missing out on something because you have never, and will never, feel this way – so do you truly feel anything at all? And lastly, (this might be specific to the aro-ace experience), is a sense of exhilaration when you discover and experience new types of attraction that you have not felt before, love that is truly unique to you but feels just as beautiful as the ideal described by society. And with that, let’s get into some a-spec songs!

1. Crush Culture by Conan Gray

Yes, a bit of a stereotypical first choice, but I had to bring it up as a certified Conan Gray fan! This song really represents the feeling of growing tired of hearing about crushes and romance, but at the same time, feeling somewhat lonely and jealous and wishing you could be part of it too. It’s a song that I feel accurately represents being sex-/romance-averse or -repulsed – wanting out from society’s obsession with “crush culture,” but still being constantly and annoyingly surrounded by it.

“I don’t care if I’m forever alone, I’m not falling for you,” “all this love is suffocating, just let me be sad and lonely…” – in school, having a crush, or being liked by someone, was always such a huge deal. I quickly learned that people loved talking about their crushes – it was a huge talking point, sharing about your crush made you friends. So, even though you may not even understand or care, one of the few ways you can ‘fit in’ and be social is to engage with crush culture – which you may not be able to do since you don’t feel that way. So, you’re shoved these things you don’t feel or care about constantly, told that you need to feel them and engage in them to be liked. You do feel lonely and left out watching everyone else engaging in “crush culture,” but you’d rather that than be part of this constant obsession with sex, romance and crushes because you dislike it so much and cannot even relate to it. You’re so “suffocated” by crush culture that you’d rather be lonely, sad, “forever alone,” than have to hear more about crushes, romance and love.

The bridge of the song perfectly expresses the frustration lots of a-spec people feel hearing romance and sex constantly spoken about around them: “Shut your damn mouth/you’re talking too loud/and no one cares if you two made out/oh, I’m sick of the kissing cult…” “Kissing cult” for me evoked these childhood games of ‘never have I ever’ or ‘truth or dare’ – a prime hub for “crush culture,” like sharing gossip about kissing, crushes and romance. When you don’t realise that it’s normal to not feel or want these things, you feel alienated and also just confused what the hype is – are you just “sad and lonely,” will you forever miss out, because you have never engaged in, understood or cared about crush culture? You just want to tune it out and have people stop going on and on about it.

No matter how you try to avoid it, crush culture finds you everywhere. A chorus sings the words “crush culture” in the background of the verses – it sounds almost like kids teasing someone about their crush in singsong voices. This shows how no matter how often you say you don’t have a crush and don’t care for “crush culture,” it continues to haunt you and hit you in the face. I personally remember trying to express to my classmates, who pestered me asking who my crush was, that I didn’t have one. But according to them, I “had to” have a crush – they didn’t even think it possible that I didn’t feel attracted to someone constantly! So, society continues to be obsessed with the idea that everyone feels, desires and needs romance or sex – whether or not they say they don’t care for it. Being surrounded by this constantly, especially at a young age, can create so much frustration that “crush culture” really does make you want to “spill your guts out.

2. We Don’t Have to Take Our Clothes Off by Ella Eyre

I really love the sound and the message of this song – I feel like it accurately represents aces who feel romantic attraction. This song focuses on the emotional aspects of romance – quality time, knowing someone in and out and just enjoying a good time with someone you love, without having to be intimate: “We don’t have to take our clothes off/To have a good time/We could dance and party all night/And drink some cherry wine.” I love how this song subverts this expectation of needing intimate relations in a romantic relationship. Realising I was ace at a time when I still wanted romance was hard because I understood that most people thought sex was a requirement for a successful romantic relationship. But since it wasn’t something I ever wanted at all, would anyone want me? A lot of ace people can struggle with dating in the same way. This song speaks to our experience – “we don’t have to take our clothes off to have a good time…” “If the conversation’s good vibes through and through” – that focuses on more emotional bonds than physical attraction. The song is very simply but powerfully constructed. I really like Ella Eyre’s low, emotional voice that’s allowed to shine on its own. Her voice really showcases her desire to connect emotionally with this person and form a relationship that goes beyond just sex.

3. SDL by Agust D

I’ve talked at length about SDL in my review of D-Day, but it spoke to me as an aspec person and so I thought I’d bring it up again! SDL focuses on how difficult it is to define ‘love,’ and from an aspec perspective, could show how we reflect on past relationships and experiences of attraction in trying to understand how we experience the all-pervasive “love” that’s so important to society today.

First, SDL tries to define love with extreme emotions – “Who do you smile for? Who do you cry for? Could this be love?” Seeing dramatised descriptions of ‘love’ in media, through extreme emotions like crying over someone, making huge sacrifices for love, and so on – we tend to wonder what love really is, and whether we feel it at all, since our experience may not match with these deep and extreme feelings. The song recognizes how glorified the word ‘love’ has become: “Thanks to the grandeur of the word love/What is easily forgotten is called love.” Aspecs can feel like this obsession with sex and romance is overhyped – it seems grandiose, glorified and unreachable, especially since most of what we understand of it comes from media. There are so many expectations surrounding it and it’s given so much precedence and value – almost as though experiencing and finding such love is what makes life worth living at all. We spend a lot of time trying to figure out why we don’t feel this grand, moving feeling of romantic or sexual love, and whether we’re broken or missing out on something. In doing this, though, we forget about the various other kinds of love that we do feel, that make our experience of attraction and love whole and perfect anyway.

I think the song also accurately represents the experience of questioning your a-spec identity – looking back at past relationships and wondering whether you really felt “love,” or something else entirely. “Somebody does love/But I’m thinking about you…” – Yoongi compares this so-called “love,” and he thinks about the feelings he experienced, which don’t seem to align with traditional romantic or sexual love. Questioning whether you’re on the a-spectrum often involves the similar experience of re-analysing your past relationships and realising that your experience of attraction is different – you’ve been mistaking ‘sexual’ or ‘romantic’ love for something else entirely. You end up questioning the life you’d envisioned for yourself – many of us think about marriage or relationships because we’re told we are supposed to want those things. You wonder if you truly miss or desire these relationships, or just the memory or idea of love that you’re taught is so valuable – “Is it you that you miss/Or is it that time on the other side of the glorified memory?”

The song has a bright and gentle feel, so while it really deeply speaks to my experience, it is also very comforting and like a calm reflection on questioning your a-spec identity. In some way, it holds up a mirror to our experiences while also telling us that what we feel is valid. The rest of the song focuses on how relationships and love can be fleeting and difficult to understand and maintain – so there’s no point hanging on to the glorified ideals of love. Loving the small and trivial things is just as valid and wonderful, and so Yoongi truly speaks to the a-spec experience with this song

4. People Watching by Conan Gray

I know this might be a slightly unconventional choice, but I think this is the song that truly encapsulates my entire experience as an a-spec person. On the surface, the song is just about feeling ‘single’ or wanting to experience romantic love, but I associate it with a time where I was ace and desired romance, but also with realising I am arospec and trying to accept that I wasn’t exactly looking for romance.

The song opens with describing a couple’s interactions with one another – “They met in class for metaphysical philosophy/He tells his friends ‘I like her cause she’s so much smarter than me’/They’re having talks about their futures until 4 AM/And I’m happy for them.” This shows how we see and desire romantic experiences so much – to us, they may look beautiful and desirable, and we’re even happy for those experiencing them. But at the same time, Conan sings “I’m happy for them” with a slight bitterness in his tone – some part of us wonders why not me experiencing these things, why not me able to feel something so wonderful?

The chorus is so special and hard-hitting for me. “I wanna feel all that love and emotion/Be that attached to the person I’m holding…” I relate to this so much because at one time, I wanted to experience romance too, but I worried I wouldn’t be able to find someone that would accept me that way because I’m ace. Later I realised I’m on the aromantic spectrum. I still desired the idea of romance, but I didn’t really feel that kind of attraction – I wanted to be “that attached” to someone, I wanted my emotions to be enough so that I could experience the romance that I’m told is such a beautiful and life-changing experience. But turns out, “for now, I’m only people watching…” I’m watching romance surround me as I struggle to accept my identities, and simply wishing that one day I’ll feel that way too.

Recognising your a-spec identity can be a bit disillusioning. Conan recognises this when he says “I had a dream about a house behind a picket fence/Next one I choose to trust I hope I use some common sense.” We do dream of experiencing love at first sight, one-night stands, or these other tropes that we hear so much about and seem so wonderful and amazing. But as we realise our identities, it becomes clear that that cliched stuff isn’t going to work out for us. With the way the world is obsessed with sex and romance and even sees it as a requirement in relationships, people who experience these things differently or not at all won’t fit these conventional tropes. So, we have to accept that love and romance might look a little different for us, and we need to be careful what we expect when seeking out partnership.

My favourite line in the song comes up at the end of the bridge. Conan sings this line in an interesting way – it’s unclear whether he says, “I feel love emotion” or “I feel no emotion.” I really love this because I’ve felt both ways at different stages in my journey of accepting I’m a-spec. Upon just recognizing my identity, I felt as though “I feel no emotion” – that I’m heartless, loveless, and feel nothing because I cannot experience these feelings. But as I’m growing closer to accepting myself, I realise I do feel “love emotion” too – I just experience it differently, and in different forms, which are just as valid!

5. Kalmia Kid by chloe moriondo

This is a sweet and simple song that I ended up rediscovering while writing this post. I feel like it really encapsulates the experience of questioning and sifting through the various different labels that are common in the aspec circles, and feeling like nothing really fits your experience.

Chloe sings, “Feelings are hard to ignore/especially when you don’t know what they’re for…” This really relates to the experience of trying to identify what kind of attraction you’re feeling. It can be so confusing – you have feelings, but you don’t know what to do with them, you don’t know what they’re for or what they mean, and yet you can’t ignore them. They just keep bothering you as you get further into your head trying to figure out what it is you’re actually feeling.

The verses of this song seem to describe trying to identify with different labels, but feeling like nothing fits. They open with – “It’s lonely in the forest that I grow in/I wish I could dive into the sea” then, “it’s lonely in the coral reef I float in…” You think you relate to one label – “I guess the weather’s warm enough to bear,” “I guess the water’s warm enough to bear/and I never have to wash or dry my hair.” But you then see another one and think maybe that one will fit better, more accurately – you feel lonely with your current one and want to “dive into” using a new one. You’re just “bearing” with your current label – it sort of fits, but every new one you discover seems to fit your experience better, that is, until you discover where it falls short too. I know I and definitely other aspecs can struggle learning about all the different labels and attractions that exist. While they can help you to describe your identity better, it can also be a bit overwhelming when you’re not really sure where you fall on the spectrum and what accurately describes your experience. It can even feel like you don’t fit anywhere at all.

The chorus is filled with a somewhat sweet sadness – “If the only love I’ll feel is for bumblebees/that’s fine with me/that’s fine with me/And if I’ll only ever dance with pine trees/That’s fine with me/That’s fine with me.” It accurately describes feeling a bit disappointed that you’ll never be able to experience strong sexual or romantic love, but trying to accept the other kinds of love that you do feel. I love how the tone of these lyrics describes the dilemma between feeling like you’re missing out on important feelings, but also trying to love the confusing yet new and exciting identity that you have just discovered!

6. What Was I Made For? by Billie Eilish

This is another slightly unconventional choice, but it was a song that came to my mind when I was struggling to accept being arospec and ace.

When you’re on the a-spectrum, it’s really common for people to think you’re inhuman, unfeeling or robotic. This, coupled with struggling to understand your own feelings for others, can be really confusing and gives an entirely new meaning to the lines “I don’t know how to feel, but I wanna try.” On the one hand, “I don’t know how to feel, but I wanna try” – being ace can make you feel like you don’t do “feeling” right, you don’t feel emotions in the right way. However, you so desperately wish you could – you can feel like you wish you weren’t ace, or that you did feel sexual attraction so that you could be “normal” and know how to feel the same things everyone else does. On the other, “I don’t know how to feel, but I wanna try” – when you give in to aphobic messaging, being aspec can make you feel like you’re robotic or inhumane because you don’t experience attraction conventionally. You don’t know how to behave like others, how to feel like them – so maybe you don’t know how to feel anything at all. But you don’t want to be someone so inhuman that they don’t even know how to feel – you want to try and feel these things that seem so wonderful and important to making life beautiful.

