#i was checking the upcoming section on netflix and what did i see

[uyallstars]

Netflix today announced the film City Hunter, a Japanese live action adaptation of the legendary, best selling manga of the same name, set for release in 2024. Ryohei Suzuki (Tokyo MER, Segodon) is confirmed to take the lead role of Ryo Saeba with Yuichi Sato (Kisaragi, Strawberry Nights and The End of the Tiny World) directing.

[treehouse-void]

This is for @drawingwithgreen13 as a part of Sincerely Us created by @sincerely-us and I hope everyone who reads this will enjoy. Also disclaimer: any products, movies, shows, etc. that are mentioned in the story are not owned by me but rather the people who own those properties.

"Ba bum," Evan's TV boomed out as the Netflix logo did its animation and drowned out the microwavebeeping to signify the popcorn being ready. Evan quickly picked up the remote next to him on the couch and lowered the volume before clicking on his account, which had a picture of the Demogorgan from Stranger Things.

"You really need to change that profile picture," Zoe remarked while handing Evan a bowl of popcorn and sitting down next to him.

"Only if you change your's from Max," Evan retorted. They went back and forth on the Demogorgan profile picture before Zoe remembered what happened the last time Stranger Things was brought up in conversation before Netflix and Chill started.

"Just to be clear, you aren't tricking me into watching a new season right?" Zoe proceeded to warily ask to which his response was that it wouldn't happen for "another couple of weeks." This did not help ease her anxiety and fear as she was still shaken up over the last season.

"Babe," he told her in a serious yet comforting voice. "You know I'll always be here, right by your side. Even if you can't see me anymore I'm always going to support you." Zoe made him promise that, to which he did.

A quick make out session initiated by Zoe was almost immediately interrupted by a trailer for an upcoming action movie.

"Hurry," shouted one character as running was heard and seen by a pair of feet before it cut to black and silence and popped back to show a different pair of feet.

"We aren't going to make it," another character shouted back. The two characters, who appeared to be shown as teens, then jumped and screamed as they fell into what looked like a canyon.

Evan quickly scrolled down a bit shortly after the screaming started. He then put the remote down and asked Zoe if she was OK.

"I'm ok honey," she replied reassuringly with a smile. "Although, I think we made a bit of a mess." As she says this, it's now clear there was a bit of a popcorn spill. They cleaned it up and then got settled back in. Evan proceeded to go to the movies section after being reminded they aren't allowed shows this time for Netflix and Chill.

Evan blushed, remembering how it was him who caused the rule of one date night per month for a series, and started scrolling through the choices.

Zoe, not being interested in most of the options, eventually saw one that stuck out called The Space Between Us and pointed it out. Evan, wanting to finally just curl up with his girlfriend, selects it and presses play.

After 2 hours of runtime and the credits finish rolling, they get up for a quick stretch and check the time.

"It's almost eight," Zoe commented. Evan gave a soft "yeah" and it was almost like he was how he usually behaved, all quiet and hidden and such. Zoe noticed this and took his hand in her's and gave a reassuring smile.

"Want to walk me home?" She offered in an attempt to give them a few more minutes together. Without hesitation and with a smile, he agreed and turned off the TV.

During the walk they discussed many things, such as how their families are doing, what they should do for a date before the next scheduled Netflix and Chill, among other topics to keep themselves in high spirits until the corner before her house she turned to be in front of him and faced him before asking her question.

"Why do you keep losing your progress?" Zoe asked worriedly. Evan softly chuckled, explaining he does understand what she's talking about. Zoe took the opportunity to share her findings about how he acts with him.

"I know you were always like this," she started. "Ever since we first made eye contact and for nearly every time since you were always the first of us two to break it. But ever since we started dating a few months or so ago I've noticed you change and grow.

"Nowadays, I usually break eye contact first out of us two. You don't wander the hallway's aimlessly from classroom to locker only to go to a different classroom and repeat the cycle all day everyday.

"But... that's only when I'm with you. When I'm not physically next to you, you act like you never got asked out in the first place. All your old habits start rushing back and it hurts to watch.

"I'm not trying to be mean, I'm trying to help. But I can't if not only you try but you continue to show progress even if I'm not physically next to you."

She looked him in the eyes and asked in a pleading voice to try for them, for the relationship. His response was a simple long kiss followed by the words "I promise." A few seconds later he was practically dragged to Zoe's place her.

Once they running stopped, they agreed that Netflix and Chill needed to not be on a school night. Shortly after knocking, her parents greeted them and brought them inside.

Once they saw how truly late was at this point, Evan, and his mom via phone call, agreed to a last minute sleep over since there was not only school but a big test tomorrow. They then spent the better part of the night studying before falling asleep curled up together on Zoe's bed.

[all-my-love-for-harry]

A priority.

summary: Y/N defends herself from the hate and Harry gets mad.

word count: 1.9k

warnings: angst!

a/n: a little something to hold onto until i finish some requests for my shy little boy, hope you like this! (i’m on a roll, sorry for posting so much mjsiw)

you can find the rest of my masterlist here

❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ ❁ 

Ugly. Worthless. Bitch. And her personal favorite, slut. Those words along with some others were all over Y/N’s social media accounts every single day.

Ever since some bloody paparazzi took a picture of Harry and Y/N holding hands while shopping, Y/N couldn’t go online without having thousands of strangers on the internet throwing names at her.

She should’ve seen it coming, honestly. It was stupid to think they could hide their relationship forever, she just wished fans wouldn’t be so aggressive towards her.

Y/N wanted to understand, she really did. For a solid week she convinced herself they were just being protective over Harry, but after the insults and derogatory comments about her imagine didn’t stop, she started to grow annoyed. She started believing fans just didn’t want to see him happy.

Y/N had to bit her tongue numerous times, knowing that if she stood up for herself, it would only be worse. So she tried to ignore it.

She didn’t stop using social media, why the hell would she stop having a life because of fans that couldn’t contain their need to harass every person Harry became close with?

A month after the pictures of them were out for the entire world to see, Harry had to travel to the States for work. He was supposed to be away for only two weeks, and Y/N was going to stay at his house a couple of days before his arrival so they can spend time together right away.

Laying on the couch, Y/N scrolled mindlessly through her Instagram feed, seeing what her friends and family were up to. She rolled her eyes when her notifications started to go off, not really wanting to enter and see her entire comment section below her posts full of hate towards her.

But curiosity killed the cat.

Promising herself she would only have a look, she clicked her notifications. She had posted a picture yesterday when she went out with a couple of her girlfriend, so all the comments were directed towards that post.

She’s dressed like a slut here

Can’t believe Harry is dating her…

He can do so much better, what a shame

It can be so easy to slip into a mindset where she let these type of things affect her and her confidence, but she simply chose not to. These people didn’t know her, and probably never will.

I can’t wait for harry to realize the kind of whore you are and dumps your fucking ass.

Oh well, that’s hilarious. Now she was mad. Probably picking a fight wasn’t the smartest decision she’s ever made, but she couldn’t help it. She let the anger speak for itself as she pressed the reply bottom and started writing directly to that specific comment.

‘So he can date you instead or what?”

Send.

Y/N dropped her phone on her lap, deciding it was enough internet for the day. She decided to move to the kitchen and start on the cupcakes she had previously planned to bake her boyfriend. Harry wasn’t one to allow himself to eat a lot of unhealthy stuff, as he has always tried to be as healthy as possible. But, man, cupcakes were something Harry absolutely loved.

She didn’t really touched her phone for the rest of the afternoon, staying busy in other things. She had a facetime call with Harry at night, and she was looking forward to see his face, even if it was only through the phone. Her phone didn’t have enough battery, so she turned on her computer to wait for Harry’s call.

The screen lightened, showing Harry’s upcoming call. Y/N furrowed, thinking he was way earlier but she wouldn’t complain about it. She answered the call, expecting to see her beautiful boyfriend’s dimpled smile on the screen, but she was surprised when she saw a serious look instead.

“Why would you do that, Y/N?” he asked sternly.

“Do what?” Was this some kind of joke?

“You know exactly what I’m talking about, Y/N. Don’t play dumb”

“Excuse me?” she raised her eyebrows. “Maybe if you explained what you mean we could talk about it”

Harry rolled his eyes. “Do you have any idea how disrespectful it was from you to answer like that to a fan? It was unnecessary and, to be honest, childish from you”

Y/N was surprised. “Yeah, maybe I was rude but I don’t think I was being childish, Harry”

“Yes, you were. Are you aware of how this makes me look? You can’t just say things like those and don’t think it wouldn’t affect my image too”

Well, what the fuck. “Ah, yes. Treat people with kindness and whatnot. I guess that doesn’t include your fucking girlfriend, because the only reason why I said what I said was because your bloody fans wouldn’t stop harassing me!” Now her face had a deep frown.

“You sure you’re not being a little dramatic? I mean, how bad could the hate get?”

“How bad?! Harry, do you even go online? To them I’m nothing but a fucking whore, do you have any idea of how fucking frustrating is to be treated like you’re the worst human being by your fans just because we’re dating?”

“There’s always gonna be people like that, Y/N” he sighed. “You need to learn how to ignore it”

“Do you think I haven’t tried? I’m sorry but it is not my fault the fans can’t contain themselves from sending death threats to every person that breaths close to you!” she paused. “Do you seriously just called me to scold me?”

“Well, I’m not happy about what you did, to be honest. They’re my fans, Y/N. They deserve to be respected”

“And I don’t?” she raised an eyebrow. “You know what? I’m done. Enjoy your day alone tomorrow because I’m fucking leaving”

“Leaving? What do you mean?” Harry’s pulse started to rise, watching his girlfriend stand up from the bed, the computer moved and he saw she was in his house. “Y/N, don’t leave. We’ll talk about this tomorrow”

“No, I’ve heard enough. I don’t want to talk to you right now” She closed her computer, hanging up. She put on her jacket and took her phone from the nightstand.

Before she exited the house, she went to the kitchen and threw the cupcakes she made in the trash.

Harry, you fucking asshole.

They’ve only dated for seven months and have never really got into a fight before. Y/N was a very impulsive person, more so when she was mad. Fuck, she knew his fans were important to him, she understood that. But it was becoming too much for Y/N to handle.

She loved Harry, she was truly in love with him. But was it really worth it to go through all of this if he wasn’t even willing to stand up for her?

❁ ❁ ❁ ❁

Harry changed his flights. After Y/N hung up on him, he realized he behaved like a proper asshole. He could’ve said so many things differently, without offending her the way he did.

He didn’t like she thought she wasn’t important to him. He was scared all the baggage he carried with him was a deal breaker for her, it has been on the past for almost every other relationship he has ever had.

It wasn’t fair of him to straight up scold her without hearing her first. He was upset and didn’t think enough before speaking, and now he regretted it.

He knew he needed to fix things. Fast.

Even though the night before Y/N made very clear she wasn’t staying, a part of him still hoped to see her curled up on the couch watching Netflix and waiting for him to arrive, but he was welcomed by an empty house.

He sighed, passing his hand through his curls, thinking how he could make it up to her. He went to the kitchen, where he kept his car keys. Harry stopped his tracks when he saw the trash can.

His heart dropped to his stomach when he noticed the homemade untouched cupcakes tossed into the trash.

He better make this right.

❁ ❁ ❁ ❁

Y/N was bored. She had cleared her schedule because Harry was coming home and now she had nothing to do other than drown on her sorrows.

Being bored and upset at her boyfriend, made her take the decision to take an afternoon nap on her couch. She had been asleep for a little while when someone started banging at the door.

You see, Harry had a key to her place, but he feel undeserving of using it after the way he treated her. But she wasn’t answering, and it wasn’t because she wasn’t home, he had seen her car in the parking lot of her apartment building.

Keying into her place, he looked around for his girlfriend, finding her sleeping figure on the couch, a blanked wrapped around her. He didn’t want to wake her up but they really needed to talk, so he kneeled down to be at the same eye level.

“Y/N… Y/N, wake up” he shook her a little. Her eyelashes fluttered a little before her eyes opened, a frown immediately appearing on her face.

“What are you doing here?” She sat down, taking the blanked off of her and crossing her arms.

“I’m so sorry, baby”

“Now I’m baby? Not the childish Y/N you were scolding yesterday?”

He sighed, moving to sit in the coffee table to be in front of her. “I’m sorry for the way I behaved yesterday, it wasn’t fair for you”

“It wasn’t”

“I was upset, Jeff had sent me a screenshot of the comment and I didn’t even check social media. It was impulsive and wrong from me and I apologize”

“I don’t like the way you talked to me yesterday, Harry”

“I know. If I could take it back, I would in a heartbeat. Please don’t leave me over this, my love” he grabbed her hands, feeling tears threaten to spill out of his eyes. “I know it isn’t fair for you, I know you’ll have to put up to so much shit, but please, please don’t give up on us. I swear I’ll make it right, Y/N, I don’t want these kind of situations get in the way of us”

“I’m not going to leave you” she mumbled. “I’m upset, yes. I know I was wrong too, but it all got too much and i… snapped. I know these kind of things affect your image and reputation too, so I’m sorry”

“I don’t care about my image. I should’ve said something sooner, before it all went out of control. I suppose I ignored it, hoping you’d do the same. I’m sorry for not checking up with you about this”

Y/N gave him a little smile, pulling from his hands to make him sit beside her. She wrapped her arms around his torso, pushing herself into his chest. “I know your fans are important to you, and you love them. I swear I want to have a good relationship with them, because they’re a huge part of your life, and I’m gonna work on that, I promise”

“And I promise I’ll stand up for you. I love my fans, so much. But you’re my girlfriend, my priority” he kissed her forehead. “I love you, Y/N, my baby”

“I love you more, love” she planted little kisses on his chin and jaw.

“Enough to make me more cupcakes?” Y/N let out a belly laugh, nodding. “Good. You owe me after you threw those to the trash”

“That’s what you get for being a meanie”

[karajaynetoday]

how to support your favourite creators on tumblr dot com

hello friends and welcome to unsolicited advice from karajaynetoday

here are 5 simple ways you can support your favourite creators on tumblr/the internet in general, whether they be writers, artists, incredible GIF makers and edit-creators, and everything else in between. I get so much joy out of tumblr content, so I’d thought I’d share some tips that I’ve gathered throughout ten years on this hellsite/safe haven lol

1. REBLOG THEIR CONTENT

go on, tell us how you really feel in the tags. no really, by sharing their original content (always reblog rather than re-post. NEVER re-post without permission or credit - you’ll see on the GIF I’ve used above Tumblr has added the credit to @ghostofmashton as the OG creator), you’re helping give their work more exposure, feedback and love, which is a lovely thing to do.

2. INTERACT AND GIVE FEEDBACK 

Did you lose your mind over that blurb? have a meltdown (in a good way) over that GIFset?? Head on over to their ask box or the replies and let them know!! Giving feedback helps your fave creators figure out what kinds of things you like to read or see on their blog, so they can plan future content! With writing feedback in particular, I like to be specific - if there was a particular phrase or section that made me feel an emotion, I mention it; if there was a particular writing element that struck me (the character dynamics, the scene descriptions, the narrative structure, the fictional universe etc etc) I call that out. A lot of people have an anon option on their ask box if you feel more comfortable giving feedback that way! If creators post things and all it gets is likes but no feedback, it can feel a little bit like you’re screaming into the void! 

3. RECOMMENDATIONS/REQUESTS/FINDING LOST CONTENT

Most creators will say in their bios or on their ask page if requests are open or closed - be sure to be respectful of this! But, did you read a fic or see an edit a while ago that you can’t remember the name or creator of? ASK SOMEONE! Are you in the mood to read a particular kind of vibe? ASK SOMEONE! The 5SOS community on tumblr is incredibly supportive and helpful when it comes to sharing recommendations, whether it’s through having a recommendations sideblog or fic recs tag (for example, I regularly check Lau @sexgodashton‘s rec tag for new pieces to read), responding to specific ask messages that request recommendations, or helping people find things they’re looking for (check out Crystal @kindahoping4forever​ for all your 5sos historian needs) so don’t be afraid to ask.

4. BE RESPECTFUL

yeah look this one is just a good general rule for life and everywhere you are on the internet but basically remember that there is a human on the other side of the screen. this is a safe space, and we can all engage in discourse and headcanons and whatnot, but don’t be a c*nt about it. if you don’t want to see a particular type of content, you can block tags. at the end of the day, the creator of the blog is in control of their own content, and if you don’t like it, unfollow them. if you think their content puts someone in danger or violates the tumblr community guidelines, you can report it. Jex @sadistmichael​ has some of the best NSFW writing on this site, and also some of the most reasonable opinions and responses to divisive discourse and I think this post of theirs sums it up:

a reminder that it’s okay to exist in the same fandom as someone that doesn’t have the same preferences or opinions that you do when it comes to a celebrity you don’t know <3 everyone does not have to think like you to be valid <3 as long as they are not encroaching on someone’s human rights and are in their lane you can unfollow them <3 having different opinions on things is a central part of being an adult in the real world <3 

5. GIVE WHERE YOU CAN 

okay now this is potentially the most controversial one?? maybe?? Idk, that’s why it’s last. obviously right now the world is on FIRE and a lot of people are struggling, so don’t feel pressure at all to do this if you can’t. it’s important to look after yourself first, especially during crazy times like 2020. however, personally I’ve been in a position recently where I’ve had a little spare money (that I would usually spend on my morning coffee in the office, or whatever, that I’m now not spending thanks to rona) and I’ve chosen to support a few of my favourite creators that have ko-fi pages with a small donation as a thank you for their work (@ everyone I follow who doesn’t have a ko-fi page pls make one so I can keep doing this!!! lol). The way I see it, I’d usually buy a book to read, pay for a netflix subscription to watch content, or things like that - so this is my way of repaying creators for delivering excellent content essentially for free in terms of $$$, but not really free if you think about the time and effort that they put into their creations. I know a lot of people pursue creative work for the love and passion they have for it, but everyone also has bills to pay - just because it’s fandom-based work, doesn’t mean it’s any less valuable than mainstream creative work you engage with. If the creators you want to support don’t have a ko-fi or similar, maybe see if you could commission them to do some work for an upcoming birthday or something like that! that being said, donating to support their work doesn't give you ownership or rights - just like buying a 5sos album doesn't. They're not at your beck and call to create and engage 24/7 - see point 4 about BEING RESPECTFUL 🙃🙃🙃

tl:dr: reblog, interact & give feedback, ask for recommendations and make requests, BE RESPECTFUL, give where you can.

thank you for coming to my TED talk <3 

[osterfieldshollandgirl]

A Plane Ride To Love

         The change from moving from your current location to London was a major change and it has brought a lot of questions about how life was going to be for you now that you are going to be by yourself for the first time in your life. The job offers included a move to London was too good for you to pass up and you decided that this life experience was well deserved and needed. While preparing for the move you had already contacted a place that was looking for a roommate with the perfect rent price which was also located with a ten-minute commute to work. With everything falling into place perfectly, the night before your flight to your new life, you spent it with your family, and the night was filled with sad and happy tears. The bags were packed and ready, your parents were dropping you off at the airport and the car ride was filled with tears and talks of wonderful memories together.

