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jacn · 4 months ago

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Perfecting Booking together with Calendly: A great In-Depth Introduction

In today's electric age group, effective personal time management is crucial for private in addition to specialized success. A single resource this is certainly crucial for streamlining the booking practice is Calendly. The following impressive program can help persons in addition to agencies improve scheduled appointment reservations, cut down admin workload, in addition to greatly enhance productivity. In the following paragraphs, we'll take a look at precisely what Calendly is, their important functions, positive aspects, in addition to the actual way it might revolutionize your booking processes.

What is Calendly?

Calendly is an internet based booking resource intended to simplify the operation of creating meetings in addition to appointments. Set up in 2013 by means of Tope Awotona, Calendly reduces the back-and-forth messages customarily related to booking by end users to express their accessibility via a link. Invitees may well then choose a good moment slot machine game, along with the scheduled appointment is on auto-pilot included in both parties' calendars.

Key Features of Calendly

1. Automated Scheduling

Calendly's core characteristic is its capability to improve the booking process. Customers collection their accessibility tastes, in addition to invitees choose between the available moment slots. The following reduces the requirement of guide co-ordination in addition to ensures that meetings are arranged efficiently.

2. Customizable Event Types

Customers can establish different occasion forms to be able to accommodate to be able to getting together with forms, such as one-on-one meetings, class events, or maybe round-robin scheduling. Just about every occasion variety might have its period, position, in addition to accessibility settings.

3. Calendar Integration

Calendly effortlessly combines together with important diary websites just like Yahoo and google Schedule, Master of science Outlook, Workplace 365, in addition to iCloud. The following ensures that arranged meetings on auto-pilot appear in your diary, protecting against two bottle reservations in addition to conflicts.

4. Video Conferencing Integration

Calendly combines together with well-liked online video conferencing equipment just like Zoom lens, Master of science Clubs, in addition to Yahoo and google Meet. While a scheduled visit is appointed, Calendly on auto-pilot produces a relevant video conferencing url, doing simple to use to be able to perform virtual meetings.

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Customers might setup email in addition to SMS signal in addition to memory joggers to make certain both people in addition to their invitees are reminded with approaching appointments. The following helps in reducing no-shows in addition to last-minute cancellations.

6. Custom Branding

Pertaining to businesses, Calendly provides made to order printing options. Customers might customize their booking webpages with their logo and colours, delivering an experienced in addition to logical practical experience for purchasers in addition to partners.

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Calendly supplies thorough analytics in addition to coverage features. Customers might course measurements such as the amount of meetings appointed, rescheduled, or maybe canceled, serving these individuals get insights into their booking designs in addition to boost their availability.

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By using Calendly handling the booking logistics, end users might target with their core responsibilities. Your reduction in admin duties results in increased general productivity.

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4. Better Appointment Management

Calendly's incorporation together with diary in addition to online video conferencing equipment helps ensure that all meetings are well-organized in addition to easily obtainable in a person place. Customers may easily take care of their times and get away from two bottle reservations or maybe skipped meetings.

5. Increased Customer Satisfaction

The ease of booking meetings by way of Calendly elevates purchaser satisfaction. Purchasers enjoy the comfort of deciding on a good moment slot machine game without the hassle with back-and-forth communication.

How to Get Started with Calendly

Step 1: Sign Up

Go to the in addition to sign up to a free account making use of your email address contact Calendly Pricing information or maybe by means of backlinking your Yahoo and google, Workplace 365, or maybe Apple mackintosh account.

Step 2: Set Up Your Calendar

Hook up your preferred diary to be able to Calendly. This will give Calendly to examine your accessibility which will help prevent booking conflicts.

Step 3: Define Your Availability

Fixed your accessibility tastes by means of specifying purchasing in addition to periods you actually are accessible for meetings. People may add buffers between meetings to ensure you possess sufficient preparing time.

Step 4: Create Event Types

Create different occasion forms based on your booking needs. Modify the period, position, along with configurations per occasion type.

Step 5: Share Your Calendly Link

Discuss your personal Calendly link to purchasers, peers, or maybe partners. Many people may use the web link to evaluate your accessibility in addition to guide appointments.

Step 6: Manage Appointments

Take advantage of the Calendly instrument cluster to evaluate in addition to take care of your appointed appointments. You can reschedule or maybe get rid of events if required, in addition to course your booking metrics.

Conclusion

Calendly is actually a game-changer inside playing field of booking, presenting an array of functions this improve in addition to simplify the scheduled appointment booking process. By bringing in together with important diary in addition to online video conferencing equipment, delivering personalized occasion forms, in addition to presenting innovative analytics, Calendly fits the requirements of persons, small organizations, and large agencies alike. Adopt Calendly to enhance your booking performance, enhance productiveness, in addition to give a specialized practical experience for your visitors in addition to partners.

#Calendly Pricing

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ectonurites · 3 years ago

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Why are people mad about YJA? Don’t some people hate the Joker/Killing Joke connection to Barbara’s disability and Oracle origin? It’s not like Cass did it on purpose either. I don’t understand how this ruins her character. Why are some comic book purists so annoying?

1. coming onto a blog as focused on the comics universe as mine is and trying to complain about 'comic book purists' is just.... read the room

2. I don't think it necessarily ruins Cass's character (like, I never said that and honestly I haven't really even seen anyone specifically say that about this) but it's a change I actively dislike.

3. The relationship between TKJ and Babs as Oracle is very complicated, and seeing a story have a different take on how she becomes disabled isn't an unwelcomed thing (Shadow of the Batgirl just said there was 'an accident' and didn't elaborate further, which I think worked fine) but this specific way of changing it I dislike.

After spending some more time mulling this over (past my initial reaction, so this has a different take than what I had said earlier because I don't even think what I said there would really have been what I wanted either), here are my general thoughts:

I think the problem with all of this is less about the specific actions that happened and more the implications of them/what they mean for the characters, because this situation as a whole centers Cass's motivation around another separate person entirely.

As it was originally presented before The New 52, Cass had killed one person as a child not understanding what she was doing until the moment it was too late, and she ran off on her own, horrified by her actions. Eventually she wound up in Gotham during No Man's Land, and saved Jim Gordon, which is why Babs gave her blessing for Cass to become the new Batgirl. While Babs plays a big role here and their bond becomes a focus, the narrative of Cass becoming a hero isn't entirely centered around Babs (the aspect that is is Cass taking on the legacy role from Babs, not her choosing to save someone). She's first defined to the Bats (and us as an audience) by her desire to be a hero that she already had when she met them. We learn about her past, and how that plays into her worldview, and it's important, but she came to her conclusion to save people rather than kill anyone again of her own volition.

In the New 52, she was given an assassination assignment to kill Harper Row's parents so that Harper could be used by Mother to become a new Robin for Bruce. After killing Harper's mom, the death causes Cass to have her realization and she lets Harper's dad escape and she runs like before, so she still very actively makes this realization about killing being bad entirely on her own before crossing paths with the Bats. She then makes the choice to go to Bruce and help on her own, too ("You are a hero. Because that's the path you chose yourself." in Batman & Robin Eternal #13). This version of her origin is very often criticized for re-centering Cass' narrative around Harper, rather than putting the focus on Cass herself. But an aspect of it that I do think connects back to her original story is that Cass' action that gets her involved with the Bats is still her making the choice to help, and she came to her realizations that killing was bad on her own first.

This Young Justice cartoon version is far more like the New 52 in terms of 'she was given an assassination assignment, and ends up hurting someone who would become close to her because of it.' Except this isn't something we find out happened in the past before she met the Bats, this is her introduction to them. I personally think it's very important for Cass' realization about 'killing is bad, I will never kill again, I want to help' to happen from her own experience before she's involved with the Bats. It gives her more agency in the situation, because she came to these conclusions herself. Because ultimately... someone else making a choice for her is what happened here. Obviously the Bats have their extreme no-killing rule, obviously they would intervene if they were present. But having Babs 'save' Cass by not allowing the kill to happen... it didn't let Cass learn things on her own.

Even though her two previous origins are pretty drastically different from one another, that was still consistent between them. She killed someone, realized that is something she is going to be guilty about for the rest of her life, and made the active choice to never do it again and help people instead. Here, she attempted to kill someone, someone else stopped her and was injured in the process, and Cass is seemingly now learning from that person ("I wasn't trying to save Joker, I was trying to save you,") that killing is something she should not do. It takes Cass' choice and her realizations coming from herself out of the equation. I think at core that's what I really, really hate about this situation even more than necessarily the specific action of Cass being the one to paralyze Babs instead of the Joker.

Then to focus on Babs for a second, what I loathe the most here is the concept of her injury happening while she's Batgirl. As bad as The Killing Joke is, I've always thought the fact that Babs had already quit being Batgirl before it happened, and was shot while in her civilian identity was an important aspect to the situation. Because having whatever happens to Babs to cause her paralysis occur while she's actively out as Batgirl... It's taking the choice about moving on from the Batgirl role away, having circumstance force the situation. That just changes a lot, imo. That was one of the few bits of agency she actually had in that original situation until other writers came along and reinvented her as Oracle. Joker may have done this bad thing to her, but she had already chosen to stop being Batgirl herself, it wasn't 'taken' from her.

In The Killing Joke, Babs was used as a prop in the conflict between Joker, Bruce, and Jim, she's barely a character there and much more a means to torture her dad. While it's nice to see that route not get re-enacted again, having Babs end up as a sacrifice for Cass' learning moment instead... that still just doesn't sit right with me. It gives Babs more choice in one aspect of the situation, because she put herself in the line of danger rather than being uninvolved in the situation and only brought in to hurt her father, but it's still... taking her choice about being Batgirl away.

Also, this happening while she's actively Batgirl plays into the idea of 'her time as Batgirl being cut short' which I really dislike, (bc again, she had originally given up the role before TKJ!) because that sort of reasoning is often used as justification by people for the New 52 making her become Batgirl again.

IDK I just think there absolutely could have been a better way to connect events/create something unique for the world without altering character motivations and agency this much. That's what bugs me.

But also these are my opinions, not something objectively correct, we still have another episode in this 'arc' that could throw some new pieces into the puzzle, but as it stands right now I really just... do not like this direction and not just because its not 'comic accurate' but because of the changes it means in who these characters are

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jxxvvxxkcrack · 3 years ago

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Lee Jae Wook Vlive 21 June 2021

Stats

Total vlive viewers: 35675 Total likes: 2072339 Length: 1 hr 01 minute T-shirt: Unlock your life by Pars Co. https://www.parspars.com/product/unlock-your-life-rainbow-white-short-t-shirt/

He's on a diet now.

He threatened to turn off the Vlive a few times because of all the people who said they were not studying for their exams to watch it :P

He's growing out his hair now for the next project.

He had to ban requests for him to say fans' names in the middle since too many requests were pouring in for him to say their name. Don’t blame them lol.

Talking with fans

What is your next project? You should see articles about it soon Will you do more vlogs? It's difficult to do vlogs in the pandemic period since you need to wear a mask everywhere. What do you do in your free time? I eat a lot, sleep a lot, and exercise a lot. Can you donate your Jordan shoes to me? No I can't, and then launched into some anecdote about something about high school, which is unsubbed. When will you hold a fan meeting? Probably after the pandemic. "You're watching me at hagwon (cram school)? I will scold you!" And he did lol it was so cute. What do you do when you first wake up? A hot water shower, and then..? [unsubbed] Do you like overseas fans? Of course I do, I love my overseas fans. I'll come for you after the pandemic is over. Current favourite song: Recently, ‘Lost’ by Maroon 5 was released. It's the best. Will you do an online fan-sign event? That would be interesting! What's your MBTI? I haven't done it yet! Please do the MBTI! OK I will definitely do it! Can you do a bear heart? What's a bear heart? There's so much I don't know. Teleport vs being able to tell the future? This is an interesting question. I would choose to teleport. I live in the Gangnam area, and the traffic there is so bad! So I would choose 'Teleport'. (I didn't know he lived in Gangnam). Do you have a driver's license? Of course I do. Shoe size: 285mm Can you speak English? No, I can barely speak Korean well :P

-but in the middle he did say "Say hi to global fan" LOL-

Your favourite late night snack? Fried chicken, jokbal, and bossam. I spend a lot of money on food :P Would you date someone 7 years younger? 7 years younger? It's not a bad idea. I’m thankful (that someone 7 years younger likes me.) Would you date someone 7 years older? (laughs) It's a funny question. Why haven't you been seen anywhere in public? I don't go to many places, only to the gym and back to my home. Favourite snack: Goguma (sweet potato). It's sad, right? (Implying he's on a diet.) And then he randomly said he's tall but doesn't have good proportions (possibly someone asking why he exercises so much :P)

