#if you say this you are part of the problem <3 (disrespectfully) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

whoree321 · 3 years ago

Note

can I request some headcannons of the bad batch reacting to reader getting called fat and comforting her?

(today while I was at school someone called me fat)

omg well ok first of all bestie i’m so sorry that happened to you!! i def experienced my fair share of that sort of thing back in my day, but just remember that above all else your body is merely a vessel to contain the infinite galaxies that form the irreplicable, unique multitudes of humanity that live within you. you are so much more than the physical form you inhabit and simply the presence of your soul on this planet makes it a brighter place<3

but anyways! i hope y’all enjoy this! i would love nothing more than for this gaggle of big strong men to defend my honor

the bad batch + comforting gn!reader (body image)

WARNING: this is entirely about comments being made about the reader’s body. there are potentially triggering themes. please read with caution<3

Hunter

when hunter hears what happened, he experiences probably every single negative emotion a person could feel at once

angry at the person who insulted you, worried about you, sad that you’re sad, stressed about the best way to handle it and help you

internally, hunter is probably more distressed than you are

this man NEVER EVER shows it tho. the inside of his brain is literally like that scene in spongebob where his brain is the office and it’s on fire and all the little spongebobs are running around screaming. but on the outside?

“oh cyar’ika, come here. i’m so, so sorry my love”

he is tenderly holding you to his bosom, praising you and reassuring you and providing that feeling of safety and warmth that’s just so uniquely hunter until you almost forget why you were even upset

he is also such a good listener. he doesn’t exactly know what to say beyond complimenting/praising you (that’s easy- all he has to do is say what he’s already thinking), but he is so attentive and really takes in everything you’re saying as you’re ranting or letting your emotions out

just knowing how invested he is in trying to understand your problems and make you feel better makes you feel so loved and so special

Crosshair

crosshair is not the fucking one

crosshair hears that someone has called you fat, and he is literally breaking their knee caps like they owe him a gambling debt within 24 hours of the comment being made

like i’m serious. of all the batchers, he is the one to go out of his way and inflict serious violence upon the individual in question (wrecker might join him)

although he’s seething with rage on the inside, he does try to be there for you in the moment while you’re upset

he’s not very good with words, and he’s definitely the type to let his actions do the talking

he will spend literally hours just worshipping your body, kissing every inch and whispering little comments like “gorgeous” and “so beautiful” and “all mine” and he won’t stop until he’s confident you know just how enamoured he is with you. mind, body, and soul

he’ll get in the shower with you and wash your hair, letting the warm water and his fingers on your scalp soothe you as he presses feather light kisses to your back and neck and shoulder blades

he will wait to seek out his victim until you’re nestled into his bunk, snuggled under his covers and fast asleep. he’ll lay a quick kiss on the tip of your nose, admiring the peaceful look on your face for a moment before disappearing into the night to deal with the perpetrator

seriously tho crosshair is sending whoever said it to the med bay for EXTENDED time. he won’t kill them, but he will definitely disfigure them

Tech

tech would honestly be so confused. like he would be so upset that someone would say that to you, and even more upset that you were upset, but i think the entire situation would be a little bit baffling to him

like i think that he is probably one of the least likely batchers to notice or care what people look like physically, and so he just would not understand why someone would be so cruel

like what would someone have to gain from commenting negatively on your body? as far as he knew, there was nothing wrong with how you looked (quite the opposite, actually), and he would just find the whole idea of someone doing that to you so absurd

despite his confusion, i think in any situation where you’re upset tech would def sort of let you indicate what kind of comfort you wanted, and would go all in from there (he read that your partner often needs different kinds of emotional support at different times and he has worked very hard to recognize when you need each type of comfort)

like if you need verbal or physical reassurance, he’s worshipping you and letting you know exactly why he finds every piece of you so dazzlingly beautiful

if you need to cry and rant, he’s holding you close and stroking your hair and giving you a safe place to just let out your feelings

if you need to be angry about it, tech will sit with you and absolutely roast the shit out of whoever said it. like he’ll pull up files about them and just verbally demolish they’re entire existence until you’re wheezing with laughter

tech would just be so sweet and would hate seeing you upset and would try his best to fix it. he loves your body, but to him you are so much more than that and it kills him that someone could make you feel so badly over what he views as such a small aspect of all amazing things that make you who you are

Wrecker

when wrecker hears about what happened, he is equal parts heartbroken for you and LIVID

he doesn’t tolerate when people have things to say about the way he or his brothers look, and he CERTAINLY won’t tolerate someone commenting on the way you look

he’s already gearing up to go bash some heads in when it registers with him how upset you are

expect the hug of the CENTURY from this man

like seriously you’re worried he’s gonna crack one of your ribs with how hard he’s squeezing

he becomes the self care king

wrecker will spend an excessive amount of time pampering you and doing his best to make you feel loved (like literally days if he has enough time)

he’s running you warm baths, he’s doing face masks with you, he’s setting up a movie night with a pillow fort and yummy treats, he’s using your entire body as a pillow and wrapping his arms around you, planting sweet kisses all over your torso as the movie plays. anything he can think of to care of you and take your mind off of the horrible way you were spoken to

wrecker isn’t gonna have as much verbally as hunter or tech or echo, pretty much confined to statements like “oh don’t listen to them, Y/N, you’re absolutely perfect”, but the way he dotes on you and the tenderness he shows to you and your body lets you know that he really, really means it

(also, he won’t seek them out, but if he ever happens to run into person who said it, he does not hesitate to beat the living shit out of them. disrespectfully)

Echo

when echo hears about what was said to you, he’s really just unbelievably sad

while people don’t usually make comments about him to his face, he knows how terrible it feels to be uncomfortable with your own body and he would do anything to keep you from feeling that

echo responds initially like hunter, holding you close and letting you cry or yell for a while, but he refuses to let you feel anything other than beautiful

he takes you to your closet and tells you to pick out one outfit that makes you feel good about yourself (if you have trouble feeling good about any of them, don’t worry. he won’t hesitate to pick out one he knows you look great in)

once you’ve decided on it, he tells you to put it on. if you’re uncomfy with him watching you change, he happily looks away until you’re ready for him to turn around. if you’re cool with him watching, he makes it a point not to hide his admiration of your form, offering sweet compliments and sultry glances

once you’ve changed, he stands you in front of the mirror so you can see yourself, and describes to you all your wonderful features. he lets you disagree with him and point out your flaws, and he counters each of them without missing a beat

echo just wants you to see yourself the way he sees you, and he stands there with you, offering so much patience and love, until he’s filled your heart with so much warmth you can feel your tears returning (this time in a good way)

you do so much to help him when he feels insecure about his appearance since the citadel, so above all else, echo needs you to know just how perfect you are, regardless of what some prick might say

#the bad batch #bad batch #tbb #tbb crosshair #tbb hunter #tbb wrecker #the bad batch x reader #tbb echo #tbb tech #tbb x reader #tech x reader #wrecker x reader #echo x reader #crosshair x reader #hunter x reader #the bad batch headcanons

236 notes · View notes

pokeheadcannons97 · 4 years ago

Note

I'm not sure if requests are open or not but can you possibly write hc's for milo gordie leon and piers about having a s/o who suffers from epilepsy maybe include their reaction to the first seizure they see, and things like how they handle when s/o starts to seize/show warning signs,

I only do 3 characters at a post so I am going to do Leon, Piers, and Milo since I have Pokemon Shield

(and mama Melany)

Also, I’m speaking and writing this from my perspective of helping my aunt who has seizures regularly and will be answering in what I do and other things that I’ve looked up or found that help, please let me know if I can make it better, thank you! <3 Be safe

Leon

Even though he is super directionally challenged, he is so very perceptive. He will be the first to notice when you are about to have a seizure.

The distant look in your eyes and the nonverbal responses when he asks if you are okay are always signs you’re about to go into one.

He’s by your side in an instant, holding the back of your head up steady while rubbing your arm.

“Hey, it’s okay Y/N… you’re okay.” He repeats this all through out it, steady and comforting.

When you blink back after a few moments, eyes bleary but answer softly back to him, he knows you’re okay and out of it.

Will immediately stop what he’s doing, be it in the middle of an interview or sees you go down in the stands, he is next to you to help you through it

Wont hesitate to absolutely eradicate any disrespectfully words or jokes towards you about your seizures

When you first went into one, he had not expected it.

The two of you were out having lunch together after Leon had invited you out for a date to get to know each other more closely. He had been persistent, always engaging you in small talk when you were at work at one of the local shoppes in Wyndon. Would offer to help in carrying heavier things to help you out, and to make your work load lighter.

You had been perfectly fine, sitting across from him eating lunch at a local restaurant that you favored, when you seemed to be staring off into the distance as he was talking.

When Leon saw your Gothita get destressed and practically climbed up on you, he knew something was wrong.

He was scared, and that was putting it lightly.

With Gothita surrounding you in her psychic powers she steadied your body and instructed Leon through her telepathy to hold your head straight to where you wouldn’t choke.

He frantically rubbed your arms, while looking for your distant eyes to come back to the cheery e/c he found so attractive.

When you started to move slowly on your own your eyes peered up at him, the distant look fading quickly.

“Mmm…? Leon?” You asked softly, trying to attempt to remember where you were and what happened.

“Y/N!” He replied a smile forming on his face, full of relief. “You’re okay, my God I was so worried, are you ok?”

“Mmmhmm… thanks to you and Gracey.” You replied with a soft smile, giving your pokemon a thankful expression, to which she cried in happiness as a reply.

“Let’s get you to the hospital, to at least get a look at you. Then I’ll make sure you get home okay.” Leon said as he helped you up with his strong arms, letting your body lean against him. “I never knew you had to deal with these. You’re so much stronger than I could ever be, Y/N.”

Your heart thudded in your chest, your stomach knotting up in that similar way it did when you would see him visit your work on his days off from the league. Most people would be so scared and standoffish, more afraid of you than anything. See you as someone that needed to be fixed, someone that was fragile, and needed to be looked after like a child.

But Leon? He shown genuine kindness, he didn’t make you out to be this weak person who had epileptic seizures. He treated you with respect. As an equal.

You were strong, something that you did not hear often in your life.

You gave a small laugh, and peered up at him, your e/c eyes shining against the streetlights. “Is it too late to ask you for a second date?”

Leon’s cheeks uncharacteristically burned a deeper red and low chuckle came from his throat. “Not at all.”

Piers

There’s not many times he’s serious, but when it comes to you, he is stone cold serious.

Will constantly ask you if you’re okay if you seem more nervous or shakier than usual.

Always holds your hand when you’re feeling more shaky, will go into any quieter space to get you to a safer environment just in case

Even though his shows can be flashy and loud, he really prefers that you stay home or listen to CD’s of the shows of his that are flashier and with more lights. He’s talked to his producers about incorporating more epilepsy friendly aspects into his shows and videos so that more people can enjoy it safely.

On the times that you do watch him, he makes sure that the place is better lit, and no strobing lights.

Will rub the top of your head softly when you go into one, and holds you to where you wont hurt yourself during it.

He knew you had them, but you said that it was less common these days. So he thought that it would most likely be a while before you had one.

The first time you had a seizure in front of him, he was terrified and confused on what to do.

You were sitting beside him, listening to him strum on his guitar as try to work out the sound to his new song.

Your Kirlia sat beside you, listening too.

When he looked up from the strings and papers he had scattered around him, rewriting certain parts he paled.

Your arms were shaking as you began to fall backwards rather quickly. Luckily your Kirlia predicted this and carefully grabbed your shoulders and placed you on your side.

Kirlia’s eyes rose to Piers and she instructed him to gently rub at your arms as she used her abilities to work on the overfiring electrical impulses your brain was having.

Piers scanned your body frantically, your twitching limbs and far off stare causing his heart to race in nervousness. He didn’t know what to do, but hoped that what he was doing helped in some way.

Your Kirlia called softly as your twitching began to stop and your eyes regained their soft e/c hue. You hummed a little as you blinked back the glaze over your eyes.

“Y/N, hey… are you with me?” Piers asked, eyebrows knitted together, refusing to leave your side.

You gave him a confused stare and nodded slowly. “Yes…what…?”

Your Kirlia touched your forehead and you understood.

“Thank you… for helping me, Piers.” You patted your Kirlia’s hand greatfully. “And you too Meena, you did amazing.”

From then on Piers was sure to be more observant and learn about how to be better prepared for the next attack. The zigzagoon brigade are always alert and ready to go into pillow mode to help you not hit your head or hurt yourself.

Milo

The absolute best at making sure that you are taking you meds and taking care of yourself

Always tries to make sure that you have enough time to get enough sleep and goes to bed at the same time as you to help make it easier

He’s used to dealing and helping new gym challengers that have anxiety problems, so he knows how to relax you and help manage your stress

Being as strong as he is, it’s nothing for him to grab you when your legs give out when you go into one, making sure that you are laid down on your side safely

His big hands will make soothing touches and coax you through it, making sure everyone around you is quiet so you’re not overwhelmed with voices around you

If you ever feel bad about having them, he is so quick to reassure you that it is never a problem and he loves you so much

The first time you went into one

You were battling him as your first gym battle, with your Espeon battling against his Glossifleur.

You seemed so strong, easily ordering move after move from your companion, but that changed when you started to wobble on your feet, your Espeon immediately ran to your side to catch you from hitting your head and braced your body against her own and let you fall at a slower rate to the ground safely.

Milo gave a wave to the stadium, with a shout of “Everyone stop!” and made his way over to you. The stadium went into a quick and silent hush. The rotom camera, now focused on you.

Your body jerked involuntarily, your gaze far off and unfocused.

Your partner pokemon gave a cry and rubbed against your body while Milo held your head to where it would be easier for you to breath.

“Hey, Y/N… it’s okay lass. You’re okay.” He said softly, his hat blocking out the harsh sun above you. He gave your cheek a few soft pats, his green eyes searching your face.

It took about a few moments for your hands to stop seizing and jerking. When they did you let out a steady breath. You blinked slowly and gave a low hum as your eyes refocused and fell upon the grass type gym leader above you.

“There you are, are you hurt?” Milo asked you, his voice lower but understandable for your comfort.

You swallowed, and went to slowly sit up, the sun from above now shining painfully on you. You blinked your eyes shut but nodded and turned to him.

“Yeah… just...” you began and suddenly noticed where you were and felt the anxiety well up inside of you.

“Would it be possible to…stop our battle for today? Please?” you finished and picked at a part of your nails, cheeks flushed.

“I’m sorry but I think I need to lay down for a while, I’m just wiped after…” you tried to explain yourself, your Espeon chittered next to you, rubbing against you softly.

Milo held up a hand with a genuine and kind smile. “Say no more, Y/N. Let’s get you to the nurse on call to get a look at you. Make sure you’re okay.” He rose to hit feet and held a hand out to you. “Can you stand?”

You gave a nod and stood up slowly, but wobbled a little, your legs still unsteady.

Milo scooped you up into his arms effortlessly. “Just rest, I’ll get you there safe and sound.”

And he did,

#leon #piers #milo #leon x reader #piers x reader #milo x reader

88 notes · View notes

shesawriter39049 · 4 years ago

Text

|Breakdowns & Bugatti’s| M|

***** Headcanon’s for my OT7 AU*****

Genre: Rich Kid AU/ Drama/ Suspense/ Smut/ Angst

AU SUMMARY : The story of 8 heirs, who also happen to be the children of some of the most powerful, and well known political figures in The Big Apple! This is a candid look at all of the sex, lies, drama, scandals, couture and boujee affairs that are caught both on, but more importantly off camera!

OR: Gossip girl meet’s HTGAWM? Essentially if GG was on HBO, darker, and had more depth within it’s plot! Which is no shade, I love me some Gossip Girl, but realistically looking back a lot of the “Drama” wasn’t that...deep lol! But we still loved it all the same!

Note: The first chapter is called “The Kim’s of New York” So these headcanon’s are solely the Kim boys & the OC! ALSO, I just tried to find the most discrete gif for the Y/N there is NO ethnicity for ANY of my OC’s! Also, it’s set to be a OT7 intertwined plot but the smut with the OC will prob only be 3/4 members deep!

