I feel like its horrible that i havent clarified my age yet but im NOT an adult i turn 18 next year if u post graphic porn pls dont interact 😭 ive had non bot irl porn accounts follow me and its scary as hell I IMMEEEEDIATELY blocked them

please spare more crumbs for the sex slave au with diluc and kaeya's meimei,,

Thank you for giving me permission to be more depraved this is from forever ago but I'm slowly getting the "forever ago" stuff done lol

I love the concept tho, especially Crepus buying a lil qt and having to teach them how to be good masters bc they’re both dumb clueless boys, bless.

TWs: slavery, implied incest or pseudo-incest, could give vibes as under//age (nothing is specified but I guess it could strike some people that way so I wanna be cautious), noncon/dubcon, mentions of anal, misogynistic, awful depraved and nasty -------------------------------------

God. The arguing. The rivalry. The chaos. Like, with some poly yanderes/owner/master relationships, the two work *together* and focus attention on controlling *you,* but these two are... not like that. They have a lot of rivalry going on half the time.

Now, this could be Crepus buying a slave and basically indoctrinating her as a meimei, but of course, if you actually are one of the boys' bio sis, the one is gonna claim some authenticity - you know, the whole "well she's my real sister, not yours, so I get to fuck her more" kind of thing. The other appeals to "well she's your real sister which makes you worse," and it devolves into arguing back and forth about whether or not the blood relation makes them more or less justified in sticking their dick in you and claiming more rights to meimei's time and attention. Not just to each other either, it's also directed at you -- the whole "hey, I'm your real big brother, so you should spend more time with me than him" kind of thing. It actually can get pretty annoying over time, you have to constantly be soothing not one but TWO egos in desperate need of affirmation. But here I’m going more with the idea of Crepus just buying them a sweet meimei. Diluc's more... patient. He teaches you "touch commands" -- little learned gestures, like a dog. Just the lightest touch on your spine and you know it's a clear message to arch your back, a hand under your chin and thumb pressed against it has you instinctively opening your mouth, a tap to the back of your neck and you kneel. Little gestures that can bend your body and mind with minimal effort. Despite that though, Kaeya is actually the master of The Look™ - the kind that can make you go quiet and apologize in a mere instant when given. But because you know it, expect him to be even harsher if you defy it. Sometimes in your little tantrums you get so mad that you'll have the audacity to ignore that look and keep whining or being a brat which does not end well.

Meimei is what you call free use - any time, anywhere. One of the most important lessons Crepus told you when he first got you/when you were old enough is that you are never to deny the boys any of your holes if they want it. This is just as important for the boys to learn as it is you, he's a big believer in the whole, "if you act like a good proper master, the slave will naturally fall into their role too" sort of thing, so he teaches them to be forceful and dominating, not hesitant to do what they want -- if they're clear on what they want and make known their expectation of your obedience (and the subtle implication of threat of punishments if not complied with), you'll fall into the submissive role you're meant for and naturally want to submit to them like a good little wife-sister-slave.

So, whenever one of them beckons you over, you smile and ask them how you can help. Your brothers work so hard, and it's the least you can do to take care of their needs. Sometimes they just want you to sit on their lap, wrap your arms around them, sit there a while in silence when they're sad, sometimes they want to vent to you about things when they're frustrated, sometimes they want to use you. Of course, the former two usually leads to the last anyway. You're... emotional support pussy. There's important rules and practices to be followed, it's actually rules for all three of you, several apply to them, actually, as Crepus taught you before he died, and it's become second nature for the boys (it works in their benefit, after all). #1. You can never be left alone. There's a lot of reasons for this, but primarily it's in your instinct to get fucked, all you know how to do is take cock, so if you were left alone you may very well go running off and jump onto the first thing with a dick, and they can't have that. So basically you either have to be with one of them, within their sight, or accounted for in some way - there's a couple of installed tethering hooks and the like on the walls  in several areas of the house you can be attached to. But, really, they're not usually necessary, with two very horny males running around you're busy most of the time, even if it's a more passive task. You spend a lot of time sitting on someone's lap, sometimes taking naps throughout the day with whoever decides they're tired at the moment. So, you spend more or less every waking moment with one or both -- well, every sleeping moment too, of course you don't have you own room. You alternate nights between the two just like you were told to. There's not really any task you do alone. Bathing? It's always gotta be with one or the other. Sleeping? Always with one or the other. Even when you're cooking -- because obviously you do that, they wouldn't even know how to, since you've always done it -- one is always standing beside you, talking to you, or sitting a ways over in a chair as they vent about their day. Oh, speaking of that, as aforementioned, you're there for emotional burdens too. When one has had a long day, what would they do if meimei wasn't there for them to vent and whine and complain to? You've always been taught to be a good listener. Don't interrupt. Listen to everything and don't zone out. Don't oppose their actions when they're telling you about their problems, always tell them they were in the right and comfort them. Smile while you listen. That's how you were trained to respond when one of them has some burden to unload on you. Always offer your body to make them happy. That's the last part, and they've never not taken you up on the offer. That being said, sometimes you have to... motivate them. Push a little bit. You see, you're just so sweet that sometimes your brothers might want to just spend the entire day in bed with you. So you have to motivate them to do their actual work. Tell them that if they don't go to work, if they stay in bed all day inside you, how are you supposed to clean the house and make dinner for them? So they sigh and accept you're right and go off to work after all. And, again, the rule is important for them too. You can never run off on your own, but they're also vigilant not to ever leave you alone. When you're first bought, Crepus had to constantly pull them back inside the house when they'd go to another room for something because see, you're leaving her all alone and she's going to go running off and it'll be your fault. So they had to be conditioned to communicate and make sure you were always accounted for, taught how to restrain you properly. If you were left in a room, Crepus would come by to make sure they remembered to lock you inside, would test the tightness of your leash if you were tethered to something, and sigh and chastise if one of them neglected to do it right. #2. No getting off on your own, this is a rule they have to help enforce. It's a waste - you have TWO big brothers, surely one of them is always going to be available and eager, so really, getting yours without either of them involved is pretty selfish, and worthy of punishment if found doing so. If for whatever reason they're all too busy, you have the option of asking permission to ride and grind on their thigh, but no cumming until they're done with their task and are available to properly handle it. Crepus is particularly adamant about this rule, as well as enforcing the same mentality in them, doesn't think it's appropriate for a girl to be so selfishly absorbed with pleasure when she should  be giving it to the men that own her. For one, a girl should be spending all of her time dedicated to serving her masters in some way, and two, they're both needy boys that would be eager to fuck you at any time. So really, masturbating is an act of defiance and will be dealt with as such. #3. No favoritism! There will be times where you may feel mad at one or the other, and sure you have different levels of how much you can tolerate certain behaviors... But, you have to train yourself against that. Meimei should have no limits of what she can tolerate - that's part of your whole purpose. So even when you're mad at one, you can't try to avoid that one and go to the other, you still need to divide your time, energy, and body equally. Don't talk bad about one to the other, don't try to spend more time with one or the other at any time. This also includes pitting them against each other through jealousy, it's a huge no-no. Don't try to make one jealous of the other. If they catch you doing that, sooner or later they'll realize what you're doing, and deal with it, usually harshly, since it's seen as a high-ranking offense. In fact, you really shouldn't be mad, ever. Your big brothers know what's best for you, so if you're mad over a disagreement, you just need to accept that they're right and you're wrong and that you need to submit to their will. Outwardly showing you're upset is bratty behavior, things like pouting or giving them the cold shoulder are punishable offenses. #4. You're also a peacekeeper. Diffuse fights. Both of your big brothers can be... stubborn, prideful individuals. This leads to pretty regular conflict over this and that. It's meimei's job to help with that, calm them down with a smile on your face. Or, if it works better, with some tears and a quivering lip. Please don't fight, you say with watery eyes, sniffling, and well, they can't help but feel bad, they both turn their attention to you rather than to each other and apologize for making you upset.  And if they're having one if their regular it's my turn kind of arguments, your job is to propose the easy solution of sharing. You have more than one hole to fuck, and can easily cuddle one on each side. It should be an obvious solution. Oh, and they fight sometimes over who gets to do what, who spends time with you, but doing different things rather than both wanting to do the same thing. One is sitting at his desk to work and he can't be expected to focus on work without meimei sitting on his lap and cockwarming him of course, but the other says he wants to take a nap and how is he supposed to sleep if he can't rest his head on meimei's tits? There is only so much of her to go around! But they will legit adjust their schedules to make sure they get alone time. And are very nitpicky about it -- wait why do *you* get an extra hour on Tuesday?? If you get that I deserve an extra hour on Thursday -- that sort of thing. You're supposed to be able to propose such ideas. It's your job to come up with solutions that make everyone happy. You can cockwarm one brother while he works and tell the other that hey, if he postpones the nap, you can just ride him until he cums and can sleep right? Things like that. #5 Actually isn't for you, it's for them, regarding punishment. When Crepus got you, the poor boys didn't really know how to go about doing it, so they had to be taught. It's important to be a good master and know how to do so adequately, you know? To not let anger get the better of them and go too far, since sometimes they might get too mad about something. In fact, a good trick, he teaches them, is to just tie you up, and go blow off some steam before coming back to punish you. That way they won't go too far, and you'll have to wait around in fear for a while, which just helps the punishment sink in better. But at the same time, don't go too light. No matter how much you whimper, he says, don't feel pity for her and go lax. It's intentional, it's just your nature to try and fake-cry to try and get out of it. You did something bad, so they shouldn't feel bad about it, even if you cry and squeal. It's the right thing to do. You're supposed to cry, you're supposed to say it hurts and whimper, that just means they're doing it right. But of course, there's some sensitivities to be taught. If they have you bent over a knee, they have to make sure to only hit your ass and the back of your thighs, make sure not to go up too high and hit your back, since that could cause injury. If they're gonna fuck your ass as punishment, make sure to use a certain amount of lube. Things like that, it's important to be good masters, just as much as it is your job to be a good little slave.

And to remember, of course, that meimei is... an inferior little creature. Don't get mad at her just because she's stupid and doesn't understand this or that, that's not her fault. She can't be expected to be smart or responsible, that's their job. But also, don't feel pressured to give her what she wants just because she wants it or anything. And, most importantly, don't start having self-doubt and ever think she might be right about something while they're wrong, because obviously that can't be the case. You might get defiant and try to insist you know better than them, act like you're just as capable of something as they are, or think your opinions matter or something, but in that case, they have a responsibility to remind you of your place.

Cherry Blossom | Daichi Sawamura x Reader Oneshot

- Pairing: Daichi Sawamura x Reader One Shot 

Word Count: ~ 4600

Genres: Fluff, slight angst, unrequited feelings

CW: Self-deprecating inner thoughts, implied anxiety

Summary: (Y/N), a third year attending Karasuno High School, spirals into confusion as she begins to develop feelings for a certain childhood friend. 

2: 26

‘Are you kidding me?’

The day was already going by extremely slow for (Y/N), and she definitely was not having a good one either. She slept past her alarm until about 20 minutes before class started. In a rush, she attempted to make toast, which she somehow managed to burn, which meant on her sprint to school she had to eat some crusty, burnt ass toast and try not to choke on it. Yum! On top of that, all her lectures throughout the day have been painstakingly slow, and that didn’t improve her mood one bit.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a hand slip a small piece of paper onto her desk.

“What’re you doing after class today?”

Judging from the handwriting, (Y/N) knew it was from Yui-chan, who, just like (Y/N), could not care less about the titration process.

Discreetly, she wrote and responded back to her note, “Photoshoot. Houka-san said it’ll be on campus today,” and quickly passed it back to her.

After multiple exchanges, the teacher was finally cut off by the bell. At last, they could escape this hellhole known as school. As she packed up her supplies into the bookbag, she felt a hand on top of her head, ruffling her hair. Immediately, she knew who it was.

“Ah! Daichi! Stop it! I have a photoshoot soon, you’ll mess up my hair!”

“What do you mean? It still looks the same,” the boy smiled back. (Y/N) could only look back at him back with the most deadpan expression. Well, she was actually looking up at him quite a bit. She was by no means short, but in comparison to the tall volleyball player, she was definitely on the shorter side.

“Where were you this morning? I waited for you at the usual spot, but you weren’t there.” Daichi asked.

“Overslept. It was a nightmare honestly.” (Y/N) responded while attempting to clear her memory of the chaotic mess that she was that morning.

“Oh? The flawless and perfect (Y/N)-senpai had a stumble getting ready?” Daichi grinned teasingly, with obvious sarcasm dripping from his voice.

“Shut up, I’m human too,” she snapped back. “Don’t you have practice soon? You don’t want to be late now, do you, Captain?”

“Suppose not,” he said before facing the other girl standing off to the side, “Ah Michimiya-san, I was going to talk to you about the gym schedule for next week.”

Yui had an obvious flush on her face, and was struggling to get the right words out, let alone look him in the eyes. (Y/N) mercifully suggested that the three of them walk to practice together, so they won’t be late.

‘Hopefully, that’ll give her more time to collect herself and talk to him.”

With all her stuff collected, she went and changed into the bathroom to get ready for the photoshoot. After brushing and styling her hair that Daichi had ruined, she quickly walked out to the cherry blossom trees by the gym to meet up with her photographer.

“My apologies, Houka-san, I got caught up in something.”

“It’s alright (Y/N)-san. Please don’t be late next time. I’m on a strict schedule after all,” she sighed irritatingly, “Now, shall we get started?”

“Ah yes, of course. It won’t happen again,” she sheepishly apologized.

After getting herself together, (Y/N) felt immense ease. Being near the cherry blossoms had always comforted her. Maybe it had something to do with the aesthetic of it, but a lot of it had to do with the lasting memories that came along with it.

~~

Thirteen Years Ago : Age 6

(Y/N) woke up in an unfamiliar room. She sat herself upright, and took a look around the room. Bandages everywhere, a single stool, and a desk with a file folder.

‘Right, I fell asleep in the nurse’s office’

Her mom, being a teacher, told (Y/N) to go take a nap in the nurse’s office while she finished things inside the classroom. She would eventually go wake her up when she was done, or if the young girl woke up early, she could go to her classroom instead.

After straightening herself up, she opened the door and walked down the unfamiliar hallway. The only thing she remembered was that her mother had told the young child her classroom was in a different building. Naturally, she walked outside the building only to realize she didn’t specify which building it was in.

‘Ah shoot.’

Wandering around the large campus only drained the poor girl, and (Y/N) was suddenly overwhelmed with panic that accompanied her with her failure to find her mother’s classroom.

Tears couldn’t help but form in the corners of her eyes, threatening to fall any second now. She ran around the corner, now tears rolling down her face.

With her eyes facing the floor, half closed, and half visible from her hands wiping away her tears, she ran into a wall...or what she thought was a wall.

She looked up to find a boy, with jet black hair who looked to be about her age, looking down at her with a worried expression.

