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wormstar · 3 years ago

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i was going thru ur blog and u have good posts about ableist aus and i was wondering - what if in the aus the requirements for warriors were different? Like instead of having to fight jay only hunts? Would the muddling of roles still be ableist? In a Tree-like situation?If its not presented in a "work super hard to get what you want" and more in a "yeah they can decide what he wants to do". This is mostly for jay (and cinder) specifically because they had desires to be warriors yet were forced to be medicine cats because of ableism (ig this can apply to briar but i just truly cant remember oots that well and i havent read her death). I am asking because i am still trying to unlearn the ableist mindset that i grew up with. Feel free to ignore this ask and thnx!

hey yeah thank you for asking! took the opportunity to write up more general thoughts on rewrites as a whole and i went over why exactly theyre ableist hopefully that provides a better perspective

i think the major thing to keep in mind is that the structure of the clans is very abled centric and overly ignorant of inner community work (for example dens are only solidified or altered when either the area takes damage/the clans grows wrt population) theres a fixation on marking territory and starting fights and whatever with other clans which is whats expected of most warriors to partake in. to fix those implications in any fanwork youve really gotta knead into them and understand the nature of their ableism....its not just a problem with cats being barred from being warriors its the whole occupation and the standard its held to, so to speak (+ that fits into general clan society being flawed but eh thats another thing and also its easy to branch out into thought about)

going to stress other disabled people might have other solutions to how disabled cats are received this is just how i like to think of things

first i think its kind of interesting to examine discrepancies between disabled cats in canon as somewhat of an indicator of clan attitudes and leaders and whatnot. like i think you could get something interesting by regarding lets say deadfoot in windclan and cinderpelt in thunderclan who both have bad legs yet had different experiences with them in clan life. if you wanna go a step further comparing generations like lilywhisker and deadfoot or cinderpelt and jayfeather (+ the consideration of how congenital disabilities are regarded) can also make things interesting and just give you an idea of what to do. having the clan systems stray from a clear-cut common attitude both gives you more freedom for different approaches + adds to worldbuilding anyway. imo boiling down clan society to perfect utopia just gets boring but you can have imperfections in the system that depict the disabled experience just fine. just be careful with them and the way they come across yeah?

(real quick as an in between. god just dont refer to cats/their injuries as crippled. it still happens somehow)

im a little ambivalent on the idea of creating a ‘special role’ for disabled cats to be thrown into. cause then thats a repeat of canon medicine den really. its like ‘oh youre disabled youre instantly discarded into the x role pit’ i think just adding substantial in-universe changes to the warrior rank itself (vagueness is fun actually) or expanding on ‘warrior types’ rectifies the othering angle. ‘othering’ as a whole is just as bad as the ‘exception’ archetype people run for most warrior aus i want to state that clearly. effectively if youre gonna introduce roles that dont depend on fighting or hunting or both make sure theres abled cats who have them too. like say you want a camp-based role where a cats job is to fix dens or one where they help in the nursery, its far easier for a cat who cant run to manage those but also have some cats who are physically capable of doing other ‘tasks’ do the same thing for personal reasons

the tree comparison is interesting honestly cause i guess you could just give a cat a particular thing to do as a nonfixed position. and roles accordingly being made for a cat to fill until they cant and the positions done away with afterward. but youve gotta do it carefully so you dont fall into othering as ive said. id avoid something like that personally i just dont like the quality of ‘well theyre not a warrior (the most noble/useful concept in cat society) theyre actually some other thing’

in general giving disabled cats agency and choice is the best thing you can do. whether this means them deciding on tasks they can do themselves or picking a certain kind of warrior to be or asking for an assistant to help them out when they do stuff. the way you wanna pull it off again depends on my first question of “how does the relevant part of your warrior cat world treat disabled cats already”

very important point, the majority of the ableism also comes in the form of character narratives and not just the structure of the world itself. like think for a bit why the writers decided jayfeather shouldve been forced to be a medic or why briarlight got killed off early etc etc. characters ‘wanting’ to be like the abled ideal and still being bitter about not fulfilling that years down the line are just part of the ableist storylines. if youre abled id literally say just do away with those sadstuck ‘i wanted to be a warrior!’ moments. if you really want to id say pull a cinderpelt or a shadowsight where a cats time in the medicine den started their fascination with medicine and they switched to that path due to personal intrigue. id say a more interesting and realistic angle to it is having a disabled cat who found fulfilment in doing something else besides being a warrior becoming bitter about their entire clan ‘mourning’ how theyll never fight again or giving them the pretence of being a warrior being the best thing you can do.... it depends on the character really

this is just a very basic disability thing but stray from the whole ‘useless/dead weight’ way of regarding disabled characters. like dont place their worth on how well they service a clan or not theyre still deserving of shelter and whatnot. you dont need to justify a cats existence or usefulness by going ‘well they may be blind but their sense of smell is excellent so we keep them around’ or whatever its just no good

last thing i can think of is like. dont disregard how a cats disability affects them. like its fine that briarlight cant fight (or even hunt major types of prey) she doesnt need some convoluted method that lets her do that. there are like a dozen other warriors hunting and fighting and theres present value and enjoyment in the stuff she does around camp. she doesnt have to be brightheart 2 its ok

#hopefully this makes sense im tired of reading it over and over again #rambling

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aprito · 4 years ago

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hello <3 since i got these asks at the same time i decided to combine my thoughts on them in this post. yet another annoying sjw essay from yours truly on this blog

before i get into these i think i need to preface why im like. i guess overly hyperfocused on a certain unproblematic base (same age au / platonic canon) for them and avoid the ped0philic content like the plague lol

tw for pedophilia ment, rape ment if that makes you squicky. ALSO THIS IS LONG AND RAMBLY

as i’ve mentioned a couple times already, ive been into the ship since i was 12, back when it was very very common to not only post untagged (nsfw) canonverse content of the two in writing and in drawing but also non con and the like, so you can imagine how bad my first impression online was. thinking back on it ...as a child i found it disturbing but didnt really register how problematic it really was?? (i know, but i also lived in the middle of nowhere and had no one explain this to me)

skip to 2014 aka me coming back to naruto at 17ish and i had kinda become hyper aware of the fact that there was an increasing amount of people online who had come forward with explaining how fictional problematic content, mostly pedophilia, had been used to groom them into starting relationships with adullts. it was also a time where a lot of people didnt believe these victims, not registering how common it was for minors to be online friends with adults who had no boundaries and no qualms exposing them such content. not gonna get into my personal life here but i was lucky to not having gone through this myself. like... it kinda was my first time truly realising how fiction can EASILY be used to manipulate others irl (and yes i will not argue this, if you dont think fictional media can form and manipulate people’s opinions on attitudes, countries, cultures and virtues, pick up a book about the effects of propaganda media at least once please)

i, being young, still liking the dynamic but not really the romance, would point this out here and there in the fandom and get into fights with grown adults in their mid 20s who assumed i automatically hated the ship(s) and tried to restrict their freedom of speech or whatever, heard everything from the “age of consent doesnt exist in naruto” to the “sasori looks like a child what does it matter” despite people clearly playing on him being older and experienced. it made me so upset that people were just consuming all this content uncritically and exposing children to it tbh?? not really just sos but a lot of minor/adult ships in naruto in general. and thats where i sat down and thought, i do not want to be a grown adult talking down to children that point out how unsafe the fandom is. theyre absolutely right in drawing these boundaries and calling out adults who defend the uncritical consumption and creation of this content. i do not want to consume or create content that predators could use to groom minors, and i absolutely do want to let younger people in fandom know that i am respecting their comfort zones and want them to have a safe and fun experience. after all, naruto is not an adult show and i think a lot of people forget that!!!! i am not perfect in that regard but its something that i, at the age of 23, am very passionate about and strive towards to.

and i guess thats where same age au was born for me and i have been sticking to it ever since.

so finally we can move to the first question

aside from the fact that we both dont like canon sos, i dont think it would work out even if i wasnt prejudiced to it anyways. in all honesty, 35 year old canon sasori is not a redeemable character to me, given the fact that he’s easily amongst the cruelest villains in naruto (torturing and killing and taxiderming people for his own fun personal gain, never for a goal that served anyone but himself. how do you redeem having over 300 corpses in your backpack that you felt absolutely no remorse for killing). sasori was legit one of the only cruel villains that didnt had someone else pull the strings, which sends a clear message on kishi’s part, who absolutely loves to redeem villains LOL.

being that old, he obviously had already been very manifested in what he believed in, even if it was shakey, to the point where the first crack in that world view (sakura and chiyo protecting each other) immediately had him give up on his life all together. that, in my opinion, is not a man who’s going to know what healthy relationships would look like, regardless of it being romantic or not. 35 year old sasori to me has the same appeal as an expired can of tuna and he’s probably very happy 6 feet under. he’s supposed to be a failed gaara in that sense that he had no one to look out for him and therefore was never going to experience anything but a bad ending in life. its fine that hes dead honestly, it wraps up his short character development the best IMO.

adding to that, seriously, sakura was obviously interested in knowing why he was that way, and called him out for being seriously fucked in the head, but it’s weird to me that people assume she had any interest in actively rehabilitating him, let alone starting a serious romantic relationship with him. sakura who’s not only very, uhm, immature and straight forward when it comes to her romantic viewpoints also, as a big bootlicker, wouldnt soil her standing in the village by starting anything with a disgraced and far too gone criminal like sasori. shipping that version of sasori with sakura intimately is still going to set her up for a huge power imbalance that would be difficult to handle imo, even if she was the one in the fight ultimately exerting her power over him. i would still look at it and think damn she deserves better than having to play therapist for man like that lol.

additionally, even if you ignored all of this, you cant really ignore that sasori had already known her as a child, and that had been his first and most impactful impression of her. i dont think that sasori would look at 35 year old sakura and see her as a grown woman and not the little green girl she was in the fight. plus, you easily fall into predatory comparison territory between the “childish” and “womanly” and i have seen way too often in fic just being boiled down to her now being fuckable. a lot of of ships do this and i would just like to remind yall thats it not normal for adults to want to start relationships with children they have seen grown up or known as a child when they themselves were fully grown adults. therefore, maybe if sakura hadnt met sasori before it would be less of a problem? but that also obviously defeats the point of the dynamic and the reason he died in the first place. so yeah, it sounds kind of doomed especially if you were to make it romantic.

