#sorry to any of my followers who have seen this bizarro shit

[radlymona]

Several British people have responded to that Tumblr to inform you, in depth, with legal and historical references, why you are confidently and completely incorrectly talking absolute nonsense about British culture. No, it’s not the same just because Australia is also an Anglophone country. Would you blindly claim France and the Ivory Coast have exactly the same cultural contexts? Take the loss gracefully.

I do not take anons who go on another person's tumblr and woefully misinterpret what I say as an "in-depth" reply to me.

Now considering, the weird amount of people who have zeroed in on this matter (like seriously of all things??) you would think I would have posted a poorly written thesis on the country's political party system.

What I actually said: There was and still is a severe bullying problem at British elite schooling institutions. Man, what an incorrect statement. Since you want references, there are many, many, many, many news articles that refrence this culture of bullying and abuse. They often have to write very covertly and include it as part of a bigger picture of terrible elite boarding school culture. Which is quite frankly, what JKR is commentating on as a whole. It also doesn't take a genius to know that bullying is still likely being underreported/glossed over/downplayed, especially when you consider the importance of boarding schools -> prestige universities -> prestige role in society, pipeline. I.e. you'd rather not be kicked out of old alumni groups, for the prestige and doorways it opens, by spilling the school's secrets on the front page news.

Now, when I mentioned hazing/fagging (and as I went on to explain in a second response that no one has responded to), I so obviously meant that with such severe practices still in place in the 1970s (even if the general public was turning against them), the equivalent of magical pantsing would not be seen as particularly severe or abnormal. At least nowhere near to the extent that it's been painted as.

And for god's sake, anybody could have commented on such a basic fact about what goes on in the British schooling system. You don't have to live there to know about the elite boarding culture (we have a very similar boys' school culture, because gee I wonder what influenced it?). I mentioned being from Australia because it kept brought up as if we were on two different planets, rather than two very culturally close countries. And I'm sorry, as long as the literal king of england is touring the country and we're having a revitalised national debate about our sovereignty and the potential republicanism, I do not give af about making a few broad comments about very a similar culture. As long as Australian senators (who represent our population) are forced to make a fucking oaths to a monarchy on the other side of the planet, I'm well within my rights to make a few broad comments.

[violetsmoak]

Pieces of April [5/?]

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21099044/chapters/50202530

Summary: On the anniversary of his death, Jason’s second life takes an abrupt new turn and he’s faced with a challenge that neither Batman nor the All-Caste prepared him for.

Rating: PG-13 (rating may change later)

Warning(s): Past Jason/Isabel, kidfic, minor canon character death (pretty sure you can guess who, not either of our boys!), I’ll add more warnings/tags as I think of them.

Canon-Compliance: Takes place in between the two RHATO series, so after Roy and Kori and before Artemis and Bizarro.

Author’s Note: And now, for a change in POV!

First Chapter

________________________________________________________________

Of course, right after Jason leaves, the baby wakes up.

And starts to wail.

Tim freezes, all of his reflexes seemingly dissolved by the unyielding sound that such a tiny creature should not be able to produce.

Whatever Jason said about him being calm, in actuality, he’s completely freaked out over this whole baby thing.

Over the whole Jason’s baby thing.

This whole situation is just not in his area of expertise, nor does it require any of his previous training. And he can’t really see a situation where, on the infinitesimal chance Jason decides to give up vigilantism and become a stay-at-home-dad, he’d ever ask Tim of all people to babysit.

But then, right now, Jason’s not here.

The nurse from earlier returns, offering him a sympathetic look.

“It’s about time for her next feeding,” she tells him. “Do you want us to take her, or would you like to do it?”

Take her, please, Tim wants to say but bites his tongue.

He wasn’t talking out of his ass when he acknowledged that babies needed to be held. Human contact is good (even if that wasn’t basic medical knowledge, his own semi-neglected childhood can attest to that) and he all but volunteered himself for this to help Jason. He should at least do what he can.

