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solution21 · 4 months ago

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Dominating the Medical Industry: Unveiling the Power of Comprehensive SEO Services

In the rapidly evolving digital landscape, dominating the medical industry requires more than just providing exceptional healthcare services. It necessitates a robust online presence that attracts and engages potential patients. Comprehensive SEO services play a pivotal role in achieving this, offering a strategic approach to enhance visibility, drive traffic, and establish authority in the competitive healthcare market. This exploration delves into how comprehensive SEO services can transform a medical practice's online presence and provide actionable insights to harness their full potential.

Understanding the Role of SEO in the Medical Industry

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a multifaceted strategy aimed at improving a website's visibility in search engine results. For medical industry seo services practices is crucial in attracting new patients and retaining existing ones. Given the nature of the healthcare industry, SEO involves a targeted approach to ensure that the practice appears prominently in search results for relevant queries. Effective SEO strategies can help medical practices stand out in a crowded market, increase website traffic, and drive patient engagement.

Key Components of Comprehensive SEO Services

Comprehensive SEO services encompass a range of strategies and tactics designed to optimize a website for search engines. These services typically include:

Keyword Research and Optimization

Keyword research is the foundation of any successful SEO strategy. It involves identifying the terms and phrases potential patients use when searching for medical services. By understanding these search queries, medical practices can optimize their website content to align with user intent. Effective keyword optimization ensures that the website ranks highly for relevant terms, making it more likely to appear in search results when potential patients seek information or services.

On-Page Optimization

On-page optimization focuses on enhancing individual web pages to improve their search engine rankings. This involves optimizing various elements such as meta titles, meta descriptions, header tags, and URL structures. On-page optimization also includes ensuring that website content is relevant, informative, and aligned with targeted keywords. High-quality content that addresses patient needs and concerns can significantly boost a page's visibility and relevance in search results.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO addresses the behind-the-scenes aspects of a website that affect its search engine performance. This includes optimizing website speed, ensuring mobile responsiveness, and improving site architecture. Technical SEO also involves fixing broken links, optimizing images, and implementing structured data markup. A well-optimized technical foundation ensures that search engines can crawl and index the website efficiently, which contributes to better rankings.

Local SEO

For medical practices, local SEO is particularly important. Local SEO strategies focus on optimizing a website for location-based searches. This includes creating and maintaining accurate local business listings, optimizing Google My Business profiles, and incorporating location-specific keywords into website content. Local SEO helps medical practices attract patients from their geographic area, making it easier for local residents to find and choose their services.

Content Marketing

Content marketing plays a critical role in comprehensive SEO services. Creating and sharing valuable content, such as blog posts, articles, and educational resources, helps establish the practice as an authoritative source of information. Well-crafted content that addresses common patient questions, provides insights into medical conditions, and offers tips for healthy living can attract organic traffic and enhance the website's credibility.

Link Building

Link building involves acquiring backlinks from other reputable websites. Backlinks serve as endorsements from other sites, indicating that the content is valuable and trustworthy. High-quality backlinks can improve a website's authority and search engine rankings. Comprehensive SEO services include strategies for earning and managing backlinks, such as guest blogging, outreach campaigns, and creating shareable content.

Monitoring and Analytics

Effective SEO requires ongoing monitoring and analysis to track performance and make data-driven decisions. Comprehensive SEO services include using tools such as Google Analytics to measure website traffic, user behavior, and conversion rates. Analyzing these metrics helps identify areas for improvement, assess the effectiveness of SEO strategies, and refine tactics to achieve better results.

Increased Online Visibility

By optimizing a website for relevant keywords and improving search engine rankings, medical practices can increase their online visibility. Higher visibility means that potential patients are more likely to find the practice when searching for medical services, leading to increased website traffic and patient inquiries.

Enhanced Patient Engagement

A well-optimized website with valuable content and user-friendly design can enhance patient engagement. Engaging content that addresses patient concerns and provides useful information can encourage visitors to spend more time on the site, interact with the practice, and ultimately convert into patients.

Improved Credibility and Trust

A strong online presence and high search engine rankings can enhance a medical practice's credibility and trustworthiness. Appearing at the top of search results signals to potential patients that the practice is a leading authority in its field. Quality content, positive patient reviews, and authoritative backlinks further contribute to the practice's reputation.

Competitive Advantage

In a competitive healthcare market, comprehensive SEO services provide a significant advantage. By optimizing the website and implementing effective SEO strategies, medical practices can outperform competitors, attract more patients, and establish a dominant online presence.

Long-Term Results

Unlike some marketing strategies that offer short-term gains, SEO provides long-term benefits. Once a website achieves high search engine rankings, it can maintain visibility and attract organic traffic over time. Comprehensive SEO services focus on sustainable practices that contribute to ongoing success and growth.

Conclusion

Dominating the medical industry in the digital age requires more than just exceptional healthcare services; it necessitates a robust online presence that attracts, engages, and retains patients. Comprehensive SEO services are a powerful tool in achieving this goal, offering a strategic approach to enhance visibility, drive traffic, and establish authority in the competitive healthcare market.

By leveraging key components of SEO, including keyword research, on-page optimization, technical SEO, local SEO, content marketing, and link building, medical practices can transform their online presence and achieve significant results. Investing in comprehensive SEO services not only increases online visibility but also enhances patient engagement, credibility, and competitive advantage.

Incorporating ongoing monitoring and analysis ensures that SEO strategies remain effective and adapt to changing trends. Ultimately, comprehensive SEO services empower medical practices to dominate the digital landscape, attract new patients, and achieve long-term success.

#medical industry seo services

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peace-coast-island · 5 months ago

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Diary of a Junebug

Striving for the mundane and ordinary and enjoying every moment of it

Fate is fickle - I hear that a lot from certain people. It amazes me how fate works, how it can easily bind you to certain doom, or set you free to soar the skies of endless possibilities. Cold and impartial, yet forgiving and merciful at times.

Only a handful are able to just barely escape what should’ve been a doomed fate, and they know better not to question it too much unless they want to drive themselves up a wall over such trivial matters. If fate hands you a reprieve, take it without question - you’ll be a lot happier and unburdened that way.

As for how to do that, it’s entirely up to you. Some might continue going on grand adventures, seeking out even more answers in an attempt to sate their never ending curiosity or dissatisfaction. Other might choose to lay low and settle into a routine, putting the old days behind them for good. And most fall somewhere in between, seeking the thrill of adventuring in the unknown while taking breaks every now and then to appreciate the slow and mundane moments of life that they once took for granted.

Yes, this has to do with the present company visiting the camp and joining us on the hunt for crafting materials. In this case, it’s teatime gyroids, which are perfect for making tea sets. Makoto, Qingmei, and Dainn stopped by on their way back from Vulture Point where they were working with the Olive Rose Philharmonic Orchestra. Qingmei - who’s the social media savvy one out of the three - has been teasing snippets on social media about recording with them, which sounds exciting.

Raiden was there too, but she had other matters to attend to so she went the opposite direction. Connie was the one who called her over suddenly, leaving us to wonder what’s going on. Giving the timing with the final preparations for Sazona quickly approaching, I hope it’s not a repeat of what happened with Adrikha when Connie had to deal with some legal mess that prevented them from proceeding. That doesn’t seem like the case though - at least that’s what Qingmei believes. Whatever’s going on, I hope they resolve it quickly and smoothly.

As for the thing with the Olive Rose Philharmonic, that’s been going well. Makoto’s worked with them in the past and now he’s bringing Raiden, Qingmei, and Dainn into the fold. Thanks to Makoto, the other three have been really into the songwriting thing. The latter two especially, probably because they never had the luxury of getting into a creative hobby back then, nor did they expect to venture into something like that.

It’s funny to think that after spending centuries fighting for their lives against a seemingly doomed fate, now they’re just chilling out and writing music. I mean, it makes sense as music’s a form of artistic expression. Considering that Qingmei and Dainn were brought up in a way that they were never really allowed to express themselves, I can imagine how freeing it is for them to finally find an outlet that lets them be vulnerable as well as come to terms with the shit they’ve had to put up with throughout their lives.

As someone who also tends to keep things to themselves, I also find it freeing to let my thoughts out in some way, preferably through art and journaling. It’s not good to keep everything bottled up, especially when all it’s gonna do is make you suffer through the silence. Sure, there are times when you just have to grit your teeth and move on, but it’s not healthy to be in that state all the time. No one can keep on carrying a heavy load of baggage indefinitely - dead weight is dead weight, after all. If you can’t let go of things that only serve to hold you back, how do you expect to move forward and grow?

I remember Connie saying asking if it was wrong to be envious of Raiden for being so carefree. I didn’t know how to answer that, so I asked them how would they live their life after they complete their journey. Their response is to simply move on to the next journey, whatever that will be, because they have a responsibility to uphold. In other words, to simply be able to retire and live a quiet and unassuming life will never be an option for them. Either they keep going, or they die for a greater cause - that’s just a matter of fact.

I know there’s a lot more to Connie than meets the eye, so I don’t expect to fully understand their views, or even what’s their true purpose for this journey other than uncovering long buried truths to maintain peace and stability. There are reasons why they have considerable sway in some circles despite being an outsider, reasons that are better accepted without looking too much into it. Jamie once described them as a disruptor, which I think is accurate, and given their interventions, their presence was very much needed to bring about lasting change. So someone like Connie is very much tied to fate, and so they will oblige to do whatever it takes to maintain the order of this world.

Such a heavy burden to carry, but they’ve proven that they’re up to the task down to the bitter end. I don’t think I can live like that - then again, the mind of an immortal’s built far differently compared to us mortals. They need to have some sort of resilience to deal with the passage of time, though everyone’s different because of life circumstances and whatever. Someone who’s of a long lives species - like Raiden and Connie - will obviously see things differently compared to those who were originally mortal then turned immortal - Pai, Qingmei, and Dainn.

Instead of moving on, Raiden decided to stick around, mainly because she became attached to Qingmei and Lian and the rest of the Dānchún Lǔmǎng. Before falling out with her brother, they had traveled around various worlds because they could. She said he was the restless type who always seemed to want more out of life, and that was one of the few things they could never see eye to eye with.

Maybe it was his dissatisfaction that eventually led to him losing his way, becoming jaded after experiencing various misfortunes where he was completely helpless. That led him to come to the conclusion that in order to rid the world of misfortune was to wipe the slate clean, essentially. Such an extreme way of viewing things, but there are some points to his logic, though not every sound points in my opinion. Like, I get the whole bad apple spoiling the bunch, but he simply took that way too far. To be pushed into viewing the world like that, he truly went through a lot, so despite the awful things he did, those close to him could never truly hate him.

Aside from Raiden, Dainn also has a lot of complicated feelings with him as he wasn’t just a travel companion, but also a romantic/sexual partner. Their relationship was tumultuous, to put it simply. A perfect example of a warped view on love in the sense that they keep hurting and forgiving each other, unable to let go or work things out. From what it sounds like, Raiden’s brother was the kind to send mixed messages

Not surprisingly, their stormy relationship has been alluded to in various songs like Mindreader, Promises, By Your Side, and most recently, When the Night Wore On. It’s actually become somewhat of an inside joke, which isn’t too unusual since a lot of people write about complicated exes.

Still, I can’t help but wonder how Raiden feels about it. Like, how awkward is it having someone write about their ex - who happens to be your own sibling - and how they fucked you in more ways than one? I guess it’s not that bug of a deal since they have poked fun at it as in being like “Welp lol we write about our trauma and added music to it so now it’s a banger”, or sorry about going on and on about this ex…anyway.. cue dramatic music” kind of thing.

Maybe it helps that they share a similar sense of humor, so it’s like they have shit that they’ll never get over, but they’re also able to look at it in sort of a “haha, well that was fucked up wasn’t it?..anyway, moving on…” sort of way, which is honestly similar to how I would react. Just do what you need to do to get it out of your system and then walk away without overthinking it, that’s really the best way to move forward, at least for most situations. No need to dwell on what’s already done.

That being said, I think Raiden, Qingmei, and Dainn are all doing fairly well after all the shit they’ve been through over the past few centuries fighting against fate and all that. Of course, some days are harder than others, but they’re more than content living mundane and ordinary lives with the occasional thrill of adventure in between. Though I imagine it’s a huge jump from worrying about whether tomorrow will come to having to think about what to have for dinner or some other boring routine stuff like that. Still, probably a welcome change compared to literally fighting for your life.

So music’s turning out to be their thing and it’s been surprisingly therapeutic for them. Raiden’s got some background in classical music while Qingmei and Dainn are more self taught. And of course, Makoto’s got an extensive background on that, so it makes sense he wound up falling into the producer role.

Qingmei, at this point, I would say is at an intermediate skill level on the piano, which is her preferred instrument. Meanwhile Dainn has made a lot of progress on learning the cello thanks to Makoto’s teaching. Like, I would find it hard to believe that he’s been playing for less than a year and had absolutely no musical knowledge prior to that. That just goes to show that if you’re eager and willing to put in the work to practice diligently, you will see results. I really should take a page out of his book when it comes to hobbies I want to get better at but have trouble finding the motivation to do so.

Their latest song When the Night Wore On really highlights everyone’s strengths, so it’s no surprise that people are super hyped for the Olive Rose Philharmonic version. It’s the kind of song that’s already pretty damn good, so a recorded version with an orchestra will elevate it even more, especially with that dramatic bridge and the emotion behind the lyrics.

The song’s basically about someone who’s been put on pedestal by various people in their lives and how they have to maintain that image to avoid letting everyone down. Then at the bridge, they finally get fed up and lament about how they’re only human, not some infallible being, which then results in them being alone because the others can’t accept that. No doubt that this stems from personal experience, specifically Dainn’s since he wrote 90% of the lyrics.

For me, the highlight of the song is obviously the bridge, especially the line “I’m not some fucking savior” because that just hits so hard. Like, go off, get that anger out sort of thing. Despite it being a super personal song that has his name written all over it, Dainn actually expected Raiden, Qingmei, or Makoto to sing it since they’re far more experienced.

Of course, they were like “Nuh-uh, those are your words, your thoughts, your emotions, so you should be the one singing.” And they were right. He was initially unsure since he felt that out of the four, he was the weakest when it came to vocals, though it’s more because of the lack of musical background, especially compared to those who are classically trained like Raiden and Makoto.

Basically, he can hold a tune better than most, he just need to work more on technical skill, which obviously takes time and practice. Since the song’s about a flawed human being, it makes sense for the vocals to be “imperfect” with things like a slightly shaky vibrato that manages to hit the notes and the near shouting and voice breaking on the bridge - it’s those little things that really make a song come to life. In fact, I think that’s the most emotion I’ve ever seen come from him, and it was all real, which I think is beautiful.

