#just put a ton of filters on it to make it look less messy but yeah shes not REALLY hand rendered | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

extremelyblackandwhite · 3 years

Text

ascendance - 04

PAIRING: mob!bucky barnes x reader

WARNINGS: abduction, age gap (reader is 23, bucky is 37)

A/N: hello!! i hope you enjoy this new chapter as i dive more into bucky’s past. italics in this work symbolise a flashback in case anyone’s confused. hope you enjoy it xx

> NEXT CHAPTER | MASTERLIST

The entrance hall of the Barnes household was pilled up with people. Between his mum barking orders left to right and caterers bringing food in and out, the once silent room turned into a busy crossroads which meant James had retreated back to his room. He was sat down in his bed, cashmere black suit on and hair pushed back, Dead Souls opened on top his legs. He was lost in between the small black letters printed on the yellowing paper, so lost that the sound of his window opening went by him until a loud thump woke him up from his literary daze. Bucky looked up to see his younger sister, sat on the floor of his bedroom by the window with her dress partially on and hair messy due to the windy weather outside. He sighed, closing his book and putting it off to the side.

- Can’t you climb into your own bedroom? - Bucky got up from bed, leaning down to help her back onto her feet.

- Yours is closer. - she brushed the dirt off her baby pink dress picked by their mother. - Shouldn’t you be downstairs?

- Shouldn’t you be in your bedroom?

- Touche. - she pointed. - Can you not tell mum? She’ll freak out if she discovers that I went out on dad’s big day.

- Go on, I’ll keep mum occupied while you sort out that bird’s nest hair.

- Thank you! - she smiled, giving him a short hug. - What am I gonna do when you go to Princeton? Who’s gonna cover for me?

- I guess you’ll just have to form an alliance with the maids.

Y/N and Bucky were silent, barely speaking to each other if even looking into each other’s eyes. She merely remained there in her operatic costume, the corset doing the best of jobs at enhancing her female features and almost making her look like a femme fatale out of a classical movie in rich red and green fabrics decorated with what he guessed where heavy metal gold pieces resembling precious jewels and golden rings. He did not know which production they were putting on, he hadn’t even heard her sing before but she looked like she belonged in that stage, like she would have been showered in praise the moment the spotlight grazed her.

She paced around the living room not exactly sure what to do, the beads which made up her skirt and would suddenly peak to show her legs making a slight rustling noise as her eyes studied the book shelf which was filled with tons and tons of books from the classics to mere economy books. Maybe she could read them whenever the tension between of them wasn’t so apparent. She couldn’t help but sometimes look at the badly fixed window and wonder if she could make it, maybe when he wasn’t looking, maybe when he was sleeping yet looking at him; tall, muscular, fast, definetely much stronger than her, she knew that even if she managed to get outside, he would easily get her back. Her mind battled her positive side as she wondered if this was it, if this was home now. Suddenly, her old flat no longer seemed old and she would give everything away if only she could go back, back to being told to do errands that really did not concern her, to stepping on bobby pins laid on the ground, to way too strong makeup which looked ridiculous in proper daylight. She would give everything, if she could go back to what her life had been.

The man whose name he hadn’t even dignified himself to tell her yet was sat on one of the high chairs by the kitchen with his eyes trained on her. She briskly turned around, arms crossed under her chest with an almost child like pout of someone who had just been punished. In reality, I’m the one who’s being punished here, he thought to himself.

- You could tell me your name. - she said, not looking into his eyes, instead rubbing her worn out ballet shoes against his hard floor.

- You don’t need to know my name. - he was quiet yet imposing. Y/N could not deny he seemed to have a strong presence despite barely raising his voice. It was almost magnetic as if he was made to be looked at, yet she felt he didn’t want to be seen.

- What if I need to call out for you?

- I would know. There’s no one else here, is it?

Y/N did not reply to this, instead rolling her eyes and sitting down on the couch. There was not much to do in the small one bedroom apartment other than pace around, eat and watch television. Her hand flew over to the remote, pointing it at the TV to turn it on which opened on the news channel. She guessed this was the way she had of now knowing what was happening outside the four walls she was being held captive in. There wasn’t much happening and even if it was, all the local news could talk about was about the upcoming mayoral election. It was a circus with advertisements and rumours flying around about each and every candidate and while it was almost painfully enjoyable to see men over thirty acting like gossip mean girls in school, everyone knew who was gonna win.

She’d always been told that behind every great man, there’s a great woman and in this particular election it couldn’t be anymore true. The favourite candidate to win, Robert Moore, also known as Bobbie, was married to an senator’s daughter but not just any senator, Senator Barnes. She was too young to remember his policies or even his public persona, yet from what she knew, he had been a very well liked and well respected Senator, coming from a prominent family and building an even more prominent family. Being married to Rebecca Barnes, now Rebecca Barnes-Moore, was a one way ticket to a good career in politics. The two stood in the television screen, side by side in an almost JFK and Jackie Kennedy fashion with sunny smiles looking like the picture perfect Americana couple. It seemed all his ads showed him, his wife and their new born baby. High school sweethearts, it seemed.

- Are you gonna watch that the whole day? - she turned her head around, looking at his annoyed expression, whiskey glass in hand.

- They look good together.

- It’s a circus. - he snickered, sitting by her side.

- What are you? An anarchist? - those words flew out of her mouth without any filter, mostly out of nuisance. - Her father was a great politician and he is young and likeable.

- Young and likeable ... sounds like great political traits.

- What do you know about politics?

- What do you know about politics? Do they have a crash course in politics at whatever company you were in?

She rolled her eyes, turning the volume up to listen to the broadcaster tell the love story of the future mayor and his wife. Her face softened as she heard what was probably a highly modified version of the actual truth yet she couldn’t help but slightly smile at the idea of it. They seemed in love and as someone who had a degree in pretending to be in love while singing, it warmed her heart to see it. She liked that idea, the idea of Ms and Mrs Americana, the idea of having someone to lean in. Well, she liked the idea of someone. Sure, maybe the man whose name she still didn’t know and was starting to believe was never going to learn was right, it was a circus, all elections are but she couldn’t help but be pulled by the myth of it, by the we against the world mentality no matter how morally wrong it was.

She continued to watch the coverage of the election run as the man next to her got up from the couch to pick up a phone call. Her hearing slightly moved towards what he was doing, mind always thinking of escaping but even though he was talking on the phone, his gaze was trained of her as if she were his prey. He mumbled something on the phone before turning it off and moving his eyes to text someone yet after that his eyes were on her once more.

- Try not to escape for the next hour.

- Do you have a nameless anarchy convention to attend?

- Billy is coming to watch over you. No funny business.

- Will. - she corrected him. - He doesn’t like being called Billy.

- As long as you don’t pull a mission impossible on him, I will call him whatever you want.

Will didn’t take long to arrive, dressed in a tennis-like outfit as if he had been pulled away from tennis which sounded like something he’d do. Bucky exchanged a few words with him before leaving the two of them together. He trusted Billy, or Will, was smart enough not to let her escape or run away. God, he didn’t even want to think about what John would do to him if she escaped, much less what he would do to her if she escaped. He made his drive to John’s condo in fifth avenue, parking his bike somewhere before making his way up. The condo was always weirdly filled with chatter talk yet he could see no people, it was as if the ghosts of the people he had taken out followed him in his own home and Bucky couldn’t say he pitied him. After all, he had his own ghosts too.

He looked into John’s office where he was sat in the couch, the coverage of the election run on the television on low volume. John’s eyes immediately found Bucky’s figure looming at the entrance, never really entering, just standing behind the line which separated the hall from the office.

- How’s the roomie? - he motioned his hand for him to come in. - Still pretty?

- What do you need?

- I just got an invitation to a fundraiser. Zemo’s going so I want you to go.

- I can’t, I have her to watch over Y/N. She’s not very keen on remaining in the flat.

- Chain her up for all I care. It’s in two weeks and I’ll be damned if I’m there by myself with Zemo. Besides it’s your sister’s fundraiser, I always love to see Rebecca.

- She’s not gonna be there. - his jaw locked. - A fundraiser for the mob? It’s mostly free alcohol and networking with them not showing up.

- Maybe you should bring your roomie. She’s pretty and if anything I’m sure she can sing and if not maybe she can entertain in another form.

- The NYPD is probably looking for her, it’s not wise ...

- Do you make the rules? - John interrupted him, leaning against the couch with arms crossed. - You seem to have forgotten who makes the rules, soldat.

- I just don’t think ...

- You don’t think. - he interrupted him once more. - This election is important and since I do not have the right person here to get ahead, I will make do with what we have. I don’t give a fuck about what you do when you’re at your flat but she is mine. She is my get out of jail card. Are we clear, soldat?

- Yes.

- You can go now. - he dismissed him. Bucky turned around, eyes open wide yet emotionless face as if he were disconnected from his own consciousness. He guessed it was for the best to remain disconnected, to not know what was going on.

He drove himself back home, standing alone at night looking at his flat; the window still broken while the lights were flickering. He thought about running off, starting his bike and running off into the night and just drive until the tank was empty but he couldn’t. He had strings, strings which kept him tied to where he was right now. He guessed that now she was another string keeping him here.

Bucky sighed as he walked back to his flat, opening the door to a rather serene sight. Will was by the kitchen watching the football game while Y/N was laid across the couch, book in hand which he recognised as one of his old ones. Her hair was different, she probably had taken off her wig and for the first time since those few minutes in the costume room. It looked soft, framing her face and getting in front of her eyes as she herself got lost in the room. Will excused himself, leaving just as he noticed Bucky before he could be yelled at by using his television. Yet again, Y/N and Bucky were alone in that small flat. She looked up from the book and at him before returning to read.

He left her with the book, walking to his bedroom which was probably now more hers than his to grab one of trousers and hoodies before returning back to the living room. Still reading. At least she wasn’t trying to break any more windows. He put the hoodie and trousers by her side, turning off the television as more screams for the football match came through.

- You can change into those. - he pointed at the clothing, getting her attention as she closed the book. - Those beads can’t be comfortable.

- Oh

- The bathroom’s there. - he pointed at one of the few doors in the flat. - You can shower too, there’s towels.

- Thank you. - she grabbed the things he had put out for her before leaving him in the living room by himself.

And then it was just him once more, alone, tied to this city which screamed everyone’s name but his.

TAGLIST: @lookiamtrying @buckyswillows @blossomslibrary @juliesland @iloveshawnieboi @unmagically @red-head011 @poisonous00

192 notes · View notes

2lim3rz · 3 years

Note

Do you write for the emperor of mankind? And if you do, what are some head cannons that you have when it comes to him and the primarchs meeting a reader who is from 2021? Crackhead energy, big depression espresso with dry/ meme/ tiktok humor 2021 reader. If you know, you know! Also, I love your content! I look forward to it all the time because it makes me happy.

Oh, I write for the Emperor. Fuck YES I write for the emperor, I'll so make you some headcanons I can't give you tiktok humor 2021 reader because my humor is so all over the place, it's not funny cause I'm laughing at a rage comic from 2011 still BUT crackheads? I can give you that! Thamks a ton for the compliment, I need something to motivate my dumbass anyhow uwu! SO! Let's get to the juice!

THE EMPEROR OF MANKIND [AND A COUPLE OF THE PRIMARCHS] MEETING YOU, A PERSON FROM 2021

THE EMPEROR OF MANKIND

How? How did you even appear first of all? He doesn't know, which is weird. And suspicious. Because he pretty much knows most, if not, everything but the future. Even then, he still knows bits and pieces. So how in the warp-fuckery are you HERE?! HOW DID YOU GET PAST THE CUSTODES?!

So the fact that you're.. there is.. a surprise nonetheless. And he hates surprises. Congrats, you've surprised the Emperor. When they go his way of course. You? You don't really have a purpose for his plans. You're literally a creature from the past

A SUPER far past, you would've been higher up in his eyes right from the start if you were, say, from the Dark Age of Technology and knew some things. But you're not, you're an average person from.. 2021. A year that's not-so-fun. And also one he doesn't quite like because of the online cultures. Yes, the Emperor is.. I think Boomer is the word?? King Boomer wHEEZe

Of course, it's even more surprising when the first words that come out of you are "What in the chili-cheese fuck is this?" he's even more surprise. Right. He somehow forgot that literally everyone somehow went backwards verbally If only he knew what was to come And promptly stops the Custodes from McMurdering you, even a tiktok obsessed person from 2021 can be useful.

You, meanwhile, are just as [if not more] shocked of everything. First off, you were at home, probably goofing off and making a tiktok when.. well, you're here. In a room of gold, gold, and even more gold. So after saying your not-so-non-chalante statement, you quickly followed it up with asking if whoever owns the place is a gold fetishist. Because of course you don't have much of a filter in this era

This whole time, you didn't notice the tall man in armor yet, but that's also because you're still trying to get the spots out of your eyes cause DAMN that was bright

When you DO see the Emperor, you're confused cause one moment, he looks like.. some dude you'd see on the street. A well sculpted and buff dude with eyes that's clearly seen some shit and looks like he'd throw you off the empire state building, but still a dude. The next when you blink your eyes, you're looking at his legs. Armored legs. And you have to careen your head back to look up to his face that's a little too hard to see because of course it did

You're also SUPER overwhelmed and promptly begin an extraordinary freak out because where are you? This isn't a dream and the being in front of you is so.. Him. So indescribable that you can't grasp it in that moment

The Emperor of Mankind, being the epitome of patience and human care, gets you knocked out and put into a medical ward. Mostly to quarantine you, there's no telling if future people have the immune systems to prevent thousands of years of disease differences

Of course, you're A-Okay. The Emperor would argue that you are not okay mentally, but 30k and 40k share one thing in common: No one is mentally sane

KONRAD CURZE

You thought you'd meet Horus or Vulkan? Or literally any other primarch? PSYKE! You're literally just dismissed and Big Papa E wants to meet you. You, of course, refuse help. Can't be that hard to navigate, right? double wrong. Everything's in a weird form of english. It's so close to being english until it ain't. Even everyone else speaks it. It's awful, ain't it?

So of course, when you smell an awful stench [not that everything else had a sorta-weird smell. Soap is MUCH differently scented now-a-days] you're close to freaking out when a giant man literally drops from the ceiling in front of you

After freaking out again, and calling him a "pale batman and mayo smelling motherfucker" he's.. not really amused and you've no idea how close you are to becoming his next Hannibal-esque art project when he sort of grumbles a greeting and stalks off again.

Unbeknownst to you, he sort of was going to greet you.. more-or-less in a more civilized way but you sorta caught him offguard with your semi-gibberish words along with orders from the Emperor [and admittedly Horus and maybe his other brothers] to let you live. Undamaged.

HORUS LUPERCAL

You quickly figure out that it's the vibe of these people that's messing you up. The giant suits of armor ain't any sort of cool robot, but terrifyingly huge people with even more terrifying vibes. It's not like it's any help your first dose of what you call the Big Dude Vibe is from the Emperor.

Did that does of BDV help you withstand some of these people? Yeah. You're also still recovering from the semi-heart attack you got from that pale stranger with the greasiest sort of hair you've ever seen yet. On a face that looks very handsome if it wasn't in perma-snarl mode

So when you meet Horus? A lot better of a change. Dude actually bothers to crouch down and properly speak to you. The language difference is.. a lil messy, but you both get by good enough

At least you have some help in getting your bearings and find your way to the meeting room with the Emperor

In true you fashion, you think it's weird, dumb, and lowkey hilarious that humanity has an Emperor of Mankind with untold power and you, of course, joke about him being a god

Horus is, LUCKILY, kind enough to brusquely explain to you that religion is a big no-no. A BIIIIIG no-no. And what do you hear? Oh, you hear the jokes making themselves.

#warhammer 40k #emperor of mankind #headcanons #2lim3rz request #writing request #request #idk which one i made my tag o lawd #horus lupercal #konrad curze #might do a couple parts of this idk #2lim3rz chats to anonymous

45 notes · View notes

invisibleinorange · 3 years

Text

Bridgerton’s Adrift 16/?