Holding down the fort apparently includes holding down the baby…

“If you could just show me…?” he suggests, a sheepish smile pasted on and hopefully hiding his inner unease.

As expected, the woman’s expression turns into a mixture of amused and charmed. She chatters, motioning for him to take the chair Jason was sitting in before; Tim sits and lets her arrange the baby in his arms, showing him a light, gentle rocking motion to try to calm her.

“I’ll be right back with her formula,” the nurse says, though Tim barely hears her over the furious wailing.

He squints down at the scrunched-up face, trying to figure out how he ended up in this situation. Also, what exactly possessed him to call Jason his partner?

Because it’s the first believable thing to come to mind that didn’t involve spontaneous resurrections?

And technically, it’s even true. Sometimes.

And he was worried about Jason.

They may not be brothers, but they are family, and with that comes a certain awareness of each other. He knew the minute he saw Jason outside the dive bar that he was freaked out. He decided he would help him then, and he’s not about to back out now even if things have become way more complicated than anticipated.  

The nurse returns with the bottle of formula, and as soon as she’s explained how to properly position and feed the baby—apparently there’s more to it than just sticking a synthetic nipple in her mouth and waiting for her to chug—and prevent gas, she vanishes again.

To allow them “bonding” time.

Not what I thought I’d be doing when I got up this morning…

Tim’s done the baby thing before—sort of. But Steph’s daughter was bigger when she was born. Jason’s is tiny, and Tim is half expecting her to break into pieces before his eyes. Whatever manufactured confidence he had before, had been in the moment—and mostly for Jason’s benefit.

It had been imperative to get the infant out of the other man’s arms while he was clearly on the verge of a panic attack. Especially since no one ever knows how a cornered Jason Todd might react.

Not that I think he’d ever hurt an infant, but he doesn’t exactly process shock the way normal people do. It never hurts to have contingencies.

As he watches the baby guzzle her formula with surprising gusto, Tim finds himself going over a mental list of things that have to be dealt with if they’re going to get through life’s latest curveball more or less intact.

Paperwork for the baby. Arrangements for the mother’s body.

Isabel Ardila.

He knows her name only from the files as the woman Jason was seeing prior to the Joker’s last assault on the bats. She was caught in the crossfire, forcibly dosed with heroin to play on Jason’s past traumas, and following her recovery, ended things with Jason.

Or Jason ended things with her, Tim’s not sure. He never asked and he doesn’t intend to.

However it ended, clearly there was enough estrangement that she didn’t bother to tell Jason he was a father. It’s a decision he can, unfortunately, imagine the reasons for, even if he’s not sure he agrees with them.

Not like we can do anything about that decision now, though.

The baby slowly goes limp in his arms, and Tim has a brief moment of irrational, paranoid panic—has she been drugged?—before realizing she’s just fallen back asleep.

“Right. Because that’s a normal thing that babies do,” he murmurs to himself, and carefully maneuvers himself over to her crib to put her down on her stomach, like he’s seen in countless television commercials.

Then, uncertain, he pulls his phone out of his pocket and does a quick internet search, balking at the sheer amount of SIDS related articles, and scoops her up again to reposition her on her back.

Should probably tell Jason about that when he gets back…

Assuming Jason comes back.

Or even wants his help.

Which, Tim decides, he’ll offer anyway. Though that may mean playing to his strengths more than anything, preparing for every eventuality and having a series of back-up plans.

He highly doubts Jason’s thinking of any of that right now.

Phone in hand Tim begins typing quickly, pulling up tabs in his search engines for whatever concern pops into his head as he reads.

He suspects Jason is too uneasy about the whole situation to want to keep the baby, so Tim’s going to have to research adoption agencies through official and unofficial channels.

Open or closed, not sure what option he’d go with.

And then, there’s always the small chance he will keep his child. It’s a possibility that seems as likely as Bruce’s sudden predilection for joining the Russian ballet, but stranger things have happened in the family.

