#LOL This is hardly even the size of the actual rant I want to go into tbh like I want to go full force on it | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

gemsofthegalaxy · 4 years ago

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TBH............. Bridgerton is one of those curious shows where I find very few of the characters are remotely likeable lmaoooo. So, negativity below, because I’m just ranting about what i disliked about each character!!!

(despite all this i actually very much enjoyed the show, jsyk)

Eloise is one of the most likable characters for me, but even she is shown to be very self-centered. she hardly ever listened to others because she was too busy ranting about her own woes (of course, the lack of agency given to women does in fact suck and she’s right to speak up about that. still. she is extremely one-track minded and never pays attention to other’s problems). Also. LET HER BE A LESBIAN, I’M BEGGING YOU (along with her gay/bi brother Benedict, more on that below)

I actually do like Daphne a lot for the most part. I liked her sense of duty and responsibility, her kind and nurturing nature, and that she is not that snobbish. and honestly i don’t blame her for wanting children and I DO blame Simon for his original transgression of kissing her while she was alone in the garden when he knows damn well he’s risking her entire fucking reputation because he just ~burns~ for her, like please. keep it in your pants.

it’s still incredibly fucked up that she violated his consent. it sort of, idk, taints their whole relationship after that point? they really should have written that conflict differently so as to not involve rape. that goes without saying in all honesty... at the same time, important to call attention to.

but that aside, at the end of the day... i found it odd that their characters are fundamentally incompatible without Simon changing his tune about children, which is, eehh? And, yeah, it’s sort of a stupid he doesn’t want kids just to spite his father but he WAS traumatized and, idk- i feel like people who don’t want kids generally shouldnt be made to have them or “change their minds”. But, one of them had to change and it wasn’t gonna be Daphne sooo..... whatever.

moving along. boy howdy, Anthony was quite selfish and unlikeable. i don’t even know how to elaborate. i liked Siena enough but it was annoying watching him jerk her around and flip flop between taking care of his family, and taking care of her, which rendered him nearly useless to both (to be fair, i feel like that’s the Point- it’s just like. his Developmental Arc. but it makes him into a shit person for the first while LOL)

I liked Penelope at first because she seemed gentle and compassionate, but turned out she’s super fucked up like. like. girl. also all that over a boy who doesnt even like you? uuugghhh. but at the same time, i fucking love Nicola and she gets points for being not stick thin, which is just refreshing to see?? (next challenge: cast plus size women in roles that arent like, the wallflower who nobody notices or somethiing, thaaaaaaaaaks.......)

Now Marina, I actually liked a lot, she’s one of my favourites. Still, she was stubborn and often completely uninterested in truly considering what she might need to do to secure a good life for herself (like, she was great with the plot with Colin and the tea, but after that she just gave up and refused other solutions while offering NO NEW DIRECTION herself. like what were her plans? she seemed smart but only when things would be convenient for her which. sigh. I hope Philip treats her right, she seriously deserves good things). I was worried they were going to villianize her more (and I guess some people think that she was villianized w the Colin plot but idk i was rooting for her to get him and elope XDDD) which wasn’t/isn’t the cutest look given she’s the only black girl of the Young Cast..... like, I’m really glad they made her complex and I personally thought she was compelling and one of the better characters but she could have had a bit more agency and a better outlook within the narrative soo.. hmmmmmmm.

Benedict has potential, but he needed to be gayer ngl. his plotline with the seamstress was uncompelling AF because he’s just following in the steps of Anthony, yawn. if he was having a gay struggle or something that would at least make it fucking interesting??? He trule had way more tension with the Gay Artist anyway (i am glad Artist has a beau tho, that was so sweet!). idk honestly, he was just so boring once he got with the seamstress. disappointing.

oh... I do have 1 character with zero complaints!!The Prince of Prussia was delightful. He was kind, gentle, and understanding. I miss him tbh

anyway, moving on to more general stuff about the show, despite the fact i wasn’t rooting for most characters one way or the others, i had a grand old time!!!! I don’t LIKE non-con, esp when it’s not treated with delicacy, and the way it was handled really does cheapen and taint both the relationship AND daphne’s character, BUT.... i’m personally not gonna throw away the whole show, or the relationship because of it. ugh, i’m just gonna sort of compartmentalize that so i can save my own headaches.

and, honestly, for the moment I’m enjoying seeking out other’s takes! it’s fun seeing everyone’s reactions, positive and critical! i’m glad we mostly agree Benedict should have been/is gay lmao and otherwise its fun to see what other people took from it.

that being said, I don’t see myself remaining in this “fandom” long, though, because it just doesn’t have the makings of a fixation for me... simply not enough gay relationships to get attached to,, because i am admittedly one of those queer fangirls that needs a compelling relationship to sink my teeth into and rn none of them are quite cutting it oops ^^;

#bridgerton #bridgerton spoilers #gems watch #criticism #negativity #like technically #rape mention

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littlepurinsesu · 5 years ago

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V Watches MagiReco - Episode 13 Review

*Spoilers for Magia Record Anime Episode 13*

(This review will focus on Episode 13 only. I will be writing a separate review for the anime season as a whole!)

I have so many mixed feelings about this episode that I honestly don’t even know where to start LOL xD There are some parts that I hated and some that I loved, and so many reactions ranging from “WTH WAS THAT?!?” to “UH OKAY...” to “OMG YASSSSS!!!!!”

I’ll going to try my best to unpack my thoughts as coherently as possible, but this review will probably still end up being the most incoherent of them all because of all my mixed feelings for all the changes the anime made xD

To start, Mifuyu is definitely more antagonistic in the anime compared to what I remember of her in the game lol. And honestly I feel cheated that they always seem to tease us with some kind of confrontation between Yachiyo and Mifuyu, but the latter always summons that giant moon and escapes before anything can happen. It’s honestly a little anti-climactic and a bit of a waste, what with all the tension they’ve been building between these two, but then again, it doesn’t really happen in the game, either, so I guess it’s not really the anime’s fault for not “delivering” haha :P

Alright, since I’m going in chronological order, may as well get the biggest disappointment out of the way first: Iroha and Yachiyo’s argument. I don’t think I can even begin to put into words how utterly disappointed I was with this part, seeing as it was one of the most crucial plot points in the game and definitely one of Iroha’s most shining moments. Firstly, the way Yachiyo revealed her wish lacked emotion and impact for me. The music didn’t even change, and there was no sense of this being the revelation of a huge secret/mystery that the story has kept under wraps all this time. At least they added a nice flashback sequence to show Yachiyo’s past and the reasoning behind her wish, rather than having it all just come out of her mouth verbally, so props to them for that, but I was still quite unimpressed with the way they went about this pivotal moments.

Next up in my complaints is the Rumour. I was so, so, so ready to see my girl Iroha finally standing up and holding her own in a battle, especially considering how weak she’s been portrayed throughout the past 12 episodes. I was expecting an intense fight with the Rumour--some struggle, some more determination, anything. But no, another case of what I call the “one-shot curse”. Iroha literally just ran up to the Rumour, aimed her arrow, shot, and BAM it’s gone. One of the most crucial battles in the story lasted about 20 seconds in total (yes, I was so petty and pissed off that I went back and counted lmao), and the way Iroha suddenly “powered up” so drastically made no logical sense to me at all. We never even saw her gradually increase in power or fighting capability throughout the story so far. Heck, she’s hardly even done anything in the past battles, and suddenly she can one-shot a Rumour all by herself? How. Pray tell, how.

And the final major complaint that follows on from this chain of unhappy ranting: Iroha and Yachiyo solidifying their friendship. I did like the way the screen melted away to reveal Iroha standing in front of Yachiyo, almost like a mirror image. Sadly, that’s the only thing I liked about it LOL. Iroha getting angry at Yachiyo was such an important development and such a huge moment for our protagonist, but here it just... doesn’t happen? She’s still the same smiling and gentle Iroha we always knew. Which is nice and all, but in my opinion, we really needed to see kindhearted and soft-spoken Iroha truly snap. We needed to see Iroha speak up and tell Yachiyo to cut her bs and to declare herself the leader. And the way Yachiyo accepts so quickly and hardly even tries to put up an argument is just... I don’t even know what to say anymore apart from constantly question why they had to rush so many crucial moments, to the point where they had zero emotional impact. I often wonder if I’d still have these complaints if I didn’t play the game and have expectations of how I wanted/wished/expected certain things to be adapted. So I dunno, maybe I wouldn’t have a problem with these things at all if I went into the anime blind ^^;;

Oh, and another thing that made zero sense to me was how Iroha went from being perfectly normal to unable to walk or talk within the span of about two seconds. Logically, I get that she probably used up too much magic one-shot-ing that Rumour just before, but they could’ve at least had her show some signs of physical strain during her talk with Yachiyo so that the sudden transition of her physical state doesn’t feel so abrupt and out of nowhere. I guess this is a minor detail that I can let slide, but it just reminds the viewer again and again of the problems that come with rushing. And rushing for what? Well...

The second half of the episode is an obvious answer. They were clearly rushing these game-story moments to fill up the rest of the episode with anime-original content. And while I’m still bitter at what the cost was, I will ironically say that the second half of this week’s episode had some very pleasant and interesting surprises! (Apologies for all the salt and negativity so far ^^;; Finally, onto the positives!)

I’d been wondering for a while if we were going to meet Holy Mami this week, even though the anime had already established Mami as a member of the Wings of Magius earlier on. And I did genuinely like the way they portrayed Mami in this scene. She legitimately looks out of her mind at some points, and it’s clear that the truth about Magical Girls has taken a huge toll on her mentally. Her mini battle with Yachiyo was short but sweet, with lots of nice movements and imagery, especially this shot right here:

The ribbon concealing her eyes and her Soul Gem (aka her soul and her actual self) is a really, really nice way of depicting that Mami is not really in her right state of mind, and that her current actions aren’t really her. I know a lot of fans didn’t like the brainwashing thing in the game, and even though it looks like they’re still keeping that in the anime (judging by Mami’s behaviour, she definitely seems brainwashed to me), at least they’re portraying it in a nice way. By the way, I applaud Yachiyo for being able to defend herself against Mami for so long with a whole person on her back xD

Sayaka was probably my favourite thing out of the entire episode. Again, like with Holy Mami, I was really hoping we’d get to see her this week ^^ I loved how her entrance parallels the way she saved Homura from Mami in Rebellion, and I’m sure hardcore fans will pick up on that before her identity is even revealed ;) Sayaka was never my favourite character out of the Holy Quintet (even though I still liked her a lot!), but oh my gosh she was amazing in this episode. I think it’s something to do with the cape? Maybe it’s the cape LOL but gosh she really did seem like a knight-in-shining-armour askjfha;sj (♥ω♥*)

And back to Mami... that part with her losing her mind (literally) after Sayaka shows up was creepy but also perfect. I like that she seemed to temporarily regain her sense of self when talking to Sayaka, but then just the talk of her guilt and shame and everything just comes back to haunt her again, and we see her succumb and lose herself once more. I didn’t think her transformation into Holy Mami would be portrayed in this way, but this is better than what I imagined. You actually get a sense of how painful the process is, and feel how much against her will it is to fall to a point where she’d hurt her friends and other innocent people. The whole idea is disturbing, but each time I think back on her reaction to finding out the truth in the original anime, this really doesn’t seem too far-fetched at all.

