#but like. it's pissing me off WHY IS IT IN DIRECTOR. BOO. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

darklinaforever · 1 year ago

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No because once again, you are just repeating like parrots the same arguments over and over again that have already been dismantled and I don't care. As one of these anonymous messages says, it must be tiring and boring to post the same thing 24/7...

I know the definition of grooming as well as the true meaning of what is implied in a historical context. And obviously not you. I already did an entire post explaining this book and show grooming bullshit :

But all you care about is appearing morally superior and you look like a bunch of ridiculous fanatics. Or some ridiculous bigot, because I'm pretty sure it's the same person sending these stupid messages over and over again.

What is your problem ? You're bored ? Why are you spying on my accounts like that ? Seriously, why are you so obsessed with me ? I imagine him on the lookout for the slightest post on Daemyra that I make ready to pounce like a predator on its prey. My god, this person(s) must not have a life. It's sad. 😂

What do you expect ? That between the insults and the repetitions of the same stupid arguments over and over again for a long time I actually delete my account to please you ? Or that I suddenly say : Oh but my god you are right ! You delivered me from evil ! Daemyra is such a groomer ! Daemon is a monster who doesn't love anyone ! 😱😂

By the way, here is again the little free quote from GRRM Martin's book on Daemon, his favorite character whom he considers to be a gray and complex character. So your Daemon is BAD BAD BAD, well the author himself tells you no :

Over the centuries, House Targaryen has produced both great men & monsters. Prince Daemon was both. In his day there was not a man so admired, so beloved, & so reviled in all Westeros. He was made of light & darkness. To some he was a hero, to others the blackest of villains.

You really look like a bunch of disillusioned idiots. It must be hard when the true creator himself doesn't agree with you on what the character is.

It must also piss you off that these interviews for the series exist, right ?

There's no point in booing me because I say something that has already been said by the directors and screenwriters themselves. I don't agree with everything they say or do in this stupid adaptation, but at least we can agree on some points.

Oh, and I have already said I don't know how many times that I recognized that Daemyra had toxic aspects in the series version, except that, so what ? This will prevent me from shipping the Daemyra version of the series maybe ?! No. Love is not necessarily something pure, we have to stop the bullshit, especially in fiction. On the other hand, I maintain that there is nothing toxic in the book version. There is no such thing as a brothel. It's an invention of Mushroom. There is no voluntary abandonment of Daemon for 10 years. In reality he was banished under penalty of death. There is no Daemon leaving Rhaenyra to deal with childbirth alone. He was by his side in the books. There is no strangulation either. And once again, the age difference and the incest aspect are not real arguments as to a possible toxicity in their relationship, due to placing the relationship in its fictional and historical context from which GRRM draws inspiration, namely the feudal era, where age differences and incest were included in the customs of the time for specific reasons. Especially if we are in a family where incest has no impact due to their MAGIC BLOOD ! These elements are not evidence of toxicity. Open a history book. An age difference and incestuous marriage in a historical context does not necessarily result in toxic abusive relationships. This is bullshit.

Also, I don't have the impression that you will understand that the show is not the book. I always distinguish between the two and obviously you don't. Because what exactly do you believe ? That if Daemon cheats on Rhaenyra in the series, my world will fall apart ? No. My posts on Daemyra will continue because the book will always exist. You know, the book that has a different canon from the show, therefore implying that the canon of the series cannot interfere with that of the book. But you didn't remember the difference between the two. You prefer to mix it up to fix your pathetic vision.

The series is already shit. Even for the Daemyra relationship they messed up on a lot of points. And I'm not even going to start with the greens, Alicent etc. It is a disaster. The series itself is full of inconsistencies.

I will add that in reality you do not care about the so-called abuse that Rhaenyra suffered from Daemon. Otherwise you would care what Alicent and the greens team did to her. But you don't care. You even expect the show to write scenes of stupid abuse between Daemyra over and over again. Because you don't actually care about Rhaenyra. The proof tells you that no one can love the whore of Dragonstone, a nickname literally coming from the greens team. Bunch of hypocrites.

Once again I recommend going to the tumblr of @la-pheacienne and of @horizon-verizon to educate you on what the character of Daemon and the Daemyra relationship really is. The posts of @stromuprisahat are also pretty good in general on Fire and Blood.

The antis are really crazy. The bitch who should close her account apparently well she tells you to go fuck yourself and buy a life.

@aleksanderscult

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redxblueihateloveyou · 4 years ago

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1/2 "Explore the fuck was that" Xiaoge is not Xiaoge and talking is not the problem here. It's literally everything thats the problem. Also like you I've also read all the books, but failed to put into words why Xiao Yu Liang's and Huang Jun Jie's Qilings didn't give me any divergence from the original character despite the changes, while others did and pretty drastically. I thought it was a bit irrational on my part, but you just sorted it all out so effortlessly I'm a bit jealous

Lol I said the exact same thing, the talking and the phone was not a problem as some say, he has a phone in the book too at some point and talks more than you'd actually think, it's just that literally nothing about him is Zhang Qiling. Literally not one vibe or even tiny feeling. I don't know how that happened honestly.

AAAAAAAAA I saw the smile comments too lmao. I was like who's gonna tell them. Not only he smiles, he's full on laughing in the 2nd book already, when Wu Xie is using his spit as a lotion lmao. And Wu Xie was so happy about, he was like "I saw him smile before, but it was always so bitter and cold, this was the first time he smiled genuinely, he just needs to spend more time with him, we'll get him there" T_T Before that his smiling was legit a bit scary tho, sometimes brash, like when he told him about the stairs and he went "oh really?" haha

I thought about it and I honestly have no idea about the reference point for some people. I think maybe they go from that first adaptation? Maybe they think it's how he is in the book? Idk. It just weirds me out that I feel like some created some their own picture in their head and then judge everything from there throwing "thats ooc" left and right. Like this "Xiao Ge doesn't smile thing". Maybe it's because of the "Poker-face" thing, but do they know that "Men You Ping" doesn't actually mean that, it was just the closest thing you could come up with with english alternative to keep the nickname short (like I doubt it would read well if he kept calling him a bottle xD). Like according to Wu Xie since the very first book, his hubby can't even lie, so he's definitely not a poker face at all. He also gets pissed pretty easily and he likes to fool around sometimes too (like troll Wu Xie and Fatty obviously).

He's also not emo and not the "mysterious hero from some romance", not a stone and not a zooty. I don't know where this all came from tbh.

I can really debate 24/7 about this, but they're 100% Qilings, just slightly changed and softened accordingly to what they'd be like at this point of their relationship, if he did write it in (and I'm like pretty sure I'm right about this). It's the way they behave, how they act in certain situations, how they're with Wu Xie, how they're with other people, the right amount of sass and being done with everything, just the overall picture, the "you're an idiot, but you're my whole world". But also you know, that strange feeling that Wu Xie describes, like "when he's there, everything is suddenly alright" lol (just the magical safety vibe esp in SOP). I literally don't know how ppl who read the whole thing watched them and thought "thats not right". It's the fucking overall feeling of.. yes, i'm watching Zhang Qiling.

Just change the book's impending doom of tragical "you're my whole world, but I can't stay and there's no way for this to work" to "we actually have a future and I want to stay in our home with you" and that's basically Yuliang's and Junjie's versions (one on the way, one fully there by the end). But even if for some reason you can't accept this, I still don't get how some could hate it, cause overall they still have basically everything they need. Unlike others who are way off in my opinion, bc of the weird templates they are.

And about "Explore the fuck was that" (lol I'm gonna use this title from now on) seriously, no offense to this creation and everyone who liked it (no judging here for real, everyone likes what they like), I'm not gonna heavily diss anyone or anything, I don't really care for the thing, just telling the truth. No one who's participated in this thing have a fucking idea about the characters they're playing or writing about.

I mean, as a fan many things that were adapted from books, I already do not care for minor divergence or even bigger once, if it makes sense and you see the care and understanding of the characters, but sadly here it felt like no one cared. Like for example honestly if someone asked me what would you choose "watching wu xie and xiao ge but not 100% sticking to the plot" or "loosely watching the plot, but it's not wu xie and xiao ge", I'm gonna pick the first option.

And some will say that's it's only the writers/directors mistakes for not explaining or guiding actors etc, but to be honest it's not completely true, bc as we know many actors if they really care before taking on the role actually try to do a research about the character and read the material to understand what they're playing. Especially if it's such iconic characters of a franchise Сhina's been going crazy over for like a decade.

Like how the hell happened that Zhu Yilong for example while playing embodied all the Wu Xie's traits througout the whole book series from behaving exactly like young Wu Xie did in certain needed parts to going to the cold, strategic and rational old self in others, I mean, they could've just go with the "Restart" one, where not much happens and he could've played just that. But literally each time he did something, I was like "yeah, that's my boo". And that wasn't the part of this exact book, it was part of Wu Xie. Like the way he behaved, acted in some previous situations that you know its him. That's happening only when the actor knows who he's portraying.

Or Yuliang knowing and loving and feeling the character he plays, because he wanted to know and cared.

It's just strange to me, bc if they're not making it for the fans, then for whom do they even make it? For themselves? It's really stupid no matter how you look at it. Like your success depends on it, so what's the point in sinking your own ship I will never get.

I also do not get how could they just fail literally everything. Like casting was a miss already, but good acting and chemistry and putting character's soul in it could've make it great still, but they have literally none of anything, it's just fascinating to me. I just don't think I ever seen something like that, it's kinda funny.

But this is like once again just my opinion. Like everyone is free to think what they think, but maybe just stop yelling "OOC" without knowing the original character, cause maybe it's not really OOC. Like book Xiao Ge is not exactly what many ppl claim him to be really.

#answered #anonymous #zhang qiling #daomu biji #dmbj #lost tomb #wu xie #explore what the fuck was that lmfaaaao #pingxie #ultimate note #heavenly palace #explore with the note #lost tomb reboot

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wefoundloveunderthelight · 4 years ago

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The Love Cruise - by GleefullyCaptainSwan

Read on AO3: Chapter 1

Or on FF

Tagging: @kmomof4 @lfh1226-linda @teamhook

Summary:

When Emma Swan’s boss & co-workers decided they are tired of waiting for her to start dating again, they reluctantly convince her to join them on The Love Cruise, a new experience where singles go to meet and flirt their cares away in the middle of the ocean. Dragging her brother, David along for the ride, she embarked on a two-week adventure that was about to change her life.

Killian Jones, former Navy Lieutenant and widower, swore off dating for the rest of his life. Which is why when his best friend Robin convinced him to take a job as the Captain of the newest ship in the fleet, a floating dating cesspool of horny men and women, it seemed a cruel twist of fate. Little did he know, one of the guests about to board his ship, would alter his own course in life forever.

Chapter 1: The Adventure of a Lifetime

“First he runs off and gets married and then he goes and gets himself a promotion. I guess you would say the world is his oyster.”

“Or he’s having his cake and eating it to.” The man at the back of the bar shouts.

“Aye, so today as we celebrate, I want everyone to raise your glass to our newest Lieutenant, and my little brother, Killian Jones. I’m so proud of you.”

“To Killian Jones.” The crowd roared.

5 years later

“That’s not how I remember it at all, I’m pretty sure you were the one who walked in on them.”

“I would have remembered that.”

“I doubt that, you were drunk as a skunk and before you left the room, you yelled to the poor girl, and I quote, I'm no weatherman but I know you're going to get 3 inches tonight.”

“God, I thought you said that.”

“That was all you man, I thought the Captain was gonna throw you in the brig.”

“I’m pretty sure Liam saved my ass that night.” Killian laughed, remembering how many times his brother kept him out of trouble in his years in the Navy.

“I think Liam saved your ass most nights.”

“Aye.” He nodded sadly and Robin held up his glass.

“To Liam, gone too soon.”

“To Liam.” He swallowed the warm liquid, gulping it down and putting his glass back on the table in front of him. “I can’t believe it’s been two years.” He added solemnly, memories of his brother’s urn as he was released out to sea, being presented with the flag, the sound of each pop of the as the rifles went off, staring out to sea to the sound of the bugle.

“Sometimes it feels like yesterday.” Robin responded and Killian closed his eyes, pinched his nose, before shaking off the memories and waiving the waitress over for another order. “So, what’s your next move?”

Killian sighed. “I don’t know yet, I’ve got a few interviews this week.”

Robin cut him off, “Cancel them.”

“I’m sorry, you want me to cancel all my interviews?”

“Yes, cancel them, I have a great opportunity for both of us.”

“Working together?”

“Yes, I told you that I got a job last week, right? Well, they need a Captain and I put in a good word for you.” Killian knew he had gotten some amazing opportunity the last time they spoke on the phone, but he didn’t provide many details on what exactly that opportunity was.

“What’s the catch?” Killian regarded him suspiciously.

“Why does there have to be a catch?” He smiled innocently.

“Because you would have told me about it sooner unless you’ve been trying to figure out the best way to bring it up. And you conveniently chose a night when we have been drinking heavily, so that tells me there is a catch, Rob. So, spit it out.”

“Ok, so there’s a catch, but hear me out first.” Killian groaned but put his hand to his lips with a locking motion and gestured for him to continue. “She’s the newest ship in the fleet, top of the line technology, she would be any Captain’s wet dream to sail.” Killian chuckled, sitting up on his stool. “3600 passengers, 1300 crew members, including the best purser any ship could ask for.” He grinned widely pointing to himself.

“Get to the part where you tell me this ship sails to the Underworld and has an excursion to visit Hades himself or some other ungodly reason to explain why you waited til I was piss drunk to ask me.”

“Ok, but I haven’t even told you about the size of the Captain’s quarters yet…” Robin frowned as he shifted impatiently in his seat. “Alright, it’s the maiden voyage of…” He covered his mouth, “The wurv ruse.”

“I’m sorry what?”

“Fine, it’s a Love Cruise.” He shouted louder than he meant to. “One of those singles cruises where people go to meet each other.”

He tossed a brochure down onto the table and Killian flipped through it, his groan vibrating as he read the tag line out loud. “The Love Cruise, where singles meet on the adventure of a lifetime. Don’t you deserve a little TLC.” He tossed the brochure onto the table. “Oh, bloody hell.” He cursed. “Ma’am…” He gestured for the waitress. “I’m not fucking drunk enough to listen to this man anymore, if you could please bring a few more of those shots as quick as possible and make them doubles.” He added before turning back to Robin. “Are you out of your mind? What would give you the foggiest reason to think I would be interested in this?”

