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multimetaverse · 3 years ago

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HSMTMTS 2x09 Review

Spring Break was a bit of an odd ep but helped move some key plots forward. Let’s dig in!

Well people can no longer claim that Portwell is one sided. We finally got Gina’s pov and she starts off the ep uncertain whether the shift in their relationship means that EJ likes her but by the end of the ep she seems sure of herself and that EJ likes her back. I liked that she didn’t try to pretend that nothing had changed or that she hadn’t noticed potential signs that EJ might like her; it always sucks when tv characters act like idiots.

Perhaps the most important reveal of this ep was that Gina has a much older estranged brother who left her and her mom many years ago. That certainly makes her backstory more tragic and is definite set up for her brother to eventually return.

The writers continue to give Portwell great tropes, capping this ep off with an airport rom-com trope that also calls back to EJ getting Gina the place ticket so she could come back in S1. Not only did Gina keep EJ’s Duke sweatshirt but she altered it to fit her better which is both sweet and bold in the assumption that it was hers to keep. Gina got her sign when not only did EJ show up to drive Gina home and take her luggage but he brought her the granola bar that she had wanted but forgot to pack. I wonder if her posting on her story that she was ubering home after her flight was cancelled was intended to see if EJ would show up since the camera focused on her posting it. Also sweet that she’s taken to calling EJ, ‘ Eej’.

EJ’s opening was good, shows a lot of his character growth from the selfish guy he was in S1 and how he’s learned to value other people which of course leads into his feelings for Gina. We got another great use of the camera as character tonight when Gina was laughing after her facetime call with EJ until she realized that the camera was on her.

Jack was a lot of fun. Though he didn’t really change Gina’s mind over anything like the ep description said he would. Seemed like Gina was largely over Ricky and wondering about EJ at the beginning and the end solidified her feelings for EJ but Jack didn’t really play a role in that, it’s not like he encouraged Gina to reach out to EJ or anything. There’s a vague sense in which Jack being nomadic linked him to Ricky’s unreliability in Gina’s eyes with her craving stability but that’s a stretch. Jack mentioned that the second most dangerous part of a plane ride is when the plane takes off, a hint to the blossoming Portwell relationship where in order to take off one or both of them has to risk a confession even though they could be turned down.

This ep might seem a bit weird in hindsight. The zoom parts probably won’t age well and five years from now people might be wondering why they had Gina hang out with a manic pixie dream boy of sorts for an ep.

The path is clear for canon Portwell in the finale with EJ being Gina’s second chance at romance and her first kiss since they clearly telegraphed it out of nowhere. I’ve been impressed with the great work the writers have been doing since 2x05 to build up Portwell as a ship but also work on Gina and EJ as individual characters; they’ve been the highlight of the season so far.

There was discourse this past week over how well or poorly Portwell has been set up. Objectively very few ships on this show get much in the way of set up or consistent writing. Redlyn and Kowie had barely any set up before getting together. Seblos had none (though in fairness that was due to Disney restrictions) and Miss Jenn and Mike Bowen didn’t have much set up either. Rini did get lots of development in S1 but that’s because they had already dated and were the main ship of the show. The show’s not really about slow burns, if Jenzzara canons in the finale they’ll count and if Rina ever got together they’d also count but neither of those ships have gotten consistent development with Mazzara not being in several eps and Gina and Ricky not even interacting for the past 3 eps.

Is Portwell a slowburn? In a sense since they did feature quite a bit in each other’s S1 plot lines and even had a fake dating plot but it is true that they were platonic and not that close in S1 so it’s a wash. There was clear set up for romantic Portwell in 1x10 with team wonderstudies and Gina staring at EJ (which interestingly enough looked more like set up for Gina to pine over EJ). I think the main problem is that even though we saw Gina and EJ hanging out in the background we didn’t get any scenes of substance between them until 2x05. It was a mistake and there should have been some scene, like EJ and Gina commiserating in 2x03 over being single on Valentine’s Day or something like that. Hell there was even that still from 2x01 of EJ and Gina looking at each other at the piano while they were in the frame between Ricky and Nini singing and having a moment which would have been good foreshadowing but that shot wasn’t in the ep.

Whether Tim just really wanted Portwell to be a surprise in 2x05 as a mid-season twist to throw the audience off of what looked like a Rini/Rina triangle or he was unsure as to whether he wanted to go with Portwell or if he just planned it out poorly we may never know. Regardless they’ve had great writing for 4 eps in a row now which puts them slightly ahead of the 3 eps in a row of development Rina got in S1. I’m sure if someone added up their screen time they’d find that Portwell has more screen time this season than Kowie and more screen time than Redlyn or Seblos got in S1.

Caswell cousins was fun and Ashlyn did in fact paint EJ’s nails.

Set up for Seblos drama next week, it’s refreshing to see Seb being jealous over Carlos flirting with other boys that’s definitely not something you see on Disney shows.

Ricky got some healing done with his mom. Enough to cover their issues? No but this is probably the best this show is capable of. There was a brief mention of therapy sandwiched between other options which sounds more like checking off a box then setting up Ricky actually going to therapy. I noticed Lynne was smiling at odd times like when she told Ricky she knew about his breakup with Nini; whether that was poor directing or acting I don’t know. Who knows if we’ll see Lynne again. As an aside still so wild that Tim named Lynne who’s been a kinda shitty mom after his own mom who he seems to be fairly close with.

Really liked You ain’t seen nothin as a song but not a fan of the Tiktok style vid. I’ll level with you wildcats, I’m too old to really get Tiktok, it just seems like a crappy version of Vine to me. Let you go was good, seemed better fitted for Joshua Bassett’s voice than some of his previous songs. A big sign that they’re not circling back to Rini for a long time for sure. Though on that note we got a bit of a hint that Ricky was Nini’s muse which may one day come back as a way to help bring them back together.

Looking Ahead:

If there’s only 3 weeks left till the Menkies, with only 2 weeks left for rehearsal due to spring break, it’s hard to see East High winning unless North High is disqualified or has to withdraw.

Lily is in a promo photo so she’s likely the unexpected facetime Ricky gets which is what I had theorized. Also makes it much more likely that she’s the party crasher Ricky re-evaluates in the finale though what Tim actually wants to do with those two I do not know.

There’s little point in bringing back the Valentine’s chocolate since there’s no real stakes. Rini are already broken up, Gina hasn’t spoken to Ricky since 2x06, and it’s not like Nini and Gina were ever close so even if they stopped talking to each other it wouldn’t really affect the show in any way.

Seems pretty likely that Second Chances refers to Gina realizing that her first try with Ricky failed but her second chance with EJ won’t and that leads to her sharing her truth and cue the Portwell confession and kiss, perhaps with an assist on EJ’s end from Mazzara. We’ve gone well past the point where Portwell can be brushed off as just a plot device to help Rina but Tim is playing with fire by getting the audience so on board with Portwell if he’s once again going to have EJ lose a girl he likes to Ricky in S3.

Gina certainly needs to talk with Ricky and I do think that happens in ep 11 or 12 and leaves them on better terms. As I mentioned last week, if Tim was smart he’d slam the door on Rina if he’s going with canon Portwell or vice versa. If he wants Rina to be a slow burn he’s really botched the writing this season, it’s been too one sided and too angsty to sustain any kind of momentum or audience interest. They haven’t even interacted for 3 eps now and not only has it not affected the show but it’s inarguably made Gina’s story line much better. Again I don’t think he’s smart enough to not try and do Portwell and then later Rina but he’s accidentally set up the Rina story line to quite easily slam the door permanently on them by having their conversation be closure for Gina who’s moved on and an apology from Ricky who never liked her back as much as Gina liked him.

Not looking forward to seeing Nini basically live out Olivia Rodrigo’s life in future seasons

Curious to see Carlos’ apology song to Seb. Ricky helping him with it is a great way to help start redeeming Ricky’s character in the audiences eye’s. According to Matt there is a bit of a Ricky/EJ rivalry this season and if it’s really happening the sleepover would be a good place to do it though I hope it’s not about Gina.

Until next week wildcats.

#HSMTMTS #Portwell #Gina Porter #EJ Caswell #Ricky Bowen #Nini Salazar-Roberts #Seblos #seb matthew-smith #HSMTMTS Reviews

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collectedwritingresources · 3 years ago

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On Crickets and Communities

Fandom is often described as a community. It often is, at its best and in some ways also at its worst.

But how does a community work? Well, unless you’re the first one(s) to settle - and few of us are - there tends to be an infrastructure. There are roads, buildings, stores, entertainment... How much depends on the size of the community, the resources available to it, and the will of the people.

And the best thing? It’s all just there. You don’t have to build it, or pay for actual cost, or any of a hundred things. You can just enjoy it.

Remember how people in fandom will tell you that fanworks are a labour of love? How you don’t have to contribute to belong to fandom? How fanfic is free, a gift? How “we don’t say ‘I love you’, we say have 5k of fic/a pience of art/a gifset for your preferred pairing/trope”?

Keep that in mind as we go back to the community.

Your community has a store. It’s not that big, and it doesn’t offer as many options as bigger stores - you get 5 types of yoghurt, not 15 - and things might be a little more expensive than in said big stores. Oh, and they close at 18 instead of 23.

It’s still really convenient that it exists though. Oh, you don’t really shop there, as a rule - it’s so much easier, and cheaper, to swing by the huge store next to the office on the way home - but sometimes you forget things, or run out faster than you’d thought.

Plus, it’s really nice to walk there on warm days and buy an icecream cone.

When you hear that the store might have to close down you get really upset. Your community needs that store! So you sign a petition on the way out, while licking your icecream and mentally reviewing your shopping list for next days trip to the big store.

Your community has a bus line that runs to the city. It’s mostly senior citizens and school kids that take it - you prefer to drive, for shopping, and so you can keep your own hours - but you do like taking the last bus home after an evening out. It beats being sober and driving yourself, it’s so much easier than finding someone else to drive you home, and it’s a fraction of the cost of a cab.

Then one Saturday you’re waiting for a bus that doesn’t show, only to find out they’re not offering a 02:30 bus anymore. Budget cuts, they tell you when you complain, because not enough people take your bus line, and cutting the night bus saved the most money. You think that’s just talk, because you take it all the time.

You want to rent the community hall for a party, only you can’t. Electricity is shot, so it’s a fire hazard to turn on the lights. None of the volunteers know enough about electricity to do it for free, and since membership fees are volunteer-based there’s just not enough money to hire someone. Maybe next year, they tell you, because they’ve been promised funding to fix it by the local council, and that money should arrive within 12 months.

You drive to work Monday morning, and as you take your regular detour past the graffiti wall you wonder what marvel will have appeared over the weekend. Seeing the new art every week is the highlight of your Monday. Except this Monday there’s no new art. That’s only happened once in the past three years, but maybe the artist is sick.

You take the same detour on Tuesday, and this time the wall’s changed. It’s been painted over with an industrial grey. You call the local council to enquire, only to be told they decided to stop sponsoring the artist. All they’ve ever gotten as feedback has been complaints, and demands to replace it with something classier, and so there will be no new art.

You thinks it’s enormously unfair. You love that wall. It’s the highlight of your Monday, remember? You even thought about going to the artist’s showing at the community hall last year! And to say no one liked the graffiti is stupid - all your followers on Instagram love your photos of it. Some have even complained that you didn’t post any yesterday (demanding buggars, really, but).

Your community really has lost a lot of its sparkle, you think as you sit there, wondering what’s wrong with people.

So, back up. Fandom is a community, right? You’ve been told it’s all free, you don’t have to expand any effort, just consume what others are producing.

But when all you do is consume at your leasure, without contributing anything? Your community will shrink. It will lose its sparkle. Creators will look at the offerings they’ve made in the shape of art, gifs, fics, vids, meta... And they will hear crickets. That’s all the response a lot of them will get. Crickets.

Big names will post fanworks that get thousands of notes, and comments. That’s the minority. The rest will have to be happy with (if they’re lucky) a handful of people saying “update soon” or maybe “second kudos”. (If they’re unlucky they get told they suck, or maybe they’re sent deaththreats, but that’s another story.) They don’t get named on rec-lists, or get their fic posts reblogged, or get told their work is got.

They get crickets.

The eight plague of Egypt was locusts, eating everything, leaving people to starve. For fandom the plague is crickets, and they too will leave you to starve without content.

#about fandom #salty writer is salty

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cloveroctobers · 4 years ago

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• TALIA NASCIMENTO•

IG info/bio: @/callmetalia333 | 524k followers | Journalist | TALIA. but u may have formerly known me as user: brdf0rdsvasquiff—rip!!!1! so don’t even think about it 😌

(23) 25 going on (26) years of age

I’ve read a canon that her name is just Talia and not short for anything & I agree with that + she’s always quick to correct someone if they get it wrong too

Her hometown is Watford, England

but she was originally born in Maidenhead in the backseat of a car during a severe rainstorm

Nonetheless watford taught her all she needed to know when it came to music

She found her first love when she heard the sound of music soundtrack for the v first time as a young girl but is often nervous to admit that?

her father is Brazilian and is a firefighter

her mother is Bulgarian and works as a secretary in a elementary school

her mother is more traditional than her father when it comes to their cultures

I originally felt like she gave only child vibes but I can deff see her giving off big sis energy since she did mention she has a younger brother

V protective over her little brother

there’s a three year age difference

her parents have separated multiple times before which caused a riff in the family dynamic

The constant coming and going from her dad became quite irritating

And Talia was the most vocal by wanting them to figure it out and NOT get a divorce

Which led to talia’s commitment issues when it came to relationships herself

was born with blue eyes yet they shifted to brown once she grew

“Tom-boy” growing up & still is

netball was her sport and man was it something to see her play?! She was quick on her feet and can definitely shoot far-range with ease

Always down for contact sports too

She lost count how many bruises and scrapes she would come home with much to her mother’s horror but she would always brush it off—it was never that big of a deal to her

yet she takes time in healing her scars with homemade treatments or purchases from beauty stores when she wants to show her legs off

she didn’t get into “girly” wear until recently, she never thought too much of her body or when she started to get curves...she always hid that behind big tee’s, fitted jeans, and kicks—that’s what she was used to

she’s got broad shoulders and toned arms

had thick bushy brows that almost formed a uni brow growing up

her mother used to have her hair always plaited since she is very superstitious, believing that “the devil lives in the woman’s hair”

yet talia’s hair texture was much different than her mother’s, maybe due to the fact that her mother always had her hair up and out of the way? Talia’s hair is much bigger, heavier, and naturally curly

+ her mother used to say some harsh things in Bulgarian about her hair — that says a lot when you’re taught to hate your hair trust!!!

when she got a little older and able to manage her own hair + afford it, She learned how to love it herself and that’s all that mattered. Her hair became v important to her, it was her source of comfort

that’s the only thing she’s high maintenance about tbh

she spends a lot of money on her hair but devacurl can still piss off

diffusing is one of her fav things to do to her hair—besides washing it, and deep conditioning, after a night of letting her hair air-dry

loves rose jam

has a embroidery machine, along with a collection of her work but only one piece is showcased in her flat. She didn’t want her place to look completely like her bába’s (Bulgarian: grandmother)

her closet is filled with many Havaianas, they’re all piled up in a wicker basket and ready to tumble over on her top shelf... if she moves one of the ceramic pots her mother left in her flat for luck, that whole shelf might come crashing down

Swears drinking guaraná the next morning cures any hangover you may have

commonly sleeps in big t-shirts and panties or not or booty shorts depending on her time of the month—it’s freeing to her

Has torn her achilles due to whatever contact sport she decided to join in on during a beach vacation with her mates

has a touch of arthritis in her shoulder

this is where her love for massages came from due to injuries she’s faced

+ It’s always a good sign when you can make someone else feel better ya know?

She’s been told she’s great with her hands ;) it all takes practice

bi mami *cringe* but she likes what she likes, and feels what she feels

she kinda has a type but doesn’t want to admit that

her mother doesn’t understand this but her father easily accepted her preference/orientation

her little brother was the first she came out to, “alright!...you still suck”

always wants to fix situations WHEN it comes to HER friends but is oblivious when it’s come to her own issues whether its in relationships/friendships +

was called out by one of her friends who she often argues/butts heads with from time to time “you’re always sticking your nose in people’s business but can’t solve your own shit!”

maybe it’s the journalist in her? she’s not afraid to ask questions or look at things from a outside perspective

her group of friends are all from different ethnic backgrounds to Indian to Ethiopian

has been in and out of relationships...maybe had one stable relationship? Outside of mc but that relationship failed after a year and she feels it has something to do with her parents and how she watched their relationship unfold but won’t openly admit that

Doesn’t like to argue in relationships and often is a little undermining with how she responses to her partner’s feelings...she’s trying to be better at being understanding and listening, her mother is like this with her father

Aquarius girl + Scorpio moon + Taurus rising

loves the water + watching water sports rather than playing them since she almost drowned once by letting her confidence get the best of her

used to be a directioner and isn’t ashamed to admit that!

take me home album stan 100% bitch there’s no point in arguing!!! Buh bye!!!

She is ashamed however to admit that she used to write for them, mostly ziam fics with a touch of Harry thrown in the mix as well...take that how u will

has a few merch pieces as well, they’re mostly loungewear + that powdery perfume they dropped. YES she still has it, no she won’t sell it to u

still supports them on the low since you know, she’s a music journalist and reviewing songs is what she makes a living for so why the hell not? They will always hold a special place in her heart. She grew with those boys

she’s not in denial like Hannah that they’re get back together

If someone wants her to film a reaction vid to zayn’s new album or release a written review? She WILL. Her top 3? 1. When loves around ft Syd 2. Outside 3. Unfuckwitable

If someone wants to hear her thoughts on Harry’s mv’s + breaking down his lyrics, she’ll tell you what you NEED to know whether U agree or not she don’t give a damn lol

Can throw hands and stomp a bitch out if she needs too. Has gotten kicked out of clubs/bars for defending her friends mainly not because someone chatted shit to her, that’s whatever but once you cross her friends? It’s on

Allegra got lucky 🦶🏼☕️ and Lucy

remained super close with jake and tim as expected...Rohan’s cool too ofc! but she’s not here for their rapping shit sorry. She’ll hit them both with a quick side eye and snarl if they start or if jake wants to recite some poetry. She’s outta here

Talia hardly had issues making friends easily with the boys it was always harder with the girls :/

they hang out all the time!

she actually became close with sammi as well, which was nice to have another girl friend around even tho they weren’t together in the house long like the others. She’s spontaneous, cute, resourceful, and kind so talia had no issue reaching out to her first to see what she was about outside of the show

don’t even ask her about what she thinks of the new seasons, she’s not here to chat shit and have her words twisted like she’s watched many of the cast deal with. If you want to talk about the over kill use of pop as the soundtrack for each season, then yeah she’ll talk to you about that

doesn’t use social media much, she finds it funny how whenever she does pop back in people are begging her to post SOMETHING so that they know that she’s alive

Pretty private

she also can’t grasp why they want her to do the bussit challenge? Lmao like hey don’t get her wrong, some of them were pretty great but she’s barely got a bum to bounce and little booties matter ofc!!! but she can’t see herself doing it unless she’s drunk off her arse!!!

maybe mc can convince her...for the fans duh!!! “Give the ppl what they want! Talia! It’s not like you won’t be around music!” “I’ll think about it...nah.”

she’s been busier since the show, able to tour more and WRITE which is what she loves to do

Her secret pleasure is watching those nurse shows and firefighting shows in her free time and those singing shows you already know that’s a given

Wanted to be some form of a nurse growing up but knew she could help people in another way

*inserts* “music Is The best Medicine” overused but true quote here!!

