#all while knowing their young cast will age up 2 years and look drastically different

[chirpsythismorning]

Static kiss truthers live your truth

[spotofimagines]

No Longer A Secret ~ Isaiah Jesus

A/N: A year later, here’s part 3. I think I’ll make this the last part because it took a lot out of me tbh. I hope you enjoy it!

Requested by: a bunch of you a while ago (sorry for the wait!) [ tagging: @anyasthoughts​ ]

Warnings: pregnancy, family fighting

Summary: Isaiah held up his end of the bargain, now you’ve got to do your part and finally tell your family your secret.

Part 1(Keeping A Secret) - Part 2(Unveiling A Secret)

gif by @pvkyblinders​

More had changed for you in the past few weeks than you thought possible. Being a Shelby meant you were used to drastic change pretty often, but you, along with Finn, were usually the last of your siblings to know what was going on, being kept in the dark for as long as possible.

Being on the other side of the fence this time and having to tell your family this information was filling you with a lot of dread, especially when it came to Arthur. He was volatile with regular news at times, so how bad was he going to be when he heard that the little sister he protects with his life is not only pregnant and engaged but that you stole money so you could hide it from him?

Walking into the Shelby household had never felt so tense. The hallway so small. The dark walls so imposing. Isaiah's gentle touch on your waist made you jump a little bit as you were so trapped in your fear. "You alright, babe?" He uttered in your ear, truthfully knowing the answer would be no but needing some reassurance before you both faced your family. You didn’t answer him, struggling for once to cover how you felt with a lie, but luckily you didn’t need to; with Isaiah, you never really have.

Slowly moving through the house, you shouted out a hello and heard Tommy's voice reply from the kitchen. You were about to make your way to them when the hand you reached out behind you met thin air. Peering over your shoulder in search of the rock you need in Isaiah, he came just in time out of the living room, Finn two steps behind him and tucking an empty tube of tokyo in his inside pocket. You shared a silent greeting through a smile - weak on your side from nervousness and sheepish on his side from being caught - before grabbing Isaiah's hand and carrying on into the kitchen.

The first sight you were graced with was Tommy's frown as he lit a cigarette, nodding his head to you when you entered the room, his frown dissipating when he leant back against the counter and the smoke left his mouth. A stressful morning with business was the last thing you wanted. Everyone’s emotions would be heightened and their tethers near breaking point. The breath in your lungs almost got caught in your throat just at the thought.

But Arthur's voice filled the room before it could. "Y/N, Isaiah, y'alright?" He asked loudly, walking through the room to give an envelope to Tommy, and the cheerful tones told you maybe the stress was on Tommy's shoulders only. You hummed in response, not quite brave enough to open your mouth yet.

Finn nudging past your shoulder by mistake kept you alert to your surroundings as Isaiah went to give a quick greeting to Michael, who sat reading the newspaper with a cup of tea at the table, before pouring some tea for himself. "Watch out would ya," Arthur spoke, shoving Finn playfully to the side, Finn getting out of the way and sitting at the table with a grumble, wiping his nose a bit, "bloody boy." Arthur muttered to himself, his usual temper present but masterfully pushed down, before locking eyes with you still stood in the doorway.

"Y'alright love?" He asked, stopping in his tracks to make sure things were okay. You darted out of your thoughts to look at your brother properly. "Hm? Yeah. Can you stay here a minute though?" You responded, averting your eyes and turning toward everyone else.

Missing the way Arthur shrugged his hands and ventured back to the table, leaning his hands on the back of the last spare chair, you took a breath and steadied yourself.

A quiet rolled over the small room when you picked a slip of paper out of your purse, unfolded it and put it on the table, right under Arthur’s nose for him to read.

A cheque. The first cheque he’s ever seen signed off with your name. A cheque disclosing the exact amount that disappeared from the vault a month ago.

Arthur frowned up at you confused before moving to pick it up himself. “What’s this then?” He asked, looking around at the others for a bit of a clue but finding no help. Tommy rifled through the envelope he’d been given. Michael cast a glance at the cheque then went back to finishing his article. Finn sat scratching his head, keeping himself out of the conversation like he was used to, not that he’d be that much help to Arthur anyway.

When Arthur met your eyes again, you took a deep breath. “The money, from the vault. I’m giving it back.” Arthur’s eyes shot wide, surprised you had been the culprit of the incident (he’d had his eyes on a young blinder he was certain was responsible for a week now).

“You took it? How come?” He frowned again as he asked the question. This one was a little harder to answer. Not only were Arthur’s eyes on you, but Finn was watching you precariously and Michael had let the newspaper in his hand drop on his lap to focus on you too.

You didn’t dare look at Michael, knowing his gaze would stare straight through you and make you crumble under pressure. This money theft had been weighing heavily in the back of Michael’s mind so he wasn’t going to let the answer go without scathe.

“To go to the doctors. I didn’t have my own money to use.” You quickly added, wanting to justify your actions before they could blame you unfairly.

“The doctors?” Arthur repeated, looking over at Tommy again who was still reading through his letter. “What you going the doctor’s for? You’re alright, ain’t you? Nothing wrong?” He spoke, dismissing the reason and not believing you’d have a serious issue without him knowing first.

And that panicked you. Your heart speeding up already. There was something up, something that couldn’t be dismissed, something very well worth seeing the doctor for.

However, a second long glance at Isaiah calmed you down. He stood behind Arthur, porcelain cup of tea in one hand, the other tucked comfortably in his pant pocket. He wasn’t preparing for a fight at all, so why should you? One small subtle nod from him and you knew you’d be fine to speak, regardless of the outcome. He’d be there, Tommy would be there, you wouldn’t find a better chance to say it than now.

“Because I'm pregnant.” The words came out as feebly as you thought they would as you peered down at you feet. Arthur’s eyebrows raised in shock before clearing his throat with a cough that stopped the room from being silent.

“What?” His voice gravelled out of his chest. You looked up to meet his gaze, unnerving and unwavering, daring you to repeat the words he thought he heard the first time.

The movement of Isaiah putting his cup down on the counter had you squaring your shoulders a little. It was a change Tommy didn’t miss when he glanced up after the quiet lack of response, causing him to put the papers in his coat pocket for later.

You repeated yourself, louder this time, more assured despite the clear indifference Arthur's eyes held.

Smoke trailed out of Michael's mouth as he sat up straight in his chair, the cloud dissolving into nothing whilst he folded his newspaper up. Finn didn’t move, quickly inspecting the reactions of Tommy and Arthur before even thinking of speaking up.

Tommy stood still reclined against the counter, cigarette burning between his fingers as he kept his eyes on Arthur and on the door behind you in equal parts, making sure he was prepared for anything that might happen but refraining from acting on it yet.

Arthur’s hand tightened on the back of the wooden chair and his fixed look didn’t let up. He was angry, but he couldn’t quite place his finger on the reason why. Maybe it was because his sweet little sister wasn’t that anymore. Maybe it was because he’d let Isaiah recklessly get his hands on you. Maybe it was because you were young and silly and not ready for this in the slightest. Maybe it was because you hid it from him, and even went as far as stealing, right from the pocket of your family, to stop him from knowing. All of it was hitting him like a dagger in the chest.

His eyes hadn’t left yours before his gruff voice broke the silence again. “Y/N, you better tell me you’re joking now or I swear...” He spoke quietly and your chest shook as you breathed, your lungs tight from nervousness but your shoulders held strong. You weren’t backing down from him, no matter how much your hands trembled.

You shook your head at your brother. “I'm not playing. I'm having a baby, with Isaiah, and I'm keeping it.” Arthur’s eyebrows moved up and down quickly as he sighed out in order to keep his words down. He turned his head toward Tommy, whose face was stoic, not telling Arthur anything at all as he smoked. Arthur’s teeth clenched when he turned back to you, annoyed at the lack of backup from his brother and unsure where to start with his sister.

“You can’t be having a baby, Y/N,” Arthur's voice the only noise in the crowded room. “And why’s that?” You challenged him, his knuckles almost turning white against the chair. Finn's hands fidgeted with the cap on his lap, not wanting to be in the middle of this but not able to escape.

“Really? Well,” he huffed as he stood straight, fingers finally releasing the wooden seat, “you don’t have your own house, you have no cash, you can’t even look after yourself Y/N you’re too young for this!” He listed off the reasons on his hand, voice getting louder with each word that came out.

You put your hands on your hips, frustration mixing with the need to defend yourself as you matched Arthur’s level with your retort. “This is no different to John when he had Martha on her second kid at this age.”

Arthur waved his hand and shook his head. “That’s very different Y/N-"

“How is this different? Why is this any different at al-"

“It just is!” He shouted, slamming a hand on the table between you. You instantly jumped back at the sudden outburst, the boys both flinching too with Michael taking his elbow off the table and Finn scuffing his chair back a bit.

Isaiah stood firmly in his space now and toyed with the cuffs of his jacket to refrain himself from action. Another movement Tommy observed and he internally rolled his eyes at it. Isaiah knew well that this was your time and your situation to control, and that you needed to deal with your brothers in your own way for your own sake. A fight would help nothing right now.

“And before you’re married? Y/N, you aren’t even married for Christ’s sake!”

“You think I'm not married, do you?” You snapped, stopping Arthur from his inching closer and closer over the table top. Tommy’s head shot up in your direction and you could have sworn you found confusion on Arthur’s face before a second later, his and everyone else's attention was drawn away.

Polly opened the double doors from the shop to step through into the kitchen, shutting them behind her. "What in god’s name is going on in here? You're shouting the fucking street down." She chastises through her teeth with a scornful look sent Arthur's way. Neither you nor Arthur dropped your angry stares until Polly's demand of an answer had Arthur stepping away.

"Well," Arthur says, tension in every sound as he walked around the table to Polly's side, "it seems our darling angel girl has gone and got herself up the duff, hasn't she?" He said with bitterness in his words but a thankfully lowered voice as he shot his hand toward you. Polly met your gaze, concerned about the tears that lined your eyes but saying nothing about it yet.

"And that's just so terrible for you, is it?" You spite back, not giving Polly a chance to intervene. You guessed she'd be just as mad as Arthur for you being so silly and reckless, and you needed to fight for this on your own. To Arthur’s point, you had to look after yourself. If not now, when?

However, it isn't the news that's got her concerned, it's the venom in Arthur's words.

"You're not even married Y/N!” He continued his former point, “What are people gonna thin-"

"Well I am getting bloody married aren't I!" You interrupted, throwing your hands up in the anger that's finally caught up with you. Tommy raises his eyebrows questioningly as he keeps watching your movements, a quiet washing over the room again as the boys sat at the table wait for what's coming next.

"I'm engaged," You hold your hand up, your ring glinting in the light, "because Isaiah proposed to me, because he loves me," you drop your hand back to your side in defeat, "more than I can say for some..."

Tommy and Isaiah share a small glance before Isaiah turned to watch you again, leaving that conversation for later, or hopefully never.

After a moment of silent eye contact between you and Arthur, as his chest moved up and down with heavy breaths, he sighed and let his hands drop too.

“You think I don’t love you?” He uttered, “hm?” When he received only silence from you, faced with watching you stare at your feet to avoid him, he almost felt sick.

Everything he does is to protect you, to protect all the people he loves. Even now, as he’s in a blazing shouting match with you, it’s not because he’s angry - no, not truly - but because he’s scared you won’t be okay. Scared that you’re becoming something different to the little girl he practically helped raise. Scared you’ll be going into a world where he can’t protect you anymore.

He can deal with fighting and shouting, but he could never live with himself if you thought he felt anything but love for you.

His breath got caught in his throat and he could sense Polly's eyes burning a hole through his skull. Swallowing his pride, he tentatively asked, “Are you happy?”

“More than ever.” You immediately replied to his sincere-as-possible question.

He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair, subtly meeting Tommy's eye across the room - who doesn't move an inch - then walked around the table with his arms out wide, inviting you to him.

He hugged you tightly and you felt his shaky hands settle on your back. “Then how mad can I be?” He muttered and a small smile etched onto your face, eyes squeezing closed which made the tears you’d been holding finally roll down your cheeks. All the strength you feigned left you as you hugged him back, thankful for your brother’s arms to be holding you up like normal.

With Arthur’s acceptance and lack of Tommy’s protest, Finn stood to his feet and as Arthur held your face, wiping your tears with a loving but faintly nervous smile, Finn made his way to you to give his own congratulatory hug.

Arthur took a second, watching his younger siblings before scanning the room to get his bearings again. And he went straight to Isaiah, gripping him under his arm and pulling him close, sternly muttering the typical older brother threats in his ear for only him to hear. You missed the words said but by the slightly distant look behind Isaiah’s eyes you quickly got the gist.

Pulling away from your hug with Finn, you met Tommy’s eyes across the room as he still leant unmoved against the counter, extinguishing his cigarette in the ash tray beside him. He sent you a wink and a nod, the corners of his mouth poking up for only you to catch sight of.

“Don’t worry Arthur, of course I will.” The words from your fiancé caused you to turn just in time to see your brother patting Isaiah’s neck before walking away, mumbling about a much-needed drink as he dragged his feet through the shop doors and the usual bustling noise of the building returned.

When Isaiah’s gaze met yours, the sliver of fear in his eyes was completely overshadowed by the confident love he held for you. You sent him a silent apology with your eyes which he dismissed with a shake of his head. He took a few steps toward you and gave you a quick kiss before squeezing you into his familiar tight hug, whispering not to stress about it into your neck. It was enough to stop you falling to pieces right in the middle of the family kitchen.

Isaiah rubbed his hand over your back and pulled his head back up, an inch from giving you a quick peck on the lips when his shoulders shot up with a hiss. He quickly turned his head with an angry scowl that instantly vanished at the sight of Polly. She tilted her head to the side, getting Isaiah to take his hands off you without a word. Isaiah left the two of you to yourselves to avoid the wrath of your aunt and went to join Michael across the room, rubbing the back of his neck as he walked.

Polly smirked at your shocked face and it grew when your surprise turned into a slight shocked laugh, shaking your head bemused at her actions. She held a cup of tea out for you and you took a step closer to her. Part of you was still wary of what she'll have to say about your pregnancy, but part of you was also comforted by her presence, knowing she'll never let your brothers step too far out of line with you.

"Are you mad?" You asked cautiously, never wanting to assume with her. She was pouring another cup of tea as she answered. "I was a little when I first found out, I thought I'd told you more than enough times to be careful," she shot you a nettled look before turning to face you properly, "then I had about two weeks for the idea to grow on me." Once again she smirked at the shock on your face. Of course Polly knew, you hardly had to tell her anything without her figuring it out for herself first.

"You'll be fine dear, he's not the worst." Polly joked sincerely, clinking your cups and taking a gulp before putting it down on the side again. You’d yet to move, stunned into stillness by her revelation, when her hand lay firmly on your small belly. She stared down in thought for a few seconds, her touch a stark contrast to the sharp slap Isaiah felt a moment earlier.

A feeling of relief you'd only ever felt once before - when John shot a bullet that skimmed your leg at 12 years old – had managed to fill your chest, almost enough to overwhelm you were it not for the grounding touch of your Aunt Polly.

You let her process her mystic prediction as you finally moved, sipping your drink and sending a smirk over to Isaiah to match his own.

Polly looked up at you with a smile spreading over her face and joy filling her eyes. “A beautiful baby girl.”

[whosaysitsfantasy]

Juke/Maddison & Charlie

So I just want to address something about Juke and then I’m literally not going to talk about it again, because I’ve seen a few posts about people shipping the actors and then people hating on the ship a little bit because of the age gap and it’s just been frustrating me so I wan’t to kinda get this out and then just get back to enjoying the show. Also Apologies if this upsets anyone but these are my opinions and you in no way have to agree with them I just ask that you read my thoughts fully before passing judgment and to please be respectful.

Here is what I think it is ok to do:

Shipping Luke and Julie together. Why? Because in the show they are both teenagers (16/17). I saw someone say it was kinda gross because the boys should be like 42? which I think is a little ridiculous because if they had lived sure they would have been 42 or w.e. but they didn’t... they died, and it is  canon that to them no time has passed. What this means is that the boys are still mentally, emotionally and physically 17 years old. For this reason the characters are perfectly capable of being together and their biggest obstacle remains Luke being a ghost lol. 

Here is what I think it is NOT ok to do: 

Shipping Maddison and Charlie together in real life. Now I’m going to break down for you why this is gross and not ok and why saying “when she’s 18 he can date her” is also not ok. 

A 16 year old and a 22 year old have two completely different maturity levels. A 16 year old can be mature absolutely but that doesn’t mean that they are at the  same maturity level as a 22 year old. I’m 26 and I can tell you that my maturity changed DRASTICALLY between the ages of 16-24. I use to think I was very mature when I was 16. When I hit 22 and looked back at who I was I realized that I was not nearly as mature as I believed I was and now at 26 I can clearly see the differences in who I was as a person at these ages. I can guarantee that most people (if they’re self aware enough) would agree that their maturity level was completely different as a teenager then it was once they hit their twenties. A lot of this has to do with the simple fact that in your 20′s you’ve typically gained more life experience through jobs, and relationships and higher education your brain has also developed more. Now. Maddison is definitely mature for her age in no way am I claiming she isn’t however it is still very obvious through different interviews and lives I’ve seen of her and of Charlie that they are not at the same level. Mentally, emotionally, physically.They definitely have more of a brother/sister friendship. It’s clear that they care about each other and they can of course get a long as friends but friendship and an intimate relationship are two completely different things. Maddison and Charlie’s maturity’s work fine as a friendship but if you were to factor in intimacy and romance it quickly becomes problematic. Some people might still think that the maturity levels don’t matter. I’m here to tell you it does. 

While I don’t think that Charlie would be the type of guy to ever pressure a girl he is with, that doesn’t mean that the pressure would not still exist. If they were to hypothetically date Maddison could easily feel pressured into participating in things she might not really feel ready for like certain intimate acts, parties ect because she want’s to please her partner or because she might feel like this is what she SHOULD be doing rather then doing what she is emotionally and mentally ready for. That pressure can easily influence someone of a young age who hasn’t had many experiences into doing things they eventually regret or doing things that end up having a negative impact on their mental health and the way they view themselves or even how they view healthy/unhealthy relationships down the line. Now Maddison seems smart and has a good support system but your support system can’t protect you 24/7 in an intimate relationship no matter how hard they try which is why a lot of teenagers end up going through something that they end up wishing they hadn’t done because they didn’t know any better. To also say that he can just “wait” for her to turn 18 is just predatory and gross and suggests that it’s still ok to pursue someone of a young age so long as you wait till they are legal which it is not that still means you wanted to be with a minor even if you wait till they are 18.

