#i remembered why i abandoned the blog i haTE THE GRAMMAR I HAVE TO USE

[sweetcurlyhaz]

Percy Jackson is an Hufflepuff- Part 1

Yes. Percy is an Hufflepuff, and now I’ll explain why. First, some brief introductions: English isn’t my first language, so sorry for my grammar errors. Pls be kind. Second, this is MY opinion, but I’ll argue with solid proofs, taking scenes from the books, comparing characters and more. Let’s go step by step.

-Why Percy is not a Ravenclaw? I really have to explain this? I think we all agree that Percy could never be a Ravenclaw.

-Why Percy is not a Slytherin? Oh, here we go. A lot of ppl think Percy is a Slytherin and I’m always like “WHAT”. And now I’ll show you why Percy could never be a Slytherin.

1- I think the best proof is in the Sea of Monsters, where at the end Percy give the Golden Fleece to Clarisse. We all know that Percy save the situation, that HE take the Golden Fleece, that HE saved Clarisse’s ass. Despite that, he gave the G.F. to Clarisse, who took all the credit. A Slytherin would never do that, a true Slytherin, already wouldn’t help Clarisse (not because Slytherin can’t be kind, but surely they’re not with ppl they don’t like), and above all wouldn’t give his/her own glory to Clarisse. Percy’s altruism, kindness and true sense of justice overcome his pride, glory and power. Is it just me that think about of our lovely Cedric Diggory? I mean, is almost the exact thing that Cedric does with Harry: he says to him to take the goblet fire instead of him. Percy does the same.

2- When he refuses to be a god. THIS. I mean, how Hufflepuff is this? What kind of Slytherin refuses a thing like that? I’ll tell you, NONE. Percy thinks about how wonderful should be being almighty, powerful, and immortal. BUT, he can’t abandon his friends and family. He could never do that, and this is so Hufflepuff, right? For Percy, family and friends always come first. In reverse, a Slytherin would take this chance because they are AMBITIOUS and they want to be POWERFUL (hear me out, this is not a bad thing at all). PERCY IS NOT AMBITIOUS, or he would have accepted to be a god! Also, what Percy ask to the gods, instead of being one? “all demigods have to be recognized, and all the minor gods should have a cabin at CHB.” His request is SO humble and SO unselfish that only an Hufflepuff could ask that.

3- His fatal flaw: loyalty. We all know that a main characteristic of being an Hufflepuff is loyalty, and that’s said all. But I’m a good person so I’ll explain this even if there’s no need, and also I’m sure someone could say “EvEN SLyThERin cAN be LoYAl”. Yeah, you’re right. BUT Slytherin’s loyalty is a lot different. Their loyalty is limited only to a small group of friends, and also if their friends affect their goals, a Slytherin is no more loyal to them. Example: Regulus Black. At first he’s loyal to Voldemort, because he truly thinks he’s right. But when he realize the means Voldy uses, Regulus goes against him (we love you Reg). His no more loyal because Voldemort’s behavior go against Regulus’ beliefs. Now, Percy (thanks to the gods) is a good person and has a straight moral on what’s wrong and what’s right. But have you ever think how dangerous he could be if he was evil? I mean, if someone dare to touch an hair of Annabeth he could loose his freaking mind. Evil Percy could be really a problem because his loyalty goes first of his other beliefs. He would do anything to protect his friends, anything.

Another example: let’s analyze the relationship of Percy and Nico. We all agree that Nico is an ambiguous character. He tries to kill Percy, than helps him, the lies to him, and more. I mean, he is the last character to be loyal to, right? But Percy still have faith on him, he’s still loyal to him. Percy asks Nico to bring the seven at the other side, and never doubts on him. A Slytherin would never place  such responsibility on a character like Nico (I love Nico, but that’s the true). This loyalty, deep and irrational, can only be of an Hufflepuff.

4-Another proof (there are A LOT) why Percy isn’t a Slytherin: he doesn’t want to be powerful. I write this before in the second point, but I have another proof from The House of Hades. Do you remember when he controls poison against the goddess of discord? Okay, at first he likes what that power makes him feel, he doesn’t want to stop. But when he sees Annabeth’s face he calms down. So, this thing with poison is a new power for him: but he never uses it. Remember when, under the sea with Jason, he says something like “I could have controlled the poison, but I didn’t. It was the goddess’ revenge and I deserve it.” A Slytherin wouldn’t have such problem, they would use this new power on their favor. But Percy’s sense of justice overcome the feeling of power, even if he likes it somehow.

5-I saw that a lot of ppl think Percy is a Slytherin because of the cunning thing. English is not my first language and I have never heard this word before. So I did some researches: cunning is another way to say “smart” “clever” “sly”. Is like being smart but in a malicious way (please correct me if I’m wrong!!). And they take as an example that part in the Mark of Athena, where’s Percy trick the enemy’s crew by inventing the story of the Diet Coke and Mister D. Or another one is Percy gets Luke to admit to all CHB that he poisoned Thalia’s tree. And others. All of this are valid proof but remember why Percy does it. We have to go deeper, not just looking on what he does but WHY he does it. And all the evidences I said to you above are connected to one point: his fatal flaw. He is cunning to protect his friends, he would do anything for them. Also, how long being cunning is a Slytherin thing? I think there’s a lot of misunderstandings about this. Being a Slytherin doesn’t mean you have to be cunning or whatever, and be an Hufflepuff doesn’t mean you have to be always kind. I’m really sad that we don’t have a GOOD Slytherin (Ik there’s Regulus, but we don't have so much informations about him) to compare with Percy, that would be awesome and constructive (J.K. take notes).

6- “He’s not patient, he can’t be an Hufflepuff.” Alright, so I assume who said this is because Percy has ADHD and dyslexia. Ehm...what? What’s this supposed to mean? Only because Percy is a trouble kid doesn’t mean he can’t be an Hufflepuff. I really hate this way of thinking. Now, patient is not just like “See the plant growing and never get boring or impatient because is too slow.” Being patient is more. Percy is patient? No, he isn’t. Due to his character, and his ADHD, Percy can’t be patient. But this is when it comes to manual and practical things, like fight, or when he plays on capture the flag or when he’s angry. Let’s analyse how is Percy in the relationships. Percy and Annabeth (I love them); at first it might seem that Percy isn’t patient with her: they argue a lot, they yell at each other and so on. But, in reality Percy is patient with her feelings (apart the Luke thing, Percy is so jealous), he never push her, he never ask to her anything on what she feels. Even when they’re engaged he says (in MoA) their relationship is like a little statue of glass and he was terrified of having scared her with his big (and lovely) plans. I think that being with Annabeth involves a LOT of patient.

His relationship with Nico: I mean, we all love Nico, but who doesn’t want to give him a slap after he lied to him in the SoN? I think Percy would love to do it (I’M KIDDING. NO DI ANGELO WILL BE HURT IN THIS BLOG). Percy is really patient with him, from the very start: remember all the questions Nico asks Percy? And he was so annoying, but Percy was patient with him. Another example: Percy and Tyson. We love Tyson, he’s like a big bear, but how annoying was with Percy and Grover? But Percy always stand by his side, never yell at him the way he really want, and he is really patient with him. I’m not saying that Percy is the perfect patient boy, but in some way Percy is patient too when he wants (Annabeth is less patient than him in my opinion).

Ok, I think I said all about this. I have a lot more to say but this is becoming a poem so i have to stop XD. I wish i could do just one post but it’d be extremely long so i will split in Part 1 and Part 2 this argument. In the next post I will say why Percy can’t be a Gryffindor :). There’s one more thing I want to say, and I think is really important. The house thing is sadly really restrictive. Rick Riordan’s characters have a complex psychology and are really well built. I think that see a character psychology only in relation to his house is wrong. For example, Percy is such more than what we said. But if we have to put him in a house we can’t look to all his peculiarities. It’s like a brainstorming: when I said Percy, I always think about his sarcasm, his loyalty, his bravery ecc. To put someone in a house of Hogwarts is necessary to go streight to the point, and analyze WHY he does something, not only what.

Thank you for reading this, I will appreciate it if you comment your opinion or if you reblog this. And remember: We’re not just a house. We’re more.

[fieryanmitsu]

If Only | A3! (one-sided Itaru/Izumi, Sakyo/Izumi)

This story plot suddenly just cannonballed into my head while I was listening to Shintarou Asanuma’s cover of “So Close” from Disney’s Enchanted. For those of you who don’t know, he is Itaru’s Japanese voice actor! I really do love AsaShin’s singing voice, and he seriously just knocks it out of the ballpark with this song. I’m just heartbroken forever now, and the lyrics made me cry, so here I am with an angsty story that no one asked for, hahaha!

Because of the way I envisioned this story, it felt most right if I wrote it in present tense. However, this style of writing is definitely something out of my comfort zone and I can’t remember the last time I tried writing in the present tense. So, I’ll apologize in advance if I make your eyes bleed with my terrible grammar and any unintentional switching to the past tense (especially since I don’t write with a beta)!!

IF ONLY

CHARACTERS: Itaru Chigasaki, Izumi Tachibana, Sakyo Furuichi

PAIRINGS: unrequited Itaru/Izumi, Sakyo/Izumi

My fanfic masterpost: Here

AO3: Link in my Blog Menu

Itaru finds himself in an unfamiliar situation: on the sidelines of a blaring dance floor. He has attended many weddings in his lifetime – he was at that age, after all, as his parents often remind him – but, he can count on one hand how many wedding after-parties he has bothered to join. Actually, he didn’t even need one whole hand. One experience was enough for him to have his fill of plastering on a fake face and dealing with obnoxious drunk people – especially drunk women trying to get into his bed. Not to mention, he would lose out on his precious free time.

However, there was no way he could get out of this particular after-party. After all, it is the Mankai Company-exclusive after-party for Izumi and Sakyo’s wedding. Or was it the after-after-party? Did the impromptu karaoke session thrown together by Banri and Tenma count as an after-party? Regardless, much to Itaru’s misery, skipping out on the current celebrations is not an option – according to Tsuzuru, anyway.

Nibbling half-heartedly on one of the finger sandwiches that Omi had prepared, Itaru lounges casually at one of the cocktail tables. A beautiful bouquet of flowers sits upon the pristine tablecloth – lovingly hand made by Tsumugi, of course – but his eyes spare them no glance. Instead, his gaze is glued on Izumi’s slender figure as she sways her hips on the dance floor, surrounded by a gaggle of the younger Mankai Company members. They cheer her on as she clutches the skirt of her floor-length white dress, whirling around with abandon. Her smile flashes brighter than the tacky disco ball suspended from the ceiling, and Itaru is unable to look away.

Suddenly, the dance music fades out and the mood in the ballroom completely changes as the DJ – Sakoda, because his services are free – starts playing a mellower tune.

Picking up his glass, Itaru throws back the rest of his drink, feeling the alcohol burn a hot trail down his throat. There was no way he was going to get through this evening sober. He clunks down the empty glass and vaguely registers Sakoda loudly announcing that it was about time that the boss gets his butt on the dance floor already.

The young salaryman absentmindedly shoves another sandwich into his mouth as he watches Sakyo being pulled from his seat at a nearby table and shoved into the centre of the rented hall by Taichi and Misumi. The bespectacled man stumbles as he nearly trips on one of the table legs, and Izumi catches him in her arms as the two young men laugh rather than help.

After Sakyo regains his footing, the newlywed couple wrap their arms around each other to the cheers of the audience and they begin swaying to the tune of a slow, romantic song. The usual hard expression on Sakyo’s face softens as he looks down lovingly at his bride, and the smile that Izumi returns is blinding.