He skims through several forums and advice blogs for how to care for a newborn, makes a list of important supplies they might need in the immediate future and forwards it to Tam.

It’s several minutes later that his phone chimes, notifying him of her list of replies.

- Why the hell did you send me a list with diapers?

- Is this for a baby?

- Omg, did you kidnap a baby?

- Is that a thing that happens?

-First ninjas, now baby-napping?

Tim sighs and rolls his eyes. Normally he’d find her bemused and slightly-panicked responses a little amusing, but he doesn’t have the energy to go into details, even if Jason hadn’t sworn him to secrecy.

-A friend of mine has an emergency. Drop everything off at my apartment, please.

There’s a beat, another chime, but Tim doesn’t get a chance to read the message as his screen suddenly switches. The air is filled with a generic ringtone that Tim hastily mutes, eyes flicking to the baby and back to his screen. The number flashes ‘Unknown’, but Tim recognizes the number from earlier that day.

He stands, wanders away from the crib to answer quietly. “What is it, Harper?”

“Jay called me,” the older man says without preamble. “Told me everything. About the kid, about Isabel.”

“Yeah,” Tim agrees quietly. “I’d say shock is an understatement.”

“No shit.” He sighs. “Listen, I talked him down as much as I could, but the rest is on you.”

“What? Why?”

“He says you’ve been helping him.”

“For now, until someone more qualified comes along,” Tim retorts, implication heavy in his voice.

Roy catches it because he lets out a bitter laugh. “Sorry to burst your bubble, bird boy, but that ain’t gonna be me.”

“What are you talking about? You’ve been in literally the same situation.”

“And I can’t right now. So I need you to be there for him.”

“He needs his friend,” Tim argues. “And he’s made very clear I’m not one of those.”

“Then you'd better become one fast, because I can’t.”

“Why the—” Tim’s eyes flick to the infant, and he can’t help giving in to the impulse to censor himself, lowering his voice, “—heck not?”

“Because I’m in a bad place right now,” Roy snaps. “I’m not in a good way for being around a kid, okay? I…” He pauses, like he’s weighing something, and then exhales. “I…fell off the wagon again.”

Tim's stomach sinks. 

“Roy…”

“Don’t tell Jaybird,” Roy orders. “I just…I need to sort myself out before I can be any kind of help for him. I show up there now, I’ll just add to his problems.”

“But—”

“This is you being tagged in, okay? Don’t fuck it up.”

There’s a harsh click in Tim’s ear, leaving him listening incomprehensively to the dial tone for several seconds.

“Are you…are you kidding me?!” he hisses after a moment, only just refraining from throwing his phone across the room in frustration.

He didn’t realize before Roy’s call just how much he was counting on someone else to step in and take over in the emotional support department.

I’m not cut out for this. This sort of thing…it should be Dick. Or Alfred.

He spends the next hour once again reviewing what he did to get roped into all this.

When Jason comes back—and something inside Tim unknots in relief that he did come back—he’s as ashen-faced as before. This time, though, there’s a determined set to his shoulders.

They stand and stare at each other in silence for a good five minutes before Tim realizes Jason’s waiting for him to speak first.

Right. Tagged in. Let’s do this. Ease into it.

“So, what are you going to do?”

Tim winces.

Yeah, that wasn’t exactly subtle.

Jason doesn’t seem to notice the awkward, though.

“No idea,” he replies heavily, leaning against the doorjamb and letting his head thunk lightly against it.

“Social Services is obviously an option.”

“No way in hell,” Jason snaps, straightening up and looking fierce. “I don’t trust them. And you can’t tell me with all the Wayne resources you’ve got access to, we can’t find something better.”

Tim expected that. He might not have had the exact same harrowing experiences with foster care as Jason did, but his very brief stint left him with a hint of that same disillusion with the system.

It’s not something I’d wish on any kid, least of all Jason’s.

“We can look into it. Organize the best possible adoption scenario without dealing with Social Services. There are actually a lot of couples in the community who would be willing to adopt.”

