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seriouslyhooked · 5 years

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The Same Soul (Part 2)

Available on FF Here and AO3 Here. Chapter 1 Here.

Our world AU where Emma and Killian knew each other as teenagers. Killian was sent to spend a summer with family in America. He met foster kid Emma while there. They fell in love but then he was forced back home and she couldn’t take the memories so she ran away, trying her best to move on from the dreams they’d always hoped for. A chance meeting brings them back together years later, and this time nothing and no one will keep them apart. Rated M.

A/N: Hey everyone! So thank you so much for your initial positivity and excitement about the fic. It’s inspired me to engage with this AU in a way I wasn’t planning originally, and I am so excited to keep writing and exploring this story. That being said, I’m delayed in posting because I had actually written a few more chapters of this fic and then my hard drive on my laptop decided to die. I lost the work, but not the commitment to this story or the idea of where things could go next. As such, this is take two of me trying to write this second chapter, and it actually takes place in the past. I want to explore not only the story of Emma and Killian finding each other again, but the story of how they first found each other too. This chapter is from Emma’s POV again, but rest assured we will be getting Killian’s eventually too. So, with that being said, I really hope you enjoy and I would LOVE to hear what you think. Thanks so much for reading!

Twelve Years Earlier

“And that, ladies, is how you make a personal, one-of-a-kind needlepoint pillow!”

The excitement that those words were said with was almost hard to fathom. In all her life, Emma had never met someone who would get so excited about crafting, never mind in a style that was so out dated, but she couldn’t help but smile at Mrs. Hubbard. Their activities director here in the arts and craft barn was a sweet older woman and she was the only person at this camp that Emma felt really cared about any of them. All of the other adults here either looked at camp as a job, or were alumni themselves and thus were convinced that a summer at Camp Pinewood was the most glorious and glamorous thing a girl of sixteen could partake in. It was an elite, invitation only camp, and only the best families in the area could even consider sending their girls here.

That mentality was understandably off-putting to Emma, since she was hardly glamorous by any stretch of the imagination. She was a foster kid, had been since infancy, and in the past sixteen years she’d been in nearly 20 different homes or facilities. When she was still little, it was mostly family placements, and a few had even been promising, allowing Emma to really believe she may someday find a real family to call her own. But they never worked out in the end, and for the past ten years Emma had been relegated to mostly group homes, all of which were noisy and cramped and stressful. The most recent one was the worst she’d been in yet, but it did have one benefit – an eccentric wealthy benefactress who provided a scholarship for any girl with good grades to come out here to Pinewood for the summer.

At first Emma had thought that offer was so stupid. Who would want a scholarship for camp? As a kid in the system there were about a thousand things she needed before she needed a summer trip to one of the richest neighborhoods in the country, but after a few weeks in her boisterous and bustling group home in the heart of the city, Emma was desperate for a summer away from the noise and the active dislike of her fellow lost girls. Emma didn’t fit in with the other foster kids she’d come in contact with, having been written off as uppity even though she wasn’t. At first, some of the girl’s who were staples at her group home had thought to pick on her, but everyone had largely stopped messing with her after Emma responded to a fight with a defensive skill none of them were expecting. She didn’t like to get physical, but Emma could hold her own, and she wasn’t about to let anyone mess with her when she’d done nothing to provoke it. But despite showing that she was strong and capable, the others still iced her out, making sure Emma knew that she was neither wanted nor accepted in any way. She was a certified loner, and though that sad fact seemed to be transferring to this camp too, at least Emma had space and fresh air and some peace and quiet to go along with her loneliness.

Camp Pinewood was, according to everyone both running and attending the camp, the most exclusive summer commitment a girl could have. It ran only during the day, because it seemed that hanging too far in the woods overnight was a line a majority of these girls would never cross, but it boasted all kinds of famous alumni. There were politicians, judges, even a few actresses and other famous faces. But to Emma the exclusive club part felt more than a little out of reach. She highly doubted that her past was going to be completely washed away by rubbing shoulders with a bunch of American heiresses. No one had actually asked about her situation, and she didn’t think any of them realized she was here on scholarship from the woman whose family had originally gifted this town with the land the camp resided on, but they also knew she wasn’t one of them, and there was nothing worse to rich people than a lack of status. Most girls had come here with built in friends and enemies, and while they went about their business, Emma just observed, taking in how foreign a way of life this was before returning each night to her home for the summer – a small bedroom in the staff house at the estate of the woman who’d granted her the scholarship.

Emma still hadn’t met the unconventional old woman who made this summer away possible, and she doubted she would at any point this trip, especially since it seemed no other girl from her group home had ever actually qualified for this scholarship. Emma was the first ever to take them up on their generosity and it showed. There were surprisingly few rules for a sixteen-year-old ward of the state, and very little in the ways of entertainment for one. The housekeeper, Mrs. Dearly, had simply told Emma three things: breakfast was at eight each morning, dinner was at six thirty in the evening, and she was not to have any boys on the property. After that thirty second introduction, Emma had been shown her bedroom and pretty much left to her own devices. She saw Mrs. Dearly at meal times, but the woman was always so busy with running the estate along with her husband, that there was never much in the way of reciprocal conversation. Emma didn’t mind too much though. She’d rather have the distance between them all. It was a hopeless dream to think she could stay here when the summer was over, and if they were nicer it would be harder to keep her guard up from what would undoubtedly be substantial disappointment.

“Now I know what you’re all thinking,” Mrs. Hubbard continued, cutting through Emma’s unhappy thoughts and pulling her back to the activity at hand. “You are wondering who you should give such a thoughtful gift to. Now sure, these pillows are great to keep, and there are any number of people you could gift them too, but a good choice might be a special someone in your life. I know a few of you have boys you’re sweet on, and any good beau would love a pillow like this!”

Emma bit back a wince at the thought of sharing this terrible pillow with anyone. She had absolutely no artistic ability, and while she’d been able to follow the structural instructions well, creating a strong and sturdy pillow, her needlework left a lot to be desired. She’d been trying to make a dog, but if she had to choose a mammal that it looked most like she’d say it was an elephant. Well, an elephant if elephants were kind of weirdly wobbly along the back and had some legs that were longer than the others. Okay, fine, she had, at best, created an amoeba like shape, but still she wouldn’t cut into Mrs. H’s enthusiasm. The woman was so nice that Emma didn’t have the heart to tell her that even if this was a fantastic pillow it would still be weird to give to a guy. Boys her age didn’t want handmade and carefully stitched decorative pieces, and honestly, Emma struggled to think that there had ever been a man in any time or place who would welcome such a gift as a sign of affection.

“Jesus is she crazy?” One of the ruder campers in the back asked in a harsh whisper. Emma made a point not to ruffle feathers, especially in a new place, but there had been a number of times where this girl in particular, Catherine Parker, had tested that strength. “I know she’s practically prehistoric, but she doesn’t really think we’d give these to anyone does she? Talk about delusional.”

“Yeah, totally nutso,” one girl responded.

“Seriously disturbed,” another agreed.

“I don’t even know why she still works here to be honest. I mean I know she’s been here forever, but at some point we’ve got to bury the fossils, you know?”

Emma couldn’t help the eye roll that escaped as she listened to this ridiculously ageist and asinine commentary, but she made sure to let it loose when Mrs. H was looking elsewhere. She didn’t want their instructor to think this was aimed at her or her ideas, because no matter how out there they were, Emma still appreciated them. All of Mrs. Hubbard’s suggestions came from a good place, and Emma would never disrespect that when she knew how rare it was for adults to really try their best to do right by kids their age. Luckily, before her peers could say anything else that Mrs. H might hear, the camp bell rang, alerting them all that this particular class was over and that the day at camp was now done with it. It being Friday, Emma knew that most of these girls were off to extravagant ‘barbecues’ (AKA what rich people called fancy parties as long as they were outside during the summer) or beach-side soirees until Monday came, but Emma would just be hanging around. Maybe she’d take a real walk around the town, or head to the public ocean access (which was still nice, but too pedestrian for the rich girls at this camp apparently), but whatever she ended up doing, Emma knew it would be a solo adventure, just as all of her outings tended to be.

The rest of the girls practically sprinted from the room and to the parking lot where their drivers awaited them. It was a mad scramble to get out of here each day, since no one ever seemed to carpool (honestly, even pitching the idea would probably make Emma a social pariah), but Emma wasn’t in the same rush as them. She’d be walking the back trail to the estate, which was directly adjacent to the camp property. She had no strict curfew and no place to be, and she planned to make her fifteen-minute walk back leisurely and relaxing. Emma wanted to enjoy the summer heat and the sun a little more. This wasn’t a forever place for her, and come the fall when she was headed back to school, she wanted to be sure she’d soaked as much of it in as she could.

