#me making a post that isn’t niche?? shocker

[m00n-pr1sm]

despite me having a 60 slide presentation that is 9k words titled “morgana pendragon did nothing wrong”, I do in fact! think she has done bad things. the main gripe I have with everything is how genuinely shitty her development is, like this point has been hammered in a million times atp and I’m probably not adding anything new to the convo but let me rant, one day I’ll write a polished explanation or whatever but I’m just annoyed + me explaining why she’s not a good person :3 + my thoughts

I think morgana is a wonderfully established character, she’s someone who was willing to stand up for what she believed in and actively call out uther’s actions; as well as being willing to cross morally questionable lines to achieve what she genuinely thought was for the best. she was complex and honestly so interesting in the earlier seasons, we saw her struggles and genuinely empathized with her desire of acceptance and the fear of persecution. Also girlie had nightmares constantly like I can only imagine how tiring that shit is. but then s3 happened and her development took a complete nose dive! like I understand why she did what she did in s2e12, I think it’s a fine episode but I do wish they established the morgana + morgause relations better than they did in canon, like if you’re going to make a character do a complete 180, at least show the time period between that? because morgana was so clearly shaken but what she had done in s2e12, she had shut down basically and was struggling to cope with what she had done through the entire episode. Like I’m sure you could fill in the gaps but it’s just poor writing, show, don’t just imply that morgause became this figure in morgana’s life that she held up with such reverence and how she basically absorbed her values to just become this hollow antagonist that just has silly little schemes every episode in s3. like we already established how she had a desire for acceptance we should’ve show morgause grow into that. Also the fact that she brings up the poisoning like one time??? and never had any heart to heart with Merlin? Like I get that she was too unwilling to compromise on her values (and she’s ne polr-) but it’s far too quick of a shift in her character. She went from feeling immense guilt of her actions to smugly wanting Camelot to fall, like at least show some ambivalence or some kind of self doubt if you’re going to make her turn to evil off screen??? I’ll probably always be upset that they removed that scene in s3e13 where morgana was like “I felt like a monster (bc of my magic) and morgause was the only one there for me”, like that simple line, while implied w/o that scene, just has a lot of depth to her and explains it explicitly (also I feel like that would be the last thing to break uther so yeah I wish they didn’t delete that one). circling back, but I actually really love s3e05 (it’s one of my faves) because it just expands so much on how much she genuinely wants to be loved and how volatile morgana has become to rejection; like she is genuinely so desperate. I think from then on, morgana sorta imprints the idea of being “uther’s daughter”, thus trying to fit herself into that role (but that is very much a headcanon). From s3+ her mission is just “I want to kill Arthur (and emyrs) so I can be queen because I deserve it” but it’s totally about her bringing magic back! I think she comes to see Arthur as nothing more than an extension of uther (something that she does call him out her in earlier seasons) but I also believe that there is envy there! because he recognizes him as her son ofc but denies morgana of that, so she seeks to destroy what she cannot have (sx4???). of course her whole pursuit of emyrs which is just born of self-preservation. I actually appreciate s4 morgana bc of the fact that she’s is more vulnerable than in s3, like she’s just a lonely fool in the woods w/o any real friends bc she’s lost them all. and she contemplates sometimes. silly. also I like that we got a slight taste of distressed morgana who always sought out reassurance in s4e13, like girlie needs someone to tell her that’s everything will be okay and that is why morgwen is the best ship ever + why she is so emotionally volatile bc she is w/o that

Although I do wish they focused on her skill of social engagement, like she had so many ally ships and a clear ability to read and manipulate emotions, but whatever ig. It’s sad to see how much her world has really changed and her world view being so messed up and so black and white (like she also was pretty polarized in the earlier seasons but like those values she held made more moral sense + she felt guilt) also I think it’s important to bring up how her talking to emyrs in s4e06 being like “Arthur will never accept you, magic will only come back once I rule” as a play to distract him. also it’s genuinely so fucked up that she was locked in the bottom of a well for 2 years w/o light or movement like??? That is genuinely such a messed up thing I don’t think the show or fandom talks about enough. It’s literally a complete loss of her agency and freedom which I do believe is something that morgana values a lot, to always do some kind of action, she’s never been a stagnant character and to just. be stuck powerless and immobile for 2 years with the one creature that you’ve bonded with and loved and saw as you’re only campaign, like aithsa saved morgana; just suffer in such a painful and cruel way? LIKE WHY DO WE NOT TALK ABT IT MORE??

I guess I’ll talk abt s5 right now lol or just read my slideshow rant abt one of my gripes lol but yeah the writing takes another nosedive in s5, morgana just becomes really more one dimensional, although I’m glad that they at least addressed her and Gwen’s relationship, albeit in a very messed up way. But yeah her desperation for Gwen finally got the best of her and I truly believe that was the main purpose and not just her being used as a tool for assassinating Arthur. One think they should’ve done more was Morgana’s descent into madness and delusion, like she’s actually unhinged by the final few episodes and ofc that was caused by mordred’s death but I do wish that was just a theme in her character. I suppose it could parallel how uther shut down into numbness but morgana just became increasingly more volatile (it is 2am I am def grasping for straws). One day I write a proper uther and morgana parallels rant. Anyways her death scene is nice ig, she never did get the satisfaction of seeing Arthur die. anyways her entire character from s3+ is the sunk cost fallacy, she’s in too deep and she could never pull out. I haven’t watched bojack but I would’ve loved if they made her like Diane in how she feels like she needs to write her book to make her trauma productive in some way (“if I don’t then that means that all the damage I got isn’t good damage it’s just damage and all those years I was miserable I could’ve been happy this whole time. blah blah “what was it all for?”, from memory so if there’s a mistake that is why). She needs to take out all her years of hurt and rejection and someway by embodying that and doing it to everyone in her life ((for that reason)unconsciously) but I mean it’s not like they really imply that in canon, I’m probably reading too much into it. But yeah she’s selfish and hypocritical. At least she continued in being way too overbearing in her personal judgments (MY ESI WIFE (REAL))

[blue-jisungs]

ancient runes and sea creatures

summary. leehan ends up in his worst nightmare - getting the perfect student into trouble

au. hogwarts!!!! ravenclaw!reader x hufflepuff!leehan

word count. 4722 (got a lil too carried away... )

warnings , extras. leehan is intimidated by reader ?? but in a like. impressed way?? also reader is a head girl prefect!!. a slightly suggestive implication at one point but like, its misinterpreted ++ a bunch of hogwart lingo and lore (?). use od leehans real name. mention of a creature that eats humans

author's note. a biiig thank u to @slytherinshua and @gluion for pushing me out of my writers block w this one!!! and esp moni, who tbh came up w this plot!!! i hhope u like it!!! it kinda took a self-indulent route for me (ancient runes as chinese characters haha... haha... and leehan being a mid student w niche hobbies vs the perfect student yn who! shocker! likes! studying... hahah....ha.....) ANYWHO. also love u to death @l3visbby for proofreading!! where would i be w/o u atp....

also i wanted to post one last thing in 2024!!! so i hope u enjoy it and get ready bc ive been cooking <3

leehan fixed his glasses, fingers brushing against the coarse pages of his favorite book. then, he glanced at his notebook. filled from top to bottom with neat, medium sized, handwritten text. here and there were loose sketches and photographs attached with fish shaped paper clips.

the hufflepuff boy looked up at his gryffindor friends - jaehyun and woonhak. they were chatting about something loudly, the sound of their voices blending in with the noise in the corridor. 

sunlight peeked from behind the windows leehan was leaning against, making him feel even more indulged in his own world. 

“we’ll keep going. don’t wanna be late for potions!” jaehyun suddenly announced in his ear and ruffled his hair “see you, donghyun!” 

he just smiled in return, woonhak having goodbye. 

before returning to his book, he let out a small sigh and started looking at the students passing him by. a lot of friends giggling and talking, some people studying or snacking on colorful candy. 

then, as if a lightning struck him, he tensed upon noticing you. 

you were walking with fast pace yet not hurried one. the navy and grey colored tie rustled on the wind, your hair waving gently. a small frown was painting on your graceful features.

“what do you mean sungho is not showing up? i need everyone there” you asked, glancing at your ravenclaw friend for explanation. however, they did not have any. 

“no idea, y/n! he just told me to tell you and wandered off… you have to–” they started. 

“i don’t have to do anything. we have to cooperate if we want everything work out” with a scoff, you turned your gaze away and locked eyes with leehan for a mere moment. 

he felt blood rushing to his cheeks, quickly glancing down at his book. you looked scary. no, intimidating. 

“this thing isn’t here by accident” you gently tapped your head girl badge with pride. “let’s go to class now. i’ll catch sungho later” 

leehan didn’t even realize he was holding in a breath - only when the sound of your voice faded away, he released it. 

he tilted his head and smiled softly, flipped through the pages. he only stopped when he saw a detailed print of a basilisk. quite terrifying yet devilishly smart creature. 

leehan closed the book and packed his belongings, slowly going towards his classroom. 

“oh come on, don’t be such a loner!” riwoo’s whines reached nearby standing student’s ears, causing them to look over at the hufflepuffs. leehan cleared his throat and let out a sigh of defeat.

“fine. who else is going? you know i don’t enjoy crowded places in particular…” he started but his friend already started pushing him towards the exit.

“well you, me, jaehyun, woonhak… and, drumroll please! yes, you guessed it! two infamous slytherins, park sungho and han taesan!” riwoo grinned. leehan nodded, satisfied. that’s a perfect amount of people. “and hanbin”

“just hanbin?” leehan frowned, suspicious. riwoo smiled awkwardly, forcing his friend to move faster.

“and sohee!” riwoo hesitated. 

“and…?” leehan grunted, halting in place.

“that’s all! i promise!” sanghyeok put his hand over his heart “hufflepuff’s honor!”

leehan just scoffed and followed his friend to three broomsticks. it was weekend, after all. going out with more than two people once in a while won’t hurt him, surely. 

it was warm inside, the smell of delicious food hitting his nostrils. donghyun was quick to spot his friends (and their friends). lately jaehyun was detachable from sohee and hanbin. 

eight butterbeers were already waiting on the table, sticking to the wood. 

“you made it, woah! you have my respect!” woonhak, the youngest, joked. sungho patted the seat next to him and leehan sat down, smiling awkwardly. 

“and you? shouldn’t you be on the prefect meeting or whatever?” taesan asked suddenly, sungho rolling his eyes. 

“i should. but if i skip one, nothing will happen” he shrugged, reaching for his butterbeer. 

“y/n seemed pretty upset about it” the words slipped out of leehan’s lips before he could realize it. everyone looked at him, a bit shocked, so he quickly added: “i heard it when she was passing me by. nothing crazy, it’s not like i talk to her or something” 

the mere thought of standing near you terrified him, not to mention talking. donghyun didn’t know how sungho –  or anyone, really – was doing that. 

“she’s being dramatic. miss perfect… she decided to be in charge of organizing almost everything this year, at least it feels like it” sungho mumbled. 

“yeah, it’s crazy how she manages to do it all. well, let’s just hope she won’t cast melfors jinx on you” jaehyun teased 

“his head is as big as a pumpkin already, though” taesan snickered and was met with sungho’s fist on his shoulder. 

you were sitting on the grass, crossing out the ideas that seemed foolish. the weather was cold, yet snow hasn’t fallen yet. even though it was november, you were in charge of organising events for students that are going to stay at hogwarts during christmas. you being one of them. 

well, it wasn’t fully your responsibility - other prefects were supposed to help. 