***The sneak peek for part 1 which is Namjoon X Reader will be linked***

~~~~~~~

Name: Namjoon Kim

Age: 21 Birth place: New York, New York

Current Residence: West Village, New York/ Songpa-Gu, Seoul Korea

Profession: Heir, College student, Entrepreneur, Art lover, Smartass, Heartbreaker (Closet fuck boi)

College: NYU (Incoming Junior)

Degree: Aiming for a Master’s in Journalism & Political communication. Endgame :Political Journalism

Preferred Degree: Opinion, Trade, or Art Journalism, or a Museum Curator (Namjoon actually anonymously runs a pretty popular art based travel blog)Namjoon also dabbles in that Soundcloud life making beats under an undisclosed name...however that’s just a hobby....so he says...

Business Type:....Co-owner/founder of an exclusive, invite only, dating service....do with that information what you will!

(Bonus Question ) Licensed Business?: LMAO….sure

Net Worth : 10 Figures

Dating Status : Closet Fuck Boi! Wait, is that not an option? Okay fine. He’s single...ish…Kinda? Well to be fair it depends on the time of day honestly! Is it a Sunday? Are we going to Brunch at Society Café? Or, is it Friday night and he’s going to the “Press Lounge”? More importantly is it election season and and does his father need him to not look like a hoe!? This is all crucial information, I need meticulousdetails honestly! So for the time being I guess I’ll have to pass on the question!

Aesthetic : Tom Ford X Hugo Boss X Valentino X Dior X Tommy Hilfiger = Couture Business Casual! I.E Namjoon always looks like he’s going to some business meeting with Elon Musk, and Jeff Bezos! Even if it’s like...noon on a Saturday and your going on a day trip to Nappa...He’s still in calfskin loafers and a disrespectfully tight button up. Namjoon’s giving like...hot college professor PornHub realness...Yup His whole “Scholar Student” Aesthetic is a whole ass kink and baby boy knows it!

Political Tie: Father, Joshua Kim, New York Senator

Parents : Father : Joshua Kim, (New York Senator, son of Billionaire tech Tycoon Sang Woo Kim) Mother: Christine Kim : Luxury Event planner

Siblings : Only child

Political Party: Democratic

Actual Political Party: Liberal Daily : Matte Black Porsche 911/ Satin Red Ferrari 458/ Bugatti Veyron Matte red

Name: Seokjin Kim (Jin Kim)

Age: 23

Birth place: London, England

Current Residence: Upper Eastside, New York/ Chelsea London

Profession: Existing, Retired Editorial Model, Entrepreneur, Occasional influencer (When he feels like it) IE, the influencer that never really asked for the titile...he’s just rich and living his life! I mean let’s be real who isn't curious to see how the -1% lives?!

College: University of Oxford

Degree: Maybe he has a Master’s in Business...maybe he dropped out!

Preferred Degree: Culinary Arts...or honestly...just chillin...maybe eventually open his own modeling firm or something down the line!

Business Type:....Jin casually runs high stakes poker matches...and that’s all you need to know for right now….

(Bonus Question ) Licensed Business?:...Again...that’s all you need to know right now…

Net Worth : 10 Figures

Dating Status : Single, and not in the mood to entertain….unless you’ll like...walk yourself out after then maybe...Oh also it’s a requirement that you’re aware there’s more luxury brands than Gucci and Louis Vuitton. Show up in anything straight monogram and Jin’s going flaccid on command!

Aesthetic : Chanel X Dior X Cavalli X Dolce X Fendi = On Duty Runway Model! It truly doesn’t matter if he’s going to brunch, the movies, or sitting front row at Galliano! Jin always looks like he should be front row at Galliano! Whilst also effortlessly looking 10x’S pretter than half of the bitches in Manhattan even on his worst day! Androgyny at its finest, well Jin and Judge Parks son are kinda tied in that department!

Political Tie: Father, David Kim, Mayor’s Chief of Staff/ “Ghost” press secretary

Parents : Father : David Kim, (Retired Corporate Attorney, son of Billionaire Oil Tycoon Hyun-Son Kim) Mother: Lisa Kim, Co- owner of Hotel Shailla, daughter of Michael Lee, Millionaire Entrepreneur )

Siblings : Taehyung Kim (20), Hae Jin Kim (29) Deceased...( Allegedly)

Political Party: Democratic

Actual Political Party: Honestly, Jin could give less than a damn

Daily : Matte Pink Aston Martin One, White Bugatti Chiron

Name: Taehyung Kim (Tae Kim)

Age: 20

Birth place: Rome, Italy

Current Residence: Cobble Hill, New York/ Pairs, France (When he’s not in school...or just on the weekends)

Profession: College student, Painter, Podcast Host, unwarranted fashion critique/ Stylist! Tae lowkey thinks his IG feed is the reprise of “Fashion Police” Joan Rivers bless rest her soul..she would’ve loved him!

College: Bernard (Sophomore)

Degree: Fine Arts (Painting/ Sculpture)

Preferred Degree: Exactly...what he’s doing...he enrolled at NYU for business. Lasted all of like...5 months before he dropped out!

Business Type:....Tae run’s a very...controversial late night Podcast appropriately titled “Tae unfiltered”! It wasn’t supposed to be a job, lord knows he doesn't need one...However due to the steady increase in his audience the youngest Kim is on track to ending up on Forbes without his inheritance.

(Bonus Question ) Licensed Business?:...Yup!

Net Worth: 10 Figures

Dating Status : Single, and more than ready to mingle, Tae essentially had the same girlfriend all throughout high school! The pair broke up maybe 7 months ago when she opted to go to college in London. So let’s just say he has a lot of making up to do and he’s very much….open to new experiences…

Aesthetic : Guicci X Gucci X Gucci X Gucci X Gucci = Gucci!? Nah, actually Tae, is fond of anything that doesn't...blend in...so Moschino, GCDS, Vetements, Kenzo, Balmain= If it lowkey looks like it could've been homemade...but it cost like bare minimum 4k! Or he just highkey looks exactly like you’d expect, like a very rich, art student who loves funky. abstract, unethical, clothing! Is he going to Coachella or to the farmers market? We may never know but that’s fine! He’s also young, and well aware that he’s fine as fuck, and that’s a whole ass problem! Tae may not have a ton of experience but he’s far from shy and more than down to learn...

Political Tie: Father, David Kim, Mayor’s Chief of Staff (Ghost press secretary)

Parents : Father : David Kim, (Retired Corporate Attorney, son of Billionaire Oil Tycoon Sang Tae Won Kim) Mother: Lisa Kim, Co- owner of Hotel Shailla, daughter of Michael Lee, Millionaire, Entrepreneur )

Siblings : Seokjin Kim (23), Hae Jin Kim (29) Deceased ( Allegedly)

Political Party: Democratic

Actual Political Party: Liberal AFFFFFFFFFFFFF

Daily : Lime Green Lamborghini Huracan/ Matte Grey Ferrari F60

Name: Yn/Ln

Age: 21

Birth Place: Paris, France

Current Residence: Upper East Side, New York/ Dubai

Profession:...Taking pictures, of both herself and other people, ugh...looking attractive? Does that count? Oh being well dressed...Self taught photographer, Fashion Blogger, Creative Director,Entrepreneur...

College: N/A ...Possible freshman at NYU or Bernard or, FIT for Photography & or Fashion

Degree: N/A... IF, she went it would be for Fine Arts/ Fashion degree for Creative Direction

Preferred Degree: Honestly, none, she lives and breathes fashion and due to her lifestyle Y/n already has the type of connections that up and coming photographers would die for! BUT...said college degree would shut her father up...so it’s a possibility! However, it’s not like he considers photography or being a fashion influencer a real job anyway...sooo she mideswell just not even bother!

Business Type:....Existing? Her main job is essentially...breathing...and occasionally taking pictures of other people! Oh, and herself as well, she get’s paid to post daily content! She runs a website called “MyJobIsToBeWellDressed” Co-owner of an exclusive invite only dating service!

(Bonus Question ) Licensed Business?: Yes and...(lmao)...for the first part, where her blog and all of that is concerned, yes...she’s 1099 the full nine! The other job however...................mmm... next question?

Net Worth: 10 Figures

Dating Status :YOLO

Aesthetic : 90’s Couture meet’s “House of Yes” @ 3 AM ( Back when luxury brands weren’t afraid to have fun and be a little risque) Chanel X Versace X Dolce X Prada X Gucci X Galliano = Well kept sugar baby??? Or every time you see her your literally like “Dude where the fuck are you even going!!??” Baby girl is always overdressed, she showed up to go on a doggy date through central park with Yoongi and Holly in 7 inch Louboutin’s sooo..we love that! Owns literally every vintage 90′s runway archive you can think of...If you’ve gagged over it on Pinterest it’s in Y/n’s closet. She’s smooth as all fuck...that’s for damn sure, radiating the perfect blend of BD and WAP energy....she’s a bad bitch and she knows it! Fuck the entire upper Eastside knows it!

Political Tie: Father, Christopher L/N, New York Senator

Parents: Father : Christopher L/N, (New York Senator, son of Billionaire Automotive Tycoon/ Real Estate Mogul Gregory L/N/ ) Mother: Ashley L/N, (luxury) Interior Designer & Daughter of Hotel Mogul Michael L/N

Siblings: Only child...maybe

Political Party: Democratic

Actual Political Party: Liberal

Daily : Matte Black Bugatti Divo / Satin Purple Lamborghini Murcielago/ Any car that any of her friends are driving because...fuck that, ridding shotty all day!

~~~~~~~~

There they are!!

The sneak peek is linked below...part 1 is Namjoon X Reader

However Jin and Tae are briefly introduced...and they will eventually have induvial chapters as well!

SNEAK PEEK

93 notes · View notes

everydayanth · 4 years ago

Note

Question re: cultural appropriation: I am Vampirically WhiteTM (I combust/evaporate if exposed to sunlight over 5 seconds), but I sometimes do *all* my hair in tiny, uneven plaits that don't hug my scalp. Answers on various forums seem to only distinguish between big/sparse braids & Black hairstyles, so there isn't a nuanced answer for, "This style isn't Cornrows but I *do* use all my hair." [1/2]

The intention *isn't* to cuddle up as closely to traditionally African styles as possible, but rather so I can take the braids out 3 days later to poof up like a lion/Princess Merida. Humans are a braiding, weaving species, I really do like doing this thing, & I'm not always of the mindset that just b/c something *might* be problematic, I should just bend to my anxieties/White Guilt. Am I still sending the wrong message with my style? [2/2]

Honestly, I have to start by saying I’m a white female, so the action/consequence of this process holds no harm over me and therefore my answer cannot speak for the people (black, specifically women) being potentially appropriated. I can only speak of my own development and understanding of appropriating black culture, specifically with hair.

I grew up in a “black neighborhood” (a problematic concept in itself) and in school, we sat in a train-line of girls during read-aloud and braided each others’ hair. I learned to braid black hair by 2nd grade. We were kids, we saw the differences in our phenotypic traits, but we adapted and didn’t mind much. One time a friend tried oiling my hair and it did not end well, lol, I was a greasy mop the whole day. Braiding was culturally relevant to us as friends, but also to me as an individual: my mom would braid my hair on her good days. In the summer, she would put my hair in many tiny loose braids, similar to what you described, not cornrows, but small braids because it was hot and we didn’t have ac and it was an easy solution. We were judged accordingly based on uniform and size and I distinctly remember the day I learned about the use of a long pinky nail, lol. I didn’t think about it much until I got to high school, then college and studied social science and talked to POC friends there and really began to understand the problems.

It’s not the act of wearing your hair in a particular style, we humans learn from each other, we copy, we reproduce, we recreate, and we do it for decoration and efficiency or usefulness. Every culture plays with hair and braids and for every example of appropriation, someone has a counter example perceived to be “their ancestors” or some sort of genetic heritage (”I’m 1/32 Native”) giving them rights to partake in a specific kind of decoration or practice. But that’s not the issue. The issue is that when black people, specifically black women, wear their hair in braids, they are treated disrespectfully by our society, while when white people, specifically women, wear locs or braids, they are often rewarded for being worldly or exotic or interesting.

There is not a common consensus; “black people” are not made of a uniform opinion, and whether something is problematic or offensive varies from one person to another. Appropriation, however, is a little easier to spot because it comes with a reward to some but with a punishment to the people who owned, initiated, or historically created or utilized a thing in the same way.

Black hair and hairstyles have been historically degraded, and its easy to think we live in a better world, but when Kim Kardashian wears “boxer braids” it becomes a trend, while Sasha Obama’s braids were criticized or attributed to past trends rather than her own rich ancestry. When Zendaya shows up in beautiful dreads and dressed to the nines, she is met with racist remarks, while Christina Aguilera’s were considered an “urban” phase.

Appropriation comes from capitalizing off something that isn’t yours, or that you can remove from your identity should the oppressor challenge you (thus why “white-passing” is often part of the conversation). Actively fighting against it means educating yourself on histories of oppression and abuse, modern social perspectives of white privilege, and what we do with all those pieces.

Black girls are sent home from school or suspended all the time for wearing their hair naturally, in traditional styles, or in styles like weaves that make black hair easier to manage in a non-African climate. Loose braids worn by black girls are still condemned in schools today, while white girls back from Jamaica go unpunished and their braids and beads remain a symbol of money, experience, and privilege. Black men, as well as black LGBTQ+ individuals, are also judged harshly by different (often white-dominated) groups for their own styles and are definitely part of the conversation.

Understanding the role of hair in culture and seeing the ongoing inequality is the most important thing we can do. Ideally, someday, we live in a world where we can all do what we want so long as it doesn’t harm another person, but we do not live there, and BIPOC are much more subjected to policing of their images, bodies, and especially hair than white people.

Hair dressers learn white hair by default, not both, most kids never learn about different hair textures or the evolutionary purpose for the differences, they simply learn that one majority group can do whatever they like without negative reinforcement, while the other must adhere to strict rules to emulate the look of the majority with chemicals, expensive tools, and treatments, or be mocked, judged, degraded, and not able to participate in society without fear or ridicule of their personhood, their bodies, their natural selves, as well as the potential loss of job security, violence, or harsher social punishments, like ostracization, being jailed, or murdered by police without consequence. How a majority identifies an “other” has historically included hair texture and style as well as skin color.

Personally, I think intent matters. I don’t braid my hair anymore as a public style. Sure, I braid clumps of it while watching TV or hanging out around the house if I want something of a uniform wave (my mom has type 3 and my dad has type 2 and I got a franken-head of both lol), but I don’t wear many braids as a style out in public. Wearing braids as a young kid made me look like the girls in my class, it connected me to the people around me, and I was subjected to judgement by the black moms based on quality (at least those who spoke up, again, I was a child). I was blending, but when I got to high school, I realized that wearing braids brought an attention with it - oh, you’re interesting, or pretentious, but for my POC friends, employers made them remove braids. They heard condescending things like “your hair is too ghetto” while I began to hear that I was the “ghetto friend, wow so cool and cultured and street smart.” It was always insulting, but one is shittier (you know which one) because it is only condescending, and seeks to erase culture and judges based on racist biases.

If we normalize black hairstyles through popular trends, that seems like a good thing, right? But if white people are the ones normalizing it, then the agency of black people has been taken away from the black communities and restored through a white-savior complex. Not free will or choice, but through the appropriation of their own culture which then replaces the act of demonstrating culture (like wearing braids) as an act of the oppressor mocking and being praised.

I know or plenty of white girls who wore braids or dreads or black hairstyles as a counter-culture identifier, in the way of popular artists and celebrities, but also activists and stoners appropriating Rastafarian culture. This makes black culture a counter-culture instead of an aspect of American culture or black culture within America that is respected and valued inherently. It otherizes, fetishizes, and tokenizes black culture, takes advantage of the current racist system and white privilege/bias, and gains an aesthetic. That is an intent to appropriate for social gains, and it’s all over the music industry and Hollywood.