       At the airport, I had already got my bags checked in and all I had on me was my carry-on bag with my books, snacks, chargers, etc. The goodbye to my parents was very emotional with hugs being tighter as a remembrance and memory. "I love you both so much, I will visit as soon as I can," I say with tears in my eyes and walk towards the terminal and step on the escalator, turning around one last time with tears now streaming down my face. As I turn back around, I look down at my feet, I did not realize that the escalator was finished, and I was thrown forward suddenly. I was waiting to hit the floor just as my purse and a few belongings inside went flying across the floor only a few inches from me. I felt a pair of strong arms catch me around my waist and I looked up slowly to see the most handsome man with bright blue eyes just as if I am looking into an ongoing sea with beautiful blond hair. He smiles down at me gently as he says, "You should be a little careful love." I smile back as he gently pulls me forward, so I am standing on my own and am stable enough to stand on my own. Sadly, that came time came too soon because being in his arms was the best feeling in the world and the way his personality showed through his actions was very attractive. His rings on his fingers also made you feel a certain way when he was holding you close.

         Once he had helped me walk to a bench nearby to sit down on, he bent down and picked up my purse and the belongings that went into it. As he bent down his leg muscles showed through his jogger pants making me drool slightly. I must have been in a trance looking at him because he had already walked over and sat down next to me after securing my purse into a lock into my arms. He leaned over and whispered in my ear, "Did you like the view, a picture would last longer" in a teasing matter surprising me and causing me to jump while blushing at the same time. He smelt like slightly musky with a hint of a strong fancy cologne. I looked over and said back in a flirty way, "Well I would need a name to the handsome face." He smiled back more confidently while flirting back, "I am Harrison, I need a name to your beautiful face." I turn more towards him and introduce myself, "I am Y/N, where are you headed?" As he is about to answer me his phone rings and I see a glimpse of the name that flashes on the screen and sees Tom Holland. I am shocked at first but then play it off as if I had not seen anything, he gets up grabbing his bags and signaling that he must answer the phone. I nod my head and smile as to tell him to go and do his business that is needed.

               After he left, I decided to look him up and see who he is because he looks familiar. The first thing is to look on google as I am typing his name in, the realization hit that he had not said his last name. Instagram was the next step, I went to the search bar and looked up Harrison and his profile popped up with the name Harrison Osterfield. His profile picture was so handsome, and I see that his recent job was to Catch 22 on Hulu and in an upcoming Netflix series. I then see a bunch of pictures of him and Tom Holland together over the years and continue to scroll through his feed. I follow him and like a bunch of his pictures, then decide to watch the episode he is on in Catch 22 on Hulu. Time passes as you had been interested in Harrison's background and as you packed up, you hear an announcement that says Flight to London from Baltimore is ready to be boarded. My mind wonders as I go to the restroom to freshen up in case he is on my flight, I will get his number and make him mine. Making my way to the gate, I keep an eye for him and slightly disappointed that I could not spot him. I make my way onto the plane after my ticket gets scanned and I see I have one of the two last seats near the back of the plane. I sit down after putting my luggage above my seat and get situated with my book and headphones out ready to listen to music and enjoy the new book you bought specially for the plane ride. I hear a throat clear and see a muscular body standing near my seat as my eyes travel up to the face, I recognize Harrison's beautiful blue eyes and smile at him shyly.

            Harrison smiles back and takes his seat next to you, "I guess we are going to be seat buddies for the next 7 hours."  I laugh nervously as I say, "This will be a fun trip now before I thought all I would do is read my book and fall asleep." As the words leave my mouth, I immediately regret it and see him smirk to himself as if he is the exciting part for me on this plane ride. My eyes widen a little bit as the book that is faced upwards is known for its erotic moments described within the book pages and Harrison sitting next to me for that long will intensify the experience more. He has not noticed it yet, but of course, my clumsy being dropped the headphones and book right near his feet as I started to get nervous being so close to him. He kindly leans down to pick up my belongings  and as he does his cologne wafts towards making me want to be able to just cuddle into him more as it would be so nice to for hours on end. After straightening up, he gently puts the headphones on my table but studies the book cover and the title with a smirk on his face. "Interesting choice is reading this book to impress your boyfriend?" he says as he watches your face intently for your answer. "For your information I am single, and I can read this book for myself I do not need a man to make myself feel good." I retort back in a sassy tone. His eyebrows raise as he looks intrigued and comes back with, "Well love, you do not need a book to feel good I can do it better." I shake my head realizing how my comment came out and my cheeks turn beet red. I say calmly, "I will be reading it once we are stable so I will let you know how it is. However, I will keep it in mind." He smiles satisfied with himself and I laugh quietly to myself.

         The plane is ready to take off so I quickly text my family members that the plane is taking off and suddenly feel nervous since it has been a while that I have been on a plane ride to anywhere. Harrison looks over because he has not heard you say anything for the past five minutes and sees your face pale a little. He grabs your hands and intertwines his fingers with his and makes you look him in the eyes. You look Harrison in the eyes as he says calmly and slowly, "Breath with me, everything will be okay." I nod and follow his breathing patterns until he says with a gentle smile, "We are now stable, but I am here if you need anything." I mumble a thank you and watch him take out his laptop getting to work, feeling slightly sad he does not want to get to know you. However, you understand he may have to work, and you have the book to read. You hear a groan and see Harrison mumbling something about forgetting headphones and you think of a plan to get to know him. 

         You clear your throat to get his attention as he looks at you the nerves kick in as you ask shakily, "Would you like to use my headphones or we could each use one only if that is what you want?" He laughs and says," Of course, thank you. Why don't we share it and I play a DJ?" "Sure, that sounds perfect to me," I say as I hand him one end and he plugs it in and starts to play his playlist and watches as he plays the first song and smiles to himself that you have similar taste in music. You both continue to do your own thing and he is typing away however the only thing that I am focusing on is how pretty his hands look with his rings shining ever so often. He has secretly noticed you staring at his hands but enjoys the attention as he has been going crazy as you read sections of your book  and you bite your lip in interesting parts of it and he just wants to kiss you so bad. The music has you both humming silently to yourselves as you both smile to yourselves while stealing glances at each other when you think either of you is not watching. Also, both wanting to talk and get to know each other but both being shy to do so.

             To get your attention to the gorgeous boy next to you, the book has been a good distraction and you had finally got to the point where the action in the book begins. I look over to see Harrison have shut the laptop and took the headphone out which makes you take out yours as well. He has fallen asleep near your shoulder almost resting his head on them. With a slight movement of your body, he was now resting his head on your shoulder. After that you decide it is the best time to read the erotic part now, you start to read it as things start to heat up, you have to bite your lip to not make any noises because you are now imaging Harrison doing the things described in the book. Harrison had already been aware of how you moved his head to your shoulder and would just watch you read your book and bite your lip ever so often. He acted to be asleep though if you caught him though and once the tray came down the aisle is when he decided to wake up. The scene is almost to an end when the air hostess comes around with our food choices and as the tray comes down the aisle Harrison stirs awake. You look at the distance and try to finish the section that you are reading before it comes to your seats.

            The book again draws you in and you are in the trance with it, the air hostess cuts the moment as she says, "Ma'am this is your meal." As I look at her my face turns beat red like I had been caught doing something wrong and see Harrison woke up and is smiling knowingly like he knows how I am feeling. Thanking the air hostess, I quietly ask, "How was your nap?" He looks over at me and says, "If it were not for your lip biting, it would have been better. It is driving me crazy I just want to kiss you and for thirty minutes I saw how you were clenching your legs together. I will remind you of our deal." I look at him in shock and see his eyes darken in lust and I shake my head no and say, "No, you only will ignore me after and I do not want to start this new journey of mine with a heartache." He smiles and grabs my smaller hands into his big hands, "Let's make a pact, I will take care of you when you want on this plane ride and I will take you on a date when we are in the same place at the right time." I nod and say the deal, "I agree on those terms. However, I do not know how to anything for you." He clears it up by whispering in my ears, "This is all for your love. I can take care of myself later." I put out my hand and we shake on the deal and eat our meal in silence.

         All the time during the meal I was thinking of his offer and I thought I will never see him again so why not. I lean over and whisper in his ear, "OK, I would like to that agreement right now." He smirks and puts his laptop to the side. He then asks the air hostess for a blanket while I am sitting here interested in his plan. He looks over at me and says, "Finish your section and I will be ready in five minutes." I do as he tells me and of course, get myself more worked up but still imagine him doing those things to me. Harrison has now got a blanket over both of our legs and I feel his hand on my thighs and immediately I open it for him. He smiles and says only for me to hear, "Good girl now lean back more." I do as I am told, and He pushed my panties to the side I feel his cold rings against my warm legs and gasp. "Who made you this wet baby girl? Did you imagine me doing all these things to you as you read?" He says in a quiet tone. I nod whining for more. "Shh you do not want to get caught now darling, do we?" I shake my head no and he compliments, "Good girl now just enjoy the feeling." He then plunges two fingers into me, and I instantly want to moan so I bite my lip and hold it back. He notices me and asks, "Can I kiss you?" I nod and he crashes his lips onto mine hot and needy. We both are fighting for dominance with our tongues as he is matching his speed of thrusts with his fingers as he is with his tongue. I am not sure how much longer I can take of this so I pull away from him and whisper, "Can I cum now please Daddy?" He instantly inserts a third finger and speeds up the thrusts. He nods and kisses you more making you moan out loud but only he could hear it. You feel yourself come undone and he takes his fingers from out of the blanket and you see yourself on his fingers.

            He makes eye contact with you and puts them in his mouth and licks them clean. He leans over and whispers, "You taste pretty good love, too bad I could not give you the whole experience." I blush and when I think no one is walking down the aisle, I reach over and place my hand on his thighs. He looks over at me cautiously and lets me continue, I then move to his boner and start to palm him through his pants causing him to groan into my neck. I go to put my hands in his pants which were already open, and I ran my hands over it over his boxers. He starts to breathe heavily, and I smile to myself happy that I am making him feel good. I continue the action and feel him getting closer but before I could make him undone, he stops me and takes my hand off him. I feel angry but confused, he looks over and says, "It is not that it does not feel good, trust me it does. The reason is that the deal is only for you, not me. I do not want you to get any ideas." I look at him with a confused expression and say, "Well you had your part of the deal and I know I said I wanted a date, but I am not so sure anymore." I excuse myself to go to the restroom to clean myself up. I wash my face and make myself presentable. As I am walking out of the bathroom, I see Harrison walking towards me, I purposely brush my hands against him as cross paths and I hear him growl softly. I walk back to the seat and wait for him to return.

               He returns to his seats and says, "Please give me your phone." as he is packing up and I hesitantly hand it to him as he opens up the contacts application and puts his number into my phone. He texts a message to himself and then says, "I am sorry if I made you upset before I just did not want you to think that I expected that in return. It was amazing but maybe after our date, we can better please each other." I listen to what he has to say as I pack my bag as well, and after he finished his apology. I turn towards him and grab his hands and bring them up to my lips and kiss them gently. "I am sorry, I overreacted I thought that I did something bad and I would love to go on that date." He smiles and leans over to kiss me in a celebration. The plane announces that they are landing so we both just enjoy each other's company and share one last kiss. Once it has landed, we both walk off the plane and into the airports going different directions. It is at that moment that it felt like in the movies, I turn back to look at Harrison walk away and as I turn around he looks back at me walking away with a smile on his face. Both wondering when we will ever see each other again.

        After picking up my luggage from the conveyor belt, I got my phone out to let my family members know that I have landed and is safe. I then see a text from my roommate texted me the address to the flat and said he sent a car to pick me up from the airport. I walk towards the front of the airport and saw my name on the sign that a tall man in a black suit with dark sunglasses on holding and walk over to him with my luggage. As the man puts your luggage in the trunk, you sit in the car and put your seat belt on as you take your phone out. You send a quick Thank you text to Tom for the car and that you are on the way. He responds with a See you soon text, I see that on the GPS it will be a twenty-minute car ride and a nap sounds good after that plane ride and the activities that occurred on it. I wake up to the car being parked in front of a flat that is more than what you expected with the amount Tom was asking for rent every month. You hear a bark come from the living room window and see a beautiful gray dog and smile excitedly to play with her and remember that her name is Tessa. I then remind myself that there are two other roommates alongside him, which was not a deal-breaker for me. I thank the driver as he helps me bring my bags onto the sidewalk in front of the house.

        As I raise my hand to knock the door opens and Tessa jumps on me as I kneel to play with her. In the distance, I hear an adorable English accent yell," Tessa get down!" I laugh and bring the luggage in while shutting the door and talk loudly, "Do not worry we are already best friends." Tom walks over and I freeze in spot, he is more handsome in person and his smile makes him more attractive. His laugh is gentle as he sees Tessa already waiting for me to play with her patiently. He comes over and introduces himself, "Hi, I am Tom, you must be Y/n. It is so good to meet you in person," he then pulls me into his warm and welcoming arms. I hug back affectionately feeling at home already. He pulls back and puts his arms around my shoulders and gives a tour of the house, it is going to be fun living here. He shows me his master, Harry's room, and the other roommate who I forgot his name because I got lost in his voice it was so calming.

          We ended up in my room which was across the roommate who is the name I could not remember and close to Tom's room as well. I smile and thank him for hospitality, and I see Tessa had followed us up and ran into my room sitting near my bed. I walk over to her and sit down on the bed petting her head. Tom leans on the bedroom door frame and smiles at me making my heartbeat fast in my chest. I take off my light jacket and hang it up and see Tom blush as he checked me out. He clears his throat and says, "I will let you sleep for a while, the jet leg has probably set in. Also, keep Tess she is a great cuddle buddy, but we have to share her at night." I settle into bed under the covers and as Tessa does let me cuddle into her and we both fall asleep. Tom had snuck back and in and saw how cute you and Tess looked sleeping, sneaking a good picture to keep for himself.

Harrison POV:

             Harrison walks into the house and is usually greeted by Tom with a warm hug but he does not seem to be around anywhere. Tom walks down the stairs and he is smiling him I saw a beautiful girl smile and walk over giving me a warm welcoming hug. I wait for him to elaborate on his expression, he gushes, "The new roommate is so pretty I felt so nervous around her. Also, Tess approves of her so I think I might see it goes." I smile happy but felt tired, so I let Tom know that I am going to rest and talk to him later. As I walk up, I am tempted to open the door but decide to introduce myself and see myself how pretty she could be. I halt and decide to go to my room and take rest and get rid of the jet lag so I can be myself when meeting her to make a good impression. I unpack a few things and realized that I have not texted Y/n so I text her a simple message and hear a ring from a phone across the hall, my mind must be playing games. The tiredness finally hits me as I take off my shirt and crawl under the covers immediately falling asleep.

Y/N POV:

            I wake up a couple of hours later due to Tessa licking my face, so I slowly stretch and get up from the bed and open the door for her to go down. I notice that the door across me is shut and wonder who it could be, I almost sneak a peek then decide to walk down the stairs quietly and see Tom reading on the couch with Tessa on his lap. He closes his book and asks, "How was your sleep?" I pinch myself and feel a little pain, this seems too good to be true to have a handsome roommate who is also a sweetheart and caring. "It was good, where is the shower?" I ask softly. He gets up from the couch and stretches slightly and his shirt rides up an inch giving me a preview of his abs making me my face go red. He walks past me, and his cologne is heavenly, I follow behind quietly and hear from across my room a groan that sounds familiar but got distracted by Tom's voice pointing to the bathroom. Tom is opening the door for me, so I lean over and kiss his cheek and thank him as I shut the door and lock it. However, before shutting down the door I see Tom touch the cheek I kissed smiling and I felt giddy making my heart race faster again. I turn the water on and step in the shower letting the water run down my hair and my mind goes back wondering what Harrison is doing right now.

Harrison's POV:

             I wake up to the sound of water running annoyed I did not catch the shower earlier and drag myself out of the bed going down to the kitchen. I see Tom making tea for all of us and I grab the milk to help him. I clear my throat scaring Tom who was putting the sugar in the cups, his arms getting into a defensive pose. I laugh and help him bring two out the four to the table as Harry walks into the kitchen. "Hey mate, how was your trip?" Harry asks as he sips his tea, "It was good, the plane ride back was amazing. So, you know the game that we made up to get a girl to let us do what we want to as long as it is okay with the person.  Well, I saved this girl from falling, and before we could talk Tom called and interrupted our conversation before, I boarded the plane. On the plane, we sat down next to each other and I saw her reading an erotic novel and made a deal with her that I took care of her and she would get a date if we were in the same place." Harry and Tom are not smiling instead they are shocked and in disbelief about Harrison is acting. "So, boys pay up, I win the game since you two have not brought anything to the table." Harrison boosts, Harry immediately says, "NO, that is so wrong that poor girl probably thinks you like her, so I am taking myself out of the game." Tom reaches in his pockets though and Harry smacks Tom's hand making him drop the wallet on the floor.

"I cannot believe that you are going to give in to this stupid game, Tom you are better than that." Harry says as his voice gets slightly louder with each and Tom quiets him down, "The new roommate is showering I do not want her to hear about this topic, let us talk about something else." They then continue to talk about the trip's other activities. Harry asks, "What does this new roommate look like?" Tom smiles big and pulls out his phone to show us a picture. Harry looks at it and I see a smile forming on his face as he says, "She is pretty and looks like I could have a good conversation with her." I finally get to see the picture and recognize that hair color and see the profile of the girl and my face pales. "That is her mates, she is the girl from the plane," I say and panic a little.