It’s not easy to open yourself up like that, and he certainly didn’t expect for things to turn out like that. He was actually surprised and a bit embarrassed at how well received When the Night Wore On was, which is understandable. In fact, Dainn’s super nervous about performing the song with the orchestra since the original recording really took a lot out of him. Then there’s also the issue of him likely being overpowered by the orchestra during the climax, which Raiden and Makoto are working on addressing.

They’ve got plenty of time for that, so for now they’re just taking the time to chill out and just live life. It was Qingmei’s idea to stop by the camp since it’s a long trip back. What better way to pass the time than to go searching for gyroids and making cute tea sets with them?

I live for these moments when I can slow down and enjoy the stillness. Maybe that’s why a lot of friends like to stop by the camp to take some time off their busy lives to do the same.

Read on AO3

#animal crossing pocket camp #animal crossing #diary of a junebug #headcanon ramble

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sarahderpy · 6 months ago

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Jared Easley

A multi- force of talents and creative venture, his journey from military service to social media leadership is a clear standout in showing his versatility! As a co-founder and key organizer of podcast events event his expertise extends to establishing communities of podcasters and diverse audiences from all over. Embracing the role of a devoted father and family man, Jared’s innovative focus also includes Book writing — Along side writing country songs crafted using Artificial intelligence. Blending AI with his passion for country music, Jared brings to life the sound of “Dew Ledoux”, country music pseudonym, that can be discovered and heard on all leading music platforms!

First off, Thank you so much for your service.

- The transition between Military service to Co-founding Podcast Movement is definitely a shift!

-Do you have any key memories of your dedication to the Military ? --Would you mind sharing how your military experience has influenced your approach to building a community in the podcast industry if related?

I enjoyed living

in Hawaii

while I was

in the Navy.

My experience in the military

helped me to become

more versatile and get along

with different personalities from every possible diverse background.

As a co-organizer of Podcast Movement,

-What inspired you to pursue this industry and how do you see it growing over time or how has it grown > -What is Podcast Movement :)

I was inspired to help the podcast industry, as I was a lowly podcaster looking to network

and learn from other content creators

in different niches.

Unfortunately, not a lot of collaborative opportunities in the podcast space existed in 2012 - 2013.

This compelled my business partner & I to create an event to foster these relationships and allow podcasters to learn from one another.

I try to be as intentional as possible with how I structure my day & responsibilities.

I can’t always do things that I want to do,

so I carve out pockets of time

to fill opportunities for my creative side to stretch a little.

The podcast is a great networking tool which is constantly providing

new ideas while also nurturing new relationships.

“My personal experiences

fuel all of my

creative routes.”-JE

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Not only is Jared an

innovator

in the podcasting world,

Amazon.com: Jared Easley: books, biography, latest update

he is also a published author.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How do you create a balance between writing , producing podcasts and AI creativeness?

I try to stick to what I know.

I can also learn new skills by learning from others

which is a great excuse to invite a new guest in the podcast.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Being a parent:

- what’s the most unexpected lesson you have learned as a parent?

- With being a parent as a "girl-dad " what have you been taught you've applied to your professional life ! -

- or How do your children influence and inspire your creative pursuits and professional work?

It has taught me to be more patient, considerate and compassionate overall.

I want my daughter to have the safest space possible to grow, learn and thrive.

I will do whatever I can professionally within reason to create this healthy environment for her.

Juggling Roles:

-Being a family man, in what ways have your family and or your family experiences shaped the content you create

-this can include through the stories you tell whether through your writing or podcasts or other creative branches you do.

No family is perfect. We have great days and challenging days. I’m thankful for all of them. The creative process must be enjoyed in the same way. Not everything I create is amazing or worth sharing and that is okay because the process of starting from nothing and seeing an idea blossom and grow into something real is beautiful.

-Describe a moment that has been a stepping stone for you,

maybe what led to you your niche in this passion/career.

Ai is here to stay.

I choose to embrace it and find new ways to learn from it.

I was stuck in a rut and not leveraging my creative side for years.

It is freeing to be in a place now where I can find new outlets to exercise this part of me.

That is a huge piece of what makes me the person that I am made to be.

Writing country songs with AI is quite innovative!

Dew Ledoux:

-What inspired the persona of Dew Ledoux, and how does this character reflect your personal journey in music?

Dew Ledoux

is silly name,

but it has meaning to me.

My nephews

call me “Dew”.

Ledoux is the last name of a classic country singer named Chris Ledoux who I admire & respect.

Would you say that your personal experience make appearances through your creative routes ?

(maybe through your country songs,

writings or podcast episodes?

All of the country songs that I write have elements of my experiences, humor or something on my mind.

Press Play button to hear “Tropic Like its Hot “ - By Dex Ledoux !

-If possible to say, do any particular song relate to you personally or have meaning or a story that connects you to that song?

-If so could you share a section or lines from one?

One song that resonates with me is a song that I had written about my

younger brother who is incarcerated in the state of Georgia and deservedly so unfortunately.

The song is

“How to Light a Cigarette in Jail”.

The line that that sticks out to me is:

“When freedom's just a distant dream

And the walls are all you've ever seen

You hold on to what you can inhale

This is how you light a cigarette in jail”.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

- how do you envision AI continuing to transform the entertainment industry and your goals for your own creative path with ai?

When you have treated others well, a number of people will want to support you when you write your book, start your podcast or start your business, etc.

Imagine this process when it is done intentionally and compounded over time.

When friends are saying

“Ai , loves (Your name here)”…

it catches the attention of others who then realize that they need to check out what “You” are up to!

From your perspective, how has the podcast industry evolved since you started, and where do you see it heading in the next five years?

- How do you envision your creative paths evolving over the next year?

The podcast industry continues to grow and I get excited to see how new tech and innovations provide a lower barrier of entry for anyone to share what’s on their heart and be heard.

Podcasting has no gatekeepers

and no rules!

A person can literally record on their mobile device.

I like the Be the Noticer strategy.

It’s easy to get ignored when you are alone.

What advice would you give to someone looking to build a community around their passion, much like you have with Podcast Movement?

-What do you want or wish others knew about you or about any of what you shared that perhaps you would like to spotlight ?

However it’s impossible to be ignored when you have an army.

How do you build the army?

You start by noticing others.

You find ways to encourage someone,

maybe you comment on their social posts.

You being a genuine friend will almost always build rapport.

Rapport usually creates the opportunity for reciprocity.

Message to viewers :

“Man plans his future,

but God

directs his steps.”

-proverbs 16:9

______________________________

To check out all of what Jared is up to click the links Below

below and give him a follow !

PODCAST MOVEMENT http://Podcastmovement.com

INSTAGRAM : http://instagram.com/jaredeasley

YOUTUBE: Check out Dew Ledoux on Youtube !

Main Website: http://X.com/jaredeasley

Amazon Store : Link to Books

__________________________________________

I appreciate you for taking the time to do this interview!

You are seriously inspirational and I hope to see you continue to grow

and share with the world everything you are up to.

Thanks for being such a huge supporter of me

as I am of you and so glad I was ablet to be introduced

to you and your ever growing Creative journey!

STay Hydrated & Stay Derpy !

-Sarah Slurpie

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my-mt-heart · 2 years ago

Note

Hey MT. I’m a mostly a lurker in this fandom, but I’ve been here a while and I’ve seen a lot.

I’m sending this because I’ve seen some of what other parts of the fandom are saying and I’m puzzled by the reaction to your project. You could be for real. Or you and SF and whoever else could be one man living in his mother’s basement trolling everyone. (No offense. I’m sure your mother is a great person.) It doesn’t really matter to me and I don’t see why it should matter to anyone considering what you’re asking fans to do. Cults usually ask their members to have group sex with the leader, bear their children, or kill themselves. As far as I can tell you’re just asking people to post about how much they love Caryl and Melissa? Unless I’ve missed something? What’s the harm in writing letters of support? What’s the harm in making Melissa trend or whatever it is on Twitter? I respect whatever cynicism and bitterness the veterans of this fandom carry because I’m one myself. But I’ve enjoyed seeing positivity from the fresher fans. Melissa deserves that from whoever still has it in them.

People are responsible for their own hopes. If you’ve reached adulthood without a healthy degree of skepticism you’ve got bigger concerns, in your daily life, than whether a spin-off happens. But until you start asking your “followers” to post nudes or drink poison, I’ll be quietly enjoying the output of your group. TY.

Hey there. No, you haven’t missed anything. That’s pretty much my approach. Like you suggested, I don't think my position in the industry (which isn’t all that high as I've said before), is really going to affect whether or not WAAC succeeds in the end. I’m a fan just like any other and I think it’s important for those in power to honor the story they’ve been selling us for over a decade and to value Melissa McBride and Angela Kang who have both been instrumental in crafting it.

I’m aware of what a few people are saying, and I’m happy to try to clear up any confusion if it's requested. But if we can’t reconcile our differences in how we think Norman best fits into the conversation, then I wish them well on whatever they want to accomplish. I'll just stay focused on my own work.

#caryl #caryl positivity #caryl spinoff #darylneedscarol #waac #melissa mcbride #angela kang

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360iris · 3 years ago

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do you have any wips? sorry i’m just curious, i’m in love with your writing

Luv, Hold Me Down (Sirius Black x Reader, WIP)

Warning: Mature themes? I don’t know with this one.

Word count: 2,209

A/N: You’re gonna hate my ass because I have zero intention to finish the smut on this one shdhd. Maybe when I’m less busy I’ll come back and update it (although not atm). There are typos galore too so I’m sorry in advance!

—————————————-

The infamous Bubblegum Bomb Incident of 1972. Casualties: one.

During Year Two, Sirius had resolved to get revenge on Cissy’s insufferable boyfriend ever since he tripped him in the halls to get a laugh out of his Slytherin lackeys; and what better way to do that than ruining his precious platinum locks.

It was suppose to be a quick and untraceable procedure. He’d get to personally serve Lucius his own brand of justice and the job would be completed without having to suffer detention.

If only you hadn’t been rushing through the halls that day.

Lunch had just ended, and you were haphazardly ducking and dodging through the wave of students, on your way to visit Remus. He’d been sentenced to a strict, three day period of consistent bed-rest in the infirmary after a particularly bad transformation.

You’d just wanted to bring him a slice of his favorite Hogwarts style coconut cream pie, but one wrong turn and you were suddenly bombarded with three quick pelts of homemade exploding bubblegum bullets.

Sirius had designed them to be quick and lethal with their distribution of rubbery goo so that the target's hair was sure to be ruined.

The first shot sent the small plate in your hands completely airborne. The next two hit you square in the chest, knocking you fully onto your back.

The aftermath was so extreme that it took the combined effort of Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, and eventually, the guiding hand of Madam Pomfrey to free you from the sticky sludge and off of the stone pavement.

By the time they’d got to the infirmary, your entire head of hair had been deemed unsalvageable by sweet Poppy, and the only thing she could figure to do was shave it clean off by hand.

You’d spent the next two days unexpectedly alongside a tired Remus, confined in the sick bay, crying your eyes out hysterically. You’d had no idea who had done this to you or why.

That was until the third day, when Poppy finally allowed visitors in, in hopes of lifting your spirits.

Your guests included:

An empathetic Lily and Mary, both girls bringing you and Remus an abundance of flowers from the greenhouses, with explicit approval from Professor Sprout; alongside the homework you’d missed and plenty of junk foods.

An overzealous Marlene who’d spent the entirety of the three days drafting up and collecting signatures for a petition to permanently ban disruptive joke shop type inventions.

And lastly, an uncharacteristically stonefaced James and solemn Sirius who both quietly observed the crucially placed scarf on your head meant to distract from your current state of baldness.

“Go on then. Tell her, man. It’s only proper.” James said abruptly with folded arms, for the first time ever foregoing his usual impeccable home-taught manners and any form of courteous greetings altogether.

You watched confused as Sirius stood some several feet away, staring directly down at his shoes. After another coarse verbal prod from James, he stepped forward, eyes wide and brows furrowed.

“I- You have to understand, I couldn’t have known, Y/N! It happened so suddenly and before I knew it, it was too late!” He pleaded desperately and you weren’t quite understanding what he meant.

“I don’t follow, Sirius. What are you on about?” You asked, watching as he began wringing his hands.

He looked over to James again, seemingly pleading for aid that wouldn’t come. James looked positively severe, intent on standing by his decision to have the boy do this by himself.

“I- I was the one who blew the gum bullets.” Sirius finally whispered, looking positively terrified of your reaction. “But I didn’t intend on hitting you, I promise! It was for that git Malfoy! Remember when he tripped me in front of all of those sixth years last month? I’d been working on a way to get him back ever since! You’ve got to believe me, Y/N!”

But you’d stopped listening after the initial reveal. Your blood ran cold and it was hard to focus on anything in particular before suddenly all of your senses came rushing back in, and you were furious.

And even though James and Remus had been gauging your response, neither could have been quick enough to match the speed at which you pulled off both of your slippers and hurled them at the older boy’s face.

Successfully managing to clock him so hard, he reflexively reached up to clutch his sore, but still intact nose.

After that day, you had deemed Sirius public enemy number one, he managed to outrank even the silver-spoon fed Slytherins and that antagonizing blight, Peeves.

While there were tonics for quickening hair growth, you cursed Sirius Orion Black, every time you had to awkwardly apply a plethora of random oils to your scalp and walk around campus bald for an entire semester.

When he looked your way, you glared back mercilessly. If he dared to even address you, your responses were far from being deemed PG-13.

He’d spent the first six months wearily but consistently trying to apologize, however the damage had already been done, and it’d destroyed any semblance of friendship he’d crafted with you beforehand.

So after a while, he gave up. If you were going to hate him regardless of his actions, he figured he might as well stand up for himself during the bickering matches that transpired whenever the two of you were less than six feet apart.

Over the years, you’d remained bestfriends with Remus and James, though they could never hang out with the both of you at the same time.

For example, if you were eating breakfast with the two boys in The Great Hall and Sirius arrived late after sleeping in, you’d promptly roll your eyes and slide away to talk with Lily.

——

“That most definitely is not healthy, James.” You grimaced, tilting your head back laughing. The book in your lap, long since abandoned from the moment your bestfriends entered the common room.

“Muggle five second rule, Y/N! You were the one who told me about it to begin with!” He grinned from his spot sitting cross-legged on the floor in front of you.

You couldn’t help bursting into a fit of giggles, desperately trying to respond. “Rem- Remus! Please! Inform him that it doesn't apply to dropping a sandwich down an entire flight of stairs!”

“Believe me I tried, but he seemed pretty determined to eat it, hair and all after catching up to it.” Remus replied softly, a fond smile playing on his lips as you began making gagging noises of disgust.

“No! James Fleamont Potter, tell me you didn’t actually eat hair!” You laughed, extending your socked foot to shove him.