I feel like she’s a r&b lover

listens to those hour long rain sounds on YouTube to help herself fall asleep

she‘s not the best cook but she’s a foodie and she’s down to try new food always

occasionally her and Tim are jake’s Guinea pigs when he’s whipping something up for his menu

and hates eating the same things all the time unless it’s breakfast! There’s not too much more you can do with that

that’s also her specialty, making breakfast for u in bed

Morning afters with her are intimate but humorous. She’ll poke fun if you’re both looking crazy, always joking and in the best mood whether things got physical or not she’s just happy to have you here 🥲

I think her love language is quality time

if you’re playing her route and Lucy is the ex, and you’ve decided to fully commit to each other I deff see Lucy still trying to pull some shit outside of the show just because she feels like she can but once Talia see’s that it’s really starting to get to you despite how much you try to brush it off or snap at Lucy or even Talia!!! Talia is on Lucy’s ass in seconds! She doesn’t need a ex to ruin her possible future , “you’re not gonna fuck up this good thing I’ve got just cause you’re flimsy at relationships babe, so go be a cunt somewhere else or you’ll be sorry. I promise.”

anthem: Snow Tha Product — Shut up

#litg #litg talia #litg jake #litg Tim #litg Rohan #litg mc #litg oc #litg Hannah #litg3 #litg2 #litg moodboard #litg headcanon #litg headcanons #she’s my fav along with sammi and this is my first time getting to know sammi since I’m in talias route #I’m going to try and reduce these to not making them as lengthy lol #this has also sat in my draft for about a week now #litg sammi #litg Allegra #litg Lucy

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dragonoffantasyandreality · 4 years ago

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Kamen Rider Thunderbirds chapter 2

Finally its here! I should thank @willow-salix for some tips and @gumnut-logic for the review *hugs you tightly* Hai! so on with the chapter! :D

-0-0-0-

With a turn of the tap, a jet of hot water cascaded down on the pruning skin and exhausted muscles. They welcomed its heat as they relaxed.

It was quite a stressful rescue of getting the poor fellas out of that cave in Mexico. After returning home and reported the rescue, nothing like a good hot shower for the all mighty Scott Carpenter Tracy

He washed his dark-brown hair with silky shampoo and scrubbed his fit body with sweet shower gel that smelled lavender

God, that felt good

With all the dirt and dust gone, Scott turned off the shower and got off

He then spends his time fixing his hair. He needed to look good… always! Even when his little brothers make fun of him taking too much time with his hair, the eldest will always be the most handsome one

Finally satisfied with his work, Scott got himself dressed with his classic blue turtle-neck, grey jacket and black jeans, then wandered off to lounge

Familiar harmonies filled his ears and the room, all coming from the beautiful white Grand Piano. Its keys been gracefully pressed by the oh so talented fingers of his younger brother, Virgil Grissom Tracy

The auburn haired man smiled at him the moment Scott entered the lounge and gave him a salute before continuing his wonders of music

Scott looked at the wall where five portraits of him and his brothers were hung.

Underneath them sat his trouble maker of a brother, Gordon Cooper Tracy, who was playing chess with Brains, the genius who help turn International Rescue into a reality

Looks like today the redhead seemed not feeling like pranking anyone

All in all, it was another quiet and mundane day at Tracy Island

Until...

"Urgh~!" A prolonged groan caught the eldest attention of a young blonde, who just splattered himself into one of the sofas of the lounge

Ah! Their baby brother, the youngest of the Tracy brothers, Alan Sherperd Tracy

Looks like he just came back after a short sprint around the island exhausted as hell… again

"What's up, Alan?" Scott smirked

A pout combined with a grumbling noise gave him the answer

"Gee, you're really are not fit…" the eldest teased

"Scott…" Alan whined, only to hear Gordon snickering quietly in the background "Not funny… I was trying to keep myself fit yet you fellas like take a tease out of me every time I get tired,"

"Alan! That's enough," got out a baritone voice

Their father, the famous billionaire ex-astronaut Jeff Tracy, was sitting at his desk with papers all over it. He starred sternly at his sons

"All of you need to keep yourselves fit, it's not just you Alan," Jeff began, "You need fitness in order to be capable of performing tasks to save lives. No one wants to be rusty during a rescue, right?"

"Right, father" affirmed Scott

"Guess you're right dad," nodded Alan

"Understood, father" agreed Virgil

"Loud and clear, dad" grinned Gordon

"Good," smiled Jeff, "Looks like I made myself clear"

After finishing signing some of the paperwork on the desk, he turned on the TV behind him

"Now, let's see what's on the news today..." The patriarch muttered

"Today this Friday morning, four Kamen Riders had been spotted fighting a monster in Moore, Oklahoma…"

Immediately, Alan was the first to rush to his father's desk and promptly sat on a chair, staring dead straight into the monitor with a face-splitting smile and his blue eyes sparkled with enthusiasm

The rest of the family followed suit, ears and eyes wide open with curiosity

"Witnesses said the monster was about to terrorize their neighborhood, only to be saved once again by the heroic Riders. As the masked heroes fought the monster, it gave time to the authorities to evacuate the area"

Alan was quietly squealing with excitement as he listened, much to the confusion of Scott and the amusement of Virgil and Gordon

"Some of the rescuees managed to videotape the fight before police arrived at the scene..."

The news switched to the videos that the witnesses managed to capture of the Riders fighting the menacing threat, the Tracy family watching carefully with awe

The videos were almost blurry and mostly shaking. But, they could see 5 figures… 4 of them are fighting a threatening looking creature, looking like it's trying its best to fight back but was outnumbered. The last video showed the monster exploding into nothing

"Once again, the Kamen Riders saved the day. We are grateful for their bravery and we all gonna hope they continue their amazing yet otherworldly work!"

"Those courageous guys," muttered Jeff, "They never fail to impress me"

"You don't say, father!" excitedly chimed Alan

"Not surprised…" smirked Gordon

"What?" Alan growled,

"What? Every time there's news about those Riders, either on radio, TV or newspapers, you get way too enthusiastic about them!" Gordon pointed out, "I wonder what so special about your 'karate bugmen'"

"And why are you so interested in them?" Virgil raised an eyebrow teasingly, crossing his arms

"Why? Because they are the coolest fellas I've ever seen!" expressed Alan as he was waving his hands, "They say superheroes aren't real, but Kamen Riders do! They possess powers that exceeded our wildest dreams! Don't you think it's also amazing at the fact that they are saving people with those kinds of powers. It's like a dream come true!"

Oh, is it no wonder Alan was obsessed with them? Thought Scott

Well, it shouldn't be a surprise, their baby brother was obsessed with the bugmen since he was 14.

It all started with a news magazine. There was a small section with a tiny history behind them accompanied by few low quality and blurry pictures. Since then, Alan was invested every time they appeared

Kamen Riders does spark a bit of curiosity in Scott, he had to admit, and the rest of his brothers

"Can't say I blame you, Alan" admitted Jeff while turning off the TV

Everyone turned at him with curious looks

"What do you mean, father?" Virgil asked

"They existed longer than any of us, even before we went into operations," he explained, "But it's not just that that fascinates me. As Alan had said, these fellas are gifted with powers beyond our understanding. It's still baffles me that such people exist (if they are people at all),"

Scott noticed Brains mumbling to himself. He was lost into his own bright mind, his face told curiosity

The eldest of the Tracy brothers was about to say something, but his dad had already beaten him

"What are you thinking, Brains? Do we know anything else about them?"

"W-well, Mr, T-Tracy, I have observed the f-footage and have deduced that their, uh, their powers, have to be organic in nature," Brains explained

"What do you mean by that?" Scott raised a brow

"That they are not derived from human technologies…"

"What about the monsters that they were fighting?" quipped Gordon, seeming interested, “Why did those creatures want to enslave or eradicate humanity?”

"That G-Gordon, I don't know. Either way, we, we better thank the R-Riders to stop whatever evil schemes they p-planned to do,” the genius answered

“It's like those… Um… What are they called?” Gordon rubbed his chin as he thought

“What 'they'?" Virgil raised a brow

"You know, those 'things' who started killing and possessing people and all that crap ever since we've started colonizing Mars?"

"The Mysterons?" Alan replied

"Yes! Those guys! And some races of 'seamen' who seemed to hate us 'terranians' for some reason"

"That is Spectrum's and WASP's job to keep them at bay," noted Jeff

"Now that I think about it, why does everything want to kill us?" commented the redhead

"That’s enough, Gordon" Scott cuffed the back of the prankster's head

"Actually, why are they called 'Kamen Riders'?” pondered Alan, “That’s a really strange name for superheroes,"

" 'Kamen' comes from a Japanese word for 'masked', since they originated from Japan," said a smart and sexy sounding voice

All turned to the portrait turned vid-com of the middle child of the Tracy brothers, John Glenn Tracy, who smiled when his sudden appearance startled his youngest brother

"Which means they are 'Masked Riders', so this isn’t that ‘strange’", continued the space monitor, "It totally makes sense since they ride on their weird looking motorbikes and we have no idea what they look like behind those bug-faces, "

"Ah, look who decided to throw smartass facts from the floating space can" grinned Gordon teasingly

"I've been hearing you fellas this whole time, squid face," deadpanned John

Jeff chuckled at the little commotion

"Hi, John. How are you doing up there?" greeted warmly the patriarch of International Rescue

"Doing fine, father," the tall blond replied with confidence that seemed to be unbreakable, "All systems are go and the frequencies are coming in smoothly,"

Jeff smiled hearing the excellent news

That John...

As much he is the introvert of the Tracy brothers, he never stop surprising his siblings with his calculated bright mind

"Uh, John?" Asked Brains so suddenly, but that didn't startled the astronaut

"Yes, Brains?" Responded the space monitor

"Can we talk to my lab so we can examine the, uh, the footage more closely? We can make out theories about how the Riders use their powers,"

"FAB," acknowledged John

"Already found another side-project, Brains?" Scott chuckled,

The genius smiled at him, excitement shone behind his glasses, "I need something to do, Scott. As a matter of fact, I always wanted to study the K-Kamen Riders for a while!"

"Aw, Brains…" groaned Gordon, but in a childlike manner, "We haven't finished our chess game yet!"

"Uh, later, G-Gordon," Brains affirmed, "Right now, I got some 'bugmen' to study," before doodling away to his lab as hummed in excitement

Scott’s father laughed wholeheartedly, knowing how invested his old partner can get with something as intriguing as the ever mysterious Kamen Riders

“Well, gotta go help Brains,” remarked John, “Thunderbird 5, out…” before cutting off, the screen returned back into a painting once more

After that, everyone returned to their daily activities after that. Jeff told everyone to relax while they still can, before grabbing a book to read. Virgil said he’ll go to Thunderbird 2’s hangar to do maintenance and true to his word he went . Scott decided to play chess with Gordon as there was nothing else to do, while Alan just referee the game

The thought of Kamen Riders still linger in Scott’s mind, however. Who are they? Are they just people, like himself and the rest of the world? Who just so happens being gifted with powers that surpasses science?

He doesn't know…

No one knows...

Scott must've been distracted, because by the time he was think about the subject, he’s already got checkmated by Gordon

After a couple of laughs, throwing each other challenges(with Alan wished he had with him popcorn to watch the ‘epic chess battle’), they re-matched once again

It’s just another day at Tracy Island

-0-0-0-

Somewhere in a deep, tropical jungle, there was a menacing looking temple

Inside was a man in black clothing, standing near a round, ancient altar

He had already finished the ritual

The altar awakened in a bright glow of evil aura

Four amulets was insert in each side of the altar, glowing with each of their elements when a chorus of voices echoed the chamber's of the temple

"Who thou released us, what is your wish?"

The man in black smiled grimly as he told the answer, "I want an organization known as 'International Rescue' to fall into oblivion, so I can be the most powerful man in the world!"

A red amulet suddenly glowed brightly and took off from it's socket of the altar. It flew to the center before it was then engulfed in flames. After a few moments, the fire had faded. Leaving in its wake a silhouette of a menacing creature

Glowing red evil eyes stared into the man in black, seemingly reading his mind, before letting out a chilling grin

“I shall melt their fragile ships into nothing but molten metal…”

“Then I shall burn their feeble flesh to ashes…”

“And your wish shall be granted within an essence made out of their souls…”

The temple shook by the sounds of maniacal laughs and echoed through the forest. It scared the wildlife as they run away from its evil influence

The master plan had begun...

The nightmares had been unleashed to the world...

tbc...

#Thunderbirds #thunderbirds 1965 #kamen rider #Scott Tracy #Virgil Tracy #Alan Tracy #Gordon Tracy #John Tracy #Jeff Tracy #Brains #Kamen Rider Thunderbirds series #my fanfics #kamen rider fanfiction #thunderbirds fanfiction

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emily-strange · 4 years ago

Text

Tear Us Apart, Part 2

Y/N can’t stand the silence.

Part 2 of 3

Sorry this is a long one!

Warnings: Swearing

After the horrendous patrol, Y/N was told that she was relieved of duty for the rest of the day. She wanted to question the decision but no doubt Dredd just couldn’t face working with her and she wouldn’t force him, so she went home and did anything she could to distract herself; she’d sort it all out tomorrow when everything had calmed down.

But the next day she was told by the Chief Judge that Dredd had green-lighted her to be placed with another partner. That partner being long-term Judge, Brooks.

Brooks is fine. It’s nice to be paired with a strong woman and she seems to trust Y/N’s judgement calls. Their sector is one of the calmest which makes it safer but that didn’t stop the near miss during the first month. But Y/N made it, she pulled through and 3 months later here she is.

As well as its been going, it just isn’t quite the same. In the months following the incident with Petra, Y/N hasn’t spoken to Dredd at all. Not once. Not even a head nod in passing. Even though she should be thrilled that she’s now an actual Judge, Y/N doesn’t feel herself. Her heart hurts at the end of every shift, at the end of every day.

She’s made friends and she enjoys their company but there’s still that missing piece.

Today’s a short shift. They’ve already stopped 4 robberies and taken in 7 amateur drug runners; for a patrol, that’s a slow day. Now Y/N is sat in her favourite café with Brooks discussing her performance for the month. Her final probation review.

“Sooo I think the only thing to mention issss….you have too much sugar in your coffee.” Judge Brooks nods as she goes through the final paperwork, ticking and signing boxes as she goes.

Y/N laughs and tries not to spit out her mouthful of cake, “Really. That’s all you’ve got?”

Brooks laughs over the final page and signs with a flourish. She raises her coffee up to Y/N and then both clink in celebration. Mid sip Brooks spots someone at the coffee counter and waves them over.

The moment she calls, “Dredd!”, Y/N feels like her heart is being compressed in a vice. A rusty one at that. She hears the leather of his armour creak as he walks over from the counter to their table, giving her no time to regulate her breathing.

“Dredd, you’ll be happy to know that Y/L/N has officially been signed off. Our girl’s now a Psi-Judge.” Brooks says happily and even though Y/N smiles at her enthusiasm, she can’t bring herself to meet Dredd’s eyes behind his visor. In reality his response comes only seconds later, but to her it feels like decades.

“Well done Y/L/N.” Dredd says simply. He nods to Brooks and leaves to pick up his coffee before heading on patrol. When Y/N hears the door close behind her, she lets out the long breathe she didn’t know she was holding. Brooks hums.

“Yep. Thought so.” She says taking a sip of her drink. When Y/N looks at her quizzically she laughs, “Y/L/N it’s very obvious you feel…something…for Dredd. And to be honest he’s been hell to be around since you started partnering with me. He broke Jameson’s nose during their spar session last week and before that it was Mitchell’s arm!”

“Well…he’s always been hard work.” Y/N says defensively and that just makes Brooks laugh more.

“Look, I don’t know why you were handed over to me, Dredd had that last report sealed tight. But I know it wasn’t done because he wanted rid of you. And the fact that you swoon whenever you see him…I connected the dots.” She says and to Y/N’s horror she knows she’s right.

“Nothing’s ever happened.” Y/N starts, fiddling with her cup, “But I feel like there was something there.”

Brooks smiles kindly and fishes around in her bag for her work device. She starts to copy something from the device onto a napkin and passes across the table.

“Look, you didn’t get it from me. But I dunno, I’m a romantic. What’s the worst that can happen? You don’t speak as it is.” Brooks finishes and drinks the rest of her coffee. Y/N looks at the napkin and knows straight away it’s Dredd’s home address.

………………………………………..

It’s late afternoon when she gets home with the napkin burning a hole in her pocket. To distract herself she showers, tries (and fails) to nap and watches a number of terrible films. But during it all, she finds herself replaying Dredd’s flinch over and over again in her mind.

So, dressed in leggings and a soft knit jumper she leaves for his home. For safety, Judges are sprinkled around the city and very rarely live in their own sector. During the trip to his building, Y/N thinks around what she wants to say but as soon as she’s face to face with his door, all conscious thought leaves her.

After taking way too many seconds to scrutinize his apartment door, she finally gets the confidence to knock.

But no one answers.

She knocks louder.

But still nothing.

Y/N turns around and slides onto the ground with her back to the door. She pulls up her knees and sighs, banging her head back against the metal with a loud clunk. After laughing at the ridiculous situation she’s in, Y/N gives into the onslaught of tiredness. She doesn’t know how long she’s sat there before she falls asleep. She also doesn’t know how long she’s been asleep when the thudding of heavy boots wakes her.

She slowly opens her eyes and is completely disorientated. She stares at pristine black biker boots and follows her eyeline up the dark blue jeans and leather jacket, to a very (she guesses) confused Judge. It’s hard to tell with the helmet on. Dredd always wears an old version of the Judge’s helmet on his personal bike, claiming it’s far safer than normal ones. The helmet is from an old armour and basically unrecognisable as being a Judges’. Not that Dredd would care. Let someone try to take him down.

Y/N smiles to herself at the thought but remembers why she’s here and wipes it off immediately. She scrambles to her feet, registering how Dredd twitch’s his hand closer to help her but not following through. This wasn’t going to be easy.

“Um, hi.” She says and internally groans at how small her voice sounds. Dredd doesn’t say anything but moves to open his door. Y/N moves to give him space.

Once inside the apartment, he takes off his boots and leather jacket. Leaving Y/N to glance around the room. The walls of the livingroom are bare and off to the side is a small kitchen. In the middle of the room is a sofa with two matching chairs opposite and a small holo-vid TV. Y/N walks over to the only thing to have life in it. A small bookcase with every book in alphabetical order and to her surprise, the topics are really varied. Although her stomach does drop when she doesn’t see the book on 20th Centaury War she got him for Christmas.

Turning back to face Dredd, she see’s his black t-shirt stretched over his strong arms and it takes a second for her brain to re-engage with her mouth.

“Do you own any other colours?” she jokes, trying to lighten the mood.

Dredd just answers with a resolute, “No.”

Y/N sighs and moves to sit in one of the chairs across from the sofa but Dredd doesn’t move a muscle. Instead he stands awkwardly behind the sofa with his head hanging low. Helmet still on.

“Can you please sit..” she tries, “..I really want to talk.”

Dredd nods but avoids eye contact, even through his helmet. He sits on the sofa but off to one side, not directly in front of her and the awkwardness between them makes her want to cry. For a few long seconds she tries to even her breathing and wills the tears not to flow.