Chapters: 16/? Fandom: Bridgerton Rating: T Warnings: Presumed Character Death Relationships: Colin Bridgerton/Penelope Featherington, Eloise Bridgerton/Penelope Featherington(besties), Bridgerton Family Dynamics, Simon Hastings/Daphne Bridgerton Characters: Colin Bridgerton, Penelope Featherington, Eloise Bridgerton, Anthony Featherington, Benedict Bridgerton, Portia Featherington, Violet Bridgerton, Genevieve Delacroix Additional Tags: Bridgerton, Polin Summary: Unexpected bad news arrives for the Bridgerton Family (and friends) regarding Colin's travels. This will be a series that is set after "The Duke and I" or season one of the show. It is a companion piece to "Goodbyes".

Violet Bridgerton wasn’t thrilled. She’d spent half the evening awake doting on Daphne but still took the time to ensure she was home and up in time for breakfast. She’d made sure that the staff knew to cook extra. Celebrating her third son’s return home was of the utmost importance to her. She thought there was no better way than ensuring they made up for lost time by having his favorite things to eat. He was noticeably absent from the table though, long after his other siblings started to fill in their seats.

He wasn’t the only one absent though.

Benedict had at least had the decency to catch her in passing, making up some story about business at Aubrey Hall that he needed to attend to on behalf of Anthony.

Then there was the noticeable absence of Penelope. She could only assume that the previous day’s events had been a bit much for the poor girl. She wouldn’t begrudge her needing a little privacy to digest it all.

Anthony, Eloise and Francesca were making idle conversation. Hyacinth and Gregory were arguing who was going to get to eat Colin’s food if he didn’t come down.

It was so unlike Colin to be late for a meal though.

“Perhaps, you should go look for him,” she started to suggest to her eldest. “I sent a maid earlier and they said he hadn’t slept in his bed.”

Anthony tried desperately to not smirk at that information. He clearly wasn’t concerned.

“I’m sure that he’s –“

He wanted to say fine. He easily could have made some excuse up for him about probably just falling asleep elsewhere. There was no point in lying though, especially as the guilty party started approaching the table.

Colin’s hair was in disarray and while he was dressed, he was a bit messy. Anthony knew that look well because he’d somehow gotten away with it many a time in his earlier rake days. Colin was certainly going to have to work on his subtly lest their mother see past it.

“So nice of you to join us,” Anthony teased. “You look like you tossed and turned all night.”

Colin might have had a smile on his face that not even sibling mockery could kill but that didn’t mean he didn’t kick Anthony hard as he took his seat.

“Why yes, it was quite a hard night.”

Anthony raised an eyebrow at that.

Violet looked at her boys skeptically but was prepared to let it slide. Perhaps it had been because she’s thought she’d lost Colin or perhaps it was because she was getting soft with age but she didn’t really care to try to get overly involved when it came to some things.

Ignorance really was bliss at times.

“You really should eat up,” she told him. “After a hardy meal, maybe you’ll be able to properly catch up on your rest.”

Of course, whatever ignorance she wanted to have about what was happening in her own household was a bit harder when almost on cue just a few moments after her son, Penelope entered the room.

She was certainly dressed but there was no amount of fabric or cosmetics that were going to hide the purple-pink marks across the expanse of her throat. It was such a ghastly display that even Violet had to gasp.

Eloise’s eyes widened as Penelope took the empty seat next to her. She gave her an extended look before giving Colin an accusatory look across the table.

“What happened to your neck?” Hyacinth asked with zero filter and all the purity that made it clear that she absolutely didn’t grasp why no one else was asking about it.

“Hyacinth,” Violet said trying to get her child to have some manners.

Even as Colin looked guilty and Penelope reddened, Anthony couldn’t help but let out a boisterous laugh at the whole thing. Sure, he probably should have been making a fuss about honor but watching Colin squirm was his idea of fun.

“Colin, do you know anything about what happened to Penelope?” he tried to keep a straight face as he asked. “Her neck was just fine yesterday and now it looks like she’s been attacked.”

“Enough!” Violet said. “I’ve raised you all better than this. Your father would be appalled at all of you.”

If Penelope could have melted away into the wood of the table and disappeared she certainly would have.

Especially when Violet dismissed the younger Bridgertons from the table, ordering them to finish their meal elsewhere, as well as, Eloise and Francesca who were far too delicate to hear.

“Would you like to explain what you were thinking?” Violet said, the meal completely forgotten now that she was complete and utter mother mode.

“Yeah, Colin, what were you thinking?” Anthony mirrored, putting a hand on his hips, feigning discipline when the look on his face made him look more like a mischievous scamp.

“You be quiet, this is your fault. Maybe if you actually focused more on finding a match and less on your own desires, your brother wouldn’t think this is acceptable behavior. No wonder Benedict was in such a hurry to leave this morning.

“I have Benedict’s permission,” Colin said after a long moment. “And it’s not like I … took all the liberties, even if I wanted to.”

Anthony shook his head. Nope. That wasn’t the right answer if he wasn’t trying to get castrated by their mother.

“Colin!” Violet’s face couldn’t have been more shocked and appalled. “You get none of the liberties. Not until you’ve married her and she was just engaged to your brother yesterday and I know that it’s – complicated but there is no excuse for this behavior. You can’t just come back and do whatever you want.”

“Have you looked at Penelope lately?”

“Yes but –“

“Well… sorry, but I couldn’t help myself.”

“You need to get a grip on your impulses or you’ll wish you’d have drowned,” Violet told him sternly. “Just because the Ton doesn’t see what happens in here the servants talk and all it takes it one person saying something and it gets to Lady Whistledown. You’ll ruin the poor girl. You can’t just do whatever you want.”

“I wanted it too,” Penelope said tentatively.

Violet’s head spun from where she’d been going in on Colin and looked at the other girl appraisingly.

“I love you like a daughter and I pray that one day you’ll give me grandchildren but I swear to God if my son doesn’t keep his hands and mouth to himself until the day Bridgerton replaces Featherington, he won’t be able to use the thing he was clearly thinking with,” Violet said, trying to keep her voice level.

She had no doubt that her other children were trying desperately to listen to the conversation through the door.

“You’re the one who bought her that –“ Colin tried to argue though he knew that his mother certainly wasn’t going to just accept them doing whatever they wanted under her roof.

She clearly wasn’t hearing it.

“Anthony, you created this problem. You fix it,” Violet said throwing up her hands, completely abandoning her the half-eaten breakfast. She’d lost her appetite for what was left.

As she stormed out the door, Colin couldn’t resist grabbing a sausage and stuffing it into his mouth.

“So let me get this straight, you didn’t defile her?” Anthony asked with amusement over his glass of whisky. It was still far too early for this but there were certain occasions when it was appropriate to start drinking after breakfast. Your little brother getting absolutely reamed by your mother for corrupting the houseguest was one of those special occasions.

“There was some stuff but no, she wouldn’t let me,” Colin said choosing to be decisively discreet and selective about what information he shared. There had certainly been some kissing, some touching but Penelope had kept him in check. After a while, he’d just taken to laying there with her and telling her every little detail since he’d left and then she’d done the same. They’d stayed up talking until the sun began to rise and only a few hours of sleep.

“If mother asks I told you to start behaving yourself,” Anthony said after a long moment. “But in reality, I’m going to tell you to at least have the decency to do it outside of this house. It’s much harder to hide it when you’re doing it here. You also have to work on your technique. She can leave marks on you but you can’t leave marks on her, it’ll give you away every time. If you’re not able to get them to cave, you’re not doing something right.”

“Rookie mistake. I’m not quite on your level of rake,” Colin said with a shrug. “Plus, I do want to make things right with her. I promised Benedict that I would. I’d ask for your advice but … I didn’t hear any complaints.”

“Of course, you didn’t,” Anthony said with a laugh. “You’re a Bridgerton. You won’t have epic returns from the dead as a card to play though. If you hadn’t, you’d have gotten it a million times worse from mother. Speaking of which, next time can you write so that we don’t end up in this situation. Benedict doesn’t usually ask for me to lie for him when he needs to escape.”

“He just needs time,” Colin said with a shrug. “I won’t pretend to understand how he’s feeling but I did give him the opportunity to stop me. I don’t know if he’d told me that he still wanted to marry her, I wouldn’t have still tried to stop it though.”

“Well don’t mess it up,” Anthony said after a minute. “We happen to all actually like her. The next time I put money into a wedding, it better happen.”

“It will.”

#⚜ writings — polin #polin #colin bridgerton #penelope featherington

23 notes · View notes

honesthammie · 3 years

Text

Get to know me!

Part 1

Nickname: Kim, Kimmy, K, Kimbo, Kimberlina

Zodiac: Scorpio

Height: No clue but I'd say middle range of 5 foot.

Hogwarts house: proudly Hufflepuff (I took the pottermore test 5 times got slytherin once but Huffle puff 4 times)

Last thing I googled: binary to text translator (I was interested in what one of the dogs toys said as it was a bunch of 1 and 0 on it, turns out a bunch of jibber jabber but I was curious)

Song stuck in my head: Axolotl song by Dream

Number of followers:

Amount of sleep: depends on when I sleep. Can range from 4-12 hours.

Lucky number: 25

Dream job: Dog Groomer

Wearing: a blue shirt that says "an angel of the Lord Castiel" with black wings on it and black and white tracksuit bottoms and lion King socks.

Favourite instrument: I love violins but I personally am a singer on a performance course at university

Spotify or SoundCloud?

Soundcloud at a push but I mainly use YouTube music

is your room messy or clean?

Not really messy per say, it looks it as its a small room but only mess there are: wires, dirty clothes and a fuck ton of dog fur on floor coz am lazy and haven't hoovered in a while

what color are your eyes?

Blue

do you like your name? why?

Nope. It's too long for me to write my full name down. The boxes and shit are too small for my 25 letters in total full name...

what is your relationship status?

Single

describe your personality in 3 words or less

Fucked up

what color hair do you have?

Black to dark brown ombre (went that way for pups birthday 8th August)

what kind of car do you drive? color?

I don't drive yet but hoping to soon

where do you shop?

All over...wherever there's deals but mainly Tescos for food and primark/Shein for clothes

how would you describe your style?

All over. I like Gothic punk mainly but that costs more than I believe I am worth but I mainly wear casual fandom shirts and skinny jeans.

favorite social media account

Youtube and Tumblr

what size bed do you have?

Single cabin bed where I store all my make up (that I hardly wear coz I have no idea how to do anything other than lipstick) and my perfumes and bodymists.

any siblings?

0 human

2 doggie bros

if you can live anywhere in the world where would it be? why?

Japan coz its awesome

favorite snapchat filter?

Anything gothicy or the question ones

favorite makeup brand(s)

I don't really care tbh

how many times a week do you shower?

Once a week with my hair coz I heard that is best for it and whenever I feel disgusting or I really need to get in for my body so like twice a week minium although sometimes my depression persuades me to only go in once a week and I know that's not hygienic but it does affect me sometimes. I'll also get in more often if my body hurts or if I'm too hot or too cold to get my body at the right temperature.

favorite tv show?

Doctor who and Supernatural

shoe size?

Flat shoes/sandals: 5 1/2

Trainers/converse: 6

Dockers/boots:6 1/2

sandals or sneakers?

Sneakers

do you go to the gym?

No but I wanna

describe your dream date

Its an all day sorta date.

Starts at like 10 in the morning and we get a maccas breakfast in casual outfits. Then we go shopping, not necessarily for clothes but for games and or movies, maybe even some pet stuff. Then it's like 1 in afternoon so we get KFC for dinner. Then we go separate ways for a few hours to get ready for the fancy part of the date. It goes to around 5 and we go to a fancier restaurant and then we go to whatever the nearest big event is, if there is one or we just go to the movies.

how many pillows do you sleep with?

do you have a job? what do you do?

how many friends do you have?

whats the worst thing you have ever done?

Bit someone and made em bleed

whats your favorite candle scent?

Anything fruity or sweet

3 favorite boy names

Dalton

Jensen

Rossi

3 favorite girl names

Ciel

Vanessa

Stella

favorite actor?

Misha Collins

favorite actress?

Used to be Evanna Lynch but Jodie Whittaker is amazing!

who is your celebrity crush?

Jodie Whittaker and Misha Collins

favorite movie?

Oh god I can't decide so imma put sub categories to make it easier

Disney: Brother bear

Dreamworks: how to train your dragon

Non Disney animated: last unicorn

Musical: Oliver!

Action: Knight and Day

Adventure: Bridge to Terabithia

Comedy: 17 again

Fantasy: Harry Potter

do you read a lot? whats your favorite book?

Yes, Devon the worlds naughtiest dog

money or brains?

Brains

how many times have you been to the hospital?

Personally for my own needs: 4/5 times?

To visit others: way too many times

top 10 favourite songs:

One for sorrow by Steps

Viva la radio by Lolly

Bad bitch by Bebe Rexa

Team 6 by vanoss crew

Murder on the dancefloor by Sophie Ellis Bexter

Poison by Alice Cooper

Hypnotized by Set it Off

The ballad of Mono Lisa by Panic! At the Disco

The sound of drums by Chameleon Circuit

Stranger things have happened by Random Encounters

do you take any medications daily?

Nope

what is your skin type? (oily, dry, etc)

Kinda dry not gonna lie

what is your biggest fear?

Having no one left and being so alone

how many kids do you want?

Maybe 1 of each but fuck the painful part nope. Imma adopt plus I skip the nappy parts.

whats your go to hair style?

Everyday is just down but sometimes I put in a high pony, half up half down pony, pig tails/bunches/twin tails, half up half down of pig tails

what type of house do you live in? (big, small, etc)

I live in a small house

who is your role model?

Evanna Lynch just look her up and everything she's been through

what was the last compliment you received?

I can't remember it's been a while

what was the last text you sent?

What time can I come down?

I was asking about time to see my best mate whose like a sister

how old were you when you found out santa wasn’t real?

8 coz I heard my parents arguing over where to put the presents but I continued to fake it for a few years until they told me coz I thought it made them happy. They still dint know that I heard em

3 notes · View notes

bigskydreaming · 4 years

Note

You're totally right. I literally cannot read "Jason finds out about Tarantula" fics anymore. I find the way they generally filter what's considered in fandom maybe Dick's biggest trauma, through the lens of " isn't Jay just so awesome for caring (even though Dick's always been such a dick to him)", rather that Dick's needs, pretty gross. And why does Jay's revenge on Tarantula usually matter more than Dick's feelings on the matter (like, Dick could have revenge himself if he wanted, you know?)?

This is DEFINITELY a thing and it bugs a ton.

Like, I get the projection element of using Jason killing Dick’s rapist to act out or process the revenge fantasy of wishing someone would do that for you with your rapist, for writers or readers for whom this is part of the catharsis, and so this isn’t like, a moral judgment of him for doing so, the problem is it never in ANY story has ANYTHING TO DO WITH DICK OR WHAT HE WANTS.

Never have I ever seen a single story about Tarantula or Mirage where Jason kills them after ASKING Dick if that’s what he wants, if that will help him, bring him closure or comfort or relief.

Its just Jason going off and doing his thing, and that’s 100% entirely about Jason, and that’s....annoying, in a fic and an issue that’s supposed to be about hurt/comfort for Dick for something that happened to him.

Like, if Jason was actually acting on Dick’s behalf and fulfilling his wishes, that’d be totally different, but there’s not a single thought ever spared about the fact that if Dick blamed himself for Tarantula killing Blockbuster and thought HE failed HER by not putting her on a better path, then how in the hell do you think he’s ACTUALLY going to feel about Jason then killing Tarantula, supposedly on his behalf?

I’ve talked extensively about how I think Dick has a lot more nuanced and complicated perspective on killing than most people assume of him, and I’m not refuting that here.....but even Dick being willing or tempted to kill someone who’s hurt him or taken someone from him like he was with Zucco and later with Two-Face and then with Joker.....like, this is not remotely interchangeable with how Dick might feel about killing being done in his name, and I don’t for a second believe that’s what he’d ever want from any of his siblings, and thus this would IMO only make things WORSE for his mental and emotional state, rather than bring him any sort of catharsis at all.