“I will suffice by just saying that, there may or may not have been a stray hair or two on it when I picked it up- Oh! Sirius, how was detention?” James trailed off to greet a certain boy and your demeanor immediately soured.

Your textbook on alchemical runes suddenly seemed like the most interesting thing in the world.

“It was worth it. Mcgonagall must be getting tired of me because she had me choose a book and read for three hours. Don’t let me interrupt the fun though. Looks like you’ve finally coaxed the Ice Queen to defrost for a bit. Shame I wasn’t here to see it.” He remarks, and you didn’t need to be looking at him to know he was wearing that infuriating smirk.

“Don’t worry, Black. I’ll never be able to truly relax knowing you’re still out running amuck. Next time you get written up, I’ll be sure to beg Mcgonagall to keep you chained outside with the rest of the wild animals.” An acute look of disgust etches across your face as you close your book, promptly shoving it into your bag.

“If you’re so desperate to see me in a collar, the person you need to be begging is right in front of you, doll.”

You could not have rolled your eyes harder at his remark. In a huff, you tug the strap of your bag around your frame and stand indignantly.

“You’re actually right for once. James? Keep your mutt on a tighter leash, before I’m forced to be the one that puts him down.” You sneer, flipping your hair over one shoulder and striding up to the girls dormitory before he can get in another word.

Remus sighed, unhappily leaning back against the couch he was currently sprawled across. “You just can’t help yourself, can you?”

Sirius watched as your figure disappeared up the stairs before turning to the boy, a dumb smile playing on his lips.

“She doesn’t hate me nearly as much as she tries to make you believe.” Was all he offered giddily before skillfully changing the subject.

———

Much like the infamous playboy Sirius Black, you were known for how frequently you broke the hearts of anyone you hooked up with. They found that sex with you was a spiritual experience, but were usually crushed when you made it clear you weren’t interested in recurring partners.

When Gryffindor’s Quidditch team won a mid-season match against Ravenclaw, James was relentless in persuading you to come to the after party. And though you weren’t originally keen on the idea, you figured it’d be an ample opportunity to relieve some stress.

The night had gone well. You’d garnered a nice buzz from the punch James made in his dorm and had your eyes fixed on Theodore Nott who’d been snuck in by Marlene.

Sirius, who was working his way onto his third cup of punch, watched you make eyes with the Slytherin boy from across the room.

He sat silently seething as you adjusted in your spot on the couch, crossing your legs while holding that snake’s gaze. In the end, all it took was the simple curl of your index finger for Theodore to hand his drink to an unimpressed Marlene and approach you.

Sirius watched as the two of you exchanged a handful of words before you sultrily dragged the boy away by his collar.

It took a minute for him to register that the styrofoam cup in his grasp was crushed.

After grabbing a napkin, he irritatedly ran a hand through his hair and his breath was ragged.

Why did he care that you were probably seconds from fucking a random guy? He definitely wasn’t one to judge, he’d been with plenty of people over the years.

However, no matter how many times he rolled the idea around in his head, he was getting angrier by the minute.

Remus approached him to spark up a conversation, but he was already slipping past him, towards the direction he watched you disappear to earlier.

He found you in the hallway, lip-locked with Theodore who had a grip on one of your exposed thighs. Meanwhile your hands were tangled in his hair.

Sirius’ body switched into autopilot, moving at such a speed that his brain couldn’t even keep pace.

He had harshly pulled the boy off of you, slung you onto his shoulder and made his way to his dorm. Partygoers standing confused as you beat his back, yelling at him to let you go. Once he’s on the stairs away from prying eyes, he delivers a sharp slap to the exposed skin on your thigh.

“Stop screaming bloody murder, Y/L/N.” is all he says and you bite your lip at the sting.

By the time he locked his door and tossed you onto his bed you’re looking at him like he’s insane. Scurrying to get off the mattress but he quickly grabs you ankle, pulling you back to where he dropped you.

“What the fuck has gotten into you!?” You hiss, watching him run a hand through his locks.

“I’m tired of waiting for you to stop being a brat and realize you like me. Tired of watching you hop on random dicks that aren’t mine. You want to get laid tonight? Fine, fuck me then.” He growls and you’re instantly overwhelmed.

“Did a screw come loose in your head? I don’t know what the hell you’re on but I’m not fucking you all people!” You respond by grasping a pillow from his bed and chucking it at his head. He easily catches it with a roll of his eyes.

“I’ve loved you since our first year, Y/N. And I’ve observed you long enough to know if you genuinely hated me or not.” He confesses and you freeze. His eyes were crystal clear and you’re at a loss of words so he continues.

He gently grasps one of your hands, bringing it up over his heart. You can very faintly feel his heart racing and your brows furrow. He was actually being genuine.

“You want fuck me so bad you’ve officially gone stupid?” You ask but he sees the tiniest smirk on your lips. And for whatever reason, you actually let him move in to kiss you.

He jumps a bit when you bite his bottom lip and you giggle before he’s pressing you back onto the bed.

It’s a fight for dominance, neither of you wanting to be the one that relents.

#sirius black #sirius black x reader #harry potter fanfiction #harry potter #Harry Potter Smut #hp #hp wip #hp fanfic #the marauders #marauders era #hp smut

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anxious-allie-ren · 3 years ago

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War Declared.

Hello everyone! I’m baaaack! If you’re still round, thank you! This has been a long time coming and I’m excited to be sharing this story with you all again. So let’s get right into it, shall we?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A letter had been carefully crafted and sent just days after your coronation. Kylo had mulled it over for a day or so, trying to decide his exact moves.

He expected such pettiness, such childish moves from Lord Hux. That man had no sense with nothing to lose. Kylo did not hold the same regards anymore. He had much to lose now. Not just you, but his kingdom.

His uncle also had things to lose. So why he seemed to be working with a man like Hux baffled him. That was why he finally decided to send a letter to him, demanding to know just why he was doing so.

But after a fortnight passes with no response, Kylo begins to grow more agitated with the situation laid out before him.

He does not do well with things like this. His need for control trumps all else. Sensibility and common sense gets thrown to the wind. Kylo dwells on this for more time than healthy. Often pacing in his office and arguing with Vicrul over what to do. It grew tiring.

This all came to a head when Vicrul came stomping into his office, a stern look on his face.

“Your majesty, King Luke of Corellia is here. He requests an audience with you.”

Kylo drops his quil on his desk and stands quickly, his chair scraping across the floor.

“Take me to him now.”

The sound of boots pounding echo down the long corridors, both men approaching the meeting room with clenched fists and tight jaws. Vicrul is quick to swing the door open, allowing Kylo through. He takes his spot by the door, standing guard and essentially locking the two kings in the room.

Luke stands as they enter, folding his hands in front of him. His face remains neutral as he takes in his nephew. Anyone could see the anger written all over him. But his uncle knows him better. Knows him deeper. Which is why he also knows where to hit where it hurts. Where Kylo’s blindspots may be. Even his weaknesses.

“Hello Benjamin, thank you for meeting with me this afternoon.”

Kylo's skin burns in anger at the near mention of that name. He knew his uncle’s intent with that taunt. To get to him. To inspire a rage within him that would leave this meeting useless. But with that bit of knowledge within him he did his best to keep composed. To ensure that he received the answers he needed today rather than the usual screaming match.

This would be easier with you here. Everything typically was. You had a way with Kylo, a charm almost, that kept him sane. You were the breath of fresh air he needed in a suffocating room. Doing anything with you made sense. But of course you weren’t next to him. You couldn’t be.

“You will address me as my title and act with respect while in my kingdom. Now why are you here, Luke?”

Luke smirks as he takes a seat at the large table. He folds his hands atop it and looks to his nephew.

“It's interesting you bring up respect. That’s a large reason I am here. You’re an incredibly disrespectful man. It seems it’s angered a lot of people. You’re making more enemies than friends.”

Kylo remains standing, his fists tight by his sides.

“The discussion of respect is bold coming from a man working with Armitage Hux. A man known for his deceptive and disrespectful ways. Now tell me, Luke, why exactly are you two working together?”

Luke stands and pulls a folded piece of paper out of his pocket, slamming down on the table directly in front of Kylo.

“Well, since you asked, here it is.”

Kylo grabs the paper and unfolds it, looking at Luke skeptically. In bold letters right at the stop states 'Declaration of War.’ Kylo scans the document, slowly taking in the words before him.

Before he can utter a word Luke makes his way around the table, digging into his reasonings for such a bold move.

“You’ve brought this upon yourself, Ben. I could take your petty arguments and temper tantrums. The threat to steal my lands and take over my kingdom is where I draw the line.”

He continues to the door, giving Vicrul a distasteful look before swinging it open. He gives Kylo one last look over before stating, “Your actions of disrespect have led you here. It’s time to think about them. Maybe this will end your little power trip.” With that he walks out the door and down the long corridor leaving Kylo and Vicrul alone.

————————————————————

You just so happen to be passing through the corridors when Luke crosses your path. You were heading to a meet with some of the other ladies in court for a late luncheon.

“Ah, Queen Y/N! How lovely to see you! I wasn't expecting to run into you during my visit. But how glad I am that I have!”

Luke stops in front of you and gives a small, polite bow. You give him a small curtsy back with a smile.

“Hello King Luke, how nice to see you. What brings you to our kingdom?”

Luke smirks and clears his throat, seemingly finding humor in something you aren’t aware of. He shrugs and looks down the hall at the way he came.

“Oh, I just came to visit my family. But I should apologize in advance. It seems I’ve upset our dear King Kylo. I’m sure that’s going to make your life a bit hard for a while. He isn’t the most gentle creature when he’s mad.”

You look at Luke confused.

“I’m sorry, I don’t believe I follow. How would you upset him?”

You felt it best to let that last comment slide for now. Not wanting to dwell on it at this moment but rather get to the route of what he could be hinting at.

While you and Kylo were not getting along at the moment, you still cared for him. His well-being will still be your top priority and you took threats to that seriously.

Luke claps his hands in front of him before answering.

“Well, you see my nephew is not exactly the easiest individual to talk to, which I’m sure you know. We’ve had a difficult past. It seems things just couldn’t be resolved.”

You try to keep your face neutral as you listen to Luke speak. But all of this is coming as a shock. You had no idea about the relation between Kylo and Luke. This makes you realize just how little you actually know of Kylo and his past. He knows just about everything about you, not even of your own will. But you lack the basic knowledge of him. What’s his favorite color? Favorite food? Was he a happy child? Did he have a good relationship with his parents? You try to think and can’t come up with an answer for anything. It feels as though you married a stranger.

You come back to your senses enough to thank Luke for his admission. You dismiss yourself quickly, making up an excuse to get away from him. You needed to see Kylo. You need to discuss all of this with him before your head explodes.

You rush down the corridor Luke had come from, looking through each of the rooms to find where they had spoken. You stop in your tracks as you reach a door near the end.

The sounds of yelling are barely muffled through the door. You take slow steps forward, trying to hear what may be going on inside.

You can hear Vicrul on the other side.

“Kylo, you need to calm down! You need to stop!”

Kylo lets out a roar of anger before throwing another chair across the room, smashing it to splinters.

The sound of the crash sends you rushing down the hall in the other direction.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, how are we feeling? Like wtf Luke.

To get serious for a moment I’m posting this on a very special day to me. So I am extra excited to share this with you all today. As always, please let me know what you think! I appreciate you more than you know.

Love,

Allie

#star wars #kyloren #kylo #kylorenthings #kylo ren x you #kylo ren x reader #reader x kylo ren #kylo smut #king kylo #kylo fanfic #kylo x you #kylo x reader #kylo x y/n #bridgerton #historical #regency fic #regency era #star wars fanfiction #fanfiction

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1-800-seo · 3 years ago

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1-800-SEO presents: — Where Is My Mind?

genre: dystopia/slight angst/escapism

pairing: Johnny Suh/Gender Neutral Reader

warnings: IV’s/needles, intravenous use of narcotics, bad coping mechanisms, alcohol use, depictions/descriptions of poverty to a degree, implied sexual activity, dreams

word count: 2506 words

in affiliation with: @127-mile ‘s

drive in fic collaboration

summary: Based in a future where your wildest dreams can be lived in for a few hours through intravenous methods, vices and virtues blur. Scraping by is all you can do, and escapism is all you live for. Maybe that will change when you meet him. (Loosely based on Inception.)

The familiar haze of mental fog clouds your mind, it coats the edges of your thoughts like a viscous syrup. You find yourself in a wheat field, the golden crops stretching for as far as the eye can see ahead of you. The swirling breeze passes over your hands and you feel it tickle, a sensation you’ve not felt in a long time. After taking a crisp piece of the surrounding plants into your hands, you feel each and every texture it offers with a fingertip. It’s not like you’ve ever touched real wheat before, you want to imprint it to memory. With the piece of crop still in your dominant hand, you turn your head, body following its arc too, and your eyes meet a cottage. The building just exudes a comforting energy, it's homely even when your real home is nothing alike. The trees that are positioned off to the side of the cottage provide the right amount of shade, one side of the house has full direct sunlight and the other is gently shaded, but in a comforting way. You drop the wheat and make your way over to the cottage. As you make your way up to the front door, following the perfectly placed path, you take in the smell of the decorative flowers that adorn the surrounding gardens. The smell of real flowers is something you’re not used to. Finally upon reaching the door, you outstretch your hand to grasp the door handle. The moment your skin makes contact with the sun-heated metal, a blinding hot white shoots across your vision, and pulls you out.

Waking up is never easy, but it’s not like you’re not used to it. The moment you open your eyes you are met with the same dingy apartment as almost every other wake up. Your arms feel weak from lack of circulation as you reach across to pull out your IV. It doesn’t sting, you’ve done this so many times, it’d be surprising if it did. As your eyes adjust to the light you start to make out the time, it’s displayed on the heads up view of your plexi-wall, and reads 11:36PM. Stars, it’d been 7 hours since you last ate, and your body is definitely letting you know as it starts to wake up from its lulled state. You shift your wobbly legs away from the crusty office chair you were sitting on and begin to make your way over to the food dispensary. You hold your palm over the sensor as a silver sachet slides out and into your palm. You make quick work of depositing its contents into a bowl and mixing it with hot water, your hunger spurring you to be swifter.

Before you know it, all of the food has been devoured, your stomach full, and the night is ready to be conquered. You have no desire to leave the flat, nothing calling you besides money to leave the (lack of) comfort of your home. But of course, money always beats out desire, and so you hastily put on your shoes and proofed jacket, grab your safety umbrella and backpack, and leave. Things had to be paid for, and your credits were seriously running low, if you wanted to continue with your expensive hobby, it meant scrounging. You’re not dumb, you knew that daydreaming wasn’t a cheap, safe, respectable, or even remotely healthy hobby to have, but at this point it was escapism, freedom from pain, and so you’d do anything for that sweet peace.

