#we used to be creative with foreign languages like French and stuff

[soapdispensersalesman]

[vivisviolets]

hello vi!! i'd like to participate in your game if it's still open<3

my initials are V.G.I.U, i'm a female my pronouns are she/her and i'm bisexual! OMG i have so many things that i like but i'll make it short HAJDHDHA

1. i really like forests and green landscapes in general lololol if it was up to me i'd live in a cabin in the woods😭

2. i like learning about other's cultures and new languages as a hobby! i speak spanish and i'm studying to be an english teacher as a foreign language hehe, atm i'm also trying to learn korean, portuguese and french ><

3. i wanted to study parapsychology for a long time but i discovered it wasn't something for me, but after that i got more into spirituality and esoteric stuff in general and i've been studying astrology and numerology for a few years now and lately i'm learning how to read tarot (just bought my first deck!!)

anyway that's it LOL sorry for making it long, i hope you have a good end of the week hehe thank you in advance!!😋

VGIU 💝❤️💚 ⋆｡✧˚ Three of Cups, Six of Swords, Knight of Wands, Ten of Wands (bottom of the deck)

⋆｡✧˚ 111, 333, 1313 (lucky number), 666, Pisces/Cancer/Scorpio placements (Sun, Venus, Mars, 4th house, etc), Libra/Taurus/Virgo placements (Moon, 3rd/7th house, degrees, etc), Friday, black cat gf, channeled song, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper

⋆｡✧˚ Hi! loving your energy right off the bat🏏 omg you are a little ball of light bouncing around- for those who see auras and even those who don't ⚡️- BUT ANYWAYS OMG this is a fs reading not a personality reading-

Ok first messages for this future partner- oh, this connection is gonna be fun!!~ OMG GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN!! I haven't heard that song since I was 14- anyways, visuals coming through, there's like little party favors and decorations coming through, gold tinsel and colorful shiny confetti- dancing around with whoever this is, this might be one of your first dates, you're having a two-person slumber party~ and you two went all out for it… yea, this has a "new relationship" feeling, and a lot of excitement starting out in the beginning, I think you two will be quick to become best friends with each other when this attraction begins- I'm already getting a li carried away😭 let me settle into this energy and start to see the bigger picture of this connection!

Now I'm hearing Chappell Roan's music- "pisces, who knew that we were so aligned"~ whoever this person is, they have a lot of astrology placements that make them sweet, and very kind! mutual signs are their main dominant- I'm also picking up that Mercury is one of their dominants as well. they love going with your flow and they tend to follow you everywhere, just a warning that they may be a little clingy 😭- but it won't just be emotional clingy-ness, it will also be mental because this person loves to constantly learn about you (Mercury dom for sure) - (btw their personality may be a little different then what I'm reading depending on their gender identity!). being around you a lot is also where I get the "best friend lovers" trope, it'll be a mutual desire to share each other's space often! this is giving INFP+INFJ, or some other mbti variation, your person is creative, and while they are incredibly open-minded to everyone- they may have some internalized shame/insecurities around their own hobbies…

despite how in tune and expressive they are with their emotions- they'll struggle to crack open some aspects of themselves to you at first, they may burst at random times and start yapping away about the things they like and why they like them sm- and other times they'll be completely reserved like sudden "stage fright", or become fatigued after opening up. there are things from their past that they struggle with, especially when it comes to you- I'm seeing a small frightened rabbit/animal- they energetically tremble a little being around you- and it's because they're not used to being with someone who's so safe, and downright perfect for them emotionally. they may have gotten used to being small for safety reasons (maybe their home environment was difficult for them- because of their sensitivity often being weaponized against them- their creative gifts were threatened as well), I do hope I'm not worrying you too much with what your person may carry with them. because truly all they need is healing and strengthening of their self-worth bc it's truly amazing that despite what they've been through- they still love others so much.

This will be a relationship that will promote healing and self-growth! we often hear of relationships being the cause of self-growth due to strife/heartbreak. but this will not be the case! This is what healthy relationships should be! mutual empathy and goodwill towards the other. they'll be healing within this relationship, where both of you will learn just how beneficial loving someone else can be!! you will have rough patches, but there will always be a sense of comfort, because, despite any rough areas, you love each other (it's like how people who love each other express themselves during a disagreement- "I love you,- and when this happens it worries me, because I love you.")

-and also not just love, but you also like each other ♡. you guys share friendship bracelets with each other after all 💕❤️💚. speaking of that, you'll spark this person's creativity very often, you'll have many entries written about you in their diary/poems, and this person will give you gifts so often you could fill up a corner of a room (to the ceiling),- I'm also picking up that someone here could become interested in biology? majorying maybe? I see both of you going on some kind of study trip involving nature, somewhere with a lot of different types of trees, and fungi- maybe somewhere cold-ish? or with interesting terrain. Alaska or some (USA) western state. EITHER WAY- yall have shared wanderlust, and combined- you guys will adventure and travel together- holding each other's cold hands with your hearts warm ❤️(but pls pack socks).

*i hope this was helpful my darling ♡~ consider leaving a tip on my Patreon if you enjoyed, or follow and become a violet~ doesnt matter to me tho :>~ sending you on your wayyyy, bye!*

[muthaz-rapapa]

Let’s talk TroPreCure! (^∀^ 🌺)

i’m so stupidly proud of this dumb pun “tropurikyua~”, hahahahaha

Last post of the year and wow is there are lot to be excited for!

I even had to make a list for the stuff I want to talk about and I’m sure I already forgot one or two things but we’ll get to them as we continue to float~ along the wave to February 28th, mmkay? :)

Now for what has peaked my interest so far. And yes, we have to talk about the following first:

1) HealPre the shortest Precure season??

Unless they plan for double features in February (which I doubt but you never know), HealPre is likely going to reach only 45 episodes long instead of the usual 48~50 before TroPre I’m using this shortening of the title for now so if there’s a better alternative, tell me and I’ll switch out begins its broadcast.

Understandable because the producers probably want to get back to their normal scheduling as soon as possible (toy sales, y’know) and I suspect pushing the start of the new season back by a month is the most they’re willing to compromise.

As for me, I’m quite happy about this since HealPre’s lost its hold on my attention a while ago so the sooner TroPre gets here, the better. Though the downside might be a scrambled climax and a rushed, underwhelming ending for HealPre (I dunno if it’s January’s titles that feel a bit messy or if the hiatus is still throwing me off) but whatever. We’ll refresh ourselves with the new blood Cures so it’s all good.

2) Tropical movie announced for Autumn 2021, no All Stars??

(source)

First saw this mentioned on Youtube somewhere but it’s all over the fandom forums by now. I mean, HealPre’s movie is set for March, the usual time slot for All Stars release. If Toei intended for there to be an All Stars in 2021, there’s no way they would announce the seasonal movie before it so speculations of them skipping it this year are probably true.

To squeeze it somewhere between March and October-ish would force them to readjust their budgets as well and I don’t think even Toei wants to go through that extra hassle after all the trouble the pandemic’s caused for everyone already. It’s just easier to resume All Stars in 2022.

That, and I think Laura being a major character in TroPre despite not having a Cure title (yet) would make for an awkward situation when the three latest teams gather so perhaps that’s also one of the reasons. But I’ll get back to Laura in a bit.

3) Cure Summer is a RAINBOW Cure

So god help me if I see anyone calling her a Pink Cure.

Yes, she’s the lead Cure for this season. NO, she is not a Pink Cure.

Look, even the official website has a rainbow overlay for her profile pic and text font while everyone else’s respective theme colors are a solid hue:

Therefore, RAINBOW.

In promotional material and merchandising, they’re probably going to advertise her primarily with pink bah and at worst, she might occasionally be labeled as a White Cure with multiple subcolors (her outfit is not pink-dominant) but definitely NOT. PINK.

...also, this goes without saying but f***yea, we finally got a lead Cure practically and unabashedly wearing the LGBTQ flag and you cannot tell me otherwise, Toei!

Own up to it! Declare Manatsu/Cure Summer as the Precure queer icon!

I’m not gonna stop yellin’ until you do! 😠

4) Laura = obvious midseason Cure is obvious

First of all, Laura is a babe. I already love her the best and she’s not even Precure yet. <3

Anyways, the set-up is pretty much in the description. Important main character who’s not a mascot, stated to have a self-confident personality and just speaks her mind (oooh, I like~ :D), magical/foreign being from another world looking for Precure to save her home, possesses her own special item(s), has aspirations to become the next Queen (so she’s a princess-candidate or something to that effect, I suppose).

We’ve seen various combinations of these traits in past midseason (and a few starter) Cures so nobody should be surprised when we all guessed that one of the Cures would be a real live mermaid.

The only question is why not just make Laura a Cure from the get-go if she’s introduced to us at the beginning (like Hime or Lala) and having a team of five with no unnecessary extra add-ons later on (like Smile).

Well, there’s a simple answer for that: formula.

Toei is afraid that if they don’t spit out some new animation sequence at the halfway and third quarter points of the show, the kids will lose interest and abandon the series altogether. Which means failed toy sales. Oh nooo... [/sarcasm]

...Yea. 

And this way they can also have Laura available in the Cure lineup for the next All Stars in 2022 instead of making her sit the fight out if we were going to have one in 2021. I’m convinced that’s gotta be one of the reasons. *shrug*

But ok, whatever. Her debut is gonna be later, that’s all. She’s a delayed Cure.  Midseason Cure, same difference.

Moving along to the more important stuff now like what’s her Cure name gonna be, y/y?

Well, knowing Toei, a translation of the term “mermaid” into another language is the most predictable route even though we already have a Cure Mermaid. Not like that ever stopped them from repeating words before (ex. Cure Happy vs Cure Felice). Though if they do go down that road, I hope they opt for the Spanish/Italian “sirena” and not the French “sirène” because the latter sounds too close to how Cure Selene is pronounced in Japanese. And, putting it nicely, we all know Japanese pronunciation of foreign words is as off kilter as can be.

Hell, even the the Portuguese “sereia” sounds aesthetic as hell so it’d be nice if they can just remember there are other languages that exist out there besides Japanese, English and French when making the final decision at the writing table! *stomps foot* >:/

Alternatively, “nereid” or “naiad” are good choices too but they remind me too much of Greek myths and Laura’s from the Grand Ocean which covers more than just a couple of seas (Greece is surrounded by three, btw) so...

I dunno. But whatever it’s gonna be, she’s definitely got a strong association with water and her powers will probably be based on that.

As for theme color, since there’s noticeably no blue or green Cure in the starter lineup, it’s likely she will take up that spot when she debuts around ep 20.

Pink is also open since Cure Summer, again, is technically not a Pink Cure and Laura’s hair and tail fin are hot and light pink respectively but looking at Laura’s design and concept, does anyone seriously believe that?

Her upper torso consists of aquamarine while the body of her tail is definitely some shade of cyan, implying they’re aiming for somewhere around the middle of green and blue on the lighter spectrum.

And yea, I’m aware that green and blue are considered exchangeable in some perspectives with how close some of their shades are to each other but officially, I think Laura’s gonna be grouped with the Green Cures.

Cuz of the hair. If Laura’s gonna keep it the same or a similar shade after transforming, that is. The Blues have always had cool-colored hair so putting Laura in with them might disrupt that harmony whereas if you put her with the few Greens there are (including Parfait), she’d fit right in.

I mean, we’ll see but that makes the most sense, doesn’t it?

On another note, I just want to say that I love how they added frills to her arms instead of letting her elbows go bare naked. It definitely makes her look more like a genuine mermaid than if she didn’t have them (remember, half fish doesn’t mean half the body :P).

5) Magical Items

Frankly, I’m tired of seeing the transformation device being a compact again even though one of the main motifs is make-up this season. But at least, as far as Precure compacts goes, the Tropical one is my favorite cuz of how cute and delightfully colorful its toy version looks! So I guess I’m okay with it.

The Heart Rouge Rod, though? ...I dunno. I think it would’ve been fine without that...straw (?) jutting out at the top. It looks weird, doesn’t it look weird? :S

As for the collectible clip-ons, I can live without those for the rest of my life. Yeesh.

Laura’s items, the Aqua Pot and the Ocean Prism Mirror.

Again with the portable, travel-size housing. *sigh* 😩

Alright, I can let this year slide cuz Laura (I’m so soft for her, omg) probably won’t be getting legs for 20 weeks so she’s got to move about on land somehow. But unless they’re really thinking about turning this idea of carrying your apartment around in your bag/pocket/purse into a reality (cuz that would be effin’ awesome), please be more creative with your toys.

On the other hand, I’m much more interested in the Ocean Prism Mirror but from what Kusyami (the Precure merchandise reviews I follow on Youtube) said in his latest vid, this is the ED dance item so don’t know if it’ll actually have an relevance to the story or not. But I did hear him mention it having something to do with the Queen as well and since Laura wishes to become Queen, maybe it’ll be important after all? Maybe it’s her transformation device?

That’d be super cool. Let’s continue the trend of the midseason Cure having a different transformation item than the starters. Honestly, we should alternate every other year or two but we’ve gone three seasons with all of them using the same henshin gimmicks up till HealPre and I just want a break from that.

6) Fin sleeves??

These look so impractical for combat so maybe it’s exclusive to group attacks.

And/or a sort of precursor to the super forms?

*GASP* Does that mean they all eventually turn into mermaids? 🤩

7) Yui finally became Precure!! 😭

lol, it’s all crack from this point on so don’t take it too seriously but man, after Yuni’s deceptive braids, I thought I wasn’t gonna see anything that reminded me of Yui for a while and lo behold, Sango.

kehehehehehe xD;

Though Yui might be closer to Minori in terms of personal interests (fairytales and storybooks).

8) Akira, the actual Onee-chan version

I didn’t think this when I first saw her but once I read “Onee-san” in her profile, there’s no saving you now. Sorry, Asuka. 😅

Also, damn, do her sandals make her feet look big! Compare them to the heels she wears as Flamingo. Are they even the same?! lololol

9) ...this sounds awfully familiar...