I’ve mentioned how realising you’re a-spec forces you to confront the fact that your life may not pan out the way you planned before you discovered your identity. So, you ask – “what was I made for?” You’re told all your life that one day, you’ll find “the one,” that people are “made for” each other to find and have one consistent love that lasts forever. However, you’ve never felt that about anyone – so were you “made for” anyone at all? Were you “made for” experiencing this everlasting love, because you can’t ever seem to feel it? You end up feeling really disillusioned when you realise you won’t experience the glorious “one true love” that everyone seems to suggest is what makes life worth living. Billie’s emotional voice, which sounds almost tearful at the chorus, really stirs these emotions in my heart. It can be really hard to try and confront that maybe your life won’t be exactly what you envisioned – what you thought you were “made for” isn’t what you’re actually “made for.”

7. A Long Dream by SE SO NEON

I’ve talked about this song before too, but I want to explain why I resonate so much with it! It’s a song about discovering a growing attachment to a person – its lyrics break the boundaries between different kinds of attraction. It’s not clear whether the bond described here is platonic, romantic, queerplatonic, or something else entirely – it just shows that the singer is attached to someone, feels happy around them, and enjoys this feeling. I really love that it’s open to interpretation in that way, especially as I’ve often struggled to label and identify different types of attraction. Just thinking that I enjoy someone’s company and they make me happy, and enjoying feeling the way I feel about them – takes some of the pressure off trying to figure out ‘what’ I’m feeling!

Both verses feature the lyric “at some point I had changed a bit.” This shows that you’re experiencing a new kind of attraction to someone – a change in your heart and mind. It’s a realisation that this feeling is unlike anything you’ve ever felt, and feeling it feels like a change within your very being. At the same time, it can mean that recognising your identity as an aspec person can help you understand that your perception of yourself has also changed such that you can identify these new types of attraction. The realisation that this feeling is different, but interesting, is also shown in the lyrics – “the heart inside me got curious about you a little bit…” “it’s a bit strange I want to stop time like this for a while.” We’re conditioned to understand certain types of attraction (romantic, platonic, etc.) in certain ways – so I love how this implies that your feelings are somewhat taking you by surprise. You realise they’re different, you aren’t sure what they are, but at the same time, you enjoy it and want to go along with what you’re feeling.

The lyrics of the chorus are unconventional and kind of weird to hear at the first go – “I want to shoot a movie with you/Hold your hand, and walk, run, fly with you…” You wouldn’t normally say you want to “shoot a movie” with someone you love, but it’s really such a sweet sentiment – it conveys wanting to capture every moment with someone, wanting it to be beautiful and picturesque like a movie, which is what being with them feels like. These unconventional lyrics seem to mirror the unconventional ways aspec people experience attraction and partnership in their lives too! Soyoon also sings, “I can change the world to be with you,” which also seems to be about breaking the bounds of attraction. It’s as though she says, “I want to be with you, I don’t care to categorise what I’m feeling by societal standards. I want to change those conventions and labels imposed by ‘the world,’ forsake them all so I can feel these beautiful feelings and be with you!”

This song’s bright sound and sweet lyrics that are completely open to interpretation have a unique way of instantly sparking so much joy in my heart. I really love listening to it and watching it played live was even better – it makes us feel connected by the bonds we share simply cherishing each other as humans, regardless of conventional relationship structures or attractions

8. My Love Mine All Mine by Mitski and

9. love. by wave to earth

I truly fell in love with My Love Mine All Mine the minute I heard it. The first time I heard the lyrics “my love is mine, all mine…,” I thought of “my love” as referring not to a special person, but to love itself: “my love,” that is, the love I hold in my heart and feel towards the world. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Mitski confirm this in her Genius interview too and felt even more connected to it!

I love how the first verse and the chorus together show that while everything in the world is fleeting, the feeling of love that’s unique to you will always outlast everything: “Moon, tell me if I could/Send up my heart to you/So when I die, which I must do/Could it shine down here with you?/Cause my love is mine all mine.” You may die, but your unique way of loving will always leave an impression on those who receive it – it’ll shine on beautifully like the moon.

My Love Mine All Mine shows that the love you feel is yours and yours alone. The way you experience it is unique to you – even if you don’t identify with certain kinds of love, that’s an experience unique to you that will stay with you forever. It’ll fill up your heart in a special way only you can feel, and it’ll outlast you in the people you’ve shared it with in a unique way that only your presence can elicit. We as a-specs get so caught up in wondering what love we’re feeling, if we don’t feel enough love, if people won’t understand and accept us for experiencing love differently or not at all – this song denounces all of those questions to say that your love is yours alone to share, give, feel and understand. It’s an experience that’s your very own, and that in itself makes it enough, whole, complete and valuable! This beautiful message made me feel so content and valid in my own identity.

I associate this song with love. by wave to earth as well, which I’ve also talked about before. This song is equally beautiful at showing how love is a unique but valuable experience. It shows how love can be confusing and cause a shift in your very being, describing it as “a small wave in my small heart” that “breaks, hardens and melts.” Many notes are flat with an unexpected pitch, but sound beautiful and harmonious with the rest of the song, showing that love is imperfect, and yet, with it, “finally our world is perfect,” and we can “see [our] eternity.” Thus, much like Mitski, wave to earth describe love as imperfect and confusing, as it so often is to aspecs, but yet, it is ours alone to feel, and it is our unique experience of it, no matter what that is to us, that can make our world feel perfect!

I hope these songs validate your aspec identity a little more – and are a great soundtrack for this Ace Week! It was a bit hard to write this post as I worried about representing as many people on the a-spectrum as I could – but after all, I’m just one person and what I can speak of best is my own experience. However, whatever you experience as an asexual/a-spec person is valid and wonderful, and you are a valuable part of this community! I hope this post could bring a little more of that community to you. I compiled a longer playlist featuring some other songs about platonic attraction and other a-spec feelings that you can find linked below! [hyperlink] Thanks for reading and Happy Ace Week!

playlist:

Spotify

Youtube Music

References:

SDL

A Long Dream

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noassallclass · 2 years ago

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partially a response to the nice anon with mixed feelings about CR crit, I blame the very culty mindset of the fandom for why people are so hesitant to say anything less than glowing cuz they pretty much brand you a hater on the spot (and for reasons that are too endless to list here, the cast do not need their honor defended by randos on the internet. Lol. Lmao even). Any fan with discomfort or beef or even a "that just rubbed me the wrong way" has to put in a shit-million disclaimers that yes they still totally love the show and the cast and god, give yourselves a break! Just say your piece and block all the people going "uhm actually [insert the same handful of pithy CR defenses here]"

Yeah the fandom is really cult like, and the Cast want to keep it that way. Its much easier for them to slap the cr logo on to whatever crap and have it sell than to actually put the effort in to actually making anything of quality. (Like allegedly their CCO said, behind the scenes, that CR fans a dumb and will buy anything with a cr logo on it.) They also hired a super fan to become their "lore master"/part of the team. So it really sends the message that if you fawn over CR the cast might actually notice/like you. That's why there's so much rampant defenses of the show, to try and prove to these online celebs that you're fighting the good fight and maybe they will reach out and become friends with you.

Fans will defend even the most uncontroversial things if there is even a whiff of someone not 1000% loving it. It's wild, you literally can't say anything without a bunch of ppl telling how you're wrong and you aren't watching the show right. That's why if you're gonna watch, just stay out of the fandom. Just don't talk about it online. Don't feed the beast. Just enjoy it for what it is for you and dislike it for what doesn't work for you. If there are parts that make you feel uncomfortable than that's probably valid. Its not like theyre out here trying to challenge ppls views and making them confront uncomfortable topics for the better or anything that would make you want to reflect on your own discomfort. It's a very middle of the road kind of show that's trying to cast the widest, least controversial net it can to maximize its fan appeal. It's a company, a business, it's doing whatever it wants for its own self interest, as is the nature of companies. It doesn't care for you as a person, so you don't have to show it any care either. There's no reason to show it any more respect than you would for any other company.

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beetlemancy · 5 years ago

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god I'm tired of CR fandom twitter today. People just always seem to have to find something to criticise, even right now when there's so many better targets for their anger. Tell me this, if I block the person who was being a particularly big headache under the tweet about CR not broadcasting this week (I think you know who I mean?), would I be doing myself a favour for avoiding this kind of shit in the future? I.e. are they always Like This?

I realize what I say under the cut could possibly be misconstrued as personal attacks against this person, and thus I am putting it under a readmore and as I said in my tags, I will NOT be naming names or showing screenshots. Everything is easily find-able if you really want to research. As always, you never have to take my word for anything. Twitter has a search function.

ALSO. NONE of what I say here in context of what this person does or said today specifically has anything at all to do with any POC and specifically Black people who have the valid opinion that CR can and should do better. Nobody will agree on how best white creators can help a situation at any given time and it is not my place as a white person to police that shit.

This person is a white dude, and I will absolutely police his shit.

He is literally always like this. He hijacks and abuses real world problems for his vendetta against CR and the individuals who made it. He seems to think they are multimillionaire corporate shills (likely because of the Kickstarter, though people have told him over and over how that money actually works). He is constantly talking over POC, like today when he spoke over a Black person underneath the CR schedule update.

Other POC in his mentions have also subtweeted about how he’s been suspiciously racist before, but I don’t have the details on that. I’m inclined to believe them, though. He had no problem abusing the very real concern about colorism in this fandom in order to pivot the conversation back to how CR itself (and not the individuals in the fandom that were actually responsible) is somehow oppressing him and his friends specifically.

This is not the first important movement he’s tried to corrupt and it will not be the last - though, I have to say, this is the first time I’ve seen him get shut up so quickly and without any of his buddies to back him up.

As a note, however, I would like to point out that a lot of his hatred comes from a very real place. Gay men specifically were traumatized, and one (probably more than one lets be real) harassed endlessly, by what went down in the Fjorester discord. He absolutely will always land on this if you manage to get past all his other ammunition, and you will lose here because what happened was truly reprehensible.

However, and I say this as a member of the queer community, he is WRONG about how he continues to steal clout from other movements he clearly doesn’t give two shits about and he is WRONG for not holding the actual people accountable and he is WRONG for speaking over Black people - not especially right now, I mean always. White queers NEVER have the ‘go ahead’ to speak over BiPOC just because we’re queer.

Yes, sometimes he speaks with Black people who call for CR to do better. Nobody who calls this guy out is saying that all of his tweets are Wrong or Bad. He paints himself as a good ally and he does it well most of the time. But - he tipped his hand tonight and I think it might take him awhile to recover before we see it happen again.

#cr discourse #i will not be naming names #this is so much context already if you need more then you don't need to know #Anonymous #omg and i didn't even talk about how he is constantly #talking about how CR fans are a cult #or are in a cult?#it changes #and how incredibly offensive he is about it because he is deadly serious #cult survival is no fucking joke and has nothing to do with fandom

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stomp-that-ho-regard · 3 years ago

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(same anon) ur totally right abt those two I thought I was the only one who couldn't stand either of them (and their entire posse of FOLLOWERS who. truly followed them w cult-like vigor) bc of the power they wielded by touting themselves as 'true rational' when anybody who dare said "hey c/r ain't all that and what they're doing... this ain't right" would get thrown under the bus as they'd make 'rational' posts abt how these ppl who questioned c/r were clearly of inferior intellect and didn't Get the Superior Intellect of C/R.

another one of them is c/ranesbyibycus and these three had a fuckall trinity of touting themselves as "ships everything and ships nothing! so we have true neutrality as a council™ to have rational CR opinions!"

like... yall think this most mediocre (calling him mediocre feels generous) white man who constantly puts whitewashed art on the reel, says racist and orientalist bullshit repeatedly and makes non-apologies when held accountable; makes lesbophobic comments ON AIR in the show and gets away with it— you put this absolutely detestable fucker on a pedestal and tut yourselves the self-proclaimed Leaders™ of this "thirst cult" dedicated to him.

