#or whatever lol.. where I will feel like if less than 85% of the tag is exactly completely related to what im posting then its like 'eh...

[icewindandboringhorror]

A little costume with eyebrow whiskers again.. making their return lol..

[thelightofthingshopedfor]

lol okay so I dashed off most of this the day of and then kept not posting it because I kept thinking I needed to add stuff, but then I ended up adding more stuff mostly in reblogs instead (should all be under the “my meta” tag if anyone’s curious) and now episode 2 is technically coming out tomorrow night in my time zone so obviously I need to just post this. bullet points of disconnected thoughts, some of which are probably at least slightly outdated by now but whatever, here you go

seems very possible Mobius left the tape with him on purpose because he figured Loki wouldn’t be able to resist looking at it

would have to check the timing but I’m pretty sure he started looking terrified as soon as Thanos came onscreen without really knowing the context (aside from the very basic outline of “it’s been several years and he reconciled with Thor”), which at least underscores that they weren’t buddies--Loki knew something awful was about to happen the second Thanos showed up sadly this is not true, the clip he sees first is him trying to stab Thanos, so...yeah it stands to reason that he’d know it was about to end badly no matter what

other people have mentioned this but I love that we got to see Loki just like...existing?? like I know he’s never been the protagonist before and seeing him as the protagonist has always been one of the things that’s excited me most about the show, but now that it’s here I’m just kind of struck by how HE’S THE PROTAGONIST so we’re getting all these emotions and little gestures and moments when he’s alone that we only got in tiny, sadly easy-to-overlook snatches before (and it also occurred to me that I don’t think we’ve ever seen Loki eat anything, which is something else that might change)

also his projection is fascinating, and so is the fact that he explicitly turned it around on himself, which seems relevant to all the theories about a lot of his other statements (”freedom is life’s great lie,” most of what he said to Natasha, etc.) being things that were drummed into him on Sanctuary rather than stuff he just came up with on his own, so that seems to cover a lot of the stuff he says in Avengers and here

on the other hand it seems unlikely we’re ever going to get confirmation that Bad Stuff happened to him on Sanctuary aside from what we already saw in Avengers, which is frustrating, although to be fair I also wasn’t expecting to see Loki crying about his family in the first episode (and the most I’m really hoping for, still, is that nothing will explicitly contradict the idea, so...we’re good on that thus far, I guess)

so the first half of the episode was...ehhh, I don’t know, but the second half was amazing. I know some people didn’t like that part either, but I felt like...okay, I don’t love him being humiliated so I would’ve preferred different framing for some of this BUT a lot of casual viewers still see Loki as a cackling caricature without having picked up on any of the stuff that very clearly showed otherwise, and this show wants to treat Loki as a person, someone worthy of audience sympathy, so they kind of had to go in hard and fast on that aspect to get everyone up to speed. like, yes, fans who’ve been paying attention know that Loki’s a person, that he’s wounded, that he doesn’t hurt people just because it’s fun for him, that he feels things very deeply, that he loves his family, but somehow the mainstream perception of him has missed like 85% of that, and the show’s just not going to have much impact unless it gets everybody on board with those very basic ideas. in terms of story structure it probably doesn’t make sense for this to be his lowest point, but starting from the bottom and eventually getting somewhere better is fairly standard, so at this point I can imagine tons of ways things could improve for him

yeah I do hate the whole Sacred Timeline thing, see also my posts about how much I loved that Endgame canonically (I thought) established multiple timelines where everything was fine, so yeah I’m pissed about that because it means those timelines were canonically pruned

like I don’t...hate it as a storytelling device? I just hate it for fandom reasons, and I’ve hated it in other fandoms when canon did something that seemed to open things up to all this incredible possibility and then went “actually no, we’re boxing it up again into this one specific Way That Things Happened” and for fanwork purposes it doesn’t matter all that much, I don’t think it’s actually that much harder to do AUs or go “okay well in this universe the TVA doesn’t exist, whatever” (in fact I wouldn’t be surprised if AO3 quickly develops a new canonical “not TVA compliant” tag for basically all Loki fic), but it is annoying that it’s now like “canonically, every AU is Not Allowed”, and if that ends up sticking as the status quo with the TVA considered good guys or at least a necessary evil then yeah, I’m going to be annoyed

HOWEVER

I don’t think that’s inevitable for a variety of reasons

this whole show is going to deal with multiverse shenanigans and so will Dr. Strange 2, so it seems completely possible that the end result could be a status quo of “there’s a multiverse actually and that’s fine” (...although yes, I’ll be doubly annoyed if the end result of this show is a restored multiverse of some kind and the end result of Dr. Strange 2 is condensing it back down to a single timeline)

the multiverse is a long-running comics tradition, which still seems to be the case even after...whatever event it was that collided a bunch of them and tried for a Highlander thing, look I wasn’t really following it and I know some characters ended up in other universes from where they started but I’m pretty sure we still have a multiverse of some kind

almost all the recent Loki-centric comics have focused on questions of fate and agency

Agent of Asgard in particular was about Loki eventually going “fuck you I won’t do what you tell me” and forging a new path (and, okay, it does seem like runs other than AoA have been the most influential here but again we’ve only seen one episode)

Loki, specifically, is an agent of chaos and change, like that’s his whole thing going way back to mythology, because sometimes stagnancy is death and chaos is healthy, and of course myth!Loki (and earlier versions of comics!Loki) is always responsible for triggering Ragnarok, which isn’t just the end of the world but is also a natural, crucial part of a cycle of renewal, and yes the MCU already did Ragnarok but that doesn’t at all mean they can’t play more with those ideas

Tom Hiddleston has brought up this specific point several times in recent interviews, that sometimes chaos is the one thing that's really needed

also, on Jimmy Kimmel the day of the episode, he kind of...planted a seed about the TVA maybe not being uncomplicated good guys because seriously what gives them the right to make these decisions for literally everyone

so at the very least I think it’s completely possible that things aren’t quite what they seem, and that for instance we’re supposed to discover that Mobius is consciously manipulating him to turn him into the type of tool the TVA wants him to be

also “the timeline wants to break free” shows up on a lot of merch, which does seem to indicate a free will vs. predestination theme

I’m not at all familiar with comics!TVA, although I understand they’re considered villains (although to be fair, so were the Skrulls, and at least thus far that’s been inverted for the MCU), but their whole thing reminded me of a few other entities in a way that could be relevant:

the tape running out was like the Norns cutting the thread of somebody’s life

Those Who Sit Above In Shadow in AoA (and also maybe whatever was below the God Quarry in Infinity Wars although I’m less familiar with that)

the gods in Cabin In The Woods, who were also kind of audience proxies in that they really just cared about the sacrifice being entertaining, which kinda seems like the only logical reason for the Timekeepers to prefer any given series of events over another

my personal hope for the series: the Timekeepers are ultimately the Big Bad and the rogue Loki variant is ultimately right in trying to wipe out the TVA (because sure I realize it’s maybe dumb of me but I still don’t want any Loki to be completely a bad guy!!); the major named TVA characters realize they’re the baddies actually and team up with a whole army of Lokis to take them down and GIVE US BACK OUR MULTIVERSE

[a-fritterer]

@mytalkingraccoon ​, I thought I’ll slide it because of the number of questions but ended up doing it anyway 👀 Thank you!!! 🤗🥰gonna tag @literallybina , @purrrrrrr @supergeek1999

1. Think of the last person who said I love you, do you think they meant it? I think my father said that to me, so of course he meant it.

2. Would you date an 18-year-old at the age you are now? I’m an aro, dating doesn’t interest me. Also that person would be a child compared to me.

3. When’s the last time you were aggravated and happy at the same time? Can’t recall.

4. Would you ever smile at a stranger? I’m quite shy.

5. Is there someone mad because you’re dating/talking to the person you are? I don’t think so.

6. Have you heard a song that reminds you of someone today? no

7. What exactly are you wearing right now? a BBC Sherlock t-shirt and trousers

8. How often do you listen to music? everyday

9. Do you wear jeans or sweats more? jeans

10. Do you think your life will change dramatically before 2014? I hate my life before 2014 (not entirely but mostly) and my life started changing after 2014.