At the end of the day, I don’t think my opinion here can matter, I’m not harmed by your action. Braids are braids and I have a... not-normal history of exposure and love of black hair that most white girls don’t, but even then, I had to grow and listen and understand the nuances of my environment and the society around it. Is it different wearing styles in the middle of nowhere with no social interactions vs. posting on social media or interacting in society? Yeah, I think it is.

So I suppose the sum of the parts is:

Are you benefitting socially from wearing your hair this way? If so, then yeah, that’s sucky for the BIPOC people being pushed down for doing the same and is harmful appropriation. How you measure that seems to depend on intent, so the bias of wanting to keep doing something you like has to be accounted for.

Is your intent to fit an aesthetic? If so, yeah, definitely a problem.

Reflect on why you like doing this, what is it you gain or feel or imbibe or get out of the experience in the first place? I’d say at the end of the day, know the history of oppression that exists in America and around the world. Being aware and able to identify appropriation in media, pop culture, and everyday life, as well as the history of it, allows you to be an ally.

And finally, do you listen to what people are saying?

If/when people say things about your hair, understand that you are a social exception to the style and address it. I do think there is a responsibility to engage in these conversations when we ride the line of these grey areas, like when culture is shared with us, to what extent we participate and own it is 100% dependent on that relationship. Be willing to hear black people if they say it is uncomfortable, listen to what they mean, have a conversation about it and be willing to let go of a thing you want if that is the feedback you get.

I think a lot of appropriation comes from the denial of history and the ignorance of oppression. If Kim K made a statement that said “these aren’t boxer braids, they are cornrows, worn by African American women for centuries, mocked and ridiculed by white culture, but have been an efficient way to manage African textured hair in the new climate environment of the Americas when forced here as slaves. Many were forcibly shaven, but for those who were allowed to express themselves in small subtle ways as slaves, through jim crow, and even today, the decoration and design of cornrows was and is incredibly meaningful.” That’s a different conversation about appropriation, that’s using privilege and platform without placating or denying the experiences of others to educate and address appropriation, rather than solely profiting off the attention and claiming to create a “trend.” Black hair is beautiful and should be appreciated and allowed to be as bold or big as an individual wants it to be.

Hair is one of the coolest, most useful phenotypic traits of thermoregulation in humans/primates, and science still has a few questions yet to research regarding the evolution of different textures and colors. Your own hair texture can change over time, as you grow, especially in women, depending on hormones, especially through pregnancy, nutrition, and chemical treatments like chemotherapy, as well as genetics, and even environmental changes in water hardness, haircare routine and treatment materials.

With slavery, migrations, immigrations, and other historic and contemporary movements of humans comes the issues of adaption and change to fit the new environment, fighting forced assimilation, colonization, denial of cultural expression, and active racism. We need to be able to talk about these aspects of race in society and listen if and when people say what we are doing is harmful. I think the most important thing to do is educate ourselves on the purpose, history, and meaning of a thing, particularly if we are gaining positive attention from it while others suffer for it. Talk to people of color around you who are willing to offer an opinion, and listen to them. Research the history and speak up when you see the double standard in practice.

My line is here: if I can find evidence of a POC being criticized for a style (and it’s not my natural hair), I’m not going to wear that style in public or on social media, but I am going to praise it, and criticize those racist comments degrading or demeaning it, I will champion it and demand schools do away with discriminating hair policies, and ask my library to spend money on children’s books about black hair, and do the work of finding black people voicing their opinions, or having a vulnerable and authentic conversation with a friend, then listen and make a judgement from there. If the consensus is that the style is harmful and you continue to wear it, then yeah I’d say that’s a pretty bad message that says: I just don’t care, I want to do this so I will.

This follows a moral judgement for me: if you love someone and they tell you a thing you do is actively harming them and show you evidence of the harm (as in: it’s not just annoying, but actually harmful to them), but you continue to participate in the thing, that’s not love. I can’t fully picture the specific style, and I don’t know your intent or if/how you gain from the style, so I’m having a hard time forming a full opinion. Is this a style that has been addressed by black communities as harmful? Is it a few different styles put together? Are you in a diverse place, are you criticized for the look, is it even a look to you?

Personally, I’d say it rides too close to the line for my own comfort and I wouldn’t be wearing a multi-braid style in public (as in more than two, I rock the french-braid pigtails while hiking because its easier to find ticks), but again, I’m not someone who would be being harmed by it. I often try to resist judgement of strangers’ hair unless I know them and their background or platform, because I don’t know their culture, ancestry, or heritage, so I don’t hold others in society to the same standard as myself.

I’d love to hear other peoples’, particularly POC, opinions and experiences with hair and appropriation.

If there are a few un-uniform braids, is it different than many uniform loose braids, what about compared to cornrows, where is your personal line? Is it different from your social line? How would you judge or hold people accountable in society?

P.s. Thanks for asking and trying to learn more about the potential social impact you are having. I think that’s a great step toward a more equal world that can appreciate culture without taking advantage of others. It sounds like you’re trying to do your research to learn more about whether your action is having a negative consequence, and I appreciate you taking the time to be vulnerable and research and question yourself. I think that also has to be rewarded.

24 notes · View notes

loridrabbles · 5 years ago

Text

Imprisoned | Dogma x Reader (Part 1)

After Dogma executes Pong Krell for his traitorous acts on Umbara, he lands himself in prison. (Y/n), who testified against Krell and the Court, winds up behind bars as well

Life. Life with possibility for parole, though that possibility was looking slim, was the sentence Dogma recieved for the unauthorized execution of a General. (Y/n) wasn't told what her sentence was, only that she was an accomplice to his crime. Perhaps they were still figuring out what she deserved. The others in the 501st vehemently denied any opposition to General Krell's leadership, but Dogma claimed he was a traitor to the Republic and the Jedi Order. When (y/n) agreed and testified against the court, they arrested her as well.

The two of them had never gotten along very well in the past, and being locked in a cell together was possibly eachother's worst nightmare.

"I can't believe I'm in here too." (Y/n) said irritably. "I didn't do anything but testify in your favor.

"Hey, it's not my fault you're in here." He retorted. "If you didn't open your mouth you'd be fine. Rex and Tup told you to shut up. I told you to shut up and you didn't so don't blame me."

"How was I supposed to know telling the truth would land me in prison?"

"That's where the truth gets you. That's why you. Follow. Orders." He said, punctuating his words by pounding his fist against his palm.

"Well you were the one that shot him. And you weren't supposed to do that."

"I had to! He's a traitor! You saw what he made is do! I killed my own men!"

"If you would have just waited two fucking seconds, it would have been Rex. He had the authority. Not you."

"What's done is done." He said, being the one to finally lower his voice. He crossed his arms and looked away from her. "But my point is, I was going to end up here anyway. You didn't have to support me, you would have been fine."

"I wasn't supporting you I was...disagreeing with Krell and his ideals." She sat on the edge of one of the beds. The cell was rather small. 3 walls and an electric shield keeping them in. One wall had 2 beds, headboard to headboard

Opposite to the wall was a padded bench, next to it a mirror and a shelf. The back wall had a door leading to a bathroom, but there was unfortunately, no shower.

"Whatever. You should have been smarter." He grumbled. "Wait a minute. As I recall you weren't even supposed to be on Umbara anyways. Who gave you the orders to join us?" He questioned her intensely.

"No one else had a problem with it."

"Who gave you the orders?" He repeated.

"No one." She admitted, quietly. He rolled his eyes and almost laughed at her mindlessness.

"Stupid girl." He whispered to himself. "Well I can't help you now. Next time keep your thoughts to yourself."

"They had to know what Krell though of you guys, how he treated you." She shook her head. "It was just wrong. He can't have an honorable legacy."

"What do you care?" He spat.

"What?" She asked, in disbelief. "That's not fair I care about you guys. Not even the GAR treats you like men. It's not right." She said laying back on the bed, feet still on the floor. He said nothing. She sighed and out of the corner of her eye, she saw him sit on his bed, with his head in his hands. The room was silent, and she just watched him. His hands fell to his lap and his head tilted back as he let out a stressed breath. She fiddled ith the pocket of her blue pinafore, with her prison id sprayed on the back. She took a breath and sat up.

"You ok?" She asked.

"Yeah. I just need sleep that's all. It's been a long day." He went to lay down but she stopped him.

"Wait. Something's bothering you." She said.

"Yeah we're in prison. What wouldn't be bothering me? Let me go to sleep." He snapped, getting the covers ready to sleep with.

"I'm sorry. Did I say something I shouldn't have?"

"No." He paused. "I just need some sleep."

She watched as he climbed under the sheets and settled down into the bed. With no fight left in her, she followed suit, staring at the metal ceiling of the cell. She wished they had gotten along better on the outside. She was such good friends with the others in his battalion, but he was so different. His personality was rigid and, though he had no rank, his demeanor was authoritative. They had had a few conversations here and there, but never one on one. She was usually in a group with Tup and Fives and a few others and whenever Dogma joined in the conversation, after a few minutes their voices would run dry and they'd run out of things to say, the group usually dissipating after a bit of awkward silence.

She could never figure out exactly what it was that turned so many people off from forming a relationship with him. He was a rule follower, but so was Rex and everyone liked him just fine. She and him disagreed on hundreds of fronts and they ended up getting themselves into heated arguments, usually about minuscule things. Maybe it was his hard headedness. People often misread him as mean or disagreeable, but he really wasn't. Even in all their fighting he never treated her disrespectfully, until today.

It took her hours, but she finally drifted to sleep, hoping their relationship would improve, at least for the time being.

#star wars fanfiction #star wars imagine #star wars #star wars the clone wars #the clone wars #clone wars #the clone wars imagine #the clone wars fanfiction #imprisoned #clone trooper x reader #clones #clone trooper dogma #clone trooper dogma x reader #dogma #dogma x reader

74 notes · View notes

grandmalavi · 5 years ago

Text

Why Marquillo/Serquel seem so similar to Jisbon to me

If you've never watched The Mentalist, then you won't get what I'm talking about here... But if you did, I'll try to get my point across properly.

So, here we have two ships I've fallen in love with, first Jisbon (Jane x Lisbon) and then later Marquillo (Sergio x Raquel), and I can't stop but to see several similarities between the two couples, somehow. It's strange, really, once The Mentalist and La Casa de Papel aren't similar shows at all, but while watching Raquel Murillo come in scene for the first time on tv, defying all male characters (Professor included) that'd threat her disrespectfully, I got major Teresa Lisbon's vibes right off the bat. Both strong women, both constantly judged less for being females in a major male work enviroment, both badass cops that are smart and caring leaders in their own way...

And then Sergio came in view as this mastermind, genious Professor character who schemed the (almost) perfect heist plan, a guy who makes his every move against the police like a chess player moving pieces on the board, always a step ahead, all the time. I mean, this is such a clever guy he pisses me off sometimes, you know? Just like Patrick Jane.

Jane was an asshole half of time because he enjoyed messing around with people so much, because he was innevitably the smartest person in a room and he knew it, often getting so damn bored with average people's intelligence he'd simply manipulate them into doing whatever the hell he needed them to do, instead of explaining the details behind his thinking... Sergio lacks the smugness and overall people skills, sure, but underneaath all his shyness he is very confident on his own mental capacity, which is clear in his invention of these two different personalities (El Professor and Salva) that'd surpass him on the romantic and confidence topics he'd have to overcome until the end of the heist, once as Sergio he'd be vulnerable on both. They're both moved forward torwards an ultimate goal (Red John x The Perfect Heist) that cost them too much, loved ones and decades of their lives, without mentioning how poorly these two men have managed to live while on pursue of such objectives, putting their personal and mental health aside to do so.

I say less about Lisbon and Raquel (whose codename now is Lisboa, the city, Lisbon in english, ironically) because they're in essence very simple characters to understand. They're just women, they lived great part of their careers by the book, following the law, until they met their respective love interests and everything turned upside down. And I love Teresa Lisbon, I do, but unlike her, Raquel Murillo isn't anyone's ideal of good and selfless, which I admire the most about her character. Raquel is often impulsive and clueless when it comes to El Professor, and later, during part 3, we see her downhill pissed at him and actually arguing their problems to his face... Lisbon, however, is too good of a friend of Jane's to hurt him on purpose during a fight, and way too motherly (she's so used to overprotecting him their relationship sometimes honestly sucks) to threat him as her dumbass boyfriend only, most of the times.

I like that Raquel can, and will speak for herself (specially being a silenced, abused woman once) whenever she feels like she's bothered by her partner's behavior somehow. Because it means she's perfectly capable of whooping Sergio's clueless ass when it comes down to it, and that they're a couple tha can actually talk their problems through instead of simply sulking quietly until shit hits the fan, you know? I also prefer Sergio's insecurities and how honestly he displays them, specially to Raquel, whenever she notices him struggling with part 3's plan... Patrick Jane wouldn't be unsure of his success at the end of a con, and in case that'd happen he'd keep it to himself, usually, even being kind of dissmissive of everyone else's opinions when it'd come to something he'd think of himself (he wasn't any good at admitting his own flaws, and I could count on my fingers how many times he actually apologized to Lisbon on the show). :(

Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is that, although I love both ships equally, Marquillo has everything I've ever wished for Jisbon going on, and I absolutely adore it. And, ahem, if the Marquillo shippers struggling out here get the same luck Jisbon's ones got in the past, well, let's just say Raquel and Sergio will be saying their vows pretty soon. Hopefully, season 4 kind of soon...

Well, a fan can only hope!

#marquillo #sergio marquina #raquel murillo #sergio x raquel #jisbon #jane x lisbon #patrick jane #teresa lisbon #the mentalist #la casa de papel

31 notes · View notes

ramblings-out-of-the-blue · 5 years ago

Text

When Mammets Have Strings 2/3

Well that was certainly not the update gap I had planned. Context: I still have no idea about the layout of Ala Mhigo or the way things progress in SB-SHB so all of this is just guesswork and fanciful thoughts. Part 2, ahoy!

Recc music: Destroy Everything You Touch - Ladytron

A strange malady is quickly overcoming the Scions, Zenos learns. They are dropping, one by one, into a deathless slumber. He has seen through his window into their life, the Warrior sitting by their beds, waiting for them to recover.

He is in the midst of training when a vision slaps him, hard.

He sees only the Warrior buckling, falling to their knees and clutching their head in agony, before they completely collapse, sprawling on the ground.

The oversized mammet is alarmed and rushes to its master's side, daring to shake them as much as its tiny little automaton hands can. At no response, it panics.

He panics. He watches the world rush by at a toddler's height, still ignorant of whatever vessel he's watching from, rushing through the halls. It stops at a woman in a red gown. Zenos vaguely remembers her as a one of the rebels.

"What the hell-? Where's the Warrior? Their pet shouldn't be this close to me unsupervised."

~*~

Lyse scowls at the mammet with the face of the Viceroy. She knows it's stupid, that it's only a toy! But it's got his face, and she really hated that bastard. But then it tugs on her dress, frantic, running in little circles before tugging again.

She frowns. Something is wrong. For starters, the Warrior of Light would never let their precious incarnation of evil run around alone in Ala Mhigo.

The mammet looks like it's about to crawl up her leg and pull her hair when she focuses on it again. "Alright, I get it, what is it?" Twelve save her for talking to this mammet like it understands.

But it takes off, running fast as it can (which she finds is ridiculously fast because mammets can keep up with their owners even when they're spurred by movement magic) and Lyse chases, sprinting down the halls, toward the Warrior's room.

The wind-up is already in there, pushing and prodding the fallen body of the Warrior of Light as she enters the open door.

"No...Twelve, no!" She drops on the other side of her friend, hauling them up and over, checking their vitals before her shoulders slump.

"Not another one..." she breathes.

~*~

The wind-up does not leave the Warrior's bed as they're tended to. It sits, diligently by their arm. When a stranger comes by – another new physician to see if they can isolate the problem – it draws a large toothpick-like sword from its tiny replicated revolver holster and brandishes it, until either Lyse or Tataru say that it's okay, the stranger is going to try and help.