Itaru tears his eyes away. He doesn’t know why he still feels bothered. Did he not literally witness those lovey-dovey faces all day as they had been exchanging vows, giving their speeches at the reception, and cutting the wedding cake? Maybe the alcohol was exacerbating it, but the remaining sandwich in his mouth suddenly tastes like sand and he feels sick to his stomach. He wants to run away, wants to get away from the awful feelings wrapping their fingers around his chest and squeezing his heart painfully.

But, as usual, he doesn’t do anything. Just like the countless other instances in the past years. How many times had the voice in his head shut him down when he wanted to reach out to her, only to freeze and pull away?

‘Why bother – you’re not good enough, anyway,’ the voice lamented.

‘You’re just useless gamer trash – you’ll never be able to give her what she deserves,’ the voice sneered.

‘Why compete with him – he’s better than you in every way,’ the voice demanded.

He has long lost count.

Itaru is drawn out of his thoughts by loud whooping and wolf whistles. Turning his head to the source of the attention, he sees Azuma confidently step onto the dance floor while flicking his ponytail over his shoulder. Moments later, the long-haired man gracefully steals Izumi away from her groom with a wink. Even though the lighting in the room is dim, Itaru can just make out Sakyo rolling his eyes as he steps aside, but not without a good-natured smirk on his lips.

Izumi giggles with delight as Azuma leads her across the dance floor. Before long, the professional cuddler’s actions start a chain reaction. Kazunari swoops in shortly after with a cheeky grin to enjoy his turn with Izumi before he twirls her away to – a very drunk, Itaru notes – Tasuku. The director is nearly crushed by his burly body when he fails to keep his feet under him, but Citron rescues her and begins spinning her around the dance floor. Izumi’s laughter rings in Itaru’s ears as she continues to waltz through a succession of more Mankai Company men.

And, then, suddenly, Izumi is standing in front of him, and her hand is on his wrist.

“Dance with me, Itaru,” she requests – no, commands – and tugs lightly on his arm with a big, innocent smile and flushed cheeks.

In any other situation, his rejection would be instantaneous. He doesn’t dance – can’t dance. Izumi knows this, too, considering the countless number of times he has trampled on her toes during practices.He knows he should turn her down, because nothing good can come of this.

Maybe, he could use Masumi as an excuse – the young man was slumped over on one of the tables, dead to the world. He could say that he was taking Masumi home to rest (and mope) in his bed instead. But, something about Izumi always makes his brain short-circuit and he can’t bring himself to say ‘no’.

Still in a daze, he lets her pull him onto the dance floor. It’s not until he feels one of her hands settle on his shoulder and her other hand clasp around his own, that it really hits him.

An intense surge of emotions wrenches through his gut and he wants to throw up. His mind is a tornado of competing, conflicting thoughts, threatening to rip him apart from the inside. He feels a telltale prickling behind his eyes and he bites down so hard on the inside of his cheek that he can taste blood.

Hide it, he screams at himself. SMILE, damn it.

So, he does. Except, it’s not the smile he means to give – the princely, aloof smile that deflects everything. Instead, he gives Izumi a smile he has hidden for years. The one that he only permits himself to give her in his dreams.

Itaru wants to kick himself – wants to stab his own traitorous heart – because, in his moment of weakness, he is succumbing to the escapist habit he has depended on since childhood. However, this time, instead of imagining himself as Lancelot, as he often did in his youth, he imagines that he is… hers. Imagines that this is their dance. Imagines that he is the one that said ‘I do’ at the altar. Imagines that he can make this beautiful woman, in her pure white dress, happy – for it was this woman that gave him a place to belong and he can’t imagine being anywhere else but by her side.

And, in that moment, Itaru is the happiest he has ever been and he wishes he could keep holding her hand forever. Maybe, this moment could have been real–

If only he didn’t always just decide to give up, then maybe he could have said ‘I’m serious’ instead of ‘I’m just joking.’

If only he was brave enough, then maybe he could have returned her embrace, instead of wrenching himself away.

If only he could hate himself less, then maybe he could have told her: ‘Choose me.’

If only this dream would never end.

If only–

But, he hears the melody beginning to slow down…

Not yet.

… and the last notes of the song fade away.

Please.

Then, their feet come to a halt, and Itaru wakes up.

“Thanks, Itaru! You’ve made me so happy!” she exclaims with a smile that burns its image into his eyes.

And, despite the irrational part of his mind screaming at him to keep hold of her hand, he just gives her a smile – a real one, because he loves her – and gently plants a kiss to the back of her hand before he lets her go.

It took me a long time and many late nights of fiddling around before I was satisfied with this, so hopefully my words got through and you were all able to the fruits of my labour!

I would also highly recommend you all to take a listen to AsaShin’s cover of “So Close” if you can (it’s from the Disney Koe no Ouji-sama Voice Stars Dream Selection II album). There is also the original Japanese version on YouTube with subtitles last I checked as well. Ultimately, this story was a culmination of my feelings and thoughts as I listened to that song.

Anyway, thank you again for reading and feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts or any constructive criticism!! If you enjoyed, please reblog~

-Anmitsu

[m-jovelle]

Oneshot #1| Huening Kai: “I’m Your Best Friend”

Pairing: Huening Kai X F!Reader

Genre: Bestfriend!Huening Kai, secret love.

Warning/s: Experience of being abandoned.

Note From Author: please bear with me, I’m not that much experienced in this field, if you have corrections, please tell me, I will try to fix it as soon as I can. I would only put warnings when necessary. Once again, of you would like to request, please DM me or go to my blog and click “ask”. And another disclaimer, I had no straight plot for this I’m sorry. I didn’t want you guys to keep waiting for long so I hope you enjoy it and point out wrong grammars and other stuff!

I saw myself not younger than 5 years old walking towards a strange park during the Blue Hour with a woman I used to call ‘mom’. The first thing I noticed while walking towards the park was the stone fountain in the middle of the park that had no water left and had green moss on top of it, emphasizing that it had been years since it was built. Most of the plants that were planted have already wilted to a dark brown, and the lamp posts that were around the park were filled with dust and cobwebs, as if the park was abandoned. 

.... Ah... I remember this... This was the time when I started to hate Blue Hour.

“Honey, we’re here! “ My mom exclaimed with fake excitement. I looked around, feeling strange uneasiness emanating from the park “I don’t like this place, mom...“

“Really, Well, I do. It’s very peaceful...“ She led me to a bench next to the stone fountain and told me to sit beside her, which I obeyed.

“Oh! I almost forgot. I was going to give you something! But I left it at home... I’m sure there is a store near here...“ Mom thought out loud and then turned to me. “You wouldn’t mind if I leave you for a moment, won’t you?” She asked. Surprised by the sudden question, I was silent. Unfortunately, my mom took my silence as a ‘Yes’...

“That’s great! I’ll be back!“ She replied to my silence in a sing-song tone. “M-mom...! I want to go with you!” I exclaimed, my brain finally processing her words.

“Mommy has got to go, honey. I’ll be back.” She quickly stood up and tried to walk away, but I gripped onto her arm, stopping her from doing so.

I almost forgot how I felt back then...

“Mom don’t go! You promised that you’ll-” Before I could finish my sentence, She quickly shoved my hands off of her legs harshly downward, making me lose my balance and fall to the ground. Luckily, my hands made contact with the ground first, protecting my head from injury.

Come to think of it... What did we promise?

I slowly sat up from the ground, feeling a burning pain on my palms. 

She crouched to my height and looked at me with her strangely soft and caring eyes as she brought my small hands to her lips, “I’m just going to buy something for you honey... Wait here, okay?“ She said, giving me a soft smile.

She placed her hands at the back of her neck, taking off her necklace that was glinting in the sunset. She then clasped it around my neck, my eyes following her actions as she did so.

I stared at the necklace hanging from my neck in confusion, and as I was distracted, I saw her shadow move away as she ran. I gasped and felt fear creep up inside me as I heard my heartbeat pounding in my ears. I stood up and ran after her, my short legs trying to keep up. But she was already too far away.

Everything was so blurry yet so clear. 

I stopped running and tried to catch my breath as I stared at my mom’s running figure.

“J-jeogiyo...“ 

Hearing a voice, I instinctively jumped and turned around in surprise, facing a boy that looked about the same age as me.

But... Without that incident... I wouldn’t have met you...

Y/N?“

I felt someone trying to shake me awake.

“Y/N?“

I groaned and tried to force my eyes to open, “Hm...?” I opened my eyes to see Huening Kai lying beside me, his face inches away from mine. My eyes scanned the room, my eyes easily spotting the picture of us framed on the wall in front of his desk. We were in his bedroom. He called me earlier, asking me if I could help him with his homework, and of course, I said yes.

His room was simple. He has a single bed, in the middle of his room, a desk where his laptop, books and other school utensils are, a wooden closet beside the desk, and he has bookshelves that were supposed to be filled with books.

My eyes met Kai’s again as he smiled at me softly. I realized my head was resting on his arm. He lifted his other arm as his hand reached for my face, cupping my cheek as his thumb wiped away my tears I didn’t know I shed. My eyes slightly widened at his gesture as I felt butterfly’s in my stomach.

He pulled me closer, my head now buried in his chest, with his arms securely hugging  my back. I listened to his steady heartbeat as we lied in silence. “... How do you know just what I need?” I asked, chuckling. He giggled, “I’ve known you for years.” I can almost see his wide smile at the back of my thoughts.

I felt my cheeks heat up at the sound of his giggles. I felt Kai’s grip around me loosen, giving me space to retreat back to my previous spot. “Gomawo Kai-ya.” i thanked him, giving him a grateful smile. “Dang-yeonhaji! I’m your best friend!” He smiled back. Hearing him say the words ‘best friend’ gave me a pleasant, yet bitter feeling.

I cleared my throat, “I... Have to go. It’s getting late and my cat needs attention.” I sat up from his bed. “Y/N, did you, by any chance, dream that... Dream again...?” Kai gently asked, sitting up with me. I looked at him wide-eyed “How’d you know?” He pouted and adorably said, “I already told you I’m your best friend~!” I snickered, “Gwiyeo~” My hands automatically reached for his cheek.

... Maybe it was just my imagination. But I could’ve sworn I saw something bright on his face earlier...

I removed my hand from his cheek and stood up. “Jigeum galge.“ I bid my goodbye to him and started to head home. 

The moment I stepped out of his house, I recalled what had happened in his room earlier, now, free to let my blush creep onto my face. We have had so many times where we would touch each other like that and this wasn’t any different. But, how come I was unable to control myself? I sighed, “Being in love is weird...” I took one last look at his house and was about to leave, when I saw the curtains of his room open through the window, revealing Kai smiling at me. I immediately smiled back and then waved goodbye.

[Huening Kai’s POV]

I watched her retreating figure until I couldn’t see her anymore. I sighed and then threw myself onto my bed. I groaned. For some reason, I was frustrated with myself. I don’t exactly know why, but I felt like I could’ve comforted her more.

I grabbed my phone from under my pillow and was about to text her when someone came barging into my room, making me jolt and sit up. I stared at the door way, meaning, I was also staring at the person who barged into my room which was my older sister, Lea. “Noona! Did something happen?” Her eyes scanned my room. “Where is Y/N? Did she leave?” speechless, I just nodded. She sighed, “Ah, Okay.”

“Noona,"

She looked at me, “Hm?” I looked at her with concern written on my face “Did something happen? You can tell me, I’ll call her.” Seeing my expression, she walked into my room, closing the door behind her. She walked towards me and sat on my bed. “You really like her, don’t you?” She asked. Surprised at the question, I stuttered, “Y-yeah... I do...” She raised her eyebrows, “In a romantic way?” I felt my heart hammer against my chest. “... N-no...” She looked at me with a look on her face that said ‘don’t even try to lie’ I nervously looked away, and looked at anything but her, but she kept on moving her head where where I looked, forcing me to make eye contact with her. I reluctantly gave in and let my upper body fall onto my bed, “Fine! I do...” She suddenly stood up and started jumping in either excitement or victory. “Yes! I knew it! Guess Bahiyyih owes me now.” 