Do you like cats and dogs? I love them. I have a friend who has a shiba-inu called Chadol. It was so cute I went to his house every day to see his dog. You should eat more: You may not like me then! D: I'm studying Korean, study with me? I'm also trying to get better at Korean. Shall we do it together? (so flirty) Did you remove the mole on your neck? No, I didn't remove it. I won't remove it. What's your handphone wallpaper? It's a white wall with an orange stripe, somewhat Rothko-esque. He said he took it at his house's parking lot, and "It's pretty, isn't it?" Which celebrity friends do you have? (Playfully) 비밀 Do you like mint chocolate? I love mint chocolate. My friend told me not to declare this, and said that saying that I like it is a matter of life or death :P People say it tastes like toothpaste but it tastes nice to me! What colors do you like? Blue. Blue and dark colors. Isn't long hair uncomfortable? It is, but I will cut it one day. Your long hair looks cool: (Teasingly) I'm going to cut it soon~ Do you get along well with your elder sister? Yes, I really like my relationship with her. Which of your characters is most like you? Lee Jang Woo from When The Weather Is Fine. (Is he that good in his studies? Lol. And then he said something about a unicorn, which I do recall seeing in the drama, I think he used "___ unicorn" to brag about himself to his younger sister :P) Jjajangmyeon vs bibimbap? This is really hard. Do I get to have soup with bibimbap? Favourite perfume: Can I say the brand? I guess it doesn't matter. Slow Dance by Byredo. It's my favourite perfume. Today's TMI: I woke up early and went to the gym. Do you ride your bike often? About 3 times a week? Oppa because of you I'm going to Chung Ang University: So you'll be my junior huh. (laughs) Oppa, can you close your left eye and point to your right cheek? (he obediently follows the prompt.. he’s really an actor lol) "You!! I almost fell for it! Gosh, my mum will pass out if she sees this." He revealed a two string bracelet on his left hand while adjusting the camera. Favourite dessert: Croffle? Croffle. I really like croffle. Current body wash: I'm using a body wash by Lush (only he says it as Lush-ee, which is just adorable.) Can you speak Japanese? I love animes but Japanese is so hard. I will study hard! When will you do a rap? I may try it one day. (I wonder if he knows about that old rap video floating around lol.) Dimples vs. Eyes: Eyes? I think he might be talking about his forehead wrinkles instead of eyes actually, so the translation is wrong. What animes do you like? He didn't answer, but said there are many animes on Netflix that he watches. Eating chimaek while watching the world cup? Eating chicken and beer sounds good but, my agency probably wouldn't like it. Can you say a line of Baek Kyung since it's been a long time? (playfully) I won't do it~ Iced americano vs. hot coffee: Iced americano. He said 'eoljuga', which roughly means 'I’ll drink iced Americano even if I freeze to death'. :P What app do you use most often? Naver? I have many things I need to look up :P Which of your parents do you resemble? Sometimes my mum, but sometimes my dad. Do you like kalguksu (knife cut noodle soup)? Yes, I love kalguksu and sujebi. Favourite ice cream flavour: Mint chocolate. (Bursts into laughter) Who do you like better - your mum or your dad: Omma. You thought I wouldn't answer, didn't you. (He has thanked only his sister and his mum in an award ceremony before lol. Poor Jaewookie appa) Oppa I'll date you: I'll reject your offer. (bursts into laughter again). Are you at the agency now? Nope. Please name the fanclub: This is hard. It (the fanclub) should go on forever, shouldn't it? Send an email to the agency. 5 year old Jaewookie vs 5 copies of Jaewook?: Of course 5 copies of Jaewook. One to exercise, one to work, one to stay at home and eat.. Do you dip or pour sauce for tangsuyuk? But, why would you pour water on fried food? I'll say dip. Jjajang vs. jjampong: That's hard! When working, jjajang. When resting, jjambong. *Nods sagely to himself* (Although he instinctively said 'jjampong' first). When moving house, jjajang. What message from fans cheered you up the most? It was this letter I got. It said "you make us happy when you're working hard, but don't work too hard." It cheered me up a lot. Soju vs. beer: Soju Cider (Sprite/lemonade) vs cola: Cola Do you eat pineapple on pizza? I think it tastes nice! Hawaiian pizzas. I also really like pineapple. Fall or spring? Fall. I really like spring too, but there are too many bugs. Small but definite happiness? (He understood the abbreviation immediately, which is sooo different from when the Running Man cast are introduced to any new lingo lol) When I bike, I don't drink any water. I have a routine; after biking, I run for about 6km, then I drink water. That water at the midpoint mark is so delicious. Oppa I like you, please scold me: Why would I scold you. I would compliment you :P Good job. Favourite boy group: BTS. They're so cool (safe answer!) Ramen vs. kimbap? Don't you eat them together? How tall are you? 187cm tall. Which variety show would you like to appear on he most? "I have never been on a variety show yet. Have you seen Kokkomu? When I watched Kokkomu I cried a lot. My tears came out like diamonds." lol. In reference to an earlier question. No idea what Kokkomu is. https://newsbeezer.com/koreaeng/kokkomu-which-was-just-popular-is-controversial-due-to-the-copying-of-the-youtube-channel/ Possibly this? Beef or pork? Pork How long have you been tall? I've always been tall. Then he gives a cheeky wink! Oppa can you go on on Knowing Bros? I'll have a hard time talking in banmal in front of all the sunbaenim. I'll do more Vlive in the future. *compromise* lol. Oppa kajimayo: If I don't leave, the staff can't leave work either :P Can you fill an hour (of Vlive?): Shall we fill an hour? Do you want to be in a play or musical? Of course I do. Plays require the best form of acting. What's the first thing you want to do when the pandemic is over? I want to go to a pork belly bbq place and eat comfortably without a mask. What's the worst part about acting? Every moment is hard. It's not an easy job. Why do you always wear 2 T-shirts? I like T-shirts but, but my sweat changes their color. I don't like that, so. Favourite overseas country? Filming Alhambra was my first time overseas. I didn't even take many photos. I want to send you T-shirts: Don't, don't! while vigorously shaking his head. (worried that his fans will spend money) What is your life movie? I really love Robin Williams. It's not my life movie, but I love the Dead Poets' Society. Did you really go to Alhambra? Back then, my role was really small, so I didn't really know what was going on, but (I did go to the palace? is what it sounds like.) Would you rather be 3m tall or have a 400mm shoe size? Wouldn't it be better to be tall? (what’s the point of having big feet?) Oppa don't go to the army: I have to go someday.. I still have a lot of time, and will work hard When will be our wedding? Am I getting married? (laughs) Pepsi or Coca cola: I like any cola. I'll go to the army for you: Andwae it will be hard! Although apparently it's not as hard as it used to be. Are your family members all as tall as you? Yes my family members are all tall too. What do you do on your free days? I'm a freelancer so I don't have free days. How do you keep your skin looking so young? Lancome (he's now promoting Lancome). I came here right after a Lancome event. I really like Lancome. Tell me about your bracelet: I'll ask my stylist later :P When you come to Pohang I'll guide you!: I love gwamegi! (half-dried Pacific saury) Do you like to cook? I really like to cook. I love it so much even when people tell me not to cook, I will still cook. Oppa come to my school!: Which school is that? Tell me. Although I probably won't be able to read it. (cheeky smile). I'm really mean now, aren’t I. Favourite side dish? I like them all. Mokpo: Dodosolsollalasol was filmed in Mokpo. I ate aehobak jjigae (zucchini stew) there and it was amazing. Do Vlive at home? I'll figure out how to do it! I'll learn everything today. You use black and white hearts a lot on IG, what does it mean? It's the color of my tee. Just kidding, I just choose a color of heart that goes best with the photo. How much can you drink? Should I bluff? If I'm bluffing, when I drink alone at home, about 3 bottles? Just kidding, I get drunk after about 1.5 bottles (of soju). Favourite sports: Skiing, swimming, bowling. Was it hard to use a dialect in the Battle of Jangsari? Using a dialect was really hard. Can you do an IG live? I'm scared to do live - you can't make a mistake when all of you are watching. I have to be careful. Why aren't you seen in public? I answered that earlier, you are late. LOL. Your best dish? Western food? Something like risotto? Plans to film a movie? I want to but I should get offered first. Joking. Lol. I was told off for being late (the commenter above): Haha sorry.

Best fan questions/comments:

Live as a hamster or a ham forever?

Your pimples are so cute (mistranslation, she meant 'dimples'): "I have 4 dimples."

Don't smile, you'll give me a heart attack: I'm also having a heart attack seeing so many fans. I like it (that there are many fans on the vlive) but it's also scary. So cute.

Are you a microwave? You melted my heart: You're all so witty, jjinjjaru..

I'll make money. You just cook: You're so funny..

#vlive #lee jae wook

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jbuffyangel · 4 years ago

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The Bermuda Triangle: Arrow 1x13 Review (Betrayal)

Time to deal with this love triangle and all the ways it is awful.

Let’s dig in...

L*uriver vs. Merlance

I frequently say to myself as I rewatch Season 1 that the triangle makes sense in theory. The writers have all the components, albeit clichéd, that should create a love triangle full of juicy drama.

Man wrongs woman in another life thereby destroying any future together

Woman falls for secret identity without realizing it is the same man who hurt her

Man “gives up” woman for her own good

Man and best friend are in love with the same woman

Best friend changes his ways and becomes the perfect boyfriend

Woman no longer wants best friend and instead lusts for secret identity bad boy

And round and round we go. The problem is this doesn’t really tread any new ground. How many times have we seen this type of love triangle play out? MANY TIMES. Not saying a tried and true trope can’t be repeated, but if you’re going to use it then try to inject some new life into it.

Arrow stays stubbornly in between the lines on this one, which means there are no real surprises. We know exactly where this is headed. Everyone is just waiting for L*urel to choose Oliver. Hell, even Tommy knows it is coming someday.

This brings us to our second problem. L*urel choosing Oliver is so inevitable it doesn’t require a lot of character growth for either of them. L*urel and Oliver have not dealt with ANY of the issues that caused their demise. Yes, Oliver cheated on L*urel, but there were reasons why he cheated. Those have yet to be discussed.

We’re supposed to accept that since Oliver is wearing the hood and is out saving the streets as the vigilante then he is “worthy” of L*urel again. We’re supposed to be waiting with baited breath for L*urel to discover Oliver’s secret identity, realize he’s the man in the hood she’s been lusting after, and fall back into his arms where she belongs.

I think not. Don’t get me wrong. I love me a good triangle. I loved The Vampire Diaries. Two brothers in love with the same woman. Interesting. Woman looks exactly like the lost love that destroyed their bond a hundred years earlier? MORE INTERESTING. And kinky.

I enjoy exploring the varying ways love is expressed in different relationships and what it can reveal about the characters. There isn’t always a right or wrong choice. There’s just a choice and it reflects the kind of love you need to live.

But I understand the complaints about love triangles. Oliver, L*urel and Tommy are the PERFECT validation of those complaints. It’s a tired way to insert some drama that has a completely predictable ending. The even bigger problem is there’s barely enough heat to melt an ice cube. L*uriver is frigid. Merlance is better, but they certainly aren’t an inferno.

“Betrayal” does an excellent job of highlighting all the love triangle problems which plague Season 1. We’re all waiting for L*urel to see that Oliver is a changed man. If only she knew he was The Hood! Her anger and hurt over Sara blinds her ability to see those changes. He needs to wear the mask, so L*urel can see who Oliver truly is. God that sounds good doesn’t it?

IT’S NOT GOOD.

Sara was a symptom of much bigger problems between L*urel and Oliver. He did not want to be with L*urel, so he blew their relationship up in a fairly spectacular display of self sabotage.

Why doesn’t Oliver want to be with L*urel? Well... welcome to Oliver’s mind. He’s been asking himself that same question for the last five years. If he wanted to be with L*urel then he would have never left town. He would have never cheated on her with Sara. Then Sara would be alive. His father would be alive. EVERY ounce of guilt Oliver Queen carries is connected to that one single choice of leaving L*urel.

So, it’s fairly easy to understand why Oliver thinks being with L*urel will fix everything. If he can fix things with L*urel then he’s truly forgiven. It washes away the sins of the past. It’s like it never happened. At this point, this is what Oliver wants more than ANYTHING. He can’t bring Sara or Robert back. But he can resuscitate his dead relationship with his ex-girlfriend. Close enough. The man isn’t choosey after five years of misery.

Unfortunately, Oliver hasn’t changed at all when it comes to L*urel Lance. Oh I know BUT THE HOOD. Listen y’all, throwing on leather accessories and playing Robin Hood doesn’t equate to relationship therapy. Sorry writers. I need more than crime fighting to believe Oliver can be the perfect boyfriend now.

He continues to make all the same mistakes. OLIVER IS STILL LYING TO L*UREL. He lies to her every day. He lies when he’s wearing the hood. He lies when he’s not wearing the hood. LIES LIES LIES LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIESS. Oliver continues to hide who he truly is from L*urel. Different outfit. Same problems.

This brings us to SO. MUCH. MISOGYN. Lance is using the phone The Hood gave L*urel to trap him. Whenever we are looking at betrayal and the Lance family it’s important to grade on a curve. It’s a dirty move on Quentin’s part, but far from the gold medal of betrayals this family achieves.

Source: @laurelsource

Everyone finds out that L*urel is working with the Hood and by everyone I mean Tommy. Quentin follows L*urel with a battalion of police officers to her meeting with The Hood. He’s gathered information on a newly released crime boss, Cyrus Vanch. When Oliver realizes they’ve been busted he holds L*urel by the throat as cover so he can jump off the roof. BuT tHeIr LoVe Is iS hEaLtHy.

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource

As L*urel rants to her current boyfriend (yes I use the word “current” on purpose), he pieces together that she’s been lying to him about working with The Hood.

Source: THEARROWGIFS:

L*urel: He's been lying to me for weeks.

Tommy: Yeah feels like crap doesn't it?

Are we surprised L*urel fails to see the hypocrisy in her little rant?

We are not. This is why Tommy was always the better man for L*urel. He actually had a pair and would call her on her BS. Oliver was incapable of doing until well into Season 2, but I digress.

So, Tommy goes to his best friend Oliver for relationship advice. I know this is a television show, but why in the ever living mother of Zeus do L*urel and Tommy think OLIVER is the best person to ask for relationship advice?

Oliver: Tommy, every time you want to talk to me about something, and that something is L*urel, you look like you’re about to tell me you have some terminal disease.

Me: He does have a terminal disease. It’s called L*URIVER.

Tommy: She’s been working with The Hood guy.

Oliver: What? You’re letting her work with that crazy person? She could get hurt Tommy.

Tommy: I’m not letting her do anything. I only just found out about it.

I know this episode aired in 2012, but talk about some patriarchal bullshit. The entire episode is filled with language like this. Quentin, Oliver, Tommy and The Hood all act like L*urel needs their permission to go to the bathroom. New flash fellas: If L*urel wants to engage in nightly rendezvous with a serial killer that’s her business.

L*urel says something to similar effect, but is summarily blown off by whatever male she’s speaking to. She meets up with The Hood after he and Lance save her from Cyrus Vanch.

Source: BJ-HUNNICUTTS-BLOG

It seems The Hood didn’t think through all the ways talking to L*urel on a phone and meeting her secretly on rooftops would put her in danger.

Source: BJ-HUNNICUTTS-BLOG

L*urel: I knew the risks.

The Hood: Now I know them and I’m not willing to take them with you.

L*urel: What does that mean?

It means he wants to bone you, L*urel. Get a clue.

Holy hell, these conversations make her look stupid. L*urel, do you know a lot of six foot men with similar build and facial hair to Oliver Queen?

Maybe she would take issue with his infantilizing if she stopped speaking like a three year old whenever The Hood is around.

Source: LAURELSOURCE

She has this dazed expression too. I know L*urel is so overwhelmed with all the ATTRACTION and LUST that her eyes dilate and the bosom heaves, but I’m starting to think a taser gun is how they forced Katie do scenes with Stephen.

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource

The point is nobody is all that interested in L*urel’s agency – INCLUDING L*UREL. I understand “secret identity” is a very common trope in hero’s stories, but it never makes any sense to me. Shouldn’t the “true love” be the first person to know who the hero is and not the last? Oliver keeps saying he can’t tell the people he loves who he truly is because it will put them in danger. So, he doesn’t care if Diggle gets killed? His logic makes no sense. If this was truly about protecting people then why did he need a partner?