11. Are you a social or an antisocial person? social with friends, anti-social with relatives and others.

12. Have you ever kissed someone whose name begins with the letter ‘A’? does my dad count?

13. What about ‘R’? never kissed anyone other than my family 😶

14. Can you drive a stick shift? I can't drive but want to learn it.

15. Do you care if people talk badly about you? I hate myself so fucking much but I can’t care less about others hating on me. 

16. Are you going out of town soon? No

17. When was the last time you cried? Just now. Demons from my past paid me a visit uwu and my life is shit rn.

18. Have you ever told someone you loved them? told my friends

19. If you could change your eye color, would you? I’ve black eyes which feels mundane. I wish  I had eyes like Benedict Cumberbatch.

20. Is there a boy who you would do absolutely everything for? for some friends’ I think.

21. Name something you dislike about the day you’re having. Not being enough productive and being caught up in misunderstanding and unnecessary drama.

22. Is it cute when guys kiss you on your forehead? How can I know? 👀

23. Are you dating the last person you talked to? I never dated anyone

24. What are you sitting on right now? my bed

25. Does anyone regularly (other than family) tell you they love you? no

26. Have you ever wanted someone you couldn’t have? BTS Ot7 and Benedict Cumberbatch

27. Who was the last person you talked to before you went to bed last night? a friend, on facebook

28. Do you get a lot of colds? I’ve sinusities so yeah

29. Where is the shirt you are wearing from? an online shop run by a batchmate of mine

30. Does anyone hate you? May be. My brain says that I’m someone to be hated

31. Do you have any empty alcohol bottles hidden somewhere in your room? I never drink

32. Do you like watching scary movies? I’m a horror junkie

33. Do you want your tongue pierced? nooooooo

34. If you had to delete one year of your life completely, which would it be? I think this one

35. Did you have a dream last night? I forgot already

36. When was the last time you told someone you loved them? can’t really recall

37. Do you think you’ll be married in 5 years? I don’t want to be married in my life

38. Do you think someone has feelings for you? I don’t think so

39. Do you think someone is thinking about you right now? nah

40. Did you have a good day yesterday? nope

41. Think back 2 months ago; were you in a relationship? no

42. In the next 48 hours, will you hang out with a girl? no

43. Has anyone told you they don’t want to ever lose you? yes

44. What’s the best part about school? nothing. my school life pretty much sucked and I hate that version of me who went to school.

45. Do you have any pictures on your Facebook? I do

46. Do you ever pass notes to your friends in school? that was a long time ago, can’t recall.

47. Do you replay things that have happened in your head? all the fucking time

48. Were you single over the last summer? I’m forever happily single 🥰

49. Is your life anything like it was two years ago? nope

50. What are you supposed to be doing right now? go to sleep

51. Do you hate the last guy you had a conversation with? nope. He’s a really good friend of mine.

52. Are you nice to everyone? I try to be. 

53. Have you ever liked someone you didn’t expect to? not romantically but yes

54. Do you think you can last in a relationship for 6 months and not cheat? I don’t want to be in one in the first place.

55. Are you good at hiding your feelings? sometimes

56. Do you think you like someone? nope

57. Have you kissed someone whose name starts with a ‘J’? never

58. Do you prefer to be friends with girls or boys? Boys. I find them cool to talk with.

59. Has anyone of your friends ever seen you cry? yes

60. Do you hate anyone? only myself and myself only

61. How’s your heart? morbidly fine

62. Is there something that happened in your past that you hate talking about? yes

63. Have you ever cried over a guy? never

64. Who is probably talking a load of crap about you right now? Really don’t know

65. Are your toenails painted pink? i don’t use nailpolish

66. Will your next kiss be a mistake? not interested in kissing anyone

67. Girls love it when boyfriends cry; correct? I have no idea

68. Have your pants ever fallen down in public? nope

69. Who was the last person you were on the phone with? a friend of mine

70. How do you look right now? ugly

71. Do you have someone you can be your complete self around? yes

72. Can you commit to one person? i feel suffocated to imagine it even

73. Do you have someone of the opposite sex you can tell everything to? no

74. Have you ever felt replaced? yes

75. Did you wake up cranky? no

76. Are you a jealous person? no

77. Are relationships ever worth it? i don’t know cause i have no experience

78. Anyone you’re giving up on? no

79. Currently wanting to see anyone? no

80. Name something you have to do tomorrow? help my mom to learn how to use the new electric oven

81. Last person you cried in front of? mom

82. Is there someone you will never forget? quite a few

83. Do you think the person you have feelings for is protective of you? I’ve no feelings for anybody 😅

84. If the person you wish to be with were with you, what would you be doing right now? Yoongi?  I’d faint 

85. Are you over your past? i think i can never 🙃

86. Have you ever liked one of your best friends of the opposite sex? never.

87. Is there anyone you can tell EVERYTHING to? no

88. If your first true love knocked on your door with apology and presents, would you accept? i never had anyone like that

89. So, the last person you kissed just happens to arrive at your door at 3AM; do you let them in? when i was a child i kissed my parents and that’s it 😶that was more than 16 years ago lol

90. Have you ever liked someone who your friends hated? no

91. Will you be in a relationship in 2 months? never 😂😂😂

92. Is there anyone you know with the name Michael? in my country there’s no chance to meet someone named like that

93. Have you ever kissed a Matthew? never 👀

94. Were you in a relationship in January? How was it going? I was in a dark place in January 🖕

95. Were you happy with the person you liked in March? I didn’t like anybody in March

96. Don’t tell me lies, is the last person you texted attractive? she’s beautiful

97. Who do you have texts from? mobile operator, banks and some friends

98. If the person you like says they like someone else, what would you say? 🤷‍♀️

99. Have you ever kissed someone older than you? i never kissed anyone lol

100. Who’s in your profile picture with you? my profile picture is Min Yoonji 

101. Ever kissed under fireworks? never even if I’d the chance

102. Has anybody ever given you butterflies? honestly can’t remember

[flowrxchild]

🌼Get To Know Me Tag🌼

Thanks @satans-helper for tagging me!!! This is gonna be a long one so if anyone feels it’s necessary, please tell me to shut up! oke doke les do it❤️

1. What’s your middle name?

Olivia!

2. How old are you?

20, very cool and very funky years..

3. When’s your birthday?

January 8th

4. What’s your zodiac sign?

Capricorn 🐏 also an Aries rising, Libra moon if anyone cares lol

5. What’s your favourite colour?

Rn it’s yellow!

6. What’s your lucky number?

Ok I rlly gotta pick one soon cuz I just don’t have one lol

7. Do you have any pets?

Used to have a chubby brown lab but she was an old girl:( BUT recently I have fed a stray cat enough for him to come back everyday so he is now mine by Ricky Law™️

8. Where are you from?

Toronto, Canada baybee

9. How tall are you?

5’5

10. What shoe size are you?

7 and a half? I think?

11. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

Not that many like 5 tops lol

12. What was your last dream about?

Last night I dreamt about going horse back riding?? I woke up like ...she’s a horse girl, I knew it..

13. What talents do you have?

I can draw/paint?? Also I’m a pretty snazzy photographer

14. Are you psychic in any way?

I’m definitely intuitive...I’ve experienced some very strange coincidences in my life...

15. Favourite song?

Jimi Hendrix’ Voodoo Chile

16. Favourite Movie?

Moonrise Kingdom

17. Who would be your ideal partner?

*stares in Josh Kiszka yearn*

18. Do you want children?

Erm not sure yet

19. Do you want a church wedding?

Lol I want whatever the opposite of a church wedding is..

20. Are you religious?

Nope.

21. Have you ever been to the hospital?

Yes. I’m so clumsy I am a danger to myself at this point...

22. Have you ever gotten in trouble with the law?

No I’m literally a baby chicken and will cry if u raise ur voice at me

23. Have you ever met any celebrities?

Not formally? I’ve seen a lot of random celebrities just walking around tho cuz I live in a big city

24. Baths or showers?

Showers, practically but I love me a good bath now and again

25. What color socks are you wearing?

Im not wearing any ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ;-) Sam Kiszka tease ;-) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

26. Have you ever been famous?

One time my painting was put into a community art gallery and they took my photo for the local newspaper except they made the centre fold of the page fold into the picture around my face so it got all distorted and it was like when Mike Wazowski was in the Monsters Inc commercial...