“Well, I hope you do your best Kai. And make sure to come down for dinner." And with that she walked out of my room, leaving me alone with my thoughts as I felt flustered and embarrassed.

[eldritchsurveys]

792.

What would you call your body type? >> I don’t call it anything. Most of the time I’m trying to forget I even have a body.

Are you a morning person? >> Yeah, something like that. Particularly on sunny mornings.

Have you ever been to Target? >> I’ve been to Target many times.

Do you like iced tea? >> Sure, as long as it’s not loaded with sugar.

When is the next time you'll be at work? >> ---

Do you have a savings account? >> I do have a savings account. There’s rarely anything of note in there, though. The only reason there’s a goodly amount in there now is because of the stimulus check -- I took an opportunity to put in the amount of one month’s payment for my computer, just in case my finances got fucked up one month or something.

Has anyone ever hacked your accounts before? >> Not to my knowledge. If so, it was probably an account I’d already abandoned.

What color bedsheets are currently on your bed? >> Grey.

Have you ever been to Disney World? If so, how many times have you been? >> I’ve never been.

Does grammar and capitalization mean anything to you? >> Sure. All forms of language need some kind of rule system in order to be effective, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to communicate with others at all. Even the dialects that people deride for not being “proper” have grammatical rules -- as becomes painfully obvious when non-Black people try to use AAVE lmao. As far as capitalisation is concerned, I use the proper forms of it on surveys (I don’t know why, I just always have) but an “improper”, casual form almost everywhere else on the internet. My familiarity and ease with the English language is pretty well demonstrated by all the different forms of it I switch between on a regular basis, and I enjoy playing with and learning the variations of language like this.

Are you good at wrapping gifts for others? >> Yeah, I can wrap a gift pretty well.

Do you have a dirty clothes hamper in your room? >> No, the hampers are in Sparrow’s room (her room is just bigger, lol).

What would you say is your favorite television show? >> I wouldn’t, really. I like a lot of shows.

Do you enjoy big holiday dinners? >> I don’t really have a feeling about them. They’re not something I care about, but I’m not necessarily averse to them either.

Is your vision good? >> It is.

Is there any piece of jewelry you're constantly wearing? >> Just the jewelry in my piercings.

What is one thing you desire as of now? >> It’s complicated.

What kind of phone do you have? >> Moto g6 Play. The only reason I remember this now is because my headphones always announce the name of whatever it’s connecting to.

If you could move anywhere, where would you choose? >> Somewhere southerly.

Do you have any obsessions? >> I mean, maybe. I just don’t notice anymore.

Do you blog a lot, if at all? >> Not formally. I just reblog stuff on tumblr and sometimes make an original post. Also, I do this.

Is your present hair color, natural? >> Yeah.

What makes you the most angry when it comes to people? >> I just hate how contemptuous other people can be of stuff they don’t understand. Instead of just being like “eh, I don’t grok it, it doesn’t jive with me” it becomes “that’s so sad that people do [x]” or “I’m not a loser, I don’t do [x]” or whatever. Even when it comes to calling people “stupid” and “disgusting” for their opinions or their lifestyles. I am far from being a particularly kind person, but every day I try my best to evaluate people’s actions for what they are and how they affect me instead of just labelling them inferior for not being like me; but people who will call themselves kind in a heartbeat are the first people to just tear into someone for not upholding whatever standard they’ve got built up in their heads for humanity. I’m just sick of it, and it’s why I don’t really get involved with people all that much. There’s always going to be that moment when they say something judgemental, and as it goes, eventually that judgemental attitude is going to be turned on me.

Describe your current outfit? >> It’s just a pair of harem pants, an undershirt, and a thin sleeveless top with a weird design on the front, heh. I don’t know where I got this top from, but I need about 15 more of them. It’s so comfortable.

What was the last thing you ordered online? >> I think the last thing I ordered was a new nightstand.

Have you ever felt as though you were drifting apart from a best friend? >> No.

What color are your eyes? >> Dark brown.

Have you ever worn color contacts? >> Yeah. My first pair were violet, and later on I wore white ones (or one white one, Marilyn Manson-style).

What's the best thing about a hug? >> I don’t know. I don’t receive any of the benefits of hugs. (Inworld hugs are very nice, though. They feel warm.)

Biggest fear? >> Some vague hyper-imaginative stuff about death.

If you have a significant other, how long have you been together? >> Can Calah has been here for about 9 years, I think, and with Sparrow it’s been 8 years. My general idea is that Can Calah was here for about a year before the thing with Sparrow started, so that’s how I measure it.

Do you know any genuinely friendly people? >> Sure.

Do you buy your friends gifts? >> Not usually.

What was the last thing you plugged in? >> My laptop.

How old are you? >> This is my last day being 32.

What color headphones do you own? >> Black.

Have you ever shopped on Urban Outfitters? >> Nope.

Where do you buy the majority of your clothing? >> I don’t really have a place that I buy the majority of my clothing from.

Would you rather wear necklaces or earrings? >> Necklaces.

Do you consider yourself fortunate? >> Sure, in some cases. Not so much in others.

Do you enjoy watching fights? >> No.

Have you ever been in a physical fight? >> Yeah.

Do you tend to talk badly about people? >> No, if there’s one thing I consider myself committed to working on, it’s how I speak about and treat other people -- like I was discussing in an earlier question. I guess it makes up for my lack of emotional attachment.

Where are your parents as of now? >> ---

Does your computer cooperate most of the time? >> Yeah, my machines have always gotten along pretty well with me. I try my best to treat them well and I like to think they operate at their best because of it.

Does your family have any cheesy traditions? >> ---

When did you last go to a book store? >> Whew, good question.

What's the closest book store where you live? >> Maybe Schuler’s.

How much money do you have on you right now? >> I don’t have any money on me, but there’s like five dollars in cash in my wallet-thing.

Favorite personal feature? >> ---

Are you wearing make up at the moment? >> No.

Favorite television channel? >> I don’t have one. My favoured streaming service is Hulu.

Describe any piercings or tattoos you might have? >> Ehhhh I feel like I do this constantly.

Have you ever been fired from a job? >> No. Unless Second Life jobs count, lmao.

Are you currently losing a best friend? >> No.

Describe the worst day of your life: >> ---

Do you play any video games? >> I do.

Would you say you hate anyone? >> I would not say that.

Do you think freckles are cute? >> I don’t have a feeling about them one way or the other.

Last time you went to the mall? >> God... December?

Name something that's your favorite color: >> This cool ring I have.

Have you been to Red Lobster before? >> Yeah, a long time ago. I nearly lost my mind when I tasted a cheddar bay biscuit for the first time.

Do you judge by appearances? >> Judge what, exactly? There is some information I process through appearance, yeah -- like, I assume that a person wearing a Behemoth t-shirt and black jeans with a chain wallet is probably a metalhead. Or that a person with impeccable hair and nails and makeup is probably really fussy about their appearance. The thing is, these are still things that I could possibly be wrong about, but it’d be harmless.

Do you follow a certain religion? >> No.

Who is your role model, if you had to choose? >> I don’t have to choose, and there’s no one I would choose.

Would you rather have nice hair or lips? >> What...

What are you most self conscious about? >> Just... existing. I don’t like being observed at all most of the time.

Do you have any family members who live out of town? >> ---

Do you consider yourself short? >> No. I mean, I am short in comparison to a lot of people, but it’s not something I think about like that.

What room are you in? >> Mine.

Hoodies or jackets? >> Hoodies.

Are you outside a lot? >> Not a lot, no. There’s nowhere to really go, especially nowadays. I’d sit outside more often if I didn’t live in an apartment complex. Like, this would be a great day to just lounge about in a yard.

Have you ever been dumped via text message? >> No.

Do you like dreamcatchers? >> I mean, they’re pretty.

Favorite crayon color? >> ---

What is your favorite letter of the alphabet? >> V. (I don’t know why I have a favourite letter of the alphabet when I don’t have favourites for so many other things. It just be like that.)

Do you hate repetitive people and things? >> Er... like, not as a rule, I guess. But there are some repetitive things I hate, like certain sounds.

Do you think autocorrect is a blessing or curse? >> It’s neither to me, I just don’t use it.

Do you believe in any particular curses? >> I don’t have any experience with curses.

Ever play a Ouija board? >> No, I never got around to making one and now I just don’t care anymore.

What movie scares you the most? >> ---

What was your bedtime as a child? >> Damned if I remember. Probably like eight.

Reason why your favorite holiday is your favorite: >> I just enjoy the vibes. Also, I’ve got a thing for old St Nick.

Do you work with any close friends? >> ---

Do you consider yourself spoiled? >> No.

Do you listen to any country music? >> Sure.

Have you ever taken a keyboarding class? >> No.

Favorite high school teacher: >> ---

Do you ever get drunk? >> I’ve been drunk many times, but it’s not something I get into much these days. I like a good buzz, but anything beyond that is just overkill.

Have you ever had highlights before? >> No.

Favorite number: >> 9 / 19.

Do you still sleep with any stuffed animals? >> I sleep with way more stuffed animals now than I did when I was a child, actually.

What is your biggest regret in life? >> ---

Do you enjoy social situations? >> I enjoy ones I have explicitly chosen and that I have some measure of control over. Not like, control over the conversation or anything, I just mean the interaction is happening in an environment I find comfortable and/or I can leave whenever I feel the need, stuff like that.

Would you say you think you have a mental disorder of some kind? >> I don’t care about whether I have a mental disorder of some kind, I just care about learning to live with myself without punishing myself for not being “normal”.

Are you normally an independent person? >> I have a disordered attachment style which makes me feel like I need to be independent all the time, but I cognitively know better than to think humans really work like that.

Do you have any paintings? >> Yeah.

What is one clothing fad you wish never existed? >> ---

Do you like to be organized? >> Yeah, I really do. It makes me feel peaceful to see an organised space.

Have you ever failed a class before? >> Probably. I also got no credit at all for one class, which is probably worse.

Ever been judged because of your weight? >> I mean, probably, even though I’ve never been particularly over- or underweight. People will judge anything.

What is your favorite breakfast cereal? >> ---

Ever had a wish come true? >> ---

Do you regret meeting any of your exes? >> Nah. It’s not that deep. (It’d probably be that deep if any of them had been, like, violent abusers or something like that. But nah, they were just... people. With all the flaws inherent thereof.)

Do you own any coloring books? >> Yeah, but I never use it anymore, lol.

What's the meanest thing someone's called you? >> I don’t know.

Have you ever bullied someone? >> No.

Do you ever watch Lifetime? >> No.

Ever tried to intentionally sabotage someone's grade? >> No. How would one even go about doing that?

Do you own any brown clothing? >> Yeah, I have one Dark Tower shirt that’s brown. I hardly ever wear it, though, it just fits weird.

What color are your walls painted? >> Off-white or whatever.

Last thing you drank: >> Water. (Wourder.)

Have you ever seen a tornado in person? >> Nope. I hope to see one one day. (hope it isn’t the last thing I see, hah)

Do you have an inground pool at your house? >> No.

What is the first digit of your phone number? >> 6.

What's the prettiest town you've been to? >> *shrug*

Do you tend to sleep a lot? >> Nah, my body seems to err on the side of sleeping less rather than sleeping more.

Silver or gold jewelry? >> Gold.