Tataru takes it upon herself to keep the mammet itself in good condition. "They'd be devastated if you were a mess when they woke up." She explained, the first time she tried to mend a little rip it had torn in one of the sashes around its waist. It tolerates Tataru's care well enough. Too much handling, however, earns an eerie stare that the lalafell swears would be a scowl if it could articulate its eyebrows.

One evening, when Tataru is late in finishing her paperwork, she checks on the slumbering Scions past midnight. It's when she reaches the Warrior's room that something is gravely amiss.

The mammet guardian is absent, and instead an enormous cloaked figure sits beside the bed.

Tataru squeaks instinctively, and they turn their head sharply to see her.

What a cold blue eye, what a deadly stare.

She turns to run, hears the heavy footsteps, and then suddenly a hand grabs her by the scruff. Immediately she freezes as the ground rushes away from her. She is extremely unaccustomed to someone using her lalafellan stature against her so physically and so disrespectfully. She is also extremely aware that she is extremely at their mercy.

Tataru is turned around like a kitten to face the stranger.

Only to find that the face under the hood is not as unfamiliar as she thought.

"Mammet?" She mumbles.

This time, the eyebrows on that face do scowl.

The truth of the situation is suddenly made abundantly clear, and Tataru nearly faints.

It's not the mammet. It's not the mammet. It's not the bloody mammet.

How in the seven hell's is Zenos yae Galvus here?! He's dead! He's meant to be dead! How did he know to be here?! What if he's done something to the Warrior?! Oh gods he's going to drop her out the window!

~*~

"You're late."

Tataru thought she misheard. "P-Pardon?" Her voice was little more than a squeak.

Krile told her how terrible the crown prince was in person, how ominous, how threatening - in a way only a fellow lalafell would understand. Tataru thought that the mammet was surely a good capturing of his likeness, so surely the man himself hadn't been so ominous!

Well, that assumption was dashed entirely.

He pursed his lips. "Do stop shaking."

She couldn't.

Zenos nearly rolled his eyes and dropped her onto the bed at his Warrior's feet. "Your life is not in danger." His voice was empty, bored, like he said it as a platitude.

Tataru sat still as he returned to his chair. She had questions – many – but dared not voice them.

"Carry on with your duties." Zenos prompted.

Tataru summoned all her courage to crawl over the bed, around the Warrior to check their temperature, make sure they were comfortable. She sat back in her heels when she was done. Zenos hadn't moved. He had barely pulled his gaze from the Warrior's face.

"...Where is the wind-up?" She wondered aloud.

"I have disposed of it."

Tataru stared.

"They shall have no need of a toy now that I am here."

Tataru looked aghast. "That doesn't give you the right to trash their favourite wind-up!" He stared coldly. Tataru swallowed. "I mean...the mammet itself is important to them. What did you do to it?"

His stare eased and he pointed out the window.

Tataru's eyes widened and she nearly rolled off the bed in her rush to look out it.

"Oh!" Her heart sank as she saw the broken pieces of the automaton strewn about on a balcony some stories below.

Overcome with a swell of grief, she scowled at the Garlean. "How could you?! Even when it was made in your likeness!"

He arched a brow. "That is precisely why."

Tataru shook her head. "You don't understand at all! The Warrior adored it! They took it everywhere! You may as well have murdered their best friend!"

Tataru stormed to the door, and when Zenos' made to get up and stop her, she huffed. "You stay right where you are! When the Warrior wakes up, they can deal with you!"

He settled back down as she left. "I never intended to go elsewhere."

What a strange little person, full of false bravado. At least she wasn't dumb enough to think anyone else capable of dealing with him.

Zenos stared at the window. He hadn't intended to break the doll. It was just...a shock. And annoying. Having to juggle two sets of view of the same moment was too much. Two sets of feelings. The mammet had been aggressive toward him, waving a tiny Ame-no-Habakiri at him when he had come in. It was furious, trying to stab him when he picked it up off the warrior's bed. Zenos had felt the rage from the creature, the little automaton that had been his window into the Warrior's life. He could feel even then, his own hand on the mammet's scruff. It was disconcerting. He had tried to lock it away in the closet, only for the large wind-up to bang on the door incessantly. So, he had picked it up and simply dropped it out the window.

He had regretted it the instant it happened. The instant its little clockwork body had shattered on the tiles below, he felt it. He had nearly blacked out. But still, Zenos believed it was for the best.

"…Best friend…" He blinked slowly, looking back down at his unconscious enemy.

"You poor thing!"

He scowled. Not again! Not that damned duality, again!

He felt disjointed, like someone was touching him all over but the touch itself was fragmented.

"Oh! Thank the Twelve! The heart is still intact! Don't you worry, we'll have you good as new in no time! Although...the rest of you will need replacing. Hm? What's this? What a strange flower... Was this inside you all along? I suppose it must have been."

He could hear the little caregiver's voice, but there was no image to match. Only the strange warped touches and her voice. Even then, it was all so muffled and distorted.

~*~

Tataru sends the mammet pieces off to Ul'dah to be repaired, to be remade exactly as it was, bloody flower, heart and all. She's very adamant that it be an exact replica. Meanwhile, she realises that Zenos was very literal about not leaving. He's as dedicated as the mammet was. She tries to make conversation - for her own sake, really. But even Urianger talked more than the Warrior's unexpected, unwelcome visitor.

Zenos finds he doesn't mind this little savage. She's tolerable, and has been caring for his friend, for his mammet figure, so he feels like he knows her somewhat already. She snatches bits and pieces of food from the kitchen for him after the third time she visits for a check-up and he has barely moved.

When alone, Zenos mulls over the things the little person has said about the mammet. It was important to his Warrior. He dares to wonder if that meant he was important to his Warrior. His sleeping, motionless warrior. "...Wake soon, my friend."

Tataru works very hard to keep his presence a secret. She, like Alphinaud, knows that their friend wouldn't be so attached to a mammet without reason. They obviously felt something toward the man it was styled after. She just hopes she's doing the right thing. It tears at her conscience to keep such a devastating secret from Lyse and Krile, but… She knows well how much pain their dear Warrior has suffered.

It's very difficult to get him to stay hidden in the closet when Lyse or a chirurgeon comes around. The only thing that stops her from resorting to physically pulling his coat is her fear.

"Where's the tiny terror?" Lyse asks when she notices the missing mammet.

It's not a total lie that comes from Tataru's mouth. "Oh, it fell off the bed and broke, so I had it sent to the goldsmith's for repairs. It should be good as new before they wake up!" Lyse makes a face and sarcasm drips like venom. "Won't that be wonderful?"

Tataru leaves with them, so he doesn't get to ask his question until later in the evening.

"Why are you having it fixed?"

Tataru is confused by the question. Why wouldn't she have it fixed?

That's when he slowly tells her about the conduit, that its vision and his conflict and overwhelm.

"Well, there's a lesson even you can learn from this."

He's mildly amused at such a statement.

"You ought treat yourself better."

~*~

The mammet returns and at once tries to stab him. Zenos keeps it at bay with his boot, disinterested. Tataru ends up being the mediator. Now the Warrior has Zenos on one side of their bed, and his mammet on the other side.

~*~

When Zenos' catches wind of Garlemald's new weapon, Black Rose, he's livid. He will never let a cowardly method like that steal his prey. So he leaves, not a word not a sign of his presence left behind. Only the mammet, watching, guarding. Strangely, he is somewhat glad of the mammet's usually infuriating vision. It's as though he hasn't even left.

~*~

Zenos is the first one to know when they wake, when they return from the First, as his blade draws the blood of his father.

He feels their arms around him, holding the wind-up close, squeezing tightly, as he battles the wolf and the dragon. Oh, what euphoria! As though he is being praised for his battle!

He abandons Garlemald, his empire by right of birth, as soon as able. They have moved the Scions and the Warrior to Rising Stones by now, so there he goes, following the mammet's visions to find them.

Sometimes they will hide their face against the mammet, and the little doll will try and pet their hair with both its tiny arms in an attempt to comfort. The Warrior of Light is shaken, does not talk of things on the First. They cry, a lot. They hug their little mechanised doll a lot more than before.

Tataru tries to tell them about what happened, only getting so far as to say that the mammet needed repairs so if something is different- "Oh thank you for taking care of him, Tataru!" They run off, desperate to have their own space.

Tataru never has the chance to warn them that they may be visited by a 'ghost'.

#ffxiv AUs #zenos x wol

5 notes · View notes

demiiharperr · 5 years ago

Text

The issues I have with That 70’s Show:

The different ways the Intro Song is sang throughout the seasons. I was content until they introduced Randy and then the whooooole vibe in the song changed.

The on and off relationship of Jackie & Kelso. Their relationship was very unhealthy. The way Jackie would speak to Kelso, followed by Kelso repeatedly cheating on Jackie.

After Season 1 Episode 3, we rarely ever see Steven Hyde without his sunglasses.

In Season 1 Episode 2, Eric got the Vista Cruiser and Red told him all the responsibilities that come with owning the car BUT how was Eric going to afford it? He didn’t get a job until Episode 5.

Season 1 Episode 2, Midge mentions their daughter Valerie but, we never see Valerie. In fact, as the series goes on we’re made to believe Donna is an only child.

Bob. Don Stark’s cheesy acting was sometimes almost unbearable. The delivery on all of his punch lines just never stuck. Every scene they attempted to make him funny always seemed forced. Especially when he’d go “oh boy”. Bob was too corny for me to ever like his character.

Jackie wears a sweater vest with the initials JSB. I’m assuming it stands for her name except... we later find out Jackie’s middle name is Beulah. Her initials would then be JBB. I need answers!

The air hockey game at The Hub that was there for Season 1 Episode 4 and then never again.

You never see the entire view of The Forman’s house or The Pinciotti’s house.

Season 1 Episode 5 Donna mentions her little sister Tina. Again, another Pinciotti daughter that winds up disappearing. She only makes one appearance and then she’s never seen again.

The Forman kitchen table goes from having 3 legs (S1E4) to then only having 1 leg (S1E5)

Danny Bonaduce is another character who’s lines never landed.

(S1E6) Jackie’s mom (Eve Plumb) is showing the house where the gang is trying to throw a kegger. Jackie’s mom in this episode is not the same woman we later came to know as “Jackie’s Mom” (Brooke Shields) way later in the series.

How pot is perceived throughout the show with the moving wall, the floating heads, demonic voices etc.

Donna occasionally entertaining Hyde’s crush he had on her. She then gets upset with Eric when he makes out with Laurie’s friend, Kate, from College.

Hyde willing to learn how to dance, buying gifts — i mean, the lengths this man will go & step out of his own character in order to impress Donna. But, when he begins dating Jackie, the poor girl almost has to pull teeth to get a romantic gesture out of him. HE WAS WILLING TO DANCE TO DISCO FOR DONNA!

(S1E8)The customer service at Blanigans is quite appalling. Between the rude hostess and the singing employees nearly running over The Forman’s, what kind of restaurant is this?! Then as The Forman’s are storming out, you can see a casting extra mouth the words “what the fuck [.....]”. I couldnt make out what the last few words were but my guess is he said “what the fuck is that guys problem?” How did no one catch that?!

(S1E8) Kitty & Red get caught hooking up in their car by a police officer. Them getting caught isn’t the part that’s the issue, it’s the way Red speaks to the officer and then the officer cowers away from him. What kind of cop is this guy?

(S1E9) Kate, Laurie’s friend from college, not giving two fucks about making out with Eric, a boy who is underage. Kate being unmoved by the possibilities of jail time is worrisome.

When do they ever actually go to school?!

How does Laurie stay Red’s favorite? She smokes in front of him, flunks out of college, drinks all of his beer, marries Fez, is caught lying repeatedly, & is openly slut-shamed by the whole gang in front of Red. CAN THIS GIRL REALLY DO NO WRONG?! It’s only when she gets caught living with a man that for a brief moment Eric is the new favorite.

(S1E17) That cringe worthy moment when Bob picks up Donna’s birth control from the Pharmacy and Bob recreates the Macaulay Culkin/Home Alone face. One of the many cheesy Bob moments that I mentioned before.

(S1E18) The frustration of having absolutely no idea what Kelso’s dad actually does for a living. Based off of many Google searches he’s a Senior Executive Statistical Analysis Technician. If you read the description of what a Statistical Analysist does I could see how a teenager like Kelso would get extremely confused.

(S1E18) “Gross Edna” aka Hyde’s mom asks Hyde if he has his fake i.d., to which he replies “you know it”. So, if Hyde has had a fake i.d. this whole time then why is the gang always on a mission to steal beer?!

(S1E18) Jackie working on Red’s car with him on Take Your Kid To Work Day. This is so out of character for Jackie and her knowledge about cars is never brought up again.

The show starts off in 1976 but, halfway through season 1 we’re in 1977. We chill in ‘77 until the end of season 3 when we finally enter 1978. But then, we stay there until season 6. We then wrap up the show with the final seasons all taking place in 1979. Time really doesn’t make any sense throughout That 70’s Show.

THERE’S A BRITISH VERSION OF THIS SHOW?!?! Why do we as human beings continue to do this?! I get it that the remake of a television show into an American version or the remake into a British version can be a huge hit! I also know how much of a fail this can turn out to be. The British tried with recreating the classic Golden Girls (UK: Brighton Belles), Saturday Night Live aka SNL (UK: Saturday Live), Friends (UK: Coupling). Then America tried with Skins (UK: Skins) and The Inbetweeners (UK: The Inbetweeners). Sometimes you just gotta leave the originals alone. But, if you’re interested in watching the British remake of That 70’s Show, the show is called Days Like These.

(S1E22) Eric tells Hyde that he can’t leave for New York because they were “gonna paint that pot leaf on the Water Tower”. BUT WAIT — HOLD UP!! We already saw them paint the pot leaf on the Water Tower (S1E21). The painting of the pot leaf literally happened one episode before Forman says this to Hyde!! It’s the same episode where Kelso falls off the Water Tower and breaks his arm while he was trying to perfect the Pot Leaf Painting to Hyde’s liking. How did Hyde & Eric forget all of this happening? How did the That 70’s Show crew forget this just happened?

Danny Masterson (Hyde) is a Scientologist IRL?! This has nothing to do with the show, i’m just shook.

There’s never a discussion of Hyde losing his virginity. With the rest of the gang they would all sit around and speak in detail about how it was for them. But, not with Hyde. I’m assuming he lost his virginity to Christy (S1E22) since this is the first sexual partner of his we are introduced to but, since the gang doesn’t talk about it WE DONT KNOW!

(S1E23) The very odd almost accepting nature of The Forman family losing Bernice Forman aka Mother Forman. Other than Red’s brother Marty, nobody really showed sadness to losing a loved one.

(S1E10) We finally get to meet Red’s mother, Bernice. She’s very transparent about her hatred for Kitty, which causes everyone to be on edge and want to stay clear of Bernice’s sharp tongue. Fortunately for Eric, his friend Fez is an admirer of Bernice’s feet and rubs them until her whole demeanor changes. She leaves The Forman home complimenting Kitty’s cooking, as well as complimenting their car. Which brings me to this.. They left episode 10 on such a good note! What happened inbetween episode 10 and episode 23 (the episode covering Bernice’s death and funeral)?! By episode 23 Bernice was back to her snarky self and I need answers as to why she couldn’t just stay nice!

(S1E23) The Funeral Director walking over to Bernice’s casket to close her eyes. This is 1. confusing to me & 2. kind of morbid if you think about what that must’ve looked like.

(S1E23) What ever happened to Red’s train set? You can clearly see how much that train set meant to him and how bad he wanted it for himself but, we never see that sentimental train set again.

(S1E23) The cemetery where Mother Forman is buried and Eric goes to visit at night looks a whoooooole awful lot like The Forman’s backyard. Change the stucco of the house and the fence, then add a tomb stone... boom! Eric’s backyard is now a cemetery.

