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rose-riot-johnson · 3 months ago

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🍡About Rose Riot Johnson🍡

🍡Welcome to my blog my Tumblr Peeps🍡

I decided to have a post about my blog (and myself), plus other stuff pertaining this blog😃👍Yes, I do change what I have as my pinned post depending on how I feel, however this post will be my pinned post (for now), until I decide to change what will be my pinned post, for any reason. While I haven't figured out how to write a masterlist, I figured I'd atleast write some some stuff I could think of for this post.

🍡Possible Fun Facts(?)🍡

*While my real 1st name is Amber, I am okay with being called "Amber" or "Rose" or "Rose Riot" or "Rose Riot Johnson"😁👍I seriously don't mind😃👍

*When I 1st started on Tumblr, I did use a different name of this blog, however I decided I wanted to change it to "Rose Riot Johnson" 🍡

*While there are things I dislike, there are alot of things I like also, especially cartoons, anime, certain shows, some movies as well😁👍

*I also have favorite characters, however favorite characters may change for me, considering I keep getting different shows, especially cartoons and anime that I like😅

*I did have this blog since late 2019 and started writing fanfics since sometime early 2020😁👍As for art I did post on Tumblr, however with some changes happening with other social media platforms that I have, I haven't done as much art, however when I do go back to doing art and posting it on Tumblr, time will tell... While I do take requests with writing fanfics, with art I don't right now...

*I like wrestling (especially WWE), so this blog can be about wrestling (even WWE) just, as well as it can be about cartoons and anime😃

*On Tumblr I have only told very people about this, however with some posts I do reblog, especially post involving autistic people, I was diagnosed as autistic at a young age. Yes, as someone who is diagnosed as autistic, I feel late diagnosed and self diagnosed is valid, wheather it's autistic, ADHD, and other neurodivergents also😁👍

*This blog is LGBTQIA+ friendly and this blog is also friendly with different skin colors and races, just as well as this blog is Neurodivergent friendly and friendly with other disabilities🌈😃👍

*I am good at spelling words, however I will choose to shorten up words in my own way, unless I'm writing a fanfic.

*Just as much as I enjoy writing fanfics, I do enjoy reading other fanfics that the other fanfic writers, as well😁👍

*On what wheather or not I do reblog certain things, I will reblog if it's something I like or something I agree with or something I know I'm not conflicted with. As for most of the posts that I am the original poster in, it will likely be about the fanfic(s) that I do write, especially if it's a requested fanfic😃👍

*When I started reading fanfics, I was very happy that I started reading fanfics (which the 1st fandom I have read about was Bleach), reading fanfics have brighten my day honestly, however when I started watching My Hero Academia, I have been reading some fanfics that pertained My Hero Academia and there are fanfic artists who really inspired to write fanfics. I really have learned that I really wanted to write fanfics, because it's fun and I figured the fanfics I do write might put a smile on their faces like reading the fanfics put a smile on my face😁👍So, yes it's does really make me happy when I noticed someone who is happy with a fanfic I do write🌞😃👍

🍡Fanfic Preferences With Writing Fanfics, About Requests, What About Asks, And Any Rules🍡

*There are plenty of fandoms (cartoons and anime especially) I do write about and I have a long list of fandoms I will write about, regardless if I have written about any characters from this fandom or not. Even tough there are atleast a few fandoms I don't write about (Such as, Harry Potter and Star Trek), and despite this I do take in consideration that every1 has different likes and dislikes, however any fandom that might caught my attention that might be controversial or that might be being boycotted and I'm aware of it, even if I have written about any characters from that fandom before, there might be a change I may not write about or may hold off on continuing to write about. That goes for having specific restaurant names (especially fast food restaurants), specific names of certain places when it comes to writing fanfics, and specific name brand names, even if I have mentioned then with writing fanfics in the past.

*Character wise, I will write about certain characters when they get requested, however some characters I do get hesitant with writing on my own terms due their reputations, however certain characters I have written on my own (especially multiple times) if I do write that character who I notice getting hate, it will be probably rare I might write about that particular character, on my own.

*While I do hate turning down fanfic requests, I am not obligated either, however depending on the request, especially when I figure out how to write the fanfic you are requesting, there's a good chance I will definitely write the fanfic you requested😃👍

*With The Fanfics I have written in 2020 and 2021, I do apologize for not writing certain characters without mentioning "adult (character name), however with certain characters I have been writing them, as "adult (character name)", however if I do forget to write "adult (character name)" in any fanfics I do write, I did get into a rush or I ended up not remembering to write that down for any specific character. Those who dislike me writing "adult (character name)" with any character for any reason, please scroll past that particular fanfic...

*It has caught my attention some fanfic artists (from Tumblr) that have dealt with getting their fanfics copied by other blogs or others from different platforms without crediting the originators of their fanfics, if you do see me write credit to any specific fanfic artist (even if their accounts are deactivated on Tumblr) or credits to any fanfic artists in general depending on what they written, or if I credit someone for giving me the fanfic idea or if I credit any1 for any reason, I rather not risk any trouble, especially guilt of not giving credits, especially when I feel in my heart that I should give credits✏️✍️📝📖👩‍💻

*When it comes to others sending me asks, I'm fine with it, however if I am more than uncomfortable with this ask or if I feel guilty for not answering the ask within a long period of time (even if it's not a fanfic) or if I feel it's rude, there could be a chance I could delete that ask. So, apologies ahead of time, if I don't answer the ask right away, or if it takes me a long time to complete the ask or if I do delete the ask for any other reason (if I feel I need to do so).

*While you are not obligated to like and reblog, the fanfics I do write, however you are also allowed to, so it's encouraged🙂 With other people's blogs if I do read about "not to follow back" or anything about having any specific rules not to spam like and/or spam reblog I will try my best to respect this boundaries (or these boundaries)🤝💫

*If I do write fanfics about actual people (other than the reader) it would be very rare, for now. I do include wrestlers, as real people, too. While I have rebloged posts pertaining wrestling, rebloged posts about wrestlers (especially a fanfic or so before), and might actually work on a post about wrestling (especially a wrestler) someday, I just am more comfortable writing the characters for now😅

*When I do write fanfics, unless there's something specific fanfic request you prefer to have or not for me to write for a particular fanfic (if I plan on accepting this request) or I plan to accommodate for a specific blog, otherwise I will write a fanfic that I have ideas for, as long as I feel it's not being boycotted or controversial.

*If you want to request a fanfic for me to write, you can send an ask or send me a message😁👍 While I can be quick with completing a request, however depending on how my schedule is or if anything else comes up or depending on how long it takes me to come up with these ideas on how to complete the request, I may take a week, if not longer, however I do tend to take more time when it comes to trying to complete the request if your request is sent through a message. Either way, there is a chance I will write what you requested, especially depending on how you request in a fanfic, too😃👍

*I usually will write a character x reader, especially character x female reader, character x they/them reader, and character x male reader, however I also have been a little more opened to writing ship drabbles😁👍

*And also before I do start on a fanfic request, if you prefer not to be tagged in any particular posts, please kindly let me know. I just figured I'd mention this, because while every1 I have done fanfic requests for I have tagged are atleast content (unless it's an anon request obviously) so far, however I will respect your boundaries if you're someone who prefers not to be tagged in a fanfic request, before I do start on a fanfic you requested. And if the fanfic request is through an ask, once I do start on a requested fanfic, aside from reblogging posts, I will be prioritize writing a requested fanfic, otherwise.

🍡What About This Blog's DNI Rules And What You Will Block Others For, That Could Be Thought Of Mentioning?🍡

Where should I start with talking about DNI (which is obviously Do Not Interact) and Blocking?🤔💡

*If I suspect you might be a bot (especially a porn bot). While I have written smut fanfics and +18, when I suspect you might be a bit, especially porn bot, this is why I have blocked you.

*While constructive criticism is good, however poking fun at any fanfics I do write is not cool, especially very negative comments with any fanfics I write. Seriously... Poking fun at fanfics in anyway is not cool! It may seem or sound "childish" when I do mention this, however there's a fine line with constructive criticism and poking fun at fanfics and just like everyone else, I have boundaries! What else is definitely "NOT COOL" is poking fun at other blogs or me for any reason! So if you want to be rude or poke fun at fanfics, either scroll past it and not come back to the fanfic you scrolled past or be prepared to be blocked🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️Don't be surprised if I do block you for these reasons I mentioned👎👎👎If you poke fun other posts, especially posts I make (includes this post) you will be block, as well🤷‍♀️👎

*If I feel that you are rude to me, especially in my asks, I will block you. If you an anon (anonymous) who is being rude to me, I am not obligated to answer an ask that I feel is rude. While every1 is entitled to their own preferences, I have a right to not answer anything if I feel is rude or something I feel might be toxic to me. Plus just like with stuff pertaining the fanfics I write, there is a fine line between constructive criticism and being rude (and/or hateful). I haven't dealt with that part yet, however I'm aware that there are other blogs who have dealt with rude and/or hateful anons. I tend to be, too nice, however I just don't have time for any1 being rude to me, especially anons who I feel who are hateful and/ or rude to me 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️

*Racism (especially against people with different skin colors (especially colored)), Ableism, and being anti LGBTQIA+ are things that are also not cool🤦‍♀️I get every1 wants to be respected, however I have my reasons why I have this for this post. So, please be respectful when you interact with this blog🤦‍♀️So, if I find out you're racist, an ableist, and anti LGBTQIA+, I will block you👎

*I also won't waste my energy, if you comment on any fanfics (or posts) mentioning about mental illnesses or sensitive topics or even make comments, especially when any posts that I reblog or any posts I originally made (including fanfics) doesn't talk about any forms of it, unless the post mentions about them, especially posts I've made! So depending on how it's mentioned while there's a chance you could be curious about me with certain things, I do get concern or worried that you could be trying to drain my energy, because to me depending on how you mention these things, unless it's mentioned in the rebloged posts or posts I originally did, I'm gonna feel it's an unsolicited comment. Yes, I'm autistic! However if you mentioned about mental illnesses or any sensitive topics, I will likely not reply to you, as I might block or delete your comment (or both), unless I did talk about mental illnesses or sensitive topics, so you better have a good reason for saying this in the posts I rebloged or in the posts (especially fanfics) that I originally posted. So if I am comfortable talking about sensitive topics, "mental illnesses", and other personal stuff pertaining myself I either will and/or mention about it, if I decide to reply, or a post, or even message you about it! I don't know if I'm being mean or heartless for saying this, the thing is this is part of my boundaries and just as well as every1else has their boundaries I have my boundaries too, so if I'm being cruel for mentioning about this as my boundaries, then I'm not responsible for you not liking or being upset over talking about this being part of my boundaries! If I do reply then depending on how I do reply I will either try to be nice about it or I could lose my cool, which I do hope I never end up doing when replying to your comment... And if I haven't lost my cool on Tumblr yet, then hopefully it will never happen on here...

🍡Conclusion🍡

So far this is all I can think of for what to have in this post, my Tumblr Peeps😃👍For those who are atleast curious about what rules I have and other stuff, here it is for now and hope this will be okay💫For any1 who dislikes what I mention about in this post for this blog, especially rules and the DNI stuff amd what I haven't writen, I do apologize. This is how I feel about this blog and I don't plan to compromise about what I said in this post. I hope I didn't come across, too harsh or anything. I just figured mention what I feel is need and that I could think of. Anyways I hope you have a wonderful day and/or night☀️🌞🌕🌝

🍡Post started in spring 2024 & Post completed at the end of August 2024🍡

*Updated (9/3/2024): Any1 curious, if requests are opened, fanfic requests are definitely opened🍡🍡🍡

#rose riot writings #rose riot johnson #lgbtqia #rose riot's rules and stuff #wwe and anime fan #tw mentions of ableism #tw mentions a racism #autisic #lgbtq+ rights #lgbtq+ community #self diagnosed Neurodivergent (especially autistic and adhd) is valid #autistic pride #autistic acceptance #tw the DNI rules #mentions of anti LGBTQIA

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corsairesix · 3 years ago

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How would you change Fallout 4?

Okay so this is a long one so it’s under the cut

As I’ve mentioned before, I would make the main plot focus on synths as a metaphor for McCarthyism (and to a lesser extent transness). This is assuming a magical world where I have full creative control over a main game in a major franchise. The main character would either be a wastelander (with optional traits to be an escaped synth, mind-wiped or not) OR if we’re going with the Sole Survivor then it would confirm the Sole is a synth theory; if the game’s going to make roleplay decisions for me, at least let them be thematically satisfying and cool.

The four faction companions would all be synths (Sturges, Danse, X6, and Glory) and would all represent a different take on synths in society. Danse would be basically the same, synth who doesn’t know it, self-hating, forced to change through self-acceptance or die in Blind Betrayal. The main change would be significantly changed behavior after BB and a chance to join the Minutemen or Railroad. Glory would be a synth who knows she’s a synth, and is very concerned with synth welfare and autonomy. X6 is a synth who has been mind wiped several times by the Institute due to his increased contact with the outside world. As he travels with the main character, there are decision points where X6 raises concerns about “glitches” (developing a personality as he gains experiences) and the player can decide whether to wipe his mind again or continue to travel with him. Before max affinity, he will ask for your help escaping the institute once again, you can complete his quest or you can turn him over to be mind wiped. Sturges is a synth with a Railroad identity, but who has traumatic memories resurfacing after the attack on Quincy. He is stuck between the true, harmful memories of the Institute or the false, comforting memories of his invented life.

In general the synth’s exploitation by the institute veers away from the slavery metaphor that’s in the game. Robots address labor issues very well and the slavery thing was weird and bad, so we’re moving away from that.

Mind wipes are much more controversial, much more like how they’re portrayed in Far Harbor. Characters like Glory who are mostly opposed to them see them as destruction of identity, not quite murder, but something that should only be done in dire circumstances. Those who are for it, Desdemona and Deacon, see it as a tool for helping synths hide and covering up painful memories (imperfect, as Sturges shows), and that there is an ineffable self that persists between wipes. It’s a source of tension even within the Railroad.

The Institute doesn’t have synth spies, but it does have human spies. The idea that the institute would 1) put synths in charge of major cities while still claiming they aren’t sentient and 2) put their constantly-escaping labor force on the surface with minimal supervision always bothered me. Institute agents foment anti-synth movements on the surface and sabotage synth sympathetic communities.

However, synth paranoia still totally exists. The combination of institute interference and the presence of freed synths, the public is terrified that their friends could be replaced by synths. In reality, the “confirmed” replacements were freed synths who either died (and evidence of them being a synth was found on death) or felt that it was safe to admit to others that they were a synth. No body snatching actually ever existed.

McDonough is a regular wasteland human, a corrupt Boston politician. He made his political career on anti-ghoul fearmongering, but after kicking the ghouls out of Diamond City he needed a new target. He is not associated with the institute, but since he began targeting synths he has received monthly campaign donations. He started the synth activities committee to investigate suspected synth sympathies among the citizens of Diamond City and its surrounding neighborhoods.