“stupid sungho…” you mumbled, wrapping your scarf tighter around your neck. 

you looked up and adored the view in front of you. the last of leaves falling off trees, being swept by wind. here and there you could see some students but during this cold season, majority preferred to stay inside. then, you noticed a particular silhouette. 

someone was squatting dangerously close to the lake. 

you stood up, packing your belongings in a rush. 

as you approached the reckless student, you noticed the yellow and black colors of hufflepuff. of course. you opened your mouth to scold their behavior but you heard a quiet murmur. 

“hm? how did you get here, little one? you belong to the island. you couldn’t have possibly swam over here” 

you leaned a bit forward and peeked over the hufflepuff student’s shoulder. he was gently reaching his pointer finger out to a bowtruckle.

the small, green creature was staring at the stranger, big brown eyes blinking slowly. it slowly meet half-way with the person’s finger. 

“you’re not as shy as you friends” a low chuckle made you smile “i should get you back there… but how?” 

the person rose their head up and looked around. the bowtruckle pointed at you. 

“oh?” the student tilted their head and looked through their shoulder, meeting your curious gaze. you gasped, getting caught. 

the guy’s eyes widened, lips tightening. 

“oh” he mumbled. you frowned, his features looking somehow similar. 

the hufflepuff boy stood up, acting as if he did not just hid the small creature in his pocket. he tried to walk away but you stopped him. 

“hey! it’s dangerous to be out here” you cleared your throat. the guy stopped in his tracks, back facing you “do you have an idea what kind of beasts are there?”

a soft smile cracked on his lips, eyes trained on the ground. 

“kelpies, grindylows, selkies… and oh, the giant squid. man, they are so…” he whispered and you were certain he thought his words didn’t reach you. yet, they did. you smiled, realizing he was probably another creature-obsessed student.

“anyway, i do appreciate your care towards this little fella. however, it would be better if hagrid took care of him” you looked at him with a straight face. the hufflepuff boy kept avoiding eye contact and failed to notice the silly bowtruckle escaping from his pocket. 

the green creature ran down his pants and started making circles around you. 

“i, uh… i don’t know how to hold him” you scoffed, trying to catch it. 

“like this. make sure not to tug the leaf on its head…” he breathed out and caught the bowtruckle, holding it in two hands. 

awkward silence fell between you two, the boy stubbornly keeping his head low. 

“i’ll keep going” he mumbled and wandered off to hagrid’s hut, leaving you puzzled and somehow intrigued.

“hey, chill out” sungho nudged your shoulder, casing your fountain pen to jerk and leave a crooked line. you glared at him.

“i would if someone helped me. i still have to come up with ideas for the three last days and i need to turn them in to mcgonagall by friday” you huffed and tossed your notebook aside. 

sungho puffed his cheeks and looked over at taesan for help. he just shrugged, carelessly tucking his hands into his pockets.

“don’t look at me. i’m not even a prefect” his cat-alike smirk made you even more frustrated.

“okay, well… maybe try asking some students what would they want to do?” sungho proposed, scanning your face to gauge your reaction. you let out a small huff.

“see, here we go. thanks. now i just have to ask around who’s staying…” you groaned and noted down the idea, closing your notebook. “but i’ll do that later. now i’ll go, i promised professor snape to help him clean the classroom. a reckless student just�� caused a mess, so to say” 

the exchanged amused looks and you raised your eyebrows. 

“what?” 

“nothing. have fun” sungho snorted. his gaze suddenly snapped up to someone else and he waved. you noticed three people walking up. 

one of them looking similar.

“hey, myungjae, do you happen to know someone who’s staying at hogwarts during christmas?” sungho asked, leaning on the table. your fingers twitched at the sight of him almost spilling a cup of juice with his elbow.

“well, uh… our leehan and ricky, i think. and zhanghao. and hanbin, he promised to stay with them so they wouldn’t feel lonely” a boy in gryffindor uniform answered and looked at you, a wide smile painting on his lips.

“you’re staying?” taesan asked. you looked at the only hufflepuff boy in the group. so that was leehan?

“yeah” he answered shortly, purposefully averting his gaze from you. 

“why–?” taesan kept asking and you just sighed. 

“is there anything you would like to do? during the break. i need to organize events for students so i figured it would be the best idea to ask them personally” you crossed your arms. 

everyone looked at the guy, his head tilted down and eyes glued to his shoes. 

“what’s up with him?” the other gryffindor student whispered. 

you waited for a moment before shaking your head. that seemed to work on the boy - he finally looked at you, shyly. 

“it’s a hard question, i know. just… hit me up once you figure it out” you sent him a soft smile and went your way. 

“what’s up with you? is the potion blowing up in your  face still on your mind?” jaehyun laughed and nudged leehan’s shoulder. 

“so that was him after all” taesan snickered. 

“chill out, donghyun. y/n is really cool, don’t need to be all tensed up around her” sungho teased. leehan looked around, scanning the great hall. some people were looking their way - but that was probably nothing serious, right? just a bunch of losers, a prefect and the head girl prefect that’s an all a student.

“earth to leehan! why are you staying here?” jaehyun asked, waving his hand before the hufflepuff boy’s eyes. 

a playful smile painted on leehan’s lips before he explained his reasons to his friends. 

rushing through the dark hallway, you pressed your textbook closer to your chest. it was way past the curfew and you hoped flich was done with his late patrols on this side of the castle. you just happened to get too focused on ancient runes and–

“oof-!”

you felt the impact of bumping into something and almost landed on the ground when a strong hand prevented you from falling. you squeezed your eyes, the darkness not allowing you fully to recognize the stranger.

“y/n…?” his soft voice rang familiar and you glanced at his uniform. the yellow badge with a proud badger adorned his chest.

“leehan, right?” you scoffed and he helped you regain balance, taking a step back. that way, the moonlight sneaking through the windows fell on his face, highlighting his features. 

he fixed his glasses, brows slightly furrowed.

“what are you doing here?” you whispered, blinking slowly. even though your prefect instincts kicked in, you were genuinely curious. 

this boy had just a mysterious aura to him. always so aloof, almost distant. nowadays, you caught yourself noticing him, usually alone reading a book or doing something. something, indeed. just like when you saw him near the lake. he always seemed to be looking for some kind of creatures. you couldn’t help but wonder what he was up to.

“i… uh, i was researching” he smiled gently. his gaze was fixed on you - unlike other times. maybe he didn’t feel so shy now that the midnight darkness was surrounding you two. you thought it was cute. “and, uh… you?”

“ancient runes. they are quite relaxing to me, it’s just… i write them all over to remember how they look. once i nail that i feel like i can read them properly. but just the writing itself… is, yeah. time consuming but fun” you smiled and nudged his arm gently “let’s go together, our dorms are in the same direction”

he nodded and followed you, the quiet sound of footsteps echoing through the corridor.

“did you think about the question? it’s okay if you haven’t, i was just curious” you asked, glancing at him.

“personally, strolling around hogwarts at such hour is nice. i wouldn’t mind it if i was able to do it without the possibility of getting in trouble” he answered. you agreed.

“i haven’t thought about that. hm. maybe it’ll be possible since there’s gonna be less students. i’ll talk to mcgonagall about it” you hummed “thanks” 

“and, uh, did you get it all done? like, the events” his voice was quiet. he wasn’t shy but more so, he was cautiously picking his words. 

“yes but there’s not going to be much. people i asked didn’t seem interested” you sighed.

“it’s a shame, you’ve been working hard to come up with anything” leehan sent you a reassuring smile. a strange glint sparkled in his eye, some kind of sadness. 

“what can i do? i guess they want to be alone, apparently” you scoffed.

“meow”

you two froze, feet glued to the floor. leehan looked at you, wide eyed. 

before you could realize, he was pulling you to hide behind a column. with your head squished against his chest, you could hear his heart pounding as if it was about to rip out of his ribcage. 

his hand naturally rested on your head, the soft fanning of his breath against your hair. 

the sound of footsteps was coming closer and closer as you tried to think of something. 

a sudden beam of light caused leehan to squint his eyes, pulling you slightly closer. 

“what an absurd! not only it is after curfew, you are also… doing things that should be kept private! this place is coming to an end! who would have thought, students… of opposite-!”

“what? no! it’t not like that!” you choked out, turning around on your heel. 

“mrs l/n?!” filch gasped, and mrs norris’ loud meow was almost soul ripping “out of all people! you?”

“no, it’s not like that! we just…” leehan’s voice was quiet, almost stuttering. 

“yes? explain your red faces then! someone who was caught wouldn’t be such a blushing mess! dear merlin, what is going on with those youngsters nowadays!” the caretaker whined.

“we weren’t doing anything, mr filch! we just- we tried to hide! from you, it is. not from you as in… we didn’t-” you tried to explain. when you turned around to check up on the ravenclaw boy, he was indeed as red as the gryffindor representative color. his eyes were glued to the ground and you could swear you saw sweat dripping down his temple.

“detention!”

his eyes snapped up, wide as two prophecy orbs. panic written all over his face, fingers fiddling. 

“it’s my fault. let’s not bring y/n into this” he spoke up, swallowing hard. 

“how so? i see you two. not just you, boy” mr filch said with an attitude, picking up mrs norris. “i’m not repeating myself. detention. madam pince needs help in the library, so it’s just perfect” 

“but-” leehan tried to cut in but the cat interrupted him with an aggressive hiss. 

“now go! before i take points from your houses!” the caretaker tsked and you ran off, grabbing his hand. you could only hear distant murmurs “the head girl… youngsters are getting worse and worse each year…”

once out of his reach, almost at the ravenclaw dormitory, you realized you’re still holding his hand. leehan halted, gasping.

“i’m so sorry, y/n! i don’t know what’s gotten into him but i’ll do it myself. please, don’t bother–” the hufflepuff boy started rambling, avoiding your gaze. was he scared you’re angry at him?

you gently put your hand on his arm.

“hey” 

leehan slowly looked into your eyes; however, just for a split second. his breath was heavy in the silence. 

“it’s alright. i can handle one detention. in the library? it sounds like a pleasure to me” you huffed, trying to cheer him up. poor boy, he must’ve really felt guilty. “he got so pissed because he has never felt the touch of a woman. mr filch got jealous, that’s all” 

you chuckled but leehan remained quiet. well, maybe that was a failed attempt at trying to cheer him up. 

“i, uh. anyway, i’m sorry too. don’t beat yourself about it, okay?” you whispered, patting his arm. leehan’s small nod made you content. “sleep well, leehan” 

he felt your hand slip off his shoulder. 

maybe if he wasn’t too ashamed to look up, he would’ve noticed the way you looked back at him before entering the dormitory.

leehan was standing between the bookshelves, enjoying the smell of books. the library was quiet, thanks to the majority of students having left already. even madam pince wandered off to somewhere. 

“hi”

he turned his head to the side and was shocked to see you. out of your ravenclaw uniform, at that.

“hi” he whispered and quickly returned his gaze to the book he was holding. he gulped nervously, his adam’s apple bobbing.

it was his worst nightmare, actually. bringing the all-star student into detention with him. even though the fault was technically on both sides, he couldn’t help but feel guilty. you should be resting and not… 

“how’s it going?” you asked quietly, standing next to him. your back faced the bookshelf he was facing, side profiles matching. 

“it’s quite pleasant, to be frank” he mumbled in response “you didn’t have to come here”

you scoffed and scanned all the books, laying in messy piles. they really needed reorganizing.

“would i really be able to call myself a student without getting in trouble even once?” you snickered, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ear. “i told you not to worry about it, leehan”

silence fell between you two, only the sound of him flipping the pages bringing warm comfort.

“it’s donghyun, actually” he said softly with a twinge of happiness. you cocked your head and glanced at him, grabbing a random book. “leehan is a nickname that just… stayed. donghyun is my real name”

“it’s pretty” it slipped out of your lips before you could realize, so you just hung your head low and decided to think of a strategy on how to resort the books. leehan smirked and put the book he was holding on one of the shelves. to break the awkward tension you accidentally created, you cleared your throat “uh, did you take care of that bowtruckle back then?”