“Hey, you okay? What happened?” he asked.

The tears stopped flowing down her face, and she stood up to reach eye-level to the boy.

“N-no, I don’t know where my mom’s classroom is and I’m lost”

“Here I can help you find it!” The boy replied cheerfully, “I’m Daichi Sawamura by the way. What’s your name?”

“(Y/N) (L/N)”

“(L/N)-chan, we can go look for her classroom together! My dad works as a teacher here too, so I know my way around here pretty good”

Before she could respond, Daichi grabbed her hand and led her away from the cherry tree they were standing under moments ago. Something about him told her that she could trust him without any concern, and she was right.

(Y/N) learned a lot about him while he was leading her. She found out his favorite colour is orange, came to this school everyday after school to wait for his dad to finish work, and that he loved volleyball. After a few minutes, they entered a building filled with different classrooms, and managed to find the right classroom.

“Ah, thank you for the help, Daichi-kun”

“No problem. Say, wanna meet by that cherry tree tomorrow too?”

Little did she know that it would end up being a daily routine to meet there.

~~

The photoshoot ended smoothly, and that edition of the magazine she was shooting for was scheduled to be released sometime within the next month. Nowadays, it wasn’t uncommon to see her pictures on the front cover of popular magazines displayed at stores. Since the beginning of this year, her popularity as a model had skyrocketed beyond anybody’s expectations for someone who rarely posted on her social media. Well, that changed quite a bit after her career took off.

Normally, she would wait for Daichi to be done with practice so they could walk home together, but seeing that she would have to wait an extra 45 minutes or so, she started walking to the gym. Cracking the door open slightly, and seeing the coast was clear, she walked towards the back until a round object was flying towards her at an alarming rate.

Bam! A volleyball slammed into the wall beside her.

‘Phew, barely missed me.’ She looked up after receiving a mild shock, and everyone on the court had their eyes on the mysterious girl who just walked in.

‘Well, so much for sneaking in,’ she mentally slapped herself.

“NOYA-SAN! LOOK! (Y/N)-SENPAI’S HERE!”

“WHAT?!? (Y/N)-SENPAIIIIIIII!”

The two very energetic boys flung themselves at her, and before she could move out of the way, two strong arms held them back mid-jump.

“Oi, knock it off you two,” Daichi scolded. “(Y/N), I thought you said you had a photoshoot. Why are you here?”

“It went really well, so I ended early, and I figured I’d wait for you in here,”

“You could’ve just gone home--”

“Daichi, I’m not gonna break tradition because I ended early--”

As their bickering continued, the first years, particularly the one with some orange hair asked nobody in particular, “Who’s that pretty senpai punching Daichi-san?”

“That’s (Y/N)-chan. She and Daichi have been childhood friends.” A pure angel, by the name of Sugawara, was happy to satisfy his kohai’s curiosity, before mumbling, “though he should really do something about being friends,”

After facing a barrage of punches from (Y/N), Daichi finally got back to practice while she sat on the benches scrolling through her feed and managing her account. Her recent post was filled with support from her fans anticipating her next magazine release, as well as some hate comments, particularly about her age and looks. But honestly, they were irrelevant wimps that had to bully people from behind a keyboard to feel good about themselves, so it never really bothered her too much.

Before she knew it, Daichi’s practice had ended, and she didn’t even notice him get changed and coming back to pick her up. It wasn’t super dark, but having Daichi with her definitely helped her feel reassured, though she could easily fight off a couple people if needed. Regardless, the dim lights added to the comfortable silence as they continued to walk to their houses.

(Y/N) was the first to break the silence, “Hey Daichi,”

He hummed a quiet, “Hmm?” as he continued to look forward.

“Did things go well with Yui-chan earlier? You didn’t scare her off or something did you?” she joked light-heartedly.

“What? I didn’t think I scared her off? Maybe I did on accident?” he began to think about all his interactions with her because God forbid if it was his fault that’s causing tension between them. “You’re probably right though. I don’t think she likes me all that much, or at least she’s uncomfortable around me. I’ve talked to her on multiple occasions because of volleyball, but every time I get the same vibe from her...maybe I did something to offend her… Why? Did she say something about it?”

‘I guess the saying is true. Men are oblivious as fuck.’

“Oh no, I haven’t seen her after she left with you. I was just wondering because you know--”

“Because..?” Daichi stopped for a second to face her.

(Y/N) had to think about it for a second. She remembered Yui-chan’s request from a couple days ago that she couldn’t decline.

~~

“(Y/N), please! You know him really well! I just get flustered really easily around him, but he’s just so sweet! I really like him, can you please help me get noticed by him?” Yui pleaded. Her eyes were filled with genuinity, and after seeing that, there was no way she could say no to her.

~~

“--because I actually think it might be the opposite of what you think.” (Y/N) chose her words carefully, “if anything, I think she’s getting flustered because she really admires you, you know?”

“Really? You think so?”

“Mmhmm,” she hummed. ‘And she’s not the only one,’

“Ah well, I mean, I know that feeling. I have for a while actually,” he stated awkwardly. Daichi was not one to express his feelings, so this came across as a big shock to (Y/N), for this was the first time he had ever said anything along the lines of romance.

This time, she was the one to stop suddenly, and before she could process her thoughts, Daichi interrupted her to let her know they’ve reached her house. After quickly saying goodbye, (Y/N) walked up before heading to bed with an uneasy feeling in her stomach.

~~

The next day was filled with confusion in (Y/N)’s mind and heart. Her mind was confused because she did not understand one bit as to what the teacher was talking about, but her heart was left aching the entire day. After what Daichi said last night, she couldn’t bring herself to see him. If anything, it caused her to actively avoid him throughout the day. In the years that she’s known him, he’s never brought up his romantic feelings towards someone.

‘Do I like Daichi?’ she asked herself. She slapped both hands to her cheeks, ‘That’s not possible! I’ve known him for a long time, and he’s my best friend! It’s not like that! ...right?’

Yet, simultaneously, the idea of him being with another girl left her feeling queasy. As much as she loved Yui-chan and wanted the best for her, the idea of Daichi being hers gave her an ugly feeling inside that she quite disliked.

‘Will Daichi leave me then? I know he’s not the type to do that, but what if I’m wrong? If it’s Yui-chan that he likes, will she need me afterwards? What if they decide they only need each other, and I go back to being unapproachable?’

She knew that these negative thoughts weren’t true. (Y/N) knew better than to doubt her friends. If anything, she should be grateful that they’re by her side. After all, they don’t treat her like she’s on a pedestal. She was aware that being somewhat “famous” gave people a different perception towards her, but Daichi and Yui-chan still treated her as if she’s still a high school student, not a magazine model, and for that she was greatly appreciative towards them. But with that preciousness comes with the greater fear of loss. Before she could go off on her own tangent, she was interrupted by Yui-chan.

“-N),(Y/N). Class is over. Are you okay? You looked like you were spacing out for a bit?” Yui asked, concerningly, after the girl failed to respond to the bell ringing, and to her continuous (and aggressive) waving. The poor girl looked like she was about to break down from panicking seeing that her attempts to get her friend’s attention were failing.

“O-oh, I guess I’m just a little out of it today.” A familiar sense of fatigue and guilt pained her after seeing her best friend falling apart right in front of her eyes.

‘Clearly, there’s no need to explain the whole truth, right? If I do Yui is going to freak herself out’

“Did something happen between you and Sawamura-kun?” Yui asked innocently.

The sound of his name made her hesitate and shift in her seat. Yui, aware of how she acts when something bothers her, knew that it had to have been just that. Giving her time, Yui waited before (Y/N) responded.

“We were walking home yesterday, and we talked about you,” she started carefully, and glancing over to her friend, it was no surprise to see her eyes filled with anticipation, ready to hear what she would say next. “I didn’t say explicitly that you liked him, but rather you admire him, and with your personality, it could be a little harder for you to be open right away. It came up because he thought you didn’t like him, so I just assured him that wasn’t the case. Then he said something that I’ve never really heard him talk about. He said that he also had that feeling towards someone.”

She looked over once again, Yui, clearly at this point looked like she was going to explode. “I’m not sure who he's referring to, but I figured it’d be you. So, I’ve just been thinking about how to go about with what you’ve asked of me. But, I think it’s safe to say, you should talk to him more. To me it seems like the feeling is mutual between you two.”

She could’ve sworn she could’ve won an Oscar from that performance. To her, she showed no worries of avoiding the truth externally, quite contrary to the painful stabbing inside her chest with every word she breathed. What she said wasn’t completely untrue, but she hated how she couldn’t be open with how she felt. She trusted Yui with all her heart, but Yui’s happiness was more important in this case. Afterall, she didn’t want to destroy her relationship with Yui, and just decided to keep it to herself.

Contrary to how (Y/N) was feeling, her friend was clearly ecstatic. Her face just lit up with joy before jumping out of her seat to hug her friend.

“Thank you so much (Y/N)! You don’t know how much this means to me!” Yui beamed. All she could do was hug back in response.

After Yui left for practice, (Y/N) decided her heart had too much to handle for one day. For the first time since Kindergarten, she broke away from the “ritual,” and walked home alone without Daichi. Quite honestly, it was a weird sensation not having the boy next to her.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the only day that this had occurred. Over the next couple days, she actively avoided Daichi, and continued to walk home without him.

After a few days, (Y/N) slipped on her outdoor shoes and started to head towards the school gates, once again, without the absence of Daichi. Even though days have passed, she still couldn’t get used to the feeling without him. All of a sudden, a large hand grabbed her wrist, stopping her from walking further. Right as she turned around, she saw the one person she didn’t want to see.

“D-daichi!”

‘Great’

He was clearly out of breath as if he had sprinted over to her. ‘Did he run over to me before I could leave?’

“(Y/N). I wanted to talk to you before you left,” he said firmly. The days without talking to him, hearing his voice was so soothing on her mind that momentarily she forgot why she was avoiding him in the first place. Snapping out of her trance, she tried to pull away from his arm to stop them from walking further, but Daichi kept a firm grip on her. She didn’t realize she was back at their usual meeting spot, underneath the cherry blossom tree.

“Daichi, let go of me. I have to leave, and you have practice,” she tried to reason.

“I know you don’t have anything after school today, and practice can wait. This is more important,” he replied, not once breaking eye contact. He was serious about this.

There was a quick pause before he started again, “(Y/N), what’s going on?”

Thump.

“N-nothing” she said weakly, looking away from him. She could feel his gaze on her, and he still never looked away.

“(Y/N), I’m just worried about you. Is everything okay? I couldn’t help but notice that you’ve been avoiding me lately. Did I do something wrong to upset you?” he asked cautiously.

“I wasn’t avoiding you. I’ve been busy recently, and I wanted you to have time to sort out that feeling of admiration you have towards that person. It seemed like I was going to be holding you back, and I only just realized it after you said it that day.” Her voice was wavering, and she tried her best to keep her feelings in check. It certainly didn’t help that her heartbeat could be heard from miles away.

Thump. Thump.

“This was the first time you’ve ever said anything remotely related to romance, and I know you don’t talk about your feelings a lot. So I thought I would just be getting in your way. I mean, if there was a guy I liked, and I saw a girl around them constantly I would be pretty discouraged about my chances. And--”

Before she could even finish her rambling, she saw him walking closer towards her. She kept backing away slowly, only to be stopped by the cherry blossom tree behind her. Before she knew it, there was a warm,gentle feeling on her lips.

She froze.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Before she could process what was happening, he pulled away, and suddenly the distance between them grew bigger again. (Y/N) stood there looking like a dumbfounded idiot, unsure what to do, but mostly in shock trying to figure out what just happened.

“D-daichi...you, uh, uhm--” she sputtered.

“The girl that I feel admiration for wasn’t Michimiya-san. It’s you. It’s always been you, (Y/N). These last couple days without you near me, or by my side, it’s been so painful. I’ve missed you. You know you mean a lot to me, right. More than I could even tell you.”

“Daichi, I-” she composed herself. She finally looked him in the eyes, and noticed his face was clearly flushed. Oddly enough, that reassured her quite a bit in the moment.

“I don’t need an answer now, (Y/N). But, I just really needed you to know, and whatever you decide, I respect your decision. For all I know, things might change between us, but just know that whatever happens, I’ll still be there for you, always.”

Moments after, silence filled the air, and Daichi took that as his cue to excuse himself, and save himself from making the situation even worse. He shuffled his feet a little bit and glanced up at the girl before he headed towards the gym, only to stop momentarily to look back at her before ultimately deciding to leave her to her thoughts.

‘Oh my god. Daichi and I--!’

That kiss just confirmed that yes, she felt the same as Daichi, and she’s always liked him. That provided some relief for her knowing that his feelings weren’t towards Yui--

‘Oh no--Yui-chan… What am I going to tell her? Should I tell her? Yes, I should, she deserves to know.’

Shortly after, she decided the sooner she tells Yui, the better it will be for everybody.

To: Yui-chan [3:46 pm]: Yui-chan, after practice can we talk? Meet up at StarDollar at 6?

From: Yui-chan [3:47 pm]: Yup, see you then!

~~

6:00 pm

(Y/N) sat nervously at the cafe table waiting for Yui to show up. She got a latte to try and calm herself a little bit before telling her the truth. Seconds later, Yui walked into the shop scanning the room before her eyes landed on her friend, and walked over to her.

“Yui-chan,” (Y/N) started, “I’m sorry for calling you out here last minute, especially right after practice too.”

“Oh no it’s okay. I thought it might’ve been a little serious judging from your tone and all. Is everything okay?” Yui asked, hesitantly.

“Yeah. No. Not really.”

Yui, let her friend collect her thoughts before (Y/N) began to speak again.

“Yui, you have to know how much you mean to me. And I want to apologize for being a terrible friend, and letting this happen,” tears were starting to form in (Y/N)’s eyes. “Today, Daichi confessed to me.”

Silence.

At this point, the tears in her eyes were falling. She couldn’t bring herself to look at her friend’s eyes. She didn’t want to see the face of hurt and betrayal in her precious friend’s eyes. That was, until she left a pair of warm hands wrap around hers.

“(Y/N), you’re not a terrible friend. If you really were, I don’t think you would’ve told me this. In fact, I’m really grateful you trust me enough to tell me this,” she said with a smile on her face.

(Y/N) couldn’t tell exactly what her friend was feeling. She wasn’t mad? Was she beyond pissed, and this was all she could say out of courtesy?

“(Y/N), thank you for telling me this.”

“You’re not pissed?”

“Pissed? No. A little heartbroken? Yes. But I already knew somewhere deep down that the person he admired wasn’t me. I’ve known it was you all along. I’ve seen the way he looks at you, and how his face brightens whenever he’s with you. I’ve also seen it with you. If anything, I’ve been the terrible friend. I knew that you two liked each other in some way, but I was being selfish, and I asked you a request that I never should’ve.”