Also it is important to note that an actors personal life is NONE of your business. An Actors job is to perform in the show/play/movie that they have been hired to perform in and to then promote that project. That’s it. That is all they owe you and anything else is entirely up to their discretion. You are not owed information about their personal lives and you are not owed a say in who they date. If you like two actors who are dating and you think they are cute that’s fine, if they are sharing their relationship and you want to support it that is fine but you have to understand boundaries. I’ve seen fans overstep in a LOT of fandoms (one example being Lili and Cole from Riverdale) where they attack other people for being close to the people in the relationship or they bother the actors to update them about their relationship ect. It’s disrespectful and it’s honestly not your place regardless of if they have shared information about a relationship previously. It’s also not cool to try to pressure the actors into dating, you don’t know what they are actually like irl you have no idea if they are actually compatible you do not have a full picture of the situation and for that reason your opinion should be kept to yourself.

Finally I want to address the whole Luke & Julie kissing issue because I totally understand why people are a little uncertain about it due to the age gap. Now normally I’d be a little put off by it but I am actually ok with the idea of Luke and Julie kissing on screen and I’m just going to list off quickly below why I think it’s ok and why I wouldn’t get upset if it happened.

1. It is very clear that Maddison’s family (specifically her dad) are very involved with Maddison and her job on JATP. Mr.Reyes is often shown on set with her at rehearsals and during shooting. He was there when they practiced the perfect harmony dance which I personally thought was kinda intimate. I feel better about it because I know she has a strong support system who will be there to ensure that if a kiss DID happen she would be safe because she has her family looking out for her on set.

2. Much like above both Kenny and Charlie are very respectful people who very clearly have a lot of respect and love for Maddison. I also don’t think they would ever put Maddison into a position she was uncomfortable with. If a kiss DID happen I am sure there will be a lot of conversations about it and it would be done in a respectful healthy way.

3. This is a job. They are not kissing because they like each other in real life they are not pursuing anything romantically. They are performing a job that they are being paid for in front of a group of people also performing a job. This for me helps me feel less gross about it because even though they are actually kissing it’s not a ‘real’ romantic kiss. It’ll be a staged one that they have gone over and discussed at length with Kenny.

4. This is a Kenny Ortega project. The show has very clearly established that the relationships are about more than physical intimacy. IF we get a kiss between Julie and Luke we are not going to get more then a PG rated kiss.. hell probably more of a G rated kiss. Not only because this is a project by Kenny but because the actors are different ages. It is also unlikely that we will get more then one maybe two kisses a season. I personally don’t think they’re going to make them kiss in season two I think it might happen if we get season 3 but I would still be ok with a season 2 kiss because again it will probably be very simple and very respectful especially cause it’ll also probably be Julie’s 1st kiss. If they were to have them  make out or something that would be when I would  feel uncomfortable, but that just doesn’t seem like Kenny’s vibe. He’s worked with a lot of young actors and it’s not like they’re going to french kiss or something. Kissing is intimate of course but a small closed mouth kiss is honestly pretty innocent in my opinion especially if done correctly. So it doesn’t bother me much.

5. Finally by the time they get around to filming a season 2 or 3 Maddison will also be a bit older (17 or 18) hopefully so she will also be at an age where it will feel more comfortable for her.

So in conclusion: shipping Juke good, shipping Maddy & Charlie bad and wanting Juke to kiss is acceptable so long as they do it appropriately which from what I’ve seen of the cast and the crew I believe they would. I personally have a lot of faith in the creators of this show it’s clearly a very healthy supportive environment and I trust that they know what they are doing. 

Again these are my personal opinions but I felt like some people weren’t really looking at it from a completely logical standpoint but more of an emotional one which is understandable because its a very serious subject matter and it could very well also be a trigger for many people who’ve gone through something similar. I just needed to get all that off my chest cause this kind of thing can breed negativity in fandoms and thats why I don’t participate in them anymore. and listen if this was a different show with a different cast and crew and creator and they had a 16 year old and a 22 year old kissing I would probably find it more unsettling but I think one of the reasons why we all love this show so much is BECAUSE it is so healthy and because the cast are so involved and vocal about the show. I have no doubt in my mind that Maddison would have the space to speak up if she was uncomfortable and I have no doubt in my mind that Kenny and her family would make sure she was safe.

So anyways thanks for coming to my ted talk and please if you disagree that’s totally ok just don’t be hateful, I’m happy to have discussions but I won’t tolerate rudeness cause at the end of the day it’s a show and it’s out of our hands and I’m not saying you have to agree with me. This is just how I feel about these issues. 

Ok thanks bye <3

[toloveawarlord]

Ch. 2

Characters: Elaine, Arthur x Theo, Vincent

Pairing: Elaine x Isaac (eventually)

Tagging: @plumpblueberry​ @lady-moonbroch​

A/N: This chapter turned out nothing like the first draft XD Enjoy some Elaine spending time with her Uncle and she meets a boy!

Four days into her new job as Theo’s assistant, the mood in their home had drastically lifted. Elaine never complained and paid close attention to every task given to her, exceeding all expectations. She quoted things he’d said to her years ago and questioned smartly, craving the knowledge he had. Having her along had proved quite useful with prickly clients, smoothing over situations with a charming smile and sweet words, likely emulating Arthur. 

Theo enjoyed having time with her. In recent years, they’d grown strained. The teenager wanted more freedom and broke rules in place to protect her because she believed them unnecessary. Now, at nearly eighteen in only two days, she’d fought harder. Being able to keep an eye on her put the art dealer at little more at ease.

His daughter sat across from him, glancing at him out of the corner of her vision. Elaine hadn’t taken the news that she couldn’t accompany him today well. Instead of anger, she’d pouted silently all morning.

“I take it that you aren’t happy with today’s agenda,” Arthur piped up with an amused grin not quite hidden by his cup of steaming coffee. The previous night Theo had informed him of the impending unhappy teenager.

Elaine stuffed the fork full of pancakes into her mouth, enough to make her cheeks puff out to match her frown. She’d gotten up extra early and made pancakes and extra sweet coffee, but the answer remained unchanged. Now, she wanted to drown her sorrows in syrup and butter until she got sick.

“Vincent has asked for you to help him today while I’m gone.” Theo could easily see the motive behind his brother’s sudden request. He’d promised to make her do some work instead of spoiling her the entire day.

The teenager flinched at those words. She couldn’t very well turn down her uncle, as she adored him so much. Help isn’t the word she’d choose to describe what the day would entail. He’d likely ask her to do a small task or two, nothing that required much effort. “Fine. I guess I can do that.”

Working didn’t bother her. She assisted around the house with the chores without complaint. If Comte asked, she would readily agree. It irritated her that this client wouldn’t allow her entrance to his home, prompting this sour mood. No promises of being quiet or staying outside had swayed Theo. He couldn’t risk spooking the man.

“If you find yourself in need of something to do, I can have you proofread for me.” Her grimace only made the mystery writer chuckle again. Her disdain for that job well-known. Though she enjoyed his stories, playing editor didn’t appeal to her. A tedious thing.

Theo cracked a grin, rising from the table. “You better thank Vincent for saving you from that.” One check of his watch ended the conversation. He bid his family farewell before heading into town alone.

“Are you sure you don’t want to help your Papa with his work?” Arthur teased further. He had been a tad jealous that she eagerly wanted to assist Theo over the course of the week. Ah, but he was also grateful that the two were more understanding of each other.

Elaine stacked all the empty plates to carry them to the kitchen. “I love you but no.” Her curt reply still amusing. Setting the dishes in the sink, she licked the sticky syrup off her fingers.

“Off you go then. I’ll take care of the cleanup.”

The young vampire didn’t need to be told twice. Housework didn’t appeal to her either. She did her part, pitching in when needed, but if told she didn’t have to do it... the teenager bailed as quickly as she could.

Inside the mansion, the hallways were quiet and empty.  At this hour, everyone should be awake, except for Leonardo perhaps. Rapping her fist against Vincent’s door, she cast confused glances down the hallway.

“Goede morgen, Elaine,” Vincent greeted with a bright smile. He laughed softly at her confusion. Since Arthur and Theo had moved out of the mansion with her when she was only 4 years old, daily happenings didn’t reach their house as quickly as it spread through the mansion. “We’re the only ones here today.”

“I’m okay with that.” She flashed a disheartened smile, unable to shake the dark cloud hanging over her. Her normally mischievous and lively attitude disappeared. The others might have tried to make her understand. She understood perfectly fine.

That didn’t make it less saddening.

“Come here.” He’d barely open his arms and invited his niece to find comfort with him when the teenager stepped forward and accepted the warm hug. Vincent stroked his fingers through her copper hair. He wouldn’t say it out loud, but she reminded him so much of Theo when he was a child. “You know, he couldn’t stop talking about how wonderful you were on the job.”

“Really?”

It wasn’t that he hadn’t said so to her. Theo would give praise often, especially when she came up with new ideas. Telling the others about it, that was rarer.

Vincent hummed in response, a gentle smile on his lips as she peeked up at him. “I’d say he was outright bragging. I’m not surprised. You’re his daughter after all.” Placing a kiss on the top of her head, he laughed softly at her uplifted mood.

Elaine lingered a little longer before releasing him, soaking up his sunshine-like warmth. “I guess I could stop pouting about it.” Relenting her sad feelings, she sighed softly before questioning. “So, what was it you wanted my help with?”

“I finished the final painting and I thought I’d ask for your expert advice on where to put it in the gallery space. That is, if you want to.” His request was well-received with a glowing smile from his niece. Theo had mentioned that he’d given her the sole responsibility of choosing how to use the space to best showcase the art. The uncle looked forward to seeing what she’d done.

***********

The paintings on the wall were shrouded in black cloth, to hide the precious items from view until the day of the showing. Only a select few knew what was beneath, ones trusted by Theo to make this a success. Elaine had been gifted one of the only keys to venue, a testament to her importance.

“I believe I’m looking forward to this event more than any other,” Vincent commented, allowing the staff to hang the framed piece in its designated spot.

The heat in her cheeks caused the teenager to turn her gaze anywhere else. “It’s not much different from how Vader does it. I’ve been to more of these than any other event in the city.” The location changed but ever since she learned to walk, she’d been toddling around, observing, and learning how it works. Before she’d even realized, she’d begun understanding color theory and composition.

“It wasn’t too long ago that you were only a few years old and correcting patrons on the medium or style of the art. You always had this incredibly serious expression, much like Theo.”

“That was so long ago! I’m almost eighteen!”

Vincent chuckled with a loving smile. “Yes, I guess that’s right.”

The chime of the door timed perfectly with one of the staff calling to speak with Vincent. Elaine stepped away to investigate the newcomer. Violet eyes narrowed at the sight of a boy, likely no older than herself, attempting to take a peek at the portrait veiled by the black cloth. “Excuse me, but you can’t be in here.” Her tone less than polite, Elaine thrust her palms against his chest to push him away from the art piece.

“Oh, my apologies. I’ve been most curious about why there are staff entering but it’s never been open for business.” His emerald eyes filled with hidden intent that didn’t quite match the half smirk on his lips. The boy never resisted her pushing him back to the door and onto the street. “A secretive operation, I presume, miss?”

“Elaine and we don’t open for another two days.”

Her biggest fear was that he was a spy for le academia and all of her father’s hard work would go to waste if they were discovered. He didn’t fit the typical appearance of a high bred family, usually scrawny and uptight, and he wasn’t either of those things.

“I’ll have to pop in when you are open. My name is Leon Autry.” He flashed another brilliantly smug smile and winked. “Might I inquire your surname, should I have any future questions?” The reason lost on the recipient. He’d yet to ask anything relevant to the gallery.

Elaine turned on her heel to return inside. “It’s Doyle.” Even though she didn’t quite like the boy, she couldn’t risk turning away a potential buyer. Her cheeks were warm, and it wasn’t clear if it was from embarrassment or anger. The young pureblood didn’t have many friends her age, and that led to a bit of awkwardness when around humans her age.

“Ah, like the writer.”

The girl stilled, hand hovering above the door handle. Perhaps she’d heard him incorrectly.

“You might not know of him. He’s a British writer, mystery, I think.”

Or perhaps not.

“I believe it’s Arthur Conan Doyle. Any relation?” Leon asked as if he already knew the answer, like playing a game of truth or dare in order reveal a secret for confirmation.

Elaine relaxed her shoulders. Although she could hardly admit that she was indeed was the daughter of that very Arthur, albeit the vampire one, she wouldn’t allow him to glean that precious information from her. “No, but you aren’t the first to ask. But wouldn’t that be grand? Imagine being related to someone as talented as that.” Her dreamy smile fowled his for a moment.

“Imagine.” The façade of his grin had ghosted away for a split second, but it didn’t go unnoticed.

“Elaine, are you ready to head back?” A third party interrupted, much welcomed by the girl. Vincent approached the two, protectively a half step in front of his niece. The tension between the two children enough to worry him.

Her head bobbed once in response. “Yes, let’s go home.” The way Leon’s eyes followed her unsettled the girl. Elaine settled back on the seat in the carriage, mulling over the strange interaction. Was it so unusual for someone to draw a connection between her name and the human Arthur from this era?

Whatever the case, she now had a proper mystery on her hands.

[goodbyecringe]

(Un)Natural Selection Chapter 6

Enjolras

There was no more avoiding it. Thirty-five girls from different backgrounds with different motives were living right below me. I had done everything I could to throw myself more into my work than usual. I had taken to meeting with the dignitaries and pouring over caste related civil disputes. Of course Father said that this was the worst way to spend a prince’s time because there were majors and soldiers to deal with those things. However, it would be impossible to abolish the caste system without knowing what the specific problems were.

“I can’t believe it,” a joyful voice said from the doorway, “I don’t think I know a single man that could work if there were thirty-five women getting makeovers in their basement.”

“Ferre, when have you ever known for me to let women interfere with my work?” I said, turning around in my chair to face him.

“Well in the sixteen years that we’ve been friends I’ve only known of your relationship with the great Patria. It’s unfortunate you couldn’t marry her,” he said, clicking his tongue.

“It’s unfortunate I have to marry at all. How am I supposed to change the governing system of Illeá when I have to worry about finding a wife? He did this on purpose of course, maybe I somehow tipped him off,” I said putting my head in my hands.

“The only thing that tipped off your father was the fact that you invited eight aspiring political figures that are all openly against the caste system. In all actuality it could be argued that he did you a favor. Imagine if we were all that the media focused on over the next few months? By the time you were made King every pro-caste politician would have been able to perfect their argument. Of course I’m sure your father is hoping that the Selection will distract you from your responsibilities and Les Amis.”

“Yes, I’ve already thought about that theory a thousand times over. But what’s stopping me from eliminating thirty tomorrow morning? He never made me commit to a formal timeline-”

“And I’m sure you’ve already thought of the associative repercussions for doing that Julien,” he said, cutting me off. “You already know that the media would have a field day. You would be marked as a heartless slab of marble. Remember, you need the people on your side during the revolution,” Ferre became serious as he sat on the edge of my desk.

“No matter who I choose, the castes will be divided. Anyone lower than a Four would be seen as a saint to the lower castes, however the lower castes already stand with our views. We need to secure the support of those who we are removing from power,” I sighed as I restated the facts.

“We’ve been through this at least a dozen times, Julien. Isn’t that the entire reason you decided to announce that this would be a caste-blind selection? You just need to take it one day at a time. And since there are thirty-five eligible bachelorettes in your home, you should at least give them the respect they deserve,” Combeferre said, standing.

“I’ve haven’t even met them yet Ferre, how have I already disrespected them?”

“You don’t know any of their names, you don’t know what they look like, you haven’t bothered to learn a thing about them. But I could guarantee you that everyone of those girls knows everything about you.”

“Are you referring to those presentations I put Les Amis in charge of? I swear, if Jean Prouvaire’s presentation takes over an hour I’ll leave and simply review the applications in my office… alone.”

Combeferre chuckled as we walked out of my office. The walk to the Men’s Room was more eventful then I had ever expected. Dozens of servants were making final adjustments to the decorations. There were fresh flowers around every corner, the drapes were open, letting sunlight shine through the halls. As the new butler, Grantaire, opened the door, I had to restrain myself from rolling my eyes. The beautiful library space that I used as my philosophical escape to discuss the future of Illeá had been turned upside down. Feuilly and Joly were hanging a large piece of white fabric over a large bookshelf, and Bahorel was closing all the drapes so the setting sun didn’t blind anyone. I grabbed a notepad and took a seat next to Courfeyrac in the front row.

“Your Royal Highness,” Bossuet called out from his place in front of the projector.

“Our fearless leader and marble statue,” Courfeyrac laughed from next to me.

“We, the Friends of the ABC, are proud to present your future wife, or at least the thirty-five possible candidates for the title of Queen Enjolras,” Jean Prouvaire announced as the lights began to dim.

From behind me, Grantaire was laughing with Bossuet while he turned down the lights. Les Amis began to seat themselves in front of the screen, all armed with several manilla folders which I assumed held the applications of the selected girls.

“First, we will give a brief presentation about each of the thirty-five contestants and then we will tune into the Report and Enjolras will get his first real look at the girls.”

I made a note that if a career in politics never worked out for Prouvaire, he could take Kyran Cervantes’ job. Suddenly, the screen lit up with the faces of thirty-five young women of various appearances, all of which I was sure would be changing drastically during their makeovers.

“We have decided to present in the order of east coast to west coast, so first up is the lovely province of Hansport! So please give a warm welcome to Miss Teresa Gilbert!” The screen centered on a girl with near white hair that was sharply stopped just below her cheek-bones.

“Teresa is nineteen years old and is proud to call Hansport the place of her humble roots. She has been acting in television shows and movies since she was three years old. Her favorite role was a princess during the apocalypse where she learned what it truly took to be a royal! She says that she will never be afraid of the media,” Prouvaire finished, now sounding confident in his game show host role.

There was a massive amount of applause from the boys around me. Looking down at my notepad I jotted down, Teresa Gilbert: movie star, 2. There was nothing more, nothing less about this girl. It was only too bad for her that I couldn’t care less about the television industry. Unfortunately, her status as a celebrity made it too easy to know her caste.

“Next up we have Adele Castro of Waverly,” a picture of a mousy looking girl with large green eyes appeared on the screen.

“At sixteen, Adele is our youngest selected girl, but don’t let that lead you astray because she’s already been quite successful…” Prouvaire continued to explain how she had spent her life volunteering in less developed countries.

Adele Castro: volunteer, 2 or 3.

“Now gentlemen, show some love for Miss Éponine Jondrette from Allens,” the face of a tan girl with a wild head of brown hair came over the screen. Despite the large state of her hair, her eyes appeared tired and her cheeks were hollow.

“Miss Éponine might give our fearless leader a run for his money! In her free time, Éponine enjoys reading about Political Science and learning about other cultures. She can speak English, Chinese, and French fluently,” I couldn’t help but think about how her appearance contradicted her description.

Éponine Jondrette: hungry wildcard, 5 or 3. By the time Prouvaire had finished I had made note of Lucy Frost: artistic, 5 and Harley Housten: average, 4 or 3. Everyone applauded as Jean bowed to take his seat. Joly walked forward and pulled a stack of index cards out of his suit jacket.

