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kimsnnn · 3 years ago

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Part 2

Disclaimer: This post is in favor of my ship, Elriel. No hate, just an opinion. This is what makes sense to me. If this isn't your cup of tea, and it came up on your feed, no worries just skip please.

With all this in mind Elriel to me just seems so clear.

The enemy is Koschei and Vassa is the only one to be directly linked to and affected by him so she will be the one to defeat him, plan and give us insight from the inside because she is the one who is captive. She has a personal interest in defeating him and that victory and moment is rightfully hers to own.

She will get a book. Her being a firebird means nothing? why would people assume she won't have a conscious while in that form when Rhys, Tamlin and Helion do? Why do people believe that a story cant be developed and moved along as a firebird? Has any one ever read a werewolf book? Im soooo confused. I mean why is that a end all? Even as a firebird she can see and reveal so much, and as a person even more.

The main original characters that have a direct link to Feyre from the very beginning before Hybern, Amarantha, and ACOWAR are Nesta, Elain and Lucien. Those are the characters that make the most sense to have their own book. Not Tamlin who is of no importance to Feyre anymore. Who is of importance and who where her first family Lucien basically becoming her first brother. She is always concerned for these people. If you take a look at all of Feyre’s POV in ACOFAS its always showcasing her concern or confusion for Her sisters, Lucien and even Mor (possible novella). These three individuals (N&E&L) are the ones she has an original relationship with and the most history, a shaky relationship that has room to be improved on. These are the wildcards, the ones who have wronged her in some way, the ones who’s stories NEED to be told. Three different people three different stories.

If you also take a look at Rhys’ POV in order, you realize he talks to or refers to 5 people usually:

Cassian, Azriel, Mor, Tamlin & Lucien

Each of these first 5 POV also directly touches on what issues exactly are pertaining to them or could be pertaining to them if that had their own book OR how they may contribute to the whole over arching plot.

If we conclude everything from those first 5 chapters ( I'm not including the rest because its too much, and they also include these 5 characters regardless) of importance this is what we have and what each book may touch on.

1st POV: involves

-Cassian - Illyrian dissent, inequality, Nesta, queen Braiylln, training female Illyrians,

-Cassian’s role

2nd POV: involves

-Azriel-shadows/powers strength, Az’s past, confusion on shadowsinger abilities, Illyrian dissent/hate, Human queens, Hyberns people, Human lands, Vassa’s situation,

-Az’z emotions (& concealing of emotions) on : Lucien, Elain, Possibly Az’s mom and her whereabouts (Rosehall).

3rd POV:

-Tamlin/Lucien-SC and Tamlin current state and down fall, alliance with Tamlin, peace/future, Lucien’s and Tamlin’s relationship, Anger/Hate/Remorse/Defeat/Hope/Empty, Feyre

-Feyre-Tamlin, Rhys’ actions and remorse

-Jeweler(Neve)-no jewels for Feyre, Neve’s background

4th POV:

-Velaris estates along the Sidra before and after hybern,

-Mor: Rhys and mor’s relationship currently, Kier/Eris/CoN

-The CoN people occupied the Velaris estates (they left Hewn City before the division of the NC)

-Kiers upcoming visit to Velaris in Spring (the hewn city’s containment and curiosity)

-Mor’s Mother/ desire to leave the NC

-Mor’s Role

Rhys’ 1st POV which included Cassian and Cassian’s following POV/Chapter was a foreshadow to ACOSF completely. Everything touched was basically addressed in ACOSF. Rhys basically told Mor and Cassian to assume different jobs and roles (to lessen Azriel’s world load) in their chapters which came true in ACOSF.

A bond between Elain and Lucien does not mean they will have a book. If I'm honest they remind me a little of Nesyrn and Chaol who seemed like with time something could blossom between them but in reality just weren't for one another and were better off as friends. All that connects these two is an unwanted bond, a person they both have wronged yet care about (Feyre) and an incident that resulted in Elain’s trauma. Everyone thought Elain who is literally everything to Nesta, who Nesta would have sacrificed everything for, would be more involved, yet she wasn't even present in the majority of Nesta’s book, at least not as present as we thought she would be. But she was mentioned throughout ACOSF nearly in every chapter because Elain does and has impacted Nesta’s life completely.This is something I expect to happen for Elain’s book as well. Yes Lucien will appear but perhaps the purpose of his appearance would be to get closure and fill in questions left unanswered. If ACOTAR 5 is an Elriel book and not ACOTAR 6 then her book will also serve to set up for his book with Vassa.

Feyre’s relationship with the IC is fine and any issues can be resolved in the books of the others (like for example as Love interests) or in a novella.

Cassian had a POV, the second main role in ACOSF but.. ACOSF was Nesta’s story.

The same can be said for Elriel’s book as well as Vassien’s.

And yes a male can have a book like Chaol did but in my opinion it won't be Az with Gwyn being the second main POV. It will be Lucien with Vassa who has far more ties to the IC and to the over arching plot. Vassa at least has met Feyre the main character of the whole ACOTAR world.

Hypothetically speaking lets say Az does get a book and ends up with Gwyn and the plot is about the Illyrian camp. Their story would most likely be written as a novella if anything not an actual book, there is not many ties that Gwyn has so far to the whole plot at least not yet. But getting a novella still wouldn't make sense when we have characters, who are not only closer to the plot but also provide an opportunity to get info/support to win this war, like Mor who is spending time in Vallahan, and Tamlin who’s literal court is not only in shambles but unfortunately detrimental to the success of attaining peace.

I do think Gwyn is more important to this plot then most give her credit for but I dont believe that necessarily means shes due a book or a main POV especially over Vassa. And Emerie.

Vassa who has direct link to koschei the main issue, point and villain of the plot and Emerie who has a direct link to Illyria and its backward ways in everything most importantly on its stance of women and their roles.

SJM Set Elriel to be endgame because it just makes the most sense. Not only because of their connection, moments and relationship thus far but because that's what makes the most sense with this plot. There’s no spinoff in the works.

There’s no reason for Gwyn or ANYONE for that matter to be the one to defeat koschei over Vassa, no reason to have the hugest wedge between Elucien while building a bridge for Elriel, no reason to build and hint for Mor’s leave and put emphasis on Tamlin & the SC’s dire situation.

Has anyone considered if Lucien wants to even be HL ?

Lucien’s future as a highlord comes down to if he even wants to even become the Day Court’s High lord in the first place.

Lucien thought less of humans and was indifferent to them in ACOTAR yet now has found a home and friends among them. ‘

Truthfully the BOE’s work in the same way that the IC does and the Valkyerie.

Actually scratch that the Valkyerie work exactly like the BOE’s.

Yet can anyone imagine any of the Valkyrie leaving their group or be far from each other especially if one of their member’s is their possible love interest ?

They will choose each other and they will create a future where they are all together.

I don’t see lucien who has finally found stability and friends leaving the BOE’s to play high lord at Day court unless Vassa and Jurian decide to leave with him. Which seems unlikely. The only way I see that happening is if vassien truly becomes endgame resulting in Vassa going to Day court. But where does that leave Jurian.

I believe that after the Beron and AC issues are resolved, that Eris will ascend and become HL, Lady Autumn will leave to be FINALLY with Helion to be Lady Day 😍, and Lucien can enjoy his life in the mean time with his found family, stay as an emissary and possibly prepare to be Day’s HL down the line in the future.

#elain #elain archeron #elain x azriel #elriel #acotar 5 #vassien

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kpop-zone · 4 years ago

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Blackpink reaction to their s/o being insecure because of shippers

Jisoo

Jisoo had noticed that something was bothering you for quite some time already. You didn’t speak up about your worries though and she didn’t want to pressure you into talking. Therefore, she kept quiet and simply opted to observe you in case your state would worsen. But overall, you seemed to be fine, so weeks passed without Jisoo ever figuring out what was wrong, and it took a stupid TV commercial to open her eyes.

The two of you were watching some TV when the teaser for the upcoming KBS Music Festival came on which caused Jisoo to chuckle.

“Great, now the shippers will go crazy again.”

She laughed amused, because the clip was cut very unfavorable and showed Jinyoung and her in the same scene.

Since they had been the special MCs for an award show together, countless dating rumors circulated, and a surprisingly high number of fans actually wanted to see them together. For Jisoo, this situation was really funny. She liked Jinyoung, he was a decent guy, but she couldn’t ever picture herself with him. Mostly, of course, because in her head, you were a fixed part of her future, but also because she didn’t think that Jinyoung and her were a good match. Therefore, she sometimes read all the weird conspiracy theories by the fans when she wanted to have a good laugh.

Apparently, however, you weren’t able to laugh about this situation. When Jisoo glanced at you, she could see that you were gulping thickly as if you were choking down some tears. Her demeanor immediately changed, and she reached out to grab your hand.

“What’s wrong, Y/N?”

She asked concerned, but you only shook your head in response.

It was clear to Jisoo though that something was bothering you. Intently, she thought about what could have caused your sudden mood change until the penny dropped at last.

“Jagiya, you’re not worried about Jinyoung and me, right?”

You stayed quiet for a while, confirming Jisoo’s assumption which made her feel guilty for not realizing it sooner.

“I’m not worried that you’ll cheat on me. But the rumors always remind me how much better than me you could do and that your fans would probably tear me apart if they knew that you are dating someone like me.”

Your words knocked the air out of Jisoo’s lungs, and she almost gasped in shock.

“What are you talking about? Please don’t say something like that ever again. You are the only one I want to be with and the only one that can make me happy.”

She stated clearly, wondering whether she hadn’t made her love for you obvious enough in the past.

“If you want to, I can talk with the management and ask whether they can make an official statement, denying the rumors.”

Jisoo wouldn’t let any possibility slide to make you realize that the rumors were absolutely ridiculous and that she didn’t want anyone else beside her but you. If those shippers were making you sad, she had to find a way to handle them.

Jennie

“What’s wrong, baby?”

Your question ripped Jennie from her train of thought, and she cursed herself inwardly for not being able to hide her emotions better.

“Nothing, I’m fine.”

She smiled, hoping that you would believe her. It would be selfish of her to complain about a thing that she knew was making you insecure. Exes were a delicate topic in every relationship, but those conversations were even harder when there were thousands of people out there that still wanted to see you together with your ex.

“I can see that you’re lying, Jennie.”

You softened your voice and laid one hand on her thigh in order to catch her attention.

In defeat, Jennie sighed, but still avoided your gaze. She couldn’t make a scene now, but if she saw the concern in your eyes, she knew that she would probably break down.

“It’s nothing important; just the same old. Rumors have spread again about...Kai and me. Just because we’ve been spotted in the same part of the city on the same night.”

Only saying those words were making Jennie feel nauseous. They brought back the memories about all the hate that she had received during her dating scandal and now every ship with another idol that she was being associated with made her anxious.

“Oh.”

You answered simply, causing Jennie to feel guilty for bringing it up.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N. I swear, I would have never gone to that restaurant if I had known that he was in the area too.”

She immediately apologized, feeling tears starting to pool in her eyes.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Jennie. None of that was your fault.”

You tried to flash her an encouraging smile, but Jennie could still see the insecurity in your eyes.

“I’m so sorry that you have to go through all of that because of me. If I could make it all stop, I would.”

She grabbed your hand and you squeezed hers tightly.

“It’s ok. I guess we both have to learn how to live with all those rumors.”

You sighed while smiling sadly.

Jennie wished that there was a way to stop people from stirring up both of your insecurities over and over again, but there was none. The only thing you could do was to try giving each other strength. Therefore, Jennie pulled you into a hug while apologizing once more for causing all that trouble.

Chaeyoung

New dream couple? 10 reasons why BTS’ Jungkook and Blackpink’s Rosé are a perfect match

When Chaeyoung read the headline of the newest article on one of South Korea’s most popular news pages, she rolled her eyes. For some reason, there seemed to be an army of shippers out there that wanted to see her and Jungkook together and were analyzing every little “interaction” of theirs to the smallest detail. In the beginning, she had ignored them, because there were a million rumors about her going around and she couldn’t pay attention to all of them. But when the voices of the people claiming that they were dating got louder and louder, she began to be bothered. Not because of herself, but because of you.

It was obvious that you were starting to feel insecure, because of the countless fans and reporters that were claiming that Jungkook and her were the perfect match. This article would only rub salt into your wound once more, causing Chaeyoung to feel endlessly guilty. Therefore, she immediately rushed home after work with your favorite takeout and some flowers in her arms.

“Hey baby.”

She greeted you happily right when she entered the apartment before snuggling up to you, causing you to chuckle.

“Hi to you too. What have I done to deserve all this love?”

You joked, but Chaeyoung just played it off.

“I love you and only you. That’s all.”

She smiled, but in that moment, you seemed to have realized what all of this was about.

“So this is about the article...”

Your expression changed immediately, and instead of your cute smile, a heavy frown was decorating your face now.

“I’m so sorry about that, Y/N. I don’t know where that is coming from again. I swear, I haven’t done anything. You are the only one for me. I would never do anything to fire up those ridiculous rumors. Please don’t worry about them.”

Chaeyoung started rambling, but she simply needed to make sure that you weren’t feeling upset. She knew where those insecurities of yours were coming from and they were absolutely valid, but she still wanted to free you of them; not only now, but sustainably.

Therefore, Chaeyoung started to be even more careful in the future. Not that she would have done anything to encourage the rumors in the past, but now she was paying even more attention to everything she was saying or doing. At award shows, for example, she always made sure to stand as far away from BTS as possible, so that there was not a single picture released that showed Jungkook and her in the same frame. In return, however, that lead to a number of opposing headlines.