27. Would you like to be a big celebrity?

Not rlly..

28. What type of music do you like?

Rock, folk and indie but I will listen to anything

29. Have you ever been skinny dipping?

Yes. Me and my friends do it every year as a cottage tradition!

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?

3...I need to be snuggled AND supported

31. What position do you usually sleep in?

I don’t sleep unless I curl up into the smallest ball possible like a friggin cat

32. How big is your house?

She smol

33. What do you typically have for breakfast?

Literally just coffee most days. I love anarchy

34. Have you ever fired a gun?

Nope. Don’t have the desire to either.

35. Have you ever tried archery?

I have not but I’ve always wanted to!

36. Favourite clean word?

Cozzy

37. Favourite swear word?

Cunty but like as an adjective

38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep?

Not rlly sure...probably only a day. I’m a very sleepy person

39. Do you have any scars?

Yep

40. Have you ever had a secret admirer?

If I told you, they wouldn’t be secret ;-)

41. Are you a good liar?

No not at all. My face gives it away so badly

42. Are you a good judge of character?

I like to think so. My first impressions of people tend to be true.

43. Can you do any other accents other than your own?

Ya but not well ahsgag

44. Do you have a strong accent?

I don’t think I do, but my family from the states always says we have the stereotypical “Canadian accent”.

45. What is your favourite accent?

I loooove Irish accents. I find them very pleasing to hear!

46. What’s your personality type?

INFP-T to be precise

47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing?

My prom dress I think? I got it a Free People for 90$ and at that store, that’s a steal...

48. Can your curl your tongue?

Yeth

49. Are you an innie or an outie?

If this is referring to my belly button then, innie

50. Left or right handed?

Right handed

51. Are you scared of spiders?

Ew ya

52. Favourite food?

Ok my fave food is also my fave foreign food and it’s Indian!

53. Favourite foreign food?

^

54. Are you a clean or messy person?

messy...ITS CAREFUL CHAOS OK?

55. Most used phrase?

I really am not sure...

56. Most used word?

probably ‘like’. Yes I’m gen Z, yes I have trouble articulating my thoughts. And what about it???

57. How long does it take you to get ready?

I need at least an hour...I like to plan

58. Do you have much of an ego?

I don’t think so??

59. Do you suck or bite lollipops?

If you bite lollipops, you’re in jail now, I don’t make the law.

60. Do you talk to yourself?

Yes, I’m the funniest person I know.

61. Do you sing to yourself?

Yes, funny you ask, I’m not only the funniest person I know, but also North America’s greatest entertainer!

62. Are you a good singer?

No! But I will preform for myself and the spiders living in my room. Yes, we exist!

63. Biggest fear?

Losing the people I love, being trapped.

64. Are you a gossip?

No yuck i hate it.

65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen?

this is too broad and difficult but The Witch. It’s spooky and dramatic.

66. Do you like long or short hair?

I don’t rlly have a preference...

67. Can you name all 50 states of America?

Probably if I try really really hard lol as a Canadian, this is a good road trip game

68. Favourite school subject?

Art or English!

69. Extrovert or introvert?

Introvert

70. Have you ever been scuba diving?

No but something about makes me anxious

71. What makes you nervous?

I would really love to find something that doesn’t make me anxious. Let’s start with that.

72. Are you scared of the dark?

No! I find it comforting sometimes actually

73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes?

Depends. I hate confrontation so I only do it if it really matters...

74. Are you ticklish?

Ok I wanna know who isn’t! Like whomst is not ticklish??

75. Have you ever started a rumour?

I hope not...I would feel very stinky

76. Have you ever been in a position of authority?

If by authority you mean telling my sister to get out of my unassigned-assigned spot on the couch even though my voice cracks a little as I do it causing her to laugh even harder, than yes.

77. Have you ever drank underage?

Yes. *police sirens grow closer*

78. Have you ever done drugs?

I have done a weed or 2. Yes

79. Who was your first real crush?

My neighbour lol

80. How many piercings do you have?

3! My ears and also my cartilage! Used to have my septum, but it caused me too many problems so i let it grow over :(

81. Can you roll your R’s?

Ya!

82. How fast can you type?

So fast *spongebob voice* wanna see me do it again?

83. How fast can you run?

I would probably be the first to go in a horror movie

84. What colour is your hair?

Dark brown

85. What colour are your eyes?

Brown

86. What are you allergic to?

Nothing substantial.

87. Do you keep a journal?

Ya I do!

88. What do your parents do?

My mums a school secretary and my dads a fraud investigator

89. Do you like your age?

U know what, ya..I can’t complain.

90. What makes you angry?

Injustice and rudeness

91. Do you like your own name?

Ya I don’t mind it

92. Have you already thought of baby names if so what are they?

I mean I have names that I like but it’s not something I write down so I always forgot lol

93. Do you want a boy or a girl child?

I really couldn’t care less

94. What are your strengths?

Physically, I’m a sack of bones with the upper body strength of a new born baby but I like to think my sense of humour makes me tolerable *finger guns*

95. What are your weaknesses?

I am one frightened human bean.

96. How did you get your name?

Tru story: throughout my moms whole pregnancy, everyone including the doctors were convinced I was gonna be a boy because they could never get a clear look at me in the ultra sounds so my parents had only picked out boy names until I was born to which they changed their choice of “Eric” to Erika :))

97. Were your ancestors royalty?

Not at all lol

98. Do you have any scars?

Did I already answer this one? I think I did?

99. Colour of your bedspread?

White with pink floral pattern! (From ikea lol)

100. Colour of your room?

It’s an off-white

Ok I wanna tag these lovely beans @pe2chie @turntonightfirelight @camomillacatalina @witchgoddess @blackdressedtinyone 💗💗💗

[thesimsblues]

-GET TO KNOW ME-

You have to make a simself and put whatever you wish there, traits, anything about you.  After the keep reading thingy are +100 questions I found that you can answer if you want, but you don’t have to.

tagged by @budgie2budgie

tagging: I'm not sure who's done this already? @simnels @missrubybird @pictureamoebae @zx-ta Who else wants in on this ridiculously long quiz? I tag you.