That entire battle between Mami and Sayaka/Yachiyo was kind of cool and kind of weird at the same time xD Honestly I can’t imagine Sayaka and Yachiyo to be able to run around freely with that many bullets flying all over the place, much less repel all of them, which Sayaka is shown doing at one point xD Iroha using her Doppel again is another thing that I didn’t really like, though. I just really don’t like how Iroha is always shown to be utterly useless fighting in her Magical Girl form and always has to end up relying on her Doppel to do anything. (Except for that previous battle with the Rumour that I discussed just before. Let’s not get me started on that again lmao.) But it’s nice to see Yachiyo using her Doppel as well (it looked really cool!), and I really liked that minor detail about how easy it is to lose yourself when using your Doppel. It’s not something we think much about when playing the game because of the game mechanics, so it’s always interesting to think about what the Doppels entail from a story perspective :) Anyway, despite some logical inconsistencies and Iroha resorting to her Doppel yet again, I did really enjoy this battle, and it definitely made up for the lackluster “battle” that we got with Iroha and the Rumour. We can really see where the budget went this week, huh xD

I also really loved how Touka literally just sits there sipping tea and ignores all the chaos happening around her. She shows no desire to help Mami or step in just in case something happens to her (since Mami’s on their side now and all), which, to me, really goes to show how purely cold-hearted Touka is. Or has become. (Shhh game spoilers xD)

And while we’re on the topic of Touka, I’m going to talk about how much I absolutely adored that final scene. It’s hard to visualise it while playing the game, so seeing the scale of the Wings of Magius was possibly frightening. We’ve always known that there are heaps of Feathers, but just seeing them all packed together in one big creepy dark hall, all cloaked and hooded, really goes to show the immense size of this cult. It’s not just some small club created by a few girls. The scale of this cult is insane. As for Touka’s speech? Inspirational. And I say that with full knowledge of the Magius’ crimes and wrongdoings. Honestly, with the way she speaks, I can’t imagine many Magical Girls being able to say no and walk away if they knew The Truth already. Touka is one amazing and charismatic speaker, and even though we’ve always known that she had to be to some extent to get so many Feathers, seeing it in action was truly a different experience. Terrifyingly persuasive and frighteningly charismatic, that child.

And that is why I applaud Rena. She’s able to stand among so fellow Magical Girls, listen to someone preach about salvation after literally just finding out the truth and learning about her own inevitable fate, not know of the dark side of the Magius, and still be able to walk away. Rena gained a new level of respect from me with that one simple decision, and I already loved her heaps before this. And Kaede really did join the Wings of Magius, huh :O We even got a shot of Kuroe! Welcome back (?), girl! xD

I quite liked how they showed the rest of Team Mikazuki joining in such a subtle way. It’s much more impactful to tease it like this rather than straight-up showing you the process of them joining right from the get-go. The way they end the season like this leaves a very haunting and unsettling feeling, especially considering that Iroha gets taken away from Yachiyo as well! Now that definitely wasn’t in the game!!! xD I was expecting the season to finish with Iroha and Yachiyo back at Mikazuki Villa alone and swearing to save the rest of the team, so this definitely came as a HUGE surprise to me. I’m really curious as to how they’re going to go about this change, as well as the change with Kaede joining up and the obvious Kuroe thing. (Btw Sayaka literally sweeping Yachiyo away like Prince Charming almost had me swooning LOL Sayaka was seriously SO COOL in this episode!)

And finally, we have Alina. I’m honestly still pissed off at how they handled her introduction, and wonder if anime-only fans can even tell that she’s a Magius and not just a Feather or some other kind of position (like Mifuyu), but I did enjoy the final scene of her. I think it makes it quite clear that Alina is going to be one of the Biggest Bosses, even among the antagonists, and the way she name-drops Walpurgisnacht was not what I expected but a pretty good decision, in retrospect. Anime-only fans will definitely feel that sense of familiarity they want just by hearing that name. Since this Witch is so iconic to the original anime and we probably won’t be seeing her until the very end of the next season, I think it was a nice idea to drop the name here to keep those anime-fans who expect lots of explicit PMMM references happy and hooked. In fact, the combination of Holy Mami and Sayaka’s appearance and the mention of Walpurgisnacht all in one episode makes me think they packed them all into the season finale to ensure that these anime-only PMMM fans will be back again for the next season (since us game players will almost definitely be back anyway haha xD).

Oh, and that ending song is so good! I loved “Alicia”, but this song was a really nice way to end the season and had a definite kind of “season finale” feel to it.

So yeah, that basically sums up my thoughts for this jam-packed episode xD Lots of stuff I feel could have been handled A LOT better, but also a lot of stuff that was absolutely amazing. The second half was significantly better than the first; that fight with Holy Mami and the ending with Touka and Alina were definitely the best parts.

I’ll be writing up another review post for the season as a whole and posting it separately, so I’ll end this one here and save my overall impressions for that one ^^ If you’ve read to the end, thanks so much for reading and I hope to see you there as well ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡

#magia record #magireco #puella magi madoka magica #puella magi madoka magica side story #pmmm #fandom #mine #anime #review #magia record review #v watches magireco

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beerecordings · 5 years ago

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Do you mind explaining a little more of seven seven Henrik’s backstory? I checked the tag, but tumblr only gave me two posts for it -River

yeah, i’d love to! i haven’t talked about him much, this au comes mostly off the top of my head and then occasionally yanks me down into more complex scenarios, which i enjoy a lot.

okay this is long and honestly it’s a horror story so i’m going to put it under a read more. careful it is creepy and there’s a lot of talk of blood and stalking. seriously it’s a little messed up i used to be scared as hell of the Pooka when i was a kid lol. the short story, if you don’t want to read, is that a creature called a Pooka chased him out of Germany and nearly made him a prisoner, but Jackie and Marvin saved him!

but anyway yeah so Henrik is the seventh son of a seventh son, like I’ve mentioned, which pretty much means he A) is bizarrely lucky, impossibly lucky, B) can sense some magical activity and tell when things are supernatural even if they’re disguised to other humans, either seeing their real nature or just being able to tell that the thing in front of him is, on some level, not quite human, and C) a lot of people or creatures who are clued in to the mythological world might want to hurt him :( there are a lot of myths (Henrik doesn’t know how true they are) about how his hair or skin or blood could be used for really powerful spells or luck talismans or how even just keeping him around could increase luck or magical energy. to be fair, this does seem to be true in the households he’s lived in, as his family was really lucky with a lot of stuff when he was with his wife and kids, and recently his friends have been really lucky. he doesn’t consider this real luck at all, though - he’s constantly paranoid that something will come to kill him for a ritual or hurt him to get something out of him or just lock him away as a lucky charm for the rest of his life.

and he has good reason to be paranoid after what happened! A couple years ago, he caught the eye of a Pooka, a nightmare shape-shifter hardly more intelligent than an animal and generally not classified at the level of a human the way a Selkie or higher spirit or satyr or something like that would be. (okay there are some legends that make Pooka clever tricksters who come after bad people and others that say they’re even friendly but in the stories i was always told, Pooka were monsters and you did NOT want to be targeted by one, because they never let their victims go and enjoyed tormenting innocent humans for reasons never explained to me). Henrik still doesn’t know exactly what it wanted with him, because it never spoke. It’s just one night he woke up at the witching hour and sat up in bed beside his wife and outside his window there was a donkey.

but it was horrible, it wasn’t… it wasn’t normal. The Pooka takes a lot of different forms. usually a huge black dog, or a huge black bull, or a huge black hare, or a huge black-haired man, or the donkey. And the donkey, to Henrik, was the worst of them. It would be the body and head of a donkey, but it would stay on its hind legs like a man and wear a coat, and there would be something in his eyes far too clever for a donkey - an ability to watch, an ability to be interested in him, an ability to want to hurt him. That first night he thought it was a sleep paralysis demon. He held stock-still and stared at the blank yellow eyes with the rectangle pupils on either side of its head and wondered why it seemed to stare directly at him, as though hungry. It reached up a hand - grey and covered in fur, but the hands of a man - and pushed open his bedroom window.

His wife woke up and asked him why he was shaking so hard and when he whirled around to look at her, the Pooka disappeared again. He had to stay home from work the next day he was so afraid, and even though he and his wife had been having a lot of problems lately, she pulled him right into her arms and stroked his hair and let him cry because he was just so terrified. she’d never seen him that scared. his vision was telling him that thing was real even though he’d never heard of anything like it and wanted it to be a nightmare.

and the thing was, he was the only one who seemed to be able to see it.

He kept trying to go to work as usual, providing for his kids and looking after his family, but the Pooka began to get closer and closer. he would get on the subway and look up and the Pooka would be a dog sitting across from him, staring at him with donkey’s eyes, bigger than he was, big enough that its head touched the top of the subway and pressed its ears down. or he would be in the middle of an intensive surgery, and suddenly the window would open, and this hare the size of the operating table, with the yellow eyes of the donkey and all its horrible ribs jutting out, would crawl into the room and stare at him while he worked, sweating and trembling so hard he could barely perform, though he sometimes didn’t have a choice depending on how serious the surgery was and how far he was into it, the hare staring at him the whole time and just breathing. or the huge black-haired man, donkey-eyed and twice his size, stepping into his home while his wife and kids were all asleep, stepping over to him, its boots thudding across his dining floor, leaving blood in their wake, its yellow eyes fixed on him as he shook, shattering a coffee mug, trying to make his voice work, to say something like “what are you? what do you want with me?” but it never answered, it never spoke, just stepped closer and closer, fixed on him, staring at him, and then, for the first time, it reached out with its sausage-sized fingers, and it touched his fucking throat, and he felt blood come spilling out of his mouth for reasons he still doesn’t understand, and it swiped up the blood with its thumb and began to drink.

it turned to go after a drop of it, but it wasn’t satisfied.