“It’s not like you would be signing up to be part of the singles cruise, you would just Captain her.”

“Why are you doing this?” He asked suspiciously. “You and Marian have been divorced for years and it’s not like you’re desperate for women.” His friend glanced to the table and Killian knew there was more he wasn’t telling him. “Out with it.”

“You know that woman I met last year?”

Killian chuckled, “How long do I have to answer, mate. You’re going to have to be more specific than that?”

“You’re hilarious. No, remember that entertainer I met when we took that cruise to Mexico last year, Regina Mills.”

“The lass we met who threw her drink in your face and told you to get lost? How can I forget, she’s given me months of pleasure just thinking about that moment.”

“Anyway, they hired her as the Cruise Director for this sailing, and it’s my opportunity to actually get to know her. You know because she won’t have anywhere else to go to continue avoiding me.”

“So, your selling point is that if I Captain this ship, I might get to see this woman destroy you on a daily basis?”

“Would it convince you to say yes?”

“I don’t know.”

“Killian it’s been three years. If you want to be celibate for the rest of your life, that’s your business, but you’d be an idiot to pass up this opportunity.” He pulled a piece of paper out of his jacket and slid it across the table. On it was a six-figure dollar amount, Killian grabbed the paper and pulled it closer to his face.

“How many years is the contract for this amount?”

“That’s per year, Killian.”

“Bloody hell.”

“It’s a lot more than the Navy paid us, and no one is going to be trying to sink our ship.”

He pushed the paper back across the table to Robin. “I just don’t know if this is a good idea, I have responsibilities here.”

“Brother, Milah wouldn’t want you hiding out on that damn houseboat, rotting away in your own depression. She’d kick you in the ass and tell you that you were being a bloody prat for walking away from this kind of opportunity.”

“Don’t invoke my dead wife, Mate.” He said angrily. Robin raised his hands in defeat and Killian knew he meant no harm. He sighed and looked over at the paper again. It was more money than he had seen in his entire life, and it was a real ship. He’d been working as Skipper on a fishing skiff for the last year, and while he enjoyed the security of being out on the water, it sure didn’t pay much.

“You know there’s no rule that says the Captain has to date the passengers, in fact, I’m pretty sure they frown on that type of behavior?”

“I get that, but I don’t particularly want to watch all the debauchery either.”

“I told you the Captain’s quarters are huge, right?”

“And they know about my hand?” He looked down at his scarred hand, he had lost the full use of it on one of the worst nights of his life, the night he lost his brother.

“They don’t care, you are a skilled Captain, trust me, they are very interested in you, Killian. All you have to do is be at the interview tomorrow, and the job is yours.”

Killian groaned, “I’ll sleep on it.” Judging by the smile his friend was displaying on the other end of the table, he already knew that Killian was going to show up to that interview.

~*~

“Have you seen that guy before?” Ruby walked over to Emma’s spot by the front door.

Emma glanced to the end of the bar. She hadn’t noticed the man until Ruby pointed him out. He wasn’t familiar to her, he was very nice looking, but also very intoxicated. “Don’t recognize him, but Will needs to cut him off.”

“That’s what you’re focused on, instead of how hot he is or the fact he’s new in town?”

“He’s ok, I guess. But honestly, I’m going to go tell Will to stop serving him. I don’t want to have to throw him out later.”

“Boo, you’re so boring, Emma.”

Emma turned and flashed her friend the middle finger before approaching the bar. “Hey, brown suede jacket.” She pointed to the man at the end of the bar. “How many has he had?”

“Oi, I was thinking of cutting him off. He’s been nursing that beer for an hour, but the three shots he drank with them seem to have accelerated his inebriation.”

“Yeah, cut him off, he’s swaying in his seat, let me know if he gives you any trouble.”

Emma walked back toward the door, surveying the tables as she walked past. She’d been working at The Wooden Nickle since moving back to Boston from New York almost seven years ago. Working nights as a bouncer wasn’t the most prestigious job in the world, but it allowed her to spend her days with her 6-year-old son, Henry.

“Everything good down here?”

Emma turned to see her boss; August Booth walking down the stairs from the above office. “Yeah, got a live one at the bar, Will’s already cut him off. I had to break up the two over at the pool table a few times.” She gestured to the man and woman currently making out against the wall. “I’m gonna head back there in a minute, before they start losing clothes.”

“I can always count on you, Emma.” August gave her a light tap on the shoulder and then headed back upstairs. “Tell everyone I want to talk to them before we shut down tonight.”

“Everything alright, boss?” He nodded with a mischievous smile and then bounded up the stairs.

She loved working for August. When she moved back to Boston, she hadn’t maintained a relationship with anyone except her brother, David, and her high school friends, Ruby and Will. Moving to a small town meant her skills as a bail bond agent wasn’t exactly needed, but August found room for her as a bouncer at his tiny but very busy bar. He’d treated her like family ever since.

She passed through the room, pausing at the couple in the back, to break up their make out session and then stopped at the bar. “Aug wants to talk to all of us after we close up.”

“Oi, did he seem upset? Shit, I bet he knows I was nipping at the whiskey last week.”

“What are we talking about?” Ruby approached and sat down her tray on the bar top. “Are we drinking whiskey?”

Emma laughed. “Aug wants to talk to all of us tonight, so I would probably say no, right?”

“That was a question, not a demand, so I say one shot can’t hurt us. If we’re all about to be canned, I want to take the news with some liquid courage.”

“You’ll use any excuse to drink whiskey.” Ruby mocked as he lined up the shots and poured. They each tossed back the glass and slammed it down on the bar.

“Ok get back to work.” She demanded with a smirk and headed back to the door to prepare for the close of shift. It was her favorite part of work, watching as the patrons exited the bar, some joyfully laughing, others grumbling with complaints of the upcoming next day, but mostly it was the time when they were alone, simply cleaning the bar and laughing together that she cherished the most. This was her family, and she loved them dearly.

“All clear.” She hollered an hour later as she finished helping the tipsy customer to a cab and reminded the overly zealous couple to remember condoms.

Ruby turned up the volume on the music and they spent the next hour cleaning the bar, Ruby dancing with her broomstick, Will singing loudly into the beer tap, and Emma watching them all with a smile as she wiped down the tables. She could hardly believe how much her life had changed in the last seven years. Ruby referred to these last few years as the years AN.

After Neal.

She had been devastated when Neal took off, draining their savings account of the money she had earned, leaving her alone and pregnant in New York City. Two months later, she came home with her tail between her legs, everything she owned in her tiny yellow beetle, and was left to explain to her brother David, that things with her and Neal had gone exactly how he had predicted they would.

She had been mortified to venture out of the home she shared with David for fear of judgement from their small town. Instead, she was embraced by old friends who came out of the woodwork to donate baby clothes, feed her, and offer emotional support.

“When did I start paying you lot to have a good time?” August boomed from across the room before breaking out into a smile and pulling Emma into his arms to dance across the room. He spun her around as they reached Ruby, switching to dance with the brunette until the song ended.

“The place looks great as usual.” He remarked to the three of them as he hopped onto one of the bar stools. “Come on, lets all chat.” Will gulped and August laughed. “This isn’t about the whiskey, Will.”

“What whiskey?” Will mimed. “I haven’t the foggiest idea…”

“I’m closing the bar.” Emma’s heart dropped. August sat solemnly looking down at his hands. He looked up peering around the room as a smile grew on his mouth. “For two weeks,” he added, “and before you all freak out on me, I’m still paying you.”

Emma breathed out a sigh of relief. Losing two weeks of pay would have killed her. She lived paycheck to paycheck trying to raise her son, missing a single day was enough to give her anxiety.

“On one condition.” He added and everyone in the group exchanged cautious glances. “We’ve all been working really hard and I wouldn’t have any of this if you all didn’t come to work every single day, even with William drinking my whiskey.” Will ducked his head. “However as much as I love you guys, I’m really tired of being alone.”

Emma was surprised to hear how sad August’s voice sounded; she knew he had been alone at home after his father Marco had passed. Emma had never heard of August going on any dates, or ever being involved with anyone romantically. But Emma wasn’t one to talk about putting yourself out there, she hadn’t dated or wanted to date anyone since Neal ran out on her.

“And let’s be honest,” August continued, “you lot don’t get out much either.”

“Hey, I’m just waiting until Ana comes around.” Will argued and she snorted to herself. Ana was Will’s ex-girlfriend. She had packed up and left town a year ago, leaving only a note stating it was over and she was moving to England with a guy she met online. Everyone knew it was over, except for Will. He still had his Facebook relationship status as “It’s complicated.”

“She’s gone man, it’s time to move on.” August said seriously. “And Ruby, I mean no offense when I say this, but you’ve practically dated everyone in town, present company excluded.”

“Speak for yourself, we went on a date once.” Will announced.

“That was a field trip you idiot, and the rest of the school was with us.”

“Ok but my point is, no one in town has been worthy of your affection.” August interrupted and then turned to her, “And Emma.”

“Don’t even go there, I have a six-year-old kid, I don’t have time for another child in my life.”

“Well, here it is, I’m going on a cruise for two weeks. And I’m willing to pay you each your two-week salary, as long as you come with me.”

“Oi, do you think you pay us enough money to afford to go on some fancy cruise ship?”

“Nope, that’s why I’m paying for that too.” He stared at Emma. “But it has to be all or nothing. Either you all come, or you all get a two-week unpaid vacation.”

“That’s hardly fair.” Emma complained. “I can’t just walk away for two weeks, Henry needs me.”

“First off, I already know that he’s about to head to summer camp for four weeks, so your excuse doesn’t exactly work.” Emma crossed her arms against her chest, she hadn’t expected him to know about that. “Ok, one excuse down, who’s next?”

“You aren’t going to get one from me. If you want to pay me to go on a cruise, I’m down.” Ruby hopped up on the bar.

“What’s the catch, Mate? Two weeks pay, a cruise vacation, something’s not adding up here.” Emma had to agree with Will, he wasn’t telling them the entire truth.

“Fine, it’s a singles cruise.”

“No way, I’m out.” Emma grunted, as she furiously wiped down the table in front of her for the second time that evening.

“Oh, come on Emma, who cares? There is nothing that says you have to hook up with anyone there.” Ruby pleaded, “I really want to try out my new bikini I bought last week. It would look so much better on a cruise ship than it would on our stupid beach.”

“I can’t go on a single’s cruise, I’m not single.” Will argued.

“She dumped you.” The three of them all shouted in unison.

“Come on you guys, we can all be there together, and just have fun.” Ruby continued to plead her case.

“Did I mention the alcohol is all paid for up front?” August announced with a wink.

“Bloody hell, I’m in.”

Suddenly all eyes were on here. “Please Emma.” Ruby whined.

“Free Alcohol, lass. We can just sit at the damn bar and drink all day. I’ll be your date.” Will flirted from the back of the bar.

“Brining a date would defeat the singles part, don’t you think?”

“Emma, you’re out of excuses.” August shrugged.

“Fine. But I have one condition.” She said angrily, coming up with a fool proof plan to get out of going. “If I’m going to be forced to go on this trip, then I’m not going without David.”

August laughed and surprisingly shook his head. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”

Dammit.

#TLC #The love cruise #stacy's fics #my fic #captainswan #captain swan #captain swan au #captain swan fics #captain swan modern au #emma x killian #killian jones #emma x hook #emma swan

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sta-bright · 4 years ago

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My First Tumble

Hi Tumblr,

I was inspired to get a Tumblr account, believe it or not, from Netflix's 2021 four-part docu-series "Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel." Although I highly doubt anyone cares enough to read any of my posts or has the attention span to read anything longer than a few sentences written by a 23 year old with her boobs out, *just in case,* SPOILER ALERT.

The (main) topic of the show focuses around Elisa Lam, who vanished in early 2013 when she was staying at the Cecil Hotel and was then found dead in one of the four water tanks on the roof 19 days after being reported missing (I think I have that correct but don't hold me to it, imaginary readers. It was something like that.).

Anyway, "...to make a long story short"... "too late" #cluereference, Elisa had a Tumblr blog. It seemed to be a good setup for how she was writing very personally, which is what I want to do, so here we go. I have a blog page for the business I own, but to be honest, it's geared more toward, well, business, so I don't feel like I can write freely, or only like the "good" or "normal" part of myself, the good stuff geared at an audience without scaring people away or whatever. So for this one, I don't really care as much about proper grammar or spelling, just somewhere to write my real thoughts if and when I can focus enough to sort them out enough to put them down. I have a bunch of journals, but they are all over the place and I can't write fast enough, so I'm going to try this out. I have a lot to say, and I think even just putting it out there even though I know no one cares might help me feel a little bit of relief, even if anyone does read it and might think I'm an idiot or whatever.

I wasn't sure what to name my blog, and I'm not sure if there's a way to change it in the future, but for now I have decided on "Sta-Bright." Most of my family and some of my close friends call me "Sta" and my partner David calls me Sta Bright, which I think is really cute and makes me happy, so here we are. I use the word partner because I think the word boyfriend is a little too young for us and our relationship warrants a higher level than that. ANYWAY, there is the background information for you, my new friend, Tumblr. I already feel better.

So, this show really pissed me off for a few (many) reasons. I've legitimately been pacing around all morning. First, even the title of the show is misleading. The death of Elisa Lam was not a "crime." It was a devastating incident of accidental death highly likely (as confidently confirmed by all professionals involved) related to a psychotic episode of her mental illness, Bipolar I, which I also happen to have. Netflix using the title "Crime Scene" to lure watchers in is disgusting within itself. Good for you, Netflix. Holla for the dollas! Make that money, baby.

Then, beyond the fact Netflix milked four episodes out of a glamorized case that was ruled an accidental death for this reason not even long after finding Elisa, it is the whole ordeal of the reality and dramatizing of this saga that is so sad.

Upon the release of the famous elevator footage the day she went missing, it went viral almost instantaneously.

*Hold please* I actually just read an article by BBC.com where director of the series, Joe Berlinger, says, "For the average viewer it's another compelling story you watch and then move on to the next. But for who this happened to, it's the worst moment in their life. It's a real tragedy for that person and that family." LOLOLOLOL OKAY JOE!!!! Is this why you spent FOUR EPISODES talking about bullshit theories to keep people hooked and open more discussion? You know that this is not out of respect. Shame on YOU!