1. What is your full name? Kathryn. 2. What is your nickname? Kate. 3. Birthday? March 24 (Aries). 4. What is your favorite book series? The Alice in Wonderland books. 5. Do you believe in aliens or ghosts? I don't not believe in them, I guess. 6. Who is your favorite author? Jane Austen, E. M. Forster. 7. What is your favorite radio station? Local NPR. 8. What is your favorite flavor of anything? Mint, sage. 9. What word would you use often to describe something great or wonderful? Amazing 10. What is your current favorite song? Nick Hakim's "Bet She Looks Like You" 11. What is your favorite word? I don’t know if I have one! This is distressing! 12. What was the last song you listened to? "Sunsetz" by Cigarettes After Sex 13. What TV show would you recommend for everybody to watch? Black Sails. 14. What is your favorite movie to watch when you’re feeling down? A&E's Pride & Prejudice. 15. Do you play video games? Yep. Mostly PC games now. 16. What is your biggest fear? Dying, being in pain forever. 17. What is your best quality, in your opinion? I can make people feel comfortable. 18. What is your worst quality, in your opinion? Laziness, my aversion to confrontation. 19. Do you like cats or dogs better? I like them both equally, though I've owned more cats than dogs. 20. What is your favorite season? Autumn. 21. Are you in a relationship? No. 22. What is something you miss from your childhood? Having a lot of friends nearby. 23. Who is your best friend? My friends from undergrad! 24. What is your eye color? Brown. 25. What is your hair color? Brown that is increasingly gray. 26. Who is someone you love? My parents. 27. Who is someone you trust? My parents. 28. Who is someone you think about often? I think about my cats a lot. 29. Are you currently excited about/for something? Winter break! 30. What is your biggest obsession? Food. 31. What was your favorite TV show as a child? Something on Nickelodeon for sure. Maybe Doug? Or Rocko's Modern Life? 32. Who of the opposite gender can you tell anything to, if anyone? My dad, mostly. 33. Are you superstitious? No. 34. Do you have any unusual phobias? Not a phobia, but I HATE wearing wet clothing. Even a little wet, like from a spill. 35. Do you prefer to be in front of the camera or behind it? Behind. 36. What is your favorite hobby? Reading, hiking, writing. 37. What was the last book you read? I finished Robin McKinley's The Hero and The Crown. 38. What was the last movie you watched?  I mostly watch TV shows. My activity list on Netflix says I watched Stardust last. 39. What musical instruments do you play, if any? I used to play the piano and the flute but no longer. 40. What is your favorite animal?  Bears. 41. What are your top 5 favorite Tumblr blogs that you follow? I can't pick favorites, c'mon. 42. What superpower do you wish you had? Healing powers. 43. When and where do you feel most at peace?  In my bed. 44. What makes you smile? My cats, flowers, kind strangers. 45. What sports do you play, if any? No sports here, no. 46. What is your favorite drink? Coffee, root beer, red wine. 47. When was the last time you wrote a hand-written letter or note to somebody? I scribble notes at work all the time. 48. Are you afraid of heights? Absolutely. 49. What is your biggest pet peeve? Rudeness. 50. Have you ever been to a concert? Yeah! Last one I went to was actually technically a ballet but I got to see Misty Copeland with a live orchestra! 51. Are you vegan/vegetarian? No, but love to eat vegetarian/vegan. 52. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? A writer. 53. What fictional world would you like to live in? Hyrule. 54. What is something you worry about? I worry about everything. 55. Are you scared of the dark? No. 56. Do you like to sing? I do! I wish I did more of it. Mostly I sing in the car. 57. Have you ever skipped school? Pfft, yeah. 58. What is your favorite place on the planet? The Rivera Court at the Detroit Institute of Art 59. Where would you like to live? I like where I live, but if I had to move out of the Detroit area, I'd move to Pittsburgh. I loved it there. 60. Do you have any pets? Two cats, Kitty and Wyatt. 61. Are you more of an early bird or a night owl? Early bird. But I hate it when I have to wake up to an alarm. 62. Do you like sunrises or sunsets better? Sunsets. 63. Do you know how to drive? I live in the Detroit area, so yes absolutely. 64. Do you prefer earbuds or headphones? Headphones. 65. Have you ever had braces? Yes and retainers, too. 66. What is your favorite genre of music? The most downtempo electronic you can find. 67. Who is your hero? Julia Child. 68. Do you read comic books? Yes! I started reading them a few years back. 69. What makes you the most angry? Not being listened to. 70. Do you prefer to read on an electronic device or with a real book? Real book. 71. What is your favorite subject in school? English. 72. Do you have any siblings? I had one older brother. 73. What was the last thing you bought? New books! Shocking! 74. How tall are you? 5'2. 75. Can you cook? Yes, and I love to cook. 76. What are three things that you love? Flowers, cold rainy days, quiet. 77. What are three things that you hate? Willful ignorance, competitive attitudes, beets. 78. Do you have more female friends or more male friends? Women friends. 79. What is your sexual orientation? Queer asexual. 80. Where do you currently live? Metro Detroit, Michigan, USA 81. Who was the last person you texted? One of my college friends. 82. When was the last time you cried? Um, about an hour ago? I cry a lot. 83. Who is your favorite YouTuber? N/A 84. Do you like to take selfies? I do. I don't take as many anymore now that I'm off of Instagram. 85. What is your favorite app? New York Times Crosswords. 86. What is your relationship with your parent(s) like? Very close. 87. What is your favorite foreign accent? Scottish. 88. What is a place that you’ve never been to, but you want to visit? Montreal. 89. What is your favorite number? I don't have one. 90. Can you juggle? No. 91. Are you religious? No. 92. Do you find outer space or the deep ocean to be more interesting? Outer space, I guess. 93. Do you consider yourself to be a daredevil? Not even close. 94. Are you allergic to anything? No. 95. Can you curl your tongue? Yes. 96. Can you wiggle your ears? No. 97. How often do you admit that you were wrong about something? Ooh, I struggle with this. Usually in the moment I can't admit it, but I come back to redress it later. 98. Do you prefer the forest or the beach? Forest! 99. What is your favorite piece of advice that anyone has ever given you? My friend Jon encouraged me to depend on maps less if I ever wanted to get to know a city. 100. Are you a good liar? No, probably not. 101. What is your Hogwarts House? Ravenclaw. 102. Do you talk to yourself? Only if I'm alone. 103. Are you an introvert or an extrovert? Introvert. 104. Do you keep a journal/diary? I keep a work bullet journal and I neglect the one I keep at home. 105. Do you believe in second chances? Mostly no. 106. If you found a wallet full of money on the ground, what would you do? I honestly don't know. Try to return it if possible, otherwise keep the money? 107. Do you believe that people are capable of change? Yes. 108. Are you ticklish? Yes. 109. Have you ever been on a plane? Yes. 110. Do you have any piercings? I have my septum pierced, as well as three holes in each ear. I've closed up all but the basic lobe piercing and the septum. 111. What fictional character do you wish was real? Peeta Mellark from The Hunger Games because heart eyes. 112. Do you have any tattoos? Yes. I have one on each inner arm right above my elbows. They're a pair of wild flower bouquets in black ink. 113. What is the best decision that you’ve made in your life so far? I don't know if I can rank decisions like that. 114. Do you believe in karma? No. 115. Do you wear glasses or contacts? Glasses. 116. Do you want children? No. 117. Who is the smartest person you know? I have a lot of smart friends who are smart at different things. 118. What is your most embarrassing memory? Sorry no. 119. Have you ever pulled an all-nighter? Yes. 120. What color are most of you clothes? Jewel tones. 121. Do you like adventures? Only if I plan them, lol. 122. Have you ever been on TV? No. 123. How old are you? 30. 124. What is your favorite quote? "A party without cake is just a meeting." - Julia Child 125. Do you prefer sweet or savory foods? Sweet.

[proserpine-in-phases]

@nachttour tagged me in a writing question thing!

1) is there a story you’re holding off on writing for some reason?

uh yeah there’s like, several. some of them are better developed than other but a lot of the reason I’ve been holding off on writing them just comes down to feeling inadequate due to my own limited experience with relationships and feelings of complete inadequacy. it’s hard to write an epic romancu when I’m aromantic as fuck and have a hard time conceptualizing what those feelings might be like to experience, for example, or like, I want the story to be funny but I feel like I’m not actually a very funny person?

also I always feel like I need to do more research. I get stuck on the research phase about 85% of the time haha

2) what work of yours, if any, are you the most embarrassed about existing?

man I am embarrassed by MYSELF existing, so  idk probably all of it when you get right down to it

3) what order do you write in? front of book to back? chronological? favorite scenes first? something else?

it seems to vary a bit. sometimes I just power through start to finish, but sometimes I need to write the ending first to remind myself of what I’m shooting for. sometimes I just gotta write some random scenes in the middle before I forget what they are and have to figure out where they’ll go later.

considering the longest thing I’ve managed to finish comes in at about 12 k  I don’t know if I have enough data to really come up with a firm answer for this one though. from what I can tell, it really does seem like I start at the beginning and go for a bit, write the end, and try to connect the two with occasional random middle bits getting written out of order and a general feeling of “I’ll fix it in post” carrying me through

4) favorite character you’ve written

probably Samantha Traynor. she’s such a fucking nerd and I love her. it was surprisingly easy to write for her once I got started. at least I THINK I did a good job writing her, I have no actual idea haha

5) character you were most surprised to end up writing

I’ve written TWO mass effect fics featuring Samara as a main character and I have no idea how this happened or why because she’s about in the middle when it comes to my most to least favorite mass effect characters list

6) something you would go back and change in your writing that it’s too late/complicated to change now

there’s a couple of fics I wrote for fic exchanges that I kinda wish I could take back and turn into something else because I love the concept but feel guilty about idk, using as a springboard because the original is a gift, or something. it feels ehhhhhhhhh disingenuous to continue them when the gift is supposed to be a singular and self contained unit

for example, oh man I would love to take that vrisrezi space pirates au someplace, but I don’t know if I should because the fic itself is a gift, complete, and so forth. 

plus I hate the way I run out of steam about 4 chapters into everything. I would like to not run out of motivation please

7) when asked, are you embarrassed or enthusiastic to tell people that you write?

considering my output is so low I barely consider myself a writer at all tbh.

but yes, embarrassed. I hope to god the three people I know irl who follow me just like. never see those posts haha

8) favorite genre to write

space adventure! and lately? mysteries even though I have no FUCKING idea why or even how to write them, which is why I have at least three projects stalled out on me haha

9) what, if anything, do you do for inspiration?