Y/N POV:

          I had finished my shower and got out as I was headed to my room, I overheard a voice that sounded familiar. I heard a voice that I did not say Harrison's name and he responded, and I realized that I am living with Harrison. I stand where I can hear what they are saying, the conversation started with a game that is between the three of them. My heart breaks as I hear Harrison boost about how I played into his scheme and I smile when Harry backs out. However, when Tom does not, I do not know what to do so I decided to prove to Harrison that I am not a piece in his game. I dress up in my most causal yet classy outfit and walk into the kitchen. As I enter the kitchen all eyes are on me and I strut over to the seat that is next to Tom and across the table is who I am assuming is Harry and Harrison who is watching me wearily. I put my hand out to Harry and introduce myself, "Hi, I am Y/n, you must be Harry." Tom looks confused for a second knowing he did not mention Harry's name and it clicks that you overheard the conversation.

          Harrison looks like he is deciding whether to play along or give in. I decide for him and say, "It is nice to see you again Harrison, I didn't think we would be roomies." He looks at me and says calmly, "Well it never came up and I was pretty occupied with other things." I take a moment and fire back, "Yes you were pretty occupied with taking care of me right, I heard everything, and I feel sick that I let you touch me. I should have known better than to let a stranger do that. And if you did not realize there is no future date anytime soon." Harrison stands up angry and before leaving to go to the back yard says, "Well you did try to take care of me so does not that apply to yourself as well. So do not act like a princess when both of us partook in it." I sit there as Tom tried to hold my hand to make me feel better, I yank it away. "You are not innocent either Tom, you were going to give the money. Harry is the only one who was a nice person to take himself out of this childish game." Tom tried to apologize but I put my hand to stop and smiled apologetically to Harry while walking away.

             I hear Tom cursing himself out for being so stupid for ruining any chances to be with me. After shutting my door, I hear a whine I open the door and see Tessa standing outside and let her in she jumps on the bed as I sit with her head in my lap petting her. As I look down at Tessa, she is sleeping so I gently move my legs and lay down. I hear a knock causing me to look and see Harry standing at the entrance. I nod for him to come in and he sits down next to me where I am laying down. I ask quietly, "I know this sounds weird, but can you hold me?" Harry immediately laid down next to me and opens his arms for me to roll into his warm body. I break down and he does not say anything as he runs his hands up and down my back soothingly letting me cry it out. Harry then says, "Tom is very sorry, and he knows it is not like him but sometimes Harrison can be difficult at times and Tom plays along. So please consider forgiving Tom or Harrison, they can be idiots sometimes." I look up at Harry and see him gently playing with my hair and say loud enough for him to hear, "I think you and I will be the best of friends. I will forgive them both, I just need them to know that it is not fair to mess with a girl's heart and get away with it. No matter how handsome you are." Harry gasps accusingly, "What about me? Am I not handsome enough to break your heart?" I laugh and say in a humorous tone, "You could break my heart, but I would not let you." I hear a sigh and jump slightly making Harry laugh seeing Tom at the door.

      I shake my head and call Tom over; he runs over and jumps onto the bed causing Tessa to wake up and give Tom an annoyed look. Tom leans over and kisses her head, "I am a sorry princess that I woke you up." Tom then looks at Harry and Harry kisses the top of my head and lifts me, and Tom takes his place. Tom and I sit like this for about ten minutes and he says, "I am sorry that I took part in that game and I promise not to do it again." I look up into his beautiful brown eyes and say softly, "I forgive you, I only tried to prove a point and you understood it." I settle down on his chest and I look out the doorway and see Harrison standing still at his doorway with a jealous and sad look on his face before he says, "Wow, already in Tom's arms not even an hour after calling me out on my actions." I shake my head feeling tears already coming back and I lean up and say, "Tom and Harry already apologized but you will not so why to bother."  He storms into his room slamming the door, I snuggle into Tom's arms again about to cry when I do something I will probably regret and lean up to kiss Tom. Tom senses what you are trying to do and moves his face, so you kiss his cheek. I get off of his chest and look at his hurt, Tom says, "I want to kiss you desperately but Haz is my best friend and if he did not like you he would not be acting this way. Please do not take offense." I nod my head and go to the bathroom and wash my face not wanting to be rejected again in a friendly way.

              A couple of days have passed, and routines have been set where Harrison and I acknowledge each other but not talk to each other. On Saturday, Tom had called me downstairs to help him find something in the basement, so I quickly ran down to help thinking it was urgent. I looked down and realized I was only wearing shorts and a big baggy Tee-shirt. Tom ushers me further in and when I go to ask what he is looking for, he as disappeared. I then bump into a muscular back and turn around to see Harrison looking at me with this look of uneasiness and I look away because I will give in if I do. I walk to the door and try to open it and knock on the door, "HARRY OPEN THIS DOOR NOW." I hear Tom and Harry laugh and say, "No, we will not open this door until you and Harrison make up." I shake my head and walk towards a wall and sit down against it. Harrison walks over and slides down next to me and says in an obvious tone, "They locked us here to make up, didn't they?" I nod not looking at him. He tried to reach for my hand, but I move it from his reach. He turns to me and pleads, "I am sorry for making you feel like a piece in this game, I never meant for it to be like that and if you do not forgive me I understand. I would not forgive myself, but if you would give me a second chance, I will prove myself to you." I take a deep breath and look him the eyes and say wholeheartedly, "I wanted to prove to you that no man should make a woman feel that way no matter how they look or what they do. I felt so hurt, I felt a connection, and then when you lived here, I thought we were meant to be together.

         After hearing you brag about me like that, I felt used." I see hurt and pain pass through his face but changes as I say, "I will give you one more chance but after that. No more." He nods his head and pulls me so that I am straddling his legs and he is gripping my hips. I feel him smile into my neck and look up at me as he leans to whisper, "Can I kiss you?" I nod and he leans down locking lips with me in a smooth loving kiss. We continued to make out as I started to grind on him making him moan which encouraged me to go harder. He meets and as I kiss down his neck making him squeeze my hips as to go faster which makes me moan loudly. I feel myself coming undone and feel him twitch underneath me we both come together messing up our clothes. Tom and Harry, have their eyes covered asking, "if the coast is clear?" Harrison laughs and says, "Yes, it is clear she is mine now, so there are rules when cuddling her. I am going to share her love." I laugh and lean back further in Harrison's chest. We all go back upstairs to chat in the living room. I am cuddled into Harrison's chest and Tom is cuddling Tessa with a tiny pout, so I look up to Haz with puppy dog eyes and he rolls his eyes but nods. I invite Tom to cuddle and he runs over cuddling into my side with Haz's glare to be careful where he holds me. It is amazing how a plane ride can cause a perfect ending.

@littlekidsteve​ @peachyxholland @tom-holland-is-spiderman @follow-tom-holland-is-spiderman @parkerpeter24 @frenchfrostpudding @osterfieldnholland  @fanficparker @mymoontom @marvels-blue-phoenix @holytingle @petertiingz @fancyxholland @abcdefanfics

[nerdy-as-heck]

Bitterly By Your Side

A/N: Me? Posting a fic for the first time in 8 months? I'm just as surprised as you are. Ao3 Link

Summary: Logan is a world-renowned author, but not for his scientific journals. For a romance novel he never intended to publish, and an upcoming movie that would finally get the two it was inspired by together.

Ships: Pre-Prinxiety, background Logicality

Warnings: None

There were a lot of things in this world that didn’t make much sense to Logan. What made someone hate a specific group of people for an unchangeable part of their identity? Why would some people continue to believe a falsehood even after being shown irrefutable evidence? Why the fuck is college so expensive? But this. This went beyond every question that Logan could ask himself. Any amount of logic he tried to apply would shatter into a thousand pieces.

For years, Logan had been a distinguished author. Dozens of academic papers, journals, books, and articles were published under his name, making more breakthroughs in science than one could have ever imagined possible. Some were small advancements, granted, but none were insignificant. But that’s not why the general public knows Logan’s name.

Ten years getting a PhD in Astrophysics and one Nobel prize later, Logan Berry’s name is on the Best-Selling Romance Novel section in every bookstore across the country. And Logan will continue to blame his husband for it every time someone asks.

Not that it was really /entirely/ Patton’s fault. Both of them had been sick of Roman and Virgil’s pining that had been going on since freshman year of college. At least Logan’s infatuation had only lasted a month or so before bluntly asking Patton if he finds him physically attractive; that story always gets a laugh every time they tell it. The four of them had been suitemates during their first year, with Logan and Roman sharing their room while Patton and Virgil had the adjoining one. That was nearly twelve years ago, and yet the two of them still seemed to be clueless as to the other’s emotions, even with all four of them once again living in the same apartment.

All Patton had said was he wished there was a way to see them get together, like a movie or something. Now, Logan couldn't direct or act, but he could write. So, naturally, he did the only thing a sane person would do; he stayed up for three days straight writing a 300 page chaotic mess of the two falling in love. Perhaps it was a bit dramatic, and it definitely ended up being far longer than he had intended. But Logan’s train of thought never seemed to stay quite on track when it came to making his soulmate happy.

Of course, Logan had no interest in simply reading it over and over again himself; he printed out the pages and presented it to Patton as an early birthday present. Logan was under the impression that Patton knew it was a simple gift for his eyes only, nothing more. But Patton hadn’t quite gotten that impression.

Logan hadn’t necessarily made it a ‘fanfiction’. Yes, it was about two hopelessly oblivious in love college roommates that got together in the end. The thing that kept it unique was neither character revealing their actual name until the very ending, instead choosing to use a nom de plume. In this particular case, Roman had called himself “Merlin” and Virgil went by “Storm”. Neither the reader nor the characters within the story would learn their true names until the last chapter.

Apparently Patton did not read to the last chapter. Instead, about halfway through, he had believed it was a good idea to take it straight to a publisher; he couldn’t believe Logan had trusted him with the draft of his first novel!

It wasn’t until Logan got a copy of the book in the mail, fully printed and with his name on the cover, did he realize why Patton hadn’t commented on it after finishing. “Bitterly By Your Side” was already in every store in town and quickly spreading. Logan quickly pulled Patton into their shared room to discuss this with him and show the last page; needless to say, Patton was humiliated that he had done such a thing. It took hours to calm him down. Logan simply believed the book would not be popular and it would be taken down from the shelves in a matter of a few weeks.

He could not have been more wrong.

People slowly began to recognize Logan on the streets, asking for photos or to sign their copy of the book. Stores would reach out to him and schedule book signings, which Logan reluctantly went to as a chance to promote some of his other works. No one was buying any of that.

This was about two years ago. Logan had always scolded Roman and Virgil for not reading as often as they should, but it was unexplainable how grateful he was that they never listened. Not once in those years did the two step foot in a bookstore, see Logan scatter away for a photo when he was found in public, or questions the ‘meeting’ Logan seemed to be going to every other week.

By this point, Logan had gotten used to how things were. It was bringing in money to support the entire group, and no one was hurting for it. Though it still confused him why this was the case, he had accepted it as an unexplainable cosmic phenomenon. Logan didn’t even think twice when allowing a company that approached him to make a movie adaptation, with the promise that Logan could supervise on site, of course.

Months later, and somehow the two’s obliviousness had only gotten worse. It was a true miracle that they never noticed Logan being gone all the time or that Roman didn't pick up on the potential movie acting gig. Though the last wasn’t much of a coincidence; Logan always checked their mail and tossed out any advertisements for it.

Logan had only looked over one important detail; the company picking up the story was Disney. And regardless if they had heard about it before, Virgil and Roman both had a dedication to watching it together day it shows up on Netflix. Patton would always tease Virgil about it being their little “date night”, which would be received by a shove and Virgil’s hood coming up to hide his face.

On the night that this happened, Logan was out late at a midnight book signing, and Patton had agreed to go with to drive him home in case Logan was too exhausted. So for the first time in quite a while, Roman and Virgil had the whole apartment to themselves for movie night. As tradition, Virgil grabbed popcorn, snacks, and drinks, running back to the couch just before Roman clicked play.

“Are you ready for what is sure to be the GREATEST FILM of ALL TIME?”

“You say that every time, Princey. Bitterly By Your Side may be Disney, but its a dumb romance too. It can’t be that good.”

Of course Roman scoffed at that, but before he could continue the argument, Virgil just threw a handful of popcorn at his face and hit play. Storm happened to be the first character that came on screen, and the second Roman saw the actor’s face he gasped and leaned forward.

“That man… Is the love of my life.” Virgil couldn’t help but to laugh at the dramatics of such an early declaration, and for a short time Roman stared at Virgil rather than at the movie.

“You think that guy is good looking? Don’t be ridiculous, he looks like a ten year old that got into his mom’s makeup.” Roman could only glare at Virgil for a few minutes before Merlin came on screen. And then it was Roman’s turn to laugh as Virgil’s jaw literally dropped.

“You can’t be serious! Storm is far more attractive than /that/ over dramatic piece of work!” Virgil didn’t even have the words to argue at the moment, simply shoving a hand over Roman’s mouth as Merlin already had a shirtless scene. It wasn’t more than five seconds later, though, that Virgil realized what he had done and practically shrieked, crawling to the other side of the couch. “S-Sorry… But if that doesn’t prove Merlin is the best, then nothing will.” A simple joke had now turned into a full out war between the two, pointing out each small quality in the other character that made them far superior.

“Look at Storm’s purple eyes! And that long hair, I just want to run my hand through it and kiss that man.”

“They’re probably contacts anyway! Merlin has the swoop in his hair that at least doesn’t block his /actual/ green emerald eyes!”

“But that’s the thing, Storm is so shy yet abrasive at the same time! His hiding just makes his natural beauty all the better!”

“Sorry, what did you say? I couldn’t hear you over Merlin’s fifth shirtless scene.”

Of course, it was all joking banter. Despite the insults thrown from time to time, this was a typical thing for the two of them, and tonight wasn’t any different. It only finally died down at a point where the movie was getting ready to end. For some reason, Roman was a moron. Well. Virgil knew that already. A cute moron, but still a moron, one that had decided to run to the bathroom right after the climax of the movie and refused to let Virgil pause it. In the short time, Roman was gone, that was all the movie needed to make Virgil’s fight or flight response kick in.

“Now that we’re dating, shouldn’t I at least get to know your name, angel?”

“...Its Virgil.”

“Roman. A pleasure to finally meet the real you.”

That was. A weird coincidence. But with anxiety, nothing ever felt like things could be so coincidental. So once Roman came back, Virgil was on his phone, googling the book, and every word he read just made his face burn even more.

  Bitterly By Your Side is a romance novel by Logan Berry, published in 2017. In recent interviews, he has confessed to it being inspired by real life events and people he knows, though for now he wishes the details to remain private.

...Oh Logan is so dead when he gets back.

“H e y!” Virgil was next to be assaulted with popcorn as he pulled his hood up to avoid Roman seeing his face right now. “Get off your phone and watch the eye candy! Storm is back on screen!”

...Storm. The character inspired by Virgil. That Roman had been calling hot all night long. And Virgil had done the same to Merlin. Virgil didn’t focus much on the rest of the movie, far too busy trying to hide his ever reddening face and cursing the entire world. Once the movie finally ended, Roman stood up to give the TV a round of applause. But before the credits, there was one more thing…

  And now, an interview with the author of the original book: Logan Berry!

Roman was understandably shocked and sat back down, confused as to when Logan had written a book without telling them. With every word spoken on the show, Virgil’s heart sunk deeper and he made another promise to kill Logan tomorrow.

  Yes, it is true that this novel was inspired on true events. I have two friends that have been obliviously in love with each other for nearly twelve years now, despite mine and my husband’s encouragement for them to confess. Storm and Mer- Well, I suppose I can use their real names now, it's no spoiler since this is shown after the movie. I don't blame either Virgil or Roman for their hopeless pining, it's just something my husband tired of and wished to see come to life in case it never did in person.

After that sentence, Roman was quick to turn off the TV. At least now it made sense why Virgil had curled up into a ball on the couch during the interview. Silence. Silence that lasted far too long for either of them to stand, yet neither had the will to break it.

Surprisingly, Virgil was the one to swallow his pride first. “...so. Eye candy, huh?”

Not even a second later, Virgil felt a pillow hit his head. “Oh shut up! You’re one to talk! Drooling in every shirtless scene in the whole movie!”

There wasn’t a coherent comeback in Virgil’s mind, so instead he just flipped Roman off from his hoodie protection. Roman, being the prick he was, couldn’t let it go so easily though, grabbing Virgil’s hand and ignoring his own pounding heart as he pulled the two closer together. Safe to say, Virgil felt like he was going to explode. “You know the real thing is always better than fiction.”

And then for some unknown reason, one that he would claim to this day as temporary insanity, Virgil’s mind had decided it was time for him to be the moron today. The only thing he could think to do was kiss Roman, so he did. Both were surprised and afraid, but neither pulled away. Not in the first few minutes, not even in the first hour. It was a scene that easily could have rivaled the masterpiece of a movie in itself. By the end of it, they were both out of breath and exhausted, choosing to simply sleep together on the couch.

“...goodnight, Storm…” “Night, Merlin.”

Still. They were going to kill Logan in the morning. But for now, it was just them, and that was enough.

[mahinourabdou]

WEEK 3 POST WEEK 🌟 HERE WE GO!

Before I go into detail of a few comments for research, influence, and notes about my upcoming painting project series for the class, I would like add something in regards to the “Content, Materials, and Process” post made last week. I wanted to add onto the “Process” part regarding the shooting art style/painting technique after pharaohnic era. Not only would I want to be interested in Picasso’s marks (the dynamics of how he shapes the forms of cubist artwork from his models from head to toe) but i also wanted to go back a bit: either Impressionism or Fauvism, or BOTH! Fauvism is a very interesting art style i just remembered/realized before even having to say about Picasso’s Cubism art technique (i may turn into Dory from Finding Nemo eventually due to a bit of memory loss from my past art history classes a few semesters back hahaha 🤣). The reason why I say this is because I see Impressionism and Fauvism as very important art styles/1800s aesthetic use of painting, color, and landscape skills that brought the whole art world’s attention during the 1800s as a birth of a brand new era. Especially when it comes to Van Gogh (what also inspired me from his magnificently iconic artwork “Starry Night”), I thought because it looked so calming and smooth because of how he used his brush strokes as a symphony to create a life-like attraction of what beauty he sees within his perspective amongst the reality that seemed rather not harsh but vernacular for an average everyday person doing the same thing all day: wake up, eat, work, go back home, eat, drink, sleep, and repeat. Same thing with the pharaoh art I would do; the Spiral of Thought (if you go back to the Content, Materials, and Process post i made/talked about) will be a unique trademark of how it will attract and relate to us of how we feel about our emotions and stressing days; alongside of how we think of our thoughts inside-out, and/or the opposite, outside-in. In my opinion, I think Van Gogh had more of what he wanted to expect for his artistic value and love for art for anyone who’d aspire to look upon him as a friend and a person of color and vividly kind creativity. That’s why by his “Starry Night” painting, it gave me the sudden, warm, and mediated feeling that Impression and Fauvism are the key to an artist’s reality check from whatever struggles he/she are facing within the everyday life we live in from the Modern era/Gen-z society we live in today.