That’s the main plot stuff but for companions the main changes are:

Preston is a faction leader, not a companion. He’s very involved and has the same character arc, but the quests he gives are less radiant and more focused, with a plot moving forward.

Hancock is not a companion either, and is less of a good guy than in the game. Goodneighbor’s government serves as a condemnation of the founding father’s idea of freedom and that kind of American libertarianism. (Really, he’s an anarchist but also immortal mayor-for-life?)

Piper is a blacklisted journalist and the most vocal critic of McDonough’s anti-synth policies. She’s somewhere between an Edward R Murrow-esque anti-McCarthyist and an underground journalist. She’s a little more self-admittedly editorial and is openly for using journalism to change hearts and minds. She’s also a better writer than in the actual game.

Curie is a Mister Handy instead of a Miss Nanny because I find the concept of a girl Mister Handy that does the housework (especially when that’s already what Mister Handys do?) a bit silly. She voices more of a desire to be human and have control over her own body, rather than just “I want to do zee science better.” She even admires the player character if she is a woman. You can go the regular in-game route (with strong objections and disapproval from Glory, who doesn’t like to see someone she was close to inhabited by someone else) or you can use the institute to print a synth body for Curie. This route can be done under the guise of an “experiment” if you are part of the Institute (although some scientists may question the scientific value of such a plan) or you can get Liam Binet’s help if you’ve made contact with him as a spy for the Railroad. If you print Curie a body, it will be created based on her self-perception, and will look different from her body if you use the wiped synth route.

Ada and Codsworth can have a synth body printed as well, to Ada’s ambivalence and Codsworth’s objections. This can only be done if you are allied with the institute; Binet won’t help if your companion doesn’t seem to want to be a synth. There is no benefit to doing this.

Nick Valentine was a private detective pre-war, not a cop. After the Eddie Winter quest, which skips the collect-a-thon part, Nick wants to solve a case that is all his own, an unsolved wasteland murder that was the first case he had walk away from.

#fallout 4 #falloutfun #darquingdragon

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jeannereames · 3 years ago

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Hi, Dr. Reames! I just read your take on Song of Achilles and it got me thinking. Do you think there might be a general issue with the way women are written in mlm stories in general? Because I don't think it's the first time I've seen something like this happen.

And my next question is, could you delve further into this thing you mention about modern female authors writing women? How could we, beginner female writers, avoid falling into this awful representations of women in our writing?

Thank you for your time!

[It took a while to finish this because I wrote, re-wrote, and re-wrote it. Still not sure I like it, but I need to let it go. It could be 3xs as long.]

I’ll begin with the second half of the question, because it’s simpler. How do we, as women authors, avoid writing women in misogynistic ways?

Let me reframe that as how can we, as female authors, write negative (even quite nasty) female characters without falling into misogynistic tropes? Also, how can we write unsympathetic, but not necessarily “bad” female characters, without it turning misogynistic?

Because people are people, not genders, not all women are good, nor all men bad. Most of us are a mix. If we should avoid assuming powerful women are all bitches, by the same token, some women are bitches (powerful or not).

ALL good characterization comes down to MOTIVE. And careful characterization of minority characters involves fair REPRESENTATION. (Yes, women are a minority even if we’re 51% of the population.)

The question ANY author must ask: why am I making this female character a bitch? How does this characterization serve the larger plot and/or characterization? WHY is she acting this way?

Keep characters complex, even the “bad guys.” Should we choose to make a minority character a “bad guy,” we need to have a counter example—a real counter, not just a token who pops in briefly, then disappears. Yeah, maybe in an ideal world we could just let our characters “be,” but this isn’t an ideal world. Authors do have an audience. I’m a lot less inclined to assume stereotyping when we have various minority characters with different characterizations.

By the same token, however, don’t throw a novel against the wall if the first minority character is negative. Read further to decide if it’s a pattern. I’ve encountered reviews that slammed an author for stereotyping without the reader having finished the book. I’m thinking, “Uh…if you’d read fifty more pages….” Novels have a developmental arc. And if you’ve got a series, that, too, has a developmental arc. One can’t reach a conclusion about an author’s ultimate presentation/themes until having finished the book, or series.*

Returning to the first question, the appearance of misogyny depends not only on the author, but also on when she wrote, even why she’s writing. Authors who are concerned with matters such as theme and message are far more likely to think about such things than those who write for their own entertainment and that of others, which is more typical of Romance.

On average, Romance writers are a professionalized bunch. They have national and regional chapters of the Romance Writers of America (RWA), newsletters and workshops that discuss such matters as building plot tension, character dilemmas, show don’t tell, research tactics, etc. Yet until somewhat recently (early/mid 2010s), and a series of crises across several genres (not just Romance), treatment of minority groups hadn’t been in their cross-hairs. Now it is, with Romance publishers (and publishing houses more generally) picking up “sensitivity readers” in addition to the other editors who look at a book before its publication.

Yet sensitivity readers are hired to be sure lines like “chocolate love monkey” do not show up in a published novel. Yes, that really was used as an endearment for a black man in an M/M Romance, which (deservedly) got not just the author but the publishing house in all sorts of hot water. Yet misogyny, especially more subtle misogyny in the way of tropes, is rarely on the radar.

I should add that I wouldn’t categorize The Song of Achilles as an M/M historical Romance. In fact, I’m not sure what to call novels about myths, as myths don’t exist in actual historical periods. When should we set a novel about the Iliad? The Bronze Age, when Homer said it happened, or the Greek Dark Age, which is the culture Homer actually described? They’re pretty damn different. I’d probably call The Song of Achilles an historical fantasy, especially as mythical creatures are presented as real, like centaurs and god/desses.

Back to M/M Romance: I don’t have specific publishing stats, but it should surprise no one that (like most of the Romance genre), the vast bulk of authors of M/M Romance are women, often straight and/or bi- women. The running joke seems to be, If one hot man is good, two hot men together are better. 😉 Yes, there are also trans, non-binary and lesbian authors of M/M Romance, and of course, bi- and gay men who may write under their own name or a female pseudonym, but my understanding is that straight and bi- cis-women authors outnumber all of them.

Just being a woman, or even a person in a female body, does not protect that author from misogyny. And if she’s writing for fun, she may not be thinking a lot about what her story has to “say” in its subtext and motifs, even if she may be thinking quite hard about other aspects of story construction. This can be true of other genres as well (like historical fantasy).

What I have observed for at least some women authors is the unconscious adoption of popular tropes about women. Just as racism is systemic, so is sexism. We swim in it daily, and if one isn’t consciously considering how it affects us, we can buy into it by repeating negative ideas and acting in prescribed ways because that’s what we learned growing up. If writing in a symbol-heavy genre such as mythic-driven fantasy, it can be easy to let things slip by—even if they didn’t appear in the original myth, such as making Thetis hostile to Patroklos, the classic Bitchy Mother-in-Law archetype.

I see this sort of thing as “accidental” misogyny. Women authors repeat unkind tropes without really thinking them through because it fits their romantic vision. They may resent it and get defensive if the trope is pointed out. “Don’t harsh my squee!” We can dissect why these tropes persist, and to what degree they change across generations—but that would end up as a (probably controversial) book, not a blog entry. 😊

Yet there’s also subconscious defensive misogyny, and even conscious/semi-conscious misogyny.

Much debate/discussion has ensued regarding “Queen Bee Syndrome” in the workplace and whether it’s even a thing. I think it is, but not just for bosses. I also would argue that it’s more prevalent among certain age-groups, social demographics, and professions, which complicates recognizing it.

What is Queen Bee Syndrome? Broadly, when women get ahead at the expense of their female colleagues who they perceive as rivals, particularly in male-dominated fields, hinging on the notion that There Can Be Only One (woman). It arises from systemic sexism.

Yes, someone can be a Queen Bee even with one (or two) women buddies, or while claiming to be a feminist, supporting feminist causes, or writing feminist literature. I’ve met a few. What comes out of our mouths doesn’t necessarily jive with how we behave. And ticking all the boxes isn’t necessary if you’re ticking most of them. That said, being ambitious, or just an unpleasant boss/colleague—if its equal opportunity—does not a Queen Bee make. There must be gender unequal behavior involved.

What does any of that have to do with M/M fiction?

The author sees the women characters in her novel as rivals for the male protagonists. It gets worse if the women characters have some “ownership” of the men: mothers, sisters, former girlfriends/wives/lovers. I know that may sound a bit batty. You’re thinking, Um, aren’t these characters gay or at least bi- and involved with another man, plus—they’re fictional? Doesn’t matter. Call it fantasizing, authorial displacement, or gender-flipped authorial insert. We authors (and I include myself in this) can get rather territorial about our characters. We live in their heads and they live in ours for months on end, or in many cases, years. They’re real to us. Those who aren't authors often don’t quite get that aspect of being an author. So yes, sometimes a woman author acts like a Queen Bee to her women characters. This is hardly all, or even most, but it is one cause of creeping misogyny in M/M Romance.

Let’s turn to a related problem: women who want to be honorary men. While I view this as much more pronounced in prior generations, it’s by no means disappeared. Again, it’s a function of systemic sexism, but further along the misogyny line than Queen Bees. Most Queen Bees I’ve known act/react defensively, and many are (imo) emotionally insecure. It’s largely subconscious. More, they want to be THE woman, not an honorary man.

By contrast, women who want to be honorary men seem to be at least semi-conscious of their misogyny, even if they resist calling it that. These are women who, for the most part, dislike other women, regard most of “womankind” as either a problem or worthless, and think of themselves as having risen above their gender.

And NO, this is not necessarily religious—sometimes its specifically a-religious.

“I want to be an honorary man” women absolutely should NOT be conflated with butch lesbians, gender non-conformists, or frustrated FTMs. That plays right into myths the queer community has combated for decades. There’s a big difference between expressing one’s yang or being a trans man, and a desire to escape one’s womanhood or the company of other women. “Honorary men” women aren’t necessarily queer. I want to underscore that because the concrete example I’m about to give does happen to be queer.

I’ve talked before about Mary Renault’s problematic portrayal of women in her Greek novels (albeit her earlier hospital romances don’t show it as much). Her own recorded comments make it clear that she and her partner Julie Mullard didn’t want to be associated with other lesbians, or with women much at all. She was also born in 1905, living at a time when non-conforming women struggled. If extremely active in anti-apartheid movements in South Africa, Renault and Mullard were far less enthused by the Gay Rights Movement. Renault even criticized it, although she wrote back kindly to her gay fans.

The women in Renault’s Greek novels tend to be either bitches or helpless, reflecting popular male perceptions of women: both in ancient Greece and Renault’s own day. If we might argue she’s just being realistic, that ignores the fact one can write powerful women in historical novels and still keep it attitudinally accurate. June Rachuy Brindel, born in 1919, author of Ariadne and Phaedra, didn’t have the same problem, nor did Martha Rofheart, born in 1917, with My Name is Sappho. Brindel’s Ariadne is much more sympathetic than Renault’s (in The King Must Die).

Renault typically elevates (and identifies with) the “rational” male versus the “irrational” female. This isn’t just presenting how the Greeks viewed women; it reflects who she makes the heroes and villains in her books. Overall, “good” women are the compliant ones, and the compliant women are tertiary characters.

Women in earlier eras who were exceptional had to fight multiple layers of systemic misogyny. Some did feel they had to become honorary men in order to be taken seriously. I’d submit Renault bought into that, and it (unfortunately) shows in her fiction, as much as I admire other aspects of her novels.

So I think those are the three chief reasons we see women negatively portrayed in M/M Romance (or fiction more generally), despite being written by women authors.

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*Yeah, yeah, sometimes it’s such 2D, shallow, stereotypical presentation that I, as a reader, can conclude this author isn’t going to get any better. Also, the publication date might give me a clue. If I’m reading something published 50 years ago, casual misogyny or racism is probably not a surprise. If I don’t feel like dealing with that, I close the book and put it away.

But I do try to give the author a chance. I may skim ahead to see if things change, or at least suggest some sort of character development. This is even more the case with a series. Some series take a loooong view, and characters alter across several novels. Our instant-gratification world has made us impatient. Although by the same token, if one has to deal with racism or sexism constantly in the real world, one may not want to have to watch it unfold in a novel—even if it’s “fixed” later. If that’s you, put the book down and walk away. But I’d just suggest not writing a scathing review of a novel (or series) you haven’t finished. 😉

#misogyny in m/m romance #how to avoid misogyny writing women characters #writing complicated women characters #asks #writing life #writing advice

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thestylesindependent · 4 years ago

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The following is an excerpt from A Field Guide to Internet Boyfriends: Meme-Worthy Celebrity Crushes From A to Z (Running Press) by Esther Zuckerman, senior entertainment writer at Thrillist. Opinions expressed are those of the author.

It’s virtually impossible to dig into the history of celebrity crushes without discussing boy bands. Stemming back to the days of the Beatles, boy bands have been crush incubators, known as much for their music as for their ability to pose on posters that hang on teenage bedroom walls. While the modern idea of boy bands existed before the ’90s, the decade turned boy bands into an industry with the likes of Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC eliciting mobs of screaming fans. For the first decade of the 2000s—after the leftovers from the ’90s faded from relevance—it seemed like the era of the boy band was over. And then a couple of lads from England—and one from Ireland—came along.

One Direction was not born organically. Each member of the fivesome auditioned for The X Factor as a solo act. Then Simon Cowell had a genius idea: Individually, they would probably generate some amount of buzz. Together, they would be unstoppable. Cowell was right. One Direction mania jumped across the pond and initiated a new era of boy band worship. This group was different from its ’90s predecessors. They were shaggy and didn’t really dance. But their fans were also different. These were kids raised by the internet, and they expressed their love for Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne, and Niall Horan as such. Stanning for One Direction involved slash fiction and Tumblr.

But when the time came, One Direction faced an age-old boy band question: What happens when they break up? Who becomes famous? For years, the pinnacle of post–boy band success had always been Justin Timberlake, crying a river all over the radio. (He also found controversy along the way. No, we will never forgive him for throwing Janet Jackson under the bus at the Super Bowl.) But who becomes the Joey Fatone? One thing was always certain: Harry Styles was a goddamn star. Styles had always been the likeliest candidate for post-One D fame. He was the most rambunctious of the group, as at home palling around on talk shows as he was crooning on the stage.

Still, no one could have predicted what he was about to unleash. Styles, on his own, somehow surpassed the prom¬ise of his early career. The individual that emerged was like the love child of David Bowie and Stevie Nicks, all flowing blouses, wide-legged pants, and funky vibes. He occupies a space in between the masculine and the feminine and is an ally without being obnoxious about it.

When he left the womb of One Direction, his goal was to write his own material. The sound that emerged was not Timberlake’s white boy soul or the radio-ready pop of his bandmate Zayn Malik. Instead, it was a throwback hybrid of folk rock and pop—not a complete copy of an era that was not his own, but more indebted to his predecessors than his contemporaries.

