#I love event planner mickey | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

depressedstressedlemonzest · 2 years

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51 + 67? love your writing by the way 🥰

Thank you so much! I appreciate you saying that and reading my stuff!

Okay fanfic trope mashup based on this post

With prompts Accidently Married/ Character in Peril requested by @suchagallabitch

Mickey Milkovich was NOT freaking out, he was just mentally acrobatting his options.

As the top rated Event Planner in Chicago his reputation was in peril if he couldn't pull off this wedding.

Fucking TikTok, fucking influencers, fucking Instagram.

How did social media go from Myspace and fun shit on tumblr to people making money off of shit they posted? It boggled his mind.

He had been booked as a wedding planner for an Instagram makeup artist named Kember Bay, and her basketball player boyfriend Hutch Kline. And they wanted all the stops pulled, practically a fucking Cirque de Solei show.

But if he bombed this he would be out, done with the business, it would ruin him and he would be back doing kiddie parties dressed as a super hero.

At the moment there was only a couple days before the wedding, they were in the middle of doing the pre rehearsal dinner where Mickey usually had two people act out the wedding while the bride and groom watched and noted anything they wanted changed before the actual rehearsal dinner. Then at the real rehearsal dinner the bride and groom would practice and usually it all went without a hitch.

Except the subs for the prehearsal didn't show.

Mickey was practically running through the corridor looking for someone, anyone who would step in for him, but everyone seemed to be out of the hotel or in bed because he didn't see a soul.

He passed the hall that led to the gym and then stuttered to a stop a tall redhead was coming out of the gym.

"Yo Red, wanna make a hundred bucks?" Mickey called to him to get his attention.

The redhead looked around to see where the words had come from, then seeing Mickey he raised an eyebrow and walked towards him. Mickey's breath caught in his throat as he got a better look of the redhead. He was tall, taller than he looked initially, Mickey barely came up to his nose, his hair had a curl to it, he was spattered with freckles, and his eyes were the color of clovers.

"Did you just ask if I wanted to make a hundred bucks?" He asked, his voice confused.

Fuck.

"Yes, I'm in a jam, my subs for the event I'm planning didn't show and I need someone to just follow my cues for like an hour. I'll give you two hundred if you just come with me now." Mickey wasn't trying to come off as desperate, but that's what it sounded like.

"Uh sure, I guess. Want me to change first? I just finished a workout and I'm a fucking mess." He asked gesturing to himself, he was in a pair of long basketball shorts and a black tank top that clung to him tightly.

Mickey shook his head, "There's no time, it starts in five minutes, and these little influencer bitches will kill my business if i piss them off in any way."

The redhead nodded, "Alright, lead the way then." He said with a shrug.

Mickey grabbed the redhead's wrist and broke out into a run pulling him along behind him.

They reached the ballroom just as Kember and Hutch did, Mickey nearly causing the redhead to run into him as he stopped abruptly.

"Mr. Milkovich, we are excited to see the prehearsal." Kember greeted him with a hug and air kisses, Mickey fucking hated how people thought that was fancy acting, but she was signing his paycheck so he wasn't gonna complain.

"Thank you Kember, Can I get you and Hutch anything to drink?" Mickey asked looking between them.

They shook their heads no, but the redhead seemed to need some water so Mickey went to the small mini fridge that was hidden behind the ballroom bar and grabbed some water for him.

"Thanks." He murmured taking the bottle from Mickey, his fingertips brushing Mickey's.

"Thank you man, I need the help, what's your name?" Mickey asked trying not to mentally catalogue every bulging muscle that the tank top clung to on the ginger.

"Ian, Ian Gallagher." he said with a nod.

"Thank you Ian, alright I'm gonna go over the plan with those two, then you and me are gonna act it out, okay?" Mickey asked.

Ian nodded, "Sure."

Mickey smiled, his heart warm as he turned to Kember and Hutch.

"Alright, so we'll start at the other end of the ballroom, Ian will come down the walkway here and walk down to the platform here, we'll each climb a side, then the German Mennonite minister Guengerich that Hutch's grandfather picked out, who is here," Mickey nodded to the older man standing at the risers.