"If you look at the other tellings of the story, you'd see she's the victim of some horrible, evil presence that took control of her.

"Those kinds of narratives, I think, are incredibly disrespectful and probably why the family just didn't want to deal with another show that was going to exaggerate the circumstances of the tragedy."

So is this why you made a show exaggerating the circumstances of the tragedy? Lol. "We need to talk about the ghost stories" Or do you need to talk about them to open a can of worms to more losers who fixate on the case? OR IS THAT JUST ME? I don't know. Lemme tell ya what. If anything ever happens to me, please make sure this Joe Schmuck doesn't make a pathetic docuseries about it.

Then, aside from the pathetic profit of Netflix, the actual details of what happened and how society and the "web sleuths" investigated, obsessed, and chimed in on this case is a whole other ballpark about society's minimization and lack of knowledge or respect for mental illness on its own.

THEN, there is a quote by Amy Price, the manager of the hotel during the incident, who is now profiting on a book she is writing about HER experience:

"I want to share my story," she says.

"But this isn't a horror story or anything like that. This is a story about struggle."

Okay, Amy. Whose fucking struggle are you writing about here? I legitimately don't know if she is referring to hers or Elisa's, but either way, it's gross.

It makes me so sad that this whole situation warranted MILLIONS of theories, millions of internet trolls writing articles about the "BIZARRE" death of this girl. This case is not fucking bizarre. It is unfortunate but it is not bizarre. This case was plastered all over internet lists with the titles "bizarre, unexplained cases of missing people." It's not unexplained, and it only was not for long.

These "web sleuths" were busy having a blast, going to the crime scene, smiling as they recorded, posting videos about their stupid theories. Trolls posting their dumb, far-fetched theories without knowing all of the facts, thinking they know better than the professionals, who DO have the findings, did do the labs, did do the investigations. And people still insist that THERE HAS TO BE MORE.

Of course, I don't know all the facts either. BUT, according to the actual professionals involved rather than the entire population of people who love a good "mystery," Elisa's toxicology results showed that her levels of the medications she was supposed to be on signified she had not been taking them as she should have been. They also found bottles of her medicine that had more pills than prescribed, also showing that she had not been taking them.

THEN, she was removed from the room she had been sharing with a few others due to "odd behavior" leaving weird post-its telling them to go away, or whatever. THEN, apparently going into the hotel lobby and screaming "I'm crazy!" or whatever it was.

Although all experiences with mental illnesses are unique, all of these details plus the footage, both detailing erratic behavior, leave no doubt in my mind that the professionals, SHOCKINGLY, CRAZILY, may be right! Who thunk it! I have legitimately acted in the ways described and shown in the video. I don't and couldn't understand HERS, but I understand MY paranoia, hallucinations, experiences I have had, and the actions that are presented, and I guarantee some would look very similar to that footage. Ask the few people who know me best what it's like when I'm not on my meds or fuck them up. I legitimately saw myself in her actions.

Yet, the internet losers had to fixate on a death metal artist who had stayed in the hotel for a few days A YEAR before any of this happened and legitimately ruined his life. His alibi was completely valid and he was dismissed by investigators. He was out of the country, he had tons of substantial paperwork and proof that he was, but that didn't matter.

Because no one takes bipolar disorder seriously, dismissing it as just mood swings, people being dramatic, seeking attention, being lazy, and everyone needs something more sensational, THIS wasn't even an option. They needed to fixate on crazy, fun conspiracy theories, watching the footage over and over and over again, sitting in their caves with their thumbs up their asses writing about their ballpark theories, internet bullying innocent people instead of doing any research on bipolar disorder, instead of defending or considering that it was a psychotic episode, which literally all of the official facts and footage present.

Clearly I'm not a professional either, but like... watch the show and you tell me. You tell me what you think is likely. You tell me what the professionals agree on. But before you make that call, try reading a little bit about bipolar disorder. Try reading about the psychotic episodes that can come with it. It probably won't change your mind, but oh well. It probably is just the hotel being haunted, ya know. Right? This is just my little rant that doesn't matter.

If you want to think it was a ghost, a demon, if it was a murder even though she literally had zero signs of any physical violence and there was zero evidence of it and all evidence the other way, you do that, boo. Have a blast. Hey, I 100% could be wrong, right? Absolutely. Who am I? Just a little dramatic, stupid, crazy nobody.

That's just my take, no better than any other internet trolls, I suppose. When all is said and done, in my little fantasy world, I guess people would just take bipolar disorder seriously and understand the severity of it. People would take it to consideration for the actions and words of those who have it. That's not fun, though. Everyone loves money, everyone loves a good story. Everyone loves making fun of people. Everyone loves a disability you can see. Everything I do is just me being an oddball. Everyone loves to be an internet bully.

I'm sorry for Elisa and her family who have had to deal with years of this. Years of people dismissing the severity of mental illness and obsessing over ghost stories, obsessing over the number of likes or views they get, money they make off of it.

Wow, that was a blast. I'm fairly confident no one will read this, but I feel a lot better that I put that out there. Again, I'm a little nobody, so nothing I say matters, but that's just my take on all of it. I've given up trying to convince anyone that I'm anything but weird, because I know no one will care or accept that. I'll just keep making people feel uncomfortable and keep looking like an idiot. Woe is me, am I right?

You have a blessed day now.

#mental health #mentalhealthmatters #bipolar disorder #bipolar 1 #fuck you netflix

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eldritchsurveys · 5 years ago

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674.

have you ever violated school dress code? >> I wasn’t allowed to wear anything that would have violated any school dress codes, so I have no idea how that would have ever happened.

if you are listening to music, is the singer male / female? >> I’m not listening to music.

what [ if anything ] do you give up for Lent? >> I don’t observe Lent.

what phrase leads your mind directly to the gutter? >> I mean, I can’t think of any on command, but there are plenty I come across online and stuff that make me snicker. I just like wordplay, tbh.

when you feel like giving up, how do you convince yourself not to? >> I mean, it’s mostly Can Calah who gives the impassioned arguments in defense of not giving up. I just listen and gripe and wait for his infallible logic to work its magic.

what are your opinions on immigration? >> I don’t have a blanket opinion on immigration. I have no personal issue with individual immigrants, no matter their story. They’re just people to me, who want the same things I want -- to survive, to have their needs met, to make a better life.

would you tell an actual immigrant your views? >> Of course I would, if they were unsure where they stood with me.

what was the subject of the last list you made? >> I don’t remember the last time I made a list.

do you ever get nervous before interviews / important meetings? >> I mean, I would if that was a thing that occurred in my life.

who pays for the majority of your belongings? >> It’s pretty evenly split between me and Sparrow.

would you ever willingly shop in a thrift store? >> Of course...?

what is the most that you would ever spend on an outfit? >> I mean... that depends on many factors, including what the outfit is for and how much money I have.

is there anything you do that just outrages your parents? >> ---

when was the last time you were embarrassed in public? >> I don’t remember.

have you ever won an award you were actually proud of? >> I mean, maybe a long time ago. Doubtful, though.

the importance of education, rate it from 1-10, 10 as most important? explain your choice to rate it as such? >> I rank formal education rather low on my personal importance scale, but I rank informal, interest-based learning very high on my personal importance scale. I love to learn, but I don’t operate well in school settings and actually end up learning less in those settings.

what is the coolest science experiment you've ever done? >> I haven’t done any cool science experiments. :(

are you experiencing difficulties with any friends right now? >> No.

how do you deal with a fight between yourself and a friend? >> I don’t know how to deal with that kind of thing anymore.

when you apologize to someone after a fight, how do you go about saying that you are sorry? >> I haven’t been in this situation in a long time, I don’t know.

have you ever played around with "dry ice"? >> No.

do you think parents are responsible for the actions of their children? >> Of course they are, if we’re talking literal children (not teenagers). It takes some time for a small human to develop the sense of independent reasoning and reckoning of consequence that would allow them to take full responsibility for their actions.

how do you, personally, define music? >> I never really thought about it, it’s one of those concepts where I basically take my understanding of it for granted.

should the military draft take both men AND women? why / why not? >> That’s not a debate I’m willing to get into. I want nothing to do with a draft and I ideally wouldn’t want anyone else to have to deal with getting drafted, actually.

when was the last time that you corrected someone? >> I don’t remember. It was probably something really minor and not a big deal for either party. --Oh yeah I remember now, it was about why Bourbon Street is named Bourbon Street.

when was the last time you were corrected? >> It was also probably about something minor and nbd. I think the last time might have been when I misspelled “Lolth” because believe it or not, I’ve been doing that since 2009. I always misspell it “Lloth”, it’s just what happens.

when did you last say " i told you so "? >> I don’t remember. I try to avoid saying that unless it’s about something funny/silly.

is there any celebrity you like to " keep up with "? >> Not especially. I mean, there are definitely actors and directors that I pay attention to more than others when they get involved in new things, but I always forget to like, keep regular tabs on them or whatever.

celebrity gossip: YAY or BOO? >> Boo.

what is the most life-changing book you have read? >> I couldn’t say. A lot of books I’ve read have had a significant impact on me in some way.

have you had a negative impact on anyone's life? >> Sure.

has anyone had a negative impact on yours? who / why? >> Absolutely. I’m not going to elaborate, the negative impact that others have had on me is both 1) way too lengthy and sensitive to elaborate on and 2) not worth dwelling on right now when I just want to chill and take a survey.

what does marriage mean to you, specifically? >> It means legal recognition of our partnership, which is necessary for things like, say, being each other’s advocates in a medical emergency.

how will you know when you are ready to get married? >> I didn’t bother fretting over whether I was “ready” or not. We’d been living together for a couple of years by the time the topic even came up, it didn’t seem like a weird next step to make.

how much time have you spent contemplating your own death? >> Way more time than is logical, probably.

is there a joke that you just can't stand? >> I mean, probably. There are a lot of insensitive jokes out there.

have you ever read any self-help books? >> Yeah.

what's your take on the obesity problem in america? >> I don’t have a take on it. You know what I do have a take on? The constant social pressure to be thin, and the resultant contagious obsessions with eating the “right” foods, compulsive exercising, and worrying about a number on a scale. Being fat, of all things, shouldn’t be this dramatically frightening or repulsive to people, but that’s what we’re made to believe, and that’s the message we’re all internalising on a daily basis. I’m fucking tired of it. I got enough problems.

what is something you used to love, but now greatly dislike? >> I don’t think I’ve ever flipped that hard on anything. There are things I’ve liked casually that I ended up not caring about later on, but nothing that I loved that I started hating later. I might shift from being obsessed with something to just being chill about it, but that’s it.

what is something you used to dislike, but now like? >> I disliked Metallica as a child.

when ( if ) you become a parent, what will you do differently, compared to how your parents raised you? >> I don’t plan on being a parent, but how I treat children in general is almost directly in contrast to how I was treated as a child. I treat them with respect, I listen to what they have to say, I let them feel their feelings, I show interest in their interests, etc.

do you equate spanking with physical abuse? would you spank a child? >> Let’s just say that I did not ever feel loved or respected when I was spanked. I felt terrified and shameful and being left alone to self-soothe afterwards with no real understanding of why I was being punished so harshly definitely didn’t help. I don’t feel like my understanding of right and wrong was healthily developed by corporal punishment. I don’t see any benefit to it, but I see a lot of harm. So, no. I would not spank a child.

what's the most ridiculous thing you've done this week? >> I have no idea. I don’t think I’ve done anything especially ridiculous?

--- did you regret it / love it / hate it / want to do it again / etc? >> ---

is emotional cheating ( in a relationship ) as bad as physically cheating? >> I have no opinion on this, it’s irrelevant to my life.

if your bf/gf wanted to wait until marriage for sex, would you be willing? >> ---

when you look at the sunset, what do you think about / feel? >> I mean, it all depends, don’t it? I don’t have the exact same thought every time I look at something.

is there someone you wish you could trust / you wish was trustworthy? >> No. I just wish I didn’t have such overdeveloped trust issues.

is there anyone that you no longer want in you life? who / why? >> Well, yeah, and those people are, therefore, no longer in my life.

how has your outlook on life changed in the past few years? >> I’m not sure, I haven’t really kept track.

have you ever walked out of a boring movie ( in theaters )? >> No. I did want to walk out of Infinity War, though. Not because it was boring, but because it was pissing me off. (Also, that was back when Anthony was still around, and he wanted to walk out too.)

how open are you with people you know online? >> It depends on how I know them, what we have in common, how long I’ve known them and to what degree, etc.

what do you think of athletes that take steroids? >> I don’t think about that.

if a celebrity is involved in scandal after scandal, is that likely to effect how you view him/her & his/her work? >> Not really. I barely notice when scandals like that happen, anyway. It also seems like most scandals are just sensationalised overhyped nonsense to get people talking about whoever it is, for publicity, and has nothing to do with, like, the merits of the performer’s art or whatever.

what is one celebrity that you have zero respect for? >> ---

what is one fashion trend that you hope makes a comeback? >> ---

what is one that you wish would just die out already? >> ---

have you ever driven under the influence of alcohol / drugs? >> I don’t drive, period.

are you overly attached to your material possessions? >> No. I can be a bit under-attached, in fact. I’ll throw a thing away in a heartbeat. (This doesn’t apply to like, electronics, or any other expensive thing that I use on a constant basis. But like, t-shirts, books, toys, novelty items, other shit that ends up just taking up space and collecting dust? Bye.)

have you ever ridiculed anyone for their clothing choices? >> Not since I was a teenager, most likely.

living in poverty: what do you think it'd be like? >> I... I have lived in poverty. Poverty is my default state of existence. I don’t really know what to tell you about “what it’s like”. What’s it like to not be poor?

what is one " diet " that you think is just utterly worthless? >> All of them are worthless to me.

what advice would you give someone that is uncomfortable with his or her body / appearance? >> I wouldn’t give them advice. Advice is what the entire world is going to try to give them. I’d imagine they’d be tired of advice (unless they’re specifically asking me for it, I guess). But I’ll always have a “mood” or “I know that feel” to offer, because... yeah. Same. The shit sucks and there’s no easy way out of it.

what advice would you give someone about to start high school? >> I don’t even want to think about that phase of life, I’ll pass.

what foreign food are you NOT interested in trying? >> *shrug*

what foreign country do you believe is misunderstood? >> I mean, I don’t know. USian attitudes towards and assumptions about a lot of countries are... misinformed at best.

have you ever felt entirely unwanted and alone? >> Yeah.

in your eyes, which is worse: rape or murder? >> Nope, don’t care.

do you understand / read shakespeare? >> I have never been able to grok Shakespeare, and I’m not interested enough to keep trying.

would you feel comfortable living with someone that owned a gun? >> Most likely not. Luckily, that’s not likely to happen.

do you know anyone that lives in a foreign country? >> I mean, yeah, I use the internet.