You're some kind of hypocrite to think you're very "Logical" and "Take No Sides" when you talk down to the people (especially marginalized communities and fans of colour) who react emotionally and point out C/R's slew of fuckups... if THIS dude is the hill you're ready to die on lmao.

Not sure "rational" is a word I'd use for any of you clowns.

They’re always condescending to critics and treat them like morons. If it’s about the company, “they don’t understand business.” If it’s about the narrative, “they don’t understand storytelling.” If it’s about the characters, “they don’t understand nuance.” (Nuance was and still is their favorite word.) It’s self-aggrandizement.

And the LTC thing. The exaltation was always SO off-putting, and the farthest from normal or rational you could get. Then you add in all the problematic things about him that they would so quickly explain away or downplay, and vehemently say his critics were ‘reaching’. Also, if you noticed, none of these people EVER defended anyone else in the cast with even close to the same amount of vigor.

But, they have no biases, right?

c/ranesofibycus! That’s the one. Every time I’ve tried to remember her URL, I kept calling it cranes of hibiscus lol

Anyway, yes, her too. She was the person I referenced in one of my old posts. After Matt reprimanded people on twitter over the ‘Jester ageing up’ drama, she posted this...

That was the first post that made me wary.

But, I was actually okay with her for a while. Because even after everyone else started turning shitty, she wasn’t calling people crazy or delusional, or making passive aggressive posts in the discourse tag or in OUR tag, like some assholes loved to do. She actually did keep a cool head even through all the chaos. One example, after the backlash that Liam got over his playlist pick, “She” by Dodie. She didn’t like that some people were sending nasty things to him, but she understood why it was upsetting to some people, and even admitted that she was confused when she saw the song on there. And that IS a completely rational reaction.

That was the difference. I never felt any underlying nastiness coming from her posts, unlike the other two. b/eetlemancy became openly nasty to everybody, and l/uck had the passive aggressive vagueposting (but not so vague) down pat.

The post that finally soured me on c/ranes, was this one...

And it was in the Beaujester tag! When I first caught it while scrolling, I thought for sure it had to have come from either b/eetlemancy or t/hebeaubar, or r/edjennies, or any of those extra shady, holier-than-thou (mainly BY) blogs. But when I scrolled up and saw her URL, I was shocked.

And look who was in the notes...

#op #ask

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onslaughtsixdotcom · 4 years ago

Text

Scaling Up Dragon Heist

Around April or May of 2019, I started to run Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, one of the official WotC 5e hardcovers. I’m still not done with it, although that is largely the fault of COVID and my own extensions to the campaign.

I think Dragon Heist is one of the better 5e modules by WotC. I think it’s got a strong playground for the characters, and Waterdeep has 30+ years of publication history to draw on. The release of the module also heralded in a HUGE amount of third party extension content, including the famous Alexandrian Remix. I hadn’t heard of this before I started running my campaign and having ideas about how to do it, so it didn’t influence me--although I’m sure we came to a lot of similar conclusions and ideas, based on common perceptions of what the actual flaws are of the module.

Still, despite those flaws, I think they help the module rather than hinder it. It gives the DM a shitload of room to improvise and draw in the margins, rather than some other 5e adventures which feel like they can’t be fucked with in the least.

Here’s the kicker: I started my adventure at level 4. We had a pre-existing party that I had run through the classic N1: Against the Cult of the Reptile God. (Fun fact: A map that I drew is the 3rd Google Images result for that. Woah.)

The party spent a few real-world weeks traveling across about 7 days of overland travel where I ran some drop in one shots; including Mike Krahulik’s Dusk (a Twilight parody) and a really fun 2 hour diversion where the players saw an ancient blue dragon take off the roof of a church during a wedding. Then they arrived in my city: Dawnharbour.

I don’t run the Forgotten Realms. I find it not to my taste. Most of the names suck. The lore is invariably boring or weird, and not the fun kind of weird. I was going to run Dragon Heist, and I was going to put it in my own city. I gave the players some justification previously for why they would want to go there: The cleric’s sister had been kidnapped by the Cult of the Reptile God and turned into a Yuanti; a snake person. The bard had stolen a golden statue of the Reptile God and wanted to melt it down and plate his violin with it. I told the cleric that they would need a high level magic user and someone in Dawnharbour could probably help them; ditto the bard needing a highly skilled magical blacksmith. The third player didn’t really care where they went since he was on the run from his home country. So, off to Dawnharbour. They reached level 4 when they got to the city.

I won’t bore you with the rest of the details of my city or everything I changed for the campaign. Instead, I’ll talk up some hard and fast ways to make the adventure work for a higher level party. Most of them revolve around the encounters. I’m assuming the party will start around level 4 or 5.

Chapter 1

The book opens with the players in the Yawning Portal, a famous tavern with a big ass well to a megadungeon underneath. (More on this later.) They’re hanging out doing whatever when a troll and some stirges pop out of the well. The book says that the players get attacked by the stirges while the owner of the bar, a typical Forgotten Realms 15th level Fighter running a fucking bar for a living deals with the troll.

A troll is CR 5. They can handle a troll. If they can’t, you have a bigger problem.

Next up the book leads them to a Zhentarim warehouse. When they get there it’s abandoned and there are (ugh) 3 Kenku. Kenku are like tengu if they sucked. They’re bird people who can only speak in mimickry, like parrots. They can only repeat words they’ve heard before. This is stupid as fuck (especially when a player wants to be one) but more importantly, they are incredibly weak. I think the kenku are just hanging out or they got captured by the Zhentarim who left them there after they bail or something like that. Whatever.

I put the Zhentarim there instead. I put like 20 Zhentarim. I used the Spy statblock; they don’t have a lot of CR and at level 4 or 5, the players are real slice and dicey about killing them. They can basically carve through two of these dudes in a turn. It was *really* fun to just have the players mow down these mooks. They used the 2nd floor to their advantage, casting Grease on the stairs and creating a bottleneck and then picking them off with ranged attacks and spells. I think I might have given the Zhents 1hp and treated them as minions (see 4e).

I think I had the police show up after they were all dead; someone heard the commotion and called the cops. I think I also put an NPC there; I shuffled around a bunch of the NPCs the module uses. (They got their quest to save Volo from Bigby in the Yawning Portal; instead of finding Volo here, I think they found my equivalent of Renaer Neverremember.) There was a day’s break between this and them going into the sewers in the next part.

The sewer introduces the Xanathar’s minions. I believe a Duergar is actually there and I took this as a sign--I made most of Xanathar’s mooks Duergar, and then decided--this dude is a Beholder and he has a Mindflayer for a lieutenant. The Xanathar’s forces should ALL be classic D&D dungeon monsters, like rust monsters and umber hulks and ropers. This gives you a wide variety of weird shit you can throw at your players at different CR levels, and the idea of a gangster Beholder who thinks hiring a bunch of umber hulks to go shake down a local deli is fucking hilarious. But, it doesn’t make them any less dangerous. Throw some umber hulks or something in this lair. Go nuts--the weirder, the better. Xanathar’s crew should have no qualm about hanging out with a gibbering mouther or a carrion crawler.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 is the least developed chapter in the book. It also revolved around a bunch of Forgotten Realms faction nonsense that I wanted nothing to do with. I used this time instead to formally introduce the Xanathar, the Cassalanters and Jarlaxle. After they foiled his plans to rig a goldfish competition (think a dog show but for fish), the Xanathar became convinced the players worked for the Zhentarim and invited them to have a sit down about their intentions; if they worked for the Zhents he wanted to formally declare war. The players hated the Zhents--they killed an NPC they liked back during N1, partially to set this all up. Xanny was cool with that.

The Cassalanters were a way to introduce a new player. They call up the Blackstaff to say, hey we have a magic item, can you send a guy here to deliver it? (Magic item possession is illegal on the streets in my setting, but if someone important hires you to transport it, then you can do it. This makes being a courier a very lucrative job; lots of people are just carrying around other people’s stuff for a living.) They almost immediately knock out the new player sent to pick up the item, and replace him with their dofflegagher. The idea was that the dofflegagher player would then infiltrate the Blackstaff’s organization.

Blackstaff is no dumbass and hired a random dude off the street--my new player. Then, Blackstaff hired the rest of the party to go rescue him--mostly as a ruse to snuff out the Cassalanters and get evidence that they were shitty.

When they encountered the Cassalanters, I used a Cambion; one of their servants turned into him. This guy slowly became a recurring lieutenant; he was basically the Goldar for the Cassalanter’s Lord Zedd and Rita Repulsa. At the time, I hadn’t read any lore for Cambions; I’m not particularly concerned with monster lore the way the guys who make the game write it. I literally thumbed through my deck of monsters, saw this winged devil horn dude, and said, “Right on, he looks like he’ll work.” A Cambion is CR5, more than suitable for the encounters the party will have with him over the next few levels. The Fiendish Charm ability is fun and can really fuck with the players; I ruled, of course, that anyone under its affect would obviously be free if the Cambion was killed. Even after it was killed, he just kept on coming back, because he’s from Hell and killing him on this plane doesn’t really do anything.

As the players continue to face the Cassalanters, a go-to seems to be spined devils. This is fine but not very powerful for a level 4, 5, 6 party. Therefore I suggest supplanting it with barbed devils. They’re CR5. Adding one or two of those to an encounter with spined devils can make this a real fun encounter that isn’t too horribly overwhelming, especially if at least one of your martial characters has a magic weapon (which they fucking should; they’re level 5!)

IMO you can also introduce Jarlaxle in this chapter; a fun way is through his Zardoz Zord persona. It could simply be that Jarlaxle knows Volo (or any other NPC the players know) and wants to invite them to a free meal to get to know them. In my game, Jarlaxle operates openly as himself (I found it would just complicate things if he was someone else) and invited the players to his yacht shortly after they met the Xanathar, to formally tell them all about the Vault of Dragons, the Stone, and how everyone they have met in the city is after it.

Chapter 3

I am not the biggest fan of this part of the module. I think nimblewrights and similar creatures are really dumb and don’t fit my D&D world. A lot of the stuff in this chapter is investigation stuff, and you can play that out however you like. It doesn’t drastically need scaling up, though you may have to account for something like Zone of Truth that they might not normally have access to. It also helps if you do the opposite of the book, and make the police a bunch of shitheads who don’t care about the city--this way the players are actually motivated to help. I’ve seen a LOT of posts that open with “the fireball happened and my players shrugged and said they would let the police handle it.” Horrible! The police should either be incompetent, apathetic, or (best case) both. They don’t care who did this and if they did, they wouldn’t be able to catch them. Now it’s completely on the players.

IMO it also helps if you do the leg work to make the NPC someone they actually care about. In the book it’s an NPC they’ve never met but they have a mutual acquaintance through--it would be nice if they get invited to a dinner with this NPC or something similar prior to this. Or, change it to be any NPC they like who you don’t mind killing. Hell, they’re level 5 or 6 at this point--if they got a cleric, they can even cast Revivify and wake the dude up. They could even cast Speak With Dead and immediately find out who blew him up or what he was doing here!

Moving on, there’s the Gralland Villa. I retooled the name to actually sound like a good name; sue me.

The book has a bunch of Zhents hanging out here. A simple way to make this dramatic and hard is to pull the trigger and make the players fight their way in. The stone is right here at the villa and they need to steal it. Sounds simple enough.

Things got complicated for my party when a recurring NPC appeared. She was an ex girlfriend of the bard in our party; they were both Tieflings. She now worked for the Zhentarim and was basically their second in command. And she was here to steal the stone, come Hell or high water. The bard, still in love with her, was perfectly content to let her steal it and even cover her getaway. The rest of the players, not so much, but when the chaos was ensuing and she was literally running past them with the stone in hand, made the decision that it was smarter to try and help her escape and then figure out how to get the stone from her later, than try and get it from her now.

This led literally directly to chapter 4.

Chapter 4

By now it’s obvious: I used all 4 bad guys.