Henrik, understandably, just about lost his mind with fear after that. he had seen the bull standing over his wife and kids enough times by then that he knew none of them were safe, and besides, no one believed him. his wife thought he was having a nervous breakdown or developing a psychotic illness or something because even though she knew about what he was, the story was just too ridiculous, too insane, and whoever heard of a donkey like that anyway? so he ran away. didn’t even think about it or mean for it, really, didn’t have time to leave them notes, to tell them that he loved them, just… ran and hoped the Pooka would leave them all alone. but it just kept following him. and now he was all along, and it started to get bolder.

it sat beside him on trains destined for countries he picked at random. it swam across the channel with him when he ran to Ireland. in his hotel room, it stood over him, and when he ran to sleep on the streets instead, terrified and exhausted, still it followed him, the donkey towering over him, the yellow eyes fixed on him, and it started to eat his blood whenever it wanted to, touching his throat and making it come welling up and drizzling from his mouth again while he was paralyzed by the strange power come over him, frozen still by the Pooka except for tears running down his face. he tried to run away again, but now, he found, it was no longer just watching, it would grab him and force him to stay in the hotel room, or snatch him off the streets while he searched for any help and drag him to the forest to drain him, and then it began pulling him deeper and deeper into the forest every time and letting him wander for less and less time, and then one day it brought him a big cup of milk in its horrible donkey hands, and he realized, in a moment that nearly killed him, that it was going to make him a prisoner for the rest of his life. but he didn’t know what to do. he’d been hunted for months. he was exhausted and terrified and exhausted of being terrified. there was no way to get free of it. in his dreams every night the Pooka made him see himself sat on the back of the great black bull, clinging on for dear life, blood running from his mouth, unable to throw himself off. it felt like a dream. in retrospect, it’s like it didn’t even happen to him, just like he watched it happen to someone else. it was extremely traumatic for him and he knew he was going to die and gave up on finding help.

until, of course, a little star spirit who loves to explore happened upon him. Marvin had never met a Pooka before and he was very curious when he noticed its spirit!! he went zipping off into the woods all excited and fascinated, but then he came upon the little man curled up beneath an outcropping in a worn doctor’s coat, shaking and passed out, anemic and freezing and very ill with the toll all this took on him. Marvin has rarely been so distressed in all his life. Henrik woke up to a very sweet white cat kissing at him and keeping him warm. he let Henrik hug him and pet him and mumble to him about dying and wanting to go and Germany and his family and blood from his mouth for a long time before he heard the Pooka come and decided this was too much for him to deal with alone. he zipped off to go get Jackie, but not before he saw exactly what the Pooka had been doing to the stranger. Jackie was horrified, of course, and finally here was someone who actually had an idea of what this creature Henrik had been ranting about to everyone he could think of actually was. In the end, it’s his luck that brought Henrik to Ireland, the homeland of the Pooka, where someone might know where it was and where a friendly star might wander onto him. they found Henrik silver spurs like in the stories Jackie had always been told as a kid and the next time he dreamed, Henrik could dig the silver spurs into the side of the Pooka and make it scream, a horrible shrieking noise like a half-dozen animals being slaughtered that has never left Henrik’s head since. The Pooka tried to come back and punish him a couple times, but Jackie and Marvin protected him and eventually it was killed with silver because, while Jackie rarely kills anything at all, it was clear that it wouldn’t stop coming for Henrik, perhaps having developed some kind of an addiction to him.

It took months for Henrik to believe it was really over. Jackie kept him in his home the whole time - apart from a brief sojourn to the hospital once or twice, since Henrik was seriously ill - and nursed him back to health with Marvin’s help. for the first couple weeks, Henrik was just silent, wrapped up in Jackie’s bedsheets staring at the wall, blue with blood loss and illness and a certain sort of grief that will never go away, letting Jackie and Marvin feed him and comfort him. eventually he started to get better, but he never left Jackie’s house. only place he really feels safe now. he has, however, set up a secret little clinic just a few blocks away, where mythological creatures in need of help can come to a doctor who has some understanding of what they are and real expertise, too. Between him, Jackie, and Marvin, they started picking up some pretty expansive knowledge about mythological creatures and he’s learned how to treat so many different things!! It keeps his life really interesting, especially now that he’s developing a national reputation among the other folk. and it’s how Chase and Jamie both came to be a part of their family!

What happened really haunts him, but luckily he has happened upon the best group of friends he could ever ask for and he has a great support system :) so that’s where he’s at!! that was very long but yeh!!!! i am filled with love of him!!

#blood tw #stalking tw #mythology au #seven seven henrik #schneeplestein #horror tw

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opalgelance · 5 years ago

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thoughts on steven universe future

td;lr overall opinion: steven universe future is better than most of the original steven universe, especially seasons 3-5, but there are still some real iffy plotlines in future

i hate that the diamonds were redeemed but at the same time, the happy clouds blue and yellow putting gems back together scenes were so pure

it simultaneously warms my heart and infuriates me

but we finally got a blue diamond song, god i love her voice

EDIT: also steven basically tortured white diamond and nearly killed her and it was pretty disturbing bc steven is 1. in a really bad mental state, like way darker than i thought they’d show him go, since this is technically a kids show and 2. was also kind of trying to hurt himself, which both hit me really hard bc i had similar periods of blazing anger, wanting to self harm and harm others that i felt had wronged me when i was a teenager, but its also what white deserves

ncsndlljklkcndkls i want to enjoy this show so bad but,,, steven having ptsd makes him a violent douche??? diamonds killed who knows how many gems in their reign and never really felt bad about it in original su but now they’re supportive life coaches??? no thank you

on more positive notes, i loved how priyanka described mental health and how she treated steven throughout the entire check up, she was so nonconfrontational and whenever he felt stressed she deescalated the situation,,, it was so good

the animation is the best its been since season 2. the poses are clean, very well drawn, and on model. there are more action scenes than like 90% of steven universe and they’re animated way better, like theres actual fighting and motion asjksacbcbj no one is stiffly posed, no one has strange proportions, no one is drastically changing sizes in between shots (well besides steven in growing pains onward but when he does change size its supposed to be like that lol)

i liked seeing the real roses but didnt love it? i wish we saw more of the roses designs up close, and i wish they fit a little more with the other quartzes? it might be just because its era 3, but the roses were all way more unique than jaspers and amethysts generally seem to be. i like that they were more unique designs and had different personalities, but surely the diamonds wouldnt have tolerated that back in era 1 or even era 2, had the rose quartzes not been bubbled? also i get that they’re reminiscent of pink bc she created them, but hippie and superfan were so naive, more so than other quartzes. if each quartz group was slightly different, it would make a little more sense tbh like if quartzes were the entire gem army, but each group was slightly different. i always liked the idea that rose quartzes were either the defense or the healers of the gem army.

little homeschool and guidance were fun and genuinely enjoyable, considering not a whole ton happens in them. i wish townie episodes had been more like them. like you could replace the gems with random humans, but it would still be a fun episode? idk, maybe involving the humans in gem stuff wouldve made better townie episodes, like lars and the cool kids. it wouldve probably helped steven feel more “human” too, if the human and gem worlds collided a bit more in the series.

bluebird was... an ok episode, but im not sure how well it will fit into what i feel like the end will be, where every episode of future featured someone steven helped or affected in some way, and they all come together to help steven when he corrupts. or rather, i guess if bluebird did say something, it would feel more hollow bc steven didnt help them lol the gems and universes were just friendly to them, and thats it. it wasnt as bad as a very special episode (my least favorite episode of future), but it felt like a townie episode with no townies LOL at least we got a new fusion i guess

a very special episode was just,,, infuriating. there was that weird football scene where they just like,,, talk about screen resolution for a minute then play the full commercial for little homeworld we just saw last episode???? i did genuinely enjoy the rainbow scenes, but it just built up to not nothing. oh no, it was something alright. the whole episode was just future vision and then theres like a minute long psa??? it felt like that wacky randomness that would have happened in like, ok ko, teen titans go, or clarence jaskjcbkcjbskb

mr universe is tied with dear old dad episode as my least favorite greg episode. i get how both of them feel. greg wanted to tell steven about how he escaped from his miserable childhood and remade who he was, no longer a demayo but a universe. the problem imo was that greg became way too absorbed in the past. it reminds me a bit of s1 pearl, how she’d proudly recount gem battles and basked in the glory of fighting for their freedom, but she struggled when she had to recount the more unsavory parts of war. and that really affected amethyst, since she didnt fight in the glorified war pearl told her and steven about. amethyst was the byproduct of one of the bad parts of the war, and that became part of her identity, until on the run, where pearl finally realized that she needed to tell amethyst that she wasnt bad. amethyst’s creation may have fractionally hurt the earth, but that wasnt her fault. it wasnt her fault that she emerged too late to fight either. and it wasnt her fault that she existed. sounds familiar to to stevens rant in the van.

steven didnt ask to be made. he didnt ask to be the half gem half human son of a diamond. but he grew up being told about how great his mom was, and that while no one would ever say it, she was gone because of him. to create steven, rose had to die. it was roses decision, but as the product of that decision, steven feels responsible. not only that, but being told constantly about his amazing mother, steven felt like he had to live up to her, had to be like her, had to replace her in the gems and greg’s lives. throughout the series, steven is constantly either trying to be like his mother, until he realizes its ok to be himself. but then the question is posed; is steven even himself? or is he still part of rose? and once he finds out that he’s steven, and has always been steven, he’s still reeling from the realization that his mother was pink diamond. and that really shows in future, where steven is becoming like pink. at first he doesnt even know, because besides the jungle moon dream, him and the audience never knew about this side of pink. this angry, short tempered, diamond who lashes out mostly physically. and unlike before, no one’s telling steven about pink (besides pink pearl) hes finding out firsthand, and this pink mode is basically being forced on him by his gem. steven has little to no control over this form. hes not trying to live up to his mother, or wondering if he is her, like before. now, he’s losing control to whatever programming is in his gem.

but back to mr universe. in the van, greg is going on and on about how lucky steven is, and how free steven is, but how can either of them compare their lives to each other? the similarities just arent there. steven is right, greg and pink were “raised” in very similar “households”. both had their wishes and desires suppressed by controlling, abusive parents. we know pink was abused mentally, verbally and physically (being physically dragged away from the screen by yellow in jungle moon, stevonnie being grabbed and thrown into the time out cell by yellow, when she still thought steven was pink), but greg at the very least was mentally assaulted. but they diverge from here. as greg said, he thought disco was back. rose started a war. you cant compare them any further.