All about the breakup of Jungkook and Rosé

Why do BTS and Blackpink hate each other?

Chaeyoung couldn’t care less about those articles though. As long as they helped to ease your insecurities, she would bare the hate.

Lalisa

“Which one sounds better, babe? LaBam or BamLisa?”

Lisa laughed while reading the newest articles about another addition to her countless ships; with her best friend BamBam. It was really amusing to her to watch all those fans colleting evidence to prove her relationship with the other Thai idol. Although she had to admit that if she wouldn’t know better, she might have believed those rumors too. Their stories sounded pretty conclusive sometimes.

“I didn’t even notice that I was looking at him!”

Lisa gasped before giggling when she looked at another Twitter post that made it look like she was looking at her friend in awe.

Her amusement soon died down, however, when Lisa realized that she wasn’t hearing any laughter from you. Confused, she averted her gaze from her phone to pay attention to you. You were staring ahead while the glistening in your eyes almost made it seem like you were about to cry.

“Y/N?”

Lisa called out your name in order to shake you from your trance.

“You would make a cute couple, wouldn’t you?”

You smiled, but the sadness in your eyes was giving away that you weren’t joking.

“What?”

Lisa asked perplexed, being caught off guard by your insecurities. She had never known that you were thinking about such things. The two of you were so happy together and Lisa had never even thought about dating BamBam.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Look, Leo is climbing up the curtain!”

Quickly, you tried to play off your statement by drawing attention to the cats, but while Lisa had to rush off to save her curtains, your question was still stuck in her brain.

This didn’t come from nowhere; you must have been seriously insecure all this time. A massive wave of guilt immediately washed over Lisa and she knew that she had to make it up to you. Therefore, she got off work early the next day in order to spoil you and treat you to a nice, homecooked dinner later that night. It took her several hours and some tries to get it right, but in the end, she managed to make some dishes that were actually enjoyable, and everything was ready for you when you came home.

“What is this??”

You gasped astonished and Lisa immediately wrapped her arms around your waist to pull you into the apartment.

“A token of my love and a thank you for always being by my side. I wouldn’t want to conquer this crazy world with anyone else.”

Lisa smiled, causing you to blush cutely.

It seemed like she had to surprise you more often from now on.

#blackpink reactions #blackpink #blackpink imagines #jisoo #jennie #chaeyoung #rose #lalisa #lisa #girl group reactions #girl group #kpop reactions #kpop #girl group imagines

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chiaki-translation · 4 years ago

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Spring Troupe 7th Play: Magician’s Pure Love Translation Ch3-4

The story is... pretty interesting? I’m looking forward to how they’re going to resolve this issue. I’m doing this faster than I thought so look forward to the upcoming chapter~

Ch1-2 / / Ch3-4 / / Ch5-6 / / Ch7-8 / / Ch9-10 / / Epilogue

Disclaimer:

A3! is owned by Liber Entertainment

Translator’s Note:

I believe when they’re talking about pure love here, they have romantic undertone since they’re talking about Masumi’s feeling for Director. But I translate it to pure love to stay true to the actual word.

Unknown Man:

…--

Director:

Fufu, you’re right.

We have to introduce you to everyone properly.

Masumi:

… Director, who is that.

Director:

Ah, Masumi-kun.

You see, I’m going to get married to this person.

Masumi:

(Director is choosing someone else than me…?

I will never forgive him.)

Director:

Of course, from now on I’m still going to do my best as the Director, let’s keep working together!

Masumi:

--Ugh

Director:

In order to make Mankai company even more successful, I’m really looking forward to see Masumi-kun grow as an actor.

Then, I’ll see you later.

Masumi:

(Wait… if you’re doing this for another man, I…)

Masumi:

--Ugh

Ha, ha…

It’s just a dream…

…I’m thirsty.

Masumi:

…

Director:

Ah, Masumi-kun, good morning.

You’re early today.

Masumi:

Director:

I’ve been thinking about our next performance and my mind’s been so clear that I ended up waking up early.

What kind of performance will it be, I’m really looking forward to it.

Masumi:

…

Director:

Masumi-kun?

Masumi:

You… Are you going to get married one day?

Director:

Eh!?

(Marriage is it, wait, a marriage???)

About that, I guess maybe one day, but I don’t know though….

Masumi:

Director:

But, only, someday… maybe, I really have no plan at all.

Masumi:

--Ugh

Director:

Ah, Masumi-kun!?

(What’s happening…)

Masumi:

…

(When Director’s getting married… What if, it’s with someone other than me…

Then what would happen to me…? Am I going to stay in this troupe? How about the performance? How about acting?)

…

(Director told me that I need to have a goal that will help me to grow but… For me, I’ll do anything with my utmost ability for her sake.

I’ve been thinking a lot about it before, and I’ve definitely made improvement as an actor.

Even standing on stage for the performance, it has become fun I thought.

But… In the end, everything’s for her sake.

If, Director ends up looking at someone other than me…

Even then, will I be able to continue with my acting and performance?)

(I don’t know.

That kind of future… I don’t want to think about it.)

???

--kun! Masumi-kun!

Masumi:

Sakuya:

Are you alright? What happened?

Masumi:

…It’s nothing.

Sakuya:

You’re also a bit out of it during yesterday’s meeting.

Do you have any worries--

Masumi:

…Sakuya, when do you think of getting married?

Sakuya:

Eh!? Ma, married!?

Married is, you’re talking about that marriage right?

Me, getting married!?

Masumi:

… I made a mistake asking you.

Sakuya:

Ah, wa, wait! Let me try to think about it!

Masumi:

…

Sakuya:

Umm, not anytime soon, but maybe in the future?

Masumi:

Right.

Sakuya:

Uh… Well, I really can’t imagine it at all…

I’ve always been wanting to have a warm family since I was small.

Laughing together, eating together, playing together with my family, things like that…

It’s a little vague but I always admire that scenery. However, after joining this troupe, I wonder what kind of home I’m actually looking for.

I don’t have any passionate love like Masumi-kun…

But I’m the same with everyone in this troupe, I want to always stay together with everyone, only when I find someone that I want to be family with, then maybe I’ll start thinking of marriage.

Masumi:

…

Sakuya:

…By the way, I’m in charge of Kasumi-san’s daughter in the nursery where I’m doing part time job at…

Things like ‘papa can’t do this’, ‘papa likes this’, she told me a lot of things.

It’s great when you’re able to know someone’s good and bad side entirely.

Masumi:

Is that, Sakuya’s ideal form of love…?

Sakuya:

Ah, about love… It’s a bit embarrassing, but I think so.

But I think love that enables you to convey your feelings along the way, like Masumi-kun, is also wonderful…

Like Sakyo-san and Yuzo-san too, even though they’re harsh with their words, you feel grateful for that love coming from their heart.

I’m sure everyone has different forms of love, there’re a lot of ways to convey it too.

Masumi:

My form of love…

…

Sakuya:

What is it?

Masumi:

I don’t really understand what kind of love is inside me, let me think about it.

Sakuya:

Ehh!? Masumi-kun!?

Masumi:

…

Sakuya:

I see… Masumi-kun always looks confident giving out your love to Director, so even you have a lot of worries.

I still haven’t experienced such a pure love, I don’t think I can say anything about it…

But what I said before, I think even love have different forms.

That’s why, why don’t you hear about this from everyone?

Everyone in Spring Troupe have received some kind of love from Masumi-kun, I’m pretty sure everyone will do their best to become your strength.

Masumi:

It’s going to be noisy.

…But, Sakuya, thank you.

Sakuya:

Ye, yeah!

Let’s make this performance a successful one!

Masumi:

…

“I’m sure, everyone has different forms of love for each other.” By Sakuma Sakuya

Masumi:

…

(Today is… me and Director’s wedding ceremony…)

(Why am I not in white tuxedo? I should change soon otherwise--)

Director:

…

Masumi:

Wait—I’ll change soon so don’t go there--

Unknown Man:

…

Masumi:

(It’s a lie. It should be me standing next to you.

Hey, if you’re not going to look at me, then for what sake I…)

Masumi:

--Ugh

Ha, ha…

…

Tsuzuru:

…

Alright, I think this is it.

The rest will be, around here…

Masumi:

…

Tsuzuru:

…Masumi, are you sure you’re not just feeling unwell?

Masumi:

…I’m fine.

Tsuzuru:

But, you’ve been hiding under the futon since morning.

Masumi:

I’m fine.

Tsuzuru:

…Really.

Ah, right.

Hey, is there anything you would like to request from this performance.

Masumi:

…

Tsuzuru:

Maybe you want to add some elements other than the magician’s theme.

Masumi:

…what kind of elements, for example?

Tsuzuru:

For example, some battle elements, love elements.

Masumi:

Love…

What’s love for you, Tsuzuru?

Tsuzuru:

Eh?

What is it, so suddenly.

Masumi:

Sakuya told me everyone has different forms and perception of love, so I want to hear it from everyone else.

Tsuzuru:

About that, don’t tell me Director is involved…

Masumi:

Tsuzuru:

Nevermind, it’s nothing.

No matter how you look at it, love is… a very abstract and difficult thing to describe.

From the beginning, I also don’t have much experience with love…

Masumi:

So you’re only veteran when it’s in writing.

Tsuzuru:

Only in writing…! That’s rude!

I mean in this troupe we don’t really write stories about pure love…

Ah, there’s Michael’s love during “Sympathy for an Angel”.

Masumi:

Have you every fallen in love like that?

Tsuzuru:

I’ll give no comment for that.

But, I watched a lot of love related movies before I started writing that script to get some input.

Considering the beautiful, ephemeral world of Angels, I thought it would be good to match it with the theme of love and tragedy.

Masumi:

Love tragedy…

Michael’s loved one ended up with someone other than him too.

Tsuzuru:

Too?

Masumi:

…

Going ahead, Director might end up belonging to someone else, it’s painful to think about a future where the two of us won’t be together.

My chest hurts, and I don’t know what to do.

How is it that Michael, even after knowing that his loved one chose someone else, were able to help her without wishing for anything else?

Tsuzuru:

That… That’s because Michael loves her isn’t it.

Masumi:

…

Tsuzuru:

Masumi, anything happened between you and Director?

Masumi:

…I saw a dream where Director is getting married with someone else.

If that happened in reality, I won’t be able to endure it, maybe I’ll die.

Tsuzuru:

Oi oi.

Director getting married with some other guy…

Well, it’s true that it’s not something that’s entirely impossible.

If that really happened, there will be a lot of stories when that time comes.

Masumi:

What do you mean?

Tsuzuru:

The love of my life doesn’t reciprocate my feelings…

There are a lot of stories like that out there.

I’m pretty sure, it’s something that a lot of people actually experience, in the end they’re left as stories, aren’t they.

Painful things might happen, it becomes experience that shapes people…

I can say that by looking at past experiences and I’m pretty sure it’s not only me who feels that way…

That’s why when the time comes that you have to experience sorrowful things, in the end it will become something that supports you and your feelings.

That is, one word I can give as a scriptwriter.

A scriptwriter I admired told me that before.

Masumi:

…

Tsuzuru:

Then… About the answer earlier—

Take note, it’s not only applicable to your romantic love, I’m saying it with a perspective of a story writer.

For me, even for love that’s not rewarded, it’s still a beautiful thing and that’s why I wrote that play for the Angels.

As long as Masumi-kun’s concerned, no matter which direction your love ends up, I think it will be the same.

But, well, you haven’t given up at all, haven’t you?

Masumi:

Of course.

Tsuzuru:

Unlike Michael, you’re future hasn’t been decided.

Masumi:

…I’ve decided on a request.

Tsuzuru:

For the script?

Masumi:

Yeah. I would like the setting to be of continued first love.

Tsuzuru:

I see.

You want to do it to project your love for Director through your partner in this play.

Masumi:

About that… His first love, make it that he will lost her along the way.

Tsuzuru:

Eh?

Are you sure you want this kind of development?

Masumi:

Yeah.

…

“Even if it’s not rewarded, the story of love itself is beautiful.” By Minagi Tsuzuru

#a3!#a3! act! addict! actors!#spring troupe #a3! translation #sakuya sakuma #masumi usui #minagi tsuzuru #citron #chikage utsuki #chigasaki itaru

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entamesubs · 4 years ago

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Regarding Past Mistakes & the BD Release

Hello everyone, entame here.

As I get closer and closer to beginning the sub process for episodes 1-13 of SEVENS using its Blu-Ray, I do want to address some issues regarding my subs that have been brought up either directly to me, or anonymously across other sites.

Before I begin, I want to note that this concerns most of my earlier subs, which is why I thought to make this post with the BD releases on the horizon.

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As of writing this, this “sub group” consists of two people (and is in the process of adding a third, mostly to help with timing)—the person writing this post (”entame”), and Yona, the proofreader. When I first began subbing SEVENS (specifically for episodes 12 and 13), it was a one-person job. This means I did translations, proofreading, and timing by myself (to some extent, I still do all three of these jobs, but not as much as I used to). Yona did not join until around 13-14.

I realize that I have made a lot of mistakes over the course of this subbing career, but especially concerning the beginning episodes, which were the finale of the first arc, and therefore very important in the grand scheme of things.

I want to deeply apologize for them, and address what happened and what’s going to change about them (and possibly future subs) going forward.