And no – you can’t use John can protect himself. We just watched L*urel throw down with that umbrella. She was lethal.

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource

Oliver is the king of compartmentalization. He does not know how to merge his two selves yet. He cannot fathom showing Thea, Moira, Tommy and L*urel his darkest self because that means being honest about what happened the five years he was away and what it did to him. That will be a hard pass from our leather clad hero.

My other issue with the love triangle (in addition to all the lying and misogyny) is Oliver comes off like an asshole. He manipulates Tommy with statements like, "L*urel is lying? That doesn't seem like her” and “ have an honest chat with her” like there is something in their relationship causing her to lie or that Tommy is responsible for L*urel’s behavior. He’s slowly pecking away at the Merlance walls until it crumbles. DIRTY POKER OLIVER QUEEN.

But then we arrive at this gross fest:

Tommy: There’s some sort of infatuation thing going on here. We both know that she has a pretty strong track record of being attracted to guys who are dangerous, who break the rules. Show me a more dangerous rule breaker than The Hood.

Oliver: I just think you need to have an honest chat with her. Find out the real reason she’s keep secrets.

Tommy: I just can’t believe that L*urel of all people would lie to my face. I guess that’s the way it is with the people you are closest to.

Oliver: I know, but talk to her anyway. And fix this before it becomes something that’s unfixable.

Did this conversation actually happen?

Does anyone else find it weird that Tommy and Oliver psychoanalyze L*urel’s dating preferences?

And even weirder they are ACCURATE?

Credit where credit is due. L*urel likes bad boys right up until they become good boys. Then she’s off to find the next asshole that will lie, cheat and disappoint her. (We could do an entire novel’s worth of L*urel Lance’s toxic dating choices).

Even worse, Tommy concludes she has the hots for The Hood like it’s nothing. Like it’s completely normal and okay behavior.

Holy hell man! Tommy, maybe L*urel has beaten any self respect into the ground, but IT’S OK TO EXPECT YOUR GIRLFRIEND TO NOT BE INFATUATED WITH OTHER MEN.

What’s really gross is Oliver lies straight to Tommy’s face (no differently than L*urel did) while using the secret identity to engage in inappropriate flirting with his best friend’s girlfriend. He uses the hood to say things to L*urel that he would NEVER say as Oliver Queen. And L*urel never tells The Hood she has a boyfriend or to back off. In fact, she encourages the behavior. THIS. IS. CHEATING. Maybe not physical, but it sure is emotional.

Let’s also never forget L*urel started sleeping with Tommy as a way to stick it to Oliver. She wasn’t expecting to develop real feelings for Tommy, and I do believe she loves him, but that doesn’t erase the toxicity of this cycle that somebody needs to end.

There’s just no good here, my friends.

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource

The writers are relying on an empty “they are supposed to be together” promise without providing any evidence why. Neither L*urel nor Oliver has changed in a meaningful way to support giving their relationship another try. The problem between them wasn’t whether or not Oliver fought street crime. The problem was honesty. Between all the lying and just-on-the-line cheating, I’d argue they bring out the worst in each other. Nuclear winter has better chemistry. Need I go on?

Ok. I will.

The only one who has shown any growth is Tommy. This is change L*urel encouraged in Tommy, but then he became dependable and honest, so she started lusting after The Hood. Both Oliver and L*urel are lying to him about a variety of things. With friends like these who needs enemies?

L*urel is treated like some prize, but is she a prize they really want to win? Neither man is given a reason to love L*urel beyond she’s who they are supposed to want.

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource

Don’t get me wrong. I am a Merlance shipper, but it is hard to root for their ship at this point. If the writers just left them alone and let them be adorable then it would be fine.

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource

BUT. THEY. KEEP. INSERTING. OLIVER.

And where is L*urel’s character? We’re thirteen episodes in and she’s too busy flip flopping personalities for me to nail her down to one specifically. For arguments sake, let’s say the hot and cold behavior IS one of her main traits. It only surfaces in relation to Oliver. L*urel flips on him which causes her to flop on Tommy. L*urel’s actions are simply a reaction to Oliver. That’s not agency. That’s a prop.

Source: @dinahlaurellancesource

It’s almost like the writers can’t be bothered with more. She’s a justice seeking, self sacrificing attorney who works pro bono. TA DA! Character is complete. Nothing more to see here!

Well, if that’s the criteria then why isn’t Joanna in the running for hero’s true love? Throw Annie Ilonzeh in a room with Stephen Amell. Let’s see if the chemistry is any better.

The writers haven’t constructed L*urel’s character beyond a hockey puck for Tommy and Oliver to pass to each other until we reach the inevitable conclusion of L*urel “choosing” Oliver. It’s like watching a train speed toward a brick wall. I know the crash is coming, but I’m not apprehensive about it or grotesquely fascinated or even scared. I’m just want out of this Bermuda Triangle.

Quentin and L*urel

The only real interesting facet of L*urel’s character is her relationship with her father. I love the raw pain between them. It is always just under the surface. The writers throw those problems like grenades in their scenes together. Katie isn’t given much to work with, but her best material is always with Paul Blackthorne.

Source: LAURELSOURCE

Quentin using his daughter as bait was brilliant, but shadey. Super shadey. It also had the unintended consequence of getting her kidnapped by a mob boss. Oops. I sort of love that Quentin had to eat crow and call The Hood for help once he figured out there was a dirty cop feeding Vance information.

L*urel is in a rage after being held hostage by The Hood. (He can use her as a human shield because he loves her. No problems here. Nope nope nope!) Quentin really hoped L*urel would appreciate his fine detective work, but she’s pretty pissed off about all the guns pointed at her. She feels her father has lost his perspective on this particular case.

L*urel: Are you gonna find another criminal? Someone else to blame for mom leaving, for Sara dying, for your drinking?

The gloves come off! Daaaaaamn. The booze? We’re going there? Meow.

I agree Quentin Lance has an addictive personality. He directs his rage and grief into an outlet he can control. Hmm… who else does that?

However, L*urel’s indignation is a little much. She is cavorting with a known criminal. The same criminal her father is investigating. L*urel does nothing to help the investigation and one could argue she impedes the investigation. This is called obstruction of justice, Counselor. L*urel actually commissioned the crime The Hood is perpetrating this week, so she could also be charged as an accessory after the fact. Maybe even aiding and abetting. So, her horror at the police pointing guns at her is somewhat ludicrous. Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time.

Source: LAURELSOURCE

L*urel spends much of the episode fighting the rampant patriarchy and misogyny of the men around her by firmly accepting the danger of working with the vigilante. She is prepared to take those risks.

Source: LAURELSOURCE

But then L*urel is appalled the second she’s put in any danger and holds all the men responsible for not keeping her safe.

She can be mad her dad lied to her, but stop clutching the pearls. If L*urel wants to play the vigilante game then she is going to be used as bait and occasionally get kidnapped. That’s what everyone means by danger, girl. You’re either in or you’re out. If you’re in then you don’t get to blame anyone else for danger knocking on your door. Own your choices honey. THY NAME IS AGENCY.

Oliver and Diggle

This is week 323 of Diggle arguing that Moira is guilty as sin and Oliver ignoring the massive pile of evidence supporting that belief.

Ok, it hasn’t been that many weeks, but it feels like it. Thou Shall Not Question Diggle. He is always right, but Oliver digs his stubborn heels in. So, John offers to drive Moira around for a week and bugs her. As one does.

Oliver: You bugged my mother?

This is how OTA shows their love, Oliver. Diggle knows Moira is a slippery snake and can wiggle out of any question Oliver asks her. She even burns the copy of the List Felicity gave him after Oliver confronts her with it.

Moira insists she never associated with the people in Robert’s book and knew it only as a list of people who owed him favors. Oliver believes his mother is trying to protect her children from Walter’s fate.

So, John gets Moira ON TAPE discussing The Undertaking with Malcolm Merlyn and the sabotage of Robert Queen’s boat.

We’re going to ignore that Moira’s voice is perfectly identifiable, but Merlyn’s is about ten octaves lower. The point is these are information diamonds Diggle unearths and Oliver FINALLY agrees to pay his mother a visit as The Hood.

Flashbacks

The best part of the flashbacks is meeting all the people who helped Oliver Queen become The Hood.

Source: @olivergifs

Hello Slade Wilson! He’s a massively important character in Arrow and it is fun to rewatch how he came into Oliver’s life.

Slade and his partner, the man who tortured Oliver, are Australian Intelligence who came to Lian Yu to free Yao Fei. Slade and Yao Fei have been monitoring an air field so they can escape the island, but he cannot take it alone. There is always a reason behind all of Yao Fei’s actions, but it takes Slade a minute to figure out why he sent Oliver.

Slade: You have no skill. No strength. No training. To say you fight like a girl would be a compliment.

I’m equally indignant and amused by that line. Slade doesn’t believe Oliver will be any help to him because well… he met him. If Oliver is ever captured again he could reveal Slade’s location. So, he decides to behead Oliver. It’s the nice thing to do. It won’t hurt a bit. What can I say guys? It’s Lian Yu! These are how the memories are made.

Oliver dislocates his shoulder and punches Slade in a vain attempt to defend himself. Yao Fei may be a softer judge of character, but he’s not wrong about Oliver’s survival instinct. Slade sees the fight in Oliver’s eyes and finally understands why Yao Fei sent him. They need Oliver to survive as much as he needs them. He might not be much to look at now, but Slade Wilson is just the man to harness Oliver’s will and turn him into the fighter they all need him to become.

Stray Thoughts

David Anders is like my personal Kevin Bacon. He's in everything I watch. #Arrow #TVD #Alias #OUAT

I was never all that jazzed when L*urel was the damsel in distress and I love that crap. Another clue I didn't ship it. Source: LAURELSOURCE

Do people on this show not realize you can’t touch evidence? JFC.

Twenty four arrows in the quiver. Good to know.

“It doesn’t mean I have to read the bastard his rights though.” IF YOU WANT THE CHARGES TO STICK YOU DO.

I am so confused on what type of law L*urel practices. Her firm works for a victim’s advocacy group, but she also prosecutes criminal cases. This feels like a radiologist performing heart surgery.

KC is just really bad at action scenes. It's always so awkward.

Musings of the Kiddo

Kiddo: Does he ever run out of arrows?

Me: He has extra in the car.

Disclaimer: Any gifs on the blog are not mine. If you would like a gif removed from my reviews, please message me.

If you’d like to support the blog, please buy me a cup of tea!

#arrow #arrow review #arrow 1x13 #arrow reviews #anti laurel lance #anti lauriver #merlance #anti katie cassidy #quentin lance #arrow rewatch #arrow season 1 #season 1 episode review #season 1 episode reviews #tommy merlyn

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reysjedi · 4 years ago

Text

My thoughts but mostly my feelings.

This is the 3rd time posting these. Idk how but they keep getting deleted. 3rd times the charm?

*****TROUBLED BLOOD SPOILERS AHEAD******

Okay so I am going to start with the non ship stuff first because once that begins I will become slightly incoherent lol

• I love Barclay. He is so freaking funny. His friendship with Robin is everything. “You need to learn to read the room, mate.” I think he will be coming for Ilsa’s number one spot on the “Cormoran & Robin Shipper” list soon.

• Speaking of Ilsa “It’s Robin’s birthday, you total dickhead.” I love it so much. Hoping for a miracle baby for her and Nick next book.

• I enjoyed the case. The characters seemed so developed and realistic. I really didn’t see the murderer coming. I also loved how it brought up why we trust certain people without a second thought.

• I had very few disappointments in this book (besides not having a kiss which I wasn’t truly expecting) but my 2 were 1. That Strike didn’t go to his Dad’s party. Idk I really wanted that for his character even if he ever does reconcile with him it won’t be at a public event, I just really wanted to him to go and of course bring Robin. 2. That Robin wasn’t at Joan’s funeral. The flowers were lovely though.

• Speaking of Joan <3 <3 <3 “I wish I had met your Robin.” I cried. I think it was really important for Strike to know Joan was proud of him and that he can think of that and her when he looks at the ocean.

• Delving in to Strike’s psyche more was amazing. Learning more about his childhood. His mixed emotions about Leda. Yes. Yes. Yes.

• I also loved Robin’s journey in this book. I’m also about to turn 29 and in a transition point in my life and how people kept saying “she was traveling in a different direction than the rest of us” really resonated with me.

• I’m super excited about Michelle joining the agency. Robin needs another female coworker. Speaking of, I love what Pat brings to the team, especially her dynamic with Strike.

• I CHEERED when Strike manipulated Creed like that will be awesome on screen.

OKAY NOW TO THE SHIP STUFF * cracks knuckles *

• I don’t think I have every loved a literary couple this much. The way JK manages to grow and develop their relationship each book sighhh

• THE AMOUNT OF TIMES I shouted “COMMUNICATE YOU IDIOTS” WHILE READING THIS BOOK lol but they do and when they do sighhhhh okay sorry can’t skip to the end

• I find it really funny that in a group chat on here I said I wanted holiday fluff L O L

• I was so upset for Robin on her 29th. I can’t believe he forgot but BOYYYY DID HE MAKE UP FOR IT

• Okay so let’s start the holiday fuck ups: Christmas

What a classic man. Waiting the last minute to buy presents and agonizing over it. Then he’s going to buy her perfume which just so happens is exactly what she wanted on her birthday (and yes he gets a major hint from Ilsa but still).

AND THEN HE PANICS because picking perfume for someone is pretty intimate and he was basically delirious because of fever AND HE GETS HER CHOCOLATES sighhhh I felt so bad for how stupid he was unknowingly being.

Her gift for him is so thoughtful and the only thing that cheers up his miserable Christmas <3

• Next, bloody Valentine’s Day: What a disaster. Robin finally lets out her frustrations on him and I think he was genuinely shocked. She had NEVER said anything like that to him. Strike has said several times how he appreciates “Robin being the only woman in his life who wasn’t trying to change him.” He thought she had no complaints because she kept quiet. It wounds him.

“And don’t buy me any more fucking flowers!” I was so worried he would take this as wanting no romantic gestures but he didn’t <3 and they even joke about it later <3

Then he thinks women never want him to apologize first (really Cormoran???) and isn’t going to call first BUT HE DOES he calls and it’s kind of a lame apology but HE CALLS FIRST.

• The banter the entire book was amazing because GUYS THEY ARE BEST FRIENDS.