Once you’re at street level, you put up your umbrella. At this point it’s better to be safe than sorry, the acid rain warning that you saw on your dash ringing out in your memory. It never used to be like this, acid rain was once unheard of, but in the last ten years pollution came to the point that even the water cycle couldn’t be trusted. That’s the joys of living in urban scum, you think to yourself. Your ears register the faint sounds of sizzling rain droplets on your umbrella and you're grateful for it now. Your pace quickens, and after a blur of around 20 minutes walk, you arrive at your workplace.

Workplace was definitely too light of a word to call the building that stands before you. The imposing structure juts out into the dark with brightly coloured lights on its each corner, signalling its presence, as if it was easy to miss without the lights. The commonplace sound of thumping bass echoes about the street for meters, and it only gets louder as you walk up the stairs and into the building. A sign reading ‘Sondaero LivingSpaces’ greets you, but you know full well the people here are barely living. Oh no, this type of place is home to some of the most prolific daydreamers; well, the most prolific for the underground scene. You step through a set of large doors and out into the main courtyard. It’s an indoor park, filled with neon bioluminescent plants, and jarringly placed speakers. If this was any other establishment, the sea of ravers surrounded by people daydreaming on cot beds would be jarring to you, but you’re so used to it that you couldn’t care less; or more so, you’re plainly desensitised to it.

You find your way out onto the dancefloor and surround yourself with people - the more people the better, it just makes your job easier. Safely hidden in the palm of your hand is a biometric chip you crafted yourself. Implants are a little drastic in your opinion, especially when cosmetic, but this was a necessary thing to you considering it earnt you money. The function of the chip worked like this: every person is assigned biometric numerical values by the government of their country, this is to make controlling their finances easier without having a physical device like a debit card or a mobile phone. Instead each user is assigned these numerical values based on their facial bone structure, and the chip's job was to scan this using minute sensors. All you had to do was simply wave your hand in the direct vicinity of their face, and await results - those results being the chip draining their bank account of credit and depositing it into yours. The waving part is complicated in normal use, but when at a club, where wild dancing is the norm, it makes hand movements so much less conspicuous. As you imagine the small amounts of money gradually making its way into your account a man approaches you to your side.

The guy has long-ish dark brown hair, with eyes of the same colour and a tall stature. He begins dancing near you, slowly moving closer and closer towards your vicinity. You’d be lying if you said you weren’t attracted to this man, he was objectively good looking, and the smirk he was wearing on his face was hard to ignore. Before you know it, he’s leaning in your ear and shout-whispering: “hey, do you wanna get a drink with me, angel?” The confidence in him to skip all normal greetings is astounding to you, but in some ways that makes him even more attractive to you, so you whisper-shout back “yeah!” and lead him over to the bar by the elbow.

After you have a few drinks in you, dancing becomes thoughtless, and swaying and grinding on the nameless man is even easier. “Yo, what’s your name?” You ask over the pulsing beat. His response is a finger trailing up your spine with the words ‘Johnny’ leaving his lips. Maybe those disquieting thoughts aren’t only silenced by daydreaming, maybe this could be another outlet. That thought curls in your mind, the wispy tendrils of a coherent thought fading like a misty night.

A few more drinks in your systems leads you to going home with the man, but your memories fade away as the night (or should you say early morning?) carries on. It passes by in a blur and the next thing you know you’re being startled awake by a cat sitting on your chest, with an unearthly headache.

Once you finally manage to extricate yourself from the cat’s grasps, you sit up and immediately notice the sleeping form of Johnny next to you on the tatami, his chest rising and falling with each breath. As quietly as you can, you tiptoe up off the tatami floor, acknowledge the ache throughout your entire body and move towards his kitchenette for a glass of water. Unbeknownst to you, Johnny apparently has a rudely noisy water purifying outlet attached to his faucet, and it decides to make itself known the moment you hover your palm over the on sensor. Johnny quickly stirs awake at the noise, and he sleepily opens his eyes in your direction.

“Wha-what’s going on?” He asks, squinting as his dark eyes adjust to the light. “Oh, I’m sorry, I was just trying to get some water.” You respond, tottering back over to the tatami, glass of water in hand. “Um, I’m sorry, I don’t really remember much of last night, did we uh- what did we do?” You’re aware your question was haphazard, but the incessant hangover looming in your head has your thoughts less than clear.

“If you are wondering if we had sex, the answer is yes, but the only thing I remember is waking up covered in… unsavoury stuff...so that certainly was a way of knowing how. I also know that apparently at some part of the night we decided to dream ‘cause I had to tidy up the gear earlier, but to put any worries at bay, I’m clean and vaccinated so...yeah.” He finishes the end of his sentence, trailing off. Well, at least the mystery man is somewhat of a gentleman, and he’s not gonna give you anything nasty which is always a good thing. You realise his late night cleaning must’ve turned to yourself at some point considering you are somewhat dressed and clean, but you can’t find it in you to care, you’d come to this shameful point so what did a bit of aftercare matter.

“Oh ok, and thanks for letting me know. I’m clean and fully vaccinated too.” You respond, unsure how to act around him. Perhaps he feels your apprehension, and in answer he pats a spot on the tatami next to him, just away from his cat too. You make your way over to the spot, feet padding on the floor as you go. “Your cat’s cute, they decided to sit on my chest this morning. Despite knocking the breath out of me, they’re pretty charming.” Johnny’s eyes widen at this knowledge before throwing his head back and letting out a hearty laugh. It’s somewhat comforting to hear such a genuine laugh; it takes your mind off the world of insincerity around you.

“I apologise for Ten, he gets cuddly in the mornings.” Johnny picks up his cat to give you more space, Ten’s legs sprawling wide in the air before being put down to safety.

There’s something so warm and familiar about Johnny’s presence, it has you naturally leaning into him, and his arm comes to rest around your shoulders as your head gently leans on his chest. The feeling is just so warm and despite knowing you don’t know him well, it almost feels like you do. It feels like a lover long lost, and now he has returned a warm feeling spreads throughout your chest. It’s almost inexplicable, and if you were to try to justify it to anyone other than yourself, a wave of embarrassment would certainly wash over you.

Looking down at you, he meets your eyes, and they seem somewhat fond; not what you were expecting to see. “Do you fancy dreamin’?” He asks, still maintaining eye contact? “Hmm, sure, hopefully I’ll remember it this time.” You reply with a smile and he reciprocates.

Before you even open your eyes you’re met with the sensation of skin on skin. Beneath your fingertips you feel, what you suppose is a firm chest, and when you open your eyes your suspicions are confirmed. Your hands are resting on Johnny’s taut chest, and of course this is what an unscripted dream with the two of you looks like. You feel that you are naked too, and his hands rest gently around your waist, a relaxing gentle weight reassuring you he’s still there. You meet each other’s eyes and the tension is palpable in the air. He dips his head down and kisses you, lips melting together with ease. His hands move from their placing and trail down to cup the small of your back, your bodies meeting infinitely closer.

The two of you move together like jigsaw pieces slotting into place, there’s no conscious thoughts, only the two of you existing in this dream space. Part of you can feel Johnny’s thoughts swirling as you share the hazy unstructured scape. There’s hints of lust mixed with a sleepy mindset, probably left over from waking up moments ago in the real world. He’s set on being a lazy lover right now, selfishly devouring you with no haste in any of his actions, just taking these moments for himself. He can feel your thoughts just as much as you can feel his, he knows you’re feeling relaxed with him and he’s pleased at that, he knows how good you feel right now and he’s proud. He wants to use all of this time to make you feel good. You’re both in agreement that losing yourself in each other is ever so easy, and so you both fall into the other's grasps.

The second time you wake up, Ten is resting on your feet, warming them from the slight chill of the room. Johnny had roused quicker than you, and he’d already removed the IV from your arm. You spot him winding up the fluid bags and putting them into the insulated case they reside in. “How are you feeling?” He asks whilst disposing of the needles in the marked sharps box. “Good, lighter than usual. I’ve enjoyed spending time with you, albeit mostly imaginary.”

The floaty feeling remains in the forefront of your consciousness. Despite feeling lighter, less burdened, you’re aware that you need to change your vices. Constantly daydreaming, forming relationships through them, isn’t healthy. Continuous escapism isn’t a way to live; numbing yourself over and over again won’t solve anything. With a new fervor to gain meaning in your life, you rise from your place on the tatami. “What are your plans for today, John?” You ask, perhaps vices and meaning aren’t that different from each other.

long time no see! this is my penultimate fic :(( hopefully u guys enjoyed it! I know it’s not like my usual style and is somewhat offbeat but I hope it makes sense hehe <3

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traditional-with-a-twist · 4 years ago

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xxxii. Beauty and Her Beast

@claudeng80 ha ha ‘a title has not helped Obi express himself better’ - truer words never spoken XD Ryuu just processes too slowly to keep up with things, and you’re so right, everyone is still shell-shocked and twisted around!

@bubblesthemonsterartist awwww, yeah, probably safe to say that Obi and Shirayuki are not doing great at seeing the bigger picture here XD I’m a little chagrined, putting them through these situations that push them so far outside their healthy canon!

@the-pompous-potato hahaha thank you for accepting my slightly contrived criteria for the wedding ceremony XD wish I were one of those authors who meticulously researches culture/history but ANS is such a mishmash! You are too sweet about the writing and feels and everything; makes me so happy to know that you’re enjoying it! <3

<<Previous || first arc || second arc || AO3

The first prince entertained very few visitors in the wake of the intensive administrative outpouring surrounding his public address.

There was too much to do, to rebalance the scales and irrigate the neglected areas of his responsibilities.

After revolving on its hinges in the days leading up to the grand announcement, Izana’s door presented now an unyielding front to almost all callers.

When Kiki Seiran presented herself, however, the guards admitted her at once.

...

She found the prince deep in thought, chin resting on a long-fingered hand.

Only his eyelids flickered in acknowledgement of her entrance. He knew without asking what she had come to deliver to him.

She laid the report on his desk: her official account of their journey north.

As she backed away, Kiki inclined her head in deference to his position and to the gravity of the task. He had entrusted her with a deep and dangerous secret, and she knew it wouldn’t be the last time.

He regarded her with that slight smile that was more forbidding than another man’s frown. “Your service will not be forgotten, Kiki Seiran.”

It is a compliment, but also a promise.

...

As she turns to go, her eye catches on a pair of figures, plainly visible in the courtyard below through the prince’s sweeping glass doors.

The woman’s hair flames, while the man’s swallows the light. They linger together before parting.

He slides in the direction of the pharmacy; she starts towards the castle.

...

Kiki’s eyes dart towards the prince, but he is watching her, still with that same slight smile.

Izana is enigmatic as a mirrored window. He let you paint your thoughts onto his facade, inviting any interpretation, any fear, no matter how wild.

All the while, he revealed nothing of himself.

...

Kiki bows herself out.

She knows without knowing how that Shirayuki wants to speak with her, so she goes to make herself available - to intercept the intended second princess before anyone else in the castle does.

Calculating without conscious effort a range of factors from the relative privacy that they might expect, to the likelihood that Shirayuki will seek her there, Kiki positions herself in an alcove with a view of the forest.

...

As she gazes on the waving branches, Kiki thinks of nothing in particular, content to wait, and see.

It is as if her body remembers for her: riding horseback, side by side, perfectly in synch.

She had known the day she met Mitsuhide that he was the man with whom she wished to spend her life.

Subsequent exposure had served only to confirm, as snarls arose and pulled smooth in a spiral of increasing intimacy.

...

His awkwardness, his uncertainty around her, had gradually transformed from cause for misgivings into evidence in his favor.

She had weighed and measured each of his qualities, each exchange that passed between them, and found him worthy.

She no longer wondered who would preside alongside her at Seiran manor, whose crest would join hers over the fireplace in the great hall, whose name she would carve into the seal of the wooden chest delivered on her birth.

Now she doesn’t even know where he is.

...

Still that wooden chest waited.

As she grew, she had added to its contents: laboriously contrived needlework, then finer things, and more recently the delicately crafted weapons that one might slip under an embroidered sleeve or wear along with layered skirts.

The chest had accompanied Kiki to the palace alongside trunks of finery which she had made use of perhaps twice since arriving: once at the ball where she met Mitsuhide and once to play charades with Zen in the garden.

Shirayuki is smaller than I am, Kiki thought, but some of the simpler shifts might suit her. She could wear one intended for garden parties, sewn at tea-length, without having to pin up the hem.

Such a dress would easily stretch to cover Shirayuki’s ankles and render her acceptable according to the unwritten yet ironclad rules of the game that Shirayuki had decided to play.

...

Kiki had feared for her less when Shirayuki had engaged to play with Zen as her partner.

He wasn’t - hadn’t been - all wise, or impervious to attack, but he was native to it. He was also by nature brave and generous, and that, combined with his own peculiar insights into the hearts of others, meant that he had known when to bow before the rules and when to break them.

Kki had believed they would find a way together, and she had been proud to walk beside them.

...

Now she felt no such assurance.

She wouldn’t say that Shirayuki and Obi were like the blind leading the blind - despite their carelessness and outright willfulness at times, she knew them better than that.

It was more that neither spoke the language of the court from birth - and on whom could they reply to interpret?

Instead of a loving prince, they now relied for patronage on Lord Haruka, a reluctant and embittered enemy, who would have gladly seen them both vanish off the face of the earth had his duty not impelled him otherwise.

...

Kiki shook her head.

She didn’t like it any more than she had before the announcement, news which she had greeted with the grim resignation of one accustomed to witnessing births, marriages, and deaths all managed like pieces on a chessboard, as it suited the political purposes of those in power.

Shirayuki and Obi might have convinced themselves that the game was over, but Kiki knew that it had just begun.

...

Shirayuki saw with relief that Kiki didn’t look busy - she was only standing by a window, as if lost in thought.

She approached the other woman shyly, still more relieved when Kiki greeted her with the customary quiet smile.

Friendship was a strange thing: Shirayuki would have trusted Kiki with her life, as she had while sailing on a ship with an evil captain into unknown waters -- but now she felt nervous.

She had never asked Kiki for a favor before.

...

Shirayuki joined Kiki at the window. The thought crossed her mind that her friend looked sad, even as Shirayuki was preoccupied with churning doubts over how to broach such a sensitive subject.

“I,” she faltered, blushing. “I’ve heard that--at least, here in Clarines--”

“I have a dress that will fit you,” Kiki answered, in unhesitating agreement with the question that had yet to be asked. “You won’t need much more than that.”

“Oh,” Shirayuki squeaked. “Really?”

...

“It will be a small ceremony, and you can keep your underclothes.” Kiki paused. “Unless you want silk stockings.”