I ran through the chapter and picked the coolest maps and best encounter ideas, including the rooftop chase, the theater, the sewer and the courthouse. I weaved them together carefully, and all the changes I had made to the groups paid off when they entered the theater, chased by barbed devils and our Cambion friend, only to have an Umber Hulk with the Xanathar’s logo painted on his face crash through the stage, flanked by two Duergar. Add in some Drow gunslingers and it was a fucking party.

(the large hexagon is where somebody cast Darkness; the big scuffed circle is a grody spot on my grid tiles. I still need new ones...)

The courthouse had a great scene where the Cassalanter dofflegagher impersonated the chief of police, interrogating the players for the code word to activate the stone (I added one; who cares?) until the real chief of police showed up! The players had to do an entire encounter with this guy while handcuffed; thank god for verbal only spells, right?

From here the stone ended up with the players, and then it ended up with Jarlaxle who they are working for. Jarlaxle attuned to it and told them the Vault of Dragons is inside Undermountain; 3, 5 levels deep? Who knows? And it requires 3 keys: The Crown of Asmodeus, the Ring of Winter, and the Robe of the Archmagi.

I gave these 3 magic items to the Cassalanters, the Xanathar and Manshoon. This is a pretty common hack and it means the lairs in the book actually get used. I made up one of the magic items (Crown of Asmodeus) and stole another from a module I don’t intend to run as written (the Ring of Winter is, I believe, in either Tomb of Annihilation or Storm King’s Thunder). They’re fun!

So the rest of the campaign has been the players bouncing between going deep into Undermountain, the megadungeon underneath the Yawning Portal, and going to the 3 different villain factions to steal their shit.

The villain lairs are NOT statted for level 5 players AT ALL. The players have no hope of actually killing ANY of the villains at level 5; to fight the Xanathar is a pure TPK at level 5. But at level 8, like where my players are now? One of them died and then got Revivified; the others all survived or made their saves when they were hit by death or disintegration. (In the spirit of the Xanathar, I rolled every eye beam randomly, rerolling if I had used that ray in the last round.) That’s about the best you can hope for with a Beholder IMO!

The rest of the lairs you can mostly run as-is. Any very low CR mooks, basically anything lower than 1 or 2 CR, I would probably replace with a higher CR variant. We’ve already discussed what you can replace them with above, and if you’ve made it this far into the module, you should have a pretty good sense of what your players can handle.

#dnd #dragon heist #waterdeep dragon heist

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galaxymagick · 4 years ago

Text

201010 @leo_jungtw instalive

— what taek did today: woke up > had his vocal lesson at 1pm > went back home > ate his meal > drank coffee > rest (he listed them one by one... cute;- ;) — today is a slack day for him — he ate ramyeon and a little of rice today because he wants to

— asked abt the ramyeon he ate, he said it's a secret — asked about today's plan, he said his plan is to talk abt life with his acting teacher at 6 — taek laughed while reading a comment asking if he can speak english. he said he can understand it but doesn't know how to reply

— when asked about the music he's playing, he starting said it's a secret, so 🌟 joked and say his playlist is a secret warehouse (bc he keep saying it's a secret to this and that). but later he revealed one of the song name

— what taek did yst: exercise > went to company and practice > went to find hyogi at his shooting site > got coffee that was provided at hyogi's shooting site > ate with company's noona and hyungs

— have he met hakyeon yet: he said he hasn't, hakyeon has been busy. he didn't get to watch hakyeon's ig live on his discharge day as it happened when he's still working.

— asked whether if he had tried malatang, he said he hasn't tried before so he doesn't know whether it's delicious or not

— someone commented said she has not eaten malatang before, asked if he want to eat tgt, taek "do you want? to eat with me?"

— he questioned whether is malatang nice? he said he doesn't really like hotpot, but he started liking shabu shabu recently. previously he didn't really like shabu shabu, but it's delicious to him now. he said maybe he will like hotpot since he started liking shabu shabu

— someone commented the reason why he doesn't like hotpot might be because there isn't cabbage in it like shabu shabu, taek "oh right there's cabbage in shabu shabu, there isn't cabbage in hotpot? ㅇㅅㅇ"

— someone said s/he will treat taek malatang so let's go but taek replied "I don't think I can make it today, you can go together, holding hands" L O L

— (continuing his words)

a 🌟replied "i'm in seoul come on" taek: "i'm in seoul come on, this sounds like cha hakyeon words? the dp.. is cha hakyeon (too)? /laughs/ (the word) come on sounds like cha hakyeon (would use)" XD

— coffee prince avid fan taek actually went to the cafe that was the house of lee sunkyun's role in the drama last year. — he even taught fans where and how to go to the cafe

about netflix

— he watch animation on netflix and recently he's watching sherlock holmes — asked whether he watched korean dramas on netflix, he said he doesn't really do that

— someone commented told taek not eat too much dessert, don't drink too much coffee, wear warmly and stay healthy. taek "do you know me? are you watching me?" he said he hasn't been drinking much coffee, he has only a cup of it

— 🌟: please show your face taek: I don't want to /laughs/

— 🌟: if you drink too much coffee.. taek: it's right... so I have been reducing it, as my stomach hurt a lot (if I drink a lot) I did endoscopy as I wasn't feeling well (back then), and so I decided to reduce my intake

— 🌟 : what's your nickname? taek: nickname? I don't have a nickname. daeguni? — about daeguni taek: daeguni... was made by ravi right. seem like all my nickname are made by kim ravi.

— about his name "taekwoon" and "jung taekwoon" taek: taekwoonie this name is really pretty right? I have never met anyone with the name taekwoon, there are only abt 2 people with the name "jung taekwoon"?

— taek's recent new challenge he wants to be able to sing wo straining his vocal even when he's reached 70 y/o, so he's learning a new technique which allow him be able to sing comfortably for a long time

— 🌟 : i will go for your perf even when i'm 60s taek: you better dont lie~

— 🌟 asked abt today's tmi taek: i will give you 2 tmi... I dont think I have any tmi to share..

— abt his consumption for ramyeon: he only eat it occasionally. he would eat 1 or 2 bowl per month only

taek: let's see each other for a long time let's walk tgt for a long time. you know how much starlights love you right? (comment) Idk~? I don't think I know? I don't think it's delivered well (comment) I think it still hasn't got through

— he was asked what made him happy recently, he said he's been trying to find simple and small things to make him happy. (thought for awhile)

"oh I met hyogi and drank coffee with him, that made me happy"

trans cr: @kimjyans

♫ Instalive playlist .. ♫

1. Maybe - half•alive 2. 못찾음 ㅠ * 3. No Right To Love You (Acoustic) - Rhys, Lewis 4. Preoccupied - Mac Demarco 5. Heart To Heart - Mac Demarco 6. Feelin's The Same Way -Norah Jones 7. If We Have Each Other -Alec Benjamin 8. Space Island (Moon.ver) -티어라이너 9. Perfect World (커피프린스 1호점 삽입곡)-Arco 1 10. Joining A Cult - Annika Norlin 11. Sea Of Silence (part II) - 막스밀리언헤커 12. U Owe Me - Stella Donnelly 13. Nobody - Mac Demarco

정정합니다ㅠ 막시밀리언 헤커 Maximilian Hecker **

*2. not found ㅠ **revisionㅠ Maximilian Hecker

cr: @starlight_sis

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ninavantastisch · 5 years ago

Note

For the "soft asks" - everything you didn't answer already. 🖤❤🖤

cherry - what is your sexuality?

I am Pansexual 😊 I like humans. I don’t care about gender or genderidentity

lollipop - favorite makeup products?

Eyeliner, Mascara and Lipstick! Those are the essentials!

october - what month were you born in?

Funnily not in october 😄 I was born in august.

caress - do you like to snuggle?

I loooooove snuggles! 😍

ivory - describe your pajamas?

Weeeell, my PJ��s are basically an oversized shirt and panties 😅

golden - favorite stationary product?

Defnitely my leopard print pocket planner! Can’t survive without planners and notebooks!

freckles - most-worn article of clothing?

My leatherjacket! 🖤

silk - do you like k-pop?

Nah. Not my cup of tea

poppy - favorite pastel color?

peach and pastel green.

dimples - most attractive features of a person’s face?

Eyes, lips and smile!

sunkissed - autumn or spring?

Autumn! Cozy sweaters, colourful leafs, hot chocolate and all the snuggles!

buttery - favorite snack?

Salt & Vinegar Chips 🖤

whisper - how much sleep do you get?

Never enough 😅

pencil - do you own a journal?

Nope. I got a notebook where I write everything down that comes to my mind.

cupcake - are you a good cook?

Not to brag but… yeah I’m a pretty good cook.

honey - favorite term of endearment?

A lot actually 😄

Darling, Babe, Honey, Sweetheart, Cutie, Love, Lovely, Honey Bunny (but only for you! 💛)

clouds - describe one of your favorite dreams?

I hugged my best friend from my childhood and teenage years! When I woke up I could still physically feel her embrace which made me cry. She has been comatose for more than a year after being in a serious car crash. Two years ago her life support was turned off. I miss her dearly and everyday but I’m thankful for the time we had together. 💔 J.S., you’re still with us and we love you so much. Gone too soon.

velvet - who was your first crush?

Oh Boy 😅 I had a HUGE crush on a guy named Lucas who lived in the village next to mine. He was a little older than me and PUNK AF! I was 13 at the time and he was 16. We talked once, while we were waiting for the bus together and he noticed my “Die Ärzte” (german Punk band) Shirt and just said ��Cool Shirt.” And I was in heaven hahaha 😄 after he graduated, he moved away and I never saw him again. I wonder what he’s doing now and if he’s still that cute punk he was 15 years ago.

paper - favorite children’s book?

When I was a child my favourites were The Trip to Panama by Janosch and The Little Ghost by Otfried Preussler

peaches - do you have a skincare routine?

Uhm not really. I wash my face and apply moisturizer. Once a week I use a face mask but that’s about it.

mochi - favorite studio ghibli film?

Ugh that’s not fair. They’re all cool! But I guess My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away are probably my favs

strawberry - favorite fruit?

Cherries and Pears 🍒🍐

kiss - have you ever kissed a friend?

One of my best buddies and I were drinking one night and it got pretty late and we were both SUPER wasted and all of a sudden I was like:

Me: “Dude… we’ve known eachother for 8 years now but we never kissed”

Him: “Yeah… right. Do you think we should?”

Me: “I don’t know… I think it would be good to know if we are really just good friends or if anyone is interested in the other, you know what I mean? Let’s see if sparks will fly” (drunk logic)

Him: “You’re probably right…. fuck it! Let’s do this!”

So we kissed for about 1 minute and after we broke away from the kiss we both looked at eachother for I don’t know 10 seconds and then we both shook our heads, laughed our asses off and were like “Nope” 😂

nightlight - do you read before bed?

I used to but now I don’t. Sometime I listen to audiobooks before bed

shampoo - favorite scent?

Probably coconut and fresh laundry!

skin - what distant relative are you closest to?

The only relatives I’m close to are my mom and my grandma. The rest of my so called “family” can go fuck themselves.

aphrodite - favorite actress/actor?

I looove Keanu Reeves (who doesn’t, right?)! Also a huge fan of Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Robert Downey Jr.

cuddles - do you have any pets?

Yes! I have two cute cats. Click HERE for pictures

lace - if you own any dresses, which is your favorite?

I guess my long black summerdress. I love it! It’s so light and comfy.

sheets - sanrio or san-x characters?

Sanrio! But only because of Aggretsuko!

cream - frozen yogurt flavor?

No froyo for this girl! Thank you. Next.

watermelon - do films ever make you cry?

Disney Movies make me cry like a bitch! But I’m a very emotional person in general. Sometimes even songs or books make me cry. The last movie that made me cry was Coco! 😭😭😭

sapphos - favorite poet?

Definitely Edgar Allan Poe and William Shakespeare

plush - how many stuffed animals do you still own?

More than I like to admit let’s put it that way 😅

roses - what flower do you find most beautiful?

Roses of course! 🌹

sweetheart - favorite mug/cup?