• TIME FOR CHAPTER 58: “Romantic Whiskey in the Dark” aka THE BEST CHAPTER TILL 73 The intimacy, honesty, and vulnerability of this scene * clutches chest *

“I’d like to go to the Ritz please”… lol little did we know

He finally tells her about his Dad and half siblings pestering him. He even tells her about his childhood (y’all I couldn’t believe it). Picturing young Cormoran with too short pants, anxious to meet his Dad, and then the crushing realization that he didn’t want to see him. Then him calling Strike an accident in front of him. My heart broke.

Robin FINALLY asks him about Charlotte and he tells her about her overdose and how much anxiety that was giving him.

I feel like typing Strike’s entire inner monologue starting with “How could he say, look, I’ve tried not to fancy you since you first took off your coat in this office…” but just do yourself a favor and read Chapter 58 again (I’ll be reading it & 73 at least 5 times each today lol).

Then he brings up Ilsa trying to set them up. * flails *

They talk about Matthew and Sarah because they are sharing. And guys, sharing is truly caringggg.

Then they have the conversation about wanting to have kids. (I have a few idk meta? thoughts about all the foreshadowing in this book about them having a kid together).

I absolutely love how Robin calls him out on his “self-indulgence.” I’m not saying Strike will ever change his mind about kids but I loved that she challenged his reasoning. They are so perfect together I swear.

Then he calls her his best friend. And Robin dies. And I DIED. It was so perfect and genuine. Her response was so cute because she was so taken aback.

EVERYTHING WAS PERFECT

Then they both start thinking about the bed that is MEARLY UPSTAIRS AND I THINK I PASSED OUT FOR A BIT.

Seriously guys CHAPTER 58 IS EVERYTHINGGGGG

• I loved how they had an honest conversation about Strike’s protectiveness of her while on the job.

• Strike chastising himself for considering/wanting to buy her a stuffed donkey <3

• “Ya but you’re exceptional.” He so casually makes Robin’s heart soar. It is perfect.

• OKAY I THINK I’M READY TO DISCUSS ROBIN’S 30TH I NEVER and I mean NEVER COULD HAVE IMAGINED THIS FOR THEM

Back to Strike appreciating Robin “never wanting to change him” but then she tells him she hates when he’s late (andddd he’s on time NO DARE I SAY EARLY for their meetings for the rest of the book). She often feels underappreciated and wishes he would just make more of an effort. AND BOYYYY DOES HE EVER.

HE CHANGES GUYS… TO MAKE HER HAPPY “People can change. Or so a psychiatrist in Broadmoor told me.”

She thought he forgot again * cries *

He arranges for her to wake up to his donkey balloon and signs it “(Not flowers) Love Strike x” GUYSSSSS

Robin’s little tarot card read (WE NEED TO META THE CRAP OUT OF THIS) T

hen they meet up and HE LETS HER PICK OUT HER PEFUME (what she has been searching for the entire book, the perfume that suits her new life and he buys it for her in the best possible way THE SYMBOLISM COROMORAN IS ONE WITH THE PERFUME THE PERFUME IS ONE WITH HIM * flails *) and HE ADMITS HE FUCKED UP GETTING IT FOR HER ON CHRISTMAS

SHE ASKS HIM TO HELP HER CHOOSE BEWTEEN THE LAST TWO AND HE CHOOSES THE ONE THAT REMINDS HIM OF SEX. I mean I never thought the description of “musky skin and bruised flowers” could be so sexy.

I DIEDDDDDDDD

THEN HE TAKES HER TO THE RITZ FOR CHAMPAGNE <3 <3 <3

ROBIN WAS SO SHOCKED BUT NOT AS SHOCKED AS ME

“Strike, said Robin, This is thoughtful.” Oh you mean just like you asked him to be? This is him trying. HE’S WOOING YOU ROBIN.

GUYS WHAT IF THE NEXT BOOK STARTS RIGHT AFTER THEIR DATE (yes it is totally a date) AND THEY HAVE SEX BECAUSE THAT WAS STRIKE FINALLY TRYING (and he changed his phone numberrrrr)

THAT WAS PEAK ROMANCE (I need fics).

I am seriously so happy with how far they have come together and super excited about their future <3

wow

If anybody read all of that message me so we can discuss (flail) together.

When do we get to read book 6??????

#take 3 lol #strellacott #cormoran x robin #cormoran strike #tb spoiler #tb #strike #strike x robin #i have a lot of feelings #otp: this is what i love #otp: youre exceptional

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bigskydreaming · 5 years ago

Note

Can we just talk about all the age reversal aus where Robin is still a thing before Dick comes around??? It makes no sense!!!! Ik you’ve done a post on the importance of Robin before and it just really ticks me off!!! Like, if Damian is the oldest, why would he go by a bird name when he works with Batman? It would make more sense to be like ‘Shadow’ or ‘Shriken’ or just plain ‘Batkid’ but all these authors use the name Robin and then show Jason being resentful when Dick takes it over. Just wtf?

Tbh, I don’t have a ton to say on that particular subject other than I agree with you on it not making a lot of sense, because I just don’t really tend to read age reversal AUs anymore. They’re just not a premise that draws me in, y’know? I have issues with the way Dick’s status as the oldest brother tends to lead to him and his own problems being taken for granted at times, but the solution to that which I’m looking for is to have that addressed, not to have Dick just not be the oldest sibling anymore. I like Dick the way he is….I’m as fond of AUs as the next person, but ones that kinda alter the core of him just aren’t for me.

Like….how to put this…..from my perspective, I’ve noticed that outside of fics by authors who consider themselves Dick stans first and foremost out of all the characters, there’s three distinct tropes in the vast majority of fics where Dick plays a major role, and is regarded sympathetically rather than being in the way:

1) Fics about Tarantula, 2) Fics where Dick is a Talon and 3) Age Reversal AUs.

And the one common element in these tropes is they’re most commonly utilized while depicting Dick as particularly vulnerable, to the extent that he’s like….dependent on the other characters.

In the vast majority of Tarantula fics - majority, not all, there are exceptions of course - but the common thread is Dick tends to have very little agency in even the aftermath of what happened with Tarantula. He’s usually not granted the right of disclosure….people find out despite his wants there, and often despite his attempts to keep it from them (huge pet peeve just btw…..people, disclosure is a HUGELY big deal to survivors, because its one of THE single most powerful ways in which survivors take back control over their lives….they might not have control over what happened, but they can control who they tell about it and when. The tendency to write fics about survivors but displaying no real thought towards the fact that many survivors NEED agency over who they disclose to and when, is part of why I tend to rant about people kinda….commercializing this particular trauma even while saying they do so in the name of spreading awareness or healing or stuff like that….because they’re not actually like….thinking about things from the viewpoint of the survivor. In many instances, stealing a survivor’s right to disclose at the time and place of their choosing can be massively retraumatizing in its own way. And again, please don’t talk to me about how I’m generalizing or insisting there’s only one right way to write survivors…I know I’m generalizing, I’m talking about TRENDS, not specific fics, and I’m not saying its NEVER okay to write things this way, I’m simply commenting on how often things ONLY seem to be written this way).

But anyway, point is, a common theme throughout these fics is that despite Dick being central to them, its a story ABOUT him and what happened to him, rather than actually being HIS story. He himself has very little role in many of these stories, they’re more about what the others do to avenge him, or to take care of him, etc…..which is great in principle….I just can’t help but note the emphasis on him being dependent on others throughout it.

Which brings us to number two, fics where Dick is a Talon…..I’ve talked before how I just kinda can’t, and back out of fics where Dick remains a Talon or altered by the Talon process, because I think most people do that as kind of a metaphor for a disability and finding ways to live with a disability, but to me it will always read as body horror, because this isn’t so much Dick being disabled as it is him being altered head to toe in very deliberate ways by his abusers with the intention of making him something other than he is, and something he never ever chooses or wants to be. And the fact that there’s no need to write stories with disability metaphors, you can just write a character having a disability, so it always kinda feels unnecessary to me, personally, and an inherent tragedy because this was DONE to Dick, and thus is a permanent reminder of his abuse at the hands of his abusers….which is not inherently the same thing as adjusting to life with a disability, though there can be overlap, obviously.

But the other tendency of the Talon Dick trope is how often this results in him being mentally altered. And not just in a brainwashed kind of way, as many of these fics have him raised as a Talon since his parents died and then rescued by the Batfam….but his entire mentality, personality and way of processing things and even speaking is altered….and the thing that bugs me about this is…..why? Why is this choice so prevalent in these fics, when there’s literally nothing innate about the Talons in canon that says the Talon process mentally changes their minds and personalities in this kind of way? Most of the Talons we see don’t speak….because they’re intended to be seen as mindless minions, a force of nature rather than people….its meant to add to their mystique, their threat, their legend….largely on orders of the Court, who thrives on those kind of things. But who is the Talon we see the most of in canon, the Talon that we’re specifically told time and time again the Court means Dick to replace, be the heir of? William Cobb.

And William is nothing like the way Dick is depicted in most Talon fics. He’s the same as he was before he was changed, just with the changes to his biology now. Mentally and personality-wise, he’s still the same as he was before it. And even in the recent Nightwing comic where Ric was finally brainwashed into being the Talon the Court has been manipulating him towards becoming throughout this storyline…..obviously, the Talon process hadn’t occurred yet, but even with the brainwashing, Ric mentally was still himself in the sense that he could process things, make decisions, speak all just the same as he did before he put on the brainwashing goggles….he didn’t speak most of the time because again, Talons are meant by the Court to be mostly silent enigmas….but when pressed, he was absolutely still capable of it, the same as before.

So again, the question is….why this particular choice, with this trope? To have Dick so radically altered not just in body, and with the emphasis rarely even placed on his bodily changes, as usually they come up with some tech disguise for him or use makeup to make him appear the same as he usually does, at which point his changes aren’t mentioned all that much other than to display his healing factor. No, the emphasis by and large is to how different he is mentally….even though there’s literally nothing about the Talon the Court wants him to be in canon, which dictates that he has to be in any way mentally altered by the process of becoming one. It isn’t his mental faculties the Court has a problem with, its his morals. No other brainwashing or mental conditioning method in comics or fics places such a strong emphasis on limiting the person’s mental capabilities rather than just altering their morality and way of thinking…so why is it different here, with Dick’s stories? And the only common result I can ever find is that it diminishes Dick’s autonomy and makes him vulnerable in a specific way where he’s dependent on the others to a huge degree, due to being less socially capable or even just mentally capable on his own.

And then finally we have the reverse ages AUs, in which Dick is still himself as he was as a young Robin in canon…..just the baby of the family, doted on and protected by his family, who are all fiercely defensive of him and in many of these stories, drop everything to rush to his aid when he’s in danger and rescue him. Which again, is perfectly fine in theory, but the thing this raises for me is…..how distinct this is from Dick’s actual time as Robin, where the actual emphasis was on how capable he was despite his young age, how autonomous and independent and competent even when face to face with villains twice his size and three times his age.

Situations like with Two-Face were the exception in his stories, not the norm…..much like the later Robins, like Jason before his death, Tim for over a decade in comics, Damian to this day….all roughly the same age Dick is in these reverse Robin AUs…..but when has Damian ever been depicted as that vulnerable and in need of his siblings’ protection, in canon? When was Tim? And in Dick’s own time as Robin when he was actually that age in canon…..how would he have ever lasted as Robin without all these older siblings in canon, let alone managed to become the inspiration for entire generations of other child heroes….if he weren’t as capable of protecting himself as he was…in actual canon?

Again, the focus of the premise, like with the other two tropes, often seems geared towards emphasizing a vulnerability that is kinda just…chosen for Dick, rather than being an inevitability of that trope, and results in him being particularly dependent on the rest of his family.

Understand, I’m not saying this to say oh these fics are all bad and shouldn’t exist, lol, I’m just expressing the common element through all of them that’s why they don’t appeal to me in particular - because as I’ve always emphasized in pretty much all my posts, one of the greatest appeals to me about Dick Grayson, and one of the things I love about him most, is his fierce independence, his commitment to being his own person and standing on his own two feet. And its why I have an issue with the common thread of infantilization that runs through a lot of the fanon tropes that treat him as though he’s incapable of feeding himself, clothing himself, or even cleaning up after himself or conducting himself in public without the help of others.

Because my issue isn’t that these things exist, its that I’m always going to want to know WHY.

Why, when Dick’s core characterization has always revolved around his insistence on his own personal agency and autonomy…..do so many stories revolve around…..denying him this, or stripping it away?

Why is it that he’s most appealing to many people when he’s not just dependent on his family, but forced to be dependent by the very premise of a story, with no choice or alternative in the matter?

What makes that such a common trend, and with his character in specific, as opposed to Jason, Tim, Damian, etc….none of whom display similar trends in their stories or most prevalent tropes?

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obliterus · 6 years ago

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REVERSE AU//MVA part 1

It’s been a while, but now it’s coming back. Some things have been completely re-vamped, some things have gotten darker and more sinister here. I’m going to begin re-telling the story of this AU on this blog since Shion will be involved, and then offer all other exclusive in-depth character profiles (several key characters that are vital to the plot, and who I want to write again or introduce) on my upcoming multi-muse blog. Since... I’m sure there will be questions and there will be answers.

WELCOME TO MY VILLAIN ACADEMIA!

Please enjoy your stay and remember to do your best, because an attempt isn’t tolerated. Let’s get started, shall we?

Everything that you’ve come to love and cherish, those storybook heroes and their happy ever after endings don’t exist here. This is a story in which raw power and glory run the show and all that heroic bullshit? Well, let’s just say it doesn’t exist! In this world, your abilities dictate your entire life, how you attend school, and even the friends you make! If you’re born quirkless, from the moment you take your first breath, life will be especially hard for you, because you’re as good to dirt in this society. Villains are the top dog here, and your life can only get a little bit better if you entrust yourself into the hands of those with abilities greater than your own. You’re considered a disability to the system if you’re quirkless, you may as well just kiss your life goodbye or die trying!

There are no happy endings here, only the struggle to come out on top, and become the best Pro Villain you can. Corruption is encouraged, using your abilities to get ahead and manipulate are all welcomed here, so is physical violence. Not too much though, we don’t need to mop up blood off campus every single hour on the hour. We have a battle arena if you need to fight out your differences, but please book that in advance. Most of your peers will be anywhere between Green and Orange ranking, so please respect them once you encounter them and their ranking. This is the opposite of the hero stories you’ve come to understand, so please make sure you’re familiar with all of the rules and where you, yourself fall! Have a GREAT year!