Episode 12 in particular was rife with some mistranslation errors. The most “obvious” was concerning the first release of the episode where the context of Roa’s rule-sharking was different than it is now (I don’t quite remember it exactly, so this is why it’s vague). Obviously, a lot of this was corrected in the second release of the episode, and the first version isn’t a thing that exists anymore, even on my own hard drive. It is somewhat fortunate that it also doesn’t exist on anime mirror sites either, as the first group to get a sub out was SevensRoadSubs, so it is their version of episode 12 that exists on most streaming sites.

Likewise, episode 13 suffered these mistakes as well. One example is translating the tournament that Otis was disqualified at as “the 60th” instead of the “the 666th”, which is the correct one. Stuff like this slipped past my notice, so please accept my apologies.

However, the framing of 12 and 13 also laid the groundwork for how certain things would be subbed in future episodes. This means mistakes would endure, such as Roa saying “Distortion Power Code” or the phrasing of his summoning chant in the subs of 13 and 18, despite the fact that it should be “Distortion Power Chord” (as I learned later on). Some of you will also remember the notice I made regarding the decision to use YGOrganization’s translations of cards (where available) post-episode 15, for the sake of consistency across fandom.

Doing subs for SEVENS every week has been a very great joy to me, and something I don’t regret doing. That said, I also know I have made a lot of mistakes, earning some ire. I have learned a lot in the past 3 months since I started. I have never done large-scale translation work or fansubbing before this, so a lot of it has been growing pains. I intended to use the translation of SEVENS as a stepping stone to improving my Japanese (which it has!), but I am not perfect, and always open to corrections.

I say this on every sub release post and also at the end of every episode—I am always, always, always open to corrections. I will make mistakes, and though I try my best to notice them, sometimes I may not. Sometimes, as in the case of “Distortion Power Chord”, I will not even notice them until weeks down the line, when it is too late to change them.

That is why I always try to release 1080p versions where available—because they correct mistakes in the first 720p batch, which are speedsubs.

Still, I think it’s important to acknowledge the mistakes I’ve made for the sake of transparency and to let the fandom know of wrong information I inadvertently circulated.

The upcoming BD releases of episodes 1-13 will go through a much more rigorous subbing process than my usual weekly episodes. For that reason, it may be a rather slow process of working on them, as I plan to have multiple eyes comb through the episodes before release. The BD release will not have a re-release, nor will it be possible to correct potential mistakes after release, so it needs to be the best version I can confidently put out.

I say this because episodes 12 and 13 in particular were extremely rough in terms of translation, as it was my first foray into fansubbing. This means the existing scripts for them may be completely re-translated or re-worked in the BD release, leading to some inconsistencies of future episode’s subs (particularly those past episode 14). If I can ever get the 2nd Blu-Ray set, these will also, of course, be addressed there.

For full transparency, and going forward, there will be some changes to how certain things are phrased, worded, or translated.

YGOrg will always take priority in terms of card name translations. Previously, I played a little loose with my own interpretations and having some fun with puns, but going forward this is now a hard rule. If they translate a card name a certain way, I will use their translation for the sake of consistency. This means no more instances of things like “Kill-Lure Bait Ball” or “Washbuckler” (though they were fun, it became confusing).

BD-specific: I will also try to match information with stuff on Yugipedia. This is BD-specific because weekly speedsubs may come out faster than info on Yugipedia, so there will always be some inconsistency there. However, for the BD, things like “Beastgear World - Trike Fox” will become “Trike Fox of the Beast Gear World”, and other such changes.

Also BD-specific: 2 subtitle tracks! One will use official spellings of names, like Ohdo Yuga, while the other will use transliterations, like Oudou Yuuga (as I usually do). On Luke/Rook - not sure what to do yet. I don’t want to make 3-4 different tracks for official and transliteration, each with Luke/Rook options. Both tracks may use Luke just for my sanity. No change for weekly releases, however; those will always use transliterations.

Weekly episode titles will always follow DMC’s translations of the summaries beforehand. This was also a loose rule before as I always tried to do this unless I wanted to have some fun with puns or references. This will now become a hard rule.

Regarding BD release timelines, while I don’t have a “date-by-date” planned out, I do expect to be done by the second or third week of December. This may change or be delayed, but I will always announce here ahead of time. The second BD comes out in January, so I want to be sure to finish before then, as January and February tend to be busier months for me (fun fact: despite living in the US, neither my family or I celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas, so these two months are prime time for getting things done).

Thank you to everyone who has supported me so far! Please know I would never have gotten to this point without your support, and am always deeply humbled by the positive response. The BD release would never have happened without you, as it was crowdfunded by you. Thank you so much from the bottom of my heart.

When I first started subbing, I thought I would be a second subber alongside another group, so I could never imagine having come to this point now. This is why I chose to make this post addressing my mistakes and future changes, for the sake of clarity.

Before I close off this (extremely long) post, I do want to give a shoutout to Yona! There would be a lot more mistakes without her. While I control the blog, the name, and the posting process, she has been indispensable with her work and I don’t want to leave her out. This sub group went from one to two, and I am extremely grateful for the help.

Thank you for reading to this point. Hopefully this clears a lot of things up going forward! As always, my submit and ask box are both always open for questions, comments, or corrections. Please never be shy to correct me on anything—I welcome another set of eyes!

#announcements #oh this came out longer than i expected

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thegodskeeper · 4 years ago

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Hi I'm not sure if you're still answering those questions but if yes: I'm fascinated by tea leaves reading, I've done some basic research already, but I'm lost when it comes to reading symbols, there are so many different meanings for them out there how do I know which one to use? Same with cup parts I've seen many layouts and I'm not really sure which to follow, are things on the left negative or past? Those near rim important or in the near future and so on. Thank you for help!

So the first misconception about tasseomancy/tea leaf readings is the idea that there are “set meanings” for the different symbols in the cups. The same can be said about dream analysis. Unlike tarot/runes/oracle cards, which tend to come with a little guidebook on what various things mean, readings like tasseomancy rely heavily on what your understanding of a certain piece of imagery is.

For example, in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the famous example is that when Harry looks in his cup, he sees “the Grim”. That is because the ‘cultural’ expectation is that the symbol of a black dog is one of dread; one that comes quite heavily from British folklore, may I add. But as we later learn, the dog in his cup is not a symbol of dread and death but instead one of optimism; because it means, to Harry, a way to escape from his life with the Dursleys, and a tie to his parents. In the future, Harry is likely to see dog symbolism and not think of grimness, but of Sirius.

Tasseomancy is the same. Try to throw out the idea that things need to mean something specific, and start thinking about what they mean to you. There’s no harm in relying on cultural ideas and common things that something symbolizes but if they really don’t resonate with you... don’t let that bother you.

As to the placements in the cups, I tend not to read them myself but here are the notes that I’ve taken myself, in the past:

If you want to read your cup in the sense of “what to keep in mind in the upcoming months”, read clock-wise from the top and divide the cup into twelve. If you are doing the reading in June, for example, the first 1/12th of the cup covers June, the next covers July, etc etc. The portion(s) with the heaviest collection of leaves will be the busiest. You can also theoretically look back on the past twelve months by going counter-clockwise.

Leave closest to the centre of the cup are the most relevant to your question. Leaves on the outside edge - especially on the rim of the cup or the high sides - can essentially be disregarded as interference. I would split it into about four sections, for ease.

Leaves that are underneath the handle can represent the querent, if you’re going by the more traditional route of having them drink from the cup you read from.

Leaves closer to the dominant hand of the querent can be read as future concerns, while those closer to the other hand can be read as past concerns. (Note: this method isn’t really compatible with the monthly overview method.)

Neat concentrations tend to mean a clear path, while more scattered leaves demonstrate a definite anxiety or uncertainty about the question or the answer. Sometimes, leaves that are too scattered basically say “try again”.

I hope all of this helps!

#lee talks #tasseomancy #divination #tea leaf readings #unseenarts

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pcttrailsidereader · 4 years ago

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Spot, Spotters, and Spotted

Dave Baugher has been a regular contributor over the past several years. Although most of his posts have touched on the poignant and personal side of being out on the PCT, in this story he takes a mostly humorous examination of the using a SPOT device (although he does conclude with a story that reinforces the importance and value of SPOT devices).

Dave has also included a story in the upcoming 10th Anniversary edition of The Pacific Crest Trailside Reader that the Mountaineers Books will be publishing in 2022.

By Dave Baugher

The backpacker and his GPS are more like a match made in the local tavern, like beer and pretzels. Current Global Positioning tracking technology uses a network of satellites to determine the location of a device that was specifically designed for that purpose. The basic idea is that a GPS tracker uses trilateration to determine its physical location based on its distance from three GPS satellites. For the hiker going about his way on the trail, the technology is innocuous. However, for those following, the technology can spawn a myriad of humor, concerns, and dismay, just like an evening at that local tavern.

However, these devices sometimes baffle sideline audiences and armchair quarterbacks by the hiker's behavior on the trail, as shown on Google maps. Consider a little during-the-hike episode on the second day of my 2014 Pacific Crest Trail hike when I arrived at Lake Morena.

It was one of those quiet afternoons, with a scattering of high clouds, green cottonwoods around the lake, and the smell of fresh-cut grass on the breeze. Arriving at the county campground early in the afternoon, home tonight would be campsite #31. I laid my pack across the picnic table, took a long deep breath, and basked in the afternoon sun, planning for a much-anticipated shower, dinner, and relaxation. Getting up, I grabbed my pack; I walked down the dusty road to the Oak Shore Grocery and purchased a couple beers and a local newspaper. Returning to my campsite, the remainder of the evening played out precisely as planned. The shower was hot and clean; dinner was satisfying, and reading the newspaper with my cold beer was intimately relaxing.

Later, I discovered that my trip to the store generated multiple jokes amongst my friends who were monitoring my progress along the trail via SPOT; my compatriots were closely watching. Little did I know that the store was titled “Ice Cream Shop” on Google maps that year. Doug, a cigar-smoking jokester, slipped in a picture of a hot fudge sundae into my resupply box, retrieved from the Warner Spring Post Office later.

That incident had the usual inferences related to SPOT tracking. However, there is another facet to spotting folks on the trail when looking at the Google maps on a two-dimensional computer screen. That same year, while hiking on the JMT/PCT with my son Jacob and future-son-in-law Patrick, we merrily enjoyed our hike along the John Muir Trail. Family and friends focused on our progress via the SPOT and Google superimposed tracks. Once we returned home, I had several folks question our progress along several specific areas. Looking at the map of these locations, it was apparent that these areas had high elevation gradients sections with steep switchbacks. These challenging vertical sections for folk-uneducated in more nuanced aspects of topographic map detail would look at two-dimensional Google maps as a series of overlapping orange dots on the computer screen and wonder what was going on out there. Interesting indeed.

Another result of this GPS technology is that these devices are fast becoming legendary as a life-saving tool or beacon for someone in trouble. An example from 2017, during my spring solitary PCT hike in the Sierras north of Lake Tahoe. A snowstorm of near-blizzard violence had caught me below a high ridge near the timberline and forced me to take shelter for several nights in my tent. To my wife, Luann, that orange dot, unmoving for three days, meant I was dead, bear bait, feeding the worms, you get the picture. Luann would have called out the military to rescue me if it had not been for my son-in-law Patrick. An Eagle Scout and avid outdoorsman, Patrick had been watching the weather along my route. Understanding where I was and the current weather conditions, Patrick considered the situation. He reassured a panicked mother-in-law that I was ok. On the third day, the storm broke, and my Spot’s orange dot began moving once again on the home computer screen.

On that same trip, several of my “Spotters” discussed why my track appeared not to follow the trail. Confusion reigned amongst these folks spawning conversations about why Dave wandered over the PCT Trail line in a zig-zagging path. I overlapped the trail in quarter-mile eastward only then to veered westward over the track for another half-mile in a wayward fashion. Back and forth for days. Confusion amongst friends? You bet! Why? Well, the trail was covered in a deep spring snowpack, buried in fact. Signs, tree blazes, markers, and PCT emblems were nowhere to be seen in the deep snow. Conserving my GPS battery, I was using map and compass to follow the trail orienteering from one landmark to another,

Obviously, kinfolk following hikers along the trail via a tracking device retains a propriety attitude toward their favorite hiker. Actively considering “they” are, in fact, part of the adventure, living vicariously through the daily movement from the device strapped to a dusty pack. You might get the impression that almost every “Spotter” in my life nowadays has a Dave yarn or two to tell. Many of these should be preserved for posterity.

On another trip, difficulties began when I included a new friend, Steve, on my PCT Spot tracking list. During this particular PCT adventure, I encountered heavy snow depths on the PCT in Northern California. An impending spring storm approached the higher elevations out of Castle Craig’s State Park. After a quiet night's sleep, I awoke to boiling grey clouds, falling snow accompanied by a winter storm warning. Careful consideration of the weather and the impending climb to higher elevations coming along this trail section for the next 60 miles, I pulled the plug on the hike and retreated home.

Unfamiliar to my antics on the trail in the past, Steve was confused about why the orange dot was moving back down the trail along the same path from the day before. He contacted several of my friends about my wanderings. Technology malfunction? Nope, just a wise hiker returning home. Being spotted by spotters with my Spot on backpack, once again.

However, consider this; carrying a GPS transponder on a pack is an insurance policy for protection from the trail's worst events. Let me share the story about another hiker, George, from Palo Alto, CA. On June 30, 2008, during a summer backpacking trip in California’s Kings Canyon National Park, the 52-year-old hiker found himself suffering from acute abdominal pains on day ten of a 200-mile hike along the John Muir Wilderness Trail. At approximately 11:00 pm, George’s pain worsened, which led him to end his trek early and initiate an emergency alert with his SPOT transponder.