#surveys #survey #random survey

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thegirlwhowritesfics · 5 years ago

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Mayans MC S02E06

Episode title: Muluc

Running Time: 46 min

Director: Guy Ferland

Written by: Andrea Ciannavei

Ivy Rambles under the cut

Tonight’s rambling brought to you by Kit Kat Gold** and a serious case of sleep deprivation.

Am I watching my third episode of Mayans this week? Yes

Will I be annoyed by the Reyes brothers and their serious lack of brain cells? duh.

Will we see Nestor tonight? Only time will tell.

things that I would like to point out from the last episode I missed; Coco’s swagger when Ez and Angel pulled into the lot and Bishop basically wanted to knock their heads together? *chef kiss* amazing. Coco you’re doing amazing sweetie.

buckle up ladies and gentlemen, it’s time for episode 6 in this hellscape that is season 2 and I of course will have lots of thoughts, ramblings and feelings.

hmmm, interesting that its a crow making all that racket.

who the fuck sleeps in jeans?

Potter is so rattled, I kinda love it.

The Galindo household in matching colours, a show of a united front?

NESTOR

THAT SHIRT

OH MY GOD

I LOVE IT

I CANT BREATHE

I don’t care about anything else this episode except my boo

I’m having anxiety watching him follow the mercs

ohhh feisty Emily, I like this. Also another reference to her mother. I hope we find out more.

oh shit

nope

take a break, have a kit kat *eat the whole block*

alright but I am guessing the Reyes brothers are looking at the wrong Galindo, Dita probably wanted her secret buried. Or Miguel knows the truth and never wanted it to get out?

Also, how fucking stupid are these mercs? Thats Marcus Fucking Alvarez he ain’t snitchin.

Creeper, Coco, Taza and Tranq you all look amazing tonight and you just keep being amazing and doing you.

Oh yes Emily motherfucking Thomas you strut like the Queen you are, you tell Lois where to stick it.

Miguel, when are you going to learn, when your wife says she needs to talk, you need to listen.

oh my baby, my sweet sweet baby.

MIGUEL DO NOT SPEAK TO YOUR WIFE LIKE THAT.

Ez for all that is holy in this world stop making heart eyes at Emily, I beg of you.

OH FUCK ME GENTLY WITH A CHAINSAW

“and what world am I in?”

“hopefully mine”

EXCUSE ME EMILY WHAT THE FUCK

ARE YOU INSANE

WHY ARE WE WASTING PRECIOUS NESTOR MINUTES ON THIS SHIT?

this better be some huge fucking manipulation of Ez, Emily.

One. Miguel you clearly have no regard for Nestor’s life,

Two, I legit am mildly turned on “always would, always will” takes safety off.

on that note, if Nestor dies I am going to be so fucking pissed off.

Coco you are an angel

Angel you are a dumbass

Alvarez that was some sweet revenge *swoons*

I’m going to ignore that very sweet moment while Alvarez was getting patched up.

Miguel this better be an apology.

ummm Potter, that’s a mistake.

Dude, for an office assistant thats a really nice car.

well, that’s just great, good fucking job Ez. Nice to see Angel clearly had the two brain cells tonight.

** Please note I am not actually sponsored by Kit Kat I am actually just drowning my sorrows in a Kit Kat Gold

#mayans mc #mayansfx #mayans #mayans mc s2 #mayansfx s2 #mayans mc season 2 #mayans mc spoilers #ivy rambles #angel reyes #ez reyes #emily thomas #nestor oceteva

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221bshrlocked · 6 years ago

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Security Check (2)

Security Check Masterlist

Pairing: Bucky X Reader

Words: 1737

Warnings: None yet. Some swearing.

A/N: Lols I’m still fucked. He’s so fucking kind. Anyway, here’s part 2. I won’t see my boo for a whole eleven days and I am saddened. Yall I literally saw him again before I leave and he was without the cane so I asked him if he was feeling better and he said not really but he doesn’t need to use the cane so maybe a bit better and I said well at least you’re feeling just a bit better AND THEN SAID THE SAME FUCKING THING AGAIN WHEN HE SMILED AND SAID YEAH, AND BECAUSE I HAVE NO CHILL I TOLD HIM I LIKED THE CANE CAUSE IT LOOKED COOL AND HE JUST CHUCKLED AWKWARDLY BEFORE WALKING AWAY. Someone. Anyone. Why am I like this??? Help me be less awkward. I can flirt with humans I am not interested in but as soon as it’s someone I like, it’s like elementary level of English.

Previous Part | Next Part

You went home right after the second incident, the second being you acting like a complete dick to a man who was clearly just doing his job. You’d called Paul and asked him to explain to you who he was and when he told you what his job was, you kicked yourself in the head. For a genius, you sure were a complete moron. Of course he was the director of security for the gala. Of course you’d made a horrible impression on him when he was just doing his fucking job. Of course you had to be a dick to the one person you thought of as attractive in god knows how long.

Yeah. There it was. That’s what pissed you off. It wasn’t that he yelled at you, well, that’s a lie. It was partially because of that. But now that you gave it some thought, you realized you’d been angry because of how fucking gorgeous he was and the fact that you were so rude to him without giving him time to explain. He definitely tried numerous times but here you were with your stupid ego ruining one of the few good things which happened to you in awhile.

Paul had asked if he would send you his file and you refused, knowing it was best to talk to the man himself about the job and not sneak around. Also, for some odd reason, you felt a bit creepy when you heard yourself agreeing with Paul. No you couldn’t possibly ask for his file. You’d talk to him, and besides, that would give you a window to apologize for your own behavior and maybe discuss work related things.

Yeah. Work related. Who were you trying to fool?

So when you came in the next day for lectures, and saw him standing with Emelie at the front doors, you groaned to yourself. Why now? The day didn’t even start yet.

You were about to put on a smile and talk to him when a student stopped you, asking about the paper you assigned a week prior. Telling her to accompany you to your office, you walked past the two of them and smiled, nodding towards him and saying ‘good morning’ to your friend. When you were past the doors, he turned to Emelie.

“Is she always this...like-”

“Hardass? Not always I can assure you. She’s actually one of the nicest people here, and honestly, one of the most intelligent. So she has a reason when she does get a little annoyed. I’m sure she’ll come around at some point. Just give her time.” Emelie said and watched as the man’s expression change and she couldn’t quite understand what he was thinking.

But when he smiled, she hoped his mind was where she thought it was.

A few hours later, you were heading out for lunch with a pile of paperwork when you almost bumped into someone.

“Oh god I’m so sorry I didn’t see you coming.” You were about to lean down and pick up your notebook when you recognized the voice of the man.

“That’s okay. I was just looking for you.” He was much quicker than you, grabbing your stuff and gently placing them in your arms.

Clearing your throat, you fixed your glasses and looked at him.

“How can I be of assistance Mister?” You still didn’t know his name, motioning for him to walk with you.

“Oh, it’s Bucky. Just Bucky.” He rubbed his hands nervously before falling in step with you.

“Well, Bucky, how can I help?” You hoped your voice wasn’t as sarcastic as normal.

“I was talking to Paul and he told me there were some things I should run by you first before I went ahead with anything. Did I catch you at a bad time? I can come back later when you’re free.” He was being so fucking nice and you almost groaned in frustration from how you treated him earlier.

“Well, I was going to grab something quick to eat. Do we need to be downstairs or can we talk over lunch?” You slowed down and turned to face him, noticing the scruff peppering his handsome features and you wondered how it would feel if you just touched it. The thought freaked you out and you hoped it wasn’t as obvious on your facial expression as it was in your mind.

“Oh umm, yeah sure that would be great. If you don’t mind?” You sensed his reluctance but didn’t mention anything, shaking your head and telling him it was absolutely fine.

“So, how did you learn about the gala?” You didn’t know what else to ask, knowing one of you had to start the small talk and it was definitely not going to be him. He’d already had to say so much to you in the last twenty-four hours.

“I was actually hand-picked for the job. Curtsy of Tony.” Bucky said non-chalantly and saw the confused look in your eyes, unable to hold back a smile because he genuinely thought it was the cutest expression he’s ever seen.

“Tony?” You inquired.

“Tony Stark!” You almost dropped your stuff again at the clarification and Bucky raised an eyebrow at your obvious surprise.

“The Tony Stark? The actual Tony Stark?” You thanked him when he opened and held the door for you, clutching your things tightly as you stared at him with wide eyes.

“Yeah. Is- is that a problem?” His amused expression fell when he thought he said something wrong, not wanting to get off on the wrong foot with you again.

“Oh no no not at all. I just wasn’t expecting- I mean, I guess you must be exceptional at what you do to have the man place you on the job himself. He’s only donated a couple of million dollars to the museum and several others for our projects. Sorry I didn’t mean for my question to come off like that.” You tried to explain yourself, smiling at him and noticing his shoulders relax.

Ordering your regular coffee and sandwich, you were about to pay when Bucky stepped forward and told you he got it.

“Please you don’t have to.”

“I want to. Consider this an official apology.” Bucky winked at you and you almost lost your cool at the gesture. He ordered a black coffee and the same pastry you asked for. You found a table and placed your stuff, eyes lingering on his back for far too long to your liking. How bipolar can you get?

He turned around and saw you look away immediately, smiling and pretending he didn’t just notice you checking him out. He pulled the chair in front of you and started to ask you several questions about the schedule of the gala and your preferences for where he placed the guards since a few important businessmen and political figures were planning on attending.

“I’m going to be honest with you Bucky, I haven’t the faintest idea about security or the preferred individuals and places you’re mentioning. I think it would probably benefit everyone if you are placed in charge of everything and not have someone like me get in your way. I do appreciate you coming to me for questions though.” You took a sip of your coffee and waited for him to respond. When he continued to say nothing, you thought you’d said something wrong.

“I just don’t want to tell you how to do your job. It’s as if you came to me and started telling me how to teach my courses.”

Bucky took a bite from his croissant and blinked at you.

“I’m going to be honest, I did not expect such a response from you. I’ve seen a lot in my field and not much surprises me anymore but you, you just continue to knock me on my ass darling.” Bucky gave you that dashing smile again, leaning forward and crossing his hands in front of you.

You couldn’t tell if you were angry that he called you ‘darling’ or the fact that you liked it and wanted to hear it again.

“A-and let’s face it, I’ve experienced your skills firsthand.” You tried to make things a little less awkward, not realizing that you just made them worse when he caught onto the innuendo.

“Believe me Y/N, you haven’t,” he leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms, noticing your eyes shifting to how tightly his jacket clung to his arms. Swallowing the lump in your throat, you tried to not seem too affected by his words, but then he finished his drink and whispered one more thing before he stood up.

“Yet.” Bucky threw his trash away and asked if you were finished with your food, taking it when you just nodded before asking you if you were returning to the museum.

“No I ummmm, there’s still some stuff I need to finish.”

“I’ll leave you to it then Doctor. It was a pleasure talking to you.” Bucky’s eyes shifted from your nervous hands to where your feet pointed. He noticed the pulse violently beating at your neck and watched sweat forming right above your eyebrows.

As soon as he made eye contact, your pupils dilated, and your tongue peaked out, wetting your lower lip before it returned to its place.

All the signs were there. Now he needed to have you admit it to yourself.

“Thank you Bucky. I look forward to working with you.” You managed to say without stuttering.

Bucky nodded before walking away, already thinking of his next move with you.

You tried to calm yourself from the encounter and found it much harder than you thought. Bucky was much worse than you thought, in that he was way more charming and you wished you could be angry at him. But you loved the attention, especially from a guy like him. You loved how flirtatious he was and you craved having him near you. And the more you thought about it, the more you realized how much you wanted to be at his mercy.

And you had to take a step back from that last thought because you realized it was this exact reason that caused your anger yesterday. You weren’t defensive because he disrespected you. You were defensive because this was the first time someone almost took control of you. And you enjoyed it.

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #security guard!bucky #security check #bucky fanfiction #bucky smut #imma cry #wont see him for so long #why lord #why must you test this way #ugh #i'll just write out my heart's desire

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evesbeve · 6 years ago

Note

~All. Of. Them.~ ☺

99 gay-ish asks

… you know WHAT.

FINE.

I’LL DO ALL OF THEM.

LONG ANSWER UNDER THE TAG, HA V E FUN-

1. how tall are you?

I am 159cm aka 5′3ft!

2. what is your body type?

According to the first Google Image result I got, it’s between “Banana Shape” and “Apple Shape”. I have no idea who came up with these terms. But there you go.

3. what is your favorite part about your body?

My nails-

4. is your current hair color your natural hair color?

My hair is brunette, which is also my natural hair color!

5. are you more outgoing or more shy?

I’d like to think I’m outgoing, but we all know the truth rip

6. are you more femme or butch?

Depends on the day-

7. are you tol or smol?

I definitely wouldn’t call myself tol, so smol, I guess!

8. wine mom or vodka aunt?

Sober Mom

9. weird habit?

The door has to be either fully closed or fully open. Don’t fite me on this-

10. favorite meme?

Too many to count, but this is one of my favourites right now-

but also like, most of my faves at the moment are actually memes with pictures of me and my friends XD

11. do you sing in the shower?

Hell yes!!

12. ever used a bow and arrow?

Yep!

13. are/were you a theatre kid?

(Answered here)

14. have you ever seen a broadway musical?

Nope, but I’ve seen Aladdin’s counterpart to broadway in London! So it’s like, the exact same thing, but in London XD

15. do you think musicals are cheesy?

Yes. Do I think it makes them less enjoyable though? Nope.

16. have you ever been a part of a protest or a march?

It’s a complicated story, but I have!

17. favorite Cards Against Humanity Card?

