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multifunctionalnitroglycerin · 6 months

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Leona and Diana Old Lore / New Lore. My take on it

Okay so, I am relatively new to the League community, with barely three years under my belt, but lore is one of the things that interest me the most about it. And well, the dynamic between Sun and Moon coded characters is one I never pass up in exploring. Leodia is arguably my favorite ship from League, but it's mostly the idea of it, with recent executions leaving me feel kinda... meh.

So apart from probably having read every single half decent fic under the Leona/Diana tag on Ao3, I have scourged the internet for their lore and have come across quite a few references of their old one. Never found the complete thing though. And possibly unpopular opinion, I like it better than their current one.

That is not to say that the old lore is any sort of masterpiece, and people could argue that it doesn't set them up to be lovers, but I think with a little bit of tweeking it can become really good. Many of my ideas are inspired from a fic I probably read like 2 years ago, also features an OC named Helena and has a side of Riven's inner struggle, Riven and Diana friendship and Rivelia. (I cannot for the life of me remember the name, I apologise)

My problem with the New Lore mostly, is that it's vanilla for a mountain of warriors and *cultists* it feels almost like High School AU but try to fit it into League, and yeah it's not it for me. Also the co-dependence of their ascension, and just Leona's whole thing kinda sucks. Like I can see how people might see it as romantic and poetic and whatever, that they ascended at the same time and Leona followed Diana up the mountain to keep her safe etc. etc. but that's kinda glossing over some issues especially with Leona's character.

Now the new take on Leona's character is really interesting, and a complete 180 from the old lore and actually the idea isn't so bad, if they ACTUALLY DID ANYTHING WITH IT. Now as a person that definitely doesn't overanalyze literature and fictional characters for fun, Leona's new lore is such an interesting take and could be taken many directions if someone chose to explore it and go a bit deeper that "genocidal close-minded bigot".

At first read Leona is really just that. She does what she is told no hesitation, no questions asked and turns on Diana also no questions asked. But let's take it a bit deeper shall we?

I have no intention to make it as though Leona holds no blame for her actions or that she is a paragon of virtue, cause she is not. But if we dive in her story a bit more we could perhaps understand how she came to be what she is. Because under no circumstance do I think she is that daft. Especially if she was with Diana for years. Some of that curiosity must have rubbed off on her. Then again she could have just ignored everything Diana said about the Moon and her research. I guess we'll never know.

I do not intent to ramble about Leona in this post. But I'll give you some clues as to why her backstory and the whole Targonian premise is important. She is born practically into a cult, or well a religion with really strict and particular disciplines. So already an environment with very particular ideas and particular ways to enforce them. She is the daughter of two really strict and proud parents in said cult, who seem to care more abt her achievements and punishments than anything (Grade A parenting), - She doesn't even send them that letter in the end - and she is the golden child of the Solari. So what do we have in our hands? An affection starved perfectionist suffering from gifted child expectations. NOw take that and put it in the Solari premise of religious fanatism and voila!

(I will probably at some point make a separate post abt this, because I really took a deep dive in Leona's character when writing my Ruination fic - that I wont ever post anywhere probably - and I have a LOT to say)

So in the old Lore the Rakkori are the warriors and defenders of the mountain, a bit heavy on the bloodthirsty side though, hence the right of Kor. A coming of age ritual battle to the death. (What else could it be). Leona being the only one that refuses to kill her opponent and friend, is sentenced to be executed, but before the execution could be carried out, she is claimed by the Golden Sister as the Sun aspect with a beam of golden light.

I feel that Leona's ascension in particular is really important in the old Lore, because in such a warlike culture she was rewarded for showing mercy. She was chosen because she chose mercy over mindless slaughter. Something that could potentially be really important later on, in a mountain where half its indigenous people have slaughtered the other half??

Point 1 I like from the old lore: The Sun chose Leona because she was merciful. (Or had a semblance of a moral compass)

Moving forward the lines kinda blur for Diana, mostly cause I am not sure what I remember is actual lore and what is related to that magnificent fic.

Her curious truth-searching nature is ever present. She discovers hidden texts, burned pages and embarks on a journey of knowledge that leads her to climb the mountain. Only she is in the company of an elderly woman I think? Anyhow, she finds - is lead to - an alcove, an old temple and the relics of the Moon Aspect. Overjoyed at her findings she dons the armor takes it all down to the elders, they call her a heretic, brand her, and intent to kill her, when she begs the Moon for help and ascends. Either her or the moon blast kills every elder in the room she gets blamed either way, and the chase begins.

Diana is at her core an academic and a researcher, that researches. She has her Indiana Jones moment in the mountain and there is a process a ritual to it, instead of I just climbed up saw unimaginable terrors and now I am the aspect of the Moon (over-simplified I know. The climb judges worthiness). There is something about her checking old dusty books, and deciding to brave the climb looking for answers. About her choosing to be helpful -kinda as a mirror to Leona sparing her opponent, Diana, the one that keeps to herself - apart from when arguing abt academics and scriptures consciously engages with and helps a stranger, guiding them up the mountain and helping them along the way when the trip became too arduous.

Point 2 I like from the old lore: The ritual of the process in Diana's research and ascension and the mirroring with Leona, minor though it is, that they ascended - sooner or later - after an act of kindness that contradicted what would have been expected of them.

Point 3 I like from the old lore: The brand. Like it just adds another layer to Diana's character. And is a much better explanation for its presence than Moon magic. Also the amount of complications this act has, its just delicious. I mean THE DRAMA. and ofc THE TRAUMA. I don't think she'd go near a fire for months.

Point 3 I like from the old lore: The independence of the ascensions. It gives us the chance to see them grow and evolve as their own people before the thread of fate that binds them together appears. We get to see one without the other, and that would later make their dynamic more interesting.

But How are Leona and Diana connected?

In the old lore they aren't. I think. Leona is like a blood hound that needs to kill the heretic.

In the fic, Leona's dad was one of the guards in the room when Diana ascended and was killed, which in the context of the story adds a layer of betrayal between them, as up to that point they were lovers. And you know what, I really like that idea. And I was thinking that perhaps we could try to get the best of both worlds. Though it might be difficult to fully develop the idea.

Lore Idea:

So the Rakkor ans the Solari are different factions. Solari = priesthood, Rakkor = Warriors. Leona's family are Rakkori, and they are simple people, her father works as a guard for the Solari Temple, something that is considered a bit of an honor despite that fact that the factions don't rly see eye to eye about everything. Right of Kor happens when they are around 15 (Yes I want to traumatize a bunch of teenagers that train to fight, kill and defend since they could walk) and Leona's story proceeds as we know it. She then gets taken to the Solari temple to be educated in their way and train to become the figurehead of their faith. (Like that Leona has already had the chance to develop some critical thinking, and to experience sth different.)

She gets there and all the acolytes younger and older look at her starry eyed, because the elders told them so and because they see her like a bit of a Messiah. (Plus I doubt a bunch of scrawny academics and priests to be have seen anyone their age with that musculature). All of them apart from Diana, who as always isn't particularly impressed by the paragon in training of the Solari faith.

Leona is relieved to get some normal person treatment, even if it is from the broody girl with her nose in a book half the time, and like the cocky 15year old meathead she is, she wants to show off a bit and perhaps win her favor. Shenanigans ensue and Diana unlike the other people that desperately want to befriend Leona, is not impressed.

Another point of similarity is that Leona - that has ascended already mind you - would have a few questions and oppositions to all that mumbo jumbo the Solari say about the Sun and the Moon. So after she flops exceptionally in one oration or sth class, with saying something positive about the Moon that has the students look at her with horror, and the priest fuming and screaming punishments - light ones, because the Sun chose that clueless miscreant, and he doesn't want to fall out of her favor - Leona manages unknowingly to win inquisitive Diana's intrigue - and favor, (but don't tell anyone about the last part).

A tentative bond forms. It gets solidified when Leona stops a few bullies from beating Diana to a pulp, and the dark haired girl in return helps her pass a class she was having an exceptionally hard time with. Diana - who in my head is a year younger - does eventually get charmed by the surprisingly goofy and sunny disposition of the Sun Aspect in training. (Don't get this wrong Leona will still act like a 15 yo that has had to train and fight every day of her life) Diana asks her countless questions about life outside the temple and they discuss theology together, either trying to help Leona understand, or trying to make sense of Diana's findings. (The Rakkori in my head are far more neutral abt Sun and Moon, more like if there is light and I can see I am happy, whether its the Sun or the Moon. "There was even that one traveler from some big city, Pilt - something was it, that even said that the Sun and Moon are like orbs in the night sky, one is a star rly close to us and the other is like a smaller planet or something, can you imagine?")

The become friends, the Nightless Eve happens, and then they become lovers. Leona starts suffering from all those expectations and the charade she needs to put up, she has more hours with classes and training she gets tutored by the priests, punished more severely when se speaks out of line or says something borderline heretical, yada yada. More people like her and she likes the attention. She doesn't abandon Diana though, and she always defends her. Things get difficult as the years go by but still they persist. (We could include some homophobic sentiment in the Solari, or even sth downright misogynistic, which would add complications with Leona's state as the Radiant Dawn, and the wlw relationships as they would not be seen as real substantial relationships - add asshole trying to flirt with Leona bc her relationship with Diana isn't real cause they are both women- DRAMA)

Leona is 18 passes her final exams, and Diana is 17 when Diana's arc happens. They have a huge fight about faith and contradicting it and if it is worth it. (No one wants to bandage their lover's whipped back that is practically a mosaic of scars at this point, or nurse them to health after sever dehydration - cause yes apparently standing naked in the sun for three days can do that). Diana storms off angrily. Finds an elderly woman in the base of the mountain that needs help going up (Silver sister in disguise). She helps her up, and when they are like 3/4 up and rest cause Diana's everything hurts the woman disappears. She looks around, finds the temple, sees carved proof that the Solari and Lunari co-existed gets the relics and climbs back down excited to show everyone her findings.

Meanwhile Leona has left for an emergency Solari mission or sth, and hasn't told Diana. Diana goes to the priests, they don't believe her, she invokes her right to be judged by the Aspect or sth, the priests pretend that Leona is still around and doesn't want to see or help Diana (Strike 1 of betrayal). Diana feels betrayed and hurt and fears for her life. The priests give the order for her to be branded and executed on the spot. Leona's dad who had been in the room and had met Diana, tries to plead her case from an outsider's perspective. One of the elders reprimands him and threatens him with death.

They brand Diana with the moon Symbol on the forehead, and are about to place her face down in the flames and / or slit her throat, and Iasur can't have her dying thinking that Leona betrayed her (A bit of family honor and afterlife beliefs - honor is a huge deal-, and a bit of a soft spot for his daughter's closest companion). He tries to fight his way to her, and gets killed in the process. Diana witnessing Iasur's murder prays to the moon for help, and seconds before breathing her last breath, she ascends. Pillar of Moonlight and heavenly fire burns everything to a crisp, and Diana remains alone in the middle of the room, barely breathing and clad in the garb of he Moon aspect. She takes one look around her and speeds away from the temple.

Leona returns three days after to find the council and her father dead, the council room in ruins and apparently Diana to blame. On top of that Diana is missing. Leona is presented with the case and believes Diana to be her father's killer. She vows to avenge him and kill the Scorn of the Moon, because her Diana wouldn't do that. It must be the moon spirit. and yes apparently Moon is bad because dad and Diana are gone bc of it. Leona is determined to save her lover from the Moon's clutches and set her free the only way she knows how, with killing her.

And thus their journey begins. Leona becomes more and more of a puppet from here and on driven by anger and betrayal and Diana feels abandoned and betrayed, with nothing left in the world but the glow of the branding mark on her forehead and the knowledge that her lover wanted her dead.

And as for their path to reunite again and achieve peace? Well Leona needs to be merciful, and Diana needs to guide and support someone through the right path.

Thanks for reading this huge ass post. Again MANY credits to that amazing writer on Ao3, if I find that fic I'll put a link here, cause its phenomenal.

Take care and see ya next time!

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straightlightyagami · 1 year

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i might deserve your fate or worse

⚠️this blog’s url is normally isomorbism, using this url temporarily

hi, welcome to my blog! ^_^ you may want to read this post before following. edited when needed.

links: neocities / cohost / bluesky / mastodon / pillowfort (rarely active on these i just made accounts on everything to see)

invite to discord server on request for mutuals or people i’ve interacted with

free palestine! 🇵🇸

ask to tag (dm or ask) if you want to filter anything!

interests / stuff I post

I like pure math and I'm studying it at university (bachelor). kind of my "main" special interest and has been since I was a kid.

I write stuff occasionally like poems and "fanfiction."

I sometimes make semi-coherent poasts about my miscellaneous opinions on social and political issues, philosophy, etc.

not a fandom blog but I post about things I read or watch sometimes. I like death note (number one fan of light yagami).

general / rules

asks are welcome but I am very slow (as in it takes months sometimes) at answering them. I am not ignoring you I am just so bad at this.

for privacy I don't want to share some things like where I'm from and I would appreciate if you don’t ask this type of question.

you can ask nicely if you need something tagged. I try to keep this blog generally pg-13.

english is not my first language but I'm at c2 level. I generally use american rather than british terms where there is a distinction.

please tell me if you think something I said was mean, bigoted, or problematic so I can improve in the future!

sometimes I will talk or reblog something about the discourse du jour but this is not a discourse blog.

no dni; I may block you if: you harass me or my followers, if I think it's likely that you will, or for other reasons (although I rarely do and mostly accidentally). you can ask to be unblocked.

please make a post or some indication you are not a bot.

do not take any of my posts as a call to violence towards any individual or group of individuals.

do not put discriminatory rhetoric on basis of race, skin color, ethnicity, nationality, assigned sex at birth, gender, sexual orientation, or disability on my posts. I try my best to keep this blog safe for people of marginalized identities.

miscellaneous positions / opinions

you are not required to agree to interact or follow

I'm a socialist (communist-adjacent as in closer to a marxist than an anarchist on most issues, but I don't use a more specific label. I try to stay open to learning about different ideas) and a (mostly classical) utilitarian.

anti-imperialist as in I oppose imperialism by the US and western countries and by other countries like russia too.

I try to have a nuanced view of historical socialist experiments (i am from an ex-socialist country btw).

inclusionist as in I think it's fine if people have any good faith and harmless identities, even contradictory ones. this doesn't include "radqueer" identities. I don't participate in queer discourse.

vegan for the animals and the environment.

irreligious atheist, no longer consider myself strictly anti-theist but adjacent.

not a fan of standpoint epistemology nor do I feel the need to prove I have it worse than someone else. pick and choose which privileged groups you want to implicitly assume I am part of (unless I explicitly state a fact about myself). it’s the internet.

I strongly disagree with the concept of collective guilt or collective punishment.

nationalism is cringe.

I do not want to hear about shipping discourse.

reblog ≠ endorsement of everything the OP ever said. also note I will sometimes interact or follow people I don't agree with on everything or even most things. I will sometimes reblog posts that are interesting but I do not necessarily endorse.

some posts (this section is a work in progress)

why i am anti anti civ

on autism: (x) (x)

on democracy under socialism

socialism vs communism vs regulated capitalism

sideblogs

@this-is-trivial - aesthetics sideblog

@autistic-light-yagami - “roleplay sideblog”

@hashtag-applecore - 🍎

@colibri-coruscans - birds (the other mod is @/rlydsntmttr)

@goncharovpilled - goncharov posts archive

@modularfacade - architecture photography blog

@did-henry-kissinger-die-yet - what it says on the tin (the answer is yes)

@jan-iso - toki pona blog

@wouldkirakillthem - poll gimmick blog

#i decided to make a pinned poast bc uhh everyone does ig #(more under cut)#iso.txt #iso.self #other tags:#iso.poll #iso.asks #reference #resources #politics #mathematics #death note

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prototypelq · 10 months

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This is by no means hate, but putting that one post in the BG3 tag was an interesting choice. The tag is predominantly occupied by fans of the game and kinda comes off as a bit needlessly antagonistic? I just don't want people to be hurt and I also don't want you to end up receiving hate. Again sorry if my tone doesn't come through very well in this, this is just meant as a friendly heads up type thing. Hope you have a good day!

Hi, thanks for the message. No worries, your post doesn't come off as anything but a cautious message for me. And it's warranted.

Eh, I don't care about upsetting some toxic fans, they will be upset no matter what you do, and I think this is an issue worth highlighting. Obviously, a big fandom attracts...I can't phrase this any better - a bad crowd. And, well, while I am outside the fandom I can kind of not care about them most of the time, but the one comment about BG3 deserving the Best Narrative over Alan Wake 2 had me a bit foaming myself xD

I value arguemented opinions of all kinds, but fans like those are usually just rabid. Mostly for Astarion. Which, yeah, from what I've seen he had the most of the writer's an animators attention, so it's valid he is a fan-fave, however it does come at an expense of Almost Every Other Companion and you can't really remove or ignore that context now, can you. Thing is, again, not really my problem at the moment.