Translation:

Tokimeku Tokonatsu! [Exciting/Thrilling Everlasting Summer!] Cure Summer! Kirameku Hoseki! [Sparkling Jewel!] Cure Coral!  Hirameku Fuurutsu! [Flashing Fruit!] Cure Papaya!

Japanese reiteration:

Mallow/Mao: Pink no tokimeki! Lillie: Blue no kirameki! Lana/Suiren: Yellow no kagayaki!

….........

@Toei 

Care to explain yourselves, punks?! 

୧(ʘ ∀ ʘ ╬)

[help-me-im-old]

Hi, I am 29 and I haven't really liked myself since 1997. I was supposed to post this on my birthday. My birthday was on the 30th of September, it took me 5 days to sit down and start writing this whole thing. This type of overthinking and procrastinating has always controlled my life. I am always late, I overanalyze before I start and rarely finish on time if I could finish at all. When I am worried about being successful, I overthink, overanalyze and over-stress myself to a point of shutting down.

The same thing happened exactly a month ago when I tried to take bike lessons. I used to ride a bike back when I was a kid, then stopped and developed a fear of falling. The first hour of the class, it was going relatively ok. All of a sudden, I did shut down. All I could think was that I would be a failure if I did not go on. I was clenching every muscle in my body. My heart rate was 180 according to my smartwatch. I stopped everything, sat down, and sobbed. Looking back, it sounds bizarre and pointless to even care about something so insignificant but I did, I pushed myself to a point of breaking down. That breakdown was the moment I realized I have built my own walls and obstacles my whole life. The tangled mess of desire for perfection, fear of failure, never-ending obsessions and compulsions, procrastination, and the eventual running away that dominates my brain became apparent. I know it sounds like a sudden realization but I had been finding the pieces since early 2021. It was just the moment the picture became a whole.

I could have said a lot of things that day instead, I decided to make a list. It was the first summit of my enlightenment mountain. It made me look back to all the actions I took in the last 20+ years, all the trauma I faced, and all the reactions to them. I thought hard about the list that night. A list that prioritizes enjoying the process, rather than stressing over the outcome. I googled online bucket lists and realized I already did 60 percent of them but enjoyed roughly 5 percent. I did learn foreign languages, English and French because I thought that was what I was supposed to do. I did travel alone and the whole time I wished I was not depressed. I did dye my hair purple (and every other color) but I still hated myself. I did stay awake for 36 hours, my record 50 hours to be exact but I doubt it counts because having a sleeping schedule is more of a challenge for me. I came to the grim conclusion, if I want to make my bucket list enjoyable for me, I need to stop trying to force myself to do stuff other people think is cool. I don't want to skydive, I don't want to buy a designer bag, I don't want to pet a crocodile. I want to do silly and creative stuff, I want to achieve things and I want to enjoy them. There had to be a balance between downright goofy stuff and serious goals so it actually felt fulfilling. Lastly, it had to avoid any vague statements and strict outcome-based points. In this house, we do not obsess over the destination anymore. We enjoy the ride.

Here is my list explained:

1. Learn Tarot. Because why not? Those cards are mystical and entertaining. They give me insight into how I actually feel about certain prompts.

2. Get my Driver’s License. I’ve never even tried to learn to drive because I am terrified of hurting someone/something. I am so worried that I will crash, it makes me sick to even imagine myself driving. The only reason this is on my list is that I want to challenge my boundaries.

3. Make a Kite and Fly it. Just sounds like a fun activity.

4. Buy Matching Bras + Panties. I’ve always wanted to buy at least one.

5. Learn Stars and Stargaze. I have been obsessed with the night sky since I was a kid. My name has the word moon (in Turkish: ay) in it and I legit thought I was the estranged princess of the moon when I was 6 or something. When I was 14 I would sit on the balcony and stargaze for hours. So, it only makes sense to pay tribute to that.

6. Play a Song on Mandolin. I have a short story about that. In middle school, we were forced to learn an instrument, either mandolin or recorder. (if you were already playing an instrument, you could continue on that one.) I tried mandolin for a year, hated how I could not excel immediately, and left it for good as soon as I graduated. This year, I decided to re-learn it just to give it a fair chance and I actually enjoy it. I am hoping I can play songs that I actually like this year.

7. Start a Youtube Channel. I don’t know I feel like I need to try to make some videos for fun. It might help me, might not. Can’t know without trying.

8. Try 5 new cuisines. Simple enough. If there is someone reading, leave a suggestion. (Anything but Middle Eastern/Mediterranean, please)

9. Create a Time Capsule. Honestly, why not?

10. Be able to speak French. I know French grammar, I understand French. I have my B2 level. However, I am deadly terrified of speaking French. If you ask me anything in French, I will smile and leave.

11. Go to a Festival. I have a love-hate relationship with festivals, they sound fun until I realize I need to be there with other people. I like it when I am there, I hate it when I am not.

12. Enter a Competition. Preferably an architectural design one because I am an architect (almost).

13. Do Shadow Work and Journal Regularly. There have been things I have been hiding and suppressing for so long, it is about time that I face them and grow.

14. Invest in my Body. It is just a cute way of saying, I need to get in shape, be active and try to stay healthier because I have way too many illnesses. I have lost 9 kg (20 lbs) in the last 3 months (down from 101kg/222lbs to 92kg/202lbs) by not eating things I am intolerant to (milk & gluten). The best part is my IBS is manageable now. I also cut off refined sugar because it triggered inflammation in my body. I am not in favor of diet culture but I am actually feeling better physically. I am trying my best not to get in an unhealthy mindset about food, I try to be an intuitive eater and I reason things I can’t eat with physical conditions.

15. Learn to solve a Rubik’s Cube. This is a funny one because I can almost solve one. I just never learned to solve the last face. It is that the idea of finishing something makes me anxious.

16. Become a Baroness (in Sealand?). I really enjoy the concept of Sealand, not only that I also think it is amusing to buy yourself a 50 Euro royal title.

17. Get Ceramics Lesson. Something I have always wanted to do. The only problem is I don’t do well in a class setting but it is impossible to have a ceramics studio at home.

18. Plant a Tree. Trees are great, I would need to take care of it too and I don’t know if I am ready for that kind of commitment.

19. See a Caretta Caretta. I have lived in Turkey my whole life and have never seen a Caretta Caretta. Can you believe that?

20. Go on a Blind Date. Sounds interesting? Might be a horrible idea. I will need to ask someone I trust to refer me to someone they trust.

21. Become a Tourist in İstanbul. I was born and raised in Istanbul and honestly, I’d rather sit in a dark room for 8 hours than be at Grand Bazaar. I always go there to actually buy something though. As long as I pretend to be an aimless tourist, it might be an interesting experience.

22. Ride a Hot Air Balloon in Kapadokya. The only reason for this one is the last time I was there we were in a hurry.

23. Get very Flexible (Yoga, Pilates, etc.). I am naturally very flexible. (might be hypermobility) but I am not good at controlling it.

24. Learn to Dance. Why not? There is nothing to lose, other than time and money.

25. Write a Dumb Book + Publish it. Sci-fi novella, precisely. Just to be able to say I tried. Anyone interested, I may tell the full story.

26. Learn to Code. I have been learning Python for a while now. I would like to get better and actually code something.

27. Sew my Own Clothes. I am a very crafty person. As a result of being a very easily bored introvert, I’ve learned to distract myself with alone activities. I can sew, knit, and crochet, do embroidery, make small sculptures, paint and whatnot. There are some clothing items I would like to have but I can’t find them anywhere. Let’s make them at home?

28. Learn to do Latte Art. I can't even drink animal milk or soy milk. I don't know what was my reasoning behind this.

29. Have a Small Herb Garden. I cook a lot and use copious amounts of herbs (and spices), it might be fun to grow them. It might be good practice for keeping plants alive.

30. Graduate. Lastly, I still have my diploma project from university, I am scared to do it. I believe doing this will help me get to a new chapter in my life.

Note: I can't believe it took me 23 days to post this.

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #479

“war sends our sons to slaughter  /  another failed attack; there is no turning back”

Have you ever boycotted something? Yes: Chick-fil-A. Homophobic, transphobic pieces of shit. Has anyone ever borrowed something from you, and not returned it? Yes, a video game when I was little. I was so mad, lol. Do you vent a lot on social media? No. I don't want people to get annoyed with me. What was your first bill you started paying on your own? I haven't been responsible for any bills yet. What is your favorite charitable cause to donate to or volunteer for? I can't/don't do either really, but if I could, I'd probably donate to uhhhh... suicide prevention organizations. As for volunteering, definitely something with animals. Have you ever dated someone who wasn’t at all your usual type? No. What is something you have no patience for? Waiting at the doctor's office. Have you ever received a misdiagnosis? Yes. What’s that you’re listening to? I'm watching Gab play The Evil Within 2. What kind of relationship do you have with the last person you kissed? We're a couple. What is your biggest accomplishment in life? Still being alive. What is one thing that you really wish you could understand, but don’t? Political stuff. Economics. Have you ever been tutored or tutored someone yourself? I had an Algebra tutor the last time I was in college, and I had to strangle an anxiety attack down because I wasn't understanding the material AT ALL and felt so dumb and annoying. I never did it again. What was the last thing you said out loud (singing doesn’t count)? "It's really embarrassing," to Mom. It really is fucking humiliating that my ankles are swollen from walking/standing more and pushing my desk chair back against the resistance of the carpet. That's pathetic. I'm trying to focus on the fact it's good my body is even reacting to moving more, though. Is everything you have on actually yours? Yep. Do you ever just randomly drive around when you’re upset about something? I don't drive, but if I did, that would NOT be my method of de-stressing. What was the last act of creativity you displayed? Writing an RP post. What’s your favorite department in Wal-Mart? Uh, I guess where you can go see the plants and flowers. Do you find kite flying boring? I LOVED it as a kid. I'd still probably find it kinda fun. Do you have any interest in visiting Japan? Yes, but it's not a massive interest. I've heard the humidity can kill a bitch, and I am NOT into that. Have you ever run a cash register? Yes. I sucked. Have you ever worked as a server? No. Have you ever done the Bratz challenge on YouTube? No, but I saw James Charles do it and it was v unnerving, holy shit. Would you rather paint or carve a pumpkin? Carve. What was your worst experience in high school? My depression as a whole. How much did your senior prom dress cost you? I don't remember. Have you ever been in a serious romantic relationship? Three, if you include my current one. Which part of your body is the most muscular? Uh, nothing? What is the first site you check when you get online, generally? KM. Are you good at creative writing assignments? That's my forte. In elementary school, I actually won a I think county-wide creative writing short story assignment. Not to brag, but I've always been very proud of that, ha ha. Or would you rather just do an informative essay? That's easy for me too, but I prefer writing creatively. Are you more attracted to the badasses, or the goody-goody types? Definitely the goody-goodies. The "bad guys" have never appealed to me romantically. Do you raise your hand or participate in class? I did if I really wanted to ask something or was confident in an answer. What is something BIG you want to do with your life? Make a difference, somehow. What do you think of people who own wild animals? Do NOT just casually take in animals from the wild. That's selfish and just generally disgusting. If you're going to keep an animal generally described as wild and undomesticated, you'd better have a license and deserve that license. Know what you're doing and be certain that keeping the animal in captivity is in the animal's best interest for its unique case. Are you good at explaining things, in general? NOOOOOOOOO, I suck at that. Do you like visiting the mall? Why or why not? Not our mall, no. Its stores suck/are extremely limited, and SO much crime has happened there. Do you like window shopping? Why or why not? YESSSSSSS, mostly on Morph Market, a mostly reptile selling hub online. You can browse TONS of breeders and literally thousands of reptiles, especially ball pythons. They even have a tarantula section I like to look at sometimes. If you lost your job/home/etc., who would likely help you? If I'm losing my home, I'm assuming my mom is gone, so my dad. Why did you first kiss the last person you kissed? We were a couple and I felt like I was supposed to. At that time I didn't see him romantically, but I desperately wanted to. Funny how we're back together and I've no reservations against kissing him now. Feelings change, for sure. Plans for tonight? Girt and I will probably play some WoW Classic together. We've started playing that together, and it's lots of fun with him. :') Has anyone seen you kiss the last person you kissed? Actually, no. Have you ever been kissed in a car? Yeah. Do you think anyone has feelings for you? I know Girt does. Is there anyone in your life that knows right away something’s wrong with you? My mom. Who last made you smile? Girt, 'cuz he's a sweetheart. Where is your mother? She's in bed in her room. She feels like shit. Like, you would think she WASN'T vaccinated, though her long-time doctor has said she'd probably be dead without it while having Covid. Would you rather look at clouds or stars? Stars. Think about your biggest mistake, would you go back and change it? I absolutely would. Are you dating the person you last kissed? Yeup. What is the most immature item you own and actually use? Um. Idk. Do you always take a shower after you have sex? I... didn't know people did this? Like I know women are advised to pee after sex, but full-on showering? No. Do you like chocolate popsicles? Oh hell yeah. Are your parents proud of you? They claim to be. I don't see how. Are you interested in the ocean? Yeah; it's inarguably so fascinating. Hot dogs or hamburgers? I prefer burgers. Have you ever been to a Chinatown in any of the cities you’ve been to? No. Have you ever been to couple’s counseling? No. Do you have any dietary restrictions? No. Have you ever turned down a job offer? No. What’s the largest animal you’ve ever had as a pet? A dog named Cali that was a boxer mix. Do you ever pray, even if you don't believe in God? What exactly is the point if you don't believe in God...? Anyway, I don't. Have you ever been to Mexico? No. Have you ever gotten stuck in quicksand before? No. What's the shortest or longest length you've ever had your hair grow? To around the small of my back. The last nest you saw - was it a bird nest or a hornet's nest? I think a bird's? Do you enjoy Jeff Dunham? I don't know if I'd like him as a person, but I do think he's a funny comedian. Who is your favorite character from Frozen? I was never into the movies. I do think Elsa is kinda cool (no pun intended, lol), though. I like that she has her flaws. Did you finish high school? If not, do you plan on doing so? I did. Have you been in a simulator that mimicked a submarine or rollercoaster? A rollercoaster, yes. How often do you go out to eat instead of cooking for yourself? Mom and I try to avoid fast food for our health. We do a pretty good job at it, but sometimes for convenience's sake, we do eat it. What is the largest family of siblings that you know of? This is probably gonna come across as very judgmental, but... it really bothers me. I don't know how many kids she has now, but one of the dance moms from the studio has SO many children; I've completely lost count. Now if you want that many kids and can provide for them, that's cool. But that's not the case. She uses the "if God wants me to have a baby, then it will happen" mentality, and I'm just like... um, no hunny. Poor choices are leading to kids you're not adequately providing for. She uses no methods of protection and literally has twins whose room is a fucking closet. Ugh it just really bothers me. What foreign languages were offered to you at school? A whole lot. Only Spanish and I believe French were offered as in-school courses, but there were lots of online classes. If you were required to take a course right now, what would you choose? Photography. Team Biden or Team Trump? Over my dead body would I have voted for Trump. My vote went with Biden. What is an animal native to your country that may not exist in others? Bison are factually exclusive to North America. Note that bison and buffalo are different. What are some of your favorite autumn activities? Taking pictures of fall scenery. <3 What are some of your favorite winter activities? Going out in the snow. :') Especially with a camera. Do you eat a shit-ton the week before your period? uuugggghhHHHHHH yes Wendy's, McDonalds, or Burger King? Wendy's. What's the weirdest question you've ever asked Alexa? I've never asked Alexa anything. Do you prefer your apple cider to be warm or cold? I've actually never had it. Do you prefer your coffee hot or iced? Y'all know the story of me and coffee. Can you sing the alphabet backwards? I can't. Have you ever sent flowers or chocolates to yourself before? Ha ha, no. Is there any meat that you won't eat? Yeah, fish and ANYTHING that comes from a wild animal. Does your cat use anything other than it's scratching post as a scratcher? When we got him a scratcher WITH CATNIP, the lil butthead ignored it. -_- He scratches the carpet instead. Did you go through a vampire craze before? Are you still going through it? Nah. Have you ever forged your parents' signature on a poor test paper, etc? No. Has a bird ever pooped on you before? Omg, no. I'd die. Have you ever been sprayed by a skunk before? No. Are black jellybeans delicious or disgusting? I HATE them. Have you ever rolled down a grassy hill before? I have! I miss that.