From George: “My friend and I were enjoying a great trip when I began experiencing an intense pain in my stomach near Safire Lake as we were setting up camp for the night.” “I knew something was very wrong, but being so far removed from any help at 10,800’ elevation and deep in the backcountry, I had no choice but put my faith in the SPOT, which I recently purchased for checking in with my family during his expeditions, press the 9-1-1 button and wait for help.”

The GEOS international response center received the message from George’s SPOT unit shortly after 11:15 pm and relayed the information to the Kings Canyon Ranger Center. Due to darkness and the ruggedness of George's terrain, the Ranger had to wait until daybreak before he hiked to George’s location to assess the situation.

According to rescue officials, when they reached George, his pain was severe, and there was no way for him to make it off the mountain on his own. That was when they requested a helicopter for an evacuation. George was flown to the Community Medical Centers in Fresno. He underwent immediate surgery for a perforated intestine, which, if left untreated, can be fatal. He was released from the hospital a few days later.

This is beautiful technology — the GPS transponder allowing hikers on the trail to happily wander through the mountains in relative safety. Friends and families able to follow the trek from afar. However, for the hiker going about his way on the trail, the technology is innocuous. Nevertheless, for those following, the technology can spawn a myriad of concerns, humor, and dismay, just like an evening at your local tavern.

#SPOT #GPS #GPS Tracks #Rescue

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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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Anime For Beginners: Best Genres and Series to Watch

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The past decade has seen anime’s popularity increase in dramatic ways, whether through a much broader spectrum of series receiving dubs, the growing success of anime feature films in theaters, or the sudden prominence of streaming services. There’s never been a better time to be an anime fan and the medium has become more accessible than ever. There’s a lot of anime out there, but the wealth of new series can often blend together or not be given a fair chance. Additionally, there are definitely certain types of anime that are more prominently showcased outside of Japan.

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For the uninitiated it’s easy to assume that anime consists of giant robots, monsters that battle, and strong fighters and magical girls that transform, but that’s really just a fraction of what the medium has to offer. Words like shonen, shojo, isekai, and even reverse harem are used in reference to anime, which can sometimes feel overwhelming when someone just wants to watch a silly romantic comedy or superhero clone. Here’s a helpful breakdown of all of the major anime genres and where to get started with them all.

Shonen

The shonen genre is by far the most popular brand of anime and the majority of breakout hits and major successes like Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, and One Piece all fit into the shonen brand. What’s interesting about anime genres is that they’re treated more like demographics and shonen is content that caters to boys with a young male protagonist. Shonen is so accessible because beyond this basic disclaimer, it’s able to cover a wide berth of content and a show like My Hero Academia can be completely different from Yu Yu Hakusho, yet they can still fall back on the same values.

Shonen anime has largely been generalized to be series that feature lots of fighting and battles, which isn’t always the case, but has become quite representative of the genre. Shonen series are ideal for people that want lots of action and are hungry for a show that has hundreds of episodes to consume.

Notable Series To Watch: Yu Yu Hakusho, Hunter x Hunter, My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Attack On Titan

Shojo

Shojo is the female counterpart to the shonen genre that caters towards an audience of girls rather than boys. The shojo genre isn’t entirely bereft of battles, but it’s a style of anime where relationships and emotional drama is the priority or the source of power. There are many eclectic kinds of shojo series that are content to explore awkward relationship drama where there’s typically some kind of atypical supernatural element afoot.

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However, the most popular style of shojo that’s largely become emblematic of the genre are “magical girl” series where regular girls transform into powerful warriors. There’s also typically a bright and pastoral aesthetic to shojo series and characters, both female and male, are beautified. Shojo anime is absolutely the place where the power of love will triumph over evil.

Notable Series To Watch: Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Fruits Basket, Vampire Knight, My Love Story!!

Seinen

Seinen is the R-rated evolution of the shonen genre that’s geared towards a more adult male audience that can handle mature storytelling. That’s not to say that shonen series can’t be violent or deal with adult situations, but seinen series often center around antiheroes and adult characters who are disenfranchised as opposed to optimistic youth that want to save the future.

Some of the most sophisticated and challenging anime series come out of the seinen genre and it’s a great place for people to jump in that are looking for a story that’s not overly drawn out and achieves the same dramatic peaks as prestige television. Seinen once more comes down to the viewers’ preferences and there are science fiction, horror, and fantasy seinen shows that all deconstruct their material in different ways. As a point of comparison, major anime movies like Akira or Ghost in the Shell both fit into the seinen genre.

Notable Series To Watch: Kill La Kill, Berserk, Ping Pong The Animation, Vinland Saga, Dorohedoro

Josei

Josei is the more mature version of shojo content and it’s full of series that are designed for women as opposed to girls. Romance is a big component of josei series, but it’s more concerned about the harsh realities behind relationships than the flirtatious courtship that kicks things off. Josei love stories are messy and full of heartbreak and they’re less romanticized than shojo’s interpretation of love.

A trashy way of putting it would be to say that Twilight is shojo, but Fifty Shades of Grey is seinen. Matters of the heart don’t always have to fuel josei series and there are also plenty of shows that center around adult women as they negotiate through professional and creative endeavors. It’s a place to find less flowery female-driven stories.

Notable Series To Watch: Chihayafuru, The Gokusen, Honey And Clover, Nana, Princess Jellyfish

Isekai

The isekai genre is perfect for fans of fantasy and this style of anime has become wildly popular over the course of the past decade. Isekai anime is any show where a character gets transported away to a fantastical new world. It’s a classic storytelling idea, but anime has been able to run with it in some creative new ways. There’s an abundance of isekai series that incorporate video game aesthetics and there are now just as many series where characters are trapped in a video game world than some alternate fantasy dimension.

Isekai can focus on the protagonist’s mission to return home, act as a savior in their new world, or simply kill time and enjoy the vacation. There are even reverse isekai anime where a supernatural character gets stuck on Earth and must acclimate. Arguably the biggest most mainstream example of isekai content is Spirited Away, but even something as foundational as Alice in Wonderland would qualify.

Notable Series To Watch: Overlord, Re: Zero – Starting Life In Another World, That Time I Got Reincarnated Into A Slime, KonoSuba, No Game No Life

Ecchi

Ecchi is that brand of anime that’s generalized to be the oversexed content that’s likely to make someone blush if they were watching it in public. Ecchi is any sort of anime series that prioritizes a certain sexiness and isn’t afraid to showcase its assets and indulge in “fan service.” Ecchi anime usually has a lot of skin on display, but it’s far from empty content and there’s an important distinction between something like this and actual pornography.

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Ecchi series titillate, but they still are concerned about their story and characters. There’s inevitably going to be some overlap between ecchi and seinen content (Kill La Kill is a series that really tows the line between both), but there’s often more of a gratuitous playfulness that drives ecchi content. Sexualized characters may bring in the audience, but the series are still deep enough to maintain their interests.

Notable Series To Watch: High School DxD, High School Of The Dead, Rosario To Vampire, Strike The Blood, Prison School

Mecha

Mecha anime are widely prominent and the visual of gigantic robots locked in combat as they fly through outer space feels like a tentpole of the anime industry. There’s a large awareness towards mecha series and it’s even entered mainstream live-action content through works like Pacific Rim. However, this visibility also makes mecha content easy to generalize and some may write it off without understanding the versatility of the genre. Mecha anime can be broken down further into real robot and super robot series, each of which apply a different level of realism to these unrealistic creations.

Real robot series might focus more on the humans that pilot the machines and the politics that surround mecha, whereas super robot content can feature robots that destroy planets with giant lasers. There can be a lot of gratuitous action in mecha series, but the human element in shows like Appleseed and Neon Genesis Evangelion, or how various Mobile Suit Gundam properties are dedicated to the casualties of war, is proof that mecha anime can be a lot more than just giant robot battles.

Notable Series To Watch: Mobile Suit Gundam, Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, Appleseed, Mobile Police Patlabor, Neon Genesis Evangelion

Harem

Romance is popular in any medium and there’s often exceptional tension that’s created from out of a love triangle. One genre of anime takes that idea and seriously exaggerates it in a way that can sometimes be problematic, but has spawned a popular style of anime all the same. Harem series center around a hapless male protagonist who stumbles into some incredible situation where a large group of girls–all of contrasting personalities–fall head-over-heels in love with him.

Harem anime can come across as baseless wish fulfillment fantasy, but the broad structure allows many other genres to mix together with it in a productive way. A lot of the time these series will center on the actual characters and the complex relationship dynamics involved and try to say something that may not be explored in a josei or ecchi series. There are also reverse harem series, which take the same idea, but flip the genders where multiple men fawn over a woman.

Notable Series To Watch: Tenchi Muyo!, The World Only God Knows, Nisekoi, To LOVE-Ru, Ouran High School Host Club

Gag

Anime series are able to achieve a lot of things that just can’t be accomplished in other forms of animation or programming. Comedy is something that’s able to connect extremely hard in anime and operate at an absurdist level that uses visuals, timing, and premises that are rare to find elsewhere. Many anime series have a sense of humor or are even specifically designed as comedies, but gag anime are a different breed that operate at an overwhelmingly relentless pace.

Reality and the fourth wall are just things to break in gag series, which often engage in wild parodies and lampshade anime as a whole. Some gag anime have extended storylines, but they often operate in shorter vignette style sequences that allow the comedy to really pop. Gag anime thrive in pop culture references and some of the hardest times I’ve laughed in my entire life have been at gag series like Mr. Osomatsu and Gintama where comedy is king.

Notable Series To Watch: Gintama, The Disastrous Life Of Saiki K, Pop Team Epic!, Mr. Osomatsu, Excel Saga

Slice Of Life

Slice of life anime are those endlessly soothing series that don’t try to create major spectacles where the planet is at risk, but instead celebrate the mundanity of life. Slice of life series may center around the staff at a job, a group of friends in a high school club, or just a loner that’s moved to a new community. These are series that elegantly display the tiny moments that make life important and the bonds that create eternal friendships.

The stakes are often more muted in slice of life anime, but that doesn’t mean that they’re without tension or can’t dabble in fantastical material. There are still slice of life anime series that involve magical creatures or are set in unbelievable worlds. It’s sometimes even more humbling to learn that some planet in a far away solar system has a struggling chess club or that a dinosaur can be obsessed with different brands of candy.

Notable Series To Watch: The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya, Toradora!, K-On!, Dagashi Kashi, Clannad

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ucflibrary · 4 years ago

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Every October UCF celebrates Diversity Week and for 2020 it runs from October 19 – 23. The theme is Stronger Together: Unified! Connected! Family! This highlights how together we can make UCF and the surrounding community stronger and more connected with each other.

One of the fantastic things about UCF is the wide range of cultures and ethnicities of our students, staff, and faculty. We come from all over. We’re just as proud of where we are from as we are of where we are now and where we will be heading in future.

UCF Libraries is offering a full calendar of virtual Diversity Week activities from family friendly crafts to talks by area experts and film discussions. Don’t miss out on our community showcase which features UCF alumni and faculty and how they support the Knight community. We even have digital puzzles and downloadable coloring pages. And you can also add your voice to the 2020 UCF story by participating in our digital time capsule. To learn about the upcoming events visit: guides.ucf.edu/diversityweek

Join the UCF Libraries as we celebrate diverse voices and subjects with these suggestions. Click on the link below to see the full list, descriptions, and catalog links for the featured UCF Celebrates Diversity titles suggested by UCF Library employees. These and additional books are on display in the new 4th floor Reading Room.

And thank you to every Knight who works to help others feel accepted and included at UCF!