Do you sometimes celebrate holidays early? >> No.

Have you ever been in love? >> I don’t know.

What's the best gift you've ever received? >> I don’t know.

When was the last time you showered? >> Monday afternoon.

Would you consider yourself attractive? >> No.

Has anyone made you mad today? >> No.

Favorite smell: >> Oh, who knows. There are a lot of good smells in the world.

Are you afraid of insects? >> I’m knee-jerk afraid of some. Like anything that makes a buzzing sound (wasps, bees, flies, whatever), because the sound startles me badly and triggers my flight response. But I know I’m not just overall-afraid of bees or anything because I love bees, love watching them, and I’d totally let a bee just crawl around on me without feeling the same impulse. It’s just that damned sound.

Do you have any children? >> No.

If so, what are their names? >> ---

Would ever consider having children in the future? >> I’ve considered it. And I’ve concluded that I’d rather not.

Have you ever lived on a farm? >> No.

Ever played any sports? >> Briefly, in school.

Do both of your parents have jobs? >> ---

Where is the best place you've been on vacation to? >> New Orleans.

Are you afraid people won't accept you? >> What people? Generally, I’m not fussed about being accepted by just... random people. But I’d want, like, my friends to accept me...

Are you, for the most part, an honest person? >> Yeah.

Did you make prank phone calls as a child? >> No. My father definitely would have whooped my ass for that.

Do you like to make donations? >> I don’t make donations.

Favorite movie at the time being: >> The Fountain.

What is your current ringtone? >> I have no idea what the default ringtone on this phone is, I don’t think I’ve ever heard it.

Meet anyone from your past lately? >> No.

Have you ever called a teen suicide line? >> No.

Have you ever caught something on fire? >> On purpose, sure. Like a cigarette or a candle. Not anything that shouldn’t be aflame.

Ever been obsessed with a show? >> Yep.

What type of perfume or cologne do you use? >> I use a roll-on oil.

What's the last book you read? >> The last book I finished was The King In Yellow. Well, I finished the good stories, anyway.

Dream career: >> ---

Have you ever climbed a mountain before? >> Yeah, but not like, the whole thing.

At what age do you plan to get married? >> I was married at 32.

Ever been in a car accident? >> No.

[dpillustrations]

Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 5: A Discourse on Communication and Storytelling (Part 1)

“The poet must stir souls, not nurture idolaters." - Andrei Tarkovsky

I feel compelled to talk about the latest episode of Game of Thrones. The reason I feel drawn to speak is twofold, because I am an artist and I love Art. It is my passion and my life’s work, and I am most particularly passionate about the Art of Cinema, which includes series and television shows. Entertainment, for the lack of a better word, although it is so much deeper than that word implies. It is my desire to see Art thrive in our culture, and more importantly I want to see our culture thrive because of its Art.  

For this reason I would like to draw a valuable and crucial lesson from what has happened with HBO’s Game of Thrones and Weiss and Benioff’s series. I will not be addressing the story through technical criticism. I believe there are people more qualified than I to address those issues as I am not a storyteller (in the traditional sense) or screenwriter, so I will not be addressing story structure and development. What I will be focusing on is communication and storytelling themselves as well as the fundamental worldview that has poisoned this series and why the finale was false in every sense of the word and did not ring true in most of our hearts.

I will begin by asking you, my readers,  

How do we tell stories?

Again, this is not about story structure and mechanics, but I’m talking about the very act of telling stories, which is, at its essence, communication. So in other words, I am asking, how do we communicate? There are multiple ways in which we communicate, but I want us to consider the very essence of communication and the how and why it is done. I am communicating to you right now through this blog post by arranging commonly understood words (English language) in a specific manner (grammar and syntax) through which I am communicating ideas. I am communicating for the purpose of transferring information that exists in my mind to your mind, desiring that there would be understanding between us. I would not start speaking to you, an English speaker, in another language not known between us and neither would I suddenly abandon sentence structure – the jumped white over rabbit box the – that is nonsense, is it not? It would be pointless and worthless to communicate with you in any other way than by commonly understood rules and structures of communication that exist between us. So, communication’s goal is understanding, we communicate to be heard. Communication is a forward moving action. We don’t want to stagnate or regress, but to progress in deeper knowledge and establish a connection between us. Now considering we are talking about a television series, let us lay out the commonly understood structures of communication through that medium:

- Language, through firstly the written, then secondly, spoken (by actors) word.

- Visuals which include: Composition (i.e. how a shot is framed) - What is actually in the frame (what is shown to us as the audience vs what is NOT shown to us), and Scene transitions (i.e. editing).

- Music  

- Sound 

With these fundamental elements is a story told through the moving pictures. Now if you will notice, storytelling through the Cinematic Arts is significantly more complex than communication done simply through words alone or images alone. There are layers and layers and layers of text and subtext through word, actor performance, sound, music, imagery, etc. It is mindbogglingly complex, yet at its core it is still working towards that very simple (though not easy) goal as any other form of communication, which is understanding.

Why do we want to be understood?  We desire understanding because we hold a conviction that whatever it is we are communicating will be beneficial and/or necessary for the one hearing in order that something may be accomplished. Whether we are communicating something evil, “I hate you.” or something good, “I love you.”, whether positively or negatively, we are trying to give to our fellow person something that person can then take, process, and react to. We communicate at work to accomplish tasks. We communicate with our loved ones to develop deeper connections. We communicate from our emotional needs. We communicate in order to learn. There is an endless amount of reasons why we are communicating, but they all are done for that one goal - understanding which produces a desired reaction and achieves a purpose.

Storytelling, then, as a means of communication, is being told for a reason. It is communicating information and ideas that it might be understood by its audience and then provoke a reaction from said audience. We do not communicate from the vacuum or into the vacuum. We do not tell stories from the vacuum or into the vacuum. Therefore, story has meaning. 

Bond of Union by M.C. Escher.

With this understanding, then, we now see that the fundamental elements of storytelling that I laid out above all have meaning. In every nuance of an actor’s performance, in the arrangement of words, in the notes of the music, in every aspect of a framed image, all these variables contain layers and layers of meaning. You cannot escape it. You are bombarded by it by every moving moment. The storyteller is speaking, and we the audience are listening. 

Then we react.  

Now, I am not going to go into the psychological and philosophical complexities of actually communicating successfully in any given situation, because we know that our perceptions play a key role in it. How you perceive the world is different than how I perceive the world, and so there are, unfortunately, so many ways in which communication can break down between us because of subjective experience. And if there is a communication medium that is very much made up of subjective experience, it is that of Art and Story. So, I am not going to go into the nuances because I want to focus on analyzing the literal communication structure of the Game of Thrones Season 8 episode 5 and lay out a case for its utter failure at communication which follows in its failure of story which then follows to its failure of being meaningful Art in any way at all.  

Daenerys Stormborn

For the sake of time, yours and mine, I am only going to focus on Daenerys’ character and how she was treated in this episode because she is probably the most crucial point, being one of the main characters after all. In the episode we see her fully succumb to her Targaryen blood, going full “Mad King”, as she takes out all her rage and sense of betrayal in not being loved by the people of Westeros on the inhabitants of King’s Landing, laying waste to all the innocent people through fire and blood.  

Now, Weiss and Benioff, as well as many Game of Thrones fans, say that this was inevitable, that Daenerys was always going down this route from the beginning, but the argument I am making is that that is just not true. At the very least this fact was not communicated to us successfully through the 7 seasons we have been watching, and I shall make my case as follows by using two scenes (for the sake of brevity) which outright contradicts this character conclusion.  

Season 1 finale Episode 10 Fire and Blood

You know the moment I am going to bring up very well, that powerful and moving climax when Daenerys steps into her husband’s pyre and comes out with three newborn dragons. She is Daenerys the Unburnt, Mother of Dragons.  

Why was this scene communicated to us as part of the story?

Remember as I just laid out above about the fundamental elements of storytelling, i.e. word, imagery, sound, music, etc  - each element is strung and woven together for a purpose. What is this scene’s purpose?  

I am going to rewind time back to this moment, we yet do not know what is going to come next in this story, but we are solely focusing on how this finale made us feel. How we reacted to what it was communicating. Of course, it makes sense, does it not, to study this finale within the context of what had come before within the first season? We can’t understand the end of the sentence unless we know the beginning. We must listen to the beginning, middle, and end of said communication because if we stop in the middle of our listening, we will be missing crucial information and communication will break down. There would be no understanding, no meaning, and therefore nothing gained.

We have now just established, then, how we understand. 

Through context.

Context is how all elements are arranged in conjunction and relation with each other so as to convey meaning. You cannot just focus on one element, pick out one word in a sentence, pick out one scene, you need all the elements in order to effectively communicate and achieved your desire goal of understanding.

Okay, so what is this scene’s context?

We were introduced to Daernerys and her brother as the last surviving members of House Targaryen (or so we thought at this time). They have been exiled because of Robert’s Rebellion which overthrew the Mad King from the Iron Throne. So essentially, our protagonist starts out in a very low station. She is the “underdog”, and it is extremely low, as her brother is vicious and cruel towards her and she is treated no better than cattle to be sold off. Viserys makes a deal with Khal Drogo as means of gaining an army to take back the throne, and Daenerys is given to him marriage. Being Khal Drogo’s wife certainly doesn’t make our heroine’s life any better as she is forced in a traumatic sexual encounter with her new husband and she is miserable through the strain of travel, and there really isn’t any sign that Khal Drogo even cares about Daenerys and her brother’s purpose of regaining what they had lost. Yet as the story progresses we see Daenerys begin to work her way up. She learns to communicate with her husband and they even end up falling love, she gets pregnant (which culturally speaking is one of the highest and noblest functions for women), and she becomes empowered, able to stand up to Viserys and his cruelty. Our heroine finds her voice. She even successfully eats a horse’s heart, which for the Dothraki is an honorable feat and promises great things for her unborn child. Even at some point Drogo gets rid of her brother, so she is freed from his life long abuse. Things are looking up as Daenerys finds herself in an honorable and secure station in life. However, it isn’t long before calamity strikes again when Drogo becomes sick from an infected wound. Daenerys puts her trust in a slave woman captured by the Dothraki to try and help her husband, but things go from the frying pan into the fire when the woman betrays Daenerys using blood magic and is responsible for both the death of Drogo and their child.

Now rewinding back again, we were also introduced to Daenery’s dragon eggs which were given to her as a wedding gift at the beginning of her story. Dragons no longer exist, if they even did exist, so they are more ceremonial than real. However, Daenerys is drawn to these eggs, which seem to be inert stones, because of her Targaryen blood. She sees something within these eggs that encourages her to press on, to remember who she is. They represent hope for our heroine. And this story element has stayed with us through the entire season. It is only now, at the finale, though, that we see their true significance when in her despair, Daenerys takes her dragon eggs and sets fire to her dead husband, and then steps into the fire herself.

The next morning she is Mother of Dragons.  

The reason I took the time to outline the events of the plot was to show you how the elements built on one another. How did they make you feel? How did you react to them? What did this story as laid out through words, Emilia Clarke’s acting, imagery, composition, sound, and music communicate to you? What did it mean? Did we not feel triumphant? Did we not feel wonder and hope? Did not all those elements strung together express suffering, perseverance, and transcendence? Did we not empathize deeply with Daenerys and her struggles? Did we not weep with her? Did we not cheer with her? I mean just look at our pop culture surrounding Game of Thrones – the endless amount of merchandise with “The Mother of Dragons” on it and what “Khaleesi” meant to us as fans. (We even named our children “Khaleesi” and “Daenerys”!) Why? What did her story fundamentally move within us that we reacted in such an ardent way? If we were supposed to understand from the beginning that she was only a psychotic murderer, then why did she inspire such affection within us? Did we not instead fall in love with a strong and deep feeling woman who held onto a dream and persevered through some of the worst possible atrocities in order to realize that dream in a more profound way than she could have possibly imagined?  