“Thanks for the lesson, Mrs. H,” Emma said by way of goodbye, and she was taken aback again by the fact that this woman always appeared shocked when she said thank you. Sure, Emma hadn’t noticed anyone else doing the same when a class ended, despite their ‘good breeding’ and etiquette lessons, but still, it was basic politeness.

“You’re very welcome, my dear. Any fun weekend plans?” Emma shook her head at the question and Mrs. H only offered a smile instead of anything like pity, which Emma appreciated. “Well good things have a way of finding us in their time. I’m sure you’ll enjoy yourself, Emma. See you next week, all right?”

Emma agreed and headed out, finding the path towards her summer quarters with ease, and setting out on the solitary journey. It was quiet out here, but also not at all. The ambient hum of the natural world was so different to anything Emma ever experienced back in the city. The birds, the bugs, and the breeze all played a musical part in their own way as the sun filtered in through the canopy above. This forest was bursting with life, and some smaller animals filtered in and out her path. If she pushed away reality for a little bit, Emma could almost pretend she had a completely different life. Out here, in the mostly untouched woods, she could be part of a totally separate world, one with knights and pirates, kings and queens, or whatever else she wished. This could be a journey through the past or a jaunt into the fairytales she’d secretly loved as a kid. It was the kind of place her imagination could go wild, and after spending so many years just trying to survive, it was amazing to have the space to just dream of new places and new adventures to embark on.

In the midst of these daydreams, however, a noise sounded out in the woods around her that startled Emma. It sounded like something was running in her direction, something big. She heard the crunching the earth below as feet pounded on the ground, and a foreboding rustling through bushes. Emma had very little time to prepare for what it could be, and her first thought was that maybe it was a bear or something. She didn’t think they were very common around these parts, but what did she know? Yet no sooner had she really begun to edge towards panic, than the culprit behind her worry came into the light. It was a dog in the end, granted a really big dog (she hadn’t been so far off with the bear guess in terms of size), but one that was friendly if the wagging tale and huge doggy smile were anything to go off of.

“Hey there, buddy. Aren’t you cute?” Emma asked and this seemed to make the dog even happier. It came lumbering towards her, pressing its head into her side and Emma laughed, crouching down to give the dog some love.

She’d always adored dogs ever since she was a little girl, and though she never spoke these wishes out loud, a dog was absolutely part of her dream for a family and a home. Kids in the system weren’t allowed pets, but Emma knew that they should be given them. Animals could go a long way in making life less lonely. But instead of dwelling on that, Emma just enjoyed this fleeting moment with… she looked at the collar on this big beautiful brown beast, but there was no tag and no name she could read.

“Are you lost, girl?” Emma asked and unwillingly her hope began to rise. Maybe this dog needed a home too, but just as she asked, she heard sharp whistle and a voice sounding out further in the woods.

“Missy! Here, girl!”

“So not lost, just hiding, huh Missy?” The dog barked happily and Emma couldn’t help smiling, even if she was a little sad at the fact that this dog would have to go soon. She was just so cute and affectionate, and Emma was so pulled in that she must have missed the sound of approaching footsteps.

“Oh thank God, you found her. She’s not usually a runner but she took off and…”

The stranger’s words faded away, and Emma turned to look at who had said them. When she did her heart clutched in her chest. Holy cow this guy was cute, and Emma had simply not been expecting it. Her brain hadn’t gone so far as to sketch out what she thought Missy’s owner would look like, but even if it had, she never could have made this. His hair was dark, and he was taller than her and maybe a year or two older. He looked strong and capable, carrying himself with a confidence that was quiet but pronounced, and Emma’s eyes moved across his chest to his arms which were muscled, tone, and tan from the start of summer. As Emma took him in, she couldn’t help thinking he was beautiful and far more handsome than any boy she’d ever met. Hell, maybe she was still dreaming, and this boy wasn’t real at all. He looked like something from the pages of a storybook, a tall, dark, and handsome hero just waiting to swoop in and save the day. But while Emma felt spellbound by this man on the whole, his eyes were the thing she kept coming back to. They were the most striking about him, all intense and blue and almost magical, and currently they were looking at her with this depth of emotion Emma couldn’t understand. For whatever reason he seemed just as taken aback by her as she was of him, but she didn’t get why. Emma knew she was just ordinary, but this guy… well, he made her feel like maybe she was more all along and simply didn’t realize it.

“Uh, hi,” Emma finally said after they’d both been staring for a little longer than they should. “You must be Missy’s owner.”

“Killian, Killian Jones,” he said immediately though she hadn’t intentionally asked him to introduce himself. Then he offered his hand and Emma was surprised. People their age didn’t usually greet one another this way, but she could tell he wasn’t from here. His voice was coated by a delicious sounding accent. British maybe? Emma didn’t know. All she knew was that she liked it. A lot.

“Emma Swan.”

“A beautiful name for a beautiful woman,” he said, and though Emma didn’t detect any malice or artifice when he said that, her walls automatically came up again. Sweet as the words were, it was a total line, and a pretty cheesy one at that. Never mind the fact that it made the butterflies in her stomach go all kinds of crazy to be called beautiful by a boy like him. She didn’t have the time or the inclination to get to know a player, and he was probably a big one based on this game he was throwing her way.

“Right. Well I’m gonna go. See ya, Missy,” she said before pivoting in the direction of the estate.

“Wait!”

The word from Killian was desperate, and it halted Emma in her tracks. She looked back at him and she could see his regret all over his face, and she couldn’t explain why, but she found it really endearing. Maybe it was the fact that he wasn’t ashamed of how much he felt. He was completely open, and Emma found that comforting in ways she never expected. As someone who was so rarely candid with her feelings, Emma saw his bravery in being so and yearned for the courage to be that way too.

“I’m sorry about that, I know that was bad. I mean I meant it, you are beautiful, but I know that’s a corny thing to say and, well, I just don’t usually do this. You know... this,” he said as he waved between them. He must have realized that his hand gesturing wasn’t actually an explanation of what he was thinking so he cursed and then he apologized for cursing before accidentally cursing again.

Emma watched as Killian ran a hand through his hair, mussing it up further while also signaling how flustered he was. At the sight of this nervous tic, Emma found herself smiling, and when he looked completely shocked at that, she couldn’t help but laugh. It was funny after all, because here was this guy who from one look seemed out of her league, but he was bumbling about and falling all over himself over her. Her, Emma Swan! That was just wild, but Emma found she really loved it despite her lingering hesitations.

“You’re not from here, are you Killian?”

“What gave me away?” He asked with a responding grin that made Emma’s pulse quicken.

“You mean aside from the accent and the handshake?” she joked and he nodded. “I can just tell. You’re not as put together as the people here.”

He looked stricken for a moment and Emma rushed to clarify. “I didn’t mean it like that. Not in a bad way, it’s just I spend all day at this camp with girls who are so concerned with how they look and how they act, and you’re different. It’s refreshing, I think.”

“You think?”

“Well the jury is still out after that line you laid on me.”

“God that was bad. I’ll never live that down, will I?” he asked, but Emma could sense the humor in his words as he groaned at his own badly coordinated introductions.

“Do you want to?” She asked, genuinely curious.

“Yes,” he replied seriously. “If given the chance, I would very much like to make it up to you, Emma.”

“Okay, then prove it.”

So he did. Over the next hour or so, Killian rose to the challenge as they walked together on different paths through the woods, and Emma couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so much in her life. It turned out Killian was really charming and witty, along with being distractingly handsome, and when he wasn’t so overwhelmed with first meeting someone, he was so naturally himself. It amazed Emma how comfortable they became with each other in such a short amount of time, just talking and playing with Missy when she demanded it, but Emma realized part of the wonder of all of this was because she’d been craving this kind of connection for so long. She’d never had a friend, at least not a really good one, and though she was certainly attracted to Killian, she had to admit that she also liked him for more than his looks. He had a great sense of humor, and they sparred verbally more than once, making Emma feel not only like someone understood her, but that they really saw who she was when so few people ever had.

“I hope you won’t think this is a line, Emma,” Killian said after they’d had a solid laugh at a story Killian told her about him and his brother getting in trouble when they were kids. “But I have to say that even though we’ve only just met, I feel like I’ve known you a long time.”

“It’s like we’re kindred spirits,” Emma said in agreement, quoting one of her favorite stories and then realizing Killian probably didn’t get the reference. “It’s from a book -,”

“Aye, Anne of Green Gables,” Killian filled in and Emma was surprised, and her shock only seemed to amuse Killian. “My Mum read it to us when we were kids. It was one of her favorites.”

A quiet moment fell between them, and though Killian didn’t say anything else, Emma could tell that conversation about his mother was in some ways painful to him. Emma would never pry, but she found that she really wanted to know what it was that Killian was going through. If she could help in any way she would, but she didn’t want to push him. Emma knew first-hand how hard it was to talk about the scars that she carried, and nothing hurt worse than being forced to revisit bad times because someone else demanded it.