“No. This kid isn’t growing up anywhere near capes or masks or stuff like that.”

Okay, that’s understandable. It also makes it less likely he intends to keep her.

“Whatever we do, it will take some time,” Tim cautions. “Placing a child with a family isn’t going to be as easy as sticking someone in Witness Protection.”

Jason snorts and shakes his head. “Only you would think that’s easy.”

“So, now that that’s figured out—what are you going to do once the tests are finished?” Tim asks, focussing on the practical. “I don’t find a family within the next day or so, you’re going to need to bring her somewhere. Assuming you’re adamant about keeping the rest of the Family out of this?” That receives only narrowed eyes in response. “Stupid question, sorry. But she’s going to have to stay somewhere until then. I wouldn’t recommend leaving her here at the hospital, for a number of reasons.”

Jasons frowns, thoughtful. Then,

“I’ll keep her for now,” he decides with a heaviness that Tim suspects is caused more by fear than dislike of children. “Until we find a better place for her. Some family that won’t mind doing this in private.”

“Okay,” Tim nods. “On that note—where exactly will you take her?”

Jason falters, looking like he’s not entirely sure what to say to that.

“I…my safehouses aren’t exactly babyproofed.”

“I don’t think that’s an issue until they start crawling,” Tim replies, trying for humor but the very idea sparks another flash of panic in Jason’s eyes. He’s looking at Tim now with something dangerously close to expectance, and a realization hits Tim.

He doesn’t want to be alone with this.

And it’s the fact he’s never seen Jason look so vulnerable that sparks a truly terrible idea.

I’m so going to regret this.

“I have a spare bedroom,” he offers, earning a sharp glance from Jason. “Just until you wrap your head around this and figure out the next move.”

He half expects Jason to scoff, or laugh in his face or say something insulting.

It’s decidedly worrying when the only thing that happens is Jason’s shoulders slump and he nods.

Jason’s shoulders slump, and he nods.

“Yeah. Yeah, that would be…good. Thanks, Drake.” He pauses, considering something, and then adds, “Tim.”

Next Chapter

________________________________________________________________

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[emeraldnebula]

In light my recent posts about the idea of creating a brand-new superhero love interest for Superman (the real one, not the impostor parading about in “Rebirth”), I thought it might be fair to share with you some old message board posts from the official DC Comics message boards, circa 2001-2005. This was back when the Superman fandom hadn’t atrophied to the point where only the regressive nutcases were running the show, so there were still some voices of sanity active at the time.

Even 13-17 years ago, DC’s arrogance, inability to accept criticism over their failures, and insistence of stagnation was a major sticking point, and it led to lot of debates over what needed to be updated about Superman to keep it alive, what was absolutely essential, and what needed to be kicked to the curb. I copied and pasted a lot of these conversations into Microsoft Word (I knew nothing of screen-capping at the time), so there’s some choice posts that, I think, are even more relevant than ever in light of “Rebirth” being a failure in every respect.

Some of these posts will be anonymous, as I no longer remember who exactly posted what. But some posters were fairly notable fan personalities, such as comic book blogger Bizarro Mark Engblom, a fan from the Silver Age days:

“ I wouldn't lose much sleep if Perry and Jimmy went the way of the dodo bird. I think they worked better in the age when newspapers were actually a vital element of our society, but they're now (at best) a quaint anachronism. An optional feature of our lives, rather than the necessity it was in past eras. Lois? The current interpretation of Lois is an annoying shrike, but I would think she would need to be around in some capacity. What that is, I have no idea. As it stands, she occupies a much more prominent role that I would ever give her. The real trick seems to be separating the “essentials” from what I like to call “furniture.” Essentials: Krypton explodes, Jor-El and Lara send their baby Kal-El (the baby's age never mattered much to me) to Earth, found and raised by the Kents as Clark Kent in Smallville. Grows up to become Superman. Furniture: Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, various Fortresses, super-pets, kryptonite, villains, blah, blah, blah. Of course, just as in my home I'm more fond of some pieces of furniture than others, it's still just furniture and, ultimately, expendable. From my perspective, there is precious little that absolutely must remain in order for it to still be Superman. Whenever the Superman experience starts to become more about rearranging the same old furniture than advancing the narrative into new territory (or, to beat the analogy to death, “buying some new furniture”), you know the franchise is stuck in a rut.“