My Villain Academia is an alternative universe in which tells takes the canon storyline and completely reverses it! Yes, that’s right. Everyone you know and love is actually a heartless villain in training in this. I shouldn’t say completely heartless, but they’re pretty close. Also, your heartless canon villains are actually morally wonderful underground Heroes. UA Academy is a school that prides itself on producing some of the best Villains not only in Japan but across the globe. With its excellent selection of courses and rigorous acceptance exams, one can only dream of being accepted to UA. The story is narrated by the resident King of UA Academia, Midoriya Izuku, and his journey in becoming a Pro Villain.

The school is separated into two classes when it comes to the Villain Course, A and B. These are considered some of the top aspiring students in all of Japan. They’ll do just about anything and everything to get ahead, but they will not turn on each other. They are required to work together in some fields because powerful quirk users combined can be a beautiful thing in the face of battle, or in establishing dominance, right? It’s designed to set you on the right path and separate the powerful from the weak hearted.

General Studies is offered to students that have failed the Villain course exam but still have the potential to join the Villain course during the spring of their following year. However, General Studies students can usually be seen in one of two lights: Scrubs and targets, or potential villains based on how students present themselves in those classes. They’re sorted into C and D, and E categories.

Support Course are students that have been gifted with extreme knowledge and craftsmanship. These are the individuals that instead choose to support their future pro Villains along their course by designing weapons that can enhance not only their quirks but their combat abilities. Support students are highly treasured at UA, and often shown an extra level of respect so that villain course students can ultimately get what they want to be made. There is no limit to what they can make, and their stock room is filled to the brim with assorted tools. Some legal, some very illegal. Anything goes when you’re in support course territory! They are sorted into F, G and H categories.

Lastly, but certainly not least, the Management Course. They are the individuals single-handedly responsible for starting a Villain’s career. They deal with all marketing, opening up agencies, and provide a line of direction for newborn villains. They are sharp individuals, with great problem-solving skills and are masters of working the system in their favor. They’re a more isolated group of students, who choose to keep their secrets to themselves. They are sorted into I, J and K categories.

Much of the Discourse that should arise in UA isn’t handled by the teachers but handled by the ranking system that is established among the Villain Course students. It is called The Royal Flush and composed up of a King, Queen, Jack, Ace and Ten of Hearts. Each title is worn by a Villain Course student, and with it, comes specific duties that are to be obeyed around the school. Before I outline who this is made up, I’ll explain how society’s ranking system works based on what type of quirk you’re born with. Or NOT born with.

When a child’s quirk manifests, they are immediately classified into a color that will dictate how the rest of their life will go. Let’s start from lowest to highest! Now, these are subject to change if a quirkless child is a late bloomer and their quirk manifests later, OR an individual that was already sorted has a quirk change or an enhancement in their abilities that calls for them to be sorted into a different classification. This is done by the government in which the person goes through a series of tests to be passed on to a different classification.

COLOR QUIRK CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM ;;

QUIRKLESS (Black) If no quirk manifests in a child, they are tapped as black and are donned as a disability to the society overall. They are shunned and mocked, these are the people who have a very hard time finding suitable jobs and education for themselves. They tend to stick together to survive and are virtually non-existing to society unless they do something to prove themselves. A lot of them do the services that many quirk users do not want to do, and this buys them protection and a safe space. The highest suicide ranking is among the quirkless.

LOW TIER (Blue) The weakest on the quirk totem pole. Low tier quirk users are registered under the color blue to signal their ranking. These are the people who are offered the lowest ranking jobs and education. They have a chance to climb up the pole if their quirk changes after they’ve already been tapped as a child. Otherwise, these are the people who are easily taken advantage of and who often deflect for the Hero underground.

MID-TIER (Green) The middle of the pole. Once sorted into this category, I would consider this the middle class of the quirk ranking system. A lot of citizens are mid-tier users. They have the ability to hold decent jobs, can become advisors to higher ranking quirk users, are offered good education, and are respected enough to be left alone. They don’t help the weak if they know what’s good for them and their safety. A lot of UA students are Green users that are trying to advance to Orange if their ability allows, but honestly, being Green is a good thing. It doesn’t get you looked at like the Blues, and it takes some of the pressures of Orange off you.

HIGH TIER (Orange) The second highest ranking on the quirk pole. They are the world’s leaders, offered the highest ranking jobs, exposed to the absolute best education system. The police tend to turn a blind eye to high tier users who act out in society because they are seen as the best of the best. Their power isn’t something to be questioned. High tier users can offer protective services to mid-tier users.

SUPREME TIER (Red) Extremely rare. 5% of the population. These are people that are considered walking Gods because of their quirk abilities. Both feared and praised, they are hunted down for their abilities and turned into lethal villain machines. They can offer protective services to just about anyone they choose and it will -never- be questioned. It is very much a thing that children born and tested as Red, will be registered as Orange and their quirk abilities fairly suppressed.

Now that that’s outlined, going back to The Royal Flush squad. The Big Three were the top dogs of UA while they were there, Mirio becoming King in his second year, along with Nejire as Queen and Tamaki as Jack. The Big Three came to dominate the school, they were the people that aspiring individuals looked to for advice. They handled a lot of disputes, while not only increasing their profiles as Villains but also letting people know that they were not the ones to be questioned. Izuku inherits the King title, reluctant to do so after he inherits his ability, None for All, and was now tasked with building his own elite team to wear the Royal titles through the years at UA. Izuku is the only one to become King during his first year.

Who he picks are a total secret, and one you’ll come to discover later on.

Now, what about the Hero Underground? Is there a silver lining in all of this? Of course! The Hero Underground, known as the League of Heroes, is a widespread society that was started by one man, known as All For One. However, in the Villain realm, he’s known bitterly as Robin Hood. He can steal quirks from the most sinister of Villains and gift them to aspiring Heroes who are desperate to try and make society a better place. There have been rumors floating around forever that Shimura Nana has killed him, but in reality, AFO is safely hidden in an unknown location that’s under intense security.

The League of Heroes fights for everyone. They do not discriminate against Quirkless and Low Tier users and are always welcoming to any Villain that chooses to deflect. Once somebody chooses to deflect, they are stripped of their ranking and are considered as good as dirt to society. Heroes are seen as vermin, with their want for equal rights among everyone else and to have quirks liberated rather than controlled by the government and other systems. Hero Agencies exist in locations spread all over Japan, some greatly hidden behind walls, underground, within a maze of tunnels, or through extensive passwords.

Three misfits, ostracized and hunted for their abilities joined the Hero ranking and own one of the most successful Agencies of all time. (Also a real pain in the ass for the Villains of the society) Chisaki Kai, Todoroki Touya, and Shigaraki Tomura. Three individuals who were born RED, who deflected from villain society and built an Agency from the ground up in honor of liberation. They are walking messiahs to those on the lower end of the deal, and they’ve already saved countless people. They have dodged great difficulties to get to where they need to be. The question is, the government wants them, but more so have been forced to turn the other cheek. The system is just as much afraid of them.

They operate out of an office that’s disguise as a Speakeasy, hidden behind a door with a peephole that Touya maintains. Those looking for their aid are given specific instructions to this door, and will only be let in if their password is said correctly. This office also operates as a safe house for those who just are looking to escape the gruesome system they were born into. Welcome to the Hero world! Let Todoroki Touya be your guide.

(Part 1 end)

#MUSINGS. || a place to lay my head #verse || my villain academia.

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boglog · 6 years ago

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HoC Onion !

[TW mention of sexual abuse/violence]

I’m foregoing the pros/cons format here but generally-speaking my negative points are still gathered at the top w the highlights near the end.

Obviously, between letting a sex offender have a platform in mass media and potholes, I’d choose the latter. My below crits absolutely are not a demand for Spacey to be brought back and he can die in a fire for all i care. I just wish his character’s absence was not the nº1 reason for this season not making any sense

as far as i can gather, this season’s primary arc is as much about Frank’s death (in lieu of Doug’s) as it is Claire’s emotional and political divorce from Frank while she undergoes your traditional postbreakup analysis of who she was pre Frank and post Frank and were Frank actually there this idea might have legs

...but instead we have Doug ://

the level of intensity that the plot demands cannot be carried by forcing Doug into being a deeper character than he was intended, all the way until the end, he truly just reads as either a pitiful sadist or a henchman. It’s disharmonious and dangerously close to bad.

Frances Underwood makes more sense if Frank dies in episode 8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She’s literally going to be his reincarnation!!!!!!!

literally...who cares if Doug gets stabbed by Frank’s letter opener? whomst?

Doug can’t be Frank’s proxy, but sans a certain pedoph*le, the plot will just have to suffer.

Other side effects of Doug’s undeserved promotion include but are not limited to:

forcing Doug to share the role of antagonist with the Shepards, yet another New Villain © that feels totally unnecessary and confusing (the Conways at least got two seasons)

Frank’s diary feels forced and out of character for someone decidedly so unsentimental

How does Claire have a bun in the oven when she clearly didnt sleep with Frank for all of season 5 and locked herself in her room while he was being assassinated? How is a Dramatic paternity test not going to be insisted upon in the show’s universe?

fixation on Frank’s will as a McGuffin is really... I don't know boring considering no one cares for the guy? What property of his does claire stand to lose? I’m sure the rich people fandom can speculate but i honestly needed this manifested in the show via some examples instead of the grand abstraction that is The Will bc losing Frank’s assets would set Claire back but it would not directly threaten her presidency. Not to mention that i’m not entirely sure Frank’d have Doug of all people as his sole heir if it didn't serve as revenge against Claire, which just lowers Doug’s importantance even more

Frank never cared for Doug, a largely unlikeable character, which we already knew from the beginning, so Doug’s entire arc is pathetic at best as well as his tangential inclusion in the Cliare v Frank arc

My major problems with Doug’s character began as early as season 4.

Did not understand why they didn't actually have Doug switch sides by joining the Dunbar campaign in earnest in season 4. Like... it’s such an obvious opportunity to Thicken The Plot © that it’s reached this gif levels of dropping the ball:

P much everything about Doug’s character since then is just so.... lacking, while for the last few seasons they give him depth when he magically has empathy for one (1) woman before she dies (possibly as a direct result of his actions). This entire plot about him evaluating why he was so loyal to Frank could've been unpacked whilst he avoids Dunbar finding out about the murders he did commit. I’d rather him having agency than be a flat, troubled underling.

Aright I'm going to stop complaining about Doug. In season 3 and 4, his insecurity over being replaced and his sacrifices for Frank (and subsequent guilt) came close to giving us a real Moment with him as we delve more into how colourless his life outside of work really is. But beyond that, when his character started getting repetitive, there’s very little to compensate for his alternating acts of extreme narcissism/violence versus his childish confusion / self pity when he doesn’t get what he wants.

Anyways I'm basically at a point where I’d be okay if Frank’s long-lost cousin replaced Doug replacing Frank

I’m appreciating the writers’ distinct refrain from plot formats and that the seasons progressively move towards the Underwoods but what if just for circularity and added balance we return to having a full-on reporter B plot in s6? More emphasis on Janine and Tom’s sleuthing, culminating in Tom’s assassination and Janine publishing the tell-all expose against Frank---including a reference to Zoe---that becomes the magnum opus of her career (and Claire using that against Frank). I just think the season needed more balance that Doug, the Shepards and Tom were not offering

The Shepards and Tom, meanwhile, are decidedly banal. First of all, I had a hard time even telling Bill and Tom apart esp given that they were introduced one after the other. All white guys are the same.

Bill just kind of sits around until he has a platform to reference his favourite action movies doesn't he?

Moreover what does Tom do!? he doesn't want power, he doesnt seem to want anything. He’s just kind of there?

Unlike the Conways, the Shepards don’t have a clear goal and are not often in direct conflict with Claire the way Frank and Conway were. They want to control the presidency for money and Claire is always bouncing back from reliving her girlhood to political rivalry w Anette, yes, but what does that mean? What are the consequences? The logistics are so indirect and complicated, what precisely does Anette want? And why does anyone care? The Shepards are extremely boring.

Frank’s asides were purple and long af so I appreciate Claire’s succinct style not to mention her fantastic screen presence. I’m left to wonder, though, if maybe hers and every other aside in HoC is a little too on the nose. Like, they didn't hafta spell it out that the bird in the wall was a representation of Frank’s shadow trapping her, I think we got that

The artistic intercuts to Claire’s troubled childhood wherein a group of bullies coerce her into stripping naked through the forest, while visually stunning and clever for its self-explanatory nature, feel really passive. They don't visually show us any reason for her not to resist, the bullies even let her keep her clothes after cutting them off her so we’re left to wonder why she does nothing....

Claire was raised to be ~proper~ so her resistance (likely) comes in the form of biting, passive-aggressive poise which is hard to get across in a silent montage but it just feels.. weird

Frances Underwood is going to have a very sad childhood

nearly all the Claire flashbacks are cinematic masterpieces and as much i think Claire’s backstory deserves more attention, i also appreciate the minimalism and the choice humanising moments of her adolescence

listen I'm sure we all agree Robin Wright is peak acting but the actor for young Claire, who has the arguably harder task of copying Wright is fantastic

Of all the characters who crop up every season seemingly out of nowhere only to disappear once more once when the plot the Underwoods are done with them, Jane is one of my favourites and possibly one of the greyest characters alive. Smart, mysterious, worldly, a bit of a hippie despite her job, severe despite her sense of humour. Really loves her extremely pedestrian surname. We stan.

Secondary characters rarely get anything close to a backstory on this show, esp ones that were introduced so late. Still, her motivations seem more complicated then others (i.e. betraying Cathy, one of two people she cares about) and I wonder if they deserve a bit more of an explanation. Especially seeing as she has a relationship with every major character.

If anyone deserves a spin-off it might be Jane and her name-dropping career/social life

Cathy faking her own death with a terrible french accent? On stan !!!

Seth teasing Doug even while he’s completely undervalued by everyone around him is a power move

Impressed that they managed three characters named Tom, their distinctly different appearances and the fact that they're almost never in the same POV shots works to separate them.

Claire using the word “female” even facetiously is cringe

Whenever they use the cinema room, the movie they watch is always symbolic. Before the 2017 election, Frank and Claire imitate the characters in Double Indemnity, and this season a pregnant claire watches Rosemary’s Baby. Clever.

i liked the whitehouse tour guide’s inclusion and the cameo from _____ though this season was especially white without their usual token secondary character

So overall i liked season 6 as an exploration of Claire’s character even while it did v little justice to most of the other characters and unfortunately spacey’s absence did affect the storyline

and finally: that cinnamontography !