What is my problem is when the hype goes so out of hand it starts spreading out of it's fandom containment. If I see a person claiming 'BG3 is the best game ever', or 'RDR2 is the best game ever' or 'Witcher 3 is the best game ever' or any other popular title, I can and will confidently say in your face - No. It might be the best game TO YOU, and that's great! Everyone should have a favourite title!

But no game is perfect, so having a favourite doesn't mean you can barge everywhere screaming 'my game is so superior why didn't it get every single award i'll write death threats on twitter about it'. And those kinds of rabid fans usually are the type to do just that.

I would gladly listen to anyone discuss/write an essay about their favourite game, and it can absolutely be any of the titles I mentioned above, they are popular for a Reason, after all. At least, in these cases they are popular for a reason, that's not applicable to everything in my experience. But, when it comes to critics awards things are different, that should be a time for a more critical view. Which, to be fair, is extremely freaking hard to do, as being objective about anything is impossible, and being 'objective' about thing you're Emotional about is impossible by definition. That's why the end of the year awards are such a conflicting time and topic to discuss. Valuable critics opinion is also absolutely NOT to be expected from TGA as it's a hype train for the hype train and ads sake, but it's also a cool fun show, and we can enjoy what we get there.

tldr Alan Wake 2 absolutely deserved that Best Narrative Award, BG3 fans I am open to discussion about this. oh, and all rabid fangirls get immediately blocked, of course, I don't need you here or anywhere on the internet at all.

Anon, again, thanks for the warning, but I'll be fine) I also hope my reply doesn't come off as antagonistic to you in return. Have a great day yourself!

#i guess im feeling brave after taking on vergil xD #eh i think rabid fangirls need opposition in every fandom #its a loosing battle though and im aware of that #the game awards #bg3 #baldur's gate 3

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caelanglang · 1 year

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Hihi

Can I ask you what program do you use for the animatic? And can you recommend any good program for practice? (I never used any of these programs, and they look pretty hard, so I don't want to pay yet for one, but I want to make something :c)

Hello! This might be a bit long but I hope I can help you with this (I'm holding your hand because this is also my first time doing an animatic so I have no idea on what kind of good pipeline there is to follow...) I apologize in advance if this won't be the most helpful answer :,))

okay so for the software. I use the ipad for most of my work nowadays... unfortunately, both apps that I use are paid—RoughAnimator and Procreate. I'll walk you down with how I do it. It is not the most efficient way but here's how it goes for me... :,))

Storyboard

I think the most important thing for planning something like this is having a clear vision of what you want to see. I started this animatic by brainstorming in my storyboards what I want to see in timing with the song and its lyrics. Here's an example of what I previously shared... [disclaimer: I did not follow the template so yeah, feel free to ignore the kanji characters]

you can see the outline I roughly made to tell myself what scene I want to show to what lyrics (I got lazy to write the whole lyrics down lol) and also added some notes like the movement of the character and camera pans etc.

here are the corresponding drawings to it (sorry if the quality is bad, I just screenshotted this from my gallery ><;;)

Drawing the Cuts

All of the drawings are done on Procreate. I use this software for most of my drawings now, mostly because I like the texture of the brushes there. At this point, I am not worrying about timing these drawings to the music yet but I am reassured since I already made my guide of that in the storyboards. Procreate also has an animation feature that helped me draw the breathing sequence.

Compiling and Timing the Drawings

Once I've saved my drawings to my photos, I move them to RoughAnimator. Here is where I time the drawings with the song. What I like about RoughAnimator is that it has its own drawing tools (I don't really like the brushes tho... hence, me using Procreate instead), it has a camera tool that allows me to pan across my drawings and also shows the sound wave thingy of the song that helps me with timing. It also allows me to easily adjust the exposure or how long a drawing flashes on the screen at my chosen framerate.

I would sometimes be unsatisfied with my initial drawings, leading to me going back and forth between Procreate and RoughAnimator to revise stuff. (which in my opinion is not efficient but I can't really think of any other way to do this...)

So yes. That's pretty much how I'm working with it so far. I am currently stuck because both Procreate and RoughAnimator have very limited features when it comes to panning images... I'm still figuring out how to do that but I'm thinking of moving to video editors for these kinds of stuff instead of relying on RoughAnimator...

I hope you aren't discouraged by this,, I know it isn't the best solution... If you are to follow this kind of workflow, I think a good combination of any drawing software (hopefully with an animation feature) and a reliable video editor to time it to the music (I recommend finding ones with camera pan and motion tween features) is sufficient enough for this.

If you're using an ipad like me, iArtbook is a good free alternative to Procreate with a good animation feature. I have yet to check it out properly but Filmora or Capcut might be a good video editor... If you're using a desktop, I think Krita is good for drawing and animating!

I'm so sorry again if this wasn't really helpful. I will definitely share it if I were to find a better workflow for this. If you'd like to have some storyboard templates, here are some I found on the internet!

I wish you all the best in your plans and practices!

(feel free to ask again if you have any questions, I hope this helps somehow :,))

#pls dont be like me and I hope you do your best making cleaner storyboards aksjdhfalskjdf #my workflow is a mess i am so sorry #i genuinely hope this helped more than discourage #inbox #art progress #wip jail

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hjemne · 1 year

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Tell me about your strong opinions

Ooh okay

-teenagers need support and restrictions when navigating the internet, but they also need to have unmonitored spaces where they can express themselves without fear of their parents seeing, especially queer teens

-tiktok authors are a menace to society. I am mostly joking about that, but also it pisses me off to no end. What really should have been a questionable kinky fanfic is now being published and is seemingly the only thing on booktok. People are connecting their real names + faces onto poorly written books entirely based on tropes and they are ALL just 'oh this bad boy is really bad but also he likes you but also you don't have a choice in this romance. Also there's only one bed. This is Art and to say otherwise is snobbery'. Erotica has its place in published fiction but oh my god not like this please stop

-during the 2 months where I watched the entirety of supernatural I became so unwell that I had to get an emergency appointment at the hospital because they thought I might have a tumour. I am 100% sure the two were connected. This isn't an opinion, but I'll allow you to draw your own connections

-attack on titan isn't fascist. It does, however, have complicated themes & depicts military states and segregation. Neo nazis don't have good media literacy & just choose to ignore everything that very explicitly says that imperialism, racism, war etc are Bad and Wrong. Aot doesn't have an easy moral and there are definitely different valid readings of the end. I will not argue against a Jew who is uncomfortable with s4 and doesn't want to watch it. However, to call aot irredeemable also shows a startling lack of media literacy and implicitly accepts the far right interpretation as the correct one

-historians and academics need to keep using the term Anglo Saxon as a neutral historical descriptor because the moment they stop they give the term to the far right forever

-everyone who has ever commented 'women ☕' is going straight to non-denominational hell. They are deeply misogynistic and will take any socially acceptable path to express it. It genuinely terrifies me to think how quick some people are to express a real hatred and inability to emphasize with women and how they can hid that behind 'its just a meme'

-i have many many strong feelings about how shittily cyclists are treated but that is probably for another time. What I will say is that the times I've been the most scared for my physical safety have been when drivers let their impatience and road rage literally nearly kill me

I fully accept people will disagree with some of these (& I'd be v interested to hear other views) but this is what I think

#this was fun thank u anon <3 #ask me abt specific things if you want #asks #the cycling stuff is largely just because of the particularities of my hometown and how everyone HAS to cycle #& so drivers from out of town or cycling elsewhere is unreasonably dangerous and IT DOESNT HAVE TO BE LIKE THAT #I've been within centimetres of being hit badly twice and both times its because the drivers were so impatient that they risked killing me #just to save the 3 seconds that it would take to wait for me to use the road

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luxicides · 2 years

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A Look (👀) Back on Don’t Look Up: Politics, Social Media, and Art

So, 2022, huh?

I'd say 2022 has been a pretty good year for film. We got NOPE, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Top Gun: Maverick, X, Bodies x3, et cetera et cetera. The list quite literally goes on.

And that got me thinking about the Oscars, past and present.

It's the big showstopper of awards shows, the inciter of daily fights on Twitter, the one definitive reflection of what the film industry feels...

Well, at least, that's what they're supposed to be. In reality, the Oscars have become a mere watered-down version of what it used to be, a blithe imitator of itself in its heyday. Now, instead of being a respected indicator of the film industry's changing perspectives and visions, it's become a shallow archival of all the big pop culture moments.

Okay, maybe I'm giving it too much flak. Maybe I am being too harsh on it. Maybe I should give them the benefit of the doubt.

But then again, Don't Look Up was nominated for Best Picture and Best Screenplay last year. Sooooooo.....

Alright, alright, I concede. Don't Look Up wasn't all that bad. I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it - After all, it is a satire, and satires have jokes. Don't Look Up is full of them.

Some of them land.

One really curious thing about this whole discourse around Don't Look Up is how we treat its subject matter - that is, the film's symbolic impending comet that is set to annihilate the entire planet. It doesn't take a rocket scientist (literally!) to deduce what it hardly tries to subtly hint at. The comet is - duh - a representation of global warming and climate change and the inevitable course of destruction humanity is leading ourselves down.

Let me preface this by saying, yes, I agree with Don't Look Up's core message (which is in itself incredibly messy and difficult to untangle, but besides the point). I do think that we as a society (hah) have become dulled to the severity of these very real and very potent issues. We spend so much time online, seeing these horrific events through the partition of a screen that we don't really feel how terrible and important they are. I do think that our governments and institutions are far too concerned with saving face rather than saving its people, which is what they're meant to do. I do think that large tech giants are gaining a dangerous amount of power in our world, and I do think that that is something to be incredibly cautious of.

That all being said, I don't think Don't Look Up was exactly a great depictor of these issues.

Don't Look Up is 2 hours and 25 minutes long. It has a lot to say, and there's a lot it's trying to say. But even with the pretty long runtime, everything feels a little... short. I didn't feel all that absorbed in the story, nor all that invested in the characters and their lives. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that these characters were one of the most boring ones I've seen in a while. And, no, it's not that I can't relate to them. I can understand and empathise with their anger at these systems that have ignored them and slighted their warnings just to preserve their images. I know that feeling. What I don't know are the people at the core of this film.

And there are so many other things that made me ick at the film, like:

the editing, which was actually atrocious

the script, which at times was... questionable

the pacing, which was the main reason why i felt so out of place watching it

et cetera, et cetera

Of course, these are just my opinions. But regardless of what I, a single individual, feel, there are also plenty of film critics and academics (oh, how I hate saying that) who aren't too impressed with the film either. The film has a 55% on Rotten Tomatoes! I'm not saying that Rotten Tomatoes is an all-accurate estimator of a film's objective worth, but I am saying that there is some merit in popular (mostly) reputable opinion.

Okay. All that long spiel. And for what? Let me get into it - I think it's weird that everyone on the Internet seems to be conflating the film's message with its technical worth.

WHO CARES IF A FILM IS "BAD"?

I have watched plenty a "bad" film in my short time here on Earth. I liked the Twilight movies. I watched all of them. Did I think they were a great masterpiece rivalled only by GDT and Fincher and Gerwig themselves? ...Not exactly.

Besides, what even makes a "bad" film? Art is subjective, after all. There is no one definite way to analyse and understand at a film. Similarly, there is no concrete method to determine a film's "worth".

Does "bad" have to do with its technical aspects? The editing, the cinematography, the performances, and such? That isn't exactly the full picture, is it? What about the content? What about what it's trying to say?

As I've said before, Don't Look Up has an incredibly important core message. Its themes are current and pertinent and real - It's not like it is completely fluff. It has a message. It has a point.

Evidently, deeming a film "good" or "bad" is an incredibly perilous task. More often than not, no satisfying answer will present itself. There will always be loopholes with how we view art. Always opinions we haven't yet reconciled with, always sides we haven't considered.

So, we once again arrive at the question - Who cares?

Should we dismiss a movie simply because it's made "poorly"? No, not really, wouldn't that be a disservice to the filmmaker and his intent? Right, right, so, then, should a film's technical qualities impact our opinion of the message? Well, no, because what if it has a good message but a bad execution? We can't let some bad editing or bad directing get in the way of that!

But... Doesn't it?

NOTHING EXISTS IN A VACUUM.

Really. Nothing.

How we interpret a piece of media is affected by how it is presented to us. Obvious, no?

Well, can the same not be said for Don't Look Up?

One of the most basic effects in film editing, the Kuleshov effect, demonstrates this: If you show an audience a shot of an old man, cut to a family, then cut back to the man smiling, he's probably a kind old man. If you replace that shot of a family with a young girl sunbathing, he's a pervert. Gross.

(If you want to see Hitchcock explain this infintely better than I just did, you can watch it here.)

It's one of the oldest tricks in the book. You derive more meaning from sequential shots, things working together, rather than in isolation.

Film in general, really, does not work in isolation. You work as a team, to create a product that is greater than just the sum of its parts. When you make a film, the content and the meaning you want to get across as filmmakers affects the technical decisions you make. And the technical decisions you make then affect how your audience gets the meaning you are putting across.

Film does not work in isolation.

And that's precisely what I find so fascinating about Don't Look Up and the discourse surrounding it - Because so many people seem to view it in isolation.

For me? I couldn't click with Don't Look Up's message. Believe what you want, but I did try my hardest to get behind it. I really did. I wanted to like Jennifer Lawrence's character, I wanted to feel sympathy for Leo DiCap, I wanted to root for these characters.

But the film made it so, so difficult.

There's a lot of punching down - Criticising our generation for taking a global climate crisis and trivialising it into a social media trend. Calling out artists who capitalise on these issues for their own financial gain. And there's a lot of punching up too - The hyperexaggerated (yet still, kind of true) capitalist government that is willing to brush aside the threat of millions of casualties in the name of their own politics. The mega corporations helmed by manipulative CEOs who really only have their own interests in mind.

The film points its finger at everyone, until it's kind of hard to make out just what it wants us to do.

Thomas Flight and Demi Adejuyigbe both have really great reviews on LetterboxD:

[Don't Look Up is] a movie that will only be watched by people who already know the message by heart, while they pat themselves on the back for “spreading” the message- meanwhile it just looks absurd to anyone who’s actually the target of its message. The important upside here is that unlike Christian Evangelicals Netflix can afford the cast to make it marginally entertaining. [...] The pain of Don’t Look Up is that it just hits us in the face with something everyone who’s bothering to watch the movie is already frustrated about, and then acts kinda self important because it did. All while doing nothing to actually illuminate real issues. It’s part of the distraction, but imagines itself not to be.

— Thomas Flight

but i can’t help but feel like there’s a “kids these days” element to this movie that feels… pointless. like, okay, kids these days are distracted by other things. let’s say your movie works, and they are all paying attention. what now? is it the problem of the wealthy taking control or the problem of the people? because it seems like the former, but you spend so much time tsk-tsking the latter! i don’t know, man. I have a lot of respect for adam mckay for genuinely trying with this stuff (especially because let’s be honest, subtlety with stuff like this relegates political messaging in film to mid-budget indies and small essays no one will read) but i don’t know that this is it

— Demi Adejuyigbe

A film's objective worth does matter. Its execution does matter. As demonstrated by Kuleshov, nothing exists in isolation. When we talk about Don't Look Up, we talk about its political messaging as well as its technical aspects - Because one is informed by the other. And vice versa.

So there we have it. Our answer. Don't Look Up means well, but doesn't do well. Its meaning is befuddled by its execution, and for us, it is case closed.

Right?

WAIT... WAIT... HOLD ON.

WHO CARES?

LIKE, WHO ACTUALLY CARES?

At the end of the day, does it matter if Don't Look Up's message trumps its objective filmic qualities? Does it matter

...I'm inclined to say: No.

Film is a powerful medium for change. Yes. That is the way with art - The most ancient yet pervasive part in humanity's progress. We have waxed poetry about love, we have captured the brutality of war and sacrifice, we have used art for both good and for bad. All this to say: Art has purpose.

But still, there is a time and there is a place. Earlier, I wrote that film does not exist in a vacuum. I want to revisit that.

We can do this dance of good or no good? for eons, and it will get us nowhere. As a matter of fact, we have been doing this dance. We've been dancing all this while without even stopping to think about why.

Don't Look Up was meant to inspire a conversation. Spark change. Encourage debate.

Art is not made in a vacuum. Art is not meant to be discussed in a vacuum. When we talk about art, we must also talk about its context - Its past, its present, its future. And what all of that means for us. Humanity.

But what we are doing instead, is arguing with each other on Twitter about why it did or didn't deserve the Oscar nomination, going about in silly little trivial circles on whether or not it's objectively a good film or a bad film.

Just as I did before.

In an excellent article, Tony Dutzik writes:

“Dropping the storyline” might provide an opportunity to admit that when it comes to climate change, we are all “riding the blinds” [...], not quite knowing where it is that we’re headed. And it might liberate us to see ourselves and others neither as heroes nor villains, inexorably bound either for victory or disaster, but rather as people called upon to act in ways that create “less suffering” rather than “more suffering” – a decision that provides all of us with infinite opportunities for freedom of choice each and every day.

— Trapped in the story: “Don’t Look Up” and the limits of climate narrative, Tony Dutzik

Don't Look Up showed us the problem. But now, all we do is talk about how good it was at showing it.