The narrative around Harry Styles is that he is a Very Good Boy. It starts with his devotion to his mother, with whom he is reportedly very close. More proof of his sweet¬heart status can be found in the story about how he ended up being a polite houseguest to his friend The Late Late Show with James Corden producer Ben Winston for twenty months. As his star was rising in One Direction, he was crashing with an Orthodox Jewish family. “That period of time, he was living with us in the most mundane suburban situation,” Winston once explained. “No one ever found out, really. Even when we went out for a meal, it’s such a sweet family neighborhood, no one dreamed it was actually him. But he made our house a home. And when he moved out, we were gutted.”

It’s anecdotes like this—revealed in the singer’s first Rolling Stone cover story, written by none other than Almost Famous director Cameron Crowe—that frame Styles as a superstar who is relatively down to earth, a nice person who cares about being good to those around him. I mean, one of the songs on his recent album Fine Line is titled “Treat People with Kindness.” Styles once said: “There are others. People who are successful, and still nice. It’s when you meet the people who are successful and aren’t nice, you think: What’s yer excuse? Cos I’ve met the other sort.”

Styles gives off the impression that if you were to hang out with him you’d probably have a pretty pleasant and slightly wild time. Profiles of Styles tend to include stories about parties on beaches where nudity or clothes swapping is involved. He’s spoken about how doing mushrooms influenced his latest record, Fine Line, and once led him to bite off the tip of his tongue. But even though that detail sounds like it might belong in an outtake from a seedier history of rock ’n’ roll—think: Mötley Crüe—it’s bizarrely wholesome coming from Styles, who has gone out of his way to promote a message of inclusion.

Though he’s publicly only been linked to women, he’s never exactly declared himself straight, either, and has alluded to bisexuality in his lyrics. One time, he declared, “We’re all a little bit gay, aren’t we?” Regardless of how he himself identifies, he’s made it a mission to promote a safe-for-all environment at his shows. On one tour stop, he took note of a girl in the crowd’s sign which declared she was going to come out to her parents because of him. He asked her mom’s name, quieted the room, and shouted, “Tina, she’s gay,” triumphantly. It’s an especially welcome development for someone whose early celebrity was defined by slash fiction with which some of his bandmates were openly uncomfortable.

His style started to evolve with his own fluidity as well. He took to wearing ruffles and low-cut shirts with wide-legged trousers. The effect was circus ringmaster mixed with ’70s Laurel Canyon chic. There’s a cheekiness to the look, evidenced by photo shoots in which he affects like he just told a dirty joke. He has said he dresses this way not because he’s trying to allude to anything, just because he thinks it looks cool. And, the thing is, it does.

Harry Styles may have been made in the confines of the boy band universe, but when he struck out on his own, his message became freedom. He makes the music he wants, wears the clothes he wants, and encourages everyone around him to love who they want—even if that’s just Harry Styles.

#harry styles #a field guide to internet boyfriends #nov2020 #billboard

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kingstylesdaily · 4 years ago

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'A Field Guide to Internet Boyfriends': Read the Harry Styles Excerpt

source: Billboard.com

#kingstylesdaily #Harry Styles #hs: news #hs: billboard #november 2020

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scripttorture · 4 years ago

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I was reading through your tags, and I came across your discussion of the Milgram experiment. I had no idea it was so poorly conducted, in high school psych people always talked about it like it was the final word on the matter. It’s actually great to hear people did argue with the authority. Anyway, I do have a question about the difference between torture and abuse. You reference torture leading to communities for both victims and torturers and abuse not (at least, not the same way). 1/2

2/2 How important is this idea of “competing communities” to the reality of torture (not the legal definition so much, but the practical effect it has on the world)? And how important do you think it is to reference/display/show that in a story? I want depict torture accurately in my novel -thanks to you- and while it’s legally torture, there’s no discussion of community there, and I want to make sure I don’t exclude it if that’s important. Thanks for your help! I’ve learned a lot from you.

I think this is where my lack of a psychology or sociology degree is a disadvantage because I’m not sure if you’re talking about an established theory and if you are it’s not a theory I’m familiar with.

Given that I think the most helpful thing I can do is talk about what these communities can look like and the place of these communities in fiction.

I’ve gotten to a point where writing about these sorts of communities and the effects on communities, on generations, is quite instinctive. I don’t remember ever having to actively look it up as a separate thing and that’s partly because I grew up outside of the West surrounded by people from different parts of Asia. It’s a lot easier to grasp what these things look like when you’ve seen it, even if it’s at a remove.

The reading I did which touched on the topic immediately made sense, because I could tie it to people and places I knew. To the fallout from the gulf wars and the partition of India and Pakistan sheering in two (hell Bangladesh because that was a mess). These things cast long shadows.

All of this means I might struggle a bit to explain some of this. So I’m sorry if this gets a bit messy.

Communities of torture survivors will look different depending on the situation in your world. Some important questions to consider when building this into the story are:

Is torture still going on in this place?

Are the people who ordered/allowed torture still in power or has there been a regime change?

Are the survivors still in the country where they were tortured?

Are the things they were arrested for/accused of still crimes?

If there’s been a regime change or torture has become less common what happened to the former torturers?

If the survivors are in a different country what are their material circumstances and how welcome are they?

What practical means of support do the survivors have?

If the atrocities are no longer happening how much time has passed?

Communities of genocide survivors in Rwanda (who have remained in Rwanda) will look different to Rohingya survivors who have fled to Bangladesh. Communities of people tortured for being queer look different in countries where homosexuality is still illegal compared to countries that have legalised it.

I’m not a sociologist so my opinion on why that is just opinion. But we can still use the examples above to illustrate a little of what I’m getting at with the bullet point questions.

A large proportion of Rwanda’s genocide survivors returned to their homes or at least their home country. A lot of the genocide was carried out by ordinary people. That means that the people who attacked, tortured and tried to kill them were often neighbours and acquaintances.

A lot of these people still live in quite close proximity to the individuals that attacked them. I think Rwanda did it’s best to try and get justice for as many people as possible but logistically some estimates say around a million people were culpable for the genocide. A lot of people were never arrested and the trials of the 100,000 or so people that were, were slow and not always fair.

Rwanda also had a change of government so the people heading the genocide trials and reorganising the country were not the people in power at the time of the genocide. (Not trying to say the RPF didn’t commit crimes too. But a change from the government that was torturing to new leaders tends to give people more confidence that the crimes of the former leaders will be treated seriously.)

Contrast this to the situation many Rohingya are in today.

I don’t think it’s controversial to say that the majority no longer live in their home country. There were an estimated 1-1.3 million Rohingya in Burma before the ongoing genocide. It isn’t clear how many people have been/are being killed but there are thought to be between 700,000 and a million Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh today*.

The people responsible are still in power and there’s been no move to hold anyone accountable. There have been a couple of moves to return Rohingya to Burma, and the Rohingya have refused saying they’d be killed.

Bangladesh… has not done a particularly good job of supporting the refugees. But they’re also a poor country dealing with a sudden influx of hundreds of thousands of people.

These two situations have led to different different communities and different community pressures.

I feel like I need to be a bit careful about what I say here as obviously I’m not part of either community.** I don’t want to put words in their mouths.

My impression is that of communities of Rohingya survivors in Bangladesh things are still incredibly tense. Their general situation is unstable. The violence that drove them from their homes continues and the people responsible are still in power.

My understanding is that there’s less community focus on healing and rebuilding and more focus on survival. Because unfortunately that’s the situation they’re in.

My impression is that there’s been a lot more effort towards rebuilding and healing in Rwanda. Things like these counselling sessions and concerted efforts to reduce ethnic tensions do seem to have helped people move forward.

Obviously the fact the Rohingya genocide is still happening and that Rwanda has had years to try and help survivors means this isn’t really a fair comparison. But the point here is to illustrate differing situations.

To me the words ‘competing communities’ implies a situation where communities of torturers/former torturers and survivors are in close contact with each other. That’s not always the case. Survivors may end up in a different country. Torturers might be part of an occupying force that leaves- You get the idea.

When these communities are living in close proximity there are still a lot of factors that can influence how they interact. Regime changes, justice and reconciliation efforts, support for mental health problems can all make a difference. Education and jobs can also make a difference.

I’m honestly not sure whether de-radicalisation programs have ever been attempted for torture specifically.

What I’m saying here is that (while I doubt a torture survivor is ever going to get along with someone who personally tortured them) I have heard stories where towns and villages containing a mix of people who were victimised by a regime and people who supported it have reconciled and been able to exist as a community. Even though some members of the community are never going to like or trust each other.

Communities of torturers are… a lot more volatile. Rejali describes the toxic sub-culture torturers tend to build up in a lot of detail. It isn’t clear if this carries over into life after torture.

The impression I get from interviews with torturers is that while the attitudes and beliefs may carry over former torturers don’t seem to stay in contact with each other. The group seems to form on the job and then fall apart without the job to hold them together.

Now there is not a lot of research on torturers. So I honestly can’t say this is true. It’s a pattern in interviews but a dozen interviews do not a statistically relevant study make.

I can confidentially tell you that most former torturers report social isolation after they stop and they seem to have difficulty forming and keeping relationships. It also seems likely that they have a high turn over rate (regimes can periodically purge them and their mental health problems can easily get them fired or reach a point where they quit.)

So when I say ‘communities of torturers’ I’m mostly talking about numbers rather then an organised social structure. My impression is that apologists are more likely to do the work of organising then torturers.

I’m going to try and bring this round to the question of what role communities and communal support can play in stories.

Personally I think it’s something I’d like to see writers try to tackle more often. Especially since community can add a lot of depth to characters.

I don’t think it should be considered essential to a narrative involving torture though.

Torture means a large number of victims and communities of survivors. But not every survivor is going to be connected to those communities. Most Rohingya people have ended up in Bangladesh but not all of them have.

Thinking about the victims of police torture in Chicago in the 80s, most of them were black and/or homeless. Given that particular segments of the population were targetted I think these groups could have processed this as a communal experience etc. But someone from a group that was less regularly targetted might not have had a way to access either community of survivors.

Some victims end up isolated because they aren’t believed. With the rise in clean torture it’s become more common for things like ‘You weren’t tortured, you’re a spy and you gave them information willingly’ to be used to discredit survivors.

And some victims end up isolated because their particular pattern of symptoms makes it hard for them to socialise.

Some people just fall through the cracks. Some communities refuse to talk about or deal with torture when it’s happening around them. This… is not particularly healthy but it can come from a place of wanting to protect a survivor and reduce the risk of harm, especially if torture is still happening in the area and the people that ordered it are still in power.

Isolation is a real problem. It is the experience of a lot of survivors. Especially at first. I don’t think there can be anything wrong with trying to portray that.

Showing communities won’t work in every story. They take time to establish, demand more characters and when poorly handled they can steer the narrative away from the plot.

However they can also bring some much needed relief to dark stories and create a lot more opportunities to show the variety and humanity of survivors.

I am a little biased here. I love stories about people connecting and supporting each other in difficult circumstances. Including a community element is a very easy way to do that in a story.

The kind of community your survivors characters have should be something that grows from the circumstances of the story.

In a world where the Evil Empire was ousted survivors might feel able to meet in public to share their experiences or help each other. In a world where the Empire is still in power any meetings would be smaller, secretive and fraught with risk. Characters who have fled the Empire might find they have an easy connection to everyone else who’s fled. Regardless of where they come from.

Is this something prior generations have had to contend with? If these things have been going on longer then there are more likely to be established community structures to support survivors even if it’s ‘smaller’ things like gifting neighbours meals.

At the end of the day I think the details should be decided by what the story needs, what adds to it. Sometimes a community for the survivors characters will do that. Sometimes it won’t.

I hope that helps :)

Available on Wordpress.

Disclaimer

*Some will have fled previous conflicts and have been in Bangladesh longer.

**For those who don’t know this already my parents are English and Greek-Cypriot and I grew up in Saudi Arabia near Bahrain.

#dreaming-in-circles #writing advice #tw torture #tw genocide #writing survivors #writing torturers #writing recovery #torture and communities #torture survivors and relationships #attitudes towards torture survivors #mental health #factors that affect recovery #recovery #torture survivors

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balioc · 5 years ago

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A Taxonomy of Bullshit Jobs

Classic Bullshit Jobs are defined by their complete universal uselessness, their lack of connection to any kind of productive workstream. If you have a Classic Bullshit Job, you could just stop doing your work, and that wouldn’t cause a genuine problem for anyone -- not even your employer.

These are usually found within very large bureaucracies, like global conglomerate corporations and government agencies, where [a] institutional empire-building for its own sake is a thing, [b] the machine of productivity is so vast and complicated that it’s hard to tell what anyone’s true value-add is, and [c] there’s so much money sloshing around that it often makes more sense just to keep paying someone for totally useless work [or even a whole office of people doing totally useless work] rather than going to the effort of figuring out where all those people are and getting rid of them or finding them other things to do.

Bigger-Picture Bullshit Jobs are important to a workstream, but that workstream is itself useless, in some kind of notional objective sense. You’re valuable to your employer -- but if your employer disappeared, or discontinued the thing you’re working on, it wouldn’t be any kind of real loss. The clearest case here is “your company’s product is a scam.” But the concept probably should be extended to cover employers who aren’t selling scams, as such, just...products that don’t offer any genuine value to the consumer, and make sales by exploiting cognitive errors. Also government agencies whose mission is completely pointless or actively harmful.

This may also be the correct category in which to put work on individual products and projects that are obviously ill-conceived, enough so that the actual humans tasked with creating them have no capacity for faith in them.

Zero-Sum Bullshit Jobs are one more meta-abstracted-layer up the conceptual ladder of bullshit. These are jobs where you’re doing useful work for an employer who is, itself, providing something useful -- but where that “useful work” involves helping your employer win zero-sum market-share games against other similar companies who are providing similar products. Breakfast cereal is good, and it’s good that the world contains people making and distributing breakfast cereal, and yet you’re likely to feel like you’re wasting your time if you spend it trying to help Kellogg’s beat out Post for consumer dollars. Many jobs in the advertising and marketing sectors are like this. So, sadly, are a lot of research and design jobs.

(This one gets a little tricky on a theoretical level. If you’re helping your employer to stay competitive in a competitive market, then it’s at least possible that you’re doing good for the world by fostering competition and helping to keep consumer prices down. But that is a thin thread on which to hang the value of a human being’s work. And, uh, well, much of the time, in jobs like that, you’re trying as hard as you can to kill competition and put your employer in a monopoly situation.)

Regulatory Bullshit Jobs are jobs where you’re doing something useful for an employer who is, itself, providing something useful -- but the work you’re doing is “useful” only because of an arbitrary, coercively-enforced rule. The state demands that someone fill out the pointless form, and so your employer pays you to do that, so that other people can continue doing the actually-valuable thing. But in a saner world, the pointless form wouldn’t be required, and so your job wouldn’t exist. (Note that not all Regulatory-Bullshit-Job-creating rules come from the state; often they’re generated by company-internal policies or social pressures.) This covers a tremendous amount of bureaucratic and legal work.