[purplesurveys]

1232

Did you make any money today?  Not today, because it’s a weekend.

What was the highest place you've ever jumped from?  I’m not too sure, actually. I tend to be cautious when it comes to jumping just because I always have this fear at the back of my head that I could possibly snap my legs in half upon landing lol.

Have you ever gone swimming in a river?  I don’t think I have.

Is there something you really want to buy at the moment?  I want a jumbo RJ doll but it’s quite expensive and not one of my priorities at the moment. 

Would you ever consider culinary school?  I want to learn how to cook but not passionate enough about it to enroll in culinary school altogether, so no.

What was the last souvenir someone got you?  It’s been a while since anyone went anywhere...

Do you have a favorite remix of a song?  I’ve never enjoyed remixes and just stick to original versions of songs. The one remix I’ll give a pass to is BTS’ Mic Drop with Steve Aoki just because that one includes a dance break that sounds really nice and gets me all hyped up.

Has the power gone out recently?  Yeah, like two weeks ago. I was working from home then so it had been a huge bother, but fortunately I had been charging my devices all day and also had enough data on my phone so I was able to continue.

Do you like driving at night?  It’s ok and actually pretty relaxing if it’s LATE late at night and there’s barely any cars. Driving in the evening during rush hour, on the other hand, is just fucking stressful.

What do you think is the most saddest sounding instrument?  Depending on how it’s played, probably the piano or violin.

Do you really pay attention to the ratings on movies?  Yes. It’s a pretty influential factor.

Have you ever snuck in to a theater/dance/bar etc?  No.

If given the chance, would you go to Ireland?  I mean, it’s not really on top of my bucket list but for the sake of travelling and experiencing a different place and culture I definitely would go to Ireland.

Are you afraid of standing on the edge of hills/skyscrapers/cliffs etc?  I am scared but whenever I’m given the chance to do this I kind of scrap that fear first and live in the moment.

Do you have a favorite species of wild cat (tiger/lion/cougar etc)?  No.

Do you have an absolute favorite name (boy or girl)? Alessandra, 120%. It is so beautiful-sounding, plus I love that you can use "Alessa" as a nickname. My Silent Hill obsession is quite thrilled by that, ha ha. < I love that name too, now that I think about it. For now, I think Olivia still tops my list.

Are you good at pronouncing foreign words?  My English is alright.

When listening to music, do you usually tap your foot etc to the beat?  I tap my fingers more than my foot.

Have you ever literally cried on a friend's shoulder?  Yeah but they were also my significant other then, so I dunno if that counts. I’m not super into physical touch so this isn’t something I’d do towards a friend, no matter how close we are.

Would you ever consider being a DJ at a party if you were paid?  Nah, I would suck.

Do strapless bras work for you?  No, my boobs are too small. 

Has anyone told you that they wanted to marry you/were planning on it/etc?  No.

Do you feel comfortable enough to wear short shorts?  Yeah, I just never really have the opportunity to wear them.

Have a favorite actor/actress from Old Hollywood? (Marilyn Munroe, etc) AUDREY HEPBURNNNNNNNNNN

What's your opinion on people who stretch their ears?  They can do whatever they want lol. I’m personally not a fan of the look but that’s my own problem to deal with.

Do you think tattoos are expressive art or unattractive?  Expressive.

What is your school mascot?  None of the schools I attended have one.

Have you ever seen a bear in the wild? I have never seen a bear.

What's the book you're currently reading?  Not reading anything at the moment.

Can you recall the most disturbing movie you've ever seen?  Eraserhead. Requiem For A Dream is also stressful to watch, even on your 2nd or 45th rewatch.

Has anyone you know gotten mono?  Possibly, but I can’t place names at the moment.

Have you ever picked an apple off the tree and eaten it?  No. Aside from the fact that I don’t eat fruits, apple trees aren’t native here so I’ve never actually seen one.

Can you say yes/no in different languages?  Oo/hindi, ne/ani.

Out of the traditional superheroes, which one is your favorite?  I don’t like superheroes.

Ever peed in your pants after the age of 10?  Not in my pants but my bed, but fortunately it just happened once.

Had any surgeries? What kind?  I have not.

Ever told your parents you hated them?  I had it written down on my journal when I was going through those rebellious puberty years, but it was only directed towards my mom because that had also been the peak of her emotionally/mentally abusive days. It’s funny because she snooped through my stuff then and saw the entry and ended up crying...and I didn’t even feel bad about it because 1) I meant what I wrote, and 2) she literally went through my shit. I still don’t feel bad about it.

Do you let your pets on your furniture?  Yes they can get on the couch and my bed.

How do you feel about kettle cooked chips?  I don’t really have an opinion lmao. If they are chips then they are going in my mouth.

How strong do you like your coffee?  I like milky/creamy coffee best tbh. When it comes to how strong they are I don’t have a preference.

Would you rather see someone of the opposite sex naked or nicely dressed?  Idk.

Would you ever consider visiting Texas?  I have relatives based in San Antonio and we’re pretty close to that side of the family, so yeah. 

If you could make a movie, what would it be about?  I’ve never been one for creative writing.

If you were kicked out of your current residence whom would you call?  My grandma or one of my aunts.

Do you want a boyfriend or girlfriend?  Not at this point in my life.

Do you prefer broccoli or asparagus?  Oooooohh I love both!

Was the last person you kissed attractive?  Objectively yes, but I no longer feel the attraction I once held for her.

Are you racist at all?  No.

Do you read creepypasta? If not, you should.  No thanks.

Have you ever vandalized?  Yeah some desks when I was in grade school.

Would you ever scuba dive in shark-infested waters if you had the chance? Most likely not. And by the way, they do not "infest" waters. That's their home. I hate that phrase so much. < This is a good point and I’d like to keep it here. Anywho, yeah I’m willing to do this but as far as I know they keep you in a cage when you go down in the water. I’d only do it if this was guaranteed lol.

Have you ever been drunk at work?  Hungover, yes. Drunk while at work, hell no.

Have you ever hit a parked car with your car?  No. My mom has done this with my parked car though -____- She had been backing up and I kept honking as she inched closer to my car, but she heeded me no mind until she finally hit me.

Have you ever slept on the floor with someone you like?  We probably had but I don’t remember the details anymore.

Which do you prefer: french toast, bagels, or cereal?  Bagels.

Do you prefer light or dark haired?  Dark.

Have you ever read any of the Chicken Soup for the Soul books?  Yes, I liked reading those in like grade school and high school.

Would you be prepared to do a job that you didn’t like, if it paid well?  I haven’t been placed in that situation yet, so I’m not actually sure how I would handle it. Depends on how much the money is, I guess.

Do you think age is needed for maturity?  No.

Do you believe the future is predetermined?  I don’t think so.

What words are most comforting to you?  Words of reassurance, like, “I’m just here,” “You don’t have to apologize.”

How important is money to you?  It is generally pretty important to me and I’m usually good at saving...I’ve just hit a road bump the last few months because getting into K-Pop means wanting to get something out of every new merch drop hahahaha. I went alarmingly crazy from April to June, but I made a vow to calm down starting this July; and so far, aside from pre-ordering the new Memories of 2020 DVD and buying some merch from the pop-up store, I haven’t bought anything else.

Is there anything you want to last forever?  Cold weather in the Philippines.

List three of your passions:  Writing, food, and museums.

How old do you want to live to? Just because I’m competitive even until age, I want to make it to 100 lmao.

What kind of love do you value the most?  Very comfortable platonic love. I highly value friendships where I can pretty much treat them like an SO hahaha.

If you could control one element, what would it be?  I don’t care.

Do you prefer foxes or wolves?  No preferences.

Could you ever deliver a baby?  OMG no I would be terrible and would for sure bring more harm than good to the mother.

Do you think suits are sexy?  Uh yeah.

Ever been called babe?  Yeah.

How old is your youngest sibling?  18.

Who in your phone has a heart after their name?  Angela.

Favorite boy’s name?  I guess I have several preferences, but I dunno if I have favorite boy’s names. I like the sounds of Lucas, Jacob, Liam, and Mason.

Are your parents together, separated, divorced, never married, what?  Married.

Do you go online every day?  For sure.

What is the best quality in the last guy you kissed?  I’ve never kissed a guy.

What do you usually do during a kiss? Depends on how passionate it is? < Yeah.

Do you have an older brother?  Technically no, but I have a cousin that I pretty much see as one.

You’re offered free tickets to a Justin Bieber concert. What do you do?  I love Biebs, but I would probably sell them. Some extra money is always good hahaha.

What’s the genre of the current song you’re listening to?  K-Pop, R&B.

Would you ever keep your favorite animal as a pet?  Yeah, I already have two of them.

Would you ever sell your soul?  Erm, I guess not.

[jackiejane]

Light hearted post on how I imagine my forever relationship to be, non exhaustive:

For any astrology aficionado, I'm a pisces sun h10, Leo Moon h3 and gem rising with aqua venus 9h and Aries Mars in 11h. (whs)

First off, partner is probably male

Sport enthusiast, that's what my record tells me.

Something about their hair makes me mushy

Dark brown eyes, or even black

Jaw line is sharp

Cute ears

They're very particular with their coffee order which makes me laugh and I'll tease them forever about it

Independent, ambitious, entrepreneurial

Polite and well-mannered

Loves work

Heated arguments about candles, cuttlery and other interior things

Loves to grocery shop and loves to have me whine and cling onto them because I hate it so much

Loves to cook and, preferably, is good at it.

I kiss them a lot

Whines when I push them away at night bc I need space to sleep

A lot of me overreacting at the silly stuff I put my values in - so they're patient

Reads

Loves to go to the theater and ballet

Loves to travel for long-ish periods of time

Let's face it, they probably are artistic and I love to hate how they're stuff is always in the way

They like fashion and dressing up

But they prefer lounging

We do puzzles with a glass of wine, and a sitcom in the background

We both can easily work from home and my fave thing is to have them sitting in front of me, focused on their computer

We play footsie under the table

Sometimes pick up each other's feet for a massage

Anytime someone gets up, quick back hug and neck kiss

Many many neck kisses

Frequently leads to sex on the chair, oral under the table with the other on a chair, sex on the table. I mean we'll get creative

A house is not our house if we haven't had sex on every surface in every way.

And that goes for every house we live in, temporary or forever home alike. Might take several decades and that's the point

They probably have a big family, or at least a tight one.

They look insanely good in a grey hoodie

And in a cap

Bonus points if they wear the hood of their hoodie on top of their cap

They take precautions care of their health, and so do I. Mostly separately

They can listen to me ramble about my insane theories and random knowledge and not get bored

They have a squeezable kissable noticeable delectable butt

Remarkable chest and shoulders

They don't mind sitting on my lap nor my arms squeezing them

Their smell is my drug

Our bed sheets smell the best, our scents blend beautifully together and our home will have an incredible smell.

The ppl we'll have over will forever remember this smell and associate it with their comfiest most relaxing stay at a friends' house

We're incredible hosts

If we're having a party, we'll have every guest covered on where they can spend the night

Partner will always be exasperated at how I cannot take a picture. Nor as a model - instant cross eyes, nor as a photographer - worst framing.

Can't wait to argue over cheeses, especially if they're foreign, that's gonna be fun.