"Will recite the words, we'll recite the vows, then that part of the prehearsal is done and then we'll play the song set and taste test the cupcakes that are prepared. Sound good?" Mickey asked looking between Kember, Hutch, and Ian, glad to see all of them nodding.

Mickey nodded at Ian to go to the end of the walkway while he waited at the platform, he started some music on his bluetooth speaker using the phone in his pocket.

Kember and Hutch turned to watch Ian walk up the aisle, Mickey couldn't help but watch him either, he was a fire touched god among men, he was freckled and tall and fucking beautiful.

Mickey gulped as Ian made it to the platform and waited at the side Mickey indicated. As the chorus on the song began Ian and Mickey both began to climb the steps to the risers until they reached the top and stopped in front of Father Guengerich.

Mickey had learned that day that Father Guengerich didn't speak engligh, just German, so he had google translated as much as he could about the prehearsal and run through with the vows.

Father Guengerich nodded and pulled a bible out of his pocket as well as a piece of paper, he waved it and a pen out to Mickey.

"He needs to know our names so he can say em right or some shit." Mickey said scribbling his name on the line the pastor had indicated then passed it to Ian who did the same.

Father Geungerich took the paper back and slid it into the pages of his bible, then he began speaking, nodding at Mickey and Ian's hands indicating for them to hold each others.

Mickey reached for Ian's as he turned and held Mickey's, Mickey felt a breath escape him at the warmth encompassing him.

Father Guengerich's voice was flitting in and out of Mickey's head, he didn't speak a fucking word of German, and as far as he knew he didn't speak english, which didn't seem to matter because he started speaking in Plautdietsch.

After he said some words he looked at Ian, who seemed to get the hint, "Ian Gallagher," he said softly, his hand gripping Mickey tighter.

Father Guengerich then nodded at Mickey who gulped and said, "Mikhailo Milkovich."

Father Guengerich smiled and then recited some more words and then gestured to Ian.

"I do." Ian smiled.

Mickey chuckled, knowing that they were probably supposed to say more, but I do did it enough to keep it going and wrap it up quickly.

Father Geungerich looked from Ian to Mickey who cleared his throat, "I do."

Father Geungerich said a few more words and then made some hand gestures, then nodded his head, as if letting Mickey and Ian know it was okay to kiss.

Mickey blushed furiously, but he got on his tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss to Ian's cheek.

He stepped back looking at him, catching the dreamy look in his green eyes.

They stood there looking for each other for a moment before Father Guengerich cleared his throat.

Ian and Mickey looked at him, he was producing a piece of paper with his signature at the bottom.

Mickey, confused, took the paper and read it over, his mouth falling open witch terror and shock.

"What is it?" Ian asked trying to look over the paper over Mickey's shoulder.

"That motherfucker actually married us!" Mickey couldn't help but yelp looking up at Ian in shock.

"What?!" Ian shouted reaching for the paper in Mickey's hands.

"He must not have understood that this was a dry run, fuck now I've got to get a new marriage certificate for the actual wedding tomorrow, then get another fucker in here that can understand him and translate shit. Then..." Mickey trailed off looking up at Ian.

"Fuck, we're married." He said softly.

Ian raised an eyebrow, "And you didn't even propose." He clucked his tongue in mock disappointment shaking his head from side to side.

Mickey eyed the smart ass redhead then felt a blush swirling in his cheeks, "Well, you didn't get us rings." he pointed out with a grin.

"Guess my new husband and I will have to go out and find rings and have dinner after our wedding is over." Ian said unable to suppress a giggle.

Mickey laughed, "Is my husband asking me out on a date?" he asked arching his eyebrows at Ian.

"That's how you keep the romance alive babe, keep dating even after you're married." Ian grinned mischieviously.

"Alright hot stuff, let me wrap this shit up here then we can go on a date." Mickey challenged.

"Sounds good to me husband." Ian said leaning down and pressing a kiss to Mickey's forehead.

"Fuck, I'm in trouble." Mickey muttered to himself.