I read a lot, mostly. sometimes I stare at a wall. or play minesweeper. 

also when I’m doing something fairly mindless sometimes my mind wanders and I hit something. 

oh and music. music is great

10) write in silence or with background noise? with people or alone?

I usually need music, mood music preferable, instrumental so the lyrics don’t distract me. generally I prefer to not be around people when I write, though a public setting is also fun to write in. I’m too distractable to actually get any done though, so I usually end up just looking like a tool with their notebook out if I try to write in a coffee shop or whatever tho, haha

11) what aspect of your writing do you think has most improved since you started writing?

I think writing fanfic has really helped me figure out what it means to write in character. also I think I’m starting to get better at balancing dialogue versus narration? at least a little bit

12) your weaknesses as an author

the inability to actually finish shit. 

unwillingness to approach emotions that make me feel uncomfortable. 

the fact that I often approach writing a character with the thought of what I would do in a situation rather than what the character would do (which is why writing fanfiction is helping me with that haha)

coming up with plots that lend themselves well to longer stuff

13) your strengths as an author

pretty good at dialogue

when it comes to my own shit, pretty good at coming up with interesting fantasy worlds (I think they’re interesting at least)

I’ve got a pretty firm grasp overall just the nuts and bolts of writing: I mean I tutored English in college for fuck’s sake I know how to write a grammatically correct run on sentence when I want to 

14) do you make playlists for your current wips?

not really

15) why did you start writing?

I wanted to know what happened next

16) are there any characters who haunt you?

not really? I mean, there are specific character TYPES that’ll get me every time, though, like the happy go lucky person who has to learn what pain is but still come out the other side a LOT worse for wear but not completely broken (think Tasslehoff Burrfoot, or perhaps less obscure Vash the Stampede) but I wouldn’t say they haunt me, per say

17) if you could give your fledgling author self any advice, what would it be?

don’t be afraid to be self indulgent. you’ll enjoy it more and who the fuck cares, anyway? people who’ll make fun of you for doing what you love are ass holes

18) were there any works you read that affected you so much that it influenced your writing style? what were they?

If I’m honest I can’t really say what influences my writing style, if I even have one. Mostly all I can do is list off my favorite authors because I’m pretty sure they all have something to do with it. 

so let’s just do that I guess.  when I was a teenager I tended to find a single author and just read through all their works before moving on, and these are the big ones that stand out:

Connie Willis, Anne McCaffrey, Steven Brust and Ursula K. Le Guin. Connie Willis for the humor she includes in almost all her writing, Anne McCaffrey because I STILL spend an inordinate amount of time thinking about Pern. She had a real skill for coming up with both great characters and great settings, even if what she did with them, and also her inability to keep continuity were less good. Steven Brust introduced me to the idea of relating to morally reprehensible characters at an alarmingly young age. Ursula K. Le Guin, I just love her. No idea if it’s actually done anything GOOD to my writing but she gives me something to aspire to.

I read just. a ridiculous amount of fantasy and science fiction as a kid, the genres as a whole without a doubt influence the type of shit I end up writing. also in seventh grade I mainlined dragonlance, just the whole damn thing

later in college I got really into Margaret Atwood. her focus on female characters and narrative just is really great.  

then I went through a depressive phase in my late 20s and just exclusively read Julia Quinn, Joanna Lindsey, Sabrina Jeffreys and Eloisa James, and that was IT. so I’m pretty sure my foray into the romance genre is what makes me honestly prefer povs limited to two or three characters  hey, reading romance novels also lead me to the realization that I’m aromantic so \o/ I guess

19) when it comes to more complicated narratives, how do you keep track of outlines, characters, development, timeline, ect.?

I outline and then give up lol

20) do you write in long sit-down sessions or in little spurts?

little spurts until something grabs me and makes me marathon. usually that’s a deadline, but sometimes it’s also inspiration 

21) what do you think when you read over your older work?

mostly just holy shit I can’t believe I wrote this! sometimes that’s bad, sometimes it’s good. I can’t really tell if I’m good at divorcing myself from my writing enough to give me perspective on it, to tell the truth, because for a good lot of it, I still think it’s pretty good so ???

22) are there any subjects that make you uncomfortable to write?

it’s hard for me to let a character be embarrassed by the dumb shit they do. I don’t want them to do dumb shit because of it, which makes it hard for the character to have shit to grow and learn from.

23) any obscure life experiences that you feel have helped your writing?

I’m pretty sure my own issues with having and experiencing some emotions makes its way into the stuff I choose to write about, especially when it comes to the original stuff (I have. at LEAST three different plot outlines that involve characters literally losing the ability to experience emotions and having to find a way to heal or gain it back haha)  

also the fic I wrote about the box ghost is literally just about what it’s like to work in a factory haha

24) have you ever become an expert on something you previously knew nothing about, in order to better a scene or a story?

listen. 

yes.

I fucking. LOVE. research. 

honestly this is the stage where I most often get lost in the weeds, distracted by my own need to know more

25) copy/paste a few sentences or a short paragraph that you’re particularly proud of

“He was not the knight Casey taught him to be, but he was close enough for government work“ remains the single best pun I’ve ever written

tagging: @anthropwashere @inktail @manicpixiesdreamdragon if you guys are up for it!

[lostinthewinterwood]

Fandom 5k 2020

Showing up over a week late to the party.

Hey friend! So. Uh. About that letter…

Well, if you’re already on your way, that’s great!  Feel free to ignore this letter completely.  It is, after all, quite late.  If, however, you are like me and haven’t started yet, and you’re wanting a little something more for inspiration, here’s… something, at least. Most of this is in my signup, but there’s a bit extra here.

Good luck!

 General DNW

Rape/non/dub-con; non-canonical major character death; heavy angst; hurt no comfort; graphic depictions of deliberate and methodical self-harm*; graphic depictions of suicide; anything E rated; smut; gore; heavy gender dysphoria; grimdark; complete downer endings; character bashing; incest; cringe comedy; a/b/o; mpreg; unrequested full setting AUs (canon-divergence is fine); graphic eye trauma; graphic and/or permanent hand trauma (unless the setting can provide a more-or-less fully functional prosthetic or equivalent); issuefic; unrequested identity headcanons; a focus on unrequested romantic relationships.

*I don’t include things like, say, punching a wall in a fit of emotion under this. however, something like cutting would not be appreciated.

  General Likes

– I really like plotty fics

– Secret identity and disguise shenanigans, the more layers to them and more absurdity the better.

– Crossdressing for whatever reason and gender disguises, also for whatever reason.

– Time travel and time loops are always fun, especially as a fix-it.  I have a general preference for Peggy Sue style (aka, an older character getting put back in their younger body at an earlier point in the timeline) over the character’s physical body stepping back in time, but either one is good.

– A focus on family and/or friendship, especially characters realizing they’re not nearly as alone as they think they are, and just generally characters who like each other and enjoy spending time together

– Found family; families of choice

– Character studies

– Worldbuilding

  Fandom-Specific Things

 Original Works

Adolescent Supervillain with a Secret Identity & Adolescent Superhero with a Secret Identity

Child Superhero & Their Concerned Supervillain Nemesis

Male Student Mage Disguised as a Girl & His Older Female Mentor

Priestess Of A Dying Sun & Goddess Of Endless Night

Prophesied Hero & Prophesied Dark Lord

Prince/Prince of Enemy Country He’s Met on the Battlefield More Than Once

- Action/Adventure

- Character Development

- Interpersonal Drama

- Science Fiction

- Fantasy

- Hurt/Comfort

- Worldbuilding

 Fandom-specific DNW: neopronouns, random pronoun changes within a PoV (changing because of disguise purposes is fine, great even; I have a lot of trouble with characters who go by multiple pronouns within one PoV basically at random)

 Superheroes—for the kids with the secret identities, do they know each other as their civilian selves? As their cape selves? Both? Do they like each other, dislike each other, is this a rivalry thing… with stories that have this dynamic, I always end up spending half my time cackling internally and the other half of the time going children no when they’re friends as civilians and enemies in masks, but honestly I’d be here for any dynamic they could have. For the child hero and concerned nemesis, I absolutely adore the dynamic of the kid going “I’m here to defeat you!” and the villain being like “…okay I may be a criminal and a villain but you are a literal child what are you doing where are your parents,” and it going from there.