An anonymous fan, quoting previous poster Cooky La Moo:

“You know, I kind of like the idea of The Daily Planet, Perry and Jimmy BEING an anachronism. Perry as an old-school newsman standing like Canute against the tide of time. The Daily Planet doesn't HAVE to be a great metropolitan newspaper, it could be seen as a somewhat eccentric throwback to a simpler age, sneered at by other media types, but respected when it can pull in stories like the debut of Superman. Maybe it could become “old-fashioned” in the same way that people see Clark's character itself as being “old-fashioned.” Or, like Cooky said, make the Planet a news agency. Or a web-based news site. How are magazines like Time doing? Are they being superseded like newspapers? Of course, is it necessary for Clark to be a reporter? With 24-hour news media, he doesn't need to be at a newspaper to get access to news stories. Could he be a teacher? Perry a principal, Jimmy a student teacher? Or some other profession? I've always thought that Perry, Lois and Jimmy should form something of an artificial family of some sort, so I think the characters should stay, but that doesn't mean they shouldn't get other jobs. You know the thing that annoys me? The fact that we sit here discussing issues like this when DC just doesn't seem bothered. What's going on?”

Two posts by DC forum regular Kilgore Trout:

“ The strict adherence to “continuity” is what got us to the point we’re at now. It has become impossible to just tell a story WITHOUT going through 16 years of “continuity” to make sure you’re not stepping into a pile of shit that someone left laying there 10 years ago. To me, continuity means this: Strange visitor from another planet [which is destroyed—along with his family—in a horrific cataclysm] rocketed to earth as a child. Raised by kindly older couple in the heartland of America. Has powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. Works for a great metropolitan newspaper. And who, disguised as Clark Kent, fights a never-ending battle for Truth Justice et al…. Everything else is superfluous. Superman should exist inside AND outside of the DCU. The age of anal-retentiveness needs to end. The books are completely stifled under the weight of 16 years of step-by-step continuity. This isn’t the life story or autobiography of a real person. Superman’s story used to be BIG and GRAND. It wasn’t mired in small details and the mundane goings-on of normal folks. The “Hi, honey! I’m home!” approach isn’t working anymore and it’s why I am looking forward to Birthright and the promise it holds.“

“ Here's a simple solution... AFTER they revamp the current Moderateman and change him BACK to Superman, they can actually explain the Lois and Clark relationship in a way that would finally make sense. Here’s how: YES, Superman IS the OLDEST and most RESPECTED Superhero in the DCU BECAUSE of his MANY YEARS of service to and for humanity. And that would require that he's been around for over 60-some odd years, so here's my thought: Lois Lane is a woman that Superman USED TO have a thing with. She aged. He barely did. She is NOW about 60 and is his oldest friend and confidant. Nothing more and nothing less. The end. No marriage and no messy divorce. Just good friends and still an important part of the mythos.”

Responses to the above, from anonymous posters:

“ Kilgore Trout, I’m sorry but, huh?!? what do you mean exactly? Are you talking for TPTB up at DC to just reboot the titles to have it so that now in Post-Post-Crisis, both Kal and Lois have aged but within Kal's case though, the higher-ups have made it so that he has retained his youthfulness in his physical appearance, and so that Lois is now a grandma in the new DCU too? Yeah, I suppose that if done right it could work in the end. It would sure give another gal a shot at becoming his lover (Lana Lang, Chloe Sullivan, Wonder Woman, etc.).”