If Daenerys was always destined to be the series’ tragic villain, then why did we fall in love with her as the series’ savior?

My own art piece Take What is Mine! Weiss and Benioff want us to believe that she was always meant to “take what was hers” through “fire and blood” very literally, but look at the title of the 10th episode of Season 1: Fire and Blood. How was the concept of fire and blood actually used in this scene? Through loss and sacrifice, yes, but then, - new life. She lost her husband and her child, but she gained a miracle, this supernatural event, three dragons. The impossible made possible. Life. Not death.

Season 5 Episode 8 Hardhome

For a non-book scene, this was such an excellently written and performed scene. I loved watching it so much. It was the meeting we were all waiting to have happen. However, we must once again consider the context. At this point of the story we have shifted to Tyrion’s point of view, but I use this scene as an example of what Daenerys means to Tyrion’s personal narrative.   

“So here we sit, two terrible children, of two terrible fathers.”  Tyrion’s place in the story is not unlike what Daenerys’ was at the beginning of season 1. He is in a very low place. He too has been exiled, a runaway who was accused and sentenced with murdering King Joffery, but an actual killer of his own father. Having been an outcast in society and within his own family, is now literally an outcast and he comes to Daenerys seeking a reason to live. He comes to Daenerys for hope.

We know of the mistakes Daenerys has made at this point, but we also know the wisdom she has exhibited from the advice of others. We have seen her passion for justice and setting slaves free, but we have also seen her mercilessness and her heavy hand of power. In this scene Tyrion points out both of these aspects of Daenerys, but he tells her that he came to see if she was the “right kind of terrible”, someone who could still maintain order and give stability to a kingdom. In the context of this scene, as we look at Daenerys through Tyrion’s eyes, we are in no way meant to see her as mad or cruel, but a deeply flawed, volatile, passionate, and noble woman. She is human, as all the characters of this show have been, neither wholly pure nor wholly evil. Yet it is her dream that sets her apart from the rest of the candidates for the throne, a dream that speaks to Tyrion in his lowest moment and inspires him.

Daenerys: Lannister, Targaryen, Baratheon, Stark, Tyrell they're all just spokes on a wheel. This ones on top, then that ones on top and on and on it spins crushing those on the ground.

Tyrion: It's a beautiful dream, stopping the wheel. You're not the first person who's ever dreamt it.

Daenerys: I'm not going to stop the wheel, I'm going to break the wheel.

A bold, powerful, and inspiring proclamation! Daenerys wants to stop “the game of thrones”, the petty squabbling of houses and vying for power. She wants to unite the kingdom under one ruler and bring about a better world for it. We believe her. Why? Because Tyrion believes her. Tyrion is also a dreamer just as much as Daenerys, he also values a better world. Are we to believe then that instead of this moment being a turning point for Tyrion, as it was clearly shown to be within its context, of him finally finding a promise and a hope of achieving something better than what has been, that it was actually all just a lie? Tyrion going from a terrible state to an even worse state: Delusion?

Where in this scene or in the rest of their scenes together was it indicated that Tyrion was delusional? In the elements - dialogue, acting, scene composition, the things shown to us in the frame, etc. In all those parts where was this feeling and concept conveyed to us to make a “delusional Tyrion” make sense? 

It simply wasn’t, because he isn’t.

Do you see my argument? If Weiss and Benioff meant to communicate that Daenerys was “Mad King Targaryen” then why doesn’t her character conlusion make cohesive sense with these scenes? Taken in all of its elements, in its entire context, why isn’t this communicated perfectly and without question? Daenerys is one of the most crucial players in the Game of Thrones, her and Jon sharing prominence in the stories unfolding, shouldn’t we all, then, be in agreement on the meaning of the conclusion of her story? 

Yet instead what Season 8 Episode 5 communicates is in direct conflict with the rest of the show and what it was communicating from the first. However, this episode isn’t the only place of conflict, there has been other moments in the show which showed this kind of disingenuous storytelling (Stannis and his burning his daughter Shireen is a good example this problem happening early on). Even the first half of Season 8 is in direct thematic conflict with the last half of season 8. Somewhere communication broke down terribly, and it simply isn’t enough for someone to point out this moment or that moment as proving Daenerys was always meant to end this way. ALL aspects of the show are communicating something to us, and so ALL aspects of the show must be taken into account and expected to be coherently saying the same thing as revealed by its whole. When we lay out Game of Thrones in all its seasons and its many elements it should be communicating “Daenerys Mad Queen”, but I have just proved that it wasn’t.

If you, my reader, truly believe this was Daenerys’ fate all along, then I ask you in earnest (in the spirit of communication and the desire for understanding) how do these scenes and the seasons they were contained in that I have just outlined above fit within that context of that narrative? 

I have now come to the end of first half of my argument. The final question I would like to leave with you before closing is: what exactly is the end of Season 8 communicating? I hope that you and I can thoughtfully study this further. Thank you so much for reading and listening. 

[neighbours-kid]

A Very Whovian February

Here we go again, another month over already. To nobody’s surprise whatsoever, I have continued watching way too many movies and tv show episodes in February as well. There weren’t as much as in January because university started again, but there were some. It totals in at 3 movies, 1 musical, and 116 episodes of tv. I was a bit heavy on the shows this month, less so on the movies, as you can see.

February is always a….peculiar month, if you will. It’s short, it’s half holiday and half university, it’s sort of winter but not anymore, and just really weird. What was particularly strange about this month however, was that even though I sort of committed myself to binging through Money Heist once more—and managed three episodes—I quickly went back on that decision and made another, rather bigger commitment: I decided to re-watch and finally catch up on Doctor Who. No one was more surprised at this decision than me, I believe.

I used to love this show, I used to talk about little else. Doctor Who dominated big parts of my interests for a few years. Through a combination of my brother watching the show and me discovering tumblr, I started watching it in 2012. That was right at the end of ninth grade and the beginning of grammar school. I was 16. I was awful. I talked about it constantly, and especially after I “converted” a friend and she ended up watching it too, it was a constant stream of talking about Doctor Who, always, all the time, everywhere. Which I now understand is annoying as hell. However, back then? People being annoyed with it and sort of shaming me for it? That—and the show losing what made me love it mostly through Moffat taking over—made me stop watching it. At some point I just—stopped. I didn’t talk about it, didn’t think about it much anymore, unfollowed a lot of blogs on tumblr who posted about it, and turned my interests elsewhere. I abandoned it.

For a while there it was also just a thing that I didn’t wanna touch. I watched it in a part of my life where I was awful and toxic and just not a really fun human being to be around, I think. At least I don’t look back at this time all too fondly. It was just part of a person who I wasn’t anymore, who I grew out of, grew up from, and largely also moved on from. It was a strange time. But it was always sort of at the back of my mind as something that I loved, something that brought me great joy and parts of which I really missed deep down. Once I got a Netflix account and it kept appearing in my suggestions, my resolve to not go back to it started to crumble and I ultimately decided that I could learn to love this show again and maybe be better about it this time around. And I also just really wanted to give Peter and Jodie a chance, because no matter how good or bad the stories are, taking on a role like the Doctor is a feat, and I want to give them the opportunity to impress me and make me like them.

Watching that very first episode of Chris Eccleston’s arc at the beginning of this month felt very similar to when I completely re-read all of Naruto last Spring. It felt like coming home, like re-discovering a long lost love. And I am loving it. I am enjoying this tremendously. The monsters are ridiculous, the CGI is hilariously bad, the masks and make-up are insanely cool, the stories are simple and honest and lovely and I just adore it so much. Russel T. Davis was such a wonderful show runner, his vision for the show was so….lovely and simple and human. There were so many brilliant moments in the first four seasons, the companions were fascinating and conflicting and challenging and the Doctor was fantastic and brilliant. And even now that I have already binged through most of Matt’s arc as well, I still appreciate this show. The first time around, I think, I wasn’t too fond of Matt as the Doctor because I really loved David and his take on it, but this time, I am really enjoying Matt’s way of navigating that sort of dichotomy of darkness and ridiculousness that the Doctor has. Matt is fun. David is still my absolute favourite, but I am enjoying Matt tremendously as well. The CGI might have gotten better, the stories bigger and bolder, and, what I felt the first time around, maybe lost a bit of it’s simple and human aspects, but it is still a show that makes you keep thinking, what if?

If you know me you know that I often say the words “ugh I hate people”. I hold the opinion on most days that we, humans, are the worst and we’re being for the most part terrible to ourselves, our environment, and that Earth would be better off if we all just died. However, on odd days in between, I am also like insanely fascinated by humans and by what we can do and who we are and all that. Watching nearly seven seasons of Doctor Who in one month and seeing the world and humans through the Doctor’s eyes, raised those odd days in between to a level able to compete with my humans-suck days. It’s basically 50/50 now, to be honest. If you boil my entire life down to a single conflict it’s that of HUMANS SUCK WE’RE THE WORST and HUMANS MY DUDE HUMANS WE HAVE SO MUCH POTENTIAL. Basically. Combine this binge-watch with the Opportunity Rover dying and you have me sobbing in a corner filled with hope for humanity and the need to change the world, because we could.

Oh.

Well.

Look at that. This is supposed to be a recap slash diary entry about this month and I have already spent all this time talking about Doctor Who. Can you imagine how annoying I was when I watched it the first time? Yeeeaaaah.

Anyway.

Watching Doctor Who was not actually the only thing I did in this month. I did a lot of procrastinating on a paper about witchcraft in Dutch art which I then finally finished the day before I had to hand it in, started university back up again in the middle of it, helped some friends on their moving day, hung out with other friends, went to a birthday, and, y’know, did things human beings do.

But—and I’m going back to Doctor Who again, sort of, I am so sorry—I also read a book. And not just some book. It was Good Omens by the two amazing gentlemen Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Watching four seasons of David Tennant being amazing on Doctor Who also made me re-discover my adoration for him. Not that I didn’t already know that, I mean I did just watch him in Broadchurch. He is just great and I love watching him in things. And then he started a podcast (David Tennant Does A Podcast With…, it’s amazing, you should all listen to it) and he’s on radio shows promoting it and he is just ever present. And there was press and information and stuff going around for the tv adaption of Good Omens in which David plays Crowley, so he was just constantly on my mind. So I said to myself, hell yes, you need to re-read Good Omens before the show comes out in May, so why not do that now. And I did. And it was fantastic. And because I am me, and I am weird, I forced myself to stretch the last 100 pages of the book over an entire week, so I could walk into every first session of classes at university reading this book (four of which being theology classes, which was very important for me to be reading this book in). I needed to mark my place as resident weirdo, because who else could it be?

So, in summary, I guess my month could also be called “David Tennant February”. I watch Doctor Who nearly every evening, listen to David’s podcast every Tuesday, think about Good Omens every day—yeah, February was very heavy on the David Tennant content. I am not complaining.

To end this on a less David Tennant-y note, and a more “these things actually happened this month” bit, February has also been a month of, I don’t know, resurrection? Is that a good word? Anyway—February has brought out (or back) more of who I truly am again. Most of it is the weather (thanks climate change, I’m sorry the planet is dying), the sun being out, the temperatures already clocking in above 10 degrees celsius. I am enjoying it tremendously. I am convinced that I might be half-plant because the sun just revitalises me so strongly. Seasonal depression just goes down the gutter once the sun is out and I can feel the warmth of Spring on my skin. I am alive. Another thing is that I stopped, just really stopped giving a shit at university about other people and what they think. I am using all the bathrooms, no matter what. I am going by Alex even in German classes. I don’t apologise for anything or justify my actions. I don’t care anymore. What I do care about, is that I finally got a date for my consultation with a psychiatrist here in the city. I am partially excited and happy about it, however I also, as soon as I opened the envelope, felt completely numb and detached because the date is in June and that’s still so far off, which I guess I knew would be the case, but having confirmation for it, was just a bit…much, I think. Knowing that my future is in the hands of other people is not a thought I like very much and having to wait for other people to have time for me in that perspective is just not a fun thing. But we’ll get there. Eventually.