WHICH BRINGS ME TO THE SECOND QUESTION

let me preface this that im not fundamentally against age gaps, even if im not super interested in it. after all, colorblind had a 5 yr age gap (with sakura being 21), even if, say, i wrote similar fics today i probably would make it smaller lol. i think it can be handled well if both parties have enough life experience to deal with it, and the author is cautious of where the age gap starts, i think a 10+ year age gap would be fine in a scenario where the younger party (i guess sakura) was at least 25-27ish, meaning she has completed most of her most formative life stages and probably had been in relationships before, meaning she would be able to handle it without having to fear a huge power imbalance. the older the younger party is the less the age gap is going to matter tbh .TsukiHoshino and AngelOfDeath10 both handle age gaps in their fics really well imo, so i do not mind reading about them.

unfortunately, a lot of people in this fandom think making sakura barely "”””legal””””” (18, not even 20 which is hilarious to me because the source material is obviously japanese) because they both cannot stand her being past her “prime years” of being young fertile and fuckable to much older men as well as thinking a 20 year old is automatically old enough to handle that type of relationship. ive seen a lot of unironic takes that believe it will absolve them of callout posts if they throw around age of consent and “shes 18 now suckers!!!” enough lmfao. absolutely hilarious. aging a minor up without aging the adult down seriously reeks of predatory “cant wait until youre 18″ narratives and thats why i find it similarly disturbing as straight up pedo shipping.

ultimately, sasosaku is and will always be a inherently problematic ship in canon, which is why i think it should always be handled a little more responsibly in fandom spaces, ignoring or outright excusing the main problem factor, which is sasori, isnt going to convince anyone that the dynamic in itself is well written and interesting enough to explore in aus, like giving sasori the redemption most of us wanted him to have by aging him down to a point in time where he was still realistically going to allow being positively influenced, similar to gaara.

so really, what i think is well handled age gap and how most people handle age gap in the naruto fandom are two different worlds at times lol

tl;dr

canon shippers have never been anything but gross when i was younger and i didnt wanna be like that, even if youre “smart”enough to differenate, actual creeps dont really care and might use your content to blur the lines, sasori isnt rly redeemable so romantic canonverse realistically wouldnt make much sense and is still iffy, age gaps are fine if they are handled well, but given that the dynamic doesnt really need the age gap to still work im not that invested on making that an essential part of my shipping experience.

thank you for reading and hope this makes sense!

#nonitxt #meta #another hot take from me #but seriously if you're offended over these #unfollow me lol idc #defending predatory content is not a hill im gonna die on in this life

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writing-frenzy · 4 years ago

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Airplane Crossing Over Plots~

Like it says on the tin, these were ideas I had for crossovers involving our fav writer~ (EDIT: Thank you @guiltycorp for inspiring this a bit XD)

Now, I’ve mentioned before, with Airplane choosing the go home option, he ends up still with a golden core in all this mess but he needs to cultivate his body really carefully because of it. (come on, he put in all the time and effort to be an immortal master, he should be able to still have his bad ass skills; not to mention with it being a soul thing, because a golden core is just as spiritual as it is physical, so he will definitely still have it.)

So, sealing his core and having his Nascent Soul outside his body to relieve some of the pressure on it, (having it look like a little chibi SQH that usually hangs out in hoodie pockets or hiding in Airplane’s hair with an aura of disguise around it), Airplane has to go and actually work out, which isn’t too much of a hardship for him at least, seeing as he’s had years to get into a routine and survival instincts kicking in to help him out there.

And, he may have actually started taking school seriously again, actually applying himself, maybe even getting an online accounting job to help supply his income. When he’s steady with that, he finishes PIDW the way he had been leading up to, the ending that makes the most sense and satisfices the writer the most (and if it gives him some closure, he isn’t saying anything about that.) Now that he is finally free from PIDW, and has college and work to worry about, he writes whenever he damn well pleases, and whatever he wants to fuck what anyone says.

(He might or might not write some absolutely filthy porn whenever the mood hits him, and cackles how his fans both greedily read it and cry because his newer works are so tragic, even if they have happy endings at times. Yes, Airplane Shooting Towards the Sky is a porn writer, but first and foremost is he an angst writer more~ His fan’s tears and cries just make him stronger kind of writer~)

(I just honestly want Airplane to write what he wants to now, that is one of the biggest motives behind all this honestly)

So, we have the set up :D let’s get to what we can cross over here~

First Up: ~Cutivation Group Chat~

Come on, how can one resist this? Plopping good old Airplane into this wild ride is one of the few things that makes me so happy in life. The thought of it makes me grin, especially since it can go two ways in my opinion~

First way: Airplane replaces Song Shuhang; like, just seeing Airplane, who was an Immortal Master and Teacher in those situations would be so funny, yet intriguing as well to see how he handles it, because you know he’ll be able to, just in ways no one ever expects. (Besides, that werid luck of Shuhang’s would be perfect for him, tho he won’t seek death like the other would~ :D Airplane still has a lovely sense of self-preservation~)

Second way: Airplane is one of Song Shuhang’s roommates. (for this, I’m going to say their Dorm was big enough for five peeps, because I want Airplane to have more friends damn-it.) Just... the imagery of the two neutral disasters getting into so much mayhem and hijinxs together, giving Song Shuhang not only a friend/brother in arms he can always depend and rely on, but also a steady source for learning and cultivation as well :D

(Also, Airplane and Gou Moumou being writer friends, the two of them able to bounce ideas on to each other (oh god, now you have inspired me, how dare you make me write this./hahahaha, you know you want too/ bitch turnabout is fair play/ ah fuck.) also: just the image of Airplane meeting Senior White and being completely unaffected because not only is his survival instincts going in overdrive, but also:

Airplane: ? He’s not my type.

Everyone: *jaws dropped*

:D Anyways~

Second Idea: Card Room (Rebirth)

Now First, for those who don’t know Card Room (Rebirth), this is an action/survival/mystery thriller BL Unlimited Flow type of novel; it follows one Xiao Lou, a medical professor who specializes with examining the dead, and his journeys through multiple rooms after having died in reality, the difficulty of each of these rooms measured with Playing Cards from 2 to K and with different types of rooms being sorted by their suits of Hearts (Mystery), Diamonds (Puzzle), Spade (Survival), Club (Luck/Money). The Goal of the story is to beat all the rooms and return back to the world of the living once more. To aid in this, people can get special cards to help them fight/ take care of their health/ or even just daily life essentials to be able to actually get through places.

So... this means after getting all used to living once more and getting into his grove in the modern world... Airplane unfortunately kicks the bucket, yet again! Thing is, this time it happened after he played a card game with some of his roommates, I’m going to say poker, and they were betting who would do what chores. Aiplane managed to make out pretty well, and was pleased with it, so was very much bummed when he ended up dying yet again. He goes through the room, some by the skin of his teeth, but with his cultivation abilities still usable (can’t stop something on a soul level here) he gets by okay. Though, all his cards either deal with writing, supplies, and the rare cultivation one at times.

He gets by at least.

Now, because this series gives me some emotions, here is one thing I will say: Airplane and Liu Ying end up partnering up and break through together, because damn it, Liu Qiao and her sis deserve some damn happiness ;-; Maybe Airplane and Liu Ying meet by chance, Airplane impressed by the young woman’s intelligence and Liu Ying can in turn be grateful for Airplane’s resourcefulness. Maybe even include the original girl that Liu Ying teamed up with, So we have three people already in your team to survive! (because surviving the rooms 2-4 is already damn amazing considering how hellish they get :D )

This is a fun crossover for me to imagine honestly, because it would be perfect to showcase Airplane’s skills in logic, reasoning, and pure survival our boy is known for; let that resourceful and logistic riddled mind out to play as he fights to get the fuck out of this world, even if The City of the Moon is beautiful and all.

:D So, those were the ideas I would like to really see, but here is some more for anyone curious:

Honorable Mentions: These are ones I would love to see Airplane accidently going into, and just going yikes, or nope! or even ‘Really?’

Lord of End of World:

... This story, it concerns me greatly; I like the worldbuilding, even has a few really cool girls in it, and I find the protagonist rather curious (to an extent, blackened Gary Stu that he is...) but does it make me cringe at times with the underage theme to it; it’s part of their cultivation and all, but god damn does the way this story push some of it really sqink me out, I had to drop it because it made me so uncomfortable, so just a heads up there. this is one of those stories that makes me want to write spite fiction, but also make me cringe at the thought of remembering it at times.

Anyways, so, how it boils down to it is that this poor guy, known as the Young Master of the Unground Palace, was abused in all the ways one can practically be abused, just so their Master can get stronger themselves by forming the perfect cauldron to absorb, but who manages to kill their master only to die as well. He ends up transmigrating into Gong Lixin, a 16 year old wealthy young master about a year (I believe) before the apocalypse happens... (Like I said, I have so many damn issues with this damn story, I cry.)

Just, on one hand, imagining Airplane in this world also makes me laugh (and maybe hope), because maybe here Gong Lixin could actually learn a cultivation style thats not only suited to him, but also doesn’t need him to dual cultivate all the time and rely on cauldrons (maybe get some needed therapy as well, Airplane knows some peeps; I can dream~), he can have a stable, reliable teacher here who will have no lust or attraction to him, Airplane helping the kid out at first because they look like they’re recovered from a really bad Qi-Devitation and the teacher in him can’t leave that alone. Airplane can also relate with the youth about transmigrating, maybe even telling him about his own time with that. (And Airplane can use his own cultivation to smack around any bitch looking sideways at his student, because fuck that shit, he is only seventeen and traumatized.) Just, turning this story into a cute mentor and discipleship and emotional healing would make me so happy.

Monster Inn Rectification Report

So, this is another Transmigration story~ MC transmigrates as a poor canon fodder son, who would have ended up in a vegetable state after being neglected in favor of the super amazing awesome adopted son. He then goes on to accidently inheriting a supernatural end for Monsters~

Like, this idea makes me grin evilly; though things will change up a bit, since both of Airplane’s parents have already split up and have their own families? Just, the Former An Ding Peak Lord running an Inn? :D Building it from ground up from bascially nothing? :D Oh, man, this man has run worse things, and even a Demon Kingdom, he got you~

Supernatural Movie Actor App

Its a BL about a guy with a split personality who does realistic (as in for real) horror movies through an app, to get his wish to come true.

This actually goes really good with my idea of Airplane wanting to be an actor and all, only to have his dreams crushed :D He doesn’t at first realize what he is getting into when he gets the app, thinking it might be a chance for him to still be able to do his dream, only, surprise, surprise, he ends up entering a real life Horror movie environment~ I’m really curious about what he would dream about~

I Have Medicine

:D Airplane and Gu Zuo interactions make me smile~ these two would be so fun, seeing them bounce off each other would be a treat.