“Moving West we’ll start out in the province of Kent. Miss Cosette Fauchelevent recently returned to Illeá after spending about 5 years living in an Abbey in France. Cosette is an avid gardener and has a passion for animals,” Joly rushed as the room admired a pale girl with golden blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

Cosette Fauchelevent: lark, 2 or 3. At some point throughout the presentations all of the girls started to blur together. A few girls stood out, for example, Liberty Cook: paralyzed, 4. I couldn’t believe how delighted I was when Bossuet finally got to Angles.

“At the age of 20 our oldest contestant is Musichetta Simon. Miss Musichetta has recently begun a career in the prominent modeling agency in Angles. However, prior, she traveled throughout highly impoverished areas of Illeá to provide clean drinking water,” Bossuet said, failing to remove his eyes from her picture. The bright color of her red hair caused his bald head to reflect a pinkish color.

“Excellent job Bossuet,” Prouvaire said, clapping a hand on Bossuet’s back. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that Grantaire was passing out refreshments before we settled down to watch the Report.

“I hope that everyone else is as excited for the next few months as I am,” Courfeyrac called out.

“Now remember my friends,” Combeferre stood, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “We are to remain out of sight out of mind. Unless Enjolras asks for our presence specifically, we are not to interact with the women of the selected. Everyone here is subject to the law,” he called out, staring directly at Courf.

“Thank you for all of your hard work my friends,” I said, standing next to Ferre. “I hope that you all feel more comfortable with the process of creating and executing presentations. Even though this may have sounded like a fun and frivolous exercise, it is important to find a way to improve yourself in any situation,” I could hear groans among the group. “However, I am very appreciative for the effort that you put in, and if any of you have any suggestions during this process, please feel free to know. I shall see all of you tomorrow evening for our regularly scheduled meeting.”

“Won’t you be staying to watch the Report, Enjolras?” Joly asked.

“I’m afraid I have a very important speech concerning several dignitaries of New Asia that I’ve been neglecting to revise,” I said, making my way towards the door. As Grantaire opened the door for me I could hear what seemed to be a stampede of high heeled shoes. I decided to wait until I could no longer hear them, so not to cause a scene since I wasn’t supposed to meet any of them until tomorrow morning. While looking across my shoulder at the crowd of girls I was taken aback when I felt something collide with me. In the second it took me to turn around, the person was already on the ground.

“I’m so sorry,” she whispered, looking around for her heels. “I should have been paying attention to wear I was going, but you see my shoe broke and I’ve been trying to keep up with the rest-”

I think she stopped breathing when she finally looked up at me.

“I am deeply sorry, Your Highness,” she went into a deep curtsey.

“The fault is entirely mine Lady... Éponine,” I paused, noting the silver name tag pinned to her green dress. “I should know to pay more attention to my surroundings.”

I extended my arm to help her up, which she accepted. I could see that the heels on one of her shoes had snapped in half, which must have been the cause for her falling behind.

“Would it be considered rude for a lady to run down the hall in her bare feet?” She asked in a brazen way.

“I believe that would be classified as a capital offense.” I smiled thinking of how the royal planner and etiquette instructor Claudia would throw a fit if she witnessed such an event.

“Well then maybe you can keep this a secret between just the two of us?” She suggested looking back and forth between me and the rest of the girls.

“Only if you promise to only wear shoes you can properly walk in.”

She gave a mischievous smirk before running towards the crowd of her competitors. There were several times that she had to stop and pick up her dress to avoid slipping, but she eventually caught up to the group as they entered the Women’s Room. I made a mental note to add the word cheeky next to her name in my notebook.

[constantviewings]

The TV Show Trials - Christmas Movies

‘Tis the season! I’m steering off course this month to review films instead of a TV show, because a TV show that’s only about christmas wouldn’t make much money.

White Christmas

A successful song-and-dance duo become romantically involved with a sister act and team up to save the failing Vermont inn of their former commanding general by planning a yuletide musical extravaganza.

This film is iconic, and I loved every second of it. The costumes in this film are gorgeous and I want to own every single one. I plan on making a tradition out of watching this every year.

Rating: 5

Elf

Buddy is a human who was adopted and raised by Santa’s elves. He learns about this and heads to New York City to meet his biological father while also spreading Christmas cheer in a world of cynics in the process.

I feel the need to proceed my thoughts with the fact that I have never been a fan of Will Ferrell, and I am not a fan of this movie. Most of the jokes come down to Will Ferrell either screaming or being dumb. Also, not be overly sensitive, I’ve never been a fan of casting a bit role for a dwarved actor just to make jokes that they’re short.

Rating: 2

 Scrooged

Based on Charles Dickins’ A Christmas Carol, Scrooged is a modern retelling that follows Frank Cross, a cynical and selfish television executive, who is visited by a succession of ghosts on Christmas Even Intent on helping him regain his Christmas spirit.

The film does drag in the first act, but once the ghost of Christmas present shows up, it only gets better. I thought the touch of Bill Murray ‘interacting’ with the audience is a fun way to close out this entertaining film.

Rating: 3

 It’s A Wonderful Life

George Bailey has given up his dreams in order to help others, and his imminent suicide on Christmas Even brings about the intervention of his guardians angel, Clarence. Clarence shows George all the lives he has touched, and how different life in his community would be if he had never been born.

This is a beautiful film with a great sentiment, but my god is it boring! Like everyone else, all I really knew about this film was the ending, and that is truly the only part that I enjoyed. By now you should all know how I feel about films longer than eighty minutes, and at one-hundred and thirty-five minutes, this film is way too long.

Rating: 3

 Crown for Christmas

After getting fired from her job as a maid at a ritzy New York City hotel, Allie reluctantly accepts a temporary job as the governess to the daughter of the King of Winshire. Soon, Sparks begin to fly between Allie and the king.

This film is just A Christmas Prince (which is coming up) but, in my opinion, better. The editing is pretty tragic, but it makes up for that with heart. I am always a sucker for father-daughter stories.

Rating: 3

 A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas

Six years after their last adventure, Harold is asked to look after a Christmas tree by his father-in-law, but his ex-roommate Kumar ends up destroying it. The two then set out to find a replacement for the damaged tree.

Despite my earlier comments about Will Ferrell, I am a sucker for irreverent comedy and this film is full of it. I’m also a sucker for goofy 3D, another feature of this film. Also, Neil Patrick Harris is always great to see, especially in this.

Rating: 3

A Charlie Brown Christmas

Charlie Brown finds himself depressed despite to onset of the cheerful holiday season. Lucy suggests he direct a neighbourhood Christmas play, but his best efforts are ignored and mocked by his peers. After Linus tells Charlie Brown the true meaning of Christmas, Charlie Brown cheers up, and the Peanuts gang unites to celebrate the Christmas season.

This special is weirdly anti-commercialist? As well as being very boring, I can guarantee that I won’t be re-watching this.

Rating: 2

 The Muppet Christmas Carol

The Muppet characters tell their version of the classic tale of Scrooge, an old miser who doesn’t care about the joyous season of Christmas is visited by spirits who foretell his future. Will Scrooge turn over a new leaf and change his ways?

This has earned it place as my second favourite Christmas Carol adaptations; behind the Barbie version, of course. Like any Muppets film, it’s entertaining, funny and the songs are great. I also really want one of this tiny mouse muppets.

Rating: 4

 Klaus

A simple act of kindness always sparks another, even in a frozen, faraway place. When Smeerensburg’s new postman, Jesper, befriends toymaker Klaus, their gifts melt an age-old fued and deliver a sleigh full of holiday traditions.

This film has a beautiful heart, but is tonally dissonant in the first half. Once Klaus and Jesper start delivering their presents, it picks up drastically. The heart-warming story, mixed with the gorgeous animation makes for a cute Christmas film.

Rating: 4

 A Christmas Prince

When a reporter goes undercover as a tutor to get the inside scoop on a playboy prince, she gets tangled in some royal intrigue and ends up finding love - but will she be able to keep up her lie?

How did this film get two sequels, it’s so boring?

Rating: 3

Krampus

Frustrated by the constant quarrel between the members of his dysfunctional family, max loses interest to celebrate Christmas, awakening Krampus, a demon who will punish his entire family.

Making a tonal 180, we land on this film; which I adore. The creature design for Krampus and his minions is fantastic and the family dynamic is perfect. My only gripe is that the whole film is too dark, visually, I don’t like struggling to watch movies.

Rating: 5

 Better Watch Out

Ashley travels to the suburban home of the Lemers to babysit their 12-year-old son Luke during the holidays. She must soon defend herself and the young boy when unwelcome intruders announce their arrival.

I hate home intruder films, by that I mean they scare the shit out of me, so I actually love them. I’m not going to spoil this film, because it is best to go in with all I’ve given you already. I loved this movie and the cast does an amazing job, especially Levi Miller.

Rating: 4

 Christmas Under Wraps

When a doctor doesn’t get the position she wanted, she ends up movie to a remote Alaskan town. She unexpectedly ends up finding love, happiness and discovers that the small town is hiding a big holiday secret.

I don’t know why I expected more from the most popular Hallmark film, but this isn’t much. Also, this Santa’s pretty shit if he only leaves on Christmas Eve in Alaska, he would have already missed half of the world.

Rating: 3

Magical Christmas Ornaments

Marie finds her Christmas spirit reawakened when her mother begins sending her the family’s Christmas ornaments. As each ornament arrives, it brings a positive change to Marie’s life, including an introduction to the handsome man from next door.

This film, is the worse precursor to The Holiday Calendar on Netflix. There’s nothing wrong with this film, but maybe watch The Holiday Calendar instead.

Rating: 3

 Jack Whitehall: Christmas with My Father

Jack Whitehall invites his notoriously stuffy father onstage in London’s West End for a Christmas comedy extravaganza, complete with celebrity guests.

Is it a fun watch? Yes. Will I watch it again? No.

Rating: 3

Christmas is easily my favourite time of the year, and I hope it’s pleasent you as well. I’m wishing you the happiest of holiday seasons and a fantastic 2020!

[salvatoreschool]

Legacies And Buffy The Vampire Slayer: 5 Ways They Are Similar (& 5 Ways They Are Different)

It may seem unfair to compare and contrast the groundbreaking Buffy the Vampire Slayer to the freshman The Vampire Diaries' spin-off, Legacies. After all Buffy the Vampire Slayer ran for 7 seasons, is considered a cultural phenomenon, a cult classic, and a trailblazer due to its strong female lead.

Joss Whedon, the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, famously said that he had grown, "so tired of slasher film cliches, especially the dumb, oversexed blond stumbling into a dark place to have sex with a boyfriend, only to be killed. I began thinking that I would love to see a scene where a ditsy blond walks into a dark alley, a monster attacks her and she kicks its ass." How can Legacies compare to such an iconic show?

Legacies is the second spin-off of The Vampire Diaries. In it, we follow the children of important characters from The Vampire Diaries and The Originals.

10. SIMILAR: SETTING

Both shows start in a high school setting. Our main characters, Buffy and Hope, are 16 and 17 respectively. While Buffy is new to this high school, Hope has grown up at her school. However, the struggles they face are similar. While recognizing that they are different than their peers, they want acceptance and to be more "normal."

In addition, both of the schools are in a town that has its own supernatural connection. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is in Sunnydale, the Hellmouth, a gateway for demons to enter Earth.

Legacies takes place in Mystic Falls, the small town where The Vampire Diaries took place. Mystic Falls has a long history with the supernatural. Even Hope's father, one of the original vampires, lived there. Though it has a small town charm, its history is much darker and deeper. The school they attend is full of magic.

9. DIFFERENT: THE TONE

While Legacies does have a much lighter tone than its predecessors, The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, it still is darker than the first couple seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. This may be due to the previous shows casting a shadow over Legacies. As viewers, we know that Hope suffered extreme tragedy and is learning to cope with life and living. This is apparent from the pilot episode.

To contrast, Buffy is excited to be at a new school and meet new people. She swaps trendy advice with the resident mean girls and finds good friends in Willow and Xander. Although it's true that Buffy the Vampire Slayer's tone does change, especially in Season 6, it starts out light with loads of humor.

8. SIMILAR: MAIN PROTAGONIST'S JOURNEY

Buffy and Hope are the only one of their kind. Buffy is the chosen one, the only vampire slayer (until she dies, of course, and another slayer awakens). Hope is the only tribrid: a vampire, werewolf, and witch. Buffy knows her quest but, like most classic protagonists on a hero's journey, struggles to accept it. On the other hand, Hope suspects that she has a quest but doesn't understand her purpose until the last episode. Wrecked with guilt through much of the season, Hope wants to prove that she is worthy of the sacrifice that her family made for her.

In addition, Buffy and Hope are strong female leads. While they have supernatural strength, they also have strong personalities and morals. They both defend others, even if it could mean their own deaths. They care about others and consider it a duty to help and protect those incapable of protecting themselves.

7. DIFFERENT: THE DIALOGUE

Joss Whedon was praised for his use of witty, smart dialogue in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was another aspect that set his show apart. Due to the praise, Joss Whedon actually challenged himself to do an episode where there was no dialogue, Season 4's Hush. He succeeded in this episode as well, proving that while the dialogue was great, the show's success was due to more than just all the clever words.

The dialogue in Legacies doesn't stand out as much as the dialogue in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. While it has a little lighter tone than the dialogue in The Vampire Diaries and The Originals, it is still dramatic. The humor and wit are mainly missing. The focus is on the mythology of The Vampire Diaries universe, rather than witty teen dialogue.

6. SIMILAR: MONSTER OF THE WEEK

In Season 1, Legacies uses a monster of the week story-telling device. We have a dragon, a unicorn pooping mind-altering slugs, a necromancer, and more. Each monster does have the same goal: Retrieve the keys to release the Malivore. While they are one-off monsters, they are connected to a larger issue.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer practices this same strategy. Each episode had a monster of the week and, for the most part, the conflict was resolved by the end of the show. Also, we have monsters that are connected to the big bad, the Master. This, of course, changes in the later seasons, where we have stretches of episodes revolving around a solitary antagonist.

5. DIFFERENT: THE SCOOBIES

Though Buffy was the heroine of the show, she had her buddies - nicknamed the Scoobies or the Scooby Gang - help out frequently. At first, the Scoobies didn't possess supernatural abilities, but that changes throughout the show. Perhaps one of the Scoobies' strongest powers is to hold Buffy accountable. In the show, Spike (a vampire) tells Buffy that what kept her alive longer than the other slayers is her connections to others. The Scoobies may not be the title characters, but they are just as important to the show.

Hope doesn't want friends or a team to help her, besides Alaric, but she does get a team. Most of the members are supernatural beings. Hope acts primarily as a solo agent. She doesn't listen or consider their advice, thinking that she knows best. Buffy's friends feel uniquely themselves. We have yet to see all the members of Hope's team accomplish the same.

4. SIMILAR: MAIN PROTAGONIST BECOMES AN ORPHAN (BASICALLY)

Many shows and books with a heroic child protagonist willing to risk or sacrifice their lives in order to save others, feature orphans (think Harry Potter). They aren't held back by parental love and aren't regarded as children. In Legacies, Alaric is okay with Hope risking her life but not his own young children (Lizzie and Josie), who are the same age.

Legacies begins two years after Hope lost her mother, father, and uncle. Partly due to her grief, she both isolates herself and risks her life to save others. At the end of the season, she sacrifices her life to save others. Sadly, they won't remember the sacrifice due to the Malivore erasing the memories others have of magical beings. Hope, as a tribrid, is a magical being.

Buffy doesn't start out as an orphan. She has a loving mother and a mostly absent father. In one of the most heartbreaking episodes of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The Body, Buffy loses her mother. The episode shows us how each character reacts to the loss. Joyce, Buffy's mom, didn't die from anything supernatural, making Buffy feel truly helpless. Buffy's father isn't really ever there to be a parental figure. Even if this only happens in Season 5, Buffy keeps her vampire business a secret from Joyce. Consequently, the hero has to act on her own most of the time.

3. DIFFERENT: MIRRORS AND METAPHORS

Buffy the Vampire Slayer uses many different creative writing techniques like mirrors or metaphors. Its text was layered with a lot of meaning ripe for analytical study. Passion of the Nerd, a vlogger, does a great time analyzing such techniques. In his series, he identifies Cordelia as Buffy's mirror, serving as Buffy's identity prior to becoming a slayer. The fact that vloggers, college professors, and fans can analyze Buffy the Vampire Slayer in such depth and for so many years, shows how well the use of mirrors, metaphors, and other creative writing tools worked.

Legacies is a younger show, with only one season to its name. So far, there hasn't been much creative writing strategies. This could change in the future.

2. SIMILAR: ENIGMATIC BOYFRIEND

In Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel presents a great mystery. Along with Giles, Angel is the only person who knows Buffy is the slayer when she arrives in Sunnydale. Angel gives her a cross necklace for further protection. It isn't until he stays at her house that Buffy finds out what he is a vampire. Later, we find out that Angel is a unique vampire since he has a soul. When the show was new, Angel's reveal was a huge deal.

Whereas Angel might have been hiding his true nature intentionally from Buffy, Landon of Legacies doesn't know his true nature. He doesn't know his past or his parents. Later, due to a drastic death, we learn that Landon is a supernatural being. He is a phoenix, rising from the ashes, from death. In addition, we find out that Landon's "father" is the Malivore. Matter of fact, Landon's parentage makes Hope's family look like a golden family.

1. DIFFERENT: A SCHOOL OF SUPERNATURAL TRAINING

Alaric and Caroline created the "Salvatore School for the Young and Gifted" so that children like Lizzie and Josie would have a safe place to live and learn about their abilities. The idea was to provide a place where they could become stronger and better citizens to each other and to humans. Hope has been learning and improving her abilities since she was a child. She also has the support of her family and the other students with magical abilities. Although Hope believes herself to be alone, she is surrounded by other students who relate to what she is going through.

On the flip side, Buffy doesn't even know that she is the slayer until she is a teenager. She learns that most slayers don't live long lives. While she has Giles to provide one-on-one training, she is alone. Rather than being eased into her gift, Buffy was submerged in the icy water instantly. Later, she does meet other slayers (like Faith) that help her feel less alone, but she remains separate. She may have benefited from learning more about her gift; however, it would have limited her more ordinary experiences.

We'll see what Season 2 has in store for Hope in Legacies. It could be that there will be even more connections with Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

[iohourtime]

Kiokuya (Memory Man) - Novel Spoiler (Part 1)

*While the most literal translation of Kiokuya (記憶屋) is “Memory Store”, XX-屋 can also refer to XX-man, like Koroshi-ya means hit man.  Since the story about a mysterious person, Kiokuya, it is more correct to go with the second translation: Memory Man.

You may have heard about Yamada Ryosuke being cast in a new movie, Kiokuya, which was adapted from the novel of the same name written by Origami Kyoya.  (Here’s the official website and twitter.)  The novel was released by Kadokawa Horror Publishing but was also described as a “love story” or “sad love story”. Yamada himself said that he read the novel and rather than it being “scary”, it’s more of a “human love story”. So what is it?

