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ellavogues · 3 years

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london sunrises - harry styles

summary: harry made you feel like home in a place far from it, but stupidly ruins it in fear of losing you

a/n: hey, second fic in two days! let me know your thoughtsss :) thanks for reading angels

Sometimes you wish you were seventeen again.

The carelessness, easy breezy lifestyle you lead was problematic and unproductive, but you never felt more free. Even now as an adult, unrestricted by menial rules made by your parents or your school, you don’t feel the same liberty as you felt when you were seventeen.

Maybe it was him that made you feel so free.

You met him at sixteen, when you moved countries from the USA to England. Originally pessimistic about the complete upheaval of your life, you took it upon yourself to not even try and socialise and familiarise yourself with people at your new school.

But one day, around a week after you moved, you were sat on the bus, headphones in your ear and gazing out the window as you waited for the bus driver to start the journey home, a brown, curly haired boy sat next to you, sporting a huge grin on his face.

“I’m Harry,” he introduced himself, extending his hand as if to ask you to shake it. “Mind if I sit here?”

You shake your head, “Yeah, go ahead. I’m Y/N.”

“You’re new, right? We’ve got homeroom and science together I think.”

He’s smiling the whole bus ride, cracking stupid jokes and telling stupid stories, right up until you get off at your stop. You’re smiling too, feeling grateful to have met a friend in this new place.

The next day, he sat next to you in homeroom and science, and you conversed as if you had known each other for years. He was just that easy to talk to, always able to quickly come up with a witty, smartass remark to whatever you may say and chuckling to himself when you get slightly irritated at his teasing. He noticed you sitting by yourself at lunch, and insisted you sit with him and his mates.

Over time, your friendship with Harry gradually and organically blossomed into something more. Worried that it was only a one-sided feeling, you kept it to yourself and put on a front when you were around him, attempting to veil your new-found feelings with excessive teasing and smart remarks at his expense. But keeping up appearances proved to be difficult as time progressed and the two of you got closer and closer and as he got to know you better, picking up on the way you deflect your emotions.

One night, after a lot of weed and talking, you both found yourselves on Harry’s roof, just above his window to his room. His parent’s room was thankfully on the other end of the house and given it being the early hours of the morning, they were surely asleep. At least you hoped they were, he did manage to make you laugh louder than you thought possible and you crossed your fingers that they didn’t hear the two of you. The night sky was full of stars, you remember, and you finally didn’t have a weight on your shoulders, finally comfortable enough to be your true, authentic self and genuinely happy for the first time since you moved. Neither of you realised how long you had been up there, talking, laughing, smoking, until little glints of orange light began peaking through the clouds in the sky, the birds starting to sing their morning songs. You were honestly disappointed that the memory was over, that the rare moment that you got to feel like yourself alone with Harry had come to its inevitable end.

It was hard making friends in a new city, but his cheeky grin made it so easy to be his friend.

The next time you went up there, you had your first kiss. It was like you thought it would be, your friends implanting in your mind that your first kiss is never as special as it is romanticised on film, but the kiss with Harry made butterflies swarm in your stomach, his soft lips feeling like the closest thing to home in this foreign city that with him you’ve grown to love. You later found out that it was his first kiss too, making the moment feel more special.

You were giddy again that night, but not because you had alcohol. A smile was stuck on your face with no setback being able to push you out of this happy trance. Harry loved seeing you happy, he loved the way your eyes got that little sparkle in them when you got all excited, a detail that no one else would be able to notice. He made you feel giddy in the best way possible, the feeling almost addicting. Dangerously, it seemed you had the same effect on him.

It seems for once the two of you were on the same page about your feelings, making a hopeful promise of what the future may hold

By the time you were seventeen, London sunrises on Harry’s roof after a long night of talking and weed have become a habit for the two of you. Something about being wrapped up in each other’s presence, in a space just for the two of you and distanced just enough from the world around you, is incredibly addictive. But the rays of sunlight pop the little bubble over you and Harry every time, though despite your disappointment of being brought back from your own perfect world where all you have and need is each other, you’re quick to get over it because it just means it’s time to climb back in his window and go to sleep in each other's arms.

All you had with him was friendship, but it felt like so much more than that. He gave you butterflies, he made you feel free and invited you to be a part of his world when you had no one. When you were with him, you had nothing to hide. He gave you this warm feeling that you had never felt before, a safe feeling. A feeling of home.

All you desperately wanted was to be more than friends, but you were simultaneously so scared of losing what you had with him. The love you had him was unfathomable, you couldn’t wrap your head around it and nothing made you more scared than losing him.

He was scared, too.

Despite being enlightened that your feelings were mutual, Harry couldn’t comprehend in his mind what you had, It didn’t make sense to him that you could love each other so deeply but not be together. He wanted to be mindful that you were heading in completely different directions in life, knowing your dreams of starting a startup and his dreams of having a career in music. He was scared that if you both wanted different things you’d lose each other forever. And he can’t lose you.

So he pulled away. He forgot to invite you to his X-Factor audition, making up some lame excuse that everything’s been so hectic and he knew how stressed you were about our own future. It hurt your feelings, because in spite of his carefully crafted excuses, you could tell he didn’t invite you on purpose.

It quickly became apparent that not inviting you wasn’t just a mistake, because he didn’t hold you safely and securely in his arms after you watched the sunrise anymore, kissing the back of your head as you fell asleep tangled in each other. He didn’t kiss you like he used to, no butterflies forming in either of your stomachs, his hand barely grazing your cheeks as he reluctantly connected your lips. Eventually he barely kissed you at all.

He wanted you so bad, but he wasn’t willing to lose you to get you.

But he pulled so far away that you were barely in sight anymore. He tried to convince himself it was for the best, because at least this way you’d always be on good terms and he’d always have you in his life. He’d always have a part of you. But he missed the smell of you in his sheets, he missed the way you rubbed your nose against his when you were sleepy. He missed making you laugh so hard that you were practically falling off the roof (not that he’d ever let that happen, you were too secure in his arms to even slip an inch.

He wanted all of you, the good, the bad, the ugly. He wanted to wake up and see the remnants of your makeup from the night before still on your face, your sleepy smile completing the look. More than anything, he wanted to have you as his, to announce to everyone that he finally got the girl.

You wanted him just as bad, but his distance hurt you more than you’d ever admit to him. Harry had always made you feel free, like you can have anything you could possibly want. That is, except for him.

That was the fucking catch. He gave you everything you could have ever wanted. You had the passion, the love, the sensitivity, the jokes. You had it all with him, except you never had him. That’s what sucked the most.

It wasn’t til graduation that you finally worked up the courage to put everything on the line. You went back with him to his house after everything with the school finished, him driving you because even after all this time, he absolutely never trusts your driving.

“We need to talk,” you start ambiguously.

He laughs, raising his eyebrows as he turns to you for a second, “Should I be scared?”

“Maybe,” you mumble back, anxious and growing fidgety in the seat next to him. Harry clocked this, his hand coming to rest over yours to calm your fidgets down. Glancing over at you briefly, the worry was evident in his features. “H, you’ve always brought out the best in me and made me feel special when I had absolutely no one. I didn’t need anyone else because your friendship, our relationship is all I’ve ever needed. I mean, we’ve dreamt about our futures while we were fucking high on your roof, but when I told you about what I want in my future, I never told you that I wanted you. You’re all I see when I see my life five years from now. You’re all I want, H.”

Harry goes unusually quiet, processing what you told him. It’s uncomfortable, usually by now he would’ve made some inappropriate joke, called you stupid or even just reacted in some way. It’s painful when he looks at you for a moment as he’s stopped as a stop light, and it’s blatantly obvious to you that he’s carefully considering what to say next.

“Y/N, you’re my bestfriend-“

“Fuck that,” you laugh dryly, unimpressed and masking your hurt with anger.

“Y/N-“

“No,” you raise your voice slightly. “I fucking get it. It’s fine. But I can’t be your friend, Harry. Fuck that. I want more than that.”

“I don’t want to lose you,” his voice is a whisper, tears beginning to form in his eyes before he roughly wipes them away, clearing his vision as he parks in front of his house and turns to meet your gaze. “I can’t lose you.”

“And I can’t be just your friend.”

This moment still replayed in your head like a broken record for years later.

Maybe you were stupid for letting him go, but you might’ve driven yourself insane if you were still his best friend after everything that you’ve been through together. It wasn’t sustainable for you to continue to just be there, waiting for him to decide that you’re what he wants or, scarily, sticking by him and watching him be with another girl. It would have ruined you to see him treat another girl the way you wanted him to treat you.

You ran into him when he was strolling London a few years later, on his rare day off from touring and concerts and meetings. Even though the run in was supposed to be short you got to talking and laughing and he saw that sparkle in your eye again, something that he hadn’t seen in years and something that made him feel at home. Old habits die hard, and you and Harry ended up staying up all night together, catching up. It felt like you were seventeen again, hopelessly and foolishly in love with a man you could never have.

Before you left the next morning, he grabbed your wrist, turning you to face him. “I have to see you again. Please, Y/N, don’t say goodbye forever.”

Butterflies erupted in your stomach, contented that after all these years apart, you finally have a part of him again. You always had a part of him, you just didn’t know it. “Take me to your album’s party tomorrow?”

And he did, picking you up sporting that grin that made you weak in the knees. He was proud, introducing you to his friends, showing you off on his arm. It felt right.

As the night started getting old, Harry laced his fingers in yours and led you out to the balcony, escaping the chaos and noise inside and making the world just about the two of you. Letting go of his hand, you stepped towards the railing and admired the view while Harry admired you, breath taken away as you turned your head back at him and smiled. Harry wondered how he ever let you go.

Tapping your shoulder gently, he prompts you to turn around to face him. His hand finds your cheek, tilting your face to face his and leaning in to kiss you, lips soft against yours and his free hand finding its home on your hip.

He finally felt like yours again.

#harry styles x reader #harry styles #harry styles fic #harry styles angst #harry styles imagine #harry styles imagines #harry styles fanfic #harry styles blurbs #harry styles blurb #harry styles fluff #harry styles fic rec #harry styles smut

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lightsandlostbells · 5 years

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Skam France, season 3, episode 1 reaction

here we go again

So I’m actually pretty intrigued going into this season, because on the one hand, I had some giant problems with Skam France’s first two seasons, and I know a lot of people felt that it was one of the weaker remakes (myself included). On the other hand, unlike with S2, they were able to adjust for viewer feedback with S3, possibly course correcting for some of the common complaints, and they’ve promised a lot of changes to a beloved story. It will be interesting to see how much Skam France grows into its own this season.

Also that Maxence guy sure has a face

I was not a fan of Skam France’s S1 and S2; up to this point, I’d say it’s my least favorite remake. So upfront, here are my main concerns going into the season:

The biggest problem with S1 and S2 was that it was such a copy and paste of the original show, to the point where it didn’t make sense a lot of the time. It was often like they’d redone 80-90% of the original material, with some slight changes, but then they failed to account for how those slight changes would affect the story or the scene. So we got weird inconsistencies and contradictions because the writers didn’t take out stuff from the original that no longer made sense. Or jokes or events happening without the setup that made it work. Characterization that didn’t feel natural or play to the actors’ strengths. Now we have learned that apparently the Skam France crew wanted to do more changes but were told to not stray too much, and that they have been given much more leeway to deviate from the original show with their S3 and S4. S3 and especially S4 are supposed to be heavily changed; I really hope they’re not exaggerating and that they’re going to be making bigger changes like story elements and plot structure, to the point where we can’t predict the upcoming clips based on the original show.

Skam France lacks a lot of the authenticity of the original and other remakes, such as casting older professional actors for many of the roles, or the overall more “polished” look and vibe of the show. Which cannot be changed at this point, and which does not bother everyone, but for me it can seriously detract from the material. It’s one thing to watch spotty teens act like spotty teens and screw up and act immature; it’s another to watch 22-25 year-old hotties make the same mistakes on screen, because I can’t completely reconcile the fact that maybe they should know better by now, heh. Rawness and vulnerability are such an essential part of Skam’s storytelling and so they need to account for that. Actually I think that’s why they reaaaaally need to dig deep into the quiet and “mundane” moments, because often those come across as some of the most emotionally fragile.

Don’t hate me: Lucas was one of my least favorite characters on Skam France in the previous seasons and my least favorite Isak across Skams. (I mean, it had to be one of them?) It’s nothing against the actor as a person but I always felt like he was acting rather than giving a natural performance. And not gonna lie, I was kind of creeped out by him in a way I haven’t felt with other Isaks. Like when he was snaking Emma, or when she called him on it and he had to respond, I didn’t get any sense of ambiguity or conflict or messiness - there was something a little blank and robotic about the way he was reacting. Not just in an “Isak is putting on a fake persona” way but in a “I would not be surprised if this dude had a collection of human heads in a freezer somewhere” way. But I am willing to give him another chance! There is more emotional range from his character in this season, and hopefully love will bring out more softness in him. With the changes to S3, maybe they’ll also play more to his strengths, and incorporate more organic and original moments so he’s not stuck recreating Isak’s greatest hits.

Scenes are RUSHED to fit the time limits per episode. This I dread, because S3 has so many scenes that are dependent on the pacing. Part of the effectiveness of Hjernen er alene or Minutt for minutt, for example, was that we got to listen to the long pauses, the silence. The scenes felt languid and peaceful and took time to let the atmosphere build. Skam France frequently didn’t have time for that, and consequently the mood of the clip often didn’t land, the actors had to rush through their dialogue instead of sinking into their characters’ emotions thoroughly. The best way to fix this would be to rewrite scenes so they’re not rushed - like instead of trying to cram a seven minute scene into four, rewrite the scene so there’s only four minutes of material, if you get what I mean. Or write a new scene that works within the time frame. Eliminate scenes that might not be necessary - personally every scene in Skam S3 feels necessary to me, but that might not be the case with Skam France S3 due to changes in the story.

Overuse of music. Skam France is one of several remakes that use music in almost every clip, typically in predictable ways - song starts clip, song ends clip over the credits. It lessens the impact of the soundtrack and makes it feel more obligatory and less vital to the scenes. So stick to music that matters and helps the tone or impact of the clips, rather than shoehorning it just because.

The directing could feel detached/distant in a way that didn’t serve the material. At the same time, sometimes it also got so OTT and soap opera-ish that it was comical. Hopefully they can find a balance that serves the characters’ emotions without going overboard.

Previously they filmed two seasons at one so they couldn’t make changes based on viewer feedback. That’s still in effect here, as we’re getting both S3 and S4 this spring. If there’s something people hate about S3, they can’t change it in S4. However, they did have plenty of time to incorporate feedback from the first two seasons before making S3 and S4, so I do have a lot of hope that they have fixed some of the biggest flaws. We know that they have changed a title of an episode to be “the boy who was afraid of the dark” so I believe they have changed the rebirth symbolism from Skam S3 into something different, probably light and dark symbolism to match Lucas’ name associations with light, and that is a huge step in the right direction.

Anyway, that’s out of the way, so here’s the actual episode.

Episode 1

Clip 1 - Sad reflection time

The very first clip of the season is new and not an adaptation, so that’s a promising start.

Lucas is sitting alone on a bench in a park. Lots of social media WhatsApp messages and Facebook notifications going off. The boy squad is talking about going to Emma’s party later and bringing beer and weed. Lucas stares moonily at man-woman pairs and a group of girls. I don’t think either do much for him. He puts the phone in his pocket. He sees a group of dudes and is perhaps more affected, so maybe he finds one of them attractive, or he’s just reminded of his own social situation, wishing he could be completely relaxed with his squad and not hiding a secret from them. The title of this clip was “Disconnected” which he obviously is, surrounded by people but still alone. He blue steels into the distance as we cut to the title card.

I usually save social media comments for the end, but the best part of this clip is the juxtaposition with Lucas’ IG post made right before this clip. A shot of the park, about him living his best life. Of course that’s some giant irony, because we know from the clip that he’s not living his best life, he’s detached from everyone around him and unhappy. So either he made that post with a lot of sarcasm, or specifically to put up the appearance that he’s fine. Or both.

Clip 2 - Good thing they were on the ground floor?