———————————————————

POST 1!

RESEARCH (PT. 1)

Subject——EXPLORATION: Pharaoh Art (Exploring Its Art, Fashion, and Faces)

Going through this subject of the research I will break this post (separately) down into 3 parts—Exploration, Influence, and Experimentation. Today I will go through exploration. (IF POSSIBLE, I may add a little it of how I got influenced and inspired by the artwork from the Ancient Egyptian era; I will put a little bit of its heritage along this post if i may)

While roaming through my favorite museums, The Met and MoMA, I had always favored The Met mst often. Through its website to personal visits, I always had to start with the Ancient Egyptian Art section; nonetheless, it had so much more history from fine arts to mosaics and from relief paintings to sculptures. Also, if i can recall, a documentary by the name of Netflix’s “Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb” was beyond all levels the most interesting documentary i have ever watched (highly recommend it), for hard working archaeologists, until today, have discovered a pharaoh that had nearly been forgotten and yet analyzed to be hidden for the past 4400 years—the excavation was announced in November 2018. NOT ONLY FROM THE WHOLE DOCUMENTRAY, but animation segments describing the ancient artifacts of how Ancient Egyptian pharaohs/gods/goddess handled with everyday pharaohs during that era had so much monarchy awed today’s historians and analysists for years and years. What I would like to add about the documentary that actually did caught my eye was not only the beauty of how the archaeologists worked and dug really hard to find the new pharaonic discover,b to the animation segments that moved and placed the rare expectations of how the era felt genuine, golden, and mostly royal towards the Ancient Egyptian society before we were all born.However, because of the hard work the servants, villagers, and high classed pharaohs served their royals paid off with their stories carved, painted, and decorated onto the walls, pillars and temples, it is easy enough to say that it means a whole lot from their time period that blessed future and present artists, historians, and archaeologists today the rare beauty and magnificent restorations and excavations. Because i say this, I believe the rare beauty of how the pharaoh era became essentially the most aesthetic, authentic, and golden time when their arts became the historical movement of all art history and archaeology. Here are a few Pinterest images of Pharaoh art/wall paintings collages for your better viewing to understand why, how, and what the distinguishing beauty and fabulous color remarks the Ancient Egyptians used to tell stories, historical events, and (i wish gossip *hehe* 🤣) other specific genres of average/mysterious/formal everyday of the pharaohnic era.

As you can see here, in this collage, not only because of how the Ancient Egyptian lives lived through stories depicting war, religion, rituals, monarchy, and structurizing royal classes, but because of how these artworks (sculptural and architectural as well—but for this series i will mostly focus on wall paintings) resembled the rhythmic and superior use of colors, shapes, texture (fashion and painting-constructed wise), headwear/crowns, jewelry and facial expressions.

[talesofafangirlwithadvr]

February Picks

And just like that another month is coming to a close. I can’t believe how fast it has gone by. I’ve continued watching some favorites from last month and am sad some have come to an end. Meanwhile a bunch of shows came back from their winter hiatus, so it was a lot of fun getting back into their story-lines again.

Be prepared for spoilers once again...

SANDITON

Masterpiece’s Sanditon ended this past Sunday, here in the states, and I am jumping on the campaign that we need a season 2! It can’t end like that with so many open ended story-lines (okay maybe just one or two, but still we deserve more). 

Who would have guessed that Esther would become one of my favorite characters in this series and that’s mainly thanks to her well written character development. From the “villain” in episode 1 she grew into so much more and was such a complex character. I really enjoyed watching her story unfold. I am SO HAPPY she married Babington and his speech to her about living side by side, knowing he loves her more and just wants to see her happy. Wow....Goals. I want to see this relationship progress even more (if that’s possible) with a season 2. Speaking of things I want to see: Will Sanditon be rebuilt and how long will it take? Will there be an alternative allowing Sidney to be with Charlotte? Major twist there as their relationship doesn’t end with a happily ever after (very un-Austen like for the main protagonists). When he returned at the end stopping Charlotte’s carriage, I seriously thought he would have said he broke up his engagement, but alas. The previous episode I really wanted them together (thanks to Sidney’s speech to Charlotte when he told her his ex-fiance left and how Charlotte makes him a better person *melts* and of course their dancing scene the episode prior was amazing). In the early parts of the season, while I knew Charlotte and Sidney would be a thing-eventually, I couldn’t help but have a soft spot for Young Stringer’s character and my appreciation never truly left. I felt he was paired well with Charlotte. Such a tragic ending for him. He wanted to better himself (much like the Parker brothers) but after his father’s death he no longer will. Throughout the series, I enjoyed Miss Lambe’s character, but I agree with many reviews that I was reading that her character was kind of dropped at the end. I’m curious what her reaction will be when she finds out about SIdney’s engagement...

Thank you again, Andrew Davies. I was not expecting to like this adaptation so much.    

ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST

The best way to describe one of NBC’s latest shows is that I feel happy and in a good mood whenever I finish an episode. (And then I’m immediately upset that I have to wait a week for the next one. I watch them too fast.) I’ve heard many people compare it to Glee and while I could definitely understand that I keep getting drawn back to Abc’s short lived Eli Stone. There Eli (played by Jonny Lee Miller) could hear people around him sing and dance, which helped him solve upcoming law cases. In this show he was experiencing a brain tumor, but so far Zoey seems all clear. Instead, a freak accident while she is getting an MRI scan and listening to music, allows for her to hear people sing (and perform) their innermost feelings. There’s still some logistics to discover like what Zoey looks like when she watches these performances (does she move around or look like she’s just staring into the air. I might be thinking into this too much...I know). We just recently found out that sometimes she can speak to others as they are happening. Each time she hears someone sing she is meant to help them with something in their life. It could be a family member, co worker, friend, or like this past week her boss. While there’s one major problem (that she has to fix), there are often multiple songs in one episode which I really enjoy. The cast is also very strong, both musically and as actors. I can’t wait to see where the rest of the season is headed!

TO ALL THE BOYS P.S. I STILL LOVE YOU

When the first film was released on Netflix about 2 years ago, I was instantly a fan. I was unfamiliar with the book, but quickly added to my TBR list. (My to read list is extremely long, so I still haven’t gotten to it. Story of my life.) I really enjoyed watching Lara Jean experience the results of having her secretive love letters distributed to her past crushes. I was definitely Team Peter and Lara by the end of the film. They were adorable. The sequel was released earlier this month and I kind of forgot about it. It felt like we had been preparing for the sequel for a bit and then I must have been watching too much Disney Plus to miss the trailer. Watching P.S. I still love you, I just missed the original film. There were parts I liked and I was a big fan of John Ambrose (and of course Jordan Fisher because he’s great), but overall I felt like much didn’t happen. Also, Lara and Peter’s relationship kind of bothered me in parts. I understand that for both of them this was the first time they were in this kind of relationship and could feel awkward about certain things (like the Valentine’s singing-gram or writing an original poem). The main part I did like about them was towards the end when he arrived at the retirement home. I don’t say this often, but I have no want to re-watch it any time soon.   

VIOLETTA SEASON 1

Speaking of Disney Plus....

In a quick month and a half I have successfully watched ALL 80 episodes of season 1 of Violetta. I feel so accomplished and know the withdrawal will happen very soon. (I just finished last night and I’ve been listening to the music a lot recently). I’m so upset that season 2 has not be released on Disney Plus yet. I thought it would be by now because the streaming service has been up for a good amount of months and this show was so popular around the world. Unfortunately, I have not been lucky with my Google searches for when they’ll release it and no luck with YouTube either (no English caption options). I’ve been hearing that season 2 is really great because season 1 did a nice job of establishing these characters and now we get to see more story-lines. I will miss the students and teachers at the Studio as well the home-life at the Castillo’s house. Throughout 80 episodes it’s understandable to love and hate several characters as you’re with them for a good amount of time. For some people it was a roller coaster, but there were a good amount that I liked pretty consistently. I am a fan of Violetta and Leon and they had some super cute moments. I think it was about episode 35 where I truly felt like connection. When Tomas left the love triangle for a bit I actually grew to like him and would often joke how he never smiled and had a Tomas face. I really liked You Mix and the introduction of Frederico. Some great songs came out of that section like Ven y Canta and Tienes el Talento, but my favorite is definitely Ser Mejor. And of course, I will always have love for Pablo. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m going to miss reading subtitles (I really do feel like I know more Spanish now). Definitely check out this show if you want something drama filled and funny at the same time. 

LEGACIES

I know I dedicated a whole post to Chris Wood’s return as Kai Parker on Legacies. (See the article here:https://talesofafangirlwithadvr.tumblr.com/post/190761328673/omg-legacies-2x12) But I still had to include it in this wrap up because once again Legacies is doing a great job this season. I was so excited to see it when it came back from the mid-season hiatus. Since the return of Wood it has gotten more of a TVD vibe than usual, which is great. I haven’t watched the last episode, but have seen a clip of Kai masquerading at the school. I am going to be very interested to see for how long he hangs around and how long it takes for them to discover him AND how Josie handles the evil inside of her. 

BROOKLYN NINE NINE

Thank goodness this show got renewed (and picked up from NBC). When it started a couple of weeks ago, I was reminded how much I missed it. I can’t get over that this is already the second season on NBC. As usual the hi-jinks of the Nine Nine have been entertaining to watch. The Jimmy Jab games were great. I loved how Hitchcock was so desperate to win that he was taking Scully’s array of pills. What an ending with Debbie! Did not think she could be capable of that. I can’t wait to see the outcome next episode. I’m so excited for a Santiago-Peralta baby. It was a great episode when they were hiding it from Charles and Adrian returned. I’ve seen the movie Memento and it is great! It was hilarious each time he was like, ‘I don’t know what that is’ and then saying ‘Finding Dory’ solved everything. I am so happy that this show was suggested for me to watch and fill my Office and Parks and Rec void. Whenever a new episode’s on the DVR I can’t wait to watch it.      

LEGENDS OF TOMORROW

And last, but certainly not least, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow has once again not disappointed me this season (I know it’s still early, but I’m optimistic). It started at the end of January following the events of Crisis and I liked how this season transitioned with all the changes (the major one being the introduction of Zari’s brother). I am really happy to see her again though and how she is having these flashes of her old life on board the Wave-rider. I can’t wait to see that reveal happen (especially because as of right now only Nate knows the ‘truth’). I love seeing Ava as a permanent part of the Legends crew and as stepping in as Captain when Sara was away. She is a great addition and I like how quirky she is since we first met her. Her and Sara are perfect. I also love Ray and Nora. Nora as a fairy godmother is fantastic. One of my favorite episodes was the one with the 80s dance. Her role in all of that was great and her realization with what she can provide for these kids. I feel like this is going to be the reason Ray leaves the Legends. I remember seeing Brandon Routh’s Instagram Post about leaving the show and this feels like the reason he will. I hope that isn’t for a while though because I am going to miss him a lot. 

Until March!   

[ztafraternity]

Assess your privilege. Be an ally.

By Suzanna Johnson, Province President, Inclusion Committee Member (Beta Psi alumna)

First and foremost – this post is specifically about how to be an ally to our black sisters. Many of the suggestions and ideas in this article can and should be applied to allyship for ANY marginalized group. But before someone responds to my thoughts and position that as an organization, we need not be afraid to say #BlackLivesMatter, with an “All Lives Matter” response, please know we are specifically discussing allyship to the black community. Yes, it goes without saying that all lives matter, but right now, in this time, our black sisters need the floor and the support (#sorrynotsorry). I recognize that for many, this topic and these conversations are difficult, but because our organization desires to continue to “enrich and ennoble our lives,” these words must be shared. 

*This article is based on my opinions and my research and is not comprehensive of all opinions within the entire black community. If you’re ever unsure about what more you can do, don’t be afraid to ask or have the conversation with communities you’re looking to serve as an ally.*

What is happening right now?

Racial injustice and police brutality, which stem from a history riddled with systemic, structural, institutional and individual racism and white supremacy, plague this country. Why should Zetas care? Well, as a fellow sister once said in her blog, Cultures are not costumes and why Zetas should care, “caring for others is the foundation that our sisterhood is built on.”

Pictured: #SayTheirNames: This graphic displays a portion of the people of color who have died as a direct result of police brutality since 2014. (source)

Yes, historically, like many other predominantly white organizations, our sisterhood and organization did not welcome black women and other women of color when it was founded. But, our sisterhood and organization has changed since 1898. And I’m proud of the steps, however small, because but for those steps, I wouldn’t be a member; I wouldn’t be an advisor; I wouldn’t now be one of the first black National Officers for our organization. 

I hope that Maud, Della, Mary, Ethel, Helen, Frances, Ruby and the Alices would be proud of the progress we’ve made as an organization. I hope that they would look at our membership of over 275,000 women strong and beam with excitement at the diversity we’ve achieved thus far and push us to continue to do better—to make the stand that #BlackLivesMatter. So, while we historically were an organization built by and for a single race, my friends, “times they are a changin’,” and as Zetas we owe it to ourselves and our organization to evolve.  

I realize you may have questions about how to be a good ally. I’ll answer a few key questions in each of the following sections.

What key terms should you know?

So, let’s learn some key words/terms you’ve probably heard but never had broken down for you (at least not like this).

What is individual racism?

This is most easily explained as the default definition when you think of “racism.” It is the individual beliefs or behaviors and racist assumptions, which are often reinforced by structural racism (see below). Examples are often seen in the form of racist jokes or comments that someone believes in the inherent superiority of white people over all people of color (source) —which leads us to….

What is white supremacy?

If you’re like me, graphics are always easier to process, so here’s the best way I can explain it, with some help from the experts. The graphic addresses white supremacy through the lens of social norms. Note that all examples in the graphic fall under the category of white supremacy and are unacceptable practices. 

(image source)

What is systemic/structural/institutional racism? 

These are policies and practices in established institutions resulting in the exclusion of designated groups. (source) 

What does this mean?!?

Well, in layman's terms, it means that as a result of U.S. history and continued ideologies, your black sisters are set up (unless something changes), to be forever marginalized as a group within society.

Don’t believe me?

Here are the facts:

The black unemployment rate is twice that of whites. (source)

Job applicants with “white sounding” names get called back 50% more often than applicants with “black sounding” names, even when they have identical resumes. (source)

Black students are three times more likely than white students to be suspended for the same infraction. (source)

Blacks make up 13% of the population and represent 40% of the prison population. (source)

When black people are convicted, they are 20% more likely to be sentenced to jail time and typically see sentences 20% longer than those for whites who are convicted of the same crimes. (source)

More than 7.4% of the black population is disenfranchised (stripped of the right to vote) as a result of felony convictions versus 1.8% of the non-black population. (source)

Black women are four times more likely to die from childbirth. (source)

For every $100 in white family wealth, black families hold $5.04. (source: New York Times via the U.S. Census Bureau)

For every $100 white families earn in income, black families earn $57.30. (source: New York Times via the U.S. Census Bureau)

Black drivers are 20% more likely to be pulled over than whites. (source)

I’ve included a graphic from @theconciouskid, designed by @courtneyahndesign below, which further demonstrates what systemic racism looks in society. Click here to see the full series.

What can you do?

You’ve got the hard facts. Now, what can you do to help effect change?

Educate yourself

If you’re a collegian…

Read books/articles/watch documentaries. This list from Time is a great place to start. Check out these films: 13th on Netflix (Ava DuVernay), When They See Us on Netflix (Ava DuVernay), and The Hate U Give on Hulu (George Tillman Jr.)

Have conversations. Proactively talk with your family, friends and community leaders about these issues. Hold your friends and family accountable when they perpetuate anti-black ideologies.

Utilize the upcoming resources from ZTA’s Inclusion Committee.

Hold events on campus with National Pan-Hellenic Council groups that bring awareness to these issues. For anyone who is unsure what organizations are under NPHC, here you go.

If you’re an alumna, your life looks a little different than a collegian’s, but what you can do to effect change includes all the above, plus ONE MORE THING…

Talk to your children early. There it is: Educate your children and raise them to be advocates.

This graphic explains how children learn about race and can help guide your discussions.

This article gives great advice about how to talk about race with children.

Recognize your privilege

Understand the definition of white privilege. Again, here I have to defer to some well-created graphics to easily explain this concept. Check out the graphic below for a quick explanation and see the full series here

Like this article says, “Accept the reality of this country’s dynamics.” The sooner we accept it, the sooner we can change it. Let’s not be ostriches with our heads buried in the sand.

Use your privilege to fight with and for those who are marginalized.

STOP appropriation

The Cambridge Dictionary defines appropriation as “the act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing that you understand or respect this culture.” 

STOP picking apart pieces of black culture whenever you want to benefit yourself financially or gain likes on social media.

Examples: Wearing darker/tanner makeup to make yourself look darker, putting your hair in cornrows, wearing a weave or any historically black hairstyles.

Check out this article and this article with some more specific examples and explanations of what has been called “blackfishing” on Twitter.

LISTEN!

Listen to podcasts like “The Nod,” “Code Switch” and “Come Through with Rebecca Carroll.” Check out this list to find even more options.

“Uplift the voices and experiences of people of color so that we are not continuously drowned out and ignored.” (source)

Remember, it is NOT our responsibility to educate you on these topics simply because we are black. 

Donate

https://blacklivesmatter.com/

https://www.reclaimtheblock.org/home

https://www.naacpldf.org/

https://www.themarshallproject.org/donate

https://bailproject.org/

https://www.cuapb.org/what_we_do

https://www.knowyourrightscamp.com/

And many others….

Stay informed

#RocktheVote and choose to support and elect officials who have a track record of ensuring the most marginalized among us are heard and advocated for.