“So…we haven’t spoken, at all, about what happened.” Y/N starts carefully and glances up to see Dredd staring off beside her, “Please look at me. I…need to know you hear me.”

Dredd’s ever-present mouth frown deepens but he looks at her anyway.

“I hear you.” He says quietly.

Y/N forces a small smile, “Look what happened was…it was…fucking horrible okay. I…it was awful. But…how dare you.”

She hadn’t planned on saying that. That wasn’t anywhere in her mind (she didn’t think). So when Dredd snaps his attention to her, she mirrors what must be his shock.

“I’m sorry. I just…” She gets up and begins pacing in front of the bookcase, “…No I’m not sorry. I’m not. You bailed on me! I know you’re…my superior and oh God I know that this is a massive infraction but come on. You were also my friend…but you ran away!”

Dredd watches her as she lets a few tears fall down her cheeks before swatting them away.

Y/N knows she shouldn’t but in her moment of anguish she reaches out to his mind. She has to know she’s not speaking to a brick wall, that what she thought they had was actually real. Even if it was just a friendship.

The odd time she’d slipped into his mind by accident she’d felt the usual annoyance or frustration but sometimes, underneath it all, she’d feel longing. A longing directed at her. She has to know what that means.

She reaches out to read him and a choked sob escapes her throat. He’s holding onto so much sadness, more sadness than anyone should have to bear. A mixture of anger and self-hatred. Confusion and insecurity. All the emotions the man before her makes sure to keep hidden from his face at all times. Y/N realises that if she wants to know for sure, she has to go all in.

Walking slowly over to Dredd, Y/N kneels in front of him. She knows that he’s aware of what she’ll ask of him and when she senses he’s about to bolt, she puts her hands on her thighs to show him he’s in control. She won’t do anything without his consent.

“When…it happened. I pushed into your mind.” Y/N whispers and gets an affirming grunt from Dredd, “I didn’t mean to see your memories. I was just trying to…ease what I could. If you’ll let me, I’d like to show you my own memories of those times.”

She see’s Dredd’s jaw clench. But after a few long, long seconds he nods.

“I’ll keep my eye’s closed or, or you can blindfold me but…I need to touch your temple. It’s easier to show you the exact memories I want you to see. You’ll need to take your helmet off.”

Without waiting for confirmation, Y/N closes her eyes and holds out her hands to Dredd. Time stretches on but eventually she feels his helmet against her leg. Dredd takes her hands gently with his and grips tightly to stop himself from shaking. But she feels it. He puts her hands on his temples and Y/N rearranges to get comfortable, slotting herself between his legs.

She focuses on the first memory she saw, her returning his academy jumper. First, she shows him the snow and how miserable she was at the prospect of getting home without her coat. How humiliated she felt to be stood in only a long-sleeved top next to her very well-prepared superior in his winter jacket. Then she lets him feel the flood of warmth that ran through her when he told her to wait, went back into the locker room and returned with his academy jumper. The one she knew meant a great deal to him. Through her fingers she pushes the memory of how seeing herself in the mirror with only his jumper on made her hot all over and how that night she’d slept in it.

How sad it made her when she handed it back over.

Then she takes him to her sparring match with one of the newer rookies. How she felt his eyes on her before she even saw him and how she pushed that extra bit harder to win. Just so she could try to impress him. That when she saw his mouth twitch in the smallest smile, it was far better than any pat on the back from the gathered crowd. She felt like she was walking on air.

Lastly, she took him to the night they shared Chinese takeout on the roof of her apartment building. She couldn’t see his face but she knew he was listening to the silly story from her childhood. Y/N passed to Dredd her feeling of belonging, of happiness and contentment. She showed him how much their meals meant to her. How the loneliness that’d made itself at home in her heart shifted just by being near him.

Y/N pulls back to remove her hands from Dredd’s temple but jumps when he holds them there.

All of a sudden, he’s thinking extremely vividly, pushing more of memories back to her. Unlike his previous ones, Y/N see’s herself walking through the scene as an observer. She watches as Dredd picks out the cupcake for her birthday and how scared he felt at showing anything gentle, anything but his usual toughness. But the smile it brought. Her smile. It made him want to throw himself at her feet and promise her the world. She’d never been more beautiful to him than the moment she looked in that paper bag.

Y/N sniffs and whispers to the man in front of her, “That was my first birthday cake.”

Then in his mind he takes them to Christmas. When he unwrapped the book she got him. He went from elated to melancholy in a split second. Only managing a small “thanks” when in reality his whole body was on fire. He couldn’t remember the last time someone did anything nice for him. In his mind he shows her the wrapped present he never gave in return. It’s still sitting at the bottom of his wardrobe. He feels like a coward.

Y/N shakes her head before whispering, “You’re not a coward. You’re wonderful.”

“You don’t really know me.” Dredd replies. His usual gruff voice laced with something else.

“I know enough.” Y/N continues, gently rubbing her thumbs over his temple as a tear falls from her closed eyes, “I know that Petra did what she did because you care about me. She knew that hurting me is one thing but having it done but your own hands….that it’d tear you open.”

Y/N inhales sharply when she feels a calloused thumb wiping away her tears.

“I know that you think distance will make it easier to ignore how you feel….and that by staying away it’ll stop what you saw from ever really happening.” She sniffs and can’t stop the tears from falling freely now, “That you’ll sacrifice your own happiness if it means I’ll be safe.”

Dredd gives up on trying to wipe the tear tracks from her face and just holds her by gently cupping her cheeks. Y/N in turn trails her finger tips from his temple to his stubbled cheeks. She turns over one of her hands and gently brushes his jaw line with the back of her knuckles, taking note of the way he swallows thickly.

“I also know that you’d never hurt me….and not because you’re a Judge but because you’re you.” Y/N moves her hand from his jaw to his chest, feeling his heart beating under her palm, “This fucking shitty world, this city, has ruined a lot of things for me…my family…people I thought were my friends…the damn life I saw for myself. I won’t let it ruin you.”

For a long minute Y/N just sits and waits for Dredd’s response.

She forces herself not to reach out with her mind and just stays holding onto his face and chest, waiting. She feels a deep pain throb in her chest when Dredd withdraws his hands from her face and gently, but firmly, pulls hers away from him.

She bows her head as he silently holds them out in front of him.

#dredd x reader #dredd #judge dredd x reader #Judge Dredd #Judge Dredd Fanfiction #judge dredd imagine #dredd fanfiction #karl urban #karl urban dredd #karl urban fanfiction #tear us apart part 1 #tear us apart part 2 #tear us apart

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arlakos · 5 years ago

Text

The problem I realized with Adrien Agreste (and many of the other miraculous characters)

Ok, let me just put a disclaimer here.

I love all the characters in miraculous Ladybug, I really do. I mean, aside from Lila and Gabriel, but really who doesn’t? I think all the characters are cool from both design and initial character standpoints and made you wish we see more of them.

But just like most of my other posts, I see both good and bad in the show and acknowledge all of it. I like the concepts, but I don’t have to necessarily like all the executions of said concepts.

I’ve been holding off this post for a while due to me wanting to take some time to review the show first and see if there was anything that would have made me change my mind on my newfound stance. But surprisingly, there really wasn’t.

So let me get to the point

Adrien Agreste...Is one of the blandest characters I have ever seen in a show

As with most to all the other characters in the show as well.

(Cue sounds of betrayal)

“But Arlakos!” you might say, “Why would you think this way? You love Adrien! He has a great personality!”

Yeah, I love him. I love his initial character and I think he as Chat Noir is just amazing. But having watched three seasons of a single show, as well as comparing Miraculous to ANOTHER similar show, I have to address this issue and how it affects all the characters.

So first, let's talk about the show

Spanning three seasons, Miraculous Ladybug, as of this moment has released 78 episodes of this show (also including the Christmas special). In comparison, the show I'm using has released 87 episodes, so I feel that after this long, its fair to now compare the two shows, even with the 9 episode difference.

After watching Miraculous Ladybug for so long, I realized by this point that a lot of episodes in the series are pretty much flash and no substance, along with some ship teasing. I would call it filler, but that's under the implication that there was any plot they were following, to begin with. With each of the episodes bottled into one standalone story, most of the episodes have no impact to each other aside from a few rare few. Season 1 was chock full of this, but it was ok for the time being as Season 1 was used to introduce most of the characters in the show and the world itself. But that has also been the basis for the other two seasons as well, especially those that promised to expand the story of the show.

But it didn’t. Each of the episodes would occur, their story would end, and any important lessons the characters would learn would be forgotten by the end. The episode and its story would never be brought up again, aside from the Akuma if the person in question was to be re-akumatized again. Maybe it would be brought up in passing, such as Kim and Ondine’s relationship, but truth be told, none of the episodes mattered to the lore or plot of the show. You could feasibly cut out most of the episodes, aside from episodes introducing a new hero, the finales and the first episode of each new season and the show would still work plot-wise.

Because of this format of the show, the characters have undoubtedly suffered a lot development-wise, due to character resets cause of the nature of standalone episodes, most characters not being utilized in most episodes unless its for setting up an akuma, and the overall Marinette focused nature of the show not allowing any other characters to have focus.

And nobody has really suffered more, that the Big Cat himself, Adrien Agreste.

But why though?

To understand this, let's go over his initial character traits

He’s Kind

He’s willing to see the good in people

He’s Lonely and has no friends

He’s a model

He loves Ladybug.

He makes puns (as Chat Noir)

He’s flirty with Ladybug (as Chat Noir)

As you can see, most to all of these character traits are pretty much all the traits Adrien has shown in season 1. Actually, all of these traits were shown in just the Origins itself which, being the first chronological show in the series, does a pretty good job of setting up Adrien's initial character.

(Also just a quick mid note here, I just realized why the show produced this episode last compared to the others. If this was the episode that came out first, most to all of the other episodes in comparison would just be seen as boring. With the origins being both action-packed and plot rich with its main cast, most of the other episodes would be seen as filler if they came out after this banger of a season finale.)

But going on the topic of later seasons, ask yourself:

What have you learned about Adrien's Character in season 2 and 3?

And when I say character, i mean actual stuff about him. What other stuff does he like? What does he want to do in the future? What does he do when he spends time with Nino? What does he think of other people (aside from Lila)?

Chances are, that unless the stuff you’re pulling at might be from a headcanon in whatever fanfic you are writing, most of you will answer nothing. I mean, sure some people may say that he’s likes games as made evident from Gamer, but that is probably the only moment where we see a bit more of Adrien's character, and again we are talking about season 1, so it doesn't really count

Some people may say that Gorizilla was an episode that explored Adrien's character. While I do agree that it was more Adrien focused than others, and easily one of the best episodes in the show, looking back on the episode, I realized that more or less all it does is show how Adrien is pretty much a Disney Princess more helpless than Snow White. He’s trapped in the house, unable to escape, waiting for a hero in spots to ‘save him’ from his loneliness. Also, it had some Adrienette in it, but again it was just teasing.

(Note: I just gotta say though that Wayhem’s character and growth were just the best. Being just another fanboy at first, he realized his mistake and even stood up to an Akuma to save Adrien, then apologized at the end even though he would pretty much get no reward for his action, becoming an actual character in the process rather than just a background one. The fact that Adrien became friends with Wayhem was just heartwarming for a background character. Despite Roi Singe being a blast, I’m really sorry that they restricted Wayhems character to just being another Akuma in Party Crasher, it would have been nice for Wayhem to be an actual Friend Adrien could talk to outside of school and add more development into the show.)

So back on the Topic of Adrien, we haven’t really learned much about Adrien's character or see him develop in any meaningful way. The only thing we ever see him really do outside of being part of the Squad (Alya, Nino, Adrien, Marinette) is just either pine for Ladybug in his spare time, or complaining about not being able to spend time with his dad. No seriously, look at most episodes where Adrien's at home and that's all he does!

But now for the topic of Chat Noir. I mean, Adrien is trapped as a normal boy, so it would make sense that Chat Noir would be able to develop as a character and show the world he is more than just a sidekick right?

Unfortunately, Chat Noir, just like his civilian counterpart, also suffers from a lack of any meaningful character growth. Shorts vids on youtube aside (which btw should never be used to develop the main characters, otherwise what is the point of the show), we never see him talk to Ladybug in any meaningful way (I mean he does try, but chances are Ladybug shuts him up because (a) she wants to leave and (b) blah blah secret identity)

Basically, he has three different moods.

He flirts with Ladybug, often using puns to do so.

He’s a suicidal mofo who takes hits for Ladybug, saying its because she's the only one who can save the day (Hot take though, I just think Chat Noir is just the persona of Tumblr that wants to die)

He worships Ladybug and thinks shes amazing, complimenting her on the daily, as well as comforting her and giving her pep talks when shes low.

Other than that, he’s written as basically useless. Don’t expect him to come up with any plans and if he does, expect them to fail (Reflekdoll). Don't expect him to actually help Ladybug and for Ladybug to always say him. If Ladybug is in any way made useless or incapacitated, be sure that Chat will in no way be able to help Ladybug as he will be made to be more useless than Ladybug so that Ladybug has to take care of him (Reverser). Also Chat will flirt at the worst times to show Ladybug is better and more ‘professional’ at being a hero (Prime Queen)

Also Chat Missile

WARNING: Not suitable for anyone under 13 years old. Only use if your a superhero with increased Strength, otherwise it may hurt your back.

These are all the same traits we see in every episode, without change without fail. I mean, in Glacitator Chat promised to stop flirting with Ladybug because she likes another boy, but since characters reset after every episode he went back to flirting the next episode. So yeah, that's it. Next episode

Aside from that, we never see him do anything else, nor have anything as a hero impact him in any way. The only times I have ever seen him be impacted as a hero was

Syren, where he was tired his partner kept hiding secrets from him (as HE SHOULD), and was about to quit, but reconsidered once Fu arrived and explained some stuff, which bascially set him back to normal, which i guess its fine, but i wish the episode had more of an impact on Chat’s character.

Frozer (where Astruc was making Adrien salt cause Luka)

The Ladybug episode, where he saw a living, thinking duplicate of Ladybug, who had just become free from Mayura and became a hero, killed by said villain, and was just about to have a heroic breakdown and attack Mayura. However, this one was cut off due to Hawkmoth, resulting in Chat going from Heroic breakdown to making puns about Hawkmoths age. Really?

However, despite all that I have said, some of you may still think I am wrong. You may think that Adrien does show more character and that I'm just pulling facts out of my ass. You may think he does show character because of that one ship tease moment that you think qualifies at plot development.

But some of you may also think, why does this even matter? Its called Miraculous Ladybug, the show is about Marinette and Ladybug. Its all about her. Who cares about the other characters? Who cares about Adrien? He doesn’t need character development, we need to focus on Marinette and her making Adrien's birthday gifts for his next 35 birthdays. We should all just stop worrying about Adrien's character. All he should be is just a kind pretty boy for Marinette to idolize and have as a prize at the finale, and for Chat Noir to be useless comic relief while Ladybug saves the day, because she is juuuust that amaziiiiing.

Well first of all

It’s called Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir. Miraculous Ladybug is just a nickname used by fans and writers to simplify the name. The name implies that there is another main character, known as... Chat Noir. It's not called tales of Ladybug and Marinette, get with the program.

The show can still focus on one main character but still develop other characters as well. If anyone thinks otherwise, they either have a character bias or don't realize how to make a good show.

If anyone actually thinks this way, well then screw you. Developing a character should not be made at the expense of another character. Chat Noir should not have to be made to be comic relief just because Ladybug is the only one who can purify Akumas.

Secondly (yes I realized that I used 3 points but IDC) there’s another show that is very similar to Ladybug that also focuses on a school girl saving the world with the help of her sidekick male character.

That’s right, I’m talking about ... KIM POSSIBLE!

But to be more precise, I’m talking about its secondary hero... Ron Stoppable.

This guy right here, just in case any of you thought I was talking about the kung fu naked mole-rat.

But in all seriousness though, let's talk about him.

In the series, Ron Stoppable is the partner of the teenage heroine Kim Possible. Just like Chat Noir, he helps KP on her missions, and unlike Chat, is actually seen as a sidekick by the world, including KP.

Then why is it that I think he’s a better Character than Chat?

Well, the thing is unlike Miraculous, the show has a good job of integrating its school and hero stories together, and it helped to explore Ron’s character as well. Sure, he was a clumsy dude who got scared a lot and had an unhealthy obsession with Mexican fast food, but we still got to explore his character.

Just a few small examples:

Most episodes in KP had the fine job of adding stuff to Ron’s Character. Small stuff, but it fleshed him out over time He shows in one episode that despite being clumsy in the hero business, he can cook pretty well! In another episode, he learns he is pretty good at running and becomes a back runner for the football team at his school.

He also gets to have a few episodes where he and his buddy Rufus (the naked mole rat) get to shine despite being a secondary character. He becomes the second incarnation of the fearless ferret (an in show super hero), visits Japan where he gets to learn some monkey Kung Fu, and often times fights villains himself, though this is usually in one of the situations where he gets a one time power up or Kim Possible is not available, but it still showed that Ron could be a hero as well. Hell in the finale, he actually helped Kim Possible as a partner rather than a sidekick.

Now I get that Miraculous and KP are two radically different shows. Secret Identities aside, Kim Possible has a large variety of villains, while Miraculous only has the One big villain, so it's very difficult to have Chat be able to stand on his own two feet while the only thing they are fighting is something only Ladybug can fix.

But in that regard, this also shows the importance of Miraculous needing more plot progressed the story. Unlike Kim Possible, who’s many villains and overall lack of an ‘ending villain’ can allow for one-off episodes involving Ron and some villains, Miraculous only has the one. Once Hawkmoth is defeated, the show technically ends (future version not counting), so It would make sense that the characters should develop over time as the show gets closer to that finale.

So in that Regard, what could I do to make Chat Noir more fleshed out?

Honestly, you could add in some moments in the show where Chat noir interacts with Paris. Like maybe in one episode Chat rescues lost cats and takes them to the shelter, or perhaps he works at a cat shelter in his spare hero time.

Perhaps have an episode or two where Chat saves the day on his own while Ladybug is busy or oblivious to the trouble in Paris. Regarding Akuma, I have often considered Chat should have an ‘ability’ similar to Ladybugs that allows him to ‘purify’ the Akuma by disrupting the magic inside the Akuma (the ability being called Disruption), but can’t use it too often without proper training due to the dark energies in the Akuma being too harmful to Chat to use often. That way Chat can occasionally take on a few Akuma by himself.

Have a few episodes where something happens which allows the audience to learn what Adrien/Chat likes. Maybe there’s an episode where he learns to cook desserts, and finds out he’s actually pretty good at it!

I feel the need to add some ideas in because in the end I still love Chat Noir and consider him my favorite character. But I also have to acknowledge this problem because it ruins the quality of the show.

In fact, I think that Adrien's problem isn’t just limited to him, but also to every other character in the show, and even Marinette to an extent.

Going back to the show and looking at all the side characters, it's obvious that looking at them, a lot of them are very one dimensional in their character. We don't learn much about them or their personality, and even when we do, we only learn about them when it's their turn to be akumatized, or if the akumatized person is related to them in some way like in Markov. Once they usually are done, we don't get to see the characters much, unless there is a second akumatization.

Juleka only became important when she got akumatized twice and aside from that, we don't get to see her much or learn about her. Ivan and Mylene were basically forgotten after they became akumatized. Pretty much no one is affected post akumatization with any sort of trauma or worry, so nothing about the characters actually changes as a result of events in the show.