‘I guess then not to make these worse, I might have to reject Daichi. Then that means everything goes back to the way it used to be, right?’

“(Y/N), I know you’re thinking of rejecting Daichi-”

‘Damn it, how did she read my mind?’

“Don’t. I know I shouldn’t tell you what to do, but it seems to me like you two like each other mutually. There’s nothing wrong with accepting a confession from someone you like.”

“But Yui--”

“Don’t worry about me. I’m fine,” she gave a small reinforced smile to try and prove some assurance for her emotional friend.

“Yui...thank you,” (Y/N) said as she pulled Yui in for a hug.

“Anytime. I’d never let a man come between our friendship. You mean so much more to me than some guy.” she replied, returning the hug.

After leaving as emotional wrecks from StarDollar, (Y/N) felt some sort of relief inside her. For sure, she felt bad for Yui having to deal with this outcome, but also extremely grateful that she wasn’t willing to jeopardize their friendship.

~~

The next day, (Y/N) woke up feeling a lot more refreshed. Maybe even empowered? She strode to class with an aura of fresh air, and Yui definitely seemed to take notice.

“Good morning (Y/N)!” Yui greeted.

“Good morning Yui!”

“Are you planning on returning his feelings to Sawamura-san soon?” Yui questioned.

“Yeah, I’m planning to do it after his practice today. I have another photoshoot today, but timings should work out if everything goes well,”

“Nice! Good luck (Y/N), you’ve got this!”

The rest of the day flew by quickly, and even the photoshoot went by a breeze. She quickly made it over to the gym where the boys’ volleyball team would be practicing and burst open the doors.

“DAICHI!”

Everyone turned towards her. The tall boy with freckles literally jumped in his spot.

‘Whoops. I’ll apologize to the team later.’

“(Y/N)?” Daichi inquired, “what’re you doing here?”

“Daichi, can we talk? Please?” she pleaded. Before he could answer, she turned to the team behind him, bowing. “Sorry guys, I’ll be borrowing your captain for a moment.” She took Daichi by the arm and dragged him out of the gym.

“It’s about time ‘friends’ became something more,” Sugawara muttered to himself.

Outside, (Y/N) walked towards the cherry blossom where Daichi had confessed to her. Daichi was quite honestly, frozen with shock after being suddenly removed from yelling at the simpletons for going crazy again.

“Daichi-” (Y/N) she started, and his attention snapped back to her, “Daichi, I thought a lot about what you said yesterday, and I have my answer.”

“(Y/N) if you need more time then--” he was cut off.

“Daichi, you mean the world to me. You treat me like (Y/N), the high school student, your childhood best friend, like a normal person, not like someone who’s placed upon a pedestal. That itself means so much to me. But it’s not only that. Daichi, I realized, when I started walking home by myself, my life is so different without you. It’s so boring, so dreadful. You bring joy into my life with just by being near me. And for that, I’m forever grateful.”

“(Y/N)-” his words were cut off this time with another familiar warm feeling.

She placed her lips on his, slightly hesitant at first, and Daichi, hesitant because he couldn’t believe this was happening to him. For years, this was only a mere dream, or fantasy of his, but it was becoming a reality.

After separating, Daichi pulled her into a warm embrace. Her head rested on his chest, and his arms wrapped around her like a protective shield (back off peeps lmaoooo).

This moment was quickly ruined by the rustling in the bushes, followed by the boys’ volleyball team jumping out and yelling in pure joy.

“About time Daichi!”

“Our captain is such a man!”

“(Y/N)-senpai isn’t single anymore, but she’s in the hands of someone trustworthy!”

“Noya-san! That was so deep!”

Fin.

~~

(A/N): This was the first one-shot I’ve ever written, so I hope it turned out okay :)

Special thanks to Apprentice Admin Strawberry-Chan and Mango-Chan for helping me edit this !

- Admin Kiwi-Chan

2018 Year in REVIEW: Part 2

 Hello everybody, JoyofCrimeArt here, and it's time to wrap up Deviant-cemnber by finishing this recap. If you're just joining us I'm going over all the events that happened to the cartoon community thought the year of 2018. I'm also ranking all the new series from best to worse, and deciding which network was the quote unquote "winner" of the year. If you haven't seen part one, you can check it out here. 2018 Year in REVIEW: Part 1 But for everyone else, let's get on with the review. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  So at the end of the last part, we had to deal with that whole "Thundercats CalArts" debacle. Not exactly the most "positive" stopping point. So why don't we start this part with something light? Oh hey, look, people are talking about Butch Hartman! He's always good for a laugh. What's he up too?

 Oh no...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBOMlWl7fFk

 So Butch Hartman, America's dad, started a Kickstarter for his own streaming service. It's called Oaxis and is suppose to be a family friendly streaming service with original programming along the lines of Netflix. Butch asked for 250,000 dollars in order to get the basic groundwork for the site up and running. That's a lot of money to ask for, so there's no way he could actually...Holy crap, he actually did it! The madman pulled it off!  Now, there's a lot to unload here. Butch Hartman's streaming service initially was met with controversy due to how vague everything about it was. There were a lot of unanswered questions. We didn't know what kind of shows it would have outside of a few failed pilots that Butch had pitched to various networks in the years prior. Were there other creators had plans to affiliate themselves with the project? All of these unanswered questions lead a lot of people to think that this was all just a big scam. If I had to make a guess, I have a feeling that part of the point of the Kickstarter was to act as a proof of concept. A way to show investors that there was an interest in the service. While a quarter of a million dollars is a lot, that's still not anywhere NEAR enough to run an entire new entertainment platform.  However, I wanna be devil's advocate here. Butch Hartman has some experience in this field.The Noog Network, is an app that he developed that specializes in family friendly animated and live action shorts all created by Butch Hartman himself. Not exactly the same as a streaming service, but still. And consider that Butch has ties to people in the industry, and has experiences running a business in the form of his nonprofit charity The Hartman House, MAYBE he could pull it off? Maybe? Possibly...  But that's not where the controversy ends however! As footage leaked of old Butch-y boi speaking at a church event promoting Oaxis. Here he made several claims that many found to be a bit disconcerting. Such as claims that his streaming service would feature "Christian values" which is something not at all mentioned in his Kickstarter. As a Christian myself I've always thought of Christian values as things like kindness, generosity, respect. All things that aren't necessarily exclusive to Christianity. So maybe he meant like that. However, the fact that he was invited as a special guest to a church to speak about the service...It's definitely a little bit suspect. There's nothing wrong with making a streaming service aimed at Christian families, but you should at least mention it in the Kickstarter. That way people know what they're donating too. He later specified in a tweet that while the service wouldn't inherently be Christian themed, but since Butch Hartman is a devout Christian himself, that would always carry over into his work no matter what he does. It should be noted  that in the same speech he list his previous shows as containing the same "Christian values" and I don't think anybody was ever converted to Christianity by T.U.F.F Puppy. I don't know.  Man, between this and last years Castlevania, I love being forced to talk about my religious views in a article that's suppose to be about dumb cartoon shows.  He also made a controversial claim saying that suicides are more common now of days because of peoples addition to cell phones and technology. Saying that because of these technology people not talking to their parents as much as a result. I'm not a researcher on this, so I have no idea if this is actually true. I could definitely see that could at least be partially true with things like cyber bulling and the lack of communication with parents COULD possibly be a factor in the increases of suicides. But it defiantly feels like a disservice to just ignore issues like mental health being a factor. I can defiantly see how people could of taken offense.  All of this backlash lead to everyone's favorite 2018 game! "Attack people online until they apologize!" Cause as we all know, nothing makes an apology more sincere than when it's forced out of them by an angry mob! But eventually all the heat died down when all the "Butch Hartman Rant" videos stopped getting views, I mean, when there was nothing left to talk about. Overall, I think that the situation was just bad on all fronts. Butch should of said something to explain himself, and not be so vague in his goals. But also, we live in a day and age where I honestly wonder if that would of been the smartest move. It feels like once people have their opinion set, there's no going back. I mean how often to celebrity apologizes even work? Still though, smart or not, it would of been the right thing to do.  However, I would like to point out that all of this hate started simply because he reached his goal. All the stuff about the church and his suicide comments all came after he was already getting hate for being a scam artist. But the thing is, we don't even know if he is a scam artist or not. Sure, the fact that he's barely talked about Oaxis at all since the Kickstarter was funded doesn't bode well. But from what I could fine, he's given out most of the rewards he promised. And on the Kickstarter page he says the site wasn't expected to launch until mid 2020. Do I think Butch will be able to pull this off? Probably not...but I hope he does. I want Oaxis to be a thing, cause I am interested in some of the shows he's talked about putting on there, like Elf Detective. And if you hate Butch and hope for Oaxis to fail, that's your prerogative. But if you are hoping for it to fail, than you're hoping that nearly thirteen hundred people got scammed out of their money. Just saying.  Ugh! I'm sick of this drama. I want more uplifting Kickstarter news! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rMCkNgHa3c

 Homestar Runner was one of the first big web series that existed B.Y. Before Youtube. The series has been running off and on for about nineteen years now. And the creators, The Brother Chaps, decided to make a Kickstarter campaign to make a tabletop board game based on one of there series most popular characters. Trogdor, the Burniator. A poorly drawn dragon with an affinity for burning down cottages. The Kickstarter was set up for a goal seventy thousand dollars. Which feels like a lot for a board game, but hey, what do I know. While Homestar still has a very loyal fanbase, the series defiantly is nowhere near as popular as it was in the early to mid two thousands. And seventy thousand is a pretty hefty goal? Would a board game based on an outdated internet meme from 2004 really be able to make that kind of money?  It reached it's goal in less than a day. And by the end they ended up making over one point four million dollars! I don't know what exactly The Brothers Chaps are going to do with all that money, but it's nice to know that the Homestar fanbase is still alive and well after all that time. And it's also nice to just see a Kickstarter that reached it's goal, delivered everything it promised, and didn't get into any major controversies.   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Anyway, back to controversy. Cyma Zarghami, president of Nickelodeon since 2006, resigned. And people hate her because of some...controversy. Something about unions I think? Yeah, I didn't bother looking into this one. Between the Thundercats Roar drama and Butch Hartman stuff, I just couldn't go through all of this again. Sometimes ignorance is bliss, so I'm perfectly happy to be the ostrich with it's head in the sand on this one! However, like I said last time, it'll be very interesting to see what happens to Nickelodeon in the next couple of years. Without Butch Hartman, Dan Schneider, and now Cyma Zarghami I feel like Nickelodeon five years from now could be something completely unrecognizable from what it is today. And hopefully it'll be in a good way. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  But hey, this year wasn't all drama though. I mean look at all the new shows we got. Like Pinky Malinky.

DELAYED!  Okay, well at least we finally have Young Justice season three...

DELAYED!  The new Harley Quinn Cartoon...

DELAYED!  FXX's Deadpool?

CANCELED!  TBS's Close Enough from Regular Show creator JG Quintel?

WHO THE FU*K EVEN KNOWS AT THIS POINT?  Seriously, what's with this year? It's like everything has been delayed! What the heck? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Nickelodeon announced that they're making a reboot for the Rugrats. And just...why?  Money-    Yes, I know it's money! But it's a show about babies! When you make a reboot of something, the entire point is to update it. But when your show is about babies, how are you suppose to do that? Babies today are still doing the same things that babies did back in 1991. And with the first show having one hundred seventy two half hour episodes. What stories are left to tell?  Then again, anything can be good. That Muppet Babies reboot (Which I didn't watch and isn't on this list) seems to be pretty well received. So maybe it could work. I don't know. I've never seen to much Rugrats growing up, so it's hard for me to get excited for this. But I'm sure someone will enjoy it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  So Netflix decided to drop all of their new series all at the end of the year. Their first one is Matt Groening's Disenchantment. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp_RnJcb8Ig

 The series follows Bean, the princess of the magical kingdom of Dreamland. She's a bitter snarky alcoholic, cause AGAIN, NEVER SEEN THAT CHARACTER DONE BEFORE! The series follows her, as well as her personal demon Luci and her elf companion Elfo through various misadventures. Think what Futurama did with Sci-fi but with a fantasy setting and you have this show. Only...Comedy Centeral era Futurama.  I didn't really enjoy the first seven or so episodes of this show that much. The show wasn't bad per say, but it wasn't really anything great either. This show is aimed slightly more towards adults than Matt Groening's previous works, having a TV-14 rating instead of a TV-PG. The humor is a bit darker and edgier, and it lead to this very mean spirited feel over the entire show. The cast aren't particularly likable, and Dreamland just isn't a fun setting to be around. One thing I did like however was the fact that the show had an on going continuity and changing status quo. This is refreshing considering that Matt Groenings other shows (mainly The Simpsons) are famous for almost always returning to their status quo.  But here's the weird thing, starting with episode 8, the show suddenly has this MASSIVE spike in quality out of nowhere as all the plot points that have been building over the course of the season all start to pay off. The characters all become a lot more likable. The stakes are raised. Like, it's weird how different these last three episodes are. I'd go into more detail, but unfortunately I can't due to spoilers, but trust me, the show gets better. It's not "classic Simpsons" or "classic Futurama" good, but still. It's not THAT far off.  This sudden spike in quality makes it hard for me to decide how to rate this show. But since most of the run is pretty sub par, I kinda just have to average it out. Unfortunately due to the continuity you can't just skip till the end. It all really depends how patient you are. But even the bad stuff isn't awful or anything. It's just kinda bland. The show was picked up for a second season and I am looking forward to seeing where this show will go. I think that season two could be something great, but just talking about season one, it's...okay. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Hey, it feels like it's been a while since we had a controversy. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZSOGZFfSDk

 It seems recently there are so many streaming services out there creating there own original series, it's hard to keep track. You got Netflix, Hulu, DC Universe, Soon they'll be Disney+...Oaxis-  So it only made since for a site like Cruchyroll to start making they're own exclusive content. You'd think they would just hire some anime studio to make originals for them like Netflix does. But no, they decided to go with a more American styled series. High Guardian Spice. The trailer doesn't reveal much about the show, but plot wise it sounds eerily similar similar to RWBY. About a group of girls all named after different spices going to school to become "Guardians." Whatever that means.  There were a lot of reason people were upset. From it be a more Americanized looking series. To the fact that Cruchyroll's (from what I hear) site having some interface problems that some people would rather have them devoting the money on fixing. But the main reason people were upset was because of the series trailer spent more time talking about the diversity of the crew and characters than they did the show plot. Outrage was also sparked from the fact that they use the fact that they have an all female writers room as a sign of there "diversity." Even though having a writers room were everyone is the same gender isn't actually diverse.  I have no problem with diversity in my stories. But the fact that they chose to focus on it as a highlight when they talked so little about the story of the characters is what has me worried. It makes me worried that the crew aren't confident enough in the series premise and characters to carry the series on it's own. It's better to make a story that's good first, and diverse second as oppose to the other way around. When you do it the other way, you end up with Ghostbusters 2016. I think. I never saw it, but I hear it's "okay" at BEST. People don't like things shoved down there throats, even if it's something they agree with. Most people support diversity. But when you tell them that they HAVE to support it, that's what makes people start to hate it. Humans are very spiteful creatures in that regard.  However, despite all of that, I'm still kinda excited for this show. I LOVE the art style. And you all know by now that I love me a good girly cartoon. And many other shows that boast about their diversity (Like Steven Universe and She Ra, which I'll get to in little bit) still manage to be good. It can be distracting when you see a cartoon and know what ideals the creators are trying to push. I get it. But sometimes you just have to take the death of the author approach, and just see the show for what it is on it's own. You might be surprised by what you can enjoy. We'll have to wait to see how this show pans out. But if they're able to include some Mike Toole, I'm sold. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  It seems like every year we have one BIG cartoon finale. 2016 had Gravity Falls. 2017 had Regular Show. And now after eight long years, it's time for Adventure Times Grand Finn-ale.  ...I'm not sorry.  Adventure Time ended with an hour long episode "Come Along with Me." I'll try to not spoil the special TOO much for those who haven't seen it, but if you want to go in completely blind I suggest skipping down to the next segment cause this is your SPOILER WARNING. The special revolves around the Gum War between Princess Bubblegum and her Uncle Gumbald. A plot that had been slowly growing all season. On top of that, Betty and Normal Man are trying to find a way to turn Ice King back into Simon.  The things I do like about the finale is just the sheer number of callbacks that were made. While I think a few did go over my head, as there are a few episodes of Adventure Time I've never gotten around to seeing, it's nice to see so many returning concepts and characters. I'm glad they included things from the entire series run, instead of just the "classic" episodes that most people would recognizes. It rewards fans who stuck around for the long haul. It was also nice seeing most of the series lingering plot points wrap up. And we finally got to see the kiss that we've all been waiting years for. And kudos to CN for allowing them to do it. It was very brave of them.  I am of course talking about LSP and Lemongrab, baby! Wooh! 