Like, its not even about the morality of killing itself even....there’s so many other factors such as Jason’s complicated history with Bruce on this very issue, and like, the last thing in the world Dick would want is to be the reason for even further conflict between Bruce and Jason because Jason killed someone on Dick’s behalf.....ESPECIALLY when its not even on Dick’s behalf because at no point, as I said, is Jason shown thinking through the thought process of ‘is this actually what Dick would want and would it make him feel better, or is this wholly about making myself feel better and venting my anger and aggression about my brother being hurt on the one who hurt him, regardless of how he’s going to feel about it if and when he finds out.’

Like, say what you will about Dick killing the Joker in Last Laugh, but there was never any illusions about him going that far and beating the Joker to death because he thought it would bring either Jason or Tim (who he thought at that point the Joker had killed too) back, nor did he ever during or in the aftermath express any kind of idea that he was doing it because its what they would want. Ironically of course, this ended up being exactly what Jason DID want, just not from Dick specifically, but the point is, this never came up as part of Dick’s thought process either during or after. It was always 100% clear that this event, that moment, was about Dick and his hurt and rage over the Joker taking away his loved ones, just like with Zucco it’d been about his hurt and rage over him taking his parents away and not at all because he was of the belief that his parents would actually want him to kill Zucco.

Even with Two-Face in R:YO, Dick being tempted to kill Two-Face was less about him having been hurt by Two-Face when he almost beat Dick to death....it really was about him holding Two-Face and that whole situation to blame for Bruce firing him and in Dick’s mind no longer needing or wanting him....he wanted to kill Two-Face not because of what had been DONE to him, but what he blamed Two-Face for having lost, what he felt he’d taken from him....even while knowing full well that this would in no way make things better or right with Bruce, and its the last thing Bruce would want Dick to do.

There is a difference between avenging and revenge, and one of the interesting things about Dick’s stance and history on killing has always been that it always ONLY comes up in the latter. Like, there’s never any point in Dick’s history where he views killing as a valid way to avenge a loved one......the times when he struggles with the desire to, its 100% about his wanting revenge on a personal level.

And that’s the honesty and directness I’m missing from so many Tarantula or Mirage fics these days. Its the disconnect, how Jason is framed and even celebrated as though he’s AVENGING his brother and acting on his behalf, justice for Dick being hurt by these people.....

But the reality is, there’s little to no thought or attention paid by Jason or the narrative as to what Dick’s ACTUAL wishes in this matter are, and what he actually wants and needs in order to be helped along in his recovery.

Its really just about Jason getting revenge for someone hurting someone he cares about and thus feeling hurt and pain by proxy......just twisted and made to look like something it’s not, by saying its FOR Dick even though its likely Dick would actually be worse off for knowing what Jason was doing/had done, as Dick’s guilt complex makes it all but inevitable that he’d now additionally blame himself for being the reason Jason felt he had to do that.....when ironically and obnoxiously, the reality is Jason did it in those stories because its what Jason wanted and what Jason felt HE needed to cope with his feelings and emotions about what had been done to his brother. It really ultimately has nothing to do with Dick, he’s just the excuse, but he also just so happens to 100% be someone who would shoulder the burden of guilt and blame and remorse for even just being the excuse for someone going to those extremes.

If a story is about Dick’s trauma and Dick’s recovery, leaving out Dick’s actual expressed wishes or Dick’s feelings about what other people do or want to do as a result of this is a huge, gaping, annoying as hell oversight.

And for the record, I’m trying to keep this general and not speak to specific fics because I’m aware that for many survivors, the act of projecting onto Dick and what he suffered there can and does mean that for some people, Jason’s actions there are viewed as almost actually being on behalf of the readers/writers who project themselves into Dick’s position in that narrative. I get that, and that’s why this issue is always going to be messy.

As with most things, my true gripe is the overwhelming SAMENESS of the takes on Tarantula/Mirage stories, and the fact that no room is hardly ever left for those who ironically are NOT projecting onto Dick so fully that they feel avenged by whatever Jason does here.....but rather who are simply relating to Dick and thus are actually just looking for the catharsis of him being able to seize back control over his own life and what happens to him and because of him, by the narrative prioritizing the other characters focusing on what HE wants and needs for HIS recovery rather than going off to enact revenge of their own.

Sorry not sorry, but I am always gonna be hardcore gung-ho about the fact that I think that stories that are ABOUT a specific character’s rape should always center and prioritize THEM and what THEY want and/or do, rather than just use them and what happened to them as a catalyst to then showcase someone else acting out a revenge fantasy in their name.

The desire to avenge a loved one, the desire for personal revenge against someone who hurt a loved one, and the desire to act as little as possible on your own personal feelings about what happened and instead be there to help enact whatever that hurt loved one says they want or need to help get better....

Each and every one of these desires has validity....the problem is, depending on the characters involved, they absolutely ARE at times mutually exclusive and not compatible, and thus not keeping a firm awareness on the distinction between these and which are the primary motivations for which characters, like.....it often brings these into direct conflict....but without a lot of writers and readers ever perceiving any conflict exists, because they’re completely centered on Jason’s actions and choices rather than Dick’s wants and needs, to the extent that in a lot of fics, the latter never even comes up for a mention.

And that’s the part that just will never work in my eyes. If its about what happened to Dick, it needs to be about what he wants or needs as a result. There can be other elements in play as well, by all means Jason and others can absolutely have their own conflicting views about what happened and wants/needs for revenge that are at odds with what Dick himself wants, and this doesn’t make them bad or wrong, but there’s so much room for intricate and complicated dynamics and insights there....whereas there’s just none of that in narratives that use harm done to Dick as a catalyst for character choices.....just without Dick’s character choices ever then entering the narrative as being considered at all relevant.

21 notes · View notes

sparklyandchic · 5 years

Text

𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕔𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕝𝕖𝕥𝕖 𝕙𝕖𝕒𝕕-𝕥𝕠-𝕥𝕠𝕖 𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕠𝕧𝕖𝕣 𝕘𝕦𝕚𝕕𝕖

✨ first, a disclaimer! this is a list of things which i have found to subjectively improve my own appearance. i’m sure there’s many more treatments i’ve missed, and you may also feel that some of these treatments aren’t for you- i’ve just included everything which i have enjoyed personally in order to inform you of your options, from which you can make your own decisions on which to take part in. also, little blurb; what society or others think of you doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things and it is not my goal to promote being concerned with these things here. these are meant to help you be more excited about your own appearance every morning when you wake up, and take more time and care for yourself. partaking in these activities should add to your life, not subtract. ur all cute and valuable already ✨

also second disclaimer: i initially tried to make an amazon storefront as i thought i could put all the products i mentioned on one page so you could have access to them easily, but it turns out regular people can only get an amazon affiliation. this means that if you buy anything through the amazon links i provided, i’ll receive a very tiny percentage of the profits. this doesn’t benefit you, nor does it make the price higher for you, but if you’d like to support what i’m doing, it would be cool if you bought things through the links i provided. if you hate me or something, you can just search and buy them through amazon yourself! these are all products that i used and bought from amazon far before i signed up for the amazon affiliation, i’m just genuinely obsessed with amazon but i’m not affiliated in any way with any brand i mentioned.

✨ 𝕙𝕒𝕚𝕣 ✨

bleach/dye: personally i am a huge fan of foil highlights! tons of gals look amazing with dark hair or their natural hair color, but i have found that, for me, they really brighten the face and add depth to my hair. you could also darken your hair, do balayage, or tone it a different shade. i always recommend going to an actual well-rated salon rather than attempting to do it at home. they can ensure you’re getting the proper undertones and the correct volume developer for your hair. if you’re getting your hair bleached, look for a salon that uses olaplex or a similar bond builder in the mixture to avoid completely damaging the structure of your hair. at home, i tone my hair to remove gold/brassy tones with either this pravana mask, or a tiny amount of this semi-permanent violet hair dye mixed into my conditioner (you should only leave this in for a minute the first time as it can be very strong). i’ve found most purple shampoos are quite harsh, especially on fragile hair, so i always go for conditioner.

at-home protein treatments: if your hair is damaged from dying or styling it, i highly recommend using a protein mask on it at home once a week when you can to restore the structure of your hair. olaplex no 3 is a popular option but i really like this k-beauty collagen mask for a way cheaper option that works just as well in my opinion! many brands make protein and keratin masks though so feel free to order whichever you like.

cleansing conditioner: if you’ve used every “hydrating” and “repairing” shampoo + conditioner under the sun but your hair is still dry or fragile, i recommend using cleansing conditioner instead! shampoo, even sulfate free ones, can create friction and cause tearing in your hair, but cleansing conditioner cleans your hair without stripping or damaging it! i love this one from renpure and it’s a lot cheaper than other cleansing conditioners like wen, which i found to be less effective and weigh the hair down. if your hair does ever start to feel a little weighed down or oily, use shampoo to clean it more deeply- i tend to use it once every 1-2 weeks depending on how much i’ve been working out. cleansing conditioner will also help maintain a keratin treatment as it won’t strip the treatment from your hair, which brings me to this next consideration...

keratin treatments: keratin treatments are a semi-permanent treatment which help to make your hair quite a lot straighter, and much smoother, softer, shinier, and dry quicker! these help so much if you have frizzy or damaged hair, or your curl pattern is super irregular like mine! curly hair is beautiful too but if your curl pattern is tough to manage and make look pretty, then they’re a great option. a lot of people ask me if they're damaging but i find that they really help with my damaged fake-blonde hair and my hair stylist agrees, but he said to stay away from relaxers or japanese straightening treatments if your hair is fragile as those can be very damaging! if you’re in nyc, i recommend ‘hair bar nyc,’ their treatments are around $100 and last a couple months before they start to fade. i always go for their strongest solution, the 24 karat.

hair growth vitamins: personally i had short hair for a long time and loved it and still think it looks great on so many people! but i’m currently growing it out, so i’ve been taking hair vitamins daily to speed up the process. any brand works, but i love this brand ‘hair anew’ on amazon, or any store-brand which contains extra nutrients like zinc and pantothenic acid (not just plain biotin) as i feel that they work better and also clear my skin. they also help grow your nails longer and stronger, your eyebrows thicker, and your lashes longer and thicker!

hair extensions: these are less common/necessary, but for girls whose hair is much shorter than they want it, is damaged from bleach/dye/heat, or whose hair is quite thin, clip-in extensions can be a game changer. i’ve had tape-in extensions before and found that not only did they damage my hair and thin it out incredibly badly afterward, but they also truly were a lot of work to style and still looked bad after half an hour of trying to get it to work. a pair of clip-in remy extensions should also only set you back $60-100 while any sort of semi-permanent extension is far more expensive. i currently have this brand fullshine from amazon but it may also be wise to find a beauty supply store where you can match your hair to the extensions. this is also a great method of showing your hair stylist exactly what color you want your hair dyed to be! and pro-tip, never ever use shampoo on your extensions if you want them to last more than a month before they’re ratty and you need new ones. only ever wash them with plain conditioner, every couple of weeks!

shower filters: if you live in a place which has hard water, this can make your hair more brittle, dry, frizzy, tangled, and even make your hair a shade of green, due to the dissolved minerals drying in your hair. i installed this water filter in my shower to purify the water. it only takes 5 minutes; you simply twist off your showerhead, twist the filter on, and then twist the showerhead back on. they also help with acne, eczema, and dandruff! i definitely noticed a difference in my hair softness when i got one.

leave-in treatments: i figure my favorite leave in-conditioners and serums are worth a mention here! i’ve been using the same 2-3 products for several years and i’ve never found anything that works as well as them. the two non-negotiables for me are it’s a 10 leave-in conditioner with keratin, and either biosilk or chi silk infusion. and if and when my hair is very dry or damaged from recent bleaching, i also put some moroccanoil on the ends.

✨ 𝕖𝕪𝕖𝕤 ✨

brows: at-home tinting is a quick and cost effective way to make your brows more defined! i’ve used henna dyes before, which also dye the skin beneath the brows and make them look extra thick, but i found that lighter colors were always more orange than “light brown.” instead i love and use this brand of lash/brow dye. i don’t buy their developer- i just followed a reviewer’s instructions to mix equal parts hydrogen peroxide and dye, and it works great! and obviously choose the color which suits your hair color. also worth mentioning, the light brown can be quite light or quite dark depending on how long you leave it on so start with 5 minutes and go from there!

also, of course always keep your eyebrows well-shaped! if you’ve never had them shaped before, it’s a good idea to get it done professionally first and then maintain it at home with tweezers. i’m a big fan of benefit brow bar for waxing! they have stand-alone locations or smaller bars in a lot of ulta’s.

lashes: getting your lashes done is a great way to feel more done-up even without makeup! lash extensions are amazing at defining your eyes and making them look bigger and more awake, but they’re also a lot of money and upkeep. personally i love lash lifts as i have long lashes (from hair growth vitamins woo) but they just don’t curl very well and are super blonde; a lash lift dyes and curls them and lasts far longer than extensions with no bi-weekly touch-up appointments! if you're not opting for any treatments, i’d still recommend hair growth vitamins to grow your lashes longer!

you can also dye your lashes at home! i’ve tried at-home lash lift kits several times and i found them all messy and completely ineffective, possibly due to my lack of skill, but i couldn’t personally recommend them as of yet. i would recommend at-home lash tints though! if i don’t currently have my lashes curled and tinted from a lash lift, i will use this dye, which is the black version of my eyebrow tint, and use the same hydrogen peroxide formula as described above, to dye my lashes black. it’s great if you’re lazy with makeup, going swimming, or wanna look a lil extra cute when you're at home.

✨𝕤𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕔𝕒𝕣𝕖 ✨

professional facials are a great option if you want to feel pampered, get extractions from someone who knows how to do it properly, or get an intensive peel or mask. but they can also get incredibly expensive, while some of their treatments can be done entirely at home!

physical exfoliation: this is pretty important for basically any skin type, in order to remove dead skin cells! you should avoid harsh scrubs, like those with walnut shell, as they can create microtears in the skin. sugar-based scrubs are safe, but personally i use either of these two items:

-facial brushes! i got a clarisonic years ago, and i love it! if i remove my makeup, then wash my face with my hands, but then wash my face with the clarisonic, there's generally still makeup that comes off on the brush. i would recommend a clarisonic but there’s now highly rated much cheaper versions on amazon so i don’t think i’d recommend spending $100-200 on one when this $33 version with similar sonic vibrations is available.

-microdermabrasion is a great, more advanced option, for removing dead skin cells and helping to clean out your pores. the ‘diamond’ tip runs along your skin to exfoliate dead skin cells, while a vacuum pulls off the skin cells and unclogs your pores. they are a bit more expensive- i got this $90 one for christmas and love it, though there are also similar ones which run around $60 and also have great reviews. i only use this about once a week.

chemical exfoliation: this is great for brightening up the skin. whenever my skin simply looks tired, dull, or congested, i opt for a chemical exfoliant. there are tons of chemical exfoliant options, but my go-to has to be these pads by dr dennis gross. they consist of 2 pads- one with the acids which will exfoliate your skin and one with a neutralizer- and only take about 5 minutes total to use! they are an all time favorite, as i see a difference in my skin right away, but aren’t so harsh that i get any redness or peeling afterwards. the ordinary is also a great skincare brand for all kinds of acids and oils for really cheap! they make a peeling solution which one of my friend uses and she loves it, and i’ve tried a lot of their products over the years and loved them too.

general masks: there are tons of different masks to help with different skin problems and skin types. basically, you've got clay masks for oily skin, hydrating masks for dry skin, and undereye masks for when you're tired as hell.

radiofrequency machine: i first found out about this from stephanie shepherd’s top shelf interview. it’s somewhat commonly used in high end facials, and my friend who is going to cosmetology school said they're great for acne and skin tightening! to my understanding, it works by killing bacteria in the skin, and stimulating blood flow and collagen production. the one i have is only $40, which makes it seem too good to be true, but apparently studies have shown they’re effective in wrinkle reduction, and i’ve found it really helpful for making breakouts heal faster.

other products: i haven’t actually found many other products that i think are a “holy grail” item, besidesss the embryolisse lait creme concentre. i have really dry skin, especially in the winter, and actually bought myself the smallest jar of la mer available this past christmas to see if it could help, but i found it to help absolutely nothing. the lait creme, though, has made my skin actually look like normal skin again, when it used to be extremely flakey and irritated. it’s known for commonly being used backstage at a lot of couture fashion shows, which sold me on it initially lol.