Even those that do become heroes don’t really get any character growth, they are just considered to be worthy to be heroes because they are good people, but considering the qualifications of good in the show are determined by if you like Marinette, that means pretty much everyone in Marinette’s class could be a hero, aside from Chloe because HEY! SHE DOESN’T LIKE MARINETTE THEREFORE SHE’S VILLAIN!

(God I hate Miracle Queen)

Also, these problems pretty much apply to Marinette as well.

I mean, all the things she does in the show basically comes back to the same simple fact that ‘Marinette is kind and helpful’. That's it.

She helps Jagged getting some glasses, its because she is kind and helpful. Helping her classmates? Kind and Helpful? Helping Kitty Section with Costumes? Kind and Helpful? Helping Adrien? She wants to get into his pants.

(Also because she’s kind and helpful.)

Like, this isn’t bad, but nothing seems to change about her, she goes and helps people as Marinette, helps people as Ladybug, and despite this, is unaffected by the school or her life. What is she going to do post Lycee? How is she going to become a fashion designer? Work as an intern at a fashion company. Work at Gabriel Agreste’s company? Startup her own local business? The show refuses to acknowledge any of these things, despite her being a schoolgirl, because she has more important things to worry about than school. Such as being a Guardian for a box magically bound to her that will take away her memories if she tries to get rid of it.

(God Miracle Queen was a mistake, she didn’t even learn how to be a Guardian yet! )

To close things up, most of the characters in the show lack any meaningful character development, which i can safely say is due to the structure of single-story episodes in a show that has a defined ending (and therefore doesn't work) lack of care for writing these amazing characters, and just the writing in general.

Despite what some people may say about Astruc, it's clear that beyond all that, he’s not good at writing stories and characters beyond initial design, he’d rather go making one-dimensional characters and show off how amazing Marinette is, rather than allowing them to develop in any logical and meaningful way that shows the distinction between earlier and later seasons

Here’s to hoping these characters get some character development in season 4. Even if all we get is Plagg learning he likes milk.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk. As always, thanks to the amazing @twin-books for talking to me and helping to refine my views on the characters and the show!

#Miraculous Ladybug #Miraculous Ladybug salt #ML salt #Miraculous Ladybug critique #Miraculous writers salt #Adrien salt #Though not for Adrien himself but its lack of character growth #Marinette salt #Miraculous class salt #Salt of every character for its lack of character growth #Astruc salt #Long Post #REALLY LONG POST

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maddiefriendlovesbilly · 5 years ago

Note

Did you ever review Ghost x Spooker? I cant find it if you did (I checked the spooker tag)

Ghost x Spooker

(If you couldn’t tell, the answer was no haha. I actually had to go check that myself...and got it confused with Ghost x Josh more times than I care to admit tbh,,,)

So, unpopular opinion, I actually think this ship is p cute!

I did a couple small RPs with a friend from the VT Fan Amino a while back

I think I probably prefer PolyPIE over this ship though because the relationship overall seems more balanced in that

I do have some concerns about just the two of them together

But that’s for later

For now, here are the good things™:

So imagine the softness

Ghost isn’t used to affection so he gets super flustered

And when he actually gives affection back (even little things, like holding his hand n stuff, especially when they’re in public) Spooker just goes completely red and has the biggest smile on his face

Which makes Ghost smile too

But like really tiny cause he’s nervous and shy

Look I’m just here for ghost giving little bits of affection and being appreciated for trying and definitely not projecting I mean What

Little smooches

Listen okay listen

Little. Smooches.

Just

Yis

he giv Smooch

Which he you ask? Yes.

So now for the Uh-Ohs™:

I think many of my concerns are similar to those I had with Ghost x Josh

Because canon Ghost is a Bossy Man and Spooker is sort of a softer soul

They also started off quite hostilely - but who doesn’t with Ghost at this point let’s be honest - and honestly from the content I’ve seen (I stopped watching vids a year or so ago? Please let me know if this has changed!) he doesn’t seem to respect Spooker, and barely seems to tolerate his presence - but again, not that this is unusual for him lmao.

I think this relationship could be either very sweet or very unhealthy

Because it could be the story of Ghost learning to open up to people again after many traumatic events throughout his life; OR it could result in one person holding most of the power in a relationship, and either knowingly or - more likely - unintentionally, abusing it and Spooker.

I mean I love Ghost, but he’s got some shit going on man

Like he’s known Toast for almost his entire life, considers him his best friend and partner in crime, and still doesn’t seem to fully trust him with most of his secrets (*cough cough*) - no matter if Toast knows about them nonetheless.

I mean it’s completely valid to not feel comfortable talking about your trauma, but what I’m trying to say is if he doesn’t feel comfortable telling Toast, the person he seems to trust most, would he open up to Spooker? I mean maybe, maybe he’d feel more comfortable trusting that with someone who he didn’t grow up with, that he can cut ties with more easily, who knows.

(Of course this is all assuming he knows about Jimmy/Gregory/CBF/etc.)

Alright! Onto less depressing topics! I lied it gets depressing again

Based on my points above, I think I’d like to see Spooker helping Ghost work through his traumatic memories, maybe getting him to go to therapy, stuff like that

And no one’s ever gone out of their way like that for him before, y’know? I mean, his parents are long gone, and Toast probably doesn’t know how to help at this point - plus the fact that he has his own issues to work through, i.e. macaroni addiction, alcoholism, drug dealing (I’m like 98.6% sure he sells drugs y’all), and maybe childhood neglect or abuse? He doesn’t mention his parents often, if ever, only his grandmother and once in a blue moon his siblings; For instance, why was Jonathan Toast, grandson of the Queen, who - depending on a whole bunch of succession-law-bullshit that I did way too much research on for a post that has nothing to do with Toast or his family - could be as high as 4th in line for the throne allowed to hunt for potentially dangerous paranormal entities unguarded at age 8 with some random kid who, if he does, in fact, have a past or home, is either unwilling to share it or knows just as little as everyone else? Why is Gavin Toast, maybe around 4th or 5th in line, left unattended to a life of crime when he very well should be perfectly cared for, being a member of the royal family? Just some food for thought, and I’m so sorry this turned into a Toast family analysis but I’m keeping it in cause I researched for this shit man.

bACk oN tOpiC: Maybe Ghost doesn’t even realize he’s been through any traumatic experiences, because he’s lived the majority of his life this way?

I’m so sorry if I’m completely misrepresenting PTSD here oh my god please forgive mE

And Spooker sees his reaction to like blood, or CBF, or something, which looks an awful lot like a panic attack to him, and thinks, “Hold on just a frickin moment here–” and maybe he calms Ghost down before he can turn into the Jam Man using some breathing and/or sensory exercises and wow, no one’s ever done that before either!

And like, it takes a while for Ghost to even admit there’s a problem, but maybe a few months later Spooker gets him to book an appointment with a therapist, and Ghost makes it clear the whole way there that he thinks its a complete waste of time and money, and they should just cancel now and go back to base, but maybe by this time Spooker knows him well enough to know he’s actually terrified of going in, of talking about things he’s only just remembering now, of trusting anybody with these parts of his life he only just learned about, let alone someone who he’s never met.

And Spooker can probably see his panic in the way his eyes dart around the vehicle, vigilant in their search for a threat.

So Spooker asks if he can touch Ghost, so as not to startle him, and gets a minute, jerk of a nod in response. He nods back and takes Ghost’s hand from where it strangles the arm rest, lacing their fingers together. Ghost tenses for a long moment, before gradually melting downward, shoulders relaxing and rigid posture slumping to something more comfortable.

And just maybe, they walk into the therapist’s office together, fingers still intertwined, and while the therapist might have to drag the information out of Ghost, and he glares venomously any time a question feels too invasive, the effect is not quite as intimidating as he’d probably like it to be, because never once throughout the appointment does he free their linked hands, which rest on the couch in the narrow space between their thighs.

Y’all I’m so sorry this isn’t longer but my left pinkie is cold from a lack of blood flow and my hands and wrists ache from writing something on my phone earlier, so I’m gonna have to cut it here! Thank you for taking the time to read my shitty, shitty post ♥♥♥

Conclusion: Do I think this pairing would work? Hmmm… I’m really not sure. I think this could honestly go either way, but I think it has the potential to be either really cute or really toxic. I want to give this an “I really hope so!” But looking back I can see there seem to be more cons than pros,,, so logically I think I have to say a “probably not” :’) Thank you anon for suggesting this!

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blackmuzak8484 · 4 years ago

Text

nortey dowuona’s best of 2020

to be completely honest, I decided to do this entirely for TSJ. otherwise, I wouldn’t have bothered at all. Best end lists are for music nerds and billboard chart nerds and industry vultures, and i happen to be subscribed, in the discord and in the comments of the youtube vids of these folk. so, i decided to pick 10 out of random from the big best of 2020 i was compiling for the whole of the year, which I was gonna post to this Tumblr at the end of the damn year, but I guess I can just post the link to the playlist in the bottom of this post. Here, i’m gonna write about 10 songs I personally love, and pick out a few artists i specifically loved:

artist of the year.

RAP Ferreira put out his best album and best verses in a year everybody either stagnated, fell off or got rendered irrelevant by the world at large. He was ebullient, hilarious, thoughtful and even surprisingly honest. I enjoyed the fact that now he’s begun to create a real platform for many talented folx, and I hope he continues to do that in the margins and make even more beautiful music in the years to come.

rookie of the year.

Enny by a mile. Everybody else who debuted this year got hamstrung by the pandemic but she created 3 great songs, each thoughtful, insightful and a joy. Apparently she just started publicly releasing music to a large audience, and I hope she gets better and better, and even gets bigger than J-

most pleasant surprise.

Vic Mensa’s V Tape. An artist who I though had no more moves left completely turned around his whole career with a fantastic performance at Lollapalooza, a fantastic fleet of features and tis gorgeously produced EP which had some of his most brilliant songs on it. I love it all, Vic Mensah is well and truly back. Welcome back bro. (ALSO, DROP THE DRILL TRACK.)

GREAT THING A GHANAIAN ARTIST DID.

Strongman Burner, Amarae, Okunta Kinte, Vic Mensah in general.

cool things my friends and classmates did.

Justine Darcenne’s #4TheBaeless. Valencia Rae’s Siren thyhomebodies’s Coming of Age. (Phil, a producer in the group, made his own studio!) Brad built his own computer. petit abri put a track on APT9 Record’s compiliation album Volume II. khaalid anderson’s transitions. (khaalid will also be performing at Beats & Brunch on January 23, 2021 at 11 am.) Yannick Paul’s Bear Fruit. The Big Climax’s This Is Ya Boy kxng jetson’s Waves (ft. Kokko Williams & Mike Mezzl) Nicole Gonzalez performed in The Composer’s Melody. Victoria Marie released a bunch of beaufiful covers on her Insta, @toriiii_marie @ph0ssy_jaw works as a counselor online. Pay her at her PayPal. Johnny Aperano Yoba was on People AND Vogue. Dalitso is a wonderful pianist at his church back home in Zambia. Kobina is a fantastic drummer at his church. Kayla graduated with a BS in Music Technology and Industry! Damian been cookin on his insta. Travis graduated! (Look out for Clan of Dragons.) Rorghino Flores made a documentary! Francis (and Animax FYB) put out Mmofra on AmaLexPrime! (play it with yo kids.) A Hype has been dropping crazy all year, roll by his SoundCloud and check out Persistence Of Memory. Reina H been doing great covers on her Insta, @challenges_inlife. Hannah placed music on C. B. S.

best albums of the year (that nobody’s written about).

Maya Huyana -1991 DaWeirdo - Broke and Ugly $ilkMoney - Attack of the Future Shocked, Flesh Covered, Meatbags of the 85 VI Seconds - Because Why Not/Never Knows Best Erik Cain - Heart & Soul Vol. 2 Dimitri & the Scarecrow - Messenger is Sender (from 2015, finally got released onto streaming this year, still pretty great and another great Zimbabwean rapper for us to all fawn over, just like billy woods) Flowking Stone - Gifted 1 The Hoodies - Incommunicado Jayy Grams - Every Gram Counts Domo Genesis/Mike and Keys - Just in Case1/2 Madwiz - God’s Gold Teeth Maez301 - Hasaan Daara J Family - Yaamatele Dai Burger - Dessert EP TeePhlow - Road To Phlowducation II Tef Poe/Blvck Spade - Preacher in the Trap Terrell Hines - Portal One: The Mixtape redveil - niagara Nyukyung - Trap Harmonix AdrianXpression - Sucka Deante Hitchcock - Better (Deluxe) maassai & jWords - ve.loc.i.ty tobe nwigwe - cincoriginals everything Kelsey Lu did this year.

strangest things happening in music in general.

vic mensah actually making a great record. goldlink going through a narcissistic collapse and winding up making the best music of his career. redveil blowing up off Fantano calling him wack. pharoahe monch finally making a rock pivot and it actually works. meet me@the garden coming 10 years too late for my 14 year old self. RAP Ferreira being in the NYTimes, selling a vinyl record for $72, creating an actual nostrum grocers in a video game so we can listen to his next record. The entirety of the playboi carti phenomenom. The entirety of the lil uzi vert phenomenom. The entirety of Chance’s instagram EP being far more money worthy then the entirety of the Big Day and yet being released on Insta and not immediately monetized. Deante Hitchcock releasing a great album and being completely forgotten armand hammer releasing their underground kings wayyy too early. my ass continually not actually looking into amapiano despite always loving it when I review it. several good songs needing to be tacked on to a prior youtube vid as an ad for me to find them instead of actually listening to the artists. santan dave still releasing good verses after he made his illmatic. (expect his new album to suck.) slowthai becoming cake. (we let that go way too far.) Guapdad and BfB Packman being wonderful. Finding out BfB PAckman is a better rapper than Sada Baby. John Boyega putting on Ego Ella May. Having to admit Young Dolph was good all this time and i missed out like a fool.

best tv performance.

Chance The Rapper’s “A Chi-Town Christmas.” IDK’s “Change The Channel.” Sa-Roc’s Tiny Desk Concert. Chika in general. Robert Glapser’s “This Changes Everything (ft. Denzel Curry).” SZA at the Roots Picnic. Sampa The Great at the Roots Picnic. RAP Ferreira in general. Umi’s “Introspection Live Show.” Alexa Esperanza’s cover of “Is It A Crime.” Bad Bunny in general. the jwords, nappy nina and MIKE performances at Satellite Syndicate

most embarrassing piece of music i love with all my heart

Logic’s No Pressure. In all sense of the words I should not love this album like I love my siblings but I do. It is beautiful.

best 10 songs of this year objectively

1 - RAP Ferriera - An Idea Is A Work Of Art (ft. Mike Ladd) [prod. by Kenny Segal, mr. carmack and Mike Parvizi]

I know, I know. In all honesty Doldrums should be here. Then Noz put it on his best list and I had to be all ChiTown Go-Getter and pick the next better thing: this. And in all honesty, it has the best lyric RAP spits on the album: “we build better answers.” But it’s not just that, it’s RAP’s most animated performance, the most dexterous piece on the whole album and the most gorgeous beat, a loping bassline sliding behind the flatfooted drum, allowing Mike Ladd, his musical father, to gently drift through, saying, “what if royalty depised us?” and knowing the only gold is soul and giving it to all of us, all us maggots and vultures and locusts and weevils, to hold to the light so we can finally see. On the quest to get open and free, we continue.

2 - Chika - U Should [prod. by Lido]

I heard this the night it dropped and shot 2 insta videos playacting as it played. But apart from that, it’s a intimate, beautiful song about getting to know a new lady love, so tenderly sung it might melt and disappear if not held gently, with a sweeping guitar lick and purring trumpets sliding all over the place, Chika softly holding each frayed piece together into a considered, gorgeous piece - wait, she’s talking her shit.

3 - Issa Gold - Boys Don’t Cry [prod. by Kingjet & Sherwyn and Matt Zara]

The only reason this isn’t number one is because it dropped on Christmas Eve. But otherwise, it’s a openheart letter to us all. “it’s a lonely path being different,” Issa says, swimming in the melted ice caps as he once danced happily on the edges of melting glaciers that failed to drown him, looking at the world that keeps hurting his heart, yet he still opens his eyes and smiles, and dances. The heavy drums are so bouncy the whole song suddenly flies, formerly a hidden murmur becoming a bright sunlit flight across the sky so we can all see. I can’t wait to see Tempus, if it’s anything as good as this was.

4 - Deante Hitchcock - Growing Up/Mother God [prod. by Brandon Phillips-Taylor]

In all honesty, “Growing Up” is really not the best song on Better. It’s a sweet, happy song with a smooth, crackling bassline with soft, ghostly synths, but still kinda ok. It’s the song added at the end, “Mother God”, that has warm, sizzling piano chords and gorgeous singing in the back. It’s one of the few time I’ve ever heard a man pay homage to the woman in his life and to the God above while being entirely sincere and not faking the funk. The way he praises his mom, his lady, remembering the women in his family taking care of him and him foolishly neglecting Breonna due to his overburdened mind feels full of details, remembrances, explanations and praises. Plus, it actually makes sense that God, if she exists (she does) is a woman since -

5 - Yana Perrault - whiskey and weed [prod. by slate]

Apparently, Yana Perrault is verified now. Excellent. {YES YES MY GOD YESS}, It means more folks know about how great this song, and Yana herself is. If I had any sense, I would’ve written up 12:21 as the best song of 2018, but such is life. Anyway, we have this smooth, bass heavy slinker with shimmering percussion and lumbering drums about hooking up with a former flame who’s “sober” yet keeps on calling Yana to break their sobriety, “know we ain’t talked in a while but you still know my address,” she wryly mentions. As the beat sprints away under a warm cocoon of accapella echoes, it mirrors a relationship so tenuous it might disappear into the wind. Yet still strong enough to have whiskey on call.

6 - Marlon Craft - Culture Sick Freestyle [prod. by Cormill]

Apparently this was supposed to be a shot at Flex. And since Flex is a woman beater and a lame, good for him. Shouldn’t have even gone on Flex to be honest, but then again neither should Jay Critch or Tyler or Black Thought and besides, I watch those freestyles too. And on the freestyle, Marlon frankly put things in perspective. “You don’t want us to better, you just want to be cool still.” This describes all of rap media to be real. And tellingly, it only has 310,000 views. Methinks nobody really wants real. But I do. Thank u Marlon, you continue to be the best white rapper alive. (Nowhere near the best rapper tho, and if Token hadn’t fell off -)

7 - Miah - Cascades [prod. by Cedes]

I’m sideeyeing the boy Miah cuz I had to search up his Audiomack to find the producer’s name (it’s Cedes, and they have a really great avalanche of Drake Type Beats is you like that kind of thing). Were you trying to trick folk into thinking you produced it yourself? You don’t need to do that shit. Especially since you’re writing stuff like “back in high school all my peers were tryin to hit the league / until the league too far from reach so they tap dancing over beats.” When you can frankly break down life that clearly, don’t be trying to hide producer’s names unless you actually learn to produce too. Plaster your name all over that shit.

8 - Justine Darcenne - Off Days [prod. by Mikhail Miller] / Enny - Peng Black Girls (ft. Amia Brave [prod. by Paya]

Justine is indeed my classmate, but that’s not why this song is here. it’s here because it’s a nice little guitar driven song with a spellbinding bridge that’s the best thing I’ve heard her do yet. And I’mma keep it short cuz I already wrote this up at the Singles Jukebox.