WILD N CRAZY TEEN PARTY TIME

Daphne is talking to a girl, but gets interrupted when a guy enters to make out with the girl. Daphne is like … OK then! And walks away. Daphne, my #1 of Skam France, I missed you the most.

Daphne goes to dance with Emma who also is drawn away by make-outs, this time with Raptor Alex. Daphne again is like ... OK then! She looks around and sees so many couples making out at this party. So I guess she’s gonna feel romantically and sexually frustrated like Vilde did in S3.

I got a laugh at her trying to connect with that younger girl over not connecting with anyone, when some dude swoops in to kiss that girl. Poor Daphne, trying to assert her older wisdom, be so helpful, and it didn’t work out.

In the kitchen we see our French boy squad. Arthur (glasses), Basile (no glasses), and Yann and Lucas of course.

Can I just say, thanks Skam France for adding to the scant glasses rep across these damn remakes? It’s wild to me that there are so few characters who have glasses in the Skam Extended Universe. There’s Amira from Druck, Luca from wtFOCK, Poonam from Skam Austin ... errr… that guy who sat next to Noora in S1 … some of the theater kids ... did I forget anyone?

Lucas talks about an attractive girl by saying, “Who cares about the size of the boobs?” which is truly a 100% authentic statement from a bonafide Kinsey 0 heterosexual man, yessir.

They’re interrupted by a girl running to the sink to puke. The boy squad is really funny with their reactions, Arthur is already winning me over with his facial expressions. I laughed at Arthur and Yann in the background when Lucas is flirting.

French Emma is called Chloé. Lucas gets Basile to take over hair-holding duties. Not gonna lie, I don’t really buy Lucas as this dude with mad game when Yann is right there (or Arthur, probably). Yann has got to be just as smooth. But they gave Lucas more helpful dialogue, I guess? It’s still slick like Isak but a little milder, he’s trying to calm down Chloé, he doesn’t neg her. So perhaps that helped him win her over.

He also shotguns with her which would be smooth except about 3% of the smoke made it into her mouth, but then again she seems like a novice so she probably didn’t care.

Their moment is interrupted by Maria hacking some more, but soon she and the other boys leave, and Lucas and Chloé make out. This is a pretty big divergence from Isak, who started making out with Emma while his friends were present. It was all a performance, and he clearly got uncomfortable once he was alone with Emma and eventually shuts it down. Lucas’ flirting is presumably a performance, too, but he could’ve stopped it after the boys left. Instead he goes forward with it.

Lucas does not start to show signs of discomfort until they’ve moved to the hallway and Chloé is unbuttoning his shirt and kissing his neck. We didn’t really see him show much doubt up until this point - like we saw Isak take a moment to gather himself when he realized he would have to flirt with Emma in the bathroom, the boys were pointing out it was “his girl.” But Lucas didn’t seem to falter until this point. I wish they’d shown more conflict earlier in the clip since they are emphasizing him putting on an act (like with the IG post). IDK if there’s also more of a self-imposed struggle he’s going through - maybe he’s also putting more pressure on himself to hook up with girls, not just to look straight but to be straight? It seemed like he might have even gone through with hooking up with Chloé had the cops not come up to the door. He was even starting to kiss her neck back.

When the cops show up, he takes advantage of the distraction and literally runs away from Chloé and jumps out a window, which is HILARIOUS, except this dude just dropped the weed on the floor in plain sight. Lucas, you’re a dingus.

I want jumping out of the window to become some symbolic running gag much like Isak struggling with his locker was, like every time Lucas has a problem he jumps out of the nearest window, in an increasingly dramatic fashion with glass spraying everywhere or him leaping out of an exploding building several stories onto the roof of a car. Doesn’t matter the situation, if there’s a window and an issue he doesn’t want to face, he ain’t gonna take the stairs. And I guess at one point the window won’t open so he has to stop jumping and running from his problems, and then his version of O Helga Natt involves climbing up and going through a window. But mostly the increasingly dramatic exits.

Clip 3 - Mika, Lisa, Manon, and a cranky gay hamster

The Skam France team got the most important detail of Isak’s season right, which is the box of tissues beside Lucas’ bed.

When Lucas wakes up he has a text from his mom, a message about going to church and praying for God to punish Lucas’ father for his sins, which SURE IS SOME SHIT. That isn’t just happy cloud religion, it’s hoping a vengeful God will strike down your enemies.

The text itself seems … coherent? Just religious. IDK if anything was lost in translation. Isak’s mom’s texts often seemed more rambling, or straight-up Bible verses about sin.

But hurrah, they’re keeping the religious themes in this season! Lucas is another Biblical name so I’m interested to see how they develop that symbolism.

Lucas’ mom says she is praying for the both of them and that she misses him, so there’s more of a sense of wanting to connect with her son - like Isak’s mom’s texts were pretty intimidating and I could see how he’d feel closed off from them and would find them more judgmental and a sign of her mental illness more than anything, not necessarily a sign of her missing her son. Lucas’ mom is more clearly reaching out to him, I guess he’s just not responding or giving anything back.

Yann texts Lucas that the police found stuff at Emma’s, and he wants to know if Lucas has the weed. Lucas is trying to find the weed when Mika and Lisa come in with Manon on the phone. Lucas does not greet Manon with enthusiasm although we will see that they’ve got a fairly warm relationship.

Mika has an Alt Er Love phone case, which is very cute and a sweet nod to Skam! Every season of Skam France so far has had a shout-out to the original show, which I think is a nice gesture.

Mika says Lucas has problems like “how to get a girl to deflower him” which sure is an interesting comment. Either Mika truly does not suspect anything, which is doubtful, IMO, or he’s just covering for him in front of Manon or trying to make Lucas feel like they don’t know his secret, which is considerate of him.

Mika compares Lucas to no better than a hamster because all he does is sleeps, eats, and poops, like a hamster and Lisa thinks that it would’ve been better to get a hamster. Lucas gives her an offended look. LMAO.

Manon is being nice to Lucas, which is sweet of her. She has Lucas show off the apartment. So this is a different apartment from season 2? Were they not able to get the other one? Occam’s Razor, I assume this was a filming/location issue.

Manon asks about the rent and Lucas says his dad feels bad because he can’t take him in, so he’s helping Lucas out. Wasn’t Manon supposed to pay for Lucas’ rent because her parents didn’t know she was moving out of the flat and in with Charles? I guess their patronage stopped because she couldn’t avoid telling them that she was leaving for London with Charles. Which makes me wonder why they bothered to keep in that part at all last season. (Or maybe again, because they had to switch apartments so Manon’s parents wouldn’t unknowingly pay for someone’s rent in a place she’d never lived.)

Manon asks about Lucas’ mom, whether she will be OK, and he says that she’ll be OK (obviously he is not sure of that), and then she asks if Lucas is seeing someone. Doubtful that he realizes how loaded that question is, considering Manon has seen what’s on his phone! He does this blatant lie where he pretends Mika is calling for his phone back to avoid answering.

I do not actually get why they’re doing Manon in London? Or why they redid this scene so closely? In OG S3, there were several reasons this scene existed, such as showing the mother’s religious text and Jonas asking about the weed, and planting some seeds for Isak being uncomfortable with some of Eskild’s behavior (like Eskild talking about lavender scent). But it was also a way to explain that Isak was living at Kollektivet, and a followup to Noora after her season and a setup to explain why William wasn’t around anymore, and we don’t need either of those things here. Manon directly offered her room to Lucas at the end of S2, so we know he would be living there, and there’s no reason to write off Charles because the actor isn’t leaving the show. The only thing you’d kinda need to address is why they’re in a different apartment, which could be easily explained with a line or two or dialogue (Mika or Lisa complaining that something was better/worse at the old apartment).

Noora’s whole subplot of sorts in S3, with her and William going to London and her returning when their relationship faltered ... I don’t know what Julie’s plans were had Thomas Hayes not left the show, but that definitely seemed like a development necessitated by his decision. Julie even managed to write in some parallels between Isak’s and Noora’s romantic situations to create some thematically relevant material from this development. But we still don’t actually need to do that with Skam France! The actor who plays Charles isn’t going anywhere from what I know. Like I don’t get why they can’t just have Manon and Charles living at their own place, as planned, and then they’re in the background with parties and stuff. Especially keeping in mind the time restrictions on the episodes, and that they’ll likely need to cut stuff, and this is something that could probably go without affecting the main story.

Skam Italia also wrote out the Noora character and sent her to England during their Isak’s season, too, and I thought it was kinda unnecessary, although that I can understand more because they switched S2 and S3, so it was a reason to keep Eleonora away from Edoardo (the William) until her own season. But overall it’s not something that I think needs to be carried over from remake to remake. I hope they have a good reason to send Manon away other than just repeating the story from the original show, especially considering that IMO that drama ended up dragging down season 4 (but that’s a whoooooole different essay).

Clip 4 - That’s enough, Basile

It’s school on Monday and Daphne is running around the courtyard, handing out flyers. Daphne’s existence is one thing that improves any Monday, personally.

The boy squad is all pissing in a row, sans Lucas, who’s on his phone waiting for the others. Once again he is disconnected from his pals, this time from the manliest of all male bonding rituals, the synchronized bladder release.

Yann and Arthur wash their hands and Basile does not, so guess who is going straight to the bottom of my boy squad rankings? Ewwww.

And he says it’s because he touched the girl’s butt on Saturday? …. The girl who was puking? Yeah, he could not plummet faster.

Basile starts going off about a wildlife documentary, referring to “females” as marking their scent on males, and IDK if the connotations are the same in French but men referring to women as “females” outside of a scientific context usually is a red flag.

And he hasn’t washed his hands since Saturday? But he’s jerked off???? I’m gonna puke. Yann points out he’s gonna smell like dick.

This conversation tanked Basile for me, because afterwards I could not stop thinking of his stank hands whenever he was on screen.

Daphne hands the flyers to the guys. She’s renovating the common room and is gonna make it “the place to be”. I guess they’ve just dropped her awesome party or whatever? Or is that happening in S4? Even though it’s kinda pointless, wasn’t it supposed to attract older boys and make the girl squad really cool? It’s been like over a year since they wanted to plan that, lol.

Basile seems super into Daphne and is willing to do the project, although Arthur is like, no, you aren’t. Basile, you have time to grow on me, but right now I do not approve of you hooking up with Daphne with your disgusting unwashed hands. She deserves The Best.

The other guys think Daphne is weird but Basile thinks she’s hot, so you know, he has that going for him. Though I think he would fall for any woman who acknowledged his existence. He would fall in love with the Annabelle doll if it looked his way.

Lucas gives the others a high five as he leaves, except for Basile, because he says Basile is disgusting. My favorite thing Lucas has ever done, tbh.

Basile does a pratfall over the bench on the way to class. That’s one way to get Daphne’s attention! But what makes it really funny is that Arthur stumbles over a rock at the EXACT SAME TIME in the background. I mean Basile is obsessing over everyone woman in the vicinity when clearly he and Arthur have some kind of soul bond going. (Arthur is probs too good for Basile, though. Arthur/Yann all the way.)

Things that did not appear in this clip: penguins, helicopters, treasure maps, mysterious hot new students making eyes at Lucas. Clearly there was no reason for any of those to be present. I don’t even know why I mentioned it.

(This aired on January 21st, Skam France, do you even know your audience???) (JK but for real.)

Clip 5 - The beginning of a beautiful friendship

Lucas stares at his teacher, who is wearing a sheer top that reveals her bra. I have to say he doesn’t look like uninterested. Arthur comments on it, too, that Lucas is checking out the hot teacher. Which is what I would believe if I did not have deeper insight into Lucas’ preferences.

Imane shows up and shoos Arthur away, and she asks Lucas whether he lost something on Saturday. When he asks, “What are you talking about?” she’s like, “Your virginity.” HA, that is an excellent burn, Lucas is toast.

We didn’t see Imane when Lucas jumped out the window, but she had to have been nearby for her to realize it was Lucas’ weed instead of anyone else’s. He didn’t take the time to plant it, he just dropped it, so that was less snake-like than Isak. And maybe a little less deserving of the roasting that Imane gives him, since this isn’t a matter of him being inconsiderate, just dumb. Sana was pissed off that Isak would do something like that on purpose and potentially get Eva in trouble; Lucas did it by accident. I guess the end result is the same if weed was found at Emma’s house, no matter how it was left behind.

Imane says they find Daphne’s project annoying, too, so I assume they’re all just doing this to make Daphne happy.

When Imane gets up to leave the teacher is like, no, Alexia and Arthur are now partners and Imane and Lucas are now together. Both Lucas and Imane look positively thrilled about this. Just delighted. I think Arthur’s reaction is meant to be sarcastic but lmao, dude, you get to work with Alexia, that’s a damn privilege.

Clip 6 - Lucas is bad at subtlety

It’s time for Daphne’s meeting! Just the girl squad, boy squad, maybe that girl who was making out with Lucas, and no other new characters of importance.

Lucas shows up, looking as eager as you’d expect. The girls are there sans Manon. They talk about how sad and depressing the room is. It looks OK to me? Like, not super warm and inviting, but they describe it like it’s Azkaban. Daphne is the only one who’s peppy and says they’re going to turn it into something so great people won’t want to leave high school. That sounds like the premise for a horror movie.

Some dudes show up and Daphne is all ready to greet them to her meeting. At first I thought that this lounge was their usual place to hang out, since it looks like one of them had a board game or something, and they had zero idea that a meeting would be happening, lmao.

We get another shot out of the window and for a second I was wondering if a mysterious new student might be standing below, lurking around, perhaps stalking somebody.

The boy squad actually joins Lucas for this meeting, which is nice of them, although in a second I’m going to wish they’d stayed away. Basile thinks Daphne is winking at him, Arthur says she’s just rubbing her eye. Why couldn’t Arthur be the one ship-teased with Daphne?

Oh, and Chloé has arrived. She sends a non-imaginary wink toward Lucas. I know she’s probably not going to stay that way, but for now Chloé is a very cute person.

Just as the boys are telling Lucas that Chloé is into him and asking about their hookup on Saturday, some male model just walks off a photo shoot and into the common room. We know this is significant as the music gets tinkly and Lucas deadass stares at this dude without reservations. Mysterious male model stares back and makes eye contact with Lucas. (I feel like looking into Maxence’s eyes is the gay equivalent of Bird Box, where just one glance is enough to make a guy like Lucas abandon the last remnants of chill and heterosexuality.)

Somehow Lucas does not die from this interaction, but he does keeping sneaking glances at the handsome stranger while Daphne does her awkward introduction. Chill, dead and buried. Heterosexuality on life support.

Basile applauds Daphne in her introduction - OK, I love her too, but calm the fuck down, weirdo. Daphne, don’t encourage him.

When the crowd starts adding their commentary, Imane steps in and tells people that the next one to interrupt Daphne gets their shins broken, which a simple yet iconic moment, especially because Yann certainly seems to get nervous.

Lucas keeps checking out the hottie in the row behind him and I mean, the camera loves that pretty face, so why not?

I already want to kill Basile.

Daphne is also done with him and roasts him when he asks for her number. Everyone giggles, which makes her smile and gives her some confidence, so I guess that’s what Basile’s good for. Except then he’s instantly in love with Daphne so arrrrrgh.

Lucas keeps checking out the view behind him because Basile is not the only one who’s developed a crush.

I like the idea of a musical cue or theme for Lucas and Sexy Newcomer but I’m kinda ehhh about this one, because I can already see it making certain scenes cheesy and overdramatic, like Yann spiking his skateboard or Charles slow-mo racing to Manon levels of unintentional hilarity. Unless Sexy Newcomer’s a pianist? Then I can understand it more if this type of music is relevant to his character.

Clip 7 - Weird is good

Lucas is walking home and what do you know, he sees a snack at the vending machine. Give some credit to Lucas, he goes right up to him. Although he doesn’t say hello, just lurks behind.

I recently watched the series You on Netflix so all these scenes of Lucas staring at the object of his affection with his large unblinking eyes are feeling a lot more ominous than intended.

Dream Boy is like oh sorry, i didn’t see you there! Fucking fake, he probably saw Lucas’ reflection in the glass or something. He can’t decide what to get, so Lucas recommends #24 which is a crunchy choco bar (looks like a granola bar). So in the promos for this season they mentioned “chocolate” as an important element in the story. Maybe crunchy choco will be their always!