Student Mage & Mentor—ngl this is at least 85% inspired by all the “girl disguises herself as boy to become warrior” books I read as a kid, and I always wanted a gender-flipped version—so tell me! Why is he disguised as a girl? Does his mentor know? If she does, is she actively helping him, or begrudgingly accepting, or something else? Anything around this would be great, and ruse/identity reveals are always delicious if you want something more specific as a prompt.

Priestess & Goddess—I really like the idea of this; it has a very melancholic feel to it, like the end of an age, and I would love worldbuilding this place that allows this relationship, or a dual character study, or, of course, both.

Prophesied Hero & Dark Lord—I love explorations of fate and prophecy, especially in regards to people who are supposedly destined for roles they may or may not want—do the hero and dark lord know each other before the prophecy kicks off? How do they feel about their respective roles, and about each other? Is this a story where you can break from your role, or can you not fight fate? Are you destined to fulfil the prophecy, even if you try to defy it? I have no opinions on the gender of these characters—ignore the gender implications of the tag if you want to.

Prince/Prince—I’m picturing something with delicious snarky banter between the two princes. I’d love to see something with, like, a grudging mutual respect turning into something where they like each other and then they go and fall in love and go “oh… well, fuck,” and have to sort it out from there.

  The Dragon Prince

Aaravos

Claudia

Soren

- Character Development

- Worldbuilding

- Fantasy

- Fix-it fic

 Fandom-specific DNW: Aaravos/Viren, at all.

 This show is wonderful and heartbreaking and I adore it.

Claudia, Soren—I love them and am somewhat heartbroken over their choices this past season; I’d love any sort of character study focusing on them or their relationship to each other (and their dad, though I’d rather Viren not take the spotlight in any fic you write). After the show or during it, or something pre-canon—all of those are great. I’d definitely be down for things exploring the fallout of season three and the choices they made there, especially at the end.

Aaravos—I’m fascinated even as I somewhat dislike him. For him, I’d love to see something pre-canon—why did he get locked up in that mirror? What was the world like, when that happened? He’s our narrator at the beginning—what’s up with that? If you want to keep it more canon-era, I’d love a look into his head during the events that go down; what’s his angle on all of this? Is it just to free himself, or does he have broader plans? How much is he lying in all of this? For him, I’d be happy to get an outsider PoV or in-universe meta about him, especially on what he was before he got locked up—he’s in books! Clearly he wasn’t totally low profile back in the day.

  The Court Jester

Princess Gwendolyn/Sir Griswold

Hubert Hawkins/Maid Jean

Hubert Hawkins & Giacomo

Hubert Hawkins

- Character Development

- Getting Together

- Humor

 Fandom-specific DNW: Gwendolyn/Griswold relationship that isn’t reciprocal

 Okay, so, this has been a favorite movie of mine since I was like ten lol. I love it and its comedy and its characters and like… I mean. Look at my Thing for secret identity nonsense; it shouldn’t be hard to see the appeal here.

Gwendolyn/Griswold—so, Griselda tells Gwendolyn that she’ll marry for love. Now we all know that she doesn’t get to marry her jester; but who’s to say that she doesn’t end up marrying for love anyway? After all there’s no real other reason to pair her up with Griswold in the end; certainly there’s no longer a political advantage to be gained by doing so.

Hawkins/Jean—I like their dynamic, their mutual respect for each other’s skills and abilities, how they know each other and rely on each other and idk man I just want More.

Hawkins & Giacomo—this is a ridiculous prompt, in that they spend all of five minutes together before Giacomo gets knocked out (or is it killed? Not clear tbh) and disappears from the movie. I mostly think it would be really funny if somehow they had to drag Giacomo along? And then he’s trying to complete his original mission, but he and Hawkins have to pretend to be the same person, for Reasons, and… anyway I just think this would be very funny.

Hawkins—just give me anything about him; I’d be here for just about anything tbh, he’s great.  If you want something more specific, maybe tell me about his past, how he came to be part of the Black Fox’s group, or his childhood before that.

  現実もたまには嘘をつく | Genjitsu mo Tama ni wa Uso wo Tsuku | Sometimes Reality Tells Lies Too (Manga)

Terazaki Kaoru & Ousaka Shouko

Terazaki Kaoru & Ousaka Nanami & Takekawa Izumi

Terazaki Kaoru & Ousaka Nanami

Ousaka Nanami & Ousaka Shouko & Ousaka Toshio

- Character Development

- AU – Genre Shift

- Fluff

- Slice of Life

 Fandom-specific DNW: sexualization of Kaoru’s crossdressing, romance between Kaoru and Nanami beyond light shiptease à la canon, full justification of Kaoru’s fears re: Nanami’s dad

 I love these kids and their adorable friendship and character development. Honestly, anything you can give me with either of them I’ll probably treasure, since as far as I can tell this fandom is basically nonexistent. Some of my feelings here are just wordless warm fuzzy feelings but I will Try to give prompts.

So, for more specific ideas:

Kaoru & Shouko—I love how mom-like Shouko feels around Kaoru, and I’d love a deeper look into their dynamic. Half of me thinks she already knows or at least suspects that “Kaori” isn’t really a girl, or at least isn’t a cis girl, but I rather suspect she’d just not say anything, at least for the time being—“Kaori” is her daughter’s only friend, after all, and has been pulling Nanami out of her shell, and she wouldn’t want to disturb that.

Kaoru & Nanami & Izumi—these three are a lot of fun together, I’d love any sort of shenanigans with them, the more ridiculous the better.

Kaoru & Nanami—look they’re just. adorable. Anything exploring that friendship I am here for.

Ousaka family—I really like their dynamic. I’d be here for anything exploring it, really, including a look into Nanami’s backstory—it seems she wasn’t always as much of a shut-in as she is at the start, but there’s pain there too—what happened? I’d also find it quite funny if her parents have actually figured out Kaoru’s secret but aren’t going to let on to the kids just yet.

General things I’d be into seeing explored in anything with the relevant characters: Nanami’s past, Kaoru’s past/family/home life—he seems awfully lonely at times, do these kids… go to school? I kinda have the impression that Nanami doesn’t, but what do you think?, their mutual obsession with Peten-Chan

If you want to do a setting AU here I’d be down for that, as long as you keep the characters and their dynamics and don’t make it too dark.

  Thank you so much for writing for me and good luck with your writing!!

[bookwormcheerleader]