If they're foreign, I'm gonna love to teach them the French northern accent and all of the swear words and lame expressions I love to use

Gonna love their reaction when they see that me, my brother and my father all talk like butchers to each other

Gonna love that they get it, find it hilarious and join in ❤️

Dramatic household for everything

Dramatically lying on the floor for lack of attention

Making cookies at midnight, naked, and ending up having sex in the kitchen while they bake

Bringing each other lunch, dinner, coffee when working at the office

Laying on each other on the plane, the train, the bus

Playing cards

Playing backgammon

Playing scrabble

Trying to read them tarot

Challenging our manifesting abilities

Challenging our instincts and psychic abilities

Them coming home after a work trip or a long day and coming straight to lay their head on my stomach

Me stroking their hair, their neck, their cheek, rubbing their back.

Telling them I love them many times, every five minutes

Pegging them

Observing their reaction to pleasure

Challenging their composure at restaurants

Flirting everywhere

Washing each other

Baths with their backs on my chest

Being the big spoon and nuzzling their nape

Being the little spoon and them kissing my neck

Holding hands while we sleep

NOT shopping together

At this point in the list, I think it's clear that we talk about everything

Both straightforward with emotions and needs, no guessing game

Both value observing the other too

Their morning voice ❤️

Their late night voice ❤️

Unconditional support

Both fascinated by how the other exists and how we found each other

Both find playing with language hilarious

[daddysfavouriteboytoy]

Roméo Valentin Jacquemin

Name: Roméo Valentin Jacquemin Age: 22 Birthday: 17th September Gender: Male Sexuality: Homosexual Ethnic: French Languages spoken: French, English, Spanish, German as well as a bit of Italian, Turkish, Hungarian, Ukrainian and Russian Species: mutated human Appearance: his fingers and lips are tinted a light blue colour  (Face-Claim: Alex Puértolas)

Clothing: When he was still living with his parents, he normally would wear grunge clothes. Now, he wears the few things which he brought with him. The only difference to then and now is, that the clothes are pretty torn and quite dirty. Height: 1,89 m Piercings: a lip piercing Tattoos: on his right shoulder blade Scars: He has a big scar which starts on his upper lip and ends on the middle of his cheek, another big one under his right eye which reaches from ear to the bridge of his nose and a third, smaller one on the right side of his neck. All three of them are from his first encounter with the IMCO. Illnesses: Mutation, slight insomnia Personality: To a lot of people’s surprise Roméo is relaxed and warm, with a “live and let live” attitude. Naturally, these trades should make him likeable and popular if it wouldn’t be for his mutations. However, he tries not to let that fact tear him down, instead, he is really good at relating to others’ emotions and helping them to establish harmony. Being so aware of others’ emotions, Roméo uses creativity and insight to come up with bold ideas that speak to people’s hearts. While it’s hard to explain this quality on a resume, this vivid imagination and exploratory spirit help the man in various, unexpected ways. Beneath his shyness beats an intensely feeling heart, as well. When he is caught up in something exciting and interesting, he can leave everything else in the dust. Freedom of expression is often his top priority. Anything that interferes with that, like traditions and hard rules, creates a sense of oppression for the guy. When situations get out of control, he can shut down, losing his characteristic charm and creativity in favour of gnashing teeth. Relationships: Germaine Jacquemin – step-mother; 55 years old; CEO; married; alive Pierre-Marie Jacquemin – father; 58 years old; fashion designer; married; alive Christiane De Saint-Pierre – older half-sister; 31 years old; actress; married; alive Abel Jacquemin – older half-brother; 27 years old; author; married; alive Séraphine ��� a stray dog which follows Roméo after he shared his food with her once Fears: the IMCO, losing his dogs, a lot of attention/speaking in front of a host of people, being completely alone, being experimented on, touching others Likes: sunflowers, big dogs, peace, frozen yoghurts – no matter the season, plants, classical music as well as punk rock, people treating him like a normal human being, meditation, long walks through the woods, the smell after it rained Dislikes: his family, unfamiliar situations, being compared to his brother, having to hide who he truly is, violence, IMCO, being different, mould, not having enough to eat, traditions Hobbies: urban exploring, swimming, strolling around, climbing on trees, travelling, ice skating Occupation: Thief Housing: abounded House Powers: can control ice, is able to freeze pretty much any liquid, can make it snow very slightly but only five square meters around him, his skin is extremely cold and leaves a thin layer of ice on the things he touches as well as giving others frost bites if they touch it Position: Switch Virgin: Yes Turn-ons: risky places, pet names, scratching, hickeys, foreplay, aftercare Turn-offs: degrading nicknames, golden showers, bad hygiene, being interrupted Other:

never stays too long at one place

his nose starts bleeding heavily whenever he overuses his powers

he sympathises more with animals than humans

is surprisingly good at picking up foreign languages

Backstory:

"Good evening. We are interrupting your regularly scheduled program to declare a state of international emergency. With the information that we've been provided with so far, it is our understanding that a high profile military experiment has gone awry. As a result, untested chemicals of great biohazard risk have been exposed to the environment. We can not provide any further information on the corporation responsible for the leak. Experts from the science field all around the world have come to a consensus on the matter. Evacuation will not be effective. By now the chemicals have contaminated the water supply, the air supply, as well as the food supply. According to the experts, should only affect individuals containing a specific gene found in only 3% of the population. For those individuals, the chemical could cause mutations of unknown proportions. Everyone, please stay calm at this time of mass hysteria, be safe, and be aware of anyone altered by these chemicals." Credit [x]

Roméo was not a planned child, which definitely showed in the way his parents treat him. Already during his first year of living, he was raised by maids, nannies and all the other people his parents paid to take care of him, so they didn’t need to. During his childhood, the rest of his family was also rarely home, his parents always travelled around the world while his brother was occupied by his studies and hobbies. It even went so far that Roméo didn’t even know he had an older brother the first few years of his life. Only when the boy got older his parents slowly stood home for longer periods of time. During those years, Roméo started school and his parents paid private tutors to teach him just the same things as his brother. Unfortunately, their youngest son wasn’t really into those hobbies nor very good at school. Quickly, the two parents began to get annoyed with their child and started to complain about why he couldn’t be as talented as his older brother who seemed to be flawless at everything he did. At first, the blonde spent a lot of time trying to live up to his parents’ expectations and get even better grades than his brother. This way, Roméo spent all of his elementary and middle school years, trying to somehow get the attention and approval of his parents by being the perfect son. Only when the blonde eventually got taught high school stuff, he realized that it was an impossible task. Therefore, he decided to just accept it and ignore his parents just like they ignored him. Roméo joined an ice-skating club which was a few blocks away from his home and nearly always met with internet friends after practise, so he had time to spend as little time as possible at home. It's true to say that Roméo had a somewhat normal and easy life until that threatful day. Some news lady announced the failing of a military experiment and warned people of possible mutations. At first, the blonde boy could only roll his eyes at the news, not believing one word that left her mouth, he thought it was some kind of stupid prank or joke. Well, his thinking changed quite quickly because he soon realized that he was one of the few 3 percents who had this strange gene in them. He changed, no, his body changed. Suddenly his body temperature decreased drastically and his lips, as well as his fingers, turned light-blue. Unfortunately, this was the reason why his parents suddenly paid attention to their unloved son. Now they thought he was an even worse disgrace to their family, then he was already before. After his strange changes, Roméo wasn’t allowed to leave the house anymore and soon he wasn’t even able to touch anyone anymore without leaving frostbites on their skin. His life grew dark and lonely, in a gigantic house without anyone to talk to apart from his private teachers, he couldn’t even use a phone nor a computer without destroying the device. However, Roméo wasn't the only one struggling during this time. When all these unnatural powers and mutations started to pop up it was disturbing the natural balance of the world. While the newly dubbed "mutants" only made up a small portion of the population, they still posed a threat to the safety of society. In response, a task force by the name of IMCO (International Mutant Containment Organisation) was formed, hunting down anyone with the unique gene in order to lock them away from civilisation. Roméo survived a year with the torture of his family and did not go crazy, however, a few months after his 18th birthday, the blonde decided to escape this hellhole. Yet, his parents seemed to somehow have found out about their second son’s plan and informed the IMCO about his existence. Just one day before the young adult could finally flee from the mistreatment of his family, two officers of this organization busted into his room and tried to tackle him on the ground and take him with them. However, for the first time in his life, Roméo decided to fight back, he had enough of being pushed around. Some might have considered this a huge mistake, a certain death sentence even, but for the unloved man, it was the only chance to have at least a slight chance to survive. Although in the heat of the moment, the mutant got badly hurt, he still managed to escape the officers and take a small suitcase with him in which his most important belongings were. However, this fight wasn’t won without sacrifice. Roméo did something he never dared to even think about, he killed a human being. Though it was an accident, he gripped the guy’s throat and unintentionally froze it, resulting in the other’s suffocation. It was a moment he tried to forget or at least suppress ever since. Shortly after his escape, he was only able to focus on one thing by then, surviving on the street. Despite him having stolen a big sum of money from his too rich parents, it was more than obvious that he was a mutant due to his looks. Simultaneously, he was on the run from the IMCO and police. That was also the reason why he left France and travelled the world, not staying anywhere longer than a year, this depended heavily on the size of the country he was currently staying in.

Starter

[lionheartslowstart]

Getting To Know Me

I had a rough start during quarantine. My mental health was dipping pretty low, I felt isolated and bored, and I was alone with my thoughts so the body dysmorphia was turned up pretty high. I’m not sure what happened, but somehow, I was able to do a complete 180. I’m taking the time to change my lifestyle and find ways to make myself happier, because, what the fuck else am I going to do during quarantine?

First things first, I’ve changed my sleep cycle. Huzzah! I went from falling asleep at 3-5 am and waking up at 1-3 pm, to falling asleep at 10-11:30 pm and waking up at 7-8:30 am. Crazy right? Somewhere in there I hit a couple bumps in the road, so now it’s been more like falling asleep around midnight and waking up between 9 and 10. Still way better than how it was before, but I’m trying to work back down to at least 8 in the morning. This was incredibly challenging for me, and a huge victory. My energy levels have increased, and my mood has generally been better.

I’ve started doing yoga. Yes, you read that correctly. I’ve been doing yoga for almost three weeks now. It’s the first thing I do when I wake up. My best friend turned me on to this amazing app, Daily Yoga. Highly recommend. I do yoga for two days in a row then rest the third day, which is what the app suggests. I’ve been taking courses, beginner courses specifically since I’m new to this whole yoga thing. The sessions started at about 10-15 minutes, and they’ve increased to 20-30 minutes or so. Not very long, but I figure I’m doing it almost every day, which I’m told is better than long, intense workouts less frequently. I’m hoping to increase to 45-60 minute long sessions. Though, once society resumes and I start school, I may no longer be able to do it every day. But that’s why I’m trying to increase now. If I can only do yoga a few times a week instead of every day, I want to be stronger so I can participate in longer routines, and so I can challenge myself with more difficult poses.

In addition to my almost daily yoga, I have a short work out regimen I do every day, including on days I don’t do yoga. I do 100 squats, 50 crunches, 50 lower abdominal crunches, and 60 oblique crunches. Every. Single. Day. Some days I don’t want to, but I force myself, and I’m always glad I do. I also try to go on walks, especially on non-yoga days. There’s a lovely trail right by my apartment, so I try to get in at least 30 minutes. Like I said, I’ve only been doing this stuff for about three weeks, so it’s not like I’ve lost weight or anything. But I do feel stronger, and I think I look a little stronger. Also, my butt is poppin’ thanks to all the squats. I don’t know if it’s because I’m feeling stronger, or because the exercise is helping with my mental health, maybe a bit of both, but my body dysmorphia has seen a drastic decrease. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely still have bad days, but I would say that, overall, I’m obsessing about my body less, and shitting on my body less. There have even been several days where I see myself in the mirror and think, Damn, I look good.

Other than fitness, I have added a couple of other things to my day-to-day. I’ve been making sure to practice my Spanish on Duolingo every day for about ten minutes. Not only that, but I started taking French, too, which I also practice for ten minutes a day. Unlike Spanish, French is very difficult for me. I’ve studied Spanish since middle school, and while there was a large lapse in my speaking of it, it came back to me very quickly. I’ve always loved the language, and grasping it came easy to me. French, not so much. It’s way harder than Spanish. Just, generally. The grammar is less consistent, most of the differences in words are in how things are written out and NOT how they are actually spoken, so as a result, all of the words sound the fucking same, there are 80 fucking vowels to memorize, and, to top it all off, the pronunciation is super difficult already. I hate it. I love it. The challenge is the fun! My mom and I were supposed to go to France this summer (fat chance now, I know), which is why I chose French as my second language to learn. My mom speaks French, but I figure if I’m going to be spending time in a foreign country, I might as well at least try to understand what’s going on around me, as opposed to solely relying on my mother to get us around.

Another thing I’ve been working on is learning guitar. This is something I’d been doing before quarantine began, but being in quarantine has allowed me to practice a lot more. I’ve added guitar practice to my regimen, although there’s been a pause in that, as the handle for the case broke on the way to my mom’s house for a lesson, so the guitar will be remaining there until the new case arrives. But before that (and presumably after we get the new case), I’d been practicing every day. I would practice all the chords I know and play through the two songs I’ve been working on two or three times. At my most recent lesson with my mom, we downloaded a P!nk song online, and she taught me a new chord so I could play it. Now I know 10 chords: G, C, D, D7, Em, E, A, Am, A7sus, and Bb (aka, the hardest chord ever). Obviously, I still have a lot to learn, but I’m proud of the progress I’ve made. Guitar is hard, but I’m determined.

So, these 5 things (yoga, daily workout, Spanish, French, and guitar, in that order) are how I begin my day, every day. I usually finish anywhere from 10 to noon, depending on how early I wake up. This frees up the rest of my day for household chores, errands, cooking, calling my friends, video games, overall chillaxin’, and various creative endeavors like crafting or writing. But this has led to two different results, one positive and one negative.