✨ 𝕤𝕞𝕚𝕝𝕖 ✨

teeth whitening: i use crest whitestrips to whiten my teeth at home! i’ve found them really effective, but i’d recommend using them a bit less often than the instructions recommend. the kind i have recommends using them daily at first but, anytime i’ve used them two days in a row, my teeth were sensitive and in pain for a whole day afterwards. otherwise they’re great though, just space them out a bit!

also, of course, floss and brush your teeth morning and night! i’d also recommend adding a tiny bit of baking soda on top of your toothpaste, to help with whitening. i used to do this daily back in high school and started actually getting compliments on my teeth being white.

lip filler: as many of you know, i’ve had lip filler done, and I've received a lot of questions about them, so i thought i’d include the basic rundown here. these obviously aren’t something that you should feel ugly without. your lips can be beautiful whether or not you’re following this trend. personally, i never thought i would get lip fillers, but last year i did start noticing that when i smiled in pictures, my top lip would totally disappear. i was hesitant but went and got my lips done knowing that it would dissolve in time, and i ended up loving them and feeling totally glamorous with them! i must caution you to avoid getting too much “lip flipping” done if any. over time, my injector started putting the filler around the edges of my lips to flip my lips out and make them appear bigger. it’s okay in small doses, but some injectors start cutting corners and over-doing it, which leads to the “duck face” look, and my lips have started to look slightly pursed even at rest, but are also completely lacking volume in the middle. i’m getting them dissolved and re-done soon, but let this be a lesson to you to ask for little to no lip flipping, and ask for the filler to be more in the center of your lips. before lip flipping, no one ever seemed to notice i had anything done, then suddenly after two appointments with lip flipping, everyone and their mother started asking if ive had my lips done. so i’d highly recommend them, with that caveat in mind.

✨ 𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕤 + 𝕗𝕖𝕖𝕥 ✨

manicures: okay so you can do your nails at home if you’re doing regular polish, or even if you're using an at-home gel polish set. you should file them into a nice shape (i prefer them round as opposed to square, as they’re less likely to break), push back and trim your cuticles if needed, and paint them. but personally i love getting acrylics or dip powder! i always get tips added if my nails aren’t very long at the moment, and i feel that it makes my fingers look longer and more elegant and feminine. either way is cute though!

pedicures: okay so getting a pedicure at the salon is a great experience, but i also see no reason to get one given that i can just trim and paint my toenails at home. i would highly recommend ordering some peeling foot masks though- these are the ones i have. they’re these little plastic sock masks that you leave on for an hour, take off, and then ~3 days later an entire layer of your skin starts peeling off and your foot is baby soft. if it’s taking a while to peel off, go soak your feet in a bowl of warm water or in a bath/shower and scrub it off. i used to sit with a foot exfoliation machine for like 20 minutes whirring away at my feet but with these you can just chill on tumblr for an hour and then a few days later your feet are totally renewed.

✨ 𝕓𝕠𝕕𝕪 ✨

self tanner: self-tanning is probably my #1 beauty tip. honestly i’d give up makeup, conditioner, whatever, as long as i could hold onto my bondi sands dark tanning foam. a good tan makes you look so fresh, healthy, glowing, and fit and toned. before tanning, you should try and exfoliate yourself in the shower. i use a scrubby mitt, specifically this one, which also comes with an actual tanning mitt and a mini facial tanning mitt for applying your tanner. afterwards, you’re going to want to apply some lotion on your knees, elbows, and heels, as these areas tend to be dry and soak up more self tanner and turn darker than the rest of your body. then just apply your self tanner all over with a tanning mitt, and blend well. i swear by bondi sands dark foam! st. tropez gives me an allergic reaction personally and a lot of other ones smell bad or have an orange guide-color, but bondi sands smells like coconut and has a really pretty cool-toned tan guide-color. (DHA is the active ingredient in self-tanners- its a clear chemical which reacts with the skin cells and turns them darker after a few hours, while the initial color that you see right out of the bottle is the guide-color. self-tanners will market their tan as “not orange” or something like that, but this only refers to the guide-color, not the tan itself, as they all contain DHA which turns skin the same color. regardless, i love that bondi sands has such a nice guide-color, so even when i’m pale, i can just throw some on and run out the door looking tan!) after a week or two, your tan is going to start getting patchy no matter how many layers you’ve added, so you’re either going to want to exfoliate as much off as you can and do a fresh new tan, or if i have time i’ll apply the bondi sands self-tan remover before exfoliating to get virtually all of it off.

glitter: this is a bit more out-there, but i love love love using shimmery lotions on my body. i feel like a fairy princess, but also it gets rid of that chalky flakey dry look my skin can get in the winter. before swim shoots or the victoria’s secret fashion show, models are always getting slathered in shimmery lotion or oil. there’s a lot of expensive shimmery body oils out there, but you can also just make your own with cosmetic mica and your favorite lotion (i use a gradual tanning lotion to keep my tan looking fresh). cosmetic mica is basically what they use in all the shimmery makeup you buy, and it doubles as an amazing highlighter or eyeshadow!

✨𝕞𝕒𝕜𝕖𝕦𝕡 ✨

basic tips: i’m by no means a makeup guru, but i do feel as though my makeup skills have strengthened a lot since i was a little hippie at 16 years old who just wore hemp lip balm and organic powder foundation sometimes, so here’s some tips i picked up since then. i did also take a one-day makeup masterclass in LA with a celebrity makeup artist who has done the kardashians makeup, which is where i learned virtually all these tips:

✰ let your moisturizer sit for a few minutes before applying foundation ✩ beauty blenders tend to be far better for blending liquid makeup into your skin than brushes ✰ using just one shade of foundation on your face can make your skin look flat. either use a few different shades of foundation, or a light concealer and a darker contour stick, to add dimension to the face. also, use 2 or 3 different blush colors to add dimension ✰ blend. more than you think you need to. your foundation, contour, blush, eyeshadow, everything. just keep blending. ✰ don’t make your eyeliner too thick along the entire eye. this makes your eyelids and eyes look smaller. it should be thin until you thicken it at the outer corners of your eyes. ✰ as for the rest, fill in and brush your eyebrows, wear a lip color that goes well with your skin tone, highlight the inner corners of your eyes to look more awake, use a setting spray if you want to look dewier and make your makeup last longer ✰

if you’re curious about my full makeup routine here are all the products i use:

✰ embryolisse lait creme concentre moisturizer ✰ giorgio armani luminous silk foundation ✰ tarte shape tape concealer ✰ anastasia beverly hills contour stick in ‘mink’ ✰ too faced born this way setting powder ✰ wet n wild blushes in ‘mellow wine’ and ‘apricot in the middle’ ✰ huda beauty rose gold eyeshadow palette (this is pretty but doesn’t blend super well you should probably buy the abh modern renaissance palette) ✰ stila micro tip eyeliner ✰ too faced better than sex mascara ✰ abh clear brow gel ✰ eyebrow powder, doesn't matter what brand but i got tamnova at the makeup course so i use that. thin eyebrow pencils are good for a natural look but my brows are too thick for them lol ✰ this cosmetic mica for highlighter ✰ glossier generation g lipstick in the color leo ✰

makeup bag: a somewhat extensive list of on-the-go beauty products for you to consider carrying with you in your makeup bag:

✰ perfume. you can buy small on-the-go perfume bottles like these and fill them with your favorite scent ✰ lip products, such as lip balm, lip gloss, or lipstick ✰ lotion. i bring a small hand lotion bottle, and also carry a small container of my body lotion and cosmetic mica mixture ✰ mini lint roller ✰ tide stain stick ✰ downy wrinkle releaser fabric spray ✰ eyelash curler ✰ foundation powder ✰ mascara ✰ mini hairbrush ✰ mini dry shampoo ✰ mints, mint gum, or mini mouthwash ✰ mini deodorant ✰ summer’s eve wipes ✰ hydrating facial mist ✰ blotting papers ✰

✨ 𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕕𝕟𝕖𝕤𝕤 ✨

no matter how manicured, tanned, and sparkly you are, if you act with jealousy, spite, and hatred, you will never be beautiful, on the inside or outside. live authentically, act with integrity, and be kind ♡

#prettyandchic #skinnyandchic

244 notes · View notes

petri808 · 5 years

Note

Can you write how you think Natsu and Lucy's first day would go? 😣😣

Sorry it took a while to write something. Not everything goes smoothly lol. I hope you like the Drabble :)

Tied to day 3 orange prompt as well @fortheloveofnaluevents

Nothing’s Perfect

‘I can do this... I can do this... I...’ “I-I can’t do it!” Natsu turns back to the table where he and Gray had been sitting. He sits down, holding his head in his hands. “I can’t, I’m too nervous.”

“I don’t see why,” Gray quips back, “it’s just Lucy.”

Natsu slams his fist on the table “Exactly!” Several members turn to see where the noise came from and he scrunches back in his seat mumbling. “It’s weird to ask her.”

But Gray just laughs at him. “End of the worlds coming and you get all fired up. Ask Lucy out on a date, and you crumble!”

“Fuck you!”

“Tch. Just get it over with and ask her out already. Natsu,” the ice mage leans over the table, “she knows exactly what you’re like.” He sits back with a smug look. “Just lay yourself bare, so to speak.”

“What the fuck?! You want me to strip?!”

“Idiot! It just means be yourself, show the real you, don’t hide anything.”

“Oh.”

“Think of it like any other mission. Your objective is to ask Lucy out on a date.”

“And then what?”

Gray rolls his eyes, “seriously?! When she says yes, you take her out on a real date!”

“Oh, right...” Natsu chuckles and runs his hand nervously through his hair. Not that he really knew what he was supposed do on this date.

“Will you just go and ask her already?!”

“Okay, Okay!” The slayer gets up, muttering under his breath about a meddling ice freak. When he gets to the table where Lucy is sitting with a couple of the females of Fairy Tail, Natsu taps on her shoulder.

“Oh, hey Natsu,” Lucy smiles at her partner, “did you need something?”

A blush explodes onto his cheeks, “I-I was wondering if...” ‘AHHHH THIS IS HARD!’ “...you’d go out on a, um, d-date with me.”

“I’m sorry,” she blinks, “did you say date?”

Levy snickers, “he did.”

Cana grins, “he su—re did!”

“I did,” he cups the back of his neck, “y-you know... I don’t know, like dinner or something.”

“Oh... you really did just ask me out.” The realization hits Lucy like a ton of bricks. “I’m sorry, I’m just a little surprised. Um, yeah, sure,” she smiles, “I wouldn’t mind going on a date with you.”

“Really! Okay, how about tomorrow night? I can meet you at your apartment.”

She nods as her cheeks flush a little, “6?”

“6 it is!” Natsu turns tail and struts away. It was all an act. He was on cloud nine but if he stopped to think about anything now, he’d probably faint. Gray gives him the thumbs up as he walks past their table towards the front door, but he needed fresh air!

Back at the girls table, a giggle fest has taken over with Cana and Levy both teasing and congratulating the blonde. “And you thought he’d never make a move,” Cana sips her beer.

“I thought it was sweet,” Levy retorts. “The poor boy looked so nervous I’m surprised he made it through the question!”

Lucy sighs and props her head on the table, “I wonder if he even knows what a date is?”

After enduring even more humiliation from Mira’s oohing, awing, and light teasing, Natsu thought he had everything planned to where even he couldn’t mess things up. Keep it simple, was her biggest piece of advice. He knew Lucy better than anyone else, her likes, dislikes, so it all came down to the execution. When 6pm rolled around, Natsu knocked on Lucy’s door holding a bouquet of pink roses. He’d been advised that red may have been more appropriate but decided to go with her favorite color instead.

He hears a stumbling sound from inside the apartment, things being tossed, rushing feet. “Are you okay Lucy?”

“Y-Yeah, I’ll be right, oww, damn it, I’ll be right out Natsu.”

When she opens the door a few moments later, Lucy is still adjusting her clothes, and slipping on her heels. Natsu chuckles, “are you sure you’re okay Lucy?”

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she waves her hand nonchalantly trying to act like she wasn’t a hot mess at the moment. Truth be told, it had taken her all afternoon to decide on an outfit. Re-did her hair and makeup a couple of times before giving up on said makeup and just leaving her hair down. She broke her first pair of heels, that was the stumbling ‘oww’ he had heard, and to top it all off, it was the only one that really matched her outfit. “You look really nice Natsu,” a light blush filtering along her cheeks. He’d really gone all out tonight in one of his button-down, off-white collared shirts and beige slacks.

“You look beautiful too Lucy,” his own blush appearing, “here,” he juts the bouquet out at her, “I-I got you flowers.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet!” she giggles, “Lemme put this in water before we go.” It takes just a couple of minutes till she’s back at her door, closing, and locking it behind her.

Natsu holds out his hand tentatively, “ready for dinner?”

Lucy takes it and nods, relishing in the warmth he exuded, but it also made her more nervous. It wasn’t like this was the first time she’d held his hand, and yet it was worlds apart from the others. They walked along the canal in a companionable silence, just a young couple, too wrapped up in their anxieties over the whole affair.

“About time!”

They turn and see the boaters in the canal giving them a thumbs up. Those guys always gave her grief!

“Sorry ‘bout that Natsu, you know they always tease…”

“Don’t apologize,” he mumbles, “they’re right, I should’a done this a long time ago.”

She pulls him to a halt, “what matters is you did it when I was ready.” Lucy blushes, “I mean, yeah I liked you for a while, but I would have been too nervous if you’d asked me before the Quest.”

“Oh, thank the stars,” he breathes out, “I wondered if you actually liked me liked me or was just humoring me on this date.”

Lucy laughs, “no… I Iike you Natsu.”

He squeezes her hand, “we should hurry. I made reservations at that new restaurant Aomatsu cause everyone said their katsudon is the best in town.”

Well what was she expecting, Lucy thought to herself as she nibbled at her one plate while watching Natsu gobbling up his fourth. He always ate like it was the best tasting thing in the world or the last meal of his life. Of course, considering this was an ‘official’ date, he could have tried to be a little less sloppy. Surrounding tables kept side-eyeing the couple, probably wondering why any woman would put up with such a messy guy. But Lucy had grown so accustomed to Natsu’s eating habits she merely smiled, shrugged, and ignored them. She loved him, flaws and all.

“You gonna finish that?” he points to her half-eaten cake. When she shakes her head and chuckles, Natsu happily accepts the plate.

Yeah…. She could consider herself ‘Lucky Lucy’ after all. How many people are blessed to have found not only a best friend, but the love of their life rolled into one person? Someone who never judged, always supported, and stayed true to their partnership. The bottom line was, she could always count on Natsu.

As he wiped his hands with the napkin, Natsu tips his head, “do I have something on my face? You’ve been sitting there just staring at me while I ate.”

She keeps her head propped with her hand, shaking it, “just waiting for you to finish.”

“Aww man, I’m sorry,” he finishes wiping up, “I didn’t realize…. Am I ruining the moment?”

“No, no,” Lucy chuckles, her smiling eyes crinkling at the corners, “I don’t mind.”

“Whew! Okay well I think you’ll like what I got planned next, so lemme just settle the bill.”

They head back in the direction of Lucy’s apartment hand in hand. When they’re only about a block away, Natsu stops. He explains of wanting to surprise her and asks that she get on his back in a piggy-back style while closing her eyes. “No peaking,” he reminds.

“I won’t.” Lucy can feel him walking but has no idea of the direction. Based on the faint smell of brine, she assumed they were still walking along the canal. A short distance later, the feeling of climbing a flight of stairs. She hears him open a door before walking a few more feet.

He puts her down, still keeping his hands on her shoulders, “okay you can open your eyes now.”

Her heart flutters at the sight! They were only on top of her apartment building, but Natsu had set up a furry rug, a couple of pillows, and candles scattered around. In one a smooth stream of fire he lights them all, then plops onto the rug holding out a hand to her, “join me,” he smiles.