I’ve just read the Chinese version of the novel and I will summarize (and fully spoil) the plot after the cut.  I only read the novel once, so some of the plot might be a bit jumbled, but it shouldn't affect the story. (Or it’s the work of Memory Man! )  Based on the synopsis of the movie, it seems like there will be some changes to the novel. I don’t think they’ll change the ending though.  Anyway… final warning.  Close this if you don’t want to be spoiled.

Novel Spoilers are divided into 4 parts due to length. Here are the links for the other 3 parts:

Part 2 - “at present 1″, “Episode 2″, “at present 2″ Part 3 - “Episode 3″, “at present 3″ Part 4 - “Episode 4, “Epilogue”

Sorry, this ended up being almost like an abridged version of the light novel. I’ll post the remaining parts over the next week. One interesting thing is that the author is a lawyer by trade and a writer in her spare time. That’s probably why the chapter headings have legal terms. (They were originally in English to begin with.)

If you can read Chinese, here is the link for the ebook on Kobo (available to Canadians). It’s also available on books.com.tw and actual bookstores in Asia.  There is also a manga adaptation released by Gangan. You can access the sample chapter on here, which basically takes us up to the end of the first episode.  I just want to say that they could easily use Yamada’s personal wardrobe for this character.

…………

Movie Synopsis:  

University student, Yoshimori Ryoichi (Yamada), just proposed to his older lover, Sawada Kyoko (Renbutsu Misako). For some reason, he was not able to contact her the next day. A few days later, he saw Kyoko again, but she had lost all memories of Ryoichi. Unable to accept this, Ryoichi went looking for the truth about Kiokuya with his childhood friend, Kawai Maki (Yoshine Kyoko), a senpai and lawyer, Takaharu Tomoaki (Sasaki Kuranosuke). Is this the work of the urban legend, Kiokuya, a person who can take away people’s unpleasant memories.

Prologue

The first time Ryoichi heard of the Memory Man was when he was 3 years old. It seemed to be a popular folklore among the older people. Whenever one of them forgot something, his grandmother used to joke that the Memory Man must have “eaten” their memory

....

He saw a man wearing a long coat and an elementary school aged child. As the man touched her forehead, Ryoichi screamed “run”...

...

“Ryo-chan!” Maki shouted, waking him up from his slumber. His MAC was still on the urban legend forum and Maki saw this before he could close the browser.  Maki was 3 years younger than Ryoichi and was currently in high school.  They grew up across the street from each other and were very close.  

Maki said, “Oh Memory Man.  You're interested in him? You even did a timeline and everything!”

Ryoichi made some excuse about researching a paper for university about how urban legends started and spread.

Maki said, “Wow, the first sighting of Memory Man was 50 years ago?  I only heard of him about a year ago. It’s a really popular urban legend among us high school girls right now.  Do you want me to help?”

Ryoichi played it cool and pretended to be disinterested and finally managed to kick Maki out of his room.  However, he wasn’t doing this to be mean - he just wanted to protect her from finding out about Memory Man. He was very sure she was one of the three people whose memory was erased by Memory Man.  They both saw something when they were really young and Maki was inconsolable, but the next day, she was completely OK and seemed to have forgotten about it. He didn’t link this incident to Memory Man until a year ago when the second person he knew had her memory erased.  And then there was a third person.

1st Episode: Notice (1 Year Earlier)

Ryoichi was invited by his senpais to this gathering. He didn’t really want to go because he felt uncomfortable being surrounded by upperclassmen, but he went anyway. Suddenly, another senpai walked in and sat nearby. Long haired, pretty,  and carrying a pink bag, but in her hands were textbooks on psychology and neuro sciences. “Such a gap, and just my type!” Ryoichi thought.

“Are you a psychology student!?” They started chatting. They happened to both like the same baseball team, movies, etc… In other words, they totally hit it off. Ryoichi was thankful to the senpais who “forced” him to come. Then out of nowhere, Kyoko said she had to go. Ryoichi was shocked and thought it was him, but the other senpais said she didn’t usually come to these events and if she did, she would leave before it gets dark.  Ryoichi kicked himself for not even getting her email.

Luckily, they were in the same class and Ryoichi saw her again. They were chatting again and talked about the urban legends Ryoichi was looking at.  She apologized again for leaving and explained why she left so suddenly: she was scared to walk home in the dark by herself. While normally kinda passive, Ryoichi got this urge to ask her out.

“If we go watch that movie we both wanted to see right now, we can be done before dark. That's OK, right?” Ryoichi asked.

“Sorry, I can't today”

“How about Monday?”

“Sorry, I have something i need to do.”

Ryoichi was dejected.  Kyoko added “Sorry, but I am very happy you asked me.”

Ryoichi bumped into Kyoko on Monday at the hospital and she finally confessed - she had been seeing a psychologist on Monday to treat her phobia and she felt ashamed for being so scared at her age. Kyoko said, “So, do I lose any points?” Ryoichi said, “You know, let’s go watch the movie and I will walk you home.  You don’t have to be afraid.”  Kyoko agreed reluctantly.

It was dark. Ryoichi saw Kyoko pulled out a rape whistle and mace. As they walked towards her house, they passed by this dark alley. Ryoichi felt Kyoko’s body tensing, her grip on her rape whistle and mace tightened. She said (somewhat ashamed) that she was once attacked while walking down a dark alley. Even though a passerby managed to save her from being raped, she developed a crippling fear of the dark and could not walk home by herself once it got dark. She knew it was psychological and had been seeing a specialist but it did little to allay her fears.

“Wouldn’t it be nice if I can just have that memory taken away?”, Kyoko said.

Ryoichi said even though he had no experience with being attacked, he swore he would help her conquer the fear.  Kyoko nonchalantly asked about his research paper on Memory Man.  She thanked him and walked into her house.

Ryoichi researched more about Memory Man for his paper. He found an urban legend forum and joined the chat group.  Usually, urban legends are based on local folklore, or a real event that was distorted.  The popular ones typically have a being with an identifiable feature or they have a scary element, i.e. something that could happen to you. Memory Man was different. It was pretty lowkey and was only popular in a specific region - his city. There were no description of memory man and he might not be bad.  “Why would senpai mention Memory Man?”

Ryoichi and Kyoko started hanging out regularly and they would stay out later and later.  8pm, 9pm, 10pm... and Ryoichi would always walk her home right to the door.  He decided one day that maybe she was ready to face her fears.  It would be like teaching a kid to ride a bike and letting go once they are riding on their own.  He said he was going to be at this student event, but when Kyoko got there, she found out he was not able to make it. (But he was checking upon her.) It was too late for her to leave before dark, so she took the subway to the nearest station. But she was petrified when it was time for her to go. She tried leaving but was too afraid and kept turning back to the station area. She finally decided she would just stay the night at the 24 hour restaurant right by the station.  Ryoichi panicked when he saw how bad her fear was. He ran up to her and she realized what was going on. Rather than be mad at him, she was just mad at herself for being weak.  

After that time, she started talking more and more about Memory Man. She became even more untouchable. Every time they walked together, she would hold her rape whistle and mace tight. She threw herself into the research of Memory Man.

Ryoichi too, started became more active in the forums when Maki disrupted him to borrow a DVD. They talked about what the high school students know about Memory Man. What’s Memory Man? A world class hypnotist? A being that can “eat” memories? If it’s all psychological, shouldn’t Kyoko senpai be able to conquer this by herself?  (Meanwhile, Maki was all like - is she your girlfriend?)

One day, Ryoichi asked if she wanted to go out. Kyoko said, “No, there is something I need to do alone.” Ryoichi knew she was trying to meet Memory Man, who supposedly only shows up to people who needs him and when they are alone. He called Kyoko later, asking her not to do anything drastic or place her hopes on this urban legend that is probably not true.  He said he would walk her home for as long as she needs.

Kyoko said “You know, it's useless. I'm paralyzed by fear. Even when I was walking with you, I was afraid every second of it. I know you are a nice guy, but even though I know you won’t hurt me, I was still nervous. My guards are up.  I am very happy you’ve been helping me get home and that you worry about me. But I can’t do it. I know I can’t face you like this. I don’t want to only look at you as someone I rely on to protect me. I want to be able to just have a normal relationship with you.”

Ryoichi wanted to tell her to trust him, but he couldn’t get the message out.  He also knew he screwed up. That he just wanted to be a knight in the shining armour for her and forgot about her actual needs. He was an idiot and an asshole.

The next night, he walked over to her place to try and apologize, then suddenly, he saw Kyoko emerged from the dark alley alone. How could this be?

He walked up to her and said “Sawada senpai. Why didn’t you come to school?”   

Kyoko looked at him and said “Sorry, who are you?”

Ryoichi was shocked. “I’m your kouhai. We are in the same class together. I walked you home before.”

Kyoko was apologetic, laughing that she didn’t realize she was too drunk to remember him walking her home. She was like a new person and even said it was not dangerous walking in the dark in the residential area, since she could just scream if anything happened.  “Your name is Yoshimori?” She confirmed and that was the end of the encounter.

The feeling of being completely erased from someone’s memory was a bombshell to Ryoichi.  He suddenly remembered an incident from the past. Maki was crying, so Ryoichi took her to her grandfather’s. The next day, he asked if she was OK, but she completely forgot. It was like the incident was wiped off her mind.  Now it was happening again with Kyoko.  He was completely gone from her memories. His chest tightened and he had this uneasy feeling, disgust even, about Memory Man.

Ryoichi saw Kyoko in class a couple of days later. She was talking with friends about going to an alumni speaker event. The speaker was a young lawyer and supposedly quite hot. Ryoichi followed her… for some reason, he didn’t have the urge to go up to her and ask her to remember him.  The lawyer, Takahara Tomoaki, told the attendants they could ask him anything.  

Ryoichi asked “If someone lost their memory and it was caused by this person, will there be consequences?”

Takahara said, “You mean, are memories protected by law? Ethically, if it was done without consent, then it is wrong. But since this is not within the boundaries of criminal law, it will not be punished.”  Kyoko had no reaction to this discussion about Memory Man at all.

Over the next year, Ryoichi never really talked to Kyoko again. He also saw her less and less. Maki started to get more grown up, but she was still hanging around Ryoichi’s room like she used to.  Did Maki’s meet the Memory Man as well? Is it possible that two people in his life had their memory erased? Ryoichi became obsessed.  

Takahara called him out of the blue. “Do you want to talk about Memory Man? You live near XXXX, let’s meet.”  

How did Takahara get his phone number and know where he lived?  He didn’t remember giving Takahara his number.  Did his memory also get erased?

Ryoichi realized he may be the third known victim of Memory Man.

Continue to part 2

[sparda3g]

Attack on Titan Chapter 105 Review

This chapter marks the end of the arc or at least the invasion on Marley. The Survey Corps are heading home with achievements that Eren would be proud of. But at what cost is the driving theme. Whether the tactic or ploy comes with great benefits or draw the best result than any other, the responsibility lies on Eren’s hands and any price will cost him critically. This was a thrilling conclusion that blurs the thoughts of right and wrong actions that no matter what way you believed in, in the midst of war, there’s never the perfect way to escape from tragic outcome.

After a series of intense action with brutal fatalities, beat down, and all around insanity, it’s quite refreshing to sit back as we watch the Survey Corps to rendezvous to the airship. Of course, the last chapter did leave some trail of a possible shocking twist with Gabi aiming to kill, but it was going to accordingly for the most part. The chapter was more about the shortly aftermath of the battle with characters’ development. It also revealed the plot twist that was long speculated as well as a lot of consequences to be made for this effective yet suicidal plan.

What should have been a nice and charming scene is Eren reunited with his best friend, Armin, but instead, it shows the awareness of how far one has changed. It’s not that Armin decides to hate the guy or anything, because he does give out his hand to grab onto. He will always be his best friend despite of his action, but much like Mikasa’s reaction 2 chapters ago, there’s a sign of sadness. After what happened here, I hope those three have a time to reflect everything after the moment at the beach.

What’s more fitting to knock some senses or pummel to express their mood on Eren than Levi himself. I thought it was telling how Mikasa actually restrained herself from defending Eren because she knows very well that this is all Eren’s fault. That’s how much his action affected them, not even she can defend it. Levi’s quote about him being the best to kick around practically say he’s always the troublemaker that he has to deal with constantly. Something never changes.

Eren continues to challenge the fans whether he has any emotional connection with anyone when he doesn’t care to be arrested; so long he got his point across. Interesting that he is being under arrest; I wonder how that’s going to flow back at Paradis Island. It’s a clever way to set up for us to see how the current government system works. Levi can’t stand the look on Eren’s face like he got his wish. It says something when he’s the guy who talked about any road leads to its consequences.

This arc is the first for the original cast of Survey Corps to experience the state of war with the invasion, so it’s no wonder the reactions would differ from anyone. Anything else before it was more about defense and their target was solely on titans or terrorist. Now the role has switched and Jean and others are not comfortable about it. Hearing how they lost 6 lives devastated Jean like this is the first time they lost people. The real point of it addresses later on.

Floch’s reaction is interesting. The thing about his character isn’t portrayed to be dislikable by default; he’s about the other side of the outlook. While Jean and other old friends grieve over the losses, Floch look at the battle as a major victory; celebrating with everyone who agrees. Interesting to note that majority of them are new recruits. I can’t say I dislike the character because it exploit the other view that some could relate as well. It’s just how it is.

It was charming of Connie to look at the other side of war: survival. They may have to get their hands dirty, but as long as they are alive, that’s all should matter. They have been together for so long; it’s quite amazing how they managed to live this long with plenty of hellfire they’ve gone through. It was nice how they reacted like the old days, keeping themselves as humanly as possible. Oh…how I wished this wasn’t the ultimate death flag.

The cliffhanger from the last chapter suggested that Gabi will cause a plot twist and although almost everyone board the ship, it’s not over. That terrified me. I was hoping to be a bluff, similar to the previous one before that, but it was clear that she was set up to do something unthinkable from Isayama.

I was actually touched by Gabi’s hardship words after Falco stopped her. My first impression was her being angry because of the losses, which itself is understandable; however, this chapter gives me a better impression of her character. It’s not only she was angry and aim for vengeance; she was really broken up by the losses of everything. She not only lost her friends and home, she lost her sense of accomplishment. She struggled to make a name for herself and essentially make the Eldians look good for everyone.

She had to put up a tough act and gave all of her efforts to make it this far. This would explain why she was hurt that Falco was trying to steal her position to be the next Armored Titan. She came this far to make everything for the better, only to be destroyed in a single night by Eren. That is hard to argue against and I did feel bad for her, despite “that” moment in which we will definitely get to it. She does fit as the poster child for Marley as she has the perks to be a warrior. Brainwashed or not, she desire for retribution.

I also feel bad for Falco because he’s having it hard to try to make things right after Reiner encouraging or more like pressuring him. After what he believed he found hope, it’s all crushed in that very moment in the basement. He tried to persuade Gabi to stop and adjust her senses to look at both side of the coin. She tells him if he ever witnesses the war that happened at Paradis Island and since he didn’t, her belief is “if you don’t see it happen, it can’t be true.” It’s like how media would manipulate the scene by avoiding the other side that could expose the manner in which could give bad vibe.

Gabi is a serious sharpshooter to aim perfectly at the recruit eye. I know she has great accuracy in the past chapter, so this doesn’t surprise me that much. The major issue is she found a way to reach to the airship with the equipment; planning to go out with a bang. In other words, go on a suicide mission. At least she is not a fool to know that she will most likely die with her plan. It’s pretty sad that she is willing to die for the sake of vengeance at a young age no less. Her farewell to Falco is also sad, knocking senses to him that he must save her.

Falco has been a sad case after Reiner (far after) because of amount of pressure and lessons he has learned. It’s ironic that despite Eren betrayed him he was still moved by his words about equality, which got him looking at a different view. Falco seems to be developing in the path of neutrality while Gabi is developing to be Eren 2.0. It lies on his shoulder to save her, so he hops along with her to the airship. Although he speaks about the chosen one to inherit Armored Titan, it does speak volumes about their friendship. It was rather delighting. Then…we got this scene…

The main anticipation is whether Gabi will kill someone we know for a long time. Honestly, if it was just that guy outside, I would have been fine. Sucks for him, but someone has to take the fall. Once she got in, it plays the moment of truth mood, hesitating to read the next page. I was hoping she will either miss or shot another new recruit. It turns out that it’s Sasha that got shot; translation: she is the one to die. Oh why in God’s name had to be her, Isayama…

It intensified drastically when Jean was aiming to kill Gabi, all remorse thrown away. It’s most likely the fans’ reaction as well. It could have been a double kill in two meanings if it wasn’t for Falco jumping in. The way how the panel shows what could have gone is scary to think. I don’t know if I was glad or not, because Gabi has easily made herself into the number one most hated character. I can’t say I hate her honestly, but it really challenged me to not get red hot like Jean at her action.

Sasha in her dying state had me shaken. I know there are series that would go out their way to kill anyone to see fit but this is still haunting. They’re trying to save her while she speaks like she is waiting for supper. It’s always disturbing when their last words reflect their personality as a whole. Jean trying not to panic is one I can relate so much. Without going deep, I had that experience recently and it’s the worst feeling I wish to erase. I was even hurt when he starts to feel upset because his reaction towards war is murder and he despises it. Now that he’s losing his friend, he can’t help but feel tore about it. Dammit, Isayama…

Jean didn’t give in the thought of tossing the children out, though I could imagine the fans would love Gabi to be tossed out. Floch does follow orders, so I give him that, but I probably should expect for some second opinion. Speaking of her, she was losing her mind; clearly she’s hitting rock bottom. That’s more reasons to kill her off, huh. Lucky for her, I think, Jean is going to give those two to meet with their Commander and this is where we got one of the biggest revelations.

I remember how everyone theorized that the person who set a trap for Pieck and Porco was Connie due to how Pieck is familiar with the person. Isayama fooled us first of all with the fact the person wasn’t a guy at all. The beard was a fake. So who is the person then? It’s technically a new character named Yellena, who Pieck is familiar with 3 years ago. You may be thinking, “Well that was cheap. It’s a new character sure, but what’s the point of secrecy?” The main point is the tie-in to the whole mission because it was planned. By who? Zeke. She is a devotee of his and if he is the one behind it, she will work as ordered.

It’s amazing how the fans’ theory has struck homerun once again. He was being suspicious throughout the arc, so it’s not so surprising. However, we are in for many explanations behind his motive, let alone why start working together with Survey Corps. How did they come to this agreement in the first place? We last saw them fighting off in a death match in the last arc, what the hell did we miss? It’s like we skipped an arc of them making amend and become best of friends.

The worst part is how Gabi and Falco felt like they are going to get some justice for their fallen ones, including Zeke. Now that they see him in this area, not as captive no less, they feel like they have reacted to his loss for nothing. Because of everything that has happened, none of Gabi’s reaction and Falco’s torment would have happened. Okay, there will be a bit of it here and there, but not to this extent. This would have avoided poor Sasha getting shot. That all said the plan wasn’t going to be perfect anyway, but one person is to blame for “improvising.”