Dream Boy gets one crunchy choco bar, and then another one, so there are no more left. His version of taking all the paper towels. He got very lucky that there were only two crunchy chocos left and that Lucas didn’t want the almond & seeds bar instead. He would’ve had to buy the whole damn rack. Dream Boy says one of the crunchy chocos is for Lucas. Except we don’t see them eat the bars, lol.

They sit down and smoke at the bus stop with one seat between them, and I could tell Chloé was gonna come and sit there. But I think it’s also supposed to be some no-homo space between them, like buying choco bars is one thing, but sitting next to each other??? It’s not like they’re married or anything.

They talk about how weird the meeting was, the importance of the common room. Lucas’ future husband says it’s a good opportunity to meet new people, but we know he’s thinking of one person in particular.

Earth Angel is a third year studying literature. Lucas asks whether it’s weird to start a new school five months before graduation. I mean ... they could have just made him Lucas’ age since he’s already like 25 in real life, at that point it’s not going to make much difference if you say he’s 17 or 18. Angelface is like, everything is weird with you! He muses that he too must seem weird. Well, weirdness is a quality I like in an Even, because Even was a giant fucking weirdo and it made him memorable and charming. And we know that our French Even has reasons for people to think he’s weird and is used to it, even if Lucas doesn’t know that yet, so it’s more loaded than Lucas even knows.

No offense but why is Chloé trying to chase Lucas when there is a literal male model on her other side? Different strokes for different folks, I guess.

Chloé is like, the meeting was fun, right? Lucas is awkward and Sugar Pie Honey Bunch kindly chimes in that the general opinion is that it was weird. Chloé seems to be like, oh, OK, as if that will be her new opinion to stay on the same page as Lucas. SPHB adds, but we like weird, I think. NOT SO SUBTLE. You know what he means by that.

Chloé introduces herself to the new guy and he introduces himself as Eliott, so I can stop making up stupid nicknames and pretending I don’t know the name of this character they told us about months ago.

There was a really good post by @skambyme about how both S3 remakes so far have done the end of this scene by putting the Emma character literally in the middle of the Isak and Even, while in the original, it’s Isak who ends up between Emma and Even. The remakes have the focus on Emma coming between Isak and Even, and it’s not like a terrible choice to do that or anything, but I think it’s more perceptive in the original to recognize that the biggest obstacle is not Emma, but Isak himself, caught between a girl and a guy, a safe lie and a terrifying truth. It puts the emphasis on Isak’s internal journey rather than a more external obstacle (Emma).

We learn from the credits that Eliott’s last name is Demaury and he has an Instagram account! So already that’s different from Even, who’s a total ghost on social media, except for the birthday video, obviously.

It’s a little funny to me that Arthur and Basile do not have last names according to the credits, though, lmao. Everyone else does and they’re just Those Two Guys on a first name only basis.

Social Media/General Comments

I mentioned it above but I liked that prior to the first clip, they started the season with an IG post from Lucas saying he’s living his best life, of course to contrast with the disconnect he feels in the clip itself. Putting up a facade on social media much like Isak did.

FOR SOME REASON Basile found it necessary to document the sink girl’s puke afer she was done, like … no one wants to see that, bro.

The boys talk about Lucas’ great game with Chloé in a chat, and Basile wants them all to know he has game, too. They just ignore him, lmao. As one should.

Manon and Lucas have a pretty solid friendship going on, which is nice. They’re on heart emoji level and she offers to throw Earl Grey on Mika and Lisa if they bother Lucas too much. I wonder if Lucas will properly come out to her at some point during the season, or confide in her. Especially if she ends up coming back and crashing at the apartment like Noora did - she’ll be around to talk to in person.

Mika not only calls Lucas hetero in a clip, but he refers to him as such in an IG story, and I’m not sure what to make of that yet? Because he knows about the rumors that Manon and Emma told him last season. At some point last season Lucas started crashing in their building/apartment, so Mika must have found him and let him stay over. If he didn’t find him at a gay bar, then what happened? I don’t think Mika legit thinks Lucas is straight; I think he’s just trying to keep up the appearance that he doesn’t suspect Lucas is gay, for Lucas’ sake. I don’t know if that’s the best method, but that’s my guess.

Unless Mika genuinely didn’t think he was gay after Manon and Emma, and he didn’t find Lucas at a gay bar but in some other situation, like IDK, drunk at a park/bus stop/whatever? I doubt it. Or he’s ironically teasing Lucas about his heterosexuality because he suspects otherwise, which is mean, so I doubt that, too.

Basile again talks about how hot Daphne is in a chat … stay away from her, dude. He did wash his hands or sanitize them eventually, thank God.

Manon is posting throwbacks of her and Charles on IG … the fact that it’s a throwback makes me think things are not so great between them right now. Reinforced by her later posting Rupi Kaur quotes, “if you are not enough for yourself you will never be enough for someone else.”

Eliott is doing some type of Instagram puzzle with 4 out of 9 squares currently posted, and I’m not even going to take a guess as to what the finished product will be as of now, but I think it’s a really cool idea for the Even character to do something artsy and mysterious like that, and a fun way to tease the audience.

There was talk about how good Maxence’s acting was, with some divided opinions. I thought his acting was fine for his first clip. IDK how good he’ll end up being with the heavier material of the season, but he seems to have a lot of energy, which is something I find really important with Even, and he had a weird charm that felt right for the character. I know I saw some stuff that he sounded awkward to French speakers.

After the party clip I wrote something like “I really like the boy squad so far!” and it should be clear that my opinion changed to have one glaring exception by the end of the episode, lmao.

I’m already done with Basile, like we had 3 clips with him in it and 2.5 of them had him being obnoxious and creepy about girls. I say 2.5 because I thought he was OK the first time I saw the party clip, just an awkward goober dude, and then later clips retroactively ruined him in that one. The other two clips had a rather large focus on his desperation over girls, like I know basically nothing about Arthur so far, and Yann hasn’t done much yet this season, but I’ve heard a shit ton about Basile being gross. They have plenty of time to redeem him or tone him down, but I hope it happens fast. And Daphne is my favorite character so the thought of her hooking up with him makes me shudder.

That’s one disadvantage of them filming two seasons at once, though ... if they keep up his shtick and people dislike it, they can’t tone it later in the season or in S4 because it’s already filmed.

Overall I thought the use of music has improved. Some scenes started with silence! I liked that song at the very end!

Opinion of unknown popularity: I’m tired of the promo and behind the scenes stuff already.

Skam France is not the only remake that has done this, but it felt like they went on promo overload with this season, no doubt to build hype since the original S3 was such a hit, and I mean, from the perspective that they want people to watch and comment and like and subscribe … yeah, certainly I get it! But one thing that made Skam so special to watch was the lack of promo, the total immersion in the story. Completely not knowing what was coming, having no idea about what happens next. It was very unusual compared to almost every other TV show.

Right now it feels like they’re operating under the idea that everyone has seen the original show. Certainly fandom makes this assumption a lot of the time, but it’s one thing for fandom to do it and another for the director/writers/actors/marketing team to assume it? And I can’t help but feel that this spoils some of the effect of the season. S3, especially in the beginning, relied on a lot of ambiguity that kept you guessing. It was firmly locked into Isak’s POV, so when he doubted Even liked him, so did many of the viewers. We didn’t know that Even was mentally ill at the beginning of the season. We didn’t know Even noticed Isak on his first day of school. We didn’t know Even had a girlfriend. All this promo is giving away so much.

That’s actually an issue I have with the Eliott trailer, because as cool as I find the idea of finally getting that first-day-of-school POV, and although I think it’s a well-made trailer, it does remove a lot of the ambiguity regarding Eliott’s feelings toward Lucas, something that goes a long way toward establishing tension and putting us firmly in Lucas’ head, especially in the early episodes. For example, if Eliott turns out to have a girlfriend, we still know that he does have some feelings for Lucas - we saw Lucas grab his attention in the trailer. Whereas when Isak learns about Sonja, he doubts whether these moments he shared with Even were really what he thought they were, whether Even is actually into him - and the audience can doubt with him, because we don’t know any more than Isak. It doesn’t matter a ton to me as someone who’s seen Isak’s story, but what about someone who hasn’t?

Like I’m just imagining being a French viewer who has never seen the original show - you’d already know so much about where the story is headed just from the promo material. (How much of the audience is made up of total newbies who haven’t seen Skam, anyway?)

Of course, we don’t know how the changes in the story will be affected by spoilers, so perhaps there is a lot that we still won’t see coming. But honestly I would rather just watch the whole season and then get all of the behind the scenes goodies when it’s done. Especially because they’re saying that they’ve changed so much about this season - it would be great to go into that without any hints or spoilers.

I mean I love getting Skam interviews, bloopers, and scripts now, but I’m really glad it’s well after the show ended rather than while the season was airing. I remember the experience of watching live and not knowing where the story was going, and I really think that has a lot to do with Skam’s overall success and intense audience engagement. Some of the remakes have also done this - Skam España S1 and Druck S2 were/are divergent enough from the original seasons that it was exciting to wait for clips not knowing what to expect all the time. But I’m just imagining if Julie was posting a ton of explanations and hints during S3, and if that wouldn’t take a lot of the suspense and fun out of the experience.

Obviously the people involved are extremely proud of making this season, and want to share that love with everybody, so I don’t want to sound like an ass and complain about what they should or should not do. I know, I know, the solution is not to look at the extra material. It’s all optional and for the people who want to read it, everyone else can avoid it. But I’m thinking the best way to do that is just to avoid the tags and discussion of the show, because it felt pretty widely discussed and circulated. Anyway.

This episode on the whole was better than what we saw from S1 and S2 on average. Honestly, there are still some of the same directing weaknesses - not huge things, just like … stuff I would tweak, showing cause and effect, getting from Point A to Point B type stuff. But they’re not as pronounced so I think they can pull it together. I do think this season is going to be better than Skam France’s first two seasons.

I am not French so feel free to clarify or correct me if I misunderstood something.

If you got this far, thank you for reading!

#skamfr reactions #long post

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srichardart · 6 years

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Fourth sketch. First. Previous. Next.

Weeks had passed and Imri’s carefully crafted reputation had begun to crumble. The older folks were the first to see through his charm, when they realized he had no intention of doing anything more than managing the finances of the farm. Maybe he had lead them to believe otherwise when he asked for advice, but Imri for his own part couldn’t see why that bothered them so much. It wasn’t as if he was doing absolutely nothing, like Ava and Gawain, who spent every day gallivanting about the town and pestering people. He ensured they kept to a budget and earned enough from the crops to continue planting throughout the seasons, while having enough left over to support themselves. And they had a lot left over, thanks to the price increases and the mythical stories he weaved around the farm. Most of their income didn’t even come from the villagers themselves- who Imri ordinarily offered discounts to ensure they would tolerate him- but by exporting to neighboring towns and villages.

He suspected his success, despite the lack of hard labor, was what made the villagers annoyed with them. Every now and again he’d hear a couple of middle aged farmers muttering about ‘city boys’ when he walked past. It’d be a lie to say he didn’t enjoy the infamy to some degree, especially when the daughters of those same farmers still appreciated Imri as much as they had when he first arrived. Granted, nearly every young man in town now seemed to hate him. Now and again one of them would puff their chests out, as if they were ready to fight him over the attentions of a girl. Imri was a slight man and the only time he had held a sword was moments before he refused to ever learn how to fight. If one of them ever did hit him, he would be in trouble. He wasn’t stupid and he knew damned well any one of these country boys could lay him out flat if they wanted to. Thankfully, they in turn knew he could do much worse than merely punch back. Most times it never came to that. The girls in question usually stopped the fights themselves, as they smacked the youths and told them to knock it off. He could never resist shooting a smile back at the boys as he left with the girl.

The only locals he still had favor with were the girls. Some simply enjoyed having fun with him, while others thought they could make him settle down in spite of his every effort to tell them otherwise. Regardless of the girls’ intentions, he stole away with them into haylofts, fields and, on one daring occasion, snuck through a window into a bedroom. That time he had been caught. He’d barely started kissing Celine when her father come roaring into the room to chase him out. It might have scared a farm boy out in heartbeats, but Imri wasn’t the type to flee. He stood up, apologized for trespassing and tried to explain that Celine had invited him in. It was only when her father wouldn’t stop cursing him that Imri warned him what might happen if he continued to cross him.

He might have gone too far.

After that he heard fewer whispers and the farm boys didn’t dare confront him. So, Imri thought it wasn’t all bad, even if he felt bad for scaring the old man. Maybe he’d write him an apology. Send him a fruit basket, something.

Unfortunately, after all that, he managed to tear the sleeve of his favorite shirt. Probably while he was climbing in through Celine’s window. He paid a visit to the tailor that week, after figuring that such a small repair would take little time. The shop was small, featuring only a small range of clothes to buy. Likely the only time the villagers bought new clothes was for festivals and their idea of ‘nice clothes’ was ‘barely acceptable’ by his standards. Most of the shop’s revenue probably came from repairing work clothes throughout the year. It was when he realized one of the tailor’s apprentices was manning the shop that Imri wanted to groan.

Adalena was organizing the shop’s fabrics when the bell caught her attention. “One moment,” she started until she saw Imri. Her familiar scowl returned.

“Look, let’s just make this painless, alright?” Imri said, unable to stop himself from sighing. “I just want my shirt fixed.”

She put her hands on her hips as she turned fully to face him. “What, are you going to tell your father if I don’t?”

Alright, maybe he did deserve that one. He pressed his lips together and considered what to say to put her at ease. “…That wasn’t exactly what happened.”

“Oh? So… you didn’t break into Celine’s room and when her father was rightfully angry, you didn’t threaten to have your father’s guards haul him away if he didn’t show the respect that you, a prince, deserve?” She raised an eyebrow at him, looking at him expectantly. “Did I get that right, your highness, or would you care to show a shred of honesty? If it pleases you, of course.”

Imri cleared his throat and crossed his arms behind his back. Although he was aware that Adalena didn’t like him, he hadn’t seen her angry at him. “Okay, so that was what happened,” he admitted, grimacing as he shrugged a shoulder in guilt. “I went too far- I admit it. I mean, I wouldn’t actually have him hauled off, I… uh, I don’t think my father would even allow that if I’m being perfectly honest.”

She stood entirely still, scowling at him.

Imri looked away, feeling his ears get hot. “Though I know he doesn’t know that and I, uh, I plan to apologize to him. Today, in fact.” He wasn’t aware that was the truth until he said it to her scrutinizing face. Even if he considered not doing so, he knew Adalena wouldn’t be one to let him off the hook. He stepped toward the counter and gingerly placed the ripped shirt on the counter. “I just came to have this fixed first, that’s all.”

She rolled her eyes, fluttering her eyelids as if she couldn’t cope with his presence any longer. “Fine. Pick it up at noon. Payment will be due then.”

“I’ll pay you now and more if you fix it now.” He’d said it without thinking, but decided he wouldn’t take it back when one corner of her mouth twitched in irritation. He slipped a few gold coins from his sleeve and held them out to her, knowing that it would be uncommon for an apprentice to get this much money, especially for a simple repair job.

“Do you really think you can just throw money at people until they do what you want?” she asked.

“Do you really not want it?”

She snatched the gold, biting one of the coins to test its authenticity. Of course she knew he was good for the coin and he knew it was meant to insult him. He decided not to take it at face value as she brought out some thread from under the counter and got to work.

“So…” He leaned one arm on the counter as she threaded the needle.

“I’m working. Can’t talk,” she said, knotting off the thread and refusing to make eye contact with him.

“Bull, I’ve seen you chatting with your friends while you work before,” he said, getting a brief glare from her although she didn’t say otherwise. “I just have one question for you. Why do you hate me?”

“Oh, you mean besides the fact that you use your position to threaten my friends and their family?” Her tone was dry as she quickly analyzed the tear, then began to pin the sides of the fabric together.

“That would be a great reason if you didn’t already hate me long before this.”

Adalena look up at him, eyes furious and began to sew. Imri pursed his lips, biting back a sigh as he stood up straight again.