So What if You’re Reborn

.... hahahahahaha, oh, the chaos that could be unleashed in this timeline would be glorious~

Running Away From the Hero

#SVSSS #Scum Villain Self Saving System #Scum Villain Self-Saving System #Airplane Shooting Toward the Sky #Shang Qinghua #Cultivation Group Chat #Card Room (Rebirth)

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lxdymaria · 4 years ago

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little babble about asoa and the iliad that really shouldnt havent been this long but i guess i had a lot to say

my thing with a song of achilles is that. its literally just fanfiction. when i read it for the first time i thought it was good and didnt have any particular issue with it bc the transformation of myths and characters is like. okay it doesnt always have to be a carbon copy of the original myth. but at the same time it has such a cult following it has lead people to thing asoa = the iliad.

it makes people think that the only thing that happens in the iliad is: ough agamemnon big meany, uhh hector killed patroclus, and apparently the iliad is just about achilles and patroclus. i dont think that was her intent like, she is writing the love story between achilles and patroclus but thats just the way fans of the book have transformed it, and thusly assume that asoa is an actual accurate representation of the iliad itself.

things i dont like retrospectively are like, the “woobification” (for lack of better word) of patroclus but more specifically achilles. like i said im all for transforming myth into new stories but like...changing basic characteristics of figures just seems unnecessary.

i dont find achilles entirely sympathetic in the source material at all. like he’s alright he certainty “goes hard” when patroclus dies but its like. im always caught between the fact that, the acheans arent really sympathic at all? theyre the ones invading troy like to me the most sympathetic character in the iliad is Hector and his family (mainly priam and andromache) and i cant remember the exact line but it really bothers me in asoa how achilles is like “why would i hurt hector hes done nothing to me” and the build up is oh well, hector killed patroclus and </33 poor achilles his lover is dead. bc like hector has every right to be the one killing patroclus “mr ‘going so ham on the battle field hes so convicning at being achilles everyone thinks he is” BC HES LITERALLY LIKE...tearing up the field killing trojans. and people that think achilles little rampage is ROMANTIC?? is just so weird to me bc hes totally lost himself and is killing people in reckless abandon....achilles is pretty monstrous especially when facing off against hector AND I REALLY CANT BELIEVE people think that hector is some sort of evil villain because he killed patroclus.

and also a side note for patroclus characterization in asoa. do forgive me bc i cant remember every detail but the whole time it seems like it makes patroclus (achilles too to a certain degree) entirely reluctant to actually participate in the war which isnt accurate at all. making patroclus this very sensitive and soft man like...bro hes a fucking warrior hes not a healer hes not on the sidelines. going back to when he wears achilles armor and tears it up on the battle field; HES GOING HARD IT IS entirely realistic to everyone around him that he is in fact achilles like. he isnt your soft boy uwu AND NEITHER IS ACHILLES.

at the end of the day like. its still a good novel I GUESS ive fallen more out of love with it over the years after realizing stuff like this. (and fans definitely spur on my dislike even more) bc the mischaracterization of figures (achilles, patroclus, agamemnon and i guess hector being the most egregiously affected) paired with the shift from...epic about the horrors of war to.....a love story is just very very weird to me and i cant forgive what kind of impact it has had on people when they reflect upon the original poem. overall the fact that the iliad is often times viewed as “the love story between achilles and patroclus” really boils my blood.

i dont hate people for liking it bc like i said its well written and if it was seperate from the iliad id probably enjoy it more. but its not and you can keep liking it im not saying its a problematic or bad book im just saying i wish people were a little more thoughtful in consuming and the consequently engaging with people who dont give two shits about the novel and just wanna talk about the iliad.

#personal #THAT GOT REALLY LONG..putting that under a readmore methinks #the woes of a classics student #sorry if this doesnt make sense i only meant to say like 5 sentences #u can always spot an asoa if they only talk about pat/achilles #or they talk about agamemnon with such distain #not that u cant view aga with a lot of distain but hes more complex that theyll ever give him credit for

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ladybugsfanfics · 5 years ago

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(red flags look like normal flags when you’re wearing) rose-tinted glasses

pairing: Tom Hiddleston x platonic!reader

style: one shot

WC: 2.7k

summary: requested by anonymous on tumblr: “Reader is small and have an Danish Dog, thats actually an giant drool dog. While she's taking the dog to the park he start running with Bob while on the tab and he keeps pulling her until Tom saves her. Then Bobby start growling at her, and they think that is bcs he's jealous...”

warnings: angst, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, ABUSE, PHYSICAL ABUSE, EMOTIONAL ABUSE, ANIMAL ABUSE, please note the abuse, this fic contains it

A/N: this was really hard to write and i want it to be clear that ive never been in an abusive relationship so ive done my best to portray it and how hard it is to break out of it, but i dont have firsthand information. please let me know if something seems unrealistic or weird. i want you all to know that there are explicit abuse, but that it's not very violent but it still has an emotional impact. please don't read if you know it won't be good for you, and there is a happy ending even tho ive made the relationship between reader and tom platonic (that's more for realistic purposes).

The tall man startles as the bark sounds through the park. You widen your eyes at the sight of the little brown the male walks with.

No, no, no , you think.

Your dog, or actually your boyfriend’s dog, is rather big. The giant of a dog also barks whenever he sees brown dogs (as if the dog can be racist, honestly you have no idea how it works, but there are many things that can be the reason), and the dog that man walks with―

You don’t want to think about it.

Nor do you get the chance as your tight grip on the leash seems to be your downfall. The dog has almost leapt into the air as the barks rip through the quiet silence of the park.

“Yoshi! Stop!” you yell, but to no avail. He keeps running, stronger than you even as you put your heels down on the ground and try to brake.

The tall male has turned around. You send him a pleading look as your dog, almost literally, attacks his little one. In the sudden change of speed, where Yoshi goes from running and barking to hopping around and barking, you trip over your own feet and find yourself on your way to face planting with the ground below.

A pair of strong arms around your hips keep you from falling and you’re put back up on your feet with your back pressed to a muscular chest. As you regain your balance, the arms fall away. They don’t go far, only to grip the leash of your dog in an attempt to help your arm not dislocate.

“Thank you,” you say as you crouch down to keep Yoshi under control. He’s stopped barking, and with your soft strokes along his neck, he stops hopping, too.

“You’re welcome,” replies your saviour.

Standing up, you find a handsome male looking at you. Curly ginger hair, the most reassuring smile you have ever seen, and gentle blue-green eyes that makes you feel at ease. The way his eyes trace over you make you drag down the sleeve of your jacket slightly, and then you return his smile to the best of your abilities.

“He can be a little unruly at times, I’m so sorry.” You press your lips together in a tight lipped smile, shaking your head to let your hair come back to the front and cover your neck where your scarf fails. “I think something might’ve happened when he was a puppy because he only reacts to brown dogs.”

The stranger’s smile crinkles his eyes and he lets out a slight chuckle. Your heart beats faster at the sound. You will it to shut up. “Don’t worry about it,” he says. “I’m Tom, by the way.”

“I’m Y/N.” You swallow the lump in your throat. Throat dry and heart steadily beating faster, the pounding like a drum inside your head. “I’m sorry, again. For the whole… thing. But I should get going now.”

With a little tug of Yoshi’s leash you turn to continue down the path you were headed. A wait from Tom has you turn back around. He steps closer to you, tugging with him his own dog that so far seems rather docile and that you find super cute.

“Could I possibly get your number?” he asks.

If your heart hadn’t already lodged itself in your throat from talking to him, it definitely shot there now. With a steady breath (as steady as you can) you nod. “Yeah, sure.” And you take the phone Tom hands you.

It takes no time typing in your number, but you nearly drop the phone when Tom’s dog starts barking at you. Big dog eyes that look at you, nose high in the air and the barking growing steadily louder as he continues.

Tom frowns at his dog as he accepts his phone. He shakes his head and tugs at the leash, telling ‘Bobby’ to quiet and that there’s nothing to bark about. “I’m sorry,” he says. “He’s probably a little jealous.”

You try for a smile and a soft laugh but it comes out more strained. “Yes, jealous. Makes sense, I guess.” With a deep sigh, you turn to look at Tom again. “Again, so sorry. I guess I’ll hear from you. Bye.”

And now you leave with Yoshi in tow before Tom can stop you.

You wonder what he’ll do if he finds out you won’t answer his messages. Wonder if he’ll do the same as your boyfriend does whenever you forget to answer or don’t do something as he wants.

After all, fear was the only reason you did give Tom your phone number. That reassuring smile fools no one, and those gentle eyes are the same gentle ones he uses in front of others.

Sorry, Tom, but I won’t exchange him for someone worse . Even if I might deserve it .

---

The door is unlocked when you get home. The shoe rack kicked over and the few sets of jackets that hung in the closet have found their way to the floor. Your heart stops beating as fear settles in your gut.

This is never good, but neither is cleaning it up before he allows you to, so you kick off your own shoes and let your jacket fall to the floor instead of hanging it up. You unclasp Yoshi’s leash and let him pad into the living room and greet his owner.

Clenching your eyes shut, you regret letting the dog go in before you. The whimper has tears forming in your eyes. You will them back. You can’t cry. Crying just leads to a worse… you don’t know exactly what to call it.

“Babe?” you call as you take the steps in after the dog.

Your boyfriend’s rage filled face meets you. He’s locked the dog in its too small cage, and he hits Yoshi on the snout rather hard as the dog lets out another whimper.

“Babe, huh?” The retort has your gut churn, nervousness courses through your veins. “What the fuck took you so long?!”

There goes the level voice. You keep from closing your eyes, embracing for impact. He likes it more when you face him head on, as if it’s some kind of challenge. Pressing your lips closed, you let your eyes wander over his face.

You note the down-tug of his lips, the anger boiling like a hot fire in his eyes, and the flare of his nose as his form towers over you. “Bitch, I asked you a fucking question! What the fuck took you so long?!”

“Yo-Yoshi saw a… a dog. I-I couldn’t hold him back and we-we went on a detour.” God, you sound weak. I am weak , you think, too weak .

“Couldn’t hold him back, my ass.” He takes a step closer to you. Your body moves on its own when it takes a step back. It continues until your back collides with the wall and he locks you in. “Give me your phone!”

You fish your phone out of your pocket and pray to God Tom hasn’t texted you. You haven’t gotten the chance to block his number yet and if he has texted you, well, life for the next three days will be even worse than usual. You’d deserve it, too, probably.

Fear the only thing holding your body up, you hold your breath as he checks. First when he throws it away with a silent grunt and it lands on the couch, and he doesn’t yell, do you let yourself breathe again.

“Fucking good for you there was nothing there.” His voice is a rough whisper, hoarse and with an underlying tone of want. He doesn’t say more before he presses his lips to yours, pinning your arms to the wall and pressing your head against it.

When one of his hands falls to your hip, pressing you close to him, pressing you close to the growing bulge in his pants, you know it’ll bruise. Just like you know the grip on your wrist will bruise and that you won’t be able to walk in the next twenty four to thirty six hours.

You know because that’s how it always is.

How it always has been.

---

[07.47] Unknown number Hi, this is Tom. I didn’t have time to send a text yesterday, but I still wanted to tell you that I would like to meet you again. Hope that’s possible. - Tom

[08.29] Unknown number I know you haven’t replied yet, and it’s probably because you have yet to wake up, but when you do, would you be up for a cup of coffee? Either lunch or breakfast, whatever sounds best for you? - Tom

[11.32] you Hi, Tom. This is Y/N. Very sorry, but I can’t meet with you. I have plans all week and the next months. Work is taking my time, so is having a boyfriend and friends. Very sorry about my dog, again, but thank you for saving me from the ground. Have a lovely life.