I give Zeke a credit though. At least he knows that the plan wasn’t going to go perfectly anyway. There’s bound to be what he calls miscalculations and there were plenty. I do like how he reacted to Gabi and Falco to be in the airship, calling them miscalculations. It does tell you how he tried to minimize the damage as much as he can and while going against Marley, he still cares for the people, at least those two. He had to improvise with an act that forced him to damage more than what they planned. Basically, it got to the level of a very convincing unexpected crisis.

Cart and Jaw Titans weren’t supposed to get involved at all, but too bad Pieck is good at sensing, which is why that part of the plan failed. It’s realistic that not all outcomes will go accordingly. I also like how you can tell Levi really hates the idea of teaming up with Zeke, the man who killed Erwin. It explains how he was frustrated when Zeke gave him the signal to “kill” him. Levi’s words always come off with a badass aura, desperate to kill his favorite one day. I look forward to Season 3 with him in the spotlight.

Despite all the hiccups in the plan, the major issue is Eren because of his suicidal plan. It is highly suggested that he is the root of this plan as he had himself to be bait, forcing the Survey Corps to react and go with the flow. He practically told them to follow his strategy or risk losing the Founding Titan to the enemy. That’s rather foul move to leave them no second thoughts. Because of him, they went in there with a huge risk.

It’s very telling how many of his comrade is losing any trust or love for him. Usually, they are annoyed but understanding and willing to help him out for the good cause. Now he is facing with everyone who is not only heartbroken like his close ones, but slowly hated. Hange said it best, “You trusted us, and we lose all trust in you.” Zeke does have a point about the outcome does favor to Eren’s strategy. They did gain the War Hammer Titan and weakened Marley along with it, but the causality on the innocent lives is severely high. If that is not a wake-up call to Eren, then the next revelation and heart breaking news is.

Sasha has passed away.

This felt like a fan fiction who decided to carry out Isayama’s old plan to kill her off earlier, at least that’s what I heard. Sadly, this is the official print. This is my wake-up call as well because it leaves the door open for a complete dark ending. Say what you want about her status role, but by this point, no one is safe. It was painful to see Armin and Mikasa crying for her, especially Mikasa. She was indifference towards her; it is for comical purposes, but it’s still sad to know how much she cared for her.

One of the most painful moments is when Eren asks Connie for her final words. Her final word is meat. As much as it is amusing to know her sendoff is what described her character, it’s downright agonizing that she never really recovered to anything more. When we last saw her, she said that word, meaning there was no hope of her survival. The icing on the cake is Jean let Eren know that this is his fault to direct this moment. If it wasn’t for him, the path could have gone differently.

As distressing it is, I’m really glad that Eren is still human, bearing any emotional attachment to his friends and loved ones. He reacted badly towards the news, now feeling the pain of unable to save a friend. The worst of all, he is responsible for her death. I can’t say he will try to change for the better now, but I hope this price he must pay will give him another outlook. It may end on a depressing note, but much like the editor’s note, life goes on.

This was a very moving chapter that probably ended the arc and if so, it was outstanding. The artwork is solid with captivating sequences and expressions that hit close to home. It’s everything that the series represents in the emotional scale: cold, depressing, anger, sadness, and regret. It also does a brilliant job on displaying the ups and downs of their action. It will forever be arguable if Eren’s strategy was the best call due to the result. Could they have done any better if Eren didn’t put himself as bait? Would they still lose the same amount of lives, if not more? There is no right or wrong answer; they can only react to the choice they made.

The chapter portrayed the humanity of everyone’s view; whether is broken will or suffering from a loss. It may be reassuring that Eren is still human and attached to his friends, but at what cost does he have to pay to put his ambition over them. Will he pursue any further or will he think over? Only time will tell. As for Sasha, I didn’t want to believe it, but it’s the end.

Rest in Peace, Sasha. The one and only Potato Girl.

[mister-tom-a-dildo-lover]

Strive Pt. 15

{PART 1} {PART 2} {PART 3} {PART 4} {PART 5} {PART 6} {PART 7} {PART 8} {PART 9} {PART 10} {PART 11} {PART 12} {PART 13} {PART 14}

Pair: Tomarry

Rating: M-E(depends)

Tags: Mild Language, Homosexuality, Sexism, Obsessed Tom, Time-Travel/Dimension-Travel, Teacher/Student, Eventual Romance, Teacher-Harry, Grey!Harry, MoD(sort of), Death!being,

Tom was very intent upon having his Patronus mastered as soon as possible. Especially since that very weekend would have the students in the first Dueling Club meeting for the seventh years, and Tom wanted so badly to be ready. He needed to prove his superiority above the other students in his year and in order to gain Professor Potter's higher regard, this was the only method he currently had.

This or becoming an Animagi. Tom had everything he needed for that particular undertaking, it was just having the time that held him up. Keeping a Mandrake leaf in his mouth for an entire month was difficult enough. But then getting the full moon to cooperate for the potion that the leaf would be added to, was also hell. The weather could not truly be controlled, only held at bay for a period of time.

Basically, the Patronus was easier at present, and since he had actually managed one already, it should be easy from there on out. He just needed to follow Potter's advice, which was to use thoughts instead of memories, because summoning a happy thought as opposed to a happy memory, was far simpler for those who didn't have good memories to begin with. And Tom had many thoughts that made him happy, as opposed to fabricating a happy memory.

So far, thoughts of Professor Potter managed to fuel his Patronus every time he cast it. Tom's deep appreciation for the man being decent to him out of genuine kindness and no other reason, made him feel warm inside. And he actually felt like there was someone in existence who actually liked him as a person and had no other nefarious reason to treat him well. Not like other people.

It was very Hufflepuff in nature, to be touched by someone's kindness and to hold onto that, but Tom would bring that information to his nonexistent grave. No one would ever know how oddly soft he was becoming toward one person. One wizard who managed to be different in many frustrating but amazing ways. A man worthy of respect.

Before the beginning of the term, he would have stated that such relationships would be a weakness. But Tom took mental note of everything happening recently. He managed to ingratiate himself into the Malfoy family's favour, thanks to Potter's assistance. He learned a difficult piece of magic because of Potter's instruction and advice. He now had at his fingertips, the history of Hogwarts as told by Salazar Slytheirn himself, because Potter allowed him to borrow a book. And soon Potter would be letting him look into another book so he may learn more about the Gaunts.

So when he considered everything in full, Tom had all along, been shown more lenience and attention by the Defence professor. It just hadn't been blatant like he'd grown used to over the years. Potter answered his questions instead of assuming he knew all the answers like the rest of the professors did. Potter actually treated him like a person. Potter was kind. Potter was helpful no matter what.

He didn't single Tom out because Tom was the favourite. In fact, Tom was certain that if anyone else bothered to come to the man with questions, he would gladly answer and help them out. It was simply Tom being the only one taking the initiative to better his education and his experiences as a wizard as a whole, that had him within Potter's scope of reference on a regular basis.

Tom had the man's attention because he worked for it. He found himself madly grateful that his fellow seventh years were too daft to consider approaching the professor personally for assistance. It left him to have Potter's attention and Tom preferred that immensely.

No one could ever deny that Tom was greedy. It came with being poor and an orphan. He clung to anything he perceived as his, with a viciousness. And he would work to keep himself in Professor Potter's favour. Especially since the man's attention was about to be broken up even more than it already was, and Tom would be in a race for the man's approval.

Too many students were beginning to taken an interest in the attractive, young professor who was of marrying age. It would be a very... interesting competition.

When I consider the past several years and the time it took for us to finally see this goal through, I am astonished that we even managed to get this far. 'Tis true, we four are of the most talented magicals on the isles, but vision is not the only skill when reaching for any type of accomplishment. Having a castle built for us was the most trying part of the entire process. The rest dealt mostly in mine and Helga's talent in persuasion for our would-be pupils.

Once we had a building that would serve as the primary base of our desired institution, Rowena and Godric then began the torturous and tedious process of warding the grounds. As was their contribution to the structure themselves. Helga and I handled the stones, each at a time, saturating them in our magic before they were stacked on top of one another when forming the actual building.

Creating the ward stone for the area within the mountains had been more work than any of us anticipated. The weather was never doing as it should, and needing one person to keep everything calm so the others could work, had slowed our progress drastically. I often found myself swearing and bearing Rowena's disapproval over such actions. She has never been one to support vulgarity, but rarely do I ever fall into such boorish habits. I feel that I am allowed some latitude on the random occasion I give in to my baser instincts.

After three full summers of waiting for the castle to be built, we finally had the establishment necessary to house the magical students in. Of course with this came the immediate desire to see our future pupils safe from any sort of danger. Once the wards had been set into place and we were assured of the safety measures being of good quality so nothing could pose a threat, we set our focus on the actual housing arrangements, which had each of us choosing a section of the castle to be our 'domain'.

I chose the dungeons. Many would consider my choices to be a cause for alarm, but I prefer to think of it as intelligence at it's best. Anyone with skills in brewing would understand that the temperature down in the dungeons remains steady, which is preferable for a place meant to store our potions supplies. The water is my primary element of choice, and with the lake close to me at all time, I feel tranquil. The solitude can at times by cathartic, so it was the wisest decision for my sanity.

I am also the most adept at the Dark Artes, among our motley group. Ironically, Dark Magick is best performed in darkness. Darkness lends additional strength to any sort of Dark Magick one wishes to make use of. The same is with any magic of Light origin. If performed under the sun or in bright areas, it'll add more power to the casting. So for me, choosing the dungeons benefits me in every way. The other three will probably never understand it, but they do not need to. The choice had been made.

Rowena and Godric always fancied the sky, and each took a tower for themselves. Helga had always been a devout lover of the soil however, and she was perfectly happy to be on level with the ground. It had to do with her Tasseomancy, though I could never understand it. We each personalised our respective spaces. Mine beheld a great many shades of green and silver, as they are the very colours personal to Slytherin's coat of arms.

It was after these events that we decided to add a few more (many) protections to the institution. Magical creatures would surely send an attacker off in fear before even daring to follow through with the plan of assault. My choice was a Basilisk. Being a - what we all decided to term - Parselmouth is a boon when handling any serpents. I hatched the deadly snake specifically to protect the school. Godric managed to acquire the dragon he had always longed for, while Rowena paid for a Sphinx to be brought in from her home in the Southern countries. As for Helga, she somehow earned the allegiance of a Phoenix who was kind enough to offer a tear or two for potions now an then.

In some ways, it seemed as if our goal was infallible. And that there would be nothing to stand in our way if we had such good fortune on our side.

We were wrong.

The entire chapter had been accompanied by sketches from Salazar himself. Examples of particular objects added in for the reader to better envision the story being told. And it was interesting despite not being fiction. Biographies tended to be very dreadfully mundane. Also, each word that appeared like a miniature snake upon first glance, would change until it seemed as if he was reading basic English. But common English of his day and nothing like he had assumed it would be. To be blunt, he didn't feel as if he was reading Shakespeare. He felt as if he was reading another one of Professor Slughorn's anecdotes. Though Slytheirn's writing was infinitely more interesting.

Perhaps it was a spell on the book itself, to keep up with modernisation?

Still, Tom sat back to consider the contents of the first chapter alone. There was a sketch of Hogwarts from a distance, probably across the lake. Salazar included a sketch of the Hogwarts ward stone, though he didn't mention where it resided.

He'd also just learned that performing Dark Magic at night or in darkness would empower his spells. He had never considered that to be a possibility, but it was actually very interesting once he considered it in full. And he also hoped that it was incredibly bright when he went to demonstrate his Patronus for Professor Potter.

Speaking of the young and attractive man, Tom had made note of how correct he'd been. The Founders had each placed a creature in the castle for the protection of the students. And it meant that the dramatic tales about how Slytherin placed a monster in the school in order to kill unworthy students... were false. The Basilisk wasn't mean to harm anyone but attackers and those who tried to hurt the students.

It would explain just why the creature had been so downtrodden after accidentally killing Myrtle and how she refused to leave the chamber after that.

But this put many things into perspective. One of the more well-known legends about the Chamber of Secrets was actually false. So what other information, that people he been using as fact over the years, was also incorrect? And who was the one to drastically change the truth so it was mutated into the worst possible version of the story? And finally, if that ended up being a lie, then what else was wrong?

Did Tom even know his great ancestor as well as he thought he did? If the Basilisk wasn't meant to drive the unworthy from the scho- or perhaps the 'unworthy' weren't Muggleborns as legend suggested. Perhaps the 'unworthy' in Salazar's mind were those who wished to see Hogwarts torn down. Or to see magic dead and gone?

Reading further would be his only way of finding out. And he wasn't certain if he was ready for whatever else would be tossed at him. Had he, like many other Slytherins, allowed centuries of liars to shape the way he viewed his own House Founder? Tom's ancestor? Were they really acting as Salazar would approve of, or was it all a lie?

A/N: So now Tom is faced with the reality that he might not actually know anything about Slytherin and that bias has twisted the image of his ancestor to a ridiculous level.

Next chapter is Harry’s POV.

[kati-mariposa]

Guardians: Chapter 2

Characters: OC, Bill Skarsgard & Jeffrey Dean Morgan

*WARNING: Mild Language

Summary: Can be found in Chapter 1

[*DISCLAIMER: The actors do not represent themselves as actors, but as the characters I created to play out in the story.]

-Chapter 3

“What are you working on right now?” Jeffrey asked, casting a shadow by hovering over me as I sat on the beige couch.

“I’m doing a Christmas themed commission for someone who’s just as obsessed with the holidays as I am,” I replied with my eyes glued to the picture. I drew a stray line by accident and had to erase it gently, so that I don’t bend the paper or tear it. I’d die if that’d happen.

“But it’s not even Halloween yet,” he reminded me as he went around and sat on the loveseat diagonal of me.

“I’m almost always dreaming of Christmas even during Springtime,” I grinned when I glanced up at him, quietly chuckling under my breath.

He chuckled deeply in his chest and gave a warm smile towards me, grabbing a book from the coffee table to read. Sometimes he liked to relax and read anything he can find, while I enjoy drawing, for fun and for business, then practice writing on the side.

“Do you plan to go to bed soon? Or are you staying up to draw?” he wondered while scanning his book.

“Nah. I got plenty of time to work on it more tomorrow before I have to get ready for the Halloween party at Alexander’s house,” I told him as I sketched some new lines on the paper.

There was only silence between us for a minute or two, but it suddenly felt cold in the room. It also felt like a pair of eyes were burning through my head as I peered down at my sketch book. I eventually raised my head to check out my hunch and sure enough, Jeffrey had his dark hazel eyes pierce into mine, which made me uncomfortable and click my mechanical pencil out of nervousness.

“Right. The party. Do you have your costume ready?” his curious tone didn’t sound so pleased.

“Yep. I took care of the finishing touches just before I started drawing today. I only need to make sure I have everything together for tomorrow.”

“How will you be getting there?”

“Bill’s supposed to pick me up.”

“Is he dropping you off back home afterwards or is he planning on taking you to his apartment, into his bedroom for the night?”

I froze abruptly when he said the last sentence, which also began to make me uneasy and I bit my lip out of annoyance.

“Jeffrey!” I said irritated.

“What? I simply asked a question,” he tried to lie with his rough voice. I could tell he was being distasteful of Bill again without being so forward. Basically beating around the bush.

“Yeah, but you constantly try to make him look bad when he’s not provoking you or has done anything to deserve your rudeness,” I defended Bill. My voice began to rise a bit from the small intensity of the argument.

Jeffrey was offended that I snapped back at him for disrespecting my friend, but he had no right to talk about him like he was some kind of sleazy person. Sometimes, I felt like he purposely plotted ways to get me to not like Bill, but I couldn’t fully prove it and it seemed unlikely that he’d be that drastic.

“He’s a young guy. I was his age once and I know what’s on their minds at that time in their lives. He’s up to no good,” he explained putting the opened book face down on the coffee table. I put my pencil and sketch pad to the side of me in order to concentrate on the conversation with my “Guardian Godfather”.

“Oh he’s not like that! Give me examples of why you think “he” of all the other people I know, is such a bad person?” I challenged him loudly, crossing my arms and sitting with my feet planted to the floor for support.

“He’s a smoker,” his response was given.

“You smoke too. But he doesn’t do it so often and he rarely smokes around me because he knows I hate cigarettes. Does that make you a bad person for smoking?”

“No. But I’ve seen the look in his eyes, the way he sees you whenever you’re around. It’s obvious there’s something he wants from you and it’s usually the one and only thing on every man’s mind. In fact, I’m surprised he’s hung around for this long.”

He was pissing me off, so I stood up fast, firmly stomping on the floor and balling my hands into fists.

“Just stop it already! I can’t believe you would say those terrible things about him like that. He’s not what you think he is, so don’t ever talk about him that way!” I yelled at him with sheer anger.

He fixed himself on the cushion, clasping his big hands onto his grey pajama pants as rage also fueled his emotions high. He was silent as he scolded me through his black frame glasses, but he removed them to continue the stare down with me, like he meant business.

“Don’t give me that tone little lady,” he clenched his jaw.

“I’ll stop once you stop insulting Bill,” I dared to tell him. I was so worked up, my hands were nervously shaking, but I kept them firm by my side. The corner of my eyes were tearing up from Jeffrey’s words echoing in my mind. I blinked a few times and ultimately a tear or two rolled down my warm cheek. I couldn’t even make eye contact at that point, I was so upset with him.

“Wait a minute. Don’t tell me… Oh Lord,” he muffled while pinching the arch of his nose.

I didn’t say a word, but I was worried about what he was going to say next. Who knew what was going through his mind. His eyes were focused on the floor for a short few seconds before returning his attention towards me. Then, he started to chuckle, which freaked me out because after that, he grinned.

“You. Oh Kat, Kat, Kat. My little kitten,” he chanted slowly standing over me, showing off superiority, “Are you?”

“Am I what?” I hesitated.

“Sweetheart, are you in love with Bill?” he finished, snickering to himself.

“W-What?!” I was taken aback by his assumption.

“Are you?” he said as calm as he could maintain.

“Why are you like this? You used to not care and suddenly you’re making more of an effort to intimidate him. Why change now?”

“Answer the damn question,” he demanded.

“No! Even if I might be, I’m better off not telling you about it,” I snapped, partially lied to his face.

Deep down, I did kind of have feelings for Bill, but I would never admit it. I especially would never tell Jeffrey after the crap he’s been pulling. I picked up my drawing supplies from the couch and made my away around Jeffrey so I could head for my room. I was too emotional in front of him and I refused to break down and let him win this argument.

“Where are you going? We’re not finished talking here,” he shouted at me.

“You’re not my dad! This conversation is over,” I cried back, ignoring him down the rest of the hallway until I finally reached my bedroom, shutting the door behind me and locking it.

I then tossed my stuff onto my black desk and ran to the bed, crawling under the sheets and pouring my eyes out with unlimited tears. My sobs were discreet because I didn’t want him to hear me. The only things I heard after storming out of the living room was the footsteps of Jeffrey retreating to his bedroom at the end of the hall. He shut the door loud, startling me as I wept under the blanket.