Enny released this soft, cushiony record with washed out synths over bulky drums and floated FLOATED over them without even trying to run in the tar, saying frankly, “He said to me, 'they put guns in the streets, that’s what they wanted for me.’ And I said, ‘G, someone can fix you a plate but no one can force you to eat.’” After all, why not try to live for something greater than what the world has expected you to be. And Amia sings, “We’re gon be alright, ok?” with the joy and excitement of someone realizing the words coming alive on their tongue. One of the best songs of this miserable year, and it’s kinda funny watching Jorja accidentally Drake out Amia and even Enny (and by funny I mean irritating.)

9 - Tobi Lou - okay (ft. Dreezy) [prod. by Matteo Woods & Dilip]

Fun fact: Dilip did some great songs with Otxhello, a producer who recorded and mixed 2 records on my first album. That again is not why this song is here. The warm, swinging synths and heavy, bouncy drums are why this is here. Oh, and Tobi’s goofy, silly lyrics and his surprisingly effective Missy Elliott tribute are great too. But obviously, the verse that vaulted this into top 10 was Dreezy, which opens with such a openhearted line, “i can’t help it, it’s too hard to say I’m sorry.” And every line is harder than the last, until she closes with “and I ain’t talkin frontals but we got the city sown up.” Absolutely amazing.

10 - Strongman Burner - Pilolo (ft. KelvynBoy) [prod. by Nixie]

The sweet, gooey synths are poured over the soft, zipping and smooth drums as the wiry bass whirls between Kelvyn’s soft, thin crooning as Stoneman tap dances over the drums, both desperate and defiant, trying to salvage a sinking relationship that he knows is already gathering coral and snappers. It’s the best afropop song of the year and yet it still has a Nigerian on it (well, I put 4 Nigerians on here, next year I’m rectifying that.) And they even did a song together last year , not as good as this. At all. (still pretty good tho.)

best 10 songs i love (but not enough to write full paragraphs for, I already put 10 in and this is already 5 goddamn pages)

11 - Logic - Heard ‘Em Say

best song on the project that isn’t Dadbod but at least it isn’t tempting fate.

12 - Deqn Sue - Creep

I already love this for having a gorgeous bridge, and is cute af. Yes Sue, you can creep.

13 - Quelle Chris & Chris Keys - Sudden Death/ka - i love {moms, mimi, kev}

QUELLE CHIS CAN SANG SANG./ka can heart heart write.

14 - IDK - Square Up (ft. Juicy J)

I don’t know why this is here either but this slaps regardless.

15 - Nappy Nina - Modestly (ft. Maassai)

Maassai is creating some of the best raps out here. so is Nappy Nina.

16 - Kehlani - Lexii’s Outro (ft. Lexii Ajaii)

Let’s celebrate our great rappers when they’re alive (and this includes me. Pls Chika, don’t win Best New Artist.)

17 - Samad Savage - Goodnight

What Travis Scott should’ve tried to be instead of what he is now. Samad still dope af regardless.

18 - Bad Bunny - Si Veo Tu Mama

The way Bad Bunny actually hits that last note makes me feel so excited and alive.

19 - Fat Tony - Back In The Saddle

I fucked up. But I’m getting back in the saddle, back in the saddle next year. NO NIGERIANS ALL NIGERIENS. #ENDSARS tho.

20 - Lady A - the truth is loud

Why am I the only one who has this on a best list? I have 34 bot followers. Vibe, step it up.

best of 2020 music right here folxs.

worst music things of the year:

The Pop Smoke album. Just in all areas. (Better win that Grammy tho.) Travis Scott in general. (So loud and empty and boring.) Big Sean’s Detroit 2. (why does this exist? Just put out Deep Reverence and Detroit Night Cypher and leave everything on the cutting room floor fo the next album.) Remembering all the great rappers who are dead or incarcerated. No Kendrick album (just leaks. Not good enough.) J. Cole and Noname beefing and Noname getting strung up by twitter. Jay Rock pushing being anti-vaccinations. The realization that Normani might never drop a single record ever again. Tory Lanez in general. Joyner Lucas making actually good songs and falling off almost immediately. Cardi B in general. Anything positive being said about steven Universe songs. Luzamity shipping (until it’s canon please stop! Willuz is RIGHT THERE!)

#rap ferreira #best of 2020 #the singles jukebox

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vrenaewrites · 4 years ago

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CARAVAL thoughts:

FULL VIDEO HERE.

Confession: I DNFed caraval about 2 years ago. I even included this book in a video called “reading 5 star reviews of books I hate” (either screen record and insert the clip from that vid or link in the cards skip to like 6:40 or both)

Chapter 1

We open with letters that our main character Scarlett has written to the caraval master Legend

She really wants him to come to her island but he hasn’t

She finally gets one back with three tickets for her Tella and her fiancé

Chapter 2

Scarlett’s feelings came in colors “urgent red of burning coals, frenzied yellow of a flapping bird’s feathers”

She goes to tell her sister Tella and finds her making out with a dude lol

Julian is his name

The edges of the paper “blazed a shimmery gold, the color of magic and wishes and promises of the things to come”

Tella hates the count Scarlett is betrothed to but Scarlett wants to leave their home so bad she doesn’t care who she ends up with

“Gods teeth!” Is the expletive…

The prize of caraval is one wish

They have to leave the isle within 3 days which would be impossible before getting married

Tella’s lips “shifted from broken to unbreakable” NO

Last time they left Scarlett’s dad did something terrible to her

Julian offers to smuggle them to the island for caraval on his sailor ship (pirate ship??)

“Goldenrod desire lit up inside her”

Wishes were about as real as unicorns

Their dad shows up with gloves “the shade of bruises”

Tella accuses Scarlett of hooking up with Julian RUDE!!!!

And Julian agrees!

Ohh because the dad beats the other sister so they’re trying to protect each other by accusing each other

Her marriage is 10 days away

Chapter 3

Her fathers perfume smelled like the color of his gloves

Julian decides to take them off the isle for free after witnessing this

Tella says if she leaves she will never return

“Her world was a grand game board, and her father believed this marriage would be his penultimate move”

“More than your sisters face will bleed” is their dad assaulting them?? Did I just gloss over that when reading this the first time??

“Weather worn white archways” loved

Governor dragna sounds like judge frollo

Their mom disappeared 7 years ago - abandoned them

They have priests and piety and the devil but they don’t use the BC AD calendar instead going by seasons and rulers...why

Chapter 4

She felt the lie from childhood “sneaking into her slippers and moving between her toes” no you didn’t

“A broken dock like a massive tongue jutted out to stones that reminded Scarlett if uneven teeth”

It was nights like these she could smell the moon - I wrote taste at first and taste fits better imo

A friend tried to help them escape once and the governor drowned him for it, Tella didn’t know about this

She meets Julian here at midnight and barters all 3 tickets to keep him from helping Tella escape

Julian and Tella ambush her and knock her out

Chapter 5

“A pock marked moon winked in the glass”

She has a dream about their nana telling them how legend got his name

First of all, legend is a bad dumb name and you should feel bad about it, Stephanie Garber. Caraval is also a bad name.

He was in love with a woman named Annalise and would perform at a coronation to earn her fathers respect, but he needed a witch to grant him a wish of talent

He had to choose between fame and love

So his name is legend because his magic is legendary? How tf did John legend not sue over this?

“Behind her a cloud drifted over the moon, covering all but two tiny points of light, which hovered behind her silver hair like devil’s horns” love this visual

I’m calling it now, we’re getting this flashback because somehow, the dragna sisters are related to Annalise or remind legend of Annalise and this is why Tella gets taken

Chapter 6

She wakes up in a rowboat with Julian after 2 days which is always a good way to pass the 2 days journey it takes without having to make anything happen lol I respect it

Julian calls her crimson instead of Scarlett - hated it then hate it now

Trees “rose toward the sky like massive emeralds” and the waterfall “streamed down like melted peacock feathers” no it didn’t because that makes no sense

Legends private island is called the island of dreams in Spanish

Tella has set up a kidnapping so Scarlett can go back without getting In trouble

“The image of a purple fire breathing dragon came to mind, coating her vision with ashy shades of anxiety”

I remember stopping very shortly after this and now I remember why - I can do purple prose but DAMN

Their mom had “vanished taking nothing with her, she disappeared like a broken star leaving the world untouched, save for the missing bits of light but no one would ever see again” Good purple prose

We get some backstory on how her Nana was more involved after her mother left, and we get to hear again about how great her stories are, even though we just spent a chapter getting that first hand from a flashback

She barters with herself to stay only one day and then go home for her wedding

There’s a hole in the boat so they swim but she didn’t take her dresses off so she starts to drown

“You deserve this” because of Phillippe, like hands the water pressed her down down down

Julian saved her and cuts off her dress which she finds very intense

Chapter 7

So much description of the snowy frosting sand pick one

I get that it’s a magical island but every descriptor up until the sand made it sound like a tropical paradise, and then suddenly the sand is snow and there’s ice and snow on the trees which were just giant emeralds so I’m confused

Because being wet and cold is more scary

“ The snow on the rooftops rested like dust on abandoned storybooks“

A very diagon alley sitch where there are magical stores but none are open...because it’s caraval guys. They’re at the games

They go into a clock shop where there are clothes waiting along with food roses and a note from legend

They change and she sees awful scars on his hot muscly back

Her dress is lame despite every YA trope about the heroine having a princess moment, that’s fun: just kidding it changed colors and shape to fit her perfect

And Julian’s outfit is super hot

He stole a pocket watch

Scarlett was a pretty girl but she tried to hide it, her eyes were too honest, no one noticed girls in ugly clothes

“Scarlet wondered if she had found a way to escape her fathers deadly games only to become a well costumed piece on a new game board” no shit Scarlett you came to the island for the game…

Also you were in such a hurry to find Tella and get into the game before it was too late and now you’re waxing poetic about how hot Julian is and how you’re hot but you don’t wanna be

Chapter 8

“Sage shaded colors of suspicion” I really hate this device she’s using. I’ve used it to describe the colors my mind reading characters see in people's minds. But it’s like twice a book, maybe, to express extreme emotion. Not every time your feelings change.

Some guy comes in and offers them a portal into caraval and Scarlett is like “sure thing” and Julian is like “ummm dumdum” and he leaves

The guys like “oh you just gonna listen to that random guy?” And I’m like as opposed to you, another random guy?

He wants her voice okay Ursula

“A passionate sky made of melting lemons and burning peaches” or say yellows and oranges…

“Until the door was no more” love this, sounds very fairy tale

She leaves and it's like night already, she only has til midnight

Scarlett and Julian get in by him pretending to be the count, her fiancé

They take the path of the players, not the watchers

Chapter 9

“A panicked Vermillion moved inside of her chest as she thought of how specific legends letter had been”

Julian admits he’s played caraval before and Scarlett is like *gasp* but HELLO how did you think he knew all the shit he knew?

He keeps calling her crimson like every time he speaks to her, annoying

“Julian’s smile turned seductive, all shameless curves and immoral promises”

Chapter 10

“Soft golden lights licked her arms with gentle kisses of warmth”

I’m very bored when this house is supposed to be EVERYTHING

The guy who was giving them the rules says, “don’t let your eyes or feelings trick you” And then jumps off the balcony and Scarlet freaks out… He just told you not to trust what you see

Scarlett is the most annoying person

Their instructions are to get to the end by sunrise or they’ll be locked out in the streets, but she’s wasting time wanting to look for her sister - and Julian is telling her that her sister is probably staying at the same place and she doesn’t believe him despite the fact that he’s already done this game before, just trust him???

“A searing green door watched Scarlet like a glowing eye”

This just made me figure out why I don’t like that she’s using colors as an emotional device, because the main character is named after a color, and so it’s just way too many color descriptors

Julian got trapped outside noooo

Chapter 11

But it’s fine because she tells the innkeeper they’re guests of legend - which they are - and he’s let in. Great. Glad there are no stakes. They also used legends name to get the boat to the inn for free.

The hallways in the inn “smelled like the end of the night, sweat and fading fire smoke mixed with lingering breath from words whose ghosts still haunted the air” no

Julian was “poison in an attractive bottle”

Their rooms are actually one room oops

Chapter 12

“But legend saw all during caraval”

She got a message from legend: it’s a key with tella’s name on it

Lmao tella is having sex behind that door for sure

“She felt five different shades of berry colored foolish” this is so stupid

Every time something happens between tella and scar, we get a whole expository moment about how this is related to their mother or their father or the relationship between the sisters… We know. we can tell. we are not stupid.

“Warmth licking her cheek” this metaphor is too specific to keep using it

Some tattooed dude finds her - Dante - and is like “sleep in my room”

He asks her out but she declines because the count

Damn her dress has transformed to be like see through which is why he was into her lmao

She has a dream that legend is a creep lol

Chapter 13

Scarlett totally changes her tune re: enjoying herself

She passes tella’s room and finds a wreck

“Feathers covered the carnage as if a rebel Angel had gone mad” this is so dumb

The key she got with tella’s name was a clue, that other people also got

A pregnant girl offers to help scarlet, and a man steals scarlets favorite earrings from her mother

Then the pregnant girl steals that stuff

She realizes there’s a postcard in tella’s room that isn’t hers

Chapter 14

Tella only loved mermaids, and the postcard is of a castle, which was Scarlett’s thing

The castle is a place on the isle that Julian recognizes

Dante shows up and Julian is like hell nah

Dante won last time Julian was here and it cost him a lot

“Shops wrapped in colors like a birthday presents, cerulean blue apricot orange saffron yellow primrose pink while the canals remained midnight dark” SHUT UP dude

This woman got like a color wheel or a color dictionary for her birthday the year she wrote this book

Time moves fast in the castle

What’s really annoying about this book is Stephanie Garber spends a lot of time talking about things that are boring, and one sentence on something like hummingbird-sized elephants and tigers

There’s a kissing tent and she’s like fuck yeah let’s go there

You’re engaged

Julian sees where she’s looking and is like yeah??

A tingle of periwinkle curiosity

Chapter 15

She goes into the tent of a half naked dude who could tell her fortune

This is all very boring

He has incense that makes people tell the truth and she admits Julian is the hottest guy ever

She asks what’s the man she will marry really like?

He’s not a good person

She’s covered in only pictures he can see instead of pictures only he can see…

She had 2 questions but the way she asked used them up so she doesn’t get to ask about tella

Chapter 16

He tells her to follow the boy with the heart made of black...obviously Dante, she thinks Julian

She walks into a potion tent and finds an elixir of protectio

She mentions her father and feels “anise and lavender and rotting plums”

She describe the woman who works in the potion tent as having “bottle green” eyes, but this entire paragraph has the word bottle in it like 1 million times because shes describing a tent full of potions...all these colorful words you’ve used and this is where you use “bottle green”

I don’t mind the descriptor, my own eyes are bottle green, it’s very vivid, but badly placed

She chases Julian to a decrepit garden with a fountain, and sees a glass button

She also saw a glass button in tella’s room...is this how legend spies on her? Is this where tella is being kept?

“Dreary yellow hopelessness” infected her

She sees the symbol of caraval inside the fountain and touches it, revealing a staircase

Someone screamed as hot and bright as fire

It’s madness tunnels

The inn “smells of laughter and boasts laced with sweetened ale” this doesn’t make seeeeeennnnnnnnse

She finds Julian, but it’s actually Dante and he’s mean to her and she cries but it makes her mad at Julian?????? Stupid

Chapter 17

Julian finally shows up, super bloody but he just had a head wound

She cleans him up and is getting super horny lol

He got her earrings back!!!!!

The fire dies sending up a plume of smoke “the color of things better said in whispers”

She tells him about the tunnels and he says legend treats his prisoners like guests

Julian’s eyes are the color of “caramel and liquid amber lust”

He almost kisses her and then seems to wake up, leaves and “disappointment wraps around her in cool shades of forget me not blue” STOP

Chapter 18

She wakes up to white roses with red tips

Julian is supposed to meet her but doesn’t

A girl shows up “pretty as a watercolor and dressed as bold as a trumpet” DUDE

“Oh poor you, here you are on a magical island, and all you can think of is what you don’t have” get her!

Dante shows up and she realizes he has a black heart tattoo which DUH SCARLETT

chapter 19

The night is “brittle, crisp like the first bite of a chilled apple, smelling just as sweet with hints of burnt sugar weaving through the charcoal night air” THIS IS GOOD PURPLE PROSE! I can taste this!!!!!!!

She’s chasing Dante and finds a cider seller who’s drink will help her see things more clearly, the price is her last lie

She drinks it and loses the color in her vision

The game is constantly working against you?????? How?! You’ve stumbled across tons of clues without any work and there are no believable stakes to this game, this drink is the first time you’ve had a struggle…

Iko holds a journal that’s brownish green, “the color of forgotten memories, abandoned dreams, and bitter gossip”

Even in black and white we get this heavy handed color shit

She realizes anything in color is important

She also sees the red roses on a carousel and the red cravat on a mans neck

He makes her feel perilous shades of silky black - is Stephanie Garner an artist? Does she have synesthesia or something?? What is with this device!!!!

She looks in Iko’s book and sees pictures of her, the special guest

Sour shades of yellow green made her stomach roil with trepidation - HUH????

She’s like “why would he make the game about me?” You’ve been begging him to bring you caraval your entire life, why do you think?

I think I remember the nana saying annelise had blonde hair, and so does tella...are they related to her? Is she nana?

Iko tells her the notebook also holds all the true stories of caraval

Iko will give her the notebook if Scarlett will buy 2 dresses because the changing dress bothers her (??)

Iko takes her to a dress shop where the dresses are “the color of late night laughter, early morning sunshine, and waves crashing around ankles”

The dresses cost nightmares or secrets or fears

She owes her worst fear and greatest desire, or she can pay 2 days of her life per dress

It works but her greatest desire isn’t to find her sister, so she pays with 2 days of her life, not at the end of her life but at the end of caraval

“Panic came in hemlock green, the color of poison and terror”

“Something acidic and moldy and burnt bubbled up in Scarlett’s throat - the taste of death” like this

Scarlett’s body dies but her mind will exist in a dream world

Chapter 20

Dante finds her and drags her into the inn

Julian hits Dante because he won’t let her go hell yeah

She tells him what happened

Julian tried to give Scarlett a day of his life by having her drink his blood from his finger and she’s like “I wanna fuck this duuuude”

“His voice is so gentle, made of gentle” I liked this

Then he drinks her blood from her finger, and the world shatters into a million shards of colored glass

He lays down with her and holds her while she dies

Chapter 21

Death was the color purple.

She sees tella in the dream world, and tella has a huge dark book that swallows her and Scarlett

They see young nana in a house similar to the one they entered at caraval, entwined with a young man

Her grandma is Anneliese DUH

Then she’s at the funeral of the woman who died at caraval before

Rosa was in love with legend and he rejected her so she killed herself

Dante was rosa’s fiancée

Legend is julian?!?!?

Loved This entire chapter but then it means nothing because none of this is real it’s all part of the game so it’s not really story development

Chapter 22

They both wake up

Scarlett tries to convince herself the game is messing with her

Then she remembers what the dream people said about legend loving to make girls fall for him

She has a grey streak in her hair now

Her dad is there!

She finally puts it together - her nana is anneliese

“She could see the sting of her rejection in shades of stormy blue ghosting over his heart like sad morning mist” roll my eyes

But then she remembers that he gave a day of his life for her and is like why would he do that if he was legend

Now she’s changed her mind, so she goes after Julian to find him leaving Dante’s room and walking into tella’s

She goes in after him to hide from her dad but the room is empty

She finds another secret staircase like the fountain

She trips over Dante’s dead body and finds Julian standing over it

Chapter 23

Julian grabs her and is like “I didn't kill him, we were working together”

He shows her a white rose tattoo he has, Rosa was his sister!!