but at the same time, steven was raised completely differently. he was raised in a home with love and freedom, but he was also not given the opportunity to be a normal kid. theres a difference being forcing your kid to do something and not giving them the chance to try something. steven was never given the option to go to school (well in the comics he was but i guess thats not canon now since it seems like steven wishes he went to school?) he was never given the option to live in a house, or go to the mall with friends. the only other kids he knew were the boardwalk kids, but even then, he doesnt seem very close with them. for such an outgoing, friendly kid, steven wasnt given many opportunities to make friends. steven’s upbringing was very relaxed, yes, but it was too relaxed. he needed more structure, and more importantly, more humanity. i always thought it was weird, how little steven seems to have interacted with humans before connie, considering that his mother so desperately wanted steven to experience being human. yes the show is about gems, (and yes, i dont like most townie episodes), but steven was never shown doing a lot of “human” kid things inbetween episodes. the episode never started with him coming home from a friends house, he hardly ever spent time with friends other than connie in little scenes. like he was never called for a mission while playing cards with peedee, or coming home after an after school activity. any scenes like that were either just steven by himself, or with greg, and occasionally connie. but connie is a new addition to his life. how many years has he been doing fun stuff with only his dad for company, or by himself? yknow, “non traditional” childhoods and living situations are becoming more and more common in media, rather than the “two parents in a suburb house” thing, but steven’s life is beyond any unusual childhood any other kid would have. i mean he’s never even been to the doctor! which is probably for several reasons, like the fact that he apparently doesnt have a ssn, he can heal himself, has a damn gemstone in his stomach, and is half alien. but still, thats not something he has in common with other kids. no matter how much love and freedom he was given, steven was raised as an outcast.

i agree with the notion that both greg and steven were both right and wrong in mr universe. i guess they both have that in common with rose lol

greg should have read the room better, realized that his pep talk wasnt the support and apology steven needed to hear. but steven shouldnt have acted out in the way he did. i get that’s the “theme” of steven’s spiral, maybe for the younger audience to better understand how steven is acting? but crashing his dad’s van that gregs been living in for like 20 years? fucking SHATTERING jasper? that’s going way too far to prove a point. it would have been better to maybe mirror story for steven, where marty and greg are arguing, marty is watching the road and they narrowly avoid hitting a car. but crashing the car could have been pretty serious, especially for greg. now jasper, that episode shouldnt have been approved. steven should not have shattered jasper. he fucking killed her. rose/pink didnt even shatter anyone. and if it wasnt for steven getting another superpower out of nowhere, jasper would have stayed that way. he should have just cracked her gem, poofing her in the process. the rest of the episode wouldve played out exactly the same.

anyways ive been writing this for like 2 hours but i feel better letting it all out. if you enjoy future keep enjoying it! it’s definitely more like a B+ compared to season 3-5′s general C-/D+. but please take into consideration future has some themes that people personally relate to, like mental health, and that you shouldnt shit on someone elses opinions that are based on their own personal experiences. especially if you dont have mental health issues, dont keep pushing your opinion and telling people that personally relate to future’s themes that they’re wrong? thats fucked up man

#suf #steven universe future #suf spoilers

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taylornock · 5 years ago

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how cell phones made our lives better while simultaneously ruining them

hi fam!! it’s me, again. are you tired of hearing from me? me too. that’s why I’m here to rant about social media / phone / technology. bc i hate it… but in a loving way???

everyone remembers when they got their first iPhone. seriously. why is that such a monumental moment in our lives? i can hardly remember what i felt like freshman year of high school but can pinpoint the feeling of sheer glee unwrapping my iPhone 6 in eighth grade. i have this thing that is attached to me 24/7 - when I go anywhere (even downstairs) without my phone i feel weird. that is f***ing SAD! PATHETIC. i hate feeling that dependent on what is essentially a pocket robot.

for what it’s worth - phones have done INCREDIBLE things for the world as we know it. for example, this quarantine shit has been testing all of us; and our phones are helping us get through it in so many ways. our phones let us see the faces of those loved ones we are missing, our phones provide us with stupid tik tok content to keep everything light hearted, and our phones let us check in on each other. all amazing things! when we are at school, we have instant access to our lives at home . being able to call my mom whenever i want is something i definitely abuse. “mom, I’m on my way home from Thompson right now and i think i have a brain aneurysm but my bio final is at 11am tomorrow will i make it” … an actual conversation i had with my mom at the end of freshman year. needless to say i was medicated shortly after THAT meltdown. I am such a brat that i don’t know what i would do if i couldn’t text my dad and have him immediately get me the password again to our Uverse account…… god forbid i miss an episode of the bachelor. i have this phone, and that’s what i do with it? abuse its powers to ask my parents for medical advice or a password i forgot? have we lost sight of everything here?

throughout life and especially throughout quarantine… my phone is the definition of a possession that is a blessing and a curse. I’m so grateful to have the ability to bother my friends - whenever i want! the options are endless! i love keeping in touch with people i thought id never hear from again, and being able to talk to so many people in my life and make my heart swell. now, when a conversation with someone other than my two roommates (shoutout parents) is so rare ⎯ that phone is my weapon and i use it to help flatten the curve: flatten the curve of covid19 and flatten the curve of my mental illness 🙃 [humor is a coping mechanism okay let me live] but like, i KNOW i’m not the only one that looks at my screen time and immediately wants to die. how can i honestly be looking at my phone for that long? picking it up THAT many times?????? my phone is the best distraction and also the most toxic - it makes me feel better but has a tendency to bring up all my issues and blast them into the reflection of my blue light glasses...... its called fashion look it up.

to give some examples - let’s open up my most used app: snapchat. I go on snapchat with the best of intentions - to see a memory from a year ago that makes me smile. to respond to my friends and see what their mood today is based on the look on their face. to creep on snap stories and see what everyone’s cooking and doing with their lives. somehow, tho, after spending a few minutes on the app.. i end up with a pit in my stomach most of the time. the person i want to respond hasn’t responded in 4 hours. oh god lets overthink this- they don’t like me anymore and are no longer interested in speaking to me and only respond every once in a while out of pity or because they are uncomfortable. everyone hates you. oh and GOD FORBID someone leaves me on open??! I am not funny nor interesting nor worth a reply - suddenly, i have equated my value to receiving or not receiving a photo of someone’s blank stare. this is extreme, and this is dramatic. but trust me —— this is the hamster wheel always turning in my head. I’m not even going to touch on snap maps; that feature is pandoras box and someone better fucking shut it.

second most used app is instagram. i scroll for hours, i have time limits set for the app acting like i’m actually going to listen to them and get off. lmaooooooooo. i love looking at aesthetic stuff and dogs and food and recipes and my friends’ beautiful faces. but you know what i don’t like? constant nudges to compare myself to others. oh look at her having a party with all of her friends even though we aren’t supposed to be. am i a loser for trying to be safe? oh look at her washboard abs, i’m never going to look like that and will never live up to the standard of beauty society has set for me. look at all of these people in their happy relationships. why can’t i have that? it goes over and over and over. its not like i sit there and think of these things just like that, its a precedent in my mind when i stare at everybody else that i am going to size my own life up against theirs. for years i followed every single elite model / VS angel on instagram to motivate me to do better - to start being psycho about what i did to my body so i could be as gorgeous as them. what kind of fucked up mindset is that? i would literally watch their footage of them eating rice and vegetables once a day and try to copy it. i would watch their runway walks obsessively trying to recreate them in heels alone in my house - like that was all i could imagine doing with my life. did i ever stop for a second to look at that photoshoot of gigi hadid and wonder if she was happy? wonder if the constant pictures she saw of herself ever made her insecure? what was i doing? the day i unfollowed those girls was a monumental day in my journey to a better self image. i didn’t realize the people i thought were my “motivators” were actually my triggers. i have grown to a point in life now that i would much rather eat a stack of chocolate chip pancakes that make me dance in my chair like an infant than practice my runway walk and shame my body in the mirror. and i am so freakin happy!

i could go app by app for hours. but moving on to the next thing i hate about cell phones - how they have destroyed our biological methods of communication. you hear about those psychos who think the world is destroyed by technology and we are going to be overrun by robots. but hey, I’m with the psychos on this one. i have this amazing friend, Trevor Wright, who without fail at EVERY dinner announces “phones off friends on” and collects our phones into the center of the table. yes, we are 20 year old adults. yes, we hand our phones over to Trevor and let him yell at us for trying to see if ~that person~ snap chatted us back. i have so much respect for him because of this. there is nothing worse than staring at your phones when you could be having a good conversation about life, about love, about laughter + memories, about “do you think hellen keller is real?” anything, bro, anything. anything but snapchat messaging your hoe of the week or mindlessly playing tetris to twiddle your thumbs. we all need to start loving a little harder, and the first step to doing that is to communicate better. communicate smarter. I’m guilty of alllll of the above, don’t get me wrong. and I am ADD asf and constantly playing mindless games just to stimulate my brain. but i need to stop that! even writing this is taking some time away from the dumb shit on my phone - and encouraging me to communicate how i r e a l l y feel to my homies that will read this. communication - especially body language - is fascinating. I’ve studied it in psych, I’ve learned the neurological bases of behavior and why we do what we do. I’ve learned how much our life experience impacts who we are as a whole...and it! is! fascinating! i also think that’s why i love film so much. because it can capture the raw moments of your friends just being your friends, of you just being the person you are, and the world around you just existing as it exists. i love the raw moments; and not just because indy blue posted one youtube video of her slow mo laughing and now thats the only footage i find myself shooting. 😚

im not quite sure what this post is, lol. but - just a rant on technology. so listen to me:

take advantage of technology + social media! it CAN BE GREAT. for so many reasons. but, don’t let technology + social media TAKE ADVANTAGE OF YOU. stay true to you - know how to communicate with yourself and your loved ones without the use of a robot. remember that feeling when you setup up your first iPhone? imagine if you could feel that again, with your phone nowhere in sight. if you don’t know how to communicate with yourself yet, start by journaling. WRITE! TYPE! SPEAK! do what you want. getting your thoughts down even without an audience is so crucial to understanding yourself and others. if you don’t like to write, reflect. breathe. meditate. make art. do what makes you feel at peace, and do whatever makes you feel like the world makes a little bit more sense than it does.