🛇 Blocked

To move this conversation out of Archived and get messages again, unblock xxxxx-xxxxx

Unblock

---

You’re unsure what it is that has you think the thought. It pops up from nowhere, really, but it still sounds… reasonable.

With aching moves, you pack your things. A suitcase is more than enough for everything you own (your boyfriend keeping your hobbies to a fair minimum), and everything for Yoshi.

As you pack the bare essentials, your body shakes. Every few pieces of clothing thrown into the suitcase lands outside on the floor and your heart hammers in your chest. In the bathroom, finding your toothbrush, you hear a noise from the hallway and your heart shoots into your chest. Rushing out and to the living room, you only find Yoshi with one of his toys.

Tears prick at the back of your eyes. Fear an ever lurking presence. Putting the leash on Yoshi, you hope he isn’t close. You fumble with the clasp and use far longer than you would have liked to put it on, but thankfully, the dog’s big eyes and somewhat smile and the wagging of his tail, helps put you at ease.

His work day still has three more hours, meaning he won’t be here for another four. That should be enough time, right? More than enough time…

You leave the door unlocked, having left the key to the apartment on the kitchen counter. If anyone robs it… you fear the repercussions, but by the time he comes home, he shouldn’t be able to find you.

Even as you walk with Yoshi and the suitcase down the street, finding a taxi and asking him to take you to the police station, you don’t know what has settled in you. You don’t know where this is coming from. This… courage.

You’re unsure whether it was the show you saw last night where the relationship between the two romantic leads, even when they were alone, never had any hitting or bruising or anger in the same way he shows. Or if it was Tom, and the way his face still sits at the back of your mind. How you’d compared his gentle eyes and reassuring smile to his fake mask in front of others.

Has it really taken you so long to see the difference? To see that Tom’s, despite how instilled with fear you were, actually showed genuine compassion and care, and his is always with an extra layer that it takes a lot of study to see (but what else do you use your time on when you can’t look at others when you’re out?).

You pay the cab driver as he drops you off and you find your way into the police station. It takes a long half hour before you walk out again and sit down on the curb. It takes another three hours to stop crying and shaking. In those three hours, Yoshi lies his head in your lap and lets the weight of him being close reassure you. A man who tries to help and ask what’s wrong is quickly barked away by the dog guarding you.

It warms your heart.

A police officer on her way home asks you what’s wrong, and, as you don’t tell, she tells you to contact someone. She also leads you into the waiting room and tells you to sit there until you find help, even if help doesn’t come from the police. In the hour you sit there, you delete the find my phone app and you block him and everyone associated with him on everything you can remember you share. You wish you’d done it sooner.

In your phone, you’re left with few options.

The unblock button is easy to press. The text is everything but easy to send. Your fingers shake as you type, and there are countless spelling mistakes. Finding them all takes a few minutes, and even after telling yourself you’ll send it, your finger hovers over the send button.

Exactly seven minutes and thirty-eight seconds later (you counted), your finger falls down and you press the send button. Watching it turn blue has your heart beat faster and faster, and you press back the tears pricking at your eyes. Swallowing hurts as your throat is unbearably dry.

The reply comes a lot faster than you would expect, and it helps ease some of the fear lodged in your body. The tears that fall now are a mixture of relief and fear, and Yoshi lying his head down in your lap again helps you regain your composure.

Tom picks you and Yoshi up at the police station half an hour later. He offers up his guest bedroom, but you refuse, saying you’ll stay at a hotel until you can find something. You don’t refuse his offer of going somewhere to talk over a cup of coffee.

He helps you find a hotel that allows dogs, helps you check in (unlisted) and joins you for a walk with Yoshi before you find a quiet cafe to sit down at. You sit outside, Yoshi quiet by your feet, but regarding everyone who passes by with a steady look. Being a big dog, you see more than one person a little frightened. It warms your heart.

And the coffee in front of you warms your hands.

“Thank you, Tom,” you say, after the silence becomes too much. “I haven’t told you anything about why but you’re still willing to help. Thank you.”

Tom smiles. One of his hands leaves his cup and when it comes close to yours, you instinctively flinch―though you don’t move it (that has never gone over well in the past). Tom’s hand hovers over yours and his eyes study you as his brows crease into a frown. Your heart pounds in your chest. “I won’t ask, but I hope I can help. However you need.”

Taking a deep breath, you bite your lower lip and look down at your hands. Both now clench around your coffee cup. The steam rises in the cool air and the smell stirs something in your gut, something that has tears prick at the back of your eyes. You let your hearts incessant pounding die down before you look up Tom.

“I could use a friend,” you say, eventually. The smile you try to show is crooked and unsure, and you know the fright is visible through it.

Tom still smiles. His eyes are gentle and reassuring, and it warms you that there actually does exist someone who doesn’t raise his voice at weakness and vulnerability. Someone who wants to help, and who doesn’t demand answers.

You could use a friend. A friend who lets you find your own way and lets you take your time.

“Anything you need, Y/N,” replies Tom. “Time, space, money, a hug, a friend . Anything.”

This time, when you smile, it crinkles by your eyes. It’s still crooked and unsure, but most of the fright is gone.

You’ve finally taken off the rose-tinted glasses.

A/N: you’ve reached the end so please let me know that you’re alright, i care!

permanent tags: @devilbat @adefectivedetective @gamillian @he-is-chaotic-she-is-psychotic @heartislubbingdubbing @wiczer @chillcan @geeksareunique @fandom-imagines1 @murdermornings

tom tags: @inlovewith3 @bookgirlunicorn @mindlesschicca @justawriterinprogress @wolfsmom1 @loser-alert @satanskatze @timetravelingsociopathicwalker

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swordbreakerz · 5 years ago

Note

✨ for all of them, 🎥 for treasure planet and guardians of gahoole, 🍀 for 9-1-1 and penumbra, 📃 for unicorn chronicles, 🏳️‍🌈 for howls, treasure planet and legend of zelda, and 💎 for any ones you have facts for lol

you spoil me uwu

🎥 - ok for treasure planet, gotta be the 12 years later scene in the beginning and the zoom in to the spaceport, the way it transitions from jim reading under the blankets to him flying on his solar surfer is so chefs kiss, and just like. everything about to the spaceport lmao, fr guardians definitely the scene where soren flies through the fire and then blows up the pulley system to get rid of the flecks energy, bro when hes flying above it all holding the lantern before he dives down to save them? chills

🍀 - you know im on that projection shit w/ juno steel, ive truly never like connected with a character like that before and he’s really really helped me thru my recovery and transition lol, fr 911 uhhh ig buck or eddie? i havent Thought About It or like consumed it enough times yet to rly settle on someone but fr now,,, they

🏳️‍🌈 - ok for howls, Everyone Is Bi/Pan, howl is trans and autistic and i will die on that hill, fr treasure planet jim and cpt amelia are both trans and both of them + doppler are autistic, fr loz link is trans, autistic and semi nonverbal and communicates primarily with asl, post twilight princess zelda says fuck it and finds a way back into the twilight realm and she midna and link hang out, most of these boil down to everyone i love is trans gay and autistic because i say so lmaooo

📃 - OK SO. without like, spoiling too many plot points, our main character is cara and she lives with her grandmother. her mom is dead and dad is out of the picture. one day theyre getting chased by these people that her grandma knows and cara gets thrown into an alternate realm full of fantasy creatures using her grandmothers amulet. she meets a unicorn named lightfoot and a bunch of other rad people and basically, starts a journey to save that world from the Hunters. the Hunters are an organisation who specifically hate unicorns and want them all dead, led by Beloved, and cara and her friends have to try and stop them from entering the world and wiping them out. its sooo so so good and i highly recommend it cause i have no one to talk to about it please god

✨ - oh boy uh, well. im just gonna like list them out lmao

unicorn chronicles: i loved unicorns as a kid and read it when i was in elementary school, and over the years its remained just as compelling and well written as i remember and like. god the whole concept is so godamn cool and all the subplots that get introduced are fuckign fantastic and like all the different creatures are amazing i literally cant sing its praises enough

howls moving castle: must i have a logical reason? is it not to vicariously live my fantasy of running away to the countryside with a wizard boyfriend, his demon and his apprentice?? for real though, its such a fantastic story with beautiful visuals in the movie and wonderfully compelling prose in the book, and esp in the movie the whole time travel subplot with sophie seeing howl and calcifer in the past and then howl finding her in the future makes me go feral

penumbra: gays in space. need i say more? im a huge slut for gay found family and especially in futuristic space, and im a huge big fan of the lgbt utopia its created. like yeah capitalism sucks but at least im not gonne get misgendered in space starbucks, u kno? all the writing and dialogue is so incredible and the SOUND DESIGN GOD, alex i know u specifically can relate when i say i would kill a man for sophie and her incredible sound design skills, like dude the dance scene in man in glass p2 you can hear every single individual step they take and every swish of junos dress and i jusT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! god its so good, plus the whole the characters help me work through my trauma and repressed anger haha

911: this one is entirely your fault. so obligatory horny on main everyone on that show is so hot i want oliver stark to cradle me gently in his beefy arms oh my god. other than Men, the way it drives home the whole ‘you can’t save everyone, and it will kill you to try, so just focus on what you can do and keep living’ makes me so emo. the way it tackles big bureaucratic issues as well as closer to home interpersonal ones is amazing and i love how it shows people going through and dealing realistically with trauma.

treasure planet: again, who doesnt want to live in Cool Steampunk Space Travel Future? i really really love jims story and his arc, the way he deals with his trauma is uhh very familiar lol and his relationship with silver is like the ideal. the story is just the coolest concept and i love all the wonderful character design and animation, plus the soundtrack SLAPS and everything is beautiful

legend of zelda: ive been associated with this series from a very young age due to my name and as soon as i gave into my fate and looked it up for real i just kinda fell into it lol. i cant really tell you exactly what draws me to it besides ‘wow fun game!’ and ‘god i wish that were me,’ but like the absurd amount of detail thats put into each installment and the creative ways they retell essentially the same/similar story over and over is incredible

guardians of gahoole: so i had the same experience with this and treasure planet which is i remembered ‘oh hey this is a movie that exists and i cant clearly remember watching it, ill look it up :)’ and then it consumed my life for a solid 3 months. firstly this movie is absolutely gorgeous, the animation and framing is fucking stunning and the way they handled owls talking like people as far as the movement of their very inflexible beaks was amazing. it sort of has the same draw for me as warrior cats? secret animal society ft incredibly traumatic experiences and the characters dealing with it. like, the whole concept is just so fuckign wild and it works so well, i rly enjoy this niche genre.