The positive effect is that I have a schedule. My mornings are pretty set in stone, and I try to organize the rest of my day as best I can. I use a “To Do List” every day, and I include my leisurely activities on it as well so I can put everything in some kind of order. I try to accomplish any chores or errands I have in the middle of the day (with the exception of doing the dishes and cleaning the stove, which I do every night after dinner), and spend the rest of the day having fun and relaxing. I end every night by reading in bed for about thirty minutes, which has definitely helped with my sleep cycle. All of this has led me to the conclusion that I can be functional in a regular society.

The negative outcome is that I’m still bored. When I was living in Italy, I was constantly anxious because life is so slow-paced there. Other than my classes, I felt like I had nothing to do, which was a stark difference from life in the Big Apple. It just felt weird to have all this time on my hands, and as a result, I often felt unproductive. I also didn’t take as much advantage of the free time as I should have, but that largely had to do with the state of my mental health at the time, as well as just not being used to having buttloads of leisure time and therefore not knowing what to do with it. With everything going on, life right now feels really similar to how it did in Italy. Like I said, I finish my routine by the end of the morning, and then the rest of my day is just a big blank space that I try to fill with everything and anything else.

But even this has led to another positive realization! When I started this journey three weeks ago, I was afraid that when society reforms, my schedule will fall apart and I’ll become overwhelmed because I’ll suddenly have a lot of other things I need to do (namely school and medical appointments). I definitely still have anxiety about that, especially since school will be incredibly demanding, but that anxiety is beginning to lesson. Why? For the same reason I’m bored all the time! My morning routine only takes a couple hours. Even if I have to switch to the evening because of school, or split it up into half one day and half another, it will still be manageable. I know I will have space for the other demands in my life. As my mom has said to me, it’s a lot easier to go from having one schedule to having a different schedule, than to go from having no schedule at all to having a schedule. I’m sure there will be adjustments, maybe ones I haven’t thought of. But I’ll be able to figure it out, even if there are bumps in the road (which I’m sure there will be), because I’m building a skillset.

So, what does all of this have to do with the title of this entry, “Getting To Know Me?” I was on the phone with my therapist the other day, telling her about all the progress and positive changes I’ve made, and how I’ve been feeling as a result. She responded, “You’re getting to know yourself.” This took me by surprise, which I voiced to her. I told her that I’ve always prided myself on knowing exactly who I am, but I nevertheless thought she was right. That, yes, I do know Who I Am, but, as with everything else, I’m discovering even more. I keep peeling back layer after layer, I keep thinking I’ve reached the core, but then I tap a few times and realize, Oh fuck yeah! There’s even more! 

I’ve learned that I like waking up early in the morning. My goal is to be able to wake up at 7 or 7:30 every day. (This doesn’t change the fact that I love nighttime, which will no doubt cause me issues down the line, but I’ll figure it out.) I love learning languages. I want to be able to speak Spanish and French fluently. Maybe I’ll even try learning Italian after! I want to be able to speak as many languages as I can cram into my brain. I’ve learned that I can take this fitness journey, and I’m enjoying it. It’s okay that I’m still a beginner, and that doesn’t mean I’m not capable of being an expert if I keep going. And I can live without sweets. I still treat myself every now and then (and when I do, portion control is still an issue I’m trying to work on), but for the most part I don’t crave chocolate or sugar the way I used to. I’m currently attempting to go two weeks without dairy. Now that has been HARD. The exceptions being anything that comes with my Blue Apron meals, because I’m not going to waste food, and putting a little bit of milk in my coffee, because I can’t not have a little bit of milk in my coffee. But in terms of breakfast, lunch, and snacking, zero dairy. I’ve substituted Pringles and Pop Tarts for fruits, applesauce, and (non-dairy) yogurt. I’m only on day three, but I’m confident I can make it to day fourteen. I’ve learned that I have more energy than I thought I did, which is huge. I’d been so used to feeling sluggish and exhausted, I had no idea I have the capacity to feel this energized! The best part is that I know it’s because I’m doing all of these things that MAKE me feel energized. And they make me feel energized because they make me happy. Even sitting here writing this, I’ve just thought of more things I want to work on while I have this time. And I’m going to! I have the time, all I need to do is remember to add it to my To Do List.

I know it’s a scary time right now. I don’t want to pretend it isn’t, or that a lot of lives haven’t been lost, or that we shouldn’t take it seriously. But taking it seriously involves staying at home as much as possible, and if we’re stuck at home anyway, shouldn’t we make the most of it?

[elves-n-angels]

Sebastian Stan’s Musings on Life in August Man Malaysia Issue 115

APRIL 18, 2018

Sebastian Stan is a humble man. Humble to a fault. One couldn’t imagine a superhero from the Marvel Cinematic Universe played by such a down-to-earth, unassuming man. But since 2010, Stan has played Captain Bucky Barnes, who had his big break as a leading character in Captain America: Winter Soldier. Maybe that’s how Marvel and Disney trick us into seeing these movies: they hire nuanced, thoughtful actors and not just action stars. Resistance is futile.

This year is shaping up to be a big one for Sebastian Stan, with new roles where he gets to show his acting chops, such as his turn in I, Tonya, where he plays the scheming husband of the title character, and a lead role opposite Nicole Kidman in Destroyer. Although he lives in New York, Stan frequently travels to Los Angeles for work, and it is during one of his westward treks that we caught up with him, in the penthouse of the Shangri-La, a luxurious beachfront Santa Monica hotel.

You’re originally from Romania. It’s a country sometimes viewed as the Latin country of Eastern Europe. Do you have a bit of Latin/romantic in you? Yes. I was born there and I left when I was eight. Then I lived in Austria for four years and then I came to the US in 1995.

I’m originally from France. Romanian is also a Latin language, like French. Romanian is a little bit closer to Spanish and Italian, with some Slavic stuff added. I’d say the filmmaking there is seemingly close to French style. It’s sort of deep. Tragic stories about suffering! (Laughs) It’s like the real life. I’m a fan. I love a lot of foreign movies. I’m trying to reeducate myself of what’s going on there, and I’ve watched more Romanian movies lately.

Are they offering you parts over there? No. I’m actually going back. First time I’m going back since 2004. It has been 14 years. I still speak the language fluently, although I have an accent. I’d like to find something one day potentially to reconnect. That’s the plan. I’m going back for their film festival. It’s nice to haveI, Tonya screened there. It’s a good reason to go. One of my goals is to meet with these filmmakers, get to know them. You never know. We’ll start a conversation.

I read your mum is a pianist. Did that play a part in you choosing an artistic path for your career? I don’t know. When we were in Austria for a little bit of time, in her mind she had always seen me as a creative type. She was pushing me a little bit towards acting, taking me to some open calls. She used to get a kick seeing me imitating people. I didn’t like it. I was in this tiny series when I was in Vienna, very briefly. I hated it. I hated the fact you had to be on the spot, you had to wait around to work. I was like “back off, leave me alone”. I rediscovered it on my own when I was a teenager in New York. I’m glad I did it later. I think she wanted me to discover it by myself.

What was it like to arrive in New York at 12 years old? It was very weird. A lot of my childhood was kind of chaotic, moving around. But this is what life is – the life of an actor. You’re always moving, four months there, 10 months there. I’m kind of used to change; I crave it. I like relocating and going to a place I’ve never been and restart, get to know it. All that stuff is fun for me, when doing my job.

I think the first time you got some mainstream visibility was when you did the TV show Gossip Girl, right? I did some things before that, but Gossip Girl, I think it was such a popular show; it was an unbelievable show. It was an amazing opportunity for me. First of all I was living in New York and it was shot in New York. I never thought my character would reoccur. Also one of my best friends was in it, Chace Crawford, so it was nice to reconnect with him. We were hanging out anyway, so it was like “let’s just go to work at the same time!”. I guess that was the first time that, here and there, someone was recognising me. I don’t think in the industry I was recognised for anything. But the show was so popular.

It was huge! I forgot how popular it was. I think it was setting trends.

You’ve been playing Bucky Barnes for close to a decade now. How has playing the role of Captain Bucky Barnes changed your life? Oh my God! I guess 2010 is when I started. It’s bizarre. It’s kind of strange! It’s certainly brought me a lot of exposure. I’m recognised here and there. It changed my life in many ways. From the perspective of having a lot of fans too. So many people coming up to you feeling they have a special bond to the character. It led to a lot of work opportunities as well, because of the exposure these movies have. It really catapulted me into the public eye, in a different way than I was used to. But in a nice way. I’ve been really grateful and lucky to come back and revisit that character over time. It’s even kind of strange to imagine what would life be without that character and without the people I’m playing with. It’s a giant family, Marvel, in a way. So you’re always looking forward to reconnecting with people, in a way. And you just hope it keeps going. I think to the outside world, it looks like they have a huge solution figured out: every movie’s a hit, every movie’s reviewed so well. But it’s really hard. I think every movie is created like it’s its first and last. That’s why it’s good. They’ve always come from a place of “let’s see what we can do with those characters”. It’s a big part of my life.

Was there anything that you wish you could have done differently for the role of Bucky Barnes, now that you know the character better? No, I’m really ok with the way things went. I felt that at the time, I did the most I could do with what they gave me. The knowledge that I had was the potential of certain things, but not knowing 100% if it was going to happen. I have hope and I’m excited about the future of the character, but then again, that’s not up to me.

Do you think any of the aspects of the Marvel Cinematic Universe relate to real-world events? Like reflection about the role of government? Or is it true fantasy? Look, I think it varies movie by movie, but there’s something to be said that these movies sometimes penetrate the real pulse of what’s going on. You can see it with Black Panther. It was not only a story that needed to be told, but it was something people wanted to see, needed to see. And there was a lot of themes that are prevalent to what’s going on today. So I think Marvel’s very smart with that kind of stuff, always finding a fine line between keeping you entertained and keeping you grounded so that you will be thinking of certain things. It’s an interesting time to have these movies now because they serve a lot of purposes. It’s almost like we really need heroes. We need leaders. There’s something subconscious there about the idea of feeling protected, feeling safe. Maybe these movies tap into something subconscious, into people’s desires, because we live in a scary world, it’s really terrifying out there. You turn your phone on and you’re shocked with all kinds of stuff, there’s another shooting, another attack, etc. I always think about one or two decades from now, when people will look back, how will they be looking at these movies and the pop culture of the time.

Are you surprised a movie like Captain America, which has very patriotic, “proud to be American” themes is doing so well overseas? I think Captain America’s been sort of updated. He’s more relatable than people initially thought. He’s a man lost in time. He’s actually a very sad character. He’s trying to find his way. The ideals he grew up with and made him do the things he wanted to do are no longer applied the same way in the modern world. It goes to show that there’s something about these movies that transcends stereotypes and perspectives. Especially in Asia, in China, these movies are huge.

How has your relationship with all the other actors in the Marvel Cinematic Universeevolved over the past decade? Are you friends with some of them? Oh yeah, for sure. I would say Chris Evans and Andy Mackie are probably the closest to me. Everybody gets along. I got to know different people this time around. I spent much more time with Mark Ruffalo, Chris Hemsworth and Scarlett Johansson. You said it’s been almost 10 years. You almost grow with those people. Some get married, some get divorced, some have kids, some moved houses. It feels like we come together, and a lot of things have happened since we’ve been in each other’s lives. It does feel like a family.

How do you think you would feel after the Marvel Cinematic Universe finally ends? Is it even going to end one day? I don’t know. Everything ends and begins one way, but I don’t know. These movies are still bringing people to the theatre. Why go to the movie theatre when you have a nice plasma TV at home? You can watch it there. But I feel these movies are still serving that experience visually. You can watch on IMAX, with advanced sound technology. And a big part of this is that technology right now is so great to help those stories to be told. Ten to 20 years from now, you may be able to pick your favourite character and make him do whatever you want. Netflix may own a country at that point!

In I, Tonya, you play Tonya’s husband Jeff. Was it quite a departure? How did you get into character? Did the moustache help? (Laughs) Anytime you have a moustache, it’s going to do something. People look at you, people look at it. It was just a great opportunity to do something different. It was fascinating because it was real people, they existed, they’re still alive. It was a wild story that always has some kind of weird mystique to it. You never know if that’s the truth. Or is there more? We may never know. But from an actor’s perspective, it was a great experience with an unbelievable cast, a really great director that I respected and taught me a lot. It was nice to lose yourself in the character. I enjoy being challenged and this was very scary for a lot of reasons, because he’s a live person and I’ve never played a live person before. He was a very controversial person. To this day I don’t really know the truth. Because based on her side of the story, he was loving at times, and then extremely abusive at others.

In the movie, he’s not really a villain… No and that‘s the problem. I think in that movie, the villain is the American dream, in a way.

I thought the reason people liked that movie in the US is that even though the protagonists did some terrible things, in the end they wanted to win, and there’s nothing more American than this desire to win at all costs. Exactly. And you see it with who is in office in the White House right now! That was very prevalent in our movie. And the winning aspect was exactly what you said. Everybody was obsessed with this idea of not being good enough, not having enough, got to do more, got to do this. And then something happened, and nobody knew how to react to it, nobody was prepared. These were the people that grew up very poor, they didn’t have a great understanding of money, they didn’t have a great understanding of fame. But they wanted it. It’s also about abuse. Abuse happens early on, you learn, and keeps being repeated. And the people who are victims of abuse unfortunately grow used to the idea that there is some love attached to it, and continue to seek it later on. It’s about the message you’re telling your kids early on.

This fascination probably explains why the movie was named I, Tonya and not I, Nancy… The title I, Tonya was inspired by the book I, Claudius, which is about the Roman emperor Claudius. It’s in our nature as people to be driven, to want to succeed. All these things are part of who we are. But what do we do with it? That’s ingrained. You could say, “How are we like that?” But go tell this to four generations back. Blame them! We’re still living very much in a time that’s been put in place decades ago.