“What? No, no!” Shirayuki waved her hands, her face flaming. “That’s not--I don’t need…” She stopped when she saw a twinkle in Kiki’s eye.

Shirayuki smiled back weakly. “Thank you. That’s very kind. Very, very kind!”

...

“This way.” Kiki was already in motion. “You can have it from my chambers now.”

“From…?” Shirayuki stumbled to keep up.

An uneasy thought struck her. “Kiki...is it...your dress?”

“Tell me if it’s too long, and we’ll find a tailor.”

...

“But!” Dismayed, Shirayuki caught at her sleeve.

Kiki looked over her shoulder, her expression gentle. “Don’t worry, Shirayuki…

“...I won’t be needing it.”

#Akagami no Shirayukihime #obiyuki #mitsukiki #PurePassion #Beauty and Her Beast #girl talk #plus the obligatory ominous politicking #long overdue chapter #a thousand thank you's to everyone staying with me

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suckmysupernatural · 4 years ago

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Meal Plan

Word Count: 2k, one shot

Pairing: Jensen x Reader (Platonic-ish)

Warnings: talk of meal plan (obvi), eating disorder tendencies, vomitting, unhealthy relationship, body insecurity, manipulation

Summary: You are so happy to return to the set of Supernatural and film with your best friends, Jared and Jensen. You feel and look great, although your boyfriend Jeff begs to differ. Jensen soon finds out about the unhealthy ways you have been losing weight.

A/N: Hey, y’all! This is my first Jensen fic, let me know what you think!!

You couldn’t help that you had a bounce in your step as you made your way onto the lot. The hiatus was finally over, and it was time to start filming. You had been on Supernatural for a little over three seasons now, playing a badass hunter that had teamed up with the Winchesters. It was the job you had always dreamed about.

Your first day on set, you knew that you were a part of something special. Right away the cast and crew welcomed you with open arms, especially your new co-stars. Jared and Jensen had become two of your best friends, ones you had missed a lot over the break. You lived in Austin like the boys, but your busy schedules always seemed to conflict. You had only one dinner with them over the summer at Jared’s house. Seeing Gen and the kids was a blast... if only you could do it more often.

“Y/N!” a deep voice cried out. You spotted the boys almost immediately, jogging up to them. Jared wasted no time picking you up into a tight hug.

“Jar… I can’t breathe,” you whined before he set you down.

“Sorry, Y/N. It has just been forever since I’ve seen you!” Jared gushed. You turned over to Jensen, who hugged you as well. Luckily, this one wasn’t bone-crushing.

“We missed you,” Jensen said, holding onto you. Backing up, you looked at your two friends.

“I know, I know. I was just so busy with Jeff…” both of the men rolled their eyes at the mention of your current boyfriend’s name. “Okay, I know you guys don’t love him, but we wanted to spend as much time together as possible before shooting started up again.”

“Saying we don’t love him is an understatement, Y/N. I don’t get what you see in him,” Jared said. Jared and Jensen had only met Jeff a few times, all of which only made them worry more.

“He cares about me. He takes really good care of me!” you tried to push your point but got nowhere. Both of the men didn’t seem to budge from their opinions. Changing the conversation, the three of you headed over to hair and makeup to get ready for the day.

--------------------------

After a week of filming, you were exhausted. The days were all long, and you couldn’t wait to get home and sleep all weekend. Walking into your apartment, you made your way over to the freezer to grab some ice cream. You wanted some of your favorite feel-good food. Almost as soon as you had settled down, your phone began to ring. Jeff wanted to Facetime. Answering the call, you let a bright smile fall onto your face.

“Hey, baby!” you said as your boyfriend’s face popped onto the screen.

“Hey. How are you?” Jeff asked.

“Tired. This week has been pretty brutal,” you responded as you began to dig into your ice cream.

“Are you sure you should be eating that?” Jeff asked, his head tilting to one side.

“What do you mean?”

“Well… you did put on some weight this summer. I know that you were relaxing and all. But now that you are back at work, I thought you were gonna take better care of yourself. I’m just worried about you is all. I know that looking good for the camera is a big part of your job,” Jeff explained. You put the spoon back into the ice cream and pushed it away from you. “I didn’t say that to make you feel bad! I just care about you; I want you to be healthy and happy with the way you look on screen.”

“Yeah, yeah. You’re right. I have a scene this week where I wear a tight dress. Should’ve thought about it,” you mumbled. You had wondered if you gained weight, Jeff made it clear that you had.

“It’s alright, sweetheart. That’s why you have me. I’ll be here to remind you when you need it. I fell for one hot piece of ass that I don’t intend to lose to Tom and Jerry anytime soon,” Jeff laughed. You nodded and attempted to laugh along.

“I guess I just have terrible eating habits now,” you shrugged.

“Well, why don’t I make you a meal plan? Then you won’t need to worry about that. It’ll make each day easier, let you focus on your job,” Jeff offered.

“Um… yeah, sure. That would be great,” you forced a smile. The two of you talked on the phone for a few more minutes before hanging up. You got off of the couch and tossed the ice cream into the trash. You wouldn’t be eating it. Going into your bedroom, you stripped down to your panties and bra before looking into the mirror. Jeff was right; you were looking bigger than usual. Laying on the floor, you began to do sit-ups and crunches until your core was on fire. Only then did you let yourself shower off the day and go to bed.

-------------------------------------------

Two weeks into Jeff’s meal plan and you were already looking better. Jeff had been praising you, telling you how hot you looked now. It was hard to keep up, the meals always leaving you wanting more. A few times you almost slipped up but managed to avoid it. Walking onto the set, you smiled and waved at your friends before approaching them.

“Hey, guys!” you smiled at Jared and Jensen. The two seemed glued at the hip.

“Hey. So, we were thinking about pizza and beer at my place tonight?” Jensen offered. This was a regular occurrence for the three of you, having done so since you started the role on the show.

“Oh, I’m actually on a diet. No pizza or beer for me,” you shrugged, “maybe we can have a movie night one day this week?” Both Jared and Jensen looked confused.

“Diet? Since when have you been on a diet?” Jared asked.

“For a few weeks now. I noticed that over the summer, I kinda let myself go. Jeff has been super helpful about it. He even made me a meal plan so that I wouldn’t have to worry about it. Isn’t that sweet?” you smiled.

“Let yourself go? Y/N, you look good! Like you always have,” Jensen’s voice was laced with frustration.

“It’s fine, J, you don’t need to try and make me feel better. The meal plan is working great. I mean, I look a lot better now,” you told them before leaving to go to your trailer. Jared and Jensen both gave each other a look. They were worried about you.

--------------------------

A few days later, you were in line for craft services when you realized none of the options would go along with Jeff’s plan. You poured yourself some tomato soup and grabbed a grilled cheese before heading back to your trailer. Digging in, you knew that you would have to work out extra hard to make up for the calories. Pulling out your phone, you shot a text over to your boyfriend.

Y/N: Hey, babe. Craft services didn’t have anything that I could eat from the plan. Grabbed tomato soup and grilled cheese instead. Hope that’s okay.

Within a few minutes, you got your response.

Jeff: No, that’s not okay. Setbacks will only make things harder for you. You can’t let all those carbs and calories just sit in your stomach…

Y/N: Well, what am I supposed to do.

Jeff: You have to get rid of it. This is what happens when you go off your meal plan. Go to the bathroom and put your fingers down your throat. You don’t want fans to see you as fat, right?

Looking at your phone, you took a few deep breaths. Your heart was racing as you looked up at your now empty plate. He was right. You didn’t want people to think of you as the fat actress. What if people spread rumors that you were pregnant? You knew what you had to do.

Getting up, you made your way into the trailer’s small bathroom. Kneeling in front of the toilet bowl, you stuck your fingers down your throat.

----------------------------------------

Another week went by and you were messing up your meal plan left and right. At least now you knew what you could do to fix it. You had lost even more weight but knew that you still had a long way to go before you looked like the other actresses on set.

Today was one of those days where craft services didn’t have anything that Jeff would deem appropriate, so you grabbed whatever you felt like. In your trailer, you ate until you were full before making your way to the bathroom. After being there for a few minutes, the door to your trailer swung open. Before you could do anything, there Jensen was, standing in the doorway of your bathroom.

“Y/N, are you oka - wait, what are you doing?” Jensen’s eyes widened in shock at the sight before him. You quickly got up, flushing the toilet, and wiping your mouth.

“I think I have food poisoning or something. It made me puke, it’s no big deal,” you shrugged before trying to get passed him. He stood still, his broad shoulders keeping you from leaving.

“No, that’s not what happened. What I just saw was you with your fingers down your throat. Why would you do that?” Jensen’s voice was laced with pain. You looked down at the ground, unable to meet your best friend’s eye.

“I needed to…” you whispered.

“What?”

“I...um… I went off my diet,” you shrugged your shoulders, “I needed to fix it.”

“Y/N….” Jensen pulled you into a hug, not letting go. “You don’t need to do any of that. You are perfect just the way you are.”

“But Jeff…”

“Jeff?” Jensen leaned back to look you in the eye, his hands on your shoulder, “did Jeff tell you that you need to lose weight?”

“He just wants what’s best for me! He wants me to look good. Jeff keeps me on track.”

“Wait… did he tell you to make yourself throw up,” Jensen asked. His eyes were full of worry and you couldn’t look at them without feeling shame.

“He suggested it when I fucked up the first time… it wasn’t supposed to be more than once. I just kept messing up,” you could feel the tears start to gather in your eyes. Jensen pulled you into the hug again, one hand on the back of your head to stroke your hair. It didn’t take long before you were crying, Jensen holding you as you sobbed.

“Y/N, you are worth so much more than this. You deserve someone who treats you better, who loves you exactly as you are. You are beautiful, talented, smart. Please, believe me when I say that.”

“I want to J, I do. It’s just… I don’t,” you looked up to meet his gaze. Jensen used his thumbs to wipe the tears from your eyes and held your face.

“That’s okay, sweetheart. I’ll tell you every day until you do. Y/N… you need to leave Jeff. He is hurting you.”

“O-okay. You’re right. Can you stay with me while I call him?” you hoped that Jensen would say yes. It felt too hard to do on your own, after everything.

“Sweetheart, I will always be there for you,” Jensen tucked a strand of hair behind your ear.

That night you called Jeff, breaking things off. Before he even had the chance to insult you, Jensen was taking the phone from you. He told Jeff off before hanging up the phone and repeating all the kind words he had said earlier in the day.

Jensen had told you the truth. Every day he made sure to remind you how amazing you were. He supported you through it all, helping you throughout your recovery. It wasn’t easy, undoing the damage that Jeff had done, but you weren’t in it alone.

#jensen #jensen one shot #jensen x reader #jensen ackles #jensen ackles x reader #jensen ackles one shot #spn #supernatural #spn fic #jensen fic #rpf #supernatural rpf #supernatural fanfic #supernatural one shot #spn one shot #one shot #supernatural reader insert #reader insert fic #spn reader insert

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himbeaux-on-ice · 4 years ago

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(You don't have to respond to this) I just wanted to say I agree 100% with you. I think fans of any sport, fans of tv/movie actors & actresses, and any other celebrity fall into this trap of believing that every famous person is our friend. Like they tend not to care about unless it for publicity and even if they do actually care about important issues, they cant or wont speak up due to the chance of being outcasted. And on the fans side we do get way to invasive into celebrity private lives

I think there are plenty of famous people who do a lot of good work for marginalized communities and do show up as allies in meaningful, genuine ways, and we shouldn’t assume that all shows of activism are purely performative! But in general I agree with you here.

We need to remember that the NHL in particular is a notably conservative-cultured sports league in just about all aspects (including conservative as in “unwilling to try new things” lol). Just as importantly we need to remember that, as with any celebrity, the versions of these players we are talking about and being fans about are not real. They are by and large characters that are crafted (with varying degrees of finesse lol) by PR teams and managers and media, and beneath all that is a flawed human person who is capable of all the same mistakes and harms as any of us. They are fallible.

In engaging with them as characters, we are going to project a lot of our own values and beliefs into the blank spots of what we don’t know about them, which is a natural human thing to do. And that isn’t inherently harmful. I think we all want to believe that most people hold the same moral codes as we do until proven otherwise. But especially in a league where many players lean conservative, it’s important not to conflate that projection with somehow “knowing” that they’re “one of the good ones” without them every actually making that clear. You are setting yourself up for heartbreak that way.

I think it’s okay to be an enthusiastic fan of players as long as you on some level recognize the difference between the persona and the person. It’s similar to how a lot of RPF fandom operates on the premise of like, discussing a slightly alternate universe where we politely remove the players wives and families (who are typically not celebrities or public figures and thus did not consent to be involved in these narratives) from the picture in order to write about romances between the public characters of the players, with the implicit understanding that most of do not us believe what we’re writing is real in a conspiracy theory sense. The particular type of fandom we do here is a peculiar kind of multi-layered thing, where we both focus primarily in our works and discussions on those fictionalized personas, while also trying to hold the real people behind them to account to improve the fucked-up culture of this sport. Those two things have to be held in tension, with nuance and a constant need to make judgement calls.

Like, a good example of this two-layers fandom approach is how when I talk about/cheer on Ovi, I’m talking about the character that he is in hockey culture and the hockey narrative and in fanon, not the actual man who is married with children and gets chummy with dictators. I don’t actually think that Ovechkin and Bäckström are in love or that he’s even a person I would get along with or find tolerable in real life. I’m engaging with a character. I engage with pretty much all other NHL-ers the same.

With Ovi and the whole Putin+Trump thing, I don’t find it as necessary for me to personally address or consider as, say, Jamie Benn’s transphobia, because I don’t think the fact of whether I personally (via absolutely no financial support at all) enjoy the persona of a famous Russian hockey player is anywhere NEAR an influential factor in the power those dictators hold. We’re at like six degrees of separation at that point. My five posts a week from watching a pirated Caps stream are such a drop in the bucket in Ovi’s influence and Putin’s that it doesn’t even matter at all whether I do it or not. Putin will continue to be a dictator regardless of whether or not I post gifsets of this hockey player.

But I also recognize that there are times and situations when dealing just with the fictionalization of a player isn’t enough, when it is necessary to step back and make commentary and critique about the flawed human person underneath because they are in a position of visibility and power, and their actions have great influence.

Setting that Ovi example aside, I think there’s an important, nuanced difference when it comes to players who are unapologetically and unreformedly racist, homophobic, transphobic, violent, etc. Because those players are harming people, directly. I’m not talking about players who just support awful politicians, I’m talking about those who explicitly express harmful, bigoted personal opinions from their own platforms or enact direct harm on others personally. When they do this, they are making people less safe, they are making this sport less safe for fans and for other athletes. This cannot be separated from the fame and praise given to their fictionalized personas, because continuing to laud and support and cheer for them directly enables their ability to be in a position of power and influence where they can personally harm people, with actions or with words.