(S1E24) The gang all go skinny dipping meaning they are swimming butt naked. The skinny dipping isn’t where I find an issue. The issue is actually in the episode later on (S4E20) when the gang is reminiscing on the time they’ve spent together over the years. One of the memories being that Kelso is the only one who’s never seen Donna’s boobs. WHICH DOESNT MAKE ANY SENSE! They all went skinny dipping together. They were all naked. Kelso being Kelso.. he would’ve definitely made sure he never blinked. Not even for a second if that meant he could see any girl naked. So, Kelso claiming to have never seen Donna’s boobs seems false.

(S1E24) Midge welcoming the members of the Women Warriors group into her home only to have Sharon so disrespectfully flirt with Midge’s husband, Bob. Bob is not clueless to Sharon’s flirting. He actually seems to enjoy as well as entertain this woman making passes at him. This is one of the first signs that Bob & Midge’s marriage may not be eternal.

(S1E24) This is the episode when Hyde moves in with Eric because Edna (Hyde’s mom) has abandoned him. But, what ever happened to the house that Hyde left behind? We’re aware that his mom was renting the place but, he never went back to pick up anymore belongings. Edna was ok with all of her clothes and other things she owned just being tossed out?

(S1E24) Fez’s tattoo. Fez tells the gang that it’s a tattoo of the Blessed Virgin of Yorba Linda. What that looks like we don’t know because we never see it & after this episode we never hear about it again. The only thing Google gave me was that Yorba Linda is a suburban area in California. Who this Blessed Virgin is, we may never know.

(S1E25) Eric attempts to bounce a bowling ball in the living room, resulting in the ball breaking Red’s TV. I understand wanting to replace the television but, I’m also confused as to why they didn’t just take the TV from the basement in place of the broken television until Eric could afford to buy the house a new one. In fact, you never hear of or see Eric purchasing a new TV for the family after this episode. The replacement is all-of-a-sudden there. AND how did Red expect him to buy one? Eric hasn’t had a job since the Fatso Burger episode. Just as soon as he started working, he quit.

(S2E1) The Forman’s & The Pinciotti’s not realizing that they were high. Midge reveals in a later episode(S3E1) that her & Bob partake in smoking marijuana stating “That stuff was right here in our neighborhood? And to think of all the times we have to drive across town..” after finding out that Hyde was arrested for possession. So, if The Pinciotti’s know what smoking pot feels like you’d think they’d know that they were stoned after eating Hyde’s brownies (S2E1). And Red of all people not noticing that something felt a little off after eating the brownies? How’d he not catch on that something felt different? Which would be a solid reason for Red to be mad once he sobered up. But, I guess he never caught on. Weird.

According to an article I read, Red Forman threatened to put his foot in someone’s ass 38 times. I actually question whether or not this is accurate because I swear it felt like he said it at least double that amount of times. Even if he did only threaten people with his foot 38 times, he still never actually followed through with any of his threats. Red was all bark & no bite.

(S2E5) The gang finds out the Kelso is a year older than all of them meaning he could have been buying them beer this whole time. But, let’s not forget that Hyde has also had a fake i.d. and could’ve been doing the purchasing of the beer as well.

There were several times throughout the series when you can see that it was hard for the cast to execute their lines without cracking a smile or laughing. Thankfully they’re playing teenage stoners so, breaking into laughter can be overlooked.

The on going shame the gang continues to throw at Donna for not having sex with Forman. A teenager wanting to wait isn’t a reason for people to not respect her decision.

(S2E7) Donna tells Eric she loves him and he can’t say it back. WHAT IN THE ACTUAL FUCK! Eric has been in love with Donna since they’ve met & for him to leave her hanging like that, ugh—- I cant!

The racist references made throughout the whole series. They were mostly directed towards Fez & I’m aware that the 70’s were a different time. But, racism is racism no matter what era we’re talking about. The jokes about not knowing where he’s from or that his accent is weird— this is can be funny. But, once we cross into poking fun at his skin color by calling him by names of people of color.. that’s disrespectful.

(S2E18) Red forgets Eric’s age.

(S2E24) Red forgets Eric’s age AGAIN! His memory is becoming a concern.

(S2E20) How come we’ve never heard of The Pinciotti’s cat, Mr. Bonkers, until now?! & as quick as we’re introduced to the cat he’s out of our lives. RIP Mr. Bonkers’ short lived screen time.

(S3E2) I’m not a fan of watching The Forman’s & Hyde break out into song.

(S3E8)(S3E9)We jumped from Veterans Day to Christmas. What happened to Thanksgiving?!

(S3E15) The way Donna eats this one piece of candy. Very odd.

(S3E16) Red confirms with Eric that Kelso’s parents are dumb. But, in an earlier season we are to believe that Kelso’s dad is a Statistical Analysist. Not a job for dumb people.

(S3E18) The way directors thought we were suppose to believe this poor excuse of a fight between the Girls Lacrosse Team and Eric, Hyde & Fez. The girls were barely even lifting their legs. Unbelievably Unbelievable.

Eric is way too big for his bed. His feet literally hang off the end.

#love #aesthetic #blogger #boho #gypsy #hippie #namaste #retro #vintage #bohemian #earth #nature #travel #beach #ocean #mermaid

4 notes · View notes

thuviel · 6 years ago

Text

OC Interview Meme

I was tagged by @anarchyduck, thank you!

I’m tagging @szczypiorku, @sssamson and anyone else who wants to do it ^^

I’ll do the interview for my newest DA:I OC, Ailis! :D

1. What is your name?

“Ailis Trevelyan.”

2. What is your real name?

Her eyes narrow. “I know what you’re asking, and no I’m not telling you, that name is dead to me. If you really wanna know, go look up some registry of House Trevelyan or whatever.”

3. Do you know why you were called that?

She smiles. “Not many people get to choose their own name, you’re all missing out on how wonderful it is. After I left home, I was taken in by a Chantry sister in Ferelden. She told me of her mentor, Mother Ailis, who aided King Maric during the rebellion against the Orlesians, and later tutored his son, the Prince. She sounded like the most remarkable woman, and I wanted to be like her, so I chose the name Ailis for myself.”

4. Are you single or taken?

“Taken by the best scout I’ve ever met, she taught me everything I know about scouting and showed me so much more about life, I owe her so much.”

5. Have any abilities or powers?

She smirks. “I can hit the bulls eye of any target anywhere with my arrows before you’ve even found your bearings.”

6. What’s your eye color?

“Kind of a light amber? Well, my left one anyway, as you can see, my right eye is very pale, it’s nearly blind.”

7. How about your hair color?

“Black, runs in the family. Well except that one weird uncle I rarely meet, we all used to gossip that he was the stable master’s kid really,” she trails off into a chuckle.

8. Have you any family members?

“Well the Trevelyan noble house is huge, I have more relatives than I can keep track of. But for my immediate family, there’s my parents and my younger sister... and brother.”

9. Oh? What about pets?

“I have my beautiful girl of course! Never been a more clever scout mabari in all of Thedas!”

10. That’s cool I guess, now tell me about something you don’t like.

“Oh there’s a lot of things I don’t like. Oppression, injustice, betrayal.. Oh, you mean like food? Red meat, can’t stand that stuff. Well, unless you cleverly hide it in a reeeeally good stew maybe..”

11. Do you have any hobbies/activities you like doing?

“I love reading books! Especially history books. Especially history books about Grey Wardens. Grey Wardens and thrilling heroics..” she looks away shyly, suddenly embarrassed.

12. Ever hurt anyone before?

“Oh yes, but they all had it coming. You don’t hurt others, you got no problem with me.”

13. Ever… killed anyone before?

“... when it’s necessary.”

14. What kind of animal are you?

She looks perplexed. “I mean, I’d say I’m a human.. but if you’re asking me what animal I would want to be, definitely a griffon! Can you imagine that? Being able to soar through the skies, with strong talons to rip any threat apart.” She gets a dreamy look on her face. “Well I guess it’s almost the same as a dragon I suppose. But griffons are fluffier!”

15. Name your worst habits.

“Aside from always trusting the wrong people? I don’t know, I tap the table or tree or whatever I’m sitting next to quite a lot, apparently that annoys people.” She suddenly realises she’s been tapping the table for the whole interview and looks at her hand. “-oh! Sorry!”

16. Do you look up to anyone at all?

“I look up to Mother Ailis a lot, as I mentioned before. And the Grey Wardens, I really want to be as brave and heroic as them. And since joining the Inquisition I’ve met plently of new people I look up to, there’s the Inquisitor, and of course my beautiful Lace, I hope to be as good a scout as her someday.”

17. Sexuality?

“Bisexual!”

18. Do you go to school?

“Well not since I was 18. Also I kind of don’t live at home anymore, haha. But I miss learning, our teacher was such an enthusiastic person. We used to get into hour long discussions about some historical figure or another..” she gets a wistful look in her eyes.

19. Do you ever want to marry and have kids one day?

“I’m not sure I would ever be ready to raise a kid, but I would like to marry one day I think.”

20. Do you have any fanboys/fangirls?

“I had this stable boy follow me around for two whole years back at the Trevelyan estate. He always kept asking me questions about everything I did and learned, almost a bit too disrespectfully when talking to a noble, but that never bothered me. I think he wanted to be like me?”

21. What are you afraid of?

“Betrayal. It’s my biggest fear. I’m so afraid of trusting people, anyone at all, because I’m terrified of being betrayed again.. going through that pain again.”

22. What do you usually wear?

“Some good leathers always go a long way! Slim trousers and some leather armour is perfect for scouting, none of that big clunky metal armour to slow me down.”

23. Do you love someone?

“Yes,” she smiles. “Never thought I would dare again, but Lace showed me that I can still trust people after all of this, and I am always grateful for that.”

24. When was the last time you wet yourself?

“Excuse me? What kind of interview is this? How is it even relevant? Anyway, I can’t remember any time I have actually.”

25. Well, it’s not over yet!

“Please be over soon, though.”

26. What class are you? (High class, middle class, low class)

“I used to be a noble. Then I was homeless and living off scraps. Now I’m doing well enough with a job and a home in Skyhold, so I’d say I’ve been part of every class at this point,” she laughs.

27. How many friends do you have?

“A few. Less than I used to, but more than I thought I could have again.”

28. What are your thoughts on pie?

“I love pie! Oh please say you have a pie hidden somewhere! You can’t just specifically mention pies and not have one for me!”

29. Favorite drink?

“Tea, it’s so calming. A nice, strong smokey black tea, it makes any foul day better.”

30. What’s your favorite place?

“A library. Any library really, but the one back home was the nicest one. It has a cozy little reading nook and candles everywhere, oh I could spend hours in there.”

31. Are you interested in someone?

“I have all I need right here, why would I be interested in anything else?”

32. What’s your bra cup size and/or how big is your willy?

She gets thrown off by the question, and then she glares. “You are lucky I agreed to this interview by insistence from Josephine, or I would punch you in the face. I suggest you steer away from questions like this, or this interview is over.”

33. Would you rather swim in the lake or the ocean?

“Both are fine, the ocean is pretty cold though, so I prefer lakes.”

34. What’s your type?

“I don’t have a type.. I think?”

35. Any fetishes?

“Yes, it’s called How about you stop asking invasive questions?”

36. Top or Bottom? Dominant or Submissive?

“Seriously, I’m warning you.”

37. Camping or indoors?

“Indoors. I like being out in nature, but the indoors is much more comfortable. Not to mention all the damage the outdoors does to my books.”

38. Are you wanting the interview to end?

“Please tell me it’s over.”

39. Now it’s over!

“Oh, thank the Maker.”

#this was so much fun #im loving ailis more and more #ailis trevelyan #oc #da #da:i

3 notes · View notes

astrologista · 7 years ago

Text

Important facts about Varian: he doesn't see himself as a child.

"But I-I'm not a... child..."

At 14 some would argue, especially in Varian's time, that he's right. He's not a child. By modern standards, he’s coming of age. Not a kid, but definitely not a full adult.

But Varian tends to act in immature and impulsive ways and, as we've seen (almost got himself killed how many times now?), still needs his father's protection very much so. (Even now. Uh oh. I just made myself sad.) He may be much more intelligent, creative and insightful than the average 14-year-old, but an important distinction to make is that smarts does NOT equal maturity. (Seriously, even in real life, for me as a "gifted kid", that particular false correlation gave me such a weird complex, I can't even tell you.) Just because a 14-year-old skips three grades and is now a senior in high school, or goes to college, does NOT magically make that person a mature adult capable of consistent and rational decision-making. (’tis developmental biology, friends.) Sure, parents should always let their kids "try on" independence and let them make some of their own little decisions, but all the time knowing that, being young, the child will end up making some mistakes and learning from them. And the parent will be there to pick up the pieces. But eventually, they’ll learn how the world works.

This is a problem for Varian because, at least when it comes to authority, he doesn't learn. He hears, but he doesn't listen. He thinks he always knows better, and that based on sheer accumulation of knowledge, he should be able to conquer any challenge. We've never seen Varian with a friend his age. You could conclude that he may not have any, based on the rumors that have always said he's dangerous. So what's a kid to do instead? He reads. He accumulates enough knowledge in his solitude so that one day he can prove how great he really is to his dad and to the world. (But no pressure, right?)

But the weird thing is how Quirin thinks of Varian. I guess all parents think of their children as children forever and into perpetuity. (Heck, look at King Fred.) "Children have no place in court." As if to say, "You're a child, and you really should know that by now." Old Corona, being a more rural region than Corona proper, is likely a place where social roles are more heavily enforced. No one is to go "outside the mold", so to speak. A kid like Varian sticks out like a sore thumb. He's effusive, he emotes a lot, he can be shy, but once you get him talking about a subject he's passionate about, you just can't shut him up. That's part of the reason why Quirin seems so exasperated. Varian just won't act the way Quirin thinks a child should act, but despite everything, I think he loves Varian too much to crush his spirit. If he were crueler, he'd use all his power to keep Varian from doing alchemy. But I think Quirin knows Varian's going to do alchemy anyway no matter what happens. That, and he just really wants for Varian’s happiness (and god willing, his safety).

The most interesting piece of this is that despite everything, Varian really does know his place... but only when he's threatened. When Quirin growls "That is enough, Varian." and glares at him in a threatening way, Varian immediately looks like someone slapped him, because that's the last look he wants to see on his dad's face AND he actually looks like he might be genuinely scared of his father right then. (Corporal punishment was a big thing in these times.) Even though Varian was correct and justified in demanding a reason for all the lies, the way in which he petitions his father isn't the most tactful approach he could have taken. Only when Quirin treats him like a child, does Varian remember that, hey, he is kind of a child. And he remembers who he's talking to, his father in a direct position of authority over him, and musters up the conditioned response of "Yes, sir." (Later, Varian has mustered up enough courage to not only interrupt his dad when he's really at the end of his rope with him, but also to physically push him aside, again using a disrespectful tone. It makes clear that Varian seem to think of himself as Quirin's equal. At least when it comes to black rocks.) I don't think Quirin wanted to treat Varian in that manner. It seemed to be something he only did as a last resort. And it's kind of sad, in a way. Once kids reach the age of reason, they should be able to be reasoned with concerning their behavior, moving away from the toddler method of punishment vs. reward, or using fear of punishment to control behavior. I mean, you would probably whip out "That is enough, Varian." maybe if he were 3 and pitching a fit down at the alchemy supply store because you won't buy him the deluxe Bunsen burner or something. But Quirin seems to have other things to worry about other than his son's pride or what he has to say, so he uses it anyway. And Varian seems really hurt and sad after Quirin just walks away. He actually pushes Rapunzel's hand away. It's like that moment of weakness is what he's really trying to avoid, to keep private. That he's not really what he says he is, and even though it might be painfully obvious at times, still no one can know.