💎 - alright trivia time, so guardians of gahoole is based on a book series and the movie only covers part of the first arc i think idk, BUT theres another series set in the same universe called wolves of the beyond that i devoured when i was younger! i didnt know they were connected for the longest time and when i found out i was :000, i still rly love wolves of the beyond and wanna reread it, as well as read the actual gahoole books. in the howls books, sophie is a redhead! also, markl is named michael and like a fully functioning young adult who ends up marrying one of sophies sisters. treasure planet is, obviously, based off treasure island but its so much better than the book dont bother reading it lol i tried and it was boring. there was plans for a treasure planet sequel that was fully scripted and cast but it was cancelled cause disney sabotaged treasure planet from the start with the shitty release and advertising and tldr we were ROBBED, also amelias concept was much more octopus like and while that wldve been rad im p glad she was switched to a cat for. several reasons lol. uhh i dont have a lot of Fun Facts abt the unicorn chronicles but for the longest time i thought there were only 3 books and then last year i found the fourth book by chance in a kitsch store and nearly had a breakdown i was so happy, like full on i started shaking and crying cause there was so much joy in my body i cldnt contain it.

thats all i can think of tysm ily, to anyone who read all of this bless u please watch guardians of gahoole and read the unicorn chronicles i will love u forever

#IM LOVE U #friendos #alex #and z answers #astrallouis

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ryoshan · 6 years ago

Text

after the fall spoilers /

when u wanna liveblog but ur the first person you know to start/finish reading: a collection of disorganised and contextless thoughts by an excitable brit

book: mentions weiss and ruby

me: SCREAMING

fox is from vacuo!!!!!! i am VINDICATED

ADA ADA ADA ADA

split point of view per chapter is sososososososoososos GOOD SO GOOD DO GOOD

nothing will beat novels for their ability to drop explicit details in a short period of time

VELVET HAS A PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY

coco adele? was that a typo? or is adele her middle name? stylistic choice? hmm

what a fucking show off our boy fox is

tiny criticism: pls stop knocking on about coco’s fashion sense we get it you’re doing that thing where you boil her down to one trait, hopefully this will happen less as the book goes on

FOX CLAPPED HIS HANDS TO HIS EYES. “OH NO!” HE SAID. “WHYYYYYYY?”

this initiation is some juicy fucking lore my guys

y.. yatsuhashi CAN FUCK WITH MEMORIES???

dyou think when fox stutters over a word in team cfvy’s mental group chat, coco, yatsuhashi and velvet repeat his mistake back at him

i am supremely interested to know how fox’s semblance interacts with rens

i literally fucking winded myself at the start of chapter 5 gasping so hard

“she looked like she had a mortal wound in her side” OH HAHA VERY FUNNY I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE

coco mentoring ruby has given me more life than anything so far

WEISS DONT BE MEAN TO YATSUHASHI

oh im not comfortable with weiss calling fox red that sounds very weird and not at all in character it sounds too much like torchwick and im not about making that association

WHY WOULD HER HAND GO TO MYRTENASTER ARE YOU REALLY GONNA FIGHT FY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HALLWAY WEISS?

i really did forget how much of an ego weiss has right in the beginning ive been writing her post development for too long

BLAKE N VELVET BLAKE N VELVE T once again i gasped so hard my lungs hurt

wow huh okay blake being violent is..... a surprise

“I don’t believe in fighting prejudice with violence” jess is vindicated im so proud of my wife

COCO WAS GOING TO LIKE HER, VELVET THOUGHT you’re damn right she does

i dont like velvet and coco fighting ):

fox as the hardcore realist i am once again, VINDICATED

velvet employing the same words to gus as blake did to her..... aaa.....

yatsuhashi’s semblance makes me sad cause imagine if he made someone he thought cared about him forget him and it turned out to be really easy

UGH THE THEME IN THIS BOOK IS LEARNING LESSONS AND ITS SO APPARENT AAAAAA

fox and ruby interacted...... thank you for my life............

the inclusion of not only yatsu asking velvet to guide him so he can be better in terms of his language but also an active example of this happening is really pleasing to me

as the player of a dnd character who always splits off from the group i can say with complete confidence fox splitting off from team cfvy in the sands of vacuo will almost certainly not go well

“she kept waiting for the others to see it” ;___;

PYRRHAAAA ;____________;

literally all it takes is her name and i am sad .

this TEAM make my heart SURGE

coco genuinely is the big explicit wlw i’ve been hoping for

jesus christ coco hold urself together.

fox vc alexa play darude: sandstorm

OK BUT CYRANO IS MCFUCKING COOL MY DUDES I COULDNT HAVE IMAGINED SOMETHING LIKE THIS

- as long as her remembered to charge his scroll. i knew it, boy’s gonna run out of battery .

IF MY BOY GETS KILLED I’LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU ROOSTERTEETH

i love when things connect with canon i love it i love it

why is coco of all people picking on velvet ):

VELVET BITING BACK THO aaaaaa yay but also ):

uhg i love this fuck ign fami ly

im.... emotional,,,,,

the cairn mission......... no wonder it was so hard..... im ):

COCO FINALLY LETTIN VELVET DO SHIT YASS

I KNOW ITS JUST THE INDLUENCE OF GUS’ SEMBLANCE BUT IT MAKES ME SO SAD WHEN THEY FIGHT

also im getting serious shadow of the colossus vibes

FOX BETTER NOT DIE BERTIE NEEDS TO GET FUCKED

i love my son he’s so strong and smart

theres so many death flags here i dont even know who they’re on anymore

lol jk he’s fine

i really love how sure of himself fox is and so he should be he’s fought really hard to be confident

it is REALLY cool seeing an actual scene from the show written from velvet’s perspective, im all about this

moro is gonna be happy about glynda i know it she’s fab

“we just need you to tell us everything” “ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING” ozpin still putting tremendous amounts of pressure on teenagers i see

“we prefer to speak with you individually so we can separate you from your support system while tugging on your vulnerabilities”

yatsu getting mad ):

im not too fond on how blithely ‘coco never picked up on that’ regarding the finer points of velvet’s tendencies when coco has been established already as a people watcher and observational thinker.,

CFY TO THE RESCUE

what the FUCK these adults???? hello????? “i deserved that” NO YOU DIDNT???? what did glynda think he was gonna do, stab ozpin???

“haha we broguth her here alone to TEST you!!! you passed because you came to her!!!! hahahahahah!!!!!!” fuck you ozpin

no explanation as to WHY she had to be brought alone as if her ‘keen observational skills’ couldnt have been asked about in the presence of her team or indeed pulled fro the written report she’ll be making

this is such a formative mission for them and i like it but damn ozpin really up here ruining it all

the death flags were yatsu’s ALL ALONG

oh god the impact of velvet using some of these weapons has not been lost on me and it must be devastating for her

“if this didnt qualify, what did?” me when i get to the end of a game with 3468758976495 different things hoarded and dropping them all on the final boss

why are coco and velvet having a conversation like they’re about to die noones dying NOONES DYING

nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

FUCK RIGHT OFF WITH SHIFTING TO A FLASHBACK YOU WANKERS

thumbelina peach...? really???? but hey looks like beacon has more than 4 professors now

“noone knew what had frozen that beast there” interesting .

its interesting to me that so far its been atlas thats been shown to be the least accepting of faunus but now its becoming clear mistral is worse, worse enough that velvet wont even consider going there

“velvet waited for someone to ask her what she wanted, but they never did” :(

anyway i cant wait to see how coco is gonna make the blind worm her bitch

yatsu is so shy about his semblance im sad for him,

I CANT BELIEVE I THOUGHT YOU WERE CUTE

coco getting edward to help ;_____;

its both funny and depressing that sssn are here and sage and scarlet are still yet to have any actual fuckin lines or DESCRIPTORS for that matter

fox tapping that @ everyone command and getting chewed out for it

COCO YOU BITCH THAT WAS ART

u kno whats getting me most?

BOOK #2 WHEN???????????

#idk why im surprised i finished it already when ive been doing nothing else all day #anyway im gonna take a break and then start a reread for analysis purposes #( ooc. they’re lesbians harold )#after the fall spoilers /#rwby spoilers /

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jewpacabruhs · 6 years ago

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uwucartman hit me tf up i jus wanna chat. bitch ass callin my friends bullies & shit but refusing to address that this has never been about top & fucking bottom discourse, that's personal opinion but we've never started discourse over that

there, however, has been discourse over one damn thing, the same damn thing, every time discourse pops up, in fact: why allowing a character who is canon antisemitic to have power over kyle while maintaining his antisemitism is fucking gross. that should be fucking clear. thats all my personal position has ever been.

wonder why we've deemed mountain bad? cuz at least 60% of them, "kyman queen" included, support, romanticize, enable, & even fetishize cartman's abuse! yeah, being actively antisemitic, even casually, while in a relationship with a jewish person is abuse!

the stance of most tie-pines, at least the ones in my friends & mutuals circle, is that cartman needs to unlearn his antisemitism to be able to be in a healthy relationship with kyle, and to, hell, deserve him in the first place. that's our view on that.

countless mountains do not see the harm in letting cartman continue to be bigoted! why the fuck would you pair a jewish character you supposedly like with a character that continues to view him through an inhuman lense. yall do realize that's how cartman views jews within canon, right? everytime you let him affectionately call kyle "jew" in a fic, that's cartman calling kyle a word he canon associates as meaning stupid or an asshole - like how old white dudes view the f slur. it's casual hatred out of cartman's mouth, even when he supposedly loves kyle in fics or even art. not to mention ww2 aus are entirely a mountain fap sesh. ive seen many denounce them, but the fact is, only mountains seek them out or write them at all. & i shouldnt have to explain why romanticizing genocide is problematic lmao.

so why why why would you encourage that kyman dynamic? if you're yummy, i get why (we've talked to her several times, she thinks her white boyfriend calling her, a latina woman, slurs is totally acceptable, & she also thinks oppression isn't real and neither is the golden rule, so she's a lost cause lmao), but otherwise, don't you have the decency to go, "hey, okay, things spiraled outta hand & got accidentally super hostile, but maybe i should make an effort to research & learn & ultimately portray kyle & deal with kyman in a way that's not harmful, out of respect"? just bc it's the right damn thing to do?

anyway, the height and top/bottom shit and even kyle's features in art are all related to this.

see, i don't mind tall cartman. i mind that nearly every damn person who likes cartman tall, also likes him having power & control over kyle, which makes me very uncomfortable, given their canon nature.

i don't mind bottom kyle either! realistically, they'd switch! but i don't like how bottom kyle is portrayed by mountains. it feels cheap, yaoi-inspired, and, above all, antisemitic, once again! you're taking an iconic jewish character & stripping him of his personality, of his features, to exaggerate one or two of the attractive or endearing ones (his ass, his apparently-cutesy anger lmao), so he's easier to wack off too. it's just gross to me.

and finally, similar deal with his facial features. mountains (and i've been speaking generally this whole time; not all do this) have a very specific view of kyle that i feel is not canon and that, more importantly, erases his jewishness heavily. erasure is a form of antisemitism. deciding that his canon big nose and his canon fro hair don't fit the prettyboy look you want him to have, is antisemitism.

i know for a fact that lai & all my other close friends agree with me nearly word for fucking word, we've discussed this repeatedly. and guess what? some of my friends do like mountain! they like top cartman, they like short kyle. but guess what? they do it respectfully, so i trust them. i don't mind it.

so yeah, smdh at this uwucartman bitch refusing to talk to the jewish kymans even though all this fucking discourse, once again, same as six months ago, boils down to antisemitism. this is jewish people (and people who care strongly about their jewish friends + justice in general, in lai's case) addressing something that bothers them, & mountains once again refusing to listen. it's literally so fucking clear yall dont value jewish opinions and yall dont respect jewish characters, & therefore im deciding yall dont deserve kyle at all. i mean i cant stop you, but i want yall to rlly think abt it. are you doing kyle justice, and does he deserve to be portrayed the way mountains portray him?

uwucartman, u mad bro? talk to me. lets work it out.