Gooood, it’s been so long since I’ve played CAH! I have no idea ;;

18. last movie you watched?

I think it was Far From Home!

19. behind the camera or in front of it?

I’m usually the one taking pictures and filming my friends (they better thank me in 10 years) but to be honest, I wish they’d take some more pics of me to look back to too. I do enjoy filming though, so I guess behind!

20. favorite tv show?

Right now, it’s definitely The Umbrella Academy!

21. meaning behind your url

My name is Evelina, and I am online

22. reason you joined tumblr

To follow a project I used to like on YouTube ^^

23. who’s your closest tumblr friend?

I mean, @clumsinessinperson, @xxwhisperapplexx, @hollsheadcanons and @spinharmony started out as tumblr friends, but now we’ve known each other for more than a year and they’re my best friends in the world ;w;

24. what’s something most people love that you hate?

Olives. Peas. Crocs.

uPDATE: i READ THAT QUESTION WRONG, I THOUGHT IT SAID THE OPPOSITE, I LOVE ALL THESE THREE THINGS

I do hate BBQ sauce with PASSION though-

25. have you ever taken narcotics?

I mean, only when I got my teeth extracted XD

26. have you had sex?

Nope.

27. have you ever gotten caught sneaking out or doing anything bad?

I’ve never sneaked out before, so nah. My phone caught me on my phone at 5am once, does that count?

28. worst/funniest lie you’ve ever told?

(Answered here)

29. describe your passion without mentioning it.

The ocean’s waves clash at the coast. They drown in themselves. They help the boats move. But sometimes, the ocean is quiet.

30. describe your best friend.

Nearly impossible to describe a 100 people in one sentence, but none of them have braincells.

31. give us one thing about you that no one knows.

NOT AGAIN, ANSWERED HERE.

32. how do you feel right now?

Energetic!!

33. what is your biggest fear?

Dying

34. what’s a song that always makes you happy when you hear it?

(Answered here)

35. what is the best decision you’ve made in your life so far?

Honestly, uploading my stories.

36. have you ever tried your hardest and then been disappointed in the end?

MANY TIMES. But hey, that’s life. And that doesn’t mean that it’ll always disappoint you. Keep trying, everyone!

37. something you fantasize about.

MEETING MY ONLINE FRIENDS IRL ;W;

38. last time you cried and why

This morning because I had a fight with my mom lmao

39. what was the last thing that made you laugh?

Me.

40. do you really, truly miss someone right now?

Sure do *dabs*

41. who do you feel most comfortable talking to about anything?

@xxwhisperapplexx, @clumsinessinperson, @aesthetically-bitching and my other irl fren who doesn’t have tumblr but he is a dumbass!!

42. the last time you felt broken?

SEE 38, RIP (I’m okay now tho, dw!)

43. are you starting to realize anything?

I wanna be a director or a scriptwriter or something!! Just work in the movies!!

44. are you more dominant or more submissive?

Dominant, but I can be just as submissive!

45. i’ll only date you if _____. (fill in the blank)

I’ll only date you if I love you?? Why would I date someone I don’t love?

46. do you prefer to date people the same age as you, younger, or older?

Uhhh look, I’m 16, so the same age, lol. And even if I was older, age doesn’t matter as long as it’s not creepy and predatory, you know?

47. describe the person you’re in love with/have a crush on in great detail.

I don’t have a crush at the moment, thANK GOD.

48. do you have any kinks?

Bye.

49. first thing you notice in a person?

(Answered here)

50. how can someone win your heart?

Step One: Stan Ben Hargreeves.

51. been rejected by a crush?

Nop. Never confessed-

52. have you ever had feelings for someone who didn’t have them back?

Yes.

53. would you have sex with the last person you text messaged?

No.

54. is trust a big issue for you?

I mean, I wouldn’t trust someone I just met with my life, but I do have faith in people ^^

55. did you hang out with the person you like recently?

I do not,,, have a crush,,,

56. is confidence cute?

Everything positive is cute.

57. what would you say if the person you love/like kissed another girl/boy?

I don’t like someone right now but if it were to happen, I wouldn’t say anything? It’s their life.

58. would you be able to date someone who doesn’t make you laugh?

Everyone makes me laugh. I must hate the person then XD

59. does the person you have feelings for right now know you do?

I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH AAAAA

60. ever embarrass yourself in front of a crush?

Yes, like a bazillion times.

61. do you want to get married

I’m open to it!

62. worst thing you’ve ever done?

Honestly, I was trying to think of a serious answer, I PROMISE, but then I remembered that when I was little my parents had pissed me off so badly, and I quoted a Barbie movie that said “You’re ruining my life!” like an angry toddler.

Then they threatened to never let me watch Barbie again because it was a bad influence, anD I MEAN. It was what it was XD

Note: They never banned Barbie.

63. three things that turn you on.

How did you know I was an android.

64. who do you hate?

Hate is a strong word, lmao.

65. favorite term of endearment?

Unironically, it’s “boo” XD

66. who was your celebrity/fictional gay awakening?

I WAS WONDERING IF THERE WAS A QUESTION LIKE THAT, honestly I do not remember. Probably someone from Winx.

67. intimidating girls or kind girls?

Both are valid.

68. what do you look for in a possible partner?

I don’t look, they hit me in the head.

69. do you tend to like more masculine, feminine, or androgynous girls?

All. All the girls.

70. are you good at flirting?

Yes, actually XD

71. who was the first person you came out to?

Probably @aesthetically-bitching, I think!

72. do you have any friends who are wlw?

yeet

73. is your crush wlw?

don’t have a crush, but used to-

74. last person to make you reconsider your sexuality?

I have no idea, I’ve known I was bi since 6th grade.

75. write a short love poem to your crush/self?

Not all the steps you walked on are stableBut that’s okayReaching the top requires a few

76. do you fall in love easily?

I’ve only fallen like in love twice. Crushes are way different, and I’d say kinda…?

77. is there something that happened in your past that you hate talking about?

Yeah. But I hate talking about it.

78. are you good at hiding your feelings?

Yep. If you notice I’m sad, I want you to notice I’m sad.

79. are you a forgiving person?

Mhm!

80. what is your “type?”

Ironically, Eudora Patch from The Umbrella Academy is a very good depiction of my type. (Note: Personality wise. Looks genuinely don’t matter to me, everyone is BEAUTIFUL.)

81. fall asleep in her arms or rub her back until she falls asleep in yours?

I am a little spoon inside and out-

82. tall girls or short girls?

Doesn’t matter-

83. hugs or kisses?

Hugs!! kisses kinda make me uncomfortable most of the time to be honest

84. twirl her around or get twirled?

b O T H

85. tummy kisses or thigh kisses?

Tummy-

86. hairline kisses or neck kisses?

Hairline,,,

87. play with her hair or stroke her tummy?

Hair!!

88. making out or soft kisses?

Soft kisses, definitely. Not that I’ve kissed anyone before, but oh well XD

89. hugs around the neck or hugs around the waist?

Neck…? I’d say neck.

90. how confident are you in your sexuality?

It took me a while, but I am very confident in it right now!

91. when you like someone do you blush or get butterflies in your stomach?

Butterflies™

92. have you ever liked a friend as more than a friend? did you tell them?

I have, and I told them absolutely nothing

93. how old were you when you realized you were into girls?

*shrugs* young XD

94. most embarrassing thing you’ve done in front of a cute girl?

All girls are cute girls. So many things.

95. do you have a favorite lesbian ship? is it canon?

THIS QUESTION IS STRESSING ME OUT, I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO CHOOSE. Honestly, Alphys and Undyne are a hard one to top, aND ALSO CANON

96. what is the most aggravating thing someone has said to you about your sexuality?

“You’re just confused.”

97. when was the last time a girl made your heart flutter?

… I don’t know what to tell you.

98. what is love to you?

Love is complicated.

To me, it’s not about having a partner. Actually, loving someone regardless of romantic feelings is way more important, in my opinion. These things can co-exist, and loving a friend is just as important loving a lover.

The lack of it can hurt, especially being forced out of it. But feeling love? I don’t know. It’s one of the most beautiful feelings ever. I feel so lucky to be surrounded by it.

I really love this article on it! It’s about the 8 types of love the ancient greeks had, and as I greek person myself, I think highly of it. I highly recommend reading it!

99. ask me anything. (bUt since no one specified, I’ll ask myself: Why do this and what did I learn from this?)

I did this because I am stubborn. Also I genuinely liked the questions XD

What I learned from this experience is that I really love answering questions, oops-

If you made it this far, I don’t know what to tell you. You deserve a golden star, my dude.

ANYWAY, NEVER AGAIN.

#evelina nonesense #anon #ask #gayish asks #i can't believe i did this

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fakemuggle529-blog · 6 years ago

Text

"HARRY DID YOU PUT YOUR NAME IN THE GOBLET OF FIRE?!?!"

I could go on for days about the differences between the HP books and the movies (just ask my wife). 7 books, 8 movies, 4 directors, 2 screenplay writers, a myriad of actors or varying levels of talent, but this 1 line haunts every single Harry Potter fan. One comment about this line was "we're never going to get over this, are we?" That one comment sparked this post, which was originally meant to be a list of my least favorite movie moments and why.

But Harry Potter is my favorite subject, and my rant about this became a separate post to answer that rhetorical question.

Simply put, no, we're not going to get over it. But why won't we?

As with any adaptation, since the world isn't ready for a 10 hour movie based on 1 book, bits and pieces of the Harry Potter books needed to be cut out. (I'd be down for that movie, but I digress)

Things like the Draco/Pansy romance, Rita Skeeter being an unregistered Animagus, or winning the Quidditch cup ultimately don't have an impact on the plot of "evil wizard finds path to immortality, boy wizard must stop him with the help of his friends," so they can get cut pretty easily.

Even things like the Marauders' full moon adventures and creation of the Map, Umbridge setting the dementors on Harry, and Neville's parents' fate are secondary material, meant to give more weight to the main story:

- The world would still be in mortal danger without four teenagers creating a map of their school, but that map helped stop that danger;

- Umbridge would still be a cruel bitch if we hadn't known she sent the dementors, but that tidbit show her own demented state of mind and how far she'll go to get what she wants.

- and we'd still want Voldemort dead even if we'd never heard of Neville Longbottom, because we've seen the impact he had on Harry. The info about the Longbottoms just gives more depth to the characters involved.

But regardless of what they left out, the basics stayed the same: "evil wizard finds path to immortality, boy wizard must stop him with the help of his friends" continued, except the written version had more information than the visual. The fans already knew what was missing, so our brains filled it in for us. And leaving out that bit of info for the adaptation process allowed people who hadn't read the books to know what was going on and how the information fit together, even if they had less information than the fans.

(I think of the miniseries Chernobyl, when the general asks how a nuclear reactor works. He gets a bare bones explanation, and can parrot it back to his subordinates later. He might not me able to do the math or understand all of the technical jargon, but that simple explanation has given him enough info to get things going.)

As the movies progressed, we saw more and more get left out since the books only got longer, or more in depth, or both which each new addition, but no matter what, that skeleton was still there, "evil wizard finds path to immortality, boy wizard must stop him with the help of his friends." And the 'friends' part was even more accurate with supporting characters!

Hermione was the nerd from the books, Ron was the goofy best friend, Neville was the underdog, Draco was the bully!

Every single character was fitting their book counterparts perfectly, they just couldn't be as in depth in this medium!

Lucius was the oily bastard you knew he was, Sirius was the Godfather who wanted to be there but couldn't, Bellatrix was the psychotic fanatic who'd do anything to earn Voldemort's praise, Dumbledo--

And that's where the similarities stop.

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a lot of things: he's the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot (the Wizard High Court), honoree of the highest medal of Honor possible for Wizards, one of the most notable contributors to the field of alchemy, and from what I understand a PHENOMENAL dancer.

He's human, and fallible like any other human, but he is definitely not stupid.

Just in book 1, before Ms. Rowling had even gotten into her stride as a storyteller, we see Dumbledore:

Send Harry to the safest place possible; watch over him as much as possible; send updated owls to Harry with every change of address; send Hagrid as the most friendly way to introduce Harry to his true world; Send Harry the invisibility cloak as a connection to his dad; say that he 'doesn't need a cloak to become invisible;' RETURN the cloak after Harry lost it; and turned around on his trip to London on some intuition, barely managing to save Harry's life.

While he might not be the warmest of people, probably due to a tendency to think too deeply, Dumbledore shows the strongest of power when he needs to fight, the quickest of words when he needs to talk, and what seems to be a clear sense of right and wrong (the waters get a little murky with that last one, but he stands up for what he sees is wrong, regardless of what he thought at 18), and a calm dignity, even while getting his feathers ruffled.

And that's exactly why this gets under our skin so much.

As fans of the books, we see Dumbledore do it all, in great detail. Even that infamous line is ended with "he asked CALMLY" (All Caps is my addition). We see Dumbledore:

-sit next to an 11-year old who nearly died recently and promise to some day tell him about the first time he nearly died as an infant AT THE HANDS OF THE SAME GUY... Calmly, because this is a conversation he's been dreading for years, so he's prepared.

- hire a clear fraud just to fill his staff; have two 12-year olds crash an illegal flying car into a living tree AND talk down the teacher that wanted to skin them alive; deal with an unknown threat that was attempting to kill his students; get forcibly removed from the school, only return ready to console grieving parents AND watch the same 12 year olds from earlier emerge from an unfindable chamber WITH the 11 year old who was thought to be dead....calmly, because he's lost loved ones, and he knows what it is to grieve.

- Hire a werewolf; keep that a secret from his students, their parents, and maybe even the government; and have two 13 year olds illegally time travel to save an animal an a convicted felon...calmly, because an innocent man's life is important.

- Host a death tournament specially designed to 'not kill;' and slowly watch a plot to revive to worst wizard ever unfold before his eyes....calmly, because he didn't have all of the information yet.

- Get slandered by the entirety of the government, and forcibly removed from his position in the Courts; have a government spy forced onto his staff; purposefully pissed her off; evade arrest and go on the lam...calmly, because he knows he's right, and the truth will out. THEN come back, fight every Death Eater in the ministry, fight Voldemort, convince the government not to arrest him, then talk Harry through his Godfather's death....calmly, because he knows he messed up, he even says that Harry show be so much angrier, and 'please, by all means, destroy my possessions'.