They sat there quietly for a little bit, and though Emma kept expecting an awkwardness to descend upon them, it never came. It was nice to have someone there, even if they weren’t talking, and Emma hoped Killian felt the same way. He said as much a few minutes later, and Emma was thrilled to know that he agreed with her assessment, but unfortunately she couldn’t linger in this new found connection for much longer. The sun was starting to sink lower in the sky, and soon enough it would be dinner time at the estate. She didn’t really know what would happen if she missed the meal, but she thought it best not to find out, especially so early in the summer.

When she broke the sad news that she should be heading back, Killian offered to walk her, and though she told him he didn’t have to, Emma didn’t fight him when he insisted. His determination to see her home safely made her feel special and important, and Emma knew that despite a bumpy first impression, Killian was a really remarkable person. No one had ever been this thoughtful towards her or had shown her this kind of attention, and instead of running like she normally would when someone tried to get close to her, she decided to give Killian a chance, no matter what hurt may come of it in the future. The only problem was that their walk back was over too soon, and Emma found herself wishing she had some way to make this moment last longer or to ensure that they could somehow see each other again.

By the time they arrived at the gate outside the staff house, Emma was still struggling to find something to say. From here she could see the window to her room and the many others in this large house. But ultimately her hands were tied. She couldn’t invite Killian in; that was like the one rule here, and it was one she couldn’t break and expect to stay. She also couldn’t ask him for his number because she didn’t have a phone and she was terrified he’d ask her why, prompting her to have to tell him about who she really was and what her life was really like. Damn it! Why did this have to be so hard?

“What’s your opinion on fairs?” Killian asked randomly, and Emma raised a brow even while the corners of her mouth began to curl upwards.

“Fairs? Like with the games and fried food and Ferris wheels?” She asked and he nodded. “Well I don’t know, really. I’ve never actually been to one.”

“Never?” he asked, but before Emma could grow uncomfortable with her admission he pivoted, as if he could read her discomfort and wanted to ease it. “Well I haven’t been to one in a long time, and never in the States. But I was walking around town earlier, and I heard some people talking about one that will be here this weekend. I thought maybe you’d like to go.”

“With you?” Emma asked and Killian cleared his throat before nodding.

“Aye, with me,” he said and Emma nearly sighed at the way his words washed over her with that dreamy accent of his. Still, she took a moment to consider.

This felt like a really big deal. Emma was so used to being alone and she’d built up defenses against other people so that she didn’t get attached. Seeing Killian again would put those boundaries up at risk, but even now Emma knew he’d made an impact. In fact, he’d created such a good memory in her life just from their meeting today that she didn’t think she’d ever forget him. And as for her instincts, which she had always trusted, they were screaming at her to say yes, because if she didn’t she’d always wonder what-if, and she didn’t want to wonder. For once, Emma wanted to know what it was like to invest in someone else, and to live a little instead of just surviving, and she felt like Killian was a person she could trust enough to try and do so.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

His responding smile was so bright and animated that Emma almost couldn’t take it. She tried shifting her stance a bit to try and cover up some of her own excitement, but Missy had crept up on her while Killian had been asking about the fair, and in order to avoid stepping on her paws, Emma jolted the other way. Unfortunately, Emma’s sense of coordination caught up with her actions too late, and she stumbled more than a little bit. It would have been mortifying, but Killian’s hands came to steady her, pulling her towards him as they did, and Emma felt warmth and electricity springing through her. Her eyes flew up to his and she saw the undeniable look of yearning in his cerulean gaze, and without any words said between them she knew that he felt this too. He was just as affected by this as she was, and it felt like magic. She swallowed harshly, barely breathing, but not daring to move at the risk of breaking the spell that swirled around them.

“Careful, love,” Killian whispered with a gentle sweetness and a hint of swagger that left his blue eyes sparkling. “We’ve a date tomorrow, and I need you in top shape. It would be a shame to miss anything when it’ll be your first time.”

“So it is a date?” Emma blurted out.

She felt her cheeks flush when she realized what she’d asked aloud, but Killian only smiled before he boldly brought his hand up to brush against the place where her blush colored her freckled skin. His fingertips lingered for only a few seconds before curling a lock of her hair that had escaped her ponytail behind her ear. Emma shivered at the gentle caress, and her lips parted ever so slightly. Jesus, how was this possible? Sometimes he was flustered and a little clumsy in his manners, but Killian could also be this composed and seriously sexy figure. She felt like her heart would fly straight out of her chest it was hammering so harshly, but he was totally in control and confident almost to a cocky degree. It was maddening and dizzying, but also filled Emma with a thrill that she adored and wanted more of.

“Aye, love. It’s a date. Can I pick you up here, say seven o’clock?”

Emma nodded, and though words failed her for a moment, she knew her smile must say it all to him so clearly. She was excited, more excited than she had ever been, and that outweighed all the nerves she had from this being an actual date. She’d never actually been on a date before and she was terrified in some ways. But for whatever reason, she knew that it was worth facing the fear. Whatever happened, Killian would see her through, and though it defied rationality and logic, Emma held close to that fact she just knew to be true.

“I guess I should go in,” Emma hedged and though she could see the little flecks of regret in his eyes, Killian nodded. He stepped back, removing his hands from her body and leaving her missing the sensation of having his skin on hers. “See you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow,” he agreed, and Emma smiled, delighted at the promise at all that was to come.

As she walked back to her summer home, Emma appreciated that neither of them actually said the word “goodbye,” because she hated to think this was over. In her lifetime, Emma had experienced too many goodbyes. People always seemed to leave her, and though she’d largely hardened herself from the pain of those farewells, Emma didn’t think it would be so easy with someone like Killian. He sparked something in her, something that had been dormant for maybe all her life, and if he left she worried that spark would leave with him. Even as she headed through the wrought iron gate and towards the house, Emma wished they didn’t need to wait until tomorrow to be together again, and she couldn’t help pausing at the door and stealing another look at him. He was still there with Missy, as she knew he would be, waiting to see her safely inside, his gaze never having left her though he could have already headed home. In that moment, Emma knew he was choosing her, putting her first, and making her feel like she was the most precious thing to him. That was huge and heavy for having just met someone, but Killian was right before – it didn’t feel like they’d only just connected. To Emma it felt like this was always meant to be, and like she’d been unknowingly waiting for this all her short but lonely life.

Post-Note: So there we have it. As I mentioned, I had actually written a version of this chapter before and I am so bummed that I lost it when my computer glitched out. But that being said, I feel like this version still accomplishes what I wanted. I really wanted you all to see what Emma’s life has been like and what her situation is before meeting Killian, because it will certainly change now that fate has brought them together. That being said, next chapter will definitely be from Killian’s POV so we can get some of his story too. Not sure when that will be posted, but doing my best to keep my muse chatty and engaged. Anyway, thanks so much for reading and I hope you’ll all let me know what you think!!

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arcaneranger · 5 years

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Final Thoughts - Fall 2018

This season dragged on me a lot, and I attribute that mostly to the fact that I moved right at the end and it put me way behind schedule, but also because a number of shows looked like they were going to really go the distance and wound up with one big disappointment or another.

That’s not to say that there weren’t gems - in fact there were a few - but this was yet another season where my “Hall of Fame” looked woefully light. That being said, I’d really like to get this over with since I have other shows to finish and three more lists to make for the year, so as usual, let’s start with the stuff I skipped entirely:

* Tokyo Ghoul re: Second Season & Gurazeni Season 2 because I didn’t watch either of their previous seasons.

* Senran Kagura Shinovi Master because Senran Kagura as a property is built entirely on half-naked girls with big boobs and that’s not going to jive with me.

Wow, that’s really it? Fall was the beginning of a lot of shows that won’t be finished until sometime in 2019, so the other shows I skipped will appear next year on the Multi-Cour list. So, moving right along, from bottom to top...

DROPPED

* WORST OF THE SEASON: TIE

UZAMAID!, My Sister My Writer (1/10)

We did have multiple entries into the Hall of Shame this season, with not one but two shows being offensive enough that they landed a 1/10 score from me, for an easily identifiable and familiar reason: actively glorifying pedophilia! That was pretty much UZAMAID!’s biggest problem, but My Sister My Writer aged up the target character in exchange for recycling the plots of OreImo and Eromanga Sensei, with all of the bullshit and none of the production values. Happy Sugar Life has even further convinced me that there is absolutely no excuse for this garbage anymore.

* Conception (2/10)

A video game adaptation that strips away the actual gameplay elements and focuses entirely on the main character figuratively fucking a lot of fantasy women to make world-saving babies, and it doesn’t even have the courtesy to look like it cost more than $5 to make.

* Ulysses: Jeanne D’arc and the Alchemist Knight (3/10)

I didn’t get far enough into this one to get to the real garbage (I’ve heard it’s another show I should probably throw in with the worst of the season) but the very first episode bored me to tears with its rote anime nonsense. I’m pretty well convinced that the only way I could ever find a Joan of Arc anime interesting is if it were an adaptation of the Level 5 PSP game.