i was tagged by @trevorfindsthestrals (LOOK i finally got internet access on my laptop again!! Sorry it took so long) 1. Coffee or tea? tea, i had my first cup of coffee on like thursday last week 2. Black and white or color? black or soft, but not pastel, colours 3. Drawings or paintings? idk, whatever is more moving in that moment i guess 4. Dresses or skirts? dresses because i never know how to match with a skirt 5. Books or movies? how DARE you make me choose, i think books, but i wanna make movies (potentially havent really explored that yet) so it seems like the wrong answer 6. Pepsi or Coke? i dont drink fizzy drinks 7. Chinese or Italian? definitely italian on an everyday basis but i LOVE chinese too 8. Early bird or night owl? its almost midnight and i havent started my reading for tomorrow, that counts as an answer right? 9. Chocolate or vanilla? chocolate, unless its a milkshake 10. Introvert or extrovert? introvert, i don’t really like people 11. Hugs or kisses? ive never been kissed so hugs 12. Hunting or fishing? aesthetics of hunting but uh with fishing you can not put a hook on the line and just kinda sit there and chill without looking like the animal lover that your family judges you for being 13. Winter or summer? yes. idk im probably more of a summer person, but i also really like the implications of winter in that everything has to die in order to be reborn, plus i can’t really breathe in the heat, but i also have poor circulation in my extremities so the cold sucks ass 14. Spring or fall? spring, i like the crisp air of fall dont get me wrong, but the rebirth and the petrichor after a spring rain with a crisp breeze that doesnt chill you is just so relaxing 15. Rural or urban? i grew up in the woods so rural but i need to at least be kinda close to a hospital to avoid panicking  16. PC or Mac? pc 17. Tan or pale? is this preference, cuz i dont have one of those, but i am so white that i was the same color as my cheer uniform in high school 18. Cake or pie? cake, i dont like pie crust 19. Ice cream or yogurt? frozen yogurt tbh, it jsut tastes fresher and less heavy 20. Ketchup or mustard? my brother likes to mock me for how much i loved ketchup when i was like 7 as if it was yesterday 21. Sweet pickles or dill pickles? i dont like pickles 22. Comedy or mystery? can we do a hybrid where its like theyre fighting crime but have no ability to act serious, cuz im basically writing a comic book like that with @spectralflutterbeast 23. Boots or sandals? i live in a colder wetter climate so usually boots, but i love sandals 24. Silver or gold? i like white gold typically because its often a mix, it has the matching ability of silver with the warmth in color of gold 25. Pop or Rock? i grew up on steve miller and journey from my mom and simon & garfunkel from my dad 26. Dancing or singing? all i can think of is my shitty karoke the other night, so uh dancing, at least i don’t suck more at that when im drunk 27. Checkers or chess? checkers is easier and i could probably actually win, but chess is more likely to hold my attention 28. Board games or video games? we used to do family board game nights (im currently holding the winnign streak for clue because any games played without everyone dont count) (my extended family is also obsessed with card games, its how we bond, we talk shit and play cards) 29. Wine or beer? wine if i have to have one of these, i dont like fizzy stuff ever so no beer but wine dries out my mouth 30. Freckles or dimples? i have freckles, and i love it when people have dimples 31. Honey mustard or BBQ sauce? i guess bbq 32. Body weight exercises or lifting weights? idk what body weight exercises includes but i have always liked lifting weights, its something im fairly good at 33. Baseball or basketball? BASEBALL IS THE BEST I LOVE IT, i miss playing it so much but its been too long for me to feel comfortable joining an intramural team 34. Crossword puzzles or sudokus? sudoku...i think 35. Facial hair or clean shaven? preference right, um stubble.... im not big on full beards (probs cuz my dad has always had one, seriously pics from when he was 20 we are the exact same but he has a beard, he says he hasnt shaved his upper lip since he was 16) clean shaven is nice too tho 36. Crushed ice or cubed ice? i prefer no ice, but if i have to i like that ice you get in hospital cafeterias 37. Skiing or snowboarding? never been 38. Smile or game face? smirking, its the happy medium 39. Bracelet or necklace? i feel naked without any piece of my jewelry (watch on right wrist, a bracelet on my left, a necklace for me to fidget with, both sets of earrings) 40. Fruit or vegetables? fruit 41. Sausage or bacon? bacon 42. Scrambled or fried? scrambled unless its on toast 43. Dark chocolate or white chocolate? dark chocolate 44. Tattoos or piercings? i have two sets of piercings and i just got my first tattoo last month 45. Antique or brand new? antique unless its something i would feel like i couldnt be comfortable using, i always wind up with a very eclectic mix 46. Dress up or dress down? dress down, never really have a reason to dress up 47. Cowboys or aliens? cowboys, space gives me anxiiety 48. Cats or dogs? dogs 49. Pancakes or waffles? depends on who is making the pancakes 50. Bond or Bourne? uhhhh what 51. Sci-Fi or fantasy? fantasy 52. Numbers or letters? letters 53. Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings? lotr tbh 54. Fair or theme park? fair, i grew up in puyallup (look it up, i can even sing the old theme song) 55. Money or fame? money, i want to buy my parents and aunt nice things 56. Washing dishes or doing laundry? laundry (no icky wet food pieces!) {this is what @trevorfindsthestrals had i just could not have said it any better myself} 57. Snakes or sharks? ummm snakes? cuz theyre smaller and i can run from them if theyre dangerous 58. Orange juice or apple juice? orange 59. Sunrise or sunset? sunsets seem more satisfactory to me 60. Slacker or over-achiever?.....i dont’ know how to answer this question 61. Pen or pencil? pencil, unless im worried about it smudging, then i bought some erasable pens for that 62. Peanut butter or jelly? peanut butter is more filling but i make jam every year so theres that 63. Grammys or Oscars? oscars 64. Detailed or abstract? why cant we do both, like a painting that is overall abstract but the closer you get the more you see the things that make it what it is, ya know, like life 65. Multiple choice questions or essay questions? idk multiple choice questions are harder to get wrong for not having enough info about a particular topic, but im good at and enjoy bsing things 66. Adventurous or cautious? i wish i was more adventurous but insecurities 67. Saver or spender? yes 68. Glasses or contacts? i dont wear either 69. Laptop or desktop? laptop 70. Classic or modern? what medium 71. Personal chef or personal fitness trainer? i would like a personal trainer until i get back in the habit of it and then i would jsut need a gym buddy 72. Internet or cell phone? cell since you cna get internet on your phone 73. Call or text? social anxiety so texting  74. Curly hair or straight? mine is beach wavy 75. Shower in the morning or shower in the evening? ive been showering in the morning because i like what it does to my hair 76. Spicy or mild? spicy please 77. Marvel or DC? wonder woman was my first favorite character, like about the time that bugs life came out because i obviously had two and the other was Flick  78. Paying a mortgage or paying rent? rent, i like assurance but i dont like permanence 79. Sky dive or bungee jump? never been but uh im not that trusting so i probably am jsut gonna go with a no 80. Oreos or Chips Ahoy? chewy chips ahoy 81. Jello or pudding? jello 82. Truth or dare? im a chicken so truth 83. Roller coaster or Ferris wheel? roller coaster, ferris wheels are all of the fear with none of the fun 84. Leather or denim? I NEED BOTH I CANT CHOOSE 85. Stripes or solids? stripes and fat people lol no, solids for me 86. Bagels or muffins? bagels probably 87. Whole wheat or white? whole wheat 88. Beads or pearls? pearls, my mother was a jeweler for 13 years, i cant not 89. Hardwood or carpet? hard wood in a hall, tile or linoleum in the kitchen and bathroom and then carpet everywhere else 90. Bright colors or neutral tones? uhhhh for what, cuz it really depends  91. Be older than you are or younger than you are? i want to be like 34, not rn obviously, im enjoying being 20 and stupid, but i feel like 34 is a good age, of course thats abotu how old my bros were when i idolized them so that might be reflective of that 92. Raisins or nuts? raisins, partially because every time my dad sees nuts he says nuts for the nutty and it has become a conditioned response for me now 93. Picnic or nice restaurant? picnic 94. Black leather or brown leather? brown 95. Long hair or short hair? mines somewhere in the middle 96. “Ready, aim, fire” or “Ready, fire, aim”? wtf does the second even mean 97. Fiction or non-fiction? fiction 98. Smoking or non-smoking? i have asthma 99. Think before you talk or talk before you think? i wish i could think before i talk more than i actually do 100. Asking questions or answering questions? i like to listen to people imma tag: @kiavachiisanoob @warriorsatthedisco @colecast1 and anyone lookinng for an excuse to do one of these

[netmaddy-blog]

How to Exhume Your Buried Site and Get Recovery From Google

New Post has been published on https://netmaddy.com/how-to-exhume-your-buried-site-and-get-recovery-from-google/

How to Exhume Your Buried Site and Get Recovery From Google

Is There Really a Recovery From Google Slaps?

If you head out on Google and search for ‘recovery from Google’ or ‘recover from Google Penguin,’ or Panda or algorithm updates, you’re going to find a ton of people out there touting that they’ll get you back on track for X amount of dollars.

You’re told you have to contact site owners and have links removed coming into your site. You’re told you have to do this – do that – do something else, create new links this way, listen to “gurus” tell you this is the “new way” to build links post-Panda and post-Penguin.

And for a limited time, you can get our services for $997! What?

Seriously, why would you want to pay someone for something you can do – and should do – yourself?

My e-commerce site was not only slammed by Google’s algorithm updates in September 2012, it was buried – cremated may sound even better. How, you might ask? To this day, I’m not really too sure if it was the Penguin or Panda update, but one of those bad-asses animals took me down – HARD.