“I don’t mean to badger you,” he said, earning a snort of derision from her. He continued anyway. “I mean it. Whatever I might have done- and I’m sure I did something, I know I can step on a lot of toes, going about my usual business, but I truly didn’t mean to step on yours- I’d like to address it, fix it, whatever I might do. At the very least, I’d like to be able to give a sincere apology.”

Her sewing slowed to a stop and she looked up at him, eyebrows knitting together in what almost looked like confusion. “You sound awfully sincere already,” she said, her voice full of suspicion.

“Is it really so hard to believe I might be?” he asked. “I mean, to be frank, while I would like to give you an apology, you are making this rather difficult.”

She frowned, then rolled her eyes. “You are so likeable.”

“I am!” he objected, a little hurt. “If you actually got to know me, I might surprise you, you know. I’m not half as bad as you seem to think- you might even like me.”

“Debatable,” she said simply, returning to the shirt. At first he thought she was going to refuse to speak any further, as she made stitch after stitch without saying another word. He was ready to give up on her, there was no use in pressing her any further if she didn’t want to answer his question.

“You know,” she said, catching his attention. “I’m beginning to think that I was tricked.”

He tilted his head slightly at her. “Tricked? By who?”

She removed a few pins from the fabric as they became unnecessary, sticking them into a tiny cushion on the counter. “I was told by a certain someone that you had plans for me. I can’t say I’m certain you don’t, but I’m beginning to think they weren’t quite as sinister as first implied.” Her eyes flicked up to him. “I think you can guess who. I have noticed you two don’t get along.”

His nose crinkled up. “Ava.” The seamstress confirmed this and Imri crossed his arms, huffing out an irritated groan. “So, what was it then? What terrible plans did I have in store for you?”

“Oh, about the same as you seem to have with every girl in town,” she said, her voice high and mocking. “I thought she was exaggerating at first, but then you went about seducing all of my friends one by one, so…”

He couldn’t help but shrug a shoulder, at the risk of looking uncaring. “It’s hardly seducing if everyone involved already wants to jump into bed.”

“They’re only sleeping with you because they’re hoping to leave here princesses.”

“Well…yes, some of them,” he admitted, grimacing uncomfortably. Not every girl in the village was like that- most of them weren’t, but the few who were could be exhausting at times. “It’s not as if I haven’t tried dissuading them from that. I let them know what I’m about.”

She paused long enough to give him a dry, unimpressed expression.

“I do!” he insisted. “I keep telling them I’m not here to get married, but they keep hoping that I’ll just magically change my mind.”

“Have you tried, I don’t know, not sleeping with them?”

They stared at each other, both at an impasse. Though, he had to admit, she looked less hateful now. More like she was thoroughly done with him. He supposed that was an improvement.

“You know what?” she said, shaking her head with a small smile. “I believe you, I don’t think you’ve seduced anyone.”

“See, if everyone would just listen-”

“You’re not charming enough to be capable of that.” She tied off the thread and cut off the excess. Folding the shirt, she placed it on the counter in front of him with a thin, pleased smile. “All done.”

He studied her for a second, an annoyed pout on his lips before he snatched up the shirt. “Thank you,” he forced himself to say and left the tailor’s shop.

#faerie #fairytale #fairy #art #sketch #watercolor #painting #story #fiction #fantasy #witchandthewizard #commanderkaye00

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sxmethingbreaking-a · 7 years

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//let’s get the post on Cora’s abuse out of the way next, shall we? just so it’s done.

This book does not shy away from it. Cora is verbally, psychologically, and physically abusive, arguably to a degree that I think is a bit more exaggerated than what we see in the TV canon. This post is long, as I’m going into instances of all three forms of abuse.

TV Cora is critical of Regina- pretty constantly. She makes jabs about Regina’s appearance, her unladylike behavior, her likability, her marriageability, I mean it’s everywhere in canon don’t get me wrong. But in the book, they up this a notch. Or….12 notches. Cora’s critical about everything- she makes snide comments about Regina’s singing voice, her painting abilities, the size of her feet, her weight, her hairstyles, her clothes- it’s all over the place. The one that bothered me the most was about the painting. Regina showed it to Cora hoping for praise, and Cora remaks, “well, we can’t be good at everything” or something along those lines.

As I said, it’s a bit exaggerated, but it’s not entirely out of the realm of possibility for her character. I don’t know that I accept how excessive this criticism is as canon, because the writing of the dialogue in this book is very much not how normal people speak, so….that’s a different issue entirely. Moving on.

The psychological abuse is also dialed up to 20. TV Cora is psychologically abusive too, but this is ramped up a bit. Again though, most of it is not out of the range of possibilities. It just feels a bit…much.

So the three main offenses the book discusses are what Cora does to a girl named Claire, whom Regina befriends, Jasper the artist, and Regina’s horse, Hwin. The horse is definitely the most obviously in character- it throws Regina from it’s back, she gets hurt, Cora kills the horse in revenge. 100% something she would do.

Jasper is a little more controversial. What happens is Regina starts flirting and gets him to stand behind her while he’s showing her a painting technique. It is a noticeably sexually charged moment. Cora sees this and flips out about the gross man molesting her precious daughter, and she immediately fires him and wants him out of the house. This would be almost in the realm of understandable, but it’s revealed in the end that Cora was aware Regina liked Jasper, and planned to use the poisoned sleeping curse apple (you know, the one Regina winds up stealing from the Blind Witch? Turns out Cora grew that…) Cora’s plan was to poison Jasper with it, and then for Regina to be unable to wake him with True Love’s Kiss because Jasper didn’t actually like Regina that way, he liked her friend Claire.

A bit needlessly cruel, and honestly I’m not a fan of how they felt the need to connect absolutely everything. The Blind Witch is the secondary villain in this story and it was very not needed tbh. There was no reason for Cora to be at all connected to that sleeping curse. But whatever, it’s not out of the realm of possibility for her given what she does to Anastasia in OUATIW. (Why didn’t she think of this with Daniel? Excellent question.)

And then there’s Claire. Oh boy. So this is the main plot, and what it boils down to is Cora takes this girl and rescues her from poverty in exchange for Claire to befriend Regina and spy on her for Cora. The girl is also the niece of the neighbor, Giles Spencer, so it all seems convenient. Regina buys it and becomes fast friends with Claire. Everything is going according to keikaku until one day in the market there’s an incident, and Cora (in disguise) uses magic to protect Regina. But Claire takes the credit in order to keep Cora’s presence secret. Regina then decides she wants to learn, Cora gets mad, she takes Claire’s heart. (It’s pretty noticeable when this happens, actually- Regina starts noticing things seem off about her friend, and you start to suspect she’s either Cora in disguise or that Cora has her heart.) In the end, this was revealed to be an extremely fucked up way for Cora to “protect” Regina from…yeah I’m not really sure tbh. Cora just wanted to spy on her daughter really. There’s a lot of reasons this all doesn’t quite add up when you read the book. (what all did Cora know, how much was Claire reporting, why the fuck was Cora just letting Regina and Claire run off to the Blind Witch’s cabin if she had Claire’s heart the whole time…) It’s…eh. It was a predictable twist, but not the most well executed. The ending of the book turns into a bartering match between Regina and Cora when Regina finds out the truth. Claire gets her heart back, but there’s Rumple-esque deal making going on to get that to happen and it’s all very…….off. For both characters, frankly. What Regina winds up doing with her end of the deal feels pretty out of character for her, too, given the way she behaves in The Stable Boy.

Finally, the physical abuse. It’s portrayed but kept to a minimum. There’s no beatings or whippings or anything that awful. The two major instances are when Cora slaps Regina across the cheek (I winced guys,) and the second is when Cora…sort of…gags her? It’s kind of unclear what’s happening, the writing isn’t the greatest. It seems like Cora makes Regina’s sash come to life and gag her, but then also her hands are restrained above her head, but then Regina almost falls over and the hands aren’t restrained anymore and Cora’s like “you okay?” but the gag is still in place….idk, that whole scene was not well done from a writing standpoint.

The slap I wholeheartedly reject as canon. I mean….maybe I could see it happening once or twice in Regina’s life, but I have never believed Cora would strike Regina and risk bruising her or marring her face in any way. And it even feels out of character for this book, because Cora does make such a big deal out of Regina’s appearance. The scar is dealt with by the novel, and Cora did not want it there at all. So this action makes no sense to me, and it is entirely out of line with my personal headcanons about the physical side of the abuse.

The gag, though…….doesn’t seem as out of character. The reason Cora gagged her was pretty damn unnecessary, but Cora’s portrayed as much more emotionally volatile and unstable in this novel, so….I felt like it was written for the express purpose of causing drama, not because it made sense in that moment. But it does seem like something she would do under the right circumstances.

Honestly, that was a problem throughout the novel- drama existing for drama’s sake in scenes that didn’t need the drama. It didn’t feel very organic much of the time, and the instances of Cora’s physical abuse were both examples of that. Not to say that it wouldn’t have happened- the gag in particular- but the characterization felt just off enough that neither of those instances felt authentic to the character.

#abuse tw #regina rising spoilers

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andseperand · 7 years

Text

thoughts

ive been sitting on this post for the better part of a year. i tried to read through it and make edits, but im going to have to post this as is. maybe ill be able to edit it someday. anyway, this is completely composed of spoilers.

tl;dr: i mostly wrote bitterness about “kung food,” “origins part 1,″ and “reflekta.”

these are my thoughts on what ive watched of the first season of miraculous ladybug (i have watched most of every episode except the last three).

i may be confused or misinformed on some points. some of this is not as serious as other parts, and the writing style is disjointed because i didnt write it all in one go. any links are formatted within brackets (as in [text]).

ordered by the order i initially watched (parts of) the episodes in and indicated by villain name somehow (english, korean, french, french translation, etc.).

stormy weather/climatika

why did alya just toss manon like that? she couldve hurt something just being thrown around with her tiny little bones and joints that lack any significant cushioning. not to mention that her neck is completely unsupported. safety, much?

the bubbler/le bulleur

so the record is fully functional but also survived getting smacked off a building on its edge? wow.

copycat/l’imposteur/the imposter

i get that alya is supposed to be that “go-getter” friend who pushes marinette to be brave, but honestly, if she had waited another minute for marinette to be more ready for making a phone call, this wouldve been less of a mess. yeah, i get the “pushing boundaries to build confidence,” but honestly we could have waited for marinette to stop stalking adrien, too.

i gotta say: marinette is truly fearless. my phone is so suspicious. i would not have the confidence to deliberately touch it with my face and risk contact with who knows what has been on it.

the “moral” or whatever of this episode is kind of unclear? steal someones phone and run into issues with security but then also somehow break into it and get what you want anyway? no, thats not okay. its not that funny that marinette legitimately stole someones phone, and she doesnt even get seriously reprimanded for this.

timebreaker/chronogirl

one of the most pressing questions i have for this episode is why no one thought of using pockets or a bag or something to hold this important watch. hand perspiration is pretty bad for a lot of older and newer mechanical objects alike. why is this clearly-important item treated any different? ive considered both the “tikki is in the bag” (doesnt mean it has to be marinettes bag) and the “girl pockets” (marinette designed her own clothes, though) possibilities, and im still stumped.

mister/monsieur/mr./m. pigeon

how did chloe know what the colors were or even what the embroidery pattern looked like from a pencil sketch? it looked like chicken scratch.

lady wifi

im not sure that “dont violate other peoples privacy” was very well stated, seeing as alya was landed with an unfairly harsh punishment due to corrupt politicians. and how did that get resolved, anyway? was she still suspended? was there even supposed to be a moral in this mess?

the pharaoh/le pharaon

the villain is a pharaoh, continuing the ages-long trend of pretending ancient egyptian culture is just ~so interesting~ and that its portrayal isnt exploitative at all. i cant really say much about this, but i dont like those special ancient egypt episodes of anything.

rogercop

a mess

im pretty sure that this was to save animation budget or something, but why was marinette picking up those croissants off the floor and arranging them so nicely as if it really mattered what she did with them besides cleaning up the spill? i guess ill let it slide if shes trained that way as an advertising thing (though advertising doesnt get a free pass by default just because its strange).

the evillustrator/evil artist/le dessinateur

off topic, but could that tablet also erase or create living beings?

dark cupid/le dislocoeur/heartbreaker

this was still technically a kiss without consent? doesnt really feel all that romantic and whatnot. i cant really get behind this as shipping material.

horrificator

side note: i really liked how chloes english voice actor delivered the lines mockingly announcing mylenes “award” in the beginning.

im not a fan of the “you must kiss as part of acting” plot point. it always gives off those peer pressure vibes from other people and opportunistic vibes from main characters who want to actually kiss the other person.

darkblade/le chevalier noir/the black knight

sabrina is honestly super lucky that marinette made her box have a hole big enough for super tiny animated character wrists or else she wouldve been in a world of more pain.

alya had a platform? im so confused about how this election worked. did they do ballots or some sort of “heads down” in-class vote thing?

the/le mime

seeing as people dont lose their memories of being attacked by the villains, i really dont see how tearing down the eiffel tower (even in an animated show where people are not in the structure at the time) is the best way to minimize traumatic experiences. i get that it was supposed to be a “wow” moment for the plot and just visual effects but not the appeal.

kung food

the second i ever laid my eyes on this name i knew it would be bad, i just didnt know how bad because there were just so many ways it couldve gone with that phrase and i didnt know what to expect until i actually watched the episode. more on this in a bit.

there was literally no point to having the famous chef be related to marinette other than contrived circumstances to get adrien into this episode. im using this as a launching off point for talk of other stuff.

why didnt marinettes parents do anything about a relative coming to their house? this really baffles me because they have their daughter meet an effective stranger with no help.

why didnt marinettes parents tell her what languages the relative spoke? honestly, it kind of seems like they just didnt even care if this would cause her extreme anxiety or anything. you would really think they would have at least discussed this as a family because it was made pretty clear that his visit was actually expected. i thought way higher of their characters until it seemed that they pulled this crap move.

i know it was supposed to be all cute and a bonding moment when adrien came over to translate, but it was even more of a disaster. why did they take a car literally around the corner to get to the hotel? why didnt the chef go directly to the hotel if it was so close? was that adriens car? who was in charge of organizing this event and making sure the contestants didnt end up in the wrong place? how in the world did the chef even get to the bakery? because of the close proximity of the hotel to the bakery, it doesnt make sense that he would go to the bakery instead from an airport or something? unless he was supposed to meet his relatives? which, in this case, was not facilitated at all? so many questions are raised.

i dont speak nor understand mandarin, but im pretty sure adriens wasnt good enough for him to actually be complimented for it. then again, its nothing new to see white people getting complimented for deigning to learn a ~foreign language~ while i get interrogated about my lack of “authenticity” for not speaking “my native tongue,” so i guess the writers were just being realistic.

he bowed...funny story, at least one time i went to a restaurant with other visibly asian people and the apparently-white waiter kept making this weird head bobbing motion every time they left the table and what im saying here is that i know adrien has presumably been learning about culture stuff, but i also know firsthand that creators really love to shove bowing into media whenever asian people show up. (that waiter did give us extra mints, so i guess that was nice.)

sarcasm alert: i love when ~asian~ people have ~asian~ accents. its not like this is a tired gimmick that i dont need to see literally everywhere i turn (oh, wait! according to the english version, it is! hooray for me! this is probably the most exciting thing that has ever happened to me ever! im not being sarcastic at all! or overly sarcastic to the point where im sarcastically putting in that everything ive written in this paragraph is sarcastic because im just so mad! or maybe it definitely is! it probably is all sarcasm!) [bonus sarcasm here]

the chefs english/default dub language fluency was either inconsistent or this was just a straight-up rude portrayal of a nonnative speaker of a language, because adrien didnt seem to wait five seconds (for the chef to even consider the question about what he was cooking) before talking to the chef (and naturally, being a polite person, the chef listened to what adrien was saying), and i feel like it was only for the sake of adrien being ~useful~ because right after that, he talks to the chef in english/whatever language? dont think i didnt notice that his english speaking got “better” after becoming a villain. you know, if they hadnt faked the accent in the first place, they wouldnt have had to hastily cover for the fact that their voice actor couldnt even execute it well.

im sure adrien and marinette tag-teaming to argue with chloe and her racist comments was supposed to be this whole “wow look at that team” deal, but it felt like adrien was shoehorned into this mess sloppily. woohoo for the white boy defending marinette because she cant do it herself or something! i do appreciate when white people help stand up for me, but in this context, it feels off.

i have such a big problem with the “pep talk” adrien gives marinette when she thinks the chef doesnt like her. first thing, white boy explaining things about a person of color to a person of color, and the two people are actually literally related? i think the bouquet misunderstanding was really bizarre, and when did adrien have time to gain all this extensive exposition? the interview when they first arrived was short, and i dont think that both adrien and the chef would be so rude as to exclude marinette from their conversation in the car on the way over. this just comes off as a way to have adrien ~encouraging~ marinette, and its not a very good one.

this supposedly super prestigious competition literally has no security to make sure no one is mucking around behind the scenes, let alone ensure that the contestants arent up to any funny business. because why not. and no cameras around either, because cooking-based television programs never show any cooking, just the tasting and subsequent subjugation by a villain (this is a sarcastic sentence). even if this is supposed to be a featured dish and thus one they dont want to showcase the recipe behind, they could still have those little soundbites interspersed with candid panorama shots (can you tell i have no idea what any of these words mean?). im just going to have to chalk this one up to animation budget and move on.

i know this was just a sort of (intendedly funny) visual thing, but i highly doubt that the objects chloe put in the soup could just go unnoticed, especially since i presume a chef would thoroughly stir (and taste) their cooking, and the soup didnt appear to have properties of decomposing things touching it. otherwise that tasting session would probably have turned out a little messier (i am completely kidding here).

why is the chef being upset about being sabotaged made into a ~cultural~ thing? why is a white boy telling marinette about her ~own~ culture? sheesh, its like you cant just be upset because your shot at a world title was ruined on live television and you have confirmation that you were deliberately sabotaged. yes, chloe did it because shes petty and racist, but the results of her actions could upset anyone! its not just because the chef is chinese! what is the point of saying that? its a pointless throwaway comment! why dont you just find some other way to get the chef alone so he can be become a villain that isnt a) nonsensical and b) making sweeping generalizations about people? (granted, i cant speak to the validity of anything said about cultures, but i sure can comment on why saying such things about them isnt okay regardless).