If you're seeing this, thank you for reading all the way through (I hope)! I know this is a really long post, and a far cry from what I normally publish on this blog. But this has been weighing on me ever since I saw Don't Look Up, and I decided to finally make that leap and actually write what I thought.

This is my first experience writing a sort of social commentary thinkpiece thing, so forgive me if I rambled in some parts. If you have any thoughts you would like to share, or even if you disagree wholeheartedly with me, please do feel free to share them in the comments!

Just know I am extremely sensitive to criticism and will breakdown in uncontrollable nervous sweat at the first hint of aggression. Whoops. /hj

But once again, thank you for reading. Hope you have a nice day!

#don't look up #adam mckay #films #netflix #think piece #analysis #film critic #cinema #movies #film analysis #commentary

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lee-tucker-seminar-blog · 1 year

Text

In Summary (Module 7)

Looking back at what I've learned from this class, I've decided to be less analytical than in my previous posts. For the other modules, I wanted to show that I had a full understanding of concepts taught during the class, but now that I've done that, here's what I think about them.

Module 1: I’m not sure what I would have been like if I didn’t grow up in a time with the internet. Maybe I would have turned to more analog versions of games. I do know, however, that I am changed for having the internet. I had a few restrictions growing up, but not enough to hold back whatever this fascination is that I’ve had for 16 years.

Module 2: Net neutrality is inherently a good idea, but not a very innovative one. If all parts of the internet, and service providers, are bound by the same rules and regulations, then there is the possibility of stifling innovation. Also, I’ve mostly learned to ignore ads. It is nice when I see something I care about, but it’s more rare than anything else.

Module 3: This may not be a popular opinion, but a small, little bit of bullying can be a good thing. Now let me be clear, the current situation that appears online is bad. I do not agree with it. The idea of anonymous people shouting hate at the other end of a screen is not what I’m talking about. I think that in general, people want to be accepted by society. As children, bullies pick on those with some form of unwanted trait. In the case of personality or other nonphysical traits, I would at least want someone to tell me that it was socially unpopular. That way, if I were wanting to fit in, it could be fixed.

Module 4: Admittedly, I did skip this one. Apologies, Dr. Zeng.

Module 5: To be frank, I don’t much care for politics. I do understand why they are an important part of our society, but nearly nothing that goes on in policy making affects me currently. I may one day change my mind, but my thoughts have stopped no one from taking matters into their own hands. I think that people my age that are interested in politics should stop at nothing to get involved, and the advent of social media has created a perfect opportunity for it.

Module 6: Nothing is perfect. With the want to create a networked society, some things were found to be bigger problems than we thought. Admittedly, some of these could be helped. Certain data breaches, (the one coming to mind might be the military’s confidential files that were leaked on a Minecraft Discord channel. Seriously.) stricter policing of the illegal activities on the “dark web”, and learning when to take a break, and be less dependent on technology. All of these can be examined more closely.

For my paper, here is the abstract:

This paper explores the social and economic implications of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation on the future of work. It examines the benefits and challenges associated with these technologies and discusses their broader societal consequences. The analysis highlights the need for proactive measures to address job displacement, ethical concerns, and income inequality. Policymakers and businesses must navigate the evolving landscape of work to ensure that AI and automation advancements align with the greater welfare of society.

And the presentation:

youtube

(Please reach out to me if the video does not work. I am having a few small technical issues with Youtube at the moment. Hopefully they will resolve soon.)

#Youtube

0 notes

lakelandseo · 1 year

Text

AI for SEO and Content Marketing: A Friend, Not a Foe (for Now, at Least)

Artificial Intelligence is nothing new. It has been running behind the scenes of many marketing tools for several years now.

But the key here is that it was running behind the scenes. We didn’t see it in action, and if it was making some of our tools smarter, we were not really paying much attention.

Later last year everything suddenly changed, with the launch of ChatGPT, which is able to complete all kinds of writing tasks instantly, including full articles and even code.

Now anyone can login and talk to the tool for hours, challenging it with all sorts of prompts and marveling at its ability to understand any task and complete it promptly. There came an endless flurry of articles sharing screenshots of amazing stuff the tool was capable of.

And while it is fun to play with, the rise of ChatGPT was a phenomenon that raised quite a few scary questions:

Is it threatening any human professions? And how fast?

Is it going to kill human content and overwhelm the web with AI-generated articles?

Will people soon stop using search engines to find answers to their questions?

Where is it all going?

While I am very bad at making bold predictions and therefore am reluctant to give definitive answers to any of those questions, I am highly confident that:

AI technology will change the way we are doing just about everything (and this is not limited to the SEO industry or any other marketing-related discipline).

It will change the way people go about looking for (and finding) answers. But it won’t kill human-created content — if COVID-19 taught us anything, it’s that no technology will ever be able to replace human interactions. We strive for personal touches, personal styles, personal experiences, etc.

It is not leaving, and we are at the very birth of this new AI-driven world. There’s no going back. And to be honest, I think we are the luckiest generation to have witnessed both the birth of the Internet and the birth of AI.

With that all in mind, we basically have two choices now:

Ignore AI for as long as we can (I am sure there are still people who reject the Internet, and they are probably happy).

Start using AI now, and ride this wave as informed as we can. With every change, there’s an opportunity, and the only way to grasp it is to be in the midst of that change.

Now, there are endless ways to use AI for all kinds of tasks, but I am a marketer and an SEO, so this article will list the ways you can benefit from it for blogging, social media, and SEO tasks.

19+ ways you can use AI for content creation & optimization

Going back to one of the most popular questions people are asking: Will AI-driven content replace human-written content?

I know there are lots of deniers out there saying that AI will never replace humans for writing content. The truth is, it is already happening to some extent. AI can write better essays than college students. It’s better content than the average content that is being published online.

Why wouldn’t Google want that, even if it is detectable? If it’s well-written and provides useful answers, Google will likely rank it, regardless of how it is created.

Google has been trying to become an answer engine for years, and AI technology is likely what will finally help them succeed. AI can already write, summarize and find answers better than most bloggers and faster than any of us.

And yet, good content is much more than good writing and correct answers. Good content does one or more of the following:

It expresses a personal opinion. People seek critique, feedback, and sarcasm when reading anything.

It reflects expertise on the topic that is based on in-depth education and years of experience.

AI technology can only repurpose other people’s content. It cannot do anything of the above. So if your content strategy was mostly about repurposing, it will sadly be impacted by AI, in a negative way.

And yet AI can turn quite useful for content creation tasks, including:

Content summaries and meta descriptions

Article intros and conclusions

Article takeaways and outline

Product descriptions strictly based on existing specifications (avoid any fluff content)

FAQ sections and pages (based on your existing articles or a keyword you are planning to target)

Press releases to distribute

Podcast or video scripts

YouTube video descriptions (or YouTube video summaries to use on your site for accessibility)

Ideas (blind spots) to include in your existing articles (“What is my article missing?”)

Missing steps or angles in your content or research

More sources to cite as further reading, etc.

Your About page and/or bio to use on social media profiles (prompt ChatGPT to be creative/funny/etc.)

Keywords you are missing (and/or ask it to organize your existing keywords by search intent)

Subheadings to break your content into more sections and subsections to improve readability

On-page “jump to” links (Ask the tool to provide HTML code for those or even generate an on-page table of contents)

Title suggestions to make it easier for you to create one

Image anchor text for your whole article/page

Not strictly SEO related, but you can ask it to create unique tweets, Facebook updates, and Instagram captions to promote your content

Definitions for any term you mention (to optimize for featured snippets).

To get the best possible definition from ChatGPT, by the way, it’s a good idea to specify your target audience or its level of familiarity with the topic at hand, in the query. For example, you can prompt it to explain SEO to someone who hears this term for the first time:

And yes, you can give it images to describe. This is useful for both SEO and accessibility:

All of these ideas will improve your content creation productivity and quality. You can also use tools and extensions to find even more ways to use ChatGPT for SEO and content.

ChatGPT is not the only AI-driven tool that can be used for content creation. There are more tools that are worth checking out.

Narrato uses AI technology to help teams collaborate on creating content. With Narrato, you can use AI to generate content topics, create SEO briefs, assign tasks to writers, and have your content optimized and proofread.

Text Optimizer combines AI technology with semantic analysis, allowing you to create intent-optimized summaries for your articles:

AI technology and creativity

Linkbait and viral marketing are integral parts of any SEO strategy because they drive link equity and brand awareness (both are probably the most powerful ranking signals).

There’s one problem with both: You are limited to your imagination. Yes, you can ask for input from your team and customers, and you can copy your competitors. But all of those methods require quite some time and effort.

AI can make linkbait brainstorming a breeze. It can also considerably cut costs on creating linkable assets.

Start by using ChatGPT for linkable asset ideation. A few ideas of prompts:

Come up with viral quiz ideas on …

If a site is selling …, which infographics should it create to generate links from bloggers and journalists

Generate linkable content ideas for a site that sells …

If you were a blogger writing on…, what would you eagerly link to?

What are some viral content ideas for … topic?

Make sure to experiment with your prompts. Not all AI ideas will be useful or usable, but you are bound to find quite a few that will get you inspired:

The golden rule of using AI is: The result is only as good as your prompt. You can get great output if you come up with a great prompt. So don’t stop iterating!

In this sense, AI requires creativity and hard work for it to operate to its best potential. AI-powered SEO is, therefore, still dependent on human effort and input, just like traditional SEO: It is not just about bigger budgets. In fact, in SEO creativity and expertise can easily win over huge budgets, and AI is not going to change that.

Likewise, you can ask it to create email copy for your journalist/blogger outreach.

ChatGPT can be incredibly creative. If you don’t believe me, check out this woman who asked the tool to write a letter to her child explaining that Santa wasn’t real. The result is unbelievably touching, and it is actually hard to believe it was generated by a machine:

Again, ChatGPT is hardly the only AI tool you can use. There are many others that can help you to generate visual assets for your content promotion strategies.

Photoleap offers a great AI image generation tool that will leave you speechless. Challenge the tool with the most ridiculous image description, and watch create an image for you within seconds:

Photoleap has AI integrated into its phone app, allowing you to create professional images without investing much money or effort.

Wave.video is another tool that uses AI to make multimedia content easier. Simply provide your URL and it will generate a video in minutes. The result is pretty basic, but you can use it to generate video summaries and social media videos. If you upgrade, you gain access to a more advanced editor to create even better videos. But those will take more time.

For more ideas on how AI can help with creating unique images and videos, check out how Roger explores the world of generative AI imagery.

Thinking like a machine

Finally, as SEOs and content marketers, we need to get a better understanding of how AI mind works. There’s a lot of reading on that, but as a believer in tools, I suggest playing this game.

It lets you guess a daily word by associations: Start with any word and it will rate it based on how well it is associated with the word. You’ll find that the human brain works differently: Finding synonyms won’t work here… Here’s how I went from “earn” (my initial word) to “calculator”:

It is actually a lot of fun and helps you better understand the technology.

There’s also a great blog tracking AI development, new projects, and opportunities.

Conclusion

AI can do much more for your digital marketing strategy than I was able to list in this article. It can drive your customer support strategy (with technology like chatbots and IVR), it can help with brand identity creation (name, logo, etc.), it can scale your PPC strategy (helping you save time and money), and it can enhance your marketing monitoring tactics. And these are just some options that are easy and fun. I am not even going into advanced analysis, analytics, and targeting opportunities here.

Yes, things will change and they will change quickly, especially as search engines start actively integrating conversation features to quickly answer users’ queries (often without attributing any sources). But it’s not like we are going to be able to prevent those changes from happening by ignoring AI technology or denying its impact on everything we are doing.

From the not-so-long history of SEO, we know that SEO thrives when new technology emerges. We tend to find opportunities every time the industry seems to be doomed, and we will continue doing that.

0 notes

bfxenon · 1 year

Text

AI for SEO and Content Marketing: A Friend, Not a Foe (for Now, at Least)

Artificial Intelligence is nothing new. It has been running behind the scenes of many marketing tools for several years now.

But the key here is that it was running behind the scenes. We didn’t see it in action, and if it was making some of our tools smarter, we were not really paying much attention.

Later last year everything suddenly changed, with the launch of ChatGPT, which is able to complete all kinds of writing tasks instantly, including full articles and even code.

And while it is fun to play with, the rise of ChatGPT was a phenomenon that raised quite a few scary questions:

Is it threatening any human professions? And how fast?

Is it going to kill human content and overwhelm the web with AI-generated articles?

Will people soon stop using search engines to find answers to their questions?

Where is it all going?

While I am very bad at making bold predictions and therefore am reluctant to give definitive answers to any of those questions, I am highly confident that:

AI technology will change the way we are doing just about everything (and this is not limited to the SEO industry or any other marketing-related discipline).

With that all in mind, we basically have two choices now:

Ignore AI for as long as we can (I am sure there are still people who reject the Internet, and they are probably happy).

Start using AI now, and ride this wave as informed as we can. With every change, there’s an opportunity, and the only way to grasp it is to be in the midst of that change.

Now, there are endless ways to use AI for all kinds of tasks, but I am a marketer and an SEO, so this article will list the ways you can benefit from it for blogging, social media, and SEO tasks.

19+ ways you can use AI for content creation & optimization

Going back to one of the most popular questions people are asking: Will AI-driven content replace human-written content?

Why wouldn’t Google want that, even if it is detectable? If it’s well-written and provides useful answers, Google will likely rank it, regardless of how it is created.

And yet, good content is much more than good writing and correct answers. Good content does one or more of the following:

It expresses a personal opinion. People seek critique, feedback, and sarcasm when reading anything.

It reflects expertise on the topic that is based on in-depth education and years of experience.

And yet AI can turn quite useful for content creation tasks, including:

Content summaries and meta descriptions

Article intros and conclusions

Article takeaways and outline

Product descriptions strictly based on existing specifications (avoid any fluff content)

FAQ sections and pages (based on your existing articles or a keyword you are planning to target)

Press releases to distribute

Podcast or video scripts

YouTube video descriptions (or YouTube video summaries to use on your site for accessibility)

Ideas (blind spots) to include in your existing articles (“What is my article missing?”)

Missing steps or angles in your content or research

More sources to cite as further reading, etc.

Your About page and/or bio to use on social media profiles (prompt ChatGPT to be creative/funny/etc.)

Keywords you are missing (and/or ask it to organize your existing keywords by search intent)

Subheadings to break your content into more sections and subsections to improve readability

On-page “jump to” links (Ask the tool to provide HTML code for those or even generate an on-page table of contents)

Title suggestions to make it easier for you to create one

Image anchor text for your whole article/page

Not strictly SEO related, but you can ask it to create unique tweets, Facebook updates, and Instagram captions to promote your content

Definitions for any term you mention (to optimize for featured snippets).

And yes, you can give it images to describe. This is useful for both SEO and accessibility:

All of these ideas will improve your content creation productivity and quality. You can also use tools and extensions to find even more ways to use ChatGPT for SEO and content.

ChatGPT is not the only AI-driven tool that can be used for content creation. There are more tools that are worth checking out.

Text Optimizer combines AI technology with semantic analysis, allowing you to create intent-optimized summaries for your articles:

AI technology and creativity

Linkbait and viral marketing are integral parts of any SEO strategy because they drive link equity and brand awareness (both are probably the most powerful ranking signals).

AI can make linkbait brainstorming a breeze. It can also considerably cut costs on creating linkable assets.

Start by using ChatGPT for linkable asset ideation. A few ideas of prompts:

Come up with viral quiz ideas on …

If a site is selling …, which infographics should it create to generate links from bloggers and journalists

Generate linkable content ideas for a site that sells …

If you were a blogger writing on…, what would you eagerly link to?

What are some viral content ideas for … topic?

Make sure to experiment with your prompts. Not all AI ideas will be useful or usable, but you are bound to find quite a few that will get you inspired:

The golden rule of using AI is: The result is only as good as your prompt. You can get great output if you come up with a great prompt. So don’t stop iterating!

Likewise, you can ask it to create email copy for your journalist/blogger outreach.

Again, ChatGPT is hardly the only AI tool you can use. There are many others that can help you to generate visual assets for your content promotion strategies.

Photoleap offers a great AI image generation tool that will leave you speechless. Challenge the tool with the most ridiculous image description, and watch create an image for you within seconds:

Photoleap has AI integrated into its phone app, allowing you to create professional images without investing much money or effort.

For more ideas on how AI can help with creating unique images and videos, check out how Roger explores the world of generative AI imagery.

Thinking like a machine

Finally, as SEOs and content marketers, we need to get a better understanding of how AI mind works. There’s a lot of reading on that, but as a believer in tools, I suggest playing this game.

It is actually a lot of fun and helps you better understand the technology.

There’s also a great blog tracking AI development, new projects, and opportunities.

Conclusion

From the not-so-long history of SEO, we know that SEO thrives when new technology emerges. We tend to find opportunities every time the industry seems to be doomed, and we will continue doing that.

0 notes

maniacwatchestheworld · 2 years

Note

Hi! Just wanted to say that I don't think that you were in the wrong for the Audio Adventures "i sleep, real shit" meme. I kind of took it as to mean that you preferred Harvey's story over the Joker's... not that you hated the Joker.