Not that the series should be pushed past its prime, but wouldn’t it be interesting to see Claire as a mother?

#hoc #house of cards #robin wright #claire underwood #hoc season 6 #house of cards season 6 #u #c #onion post

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detectivelen · 6 years ago

Note

Hi! I've always wanted to follow your account but it's realllly confusing and hard to catch up TT.. I always can't go to the about page or anything so that also sucks. Can I get a short summary of what happened here?

Welcome!! And thank you for asking, I’m happy to explain. The following is a compilation of all the info you need, and some bonus things if you choose to read them. This might even help people who’ve followed since the beginning as a refresher!

Currently available pages: [New Visitors/Welcome] [Tags Page] [Warnings Page]

I’ll be putting all of the key info from these down below so you don’t have to click these, but feel free to if you want to admire my formatting or something :D

Quick rundown on the New Visitors, Start here! Page:

This askblog is mainly a crossover (of sorts) of Detective Conan / Magic Kaito + VOCALOID! You do not need to have prior knowledge on DCMK or Vocaloid to enjoy the fun of this blog! The story this blog follows is it’s own story, after all.

Here is a list of the (main-ish) cast so far:

Len Kagamine (AKA Ren) [Detective]

Rin Kagamine (AKA Starrin) [Weirdo]

KAITO (AKA Kaigoro) [Detective,Body Guard, Ex Officer]

MEIKO (AKA Meiri) [Defense Attorney/Lawyer]

Miku Hatsune (AKA Mikuko) [Close to Starrin]

Luka Megurine (AKA Doc) [Inventor]

Gakupo (AKA Gakupopo) [Police Officer]

Mikuo Hatsune (AKA Mikuosu) [Film/Photography, Brother of Mikuko]

“A Oliver” [ ? ]

“———” [?]

[Why 2 names? To not get confused with other modules who exist with the same name!]

Here is the current summary of the core of the backstory. If you know this, then you’re pretty much set for any context wherever you start!:

Len Kagamine (In his original, bigger form), is an android detective. He’s been able to make a (sort of) name for himself in his area thanks to his skills. One day, while walking home from a case with his sister Rin kagamine, they ended up getting involved in something they weren’t meant to. Things went horribly wrong, and the exact details behind what happened haven’t been revealed yet. It’s an incident that changed their lives forever.

They came out of it alive, but with some visual differences: Len has the small body that we often see him as now, and Rin’s hair is much longer than before. Doc Luka advised them to hide their identities, so that they wouldn’t be recognized by the people who caused this to happen. And Len has to blend in as much as possible. (It’s a bit easier since in this world, there are multiples of the vocaloids, aka other Kagamine units that exist)

They live at the Detective Agency run by KAITO. MEIKO and KAITO are married, but are having some troubles; The incident with the Kagamines has brought them closer together, but there’s still some friction. KAITO, MEIKO, and Doc Luka are the only ones who know of what happened. The case to get back his body and catch the people who caused it is an ongoing case in the background of the blog!

And here’s some summaries of events (from the Tags Page) :

> Click here to read the blog from beginning to end in order!

Most Recent at the top, each tag in Chronological:

[5] A Dangerous Game [with SEL]: Still in progress- Current tag (kinda): /tagged/askstylishenergylen/chrono

[this tag does not currently hold all related events, just the ones feat. SEL, I usually organize and summarize when a ‘chapter’ ends in order to leave speculation to the audience until the wrap up. Visiting SEL’s blog gives another side, too!]

[4] Mysterious Case of Masky: While on their way to one of Kaigo’s reunions, they have some car trouble. While Kaigo is figuring out how to deal with the car, Ren wanders to a nearby house where he meets a boy named Masky. Ren can tell he’s troubled. Later, before him and Kaigo are about to leave, they hear a scream from the forest; They rush to find a bloody, gory scene. The search is on for the missing boy.

Along the way they meet Mint– And things get more complex, when Ren suddenly (M!A) is returned to his normal self! He manages to hide his identity somehow. Ren, Kaigo, Mint and VY2 work together to get Masky out of a hole in the ground, and make sure he’s home safely before Ren has to make a quick exit, due to returning back to his smaller form.

[3] Mobau Takeover : A special 2017 October event! The blog follows an Alternate Universe of the normal, called Mob AU. In this AU Len is still shrunk. He is on the run, and is much more jaded and dangerous than normal Len. He’s in hiding from his family, the police, and those who got him shrunk by living with Robin,who this universe’s version of Mint. He pulls out a knife at a dangers notice, and quick to lie out of a bad situation.

It’s figured out that he does have a nicer side, when Dancer Luka comes for help and he directs her to his family’s agency. The event ends with an M!A, and him ending the M!A by killing the EvilAnon who sent it. This event does not have anything to do with the main story of the blog, be sure not to confuse what you learn from here with the original story!

[2] Afterparty17 : Immediately after the ball, Len hears about an After party, and decides to go and observe the suspicious Mayuo more. Len enjoys the calm scenery, then befriends another kid named Falsetto and gets his number. After he makes his way to the off-limits master-bedroom to see a very chaotic scene between another Len, Mayuo, Rinto, and the host VY2. Luckily his presence stops the situation from going any further to violence. Before he can snoop and figure out more, he gets removed from the situation and is sent home.

[1] Vocaspringball17 : Len arrives to the Vocaloid Spring Ball, and finds a very suspicious Mayuo. He decides to try keeping an eye on him during the event– but some shenanigans ensue with Connor, causing him to ruin his phone. Luckily a human named Mint was around, and helped fix it. Miku is introduced for the first time, gets involved in some action, and enjoys Kaitou’s magic show. Len has a bit of fun with others at the ball, before tailing Mayuo and Rinto once again, ultimately ending with being caught by Mint and forced to let it go and enjoy the rest of the night.

Warning!:As a detective blog, this blog may encounter themes in the future that can be very sensitive to people, like murder cases, blood scenes, drugs, theft, and loads of other things. Around the same level as DCMK.

#Welcome!#anonymous #answered #current summary #If you have any other questions #or somethings confusing don't be afraid to ask!#detectchive #Anonymous #mod text

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oqonholidaysweek-blog · 6 years ago

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Prompts

You can find the list of prompts below. Feel free to select any prompt and create OutlawQueen art (fic, manip, video) inspired by it. You can of course combine several prompts in one creation.

You can submit any creation you want whether it is a new one or an old one. About the fics, it can be included in any of your existing verses. However, note that any ancient work will not be counted as an entry to win a button.

OQ on Holidays Week will take place from August 20th to 26th, so please, don’t post anything before.

In the meantime, don’t hesitate to tweet or DM me at this account @OQonHolidays if you have any questions.

Here’s the list of prompts:

1. Regina Roland and Robin, who can’t stand very loud or very crowded spaces, in Times Square.

2. Regina & Robin vacation in England, they visit the ‘real’ Sherwood Forest and town of Nottingham, see the statue of Robin Hood and touristy Robin Hood themed gift shops. Robin isn’t a fan of his likeness being used to make money.

3. Entire Hood-Mills family (Robin, Regina, Henry, Roland and Robyn) goes to Disney World during ‘villains month’.

4. Robin takes Regina camping somewhere out in the wilderness where she doesn’t have her magic. Regina discovers she is NOT an outdoorsy kind of woman...

5. Regina takes Robin to Hyperion Heights for the first time, to the bar and her former apartment, and people still think of her as the wild tattooed bartender Roni. She’s embarrassed of her cursed persona, but Robin wants to get to know ‘Roni’.

6. Evil Queen takes Wish Robin out into the real world for the first time and decides to take him to New York City.

7. Robin and Regina go to Vietnam.

8. On a family vacation, OQ family finds an abandoned puppy on a beach. Roland and Henry try to convince their parents to keep it and take it back home.

9. Robin, Regina, Emma, Mary Margaret, Killian (any other character can be included) are all good friends. Robin and Regina's friends realize they're in love but don't act on their feelings. So, they decide to push them a little. They all plan a holiday trip: book air tickets, hotel accomodation, activities. But at the last minute their friends don't show up and Robin and Regina are forced to spend a week with each other on vacation (maybe sharing a room) and ...well, maybe it's exactly what they need!

10. Robin and Regina go to a fan convention for Henry’s ‘Once Upon a Time’ book outside of Storybrooke to support him and it’s just uncanny how well they ‘cosplay’ as Robin Hood and Regina Mills…

11. Robin and Regina take Robyn to a heavy metal concert out in California. Turns out Robyn wasn’t interested in the music so much as she was interested in the girl from Storybrooke who just so happens to be into this band...

12. DarkOQ are on holiday in the EF with Roland and get attacked by monsters.

13. OQ are in holiday with their children and Roland gets lost

14. Robin and Regina are both skilled contract killers working for different firms meeting for the first time in bogota Columbia during a pretended or real holidays. Of course, they have no idea that the other one is a contract killer, and even less that they have the same target (based on the movie Mr & Mrs. Smith)

15. A weekend camping trip with the boys [dealer's choice on good or bad trip]

16. Regina takes Robin on his first plane ride

17. Honeymooning in Hawaii

18. A romantic cruise that veers into the Bermuda Triangle

19. Hiking in the Redwoods [with or without the boys]

20. Henry or Roland get food poisoning on vacation and need TLC

21. A day at the beach ends with Regina getting sun poisoning

22. Henry and Roland go to summer camp, leaving Regina & Robin on a staycation at home

23. First family roadtrip

24. Robyn's first day at the beach with Robin, Regina, & the boys [Zelena optional]

25. Robyn gets her first period on vacation with the family

26. Regina teaches Roland how to swim

27. Regina and Henry are in holidays on a cruise, the same cruise as Robin and Roland. Robin, Regina’s ex-boyfriend from college. The first time they face each other, things aren’t that simple and a lot of grudge is still present. But as the two kids become friends, their parents are forced to spend time together, and talk about their past...

28. “Best vacation ever!"

29. “Why did I agree to this trip?"

30. "Look! I even laminated our itinerary AND synced it to everyone's phones!"

31. “Your mum is stunning when she lets herself enjoy nature."

32. Family day at the beach

33. OQ spends a few days at the beach, without the kids, and things get steamy on the sands... Or above a rock ;)

34. Regina breaks her leg during her holidays with her parents and sister, and is forced to stay behind while they are out visiting. One day she decides to get out to get some fresh air and ends up running into a certain British boy with deep dimples and ocean blue eyes.

35. Regina isn't in the mood for a holiday, but her friends drags her with them and in the end she ends up being grateful that she went. Because she meets the love of her life.

36. Regina takes a well deserved holiday in Mykonos. Her plan? Party, have fun, maybe meet a guy or two for a one-night stands, and forget her awful boss and pressuring job. But when her eyes fall upon the bartender of her hotel, a handsome British man with blue eyes and a sexy accent, her plans to stick to one-night stands completely fall apart.

37. At Henry’s request, Regina and Robin organize a family trip (Roland comes too) to Maya’s ruins. But as they visit a temple, they unleash a powerful magic that threatens everyone’s lives.

38. Regina is on a holiday trip with her friend Tink in Spain. At her friends’ request, Regina let’s a fortune teller read the lines of her hand. Regina, a confirmed bachelor, doesn’t believe her when the woman predicts that she’ll meet her soulmate during this trip : a man with a lion tattoo. That is, until she meets a handsome man with intriguing blue eyes, adorable dimples, and a certain tattoo...

39. “What are you doing in my hotel room?”

40. Romantic holidays in Paris

41. Robin and Regina take their whole family on holidays. Henry meets a girl he has a huge crush on, and Robin has to help Regina deal with her mama bear feelings and let her son enjoy this summer love.

42. A week at the beach. Roland almost drowns.

43. Wish Robin convinces (after several attempts) the Evil Queen to spend a week in the Forest. Whether it ends up being phenomenal or a complete failure is up to you.

44. Regina, Leopold and Snow take a vacation to one of the other realms of the Enchanted Forest and they meet a certain thief on the road during their journey.

45. Regina discovers that she’s pregnant a week before a long planned holidays, and she’s extremely nauseous. “I’m ruining everyone’s holidays.” “No, you’re not.”

46. Regina and Robin go back to Camelot to take a few days off for themselves and they end up waking up an evil everyone had forgotten about.

47. OQ take their children and Robyn (who’s about 15 yo) on a trip to San Francisco. “Regina, I really like this girl we met on the pier.”

48. Robin and Regina have marital issues. Their therapist suggests they take some holidays, just the two of them, to work on their relationship without having to worry about the kids. Will it work in helping them remember how much they still love each other?

49. “I always dreamt to visit Venise.”

50. During the Missing Year, Regina isn’t doing well, she misses her son and feels like she doesn’t belong. A certain thief offers her to take her away for a few days, to help change her mind.

51. Regina and Robin are best friends who decide to go on a trip to Las Vegas together. As they say, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas

52. Leopold takes Regina to his hunting lodge in the mountains, she gets lost and almost dies in a blizzard, Robin finds her, brings her back to his cabin to nurse her back to health.

53. Regina and Robin take a few days off for their first Thanksgiving together as a married couple. Regina has a little more to be greatful for than she expected

54. Robin and Regina are friends. Regina went through a tough break up after a long relationship with Daniel. Daniel was an ass, lied, cheated, whatever. Robin has been secretly in love with Regina, but has waited patiently for her to get over Daniel, and it seems she succeeds.They plan this vacation as friends (it can be with other friends) and in the trip they bump into Daniel. This makes Regina doubtful again, Robin is jealous, maybe Daniel tries to win Regina again, and due to the circumstances Robin has to tell Regina how he feels about her.

55. Modern AU: Regina dedicates most of her time to her job and her best friend convinces her to finally take a break. Her friend books a trip for her with a travel agency. Regina reluctantly goes to the trip and is in a bad mood, always thinking about her job and what she has to do when she goes back, until she meets the tour leader, Robin.

56. Regina and Robin in Greece (preferably not at the most popular and crazy crowded places)

57. Regina and Robin go castle-seeing in England

58. For father's day (or mother's day, you choose), they plan a surprise holiday, so they can celebrate it somewhere else.