“bowtruckles aren’t really my thing so i took it to hagrid. he promised me to get it back to its home tree” he hummed, reaching for another book. he ran his fingers over the navy colored cover, the remaining letters of a handwritten title barely there anymore.

“so what is, then?” you asked. 

even though you didn’t have to be quiet, you two kept talking softly. you couldn’t put your finger on it but maybe it was the overall atmosphere of the library. alas, you wouldn’t say you minded. it was comforting.

“sea creatures” donghyun answered with a soft sigh. did you irritate him? 

“sorry. you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. i’m just curious about you” you mumbled. 

your shoulders were touching and you felt his arm move now and then whenever he reached out to put away a book. 

leehan hummed in deep thought, far away with his thoughts - hence, he didn’t hear you.

he never would have thought that he would be conversing with you. you were just so out of his league and intimidated him. good grades, friends with everyone… but deep down it was your organization skills. you just had it all together. despite all those side things you took care of, you still managed to find time to study. heck, you even liked it? he recalled your conversation from the hallway. what did you say about ancient runes…?

“they are quite relaxing to me, it’s just… i write them all over to remember how they look. once i nail that i feel like i can read them properly. but just the writing itself… is, yeah. time consuming but fun.” 

how can one find thousands of new icons to learn, memorise and remember… relaxing. he was a bit jealous that you did it so effortlessly. 

and sure, he heard you complaining about tests and exams. but you still passed with ease. unlike him, who no matter how much he studied, still barely passed. 

“ouch!”

a soft thump of a book falling brought him back to life. 

he leaned down to pick it up but only bumped against your forehead. 

blood rushed to his cheeks out of embarrassment. but you just giggled and took the book, putting it back. 

he must have been zoned out for a while because he noticed you did one of the shelves already. 

you grabbed another book. it had a black cover and no title whatsoever. you started flipping pages to check what even it’s about. leehan, who was peeking through your shoulder, saw a glimpse of an interesting drawing.

“the giant squid” he placed his finger before you closed the book. you were startled a bit and looked around to meet his face quite close to yours. 

yet, his brown eyes were fixated on the creature.

“do you know it’s semi-domesticated? on the chocolate frog cards its described as “the bane” of hogwarts’ students who wanted to go for a “dip in the lake”. it’s so dumb. first of all, it lives very deep in the lake, so even a small dip wouldn’t hurt. and secondly, it’s harmless. it…” he hesitated and a shy smile formed on his lips. you couldn't help but smile as well “it even allows students to feed it bread”

“really?” you asked in disbelief, turning your gaze to look at the drawing of a giant squid. donghyun’s low hum of confirmation made shivers ran down your spine.

“toast to be specific” he added and you felt a movement.

leehan stepped closer and you could feel his body almost pressing against yours, his breath softly fanning over your cheek. the hufflepuff leaned closer to read the information. right, of course.

“but you know, it must be because its magical. true giant squids, architeuthis i think, wouldn’t be able to stand our lake’s lack of salinity. and normally, it wouldn’t digest food” donghyun shrugged. you didn’t know what was happening to you - you couldn’t prevent your smile from growing. listening to him rambling about his niche sea creature interest really warmed your heart.

oh, this boy got you whipped.

“i think it’s a subspecies. like kneazles and mundane cats” leehan added, his finger tracing the black inked illustration of the squid’s tentacles.

your breath hitched. you wanted to reply, to throw a comment. but you realized you had no knowledge in this discipline, making you even more intrigued with donghyun.

“i really want to see it one day. maybe in summer. sometimes it plays with students, you know? lays out its tentacles out of the lake and just… lets the students mess with it” he tsked “hopefully…” 

“i’d like to see that” you giggled. you heard a faint gasp and glanced at him. his eyes snapped back at you, as if he just realized he’s been rambling. 

“i’ll take you with me, then. i planned on going at the end of the year, just before leaving for summer break” he shot you a soft smile, small crinkles forming around his eyes (and you swore your knees just went weak). 

“i’m in” you grinned and gently moved his finger out of the book. then, you closed it and stood on your tiptoes to put it on the higher shelf.

however, you couldn’t reach.

“let me help you” donghyun’s tender voice once again rang from behind you. 

soon enough, you felt his warm hand on your hip as he took the book from your hand and placed it for you. for a mere moment you could feel his chest pressing against your back, the smell of his cologne invading your senses like a swarm of butterflies whirling around you.

you didn't even realize when the hufflepuff boy was back in his position, putting back the rest of the books. and further on ramling about sea creatures.

“there was also a case of the giant squid helping a student that had fallen into the lake…”

sitting on a nearby bench, you were writing the ancient runes to form a sentence. actually, you were writing in your journal about today’s date with donghyun. his own notebook was laying next to you - he was afraid to get it wet. 

“ah, y/n, quick! a grindylow!” he yelped and you shot to your feet, dropping your journal onto the bench. with snow crunching underneath your feet, you sprinted towards the hufflepuff boy. he had his scarf and hat on, pink nose peeking from the layers. 

“how did it come here?” you asked curiously, quickly joining his side. 

leehan's  gloved hand grabbed yours and pointed at the quickly swimming creature. it was barely visible due to its dark color blending with the green shade of the lake but you could see its outline. 

“my bet is looking for food. they like fish. or maybe it was bored. or…” donghyun hesitated, looking over at you. you shifted your gaze at him, looking at his big brown eyes hidden behind his glasses. “or… it came here for its prey!”

donghyun suddenly wrapped his arms around you, lifting you off the ground and spinning around. you squealed, taken by a surprise. 

“they don’t eat humans!” you whined when he put you down.

“uh… sure…” he chuckled and reached to the pocket of his puffy jacket. he grabbed some dried algae and threw it into the water. you moved closer to him, suddenly scared. interlocking arms with his, you snuggled onto his side.

“it eats people?” you asked quietly as you saw the creature swimming closer to the food. its head poked out of the water surface, small, black, shiny eyes looking at you before taking a bite of the algae.

leehan snickered and grabbed your chin, eyes locking with you.

“only cuties like you” he grinned and moved his yellow and black scarf out of his face. then, he leaned closer and kissed you softly. even though his lips were cold, you felt warmth spreading through your body. you smiled into the kiss and pulled him even closer by the scarf. 

who would have thought that two days after the detention you’d gain the courage to ask him out. 

he pulled back slightly, first looking at your lips with a smirk and then back in your eyes.

“and humans. but only the grown grindylows and that one is still a baby” he grinned. and before you could even roll your eyes, he pulled your ravenclaw-colored hat down and covered half of your face. with a giggle, he pulled you closer.

masterlist <3

taglist. @slytherinshua ,, @weird-bookworm

[kin-of-concolor]

long post lol

I’ve been in “we accept everyone except x, x, and x, if you are one of these BURN IN HE11” communities for a long, long time. Why have I looked past the burn in he11 part for so long? Because x, x, and x are usually identities that everyone thinks of as bad. If that isn’t you, the community can be perfect. The people are perfect. It’s fun, safe, and close-knit. But you have to be “perfect” too. No having different opinions- remember, this is a safe space! Those aren’t allowed. I understand this for NOT supporting an identity, but… What if I say I support no-contact zoos? Or *gasp* endogenic systems? Suddenly, I’m a bad person. I literally had someone say to me, “this is an /inclusive/ server, and endos are /strictly/ prohibited.” Let’s use zoophili@ (idk how much I have to censor here lol) as an example. We’re all taught that zoos are bad and that’s that. We’re taught that all zoos actually act on their thoughts, that they’re all animal abu3rs, that there’s no nuance. But there is nuance. Not all zoos are the same (ik, shocker). And probably even the least civil of anti zoos (although most of them /are/ very civil) would understand that no-contact zoos exist and should be given basic human respect if they were given more information. I can’t even imagine how painful it must be finding out you’re a zoo when you’ve been taught that all zoos are bad and you should hate them.

So you see, the burn in he11 part isn’t anyone’s fault. If those identities were what everyone thought they were, I’d be saying that too. But they aren’t. Those communities have taught me that I have to be socially acceptable within my small niche at all costs. Even if the socially acceptable path is also the morally wrong/harmful path. And now, it’s scary to do anything else. I feel like the bad guy even if I know I’m making the right choice.

I’m slowly stepping out of those communities and it’s scary.

How do I know if something is right or wrong without someone else telling me? What if *gasp* not everyone likes me?

(Do in part to mental illness, I place waaay more value on other people’s opinions of me than is healthy.)

[thesecretattic]

I can’t stop crying and I’ve got a lot of flu and fever & cold I’m clogged up with that.

This is a brutally honest post and I’m not sounding “Politically Correct” here nor was I intending to do that.

I’ll like to say a few things please keep reading… till “The End” I know how much and to what extent people hate me that too out of insecurity/jealousy (women) who are used to criticising others even strangers cuz in India the environment is too hostile and competitive and here girls are very materialistic, also like average or dumb on the IQ level no offence, so they can easily hate me enough out of insecurity to let me even die. And men I must have had more than 1000 matches on dating apps every week I would get notified about 100+ likes or right swipes I was only 21 I have rejected maximum for hookups and other immature superficial things or time wasting stuff, I wanted undivided time and attention no infidelity (life is short youth us shorter how much time do you have anyway?) so you know where all of their hate is coming from I was pretty… they never look back and even when they do they keep their mouths shut, otherwise I had met many people in order to move on from Harsh. In fact I would receive a lot of HATE messages from unknown fake accs by educated men who seemed extremely articulate, it was a shocker at first I would end up frustratingly asking “Did I reject you?” They were the same people and they also Hated Harsh they were not aware of his name but they knew I loved someone due to my poems. They would tell me I will remain alone and curse me and say if I don’t agree he will be “fcking” other girls while I’ll die a virgin. I was only 21-22 and this went on till 24. I would go through all of my flare and it’s painful symptoms and then deal with all this.

I am not at all well and no one in the house is doing okay, I’m too sick I can’t write I have a severe in fact severest infection. I was like he deserves better, better than me and that boring girl too (he would believe she’s not boring if she’s you know like her “satin sheets” pic) I meant in literal sense boring cuz I can make out how people are, even in one glance, anyway I was wishing he would find someone but this time I don’t wanna know who. As for me, the end is near, my youth was taken away from me I was ostracised and made so conscious that I caved in at 22 and ever since then I stopped dressing up or going out or even leaving my room.

I have no future, my parents are old and I am bed ridden I have no help to get myself back on my feet, I had ordered those clothes which I’ll be talking about but first I want to finish these few things… Money I’ve learnt always goes in the wrong hands, dumb people get it and they don’t know what to do with it, while smart ones struggle they have lots of ideas and a better “taste” in things unlike some who end up making a fool of themselves by flaunting it in the most tackiest manner possible, but all those who could’ve sensibly used it for both maintaining a savvy lifestyle as well as doing something worthy don’t have it. Then how does money even have any value? This wealth is only concentrated into the hands of a few and while the rest are deprived of it and then comes the hardest part - they are deprived of friendship and love too. Cuz where there’s money there are people, there’s hope.

EVEN IF I HAD 10 million followers (this isn’t just for harsh I doubt he has that ratio no offence it honestly means NOTHING I’ll be coming to that part) even if I had more the entire world there I would have still taken the initiative to message someone and ask them if they are okay or if they need any help… otherwise I wouldn’t have been even worthy of those millions of people if I was born to sit on a pedestal getting worshipped like God. That’s just arrogance and pride that too on the worst possible level it’s one of the 7 vices or sins.