Still, I thought that your response was very well thought out and articulated in your reblog and I wanted to congratulate you on that!

On the other hand, drama in the Batman: The Audio Adventures fandom means that it is growing haha... so maybe that's a good sign?

Yeah. As I had detailed in my second reblog, I don't actually hate the Joker at all. I'm mostly apathetic to ambivalent about him...? And if you actually look at my blog, the entire reason I made that meme was because I was entertained by how I fell asleep while listening to the season 1 finale of the Batman Audio Adventures. I thought that was amusing, it made me feel like the meme, and so I decided to actually make the meme for real! You can see that the post I made immediately before I posted that meme was me talking about how I fell asleep while listening to the season 1 finale. I sleep not out of malice towards the Joker and his fans, but rather because I'm just not as interested in what's going on with the Joker when compared to what's going on with Two-Face! There wasn't really any malice behind my actions, and I think it was a pretty tame meme regardless. I didn't think that anyone would actually get offended by it, as it's all in good fun and people are perfectly within their rights to disagree with my post. So needless to say, I was surprised to see someone reacting SO adversely to my post!

I'll be honest, I was very tempted to just ignore the response post. But I do always try to treat everyone I can with respect and courtesy, and it bothered me that they were accusing me of having attitudes that simply don't reflect who I am at all. To stay silent, I felt, would only make that person feel like they were correct in their snapshot judgement of me. That I'm just here to pick on Joker fans, when that simply isn't true! I have preferences and am biased towards those preferences. But generally speaking I'm not interested in openly bashing things that I dislike publicly here on the internet! This blog will never become a hate blog. I may express frustrations here and there, but I tend to ignore things that I dislike, and prefer to discuss things that I do like. When something bothers me, I prefer to think of ways to fix it, or find a way to engage with it that suits me better than to just spread anger and hatred towards it. And I don't want people to think that I would ever be the kind of person who wants to spread hate on my blog! I have better things to do with my time and energy on this blog. This is just a place for me to share thoughts and ideas I have for my own sake and enjoyment. And I just don't find engaging in hate or discourse to be very fun.

I've been here on the internet and Tumblr specifically for a very long time at this point. I'm a Tumblr ancient. And I've always found that people acting in the way that I saw tends to be the result of someone just having a bad day and lashing out because of it. I will never begrudge someone for having a bad day. And if the Joker community really is a chronically bullied group like that person was implying, they have nothing but my sympathy, and I would not want to exacerbate the problem! Again, I have no interest in bullying other people on this blog of mine, and if I do something wrong, I am always happy to try and change my thoughts and behavior to make things right. I want to learn and am always grateful to anyone who's willing to work with and teach me! It's always good to hear people's thoughts and opinions that differ from my own! And the fact that you think that I did a good job with my response is hopefully an indication that I'm on the right track. So thank you for the compliment. I'm just trying my best. >.<

And yeah... I've been very surprised with the amount of interaction the Batman fandom has been giving me in my short time here so far! I'm always craving interaction! But if this is a sign of things to come... On one hand, I am REALLY enjoying the Batman Audio Adventures and so am glad that this is a sign of them gaining more popularity! But at the same time, discourse is just... Exhausting and I'd rather not be forced into engaging with it if I don't have to. >.<

#batman discourse #joker discourse #tumblr discourse #maniac life #maniac muses #answered asks #answered #anon #anonymous #long post #sorry this post ended up being so long lol. I did not intend for it to end up this length. But I feel like that always happens with me. XP

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shihalyfie · 3 years

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Hi :) If it's not too much trouble, could you please share your take on why they'd continue the Adventure brand after tri. was such a flop? (and a tangent: what does "dark history" even mean?). We got Kizuna, the reboot, and a 02 movie. Logically, it doesn't really make sense they'd keep investing in it.

This is a thorny topic, and I'd like to reiterate that although I've ended up making more posts related to this series and the discourse surrounding it recently (probably because it's even more on the mind now that another movie is on the horizon and a lot of people are apprehensive for various reasons), I do not want this blog to be making a brand out of being critical of this series. I’m writing this here and in public because I figured that there is a certain degree I need to clarify what I mean about audience reception/climate and how it might impact current or future works, and I’m admittedly also more than a little upset that I occasionally see Western fanbase criticisms of the series getting dismissed by people claiming that the only people mad about it are dramamongering or ignorant Westerners (which could not be further from the truth). However, this is mainly to address this and to answer your question, and is not intended to try and change anyone's existing opinion or impression of the series as much as it's me trying to explain (from my own personal reading of the situation) what practically went down with critical reception in real life; no more, no less.

The short summary of the matter is:

The series was a moderate financial success (albeit with some caveats; see the long version for details) and definitely outstripped a lot of prior attempts to revive the franchise;

However, the overall Japanese fanbase-side critical backlash from tri. was extremely and viciously negative to the point where even acknowledging the series too much could easily result in controversy;

Kizuna’s production and the PR surrounding it very obviously have this in mind with a lot of apparent “damage control” elements.

The long version is below.

Note that while I try to be diligent about citing my sources so people understand that I’m not just making things up wholesale, I’m deliberately refraining from linking certain things here this time, both because some of the things mentioned have some pretty crude things written there -- it’s not something I feel comfortable directing people to regardless of what language it’s in -- and because I don’t want to recklessly link things on social media and cause anyone to go after or harass the people involved. For the links that have been provided, please still be warned that some of them don’t really link to particularly pleasant things.

I am not writing the following information to suggest that anyone should agree or disagree with the sentiments being described. I know people tend to take "a lot of people like/hate this" as a signal of implication "it is correct to like/hate this" when it's not (and I especially dislike the idea of implying that Japanese fanbase opinions are the only correct ones). There's a reason I focus on "critical reception being this way" (because it influences marketing decisions and future direction) rather than how much this should impact one's personal feelings; this is coming from myself as someone who is shamelessly proud of liking many things that had bad critical reception, were financial failures, or are disliked by many. As I point out near the end, the situation also does seem to be changing for the better in more recent years as well.

Also, to be clear, I'm a single person who's observing everything best I can from my end, I have no affiliations with staff nor do I claim to, and as much as I'm capable of reading Japanese and thus reading a lot of people's impressions, I'm ultimately still another “outsider” looking in. These are my impressions from my observation of fan communal spaces, following artists and reading comments on social media and art posting websites, and results from social media searches. In the end, I know as much as anyone else about what happened, so this is just my two cents based on all of my personal observations.

A fanbase is a fanbase regardless of what part of the world you're from. There are people who love it and are shameless about saying so. There are people who have mixed feelings or at least aren't on extreme ends of the spectrum (as always, the loudest ones are always the most visible, but it's not always easy to claim they're the predominant percentage of the fanbase). That happens everywhere, and I still find that on every end I've seen. However, if I'm talking about my impressions and everything I’ve encountered, I will say that the overall Japanese reaction to tri. comes off as significantly more violently negative on average than the Western one, which is unusual because often it's the other way around. (I personally feel less so because the opinions are that fundamentally different and more so because we're honestly kind of loud and in-your-face people; otherwise, humans are mostly the same everywhere, and more often than not people feel roughly the same about everything if they’re given the same information to work with.)

This is not something I can say lightly, and thus would not say if I didn’t really get this impression, but...we're talking "casually looking up movie reviews for Kizuna have an overwhelming amount of people casually citing any acknowledgment of tri. elements as a negative element", or the fact that even communal wikis for "general" fandoms like Pixiv and Aniwota don't tend to hold back in being vicious about it (as of this writing, Pixiv's wiki refuses to consider it in the same timeline as Adventure, accusing it of being "a series that claims to be a sequel set three years after 02 but is in fact something different"). Again, there are people who openly enjoy it and actively advocate for it (and Pixiv even warns people to not lord over others about it condescendingly because of the fact that such people do exist), and this is also more of a reflection of “the hardcore fanbase on the Internet” and not necessarily the mainstream (after all, there are quite a few other Digimon works where the critical reception varies very heavily between the two). Nevertheless, the take-home is that the reputation is overall negative among the Internet fanbase to the point that this is the kind of sentiment you run into without trying all that hard.

I think, generally speaking, if we're just talking about why a lot of people resent the series, the reasons aren't that different from those on the Western side. However, that issue of "dark history" (黒歴史): there's a certain degree of demand from the more violently negative side of the fanbase that's, in a sense, asking official to treat it as a disgrace and never acknowledge it ever again, hence why Kizuna doing so much as borrowing things from it rather than rejecting it outright is still sometimes treated like it’s committing a sin. So it's somewhat close in spirit to a retcon movement, which is unusual because no other Digimon series gets this (not even 02; that was definitely a thing on the Western end, but while I'm sure there are people who hate it that much on their end too, I've never really seen it gain enough momentum for anyone to take it seriously). If anyone ever tells you that Japanese fanbases are nice to everything, either they don't know Japanese, are being willfully ignorant, or are lying to you, because there is such thing as drama in those areas, and in my experience, I've seen things get really nasty when things are sufficiently pushed over the edge, and if a fanbase wants to have drama, it will have drama. This happens to be one of those times.

(If you think this is extreme, please know that I also think so too, so I hope you really understand that me describing this sentiment does not mean I am personally endorsing it. Also, let me reiterate that the loudest section of the fanbase is not necessarily the predominant one; after all, as someone who’s been watching reactions to 02 over the years, I myself can attest that its hatedom has historically made it sound more despised than it actually is in practice.)

My impression is that the primary core sentiment behind why the series so much as existing and being validated is considered such an offense (rather than, say, just saying "wow, that writing was bad" and moving on) is heavily tied to the release circumstances the series came out in during 2015-2018, and the idea that "this series disrespected Adventure, and also disrespected the fanbase.” (I mean, really, regardless of what part of the world you’re from, sequels and adaptations tend to be held to a higher bar of expectation than standalone works, because they’re expected to do them justice.) A list of complaints I’ve come across a lot while reading through the above:

The Japanese fanbase is pretty good at recordkeeping when it comes to Adventure universe lore, partially because they got a lot of extra materials that weren’t localized, but also partially because adherence to it seems to generally be more Serious Business to them than it is elsewhere. For instance, “according to Adventure episode 45, ‘the one who wishes for stability’ (Homeostasis) only started choosing children in 1995, and therefore there can be no Chosen Children before 1995” is taken with such gravity that this, not anything to do with evolutions or timeline issues, is the main reason Hurricane Touchdown’s canonicity was disputed in that arena (because Wallace implies that he met his partners before 1995). It’s a huge reason the question of Kizuna also potentially not complying to lore came to the forefront, because tri. so flagrantly contradicts it so much that this issue became very high on the evaluation checklist. In practice, Kizuna actually goes against Adventure/02 very little, so the reason tri. in particular comes under fire for this is that it does it so blatantly there were theories as early as Part 1 that this series must take place in a parallel universe or something, and as soon as it became clear it didn’t, the resulting sentiment was “wow, you seriously thought nobody would notice?” (thus “disrespecting the audience”).

A lot of the characterization incongruity is extremely obvious when you’re following only the Japanese version, partially because it didn’t have certain localization-induced characterization changes (you are significantly less likely to notice a disparity with Mimi if you’re working off the American English dub where they actually did make her likely to step on others’ toes and be condescending, whereas in Japanese the disparity is jarring and hard to miss) and partially due to some things lost in translation (Mimi improperly using rough language on elders is much easier to spot as incongruity if you’re familiar with the language). Because it’s so difficult to miss, and honestly feels like a lot of strange writing decisions you’d make only if you really had no concept of what on earth happened in the original series, it only contributes to the idea that they were handling Adventure carelessly and disrespectfully without paying attention to what the series was even about (that, or worse, they didn’t care).

02 is generally well-liked there! It’s controversial no matter where you go, but as I said earlier, there was no way a retcon movement would have ever been taken seriously, and the predominant sentiment is that, even if you’re not a huge fan of it, its place in canon (even the epilogue) should be respected. So not only flagrantly going against 02-introduced lore but also doing that to a certain quartet is seen as malicious, and you don’t have as much of the converse discourse celebrating murdering the 02 quartet (yeah, that’s a thing that happened here) or accusing people with complaints of “just being salty because they like 02″ as nearly as much of a factor; I did see it happen, or at least dismissals akin to “well it’s Adventure targeted anyway,” but they were much less frequent. The issue with the 02 quartet is usually the first major one brought up, and there’s a lot of complaints even among those who don’t care for 02 as much that the way they went about it was inhumane and hypocritical, especially when killing Imperialdramon is fine but killing Meicoomon is a sin. Also, again, “you seriously think nobody will see a problem with how this doesn’t make sense?”

I think even those who are fans of the series generally agree with this, but part of the reason the actual real-life time this series went on is an important factor is that the PR campaign for this series was godawful. Nine months of clicking on an egg on a website pretending like audience participation meant something when in actuality it was blatantly obvious it was just a smokescreen to reveal info whenever they were ready? This resulted in a chain effect where even more innocuous/defensible things were viewed in a suspicious or negative light (for instance, "the scam of selling the fake Kaiser's goggles knowing Ken fans would buy it only to reveal that it's not him anyway"), and a bunch of progressively out-of-touch-with-the-fanbase statements and poor choices led to more sentiment “yeah, you’re just insulting the fanbase at this point,” and a general erosion of trust in official overall.

On top of that, the choice of release format to have it spread out as six movies over three years seems to have exacerbated the backlash to get much worse than it would have been otherwise, especially since one of the major grievances with the series is that how it basically strung people along, building up more and more unanswered questions before it became apparent it was never going to answer them anyway. So when you’re getting that frustrated feeling over three whole years, it feels like three years of prolonged torture, and it becomes much harder to forgive for the fallout than if you’d just marathoned the entire thing at once.

For those who are really into the Digimon (i.e. species) lore and null canon, while I’m not particularly well-versed in that side of the fanbase, it seems tri. fell afoul of them too for having inaccurately portrayed (at one point, mislabeled) special attacks and poorly done battle choreography, along with the treatment of Digimon in general (infantilized Digimon characterization, general lack of Digimon characters in general, very flippant treatment of the Digital World in Parts 3-5). If you say you’re going to “reboot” the Digital World and not address the entire can of worms that comes with basically damaging an entire civilization of Digimon, as you can imagine, a lot of people who actually really care about that are going to be pissed, and the emerging sentiment is “you’re billing this as a Digimon work, but you don’t even care about the monsters that make up this franchise.”

The director does not have a very positive reputation among those who know his work (beyond just Digimon), and in general there was a lot of suspicion around the fact they decided to get a guy whose career has primarily been built on harem and fanservice anime to direct a sequel to a children’s series. Add to that a ton of increasingly unnerving statements about how he intended to make the series “mature” in comparison to its predecessor (basically, an implication that Adventure and 02 were happy happy joy series where nothing bad ever happened) and descriptions of Adventure that implied a very, very poor grasp of anything that happened in it: inaccurate descriptions of their characters, poor awareness of 02′s place in the narrative, outright saying in Febri that he saw the Digimon as like perpetual kindergartners even after evolving, and generally such a flippant attitude that it drove home the idea that the director of an Adventure sequel had no respect for Adventure, made this series just to maliciously dunk on it for supposedly being immature, and has such a poor grasp of what it even was that it’s possible he may not have seen it in the first place (or if he did, clearly skimmed it to the extent he understood it poorly to pretty disturbing levels). As of this writing, Aniwota Wiki directly cites him as a major reason for the backlash.

In general, consensus seems to be that the most positively received aspect of the series (story-wise) was Part 3 (mostly its ending, but some are more amenable to the Takeru and Patamon drama), and the worst vitriol goes towards Parts 2 (for the blatantly contradictory portrayal of Mimi and Jou and the hypocritical killing of Imperialdramon) and 4 (basically the “point of no return” where even more optimistic people started getting really turned off). This is also what I suspect is behind the numbers on the infamous DigiPoll (although the percentage difference is admittedly low enough to fall within margin of error). However, there was suspicion about the series even from Part 1, with one prominent fanartist openly stating that it felt more like meeting a ton of new people than it did reuniting with anyone they knew.

So with all of that on the table: how did this affect official? The thing is that when I say “violently negative”, I mean that also entailed spamming official with said violently negative social media comments. While this is speculation, I am fairly certain that official must have realized how bad this was getting as early as between Parts 4 and 5, because that’s where a lot of really suspicious things started happening behind the scenes; while I imagine the anime series itself was now too far in to really do anything about it, one of the most visible producers suddenly vanished from the producer lineup and was replaced by Kinoshita Yousuke, who ended up being the only member of tri. staff shared with Kizuna (and, in general, the fact that not a single member of staff otherwise was retained kind of says a lot). Once the series ended in 2018 and the franchise slowly moved into Kizuna-related things, you might notice that tri.-branded merch production almost entirely screeched to a halt and official has been very touchy about acknowledging it too deeply; it’s not that they don’t, but it’s kind of an awfully low amount for what you’d think would be warranted for a series that’s supposed to be a full entry in the big-name Adventure brand.