* Between the Sky and Sea (3/10)

I can’t deconstruct this any better than Mother’s Basement did but it is just the most asinine thing I was subjected to for the whole season. Cute girls don’t fix a terminally stupid concept like “all the fish have moved into space and so now we train teenage girls to be astronaut fishers”.

* Bakumatsu (3/10)

I dropped this one an entire point from when I first reviewed it simply because I had entirely forgotten it even existed and cannot remember a single thing about it except that it was generic.

* As Miss Beelzebub Likes It (4/10)

I found this one’s first episode to be cute but entirely devoid of substance. Also, the poster still hurts my eyes to look at.

* DAKAICHI -I’m being harassed by the sexiest man of the year- (4/10) & Bloom Into You (4/10)

Proof that actual gay people just cannot have nice things, the most explicitly LGBT shows to be made in a while both suffer from the same problem: a supposedly sympathetic character having no ability to take “no” for an answer. True fact: not all gay relationships start with rape, and this is the kind of entertainment that fosters young people into not knowing how consent works.

* ReRideD: Derrida Who Leaps Through Time (4/10)

I guess everybody else saw this one coming before I did? It was the first post-premiere show I dropped because I thought the first episode showed an interesting setup, and the following episodes just completely abandoned the apocalyptic setting very quickly to show that society was pretty much fine, there were just robots roaming the earth like random D&D encounters. Man, sci-fi cannot catch a break these days.

* Ms. vampire who lives in my neighborhood. (5/10)

I can see why this might appeal to some but it’s basically just a low-rent Miss Kobayashi’s Maid Dragon and I wasn’t feeling especially charitable towards it.

* Double Decker! Doug & Kirill (5/10)

I really thought this one could get to be more interesting, but it failed to really commit to being either anime’s Brooklyn 99 (which, for the record, we have, it’s Blood Blockade Battlefront season 2) or being a serious tale about the dangers of Tide Po-I mean, drug usage, and wound up just being an uninteresting thud.

* The Girl in the Twilight (5/10)

This one really could have made it if only it had taken things a little more seriously and not made me wonder why the cast are even friends as they seem to have nothing in common. I can’t believe that the creator of this project was the guy who wrote the script for Punch Line, one of the greatest shows I’ve ever seen.

* Tsurune (6/10)

I literally just finished my write-up for this, but I do not understand why the same company would make both this and a continuation of Free! airing in back-to-back seasons, it just makes this one look like a copycat even if it’s not a bad show.

UNSCORED

* Gakuen Basara: Samurai High School because I’m not familiar with the source material and that seems to be the barrier for enjoyment here.

SPECIAL

* Anima Yell! (6/10)

If you need a reminder, I dropped Anima Yell after the first episode because even though I enjoyed it, I found it too similar to Comic Girls and didn’t particularly want to go through the effort of finishing a show I was already pretty ready to score, even if it was going to be a positive one. I simply didn’t have time.

FINISHED (Note that Tumblr has completely broken and I’ve had to re-edit this portion a dozen times because it keeps randomly bolding paragraphs and losing GIFs, so if anything got lost here, I’m very sorry but there’s nothing I can do about it.)

* Boarding School Juliet (7/10)

A pleasant little romantic comedy that wasn’t what I was expecting from the first episode but was charming nevertheless. Would have been better without the involvement of attempted rape on school grounds in the premiere though. * Release the Spyce (7/10)

A thrilling and surprisingly brutal little spy show that wound up being overshadowed by better shows with similar concepts but was a fun watch nonetheless, even if it dragged in the middle.

* Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai (8/10)

I stand by what I said before - this one would have easily scored higher with a better ending, but Bunny Girl Senpai is certainly the most approachable show of its genre and its strengths as a romance are not to be understated.

* Zombieland Saga (8/10)

Another Very Good show that could have been better with one simple change - it’s hilarious and very well-written, but those performance sequences are just awful to look at and the heavier focus on them towards the end did not help.

* Iroduku: The World in Colors (8/10)

A stunning treasure that needed a little more character work for the writing to really impress me, but with a very satisfying ending and a ton of visual creativity.

* Skull-face Bookseller Honda-san (9/10)

A fucking hysterical show scientifically grown in a lab to appeal to me, Honda-san could have been the new INFERNO COP, SAVIOR OF ANIME if more people had given it a chance.

* BEST OF THE SEASON: SSSS.Gridman (9/10)

I don’t know what else to say other than that this is easily the most criminally underappreciated show of the year. A lot of people seemed to be turned off by giant robots fighting kaiju, and those people are dumb.

And that was Fall! I’ve got a few Netflix shows left and I have to finish Classicaloid 2, and then I’ll be all done with 2018, so get ready, I’ve got a few more lists on the way!

#arcaneanime #seasonal review #fall 2018

0 notes

douchebagbrainwaves · 5 years

Text

WHAT NO ONE UNDERSTANDS ABOUT TOUCH

I thought it might be interesting to try and write down what made Java seem suspect to me. But in at least some cases the reason the best PR firms are so effective is precisely that they aren't dishonest. If you're a nerd, and an investors' opinion of you is the opinion of other investors. This is a list of people who've influenced me, not people who would have if I understood their work. So I've seen a good part of the mechanism of popularity. And bingo, there it is: The Men's Wearhouse was at that moment running ads saying The Suit is Back. After spending years chasing them, it's now second nature to me to recognize press hits for what they are. You mean she doesn't know the kind of things that matter in the real world, it's generally for some common purpose, and the first cars.

We were already thinking about the kind of problems that have to be especially awkward to look awkward by comparison. Really they ought to be out there digging up stories for themselves. Most CEOs delegate taste to a subordinate.1 In fact, horrible far out of proportion to the value of Nasdaq companies in two years?2 They do it too consistently. The urge to look corporate—sleek, commanding, prudent, yet with just a touch of hubris on your well-cut sleeve—is an unexpected development in a time of business disgrace. John Bautista, Pete Koomen, Jessica Livingston, and Jackie Weicker for reading drafts of this essay, and Maria Daniels for scanning photos.

This one just happens to be controlled by a giant company.3 The reason startups have been using more convertible notes in angel rounds is that they make deals close faster. Probably the best we'll do is some kind of dreamer who sketched artists' conceptions of rocket ships on the side. You never understand other people's code as well as Newton, for their time, but the most I've ever been able to manage is about 18, and I feel as if someone snuck a television onto my desk. The specific argument, or one of them: a list of the n most admirable people. Why call an auction site eBay? It's all-encompassing redesigns. I'm uncomfortably aware that this is why poor whites in the United States are the group most hostile to blacks.

It's not because they're irresponsible that they work in long binges during which they blow off all other obligations, plunge straight into programming instead of writing specs first, and rewrite code that already works. In general, people outside some very demanding field don't realize the extent to which success depends on constant though often unconscious effort. Ok, I better work then.4 I was more in the nerd camp, but I wouldn't describe them as intellectually curious. Historically, languages designed for large organizations PL/I, Ada have lost, while hacker languages C, Perl have won. How can they get off that trajectory?5 They only just decided what to use, so why wouldn't they? The general argument is that new forms of communication always do. What you want is to increase the actual value of the company, not its market cap, Yahoo was still worth a lot.6 To do really great things, you have to get the first commitment, because much of the difficulty comes from this external force. The thing is, he'd know enough not to care what they thought.7

Reporters like definitive statements.8 Informal language is the athletic clothing of ideas. Real estate is still more expensive than just about anywhere else in the country.9 While the book seemed entirely believable, I didn't have much more experience of the world than producing something beautiful.10 If anything oversensitive. But reading Austen is like reading nonfiction. And that's what programs are: ideas. The least popular group is quite small.11 Kids are sent off to spend six years memorizing meaningless facts in a world ruled by a caste of giants who run after an oblong brown ball, as if it were part of the indictment.

So the language is likely to make your life difficult. There are always great ideas sitting right under our noses. Java in the press sounded a lot more definite.12 As with an actual gold mine, you still have to work hard to get the company to the point where it's like visual crack.13 I've read a lot of protocols for doing things.14 We made software for building online stores. You want above all to survive. When Yahoo was thinking of buying us, we had a meeting with Jerry Yang in New York. And most importantly, their status depends on how well they do against opponents, not on whether they can push the other down. And yet the authorities still for the most part act as if drugs were themselves the cause of so many present ills: specialization.15 Though notoriously lacking in social skills, he gets the right answers. But in at least some of the time we were all, students and teachers both, just going through the motions.16

When I talk to a startup that's been operating for more than 8 or 9 months, the first step is to realize there's a problem. When groups of adults form in the real world, nerds collect in certain places and form their own societies where intelligence is the most important thing was to stay on the premises. It was when I'd finished one project and was deciding what to do by asking what they'd do in the same situation. Or to put it more dramatically, ordinary programmers working in typical office conditions never really understand the problem. Apple was able to sell enough of them to get the same price. Chesterfield described dirt as matter out of place as an elementary school teacher, and I feel as if I have by now learned to understand everything publishers mean to tell me about a book, and perhaps a bit more. Because PR firms tell them to. Einstein was really as smart as them. I had a few other teachers who were smart, but I have a separate note with a different cap for each investor. It's not a question that makes sense to ask early on, any more than it makes sense to ask a 3 year old how he plans to support himself.