I wonder if there has ever been an actor who did this to another actor to get a part they were both auditioning for… (Laughs) Don’t put it out there! I’m sure there are people capable of it!

Are there any actors or directors whom you haven’t worked with and that you would like to work with in the future? Of course. Andrew Garland is a director I was just talking about the other day. He’s incredible. Quentin Tarantino. I’d work with Sir Ridley Scott again in a second. I’d love to get a chance to work with Darren Aronofsky. Who wouldn’t work with Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg? Sometimes I’m worried about what’s going to happen when these guys are no longer around!

Can you tell me about the TV show you did a couple of years ago called I’m Dying Up Here? It was a fun experience, it was a director I liked very much. It was based on a book about the Comedy Store in Hollywood. It was the ‘70s, guys like Jay Leno, Robin Williams – a world I knew nothing about. It wasn’t that comedic, it had some dark undertones. I love comedy. I’m still trying to figure out how I’m funny, how I’m not funny. It’s still a work in progress. But I’d love to be in a comedy one day. That would be amazing.

It seems your relationship with celebrity is somewhat ambivalent. Do you even want to be more famous? I talked to Justin Theroux last year and he is known for avoiding fame. I’m definitely not seeking it. I like walking on the streets. I don’t know what it would be like to be someone who can’t walk on the streets. I have no idea what it would be like. I’d love to continue doing what I’m doing. Sometimes one is a by-product of the other. You can’t have your cake and eat it too, sometimes. I see it more of a responsibility than anything else.

There’s pressure? Of course there’s pressure. But what are you doing with being famous? Who are you helping? Bring attention with you to certain causes? That’s how I think of it. Otherwise it’s just self-oriented.

Can you tell us about your other movies that will be released this year? There’s one that I have just finished, which I was really happy about. It’s called Destroyer. That was a great experience that I was really happy with. Then there’s We Live in a Castle , which I filmed two years ago. It was a really nice experience, but a tricky film with a tricky story. In Destroyer, you can expect Nicole Kidman as you’ve never seen her before. I’ve never seen her play a part like this. She was unrecognisable in some scenes. It’s a really well-written script that was a bit twisted. It is set in Los Angeles and the city is a big part of it. The movie is about control and how we struggle with that. We all want control. Sometimes it’s also about who we present ourselves to be and who we really are. It’s a very interesting movie and I’m also excited because of the director, Karyn Kusama. She’s really talented.

Could you describe your own personal style? You’re a firm believer in letting your wardrobe do the work. I try to not wear anything that has a log on it. Seemingly I like a lot of black, I like a lot of velvet. I like leather. I always seem to wear boots! I’m always learning about fashion. Especially this year. I got to wear Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Tom Ford – I was really lucky to wear some really cool brands. But I never discriminate between labels. It could be Hugo Boss or Coach. I’m much more of a visual person. If I see something that makes sense, I go for it.

Do you go to fashion week? I did last year. It was great. I went to Tom Ford, Hugo Boss and Calvin Klein. They were all very different and unique. But it was cool, I liked it.

Is it easy to fit into the clothes after all the Marvel superhero training? (Laughs) No, I’m not sure if I train as hard as I used to! Maybe it’s become part of my regular lie and I don’t not ice it anymore. Sometimes you have to lose weight, sometimes you have to gain weight. You just go with the job; the job just takes over.

You have millions of followers on Instagram. How did you develop your fanbase? It’s always a learning lesson for me on social media. A lot of it happened with Marvel, obviously. I got on Instagram when the Winter Soldier movie came out, it was in 2014. It was strange. But now it’s become a really interesting way to be able to communicate with the fans. Sometimes a lot of people reach out and ask me questions or advice. And that’s always very fulfilling.

What made you change your mind on social media? You used to not be on it. I wasn’t on it because I didn’t think I was going to be good at it. I’m still trying to figure it out, in a way. I’ve figured out how to enjoy it, though. I have just realised it was a necessity, in a way. It was part of the way the world was going. When someone really explained it to me that it was a way to keep in touch with your fans, vice versa, that really opened it up for me. Before I thought, “What am I going to say?” At least now we have a connection.

How much do the fans mean to you? Well none of this would happen without the fans. They’re the ones that go to the movies, they’re the ones that spend the money, they’re the ones that connect with those characters and relate to them. A lot of them put their hearts out and become vocal. I’ve had a lot of fans come up to me and tell me how much they relate to these characters, to the Winter Soldier, and how much he means to them. You need that support. That’s the feedback you’re looking for. Acting, to me, is an amazing experience. For me, personally, it’s gratifying. There’s a sense of release, a peace I get. But in the end, it’s a way to communicate something with somebody. That’s how I’ve always seen it. Here’s a character that’s going through this, maybe you’re related, maybe he’ll make you think about your life, make you question some of your decisions. How would you have acted in that scenario? It’s life on the screen!

[suepixels]

Get to Know Me

Make a simself and add traits if you like but you don’t need to! “Me with my most important men Nero Valcari on the right and Levithian Cavallo on the left - Pixelthirst is real, you guys!” The peeps I met here who encouraged me to start my story? Yeah, I’m freakin’ grateful! Thank youu..! Aspiration: Soulmate + Bonus trait “Romantic” Traits: Creative, Active, Cheerful

I was tagged by the wonderful lady @cillaben and @awolzai is the one who created this tag. So if you wanna read all that shizzle about me. Go ahead and read, I’m not gonna stop you - Oh Gosh! Thanks a bunch, sweet Cilla, you are just wonderful the way you are to me and also for being a fab friend, I 💛  you , obviously you not gonna be tagged for this! Hehe - just messing around... 😉

I’m tagging following simmers because welp I don’t know much about them but I truly 💛 their blog and their stories and personality and would 💛  to know them better. @beverlyallitsims  @josiesimblr @tigerellasims , @tangandzing   @keysims , @skellysim @shysimblr , @weicyn, @glovely1simmer, @ktosiksims @fabflubs , @cayrees , @shespeakssimlish

Guys you don’t need to do this but it would be dope! There are loads of questions here. So you don’t have to answer all of them if you don’t feel like it. Even if I didn’t tag you feel free to do it - it’s fun!

WARNING: Answers to 125 questions are under the cut.

What is your name? Suzana

What is your nickname? Sue

🎂? May 11th

What is your favorite 📓 series?  Um, the last I read as a series was “The Lord of the rings” (A throwback to childhood, damm I was 13 when I read it the first time, hehe) I rather read single books 📚, seldom series

Do you believe in aliens or ghosts? Ghosts? Dunno I’m not sure, never met one but don’t want either if they exist! LOL. Aliens? Wait a billion of galaxies with trillion of stars and I should believe that we are the only living creatures in the universe? Naah we are not alone - E.T. is out there. Does it answer your question? LOL

Who is your favorite author? Ugh... The ones I can think of right now? goshI have a bunch... um... Robert Greene, Marion Zimmer Bradley (all Avalon books) Patrice Leovold who’s book taught me that Eleanor of Aquitaine used to be a strong woman and queen of two countries in Europe! I love history stuff so I read a bunch of German authors who write historical novels.

What is your favorite radio station? If I listen to any it would be JAM FM from Berlin (Hip-Hop, RnB, Soul etc) Haven’t heard it in years... but Youtube is my main source for music, hehe

What is your favorite flavor of anything? If it’s not spicy go home and try it again, okay? It has to be spicy... yeah I’m used to it. A day without my Latte Macchiato is a no-no! (80% creamy milk with 1 cup of espresso, only the real deal for me, capeesh? Hehe! 

What word would you use often to describe something great or wonderful? Dope!

What is your current favorite song? 💛 Stuck in my head this one arrrgh gosh: Blindness by Justin Timberlake

What is your favorite word? Welp? LOL 😆

What was the last song you listened to? I will wait for you by Nicky Parrott

What 📺 show would you recommend for everybody to watch? The Originals, Vampire Diaries (isn’t it obvious?) Lucifer (love the sarcasm) The Good Doctor, This is Us and heck, yeah Game of Thrones agree with @cillaben

What is your favorite movie to watch when you’re feeling down? Any good sci-fi, fantasy movie “Just let me escape this world for a second or two”

Do you play video games? Yup, as an addict I play only Sims 4, 3 & 2 😲

What is your biggest fear? To die, too early before I could do all the things I desire to do.

What is your best quality, in your opinion? I’ve been told be caring, dunno!

What is your worst quality, in your opinion? I can be stubborn but hey someone told me I’m just persistent in all the things I do, you know... 😁

Do you like cats or dogs better? I used to love cats more but since my sis has a Malinois. I love both.. Guys, Stella is the best craziest dog I’ve seen!

What is your favorite season? Summer

Are you in a relationship? Neep, bloody single...welp =D

What is something you miss from your childhood?  My love for ballet? I did yesterday the first time after 15 yrs some exercises on a bar at the gym and the belief that anything is possible - still hoping!

Who is your best friend? Currently, run out of “best friends” shizzle

What is your eye color? Green-yellowish - yup like a cat  😁

What is your hair color? By nature? Ash blonde but I love brown!

Who is someone you 💛? My sister and my nephews

Who is someone you trust? Only my big sis

Who is someone you think about often? My ex, who I still love. I know I should drop it but when your heart says something else and your mind reminds you NOPE - Game over! Dang, it! Can someone press the restart button for me, please? LOL Naaah, don’t worry I’m fine but you know sometimes you think too much about could have, would have blah, blah...

Are you currently 🙌 about/for something? I’m 🙌 about to go to bed!

What is your biggest obsession? Fitness (again), Dancing, being creative, TV series, Cooking, Web surfing, Gaming, Traveling geez I can’t name them all I have many obsessions. LOL 

What was your favorite 📺 show as a 👶? As a child, I wasn’t allowed to watch TV but what I remember is that I liked “Once Upon a Time... Life” a European/Asien cartoon about how the human's body system works (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY11Hu_ju5M&list=PLtAciEfQHAwvs1hIkWN_YNpD8E4sno--C)

Who of the opposite gender can you tell anything to, if anyone? Nobody. I’m too open-minded and a bunch of peeps are simply sick in their head and interpret shizzle just because I say “Live your life your way - it’s not my business” So I keep it private.

Are you superstitious? Nope, not that I’m aware of =D

Do you have any unusual phobias? Darkness, if the light goes suddenly off and I see nothing? Yeah, it creeps the heck out of me. A childhood trauma - my mother did scare to death!

Do you prefer to be in front of the door or behind it? In front!

What is your favorite hobby? Fitness, surfing, 👀 movies and playing sims of course.

What was the last 📓 you read? The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene

What was the last movie you 👀? The new Fantastic Beasts movie

What musical instruments do you play, if any? None =( wish to play piano, tho - need to check Google Play for an app - LOL

What is your favorite animal?  Birds

What are your top 5 favorite Tumblr blogs that you follow?  I have quite a bunch I check daily like a stalker - all wonderful human beings =) 

What superpower do you wish you had? The ability to be immortal

When and where do you feel most at ✌️? Sweet Home

What makes you 😁? Sarcastic Humor, it goes deep under your skin

What sports do you play, if any? Naah, I do Functional Fitness and soon Breakletics but I don’t play sports.

What is your favorite drink?  Latte Macchiato and Raspberry Mojito

When was the last time you wrote a ✋-written letter or note to somebody? A goodbye letter to my ex-boyfriend when I canceled to continue to be just friends with him. Well because of the feels I still have him...even after 5 yrs...still unforgotten!

Are you 😨 of heights? Depends...

What is your biggest pet peeve? Fake people, superficial characters

Have you ever been to a concert? Yes, quite a lot...

Are you vegan/vegetarian? Never ever - I need meat!

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up? A ballet dancer or an artist in general.

 What fictional place would you like to live in? Atlantis - Undersea Waterworld

What is something you worry about? Yes, I worry all the time

Are you 😨 of the dark? Depends, if there is no light, yes!

Do you like to sing? Yes!

Have you ever skipped school? Never. I was a proud nerd!

What is your favorite place on the 🌍? Home

Where would you like to live? Atlanta, USA or UK - London

Do you have any pets? Neep, not allowed by the landlord

Are you more of an early bird or a night owl? Night Owl

Do you like sunrises or sunsets better? Sunrise - A new day to start fresh!

Do you know how to drive? I know, but I don’t have a license - hihi

Do you prefer earbuds or 🎧? Earbuds

Have you ever had braces? Neep, lucky me

What is your favorite genre of 🎶? RnB, Soul, Hip Hop, “German Hip Hop”, Classic, Jazz, Blues, Bossa Nova, Dancehall, Reggaeton, Twerk - actually all kind of genres, always depends on the song! 🎶

Who is your hero? Hero? Ugh... Dunno to be honest...

Do you read comic 📚? I used to, not anymore

What makes you the most 😠? Rudeness, Racism in general, Lies, and Betrayal

Do you prefer to read on an electronic device or with a real 📓? I need a real book, okay? As much as I ’m a lover of newest technologies but some stuff are simply gold when it’s the “real deal”.

What was your favorite subject in school? Languages ( I speak 3 fluid English, German, Serbian somewhat a little French), Informatics, Art, Music, and History

Do you have any siblings? A sister and a brother

What was the last thing you bought? Meat

How tall are you? 5′3 or about 164 cms

Can you cook? Yeees, herbs? Spices? Experimenting? All that jazz, yes

What are three things that you 💛? My sis, Fitness and writing my story here.

What are three things that you hate? Racists, Betrayal and when people lie about their feelings.

Do you have more female friends or more male friends? Male, most women never liked me... dunno... why! 

What is your sexual orientation? Straight

Where do you currently live? Germany

Who was the last person you texted? My sister

When was the last time you 😢? On 3rd of Nov. because I saw my brother - we don’t talk

Who is your favorite YouTuber? Xurbansimsx (Sims) that’s it!

Do you like to take selfies? Neep, not currently... I gained too much... due to my illness but working it off now that I’m feeling better.