#txt #i feel like this is like on par w mgk & eminem jdjsjd #im em for the record #mine #discourse #uwucartman

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pushesbuttons-blog · 8 years ago

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Creedy Rambles-

So this is just gonna be a new thing I do on occasion when I can’t focus on drafts or messages, where I’m going to talk about stuff related to TSP, fandoms, tumblr and roleplaying in general. I’ll be tagging these specifically, and they’ll all be under a read more. So if you don’t want to see them, just blacklist the tag.

REGARDING OC’s:

THIS IS NOT MEANT TO OFFEND ANYONE OR THEIR CHARACTER, SIMPLY IT IS TO HELP PEOPLE WHO WANT TO IMPROVE AND EDUCATE PEOPLE ON WHAT IS ORIGINAL IN A CHARACTER AND WHAT ISN’T- BASED OFF OF HOW MANY OTHER PEOPLE DO IT.

Before I start in I’ll quickly identify what an OC is-

OC or Original Character, is a person or entity developed entirely with the creative mind of one person and does not stem from an existing copyright/franchise.

Essentially- it is a being that you made up. You made up their personality, backstory, appearance- all of it. Yes, you probably got inspiration from other places or characters, but it is still your own character. They can be set in a specific game/movie/book or any franchise, or you can make up your own world for them.

Now unfortunately on Tumblr, Oc’s face A LOT of criticism and backlash. Not necessarily because Oc’s are bad.. but because of the stereotype that they’re bad.

And even worse, this stereotype is often very true, in the sense that- people do NOT understand how to make a character.

People make a character, but its not really original. Because it conforms to ALL the stereotypes that other people’s OC’s have. Thus negating its originality in the first-place. Making it ironically an UNoriginal character.

And it kills me, because those Oc’s ruin it for the GOOD Oc’s out there.

I’ve been on Tumblr for only around 2-ish years and I’ve seen HUNDREDS of Oc’s. Some AMAZING and others horrid.

And It hurts me that the good Oc’s aren’t given a chance because of the negative association with stereotypical ‘bad’ oc’s.

Now I bet you’re asking- ‘Creedy, what are some of the things people do that make BAD Oc’s? Surely it can’t be that bad, that people on tumblr sometimes won’t even consider writing with them, right?’

Sadly, that is completely correct.

Disclaimer: Sometimes people won’t write with your OC simply because they don’t like them, and thats THEIR problem. Not yours.

So let me give a quick rundown and reasoning as to what people do that give Oc’s (GENERALLY) a bad name-

1. Mary Sue / Gary Stu

Okay, we’ve all heard these ones. But if you haven’t- A Mary Sue is basically a stereotypical OC with NO FLAWS. She’s often described as ‘smart, pretty, honest, kind, and amazing at everything she does’.. okay.

That is already a HUGE red flag.

And even moreso- the only ‘flaw’ these characters will sometimes have is ‘clumsiness’ or some other attribute that doesn’t directly negatively effect the character’s personality, and is usually used as a trope to get that character closer to what they want... which is NOT what a flaw is supposed to do.

And if you think that your character is somehow unique in spite of all this- the FIRST instance of a Mary Sue goes as far back as 1973. In a Star Trek Fanfiction

Mary Sue stories—the adventures of the youngest and smartest ever person to graduate from the academy and ever get a commission at such a tender age. Usually characterized by unprecedented skill in everything from art to zoology, including karate and arm-wrestling. This character can also be found burrowing her way into the good graces/heart/mind of one of the Big Three [Kirk, Spock, and McCoy], if not all three at once. She saves the day by her wit and ability, and, if we are lucky, has the good grace to die at the end, being grieved by the entire ship.[7]

If your character matches this description, I’m sorry but- they are NOT original. If they’re good at basically everything with no flaws (especially at a younger than normal age) that character is by all means considered a Mary Sue. A Gary Stu just being the male counterpart.

How to fix this:

Now there IS a line in the sand. Your character can be young and good at things, nothing wrong with that. But make sure you add in some flaws such as- ‘unintelligent, rude, brash, liar, insecure, boring, cruel’. And make it so that there are things they hate in the world, and people that hate them. Mary Sues are also often depicted with everyone liking them, but as we all know that is simply not realistic. Create enemies or rivals for your character- or Hell, even someone they just plain dislike.

2. DO NOT COME UP WITH EVERYTHING ON THE SPOT

This^^^ Is important

Do not force your ideas. Do not try and just pull a character out of your ass, because then that character will be shit.

Take your time, no pressure.

You do not have to come up with their favorite color immediately- or even finish their backstory.

Somedays you may like an idea but later on you might realize it was stupid or unfitting, and vice versa.

Be patient and pace yourself

But lets say you’ve already kinda rushed it with your character, no biggie.

How to fix it:

Again, take your time. Don’t immediately go deleting everything you dislike about your character. Put it on the backburner and give it time to boil, slowly but surely- it will come to you.

3. Do not LIST things.

Unfortunately I’m also guilty of this one, as is most Tumblr rpers.

When you make an about page for your character- listing the name, age, birth. Thats okay. But why do it that way when you can show off your writing skills a bit?

And don’t make giant random pointless lists of likes and dislikes. Place them in relevant categories.

How to fix it:

Instead of doing the following:

Likes: Swords, rock, fighting, snow.

Do this:

Aya lives outcast in the snowy tundra nearly 20 miles from the nearest city, but it suits her just fine. The harsh snow is actually quite comforting and she can’t imagine living anywhere else. Additionally she has a fiery passion for sword-play, and practices as often as she can in her own private training room. The adrenaline of fighting keeps her fit and on her toes, and it drives her to do the best she possibly can each day. Aya also has a great taste in music, hard rock to be specific. She enjoys rocking out to AC/DC while battling her training dummy.

Is it a bit long and drawn out? Maybe, but it’ll give that person a better idea on how you write and how descriptive you are. Its not a cookie-cutter sort of process anymore.

4. No Eye-bleeding color schemes.

Dear sweet baby Jesus.

Look, sometimes it works. But a good 99.9% of the time- using every color of the rainbow WILL NOT WORK.

When you do that, it looks like someone crushed the color out of every sharpie that exists and dumped it on your character.

Its not pretty or cute or creative, because everyone has done it and it hurts to look at. Especially if you choose NEON OVER BLACK. You will burn someone’s eyes out, don’t do that.

Here is a basic read-up on Color Theory and some beautiful Color Palettes, to give you an idea.

How to fix it:

Now look, rainbow coloring in itself isn’t bad. But instead of just choosing the brightest colors you can find. Go to google and search for a color palette and use that. A good chunk of canon characters generally have a set of 5-6 colors in the same moodset that they stick to.

Also tacking on this: generally make your character’s clothing simple. Don’t add too many crazy patterns or random hats and glasses and wings and tails just.. unless you can justify it in their backstory properly- stick to a standard set of clothing and then maybe tack on a maximum of 3 accessories. A bracelet, a fancy hairtie and glasses.. okay done! Simple but cute!

5. Do not base that character entirely on a character that already exists (especially if you intend them to be in the same fandom)

It does not take skill or originality to take Elmo and turn him blue and then call him ‘Omle’

That is not an ‘original’ character and its not ‘inspired’ off of Elmo- yet I see people do this all the time.

Now look, this one is hit or miss. Sometimes it works and its cool, but most of the time it doesn’t. Especially if they’re in the same franchise.

Inspiration =/= Copying

How to fix it:

Unfortunately if you’ve done this you may need to make drastic changes with your character. But that doesn’t mean you HAVE to take away everything, you can just add new stuff. A change of clothes, skin color, eye color, maybe body shape, swap out some personality traits and boom- you’ve already got something more original than what you’ve started with!

6. Simple, my God.. simple

Meet Simplicity, no- they’re not an OC. But they’re gonna be your new best friend.

Simplicity is what you need. No over amount of accessories, powers, positive OR negative personality traits. Just a nice SIMPLE amount.

How to fix this:

Again if you’re not comfortable putting your character through drastic changes. Then this won’t be for you. Try and limit yourself with a set number of general stuff about your character. Like top five positive traits, and top five negative traits. Okay-

Compassionate, Goofy, Hilarious, Bubbly, Kind

Airheaded, nervous, panicky, oblivious, naive.

Notice how all of these traits generally have something in common or similar to the ones next to them? That is what a character is supposed to be like. Different enough to be their own thing, but similar enough to still ‘blend’ with that character. They OVERLAP each other.

7. I...I’m not sure what to call this one?

But basically- if your character is lets say.. ‘the sonic oc’. Make sure they look as though they’re from the sonic universe, but also doesn’t look too similar to a character already in that universe.

ALSO DO NOT USE BASES.

Any art you do will be SO MUCH BETTER and IMPROVE YOU SO MUCH MORE than ANY base you use.

Bases are actually proven to make your art skills WORSE.

Here is a POSE sight used to help artists draw, this is better to use.

Disclaimer: Using bases as references is fine. Do not copy it pose-per-pose. But maybe you just want to get a general idea of that character so you look at a base- thats fine. But do not copy it.

How to fix it:

Again you may need to redesign your character if this is the case.

Can’t draw? Thats alright, a detailed description can generally be enough for an OC. And even if you feel like your art sucks, practice makes perfect. I promise you.

8. Fit the personality with the appearance.

A character in a dark hood with circles under his eyes that look soul-crushing probably won’t have the personality of a six year old girl.

When you make a character who has a sad or depressive general mood or personality, match that with colors and clothing articles. Like blue or fluffy sweaters.

Think of the emotions in Pixar’s Inside Out. Their appearance directly correlates to their personality and the emotion they give off. That is what makes them good characters.

How to fix it:

Again, a redesign might be in order.

9. Long V.s Short Backstories

Alright so theres a huge doublestandard on Tumblr that I CANNOT STAND.

On one hand- people reprimand you if your backstory is too short. Alright, fair enough. Its their life story, I’m supposed to make it long and specific right?

WRONG!!!!!!

Because then people will get lazy and not even bother to read your character’s backstory because apparently 7 pages is ‘too much’.

How to fix this:

So, what do?

You make both.