“ Do we NEED Lois and Clark to be lovers? Okay, sure we do at the moment, assuming there's no reboot on the horizon. But if things started again, do we NEED a Lois/Clark ‘ship? Yes, I know. They've been an item forever. Their names are linked together in the public consciousness, but...what if, in another universe, Clark and Lana ended up together? Or Clark and Chloe? What if—Shock! Horror!—Lois and Clark were just good friends, maybe even best friends, but platonic friends nonetheless? I know that the secret identity causing trouble for Clark's relationships is an important part of the mythos, but can that be played out in another form other than a love triangle? Could it work with friends like Jimmy and Perry if their roles were beefed up? Thinking about it, that sort of situation perhaps works best in a romantic relationship, but that relationship doesn't have to be with Lois. I know, I know. Lois is an important character. I think a lot of the problems are down to poor characterization and a lack of vision for the supporting cast. But sometimes, and especially in conversations like this, it’s worth throwing out ideas and thoughts and seeing if any of them stick, even if they're not how things have been in the past. We hear a lot about redefining Superman, but of all the aspects of the mythos, Clark's character is perhaps one of the things that doesn't NEED changing. Maybe Lois’ role IS something that could change…. (Is there a devil's advocate smiley?)”

Post by Elroy the Cat, specifically citing the Lois/Clark marriage as a death knell:

“ The more fundamental problem with Lois in current continuity is not whether she's married to Superman or not. It’s whether readers can understand what the fuck Clark sees in her, because Lois is either annoying or more annoying, depending on the writer who's handling her. She's a difficult character, apparently, for male writers to pull off successfully. And that's a problem, because you can [and already do] have readers going, “This man could have ANY woman he wants! Why this troll?” It's distracting, and no one has thought to explore whether or not it speaks of a deficiency in Clark that he should seek to be loved by someone as clearly flawed as Lois is. Great story there…but then you'd have to have a real writer to write it. Having said that, the marriage as an idea is only as good as its usefulness to the greater story. Presently, it’s about as useful to the greater “journey” of the character of Superman as shoes are to fish. And therein lies the problem. Bottom line: the marriage is the nail that makes an eventual total reboot of this version of Superman inevitable.“

Another anonymous post in response to infamous forum troll Michael “ManoftheAtom” Sacal, pretty much backing up Bizarro Mark Engblom’s previous argument:

“To me, all Superman needs to be is… An infant rocketed to earth from a dying planet. Raised by the Kents. A reporter. And THAT’S IT!! I don't understand what these “established guidelines” are, exactly. So you guys are saying that if Superman is rebooted 1000 times, he always has to live the same exact life in each and every one of them??”

Excerpt from another anonymous post, again in respose to Kilgore Trout vis-a-vis DC’s pet failed decisions:

“I could not have said it better [following a laundry list of bad ideas DC implemented]. Actually the addition of each of these things was usually a part of a good story. But retaining them after the story as part of the Superman legend has created this disaster that I describe as clutter. Besides, kids who are getting their driver's licenses today (and probably giving up comics) were not even born at the time of the Crisis. It is time to relaunch, have another Crisis, or simply designate everything since the last Crisis as having occurred on some alternate earth (like the GA's Earth 2 or the SA). Then start writing comics for the next generation. Superman could discover Kryptonite again. He could be a bachelor and play the field. He could marry Lana instead of Lois (and that would not require a divorce)—in this brave new world maybe he had been a Superboy before becoming a Superman. He might have a cousin, fly in space, or travel in time. Or maybe not. But there would be room to do new things without having to screw up everything that has gotten him to where he is today.”

Again, some of these suggestions are from longtime fans whose readership stretched back decades. And even as far back as the early 2000s, there were those pondering if perhaps the Superman franchise needed a drastic makeover. I can’t imagine those sentiments are any less now in the wake of DC’s regressive tactics.

[wellthatwasaletdown]

Hi there, I just stumbled upon your blog and I scrolled through it for some time and read a lot of the messages and I've got a few questions because I don't understand. 1. What exactly don't you like about Harry's promo and stuff and how they're showing him off? I just don't understand. I haven't followed his solo promotion that close.. 2. Why are people so angry with Harry & say that he broke up the band? I mean, I know that H proposed the hiatus but why are they so angry with him? And I read a few times that it wasn't okay what he did to the boys and I just don't get it. I genuinely don't understand all of this 3. Why are so many people against Nick?