So again, it is important to understand that the version of your favourite player you engage with in the act of most fandom is not a real person, but a character. It is also important to make principled judgement calls, based on your own moral code, as to when is the point at which you can no longer justify promoting and/or financially supporting that character because it means feeding into the influence and ability to commit harms of the real person behind it all. You need to know where the lines between it all are, and where you personally draw a line in the sand you won’t cross. Making the hockey community safer and more welcoming should always be your first priority, because getting to not prioritize that and instead “focus on just having fun” is a privilege only afforded to those who are already safe here.

Support those figures in the league and the sport who choose to use their massively influential platform in this league to go to bat for marginalized people, because you’re right, there is a risk of backlash that comes with that choice, and we (as in the broader many-faceted community of hockey fans) should try to positively reward and reinforce them taking that risk if we want to see more of it! It’s an important part of making this sport something that everyone (except bigots and abusers) can be a part of.

But yeah, it isn’t healthy to pretend that you have a knowing personal relationship with these famous people, or to put responsibility/trust for your emotional well-being into their hands when they don’t even know they’ve been given it. Parasocial relationships like that can really fuck you up if you get sucked too deep into them. Understand that you don’t know these people, and be prepared in advance to make some difficult choices if you don’t like it when they show you who they really are.

(And feel free to grieve privately about the outlet or fun thing or favourite character you lose if you decide you cannot support them anymore. That feeling of betrayal is real for you, and it is okay to feel it and work through it as long as you understand that it might not always be appropriate to focus on doing so publicly (an example of it being inappropriate to focus publicly on your feelings would be a white fan lamenting how sad it is for you personally that your fav turned out to be racist).)

Take care, anon. 💜

#ok to reblog #long post #asks #anon #change hockey culture #I hope this makes sense it’s a little bit rambly and deals with some complex ideas

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la5t-res0rt · 4 years ago

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this was written several weeks ago in response to asks i was receiving i am posting it now it is very long the longest i have ever made and it is not very well edited but here it is in this final essay i talk about how shitty rae is about black people in her writing as well as just me talking about how her writing sucks in general lets begin

hello everyone

as you may know i have received a lot of anons in the last week or so about issues of racism in the beetlejuice community both just generally speaking and also within specific spaces

i was very frustrated to not be getting the answers i wanted because i typically do not talk about what i do not see but in an effort to be better about discourse i went looking through discourse from before my time in the fandom and i also received some receipts and information from my followers and from some friends

keep in mind that the voices and thoughts of bipoc are not only incredibly important at all times but in this circumstance it is important that if a bipoc has something to add you listen and learn and be better

i admit that when this happened i wasnt aware of the extent of what occurred and im angry at myself for not doing more at that time and i want to work harder to make sure something like this doesnt go unnoticed again

im a hesitant to talk about months old discourse because i have been criticized for bringing up quote old new unquote but this is very important and i am willing to face whatever comes from to me

lets talk about this

content from our local racist idiot that may be months old but its important

putting my thoughts under a cut to spare the dash but before i begin obviously this is awful

lets fucking unpack this folks

right out the gate op states that she supports artistic freedom but then within a couple words she goes against that statement

being entirely canon compliant isnt artistic freedom and even so if this person has so much respect for canon they wouldnt be out here erasing lydias obvious disgust for beetlejuice in the movie or ignoring lydias age for the sake of shipping that shit isnt canon either

also we love the quick jab at the musical there hilarious we love it dont we because god forbid a licensed and successful branch on a media have any standing in this conversation but whatever

now lets scroll down and talk about the term racebending

the term racebending was coined around 2009 in response to the avatar the last airbender movie a film in which the east asian races of the characters were erased by casting white actors in the three leading roles of aang sokka and katara

whenever the term racebending is used in a negative light it is almost always a case of whitewashing like casting scarlett johansen in ghost in the shell or the casting of white actors of the prince of persia sands of time instead of iranian ones

this kind of racebending erases minorities from beeing seen in media and is wrong

all that being said however racebending has also been noted to have very positive after effects like the 1997 adaptation of cinderella or casting samuel jackson as nick fury in the marvel movies nick fury was originally a white guy can you even imagine

i read this piece from an academic that said quote writers can change the race and cultural specificity of central characters or pull a secondary character of color from the margins transforming them into the central protagonist unquote

racebending like the kind that rae is so heated about is the kind of creative freedom that leads to more representation of bipoc in media which will never be a bad thing ever no matter how pissy you get about it

designing a version of a character as a poc isnt serving to make them necessarily better it serves to give new perspective and perhaps the opportunity to connect even more deeply with a character it doesnt marginalize or erase white people it can uplift poc and if you think uplifting poc is wrong because it tears down white people or whatever youre a fucking moron and you need to get out of your podunk white folk town and see the real world

the numbers of times a bipoc particularly a bipoc that is also lgbt+ has been represented in media are dwarfed by what i as a white dude have seen myself represented in media is and that isnt okay that isnt equality and its something that should change not only in mainstream media but in fandom spaces as well

lets move down a bit further to the part about bullying straight people which is hilarious and lets also talk about the term fetishistic as well lets start with that

this person literally writes explicit pornography of a minor and an adult are we really going to let someone like that dictate what is and what isnt fetishistic

similarly to doing a positive racebend situation people may project lgbt+ headcanons on a character because its part of who they are and it helps them feel closer to the character and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that

depicting lgbt+ subject matter on existing characters isnt an inherently fetishistic action generally things only really become fetishistic when the media is being crafted and hyped by people who are outside of lgbt+ community for example how young teens used to flip a tit about yaoi or how chasers fetishize trans people

but drawing a character with top surgery scars or headcanoning them as trans is harmless and its just another way to interpret a character literally anone could be trans unless if their character bio says theyre cis and most of them dont go that deep so it really is open to interpretation and on the whole most creators encourage this sort of exploration because it is a good thing to get healthy representation out in the world

as for it being used to bully straights thats just funny i dont have anything else on that like if youre straight and you feel threatened and bullied because of someone headcanoning someone as anything that isnt cishet youre a fucking idiot and a weak baby idiot at that like the real world must fucking suck for you because lgbt+ people are everywhere and statistically a big chunk of your favorite characters arent cishet sorry be mad about it

lets roll down a bit further about the big meat of the issue which was when several artists were drawing interpretations of lydia as a black girl which i loved but clearly this person didnt love it because they have a very narrow and very racist and problematic view of what it means to be a black person

and before i move forward i must reiderate that i am a white person and you should listen to the thoughts of poc people like @fright-of-their-lives or @gender-chaotic it is not my place to explain what the black experience is like and it certainly isnt this persons either

implying that the story of a black person isnt worth telling unless if the character faces struggles like racism and prejudice is downright moronic

why use the word kissable to describe a black persons lips now thats what i call fetishistic and its to another extreme if youre talking about a black version of lydia on top of that

the author of this post says herself that shes white so clearly shes the person whos an authority on the black experience and what it means to be a black person right am i reading that right or am i having a fucking conniption

how about allowing black characters to exist without having to struggle why cant a black version of lydia just be a goth teenager with a ghost problem who likes photography and is also black like she doesnt have to move to a hick town and get abused by racist folks she doesnt have to go through any more shit than she already goes through and if you honestly think thats the only way to tell a black persons story you need to get your brain cleaned

you know nothing about the complexities about being a black person and i dont either but you know wh odo black people who are doing black versions of canon characters they fucking know

lets squiggle down just a bit further

so the writer has issues with giving characters traits like a broad nose or larger lips if theyre a woman but if theyre a man suddenly its totally okay to go all ryan murphy ahs coven papa legba appropriation when approaching character design like are you fucking stupid do you hear yourself is that really how you see black men like what the fuck is wrong with you

none of the shit youre spewing takes bravery it takes ignorance and supreme levels of stupidity

do you really think you with your fic where a black lgbt+ woman is tortured and abused where you use the n word with a hard r to refer to her like that shits not okay its fucking depraved and yeah we know you love being shitty but like christ on a bike thats so much

can we also talk about this

what the fuck is this fetishistic bull roar garbage calling this black character beyonce dressing her up in quote fuck me heels unquote are you are you seriously gonna write this and say its a shining example of how to write a black character youre basically saying ope here she is shes a sex icon haha im so progressive and i clealry understand the black experience hahahaha fuck you oh my god

on top of that theres a point where this character is only referred to as curly hair or the fact that the n word is used in the fic with the hard r like thats hands down not okay for you to use especially not in a manner like this jesus christ

oop heres a little more a sampling for you of the hell i am enduring in reading this drivel

oh boy lets put a leash on the angry black woman character lets put her in a leash and have the man imply hes a master like are you kidding me are you for real and what the fuck is with calling her shit like j lo and beyonce do you actually think thats clever at all are you just thinking of any poc that comes into your head for this

also lydia fucking tells this girl that she shouldnt have lost her temper like she got fucking leashed im so tired why is this writing so problematic and also so bad

hold up before i lose my head lets look at some of her own comments on the matter of this character and what happens to her

hi hello youre just casually tossing the word lynch out there in the wide open world as if thats not a problem that is still real like are you fucking unhinged there have been multiple cases of this exact thing happening in our firepit of a country in the last five months alone like how can you still have shit like this up for people to read how can you be proud of work like this in this climate

and also what the fuck is that last bit

what the actual fuck

i dont speak for black people as a white person but you do!? im sorry i had to get my punctuation out for that because wow thats fucking asinine just because one black person read your fic and didnt find the torture and abuse of your one black character abhorrant doesnt mean that the vast majority of people not only in the fandom but in the human population with decency are going to think its okay because its not

i started this post hoping to be level headed and professional but jesus fucking christ this woman is something else white nationalism is alive and well folks and its name is rae

if you defend this woman you defend some truly abhorrant raecism

editors notes

in order to get some perspective on these issues more fully some of the writing by the author was examined and on the whole it was pretty unreadable but i want to just call back to the very beginning of this essay where the person in question talked about holding canon in high regard but then in their writing they just go around giving people magic and shit and ignoring the end of the movie entirely like are you canon compliant or nah

the writing doesnt even read like beetlejuice fanfic it reads as self indulgent fiction you could easily change the names and its just a bad fanfic from 2007

also can we talk about writing the lesbian character as an angry man hater like its 2020 dude and als olets touch on that girl on girl pandering while beetlejuice is just there like here we go fetishizing again wee

i cant find a way to work this into this already massive post but

im going to throw up

okay so thats a lot we have covered a lot today and im sure my ask box will regret it but this definitely should have been more picked apart when it happened

please feel free to add more to this i would love more perspectives than just my own.

#long post #racism #raecism #im so tired #thanks for reading

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holisticalecsecareanu · 4 years ago

Link

This interview by ERA News Beta speaks to Alec about a varied number of subjects to do with his film casting and debut in GOC, but farther than that, Alec speaks in great detail about his journey in Romanian theatre, his views on the state of Romanian theatre today, his acting philosophy.

I found this an incredibly revelatory article about Alec because you don’t fully realize, until an interview like this, the depth and breadth, not only of his intelligence, but of his strong beliefs and views regarding his chosen profession. It’s very different going from little snippets in interviews where Alec discusses mostly just one project, to this really comprehensive presentation of who he is as a person and an actor. Also, obviously being able to discuss such complex subjects in his native language, I believe, really allows him to open up more comfortably.

He has a -LOT- of strong feelings and responses to the questions the interviewer asks and he expresses them eloquently, intelligently, and also pretty bluntly, sometimes. It shifted, a little, and not in a bad way, who he is in my head, or rather, it fleshed out who he is in a way that all the quick sound bites and magazine interviews don’t.

I know, from this, that he will never strop striving to push himself and his abilities, to discover new and different ways to learn in his craft. This interview also goes a long way towards explaining how Josh, Francis, and he, formed such a bond, because I believe they also hold these beliefs and commitments to the roles they take on and the projects invest in. It’s almost like kismet because what are the odds that these three individuals would have the same kind of approach to the story they were telling? I think that is why God’s Own Country is such a superlative and luminous film.

Also, the Fight Club production sounds KICK ASS and I wish I had seen it and I can’t believe someone didn’t tape it!

And, yes, that photo, because it never, never ceases to rock every aspect of my world.

This interview is in Romanian but, at least on Google, there is a Google translate button that appears. I have also provided the Google translated version below; am not able to vouch for it’s accuracy, but at least it is something!

Thank you if you’ve read this far. :-D

Google Translation of Interview Below. :

The first British film brings a London agent to Alec Secăreanu

There is also news that one of the young aspirants managed a movie in Hollywood, and for a second people hold their breath, dismayed, wondering "what the hell is this?", Before the engines start again. and to see life beyond its course - Radu Iacoban once said to me, referring to an entire generation, actors who are making their way to a glory that neither they nor we know much about yet . It could have the American endorsement or the greatness of the European trophies, in any case it will no longer be possible to rely on the applause of those who built their illusions in the theaters where they were taken by force or on the admiration of those who dreamed of the two hours of the program. television of yesteryear.

Alec Secăreanu is not one of the 10-15 actors who appear constantly in the distribution of each of the films of the new wave, fueling the impression that only a few people have managed to finish the theater institute in Romania lately. But it has the merit of entering Tyler Durden's mind. And to enter Tyler Durden's mind is courage, especially since it is a dark mind, split into two completely separate universes, and in each of them reigns revolt in all its forms, revolt against the system, against consumer society, against to an absent father and, therefore, against God himself. It's an even greater courage to do this after a perfect director has already passed by, who explored his corners, in tandem with an iconic actor.

The first six rounds of Fight Club demonstrations were, at the end of last year, an absolute success in Bucharest, so the complete version follows, with sophisticated projections made by Les Ateliers Nomades - the company that made the famous mapping on the Parliament Palace - and imagined stunt figures under the guidance of experts from the Gladiator Association, which works in the good tradition of its illustrious founder, Szobi Csech. It's like we lost sleep. Anyway, Tyler Durden doesn't sleep either… Alec Secăreanu certainly sleeps quite a bit himself, since in the meantime he finished filming the first feature film in which he took the lead role, a kind of Brokeback Mountain with a farmer from Romania, the debut film of the British director Francis Lee.

There were nine weeks of filming in Yorkshire, enduring the "bipolar weather" of England, during which time he learned, among other things, to cut the hooves of cattle, to make cheese, to witness the birth of lambs. Oleacă already knew from the Fight Club. And in few percussions I surpass him, after Alexandrul Dabija's Requiem, from the National Theater in Bucharest. In addition to stories about the British system, a show business performance machine, news about new theatrical productions in Bucharest or evaluations of Romanian theater in general, from Alec Secăreanu I found out that there is an online radio that takes you far, Nice Cream FM , and something even more interesting, that there is Radiooooo, with five "o's", which allows you to choose from the map of the world what kind of music you want, in decades, from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present. «You can understand your decade and your country and listen to, say, Mongolian music from the '60s. It's something like Wikipedia, users are still uploading music, so they've already reached an impressive database, "says Alec.