A Faithful Reading Partner: a story from a Hakka village by SuHua Huang A welcome addition to dual language literature, the story is about growing up among the Hakka people in Taiwan. In order to succeed, it is important for children to have a reading partner. But in this case, it is a dog with which the children develop deep friendships as they share their books with him. A sub-current to the main story is one of being a minority within a minority and success, which though longed for, inevitably contains sadness wrapped within its joy. Presented to UCF Libraries by the Chinese American Community in Orlando. Suggested by Sai Deng, Acquisitions & Collection Services

Discrimination and Disparities by Thomas Sowell Challenges believers in such one-factor explanations of economic outcome differences as discrimination, exploitation or genetics. It offers its own new analysis, based on an entirely different approach--and backed up with empirical evidence from around the world. The point is not to recommend some particular policy "fix", but to clarify why so many policy fixes have turned out to be counterproductive, and to expose some seemingly invincible fallacies behind many of those policies Suggested by Cynthia Kisby, Administration

Equality and Diversity: phenomenological investigations of prejudice and discrimination by Michael D. Barber Examples of prejudice against Jews, women, African Americans, and other minority groups are reported almost daily by the media. Despite educational programs to counteract prejudicial attitudes, this seemingly intractable problem remains an ongoing concern, not only in the United States but throughout the world. It is an interesting and often overlooked fact that the subject of prejudice has been the focus of major works by three prominent philosophers in the phenomenological tradition, works that still offer many insights into contemporary attempts to understand this social problem. Michael Barber examines this striking convergence of interests by these three philosophers and explores the significance of phenomenology for analyzing prejudice as expressed in anti-Semitism, sexism, and racism. Suggested by Sandy Avila, Research & Information Services

Hacking Diversity: the politics of inclusion in open technology cultures by Christina Dunbar-Hester We regularly read and hear exhortations for women to take up positions in STEM. The call comes from both government and private corporate circles, and it also emanates from enthusiasts for free and open source software (FOSS), i.e. software that anyone is free to use, copy, study, and change in any way. Ironically, rate of participation in FOSS-related work is far lower than in other areas of computing. A 2002 European Union study showed that fewer than 2 percent of software developers in the FOSS world were women. This book is an ethnographic investigation of efforts to improve the diversity in software and hackerspace communities, with particular attention paid to gender diversity advocacy. Suggested by Megan Haught, Student Learning & Engagement/Research & Information Services

Mothers Work: confronting the Mommy Wars, raising children, and working for social change by Michelle Napierski-Prancl Through a series of focus group interviews and an analysis of the media and popular culture, Napierski-Prancl explores the institution of motherhood and the arenas in which mothering occurs while analyzing how mothers feel about themselves, each other, and the culture that situates them against one another. Suggested by Megan Haught, Student Learning & Engagement/Research & Information Services

On the Freedom Side: how five decades of youth activists have remixed American history by Wesley C. Hogan As Wesley C. Hogan sees it, the future of democracy belongs to young people. While today's generation of leaders confronts a daunting array of existential challenges, increasingly it is young people in the United States and around the world who are finding new ways of belonging, collaboration, and survival. That reality forms the backbone of this book, as Hogan documents and assesses young people's interventions in the American fight for democracy and its ideals. As Hogan reveals, the the civil rights movement has often been carried forward by young people at the margins of power and wealth in U.S. society. This book foregrounds their voices and gathers their inventions--not in a comprehensive survey, but as an activist mix tape--with lively, fresh perspectives on the promise of twenty-first-century U.S. democracy. Suggested by Megan Haught, Student Learning & Engagement/Research & Information Services

Pippa Park Raises Her Game by Erin Yun Life is full of great expectations for Korean American Pippa Park. It seems like everyone, from her family to the other kids at school, has a plan for how her life should look. So when Pippa gets a mysterious basketball scholarship to Lakeview Private, she jumps at the chance to reinvent herself by following the "Rules of Cool." At Lakeview, Pippa juggles old and new friends, an unrequited crush, and the pressure to perform academically and athletically while keeping her past and her family's laundromat a secret from her elite new classmates. But when Pippa begins to receive a string of hateful, anonymous messages via social media, her carefully built persona is threatened. As things begin to spiral out of control, Pippa discovers the real reason she was admitted to Lakeview and wonders if she can keep her old and new lives separate, or if she should even try. Presented to UCF Libraries by the Chinese American Community in Orlando. Suggested by Sai Deng, Acquisitions & Collection Services

Sexuality, Equality, and Diversity by Diane Richardson and Surya Monro Investigating the dynamics of identity and sexual citizenship in a changing world, this compelling text explores key debates around human rights and representation, policy and resistance. Incorporating theory with original research, this is a thought-provoking insight into sexuality and diversity in a global age. Suggested by Sandy Avila, Research & Information Services

Shame: how America's past sins have polarized our country by Shelby Steele Part memoir and part meditation on the failed efforts to achieve racial equality in Americathis work advances Shelby Steele's provocative argument that "new liberalism" has done more harm than good. Since the 1960s, overt racism against blacks is almost universally condemned, so much so that racism is no longer, by itself, a prohibitive barrier to black advancement. But African Americans remain at a disadvantage in American society, and Steele lays the blame at the feet of white liberals. According to Steele, liberals have refused to acknowledge the country's progress over the past 50 years, in part because their notions of white guilt and black victimization help preserve their position of power over blacks. Suggested by Cynthia Kisby, Administration

The Boy Who Became a Dragon: a Bruce Lee story by Jim Di Bartolo This book presents a biography of the martial arts legend, describing his childhood in Hong Kong and how it was shaped by World War II, and his success as an international star. Presented to UCF Libraries by the Chinese American Community in Orlando. Suggested by Sai Deng, Acquisitions & Collection Services

This Promise of Change: one girl's story in the fight for school equality by Jo Ann Allen Boyce and Debbie Levy In 1956, one year before federal troops escorted the Little Rock 9 into Central High School, fourteen year old Jo Ann Allen was one of twelve African-American students who broke the color barrier and integrated Clinton High School in Tennessee. At first things went smoothly for the Clinton 12, but then outside agitators interfered, pitting the townspeople against one another. Uneasiness turned into anger, and even the Clinton Twelve themselves wondered if the easier thing to do would be to go back to their old school. This is the heartbreaking and relatable story of her four months thrust into the national spotlight and as a trailblazer in history. Suggested by Ven Basco, Research & Information Services

We Rise, We Resist, We Raise Our Voices edited by Wade Hudson and Cheryl Willis Hudson What do we tell our children when the world seems bleak, and prejudice and racism run rampant? With 96 lavishly designed pages of original art, poetry, and prose, fifty diverse creators lend voice and comfort to young activists. Suggested by Ven Basco, Research & Information Services

#ucflibrary #featured #booklr #diversity in reading #suggested reading #diveristy week

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thesevenseraphs · 5 years ago

Text

Bungie Weekly Update - 5/15/20

This week at Bungie, a new quest was discovered.

Guardian Games has come to a close. Hunters won the first day, but Titans showed up in force to completely dominate the rest of the event. Warlocks took home the silver, and Hunters still look frabjous.

The final Iron Banner of the Season is also live this week and, along with it, players have discovered a new quest. The community has been tasked with helping Rasputin by completing Seraph Tower events and are currently working to complete the objectives on EDZ, the Moon, and Io.

We’ve seen feedback that the Tower events are too difficult and that it’s hard to wrangle up enough people to join the cause. We have made some server-side changes to lower the difficulty of the event to help alleviate frustrations and increase your success rate.

We made an error when we calculated how many completions were required, so yesterday we introduced bonus multipliers to help the community’s progress and get you all on your way to the next step. You can read more details on the changes we made here.

MAX POWER LEVEL

Back in February, Luke spoke about upcoming plans for Legendary gear infusion.

The Destiny Dev Team has more details on how this system is going to work.

Destiny Dev Team: Today we’re going to talk about changes to the Infusion system that are coming to Destiny 2. These changes are going to be visible starting in Season 11 but won’t start impacting your arsenal until Season 12. More on that in a bit.

We want the sandbox to feel interesting, exciting, and dynamic, and to evolve in compelling ways over time in the same way that the game evolves. Our weapons are the primary way that players interact with the world, and Season over Season we want players to discover new weapons that feel powerful, have interesting new perks to explore, and power the builds that players craft in new and unexpected ways.

The changes to the Infusion system we’re talking about today are designed to promote the following:

We want you to more frequently earn and enjoy more powerful and standout gear.

Right now, if a new Legendary weapon isn’t better than the current best-in-class, there is no reason to replace your existing weapon with it.

If a new Legendary weapon is better than the current best-in-class, we risk power creep, removing challenge from the game, or making the item mandatory/the only option for challenging activities.

Both above points apply equally to new mods and perks, as well.

Powerful weapons can be era-defining, but eventually those eras need to end so that new eras can begin.

We want strong weapons to have their time in the sun, and whenever possible we want you to expect and prepare for powerful gear to cycle out of the endgame meta.

We can’t solve this by just making weapons that are always “better” than the previous ones. This will steadily lower time-to-kill in both PvP and PvE, until the combat sandbox is neither fun nor tactical.

We also want to foster a gradually evolving meta that regularly promotes experimentation and debate.

We believe Destiny is at its best when you have new desirable things to pursue and when you have active debates with your clanmates about which of those new things to bring into the new raid, or which is going to be hot in Trials next Season.

With those goals stated, let’s break down how the changes will work:

Each Legendary weapon and piece of armor will have a Max Power Level it can reach through infusion.

Exotics will not have a Max Power Level.

The Max Power Level for these items will be set at the player Power Cap attainable 3 Seasons after its release Season (4 Seasons total).

This means all Legendary gear has a one-year span of time during which it can be used in activities where being at or near the player Power Cap is important (difficult and Power-enabled activities).

The Max Power Level for these items will be visible in game in Season 11, but no items will be at their Max Power Level at the start Season 11.

This means all your gear will be relevant in all activities during Season 11.

You’ll be able to see what the Max Power Level is for all your gear, and plan accordingly.

At the start of Season 12, weapons and armor released in Seasons 1-8 will have a Max Power Level at the Season 11 player Power Cap

Gear from Seasons 9, 10, 11, and 12 will all be infusible to new player Power Caps for 1 year after their release.

Weapons and armor from the Last Wish and Garden of Salvation raids, will be granted exceptions and will have a higher Max Power Level”

Example of how Max Power Levels will be displayed in Season 11

Those are the basics. But you may have additional questions, such as:

Can I still use gear that has reached its Max Power Level?

Yes. You will always be able to equip and use any piece of gear.

Reaching the player Power Cap is beneficial, but not strictly required, for most activities in Destiny. You can continue to equip and use all gear in these activities.

This applies to armor as well as weapons?

Yes - all Legendary gear that provides Power will have a Max Power Level.

Starting in Season 12, armor will no longer have a Seasonally rotating fourth mod slot. Instead, there will be a mod slot that accepts mods introduced into the game throughout a full year. We recognize that the current need to replace your armor every two to three Seasons, and hoard armor from past Seasons, is undesirable.

Transmogrification, which we talked about in the TWAB last week, will give you the ability to keep your favorite looks and apply them to new armor pieces with higher Max Power Levels.

When gear drops after its debut Season, what will its Max Power Level be?

It will have the same Max Power Level as it did in its initial release Season.

Note, this is different than gear that is re-issued. See next question.

Will gear ever have its Max Power Level updated?

Not directly, but gear can be re-issued in future Seasons.

These re-issued versions will have a new Max Power Level based on the Season in which it is re-issued.

We’re going to experiment with how and when gear is re-issued into the game throughout Year 4. Let us know what you think of the different methods as you experience them.

We’re sure you’ll have more questions that aren’t covered above, so please let us know!

We’re committed to Destiny 2 continuing to grow and evolve for years to come, and a part of that continued evolution is the curation of an interesting, exciting, and dynamic player sandbox. The introduction of Max Power Level will allow us to create exciting new gear more frequently without significant concerns of permanent power creep, which is unsustainable in any game. This also should open up creative and experimental builds, season over season, while letting you anticipate and prepare for how the sandbox will change over time. Please continue to share your thoughts and feelings about these changes as you get your hands on them.

[REDACTED] ENGRAMS

We spoke a lot about rewards last week, but still have some more juicy nuggets to share with you on some additional plans we have for next Season. Here’s Creative Lead Robbie Stevens with the details.

Robbie Stevens:

Hey everyone, In Season 11 we’re trying something new with how and where you can earn Seasonal rewards.

So far, every Season in Year 3 has followed a formula where the Seasonal activity (Vex Offensive, Sundial, Bunkers/Seraph Tower) asks for a significant amount of playtime to earn new rewards. While we believe that new content should be one of the best places to earn new rewards, we also realize that Destiny 2 is a big game and it can be frustrating to have so much of your playtime dictated by and focused solely on Seasonal activities.

So, in Season 11 Seasonal rewards will drop from completing core activities (Strikes, Crucible, Gambit) as well as basically every other activity in the game, (see the full list detailed below). We want to make engaging with the entire game feel rewarding, and for every play session to give you a chance at earning Seasonal loot. In addition to new rewards, Season 11 also features two returning weapons each from Season of the Undying, Season of Dawn, and Season of the Worthy, for a total of six weapons that are free for all players. Okay, we’ve talked about some of the places where you’ll earn rewards in Season 11, now let’s talk about how you can influence those rewards to chase god rolls and high-stat armor.

Over the last few Seasons we’ve introduced Weapon Bounties that give you agency to chase specific rewards. While addressing bounty fatigue will be an effort that extends beyond Year 3, for the upcoming Season we’ve moved away from Weapon Bounties as part of that effort. Instead, we’re introducing a new type of [REDACTED] Engram that contains the majority of the Season 11 rewards, and by spending Seasonal currency you can influence the contents of this [REDACTED] Engram.

To clear up any confusion let’s imagine if we launched this [REDACTED] Engram in Season of the Worthy. Imagine this engram contained all the Season of the Worthy weapons and armor. Now imagine you could take this engram to a Seraph Bunker and spend Seasonal currency to Focus the contents of this engram so it only contains the Seventh Seraph SMG and Shotgun. By focusing [REDACTED] Engrams in Season 11 you can choose your rewards, this includes the ability (once you’ve earned it) to Focus engrams so they only contain Season 11 armor with high-stat packages.

All free players and Season Pass owners will receive [REDACTED] Engrams while playing Season 11, however only Season Pass owners can access the full suite of Focusing categories in Season 11. Here is preview of the [REDACTED] Engram focusing categories that all players can access after completing the Season 11 opening quest:

Season 11 Armor Focusing reduces the number of rewards in the engram so it only contains Season 11 armor.

Previous Season Weapon Focusing converts the rewards in the engram so it only contains the six weapons that are returning from Season of the Undying, Dawn, and Worthy.

When Season 11 launches, all players will get three focusing categories and Season Pass owners will have access to an additional 15

List of Activities that Reward [REDACTED] Engrams in Season 11:

[REDACTED]

Public Events

Strikes

Gambit

Crucible

Dungeons

Raids

Adventures

Nightmare Hunts

Forges

Reckoning

Menagerie

Escalation Protocol

Blind Well

Note: In addition to the above list, [REDACTED] Engrams have a chance to drop when defeating combatants anywhere in the system, similar to Legendary Engrams. They share the same loot pool as Legendary Engrams and when you hit that loot pool you have a 66% chance to earn a [REDACTED] Engram and a 34% to earn a Legendary Engram. We hope this preview of Season 11 gives some insight into how we’re approaching the communities’ feedback in the short term.