Worthy Work Made Bullshit is perhaps the trickiest and most controversial category, but as far as I’m concerned it’s one of the most important. This is meant to cover jobs where you’re doing something that is obviously and directly worthwhile...at least in theory...but the structure of the job, and the institutional demands that are imposed on you, turn your work into bullshit.

The conceptual archetype here is the Soviet tire factory that produces millions of tiny useless toy-sized tires instead of a somewhat-smaller number of actually-valuable tires that could be put on actual vehicles, because the quota scheme is badly designed. Everyone in that factory has a Worthy Work Made Bullshit job. Making tires is something you can be proud of, at least hypothetically. Making tiny useless tires to game a quota system is...not.

Nowadays we don’t have Soviet central planners producing insane demands, but we do have a marketplace that produces comparably-insane demands, especially in certain fields.

This is especially poignant, and especially relevant, in certain elite/creative fields where you don’t need market discipline in order to get people to produce. All those writers who are churning out garbage clickbait? They don’t want to be writing clickbait, any more than you want them to be writing clickbait. If you just handed them checks and told them “go do whatever”...well, some of them would take the money and do nothing, some of them would produce worthless product that appealed to no one, but a lot of them would generate work considerably more worthwhile than clickbait. Almost certainly not as easily monetizable, but -- better, by the standards of anyone who actually cared. Their writing has been made bullshit by the demands of an advertisement-driven system.

Academia is the ground-zero locus of this. Academia is a world that is designed around a model of “here’s enough money to live on, go do some abstractly worthwhile thing.” It selects for people who have the talent, and the temperament, to thrive under that kind of system. But nowadays it mostly can’t be that, because of competitive pressures and drastic funding cuts, so it demands an ever-increasing share of bullshit from the inmates. Thus we get the grant application circus, the publishing treadmill, etc. etc.

*********

Honestly: the specifics here don’t matter all that much.

The point is mostly to show how much territory can be meaningfully covered by the concept of “bullshit job.” This will be important later.

#social engineering

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surveys-at-your-service · 3 years ago

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Survey #435

from yesterday, don’t feel like updating the answers. :^)

When you get married what do you think you’ll put most of your focus and money into? Uhhh. I really don't know... I mean maybe doing all I can do avoid debt? That's what my parents mostly argued about, and I know financial strain can really affect a couple. I never want that burden. Who in your life causes you the most stress or negative feelings? My damn self. Have you ever had a teacher that also taught your parents? No; my parents didn't grow up here. Wait! I THINK Mom had one of my college professors? I don't recall for sure, and I definitely don't remember who it was. Are you the type of person who seeks out revenge? Nah. Are there any songs that inspire you? Certainly, such as "Life Won't Wait" by Ozzy Osbourne, "Get Up" by Shinedown, and more. How do you feel about celebrities getting involved in politics? Do you think that the celebrity world and the political world should be kept apart? Not at all; everyone has the right to share their opinion and should not feel like it's necessary to censor it. Let them be people with morals and beliefs, too. I'm totally fine with them CHOOSING to be quiet about controversial subjects, but they're more than welcome to share their thoughts on any topic. What is one pro of living where you do, and what is one con? What is a pro and a con of living where you wished you lived? I guess the only real pro (and this is horrible to be the first thought) is that we're under the radar; like, not really a target for terrorism or anything, lol. I'd get kinda nervous if I lived in, like, Washington D.C. or something. We have A LOT of cons: there is NOTHING to do, we're essentially a hub for crime, the scenery is boring and bland as fuck... I could go on for a long time. I'd love to live in many areas in North America, but I'll go with Alaska, since that would absolute RULE. A strong pro would definitely be the cold climate and the sights, but it would definitely be a con to me when that relentless dark era lasts for months on end. I need the sun (from inside anyway, ha ha) sometimes, because it being dark for what, half a year?, would really damage my happiness. What is your favorite episode of your favorite TV show? Referring to Meerkat Manor, it's actually the one where Mozart dies, I think, even though it destroyed my heart. I just think the writer portrayed it as so beautifully tragic, and the clips shown were so pretty. Does having others watch you do things make you uncomfortable? What sorts of things make you extremely uncomfortable if you are watched while doing them? Are there any things that give you confidence to do if you have an audience? ABSOFUCKINGLUTELY. Do NOT watch me on the computer (especially when writing), I literally will not draw if someone's watching (inevitably besides in Art classes, I think Sara is legit the only person who's watched me draw a bit), I really don't like people watching me edit photography, I'm nooot a fan of others seeing me exercise (though I kinda have to suck that up with having a personal trainer), etc. etc. Just don't watch me do anything, lol. I don't know what actually boosts my confidence if I'm being observed. Does someone in your house speak a different language on a regular basis? No. Do you follow or care about any big sports events? Not at all. Are there any activities people normally do together that you prefer doing alone? Hm. I dunno. If you are going somewhere where you’ll have to wait for a while (i.e. a doctor’s office), do you bring something to occupy yourself? My phone, yeah. How long is your favorite song? I checked, and it's almost six minutes. Do you think you’d ever want to be “internet famous”? I'll admit I've somewhat thought about it, only because my career choices are running so dry, and I'd be able to do it alone. However, I've got noooo idea what I'd actually do, and I also don't think I could handle ridicule or anything like that for any reason. Having a spotlight on me would stress me out. Who was the main cook of your Thanksgiving meal last year? My older sister. What moment in your life have you been most scared? Probably this one occasion where Dad had to pick my sister and me up from school one day and make the 30-minute drive home. Well. He was clearly in a hellish mood because he was flying. He ran stop signs and red lights, passed people illegally... I was in the passenger's seat and absolutely convinced we were going to crash. I can barely believe we didn't. Who was the last person you slow danced with? -_- Do you prefer headphones or earbuds? Earbuds. I like how they block out external sound better, and they don't hurt my ears like headphones do. What person/people do you trust the most? My mom. Who in your life do you care about more than yourself? My parents, sisters, my nieces and nephew, Sara... A lot of people, if I'm being honest. I don't value my life as much as I should. Which wild animal would you most like to have as a pet? I am DESPERATE to rescue an opossum one day. :''''( What teacher did all the high school boys/girls have a crush on? I have no idea. Have you ever felt seriously violated? No. Do you watch American Horror Story? I adore(d) the first season; it was mine and Jason's "show." We watched most of season two as well, but I lost interest in the later half of it. I haven't really watched it since, save for the pilot episode of some season I forgot. Does your hometown have any urban legends/scary stories? Not to my knowledge. What’s the scariest nightmare you remember having? Something involving my dad that I won't speak about. Pancakes or French toast? Oh my god, French toast. That sounds delicious rn. Are there any apps you’re addicted to? Not addicted, nah. Did you have a favorite stuffed animal as a child? Yes; it was a bunny holding a multicolor polka-dotted blanket. Do you still collect stuffed animals? Hell yeah. Have you ever had eggs cooked over a campfire? No. What colors of mascara have you worn on your lashes? Just black. What font do you usually use? I mean, it depends on what I'm doing. Is it supposed to appear professional? Aesthetically pleasing? It varies too much to answer this with one font. What about font colors? Usually just black, but again, it depends on what I'm writing. Are you good at making graphics or designing layouts? Ha, no. Do you put gel or mousse in your hair? No. Sleep with just one pillow? No, I use two. I am VERY uncomfortable with just one. Ever woke up crying? Yeah, from nightmares. Do you like big dogs or small dogs better? It depends on the breed and their energy level. I don't really prefer one over the other as a general judgment. Are you going to graduate high school on time? I did. Been to the zoo lately? No, but I'd love to go. :/ Now that I'd consider myself at least a pretty decent photographer, I'd love to see what shots I could take. I LOVE photographing animals with how unpredictable they are. It's like playing the lottery; you really don't know what you're going to get, but you have the chance for seriously priceless moments. Even if we could afford the trip, though, I know I wouldn't last long whatsoever with my legs being as weak as gelatine. I know especially that there's a notable incline in the path, and I'd never make it up it. I really, really look forward to the day where I can really start feeling a difference in my body thanks to the gym. Have you ever been to Mississippi? No. What did you do for your last birthday? We went to The Cheesecake Factory. Do you like to cook? No. What is the worst thing that has happened to you in your entire life? If I'm looking at the big picture and what truly damaged my pleasure in life the most, it'd be developing depression and such intense anxiety. I've given up so much and changed so negatively because of it. Do you know when your next family reunion will be? We've never had one. My family is too spread out. What is your favorite thing to do with your significant other? I'm single, but even in a relationship, I love playing video games together. I've got multiple memories of just having a great time doing that. Where is “home” for you? Wherever Mom is. Is there an animal that creeps you out? Whale sharks, maggots and other bug larvae, centipedes, many beetles, and some other bugs. What is the name of the last band you discovered? Uhhh.. good question. I admittedly don't listen to new music a lot. I tend to stick to the stuff I know. Do you prefer group projects, or would you prefer to work alone? I would rather kick my ankle against a Razer scooter than do a group project. Have you ever been to Hooters? No. Do you have a brother? What’s his name? Yeah, Robert, but everyone calls him "Bobby." Have you ever thought that your life was so bad you wanted to give up? About a billion times. I still do sometimes. Do you have a ceiling fan located in your bedroom? Yes. Have you ever been in a lighthouse? No, but I was supposed to visit one in the fourth grade. The water was way too aggressive that day, though, so we had a change of plans and went to a closer island. Hell, it might have been the better option, because it had horses. I remember collecting seashells, too, and just watching the power of the ocean hammer at the shores. It was really pretty. Have you ever been bitten by an animal? Only playfully, like by a cat. Well wait, I think my old baby iguana may have bitten me once (he sure tried to, ha ha), but I don't remember for sure. Did it rain today? Yes. It rains pretty much every afternoon here in the late summer. What was the name of the last dog you pet? Zeke, my sister's German shepherd. He's adorable. Has your luggage ever been lost at the airport? Did you get it back? No. Do you have certain friends that you hug every time you see them? I pretty much always hug my friends when I see them. I'm a big hugger. Have you ever witnessed a tornado? No, thank the fucking Lord. Who is your favorite person to talk to when you’re down? Sara. What are you listening to right now? "Blood For Blood" by Powerwolf. Can you get over people easy? Hell no. I do NOT handle loss well AT ALL. And not just romantically. What was the last thing you carried to your room? A drink. Do you drink water that comes from your sink? Only once it's been filtered. Have you ever prank called the police? That is fucking awful. No. What’s your LEAST favorite smiley? XD looks so stupid to me I'm sorry lmao xD reigns supreme. Do you like Italian food? Yeah, more than I used to. Have you ever put red lipstick on just to make lip marks on something? No. Do you watch Shane Dawson on YouTube? Isn't his career pretty much toast now? I DID used to love his videos, though. I still occasionally watch his fiance, though, and he pops up sometimes. Regardless of everything, I still think he's funny as fuck. Would you ever spend a day to see what it’s like to be homeless? NOOOOOOO NO NO NO NO. I am TERRIFIED of living on the streets someday. I want NO idea what it's like. Is the house you’re currently living in over 50 years old? I highly doubt that. Have you ever had a yard sale? Many. What is your favorite color? Baby pink. Did you have a good day or a bad day? Today was extreeeemely dull and felt like it lasted eons. Do you know anyone that has/had cancer? I sadly know maaaaany. Have you ever read somebody else’s diary? No, that is incredibly rude. Do you enjoy going to school? I hated it from start to end. Like I have good memories, but overall, I hated school. Were you a big jump roper back in the day? OHHHH YES. I almost learned how to double-dutch, even. I could jump with two ropes, but not jump in with two. Are you a local celebrity? Definitely not. Do you eat candy daily? No. I'm already fat dude, I don't need candy. I avoid candy as best as I can. Do you get nervous with public speaking? Like you would not believe. How old were you when you got your driver's license (if you have it)? I'm 25 and still don't have it. Has someone of the opposite sex ever told you they loved you? Yes. What memory are you most afraid of losing? Meh, I don't know. A lot of what I consider my "favorite" memories I'd honestly be better off losing, probably. Who accompanied you to your first concert? My mom, younger sister, and Jason. Would you rather have tickets to see your favorite band in concert, or $100 to go shopping? TAKE ME TO THE OZZY CONCERT. What do you usually eat for breakfast? It really varies. I'd say cereal most often, probably? Do you wish you were more outgoing? Yeah. Do you know anyone who wears a hearing aid? I don't think so?

#survey #surveys #random questions

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reeltoreal-cl · 4 years ago

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Black TV Shows & BGLOs

In 2020, the United States is finally confronting its issues with racism in society as well as the entertainment industry. With that, there has been a surge in black content on various streaming platforms.

Television shows with predominantly African-American casts often feature a glimpse at special pockets of black culture. One pocket often featured is the cultural experience of pledging historically black fraternities and sororities, otherwise known as Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs). The five fraternities and four sororities that comprise BGLOs, affectionately called “The Divine Nine,” are officially known as the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC).

Feature films tend to focus either on stepping, as with Stomp The Yard and Step Sisters, or the issue of pledging vs. hazing, as with School Daze and Burning Sands. Black sitcoms and other small screen productions, however, tend to explore BGLO issues with more nuance and humor.

A Different World - Ep. #216 - “It’s Greek to Me” - 1989 - NBC

Hillman College best friends Dwayne and Ron are in the midst of pledging fictional fraternity Kappa Lambda Nu. As time goes on, Dwayne becomes disillusioned with the process and argues with Ron over whether what they’re enduring is worth the benefits of the frat. Dwayne eventually drops line while Ron crosses into the brotherhood, and they see that their friendship can survive different paths. The matter is handled amicably and respectfully, and Ron is seen in future episodes as an active member.

Season 2 is when A Different World found its identity within the HBCU experience, as Debbie Allen took over the direction of the series after Denise’s character departed. Debbie and sister Phylicia Rashad are both Howard University alumnae, and Phylicia is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha.

A Different World - Ep. #421 - “Sister to Sister, Sister” - 1991 - NBC

Though no episodes depicted Whitley pledging, in this one Whitley oversees Kim’s pledge process for fictional sorority Alpha Delta Rho. Like its predecessor, the episode questions the pledge process itself, and further, the ethics of whether someone should pledge a friend. While Whitley defends her actions, Kim ultimately gets revenge when she over-seasons Whitley’s eggs with pepper. Whitley realizes she was being harder on Kim because they were friends, and learns how to be a better sister overall.

You can watch A Different World with a subscription to Amazon Prime Video.

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air - Ep. #408 - “Blood is Thicker Than Mud” - 1993 - NBC

Once Will and Carlton matriculate to University of Los Angeles, they decide to pledge fictional fraternity Phi Beta Gamma. However, things take a turn for the worst when Will finds out he made the cut, but Carlton didn’t because he doesn’t “fit their image.” When Carlton finds out the truth, he reads them for filth in an iconic speech that defends his authenticity. There is no mention of the fraternity in the rest of their college experience.

You can watch The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air with a subscription to HBO Max.