The reason is, simply, that if they do acknowledge it too much, people will get pissed at them. That’s presumably why the tri. stage play (made during that interim period between Parts 4 and 5 and even branded with the title itself) and Kizuna are really hesitant to be too aggressive about tri. references; it’s not necessarily that official wants to blot it out of history like the most extreme opinions would like them to, but even being too enthusiastic about affirming it will also get them backlash, especially if the things they affirm are contradictory to Adventure or 02. And considering even the small references they did put in still got them criticism for “affirming” tri. too much, you can easily see that the backlash would have been much harder if they’d attempted more than that; staying as close as possible to Adventure and 02 and trying to deal with tri. elements only when they’re comparatively inoffensive was pretty much the “safe” thing to do in this scenario (especially since fully denying tri. would most certainly upset the people who did like the series, and if you have to ask me, I personally think this would have been a pretty crude thing to have done right after the series had just finished). Even interviews taken after the fact often involve quickly disclaiming involvement with the series, or, if they have to bring up something about it, discussing the less controversial aspects like the art (while the character designs were still controversial, it’s at least at the point where some fanartists will still be willing to make use of them even if they dislike the series, albeit often with prominent disclaimers) or the more well-received parts of Part 3; Kizuna was very conspicuously marketed as a standalone movie, even if it shared the point of “the Adventure kids, but older” that tri. had.

(Incidentally, the tri. stage play has generally been met with a good reputation and was received well even among people who were upset with the anime, so it was well-understood that they had no relation. In fact, said stage play is probably even better received than Kizuna, although that’s not too surprising given the controversial territory Kizuna goes into, making the stage play feel very play-it-safe in comparison.)

So, if we’re going to talk about Kizuna in particular: tri. was, to some degree, a moderate financial success, in the sense that it made quite a bit of money and did a lot to raise awareness of the Digimon brand still continuing...however, if you actually look at the sales figures for tri., they go down every movie; part of it was probably because of the progressively higher “hurdle” to get into a series midway, but consider that Gundam Unicorn (a movie series which tri.’s format was often compared to) had its sales go up per movie thanks to word of mouth and hype. So while tri. does seem to have gotten enough money to help sustain the franchise at first, the trade-off was an extremely livid fanbase that had shattered faith in the brand and in official, and so while continuing the Adventure brand might still be profitable, there was no way they were going to get away with continuing to do this lest everything eventually crash and burn.

Hence, if you look at the way Kizuna was produced and advertised, you can see a lot of it is blatantly geared at addressing a lot of the woes aimed at tri.: instead of the staff that had virtually no affiliation with Toei, the main members of staff announced were either from the original series (Seki and Yamatoya) or openly childhood fans, the 02 quartet was made into a huge advertising point as a dramatic DigiFes reveal (and character profies that tie into the 02 epilogue careers prominently part of the advertising from day one), and they even seemed to acknowledge the burnout on the original Adventure group by advertising it so heavily as “the last adventure of Taichi and his friends”, so you can see that there’s a huge sentiment of “damage control” with it. How successful that was...is debatable, since opinions have been all over the board; quite a few people were naturally so livid at what happened with tri. that Kizuna was just opening more of the wound, but there were also people who liked it much better and were willing to acknowledge it (with varying levels of enthusiasm, some simply saying “it was thankfully okay,” and some outright loving it), and there was a general sentiment even among those who disliked both that they at least understood what Kizuna was going for and that it didn’t feel as inherently disrespectful. (Of course, there are people who loved tri. and hated Kizuna, and there are people who loved both, too.)

Moreover, Kizuna actually has a slightly different target audience from tri.; there’s a pretty big difference between an OVA and a theatrical movie, and, quite simply, Kizuna was made under the assumption that a lot of people watching it may not have even seen tri. in the first place. An average of 11% of the country watched Adventure and 02, but the number of people who watched tri. is much smaller, in part due to the fact that its “theater” screenings were only very limited screenings compared to Kizuna being shown in theaters in Japan and worldwide, and in part due to the fact that watching six parts over three years is a pretty huge commitment for someone who may barely remember Digimon as anything beyond a show they watched as a kid, and may be liable to just fall off partway through because they simply just forgot. (Which also probably wasn’t helped by the infamously negative reputation, something that definitely wouldn’t encourage someone already on the fence.) And that’s yet another reason Kizuna couldn’t make too many concrete tri. references; being a theatrical movie, it needs to have as wide appeal as possible, and couldn’t risk locking out an audience that had a very high likelihood of not having seen it, much less to the end -- it may have somewhat been informed by tri.’s moderate financial success and precedent, but it ultimately was made for the original Adventure and 02 audience more than anything else.

I would say that, generally, while Kizuna is “controversial” for sure, reception towards the movie seems to be more positive than negative, it won over a large chunk of people who were burned out by tri., and it clearly seems to have been received well enough that it’s still being cashed in on a year after its release. The sheer existence of the upcoming 02-based movie is also probably a sign of Kizuna’s financial and critical success; Kinoshita confirmed at DigiFes 2020 that nothing was in production at the time, and stated shortly after the movie’s announcement that work on it had just started. So the decision to make it seems to have been made after eyeing Kizuna’s reception, and, moreover, the movie was initially advertised from the get-go with Kizuna’s director and writer (Taguchi and Yamatoya), meaning those two have curried enough goodwill from the fanbase that this can be used to promote the movie. (If not, you would think that having and advertising Seki would be the bigger priority.) While this is my own sentiment, I am personally doubtful official would have even considered 02 something remotely profitable enough on its own to cash in on if it weren’t for this entire sequence of events of 02′s snubbing in tri. revealing how much of a fanbase it had (especially with the sheer degree of “suspicious overcompensation” Kizuna had with its copious use of the 02 quartet and it tagging a remix of the first 02 ED on the Hanareteitemo single, followed by the drama CD and character songs), followed by Kizuna having success in advertising with them so heavily. Given all of the events between 2015 and now, it’s a bit ironic to see that 02 has now become basically the last resort to be able to continue anything in the original Adventure universe without getting too many people upset at them about it.

The bright side coming out of all of this is that, while it’s still a bit early to tell, now that we’re three years out from tri. finishing up and with Kizuna in the game, it seems there’s a possibility for things improving around tri.’s reception as well. Since a lot of the worst heated points of backlash against it have a very “you had to have been there” element (related to the PR, release schedule, and staff comments), those coming in “late” don’t have as much reason to be as pissed at it; I’ve seen at least one case of a fanartist getting back into the franchise because of Kizuna hype, watching tri. to catch up, casually criticizing it on Twitter, and moving on with their life, presumably because marathoning the whole thing being generally aware of what’ll happen in it and knowing Kizuna is coming after anyway gives you a lot less reason to be angry to the point of holding an outright grudge. Basically, even if you don’t like it, it’s much easier to actually go “yeah, didn’t like that,” not worry too much about it, and move on. Likewise, I personally get the impression that official has been starting to get a little more confident about digging up elements related to it. Unfortunately, a fairly recent tweet promoting the series getting put on streaming services still got quite a few angry comments implying that they should be deleting the scourge from the Internet instead, so there’s still a long way to go, but hopefully the following years will see things improve further...

In regards to the reboot, I -- and I think a lot of people will agree with me -- have a bit of a hard time reading what exact audience it’s trying to appeal to; we have a few hints from official that they want parents to watch it with their children, and that it may have been a necessary ploy in order to secure their original timeslot. So basically, the Adventure branding gets parents who grew up with the original series to be interested in it and to show it to their kids, and convinces Fuji TV that it might be profitable. But as most people have figured by now, the series has a completely different philosophy and writing style -- I mean, the interview itself functionally admits it’s here to be more action-oriented and to have its own identity -- and the target audience is more the kids than anything else. As for the Internet fanbase of veterans, most people have been critical of its character writing and pacing, but other than a few stragglers who are still really pissed, it hasn’t attracted all that much vitriol, probably because in the end it’s an alternate universe, it doesn’t have any obligation to adhere to anything from the original even if it uses the branding, and it’s clearly still doing its job of being a kids’ show for kids who never saw the original series nor 02, so an attempt to call it “disrespectful” to the original doesn’t have much to stand on. A good number of people who are bored of it decided it wasn’t interesting to them and dropped it without incident, while other people are generally just enjoying it for being fun, and the huge amount of Digimon franchise fanservice with underrepresented Digimon and high fidelity to null canon lore is really pleasing the side of the fanbase that’s into that (I mean, Digimon World Golemon is really deep in), so at the very least, there’s not a lot to be super-upset about.

#tri negativity #shiha's ask box #springcrafter

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leewritesstuff · 3 years

Text

Keeping Up With The Hollands | 03 (Interview)

Summary: You and Tom were offered to document your life since you are both famous in the entertainment industry. Now as you got older you left the entertainment industry and head for the medical field. How difficult can it be? Also, did I mention that you have kids?

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Series Masterlist

WORDS: 1.04K

If you have questions that you'd like to ask for Tom or for.. you? Then don't be shy to send them. I apologize for this being late, my sister had a project and I got invested with Love Island

"Hey I'm Y/N L/N and I'll be playing with puppies while answering your questions, hit it" One of the staff members hands you a cute white pomeranian puppy.

"Oh, my fucki- wait I can't curse in front of you! You're too cute for me to do that" You sad suddenly forgetting that you were doing an interview. The Pomeranian puppy licked at your nose then barked at you wagging its tail. As you were giggling you heard a cough, realizing it was coming from the staff members.

"Oh right, sorry! I forgot I was doing this interview. Okay so let's start."

How do you deal with all the hate? And what's your motto for this year

"Uh I mostly ignore them, actually I have a high tolerance to ignore bullshit so if someone dislikes me or something I do and sends hate, I just basically say okay! ...Or just fall asleep. For the motto question, um well I don't have one but I could think of one....'Reject the status quo?' I don't know, I was watching too much High School Musical. Next question"

While you were answering the questions, another puppy came. You took it and place it on your lap, it was a German Shepherd puppy. You took your hand that has bracelets on it and dangled it in front of the puppies watching as they try to catch it. Smile instantly forming on your face.

Were there any struggles in you and Tom's relationship?

"Mhm, I like this question. Our relationship isn't as complex as thinks everyone thinks it is. When we first started dating there was a few issues since the age gap. We started dating when I was 27 and he was around 21, and people were sending me messages saying how I'm using him for his money and that I was some weird pedophile and I was so confused because don't you have to be with someone who's underage in order to be called that? Plus, I'm not bragging but I have more money compare to Tom. People are weird these days dude."

Do you have a crush on Harrison? If not, is there any other guy you find attractive?

That's a weird question to ask. Harrison is a very attractive guy and we respect each other. He's more of a best friend than anything. I really love him! For the other half... probably Niall Horan wait not, let's say the members of One Direction except for Harry yeah Zayne as well but um...maybe James Franco or Chris Evans? Look if I were to list all of my celebrity crushes we would be here all day so let's move on" You let out a giggle and smile when the Shepherd bark at you

"See, Sheppy here thinks so as well, don't you?"

There are rumours about Tom and Zendaya, saying that they are in a relationship do you think so?

"No, I don't, if anything I'd say Zendaya and I are in a secret - well not so secret now. I'm sorry Tom...but yeah uh, I don't think any of it, they both are close to me so I honestly don't think they would ever do something like that. Zendaya is an amazing actress and friend and if there's any issues I would most likely go to her for a second opinion and Tom, he's spectacular- oh my god, I've been hanging around with brits too much but anyway, he's amazing and the way that his parents brought him up, he wouldn't cheat."

Will you make music?

"Actually I thought the old songs...that I made weren't that good, but I'm surprised people actually like it. Uh, I probably have a good... 5 or so finished and a few unfinished ones but who knows I may put out some!"

Are there any upcoming movies?

Actually, there is. I have two upcoming movies with Tom, which was a surprise to me, but I'm not going to give any more details! I have a minor part in both The 100 and Euphoria. Any other projects you'll just have to wait and see~"

Why did you break up with Harry?

"Mhm, I'm not surprised at this but now, it's getting very old being asked this. I love Harry but it seems that Kendall Jenner was better than me? Not sure, but I had wished we had talked about this instead of me finding out from the internet. Wish him and her the best"

Noticing your distress, the Pomeranian came over and licked your face, a sad smile forming on your face.

What's one moment from your career that you'll never forget?

"I think one of the best moment I'll never forget is when a fan of mines came to a meet and greet and gave me a stuffed toy, I got two, one of a butterfly and one of me, and when she gave me it and I almost cried because I haven't gotten something hand made like that. She literally spent a whole week on it, what makes it even better is that they light up!"'

You lay down on the floor watching as the German Shepherd tried to tug your hand while the Pomeranian lays on your stomach. The camera shifts to face your view.

"Am I making your hands hurt?" You asked the cameraman but he just gave you a smile.

"Ah my bad, my back hurts from sitting like that so I needed a break, if your hands are hurtin' lemme know"

Last question: What advice would you give to a fan who's struggling with depression?

"Well, there isn't a best advice. For me when I had depression is that you aren't alone. There's actually a lot of people suffering from depression and I think being not okay is fine, you just need... to find something that's positive- actually, surround yourself with positive people that cheers you up, do something that you like, talk to people, that's what I did and I can honestly say that I'm doing great now."

As you sat up, you grabbed the Pomeranian and gently rest them on the floor, while the camera follows you. You smiled at the camera and wave.

"Thanks for sending in your messages! I really enjoy them. I am Y/n L/N and this has been Buzzfeed!"

T A G L I S T

@webmeupspiderdaddy @runawayolives @nerdy-collector-festival @hopelessromm@bi-lmg @speedyhandsbonkpalace

(If you see this then I couldn't tag you) Want to be added? Then message me!

#tom holland x you #x reader #tom holland angst #tom holland x reader #tom holland masterlist #masterlist #fanfiction #pregnant #tom holland imagine #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland x oc #tom holland imagines #tom holland fic #tom holland #tom holland fanfic

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whitehotharlots · 3 years

Text

The point is control

Whenever we think or talk about censorship, we usually conceptualize it as certain types of speech being somehow disallowed: maybe (rarely) it's made formally illegal by the government, maybe it's banned in certain venues, maybe the FCC will fine you if you broadcast it, maybe your boss will fire you if she learns of it, maybe your friends will stop talking to you if they see what you've written, etc. etc.

This understanding engenders a lot of mostly worthless discussion precisely because it's so broad. Pedants--usually arguing in favor of banning a certain work or idea--will often argue that speech protections only apply to direct, government bans. These bans, when they exist, are fairly narrow and apply only to those rare speech acts in which other people are put in danger by speech (yelling the N-word in a crowded theater, for example). This pedantry isn't correct even within its own terms, however, because plenty of people get in trouble for making threats. The FBI has an entire entrapment program dedicated to getting mentally ill muslims and rednecks to post stuff like "Death 2 the Super bowl!!" on twitter, arresting them, and the doing a press conference about how they heroically saved the world from terrorism.

Another, more recent pedant's trend is claiming that, actually, you do have freedom of speech; you just don't have freedom from the consequences of speech. This logic is eerily dictatorial and ignores the entire purpose of speech protections. Like, even in the history's most repressive regimes, people still technically had freedom of speech but not from consequences. Those leftist kids who the nazis beheaded for speaking out against the war were, by this logic, merely being held accountable.

The two conceptualizations of censorship I described above are, 99% of the time, deployed by people who are arguing in favor of a certain act of censorship but trying to exempt themselves from the moral implications of doing so. Censorship is rad when they get to do it, but they realize such a solipsism seems kinda icky so they need to explain how, actually, they're not censoring anybody, what they're doing is an act of righteous silencing that's a totally different matter. Maybe they associate censorship with groups they don't like, such as nazis or religious zealots. Maybe they have a vague dedication toward Enlightenment principles and don't want to be regarded as incurious dullards. Most typically, they're just afraid of the axe slicing both ways, and they want to make sure that the precedent they're establishing for others will not be applied to themselves.

Anyone who engages with this honestly for more than a few minutes will realize that censorship is much more complicated, especially in regards to its informal and social dimensions. We can all agree that society simply would not function if everyone said whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. You might think your boss is a moron or your wife's dress doesn't look flattering, but you realize that such tidbits are probably best kept to yourself.

Again, this is a two-way proposition that everyone is seeking to balance. Do you really want people to verbalize every time they dislike or disagree with you? I sure as hell don't. And so, as part of a social compact, we learn to self-censor. Sometimes this is to the detriment of ourselves and our communities. Most often, however, it's just a price we have to pay in order to keep things from collapsing.

But as systems, large and small, grow increasingly more insane and untenable, so do the comportment standards of speech. The disconnect between America's reality and the image Americans have of themselves has never been more plainly obvious, and so striving for situational equanimity is no longer good enough. We can't just pretend cops aren't racist and the economy isn't run by venal retards or that the government places any value on the life of its citizens. There's too much evidence that contradicts all that, and the evidence is too omnipresent. There's too many damn internet videos, and only so many of them can be cast as Russian disinformation. So, sadly, we must abandon our old ways of communicating and embrace instead systems that are even more unstable, repressive, and insane than the ones that were previously in place.