IF YOU ARE READING DOWN TO HERE, I LOVE YOU. I LOVE YOU, SAY IT BACK! LIFE IS A FUCKING HIGHWAY. AND IM SO GLAD YOU’RE ON MY INTERSTATE. <3

xoxoxoxo

gossip girl

#phones #socialmedia #rant #blog #hi #tender #loveme #quarantine #covid19 #cellphones #iphone #followme!#taylor #tiktok #trending #writing

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l0vegl0wsinthedark · 7 years ago

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Hey baby! I was thinking about my favorite scenes/lines from my favorite fics and got to wondering what scenes/lines stood out to the people who wrote them. Lolol. What would you say are your top 10 favorite bits from your fics? Gimme the scoop. ❤❤

YOU SENT IT ANYWAY DAMN YOU 😂😂😂

And does it have to be ten?!

Okay omg i’ll try to go through them and pick something decent? (nope, just picking at random lmao)

1) In Your Arms, Rests My World:

“Nobody else is ever going to touch you again,” he promises fiercely. “I’ll kill the next one, I swear to God.”

Malfoy gasps. “Potter! Oh, Merlin.” He grabs Harry’s hair roughly, half sitting up in his urgency to kiss him. “Say more things like that.”

“You’re mine,” Harry says immediately, pushes him back down and kisses him again. “Never letting you go again.” He bites along Malfoy’s clenched jaw. “Mine.”

“Yours,” Malfoy assents fervently, nipping his earlobe. “You fucking wanker. All yours, only yours. Who else’s would I be?!”

“I’ll kill them all,” Harry hisses into his shoulder, and Malfoy keens softly. “Every last one.”

“Promise me,” he implores. “I swear I’ll fucking murder you in your sleep, Potter-”

“I’ll kill them all,” Harry grits through bared teeth. “I promise I’ll die before I let anything happen to you again. I promise, I fucking promise.”

Why this bit: IDK I felt like this bit was really satisfying after all the angst and shit - plus I love me a possessive/protective Harry so… ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

2) Muggle ‘Drug Store’ Items:

Harry groans, throwing an arm over his eyes as Malfoy straddles his thighs with an excited grin, tugging Harry’s jeans halfway down, before rolling down his pants as well, Harry’s cock bouncing out eagerly to slap against his tanned belly.

“Oh, look, you’re all ready,” Malfoy comments happily, before leaning forward. “Wait, this doesn’t have a hole.” He pauses, holding the condom right in front of his nose, eyes crossing as he peers closely.

“You should call the manufacturers and leave that as feedback, it’d make their day,” Harry says, his voice rough, staring fixedly at the bulge in Malfoy’s snug black underpants. “Take your pants off and come sit on my face.”

“Wait.” Malfoy rolls his eyes, and jumps off the bed, returning with his wand. “I’m going to make a hole in it.”

“Why the hell, you weirdo?” Harry laughs despite himself.

“How else am I supposed to swallow?” Malfoy asks flatly and Harry chokes shut on his laugh.

Why this bit: LOL cause only Draco can buy contraceptives and then proceed to make holes in them and that’s fucking hilarious idk

3) To Those Who Wait:

It had helped that, along the way, I’d become reacquainted with the boy whom I’d hated for most of my childhood, who then, miraculously enough, turned out to be my soulmate.Yes, I know, I’m actually using the word soulmate. Like I said, I’m a practical man.

Later, we leave the windows open to coax in some of the cool, salt laden night breeze, Harry moving over me in patient, torturously slow undulations, his cock brushing my prostate every now and then in a teasing flick, my heels digging into his firm arse cheeks, my mouth gasping open under his.

“Harry,” I whisper, cradling his face with both hands, letting my lips flutter over his skin. “Please…”

“You’re my whole world,” he says abruptly, soft and breathless. “Did you know that?”

I can’t help but smile. “I had a vague inkling,” I tease gently and I kiss his laughing mouth, moaning softly as he picks up the pace.

Why this bit: Well, TBF, I picked two bits, but that’s only cause I can’t pick the whole fic (or at least the whole epilogue). Yeah, this one’s pretty close to my heart.

4) What Real Thing?:

“He has to go,” Draco repeats more vehemently. “It’s too late now– I can’t– He has to go.”

“Right.”

“I don’t even like him,” he repeats, his lip curled derisively. “I hate him, really.”

“No, you don’t,” she says quietly.

“No, I don’t,” he whispers miserably, staring into his hands.

Why this bit: Cause Draco admitting he doesn’t hate Harry is fucking precious?

5) Good Talk, Potter:

About seven pairs of eyes instantly swivelled onto me and I was quietly grateful for having worn my best shirt, I look fucking fabulous in this thing.

“Fuck you, ferret face.” Weasley’s ears still did that thing where they turned beet red and looked like they’d sizzle off his stupid head.

“Such a delight, aren’t you?” I’d smiled sweetly, still not looking at the man sitting half a foot to my left, smelling like aftershave and worn leather, looking up at me with eyes that are greener than the Malfoy grounds in spring.

Ugh, now I’m speaking in poetry?

Well, I’ve had one too many whiskeys and my thoughts tend to atrophy into doggerel by this stage – you’re not exactly the Bard of Avon yourself, let me see you come up with a decent verse or two when you’re tiddly.

Do you want me to go on or not?

Why this bit: Cause Draco ranting = endless entertainment lolol

6) Trouble:

“I actually wanted to ask you that very evening–” Potter speaks in a mumble. “–but the probability of you chucking a chair at my head was rather high, so I decided otherwise.”

“Ask me what?” Draco asks impatiently when the man doesn’t continue.

“Do you think–?” Potter scratches his ear, restlessly kicking at a stone near his foot. “Could you maybe–?” He looks rather irritated with himself so Draco purses his lips on a smile and waits, tucking his thumbs into his pockets and turning to face the man properly. “May I have my number? I mean–” He looks rather alarmed as he hurries to correct himself and Draco could feel sudden laughter bubbling up inside him. “–would you give me my number?” He looks downright horrified now and Draco has to inconspicuously bring one hand up to his mouth to hide his grin. “Your number,” Potter sighs resignedly. “May I have your number?” he finally manages to say, hanging his head and looking miserable.

Draco bursts out laughing then, although his belly is suddenly filled by a swarm of manic butterflies and his heart thuds excitedly.

“What the fuck is wrong with me?” Potter growls irascibly under his breath.

Why this bit: Cause Harry’s a fucking dork after being an evil, sexy little shit earlier in the fic and it’s really satisfying lol

7) Kiss The Light Back Into Me:

Harry likes to hold his hand a lot. His hands are perennially warm and when they’re wrapped around Draco’s fingers, he feels like he’ll never be cold again.

Harry’s mouth is soft and warm and his kisses are long and patient. He pins Draco to himself and kisses him like it’s his absolute favourite thing to do.

Well, it’s Draco’s favourite thing anyway.

He loves Draco’s hair and plays with it when he thinks Draco is asleep. Draco pretends to be asleep a lot.

Why this bit: Cause fluffeh goodness?

8) Luckiest Fucking Size Queen Alive:

I know what you’re thinking; Draco Malfoy, proud Slytherin, Senior Undersecretary to the Head of International Magical Cooperation, blond perfection, never one to follow the herd, hardly the type to be swayed by superficial things like the girth and length of objects, even less when said objects are attached to strangely handsome wizards, especially wizards who just happened to have saved and liberated the wizarding world before turning twenty even.

Draco Malfoy, twenty-seven and pretty darn attractive (if you ask me), who absolutely, definitely, almost certainly, probably didn’t, maybe did have a infinitesimal, itsy-bitsy, fair sized, shamefully gigantic, likely unhealthy crush on the aforementioned wizard.

Draco Malfoy who is also a sucker (occasionally, a downright slut) for sizeable cocks.

Oh, sue me, you judgemental, sanctimonious wretch. And go get a haircut.

I’m the one he eventually admits to being in love with, the words whispered reverently into my forehead, calloused hands tenderly cupping my face, his eyes soft and honest; and I’m the one he asks to move in with him six months later (golly!). I’m the one he makes breakfast for everyday, and I’m the one for whom he wakes up early on Saturdays to go buy fresh-from-the-oven pain au chocolat from that French place in Mayfair. It’s myface he sees and kisses first thing every morning and I’m the one he falls asleep pressed against every damn night.

Me, the luckiest fucking size queen alive.

Why this bit: Two bits, again; still have a dozen more fav bits. Also, Draco rants quite a bit in this one too lolol it was really hard to pick

9) (Un)Calculated Risk:

“Happy birthday,” Harry whispered, grabbing Draco’s hand where it lay on his cheek and then pressing something into it. Draco’s fingers closed around the Snitch and he looked back up at Harry with a soft snort. “I keep my promises.” Harry winked.

And with another kiss to Draco’s wryly grinning mouth, he was zooming away, leaving Draco there with the winning Snitch and jauntily flying away with his heart.

Why this bit: Cause Harry being a smooth, romantic AF fucker gives me life.

10) Hurt Me, Fuck Me (Just Don’t Hate Me):

“Fuck, Malfoy,” Potter pants into his neck.

“You just did,” Draco drawls, his balls quopping with the need to come. “Eat me out,” he tells Potter, and lifts his knees up to his shoulders as Potter more than amiably slithers down and obliges.

Why this bit: Because @bixgirl1 would’ve brought the roof down if I’d picked any other bit

Bonus (even tho like literally nobody asked for it and I whinged about doing the first ten):

11) Just Go With It:

“Challenge accepted.” Harry sat up, kicking the covers off himself vigorously and accidentally catching Baguette with one heel. “Shit, Baguette, I’m so sorry!”

“What the fuck, Potter? Why do you keep yelling at a loaf of bread?!”

“It’s not—it’s my pet ferret! I accidentally kicked her.”

“…You have a pet ferret?”

Harry hurriedly tamped down a laugh. “Y-yeah, her name’s Baguette.”

“Why?!”

“Why do I have a pet ferret, or why is she named Baguette?”

“All of it! Why?!”

Why this bit: Because when @o0o-chibaken-o0o suggested I name the ferret Baguette, I didn’t realise what a celebrity that sassy little furry’s going to become. But she did! Plus, they have phone sex right after this bit, so.

12) All The Sense In The World:

“I take it you’ve spotted my arsehole by now,” Malfoy bit out. “So go ahead and put one finger in, Potter.” Harry blinked and looked around, registering the instruction at last.

“W-with the lube, right?” he blurted uncertainly. Malfoy pursed his lips.

“No, Potter, the lube is just for moral support – to sit there in your hand in case you need something to hold—yes, with the lube!”