What is your favorite app? Tumblr and Pinterest

What is your relationship with your parent(s) like?  My dad passed away. Broken, dramatic family war! No, contact with my brother because of my mother this binch. My sister is my everything  💛 💛 💛

What is your favorite foreign accent? French and when American speak German, aaah I love it!.

What is a place that you’ve never been to, but you want to visit? New York, South Africa, New Zeeland and Australia

What is your favorite number? 5

Can you juggle? Naaah

Are you religious? Nope

Do you find outer space of the deep ocean to be more interesting? Both

Do you consider yourself to be a daredevil? Sometimes, a little naughty, hehe

Are you allergic to anything? Cat hair :(

Can you curl your tongue? Yips

Can you wiggle your ears? Nooope

How often do you admit that you were wrong about something? When I’m wrong I do apologize but it happens seldom

Do you prefer the forest or the beach? Beach, babe!

What is your favorite piece of advice that anyone has ever given you? Who has told you that life is fair?

Are you a good liar? I guess I can be if I have to!

What is your Hogwarts 🏠? Hufflepuff

Do you talk to yourself? Yeah, I do so what? I just maintain a relationship with myself, okay  😂 Call me crazy, I don’t care..hehe 😜

Are you an introvert or an extrovert? extrovert

Do you keep a journal/diary? I used to but stopped, have 5 books

Do you believe in second chances? Yes

If you found a wallet full of 💰 on the ground, what would you do? Tbh? Currently, I would keep it.

Do you believe that people are capable of change? Difficult, it depends on the character. 

Are you ticklish? Some secrets areas - yeas!

Have you ever been on a ✈️? Heck yeah, quite a lot - I’m a “Fernweh” Girl and a traveler!

Do you have any piercings? Ears, Belly and I used to have my nose pierced, too but business sucks so I had to take it out! LOL

What fictional character do you wish was real? Mr. Darcy from ‘Pride and Prejudice’

Do you have any tattoos? Yes, one on my back and I want more!

What is the best decision that you’ve made in your life so far? Running away from home, living my own life and not allowing anyone to tell me how I should live my life - I have one life to live, so my rules apply!

Do you believe in karma? Yes

Do you wear glasses or contacts? Contacts during daytime at night glasses

Do you want children? Yes, at least one - hopefully!

Who is the smartest person you know? My ex-boyfriend

What is your most embarrassing memory? When a friend of mine showed via an accident how fake she truly was. She lost her fake hair and her nails got broken and all this in public on a dancefloor in front of my friends. (We were teens, LOL)

Have you ever pulled an all-nighter? Almost but not really so, naah

What color are most of your clothes? Black, mint, turquoise and darker versions of green, blue, brown and red.

Do you like adventures? Depends on adventure

Have you ever been on 📺? Almost as a TV-host for a German music channel! Had a casting back in my teenhood! 

How old are you? 35+ I look younger than I really am and I don’t feel like it. Nope, not gonna say it publicly. I would feel instantly older.. LOL but I tell in private!

What is your favorite movie quote? “He is your first love. I intend to be your last” - The Originals by Klaus Mikelson

Sweet or savory? Sweet

Yeah, you may notice I like to add videos =) that’s the song which spins around in my head currently... Love the beat!

[woodenwedges]

1 through 100. Let's go! Answer em aaaalll!

Omg Kate you’re absolute mad!!! Thanks tho’ I love answering these things ❤️😁Hoo boy here we go!1. What is you middle name?Don’t have one! Neither does my brother.2. How old are you?203. When is your birthday?The 15th of may 🌸4. What is your zodiac sign?Taurus ♉️🐃5. What is your favorite color?Baby pink! 6. What’s your lucky number?Dunno about lucky number but my favorite number is 77. Do you have any pets?Yep! Two dogs.One sweet, blonde girl named Emsi (based on the danish word Emsig meaning officious)And a neurotic chihuahua named Henry. We got them both cause their owners no longer could take care of them and I love them to the moon and back ❤️8. Where are you from?Hirtshals in Denmark! I love my town to death9. How tall are you?Uuuh around like 1,65 m10. What shoe size are you?3911. How many pairs of shoes do you own?Too many.... we get a lot of free stuff so I have a lot. Probably around 10 pairs?12. What was your last dream about?The only thing I remember from my last dream was that I got a pimple on my forehead lol13. What talents do you have?I’m good at art, dancing and just performing in general and I’m getting pretty good with makeup!14. Are you psychic in any way?Nope15. Favorite song?Right now it’s brain damage and eclipse from The Dark Side of The Moonby Pink Floyd. They remind me of my mom ❤️16. Favorite movie?Don’t actually have one! But the last film I think I saw was carol and I absolutely loved it.17. Who would be your ideal partner?Just someone who’s intelligent and kind I guess! And has a similar sense of humor18. Do you want children?I do, but I’m probably never gonna birth any cause I have an illness I don’t want to risk transferring and also might be going on T soon!!19. Do you want a church wedding?I don’t really care20. Are you religious?Nah. I’m a spiritual atheist21. Have you ever been to the hospital?Only as a visitor. I’ve gone to the emergency room but I’ve never been admitted.22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law?Nope23. Have you ever met any celebrities?My cousins a model who’s dating one of the Danish x-factor judges so yea.24. Baths or showers?BATHS25. What color socks are you wearing?White. I prefer just plain whites rn, but there’s was a time in my life where I always wore fun, colorful socks and never matching them26. Have you ever been famous?Lol no but a stranger did come up to me last week and told me she’s a huge fan of my work ❤️ a lot of the locals like my watercolor portraits27. Would you like to be a big celebrity?Honestly yea I do fantasize a lot about it 28. What type of music do you like?Music is a huge part of my life! My main Spotify playlist is 161 hours now and it’s all extremely diverse!The only music I don’t particularly like is blues and trap cause i find it boring. Right now I’m really into old grungy rock, punk, experimental stuff, rap and disco 💃🏼 29. Have you ever been skinny dipping?Sure have! I did it countless times this summer at the beach. There’s nothing more freeing than swimming naked in the ocean 💙30. How many pillows do you sleep with?Just one, but it’s a really good one. Oh and sometimes and extra one just to cuddle 31. What position do you usually sleep in?Fetus position is my fav but I’m trying not to do that cause it’s bad for your back32. How big is your house?Pretty big. Two stories plus a garage where my friends and I hang out. And also a two bedroom annex33. What do you typically have for breakfast?Toast or oatmeal with nuts and berries34. Have you ever fired a gun?No35. Have you ever tried archery?I tried it a couple of weeks ago and it was really fun! 36. Favorite clean word?I like words like clean and crystal and chemical 37. Favorite swear word?Fuck.38. What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without sleep?Don’t remember. Pretty long. But I’ve started to be very careful with sleep cause my mental health REALLY depends on it39. Do you have any scars?Lots. Anything from self-harm to getting burned by a marshmallow lmao40. Have you ever had a secret ?Bitch my whole personality used to be a secret. So yea a lot41. Are you a good liar?Yup. I’m very creative and anxious so if I feel like I’ve done something I shouldn’t I immediately have a good lie ready. Also I’ve had some problems with compulsive lying whoops42. Are you a good judge of character?Nooo not really cause I always feel bad for disliking ppl so I force myself to keep an open mind. But I’ve learned to just follow my instincts a bit more43. Can you do any other accents other than your own?I’m pretty good at like southern American accents and also an American accent In Danish is so fun and cute. 44. Do you have a strong accent?It’s pretty strong. I used to fake a British accent out of embarrassment but then I started feeling pretentious so I let it go45. What is your favorite accent?I love a Colombian accent and French ofc. Also Indian and Chinese. Oh and a lot of African ones too, especially the ppl from Congo! But I love accents in general. They’re literally my go to ASMR trigger46. What is your personality type?INFP47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing?My winter jacket... my mom wanted to buy me one that was new and when we finally found one that didn’t give me dysphoria I was so excited I forgot to look at the price tag... and she just bought it for me anyway.48. Can you curl your tongue?Yea and I can stick it between my tooth gap49. Are you an innie or an outie?Outie all the way50. Left or right handed?Right51. Are you scared of spiders?No, I used to have pretty severe arachnophobia but i worked through it and now I actually really love them! Also I don’t care how scared you are of them, don’t you dare kill them in front of me! That makes me so uncomfortable. Just let me know there’s a spider and I’ll get it safely outside for you 52. Favorite food?Love sushi with crab meat or fried shrimp!53. Favorite foreign food?Well probably sushi? Lol. Or anything Italian!54. Are you a clean or messy person?Super messy but I’m trying my best!55. Most used phrased?“Bid I det sure æble”. Basically “bite the bullet” in English 56. Most used word?Probably bitch. I use it in an affectionate manner towards friends lmao57. How long does it take for you to get ready?Very, very long58. Do you have much of an ego?Yea I think so59. Do you suck or bite lollipops?Suck60. Do you talk to yourself?Nope. 61. Do you sing to yourself?Yes!62. Are you a good singer?I’m decent. Think I could get good if I got a vocal coach63. Biggest Fear?Getting ridiculed, being misunderstood and being unwanted 64. Are you a gossip?I love gossip...65. Best dramatic movie you’ve seen?I don’t really know sry!66. Do you like long or short hair?Love all hair. I love running my fingers through long hair. I prefer short hair for me tho67. Can you name all 50 states of America?LOL NO68. Favorite school subject?I really liked art and foreign language classes69. Extrovert or Introvert?HUGE introvert!70. Have you ever been scuba diving?No but I’d love to try it!71. What makes you nervous?Public embarrassment is a big one. But racism, homophobia, transphobia and misogyny will also make me very, very nervous.72. Are you scared of the dark?Not at all73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes?Depends on the mistakes? Never on like grammar and stuff like that.74. Are you ticklish?Very. I can tickle myself. But then again I am schizophrenic lol75. Have you ever started a rumor?Once in high school my friends and I started a rumor that I was “a hermaphrodite” and we kept it going for years. At first it was just to fuck with people but then I started getting like a kick from it. For some reason I loved the idea of people thinking I was intersex. Aaaand that was the start of me getting gender identity issues lol76. Have you ever been in a position of authority?I used to teach dancing lessons for kids at a local church lol does that count?77. Have you ever drank underage?Only a couple of beers. But the drinking age is here is 15 so that’s not a huge problem 78. Have you ever done drugs?a couple of times. Done ecstasy and Valium once which was really fun. And I’ve tried speed a couple of times but it has no effect on me. I also love weed if you consider that a drug 79. Who was your first real crush?Had a huge crush on a guy at my boarding school. And also a girl at the school... they became a couple and I remember wanting to die asdgsa80. How many piercings do you have?None! Had a septum once, but I never had my ears pierced as a child or anything 81. Can you roll your Rs?“Yea82. How fast can you type?Pretty fast!83. How fast can you run?I’m not a great runner but I’m getting better84. What color is your hair?Blonde85. What color is your eyes?Green86. What are you allergic to?Nothing. Tho I do get allergic reactions to extreme swifts in temperature 87. Do you keep a journal?Yup!88. What do your parents do?Both retired now but my dad used to be a fisherman and my mom ran a daycare and later worked with elderly people who suffered from dementia. 89. Do you like your age?Yea?90. What makes you angry?It takes a lot to get me angry but unnecessary hate and harassment usually gets me to tick91. Do you like your own name?I really like it actually! 92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they?I have but I don’t remember them... think I repressed those daydreams when I decided never to bear children :(93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child?Idc94. What are you strengths?Intellectuality, kindness, curiosity, creativity and bravery. Also I get a lot of praise for being so open and aware of my mental illnesses and for fighting so fiercely to get healthy. 95. What are your weaknesses?Bad self criticism, naïvety, laziness and having trouble asking for help and taking initiative 96. How did you get your name?My brother decided it.97. Were your ancestors royalty?Pff highly doubt it98. Do you have any scars?Already answered this99. Color of your bedspread?That really popular, white IKEA one with flowers100. Color of your room?White, although I cover them up with posters, drawings and sometimes literal trash when i get psychotic cause white walls make me hallucinate like crazyThis was a fucking blast!!! Thanks Kate 😚❤️

[awed-frog]

Imo there are several problems with French that need creative solutions. I’m not really an expert on this, but here are a few tips:

French is a fast-spoken language, and it tends to change a lot (mostly vocabulary-wise, but also when it comes to accent) depending on who’s speaking. If you’re watching TV to get better at it, I’d say stick to older, made-in-France stuff, and also documentaries (ARTE is great for this). Popular modern movies tend to be comedies full of inside jokes and ‘unusual’ words, and anything starring a teenager is likely incomprehensible to a beginner. With old movies, you’ll get people who speak a lot slower (also true in dramas and ‘serious’ movies), less dialogue, and still a good sense of the culture. A favourite of mine is feminist director Agnès Varda.

Don’t worry too much about pronunciation. French pronunciation (and spelling) can be uselessly complex because of random historical events, and is probably the main reason why learners run screaming in the streets and give up. Well - fuck it. Some people can do nasal vowels and /ü/, others just can’t. Everyone 👏 is 👏 valid. You can practice by listening to similar words which contain slightly different sounds, but ultimately context is your friend here, and the goal of learning a language is to understand and be understood, not to sound like a native speaker.

(Also most courses out there focus on Paris pronunciation, and you’re better off sounding like a 1st-day-in-France tourist than a Parisian anyway).

Since you’re starting with Italian, if a word looks difficult or unfamiliar, it might be worth it to look up its etymology. 90% of the time it’s the same Latin word we use, with a pair of random vowels and accents thrown in.

The only three tenses you actually need are the présent, the passé composé and the imparfait. Leave everything else for (much) later.

Radio can be a good tool for later on. Instead of leaving it on as background noise, search for specific programs (interviews to boring adults are great, try Le Grand Intretien on France Inter) and try listening and re-listening until you get a sense of what they’re saying. Swiss radio is particularly good as the Swiss tend to speak a bit slower. The cultural channels like RTS Espace 2 are particularly soporific.