59. Robin and Regina on their honeymoon; a week in a haute top floor Paris suite where Robin is completely out of his element but he endures it for his new bride

60. Families were accidentally booked for the same cabin, beach house, airbnb and decide to share the space so neither have to cancel the vacation

61. Visiting Robin’s family in England

62. Visiting Regina’s family in Puerto Rico

63. Regina getting racially profiled at the airport, Robin defends her (either established relationship or first meeting)

64. Roland and/or Henry get lost at airport or at destination

65. Home alone holidays AU

66. Jolly Roger

67. Ship wreck (AU or Jolly Roger)

68. Plane crash

69. Honeymoon

70. Cruise

71. Traveling to meet their new baby/child/children (adoption AU)

72. Mile high club

73. Every year the children point to a spot on a map / globe and that is where they go now $%*^@#* picked Utah / Iran ??? and is so excited but no one else wants to go.

74. Time machine.

75. Robin and Regina’s families would spend every summer at their vacation homes so they have been friends since they were kids and casually dated as they were teens. Now, they are both graduated and returning to the same vacation homes, hoping the other shows up

76. Welcome to jurassic world

77. Lost AU

78. African safari

79. A year after Daniel died, Regina is trying to take Henry on his annual camping trip but they get really lost and she’s pretending they aren’t. Finally, they come across Robin, who is camping with Roland and ..... :)

80. A booking mishap occurs and Robin and Regina each lose their reservation, but the hotel has 1 room left with a single queen-sized bed. Do these strangers share or do they let this ruin their vacation?

81. Lifeguard has to save drowning victim. [Dealer's choice on who is in which role and whether beach or pool]

82. Roland and Henry meet on the beach and make friends, then "force" their parents to make a joint vacation of it

83. Trying the exotic local cuisine, but who likes it and who's grossed out by it?

84. Rained out camping or tropical trip

85. Fights over folding vs. rolling the maps

86. Who gets carsick the easiest? [Adults or kids]

87. Who declares war on anyone singing "99 Bottles"?

88. Robin goes to Vegas for his bachelor party and Regina works as a higher end stripper

89. Robin’s deployed in the military and home on his two week leave so he and the family go somewhere before he had to go back

90. Regina Mills is an executive editor in chief of a book publishing company and a total bitch. After learning she is about to be deported to Canada, she forces her assistant, Robin Locksley to marry her. Regina doesn’t have any family left and the couple travels to Robins hometown, to meet his family. Regina & Robin learn a lot about each other on the trip and start to get closer. (Based on the movie The Proposal)

91. The kids are asleep in the backseat, so road head? Why not?

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psychoticwillgraham · 6 years ago

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WIP Post

so here’s two wips that y’all can choose from for me to finish, both of which are horror based

1. untitled pixleye horror

Robin didn’t know what he’d gotten himself into, but he knew it wasn’t good.

Turns out accepting a job offer from a shady government agency wasn’t a good idea after all. If only he’d known about the things he would see, the things he had to do to people, maybe he would’ve said no. But Robin was in too deep now, just another part of this horrible machine that did unspeakable things to people. He’d been lured in with the promise of helping the public, but all they did was torture these poor people and put them through horrible experiments. Sure, some of the things they did were for the safety of everyone on the outside, like quarantining deadly diseases and compounds. But most of their deeds were heinous, funded by the world powers to experiment on ordinary people and turn them into things that man wasn’t meant to see. Robin secretly hoped that one day, one of the experiments would turn on him and end his misery, but he knew he wouldn’t be that lucky.

He’d been going about his normal workday, administering serums and monitoring the security system when he got the call.

Robin was being assigned to a new case, one that nobody had seen before. He sighed as he walked over to the containment room and accessed the files, puzzled at what he saw. Apparently the subject, Jack, was almost completely healthy despite some strange substance invading his blood. There were no effects so far except for slight tremors and a fever, everything else showing up normal. But what was strange about this particular case was that the unknown substance wasn’t of earthly origin. The others knew it was impossible for just any civilian to enter outer space, so how could some unknown bacterium infect him? Apparently that’s what Robin was tasked to do, to figure out the source of the infection and monitor Jack’s condition. Robin sighed, knowing that this was going to be another one of those boring cases where the subject would probably die quickly and leave him alone once again. Robin took a deep breath and unlocked the containment room door, stepping inside.

He hated the sterile smell and feel of these rooms, how it made him feel like he was trapped in a prison, being constantly watched. He could only imagine what these people felt like, being watched by someone like Robin 24/7 like they were rats in a cage. The light above him was harsh as he stepped towards Jack, the other man sitting with his legs crossed on the steel table.

“So when do I get to go home?” Jack’s voice wavered, panic lacing his words. Robin tried to smile gently to make him feel comfortable, but all he could manage was a slight quirk of his lips.

“I’m afraid that’s not happening. You’re here under quarantine until we can find out what’s making you sick,” Robin hated doing this, hated telling the subjects that they were stuck here and would probably die in the confines of this facility. He could see panic settling in Jack’s features, his face dropping.

“No, that’s not true! They said it’d just be a checkup!” his voice was growing louder now, cracking as Jack tried to get up. But Robin was there to stop him, cornering him. “I can’t just stay here forever!”

“If you want me to be honest, you’ll probably die here just like everyone else. You may not be showing major symptoms yet, but whatever you have is something that shouldn’t exist,” as soon as the words left Robin’s mouth, he heard a sob being ripped from Jack’s throat.

“What the fuck kind of place is this? So you just keep people here and let them die? I’m not sick, I swear! It’s just a fever, nothing else,” Jack pleaded, tears in his eyes. “Just please, let me out.”

“As much as I want to, I can’t. Just calm down and let me run some tests, alright?”

Jack nodded, sniffling as Robin saw what hope he had left in his eyes fade, accepting his fate. He hated that it made him genuinely smile, seeing Jack give up hope. At least this one wouldn’t fight, he thought to himself. Robin set up the equipment, hooking Jack up to the various machines. His readings were a bit low, but they were still normal. Oddly enough though, his skin was slightly cold to the touch, even though the room was very warm. Robin could feel Jack tremble slightly beneath his touch, like there was energy thrumming through his whole body. Jack was surprisingly calm for someone who just realized that he was probably doomed, but Robin was thankful that he wasn’t a fighter. It was way too quiet for Robin’s liking, so he decided to try and initiate some small talk.

“So, what did you like to do? Y'know, outside of here?” Robin tried to keep his tone light and conversational, but all he got was a snicker from Jack.

“Oh so now you wanna know about my life, huh? Before you leave me to rot in here,” Jack sneered, jerking away from Robin’s touch. But Robin caught his arm, pulling Jack back towards him.

“Look, I know you’re upset okay? But I didn’t do this to you. I’ll try to make everything for you as comfortable as I can. So let’s just talk,” Robin sighed, trying to fake his best smile. Jack must’ve bought it because he started smiling, albeit shyly.

“I was really into video games. Mainly the really difficult ones just because I think its fun to rage at them,” Jack laughed, starting to warm up to Robin. “I also really like the odd ones, y'know? Like the ones that make no sense at first but eventually you figure it out. Maybe that’s how this will go. Maybe we’ll find out what’s wrong before anything happens?” Robin’s heart almost broke at the renewed hope in Jack’s eyes, hoping that this one would have a quick and painless death. If it wasn’t for their situation right now, Robin thought that they might’ve become friends. But sometimes life wasn’t fair, and he knew that all too well.

“Let’s hope so,” Robin smiled back at him, going to retrieve the needle for a blood sample. He saw Jack’s face turn pale at the sight of the needle, shrinking back against the wall as Robin brought it to his skin.

“It’s just a needle. You’ll be fine. Just take a deep breath for me, okay?” Robin put on his gloves and gently gripped Jack’s arm, pushing the needle into his skin.

2. vamp pj/jack

Jack had a problem, and that problem was PJ.

They’d first met when Jack had started college, opening his dorm room to find PJ clutching a half empty blood bag in his hands. Jack didn’t have a problem with vampires, in fact he even specified that he didn’t care if his roommate was human or not. But he hadn’t actually expected to be roomed with one, especially not one as cute as PJ. They’d gotten to know each other, Jack helping PJ schedule his night classes and secure blood for him. He quickly found out that PJ was weird, even for a vampire. Sometimes Jack would come back to the room, only to find PJ hanging from the ceiling, tapping away at his phone. Then there was the obvious coffin on his side of the room, which he claimed was just for decoration. After all, Jack had never seen him sleep in it, so he was inclined to believe that PJ was telling the truth. He would also keep Jack up all night with his shitty vampire movies that seemed to love unironically. It hadn’t taken long for Jack to fall for him, daydreaming of what it’d be like to kiss him, even with the fangs. But nothing ever came of it, the two of them carrying on with just being friends. That was years ago though, and now they were roommates once again.

Living with him wasn’t a problem either, even though it was sometimes annoying with him constantly blaring music at the latest hours. That and the fact that he was very messy with eating and Jack was now a master at removing blood stains from every piece of furniture they owned. Sure it was a challenge, but Jack wouldn’t have it any other way. The real problem though was that Jack’s little crush had grown into full on pining, and he thought that maybe he was in love. But Jack knew that dating PJ would only end in heartbreak for the both of them, since only one of them was immortal. Whenever Jack got sick, he could see the way it upset PJ, knowing that he could die at any time, leaving PJ all alone. He saw the way that PJ looked at him differently when he was sick, how concerned he looked even if it was just a cold. He hated seeing Jack like that, hated knowing that he was so fragile and mortal. At one point, Jack had brought up the idea of PJ turning him eventually, only to be immediately shot down. He said that the turning process was painful and that he’d never put Jack through that, which led to their first major fight. But eventually they got over it, the idea long forgotten.

Now though, Jack was thinking about it again.

It’d been a stressful day, both of them on edge because of Jack’s sudden cold that just wouldn’t go away. PJ wouldn’t leave him alone about it and Jack was already done with him, getting in the car to drive off to somewhere quiet where he could think. Unfortunately it was getting dark now, and he knew he shouldn’t be out after sunset. This area of town was relatively safe after dark, with barely any reports of vampire attacks. Still though, Jack knew that he had to be getting home and that PJ would be calling him any minute now, just about to wake up. Jack sighed as he thought about the situation at hand, wishing that things could be easy. Just as he rose to his feet, he heard something rustle in the trees behind him.

“Probably just hearing things,” Jack mumbled to himself, stopping to dial PJ’s number as he turned towards the car. In an instant, he was being slammed against a tree, pain blossoming throughout his body and his phone dropping to the ground. He tried to struggle against whoever was behind him, but he was trapped by their hands on his shoulders, pressing his face into the tree.

“The struggle is always the best part,” Jack heard the person laugh behind him, their cold hands pressing into his shoulders. Jack’s heart dropped at the realization that this was a vampire, that he’d been stupid enough to walk right into their domain.

“Look, just let me go alright?” Jack tried to sound brave, but his voice came out high and scared, making the vampire laugh.

“We both know that isn’t going to happen,” he could almost feel the man’s smirk against the side of his neck, his breath ghosting along the skin. Jack tried to push back against him, hoping to fight him off, but he knew he was no match for a vampire’s strength.

“You’re so cute, you know. Almost too cute to kill,”

#my fic #my writing

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mearnsblog · 4 years ago

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“Tarzan” (1999)

It's been a couple months since I last reviewed a Disney movie, but if you know me, I think you can excuse that given 1) I got married, and 2) baseball season came and (mostly) went. So, hey, I was distracted by non-Disney things for awhile. It happens!

Anyway. "Tarzan." It is, without a doubt, a Disney movie that was released in the '90s.

Okay, that stilted description makes my feelings on "Tarzan" sound harsher than they really are. I like it! It's perfectly fine. I like Phil Collins! He's fine. The songs still make me smile. I like the more modern jungle animation! It's fine. The vine surfing is still cool. I like Tarzan, Jane, and Kala, and the way they build their relationships with each other! They're fine -- more than fine, even.

There's just something about the whole package put together that keeps the movie's potential ceiling lower than most Disney flicks. To keep with the theme of the current month, "Tarzan" is the Milk Dud of the Disney canon. You won't regret eating it, but there are several superior options out there, especially coming off the heels of "Mulan" in the case of "Tarzan."

Tarzan himself is a sort of a mix between Hercules & Mowgli. He's a fish out of water too, but he's adapted nicely into the gorilla family with the approval of basically everyone except for the leader/distant father figure, Kerchak. However, when Tarzan learns about the existence of Jane, her father, and Clayton, he is rightfully upset with his mother, Kala, that he was never told about humans, even after growing beyond a young boy. Tarzan clearly loves Kala, and may very well have chosen living with the gorillas anyway, but it hurts to have the curtain thrown over you. We haven't seen much of that particular kind of existential angst in other Disney movies.

Tarzan only initially chooses leaving the jungle with Jane when Kerchak all but disowns him after saving Jane's crew from Kerchak's wrath. Ultimately, he does stay with the gorillas, with Jane and her father remaining as well. Tarzan (and Jane both have true agency in making their decisions, and they were not hastily chosen. The whole process for Tarzan is a better version of both Hercules & Mowgli's stories.

The villain parts of "Tarzan" are less compelling. It essentially has two villains -- Sabor the leopard for the first half, and the deceitful hunter, Clayton, for the second. Neither work super well, due in part to the brevity of screen time either is able to collect. Now, that's not a truly damning indictment of the movie since the general story of Tarzan's journey of human discovery does not necessarily need an overarching sole villain. However, Tarzan quickly dispatches Sabor when he's grown, and Clayton is simply not super interesting. His plot to seize the gorillas is boring and feels rushed, though the climactic scenes of his showdown with Tarzan are gripping. Brutal death* for a movie rated "G," too! Goodness.

*This movie does not shy away from dark shit. The opening sequence, which features the murder of Tarzan's parents and Kala & Kerchak's first son, is tough to watch. It's effective, but not something that I would super recommend for little kids.

As previously stated, I do like Phil Collins. The "Tarzan" soundtrack was one of the most-played CDs I had growing up. The problem here is that the way that the songs were integrated into the movie. Instead of the normal Disney method of having the characters do the songs, Collins just sings over different montage sequences. It works in its own way because they're all fun or compelling, but it just pales in comparison to, say, Belle declaring what she wants in life or Shang inspiring Mulan and his men. Instead of Tarzan going on about it, it's Phil Collins, which isn't the same. Montages are fine in Disney movies (see: "Circle of Life"), but best done in small doses rather than in every song.

At this point, I've made it 650 words without saying one thing about Rosie O'Donnell as Tarzan's friend, Terk. Good for me! But it must be discussed. To keep things simple, she does not work in this movie. Rosie is trying to do her Rosie thing as a Disney sidekick in the same way that Robin Williams did his Robin Williams thing for the Genie. The problem is that Robin's zany humor is timeless. Rosie's is not. Maybe it's still fine for other people, but Ali and I were both just constantly annoyed by Terk. She's not as funny as she thinks she is, and "Tarzan" would've been improved with at least 50% less of Terk.