Until very, very recently, nuance and big-picture, balanced thinking were considered signs of seriousness, if not intelligence. Such considerations were always exploited by shitheads to obfuscate things that otherwise would have seemed much less ambiguous, yes, but this fact alone does not mitigate the potential value of such an approach to understanding the world--especially since the stuff that's been offered up to replace it is, by every worthwhile metric, even worse.

So let's not pretend I'm Malcolm Gladwell or some similarly slimy asshole seeking to "both sides" a clearcut moral issue. Let's pretend I am me. Flash back to about a year ago, when there was real, widespread, and sustained support for police reform. Remember that? Seems like forever ago, man, but it was just last year... anyhow, now, remember what happened? Direct, issues-focused attempts to reform policing were knocked down. Blotted out. Instead, we were told two things: 1) we had to repeat the slogan ABOLISH THE POLICE, and 2) we had to say it was actually very good and beautiful and nonviolent and valid when rioters burned down poor neighborhoods.

Now, in a relatively healthy discourse, it might have been possible for someone to say something like "while I agree that American policing is heavily violent and racist and requires substantial reforms, I worry that taking such an absolutist point of demanding abolition and cheering on the destruction of city blocks will be a political non-starter." This statement would have been, in retrospect, 100000000% correct. But could you have said it, in any worthwhile manner? If you had said something along those lines, what would the fallout had been? Would you have lost friends? Your job? Would you have suffered something more minor, like getting yelled at, told your opinion did not matter? Would your acquaintances still now--a year later, after their political project has failed beyond all dispute--would they still defame you in "whisper networks," never quite articulating your verbal sins but nonetheless informing others that you are a dangerous and bad person because one time you tried to tell them how utterly fucking self-destructive they were being? It is undeniably clear that last year's most-elevated voices were demanding not reform but catharsis. I hope they really had fun watching those immigrant-owned bodegas burn down, because that’s it, that will forever be remembered as the most palpable and consequential aspect of their shitty, selfish movement. We ain't reforming shit. Instead, we gave everyone who's already in power a blank check to fortify that power to a degree you and I cannot fully fathom.

But, oh, these people knew what they were doing. They were good little boys and girls. They have been rewarded with near-total control of the national discourse, and they are all either too guilt-ridden or too stupid to realize how badly they played into the hands of the structures they were supposedly trying to upend.

And so left-liberalism is now controlled by people whose worldview is equal parts superficial and incoherent. This was the only possible outcome that would have let the system continue to sustain itself in light of such immense evidence of its unsustainability without resulting in reform, so that's what has happened.

But... okay, let's take a step back. Let's focus on what I wanted to talk about when I started this.

I came across a post today from a young man who claimed that his high school English department head had been removed from his position and had his tenure revoked for refusing to remove three books from classrooms. This was, of course, fallout from the ongoing debate about Critical Race Theory. Two of those books were Marjane Satropi's Persepolis and, oh boy, The Diary of Anne Frank. Fuck. Jesus christ, fuck.

Now, here's the thing... When Persepolis was named, I assumed the bannors were anti-CRT. The graphic novel does not deal with racism all that much, at least not as its discussed contemporarily, but it centers an Iranian girl protagonist and maybe that upset Republican types. But Anne Frank? I'm sorry, but the most likely censors there are liberal identiarians who believe that teaching her diary amounts to centering the suffering of a white woman instead of talking about the One Real Racism, which must always be understood in an American context. The super woke cult group Black Hammer made waves recently with their #FuckAnneFrank campaign... you'd be hard pressed to find anyone associated with the GOP taking a firm stance against the diary since, oh, about 1975 or so.

So which side was it? That doesn't matter. What matters is, I cannot find out.

Now, pro-CRT people always accuse anti-CRT people of not knowing what CRT is, and then after making such accusations they always define CRT in a way that absolutely is not what CRT is. Pro-CRTers default to "they don't want students to read about slavery or racism." This is absolutely not true, and absolutely not what actual CRT concerns itself with. Slavery and racism have been mainstays of American history curriucla since before I was born. Even people who barely paid attention in school would admit this, if there were any more desire for honesty in our discourse.

My high school history teacher was a southern "lost causer" who took the south's side in the Civil War but nonetheless provided us with the most descriptive and unapologetic understandings of slavery's brutalities I had heard up until that point. He also unambiguously referred to the nuclear attacks on Hiroshmia and Nagasaki as "genocidal." Why? Because most people's politics are idiosyncratic, and because you cannot genuinely infer a person to believe one thing based on their opinion of another, tangentially related thing. The totality of human understanding used to be something open-minded people prided themselves on being aware of, believe it or not...

This is the problem with CRT. This is is the motivation behind the majority of people who wish to ban it. It’s not because they are necessarily racist themselves. It’s because they recognize, correctly, that the now-ascendant frames for understanding social issues boils everything down to a superficial patina that denies not only the realities of the systems they seek to upend but the very humanity of the people who exist within them. There is no humanity without depth and nuance and complexities and contradictions. When you argue otherwise, people will get mad and fight back.

And this is the most bitter irony of this idiotic debate: it was never about not wanting to teach the sinful or embarrassing parts of our history. That was a different debate, one that was settled and won long ago. It is instead an immense, embarrassing overreach on behalf of people who have bullied their way to complete dominance of their spheres of influence within media and academe assuming they could do the same to everyone else. Some of its purveyors may have convinced themselves that getting students to admit complicity in privilege will prevent police shootings, sure. But I know these people. I’ve spoken to them at length. I’ve read their work. The vast, vast majority of them aren’t that stupid. The point is to exert control. The point is to make sure they stay in charge and that nothing changes. The point is failure.

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wiypt-writes · 4 years

Text

Riding On

Ch1: The Dog Of Thunder

Summary: Frank and Fliss attend their first scan and break the news of their pregnancy to their friends, whilst dealing with a troublesome Dog and a very, very concerned 8-almost-9 year old.

Warnings: Bad Language words.

Pairing: Frank Adler x OFC Fliss Gallagher

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Fliss Gallagher and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Riding On Masterlist // Main Masterlist

This ain’t some routine that I use every Friday, this ain’t a one line, one night kiss and tell…

February 2019

“For the last time Mary, no you can’t come!” Frank exasperatedly groaned as Mary once more asked him the question she’d been pecking his head with since dinner the previous day.

“Why not?”

“Because first off you have school and second off this is a medical appointment for Fliss.” He shook his head. “Not a day out!”

“But you’re going…” “Yeah because it’s my baby!” He looked at her, shaking his head “Why am I even explaining this to you? You’re going to school, end of discussion.”

Mary scowled at him and folder her arms. “That is so unfair.”

“Yeah well, so is life. Get used to it.”

“I only want to see the baby.” Mary said quietly, giving a little sigh. Frank paused, his coffee mug held a few inches from his mouth as he considered her for a second before he smiled softly.

“Me too Stack, I can’t wait.” He took a sip of his drink. “Look, I know you’re excited, we all are but you still can’t come.”

“Can’t come where?” Fliss asked, yawning as she walked into the kitchen, reaching into the cupboard for the waffles.

“The scan.” Frank took the packet off her and slid the plate of already toasted ones over to her. She grinned at him and took a huge bite of one.

“Sorry kiddo, but we’ll make sure we bring you a photo back.” she looked at Mary, before she turned and opened the fridge, pulling out the apple juice. Frank watched as she poured a large glass before she drained it in one. “What?” she frowned, “I’m thirsty”

“You hate apple juice.” Mary’s eyebrows raised a little.

Fliss glanced at Mary, then to the bottle on the side, then the empty glass in her hand “Huh…guess the baby doesn’t.” she mused.

“You feeling ok?” Frank asked, reaching out to curl an arm round her waist and no sooner had his fingers brushed her skin Thor let out a low, rumbling growl. Frank groaned and stared at the dog. “Seriously, pal? Still?”

“I don’t know what’s got into him.” Fliss shook her head, studying the dog as his lip curled back, exposing his sharp, bright white teeth. “I know he’s been protective over me in the past, but not with you.”

“It’s your hormones.” Mary supplied, as both Frank and Fliss turned their heads to her. “I googled it when he growled at Frank last night to see why he’s been doing it for so long and in the first three months you get all these hormones flooding your system and that’s why you get sick and tired because you’re not used to them. Some people say that dogs and pets can also sense it and it can affect them too until they understand it’s normal.” Frank blinked as besides him Fliss gave a chuckle “Mary, you’re a little brainbox.”

“It’s all on the internet.” Mary shrugged. “I was curious. According to one vet site that I looked on it can make female animals think they are pregnant too and the males feel like they have to protect their person.” “Well he needs to quit.” Frank looked at Thor. “Or he’ll be sleeping outside, predicted heavy rainfall or not.” Fliss narrowed her eyes at Frank and he shrugged. “What? Isn’t he supposed to be the God of Thunder, or should that be the Dog of Thunder…”

Mary let out a snort as Fliss glared at him. “You wouldn’t dare.” “Nope, he wouldn’t.” Mary grinned “When Fred was new he used to tell me he was gonna kick him out all the time.” “He shredded the sofa.” Frank looked at her.

“He was a baby.” Mary said, swallowing the last of her toast.

“Whatever. You done?”

“Yeah.”

“Good, go get your stuff I’ll walk you down to the bus stop.”

“I can go on my own…” Mary retorted.

“Did I ask for your opinion?”

“No.”

“Exactly.” Frank looked at her. “Make sure you get your jacket, it’s a little cold out.”

With a groan Mary pushed off her chair, carried her empty plate to the sink where she placed it inside and shuffled off. Fliss moved to put it in the dishwasher and when she straightened up, Frank looped his arms round her from behind, chin resting on her shoulder.

“Is it wrong that I’m already hoping Bean is a boy?” Frank sighed, his hand gently splaying over Fliss’ stomach, the pair of them ignoring the thunder-like growl coming from the very aptly named dog who was sat eyeing Frank beadily.

Fliss laughed, her hand falling on top of his. “Not quite sure you’ll cope with three girls, huh?”

“I’ll have lost all my hair by the time I’m 40.”

“You know, that’s only like two years away.” Fliss grinned, turning in his arms.

“Err, two years and a month, actually.” He narrowed his eyes at her playfully.

“Details.” She grinned as he placed a soft kiss to her lips, Thor’s growl growing even louder.

“Right, seriously?” He broke away to look at the dog who stared at him, Fliss’ laughter growing louder. The dog’s lip once more curled up in a snarl before he looked at Fliss when she spoke to him sternly.

“Thor, no.”

He stopped immediately, his tail wagging.

“I can’t cope with this for another six months every time I wanna touch you.” Frank wined and Fliss pondered something for a second.

“The Vet is coming to the yard today to do the routine visits. I’ll take him up there his afternoon, see if he has any advice.” She shrugged.

Frank nodded. “Ok.”

At that point Mary came back, her jacket on and her bag over her shoulder. “Ready.”

“Have a good day.” Fliss called as the two of them, headed to the door, Frank picking up his dark blue jacket as he went, Thor ambling behind.

“Oh, so now you’re my friend.” Frank mumbled, and the dog simply wagged his tail in response as Frank looked back at Fliss “It’s like he has a split personality!”

Fliss grinned as Frank shook his head once more and spoke to Thor as they headed out into the chilly morning sun.

“Fickle bastard.”

********* “Good morning!” Frank and Fliss both looked up as a woman in her mid to late forties swept into the consultation room, smiling at them both. “Miss Gallagher?”

“Yeah.” Fliss nodded.

“Hi I’m Dr Kent.” she smiled, “And you’re Dad I assume?” She turned to Frank.

“Sure am.” Frank smiled at her.

“Nice to meet you Mr…”

“Adler, please, call me Frank.” He smiled, shaking the woman’s hand.

“Ok so, I gather this is your first scan?”

Fliss nodded.

“And your notes say you estimate between 11 to 13 weeks is that correct?”

“Yeah.” Fliss nodded.

“Right, just a few questions and we’ll get on with it. How have you been? Is there anything worrying you?”

“Not really, I mean my morning sickness seems to come in waves.” Fliss shrugged “Some days I’m okay, some days I’m a little off colour for a few hours and then others it’s like full twenty-four hour sickness”

“Are you managing to keep hydrated?”

“Mostly” she nodded.

“Any trouble sleeping?” “No.” Fliss shook her head as Frank snorted.

“It’s keeping her awake that’s the issue.”

Fliss glared at him as the Doctor laughed. “Yes, tiredness is common in the first few months especially but you should feel most of this ease off between 16 to 20 weeks…at which point I hate to say it but you trade it for a whole other set of stuff.” “Great.” Fliss grumbled.

Doctor Kent smiled sympathetically and then clapped her hands together. “Right, you ready to see Baby…oh, is it Gallagher or Adler, or-”

“Adler.” both Frank and Fliss said at the same time. The both looked at one another, neither of them had discussed that at all, and they both gave a gentle as the Doctor nodded, switching on the machine.

“Ok, just lift your top up…yup, just like that and…this is gonna feel cold ok?” she asked, squeezing the gel onto Fliss’ stomach. Grabbing the wand she pressed it onto her belly, moving it around until she stopped and smiled, as the sound of their baby’s heartbeat suddenly hit their ears.

“Here we go.” The Doctor smiled, turning the screen to face them allowing both Frank, and Fliss to see their baby for the first time.

“Oh Frankie, look.” Fliss whispered, her head turned towards the screen as Frank took her hand in his, his gaze completely focussed on the shape. You could clearly make out it was a tiny human. A head, two arms, two legs. Frank felt his eyes mist over instantly as he saw his baby on the screen in front of him, somehow making all this seem so much more real. He could see it! He could hear it!

He looked at Fliss as she turned to face him, a dazed smile spreading across his face as he raised her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss to the place just underneath where their fingers were joined.

“Everything is perfect.” The Doctor spoke “I can’t see any abnormalities at all. Your baby is absolutely fine and healthy.”

Fliss let out the breath she had been holding and Frank squeezed her hand. They were through the most dangerous part and their baby was fine, it was all going to be perfectly fine.

And he couldn’t be more happy or relived.

“I estimate from this that you’re nearer thirteen weeks than eleven but it’s never exact.” The Doctor continued. “So I would predict a due date of…” she tapped at the keyboard and smiled at them both “21st August.”

She wiped Fliss’ stomach clean, allowing her to move her top back down before she stood up.

“You have any questions for me?” “Oh, erm…when am I likely to start showing?” Fliss asked. “I mean I’ve been putting on a bit of weight I know that as my jeans are a little tight but I can’t see much of a difference other than the fact it looks like-“

“There is nothing to be concerned about.” The doctor shook her head, smiling. “Everyone is different. Your lifestyle, muscle mass, weight are all contributing factors. Try not to worry about it too much, your baby is growing correctly and you’ll notice soon enough.”

Fliss pouted and Frank had to laugh. He knew what she was grumbling about. She’d complained the other day that her pants wouldn’t fasten and she was stood in front of the mirror moaning that it didn’t even look like a bump merely like she’d eaten a few too many pizzas. When Frank had pointed out she had been eating like a pig in all fairness, mainly chomping through McDonald’s fries, ready-made toasting waffles and apples like they were going out of fashion, she’d thrown a pillow at his head whilst he had run from the room laughing.

“I’ll just get sort you a copy of the photo and some information about the Lamaze classes and everything else and then you can be on your way. Congratulations.” The doctor smiled, as she headed for the door.

“Thirteen weeks.” Frank looked at Fliss as she up “That confirms it’s definitely a made in Boston Bean”

Fliss laughed as he stood up, kissing her cheek as he went, the pair of them stopping as her stomach let out a huge growl. Frank looked at her, his eyebrow raised before his hand fell to her stomach.

“Is Bean hungry?” “So is Mumma.” she grinned.

“Well that goes without saying.” he teased.

“Hey I’m cooking another person here, pal, it’s hungry work….oh, can we go to the Waffle house? I could murder a chocolate and strawberries special. And apple juice.” “We can go wherever you want.” he smiled. “I’m yours for the entire day.”

“Even H&M?”

Frank hesitated before he groaned “Fine.” He looked at her before he grinned cheekily “You do need some new jeans after all…” “Bastard!” she snorted, slapping his arm and he gave a laugh.

***** Frank parked the truck up and climbed out to shove a couple of bucks in the meter. When he came back he looked at Fliss who was leaning on the door, arms folded.

“You do this in purpose?”

“What?” He frowned.

She nodded to the store he had managed to park outside, and he turned to see he’d inadvertently picked a spot outside a little independent baby boutique called Bloomers.

“Fuck, no!” he laughed and Fliss gave him a grin as he took her hand. They both turned to head towards the Waffle place but Fliss hesitated as she looked through the window of the shop. Frank waited for her, a soft smile on his face. He’d been itching to buy the baby something but Fliss had point blank refused to allow him or anyone else to do so until they had the confirmation from the scan to tell her everything was okay. She’d confided in Frank that she didn’t want to edge her bets, she felt that everything was just going too perfect for them and she was waiting for something to come along and fuck it up.

Frank had tried to reason with her, tell her that she was worrying about nothing but she’d gotten herself so worked up that in the end it had been easier to appease her, but now…well, she held that confirmation that it was all ok in a little black and white photo in her purse. Their baby was fine, healthy and strong and…fuck, they were gonna be the proud parents to a tiny baby person in another six months or so.