Lucy giggles and sits beside him. “Thank you Natsu, this is a really sweet end to our dinner date.”

“I’m glad you think so,” he scratches his head, “I thought it was a bit simple, but Mira said you’d like it.”

It wasn’t a surprise that the bar maid had a hand in this. Lucy leans on Natsu’s shoulder, “Mira was right.”

After a while, they go from sitting to lying down, making a small bet of who would see a shooting star first. They chat about little things or simply lets a companionable silence fall over them. It was nice after all, just relaxing together, something rare between them.

A slight breeze picks up, and Natsu’s nose catches an upswing of moisture in the air. In front of them there was nothing but clear, starry skies, but when he looks behind, the skies had grown menacing. Natsu gets them to their feet and they start bundling up the rug and pillows. It was too late. Another stronger gust and suddenly a deluge of rain strikes. He quickly grabs the rug and hauls it over their head as a makeshift umbrella, but being made of fabric, the soaked material quickly becomes inundated.

Natsu uses his magic to heat the fabric to a point before it would catch fire. Steaming off the water as quickly as it tries to soak in. Lucy clings to his body to stay warm.

“I’m sorry Lucy, this wasn’t the ending I’d planned for.”

“Oh Natsu, it’s not like you couldn’t have predicted rain.”

“But now the date is ruined.”

She wraps an arm around his neck, while the other hand gently settles on his cheek, “I wouldn’t say that. It makes our first date memorable.”

He pouts, “I was hoping to get something right for once.”

Standing on her tip-toes, Lucy places a soft, exploratory kiss on his lips. It takes a second to register, but Natsu lets the rug fall, answering her kiss with more of his own. And as the rain falls around them, with only the rug balanced over their heads, steam wasn’t the only thing being generated on that roof top…

#colorful nalu #day 3 orange #courage confidence loyalty friendship #nalu #natsu dragneel #lucy heartfilia #fairy tail #nalu drabble #ask request

76 notes · View notes

bentenharuki · 4 years

Text

I generally don’t do these but...

I will do this because it’s a badge of honor and a thank you for @todayintokyo who gives me a daily vibe out of my second fav Country in the world (first one is my own, of course. My messy, chaotic, genius Italy).

So for everyone interested (I won’t tag people either... if you are among my 250+ readers, do it as freely as you like to share this unexpected hard time along others. Sharing makes us all feel less stranded I guess :))

1. Are you staying home from work/school? Yep. My University (Milano Bicocca) holds in-house lessons and curses and also exams and testing are/will be online. What I miss most are the lab works and the exchanges with foreign schools. I took one a few months ago in London and I was supposed to have another in May but... NOPE, of course.

2. If you’re staying home, who’s there with you? I am alone in my apartment. At first it was supposed to be shared rent with somebody else but then my parents just bought this out and lent it to me. I know. I am spoiled. But very grateful for what I have. I always try to give back the best I can because no one has merits in being born in a family instead of another. (pieces of second-rate philosophy in all my LONG answers courtesy of my mum and her influence on me. She’s a University Professor and her field is.. guess what.. ETHICS PHILOSOPHY)

3. Do you have pets to keep you company? Nope. Not allowed. But I like cats. Cats. CATS. They are elegant, refined, very clean, and they give you consideration and affection ONLY if they like you. I prefer to conquer somebody’s love instead than to have it by default. Then I am naturally a cat person instead of a dog’s. But I like all animals (I like snakes as well, so my range is pretty wide ;)), even though I don’t feel missing any in house. Generally I would be out of home most of the day and no pet would be happy in staying that much alone. I miss my grandparents’ kitty tho :)

4. Who do you miss the most? Family. Friends. Meeting new people when out. And... (is it fine to say it?) Well... in these lockdown times I miss... human touch. (You get what kind). I was seeing a guy when this all started and my old boyf also came back into the picture somehow. All on hold. And I avoid to think how that makes me feel because even in case I’d figure it out, what comes if one can’t act on the awareness? Exactly. So I put it all in a LONG pause. But yeah... I miss contacts. A LOT.

5. When was the last time you left your home? I go out every Thursday to buy all my grocery stuff. I am very methodic. My supermarket is pretty near and it’s BIG and I get there right before it opens (well... one hour almost before it opens, so I can be among the firsts in line). I look like a ninja: very sporty and technically dressed (like for a running competition!) with clothes and shoes which are easy washable, tech mask (it is for cycling competition, with filters specifically medical: the mask is washable as well after you’ve used it, while the filter is obviously not), cotton fit gloves and over them medical gloves (I can’t wear directly medical gloves because my skin is very sensitive and I suffer from nickel allergia, which makes latex gloves a NO NO directly on skin), teck googles which cover also the side of my face (those are from cycling items too) and of course PODS in my ear because I can’t live without music :)

6. What was the last thing you bought? I bought online a few garden tools for my biggest balcony. I have ZERO skill with plants (and I am supposed to become a biologist... the nerve! LOL) but I am keen at making grow at least rosemery for my recipes. I have a little peach tree and it is all fine so far. I have hope I can do better and anyway I have time now ;)

7. Is quarantine driving you insane or are you finally relaxed? I try to keep my routine as it was before. I wake up and perform all my tasks exactly as I was doing before this all started. I am VERY organized and to lax on that would ruin me, so I carefully focus on what I can control the best I can. It feels strange to say it maybe but... this way my mood isn’t particularly affected by this heavy revolution in my (and everyone elses’s) life.

8. Are you a homebody? NOPE. I love people, I love my Milan and its being always full of people everywhere. I love living in my town a TON, I love meeting friends anywhere, go dancing, I love to live my University life in this beautiful and renewed part of Milan; I like being surrounded by my people and meeting new ones. So being stuck at home would seem insufferable for me. But I learnt from this (there’s always something to learn in any experience) that I can be surprisingly ok with staying home too. I came to know better my neighbors. I feel a sense of community with everyone living nearby and I have come to love my domesticity too. It was a surprise for me first ^.^

9. What movies have you watched recently? In Italy, Italia 1 channel has had the WONDERFUL idea to rebroadcast all Harry Potter saga every Monday and Thursday. Today and tomorrow there are the last two installments, so I can say that is what I looked out the most for as in movie things these past weeks (funny how I never particularly adored the books of HP, I mean, I liked them but... being a Tolkien’s devotee Rowlings’ literary efforts always seemed lackluster to me.. and still I have always liked the movies. It’s incoherent I know ;)). But I have Sky at home so I can watch whatever movie I like to whenever I want to. And that leads to VERY little watch actually. I am reading a ton though. I watch what passes on in the National channels actually, out of digital and cable and decide to watch it or not. For instance last Friday Rai 1 (main Italian Channel) broadcasted one of my fav movies from the past three years, GIFTED (with Chris Evans and Octavia Spencer) and I rewatched it with immense pleasure.

10. An event that you were looking forward to that got cancelled? OLYMPICS. I was supposed to be back in Japan with a a couple of friends and my bro for experience the Olympics (especially the volleyball tournaments) between July and August and that got (of course) cancelled. We plan to move it all to next year of course. But it hurts SO MUCH because it was easily what I was looking forward to BEST for all 2020. Hands down.

11. What’s the best and worst thing you’ve had to cancel? Look up. For the other question, I never plan things I don’t like (or at least I try my best not to) and I almost never find myself in the position of being happy for something I had going on which I had to pass due to circumstances. I am a very honest (sometimes to the point of bluntness, though with age I got trained in the fine art of diplomacy, which for me is declined especially in the “IGNORE WHAT IS NOT WORTHY degree) person and if there is something I don’t like I tend to not get involved with it in the first place.

12. Do you have any new hobbies? Eh... the longest list... I love so many things. Sport don’t count as hobbies to me because I treat them as part of my daily life constantly. So take them off. I like to write, to draw, to paint... I like reading, I like learning... I am a tech geek; I like gaming (but that I have to cut it or it would absorb me too much)... I like TRAVELING (that is cut off too of course nowadays), and many other things so I guess I don’t literally have SPACE for new hobbies. My many ones makes it impossible to fall for new things though lately I am becoming a better cook out of needs ;)

13. What are you out of? My lists are made as soon my things become “two items in from having 0″. This way I can’t run out of anything. Did I say already I am a HUGE control freak? THAT ;)

14. What music are you listening to? My itunes collections lists so far 12376 ALBUMS. Then I have the random songs. Latest one I bought (because I buy them all) is Achille Lauro’s latest 16 Marzo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yb-9RESbeWA

I am also listening a lot to one of my bro’s fav bands Radiohead and as usual a lot to my beloved Imagine Dragons. My mum and dad are also telling me to listen to Bill Withers (who recently passed away) whole discography because he was amazing. I love many music genres. I love ALL which makes the spirit soar and rage and evolve and love and cry and hope.

15. What are you reading? So far in quarantine I read 5 books. I have now to start ORIGINS by Dan Brown. I pick the books I have left unread randomly and that was the pick this time (people gift me with books constantly because they know I am a bookworm when I have spare time).

16. What are you doing for self-care? Keep loving myself and life and the world exactly the way I used to before this all started.

17. Are you exercising? Yup. Tapis roulant, golf training, stepper (all in my house lucky me) and mat and weight training. I have a routine for which I have to train at least one hour a day. NO EXCEPTION. I miss swimming but I will do. I am also in recovery after January’s knee meniscus intervention so my schedules are also taking that into consideration.

18. How’s your toilet paper supply? I'm OK. :)

19. Have you made any changes to your hair during quarantine? Nope. I love to stylize my hair but I don’t have specific cuts. It grows long and then I play with them hairstyles: braids, buns, ponytails, partitions and the likes.. But I have bleached hair and I had to follow my hairdresser advice because I can’t allow ugly roots to take dominance of me ^.^ So I bought the necessary to self bleach them. No need to say as soon as I will be able to, Hairdressers and Massages and SPA will be my first destination ^.^ (beside visiting family and friends of course).

I am fairly sure I put lots of typos and mistakes in this but I have my online lesson just starting in 8 minutes and I can’t review this (I generally never do it anyway). So forgive me and have a beautiful day ;)

STAY SAFE OUT THERE!!! Hugs K.

#ask list #wow my first one #and probably my last #covid19 #quarantine #lockdown #italy #milan #tag your friends #coronavirus

3 notes · View notes

spnfanficpond · 5 years

Text

Survey results and responses

A couple of weeks ago, we put out a survey to get a feel for some things, and we got over a dozen responses! Thanks to everyone who responded and told us what you’re looking for!

There were some responses that we would like to get some clarification on, and some responses that requested things we’ve already got out there. Below the cut is a rundown of some of the questions and responses, along with links to things that already exist and plans to enact some of the things you’ve suggested.

If you responded to the survey, please read below! We need your input!

1. What things related to posting your works on Tumblr or other sites would you like to learn more about? For example, Keep Reading cuts, finding gifs, giving credit to gif and edit creators, etc.

A tutorial for adding Keep Reading to fics, both on a computer and on the app, would be helpful.

How far down should I put a keep reading?

Anything related to gifs

Best apps or sites to use for making gifs.

Finding gifs and giving credit to creators

when should I give someone credit for being a beta (for example: I bounced ideas with someone for a minute or two but they didn't technically beta read it; I can't decide between X and Y (with no context), pick one)

linking posts to blog bios

The facts on the search issues (re: links, tags, and anything else that keeps a fic from being "searchable") - I see people saying various things, so sourced facts would be nice, if possible

These are great requests, and we’ll do our best to address them in the next LiveChat Event!! There were some requests that we’ve already addressed, so here’s some links to those:

What should I be including for reader info, eg: Warnings? Word Count? Summary? Characters...? - Suggested Format for Fics

Feedback - December 2018 LiveChat Recap (Feedback and Beta Reading)

Building an audience/gaining exposure - November 2018 LiveChat Recap (Reader involvement)

There was one request for “troubleshooting”, but we’re not sure exactly what’s meant by that, so if you requested this, please send us an ask or an IM and clarify what kind of troubleshooting you’re curious about!

2. What tags would you like to see our "#writer resources" tag broken down into? For example, grammar, publishing, etc. (Currently, we only have a couple of tags that are used consistently to tag posts that are reblogged from other blogs, like writing prompts and reference posts we think might be useful for our members. We would like to make finding information easier by refining our tags so posts about grammar aren't mixed in with posts about publishing, for example.) Please list below any tags that you think would be helpful for us to use to make these posts easier to find when you're looking for them.

Word choice/vocabulary

Grammar

Synonyms

Spelling

Punctuation

Editing

Tutorials

Challenges

Tips

Inspiration

Publishing

Plot

Characterization/character development

World building

Genre tags like romance, action, horror, etc.

Dialogue

All of these are great! We’ve got some questions about some of the others that were suggested, though. If you can send us an ask or an IM and clarify about these, we’d love to hear from you!

Writing Prompts - This tag is already in use.

How to format - How to format what? Need some clarification on this.

Getting started - With what? Is this like inspiration or something different?

Brainstorming - What kinds of posts would be under this tag?

Comments - What kinds of posts would be under this tag?

Awards - We already have a tag for the AFA’s, so is this for something different?

We’d love your feedback on these ones we’re unsure of, so let us know!

3. Is there anything you wish was easier to find on the blog?

Maybe a list of frequently used tags on the FAQ page so I'm not blindly trying tags when I try to search for something.

Once we get a set list of tags we’ll be using, there will be a post or page listing them with links. First step is setting up the list, which is why we asked question #2. We’re on the right track!

New pond member stories.

By stories, do you mean fics they’ve written, or info about who they are? We post a list of new Pond members with links to their work every month. You can check them out here. If this isn’t what you’re looking for, please send us an ask with some examples!

The submit box!

Are you on desktop, mobile, or the app? Please send an IM to @mrswhozeewhatsis or @manawhaat about this so we can help you and figure out why it’s not easily accessible for you!

I wish ships and pairings were tagged so I can easily filter and find fics submitted to the pond.

This is something we’ve considered, but it’s been on the back burner while we focus on other issues. Someday, we would like to be a blog for readers, not just writers, and instituting a tagging system for fics would be part of that. Setting that up, though, will be a big project, since there are so many ships and tags to consider. How to do it without making the submit page four miles long with tag options is another hurdle. This is on our radar, but it might be a while.

I wish some things like pond members, tag list, and writing resources were easier to find on mobile./ Links are difficult to find on mobile.

The problem with the member lists is that they are pages, not posts, because pages are easier to manage than posts. Posts are slippery things that can be lost if we’re not careful, whereas pages are rooted in the blog where we can’t lose them. Sadly, the app can’t read pages, for some reason.

Another problem is that the app can’t handle a navigation block. Short of filling the bio with a ton of links, which gets very messy and hard to read, there’s no way to make these links available on the app.

That being said, if you access Tumblr via a browser app like Chrome on your phone, all of these links are available at the top of the blog! Not only are they available, the member rolls and everything you can’t see on the app are completely accessible!

Mobile friendly versions of beta and tag lists? The spreadsheets are awesome, but a little hard to read.

Spreadsheets are the only way we know to allow users to filter, which is a major part of the functionality of both lists. If you’ve got suggestions for how to do this, we’re open to them!

4. Is there anything you'd like to see more or less of on the blog?

More thesaurus/synonym like posts. For those that struggle to use other words for_____ and want to.

Interesting! We don’t see many posts like that out there, so this might be content we’d have to create. Perhaps we could solicit words from our members and create posts like this based on those suggestions? What do you think?

I think it would be good to expand the tags for submissions to include more info, like more specific other trigger categories, things that are typically taboo that a reader should know about, if the story is smut/angst/fluff, etc.

This was mentioned and addressed above, so we won’t repeat it all here.

I'd like to see more writing prompts.

More than just what’s in the #writing prompt tag? We’ll need more clarification on this one!

More things about the community like fic recs, nominations, maybe get-to-know pond member posts.

Since we’ve already got the Angel Fish Awards and the monthly New Members posts, which both include fic recs, we’ll need some clarification on what you’re looking for there. As for posts about getting to know individual pond members, this sounds like a great idea! We’re open to suggestions on how to choose what members get chosen!! Send us an ask with your ideas!!

I wish there were more active big fish in the pond.