It's not even a coincedence that Varian talks to Rapunzel, the King, and the Queen in the way that he does in SotSD. Varian just shows zero respect for authority in that episode. Any good kid should, and in his earlier episodes, he SEEMED to have the utmost respect for the crown and all it symbolized, bowing and calling Rapunzel "your Highness", and insisting that every word from Rapunzel was important. So why the 180? Or was it just Varian's true nature coming out? In SotSD, Varian was just very sharp, cruel actually, with his language. Any other kid in Corona would never dare speak to an adult, much less the KING, QUEEN AND CROWN PRINCESS of the entire fudging kingdom in the manner that Varian did. Literally, the three most important people in the whole kingdom. And he didn't just get sassy or fresh or make fun of the way they dress or anything. He went right for the jugular. "For the first time in your life, YOU are in no position to demand ANYTHING." and "Oh, so NOW you care about what I WANT? And all it took was threatening the things you love the most..." and casually talking about "shattering" Rapunzel in front of her parents and, who could forget, "She's right, DAD." Not to mention how he treated Queen Arianna when he kidnapped her.

Worse and worse yet, probably one of the most shocking faux-pas that I think Varian committed was yelling "Quiet!" at Arianna during Ready as I'll Ever Be. This gets back to my earlier point. Varian does not see himself as a child (unless Quirin is "reminding" him of it). He now sees himself as not just the Queen's equal, but actually "higher" in status than even her because he has the power now. He's holding the cards. He has the queen in checkmate. (What do you want to do in a chess game? That's right. Capture the Queen.) But like, let's forget that she's the freaking QUEEN OF THE ENTIRE KINGDOM for a moment. Let's put that little nugget of info aside. This is an adult woman in maybe her early 40s and a 14-year-old boy we're talking about. In my house, if I ever told my mom "Quiet!" in the manner than Varian did, I would not be able to finish my singing number because my ass would be grass before I could continue. Telling someone "Quiet!" in that way would actually assume that THEY are in the lesser, child role. Disrespectful doesn't even begin to cover it, man. When you consider the social context, yeah, it’s really pretty bad. Varian just has a very distorted view of his "place" in Corona. Maybe he even feels that there’s no place for him. While there's nothing wrong with challenging and bending the rules of who society says you should be, and no one says you have to conform to every cultural norm of your identity, Varian seems to have this very warped view of his identity re: Corona, especially where he's leveraging social power that he simply doesn't have. He's not old enough or mature enough to wield the type of judgement skills or tact that would allow him to be perceived the way he wants to be perceived, and he’s demonstrated that. Perhaps in Varian's mind, he sees himself as an older, more proficient alchemist and he hopes that if he performs that role, everyone will indeed see him that way. But when the facade fails, he sulks and starts acting more childish and restrained again. It's actually hard to tell which personality is the real Varian. But I think the writers may have been trying to get at an important truth about growing up - when you're 14, you've got your childish self and your adult self warring for domination over your soul. Varian's good, pure but childish self is still intact in there. He can’t stay that person forever, he has to grow and change. But instead of growing into an honorable and stable adult, his adult self is being twisted into this dark persona, partly because of events outside of his control. His immediate response to this is to project as much of the blame outward, externally, as much as he can, and this is more of a coping mechanism than anything. Basically, he's trying to subconsciously protect his developing mind against the overwhelming guilt and shame from what happened to Quirin. That's too much emotional pain and baggage for someone that young to deal with alone. I'm pretty sure seeing Quirin frozen in the amber literally scarred him for life, not just because of the state that Quirin’s in, but because Varian knows deep inside that he played a huge role in putting him there. But that doesn't mean Varian can't redeem himself. It just means we're going to see probably more erratic and unpredictable behavior before he can organically reach that point, and forgive himself.

Speaking disrespectfully to the Royals is just part of that process, but it struck me as just being really a self-empowerment exercise. Some people listen to self-help videos. Varian does this. And if he can exert his power over them, he can exert power over anyone. And not only to speak like that to them, but to literally put his hands on the Queen as he's talking to the King. There's something just really creepy about that. The point is, no matter who you are, you just... don't say these things? It's a matter of respect. It's the society and times and the context that they live in under a monarchy. Obviously, the laws that govern speech are much more loose and lax in our democracy and real life. But think about the context here. Some off-color language could easily get somebody hanged in these times. And if Quirin could see what Varian's been doing, he would actually be shocked. Horrified. How could his son say or do these things? (lol now I'm imagining what if the amber had stopped around Quirin's neck so he was still stuck but he could talk and be aware of the proceedings around him. He'd be like, "VARIAN! Please, your Majesty. My deepest apologies. He hasn't had his nap yet.")

tl;dr Varian's never going to grow up unless he starts dealing with the reality of who he is and how he can grow to be a better person, and start taking responsibility for things he's done, while acknowledging that some things are just out of his control. And to do that he needs like, a lot of love and respect and hugs :^3 I mean, a lot a lot.

#varian #tangled the series #my boy is so TROUBLED #but he is also MULTI FACETED and INTERESTING #i'm rooting for him all the way #just. not like this hon. not like this #yeah there are gonna be like a thousand more of these posts before s2 #so just get ready

127 notes · View notes

mandivsman-blog · 4 years ago

Text

So, I came to the end of a situationship about a month ago with a man I realized I didn’t know at all. We were seeing each other for about 3 months and I would consider it long distance. Now, he did the classic “love bomb” (telling me he loved me right away, selling me all type of extravagant dreams, calling and leaving messages multiple times a day) a love avoidant technique and towards the end I found out he was deeply troubled, didn’t think he was, and was probably not going to change. He actually turned me OFF at first. I found him clingy but was simultaneously intrigued because I thought he was successful, well traveled, and thought we were looking for the same things word for word. Now, I’m not excusing my part in this. He was not my usual type and at the first sign of trouble I should have left. He was 40 years old, hundreds of sexual partners, never lived with someone, moved all over the country, single for multiple years, never had a long term relationship (2+), never stayed in one place for very long, had no sense of normalcy or routine, was very emotional but lacked empathy for others, and I got a sense he thought people were disposable. And, through all of those things, he was still just being who he was. Not good, not bad. Just him.

Why did I hang around? Well, what is the #1 thing that makes us attracted to another person?

Whether THEY’RE attracted to US. Yes, that’s right, if they like you, that’s half the attraction right there. He was a Casanova right away. Spoke beautifully, like a poem. He supposedly noticed and loved things in about me that I love about myself. He was externally successful, intellegent, funny, clever. We connected deeply on a sexual level as well. It was easy to open up about things I wanted and rarely shared. We had similar goals about the future.

See, it’s easy for a man to give me attention. I glamour/alternative model, sex positive, and extremely open but they don’t know me. They don’t know my past or my fears. Men tell me things all day, everyday. It’s easy for me to simply overlook because it’s the same words over and over. A man can look 10/10, be wealthy and fit and I will feel no sense of attraction. I have to hear the right words.

Words are meaningful but they lose their value if the actions aren’t parallel. This is where it sticky because the words vs. actions is a perception and thus subjective. One person may feel like their words match their actions perfectly yet the other person feels like they are doing they exact opposite. Is there really any objective truth?

Patterns. If it weren’t for recognizing patterns in science we wouldn’t have centuries of information that’s saved millions of lives and responsible for almost every innovation we have. There’s truth in patterns. He told me multiple stories and I noticed patterns. But, what is the truth? Was it my history of being scared of men and not trusting him that made me notice these patterns? Did they matter? And who should I ask for answers?

I choose not to be in a relationship for a long time. I was in a multiple year, live-in, serious relationship for most of my twenties with the only person I ever loved. The split was, in laymen’s terms, because I didn’t want to move forward and take our relationship seriously enough. This still haunts me some days, some days I think it was a blessing. I felt like a kid most of that relationship but I still remember how freeing and how fufilling full trust and endless love and affection was.

He loves me. He would never hurt me. He cares if I have a headache or a bad day. He makes me a priority. He wants to make me happy. He protects me.

And, In turn, I did the same plus more.

That relationship had been outgrown, unfortunately, and there was nothing him or I could do to stop it. He was air headed and light. Surface level. I am intense, quirky, horny, intense, highly-intelligent, inquisitive, complex. I take up space. I crave learning, doing, seeing, questioning. He liked watching TV.

After our split, I had a rough several years. I needed time to heal and figure things out. This time was the first time I truly spent time alone instead of jumping back in a relationship or dating. This is the best thing that I have ever done.

When a person goes from relationship to relationship, fuck to fuck, person to person, they just wind up mirroring their current partners personality instead of cultivating their own. Chamaeleon like. You need consist, heart wrenching, gut churning time alone. A person needs time to let their heartbreak, disappointed heal to change the essence of their character. This is growth. Jumping from one person to another is a distraction. It chips away. Now, I’m not talking about taking interest in your partners interests. I actually love that part of relationships because I love learning from my partners. I’m talking about melding your life with theirs and basically becoming your partner.

Anyway, I kept on trying to break it off with this person. He was saying beautiful words but I could never feel comfortable with him. He was had no schedule and his stories didn’t match up. I would bring up inconsistencies but he would shrug them off.

Doubt began to built.

When we began seeing each other he did tell me there was some overlapping but about a month in I decided I didn’t want to see someone with that kind of baggage and tried to break it off. He told me, “I have no one else.” Now, it was just “I have no one else.” It was paragraph after paragraph. Phone call after phone call cementing the fact that there was no one else and he wanted me, was pursuing me, and saw a future with me.

But, that wasn’t the case.

He was still boo loving and fucking that girl. I asked him again and he finally told me the truth. A 24 year old girl (he’s 40), with severe co-dependent issues. He told me her current boyfriend (they’re in an open relationship)was older than him and basically controlled her whole life and didn’t treat her well. I felt for that, no one deserves that but hearing that he was OK with entering the life of that person who was extremely sick, and fucking her changed the way I looked at him. If he wanted to help her without the benefit of sex, that would be one thing. I was devastated. I couldn’t understand how someone could tell me the things he had said to me and blantantly lie to me.

Still I tried to make things work because I felt like we could have a great future together...and I just couldn’t fucking let that go...

He told me he would break it off. I asked “in person?” And he said “My therapist and I will decide.” This puzzled me and hurt me. After this situation caused so much drama between us, why add more strife? Remember how he thought she deserved a break up person when I tell you how he disrespectfully ended things with me...

And, I just want to add, if things hadn’t moved lightening fast between us, I would not have felt this way. I’ve been through similar situations with men I’ve cared for and have never been in as much pain as that betrayal made me feel. When clearing out my phone of anything regarding him, I deleted over 20 voicemails from him.

He told me “I don’t want to lose you. I’ve never met anybody like you and I’m scared I won’t again.”

Sounds like bullshit, I know, but everybody secretly wants to hear that from their partner. It felt so good. It felt like I found a friend and lover who had plenty of experience but out of all those women he picked me. We all want to believe that. We all play the fool sometimes.

Anyway, I was in rare form. Since the quarantine I had stopped taking my ADHD med bc of insurance issues which I really need for multiple things including mood, and focus, my mental health was declining, I was drinking a lot, I had little direction, and here this man comes along to swipe me off my feet. He had some extravagant baggage which, when I first heard, I was like “this is not my guy but fun for now”, but I grew to want to walk with him through his problems, grow with him, and nurture him. That’s who i am. The problem was, I couldn’t trust or forgive him. So, he wasn’t doing the actions needed to help restore trust. The second he hurt me and I started reacting, I could feel him start pulling away. He had multiple, heavy things going on and whether he wanted to build trust but couldn’t bc he was busy or he didn’t care to, I will never know.

I also was trying to connect with my absent father at the time which did not go well. I should have known better. Every time my father tries to reconnect with me, my life and psych gets flipped on it’s head because, he’s still the same man who abandoned my mother and I when I was a child. See, it would be different if he had done therapy or actually attempted to be a better human but he hasn’t. He just shows up periodically and says “forgive me.” And I’m not, “no, you selfish mother fucker, show me you’ve changed.” He can’t. He’s 50 years old and is who he is. He disturbs my life subconsciously and consciously. He is to me. I was having a this battle with my father and trying to make things work with my love interest...

But I couldn’t stop being angry with him. I couldn’t stop feeling stupid for trying to believe what he was trying me. I kept trying to break off the relationship like once a week. At the time, I really didn’t want to be with him. I felt disgusted with his character but breaking down the root of that action, I just wanted to manipulate him into comforting me.

How pathetic is that?

Such a hard pill to swallow for me. I didn’t have the tools to regulate my emotions and communicate what I needed. I didn’t have the balls to firmly let go of the relationship. I was miserable running in circles.

Now, this was the absolute wrong thing to do and definitely is emotional blackmail. I hated that I was doing it. It hurt me and weighed me down. The person I cared for was walking on eggshells. I was hurting the person I cared for and he was also hurting me.

When I would drink, I would have meltdowns. They weren’t funny or cute. They were hurtful and designed to cause pain. If we’re talking in self-help terms..every time I would feel triggered, my “pain body” or “shadow” would be stimulated and their main function is the cause damage and posing as a faux coping mechanism.

Painbody-“It is an accumulation of painful life experience that was not fully faced and accepted in the moment it arose. It leaves behind an energy form of emotional pain. It comes together with other energy forms from other instances, and so after some years you have a “painbody,” an energy entity consisting of old emotion.”

I remember painbody being described in Eckort Tolle’s “The Power of Now” as “A lizard eating it’s own tail.” A pain that causes you to hurt people and that also hurts you to hurt people. I hadn’t been triggered like this is years. My mind forgot how to protect itself in a healthy way. I was just doing the best I could.

I met his parents and brother in Denver. This meant a lot to me because, for me, I would never introduce my mother to someone I wasn’t sure about. To me, that’s unfair to my mother to constantly bring man after man over for him to meet.

At this point, communication is declining, he’s trying to do the books for several businesses, meet up with friends, travel, and work...yet is trying to build a connection with me? It wasn’t the right time. I needed to feel like the person who supposedly “loved” me actually cared about integrating me into their life. We had nothing planned to see each other, he always made plans last minute. This was another big reason I couldn’t feel comfortable with him. He expected me to be completely on his schedule. Every time he would tell me, 5-7 ahead of the time he was free and I’d have to completely change my schedule for him. I would have to change plans with friends, family. I’d have to move shifts around at work and lose money. Also, he used to call me in the middle of the night and I would wake up and answer. During his all night shifts sometimes he would sometimes call me multiple times. I was so discombobulated. I was trying to be there for him. I wanted to be with him.

Last time I saw him I flew to Seattle. It was going fine until i asked whether he was still talking to that young girl. He said he had. He also acted like she had a family emergency and I was some monster for being upset about him talking to her. At that moment, I knew it wasn’t over between them. He was also showing me something on his phone and I held it a little closer to my face and he snatched the phone out of my hand. Both situations he convinced me I was wrong and should believe him despite his sneaky, withdrawn behavior. I had so much anxiety. I drank the rest of the weekend to try and calm down which had the opposite affect.

After I came home, We barely spoke. I tried to break it off with him twice. He send me a picture of him crying. I was sick. I couldn’t feel better. It had been so long since a man made me feel so small, so insignificant. Everything he said and did contradicted each other. What was the truth?

I began to not tell me friends anything because I was so embarrassed that I still stuck around. I don’t know why but I believed he was good. I believe he cared for me. I believed we could make it.

I went to a therapy appointment and laid everything out in a brutal 2 hour session. I was transparent because I knew I couldn’t figure this out without complete honesty. I called him crying, telling him I missed him and wanted to make this work. At this point, he seemed nonchalant. I think he probably was already seeing the girl again at this point bc he was completely different. That week he was working and barely spoke to me. He answered me hours later. He cared nothing for me. He was tired of my reactions and thought he was absent of responsibility for my behavior.

This made me feel desperate. Desperate for an answer, desperate for a reason. Desperate for the truth. I felt the pull of abandonment on my chest. I called him, he wouldn’t answer. I called again, he wouldn’t answer. This bothered him. When I would speak to him he would act annoyed with me like I was bothering him. Remember though, this man would call me 5-7 times a day, leave multiple messages, send pictures and videos all day long, and a week before this, send a picture of his ass crying. I have NEVER had such a piece of emotional manipulation sent to me IN MY LIFE. And just like that, he snatched all that back. It meant nothing.