- Find out he's dying; find out there's a hit on him; recruit an old colleague, and use Harry as a means to reveal a crucial part of Voldemort's past, which he's been teaching to Harry all year; find a horcrux as well as pass on as much info about them as possible; AND get psychologically tortured mere moments before being murdered....

- AND, postmortem, we find out that Dumbledore has been playing pretty much everybody, but especially Harry....calmly, because for once, it really was "the greater good."

But he was fun loving too, maybe childishly so due to the fact that he had to grow up so fast.

- Some of His first words after Harry starts school are, "Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! And tweak!"

- He did what was best for the school AND Firenze by hiring the centaur, but he clearly enjoyed shoving it in Umbridge's face.

- and let's not forget the night he picked Harry up front Privet Drive. He obviously made those glasses hit the Dursleys as some small payback for how they treated Harry.

That's Dumbledore. Serious, wise, and seriously wise, with a penchant for mischief.

The movie Dumbledore gave none of that, especially with that terrible, terrible reading of that line.

That one line changed the entire character of Albus Dumbledore. Instead of the cool, calm, and collected man he always was, he lost control. In front of his foreign and governmental guests nonetheless. That would never happen to Dumbledore. He's seen the signs, and can tell something is up. That's WHY he hired "Mad-Eye."

Even that stupid Christmas scene added to the HBP movie, as much as I freaking HATE it, doesn't CHANGE anything. The Death Eaters attack and for some reason burn the house down. Boo hoo. Nobody gets hurt, nobody dies, the house is back to normal the next movie. No big deal. They just wanted to add to the drama some, instead of the usual deduction from the cuts.

This change is why we hate SO many other adaptations, or "cuts" as they call them.

-Those of us who are old enough to remember will freaking riot over the "Han shot first" argument, because we knew that there was no way in hell Han would sit and let Greedo take a shot at him, ESPECIALLY since they freaking showed it first, then changed it later.

-It's why we all hate M. Night. Shyamalan's fucking guts, because he took the single greatest cartoon masterpiece ever created, and tried to make it better. The one scene that sticks out to me is when they're trying to escape the earth-bending prison camp. First, they had to be removed from the land entirely, or their pride would cause a rebellion instantly; second, 6 benders did what we see Toph do her first lesson as a blind toddler. Unlike Lucas, Shyamalan wasn't trying to appease anyone. He just wanted a name for himself, so he decided to take on the most popular cartoon ever. Pass or fail, he has that fame now.

Some of the fault might lie with the director, or possibly even the actor himself. Michael Gambon is a respected actor, and probably had a sense for how the character would play, even if that sense might not have been based in the books. Couple that with multiple directors by this point, multiple actors having playing Dumbledore, and the books still gradually coming out, and the information and range for the character of Dumbledore might have been quite limited.

And let's not forget those cuts that needed to be made. With a shorter story comes a need to get the information across faster.

Instead of mulling it over for a moment while the rest of the group argues (and probably for a good year or so by this point), and calmly asking Harry if he entered himself in the tournament, the quick explosion both saves time by cutting the opening argument AND gives the audience a cue for suspense. They know something is wrong NOW, and they don't know what, but they'll find out as the people on screen do.

Personally, I believe that this system can be broken by a rather simple solution: TV show.

Instead of one movie, each book gets one Season, and every couple chapters or so gets an episode. I foresee problems as we get to the later books as opposed to the early one, since they start getting thick AF with GoF.

But I think the pros outweigh the cons.

-The locations for HP are actually incredibly limited. They pretty much go back and forth between the same dozen locations all seven books, so you could make sets to switch out whenever needed, and just reuse the exact same sets for seven straight years, with little to no change in between.

- We have all of the books now, and then some, and then some extra BS on top of that, and the plethora of headcanon out there, so we have more than enough information for every single thing about this place, excluding literal physical dimensions. Find a kid who looks like Harry, another actor who can flawlessly pull off Snape, and some old guy who wants to be goofy sometimes, and you've got gold.

- We could actually include the minor characters too. Peeves could pop in and out every few episodes, Dobby can play the role he was meant for, Kreacher can exist as more than 3 lines. The vanishing cabinet could actually be introduced in year 2, then addressed in Year 5, then revealed properly in year 6. Moaning Myrtle has her scenes, Bill Weasley has his, Tonks could be the most important female character besides Hermione or Ginny.....

Anyway, you get the picture. This whole thing was inspired by one comment, and I've been working on this for almost 6 hours now. Pretty sure I've worked harder in this post than any papers in high school...

Hollywood, if by some miracle you see this, I'll totally be a screen writer for the Harry Potter TV show. In the meantime, goodnight.

#harry potter series #harry potter #albus dumbledore #dumbledore #draco malfoy #ron weasley #hermione granger #sirius black #molly weasley

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convenientalias · 6 years ago

Note

omg omg okay. platonic Raoul/Christine soulmates plus "The soulmate goose of enforcement AU" (with Erik misunderstanding Everything)

fuckign gold.

Posted on AO3 here.

The Opera Populaire was packed nearly everyweek, if not every night. As such, many peculiar things had happened in it.Soulmate geese did show up from time to time to hassle poor audience membersout of their seats, down the row and into the city, to the cheers or boos ofthe rest of the audience and the annoyance of the actors who had to deal withthe distraction. However, it had never occurred before that a soulmate gooseshowed up in the middle of a performance and landed squarely in the middle ofthe stage.

Christine had seen the goose flying in, and shehad not faltered in her singing. She hoped it would be out soon, and whateverpoor soul it chased would be gone with it, and the show could go on. But now,with the goose squinting at her, she paused.

Carlotta, already pissed at being forced to playa supporting role, glared at her. She took up her song again. The goosesquawked. It projected almost as well as she did.

Then it lunged for her legs. Today she was in atrousers role, worse luck—less to protect her calves and thighs. She dodgedquickly, sending a nervous grin at the audience, trying to make it look like adance. The goose pecked at her again and again, sending her across the stageand back. She finished her solo hastily.As Carlotta began to sing, she hissed down at the goose, “Not now!”

The goose honked and landed a solid bite on herknee. She screamed.

Carlotta was fed up. “A pause!” she called outto the director, who obligingly called the music to a halt. She took the fanshe was using as a prompt and hit out at the goose. “Out! Out! Can’t you tell we’re in the middle of a show? Good lord, I’ve neverseen the day…”

She seemed more annoyed than Christine, even.Christine wondered with a wince whether this was because the goose hadobviously not been chasing Christine towards her, and there had been thosecouple of times they had hooked up—nothing serious, they both knew, but to haveit rubbed in her face…

The goose flapped its wings. It lunged atChristine again, but Carlotta was ready. She stepped in front of Christine,grasped the goose by the neck, and hurled it offstage.

It barely recovered before hitting an audiencemember, flapping its wings and still landing less than gracefully. For amoment, it stared at Christine, beady eyes menacing. Christine sweated. Shecould go backstage, maybe, and they could get her understudy… a bit of a blow,with this being the opening night for this show, but it it was necessary…

Then the goose turned and took to the air.Every person in the audience tracked its flight, up to one of the privateboxes, the de Chagny box, where it landed in front of Philippe and Raoul deChagny. It didn’t hesitate before grabbing Raoul by the collar and lifting himstraight up out of the box.

Soulmate geese were, after all, stronger thanthe average goose.

As the startled Vicomte flailed his legs andheld on tight to his collar—he almost fell out of his jacket and into thecrowd, a far fall—the goose swept back to the stage and dumped him right infront of Christine. It then circled around Christine and shoved her on top ofhim.

The audience was completely silent.

Christine tried to get off Raoul—she was surehe had at least some bruises from the way the goose had dumped him, and shedidn’t need to squash them—but the goose made this difficult by jumping up anddown on her back. At last, with a final triumphant squawk, it launched into theair again and flew out the open doors.

Christine got off Raoul. “Raoul! Are you allright?”

“Perfectly. I’m sorry to interrupt your show—I’llbe right off—” He was already scrambling to his feet.

“You’ve cut your forehead!”

“Nothing, it’s nothing.”

Christine glanced at Carlotta, who was stillglaring. “Shall we go to my room?”

The audience had erupted into murmurs—well, tocall the talk merely murmurs would be generous, as it ranged from loud gossipto actual hooting. It would take time to call them to heel, and perhaps anunderstudy would be best after all. For tonight, even her face would be adistraction.

Raoul flushed. “You can’t imagine—”

“Shh.” She pulled him along with her, off thestage. “I mean what I say, no more. Our minds needn’t be as dirty as theirs.”

“Of course.”

She squeezed his hand. “For what it’s worth,there’s no one I’d rather have. And we would always have been friends anyway.”

He was blushing now. Declarations of friendshipembarrassed him as easily as romantic overtures. She shook her head. “To myroom, before we are attacked by the press.”

The noble class heartily disapproved. Everyoneshaking heads and tutting. Most of them secretly enjoying the scandal—a Vicomteand an opera girl, how rich!—except for a few who had been considering Raoul asan eligible bachelor. Philippe was the most put out—“So there’s nothing betweenyou and the Swede, hm? Really, Raoul…”—but he was also one of the few who wouldbelieve it really was just a platonic bond. Probably because that was all hewanted it to be. He still had hopes of Raoul having a proper marriage.

Everyone outside the noble class, of course,was having a ball. The newspapers didn’t run it as a headline because there hadbeen a lurid murder that week, but it still hit the front page. Every womanwith dreams of a Cinderella story for herself sighed over the romance of itall. And everyone at the opera house congratulated Christine for an excellentmatch, except for Carlotta, who Christine managed, with some difficulty, toappease. So it went.

Christine didn’t try very hard to quiet therumors. No one would believe her, anyhow. Platonic bonds were a well knownphenomenon, but they were only expected between men and men or women and women.Between a man and a woman? One could claim what they wished, but still eyebrowswould raise and whispers would circulate. Sooner or later it would all diedown, and in the meantime it was good publicity.

She only regretted her failure to clarifymatters when, four days after the event, she received a rather menacing notefrom Erik. Summoning her down to the tunnels to visit—where, he said, hersoulmate would be waiting for.

She pinched her nose in exasperation. Whycouldn’t the soulmate goose have stayed around to chase off troublesomephantoms? If it was so invested in her and Raoul’s eternal bliss… But the goosedid what it was called to do, and the rest was left to mortals. With a sigh,she headed out.

“You chose thisover me? This?” Erik flapped a handangrily at Raoul, who was currently tied to a chair and not looking veryamused.

Christine’s hands were on her hips. “TechnicallyI didn’t choose him at all. The goose did.”

“You told me I had nothing to worry about from—”

“I told you I wasn’t interested in men at all,so I don’t see why you’re acting like his rival.”

“Not interested in any men, and yet yoursoulmate is a man. You told me he was a childhood friend…”

“I told you the truth and nothing else. Myaffairs are none of your business, at any rate.”

“Christine would never lie,” Raoul put in. Hedidn’t seem all that intimidated despite Erik’s looming. In fact, he mostlylooked a bit tired. Poor Raoul. She’d barely seen him since the goose hadpushed them together, but she knew what a lot of badgering he was getting. Allthat and this on top of it… she should have seen it coming, really, but poorRaoul…

“Shh,” Erik said, not looking back at him. “Well,Christine? Explain yourself.”

“Oh, you’re not a cheated husband. Stopgrandstanding.” She was tired too, and irritated. “Raoul and I have been bestfriends for years. I already told you that—we didn’t need a goose to…”

“Geese,” Erik said, “don’t come to best friends.”

“And yet you told me one once came to drive youinto the arms of your Daroga, and the two of you were only friends.”

Erik angrily sat down on the chair next toRaoul’s—they were at a table with four chairs total, more guests than Erik hadprobably ever had at a go. “Don’t presume to know my relationship with Nadir.It is none of your business.”

Raoul and Christine exchanged glances. Well.This was almost worth it for that tidbit. Christine and Raoul had suspectedErik had some romantic connection to Nadir in the past for sometime—the twowere awkward enough about it—but Erik would never give a straight answer.Though this was hardly proof positive; he might just be avoiding the questionas always.

Now was probably not the time to probe.

Christine cleared her throat. “Well then, wecan agree that one’s soulmate is a private matter?”

“Minx,” Erik muttered petulantly.

“Don’t insult Christine,” Raoul said.

“Oh, you shut up.”

“We can agree on that?” Christine said, raisingher voice slightly.

“Fine, yes. I’ll admit to the possibility of…friendship… between you and this goose-driven piece of—”

“That’s my soulmate you’re talking about,”Christine warned.

“…Vicomte,” Erik finished. “But if I hear aboutthe two of you getting engaged in a couple months, you’ll see the consequences.Don’t think I’ll be soft just because you’ve found your soulmate. You made anoath to follow only your career, to never love a man…”

“Then we’ll talk then.” Christine smiledtightly. “And for now, would you mind untying my soulmate from that chair?”

Erik huffed. But he obeyed, and grumblinglyoffered them the use of his gondola so they could take the watery shortcut out.

“You know,” Christine mused, as they made theirway down the stream, “it wouldn’t be the worst idea for us to get married.”

“Philippe,” Raoul said, “would murder me. Oryou, more likely.” He smiled apologetically.

“You’re probably right. Might be funny, though.”

“Christine.”

“I’m joking, dear. No need to work yourself up.Do you want me to row for a while?”

“If you don’t mind.”

She took the oars. “Of course not. Now tell me,have any reporters been to see you since last time we talked? They haven’t leftme alone… of course it’s easier to approach a singer than a Vicomte, you haveyour distance from the press, but that’s all the more reason you should beprepared, you have no experience…”

So they went on, following the flow of thewater. Far away, on the banks of the Seine, a goose was gobbling down waterrushes. It needed the energy. Only the next day, it had been assigned a moredifficult target: Carlotta Giudicelli, a woman who had already swatted it once.It grinned—as much as a beak could grin—thinking of the challenge. Ah, a chanceto use its teeth on a worthy opponent! And to be in the public eye again. Itpreened the feathers of its wing, thinking of how the audience would stareagain. Oh, but these were delicious rushes. Better not to get ahead of onesself. It took another bite of greens. One lived for small pleasures, after all,not merely for fame and victory: the savoring of a quiet dinner, the pleasureof a job well done.

#christine daae #raoul de chagny #i wrote a thing #still open for crack prompts btw #thanks for the prompt!