I don’t know guys, this post is just full on stream of consciousness, just me blabbing on and on about things that I don’t think anybody really cares about. But like I said last time, this is supposed to be a sort of diary entry for my garbage brain to remember what I did in my life, so y’know, this is valid.

I’ll talk to y’all in a month. Be good out there, guys. Be good.

Bye.

[bluekayanite]

Observations: Contradictions in “Familiar”

I’m not dead!  Life was just kicking my butt hard and kept me from having much in the way of spare time, and it sent me into burnout, anxiety, and depression.  I tried to push through and still work on blog stuff, but it seemed to have a pretty bad impact on the quality of my work.

I’ve had some time to recover now - just in time, too, because I’d hate not to get a theory/observation post out before Diamond Days releases.

(Yes, I know I’m cutting it close.  I’m just trying to get it at all right now.)

Okay, did anyone else notice that Familiar felt a bit off?

(Besides Steven, that is.)

To the point: Part of my main theory has long been that White has been using mind-control powers on everyone, including Blue and Yellow.  Right now, that includes the idea of making everyone think that Rose and Pink are the same person.

I expected to see at least one contradiction in this ep - probably while Steven talked to Blue or something - but really, this ep is littered with them.  Even if you weren’t actively looking for contradictions, I bet a lot of people still noticed something that was strange.

First, the most obvious one:

Yellow says that the sauna/extraction chamber is new, i.e. Pink and Pearl wouldn’t have known about it because it was made while they were away.  And yet...

Pearl somehow knows about it, and even knows how to help Steven prepare for it.

Perhaps the next most noticeable oddity: It’s pretty obvious that Pink is Blue’s favorite, to the point that she would sneak away to think about her, neglecting her duties.

Instead, Blue seems to now be neglecting “Pink” for the sake of her duties - a complete reversal.  In fact, she doesn’t even seem to bother drying off when she leaves the pool, like she’s in a hurry to get out of there.

In fact, you’d expect Blue to be the first Diamond to want to be with Steven, but instead, Yellow beats her to it.

My theory on that particular detail: You know how in LFHTH, Yellow said that Steven should let her do the talking?  And how she was more willing to approach White than Blue was?

I think there’s a good change that Yellow did talk to White shortly after Steven.  And as such, White affected her, before Blue, and Yellow was the first available.

Getting to more subtle notes, you remember this part?

This is the first one that really stood out to me.  Pearl never says “Thank the Stars,” or anything like it.  Instead, she seems to favor Earth expressions when exclaiming things.

I was even under the impression that she had abandoned Gem theology.  And yet, here she is, thanking the s/Stars.

(No, I’m not counting when Sardonyx greeted Steven.  Along with it being hard to tell how exactly personalities affect a Fusion, there haven’t been any non-fused references to the stars like that - from Pearl, Garnet, Ruby or Sapphire - so it’s not a good data point.)

There’s more moments where the Pearls seem to be out of character.  You probably remember this part:

I don’t think that Yellow Pearl would normally have a problem with something like a name.  She’s normally shown a lot of personality - i.e. not limited to a few tasks.

And she’s emoted at Steven’s nonsense before.

But now, not only does she seem to not realize that Steven’s being silly, but he somehow risks breaking her with it?

I’m pretty sure that she’d be able to handle something like a name, especially since Steven didn’t even make it complicated  Heck, part of her job seems to be working with names.

Blue Pearl also has moments.  When Steven heads to see Blue, I noticed this:

This is the first time we’ve seen Blue Pearl with her hands behind her back.  Normally, she keeps them clasped in front.  Having the hands behind the back is more of a Yellow Pearl thing.

I also wonder about her “Welcome back.”  I mean, come on, she was there when Pearl helped Rose make an attack at the Cloud Arena.

I know we don’t know her very well, but I still wonder why she’d welcome Pearl after that.

Also: Have you really listened to her when she says it?  It’s kind of creepy. o.o;

Speaking of which, if I’m not mistaken, Yellow sounds a bit flatter than usual when she talks.  Blue might be a bit off, too.  To me, they both give off a sort of “hypnotized” vibe, as do the Pearls (all three of them).

Regardless of their tone, they both seem too calm for everything that just happened, at least IMO.  Really, they go from “worried about dealing with White” to, as Steven puts it, “spa day,” in what seems like a matter of minutes.

I’m thinking that White basically told them not to worry.  In fact, it might be why Yellow laughs at the idea of failing to get White’s attention, instead of getting angry.

Pearl herself is also oddly calm, or even weirdly happy about a lot of... less fortunate things.

I know she likes Pink/Steven, but liking Pink and Steven is exactly why I’d think she’d be more upset about Yellow conquering planets, slaughtering countless people, and having Gems sucking the life out of the ground after the fact.  Not to mention the idea of Pink helping celebrate such things.

Speaking of, that’s another thing that Pearl probably shouldn’t know about: If the murals are any indication, Yellow probably only had nine colonies when the Earth colony was just started, i.e. the last time Pearl would’ve been in touch with Homeworld.

And now she has hundreds.  And the way Pearl talks, it sounds like she somehow knows about them all.

“Yellow Diamond oversees all aspects of Gem production on every single one of her colonies.”

On the other hand, Pearl talks about Yellow often being off with her army - singular - whereas Peridot said in Hit the Diamond that Yellow has control over “all the armies of Homeworld” - plural, and probably very many.  So it’s like Pearl knows about the newer colonies, but not the new armies.

And unless the Diamonds are normally friends with the Gems in their courts, it also feels like a stretch for thinking of Pink’s court to remind her to get Steven’s friends.

If you ask me, it seems like Pearl’s mind is so filled with active contradictions that she’s the Pearl most likely to break.

Maybe not too unlike a certain other Pearl that I bet White worked her magic on.

Anyway, since I mentioned odd grammatical usage, Blue has a couple moments:

Grammar is one of my strongpoints, and in this context, “you and I” is nonstandard, or even considered incorrect (I checked - it often comes with hypercorrection).  But more strange is how she turns down Steven’s suggestion to play a game.

I’d think that, now that Steven’s here, and White is obviously glad for it, the Blue would think that idea of playing the game again would be wonderful, and that it might be a good way for the Diamonds to get together again.  Instead, she talk about how no one wanted to come when Pink wasn’t there.

Okay, so either of those on its own seems like a stretch, but two odd word choices seem like a pattern to me - like a little hint that something is wrong.

And if you think about it, Blue doesn’t really answer either of Steven’s requests.  Along with turning to the past and not the present, she says nothing about talking to White.

Pearl also seems to have some odd responses to what Steven says, not always answering the real question.  (You could probably count Yellow, too.)  And there are a lot of oddly convenient interruptions.

Also, both Blue and Yellow seem to have a lot of focus on wanting to be with White, especially if they’re afraid of her.  It almost seems like White might want them to, well, want to be with her.

I don’t think I’ve mentioned, but I’ve long theorized that White actually fears loneliness, but is very selective about who she lets in.  This could be evidence of that.

I do suspect that the singing underwater game is actually canon.  It seems a bit too specific when White seems to be missing a lot of details.  It also suggests both intelligence and a degree of creativity on Pink’s part: things that would help if she wanted to lead a rebellion in secret.  I also think there’s a chance that the Pebbles can’t be affected by White’s powers.

Speaking of which: Why would the Pebbles accept “Pink,” but run from her Pearl?  Unless maybe they knew that she’s not actually the Pearl that belongs to Pink. ;3

Anyway, I know I’ve been all over the place with this post (esp. toward the end here), but there were a couple more things that I wanted to mention: You know the new “Love Like You” recording in the credits?  The one that doesn’t quite sound like it’s being sung by Rose?  I noticed that it was heading towards the line “What makes you think I’m so special?” and in Familiar, it got to that part.  Not only that, but it really emphasizes the word “special,” making it sound a bit strange.

I was thinking that it would make sense if they played that line right around the time of a “Rose ISN’T Pink” reveal, and considering that Diamond Days has its own trailer - one that’s on the dramatic side even - it seems like that ep is probably going to be important.

Maybe Steven’s going to find out that something is very wrong, and maybe even question whether Rose was Pink after all.

If so, then it would be sooner than I expected. 83

Connie also seems to be giving the CGs a somewhat-strange look, possibly on the concerned side.

Have they all been affected?  Has Connie noticed that something’s off?

I’m curious to find out.  I suppose that will be soon. =3

And yes, there is a lot more I could talk about here, but I think I’ll leave it at this for now. XD

[creideamhgradochas]

Thanks to the lovely @ursulaismymiddlename for taking the time to answer these! Get to know more about lovely Kati, go give her a follow and then show her some love!

These questions are from this list. You should check it out, there’s 50 questions all together and they���d be great to ask your favorite fic writer!

1) How old were you when you first starting writing fan-fiction?

I think I was around 12 or 13, definitely middle school age

2) Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer.

I can't say for certain that I have a preference.  I never wrote reader insert until Tumblr and I realized that's mostly what people want to read here.  Before that, it was all OCs

3) What is your favorite genre to write for?

Dude, I am a sucker for romance!

4) If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why?

I actually did this with one fic and it was an SPN fic set in St. Louis around Six Flags... it was called Spellbound, after an AC/DC song lol  It was just AWFUL and I got as far as Sam being afraid of clowns and Dean wanting to eat ALL the funnel cakes before I realized that's all I really had of the fic

5) When is your preferred time to write?

Usually at night, but that rarely happens anymore

6) Where do you take your inspiration from?

Often times it's random thoughts that occur to me, occasionally a song or something. I get a lot of inspiration from trying to murder my friends with soul-crushing ideas haha

7) In your All That’s Best of Dark and Bright fic, what’s your favorite scene that you wrote?

That's a tough one because I vacillate between hating everything and kinda enjoying a lot of it.  I suppose any of the smut scenes are good, and I enjoy the "Winter Soldier" scene in the dance hall from Bucky's perspective.  It was interesting to write.

8) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it?

Not that I can think of.  Thankfully I haven't gotten a lot of criticism in my fics, save for spelling and grammar issues.  I may have edited for something like that before.

9) Who is your favorite character to write for? Why?

I love writing for lots of characters! Just my mood sometimes determines who I feel is the best "fit" for writing.  Bucky is obviously a prominent one because there's been lots of feedback for that muse.

10) Who is your least favorite character to write for? Why?

That's... hard to say?  Maybe Natasha Romanoff and I think it's because the movies don't give a lot of good, consistent characterization and I've never gotten into her comic stuffs?

11) How did you come up with the title for the All That’s Best of Dark and Bright?

- It took me months and already 10 chapters written before I came up with the name.. and honestly it's from a poem I've always enjoyed.

12) How did you come up with the idea for All That’s Best of Dark and Bright?

I think it was mostly wanting to see Bucky recovering in a believable way. There's a lot of Bucky recovery fics out there... A LOT, but while many are lovely work, a lot just seem so quick.  Like, suddenly he's fallen for someone and he's all better.  Nothing wrong with that, but I wanted to write something that felt more natural to me.

13) Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?