“kung food” oh my god. this is such a piece of crap name. it is racist. you can literally try to argue against this until youve gone far beyond oxygen deprivation and in a grave but itll still be racist by the time youre done. aside from the pharaoh, there arent a bunch of ~ethnic~ names (not that it would be okay for that to be the case anyway) running around, and yet we get one with this specific villain whose ethnic and national origin is talked to death? okay.

and ive seen this pointed out, but the villain appearance seems to have a kind of anime-inspired design, which is honestly a good laugh because who was just talking about not conflating china and japan again? weeaboos and sinaboos are often in the same boat.

okay, not related, but adrien just had to taste a suspicious substance off the floor. why. there are so many ways to figure out what a substance is before putting it in your mouth. or you could just not do that at all. before this point, they did not appear to suspect a food-related villain, so this couldve ended badly.

another side note: i dont know how that receipt retained its integrity long enough for ladybug to wrap the villain up after dipping it in the soup. do the magical items just have super special properties like extra toughness that allows them to defy the reality of paper receipts? i wonder how many of the things ive talked about in this post have been me marveling at the sturdiness of lucky charm items.

of course this turns into an ~accountability~ lesson for marinette. and chloe doesnt get reprimanded? yeah, she got booted off a panel she didnt even want to be on and no one actually clearly articulated to her that the things she said were absolutely unacceptable? then again, this is a “diversity episode,” so i dont know why my standards are so high.

wow, marinette really needed to have adrien encourage her before going to take a picture with her great-uncle? im going to be generous and allow that she wanted to make sure he would be okay with her ditching him for her much cooler great-uncle because she didnt want him to feel bad about how not-cool he is in comparison. there, you see what i mean about making up story elements? (though im really not much of a writer, oops.)

im so over people making fun of how others dress as a joke. before i realized that i am autistic and reflected back on my life, i didnt realize that i gravitate toward clothing i find comfortable rather than fashionable, and ive always gotten negative comments, ill-intended or otherwise. so i really didnt appreciate marinettes jab at chloe, even if it was to defend herself. it was just unnecessary.

i want to talk about the whole ~chinese representation~ thing in this show. yeah, i know marinette is one of the very few chinese and mixed main characters out there (and there are barely any that are both), but im going to be super honest about this: i dont think shes all that great. i am a big fan of her and this show, but that doesnt make it infallible. the fact that adrien of all people is telling her about her own culture is a huge failing in itself. i dont know everything about my own cultures, but its not cool to have a literal outsider being shown to be the expert on someones culture and be the one to guide them through that. theres barely any portrayal of sino stuff in the show as is, and i hate the way this is only shown as a kind of special episode topic. i would be way more fine with this if this wasnt basically the sole instance of discussion of marinettes heritage. and no, the fact that her mother wears stereotypical clothing doesnt count. at all.

okay, this has been a huge issue for me before and after this point, but it was in this episode that it was made abundantly clear just what we are dealing with. i know that it is completely possible, genetically speaking, for a mixed chinese and white person to have blue eyes. its also completely possible for a chinese person to have gray eyes even without being mixed (i say this because i dont know if her mother is monoracial). however, if you only have two confirmed recurring characters of chinese descent, and their eye colors are ~special~ colors...well, thats kind of iffy there. why is it that the minor chinese character has stereotypical eyes? theyre basically just expanded pupils for all intents and purposes, which is not the problem, because its possible to have irises that are so dark as to make figuring out whether they have a distinguishable brown tint to them really hard. anyway, i suppose i dont want to talk about things ahead in the season, but why is it that the background asian characters get the stereotypical eyes but the main characters who are asian get the special eye colors? (that was a rhetorical question. i know exactly why.)

im pretty that at some point in the creation of this villain name, someone patted themself on the back for being so ~clever~ like “haha kung food geddit? its like kung fu but with food because im actually not that creative and more racist than i would like to openly admit.” okay, i know im being a bit harsh. but its really annoying when one of the few things people “know” about sino people is that kung fu exists. and honestly, i kind of suspected this, but ive seen other people say that the villain more resembles a villain from anime, so...thats kind of disrespectful there...

the/le gamer

i really disliked marinettes combo move names. they all had ~asian~ words like lotus, jade, oriental, etc.

animan

i find the sniffing scene to be kind of creepy. personal space much?

the city has really high quality buses. i cant believe the bus didnt end up backfiring on their plan because if i know anything about buses its that the ones ive seen are probably way older and more decrepit than me.

antibug

how do the earrings work in this setting? as far as i can tell, it would make sense for chloe to have pierced ears and a pair of ladybug imitation earrings that she could put it, but how is it possible that ladybug was able to just pull the earrings off? because that could be a really, really messy situation if they are actually piercings with backings and everything, but is there an explanation for this? magnets, clips, anything?

the puppeteer/le marionnettiste

can that glowing bright red effect that comes from her yo-yo and the power cord being swung around just for the viewers, or can it actually be seen in-universe? or is that a null point because both items are generated by ladybugs magic?

reflekta

this show really didnt need any “haha look a ~guy~ in a dress” jokes. and honestly, this was ill handled (though arguably, its very existence was ill handled). first of all, im not the best judge of this kind of thing, but to me, ladybug felt out of character while mocking chat noir? honestly, marinette doesnt strike me as the type of person to find that kind of situation funny in the first place, so the premise doesnt really hold up in my opinion. i know marinette can make mistakes, but youd really think she would be more open to not thinking this way because she knows what its like to be bullied for other things. moving on... [though, to reiterate]

the way this was not addressed? at all? yeah, ladybug apologized for that one comment at the beginning of their conversation, but then she continued to make jokes at chat noirs expense, and it just wasnt as funny as it was probably intended to be?

i know the whole thing about ambiguous chronology, but there is no reason ladybug wouldnt take chat noirs opinion into account when planning for things anyway. it felt like that part was written specifically so he could “prove” his worth to the rest of the episode and ensure that, yes, he is still allowed to be in it after being turned into a reflekta lookalike, and the whole thing smacks of trying to write out of a corner...that was written into in the first place. if it hadnt gone the route it did with the mocking of appearances, i dont think it would have had to be as convoluted as it ended up being.

i personally dont care for high heels, but i dont get the kind of “fashion cracks” that were being made about them. like yes, high heels can be hard to move in? yeah, it isnt fun being turned into the appearance of someone who isnt you against your will? i just dont understand this gag.

guitar villain

did ladybug really honestly just full-on spray someone in the face with the contents of an aerosol can? im aware that the point was that the hair was in front of his face, but what if some had gotten into guitar villains eyes? dang, what if someone tries to emulate this in real life? ouch.

digital/numeric

kind of done with the spotlight on stalking behavior this show has.

marinette still shows no fear of suspicious screens. she continues to use parts of her face to touch one multiple times, never mind that she literally flings her yoyo all over the place.

stoneheart/coeur de pierre i

did marinette have pierced ears in the first place? shes not shown taking any earrings out, and we dont get that clear a view of her earlobes anyway. that might be deliberate for modeling budget and all.

master fu has brown eyes. so thats like four ~chinese~ characters that are in this show, and the main character and her mother have the special eye colors, and the minor character who is somewhat important to the plotline has non-black eyes, and the minor one-episode character has the black eyes. what a shining example of diversity (no).

anyway this is a good point to say that some things are just not for you. there are things that you just cant be a part of no matter how much you want to be because it just doesnt work that way. and the mess that is the miraculous “mythology” is definitely an example of this. i myself have very little knowledge of anything sino, but i sure as heck can spot that this...”history” thing is so off.

at this point i should probably mention i really dislike master fu as a character in general. just as a single point, apparently hes based off the teacher character in karate kid? i saw somewhere that the creator said he basically made marinette mixed because he was dating an asian person when he was thinking about the show and that marinette is basically his idea of their mixed kid? and back to the eye color thing (again), ive even seen someone with green eyes and blue hair suggest to him that they could be the child of marinette and adrien, and he said theyre like his grandchild? (im not really inclined to try to dig up an iron-clad, indisputably genuine source for this right now, but if youre honestly searching for completely serious, well-researched information in a really good quality post, this is not the post you are looking for.) i have no idea where i was even going with this paragraph.

stoneheart/coeur de pierre ii

why is marinette so invested in her crush on adrien? this couldve been a sweet crush, but no, she has to make it so creepy? leading up to this episode, i really didnt know what to expect because i really thought there would be some sort of explanation for just how extreme the lengths marinette goes to are, but from what i can tell, shes just being super invasive? the ambiguous timeline doesnt really help with this, nor does the fact that the origins episodes were aired at the end of the season. whatever characterization was supposed to be inferred from this feels choppy and unnecessary.

simon says/jackady/jacques a dit

i dont really blame her, but ladybug totally could have reduced the level of adrien distractedness going on here. shes previously shown signs of compartmentalizing ladybug and even having to face the fact that it isnt worth using up her power over adrien, but gosh golly, what gives?

princess/princesse fragrance

ive seen criticisms of how ladybug was written to be overly competent in this episode, which i think is fair since it keeps happening, and its so late in the season by this point that its gotten tired.

volpina

i try not to be too judgmental, but frankly, adrien is not that great of a prize.

anyway, from what i can tell about this episode, i think that there was too much on marinettes flaws, which i really think is a bit much to have in the last chronological episode of a season. its already been established that she makes mistakes with her decisions, but i just thought her unequal prioritization of adrien was too much. it just seemed contrived to squeeze in scenes that the creators wanted to animate regardless of overall context in the show, which is really unfortunate because of how the show becomes a little less chronologically ambiguous at this point.

#lt #kung food #this is a 'kung food' hate blog #wall of text #really long post with low readability #racism text mention (a lot of it)#transmisogyny text mention

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wanderingaunt · 5 years

Text

What Does the Sly Fox Say?

It’s no coincidence that I’ve been sitting on this post for a week now.

It’s no surprise that I got some insight on a big role I’ve been playing, and want to hide.

And it’s no wonder that I want to share this insight with you now. I am a Type 7 Enthusiast after all.

I am no stranger to calling myself out, tattle telling (on myself or others…even my littles), or drawing you in. In fact, I called myself out last fall while in Colombia on Facebook Live. I called my bluff and came clean about hiding my gifts from the world and robbing others of what I’ve been entrusted with. My video received nearly 5,000 views and lots of positive responses, and then I hid. I lured you in and then I ran away.

Coming clean, taking responsibility for what you did and didn’t do, and owning all of it 100% are not easy.

What’s easy is to cover it up, hide under the radar, or say it will never happen again. Yet when you choose to do that, you’re diminishing yourself even more. You’re shrinking down and essentially saying to yourself that you don’t matter or aren’t good enough, worthy or [fill in the blank].

When you own where you are, you have an opportunity to restore integrity with yourself and the rest of the world who has been quietly cheering you on to…own WHO you are.

"Own the story and you get to write the ending. Deny the story and it owns you." -- Brene Brown, Dare to Lead

Enter the Sly Fox.

In November 2018, I was on a Wildhearted Retreat in the Sacred Valley of Peru. It is one of the most beautiful and energetically powerful places I’ve experienced. Early on in the retreat, we took some time to create our persona or avatar; an alter ego we’ve been playing based on an incident or occurrence from our past. And once we got a sense of who our alter ego was, we danced in a way that brought it to life.

As I often do, I made lists of various ways of being (how I occur for myself and others) until I found one that hit the nail on the head. And when I claimed my persona to be the Sly (Elusive) Fox, I didn’t fully understand the weight of it. I continued to look through foggy lenses and only see a glimpse of who this character is for me.

It wasn’t until recently that it began to click. I was in a meditation and could feel the weight of being the Sly Fox (continuing to let myself be seen and then crawling back into my hole). And I could see the pattern unfold in my life. Have an amazing idea—and share it with others; crawl back in my hole. Launch a business; crawl back in my hole. Share exciting news; crawl back in my hole. Meet a guy that I really like, and you guessed it, crawl back in my hole.

I’m really great at selling myself and my services and then I hide away.

That’s why foxes are so sly and cunning. They draw you (or their prey) in and then hide away.

So when did this start? When did I stop putting my whole self out there fully?

When I was in high school I was a powerhouse. I was a great student, made good grades, had amazing friends, and was heavily involved in extra curricular activities—the more activities I did, the less I’d be home around the chaos and conflict of being in a family with an alcoholic.

One of my main activities was being on the Forensics Team (speech, acting, and debate). I was an officer of our team for 4 years and President my Junior and Senior years. At that time, I was the first Freshman to be an officer, and the first person to be President two consecutive years. I poured myself into this and practically lived at my high school. I would stay at school until 9 or 10 pm practicing and coaching others on my team. And if it was the night before a tournament, you’d often find us there way past midnight. We were determined and committed to being the best.

And I was one of the best. I was a powerful speaker and debater and did very well in various speaking events (organized and impromptu). I continuously placed in local, regional, and state tournaments.

At the end of my Junior year, I went to state in Oratory and Extemporaneous speaking. Everyone (including me) was pulling for me to place in the top, and possibly win the state. I had a solid speech, the perfect red power suit from The Limited, and confidence.

I was ready.

And then I received a phone call that changed my life. My parents called to let me know that my Aunt Donna had suddenly passed away. She was in great health and it made no sense why she would die before turning 50. I was in shock and completely crushed. My Aunt meant so much to me, and in an instant, she was gone. I lost all focus and fumbled during my speech. I ended up not making it to finals, and left home empty handed.

Without realizing it, I began to subconsciously believe that if I went away or followed my heart, something bad would happen. So in order to protect myself and others, I began to self-sabotage or play the role of the Sly Fox—be seen and hide away.

What I dub as my series of unfortunate events (or in the eyes of a teenager, complete failure), continued to occur throughout the remainder of my Junior and Senior years. My first real boyfriend broke up with me and later came out to me that he was gay. Real confidence booster being the last girl to date. Luckily we’re still great friends and can laugh about it now. But as a 17 year old, I didn’t know how to handle that. I dated someone else in my senior year and was told I wasn’t “marriage material” (because marriage is something you think about when you’re a teenager). And instead of brushing these boys off and moving on, I kissed relationships goodbye. I decided it wasn’t worth putting myself through rejection and hurt (again protecting myself from the potential of experiencing these things).