Being a Big Fish is a big responsibility, and we understand that not everyone is up to it. We ask that our Big Fish be consistently kind and generous with other members, spend some time every month in the chat room so Guppies and Jellies can ask them for help, signal boost posts when asked, assist with Pond projects when requested, be involved with the Angel Fish Awards, and like/reblog fics by other Pond members. Doing all of that AND having a life outside of Tumblr can be a lot.

Because of all of that, we don’t usually approach Jellies and ask them if they’d be interested. We wait for Jellies to come to us. It’s a big thing, and we don’t want to pressure folks. If someone is interested, they should read this post about how Big Fish are chosen, and let us know that they are interested!

5. What kinds of prizes would you like to see more of in the monthly Angel Fish raffle?

Not sure what's currently being given away.

It changes slightly every month, and we make a post with the list of prizes. The post for June hasn’t gone up, yet, so keep an eye out on the blog!

I think it would be fun to incorporate Pond members that create stuff (like that have etsy shops or stuff like that) into the raffle.

If members would like to donate things from their shops as prizes, we would welcome them!

Hmm maybe a fic commission from a big fish? (If they’re open. Or anyone the winner might want to commission, not just big fish. Also specifically one where the writer’d still get paid in lieu of buying another physical prize lol.)

This is an interesting idea, and we’re considering it from a few different angles!

6. Are there any topics you would like to see discussed in the monthly LiveChat events?

There was only one response to this one that we need some clarification on:

Outlining series, how to give feedback, how to make your fanfics flow

We talked about Planning vs. Pantsing back in March, so check that out, and if it doesn’t give you what you’re looking for about outlining, let us know! As for feedback, we talked about Feedback and Beta Reading in December. Your last suggestion sounds interesting, but we need maybe an example of what you’re talking about to be sure we know what you’re looking for. Send us an ask and tell us more about your flow questions!

7. Is there anything else you'd like to tell us? Suggestions for improvement? Let us know here!

I love the Pond and I love the community that has been built from SPN. I feel like Big Fish are active (which they should be) and then a handful of people (category unknown, but I suspect they are Guppies) seem to be kind of active, but based on the descriptions Jellyfish seem like they should have a role as well. Could we do something with Live Chat where a Jellyfish helps answer questions or host with a BF maybe? JF should be approachable too but if we don't know them then it's hard to ask them anything and they seem just as intimidating as a BF. (BF are less intimidating to me because they interact with everyone more often actually). *shrugs* I don't know, maybe that's just me.

This is a tough one. Jelly Fish are basically Big Fish without the responsibility. (See above about Big Fish and our expectations of them.) We’ve focused on Big Fish with the LiveChats, but we aren’t against the idea of having Jelly Fish chat with us, too. (In fact, three of our events have featured Jellies.) This will take some thought to find ways to encourage Jelly Fish interaction. All suggestions are welcome!

I feel like a quarterly raffle would give more people time to vote/enter. Doing it every month feels a bit over saturated. Unrelated, but a Discord server would be nice. In my experience, those feel more open to community than a Skype chat bc there are different chats that people can interact in and it’s easier to moderate.

A quarterly raffle is totally doable, though the AFA’s will remain monthly. Would that still sound good?

Michelle has had learning Discord and setting up a server as the next thing on her to do list for three months, but just hasn’t had the time to sit down and learn (you know, when normal people are available to teach her, not the crazy hours she keeps). Kale is on Discord for other things, but is also just a beginner. We’re working on it! Discord is coming!!

If answering questions from surveys or comments or submissions in the live chat (or even interesting questions) could you post the question and answer on the blog for those that miss the chat and don’t want to/can’t scroll through it all to read everything.

You mean like the Recaps to the Monthly LiveChat Events?

I think it's great you put out these surveys. Maybe a designated suggestion option? You have the list for betas, how about a list of those that create aesthetics or art for fics?

These are awesome ideas!! Putting them on the to-do list!!

I think the Pond is really good, I just wish I knew/interacted with more people who are in it.

Tell us what would better enable you to interact, and we’ll see what we can do!

I'd suggest something to motivate people to take the time to submit to the pond? I feel like nobody hardly does it anymore, including myself, because it feels like nobody really interacts through the pond anymore.

The admins have discussed some ideas about this, but haven’t found a solution they can all agree on, yet. One admin suggested limiting Angel Fish nominations to fics that were submitted to the blog. Don’t submit, you can’t be nominated. One of the other admins hated the idea, and the third abstained. The only other suggestion has been to increase readers of the blog so writers have more incentive to submit to reach a larger audience. As mentioned above, we’re working on ideas towards that goal. What suggestions might you guys have? Another raffle for prizes?

Just maybe add a few more big fish? If that's possible? Maybe more interaction with everyone to make them feel like a part of the pond.

See above about adding more Big Fish. We need volunteers who are willing and able to keep up! Beyond trying to keep the chat room active, we could use some suggestions about how to increase interaction! Give us your ideas!!

That’s a lot to read, and kudos to you if you made it this far!! Thanks to everyone who responded to the survey, and we look forward to hearing more from you all!!

#Pond business #We welcome your feedback #Let us know how we're doing #please let us know if you have any questions that the faq page doesn't answer

26 notes · View notes

courage-a-word-of-justice · 6 years

Text

Angolmois 8 - 10 | BnHA 59 - 60 | Cells at Work! 9 - 10 | Planet With 9 - 10 | Phantom in the Twilight 9 - 10

Angolmois 8

“Hey! Kuchii and the Toibarai are fighting!” – Geesh, this sounds like a schoolyard fight! And yet, it’s because we’re here that I’m just going to sit on the sidelines and yell, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” instead.

Even after the sparring match, Kuchii is still holding his bulrush, LOL.

Uh, dude? Even in 1274, breaking into a fishing house and suddenly molesting a woman (or whatever you call whatever he was doing to the woman) is not cool, y’know?

Teruhi hadn’t appeared for half an episode until now…which just shows how minor she really is in the scheme of things, sadly enough…

How is sulfur used as medicine…?

BnHA 59

“He can do things an orca can do even on land.” – At least there’s something to distinguish him from Asui. Asui’s frogginess makes her best in the water, after all.

I love how Mera emphasised “I can sleep soon!” as being his top priority.

“A hot wind prison of flame and wind…” – That sounds kind of redundant, y’know?

Cells at Work! 9

“You’re not cut out to be a T Cell.”

Hmm…this really says something about the Japanese education system, don’tcha think?

The deception of the cell panels reminds me of Who’s That Pokémon? segments…like the top of a Jigglypuff or something. By the way, a pickling stone is a tsukemono ishi.

Planet With 9

I wonder, why do Benika and Yosuke have each other on first name basis? Is it kind of like “I’m not calling you ‘Hitsujitani’ because that’s what I know your brother as”? Or is it actually because they are close?

It’s a sheep! But it’s also a huge cotton ball! But-oh whatever. I can’t make up my mind on this, can I?

*the sealing begins*…then of course they have to show the Statue of Liberty, the sphinx etc. to show the breadth of the world and the sealing device…*sigh* Visual shorthand…

Oh, I just realised it went from giga -> tera. Hahaha, it increased in size so it...oh. Sorry. Dumb joke.

Phantom 9

“What a pain in rear!” (sic) – For some reason, I find that typo so funny, I’m leaving it as it is!

For some reason, Haysin using an iPad to communicate with his behind-the-scenes boy is kinda novel. And funny.

Choose a 3rd option – jump out the window, even when you’re still on the mend. What a glorious show…*smirking, but trying to hide it*

I just realised Ton’s red hair is the same as Luke’s red stripe. Not that Luke’s gotten more than just the stripe, though…

They’re only dealing with Magic Mirror at this point in the story??? Wuh???

Seriously, what is Wayne, if he’s not a ghost?

Where’d Shinyao’s glasses go???

The one thing more blasphemous than having reincarnation thrown into the mix when it’s already really messy with supernatural beasties and tech (not that I minded either) is…that Chris made Shinyao cry!!! Boi, you gotta pay for that!

Angolmois 9

I think I’ve gotten used to the filter over time…LOL.

Seriously, is Kuchii also good at shooting arrows??? Wuh???

Hehehe…Nagamine’s so hot. I’ve completely fallen for him after watching for a while, although the only real reason for it is his looks. He hasn’t done too much in the show, even though he seems entirely capable (dangit, Jinzaburou).

Still shots are a curse upon action shows, but unfortunately…here we go again…

I still don’t remember any generals’ names aside from Uriyan Edei, the rotund one…that’s a bit of a problem, isn’t it?

Have you noticed their objective always tends to be “land, treasure and women”, often in that order? History’s an annoying thing from a feminist perspective, eh?

This horseriding scene reminds me of the reveal of the Dosanko Shiraishi rode…the one in Golden Kamuy, that is. Not Angolmois’s Shiraishi, haha.

I only just realised Shiraishi said “head on a stick” because he’s holding a naginata, LOL. But it’s one of those naginatas made for men…

BnHA 60

There isn’t much suspense around Deku getting his licence, but Bakugo was actually a bit of a nebulous one. It’s a shame Mineta passed though…

What sort of Quirk would Yusa Kaito have, though???

I find it interesting that the word used for “you” in the ep title is the rough “temee”, as opposed to another alternative.

Why does this hero exam remind me so much of driving exams??? “Responsibility towards society” and all that…

“…proof that I’ve matured and it makes me so happy.” – That’s why I’m saying it reminds me of a driving test! Graah!

Tartarus.

Iida and his huge snot bubble, LOL.

For some reason, Deku’s shirt says shi-tsu (sheets) rather than shatsu (shirt). During a tense confontation, no less…

To have the status quo of your world changed so suddenly…and then have to hide the ripples it makes, and then have to hide the origin of it, is hard. That’s part of One Wish They Never Wanted, and I’m seeing it here, loud and clear. Of course, that story’s a lot happier than this one (BnHA), so the fates of those involved won’t be the same in the end…

Cells at Work! 10

Wow, we’re so close to the end…

All those shots of the heart come from the circulation episode…geez, talk about recycling…

Platelets! 10/10!

When that guy in the hazmat suit showed up, I imagined Spanish guitars. Like Tuxedo Mask in the 90s Sailor Moon…

So many platelets! 100/10!

Even more platelets! 1000/10!

If the monocyte doesn’t finish this huge Staphylococcus Aureus off…then this show wouldn’t be Cells at Work, y’know? As much as I’d like the show to surprise me, it’s better to know the cells are working as they should be rather than having something abnormal for the sake of surprise (even though I’d prefer the latter on most occasions).

Recycling at its best…or maybe worst? Hard to tell with this show.

Planet With 10

This horn(?) track – the one as Souya and co give final stares to the Excellency and Shiraishi - sounds really nice.

I just noticed Ginko and Shiraishi are very formal when they quote Sensei and the Excellency’s words. Makes sense considering their titles…

Did you notice it looks as if the spaceships are crying?

Oh my gosh…I guess I knew it had to happen..but there goes anyone who shipped Shiraishi with Souya.

Azurabarakura seems to be the word for “dragon” in one of their languages…

Phantom 10

Was that door even slammed in Luke’s face??? It was so poorly animated…

Stop talking about saving Shinyao and just save her already!!!

As much as I get these guys care for Ton, this possessiveness seems a lil’ yandere-ish. It’s mixed signals from a feminist perspective. Also, they did all this stuff a few episodes ago, we don’t need it again.

Why is Shinyao in a black dress anyway? Probably because of Sailor Moon’s Black Lady, right?

So, as Karandi guessed, it’s Shinyao vs. Ton…

Vlad sleeping while waiting for the kettle…for some reason, that’s real amusing to see. Probably because it’s a still.

Even though there are clearly lip flaps at times, they didn’t even put voices on a few scenes…That’s disappointing, show. Real disappointing.

Seriously? Shouldn’t someone call the cops for vandalism?

Lord of Gluttony? Is that Wayne’s alter ego? Why does the Lord act so much like Black from Kekkai Sensen anyway…?

“I’m the genius engineer…” But seriously, his name really is Backup??? Wuh???

Oh my gosh, chibi Wayne’s actions are so adorbs!

The next episode’s name roughly means “The Final Battle is in the Dark”. It’s not a complete sentence, so I can see why the subbers chose what they did, but still…

Angolmois 10

Oh dear, this ain’t gonna end well for Shiraishi…

I wonder if the Princess has a spiritual role on the island as well as her ceremonial one…?

My gosh, Teruhi does a better scary face than Chizuru (ReLIFE), I swear!

Was that dude Hokusai around during 1274…? Talking of waves reminded me of him.

I feel like Nagamine has his own agenda at this point in time…hmm, sketchy. Why do I always fall for the evil ones these days? (SPOILERS!) First zaShunina(Kado), then Chrom and Narek (DamexPri) and now Nagamine…(Spoilers over.)

Oh great. Is this MORE Mongols??? Find out…after the ED.

I just realised, but Kuchii has the scar on his chin from his fight with Shiraishi in the ED.

…Oh dear. I guessed it without even watching ahead. This show’s probably become too predictable. Oh well, I still have Nagamine to hang around for.

#simulcast commentary #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #Angolmois #angolmois genkou kassenki #phantom in the twilight #cells at work #hataraku saibou #planet with #chesarka watches bnha #Chesarka watch PitW #Chesarka watches Hataraku Saibou #Chesarka watches Angolmois #Chesarka watches Planet With

1 note · View note

sonderei · 6 years

Text

I got bored and answered one of those 100-questions things so if you ever wanted to know a stupid amount of useless information about me read on, otherwise enjoy whatever content is in the next post!

Spotify, SoundCloud, or Pandora? Spotify

is your room messy or clean? my room is a mess, the rest of the apartment is pretty clean

what color are your eyes? brown

do you like your name? why? its grown on me. I used to get teased a lot in school “hey Ariel, where’s your best friend Flounder??” but now I work on Disney property and it’s on my name tag so I get to make a lot of kids (and adults) happy

what is your relationship status? been dating a small mess of a person for 4 years, whom I love dearly

describe your personality in 3 words or less basically a cat

what color hair do you have? brown, or like a really dirty blonde if I spend enough time in the sun

what kind of car do you drive? color? a black 2013 hyundai accent hatchback (named Jazz)

where do you shop? where I shop: target, forever21, H&M, BoxLunch, Garage where I’d LIKE to shop: ModCloth, ASOS

how would you describe your style? I once bought an oversized Polariod windbreaker and I wear it everywhere I can??? I also love passive aggressive crop tops (”no thanks”) I wore it to a mandatory meeting at work at 9am and any time my managers asked me a question I just pointed to my shirt. So idk that should tell you something

favorite social media account I think I enjoy Instagram and Tumblr equally?

what size bed do you have? queen

any siblings? one full brother (5 years younger), one half brother on my dad’s side (13 years younger), and one half sister on my mom’s side (18 years younger).

if you can live anywhere in the world where would it be? why? idk because I haven’t traveled anywhere I’d actually like to live. I love the idea of living northwest US (Seattle, Portland) or in NZ or like Scotland or somewhere with beautiful scenery but like...never been so can’t say for sure?

favorite snapchat filter? flower crown

favorite makeup brand(s) NYX is pretty much all I use but I also do like bare minimum with my makeup

how many times a week do you shower? typically every other day unless I’m super gross

favorite tv show? too hard. Steven Universe, Game of Thrones, A:TLA, and Adventure Time?

shoe size? 7-8 depending on who makes them

how tall are you? smol. Like 5′3″ or so?

sandals or sneakers? sneakers, unless going somewhere involving water and/or sand

do you go to the gym? nah. I’m up and down stairs at least 20 times a day, usually while carrying stuff. that’s my exercise.

describe your dream date sitting in front of the Ocean Voyager exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium all day. like literally that’s it. and my date lets me without asking to move on, and ideally enjoys it as much as I do.