I have several, actually.  An SPN fic that I have posted on AO3 and very nearly finished.  A Star Trek: Into Darkness fic and a Vampire Diaries fic.  The first I just lost the muse for and it's been several seasons since I started it, so I felt it was just done.  The other two I lost when an older laptop crashed.  I think there's even an Outsiders fic in the depths of this blog that I never finished haha

14) Are there any stories that you’ve written that you’d really love to do a sequel to?

I sometimes think about doing a sequel to Pretty, Shiny Things, but the original was so self-contained and I worry I would ruin it by adding more.

15) Are there any stories that you wished you’d ended differently?

There are so few stories that I've actually finished that it's difficult to say haha

16) Tell me about another writer(s) who you admire? What is it about them that you admire?

I admire a TON of writers on this site, just the act of putting your work out there is an admirable thing in my book.  Some that especially stick out to me are @interestedbystanderwrites @redgillan @plumfondler @after-avenging-hours @captainpoopweinersoldier @angryschnauzer @abovethesmokestacks @the-squid-one ... I mean, really, they are all wonderful writers and you can hardly go wrong picking a fic of theirs.

17) Do you have a story that you look back on and cringe when you reread it?

Most of 'em, yeah haha  My Thir13en Ghosts ones are pretty awful from back in the day

18) Do you prefer listening to music when you’re writing or do you need silence?

I used to always have music playing when I wrote, and then one day I turned it off and I've only been able to write in relative silence since

19) Have you ever cried whilst writing a story?

Yes, happy and sad tears

20) Which part of your All That’s Best of Dark and Bright fic was the hardest to write?

I think maybe the whole goodbye chapter.  There was a lot of emotion in that chapter and it took a long time

21) Do you make a general outline for your stories or do you just go with the flow?

I do generally make an outline of scenes I'd like to happen and try to put them in the right order... I agonize over them throughout the process, but sometimes while I'm writing, other things happen and I have to adjust accordingly.  Writing's hard, man.

22) What is something you wished you’d known before you started posting fan-fiction?

That few people would read it and I'd be nervous about every single one of them haha

23) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like?

Maybe my Stucky fic?  Or my Clint Valentine's Day fic, featuring Deadpool haha Maybe my Chris Beck fic... that was some smutty goodness

24) In contrast to 23 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at?

Hmmm, I don't know that I roll my eyes at any praise I receive in that extent lol

25) Are any of your characters based on real people?

If I'm being honest, any reader insert or OC is gonna have a lot of me and/or my closest friends in it

26) What’s the biggest compliment you’ve gotten?

Probably every time @creideamhgradochas takes the time to write such a long comment on a fic/chapter haha  So many of the compliments I get are amazing, though one that always sticks out is a commenter for the dancing chapter of ATBoDaB saying that Bucky's words in Russian and the way he got so protective reminded her of her boyfriend, who always called her "my sunshine"

27) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten?

I mean, there's been a person or two who've told me I just shouldn't bother writing because it wasn't any good, so... that was pretty harsh, but not really criticism

28) Do you share your story ideas with anyone else or do you keep them close to your chest?

I tend to share ideas with friends to see if they sound believable or not OR to help hype me up to actually writing it

29) Do people know you write fan-fiction?

Some people do, like my husband and one of my friends.

30) What’s your favorite minor character you’ve written?

Clint Barton probably

31) What spurs you on during the writing process?

Mostly alcohol and friends as cheerleaders

32) What’s your favorite trope to write?

Slow burn, sharing a bed, friends to lovers, A/B/O... so many

33) Can you remember the first fic you read? What was it about?

Actually, I can.  It was a Darth Maul fic that my best friend found and printed out for me to read.  In it, he's in his early 20s and he and Darth Sidious capture a lion-headed Jedi and his female apprentice (I think she was blind?) that Darth Maul started to catch feelings for, but he ended up killing her.

34) If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

It's so difficult to choose between fluff and smut!  Smut can allow for some fluffy bits or angsty bits, but there's only so many way you can write genitals moving together haha

[uschi-the-listener]

Poetry Tag Game

Poetry Tag Game

thank you @plasticgardenicons for tagging me in this game.  

When did you start to write poetry?

I think I wrote my first poem when I was 6 or 7 years old, a school assignment about Australian animals. I don’t remember it and I don’t have a copy. I was heavily assisted by my mother, who was never a poet. 

I wrote a few poems in high school and showed nobody. I was an English Major in the early 70s at a small state college and wrote some poems there, badly. 

I don’t think I touched poetry again until much, much later. I fell in love, disastrously, with a person who turned out to be imaginary, but he set me off again and I have written nearly every day since then. 

Before this recent spate of poetry, such as it is, I was writing mostly stories; I’ve been working on two novels; I write science fiction erotica sometimes. Not much poetry until very recently, like the past year.

Do you write poetic prose, free verse, or use set forms?

Mostly free verse, though I wrote an ode recently that made me happy, and I write haiku fairly often, and I’ve been flirting with writing a sonnet recently. I have a few themes that would work well for sonnets and I’m putting them on the back burner for now. I’m open to anything, and the Muse, that little rascal, leads me by the nose wherever she wants me to go.

Name 3 main themes you explore in your poetry:

I write about loneliness a distressing amount of time. I also write about love, with seductive intent. Note that if you are a ginger, I will make you blush, but you won’t mind. Not naming any names here. Oddly enough, I also write about food. I like the food ones. Not much angst to be found there most of the time.

Name 3 things that inspire you:

Nudity; friendly banter with other poets; strong feelings I can’t express directly.

Name 3 elements of nature most often mentioned in your poetry:

The night sky; wind; birds, cats, animals in general.

Name 3 words you love:

All of them.

Name 3 words you hate:

None of them, except the ones that are misused such as “anymore,” (shudder), “breath” used instead of “breathe,” and “everyday” used incorrectly instead of “every day.” I try not to be unkind, except toward people special to me who need to know better. Then, I’m brutal. Seriously, if language is your main tool, sharpen it, oil it, store it carefully. Treat it like your bread and butter, which it is.  

Well, I must edit this: I dislike any use of any form of the word, “get,” or “got.” It’s the worst kind of slang that substitutes inadequately for many, many more expressive words. Erase it from your vocabulary if you are a writer and care about your literacy. If you use the word, “gotten” fairly frequently, I will drop you and probably never look at your blog again.

Do you have a preferred time of day for writing?

No, although mid-morning seems to be when I have the time, have ingested enough coffee, and have managed to shake off whatever dreams I had the night before. I often write around midnight, too, when I am home from work and all the feelings have been boiling up on the ride home. It’s a feelings-heavy job.

Do you ever run out of words to write?

Not sure how to answer this. I can always write, but if it’s trivial or stupid or I can’t make it work the way I want it to, I send it to the oubliette and try to take a break. I don’t seek out the Muse. She comes at me and won’t let me keep it if I don’t jump at her bidding.

Does your writing ever make you feel vulnerable? If so, why?

Well, um, yeah. If it didn’t, it wouldn’t be honest, would it? And one of the reasons I use Tumblr is because hardly anybody I know in real life would know to look for me here. I’ve invited a precious, trusted few, but yeah, my poems make me squirm and blush and hesitate over the Post button damn near every day. Poets need to be brave.

What is your process for self-editing?

I write it as it comes out of me, then I read it out loud, obsessively, several times, changing things that don’t ring true or that are unnecessary. I’m sort of a martinet about unnecessary verbiage in good writing and that, along with poor punctuation and grammar, raise my blood pressure. I also read and reread my own work pretty much any time somebody “likes” it, as though I were reading it along with them. I know, weird. But it works for me and I have no explanation.

Add one question of your own to this list:

Did you like poetry when you were a child? Did rhyming books, such as Dr. Seuss delight you? Or did poetry become interesting later in life?

Do you have a poem that’s eluded you?  That, no matter how hard you try, you just can’t write?

If I find that happening, I sit back and think about why it matters to me, what is it that makes me feel the need to force it. I have to satisfy myself that it’s necessary. I have never had the problem outlast that kind of scrutiny. Either I go off on a different tack or perspective, or I decide my reasons weren’t good enough, and abandon the project.

Do you have any other social media where you showcase your poetry?

Occasionally. I had a WordPress that got me into trouble, so it’s intensely private now. I also have another WordPress that is all about NSFW/Sexual themes. I’m “yuplisnin” there. And I’m on a few sites that specialize in poetry, but I don’t keep up with them. When I feel like I have a poem I need to show people, I share it on Facebook and/or Plurk. I have friends there who appreciate my work and I want to make sure they see what I wrote sometimes.

Come up with a prompt and tag a Tumblr poet who you want to inspire:  

We are all connected whether we know it or not.

@chucklingpecan

 Tag 3 Tumblr poets who you want to get to know better:

@thewordsmithsforge; @the-sleepy-poet; @madpoet-one-blog

[misslennie9]

PAX - Part 2

Summary: Time for the panel! Whoop! Can Chase keep the charade up for the full hour? Or will someone ask something, that little to personal?

They were halfway through the panel and all was well. Jokes landed perfectly, the energy was there and Chase was feeling pretty good about this. Posable one of the best panels he’d done. The thought perked him up more and he loved it. ‘What was I so worried about?’ He questioned himself.

Backstage things were running as smooth as silk. Marvin hadn’t found any conserving thoughts and better yet, he hadn’t sensed a single glitch. Though Anti had never shown up to a panel or a live show of any kind since 2017, the boys weren’t about to abandon the idea that he would NEVER show up. He was about as unpredictable as they came and with the power he wielded in his pinkie, they weren't running the risk of their fans lives against the assumption he wouldn't show. Plus it made Chase feel better if they were watching his back why he ‘performed.’

As Jackie sat on the catwalk, watching over everyone, he couldn't help but relax a little as the show continued below. Every now and then a question would catch his interest and he listens in to Chase giving his best answer. Stories of hardships and love always catch his attention as he wanted nothing more than to jump down and give them a hug. Thankfully Chase would always be off the stage in a moments notice hugging the fan.

Jackie smiled at his little brother, knowing that with some of the question fans asked, Chase had more inside knowledge about what they were going thought then he was allowed to tell. Chase may hate this performance, but they all knew he was the right pick for it.

As he returned his attention to the shadows the next fan stepped up. A young girl of about 18, brown hair, PMA shirt and wearing Chase signature hat, giggled into the mic. “Hi,” she said through her giggles. “Hello, how are you,” Jack replied. Another giggle. God, Jackie loved these fans. Particular the ones who were so nervous about stepping up to the mic, but managed to have the courage to do it anyway. Those ones melted his heart, as they reminded him of the children, back home, who looked up to him and who wanted nothing more than to get a hug or high-five. They were always the cutest and sweetest and he loved them for it.

As the girl calmed down her giggles, she continued, “Sorry, I’m just really nervous. I love your videos and the great work you do.”

“Oh thanks, man,” 'Jack' replied. “But don’t sell yourself short, without all of you, the ‘great work’ I do would even get off the ground. So it’s really more the great work you guys do, I just focus the energy.”

That earned the chores of ‘ahhhs’ from the crowd and a few, ‘We love you,’ to be shouted. The girl giggled more into the mic, “Well, thank you for the focal point then.”

“Hey, man no worries. Anyway your question?”

“Oh right. Umm, I was wondering if Chase is doing okay?”

Chase would have dropped the mic if he hadn’t suddenly remembered where he was. In those two seconds, the facade was dropped and there stood Chase Brody shocked and overcome with every emotion you could name. Even Marvin and Jackie stopped what they were doing to listen in.

As quick as the act was dropped, Chase was just as quick to pick it back up and continue again as if he’s momentary lapse had never happened. But as quick as he was it want quick enough for the fan. She had picked up on it right away. “Jack, you okay?”