My Harley Quinn Coffee Mug and my Black Craft Cult travelmug

sunset - what are your pronouns?

She/her 😊

Thanks for sending the ask, Honey Bunny! Love ya! ❤️❤️❤️

#ask #answered #ask answered #soft asks

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creativerogues · 6 years ago

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Final Thoughts... Mordenkainen’s Tome Of Foes!

With it being almost 1 Month on since the release of Mordenkainen’s Tome Of Foes, I thought I should give my final thoughts before moving on to talk about the New D&D Settings Announcements, the 2 All-New D&D Adventures and all that D&D Goodness...

The Blood War: This section of the book is so incredibly detailed, and I LOVE it! The Blood War is a HUGE piece of D&D Lore that I’m pretty sure not a lot of people who aren’t avid fans would know of, so new players can instantly read up on this massive piece of lore and get right into the action.

The Demonic & Infernal Cults, as well as Variants for Cambions, are all very cool, and great for new DM’s, it helps the Newbies make Cultists and Monsters that are a little more of a challenge, without needing to try and stitch together some kind of homebrew monster...

They can just take a regular Low CR Monster and slap on some of the Cultist Abilities from this section and boom! You got a Troll Cultist, a Dragon Cultist, a Tarrasque Cultist...

The Tiefling Subraces are very cool, I have personally took a liking to the Tieflings descended from Zariel (A Lord of the Nine and Ruler of the first Layer of the Hells, and an actual Monster you can fight that’s in this Book!), and the Tieflings descended from Levistus, because Ice TIeflings are cool!

Elves: Elf, as a Core Race to D&D, has a lot of history, so the history of the Elves, the Feywild, the Eladrin, the Drow, the Raven Queen, the Shadar-Kai...

It’s a lot to take in...

This section helps new players learn a lot more on the Elf Deities of the Seldarine, Corellon specifically, as well as the history to Sehanine Moonbow and other famous Elf Deities, as well as the more obscure Deities that an Elf might worship.

Arvandor, the home of the Seldarine, is also mentioned in a rather large amount of text which is a great joy to read into...

Eladrin and the Feywild explains the history of the Elves connection to the Feywild, as well as things like Eladrin Cities, Eladrin Culture and what other Elves think of the Eladrin...

The Drow are also a major feature, with their connection to Lolth and their history explained in amazing detail, and the Dark Seldarine of Drow Deities also making an appearance...

And finally, the Raven Queen and the Shadar-Kai explains how the Raven Queen came to power, and how her influence, as well as the influence of the Shadowfell, came to create the Shadar-Kai...

Dwarves & Duergar: The Religion of the Dwarves and their loyalty to their clan and their god, Moradin, is explained in pages and pages of detail. The Dwarf Pantheon, or the Mordinsamman as it’s known, is shown in great detail, with each Deity getting their own section on their history, much like the Elf Deities and the Lords of the Nine Hells...

And, if the dwarves weren't so good at finding treasure, it's likely that they wouldn't have as many enemies. As it stands, they're enemies with Dragons, Giants, Orcs, Duergars and More...

And the section on Dwarf Clans & Dwarf Adventurers is just amazing, even going on about duergar character traits and quirks...

Gith and Their Endless War: Both the Githyanki and Githzerai have some incredible lore, with both the Githyanki’s Lich Queen Vlaakith and the Githzerai’s Zerthimon.

The Githyanki is probably the more interesting as the Lich Queen Vlaakith is so much more popular than the Githzerai’s Zerthimon.

I mean come on, Githyanki have super cool silver swords (which stats you can find in the book), and Githyanki even ride freaking RED DRAGONS.

I think I just inspired a bunch of DM’s. I mean just imagine a Githyanki Supreme Commander riding a red dragon into a battle with the party...

But, not be be undone, the Githzerai have some great lore, showing just how interesting they are, even if the Githyanki are just a little bit cooler...

Halfings & Gnomes: Halflings & Gnomes is such a strangely cool chapter, talking about how innocent and happy they are, and the lives of Halflings, both Stout and Lightfoot kinds...

There’s a brief section of Halfling Gods and Goddesses (because every Race needs a section on Gods for those Wannabe Clerics), and there’s also tables on Halfling Adventurers.

And then we get onto Gnomes! One of my favorite races!

I just love those funny little guys...

It talks about how Gnomes of all types feel like the journey is more important than the destination, not really being focused on goals and the such.

It talks about Rock Gnomes and how their minds are always wild with new ideas.

It also features a funny section on how Rock Gnomes, because they’re typically Artificers (because duh!), when they are at work, Rock Gnomes hole up in their workshops with "Do Not Disturb" signs hung on the door.

And so Forest Gnomes goes on into how these Gnomes are more inclined to helping animals, as well as their expertise in illusions and certain magic, and of course Deep Gnomes have a VERY brief section for themselves about how they just LOVE their dungeon homes...

And, yet again, because obvious reasons, there’s a section on Gnome Deities, but thankfully it goes into enough detail that it doesn’t annoy me enough to point it out and scream “STOP!”

And finally it talks about Gnome and Deep Gnome Adventurers, Traits, Story Hooks and more, just like all the other Sections...

Overall, I still recommend this book to any DM’s, and most of all to ABSOLUTELY EVERYONE who wants to play a Cleric, because all together this book has pages and pages and pages of lore on each individual god from each pantheon of each race and even subrace, (like the drow pantheon).

So, go get yourself a copy, because if the lore doesn’t get you..

The monsters will...

#mordenkainen's tome of foes #dnd #DnD 5e #d&d #d&d 5e #creativerogues

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theteablogger · 7 years ago

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Oh, FFS...

I’m not going to post the CR fanart that Andy shared on Facebook, but now that I realize the significance of it, I will tell you that the character he chose to represent himself and his feelings was Mollymauk, Taliesin’s character for the second campaign. Of fucking course. For non-CR fans, Taliesin also played Percy, the character that Andy latched onto during the first campaign.

Here’s some information from the CR wiki:

Molly’s appearance is ostentatious and flamboyant, with several tattoos (including one of a peacock). He’s also pretty badass in combat and has a lot of scarring, most of it presumably self-inflicted because he uses his own blood to activate his enchanted swords.

I don’t know how Andy actually dresses on a daily basis, but during the first year or so that he was on tumblr, he presented himself as a fashionista who was always well put together, always dressed to impress, loved eye-catching accessories, dyed his hair in bright colors, and enjoyed experimenting with makeup. He talked a lot about how pretty he was, to the point that he called himself a bishonen several times. He toned this down somewhat after discovering Supernatural and becoming fixated on Dean, but still made quite a few posts along those lines. Andy also has a number of meaningful tattoos, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he sees Molly’s scarring as analogous to the many ways that he says his harmful actions toward others (which he blames entirely on mental illness) have also damaged him.

The wiki also says:

Molly is described as a "literal and figurative peacock". He frequently tells extravagant lies with little mind for whether or not his audience believes them. He does not seem visibly affected by insults, as shown by his lack of reaction when the old man in Ye Olde Mudhole called him a devil and told him to leave town.

In Andy’s own words: “...I am a weaver of word-magic to a degree that verges on dangerous in my understanding of exactly what I’m doing as a storyteller and rhetorician. I can get inside people’s heads. I can sell you realities.” See also: his many “fuck the haters” posts about how he doesn’t care what we think of him because we don’t really know him, and besides, people even come up with negative things to say about Gandhi, right?

Molly's [sic] acts as a promoter for the carnival and as a "fortune-teller" within it. His "abilities" in the latter area are the result of the application of cold-reading techniques and sleight of hand, not actual magic.

As far as I know, Andy has never had a fortune-telling shtick. But he has claimed at various times to be clairvoyant, to be telepathic, to be a medium, to be able to influence the natural world in ways such as reversing the flow of a river, to have a psychic connection to an alternate universe in which the events of his DAYD series were real, to have roughly 160 “Others” from alternate timelines who communicated through him... And I’m not sure whether anyone has actually said this, but based on things that Abbey, Little Sam, and some former DAYDians have written about their early interactions with Andy, I think he’s probably pretty good at cold reading. Even the promoter angle fits, as Andy has written many times over the years about how good he is at marketing and promoting himself and his work.

Elsewhere, I’ve seen mentions of Molly having a “mysterious past” about which he's been dishonest with the group. Apparently he seems to know an awful lot about some of the creatures that they encounter, for reasons that he can’t explain. He is a master of disguise. This is all very similar to the way Andy has portrayed himself--having a dark and mysterious past, “just knowing” things about a wide variety of subjects, being able to blend in anywhere in an Abagnalesque manner...

There may be even more there for Andy to identify with, but I’m not sure, as I don’t watch CR. Anyway, in Mollymauk, the above traits make him a fascinating character who’s probably a lot of fun to interact with as a party member. In Andy, these traits have led to a lot of people being hurt. I don’t know for sure that he was planning to start another “channeling” thing with Molly, or another fandom cult based on CR, but I am not inclined to give Andy the benefit of the doubt.

#critical role #andythanfiction #thanfiction #andrew blake #andy blake

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arodrwho · 5 years ago

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critrole 2.95 lb

it is Time

sup traveler my dude,

i feel like jester shouldn’t know his name? but my internet is spotty so perhaps he just said it & i missed it

hella

“no, if i was to leave i’d take you with me” “oh that’s fun where would we go!” g osh

“she’s not DOING ANYTHING but he thinks she is!!” kdjhgdhg how the TURN TA BLES, everybody going on abt how caduceus doesn’t respect the traveler & is judgy abt her

“nothing happens for a reason, it’s absolute fucking chaos” god i love artagan

“no theater, but….. music… music perhaps… we can bring some performers in” lkdhgkdhg i love this so much

i love this so much

“ooOooOOOhwhat???” i love him

liam’s whole everything through all this is so great

everyone’s reactions are good but liam’s are. so entertaining in particular

“you’re still my favorite” “and you’re always mine” o gosh..

“my shoulders kind of slump and i go back to the dome and i sit down. ‘oh man. can you hear me now? oh man.’ i go to sleep” : (

god they’re so mean

iiii do not like how cr treats addiction

travis’s face is also my face. at that description. of the flowers & the vines

“...should we just tell them” [muttering back & forth] slkdjghf

“make a dexterity saving throw” “i believe in you” dgkjdfhgkhfg

“lesser beings” ow dude shut up

“he could kill all of us right now if he really wanted” “i actually could it could be really is”

“if the gods think that you’re acting like a god can they get mad at you?” “do i care?” goddamn dude

“i’ve seen this face before on other people” “what are you talking about” “oh man you don’t know what you’re doing do you”

“it is mushrooms. very acute!” “...thanks??” lskhg i love this so much

“she doesn’t have to” [pout face] artagan oh my god

“to successfully continue to build a religious cult” [disappointed noise] “where only you and i and the rest of us know the truth. because my what a trick that would be” ldkhgkjh

“shitty people being tricked is even more fun. and there are so many shitty people waiting to be tricked” gkdjfgh

“sometimes if u [words]” ahh that’s from

“i was a big fan of practical jokes” “you were?” “you were?” “things could get out of hand on occasion it’s been a while i mean if things do get out of hand it could be a problem. not going to speak more on the subject right now”

“i’m not rly a runner” not with that knee u are

“and kind of requires a certain amount of ego to say that” “..hello my name is caleb widogast”

“i owe jester a great deal and it would be unconscionable not to help you with whatever path you are moving towards whether for the delight of crowds or to keep anything from getting out of hand” hey,,

“they have a word for people who do that already. they’re called jesters” “wat” dghfdhg cad that’s not what jester means

i mean i know what ur getting at i see the point being made but jester is very much an actual noun that exists outside of being jester’s name and that is not. what it means

that is not what jesters do

“tall, pink furry man” fhdgk

“there goes vex’ahlia” #confirmed………

“i’ve done that once. so i consider that to be very impressive” god i love you “you did what once?” “i was a little kid, and then i wasn’t” lskdhglkdjfhg

“he’s just looking for fun, he’s not going to strangle anyone or anything” liam looks so satisfied with himself & u know the fuck what. valid

“just little patches of strange fungus” “you seem odd are you odd?” dgjh

mmmm is this .. mmmmmmmmm ….. ?? is ? corruption or is it like. what grows on cad

or something else?

a beeswax type of material that it was growing from ? is that what he said? strange?