I couldn’t understand it. He was never that way when I was first becoming friends with Bill. In fact, he welcomed him into the family even though we weren’t dating. As a matter of fact, he truly liked Bill then. For a year, Jeffrey showed his hospitality and trustworthiness to him, but something was definitely off nowadays. What did he mean by “the way Bill looks at me”? He saw me differently? It’s just too overwhelming, I thought, it made my head hurt. Things needed to go back to normal.

I grabbed my phone and was about to call Bill so I could seek comfort, but then I side-tracked. It didn’t seem wise to immediately call and complain about Jeffrey’s insults to the one person it was meant for, at least not right away, in my condition. If he heard even a sign of unhappiness and sniffles, he’ll automatically worry a lot and interrogate the crap out of me. Not that it was a completely bad thing, but I was too overcome with anger and sadness to express it to him then. I also didn’t want him to become even more hateful of Jeffrey, since I knew it could cause more problems between all of us.

I care for Jeffrey, but I also care for Bill. This was too much to bear in mind as I uncovered myself from the sheets to get some cooler air. I needed to do something. I couldn’t stay here for the night. I had to leave.

I sat up, pondering what to do. If I wanted to leave the house, I’d have to wait until Jeffrey fell into a deep sleep, but as a start, I had to pack what I was planning to wear for Halloween. So I jumped out of bed, searched and gathered all of my costume necessities, took out a dark red duffle bag from my closet and carefully packed my items inside, organizing at the same time. I would need to wait awhile until I could see that the coast was clear to leave to spend the night at someone else’s place.

“Really hate this,” I muffled under my breath before finishing my packing, then sitting on the bed, waiting almost impatiently for the time to sneak out like a mouse.

[ramajmedia]

Young Sheldon: 10 Inconsistencies Compared to Big Bang Theory

Young Sheldon, now heading into its third season, is a spin-off/prequel to the popular CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory, showing the childhood life of one of the main characters, Sheldon Cooper, played by Jim Parsons. Odd, eccentric, socially awkward, and brilliant, if viewers were curious to find out what a young Sheldon might look like, this show, set in the late’80s/early ‘90s, delivers with a fabulously believable performance by Iain Armitage.

RELATED: The Big Bang Theory: 20 Things About Sheldon That Make No Sense 

The stories and casting are, for the most part, perfect, right down to Laurie Metcalf’s real-life daughter Zoe Perry playing the younger version of her as Sheldon’s mother Mary, perfect casting for Missy, his twin sister (who was seen in her adult form in an early-season episode), and even appearances by Sheldon’s childhood idol Professor Proton, a la CRT TV. That said, there are some glaring inconsistencies.

10 Sheldon Said His Dad Was A Raging Alcoholic

Sure, Sheldon’s dad George clearly loved his beer. He was usually seen having one, maybe two every night; sometimes three on Fridays. While this is a lot of beer, it doesn’t really make him an alcoholic. To a young Sheldon’s eyes, it might have seemed that his father drank a lot. So perhaps it isn’t an inconsistency insomuch as it is a young boy’s perception being carried over to his adult life.

This was even proven, to some degree, when Sheldon unearthed an old VHS tape of his father giving a pep talk during an episode of The Big Bang Theory and realized with the help of Amy that sometimes things can be “observer-relative.” Who knows, maybe the drinking got worse over time, and we’ve yet to see it. But either way, it seems like Sheldon’s dad was a man who drank a lot of beer, but didn’t really have a problem with alcohol, per se.

9 Sheldon Claimed To Be Bullied A Lot

We’ve seen glimpses of how Sheldon was picked on at school, but it seems as though he mainly kept to himself and wasn’t really tormented and bullied as much as he describes later to his friends in The Big Bang Theory.

Maybe there are things we don’t see in the series, and there’s still more story to tell.  But from what has been depicted thus far, while Sheldon didn’t really have many friends, most of the high schoolers just gave him weird looks and rolled eyes. His biggest bully was the dimwitted neighbor Billy Sparks and the little girl who’s bullying seemed to stop as soon as it began.

8 He Said He Didn’t Have Any Friends

Tam surely must be hurt to know that Sheldon told all of his friends in adulthood that he didn’t have any friends when he was younger. Meanwhile, it seems like he and Tam hung out every day, eating together, studying in the library, and sometimes even getting together after school.

A grown-up Tam did appear on The Big Bang Theory, showing that Sheldon sort of blocked out their friendship after getting upset that Tam moved away. So this could explain that inconsistency.

RELATED: Young Sheldon: 10 The Big Bang Theory Easter Eggs You Missed 

7 Sheldon’s Parents Seem All Good

While Sheldon often discussed how his parents’ marriage imploded, with his father’s cheating and staying out all night, we haven’t seen anything of the sort yet on the show. Sure, they don’t exactly have the perfect marriage; they have their arguments. But, for the most part, his father George seems like a doting, hard-working father.

So did things go terribly wrong at some point and it simply hasn’t happened yet on Young Sheldon? Or did Sheldon really not perceive his childhood accurately? We’ll have to wait and see. But if it’s the former, we might be in for a really dark season this year.

6 Where Is The House on Blocks?

In The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon mentions one time that his mother had to return home to Texas because their house was slipping off the blocks again, which would imply that they lived in a trailer park. They clearly live in a lovely home in Young Sheldon, so when exactly did they move to this type of home on blocks?

It could have been after Sheldon’s father died, which is when he was 14 or 15. Or maybe it was after George lost his job. Perhaps this means the Young Sheldon story will take a bad turn at some point this upcoming season, and the family will lose their home. Or maybe Mary and Sheldon didn’t mean the comment literally. Also, their actual house could possibly be “on blocks,” a cheaper method of building a foundation versus poured concrete.

5 Meemaw Seems Very Different

Sure, during her one appearance on The Big Bang Theory, Meemaw, played by June Squibb, was a hit, hilariously ragging on Amy. But there was no resemblance between her and the Meemaw in Young Sheldon, played by Annie Potts, both in appearance and attitude. Though she did present as the true Meemaw when adult Sheldon poured her a whiskey instead of wine and declared “I made it just how you like it – a lot in a glass.”

It’s possible that Meemaw became old-fashioned and stern as she aged, but people don’t usually change so drastically, especially strong-willed, free-thinking women like Meemaw. But we find it hard to believe that Meemaw shifted so rapidly from the wild and unconventional grandmother she was 20+ years prior to the wholesome woman she appeared to be in the present day.

RELATED: The Worst Thing Each Main Character From The Big Bang Theory Has Done 

4 Where Is Pop Pop?

Speaking of Meemaw, where is Sheldon’s grandfather, Pop Pop? In The Big Bang Theory, Sheldon credits his grandfather for getting him into science before he passed away. On Young Sheldon, it has presumably been about four years since the grandfather died, which would mean Sheldon was five years old when he passed away.

Sure, five is probably old enough to start developing an interest in particular hobbies, so it’s quite possible that someone as intellectually advanced as Sheldon got the science bug from that age. But he never really talks about his grandfather in Young Sheldon, nor about him being an inspiration. You’d think we’d hear more about the character, but perhaps Sheldon had buried his feelings about Pop Pop deep down by that point.

3 Sheldon’s Dad Was Leonard’s Bully

OK, so this isn’t entirely true, but eagle-eyed fans noticed as soon as Young Sheldon was released that the actor who plays George, Sheldon's father, is the same who played Jimmy, Leonard’s high school bully, in an episode of The Big Bang Theory.  In season five, Jimmy, played by Lance Barber, reaches out to Leonard, and Leonard finally has the chance to stand up to him.

Meanwhile, Barber returned to the BBT family to play George, and fans noticed. Sure, it was only a small role way back then. But for the sake of believability, it’s something you can’t unsee once you know.

2 How To Win Friends and Influence People

In an episode of Young Sheldon, the librarian hands Sheldon the self-help book called How to Win Friends and Influence People, which he then goes on to read and attempts to follow in an effort to, well, win friends and influence people. His tactics don’t quite work.

So where does the inconsistency lie? In The Big Bang Theory, decades later, an adult Sheldon comes across a mention of Dale Carnegie and this book and he seems unfamiliar with it. For someone with an eidetic memory, this isn’t something he would forget.

1 The Triple Knock

It could be a compulsion that didn’t strike Sheldon until much later in life, perhaps triggered by the breakdown of his parents’ marriage or the death of his father. But we notice that while young Sheldon shares some of the same OCD-like behaviors as adult Sheldon, such as being a germaphobe, one habit is missing: the signature triple knock on doors. We see adult Sheldon always do it when crossing the hallway to see Penny (saying her name three times in between as well). But a young Sheldon never does it.

That being said, there are actually inconsistencies within The Big Bang Theory as well when it comes to this one, as there have been times when Sheldon doesn’t do it.

NEXT: Big Bang Theory: 10 Biggest Twists & Reveals, Ranked 

source https://screenrant.com/young-sheldon-inconsistencies/

[fleurdelissaswords-blog]

PLL 7B Just-For-Fun Theory: Peter Hastings is Uber A! And The A Team is an Illicit Baby Trafficking Ring!!! 😱 (& Bonus: The 3 M's of. good Theory!) NEW & REVISED ADDITIONS V2!

So a lot of pll fans have been discussing Peter Hasting’s recent arrival back in Rosewood and wondering what he is still hiding.

We know he has Umpteen million kids.

My theory is: Peter is Uber A, and started the game merely to keep tabs on all of his damn kids, find out if there’s anymore out there, keep them out of trouble with typical teen issues like drugs (I’m Looking at You Spencer & Jason= the Spason Sibs, you’re welcome 😇), and avoid having to pay child support for all of them.

The GZL Evidence File 🗃:

1. We keep finding more kids this dude has had. We have no idea when this will end.

2. The Uber A mystery has to do with who’s kids are who’s. Who’s were Mary Drakes? Who’s Peter Hastings? Who’s a DiLaurentis in secret. Who’s a Hastings in secret. And who’s been adopted. Which kids were taken from their mothers in Radley… which seems to be an ongoing trend which brings me to:

3. Just how many babies have been born in Radley and why did they have a nursery there and then quickly take kids away from their mothers and adopt them out? We know Char and Bethany and Spencer were all Radley kids. We know AriA has been in Radley before but we dunno why. We know Mona learned some BIG secrets there. So did Cece/Char.

4. We know some of these kids grew up cray cray. Some were adopted out. They all have the common element of having problems with mental health or drugs.

5. Emily was forced to sell her eggs which were then stolen! Maybe this is how the A Team’s baby breeding program does things now to get and steal babies? Now that Radley is gone.

6. We know Ali was implanted with fertilized eggs while held against her will at Welby. It seems A had been planning it for a long time. Could this have happened to Mary Drake while in Radley? She had more babies than we knew, and how did she keep having them if she was a locked up patient in a facility which likely kept male/female living areas apart and would have rules against having sex in their rooms, etc. So maybe she was implanted with stolen eggs too. Were any of those parents in that generation of rosewood peeps unable to have kids?

7. Why yes: Ashley Marin seems a likely candidate cuz we know Hanna looks nothing like her. We also know Ashley has a murky past where she “got into some trouble.” But we still dunno this story. Maybe she sold her eggs while young like Em did and adopted Hanna and Hanna just doesn’t know yet. Maybe all the look alikes are related by blood?! All the blondes. Also Hanna might be adopted cuz hers doesn’t look a thang like her mama and we know there’s more there.

8. We know A has had some medical training and seems to be keeping tabs on a whole town of kids and orchestrating implanting woman and adopting out kids in secret! We know Veronica also may not have been able to have kids after Melissa… we got her story but look how her story has changed drastically from the many, many, many times Spencer has asked her about this!

Conclusion: Are we looking at weird secret baby breeding program done at Radley? We know Peter was the father of some of them. And nobodies parents are who they seem. We wonder if AriA was born to her parents and we suspect she has a connection to biological mental health issues and was a patient there, and we suspect she may even be related to Wren, who was a dr there who knew some big secrets. We know some doctors knew about babies being born in Radley… but there had to have been a LOT for it to cause Radley to build a nursery. And it seems no kids actually lived in the nursery! We have flashbacks but also look at the old fashioned dress of the nurses at Radley.

Just look at Bethany’s drawings of 2 kids being separated by an evil monster! And how she said Mrs D (or Mary) was a “liar,” and who coincidentally was on the board. Also her drawings of siblings being torn apart and mothers being thrown Off roofs and murdered to keep the secret. Even the dr doesn’t wanna talk. Also, the night Ali saw Veronica outside going thru things and they discussed Spencer not being herself, Veronica was going thru baby stuff! Maybe she had given the twin back long ago, cuz in their family album there’s THREE young girls, Spencer always been seen with one then Melissa. Spencer was just remembering a tale where Melissa defended her against a playground bully but Melissa doesn’t want to discuss it. I think Melissa was sworn to secrecy when the twin was given back early on for being violent and all kinds of evils, and Veronica had kept some of the baby stuff and started getting rid of during Spencer’s “troubling years on drugs” so she wouldn’t accidentally find something cuz she was a snoop remember! Also Paige and Aria are looking a lot alike these days too. Almost like Paige may be her evil Twinsie. What if what we are looking at is a town full of bred twins and the families who adopted them found issues with one and so thise were given back and kept secret and now all of those twins who were given up are growing up and ANGRY and banned together to get revenge? Hmmm. This may explain why there’s twin clues for the entire cast. And what if some of those parents were adopted twins too like Jessica and Mary dram… cuz like their wealthy family helped run and financially back the ring, each generation. Jessica was on the board. So, who could have started this? My guess is a young Grunwald and her husband who were one of Rosewood’s first adopted families having adopted 2 little blonde girls named Jessica and Mary. The twin story Ali told. And one of them went evils and had to be sent away to, where else? Radley! Where she became the next generation of mentally ill mothers to bear babies for the adoption ring. No wonder she’s so pissed! Wouldn’t you be? She was given up cuz the real evil sister set her up, and had to be locked up with no family and then who knows how many babies she had for the ring against her will. We know Marion was there too so could potentially be mom to some of these babies. We saw it happen to Ali recently and she was shocked. Had she not gotten out of Welby, she’d probably have had this happen a few more times to “earn her keep” there. SICK! Now I think the story of how this occurred with each family is different. Sometimes the good twin got to stay. Sometimes the bad twin tricked the parents and got the good twin sent off. And sometimes the bad twin came back to haunt the family and the town they didn’t get to grow up in, hence why it’s all such a confusing mess of who’s baby is who’s now. We don’t know as of last ep if it was Spencer’s evil twin she at the airport Ezra saw. She seems a bit different at times. And the summer she was all doped up and fighting with Ali, I think Ali knew. Ali was extorting money from Byron for a big secret and I doubt it was just the affair. She was already being hounded by her evil Twinsie and had to escape, so she needed money. Ali herself might be the evil twin too or had been before she returned to Rosewood to reclaim her life. What we see is a much kinder gentler Ali almost like a diff person. Her hair is different, she’s more quiet and less nosy. Ali got her good twin sent away and the bad twin staying to be the popular girl just like in the books. Ali was secretly fighting her twin at the same time Spencer was. We thought we had learned this was Cece her real life unknown sister, but that night when she snuck out of the Hastings and came back with a bloody lip she had fought someone she never named, not even when Spencer asked her while in Radley. Now those twins may have switched spots vying for Ali’s perfect life a few times, and I think the evil twin won out and then they were swapped back when the evil Ali died and the good Ali came back to reclaim her life she hadn’t had for a while. My big question is: where as these Twinsies hiding and who is helping them stay hidden, and pull all of this off? And do they know Ea other or not? Is it a twin war the discarded twins waged as an A Team (meaning: the BETTER twin, the A Grade twin) or is the secret Grunwald baby ring taking them back and caring for them and trying to keep them under wraps but having a hard time? Grunwald returns periodically to help these girls and we dunno why. We know she has a keen eye for teen bullshiz tho having ran a sorority! She may not be opposed to spanking kids when they get out of line. We know she saved All, and Ali, and Ali multiple times. Sometimes she looks at Ali as if trying to tell which Twinsie is which. And one of the Ali’s gets spooked by it while the other sees her as a helper not her keeper. I also suspect the Fitz/Fitzgerald foundation is involved in funding this secretly. It has to be some wealthy donors backing this thang! Also we’ve seen Ezra go evils too and there’s been times we viewers AND the liars have suspected he was evil… what we were seeing was Ezra’s Twinsie doing bad bad things! Some fans are speculating Aria's file says she was pregnant. If she was in Radley at one point she may have been. But I feel she was young when at Radley, either as an adopted kid born there like Spencer and others, OR she's had secret stays there since we've come to know her on the show (between the ages of approx 14-early 20's). It's possible her twin lived there or was sent back ir that aria is the evil twin in their fam and framed the other good twin to get her sent away. Cuz we've seen aria's anger, her sleep disturbances, her sketchiness, her lies, her dating older men, her indecision about those men, her missing pigtunia, etc. We've seen her go thru various rebellious style phases, etc. Aria and her twin have been secretly battling it out the entire series! Spencer's twin has made appearances as the drug addict ADHD one and desperately wants her family's approval. Ali's twin has replaced her sister. Jason's twin shows up whenever Jason is traveling. Mary did some things acting as Jessica who also came and went randomly. Hanna has undergone personality changes where suddenly she's super smart, vs. the shoplifting trouble maker. Caleb appears and disappears. Mona does too, sometimes without her signature nose beauty mark. Hmmm... 🤔

Now, who would be in charge of a secret baby breeding program where mentally ill women locked up were used to give birth and have a secret place to rear those kids till adoption? A Secret Society of Doctors and Wealthy Elites who could make a LOT of money doing this being Radley doors cuz who’s gonna believe a mental patient saying someone knocked her up and stole her babies? No one. And if a mother talked or did anything about it she got thrown off a roofsies! 😱. We know back in the old days of mental asylums and institutions, horrific tests and experiments were often conducted on patients who were used as unwilling guinea pigs.

We also know Radley has a secret underground passage… that likely leads to the church, where: babies taken out of Radley to be adopted could be picked up (& christened to get the “evils” out of them being born of mentally ill women… who were often seen back in the day as: possessed by demons! Mental health issues long ago were considered to be spiritual afflictions of possession, rather than a biological health issue).

We also know Human Trafficking doesn’t just include sex trade. It also has included funding illicit adoptions illegally. There’s many stories of adoption centers being busted for acquiring babies illegally! One only a few years ago looking like a normal adoption center but after a few babies turned out bad, and stories started, the center came under investigation. Back in the day I’m guessing that was more common and overlooked. But still illegal thus needing to be kept secret.

Also look at how there’s identical sets of “liars” around rosewood and nearby towns! Sara Harvey’s crew had a group of girls similar to the liars. We know there’s a multitude of blonde trouble makers in rosewood! Then we have the Gamma Zeta sorority sisters Grunwald looked after which had an identical set of looking liars. This was Cece’ gen. And now in rosewood there seems to be some “junior plastics” running around causing problems and all kinds of evils. While someone keeps tabs on them and tries to get them the truth!

A clue from @maliciousbuthot on twitter hinted this many times. This clue giver also said that Sara Harvey performed the implantation into Ali!