So that's "Tarzan," the Milk Dud of Disney movies. Again: you'll like it, but I'd be surprised if you're desperate to rewatch it ASAP.

Best song: "Son of Man"

Updated ranking

1. “Beauty and the Beast” (review) 2. “The Lion King” (review) 3. “The Little Mermaid” (review) 4. “Cinderella” (review) 5. “Mulan” (review) 6. “Sleeping Beauty” (review) 7. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (review) 8. “Aladdin” (review) 9. “One Hundred and One Dalmatians” (review) 10. “The Jungle Book” (review) 11. “The Great Mouse Detective” (review) 12. “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” (review) 13. “Fantasia” (review) 14. “The Rescuers Down Under” (review) 15. “Tarzan” 16. “The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh” (review) 17. “Alice in Wonderland” (review) 18. “Lady and the Tramp” (review) 19. “Pinocchio” (review) 20. “Robin Hood” (review) 21. “Oliver & Company” (review) 22. “Hercules” (review) 23. “Pocahontas” (review) 24. “The Rescuers” (review) 25. “The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad” (review) 26. “Bambi” (review) 27. “The Aristocats” (review) 28. “Dumbo” (review) 29. “Peter Pan” (review) 30. “Fun and Fancy Free” (review) 31. “The Fox and the Hound” (review) 32. “The Sword in the Stone” (review) 33. “The Three Caballeros” (review) 34. “Make Mine Music” (review) 35. “The Black Cauldron” (review) 36. “Saludos Amigos” (review) 37. “Melody Time” (review)

#disney

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michaelandy101-blog · 4 years ago

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The MozCon Virtual 2020 Final Agenda

New Post has been published on http://tiptopreview.com/the-mozcon-virtual-2020-final-agenda-2/

The MozCon Virtual 2020 Final Agenda

We’re just about a month out from this year’s MozCon and we couldn’t be more excited! If you’ve never considered it before, it’s high time you became acquainted with the idea of a “couchference” — a full-fledged conference held from the comfort of your home office space, real office space (depending on your local quarantine phase), or even your sofa.

On July 14th & 15th, we’ll be charting brand-new territory with MozCon Virtual: with a choose-your-own-adventure two-stream show, robust opportunities for online networking, and some of the industry’s top speakers, you’re in for all the turbo-charged SEO education and peer interaction of in-person MozCon with none of the troubles of travel. Plus, at $129 per ticket (including full access to the professionally produced video bundle, a $350 value!) you’ll access incredible marketing thought leadership at an unheard-of price:

Nab my ticket and video bundle for $129

And remember, this is a great opportunity for our friends around the world and those who aren’t able to travel to experience the MozCon magic live! If this will be your first time attending, we’d love to hear what talk you’re most excited for in the comments. (All talk times are in Pacific, so keep that in mind when planning your day! We promise we won’t judge if you’re watching in your jammies.)

Read on to see what your favorite industry leaders are speaking on this year!

Tuesday, July 14th

8:30am – Networking

Open time for attendees to connect with other attendees and MozCon partners.

9:00am – Keynote – Welcome to MozCon Virtual 2020 + State of the Industry

Sarah Bird, CEO of Moz

Sarah has a storied history of kicking MozCon off with a bright, sparkly bang. The fearless leader of Moz will be welcoming each and every one of us to this year’s virtual event, laying out all the pertinent details of the conference, and setting the tone for two jam-packed days of learning with a look at the State of the Industry.

9:25am – Keynote – Thought Leadership and SEO: The 3 Key Elements and Search Ranking Strategies

Andy Crestodina, Co-founder and CMO, Orbit Media

Everyone wants to do it, but no one really knows what it is. So what is thought leadership? What isn’t it? And how does it affect search rankings?

This presentation is a data-rich perspective on the oh-so-popular topic of thought leadership, filled with practical takeaways for becoming an authority. And it’s all about the relationship between thought leadership and SEO. We’ll see how the research answers the questions and informs the tactics: Can brands be thought leaders? Can it be outsourced? Do you need to publish research? Or strong opinion? And how does it attract links and authority, rankings, and qualified visitors? Learn how a personal brand combines with content to drive big wins in SEO.

10:20am – Stream 1 – Great Expectations: The Truth About Digital PR Campaigns

Shannon McGuirk, Head of PR & Content, Aira

In her talk, Shannon will challenge the desire for virality over consistency when it comes to digital PR and link building campaigns, while exploring the impact on the industry, team morale, and client expectations. By honestly sharing her own shortcomings, she’ll push you to learn from your own campaign failures using tried and tested frameworks that’ll mean you can face any creative campaign or outreach struggle head-on.

10:20am – Stream 2 – Whatever You Do, Put Billboards in Seattle – Getting Brand Awareness Data from Google

Robin Lord, Consultant, Distilled

How can you harness the vast power of Google data to gain special insight into city- and product-level brand awareness? Robin will lead us on a journey through his Google Trends methodology to use Adwords search volume data for better brand intelligence.

11:15am – Stream 1 – How to Build a Global Brand Without a Global Budget

Phil Nottingham, Brand and Video Marketing Strategist, Phil Nottingham Ltd.

As funnel-based marketing becomes less effective and harder to measure, “building a brand” is frequently touted as the panacea for all marketer’s woes. But it’s unclear how this can be achieved scalably and with a limited budget. Large enterprises resort to huge creative advertising campaigns that get their names out there by force of spend alone — but this isn’t realistic for the smaller companies and the number of impressions is not the number of people impressed. In this session, Phil explains how modern brands are built through advocacy more than awareness alone, offering a deliverable method of brand marketing to radically shake up your content strategy.

11:15am – Stream 2 – The Science of Seeking Your Customer

Alexis Sanders, Senior SEO Account Manager, Merkle

Users are at the core of everything we do in modern SEO. However, finding and understanding audiences can be daunting. Alexis will cover how to find your audience, share tools that are available for all price points, and show ways in which she’s found audience research to be useful as an SEO.

12:10pm – Birds of a Feather discussion groups

Connect and chat with like-minded marketers on a wide range of digital marketing topics!

12:55pm – Keynote – Moving Targets: Keywords in Crisis

Dr. Peter J. Meyers, Marketing Scientist, Moz

Too often, we take a once-and-done approach to keyword research, but Google changes at the pace of information, and that pace speeds up even more during a crisis. How do we do keyword research in fast-paced industries and during world-changing moments? Dr. Pete provides concrete tactics for adaptive keyword research and spotting trends as they happen.

1:45pm – Stream 1 – A Novel Approach to Scraping SEO Data

Rob Ousbey, VP Product, Moz

Throughout a decade in SEO consulting, Rob needed to extract data from websites on many an occasion. Often this was at scale from sites that didn’t have an API or export feature, or on sites that required some kind of authentication. While this was primarily a way to collect & combine data from different SEO tools, the use-cases were endless.

He found a technique that helped immensely, particularly when traditional tools couldn’t do the job — but hadn’t seen anyone using the same approach. In this very tactical session, Rob will walk through the steps he’s used to extract data from all sorts of sites, from small fry to the giants, and give you the tools and knowledge to do the same.

1:45pm – Stream 2 – Let It Go: How to Embrace Automation and Get Way More Done

Francine Rodriguez, Manager of Customer Success, WordStream

Let the robot uprising begin! We’ve all heard horror stories about the dangers of automating your tasks, but now is not the time to deny yourself extra help. Robots never sleep. They don’t get tired or overwhelmed by their to-do lists, and they’re ready to work round-the-clock to accomplish whatever task we set before them. In this talk, you’ll explore all the areas were automation is kicking butt in PPC — and how you can harness the power of robots to make more time for other efforts.

2:35pm – Keynote – Designing a Content Engine: Going from Ideation to Creation to Distribution

Ross Simmonds, CEO, Foundation

What does it take to develop a content engine that drives results? In this presentation, Ross will share data around the power of having a content engine, tools & strategies for content ideation, tools and tactics for content creation, and frameworks that brands can use to ensure that their content is distributed effectively after hitting publish. This presentation will help you not only uncover content-market fit, but also capitalize on it.

3:30pm – Networking

Open time for attendees to connect with other attendees and MozCon partners.

4:30pm — Day One is in the books!

Wednesday, July 15th

8:30am – Networking

Open time for attendees to connect with other attendees and MozCon partners.

9:00am – Welcome to Day Two!

Cyrus Shepard, emcee

9:10am – Keynote – Accessible Machine Learning Workflows for SEOs

Britney Muller, Senior SEO Scientist, Moz

“Machine learning” and “automation” aren’t words SEOs need to fear. Machine learning enthusiast and ambassador of technical SEO Britney Muller shares a series of workflows intended for any SEO to access and use in their everyday work — no intimidation required.

9:55am – Stream 1 – How to Be Ahead of the (CTR) Curve

Izzi Smith, Technical SEO Analyst, Ryte

Let’s face it: Carrying out SEO magic is all in vain when you’re forgetting about how your brand and products are being surfaced in the SERPs. By not properly analyzing or enhancing our organic CTR, we’re greatly limiting our potential. Izzi will help you create the perfect SERP engagement strategy by covering practical ways to uplift your significant CTR, such as remedying your critical keyword rankings that could soon be lost, leveraging brand-empowering entity features (and assessing the risks of doing so), more intelligent testing of rich & featured snippet optimizations, and a whole lot more. CTR-you-ready?? You better be!

9:55am – Stream 2 – How to Go Beyond Marketing for Clients: The Value of a Thriving Brand Ecosystem

Flavilla Fongang, Brand Strategist, 3 Colours Rule

Too many marketers serve their clients the bare minimum of what’s expected from an agency. To stand out among the crowd, cultivate real loyalty, and maximize the lifetime value of your clients, you have to go beyond mere marketing — developing a thriving brand ecosystem that aligns with the brand’s ultimate goals. Flavilla Fongang shares her tried-and-true framework for optimizing the customer journey, improving acquisition and retention, and going beyond what’s expected to serve your clients well.

10:50am – Stream 1 – How to Promote Your Content Like a Boss

Brian Dean, Founder, Backlinko

Creating content is easy. But getting people to see your content? That’s a different story. Brian Dean shares over a dozen practical strategies that you can use to spread the word about your latest blog post, podcast episode, or YouTube video.

10:50am – Stream 2 – Google My Business: Battling Bad Info & Safeguarding Your Search Strategy

Joy Hawkins, Owner, Sterling Sky Inc.

What’s the harm in a little misinformation here and there? In the realm of local SEO, Joy Hawkins is here to outline exactly that. When it comes to local search and Google My Business, bad info can be make or break for your campaigns. Follow real data from a recent case study that illustrates why strategic decisions should be based on accurate information — and what can happen when that info is bad, wrong, or just plain incomplete.

11:45am – Birds of a Feather discussion groups

Connect and chat with like-minded marketers on a wide range of digital marketing topics!

12:10pm – Keynote – Runtime: The 3-Ring Circus of Technical SEO

Michael King, Managing Director, iPullRank

Mike redefined technical SEO and its importance in our industry back in 2016. In 2018, he taught us everything we didn’t know about SEO. This year, he’s back to share the hottest technical tactics to up-level your efforts, plus the case studies and data that should be guiding your decisions.

1:25pm – Stream 1 – Everyday Automation for Marketers

David Sottimano, Independent Marketing Consultant, Opensource.org

As a general rule, we shouldn’t be doing things that a computer can do better. However, a lot of automation is achieved through programming expertise — and that expertise isn’t usually a marketer’s forte. In this session, you’ll learn how to gather data, use machine learning, and automate everyday tasks for marketers using low-code or no-code solutions.

1:25pm – Stream 2 – Red Flags: Use a Discovery Process to Go from Red Flags to Green Lights

Dana DiTomaso, President and Partner, Kick Point

Ever get a few months into working with a new client and you’re thinking “if only we’d known…”? Or how about when you start that new job, except you can’t seem to make any forward progress because you’re always mopping up prior mistakes? Running a discovery process at the start of a project — or even as its own project — will help you turn those red flags into green lights.

2:20pm – Stream 1 – Competitive Advantage in a Commoditized Industry

Heather Physioc, Group Connections Director, Discoverability, VMLY&R

SEO isn’t dead — it’s commoditized. In a world where search companies are a dime a dozen and brands tout bland “unique selling propositions” that aren’t unique at all, how can you avoid drowning in the sea of sameness? What are you doing that’s any different from every other SEO firm? In this talk, you’ll learn how to find, activate, and articulate your competitive advantage. Learn how to identify unique strengths and innovative offerings that equate to competitive advantage through these real, working examples so you can bring them to life in search. You’ll leave with actionable tips and homework to help your search business stand out — and that you can use with clients to help them find their competitive edge, too.

2:20pm – Stream 1 – I Wanna Be Rich: Making Your Consultancy Profitable

Russ Jones, Principal Search Scientist, Moz

How will your company weather the next update? How will you avoid layoffs and salary cuts? Being a master of SEO doesn’t guarantee that your consultancy will succeed. After a decade and a half of experience, Russ Jones will outline the techniques that will keep your clients happy and your bottom line healthy.

3:10pm – Keynote – The CMO Role Has Been Disrupted: Are You Ready for Your New Boss?

Wil Reynolds, Founder & Vice President of Innovation, Seer Interactive

CMOs have the shortest tenure in the c-suite, and the CMO role has been eliminated at some of the largest brands. CEOs are now asking tougher and tougher questions about the value of marketing — and oftentimes marketers are not prepared.

Connecting your data and building your data flywheel is one way to support the swift answers CEOs expect from their CMOs. We need to get stronger at bridging our day-to-day work to the value it drives. And more than ever, “brand lift” isn’t enough to satisfy CEOs.

This presentation will start at the top. How businesses are run, how CEOs talk, and how we as search marketers can use the data we have access to everyday in new ways to answer the questions of the c-suite and raise our visibility and value in organizations.

4:15pm – Networking

Open time for attendees to connect with other attendees and MozCon partners.

5:15pm – That’s a wrap for MozCon Virtual 2020!

See you there?

Chatting with speakers via Q&A, connecting with peers and potential partners over Birds of a Feather groups, absorbing all the knowledge for another fruitful year of marketing… we can’t wait to share it with you!

Yep, I’m going to MozCon Virtual!

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