She asks why he had been acting weird and he basically says he didn’t want to have feelings for her because that wasn’t why he had come to caraval

Scarlett is like let’s get this fucker back, but she hears her dad’s footsteps in the tunnel

Chapter 24

They start running, and they hide in a weird alcove from her dad that starts to squish them

She realizes it’s feeding off their fear so they relax and it lets them out

They end up in the sand tunnel and Scarlett is like how could you know I was going to caraval if you were already at our island when I got my tickets

Julian explains that legend is punishing the descendants of anneliese and he invited her to caraval to stop the wedding

Legend had never responded until she signed her full name on the last letter, mentioning her wedding

Julian is the fucking count dude calling it

“His steady gaze reached out to the broken parts of her like a caress, a type of touch that moved through damaged flesh, past fractured bones and into a person's wounded soul.” WOW

Scarlett hears tella’s voice and almost runs straight off a cliff

“Tella loved danger the same way candle wicks loved to burn. It never seemed to scare her that some of the things she lusted for might consume her like a flame” Christ

Julian knew tella would be taken during caraval

Chapter 25

She had to find tella before legend consumed her like a flame burning a candle” you just used a candle metaphor like one page ago my dude.

She gives herself one minute to cry and scream and Julian hears her so he barges in, worried

He apologizes and she gives him the grace I’ve been waiting for as soon as he said he knew what would happen to tella: he had to avenge his sister. Everything they’re both doing is for their sisters, she should be more understanding

Julian is “all kinds of tragic and lovely”

The box was “flat black, the color of failure and funerals” shut UP

Like if you wanna use the color device to describe your protagonists feelings stop being so fucking flowery with every single color in the book it is soooooooooooooooo distracting

It’s the other dress Scarlett has bought but now it’s white

Chapter 26

There’s a note in the box from legend that makes “invisible spiders crawl over her skin” ok

She thinks the dress is the 5th clue - the buttons on the dress reminds her of the buttons leading to the hat store

Chapter 27

They go to the top hat place and Julian is like “this is all wrong”

Iko appears looking like “a teardrop the moon had cried” love it

She tells them not to go into the hat shop

Let me guess, despite both of these omens Scarlett is still gonna go in

“Scarlett had an emerald green premonition that she would make a discovery inside” sure why tf not gotta keep the story moving somehow

She sees the store owner and was like LEGEND and he’s like nah dude I’m just wearing a hat

But he is the guy that was wearing the red cravat and eyepatch from the day her vision went gray

He is the count!!!!!

Chapter 28

Nicholas Darcy

And her dad is there!!!!!!!!!!

Julian gets her out but the count chases her and they get on a boat

She sees her dad and he looks afraid but she blames it on the rain

They row to the castle and Julian convinces her to get inside to hide from the lightning

And they argue about if she’s still planning marrying the count and she’s torn which hurts him

He says “are you sure you want this?” Before kissing her and like is it a consent thing or is it him asking if he’s what she wants either way I love it

“The boy who had saved her from drowning in more ways than one” explain…

They kiss and “every touch created colors she had never seen” that’s so anticlimactic

Chapter 29

The stones fall through the hourglass like “drops of falling rose petals” that makes no sense but we have to include it because...

She finally realizes the roses that have been EVERYWHERE are part of the game duh

She takes Julian to the fountain where the tunnel entrance is

She feels ochre shades of uneasy

Only NOW she’s giving pause at the idea of winning because she could wish them safe...shoulda been your goal all along. Should have been equally as important as finding tella since if you find her you win the wish….I’m signing heavily atm

The governor and the count are there!!!!!

Swear to god if Julian dies I’m going to fucking riot

She wants to split up but Julian is like fuck no

The count catches up to her and the governor pulls her by her hair up the stairs

He punches her in the stomach to warn Julian and she gets back up, with the count trying to protect Scarlett

“A slick mud colored feeling coated Scarlett’s insides” because the governor is holding a knife to Julian’s throat

He cuts Julian’s face NOOOOOO

The governor takes Julian to his room and let’s the count sleep in Scarlett’s room because “he’s already paid for her, he can enjoy her a few days early”

Scarlett stands up to her dad!!!! And then she remembers tella’s words: what if the count is worse?

Scarlett tells the count if she makes her dad stop, she’ll be a good wife but if he doesn’t she will never be his obedient wife

“Do you really want a bride who will only sleep with you because someone will be tortured if she doesn’t?” YES

Chapter 30

The count is like “listen I am NOT like your dad I’m sorry” and she’s like yeah but you’re not Julian

The count starts undressing and Scarlett aims a poker at his eyeball lmao

She finally remembers the elixir of protection in that dress from the tent and soaks the count

The count is like “you’re playing into legends hands” and Scarlett is like “nah he did me a favor by getting rid of you”

Chapter 31

Julian’s cut isn’t that deep thank god but he’s still woozy

“He tasted like midnight and wind”

Leap of faith - roses - it’s Rosa!!!!! She has to ask how Rosa died and Julian says she jumped off a balcony

They decide to sneak out using the tunnels to go search all the balconies

Chapter 32

The town during the day looks like a “faded memory”

She hears music from the rose colored carousel

The musician has been asking for coins the whole time but nothing else cost money

They jump onto the moving carousel and end up in the roses where Scarlett finds the caraval symbol

They have to jump, Julian gives her coordinates to a boat in case they get separated but they run out of time and she has to go in

She lands in a river and lands at a staircase guarded with statues that are definitely frozen people

Legend is there ofc

Chapter 33

She’s a little star struck by legend

His laugh is a rich spicy sound that echoes until he snaps his fingers

Homeboy is mad

Julian ends up there, dry, and...he’s working with legend...NOOOOOOO

Dante and Valentina were also part of the game

Rosa was not his sister...DUDE

She clutches his pocket watch and legend opens it - Julian’s voice comes out apologizing for betraying her

He does love her HE IS ENCHANTED!!!!!

LEGEND STABS JULIAN?!?!?!?!?!?

Oh fuck he is spitting blood oh fuck oh no

Scarlett you got him killed you dumdum

Chapter 34

I’m FUCKING FURIOUS

she remembers that she gets one wish, and she wants to use it to bring Julian back and I swear to goooooddddddd if he doesn’t come back I’m gonna throw myself out the window

Legend is gone, leaving a funeral invitation for tella set for tomorrow this guy is a MONSTER

Chapter 35

She ends up on a huge rooftop way high up

“The air felt soft and poisonous”

Tella is there feeling like “softness and sunlight and seeds for growing dreams”

We just used soft a sentence ago!!!!

Tella is like “you’re confused, the game is playing tricks on you”

Scarlett tells her about their grandmas history with legend

She shows tella the invitation and it now says it’s to a party not a funeral

Chapter 36

Tella has met a boy that’s not legend...it’s a guy she met right before she got taken for the game…

She’s engaged to him??

Scarlett is like maybe tella is right and this is all part of it...Scarlett DUDE

Scarlett has a bitter yellow puddle of dread in her stomach

If Daniel is Dante or Julian I’m gonna scream

Chapter 37

It’s legend of course

Duh

He tries to convince tella to tie Scarlett up you better NOT

TELLA

YOU DUMB BITCH

legend dares Scarlett to walk to the edge of the balcony to prove she loves her sister, so that he can feign worry to tella

They tie her up

The governor and the count show up FUCK

finally legend admits to tella who he is and she just breaks poor baby

Tella backs up to the ledge and says if the governor or the count touch Scarlett she’ll kill herself!!!!!!!

“Silver slippers sliding” toward the balcony

Scarlett breaks free but tella FUCKING JUMPS

Chapter 38

So now who is Scarlett gonna use her wish on?!

Her father looks like “a dragon with no fire and broken wings”

The governor slaps Jovan and legend is like imma fuck you UP

The governor killed Dante!!!!!!

She blackmails her dad with Philippe’s death

She remembers her wish...but who does she use it on?!

Which oof, oof, OOF

Tella is a brat lmao

Legend won’t give her the wish!!!!!

He’s...fading??

Scarlett goes to give tella her blood

She wishes her impossible wish but it doesn’t work

Chapter 39

She goes back up to get tella’s stuff and finds a caraval box with a letter inside from tella to legend that she didn’t know about

Chapter 40

She goes to see legend and finds out he’s actually some dude named Caspar…that was why he couldn’t grant her wish

There’s a stack of letter between tella and legend that basically illustrate that tella was willing to die for legend to get them to caraval

Tella is alive?!?!?!?!?!?

This was all a fucking game?!

Her impossible wish came true, but she had actually died

Tella orchestrated their dad getting to caraval so he could see her die, and so he would leave Scarlett alone

Chapter 41

So Julian is not really dead, but tella wanted anyone who made Scarlett love them to be taken out, that way she wouldn’t get hurt by someone who was just pretending

So she somehow warps this into meaning that Julian didn’t actually love her? Go...ask him??????? The fuck

God poor Scarlett…

So people can die in caraval, but when the game is over, they come back...so there were no fuckin stakes except for tella’s death

Chapter 42

They go to legends party in the forest and Scarlett sees Julian

Iko is there like go talk to Julian dumdum

“Shades of the rich ruby love she’d felt mixed with deep indigo hurt turning everything just a little bit violet” I don’t care I want them to kiss Stephanie

Julian is so hurt that she thinks she doesn’t know him

He’s related to legend…

Rosa dying changed his opinion of legend

He tried to leave the game right before this caraval

Legend is his brother!!!!!!!!!

He couldn’t leave Scarlett because she loved her sister like Julian loved his brother

He stayed because of Scarlett despite how it hurt him to lie to her

Yaaaaaay they kiss yay omg

Epilogue

Tella is dancing drunk at the party and is dancing with a new guy who dances her to the edge of the party...then he’s gone?

He dropped something into her pocket...a coin with a note…

From legend!!!!!

You can see your mom soon if you keep up your end of the bargain!!!!!

#book review #bookreviews #booktube #cringe books #cringe review #stephanie garber #caraval #legendary #finale #negative review #spoilers

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aspiestvmusings · 5 years ago

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MCU & SPIDERMAN: FAR FROM HOME SPOILERY REVIEW

This is my first, initial “review” of the latest MCU movie - “Spiderman. Far from Home”

SPOILERS, BEWARE! for “SPIDERMAN: FAR FROM HOME”

“Everywhere I go/look, I see his face/I am reminded of Tony”

The memorial video made by Peter’s HS friends. The comic cans, the online/getty pics used, the editing, the music choice “Dolly Parton’s “I will always love you” … from “The Bodyguard” by Whitney Houston” & images of Tony, Steve, Nat, Vision… Tony…

all the Ironman drawings/art on the classroom wall in Peters school (as he & Ned talk about the vacation plan)

the Ironman mural on the building wall… when Peter escapes to the roof… from the “press conference”

the film/video choices on the plane from Americas to Europe (next to: “Nova: Einstein Rosen Bridges” & “The Snap,” & “Finding Wakanda,” & “Hunting Hydra.”) is a 114 minute long Tony/Ironman docu/film… story

I am pretty sure there are also some pictures/posters/images on wall/screen at the airport, when they arrive in Europe... but I need to go watch it again (3rd time) to be sure. I think I saw it, but am not certain....

The murals (with flowers & lit candles) in Europe (Prague)…

Tony’s tech… everywhere

The EDITH integrated in Tony’s glasses...that are now Peter’s. He’s the next Tony Stark. He is the only one who can be trusted with the power - everyone else would just use it for their own good. The Tony glasses being basically a supporting character in the film... central in many scenes.

Tony’s friends & “enemies” (people, who remember/mourn him & people, who are jealous of him)

Things I noticed/The little things:

The BLIP “in memoriam” video edit made by Peter’s HS kids: The font was comic sans! The song choice was “I will always love you” by Whitney Houston from the film “The Bodyguard” (original: Dolly Parton), and the “in memoriam” part included images of Tony Stark... twice (first & last), Nat, Steve, VISION...and also others.... And biggest question here is... does this mean that Cap is considered dead? Does this mean his time travel shenanigans lead to him/the team listing him as one of the casualties... to not reveal the details of what really happened & to keep the time travel & other things... a secret?

BOH! MJs new favorite word. I loved how Peter used it back at MJ... when he doesn’t want to reveal what’s in the bag/box.

That “cat” in that one scene kinda looked like GOOSE, but only a little bit, so was it a random cat, or was it a “relative” of Goose? Maybe another flerken?

I absolutely loved how happy & excited Peter got when he was told that the multiverse is real, not just a theory (anymore). I’m kinda sad that it turned out to not be true... for now. (he’d love to learn about the multiverse, just like he’s now studying Thor, who was a myth before, in his physics class)

When Peter was betrayed by someone he trusted & had no one to turn to, who did he call...from Netherlands? Happy. He was the one person, who knew, knew him & could be trusted, and could help him. I’m glad he had that option...someone to turn to.

That tulip field in Netherlands was beautiful and all, but I was kinda sad to see that plane land there... and then hover above it..for a while...

Speaking of the plane: The Avengers Tower was sold & is now being re-built by someone else, The Avengers Headquarters was destroyed in Endgame & since Tony is gone (and everyone else ran away/went to hiding), I am not sure it’ll be re-built (we saw that the clan-up after the battle was happening... in the background...during the Endgame end scene where they set up the time travel platform by the lake). And now the airplane was destroyed in FFH. So lots of Tony’s tech (suit making machines & other tech) is destroyed now. And even though the introduction of EDITH suggests that he had many other labs & tech set up, “secretly” everywhere... still... it keeps getting destroyed. and since he’s not here to create anything new, all his work will soon be destroyed/gone if this keeps happening.

Peter stripped not once...but twice...in front of someone... a girl: first the SHIELD European agent, who made him the new (black) secret european “Night Monkey” suit (pants) & later in front of the girl he really likes... MJ (shirt).

Mysterio’s illusions: all those scenes were visually amazing/brilliant! The Prague fire monster, the bar scene illusions after Peter leaves - the twist!, the German “safe house” illusions that ended with the train & then the London Tower bridge illusions.

The bar scene “turn of events” twist moment was brilliantly scary: it showed just how “crazy” Mysterio was. That, together with the “illusion rehearsal” scene, when he learns about the missing projector...and threatens his whole team... that was same level brilliantly scary.

“Appearances can be deceiving” hahaha Oh, how it hinted at the end credits scene reveal. It was not just Happy trying to tells “Fury” about Mysterio and his deception, but... also how Fury & Maria Hill are actually... skrulls, who work for Fury, while he (and Hill?) are elsewhere, working on other projects.

Skrull sleeper cells... mentioned by “Fury”... a reference to Captain Marvel & comics....

Happy throwing a shield...at the drone... His cap moment. And his comment about how heavy it is/hard it is, and he doesn’t know how Cap does it hahaha

Michelle and the medieval weapon..that she borrows from the museum vault...

There are many artifacts in the Tower of London museum vault - the crown jewels, all kinds of medieval tools & weapons, and also... “IRON MAN” - medieval iron knight armor!

Peter taking a selfie as he swings in NYC...in the end. He’s swinging & reading texts/texting & taking selfies...

The text/line on the fence on the street/in front of “construction site”.... when Peter/Spiderman is swinging to MJ in the end scene..on NYC streets... (Madison Square Garden) say: “We’re excited to show you what comes next. And there are numbers 1, 2, 3 & a ? (instead of number 4) under the text. This has many meanings: a) the people in the MCU/FFH universe are excited to show the citizens what they’re building there. b) the MCU creators are excited to show/tell us/viewers/fans what’s to come next...both in Spiderman films & MCU in general (Phase 4). c) Also..according to fans, who know more, it’s also a reference to the “Fantastic 4″.

The initials B.F.P. on the suitcase he takes to Europe aka the suitcase belonged to Peters uncle Ben (May’s husband). Too bad it, too, along many other things & places...got destroyed..in this film.

LOL at everyone knocking on Peter & Ned’s rooms door at the hotel theyäre staying in in Venice. Interrupting “Fury” (and Peter) & Fury’s reaction... (he is so done with being interrupted...every 5 seconds)

All the “upgrades” to the class trip in Europe & all the changes in itinerary... #IfTheyOnlyKnewWhyThePlansWeereChanged

The “Peter tingle” (aka The Spidey Sense)

“What happens in London/Europe, stays in London/Europe?” Peter, who is/has been keen to keep his identity a secret, behaved strangely & boldly in Europe & especially at the end of the big “battle” in London...where he just stands on the bridge...without his mask & talks to & kisses MJ. In the middle of the bridge, at the center of big event... Are there no video/traffic 8etc) cams in Europe/LOndon in 2023/2024 MCu? Are there no cameras/smartphones that people use to take pics & vids of every big event they see... in 2023/2024 MCU? I found that surprising... based on all the attempts he made until now & in this film..to keep his identity a secret.

Pepper Potts signing the big (in both size & sum) check from Stark Fund to May’s charity event. But not being able to attend the event herself. Most likely cause the actress is done with MCU, but... otherwise...interesting... to mention her like that & specify that she was unable to attend in person...

How many “vacations” has Fury taken over the MCU history? While I mostly think that this was the first... after Fury & CM were “reunited” during the Endgame events (BLIP) & the plan was formed after Tony was gone (they were both at his memorial service) & the returned Fury who had no more team on this planet, was kinda lost...) But I also kinda think he might’ve used the skrulls before to take vacations. I am pretty certain that we saw the real Fury in Captain Marvel, in Iron Man films... and I am also pretty certain that he was himself in Infinity War/Endgame...because as he’s “dying” aka turning into dust he doesn’t turn into skrull.Though it is possible that the dusting doesn't count & the skull face is only revealed if a character actually dies. (this is why we can be certain Tony was Tony & Nat was Nat in Endgame)

ETA

What I LOVED the most

My absolute favourite scene(s) is the Peter & Happy at the Holland/Netherland tulip field & on the plane, hovering above the tulip field scene(s) - their “talk” as Happy patched up Peter’s wounds. Talking about being a superhero and making mistakes, about Tony...and more...

That scene...to me...sums up...hopefully... what’s to come. It confirms what I thought would be the case. Tony was/is Iron Man and no one can & should replace him as Iron Man. So everyone asking Peter if he’s gonna be the next IM... everyone looking for the next mightiest protector of the earth... and looking at SM...cause everyone else seems to have disappeared... are just putting too much pressure on him. He’s not the next Iron Man. He is Peter. He is Spider Man. (though after that end twist... who knows... maybe he will put on an iron suit for a while...since he can’t be the unknown neighborhood hero anymore...now that everyone knows...) But to me it summed up peters journey in this film & sets up what’s to come. He needed some guidance & Happy provided it... he needed to realize that he’s he’s own person & his own superhero & he’s not there to replace Tony/IM or any other superhero

But yeah... I loved how Happy said it. When others pressured him & manipulated with him (Beck purposely making him feel inadequate by saying things like “if you would've done better, he might’ve not died”), the now Pilot was his best friend & the one person he could really talk superhero things with...the one person, who IMO helped him the most with his grief over Tony & all the feelings he had regarding that & the pressure he felt to be his successor.

Peter is likely the person, who will take over Tony’s role..somewhat...with the tech and such, but he is Peter, not Tony.

And the end scene in Endgame with Happy & Morgan..talking about cheeseburgers & now this scene in FFH with Happy & Peter talking superheroes, responsibility, Tony...and more... tells me that Happy is now the mentor-uncle to these kids now...kinda.