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mycasandstarrs · 7 years ago

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SPN 3x12: “Jus in Bello”

Hoo freaking boy.

Just how many wigs did Bela own?

“You understand how many people are gonna die if you do this?” The answer is approximately 30.

“You know nothing about me.” Gee, it’s like you’ve told them nothing about you and they’re only going off their ow personal experiences with you, which are currently “kinda” shitty.

And then she adds salt to the wound...son of a bitch.

Hello, Henriksen.

Dude, chill out.

“Hey! Hey! Watch the merchandise!”

The boys being chained together like that must’ve caused some funny shenanigans as they had to move together.

Like right freaking now.

I’m just now realizing that the BMOL are currently keeping an eye on this shit going down and aren’t raising a finger to do anything about it.

Henriksen has to go through his own b.s.

“I got a lot to celebrate. I mean, after all, seeing you two in chains...”

“You kinky son of a bitch. We don’t swing that way.” lmao.

“Take a good look at Sam. You two will never see each other again.”

WHOA WHOA WHOA. PUMP THE BREAKS HENRIKSEN.

What a dick. He kinda has to be, so I get why...but srsly chill out.

See, like right there. He goes in for a handshake and gets handed paperwork instead and treated like an inferior. I was pissed at Henriksen less than 10 seconds ago yet when someone treats him poorly, I’m outraged.

Deputy Director Steven Groves.

OOH SHIT HE SHOT DEAN HOW DID I NOT SEE THAT COMING

Sam memorized his exorcism!

But doesn’t complete it, the demon makes an early exit.

RIP Deputy Director Steven Groves

Poor Dean bleeding out. Jeez, give him medical attention!

RIP All these people.

RIP Reidy

Henriksen and the Winchesters all keeping their cool.

See, that’s the Henriksen I like!

Sam and his powers of convincing.

SAM THAT IS REALLY JOLTING, JEEZ.

Nice work, Sam.

“Would it kill these cops to bring us a snack?!” They’re the target of a major demon attack and Dean’s major concern is that he’s hungry, lmao.

“It’s like we got a contract on us. Think it’s because we’re so awesome? I think it’s ‘cause we’re so awesome.” LMAO, shut up Dean.

One of these two is possessed AND IT WAS HENRIKSEN.

RIP Sheriff.

Good job Sam!

Nothing like a good ol’ exorcism to convince people that the supernatural exists.

“I shot the sheriff.”

“But you didn’t shoot the deputy.”

I made the exact joke when I first watched this right before Dean did. I’m telling you, me and Dean? Connected.

Sam’s ultimate bitchface, hahahaha.

(x)

Aaayyyy. The alliance has been forged.

Both Henriksen and Dean ask Nancy how she’s doing.

“When I was little, I would come home from the church and start to talk about the devil. And my parents would tell me to stop being so literal. I guess I showed them, huh?” She’s got a great sense of humor.

Dean risks his ass to get more weapons.

Shame they don’t have the freakin’ Colt....

Get back inside Dean!!!

Was Sam unaware of Dean leaving?

Guess not.

Well, that was something.

Anti possession charms.

AAYYY THEIR TATTOOS!

Henriksen laments over his kill.

OH NO DUDE.

Henriksen gets “the talk”.

Would Henriksen have become a hunter? He would’ve been a pretty good one. Him, Jody, and Donna: cops turned part time hunters.

God, Henriksen had personality.

Fucking Ruby.

Sam, without question, frees Ruby from the trap. I’m about as frustrated as Dean right now.

30 demons.

Sam kept quiet about Lilith? Son of a bitch, Sam. And I know this shit is gonna continue into S4....

Again, had BELA not interfered and stolen the Colt, they wouldn’t be getting ripped a new one by Ruby.

Tho Dean is somewhat enjoying watching Sam fumble his way through an explanation. Payback for keeping secrets from him.

Damn it, the Colt being gone means that Ruby has to perform a spell that would kill even her. We missed out on an early Ruby death, fucking hell.

(But this is reminding me of when Cas almost killed himself when he carved an angel banishing sigil on his chest to get rid of 5 angels. Cas and Ruby, both willing to kill themselves to help out the Winchesters, except the former actually went through with his plan...)

The spell calls for a virgin...Nancy steps forward.

Unfortunately, it calls for Nancy’s heart to get cut out of her chest.

Nancy is noble af. She deserves better.

“Nobody kill any virgins!” Kinda funny out of context.

Dean’s got a plan.

Dean’s plan wins.

Oh boo freaking hoo Ruby.

Also, I’m just realizing that Sam considered going through with Ruby’s plan because it would save the people outside...when she already killed a good number of them just to get to them. Dude...where is your logic.

8 minutes left. Here we go lads.

Dean and Henriksen working together! Fucking A!

“When this is over, I’m gonna have so much sex...but not with you.” Nancy...you’re awesome.

A mass exorcism! Dean’s plan was so great.

But one demon gets away....

How cool was that???

“Rest in peace, guys.”

Oh, Henriksen....goddamn it, I’m about to be sooo fucking sad.

no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no no

RIP Henriksen, Nancy, and all the others. They deserved so much better.

I hate when Ruby’s right. I hate admitting when she’s got a point, fuck man.

Don’t let her get you down,boys. Y’all did the best you could...which is often the greatest tragedy: doing everything correctly, giving it your all, and still coming up short.

(Allow me to scream into the void.)

#supernatural #spn summer rewatch #spn liveblog #spn 3x12

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wish4youff · 8 years ago

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03 ~ She Knows

Chrissie

College Days

The sounds of Keyshia Cole's The Way It Is played throughout the dorm room. Every night before bed, Destiny, my roommate, and I, tagged team what we would listen to as the night wind down. ‘You've Changed’ vibrated off the walls through the speakers, brightening both of our spirits as we tried to hit every note. It was slowly becoming the last week of our freshman year here at Harvard. I don't know how it had come and everything was going so smoothly, but I blamed it on blessings, Grace, and luck. Thus far, I have scraped through three out of my five exams. Tomorrow's Professor Green's, my history professor, who already forewarned us that her exam would written responses only. As difficult as she's making it seem, I was feeling pretty confident. Today was my class-free day and I spent about four hours of those hours getting my clothes together for the move out of the dorms next week and the rest of my time studying. Sticky notes, paper pads, and my laptop was my bestfriends right now. "Hey, boo," Looking up I encountered a full dressed Destiny. "I'm heading to Brian's for the night. You okay?" I could only nod in response before she disappeared into her closet on her side of the room. Tossing things into an oversized blue night bag. At this point, I don’t even know why she asks me. For one, she's grown and knows I don't care. If she stays where she is and doesn't come buzzing in, while I'm trying to sleep, we have no issues. And most importantly Destiny has been staying with Brian for the past three weeks straight. So, I didn't get the point. But it was nice. I suppose.

I looked up once more to see her zip up the duffle bag and blow me a kiss before slipping out the door of our room. Slowly, I eased myself off the bed, going to lock the door behind her. Security guards were off the clock at seven and it's now ten. She wasn’t coming back. Half of me envied Destiny the moment I was left alone. To have made so many friends, caught the attention of a good guy on this campus, and kept up her grades. She was something to admire. While I, on the other hand, was struggling to keep the friends I had, spend time with them, and juggle keeping my grades up. My GPA was still sitting at a 3.5, but I had no choice. If I wanted to stay at this Harvard, I couldn't afford to let it drop. My scholarship requirements are a 3.5 or higher.

And the only attention from the opposite sex came to me at the night and was gone before dawn. We kept a poker face for our friends, during the day when our paths crossed, but deep down there was dark secrets, lost hope, and pain. Things we would always share. I only spent another thirty minutes studying before I noticed that everything that I read was becoming jumbled words. Putting my laptop on its charger, I flung the books in my bag for tomorrow along with the papers before stripping from my pajama pants. As always, the T.V. played as I laid in the bed, waiting for my heavy eyes, and worn out body to give up the fight of insomnia. It's a shame, even after almost ten months of being here at Harvard, there had been only one cure. Luckily, I didn't have Green's exam until twelve in the afternoon. So maybe it wouldn't be so bad. I hope.

Somewhere in the middle of the night, I suppose the fight ended and I gave myself some resting time. I didn't wake until around four in the morning, my body overheated and covered by someone else. Before I could complain, his arm lift and hit the fan beside my bed, as if he could read my mind, immediately cooling my hot body.

As easy as sleep could take over my body right now, I now, wasn't allow it. Shifting around, I sat up, our eyes instantly locking. His big brown orbs lingering on me as if I was the intruder. Waiting for this man to speak first was like waiting for God to speak. I would kill to know what ran through his mind, but it was unfortunate, I knew he wouldn't mourn my death no more than his own. Kingston broke the starring competition off, shaking his head at the fact that I knew. I knew what was wrong and it killed him to know someone could read him as if he was their own personal book. Laying down, I felt him wrap his arms around me after some time, snuggling me into his lean, yet strong chest. I didn't know what this was. We helped each other by being loyal friends during the day and night, we made sure of comfort by holding each other. Yet, Kingston would be the last person to ever love anyone back. And as much as I knew this, I couldn't turn the other way and leave the man to suffer by himself. "Goodnight, Babygirl." "Goodmorning, King." Mumbling my response softly, my body betrayed me as I started to fall back to asleep.

King

"I know I'm the last person you want to hear this from, but you need to get out more, Kingston." Rolling my head back against the desk chair inside of my office at the D.C. headquarters, I was still trying to figure out when and why my door being unlock was invitation for public communication. Then again, it being closed does halt some to at least knock, but for Stephen, it didn't matter. "You're right, Pops," I said, and I could tell, he knew I was about to be an asshole. "You are the last person I want to hear this from." "You know you get that arrogant mouth of yours from your mother." No words formed after his statement. Nothing appropriate. Shaking my head, I stood from my seat, grabbing the Gucci Heritage jacket. Slipping it on to my frame, my eyes locked with his. Stephen knew something was on the tip of my tongue. He was strong in his stance, daring his son to challenge him. The man hadn't been in my presence for more than 2 minutes and was already pissing me off. "You came here for a reason?" "You got another assignment. You can't turn this one down." Tossing a folder onto the desk, it was official I should've just flew my ass to Charlotte after New York. "I'll look over it." Picking it up, I tossed the folder in a desk draw. I had a good mind to not even accept it, but it would be the second time I denied him. Stephen wouldn't be too pleased with the slap to the face. "I need an answer, Kingston." "Right now?" "You just lost one case that I have to explain to damn Director. How many more do you plan to take your time and thinking about? Just do your job." "You and McCabe know that was out of my control. Assassin's edict clearly states that if my target dies before I approach, it goes under investigation of the whichever State the crimes takes place. And FBI must terminate any doings due to lack of secrecy and protection of the assassin on duty. So, my job was for me to walk away, at that point. Miss me with the bullshit," "Watch it." Stephen cut in, his body leaning up from the wall as he approached me. "Don't come to my office, digging into my business, and then threatening my damn job. I have 72 hours to accept an assignment and I can happily deny any." "You are one of the only men here I trust to do these jobs." "No, I'm one of the only men you think you can control because you pulled strings to get me this job." I clarified for him. The envious smirk that spread across his face, had my fist yearning to punch anything. "You need to be in Miami in four days. Information on the case and person is the file. I expect you to read and comprehend and use that expensive ass college brain of yours to get the job done. Once again. Good day, Mr. Vitale." In a matter of seconds, I was alone, my hands tight against the edge of my desk. As much as Stephen got a kick out of controlling, there was a dark cloud hanging over him. Vitale. My mother's maiden name. Victoria Vitale, daughter of Victor Kingston Vitale; an Italian made-man that went lengths to protect his. Stephen and my grandfather hadn't gotten along a day in Victor's life and I couldn't help but believe I played a role. As much as my grandfather welcomed me with open arms, he hated my father for my mother's sake. If only she had listened to him. When man leans on you, shares his deepest secrets, and cherishes you. There's no distance he'll go to protect you and himself from you.

Even I had my own experience with this mentality.

#J. Cole FF

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flauntpage · 7 years ago

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Earnie Stewart’s Union Legacy is What, Exactly?

It’s funny how most people who leave the Philadelphia Union organization go on to bigger and better things. A pair of public relations folks ended up with the LA Galaxy and Atlanta United. A third works for Adidas. Nick Sakiewicz became commissioner of the National Lacrosse League and Taylor Twellman steered his color commentary job into an international ESPN gig.

Sporting Director Earnie Stewart is the latest to hit the upgrade button, turning his two-and-a-half seasons into a national role as the very first General Manager of U.S. Soccer. I don’t know exactly what the job entails, since it’s brand new, but Earnie is a former USA international who appeared 101 times for his country and went on to have success navigating the transfer market and promoting homegrown athletes in player-personnel roles with Dutch clubs NAC Breda and AZ Alkmaar.

I’m confident he’ll do a good job with the USMNT, hopefully better than what he did in Philadelphia, because his tenure here was average, at best.

To really understand things, though, you have to go back to 2015, when the Union were sort of flopping around at the tail-end of the Sakiewicz years. Jim Curtin was an inexperienced 36-year-old coach. Chris Albright was a second-year technical director. Rene Meulensteen had returned to Europe after completing a half-assed consultation gig and the Union had just lost a second-straight U.S. Open Cup final on their home field while fumbling their way to a 10 win, 17 loss, 7 draw regular season. February signing Steven Vitoria was a bust and Fernando Aristeguieta struggled with injuries. Maurice Edu was again forced into defense and goals were just hard to come by.

So the overarching thought back then was that this franchise just needed an executive with clout, somebody with connections and experience to make a few good signings and guide Curtin and Albright. They really just needed someone to tie this whole thing together. With the addition of Bethlehem Steel on the horizon, you now had a real pipeline in which to pull young Philadelphia-area players through your academy, up to the Lehigh Valley, and ultimately into the senior team.

That was probably Stewart’s biggest achievement, giving the green light to Derrick Jones, Auston Trusty, Matt Real, Mark McKenzie, and Anthony Fontana. Even if Tommy Wilson and Jeff Cook and Chris Brewer (and others) did the hard work of training those kids in the academy, Earnie believed that they were ready, and he really was the final piece to completing that puzzle. All five of those players have earned senior team minutes this season, though the most talented of the bunch, Jones, has been relegated to the bench, or out of the 18 completely.