“You wanna go in?” he asked. She turned to him with a grin and nodded.

Frank held the door open for her and they walked into the little boutique, the pair of them stopping still as they looked around. There was so much baby stuff, Frank started to feel a little overwhelmed and suddenly thrown back 9 years or so to when he had been in a similar shop with Diane when she’d been preparing to have Mary.

It struck him then how the two situations couldn’t have been more different. For starters they had the support of family behind them right from the off. Bill and Verity had been over the moon when they had found out Fliss was expecting, even if it had come as a bit of a surprise. More so because they hadn't been planning on revealing their news quite the way it came out. They'd agreed that they would announce their engagement first and get Christmas out of the way, for no particular reason really other than Fliss' brother would be over for New Years and they could tell the family together once they had broken the news to Mary first.

But, well, best laid plans and all that…

“Oh Lissy…” Verity gushed, tears in her eyes as she looked at Fliss’ ring “I’m so happy for you…”

“Thanks Mum!” Fliss smiled, her own tears spilling own her cheeks as Bill shook Frank’s hand furiously, before pulling him in for a manly hug.

“Thank you.” Bill muttered into his ear, so that no one could hear him. “Thank you for wanting to look after her.”

“Always.” Frank nodded as the man stepped back, smiling at him.

“Well, we need to crack that champagne open that we bought.” Verity pulled back.

“We have one in the fridge already.” Frank smiled. “We’ll save yours for later on with dinner.”

The champagne had been shared, Fliss having a small glass which she secretly topped up with a little lemonade so as not to spark too much suspicion, Mary also having a flute of fizzy apple juice before they settled down, exchanged gifts and then sat at the table for dinner. And all was going so well until Bill’s sharp eyes noticed Fliss wasn’t drinking wine.

“I’ve got a bit of a headache.” Fliss said, when he quizzed her about it, but even as she spoke she felt her cheeks flush.

“Right, you’re not pregnant then?” Bill snorted at his own joke.

“Oh Bill, stop it!” Verity nudged him, shaking her head.

Frank felt his neck beginning to warm as he glanced at Fliss, the pair of them trying to brush it off by smiling, but Bill’s eyes widened as he observed the pair of them and his mouth fell open “Jesus Christ you are.”

“What are you talking about?” Verity snorted “Of course she’s…” she trailed off as Fliss locked eyes with her and gave a sigh.

“We didn’t’ want to tell you yet, not until Steve was here and we’d spoken to Mary.”

“You’re having a baby?” Mary looked at Fliss, her eyes wide “Frank’s baby?”

“Well who else’s would it be?” Frank looked at Mary. She narrowed her eyes at him and he shook his head “We wanted to tell you first Stack, but we we’re gonna wait until after Christmas and we’d had a few days ourselves to get used to the idea...” “Few days?” Verity whispered and Fliss glanced at her mum whose hand had flown to her mouth, her eyes brimming with tears “When did you find out?”

“Yesterday morning.” Fliss said softly. “I didn’t tell Frank until the evening.”

“I’m sorry Titch…” Bill spluttered, his eyes also misting over said, “I didn’t for one second think you actually would be…”

With that he pushed his chair back and strode round to the other side of the table, Fliss rising to her feet to greet him in one of his famous bear hugs as he kissed her cheek before she turned to her mum who embraced her gently, sniffling as she did so.

When Verity released Fliss, she turned to Frank who was currently having his own back slapped once again by Bill before he turned just in time to see Mary was stood on her chair, but before he could tell her to sit down she’d launched herself at him.

“Oh my God this is so cool!” she said as Frank chuckled, catching her and then adjusting his arms so she was safely held “A baby?”

“Yeah…”

She turned to Fliss who moved towards the two of them, Frank shifting slightly as Mary leaned back in his arms to place hers round Fliss’ neck before he smiled at his girl as she turned back to her parents.

“We know it might be a bit sudden.” She began, her hands wringing together like they always did when she was a bit nervous. “And no it wasn’t planned- my bad, and yes, maybe we should have been married first but we’re happy and excited and…”

“Basically I gave her a diamond, she gave me a positive pregnancy test in return.” Frank kissed her cheek, cutting her ramblings off because he could tell she was spiralling. And there was no need to. Not one person in the room had reacted badly to their news.

“Fair swap I suppose.” Bill shrugged, his eyes shining. “No, it’s great news…it really…”

He trailed off shrugging, unable to find anything else to say. There was a moment’s silence before Mary let out a chuckle as she leaned back in Frank’s arms to look at him, her hands squishing his cheeks.

This is the best Christmas EVER!”

Frank had been overwhelmed with how much love and joy had filled the room for something that was barely the size of a bean at that point. He’d called his mother later on in the evening as Fliss had said it was only fair and to his surprised she’d sounded quite emotional when he told her, a stark contrast to how she’d received the news of Diane’s pregnancy. But then, as Frank had said to Fliss later on as they lay in bed, the Evelyn he was getting to know now was certainly different in his eyes to the woman she had been back then. Fliss had made a good point that it probably wasn’t completely down to Evelyn changing per-say, but also how he was viewing her as well.

But, then, how could things not be different after everything they had been through?

He glanced over as Fliss tugged on his hand and began to lead him over to the various displays of clothing. He tossed a glance at one of the strollers that was in the middle of the store on a slightly raised plinth, doing a double take when he saw the price tag.

“How much?” he spluttered and Fliss turned to look at him, then the offending item and gave a soft laugh

“Yeah, they’re not cheap…but we don’t need to worry about that yet, or cribs and stuff. To be fair we should probably be more concerned with where we’re gonna live.”

“Yeah I know.” Frank took a deep breath.

“Hey.” Fliss looked at him. “Frank it’s not a problem…” “Yeah you said.” His tone was a little brusque and she frowned.

“What’s the matter?”

“I just don’t like the idea of them not having their own room. I did that with Mary and I want this to be right.” “Frank, it’s not a big deal.” Fliss smiled “Mary turned out ok and Bean will be in our room for a while anyway, we have plenty of time.” “I know but I’d still rather be able to move beforehand if we can.” he shrugged.

“Why?” She pressed.

“Because I want them to have a Nursery.” he pressed, flushing slightly “I’d like to decorate one for them…stuff I should have done for Mary.”

“And you can.” Fliss reached up to cup his cheek “Frank, it isn’t the be all and end all though. No one’s gonna think any less of you if there isn’t one ready and waiting. Certainly not my parents.” “Who says that’s what…” he trailed off when she shot him a knowing look and he sighed “Busted?” “Well and truly.”

“I know you’re right.” He chewed the inside of his cheek, “But it can’t hurt to give the landlord a call and explain can it? You never know, he might be happy to let us out of our lease early. It was me that pushed for a long term one after all.”

Fliss shrugged “Nope, you’re right it can’t hurt…” she stopped as something caught her eye and she started laughing “Oh my god, Frankie look…”

She picked up a baby grow that was a pale, lemon yellow colour with a white sailboat on the front. “A mini sailor.”

Frank snorted. “If you get that we need one with a horse on the front to balance it out, seeing as we don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet.” “Hey, girls can sail and boys can ride.” Fliss narrowed her eyes “Stop being sexist.”

At that he let out a loud laugh, a really loud laugh, which caused the assistant to look over at them both.

“I’m getting it.” Fliss nodded, definitively, picking it up.

“I’ll buy it.” Frank smiled gently, reaching for it.

“Why?”

“Fliss, don’t start! Let me buy my baby’s first stuff, please.” She cocked her head to one side, and he thought she was going to argue again but then that gorgeous smile spread across her face and she handed it to him.

“You’re such a softie.” She leaned up to give him a gentle kiss. They browsed for a bit longer, before her stomach let out another growl and Frank decided enough was enough. He gently began to lead her over to the till when she pulled on his hand again and grinned as she picked up a pair of tiny white Converse trainers

“They match Mary’s.”

“Yeah, and at almost thirty bucks they can stay matching on the shelf.” He grumbled.

“Bean needs them.”

“No, Bean doesn’t need them.” He rolled his eyes.

“Does.” Fliss bat her eyelashes at him as her hand fell to her stomach, gently rubbing over her T-shirt.

“Is this how it’s gonna be? Basically every time I say no to something you’re gonna play this card?” he looked at her, his eyebrow raising.

“Pretty much.” she nodded.

“Fucks sake.” He shook his head before he let out an annoyed chuckle, “Fine, get the damned sneakers.”

*****

After a bite to eat they headed home to get Thor and took him up to the yard. Before the Vet started his routine examinations of the horses, Fliss asked if there was anything they could do to make Thor more comfortable. After seeing first-hand what they were trying to describe when Frank had dropped an arm round her shoulder, the Vet had suggested they could give the dog a mild sedative. But when Frank had realised that this would make him dopey, he had refused almost as vehemently as Fliss had. He knew it wasn’t Thor’s fault he was feeling the way he was, plus if Frank was honest, he liked the way he knew the dog would protect Fliss. Okay so she didn’t need it at home but it was comforting to know when he wasn’t there that she was safe.

“Other than that it’s a case of riding it out.” Scott, the vet shrugged. “Our dog was a little off for about 4 months when my wife was expecting our first. For our second and third, well, he couldn’t care less.”

Frank looked at Fliss. “So he only needs a kennel for a few weeks then.” “My dog is NOT living in a kennel.” Fliss shot over her shoulder as she followed the vet over to the first stable which was Cap’s, Thor trotting behind her as always. “Oh, can you grab me a water from the office?” “Sure.” Frank nodded as Fliss carried on after the vet who entered the stall and Cap immediately looked at him suspiciously.

“He remembers from last year.” Scott chuckled and Fliss let out a snort.

“Probably. I wish he’d take a leaf out of Heidi’s books. She’s such a good girl for stuff like this.” Fliss slipped the halter over Cap’s head, gently stroking his nose as the vet felt all down his legs and listened to his heart. By the time Frank reappeared the Vet was checking Cap’s eyes then his ears and Fliss had a hold of the rope connected to his halter, wrapped once around his nose to keep control of him.

“Stop…being…an…ass…” She said as he jerked his head up again, attempting to get out of the vet’s reach. “Come on Cap…” She stroked his nose softly and he lowered his head, giving her a filthy look as he did so. The Vet then managed to check his teeth which were fine and moved back to his bag to retrieve his kit for the annual vaccination shot.

“Erm…” Scott looked at Fliss. “I’m not sure it’s wise you being here if he’s gonna go mad like he did last year.” His eyes flicked down to her stomach. Fliss hesitated and Frank could see she was about to tell the Vet where to get off when he cut in.

“Honey, he’s right.”

She turned to face him, glaring at him and he met her stare with one of his own, completely unperturbed and unwilling to back down. When she realised this she rolled her eyes.

“Fine, I’ll get Joanne.” She grumbled, opening the stable door and stalking past him.

Frank let out a noise that was halfway between a sigh and a groan. Scott chuckled a little and looked at him. “She’ll get used to it. Not being able to do certain things, I mean.” Frank snorted “I’m not so sure. She’s so damned headstrong…that’s why she likes him so much.” he nodded to the black and white horse in question “Kindred spirits.” A couple of minutes later Fliss came back, Joanne following and the blonde girl headed into the stall, taking hold of the rope.

“We may as well go.” Fliss turned to Frank. He frowned.

“You don’t want to stay?” “What’s the point, I’m not needed.” Her tone was clipped and Frank exchanged a look with Joanne who rolled her eyes

“Fliss, no one said that. You just you need to be a little bit more careful…” Joanne tried to appease her but Fliss was having none of it. “I can be careful at home.” She snapped and then turned to Frank “Can we go?”

“Sure.” Frank shrugged.

“Call me if there’s anything I need to know, otherwise I’ll see you tomorrow.” Fliss said without looking at Joanne as she left.

Frank shot Joanne an apologetic look as he followed Fliss out of the barn and towards the truck.

“Was that really necessary?” he asked.

“Was what necessary?” she yanked the door to the truck open to let Thor hop into the back.

“You know full well what.” he looked at her as she slammed the door shut and move to the passenger one. “There was no need to speak to Joanne like that, she didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, no one did anything wrong.”

“Other than telling me I can’t do my job.” Came the retort as Fliss sank into the passenger seat, once more slamming the door shut.

“No one is saying you can’t do your job, just that for a little while you need to be careful.” He shook his head as he climbed in after her. “. You can’t ride and you can’t put yourself in a position where you might get hurt.”

Fliss folded her arms across her chest, staring out of the front window sullenly. “So basically I can’t do my job, like I just said…” “You own and manage the stables.” Frank felt his temper starting to flare a little as he drove the truck down the drive to the road.

“I’m well aware of that thank you!” “So own and manage then, Fliss!” he said loudly. Behind them on the back seat Thor began to growl at his raised voice.

“I do!” she blazed back, “What kind of stupid comment is that?”

“No, you do everything.” he snapped back, shaking his head, ignoring the dog. “You promoted Joanne so that you could take a step back and for a while you did, but then it all started creeping back up again and you took more of that control back. You took the classes you gave her back, you still insist on being there most mornings to open and close up! The whole point of you giving her more responsibility was so that you could concentrate on teaching and the management side.” Fliss looked at him, before she turned away, staring out of the window as Thor’s growls died down. She knew Frank was right, she had started taking bits of tasks back off Joanne. Not on purpose, not really, but because she felt like she should be doing more. She didn’t like feeling out of control, not after spending so long being forced to be for no particular reason other than her ex was an abusive ass hole.

“Honey I get it.” Frank sighed, as he saw her reach up to wipe her eyes. “It’s your business, but that doesn’t mean you have to be on the front lines all the time. Look at Alan, I see him max once a month, the rest of the time he leaves it to me and the other team leaders to run. That’s the whole point!” “I know.” Fliss said quietly. “I’m a control freak, I get it…guess I spent so much time not being in control of my life and my career I just…”

Frank took a deep breath his hand reaching out for hers. Once more ignoring the dog on the back seat he tangled his fingers into hers and raised his hand to her mouth, pressing his lips softly to her wrist.

“Being driven isn’t a bad thing, sweetheart.” he said softly “In fact it’s one of the things that attracted me to you in the first place. But, certainly for the next few months you need to just step back, let others do the work for you. You can still boss them about from the side lines.” “I don’t boss-“ she started and he looked at her eyebrow raised and she let out a chuckle. “Okay, maybe I do a little.” “And you’re entitled to.” He smiled. “Look, I don’t want to tell you what to do and I have no intentions of making you stop work or anything like that but, well, it’s not just you now, you got Bean to think about and I worry ok?” “I know, I’m sorry.”

“Me too. I didn’t mean to snap.”

Apologies accepted and World War Three avoided, Frank smiled at her and she smiled back as he let go of her hand so he could turn the truck up the lane onto the freeway.

“So…” he said, changing the subject “How do you want to tell the Circle of Truth our news.” She grinned and turned to look at him “I had an idea…” Turns out her idea was simple. Giggling to themselves once they go home they arranged the scan photo, the baby-grow and the trainers on the dining table, snapped a photo and fired it out to the group text accompanied simply by the words “Coming August 2019…”

Immediately both their phones started to ring, Greg was on to Frank, and Bonnie onto Fliss. Whilst Greg was slightly more reserved, Bonnie was almost screaming in excitement demanding to know all the details.

“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!” she scoffed and Fliss smiled. “We didn’t tell anyone other than family.” she said “With everything that has happened I was so scared something might go wrong. You’re not cross are you?”

“Cross, no of course not! This is amazing!” Bonnie gushed “So, what happened first, you gotta tell me…the proposal or finding that out?”

Fliss beamed “No, Frank proposed before he knew. Which makes me even happier because he wanted me to marry him because of me, not out of any duty or feeling it was the right thing to do.”

“Of course he wanted to marry you.” Bonnie scoffed “That goes without saying. Oh I’m so excited, I can’t wait.”

Bonnie’s reaction paled into insignificance to Roberta’s. When they collected Mary from the school bus they told her that she could go and tell Roberta the news she’d been dying to tell her since Christmas, so she skipped ahead, banging on the woman’s door. When Mary blurted out Fliss was pregnant and Frank passed her the scan photo she paused for a moment before her head raised to look at them both and she burst into tears and it took them a good half an hour to calm her down. Once she’d assured them she was fine and couldn’t wait for unofficial Nanny duties, the three of them headed home where they decided that Pizza was on the menu for the evening. Along with waffles for Fliss, of course.

After stuffing their faces they sat on the sofa, the scan photo placed on the coffee table, Frank catching Mary looking at it every so often. When it hit 8 pm and he told her it was time for bed, she grumbled as usual until Frank shot her a look and she sighed dramatically, shuffling to the edge of the seat she had been occupying between them both.

She glanced at the scan photo before she turned to Fliss and looked at her.

“I really am happy you’re having a baby.” She smiled “It’s been so hard not telling everyone at school, especially Rosie.”