Moesha - Ep. #224 - “Prom Fright” - 1997 - UPN

The episode begins with Frank reminiscing about Kappa Alpha Psi with his frat brother, complete with cane twirling and chanting, “I'm pretty on my left, I'm pretty on my right, I'm so damn pretty I can't sleep at night!” Frank believes his frat brother’s Harvard-bound son would be a good fit to date Moesha as an alternative to Q, but later finds out the boy isn’t interested in Kappa or anything Frank had hoped for. The boy even says he isn’t interested in organizations that perpetuate a “herd mentality,” a rarity in depictions of children with parents in BGLOs.

Moesha - Ep. #401 - “Moesha Meets Brandy” - 1998 - UPN

There is no discussion about Greek life in this episode, however, Moesha’s new college boyfriend Aaron and his frat brother show up wearing Kappa Alpha Psi shirts for their weekend trip to Big Bear.

Moesha - Ep. #407 - “A Terrible Thing Happened on My Tour of College” - 1998 - UPN

Moesha and her friends take a campus tour for prospective student weekend of Maynard University. Part of their introduction to campus is a step show featuring Omega Psi Phi, Kappa Alpha Psi (and Moesha’s ex Aaron from #401), and Delta Sigma Theta. This episode centers on Moesha grappling with the betrayal of a college student named Melvin drugging her drink at a college party, but thankfully Aaron comes to her rescue.

One of the writers on Moesha was Mara Brock Akil, who pledged Delta Sigma Theta at Northwestern University.

You can watch Moesha with a subscription to Netflix.

Sister, Sister - Ep. #608 - “Greek to Me” - 1998 - The WB

Like the transition from ABC to The WB, the show saw Tia and Tamera transition from high school to University of Michigan. As the twins are exposed to Greek life, Tamera finds her anniversary dinner plans interrupted when Jordan goes undercover for student newspaper to investigate hazing. Meanwhile, Ray tries to convince Tia to pledge Alpha Kappa Alpha, while Lisa tries to sway her towards Delta Sigma Theta.

Lead actor Tim Reid wore an Alpha Phi Alpha sweatshirt in this episode, as he pledged the fraternity at Norfolk Stage College.

You can watch Sister, Sister with a subscription to Netflix.

The Parkers - Ep. #101 - “Grape Nuts” - 1999 - UPN

As Nikki and Kim start Santa Monica Community College, they also decide to pledge the fictional Alpha Alpha Alpha, or “Triple A’s.” As they continue in the pledge process, however, Nikki becomes increasingly fed up, which leads her to tell off the sorority sisters. She drops the line while Kim goes on to cross.

This is a rare depiction of a mother and daughter on the same line, as well as an extreme age gap in pledges for a collegiate one.

The Parkers - Ep. #404 - “Meter Maids Need Love, Too” - 2002 - UPM

Kim and Stevie are troubled by three ex-cons pledging their same sorority. Meanwhile, a fictional fraternity pledge bothers Professor Oglevee and T. While some sororities have clauses against criminal records, this is a rare depiction of one in which women who’ve traded prison for college are able to participate.

You can watch The Parkers with subscriptions to Netflix and YouTube TV.

Girlfriends - Ep. #616 - “Game Over” - 2006 - UPN / The CW

The show’s transition from UPN to The CW coincided with Joan’s transition to “It Girl” with the success of her restaurant The J-Spot. In this episode she mentions that she will be honored at a gala for business women thrown by Delta Sigma Theta, and needs to ask one of her potential suitors to be her date.

With this show being set post-college, this reference is a reminder that sororities and fraternities continue to be involved in their communities well beyond the collegiate pledge process and for good causes.

Girlfriends creator Mara Brock Akil pledged Delta Sigma Theta at Northwestern University, and previously wrote on Moesha.

You can watch Girlfriends with a subscription to Netflix.

Luke Cage - Ep. #108 - “Blowin’ Up The Spot” - 2016 - Netflix

When the police bring in Mariah for questioning, Misty jokes with Priscilla, “Look, I was just about to compel her to make a statement before you let your little soror Skee-Wee on out of here.” This is a reference to Alpha Kappa Alpha, but Priscilla corrects Misty with, “Oo-Oop,” indicating that she and Mariah are members of Delta Sigma Theta instead.

Similar to Girlfriends, the show exists outside of the collegiate realm. Mariah is a politician and Prisicilla is an inspector, showing that women in these organizations go on to have prolific careers, in which they are often expected to have each other’s backs in various situations.

You can watch Luke Cage with a subscription to Netflix.

Dear White People - Ep. #104 - “Chapter IV” - 2017 - Netflix

With a blast from the past, this episode sheds light on Coco and Sam’s friendship as freshmen and how their different experiences affected it. Coco is eager to join fictional sorority Alpha Delta Rho, while Sam wants to join the Black Student Union. Alpha Delta Rho is more interested in Sam than Coco due to colorism, and when Coco finds out, she drops. When the sorority sisters later attempt to enter the Pegasus Party that Coco is in, she denies them access.

Colorism is a topic that many in the African-American community are finally beginning to have open conversations about. This is another rare depiction among portrayals of BGLOs, as it is a controversial part of the culture that speaks to issues of elitism.

Alpha Delta Rho may be a callback to A Different World, as it bears the same name and similar colors to Whitley’s fictional sorority. Early on in the episode, Sam even describes their historically black dorm “like a mini Hillman College.”

You can watch Dear White People with a subscription to Netflix.

Marlon - Ep. #208 - “Homecoming” - 2018 - Netflix

When Marlon and Stevie return to Howell University, Marlon is reunited with his frat brothers, with whom he founded a fictional fraternity for those rejected by the more popular ones on campus. Marlon looks forward to overseeing the latest line of pledges, until he realizes that Stevie is on line as an alumnus. It is later revealed that Marlon was the one who blocked Stevie from joining while they were in college, and Stevie becomes determined to prove his worth. Stevie ultimately completes the process, and the episode is punctuated by a step show.

You can watch Marlon with a subscription to Netflix.

While popular 90s sitcoms and TV shows in the late 2010s feature similar references to BGLO experiences, they often were able to host more complex conversations about them in the span of an episode, especially in regards to character values and relationship dynamics. Here’s hoping that as the new renaissance of black television takes place, we see even more diverse perspectives on these fraternities and sororities in relation to issues at large.

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obsessedwithbbandsuju · 4 years ago

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Han Yuna Masterlist

*This is my default information on Yuna; however, most of it can change based on the scenario (AUs)

*Faceclaim is Kim Hyuna (quite obviously for anyone who’s into kpop)

*Last Updated: 5/27/20

Stage Name: Yuna (유나)

Birth Name: Han Yuna (한유나 )

English Name: Krista

Group: Pandora // Solo

Other Members: Son Taeyeon, Park Soojin, Lee Sunbin, Park Minhee

Position: Lead Dancer, Vocalist, Sub-rapper, Maknae

Agency: YG Entertainment

Birthdate: May 15th, 1994

Debut Date: October 17th, 2006

Zodiac Sign: Taurus

Height: 163 cm (5’4″)

Weight: 45 kg (99 lbs)

Blood Type:

Nationality: South Korean

Father: Han Kyungsoon

Mother: Lee Eunbi (deceased)

Brother: Han Jaehee [older by three years]

Stepmother: Jang Miyeon

Facts:

She was born in Mokpo and moved to Ilsan when she was three

Her mother, who was a freelance writer, passed away when she was seven years old from cardiac arrest

Since she’s the only girl in the family, her father, a university professor, was very fond of her, sometimes to the point of favoritism, which caused a rift between her older brother and herself

Since age ten she took part in a children’s performance team in her neighborhood, which is where she came to love dance

Soojin wanted to be an idol since she was young

When Yuna was twelve, her father remarried to her stepmother, Jang Miyeon

Because she was young then, Yuna didn’t like Miyeon and rebuffed her stepmother every time she tried to be friendly, but Miyeon was continuously kind to her

Due to her aloofness toward Miyeon, Yuna and her father grew apart, resulting in them arguing more and more frequently

Her older brother, Jaehee, didn’t like their stepmother either and also argued with their father over the matter, which resulted in them becoming closer to each other until they were almost inseparable

Yuna says that once she and Jaehee began to get along, he looked after her very well - walking her to school, making sure she slept and ate enough, helping her with her homework, etc.

In 2005, Yuna auditioned at YGE by dancing to S.E.S’s I’m Your Girl and singing to Uhm Jung Hwa’s Poison, and passed

Her father, whom she still had a strained relationship with, was lukewarm towards her career, wanting her to study instead, but her stepmother and her older brother supported her

Yuna met the other members – Minhee, Taeyeon, Soojin, and Sunbin – in early 2006

After Pandora’s debut on October 17th, 2006, Yuna began to realize that she had been unfair to her stepmother, but never brought it up for pride’s sake; she did, however, become less cold to Miyeon, although still maintaining a large distance

Due to the awkwardness between her and her father and stepmother, she spent the majority of her years as a trainee and many years after debuting in the dorms with the other members

When she did visit her family at home, there was considerable tension between herself and her family, with the exception of with Jaehee, who always welcomed her warmly

For years, she continued to debate on apologizing to Miyeon for being so unaccepting of her at first, but she could never quite make herself do it

When Yuna was eighteen, the university that her father worked at closed; Jaehee had already moved out, too, and her father and her stepmother were going bankrupt, but they kept it from both her and Jaehee

Yuna found out, though, and used her money to open them a barbecue restaurant in Ilsan; the restaurant was successful

After the restaurant’s success, Yuna finally managed to tell Miyeon that she was sorry for the way she treated her at first; Miyeon accepted her apology and helped her mend her relationship with her father, too

The other members of Pandora are like sisters to her, because she’s known and worked with them for so long

The Bigbang members are all like older brother to her, though she’s especially close with Daesung

She’s the acknowledged best at aegyo in Pandora, having some naturally cute mannerisms

Yuna is close with Sojin and Yura of Girl’s Day, Sohee (formerly) of Wonder Girls, and Choa (formerly) of AOA

She’s acquainted with all of Super Junior and friends with Heechul, Kangin, Yesung, and Siwon

Yuna is also friends with all of SHINee

She’s close to 2NE1 and Blackpink, especially with Minzy in the former and Jisoo in the latter

In college, Yuna majored in political science

Yuna is the type of person who has very focused parameters; she doesn’t really pay attention to anything that doesn’t affect her or those close to her

The things that Yuna is interested in usually have to do with astronomy, biology, economics, or philosophy

Yuna is a good driver

Some of Yuna’s favorite books are The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Lord of the Flies by William Golding, The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, For the Most Beautiful by Emily Hauser, 1984 by George Orwell, Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan, The Moon Over the Mountain by Nakajima Atsushi, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

Yuna has an IQ of 171

Since childhood, Yuna has played the piano

Yuna is bad at putting on makeup, being the second worst at it in Pandora after Taeyeon

Yuna is introverted and likes spending time alone, she finds a good balance between time to herself and time with other people; Taeyeon once said that she envies Yuna for being able to walk on that thin line

Yuna’s favorite variety shows are Knowing Bros, Happy Together, Running Man, and I Can See Your Voice

By her own admittance, Yuna can be rather impatient and she doesn’t have the self-control of people like Soojin or Taeyeon; according to her, it can make her annoying to deal with sometimes

She thinks it’s a little scary how Taeyeon and Soojin can keep their composure so well

Yuna is someone who often wears her feelings on her sleeve; she doesn’t like hiding things, so she lets people know when she’s upset, sad, or anything of the like

She often lets her feelings get a rise out of her and regrets it later

Yuna is agonistic

She believes in aliens but she doesn’t think that human beings on Earth will ever be able to have contact with them because of the sheer vastness of the universe

Her MBTI type is

Yuna is bisexual and an LGBTQ+ supporter

She’s popular in variety shows because of how laid-back she is; almost nothing that the hosts say to get a rise out of her succeed in fazing her

Generally she talks enthusiastically on variety shows, but she’s hard to fluster

She also likes to fire teasing and smart comments on a rare blue moon, but they’re very well-done and hilarious, which is exacerbated because she doesn’t do so often

Yuna’s favorite foods are tteokbokki, jjajangmyeon, and tteokguk

She’s not very good at holding her alcohol; in fact, a cup is usually enough to get her tipsy

Yuna is a morning person; she usually likes to go to bed early and wake up early, which sometimes leads to her struggling during irregular schedules

Her favorite animal is the dolphin

She’s not very competitive and especially hates putting physical exertion into anything

According to the other members, Yuna is the type to get really emotionally involved while dating, and can get somewhat fixated on her partner; because of that, she sometimes gets her feelings hurt

Yuna has a bad tendency to just push away things that are stressing her out, which leads to bad procrastination habits

Still, she strikes a fairly good balance between her work and her leisure time, which is why she often worries about Taeyeon, the resident workaholic and perfectionist of the group

She loves to read, and she’s fairly sure it’s because her mother read to her very often when she was a child

Because of Taeyeon’s tendency to be experimental and change the concepts and genres of their discography frequently, Yuna and the rest of Pandora have been noted for being “concept chameleons” by some

Yuna can speak Korean (from growing up in Korea) and and Mandarin (from school and working abroad) fluently, and she’s good at English, Japanese, and Indonesian

Yuna is a somewhat controversial figure in South Korea because she (and the rest of the Pandora members) is more outspoken about her concerns regarding the double standards against women in the industry as opposed to men, as well as South Korea’s sexism in general; she has also delved into topics such as LGBTQ rights and the stigma against idols dating

Yuna’s ideal type: “I think anyone who’s there for me would satisfy me in a relationship. If I had to pick a quality I would say that I prefer people who are dedicated. I really find it admirable when someone commits wholeheartedly to something.”

Cho Kyuhyun/Han Yuna

Love Disease, part i // Angst

#masterlist #original female character #han yuna #super junior scenarios #super junior imagines #super junior reactions #super junior #kyuhyun scenarios #kyuhyun imagines #kyuhyun reactions #super junior smut #kyuhyun smut #cho kyuhyun #kyuhyun #my writing

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thoughtfulpaperback · 5 years ago

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Charmed 2x12 Review SPOILERS!!!!!!

Okay let's do this. Sorry I skipped one but times are hectic. For entertainment I give it an 8/10. Same format. Dislikes, likes and highlights

Dislikes

1. Macy Kneeling to Abby.

Let's just get this one out the way. I can see where they might have been going with this.

They maybe are trying to move away from the ambiguous route with abby (trying to make her sympathetic with her whole patriarchy thing and her dead mom) I mean she is progressively becoming more predatory with Harry so with that in mind, this was possibly one of the "abby is really a bad person not a feminist as she is only out for her own gain and not the empowerment of all women". And I can get that maybe they were also trying to show "look Macy is willing to do the most degrading thing possible just for the chance at rebuilding that power of three/charmed bond with her sisters for the protection of the magical community".

But listen.....

We all know Abigael isnt a star feminist. We already know (although we dont exactly know) that she has some sort of plan up her sleeve to be weary of.