GUARDIAN’S HEART

Earlier this week, we wrapped our Guardian’s Heart Charity Initiative that had been going strong for the last month. We asked you to help support Direct Relief in their efforts to deliver supplies to hospitals and healthcare workers around the world. Guardians everywhere answered the call in full force and together you raised $788,923.19. Smashing our goal of $700k.

We’d like to thank everyone who donated, and everyone who volunteered their time to help spread the word by streaming in one of the 39 Bungie Bounties that we put on during the event. It’s been inspiring to watch this community come together once again to make the world a little better during a tough time.

MORE FIXINGS

The Player Support team is keeping an eye out for any issues players are reporting and have updates on how we are handling them.

This is their report.

HOTFIX 2.8.1.2

On Tuesday, May 19, Hotfix 2.8.1.2 will be available to players. Below is a timeline of Destiny 2 maintenance for Hotfix 2.8.1.2:

9 AM PDT (1600 UTC): Destiny 2 service maintenance begins.

9:45 AM PDT (1645 UTC): Destiny 2 is taken offline on all platforms.

10 AM PDT (1700 UTC): Destiny 2 Hotfix 2.8.1.2 begins rolling out across all platforms and regions. Players will be able to log back into Destiny 2 at 10:01 AM PDT.

10:01 AM PDT (1701 UTC): Destiny 2 is back online on all platforms.

12 PM PDT (1900 UTC): Destiny 2 service maintenance concludes.

For future release timelines when they are available, players should visit our Destiny Server and Update Status help article. For live updates as this maintenance occurs, players should follow @BungieHelp on Twitter or monitor our support feed at help.bungie.net.

UPCOMING RESOLVED ISSUES

Below is a list of issues that will be resolved with the release of Hotfix 2.8.1.2:

Season Pass Small Fireteam XP Buffs will now work as intended.

The Wormgod Caress gauntlets will no longer grant infinite 5x Burning Fists when repeatedly taken on and off.

Removing the Winter’s Guile gauntlets will now properly remove all Warlock’s Sigil perks.

ERROR CODES

On Friday, May 8, a potential fix was implemented for those experiencing frequent WATERCRESS error codes. Since May 8, we have been closely monitoring WATERCRESS reports and have noticed a significant decrease in WATERCRESS errors appearing. While we continue to progress toward a resolution, we recommend anyone continuing to experience WATERCRESS errors to report in our #Help forum.

We are continuing to monitor increases in BEETLE, RABBIT, BEAVER, and ANTEATER error codes.

GUARDIAN’S HEART

The Guardian’s Heart Initiative ended on Tuesday, May 12. Any donations made after 10 AM PST on May 12 are not eligible for the Guardian’s Heart emblem. If you donated within the Initiative’s timeframe and still have not received your emblem, please contact the Bungie Foundation with your donation receipt order number and date of donation for assistance.

CURRENT KNOWN ISSUES

While we continue investigating various known issues, here is a list of the latest issues that were reported to us in our #Help Forum:

The Ascendant Champion triumph is not unlocking for some players.

The Enhanced Fusion Rifle Loader, Enhanced Auto Rifle Loader, and Enhanced Bow Loader mods are not dropping as intended.

The Clenched Fist perk for the Stronghold gauntlets is not working as intended.

For a full list of emergent issues in Destiny 2, players can review our Known Issues article. Players who observe other issues should report them to our #Help forum.

#Destiny #Destiny 2 #Destiny 2: Forsaken #Bungie Weekly Update #long post

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im-the-king-of-the-ocean · 5 years ago

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Aus 24, 25 or 50 with human!(or not so)Jim and someone else please 🙃

(24) Soulmate AU + (50) Arranged Marriage

(I was going to try to fit in the fairytale au as well, but it ended up not working out)

(also this wasn’t exactly supposed to become A Thing, but then it did 😉)

Aja Tarron, eldest daughter of House Tarron and heiress to the Akiridion Empire, has always known what many do not; who her soulmate is. Almost everyone goes through many years of their life before finding the one their soul is bonded to. She has known the identity of hers for as long as she can remember.

As she and many scholars, researchers, and theorists understand it, soulmates are born at the exact same second as each other, regardless of distance. Of course, this can create some conflicts once one takes into account such things as time zones on a single planet and the varying orbits between different planets in the Empire. Many, many calculations generally have to go into figuring out what the exact same second is in two wildly differing locations, such as Akiridion-5 and the independent planet, Earth, for example.

History is painted with the stories of those who believed they were soulmates only to find that they got it wrong and their Bonded One is actually someone else. Aja has been through numerous lessons where her educators have made it abundantly clear they consider her extremely fortunate that she, unlike all those unlucky historical figures, can be certain.

It makes Aja grumpy, but she’s too polite to show it.

Most of Akiridion society, the society Aja is hardly allowed to interact with, disregards the concept nowadays. To have the funding to hire the specialists needed to properly research potential soulmate candidates tends to be nonexistent for most. They would have to cover the costs of calculating the exact moment on different planets, finding the records of all the infants born right then in an astronomically high number of hospitals, and then travel between the different worlds.

Most commoners do not have that kind of resources or time available to them. They’re allowed to settle for someone significantly closer in proximity to them, who they just happen to get along well with.

Aja is not. She is lucky. Supposedly.

Almost eighteen years ago (or the equivalent of eighteen years depending on where you are), Aja was born. Her parents, being royalty and highly concerned about their eldest child’s future, began to search for her soulmate soon after. They, unlike so many, had the means necessary to track down her Bonded One. Aja’s parents were determined to find them, to secure Aja’s future and the future of her empire. If her soulmate happened to be a commoner, they decreed, that child would be taken and raised, and educated, in the palace. Thus, they’d be prepared to support Aja fully once she takes the throne.

A part of Aja wonders what would have happened if her soulmate had, in fact, turned out to be a commoner. Would it be better than what it is? Would she have been able to actually have a life if it were someone who’d potentially need to visit non-royal family members and perchance take her with them?

Thinking of the hypotheticals is useless, she knows. Her soulmate isn’t a commoner. Though, considering the vast differences between his realm and hers, he may as well be. Aja’s soulmate, Prince James, firstborn of House Lake and House Galadrigal, whose union brought a new era of peace to the planet Earth, is someone so different from herself she’d questioned the accuracy of her parents’ findings numerous times. Each time, the results came back the same. She was wrong; they were right.

Upon their coming of age, she and Prince James were to be united in marriage. The arrangement had been made soon after their parents discovered their connection. It made sense. Aja’s parents had not hidden their desire to add Earth, rich in minerals and crystals that could be imbued with magic, to the Empire. They would have conquered the mud ball by now if Earth’s dominant species, the trolls and the humans, hadn’t gotten over their own conflicts, united, and created a formidable defense force.

Aja knows her upcoming wedding is the peacefully agreed upon solution to what could have otherwise turned into an all-out invasion war. That doesn’t mean she had to like it.

Sure, Jim is kind and courteous. There are far worse royal candidates out there for potential husbands. Others would have turned up their noses at his hybrid appearance, but not Aja. She thinks Jim handsome enough. The problem isn’t him. It is that she’s never been allowed to choose him.

Jim doesn’t want to get married. He really, really doesn’t want to get married. He understands that he has to get married, but that doesn’t mean he wants to. His betrothed, Aja, is a nice enough person and, yes, he considers her very pretty. Attraction is there. The problem isn’t Aja herself. It’s the fact that she represents an entire empire that’s made it clear they would conquer his home world numerous times. And, the only reason they haven’t is the (arguably flimsy) reasoning that he is soulmates with their heiress and that would be poor form.

It means his future has always been laid out for him. He can’t run from it or deny it. To do so would mean condemning the people of his planet to a slaughter and, no matter his own, personal feelings on his marriage, that is one thing Jim cannot do.

He feels weighed downed, burdened. He refuses to hold Aja responsible for the arrangement. He won’t. A secret conversation they once had revealed she had just as much choice in the matter as he did. Aja, just like him, wants the ability to choose, the ability to live her life how she wants to instead of how she’s supposed to.

Jim wonders sometimes about that similarity between them, if it’s the reason they’re soulmates. In theory, there will come a time when they do have the power to choose. When they are on their respective thrones and are the most powerful in their realms. Who would be able to stop them from making the choices they want to make then?

He knows how each of their respective governments work. He’s had numerous lessons on the subject throughout his life. He knows things are not that simple. But.

Once upon a time, it was believed that peace between the trolls and the humans of Earth was an impossible pipe dream. Then, his parents forged a path and unified their peoples. He is the living embodiment of that union, of the truth of its possibility. Could something similar truly not happen between himself and Aja?

Jim knows her Empire’s might is much stronger than his planet’s, but she’s listened to him in the past. He’s not just a pawn to her. Perhaps together they could create a future better, brighter, than their present.

It’s the hope he holds onto, because otherwise he’s not sure how he’s going to live his life with Aja. Jim believes himself capable of loving her, of falling in love with her. But, for that to happen, then she must see him as an equal, not solely as an acquisition.

So, deep into the night before they are to be wed, he pens a letter. Written in it are all his hopes and fears for the future. The absolute truth of what Jim feels. He disguises himself as an attendant and sneaks through the royal halls until he comes to the doors of Aja’s suite. He knocks. When she answers and recognizes him, he shushes her gasp and holds out his letter. Jim waits while she reads it through to the questions at the end;

Will you join me in changing the galaxy? Trying to make things better so no future persons find themselves in the situation we’re in?

Will you choose to be my soulmate?

#trollhunters #3below #jim lake jr #aja tarron #ajim #troll!jim #soulmate au #tales of arcadia #inna-thetempestuousstream

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hes-writer · 6 years ago

Text

One of My Own

Summary: Harry falls out of love with Y/N

Warnings: angst!

Word Count: 3.1k

Based on: Y/N and H being a couple for a long while, however, H falls for someone else and that person turns out to be Y/N's sister. @littledreamybeth

Harry came into Y/N’s life at the best time possible. Although she lived away from her family, she received news and updates from her sibling who did stay with their parents. It was bad. Every night, Y/N’s parents fought about the tiniest things and her brother, Carlos, did his best to intervene so it wouldn’t get any worse, but to no avail. It was unfair for him since he was so young, he was only in high school too; he didn’t deserve to be muddled in their parents’ mess. Daniela, their sister, was a few years older than Y/N and had decided to travel for the past two years meaning that she couldn’t do anything about it since she was far away. Y/N tried to come home as much as she could, she didn’t want Carlos to be alone more than he should but it was difficult for her as well. She was in university; broke and barely had the necessities to make ends meet, surely she didn’t have money to spend to travel to and fro from campus residence to a three-hour train ride back to her hometown. But she tried her utmost hardest.

When Harry and Y/N met, her parents were just beginning their disagreements. They mentioned divorce during dinner once with Daniela joining through video chat from across the world--probably the last family dinner that they’ll have-- and Y/N took it the hardest since she was the closest with both of her parents. Carlos got on well with their dad and Daniela preferred their mom more. Y/N was the middle ground, the middle child, and her relatives often asked her if she was doing okay when she younger because apparently that the second of three children was the one who was often forgotten or not paid attention to enough. That wasn’t the case for Y/N’s family because for as long as she was aware of, her parents were loving and passionate, both of her siblings were normal--some teasing here and there but all in all, they were the picture perfect family of five, the only thing missing would be a furry pet dog.

The stress of her education, the environment of her job, and the state of her crumbling family took a heavy toll on Y/N and suddenly, everything she did required a little more effort from her already weak body. The simple things, like getting up in the morning or making herself eggs for breakfast was substantial for her and Y/N slowly slipped into depression. She was in denial at first, having experienced some unhappy moments in her life, but she could tell that this time around was dissimilar. She was uneducated you could say, she had a schema of what it was like to have depression and most of them were false and untrue. Y/N always thought that that had to sprout of a giant traumatic event-- which could be the case-- but she hadn’t thought that her parents’ upcoming divorce would be a reason for it. Hell, they didn’t even make it official yet! It was only a suggestion so Y/N was a bit confused why she was waking up sluggishly, walking lethargically, and seemed to have no motivation for anything. Y/N realized, then, that depression didn’t have to begin with something so huge-- it could be small things that build up into something bigger and bigger and before she knew it, she was in this state.

It seemed that meeting Harry was the one good thing in her life at the moment and it was true. He sparked up joy back into her life, made it feel like it was worth living. Her grades were on an all-time high ever since it decreased last semester, her home wasn’t as much of a mess, most importantly-- he made her feel loved again. It was a slow burn for their relationship and it took months before he had the courage to ask her out on a date. Their feelings for each other were pretty obvious, but Y/N didn’t want to risk losing their friendship so she shut up about it. Besides, most of her relationships never ended well, and she lost parts of herself to the people that didn’t deserve it. Soon, he asked her to be his girlfriend in the cheesiest way and Y/N was a happier person than she was before meeting Harry. She seemed to have a deeper understanding of her parents’ decisions and her heart didn’t ache as much when she envisioned the future of her family.

Y/N knew that self-care was the utmost achievement that she needed to reach. For years, she had been building up, fundamentally gathering the pieces she lost to make herself a better person; more open-minded and less secluded from people around her. Of course, she wasn’t always like this. Her mother kept saying that it was high school that changed her, and that time of school did change her. Except that being two years younger than Daniela caused some problems for Y/N. You see, Daniela was the stereotypical popular girl. Both of them were pretty but Daniela was prettier. Both of them were smart and made the honor roll, but Daniela was smarter and situated herself on the principal’s list. The sisters were equally talented but the eldest had the guts to actually showcase it at school talent shows. Y/N was the one left in the shadow of her sister; always being approached by the teachers to recommend Daniella to try out for this club or congratulate her for whatever achievement she somehow outshined Y/N on.