So I got to thinking: this all centers around babies, adoptions, and groups of girls who are identical sets to the liars. 🤔 We know Maddie from Dance Mom’s was cast as one of these “blonde Ali type girls.” Maybe her ghost was a Radley baby. And the ghost twins Ashley keeps running into. Lol. Who likely are the same twins from Ali’s Halloween twin story, come back cuz they’ve got questions for their mommy, who curiously looked a lot like a younger Grunwald in the story, which appears to take place in Aria’s family’s kitchen back in the 1950’s based on fans having dated plates and kitchen ware there. Also the nurses dress like something out of the 50’s.

What kind of secret society would be breeding babies for secret adoptions you ask? One running the town’s older elite. Like Grunwald’s generation. We suspect she is Ali’s mom and we know Mary was her aunt and had Radley babies. Peter may be a member of this org and helping facilitate this illicit baby ring! WEIRD!!! 😳

Maybe Peter Hastings is one of the illicit baby ring’s biggest sperm donors?! I think Byron may have been too. Maybe it’s how he got all that money. We know A team has major financial assets and resources. They’re connected to doctors and various clinics. They’re trained in medical procedures. They’ve got access to pharmaceuticals.

Face it: the A Team is an Illicit Baby Ring and secret society. The Baphomet symbolism would hint at this. Except there’s one problem with these babies: They don’t always come out without mental health problems cuz the mothers were mostly Radley patients!

COMING UP NEXT: How does Aria’s secret Radley File play into this whole thang? Is she the evil twin or does she have an evil twin? It seems maybe her evil twin is the leader of the twin team if the A team is a bunch of angry Rogue twinsies come back for revenge on the families who cast them aside. She alone seems to know what her file holds though by her reaction to try to keep so much secret. She was FREAKED out to see an Artificial Intelligence Twinsie staring back at her during A.D’s FaceTime calls. We don’t know who’s behind this computer AriA face, but what if it’s her evil twin and she knows unlike the rest she had one. Or maybe she has worked with her evil twin more than the others have with theirs and met her twin long ago? Or maybe her twin lives inside her? I firmly believe she’s worked with A many times before and is hiding something big. A secret Ali extorted Byron for. And why did Ali pick each of these girls? The probably wouldn’t have all been friends if Ali’s evil twin in the books needed new friends to keep her cover so invented her own crew of rag tag outcasts. And she kept saying there was a reason she picked each of them. 😉

A theory isn’t just a guess based on observing some clues. Every clue has to fit. And a theory must also determine Motive and Means and Method! I’ve done that here… but I’d like to see more theories a little more flushed out with the 3 M’s: Method, Motive, Means. What is the Motive for the crimes? What is the method used to carry them out? And does the suspect have the actual means (resources or know how) to carry it out? Cuz if not, it’s a theory by definition.

Or maybe some of these parents kids were stolen from are pissed and wanna keep tabs on their kids… except their cray cray cuz of their mental health problems. Which may be why there’s an A Team and a force trying to stop them. So who’s on who’s side? There’s a lot more I can add to this like Fitz foundation’s involvement and the rich family’s assets and connections… so stay tuned. If you like it, hit me up in the comments or chat or my twitter to let me know you’d like to see more of this theory.

And as always: Credit Me Bitches, or Else!!! And Reblog if you’d like more!

You’re welcome! 😘 -L

© 2017, Fleurdelissaswords

Additional Credits: G_Xoxo, Maliciousbuthot, PLLINSIDER, & various GZL members.

@charlesgame @kkthanks @plltherapysessions @pllonfreeform @plllogic @plltheorygang @prettylittleliars @prettylittlesecrethints @pretty-little-liars-hints @prettylittletheoriesandspoilers @liars–pretty–liars @liarsinravenswood @rosewood-clues @rosewoodslittleliarss @rosewoodliaries @rosewoodsecrets-pll @monavanderslayy @monavanderwaal @buttahbenzoforever @ezriasupport @ezriaisendgame @emisonisforever @emisonislifeok @emison-sashay-endgame @shaymitchell-brazil-blog @shaymitchdailyy @lucyhale @ezrafitzgerld @endgamezria @monavanderjesus @rosewoodsecret @prettylittleforum @prettylittleliarsxxxx @mimithebabyfox @marleneking-blog @imarleneking-blog @cecedrake901 @cecedrake-is-a @ariaisatheory @ariaisawesome @ariaisapll-blog-blog @ariaisafantheory-blog @uberaalison @brantdaughrty @saraharveysshower @saraharveyisredcoat @ariafitzsgerald @ariafitz-blog @ariafitzmontgom-blog

[temporarilyinorder]

ALL OF THEM!!! 💕💕💕

1. Are looks important in a relationship?- Vaguely
2. Are relationships ever worth it?- yeah? Haha
3. Are you a virgin?- nope
4. Are you in a relationship?- indeed I am
5. Are you in love?- I’d like to think so
6. Are you single this year?- no.. haha
7. Can you commit to one person?- depends on how hard I fall
8. Describe your crush- I’m dating her lol
9. Describe your perfect mate- uhhh.. a little punk, a lot of cute, a lot of passion for something
10. Do you believe in love at first sight?- nope
11. Do you ever want to get married?- totally
12. Do you forgive betrayal?- it takes awhile but maybe
13. Do you get jealous easily?- extremely
14. Do you have a crush on anyone?- for the second time I am daTING HER
15. Do you have any piercings?- nope too chicken 💯
16. Do you have any tattoos?- soon
17. Do you like kissing in public?- I’m down
20. Do you shower every day?- every other
21. Do you think someone has feelings for you?- I’d hope sO 😳
22. Do you think someone is thinking about you right now?- yeahh
23. Do you think you can last in a relationship for 6 months and not cheat?- yeah
24. Do you think you’ll be married in 5 years?- nooooo
25. Do you want to be in a relationship this year?- yes pls
26. Has anyone told you they don’t want to ever lose you?- a few
27. Has someone ever written a song or poem for you?- no 😞
28. Have you ever been cheated on?- yeah
29. Have you ever cheated on someone?- ohhhh yeah
30. Have you ever considered plastic surgery? If so, what would you change about your body?- nothing haha, maybe a smaller chest but even then nothing really ha
31. Have you ever cried over a guy/girl?- plenty
32. Have you ever experienced unrequited love?- plenTY
33. Have you ever had sex with a man?- nope
34. Have you ever had sex with a woman?- many a times
35. Have you ever kissed someone older than you?- only ever
36. Have you ever liked one of your best friends?- mmhm
37. Have you ever liked someone who your friends hated?- mmhm
38. Have you ever liked someone you didn’t expect to?- yeah 😂😂I’m dating hER
39. Have you ever wanted someone you couldn’t have?- mmmmhmmmm
40. Have you ever written a song or poem for someone?- yeah !! Tons
41. Have you had sex so far this year?- again, tons :)
42. How long can you just kiss until your hands start to wander?- not long at aLL
43. How long was your longest relationship?- a year and a half
44. How many boyfriends/girlfriends have you had?- 3 gals
45. How many people did you kiss in 2012?- none lol
46. How many times did you have sex last year?- maybe like 205? Idk
47. How old are you?- 16
48. If the person you like says they like someone else, what would you say?- I don’t, I’d cry on the spot ha
49. If you have a boyfriend/girlfriend, what is your favorite thing about him/her?- physically, hair, nose and eyes. Emotionally, persistence and understanding.. patience for my bullshit
50. If your first true love knocked on your door with apology and presents, would you accept?- mmhm yeah
51. Is there a boy/girl who you would do absolutely everything for?- my girl, of course
52. Is there anyone you’ve given up on? Why?- she just couldn’t see anything other than who she was falling for, not that I haven’t been guilty of it too but 
53. Is there someone mad because you’re dating/talking to the person you are?- yeah 😞
54. Is there someone you will never forget?- this kid Ben I went to school with, he died of leukemia when I was in seventh grade…. learned too young about the bullshit that cancer brings into your life
55. Share a relationship story.- her mom started coming down the stairs while we were mid plow so we just threw the blanket over our legs and sat up and we held a full conversation while she was completely naked from the waist down and I just had boxers on it was mortifying
56. State 8 facts about your body- my earlobes are super floppy- I can crack my thumb knuckles repeatedly- I’m a size 6.5 shoe (men’s)- my butt is much larger than I’d like- my hands are super tiny!!- my hair is blueeeee- I wear size 32 jeans (mens) 🙄- I have a giant scar on me knee from when I was 8 and fell off a scooter haha
57. Things you want to say to an ex- it wasn’t anybody’s fault
58. What are five ways to win your heart?- listening while also contributing- surprise adventures/little things I guess- thoughtful gestures really- willingness to do whatever with me (adventures, nap dates, etc)- I really don’t know how else just be there for me I guess idk haha
59. What do you look like? (Post a picture!)- I don’t know how to do that but I’ll try figuring it out haha
60. What is the biggest age difference between you and any of your partners?- uhh 4ish years
61. What is the first thing you notice in someone?- attitude
62. What is the sexiest thing someone could ever do for/to you?- tell me how you want it
63. What is your definition of “having sex”?- two people being very much in love and making each other feel it for sure
64. What is your definition of cheating?- if it’s something you reserve for your partner, keep it that way
65. What is your favourite foreplay routine?- surprise me
66. What is your favourite roleplay?- no
67. What is your idea of the perfect date?- EXPLOREEEEE and then food because im a generally hungry person
68. What is your sexual orientation?- depends.. gay as shit, I guess
69. What turns you off?- trying too hard.. saying stupid shit in the middle of everything
70. What turns you on?- nice underwear, take control, idk it’s hard to tbh
71. What was your kinkiest wet dream?- literally just having sex with her lol
72. What words do you like to hear during sex?- none tf
73. What’s something sweet you’d like someone to do for you?- surprise me bigtime 😍😍 like wow
74. What’s the most superficial characteristic you look for?- uhh probably the whole punk rock aesthetic
75. What’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for you?- took me on a day trip after a really bad night.. I told her I needed to get away, so away we went. She took good care of me
76. What’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever done for someone?- idk.. performed a poem for an audience that was about her? I honestly don’t know that’s not a question for me haha
77. What’s your opinion on age differences in relationships?- im pretty indifferent as long as it’s not drastic.
78. What’s your dirtiest secret?- I started masturbating at 4 years old :)
79. When was the last time you felt jealous? Why?- like ten minutes ago and idk she knows why haha
80. When was the last time you told someone you loved them?- a few minutes ago
81. Who are five people you find attractive?- Kristen Stewart- Ruby Rose- The entiRE Carmilla cast haha- Kaya Scoldelario- my girlfrienddddd
82. Who is the last person you hugged?- My friend Collin because I gave him candy lol
83. Who was your first kiss with?- @maryxfuckingxjane !!
84. Why did your last relationship fail?- because I was in love with somebody else towards the end and didn’t want to hurt her like that
85. Would you ever date someone off of the Internet?- not again no. it’s like, nice to think about when you’re younger or don’t have many people in your life but the older I get the more skeptical I get of it haha but ya never know

[behindthebeautylens]

Insight from the Ultimate Mom-Manager: Interview with Melanie C.

Mom’s Perspective…

My name is Melanie and I am the mother of three beautiful children, my middle child being Mia who is now a LA-based model signed with DT Model Management - a premier modeling agency and every girl’s dream.

I was the typical stay at home mom. I was a member of PTA, drove a minivan and was the team mom for multiple youth sports.

When Mia was around 10 years old, a close friend suggested I send a photo into a Seattle modeling agency. Mia was a shy, healthy, natural child with freckles and long brunette hair. She had a “girl next door” ease about her that made everyone love her. She was shy and seemed to be satisfied to be a Wallflower. I introduced Mia into modeling to build her confidence. I always believed that all women are beautiful and we should not compare ourselves to others but love ourselves for our uniqueness. Every little freckle.

Getting Signed with an Agency…

When Mia was 10 she signed with Seattle Model’s Guild, one of the best agencies in Seattle. Most castings and shoots are during weekdays so she did miss a lot of school. I learned that open communication with teachers and officials is a must if your child is in the modeling or acting business. Thankfully, Mia was able to keep her grades up while modeling weekly. Mia worked for Nordstrom’s, Eddie Bauer, and Union Bay. She had a lot of fun modeling and even though she kept it secret from her classmates, it built her confidence. She learned many valuable lessons. She was working with professional adults and learned communication skills and time management as well as patience. She learned to earn her paycheck and we opened her a savings account building her future.

I was Mia’s manager and SMG was her agency but I always treated Mia as a partner and discussed all jobs, photographers, and payment so she could learn to make good decisions.  As Mia grew taller she began to outgrow the children’s division. We found that there was no market in Seattle for “tweens.” She still wanted to work and I knew she needed to develop her modeling skills so we began portfolio building for adult modeling. SMG signed her onto an adult contract but we became frustrated with lack of jobs. I nicknamed this time as “being on the shelf.” By this, I mean young models are under contract but there are no paying jobs until they reach 17 – 18yrs due to state work restrictions. Agencies are not forthcoming about this period of time. In fact, she wanted to work so bad we signed in Oregon as well. She worked for NIKE and that was when we learned about restrictions. The client at NIKE explained any model under 18yrs old can only work half day so they don’t book under 18. NIKE did not know she was 17. 

At age 15, we began to build a portfolio. Mia’s first shoot was with the one and only Jennifer Mcintyre. Mia learned so much from working with Jennifer. She was also introduced to older models and fashion runway. The agency was against fashion shows but I believe it was good experience and it was. Mia shot a few editorials and was published in five different magazines. 

Restricting Standards.

Over time, we became increasingly frustrated with the Seattle market and Mia did a few independent paid jobs. The Seattle market preferred different measurements than Mia and the agency discussed this issue with me. They told me Mia was too short and too curvy. This was viewed as not preferred by the area clientele they served. Mia was 5’8 and a size 0/2. The desired measurements were 5’9 and up and size 0.

I disagreed.

These restrictive standards caused some stress for Mia due to Mother Nature. I believe it is a good thing to be the healthiest version of yourself. It is unhealthy to take drastic measures to change into what someone else wants you to be. There is constant pressure on models to loose inches and they are frequently measured.

I took matters into my own hands and I began reaching out to top LA agencies. Ford requested to see her when she turned 18 after I sent them some images. Our favorite models were always GUESS and Victoria Secret models. I reached out to GUESS headquarters and they recommended her agency send her. Both SMG and Muse had no contacts with the clients Mia wanted to work with. It was clear she would need to move to LA. Ultimately, we released her from SMG and Muse so she would be a free agent. 

Networking in Los Angeles.

We took a few trips to Los Angeles to see if that’s where Mia wanted to move. I began speaking to top LA photographers that I found through Instagram. In the meantime, Mia reached out to Paul Marciano, the owner of GUESS and when she turned 18 he invited her to meet him in LA. We flew to LA, met and shot with a top photographer, Josh Ryan, who does GUESS campaigns and also shoots for Playboy and Maxim. Josh recommended to DT Models that they become her mother agency. The next day Mia had a test shoot at GUESS. The team called DT Models to sign Mia immediately which we were stunned and very grateful for.

When Mia walked into DT Model Management, the next day, they told her she was tall and perfect exactly they way she was. I was extremely happy! We found an agency we felt at home with. I love that they also supported Mia’s return home to Washington State to attend and graduate high school properly. I felt that they were the perfect fit for Mia. The arrangement was that DT Models would have Mia return to LA and they would provide housing in a model apartment for her to live in. In April 2019, she flew to LA independently to do her first commercial shoot for GUESS. It was a great success. Mia was very happy to be part of a wonderful agency.

After graduating high school, Mia moved to LA within two weeks. We made it a family vacation and exciting road trip. All three kids drove in Mia’s car while my husband and I drove in the truck with her belongings. It was a wonderful trip and we spent a week with her at Venice Beach before we moved her into her model apartment. Of course I was devastated to leave my little girl but incredibly proud of the brave young woman she had become. Thank god for FaceTime! We still see each other and speak almost daily. We continue to communicate about jobs, health, and photographers.

Today it has almost been a year since Mia has signed. Mia had great success in LA and was excited to be on GUESS store posters nationwide last Christmas. She signed with two other agencies - NEXT in Miami and Leni’s in London. In January 2020, she moved to London where she was working weekly.

Inspiration for Model Moms.

From a model mom’s perspective, the lessons learned are to never give up and be steadfast in demanding young models are valued for who they are and the size they are. Maintaining a healthy child is hard even without the pressures of a society and external agencies telling you that your model kid is not thin or tall enough. This world needs models of all sizes and looks to demonstrate inclusivity to reach all types of customers. Never settle or accept something you know in your heart to not be a good fit for your child.

Best of luck to all mom-managers out there managing the careers of their young models. It’s hard work but it truly does pay off even if it doesn’t end up in a modeling contract. Your child will thank you for your efforts.

Follow Mia @mia_schubert // Agencies: @dtmodelmgmt @nextmodels @lenisagency

[munmunadams]

Fashion portrait photography in the age of Instagram

Instagram has created a big shift in Fashion Photography

 1.       Instagram is influential 

Over the last few years, the modeling industry has transitioned into a new era. Instagram has paved a path for models to be scouted directly via their Instagram profiles and social presence, fresh talent is longer found in chic localities and cities but through this tiny but powerful tool. 

In this age, it is not sufficient for a model to have a perfect portfolio alone, their social influence, the number of people following their account and interacting and hearts they receive per post is one of the deciding factors in getting noticed and hired (Highsnobiety, 2017). 

Kevin Systrom, one of the co-founders of Instagram argues that the platform is all about turning everyday scenes into magical moments captured digitally. In between the two comes post processing and photo editing which at the very least includes the Instagram filters. There are many apps out there for retouching, that includes teeth whitening, blemish removal, and skin smoothing.

 To think about – 

       i.          Scouting the new:  Models have had the opportunity to work with some of the biggest brand names in the fashion scene after being scouted through their Instagram accounts.

      ii.          Global reach: One of the notable traits of Instagram is how Instagram can reach people without needing to travel to different countries across the globe looking for models. With 25 languages to choose from it changes the entire modeling scenario, it gives limitless possibilities and opportunities to find fresh faces.

    iii.          The power of the product:  Do not believe that the platform is good for the professionals in the fashion circle. There the term circulating in this era like ‘Instagirl’, ‘Instagram models’ and ‘Instafame’, these terms not only apply to rising individual or stars, but also to the lesser knows, but not less influential, bloggers and models. They are earning million from brand collaborations and from sponsored Instagram posts. Some of the most popular bloggers, entrepreneurs and fashion influencers like Margaret Zhang, Chriselle Lim, Chiara Ferrangni all rose to fame via their Instagram accounts and huge online presence. They are sponsored by brands to showcase their products to their viewers helping them promote their collection to a bigger market (Highsnobiety, 2016).

     iv.          The girl behind the picture: One of the most important factors when scouting for models to be the face of their brand is that they are on the lookout for someone who shares a strong connection with their followers in addition to their strength of her personal brands for eg. a celebrity’s image. We often find posts of their daily lives, no makeup looks, morning faces, taking us behind shoots and laughing with friends and family looking effortless and more relatable. 