I was the person that people thought would be the lead in a play or get a solo in choir, but would bomb any singing audition I had (basically my voice would freeze when I’d go up on stage to sing). I missed being in the top 10% of my class by 1 person, got a low score on my ACT (which to this day I still believe doesn’t prove anything about a person’s knowledge), missed qualifying for Nationals in Forensics, and so on. And on top of that, I had an extremely difficult family life. All of this, was a lot for a teenager to handle.

I was self-sabotaging everything I wanted without realizing it. And began playing it safe.

I hung my hat up as a leader, and began following in others’ footsteps; I found it easier to follow what others were doing rather than to stop and consider what I wanted to do. I went to college where my sister went; studied abroad like my sister and brother; took my friend’s job which was basically handed to me after she got engaged and found out they’d be moving—I never really stopped to consider what type of career or job I’d want; and so on.

Through all of this, I still had high hopes for my life and big dreams. I was a professional dreamer—always creating in my head but not taking action towards those dreams.

Fortunately, I’ve been able to chip away at uncovering what’s at the root of a lot of this. I’ve been on a 15-year journey of transformation through mental, physical, and spiritual work, and, of course, traveling and experiencing the world. And I’ve still lived a great life in spite of the playing the Sly Fox. Everything that’s happened has shaped me into the person I am today.

Even with that awareness, it’s still frustrating when I find myself in this pattern. I know that I was created for great things (and that I’ve done great things), and I still want to hide away sometimes. And then I remember that I’m not a teenager anymore. Everything that happened during my high school years happened in the past, and it’s that teenager who has been trying to keep me safe ever since. As a teenager, the best way I knew to cope was to stop giving it my all or putting myself in situations that involved conflict or heartache.

And I don’t have to do that anymore. I’m not 18. I’m 34, and I’m up to big things. I quit my job of 11 years last year to follow my dream of traveling the world. And while traveling, I got clear that I was living that dream. And now, I’m building ways to earn income to support my bigger vision. I am on the path to stepping into the parts of me that I’ve hidden away for so long, or stopped owning. I am a leader and have so much to offer others. I am a coach and know how to guide others to being their best selves. I am a writer, and write from my heart. I am an Authentic Connector, and connect powerful beings to each other. I am courageous, bold, smart, witty, influential, beautiful, and authentic. And I don’t have to hide these qualities or skills anymore. I don’t have to be afraid of rejection or heartache; or be afraid that I’m going to let someone else down. I can feel the fear and do it anyway.

Feel the fear and do it anyway.

I call myself out or write authentically about my experiences to make a difference both for me and others. I don’t always know what others are dealing with, and it could be that there is one person who needs to hear my truth. And that is why I love being a witness to transformation. I love how giving it is and how it will push you to your breaking point, but will not break you.

Transformation is like an onion. There are many layers that continue to be pulled off to reveal more of what’s made you who you are today, as well as reveal where you’re still hiding. It’s a lifelong journey and not one that’s always comfortable or easy; but the knowledge and awareness gained from having breakthroughs and new insights is priceless.

And I’m still living and breathing life. I made a choice last year that I would no longer live a life of suffering. It’s not to say that I don’t struggle or have moments of pain and heartache (I wouldn’t be writing this post or many others if I didn’t). It’s more about acknowledging the pain, heartache, and upset when it occurs and choosing to own it rather than criticize it or have it own me. And take note of what I’m meant to learn during these times.

Wherever you are, acknowledge it. Whatever you feel, be with it. Whoever you are, own it.

Call yourself out and allow yourself to be seen. And remember, you’re not a teenager anymore. You don’t have to protect or stop yourself from going after what you truly desire.

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samuelpboswell · 5 years

Text

Tip of the Iceberg: A Story of Trust in Marketing as Told by Statistics

“Step up on the railing. Hold on, hold on. Keep your eyes closed.” Jack is holding Rose around her waist, cautiously lifting her up to the Titanic’s bow. “Do you trust me?” He was a stranger up until days earlier, but still, her response is almost instantaneous. “I trust you.” Moments later, Rose opens her eyes and she’s flying, arms outstretched as the mighty liner propels her forward. She and Jack hold hands; they kiss. Celine Dion’s music wafts in the background. Teenage boys in the theater start gagging, while romantic types swoon. There’s a good chance you lived through this very experience. James Cameron’s 1997 cinematic landmark Titanic was an unprecedented hit, holding the title as highest-grossing film of all time for 14 years. The scene described above is perhaps its most famous — the linchpin in a love story sparked by deep, genuine trust that materialized almost out nowhere. When I say, “Everyone and their mom saw this movie,” I mean it a bit too literally because I actually saw it with my mom, as a 12-year-old, and it was… awkward. With that embarrassing story out of the way (I swear there’s a reason I mentioned it, and we’ll get back to it later), let’s move on to one you might actually care about: The state of trust in marketing. Strap on your lifejacket and prepare for a journey through these choppy waters...

By the Numbers: The State of Trust in Marketing

At the outset of 2016, trust toward all four institutions measured by Edelman Trust Barometer reached their highest levels since the Great Recession, with businesses seeing the largest spike.

(Source)

Things looked good. Confidence was high. We were all cruising merrily along. Then, we hit the iceberg that was 2016. You might remember that year not-so-fondly, for any number of reasons. The following year, Edelman declared that “trust is in crisis around the world,” citing an unprecedented drop across all four institutions. The 2018 research revealed “a world of seemingly stagnant distrust,” with no rebound to be seen. Things weren’t merely stagnating everywhere, though... In 2018, only 48% of people in the United States said they trust businesses, down from 58% in 2017. (Edelman)

(Source)

This was a point where people were frantically piling into lifeboats. I think I just saw Billy Zane kick a little kid off one. What a jerk. Anyway, this is a problem. [Side note: If you’re noticing a lot of Edelman citations thus far, it’s because their Trust Barometer is such a valuable resource for the topic, and offers a consistent baseline to show the progression of trust. But there are plenty of other sources to come.] 63% of people agree with this statement: “A good reputation may get me to try a product—but unless I come to trust the company behind the product I will soon stop buying it, regardless of its reputation.” (Edelman) Oh, and: 68% of adults in the U.S. say that trust in a brand has "a great deal" or "a lot" of influence on their decision when making a big purchase. (SurveyMonkey) I’m not exactly sure what the difference is between “a great deal” and “a lot,” but alas... We've reached an era where people at large are digitally adept and savvy. They know they have a world of options at their literal fingertips, and can thusly hold brands to the highest of standards. Trust strikes a deep emotional chord. “The digital era has fundamentally shifted assumptions for how individuals will do business and engage with companies," Kevin Cochrane, Chief Marketing Officer at SAP, wrote at Harvard Business Review last year. "Once trust has been lost, it’s nearly impossible for brands to rebuild sustainable, honest relationships with their customers." In other words: once the ship has sunk, it ain't coming back up. [bctt tweet="Once #trust has been lost, it’s nearly impossible for brands to rebuild sustainable, honest relationships with their customers. - @kevinc2003 #ContentMarketing" username="toprank"] Some of the damage has already been done. A few months ago, Accenture released its Bottom Line on Trust report, which uses an "Accenture Strategy Competitive Agility Index” to “quantify the impact of trust on a company’s bottom line." Scoring more than 7,000 companies, this system found that... 54% have experienced a material drop in trust at some point during the past two and a half years, "conservatively" losing out on $104 billion in revenue. (Bottom Line on Trust) "In today’s world, it is no longer a question of if a company will experience a trust incident, but when," the report asserted. This is getting grim, I know. But we're not underwater yet. There is time yet to turn this troubling tide, and as the primary conduits between customers and brands, marketers can and must be at the forefront. Marketing executives at B2B and B2C service firms rank “trusting relationships” ahead of “low price” and “superior innovation” among their customers' priorities. (The CMO Survey)

(Source)

As we build relationships, we build trust. Edelman's 2018 report found that company content is twice as trusted after a customer-brand relationship has been formed. Marketing has a lot of functions (even a great deal of functions?) but this one will be most vital in the months ahead. All of our efforts are doomed without this crucial piece of the puzzle. So, how do we stay on course and prevent relationships from sinking? Well... 65% of business buyers say they’re likely to switch brands if vendors don’t make an effort to personalize communications to their company. 52% of consumers say the same. (State of the Connected Customer) This seems to be the the sweet spot. Personalization is the surest way to build a rapport in the digital space. When we fail to connect, it sets off immediate alarms. Personalization comes in many forms. It can be as sophisticated as using adaptive AI, or as simple as narrowing the scope and voice of your content to resonate with very specific audiences. Whatever the approach, customers clearly want it. And the potential revenue benefits are undeniable. [bctt tweet="#Personalization is the surest way to build a rapport in the digital space. When we fail to connect, it sets off immediate alarms. @NickNelsonMN #ContentMarketing" username="toprank"] Personalization can deliver 5-8 times the ROI on marketing spend, and can lift sales by 10% or more. (McKinsey & Company) Now that sounds like smooth sailing. Research makes clear that marketers are wise to chart a course for more personalized waters. Granted, that’ll mean different things to different organizations and strategies, but it simply must be a central focus if we are to stay afloat. Personalized marketing is the byproduct of turning customer data into useful insights. It’s the industry’s prime directive as we speak. I’m excited to see what we can accomplish on this front in 2019 and beyond. I will leave you with one final word (statistic) of caution, however. 79% of consumers will leave a brand if their personal data is used without their knowledge. (SAP Hybris Consumer Insights Report) Let’s steer clear of that. Transparency is now more essential than ever in marketing. Using data is not wrong — in fact, it’s requisite for personalization — but the last thing you want to come off as is sneaky or underhanded about it (just ask Facebook). Something as simple as a friendly, casual pop-up message on your website informing visitors that you use cookies (and why) can go a long way. By following the principles of responsible personalization, we as marketers can right the ship and play our part in building sturdy relationships that ensure customers...

via GIPHY

Moral of the Story: Steer Toward Trustful Shores

A bit of good news: in the 2019 Edelman Trust Barometer results, released a couple of weeks ago, trust toward business increased in 21 of 26 markets, including the U.S. where 54% of respondents voiced confidence — one of the biggest jumps. Now, we need to stay that course. At a high level, personalization should be the true-north on every marketer's strategic compass. But on a day-to-day tactical basis, I believe there are three focal areas for continually building trust. As it happens, I've attempted to incorporate each into this blog post you're reading. Storytelling. My goal here was to take a set of statistics and craft them into a coherent narrative. For added effect, I juxtaposed it against another extremely recognizable story. Your mileage may vary on the wisdom and effectiveness of this particular approach. Authenticity. For better or worse, this is who I am. I’m the kind of guy who intertwines 20-year-old movies with blog posts about marketing. (More seriously, I have a genuine passion for the subject of trust in marketing, which is why I write about it so frequently here.) Transparency. Even — no, especially — when it’s information you’re not entirely jazzed to be sharing. I didn’t love telling you all about sitting uncomfortably next to my mom during the infamous “Draw me like one of your French girls” scene at age 12, but I did so with the hopes it’d signal an openness and candor in the writing to come. Recently I highlighted a company called Lemonade that runs a “Transparency Chronicles” series, in which they speak very frankly about their experiences as a growing business — including their failures and shortcomings. Customers are tired of hearing how great and perfect brands are. They want realness. Content marketing strategies founded on personalization, with storytelling, authenticity, and transparency as cornerstones, will be primed to stand the test of time in an age of digital disorientation. Maybe, one day, we can finally restore the fundamental trust that’s been shattered ever since some genius marketing mind came up with the “Unsinkable Ship” slogan. Did you like this post? Want to read more from me on trust and transparency in marketing? Check out these past articles:

Two Key Marketing Opportunities Amid Stories of Fake Traffic and Fraudulent Metrics

In a World of Diminishing Trust, Data-Driven Marketers Can Turn the Tide

Be Like Honest Abe: How Content Marketers Can Build Trust Through Storytelling

How Brands Can Avoid the Dreaded Fauxthenticity Pitfall

The post Tip of the Iceberg: A Story of Trust in Marketing as Told by Statistics appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

from The SEO Advantages https://www.toprankblog.com/2019/02/trust-marketing-statistics/

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befoundonlinemarketing · 5 years

Text

Tip of the Iceberg: A Story of Trust in Marketing as Told by Statistics

By the Numbers: The State of Trust in Marketing

At the outset of 2016, trust toward all four institutions measured by Edelman Trust Barometer reached their highest levels since the Great Recession, with businesses seeing the largest spike.

(Source)

via GIPHY

Moral of the Story: Steer Toward Trustful Shores

Two Key Marketing Opportunities Amid Stories of Fake Traffic and Fraudulent Metrics

In a World of Diminishing Trust, Data-Driven Marketers Can Turn the Tide

Be Like Honest Abe: How Content Marketers Can Build Trust Through Storytelling

How Brands Can Avoid the Dreaded Fauxthenticity Pitfall

The post Tip of the Iceberg: A Story of Trust in Marketing as Told by Statistics appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

Tip of the Iceberg: A Story of Trust in Marketing as Told by Statistics posted first on http://www.toprankblog.com/

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christopheruearle · 5 years

Text

Tip of the Iceberg: A Story of Trust in Marketing as Told by Statistics

By the Numbers: The State of Trust in Marketing

At the outset of 2016, trust toward all four institutions measured by Edelman Trust Barometer reached their highest levels since the Great Recession, with businesses seeing the largest spike.

(Source)

via GIPHY

Moral of the Story: Steer Toward Trustful Shores

Two Key Marketing Opportunities Amid Stories of Fake Traffic and Fraudulent Metrics

In a World of Diminishing Trust, Data-Driven Marketers Can Turn the Tide

Be Like Honest Abe: How Content Marketers Can Build Trust Through Storytelling

How Brands Can Avoid the Dreaded Fauxthenticity Pitfall

The post Tip of the Iceberg: A Story of Trust in Marketing as Told by Statistics appeared first on Online Marketing Blog - TopRank®.

0 notes

samanthapagesof · 5 years

Text

Issue #3- Carnival

What: Your Pages is an open-minded authentic platform for artistic expression.

Why: There is no talk of direct politics, all those who create content for Your Pages are free to their own preferences regardless of sex, religion, race, orientation or personal beliefs. There will be no tolerance of ignorance or persecution of personal beliefs and practices. This is not a place for any kind of toxic attitude. Rather a place for all those who enjoy the beauty in life and the random but original niches that create the world that we live in.

How: There is a new topic every month and on the first Tuesday of each month my team and I will introduce this topic by interpreting what the topic means to us with personal, and real-world examples. Then, every other following Tuesday (dependent on how many submissions) the issue will be filled with all of your work! As our audience, we want to see what you can do, and how you interpret each topic.

Welcome One and Welcome All To Our Interpretation of Carnival

“You loved ferris wheels more than roller coasters because life shouldn’t be lived at full speed, but in anticipation and appreciation.”

-Amy Harmon

Emili Holden-The Photographer

This theme was fun for me to create! It gave me reason to find inspiration, location, come up with a style, and find someone who would embody and portray that vision with me. I happily met up with Ashley, one of my lil basshed hunnis, and we headed out to an amazing location that just so happened to be closed that day…bummer. But Ashley encouraged me not to give up and she immediately pointed out a few other spots that we could utilize instead. Honestly, it was refreshing to have someone there with that much enthusiasm and to put forward that effort to make this work and to make me feel comfortable changing my vision a little.

Not only did we make some amazing images, we had a blast while shooting! Thank you, Ashley, for braving the cold, wet snow and frigid temperatures and for creating with me. I hope you all enjoy this series, it was a joy to create this and I am so happy with the results.

Emma Murphy-The Artist

Topsy Turvy

They dip and turn,

Coins jingling at their waist.

They open their arms,

To welcome the masses.

The lights dim, and

Smoke curls along the Floor.

Patrons young and old,

The small and the tall.

They wait with baited breath,

Suspense thick in the air.

Top hats and tutus bounce through

Starry nights and colored lights.

Organ music and staccato drums.

Figures glide through the air,

Weightless they float.

Masks and make-up,

Hide the reality of day.

Free spirits roam and

Magic runs wild.

Tightrope walkers dare and

Sword swallowers stun.