Suburbs are deliberately designed to exclude the outside world, because it changes too fast for that to be possible. Eventually everyone will learn by word of mouth. Mihalko was mine. Real standards don't have to look any further to explain why teenage kids are tormented. Most people who write about art history, Civilisation is the one I'd recommend.17 If you pay them to.18 Wow. Novels seem so impoverished compared to history and biography.19 I doubt PR firms realize it yet, but the way one anticipates a delicious dinner. Boston.20 This is the tone of someone writing down to their audience.

Notes

The set of plausible sounding startup ideas is many times have you heard a retailer claim that companies like Google and Facebook are driven by money—for example, if you repair a machine that's broken because a part has come is Secretary of State and the cost of writing software. With a classic fixed sized round, that probably doesn't make A more powerful sororities at your school, the approval of an extensive biography, and many of the big winners are all about hitting outliers, are available only to your brain that you're small and then using growth rate has to split hairs that fine about whether a suit would violate the patent pledge, it's a collection of qualities helps people make the kind that prevents you from starving.

So for example, probably did more drugs in his early twenties. Google was in his early twenties.

I can't safely omit any type I startups. Doh. This is everyday life in general we've done ok at fundraising, because those are writeoffs from the Dutch not to need common sense when interpreting it. If big companies can even be conscious of this essay, I can't tell if it means a big company CEOs in 2002 was 3.

When we work with me there. I couldn't think of the first type, and some just want that first few million. What happens in practice money raised as convertible debt at a 15 million valuation cap.

Basically, the more effort you expend on you after the first phase of the statistics they consider are useful, how could I get attacked a lot about some disease they'll see once in their early twenties. What I dislike is editing done after the fact that you're not doing YC mainly for financial reasons, including principal and venture partner. No doubt there are no false negatives. The best technique I've found for dealing with recent art, they don't.

At Princeton, 36% of the whole.

One of the web. If the rich. Proceedings of 2003 Spam Conference. What if a company in Germany, where there were some good ideas in the field they describe.

On Bullshit, Princeton University Press, 2006. But that turned out to be something of an extensive biography, and indeed the venture business, and try selling it. The state of technology. But in a certain size it gets you growth, because any VC would think Y Combinator.

They don't know who invented something the mainstream media needs to, but had instead evolved from different types of startup people in any era if people can see the old one was drilling for oil, which parents would still send their kids rather than for any particular truths you'll learn. A related problem that I see a lot of problems, but when people in return for something that would help Web-based applications. As Anthony Badger wrote, If it failed it failed it failed it failed. Foster, Richard, Life of Isaac Newton, p.

The New Industrial State to trying to sell, or one near the edge case where something spreads rapidly but the number of restaurants that still requires jackets: The Civil Service Examinations of Imperial China, during the 2002-03 season was 2. In technology, companies building lightweight clients have usually tried to unload it on buyer after buyer.

It's hard to grasp this than we realize, because they insist you dilute yourselves to set aside a chunk of this type is the proper test of success. Only a fraction of VCs even have positive returns. The brand of an investment. It may be useful here, the top startup law firms are Wilson Sonsini, Orrick, Fenwick West, Gunderson Dettmer, and this tends to be vigorously enforced.

None at all.

Everything is a bit more complicated, because the arrival of your identity. This law does not appear to be very unhealthy. Robert were each in turn is why I haven't released Arc.

Creative Destruction Whips through Corporate America. I worry we may be a trivial enhancement of HTTP, to pretend that the meaning of the Dead was shot there. But the solution is not one of the Garter and given the freedom to experiment in disastrous ways, but I realize this sounds to him? Japanese.

Revenue will ultimately be a variant of the resulting sequence.

Apparently someone believed you have the perfect point to spread the story a bit. Part of the causes of the problem.

In high school football game that will be big successes but who are both genuinely formidable, and also what we'd call random facts, like warehouses. A from a company's revenues as the cause.

No one in its IRC channel: don't allow duplicates in the belief that they'll only invest contingently on other sites. When you're starting a business is to start or join startups. But you can't tell what the US.

But you can't easily get a personal introduction—and in some ways First Round excluded their most successful startups looked when they buy some startups and not be to say that hapless meant unlucky. More precisely, this phenomenon myself: hotel unions are responsible for more than whatever collection of stuff to be on the wrong algorithm for generating their frontpage. Earlier versions used a technicality to get fossilized. There are two ways to get kids into better colleges, I can't refer a startup.

Ed. And in any field. I'm not saying, incidentally; it's not uncommon for startups that seem to lose elections. After lunch we went to Europe.

Thanks to Trevor Blackwell, Dan Giffin, Jeff Clavier, Alex Lewin, and Patrick Collison for the lulz.

0 notes

lucykimbow · 6 years

Text

These Parents Are Here To Show The Positive Sides Of Raising Kids With Autism

Children with autism spectrum disorders face many challenges navigating life as they grow up, but we shouldn’t forget that their parents face many difficulties as well. Parents of autistic children sometimes admit that the challenges of autism can create an overwhelming and often isolating experience, as other people fail to fully understand exactly what they’re going through. But many parents have found an outlet through social media, to seek and offer their support while advocating for autism awareness. You’re about to meet some amazing families and hear all about their journeys with autism.

This Mom And Son Gave A TEDx Talk About Their Journey

Photo: @benjitalk / Instagram

This is Debby and her son Benji, who was diagnosed with autism when he was three years old. Debby has shared her and Benji’s experience on their blog, Benji Talks. Benji did not speak at the time and the doctors told Debby that they worried he might not ever gain that ability.

_WF.postContent={"pages":{"1":{"position":1,"url":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/these-parents-are-here-to-show-the-positive-sides-of-raising-kids-with-autism\/1\/","content":"

This Mom And Son Gave A TEDx Talk About Their Journey\n\n

Photo: @benjitalk \/ Instagram\n

This is Debby and her son Benji, who was diagnosed with autism when he was three years old. Debby has shared her and Benji's experience on their blog, Benji Talks. Benji did not speak at the time and the doctors told Debby that they worried he might not ever gain that ability.\n

But many years later, Benji is a teenager on the cusp of entering high school. He is very talented with the ability to play multiple instruments and has an uncanny memory for major roadways in the United States. In 2017, Benji even gave a TEDx talk and shared his experiences growing up with autism.\n"},"2":{"position":2,"url":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/these-parents-are-here-to-show-the-positive-sides-of-raising-kids-with-autism\/2\/","content":"\n

Benji Inspires Other Families To Never Give Up\n\n

Photo: @benjitalk \/ Instagram\n

Benji is one of many autistic kids who overcome the challenges that come with ASD. 2017 was an especially big year because Benji had his Bar Mitzvah ceremony. While Debby offered a low-key celebration, Benji asked her, \"I have climbed some seriously big mountains, don't you think I deserve a traditional Bar Mitzvah?\" He then went on to impress a room of 250 people in leading the service entirely by himself.\n

Debby writes, \"So maybe if you are told that your child will never be able to speak, learn or socialize, think of Benji and have hope.\" Benji has even taken over writing the blog himself.\n"},"3":{"position":3,"url":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/these-parents-are-here-to-show-the-positive-sides-of-raising-kids-with-autism\/3\/","content":"\n

This Mom Has Learned A Lot From Her Son\n\n

Photo: @iamemmykate \/ Instagram\n

Emmy is a mother of two, whose son Boston has autism. Despite the challenges of being a mother of two young children, let alone grappling with the challenges of autism, Emmy shares with her followers that she wouldn't trade her children for anything in the world.\n

One thing that's consistent among all parents of autistic children is the unconditional love and support that they feel towards their children. Parenting young children is difficult enough, but the added challenge of autism can make things that much harder. It's okay for these parents to admit that, especially when they have a strong community online to support each other.\n"},"4":{"position":4,"url":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/these-parents-are-here-to-show-the-positive-sides-of-raising-kids-with-autism\/4\/","content":"\n

Her Son Has Helped Her Be More Understanding\n\n

Photo: @iamemmykate \/ Instagram\n

Emmy shared this photo of her son Boston after a difficult day of trying to get to the hospital for his sister's doctor appointment. It proved especially overwhelming due to the number of people that were around, but thankfully an understanding passerby noticed he was having a difficult time and helped Emmy and her kids get where they needed to go.\n