I reached out one more time. I spilled my heart out. I said we could start over again. I had meant what I said. He sounded reluctant the whole time but eventually agreed. I promised that I was working daily on forgiving him and working to feel safe in my own body as to not project on him. It didn’t feel right. After this conversation I felt uneasy. I really thought “this is my person and I’m gonna have cute little, smart babies with him”, but at this point he made it seem like it was a competition. I knew there was other women, possibly multiple, I would knew I would never be happy not being the queen. I wouldn’t be able to respect him or look up to him. I knew he had no sense of loyalty and yet I still wanted to make it work. Him not having loyalty perplexed me because his parents are good people his and been together for years and years.

My phone rings at 2:30, I thought he was attempting to make more contact with me (bc that was one of the things I had said would make me feel comfortable) but he sounded weird. I asked “Why did you call me?” And, I don’t really remember what he said but, it was along the lines of “this is the way it is and I don’t wanna deal with it. This is not for me.” He broke things off with me. Then, to add insult to injury, he added “The man you end up with is going to be the happiest man in the world.” Man, stfu. If you’re a man and you’re reading this, never fucking do that. It’s just so shitty and pretentious. This is a pattern of his. He did it to someone else with me. But he felt the other woman deserved in person and I deserved a 2 minute fuck you phone call at 2:30 am. That being said, my guess is he tried to break it off with her but a. It was never completely broke off bc he’s not capable of making a firm decision and B. She’s young and naive so it’s easier not to be held accountable and she’ll be less likely to enforce her needs c. She’ll let him fuck who he wants bc she’s nonmonagomous. D. It’s a trauma bond. E. They lived in the same state. It was just so fucking obvious and I tried to force myself to ignore it.

Anyway, I said goodbye.....and went right the fuck back to sleep. I am not kidding when I say, the weight had been lifted right then and there. Sure, I was mad I was disrespected, lied to, and maltreated but the limbo and that weird feeling in my tummy was torturing me. I spent a week boohooing. I liked him, I missed him but, all in all it wasn’t that deep. I didn’t love him, I was ATTACHED to him. I wouldn’t have been attached to him if he didn’t sell me a dream.

I had screenshots of some of grandiose things he’s said to me and honestly, I just had to laugh. Sometimes it’s hard for me to believe what people are capable of.

But, I’m giving myself a break. Since quarantine I’ve been through some changes. After the quarantine started, my yoga studio closed which I went to 5 days a week. I was also meditating at least 5 days a week.I feel like I was really happy and grounded. The difference between my psych then and now is profound. When I lost my job I couldn’t afford my ADHD med this summer so I had to abruptly stop it (Stratera) which definitely left me kind of out of sorts. I wasn’t working, I was alone, I was worried about money, I moved, my (absent) father was trying to come back into my life all while trying to take care of anyone and everyone I could because that’s just what I do. Also, I have a pattern of Rocky starts in relationships. I try to be who I am from the beginning, work things out, and then have a great rest of the relationship without waiting until 2 years in for you to find out that I’m awful. I’ve had good and bads experiences with this. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I was stupid. I can’t even say I wont act stupid in another relationship again. I probably will because sometimes I suck and that’s okay.

To be continued and edited...

0 notes

stephen-r-amos · 4 years ago

Text

Oh, Amazon, why have you forsaken me?

Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web, once said: “Data is a precious thing and will last longer than the systems themselves.” This is one of those inspirational quotes that you often find on the innumerable Memes that make up a significant portion of the Internet. It’s truth is fundamental to any 21st Century business. Data is king. The more you know, the more you can achieve. It can be controversial, but it is certainly essential.

This is as true for the indie author as it is for a huge corporation. The algorithms that determine what products I may be interested in when browsing Amazon are, at the end of the day and at the most simplistic of ways, not much different to Campaign Management Screen on the Amazon Advertising site. We deal with several hundred keywords, Amazon deals with trillions, but the intention is the same. This data helps us to determine which campaigns work, and which don’t. Without this information, Amazon would lose millions. We don’t lose as much but it is all proportional.

So imagine the feeling I had when I received an email off Amazon telling me that one of my campaigns was out of budget but the Campaign Data Management Screen told me that everything was OK?

I contacted Amazon and their reply was perplexing. Firstly they said that we should only have two campaigns - one manual and one automatic. This flies in the face of what I had learned that very same week at the very excellent Amazon Ad School 5 Day Facebook challenge. Here we learned to create as many campaigns as possible, to use as many keywords as possible with the view to narrowing them down later once sufficient data has been collected. This works very well on the .com site but came to a grinding halt on the .co.uk site.

I am not intelligent enough to understand all the complexities or to pretend to try and use all the jargon, so here are all the to-ing and fro-ing I have had with the help-desk over the last week. I will update when I receive each reply:

(Please note: the most recent communication is on the top. If you want to read them in order, scroll to the bottom)

*******************************************************************************************************

Date: 6 Aug 2020, 06:57 BST

From: [email protected]

Hi 1. Can people stop marking this as resolved until it has been confirmed by both parties that it has been resolved. It is incredibly rude to continue assuming everything is fine and ignoring the issue. 2. The campaign 'LFE(2) Keyword entire' is showing 9070 on your systems, however, when I look, it is telling me that there is 'No Data Available'. I see no Impressions, no clicks and no sales. 3. On the Campaign Management Home-screen, where I should see ALL my campaigns and the grand total of impressions, clicks etc, I am being told that there is still (for 2 weeks now) only 8754 impressions, 3 clicks and 0 orders. This screen is not updating. This is the issue I have bee trying to get you to look into. 4. The US site is working fine. It is updating and, if I click on a campaign, then I get data for that campaign. That is not the case on the UK site. 5. I have tried accessing this information on two computers and a mobile phone. I have used Firefox (as recommended), Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Samsung. I have accessed the Campaign Management screen on my home network and via VPN. I get the same results every time. 6. I have cleared all Cookies and Cache, as recommended and this has made no difference. 7. This is NOT an issue of daily budgets, or spend etc. This is an issue of me not being able to see my data. Finally, I hope you take the time to read this. So far I am getting the impression that people are not reading these messages correctly and, instead of addressing the issue, they are assuming what it is then disregarding it. Thanks Steve

See less

*********************************************************************************************************

Date: 5 Aug 2020, 22:35 BST

From: Amazon Advertising Support

Hello from Amazon Advertiser Support, I am Lu, from the advertiser specialists team. We understand your concern regarding the campaign manager showing the same information during the last 2 weeks. I have reviewed your account, currently only the campaign 'LFE(2) Keyword entire', is running, I can confirm that we are not able to find any errors in the account, I am providing screenshots for your reference. The campaign is showing 9070 impressions, it has received impressions in 3-8-2020 and 5-8-2020, please note that payment failures and orders that are cancelled within 72 hours will be removed from sales totals, so that information may change from the information provided on the screenshots. The history of this campaign, it was created on 30 Jul 2020 21:37 and paused on 31 Jul 2020 19:49, and re-enabled on 1 Aug 2020 21:09 and it has been delivering. About the lack of impressions, kindly note that receiving impressions is directly tied to winning auctions which is tied to CPC bids. Your current CPC bids may not be competitive enough to win auctions which would increase your impressions. If your average daily spend is near your daily budget, it is likely that campaign's daily budget is too low. If you want more clicks per day, then you may need to increase your daily budget. Make sure your budgets reflect the average amount you want to spend on ad clicks per day. If you are still not able to see the refreshed information, I will recommend clear cache and cookies on your browsers from your computer and devices. This case has been resolved. For a faster solution, If you have questions about a new concern, please create a new case. Kind regards and thank you for being part of Amazon. ............................................................... Were you satisfied with the support provided? If yes, please click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/survey?p=A1QZIH6XET0Y7V&k=hy If no, please click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/survey?p=A1QZIH6XET0Y7V&k=hn ............................................................... Best regards, Lourdes M. Amazon Advertiser Support http://www.amazon.co.uk/ To contact us again about this issue, please use the Contact Us form using the following link: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/caselog/case/6222215132 Have you seen our Help and information center? Check it out: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/help

See less

*********************************************************************************************************

Date: 5 Aug 2020, 18:14 BST

From: [email protected]

Hi I would be grateful if someone here took my case seriously, actually looked into it, and sorted out the issue! How can you say there are no issues and close the case when there HAS BEEN NO UPDATES ON THE CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT SCREEN FOR POSSIBLY TWO WEEKS. The campaign management screen is showing 8754 impressions, which is excatly the same figure that has been there for 2 weeks! According to the campaign management screen my campaign LFE(2) Keyword entire has had no impressions, no clicks and no sales. However, if you run a report you will discover that this campaign has had 26 impressions, 3 clicks and £5.98 in sales. How can you say that there are no issues, dismiss me completely, without taking the time to look into this. The way you have treated me is appalling! Absolutley terrible. If I tried treating my customers like this, I WOULD BE FIRED. Now please, sort this out for me. Do not close this case until it is sorted. And please, do not wish me a nice day whilst treating me so disrespectfully.

See less

*********************************************************************************************************

Date: 5 Aug 2020, 17:50 BST

From: Amazon Advertising Support

Hello from Amazon Advertiser Support, On reviewing your account, I see that there is only one active campaign 'LFE(2) Keyword entire' in your account. All the other campaigns are archived. Please note that we will not be able to troubleshoot archived and paused campaigns. On reviewing the delivering campaign 'LFE(2) Keyword entire', I see no issues and it is receiving impressions. https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/cm/sp/campaigns/A0468560145XDJ1LLCCAX/ad-groups?entityId=ENTITY26HC1UR0YB6PU Therefore, please be sure that there are no issues and campaigns are working as intended. Have a nice day! ............................................................... Were you satisfied with the support provided? If yes, please click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/survey?p=A27AKOXK7I7OKG&k=hy If no, please click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/survey?p=A27AKOXK7I7OKG&k=hn ............................................................... . Best regards, Swetha S. Amazon Advertiser Support http://www.amazon.co.uk/ To contact us again about this issue, please use the Contact Us form using the following link: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/caselog/case/6222215132 Have you seen our Help and information center? Check it out: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/help

See less

*********************************************************************************************************

Date: 5 Aug 2020, 16:24 BST

From: Amazon Advertising Support

Hello from Amazon Advertiser Support, Thank you for writing back to us. In order to better assist you, I am transferring this case to a team that will be able to resolve your issue. Have a great day. Best regards, Bijeta A. Amazon Advertiser Support http://www.amazon.co.uk/ To contact us again about this issue, please use the Contact Us form using the following link: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/caselog/case/6222215132 Have you seen our Help and information center? Check it out: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/help

See less

*********************************************************************************************************

Date: 5 Aug 2020, 15:36 BST

From: [email protected]

Hi The problem is not with my computer as I have tried accessing the information on multiple devices. I have also tried on Google Chrome, Firefox and IE. The Campaign Management Screen is the same on all devices and on all browsers. I am able to access all the information on the US https://advertising.amazon.com/ site. This is working perfectly. It is only the UK site that is not working. However, I did follow your instructions below just in cast - no change. Your instructions seem to indicate that the problem is my end, that you seem to think there is a problem with my computer, it is not. I am not getting any error messages at all. A quick glance at the screen would suggest it is all working. It loads correctly and quickly. However, the data on that page is from 2 weeks ago and nothing, and I'm quite honestly getting sick of saying this, has changed in that time. The data froze approximately two weeks ago and has not been updating since. I know you don't like me using the word 'frozen', however, I can't think of any other explanation. The data is not updating. Can I have this referred to a supervisor, please? It is obvious that you are not looking at the previous messages here and neither are you taking it seriously. If this is not sorted soon, I will want to make a formal complaint. Thanks Steve

See less

*********************************************************************************************************

Date: 5 Aug 2020, 13:44 BST

From: Amazon Advertising Support

Hello from Amazon Advertiser Support, Thank you for writing back to us. As you have said that Campaign Manager Screen is still has not updated. Upon replication, I was able to see the spends till now in the campaign manager page without any issues. I have attached screenshot related to the charges which were made on your campaigns. I've provided suggestions below that usually help with the kind of problem you're describing. a) Try reloading: If the site is taking a long time to respond, or if a page is timing out, try reloading. Go to the top of your browser window, click the "Stop" button, and then click the "Reload" or "Refresh" button. To perform a "hard refresh" and bypass cached pages, hold down the Control (CTRL) key while reloading, or simply use Ctrl + R. b) Check Ad Blockers: Open your browser's settings and disable any ad blockers you may have installed. These ad blockers can be add-ins installed manually. c) Clear your cache: Clearing your cache deletes temporary copies of pages and makes room for new ones. Go to the "Cache" or "Temporary Internet Files" option on your browser (in the "Tools" or "Options" area), and delete the files stored in your cache. d) Upgrade your browser: Most websites will work best with the most current version of your browser. You should be able to upgrade to the newest version of your browser by going to the website responsible for your browser. This is usually free of charge. In the case of Google Chrome, some options will not be compatible, so in this case we would suggest using Mozilla Firefox. e) Check your security settings: You must have cookies enabled to access pages in your Seller Account. In some instances, you may also need to be sure that other security or privacy options are set correctly. You'll find more information on the following Help page: f) Clear your cookies: The problem may be caused by corrupted cookie files on your browser. Clearing your cookies should solve the problem. For Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Internet Options > General > Browsing History. For Firefox, go to Tools > Options > Privacy > Cookies. g) Check your clock: When you log in, your cookies are validated using time settings, especially when you're trying to access order or payment information. Please make sure that the clock on your computer is set to the correct local date, time, and Time Zone. h) Check any proxy servers: If you are using a proxy server, try using a different web browser or access the site directly by changing your proxy settings. If your network is configured so that the only way to access outside sites is through a proxy, contact your network system administrator. i) Check any firewall settings: If you are protecting your system with a firewall, you may want to modify the firewall settings or try disabling it temporarily to access secure areas of our web site. If the problem is caused by a network firewall, you may want to ask your system administrator to reconfigure it. j) Check for parental software: If you are using any type of parental control software, or if your Internet Service Provider has such controls active on your account, please be sure that these functions are disabled. If none of these suggestions has solved the problem, please click the link at the end of this message to send us more information. By providing all of the information requested below, you can help us to troubleshoot the problem you're experiencing. 1. The last link you selected or last address you typed before the problem occurred. 2. The exact text of any error messages you received, whether in the browser window or in a separate pop-up window. 3. The complete URL that appears in the address window of your browser for any Amazon.com pages with error messages. 4. Your browser type and version (for example, Internet Explorer 7.0, Firefox 3.0). 5. Your operating system you are using (for example, Windows XP, Macintosh OS X). 6. Screenshot of the entire page including error and URL If you are still facing issue while checking the updated details, kindly write back to us with the screenshot by creating a new case. Note: Once you create a new case by providing the attachments, we will resolve that case and will work on this case. Also mention this Case 6222215132 as a reference, when you create a new case for providing us with the attachments. Simultaneously, provide the same content on the original case as well ( i.e this Case ID: 6222215132) as the new case will be merged to this case. Await your response. . Best regards, Bijeta A. Amazon Advertiser Support http://www.amazon.co.uk/ To contact us again about this issue, please use the Contact Us form using the following link: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/caselog/case/6222215132 Have you seen our Help and information center? Check it out: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/help

See less

Date: 5 Aug 2020, 08:58 BST

From: [email protected]

Hi I already attached screenshots of my Campaign Manager on the very first post I did when I reported this. The data hasn't changed since that data. What is on those screenshots is still the same as if showing today. Nothing has changed. Thanks Steve