‘Shit!’ Chase though quickly. Before Marvin even had the sense to snap his fingers and make the moment pass, Chase was brushing it off as if it was just another question, which it was. ‘Act. Act! ACT!’ Chase yelled at himself. Laughing, ‘Jack’ said, “Yeah sorry, I was just thinking about the kid.” If he was going to lie he had to at least make it sound half true, which the only way he knew, was to tell the half-truth. At least half the sugar coated truth.

“Haven't seen him in a while, but the other let me know that he’s going okay. Marvin's been taken good care of him, I hear. And before anybody freaks out, yes the others are fine as well”

Excitement buzzed in the crowd. He was talking about the Ego’s. Jacksepticeye was talking about the EGO’S. Lore! Oh, sweet lore! Finally. From then on the panel turned into a trial and error system to see how much lore the fan could pry out of Jack before he brushed off the question and moved on.

Questions about Marvin and Jackie were the most popular as they had been the ones missing from the channel the most. Of course there was the ever-popular questions about JJ being a puppet or is he Anti in disguise, questions about Schneep’s ‘vacation’ and if he was okay, can Marvin really do magic, does Jackie have superpowers and of course a million and one questions about Chase, his happiness, his home life and if he’s an alcoholic.

All of which, Chase brushed off making sure none of them got to him as much as the first one did. Imagine their surprise if he accidentally spilled the beans on the fact that their beloved Jack has been in an uninterrupted coma since late 2017, that the Ego’s they were fanning over where a few feet from where they stood and that if Anti were here, he would kill them all without a moment's notice. Somethings were just better kept under wraps.

As the panel drew to it’s close, one lucky young lad had the honor of having the final question. “Last question bro, it’s all you,” 'Jack' smiled. “Well given the massive lore bomb you just dropped on us, I just wanted to say, when you see the Ego’s next give them all a big hug from us. Just let them knew that we’re there for’m and we can’t wait to see them again in whatever project you no doubt have planned. And you’re a really cool dude Jack. Love ya.”

Chase smiled at that. “Thanks man. I’ll let them know. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it.” With that 'Jack' turned to the audience and started, “And I know they appreciate all of you and all the fanart and fics and cosplays you guys do. So on behalf of them, thanks. You guys will never know how special it is to them.” The audience clapped and cheered as 'Jack' walked off the stage to smother his awaiting brother in a big hug.

Marvin hugged him back until Jackie walked up to the pair and joined in on the hug. As bad as this panel had started out, that's how good it ended. Once the hug was finally broken Jackie ruffled Chase’s hair and said, “Good show little bro and good recovery too. I was so worried that you wouldn't be able to recover from that. I thought that was going to be the tipping point for you.”

“Nah,” Chase said shrugging off his hand and placing his beloved cap on. “I still got the next PAX to go, so I’ll break down at that one,” He laughed. “I’ll hold out a little longer. Mostly for them, though.” Chase looked back towards the stage as the sounds of the fans slowly died down as they left the room.

If all else failed, at the end of the day, Chase had the strength of the fans to help him carry this torch. It was still a struggle at times, but they would always stand by him, no matter what. “You know,” Marvin started. “Tumblr is just going to be filled with these ‘lore’ pieces for weeks right.”

“Yeah, but maybe we’ll feel more like people to’m.” Chase said. “And maybe they’ll start to get their theories right for a change. That’d be a nice for once,” Jackie added smiling. Marvin rolled his eyes at that, knowing that for weeks it will be nothing but theories and clips from the live stream.

“Come on little bro’s. Let's get some food and walk the floor. I think we deserve some time together now that Jack’s stuff is out of the way,” Jackie said placing his arms on top of Marvin’s and Chase’s shoulders and drawing them towards the door. “We’ll still get recognised though,” Chase pointed out. “Not as cosplayers we won't,” Marvin said snapping his fingers.

From the stage door out walked Deadpool, Spider-Man and Star-Lord laughing and talking in only a way brothers can.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for reading. Part 1 here.

Inspired by @septic-dr-schneep ‘s story, ‘Playing Charades’ and their headcanon. (Check out their blog. Got some super cool stories :D)

Sorry for spelling/ grammar mistakes

[simplemlmsponsoring]

New Post has been published on https://simplemlmsponsoring.com/attraction-marketing-formula/blogging/10-ignorant-ways-to-kill-off-your-perfectly-nice-blog/

10 Ignorant Ways to Kill Off Your Perfectly Nice Blog

In 2012, Blogging.org interviewed 1,000 US-based bloggers to measure their “success.” They discovered:

More than 81% of the people who start a blog never earn $100 from it Only 8% earn enough money blogging to support their families 9% work 4-6 hours every day on their blogs and earn enough money to sustain their lifestyles Less than 2% achieve “freedom” – defined as spending as little as 1-2 hours a day blogging from exotic locations and earning over $150,000 a year

Hmm… Look at that! 8% + 9% + 2% = 19% making money. 81% not making money.

Pretty close to that good old 80/20 rule, isn’t it?

For sure it makes me wonder how many dead or abandoned “zombie” blogs there are (nobody knows).

Doesn’t it make you wonder what the 20% are doing right?

Or does it make you more curious about what the 80% are doing wrong, so you won’t make the same mistakes?

10 ways “the 80%” are killing off their perfectly nice blogs: 1. “Enough about me…what do YOU think of me?”

While you’re probably charming, wonderful, witty, and fascinating, believe it or not, the Internet sun does not rise and set on you. Blog entries that go on and on about your cat, the dog that kept you awake all night, or the root canal you’re having in the morning don’t provide any useful or valuable information to your readers. In other words, blogging (for money) is not therapy. While certainly personal stories can help you develop a relationship with your readers, your focus must be on them and the value you have to offer: helping them solve a problem or eliminate their pain.

2. “If I build it…they will come.”

So you’ve populated your perfectly nice blog with good graphics and a half a dozen posts and you’re waiting for the “Shoeless Joe Jacksons” to magically appear and start pitching cash at you. Guess what? They’re not going to show up all by themselves. Your blogging strategy does not end once you’ve published your post – you’ve got to let the world know! Use social media and your own email list to promote each post. Comment on other people’s blogs (appropriately!), and modify your signature line to include a link to your most recent post. In other words, promote, promote, and promote some more.

3. “Planning and organizing stunts my creativity…”

I know, I know. You’re a struggling, misunderstood genius. You believe your best work comes out spontaneously…after all, you’ve been told to “write like you talk” – and you’re a great talker!  But that doesn’t mean you just splatter words onto the page until you’re empty. A good, readable blog post has a logical structure, covers two or three main points with supporting facts or stories, and is easy for your reader to skim. Use a template if you have to, to keep your posts organized and on message.

4. “I hate to post and run…but…”

Lots of beginning bloggers make the mistake of publishing their post, then not ever looking at it again to see if there are any comments, much less respond to them. Remember, your blog is a place to engage your readers in a conversation. Whenever somebody posts a comment on your blog, respond – even if it’s just to thank the commenter. Remember, the search engines reward those posts with the most comments, likes, and shares!

5. “Headlines? You mean I gotta pay attention to headlines?”

Absolutely. Not only should each post have an eye-grabbing headline to pull the reader into at least your first sentence, a readable blog post has subheads or bullet points to emphasize your main points and pull your reader all the way through your copy. If you haven’t spent any time learning to craft a great headline, check out Vitaly’s “Controversial Headline Formula,” published right here on the EMP blog.

6. “I absolutely suck at grammar, punctuation, and spelling…maybe they won’t notice…”

I hate to break it to you, but they DO notice. Those conventional elements of written English impact how your readers perceive you. If you’re careless with spelling, clueless about punctuation, or capricious with capitalization, your readers are going to wonder what else you might be sloppy about. If you don’t know the difference between they’re, their, and there…or it’s and its…or babies and baby’s…you’re unconsciously putting rocks in the path your readers are trying to follow as they stumble through your writing. Before you EVER publish a post, turn on the “Spelling and Grammar” function in your word processing program, and for cryin’ out loud, USE it.

7. “So I’m trying to impress people with my writing, right?”

Actually, um, no. The whole point of writing is to express, not impress. In blogging, the object of the game is to express yourself in the way that best creates relationship and engages with your readers, NOT promoting your network marketing business. And the language of blogging — the voice and tone — is usually casual, informal, and conversational — not formal, academic, or stuffy. The most important thing is to write like your reader talks, not to try to impress them with how smart or well-educated you are (while still making sure your spelling, punctuation, and grammar make your stuff easy to read).

8. “But I’m doing business online so I WON’T have to relate to other people…I work best alone.”

I get it. You’re an introvert.  As Dr. Phil would ask, “…and how’s that workin’ for ya?” Promoting your network marketing business online does have advantages for introverts, but if you’re hoping to avoid interacting with other people altogether, you’ll probably find yourself among the 81% who never earn a dime from their blog. So pick two or three blogs to visit regularly and comment on posts, answer questions, or give advice. (Include a subtle link to your blog in your signature line and DON’T SELL.) When people comment on your posts, visit their blogs and leave comments for them. If you’re impressed by something you’ve read, encourage the author to guest post on your blog and offer to do the same in return. In other words, what goes around comes around. Share the love!

9. “Why is formatting such a big deal? After all, it’s my words that are most important…”

Here’s the shocking truth: most people don’t read online. They skim. In 2006, researcher Jacob Nielsen did a landmark “eye-tracking” study proving that website visitors take in what’s on a web page in seconds…moving their eyes in a predictable, “F-shaped” pattern down the page, focusing most on the top-left corner. That’s why it’s conventional to start a blog post with a half-column-width image in the top left, the first sentence or paragraph wrapped to the right, and the copy broken up into short paragraphs, bullets, or numbered lists with plenty of white space. Not only that, researchers are finding that if site visitor can’t easily read the text (light text on dark background, tiny font size, weird or unconventional fonts, etc.) they’ll click away faster than fast. Don’t try to be too “creative” with our layout.  Follow the formatting conventions and you’ll increase the chances people will actually pay attention to what you have to say.

10. “I’m so busy I only post when I feel like it or when I have something new to say…”

I’m sure you’ve stumbled on those dead, abandoned “zombie” blogs out there yourself…the ones that started out with two posts a week then dwindled down to a “last updated” message pointing to several months ago. The key to a thriving, healthy blog with increasing readership is consistency. But there’s no need to knock yourself out posting or updating every day. Some bloggers say they get better, more consistent traffic results by posting two or three times a week and following up by promoting each post on social media, encouraging their readers to like, share, or tweet. If you’re a planner and organizer, it’s definitely worth it to create and stockpile a collection of articles for those times you’re hard pressed to write. You can also establish a schedule, a “theme of the month,” “a guest post of the week,” or an editorial calendar to keep you consistent and your content fresh.

Nice Blog You Have There…It’d Be a Shame if Anything Happened to It…

Now that you know how to kill off your blog, it’s time to get to work. If you find yourself guilty of anything on this list, don’t get discouraged or let yourself feel overwhelmed. Just pick the one or two that would be easiest or most important to fix, and spend the next month working out the kinks.

There are plenty of resources available here on the Elite Marketing Pro blog…resources on structure & formatting, headlines, even words that influence and persuade.

Use what’s there and you’ve got all you need to make sure your blog lives a long, healthy and productive life!

Andrew Draughon Editor, What’s Working Now

Free Special Report Discover How You Can Quickly And Almost Effortlessly Create Traffic Exploding And Money Making Blog Posts… For FREE! Claim Your Free Special Report Now… CLICK HERE FOR INSTANT ACCESS

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[ticktockroses]

"Ah, um, hello! Uh, long time no see? Yeah. How are?"