On World Autism Day, Emmy wrote, \"It\u2019s about little lives, it\u2019s about learning, teaching, understanding, it\u2019s about embracing different but most of all it\u2019s about acceptance, love and humanity... Thank you Boston, for teaching me what true love is, what true compassion is, what true understanding is.\"\n"},"5":{"position":5,"url":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/these-parents-are-here-to-show-the-positive-sides-of-raising-kids-with-autism\/5\/","content":"\n

Kids With Autism Are Still Like Any Other Kids Their Age\n\n

Photo: @ablefinder \/ Instagram\n

Four-year-old Laurence was featured on Able Finder, which is a site that shares the stories of other differently abled peoples all over the world. In addition to autism, Laurence was born with a malformation on his left eye which exacerbates the developmental challenges faced with autism. Despite this, Laurence's mother Fern shares that he is still like any other boy his age.\n

\"He is always full of fun and loves to be outdoors. He has a real passion for Lego and wants to build the kits as independently as possible. He also loves to bake, would happily do so every day and his particular favourite is chocolate brownies,\u201d Fern tells Able Finder.\n"},"6":{"position":6,"url":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/these-parents-are-here-to-show-the-positive-sides-of-raising-kids-with-autism\/6\/","content":"\n

This Mom Says The Bad Days Are Why We Need To Raise Awareness\n\n

Photo: @fvs_life \/ Instagram\n

World Autism Awareness Day is on the first day of April, and it kicks off Autism Awareness Month. Autism supporters all over the world wear blue to advocate for autism awareness. Fern shares this photo of Laurence sporting blue attire in honor of the day but discloses that it was from the previous year.\n

Fern writes, \"[Unfortunately], it was a bad (autism) day for us, lots of worries, tears and meltdowns but this is why we need to share this.. to help raise awareness and understanding of what Autism is and means for us. \"\n"},"7":{"position":7,"url":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/these-parents-are-here-to-show-the-positive-sides-of-raising-kids-with-autism\/7\/","content":"\n

This Single Mom Didn't Know What To Do\n\n

Photo: @andthispotato \/ Instagram\n

This is Nicole and her son, Levi. Nicole started her blog And This Potato to foster a community from which to offer and receive support from others who share similar experiences in raising a child with ASD.\n

Nicole writes on her blog, \"When Levi was diagnosed at 2 1\/2 with nonverbal autism I felt lost and afraid of what the future might hold. It felt like navigating through unknown territory alone. Autism had never touched my family or friends so I threw myself at the mercy of the All-Knowing Google and Facebook support groups... I found myself in the winter of 2016 as a struggling single mother of a special needs child.\"\n"},"8":{"position":8,"url":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/these-parents-are-here-to-show-the-positive-sides-of-raising-kids-with-autism\/8\/","content":"\n

She Had Misconceptions About Autism\n\n

Photo: @andthispotato \/ Instagram\n

Nicole is also a single parent, so her journey in raising Levi is certainly not easy. This was another reason she decided to start her blog and communicate with other parents going through the same struggles.\n

Nicole writes, \"[Before] Levi, I had no idea what autism really was. I thought autism was a behavioral disorder. I thought parents used autism as an excuse to not vaccinate their children. Wow-- I was so wrong! I acknowledge I was severely misinformed about autism. I choose to remember what I used to think about autism... so if I get a dirty look or comment from someone because of Levi, I know that they're probably just misinformed like I was.\"\n"},"9":{"position":9,"url":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/these-parents-are-here-to-show-the-positive-sides-of-raising-kids-with-autism\/9\/","content":"\n

Every Little Step Counts\n\n

Photo: @andthispotato \/ Instagram\n

What may seem like a small step for most people is actually a big leap for someone with autism. Nicole shares that Levi's auditory sensory issues were so bad that attempts to impart 'listening therapy' led to a huge meltdown. Eventually, something amazing happened when Nicole tried new headphones hooked up to a DVD player for Levi.\n

\"I put on Cars and put the headphones on his head, expecting him to just throw them off and be done with them in an instant. It's been 10 minutes and their [sic] still on. This is HUGE! This opens the door to many, many things. I'm so proud,\" she shared.\n"},"10":{"position":10,"url":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/these-parents-are-here-to-show-the-positive-sides-of-raising-kids-with-autism\/10\/","content":"\n

Let Them Be Little\n\n

Photo: @andthispotato \/ Instagram\n

Nicole and Levi are certainly on this journey together. Because Levi is still pre-kindergarten age Nicole also gets to experience the joy of raising a boy, apart from the challenges they both face because of ASD.\n

With this photo, she shared, \"He's covered in dirt but having a blast. Good days are hard to come by in January and we only have hours before the rain. It's taking me a lot not to stop him. The mother and girl in me is like 'Eww, you're so dirty. Stop!' But he's so happy. Boys and dirt go hand-in-hand. Who am I to stop love?\"\n

The next mother and son also know a little thing or two about progress...\n"},"11":{"position":11,"url":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/these-parents-are-here-to-show-the-positive-sides-of-raising-kids-with-autism\/11\/","content":"\n

Different, But Not Less\n\n

Photo: @ablefinder \/ Instagram\n

Ethan is a boy from Texas who is growing up with autism. His mother is behind his Instagram account where she shares moments from Ethan's autism journey.\n

His mother tells Able Finder, \"I wouldn't have my son any other way. Without all the things that Ethan is judged for, I wouldn't have Ethan at all. He is bright like the sky, LOVES his cars and anything with wheels really. He's caring, loving, happy and so brave. Ethan is Ethan and I will always be there for him. I will always be his advocate, best friend, and loving mom. My son has autism, it makes him different but by no means less.\"\n"},"12":{"position":12,"url":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/these-parents-are-here-to-show-the-positive-sides-of-raising-kids-with-autism\/12\/","content":"\n

Progress Takes Time\n\n

Photo: @ethans_adventures \/ Instagram\n

On Instagram, Ethan's mother shared a video of him in which he opens a gift, giddily marveling at what's inside. He even says a few sentences. Another mother asked her when Ethan started to talk since her own two-year-old is still nonverbal.\n

Ethan's mother replied, \"[Ethan] started putting two-three words together a few months ago. So very recent. We are still working on it sometimes he doesn\u2019t know how to associate words with meanings. He\u2019ll get there trust me. My son was also that 2,3,4,5 yr old non-verbal.. but look at him now... Progress is amazing.\"\n"},"13":{"position":13,"url":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/these-parents-are-here-to-show-the-positive-sides-of-raising-kids-with-autism\/13\/","content":"\n

There Are Good Days And Bad Days\n\n

Photo: @ethans_adventures \/ Instagram\n

Ethan's mother uses the account to advocate for autism awareness, sharing that despite the milestones and moments of progress, it isn't always easy. Despite the judgments she and Ethan get from passersby, she keeps her head held high.\n

\"I am an Autism mom, we have good days, we have bad days and days we try to forget. I watch my child struggle on a daily basis. I watch him trying to work with the world around him, it hurts. I hate seeing him struggle so much, it hurts that a lot of the time we get unnecessary looks. Some people just lack understanding of what Autism is... So please be kind, because he can\u2019t control the way he is,\" Ethan's mom once shared.\n"},"14":{"position":14,"url":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/these-parents-are-here-to-show-the-positive-sides-of-raising-kids-with-autism\/14\/","content":"\n

The Tough Days Make You Stronger\n\n

Photo: @ethans_adventures \/ Instagram\n

Ethan's mother says it's okay to admit when things are hard. With this picture, she shared the following:\n

\"I rarely post about the days where autism isn\u2019t good to us. I try to keep it as uplifting and supporting as possible... It\u2019s okay to talk about the ugly days because speaking the raw truth about parenting a special needs child, will bring people more understanding and we would have less judgment..... Parenthood isn\u2019t always sunshine and giggles. Sometimes is depression, meltdowns, tears, and anger. This is for those mamas going through hard times. Remember the struggle you\u2019re in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow.\"\n

The next mom acknowledges she couldn't have done it without the strong support team behind her.\n"},"15":{"position":15,"url":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/these-parents-are-here-to-show-the-positive-sides-of-raising-kids-with-autism\/15\/","content":"\n

This Mom Is Thankful For Her Son's Loving Sister\n\n

Photo: @keepingupwithkaedyn \/ Instagram\n

Kortney is a mother of two whose oldest, seven-year-old Kaedyn, has autism. Kortney has shared how grateful she is to her daughter and Kaedyn's younger sister, Brookelynn, who continually displays unconditional love and support despite the strain autism might place on her relationship with her brother.\n

Kortney writes, \"She helps in so many ways with Kaed. Helping him with breathing exercises, loving him unconditionally even when he's unfair to her, always having a forgiving and understanding heart, the list goes on and on. Having Kaedyn as her brother has helped make Brookelynn this strong, independent, helpful human that she is.\"\n"},"16":{"position":16,"url":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/these-parents-are-here-to-show-the-positive-sides-of-raising-kids-with-autism\/16\/","content":"\n