Rep: Actors of your generation make most of the film and most make film outside. Ana Ularu, Iacoban, Bucur… a long series in which you have just been included, in the most honorable way, with a British production, a kind of Brokeback Montain as far as I understand, a love story that happens on a farm and involves a character born in Romania

Alec Secăreanu: The first feature film in which I had the main role, "God's Own Country" is Francis Lee's debut film. I really wanted a Romanian for the role, because the character in this story is Romanian, and the director wanted everything to be as authentic and organic as possible. Of course, the character has only a line or two in Romanian, not at all significant, by the way, for the story, so they could take absolutely any other actor who speaks English with an accent. But he wanted everything to be organic. The casting director from Romania gave more than 40 rehearsals and, a few weeks later, the director came to Bucharest and wanted to meet about 13 of us, a group from which he chose three actors. The three were in London for a final test, a so-called chemistry test with the other actor, the one who had already taken the role.

YOU HAVE TO HAVE EXTREMELY STRONG NERVES THOUGH, ESPECIALLY WHEN THE STAKES ARE HIGH. PROBABLY THE FIRST THING YOU NEED TO GET USED TO AS AN ACTOR IS TO BE REJECTED. YOU GO TO DOZENS OF CASTINGS, TO HUNDREDS OF CASTINGS, YOU GET FIVE OR TEN PERCENT OF THEM, TO THE OTHERS YOU ARE REJECTED AND, MOST OF THE TIME, IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT.

They are simply looking for something else, the sooner you understand this system, the better. To keep your lucidity and show signs of mental health. And you have every reason to protect your health, since, in the end, the tool you work with is yourself and, if you break this tool or if it is defective, it no longer serves you properly. My character's name is Gheorghe Ionescu, he is a young Romanian farmer who went to work in England, who ends up working somewhere, in an isolated complex in Yorkshire, and there he meets a guy, the boy of the farm owners. An unexpected meeting for both of them, surprising, a friendship and a fascination are linked and the two end up living a love story, although neither of them identifies as a gay person. In fact, the film does not want to be a gay movie, but, rather, a story about people, a plea that some encounters are love. A very interesting creative connection was created between me, my colleague, Josh O'Connor, the director Francis Lee and Joshua, our operator.

We had two weeks of rehearsals, in which we discussed very well each stage of the script, each sequence, what happens to the characters, the history of each of them. When I started working, everyone in the frame knew what to do. I filmed a lot of exteriors, on which occasion I got to know very well the weather in England, which is dementia, you

have four seasons in one day, it starts with snow, followed by a storm, then hail, then the sun rises, then again it snows a little and so on. In fact, the weather was a real problem at the connections, because I was starting a frame in the sun and when I resumed it, it was snowing outside, so things didn't fit.

THE TWO WEEKS OF REHEARSALS HELPED ME BUILD THE CHARACTER, BECAUSE I HAD TO WORK ON THE FARM, I LEARNED TO WORK WITH COWS, SHEEP, TO WITNESS THE BIRTH OF LAMBS, TO CUT THE HOOVES OF CATTLE, TO MAKE CHEESE , LOTS OF THINGS. IF THIS THING WITH ACTING DOESN'T WORK… I LEARNED SOME EXTREMELY USEFUL THINGS, WHAT CAN I SAY.

Rep: I understand that the benefits were even greater, you chose an invitation to the British actors' union and a London agent…

Alec Secăreanu: I had the opportunity, for nine weeks, to work in a healthy system from the ground up, starting from the way the union works, to the fact that the actors from the British schools learn notions of personal discipline from college, in a broader framework for the management of the profession. I was treated as a member of their union. A month and a half after I finished filming, my agent received an email from the union asking if I had been paid for the work done, so that the warranty that had been withheld from the producers at the time could be released. in which they announced the film. What can I say… welcome to Romania!

I told them that I am not part of this union, they told me that such a contract in the UK guarantees me these rights and allows me to become a member. I'll be back on the 20th for a series of meetings, and we'll probably finish the talks on this occasion. In the meantime, I also have an agent in London, in addition to those who represent me in Romania. I started the relationship with my agent from Romania, Alexandru Harsany, from RAA (Romanian Artists Agency), two years ago, when I was just returning from Venice, where I stayed for about three months, at the Art Biennale, where I was a performer in an installation built by Alexandra Pirici. Alexandra…, a perfect artist… two days ago completed a performance that will be presented at the Tate, in London…

Returning to my professional path, my stake, I once told my agent, is to work abroad, because in the country, unfortunately, you have nothing to do. You just have nothing to do. Seven to eight films are made a year, which usually have the same cast. In fact, if you look at Romanian films from the last ten years, you might get the impression that only 15 actors have graduated from the University of Romania lately. Beyond this shortcoming, there is no market, the options are few, I do not understand how many of my colleagues manage. Well, I'm in this situation too. Outside, once you have a major project, some doors open, everything goes on.

HERE, I HAVE COLLEAGUES THAT PEOPLE RECOGNIZE ON THE STREET, BY SUBWAY AND BY BUS, WHERE THEY ARE MAINLY BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE TAXI MONEY. IT'S FRUSTRATING.

I worked with my agent in Romania, I updated my casting photos every six months, which means to make available to potential producers a picture of the state, in which you must be relaxed, not to frown and to highlights your features as best you can. We have updated, to the necessary standards, the video materials or CV presentations, ie that series of things without which you have nothing to look for at the door of a casting director or an agent. While filming in England, the producers there issued a press release announcing that they were filming and that they had a certain distribution. At time number two, Alexandru's mail exploded, hundreds of requests, questions and offers came, sent by casting directors, agents, an entire machine was set in motion.

During the filming in London, I had five days off at one point, and the producers arranged for me to meet with some other directors, agencies, to see how things worked. They are somehow looking for unpolished stones, hoping to find the next great talent. We don't have this culture. I know only one casting agent who goes to shows or to UNATC, to see new faces, and that is Domnica Cârciumaru. The others always work with the same people, and that's especially because they don't know other people, they don't look to see what actors there are on the market, they don't care. Romanian agencies do not have casting databases, for example.

There are real platforms out there for that. Our casting directors work from project to project. 'What I need, a 40-year-old woman. Where else have I had a 40-year-old woman? Aha, in the gum commercial. Well, let's call that one too - that's how things work. In London I had meetings with three agencies and I opted for a rather large one, The Independent, which deals not only with actors, but also with directors, screenwriters, a total of about a thousand people. I liked that it works as a boutique agency, they have 40 agents, every week they meet and discuss the projects that are on the market and to which they have access and then they try to promote the people they represent. In addition, this agency is open to the States. We will see…

Rep: Returning closer to home, you have a few shows in Bucharest, including Fight Club, one of the revelations of last season. The first six rounds of Fight Club demonstrations were an absolute success, so the full version follows…

Alec Secăreanu: In addition to the most recent premiere, Fight Club, we have an extraordinary show at Godot, «Flowers, Girls, Movies or Boys», which we have been playing for ten years with great success. It is one of the first texts written by Mimi Brănescu, he being a basic actor, but lately he has reshaped himself on dramaturgy and screenwriting. A show about relationships, which follows the evolution of two couples, from the moment when future lovers know each other, until a little later, when they may lose love. It's a good, funny text, it catches the audience very well. I'm one of those lovers, a filthy neighborhood wannabe, the kind who feels like he knows them all, and obviously he's not.

His evolution is very interesting, he hits a person he underestimates, in any case he did not expect to have such an impact on him. The girl is from another social class and this very conflict between social classes arouses him and makes him get closer. In time, however, the two realize that they do not have much in common.

I KNOW, I KNOW, THERE'S A THEORY THAT OPPOSITES WOULD BE DRAWN, BUT THEY'RE MOST LIKELY DRAWN TO THE POINT WHERE THEY REALLY HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON. THEY MAY NOT EVEN MEET AT ALL, AND THAT'S THE STRANGENESS OF THE COUPLE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT.

I have another show at the National Theater, Requiem, directed by Alexandru Dabija, entered the seasons last year, things are going well. We expected him to be selected in the National Theater Festival, but it seems that was not the case. It is a text Vişniec, first placed in Romania, with references to an area that seems to be of great interest to Dabija now, more precisely the area of war, the world of soldiers. Vişniec was also interested in this form in one form or another, if we think of "The Woman as a Battlefield in the Bosnian War".

most spectacular staging of this text. There was another show, once in France, he told me that he had seen it, but that it is much more extravagant. Dabija thought of an image show, there are costumes, there is scenery, there are quite a few actors on stage, about 20, some of them employees of TNB, most of them - collaborators. It is sung, it is sung beautifully, the music is by Ada Milea, some songs are really very nice, it is a kind of music specific to the instruments with which it is played: an accordion, a big drum - where I play… We have some marches and various others pieces that lead to the military music area.

I play the role of a soldier who still believes in victory. The story takes place in a cafe Chez Vişniec, a place where soldiers meet who are preparing to return home, who dream of the triumphant march and the glory of reception in their cities. All sorts of people gather at this cafe, some who have never believed in victory, others who have believed, there are some who still believe that victory is possible - all sorts of psychologists synthesized from this theater of war.

What did not delight me about this text is the fact that the characters do not have an evolution from one end of the show to the other. A logic does not have to exist, it is an area of the theater that Vişniec has accustomed us to, but the characters, although very vehement, with a very strong speech, were suitable for a well-deserved development.

Rep: Do you believe in victory? Or have you not fought your big battles so far?

Alec Secăreanu: No, the great battles did not take place. But we started with a few fights, some of which we lost, others we won, others are still contested. I lost, for example, the struggle with the idealism I had at the end of college. I was very disappointed when I finished college, very disappointed… I had high expectations from the Romanian theater market, I hoped to have a vision, a coherence, a general enthusiasm. Of course, everyone wants to be part, at some point, of a movement that means something. I'm still part of the independent theater area, so I never relied on the state theater to do anything for me.

BY THE WAY, I THINK THAT THE STATE THEATER HAS ENTERED A KIND OF SHADOW CONE, IN THE SENSE THAT, AT LEAST THAT IS MY IMPRESSION, IT HAS BECOME MANNERIST, IT HAS NO IMAGINATION, IT HAS STUCK IN SOME RECIPES THAT SEEM TO WORK AND, WITH FEW EXCEPTIONS, NO ONE SEEMS WILLING TO DEVELOP NEW THEATRICAL EXPRESSIONS.

And in the latter case, the high hopes and high expectations were primarily for them, because they manage the funds needed to do that. Every year they have to put on a number of shows and I look in amazement that they are not trying to discover anything, they are systematically going to areas where they have been before, they only walk on dirt paths. It's not the commercial that has to bring the world to the theater. There may be a commercial area, but I think it is our duty, of artists, actors, directors, to push the boundaries a little, to invent new ways.

But the independent theater is currently identifying itself as an area of precarious means. You do shows that catch the audience - logically, otherwise you can't finance yourself, the setting is, most often, modest, consisting of two chairs and a table - since there is no money for something more sophisticated, the costumes are also as they are - most often the actors come with their clothes from home. It's a poor theater, let's face it. If you try to look for what is happening in the independent theater, the first time you notice the lack of funds, and you notice it as a spectator and it would not be your job as a spectator to see things like that. It can be seen that the director made a kind of compromise with the money to make this show. While in the state theater a lot of funds are lost.

There are exceptions, of course, but my huge frustration is that you see shows with extraordinary budgets and you don't understand why the money went for such a show, which doesn't bring anything new. While in the independent theater there are so many ideas and so much desire to work, but there is no funding for their realization. I was really talking to someone the other day, because we're looking for funding for Fight Club, and I was asked, okay, beyond funding, what's the business? Let's get along, we're talking about an art form, and monetizing art in this brutal way is harder to imagine, because our stake is to try to develop new theatrical languages, we need grants, state aid, maybe even the private area, the effort is not made for a show to be sold like this, to fill the halls.

If you want that, you have a party, you call the world, you play a few more instruments, you say three more poems and that was it. Either way you want to go, the discussion inevitably reaches the area of the diseased system, which you have little to do, except to try to build it from scratch.

I have a cultural association with some colleagues. We realized in 2007, when we finished the University, that there is no point in hoping, that we will not receive any kind of help from the theaters, where even now the places are blocked.

I WOULDN'T SAY THEY AVOID YOUNG PEOPLE, BUT RATHER THAT THEY ARE WARMER WITHOUT US. THERE ARE A LOT OF EMPLOYEES IN THEATERS WHO DO NOTHING, BUT KEEP THE SEATS BLOCKED, TWO OR THREE SEATS APPEAR ONCE EVERY THREE YEARS.

IT'S A KIND OF SLAVERY, PEOPLE WORK IN A WELL-GROUNDED SYSTEM, WHICH NO ONE REALLY WANTS TO CHANGE.

In fact, the same situation is in every state institution, many people who receive a meaningless salary. And these are not theater companies, to say that they are families, but they are state institutions, financed from the budget. One is an independent, self-financing theater company and theoretically is allowed to do whatever it wants with its money, and another is a budget-funded theater, obliged to function for the public and to educate it, to arouse it, to motivate it. . If you put the same pieces of Caragiale and Chekhov every year, and only that, and only that…

Rep: There are all kinds of public calls lately for the elimination from the scene - from various scenes - of the generation we call, coded, "golden", as we saw calls of some intermediate generations, I would not know how to define them , to finance somewhat less intellectual productions, which have at least some connection with the public. Where is the truth? And with the golden generation, what should be done, ideally, from the point of view of the new wave you represent?

Alex Secăreanu: Who else is today a consumer of magazine theater, for example? They are nostalgic, and they know where to find their shows, and they somehow look for them by virtue of inertia. I have no problem taking care of established actors. I appreciate them as history and there are some from which I had a lot to learn, because they are better than me. Victor Rebengiuc, for example, with whom I worked for a short film called Casting Call, written and directed by Conrad Mericoffer, is a man from whom I learned a lot. The story follows an elderly actor, who is called to a casting, but it is not necessarily about the elderly actor, but a generic meditation on the condition of the actor, because we are all, in fact, in the same situation. I played, Paul Ipate, Victor Rebengiuc and Sergiu Costache.

I learned a lot in the short time I spent with Rebengiuc, how to behave in a team, how to approach a role…

IT'S LIKE CHESS. IF YOU PLAY WITH SOMEONE WHO IS BETTER THAN YOU, YOU LEARN FROM HIM. IT'S NICE TO HAVE SOMEONE BETTER BEAT YOU, BECAUSE YOU LEARN FROM HIM.