...and when Peter, excitedly, yells “I love Led Zeppelin” when the iconic IM song “Back in Black” by AC/DC starts to play... haha... awesome

What I hoped would’ve been (will be explored in future films) explored/shown in more detail:

THE BLIP & how it affected regular people. We only saw the comial bits/parts - the marching band of Peter’s school disappearing & reappearing & Aunt May reappearing in her apartment..that was no longer hers...as someone else had moved in (a family). When in reality... this film confirms my “theory/suspicion” that Avengers 3 & Avengers 4 - the Thanos snap & the Hulk (un)snap both created chaos everywhere. Both emotional, and legal..and other issues.

The fact that the world is not in chaos... makes no sense. But then again... since NYC & several other places on Earth being battlefields during the Avengers vs Bad guys/aliens battles...in the past films...and being re-built really fast & people seemingly not panicking or having PTSD after the events... is a thing... then I guess only the main characters will remember & suffer after living through such events...everyone else seems to go on with their normal lives in a week or so...

It did bother me a bit (even though I know this is a blockbuster film..and those don’t deal with such things...) that the very real repercussions of the snap & re-snap were not really shown or told. Just the funny Blip-video. And then the little bit we saw from the Aunt May held charity event for the homeless. That was the only real hint about the seriousness of those events in the fictional universe (even though she also made a joke about it on stage...but the cause itself is serious)

Things that bothered me

How no one seems to do any background checks in this universe. How no one seems to use any security measures. Like... no one checking up on Mysterio’s backstory (and yes, I know...his team helped create such amazing backstory & provided such great “proof”...that it fooled even “Fury” & SHIELD -- probably would not have fooled the real man, but... that’s the point...) but still...

Also... Tony’s glasses not having any other safety measures & it being so easy to transfer over the power to someone else. And...despite Peter being vulnerable & trusting what others tell him (he probably thought Fury had checked up on Beck, but still... how & why did EDITH/the glasses not “scan” Beck...and reveal he’s a fraud? I know... that the only time when he’s looking at the illusionist when wearing the glasses is in the bar scene & they seem to be not “on”... still... why is the tech not scanning everything nonetheless? Though yeah... I know that the idea is that because of the characters emotional state they are vulnerable & easy to manipulate, and hence not thinking of checking “twice”...

MCU using the same backstory for yet another villain. Thats old. It’s done. Time to move on. I'm talking about Mysterio & how his backstory is that because he feels personally attacked by Tony Stark then that’s a reason (which justifies..in his mind, when it does not...and has not for any other past MCU villain, who thinks the same twisted way) his actions - destroying historical sights/cities & leaving behind casualties... not caring if there are innocent bystanders getting hurt. I will allow it this time, because Tony was in the center of this film, but this had to be the last time MCU uses the same “Tony hate” as the villains motivator. Also... I don’t trust Beck’s version of the story, so I would not be sure if he’s telling it as it was. He might be, but he might be not. (maybe he did come up with the idea, but perhaps his work contact stated that all creations during working for SI belong to the company, so he has no right to claim the tech as his own..no matter how much he regrets it after. Or perhaps he did (co)create it, but since his idea was weapons-based (destruction) & SI didn’t do weapons anymore, the tech was redesigned by Tony. But until MCU makes a stronger case... I’m not gonna blame Tony for “stealing” becks tech & claiming it as his ow. Also because I do not think Tony ever claimed in past films that he made the tech. He says it cost him a certain sum...though... So it’s even possible he “bought” the idea from Beck...and turned the weapon into therapy sessions... But even if mr. Beck was telling the whole truth and he was the sole creator of the tech & Tony “stole” it... none of it justifies his actions of purposely hurting innocent bystanders & destroying places. )

And I cannot believe how anyone can see Mysterio as the good guy, or sympathetic to Peter. I might be wrong, but IMO all his “friendliness” in the beginning was a trick... part of the plan to earn Peter’s trust. It was part of the “illusion”, so even though I appreciate his comment “never apologize for being the smartest one in the room”, I don’t see it as anything other than fakeness. And I know I might be wrong & he might’ve really liked the kid & try to be friendly & appreciate him... up until “his team messed up & he had no other option than to get rid of all the loose threads”)

Things I did not see coming:

The train! I mean... at first I did not suspect that it was actually Beck, not Fury in Germany, but I became suspicious before it was revealed. And then I suspected that the illusion was not over yet, but... what I did not see coming was that train...moment.

Also...during the London Tower bridge scene... I had a hunch that he’s pulling a double again..and the dying Mysterio on the ground was fake, but I did not see it coming that in reality he was standing right next to spidey, while pointing a gun at the kid. I had thought he was “hiding” somewhere instead. So that kinda surprised me...

What surprised/confused me

What surprised me a bit was seeing THAT character (William) from IM1 being on Team Mysterio. Yes, he was one of Tony Stark’s Stark Industries previous employees, but it confused me a bit that he blames Tony, when he should've seen Obadiah Stane (who yelled at him for not being Tony Stark & not being able to create a miniature arc reactor, when Tony could do it in cave...with no high tech..using just a box of scraps) as the one to blame -- his anger should’ve been directed at (based on what has been shown on screen so far) at the man who yelled at him in IM1.

But I guess there’s either a bigger story there after that that the MCU writers/directors decided to not reveal just yet (as we saw him take that thumbdrive after the download was completed at the end of FFH) or Mysterio simply was able to manipulate people so well & rallied them against their former boss, making everyone see him as the bad guy & the source of all their problems.

THEORIES:

WHAT IF... the NYC “fake news broadcast” was an illusion created by Mysterio/histeam? This would make it much easier for Marvel to have several other movies released in the next few years...before the next Spiderman & go easier on Spiderman? This way we would not miss a lot of time & there’d be no need to clear his name. they could just have the movie take place right after Far from Home (and prior to the coming movies events)...or they could start with a flashback to the end of this film & the fade to “2 years later” or something. The last bit is also how they can still release the next Spidery film in a few years, while having several otehr films events happen in between... use a time jump early in the film... after a “flashback”...to the time Peter was considered a villain

#SPIDERMAN: FAR FROM HOME #farfromhomespoilers #farfromhomespoiler #ffhspoilers #ffhspoiler #SPIDERMAN FAR FROM HOME #FAR FROM HOME #Peter Parker #Tom Holland #MCU

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bufanzi · 7 years ago

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QIN COMPLIATION

( left to right: bu fan, yue yue, xiao yu, ling chao, mu ziyang, bowen)

Yue yue

his real name is yue minghui 岳明辉 !! (92-liner)

nicknames include 老岳 (lao yue; old yue) & 岳叔 (yue shu; uncle yue) & 中年岳 (middle-aged yue) . PLS LET YUE YUE LIVE.

used the name 岳岳 as a stage name bc of the way it sounds & its easier for people to remember ; PINKRAY

he went by the name joey yue while studying overseas lmao

有背景有文化的团长（ A leader with sophiscated background and culture )

Cold city boy from beijing

Engineering student!!! from Nanjing University of Aeronautics & did masters in glasgow uni!!!!!! V v v smart!!!

Great english, British accent sorta ( listen to him speak x x )

HAS A CUTE FANG TOOTH

Will trade fatty meat for lean meat if u ask

TATTOOS (I THINK THERE’S A WOLF ONE, THE ONE W AN ANCHOR+OCTOPUS not sure though :c not enough HD pics to verify ;;)

Basketballlll

Wants to collab w eminem one day

Looks up to eminem, dr dre & ice cube

STEALS MU ZIYANG’S CLOTHES VERY OFTEN (there was this vid once when yue yue was choosing btwn 5 outfits and mu ziyang was like “can u at least put one of ur own outfits in the 5”)

Voted as naggy lmao (was asked by mu ziyang whether 1 ton of iron or 1 ton of cotton is heavier, and he talked to ziyang about it for 2 hrs about the question isn’t logical cause the experiment must be held in the same conditions, the air etc etc)

His hair is a birds nest & cannot be maintained + he uses the company’s hair dryer (which actually belongs to ling chao) to do his hair

Likes to eat everything, not picky with food :”)

THE ONE THAT ALWAYS STEALS FOOD FROM OTHERS.

DRAMA QUEEN

became bufan’s “woman” in IP aft the gang initiation LOL

yue likes to have clothes with holes in weird places, so i think that’s why he always wears ziyangs’s clothes

his underwear is still outside the window ledge/roof on their old qin dorm c:

can drive!!! has a car!!!! drives a honda w a super cool license plate number ahah

lmao wanted to set up an emergency fund for the himself and the boys because they are always getting their salary deducted HAHAH (+ it was said that ling chao has the most money bc he listens the best and is always on time)

plays the guitar!!!

has a tentacle fetish lmao

initially his dad wasn’t supportive of him becoming a trainee so he secretly went to idol producer without his dad’s knowledge (his dad didn’t even know what he was doing at qin ent) but rn his dad rlly supports him!!

yue yue’s fans call themselves 岳妻 (yue yue’s wife)

Mu ziyang

PROFESSIONAL MODEL

His real name is li zhenyang 李振洋 (94-liner)

his stage name 木子洋 is cause his surname 李 is formed from 木子 then they added the 洋 ; KWIN

Fans call him 小懂事 ( which means something like a sensible kid )

Walked in milan fashion week!!!!!! WALKED FOR MANY BRANDS!!!! THIS KING

FANS CALL HIM QIN’S CLOSET/SPONSOR :”)

Also said he managed to walk for the show that he most wanted to!!!!

WENT TO THE SAME SCHOOL AS BUFAN (Beijing Institute of Fashion Technology) (and was schoolmates with dong yanlei)

Scared of ghosts cause his mum used to tell him that ghosts will snatch him away if he misbehaves

says he isn’t of haunted houses, but then asks ling chao to hug him tightly when walking though it lmao

SCARED OF CRABS BC HE THINKS THEY ARE UGLY (this idiot lmao)

he’s scared of everything :)

PAID BUFAN 50 YUAN TO FEED HIM CRABS

LIKES TO DO “BUSINESS” ie trade stuff with ling chao so that ling chao will do his bidding

Rlly sad but mu ziyang got srsly sick during ip first evals and had to do iv drips until his hands were all bruised cause of the needle marks :c

Lmao this idiot thinks 3/6 > 3/5

wants to work with Leonardo DiCaprio

he can’t stand people sitting on his bed

“It’s not that the pyjamas are expensive, I’m expensive”

Sang 越战越勇 on before!!

lowkey was upset he didn’t get balloons on his birthday while yue yue got a wall of happy birthday + star balloons HAHAHA

roommates with yue in the qin dorm

threw yue’s underwear out the window bc yue forced it over his head :”) & its stuck right outside the roof at their old dorm

bought a tank for loaches/mudfish & only realised that it wasn’t meant for fishes after putting the decorations and water in it...

apparently has a driving license

once while driving a motorcycle, the battery died & he used a strangers phone to call yue yue. then yue yue had to come pick him up with his car. since he had the motorcycle, ziyang sat on the motorcycle and held on to the car handle & they drove back like that lmao

can play the piano!!!

THE ONE THAT DISSES LING CHAO

THERE WAS THIS ONCE POST ON DOUBAN where mu ziyang bought ALL the buns from the convenience store & zhu xingjie came a while later and wast stuck at the store cause he had to wait until the next batch was ready lmao

Had a huge knee surgery during his trainee period :c (the boys also visited him in the hospital) + also sad bc qin3 went for a huge seafood feast at home when mu ziyang was stuck eating hospital food

before leaving the dorms he went with ling chao to the convenience store to buy food bc he says ling chao is kinda picky with his food so he doesn’t eat much & he isnt’t able to take care of him anymore now that he’s eliminated so he used up all his remaining money to buy food for him

after being eliminated, he and yue yue went to play HAHAHA

Bu fan

his real name is bu fanfan 卜凡凡 (96-liner)

the boys call him 凡子 (fan zi), where 凡 is from his name and 子 is a term of endearment :”)

used bu fan as a stage name because he thinks bu fanfan is too cute lol; KATTO (PRONOUNCED AS KA-TOO)

192cm 对 cant play basketball though

LOVES DOGS, HUSKY

ACTUALLY DIDNT GRAD FRM SCHOOL YET :c he said his parents are pushing him to continue to study but nonetheless support him as an idol

HAS AN OLDER BROTHER (10 YEARS AGE GAP)

CLINGY

LOVES TO CRY ( crise a lot when doing stretching)

Voted most scared of pain

Once got caught eating a melon & got punished :c (+ he always steals melon from the fridge & doesn’t even close the refrigerator door afterwards...)

Always late for work apparently until there’s no more salary to be detected

HIS ACTUAL MINK JACKET IS ACTUALLY JUST A BATHROBE

apparently owes ziyang money & gave him a rap perf for money lol

Once helped an old auntie neighbour buy a new phone bc hers was old and was about to spoil

When asked if he likes girls with short hair or long hair, this boy said he doesn’t like any & likes computers instead lmao

He can’t stand low qualiy movies, it has to be in HD

when he becomes rich and successful, he’s going to help the manager xiao yu do some intense stretching lmao

“ everytime bufan goes to the subway, the authorities will always check his ID ” - yueyue

Has a wall of demoralising quotes back at the qin dorm ( iconic quotes include: “being ugly is a disease” & “the reason why you drink chicken soup is because other people have already ate the meat” & “all roads lead to rome, but some people are born in rome” )

“ 家爆脸 ”- zhou yanchen

HIGHKEY LOVES YUEYUE A LOT this sweet child tried his best to protect yue’s cake from being eaten cause he wanted yue to take a photo with it first ( in qin ent, it was said that the only way they get food is to snatch from others, so that cake was NOT safe with mu ziyang and ling chao around )

MORE INSTANCES OF HIS LOVE FOR YUEYUE, HE WILL BITE YOUR HEAD OFF IF U DISS HIS YUE :”) just look at bufan getting triggered when zhou rui mentioned about yue’s eye wrinkles

Also, he called yue yue disgusting cause yue yue didn’t come back at night & went to sleep in another trainees room ( he’s jealous )

Leader of a gang (current known members include ( xiao gui, fan chengcheng, yue yue & xu shengen)

got tricked to eat a sichuan chilli by yue yue poor thing

KING OF SEAFOOD

once a deliveryman misread his name as 小凡凡 (xiao fanfan) instead of 卜凡凡 (bu fanfan), then got dissed by the mu ziyang saying “omg why do u call yourself that”

I think bufan has a habit of saying the word 对 (dui) after a sentence, its pretty cute :”)

according to ziyang, bu fan thinks he’s the smartest in the group

has a habit of calling people 宝宝 (baobao) & 宝贝 (baobei) which means baby/babe

outed yue yue as the only one that wears mu ziyang’s clothes (when asked if mzy was really qin’s closet, he said that our group has 4 people, ling chao and I never wear mzy’s clothes)

Ling chao

His real name is li yingchao 李英超 (01-liner)

his stage name came about bc if u say his real name really fast ‘李英 (li ying) will sound like 灵 (ling) ; DIDI (lmao when he’s old he’s still going to be called didi)

call him 弟弟 (di di; little brother) or 小王子 (little prince)

Loves his candies & would probably fight u for it

Hides candies in so many diff places/compartments lmao

got a toothache bc of said candy

sings really well!!!!

SAYS HIS FAV CELEBRITY IS 黄晓明 (& angelababy)

HAS A YOUNGER SISTER BUT THINKS HE’S STILL THE PRETTIEST IN THE FAMILY

Receives the most love from the other boys :”) ( they have a rule where the plate with the most meat goes to him )

roommates with bu fanfan

Always seen with mu ziyang ( the true otp )

Doesnt like meat with fats

CAN DO SPLITS!!!!!!! & ALSO SPLITS WHILE DOING A HEADSTAND

HAS THE NICEST LOOKING EYES

is an idiot. he went to a korean restaurant & told ziyang that the “spicy cabbage” wasn’t tasty and he preferred kimchi instead. BUT THEY ARE THE SAME THING.

he likes white roses

likes cats!!

likes to scare chickens (& got scolded for it)

during break time, he has to memorise Chinese vocabulary ( and is taught by the company’s ceo!!!!!!)

i think he sticks with ziyang the most! ;; (obvs they are the superior ship)

BROUGHT ZIYANG TO SEE THE TALKING TRASH BIN JUST TO MAKE ZIYANG SCARED.

shittiest luck HAHAHA (bufan+lingchao team and yueyue+ziyang team had to draw lots to see who gets to sleep in the room and who sleeps outside in the living room, and ling chao always loses)

GETS DISSED FOR HAVING NARROW SHOULDERS

printed his own picture on a pillow then said it was “given by fans”

had a writer/blogger/reviewer kind of site where he wrote stuff

looks up to xukun and zhangjing the most in ip!

“ if your 3 qin brothers become a girl, who would be your older sister, younger sister and girlfriend? ” LING CHAO: NONE BECAUSE ALL OF THEM ARE UGLY

GETS HIT BY ZIYANG A LOT LMAO

ling chao’s fans are called 糖精 (tang jing; candy spirit) because of his love for candy

小于 (xiao yu)

BC221’s manager!!!!!!!!! (Also helps then stretch)

very sassy & playful

older than all of the qin boys ; had to work for 4 years before attending university

he’s almost always the camera man for bc221′s trainee life videos!!!! (its either him or bowen)

Came off as a little mean in the video where the boys were stretching :c but honestly he just rlly wants the best for them

Stays with the boys in their qin dorm!!!!!!

Went to the same university with mu ziyang!!! (& says mu ziyang stole his snacks, face masks, shoes, clothes, socks etc); they probably graduated the same time cause they were classmates!

Sometimes ppl call him 小鱼 (yu) ( word play; means little fish ) & mu ziyang called him 热带鱼 (tropical fish)

When yue yue got in trouble for playing computer games, he called xiao yu handsome and he laughed & immediately stop scolding yue yue LOL

yueyue likes to diss him lmao

Gives ling chao sweets!!! (doesn’t give bufan and yueyue bc they apparently dont listen to him lmao)

said to bufan : “IS BEING TALL EVERYTHING??? HUH???”