 There's also the ending. Which is just a montage set to the end credits song showing where all the characters end up after the series. I love endings like this so damn much, and while it didn't hit me as hard as Regular Show's finales montage, it still hits the feels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIkS8eGCKOU

 The special does have it's flaws though. The Gum War really felt like an anti-climax and the shift to GOLB felt very out of left field. Also the fate of Uncle Gumbald left a very bad taste in my mouth. It kinda felt like they went against the whole point they tried to make. I admit that I didn't enjoy this finale as much as I did the Gravity Falls or Regular Show finales, but it's still sad seeing Adventure Time go. It defined cartoons of the 2010's. And I don't think they'res been a show since that's been quite like it. Even though the later seasons weren't as good, Adventure Time will always have a special place in my heart. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Netflix continues to pump out series after series with another new series, Dragon Prince.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWEtCsi3Eo8

 Dragon Prince is a series set in a fantasy world in the midst of war. On one side is the humans, and on the other side the Elves and Dragons. The series follows two human princes, Callum and Ezran as well as a elf assassin named Rayla, as they go on a quest that will hopefully bring peace to there world.  The series features a lot of crew and voice actors who previously worked on Avatar: The Last Airbender. And it shows. I mean both shows follow a group of kids traveling through a fantasy world in the middle of a war. The seasons are called books, and each book based on a different element of the magic system. I was worried this show would falls end up being just a carbon copy of Avatar. But luckily, the show does manage to have it's own feel despite having a lot of stimulates.  The animation is a bit of a mixed bag. It's cel shaded CGI, similar to RWBY. But despite the series being made by a company much bigger than Rooster Teeth, the animation is so much more lag-y. Something about the frame rate seems off at times. Also I noticed background characters being copied and recolored a few times in my watch. But none of this took me to much out of the experience.  The characters and writing are all really good for the most part. One of the best parts of Avatar was how it showed that both sides of the war had normal people. And Dragon Prince takes this element and brings it one step further. Neither side of the war are depicted as wholly right or wholly wrong, with both sides committing terrible acts. That's a lot of complexity for a show that's aimed at children. However, there is a villain who, while I won't reveal who he/she is, feels very cartoonishly evil for this otherwise complex world. Like, you could make this character complex very easily. A lot of the villains goals and reasoning makes sense, and are even justifiable. But the methods used are just the most mustache twirling ways of achieving these goals, even when there are less evil ways of accomplishing the same thing. It's weirdly out of place.  However, despite the flaws, Dragon Prince is a really good show that manages to feel similar to Avatar while still being it's own thing. I highly recommend you check it out.   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Speaking of Avatar, Netflix is making one! Particularly a live action reboot. And just...Why?  Money-    Yes, I know it's money! But everybody already love the original Avatar! What is there to change? What needs to be updated? And what can be done in live action that can't be done in animation. It feels like all these live action remakes only exist in order to "legitimize" their animated counterparts. Cause God forbid something animated be watched by adults. I dunno. There's a very good chance this could be good, but I doubt it'll be better than the original series. I have no interest in this. Netflix, you have Dragon Prince! You don't need this! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  But Netflix isn't done yet! Cause we also have Hilda! Based on the series of graphic novels of the same name.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCojP2Ubuto

 Hilda follows...Hilda. A young adventurous girl who spent her whole life living in a magical forest with her Mom. That is until one day her Mom decides to move to the city of Trolberg. Now Hilda has to learn to adapt to her new surroundings in the city, learn to make friends with normal humans, and deal with magical creatures. Cause despite the fact that Trolberg has a wall designed to keep magical creatures out, the city really sucks at doing so.    This shows really cute! The art style reminds me of a cross between Steven Universe and The Loud House. But with any series involving kids interacting with magical creatures the comparisons are going to be brought up. Is Hilda the next Over The Gravity Garden Falls? Seriously, ever video on Youtube about Hilda brings up this comparison.  And really, outside of the premise of "adventurous child exploring magical forest" Hilda isn't really like either of those shows. Hilda is a lot lighter in tone than those two series. The monsters aren't as scary and the humor is a lot less snarky. There aren't really that many "jokes" in Hilda as the series relies more on overall pleasantness. Also there isn't any real overarching mystery element in Hilda. It's more slice of life. Why can't Hilda just be the next...Hilda?  It's a quaint show. From the animation, to the tone, to the voice acting, it all just feels so cozy. I also love the creativity with all the different creatures they come up with. It's has a unique charm to it, and it's fun seeing a world where everyone just knows magic exist and society has integrated with it. If I had to point out a few flaws, I'd say that the subplot they have with Hilda's best friend Frieda wasn't very good. I really have no idea what they were going for with that. And the show can be a bit repetitive at times, but that might just be because I had to binge it in order to finish it in time for this review. But overall this is a really nice show. Check it out if you can. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  OK KO is well known for it's crossovers from Captain Planet to Mighty Magiswords. But this year, they created the ultimate crossover. And if we could just appreciate the dedication to the past that the crew for OK KO clearly had when making this crossover? You all know what I'm talking about right? OK KO meet Scooby-Doo and the Ghoul School Baby! That's right, the crossover that we've all been waiting for.

 ...  AND THEY SAID AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR WAS THE MOST AMBITIOUS CROSSOVER OF ALL TIME!  They were even allowed to use the original Hannah-Barbara model sheets. This is notable as I think it's the first time OK KO has ever actually used a model sheet. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  Hey, everybody loves Fallout 76, right? While we all agree the game is a flawless masterpiece, I just wish there was a way to somehow make it even better. Like, what if we got the twitch streamer Ninja, The rapper Logic, and RICK AND MORTY to all live stream the game together? Now THAT would be a lot of IQ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMZhhTOF4l8

 ...  aNd ThEy SaId ThAt AvEnGeRs: InFiItY wAr WaS tHe MoSt AmBiTiOuS cRoSsOvEr oF AlL tImE!! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I swear, Netflix won't be satisfied until they make at least one thousand original animated series a year. Here's She-Ra and the Princess of Power. Not to be confused with She-Ra: Princess of Power. That's the 80's show.  Good job naming your show there, Netflix! 

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OuFQxsRzUws

This is the cheesiest theme song ever, I love it so much!  Now, from what I understand, a lot of OG She-Ra fans don't like this reboot because it changed so much from the original. However, as someone who knows next to nothing about She-Ra or He-Man, I'm can't really comment on any inaccuracies. So I'm going to have to judge it as it's own thing.  She-Ra follows Adora, a child solider serving as force captain in The Horde army. But one day, after finding a magical sword in the forest, she gains the ability to transform into the Hero, She-Ra. Not long after that she finds out that, shock of all shock, the army that's literally called THE HORDE are actually the bad guys. so she defects from the Horde, and joins the Rebellion with her new friends Bow and Glimmer. Now Adora, along with a growing army of magical princesses, must find a way to fight back against the Horde. Meanwhile The Horde, specifically Adora adopted sister/possible...lover Catra try to bring her back to her "home."  I like this show. It's not amazing or anything. But it's a fun, girly action series. That's something I like about Netflix, it's one of the only channels out there that's not afraid to do action series. While the characters aren't that complex, they're fun and all have good chemistry together. Everybody feels like a real person. And this applies to both the Rebellion and the Horde. The show does a good job of juggling a lot of characters, while still keeping focus on the main cast.  AND YOU WANNA TALK SAD, LONELY LESBIANS! THIS WHOLE SHOW IS A SAD LONELY LESBIAN! Though did anyone else find it a bit strange that Adora's relationship with Catra seemingly bounces back and forth between "sister" and "lover." Like, I don't care which way you go with, but you really need to pick one or the other...  I know a lot of people are annoyed by the fact that a lot of classic designs and characters were changed to make the show more diverse. I didn't mind this to much. Adaptations change race, sexuality, and body types all the time. And I can only think of one time where it ever felt distracting, and even then it was brief. I never found it to bothersome.  Downsides though, the tone is kinda wonky at times. Nothing to noticeable, but sometimes it seems like the show is trying to be a serious action adventure, while other times it feels like it's trying to be campy like the 80's series. There's an episode called "Princess Prom" and it's one of the turning points in the season. Like, how am I suppose to take this seriously. But luckily it never gets that bad. I think the show is somewhat aware of a wink and nod nature to the show. It's a fun series. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  And unfortunately, we have to end the year on a downer note. As Stephen Hillenburg, creator of Spongebob, passed away at the age of 57 from ALS. I don't know what to say. I hate taking an entire human beings life and acting like there art is all that mattered. But as I don't know the man personally, I'll just say that he created one of the most well know fictional characters of all time. Spongebob is the first thing most people think of when you say Nickelodeon. And it's one of the few characters that I think will be remembered even a hundred years in the future, along the likes of Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, and Popeye. Even in death, his legacy will live on. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  And with that, we end 2018 year in review! It's been a hell of a wild ride! But how does the year rank overall? First, we'll start with my old favorite. Ranking the series in a way that'll end up regretting in a month! Keep in mind this is a rough list. List aren't really my specially, and each show offers and is going for it's own unique thing. So sometimes it's hard to compare them. Also these rankings could change in the following year as new episodes come out. But if I had to rank them... 9. Apple and Onion 8. Craig of the Creek 7. Final Space 6. Disenchantment 5. Nomad of Nowhere 4. She Ra and The Princess of Power 3. Ballmastrz 9006 2. Hilda 1. Dragon Prince  And keep in mind that, due to both a lack of time and lack of cable, there were a lot of shows I wasn't able to check out or just wasn't interested in discussing. Like these!  (Big City Greens, Harvey Street Kids, Mega Man: Fully Charged, Muppet Babies, Our Cartoon President (HAHA! Trump jokes! Never seen those before!), Paradise PD (Cause we definitely need another show from the makers of Brickleberry!), Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Star Wars Resistance, Summer Camp Island, Super Drags, The Adventures of Kid Danger, The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants, The Hollow, The Shivering Truth, Total Dramarama)  As for the grade, it's a bit tricky. If I had to go just by the shows, I'd give it a B. They're weren't many shows I LOVED but they're weren't many shows I outright hated. Most shows this year were "good." But if we decide to count all the drama, that would drag the year all the way down to a C. There was just so much drama that, along with a few other personal reasons, I found myself kinda falling out of the animation community as a whole this year. And when the drama actually starts making you wonder why you entered this community in the first place, that's not a good thing. So take that for what you will.  As for best network, I once again have to give it to Netflix. I know it's kinda unfair since I didn't watch any Nickelodeon or Disney shows this year. But with so many more shows and channels watching a show from each is getting harder and harder. And Netflix is just pumping out series after series. And most of them are pretty good. It feels like the people at Netflix are really given free range to do whatever they want over there. And we get some really unique series as a result. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  2018 may not have been the best year for animation, but I really think that 2019 is going to be a really good year. I mean just with what's already been announced we've got so many good series to look forward to! There's Infinity Train, Owl House, Amphibia, Los Casagrandes, Victor and Valentino, Gen: Lock, Harley Quinn, Young Justice Season Three, Theoretically Close Enough! Plus a lot more! Seriously, next year I'm either going to have to cut out a lot of anticipated series or make this a three part-er. Which would you prefer? And what did you think of 2018 for animation? What series were the best, and which were the worst? Leave any thoughts in the comments down bellow, I'd love to hear em. Fav, Follow, and comment if you like the review. And have a great new year. And let's all hope that 2019 can have a little less drama.  Um, isn't Thundercats Roar and High Guardian Spice coming out next year too? 2019 is going to be the biggest dumper fire ye-  Have a great day. (I do not own any of the images or videos in this review. All credit goes to there original owners.) 

  https://www.deviantart.com/joyofcrimeart/journal/2018-Year-in-REVIEW-Part-2-779673316 DA Link

L&L prompt - I know I keep coming to the cookie shop and for some reason it’s always your shift but don’t you dare judge me I need these for my sanity (where the LI is a baker)

I changed the Prompt a little. You didn’t specify an LI so I chose Alain. This is because I’m feeling in an Alain mood and he and Helena canonically bake. 

A little bell tinkles as I enter the small bakery. The business is tiny, no bigger than my apartment, and decorated in pretty teals and whites. There’s a glass counter lined against one wall full of small, sugary sweets that make my mouth water. Another counter by the door has small cakes decorated in pastel, icings and pretty swirls. The entire shop is full of a warm and welcoming ambience. 

The smell of something baking reaches my nose. I can smell cinnamon and pumpkin heating in an oven at the back. Fall is upon us and pumpkin spice suddenly becomes everyone’s favorite treat. 

My mouth waters at the scent of the thousands of treats around me. It’s been a really long time since I’ve been to a bakery like this. After a long week full of college midterms and exams, I need a pick me up. 

I glance at a glass counter and spot a small tray of cookies. They’re fall themed cookies. One is a brown leaf with chocolate icing, another is in the shape of a tiny pumpkin, and the final is in the shape of a tiny acorn. They’re so cute and I feel a smile rise on my lips. 