There has been too much attempted ambiguity and the main characters letting her get away with terrible things that the message isnt coming across.

Plus Maybe yes showing Macy being willing to do something that really probably hurt all of us (epecially those of us who are minorities) to watch, may have been to drive home the differences between her and Macy and play up Macy's love for her sisters

But like we know Macy and Abby arent similar (as much as you writers tried to play that up at first). And you know just adding more sister bonding moment and just the fact that Macy was willing to go to abby after all the previous stuff was enough to show she was desperate? Maybe just add more sister bonding moments so we can see how dedicated they are to each other?

Maybe? Just saying.

If the writers are finally going to commit to Abby being a full on villian then I guess the seen was worth cementing that she is horrible (sort of).

Here's my question though as I consider whether the scene was worth it. Who is this show for and what is it trying to show? I mean if it is for minorities and women then i can see how showing these historical and current issues (conflict of power and consideration among women where race is concerned) then I guess showing it and having that controversy makes sense. But like we live it.

As minorities we already know. I know I struggle between wanting my experience shown and also wanting to watch something where for once the minority characters arent subjected to that experience. Charmed did better at addressing controversy and women's issues in season 1. I dont care if it was "obvious" or "heavy handed" because when it is not you basically get the kneeling scene where you dont know what the point was, if it was necessary, and are left feeling hurt or bitter about it.

2. Hacy Kiss.

Listen Brenda/on, this is on my like and dislike list. I will mention what I dislike about it.

The first thing is that it was a fantasy. I mean yes I like that we get full on confirmation that Macy has romantic feelings for Harry and not just considering that she might have them, but I honestly hate the fact that they would tease us like that. Especially when Macy is at a low moment. Which I will get into.

They are kinda ruining Macy for me. Listen, at this point they havent given us enough insight into Macys feelings or thoughts to understand why she isnt pursuing Harry. We can speculate and infer based on previous seasons and some of what the writers or showrunners say on twitter, but this season itself hasnt done much in showing Macy's thought process and so it falls flat. It isnt her reluctance to let people in or not wanting to get involved with someone after Galvin since she does pursue Julian and gets serious relatively quickly. She, at least now we it is confirmed, has those feelings for Harry, but is still choosing to be with someone else inspite of those feelings. I hate that. Harry is obviously tempted by abby and is being naive with her, but he isnt pursuing her and has blocked her advances (except the kiss) so far which may change who knows, but the point is if Macy was just casually dating and enjoying Julian's company I would be like okay, still hate that she would lead someone on when she has feeling for someone else, but if its casual there is less of a chance of the other person being hurt.

I cant get behind Julian x Macy, not because of Julian (who so far is perfect and probably going to be a villian or some how connected to the villians because it is a common trope) but because of Macy. Julian x Macy isnt Healthy because Macy knows she has feelings for someone else. She is using him. That isnt to say she doesnt genuinely like or care about him, but at the end of the day she is using him. Which is crappy because Julian so far seems like a great guy and doesnt deserve being the "distraction". I mentioned this all the time but my least favorite love triangles are the ones where one person is using the other.

Healthy would be Macy and Julian being friends while she works through her feelings and then decides who she wants to be with. Not being with someone while having feelings for someone else.

Macy was shown in season 1 to be rational and could be rational to the point of compartmentalizing and coming off as cold. So maybe that is where they are drawing from, but again little effort has been made on the part of the writers to show what's going on in her brain other than that fantasy kiss. And again I am still like....okay so what does that mean in the long run you butts!!!

3. Helen's suicude

I am so iffy about how shows portray people completing suicide. Like on one hand I get that them showing her exercising free will, but suicide portrayed as a positive rather than a tragedy is just....ugh for me. I still am not sure how I feel overall about it.

Lore wise I hate that they use it to explain why Harry and jimmy couldnt kill each other, because in an interview rupert claimed Harry was immortal now because of the elder thing and the show said it in that first episode. So like are both true? So if harry tries to stab himself like Helen will he just end up back in the coffin and alive since she is immortal?

I mean we are 12 episodes in and have about 10 to go so we really should be working towards a cohesive lore and storyline not adding confusing or not well explained layers. The world building they did in the first half was a lot better which makes me wonder what they heck is going on in the writing room.

Likes

1. Parkerita

Let me explain. While I fancy Jordan x Maggie together. I'd prefer that be a slow burn and steady friendship first. Parker seems to be Maggie's first love. It makes sense that she is still grieving and holding on. While I kind of wanted to be done with Parkerita in fairness to all the season 1 romances that where tossed out, I like the nod to Phole. I felt the OG Phole relationship was not healthy, but I liked the tradgedy of it. I think if new Charmed wants to wrestle with that and do it better (although my faith in the writers is low right now) then I wouldnt be against it. I love a good tradgedy and I sat through Phole so I'll sit through this one.

2.Hacy kiss

I love that the writers finally did something to show us what is going on in Macys brain. I need more (not necessarily Harry fantasies but I wont complain if we get more of those). I do hope a real Hacy kiss is a bit different because one one hand the fact Macy wanted to kiss harry when she was feeling down says something to me about how she feels about him and that she still trusts him (but it could, If I wanted to be cynical, just be more evidence that Macy skews towards using people when she is repressing or feeling down although she didnt actually kiss him, if she had I think I would have not liked it in that particular moment given it would have felt more like using him that expressing feelings)

Highlights

1. Abby really thinks no means maybe 😒 . . .

2. Mel is a lesbian magnet and I'd be fine with her just casually dating while all this other crap is going on as long as she is happy

2. Helen

3. These horror movie vibes though!!

#the cw charmed #charmed reboot #charmed cw #charmed #charmed 2018 #charmed 2018 spoilers #charmed spoilers #hacy #macy x harry #harry x macy #harry greenwood #macy vaughn #mel vera #maggie vera

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digikate813 · 5 years ago

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My Top 5 Favorite Ponies from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic

One thing that’s amazing about Friendship is Magic is just how many memorable characters there are. Not only were there six main ponies who each took turns having dedicated episodes, but each season brought with it new locations, new challenges, and yes, new characters. All diverse and most endearing. Which is why today I”m counting down my Top 5 favorite pony characters. And since ponies are what started all of this, we’re gonna stick with ponies. Although there are many great characters in Equestria and beyond who aren’t ponies that could easily make for a list of it’s own. But let’s start this off with…

#5 Derpy Hooves/Ditzy Doo

No I am not calling her Muffins. Nobody calls her Muffins besides Hasbro. But if that’s what it takes to keep this adorable wool eyed mare around, then so be it. As someone who came into the fandom right before Season 3, Derpy as a creative piece and what she represents to the fandom, fascinates me.

Of course what made Derpy special right from the start is how fans personified her. From a simple animation error, she developed a character that attracted people. And from what I can tell, as the first season continued, fans assigned her personality traits like they were an improv troop. Derpy is really excited about muffins? They must be her favorite food! She drops things out of a moving truck? Maybe it’s a delivery truck. Maybe she’s a mail mare! From becoming a companion to a time traveling stallion to being a single mom of a unicorn filly also in the background who looked a little like her. It was the first time (though certainly not the last, not even on this list) the brony fandom created such a rich and involved life for a character who was never meant to do more then fill in the background.

But then “The Last Roundup” controversy happened. And something about Derpy’s role in the fandom culture, changed. Suddenly Derpy was, a symbol. People related not to the people who complained that she was offensive, but how her presence on the show was censored and almost silenced. One of the most relatable things to a brony is being ostracized from the outside world for expressing yourself. As time went on, Derpy began to become a symbol of strength and self love. Heck my favorite song in the fandom and one of my favorite songs period, was inspired by a note left behind to the writer and performer at Bronycon saying “It’s Great to be Different. Love Derpy.”.

Derpy went from being a lovable joke, to an icon that represented the failures and triumphs of many members of the community, and those who chose to tell her stories. That even if you are different in some way, you can still live a full and loving life. And when “Slice of Life” came around, it felt like it was the true celebration of what Derpy was to all of us that she was meant to be back in The Last Roundup. But because there was more screen time now, they were able to show all of what makes Derpy so adorable and beloved.

From her many future appearances in the show itself, to the empowering and endearing fan made content surrounding the little gray pegasus that’s been produced since, Derpy is an amazing creation that is so wonderful to watch no matter what form she takes. And now for the complete opposite pony…..

#4 Twilight Sparkle

I generally consider MLP an ensemble show, since there are so many characters who get almost an equal amount of focus. However, there’s no denying that the show started with, and therefore mostly revolves around Twilight and her journey. Her friends and then their friends and family, as it expands into the massive cast we know and love. But that all started with a studious little unicorn.

There’s so much to like about Twilight. On the surface I always found her excitement for knowledge and study to be a great trait, especially to display to kids. Showing how excited people can be to learn and explore without being the “token nerd”. And of course her freak outs are legendary.

But what I appreciate about Twilight is her external and internal journey as a character. That despite being the studious one, she doesn’t know everything. That just because she’s really good at the skills she acquires, doesn’t mean she’s perfect all the time, or that she should be expected to be.

Twilight’s journey represents the path of the entire show. Learning different lessons on friendship and responsibility. That just because things happened in the past doesn’t mean you can’t evolve if someone’s willing to give you the chance. That just because someone is different and maybe a bit closed off, doesn’t mean it isn’t worth it to try and get to know them. That when you move up in the world and magically sprout a pair of wings, and it feels like you’ve achieved everything you thought you could, doesn’t mean you have.

There are always things to learn, ways to grow, mistakes to be made and friends to find. That lesson and advice can come from the most unlikely of places like Discord and Starlight.Twilight had a cray journey through the 9 seasons of Friendship is Magic, but the most important thing is that she never stopped learning. Even when she moved on to teaching.

Twilight represents how no matter what you think at the time, there’s no one path to life. One day you’re focused on being a princess’s best student, the next you’re a princess yourself. Or venturing out beyond the borders of your land. Or opening a school to all creatures so you can help them all. To eventually, ruling the land. And even after achieving that, there are still challenges.

A friend of mine once pointed out that Twilight’s journey is quite a bit similar to some of the reformed villains. Somepony who was isolated and alone and wanted nothing to do with friendship. Who thought she could do everything herself. Until five random ponies decided to march into a forest to lend a hand, and changed her life forever. Twilight represents that no matter how much you succeed or how much you fail, there’s always something to gain from it. And that nobody accomplishes greatness alone. TL:DR, Twilight embodies the magic of friendship. Which is pretty obvious I know but it’s still worth celebrating.

#3 Princess Luna

Luna Luna Luna. Everypony loves Luna. At least everypony in the fan base does, it took a while for the ponies in the show to warm up to her remember. So Luna makes this list above the main character who I just said embodies what the entire show is about because, thanks to Luna’s overwhelming popularity, it sparked my curiosity enough to watch the episode she featured in. My first episode of MLP was “Luna Eclipsed”. So yeah, Luna is partly responsible for getting me involved in all of this and why you’re reading this right now.

Some people think Luna is overrated or not worthy of all of this praise. And while I understand where these people are coming from, I can’t say I agree. The reasons to love Luna only got longer as the years went on, but I think the spark in the beginning was her story as Nightmare Moon. Can you imagine how easy it would have been to make Luna Celestia’s opposite in every way? Not just in their functions for the land? Relatives who are evil for the sake of evil are hardly rare in children’s media. Especially in the stuff marketed to girls.

But what set Luna apart is that they gave her motivation. An actual reason for why she wanted to plunge the world into eternal night. Because she wanted to be appreciated. And while Luna may not have, taken the best approach towards accomplishing that, who can’t relate to that?

And I’m always a huge fan of villain redemption stories personally, so as I watched “Luna Eclipsed”, and saw Luna fitting back in with the ponies was something I really liked. And after getting more involved with the series, it was really gratifying to see more of her as she slowly began to have a more prominent role in the show and progress more as a character.

Having her teach the CMC through their dreams was a great idea for a group of episodes, showing that Luna can use her past mistakes to teach other ponies to be better. Watching her still struggle with those feelings of guilt and regret from her actions as Nightmare Moon in the somewhat controversial, yet beloved to me and quite a few others, “Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep?”. And much later, getting to finally see how she spends time with her very different, yet still loving sister.

The show may have had many villains see the error of their ways through the power of friendship and rainbow lasers, but Luna was the first, and to this day, most loved. She dominates the charts every time a “Best Princess” poll comes up because apart from Twilight, she’s the most interesting and developed.

There may have been times where they had to work backwards for development, but in the end Luna had an amazing presence throughout the series from Day 1, and in a way, may have been one of the keys to it’s first spark of appeal to older viewers. But who knows?

#2 Time Turner/Doctor Whooves

Well we’ve all got a favorite background pony. And as much as I love Derpy, this eccentric scientist remains my favorite. Like with Luna, part of the reason the fan named Doctor Whooves is one of my favorite ponies is because he got me more involved in the fandom. And just to clarify, no. I was not a Doctor Who fan before I was an MLP fan.

But there was just something about the bizarre combination of My Little Pony and Doctor Who that just peaked my curiosity. And thanks to the likes of the incredible audio dramas Doctor Whooves and Assistant and Doctor Whooves Adventures, I became even more interested in both MLP and Doctor Who, and dove full force into the fandom within a fandom that was the Doctor Whooves community. So many Doctors, so little time. And it was glorious!

Doctor Whooves is just one of those concepts that is so enjoyable to create stories and concepts around. Between the two worlds the possibilities are endless! And it was always fun and exciting to come across someone else’s version of this idea that’s, weird, but works. And I myself have celebrated my love for the time traveling stallion in all sorts of ways from animatics to reviews to traditional fan art.

And then, “Slice of Life” happened. While he wasn’t an actual time traveling thousand year old alien (not as far as we know anyway) I really loved how they characterized him in the show itself. His eccentric experiments, Peter New’s delightful rambly voice work, throwing in a couple of Doctor Who references that are blatant and subtle at the same time. It was so much fun to watch, and to see him again every now and then during the remainder of the series.

And to think all of that came from a random hour glass cutie mark and someone out there thinking his mane looked sort of like David Tennant’s hair. Have I mentioned how much this fandom’s imagination blows my mind???

#1 Fluttershy

Oh my dear sweet Fluttershy. One of the benefits to having six main ponies is that they can cover a broad spectrum of character types. Everyone develops a favorite among the group at some point, and while there are many different reasons for a character to be your favorite, 9 times out of 10 when someone is asked who their favorite is among the Mane Six, it’s usually because they can relate to them. That they see themselves in one of these pastels ponies personalities or goals or growth. That is what Fluttershy is to me.

I relate to Fluttershy, so much it scares me sometimes. Being really quiet around people I don’t know well. Getting nervous about things others might find ridiculous. Apologizing profusely for things. And most importantly, trying to be genuinely nice and understanding, even when it’s hard.

I understand both Fluttershy’s highs and lows. How she really tries to be stronger then her anxieties, that are tough for those who don’t have those issues to understand why she’s acting that way. How satisfying it is in those times when you can overcome your anxieties, and look a scary person or situation in the eye and face it. How the friends you make can make you more comfortable and open to new opportunities and experiences.