See less

*********************************************************************************************************

Date: 4 Aug 2020, 15:47 BST

From: Amazon Advertising Support

This is a reminder to let you know that we need more information to resolve your case. If you still need assistance, please respond to this message and provide the details we’ve requested below. If we’ve resolved your issue, no further action is needed and we’ll close your case. Thank you, Amazon Support -- Original Message -- Hello from Amazon Advertiser Support, I understand your concern about the advertising charges that was applied and you are not able to find the details for the charges. We apologize for the attachment that you have not received in the previous correspondence. I would request you to access the link below to download the Sponsored Products Targeting report: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/sspa/tresah/history/48b84fe6-0660-4751-bb84-f0dbe7ed0de3?ref_=AAC_gnav_reports&entityId=ENTITY26HC1UR0YB6PU Once you access the link you will find the download button at the right side of the table. Further, we would request you to attached a screenshot of campaign manager full screen to investigate why you are not able to see the data. Kindly attach the Screenshots ( In English ) by creating a new case. We would like to inform you that all the KDP authors will have an option to add an attachment while creating a case. Post this, if the same case is responded again, then the option to add any attachments is disabled. Due to this, you will not find an option to add an attachment on this case while you respond. Therefore, kindly attach the Screenshots ( In English ) by creating a new case. As an alternative, you can also provide us the link here instead of screenshot. Note: Once you create a new case by providing the attachments, we will resolve that case and will work on this case. Also mention this Case 6222215132 as a reference, when you create a new case for providing us with the attachments. Simultaneously, provide the same content on the original case as well ( i.e this Case ID: 6222215132) as the new case will be merged to this case. Awaiting your response. Have a good day. Best regards, Pradeep G. Amazon Advertiser Support http://www.amazon.co.uk/ To contact us again about this issue, please use the Contact Us form using the following link: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/caselog/case/6222215132 Have you seen our Help and information center? Check it out: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/help

See less

*********************************************************************************************************

Date: 3 Aug 2020, 15:37 BST

From: Amazon Advertising Support

Hello from Amazon Advertiser Support, I understand your concern about the advertising charges that was applied and you are not able to find the details for the charges. We apologize for the attachment that you have not received in the previous correspondence. I would request you to access the link below to download the Sponsored Products Targeting report: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/sspa/tresah/history/48b84fe6-0660-4751-bb84-f0dbe7ed0de3?ref_=AAC_gnav_reports&entityId=ENTITY26HC1UR0YB6PU Once you access the link you will find the download button at the right side of the table. Further, we would request you to attached a screenshot of campaign manager full screen to investigate why you are not able to see the data. Kindly attach the Screenshots ( In English ) by creating a new case. We would like to inform you that all the KDP authors will have an option to add an attachment while creating a case. Post this, if the same case is responded again, then the option to add any attachments is disabled. Due to this, you will not find an option to add an attachment on this case while you respond. Therefore, kindly attach the Screenshots ( In English ) by creating a new case. As an alternative, you can also provide us the link here instead of screenshot. Note: Once you create a new case by providing the attachments, we will resolve that case and will work on this case. Also mention this Case 6222215132 as a reference, when you create a new case for providing us with the attachments. Simultaneously, provide the same content on the original case as well ( i.e this Case ID: 6222215132) as the new case will be merged to this case. Awaiting your response. Have a good day. Best regards, Pradeep G. Amazon Advertiser Support http://www.amazon.co.uk/ To contact us again about this issue, please use the Contact Us form using the following link: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/caselog/case/6222215132 Have you seen our Help and information center? Check it out: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/help

See less

*********************************************************************************************************

Date: 3 Aug 2020, 12:11 BST

From: [email protected]

Hi, In your previous correspondence you said: I have attached the targeting report for the campaign "May 14th Start" which is a category targeting campaign and there are all the details of the campaign as to which category and product detail page got impressions and clicks with date. However, no file was attached here or on the email I received. I have, however, worked out how to find the information in Reports. The Campaign Manager Screen, however, still has not updated. I have archived all my previous adverts and created one new one, but the Impressions, Clicks and Orders figures have not updated from when I raised this complaint on the 30th July. My complaint was that I didn't think I should be charged when I am not getting any data to tell me what I am being charged for. If I had known that I was being charged so much, I would have cancelled the May 14th Campaign immediately as it was restarted in error. As a result of not seeing the data, I was charged over 27 times the value indicated on the Campaign Management Screen. This has not changed. I have created a single manual campaign as per your instructions, but the data still refers to prior the May 14th Campaign recommencement (I believe that was the 26th July). In other words, I am still not being told what I am being charged for. In your previous correspondence, you also said: I would like to inform you that campaign manager data takes up to 72 hours to be updated with accurate data. As the data has not updated in over a week, then clearly there is something else wrong. I know the value on this account is very small, and because of this, I am not a priority, but can I once again ask that this information be made available as soon as possible. I just want to see the information I am entitled to. Thanks Steve

See less

*********************************************************************************************************

Date: 3 Aug 2020, 01:38 BST

From: Amazon Advertising Support

This is a reminder to let you know that we need more information to resolve your case. If you still need assistance, please respond to this message and provide the details we’ve requested below. If we’ve resolved your issue, no further action is needed and we’ll close your case. Thank you, Amazon Support -- Original Message -- Hello from Amazon Advertiser Support, I understand the email correspondence regarding campaign manager data was not updated. I would like to inform you that campaign manager data takes up to 72 hours to be updated with accurate data. However if you want to check the impressions and clicks data you can download targeting report which shows accurate data of impressions and which impressions got clicks. I have attached the targeting report for the campaign "May 14th Start" which is a category targeting campaign and there are all the details of the campaign as to which category and product detail page got impressions and clicks with date. You can also filter any campaign from the filter option in campaign column. Tips to update keywords in manual targeting campaign. 1. Choose multiple keywords that are relevant to your product. The more relevant the keywords you select, the better chance you have of receiving ad impressions and clicks 2. Group similar keywords together in ad groups. Create ad groups that follow similar themes around your products. For example, if you sell indoor and outdoor lights, create two ad groups: one that contains keywords for your outdoor lights and another that contains keywords for your indoor lights. 3. There is no problem if you have 2 campaigns for the same ASIN, as long as they are set up with a different targeting (manual or automatic). For a better performance, we recommend using a lower bid on the automatic campaign that the one set up for the manual campaign. 4. Try to have the keywords that you want to target on the ASIN's metadata (the title, bullet points, and product description) Please refer the below help page to know more about match type: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/help.html/?itemID=G201817600&referral=A1YJQRAEG7WUAZ_A3GW6IDARUDXM3&referral=A1663CMTCVYH3Z_A1P15CJVEH7D66&referral=A3LV5BEU71OJCU_A79HMAHA8PGIF We get different people on the page everyday and new sellers join advertising so from time to time, the advertisers will need to try different keywords, targeting, bids and/or bidding types until they find what works best for them. If you want to know any specific details about the charge please write back with the invoice ID of the Ad charge so that we can investigate if the charges are valid. Please stay safe and have a great day! . Best regards, Vivian L. Amazon Advertiser Support http://www.amazon.co.uk/ To contact us again about this issue, please use the Contact Us form using the following link: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/caselog/case/6222215132 Have you seen our Help and information center? Check it out: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/help

See less

*********************************************************************************************************

Date: 31 Jul 2020, 01:31 BST

From: Amazon Advertising Support

Hello from Amazon Advertiser Support, I understand the email correspondence regarding campaign manager data was not updated. I would like to inform you that campaign manager data takes up to 72 hours to be updated with accurate data. However if you want to check the impressions and clicks data you can download targeting report which shows accurate data of impressions and which impressions got clicks. I have attached the targeting report for the campaign "May 14th Start" which is a category targeting campaign and there are all the details of the campaign as to which category and product detail page got impressions and clicks with date. You can also filter any campaign from the filter option in campaign column. Tips to update keywords in manual targeting campaign. 1. Choose multiple keywords that are relevant to your product. The more relevant the keywords you select, the better chance you have of receiving ad impressions and clicks 2. Group similar keywords together in ad groups. Create ad groups that follow similar themes around your products. For example, if you sell indoor and outdoor lights, create two ad groups: one that contains keywords for your outdoor lights and another that contains keywords for your indoor lights. 3. There is no problem if you have 2 campaigns for the same ASIN, as long as they are set up with a different targeting (manual or automatic). For a better performance, we recommend using a lower bid on the automatic campaign that the one set up for the manual campaign. 4. Try to have the keywords that you want to target on the ASIN's metadata (the title, bullet points, and product description) Please refer the below help page to know more about match type: https://sellercentral.amazon.com/gp/help/help.html/?itemID=G201817600&referral=A1YJQRAEG7WUAZ_A3GW6IDARUDXM3&referral=A1663CMTCVYH3Z_A1P15CJVEH7D66&referral=A3LV5BEU71OJCU_A79HMAHA8PGIF We get different people on the page everyday and new sellers join advertising so from time to time, the advertisers will need to try different keywords, targeting, bids and/or bidding types until they find what works best for them. If you want to know any specific details about the charge please write back with the invoice ID of the Ad charge so that we can investigate if the charges are valid. Please stay safe and have a great day! . Best regards, Vivian L. Amazon Advertiser Support http://www.amazon.co.uk/ To contact us again about this issue, please use the Contact Us form using the following link: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/caselog/case/6222215132 Have you seen our Help and information center? Check it out: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/help

See less

*********************************************************************************************************

Date: 30 Jul 2020, 22:07 BST

From: [email protected]

Hi I can now see what my charges are (£27.32 as compared to the £0.94 I was told I would be charged - that is a huge difference), however, I still can't see what I have been charged for. I need the information so that I can improve the advertisement. I need to know what keywords produced Impressions, what Impressions produced clicks and what clicks produced orders. Without this information, I have been grossly overcharged without benefiting from it at all, which means I will have to pay again to collect the 2 weeks of data which are missing. I have archived all my Ads now and have to start all over again, wasting far more money than I wished to spend. If there were any issues with duplications, surely someone should have informed me as soon as it happened instead of waiting for the charges to pile up behind the scenes. This smacks of a cowboy operation. I would be grateful if you could give me this information as soon as possible. Thanks Steve

See less

*********************************************************************************************************

Date: 30 Jul 2020, 19:16 BST

From: Amazon Advertising Support

Hello from Amazon Advertiser Support, I understand that you have some concerns about campaign performance. 1. Amazon understand the fact that you are not happy with paying for something you are not able to see. The recommendation in this cases, if you do not want to reactivate campaigns that were created in the future is to archive them. If you archive a campaign, you will not be able to enable it. To archive a campaign, you can select it by clicking on the check box to the left to the button that you can toggle to activate or pause a campaign and they click on the button Archive that will appear above the sales column. Since this is a self service option you are in full control of enable, archive or pause a campaign. If you would like to check which campaigns are active and generating impressions or clicks, you can apply a filter on the Campaigns section. You will see the option "Filter by" that can be used to check which campaigns are delivering and active. If you are not sure about how to perform an update and have some other concerns you can request a call to guide you through over the phone. You can request a call from 8am to 5pm your local time. 2. The f act that your campaigns showed no impressions (frozen) is related to the fact that you created several campaigns for the same product. You may see some impressions in the first days, but as the system identifies duplication, impressions will stop. We recommend to have one automatic and one manual campaign per product to prevent performance issues. The system will let you create as many campaigns as you want to throughout all market places, but impressions will stop as soon as the system identifies duplication and this also happens on all marketplaces. 3. If you would like to know what are you paying for you can check the billing and payments section, by clicking on the main menu in your Advertising Account on the top left corner. In this section you will see your invoices and a break down per campaign and the number of clicks received. If you would like to keep track of each campaign in Campaign manager, you can also go to the Campaigns section and click on the Columns button. You will see the option "Customise colums" if you click on it you can select metrics from a list and click apply. If you would like to check which campaigns are having clicks you can select the Clicks metric. To check metrics on a specific date range you can select the button Date Range besides the Columns button. 4. We highly recommend to use Mozilla Firefox to prevent any issues with the platform as missing options or no visibility of some options at all. If you experience any of this the recommendation is to clear cookeies and cache. If the issue persists you can create a new case and send us a screenshot with the problem you are experiencing. 5. At the moment you have paused all campaigns and there is only one active: Horror Campaign. ............................................................... Were you satisfied with the support provided? If yes, please click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/survey?p=A1XGPAA57ZIHY2&k=hy If no, please click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/survey?p=A1XGPAA57ZIHY2&k=hn ............................................................... Best regards, Angel R. Amazon Advertiser Support http://www.amazon.co.uk/ To contact us again about this issue, please use the Contact Us form using the following link: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/caselog/case/6222215132 Have you seen our Help and information center? Check it out: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/help

See less

*********************************************************************************************************

Date: 30 Jul 2020, 18:05 BST

From: [email protected]

Hi I understand and accept point 1, although I am not happy being charged for something when I am unable to find out what I am being charged for. However, point 3 (impressions not frozen but best try another browser) seems to contradict point 2 (The system identified the duplication and stopped impressions). I do not know the difference between 'system stopped' and 'frozen'. From the user point of view, they are the same thing - my impressions and clicks are not updating and I have no idea what I am paying for. I have paused all my ads but it has not updated so far. Will I be getting access to this information? If not, you can understand my reluctance to pay for something when you are unwilling or unable to tell me what it is for. Also with regards to Point 2, I have completed several training programmes and they have all recommended using as many adverts as possible, in order to maximise keyword searches. I have done this on the US site with no issue, even though I have almost 20 adverts for the same book. I have been led to believe that this is standard practice. Can I ask, what I need to do to stop this from happening again (in layman's terms if you will, please)? I have stopped and archived the May 14th Start Campaign, as well as all pre-July ads. Is there anything else I need to do? I have also paused all but one current campaign and hope to restart them over the next few days. Is this unadvisable? Thanks Steve

See less

*********************************************************************************************************

Date: 30 Jul 2020, 13:51 BST

From: Amazon Advertising Support

Hello from Amazon Advertiser Support, I understand that you received an out of budget notification on an old campaign that was paused. Also you see that campaign manager is frozen and lastly you would like to know if we can process a refund on campaign May 14th Start. 1. The reason why you received the out of budget notification on campaign May 14th Start is because it was activated on July 28th the end date was 21/05 and it was modified to end on 08/16. You reactivated the campaign and it was running as usual until July 29 day in which you paused it. You can check the history on a campaign, by clicking on the campaign and going to the History tab to the left. That section records any update that you perform on a campaign. Since the campaign was reactivated, we are not able to process refunds for the charges you have received. 2. The reason why you do not see impressions on your campaigns, is because you have created multiple campaigns for the same book. The system identified the duplication and stopped impressions. In order to prevent performance issues, we recommend to have one automatic and one manual campaign per product. You can pause duplicated campaigns by going to the main dashboard in which all campaigns are listed and toggle the button under the Active column to the left. 3. I checked your account and did not find any issues with Campaign Manager, it is not frozen at the moment. The recommendation for this is to access the campaign manager using Mozilla Firefox (web browser) as it is the one that fits better and has the highest performance. If you experience any issue with Campaign Manager not working or freezing after installing Mozilla Firefox, we recommend to clear cookies and cache. If the issue persists the recommendation is to create a new case and send us a screenshot if the issues you experience. ............................................................... Were you satisfied with the support provided? If yes, please click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/survey?p=AGHZOZS790TWB&k=hy If no, please click here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/survey?p=AGHZOZS790TWB&k=hn ............................................................... Best regards, Angel R. Amazon Advertiser Support http://www.amazon.co.uk/ To contact us again about this issue, please use the Contact Us form using the following link: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/caselog/case/6222215132 Have you seen our Help and information center? Check it out: https://advertising.amazon.co.uk/help

See less

*********************************************************************************************************

Date: 30 Jul 2020, 08:54 BST

From: [email protected]

Hi I have received an email to inform me that one of my advertising campaigns was out of budget, however, I have checked it and it shows no Impressions, Clicks or Sales. It is an old campaign (May 14th Start) which was reinstated in error and I would have cancelled it immediately had I seen the mistake. The problem is, I think my All Campaigns Management screen is frozen. The number of impressions, clicks etc for all campaigns has remained on the same figures for sometime and at the moment I am unable to tell if I am spending too much. This is very frustrating. Could you help unfreeze the screen please? Also, as this has hit me financially, could you refund or give me a credit for any expenditure on this campaign, please? Many thanks Steve EntityId: ENTITY26HC1UR0YB6PU EntityType: KDP_AUTHOR

0 notes