Follow social media pages like: @theconsciouskid and @rachel.cargle

Follow the relevant hashtags: #BlackLivesMatter #AhmaudArbery #JusticeForFloyd

Still have questions?

Here are some more great resources for you.

Join our Panhellenic friends at Delta Gamma Fraternity for a talk about the impact of microaggressions on June 10 at 8 p.m. EDT. Register here.

Read about white anti-racism in this Q&A style article.

This is a list of 75 things white people can do for racial justice. 

Learn more about being a strong ally with these racial equity tools.

Spend some time on the NAACP website. Click around and learn more about racial inequality, how to be a good ally and more. 

[britesparc]

Weekend Top Ten #433

Top Ten Things I Want from Xbox Series X

June is Games Month here at David’s Top Tens! That’s right, all month long we’re exploring the majesty of what we all used to call “computer games” before we became too cool. That’s because it’s the time of year when huge multinationals tantalise us with pre-rendered cinematics showcasing gaming experiences utterly divorced from what we’ll get to play. Even in this Time of Crisis (as opposed to a Time Crisis), games companies are still Touting Their Wares, and as such, I am brimming with fanboy fervour, tantalised at the prospect of Gaming Yet to Come. This week alone has seen sexy new videos from the likes of EA, Pokémon, and Sony – whose PlayStation 5 reveal gave us the best glimpse yet at exactly what the next generation could look like. I was impressed; although there wasn’t too much in the way of radically new concepts or whatever, games looked good, with plenty of sexy, shiny new bells and whistles, and it looked like environments will be bigger, more fluid, and more reactive than ever before. Plus seeing the ray-tracing in Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart gave me serious “Quake II running on a 3D accelerator card” vibes. Suddenly I was sixteen again, getting all sticky-knickered over texture filtering and coloured lightning.

It was great.

However, I’m pretty much an Xbox-first gamer; mostly, I suppose, due to inertia, having gotten used now to how an Xbox works, to the point where a PlayStation always feels a little alien (still wanna play The Last of Us Part II, though). I’m more of a fan of the Xbox game franchises – the main reason I bought an original Xbox in the first place (way back in 2001) was to play Halo: Combat Evolved, and because of the promise of Fable. This love of Xbox games has only grown with the acquisition of Rare (despite the slight misstep of Perfect Dark Zero) and the release of games like Crackdown, Gears, and Forza Horizon. So as much as I try to be open-minded – and certainly I try to avoid any kind of partisan mud-slinging – I guess I’m pretty much in the tank for Xbox. As such, I’m phenomenally excited for Xbox Series X. I got an Xbox One at launch, and despite all of the hullaballoo and criticism, I’ve always really liked it. I think it’s kind of struggled compared to its predecessors (cult favourite OG Xbox and revolutionary Xbox 360), and hasn’t quite had the era-defining games that both of those enjoyed. All that being said, though, I’ve had loads of fun with it, and so have my wife and kids. But I’ve stuck with the same machine all these years, never upgrading to the more streamlined Xbox One S or the super-duper-sexy Xbox One X. So when I do upgrade, I think the jump will be far more noticeable than someone who’s been enjoying Red Dead Redemption 2 or Gears 5 on a 4K display; it should really feel like a new generation. And that’s before we get to all of the traced rays and other lovely gubbins.  

Anyway, when it’s this time of year, I tend to do a semi-comical “E3 predictions” list, followed by a “Stuff I liked at E3” list. Obviously E3 isn’t really happening, but these other online game reveals are, and given my aforementioned excitement over Series X – and Microsoft’s upcoming and much-anticipated reveal of first-party titles – I thought I’d divert my thoughts to what I want to see on the new console. However, unlike the traditional E3 predictions of yore, I’m going to look at what I’d like from the console rather than what games I’d like to see. Partly that’s because these announcement videos are getting spread so far and wide that it’s hard to keep track of what’s been revealed or when we’re likely to see something; partly it’s because we already know quite a few Xbox games that are coming out; and partly because the list would just degenerate into older franchises I want to see come back round again. Plus, with Crackdown 3 having already happened, a new Fable more-or-less an open secret, and a new Perfect Dark being very heavily rumoured, my go-to “wants” are getting thin on the ground. Perhaps Tim Schafer can bring his old LucasArts classics to the Xbox next year…? Whatever, this time around, I’m looking at that big black box and thinking about what features and design elements I’d like to see. What could be improved from how the Xbox One works? How would I like Microsoft to leverage their assets – from the faster SSD to the power of Project xCloud? Basically, what do I want Xbox Series X to be like, outside from glittering reflections on Master Chief’s shiny armour?

Streamlined, faster dashboard: now they’ve already said that the Xbox Series X dash will be effectively identical to the Xbox One dash, which is a trifle disappointing, but I hope that doesn’t mean that both systems can’t get an improved dashboard before Christmas. At the moment things are a bit fiddly, and I’d like to use the improved SSD to mean seamless transitions from page to page. Make it super-easy to get to your game library. Allow more customisation of the landing page. How about allowing us to resize icons, like on Windows 10? Don’t have quite so many obscure categories clogging up the front page. Use the shoulder buttons to hop between sections. Make it more about the games I can play rather than connectivity, shopping, or chatting. Stuff like that.

Integrated streaming: with Project xCloud on the (official) horizon, hopefully we can integrate that service into how the Xbox works. How’s about letting us stream demos straight from the store? Or stream games while they install/download? Or the option to stream any game we own rather than play it from the console? Or cast games from console to phone, or tablet, or PC, so we can enjoy the benefits of Series X hardware in the palm of our hands?

Discless play: teased then withdrawn from the Xbox One launch as it require the internet to check, I hope this can make a belated return. I like physical media, but I also like not having to get off the couch to change discs. I’d be very willing to accept an always-on connection as the price for playing a game without the disc in. If they could find some way to implement this and keep everyone happy, I’d be delighted.

Improved Guide menu: the best thing about the Xbox 360 interface was the Guide menu, which – certainly by the end of the generation – basically offered you full console functionality from one simple pause-button menu. The One Guide has been refined but could go further. Offer instant access to all our games, and all the system settings. Let us seamlessly jump from one thing to another and back again. Let us view all our captures quickly and easily. And let us go through game-by-game and see all our achievements, cycling through their related imagery. Basically, make it more like the 360, please.

Standardised settings: another amazing thing the 360 did that was totally walked back for the One is the idea of having a standardised range of settings that were applied across your entire profile. So if you want to invert your Y-axis, you tick one box, then all games are inverted. This was fantastic, and Microsoft were daft for undoing it. Make it good again! You have the power!

Refined subscription services: I think Game Pass is the future of Xbox, and I think xCloud is the future of Game Pass. This seems fairly obvious to me. I don’t know how much money Microsoft makes from Game Pass, but the way they’re leveraging their entire gaming strategy around it suggests that it’s a much stronger money-spinner for them than the traditional console market. I just hope that eventually the myriad Xbox subscriptions can be refined. Perhaps “Gold” as we understand it could be retired, replaced with a simple three-tier monthly sub, similar to Netflix; Game Pass Bronze (limited multiplayer, limited ability to download games from the library); Silver (Gold and Game Pass as we understand it, plus limited streaming), and Gold (all the games plus full streaming of everything)? This would, hopefully, mean we could get some of the benefits at a reduced cost (say, a fiver a month), and the “free” games in Game Pass would offset the loss of Games With Gold, perhaps.

Switch app: simply put, this would be cool: the ability to stream Xbox games on a Switch. Nothing more to it than that, really; the Switch form factor and controls would lend themselves to the Xbox experience effortlessly, and it’d mean I could continue my Halo campaign whilst my wife hogs the Xbox with Stardew Valley again.

Tangible differences between generations: on the one hand, I really applaud Microsoft’s blended approach to console generations. Smart Delivery, Backwards Compatibility, and Play Anywhere combine to form a very consumer-friendly approach; if you a buy a game now, you’re more-or-less guaranteed the best possible version come the Series X launch in November (or whenever). The downside to this, however, is a slight nagging feeling that we’re not going to see the best that the console can do; it’s fair enough that the Xbox One and Series X versions of Halo Infinite are, to all intents and purposes, on the same disc, and your progress and achievements carry over; but does this not mean that, aside from improvements in graphics and loading times, the Series X version is functionally identical? Is it just like upgrading a graphics card? Ratchet and Clank boasted some nifty dimension-hopping technology that presumably is a core part of the gameplay and looked like something that maybe wasn’t possible this gen; will Xbox owners miss out on features like that? If Series X could, say, give us a new Fable that presented as one continuous open world with no “hubs” or separated areas or loading, with some kind of magical traversal that allowed us to rocket across the landscape on a broomstick or whatever, would that not be handicapped by having to carry save game data over from the inevitable Xbox One version? Basically, I’m fascinated by how it’s going to work, but I hope we’re not going to end up slightly short-changed from a featureset point of view.

New hardware: not just the Series X itself, obviously; and not even the strongly-rumoured “Series S” either. I mean other bits and bobs. As they’ve already shown us the controller, I can’t realistically wish for one that had a microphone in it, but a tiny mic attachment maybe? Alongside the obvious headset. I wanna talk to the machine, basically; it was the one genuine benefit of Kinect. Also: a new, improved, media remote. A wireless mouse and keyboard, or some kind of lap-based hybrid. A new camera, not as invasive or scary as Kinect, just so we can use the Xbox to Skype people. And y’know what? VR support. Doesn’t have to be unique, bespoke headsets; just let us use PC ones, and let developers support VR in Xbox games. I don’t have the money or space to upgrade my laptop to be VR-ready, but if I had a PlayStation you can be damn sure I’d have PSVR. Half-Life: Alyx might be a pipe dream, but can I play Star Wars Squadrons at least?

Don’t bankrupt me: yeah, this. I’m cautiously optimistic that Microsoft will at least attempt to make this manageable; the recent rumour that it’d sell for $399 was much appreciated even if I think it’s supremely unlikely, especially if Lockheart/Series S is a thing. With Sony giving out noises that the PS5 will be a “good value” proposition rather than cheap, I think MS will strongly attempt to undercut them, but also not feel the need to go stupidly low. So please, Microsoft: $450, top end. Please don’t give us a $499 box. I’m already gonna be forking out for a new TV so I’d appreciate if I could keep the whole cost. For what it’s worth, I think the prices of all the new consoles will be: PS5 $499; XSX $449; PS5 DE $399; XSS $299. There you go: I managed to slip in an E3 prediction right at the very end. Prove me wrong, guys!

Phew, that was another epic one. But it was fun. I guess it’s weird to try to talk about the feel of a console without having used it. There are things I’d like improving with the look and feel of Xbox, but it’s hard to quantify it; stuff that’s clunky on a daily basis. And I’m probably an edge case anyway: someone with a huge interest in games and gaming, but who’s not very interested in multiplayer, and who – because of time and money but mostly time – rarely plays new releases, and takes ages to complete a game. But anyway. I’m dead excited about the Xbox Series X, and I can’t wait to hear more.

[purplesurveys]

829

Are you the type of person who gets straight to the point? For the most part, yeah. I’m a little impatient and quickly get annoyed when people go around in circles. What was the last thing you said in complete caps? It was probably the conversation I had with Angela this morning since we talk in all caps 97% of the time. The subject of the conversation is a bit of an inside joke though so it’ll be complicated just to start explaining it. Do you enjoy playing board games? Not really. I’m bad at following instructions so I’m mostly uninterested when someone tries to explain a new board game to me. I stick with the ones I already know, which aren’t a lot. Are there any movies you are wanting to see? Yeah but not any upcoming ones (if there are even any). My film queue is full of stuff that’s been released in the past, and the ‘My List’ section on my Netflix for instance has movies like Rosemary’s Baby, The Pianist, The Truman Show, V for Vendetta, etc. Do you live closer to the Atlantic Ocean or the Pacific Ocean? Pacific. I’m nowhere near the Atlantic Ocean.

Who was the last contact you stored into your cell phone, if you have one? The makeup artist who did my hair and makeup for my test grad shoot last December. My mom loved how I look so she had me ask for their contact just in case she needs it for future events. Did you wear anything new today? Nope, because I’ve been home for the last three months. That sounds more and more ridiculous to say each day... Would you ever have a calendar in your car? No, that’s what my phone is for. I think having a calendar in my car would be highly distracting too? What was the last song you sang along to? I’m not sure, I don’t think I listened to music today or yesterday. My guess would be Saw You in a Dream - The Japanese House. Are you a fan of the band Taking Back Sunday? No, but I heard of them a lot when I was a younger teenager. Do you ever eavesdrop on people's conversations? I don’t usually get to because my hearing is bad lol, but if it’s juicy and if I caught the context I probably would. Aside from waking up, what was the first thing you did this morning? I hung out with Cooper. I’m officially in charge of playing with him whenever he’s awake haha. I’ve never cared for a puppy before so one thing I learned is it’s a lot like taking care of a newborn baby? Cooper’s routine so far has been sleep for 1-2 hours, play for 1, and repeat. Once we notice him getting up, I’m the fun mom that plays with him until he tires himself out. Are you good at playing Hide and Go Seek? I can be good at it but I generally don’t like playing it. I always feel anxious whenever the It gets warmer to wherever I’m hiding. Do you live in an apartment or a house? House. Is there a music artist that never seizes to amaze you? In recent years Paramore has been drastically changing their sound for every new album they put out, so I’m always excited when they have new material because they always hit it out of the park. At what time do you normally go to bed? It ranges between 12 and 2 AM. It’s no longer as late as before. What is the last magazine you read? I haven’t read a physical magazine in a year or two; but the last online version of a magazine that I checked out was Esquire. How many words do you type per minute? If I’m taking a speed typing test where I really have to type as fast as I possibly can, I can reach 80-90. I never have to type that fast though so my typing speed would definitely be considerably less. What is your favorite term of endearment? I like baby. Do you like Twizzlers? I got into them as a kid just because Kristen Stewart ate it in the Twilight movie LMAOOOOO. Fangirls are ridiculous. I’m honestly just fine with them, they’re not groundbreakingly good or anything. I don’t even think I’ve had them again since my Twilight phase. Who or what made you smile last? I took a peek at what my dad was making for dinner and I already know it’s gonna be so good. Have you ever seen the movie The Wicker Man? Nope. How many states are between the state you live in and Florida? *yawn* Another US-centric question; though I got a little curious and looked up the distance between Florida and Manila instead. Google says 14,717 km. Do you sneak in candy/soda when you go to the movies? You don’t have to sneak in any type of food when you go to the cinemas here since they allow you to bring in whatever you want. I once bought Cinnabon buns to watch Wonder Woman hahah. The only unofficial rule is just don’t bring something that’s gonna smell and distract everyone. What was the last song you had on repeat? Back To You - Louis Tomlinson because of a question I answered on a survey yesterday. Do you often have that song on repeat? In 2017 I sure did. I don’t encounter the song these days anymore unless I look it up myself on Spotify. What brand of lotion do you use? I don’t use lotion. Where are your favorite pair of jeans from? I’m not sure actually. It was my mom who saw it and she bought it when she thought of me, and I never thought to ask her where she got it from. Silly string or confetti? Like, for a party? Confetti looks nicer to me. What month is your best friend's birthday in? June and September. One a scale of 1 to 10, how tired are you right now? 12 from taking care of Cooper, 2 in general because I made coffee. How long is your favorite song? I don’t really pick favorite songs because I have at least one in my preferred genres at a time. Nachos or tacos? Nachos. Also because I miss Nacho. Whose wedding did you last attend? My uncle and his then-fiancée, now my aunt, but that was 2007. It’s my parents who get invited to a lot of weddings, but not me and my siblings. Are you a rebel? Not anymore. I definitely acted like one when I hit puberty though. Does it take you more or less than an hour to get ready for the day? Less. I usually savor my time in bed then hurry up once I’m about to be running late haha. I’m out the door by 15, 20 minutes.   What was the highlight of your day today? Taking a survey this morning on the couch with Cooper napping beside me while Kimi was near my feet :) Do you tap your foot when you listen to music? No, especially not when I’m driving lmao. Would you rather use tape or glue? Tape, it’s more secure. Homemade or store bought cards? Either works fine because my ultimate takeaway is that at least someone thought of me. I would personally make homemade cards/letters though. When did you last eat popcorn? Sometime around Christmas. My mom started making us bowls of popcorn but we got tired of it pretty quickly so our popcorn binge only lasted over the break. Have you ever done community service? I’ve done it with my classmates for a class requirement, not because we did something bad and it was our punishment. Will you get your hair cut anytime soon? Nope, I just gave it a big haircut earlier this year. Are you uncoordinated? Mostly not, but I still have moments where I trip over air. Michael or Janet Jackson? Michael. I know Janet is crazy talented too but I just never started trying to get into her music. Do you listen to any hip hop? Just some. What will you be doing at this time tomorrow? Most likely doing surveys too, as is routine. Have you ever listened to Jane's Addiction? I haven’t. Orange or purple? Purple. & - the typical ending to my surveys - how about some lyrics? “There’s just no future left for us to dream of, living in an era of instability / So caught up in the culture of their rivals, fear breeds in honest men.” From High Pressure Low - Against Me! Been thinking about these lyrics for the last few days.

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Two Hundred Seventy-Three: A Screeching Halt ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina, blood, serious injury ] [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life ] [ AO3 Link ]

“All right, I’ll see you after class, then.”

“Okay! So, are we still going to have our take-out and movie Friday, or…?”

Sasuke chuckles, bringing his wife forward with an arm around her waist, planting a kiss against her temple. “Of course. I even delayed a quiz so I’d have less to grade this weekend.”

“Oh, scandalous, putting aside your work!” Hinata can’t help but tease, going a light shade of pink at the gesture.

“Hey, you teach first graders, you don’t have to deal with teenagers and their boatloads of homework like I do. If I want to give myself a break, I’ll do it. We’re not about to fall that far behind on the curriculum. We’ve had this planned for two weeks, now. A few days’ break from an algebra quiz won’t kill anyone.”

“All right, all right...well, I better get going. I’ve got a mini field trip to prepare for.”

“Heading to the park for the day?”

“Mhm. The high school band is hosting a concert and the elementary classes all get to go watch.”

“You’ll have to tell me how it goes.”

“I will. See you later, hun.”