And Y/N didn’t really care for boys, not until Billy Watson (her first real crush) approached her when she was putting books away in her locker and saw him from her peripherals. Her heart was pounding and she could hear warm blood rushing through her ears and she swore that her cheeks had turned pink. He smiled at her, making Y/N want to combust from swooning right then and there, but she also wanted to run away as fast as her legs would take her to squeal to her best friends about how he even looked her way. But none of those things happened because Billy asked if her ‘sister was single’. Suddenly, the blush on her cheeks were ones of embarrassment, wondering how she ever conjured up a thought that he was coming over to talk to her because of her. Of course, it was going to be about her sister. That was the story of how Daniela stole Y/N’s first crush. It wasn’t really stealing, but she felt as though she did.

Daniela didn’t just steal Y/N’s first crush away from her; she also managed to snag Y/N’s first boyfriend. It was puppy love, Y/N thought in retrospect. He and she had feelings for each other and didn’t know any better but to join the bandwagon of relationships. They were dating for a solid two months when Leo came up to her after class and asked if they could speak in private. Y/N was glad because he was finally talking to her again. Some communication had been lost between them leading up to their talk. Leo led her into the parking lot to talk about how it ‘wasn’t working out’ between them and that he found a more ‘mature’ person to be with-- his words. Since it was puppy love, Y/N got over it quickly, nodding at him in understanding and hoping him for the best with his new partner. She rarely saw him in school afterward, not until Daniela announced that she was having a guy over to study and he might ‘stay over for dinner’ did Y/N find out the more mature person Leo was talking about was her sister. It was a shock to Y/N to step into the dining area, sitting down at her usual spot around the table only to be met face-to-face with her ex-boyfriend. She was flabbergasted when Daniela took his hand into hers and made the official declaration. Her parents had some obvious concerns because Leo was younger than her, but Leo swooped in to explain that he was wiser for his age. Her sister didn’t know that Y/N and Leo were dating; he never mentioned it and Y/N didn’t either.

That wasn’t all though. There was an instance during Y/N’s senior year and she fell hard for a guy named Kelvin. She hadn’t dared get into another relationship after Leo for quite some time, but when Kelvin approached her with a bouquet of flowers with a nervous quip to his voice, she thought to herself that maybe all guys aren't the same. It was her longest relationship thus far, ten months and Y/N was smitten with him. She wanted it to be that way forever, it was a powerful bond between them and Kelvin was the sweetest to her. They made plans for their post-secondary institutions, noting not to go too far away from each other. They went to senior prom as each others’ dates, and they graduated together. It was during the summer when their relationship fell through the cracks and Y/N got the message that Kelvin met someone new. He explained to her how he never cheated on her and thought that it would be best if they broke up because he didn't feel the same as he used to. His feelings were ailing, thinned by the insignificant distance between them and it was being developed for the woman he had met. Imagine her surprise when Daniela came home during the holidays with a man wrapped around her arm to see that it was Kelvin.

After that, she abstained from getting into relationships while Daniela was around. It wasn’t that difficult since she was timid and hesitant when meeting new people. Plus, she was fine on her own. She moved out from her parents’ house and into residence. She learned to be independent with herself and not co-dependent with another person that will only hurt her in the end. In summary, Y/N’s experiences weren’t the textbook example of finding true love or fate bounding you to your soulmate because it inevitably concludes to her sister getting the guy she loves.

So when Daniela announced her journey to travel the world, Y/N was saddened by the loss of her sisters’ presence, but she was hyped about finally having her chance at love without the possibility that she was going to steal that away from her as well. It was for two years, she had said. Months after, her parents started fighting and then she met Harry.

-----

Harry and Y/N have been together for such a long time. Y/N was afraid of commitment because of her sister’s actions, but Harry had somehow broken down the barrier and he single-handedly tore it down with his kindness. Y/N knew that Harry genuinely loved her, not only through him saying it but also through his actions, his eyes and the way he looked at her with so much love that she could drown in it. He was different. He was mature, caring, and loyal. Trustworthy, she thought. He was the best match for her and he reassured her that his love won’t be swayed--ever. Y/N believed him once her heart started feeling lighter instead of denser when she was around him. It was a feeling that she couldn’t ignore because no matter how much her brain flashed to warn her to get away, her heart fluttered tremendously and Y/N took that as a sign that maybe he was the one.

The best version of herself appeared when he flashed her the brightest smile that she couldn’t help but mirror his expression. His humble heart and the knack he had to help others influenced Y/N to be the same. A little kinder to the world, he’d say before wrapping his arms around her from behind. He’d give her kisses on her cheek and act like the most adorable person ever. She was full of love, love for Harry and the feeling was reciprocated. It wasn’t like the past and Y/N gained hope each and every day that things can turn around for the better.

-----

Daniela was set to return in a week, just in time for her to talk to their parents and help finalize the divorce; help them settle if this was what they really wanted. She had asked Y/N to pick her up from the airport since her driver’s license had expired during her time abroad, but Y/N had to take an important test that day. Needless to say, Daniela was disappointed and Y/N’s softer heart couldn’t bear to hear her sister’s sad voice through the phone. She offered for Harry to pick her up instead.

“Harry? Who’s that?” Daniela questioned. Y/N gulped, not knowing how to respond. The memories flashing back into her head.

“H-he’s my boyfriend,” She whispered and she wished that her sister didn’t hear her.

“Y/N Y/L/N, why did you not tell me that you have a boyfriend?”

Because I was afraid that you would take him away from me like you’ve done before.

“Slipped my mind, I guess.” She concluded. “What time is your flight?”

“10 and woah woah woah. Aren’t you gonna tell me about him?”

“Um … he’s not your usual type,” Y/N began, but she decided that Harry was someone that she wanted to show off. “He’s the kindest person ever and his heart is made of gold, I swear.”

“Ooooh, sounds like a keeper. Is he hot?”

She changed the subject after that.

--------

It was three nights later since Daniela got back. Y/N was currently putting on her make-up for a catch-up dinner with her sister and Harry. She was too busy with school to spare time for Daniela, but she said that she understood and that she appreciated Y/N for having met Harry. An alarm would usually start blaring in her head, but she ignored in favor of Harry’s loyalty to her.

“Harry, are you ready yet?” Y/N asked while carefully applying black liner over her eyelids. He didn’t respond to her even though it was her second time saying it in the past minute or so.

He hummed back at her and she couldn’t help but turn around to face him to see what had him so distracted that he couldn’t even reply to a simple question. He was sitting on her bed, legs spread open showcasing his muscular thighs in his black dress pants. His dress shirt was a pale blue, the first couple buttons unbuttoned to expose his chest. His blazer was hung in front of her closet to avoid getting wrinkled while he sat down, waiting for her. He was on his phone, clutched between his large hand and close to his face that meant he was chatting with someone. His small mannerisms were what Y/N noticed the most about him.

“Who you chatting with there?” She joked, taking steps towards his direction so that she could grab the pair of heels she’d planned to wear tonight. From the corner of her eye, she could see that Harry had twitched to make his phone inaccessible to her, his finger pressing on the lock button quickly. That was another warning she had failed to label as important.

“Just Dani,” He slipped out casually, phone lighting up against his palm indicating that he had received a new message.

“Dani?”

“You sister, innit?” He told her, looking up for a brief second.

“Oh uh, why are you texting her?” Y/N asked, nibbling on her lip while she fiddled with the straps of the shoes.

“Is it a crime to text?”

Y/N paused her actions, alarmed at his defensive tone. “No, it’s not,”

“She said that she just left. She’s on her way at the restaurant,”

She nodded at his brief update.

----

HIs attention was divided, she could tell. If it wasn’t for his long response time, it would be his actions. The couple arrived first at the restaurant despite Daniela saying that she had left earlier than them-- according to Harry. They were seated in a decently sized table, it was only three of them. Y/N was in the middle of talking about her busy week but she couldn’t help but notice Harry anxiously turning his head in circles as if he was looking for someone. He was fine, he said. And he proceeded to ask Y/N about Daniela with the excuse that he hadn’t heard her talk about her sister that much in the months that they were together. Y/N thought it was sweet that Harry was making an effort to get to know her sister.

When Daniela arrived, it was Y/N who spotted her sister first, standing up from her chair to rush over and give her sibling a hug after not having seen her in a long time. The hug was short and it was filled with a gracious exchange of ‘i miss you’ and ‘how have you been’. Y/N never really noticed how much she missed her sister until she was standing right in front of her. They pulled apart from the hug, Y/N walking them over to the table were Harry sat quietly with a small smile and a gleam in his eyes.

“You’ve already met but Harry, Daniela. Daniela, Harry”

As Y/N sat back down, an uneasy feeling settled itself in the pits of her stomach as she watched Harry stare at her sister conspicuously as if she was an art piece in a gallery. It didn’t help that Daniela was looking at him right back with a bitten lip that Y/N could only label as desire.

She brushed it off but thoughts and conclusions bounce through her head the entire dinner. She couldn’t help but compare herself to Daniela again like she did when she was younger. The make-up she’d applied felt heavier as she looked at Daniela’s natural looking face, emphasizing that she didn’t need to do much to look beautiful. She wore a pale blue dress as well, almost white with the lighting whereas Y/N decided to wear an eggplant colored dress that she now realizes doesn’t match Harry’s dress shirt combo.

It was an accidental coincidence, it’s not like they planned it, she thought.

-------

new series, let me know what you thought!

@ynm1505 @kissme-hs @agoddamnmango

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ihaveonlymydreams · 5 years ago

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If you’ve ever put off an important task by, say, alphabetizing your spice drawer, you know it wouldn’t be fair to describe yourself as lazy.

After all, alphabetizing requires focus and effort — and hey, maybe you even went the extra mile to wipe down each bottle before putting it back. And it’s not like you’re hanging out with friends or watching Netflix. You’re cleaning — something your parents would be proud of! This isn’t laziness or bad time management. This is procrastination.

If procrastination isn’t about laziness, then what is it about?

Etymologically, “procrastination” is derived from the Latin verb procrastinare — to put off until tomorrow. But it’s more than just voluntarily delaying. Procrastination is also derived from the ancient Greek word akrasia — doing something against our better judgment.

“It’s self-harm,” said Dr. Piers Steel, a professor of motivational psychology at the University of Calgary and the author of “The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done.”

That self-awareness is a key part of why procrastinating makes us feel so rotten. When we procrastinate, we’re not only aware that we’re avoiding the task in question, but also that doing so is probably a bad idea. And yet, we do it anyway.

“This is why we say that procrastination is essentially irrational,” said Dr. Fuschia Sirois, professor of psychology at the University of Sheffield. “It doesn’t make sense to do something you know is going to have negative consequences.”

She added: “People engage in this irrational cycle of chronic procrastination because of an inability to manage negative moods around a task.”

Wait. We procrastinate because of bad moods?

In short: yes.

Procrastination isn’t a unique character flaw or a mysterious curse on your ability to manage time, but a way of coping with challenging emotions and negative moods induced by certain tasks — boredom, anxiety, insecurity, frustration, resentment, self-doubt and beyond.

“Procrastination is an emotion regulation problem, not a time management problem,” said Dr. Tim Pychyl, professor of psychology and member of the Procrastination Research Group at Carleton University in Ottawa.

In a 2013 study, Dr. Pychyl and Dr. Sirois found that procrastination can be understood as “the primacy of short-term mood repair … over the longer-term pursuit of intended actions.” Put simply, procrastination is about being more focused on “the immediate urgency of managing negative moods” than getting on with the task, Dr. Sirois said.

The particular nature of our aversion depends on the given task or situation. It may be due to something inherently unpleasant about the task itself — having to clean a dirty bathroom or organizing a long, boring spreadsheet for your boss. But it might also result from deeper feelings related to the task, such as self-doubt, low self-esteem, anxiety or insecurity. Staring at a blank document, you might be thinking, I’m not smart enough to write this. Even if I am, what will people think of it? Writing is so hard. What if I do a bad job?

All of this can lead us to think that putting the document aside and cleaning that spice drawer instead is a pretty good idea.

But, of course, this only compounds the negative associations we have with the task, and those feelings will still be there whenever we come back to it, along with increased stress and anxiety, feelings of low self-esteem and self-blame.

In fact, there’s an entire body of research dedicated to the ruminative, self-blaming thoughts many of us tend to have in the wake of procrastination, which are known as “procrastinatory cognitions.” The thoughts we have about procrastination typically exacerbate our distress and stress, which contribute to further procrastination, Dr. Sirois said.

But the momentary relief we feel when procrastinating is actually what makes the cycle especially vicious. In the immediate present, putting off a task provides relief — “you’ve been rewarded for procrastinating,” Dr. Sirois said. And we know from basic behaviorism that when we’re rewarded for something, we tend to do it again. This is precisely why procrastination tends not to be a one-off behavior, but a cycle, one that easily becomes a chronic habit.

Over time, chronic procrastination has not only productivity costs, but measurably destructive effects on our mental and physical health, including chronic stress, general psychological distress and low life satisfaction, symptoms of depression and anxiety, poor health behaviors, chronic illness and even hypertension and cardiovascular disease.

But I thought we procrastinate to feel better?

If it seems ironic that we procrastinate to avoid negative feelings, but end up feeling even worse, that’s because it is. And once again, we have evolution to thank.