“it begins to give way to what looks like bones” the fuCk

“we’re on the right track” “we’re on the right track because the tree is made of bone??” incredible

i love that cad just, has all this memorized, and uses a Story Voice to recite it

oh weird

oh weirder! i love it

o dear,

frumpkin ,

ah. combat

beep BEEP

“statues set” “that just beyond the water is in shadow that descends deep in the earth on that side”

“they’re just sculptures set in the earth”

“broken bits of them, parts you can see that are older, bit of a hand, like the head of a creature that’s cracked—” “carved idols of humanoid people as you get closer to the cave” “many are kept well enough to appear polished and new” hm

“do you mind if i swim alongside you?” “careful not to drink the water” “why?” “it’s for the beasts” “oh that was entirely too ominous. i don’t need to swim. never mind”

“do you think perhaps these animals drank of the water and turned to stone?” hsdhgf

“i bought these vials” ahhhh right yeah

“there’s a couple. and then a few more. and—” oh jeez

je e z

“this is getting odd. i’m, i wanna start inspecting these people” thank you.

holy shi t dude

30, christ

“intricately carved” oh very very dear

“taller figures” oh no it’s--

“both firbolg, captured in an emotional moment of fear” oh no

oh no

oh no, oh no, oh no

caduceus……………….

godfuckingdamn

#daypost #cr spoilers

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theteablogger · 7 years ago

Photo

I somehow missed this person’s posts the other day, and they’re great. (The other is here.) Yes, I know that Andy has supposedly moved on now, having “left fandom” for the fifth time, but the way he was approaching CR fandom has some parallels in his history with SPN, and I think it’s worth exploring that a little.

Andy’s approach to CR fandom was much more outwardly respectful and straightforward than his approach to SPN, which involved drunk posts, literally asking the fandom to love him, and a lot of protesting too much before finally “admitting” that he was a fan and a Destiel shipper. Andy was able to establish more credibility more quickly in CR than in SPN, as he was not only more dignified, but immediately jumped into cosplay and did some pretty impressive work on the Percy costume that was to be his capstone project. He joined a cosplay group and often tweeted directly at the cast and fellow fans, eager to be noticed and to cement himself in the community.

Once he felt that he was “in” with the CR fans, the similarities to his SPN days began.

In December 2012, a month after he’d started watching, Andy was already posting about how SPN fandom was so good for him and was helping him gather the mental energy to cope with the lingering trauma of Brittany’s murder. By January 2013, he’d started saying that SPN was “hitting parts of [his] brain that make [him] a better person in a lot of the things [he’s] struggling with.” He said that Destiel was working better for him than antidepressants had. Throughout the rest of that year and 2014, between meta posts, he wrote about how much the fandom was helping him and other people, how life-changing it was, “family don’t end with blood,” and so forth. He talked about the theme of redemption in the series, the message that “it’s never too late”, and how the fandom community had taught him so much about himself as a person and a writer--how his talents weren’t all wrapped up in his “insanity” and it was okay to be weird.

Compare that to these recent tweets about Critical Role (screenshots later, emphasis mine):

November 7 - “Redemption arcs done right give us something to bite down on while we cut away at the gangrenous mistakes in our own lives.”

December 8 - “I was honestly afraid of following my career to LA because I’ve always been told I have to suppress my weirdness and passion to have adult success. @GeekandSundry is making me believe there are people out there who could let me succeed AS my real Too Much polymath self. THANK YOU”

(He then quoted DAYD at David Nett.)

Same day - “I’ll be in LA next Saturday for a week interviewing at costume shops as a tech. You guys at @GeekandSundry are literally the entire reason I’ve decided to take the risk and just be me without masks and hope someone likes that and the bizarre things I make.”

Also the same day - “...the more I watch @GeekandSundry the more I think my weird is ok”

December 10 - See the post above for his tweet about how Andy feels marginalized by fandom and yet so relieved that it accepts his “bizarre polymath personality.” Yes, he has now called himself a polymath twice.

December 12 - “CR and @GeekandSundry are the talisman I’m hanging onto to not have a self-destructive breakdown by saying that weird and extra is not a failing and there is no such thing as karmically irredeemable and live to be a better me...however this goes I’ll still be grateful for that.”

In between and after all of these (as recently as Friday), he retweeted a couple of things about a CR fan who has not started any cults or abused a laundry list of people, who felt that the fandom had saved him when he was at his lowest and on the verge of homelessness. Andy said, “I’ve eaten shit at rock bottom too. Family - blood or bond - is the only way up. Good for you.”

You could say that all this is just another sign of Andy’s overinvestment and overidentification with fandom, which has been a pattern since at least the early 2000s. It could also be an indication that Andy was attempting to work on the sympathies of fellow fans and the CR cast as a means of establishing himself as “just a quiet humble genius looking to be redeemed” (per jabletown’s other post) and zeroing in on easy prey. Given his history, I think it’s more likely to be the latter.

This post from yesterday (12/17/17) is also very interesting. It’s nothing that Andy hasn’t said before: his obsession with fandom is a good thing and a strength because it means that he can create amazing things within the scope and rules of someone else’s pre-existing universe, which directors and showrunners will love--and also fanfiction is just like Homer and Shakespeare. What’s significant is that he is saying this right after allegedly leaving fandom forever, for the fifth time, and he describes it as a revelation!

In the last few days, I’ve privately told a couple of people that I was feeling cautiously optimistic that Andy might actually stay away from fandom this time, if only because he stood to lose some of his staunchest supporters if he went back on his word. His understanding of why he needed to leave came far too suddenly for it to be real (and again, it’s happened before), but I thought that social pressure might do the trick. But this post of his blows that idea straight to hell. It’s so blatant, and all of his friends are reading it, and he doesn’t care. I think this is an arrogant assumption on his part that they either won’t notice, or will be too stupid to figure out, that this is exactly the same thing he’s said over and over for years, accompanied by varying degrees of self-aggrandizing bullshit.

We have not heard the last of Andy Blake.

This showed up on the CR discord today Please be careful when you are on the internet critters!

#andythanfiction #thanfiction #andy blake #andrew blake #critical role

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themoneybuff-blog · 6 years ago

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Buy it for life: Choosing quality over price

Note: This is a substantial re-write of an article I first published more than twelve years ago. (Yikes, I'm old!) I've opted to keep some of the older comments if they had good suggestions. Earlier this week, I wrote about my quest for quality pajamas. I recently paid $80 to purchase a pair from Filson, a company I trust for well-made goods. It's my hope that these will be the last pair of pajamas that I ever purchase. My goal was to buy it for life. This experience reminded me of two other companies that I love for their top-notch stuff. The first is a company called Best Made, which aims to make and sell the finest, most beautiful and useful products made by any company anywhere. And they do. Best Made offers an esoteric collection of clothing and household items, all of which offer quality reminiscent of your grandmother's era. The catch? The quality comes at a higher cost.Or there's the Portland-based Schoolhouse company (formerly Schoolhouse Electric), which makes and sells a variety of lighting, hardware, and furniture for the home. I've purchased a few things from Schoolhouse over the years, and I've been blown away by the quality. The items were expensive up front and I was hesitant to purchase them, but my reservations have vanished with time and usage. The blanket covering my feet at this very moment, for example, cost $250 (I think) but will last the rest of my life. Here's something I've learned over the past fifteen years: One way to practice financial prudence while living the good life is to buy quality products, products that are a pleasure to use, products that will last a lifetime (or at least a decade). Today, let's talk a little about choosing quality over price. Let's talk about the buy it for life philosophy.

How to Find the Good Stuff The first challenge is to figure out how to find the good stuff. When you're ready to make a purchase, how can you know which items are quality and which are run of the mill? Sometimes you'll know which company offers a high-quality version of whatever it is you need to buy, either from personal experience or from paying attention to friends and family. Or, if you don't know off the top of your head, you know whom to ask for more information. If I wanted to buy audio gear, for instance, I'd ask my brother. He's an audiophile and could steer me in the right direction. Most of the time, however, you'll have to do some research. When it comes time for me to make a major purchase, the first resource I turn to is Consumer Reports. I've been a CR subscriber on and off since I graduated from college in 1991. I trust their reviews, especially the comprehensive evaluations online. (The magazine doesn't have room to go into depth.) When Kim and I bought our country cottage, for instance, I used Consumer Reports to figure out which tools to purchase for the yard and garden. (I ended up choosing an EGO electric mower, along with the company's string trimmer and hedge trimmer.) For smaller items, I use Amazon to guide my decisions. Deciphering Amazon reviews is something of an art. I make sure to always read the one-star reviews in order to learn if there's anything drastically wrong with a product. I've also devised my own rough guide to parsing Amazon reviews: Five stars is equivalent to an A.Four and a half stars is the same as a B.Four stars is roughly a C. (From my experience, most Amazon items earn four stars.)Three and a half stars is a D. I try not to purchase anything rated this low but sometimes there's no alternative.Three stars and below is the same as an F. I never purchase products rated three stars or below. One final resource for finding quality products is the /r/BuyItForLife forum on Reddit. /r/BIFL allows users to share items they own that are durable, practical, proven, and built to last. Here's the /r/BIFL compilation of kitchen essentials, for instance. You can find more lists like that in the /r/BIFL sidebar. One GRS reader recently noted that choosing quality over price is a luxury reserved for the rich. People who are struggling to get by are often forced to take the cheapest option, even if it costs more in the long run. That's an interesting observation. Where to Buy It for Life Over the past decade or so, I've compiled a mental list of companies that I feel sell wonderful products. Below is a list of a few of my favorites. (Most of these are clothing companies, for some reason. Maybe because I buy clothes more often than, say, furniture?) Filson (Seattle, 1897, Might as well have the best) sells outdoor clothing, hats, bags, and accessories. I own two Filson hats, a Filson vest, a Filson jacket, Filson pajamas, and several Filson bags. Each piece was spendy but worth it. Filson makes high-quality products.Patagonia (California, 1965, Committed to the core) makes active outdoor clothing and gear. I own a couple of Patagonia jackets and a couple of travel shirts. They've served me well. (Sale items.)Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) (Seattle, 1938) is a outdoor gear co-op that's very popular in the Pacific Northwest. I own tons of REI gear, including my favorite travel backpack. They're one of my favorite companies. (Sale items.)Pendleton Woolen Mills (Portland, 1909, Good for life) makes and sells shirts and blankets. Before the damn dog ate it, I owned one Pendleton hat that I wore frequently. I've owned Pendleton shirts, and have always been impressed. (Sale items.)Stetson (complicated history) is best known for its hats and boots, but they offer offer other items as well. I own one Stetson oilcloth cap (no longer available) that I picked up in the Normandy region of France on a cold and windy afternoon. (Sale items.)Timberland (Boston, Make it better) makes footwear, it's true, but they offer a lot of other products too. In 2007, I bought a pair of Timberland hiking boots. I love them. I'm now nearing the end of my second pair. (Sale items.)Icebreaker (New Zealand, 1995) makes merino wool clothing. Long-time readers know that I'm an Icebreaker fan. I own a couple of their jackets, a cap, some socks, and probably 20 different t-shirts. (For real!) Just yesterday, I bought a long-sleeve button-down shirt from Icebreak for an upcoming winter trip to Austria and Hungary. (Sale items.)Birkenstock (Germany, 1897) makes quality footwear. In college, I started wearing the Milano sandals from Birkenstock. They're my go-to summer shoe. I bought my last pair in Key West, Florida during our RV trip. I'll need to get a new pair next year. (Sale items.)Land's End (Chicago, 1963) is a popular mail-order clothing supplier. When I was younger, I owned a lot of their stuff, but somehow forgot about them. I recently placed my first Land's End order in a long time. (Sale items.)Stickley (New York, 1900, Collector quality furniture since 1900) makes classic fine furniture. Much of the modern Get Rich Slowly has been written from a Stickley Morris recliner. During the depths of the Great Recession just after I sold this blog I purchased four Stickley pieces at deep discounts. I love them.Tom Bihn (Seattle, 1972) makes awesome bags and backpacks specifically designed for people who travel or who are on the go. I own The Maker's Bag and love it. Kim loves it too. In fact, I had to buy her one so that she would leave mine alone. (We also have their dog training bag.)Apple (California, 1976) has grown from a company with a cult-like following to a respected manufacturer of quality computers. I converted in the early 2000s, and I don't regret it. Their machines are expensive, but they're very well made. (And you know what? They run Windows too!) Most of my life is spent in front of a Mac screen. Sad but true. (Sale items.) This list isn't intended to be comprehensive. These are the companies I know and have used in the past. I'm sure I've left out plenty of fine places. If there's a firm you feel ought to be included in this list, let me know in the comments. I had lunch with my cousin yesterday. When I told him I was writing this article, he shared his experience looking for quality clothing. He recently lost a lot of weight and had to replace his entire wardrobe. I can afford to buy things new, Nick told me, but I don't like to pay that much. I've been shopping at thrift stores to find the same stuff for much less. And you know what? I really do think the famous name brands do tend to have better quality. (Nick is like the anti-consumer, so this observation means something coming from him.) See also: How to shop at thrift stores for quality clothing over at The Luxe Strategist. The Good Stuff (According to GRS Readers) As I was preparing this piece, it occurred to me that I ought to ask folks on Facebook and Twitter where they go to find the good stuff. When do they choose to buy it for life? I received a lot of responses!