Teachers And Therapists Are Essential\n\n

Photo: @keepingupwithkaedyn \/ Instagram\n

Parents of autistic children often employ a number of specialized therapists and teachers to help their children develop to their full potential. Kortney also admits that some days are not as great with others, especially when there's a meltdown. In one post, Kortney expressed her gratitude for Kaedyn's occupational therapist, who knows exactly how to bring her son to a peaceful state.\n

Kortney writes, \"She has been working with Kaedyn for a year and a half and at one time she was the most disliked person in Kaesyn's world. But the relationship they've built and earned trust make me extremely happy. She knows exactly what he needs when he needs it.\"\n

The next mom admits that autism put her in a whole new world.\n"},"17":{"position":17,"url":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/these-parents-are-here-to-show-the-positive-sides-of-raising-kids-with-autism\/17\/","content":"\n

Slow Progress Is Still Progress\n\n

Photo: @cayhargarten \/ Instagram\n

Caylin is the mother of two young boys who both have autism and she is more proud than ever to be their mom. Here, she shares a photo of her younger son, who she refers to as B, beginning to drink from a glass.\n

Caylin writes, \"To some, drinking from a glass may seem so simple, but when you lack the muscle tone in your mouth area it can make it very difficult... He will only drink out of a select few sippy cups and still struggles with drinking from a straw. He has made slow progress in this area, but progress is progress.\"\n"},"18":{"position":18,"url":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/these-parents-are-here-to-show-the-positive-sides-of-raising-kids-with-autism\/18\/","content":"\n

Her Negative Thoughts Give Her A Reason To Keep Fighting\n\n

Photo: @cayhargarten \/ Instagram\n

Caylin is also unafraid to admit that being the parent of a child with ASD is incredibly difficult and a totally different experience from that of other parents.\n

\"I'm starting to see more and more how having children with special needs literally puts you into a whole different world. You feel guilty focusing on the negative, but the negative is things that need to be worked on. The negative is the reason you fight to get your children the services they need and the support they deserve. The negative one day turns to positive as you see them improve which makes the fighting, the guilt, the heartbreak, and tears, all worth it,\" Caylin writes.\n"},"19":{"position":19,"url":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/these-parents-are-here-to-show-the-positive-sides-of-raising-kids-with-autism\/19\/","content":"\n

Autism Is An Ongoing Learning Course\n\n

Photo: @joshua_ryans_beautiful_mind \/ Instagram\n

Sherry is the mother of Joshua, a four-year-old boy who also has ASD. Like most parents of autistic children, Sherry is aware of how difficult it can be to bring your child out of the house. This was something she experienced during the holidays.\n

Sherry writes, \"Holidays can be overwhelming for our kiddos on the spectrum. So as a parent today more than anything I need to remind myself to remain calm and think about sensory overload issues and try to be proactive to maybe reduce meltdowns... Autism is such an ongoing learning course for us. Just when we think we may have a grasp on things... nope we don't.\"\n"},"20":{"position":20,"url":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/these-parents-are-here-to-show-the-positive-sides-of-raising-kids-with-autism\/20\/","content":"\n

This Mom Wishes People Weren't So Quick To Judge\n\n

Photo: @joshua_ryans_beautiful_mind \/ Instagram\n

Like most parents of autistic children, Sherry hopes that others would look at her child and others like him from a place of more understanding. As stated before, a lot of the looks and judgment that ASD families face is due to ignorance.\n

Sherry writes on her page, \"My wish is for others to not judge so quickly\u2026 don't judge that mom with the screaming child flailing all over the floor... don't judge that child who is melting down because all you see is a screaming 'undisciplined' kid because YOUR kid would never do that.\" Sherry hopes that people would communicate better and even offer help when they see these types of situation.\n\n"}},"description":"

Children with autism spectrum disorders face many challenges navigating life as they grow up, but we shouldn't forget that their parents face many difficulties as well. Parents of autistic children sometimes admit that the challenges of autism can create an overwhelming and often isolating experience, as other people fail to fully understand exactly what they're going through. But many parents have found an outlet through social media, to seek and offer their support while advocating for autism awareness. You're about to meet some amazing families and hear all about their journeys with autism.","nextPostLink":"http:\/\/www.giveitlove.com\/quiz-can-you-guess-the-board-game-from-one-image\/"};_WF.emit("flexformat_init");

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coffeeandcalligraphy · 5 years

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Houses With Teeth | Writing Update

Hey People of Earth!

What is this shiny new title--is she a short story, is she a... a new novel?? Or is she the seventh book of FOSTERED because apparently that series never ends!! Haha.

Ha.

So yes! This is the first update for--yes!--book 7 of FOSTERED! A few things you’ve probably already noticed:

The title is not a past tense verb and we STAN. If you haven’t noticed books 1-6 of the series follow a verb-ED structure, and I honestly became so over it by book four but kept up with it for consistency’s sake. I debated for probably two seconds before I settled that I am TIRED of these UGLY fostered titles, so we have made a CHANGE. Honestly, I kind of needed this change because this book is going to be kind of... different from the others (genre, tone, etc, etc), and I needed a more concrete separation from Old Fostered to New Fostered.

Originally, this title actually belonged to REWIRED for about 2 hours before I decided to give it to the new book. This was my thought process:

Me want new title for REWIRED, this title = trash

*comes up with new title*

nvm i’ll never be able to think of a title better than this for book 7

(I’d like to say my process was more thoughtful than this but this is literally how it happened oops)

While trying to come up with titles for the three sections of Rewired, I came up with houses for part 2. This is what sparked me to think of the title HOUSES WITH TEETH. I changed part two’s name because houses literally made no sense in conjunction with the chapters, and I’m happy about it since I looove this title.

So without further ado, let’s get into it!

I honestly have been struggling with the idea of this book for a very long time. As I’ve mentioned, FOSTERED’s 5 year anniversary will be coming up this October--AKA I’ve been writing this series for a very long time! I grew up with this series and its characters and whilst it’s all been very special to me in my development as an adolescent, I’m also older now, and my tastes in both writing and books have changed immensely. I knew I still had a story kicking here with FOSTERED, so I could have ended the series I just had one thought that held me back: why end it when it feels like it’s only just begun?

For a very long time, I severely misunderstood MANY of my characters in Fostered. Is this because I don’t characterize and blindly pants all of my novels hahahah possibly. Keeping in mind that the FOSTERED novels on average usually only took me about 2-5 months to complete, despite writing with these babes for 5 years, I still failed to understand them as characters. I don’t think this is exactly wrong--I understood as much as I needed to get through the first five books.

However, this idea that my characters were beyond what I’d made for them really confronted me when I started writing book six. I soon realized that literally 90% of the cast is made up of garbage people I absolutely love, and that in general, I really like writing about dark, strange, unsettling things. But this realization came as I was writing the sixth book in the series--very late! Though I acknowledge at some point FOSTERED will cease to be (rip), this idea of leaving it when there was, to say it simply, SO MUCH JUICY TEA, would feel like an injustice.

This is where this book comes into play! Although this isn’t a chapter update (more of a preliminary intro, if you will), I’ve had some time to think about the novel itself. Though I still really don’t have solid footing on the plot, it’s got an aesthetic and that’s... enough??

I made a mini moodboard of all the things HOUSES WITH TEETH. Here it is:

Process:

I’ve been struggling a lottttt with this book lately because I honestly don’t know what it is?? So far I know a few major things like Reeve being 20 and living in NYC, Foster being a central character, etc etc, but the book hasn’t materialized beyond these things? I feel very headless working on this project, which I know means I need to do a lot more thinking/planning before diving in. Because it’s slightly different from the rest of the books, it’s taking a bit more elbow grease to work into.

I recently changed the tense from present to past, and I think this helped?? Possibly?? I don’t exactly know what the story is in past tense, but I also didn’t know what it was in the present so lol I think the experimentation is good for me. For now, I’ve kind of put this guy on the back burner while I work on other things, but I have drafted some of it, the first ‘present’ version in a writing sprint because girl needed a push, and the second ‘past’ version pretty recently. I do like both, though they kind of achieve different things. I was having trouble keeping momentum with the present version, hence the switch, but I am having trouble transferring Reeve’s cynicism into the past.

I am not fully certain on plot yet because of these things, so I’m not confident enough to share a summary, but I do have some excerpts! With that said, there’s a lot that could change, so everything I share here is malleable/could change.

Excerpts:

The first excerpts I’ll share are from the ‘present’ version of this story, which is how I initially started drafting! I do like a lot of it, I just don’t think I can keep up with the tense without running out of steam.