Suddenly, the back door opens. A tall man about my age emerges from the back. He wears a white apron over a blue sweater and has a tiny smear of flour on his face. 

He looks around the shop and spots me immediately. A polite smile rises on his face and he walks over. 

He’s good looking, I realize. He has pale blonde hair and light blue eyes. I feel a blush rise on my cheeks at the thought. 

“Can I help you?” The stranger inclines his head. 

I quickly snap out of my reverie and glance away. While the stranger is definitely attractive, my mind is occupied elsewhere. I drum my fingers across the glass counter. 

“I just wanted some cookies,” I reply. 

The stranger nods and slips behind the counter. He grabs a small white bag and I point to the fall ones.  

“This is a cute store. I didn’t realize Chicago had a place like this,” I voice out. 

I look around me again. The walls are painted in warm teals and white roses line the entrances. The entire shop seems like it was taken off a designer catalog. Whoever designed this place designed it with love. I’m definitely impressed. 

“Thanks. This place just opened up recently. I don’t get many customers,” the man admits. 

He slips the fall cookies into the white bag and uses a blue lace to tie them back. Silently, he moves to the counter and types away at a cash register. 

I slip my hands into my jacket pocket. There is a name badge pinned to his apron. In cursive letters, it reads ALAIN. 

The employee, Alain, reads me out my total. It comes out cheap and I quickly pay it with a swipe of my card. 

The bag feels warm in my hands, the cookies fresh out of the oven, and I hesitate by the door. 

This entire shop feels welcoming and I almost want to hang around longer. I offer Alain my attempt at a warm smile. It must work because he returns it and I see what looks like color blossom across his face. 

“Thanks. My name is Hannah,” I extend a hand. 

Alain takes it. His hands are warm in mine and my hand fits perfectly in his. “Alain. Come again.”

He nods his head at me in goodbye. I turn away and smile to myself. “I will.”

Alain ducks back into the back of the shop and I take the time to bite into my treats. They taste even better than I could have imagined. They’re a mixture of vanilla and cinnamon. After an entire college experience of microwaved meals and ramen, they’re the best thing I’ve ever had. 

I polish them off quickly and turn back to the shop. My smile grows as I catch a glimpse of Alain by the oven. Between his good looks and his baking, I think I will come here often. 

Sophie walks next to me as we walk through the streets of downtown Chicago. It is now a week past midterms and college won’t ease up. Professors have already begun new lessons and exams. I’m behind on several classes and the stress is eating me alive. 

Desperately, I want a distraction from the monotony of textbooks and studying. If I want to preserve my sanity, I need to get away from my dorm for a while. 

Luckily, Sophie has suggested an outing. She walks alongside of me window shopping. Every once in a while, she’ll point to a store and try to entice me to go in. We pass various sweet shops and candy stores but nothing interest me. 

I bite my cheek. 

“There’s a store by here that I wanted to show you,” I recall. We’re on the street leading up to the bakery I was at earlier. I can spot the tips of the store, pastel little decorations announcing it, and I pick up the pace. “It’s a really cute bakery. I came in the day before and really liked it.”

Sophie glances at me out of the corner of her eye. Amusement dances in her gaze and she smirks. “Since when do you like bakeries? I thought you were on a diet.”

I flush and stick my tongue out at her. “If you tried their stuff, you wouldn’t judge.”

I grab her hand and tug her in the direction of the store. 

Like before, the bell above the door chimes our arrival. The shop gives off a nice and welcoming aroma. For all her teasing, Sophie hushes as soon as we enter. Like me, she’s enchanted by the treats that line the walls. 

There’s a small rose cake by the door. It’s a tiny sponge cake modeled like a white rose and has real petals on the icing. I gravitate towards it as Sophie moves to another corner. A tiny bunny shaped cupcake has caught her eye. 

“This is cute,” Sophie admits. She presses her face against the glass counter. Her little bunny cupcake peers up at her. It is red velvet and modeled with icing. Whoever had made it had made it with a lot of patience. 

“I told you,” I retort. 

I grow quiet as Alain enters again. Like last week, he emerges from the back of the store. This time, he has a tray of new treats in his hand. They’re little festive treats made of marshmallows. There’s a tiny Frankenstein marshmallow treat and little ghost cakes. My mouth waters. 

I see the recognition on Alain’s face as he spots me. A soft smile plays on his lips and I have to resist the urge to squirm. I had almost forgotten how attractive he was. He looks like a magazine model come to life. His platinum hair is neatly combed and his blue eyes are accented by the blue of his sweatshirt. 

“You’re back,” he greets. He sounds bright as he says it. 

Sophie raises an eyebrow at me in question. I shrug and ignore her. My focus is on Alain. 

“I liked your treats last time,” I explain. 

I trace a pattern on the counter. My attention is still on the rose sponge cake to the side. How long had it taken him to make it? Each petal looks intricate and full of detail. Icing isn’t the most forgiving medium. 

“Do you like roses?” I ask. 

There are white roses everywhere as far as the eye can see. There’s some in vases by the entrance, there’s some interwoven into the counter, and there’s even some roses in the sign outside. The bakery smells of fresh bread and flowers all at once. 

Alain nods silently. He almost looks a little embarrassed to admit it as he scratches the back of his neck. 

“White roses are my favorite. I have a garden at home. Do you want that one?” He indicates at the white rose sponge cake. 

I nod and watch as he delicately lifts a piece with a spatula. Sophie comes up next to me. I am startled by her presence. I had almost forgotten she was there. 

She has a little tray with the Frankenstein marshmallow cake. The corner of her mouth is lifted up in a smirk and I can tell she has burning questions. 

I disregard her in favor of Alain as he rings me up. As he looks down at the register, some of his hair falls across his eyes. I resist the urge to brush it back. 

There’s something so open about him. It sends little pulses of electricity through my skin. I only half register the fact that I’m developing a slight crush on him. 

When he hands me the small plastic tray with the cake, our fingers brush each other. His hands are soft, warm, and my breath hitches. There’s some color to his cheeks as well. He withdraws his fingers and murmurs an apology. I can hear the small rise on his breath as our skin came into contact. 

Perhaps he finds me interesting too?

I open my mouth to say something, anything that might draw our exchange longer, but Sophie coughs. She brushes past me and motions for her own cake. There’s mischief in her gaze as she eyes us both. No doubt, my intuitive best friend has caught on to my feelings. 

Her presence is enough to break the spell. I look away awkwardly and mumble out a thank you. 

Sophie pays for her treat and soon we are out the door. 

I linger on the sidewalk for a moment and collect my thoughts. Sophie snorts next to me and pops a piece of her treat into her mouth. Her eyes brighten at the taste and she grins. 

“Well I can see why you like it there,” she murmurs. By the mischievous twinkle in her eyes, I don’t think she means the cake. 

A small headache is forming above my eyebrow as I study. My notes are a jumble of letters and ink stains. A calc test looms in my future and I am cramming as much as I can into my brain. 

The quad is sunny and I am sitting in a table scribbling notes down. A glass of water sits next to my text book and a little tray of Alain’s treats rest opposite of it. This one is a small cupcake with a Sakura pattern made out of icing. Alain had just made it when I had arrived. 

I pick at the wrapper absentmindedly and feel some of the tension leave my shoulders. Thus far, I’ve been going very often to that small bakery. Between the stress of college and my job, it is a major relief to be able to do something fun. 

And Alain is certainly easy on the eyes. 

I flush at the memory of him and miss Sophie sliding into the seat opposite of me. She has a tray of lunch in her hand and her phone in the other.  

“Fantasizing, Hannah?” She teases. She doesn’t miss the cupcake next to my work. 

I fake a laugh and lick at the icing. It’s sweet and some of my headache dissipates instantly. 

“I don’t know what you mean,” I murmur. 

Sophie winks at me and pulls on the napkin underneath my cupcake. It’s printed with white roses and Alain’s shop’s logo. 

“You go there often. How much money have you burned in that place anyway?” Sophie wonders. 

It’s a joke and I don’t take the bait. I look away from her as I finish the rest of my treat. 

“Hush. I like going there, it helps with stress.”

The next time I enter the bakery, there’s light rain. I shake some water off my coat and slip inside the shop. The lights are dim and I’m not alone this time. 

A young woman hangs by the counter as I enter. She’s wearing an apron and perched on a stool. A notebook is open before her and she scrawls things down in a neat cursive. I don’t see Alain anywhere. Some disappointment settles within me. 

“Can I help you?” The woman inquires. She has blonde hair that is left loose around her shoulders. Her blue eyes peer at me curiously. 

I do another sweep for Alain but don’t see him anywhere. Sullenly, I resign myself. He is probably not working today. 

The woman’s name badge reads HELENA. She hops off her stool as I approach the counter. 

“Just came for a treat,” I shrug. 

Now that Alain is not here, I don’t really know what to do. Helena waits expectantly for me and I point to a random treat. It’s a cake pop made to look like a scarecrow. 

Helena says nothing as she slips the treat in the bag. I bite the inside of my cheek. It only occurs to me then that I walked through the rain to get to the shop just to see Alain. 

I hang awkwardly as she rings me up. I want to ask her when Alain works, but that question might be creepy. Instead, I keep silent and look away. 

As Helena finishes up printing the receipt, the door opens behind me. I turn and see Alain entering the shop. 

He wears a dark coat and carries a box of supplies. Even with the coat on, his muscles flex under the strain. I am captivated by the sight. Rain has flattened his hair against his forehead and there’s color on his face from the chilly, autumn air. He looks handsome in every way. 

“Alain,” I greet. His name is out of my lips before I can stop myself. 

Alain starts at his name and spots me. The small smile I’ve grown used to lights his face. He inclines his head in a warm greeting. 

“Hannah,” he replies. 

He ducks behind the counter and sets the box at Helena’s feet. Dusting some rain off his coat, he leans against the counter. 

“Did you come for your usual?” He inquires. He slips his hands in his pocket. 

“Usual?” Helena asks. For some reason, she sounds a little surprised. She looks between the both of us. 

I flush and can’t come up with a response. Alain takes the notebook from Helena and continues whatever calculations she had been doing. 

“Yeah, Hannah comes in here every other day. She usually buys the stuff I make.” He indicates to the glass counter he’s leaning against. 

“The stuff you make?” I inquire. I take the bag still in Helena’s hand with my cake pop. 

Helena rests her chin on her hand. “Alain and I divide the store. The stuff by the door is mine, his are at the front. We both run this shop.”

I archive that to memory. Another blush rises on my cheeks. It seems like I have been buying things from Alain this entire time without meaning to. 

Alain must realize this too because he smiles. “Come back again. I’ll make you something warm next time.”

He gives me a lasting smile and spins on his heels. He disappears into the back of the store and I am left with Helena. Now that he is gone, I prepare to leave. 

I thank Helena and make it to the door before she clears her throat. I turn back and see her leaning against the wall. Her eyebrow is up and her mouth is pursed. There’s something in her gaze, a suspicion of some sort, and amusement lights her face. 

“An awful long walk through the rain for a cake pop,” she comments. 

I struggle to think of a reply but can’t come up with something in time. So, instead, I mumble something about having a sweet tooth and all but run out the store. 

Once outside, I gather my bearings. The encounter with Helena burns in my mind. For the first time, I feel uncomfortable. Helena and Alain seemed close, could they be dating? For some reason, that causes me to feel a sharp pain in my chest. 

Sophie lies propped against my bed as she chews on the end of her eraser. A bag of Alain’s treats is open between us and we have already munched our way through a pack of cookies modeled to look like bats. 

“You really like that store,” Sophie comments. 

“It’s a great store,” I shrug. I twirl the plastic bag around my fingers. Alain’s name is stamped on the side of it underneath his logo. I trace it idly with one finger. 

Sophie snorts into her hand and breaks her bat cookie in half. There’s some chocolate there and she licks at it. Her eyes are bright with teasing. 

“You’ve become a regular. I’m sure Alain owes half his sales to you,” she comments. 

I bite my cheek. My mind is still racing with thoughts of him. I’ve got it bad. I’ve had crushes before but this one seems different. I work on my bottom lip. 

Sophie giggles at my expression and stares at the bat cookie in the light. Some powdered sugar falls into her lap. 

“I wonder,” she begins and nudges me with her foot, “Which one do you think is sweeter?” 

I blink and realize that she’s addressing me. I shake myself out of my thoughts. “Which what?”

Immediately, I realize I’ve walked right into a trap. Sophie grins wickedly at me and holds up the bat cookie. “What do you think is sweeter? The treat or a kiss from Alain?”

“Sophie!” I scream. Embarrassment fills me and I throw a pillow at her. Her only response is shrieking laughter. 

Once more, I’m disappointed when I enter the store. Helena is on her shift and Alain is nowhere to be found. She raises an eyebrow as I enter and pauses on a page in her book. 

“Back again?” She comments. She stands from her chair. 

“Yeah,” I meekly reply. I feel awkward in her presence. By now, I think she’s caught on to my crush. The knowing look in her eye speaks volumes. 

I am reminded by my old worry suddenly and feel a little nervous. Could Alain and Helena be dating? They seemed awfully close last time. 

Helena automatically slides open the counter with Alain’s treats. By now she knows that I won’t choose one of hers. 

“Anything catch your eye?” She wonders. Her chin rests on her hand. 

I randomly point to a sponge cake. It’s in the shape of a pumpkin and it smells of cinnamon. Helena pulls it out. As she ties it into a baggy, she seems to remember something. 

“Oh, I forgot!” She turns away and dives into the back room. I frown and wait for her to return. When she comes back, she has a small box in her hand. It’s tied with a little teal bow and it smells of freshly baked bread. 

She hands it to me silently and rings me up. I stare at the box in confusion. 

“What’s this?” I ask. I realize she is only charging me for the cake. 

Helena finishes ringing me up. There’s a small smirk on her lips. “Alain made it this morning. He figured you’d stop by. Something about a new caramel cake? On the house.”

I take the box from her suddenly feeling a little rush of surprise. A blush settles on my cheeks and I look away from Helena lest she sees it. So Alain made something especially for me?

I take my purchases from Helena and hang by the door. I almost step out before my doubts return. Once more, I wonder if Alain and Helena are dating. To come out and ask it might be creepy, but I want to know. I can’t have any hopes if he’s taken. 

Steeling myself, I turn to Helena. She’s gone back to her book and her blonde hair spills across her eyes. I cough and she glances up. She seems surprised that I’m still here. 

“Helena…you and Alain aren’t…?” I carry off and turn redder than I’ve ever blushed before. It was a terrible idea to ever ask that. I regret the question as soon as it’s out of my mouth but the damage is done. 

Helena blinks quizzically up at me, gawks, and then snorts. Her hand presses to her mouth and she lets out a loud laugh. When she regains her bearings, she looks both horrified and amused. 