You make a small summary of your character with something like ‘Very brief history’ and then you expand upon it under the summary with a title like ‘detailed/specific history.’ At least that way people can’t piss on you for your story being too short or too long.

10. The stereotypical ‘Tragic backstory’

Okay. I’m guilt of this. I’m SEVERELY guilty of this.

However, a tragic backstory isn’t bad.. as long as there is reason behind it.

When you have a character- having sad or horrible things happen in their life is good. Otherwise they’d just be another Mary Sue. But you don’t want to completely make your character miserable unless they call for it.

Lets say your character is blind- it makes sense that they could’ve had a tragic accident that blinded them.

But if your character was bruised or beaten for...seemingly no reason and it had no effect on them personality wise.. why is it there? What was the point in throwing it into their story?

A smiley, bubbly character who is constantly happy and has nothing wrong with them is not going to have ‘Macbeth’ as their backstory. And vice versa.

How to fix this:

Add happier or brighter moments in their life, intervals where things weren’t so bad. Role models, hobbies and when they learned them. Things like that.

On the other end (if they’re too happy) Add some sad parts. Struggles they’ve had, confrontations they won’t forget etc. etc.

11. Research.

I’m not saying you have to write a book report, but looking up on google about real-world locations, how certain jobs and processes (such as being arrested, giving birth, whatever is relevant to the character/your thread) will do you some good in an rp. And you might learn something!

And this is not meant to offend anyone.

Alright. Now I want to say that yeah- you can get away with some of this stuff. I list things, sometimes my characters are over the top, or their color scheme isn’t great. And people still think the character is good.

But it IS highlighting the things literally EVERYONE ELSE HAS DONE, therefore making these tropes unoriginal and making your character unoriginal. This is meant to give tips on how to make your character more original.

Do you have to change it if you don’t want to? No.

Is your character so awful it’ll make me vomit if you don’t follow these rules? No.

But if you want to improve upon your creativity, these steps will do nothing but HELP you in the long run. I promise!

#[ 📌 :: ＯＯＣ: ͨʳᵉᵉᵈʸ ʳᵃᵐᵇˡᵉˢ ]#[ 📌 :: ＯＯＣ: ºᵘᵗ ºf ᵇᵘᵗᵗºⁿˢ ]#((These are my own personal opinions and experiences))#((Although there is joking it is not purposefully poking fun at anyone))#((But it irritates me when bad Oc's make it worse for good Oc's..))#((I will also not judge your character if they have anything considered 'unoriginal' in the oc world. No character is perfect))

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therealestatesparkblog · 6 years ago

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Interview: Todd Smith on Earning $27M Over 23 Years & His Book Little Things Matter

I was about to sit down and do another deal structure outline, and I thought it would be best, given the time of year, to do one more article that addresses sort of that inner game that is required to have success in any business. Ill get back to deal structuring topics in the coming articles. I had the fortune of interviewing a good friend recently on my podcast. Todd Smith from Sarasota, Florida has been an entrepreneur for over 35 years and has enjoyed extraordinary personal and professional success. He owned his first business at the age of 18, became one of the youngest real estate agents ever inducted into RE/MAXs Hall of Fame at the age of 28, and became an internationally recognized leader and trainer, earningget this$27 million over the last 23 years in that industry. I met Todd at an industry meeting way back in the early 90s and weve stayed connected since. Todd has conducted more than a thousand training sessions and seminars for audiences around the world. Hes also developed numerous training manuals and audio-visual sales tools, teaching entrepreneurs how to achieve professional success and accomplish their personal goals. His journey taught him that success comes from the compounding effect of doing the little things correctly and consistently. Hes the author, quite appropriately, of Little Things Matter. Its a resource for all those who place a priority on being the best they can. Its the first step in a comprehensive program designed to help people improve their business and their personal lives. Ill let you sit in on this interview as Todd shares some amazing nuggets. Remember, those you listen to, hang out with, and network with are extremely important and directly affect your income. Advice on Success From Todd Smith I wrote Little Things Matter because one of the things that my lifes journey has taught me is that its not the big things that separate the best of the best from the rest. Its the little things. Reflecting back on my real estate career, I got started at age 23 in my first year selling real estate, and that was 32 years ago. I made a quarter of a million dollars, and within four years, I was the second-highest producing real estate agent in the state of Illinois at age of 28. I did set goals, but it wasnt that I had a dream of being a top-producing real estate agent. It was all the little things that I did to stand out from the rest as an individual. The little things were making sure that I arrived at all of my appointments five minutes earlythat I rang the doorbell at the exact time of the appointment, that I smiled and greeted the prospective seller, that I made equal eye contact with both the husband and the wife, that I showed an interest in the children, that I got down and took time to pet the cats and dogs, that I talked about things that were of interest to them. I sent hand-written thank you notes. I was always smiling and upbeat and pleasant and focused on them, and I never brought in my mobile phone. I focused on the people in front of me. One of my biggest things was that I was disciplined. I pushed myself every day to do what most people arent willing to do. My discipline combined with my focus on making sure that I was doing every little thing allowed me to achieve that success. I remember listening to Anthony Robbins audio program Unlimited Power, which Id recommend for any of you reading this. I made sure I was mirroring and modeling. If they talked slow, Id talk slow. If they talked faster, I talked faster. If they seemed like they just want to talk and build more of relationship, I talked and built more of a relationship. If they seemed like they wanted to get into talking business, I got into talking business. If they were leaning forward, I was leaning forward. I was always dressed in a suit and tie. My shoes were always shined. I was doing every little thing to build a relationship to connect with them, to have them like me and to have them respect me. As a result of that, my closing rate was 92% over my career. When I say my closing rate, I mean that when I met with sellers who were interviewing multiple other agents, I closed 92% of all my sales. Even with that kind of success, I was saying to myself, OK, why was I successful? I didnt really understand it at the time. Even though I was intentional about the little things, I had no way of comparing myself to anybody. Then I moved into the direct sales career, as Chris indicated above, and I continued to implement that strategy of looking at every little thing I could do to be better. I believed in the global economic system, which is that income follows value.

If you want your income to grow, your value must grow first. Very seldom in life does anybody get paid more than their value. If they are getting paid more than their value, one of two things happens. Either their income comes down to their value or their value goes up to their income. Just because youre choosing the real estate market and maybe flipping homes, or buying and selling on terms like Chris and his family to some capacityor youre considering doing thatunderstand that your success is still going to be determined by your value. Youre just not going to say, OK, Im choosing to do something different with my life and Im going to go from making $20 an hour to $100 an hour. Life doesnt work that way. Certainly, the vehicle makes a big difference, but its who you become within that vehicle that makes the biggest difference. There are people who make big money in everything in life. Its all about choosing the right vehicle and pursuing that. The point that I really focused on was continuing to grow myself and be the best that I could be. When I say the best that I could be, its not just the best that I could be in business. Its being the best person I can be. We cant just say, OK, were going to be a certain way in our business life and then be different in our personal life. Im striving to be the best husband I can be, to be the best father I can be, to be the best friend I can be, to be the best contributor in our community that I can be, and to be the best that I can be in my business. These things are based upon where my priorities are and how much time I allocate to each thing. In business, we are a reflection of who we are as people. We built a brand for ourselves, and thats who we are. Our brand is not just heres our business brand, and our business brand is different than our personal brand. No, our brand is more than brand. I am somebody who throughout my career has striven for excellence at these little things. As a result of it, my businesses have sold over $2 billion and Ive learned that there are not very many people at the top. The reason is that most people arent willing to put in the effort to get to the top. Oftentimes when youre successful, you dont know why at the time. As I began to analyze why I was successful, I eventually came to determine that it was because I strived for excellence at the little things. I felt I wanted to write a booknot so much to make money with the book (and I havent made money with the book). You dont write a book to make money; I know very few people who have made money writing books. For me, I wanted to write a book that taught what I believed was the key to success. I wanted to highlight the things that I felt would have the greatest application to the broadest audience of people. Related: My One-Word Answer to: What Separates Those Who Succeed From Those Who Fail, Give Up, or Never Try? It doesnt matter what profession youre in. It could be about professional footballits that wide receiver that can catch the ball with a defensive player in his face on a corner of the end zone and get his feet in bounds. Those are the guys who make it to the NFL. Its not the guy who can catch a football. Everybody can catch a football. Everybody can run. Everybody can run fast. There are a lot of people who can run fast and catch a football, but can you run fast and catch a football in the right circumstances, and handle pressure the right way? Its not the big things, and I could give you analogy after analogy. Its not the big things that make the difference. Its you becoming the best at what you are doing. You become the best at what youre doing by honing in and refining and becoming the best at the little things. If you become great at all of the little things, the compounding effect of your intentional efforts allows you to become the best at what youre doing. 5 Steps Ive Used to Find to Success I have trained hundreds of thousands of people, and Ill tell you that everybody wants a better life. Everybody wants a nicer car. Everybody wants a nicer house. Everybody wants more money. Everybody wants to travel the world. Everybody wants a better quality of life. Everybody wants to put together five deals in six months. It all boils down towhat are you willing to do toachieve that goal? But youve got to set realistic goals. I have found throughout my experience in working with entrepreneurs all over the world that 90 percent of people set unrealistic goals. As I noted above, somebodys making $20 an hour, and just because they begin to do something else, they think theyre going to make $100 an hour. It doesnt work that way. The world doesnt work that way. Thats pie-in-the-sky thinking. For anybody that wants to do something, its most important to begin by asking yourself, Why? Why do I want to do this? How bad is my desire? Because if you dont have the burning desire to be successful with anything youre going to pursue, youre not going to be successful. To be successful in life is not easy. I believe you can be great at anything, but you cant be great at everything. You have to pick what youre going to be focused onwhat youre going to be successful at. 1. Have a burning desire. Youve got to have a strong, burning desire to be successfula desire so strong that it will push you every day to do what is required of you. If youre not willing to do what is required of you, then you might as well not even get started. This is how I coach everybody. Im just not the kind of person who plays games. I say, Hey, if youre not going to do whats required of you to be successful, then dont waste your life on this project; find something else thats important to you. 2. Build your knowledge. How can you be successful at something for which you dont have knowledge? So you say, OK, how do I build my knowledge? How do I become as educated as I can be on this subject? Obviously, I admire all of you who are taking the time to read this, because it tells me that youre wanting to learn. Youre wanting to get better. I talked to a guy recently who is at the absolute top of his game. He is unbelievably successful and listens to all of Chriss podcasts at 1.7 speed, just looking for a little nugget here and there. He says, Hey, 99 percent of the time that I spend listening to something, I may not be learning anything, but its that 1%, that one thing that I learned, that makes a difference. You have to continue to build your knowledge. You have to start building your knowledge, and then you have to continue building your knowledge. 3. Create a plan. OK, so now I know what I want to be successful at. I built my knowledge and whats my plan going to be? Your plan needs to be not just the big picture plan, but it needs to be a plan broken down into what you should do every day. A lot of people will set a goal to have six deals closed, but they dont build their knowledge. They dont have any plan. Theyre just saying, Im going to do it. Life doesnt work that way, and thats not the kind of thinking that comes out of anybodys mouth or mind whos ever been successful, because people who have been successful know that success takes time. Success doesnt happen overnight. Yes, there are a few people who will put together six deals in six months. Nobody wouldve thought that I would have had the success that I did selling 68 homes in my first year in real estate and making a quarter of a million dollars. Yes, it can be done, but it can only be done if you build your knowledge and you have a plan. 4. Execute that plan. Let me just say that most people dont have enough of a desire to push themselves, so most people fail on step one. Of those who do have the desire, very few people will go and say, OK, let me build my knowledge on something. Then you get down to a smaller number that will put together a plan to execute in order to achieve what they have set forth. When you get to step fourexecuting the planthis is where youre down to less than 2% of the people that have gone through the first few points and who are disciplined to execute that plan with excellence. 5. Refine. Based upon what you have learned, youre refining, youre tracking all your numbers, youre looking at all your data, and youre determining: Where do I refine? How do I get better? What is not working? What parts should I focus on that are working? I determined very early on in my real estate career that I was going to focus on for sale by owners. That was my target market. I was very clear on my target market, and I determined I was going to be the best at targeting that market. For each of you reading this, what is your target market? Youre going to try different things and youre going to say, Well, that didnt work. You dont want to say it after trying it one or two times. You have to have enough statistical data to say that something doesnt work. I called my first for sale by owner and they agreed to meet with me. What if my first 10 people had said, No, the reason were selling for sale by owner is because we hate real estate agents? What would that have done to my psyche? But overall, the numbers were what my numbers were regardless of 10 noes in a row or 10 yeses in a row. Expectations begin with goal-setting, and goal-setting is dependent on ones true desire. You can set goals until youre blue in the face. If your desire is not strong enough, youre not going to do whats required of you to achieve those goals. If somebody has got big goals and big expectations, then I hope its a person whos already been successful at something else in life. If this is the first thing youre hoping to be successful in at an extraordinary level, its highly unlikely that its going to happen, whether its this or something else. How many times have you met somebody who began to do something new and who was amazingly great at it right out of the gate? I cant even think of one person, and I know a lot of people. Thats why I say the best of the best are the best at the little things, and the people who are the top achievers are the people who are an inch wide and a mile deep in a single category. As Malcolm Gladwell said in Tipping Point, its when youve got 10,000 hours in something. Thats because youve learned enough, youve refined enough, youve executed enough, and you now are dialed into exactly what it is that you should be doing to get the optimal level of conversions and success. Ive hung out with Chris, for example, and I know the level of discipline he has in all five of these areas; I know the hours he has invested since 1991 in real estate, and as a result, the level of success he and his family are experiencing is no surprise to me. Success leaves cluesfollow the path.