how much money do you have in your wallet at the moment? uhhh like $25 because that’s how much you have to have to open a new bank account which I’ve been meaning to do for like two weeks now

what color socks are you wearing? not wearing any, but I was wearing shark socks all day

how many pillows do you sleep with? just one, super soft and squishy

do you have a job? what do you do? I'm a server at a restaurant in Disney Springs at Walt Disney World. Its challenging and often frustrating and stressful but I get to meet some really cool people so it evens out. (Pat Sajak from Wheel of Fortune was in last week, I didn’t ask him if I could buy a vowel because I have some dignity)

how many friends do you have? like true friends, would drop everything for me if I asked them / needed them to? I’d say 3. But my social group is like...maybe 10 people? That I actively try to hang out with semi regularly.

whats the worst thing you have ever done? I honestly don’t even know. I forgot a woman’s ketchup last week at work and apparently I ruined her entire Disney vacation so

whats your favorite candle scent? usually anything with jasmine, so long as it isn’t overpowering

3 favorite boy names Nathaniel, Sebastian, Milo

3 favorite girl names Riley, Maisie, Phoebe

favorite actor? robert downey jr probs

favorite actress? tessa thompson?

who is your celebrity crush? ugh. tom holland, tessa thompson, rdj?

favorite movie? Spirited Away or Howl’s Moving Castle

do you read a lot? whats your favorite book? I used to, before I worked at a bookstore. For some reason that killed my love for reading. But favorite books were the Bartimaeus Trilogy and Abarat.

money or brains? brains

do you have a nickname? what is it? Skip (long story short, its a Cabin Pressure reference because I’ve always wanted to be a pilot)

how many times have you been to the hospital? for myself? 5? maybe 6?

top 10 favorite songs in no particular order Evolve by Phoria Put ‘Em Up by Priority Cleopatra by The Lumineers Feel It Still by Portugal. The Man Miracle by CHVRCHES Dissolve by Absofacto Taro by alt-J Lavender by Two Door Cinema Club Dinosaurs by The Maccabees Ambling Alp by Yeasayer

do you take any medications daily? nope

what is your skin type? (oily, dry, etc) ehh a bit on the oily side

what is your biggest fear? losing the ones I love

how many kids do you want? NONE ZERO NADA ZIP ZILCH FUCK NO

whats your go to hair style? pull it back, messy bun if possible

what type of house do you live in? (big, small, etc) a p small apartment (but not tiny, I think it’s like 800-900 sq ft)

who is your role model? Steve Irwin

what was the last compliment you received? a guest at one of my tables told me I looked like one of the recent Bond girls

what was the last text you sent? bailing on a few friends who were going to Blizzard Beach because I was exhausted from having my dad in town for the last two days so I wanted to sleep

how old were you when you found out santa wasn’t real? like 2 or 3. not very old

what is your dream car? realistic? a nice Subaru or Audi. Maybe a Tesla unrealistic? bugatti veyron

opinion on smoking? cigarettes? ew gross not around me also poor life choices weed? don’t care, just not around me please and thanks my other half is allergic

do you go to college? I did, graduated two years ago, still haven’t done anything with my life / degree

what is your dream job? anything working directly with animals, especially marine mammals, big cats, or non-venomous reptiles

would you rather live in rural areas or the suburbs? big city. right in the middle of it.

do you take shampoo and conditioner bottles from hotels? not usually, I have specific stuff I use for my hair that’s a lot nicer than the stuff at hotels

do you have freckles? not like a ton but yeah

do you smile for pictures? if I feel like it? also depends on who’s taking the picture

how many pictures do you have on your phone? I’d say somewhere in the realm of like 650-800?

have you ever peed in the woods? yep, used to go camping a lot as a kid

do you still watch cartoons? hell yeah, I usually prefer them to anything else. Steven Universe, Adventure Time, Voltron, A:TLA, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends...that shit is my jam

do you prefer chicken nuggets from Wendy’s or McDonalds? mmmm Wendys but I usually don’t get c nugs from anywhere

Favorite dipping sauce? chick fil a sauce or ranch

what do you wear to bed? just underwear

have you ever won a spelling bee? no but I came close in middle school

what are your hobbies? not many tbh. I have a few reptiles that I take care of. I collect / trade Disney pins. I love swimming but don’t do it all that often. Uhhh...seeing how many times I can ride Kilamonjaro Safari in a row before the cast members begin to judge me?

can you draw? not really, no

do you play an instrument? nope, I can’t even read music and I can barely hum

what was the last concert you saw? uhhhh...I think Death Cab for Cutie and CHVRCHES?

tea or coffee? tea

Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts? Starbucks for drinks, Dunkin for food (donutssssss)

do you want to get married? yeah, eventually. I told the SO that ideally before I’m 30 and that we’re not having a wedding but we’re gonna elope instead because fuck weddings I don’t have the money for that or the patience to plan it

what is your crush’s first and last initial? not really a crush but more of a “current-and-potentially-forever life partner” but DU

are you going to change your last name when you get married? no idea. D wants to change their last name but idk if they’d take mine or they’d just change it to their middle name and then I’d take that? honestly it doesn’t really matter to me each way so long as I don’t get their current last name (because of bad associations)

what color looks best on you? no idea honestly. I prefer dark, muted blues?

do you miss anyone right now? my parents and siblings, and two of my best friends

do you sleep with your door open or closed? open, otherwise the cats would never let us sleep

do you believe in ghosts? nah, not really. I grew up in a town that had a bunch of history and by extension ghost stories, so it was more a part of “tourist culture” than something that seemed legitimate to me

what is your biggest pet peeve? I never know until someone starts doing it around me. but uhhhh I hate loud chewers, people that refuse to even try to see your side of an argument, and when you’re sitting somewhere in public like on a bench or something and there’s plenty of other empty seating options nearby and yet someone comes up and sits RIGHT NEXT TO YOU nope you know what that’s it I fucking hate that and it happens to me all the time at Disney

last person you called` I think my mom?

favorite ice cream flavor? cookies and cream, unless I’m at one of those places where you can basically make your own flavor in which case I will ALWAYS do a rose-infused ice cream with pistachios

regular oreos or golden oreos? please don’t make me choose

chocolate or rainbow sprinkles? rainbow!

what shirt are you wearing? not wearing one ;)

what is your phone background? just a basic stock photo of some ferns. kinda boring but I like simple backgrounds

are you outgoing or shy? its pretty even but if I had to say one over the other I’m probably slightly more outgoing than I am shy.

do you like it when people play with your hair? only people I know and allow. don’t just come up and start playing with my hair unless you KNOW that I’d be okay with it

do you like your neighbors? haven’t met them! we moved in like a month ago but we still haven’t seen anyone that lives on our floor

do you wash your face? at night? in the morning? if I remember, but honestly I’m really bad about doing it unless I’m in the shower in which case it’s every time I take a shower

have you ever been high? nope

have you ever been drunk? sadly no. I have a ridiculously high natural alcohol tolerance, so I get sick to my stomach before I can even manage tipsy.

last thing you ate? pizzaaaaaaa

favorite lyrics right now idek and that’s a lot of effort so sorry here’s me “free pass” I’m using it on this question next

summer or winter? ugh winter always I can’t stand the heat there’s only so many layers you can take off

day or night? night

dark, milk, or white chocolate? milk or white. milk for straight eating, white for flavoring other things

favorite month? october

what is your zodiac sign leo!

who was the last person you cried in front of? my significant other

#I was bored #fite me #in case anyone ever wanted to know what I do for a living #or what my favorite songs are #or what color my eyes are #now you know

3 notes · View notes

johnkorosi · 4 years

Text

Nothingness and a whole lot of empty ... (ALL OF THIS FILTH)

(Creative Process)

For this music assignment, I decided to choose the fourth option … I believe this choice allowed me to exercise all the things I have learnt over the semester successfully, whilst giving me the creative freedom to execute my ideas in a passionate way.

The concept came into being when I decided that I wanted to meld my love of philosophical literature with my love of music. Throughout COVID-19, existential crises have become quite common I feel … and after reading Nausea by Jean Paul Sartre and being absolutely enthralled by his existential ideas, I thought that I would take a crack at trying to capture the bleak feeling of ‘nothingness,’ that is so prevalent throughout the novel.

At many points in my life, I have undergone a complete loss of reason and meaning in the everyday, and witnessed things that once seemed so complete and normal in form, vanish into nothing but anamorphic objects. I wanted my listener to realise how superfluous and gratuitous their existence can seem, but to also realise that there is so much freedom in their own interpretation of the universe around them. We are all ‘set free to find a new illusion,’ as Lou Reed puts it in I’m Set Free (quite a philosophical number by The Velvet Underground that you have to check out if you haven’t).

So in this piece, I attempted to encapsulate the Cartesian atmosphere, the intricate prose, the anxious voice and some of the compelling ideas and transform them into something musical. I used a standard song form with verses and choruses, but challenged myself by using electronic instruments. This process was different from my regular, as I usually write more for the folk and rock genre. For easy referencing and to be specific, I chose a particular passage from the book to write the lyrics and achieve the vibe.

INTRO

I began composing this piece on an old blue piano that I found in the share house I just moved into. The piano’s subtle complexities put me in a trance and allowed me to freely improvise a few different chord progressions. I didn’t even start with a key or by using any musical theory methods; I just played what I felt was right at the time. In retrospect, I was using dissonance at the core of my ideas, by playing a C major chord on a lower register and a B minor chord on the octave above. This gave the song a distinctive Lydian sound (a mode I’ve always been drawn to for a subconscious reason unknown to me). After I found the idea, I moved it to Logic Pro X and put the progression in using my midi keyboard.

I then edited the sound using the EXS24 setting; I did this by tweaking the envelope, cutoff, resonance and the first LFO to achieve a compelling synth sound.

Now that I had a rhythm part for my intro, I needed a catchy main riff that would repeat throughout the song and serve as a link between sections … something odd, pensive and slightly dissonant to represent the chaotic nature of existentialism and nihilism. I began with a piano sound and wrote the melody over the chords. At that moment I had been listening to a lot of repetitive music that had the same chord progressions occur over and over again; but captivated their listeners eardrums by using unusual third dimensional tone colours and Layer Cake Orchestration. Some of these tunes included I Am The Changer By Cotton Jones or The Magician by Andy Shauf; where the listener is pulled in not by the repetition itself, but by the trance inside the repetition. This evolves from a distant ambience that reflects the blackness of space …

I made the melody slightly repetitive, but used a variety of colours and instruments to make it interesting. I accomplished this by importing the previous piano sound from my cataplexy assignment (as I was satisfied with how that had turned out), and then layered it with a mellotron boy’s choir and cello to form a ‘super-instrument.’ I modified all of these by once again altering the envelope, EQ and LFO settings. I added a drone with a synth, samples of the wind (which I automated the pitch of) and a record player to create more complexity within the space. It would have been preferable to have a string section with a lot of staccato moments, but unfortunately I did not have the time or the players. If I were to work on this some more, this would be an option.

Now it was missing two core ingredients, bass and drums. I started building the drums using the Liverpool drum kit on Logic and then took to the keyboard to write the part. When I listened to Andy Shauf’s Magician, I really liked the simplicity of the four-to-floor beat. It showed me how much attention a beat can give to a melody. So I made my beat very simple and added an 808 snare to the snare hits, for some extra lustre. I EQ’d the drums and compressed them, until they were up to my standard …

With the bass, I simply followed the bass drum hits, so they were glued to the beat. In regards to tone, I chose a bass from the string category in Logic and altered its EQ by putting on a low pass filter. After being told by my teacher to reduce the bass frequencies and make them clash less, I also brought down the volume and the low frequencies by one decibel.

The rhythm synth that plays the chords in the lead up to the main riff needed a strong crescendo to accompany it (so it could build tension for the moment it came in). To do this I added some strings and played around with the EQ to make them sound less like midi strings. Then I increased the attack on the envelope, so the sound would automatically build. I doubled these tracks and panned them to both sides. As they grew in volume, I automated the panning on both sides to come into the centre.

VERSE 1, 2 & 3

Next I had to think about the vocal melody for the verse chords, so I played through the chord progression and improvised some melodies until I found something that worked. The lyrics spawned relatively easy out of this. I went through the passage and used words and phrases that caught my attention and based the lyrics around these. Some lines that shaped the song were...

“I got up and went out of the park. Once at the gate, I turned around. Then the garden smiled at me. I leaned against and watched for a long time. The smile of the trees, the clump of laurel meant something: that was the real secret of existence.”

“Time had stopped: a small black pool at my feet; it was impossible for something to come after this moment.”

“Everything is gratuitous, this park, this city, and myself. When you realise this, your heart turns over and everything begins to float....”

and this biggy ...

“Had I dreamed this enormous presence? It was there, deposited on the garden, tumbling down in the trees, all soft, sticky, soiling everything, all thick, a jelly. And I, was I inside, with the garden? I was frightened, furious, I thought it was so stupid, so out of place. I hated this ignoble messiness. Piling up to the sky, spilling over, filling everything with its gelatinous slither, and I could see depths upon depths of it reaching far beyond the limits of the garden, the houses, and Bouville, as far as the eye could reach. I was no longer in Bouville; I was nowhere, I was floating. I was not surprised, I knew it was the World, the naked World revealing itself all at once, and I choked with rage at this gross absurd being. You couldn't even ask where all this came from, or how it was that a world existed, rather than nothingness. It didn't have any meaning, the world was present everywhere, before, behind. There had been nothing before it. Nothing. There had never been a moment in which it could not have existed. That was what bothered me; of course there was no reason for its existing, this flowing larva. But it was not possible for it not to exist. It was unthinkable: to imagine nothingness you had to be there already, in the midst of the World, eyes wide open and alive; nothingness was only an idea in my head, an existing idea floating in this immensity; this nothingness had not come before existence, it was an existence like any other and appeared after many others. I shouted, What filth, what filth! And I shook myself to get rid of this sticky filth, but it held and there was so much, tons and tons of existence, endless. I suffocated at the bottom of this immense weariness. And then, all at once, the park emptied as through a great hole. The world disappeared as it had come, or else I woke up — anyway I saw no more of it; nothing was left but the yellow earth around me, out of which dead branches rose upward.”

Throughout the semester, I have been experimenting a lot with my vocals by using doubling, panning and auto tune. So I recorded a vocal track, doubled it, panned one to the left and one to the right and auto-tuned the one on the left, so that there would be a tension between the auto-tuned and the natural track. Then I added harmonies where I felt the melody needed it and doubled and panned these as well. The auto tune I used is displayed below …

I used a moderate amount of compression and EQ on all the vocals, which can be seen on my plug-in strip. I also bussed all the vocals to an auxiliary channel with EQ and compression so they sounded more together

Here are my plug-ins along with the Eq and compression settings...

Throughout the three verses, I introduced a mellotron string and flute part to avoid repetition and made it call and respond to the vocals from the second verse. For this section, I looked to Bowie’s Quicksand, using Mick Ronson’s wreathing string parts as inspiration. I love how the ascending runs can really send the song into another dimension. I then put more harmonies in as the part progressed. After this, the song grows into the chorus…

Chorus 1

I needed a key change for the chorus, so I went back to my piano sound and dropped the key down a tone (Stevie Wonder style). ‘All of this filth,’ derived from one of the lines I had read in the passage. Once I had the vocal melody down I needed a countermelody, so I designed one on the mellotron string and flute part. I also introduced a new synth and automated the cut-off (using retro synth on Logic), so the sound would grow in the vocal breaks, acting as an antiphony to the vocals.

With the drums, I changed the high hats to the ride cymbal to create more space. I added fills where apt and a conga loop from Logic’s library for more oomph. In the build up to the link, the piece changes key again and after the lines ... ‘the moments we have,’ I paired a reverse gong with the original string rising part to build it more. I also automated the pitch of the gong, so it rose with the strings. With the vocals I had to automate the key of the pitch shifter in order to align the vocals to the right key.

Link 1

For the link (the main riff), I needed it to be slightly different to when the melody first appeared at the beginning. So I added some mellotron brass, playing intervals in a drone-like way and once again modified the sound. I also made it half the length, so it would flow better into the second verse.

Verse 4 & 5

To create variety in these sections, I wrote new lyrics and I added some harmonies to the call and responses on the strings. I also added an ultrabeat sample from logic, to enrich the beat and a new high hat rhythm doing quavers to fasten the pace. Here is a picture of the ultrabeat synth I used.