There are cases, however, in which it would be in the best interest of the actors in question to give up, as is the case of Radu Beligan, for whom I have a huge respect, but who has advanced a lot in age, goes through natural stages of life, to simply remember the lines, it is simply no longer possible. What we want from this story is already doing him a disservice. It's just an example. With reconfigurations and reinventions it is harder… but actors like Victor Rebengiuc and Marcel Iureș believe that they went in different ways from the very beginning, they wanted more than they were offered and they looked for more.

In this profession you never stop searching, because as soon as you get the impression that you know them all, you enter a very dangerous area, an area where you don't come up with anything new, and the viewer feels that. You have to surprise him, he has to see you doing something new, otherwise there is no stake.

Rep: Fight Club… You were able to get into Tyler Durden's mind, a courage, probably, after his twisted imagination was once explored by David Fincher, with the iconic film released in 1999. What you found there ?

Alex Secăreanu: Fight Club… is a story that, for me, started many years ago. I read Chuck Palahniuk's book in 2006 and I thought that this book must be a theater show. The idea bothered me for many years, until last year, when the stars lined up, I said it would be time to do it, especially since I found an exceptional team. We developed ideas, we had a lot of meetings in which we kept challenging the imagination, to see where the story can take us, and finally we were ready to put everything into practice. Sure, we hit the funding. Arcubul financed us for the show, which is a complex one, with multimedia elements, videomapping, fight scenes, music,

It was a test for us first of all, to see if our ideas work, if the team works. After the first six rounds, we realized that we are on a very good road, which must be continued. We can bring new elements to the theater, we can develop new languages in the theater, we wanted from the beginning to make an experience for the spectator, a one hundred percent experience made for him. We wanted the spectator, when he left the theater, to feel that he had received a punch in the stomach. We got pretty close to the goal, all the people said, after the show, that they lived that thing that we felt when we were little and we watched a karate movie, and after the movie you wanted to jump around the house, to give more and you a fist, try another scheme.

He left absolutely no one regardless of this show, which is very important. We need some more money to set it up the way we thought it would. The amount is not large for a state theater, but huge for an independent theater. About 60,000 euros. Usually, in the independent theater you say, come on, how much do we have, 5,000 euros? Let's do it, we come home with more clothes, we cut another set, we give up that one, the other one and we did the show. When you have thought of an artistic approach in a coherent way, you cannot make concessions like this. You can not. There are elements, means that you absolutely need to build your convention fluently, to say what you wanted to say.

THERE ARE ALSO PRODUCTIONS AT TNB OF ONE MILLION EUROS, APUS DE SOARE, THIS ONE FROM TEN YEARS AGO OR WHEN IT WAS MADE, TWO SEASONS WERE ALSO PLAYED AT REVEDERE.

There is also a record amount for a show that has never been played before. I don't know how much the funding was, but let's remember that in the year of Caragiale, a theater wanted to do D'ale Carnavalului somewhere, at the Metrorex Halls. They equipped a hall with bombers, cars, an entire fair built from scratch, and the show was never done again

#alec secăreanu #alec on stage #interview #fight club #fight club: play #he's so intelligent #how is that fair #goc #god's own country #goc film

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bonvoyagenoona · 4 years ago

Text

About Me | 05: Esquire’s “The Boundless Optimism of BTS”, Yoongi, Psychology, Mental Health, and Life, and Be

A little bit of a different approach to my About Me posts, but I wanted to share for anyone who is interested!

I think it’s interesting that the Nov 2020 Esquire article is called The Boundless Optimism of BTS.

Because it is boundless, but it also isn’t.

I have been so struck by Yoongi’s personal reflections as of late, and my interest was catalyzed by his conversation with Jin during In the Soop ep 8 to work on his own mental health and perspective on life.

I haven’t shared too much about my professional or personal life. I like to share those things through characters in my fics. But I’d like to share more about who I am in relation to these topics. I worked my way through grad school in both clinical and cognitive psychology programs, and over the past 10 years, I’ve worked as a therapist, an educator, a cognitive neuroscientist, and an industry researcher. I’m proud to say that I have a PhD and humble body of work to show for my efforts, but the most meaningful parts of my career are the conversations that I have had along the way, with others who are also searching for truth and comfort.

Yoongi's thoughts, like the one above, and the others that he’s shared about his anxiety, are extremely relatable for me. I have the tendency to tie professional and creative achievement to personal worth. If I don’t succeed at a task or project, I am a failure. This tendency, when left unchecked, can lead to a shift in one’s core perspective oneself, and over time, can contribute to things like mood disorders, the most common being anxiety and depression.

Yoongi’s response in the Esquire interview made me pause and reflect on how I came to observe and learn how my own patterns of thinking lead to these conclusions myself. Specifically, it made me think of learning about and using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy’s systematic framework of breaking down cognitive distortions. CBT focuses on stopping negative automatic thoughts, dissecting your thoughts, and finding healthy coping mechanisms to keep you from feeding these cognitive distortions. The personal example that I shared is global labeling, which happens when one takes a negative outcome (not performing a task to a perceived optimal level) and attributes it to a personal failing (I am a failure). I worked from this framework with my clients, but it also helped me understand a lot about who I am as a person, and it helps me deal with my own stuff on a daily basis.

If you take it one step further, you can begin to unpack what Yoongi is talking about. What are the perceptions that we hold about what “masculinity” is? Why must that be the definition? Why is it so important to meet those expectations, especially ones we haven’t crafted for ourselves? Apply that to your own thoughts. For me, it’s about how I define “success”. How I define “failure”. Am I putting undue stress on myself because I’m operating under a distorted view of the world? What information am I missing in my narrowed, momentary view? How can I balance those perspectives out?

We can all relate to this, and that’s the beauty that I find in CBT and clinical psychology generally. If we didn’t all engage in these patterns or feel these ways at some point, there wouldn’t be whole fields dedicated to the study of it, and whole teams of professionals to help us focus on our health as a result.

And that’s why I think I gravitate so much to Yoongi, as well as to Jin.

Yoongi truly has the kind of empathy, thoughtfulness, interest, and introspection that it takes to be a therapist. It clearly fuels his creative process. But devoting all of that effort in a singular way can be exhausting. Being present for others while also sending your energy into your personal goals and growth all at once will lead to burnout.

Jin has the kind of balance that it takes to maintain that empathy cup at a certain point to avoid burnout but stay connected to others. But his energy is also devoted to the present moment, seen in the way he is able to enjoy things just for what they are.

He shows Yoongi how to get out of his head and not let negative automatic thoughts define him. Jin gently challenges him. When Yoongi says, “You can’t be optimistic just because you want to,” Jin essentially asks “Why not?”

He tells Yoongi, “Don’t consciously try to be optimistic.”

Because that’s the crux.

It’s not about thinking optimistically, or acting optimistically. It’s about being optimistic.

And that’s why I think Be is particularly meaningful. They generally keyed in on a moment where we are all striving for a reset, a moment to live in our bodies and minds and remember what it feels like just to exist, no expectations. Even the progression of songs is a suggestion of how we can process what we’re feeling, but not without bringing us back into taking stock of the things we can be thankful for and happy about.

All of this to say... I hope that’s what we as ARMY have collectively experienced this weekend. Even with the goals we set as fans in support of the success we wish to the band, in addition to everything else that we’re dealing with during this pandemic, I hope we have been able to follow BTS’s example of taking a breath and looking at what’s around us, no expectations. Go Namjooning. Take a car ride. Listen to a good song. Again, no expectations. And if you can’t do those things in safe or socially distant ways, know that there are so many other things we can do to bring ourselves back into our bodies, and back into the present. If you don’t know what those are, I’m always happy to give suggestions.

Also, my heart goes out to mental health professionals in particular at this time. To do that work, you have to find these kinds of conversations fascinating enough to keep you excited and motivated, and you have to find the process of connecting with people meaningful and powerful enough, to keep you from losing sight of why you’re there in the first place, all while trying to take care of your own personal life and identity. Now add the stress of a pandemic that keeps us from being in the same room. It’s a challenging, difficult job, and I really applaud the people out there who are looking out for us, and teaching us how to do better at looking out for ourselves, too.

If you feel so inclined and have the resources to do so, please consider donating to the following resources to help people in particular need of mental health support during the pandemic:

US:

National Council for Behavioral Health

National Institute of Mental Health

Mental Health & Suicide Prevention National Response to COVID-19

Mental Health and COVID-19 Information and Resources

GLOBAL:

World Federation for Mental Health

If you know of other resources, especially global resources, please let me know. I’d love to help spread the word about them.

A long post, I know. I’ll finish and post the next few chapters of my WIPs very soon! But as always, thanks for reading along, and take care! 💜

#about me #psychology #bts #therapy #mental health #mental wellbeing #mental well-being #mental wellness #yoongi #min yoongi #min suga #suga #esquire #bts esquire

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thestylesindependent · 5 years ago

Text

Brand new adventure- Harry’s interview with L’Officiel Hommes China (translation courtesy of Google)

He is the face of Gucci's new fragrance, an ultra-modern pop star and an exquisite young man, and Harry Styles may be content with his premature achievements. But he prefers to choose to be alone and fade out of the public eye, with curiosity or even greed to touch the music.

"So French!" The young man in a Mickey Mouse sweater smiled softly, facing the sometimes excited and blushing editorial team of magazines. On the day after the interview, his new song was launched, and it attracted more than 1.5 million followers in just a few hours. After a brief retreat, or after a breath-recovery process like holding his breath, a series of bumps began, and this was the return of Harry Styles. Harry, who has just soloed from One Direction (the band sold 50 million records over a six-year career and has since ceased indefinitely), achieved his personal career and released his first solo album in 2017. People saw him transforming. He was no longer the Harry of the 1D band, but became an independent artist, receiving reviews from music critics, and going in harmony with this era. He is fickle, he treats his sexual orientation peacefully, he defends equality, and supports same-sex marriage. The pop singer who has grown up in the greenhouse has now become a cocoon. Gucci's vibrant, poetic and destructive creative director Alessandro Michele, who is responsible for the styling of Harry's first tour after solo, has been selected as this fashion season Image ambassador for the new fragrance "Gucci Mémoire d'une Odeur".

Soon before our meeting, he just spread some clear signals in an American journal, announcing some song samples of the new album: in recent months, he has been listening to McCartney, reading Murakami sang with Stevie Nicks in preparation for the new album. So on the day we met, we found two pieces of evidence that witnessed his creative journey over the past few months. The content of these songs is full, exquisitely arranged, delicate and at the same time rough and unruly, like an ecstatic intoxication, but also the sorrow of dawn and dawn, all of which show a large album full of color and temperature collision.

While anxiously waiting to jump into the vortex of public attention (album promotion, touring, and many things in celebrity life), the 25-year-old boy calmly told with restraint and enthusiasm throughout the day. Yourself. (To be honest, he did not try to avoid the eyes of passers-by. Instead, he walked in the panties between the two shots and ate Asian takeaway meals at the corner of the street instead of sipping healthy celery juice or eating Steamed tofu.) "The first smell I remember was probably the smell in her mother's kitchen, the smell of her roasted meat, and the smell of perfume on her." This is how this good son, also a contemporary superstar, is. Express his memory related to smell. However, if one day Harry lives in your house by accident, who knows if this will happen? Never let him feed your cat, because he said: "I have been accompanied by cats every time I grew up, every time. When I feed them, the smell of cat food makes me unbearable. "

It can be said that his cooperation with Alexandro Michele is not a pretense, and their creative lines coincide. "Alexandro is a free thinker, and his way of working is very enlightening. If he wants to do something, he will do it. It's that simple. It's impressive, especially for a big When working at a brand. This is great when you have the opportunity to participate in the work of a recognized master. He doesn't ask about class, age, or business. He does everything for everyone, everyone, I I think that any kind of art should be like that. "He talked about childhood again (yes, childhood seems to be yesterday in his eyes)": I like 'scent memory', I like its freshness, and it can be based on the user The different and changing characteristics. This perfume reminds me of the summer of childhood. Sitting with friends by the lake, where I grew up, smelling the fragrance of wild flowers ... "Today this Times exactly reflect the poem of Henri Michaux: "Night is not like daylight, it has great flexibility." That is to say, Michele's method is very suitable, even with this kind of abandoning the rules The approach is closely related. "Boundaries are gradually falling, whether in fashion, music festivals, film and television, or the art world ... I do n’t think people are still looking for differences in this category. The line between them is also the subject of creation. People no longer need to be this or that person. I think that people are simply trying to get better. In fashion and other fields, these standards are not as strict as before, which brings Great freedom, exciting. " "Although Michelle doesn't necessarily ask for my opinion, we will show some ideas to each other. It is cool to get opinions from people who are not necessarily in the same field as you, and you respect his work and taste "We noticed a new motivation, perhaps a new way of writing, which came from taking control of our careers. In short, when a seductive carefree and cruelly erodes talent, a serious mentality that a person shows ": writing songs is surfing. You can train as much as you can, and the waves Sometimes it doesn't. But we still need training to get better. It's impossible to sit down one day and think about writing the best song of my life. It takes a lot of effort. "

He worked in a bakery ten years ago, but now he has become the company's bet, the star and the focus of media attention. Whether out of fantasy or fact, he ca n’t help asking such a young man. How to get rid of this cobweb of public opinion. "Becoming famous is something I'm still learning and experiencing. I learn how to filter out what I like and dislike, pick out what can be integrated into the song, and what I don't want to share. Find a balance. Sometimes wondering how people think about this or that lyrics ... it means accepting to show off their fragile side, but at the same time, it makes the whole adventure exciting The reason. "He said. Indeed, when he revealed some clues about the upcoming album, the excitement was obvious, hoping that he could express "a sense of freedom". This feeling is not completely new to some hot idols, especially some like "Elvis Presley, Mick Jagger, Stevie Niks, Janis Joplin Joplin) and Prince ". In contrast to this crowd is Nick Drake, whom he likes to listen to recently. The outstanding singer's music is full and well-crafted, giving people a joy. "When I look at them, I don't know what it is, but it's there. It's a strange thing. They transcend the limits. When it comes to songwriting, McCartney has always had a huge impact on me. I was lucky Some of them are strong, and in my eyes, they have always been awesome. "

He arrived in a special car (with a driver, a small freezer and dark windows), and instead walked to the corner bar for a beer, and the number of people accompanying him decreased. Looking at the back of this millennial superstar, we think again of the teenager wearing an exaggerated cardigan, dreaming of standing out in the TV singer competition. Today, behind him is a gentle fragrance of wildflowers and Sunday lunch.

#harry styles #interviews #l'officiel hommes china #nov2019

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