Despite her shy nature, Fluttershy is a tower of strength. And her development throughout the course of the series is the most satisfying to me. Going from not being able to talk to a new pony in town, to sincerely befriending the lord of chaos. From being kicked around by strangers in a marketplace, to being assertive with her own brother and helping him get his act together. From bending over backwards to not hurt other ponies feelings, to firing workers who weren’t respecting here wishes.

Probably the best thing about Fluttershy’s character development is that, it takes it’s time. But the progress she makes is clear. As she says in “Fame and Misfortune”, it took her a while to get there, but you don’t learn a lesson once and completely change who you are. Fluttershy represents the very subtle development we all make everyday if we try. It may not show too much the next day, but if we keep striving to be better and more outgoing, the results will speak for themselves over time.

I love absolutely everything about Fluttershy. Her design is adorable. Her voice work from Andrea Libman is perfect. Her work with animals and the kindness she spreads throughout the show is sweet and admirable, and she’s a beacon of hope for those who feel weak or suffer from anxieties. Who feel like they can never improve. Fluttershy shows that you can make improvements every day. It doesn’t mean you have to change overnight. And that the quietest pony, can turn out to be the strongest.

So those are my Top 5 Favorite Ponies, and be sure to let me know who some of your favorite ponies are. Not just your all time favorite, but some of the runner ups. There are many different reasons to love certain characters and that might not all apply to one of them. That’s the fun thing about this topic. With so many great characters and so many reasons to like some of them, everyone’s answer is unique and interesting. Just like the ponies themselves.

#My Little Pony #analysis #top 5 favorite ponies #derpy hooves #twilight sparkle #Princess Luna #doctor whooves #fluttershy #MLP;FiM

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irisouy · 6 years ago

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Why I still believe in bellarke after S5

At the end of season 5 I wrote some meta about The100 that I did not publish. Season 6 arriving in April, I feel I should at least publish some of the content I wrote back then. And yes of course my first meta is about my OTP: Bellarke. So here is my first piece: how much I loved bellarke in season 5.

Disclaimer: this is my perception of season 5. I am a faithful bellarke believer and I do not hate any character, nor any cast member, nor any writer, nor producer. You have the right to disagree with my point of view, and if it’s the case just disregard my meta. No need to be angry, nor rude. Constructive criticism only. Beware, because I mention B.echo a lot in this meta.

Season 5 ended and so did the hopes of many bellarkers in the fandom; many feel betrayed and/or baited, others have just simply lost faith. For the very few who read me (trust me I am not a popular blog), you should know by now that I am not a disappointed bellarker and that I really enjoyed season 5.

Why do I still have faith? Because so far all I have seen about them is consistent and steady, slow… indeed, but very much steady.

Here are the points I am going to be discussing regarding the evolution of Bellarke during S5:

Reestablishing their partnership and connection

B.echo a tool to propel romantic bellarke

Betrayals to ground bellarke into reality

Let’s dig into the season, shall we?

1. Reestablishing their partnership and connection

At the end of season 4 when Bellarke was separated and the time jump was introduced I was pissed. I thought the twist was great, but I knew what it meant for my favorite ship: more delay. Indeed, this meant that all the escalating closeness and build-up between those two characters would take a major setback.

So when season 5 started I could not wait to have the bellarke reunion, because I was aware they would need to restore build-up because 6 years is a big deal. I hoped the build-up would be quick, but of course, this is The 100 we’re talking about and we all know that Bellarke is on top of the food chain when speaking about slow-burn love stories. The first step then was to reestablish the connection between two characters that spent 6 years apart and who started the season with two very different mind-frames:

On one hand we have Bellamy thinking he left Clarke behind to her death and having to cope with his guilt and move on with that idea at the same time. On the other hand, we have Clarke who has spent 6 years isolated with a child but has kept her hope that one day, Bellamy and Spacekru would come down.

At this point the problem with Bellarke is obvious: Bellamy has moved on and buried his remaining feelings for Clarke deep down, while Clarke has been waiting for him all along but is stuck with her memories of him. They both kept endearing memories of each other but they are not the same people anymore. And none of them are ready to open-up about the feelings they have for each other (yet).

When Bellamy finds out Clarke is alive and he swoops in to save her from Diyoza and delivers the infamous “She is”, I, just like all bellarkers was in awe. The subsequent hug was also beautiful and so intimate that I was surprised, because 6 years had passed, but it was obvious their connection was still there, it was real. The episodes started flowing one after the other and it was astonishing how they instantly moved back into their partnership: communicating through looks, moving in unison.

And then we got them acknowledge in canon that they were the “Heart and the Head” giving us a throwback of their conversation from the finale of Season 4: this marked the return of their bond.

Of course, us Bellarkers know that their non-romantic partnership is no longer enough… neither for us, nor for them. So how do you propel Bellarke into romantic territory, knowing that all they’ve had until now is a deep loving partnership? They have never been involved romantically with each other, and even though I believe they have been pining for each other for a while now, none of them thinks the other considers them in “that way”. They are both clueless about their real feelings.

So I believe the writers had to do something to stir things up and propel Bellarke towards a clear romantic path (or clearer). That’s where they decided to use a tool that had great advantages for them: B.echo.

2. B.echo a tool to propel romantic bellarke

I know B.echo has clearly been controversial this season and for good reason: it was yet another obstacle put in the way of Bellarke. But as much as I don’t enjoy B.echo (although I don’t hate E.cho as a character, but again I don’t hate any character), it was not only an obstacle, it also was a “propeller”.

Yeah, you might think I’m crazy, but I am very much convinced of it and here’s why.

B.echo was first a tool to further Bellamy’s character development. Yes, he started a relationship with a former enemy, someone who tried to kill his sister, Clarke and who killed many of Bellamy’s people (Gina was not killed directly by her, it was another IN assassin who did the deed). E.cho was an antagonist in season 3 and 4, so starting season 5 with Bellamy in a full-on relationship with her was a big controversial move. But it was big mostly for Bellamy because it was an indicator of how much he had changed and grown during the 6 years spent in space. B.echo showed that not only Bellamy was able to move forward in his life, but that he learned to forgive himself and mostly others. Way back in season 4 I believed E.cho would play a role in Bellamy’s redemption arc because he needed to start seeing others as people who make choices just like him: not everything is black or white.

But if the existence of B.echo was the sign of Bellamy’s change, it was not the cause: leaving Clarke to die was. Throughout those 6 years Clarke remained a vivid memory and Bellamy lived his life with Clarke’s last words engraved in his head and heart. Bellamy’s change started because he wanted to live to Clarke’s expectations, dedicating his whole life to her. However, Clarke was a memory of a partner, not a romantic one, and with time passing, Bellamy buried deep down his burgeoning romantic feelings for Clarke.

Then it turns out that Clarke is alive. Bellamy is of course beyond thrilled, but it’s been too long and there are too many things going on for him to process what he really feels for Clarke. It seems that he has compartmentalized Echo being his girlfriend, Clarke being his long lost best friend and partner in crime. But then comes the scene where Bellamy poisons his sister in to save Clarke. This was fucking HUGE (excuse my language).

First, we had a direct comparison of B.echo’s relationship (romantic) with Bellarke’s relationship (not romantic yet) with the “traitor who you love” line from Octavia. This was made intentionally for Bellamy to realize that what he feels for Clarke is similar in nature to what he feels for E.cho: it is certainly NOT platonic. But the fact that Bellamy went to the most extreme lengths to save Clarke while he didn’t do it for E.cho speaks volumes about the intensity of his feelings.

So, in this case his relationship with E.cho has put in light the fact that:

His feelings for Clarke are romantic in nature

His feelings for Clarke are way more intense than those he has for E.cho

Not too shabby!

But B.echo has also helped Clarke consider her “pal” Bellamy as maybe more than that?

Obviously, Clarke’s close-ups while B.echo was kissing in two occasions where not an accident. That was intentional to show Clarke’s reaction: she is shocked and dumbfounded. You can clearly see that she doesn’t like it, she is very much bothered. Why would she feel bad that her “pal” Bellamy is making out with another woman? Well maybe because Clarke’s feelings for him are not platonic. Seeing B.echo together made Clarke well aware that she loves Bellamy romantically. She feels jealousy and sadness at the same time, because she is not in Bellamy’s life anymore, he has moved on, she lost her chance (at least that’s what she’s thinking).

And then we had the E.cho-Clarke scene which has caused a lot of controversy in the fandom, especially when E.cho calls out Clarke for “now caring” for Bellamy. You may like or not like the fact that E.cho is the one calling Clarke out on her feelings for Bellamy, but what I see here is Clarke’s response: “I always cared!” she responds right away, indignant.

Once again, E.cho is used as a tool to show our protagonists’ feelings for each other. E.cho is used to stir things up…. And it works! Not just on the characters, but on the fandom as well, might I say.

The “I always cared” comes as a call back to L.exa’s “you care about him” when Clarke was denying caring about him in particular. But now, look at that, she doesn’t deny it, and doesn’t hesitate for one second.

So, you may not like E.cho, and that is absolutely fine, but when looking back at her character in season 5, she only really was used for one main purpose: stir romantic emotions between Bellarke.

Put it in your head: E.cho is only a tool at the service of Bellarke.

3. Betrayals to bring bellarke back to reality (to ground bellarke into reality)

The final obstacle for a romantic bellarke after the 6-year delay in their relationship was grounding their new-found relationship back to the reality of who they are now, and not who they were 6 years ago. Indeed, for 6 years both lived with a representation of who the other was: it was a mental picture of the other that escalated into a sort of persona that no longer existed.

But during those 6 years, both have evolved, both have found people they love and want to protect. Both carry their own trauma and are closed-off. How do you wake them up to the reality?

By showing who they are right now and breaking the illusion of the “perfect” image they had in their minds. That is why both Bellamy and Clarke betray each other during season 5.

Bellamy betrays Clarke by keeping her imprisoned while pushing Madi to accept he flame. He promised Clarke that he would protect Madi and she believed with all her heart that he would keep his promise. But she had in mind that he would do so the same way he used to: the way Bellamy used to protect his sister 6 years ago, not seeing the full picture, not caring about the wellbeing of others while doing so. However Bellamy has spent the 6 years of his life trying to fulfil the promise he made to Clarke: to lead with both his heart and head and he has succeeded in thinking and acting this way. He no longer rushes, he takes a step back and tries to assess the consequences of his actions. Clarke needed to realize that new side of Bellamy and the most effective way was by crushing the image she had of “Heart” Bellamy. But the thing is that Bellamy did keep his promise to protect Madi, just not the way she thought he would. This is the main difference and shocker for Clarke.

The same goes for Bellamy: he needed to realize that Clarke has been living alone with Madi for 6 years and that she has changed as well. She has undergone excruciating pain and loneliness: she is bruised and is no longer the cool-hearted leader she once was. All she has is Madi, she is her only world and family. Bellamy is going to be confronted to a Clarke who doesn’t think things through and who acts impulsively with only one thing in mind: her family, her person. And when she leaves Bellamy to die in the pit, his image of Clarke comes crashing down. He no longer is important to her, maybe he imagined that she once cared about him. The Clarke he has now in front of him has changed and is bruised: she trusts no one.

However why do I think this is positive for Bellarke?

Because to move onto a healthy romantic relationship, one needs to know the other person and see the person for who she/he is, not the representation one has in their heads. And the key element once they have confronted the reality is how they respond to it: do they hate each other and swear to not see each other anymore? Or do they accept this new person and move on from there?

The end of S5 clearly shows that they cannot envisage life without the other and that they are willing to accept the new person they have become. Clarke clearly showed that she regretted abandoning him to die and that she was relieved when she found out he was alive.

Bellamy only changed his mind when Madi revealed that Clarke had been calling him every day for 6 years. This proved that what hurt Bellamy the most was not that Clarke betrayed him, but that he thought she did not care about him anymore. Madi’s revelation proved him wrong, and in a heartbeat, he changed his attitude towards Clarke.

The following scenes between them clearly show that Bellarke is not done at all with each other. And the final shot speaks volumes about their relationship status.

Conclusion:

In S5 bellarke have found each other again, reassessed that they need each other in their lives and have accepted they are different people now.

So I believe that in S6 they have the perfect set up to finally become romantic. What about B.echo you might say? Well as I’ve mentioned, to me B.echo is merely an obstacle to Bellarke.

Keep in mind that Bellarke is a slow burn: every slow burn is given obstacles before they get to a love relationship. So writers “sprinkle” short to mid-term love interests throughout the seasons to:

Delay the central relationship from happening

Add drama

Teach lessons to their characters (character development)

And I am sorry to say it, but Finn and L.xa, from a pure story standpoint were only short-term love interests for Clarke (and Gina for Bellamy). Bellarke is always growing in the background…simmering. B.echo is not different from those relationships; it just delays the inevitable.

I truly believe that it’s JR intent to have romantic Bellarke and that we are not delusional: we clearly see the clues that the writers are throwing at us. For all those reasons I enjoyed Bellarke in season 5. Bellarke is the only relationship that has had a STEADY unwavering progression throughout the seasons… excruciatingly slow, yes, but steady.

Believe in bellarke. However, can they fucking kiss already?

#bellarke #The 100 #the 100 season 5 #meta #irisouy

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willow-salix · 6 years ago

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The Seven Basic Plots and how they work.

OK, so this subject is a little controversial, and many will argue the points made, but I thought I would include it, because when I was taught them, they made perfect sense and helped the whole class to identify with the type of story they were actually writing.

This is a really important thing to discover, probably even before you start to plot out your book, because knowing the type of story, and the general structure that they usually take will make the actual construction of your story, so much easier.

The theory goes that there are only ever seven basic plots for stories. 7 in the entire world! They say that any story you can think of will fall into at least one of these categories, though more often they are a mixture of two, three or even more.

The plots are

- Overcoming the Monster

- Rags to Riches

- The Quest

- Voyage and Return

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- Rebirth

- Comedy (in which they have included Romance)

- Tragedy.

Now, lets look at them in more depth.

Over coming the monster. This may have you conjuring up visions of a snarling beast looming over a fair maiden who is swooning and screaming for her knight in shining armour to come and save her.

And while that’s fine, if your story is going that way, if you do have a physical monster that is terrorising villages, you do you, dude, but as a plot it’s much broader.

Monsters can take many forms, from a physical threat, a bad guy, an evil boss, and old enemy, an ex-partner or friend, or even something more symbolic like the badness of society or even mankind itself, an organisation, or a political party.

An overcoming the monster story, as with all of the plots, usually follows a formula, although it is easily moved around to make the story your own.

It starts with the creature itself tormenting and torturing its prey, so it could be the boss picking on the young, inexperienced intern, or a nasty teacher bullying the class.

Then comes the call, when the hero hears of this wickedness and comes to save the day. This could be someone in the office overhearing the nasty things said to the poor, sobbing intern, or one adventurous member of the class that decides enough is enough, this evil teacher must be stopped.