#I loved this #and yes I got the bit from an episode of the office #but it's a good way to do it!#I love event planner mickey #you know that he got the GOLD CHIAVARIS WITH THE WHITE CUSHIONS for as many events as he could #fanfic trope mashup #shameless #gallavich #ian gallagher #mickey milkovich #asks #and hutch is german should've mentioned that in the ficlet but im too tired to go back and do it now #hence the german mennonite pastor

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gardenerian · 2 years

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I have a soft spot for the thought of Lip handling the accounting and logistics software for Gallavich Security(yes Mickey, that's the name, learn it, love it, live it) and maybe some of the actual accounting and payroll too.

AND maybe he kits out the trucks with some cool security tech and communications systems.

When they're just starting out he also does some mechanic work on the trucks as a side hustle, but as the company gets more established he spends more and more time doing that other stuff until they're an actual company that he's working for pretty much full time.

Mickey deals with the logistics stuff (my beautiful event planner), pick ups, drop offs, scheduling, etc.

Ian handles the clients (everybody loves Ian), although maybe at some point he goes back to school or something. (Mickey only steps in if someone is being particularly difficult, trying to jerk them around.)

But anyway, Mickey and Lip pretty much become business partners, and they annoy the fuck out of each other sometimes, but it kind of holds them accountable. Ian and Tammi only occasionally have to sit them down at the kitchen table and make them use their words.

i will never call it gallavich security askjhf but i do love the idea of lip helping them get their footing! lip and mickey as business partners is opening up a whole new world of thoughts - that's so interesting. i love the idea of ian going back to school once they are more establishing, i'm into the idea of lip stepping in to help out. i liked the thought of lip getting back into tech stuff - but he could easily do that in a situation like this. HMMM. much to think about! this is awesome.

#sorry for the late response!#i love this #mel answers

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gallavichfanficlibrary · 3 years

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hey! i was wondering if you could recommend any 20k one shot fics? i feel like i've read practically all of them and was wondering if there were any you think are must reads. thank you :))

Hey! I mean... you sure it’s gotta be a one-shot? People don’t always post 20k as one chapter ^^ But here you go, these are all around 20k:

While We're Making Other (People's) Plans - Post S10. Mickey gets roped into being a wedding planner.

Hysterical Light - Fantasy AU. When strange things begin happening a few blocks away at the Gallagher house, it’s clear that the events have a magical origin. Ian suspects a curse, and looks for answers at the only other cursed location he knows of.

Lost in Translation - Ian is in the Army, he’s temporarily deployed in the Ukraine. He meets Mickey, who doesn’t seem to understand English.

The Silence Won't be as Lonely - Ian meets deaf Mickey in college.

His Fucking Family - 6 times Mickey Milkovich is there for a Gallagher +1 time they're all there for him.

Resisting Arrest - Mickey is a cop who arrests Ian for a drunken bar fight.

ghosts that we knew - Post S10. Mickey’s mom is alive and turns up on the Gallagher's front porch shortly after Ian and Mickey get married.

something about him - Soccer AU. Ian is the new goalie on the team, and Mickey’s not happy about it.

If you’re okay with reading a 20k mulri-chaps/series that still read as one story, check out these:

Maintenance - Sci-fi AU. Ian and Mickey are on a spaceship.

All This Time - “But the guy...the one we think is my actual dad. I kinda want to go see him. Thought maybe you'd come with me?”

Scenes from a Marriage - Post S10. Hilarity, love and banter ensue as Ian and Mickey navigate their life together as husbands.

Tuesday - au where everything's in black and white until you meet your soulmate.

Also, we have a tag for stories that are 20k-50k long :)

#au #20k to 50k #favorites

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santiagonex · 4 years

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As 2020 is nearing, it’s time to see what 2019 has brought us when it comes to gay representation in tv shows and movies. Below ‘read more’, there’s a whole list of tv shows/ships/movies (with pictures and basic description) which include/are about gay (used as an umbrella term) men and couples (so basically have gay storylines and at least one gay person is a main character of the show/movie).

Since I’m a gay man, I keep up mostly with mlm, if I included wlw as well, I don’t think the list would be complete with my lack of knowledge, so sorry about that. I’m pretty sure there are more competent people who can do that instead of me.

Total Count of TV Shows in the list: 65 Total Count of Movies in the list: 27

Anyways, here we go.