Some people offered suggestions on how to buy it life. Here, from the GRS Facebook group, are three top tips:

Jacob from Early Retirement Extreme had some good advice for determining whether any given item is considered quality by the people who own it: Check eBay to see if it's retained its value.

I took the time to sift through the roughly one hundred replies I received on social media. While this was by no means a scientific survey, the responses were interesting. First, it's clear that people are willing to pay a premium for certain classes of products. I was shocked by the number of people praising footwear. We all want comfortable, quality shoes, and when we find them, we remain loyal to the companies who provide them. I love my Timberlands, for instance, but others are willing to pay extra for Dr. Martens or Merrell. Keen was the most-recommended shoe company in my survey. Some smaller shoe companies like Trask and Samuel Hubbard received rave reviews. (A few folks mentioned socks, specifically Bombas and Darn Tough.)Sleep is also important. Some people recommended pillows or sheets, but most focused on their mattress. Tempur-Pedic garnered the most mentions. (When we moved in together, Kim and I shopped for a high-quality mattress. I think we chose Tempur-Pedic also, but I'm not willing to strip the bedding to find out.)People are also willing to pay more to ease life in the kitchen. Several people raved about their Vitamix blenders. Mostly, though, folks mentioned their knives. I own (and love) a chef's knife from Shun, as do a couple of other readers. Others, like my ex-wife, prefer Henckel knives. Justin from Root of Good offered an awesome alternative. His family buys Kiwi knives from Thailand at $3 or $4 each. (They go for $9 on Amazon, which is still a great deal.) All knife lovers agree on one thing: The best way to make your life easier is to sharpen your blades!Several women, including my girlfriend, told me they're willing to pay a premium for high-quality cosmetics. But each person cited a different brand of cosmetics that they're loyal to. Because I'm a boy and know nothing about this stuff, I'm not going to link to any one company. (But you can in the comments below.)Lastly, outdoor gear proved popular in my poll. Many people like Arc'teryx (a brand I've never tried). Others praised Patagonia or REI or L.L. Bean. Some readers zeroed in on very specific items. Whitney Hansen, the Money Nerd, likes a particular adventure blanket. Long-time reader Tyler K says Benjamin Moore paints are so amazing that he'll never buy paint from a hardware store again. Another reader recommended Casio G-Shock watches. Several people were fans of Hydro Flask. (Me too! I own three of their water bottles and think they're amazing.) And a lot of people seem to think Otter Box phone cases are essential. But can you guess the number-one company that GRS readers turn to for quality products? It's the biggest tech company in the world: Apple. Apple didn't used to be known for quality. (In fact, their quality was crap twenty years ago.) Now, though, things have changed. Apple quality has won converts like me and you.

Finally, several people mentioned that they do their best to buy products with lifetime warranties. Then, if they break or something goes wrong, they can get a replacement. (Leah Ingram maintains a list of companies with lifetime warranties.) By purchasing items with a lifetime warranty, you're making certain that buy it for life is literal, not figurative! Quality Is Part of a Rich Life One follower on Twitter took me to task for tackling this topic. He believes that talking about spending more to purchase quality items is tantamount to encouraging consumerism. Like I said the other day, I do sometimes worry that this sort of thing crosses the line to lifestyle inflation. Most of the time, however, I think choosing quality is a smart financial decision. Meanwhile, Liz from Frugalwoods has written in the past that the buy it for life philosophy can be problematic. If you're buying the best of everything, that's an issue. You should only buy the best when thing your buying is an important part of your lifestyle. (Why spend a ton on something you rarely use?) And what about changing fashion and priorities? I believe that buying well-made things, things that spark joy when used, is part of living a Rich Life. Most of us don't aim to be ascetics. We're not frugal for the sake of frugality. We've scrimped and saved and worked hard to build wealth precisely so that we can spend money on products that make our lives easier and/or more enjoyable. There's nothing wrong with that.

Author: J.D. Roth In 2006, J.D. founded Get Rich Slowly to document his quest to get out of debt. Over time, he learned how to save and how to invest. Today, he's managed to reach early retirement! He wants to help you master your money and your life. No scams. No gimmicks. Just smart money advice to help you reach your goals. https://www.getrichslowly.org/buy-it-for-life/

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thegloober · 6 years ago

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Buy it for life: Choosing quality over price

Earlier this week, I wrote about my quest for quality pajamas. I recently paid $80 to purchase a pair from Filson, a company I trust for well-made goods. It’s my hope that these will be the last pair of pajamas that I ever purchase. My goal was to “buy it for life”.

This experience reminded me of two other companies that I love for their top-notch stuff.

The first is a company called Best Made, which aims to make and sell “the finest, most beautiful and useful products made by any company anywhere”. And they do. Best Made offers an esoteric collection of clothing and household items, all of which offer quality reminiscent of your grandmother’s era. The catch? The quality comes at a higher cost.

Or there’s the Portland-based Schoolhouse company (formerly Schoolhouse Electric), which makes and sells a variety of lighting, hardware, and furniture for the home. I’ve purchased a few things from Schoolhouse over the years, and I’ve been blown away by the quality. The items were expensive up front and I was hesitant to purchase them, but my reservations have vanished with time and usage. The blanket covering my feet at this very moment, for example, cost $250 (I think) but will last the rest of my life.

Here’s something I’ve learned over the past fifteen years: One way to practice financial prudence while living the good life is to buy quality products, products that are a pleasure to use, products that will last a lifetime (or at least a decade).

Today, let’s talk a little about choosing quality over price. Let’s talk about the “buy it for life” philosophy.

How to Find the Good Stuff

The first challenge is to figure out how to find the good stuff. When you’re ready to make a purchase, how can you know which items are quality and which are run of the mill?

Sometimes you’ll know which company offers a high-quality version of whatever it is you need to buy, either from personal experience or from paying attention to friends and family. Or, if you don’t know off the top of your head, you know whom to ask for more information. If I wanted to buy audio gear, for instance, I’d ask my brother. He’s an audiophile and could steer me in the right direction.

Most of the time, however, you’ll have to do some research.

When it comes time for me to make a major purchase, the first resource I turn to is Consumer Reports. I’ve been a CR subscriber on and off since I graduated from college in 1991. I trust their reviews, especially the comprehensive evaluations online. (The magazine doesn’t have room to go into depth.)

When Kim and I bought our country cottage, for instance, I used Consumer Reports to figure out which tools to purchase for the yard and garden. (I ended up choosing an EGO electric mower, along with the company’s string trimmer and hedge trimmer.)

For smaller items, I use Amazon to guide my decisions. Deciphering Amazon reviews is something of an art. I make sure to always read the one-star reviews in order to learn if there’s anything drastically wrong with a product. I’ve also devised my own rough guide to parsing Amazon reviews:

Five stars is equivalent to an A.

Four and a half stars is the same as a B.

Four stars is roughly a C. (From my experience, most Amazon items earn four stars.)

Three and a half stars is a D. I try not to purchase anything rated this low but sometimes there’s no alternative.

Three stars and below is the same as an F. I never purchase products rated three stars or below.

One final resource for finding quality products is the /r/BuyItForLife forum on Reddit. /r/BIFL allows users to share items they own that are durable, practical, proven, and built to last. Here’s the /r/BIFL compilation of kitchen essentials, for instance. You can find more lists like that in the /r/BIFL sidebar.

One GRS reader recently noted that choosing quality over price is a luxury reserved for the rich. People who are struggling to get by are often forced to take the cheapest option, even if it costs more in the long run. That’s an interesting observation.

Where to Buy It for Life

Over the past decade or so, I’ve compiled a mental list of companies that I feel sell wonderful products. Below is a list of a few of my favorites. (Most of these are clothing companies, for some reason. Maybe because I buy clothes more often than, say, furniture?)

Filson (Seattle, 1897, “Might as well have the best”) sells outdoor clothing, hats, bags, and accessories. I own two Filson hats, a Filson vest, a Filson jacket, Filson pajamas, and several Filson bags. Each piece was spendy but worth it. Filson makes high-quality products.

Patagonia (California, 1965, “Committed to the core”) makes active outdoor clothing and gear. I own a couple of Patagonia jackets and a couple of travel shirts. They’ve served me well. (Sale items.)

Recreational Equipment Inc. (REI) (Seattle, 1938) is a outdoor gear co-op that’s very popular in the Pacific Northwest. I own tons of REI gear, including my favorite travel backpack. They’re one of my favorite companies. (Sale items.)

Pendleton Woolen Mills (Portland, 1909, “Good for life”) makes and sells shirts and blankets. Before the damn dog ate it, I owned one Pendleton hat that I wore frequently. I’ve owned Pendleton shirts, and have always been impressed. (Sale items.)

Stetson (complicated history) is best known for its hats and boots, but they offer offer other items as well. I own one Stetson oilcloth cap (no longer available) that I picked up in the Normandy region of France on a cold and windy afternoon. (Sale items.)

Timberland (Boston, “Make it better”) makes footwear, it’s true, but they offer a lot of other products too. In 2007, I bought a pair of Timberland hiking boots. I love them. I’m now nearing the end of my second pair. (Sale items.)

Icebreaker (New Zealand, 1995) makes merino wool clothing. Long-time readers know that I’m an Icebreaker fan. I own a couple of their jackets, a cap, some socks, and probably 20 different t-shirts. (For real!) Just yesterday, I bought a long-sleeve button-down shirt from Icebreak for an upcoming winter trip to Austria and Hungary. (Sale items.)

Birkenstock (Germany, 1897) makes quality footwear. In college, I started wearing the Milano sandals from Birkenstock. They’re my go-to summer shoe. I bought my last pair in Key West, Florida during our RV trip. I’ll need to get a new pair next year. (Sale items.)

Land’s End (Chicago, 1963) is a popular mail-order clothing supplier. When I was younger, I owned a lot of their stuff, but somehow forgot about them. I recently placed my first Land’s End order in a long time. (Sale items.)

Stickley (New York, 1900, “Collector quality furniture since 1900”) makes classic fine furniture. Much of the modern Get Rich Slowly has been written from a Stickley Morris recliner. During the depths of the Great Recession — just after I sold this blog — I purchased four Stickley pieces at deep discounts. I love them.

Tom Bihn (Seattle, 1972) makes awesome bags and backpacks specifically designed for people who travel or who are on the go. I own The Maker’s Bag and love it. Kim loves it too. In fact, I had to buy her one so that she would leave mine alone. (We also have their dog training bag.)