Why this bit: It wasn’t until a number of readers pointed out this bit as being funny that I realised it too because Draco is such a salty bitch even when he’s seconds away from having his arse fingered open lmao

(I feel like I’ve let down my other works now D:)

THIS TOOK WAY LONGER THAN I EXPECTED AND I ENJOYED IT WAY MORE THAN I INTENDED TO DAMN YOU @bixgirl1 ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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knightofwalpvrgis · 8 years ago

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The Wizarding World and General Fandom Rant

I hope this comes out as eloquently as I’ve been thinking it up in my head, but I I fear I’ve already failed with my first sentence. My fury at the respect given to The Wizarding World fandom and the works it’s grown from has reached a fever pitch, and what I’m angry about is multi-faceted and quite complex, so please bear with me while I try to explain it in some reasonably sane way.

I’ve realized that, to be honest, a lot of people do not respect the Harry Potter stories and the world it created. They don’t. And among a very large size of the population, that ignorance and that disrespect is promoted. Forgive me for being over-dramatic, but the stories are patronized and trivialized to an astonishingly laughable and horribly shocking extent, you’d almost think it was vendetta-ized, and it partially is. My irritation and my seeming irrationality comes from the fact that (with full respect to other fandoms,) The Wizarding World is the last fandom/extended universe to deserve this kind of treatment.

I hate the fact that I even have to argue a point that I think is proved by The Wizarding World IP already: That this franchise is astonishingly mature for a four quadrant piece of branded, commercial fantasy entertainment. It’s overall very stylistically dark and gritty, thematically heavy, disturbing, and complex, contextually violent and shocking, and, in a narrative sense, extremely ambitious and groundbreaking. It takes risks where other IP’s don’t. It’s a coming of age epic that translates and segues into a global conflict/drama, that manages to hang onto personal and intimate storytelling, rather than blow every plot element out of proportion with ridiculously cosmic effects and plot elements a la Star Wars, or Marvel, allowing the content to be moving, upsetting, affecting, and deeply life-changing. It is, despite so many people’s insulting trivializations, a modern classic, in my opinion. From every facet you look at it, its hardly indistinguishable from adult fantasy, and that’s because Rowling created it for adults as much as she did a younger audience of teenagers or even tweens. No one is saying its the best intellectual property ever to grace this earth, but it is supremely intellectual and truthful and important for modern IP, and that, to me, is obvious. From an aesthetic and stylistic standpoint to a deeper thematic one.

Yet so many people, including those within the fandom, I will add, seem to never want to represent it as this, or give it any of the credit they would give any other film or book forg maintaining even a quarter of the gravitas Harry Potter has. In the case of Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World, no one ever addresses anything meaningful within the series. It’s always torn down, placed on a lower shelf, and even actively pushed aside by people hoping to exclude and already biblically popular story from the cultural consciousness.

What I mean by this is as follows:

1) What is Harry Potter known for?: Think about it. What is the first thing that someone who doesn’t have a very good knowledge of The Wizarding World going to associate with the series? If my time spent outside the fandom is any indication (lol, I live here,) it’s all irrelevancies. Ignorant journalists forced to publish and editorial on the Potter fandom use universally known photos from irrelevant scenes of a fresh faced, geeky looking Harry James Potter from film 1 because that’s the only face of the story they’re familiar with. Often, it seems oddly intentional. Journalists often seem to write about Potter with as patronizing a tone as possible. Repeatedly associating the fandom and the story with geeky, awkward first film promotional photos and rare cartoons of Harry from some once-published 2014 commonwealth re-release or that old Goblet of Fire cover is an easy way to undermine the strength of the story, and it’s not something you see done to any other property.

But also, what do people talk about when Harry Potter comes up? People might bring up the melodramatic “Luke, I am your father” quote from Star Wars, “You Shall Not Pass,” from Lord of The Rings or the heart-ripping scene from Indiana Jones, but with Harry Potter, people only seem to be able to mumble out a screed of irrelevancies, typically consisting of “10 points to Gryffindor, Bertie Bott’s Beans, and Quidditch,”...that’s shameful. Here’s a list of things that are hardly associated with the Wizarding World brand despite the fact that they extend far beyond a few symbols of innocence/world building details from the first book:

The Death Eaters, The Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore’s Army, The unforgivable curses, The Philosophers stone, The Chamber of Secrets, Sirius Black and the Marauders, the Sacred Twenty Eight and the House of Black, Draco Malfoy and the Malfoy Family, Peter Pettigrew and his betrayals, Lily and James’ Heartbreaking romance, The First and Second Wizarding Wars, The Goblet of Fire, The Triwizard Tournament, and the Rebirth of Voldemort, The Battle of the Astronomy Tower, Department of Mysteries, the Seven Potters, and Hogwarts, Gringott’s Wizarding Bank, Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade, The Dark Mark, Albus Dumbledore’s tragic past, Lord Voldemort and his entire back story, Dolores Umbridge and the corrupt ministry of magic, Horcruxes, divination, prophecies, and seers, Sybill Trelawney, Cho Chang, Lavender Brown, the Patil twins, the Weasley twins, Delphi Diggory, Bellatrix Lestrange, Azkaban, the entire extended story on Pottermore and the International Confederation of Wizards and Regulus Black, wandlore, MACUSA, the Deathly Hallows, Leta Lestrange, Credence Barebone, and the entire events of Fantastic Beasts and Cursed Child, Obscurials, Grindelwald, Dumbledore’s sexuality, love potions, combat spells and wizarding academics and ministry departments, and international wizarding communities and dementors, inferi, and on and on and on...

Why do you never hear of these things when you ask someone to discuss Harry Potter? Why do I have to read editorials about how quaint Harry Potter is because it imbues magic with “eating jellybeans?” Because it would totally blow the patronization attempt out of the water if they were to focus on anything remotely plot related. Instead, we live in a world where even members of the fandom have joked themselves into thinking that the only things about these stories that matter are Hogwart’s houses, fucking magic candy only ever mentioned once, and a niffler that appears for 1/16th of the scenes in Fantastic Beasts. Can we grow up and talk about plot and character shit, you know, the stuff that actually matter? Thanks.

This leads me to my second point:

2) Blatant patronization. Infantilization. Treating the franchise as diminutively as possible, handling it like a crayola turd just dropped from a 3 year olds asshole. I can’t honestly believe I’ve had to sit through article after article of journalists and even fandom members who contribute Potter’s success to “eating jellybeans,” “being more innocuous than Bambie,” “lighter than the Chronicle’s of Narnia,” “similar to Percy Jackson and Savvy,” called “G-rated wizardry,” have tv shows and books and films be termed “a grown up Harry Potter,”...its just extraordinarily insulting to me, especially there’s no coherent argument I can give. It’s hard to be able to think coherently when you’ve just read an editorial on how “squeaky clean, harmless, and unchallenging,” all the Wizarding World films are when they rated Mrs Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children appropriate only for 15+ year olds and called the Star Wars franchise a “sci-fi epic for mature adults.” My brains reacts to it as if I’ve just heard someone compare Game of Thrones to Spongebob. It’s just horribly incongruent to everything this series has come to be known for.

These are some of the more extreme examples, but too often I’ve seen members of fandom who still treat it diminutively. “The childish stuff is what Harry Potter is about,” and, when confronted with the dark realities of Merope Gaunt’s treatment of Riddle and Severus Snape’s murder, “yea, but I just forget about that dark stuff because it’s a childrens book.”

Jesus Christ, lets set something straight:

Allow me to drop some facts on these commenters for a hot second. The majority of the audience, as researched by a number of publishers, lies within the 15-30 year old age range. In terms of marketing, there are no toys, very little kids clothing, comparatively few young skewing published editions globally, little to no instances of kid-marketed visual media. live entertainment, fandom experiences instances of retail...It’s all adult retail, items sold through Pottermore, and Hot Topic, The Noble Collection, Primark, Interior Design, Elope, Hot Rags, The WB Shop, Universal Orlando, Spencers, BMW, King Ice, Carat Jewelers, Hallmark.... It’s mainly marketed to a mature audience. So patronizing treatment on this front is unwarranted.

The second part of this is content. The questionable content is never indulgent. But it is often shocking, horrific, tragic, occasionally graphic, bloody, mild to moderately gory, disturbing, thematically resonant, and intentionally creepy to say the least, and there’s increasingly no magical veneer to hide beneath. The setting is more or less realistically painted and the altercations are personal, the emotions real, the characters realistic...most of the films are rated PG-13, a number of the films nearly R, and restrictively rated in regions from Australia to Eastern Europe, to Asia, to the UK and Ireland and Latin America...

This is all extremely important. Its extremely important that we recognize potter for these things. Conflict is only dramatically effective if it contains the strength and potency to make it so, and by, excusing it away, calling it safe and clean where it isn’t, you’re effectively neutering it for no other reason than to give someone a false impression.

It isn’t for kids. That’s not saying they can’t and don’t read it, or an audience of children has never been sought after or even directly marketed to. But look at Star Wars: Marketing through Disney Channel cartoons, Toys R Us, Sippy Cups, The Disney Store, and look at DC and Marvel doing the same thing. Look at all of those brands doing the “fast and funny action spectacle” films to please as wide an audience as possible. It takes, in essence, no creative risks, and yet it feels as if these franchises get lauded for, again, having only a quarter of the gravitas the Wizarding World has.

Recognizing these stories for being unique in the sense that they are mature and they are challenging is exactly what’s appropriate for Rowling’s storytelling. Percy Jackson, often finding itself at the base of comparisons for the Harry Potter series, clearly skews younger than it. With short books, slang-y writing, an over-abundance of sophomoric humor, clean conflict, and chapter titles like “I Scoop Poop,” I’m equal parts bemused and frustrated that comparisons are made. At the same token, Chronicles of Narnia is an extremely lighthearted, short, simple, puritanical story of adventure and fantasy. Potter isn’t. It’s contemporary, edgy (in the non-eye-roll-worthy sense of the word,) inventive, sophisticated, and energetic, but slow, complex, extremely adult in sensibility, aesthetic, tone, and writing. Star Wars, while immersive, preoccupies itself with far more childish oddities and humorous diversions than Potter does and maintains an extremely irreverent and light tone throughout, Marvel is similar but even more conveyor-made, and Lord of the Rings, for all the intellectuals who champion its brilliance (and it is brilliant) and superiority over Potter fail to realize the importance of maintaining recognizable thematics, mature conflict, and emotion within a story.

And this is beneficial to those younger children that do read the stories. You are, by suggesting the Potter stories are merely escapist inconsequential fantasy for childish types, telling a lie, and you are also insulting their intelligence. What type of judgment are you making about an adult or a child’s character when you suggest, however innocently, that their favorite stories are nothing but irreverence, that they’re clean, and dispute any kind of attempt to get you to see that they are thematically relevant and important! Harry Potter and Jo’s Wizarding World is so deeply and emotionally attached to our society for a reason. let’s treat it accordingly. These stories are bold, and groundbreaking, and thrillingly dark and heartbreaking, and WE LOVE THEM FOR THAT.