There will usually be a brief, first confrontation where the hero and the monster meet face to face for the first time.

There is often a period within the story that is referred to as the dream state, where everything seems to be going ok for our hero, this turns into a nightmare with another confrontation, which the hero shows every likelihood of losing.

And finally, victory, usually including a lesson of some kind which is designed to make the reader think about the moral of the story.

Rags to riches and comedy/romance will often be blended together. We will often see a small, insignificant individual who will step forward and become our hero. Like the nerdy best friend in a high school drama who turns out to be the perfect person for them all along.

Our unfortunate and reluctant hero will have been treated badly by those around them, family, friends, society and is often orphaned by at least one parent. This gives them some vulnerability and odds to overcome.

It is believed that Cinderella is the oldest rags to riches tale with thousands of known versions today, the oldest dating back to the 9th century.

The unfortunate hero is usually the youngest child, one that is shown during the story to be growing up and to mature.

There is usually a part of the story where there is some kind of crisis, where everything is going wrong, but in the end, everything will work itself out and change for the better.

This is often paired with romance because it’s a good formula, we as readers, like the thought of a humble hero being the one to get the love interest rather than the rich, arrogant rival.

Aladdin is a perfect example of both plots mixing together, an orphaned boy who steals to survive, getting his big break and meeting the girl of his dreams. But just when things seem to be coming up roses for Aladdin, he is knocked back down, having to find the guts and determination to keep fighting, clawing his way back to win the heart of the princess and defeat the bad guy.

The quest is often twinned with voyage and return.

No type of story is better known than the quest, some of our most beloved stories, like treasure island, lord of the rings and the holy grail are all a quest.

The story itself can take the form of a physical journey, where they hero is actually travelling from one place to another, or more of a mental journey, a voyage of self discovery if you will. Maybe one relating to their mental or physical help, self improvement or some other life goal.

When looking at the story the goals are usually pretty simple. Some fabulous treasure or mysterious mythical object, or they surround a homeward journey, be that a mental one of self discovery, back to the person you once was, or a physical one.

They often begin with the call to action, as many others do. A community in uproar, a lost treasure or even a missing person.

All quests begin with a sense of unease, a desperation which pushes them on, often the plot will also involve a time limit to make it feel tenser.

The hero will often have to leave their home and battle to find their way back, returning a better person than when they left.

These stories often involve companions of some kind who will travel with them or be picked up along the way and help them on their journey, their unique abilities making victory possible. This has a moral reason for happening, to show the reader than no one can triumph when they are alone or unsupported, trying to take on too much themselves, to not rely on others, or in the case of a more arrogant hero, thinking they don’t need help. There is no shame in allowing friends to offer a hand.

Sometimes the writer will pull a sneaky on their reader and have one of the companions actually work against the hero, instead being in cahoots with the enemy. This is a good way of involving a plot twist into the story, but it is one that has to be managed very carefully, it should not be obvious that they have been actively trying to cause trouble. It should come out of nowhere and completely blindside the reader, but, when they look back, there should be enough to make it true. It’s a hard one to pull off and it does require practice, but that’s no reason to avoid doing it if that’s how your story is worked.

Once the hero and companions have assembled, they will venture forth. Usually they will encounter their first scary or dramatic situation, entering unknown territory, facing a monster or even lack of resources or food. The possibilities in this, are endless.

Mystical intervention along the way is also a common theme, where our heroes will receive some much-needed help and advice which will save the day.

When the journey is almost over, when we think they will make it, comes the final ordeal. All is lost! Or so we think. But of course, the hero will overcome the odds and win the day.

A twist to this kind of story is the dark quest, and my personal favourite, where we see the dark, brooding anti-hero who seeks to destroy an object or person who is working on the side of good. just when it looks like darkness will overcome the light, he has his redemption.

I do love a sexy, anti-social man who needs kicking into shape, and I am usually just the girl to write them, but, enough about me, lets continue on to our last two plots.

Tragedy and rebirth are another two that are often partnered up for the sake of a story.

Tragedy comes in many forms, from the loss of a parent, a lover, a child, even a whole town or city, leaving the protagonist, our hero, as the only one left to deal with the situation.

They are obviously grieving, emotionally destroyed by the tragedy they have just dealt with, but they must soldier on.

Some stories just stick with the tragedy and refuse to have a happy ever after ending, which is fine, its your story and no one said it had to be a happy happy feel good book, but if you did want to give your hero something to strive for, some home, a light at the end of the tunnel, that’s where the rebirth plot is usually utilised.

We, as readers, love to see something good come out of a tragedy, we love to think that no matter how bad things get, there is always hope of something good just around the corner.

Rebirth stories are always popular. Think of a Christmas carol, with mean, skinflint Mr Scrooge meeting 3 ghosts who take him on a journey of self-discovery, where he will have to face up to the inevitable, if he continues as he is, he will die alone and unmourned by anyone.

He learns the error of his ways and wakes the next morning as a changed man, determined to do better for everyone around him.

So, there you have the 7 basic plots, and as I said before, although others may disagree, I believe they are useful to know and perhaps look at in more depth, especially if you have an idea for a book but are unsure on how to structure it.

Identify the type or types of story it is and then study the formula, fit it all together and get writing.

I once did an article explaining how the 7 basic plots all managed to fit into my book, Two Minutes to Midnight, before I even knew what they were. If you are interested in reading this article, let me know in the comments or DM me and ill get it up online for you all.

That’s all for today, so ill say blessed be and happy writing.

youtube

#willowsalixauthor #paranormalromance #witch #bookseries #books #vampires #writer #how to write #writing tips #writing time #Seven Basic Plots #blog post #Youtuber

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lightlyscathing · 6 years ago

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SOMETHING IS UP WITH BUTCH HARTMAN...

...And it might not be what you think it is.

(VERY long post/sort of essay, a lot more beneath the cut.)

TLDR: Butch is not the devil, he is flawed, and there’s almost certainly someone else behind a lot of what’s happening right now.

I’d like to start this off with saying that even though this blog is Pretty Empty and doesn’t have any other content from Butch Hartman’s shows (Danny Phantom, Fairly Odd Parents, etc.) on it, I watched his work as a kid and loved it. I’ve been a fan of Danny Phantom for years, and I’ve seen a lot of Butch hate.

Today I’d like to offer you another perspective on what might be happening with Butch, and why we should, I don’t know. Maybe lay off on the hate just a little...? He is by no means a perfect person, and has made mistakes, but the same can be said of any person.

After a friend of mine (@sarasanddollar) mentioned having mixed feelings about recent events (specifically, the OAXIS controversy), we had a conversation about it. She was coming from the perspective of someone who has defended Butch in the past, and I asked her about that as someone who has disliked Butch for a long time. I was curious to see what she had to say.

She made several good points, which I will summarize. You can also view the most important snippets of that conversation HERE.

One of the reasons many Danny Phantom fans (or Phans) dislike Butch so intensely is because of the terrible writing and overall execution of Season 3 of the show, especially the finale (Phantom Planet).

Many Phans attribute this directly to Butch himself. And it’s true that he had a much heavier hand in Season 3 than the first two seasons! But he’s not the only one at fault here. As far as either of us could see, Nickelodeon basically axed his show (as they have with many shows), leaving Butch without most of his skilled team while creating the third season.

Butch is by no means the BEST creator or writer out there. His greatest skill seems to be in coming up with creative pitches for shows, and the execution of these ideas is best left to a team who knows what they’re doing. But that’s the thing: Butch had a team. Can you imagine suddenly losing the team you’re working with and trying to handle an entire animated show almost entirely on your own? No wonder it was a mess, that sounds terrifying.

Many people believe that Butch is anti-LGBT, and most of those people frame it as an intentional thing. That honestly seems unlikely, though.

Butch’s work has many scenes or even entire episodes that have sexist undertones or demonstrate a lot of toxic masculinity. Often, this is even the joke in and of itself.

This seems to be more the product of the way he himself was raised than anything else, though. As far as either of us are aware, he’s never outright said anything for or against the LGBT community. Honestly, he’s not LGBT, so why should he?

Butch also seems pretty ignorant or uncomfortable when it comes to things he hasn’t directly experienced for himself, leading to comments like the one he made about introversion.

Beyond that, he allegedly kicked any people posting/liking LGBT content off of his Danny Phantom forums. The thing is, back then, almost ALL slash ship content was Pompous Pep (Danny Fenton/Vlad Masters). Making no comment on my personal feelings about the ship, it should be noted that this depicts an explicit sexual relationship between a 14-year-old boy and a man in his 40s. It’s understandable that Butch wouldn’t want explicit content of a pedophilic slash ship being associated with his show.

His way of dealing with it may have been excessive, but almost all of the LGBT content he was seeing was also pedophilia.

It’s also worth noting that almost all details about the Forum Days of the Danny Phantom fandom are now being passed around via word of mouth. Even in text form, people’s biases do change the tone of a situation.

Given recent events, many people are spreading around anything connecting Butch to religion. This deserves a closer look too, though.

Here’s something I didn’t know until Sara told me: Butch Hartman was not always a Christian. He wasn’t raised into it, “brainwashed” as a child and blindly following those values as an adult. He allegedly converted a year or two into the production of Fairly Odd Parents, well into his adult life. Before that, he was apparently an atheist.

This man has one show about magic and another about scientists and ghosts. His shows have sexual jokes, witchcraft, violence, and all sorts of things you’d expect a super-conservative Christian to avoid. So why do we all act like he’s always BEEN that super-conservative Christian?

It may have something to do with how people tend to associate Christianity with the corrupt or incompetent white men who run a significant portion of the planet. The exact reasons are probably different from person to person.

This, of course, DOES NOT give Butch any reason to act like Christians are oppressed. He is not the “living embodiment of ‘one of these things is not like the other’” as he put it.

That being said, it seems as if his shows are largely detached from religion (until now). They have morals, sure, but all Nickelodeon shows have lessons for kids, many of which also happen to be mentioned in some form somewhere in the Bible.

So it seems kind of fishy that Religious Values are suddenly such a huge deal for him... which leads me to the point of this entire thing.

When it comes to the OAXIS scam, we might not be the only ones who are being played.

It seems very likely that Butch Hartman himself is also being played.

Hear me out.

With the context of Giving The Children Jesus, some of the more confusing parts of the way OAXIS was pitched make more sense. But at the same time, I find it very difficult to understand how this man created so much content for children (and RAISED a child) with such a fundamental lack of understanding when it comes to how families and society work.

After thinking about it, I realized that this feels very familiar.

Someone I was once very close with had a similar experience about a year ago. For both of them, it seems to have gone something like this:

The person in question starts off not knowing/caring about a cause. At some point, they are introduced to this cause and join, but it does very little to change their work or public life. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, they have a radical change in lifestyle and behavior, while screaming an extreme or radical version of that cause’s message from the metaphorical rooftops.

For the person I used to be close with, this “cause” was Isogenix. (For more information on operations like this one, consider watching this video.) For Butch, it seems like that cause is... saving young people with religious lessons and “pure” media.

With the person I knew, this whole process started when a group of people who were already working with Isogenix befriended her and gained her trust, then told her repeatedly how good Isogenix would be for her. When she started considering it, they told her it was about self-empowerment and pursuing her true self. This kept going until they’d pushed her into dismantling her circle of friends (anyone who wasn’t working with Isogenix), and the last I’ve heard about it is that she left her husband and children to dedicate herself to “self-exploration” and being a Good Example of Isogenix’s successes.

With Butch, it seems likely that something similar is in the process of happening, though with different results. I wouldn’t be surprised if he met and befriended someone (or several people) who believe that modern mass media is corrupting the youth, and that limiting their media intake to Christian-approved content will fix a lot of the issues in modern society.

I mentioned earlier that Butch seems to have a pretty limited understanding of things outside his own little sphere (based mostly on his unintentional sexism in shows, lack of understanding of healthy male friendships/physical contact, and complete misunderstanding of the 16-50% of the world that is made up of introverts). Considering this, it seems like he’d probably buy into this mentality pretty easily, especially if these people “spoke his language”.

While I personally have a lot of resentment for the people who fall for this sort of tactic, it’s not really the victim’s fault when they become the Face or Voice of the cause. The recruiters often know exactly what they’re doing. Most of them seek out people who are lost, desperate, low on self esteem, or somewhat narcissistic. People who want to make a future for themselves, and sometimes others, usually as “their own boss.” Sound familiar?

Some people are more than one of those things. Butch, given that he recently left Nickelodeon after working there for literal decades, could understandable be a bit lost on what his next step should be. And honestly, he’s shown narcissistic tendencies in the past (have you SEEN his self-insert from Fairly Odd Parents?).

So, as easy as it is to stay mad at Butch Hartman, there’s almost certainly someone else involved... which would also explain some things about his Kickstarter.

The way these things are pitched is designed to make the “victim” believe that it’s all their own idea. THEY took control of their life to make these changes, THEY are the brave example of the Future of the industry, THEY are a self-made person. And most of all, showing other people how they can succeed by joining the organization/school of thought is THE BEST THING EVER.

Which... to me, that seems like it’s a logical reason for Butch’s Kickstarter not actually mentioning anyone else, when he insists other people are involved. Someone likely took his already self-absorbed and narcissistic tendencies and intentionally built them up to make him into the Face and Voice of this project.

Bonus points to them: they also picked the perfect person to use.

Butch is a well-off, reasonably well-known person. He has a pretty large following that is almost exclusively made up of young adults, teenagers, and even children (a detail many people cited as the reason his Kickstarter shouldn’t have worked at all). Many of those young people grew up watching his shows and seeing his content on social media, assuming that the loyal followers we’re talking about are the several hundred thousand people following him on social media platforms. Many of them would take his word as something more important than some random person they’ve never heard of, or so the theory goes.

With this context, his line makes perfect sense:

“You trusted me with your childhood, won’t you trust me with your future?”

He probably does honestly care about what happens, and he’s not trying to maliciously brainwash children with Jesus. It’s far more likely that someone else convinced him that he’s the person perfect for saving “lost” young people, given that many of them trusted him as children. He’s obviously the best person to show them Pure and Good content, away from the “poisonous” aspects of mainstream media.

Butch Hartman isn’t a demon. He’s not evil. He’s not... Trump, or anything like that. He’s a naive man with very little actual understanding of how the world works, who believes that he’s helping.

Which is not to say he’s perfect at all. He’s made lots of mistakes, and he’ll continue to make them.

I just seriously doubt he’s actually the “mastermind” behind this whole operation. He’s little more than a figurehead, probably. And from how he’s acted in the past, he seems to crave the attention and trust of young people. He needs to be someone important to them.

And the worst part of all this might be that he’s not going to get out of this without a disaster. I pity the guy, as much of a mess as all of this already is.

You don’t get out of this kind of position unless it falls out from under you. And when you fully believe and trust in what you’re doing, you’re not prepared for the fall.

You hit the ground hard.

~Ren

#butch hartman #long post #sorry for the rant #essay #kind of #danny phantom #fairly odd parents

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