Btw those followers? They don’t include me… I only follow worthy creative accounts “niche accounts” haha in today’s aesthetic times, you can see it on my primary ID which is currently full of sad posts lnsta: CashmereVanilla.Co you can see what I prefer in my feed. So who follows them anyway? Wannabes who crave their lifestyle? Who’ve never seen money in their lives… roadside romeos and creeps, 99% of the accounts are of either haters or pervs or illiterate people. I don’t think it’s something which should make you narcisstic… I know a few people from my past who don’t even speak proper English they were btchy and they have ruined my life enough they follow you but they don’t understand your captions, they are just materialistic so they want to see what all stuff you have, btw I have them blocked after everything I’ve been through cuz and I don’t want their evil eye on my things. They would do the same with me… I asked my mother once, why are they just jealous of my things? Celebs have even more, she said it’s because they are out of their reach, they are not their close friends. But then I realised how they would talk about them also, they were jealous of everyone. That was not something I was expecting but times have changed. And their logic for me or others was simple, we can’t be on the same level (status wise) they should have everything I should have nothing. And for them I was a curse because literally my choice was way better so forget being on the same level or even money they hated my stuff all the cheap or inexpensive things too.

I can’t write much, I am now a reject that too the worst kind of reject the world must have ever seen cuz I was never with anyone all my life I was an “untouchable” I was not born like that, but due to one person I ended up being that for everyone. I’m an untouchable reject virgin spinster. I’m dying now cuz it’s too humiliating and I’m unwell too there’s no future or hope, I can’t breathe I have severe a viral infection, I knew this day would come cuz my family members would always torture me and best me up, they never really cared about my health they knew I would succumb to it YET they were never careful about the transmission. And the rest of the people well they abandoned me and left me to die. I never heard the voice of the person I loved the most I don’t know what he sounds like I have never seen him anywhere and I had already stopped watching TV after meeting him in 2015 itself I don’t know why he was on those dating apps or why he was so interested in me, he just started blocking for no reason I wasn’t even writing anything about him. In fact I shared everything in 2020 where his insensitivity crossed that limit, go through my previous posts. I’m dying and he just left me to die, I didn’t want to have any physical contact with him like greeting hands or taking a selfie I’m not a fan, but he thinks something else altogether and after ge had ruined me and my health my skin everything so I don’t have enough credibility and now the word “love” has become a Scarlett Letter for me, (the prices for certain skin care products have gone up too, there’s a reason why I shifted from Chanel and now these prices are also skyrocketing I luckily got 2+1 free to fix my skin) it’s like a stigma cuz they take it as chasing and what not even though I had said multiple times that I wanted someone else cuz he didn’t want me.

I can’t write due to that infection I’m somehow jotting this down I might die after it, it seemed like Virat was into Anushka he was shy and intimidated by her in some old video so I had to share it cuz maybe that PR thing worked after all because it wasn’t fake. Next, there’s another clarification - I didn’t buy anything (any outfit) for anyone or any signs. But there was some lady in my building who was asking about me, she wanted to invite us to a wedding, and she said that she wanted everyone to attend including me. I’m not well at all I have no habit of sitting in a living vehicle I haven’t been out since years now I can’t even go to the doctor I really needed someone understanding to help me get me back on my feet my mother is very rough and callous (insensitive) so she doesn’t take anything seriously, nonetheless I had thought I would try on my own but I got this infection thanks to them (my irresponsible and even toxic family members who never cared about me) I did, I had even asked some like fortune telling place I was again trying to do a reading (I use free ones, there are signs everywhere) cuz I really have no one to talk to so I need some reassurance or hope and I look for it in such places it’s been 8 years since I’m doing that and I’m tired now. I kept asking when will we all get better? And it only answered about me, now I understood why. Anyway it is only for short term (all the predictions) so now my condition is again getting worse.

I wanted to earn but I can’t even sit on my laptop (I would really hate it if people are going to read this patronisingly or they are going to look down upon me after doing that cuz that’s not required, or else you can stop reading, I have had enough now and it has crossed my threshold someone had said your threshold should’ve been crossed in 2016 itself considering all that you’ve been through but I was put through more suffering and pain, so please stop hating I have zero tolerance, if you are just “reading” there and not asking me if I’m even okay it’s offending, I’m literally clenching my teeth rn so you better understand how angry I am, it means YOU DON’T believe that I’m sick or I’m dying or you are trying to say I’m some conniving vamp here to lie about it, I WISH it would’ve been a lie but unfortunately it’s true, how much more worse should it get?Your insecure as* wants to see me with a shroud? STOP filling up Harsh’s ears or telling him “Is she even serious?”

I was not given any money for Eid so I didn’t buy anything and my childhood friend/now enemy had the habit of dressing up and posting pics on birthdates, NYEs and Eid after making sure I won’t she took away all my friends. And btw she would backbite those people and nasty things about them which they knew I would in fact take their side but they had their own insecurities to hate me, one of them was into designing and writing and his English is too poor he was calling some word a cauldron or something which actually means a witch’s pot and his moodboards even the ones designed on professional software were not even close to mine which I would create with a lot of hard work on free platforms that too on my phone. I had to reveal that I’m not proud but I had to say it cuz again it’s unfair. I would always heart his moodboards and stuff… and encourage him too but they remained the same and they bullied me even in 2020, again “bullying” can’t be used for adults? Even if some adults are immature enough to bully people? There’s a new term - Adult Bullies. Anyway so that girl the one who always instigated them she, as usual got an iPhone pro like mine and shared her Eid pic all dressed up, I didn’t have a camera 📷 for years almost 7 years so I got that phone mainly for the camera. I was given money after a month’s delay for Bakri Eid now (Ramazan is gone) and I do feel bad irrespective of everything even though I get tortured here and everyone pretends like nothings happening I do feel bad when people have to spend money or keep up with today’s expenses it’s not that I don’t, he and most of these men they make us hate our fathers (some fathers also don’t care like I said) but as daughters we do and any kid would feel bad and it puts us in a very horrible position, we end up crying a lot then cuz it’s as if you are ruining our childhood it makes people very emotional, you should NEVER both anyone or make them feel like that about their parents or nuclear family, there are so many cases in Gumrah (he claims to have worked there in fact a lot of people have done those shows that too they were adults dressed up as teenagers then why? And why are they only inconsiderate towards girls?) they would show that those kids under immense pressure would sometimes do certain things and then cry themselves to death, it would get very intense… they would be left with no choice. So STOP. Luckily some of us we regain our consciousness or balance lol and we don’t lose it in fact we don’t get in that zone, cuz if you have strong convictions then you know certain things will never happen such as I don’t even like saying this but murders or arsons like I earlier denoted. But we can end our own li-fe that too brutally if you make us hate ourselves so much that too when someone you love treats you like that you have all the reasons in the world to hate yourself, I don’t want to be sermonic here so I won’t lie. That’s how it is. I’m feeling very weak I need to sleep I’m not well at all so I’m gonna cut it short now, I was given a certain budget and I took something for 3950/- it’s a Chanderi Set with an Organza Dupatta (packaging is great it has a dust bag and all to keep it there) it’s in Oyster Grey it looks beige in pics but they’ve called it Greige, I was actually given 20k keeping prices in mind so I didn’t want to waste it on anything rubbish I’ll be honest you don’t always see that much thread work these days but then I came across a few places I already had one designer in mind and I found my dream store as well so I got 2 more outfits for that wedding and I was very excited about it.

It did make me feel slightly bad cuz one of them is almost like a bridal one but it’s exactly what I wanted and it’s very special to me because of something specific which I’ll share if I’m alive. The budget actually exceeded cuz this would be designerwear and they’ve been featured in Vogue, the pricing I would say is competitive but they have different collections, this one is not as steep which is cool because they know you will end up buying more like me, I couldn’t pick one I in fact liked 3 but I got 2, because I had already taken one for Eid (the Chanderi one) anyway this was a different category, they had a coupon on 30k (the budget was 20k I could’ve taken one outfit in that range but I ended up buying 2 from here and 1 from somewhere else) and inspite of the coupon I couldn’t avail max 30% disc. cuz they have that new Zomato rule where they have a certain limit and they could offer only upto 8k I got these two for 24500 (one of them is light the other one is a little heavily embroidered) and the Chanderi one was for 3950/- I’ll probably cover the extra from the money that I was saving. If I’m alive I’ll share the pics… - Zara Sauleh

[charissekenion]

What systemic racism in the British beauty industry looks like

Remember when Black Lives Matter content filled up the feeds of your preferred social platform? While the message still burdens many within the black community — as well as some allies — on a daily basis, for many it is business as usual; even one of my regular online beauty go-to’s has that in their homepage banner. I’m sure it’s more about things being back to ‘some kind’ of normal post-Covid, but who knows? To me, it seems like everyone is tired and weary of the triggering message of BLM and I believe that’s a sign that, if systems are not changed, things are likely to return to what they used to be, the word diversitybecoming one of those words people say out loud while using air quotes. I’ve already written about my own personal experience as a mixed/black woman in the beauty world, but I wanted to try and tackle the systems within the beauty industry. If I’ve missed anything, let me know!

Brands/Agencies Throughout the early days of BLM, brands and agencies around the globe paid close attention to where their ads were appearing. It wasn’t a moral stance however; brands had learned that ads placed near George Floyd or protest-related content, monetized at 57%* lower than other news content. The investment simply wasn’t worth it and words/phrases such as Black Lives Matter, George Floyd, Minneapolis and Black people were put on industry blocklists. While blocklists surely began as a way for the industry to ensure it wasn’t placing insensitive ads, in 2020 brands are using them purely because of the bottom line; revenue.

For me, the brands that have stood out during BLM are the ones that are more thoughtful in how they can help, long-term. Praise was given to Emily Weiss of Glossier for starting a grant for black-owned beauty businesses. Another stand-out show of support came from Caroline Hirons, a brand in her own right.

Hirons is known as the queen of skincare amongst the UK press — and she knows that is a very white press. She took a few days to get her ‘ducks in a row’, early on when BLM was being heavily supported, ensuring her donations were able to have Gift Aid applied (more of the cash actually going to the organisation), before announcing that she would be giving 100 percent of the 2020 proceeds from her best-selling Double Cleanse with Pixi to Black Lives Matter. Pixi duly matched her donation.

But for every positive there were several embarrassing examples of how notto do it. I don’t have the time or energy to give a comprehensive list of just how many brands got it so wrong during the days that followed #blackouttuesday for instance.

I’m not about forcing anyone to do anything, because if you don’t care, why would I want your help? For me the blame lays with brands who have the means to send out the right messages on the daily via social and in the media. It wasn’t just about calling out RMS Beauty on their Instagram for hiring such an insensitive social media manager. It was more about checking out the feeds of Maybelline, Chanel Beauty, etc, etc, and seeing if they had ever shown diversity in their campaigns. The results were lacklustre to say the least, but, if there was one truly classic example of what not to do, the medal would go to Marcia Kilgore (founder of Beauty Pie, Fit Flop, Bliss). I’ve been a diehard fan of Kilgore and her work ethic for years and I’ve lost count of how many interviews I’ve listened to of Kilgore sharing her business journey.

But throughout BLM I’ve seen some shockers coming from (seemingly) Kilgore’s own hand. I’ve been sent screenshots of comments on Instagram (later deleted) including one that shows Kilgore using the shrugs emoji. One of Beauty Pie’s diehard (white) fans just didn’t get why Beauty Pie was receiving negative feedback after not standing up soon enough or strongly enough for BLM. Kilgore replied to her fan with the shrug — she might as well have said: ‘gee, we just can’t seem to please these people.’