“we always get scolded by our manager, the first day would pass by normally but then on the 2nd day we would get scolded” - yueyue & bufan

“excuse you? what was that about your manager scolding you everyday? its called a heart to heart talk”

a fan sent pig feed to the company & he said he was going to save it to give to the boys as a birthday present

WROTE MU ZIYANG IS THE UGLIEST AND LEFT IT FOR ZIYANG TO FIND

yue yue calls him 小于帅 a lot.

followed yue yue to his home to visit lao yue’s mum :”) helped yue yue carried the luggage up the stairs

went Thailand with yue yue and mu ziyang after eliminations!

got dragged by bu fan into the toilet (bu fan said it was xiao yu that pushed him inside but there’s video evidence HAHAHA)

Sadly no longer part of QIN’s entertainment anymore

博文 (Bowen)

lives with the boys apparently

Shorter than the qin4 and xiao yu ahaha if you see the video angle being lower compared to others, then its bowen filming (fans call it the girlfriend angle lmao)

I think he’s qin’s video editor/photographer!

currently now part of qin’s one man subbing team rip bowen

passive aggressively posting on weibo whenever xiao yu posts updates on their Thailand adventure bc they didn’t bring him along hahahah

he has a cat called 棉裤 (cotton pants), mu ziyang hates this cat because 棉裤 always climbs on his bed

#idol producer shitpost #idol producer #ling chao #lingchao #yue yue #bufan #bu fan #mu ziyang #mine #i'm always updating this whenever i see smthg interesting omg #qin #bc221 #xiao yu #bowen

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glowyves · 7 years ago

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Can you do small introductions on each loona member? Or i mean not all of them if u dont want ik theres like 27 of them but just little descriptions of what u think of em would be cute

a chance? to talk abt the loves of my life?

heejin: you knwo that friend who like if u fuck around during the school yr and need someone to help u out w notes and getting yourself together bc u know shes always on top of her game? thats heejin. girly is an all rounder tbh she can sing dance and as much as ppl like 2 clown her for her rapping shes really not all that bad. LIKE shes just so versatile. she showed that thru mixnine which lol i didnt watch besides cuts but if u watch her performing on there and then see her performing with loona 1/3 it’s like complete opposites but she manages to shine no matter what like it’s effortless for her. shes such a sweet girl too i really do feel like theres a reason she was picked to go first bc she has such a likeable personality. shes funny, hardworking, humble (but not to the point to where she downplays her worth), and just seems like a real ride or die type of friend

hyunjin: MY BABY i hav such a soft spot for hyunjin and it’s hard not to??? she comes across as a little quiet at first and she acts like she doesnt care but she does u know she does shes not fooling anyone idc how many times shes told yeojin 2 shut up on camera i know she’d be one of the first if not THE first girl 2 be by her side (and any members side) if some shit went down. shes such a determined little thing too and when she has her eyes on something she goes for it no thinking abt it no questions asked she just does what she wants and thats something so impressive for a girl her age to be able to do. i feel like shes the type of person to just sit in the back and watch more than participate bc she doesnt mind if the other girls take the spotlight like shes such a chill, laid-back soul. i aspire to be like her. and shes so fucking funny really it’s almost criminal how hard she makes me laugh. ALSO she has the best reactions it’s a disgrace more than anything that i dont hav a folder of just her making stupid faces

haseul: the absolute love of my life? THE jo haseul?? theres a reason shes the member i latched onto the most at the beginning and ultimately kinda the member that tied me down to loona for good. like i was onboard w them from the get but it’s her that sealed the deal. i dont joke when i say she really is their guardian angel and no matter what u think of her in the comparison to the other girls u cant deny the fact that shes born leader material. she makes the other girls feel good and at-ease yknow. like she was always around vivi in the 1/3 loona tvs and u could tell it was like 2nd nature to her being by her side as vivi navigated her way through a country and language she wasnt all too familiar with. and like w/ yves for another example like yves if all facts check out was only w/ bbc for a three week period before they debuted her so obviously she wasnt familiar with any of the girls which is why she was so awkward at first. but haseul? bless her soul she did all that she could to make her feel at home. and she has such a beautiful voice i feel like not enough ppl praise her for it. also fuck yg for making her feel bad during mixnine she deserves the world and he can suck my big toe

yeojin: miss thang miss thang. what 2 say what 2 say. first things first shes a trooper. shes a baby i mean a lot of them are babies but yeojin is an actual baby baby i almost fainted when i learned how old she is. but despite her age shes so firm yknow. when shes doing things she wants to do them right to the best of her abilities and shes always striving to be better which is so admirable bc for me personally at that age i was a goddamn mess i couldnt be doing and juggling even a third of the shit she does. and shes right next to hyunjin when it comes to making me laugh shes just so loud and full of energy even 2 the point where i get tired watching her and im loud and full of energy but her being loud and being full of energy kicks my being loud and being full of energy in the ass. if any of that made sense. but theres never a dry eye in sight when shes in the room and u can tell shes such a joy 2 be around as much shit as the other girls give her lol i just feel real protective of her bc shes just so full of life and laughter and i just want her to be out here living her best life

vivi: it needs 2 be said that i have such high respect for any kpop idol who’s from another country bc theres just so much thats going against them. miss vivi is away from home away from her comfort space away from her friends and family away from a place where she can speak proficiently and fluently bc shes struggling to learn a new language and?? on top of that shes doing all the other standard idol stuff. thats some tough shit thats some scary shit but she takes it all on with a brave face and an open mind. and being able to slowly watch her build up more confidence in the language and basically everything else has been such an honor. like when im out here on my weak shit feeling sorry for myself i gotta think 2 myself what would miss vivi do? how would miss vivi tackle this? i lov this girl honestly i would die for her she does so much and i feel like not all of it is fully appreciated but she’ll have her moment i know she will and it’ll only be a matter of time before ppl see how amazing she is

kim lip: giiiiiiiiirl. lip is such a strong person. like in all aspects. shes crazy talented it’s a little scary to think abt how much she’ll grow once they properly debut as a group and she gets more experience bc?? she just has so much going for her. her charisma is off the charts she can easily pull a crowd if her solo being a real big jumping point in spreading the loona name says anything at all. and shes such a good pick for the oec leader she definitely has those vibes like u just cant help but listen to her regardless of whatever bullshit she says and she says a lot of bullshit but do i liv by that bullshit and eat it up like shes spouting out the new testament u can bet ur ass i do. lip is definitely one of those girls that u cant help but be drawn to like u just want 2 be her bff bc once u remove her from the stage she has such girl next door vibes i feel like she’d be the type of girl u see in the club and u make small talk by the bar bc u made eye contact by accident and all of the sudden before u know it youve spent ur whole night w her and u hav her phone number and plans to meet up next week bc shes so friendly

jinsoul: i make fun of her a lot. but w good reason: shes easy 2 make fun of. shes so quirky but not in the ironic way like shes really quirky and a bit of a walking disaster but it’s charming and she makes it work. even if shes not ur fav? shes still? kinda ur fav? even if u dont know it? if i made a list of some of my fav loona moments i assure u she’d be included in about 80% of it like shes such a staple to the group i really cant imagine her not being w them i mean i cant imagine the group w/o any of them but jinsoul especially. sometimes i watch loona vids knowing good and damn well shes not gonna be in them but i still end up thinking where is jinsoul?? bc not 2 speak for everybody (i will tho) but no one can get enough jinsoul. also her voice? i love it it’s one of my favs in not only loona but kpop in general. both speaking-wise and singing-wise. it’s just so pretty i really did astral project the first time i heard sitr & love letter. true out of body experiences 10/10 would recommend the yelp reviews are in shes 100% worth It. what is the It shes worth? idk but whatever It is .. shes worth It.

choerry: i just want her 2 be my little sister wow. miss yerim really has my heart. truly the embodiment of :) . shes so smily and has such a strong energy u cant help but like her. in every loona tv shes in shes making someone laugh or smile and it’s no coinkidink it’s bc shes really just that much of a ray of sunshine and u cant help but fall for her. give her some time i pledge w my life that once they debut she is going 2 shine on variety shows theres no way she wont. she has such good sense and shes so flexible. and if lcm is anything 2 go by shes able to switch it up and kill different concepts and sounds at the drop of a hat. def one to keep ur eye on bc u just know shes gonna go far in the future theres no way she wont she has all the tools in her arsenal to make it big no problem. does she resemble the annoying orange? yes and i’ll hate kim lip forever for putting that image in my head but that wont stop her shes truly a force to be reckoned with.

yves: my baby! u didnt hear this from me but i lov her a lot. she was kinda just thrown 2 the wolves w/ her three weeks of training i can only imagine how nerve wracking it must’ve been for her. here is an army of girls bbc has as potential loona members whove been training for years/knew the other girls who were already chosen as loona members/have even gone along for the ride with the chosen loona members to film their mvs and yet shes the one who was picked to be added after three weeks of her being w the company. three weeks !!! thats a lot of pressure but despite that she gave us everything she got. she was real nervous in the beginning anyone could tell when u watched her loona tv arc but she got over it and by the time chuu’s arc rolled around she was joking around w/ the others like it was nothing. shes so funny too but in an awkward way. like she doesnt mean to be but she says and does shit that makes u ?? and u cant help but laugh. her gig with marishe? i have never seen anything funnier like that bitch really took 100+ photos all w the same face and w the same three poses if that’s not talent idk what is. and i dont think it’s been confirmed in writing yet but shes gonna be such a good leader for the eden unit i feel it in my bones

chuu: when i tell u my heart has skipped a beat over this girl. im not saying it 2 be dramatic im deadass. my heart has skipped a beat multiple times watching her whether it be a fancam or a loona tv or even a selfie. i’ve watched that little instagram update of her in her pig onesie more times than i want 2 disclose. her voice???? oh my god im in love with it. shes such a strong singer like STRONG and u can hear that in heart attack and girl’s talk and see saw but if u listen to her covers shes done before being introduced as a member it’s like !!!!! wow. and she makes a lot of noises. like just incoherent sounds and its so cute i could cry. like i dont have the attention span 2 sit and watch a vlive if it’s not subbed … but i’d do it for her just bc i love hearing her talk i love her voice on any and all levels u could love someones voice. and all her little mannerisms are adorable and this could really turn into me typing a whole mla formatted essay on how i find her 2 be one of the cutest girls in the world but i’ll spare u. and ofc shes not just cute like i said before this girl is talented and i cant wait for loona to grow as a group so she can be on bigger and bigger platforms for more and more ppl to hear her sing bc thats just how it should be

gowon: i lov her i lov her i lov her!! i’d do just about anything for this girl if she asked but i feel like regardless of who u are u wouldnt be able to refuse her even if u wanted to. i latch onto every word she says everything she says is gold. shes so giggly and a lot of that giggling is bc she probably feels awkward but it’s still real cute. shes also lowkey highkey gotta mouth on her like she’ll really come for ppls throats if she feels it’s necessary and thats beautiful to me. she doesnt get enough credit but as pretty as she is more attention should be focused on her talents bc she is a talented girl. her vocal tone is high and ‘cute’ but i think it melds so well w/ the other girls’ voices and theres a lot of opportunity there if and when they decide to create new sub-units/have more duet songs. and my girl can dance im tired of ppl overlooking her bc?? her pre-debut vids are a little stiff ye but theres so much potential there shes such a gem and i cant wait for her to grow more bc i know theres so much she could be doing w/ what she has

olivia hye: when she said love myself today let u go today? i felt that

#this was just me rambling i know theres no substance at all but here take it its all i can giv u . idk if this is what u were looking for??#U SAID SMALL INTROS IM JUST NOW REALIZING IM SRRY I HOPE THIS IS SMALL ENOUGH FOR U #also yall dont hav 2 read it but please like this i typed too much for it to flop lol

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my-computer-tuition · 4 years ago

Text

How to Do Affiliate Marketing

It could be written “How can I tell folk about this new product or service and earn money doing it”

Remember back in school, when you delivered the morning paper to the neighbourhood, sometimes there would be a flyer from the local takeaway inserted in the paper. Or, as happened to me, the circus came to town and someone from the show turned up at my TV shop one morning , He offered me a few free tickets if I would hand out the circus flyers to all my customers and put a circus poster in the window.

How many times have you noticed some new product that your neighbour bought and you asked about where you can get one, or maybe the other way around – “hey, nice sneakers, where did you buy those?”

These are all examples , that are or could be used to gain a commission or “kick back” for increasing sales. All of the above of course are done “Off line” . With the internet came the opportunity to sell to the whole world , getting huge audiences to look at your products.

So Online you first look for an affiliate program. Many big shops like Wallmart, B&Q, Amazon have affiliate programs that are free to join. Some of them outsource the affiliate program admin to Affiliate Specialists like Affiliate Window or CJ Affiliates. Usually if you Google “affiliate program” + name of the store, you’ll be able to find it easily.

Once you are a member, they will give you your own Affiliate Link . You simply promote, including this link in your articles and Adverts some product or service belonging to the owner in exchange for a commission, once you successfully make a sale.

To make the process better, promote your article and test versions of the Ads until you find the best one.

Actually there is another simpler form of Affiliate marketing, called CPA (cost per action) where you only have to provide LEADS, not even make the sale! Very easy, can be very lucrative. More on this later

Examples of Affiliate Marketing

These are easy to find all over the web. Ever seen those boxes at the end of a magazine blog article?

At first glance they look like articles, but of course these are ads, more exactly they are Native Ads. They don’t stand out as Ads, plus the headlines are usually extraordinary, making them highly clickable. Advertisers are getting really sneaky. They can check your IP address and include some relevant content, lets say you are in Kentucky USA, this can be made to trigger a Headline “ Kentucky Woman First to Win Over $4,000,000 in lottery” or “ How Kentucky Woman makes $4000 a day doing this…”

I wouldn’t advocate such things, but just notice them next time you’re reading online, you will be amazed how often it happens.

Whats the Purpose of an Advert?

The answer most people give is “ to sell stuff” . No I would argue the purpose is simply to get your attention. The selling is done on the bridge page and Sellers own product page or VSL ( video sales letter) which is a very popular method at the moment. One of the most successful marketers today Gerry Crammer makes simple images like hand drawn faces or anything out-of-the-ordinary a giant squid on a beach for example and is responsible for tens of thousands of dollars in sales.

What Kind of Ad Works Best?

Just do what is already working. Pioneers are great, but you only hear about the few that are successful, not the majority, who lost a ton of money trying a new method , then gave up.

What kind of Product is Best to Promote?

Sell what is selling NOW. Here we will have to do some research. Google trends is a good tool to check for product popularity. One fairly easy strategy is to follow the native ads, in the example click through to the end, find out which products are being sold. There is one simple truth here, no one pays for ads, continuously, unless they are making money.

Next, find the products home page. Look up the amount of traffic ( web visitors ) that page is getting, one great , free resource to use is similarweb.com, for which you can sign up for a free account. Type in your product page address and see how much traffic they are getting, where it is being referred from ( eg Facebook ads, Bing Ads….) and what country are these visitors from. You now have all that is required to start a successful ad campaign going.

How Does Affiliate Marketing Actually Work?

This is one example scenario, our user is on Facebook, sees an ad for some products he is interested in, he clicks the ad and is taken to an Affiliate bridge Page where there are more details, like price, size, color etc finally he clicks to buy and is taken to Amazon on a link which has our Affiliate ID on it, so Amazon recognises our sale and rewards us with a commission. There are simpler ways and more sophisticated ways to make an affiliate link, but this is the basic model that most marketers use.

Direct Linking

Why bother going to a bridge page I hear you ask. Why not go straight to the Offer-Page from the Ad? Well in most advertising scenarios, the ads are seen on big platforms like Facebook, Google, YouTube etc. They all have their own Terms and Conditions one of which is usually No Affiliate Links. In most cases it would be ok, if you are promoting your own book, for instance. But promoting slimming pills – definitely would not, in fact Facebook has become very intolerant of any such links and is very likely to ban your ad account permanently! Anything to do with weight loss, any images even slightly hinting at too much exposed skin is also likely to be banned. Facebooks ad industry is huge and they are top dog…. at the moment and they wield a powerful sword over their advertisers. Advertisers love FB because they have so much demographic information available to laser target the potential customers.

I note that This month saw Australia put a limitation on Facebook as regards ads , so this might be an indicator of the way things will go in the future.

So that is basically why we should use a bridge page. The linking to the product then takes place OFF Facebooks page, so your account is safe again. The bridge page should be totally congruent with the subject , so a slimming product could be linked from within a Bridge Page about “How to Maintain good health when on a diet” for example. This avoids direct mention of anything medical or Weight loss oriented.

Whats in a link?

The links take our visitor to the next place, so part of the link is an HTML ‘anchor’ which has the web address in it. The rest is usually unique and has our Affiliate ID, this is sometimes disguised, just in case someone tampers with the link to divert the sale commission. Eg.

Here the offer vendor is Clickbank and our ID is hidden along with the product code in the bit before “.hop.” This link has an extra tracking section ( tid ) on the end, used to distinguish this offer from other offers. We can make use of this when setting up our tracking software.

Affiliate Disclosure

The FTC Federal Trade Commission requires that you disclose the fact that you make a commission with each sale on your site, so make sure it is there. As everyone is obliged to do this, its no longer a disadvantage to see this on a website.

Which Platform is Best for Promoting my Products

This depends on your own preference in most cases, although videos on YouTube are superb for anything visual or explaining “how to do…..” if it’s a practical matter like component assembly. However, videos can be included in a blog easily, so you get the benefit of the visitor being able to skip through to the part that he or she is interested in , quickly and include a lot of detail in graphs, lists, links to other sites, images, coding, downloads and many other things.

YouTube’s algorithm is simpler than Google’s. YouTube videos will rank more easily if you include the right tags, tags are a big help and the main way YouTube searches work. If you are going to use YouTube as your platform, install Tube Buddy or Vid IQ in your browser. Either of these will allow you to find out which tags are in all your competitors videos.

Although YouTube videos rank quicker, at the moment Google is still putting blogs in the majority of the top 10 for each search result (serp) . It is well worth the effort of writing many articles, which will rank for many search terms and you will appear in multiple sets of serps for your search term or keyword.

Relevance is the key. If you want to sell tents, write about all sorts of tents, tents for high temperature, low temperature, windy conditions, waterproof materials used in tents, price points on your selection of tents, durability of tents , cover the subject thoroughly.

These 3 links give you the easiest way to make an insertable text link, Image link or both. Write your article reviewing the item an insert the Text+Image link at the end

This is the html code, the image is served by Amazon’s own server together with the correct price.

You can see, similar to the previous example, the affiliate ID xyzmarketing and the product code ( asin) = B083V589M5

Even if you don’t use Amazon directly, many affiliates have stopped since the recent downturn in commissions from Amazon, at the height of the first Covid lockdown, Amazons profits rose tremendously and they decided they did not need so many affiliates. Amazon does provide us with amazing research tools though. Their products are arranged so you can easily compare similar ones and then promote them direct through the manufacturers own affiliate programs . Amazons Best Selling category, is so useful to pick good products to promote. Amazons reviews often tell of particularly good or bad lines.

How to start Affiliate Marketing without investment using Free Traffic

Is that a real thing? Yes, but for long term products. All of this article so far has relied on paid Advertising- which works instantly and you get the results instantly.

It takes so long to get a website ranking well enough – in the top 10 on page one, for a search term. That is will only work for long term things. One exception to this is Pinterest traffic. It IS possible to build up a Pinterest account fast, so you’re getting that traffic flowing. But it only works in certain niches , great for USA traffic and feminine type products , although this too is changing slowly. I wrote an article outlining a Pinterest strategy on this blog.

My own first success was with Halogen Ovens. I built up a website with a page per review plus comparison tables and other pages devoted to maintenance and recipes. It became very popular with several number one positions for various search terms. All the products were from Amazon making research very easy and quick. I even expanded the site to cover UK and US products. One month of solid work on the site, gave me a good few years of income, it still earns a little even now 6 years on.

So – don’t expect anything other than evergreen products like kitchen appliances, household cleaners and maybe financial products to last long enough to make it worthwhile building up a blog.

Free traffic is marvellous. For beginners in IM it is usually the chosen route, as mistakes with anyone inexperienced with Ad accounts can be very costly. Also the results with free traffic from Google will last a long time ; But with a lot of products changing rapidly, ads are really the only way to get your affiliate funnel up and running fast enough to make a good return. The reason many big Aff marketers use funnel builders, rather than the basic wordpress editor, is because they need the pages up very quickly to take advantage of new offers.

Does Affiliate Marketing Still Work

Yes, absolutely. Many marketers are very successful once they find their own favourite niches and have some experience. Four, Five and even Six figure per year profits from Aff Mktg is totally possible

#affiliatemarketing internetmarketing earnaffiliatecommissions

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