My site went from about 150-175 unique visitors a day to TWO – overnight. Like many, many other site owners out there, I was devastated! In less than 24 hours, my site got buried back on page 15+ on Google.

And if that wasn’t enough, Google started de-indexing my pages – one by one until I was left with nothing but the handful of solid backlinks I’d gotten over the last few years of being in business.

I didn’t know what to do. I’d actually had the site and business up for sale for a couple of weeks before the take-down but after Google hammered me, I couldn’t have given the site away.

So I left it to sit for about another month or so while Google systematically de-indexed about 85% of the site’s pages. Slow but sure death and cremation of a site I’d worked hours and hours and hours to build and rebuild. Gone.

Now, I have to say, this wasn’t one of those “niche sites” just for making AdSense or Amazon cash. This was a full-fledged storefront for a product that I design and sell myself.

And I’d taken it from nothing to being on the front page of Google between #1 and #8 position for most of the primary keywords I wanted. I was just gaining an edge on some of my top competitors when – BAM – Google decided my site just wasn’t good enough.

I’d worked on this site for the better part of four years and had registered a brand new NON-exact match domain name about six months before the slam. So I was rather livid, to say the least. I will say that hearing some mega-major corporations being slammed as well did make me feel a little better. At least I knew I wasn’t alone, for whatever that was worth.

So what did I do get back into Google’s good graces? I didn’t file a reconsideration petition. I didn’t follow the “advice” from the “gurus” and buy a new domain name or contact the site owners from where my allegedly “spammy links” were coming from. In fact, when I did a backlink analysis, there really wasn’t much there to be concerned with. So that left on-page issues like overusing certain keywords and/or lacking significant content.

Some “gurus” said my site was worthless now so I may as well ‘put my big girl panties on’ and accept it. Quit. Do something else. You’re done. You did something wrong and now you can’t undo it.

I am so glad I didn’t listen to any of them!!

I knew I had a valuable website with something to say, a great product to offer and content that just needed some updating to be more valuable. So I decided to start on my path to recovery, exhume the ashes of my now more-than-dead site and get to work.

Step One – Remove the Site from Google Analytics That’s right. They de-indexed the site so why bother analyzing it anymore. They took it from me, I took it from them.

Step Two – Take It Down. Yup. I removed every last file from the server and replaced it all with only two files – the index and the custom 404. Regardless of where people landed, they got the same message – and this is crucial in retaining visitors even during downtime.

I did not use any “under construction” images or anything like that. I did a video – me on camera – explaining that I had taken the site down temporarily while doing a complete renovation, to please bookmark the site and stop back around December 5.

Why did I give them a date? Because I didn’t want to have to do another video, for one, and it gave me a deadline to work towards so I wouldn’t get sidetracked doing anything else. The same video announcement went on both the temporary home page and on the custom 404 page.

Step Three – Get Educated. This was something I learned while wandering around YouTube in a daze one day wondering what to do with my site. Sometimes a good redesign with some updated content can do the trick. But you have to know what is wrong and how to fix it. And that takes some research.

My site was built as an HTML/CSS static site, which now that I know more about WordPress, I know using an HTML site leaves a HUGE margin for error if you’re not careful. And now I believe this was one of the main negatives for my site. The URL structure was not correct for the site and the way I was copy/pasting pages to use for other pages encouraged the dreaded “duplicate content” within the site.

The duplicate content actually came in the form of repeated meta tag keywords and meta descriptions showing up on more than one page. Google does not like that – at all. And they’ll let you know by starting to de-index those alleged ‘spammy’ pages.

So I knew I had to rebuild the site using WordPress. And that meant learning a lot more about WordPress than just setting up a content blog. This was serious business here. My old HTML site had the lightbox effect for the product images and a custom order form. I had to replicate that in the new site.

Step Four – Go to YouTube And watch a lot of instructional videos about WordPress. On YouTube I found out how to install the lightbox plug-in, includes the plug-in for WordPress, and how to structure the URLs for a solid site that Google would love.

Step Five – Dig In and Start to Work! I’d already started to get familiar with the Atahualpa theme since using it to rebuild another site, so I figured I’d start with that theme and go from there. Again, because I’m a self-admitted YouTube junkie, I go there first when I need help with stuff. So I spent a lot of time with two browser windows open – one with a YouTube instructional video, the other with the WordPress dashboard open following along.

I’ve also learned a lot about PhotoShop via YouTube so that helped me design a new header image for the site.

Once the framework was done, i.e., color scheme, layout, CSS adds, etc., it was time to start copy/pasting over 200 pages of HTML into Pages and Posts. I love using shortcodes and Include files so I went back to YouTube and found the video I needed to learn how to do that in WordPress. A piece of cake.

Step Six – Time for the New Sitemap! After about 60 hours, yes, an entire week of “overtime,” the site was ready for its new sitemap and re-add to Google Analytics.

Step Seven – Time, Patience, Education and WORK Paid off! I added the site back to Google Analytics along with a brand new 267-page sitemap on December 1. December 2 I checked and they had already indexed 179 pages! And that was after they’d de-indexed all but 23 of 260 pages a couple of months earlier!

So what did I learn from this?

First, when it needs to be done right – Do It Yourself! There are just some things that can’t and shouldn’t be outsourced to anyone else. And when it comes to your business website, this is something that needs to be taken on by you alone.

Why? You know what you want and it’s beneficial to actually get the education and learn new things along the way because they’ll be easier to fix in the future if you have to edit something.

Also, as I moved along through the rebuilding, I recognized several areas where what I had created the first time probably was seen by the Google ‘bots as spamming and duplicate content. If I’d outsourced the job to someone else to “copy/paste” their way through rebuilding, they may not have recognized it.

The ‘Gurus’ Aren’t Always Right! I’d been told by so many people over the last couple of months that my site was dead in the water. Forget it. Start over with something new. Let the domain name expire because it’s worthless now.

And a lot of people probably would have. A lot of people have, especially if they were only small niche sites set up only for the purpose of making Google AdSense or Amazon Associate cash.

I also think there are a lot of people who may be afraid to start over because they may not have invested the ‘blood, sweat & tears’ into their businesses to begin with. They may feel they have nothing to lose so why bother, right?

I could have just ditched this business too, but I was like, I’m gonna beat you, Google! I am not going down without trying! LOL

And then there are the “stereotypical” online marketers who are pretty much just too lazy to put in the effort it will take to exhume their sites from the Google cemetery and they’re perfectly content to start over. Whatever works for them!

But I had a feeling that if you can show Google you’re 100% serious about your business by doing what it takes to survive out there, they’ll work with you. And – I never filed any of those stupid “Reconsideration” things either. Not necessary. I would have felt like I was begging for mercy or something.

I didn’t touch any of the already incoming links to the site either. I left those as they are, wherever they’re coming from. I don’t think I got hit over that, to begin with. I still think it was on-page “over-optimization” – in Google’s algorithms anyway – that nailed my site. And I think reconfiguring and rebuilding all of my ‘old’ content into some fresh stuff made the difference.

Going Forward from Recovery Content – Content – Content. There are two main people I have to give a shout-out to during this entire process both for their encouragement, the way they keep their websites at the top and their 100% focus on building quality content.

Lisa Irby of 2createawebsite.com. Lisa absolutely refused to let me give up on my site. So I’ve been keeping her posted on my progress.

David Boozer of Online Mentor Now. I only just started following David recently after finding him on YouTube and immediately signed up for his email list and free mentoring.

Both David and Lisa will tell you what works – Content. Regularly building high-quality content is the only way to go today and going forward. They’ll tell you that the ‘gurus’ with their latest allegedly push-button, no-work schemes that promise you thousands of dollars overnight – those things don’t work. I know they don’t. I tried them and I got “punished” for using them – harshly.

So with the insight and education of these two awesome online marketers, I put everything else aside and dug my website out of the Google Cemetery. Will it rank high again on Google? I’m expecting it will, now that I have it all in place the way it should be.

So Can You Make a Recovery from Google Slaps? Yes, but you have to WANT it bad enough and then put in the work to make it happen. If you only have a five or ten-page niche site only set up for ads and affiliate links, maybe not.

But if you redesign it – in WordPress – stay away from the shortcuts, do your due diligence and add quality content, you should be able to pull yourself back up.