“Dating? Oh, God, no! Alain isn’t my type-nor is any other guy really. I prefer more feminine types,” she gives me a look full of meaning. 

Oh. 

I suddenly feel mortified and look away. I’ve made a fool out of myself. 

Helena continues to laugh and turns away from me. Her face is flushed with color and she hides her mouth with her hand. 

“Besides,” she continues, “I’m sure he has eyes for someone else.”

She gives me a meaningful look then turns back to her book. My breath hitches. 

Does she mean…?

According to Sophie and Helena, I stop by the store too often. By now, I’ve realized it too. My dorm is full of little wrappers from treats and I’ve all but memorized the inventory of the shop and Alain and Helena’s work schedule. Alain works in the mornings and Helena at night. I make sure to swing by earlier and earlier each day to ensure I catch Alain when he’s on his shift. 

I bite the inside of my cheek as I enter the store. The little bell rings above head and I spot Alain seated at the counter. He’s decorating a red velvet cake with colorful swirls of icing. It looks like a cardinal. 

“That’s pretty,” I reply. 

Alain doesn’t even startle as I enter. By now, I’m sure he’s grown used to my visits. He glances at me as he puts the finishing touches on the cake. 

“Morning, Hannah,” he beams. 

I match his smile equally and peer at the cake. It looks just like a cardinal. I half expect the little bird to come to life. 

I smile at his creation then remember what I came here for. Alain had given me a caramel cake last time. It had been a small cake in the shape of a teddy bear. Sophie had squealed and hummed the wedding march when I had opened it. I had punished her by not giving her a piece. 

Feeling slightly shy, I cough into my hand. 

“I wanted to thank you for the cake you made me the other day,” I state. 

Alain smiles softly and a small pinch of color rises on his face. In the dim lighting, I can barely make out his blush. 

My heart begins to race. I can almost hear Sophie clearing her throat mentally. A “get on with it” sort of thing. When she had seen me grab my purse, she had known exactly where I was headed. There had been a long pep talk where she had convinced me to ask Alain out. Between Sophie and Helena, I was beginning to have hope that Alain liked me back. 

Come on, Hannah, just ask him. 

I struggle to come up with something as Alain wraps a small cupcake modeled after a unicorn for me. My heart is pounding in my chest. 

“I’m glad you liked the cake. I found the recipe and thought I’d share it with you,” Alain explains. His bangs hide his eyes from view. There’s some red at the tips of his ears. It’s cute. 

I bite my lip and steel myself. Now or never. 

Just as Alain is ringing up my order, I gather my courage. “I know I come to your shop often but don’t judge me.” 

The phrase spills out of my lips in a rush. Alain halts and blinks. I almost wince at my own wording. 

Real smooth, Hannah.  

Before Alain can wonder, I press on. Adrenaline is rushing under my skin and I ride the high. I need a little courage to get the last bit out. 

“I like coming here. It’s a nice ambience and you’re really nice,” I feign nonchalance. It’s kind of impossible to feign being cool as a cucumber when your face is as red as a tomato, but I am half convinced I manage. 

Alain blinks again and the corner of his mouth rises. It’s something between a pleased smirk and a smile. A little rush of excitement travels down my spine. It’s a nice look on him. 

“I don’t judge,” he hands me the package, “in fact, I like you coming by. I often look forward to your visits.”

He looks away then and I catch the blush climbing up his neck. It’s cute and the realization that I am not alone in my shyness gives me another confidence boost. I suddenly find myself feeling a little giddy. 

“Would you like to get a coffee some time?” I tilt my head. It’s a leap of faith to ask him out, but I think there’s something there. The air between us is always charged with something strong. Perhaps it’s not a one sided crush. 

Alain registers my words and his smile brightens. It’s a radiant sight that makes my pulse speed up. Silently, he hands me the receipt. Our fingers brush once more and I feel another spark there. Like our first encounter, skin to skin contact feels electric. Now I am fully convinced that there is something there between us. I am really intrigued by him. 

“I’d like that,” Alain replies. He keeps his fingers on mine for a little longer than necessary and then moves away. 

I take a step back and feel giddy again. Relief and joy courses through me. I did it!

“I’ll see you then,” I wave. Alain waves back and I exit the shop. 

It occurs to me outside that I didn’t ask for his number. Just as I am about to go back in, I catch the sight of the receipt. Alain has typed out his phone number and printed it on the receipt. The paper is time stamped to a minute before I asked him out. There’s a little message typed out that reads, ‘I like you’.

I giggle slightly to myself and pocket the receipt. 

So I wasn’t the only one prepping myself to ask for a date. 

Is abortion the only pro-life issue?

Is abortion the only pro-life issue?  This isn't the first time I've written about abortion.  Or about other issues that should be of concern to Christians.  But it hit me during a conversation earlier today.  Why is it that so many Christians make abortion the litmus test - seemingly the only pro-life issue for Christians?  It makes no sense to me.  None at all. Is abortion the only pro-life issue? is article #1 in the series: Abortion vs Pro-life Issues Series. Click button to view titles for entire series Is abortion a pro-life issue?

Well, yes, abortion is a pro-life issue.  But is it the only pro-life issue?  We'll go through the abortion part of what I believe pro-life should be about.  In quite a bit of detail.  Not from the medical side.  Nothing gory.  Also nothing on when a fetus has a so-called moment where it becomes a living person. Instead, this is strictly a Biblical viewpoint of both the woman (or girl) having the abortion.  And also the Christian whose primary goal is to stop the abortion from taking place. If a woman has an abortion, obviously there will be no living baby as a result of the pregnancy.  I leave it to your conscience - something between you and whatever "god" you believe in.  For the Christian reader though - this is between you and Jesus. So, assuming that most Christians consider this to be killing, murder, ending a potential life, whatever you'd like to call it - you most likely do consider abortion to be a sin. But what about that sin?  Will Jesus forgive a woman for having an abortion?  With apologies to some Catholics who think the answer is no - sorry but the Biblical answer is yes.  No, the Bible doesn't say that anywhere.  You won't find the word abortion in the Bible.  However, consider a couple passages. Is abortion murder First of all, if you think abortion is murder, which most Christians probably do, then what about when Jesus said: Is considering abortion the same as murder? Guess what?  Remember this part of what Jesus said?   22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. Sure, we remember the murder part.  Most of us have never murdered anyone.  But how many of us can say honestly, to God, that we've never done the other things?  We'd all better hope Jesus forgives every one of those things. Also consider this passage.  For the Catholic readers, I have something following the passage to more clearly define the difference between mortal and venial sins. Can someone who had an abortion be forgiven? There's a lot of good stuff in that passage, but for this topic, notice: Mt 12:31 And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. Every sin will be forgiven, except one - blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The Greek word for blaspheme that Matthew wrote is: 988 βλασφημία n f. From 989; TDNT 1:621; TDNTA 107; GK 1060; 19 occurrences; AV translates as “blasphemy” 16 times, “railing” twice, and “evil speaking” once. 1 slander, detraction, speech injurious, to another’s good name. 2 impious and reproachful speech injurious to divine majesty.  Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship. So let's remember that, and also look at something Paul wrote. Living as Children of Light Eph 4:17 So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. 18 They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. 19 Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more. Eph 4:20 You, however, did not come to know Christ that way. 21 Surely you heard of him and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. 22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. Eph 4:25 Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to his neighbor, for we are all members of one body. 26 “In your anger do not sin” : Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold. 28 He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with his own hands, that he may have something to share with those in need. Eph 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Eph 5:1 Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. ... Are there other sins committed in the abortion / anti-abortion process? Once again, there's a lot in that passage - and I even left off the last portion since it wasn't needed for context.  However, notice this paragraph: Eph 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Paul wrote:  do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.  In his book The Forgotten God, Francis Chan views this as refusing the promptings of the Holy Spirit too many times.  Not like there's an absolute number, but when it gets to the point where the routine normal thing to do is saying no to God.  I really like the book - and I agree that saying no too often would grieve the Holy Spirit. Keep in mind that we are to be disciples of Jesus, followers.  And that the Holy Spirit, as Paul also writes, is the mind of Christ.  Therefore, continuously saying no to the Holy Spirit amounts to essentially refusing to follow Jesus. That leads to a conclusion about the relationship between the two passages we just looked at - one by Jesus and one by Paul.  But let's look at the Greek word that we read as "grieve". 3076 λυπέω v. From 3077; TDNT 4:313; TDNTA 540; GK 3382; 26 occurrences; AV translates as “be sorrowful” six times, “grieve” six times, “make sorry” six times, “be sorry” three times, “sorrow” three times, “cause grief” once, and “be in heaviness” once. 1 to make sorrowful. 2 to affect with sadness, cause grief, to throw into sorrow. 3 to grieve, offend. 4 to make one uneasy, cause him a scruple.  Strong, J. (1995). Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship. So - if we compare the two passages, and the two Greek words (not necessarily the current meaning of the English words) - it seems reasonable that grieve the Holy Spirit is at least part of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. Frequently saying "no!" to Jesus seems to fit under evil speaking.  Seems like it to me, anyway. Next, for the Catholic readers.  You may think that mortal sins are not forgiven.  The excerpt below is from the second edition of The Catechism of the Catholic Church. IV. THE GRAVITY OF SIN: MORTAL AND VENIAL SIN 1854 Sins are rightly evaluated according to their gravity. The distinction between mortal and venial sin, already evident in Scripture, became part of the tradition of the Church. It is corroborated by human experience. 1855 Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God's law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him. Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it. 1856 Mortal sin, by attacking the vital principle within us - that is, charity - necessitates a new initiative of God's mercy and a conversion of heart which is normally accomplished within the setting of the sacrament of reconciliation: When the will sets itself upon something that is of its nature incompatible with the charity that orients man toward his ultimate end, then the sin is mortal by its very object . . . whether it contradicts the love of God, such as blasphemy or perjury, or the love of neighbor, such as homicide or adultery. . . . But when the sinner's will is set upon something that of its nature involves a disorder, but is not opposed to the love of God and neighbor, such as thoughtless chatter or immoderate laughter and the like, such sins are venial.  1857 For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent."  1858 Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother." The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger. 1859 Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God's law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin. 1860 Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man. The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest. 1861 Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God. 1862 One commits venial sin when, in a less serious matter, he does not observe the standard prescribed by the moral law, or when he disobeys the moral law in a grave matter, but without full knowledge or without complete consent. 1863 Venial sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for created goods; it impedes the soul's progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin. However venial sin does not break the covenant with God. With God's grace it is humanly reparable. "Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness."  While he is in the flesh, man cannot help but have at least some light sins. But do not despise these sins which we call "light": if you take them for light when you weigh them, tremble when you count them. A number of light objects makes a great mass; a number of drops fills a river; a number of grains makes a heap. What then is our hope? Above all, confession. 1864 "Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven." There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit. Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss. Now, having said all that, notice #1864, at the end of it all. 1864 "Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven." There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit. Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss. What is the real unforgivable sin in Catholicism? The Catholic Catechism uses the same verse as I did, from the passage we looked at, titled Murder in the NIV.  The very same one.  And if you read the intent of the Catechism, rather than getting stuck on what we might think it says, the result is exactly what I pointed out earlier. There is one - repeat one - unforgivable sin.  The mortal sins talked about in the Catholic church are the ones that lead us to a point of saying "no!" to the Holy Spirit.  Saying "no!" to Jesus.  It's not any one, two, or any other absolute limiting number of "mortal" sins that's unforgivable.  Rather, the unforgivable thing is when we start saying "no!" to the Holy Spirit without even a second thought. Finally. I also want to point out what the Catechism says about venial sins. Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin. However venial sin does not break the covenant with God. With God's grace it is humanly reparable. "Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness."  Venial sin, in and of itself, isn't something that will separate us from God.  However, they can have the effect of leading us to think they're pretty much nothing to worry about.  We just commit them, time after time after time ...  Next thing you know, we're on to bigger and worse things.  Then we end up saying "no!" more and more often.  Sound familiar?  It's about the condition of our hearts, not about the actual sin.  Why isn't it about the sin?  Simple, it's because every sin is forgivable, except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.  Period.   What about the deadly sins? I have to say, this has been a good refresher for me.  Having left the Catholic Church many, many years ago, it's hard to remember all the gory details of something I no longer follow.   Anyway, here's the thing on those so-called deadly sins, from Christianity.com. The seven deadly sins, as identified by Pope Gregory 1 in the late sixth century, are considered categories of sin: pride, envy, wrath, gluttony, lust, sloth, and greed. Many think the deadly seven are recorded in the Bible. Surprisingly, even though each of the seven is a sin, this list is not contained in Scripture. The history of the sin categorization began in the year 400. Evargius Ponticus a fourth century monk, described eight evils to resist. Two centuries later Pope Gregory 1, refined the inventory to seven. Almost every sin can be placed in one of these seven categories. Isaiah 14:13-14 tells us pride and selfishness are related to each of the seven and are viewed as the root causes of all sin. The Christianity site also addresses the question of whether these "deadly" sins can be forgiven. Yes, God can forgive all sins. No sin is greater or more deadly than another (Romans 6:23). There are some sins that bear more earthly consequences than others. For instance, murder has larger consequences than sinful anger. No matter the sin, the eternal consequences are the same— a separation from a holy God. But no sin too big or too bad that God cannot forgive (1 John 1:9). Rather than make you look them up, here are the referenced verses, with the entire passage for context. Slaves to Righteousness Ro 6:15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. Ro 6:19 I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Again, the specific verse is the last one: 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. The wages of sin is death.  Ultimately, my question is going to be about who is / are the sinner(s) in this whole abortion process - whether one actually happens or not. What's the difference between actually having an abortion versus considering one? In that light, let's also not forget what Jesus said about thinking something evil versus actually doing it. So adultery isn't really any different from looking at a woman the wrong way.  In that light, is having an abortion any different from seriously considering having one?  You may think, what's the big deal?  Surely the woman who actually had an abortion is worse than the one who didn't.  However, Jesus says that's not true.  Both have the same impact.  If anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart then it only seems reasonable that anyone who seriously considers having an abortion has already had an abortion in their heart. And if that's the case, what has been accomplished by preventing the abortion?  Some Christians might feel better about themselves for having prevented one, but isn't the "heart" of the problem long before the abortion actually takes place?  Hold that thought as we continue.   Here's the other passage referenced in the excerpt about the deadly sins.  The full passage is even longer, but I've kept enough of it go give context to what John is saying.  Remember - the quoted verse is 1Jn 1:9. Walking in the Light 1Jn 1:5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1Jn 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. 1Jn 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 1Jn 2:3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. 1Jn 2:7 Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. 1Jn 2:9 Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him. ...  Are there unconfessed sins in the abortion / anti-abortion process? In light of what we've seen, and of what's coming next, pay attention to that verse: 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. My question will be - who has sinned in the process of having an abortion?  And just as importantly, in the ways that Christians often act in the process of trying to prevent an abortion?  And while we're at it - after the abortion?  Or even after an abortion doesn't take place?  Food for thought.  Some of those will be addressed later in this series. I said at the very beginning that we'd look at two things in here.   ... this is strictly a Biblical viewpoint of both the woman (or girl) having the abortion.  And also the Christian whose primary goal is to stop the abortion from taking place. So after all this, what about the Christian whose primary goal is to stop the abortion?  If that's you, I have a question for you.  By now, you know I consider abortion to be a sin.  You also know that I believe the Bible says even considering having an abortion is a sin.  And that the penalties for either one - considering an abortion and actually having one - are the same?  I wrote a little about that in If you stop abortion – so what?  I'll be going into greater detail later in this series.  Just want to get my viewpoint up front right away.  Before I ask that question.  Because the question is - do you think there's any sin involved in preventing an abortion and then walking away?  Depending on the statistics you read, it seems that about half of the pregnancies are done by unwed mothers.  About 3/4ths of the total number of abortions are for poor people.  Based on the numbers, many of those unwed mothers are, therefore, also poor. Conclusion - Is abortion the only pro-life issue? Now, consider something Jesus said. I don't want you to get lost in the weeds here, but there's something about when Jesus said  that you may not be aware of.  It's not obvious in the English translation.   You probably think it only says not to prevent the little children from coming to Jesus.  In the Greek, it actually says we should help them.  If we think about that for a moment - it actually makes more sense that we should help them. Of course, where it gets really messy is when we consider who is the "child".  Of course, in my discussion - it's not the fetus / baby.  It's the mother.  The mother who wants to follow Jesus - but is in a place where she doesn't know what to do.  She's not married.  She's too poor to support a baby.  And she can't work two or three part-time low paying jobs and still take care of her baby.  She doesn't know what to do.  She doesn't really want to have an abortion.  But doesn't know what else to do, because the Christians are screaming at her to not have the abortion.  But then if she has the baby, she also knows those many of those same Christians have, under the name of their political party, made it pretty much impossible for her to support the child.  And, few of them will offer any kind of help. Tell me.  Who all sinned in that scenario? We'll get into the answers to that question in the next part of this series on abortion. Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay   Read the full article