Fliss smiled at her and Frank reached out, rubbing Mary’s back. “Well you can tell who you want now Stack.” “You know you’re gonna have to stop calling me that.” She turned to look at him “Because when Bean is born, it’s gonna be the shortest one out of us all.” “You’ll always be short stack to me.” Frank smirked. “Or I could change it to squirt, or pain-in-the-ass…” “You’re so lame.” Mary rolled her eyes.

Frank gave a sarcastic laugh. “ha ha ha.”

“Can Rosie come for dinner on Friday?” She suddenly looked at Fliss, and Fliss immediately glanced at Frank. They’d heard a lot about the girl from Mary, and Bonnie had said they were thick as thieves at school which pleased Frank, the fact that she was actually forging proper friendships but she’d never asked them if she could have a friend over.

“Of course.” Fliss nodded. “You can ask her tomorrow and then I can speak to her mom if you want? Maybe she can sleep over?” “Hmmm.” Mary thought about it “I’m not sure about that, but dinner would be good.”

Frank looked at Fliss again “What aren’t you sure about?”

She shrugged “I dunno, I kinda like my own time in the evening.” “What are you, ninety?” Frank looked at her and she glared at him.

“Shut up.”

“She can come for dinner.” Fliss cut across what was threatening to spark into a childish tit-for-tat insult trading game “Ask her tomorrow and then I’ll speak to her mom okay?”

“How will you speak to her mom?” “I’ll call her.” “Do you have her number?” “No but you can get it for me.” Fliss looked at Mary “Or I’ll come pick you up and catch her at School…” “Stop worrying about stuff…” Frank said exasperatedly “We’ll sort it ok? Now come on, bed!”

Mary stood up and she looked once more at the scan photo “Is it wrong that I already love the baby, like loads?”

“No, it’s not wrong.” Fliss smiled at her.

“I mean know it’s like just my cousin and not my brother or sister or anything but…” Mary trailed off shrugging. “Hey.” Fliss looked at her, frowning slightly as she reached out to tuck Mary’s now quite long hair behind her ear, “It’s not just your cousin. Bean’s gonna be living with you, looking up to you, annoying the hell out of you, following you…and they’re gonne love you, learn from you…you’ll be just the same as a big sister.”

Marry nodded and turned to hug Fliss, then to Frank who pulled her onto his lap, kissing her forehead.

“I know you’re only my Uncle but I really wish you were my dad.” Mary said, her voice quiet. Frank looked at Fliss, swallowing as his girl wore a look on her face that he had no words to describe other than one of utter heartbreak and love as her eyes sprang with tears and he felt his own water.

“Only your Uncle?” he said, his voice cracking as he attempted to make a joke “Charming…” “You know what I mean.” Mary shrugged.

Frank sighed. It was the first time Mary had ever said anything like that to him. She’d made a comment in the past about wishing Fliss was her mom which hadn’t been repeated since. If truth be told, he felt uneasy labelling himself as her father. Granted, a lot of people automatically assumed he was, and if they weren’t people he knew, or would meet again, he didn’t bother correcting them because it wasn’t needed. Fliss had told him time and time again, no matter how much he hated it, he was Mary’s father by-proxy, even if she didn’t call him that, and he got that yes, but he still wanted Mary to know about Diane, even if he had brought her up. For that reason, he would never be referred to as her father, nor would she ever call him Dad, but he’d love her like he was every single day of his life.

“Look…” He sighed, pulling back to look down at her. “I promised I’d always look after you…well, until I get too old and you put me in a nursing home.” at that she laughed a little “Isn’t that what a dad does?”

Mary nodded “Yeah…”

“So what’s really eating you, Stack?” He asked softly, he could see that she wasn’t completely placated.

“When the baby comes…you’re not gonna love me any less are you?” She asked, looking at him.

“Fuck, no!” Frank blurted out, at the same time Fliss exclaimed

“Of course not!”

Frank shook his head “Mary, I couldn’t love you any more if I tried, regardless of whether you were actually my kid or not. And Fliss feels the same.” “Of course I do.” Fliss looked at her

“So please don’t worry about that or think that for a single second, okay?”

“Okay.” She sniffed, before she grinned at Frank “You said the F word.”

“Yeah, well you drove me to it.” he shrugged “And here’s another swear for you. If I ever hear stupid shit like that come outta your mouth again…there’s gonna be real trouble. You have nothing to worry about. I promise you from the bottom of my heart. Lissy too.”

Fliss nodded “I already tell the people I work with when they ask who the girl is on the website that she’s my Mary”

“You do?”

“Course.” she nodded, “Because you are.”

Mary took a deep breath before she nodded “Okay. Can I watch TV in my room for a while?”

Frank sighed “Twenty minutes, max…”

Mary nodded and then looked at him again. “Can I take the photo of Bean for my wall?”

“We were gonna stick it on the fridge, so we can all share it.” Frank looked at her “But tell you what, you take it tonight and then we’ll make a copy for you to keep.”

“Can I take my copy to school?”

“You can stick it on your head for all I care.” Frank shrugged.

“Well that’s just dumb.” She scoffed, hopping down off his knee. Fliss and Frank watched her leave before Frank looked at Fliss, letting out a deep breath.

“Do you think she feels left out, already?” “No.” Fliss said, shaking her head “She’s just a little concerned things are going to change for her, and I understand why Frank. Stuff is gonna change around here, there’s no denying that and it’s going to be strange for her. Especially as she’s had so many changes to put up with over the last eighteen months. You know, she had you to herself for so long and then I turned up, and then I moved in and suddenly there’s a wedding and a baby on the way. It’s happened fast and-“ “Too fast?” Frank looked at Fliss, his face betraying his worry and Fliss shook her head.

“No, not at all. I love you, and I have no doubt I want to spend the rest of my life with you and yes, this baby wasn’t planned but, I’m happy. All I’m saying is that it’s been a huge thing for us, and we’re adults. For an almost nine year old then it’s bound to be overwhelming.” “I just don’t want her to worry about her ever having to leave us again.” he sighed. “Or that I’m gonna replace her with my actual kid…”

“She doesn’t.” Fliss assured him. “Not really. Look, try not to think about it too much okay? Let’s enjoy this you know? It’s scary, really scary, but it’s also exciting!” “Yeah, yeah it is…” Frank smiled and shifted slightly, his hand reaching out to Fliss’ stomach as he placed a tender kiss to her lips.

And right on cue the thunder once more rumbled from Thor’s throat.

**** Chapter 2

#riding on #frank adler #frank adler x ofc #frank adler x original female character #gifted #gifted fan fic #chris evans #chris evans characters

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epinosicc · 3 years

Text

This is going to be quite chaotic, but this is something I wrote late one stormy July night about my life this far and how I’ve realized my problems

Okay it’s around midnight where I’m at so it’s time to rant instead of sleeping because I’m a minor and I have ✨issues✨

I tend to think more than what’s probably considered healthy, mostly because I do t have people to talk to. Don’t get me wrong, I have friends, but I don’t know what they’re doing and I don’t want to burden them with my stupid problems. So like any sane person I write my problems on the internet.

I usually think about the weird things when it’s raining. It’s something about the sound and feeling of rain that makes me more content, which makes me think. Now, I don’t have any big problems by any means. I’m simply figuring myself and my life out.

First of all, my previously mentioned friends. I trust them, of course, but at the same time I don’t. And like many who think to much and have a strange amount of self-awareness, I think I know why that is. When I first started going to school, I was confident. I’d already had friends before and thought I knew how to make new ones. The problem with that is that said friends did not go to my school, so I was alone. Until I met my first two friends. They were very nice to me, we played together and got along. The thing that I started noticing though was that if me and one of them arrived at school around the same time and out third friend wasn’t there yet we’d get along great, but as soon as that third friend arrived I’d get ditched in favour of them. And that would obviously hurt me. But we resolved it (not really) and things were going fine. But that experience stuck with me. It was my first taste of loneliness and abandonment (dramatic much?) and it made me doubt myself. I thought that maybe, just maybe, there was something about me that they didn’t like.

Now jump ahead about two years and I was alone Every. Single. Recess. (Oh shit it storming outside right now and some thunder sounded like a bomb) Obviously this only made me feel worse about myself. I just remember being so desperate for some sort of connection with someone. And I got one. I started talking to this person, I’ll call them Bird, and we got along great. Pretty soon Bird was my best and we spent a lot of our time together. I was still sort of friends with the two other people, at least during lessons, and sometimes during recess, but not that much otherwise.

Jump ahead a bit more, another year or so, and my class changed. At my school my class and another (same age as us) we’re combined into one. In this class that we were combined with there were a few new people, one of whom stuck out. Mostly because they didn’t like me, and they weren’t exactly discreet in letting me know. They never said so to my face, but they made it quite clear in how they acted towards me. This also made me feel bad. Is there really something so wrong with me that others couldn’t help but dislike me for it? Can I fix it? What do it that makes me different? (At the current point in my life I’m fairly certain I know what it is so yeah. Fun)

Now, I’d always cared a fair bit about school. I was taught that education was important, and if I was going to spend hours at school I might as well use that time for something, be it academically of socially. So when those around me started caring less about their education and more about things such as appearance and social hierarchy and relationships, I was confused. Why would they just not care? HOW could they just not care? Now, I’m not saying that any of the previous things are necessarily bad things to care about. In fact, ist great! Being invested in your social life and how others view you can be nurturing and make you feel fulfilled. But too much of anything can be bad. Letting yourself care about only those things can be harmful in more ways than one. I’ve never particularly cared about those things; I don’t like dressing up or making myself look good for others. I don’t value others validation of my appearance. What I didn’t notice was that as I believed these thoughts, I started eating less.

But things are still pretty chill. I still struggle with what’s wrong and what makes me different, but that’s fine. I’m pretty sure everyone goes through that at some point in our lives. But now I’m starting to find some answers. I don’t really care much for my appearance or style, I like academic things, I’m starting to fall behind in my social development, people are becoming more bold in stating their opinions, people are more hateful and spread misinformation etc etc (there’s a fucking mosquito who won’t leave me alone fuck off please). And at this point I’m more invested in the online world. But the international online world, not my national online world if that makes sense. English isn’t my first language but I learned it from the internet/YouTube and it’s basically my second language at this point. I learned English for English content creators, and I continued following them, not the ones relevant in my home/country. So I was and still am kind of out of the loop on current influencer events here in the North. This ties in with what I thought to be the answer to my questions: the LGBTQIA+ Community.

I started finding creators from the LGBT+ and I related to them and their stories. But I didn’t think I was one of them. People at school were not afraid to boldly proclaim that being LGBTQ+ was wrong and bad and strange. That there was something inherently rotten about such people. Now, did I agree with that? No. But I let it influence to the point were I thought that others being LBGTQ+ was fine, but me being that wasn’t. I wasn’t aloud to be one of them because there wasn’t supposed to be something wrong with me. But there was something, in the back of my mind, some part of me that knew. That knew who I am and that being me was fine. Too bad that voice wasn’t loud enough.

I still had Bird with me. Granted, they also had other friends, but they still stayed by my side. And they didn’t change like others did. My two first friends are people I also grew closer to at this time. I put our “situation” behind me and ignored it. It was a new chapter of my life, one where thing were changing in the right direction. Too bad I wasn’t too good at reading maps.

At this point I’m in sixth (6th) grade, the worst grade/period/time of my life thus far. After summer break people had changed a lot. Not just socially, but physically as well. We started to mature, we were lite tiny birds, looking out of the nest and thinking about how to take flight and reach above the branches of expectations and reach the clouds of ambition. But some of us didn’t. We didn’t want to start using our wings. At most we took a little peek out of our nest and divided that was enough for now. We began to grow frightened of others and their strange ideas of leaving what we knew was safe. I’m We for those wondering.

I started struggling with anxiety, I couldn’t stand in front of people without being scared and had a few panic attacks during presentations. People would look at me weirdly and I grew paranoid of what was wrong with me. At this point I started eating even less, resigning myself to one potion per meal, and no snacks, sometimes skipping lunch. Once again some of my friends that I had at this point started drifting away from me but now the rest, and I started trusting them even less. I can’t help but think that they’re only pitying me, that they’re going to leave and that they do thing behind my back. There was also someone else who had a big influence on me.

I, along with Bird started hanging around this person, we’ll call them Pen. They were sort of new, they’d always been in our class but had been living abroad for eight (8) months and had just come back. At first things were great. Bird, Pen and I were our own little trio of friends. But soon a change occurred. Pen started getting more clingy, staying uncomfortably close at times and never staying out of our personal space. Bird ended up taking the initiative with one of our other mutual friends and had long talk with Pen which sort of ended their friendship. At first they’d all handled it alone but then Pen involved their parents and thing went downhill. But I wasn’t part of it. Which made Pen hang on to me even more. I could never get away from them, it always felt like they were breathing down my neck. I didn’t tell them this though, they just lost two friends and they must be hurt from it, seeking comfort from someone they still considered a friend. I was uncomfortable, but I felt bad for them, so I continued being around them. Something my teachers had realized at this point was that I tend to take responsibility for other and their actions, and told me that I should try to relax and talk to them as I had seemingly started to become overwhelmed. But I don’t tell others my problems so I didn’t take their help. This kind of escalated a bit next grade.

Grade seven (7) was not my best year but also not my worst. I spent summer break reflecting and thinking, and started to value myself a bit more. I started hanging out with friends more often (usually Bird), and started unintentionally ignoring Pen. Though sometimes, I think it was intentional, as the very thought of Pen at this point made me anxious and uneasy. I thought I could simply let Pen hang around with me, and then let them get their own new friend group. I didn’t want them to only hang around me, it was honestly a bit scary how much I dreaded being around them. The feeling that something was off or wrong around them wouldn’t go away. They didn’t leave me though. No; I became their sole friend whom they refused to leave. In seventh (7th) grade our class was split, with me and Bird being in different classes. I had some friends in my new class though andere became a group. I thought I could nudge Pen to become part of this group. Except that Pen didn’t interact or contribute to the relationship. They weren’t social enough with the group to become part of it, standing in the group only to follow me. And my teachers noticed this and spoke to me. I told them how I was uncomfortable around Pen, and how I would like to not have to sit close to them next time we switched we seats (done every few weeks or so). Teachers agreed. But didn’t follow through. They sat me Right. Next. To. Pen. I confronted them about this. They lied to me. Their reasoning was that one of Pen’s parents had told the teachers how Pen only felt comfortable around me, and that they would like for us to be together at school as much as possible.

I was horrified at this - I couldn’t be held responsible for another students comfort, grades and social life! They basically put all the responsibilities of the teachers - making sure students felt comfortable, helping with schoolwork when needed, making sure the student had friends in the class - on me! I was basically supposed to play friend, teacher and class for Pen! I honestly couldn’t believe it, and told my friends. They told me they understood completely - they could see how emotionally and mentally exhausted I was from taking care of Pen, studying, after school activities and being around people that they were concerned about my well being. They, too, had tried to get Pen to become part of the group, but when only one person is taking care of the ship you can’t expect it to sail. They also felt uncomfortable around Pen. My anxiety only got worse because of this, and I started becoming paranoid that Pen was always watching me, either through my phone or my windows. I could not get myself to relax, not even when totally alone, something I’ve always enjoyed and felt comfortable with.

And at the end of grade seven (7), it happened. I found out that Pen was switching schools. I feel guilty admitting it, but I felt so relieved and free when I found out. Finally, I thought, finally I would get some privacy. All of my other friends are aware of my boundaries: don’t touch me unless I’m ready and aware of it, give me some space, don’t force me to talk when I’m anxious etc. They know, respect and treat me well, and in turn I treat them well and respect their boundaries, but Pen didn’t seem to understand that no, I don’t want you to stand so close to me that I can literally feel you body heat.

So grade eight (8) rolls around and I so does a certain unspecified virus. We therefore had to have school online. For me this was a blessing. I don’t enjoy being around people for too long and I don’t ever want to deal with my classmates bs. The teachers even commented on several occasions that I seemed much happier, which I was considering I didn’t have someone constantly breathing down my neck. And now I start to drift away from Bird. I always considered Bird my absolute closest friend. Almost like a sibling. And now we were drifting apart. We both started walking our own paths, still close together but different in so many ways. We’re still friends to this day, but I don’t think our friendship is going to last until we’re adults anymore. It’s sort of sad, but it is natural. We are both starting to forge our own paths in life, our own docks from which we will eventually set sail from to explore the limitless blue beyond that is life. And one day we might even meet again on some distant island, reconnecting and sharing stories of calm blue oceans to storming black waters. But that will happen with time. For now, I’m content finding materials for my dock with my group of friends, sharing ideas for designs and unfinished blueprints of a distant future. I’m content staring at that great far away horizon painted in the colors of pink, magenta and blue, watching the clouds of today’s events and feeling the winds of tomorrow’s surprises whilst thinking of what one day might be.

TL;DR: I rant about my life and somehow become a poet at the end.

End note - I still struggle with trust and anxiety. I don’t have problems with how my body looks anymore and I don’t confine myself to strict diets and eating schedules. Part of me feels guilty about my situation with Pen, and one part of me feels relieved and happy that I don’t have to deal with them anymore. I’m smart enough and self aware enough to realize my problems and their causes, and I have the tools to craft my solutions. I’m doing good, and know how to keep doing good, at least for a little while more.

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