Beyond that, there isn’t much to write about. Stewart brought a sense of professionalism to the team. He tried to build a scouting department from nothing. The team literally did not have a scouting department, and now two former interns work with Albright and the GM on external acquisitions. He installed workplace methods and processes that make it seem like things run more smoothly behind the scenes, but the on-field results haven’t really improved that much. His 2016 team stormed out to a 1st place summer, then struggled badly down the stretch and bombed out with 14 losses and a wildcard playoff exit. The 2017 team finished 11-14-9, 8th place in the east. This year’s squad currently sits in 7th with an 8-10-3 record.

Overall, the club finished with 30 wins, 38 losses, and 21 draws during Stewart’s tenure.

Maybe it was the archaic and clunky single-entity MLS rules or maybe it was the Union’s cheap budget, but Stewart’s foreign signings ended up being just okay. Some guys bombed out entirely while others turned out to be nice pieces. There really was no stud acquisition or slam dunk signing.

Looking down the list, it’ a lot of hit or miss:

Jay Simpson*

Anderson Conceicao

Ilsinho

Alejandro Bedoya**

Roland Alberg

Giliano Wijnaldum

Haris Medunjanin

Borek Dockal

Fafa Picault

David Accam

Ken Tribbett

Oguchi Onyewu

Corey Burke

Olivier Mbaizo

Charlie Davies trade

Sebastien Le Toux trade

homegrowns: Derrick Jones, Mark McKenzie, Matt Real, Anthony Fontana, Auston Trusty, Adam Najem***

drafting Keegan Rosenberry, Josh Yaro, Fabian Herbers, Jack Elliott, and Marcus Epps

It’s always hard to say how much specific people are responsible for certain moves.

Jim Curtin and Chris Albright wanted to bring in Bedoya in 2015**. Albright went to England to meet with Simpson*. Tribbett and Rosenberry were players Curtin was already familiar with. Najem came through New York’s system, even though he counted as a homegrown player with the Union***. The Davies trade was a disaster and the Le Toux trade made sense, though it was not popular with the fan base. Some of the draft picks went through bad sophomore slumps. Guys like Chris Pontius and Walter Restrepo I believe were targeted before Stewart officially started on the job, but I guess since Earnie was at the top of the personnel food chain, blanket successes and failures both fell at his feet.

There were definitely some good signings, like Medunjanin, Ilsinho, and Dockal. There are some big disappointments, like Wijnaldum and Simpson. Alberg was an excellent player with a shit attitude. Picault definitely has his moments. It certainly wasn’t all bad.

One thing I found interesting was Stewart’s defense of Curtin, and he went to bat vehemently for his head coach on more than one occasion, famously saying this at a closed-doors town hall meeting with season ticket holders last May:

“It really bugs me that my coach gets booed. You know what? I’m here every single day, and I watch every single practice. There’s nobody there. There’s nobody watching what he does with his coaching staff every single day. Not one person. Still, I come here on Saturday, and they boo him. That pisses me off. It really pisses me off. Is soccer about winning and losing? Yes, it is. It is about winning and losing. That part I get. That part Jim gets. We all get that. And that part sucks, that there always comes a moment where you have to have conversations with each other. But I see what they do every single day, what I ask them to do every single day – to train our system, to train our players, make sure they go from 6,000 meters to 8,000 meters, 10,000 meters to 14,000 meters.

“And still, Monday through Friday, I don’t see anybody out there. Still, they come and they criticize.”

In that same meeting, Stewart gave an impassioned, 20 minute reply to a question about the lack of attendance at the stadium, the waning interest in the team, and the overall absence of success since the team’s 2010 founding.

The most intriguing part began with a look back at his Alkmaar years:

“…In the five years I was there we managed four times to get European soccer and evolve. What made me proudest of all was that I turned on the TV, I’m watching my old team, and they’re playing at FC Twente. They started the game with five players that came out of the academy. The three substitutions that came in were academy players who came in for players that they bought. That’s eight academy players on the field and they won the game in the last minute. It doesn’t say much, but all of the crap that I took for having a plan and having a vision, but that game, and I’m not there anymore, those eight kids were out there. They’re really good. One is up for the Dutch national team. Another has gotten sold for millions. The others are competing for European soccer. That part makes me very proud.

That’s why I sit here and can say to you, and I don’t want to sound corny or sound like the 76ers, but I have a passion and a burning desire and we’re going to get there. Hopefully, soon those seats will be full. And people who come for winning and losing? If they’re only coming for that, I’m not going to promise it. If you come to see us win every single game, don’t do it. You’re going to get disappointed. But if you come to watch our players roll up their sleeves, go out every day, play within our vision, play in our system, and compete, we give those players chances. Everybody talks about DPs. Playing Derrick Jones and Josh Yaro, they are DPs for me. They don’t make DP money at all. They’re not even close. But they are gonna be DPs for us.”

I always had a problem with that quote – “people who come for winning and losing.” This is Philly. It most certainly is about winning and losing. It’s not about driving down to desolate Chester, Pennsylvania to golf clap for a “good job” by the lads.

And of course, he backed up Curtin’s insistence on playing the same 4-2-3-1 formation day-in and day-out, suggesting that maybe the players were unable to learn something different:

Exchange between myself and Earnie Stewart regarding the Union's commitment to the 4-2-3-1: pic.twitter.com/ugMNoME1F2

— Kevin Kinkead (@Kevin_Kinkead) May 3, 2017

Earnie definitely hitched himself to the Curtin bandwagon when the fan base was not entirely enthusiastic about the head coach.

I know Stewart never had much to work with as a Sporting Director operating under the frugal and ambition-less Jay Sugarman, and maybe he was trying to temper expectations via misdirection and the elevating of auxiliary goals such as youth development and U.S. national team placement. Maybe he knew this was an impossible task and tried to drop us some hints along the way. But at the end of the day, you play to win the game, as Herman Edwards once said. I think it’s really cool for the Union fan to see Derrick Jones in a United States kit, but they definitely would prefer the first playoff victory in franchise history.

Recently, I’ve come around to the idea that maybe we put too much on Earnie’s shoulders as fans and media. To think that a player-personnel executive was going to fix all of the ills of this team was, in retrospect, naive, but people need to remember that we were exiting the Sakiewicz years and it felt like this franchise, for the first time ever, was moving forward with a cohesive strategy. Everybody got along with one another. The media leaks and the ridiculous behavior stopped. Peter Nowak and Diego Gutierrez were long gone and the lengthy list of Union disappointments and fuck-ups seemed to be a thing of the past. Earnie did a lot to clean up the culture around the club and get it operating like a professional sports franchise, which is the very least that should be expected out of a Major League Soccer club in 2018. The Union now have practice fields, an excellent training facility, and a pipeline from the academy to the senior team. The most evasive thing has been meaningful wins on the field.

So I don’t really know what to think. I would say that, yes, the Union are in a better spot now than when Earnie Stewart started in 2016. On the IASIP podcast, we sort of characterized the team as a website that now runs more smoothly on the back end with a smarter layout and operational fluidity that didn’t previously exist. It’s kind of like going from Geocities to WordPress, right? The analytics and scouting and day to day processes are in place. The foundation is there. A lot of the behind the scenes stuff is much improved, which is difficult for the average fan to see since it’s not readily apparent.

It’s hard to describe, but it just “feels” like the Union are more buttoned up than they were a few years back.

But the problem is that the evolution is not congruent with the way the rest of the league has grown. Yes, the 2018 Union are probably better than the 2016 Union. But the 2018 Red Bulls are also better than the 2016 Red Bulls. Atlanta and Los Angeles, recent expansion teams, are light years ahead, playing high-level soccer in brand new, downtown stadiums. Toronto FC lost a continental cup final on penalty kicks after knocking out a couple of elite Mexican clubs.

Where are the Union? They’re now eight seasons in with zero playoff wins. They’re 0-2 in cup finals and hemorrhaging season ticket holders. They can’t score goals and they simply can’t compete with the upper tier of MLS clubs.

It’s nice that Stewart came in and improved things and stabilized the structure and added the foundation and whatever, but you’re a professional sports team. You’re SUPPOSED to have a foundation. It shouldn’t take eight seasons to establish that. You’re supposed to have scouts and analytics and an academy and a minor league team. These really are bare minimum prerequisites for running a professional sports franchise, and it shows you just how far behind the Union actually were when they started from scratch in 2008.

Earnie Stewart’s legacy, then, feels like a connecting flight, when I think everybody had hoped to reach their final destination instead.

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ultramediocre-blog1 · 7 years ago

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Ultra-Marathons: The 15 Stages Of Suffering

So, you’ve signed up for your first ultra-marathon. You’re probably wondering a lot of things: What should I expect? What’s it like to run 50 miles? 100K? 100 miles?

I’ve run a handful of ultra-marathons, and while I’m far from the most experienced guy on the starting line, I’ve noted some common threads from races and conversations with many runners.

Each ultra-marathon is a unique journey into an abyss of pain, suffering, and uncertainty. But when running more than 26 miles in one go, you can expect to touch on these “stages of suffering.”

1) Jitters

A couple days before a big ultra, there may be some funny churning in your gut. You’ll be asking yourself “Am I insane?” Of course, friends and family also asking you if you’re insane won’t help.

2) Panic

Full blown panic sets in the night before the race. You’ll look at those poor toenails and say “nice knowing you” as you wolf down every possible bit of food you can fit in your stomach. The panic will reach a fevered pitch the morning of the race as you mill about in the dark, chilled in your skimpy clothing, corralled together with hundreds of other insane masochists awaiting the starting call of “3, 2, 1 …”

3) Adrenaline

GO! The field of runners surges into the morning gloom, headlamps blazing. All the anticipation washes away, and you are running. Running! Cool air flows over your skin and the earth zips by. The pack moves fast – probably faster than you want – but you don’t care. All is right in the world, and the sun is about to rise.

4) The Reality Check

I’m pretty sure this is different for every race, and for every runner. But for me, it’s been consistently about five miles in when I realize I’m running WAY TOO FAST! Caught up in the excitement of the race, it’s easy to blow out of the gate hot. But then that first monster climb, or false flat, or rocky single track pops up, and you catch yourself breathing really hard. Reality check! Get that pace under control. There is still a LONG way to go.

5) Aid Station #1

The first aid station in an ultra always seems rushed. Nobody dawdles, as everyone still feels good. But it’s here that I tend to take note that, yes, I’m in this all day. Food is important! Pack in some calories! And here you’ll hopefully notice (and fix) any gear problems you’ve thus far ignored, like chafing straps or a small rock in your shoe. Left unattended, tiny things grow into a race-ending injury over the many miles ahead.

6) It’s Gonna Be A Long Day

Somewhere after that first aid station, you will likely accept the fact that you have a very long day ahead. Your feet might give you that first twinge of pain. You might realize you’ve sucked down an entire bladder of water and refilled it once already. The sun may have climbed high into the sky. You’ve resigned yourself to the effort, and you’re ready to slug it out.

7) ‘This Is Bullshit’

Those very words have rolled through my mind at some point in every ultra, and for me, it’s usually around mile 30. For races longer than 50 miles, the 30 mile point can be make or break, and it’s a tempting place to give up. Things will probably really start to hurt now, and you still have a long way to go.

8) Bargaining

The mental game of ultra-marathon is a monster. When running and suffering for 12, 15, 24… shoot, 48 hours or more, it’s easy to let things snowball. You will make deals with yourself, like “I’ll just get to the next aid station,” or “if I can get to the top of this climb, I can stop and walk slowly for a few minutes.” It seems inevitable, you’ll make yourself a lot of deals as things start to hurt. Hopefully, they will propel you forward, and not toward a DNF.

9) Halfway There

The halfway point is a big deal. It will mess with your psyche. Yay! I’m halfway there! Boo! I’m only halfway there!

10) Point Of No Return

Most non-elite runners have a bit of built in “safety valve” in which they allow themselves the (possibly remote) chance of quitting if things get too rough. But at some point, you’ll close that valve, shutting off the possibility of quitting and resigning yourself to finish “no matter what.” And you will, barring race-ending injury. I usually get here at about the two-thirds point in the race.

11) The Pain Cave

There will come a point where everything just sucks. You’ll be pissed at the course and race directors for making you climb that stupid hill. Your shoes will be the wrong choice. Nothing tastes good. Your stomach feels wrong. And EVERY DAMN STEP HURTS! Welcome to the pain cave. You will be here as long as needed to get the job done. Get comfortable. Embrace the pain. As ultra-running legend Scott Jurek famously reminds himself in a mantra, “this is what you came here for.”

12) Realization

I won’t go so far as calling it “enlightenment,” but usually, somewhere in the darkness of the pain cave, you will discover some really amazing things about yourself. Maybe day will have passed into night and the stars are twinkling. You may be alone on the trail, and a mountain view will simply take your breath away. You’ll understand your place on the planet, and in the universe, just a little better.

And you’ll know. This is why you run ultras.

13) Will This Ever End

You’ve had some ups. You’ve had some downs. You’re getting pretty near the end of the race. But JEEZ WILL THIS EVER END? You just want to get done at this point, but there’s still, say, a half marathon of running left in front of you. Shuffle on, and try to get back to that realization stuff. You’re not done yet.

14) Smelling The Barn

You’re getting so close you can smell it! You pick up the pace. Your dream trail food – pizza, ice cream, burritos – looms large in your brain. A shower and cold beer and bed! Yes, yes, and yes! Soon enough you’ll be hugging a loved one and plopping down in a chair. A CHAIR! Man, the simple things in life. Rock it out now, ’cause you’re almost home.

15) The Emotional Avalanche

The finish line comes in a blur. If it’s a long ultra, it’s probably night. The lights will shock you a bit. You might feel some tears coming on. Why now?! WTF? The relief is overwhelming. Then you find a seat for a moment. Start bandaging your wounds. Talk a little with other finishers, your family, pacer, crew. Eat if you can, drink too. You’re body is in shock, likely shivering too much. Put on lots of clothes, and get ready for some weird sleep. You’ve done it. The race is over, but the journey is far from complete.

Author’s Note: Ultra-marathons generally require a massive effort from hundreds of volunteers, race crews, land managers, and first responders. I’m remiss not to say “thank you” to all those involved in hosting and making races successful, without whom they would not be possible. Thank you.

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