Since you like poetry, dive in! Many of the classics, like Prévert, are surprisingly easy for beginners. Same goes for older songwriters (like Boris Vian, Maxime Leforestier, Georges Moustaki or Georges Brassens). As a personal bonus, Italian songwriters pilfered very heavily from them, so many songs will already be familiar. 

As with any language, I feel like the two most important things are a) figure out a mnemonic technique learn as many words as you can (in groups of max. 20 words for maximum efficiency) and b) make little speeches to imaginary students, polite pet rodents or foreign dignitaries about what you learned or what you’re interested in. Speaking out loud is a great way to learn, ‘sharing’ topics you like is a good trick to learn new words, and teaching stuff to other people - even when they’re imaginary - is the best way to check what you did and didn’t understand about a grammar point.

Hello.

I am currently studying French, and I was wondering if anyone had any useful tips, things to bear in mind or even resources to use, online and not.

I am currently using duolingo, a university 's website, A1 and 2 books (listening and reading) plus watching the occasional movie. I didn't start that long ago, so I am still new to it and I would welcome any suggestions.

[wurwurz]

Plea for creativity

We -gif makers- are glad to share our stuff and be part of the fandom. But it seems that some people are more likely glad to steal not only our stuff but also the words we’ve written within.

Dear uncool-petite merde (yeah french is a much flowery language for that kind of things), this post will not change anything to your lazy habits. But it feels good to speak. Be creative, use your brain, type your own words and do your things. The bright side of your lack of moral code is that it makes me feel like our master when he said this :

It is nice not being me ? It must be so relaxing…

Sounds familiar enough ?

Wurwurz only exists on Tumblr. I have no twitter, nor instagram, nor pinterest, nor whatever account. If a post of mine appears anywhere else, I am not the one who’s posted it, which means it’s been copied. In other words, stolen. I’m not asking anything much, but to please not follow and feed the troll.

I usually don’t name the thieves, but bad month period, you know...

https://twitter.com/nicole5castle/status/963576845193986048

Hail to the reblog, do it as many times as you wish to ! Repost can happen. Happens to me when I find uncredited stuff on foreign forums that I want to share with you. In this case, I always say I’m not the one who did it. Copy & paste is not tolerated. Worst is when words and jokes are copied as well...

Now, I get back to my Cumber-very-necessary-trivialities... ^^

[chevaliersifrelo]

French TV shows rec list:

Fais pas ci fais pas ça:

Comedy about two very different families living right next to each other: The Lepics and the Bouleys. There are nine seasons so we can see the characters evolve on a really long time period. Some serious issues are tackled with humour, like education, how to cope with the death of a loved one, or how parents react to one of their children coming out as gay, for instance. Most of the characters are really lovable and you easily get attached to them even though they can be annoying sometimes. Also, there are some really funny moments. I wouldn’t say it’s one of my favourite shows ever but I had a nice time watching it (though, I haven’t watched all the seasons yet).

Trigger warning: none that I can think of (this show is suitable for children).

Level of difficulty when it comes to French: I think it should be fine (there’s nothing really technical, the show’s about everyday life, so it mainly uses colloquial/casual French).

Les Bleus premiers pas dans la police:

A four-season show about rookies in the French police. I used to really love this show when I was in middle school, and I have very fond memories of it now, even if I haven’t watched it for a long time. This show has diversity and representation: a Muslim man (who is one of the main characters) and his family, gay men (one of them is also a main character), a bisexual woman (also a main character in the first seasons), and so on. It also portrays strong female characters (including a woman in a position of power, from season 2 to the end I think). The characters are very lovable (in my opinion), and funny. By the way, this show has very funny moments as well as serious moments (including the scenes showing how the LGBT characters and the women deal with discrimination at their workplace or elsewhere). The only problem with this show is that the end is a bit unsatisfying considering it stopped because it failed to get renewed (or at least that’s what I understood at the time).   

Trigger warning: depiction of discrimination (for instance, homophobia), and of course the usual warnings when it comes to cop shows (even though it is far less graphic than most other shows of this kind, and there are less murder investigations than in most investigation shows).

Level of difficulty when it comes to French: I think this one is okay too. There might be some terms describing police stuff, but all in all it’s pretty casual.

Le Bureau des Légendes (ongoing show):

A show about the DGSE (Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure), which is basically the French intelligence agency concerning foreign matters. It has three seasons so far and it’s one of my favourite TV show ever. It’s captivating, I got really attached to many of the characters (and most of them are not completely good or bad, there are a lot of grey characters, which is great), and it’s also really moving (especially the last season I think). One of my favourite thing about this show is its subtlety: it’s deeply moving, but in a subtle and somewhat low-key way. There are close to no typical tear-jerking scenes, with sad music and close-ups on the crying faces of devastated characters. There are really sad scenes, but they are played out with a great sobriety.

Trigger warning: psychological and physical torture (nothing too graphic though).

Level of difficulty when it comes to French: it should be mainly okay, I think. There are probably some technical terms, since it’s about an intelligence agency, but it should be understandable as a whole. Also, many scenes are in other languages (English, Farsi, Arabic, etc) and are subtitled in French, which is really good in order to practise your written French ;)

Les Revenants (ongoing show):

A show about dead people coming back to life in a village of the Pyrénées. It only has two seasons so far, but I’m really looking forward to more. The show is really mysterious, with a gloomy atmosphere that I absolutely love. The dead people (who are from different generations and died at different times) come back to their family/loved ones (when they have some), and no one understands what happened, including the dead people. After their arrival, other very strange events take place in the village. Some characters have very dubious motives and you’re often unsettled, not knowing what to think of them. However, you can’t help but to get attached to some of them anyway. This show has some very serious themes like how to cope with the death of a loved one, death in general, love, family (by blood or by choice).

Trigger warnings: death, suicide.

Level of difficulty concerning French: I think it’s pretty okay… The show aired on American TV so you can probably find a subtitled version quite easily, which is pretty cool :D

Kaamelott:

My favourite French tv show (and even my favourite show ever). This show depicts the Arthurian legend in a humorous way, and it’s one of the funniest thing I’ve ever watched. The humour is unique, the characters are really lovable, and the entire show is extremely creative: this is honestly pure genius. Plus, the atmosphere evolves from something exclusively light and funny to something that is serious and deeply moving at times. The show goes from episodes that last a few minutes to far longer episodes in the 6th (and last) book (=season). I could go on and on about this show, but nothing I could say would make it justice. Honestly, just give it a go, this is brilliant.

PS: Alexandre Astier (who plays Arhtur, wrote the scenario, the music and basically came up with this entire masterpiece) is a national hero. That’s all I had to say.

Trigger warning: it’s really funny and you’re having the time of your life, and suddenly there is a serious/sad scene and you feel like crying (but it’s worth it)… just be prepared ^^

Level of difficulty concerning French: it might be pretty hard at first, because they speak quite quickly and use weird expressions (but then, use these expressions in front of Kaamelott fans [ie a looooot of people] and see their faces lit up => it could be really rewarding I think).

 Apart from these, all the creations canal + (Braquo, Engrenages, Cercle polaire…) have a good reputation/positive reviews I think, but I’ve only watched Les Revenants and Le Bureau des Légendes for now, so I only talked about those ^^

I think many people like 10 pour cent and Hero Corp too, but I haven’t watched them (yet) so I couldn’t include them in the list.

[lobsters-on-their-heads]

What I want from (Fan)fiction

I love fanfiction, but good Lord is it hard to find good stuff in any fandom.  I haven’t counted, but my guess is that only about 10% of works in any fandom are high quality, and the rest range from “okay, I can read this” to “holy fuck, this sucks so badly I now hate this pairing.”  Of course, some of it is personal preference.  There are tropes I can’t stand that other people love, and that’s great!  Diversity is important.  This is my list of things that I want from fanfiction.  A lot of this applies to all fiction.  I start with tips that I feel many readers would agree with, and end with my personal preferences that I know people disagree with.  Specific fandoms mentioned here are DS9, Orphan Black, Harry Potter, and Game of Thrones.  

1) Use the characters’ names, and use them in the way that they’re used in the original material.  No one in Harry Potter called Minerva McGonagall “Nerva,” so you shouldn’t, either.  Besides, it sounds silly.  Call her Minerva.

Also, avoid referring to the characters by their characteristics unless absolutely necessary.  In a scene with Cosima and Delphine, avoid referring to them as “the brunette” and “the blonde.”  If I’m reading Cophine fanfic, I know damn well what color their hair is.  Besides, the names are mostly just convenient tags to let the reader know who’s doing what, to help with the movie playing along in our brains.  Adding in extra markers takes the focus away from the action.  I understand you’re trying to avoid redundancy, but it ends up a little confusing.  

“Cosima gasped as the blonde rolled on top of her.”  This makes me wonder if a third woman joined the action.  Just say Delphine rolled on top of her - it’s more clear.

2) The majority of your speech tags should be said or asked.  It’s okay to throw in an occasional “she yelled” or “he gasped,” but keep those to a minimum, and only use as appropriate.  Speech tags, like names, are mostly to tell the reader who said what.  You don’t even need them a lot of the time if there are only two people speaking.  Using creative and unnecessary speech tags, again, takes the reader away from the main action or message.  

3) Tighten your writing.  Specifically:

- Avoid excessive modifiers and prepositional phrases.  “She spat with vemon” should be shortened to “she spat” unless of course there is literal venom involved, in which case, remove the “with.”  “He frowned sadly,” is redundant.  How else would he frown?  “She thought to herself.”  Well, who else is she going to think to?

- In general, if you can take words out without changing the meaning of the passage, take those words out.  One way I’ve found to do this is by giving myself a page or word limit that’s a little bit shorter than what I already have.  If the draft is 3,000 words, I try to make it 2,500.  Going back to point #1, using the characters’ names helps with this.  “Odo” reads more quickly than “the shapeshifter.”

4) PROOFREAD YOUR SHIT!  Proofread it yourself a day or two after you finish, and then get someone else to proofread it.  None of us can catch all of our own errors by ourselves, but we need to make sure it’s as clean as possible before sending it out into the world.  Proofread especially for the following:

- Verb tense.  Past tense is the most common, but the most important thing to watch for is consistency.  I read a fic yesterday where the writer switched randomly into present tense halfway though, then went back to past.  There was no time travel or flashbacks involved, just sloppy writing, and it took me out of an otherwise interesting story.   

- Check your spelling.  We’ll forgive the stray typo here and there, and some of us won’t even notice if you misspell “achieve,” but if you spell Kira’s given name as Niris, you’re showing that you don’t care about details.  

5) Use accurate and appropriate language.  I’ve lost count of the number of DS9 fics in which Major Kira “stomps” around the station.  I can’t remember her ever stomping on the show, though.  She strode, sashayed, walked, ran, jogged, limped, and (maybe) marched.  She might have even bounced or skipped, but she never stomped.  Stomping is what children do when they’re angry.  

Similarly, don’t get too creative with names for body parts.  Don’t use “digits,” use “fingers.”  When discussing breasts, never, EVER call them orbs, globes, or mounds.

6) Be true to the characters.  I know the point of fanfiction can be to stretch the boundaries of canon fiction, but if you go too far from the canon characters, you create entirely new characters who happen to have the same names.  This doesn’t mean you can pair them up in canonically unrealistic ways.  Garak and Captain Sisko can certainly have a tumble in Garak’s dressing room without either of them leaving character.  This includes physical traits as well as personality.  Some examples of what to avoid:

- Odo fucks Kira in the middle of a staff meeting, and she is pleasantly surprised.  No one is upset about this.  None of this is in character.

- Kira has massive breasts.  In the show, Kira’s breasts are lovely (from what we can see), but they are not large.  

7) Okay, so this one relates to #6, but might apply more to me than anyone else.  I don’t like AUs.  I just saw one that had Cosima as an actress, and another with Delphine as a kindergarten teacher.  Guys.... they are both SCIENTISTS.  That is a critical piece of their characters, not only professionally, but in terms of how they see and interact with the world around them.  Similarly, Jaime Lannister is a soldier and a nobleman.  He is not a musician.  Brienne is not a fangirl.  You can be inspired by characters and put elements of them into your own original work, but if you change too much about them, they are not the characters you say they are.  

Of course, some people love AUs.  If you like AUs, great, keep writing and reading them!  They are obviously popular (about half of the Cophine fics I saw just yesterday were AUs).  For me, though, you have to really sell me on your concept before I’ll even click the link.  

Amendment to #7) This doesn’t apply to divergent plot lines within the original universe.  Some of the best stories I’ve read follow the pattern of “What if [plot point] had turned out differently?”  These keep the characters in character.  What if Kira hadn’t died in “Children of Time?”  What if Cosima had never been self-aware?  What if Hermione were killed in book seven?  What if Brienne found Sansa Stark and they went on adventures together?  All of these work because they keep the characters in character. 

What if Harry were a muggle?  That works less for me.  Being a wizard is too integral to who Harry is as a person.  Still, if you write it well, I might give it a shot, provided that most everything else stays true to the Potterverse we know and love.   

8) It’s okay to use a foreign language I don’t know, as long as it’s realistic.  I don’t speak French, but Delphine does, so having her cry out French phrases during sex totally fits, and is better than having her do it in English.  I can figure out the meaning from context.  If characters are having a conversation in a foreign language, and the exact meaning is critical to the story, there are a few ways to handle that: 

- One way is to have them speaking in, say, French, with each other, and then have a third character ask for a recap or summary.

- Have a footnote somewhere translating the lines into English (or whatever the primary language of the piece is).  

- Have everything in English (or the primary language), but somehow signal to the reader that they have switched into French.  Maybe use italics and have a third character point out that they aren’t not speaking English anymore.  

Do not assume that your readers DON’T understand the foreign language you’re using, or that we all want an immediate translation.  Repeating the same message in English immediately after giving it in French slows down the pace of the story, and is literally redundant.