The Influencer Whether you love influencer culture or not, it’s clear that, for now, it’s here to stay. Mostly dominated by (white) women, with some being worth over £4million here in the UK, whatever their chosen area of specialisation, there seems to be a very cookie-cutter approach as to what and who’s adored and accepted. Look at wellness, look at fashion, and of course, beauty, and you’ll find that the popular accounts are usually owned by very blonde, very slim women. Life is just one long Instagram Story compiled of working out in Lululemon, wearing makeup from an expensive brand that’s never looked past 10 shades, sipping an iced green tea and getting your wedding paid for by your clever agency rep who’s reached out to countless companies that are guaranteed to find you so palatable and on-brand.

Now, I am not coming for these women; these women can exist alongside the women that I choose to follow — the women that can and do in fact influence me and how I purchase, whether they get paid or not. And there’s the rub. Brands have been making tons of excess profits from women of colour who just love that brand — essentially unpaid micro influencers.

As a self-confessed beauty addict, I know the allure of the ‘next big thing’. I know how it is when you feel, or felt, that that brand actually understood you. When that new shiny purchase arrives from the likes of Glossier, you’re like, ‘hey friend’, and off you go, sharing your unboxing for your fellow beauty enthusiasts to swoon over in the comments.

Like I said, many true beauty influencers are micro influencers, doing their thing purely for the love, and not a pay check, but that’s in sharp contrast to those who are actually paid to do so. These paid influencers put in the work, styling their stories to appeal to their audience and also the audience of the brand that’s paying them.

One such influencer, someone I’ve been following a while as I enjoyed her fresh aesthetic, is also a PR. To be fair to her, I’d become so used to seeing her bounce across fields of tulips and daisies, that I wasn’t expecting anything from her when it came to ‘real life’. However, I did happen to see her Instagram Stories late one night, where she ‘appeared’ to be crying about BLM. I say appeared because honestly, I’ve seen better performances at my nephew’s nativity play. I even recorded the crying just to check I wasn’t being too dismissive.

The next day I saw that she’d finally posted an image she’d found elsewhere (i.e. not spent time creating) and given information on how to donate and research. It all seemed very rushed and frankly, I imagine that zero attention was given to the words. I wondered if she’d been pressured to post, and apparently she had been, after being tagged in a post that prompted people to call out influencers and brands who weren’t stepping up.

She dutifully posted a black square when it was ��expected’ of her on #blackouttuesday — which she has since deleted.

On top of that, behind the scenes she was contacting various bloggers — I can’t confirm race ratios. She sent DMs that did not address the individual, did not ask the person how they were doing at this truly tiring and stressful time. Instead she asked if they were supporting black-owned brands (she asked this of a mixed-race woman who identified as black and had been posting tons of information on her Stories…) Clueless, lazy — or worse?

She mentions in the DM that one of her clients is a black-owned business and asks if the blogger might be interested in talking about it. The following day I kept wondering, ‘okay, if you’re so supportive, why not post about this black-owned brand on your own feed?’ Or, how about you offer your services to black-owned businesses at a reduced rate? Not because you should, but because, after all, you are performing as if you care.

**Dominique, a black, London-based PR shared her thoughts on how her frequent social media support of a beauty brand (self-created and not paid for, purely because she wanted to), soon started to feel as if she was being treated as a token when she was shown as the only black face in the company’s newsletter. She also tells me of a black influencer in the UK who had been promised payment for several pieces of promo work and yet had gone unpaid and ignored. It wasn’t until her loyal followers bombarded the brand’s social media platforms that the brand paid her, in full, with no argument, or apology.

“It’s so intrinsic, and so embedded,” says Dominique. “Whether it’s content creation or Instagram — which is the first port of call for every business — it’s also the tech, it’s the algorithms used. It’s the influencers, it’s the appropriation, it’s the fact that black influencers aren’t on PR lists, and aren’t being paid the same rates.”

Dominique also talks of the pressure of ‘black guilt’ that black influencers and creators can feel: “You kind of hope and root for the brands that you spend your money on, that you will see a change. And then also, you kind of assimilate in your feed to try and see if that’s gonna help you build a following. I’ve done it. Black people have learned to compartmentalise to survive and it comes down to assimilating and trying not to broadcast your blackness.”

The PR I think, in some ways, the power of the beauty industry PRs often goes unnoticed. These are people who are in the business of carving out a niche for a brand, making it the ‘next big thing’; they advise clients on everything, from tone of voice to the right faces to use in an ad campaign to which influencers to send product to, and which influencers to offer lucrative ambassadorships to.

As most UK PR firms are owned by white men and women, it’s easy to see why inclusivity might not even enter their heads. Why would it? Let’s not forget, for decades the ideal beauty has been that of a very Eurocentric look. PR firms, alongside the rest of the industry, play their part in affirming this beauty standard — it isn’t their job to actually change it. But with more and more voices calling for change, and in the era of cancel culture, PRs are likely to be forced into taking a more active role.

For example, the labeling of BLM being a political rather than human issue by the head of CrossFit was clearly a PR nightmare of huge proportions, and no-one in the multi-billion dollar beauty industry wants that to happen to them. As a recent article on the Business of Fashion stated; too often public relations execs go along with what their client wants, and if ever they do try to steer the client in another direction they are often left unsupported or removed from the account completely.

The Magazines As someone who’s been a hair and beauty editor and writer for 15 years, I’ve seen a lot of trends come and go. But one trend that remains the same is that of the ‘spot the black journo in the room’. While things may be slightly more progressive in the US, here in the UK I can say that I have never seen more than three black or non-white journalists at a press event at the same time. And don’t get me started on the staff within the publications themselves.

I remember when former British Vogue editor-in-chief Alexandra Shulman shared an image of her team in celebration of her last issue in 2017 — with not one black or brown face. I had long stopped my subscription to British Vogue, but when her replacement, Edward Enninful arrived, the man who had inspired me for years during his time at i-D magazine, I bought each issue with renewed excitement; oh how things would change!

But Enninful is one black man. And when Enninful himself is racially profiled while entering the doors of Conde Nast, you know that the problem goes way deeper. Add to that the fact that Vogue is still going to have to bow to its advertisers — the brands that keep it in print. It’s not us with our £2 ‘special price’ purchases that are keeping Vogue and others like it alive.

Elsewhere on Instagram, former Glamour editor Jo Elvin was bemoaning the fact that it wasn’t always the editor’s fault that there were no black models on the cover. Elvin said that black models often declined being on the cover (am guessing maybe it was because it was a pretty crap magazine back then?) because they ‘thought it would hurt their chances of getting covers with the high-end mags’.

And what is wrong with that? It’s far tougher for a black woman to get a Vogue cover, so if that’s that model’s goal, what’s it to Elvin and her crew? Perhaps they could seek out an unknown, rather than relying on the top three black faces over and over? Thankfully, Elvin was prompted to elaborate on her flippant comments, by none other than the aforementioned Caroline Hirons. Hirons ended by telling Elvin that the numbers don’t add up, and that bias is ‘systemic in Conde.’

I remember once going for a meeting with an online brand I avidly read. Naturally I was excited and flattered to be told: ‘you look so [insert brand name here]!’ as if I had just earned a special badge. Aside from the flattery, it really meant a lot to me and I was genuinely excited at the opportunity to write and shoot for them. I left the building buzzing, but over the coming weeks, my numerous pitches seemed to fall on deaf ears. ‘Hmm, she’s probably really, really, busy,’ I told myself.

Weeks later I noticed a new name on their writer roster and wondered if the fact that she was also mixed race was something to do with it; perhaps two was one too many? I think this is something we see and fear in many industries, but especially within fashion and beauty. While a non-black editor might enjoy being seen as the progressive one, he or she might also be nervous of ‘opening the gates’ and only employing non-white people! I’ve heard this from several black and brown people in the industry also. Once you get that role, you want to keep it both for career and financial reasons.

It’s clear that, across the board, work needs to be done, and we also need the work that is supposedly being done, to continue. It makes me nervous to see brands jumping on the Diversity Officer job role, while only offering six-month contracts. Does this mean that they hope BLM will just go away and people will just stop expecting their voices to be heard and their rights acknowledged? Are we all just so nostalgic over what normal used to be that we’d rather enter another year with blinders on?

It’s okay to admit that you’re completely unprepared for this fight. If you’ve never had to care about this fight, I get that. But whether you chose to use #blackouttuesday to gain some new fans, or you actually wanted to begin making lasting change, it’s clear, it’s going to take a lot more than a black square followed by vague epithets. Show the work; talk to your audience. Literally no-one can claim to be perfect right now, but if you want to build an anti-racist brand, take the steps, because we are all watching.

*Statistic taken from this NPR article: https://www.npr.org/2020/06/27/884213471/why-advertisers-wont-run-ads-on-black-lives-matter-content?t=1597134345822

** Name has been changed

Image: Photo by Hazel Olayres on Unsplash

This article also appears on Medium

[furederiko]

Here's the 3rd, but probably not the last Random News Digest for April...

X-Men Universe

Looks like 20th Century FOX has found its superhero niche, that's able to place the studio on a similar level to its more popular Marvel counterpart, Marvel Studios. And that is, the R-Rated department! Yes, following the success of "Deadpool", now "Logan" has secured its place as the fourth highest grossing R-rated movie of all time. So while the studio might not be able to catch up the financial and critical success in the PG-13 department, it's going strong in the older-oriented market with approximately $598 million cume. Currently finishing its seventh weekend run, the critically acclaimed "Logan" is only $13 million away from taking over Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" that's still sitting on the third place. There is a possibility that it might get dethroned, but with the Summer movies like "Fate of the Furious" entering the competition and massively snatching away public's attention, things are definitely not quite so certain anymore. I guess we'll have to wait and see how the movie performs this week, right?

Earlier today (my time region, so I believe it's... yesterday in the US?), Josh Brolin trolled actor Ryan Reynolds via social media, now that his involvement in "Deadpool 2" has been publicly confirmed. True to his character Cable, and his long tumultous history with Deadpool, Brolin's making fun of the movie's lead by calling him out with '#ryanreyondsismybitch'. Marvel Studios' Kevin Feige confirmed very recently, that his studio does NOT prohibit its actors from starring other superhero character in other studios. Particularly, in regards of Brolin's double roles. So I'm guessing Brolin gets to have the best of both worlds... or should I say universes. He's a major supervillain in Marvel Cinematic Universe, but a crucial superhero in the X-Men side at the same year. Could one actor get any privilege cooler than that? By the way, is that the photo of him preparing for prosthetics? After all, Cable is a character with both human and robotic body. Seriously, with how comically accurate "Deadpool" depicted Piotr Rasputin/Collosus, I can't help but wonder how authentic Brolin's Cable would look...

Marvel Studios

Let's get the biggest and most important news out of the way first. James Gunn is returning to write and direct "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3"! Revealing this huge information in advance, just ahead of the first US press junket and screening of "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2", Gunn took to Facebook to express his heartwarming love and devotion to the franchise. Typical Gunn, to be honest, to not let himself be outdone by any journalists who would claim scoops and exclusives. Of course, this isn't actually surprising as much as a confirmation, because he HAD expressed interest to walk through the same cosmic road before this, albeit still in 'uncertain mode'.

If you ask me, this is a VERY wise choice, because that means we can expect the same style and tone moving forward to the 3rd and possibly final movie of the franchise. Why final? Gunn himself stated that the third movie "...will conclude the story of this iteration of the Guardians of the Galaxy, and help catapult both old and new Marvel characters into the next ten years and beyond. I will be working side-by-side with Kevin Feige and the gang to help design where these stories go, and make sure the future of the Marvel Cosmic Universe is as special and authentic and magical as what we have created so far.". Does this mean it will help kickstart MCU's Phase 4, along the lines of "Iron Man 3" and "Captain America: Civil War" for Phase 2 and Phase 3 respectively? It's certainly looking that way. I have a feeling, we're going to see the likes of future heroes like Nova, Quasar, Beta Ray Bill, or future cosmic villains like Michael Korvac and many others being set up in this movie. Just imagine the interesting possibilities, right? Considering we already have a "Spider-Man: Homecoming" sequel dated for 2019, highly likely "Vol. 3" will snatch the Summer 2020 slot. For this one, I'm even willing to bet on it!