Misfits belong, and

Freaks are the norm.

Home to all and closed to none.

Ladies and gentleman, gather round...

What is this page all about?

-Essentially, I ,Anonymia, want to answer the questions that cloud your mind. I am in no way an absolute expert in any field but have endured many hardships in my life and feel that through my experiences I can share some wisdom. Now, don’t think this is solely for the heart-wrenching questions that make you contemplate many aspects of your life. But an option to ask questions without fear of repercussions. I can’t guarantee I will answer all questions but will do my best.

What inspires you?

-The passion of others inspires me to create. Seeing the emotion and raw elements that flow from art either in visual or written ways grips my soul. It’s as if their passion is feeding mine.

How to stay in touch with what you really desire?

-This question has a unique answer to each individual that reads it. But for me, I find myself using my hardships as a sense of motivation. It’s not that I am reliving each hardship but using each lesson or positive elements from the experience. A perfect example would be when in high school I was bullied to the point of severe depression. I stopped going to school for weeks at a time. The depression led to a very dark place and repressing that pain seemed like the easy route out of my continuous turmoil. The looks and whispers from peers burning into my self-esteem. I found it hard to summon up any kind of motivation. That was until I forced myself to sit down one day and asked myself a simple and straightforward question “why have I let the words of a bunch of kids corrupt my mind to the point I was believing what they were saying?”, yes talking to myself I responded, “I am worth something, and I was put on this earth for my own divine purpose.” As an adult now I can attest to that divine purpose being fulfilled every single day through my passion for many things. To stay in touch with what you really desire you must remember the hardships in your life and use them as motivation rather than an anchor holding you back.

Ask your questions on Instagram or Twitter by either commenting on an Anonymia post by one of the teams profiles, using the #ASKSPYP or by submitting a question below questions can be anonymous!

Samscript

So, folks, we are changing things up a bit. Rather than poetry as my piece for Issue #3, I decided to share a memory that comes to my mind when I hear the word “Carnival”. In my hometown, Castle Rock Colorado, at the end of every summer, Douglas County holds a fair/rodeo. This event has been an annual tradition for my family since I was old enough to remember. The smell of popcorn and funnel cakes always brought a warm feeling my heart. Plus, every year I made it point to get a turkey leg. Would take maybe 4 bites and was always too full to finish it. So, my dad ended up always having two lunches every year we went to the fair. Besides that, there is a prominent memory that I go to when when looking back on my childhood in Castle Rock.

I was 7 years old and dressed head to toy in my Jessie costume, from Toy Story, with my bright red cowboy hat and with my matching rope I entered into the rodeos mutton busting event. For those of you who don’t know what mutton busting is, its when a kid aged 4-8, boy or girl, sits on the back of a sheep and holds on for as long as they can. Well, turned out I was the other girl who entered to ride that day. So, there I was the only girl in a group of 14 boys, who not only had a couple or so inches on me but most were a year older than me. Being the only girl who entered at all, they just threw me in with the boys so I could at least get a turn. Little did these boys know, I had been in every mutton busting event at the fair since I was tall enough to be entered. Teasingly they boys offered “ladies first”, I smirked and said, “No its okay boys, I’d rather go last”. With each turn the time got worse, the first boy started with 4 seconds. Then the following boys got between 2-3 seconds. Second to last up was the cockiest, most annoying boy of them all. Being only 8 years old, he had the attitude of a high school senior. As the adult in charge of the line of kinds told him “come on kid, it's your turn. Try to last the full eight”, he walked towards the gate and turned and blew me a kiss “watch how a real cowboy does it” he said. He lasted all of 6 seconds and walked away with a big head, the adult looks at me “alright sweetie, don’t let these boys run this event. You can last the full eight.” He picked me up and made sure I had a good grip on the sheep's fur, put the helmet snug on my head and said: “Show them who the real champion is”. The sound of a buzzer and the gate flew open, holding on with all of my 40 lbs I didn’t let go till I heard the announcer say “She did it! Samantha Grimwood lasted the full eight! We have our champion!”. I ran into the arms of my mom she picked me up, spun me around till we both almost fell over. My sister gave me a hug and said: “I’m proud of you Sam”. After they took my picture and gave me my ribbon I looked over at the group of boys who also rode, blew them a kiss then turned around and walked away.

While my idea of carnival is not the same as many, I think of the rodeo held in my hometown that also had some rides and some food carts that us townies called a “fair”. A simple memory, but it will always be a happy memory I share of my family, childhood, and hometown.

“Happiness is simply a temporary condition that proceeds unhappiness. Fortunately for us, it works the other way around as well. But it's all a part of the carnival, isn't it?”

-Federico Fellini

Submit your work for Issue #4, show us what Carnival means to you!

#Free hand #Phototgraphy #Carnival #Modern #Art

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theconservativebrief · 6 years

Link

State Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr. kisses his “husband” in a commercial somehow aimed at Trump…

Richard Madaleno (screen shot: myMCMedia/Youtube)

(Michael Dresser, The Baltimore Sun) BALTIMORE — Sometimes, a kiss is more than just a kiss.

State Sen. Richard S. Madaleno Jr., a Democratic candidate for Maryland governor, has launched a television ad in which a kiss between him and his husband is portrayed as a statement of defiance against President Donald J. Trump. A leading gay rights organization says it is the first-ever kiss of a same-sex married couple in a U.S. political ad.

By late Thursday, the ad and the media coverage it spawned had gone viral. After the ad’s content was reported by The Baltimore Sun and The Washington Post, the story was picked up by dozens of organizations, including USA Today, CBS News and The Daily Beast.

The openly gay former Houston Mayor Annise Parker, president of the LGBT Victory Fund, said the ad is a sign of changing times.

** MORE HOMOSEXUAL COVERAGE at Liberty Headlines **

“I kissed my spouse on stage at my inauguration as mayor,” she said. “But I don’t think I would have put it in a campaign eight years ago.”

Madaleno, an underdog in the June 26 Democratic primary to nominate a challenger to Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, is running the ad on cable television in Montgomery County, where it is certain to be seen by many Democratic voters.

But the candidate also placed it during commercial breaks on the staunchly conservative “Fox & Friends” show in the Washington market Thursday morning, where his campaign was hoping it would be seen by one Republican in particular.

The theme of the ad is “Take that, Trump.” It focuses on the actions Madaleno has taken in his General Assembly career that would offend Trump. It portrays him not just as an opponent of the president, but the most effective anti-Trump candidate in the race.

[Trump is by no means anti gay as he appointed the first openly homo US ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell.]

There is no mention of Hogan in the ad. Spokesman Scott Sloofman said the Hogan campaign had no comment.

The 30-second spot opens with the Montgomery County lawmaker sitting on the stoop of a red brick house, telling viewers he’s running for governor “to deliver progressive results and stand up to Donald Trump. Here are a few of the things I’ve done that already infuriate him.”

The scene shifts to Madaleno standing with a group of children holding signs:

“I protected Planned Parenthood from the Republicans in Congress,” he says.

“Take that, Trump,” a girl says.

The scene shifts to the candidate with a new group of children holding pro-gun control signs:

“I helped ban assault guns in Maryland,” he says.

“Take that, NRA,” a young boy says.

The ad moves to Madaleno with a third group of children.

“I believe in public schools, not vouchers,” he says.

“Take that, Trump,” a girl says. “And Betsy DeVos,” a boy chimes in. The kids cheer.

Finally, Madaleno sits with his husband, Mark Hodge, and their two adopted children.

“And what’s the No. 1 way I piss off Donald Trump and the Republicans?” Madaleno asks. He and Hodge then kiss briefly.

“Take that, Trump,” Madaleno says.

Parker said her organization believes the ad is a first. She said it’s important that gay candidates be able to present themselves in family situations just as straight politicians have long done.

“This is going to be an increasingly common sight,” the former Houston mayor said. “Get used to it.”

National political consultant Dan Furmansky, former director of Equality Maryland, said he’s not surprised that Madaleno would run such an ad.

“Rich has always been a trailblazer,” he said. Furmansky noted that Madaleno was the first openly gay candidate to be elected to the Maryland General Assembly in 2002 and that he is the state’s only openly gay state senator.

Furmansky, a supporter, doubts primary voters will be put off.

“I think voters like people who are authentic and proud of who they are,” he said.

Todd Eberly, a political scientist at St. Mary’s College, said the ad makes sense for the relatively low-budget Madaleno campaign because media outlets will help to spread the message.

“It’s going to get a considerable amount of coverage,” he said. “Any time you cut an ad and it gets linked without you having to pay for it is good strategy. … You can maximize the exposure and minimize the expense.”

Eberly said the ad is unlikely to backfire.

“We’re definitely at a point in 2018 where among the Democratic Party base, this is not something that would turn them off,” he said.

The Madaleno campaign was hoping that Trump himself would view the kiss when he turned on Fox News.

“We wanted to make sure the president had an opportunity to see this ad, and went with the network he tunes into,” said Keith Presley, Madaleno’s campaign manager.

Madaleno said the campaign might run the ad on “Fox & Friends” again. If that happens, there is the possibility that if Trump sees the ad, it could set off one of his famous tweet storms.

“Absolutely, that could happen,” Eberly said. “If it happens, it’s just that much more free advertising.”

Original Source -> Homo Dem Candidate for Maryland Governor Kisses “Husband” in TV Ad

via The Conservative Brief

#IFTTT #The Conservative Brief

0 notes

momscookingthebooks · 6 years

Photo

Eleven authors. Eleven Novellas. This is one thick . . . book.

Christmas just became a whole lot merrier...

TEAM PLAYER, A Christmas Anthology featuring titles by LJ Shen, Kennedy Ryan, Adriana Locke, Mandi Beck, Emma Scott, Charleigh Rose, Ella Fox, Sara Ney, Meghan Quinn, Kate Stewart and Rochelle Paige is available NOW!

Publication Date: December 14th, 2017 Genre: Contemporary/Sports Romance

Hot jocks. We love them all.

Sexy baseball players. Intense footballers. Sweaty MMA fighters, and sizzling hockey hotties. Score!

The good news? Eleven bestselling authors have gathered to give you a set of stories focused on the men we love most—sports heroes. We bet you’ll love this thick…book.

The bad news? The men in these novellas don’t actually exist.

*This anthology does not contain calories, just eleven original, never-before-seen stories by the following authors: Adriana Locke, Mandi Beck, Charleigh Rose, Kennedy Ryan, LJ Shen, Meghan Quinn, Rochelle Paige, Ella Fox, Kate Stewart, Emma Scott, and Sara Ney. We aren’t responsible for melted devices.

Read Today!

(FREE in Kindle Unlimited)

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2j7MCK1

Amazon Universal: http://mybook.to/TeamPlayerAnthology

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2iVSpFW

Meet the Authors:

LJ Shen

L.J. Shen is an International #1 best-selling author of Contemporary Romance and New Adult novels. She lives in Northern California with her husband, young son and chubby cat.

Before she’d settled down, L.J. (who thinks referring to herself in the third person is really silly, by the way) traveled the world, and collected friends from all across the globe. Friends who’d be happy to report that she is a rubbish companion, always forgets people’s birthdays and never sends Christmas cards.

She enjoys the simple things in life, like spending time with her family and friends, reading, HBO, Netflix and internet-stalking Stephen James. She reads between three to five books a week and firmly believes Crocs shoes and mullets should be outlawed.

Connect with LJ Shen

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorljshen/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lj_shen

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authorljshen/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorljshen/

Stay up to date with LJ Shen by signing up for her mailing list:

http://bit.ly/2umcYPg

http://www.authorljshen.com/

Kennedy Ryan:

She is a wife to her lifetime lover and mother to an extraordinary son. She has always leveraged her journalism background to write for charity and non-profit organizations, but enjoys writing to raise Autism awareness most. A contributor for Modern Mom Magazine, Kennedy’s writings have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul, USA Today and many others. The founder and executive director of a foundation serving Georgia families living with Autism, Kennedy has appeared on Headline News, Montel Williams, NPR and other outlets as a voice for families living with autism.

Connect with Kennedy

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KennedyRyanAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kennedyrwrites

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kennedyryan1/

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+KennedyRyanAuthor

YouTube: http://bit.ly/2gsAGkp

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2x0qCtC

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kennedy-ryan

Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/681604768593989/

http://kennedyryanwrites.com

Adriana Locke:

A contemporary romance author running on coffee and sticky kisses from my rowdy four little boys.

From Indiana, I’m a true Mid-Westerner. Life, for me, is about family, faith, and food. When I’m not running my kiddos around or having a lunch date of fajitas with my husband (and high school sweetheart), you can find me outside. I love a good sunny day almost as much as I love candy, random quotes, and steamy bad boys in fantastic books.

I’m on nearly every social media platform. Please find me on the ones you frequent – I love chatting with readers.

Connect with Adriana

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoradrianalocke

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authoralocke

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authoradrianalocke/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/adriana-locke

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8379774.Adriana_Locke

Amazon Alerts: http://adrianalocke.com/release-day-notifications/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authoradrianalo/

http://adrianalocke.com

Mandi Beck:

A nursing student, mother to two rambunctious and somewhat rotten boys, and stepmom to two great girls away at college, she shares her time with her husband in Chicago where she was born and raised. Mandi is a diehard hockey fan and blames the Blackhawks when her deadlines are not met.

Connect with Mandi

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormandibeck

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authormandibeck

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authormandi/

Newsletter: https://www.authormandibeck.com/newsletter

https://www.authormandibeck.com

Emma Scott:

I write romances with flawed characters, characters with artistic hearts: builders, poets, and writers of various makes and models. I love to write book lovers; those who have found refuge, companionship, and escape in books, much as we do in real life. I like realism, honesty, authenticity in storytelling. I love to write about enduring love, soul-deep love, in as real a setting as I can make, but with big smooshy HEAs. I believe in diversity, open-mindedness, and inclusion. I like sweetness mixed with steam, love conquering all, and above all, hope. Love always wins.

Connect with Emma

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmmaScottwrites/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10405165.Emma_Scott

Blog: http://emmascottblog.blogspot.com

Charleigh Rose:

We are a duo of an international best-selling author and a blogger who teamed up to write the taboo, thought-provoking stories we want our audience to have--without filters.

Both Charleigh and Rose are committed to giving you witty, sexy, intelligent novels that will leave you wanting more.

Connect with Charleigh

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charleighroseprose/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15569269.Charleigh_Rose?from_search=true

Ella Fox:

When she’s not writing, Ella indulges the gypsy in her blood and travels the country. Ella loves reading, movies, music, buying make-up, reading Tmz, Twitter and pedicures… not necessarily in that order. She has a wild sense of humor and loves to laugh. Her favorite thing in the world is hanging out with her family and watching comedy movies.

Connect with Ella

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EllaFoxAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorellafox

http://www.authorellafox.com

Sara Ney:

Sara Ney is the USA Today Bestselling Author of the How to Date a Douchebag series, and is best known for her sexy, laugh-out-loud New Adult romances. Among her favorite vices, she includes: iced latte’s, historical architecture and well-placed sarcasm. She lives colorfully, collects vintage books, art, loves flea markets, and fancies herself British.

Connect with Sara

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saraneyauthor/

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2Ay8lT2

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saraneyauthor/

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2g32hJO

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/saraneyauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SaraNey

http://authorsaraney.com

Meghan Quinn:

A BLONDE AT HEART Born in New York and raised in Southern California, Meghan has grown into a sassy, peanut butter eating, blonde haired swearing, animal hoarding lady. She is known to bust out and dance if “It’s Raining Men” starts beating through the air and heaven forbid you get a margarita in her, protect your legs because they may be humped. Once she started commuting for an hour and twenty minutes every day to work for three years, she began to have conversations play in her head, real life, deep male voices and dainty lady coos kind of conversations. Perturbed and confused, she decided to either see a therapist about the hot and steamy voices running through her head or start writing them down. She decided to go with the cheaper option and started writing… enter her first novel, Caught Looking. Now you can find the spicy, most definitely on the border of lunacy, kind of crazy lady residing in Colorado with the love of her life and her five, furry four-legged children, hiking a trail or hiding behind shelves at grocery stores, wondering what kind of lube the nervous stranger will bring home to his wife. Oh and she loves a good boob squeeze!