4. Seems to me that a lot of people also don't like Jeff Azoff? Why is that? I'm also really sorry, I don't want to get on your nerves. I just would like to get an explanation because I haven't been following everything since the hiatus & there's a lot going on .. Thanks for your time to read & maybe answer this. 😊

***

Hiding my response under a cut, cuz I know it’s going to be abominably long, because I’m abominably long winded at the best of times.

Hi Anon! Don’t worry about anything, I’m happy to answer questions and I’m sure other followers in here will be happy to give their side as well since everyone has their own reasons and viewpoints on the subjects that you have brought up.

I will answer best as I can for each one! I just want to start this with the caveat that this is just MY opinion. I do not demand that others agree, and I fully respect that others feel otherwise about Harry, I only ask that they respect that these are my feelings.

1. I’ll start this off with the point that I used to be a big Harry fan. I came into this fandom as a fan of Harry, though I’ve only been a fan for about a year and a half (I came in about two months before the hiatus began, aren’t I so smart) but I was interested in what he would end up doing because I sorta assumed he would be a solo artist at some point and it’s safe to say I was not in the least bit surprised by his solo album coming out (more on this later though). I spent that year while he was recording and what not getting to know more about him, what he said publicly, watching interviews, etc, to try to suss out his public personality. I choose not to delve into the personal, I know he’s a private person and I respect that, but I’m not blind or an idiot, tabloid stories are hard to avoid but what I found with Harry, at least back then when I was watching interviews and older things he did with 1D, was that the person the trash media was trying to sell me didn’t seem to the be the same guy I saw in interviews. He struck me as very genuine, down to earth, kind hearted, intelligent, talented and witty. Not to mention that we shared an interest in classic rock, so I was definitely interested in what he would produce musically as a solo artist.

So you can imagine my shock and surprise when he released that bizarro, cheesy little video/teaser/commercial/whatever the fuck that was. Because my initial, immediate gut reaction was that it screamed arrogance and pretentiousness. It assumed that everyone who saw it would immediately know it was Harry Styles and that it was for a song. Except it didn’t really tell us anything, other than the fact that he can show off his body while wet and stare doe-eyed into a camera while a date scrolls across the bottom with some tinkling piano music in the background. I saw someone describe it as a bad cologne commercial once and frankly, that is the best description. Point is, I was highly unimpressed, it seemed very much at odds with the public personality I knew Harry as and I’m afraid things just continued to go down hill from there in my estimation of him.

Since then, with every interview, every appearance he has done, this arrogant, pretentious, but also rather robotic and lifeless personality has continued to prevail. There have been moments when I’ve seen glimpses of the Harry I used to see publicly, but they are few and far between. What really gets me is that this seems to be an Image that he is trying to sell. This aloof, above it all, sex, drugs and rock and roll star that hearkens back to the 70′s, which frankly is an era best left behind us for a lot of reasons.

So the question remains, is this the real Harry? Or is this a fabrication made purely to sell the image and music? I know that he is fiercely protective of his privacy and therefore his private self and I fully respect that, but if he is the super nice, kind, sweet, gentleman that we often hear he is from people who meet him personally, why not just be himself for the most part? Because that is someone I can get behind, that is someone I can support even if I’m not so into his music. This current image is just so unlikeable, cold, haughty and frankly, a little gross.