Chorus 2

For the second chorus I wanted more layers and climax, so I harmonised the vocals and made the mellotron parts more ... well ... climactic. I accomplished this by making the melodies higher and building triads out of them in the second half. I automated the volume on the build at the end to make it sound bigger than the first too.

Link 3

This is the same length as the first main riff. But is bigger in sound, because of the layering …

Instrumental

The instrumental is the same as the chorus without vocals, and has the same mellotron part. I chose to use the same part, as I wanted the attention on the mellotron part this time, instead of the vocal. The only difference was that I automated the mellotron’s EQ, bringing out higher frequencies and lower frequencies to contribute to the psychedelic feel.

Outro

The song ends with the main riff playing twice. Except the second time the layers strip back revealing the sound of the riff without drums, which I thought was an effective contrast.

Here is my piece with all the tracks and automation shown ... I mixed the levels as I went to get a consistent mix and mastered in a separate project (adjusting the levels with EQ, compression to get it tighter and a limiter and an exciter for more colour).

My mastering channel strip...

Overall I was happy with how my piece turned out, although I would love to see it done with a real kit and string section, as I think this would definitely make it more impactful. I hope this piece challenges people to find meaning within nothing ... and on that note ...

By John Korosi aka Jordan Kenny

#existentialism #nothingness

0 notes

hafizhamza313 · 5 years

Text

The best free blogging site of 2019

Free blogging sites have come a long way in recent years, and it’s now easier than ever to create a professional-looking blog to share a hobby with likeminded people, express your opinions, and establish an online presence. These free blogging sites are aimed at hobbyist bloggers – blogs are created and managed online, and hosted on the blogging platform’s own servers. If you want to create a self-hosted blog, the downloadable version of WordPress is an excellent option, with total flexibility, support for third-party plugins, and as much storage as your hosting plan allows.

Wix makes it dead easy to design and realize your blog, and you can do a lot more besides Wix has a range of paid-for subscription plans, but also a free offering, although it’s best to note upfront that this has some caveats. With the free product, your site will have Wix branding, and you’ll be limited to 500MB of data transfer per month, so it’s not for heavily trafficked sites. You also only get 500MB storage, too, so bear that in mind. You are, however, free to build a blog with an unlimited number of pages, and where Wix really shines is with its powerful blog functionality. The editor may be simple, but you get access to all the stuff you need – from image galleries through to videos and music – and there are a ton of ways to customize a post. There’s also a lot of flexibility in the way you can schedule posts, and neat touches like being able to set things up so that posts are automatically pushed to Facebook when they’re published. For instance, you have a feature called WiX Bookings, that allows customers to schedule appointments and classes right on your website. And what makes Wix truly compelling is on top of this, you get the run of the rest of what this website builder offers aside from blog support. That includes using Wix’s ADI (Artificial Design Intelligence) editor to make building your site a snap even for novices, plus impressively diverse support for various different types of media, and quality customer support to boot (yes, even on the free plan). As of recently, Wix introduced Wix Turbo, which increases the speed and performance of websites considerably. When you consider what you’re getting for nothing, the bandwidth and data limits don’t seem like such a heavy set of shackles. And you can always upgrade at a later date if you want to break free of them in the longer run. Try it online: Wix

You can host a WordPress blog yourself, or create one online and have it hosted at wordpress.com Powerful and highly customizable, WordPress is a brilliant platform for blogs of any size, and bloggers of any level of experience. Creating your first blog is very straightforward, with a simple wizard that guides you through the process of choosing a name and suitable theme. You can leave it there and begin writing posts immediately, but the real fun lies in the more advanced editor, which lets you customize virtually every aspect of your blog’s appearance. Unlike some blogging sites, WordPress isn’t a drag-and-drop affair, and you’ll have to familiarize yourself with its system of menus. It’s well worth the effort, though, and enables you to create something truly personal. The editor also lets you create static pages – like a writer’s biography, for example. The post-writing interface is much like an ordinary desktop word processor (though some options are presented in a toolbar at the top, while others are in a menu at the side, which can be a little confusing at first). Again, time spent getting to know the interface is rewarded with advanced features like customizable social media sharing buttons, geotagging, and the ability to pick a custom style for individual posts. Sometimes you might want to create a photo gallery, for example, and other times a more text-focused style would be more appropriate. You can also view and edit the HTML source. As your blog grows, WordPress lets you track its stats, including page views, visitors, likes and comments over time. You can also see how readers reach your site, which content they viewed, and where they are in the world, so you can tailor your content accordingly. Your site is hosted on WordPress servers, with an address in the format yoursite.wordpress.com. Users of the free service don’t get email or live chat support, but the WordPress community forums are very active and questions are usually answered within a few minutes. Additionally, privacy protection for domains that are registered at WordPress.com is free. WordPress displays ads on free blogs, but provided you can live with that, it’s a top-notch solution for a free blogging site. Try it online: WordPress

Blogger has been around for many years, but has kept up with current trends and technology, including responsive blog templates Blogger is another superb blogging platform. It’s not quite as powerful as WordPress, but more accessible for new users, which comes as no surprise when you learn that it’s owned by Google. Blogger offers an excellent selection of templates, all of which include mobile versions optimized for smaller screens – a very sensible addition with so many people accessing online content through smartphones. Blogger’s post-editing tool is much like WordPress, but offers fewer options. As a result, its toolbars are less confusing – a trade-off between power and usability. One of Blogger’s best features is its integration with other Google apps and services. For example, it uses your Google Drive account to store images and other files for your blog. Google Drive gives you 15GB of space free, so Blogger is a good choice if you’re planning to share a lot of high-res photos. Spam comments are a big problem on blogs, so Blogger’s automatic spam filter can help save your sanity. You can monitor comments via Blogger’s dashboard, which also lets you see visitor stats. There are some handy visualizations here, including a world map to show the global distribution of your readers. Your blog will have an address in the format yoursite.blogger.com, and, like all Google services, will include ads. Support is available through the Blogger user forum, which is very active but has a strange layout that can be a little off-putting. In all other respects, Blogger is brilliant – one of the best free blogging sites if you prioritize ease of use over flexibility and are a fan of the Google ecosystem. Try it online: Blogger

Blogs on Weebly are built from a combination of content blocks Weebly takes a modular approach to blog building, with a drag-and-drop editor that lets you choose which elements to add to your site, and where. Pick a basic template, then plonk various types of content onto the page, including social media links, text, images, maps, and sections of code. It’s a refreshingly simple way to build a blog that feels unique to you, but doesn’t require any messing about with menus. It’s worth noting, however, that certain content blocks can only be positioned in certain areas; it isn’t a total free-for-all. This makes sense – forcing you to stick within the confines of your chosen template stops the page looking messy – but you might find it limiting. Blog posts are made in the same way: drag text boxes, picture frames, buttons and page breaks into position, then click to edit them. One particularly nice feature is the ‘secret draft link’, which lets you preview your unpublished post, and even share it with others via email before releasing it into the wild. Weebly has some other interesting tricks up its sleeve too, including an area for pasting in Google Analytics tracking code (though it doesn’t offer analytics itself). You’re only given 500MB for uploaded content, so photographers might want to look elsewhere. Weebly puts an ad in your site’s footer, but it doesn’t obscure any of your content. Try it online: Weebly

Penzu is a personal blogging tool that lets you create your own private diary Whereas the other free blogging sites are designed to get as many eyeballs on your posts as possible, Penzu is the equivalent of a locked diary stashed in a safe. Penzu is a journal platform that makes your posts private by default and locks them down with at least one password (even after you’re logged in, you need a second one to read or edit your posts). That’s because it’s designed for private thoughts and personal reflection. There are free apps for iOS and Android that enable you to update your Penzu diary anywhere, but the contents are for your eyes only. Penzu isn’t a tool for self-promotion, so although it’s far from ugly, it understandably focuses on function rather than looks. Custom colors and backgrounds come at a price – currently $20 (about £14, AU$25) per year. It’s a shame that 128-bit AES encryption is also limited to the paid-for version, and there’s a fair amount of pressure to upgrade. Extra options are often dangled under your nose then yanked away, but the core offering is a good one, and if you simply want a place to record your thoughts and practise writing, Penzu could be just what you need. Try it online: Penzu Source: TechRadar Read the full article

#bloggingsiteof2019 #freeblogging #thebestfreeblogging

0 notes

ruffoverthinksthings · 7 years

Note

Any funny/quirky headcanons about the jump in technological literacy/competence on the part of the main HOND cast? Esmeralda and cellphones, Phoebus and the tv./Call of Duty videogames or Quasimodo and radios? How would they deal with the technological advances? Such a jump into a world like that would have them all convinced that witchcraft does exist(and think Frollo was right for the time being) so how do they get over this?

Inmy headcanon timeline, Auradon had already exposed majority of thestates’ home realms to the concepts of advanced technology likewhat you’d find in London, so they’re either aware it isn’t witchcraft, or know it’s a benign, helpful form of “otherworldly sorcery.”

Inmostly non-magical and pre-industrial worlds like the The Hunchbackof Notre Dame, however, it was largely just theory and informationsharing that they were unable to put into practice, as they didn’thave the infrastructure nor the capability to make that huge of aleap in their technology.

Leap-froggingin real life only really works when you have easy access to the moreadvanced culture’s tech, and doing that with smartphones inmedieval France requires the large-scale creation of cell-towers, apower grid, or at least a charging cable attached to a dynamo, if allyou really want to do is take photos or play Flappy Bird.

Nevermindall the much larger industrial scale advancements such as greenenergy, motorized public transportation, or computerized recordsystems.

Soit is that all of the cast members of the Hunchback of Notre Dame(and sequel) were completely, totally new to actually usingtechnology.

Esmeraldaadapts to it very quickly, being as fluent as most firstworld inhabitants today are with the language of the internet,smartphones, and social media. She is always keen on knowing all thelatest advancements and trends, and whether or not there really isanything worth trading up for with the newest ayGem.

(“Ifthere’s a Z after the number, skip it. If your phone breaks or getslost, ask for the same model. Unless there’s a recall or a major,publicly known issue, the salespeople will always claim that it’sbetter to trade-up, but don’t, they’ll have to give you the samemodel eventually.”)

AsI mentioned in past headcanons, information and communication for theRomani people and other “outcasts” of Auradon’s are one of themost important currencies and means of survival, and the internethelps with that greatly.

Alongsidethat, it allows the largely nomadic or constantly traveling bands tokeep in touch with one another, and organize and ply their trades inconvenient, effective ways they never could have imagined BGU.

Forone, the “Etsy” of Auradon is filled with a lot of the craftsmen,blacksmiths, and artisans that were put out of business byindustrialization, delivering hand-crafted work at a massive mark-up,or with tons of incentive from the government—majority of theircustomers are royals and other aristocrats looking for the braggingrights, and the “buying good deeds” aspect of it thanfunctionality, anyway.

Foranother, the festivals and shows like Esmeralda’s street dancingand Clopin’s entire shtick become incredibly easy for them now thatthey have the capability to be easily booked for private shows,smaller venues, and can oftentimes bypass the inevitable problems ofdealing with the local government, having to perform in whichevercity you’re passing by or else starving to death, and thelogistical issues of holding a show.

ThatYouTube and StoryBook are great avenues for attracting new fans,profiting off old content cheaply, and advertising new live showshelps greatly.

Inshort, because it’s practical and the new reality of her job as anentertainer, Esmeralda takes like a duck to water with modern tech.

Phoebusis the exact opposite of her.

Bothbecause he is much older than the rest of the cast and has beendealing with the “slow, traditional” methods all his life,suddenly switching gears to the much faster, much more complicated(if you’re a “Traveler” like him), and very much alien“Internet Age” is incredibly difficult for him.

Onthe problem of crime, he’s stunned and confused by how millions andbillions of Silver Dollars can be lost through improperly reportedtaxes, and that it doesn’t involve a massive bank being robbed byarmed mercenaries with an entire caravan’s worth of carts andreally strong horses to physically haul away that much metal.

(Healso has a LOT of trouble collecting his pay through an automatedsavings account owned by the Royal Guard, than getting a bag of coinsas was standard.)

Thedramatic restructuring of the Royal Guard also bothers him, as thechain of command and “business as usual” is an entirely new beasthere. Suddenly, there’s no need for staff for messengers andscribes, officers can coordinate directly with their troops and areexpected to take up much larger workloads as a result, and a LOT ofthe former soldiers and mercenaries were laid off as Auradon simplydoesn’t need that many warm bodies who can fight for their securityneeds.

Thefirst time he realizes that his staff of three people is enough foran entire street block is mind-boggling to him, largelybecause one of them is a dedicated surveillance expert who can “seeeverything going on, anywhere” with the help of security camerasand the internet, the other two are on -call for dispatching shouldtrouble actually occur.

“Butwhat if we have an even bigger situation that needs more men?”Phoebus asks. “And women, and non-binary genders!”

“Thenwe just call for back-up,” his IT expert replies. “Hell, we caneven give them a live-feed and reports in real-time so they knowexactly what they’re dealing with before they even get here.”

Byfar the worst problem for him, though, is day to day communication,largely done through a secure intranet in the Royal Guard issuedphones and computers, which he dislikes in favour of writtencommunications (“in paper and ink!”) and actually talking topeople face-to-face.

Thisis best exemplified by his once getting reprimanded and dragged to ameeting he had no idea was a thing, and that he was supposed topreside over.

“Whywasn’t I told about this?!” Phoebus asks as someone gives him theagenda.

“Wesent out a Garrison-Wide e-mail, sir!” someone tells him.

Inshort, Phoebus is an old dog, it’s hard for him to learn newtricks, and Esmeralda has to spend a LOT of time and all manner oftactics to get him to regularly check his phone for communications.

Beforeyou ask, she makes VERY good use of her (extremely popular)Instagram and Snapchat for this.

Zephyr,as I’ve already said, takes to the new technology as children arewont to do: like a sponge, absorbing everything there is to know.

HisHero Rising gaming career aside, it quickly becomes in hisbest interest to know all about social media, promotion, and internetcoordination to make tournaments easy, and fight other players allthe way on the other side of the realm.

Unlikehis father, he also has a LOT of free time to learn and experiment,and if nothing else, the Auradon school curriculum emphasizestechnological literacy.

Quasimododoesn’t really use the internet, as he’s “spent long enoughcooped up indoors all day, watching the world go by, but never reallybeing a part of it.” Madellaine thinks differently, andjoins Esmeralda on her adventures in learning all the trappings, thehorrors, and the benefits of the internet and social media.

Chiefly,she has a YouTube Vlog and an Instagram account which she uses todocument her and her husband’s numerous adventures all throughoutAuradon, ignoring all “The Sights” like Agrabah’s palace, NotreDame the church, and Castle DunBroch in DunBroch, in favour ofadventures with all the backalleys, out-of-the-way villages, andespecially the forgotten tourist spots that have suffered and seen amassive decline for all manner of reasons.

Shealso has a habit of pulling out her phone and showing people her“most flattering picture” of her husband before they meet her inperson, so he doesn’t need to personally experience their(oftentimes negative) reaction to Quasimodo’s condition.

Thetwo of them have helped a lot with Auradon’s acceptance of the“other” and the “less sunshine and smiles” side of theirworld, such as with helping the Merry Men (and their Maidens) plusthe more remote parts of Sherwood Forest, Agrabah, the Borderlands,Faraway, and other remote, non-Neverland states find a living, andnew life in this brand-new world.

Andfor however much Madellaine is insistent on capturing and recordingpretty much everything they come across, there are entire days thatshe shuts off her phone for all but the most important calls, andjust enjoys everything as is, making memories “in her head”rather than “in her hard drive.”

Personally,Quasimodo wishes that she would cut down or completely stop thehabit, as he finds that her videos and her pictures are “toocurated, edited, and filtered” compared to what life actually is:“messy, ugly, but still beautiful.”

Still,he has to admit that it warms his heart to connect with fellowoutcasts, people he wouldn’t have met without the help of theinternet.

Inshort, Madellaine takes to it like a duck to water and is the girlalways taking selfies, Quasimodo is the one with her that smiles forthe shot, and tells her when it’s time to put the phone away.

#Descendants #Disney #headcanon

7 notes · View notes