Connect with Meghan

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meghanquinnauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormeghanquinn/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2_j4HJ91yQLxZ0EC4p2PEA

YouTube: https://twitter.com/AuthorMegQuinn

Website: http://authormeghanquinn.com

Kate Stewart:

Kate Stewart lives in Charleston, S.C. with her husband, Nick, and her naughty beagle, Sadie. A native of Dallas, Kate moved to Charleston three weeks after her first visit, dropping her career of 8 years, and declaring it her creative muse. Kate pens messy, sexy, angst-filled contemporary romance as well as romantic comedy and erotic suspense because it's what she loves as a reader. A lover of all things '80s and '90s, especially John Hughes films and rap, she dabbles a little in photography, can knit a simple stitch scarf for necessity only and does a horrible job of playing the ukulele. Aside from running a mile without collapsing, traveling is the only other must on her bucket list. On occasion, she does very well at vodka.

Connect with Kate

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorkatestewart/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorklstewart

http://www.katestewartwrites.com

Rochelle Paige:

Rochelle Paige is the Amazon bestselling author of nineteen books. She absolutely adores reading and her friends growing up used to tease her when she trailed after them, trying to read and walk at the same time. She loves stories with alpha males, sassy heroines, hot sex and happily ever afters. She is a bit of a genre hopper in both her reading and her writing. So far she's written books in several romance sub-genres including new adult, contemporary, paranormal and romantic suspense.

She is the mother of two wonderful sons who inspired her to chase her dream of being an author. She wants them to learn from her that you can live your dream as long as you are willing to work for it.

Connect with Rochelle

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rochellepaigeauthor/

Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1436132763270558/

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2n6RkMX

http://www.rochellepaige.com/home

#Blog Tour #Christmas Anthology #Sports Romance #11 authors #Hosted by Social Butterfly PR

0 notes

readloveeatrepeat · 6 years

Photo

Eleven authors. Eleven Novellas. This is one thick . . . book.

Christmas just became a whole lot merrier...

Publication Date: December 14th, 2017 Genre: Contemporary/Sports Romance

Hot jocks. We love them all.

Sexy baseball players. Intense footballers. Sweaty MMA fighters, and sizzling hockey hotties. Score!

The good news? Eleven bestselling authors have gathered to give you a set of stories focused on the men we love most—sports heroes. We bet you’ll love this thick…book.

The bad news? The men in these novellas don’t actually exist.

Read Today!

(FREE in Kindle Unlimited)

Amazon US: http://amzn.to/2j7MCK1

Amazon Universal: http://mybook.to/TeamPlayerAnthology

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2iVSpFW

Meet the authors:

LJ Shen

L.J. Shen is an International #1 best-selling author of Contemporary Romance and New Adult novels. She lives in Northern California with her husband, young son and chubby cat. Before she’d settled down, L.J. (who thinks referring to herself in the third person is really silly, by the way) traveled the world, and collected friends from all across the globe. Friends who’d be happy to report that she is a rubbish companion, always forgets people’s birthdays and never sends Christmas cards. She enjoys the simple things in life, like spending time with her family and friends, reading, HBO, Netflix and internet-stalking Stephen James. She reads between three to five books a week and firmly believes Crocs shoes and mullets should be outlawed.

Connect with LJ Shen

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorljshen/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lj_shen

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authorljshen/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorljshen/

Stay up to date with LJ Shen by signing up for her mailing list:

http://bit.ly/2umcYPg

http://www.authorljshen.com/

Kennedy Ryan:

Kennedy Ryan is a Southern girl gone Southern California. A Top 100 Amazon Bestseller, Kennedy writes romance about remarkable women who find a way to thrive even in tough times, the love they find, and the men who cherish them. She is a wife to her lifetime lover and mother to an extraordinary son. She has always leveraged her journalism background to write for charity and non-profit organizations, but enjoys writing to raise Autism awareness most. A contributor for Modern Mom Magazine, Kennedy’s writings have appeared in Chicken Soup for the Soul, USA Today and many others. The founder and executive director of a foundation serving Georgia families living with Autism, Kennedy has appeared on Headline News, Montel Williams, NPR and other outlets as a voice for families living with autism.

Connect with Kennedy

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KennedyRyanAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kennedyrwrites

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kennedyryan1/

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+KennedyRyanAuthor

YouTube: http://bit.ly/2gsAGkp

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2x0qCtC

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kennedy-ryan

Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/681604768593989/

http://kennedyryanwrites.com

Adriana Locke:

A contemporary romance author running on coffee and sticky kisses from my rowdy four little boys. From Indiana, I’m a true Mid-Westerner. Life, for me, is about family, faith, and food. When I’m not running my kiddos around or having a lunch date of fajitas with my husband (and high school sweetheart), you can find me outside. I love a good sunny day almost as much as I love candy, random quotes, and steamy bad boys in fantastic books. I’m on nearly every social media platform. Please find me on the ones you frequent – I love chatting with readers.

Connect with Adriana

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoradrianalocke

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authoralocke

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authoradrianalocke/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/adriana-locke

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8379774.Adriana_Locke

Amazon Alerts: http://adrianalocke.com/release-day-notifications/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authoradrianalo/

http://adrianalocke.com

Mandi Beck:

Mandi Beck has been an avid reader all of her life. A deep love for books always had her jotting down little stories on napkins, notebooks, and her hand. As an adult she was further submerged into the book world through book clubs and the epicness of social media. It was then that she graduated to writing her stories on her phone and then finally on a proper computer. A nursing student, mother to two rambunctious and somewhat rotten boys, and stepmom to two great girls away at college, she shares her time with her husband in Chicago where she was born and raised. Mandi is a diehard hockey fan and blames the Blackhawks when her deadlines are not met.

Connect with Mandi

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormandibeck

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authormandibeck

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authormandi/

Newsletter: https://www.authormandibeck.com/newsletter

https://www.authormandibeck.com

Emma Scott:

Connect with Emma

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmmaScottwrites/

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10405165.Emma_Scott

Blog: http://emmascottblog.blogspot.com

Charleigh Rose:

We are a duo of an international best-selling author and a blogger who teamed up to write the taboo, thought-provoking stories we want our audience to have--without filters. Both Charleigh and Rose are committed to giving you witty, sexy, intelligent novels that will leave you wanting more.

Connect with Charleigh

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charleighroseprose/

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15569269.Charleigh_Rose?from_search=true

Ella Fox:

Connect with Ella

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EllaFoxAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorellafox

http://www.authorellafox.com

Sara Ney:

Connect with Sara

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saraneyauthor/

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2Ay8lT2

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saraneyauthor/

GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2g32hJO

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/saraneyauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SaraNey

http://authorsaraney.com

Meghan Quinn:

A BLONDE AT HEART Born in New York and raised in Southern California, Meghan has grown into a sassy, peanut butter eating, blonde haired swearing, animal hoarding lady. She is known to bust out and dance if “It’s Raining Men” starts beating through the air and heaven forbid you get a margarita in her, protect your legs because they may be humped. Once she started commuting for an hour and twenty minutes every day to work for three years, she began to have conversations play in her head, real life, deep male voices and dainty lady coos kind of conversations. Perturbed and confused, she decided to either see a therapist about the hot and steamy voices running through her head or start writing them down. She decided to go with the cheaper option and started writing… enter her first novel, Caught Looking. Now you can find the spicy, most definitely on the border of lunacy, kind of crazy lady residing in Colorado with the love of her life and her five, furry four legged children, hiking a trail or hiding behind shelves at grocery stores, wondering what kind of lube the nervous stranger will bring home to his wife. Oh and she loves a good boob squeeze!

Connect with Meghan

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meghanquinnauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormeghanquinn/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2_j4HJ91yQLxZ0EC4p2PEA

YouTube: https://twitter.com/AuthorMegQuinn

Website: http://authormeghanquinn.com

Kate Stewart:

Connect with Kate

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorkatestewart/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorklstewart

http://www.katestewartwrites.com

Rochelle Paige:

Connect with Rochelle

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rochellepaigeauthor/

Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1436132763270558/

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2n6RkMX

http://www.rochellepaige.com/home

0 notes

momscookingthebooks · 6 years

Photo

Eleven authors. Eleven Novellas. This is one thick . . . book.

Christmas just became a whole lot merrier...

Publication Date: December 14th, 2017 Genre: Contemporary/Sports Romance

Cover Designer: Designer: Letitia Hasser, RBA Designs

Add to your Goodreads TBR: http://bit.ly/2iVSpFW

Meet the Authors:

LJ Shen

L.J. Shen is an International #1 best-selling author of Contemporary Romance and New Adult novels. She lives in Northern California with her husband, young son and chubby cat.

Connect with LJ Shen

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorljshen/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lj_shen

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authorljshen/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorljshen/

Stay up to date with LJ Shen by signing up for her mailing list:

http://bit.ly/2umcYPg

Website: http://www.authorljshen.com/

Kennedy Ryan:

Connect with Kennedy

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KennedyRyanAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kennedyrwrites

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kennedyryan1/

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+KennedyRyanAuthor

YouTube: http://bit.ly/2gsAGkp

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2x0qCtC

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kennedy-ryan

Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/681604768593989/

Website: http://kennedyryanwrites.com

Adriana Locke:

A contemporary romance author running on coffee and sticky kisses from my rowdy four little boys.

I’m on nearly every social media platform. Please find me on the ones you frequent – I love chatting with readers.

Connect with Adriana

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoradrianalocke

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authoralocke

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authoradrianalocke/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/adriana-locke

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8379774.Adriana_Locke

Amazon Alerts: http://adrianalocke.com/release-day-notifications/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authoradrianalo/

Website: http://adrianalocke.com

Mandi Beck:

Connect with Mandi

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormandibeck

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authormandibeck

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authormandi/

Newsletter: https://www.authormandibeck.com/newsletter

Website: https://www.authormandibeck.com

Emma Scott:

Connect with Emma

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmmaScottwrites/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10405165.Emma_Scott

Blog: http://emmascottblog.blogspot.com

Charleigh Rose:

We are a duo of an international best-selling author and a blogger who teamed up to write the taboo, thought-provoking stories we want our audience to have--without filters.

Both Charleigh and Rose are committed to giving you witty, sexy, intelligent novels that will leave you wanting more.

Connect with Charleigh

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charleighroseprose/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15569269.Charleigh_Rose?from_search=true

Ella Fox:

Connect with Ella

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EllaFoxAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorellafox

Website: http://www.authorellafox.com

Sara Ney:

Connect with Sara

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saraneyauthor/

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2Ay8lT2

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saraneyauthor/

Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2g32hJO

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/saraneyauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SaraNey

Website: http://authorsaraney.com

Meghan Quinn:

A BLONDE AT HEART

Born in New York and raised in Southern California, Meghan has grown into a sassy, peanut butter eating, blonde haired swearing, animal hoarding lady. She is known to bust out and dance if “It’s Raining Men” starts beating through the air and heaven forbid you get a margarita in her, protect your legs because they may be humped.

Once she started commuting for an hour and twenty minutes every day to work for three years, she began to have conversations play in her head, real life, deep male voices and dainty lady coos kind of conversations. Perturbed and confused, she decided to either see a therapist about the hot and steamy voices running through her head or start writing them down. She decided to go with the cheaper option and started writing… enter her first novel, Caught Looking.

Now you can find the spicy, most definitely on the border of lunacy, kind of crazy lady residing in Colorado with the love of her life and her five, furry four legged children, hiking a trail or hiding behind shelves at grocery stores, wondering what kind of lube the nervous stranger will bring home to his wife. Oh and she loves a good boob squeeze!

Connect with Meghan

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meghanquinnauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormeghanquinn/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2_j4HJ91yQLxZ0EC4p2PEA

YouTube: https://twitter.com/AuthorMegQuinn

Website: http://authormeghanquinn.com

Kate Stewart:

Connect with Kate

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorkatestewart/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorklstewart

Website: http://www.katestewartwrites.com

Rochelle Paige:

Connect with Rochelle

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rochellepaigeauthor/

Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1436132763270558/

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2n6RkMX

Website: http://www.rochellepaige.com/home

#Cover Real #Christmas Anthology #11 authors #Team Player #Hosted by Social Butterfly PR

0 notes

readloveeatrepeat · 6 years

Photo

Eleven authors. Eleven Novellas. This is one thick . . . book.

Christmas just became a whole lot merrier...

Publication Date: December 14th, 2017 Genre: Contemporary/Sports Romance

Cover Designer: Designer: Letitia Hasser, RBA Designs

Add to GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2iVSpFW

Meet the authors:

LJ Shen

L.J. Shen is an International #1 best-selling author of Contemporary Romance and New Adult novels. She lives in Northern California with her husband, young son and chubby cat. Before she’d settled down, L.J. (who thinks referring to herself in the third person is really silly, by the way) traveled the world, and collected friends from all across the globe. Friends who’d be happy to report that she is a rubbish companion, always forgets peoples’ birthdays and never sends Christmas cards. She enjoys the simple things in life, like spending time with her family and friends, reading, HBO, Netflix and internet-stalking Stephen James. She reads between three to five books a week and firmly believes Crocs shoes and mullets should be outlawed.

Connect with LJ Shen

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorljshen/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lj_shen

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authorljshen/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authorljshen/

Stay up to date with LJ Shen by signing up for her mailing list:

http://bit.ly/2umcYPg

http://www.authorljshen.com/

Kennedy Ryan:

Connect with Kennedy

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KennedyRyanAuthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kennedyrwrites

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kennedyryan1/

Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/u/0/+KennedyRyanAuthor

YouTube: http://bit.ly/2gsAGkp

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2x0qCtC

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kennedy-ryan

Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/681604768593989/

http://kennedyryanwrites.com

Adriana Locke:

Connect with Adriana

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoradrianalocke

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authoralocke

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authoradrianalocke/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/adriana-locke

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8379774.Adriana_Locke

Amazon Alerts: http://adrianalocke.com/release-day-notifications/

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authoradrianalo/

http://adrianalocke.com

Mandi Beck:

Connect with Mandi

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormandibeck

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authormandibeck

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/authormandi/

Newsletter: https://www.authormandibeck.com/newsletter

https://www.authormandibeck.com

Emma Scott:

Connect with Emma

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EmmaScottwrites/

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/10405165.Emma_Scott

Blog: http://emmascottblog.blogspot.com

Charleigh Rose:

Connect with Charleigh

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charleighroseprose/

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15569269.Charleigh_Rose?from_search=true

Ella Fox:

Connect with Ella

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EllaFoxAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorellafox

http://www.authorellafox.com

Sara Ney:

Connect with Sara

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/saraneyauthor/

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2Ay8lT2

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saraneyauthor/

GoodReads: http://bit.ly/2g32hJO

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/saraneyauthor/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SaraNey

http://authorsaraney.com

Meghan Quinn:

A BLONDE AT HEART Born in New York and raised in Southern California, Meghan has grown into a sassy, peanut butter eating, blonde haired swearing, animal hoarding lady. She is known to bust out and dance if “It’s Raining Men” starts beating through the air and heaven forbid you get a margarita in her, protect your legs because they may be humped. Once she started commuting for an hour and twenty minutes every day to work for three years, she began to have conversations play in her head, real life, deep male voices and dainty lady coos kind of conversations. Perturbed and confused, she decided to either see a therapist about the hot and steamy voices running through her head or start writing them down. She decided to go with the cheaper option and started writing… enter her first novel, Caught Looking. Now you can find the spicy, most definitely on the border of lunacy, kind of crazy lady residing in Colorado with the love of her life and her five, furry four legged children, hiking a trail or hiding behind shelves at grocery stores, wondering what kind of lube the nervous stranger will bring home to his wife. Oh and she loves a good boob squeeze!

Connect with Meghan

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/meghanquinnauthor

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authormeghanquinn/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2_j4HJ91yQLxZ0EC4p2PEA

YouTube: https://twitter.com/AuthorMegQuinn

Website: http://authormeghanquinn.com

Kate Stewart:

Connect with Kate

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorkatestewart/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/authorklstewart

http://www.katestewartwrites.com

Rochelle Paige:

Connect with Rochelle

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rochellepaigeauthor/

Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1436132763270558/

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2n6RkMX

http://www.rochellepaige.com/home

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