That’s not to say we can’t ever mention irrelevancies. But to caricaturize the Potter stories with them like we have is shameful and disappointing. And the oft-repeated argument is “kids books are still important.” Yes you’re right. They are. But not in the way I’m discussing. Not in the way Potter is. Harry Potter does not fit in such a young-skewing, streamlined, narrow category:

The story includes thematics pertaining to murder, betrayal, torture, war, depression, abuse, tragedy, love and hatred, spirituality and the nature of life and death, sadomasochism, genocide, totalitarianism, corruption, blood purity and inbreeding, corruption, lust and desire, fascism and naziism, vengeance, gray morality, even rape and manipulation and grooming and forced murder and torture...Keep making comparisons to the 100+ year old “Grimm’s Fairy Tales” and likening it to just another kids book all you want, but it will never fit that mold, and I think we need to treat the series like it’s worthy of the majority adult audience and marketing scheme that it already has and has had for years.

That’s my issue: where is the proof that it’s “for kids”?! There is none! I find it strange that people will praise The Hunger Games, an increasingly vapid and typical dystopia for being “mature and sophisticated” or even Rogue One and Civil War for being “very adult and heartbreaking,” but then turn around to The Wizarding World, a universe that has about 5x the sophistication, and repeat the tired “Grimm’s fairytales did it first argument. Im sick of it.

This whole rant came about because I saw so many reviewers admonishing Fantastic Beasts for being dark, and thematically resonant, and too political, either openly shaming that side of the story, or pretending like it didn’t even exist. Every time Potter film is released, there’s someone somewhere writing a review admonishing the “horrendously dark tone” at the expense of “kid-skewing charm” or some other stupid shit. I just don’t know where to end this.

The Wizarding World is, evidently, the ballsiest, most truthful, most ambitious and dark and heartbreaking and resonant four quadrant piece of branded entertainment out there. It’s every bit as important and as grim and truthful as any fantasy ever has been.

Can we start treating it like it is? Please?

(pardon the typos. Absolutely no time to edit this. Just embrace the general message. Hope it flows well enough.)

#harry potter #rant #fantastic beasts and where to find them #fantastic beasts #jk rowling #cursed child #bellatrix lestrange #drarry #dramione

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megnattsworld · 6 years ago

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Okay, so many people liked this idea that I felt inspired and had the free time so...here's a little something I wrote. I don't actually hate it! I'm counting it as a birthday gift to me lol. Enjoy.

Song is He Loves U Not by Dream

Italics, not in quotes, are thoughts.

To say the first meeting with the Lumarians was a disaster would be a lie. It really wasn't, in fact, compared to a few other planets they've had to visit, this was one of the better ones. With mystical floating lanterns and a rainbow of different colored, human-sized fairies the whole world was one of a little girl's dreams.

Until today.

The council of Lumaria called Voltron back to their planet for a diplomatic meeting to discuss their part in the Voltron alliance. While only Allura, Shiro, and Lance, with his social skills, were the only ones really needed for the whole week, everyone was planet-side for the day.

Now, while Pidge is by no means the jealous type and she's very secure in her relationship with Lance, she isn't afraid to speak her mind if need be. So, when a certain purple Lumarian with a sickeningly sweet smile continuously obsesses over Lance and Pidge becomes aware of his mounting struggle to be polite but also turn her down (seriously no means no, what about that do aliens not get?), Pidge knows she has to step in somehow.

It'd be easier if they were alone really. Pidge may be about to tear her to shreds but she's not heartless enough to do it in front of the whole council. Not to mention the critical looks she'd surely receive from Allura and Shiro, and who knows how Lance would react...

Seems luck is on her side today though when, by some miracle, she and the previously mentioned Lumarian get selected to go check and update the extra security set up from their last visit.

Perfect!

As she's checking over the many systems, Pidge thinks of how she's going to go about this and decides the 'straight-to-the-point' route would probably be best. Without looking up from the screen, in an almost bored tone, she says, "I know what you're doing."

"What do you mean?" The Lumarian asks innocently.

Pidge glances over in annoyance at the act, "You're, quite literally, pulling petals off of flowers trying to get your way," she gestures to the flower in the Lumarian's hand (where did she even get that?!) before chuckling lightly. "You can keep pulling until it say what you want it to say. Heck! You can pick a field full of, what is that a Daisy, but he'd still be my baby."

The Lumarian is practically seething now, turning red in her anger (she's like Tinker Bell, she just needs to stomp her foot to complete the look), but that only fuels Pidge's sass and she's just getting starting.

"I know you can hardly wait till I'm away from him. Instinctively, I know what you're thinking, you'll give him an open invitation, but I guarantee Lance won't be taking it."

"Oh, really?" The Lumarian snapped back, trying for some sass herself.

"Mmmm, yeah..." Pidge said with a smug smile, before mocking, "You can pout your cherry lips, try to tempt him with a sweet kiss, or you can flutt your pretty eyes,"

"However, what you don't know is that he doesn't have his hands tied like you may think. There's no chains to unlock, he's free to do what he wants, but he doesn't. You want to know why?" Pidge stepped, somewhat menacingly, closer to the Lumarian, making sure her next point comes across clearly.

"He's into what he's got. He loves me, he loves you not."

Pidge backs away slowly, finished with her little rant and ready to leave. If looks could kill, the glare the, now red, Lumarian was sending towards Pidge's back would have killed her twice over. The Lumarian crosses her arms and, with a pout, mutters a quick "We'll see about that!"

Pidge smiles as she walks away.

"No matter what you do, he's never gonna be with you." She sing-songs, and with the sweetest 'bye' she could muster, Pidge walks out the door and heads back to her crew, the picture of an irate Lumarian burned into her mind making her laugh.

Y'all know good and well she didn't just walk out that door in the end though, she strutted out that door.

Short but...good? Right? Maybe? I am 100% willing to do more shorts in my free time if people want to send me songs they think would work.

Tagging @ninafujisaki and @kathybuglove because y'all mentioned something about wanting more.

@elby-the-megnet lookie!! I did it! I finished.

Headcanon that Pidge, while not the jealous type, can get very sassy when she wants to if a certain female alien can’t take the hint that her man is taken and not interested and basically quotes songs at them that come off as threats.

#pidgance #plance #lidge #the sass is real #he loves u not by dream #hope yall like it??

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thesundanceghost · 8 years ago

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Could Be Worse

Because I promised you guys a one-shot, and I had a lot of feelings about pre-Season One stancy. This takes place in late October before the show actually begins, right at the start of steve and nancy’s relationship. @stancy, I thought of you while writing this! Also @dadharbour, thanks for calling me out about how i always say i’ll write stuff, because I wrote this entire thing out of spite lol

“Oh my god.” Nancy’s jaw dropped. She was going to kill her brother.

She was holding what should have been her striped grey T-shirt for gym, but instead was a smaller, unflattering grey shirt with the Star Wars logo plastered across the chest above art of all the main characters of the saga.

Mike had switched the shirts. She couldn’t believe him. She knew he’d been annoyed at her all weekend, but this was ridiculous.

None of the other girls seemed to notice or care as they changed quickly and made their way out of the locker room. She glanced at the clock, groaning when she realized she was going to be late unless she changed right away. Grumbling, she stripped out of her sweater and top and pulled on the T-shirt. Luckily it was one of the shirts Mike had bought a size too large, so while it was small, it wasn’t unbearable. She threw her stuff into a locker and quickly walked to join the rest of the girls outside.

To add insult to injury, the coach had lectured her for five minutes in front of everyone about proper attire while the other girls giggled about the unattractive shirt. The coach then announced that they were going to play soccer that day, which was naturally Nancy’s worst sport.

God she hated gym class.

Nancy managed to avoid most contact with the ball by hovering around the sidelines. About fifteen minutes into the game, however, one of her more athletic teammates made the terrible decision of passing to her. She noticed too late, and they all watched the ball fly off the field until it hit a fence.

“Wheeler, go get it,” the coach told her, shaking her head. Nancy just nodded, but as soon as she turned away she started muttering under her breath as she walked towards the ball.

She’d never understand why she was still being subjected to gym class. Last year she’d been lucky enough to share the class with Barb, and the two of them had been able to hang in the background unbothered through most of classes. This year she was all on her own, and it made all the difference in the world. She pulled at the small shirt in frustration, frowning when it kept rising above her waistband.

“Hey, looking for this?”

She looked up at the voice, blinking in surprise. Steve Harrington was holding the soccer ball, eyebrows raised expectantly. He was wearing basketball shorts and a grey T-shirt as well, as she realized he must be in his own PE class as well. After a second, his eyes flicked down to her shirt. He smirked.

Embarrassed, Nancy just nodded quickly and took the ball, holding it in front of her to block him from seeing any more of the nerdy design.

“Come on Wheeler, hurry it up!” Coach Johnson called, and Nancy blushed.

“Thanks,” she muttered before jogging back to the other girls.

Only forty more minutes, and then she could get out of this class, and this stupid shirt.

*****

History was her last class of the day, and luckily she wasn’t on her own for this one. She was able to rant to Barb as they walked to the class together, even though she got the feeling that her friend thought she was a bit too angry at her brother for the prank. Whatever. She was a sixteen-year-old girl. She was allowed to hate her baby brother, right?

They separated once they entered the class, Barb sitting by the door and Nancy heading towards her assigned seat in the back corner.

“Hey Nancy,” Steve greeted her as she set down her stuff. Nancy looked over at Steve Harrington, who was throwing his stuff down on the desk next to her.

“Hi,” she answered back nonchalantly, giving a polite smile. She tried not to think about their run-in earlier, but she had a feeling he’d already forgotten about it. Even though they’d sat next to each other in history for months (as well as having attended the same schools since they were five), they barely ever spoke. She doubted he knew anything about her besides her first name.

Steve turned towards her suddenly, mouth open like he was about to say something, when the bell rang and Ms. Katz made her way to the front of the class. Steve shrugged and turned back to his desk. He was probably just going to ask what we were supposed to read for homework, Nancy thought to herself.

The class passed slowly, as it always did. Ms. Katz was a fine teacher, Nancy supposed. It wasn’t the teacher’s fault that she hated history as much as she did.

She was doodling small UFO’s and dogs in the margins of her notebook when something lightly tapped her arm. She looked over to see a ripped piece of paper folded into fourths.