Speaking of press junket, yes, the first screening of the movie has been held just yesterday (Monday night, April 17th, US time). While official reviews are still embargoed until April 24th, 2017 12:01 AM PST, members of the press are allowed to express their thoughts on the movie via social media. As for the results... should we even be surprised if most of them are positive? Here, I'll put them on a list: - Eric Eisenberg of Cinema Blend was super happy and called it as "great continuation of the heroes". - Mike Ryan of Uproxx thought the movie was "very fun", calling out Baby Groot for being the scene stealer, and confirmed that there are more than one post credit scene. Gunn later openly confirmed and corrected that there are 5 of them! WOW. They are mostly included for the sake of fun, and it sounded like the press were only given four since the final, fifth one is being reserved for opening date. Hence why many journalists were saying they didn't saw five. This clearly puts "Vol. 2" to have the most post-credit scenes of any MCU movie to date. - Steven Weintraub of Collider said that the movie "kept a smile on my face from beginning to end" while giving "Tons of surprises". Alongside fellow Collider's reviewer Haleigh Foutch, he agreed that it was "surprisingly emotional". - Though he still liked the first movie better, Germain Lussier of iO9 chimed in with the emotional sentiment, and declared this movie "Another Marvel winner". - /Film's Peter Sciretta thought it was funnier than the original, and agreed with the 'ton of surprises and emotion' notion. While fellow reviewer Angie Han boldly called it "MCU at its very best", as she pointed out the vast color palette. - Fandango's Erik Davis stated that the sequel is "like a water-color acid trip full of awesome", and that many will consider it as "their new favorite Marvel movie". - Brandon Davis of ComicBook.com said he seriously loved it, and wished "it was never going to end". - Jeff Sneider offered one of the negative response among all. He thought it wasn't as good as the first, and that the "VFX threaten to swallow the film". - Last but not least, Joshua Yehl of IGN and Mark Hughes of Forbes put the least amount of words to describe the movie.

Now hold on a minute there. Allow me to be the pessimistic one here! Despite those cheers, somehow I feel a little suspicious to the 'lack of words' from these critics. It's as if, they are holding back on something, so now I'm more curious than ever to read their full reviews instead. I just hope I'm merely being overly pessimistic, and that this movie is equal, if not better than the first. After all, it's common sense that a sequel would be directly compared to its first movie, and that could spell either greatness or disaster in the result. Case point, for every "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", there's a "Thor: The Dark World", or "Avengers: Age of Ultron". Head over to various Entertainment Sites (like The Hollywood Reporter, Collider, Cinema Blend, and others) to check out more of these social media reactions in digest format, and help assure your ownselves whether these meant a good sign or not. Also, as we wait for the movie's Red Carpet Hollywood premiere tomorrow at 9PM ET/ 6PM PT, you can stop by on Marvel's official Youtube channel to check out the movie's latest trailer, teasing the coming of "Vol. 2" to theatres in just two weeks from now. One thing for sure, the sequel is primed to be one of 2017's 'Summer Surefire Hit', so Marvel fans shouldn't miss it for the world.

Meanwhile, "Homecoming" is preparing itself in the final stages as well, as Michael Giacchino began working on the movie's score. Not long after, news surrounding Logan Marshall-Green's mysterious role started hitting the internet as well. Based on an anonymous source, MCU Exchange reported that Marshall-Green, possibly alongside Donald Glover and Michael Mando are set to portray the live action version of The Enforcers. In the comics, these guys were featured as some of Spider-Man's earliest foes, and they usually served as henchmen for other big named super villains. Considering "Homecoming" has an obvious strong nod to Stan Lee/Steve Ditko's original works, this shouldn't sound too surprising. Even if it's clear their backstory are being modernly retooled to become the crew of Michael Keaton's Adrian Toomes/Vulture. Something I don't think they have done before in the comics.

According to the site, Marshall-Green was wearing a name tag 'Brice' in one of the scene. This easily pointed his character towards the MCU version of Jackson 'Montana' Brice. Brice is also said to become one of the two Shockers in the movie, alongside Bokeem Woodbine's Herman Schultz. With that, they also speculated that Mando might be playing 'Fancy Dan' Brito, while Glover is possibly playing a version of Raymond 'Ox' Bloch. This character information might be inline with a rumor/report posted on 4Chan board (via Reddit). The whole content of this rumor, definitely sounds REALLY interesting, and should make any Marvel movie fans leap with joy due to what we can expect in the future. Although we all know that the source's credibility is questionable at best, it's fun to get excited nonetheless. Seriously, I'm NOT kidding. So if you don't mind a little spoiler and random geekish speculations, head over and read the thread yourself. Be cautious though, it might not be 100% true. Do it just for the sake of fun!

On top of all these news however, Marvel Studios made a surprise gesture as they held an actual Open House of their office at Burbank, California. Precisely two hours before the first screening to "Vol. 2"! They've invited members of the press for a meet and greet, allowing them to see what's currently in development and what's coming in the future. This is something the studio hasn't done before, and I certainly hope it won't be the last time either. In attendance were Studio President Kevin Feige, co-President Louis D'Esposito, directors Taika Waititi, Peyton Reed, and conceptual artist Andy Park, as they helped shed some lights on various topics. This ranged from behind the scene developments and out-takes, FX work-in-progress, important tidbits from upcoming movies, as well as an exclusive one hour Q&A roundtable with Kevin Feige.

For convenience sake, let's go through them with another set of list, shall we? - Ryan Coogler's "Black Panther" is set to wrap production in just a couple of days from now. D'Esposito showed an early sizzle reel that depicted scenes like: a casino fight, the coronation of one shirtless Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa, Danai Gurira's Okoye 'flirting' with Florence Kasumba's Ayo, car-flip stunt, Lupita Nyong'o's Nakia in action, and Andy Serkis' Ulysses Klau interacting with Martin Freeman's Everett K. Ross about a mixtape. According to Scott Mendelson of Forbes, he has heard before that the genre this movie will take on is akin to James Bond's globetrotting adventure. Looks like this footage might have implicitly confirmed such report. If that's the case, then Marvel Studios is scoring big time with "Black Panther". Not only the movie will be their first movie with a black lead, it's also the first James Bond-type action hero with one. Add to that, the likelihood of an LGBT nod between two female characters, this movie might end up carrying huge torch of importance for the MCU. - Reed and Park showcased their concept designs for "Ant-Man & the Wasp", offering all kinds of brilliant size-shifting action scenes. They also showed the new superpowered suits for both Paul Rudd's Scott Lang and Evangeline Lilly's Hope van Dyne. Yes, Lang will have a new suit, which will be necessary to the story. Reed named it the "3.0" suit. - Waititi revealed that his cameo in "Thor: Ragnarok" would be a mo-cap role, as he'll portray Korg, a character from the "Planet Hulk" comic book. The presence of Miek was also confirmed via footage that Waititi personally shown to the press. - On a separate place, concept art for Josh Brolin's Thanos in"Avengers: Infinity War" could be seen. Oddly, that's all there is for the movie. It's likely that things are being tightly wrapped for this production, to avoid giving early spoilers to the press. After all, the title of UNTITLED 2019's Avengers movie alone, might already be considered one. - Although not yet called official, a mockup costume of Brie Larson's Carol Danvers for "Captain Marvel" can be spotted on the studio. It seems to be taking cues from the comics, so fans can rest assured. For detailed description of this tentative Captain America-esque design, you can head over to Screen Rant. Also, the plan is for the movie to begin production in February 2018, as a female director might have already been selected to helm the movie. I guess we'll just have to wait for Marvel Studios to officially announce her to public. - In the Q&A, Feige stated his stance on R-rated superhero movies, and how Marvel Studios is unlikely to venture that route. He refused to comment on how Warner Bros is doing with their DC Extended Universe. But he himself admitted to be a fan of DC characters, so naturally he wishes them to do well. It's the kind of generous move I can only hope, someday could be replicated by those generally bullish folks at WB/DC, as impossible as that might seem. Feige even shared his enthusiasm and support for Joss Whedon's DC project, revealing that the former MCU consultant actually talked to their team about doing "Batgirl", waaay before the news went public! Now that's what I call respect... am I right? - Last but not least, Feige confirmed that Tom Holland's Peter Parker, will also appear in the currently UNTITLED 2019's Avengers movie. He said the deal with SONY has been extended until the already-announced sequel of "Homecoming" that's coming in 2019, but what happens afterwards remains in question for the time being. Oh, and that Marvel Studios does NOT have anything to do with any of the announced Spider-Man spin-offs (like "Venom" or "Black Cat & Silver Sable"). So obviously, those titles won't take place in the MCU. To those who are still wondering about that, there's your valid answer.

This event, as well as that report from 4Chan that I've mentioned earlier, will undeniably make any MCU fans happy. Of course, I actually don't need to remind you, but don't forget to book your tickets for "Vol. 2" that will arrive real soon. And this was just in several hours ago, but despite the existence of Disney D23, Marvel Studios is NOT skipping out San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) this Summer (held on July 20th to July 23rd)! That means, we can get more news surrounding the upcoming movies like "Ragnarok", "Black Panther", "Infinity War", and perhaps the confirmation of who will be directing "Captain Marvel". Maaan, it's such a good time to be Marvel Studios fans, am I right?

Star Wars

Star Wars Celebration 2017 (SWCO 2017) was held last week from April 13th to 16th, 2017, and as many had expected, some key information about the franchise were delivered.

The long-awaited, and much-anticipated first teaser for "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" has been released. I personally thought it looked okay, and somehow looking more ominous than 2015's "The Force Awakens". But of course, I'm not a huge Star Wars fans, so I don't think I'm qualified to judge this. It seems to be focusing more on Daisy Ridley's Rey, as she trains under the guidance of Mark Hamill's Luke Skywalker. Perhaps, this movie is serving as some kind of Hamill's swan song in the franchise? Much like how "The Force Awakens" had Harrison Ford exited in a high note? Will we get to know more about Rey's back story? Who her parents are? It's currently unclear if writer/director Rian Johnson will be able to accomplish the same critical and financial success to J.J. Abrams. His enthusiasm did look comforting, but as always, we'll have to wait and see whether he'll deliver when the movie arrives later this year on December 15, 2017.

What truly stole the attention of almost every (if not all) attendees during the event, was none other than a strong melancholic tribute to the late Carrie Fisher. A special tribute video was released online in accordance to this, and although it didn't have as much effect on me, I'm sure "Star Wars" fans would appreciate it a lot better. In their own "Star Wars" way. As a follow up to this, Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy announced that the late actress will not appear, as in digitally inserted, as General Leia in the upcoming Episode IX. That means Episode VIII or "The Last Jedi", which was Fisher's last movie before her untimely passing on December 2016, would certainly be her final "Star Wars" appearance in the franchise. This helped clarified the previous report, when Carrie's brother Todd and daughter Billie Lourd stated their permission for Disney and Lucasfilm to use her footage for the 2019 movie. Kennedy assured fans, that we will be seeing "a lot of Carrie" this December. While some fans have indeed expressed grieve and disappointments about this decision, some others agreed with Kennedy, that it was the right thing to do to honor the late actress.