(( “literally get off your high horse for like two seconds please”

tagging: @roseredmutant

Begin log:

aberrantcadenza Hey. Wanted to message you privately because it's more polite and sincere, etc etc, anyway. Sorry for being excessively condescending in return, and for making you think I was threatening physical violence. I take full blame on that one, I didn't specify. Although it does make me think you must get a lot of threats like that, since I hadn't previously expressed any violent intentions. Which sucks.

roseredmutant Th9ugh y9ur ap9l9gy is suspici9us in nature, I will take n9te 9f y9ur attempt at sincerity and clarity in this matter and that y9u had stated that y9u were the 9ne at fault. Which is perfectly fine, and needed f9r th9se 9f us wh9 need t9 in 9rder t9 6etter themselves.

aberrantcadenza What makes it suspicious?

roseredmutant I'd seen y9u and the vague general mass 9f individuals that seemed disc9ntent with my arrival had g9tten sc9lded 6y what seems t9 6e a jade 6l99ded tr9ll? Questi9na6le 9n it's 9wn, 6ut I digress. She had menti9ned that she didn't appr9ve 9f h9w 9thers had 6een acting t9wards me and y9u were quick t9, in a sense, retract y9ur claws and su6mit y9urself t9 her wish that I'd have 6een treated as 9ne my age is expected t9 6e treated. Which all leads me t9 6elieve that y9u're ap9l9gizing less f9r my sake and m9re 6ecause y9u experience mild, 6egrudging regret 9ver y9ur dispr9p9rti9nate reacti9ns t9 my stating things that are truthful.

aberrantcadenza :II Okay, I'm going to lay this out for you as calmly and nicely as I can. My apology is genuine. No one else is going to see this. I'm not going to tell anyone I did it. I'm here, actually apologizing for going over the top with my reaction to you, as I said and as you seem to understand. However: Please be aware that that doesn't mean what you said was good, true or well-intentioned.

roseredmutant If it's as y9u say, Meulin.

aberrantcadenza What kind of a grudge do you have against your universe's Meulin? What did she even do to you?

roseredmutant There's n9 grudge, try n9t t9 misinterpret my 6egrudging ackn9wledgement 9f her. I simply d9n't care f9r the tr9ll.

aberrantcadenza Why?

roseredmutant I d9n't see why I'd need a reas9n n9t t9 like s9me9ne

aberrantcadenza You don't *need* a reason, no, but *something* must have made you dislike her. Is disliking people just your default?

roseredmutant It's hardly any 9f y9ur c9ncern if it is 9r isn't, especially seeing as h9w y9u have an alm9st n9nexistent effect 9n me and my life 6ey9nd 9nline c9nversati9n.

aberrantcadenza You don't talk to a lot of people, do you?

roseredmutant I really d9n't like repeating myself.

aberrantcadenza Okay, you study a lot of things. Have you gotten to um... what is it. Economics?

roseredmutant N9t yet.

aberrantcadenza High aspirations, huh. Okay, well that won't work, so let me try explaining this without the excess stuff. When you go to the market to buy an oblong greenfruit - or whatever food you like - you give the shopkeep money in exchange. You are giving up something to get something. In your mind, that oblong greenfruit is worth the price of whatever you're paying. You make the sacrifice of that money to get the object of your desire - in this case, a fruit. In a conversation you have to make compromises like that too. Yeah, there are going to be things people don't NEED to know, but if you only told people what they NEEDED to know, you'd never get anywhere. People talk to you casually because they *want* to get to know you. If you want them to continue talking to you, sometimes you have to make a sacrifice or two. The good news is, you can choose what that sacrifice is. So instead of going off about not needed to know whatever and a half, you could... maybe direct the conversation to a more comfortable place? Or just say "I don't want to say", which is a little nicer and easier to empathize with. The fact that you're still talking to anyone means you must have some kind of drive for social interaction. You keep choosing to engage. No one is keeping you here, you're choosing to be here. Which leads me to a bigger question: What is it that you want?

roseredmutant ... Well. Firstly, I can reply and n9t want t9 necessarily want their interacti9n. I had 6een taught that n9t replying t9 individuals was much w9rse than replying and 6eing insincere with y9ur resp9nces.

aberrantcadenza And just endure the interaction? Were you not also taught how to politely disengage?

roseredmutant It is cust9mary f9r 9ne 9f my hue t9 all9w 9thers t9 speak as much as they like and t9 all9w them t9 take c9ntr9l 9f the c9nversati9n, in which they decide when a c9nversati9n 6egins (usually) and when a c9nversati9n c9ncludes (always), usually either 6y dismissing themselves 9r 6y dismissing me and all9wing me t9 d9 as I need t9 d9 sh9uld I 6e needed elsewhere.

aberrantcadenza Oh... No no okay Okay um. Hmm. This. Just... humor me for a second? How would you describe yourself?

roseredmutant Why?

aberrantcadenza Because we're having a conversation, and I want to know so I know where to start.

roseredmutant A y9ung sch9lar cursed with having t9 educate the warmer castes and li6erating the freed9m 9f the 9verw9rked c99l 6l99ds.

aberrantcadenza Okay, that's a good start. What about your place in society? How do you view yourself in comparison to another troll?

roseredmutant I d9n't.

aberrantcadenza Do you see yourself as a troll?

roseredmutant Why w9uldn't I?

aberrantcadenza Some trolls don't, for a variety of reasons. Sometimes it has to do with their circumstances. An enslaved troll might think so, for instance... or a helmed troll. Or someone who was simply made to feel so because they were treated as inferior, subtrollian because of their hue. Do you?

roseredmutant I d9n't see why I w9uld 9r why h9w 9thers treat me w9uld matter. 6i9l9gically I am a tr9ll, th9ugh I'm 9f a unique hue that very few tr9lls have ever had 6ef9re in 6rief 6leeps 9f hist9ry. This hue, th9ugh it d9es c9me at the c9st 9f a traditi9nally warm 6l99ded lifestyle, d9esn't negate my status as a tr9ll, n9r d9es it mean I am treated as anything lesser than.

aberrantcadenza So you do see yourself as a troll?

roseredmutant I'd just answered.

aberrantcadenza And I'm clarifying, to make sure I understand your answer. It's generally considered polite to help others when they ask for clarification, and allows the conversation to go smoother when all parties are sure they are on the same proverbial book leaf.

roseredmutant Yes, I am a tr9ll.

aberrantcadenza And you see yourself as an individual with thoughts and feelings, worthy of existing and being treated with respect?

roseredmutant Why w9uld I n9t? In any case, literally n9ne 9f this matters and I need t9 f9cus 9n eating m9rning meal.

aberrantcadenza There could be several reasons. Do you? Why do you need to... focus.....

roseredmutant 6ecause my culler is here and we usually discuss 9ur 6usiness when she eats here.

aberrantcadenza Oh. Okay. Well... just to leave you something to get back to, I guess. You aren't obligated to allow others to walk all over you. You are, surprisingly, a troll worthy of existing, taking up space and taking part in conversation. You may have been made to feel that you are inferior to your highblood counterparts - or really anyone, if they decide to drive the "mutantblood" thing home. (And no, no one told me, I just happen to be well acquainted with the owner of this blog. I'm not going to tell anyone if that's a concern for you.) If you are ever uncomfortable with a conversation, you can get yourself out of it by making an excuse to leave. Talking about focusing on morning meal is a good one, I guess... or well, it's the same idea, but needs a little work on the execution. You can also try things like "I'm behind on my schoolfeeding work" or "I need to attend to some matters in the Hive" or "I'm late to meet a friend" - as long as you don't specify who, they can't say you're lying. Just say "you wouldn't know them" or name one of your friends you know wouldn't give you away.

roseredmutant I'm g9ing t9 sleep, I cann9t stay awake mucch l9nger. I will 9ffer my reply in the late evening after my classes.

aberrantcadenza :00 Oh... Alright. Take care, sleep well, I hope your classes go well.

About

『 Seung-ri Moon / Male MC 』

Name: Seung-ri Moon

文 (Moon) [Family/last name, meaning: writing] 승리 (Seung-ri) [Given name, meaning: victory]

Age: 21

Birthday: April 7th

Gender/Sex: Male

Occupation: RFA Party Coordinator

Height: 5′8″

Hair: Short, wavy/messy, brown, often in his eyes.

Eyes: Brown.

Physique: A bit thin and lanky.

Scars: Read after note at the very bottom. TW: abuse. 

Personality/Attitude: He’s a very easygoing, laid back, go-with-the-flow kind of person. While he is quite lazy, Seung-ri has a good heart and a kind, caring personality. A bit of a forced optimist, he’s like a ray of sunshine on the exterior. He’s very friendly and open. 

However, Seung-ri has other sides to him, depending on the situation, and while he may seem laid back, he is very stubborn. Seung-ri never gives up on what he wants. He is very determined. 

Skills/Talents: Seung-ri is something of a lazy bum, devoid of most talent, but he has a few key talents. One of these is, of course, his skills at coordinating the RFA parties, which reveals the fact that he is very good with people. He’s also a very happy person, generally, and can bring a smile to almost anyone’s face, so another talent of his is making people happy. He can also cook, and sleep excessive amounts. If sleeping were a competitive sport, Seung-ri would be a champion. 

Flaws/weaknesses: He has no real goals or direction in life. He doesn’t know when to give up or let go, even when it hurts him. He’s extremely pessimistic about his past and very insecure about himself. He has confidence, but lacks self esteem, usually trying to brush it off when it becomes noticeable. As stated before, he sleeps excessive amounts and lives a very slothful life, though he seems content that way.

Favourites/Likes:

Food- Seung-ri loves food in general. He eats excessive amounts. However, he has a particular liking for rice.

Animal- Pandas! They sleep and eat all day, just like him! Plus they’re cute!

Music Genre- Anything upbeat and happy, his playlists are a very good pick-me-up

Movie Genre- Romcoms

Color- Beige. 

Most Hated/Dislikes: His mother. His body. 

Fears: Being alone. 

Religion/Beliefs: None, but he does believe in a God. 

Sexual Preference: Bisexual

Background/history:

Seung-ri was the only child his mother had at a young age, out of wedlock. He never knew his father. Seung-ri was seen as a burden by his mother, who was very mentally unstable, and was physically abused until the age of 16, when his aunt took him in. She was much kinder than his mother, but distant. He was able to graduate from high school. He moved out and got a job that barely supported his living needs before being lead to Rika’s apartment and joining the RFA, after which he promptly quit his job. 

Relationships with the RFA:

Saeyoung Choi: [Note: Saeyoung is my main ship with Seung-ri. However, I am very selective with Saeyoung roleplayers.]

Seung-ri gets along very well with Saeyoung, despite the fact that Saeyoung initially convinced the entire RFA that he was a woman. He jokes and flirts a lot with him before they get closer.

Jaehee Kang: He is friendly with Jaehee and supportive of her.

Jumin Han: He is also very friendly toward Jumin and happy to tease Zen with him on the rare occasions when Jumin does so. He respects him a lot, though he’s a little intimidated by him. 

Yoosung Kim: He’s good friends with Yoosung, but teases him often, and often refers to him affectionately as “cute puppy Yoosung”.

Zen / Ryu Hyun: He enjoys teasing Zen. Unsure of his relationship with Zen after Zen was devastated upon finding out that Seung-ri is not, in fact, a girl.

V / Jihyun Kim (past): He was friendly with V and often told Yoosung he was being too hard on him.

V / Jihyun Kim (post): ??? Distrustful. 

Rika: He hates her for everything she’s done.

Saeran (past): He wasn’t ever very afraid of this “Unknown” person, as Seung-ri is fearless to a fault.

Saeran (post): He dotes on him constantly and almost acts like his mother. He’s very affectionate toward him and refers to him as his “brother-in-law”. 

Who I ship him with: Saeyoung Choi, mainly, but I also ship him with Jumin, Jaehee, Yoosung, Saeran, and Zen. However, unless specified that you would like to ship, his partner is Saeyoung.

Family:

Mother (status: alive) ...

Father (status: ???)

Sister (status: alive, 5 years old) Doesn’t know she exists in most roleplays.

Aunt (status: alive) Out of contact.

Scars (cont.): [TW, abuse] 

He has very prominent burn scars on his thighs from his mother sitting him on a stove as a child. He will not allow his thighs to be seen unless he trusts someone completely. 

A few memes I’ve done about him with extended info (WARNING: NSFW AHEAD) Also, the grammar on these is much less official my apologies! The information still rings true.:

HEADCANON MEME

What they smell like: Vanilla with something more masculine like sandalwood.

How they sleep (sleeping position, schedule, etc): Always. He's always sleeping. But he sleeps on his stomach with his limbs spread out everywhere. Like he has the weirdest sleeping positions ever when he's alone.