Nancy stared at the note, picking it up from the corner of her desk so Ms. Katz wouldn’t see it and snatch it up. She frowned when she saw there was no name written on the outside. She glanced around, but nobody seemed expectant, and being in the corner meant that there was really nobody else to receive it. Nancy looked at Steve again, who was tapping his pen repeatedly as watched Ms. Katz.

Sensing her gaze, he looked up and smirked. After glancing towards the front of the classroom cautiously, he raised his eyebrows at her and mimed opening the folded piece of paper.

She was wary, of course, but figured it couldn’t hurt to just read it. Not checking to see if Steve was watching her, she unfolded it and stared at the dark ink waiting inside.

Didn’t take you for a Star Wars fan. Cute shirt though

Nancy read it three times, just to be sure. She was blushing intensely, she knew, so she hid her face as she attempted to get back to the lecture. She tried to listen to her teacher, but her eyes kept flitting over to the words etched over the blue lines on the paper.

She’d sat next to Steve for almost two months at this point, and he’d never said anything besides the occasional “hello” or “did you do the reading?”. They weren’t friends. They were barely even acquaintances. Nancy wasn’t exactly a nerd-- or at least, not like Mike and his squad were-- but her and Barb hardly even existed in the same social realm as Steve Harrington and the rest of the jocks.

Was she supposed to respond? She didn’t know the first thing about passing notes. Not that she was too good for it or anything, there just weren’t that many people who bothered to engage her in it. Steve wasn’t looking at her anymore, but did that mean he wasn’t expecting anything?

After two minutes (though it felt like half an hour) of debating with herself, she gave in. One reply couldn’t hurt, and she had to set the record straight, after all. As discretely as possible, she wrote out a small response under Steve’s writing.

It’s my brother’s. He switched them to get back at me.

She watched Ms. Katz carefully, waiting for the perfect opportunity to set the note on the boy’s desk quickly. She was never one to pass notes during class, and she refused to get in trouble for something as silly as this. After it was safe out of sight in Steve’s hands, she returned to her note-taking.

She’d only written another line of notes by the time the scrap of paper was back on her desk. This time she didn’t waste any time in opening it.

what’d you do to him?

The words were scrawled in that same lazy handwriting, contrasting sharply with her controlled cursive. She scribbled her answer back underneath and carefully placed it back.

He couldn’t go to the movies with his friends since I wouldn’t chaperone.

She heard Steve give a small snort before jotting something down and tossing it over.

Cruel woman, Wheeler. No wonder he set you up.

Nancy barely kept quiet when she read his response, shocked. She quickly replied, handwriting messier than usual, and all but slapped the paper back onto his desk.

I had homework!! Besides, he was being annoying, and it was a stupid movie! I doubt you would’ve gone if it had been your brother

bullshit. I’d be an awesome brother.

Well feel free to take Mike if you’d like to test that theory. He still wants to go to the movies.

Steve actually laughed when he read her reply, but he turned it into a cough before Ms. Katz picked up on it. Nancy couldn’t help but feel pleased at the reaction.

maybe if you came along.

The bell rang before Nancy could write a response. She looked at the clock in shock, not realizing how much time had passed, and realized she hadn’t paid attention to the last ten minutes of class. She’d have to copy the notes from Barb before the quiz. Although she was ready to go home, she found herself strangely disappointed by the end of the school day.

Steve had already packed his bag and was making his way to the door, but before he left he threw her a glance, a small smile on his lips. “See you on Wednesday,” he said with a wink, ruffling his hair one last time.

Nancy could only watch him, not remembering to put away her things until he was out of sight. Barb was by her side in an instance.

“What was that?” Barb demanded as they made their way down the hallway.

“Nothing,” Nancy defended, still holding the paper in her hand.

“You were passing notes with Steve Harrington and you expect me to believe it was nothing?” Barb asked, incredulous. “What did you even talk about?”

“Nothing, Barb!” Nancy said with a laugh, even though she herself had no idea what to think about the interaction. “It was just a conversation.”

“Can I read the note?”

“No!” Nancy shot back immediately, though she wasn’t sure why. There was nothing incriminating about it, and she hadn’t lied when she said they’d just been talking, but she really didn’t want to see what Barb had to say about it. She clenched the paper a bit tighter.

Barb noticed, of course, and looked at her with raised eyebrows.

“Look, he was probably just bored or something. I doubt he’ll even look at me on Wednesday. It’s not like we’re suddenly friends or anything,” Nancy said with a shrug.

Barb sighed, but obediently changed the subject. As they made their way to the parking lot, Nancy saw Steve leaning against his car as he talked to Tommy Harding. She refused to look at him, not wanting to give Barb the satisfaction, but she got the feeling he was watching her. Something fluttered in her chest.

Maybe she’d let Mike off the hook this once.

#so yeah keep in mind this is pre-s1 so mike and nancy dont get along and steve's a ffuckboy #also i will probs post this to ao3 too just to keep track of it #its not very good but at least its finished #stancy #steve harrington #nancy wheeler #stranger things #stranger things fanfic

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topicprinter · 8 years ago

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Background: For the past year and a half (on and off) I have been brainstorming and researching my company name, logo, website, cost breakdown, insurance, scaling potential, competitors, etc.This all started when I stumbled upon a market that seemed to have extremely weak competition. By weak I mean ugly websites that are hard to navigate, they aren't clear about pricing (and once i did dig to find the prices they seemed about 15-20% too high) hardly any social media presence... things of that nature. I began to see this as an opportunity to dominate the market so I ran the numbers and it confirmed my decision to take the steps I need to enter and eventually take over. Obviously this is all vague and useless information to you so the tl;dr is I've found the market I want to dominate, I have the blueprint of my company laid out + 99% completed, I've crunched the numbers.. and now here is my current plan of action moving forward:Continue conducting research on my target demographic and gather as much info as possible.Continue to stay on top of each competitor and their customers.I plan on taking this company public Jan 1, 2018. By public I simply mean begin physical and digital marketing. From right now, July, right up until Jan 1 I will be doing nothing but research, developing and perfecting marketing strategies and saving money for the initial start up costs ($3000, high balled).Jan 1 onward: the company will now have an online presence in the form of a website and marketing will begin. The reason I need a website to begin marketing is because this is a registration-based company. Without trying to give too much away, think of it as a small rec league for an individual sport/game with my target market being middle schoolers from 1 very highly populated county in my state.From Jan 1 to Feb 1, I will be non-stop hammering all marketing avenues with every second of my spare time. Feb 1 is when early registration will open. I will continue hammering down marketing strategies until Feb 14, which is the date our regular registration period will open. This will last until March 1.First week of March will be our late registration period. I will no longer be doing any advertising come March 1 (obv). All my attention will be on preparing the league for games. The spring season will begin March 10 and last 9 weeks including 1 bye week and at this point 100% of my efforts will be towards making sure the league operates at maximum efficiency and at minimum effort for the customers (the parents of the kids who will be playing in this league).I have made sure I can provide a better quality experience through simple things (such as free giant water/Gatorade coolers and paper cups at games, higher quality league t shirts, end of the year incentives {re: parties} for the whole league, etc.) all while keeping my cost below the current lowest competitor on the market.What allows me to do this isn't magic, it is simply my willingness and ability to take on a work load greater than that of my competitors and put in the manual labor needed to cut physical costs down to practically $0. I will be doing all the physical advertising (design, creation, installation) myself. I have created the website myself using squarespace. I am splitting the initial cost ($3k) with a significant other. There is no one but me, my SO, and who we end up contracting out as a reffing service (if I and my SO can't find a cheaper alternative). Doing this whole thing by myself has allowed me two freedoms: the freedom to control practically every aspect of the company and the freedom to take hits on certain categories of revenue (cost per shirt, end of year parties, excess water+Gatorade, etc.) because I have no responsibility to pay anyone but myself and my SO. And obviously we will not be paying ourselves a dime until we can achieve all of our short term goals for this company.I'm not even sure if 5 people have made it this far but on the off chance some of you have, I have a few questions for anyone willing to answer.What tools have you found most beneficial for learning more about your target market? My target market is middle schoolers and at the same time it's their parents as they have to pay. My current approach is to target parents and hope they bring the message back into the household and spark their child's interest in joining the league while simultaneously gathering as much exposure to these kids as possible through physical advertising.What can a youth league do that would automatically separate them, in your mind, from their competitors? My current thoughts: free water and Gatorade, end of year events, tons of media coverage (photos, videos, team updates posted daily/weekly to our website). Future thoughts: provide healthy/lightweight snacks (grapes, strawberries, chips) alongside drink coolers once economically viable.How does volunteer coaching work? I mean tax-wise, incentives-wise, etc.. As of right now I plan on offering a "family plays free" incentive for coaching. I don't know what else I could offer that would be appealing to people who are already willing to volunteer their time in the first place. Would I need anything more than that?As for my company timeline, I think I have just about everything figured out. I need help with when and how I should start campaigning for volunteer coaches. Without coaches we can't play as the coaches of each team will act as an informational bridge between the parents and players and myself, the company. Most everything will be able to be found on our website but as we all know, it's nice to be able to pick up the phone and just figure out wtf is going on in any given situation by talking to an actual person.I can't think of any more questions I have but I'll update with any that may pop up in my head as soon as they do. A few random thoughts and clarifications I have before I pass out because it's 5:30am:This will be a 10 team, 15 player (max) roster size league. There must be 10 players on game day for a game to be played. 12 players max on game day will be allowed to play per team. I chose 15 as max roster size because life happens and not everyone can make it every week. Do you think this number is too high? Should I lower max roster size?Sponsors. It seems to me that the number one advantage of obtaining sponsorships for my new youth league would be reinforcement of legitimacy to the parents. I know absolutely nothing about this part. As of today my plan is to reach out to each individual potential sponsor and ask if they wouldn't mind me using their logo on our website and t shirts. They have to do no work and they get free ad space. This seems like a win-win for both parties and leaves them no reason to deny me the right to use their logos. Am I missing something? I feel like that is just simply way too easy. How do negotiations for sponsorship typically go? I would love insight into this in particular more than anything else.E1: Inaugural season. I'm thinking special t shirts to commemorate it as well as some small material prize at the end of the season (on top of the end of the year party). Haven't given this one much thought but I'm convinced there needs to be some way to commemorate our first season. Drawstring bags for the kids with our logo on it maybe? I loved those bags as a child.Thanks for reading and if you have any questions about the specifics of any of this, feel free to PM. I'd love nothing more than to listen to any and all feedback you can give me. This was a 5am rant on mobile so I apologize in advance for however this ends up looking.. lol.

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