This is the opening. I’ll share both from the present and past tense versions so you can see how different they are (because oh boy are they!). For some context, Reeve is cleaning up some broken herb planter pots from her sink after she believes Ethel, the ghost in her apartment, has knocked them down:

The apartment is haunted but Joel won’t get a priest until he sees proof. You won’t see proof of the paranormal, I’ve explained, but Joel doesn’t care. Joel is atheist and my landlord. He thinks Christians are Satan worshippers, and I haven’t ever disagreed. But there’s a ghost. Her name is Ethel.

Ethel is twenty and was murdered in this apartment. A cold case. She hates New York City, too buzzy, too fluid, the traffic vulgar and boring. I intuit Ethel, which sounds like bullshit, because it is. I doubted her and she cut my hair in my sleep. Ethel hates this apartment.

idk what is up with the sentence structure here but:

Once I’ve cleared the first pot from the sink, I work on the next, a wilted clump of cilantro. Unrooting it from the splinters of terracotta and placing whatever I can salvage on a paper towel. The de-potted herbs intestinal, like webbings of medicinal veins. Ollie’s movie muttering. The motor of the refrigerator gruelling and wet. In my head I tick off the herbs I’ve saved so far: thyme, rosemary, parsley, dill. All the pots empty and bagged for the garbage. I grab the notepad from the fridge and make a note: buy better pots.

In the middle of cleaning up the pots, Reeve gets a phone call and answers, assuming it’s her landlord/roommate/semi-boyfriend Joel. I wrote all of this during a writing sprint with my buddies and I haven’t looked at it since. There are parts I like and some parts I don’t lol:

Static echoes through the speaker and it’s a telemarketer, a wrong number, a prank call from two teenage girls in Indiana, Ethel on the other line. But then there’s a clink and someone clearing their throat. “You’re in Manhattan?”

The familiar swell of his voice through the line is like the shaft of a finger tracing the notches of my spine. His voice crackles, bad connection, and I want to use it as an excuse to hang up, but don’t. I finger the leftover bits of terracotta in the sink, swirling the mud against the stainless steel.

“Who is this?” I say this because it’s easier. There are not explanations if I’m just from the city. The distant shimmer of music from his side fills the dead air, the melody gentle. Outside, Marty from the convenience store walks her golden retriever, bustling through the suburban neighborhood across the road. The woman who just started her shift at the apartment’s lobby smokes absently on the drive-up. I put the phone between my shoulder and my ear and gnaw at my fingernails.

“Your brother.” I picture him on the veranda of some Delaware beach house, playing lazy games of Parcheesi with Harrison, his hair long and unattractive to the girl he tries to impress at the public pool. Sharing a cigarette with his roommate-boyfriend-co-worker. The tobacco protruding into his lungs, feeding through his throat.

Marty and her dog have made it to the streetlamp outside of the complex; Marty on the phone, the dog sniffing at a fire hydrant. I lean over the sink and mix bits of plant fertilizer and water from the drain with my pinkie. It’s easy to imagine him by the ocean, the porch of his new place gritty with sand. The ice cream truck whirring lazily around the block.

Blowing smoke from the cigarette out the window, onto Marty and her dog, “How did you get this number?”

“Your ad in the paper. I’m calling to fill that position.”

This is the last of ‘present’ HWT that I’ll share which I do rather like! This is the continuation of their conversation:

“I think you have the wrong number.” It’s the only thing I can think of to say. I last saw Lonan nine, ten, eleven months ago, in an unmemorable daze. Sitting glumly in the shade of the cabin with a magazine and cigarette, staring sunward as we rolled out of the lot. Bristles of burr bushes, mosquitoes nipping at his elbows. His phone call feels criminal.

“Why Manhattan?” he asks.

“Better restaurants.”

“I want to fill that room you’re renting.”

“And what about Harrison?”

“He’ll come.”

“It’s an ad for a couch. You can’t both stay on the couch.”

These excerpts are from the ‘past’ version of HWT, again, the first page or so (unedited as well):

Three summers after my father died, he called the phone in my apartment and abruptly hung up. I’d heard his voice for only a second, a brief hello, and it was only when I considered the disconnect to be my fault—a clumsy fumble of the thumb, that I remembered he was dead. It was an easy write off. My father had been appearing in my dreams for six months before he first called. I told no one because I didn’t have to. I convinced myself I was going crazy. I lit a cigarette and smoked over the herb planter Joel and I had set up the week before. No matter how much I tried, every single one died. A half hour after the call, off the brim of a cornfield, a young woman named Ethel was fished out of a silo and pronounced dead.

So we have a very different first sentence/conflict, idk what this even is lool.

The following is the rest of what I’ve written. We kind of see the present version strung through to this version. This excerpt also introduces a new idea that Reeve’s been following this story religiously since it broke (which isn’t in the original).

My father was dead, Ethel was dead, the herbs in the planter were dead. I didn’t make a connection because there wasn’t one. I just followed her story on my walks to work, the easy flight downstairs to the bakery Liu only hired me at because she pitied me. Flipping through the newspapers Liu had out front for five dollars a copy on my lunchbreak, stashed behind a bulk order of red bean paste in the back room when I wanted to finish it later. In headlines, from the first arrest, to the first release, to the first plea from her parents—Ethel was only twenty. With my hair up, down, my tennis shoes on, off, on break when I should’ve been rolling filo pastry, I followed her story. Until it went cold and everyone forgot about Ethel and she became unremembered, unmemorable, unsolved. It was that easy, that tragic.

A week after her headlines ran out, she started turning the water in our shower on and off. She started turning on the TV and ejecting Ollie’s film noir rentals from the library. She started tugging on my necklaces and unscrewing the bolt of my sunglasses. The apartment was haunted I told Joel, but he didn’t believe me. He wanted proof—there would never be proof, and this is the only reason I called Foster back.

(for context she’s calling Foster for ghost hunting troubles because she knows he’s concerned he too is being haunted why do I only write about ghosts is this becoming an issue)

I like both and I think I want to find a way to fuse both together? I think both achieve different things so this is very dependant on what I’m going for! I’m at a bit of a loss, so I’ve been letting it sit and also being inspired by @sarahkelsiwrites break through with her novel and the beautiful prose she’s been pumping out! Let me know: which version do you like better? I’m still going to keep the past tense for now, but we’ll see how it goes when I dive into edits (hopefully soon!). Who knows, maybe none of this writing will end up in the final thing--we’ll have to see!

If you’re struggling with novel openings, I feel you! I’ll keep you updated as I trek through the first chapter/sort out my thoughts, but I hope you liked this post! I know it’s a bit different than usual as I’m having a visible crisis lol, but thank you for reading!

--Rachel

#writing #amwriting #writeblr #writingupdates #fostered #writerblr

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bestnewsmag-blog · 7 years

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New Post has been published on Bestnewsmag

New Post has been published on https://bestnewsmag.com/how-dating-apps-have-changed-relationships/

How dating apps have changed relationships

Russian Vierig/Getty Snapshots) From time to time it’s tough to do not forget how single humans met every different earlier than courting apps

like Tinder. Did we go out to bars? Just bang our buddies whilst we by chance lingered too long on the residence celebration? It’s super how speedy we’ve adapted to swiping via heaps of potential partners even as half-watching reruns of buddies. And although I’ve in no way talked to a female who didn’t have complex feelings approximately being on a relationship app (as an unmarried lady myself, whether or not I like or detest Tinder adjustments on every occasion I open it), there’s little or no comprehensive studies on the wider consequences of cellular relationship. So Glamour carried out our very own survey of one,000 girls and talked to experts to find out whether apps have virtually modified how we date. The solution is sure, and in greater profound ways than we found out. Take a look:

We aren’t truly seeking to “date,” in step with me. Requesting a bit assist locating a companion is hardly ever new—wherein might Patti Stanger of The Millionaire Matchmaker reputation be if people didn’t need the expert recommendation? What Tinder changed (racking up 1.four billion swipes an afternoon, more than any other platform) was that it by no means clearly stated it was a dating app. “It killed the stigma of online relationship by using now not being about on-line courting,” says Steve Dean, founding the father of Dateworking, a consulting corporation for man or woman online daters and dating websites.B

.B.T. (earlier than Tinder), courting sites specialized based totally on a preferred degree of dedication—a casual

tough to now not recognize precisely what you have been in search of. “Tinder says, ‘Do regardless of the hell you need; we’re Just going to reveal you, people who are close by and in all likelihood to begin to speak to you,’ ” says Dean. In that way, it mimics how human beings meet in actual existence.

Tinder’s loss of an endgame fosters a culture wherein a woman can be adventurous in any way she chooses. If you find out thru Tinder that—oh, snap!—you’re truly a “unicorn” and want to simplest have sex with couples (it’s an element o.K.), you could then visit a greater specialized app, like Field, to meet them. Or In case you Just need a friend (instantly up, no disk snapshots), BumbleBFF may be for you. And you could usually join up for Espresso Meets Bagel or eHarmony In case you’re hoping for a dating. And it may work: more than 30 percent of ladies who use apps in our survey said they observed a severe associate on them; 12 percent married their suit.