On the TV side, comes a surprising announcement for fans. "Star Wars REBELS" is ending in its next, 4th season. Yep, this is the primary reason why this category is suddenly sitting in the borderline of movie and TV, because it goes both ways. Series co-creator and executive producer Dave Filoni, brought this news himself to the audience, accompanied by core cast members like Freddie Prinze, Jr., Vanessa Marshall, Taylor Gray, Tiya Sircar, and Steve Blum. He stated that adventure for Kanan Jarrus, Ezra Bridger, and their Rebel 'family' will come to a close in 15 episodes, and that it's going to be "A little dark, a little fun". Filoni admitted that ending the show was his decision, learning from unpleasant experience with "Star Wars: The Clone Wars". Eventhough "REBELS" is ending, Filoni did state that there will be more animated "Star Wars" stories in the future.

To be honest, considering the in-show developments that's getting more and more colossal for a TV budget, I didn't find this news to be THAT surprising. Although interestingly, this thing always happen everytime I'm on the verge of dropping a series. LOL. No really, I thought Season 3 ended in a good note, and I'm going to leave it at that. Knowing that the next is going to be the last season, obviously I've changed my plan. Of course, I do feel curious about where or how this show cannonically fits in between the movies. According to popular knowledge, it takes place before the events of the "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope". As far as I know (mind you, I'm still Star Wars illiterate, so pardon if I'm mistaken), there aren't any active Jedi present until Luke Skywalker become one in the movie. While apparently, Hera and Chopper are mentioned to be stationed on Yavin 4 in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story". Does this mean Kanan and Ezra will meet their demise in the final season? Hmmmm, intriguing.

Through SWCO's special panel for the series, the voice actors talked about what will happen to their characters. Marshall said, that members of the Ghost will be "pressed to the very edges of their ability". Perhaps we might see her Hera Syndulla gets promoted to General, as revealed in "Rogue One" then? Blum's Zeb Aurellios is taking more of an uncle-figure, to what I assume to be Ezra. Filoni said that Chopper will get to show his "bigger heart" in this last season, considering he has been seen as cranky and grumpy in the previous three. Obviously, Sabine Wren will be dealing with her Mandalorian Civil War, as was hinted in the finale of Season 3. Sircar hesitated to say much about it, but teased that things might get ugly for her family, especially when a certain 'familiar' someone arrives. And by familiar, perhaps... the elusive Boba Fett? Prinze Jr. said Kanan will slowly evolve into the strong Jedi, joining the ranks that audience have seen before. Gray certainly said that his Ezra will make some great decisions this season, away from the dark side.

As for the guest characters, Forest Whitaker will reprise his role as the voice of Saw Gerrera. Saw's co-pilot Two Tubes will joining him this season. Genevieve O'Reilly, will be reprising Mon Mothma as well. We can presumably expect more "Rogue One" stars, jumping in for a quick inclusion. Ahsoka Tano's return is being teased, but not properly confirmed. Finally, Grand Admiral Thrawn's bodyguard Rukh, is also set to make his debut in the series. Warwick Davis will be voicing this role. Hints of these developments weren't specifically felt through the Final Season's official trailer that has been made available on Youtube, but it sure promised a serious, conclusive, and definitely explosive finale to the series. The first two-parter episodes entitled "The Heroes of Mandalore" have already been screened exclusively for attendees. Fans of the series, or those who ended up watching it like yours truly, should anticipate the return of the fourth and final season later when it premiere this Fall on Disney XD.

Marvel TV

Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." gained a boost of interest due the final arc of its currently airing 4th season, "The Framework". Despite that achievement though, in general the continuously declining ratings for Marvel's first MCU-oriented TV show remains a lingering concern. And it is made worse because the network, ABC, tends to not announce renewal for its shows until sometime in May. May 16th, 2017 to be precise, though individual confirmation might always arrive earlier than that schedule.

The good news is, Entertainment Weekly evaluated the possibility for most running shows with 'uncertain future', and deduced that at the very least, AoS will be given another season, even if just only one more. I think it's a good idea, as the showrunners are given the chance to conclude their run in a satisfying manner, tying up all the loose ends. The bad news is, with Marvel's "The Inhumans" stealing the network's attention, there's always the unexpected turnaround of AoS eventually getting axed early on, to clear out some excess baggage and schedule. After all, we've experienced this before with both the cancelled Marvel's "Agent Carter", and Marvel's "Most Wanted" that never even saw the light of day.

I'm aware that some, if not many fans would feel disappointed with this decision. Particularly when other networks are still on a hot-streak, as they renew their superhero shows over and over again no matter how the audience perceived them. But I for one, will not feel as bad if AoS eventually gets cancelled, or given just one final season. Looking on the bright side, the absence of AoS can pave the way for spin off shows like perhaps, Ghost Rider, or the actual Secret Warriors. Not to mention, any members of the AoS cast can then move on to star in a Marvel Studios' big screen production, right? No more scheduling issues that prevented the two divisions from properly crossing over. That would all be cleared up with the series' end. Mind you, things are not yet certain for now. Filming for Season 4 had already wrapped the other day, so I doubt even the showrunners and cast can tell anything in advance regarding their show's future. So whether you're rooting for the show or not, you better start crossing your fingers, to hope the best, while expecting the worse possible outcome as well.

As for "The Inhumans", it's also still unclear whether this 8-episode mini series will be a first season of more to come, or just this one off. It's likely that this new show is being set up as the replacement for AoS, but with Marvel Studios also planning a movie for them, things just become a little cloudy and murky to predict. One thing for sure, the mini-series might have recently cast actor Chad James Buchanan in a mystery role. Buchanan tweeted this hint, and then later deleted it, implying that he might be playing an important role. Considering I have poor knowledge on the Inhumans comics and its character, and also unfamiliar with Buchanan's previous roles (was he really in "Glee"? I honestly can't remember), I can't exactly predict who he'll be playing. Or whether he's any good. Perhaps an antagonist? A NuHuman, like writer Charles Soule had confirmed? Then again, it's always possible that he's just playing a random one-episode only character, not unlike Lewis Tan in "Iron Fist". So perhaps it would be wiser to not think too highly of him too soon.

Netflix

With Marvel's "The Punisher" effectively in post-production, we can expect promotional stuff for the new series pretty soon. Particularly as SDCC 2017 is coming in just around 3 months from now, and the high chance of Marvel TV's presence. One of the more likely giveaway to be handed over during the event, might very well be that one specially designed poster coming from the hands of Joe Quesada. For the time being, it's a freebie handed out to cast and crew, but I suspect fans are going to get a hand of it pretty soon as well. Quesada did a similar poster before this for Marvel's "The Defenders", and likewise, this poster gives us glimpse of Jon Bernthal's main character Frank Castle, as well as his supporting cast. You can check out MCU Exchange for their description of who's who in this poster.

It seems this show would be taking extra liberties, thus many things would be vastly different compared to the comics. MCU Exchange pointed out, that Ben Barnes' Billy Russo might not be set up as an antagonist. At least, not until the first season ends. Which isn't that much surprising, since we've seen the same slow-burn treatment in previous Marvel-Netflix shows, with Sacha Dhawan's Davos being the latest example. The good news is, we can stare at Barnes' charming face a lot longer before his character, assuming it's going by the book, gets roughed up to jigsaws. But the bad news of this approach? Well, it seems that once again, this show would be using the exact same pattern and premise of the previous shows, which might or might not work for everyone. Especially those who have sensed a repetitive painstakingly SLOOOW formula that's starting to make them feel... 'bored' with the Netflix Universe. Yes, I'll be honest, I'm one of those people. I'm personally hoping at least "The Punisher" will offer something fresh and different, to break new grounds, and not go through the exact same motions, scenarios, and story beats of its older brothers. Otherwise, I might just have to say no to it...

The Telltale Series

Telltale released a trailer for the first episode of "Guardians of the Galaxy" via Marvel's official channel. As far as I know, there will be 5 episodes just like previous Telltale titles, so there are four more coming after this. Clearly this release is timed real well to coincide with the worldwide premiere of "Vol. 2". The Guardians seems to be taking on Thanos in this series, but it's unclear if it will include more characters inspired by the movie. Anyways, Guardians, and in general, Marvel fans should look forward for this. I'm still a bit taken aback thanks to the character designs, but when it comes to video games, it's really the gameplay that really counts. So I'm wishing it will have better luck in that department.

Ace Attorney

Through their recent Nintendo Direct, the company announced that "Dai Gyakuten Saiban 2: Naruhodou Ryuunosuke no Kakugo", or translated as "The Great Ace Attorney 2: Ryunosuke Naruhodo’s Resolution", will be available for Nintendo 3DS on August 3rd, 2017 for 5,800 yen retail-price, or 5,546 download-price. As a follow up to said announcement, CAPCOM officially released two new trailers for the game's new trailer. The first featured Sherlock and Van Ziek, while the second put Sherlock and Iris Watson in the spotlight.

A web demo has been made available through the title's official Japanese website, accessible on PC and smartphones. If you prefer to simply watch, then there are some gameplay videos you can watch online instead. You can found them on Youtube, through this link and this one. CAPCOM has listed story and character details, like Ryuunosuke's cousin Ryuutarou, and the case he'll be involved with. The company also offered several exclusive bonuses for those who purchased the game early. You can read these through the official site though it requires a bit of Japanese Kanji knowledge, or via Gematsu for the translated version. There are also two Special Edition sets: - The Great Ace Attorney 1&2 Limited Edition: Ryunosuke Naruhodo’s Adventure and Resolution, that will launch on August 3rd, 2017 for 7,200 yen. This will include both games, as well as a mini soundtrack album. Those who haven't purchased the first title might opt to take this one due to the discount price. - The Great Ace Attorney 2 e-Capcom Limited Edition, that will launch on August 3rd, 2017 for 9,800 yen. Pre-orders has begun on April 18th at 13:00 JST. This will include "Read Aloud CD" featuring the characters of the game, a Ryunosuke Naruhodo piggy bank, a "University Notebook", and a set of three pencils. Three exclusive coasters will be awarded to the first prints. This one's obviously for the Ace Attorney enthusiasts and item collectors.

Professor Layton

LEVEL-5's latest project in the popular mystery-puzzle series, the one that will feature Layton's daughter, has been officially renamed into "Layton's Mystery Journey: Katrielle and The Millionaires' Conspiracy" (it was previously called "Lady Layton: The Millionaire Ariadne's Conspiracy"). A release date has also been announced. This new game will arrive on July 20th, 2017, for Nintendo 3DS in Japan, and on iOS and Android worldwide (available in eight languages). It seems the non-Japan version of Nintendo 3DS will arrive later in Fall, though that part is left unclear for now. Also currently unclear, is the pricing of the game.

As already revealed before, Katrielle Layton and her assistant, the dog Sharo, are the main characters of this game. She will go on a quest to locate her missing father, the great Professor Hershel Layton. London-based Katrielle is said to be "jack-of-all-trades and mystery-solving detective", someone who will take on any job and solve cases with bizarre ideas. While Sharo, is a... well, talking dog. There's going to be a new gameplay style with the hope of attracting new players, as solving smaller conundrums and puzzles is now necessary to complete a bigger goal. Thus the tagline for the game is "high-speed comical puzzle-solving story". Despite that, interactions with witty and weird characters will still remain the same, as the game divulges into a story of "dramatic developments and amusing incidents". Ain't that sound interesting! Well you can see it for yourself through the game's latest trailer. Looks familiar but also different, eh? I wonder how expensive this will cost, because I sure would want to play it. Even if only to find out what happens to Layton, and the identity of Katrielle's mother... XD.