Speaking of the music. Despite my altered opinion of Harry, I was still very much interested in hearing his music and chose to keep an open mind and reserve judgement until I heard it. Unfortunately, for me, SOTT was kinda wah-wah. It bored me and I found the lyrics very lacking and not very interesting or deep. I heard ESNY on SNL and didn’t mind it at first but grew bored of it after about 5 listens. I’ve only heard Two Ghosts twice, when he performed them and it too bored me. I will be honest and say that due to my general dislike of those three songs, I haven’t bothered with the rest of the album. I’m a first impressions kind of girl and I gave him three and decided that I was done. I’ve heard enough about some of the lyrics, ones that make me incredibly uncomfortable because of their nature (and before anyone says it, I have ZERO problems with him writing about women or sexuality in his songs, I know he’s an adult and welcome a mature, adult sound from him, but I feel that not only did he cross the line into vulgar with some of his lyrics, he also pissed on the line and set fire to it).

2. Now, I do not have nearly as strong an opinion on this as many others and I believe that’s down to the fact that when I came into this fandom, I already knew the hiatus was coming and fully expected solo work from all of them. It does seem now that Harry might have been a tad disingenuous in his methodology, claiming to need a break but also hitting the ground running with a behind the scenes movie already set up and recording (under the presumption that people would care that bloody much about him recording the album in the first place, which is, once again, kind of on the arrogant side). But because I haven’t been a fan as long, my opinions, knowledge and feelings on the subject are frankly limited, so I will allow others to more concisely and clearly answer this question for you.

3. With Nick, for me it’s a personal feeling, which I know really only has merit for me at the end of the day. But he seems a bit slimy, as though he hooks on to his more famous friends to get more fame for himself. He’s often lacked tact (as someone mentioned, he was glibly chatting away about meeting up with Harry and what they talked about less than a week after Harry lost his step-father) and seems to bring up Harry and his other famous friends more often than he changes his underwear. He’s a name dropper and in my opinion, a user. Again, others can give their reasons for liking or disliking Nick to maybe give you some more concrete evidence than just my gut feelings.

4. Jeff Azoff, oh Jeff Azoff. I’m not a Larrie, and I wasn’t around when there seemed to be a strange consensus in the fandom that the Azoffs would rescue the entire band (from what, I’m not sure), but like Nick, part of my dislike is gut feeling, he seems like a coat-tailer, who is using Harry to build up his own business (which has failed once already, but rescued by daddy before any real embarrassment) and to have the bragging rights of landing a big whale.

Speaking of daddy, here is where I have some more concrete dislike with the Azoffs, namely Irving. The man is known as the Poison Dwarf for a reason to start with. But back in 2010, when all kinds of mergers and buy outs were going on and he suddenly found himself on the board at Ticketmaster, he received a whopping $2 million dollar bonus (plus another million later), his entire full years salary, and other cushy financial benefits while thousands were laid off from their jobs. I’m sorry, but that is shit business practice and as someone who has been laid off multiple times and knows how horrible that can be, the uncertainty and fear of what will happen next in this job market, I was thoroughly incensed to read that.

Jeff did work for Irving during that time at Front Line, though he has since parted ways to go off to start his new business, with only one client.

One client that he seems to cling on to like a turd that won’t let go.

Now I know a lot of people believe they are friends and yadda yadda, but from my perspective, it seems as though this friendship is built entirely on business and in my opinion, I would not be in the least bit surprised if Jeff dropped Harry like a hot potato should he no longer deliver. But again, this is my personal opinion and I will leave it open to others to also add their own reasons and perhaps some more facts than I am able to provide.

Anyway, this is as predicted, very long winded, but I hope I gave you some insight into where my head and opinions are. I know a lot of Harries believe firmly that if I don’t like Harry or his music, I should just bog off and stop paying attention to him. And maybe they are right, however, I work a boring job and frankly I enjoy conversing with people on the subject because as I said to a friend the other day, I invested in Harry. Not just financially, but emotionally, being a fan, with my personal interest and with my support and no one, not even me, likes to feel duped. If it turns out I’m completely wrong about some things, I will fully admit that, but it’s hard to be wrong about how something makes you feel. His promo gives me arrogant, pretentious vibes, that’s my subjective viewpoint. Others may disagree and that is absolutely their right.

Feel free to hang out though, ask questions or tell us what you think!