Build Your Influence: Be Likable and Respectable Lets begin at the beginningthe foundation. John Maxwell says that leadership is one word: influence. If I were to ask, What describes influence? the answer would be respect. If you are respected, you have influence. When you have influence, everything in life goes better. Trust falls under respect. You can be trusted but not respected. But you cant be respected and not trusted. If youre not trusted, youre not respected either. Whether youre leading people that work with you, work around you, or work alongside you, your degree of success with them is determined by how these people view you. If you want to have the ultimate success, you want to be the kind of person that people look at and think, I like him/I like her, and I respect him/I respect her. You want to build a brand that when people think of it, they say, I like you and I respect you. If people can say, I like you and I respect you, they will want to do business with you. They will want to come to your birthday party. They will want to come to the talk youre giving about what youre doing. Your ultimate goal is to be a person of influence. If you want to be a person of influence where doors of opportunity open, where people look at you and say, I want to do business with you, where people refer others to you, you need to be somebody who is liked and respected. When you look at being liked, its all the obvious things: smiling, having a pleasant personality, being positive and upbeat, not talking about negative things, not talking negatively about peoplebeing a source of positive, upbeat energy. Whether its over the phone and youre smiling while you talk, or whether youre meeting with somebody and youre smiling, and youre greeting them, and youre repeating their name, all of this is what makes you likable. There are hundreds of factors that influence peoples respect for you. Are you on time? Do you get back to people when you say you will? Do you schedule firm appointments or do you leave them vague and open? What does your communication look like? Do you open your emails by saying, Hi Dean, I hope you had a great weekend? And then you dive into your subject in a new paragraph, and you have white space between your paragraphs, no big monster paragraphs, and everything is proofed and your communication is clear and concise. What do your text messages look like? How long does it take to respond to email? How long does it take you to respond to a phone call? How long does it take you to respond to a text? What is the tone in your communications? These are the hundreds of things that I talk about in my blog and in my book. When youre meeting with somebody do you let them finish talking before you talk? Are you quick to interrupt? When youre listening to people, can they tell youre listening intently or do they think youre waiting to say something? When youre listening and looking at them, are you looking off to the side? All of these things influence peoples respect for you and influence whether they like you. Related: Sorry, But Real Estate Investing is NOT Easy. Still, You Can Succeed if If you want to be somebody that is highly successful in working with people, sellers, buyers, owners, you need to build a brand for yourself such that when people think of you and when they look at you they think, I like him. He is different. I like her. I like the way she accepted responsibility for that challenge rather than making an excuse for it. Or, Even though this was a challenging situation, I respected that he always was on top of his communication with me. I would love to do another deal with him, or I certainly would not hesitate to refer any of my investor friends to her because of the way she handled herself during this entire transaction. Its not just about getting the deal put together, so to speak. Its about how you handle everything from front to finish, and whether they want to do more business with you, and have talked about you to their investment clubs, and talked about you to their friends. People hang around people like themselves. People who own apartment buildings hang around other people who own apartment buildings. People who own multiple pieces of residential real estate hang around other people who own multiple pieces of residential real estate. If you want to be highly successful in this career over the long-term, these are the kinds of things you want to do. And by the way, long-term is how I would be looking at it. This is not a six-month or one-year thing. Dont waste your time if thats what youre thinking. You wont be successful in anything saying, Im going to do this for six months to a year. You have to say, Hey, this is what I want to do. I would love to build this into my lifestyle. I would love to be a guy or a gal that can put together deals and make an income and build a residual income through investment properties. Im going to become the best that I can be at this. What can I do to become the best? You have to look at everything, including your social media posts. Who is going to refer you to some of these people? Maybe its the people who are following you on Facebook. Youre putting pictures of yourself up there partying. Let me tell you, that is not the image thats will cause people to respect you or even like you, so youve got to be thinking about everything. Your brand is your brand. You dont separate it. Its not like, My brand in business is this and my brand in my personal life is that. No, your brand is your brand and people arent stupid. If you think theyre stupid, youre wrong. Theyre going to see it, and theyre going to determine whether or not youre somebody they want to do business with. Maybe somebody comes to them and says, Hey, do you know Eric Milander? Yeah, I know Eric. What do you think about Eric? Im thinking about doing a deal with him. Well, I wouldnt do a deal with Eric if my life depended on it, or Eric is somebody that I really like. Hes a great guy. I love his personality. He just seems to always show interest in me. Hes a good listener. Hes highly responsible. Everybody that I know that knows him thinks highly of him. This is the brand that you want to build if you want to be successful in the world of busines. Especially if you want people to trust you with their money and their real estate, it is important to build this kind of a brand. Plan, Prioritize, and ActDaily Have a to-do list. I know what I need to do so the day is spent doing one thing. While I could have 20 other things on my to-do-list checked off in the same amount of time, those 20 things werent more important than the one thing I did. Going back to my five steps to success above, number three is you put together your plan. Your plan must be broken down into what youre supposed to do every day, and your plan needs to be arranged in priority sequence. If youve got a plan, ask, What are the things that I need to work on first in this plan? What are the things I need to work on second? Then you need to make the decision, Im going to work on things in priority sequence, not Im going to work on things that I want to work on. The things that you dont want to do are the things that make you the most money. Thats how life works. Thats why I say of the thousand little things on my list, not one has a higher value to the market than discipline. Discipline is pushing yourself each day to do what you know you should do even when you dont feel like doing it. If you want to be successfuland this is number one on my listyouve got to put first things first. You have to make sure youre spending your time doing exactly what you predetermined you should be doing with your time today to be productive. It might mean that youre sitting there with your phone in your ear and youre making outgoing calls because you determined right now the absolute most important thing for you to achieve your goals is to prospect. If thats the case, then you stick the phone to your ear and you prospect.

I remember when I was getting started in my various careers, where I would sit at the phone all day and prospect. I remember there were days I made up to 300 phone calls. Why? Because that was what I should do today. I didnt sit there and say, Oh, Im going to redesign my brochure or Im going to make my website look better or Im going to make my business card look better. Im going to think through my presentation again, or Im going to work on my phone script. No, it was me picking up the phone with my heart beating out of my chest, making phone call after phone call after phone call after phone call. It was refining my approach. When people didnt do business with me, I always asked them why and I learned a lot by asking them why. Number two for being productive is working your to-do-list in priority sequence and pushing yourself to do the things that you know you should do without excuses and without justifying those excuses. You could say to yourself, Todays not a good day for me to make prospecting calls because its cloudy, or today is not a good day for me to make prospecting calls because Im a little tired. Im going to wait until tomorrow. This is what everybody says. This is what 99.9% of the people do. They make excuses for not doing what they know they should do, whether its eating right, whether its exercising, whether its prospecting. Whatever it is they know they should do, most people dont do itand thats why most people arent successful. You have to have a plan. That plan needs to be broken down into what you should be doing each day. You need to be executing that plan each day with excellence. You need to be looking at everything youre doing each day and saying, How can I do what Im doing better? and then making adjustments. As Chris indicated in the introduction, its the compounding effect of these little things. The first time youre focused on making equal eye contact with each person in the room, you may not be great at it, but if you work on it every time youre in a room of people, youre going to get a little bit better every time. Each time youre in a room like that youre saying to yourself, OK, Im going to be very deliberate in making sure everybody in this room feels included in the conversation. We all know we should remember names, but how many times do we remember a persons name? Its about being in the present. Its about being intentional, Im meeting somebody. I need to make sure I remember their name. Oh shoot, I forgot their name. Well, I have to get better tomorrow. Its about every day, pushing yourself to get better at the things that you know you should be doing. TakeawaysThe little things are the small, meaningful actions that make your clients like and respect you.Income follows value: You have to create higher value before you can create higher income.The five steps to success are: (1) Have a burning desire, (2) Build your knowledge, (3) Create a plan, (4) Execute the plan, (5) Refine.Success comes after a lot of hours!Each day make a to-do list with the one important thing you need to do.Dont procrastinate; do it even if you dont like it. The things that you dont want to do are the things that make you the most money.

What little things do you do to differentiate yourself in your market? Leave your questions and comments below! https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/todd-smith-interview

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