Apple (California, 1976) has grown from a company with a cult-like following to a respected manufacturer of quality computers. I converted in the early 2000s, and I don’t regret it. Their machines are expensive, but they’re very well made. (And you know what? They run Windows too!) Most of my life is spent in front of a Mac screen. Sad but true. (Sale items.)

This list isn’t intended to be comprehensive. These are the companies I know and have used in the past. I’m sure I’ve left out plenty of fine places. If there’s a firm you feel ought to be included in this list, let me know in the comments.

I had lunch with my cousin yesterday. When I told him I was writing this article, he shared his experience looking for quality clothing. He recently lost a lot of weight and had to replace his entire wardrobe.

“I can afford to buy things new,” Nick told me, “but I don’t like to pay that much. I’ve been shopping at thrift stores to find the same stuff for much less. And you know what? I really do think the famous name brands do tend to have better quality.” (Nick is like the anti-consumer, so this observation means something coming from him.)

See also: How to shop at thrift stores for quality clothing over at The Luxe Strategist.

The Good Stuff (According to GRS Readers)

As I was preparing this piece, it occurred to me that I ought to ask folks on Facebook and Twitter where they go to find the good stuff. When do they choose to “buy it for life”? I received a lot of responses!

Some people offered suggestions on how to buy it life. Here, from the GRS Facebook group, are three top tips:

Jacob from Early Retirement Extreme had some good advice for determining whether any given item is considered quality by the people who own it: Check eBay to see if it’s retained its value.

I took the time to sift through the roughly one hundred replies I received on social media. While this was by no means a scientific survey, the responses were interesting.

First, it’s clear that people are willing to pay a premium for certain classes of products.

I was shocked by the number of people praising footwear. We all want comfortable, quality shoes, and when we find them, we remain loyal to the companies who provide them. I love my Timberlands, for instance, but others are willing to pay extra for Dr. Martens or Merrell. Keen was the most-recommended shoe company in my survey. Some smaller shoe companies like Trask and Samuel Hubbard received rave reviews. (A few folks mentioned socks, specifically Bombas and Darn Tough.)

Sleep is also important. Some people recommended pillows or sheets, but most focused on their mattress. Tempur-Pedic garnered the most mentions. (When we moved in together, Kim and I shopped for a high-quality mattress. I think we chose Tempur-Pedic also, but I’m not willing to strip the bedding to find out.)

People are also willing to pay more to ease life in the kitchen. Several people raved about their Vitamix blenders. Mostly, though, folks mentioned their knives. I own (and love) a chef’s knife from Shun, as do a couple of other readers. Others, like my ex-wife, prefer Henckel knives. Justin from Root of Good offered an awesome alternative. His family buys Kiwi knives from Thailand at $3 or $4 each. (They go for $9 on Amazon, which is still a great deal.) All knife lovers agree on one thing: The best way to make your life easier is to sharpen your blades!

Several women, including my girlfriend, told me they’re willing to pay a premium for high-quality cosmetics. But each person cited a different brand of cosmetics that they’re loyal to. Because I’m a boy and know nothing about this stuff, I’m not going to link to any one company. (But you can in the comments below.)

Lastly, outdoor gear proved popular in my poll. Many people like Arc’teryx (a brand I’ve never tried). Others praised Patagonia or REI or L.L. Bean.

Some readers zeroed in on very specific items.

Whitney Hansen, the Money Nerd, likes a particular “adventure blanket”. Long-time reader Tyler K says Benjamin Moore paints are so amazing that he’ll never buy paint from a hardware store again. Another reader recommended Casio G-Shock watches. Several people were fans of Hydro Flask. (Me too! I own three of their water bottles and think they’re amazing.) And a lot of people seem to think Otter Box phone cases are essential.

But can you guess the number-one company that GRS readers turn to for quality products? It’s the biggest tech company in the world: Apple. Apple didn’t used to be known for quality. (In fact, their quality was crap twenty years ago.) Now, though, things have changed. Apple quality has won converts like me — and you.

Quality Is Part of a Rich Life

One follower on Twitter took me to task for tackling this topic. He believes that talking about spending more to purchase quality items is tantamount to encouraging consumerism. Like I said the other day, I do sometimes worry that this sort of thing crosses the line to lifestyle inflation.

Most of the time, however, I think choosing quality is a smart financial decision.

Meanwhile, Liz from Frugalwoods has written in the past that the “buy it for life” philosophy can be problematic. If you’re buying the best of everything, that’s an issue. You should only buy the best when thing your buying is an important part of your lifestyle. (Why spend a ton on something you rarely use?) And what about changing fashion and priorities?

I believe that buying well-made things, things that “spark joy” when used, is part of living a Rich Life. Most of us don’t aim to be ascetics. We’re not frugal for the sake of frugality. We’ve scrimped and saved and worked hard to build wealth precisely so that we can spend money on products that make our lives easier and/or more enjoyable. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Note: This is a substantial re-write of an article I first published more than twelve years ago. (Yikes, I’m old!) I’ve opted to keep some of the older comments if they had good suggestions.

Source: https://bloghyped.com/buy-it-for-life-choosing-quality-over-price/

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njawaidofficial · 7 years ago

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Frances Bean Cobain Plastic Surgery Before and After

http://styleveryday.com/2017/07/11/frances-bean-cobain-plastic-surgery-before-and-after/

Frances Bean Cobain Plastic Surgery Before and After

Daughter to the famous Kurt Cobain of the cult classic band, Nirvana, and the single punk, rock, and grudge singer, Courtney Love, was born the newest rock star on the scene, Frances Bean Cobain. Trying to follow her parents’ footsteps, Frances has pursued a life in music and an art related lifestyle. Sadly, it has not been as successful as she had panned it out to be in her original plan. However, there is one aspect that people have been thinking and talking about on a regular basis, and we promise you it isn’t her music or modeling career.

No, what everyone is raving on about it her plastic surgeries. Yes, this modern day bombshell has been accused of having multiple facial reconstruction surgeries. And when you take a peep at her original pictures from the age of 18 compared to now, you are bound to see some striking differences in the face. Her face has been easily diagnosed with plastic surgery because it is the only logical explanation for how significant the changes in her facial construction is.

These surgeries include, but are not limited to, a nose job (rhinoplasty), chin implants (the most obvious of all the surgeries), mild lip injections, breast augmentation, and Botox injections. As Frances Bean is rather close lipped and close to the chest about her personal life, there is no confirmation about these surgeries. However, we are confident along with many other media sources, that these surgeries have in fact taken place.

It would make an impeccable amount of sense that she would go the route of plastic augmentation surgery if she was dissatisfied with her facial features, much like her mother, Courtney Love, had also done to “fix” her face in the past. But let’s get into it and take a look at the possible plastic surgeries on Frances Bean Cobain’s facial reconstruction list.

Before The Surgery

Before the surgeries under the knife, Frances Bean was known for having a smaller face that was surrounded by a larger and fuller face of fatter, plumper cheeks, chins, and forehead space. Many fans were content and happy with her facial features; however, the fans of her parent’s work were much more critical. Claiming that Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love were 1980 beauty icons, many malicious fans spoke about their discontent with Frances Bean Cobain’s facial features over many sources of social media—including Instagram, twitter, and YouTube.

Although we are unsure if these factors made a difference in Frances Bean Cobain’s official decision to have these facial reconstruction surgeries; but, we are sure that she did in fact see them. However, in her music and art related works, Frances Bean is known for advocating for individuality and grabbing what it is you want. So, we speculate that she pursued plastic surgery for her own self securing reasons.

Frances Bean Cobain Plastic Surgery

Nose Job

Once having a larger, more full nose on her beautiful face; it seems that the nose fitting her features now are a lot slimmer and pointed. It can be noted that on the button end, there is a lift towards the sky, though incredibly unnoticeably to the untrained eye. Frances Bean Cobain’s nose is also slimmer around the bride and fits more closely to the cheeks set in her face.

As said before, there is no proof besides the obvious difference in the pictures taken by paparazzi and professional photographers from year to year. But the general public is rather convinced of plastic surgery toying.

Although there are a few loyal fans who claim that this was just Frances Bean Cobain growing into her face from a young age; but, most females are finished growing into their face by the age of 18…the same age the nose surgery is projected to have taken place. I suppose we’ll never know until Frances Bean comes forward to the public with her story.

Chin Implants

This surgery is the most undeniable by fans, experts, and critics alike. When comparing it to her younger photos, Frances Bean Cobain’s face was much more plump in shape despite not being chunky due to fats and a bad diet; however, now it is much more v lined and streamed to fir snuggly around her face instead of engulfing it in the middle of it.

Her face is now more of an oval shape in comparison to her previous squared off face shape. This is due to the pulling back and reshaping of the chin structure as a whole, the shaving of the skull’s lower chin bones, and then the insertion of small shin shapers as proper implants. This leaves her chin to be seen as much more pointed than rounded in facial shape. Making her face much more compatible to today’s makeup and hair trends.

Lip Injections

The plumping effect of the lips is a trait passed down to her by Courtney Love. That along with a colorful dark lip shade, Francis Bean has always had larger than life lips. She could give Kylie Jenner a run for her money with all of the lip that is big, beautiful, and natural.

However, that was apparently enough because in later 2016 fans and critics began to notice an added fullness to her bottom and top lips regarding their shape and roundness. At first this ampleness was speculated to only be some swelling from a few days of unknown activity, but it has not changes their ampleness over the years. Now everyone is thoroughly convinced that some surgical play has had a hand in this: particularly that she has some multiple lip injections in both her top and bottom lips.

Due to her lips already being rather plump, there is really no way of knowing if this is a true fact or just a speculation, but we can see that there is some kind of noticeable change to behold in the pictures of comparison. What do you think?

Frances Bean Cobain Plastic surgery, Breast Implants

Breast Augmentation

Frances Bean Cobain has always been a girl with a smaller boob size. Often quite in the Rockstar world, and she rocks them in a beautiful way. However, there is speculation that Frances Bean has not had breast implants, but instead augmentation to the shape and lift of her breasts.

In later photos in 2016 and 2017, the shape of her breasts have been noticed to be seen as higher on her chest and more stiff rather than buoyant. They lay flat on her chest and then start a curve, rather than naturally having a bit of sag and curvature that can be graphed with a natural curve finder. Perhaps this could be the result of breast augmentation surgery or breast relocation plastic surgeries. Either way, she’s been looking good despite the accusations going her way. Breast augmentation or not, she’s got it going on.

Speculations Of Botox Injections

These seem to be the most rumor like speculations of the bunch here. There is little evidence to back it up and I really is only something that could be proven by Frances Bean Cobain admitting it to the media directly. But some have claimed, surgeons and common folk (including fans and critic), that her forehead and cheeks look much stiffer than naturally lying skin.

They point directly to Botox injections as the source. However, it seems as though that should be taken with a grain of salt, as it can be debated one way or another. Either way, they don’t make a huge difference her in newer facial features. And the stiffness can go along with the remaining healing from previous plastic surgery endeavors.

Conclude

Frances Bean Cobain is swiftly becoming a constructive example for body augmentation as an option for body change. This is not the stemmed reasoning for her surgeries we are sure, but it is one she has displayed positively to girls and women through the media. She is an inspiration to how plastic surgery can be done properly and successfully. We find her transformation to be rather unbelievable, but also incredibly inspiring for those women who want to have plastic surgery without being judged or criticized harshly.

The question now remains as to if this decision has helped or harmed her career overall? She has obviously gained some traction in the media for the surgeries, both good and bad. The surgeries have been said to be positive changes about herself in terms of personality, clothing style, and makeup / hair. But is this a good thing or a disappointment to her faithful fan base?

But now we pass the torch onto you. We would like to hear from you all about your opinions on Frances Bean Cobain’s life changing surgery list. Do you think that Frances Bean Cobain’s surgeries are justified? Do you feel more comfortable seeking plastic surgery now that you have seen her results?

Let us know with your comments below.

Source

#Bean #CelebrityPlasticSurgery2017 #Cobain #Frances #Plastic #PlasticSurgery #PlasticSurgeryHits #Surgery

#Bean #celebrity plastic surgery 2017 #Cobain #Frances #Plastic #plastic surgery #plastic surgery hits #Surgery

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