“Bye.” Dropping Hinata off in front of their small town’s elementary school, Sasuke watches her reach the door before heading off further down the street to the high school. While his wife is a first grade teacher, he himself hosts algebra classes, typically for freshmen, but a few older students tend to get sprinkled in. True to his word, he’s skipping their quiz that was scheduled so he can, instead, have a guilt-free night without anything to grade to finally get a little peace and quiet with his wife. With the school year newly begun, they’ve both been up to their ears with work since the tail end of August. Any chance they get for a break is more than welcome.

Parking in the staff lot, Sasuke fetches his supplies from the back seat before making his way into the building...which means navigating a sea of teenagers. Easing his way through, he occasionally gives a greeting, nodding to students he knows. At one point he gently taps a teen’s head, giving him a scolding look at having found him lip-locked with his girlfriend.

“Try to keep PDA to a minimum, please,” Sasuke chides with a sigh.

The pair just pout, making no promises either way as they sulk. Sasuke just snorts. He knows well how it was being a teenager in love...at least, a bit. He and Hinata didn’t really get together until their senior year, carrying on into college when they both went into the same basic major of education, just with different focuses. While Hinata loves small children and early education, Sasuke prefers math and people a little more...grown up.

...not that all teenagers are mature, by any means.

Making his way into his classroom, he starts sorting through his things: reviewing today’s lesson plan, making sure he has graded homework to pass back, taking out today’s roll call sheet...and sending Hinata a quick text.

Did you pick a movie, by the way?

As he awaits her reply, he glances up as a few early bird students file in before the bell, eyes then lowering back to their textbook. His first period class has actually turned out to be one of his most productive, averaging a bit higher grades than the other slots he has through the day.

His mobile then buzzes.

Hm, not yet...we’ll have to browse Netflix and see what’s what. Should we watch an old favorite, or try something new?

He mulls that over.

Personally, if this is a relaxing kind of night, I’d prefer something we know so we don’t have to pay TOO close of attention...I might just doze off.

After a pause she responds, and he can almost hear her laugh.

All right, oldie but goodie it is! But next time I want to see that new drama...can’t remember the name but you can’t put it off forever :P

Sasuke can’t help a snort. Oh, yes he can.

But by then the warning bell rings, so he puts the phone on silent and gets ready to address his gaggle of teens. What with it being Friday, he doesn’t have the highest expectations for attention spans, but...hopefully they can get through his lesson, and then they’ll have all weekend to study. Or...in most cases, probably just cram a bit Sunday night.

He knows their ways.

“All right class,” he calls as the final bell rings, every desk occupied. “I’ll take roll call, and then we’ll jump right into things. I know you’re all eager to get through to the weekend, so...let’s just get today’s lesson over with, shall we?”

With everyone in attendance, he dives right into their current chapter section, explaining and giving examples on the white board. A few students have questions toward the end, but otherwise it seems to be smooth sailing.

So, when the bell rings, he announces the upcoming quiz as they take their leave. “Be ready on Monday! No homework for today, so go enjoy your weekend outside studying, all right?”

Second period he has free, finishing up a few stray assignments for an afternoon class he has yet to finish grading. When third period rolls around, he finds several students missing.

“They’re at the park for the concert,” one girl explains, and Sasuke nods in understanding.

“Right, the one for the little kids, gotcha. All right, well let’s get started, and -”

Before he can go on, the door slams open, and the entire class (including him) give a jolt. Beyond it is the gym teacher, looking harried and out of breath.

“Sasuke, I’m sorry but - your wife, she -”

Dread immediately weighs in his gut like a stone. “...what happened?”

“There was a-a car, and -” He swallows. “She was leading her class across the road to the park. They aren’t sure if the driver was drunk or not, but Hinata was struck, and -”

Sasuke’s face slackens, quickly draining of color. “...I...I have to -?”

“I’m free this period, I’ll watch your kids - get going!”

Nodding jerkily, Sasuke wastes no time in rushing past him through the door, sprinting down the hall to the door nearest the elementary school as frantic voices fill his classroom.

Please, please no...please no!

Shoving the door open, he doesn’t slow down, running flat out the entire way to the school and the park across the road. Already there’s sirens cutting through the air as the local ambulance makes its way to the scene. Elementary school students are gathered in the park, many crying as confusion and panic spread through the classes like a wildfire.

On the sidewalk, several teachers are gathered around, frantic and gesturing. One looks up, and he recognizes the elementary nurse. “Oh Sasuke, good you’re here - she’s pretty badly hurt, but she’s going to be okay. I think she’s got a few broken ribs and a broken arm, but her head and spine appear to be fine. We’re not moving her just in case, until the EMTs get here.”

Let through as the other adults part, Sasuke feels his heart stop in his chest. Hinata lays on the sidewalk, a bit of blood smeared across her chin. Her breath is short and gasping, an arm wrapped around her middle with a grimace of pain. The other lies weakly along her side.

“Oh shit...Hinata…” Carefully kneeling, he gently lays a hand on her shoulder. “Honey, I’m here…”

“Sasuke…? Oh, thank God...I-I’m all right, just...just a little banged up.”

“Shh, don’t talk - save your energy, and don’t make it any worse for those ribs.” He smooths at her bangs, expression gaunt with worry and apprehension. A glance up, and he asks, “What happened?”

“Hinata was leading her kids across the street when a car just...swerved around the corner,” a man replies, tone hushed. “It was all over the road, and going far above the speed limit. Hinata managed to corral the kids and get them out of the way just in time, but she was hit instead. The car tried to stop, the tires screeched something awful, but...it was still moving at a good clip when it hit her. She saved those kids...no telling the damage someone that small would have had. She kept them from panicking and scattering all over the road...”

“And the driver?”

The other teacher nods, and Sasuke looks up. Only then does he see the car smashed into a tree, a small swarm of police cars surrounding it.

“Seems they were in some kind of high speed chase. What possessed them to go through a school zone is beyond me…”

Siren blaring, the ambulance finally pulls up, EMTs rushing to evaluate the situation. Once they have her checked out, a stretcher is fetched, Hinata lifted onto it and loaded into the back.

“Sir, are you her husband?”

“Yes, I am. Can I go with you?”

“Of course.”

Turning back, a teacher lifts a hand in understanding before Sasuke can speak. “We’ll get word to the high school. I’m sure they’ll understand.”

“Thank you…” Climbing in beside his wife, Sasuke takes her hand, face still drawn.

“I’m all right, Sasuke...it could be w-worse.”

“I know, but that doesn’t make it any better. You got hit by a car…!”

“A few weeks, and I’ll be right as rain,” she assures him, smiling tiredly. “But...I guess this m-means we’ll miss our movie night...huh?”

“...I’m sure we can reschedule. For now...you’re my priority.”

Lacking any more words, Hinata just blinks slowly at him as the doors are closed and they pull away.

                                                             .oOo.

     Oh man, I hate writing a hurt Hinata ;o; But this was the first thing that came to mind upon reading the prompt. She'll be okay, just needs some recup time...and she was a hero saving those kidlings! Poor Sasuke's very shook up, tho...      Anyway, not...much else to say? I'm v tired and tomorrow's gonna be a long one, so I better get some sleep~ Thanks for reading!

[probabltbry]

Carole & Tuesday [Rants/My Opinion/Controversy]

THIS TOOK SO LONG TO WRITE, PLEASE SKIM IT AT LEAST (T.T).

This is very different than what I usually post and I want to begin by saying that I may not have all of the facts! I am basing this on what I’ve seen other people say on this site (and others) and fact checking. I am open to learning and understanding more, and I will read any and all comments (if this post gets any lol). If this changes anything, I am making this post through the lense of a black bisexual female, so my view on things may be different. :)

I try to keep this spoiler free in general, but since I’m going to talk about characters and episodes that have released that’s a little impossible, so I will warn you if there are any spoilers in the section I discuss. I want people who haven’t seen the anime to get a taste of what it is! 

In this long post I will touch on the following; LGBT+ representation, POC representation, exposure of the anime(streaming and where to find it), the community/fandom of C&T, Cybelle????!!, and other characters. Remember- this is my opinion and that is always subject to change.

For those of you who don’t know about Carole & Tuesday, it’s a Spring 2019 anime directed by Shinichiro Watanbe in association with the popular Bones studio. Shinichiro is well known for his other successful series such as Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloos and Space Dandy and Bones studio has produced many popular animes like Noragami, Soul Eater and Ouran High School Host Club, etc. [Fun fact, Cowboy Bebop and Carole & Tuesday are said to be set in the same universe and I died when I heard this.]

The plot of Carole & Tuesday, as provided by wiki is:

Set in the future on a partially terraformed Mars, teenager Tuesday Simmons runs away from her posh lifestyle as the daughter of a politician and makes her way to the populous Alba City to pursue her dream of being a musician with just a suitcase and her Gibsonacoustic guitar. On her first day in the city, she crosses paths with Carole Stanley, another aspiring musician who plays the piano, and the two decide to team up as a singer-songwriter duo under the name Carole & Tuesday.

Where can I find this? Why haven’t I heard of it?

I actually discovered Carole & Tuesday through google since I was looking at new and upcoming animes for the Spring and Summer of 2019. Sadly, the website I used show that Carole & Tuesday was an anime many people weren’t looking forward too- but that was only a handful of votes. Personally, I had been super ecstatic since, just from the promo poster, I assumed Carole and Tuesday would possibly be a couple, there’s a person of color as a main protaganist, and they’re both SUPER CUTE. This all made me happy beyond words. 

As of now, Carole & Tuesday should only be available on Japan Netflix. Japanese viewers tend to prefer weekly released episodes whereas Americans prefer to binge shows. I am assuming that once the show has completed airing in Japan (there are going to be 24 episodes) it will appear on other Netflixs around the world. 

I believe that’s why the promo for it has been severely lacking and the fanbase appears non-existant. The fandom is there, if you squint (which is why I’m surprised there’s already controversy). The fact that I had to look through a list on an unknown website and scroll to the bottom to find this anime is very showing of how unknown this anime is.

I also saw a post comparing Yuri!!! On Ice to Carole & Tuesday and I personally believe that OP took the wrong approach. I forgot the posters name (I will edit and tag if I find it again) but the post said something along theses lines; YOI is so popular because it’s a mlm show whereas C&T isn’t nearly as popular because it’s a wlw relationship with poc. 

While this can prove to be true in the future, there are some major differences that were overlooked. I was into the YOI hype when it was first released but it didn’t truly become popular until Yuri and Viktor were canon and everyone was speculating whether it was a kiss or a hug, etc. Yuri!!! On Ice is also a relationship with a person of color, Yuri, and the anime was also supported by Crunchyroll, a major streaming service for Americans/others. It has had two years to become popular, grow and this is one of the very few animes that had positive lgbt+ representation since the relationship grew just as normally as any other type of relationship. It also wasn’t labeled a yaoi/shounen ai (though this sadly didn’t stop the fetishization of the characters and No.6 did it first but let’s move on-). It felt like a big step in the anime lgbt+ community and it won’t be forgotten! 

Carole & Tuesday has just started off! Not much promotion is being shown in other countries outside of Japan and the first episode premiered in early April this year. I believe it’s harsh to compare C&T to such a popular anime when it’s literally just begun. It’s also exclusively on Netflix (besides pirating sites) so there is a little foreseeable loss since it won’t be available on Crunchyroll. But despite that I know there’s hope! Though mlm couples tend to be more popularly viewed, and any pairing that doesn’t have completely white/asian/white-presenting people in the relationship they tend to not garner much interests, but I don’t think C&T will fall into that pit. There’s simply not much promotion of it yet but it still has defied odds and has a fanbase with people from many different countries already!

Though I do see the OP’s point and concerns and they have facts on their side (look at fandometrics popular characters/couples, they’re mostly male) I think it’s too soon to point fingers.

Just imagine how large it’ll get when it has proper streaming (because many people do choose not to pirate in order to directly support the anime and it’s creators!). I think this is where our patience comes into play because if you have seen Carole & Tuesday already, you are most likely not using the most legal means. We are all early to the party.

LGBT+ and POC Representation (spoilers in part of this section, read first line):

I will say this, and this will only be the only spoiler free line, I think it has decent lgbt+ representation and that there’s more to unfold. If you’re going to watch exclusively for lgbt+ representation then I don’t think you will be too disappointed but the anime has a ways to go before it’s finished so my opinion can change.

But the most recent episodes and commentary has caused a ripple in viewers beliefs.

Anne and Marie 

I literally adored when Marie kissed Anne whilst Carole and Tuesday sat there blushing. Then, Marie was careful to ask if either of them had a boyfriend or girlfriend not assuming C or T’s sexualities at all. This happened on in an early episode so this left me to believe that more casual representation was on the way!

Cybelle

This was where it began to become uncomfortable for me and a few others. I actually couldn’t figure out whether Cybelle was a female, male or left to be ambiguous intentional (I just concluded she was non-binary until they used she/her pronouns). But many people concluded that since it was clear Cybelle was a female with an infatuation (not a crush, an infatuation) on Tuesday people simply labeled her as lesbian. A few are labeling her interactions with Tuesday and Carole as a harmful and negative commonly used trope when involving wlw characters.

Cybelle was being creepy and aggressive towards Tuesday, constantly touching her abruptly and without consent and going as far as biting Tuesday’s neck and leaving a mark. Actions like these feed into the trope that is commonly used in anime/television shows and it actually demeans real lesbian couples. It’s like a scapegoat; saying ‘here’s your rep’ but it’s very, very, very bad rep.

The controversy comes in since there are people defending Cybelle’s actions because she’s a girl, and people are literally calling others ‘homophobic’ because they choose not to ship Cybelle and Tuesday despite their ‘canon interactions’ but they still want Carole and Tuesday to become a couple.

My personal stance is that none of Cybelle’s actions were consensual and I will never want her and Tuesday to become a couple. I think the creators fed into a bad trope (I’m not sure if intentionally or not), and the real only development we got from this was Tuesday learning to stick up for herself. I also think that Cybelle is simply a crazed fan who is not in a sound mental state and that her gender may not necessarily play into this; maybe she was meant to just be an aggressive fan that overstepped boundaries and made people uncomfortable and just happened to be female. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be representation and should not be labeled as such.

But these are just thoughts!

Mermaid Sisters - Galatic Mermaid  

I was personally pleased that the Mermaid Sisters blatantly said they weren’t male or female, just like mermaids aren’t fish or human. Non-binary representation is my fucking jam!

But there are worries that this group was used as a comedic affect due to the way the characters were dressed and how they presented themselves, and the fact that they were POC who were interrupted, immediately lost and were shown to be aggressive directly after. 

When I first viewed this I was more focused on the fact that they were non-binary, had amazing voices and had sang a song that was clearly not the most appropriate for Mars Brightest. Now I understand that how there were presented can be damaging and as a person of color, I am disappointed but I’m still conflicted. This scene caused people to ‘cancel’ the show and they’re trying to discourage others to not view it but I want to watch until the very end.

Overall I am super happy with the POC representation in the show! Especially since various races and skin tones are show quite frequently.

Dahlia

The same can be said about Dahlia. People feared the a negative trope of transgender females was being displayed though it’s stated that Dahlia is currently male but their sex varies from time to time, on the official website!

The Community/Fandom

Honestly besides the few odd balls who stir the pot and clearly use harsh words when not needed, the fandom is chill. The artworks are sooo cute and a little scarce but you can find Carole and Tuesday content here, on twitter, on YouTube, Deviantart- literally where you would find any other fanbase! Most people are friendly and (NEED) are willing to talk with you! If you’re still hesitant to watch just message someone who constantly tags Carole & Tuesday because I assure, they’re dying to rant to someone about what goes on lol.

Here’s my last little tid bit on whether or not to watch!

You should watch this show because you want to. Don’t do it because someone else keeps saying you have to because it has representation, or because they think Pyotr is hot or whatever. Of course I am the biggest hoe for Carole & Tuesday and if someone wants a new anime to watch I will suggest this one!! But!! Watching a show just because you feel you have to and you have no genuine interests will dull the experience! You should watch and support the show if it makes you laugh, feel love and genuine enjoyment. That’s the point of anime and that is definitely the point of Carole & Tuesday. 

I have already seen so many people drop the show because they were forced into it and promised things that weren’t delivered (it’s still early on) and then they bad mouth the anime. If you want to start watching when there’s more hype and a fandom, then wait!! If you’re unsure and want more convincing, message me!! If this doesn’t seem like this anime suits your tastes and, then why did you read this far (kidding)?!!! Regardless, I just want everyone to have a good experience when watching so we can have more good vibes all around.

I would definitely give this anime a shot if you love music, beautiful voices, dancing, poc/lgbt+ rep, suspense and just amazing animation all around, though! It’s has a baby fandom but it’s surely going to grow and I can’t wait to see the outcome of the anime and what becomes of our lovely Carole and Tuesday! <3 

I’m also in love with Roddy, just look at him~ | I’m still not super fond of Angela but I am wishing her the best to achieve happiness in the end!

[sgtduckybucky]

Friendship

Requested by: @buckylaufeysonx <3

hi! could i get an imagine where the reader and Seb Stan are best friends, no romance between them, just the pure love which siblings have for each other. They are both playing in movies of marvel. so the reader goes to Sebastian's home and she stays over and they watch movies. They post stories of each other on instagram then some fans says something about they're not dating but she stays over, and calls her a whore. That broke her heart but some fans and Sebastian defend her and he comforts her and they cuddle and sleep. I know it sucks sorry but i love your writing. <3

A/N: I hope this is what you had in mind :)

You were currently in the studio about to practice your fight scene against Thanos in the upcoming Infinity War movie. 

You still had enough time before filming started so You decided, with the permission from the higher ups of course, to give a mini tour to your fans of the studio.

“Hi guys!” You greeted into the live Instagram video, “So, today we’re gonna shoot some of the fights scenes but before we do that, I thought I’d show you around.” You smiled.

You walked around the studio, showing the costumes, the makeup room, the gym and then finally walking up to a blue haired woman who was shyly covering her face.

“And this is Samantha! She’s our fight choreographer.” You told your followers.

Samantha continued to shyly dodge your phone but You playfully followed her, “At least say hi.” You giggled.

“Hi.” Samantha greeted with a quick wave before dashing off, laughing in embarrassment.

You laughed along, “Let’s see if we can find any of the other heroes.”

You hummed a random tune while walking down the hallway, checking in every room but not finding anyone in them.