What music they enjoy: He likes just about any song as long as it's happy and uplifting. So all his playlists are really pleasant. A good pick-me-up.

How much time they spend getting ready every morning: About half an hour give or take.

Their favorite thing to collect: He doesn't really collect anything, but if he did, it might be a bunch of panda related stuff.

Left or right-handed: Right handed.

Religion (if any): He doesn't consider himself religious, but he does believe in a God.

Favorite sport: Competitive sleeping??? Jk he probably likes bowling!

Favorite touristy thing to do when traveling (museums, local food, sightseeing, etc): Local food would be his main interest. Then getting a nice hotel with comfy beds.

Favorite kind of weather: Rainy weather, so he has an excuse to stay inside all day.

The carnival/arcade game they always win without fail: IT'S ALREADY CANON THAT HE'S A SKEE BALL MASTER

What does their bedroom look like?: His bedroom is oddly clean. He has really thick curtains that are good for blocking light, and his bed if covered in pillows and fuzzy blankets and a comforter. Plus a few plushies. He has a row of candles so that he can burn one whenever he likes. He enjoys his room smelling nice. It's a very cozy and relaxing place in general.

Do they have any daily rituals?: Mostly just his infamous three hour long naps.

Do they exercise, and if so, what do they do? How often?: Never. Like. Ever. This boy is a string bean. No muscle.

What would they do if they needed to make dinner but the kitchen was busy?: He'd order takeout?

Cleanliness habits (personal, workspace, etc.): He's actually a pretty clean person???

Eating habits and sample daily menu: He makes sure to have three proper meals a day, but snacks a lot in between. Also he eats a lot.

Favorite way to waste time and feelings surrounding wasting time: SLEEP!!! And wasting time is totally fine by him. Take life slowly!

Favorite indulgence and feelings surrounding indulging: ...Sleep??

Makeup?: He doesn't wear it, no. But he definitely wouldn't mind wearing it.

Favorite book genre?: Historical fiction or biographies sometimes, scifi other times.

Sexual Orientation? And, regardless of own orientation, thoughts on sexual orientation in general?: He's bisexual but leans more toward men. His thoughts on sexuality are really open. He's a very laid back guy.

Physical abnormalities? (Both visible and not, including injuries/disabilities, long-term illnesses, food-intolerances, etc.): Burn scars on his thighs.

Preferred mode of dress and rituals surrounding dress: Two words: Oversized sweaters. But he also likes lots of layers. His favorite colors to wear are earthy and neutral colors.

Favorite beverage?: Coffee.

What do they think about before falling asleep at night?: Probably something stupid. Like if plants have feelings.

Turn-ons? Turn-offs?: Turn ons- good sense of humor, dependable, likes napping with him

Turn offs: ??????

Unless you mean sexual. Then he really likes biting and eye contact. And pet play. And bondage in general- Overstimulation and orgasm denial are wonderful.

Given a blank piece of paper, a pencil, and nothing to do, what would happen?: PANDA DOODLES

Is there one subject of study that they excel at? Or do they even care about intellectual pursuits at all?: He doesn't care about intellectual pursuits, but he's fairly good at everything. A jack of all trades, master of none.

How do they see themselves 5 years from today?: He prefers to live in the present, but he probably has plans with his romantic partner of course.

What is their biggest regret?: Never telling anyone about what his mother did to him as a child.

Thoughts on privacy? (Are they a private person, or are they prone to ‘TMI’?): He can be very TMI lol, he believes in being open.

What makes them feel guilty?: Not having hobbies or any real goals.

Are they more analytical or more emotional in their decision-making?: Both, leaning a little more toward emotion.

Would they consider themselves a Type A or Type B personality?: TYPE B DEFINITELY

What recharges them when they’re feeling drained?: Sleep. Coffee. Cuddles. Kisses.

Would you say that they have a superiority-complex? Inferiority-complex? Neither?: Inferiority complex maybe.

How misanthropic are they?: Not very.

Hobbies?: Does sleep count? He also likes cooking and reading.

How far did they get in formal education?: High school graduate.

Do they express their thoughts through words or deeds?: Both.

If they were to fall in love, who (or what) is their ideal?: See turn-ons above. I ideally ship him with Saeyoung. Jumin is a close second. Yoosung is cute. V and Saeran are great. Zen is ok. edit: I FORGOT JAEHEE HE'D LOVE HER

How do they express love?: SO MUCH PHYSICAL AFFECTION. He wants to cuddle and kiss and nap with you. But he'll also cook for you. He's dedicated and stubborn.

If this person were to get into a fist fight, what is their fighting style like?: Flailing around and trying to run????

NSFW AHEAD!!!!!

Headcanon Game - A to Z (NSFW) A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex):

After sex, Seung-ri is really cuddly, but he pretty much falls asleep instantly after he decides you're finished.

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s):

His favorite body part of his??? That's a hard one. Probably his butt. Saeyoung is his main partner, and unsurprisingly, Saeyoung's ass is also his favorite.

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person):

He actually doesn't like the taste of cum. He doesn't like it when people cum in his mouth so he avoids it.

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs)

He saved pics of Saeyoung in drag from the chatroom and regularly masturbates to them. Nasty boy.

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?)

For this, it usually depends on the rp. But Seung-ri has had sex before. He definitely knows what he's doing.

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual)

Receiving partner on top/riding. Whether he's giving or receiving, he likes the receiving partner on top. He can be in the mood for other positions though.

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc)

It depends on who he's with. He's usually serious though. With Saeyoung, he makes occasional jokes.

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.)

He likes to keep it totally bare. Often shaves his arms and legs, too. Fuckin gay.

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…)

He's very romantic. He greatly prefers romantic sex. Lots of kisses, lots of gentle loving touches.

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon)

He likes to masturbate with toys when he's less lazy. In that case, his favorite is a vibrator but. Usually he's too lazy to use his toys. Like. 90% of his faps happen just because he's bored.

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks)

Pet play. Eye contact. Bondage. Cross dressing. Overstimulation. Orgasm denial.

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do)

In bed. He loves beds.

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going)

Uh. His partners turn him on, really.

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs)

Hurting his partners, having his partners hurt him. Choking, spanking.

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc)

He prefers receiving oral but is always willing to give. He's a little clumsy but loves gagging so he'll get very into it. His enthusiasm makes up for his clumsiness.

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.)

It depends entirely on the mood. He prefers slow and sensual.

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.)

Doesn't like them. Only when absolutely necessary.

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.)

He's always willing to experiment if nobody gets hurt.

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…)

THIS BOY. THIS BOY JUST KEEPS GOING. He's evil. He won't give you a break. He goes for quite a few rounds before he's satisfied.

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?)

Yes, he owns toys. He has a vibrator and an ordinary dildo. The vibrator is remote control.

He'd definitely use toys on his partners. Especially a remote control vibrator in public or something. Nasty nasty. Or putting a vibrator on the highest setting in his partner and kicking back and watching a movie while they suffer. HE'S EVIL. Don't give him reason to "punish" you.

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease)

A TON. HE LIKES TO TEASE WAY TOO MUCH. IT SHOULDN'T BE LEGAL.

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make)

It depends on his partner and what position he's in and where they're at and how comfortable he is. It can range from quiet moans to fuckin screams

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice)

He has a thing for those buttplugs with the little tails on them. So cute.

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words)

...What????? Do you mean how big he is or? I'd say Seung-ri's a good 6 inches, good thickness. He's not crazy hung but he's p good.

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?)

It depends but it can be VERY high or he doesn't wanna have sex for months because he's too lazy. If you offer to do all the work he'll always say yes though.

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

He'll get comfortable and then INSTANTLY. Boom. Asleep.

MORE MAY OR MAY NOT BE ADDED IN THE FUTURE.

Our Very Worst Social Media Fails: The Expert Roundup

With so many so-called social media gurus out there, it’s hard for mere mortals not to have “imposter syndrome.”

Should we be trusted with others’ social media accounts? Should call ourselves an expert on our Website if we’re not perfect?

The truth is, even the most experienced social media managers have made at least one gigantic mistake in their career. Here are seven professionals with their tales to back me up.

 Dorien Morin-van Dam, More in Media

A few years back I met a prospective client whose budget for managing Facebook only allowed for management, not for advertising. At the intake meeting I addressed this concern, as well as the fact that there was barely any content on their website so there was very little content for me to use.

Despite this, they offered me my going management rate, and I accepted the six month project. To date, this has been my biggest fail.

I got no traction; no engagement and no new likes on the Facebook page. I didn’t have a budget to create video content or run ad campaigns or even run a contest.

Then I did something I am not proud of. As a last-ditch effort in the last two months, I took a portion of my fee to run a few ads to see if throwing a bit of money would in the end make a difference. It didn’t.

To off-set and justify me taking money out of my own pocket, all posts in those last two months were recycled posts from the previous months. The Facebook page was a fail and so was working with this client. This experience served as a lesson to me to go with my gut to not take on clients who ‘want it all’ but aren’t willing to spend the money to get there.

Charli Day, Charli Says

Back in 2010, I was fairly new to social media management and was in charge of a financial services page with a high international fan count but low engagement.

I decided that I would run a social media contest to increase likes, shares, and overall engagement. Back then, I wasn’t really aware of the need to use page apps to run contests. Contest apps are an absolute must, not only for legally collecting data, but also for regulating entries and ensuring that users adhere to the terms and conditions of your contest. I had no idea.

So my contest was as follows. “Take a great photo of you holding the company logo and the one with the most likes will win” (another Facebook page violation). The idea was to show fans around the world and the prize was a top of the range Canon camera. Of course, the fans started submitting photos to the page and at the beginning it was great. Beautiful photos of India, Italy, Australia, all with our company logo.

I was pretty pleased with myself.

But then, I noticed that some of the photos were getting an insane amount of likes. If the average on each photo was 50, these were getting 10,000. I realized that they were using bots to bump up their likes to win the prize. With no way to control the number of votes or entries, or any way to prove that the rules had been broken (because I hadn’t written any), I sat helplessly watching as some of the least inspiring photos gained thousands of likes.

When the time came to announce the winner, the photo was an obviously photoshopped background of the leaning Tower of Pisa with a little guy from Indonesia holding our logo. It was a poor quality and obviously tampered with image. I announced him as the winner and then spent the net week receiving furious messages from the other genuine participants who accused him of faking the photo likes and our brand of not properly controlling the contest.

To make matters worse (again no terms and conditions) the winner then went on to demand a camera with a much higher value than the company wanted to give. Our company lawyers eventually concluded that as we had simply specified a “top of the range” camera, and not written a maximum value, we had to give it to him. Therefore the prize cost 3,000 Euros more than it should have done.

It was a huge lesson for me. ALWAYS use page apps for contests. Plan every single detail and make sure your terms and conditions are signed off by legal!

Daniel Pinne, Organik Social

I managed the social accounts for a large professional sports team with hundreds of thousands of followers across all social media channels. Sports an emotional industry and sometimes you can get lost in the support of the team’s fans and the action on field. There was a lot of feedback about the quality of commentary and I sent the following tweet with a comment about one of the commentators in particular.

Thanks to the 16,828 fans that turned up tonight and didn’t have to listen to Tim Gilbert commentate. Worth the ticket price #purplepride

— Melbourne Storm (@storm) July 5, 2013

Understandably, there were mixed reactions. The fans of the team (and the primary audience) understood the humor of it and supported the tweet. Others in the media were very critical, labeling it unprofessional and came to the commentator’s support.

In hindsight, I certainly got caught up in the emotion of it all a bit much. It was a spur of the moment decision that I should have asked others in my team if they thought it was appropriate, they would have advised otherwise.

I spoke to the commentator in person, apologized and followed up afterwards. We all moved on and learned from it, but it wasn’t one of my finest memories managing social media.

Amanda Webb, Spiderworking

I made a lot of mistakes when I started blogging. I used to write terrible headlines, I wasn’t thinking about the importance of getting people to read, I just assumed they would come.

My first blog covered environmental issues and one classic headline was “Water Labeling.” I spent ages writing the post but I’m pretty sure few people read it. I’m always working at writing better headlines, each time I do I see the payback in traffic.

Hiral Rana, E2M Solutions

In one of my previous firms, I was juggling several responsibilities in social media marketing and SEO. As a part of an in-house project back then, we forgot to set the end-date of our Facebook ad campaign. Thankfully, this got us more attention, leads, and everything in between.

I quickly learned how to use automated rules in the Facebook Ads Manager. All I have to do is enter my maximum spending amount. This gives me more control of the ad budget even if I forget to set the end date again!

Anastasia Melet, Wave by Animatron

Perhaps our biggest social media fail happened during a Facebook Live broadcast. Our Live featured a well-staged video, a part of which had been recorded in advance, to be operated with a special broadcasting software.

Everyone was excited and also a bit nervous preparing for the Live. During the Live, a social media team member pressed the wrong button and… cut the video almost a minute too early.

There was no option to resume the video.

The first thing we did was to quickly address the questions we started receiving in the comments from the viewers. I think it was the prompt reaction of our social media team that helped de-escalate the possible disappointment of our followers. Later on, we sent an email explaining the situation and offering an incentive as a “We Care” token.

Our followers are a very loyal and understanding audience and we had almost no negative effect caused by the incident. We learnt this lesson and were fully prepared for the next Live. So to fail-proof your social media initiatives, I would advise to be especially careful with new technologies, keep anxiety under control, and always have a backup plan.

Rivka Hodgkinson, Meet Rivka

One of my clients is a real estate agent, so I try to make the content interesting by posting local goings-on, news, and events.

To simplify that process, I have a Google Alert set up for the city and state that she is located in. One day while going through my email, I was excited to see an Alert post about a famous celebrity who broke down and was taken out to lunch and helped by some local guys with a pickup truck.

This is perfect, I thought! A recognizable name, and a fun story that happened right in her area! It didn’t mention the name of the restaurant, but it did mention a street name, so I thought I could get some great engagement by asking people to guess which local treasure they stopped to eat.

Then it all fell apart.

I was so excited about the article, I told my husband about it. “I am pretty sure that is a scam dear,” was his response. He had heard the same story with a different celebrity for his hometown. Sure enough, I did a Google search of the longer text, and it was an oft-repeated urban legend. Despite being from a reputable looking website, I had been bamboozled.

Don’t get me wrong. I got engagement — just not the kind I anticipated. With several people within minutes telling me it was a scam, providing links to Snopes, and one share by someone as excited about the story as I was. And so the cycle of misinformation continues.

Needless to say, not a finer moment. I hid it from the timeline and thanked the helpful citizens who pointed out my mistake.

Lesson learned? ALWAYS check sources on factual stuff. I should have known better when it wasn’t one of the handful of local news media outlets that I recognize the names of. Now, I am sure to only post news stories from a brand I know and trust, or do a little more digging into the who and what of the origin.

What social media fail are you most embarrassed about? Share your sad tale in the comments!

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