Estée Laudar on being asked why they had chosen Kendal Jenner to be the face of their brand in November 2016, one of most awaited and respected booking event in the beauty industry, they did not try to hide to fact that she was cast because of her huge social presence. In today’s age, the image alone does not cut it when it comes to modeling.

      v.          Inviting you in: Every fashion designer’s message and vision about their collection or product is to be relatable to their viewers, even in the slightest bit. Being relatable is one of the biggest factors in marketing your products otherwise you fail to make an impression and appeal to your audience. With Instagram, using creative ideas you can get everyone involved using catchy hashtags and start a movement in the fashion world (Highsnobiety, 2017). 

Fashion bloggers have left their mark in the recent years in many international fashion events, they have influenced many young minds of Instagram users. The business of fashion blogging, in other terms ‘influencer marketing’ has created a big rift in the fashion industry. According to Thompson (2016), Vogue’s creative director, Sally Singer stated how fashion bloggers are killing the fashion industry in a piece about Milan Fashion Week - "Note to bloggers who change head-to-toe, paid-to-wear outfits every hour: Please stop. Find another business. You are heralding the death of style". It’s purely business for these influencers on Instagram. These influencers can earn from anything below $110 to something 100 times this amount, for example up to $11,000. Jenny Woods, in an interview, told fashion and lifestyle stars in Instagram recently was paid $6,104 who has a following of 1.3m, while another brand paid $20,749 for a reality TV star about a brand in a series of posts with a following of more than 1.2m. These numbers show that if you have more followers, the better it gets to put a price tag on a post. Everything is dependent on the influencer’s audience, their engagement and on the value of certain influencers. 

Example Of Chiari Ferragni and Margaret Zhang – Pending Notes  

2.       We Can All Be Professional Photographers  

The age of Instagram is an era where one does less talking, more shooting and sharing. It’s like having a conversation with not one individual but thousands of individuals across the globe. The makers of this widely popular app initially aimed to have a platform to share one’s photos and memories but because of its simple user interface and little requirement of technical knowledge to know how to share photos, it quickly became a name everyone talked about. You did not need a background in photography to know your way around Instagram and it’s because of this very reason it became quite popular to not only to photographers only but to users from the various line of work as an extension of your online portfolio, to a more intimate audience.

How often should one post? The answer to this question lies in the fact the more you publish, share and connect with your followers the greater are the chances of you growing not only as an artist and as a brand and reaching out to potential clients, agencies and other interested parties that are constantly on the lookout for new faces and raw talent. Your growing community of followers will notice your unique style and creative direction, your work ethic and begin associating you and your brand with a certain kind of imagery.  With more features like stories and private comment option, it has become easier to communicate on a one on one basis and get a better understanding of the inner works of your brand. It can be a continuous source of inspiration and any kind of the feedback would be invaluable to you and your work. It’s a completive market, you need to stay on top of your game to stand out, everyone is trying to carve a niche for oneself, eagerly waiting to earn a heart, and gain new followers in this ever-growing digital age where only the best can make it to the very top. 

With over 300 million active users on Instagram, there is a small percentage of genetically gifted individuals that seem to always look flawless and put together all the time, appears to live perfect lives than the rest of the users. 

What is it like to be an Instagram model? A lot of young women say it’s a creative outlet, but the real question is it self-sufficient to live off the money you earn from endorsing brands and hashtags? (Sitbon, 2017). How does it all work for the likes of the Kendall Jenner’s and Gigi Hadid’s (the real models) who use Instagram to further advance in their modelling careers, secure more deals with future clients and for creative purposes and to what extent is still a little foggy. It’s a grey area in the world of Instagram modelling. 

3.       It’s Changed the Way Industries Communicate 

Kevin Systrom, the co-founder of Instagram in an interview with the British Journal stated: “Instagram has changed the way people see the world”. He further discusses the platform’s original purpose and how now everyone has turned it into “a common element of life”, and this category even includes professional photographers. Originally it was designed to make photo sharing very easy, and now it's everywhere. 

Instagram has drastically changed how the fashion industry is able to connect with its audience on a larger scale, especially how they are able to relate to their customers. It is therefore correct to say that social media has molded and transformed fashion in the last few years (Laurent, 2013). According to Systrom, as mentioned in chapter one, he continued, through this very platform he has been taking note how the young and promising fashion designers are ready to throw out their latest design in the global market. It has gradually become the platform for commerce which was not the initial goal of Instagram. The platform was created for the sole purpose of engaging with others in building great products that work with every kind of people, that is the medium we wanted from the start. 

In professional photography, this social media platform is not a market for selling, although its true with the great amount of talent, people use their account to promote their business – their photography practice. When asked if a “boundary should be set between artistic and the commercial use of the platform, Systrom did not believe it was required as long as there is a balance. If it were completely dedicated to only commerce, then the spirit of communication would be lost.  

If you look at ‘the Sartorialist’ which is a fashion blog created by Scott Schuman, a fashion photographer, and blogger (Laurent, 2013), he created the blog with the idea of creating a two-way dialogue about the world of fashion and its relationship to daily life. Gradually it became a regular read for fashionistas, both on the street and in the upper echelons of the industry. He covers fashion – its everyday fashion on the streets. We all step out of doors everyday carrying our phones in the pockets and can snap a picture of anyone on the street anywhere and anytime. It could be of someone with an outfit we love, or a great combination of accessories, or someone with a nice pair of boots, and they can bring all these images together and show them instantly online (Laurent, 2013). Social media such as Instagram helps people to spread fashion across the world where we all can participate. 

4. Rise of the Selfie

The level of attention that goes into selfie culture these days often undermines the notion of authenticity that Instagram once built itself on. There’s a mania for sharing self-taken photographs online. The selfie stick may be the most shameless fashion accessory ever. Are we becoming a self-obsessed culture?

Fashion photographer says – Selfies are more for losers, because of the selfie trend the industry has ‘gone to the dogs’ and that it stays

Is the selfie effect disrupting the industry? The fashion industry is being taken over by the rise of the selfie. The rise in the selfie trend has had a tremendous effect on the very idea of perception of our self and others in our vicinity. With the ever-booming fashion industry in the last couples of years, the impact of photographing oneself or a selfie is still a topic that hasn’t been unexplored, but elsewhere in the world of fashion, the sales have been continuously growing and has seen a rise in the selfie trend especially in the way women in comparison to men (Hendrikz, 2015).

By the year 2013, the ‘Selfie’, the so-called social phenomenon slowly started seeking attention. What is a selfie? - “A photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to the social media website”. Gradually the term has evolved online as is more than just a photograph. Selfie at the present time is a way for one to express one’s personal style and uniqueness in the world of social media. It can be used to promote yourself and connect with your followers. As opposed to posed photoshoots selfies are more casual and relaxed therefore more relatable. The selfie trend has spared no one, models, fashionistas, bloggers, and celebrities are all constantly using it to market themselves.  

The selfie as we know didn’t take shape until the advent of social media. In the fashion world, selfies have become a powerful pillar. Instagram has become a commercial platform as it is a communicative one. Brands such as Marc Jacobs, MAC, and Levis are directly calling on selfie-savvy models instead of casting a model from their agency boards. To simply phrase in the modeling world, the selfie is viable to currency. Brands actively seek girls who will keep the train rolling. A great example has been set by Estee Lauder, the brand didn’t need to launch a massive rebranding campaign to reach the younger

generation. They simply tagged Kendall Jenner as its new face and within just a few days they gained an additional 50, 000 Instagram followers not really knowing how it would affect sales.

Due to the rise of the selfie, particularly more prevalent among the female millennial group is beginning to impact the consumers' shop. It has become normal for consumers to digitally document every aspect of their lives; camera ready outfits are considered the new necessity. According to recent studies carried out by charity Barnardo’s, states that modern women have adopted an “a wear it once culture”, with one-third of the women considering clothes old after wearing them just three times after their purchase. Instagram has influenced their shopping habits and further noted that were uncomfortable being in the same outfit more than once. Consumers on Instagram by the use of selfie are outsourcing the opinion on fashion to a bigger picture in the audience than previously possible. It is showing a shift towards embracing a more social form commerce. 

5.       Brands 

Brands involve popular users or influencers in their marketing strategies on social media platforms such as Instagram. In such cases, brands contact these users or influencers and enquire them whether they would be interested to include Instagram in their marketing strategies, this in other words on social media platform is known as a sponsored post. Individuals either make a brand-new page for sponsored brands to be included in their everyday social circle of fashion, or photographers are either hired specifically to post such category of photos tagging brands to their post. Therefore, the typology of cooperation varies according to the business, the brand or the marketing plan. Those Instagrammers who are approached directly by brands as defined as ‘popular’, the reason behind the definition arises from the amount of ‘likes’ a user can collect within the shorted time possible since the post had been uploaded. So, such users are named as the Instagram influencers because of their large visibility they achieve, and such users might count to over 150k followers. Indeed, the world of advertising has shifted in the last few years where social media sites have seen a tremendous growth in employment. 

Margaret Zhang, born and raised in Australia is a photographer, stylist, writer, model and creative director and consultant. For one girl at the age of 24 is quite a lot in one bag. She made it to the Forbes' 2016 30 Under 30 Asia list for young leaders as well TimeOut’s 40 Under 40. She was awarded the Elle Digital Influencer Year in 2015. Her interest in the world of fashion began at the age of 16 when she created her blog, Shine By Three in 2009.  With a half, a million daily visitors on her blog and nearly 1 million followers on Instagram, Margaret Zhang is one of the most sought out names in the fashion industry. She has been invited to attend various fashion shows by high-end brands such as Dior, Gucci, and Louis Vuitton to name a few. 

Her viewers are constantly in awe of her work and her creative direction and see seek her out for inspiration. Kendal Steensen, a student at Fashion Institute of Technology, New York one of her many followers in an interview by Times was quoted saying - “When I see Margaret’s posts, I think that I would want to wear what she’s wearing.” 

A lot has changed in the social media scenario if you have great content, a unique sense of style that appeals to the audience, great marketing strategy, and most importantly the drive to achieve success, social media platforms like Instagram helps you reach out to viewers on a global level and what you represent. 

Apart from attending fashion shows, working on photo shoots, directing and writing on her blog, Zhang also takes out the time to share photos of her herself and videos of her life to share with her almost 1 million viewers worldwide. Even after having attained such level fame, she firmly believes and tries to keep her personal life and work life separate. She thinks that one needs to have that boundary to maintain some level of privacy to remain sane, or one can easily lose your way in this digital age. It’s very unhealthy for the mind and body (O, Hare, 2016). Although Zhang is Australian, she speaks Mandarin and is very much in touch with her roots and is very involved in the cultural happenings from her native country. Her heritage is a constant source of inspiration in her line of work. 

In the Hope Summit (2015), Margaret Zhang stated how to build your own personal brand. And there is no better time to do it now because Instagram is so powerful. It’s about your CV, how you present them. How you present that to a prospective employee or how you present yourselves to the world. Marketing yourself to the target audience as a product. You are a product. Tag book ‘In the Youth of Our Fury’ – interview about social media.

Fashion industry brands hire photographers, in turn, photographers hire the model and then these appeal the audience. Therefore, marketing reaches brands, photographers, models, and audience. It feeds itself or off each other. It so happens a platform such as Instagram makes a photographer known who may be sitting on the other side of the globe. They connect and get hired to photograph the model showcasing the brand. The fashion industry is a very big world and trends are not subject to one area but is followed globally once the trend is popular.

Figure    3 – Instagram post by Justin Bieber

Figure    4 – Instagram post by Kendall Jenner

 After the print ads in the 1992 series of print ads featuring Mark "Marky Mark" Wahlberg, Calvin Klein’s advertising has long been renowned for its sexy suggestive approach. With the new 2016 Spring campaign - ‘I ___ in #mycalvins’, it was designed to encourage consumers to actively engage with the brand by filling the blank with their own words (Chan, 2016). Calvin Klein CMO Melisa Goldie told marketing through the campaign that they wanted to reflect how young individuals live and behave today. This would be attained with the thought of connecting through a cultural conversation. They chose to bring the “brand into one global lifestyle campaign to represent how individuals dress in modern day culture – mixing high-end pieces with denim and underwear to create personalized looks.” To build Calvin Klein as a global lifestyle brand, it is a necessity that the brand will require it to connect with the audience, to create intimate memories (Chan, 2016). 

You do not require large-scale ads for the platform, all you require in the name of a big shot celebrity and the hashtag such as #mycalvins to capture the world’s attention to a brand. Unpaid posts endorsing the brand is much more effective and powerful to interact with the millennial than in comparison to influential posts as its obviously paid by the brand. The unpaid post sets a sense of intimacy and draws a closer connection to the audience (Leo, 2016). 

Both Justin Bieber and Kendall Jenner took the campaign on Instagram to share their photographs what they do in their Calvin Klein underwear filling in the blank to personalize each image, Bieber, answered, "I flaunt in #mycalvins." while Jenner, answered, “I want to with you in #mycalvins.” They posted their answers as a ‘tagline’ on Instagram by wearing the underwear.  

On Instagram Jenner (2016) quotes “#ad I want to be with you in #mycalvins. My new Spring 2016 @calvinklein campaign... What do you do with yours?” The post displays a ‘racy’ video of her torso in a white bra and underwear in front of a white background with her arms crossed, closeup of the brand name on the underwear, close up of navel, eyes closed and opened, close up of a kiss expression and then a biting moment, earshot, side view of torso, butt-shot displaying the fit and waistline, and in the end, reveals in the blank I ____I want to be with you____ in #mycalvins. Perhaps Kendal wanted to showcase an intimate and sexual moment with the display of her body parts and showing off her womanly curves. Every girl enjoys the performance in front of a mirror and says to them ‘I look great!’, she in a way in performing for the audience in which she teases flashes of flesh—from lips to eyes, to hips. 

Just as Justin Bieber laid it bare in the first campaign as the debutant celebrity for the Calvin Klein Underwear back in 2015, he is back with yet another steamy provocative shot after one whole year with the campaign for Spring 2016. The new shots are as revealing as his earlier shoots with the brand. In his Instagram post in the early year of 2016, claims - “I flaunt in #mycalvins. Introducing the @CalvinKlein spring 2016 campaign” which he does (Bieber, 2016). In his Instagram post, the photograph showed him “shirtless flaunting his toned figure in black Calvin Klein boxers. He is shown to be lifting one of his arms and one of his legs” (Hayley, 2016) A white statue of a naked woman stood next to him, a neoclassical nude statue to put it more precisely. 

Kendall took the winning strike with the ‘like’ button. In comparison to Bieber, she gained a total of 11,416,866 views while Bieber with a total of 1,870,609 likes. If you look at their following Jenner – 84.7m and Bieber – 93.8m. This could be the fact Kendall Jenner has clearly been making waves in the fashion industry recently. Also, the other explanation could be how most of the millennial population on Instagram are mostly girls in comparison to the boys. Porter (2016) stated that the campaign as the form of ads is paying off for CK. He further stated, according to an announcement from the brand’s parent company PVH Corp, the brand outperformed its sale and that is about $723 million compared to the $654 million it made last year in the first quarter. 

Strategically, without much thought, it becomes very to target celebrities who already are pre-loaded with millions of followers. Justin Bieber boasts over 90 million followers on Instagram. Just linking him to any brand is inevitably going to spark attention (Leo & Hood, 2016). However, with Kendall’s recent rising popularity not, everyone in the fashion circle is on board even if she did star in the brand’s campaign both in 2015 and 2016. Namely, Calvin Klein, the fashion designer according to a talk with Fern Mallis in New York, a fashionista reported his disappointment to feature Jenner as one the celebrities for his namesake brand. Klein does not agree how these days it’s all about the publicity or follower count when Instagram celebrities model for brands.  

Now, models are paid for how many followers they have. They’re booked not because they represent the essence of the designer, which is what I tried to do — they’re booked because of how many followers they have online. I don’t think that long-term, is going to work... I don't think that's a great formula for success for the product you're trying to sell. If you take exquisite photographs of the right people in the right clothes in the right location, and you put it online, that’s fine (Klein, 2016). 

However, when it comes to Justin Bieber's campaign, Klein revealed that he was totally on board with the brand's selection and further commented - "I think they’re very good," When [I say] I like Justin Bieber in the Calvin Klein underwear [campaign], it’s because I like him — not because he’s got millions of followers." (Milligan, 2016) 

The campaign on Instagram proved it be a clever move for the brand’s fan base, in a way inviting a sense of intimacy with the stars. It has dramatically increased CK’s growth on various social platforms, especially since its launch in February, it saw a very big increase by 1.8 million followers. This interconnection of the brands with the audience and vice-versa plays a major role in fashion photography showcased on an online platform such as Instagram. No better words describe this connection as Leo (2016) in her blog for Truly Deeply stated it as – “Being able to capture the attention from consumers in a way that doesn’t seem forced is key in retaining consumer loyalty. There is seemingly no limit to the ways in which the brand can utilize social media and the power of celebrity endorsement.”

 6.      Personal stories 

Alexander Saladrigas, a fashion photographer based in New York in one of his interviews talks about how Instagram can improve a photographer’s chances in getting hired by a prospective client is by having a clean, well-laid outfeed showcasing only your finest work and an appealing storyline that will catch the clients eye. It’s is a crucial factor in deciding if a photographer or a fashion model will get hired. He was quoted saying, – “when a client is looking at your Instagram, they are going to get a good idea of storytelling and are able to pull up images that are consistently good from one editorial. There are a lot of photographers out there that might be able to pull off one great image out of every shoot or maybe not the full 10 images of the set”.   

6.  Mobile vs professional camera 

Over the years, the advances in the mobile and camera technologies have had a profound impact on the way individuals view and use photos in the history of photography. Photography has always been available to capture moments and now through the use smartphones, it has become this crucial element in capturing new scenarios which permit people to take it anywhere and anytime. Professional cameras, on the other hand, require you to fix your camera settings in advance and you can miss out on capturing a quick moment. Instagram has become this space where many individuals are posting mobile phone images with a little retouch, its more popular and how anyone can post anytime, while professional cameras are expensive and harder to carry around everywhere and anytime. 

As of September 2017, there are roughly 800 million Instagram users worldwide. A small percentage of these active users seem to be blessed with good genes and appear to have flawless, perfect lives than the most of us. How much of that is true? 

This is one of biggest misconceptions about the pseudo lives we portray in the virtual world. A lot of effort goes into making the photos seemingly perfect, from the retakes and finding the perfect angle to the post-processing involved to deem it worthy to be posted online. Photographers constantly edit their photos to showcase their best work and often use this approach on their Instagram accounts as well.  Celebrities and fashion bloggers know their way around this digital age on how to look perfect for the camera given the fact that to wear clothes from a sponsored brand you can make a hefty sum from just one Instagram post alone. It’s a competitive market and everyone wants to look their best (Bain, 2015).