The door of Sebastian’s room was closed but You heard sounds coming from in there so You knocked on the door.

“Come in!” The voice was muffled.

“Sebastian?” You called as You walked into the room.

“Boo!” His voice came from your right.

You turned quickly and came face to face with a smiling Sebastian, “Was that supposed to scare me?” You chuckled.

Sebastian shrugged, “Maybe.” He said in sing-song, “Are you recording.”

You nodded your head behind your phone, “It’s Instagram live. Say hi!” 

Sebastian widened his eyes comically then shoving his face very close into your phone camera, “Hiiiiii.” 

You laughed at his silly behavior.

Then, the door opened and in walked a stage manager to tell you that filming is about to start.

“Well, it’s time end this. I’ll see you guys later!” You waved cutely at your phone.

“Bye, guys!” Sebastian said quickly before You ended the live feed.

“Wanna come over and chill at my place?” Sebastian asked later when You were done shooting the scene in Wakanda.

“Only if you’re ordering Indian food.” 

Sebastian smiled, “Of course I am.

At his home, You plopped your body on his white couch, “So comfy.” You commented as You nuzzled your head on the black pillow coach.

Sebastian was tapping the number into his phone when You decided to pull out your phone and snap a quick picture of him and posting it to your Instagram story with the caption that read: “dinner with this dork.”

You then flipped the camera and took a picture of yourself grinning and holding up the peace sign. The caption read: “so comfortable I could fall asleep.”

While the both of you were having dinner, your phone buzzed indicating that You had a new notification.

“What the- when did you take a picture of me?” You said while laughing and trying to not to spill the food out of your mouth.

Sebastian had tagged You on a picture that he took of You. You were bringing the spoon full of rice to your mouth with your cheeks puffed up. His caption read: “can you get addicted to rice? cause I’m sure @yourusername is.”

You liked the picture as Sebastian replied, “Payback for last week when you posted the picture of me just waking up.”

When the both of you were done with dinner and throw everything out, You opened Netflix clicked on a random tv show and lowered the volume so that it was more of a background sound.

“Can I sleep over?” You whined as Sebastian lifted your legs, sat on the couch and then dropped your legs into his lap.

“Sure, I don’t mind.”

“Good cause after all that food I’m dead tired.” 

He chuckled at You.

The next morning, You woke up to the smell of Sebastian making pancakes. You took your phone and began filming him flip the pancake into the air.

“Woah, look at you being professional and shit.” 

Sebastian smirked, “I am a master chief after all.”

You snorted, “You almost burnt the ramen last week.”

“Hey!” Sebastian gave You playful scandalized look but You quickly posted the video.

“Any toppings?” He asked You as You sat on the dining chair.

“Blue berries and whip cream please.” 

As You at breakfast, your phone wouldn’t stop buzzing which was normal considering You had large number of followers.

You unlocked your phone and saw that Instagram was the one with the most notification.

You frowned at your phone as you let go of your fork.

“Everything ok?” Sebastian asked after taking a bit of pancake.

You shook your head as You tried not to cry at the comments You were reading. Sebastian snatched your phone and began to read.

She spends the night at his place and they’re not even dating? What a whore

Right? like damn skank thirsty much lmao

Bitch is stealing our man

That’s what mostly filled the comment section under the video of Sebastian making pancakes.

“What a bunch of assholes.” Sebastian said angrily, “Don’t listen to them, Y/N.”

You nodded your head, “I’m just tired of hearing people insulting me just because we’re friends. God, it’s like you’re not allowed to have female friends.” You stated.

Sighing, You added, “They hate me.”

“No, they don’t.” Sebastian then handed your phone back and You looked at your comments again.

omfg it’s like you guys have never heard of something called FRIENDS

damn if spending the night over at your friend’s house make you a skank then I must be the ultimate slut lol ignore them @yourusername 

yeah, seriously @yourusername those idiots are just jealous that they don’t have a beautiful friendship like yours and sebs.

More comments like those were being posted and You made sure you liked every single one of them.

“Those people aren’t our real fans.” Sebastian commented, “If they liked us, then they wouldn’t dare insult us. They’re just mean and bitter people with too much free time on their hand.”

You smiled at your friend as You switched off your phone.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

He reached his hand across the table and held yours, squeezing it in comfort.

“Give me ice-cream so I can feel better.”

Sebastian laughed loudly, “Oh my god! Why am I friends with you?”

[littledreamybeth]

Unforgettable Night

I love this picture so much I cannot describe it with proper words! Look how f*cking handsome he looks! Hope you enjoy this imagine and leave some feedback behind! I’d really appreciate it! Picture is not mine!!!

(Y/N)’s mind was buried deep into her studies as someone knocked on her front door and tore her out of her learning session. Checking up the time of her watch she wore on her wrist she noticed that it was 5 PM in the evening and she had spent fully five hours of studying without taking any break. Only now a slight hint of headache occurred and (Y/N) decided it was a good idea to lay her notices aside and try to relax. She stood up from her chair to respond the knocks on her door.

“I’m coming!” she called, and when she opened the door, she was greeted by a very handsome, dimpled young man with the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen in her entire life. Her heart started to flutter. A smile appeared instantly on her lips as she stood face to face with her best friend.

“ ‘ello love!” Harry said, carrying a little bouquet of flowers in his one hand while his other hand held a little white plastic bag. Giving her a kiss on her cheek, he entered the apartment, took his coat off and stepped directly into the kitchen.

“ Hi Harry…” (Y/N) closed the door and followed him straight to the kitchen where he was taking a small box out of the plastic back and unpacking it.

“Bought you your favorite doughnuts, love,” he informed her, handing her over one sweet treat with a pink frosting.

“That’s very lovely, thank you,” the young woman replied and after she took a smile bite from her doughnut and chewed it properly, enjoying the taste on her tongue, she also thanked him for the beautiful flowers that he got for her.

“You really didn’t have to buy me flowers, Harry. I would have been fine with only doughnuts.”

“Nah, I love to make you happy. Besides I thought they could bring some life into your apartment because everything else in here looks boring.”

 His dimples popped up as he grinned widely at her. (Y/N) rolled her eyes, hitting him slightly on his arm.

“Idiot,” she chuckled. “So, what brings you here? I thought I wouldn’t get to see you till next Friday?” She once again bit into her doughnut.

“I had some business to do in the city and was very close nearby so I assumed it was a great idea to check up on you and bless you with my presence.”

“Very thoughtful. I’m honored,” she said, then walking to her fridge to take out two cans of coke.”But you have been careful when you came here, haven’t you?”

“Yes, no worries! There were no cameras or fans around luckily.” 

Keeping her private life was a high priority in (Y/N)’s life, so when Harry decided to visit her, he had to make sure that no one was chasing after him to not reveal the location of her apartment.

“What have you been up to? Studying again?” he asked.

“Mhm, I have some upcoming exams that I need to get ready for unfortunately. They rob me of my last nerve. It’s unbearable. Urgh.”

“I’m glad that I do not have to study,” Harry said, opening the lid of his coke and taking a gulp out of it.

“You’re lucky you have talent, Harry. If I had a voice as good as yours, I would have probably not put myself under so much pressure.”

“You think being a singer is easy?”

“It’s definitely easier than studying.”

“If you knew,” he sighed.

They both exited the kitchen and made themselves comfortable on the couch in the living room, positioning their drinks on the small table in the middle of the room.

“Do you have any plans on Saturday?” Harry inquired.

“I don’t think so. Why you’re asking?”

“I was wondering if you’d like to accompany me to a wedding and be my date for the night.”

(Y/N)’s heart accelerated by the offer that he made her and she felt a blush creeping its way on her both cheeks. Hopefully, Harry would not notice it because that would be very embarrassing. You know, being friends with him was an amazing opportunity and she appreciated that he chose her for being his best friend, however it was not possible to not be attracted to him.

They knew each other for almost one year now. After a small accident in Starbucks in which (Y/N) was too distracted to pay attention to what was going on in front of her and unintentionally bumped into Harry and poured her coffee over her shirt, Harry offered to buy her another one as a compensation because he was not paying attention either. Both of them started to get into a deep conversation where they told each other every single detail about themselves and after that day and exchanging phone numbers, they began to meet each other regularly in their free time.

(Y/N) was aware that their relation was based in a friendly manner but it did not held her back from developing feelings for him. She battled a lot against her emotions for a long but no matter how hard she tried she would lose the fight at the end of the day. Besides, she doubted he could ever like her the way she liked him. There was no way she would tell him about this. Losing him is the last thing she wanted to do.

“Whose wedding?” she asked him.

“Someone from the family.”

“I don’t know, Harry,” she replied, fiddling with her fingers. “I mean I’m not even a family member and I don’t want to disturb the wedding with my presence. Besides, I know no one there and no one knows me.”

“You’re talking nonsense, love! You’ve become a part of the family already if you want it or not. And also, I’m taking you there as a companion. And do not worry, Mum will be there and Gemma and even Lou and Nick. You won’t be alone! And if there’s someone who makes a dumb comment about you, I’ll know how to deal with that person.”

“I really don’t know. It’s been years since I have been to a wedding and I don’t even have a proper dress for the event.”

Harry smiled at her, telling her not to worry. “Leave it to me, love. I know a good store that sells good dresses and I’m sure you’ll like them too. Just say yes please. I really don’t want to go there on my own while everybody brings their dates, wives, husbands or whatever.”

After a few moments of thinking, (Y/N) finally agreed.

“Alright…I’m coming with you.”

“Good! I’ll tell Lou to pick you up and we’ll see each other at the store on Saturday, agreed?” He held his up, indicating her to give him a high five.

“Agreed.”

The rest of the evening, they both spent time by watching Netflix and eating lots of Popcorn.

*Saturday*

(Y/N) and Lou were standing in front of the store that Harry had mentioned the last time she saw him but looking at the dresses that were displayed made (Y/N)’s inside churn. The dresses were probably more expensive than her rent so how in god’s name should she afford any of these dresses?

“Are you excited?” Lou asked her.

“Uhm… I’m not quite sure to be honest.”

Lou caressed her arm softly in a friendly manner. “Don’t worry. Harry has arranged everything?”

(Y/N) looked at her questioningly. “What do you mean he has arranged everything? He’s not going to pay for a dress isn’t he?”

Before Lou could respond, Harry was approaching towards them, being in a very happy mood. “

Hey, loves!” He gave them a tight hug. Then he turned to (Y/N). “Are you ready to pick up a dress?”

“You’re not going to pay for it, are you?” she asked him, kind of hoping he would say no even though she had no idea how to afford one dress.

“Of course I am, love. Come on, let’s go in.” He wanted to grab her by her hand, but (Y/N) refused to let him touch her.

“No way, Styles!” she ordered. “There is no way that you’re going to buy me a dress. I’m not allowing it!”

“Love, please! Don’t be like that! Let’s go in!”

“Are you fucking insane? Have you any idea how much they cost? I cannot let you waste so much money for me!”

“First: That’s my money and I can do whatever I want to do with it. Second, I want to spend money for you, so stop bugging and let’s get in.”

(Y/N) stood there, speechless and out of words but she let him lead her into the store. When they entered the store, all three of them were overwhelmed by so many different dresses and even suits.

“Holy shit,” (Y/N) mumbled.

One worker, who was a nice middle-aged lady, walked towards them and welcomed them to the store.

“Good afternoon! I’m Shannon. How can I help you?”

“We need a dress for my lovely friend here,” Harry explained, pointing at (Y/N) who still felt uneasy. The dresses were indescribably beautiful but hella expensive.

“I see,” Shannon smiled. “Do you know what kind of dress you’re looking for?” She addressed to the young woman.

(Y/N) just shrugged her shoulders. “I-I don’t know actually.”

Shannon asked her to follow her and gave her a little tour to each section to present her different kind of dresses. While she was looking around, Harry took out his purse and handed his credit card over to Lou.

“Listen, I have to go and get ready myself. Just buy her the first dress that she falls in love with and don’t care about the price. Just buy it. She shall have the best night of her life and one that she’ll never forget, okay? Use it for everything you need. I’ll wait for you at the wedding.”

Lou took the credit card out of his fingers.

“You really do love her, don’t you?” she smirked at him very knowingly. She had often witnessed how much Harry cared for (Y/N) and this was in a more than a friendly manner. He acted more like a boyfriend than a friend with the exception that they weren’t in a relationship. Lou was the first one who actually noticed his feelings for her however it was a shame they had not confessed their love for each other because Lou could see that (Y/N) loved him as well.

“Just take care of her,” Harry said, leaving her question unanswered. Lou assured him that she had everything under control. They said their goodbyes and Harry left the store.

Shortly after his disappearance, (Y/N) came back with Shannon, however her hands were empty.

“Where is Harry?” she inquired, looking for him.

“He went to get ready himself. We’ll meet him at the wedding. Where is you dress?”

A desperate sigh left (Y/N)’s mouth. “I really don’t want to buy any of them, Lou. Look at them, they are probably more worth than my existence.”

Lou laughed at her remark. “Stop talking nonsense. Come on I’ll help you.”

The next half an hour, they were searching for the perfect dress. However, when (Y/N) thought she found one, the price tag was the only thing that led her to put the dress back. Even the cheapest one was still expensive and (Y/N) began to feel uncomfortable.

“Found you!” Lou suddenly called and came towards (Y/N) with a black mermaid dress. “You have to try this on.”

“Are you insane?” (Y/N) exclaimed. “Look at the price tag! Holy shit! I’m not going to wear that!”

“Yes you are. And now, go get changed before I kick your ass.”

Reluctantly, she headed to the changing room. As she observed the black dress, (Y/N) instantly fell in love with it. The dress fell smooth on her fingertips and had long, lacy sleeves. Also the chest area was covered with lace and had beautiful patterns. Its skirt was very long and she felt that this was her dress. After she squeezed herself into it, of course with Shannon’s help, she observed herself in the large mirror in front of her. The dress fitted perfectly to her body and outlined her curves. She felt pretty and wonderful in this dress, almost like a princess.

She slowly went out of the changing room to present it to Lou and the blonde woman was out of words. 

“Wow, you- you look stunning, (Y/N). We’re definitely going to buy this!”

 Shannon also offered black high heels to the dress and after everything was bought even (Y/N) was against it, they drove back to Lou’s to get ready.

“I can’t wait to see Harry’s reaction,” Lou rambled as she did (Y/N)’s make up curled her hair. “God he’ll jump out of his socks when he sees you!”

“Don’t you think I’m too overdressed? I mean I don’t know the bride or groom.”

“Who cares?! You’re Harry’s date for tonight and nothing else matters. Let’s have some fun tonight, okay?”

The young woman sighed and mumbled an, ‘okay’. After Lou was also dressed and ready, they went into Lou’s car and once Lou started the engine, they drove off. Harry and (Y/N) had decided to arrive separately to the event so the risk of getting papped was not too high. She didn’t want the media to make any speculations about Harry and her when there was no sort of romance going on between them. Again, she just wanted to keep her life out of public.

They arrived shortly after Harry had led his family and Nick Grimshaw to their seats and now he was waiting for the two ladies. Of course, he was excited to see (Y/N). He knew she was going to look absolutely stunning. She always did. His heart did some flips as he spotted Lou’s car in front of the event hall. His eyes caught sight of (Y/N) who was stepping out of the vehicle and Harry felt like his knees were giving up and him, refusing to steady him. To tell she was beautiful was an understatement. She was beyond beautiful. She looked like a goddess in black.

“Wow…” he muttered under his breath. He watched her speaking to Lou, before she met Harry’s gaze and smiled at him. She was a bit shaky on her legs because she rarely walked on high heels however she managed it very well. She made her way to his side.

“Hi,” she said sheepishly. She felt his intense glare on her, which made her feel quite uneasy.

“Hello, love,” Harry said, still overwhelmed by her beauty. He took her hand gently and pressed a tender kiss on the back of her hand. “You utterly breath-taking, love.” He spun her around.

“Thank you. You look handsome yourself,” she replied with slight rosy cheeks. They stood there for a little while, smiling at each other and taking in each other’s appearance.

“Shall we go in?” Harry asked, offering his arm for her to hold on.

“Of course, let’s go.”

They walked in where the wedding had already started. People including the married couple were dancing on the dance floor like there was no tomorrow. Harry had already spotted his mother and sister and led her towards the table they were sitting at. Lou joined shortly after.

“(Y/N)!” Anne exclaimed, taking her into her arms. “Nice to see you here! You look stunning, my dear!”

“Thank you! You look beautiful yourself, Anne!” She greeted everyone at the table whose came out to be Harry’s relatives and of course Nick and took a seat right next to Harry.

(Y/N) was observing the actions that were going on as someone at the table asked a certain question.

“Harry, how long are you two together?” The question made (Y/N)’s heart beat faster and even Harry was baffled for a second. But he kept his composure and answered to his relative.

“I’m sorry, there’s a misunderstanding. We’re not dating, we’re just friends.”

“Unfortunately,” (Y/N) added in her mind. There was no doubt how much she wished they both were together. She really wanted to call him hers or being referred as his girlfriend.

“I see,” his relative spoke. “I’m sorry if I caused any inconvenience.”

“It’s alright.”

After many songs, the DJ changed to a slow one, actually Sweet Creature was playing now and Harry stood up, gaining everyone’s attention. He bent down to (Y/N) and said smilingly “May I have this dance, madam?”

(Y/N) looked at everyone at the table, many at them nodding their heads and even Anne indicated her to do so. So she laid her hand on top of his and smiled back. “You may.”

Hand in hand they stepped towards the dance floor, looking like a perfect couple. Once they arrived, Harry gently pushed her forward to his chest, one hand grabbing hers firmly while her other hand was placed on his shoulder. Laying his free hand on her waist, he started to move their bodies to the song. They bodies were dancing in the same pace, slow and elegant, like they were made for each other. (Y/N) felt safe in his arms, only he could radiate a feeling of safety, security and even home. She knew that Harry was home for her, her home and the only place she wanted to stay was beside him. Forever and ever.

But more than friendship was not possible, she knew.

While dancing, Harry placed his head gently on top of hers and hummed along with the song. Even through the volume of the speakers, (Y/N) could still hear his heart beat. The most beautiful sound she had ever heard.

“Again, you look very stunning, (Y/N),” Harry complimented. “I still cannot believe it’s actually you.”

“I can’t either.”