Procrastination is a perfect example of present bias, our hard-wired tendency to prioritize short-term needs ahead of long-term ones.

“We really weren’t designed to think ahead into the further future because we needed to focus on providing for ourselves in the here and now,” said psychologist Dr. Hal Hershfield, a professor of marketing at the U.C.L.A. Anderson School of Management.

Dr. Hershfield’s research has shown that, on a neural level, we perceive our “future selves” more like strangers than as parts of ourselves. When we procrastinate, parts of our brains actually think that the tasks we’re putting off — and the accompanying negative feelings that await us on the other side — are somebody else’s problem.

To make things worse, we’re even less able to make thoughtful, future-oriented decisions in the midst of stress. When faced with a task that makes us feel anxious or insecure, the amygdala — the “threat detector” part of the brain — perceives that task as a genuine threat, in this case to our self-esteem or well-being. Even if we intellectually recognize that putting off the task will create more stress for ourselves in the future, our brains are still wired to be more concerned with removing the threat in the present. Researchers call this “amygdala hijack.”

Unfortunately, we can’t just tell ourselves to stop procrastinating. And despite the prevalence of “productivity hacks,” focusing on the question of how to get more work done doesn’t address the root cause of procrastination.

O.K. How do we get to the root cause of procrastination?

We must realize that, at its core, procrastination is about emotions, not productivity. The solution doesn’t involve downloading a time management app or learning new strategies for self-control. It has to do with managing our emotions in a new way.

“Our brains are always looking for relative rewards. If we have a habit loop around procrastination but we haven’t found a better reward, our brain is just going to keep doing it over and over until we give it something better to do,” said psychiatrist and neuroscientist Dr. Judson Brewer, Director of Research and Innovation at Brown University’s Mindfulness Center.

To rewire any habit, we have to give our brains what Dr. Brewer called the “Bigger Better Offer” or “B.B.O.”

In the case of procrastination, we have to find a better reward than avoidance — one that can relieve our challenging feelings in the present moment without causing harm to our future selves. The difficulty with breaking the addiction to procrastination in particular is that there is an infinite number of potential substitute actions that would still be forms of procrastination, Dr. Brewer said. That’s why the solution must therefore be internal, and not dependent on anything but ourselves.

One option is to forgive yourself in the moments you procrastinate. In a 2010 study, researchers found that students who were able to forgive themselves for procrastinating when studying for a first exam ended up procrastinating less when studying for their next exam. They concluded that self-forgiveness supported productivity by allowing “the individual to move past their maladaptive behavior and focus on the upcoming examination without the burden of past acts.”

Another tactic is the related practice of self-compassion, which is treating ourselves with kindness and understanding in the face of our mistakes and failures. In a 2012 study examining the relationship between stress, self-compassion and procrastination, Dr. Sirois found that procrastinators tend to have high stress and low self-compassion, suggesting that self-compassion provides “a buffer against negative reactions to self-relevant events.”

In fact, several studies show that self-compassion supports motivation and personal growth. Not only does it decrease psychological distress, which we now know is a primary culprit for procrastination, it also actively boosts motivation, enhances feelings of self-worth and fosters positive emotions like optimism, wisdom, curiosity and personal initiative. Best of all, self-compassion doesn’t require anything external — just a commitment to meeting your challenges with greater acceptance and kindness rather than rumination and regret.

That may be easier said than done, but try to reframe the task by considering a positive aspect of it. Perhaps you remind yourself of a time you did something similar and it turned out O.K. Or maybe you think about the beneficial outcome of completing the task. What might your boss or partner say when you show them your finished work? How will you feel about yourself?

What are some other, healthier ways to manage the feelings that typically trigger procrastination?

Cultivate curiosity: If you’re feeling tempted to procrastinate, bring your attention to the sensations arising in your mind and body. What feelings are eliciting your temptation? Where do you feel them in your body? What do they remind you of? What happens to the thought of procrastinating as you observe it? Does it intensify? Dissipate? Cause other emotions to arise? How are the sensations in your body shifting as you continue to rest your awareness on them?

Consider the next action: This is different than the age-old advice to break up a task you’re tempted to avoid into bite-sized chunks. According to Dr. Pychyl, focusing only on the “next action” helps calm our nerves, and it allows for what Dr. Pychyl called “a layer of self-deception.” At the start of a given task, you can consider the next action as a mere possibility, as if you were method acting: “What’s the next action I’d take on this if I were going to do it, even though I’m not?” Maybe you would open your email. Or perhaps you would put the date at the top of your document. Don’t wait to be in the mood to do a certain task. “Motivation follows action. Get started, and you’ll find your motivation follows,” Dr. Pychyl said.

Make your temptations more inconvenient: It’s still easier to change our circumstances than ourselves, said Gretchen Rubin, author of “Better Than Before: What I Learned About Making and Breaking Habits.” According to Ms. Rubin, we can take what we know about procrastination and “use it to our advantage” by placing obstacles between ourselves and our temptations to induce a certain degree of frustration or anxiety. If you compulsively check social media, delete those apps from your phone or “give yourself a really complicated password with not just five digits, but 12,” Ms. Rubin said. By doing this, you’re adding friction to the procrastination cycle and making the reward value of your temptation less immediate.

On the other side of the coin, Ms. Rubin also suggested that we make the things we want to do as easy as possible for ourselves. If you want to go to the gym before work but you’re not a morning person, sleep in your exercise clothes. “Try to remove every, every, every roadblock,” Ms. Rubin said.

Still, procrastination is deeply existential, as it raises questions about individual agency and how we want to spend our time as opposed to how we actually do. But it’s also a reminder of our commonality — we’re all vulnerable to painful feelings, and most of us just want to be happy with the choices we make.

Now go finish up alphabetizing that spice drawer before it becomes your next procrastination albatross.

#Long post #This is important

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fytoo · 5 years ago

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Debuting a K-Pop Band During Coronavirus: TOO on Their Creative Concept & Promotion Strategy

With a new act making their debut on the K-pop scene roughly every two days, entering this multibillion-dollar industry is never easy but becomes all the more tricky in a global pandemic.

Since the December conclusion of the singing-competition show World Klass, the debut for boy band TOO has been actively in the works for months. After the TV program whittled 20 participants into a 10-member lineup, the promising band with an already established fanbase has been in preparation mode. While coronavirus concerns hit South Korea earlier than most of the world (with social distancing measures still in place today), TOO and their teams were forced to adapt and get creative in their marketing techniques.

It all falls under a new term that has developed in Korea called "untact," referring to how artists and entertainers are still attempting to make contact and connect with fans throughout health concerns and social-distancing regulations.

"We didn't have any issues when preparing for debut," says TOO vocalist Donggeon. "But it's sad to be on stage without fans. It's really upsetting that we can't be with our fans on the television music shows and during other activities we're doing."

The 20-year-old is referring to Korea's tradition of live-performance music program shows that air nearly daily and see promoting artists perform until a "No. 1" of the week is announced at the conclusion. These performances are important to introduce new music to local viewers and potential international clicks via YouTube, with wins on these shows helping secure public recognition and brand deals. Since February, the programs have gone without live audiences (viewers can get the sense of acts on a hot promotional streak from those with loudest chants) with on-hand staff limited (The Show broadcasted on Korea's SBS MTV channel saw an MC's staff member test positive for COVID-19 requiring a two-week break for all hosts).

Financially, person-to-person contact has long been a crucial aspect in the K-pop industry as many companies depend on physical album sales that grant buyers lottery tickets to potentially access private, in-person fan meetings. It's also important for the relationship between artist and fans as it marks a rare time for supporters to get nearly unrestricted access to take photos of their stars and score face time. The more popular an act, the more albums that tend to be bought for these potential meetings. But with a group like TOO so early in their career, getting that contact time is important to make lasting first impressions.

"If not for the virus, we would have fan meetings, we could go outside and just wander around," adds TOO leader Jaeyun. "But right now, we just move by car from one place to another, company to company."

When the boy band held the televised music concert showcase TOO Day to mark their debut, there wasn't an audience to cheer the guys on but followers did see themselves incorporated in a performance. The band asked their growing followers on Twitter for keywords to describe the different members for what they teased as a special remix. What fans found is that those descriptions made their way into the lyrics of "Too You," the band's reinterpretation of The Supremes' No. 1 Hot 100 hit "You Can't Hurry Love."

For those who would have scored access to the events, the group instead autographed their albums personally and held video conference calls with fans with each member taking one minute to personally talk to them. In place of the candid photos that fans would have taken and uploaded online, TOO's staff posted their own snaps of the members in the cute headbands and animal ears that are usually brought as gifts for the idols.

Also pushing TOO into the scene is their upcoming participation on the singing competition show Road to Kingdom. Alongside six other rising boy bands, they are the youngest competitor by far but if the show performs anywhere near its first, female-focused season Queendom (which produced competitors (G)I-DLE, MAMAMOO, AOA and Park Bom with Billboard chart hits), the show's reach and potential to secure a larger fanbase is worth it.

"It's a really big chance for us," says TOO rapper J.You of the new show. "At first, we're very nervous to be competing with seniors who we've been fans of since we were trainees and other groups that we have admired, however we'll do our best with passion and learn from them too. We would like the public to get to know us through Road to Kingdom."

TOO is a joint project between Stone Music Entertainment and K-pop agency n.CH Entertainment, who say they recognize the difficult timing but are prioritizing health. "We are paying most attention to the safety of the artist and fans," the companies share in a statement to Billboard. "We are looking for and implementing flexible measures tailored to the current situation...focusing more on online platforms than offline events to promote our contents and are expanding opportunities to communicate with fans live such as online showcases and fan signing events. As soon as the COVID-19 situation stabilizes, it is hoped that we will be able to host face-to-face events and resolve the disappointment of artists and fans."

Or as Jaeyun sees it, "We are working hard so we can give our positive energy to our fans and everyone during the difficult times of the virus." Read on for more about TOO from the members about their artistic concept, writing on their debut album, plans once they can travel again and more.

Congratulations on your debut even in these difficult times, TOO! In your own words, can you describe TOO and what sets you apart from other K-pop acts?

Jaeyun: We are a group that aims to represent Eastern values. So, to introduce our group, first TOO's music aims to be centered in Asia and focus on the values that lie in the inner cultivation of the mind. That's music that captures and moves peoples' hearts which we call "heart music." Along with heart music, we want to be artists with killer dance moves that go beyond K-pop standards.

Donggeon: We have a special worldview. There are combinations between members based on five elements [earth, fire, water, wood and metal] and each member is in charge of one value each. For example, the first mini album tells the story of "benevolence," the value represented by J.You.

J.You: This first mini-album is my story, with me as the center, and future albums will be focused around other members' stories.

Why was "Magnolia" the right song to choose as your debut single?

Woonggi: I think that "Magnolia" is a great fit for us because it contains our team's worldview very well and has a strong image to it. In particular, the hook is very addictive so we thought the track would be a good choice to introduce us to the public.

Jaeyun: We also wanted to capture TOO's unique worldview in lyrics of "Magnolia" so, for example, the lyrics about "shattered ideals" is a hint toward our worldview regarding the ideas of utopia versus dystopia -- or as we call it, u-too-pia and dys-too-pia. It's part of our story. In the [music video] storyline, the current is dystoopia: we go in the past to change the future, which is the present right now, so it can be a utoopia.

Jerome: There are a lot of hidden meanings in the music video. To give you a hint, if you focus and take a closer look at our accessories, you'll have more fun watching it.

It's impressive some of you have been involved with the music already too. Chan, J.You and Chihoon wrote on "Take It Slow." Was that a special case or will we see more participation in the future?

Jaeyun: Half of our members choose "Take It Slow" as the song most special to us on the album. Some of us were involved in writing, but also the lyrics are lovely and just makes us happy.

Chan: The song name is "Take It Slow," right?" I used fire as a metaphor to love in the lyrics, but you don't want a fire to overwhelm: you want a steady, warm vibe.

J.You: I also tried to match the overall concept of "Take It Slow," but how I interpreted the theme was like, "Let's love each other for a long time, and work to understand each other even if it's clumsy in the beginning."

Chihoon: I was drinking a Coke at the time and suddenly wanted to use Coke as a metaphor for the feeling of love. When you shake a can of Coke, it explodes right? When you shaken up inside the love, it doesn't show the outside but inside it's already blown up. That was my focus on the lyrics. But I do have a number of unreleased songs already that I've already written. I'm going to continue to write songs and produce them for the fans so I want to tell them to look forward to it.

There were 10 other guys in World Klass that you trained and competed with, do you guys stay in touch?

Woonggi: Of course we stay in touch and have a Kakaotalk group chat. They cheer for us when we release new videos.

J.You: But I also want to tell them that we miss all of them and can't wait to see them soon. Some of them are foreigners and we can't see each other, we all miss them.

Jaeyun: We hope they all will be happy no matter which way they go.

It's tough to predict the future, but anything we should look out for in 2020 or messages to fans?

Jaeyun: You will be able to see us making steady efforts and making progress as a team, step by step.

J.You: We also want to win Rookie of the Year as this year's goal. R-O-T-Y!

Donggeon: To our international fans, times are difficult right now, but I hope our small steps into the K-pop world brings you small happiness in your daily lives.

Woonggi: We will show you sides of us as a team and individuals so please keep an out for us. When things get better, I want to travel abroad and see our fans overseas; to see you and other fans. We hope to come back to New York first. We love you!

#too #ot10 #t: interview #s: billboard #d: 200423 #e: benevolence #read more

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