Sonic the Hedgehog

A quick 1-minute footage for "Sonic Forces" also made its way through Nintendo Direct. This time around we get to see Classic Sonic in action. But not just that, the announced third character has been teased at the end of this footage as well. And... is that Tails? He looks like a cat or something like that, and it is said to be a 'New Friend', so definitely not Tails. Which begs the question... for a game that features two different timeline of Sonic the Hedgehogs, why would an external character becoming the third playable lead? Why not just give the spot to... say, Tails, Knuckles, Shadow, or his other friends? Hmmm... curious.

Aside from previewing a cool futuristic main theme for "Sonic Forces", SEGA also debuted a new gameplay video for "Sonic Mania". This video showcased the co-op mode, with the female host playing Tails, as the two character scoured their way through 'Green Hill Zone' Act 2. Fans of the 8-bit era titles will be nostalgically delighted with this title. "Sonic Mania" is set to be released this summer for the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC, while "Sonic Forces" is due out this holiday.

[makeitwithmike]

10 Google Ranking Factors Every Website Must Focus On In 2017

By Saumya Raghav

Q: What do Entrepreneur.com, Forbes.com, Backlinko.com and Jeffbullas.com have in common?

A: All four of these sites rank high on Google SERPs and enjoy untapped authority.

Now, here’s the big question.

How do these sites consistently rank high on Google SERPs?

Well, these sites do two things very well.

Firstly, they focus on the Google ranking factors that have the biggest impact.

Secondly, they put all of their resources into scaling these ranking factors.

By now you’re probably thinking: Google uses more than 200 ranking signals to rank websites. So how do I find out which factors I should focus on to get a higher Google ranking?

Well, you’re in luck because I’m going to tell you the top 10 most significant Google ranking factors that websites should focus on in 2017.

1. Page authority

Page authority is one of the most critical Google ranking factors that every website owner who is hoping to rank highly on Google SERPs needs to be mindful of in 2017.

Page authority refers to the authority/credibility of your page in the eyes of the Google spiders/crawlers. The ‘Big G’ determines the credibility of your webpage by looking at your website’s link profile.

Basically, the higher the quantity and quality of inbound links pointing to your webpage, the more authority it will enjoy on Google SERPs.

Image Source: Backlinko

In fact, if your page isn’t authoritative, Google won’t rank it at all.

I’m sure you’re wondering how to increase your website’s authority now?

The answer is simpler than you might think: practice white hat link-building strategies. Reach out to similar bloggers, website owners or businesses who enjoy untapped authority on the web, and pitch for guest posts, infographics, etc.

For each and every page of your website, try to embed as many high-quality inbound links as possible. But don’t take the easy route of buying links! Trust me, this is not going to do you any good.

Instead, try a deep linking strategy to build better page authority.

Image Source: theoffbeatstory

2. Link relevancy

As discussed above, Google determines how authoritative your website is based on the quality and quantity of links connecting back to your website/web page.

But there’s a catch: it’s not just about getting many high-quality inbound links, it’s also about getting relevant inbound links.

Yeah, you heard me right!

Google pays more and more attention to the relevancy of the inbound links that point back to your website.

In fact, as Andre Weyher, the former head of Google’s web spam team, revealed in an interview, the relevance of links is the new PR as far as Google rankings are concerned.

Aim at getting as many high-quality inbound links as you can, but make sure all of these links are relevant. Focus on link building only from authoritative and relevant sites. This will help ensure that links pointing back to your site are from sites or blogs that are from the same industry and niche as yours.

For instance, if you’re a digital marketing agency and publish content on technical SEO, social media marketing and content marketing, you should aim at getting inbound links from sites with a higher page authority that publish content on the same topics as yours.

3. Content length

It may surprise you to learn that content is one of the most important ranking factors. In fact, content is the second most important signal that Google uses to rank websites on its SERPs.

But it should be no surprise.

For over a decade, content has been the essential fuel that drives modern-day marketing machines. More and more businesses now rely on content marketing to increase traffic, generate leads and optimize lead conversion rates.

The only problem is that now 93% of B2B marketers use content marketing, there’s a lot of white noise on Google. So how do you make sure your content is able to cut through all of the white noise, drive traffic to your website and rank higher on Google SERPs?

Here’s how: don’t keep on creating and publishing short-form (aka useless) content, day in and day out, as it is not going to help you rank higher.

Instead, create long-form content that is ideally more than 2000 words in length.

Longer doesn’t necessarily have to mean boring. Carefully craft your content to cut through all the fluff and only include information that your target audience is looking for.

As this study by SERPIQ (one of Google’s top 10 results) shows, long-form content consistently ranks better on Google SERPs.

Image Source: theoffbeatstory.com

4. Content ‘thinness’

Now that I’ve spilled the beans on the impact of content length on Google rankings, it’s time to impart that sites with ‘thin’ content which offers little or no value to people are dropped like a stone by Google.

Let’s talk about what ‘thin’ content is.

‘Thin’ content is any content that adds no or little value to a related search query. Remember Google’s Panda and Penguin updates? They sought to identify content farms (sites with low-value content stuffed with keywords to rank higher) and scraper sites (sites that featured duplicate content) and penalize them. These days, Google’s updates are focused primarily on sites with ‘thin’ or near-duplicate content.

Though Google doesn’t formally penalize sites for having ‘thin’ content, it may potentially misguide Google spiders when they are trying to find unique page content amongst the ‘thin’ content. This may result in low SERP rankings.

So what should you do?

Google crawlers prefer assigning better rankings to sites that provide original, robust content. So remove or no-index pages with thin or duplicate content. Include archived and category pages in this list. Delete or ‘no-index’ such pages.

After all, these pages often add no value to Google searchers anyway. So, if you are holding on to these pages, you’re actually pushing down your Google ranking.

5. Average time spent on page

Here’s a shocker for you: most blogs have an average bounce rate of around 70 to 98%.

This means that when someone lands on your blog page, they don’t spend more than a few seconds there before abandoning it.

So how does this impact your Google ranking?

Google pays close attention to how much time people spend on your web page when it comes to ranking your site on its SERPs. If people tend to spend more time there, Google assumes your page is informative and ranks you well.

Image Source: Backlinko.com

If you’re thinking your bounce rate doesn’t really impact your ranking, please be advised that they are a very important ranking signal for Google.

Now it’s time for the big question: how do I reduce my bounce rate?

Here’s your answer: be clever when creating content. Add a lot of ‘Bucket Brigades’ and compelling headings into your posts. Structure your blog posts well, too, by including data points and quote boxes.

Here’s what Bucket Brigades look like:

Image Source: theoffbeatstory.com

Make sure your web pages are visually compelling and clutter-free. Ensure that your links and calls to action are properly positioned, and leave a lot of cell padding around your CTA buttons and links.

Remember, the better, more informative and more interesting your website looks, the higher the average amount of time spent on your page and the better your Google SERP rankings will be.

6. Domain authority

You might not know that the domain authority of your website or web page plays a significant role as far as Google SERP ranking is concerned, but it does.

Domain authority is actually a metric that includes 40 different ranking signals and rates websites on a scale of 1 to 100, where 1 is rated as the worst and 100 is rated as the best.

Obviously, the better your domain authority; the higher your ranking.

Image Source: Backlinko.com

While a large number of experts believe that you can’t really do much to increase your domain authority because it takes time, it doesn’t solely depend on domain age.

Here are a few things you can do to quickly increase your domain authority: first, extend the expiry date of your domain name to send a signal to Google that your site is trustworthy. Try to get as many high-quality and relevant inbound links as possible pointing to your website, then smartly sprinkle your target keyword throughout your long-form content.

7. Keywords in title tags

Keywords are so important that you can’t really think of ranking your blog or website without it having keywords in it.

But did you know that Google carefully considers keywords used in your title tags when ranking websites on its SERPs? It actually gives more weight to pages that use keywords in the beginning of their title tags.

Image Source: Backlinko.com

This is because Google spiders are able to instantly figure out what the page is all about if target keywords are placed in the beginning of title tags.

For example, let’s say your target keyword is ‘Google Adwords Tips’ and you have two title tags.

Title Tag #1: Google Adwords Tips: 5 Tips to Get More With Google AdWords

Title Tag #2: How to Get More with These 5 Google AdWords Tips

Now, can you guess which title tag will rank better on Google SERPs?

No prizes for guessing which! It’s Title Tag #1. That is because this title tag uses the keyword right at the start of it, making it easy for Google spiders to understand what the page is all about.

8. Keyword positioning and relevance

Now that we’re talking about keywords, let me also reveal that Google pays close attention to how you position your target keyword on your webpage.

This means that Google crawlers carefully check for keywords in your page URL, in your posts, and in your H1, H2 and H3 tags. Placing keywords in these areas makes it clear to Google spiders that your page is focused on the target keyword.

But here’s a shocker: if your page content doesn’t really match with your keywords, your site may be penalized by Google. Yeah! That’s true!

The days when Google only paid attention to the keyword density are long gone. Today, it looks for keyword relevance too.

So what should you do?

Smartly structure your page using relevant keywords. Place keywords in the first 100 words of your posts, in your page URL, and in your H1/H2/H3 tags. Don’t forget to include keywords in the beginning of your meta descriptions. That’s important, too.

9. Page load time

Slower page load time dramatically affects your pages’ performance. In fact, a one-second delay in page loading time means 11% fewer page views.

It gets worse: 25% of visitors will abandon your site if your page doesn’t load within 4 seconds.

Remember, Google is the world’s largest search engine and it takes its’ user experience seriously. So naturally, it penalizes sites with a slower load time by drastically dropping their rankings.

Image Source: Backlinko.com

Now, it’s not rocket science to understand why page load time remains one of the most significant Google ranking factors that you should be mindful of in 2017 and beyond.

The question is how you can improve the load time of your slower web page.

First, analyze your pages’ loading speed using Google’s flagship product, PageSpeed Insights tool. Then, based on the analysis of your page speed, upgrade your server. Don’t forget to minimize your HTML, CSS and JavaScript files as well as all redirects.

Optimizing images may also help you reduce your page’s load time.

10. Responsive design

Mobile devices make for 51.3% of internet usage globally. Considering how many people now use mobile devices for Google searches, it’s easy to understand why Google takes responsive design so seriously when it comes to ranking websites.

A study conducted by Google revealed that over 67% of users prefer buying from responsive sites and 61% of users abandon non-responsive sites.

Image Source: theoffbeatstory.com

Google penalizes sites that aren’t responsive by dropping their rankings.

Image Source: theoffbeatstory.com

Remember, if you’re looking to rank higher on Google SERPs in 2017, you’ll need to adopt responsive design.

Bonus tip: Steer clear of website pop-ups!

As you may already know, if not used correctly, pop-ups can annoy your visitors to such an extent that they will abandon your site and never return. Statistics show that 70% of Americans get annoyed by irrelevant pop-up ads.

Since irrelevant pop-ups can ruin your user experience, Google recently announced that it will start penalizing mobile sites that feature irrelevant pop-ups. Google may soon implement this update for desktop sites, too.

So it makes good business sense not to use irrelevant pop-ups on your site. Better yet, avoid using pop-ups at all.

Wrapping up

So, there you have it – 10 of the most significant Google ranking factors to consider when looking to boost your website’s ranking!

Go ahead and put this learning into practice, and get set to rank higher on Google SERPs in 2017 and beyond.

I’d love to hear what you think of these top 10 Google ranking factors – let me know by leaving a comment down below.

Guest Author: Saumya Raghav is the founder of The Offbeat Story, a blog that aspires to help small businesses and startups minimize the marketing costs of generating traffic and improving conversions. A blogger and conversion scientist by day, he is an avid Jeff Bullas and Brian Dean reader at night. He loves to write on topics related to digital marketing, technical and international SEO, web analytics, startup and small business strategies, growth hack strategies and conversion optimization strategies. You can find him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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