They stared intently into each other’s eyes and even a blind man could tell they were in love with each other. No words were needed to explain their feelings, the looks they shared for each other said everything. Harry was about to bend down to her and (Y/N)’s accelerated immediately, as the song was ended and everybody around them began to clap with their hands. Harry sighed.

“Come with me,” he whispered. “I have to tell you something.”

 And he pulled her out of the dancing floor to a more private area with hasty steps. (Y/N) could see a hint of distress on his face and began to worry for him.

“Harry, are you okay?” she asked, her voice slightly shaking.

“No I’m not!” he growled, making her flinch. “How can I be when the one I love is close but too far away from me?”

“What are you talking about, Harry?”

He ran his hands through his hair, trying to swallow the lump in his throat.

“I can’t do that anymore. I’m sorry but I can’t do that. It kills me, (Y/N), you understand? It kills me!”

“What kills you, Harry?”

“Being friends with you! This is not right and I don’t want this anymore.”

“Oh…” she breathed out, tears were threatening to escape her eyes. Her heart felt like it was stabbed million times, bleeding uncontrollably. “I didn’t know you think that way. I’m sorry if I wasted your time all these months. You just had to say something and I would have been out of your life in no second… I-“

“What the hell are you talking about?” Harry exclaimed. “I don’t want you out of my life. I’ll never want you out of my life, love. Damn, I wouldn’t know how to live without you, okay? The reason why I don’t want to be friends is because I feel more for you than a friend, (Y/N). I can’t treat you like a friend anymore because all I can think about it is how much I want to kiss you and hold you in my arms. I want to wake up beside you and fall down asleep next you. I want to show you not only emotional love but also physical love and please don’t tell me that friends are tended to think like that.”

It was a lot to process for (Y/N) at the moment. Her mind was going crazy and her thoughts were spinning around. Had he just indicated that he loved her? It sounded so surreal to her. After all this time her wish was granted but all she could do think about was how unrealistic it sounded for her.

Two warm hands took her face between them and when she looked up she saw directly into Harry’s eyes. “I love you, (Y/N) (Y/L/N). I’m incredibly and undeniably in love with you. You make me happy in many ways possible and I cannot see myself beside anyone but you. If you give me a chance, I would want to try this out. Please say yes!”

His question was answered as she pressed her soft lips onto his and brought them to their first real kiss. The noises on the background faded out, the wedding was forgotten and all that mattered was this moment, the kiss between them. (Y/N) slung her arms around his neck and pushed him harder to her chest, as he deepened their kiss. His lips tasted like cherry Chap Stick and she couldn’t get enough of it. She could remain forever like this. When they pulled away for air, she nodded her head vigorously. Her chest almost exploded out of love and excitement.

“I want to try,” she said. “I love you Harry, and I want to try.”

He gave her his most beautiful and dimpled smile, his were eyes shining out of happiness like two diamonds. He kissed her over and over again that night and he couldn’t get enough of it. Neither could (Y/N). She was finally with the man she always wanted to be with. Harry wanted her to have the best night of her life and indeed this was the best night of her entire life.

An unforgettable night.

[dipulb3]

Sony XBR-X900H TV review: Excellent picture now, ready for the future

New Post has been published on https://appradab.com/sony-xbr-x900h-tv-review-excellent-picture-now-ready-for-the-future/

Sony XBR-X900H TV review: Excellent picture now, ready for the future

The XBR-X900H is the best-performing midpriced Sony TV I’ve tested in years, with excellent contrast and brightness, accurate color and plenty of punch with HDR. Add to that a solid smart TV system, sleek styling and cutting-edge features and you’ve got a great television for anyone who values Sony’s brand but doesn’t want to pony up for one of its OLED TVs.

Like

Excellent overall image quality

Best-in-class connectivity

Available in an 85-inch size

More affordable than equivalent Samsung

Don’t Like

More expensive than competing TVs with similar picture quality

The key to this TV’s image quality, as with all LCD-based sets that perform well in my side-by-side tests, is well implemented full-array local dimming. It improves black levels and contrast by illuminating different areas of the screen separately as needed. In some crucial ways, such as reducing stray illumination with HDR, the X900H beat the similarly equipped TCL 6-Series in those tests, but in other ways the TCL won out, with superior brightness and contrast overall. The Sony also costs more than the TCL, so it’s not my top recommendation for people who want the best image quality for the money. 

There are lots of good reasons to choose the Sony X900H instead, however. The first is superior connectivity: Unlike the TCL, it will be compatible with the highest-quality 4K/120Hz video from the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5, and unlike any TV at this price it also has a built-in Next Gen TV tuner for upcoming ATSC 3.0 broadcasts. The Sony is also available in a massive 85-inch size, something not offered by TCL or Hisense. And maybe Sony’s brand cachet is important to you — but you don’t want to throw down even more for a FALD-equipped Samsung, the cheapest of which (the Q80T) costs hundreds more than the X900H. 

Even better, Sony recently dropped the price of the 65-inch size to $1,000, just $100 more than the TCL. If that size, or any of the other reasons above appeal to you, the X900H should be on your short list.

A couple of subtle touches separate the X900H from other big-screen, thin-frame TVs available today. There’s a line of silver metallic finishing around the extreme edge on all four sides, matching the silver-colored stand legs. Those legs are thinner than usual but feel plenty solid, and I appreciated that they’re metal and not plastic.

A look around the sides finds holes for Sony’s unusual speaker array, and the bottom has bass ports. Both are invisible from the standard seating position but contribute to improved sound, according to Sony. I don’t test audio quality for CNET TV reviews, but don’t expect miracles here — any decent soundbar will likely outperform the X900H’s built-in audio by a mile.

The remote is old-school Sony: way too many buttons, most of which you’ll never use. I prefer the sleeker, simpler clickers of Samsung and Roku, as well as the motion-infused wands of LG. 

David Katzmaier/CNET

Android TV: No Google TV yet, but still solid

Google recently debuted a new smart TV system called Google TV, but currently it’s only available in the new Chromecast and Google hasn’t said when (or if) other Google-powered devices like the X900H will get the upgrade. Meanwhile the current version, called Android TV, still performs well. Apps launched quickly, I zipped around thumbnails and navigation screens with ease, and response times in general were on par with Roku, Samsung and LG TVs.

Only Roku has as many apps as Android TV, and it lacks the voice power of Google Assistant. Roku’s search is better, however. LG has Assistant, as well as Alexa, but its app selection falls short. The X900H’s array of Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos apps is solid too: Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney Plus, Vudu and Fandango Now support both, Google Play Movies supports Vision (but not Atmos) and Tidal supports Atmos.

David Katmaier/CNET

Android TV’s menus are perfectly usable, if not quite as evolved as Google TV. The home page is clean and simple, with favorite apps grouped at the top for easy access in a customizable bar and clear routes to get more apps, search and more. New for 2020, you can customize the input menu, and the TV settings menus have clear explanations of the effects of different adjustments, complete with illustrations.

I did experience some problems. There’s quite a few annoying pop-ups and notifications on the home page. You can’t customize the top section or what appears in each row, so a screen mostly full of clutter you don’t care about is inevitable. Wi-Fi was also unstable on my review sample. A couple of times I was greeted with a pop-up alert saying Wi-Fi was disconnected. The only way I could turn it back on was to unplug the TV and plug it back in. I asked Sony about the issue and a spokesperson told me it plans to issue a software update to deal with the issue — no word yet on timing.

David Katzmaier/CNET

Assistant on TVs works well. Commands are transcribed on-screen, along with suggestions for follow-up commands. The X900H lacks the far-field mic found on last year’s version, which is a bummer, but talking into the remote worked fine. I was able to launch apps, perform searches, mute and change volume, tell it to “play cat videos on YouTube,” get the weather, set timers and so on. 

It wasn’t without typical Google Assistant wonkiness however. Once I asked, “What’s the latest news?” and an account login page appeared, and when I clicked through a YouTube channel failed to load, complete with a “Something went wrong” popup, a blank screen and a spinning progress indicator.

You can link the Sony TV with Google Nest Home or Amazon Alexa speakers for hands-free action. The X900H lets you use your phone to cast apps via its built-in Google Cast functionality, which works just like a Chromecast, and also supports Apple’s AirPlay 2 and HomeKit compatibility. AirPlay 2 lets the TV function as a display for TV shows, movies, music, photos and web pages with an iPhone, iPad or Mac as the controller. Unlike many other TVs, however, this Sony lacks the full Apple TV app.

Key features

Display technology LED LCD LED backlight Full array with local dimming Resolution 4K HDR compatible HDR10 and Dolby Vision Smart TV Android TV Remote Voice

The best picture-enhancing extra on the X900H is full-array local dimming. Unlike Vizio, Hisense or TCL, Sony doesn’t disclose the number of dimming zones on its TVs, and while more zones generally equate to better performance, that’s not always the case.

Other picture-centric extras include a native 120Hz refresh rate, a notable improvement on paper over the fake 120Hz refresh rates (they’re actually 60Hz native) found on some TVs. The X-Motion Clarity mode that debuted in 2018 is also on board. It boosts motion resolution by applying black frame insertion only where it’s needed on the screen, which is said to eliminate the flicker and dimness evinced by similar modes in past sets. See the picture quality section for more.

Unlike Samsung, TCL and Vizio, Sony doesn’t use quantum dots, so its HDR color gamut isn’t as wide. In addition to standard HDR10, the X900H supports the Dolby Vision HDR format, unlike Samsung.

David Katzmaier/CNET

4x HDMI inputs

3x USB ports

Composite video input

Ethernet (LAN) port

Optical digital audio output

1x headphone/subwoofer audio output

1x RF (antenna) input

RS-232 port (minijack)

The X900H has some of the most capable inputs of any 4K TV. It supports numerous HDMI 2.1 features, namely enhanced audio return channel (aka eARC), automatic low latency mode (ALLM, or auto game mode) and variable refresh rate. A firmware update will allow its HDMI inputs to accept 4K resolution at 120 frames per second, but Sony couldn’t tell me exactly when it would arrive. That feature sets it apart from many 2020 TVs like the TCL 6-Series, especially for gamers who want to take advantage of high frame rates from an Xbox Series X or Sony PlayStation 5.

It’s also the only non-8K TV to feature a built-in ATSC 3.0 over-the-air tuner, which allows the X900H to receive NextGen TV broadcasts. Those are still only available in a tiny number of markets so I didn’t get the chance to check out this feature, but it’s nice to know that once the broadcasts become more widespread, Sony X900H owners won’t have to connect an external tuner box to watch. 

Read more: Next Gen TV is free 4K TV with an antenna, and it’s coming this year

Unlike many of Samsung’s sets, the Sony actually has an analog video input, albeit composite-only, and I also appreciate having a headphone jack.

Click the image above for picture settings and HDR notes.

David Katzmaier/CNET

Picture quality comparisons

The Sony X900H is an excellent performer overall, with a pleasing, balanced image that still manages to deliver plenty of pop and contrast. It can’t quite match the black levels and light output of some LCDs I’ve tested — most recently from TCL and Hisense — but still comes pretty close. Meanwhile other areas of image quality, namely color accuracy and shadow detail, were superior to those TVs. 

Click the image at the right to see the picture settings used in the review and to read more about how this TV’s picture controls worked during calibration.

Dim lighting: Dark movie scenes played in a dark room are the most challenging kind of content for LCD-based TVs and while the Sony looked excellent in my side-by-side tests, it wasn’t quite as good as the TCL 6-Series or the Hisense at maintaining that crucial darkness. Letterbox bars in mid-dark scenes, such as the general’s speech in the bunker at the beginning of 1917, provided one example. The other two TVs were both able to preserve a blacker color of “black” in the bars and other dark areas, like the soldiers’ silhouettes, which made them look a bit more realistic than the X900H. The difference was minor overall, however, and even less noticeable in other scenes with brighter lighting.

On the other hand, the Sony preserved details in shadows most consistently among the three TVs, for example in the super dark scene with the soldier waking up (1:06:38), and also controlled blooming and stray illumination very well. Again, the differences with SDR were relatively minor and all three TVs looked excellent.

Bright lighting: The X900H can get exceedingly bright, although it didn’t measure quite as bright as some other sets I’ve tested recently.

Light output in nits

TV Brightest (SDR) Accurate color (SDR) Brightest (HDR) Accurate color (HDR) Vizio PX65-G1 (2019) 1,990 1,120 2,908 2,106 TCL 65Q825 1,653 904 1,818 982 TCL 65R635 1,114 792 1,292 1,102 Sony XBR-65X900H 841 673 989 795 Vizio M658-G1 (2019) 633 400 608 531 LG OLED65CX 377 290 690 634

The “accurate” numbers above were measured with the Sony’s Xtended Dynamic Range setting in the High setting in the Custom picture mode, which is a great choice for bright rooms where you still want an accurate image. As usual, the brightest setting, Vivid, is incredibly inaccurate. 

Compared to the others, the Sony’s screen finish was visibly superior at preserving contrast and black levels in a bright room, but it did a somewhat worse job of dimming bright reflections. Overall I preferred the Sony’s bright-room image to that of the others in most scenes.

Color accuracy: Despite its lack of quantum dots I’ve come to expect excellent color from Sony and the X900H is no exception. Its Custom and Cinema modes were very similar prior to calibration although both skewed slightly blue; afterward they were nearly perfect. Watching program material bright scenes, like the fields, woods and uniforms in Chapter 8 of 1917, looked the most pleasing and natural of the three TVs, outdoing the apparent saturation of the TCL in my comparison.

Video processing: The X900H had no issues delivering proper 1080p/24 cadence with its Motionflow controls in the Off position, which is probably the best for film purists. Meanwhile the Auto setting introduced the buttery smoothness of the soap opera effect. Then there’s the Custom setting, which has adjustable Smoothness and Clearness.

A Smoothness setting above 1 introduces significant SOE, while 0 turns it off. I actually didn’t mind the slight smoothing that the 1 setting introduces (some purists might), but its effect on motion resolution was really slight, so I’d probably stick with 0. The Clearness setting ramps up black frame insertion to improve motion resolution, but it doesn’t have any effect (aside from dimming the image) unless you’ve got Smoothness at 2 or higher. In other words there’s no way to get the best of both worlds — high motion resolution and no SOE — with one setting.

The X900H measured the best (lowest) input lag of any Sony TV yet, at around 15 milliseconds in Game mode for both 1080p and 4K HDR — an improvement of 4ms compared to last year’s X950G. In the Custom mode, meanwhile, I measured 91ms with both resolutions.

Uniformity: The X900H sample I tested was very good in this category, with few visible variations across the screen in static or moving test patterns or program material, such as a hockey match. Compared to the TCL and the Hisense, the Sony lost black level fidelity and contrast from off-angle more severely as I moved away from the sweet spot in the center of the screen. On the other hand, it preserved color better than the other two.

HDR and 4K video: The X900H is a suburb HDR performer overall. I started my comparison with my reference video, the montage from the Spears and Munsil UHD HDR Benchmark, and the Sony held its own nicely compared to the TCL and the Hisense, although it couldn’t quite match either one for contrast. Its biggest challenge, as expected, came during the difficult bright-on-black sections, for example the honey dripper at 2:50. Both of the others delivered deeper black levels that gave the image more pop and contrast, as well as showing less blooming and stray illumination.

In brighter, more natural shots like the snowy mountains and the hot springs, the Sony narrowed the gap, although brightness in highlights and in larger bright areas like clouds and snow lagged the TCL slightly and the Hisense even more. Color accuracy was excellent, a bit better than the TCL and significantly better than the Hisense, with a balanced yet vibrant look to the flowers and insects. The Sony also preserved detail in very bright areas better than the Hisense. 

Turning back to 1917 in 4K HDR, the Sony again competed well and in some scenes looked the most balanced and pleasing of the three. The general’s bunker scene (6:55) was one example: the TCL 635 showed darker black levels but worse blooming and stray illumination, and while the Hisense was brighter in highlights its color looked the least realistic and it also showed blooming. Again the Sony preserved shadow detail the best among the three as well.

In brighter scenes the Sony again trailed the other two at delivering that trademark HDR blast of light, for example in the skies above the soldiers as they walk quickly through the trenches. The TCL and the Sony were relatively close, however, and tough to differentiate without measuring their bright areas directly, while the Hisense was visibly brighter than both. On the other hand, as I saw with the 4K Benchmark, colors on both the TCL and Sony looked more accurate and natural than on the Hisense.

4K HDR gaming: For this test I played The Last of Us Part 2 on a PS4 Pro in the TVs’ various Game modes: Game mode on the Sony and Gaming HDR (aka THX-certified Game Mode) for the 635 (I didn’t include the Hisense in this test).

When you’re crawling around a dark building hunting zombies, shadow detail is more important than black level and contrast, because it allows you to peer into dark recesses to spot enemies. By that measure the Sony was better than the 635, delivering every ounce of detail in the darkest shadows while the 635 was a bit more shrouded. That said, the TCL won for black levels, contrast and punch in the same (default) game settings. With many games, including The Last of Us Part 2, you can adjust gamma and shadow detail to taste (and you should).

Moving out into the day-lit Seattle streets, the 635 again looked best overall thanks to superior contrast, which as usual helped colors pop. The Sony still looked great, however, and differences would be tough to discern outside of a side-by-side comparison.

Geek Box

Test Result Score Black luminance (0%) 0.010 Good Peak white luminance (SDR) 841 Good Avg. gamma (10-100%) 2.15 Good Avg. grayscale error (10-100%) 1.07 Good Dark gray error (30%) 0.99 Good Bright gray error (80%) 1.19 Good Avg. color checker error 1.80 Good Avg. saturation sweeps error 1.55 Good Avg. color error 2.37 Good Red error 2.82 Good Green error 2.72 Good Blue error 2.23 Good Cyan error 2.26 Good Magenta error 2.34 Good Yellow error 1.83 Good 1080p/24 Cadence (IAL) Pass Good Motion resolution (max) 1200 Good Motion resolution (dejudder off) 400 Poor Input lag (Game mode) 15.50 Good HDR10 Black luminance (0%) 0.006 Good Peak white luminance (10% win) 989 Average Gamut % UHDA/P3 (CIE 1976) 92.59 Average ColorMatch HDR error 3.57 Average Avg. color checker error 4.99 Average Input lag (Game mode, 4K HDR) 15.23 Good

Sony XBR-65X900H CNET review calibration results by David Katzmaier on Scribd