TV SHOWS

TV SHOWS WITH TITULAR/CENTRAL GAY CHARACTERS/SHIPS

The Other Two: the funniest most-relatable show centered around three siblings – one of them is gay (left). A must-watch for sure. He’s pretty much the hugest part of the show, there are some love storyline (...and they were roomates), some self-loving moments and iconic lines. Just watch it, you won’t regret it.

Sex Education: show about two best friends, one of them (right) is gay. His name is Eric and he gets involved with his enemy Adam (left). Amazing show.

Special: show about a gay man Ryan (right) with mild cerebral palsy, who wants to live his life as an independent person to the fullest. Easy and short show to watch.

Druck (German SKAM Remake): if you don’t know SKAM, it’s pretty much a show where each season is devoted to one character. Third season of German SKAM aired this year and it was revolved around a gay guy (left). For the first time in SKAM history, the main character’s love interest is a trans guy (right).

Skam France (French SKAM Remake): the French version of SKAM had a gay season this year as well.

WTFock (Belgian SKAM Remake): Belgium has a season focused on the main gay character this year as well.

El corazón nunca se equivoca: I’m pretty sure you’ve heard of Aristemo from ‘Mi marido tiene más familia’. Well, they’d already aired the first season of the new spin-off centered around their lives in college (I think).

Merlí: Sapere Aude: Bruno (left) and Pol (right) fans, it’s time to make some noise. Brunol is coming back because Pol is getting a spin-off which will be taking place in university. Bruno will be in it as well. First episode airs on 5th of December this year.

Pose: second season of Ryan Murphy’s popular show with main transgender and gay characters has aired this year.

The Politician: another show from Ryan Murphy was created. The main protagonist of the show (right) is played by Ben Platt and he’s gay. The show contains many LGBT+ main characters.

Tales of the City: the revival of the Tales of the City sequence of miniseries aired this year. The show includes many LGBT+ storylines.

The L Word: Generation Q: the revival of The L Word show will air on 8th of December this year. The show is mainly about lesbians, but based on trailer, there will be a gay couple included as well.

Years and Years: very futuristic show with a political message. Includes both mlm and wlw as main characters.

The Red Line: the plot of this show involves a white cop in Chicago who mistakenly shoots and kills a black doctor named Harrison. Harrison had a husband (left) and daughter (right). The show deals with the consequences of the event.

Now Apocalypse: all I’m gonna say is that Beck from Victorious got to make out with Scott from Teen Wolf, Matty from Awkward and Jake from Glee. The show was renewed for second season and later this statement was taken back and it got cancelled – which I guess says enough about the show.

This Close: the show is about two best friends who are deaf. One of them (left) is gay and has a storyline and spicy scenes with the guy on the right and some other guys as well.

Schitt’s Creek: David (right) and Patrick (left) aka the cutest softest couple of all time. The last season of the show will air next air. Watch the show if you wanna laugh and watch the healthiest gay couple on tv. They also got engaged this year, which was beautiful.

NEW TV SHOWS (1 SEASON) WITH MAIN GAY CHARACTERS/SHIPS

Daybreak: both main characters and basically on different sides of the battles. Who wouldn’t want to watch enemies being in love Romeo & Juliet style.

El Juego de las Llaves (The Game of Keys): very interesting and fun show to follow, the one on the right is the main character. He’s closeted, has a girlfriend and gradually realizes there’s something else out there. Nice kissing scenes, plus one very spicy scene. Doesn’t hurt that the guy on the left he will be involved with looks like a dollar store Chris Evans if you squint hard enough.

Five Bedrooms: 5 strangers moves in. The guy in the middle is gay. His mom is a very traditional Indian woman who just wants grandchildren. The whole show is heart-warming and sad at times. The guy gets fair share of screentime and some love interests including a cop from the neighbourhood.

Made In Heaven: Indian show that follows the lives of Tara and Karan (left), two wedding planners in Delhi running an agency named Made in Heaven. Karan is gay. Very progressive show with spicy gay scenes.

What/If: haven’t seen the show yet but friends said these two have a nice storyline in the show. Threesome included.

Bonding: show about two best friends Pete (left) and Tiff (right). Pete is gay. They basically... do freaky shit for work... umm. Just watch trailer or something.

Osmosis: I have no idea what the show is about but the guy on the left is set to betrying to find a soulmate or something. I think I remember seeing some spicy scenes.

Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists: basically some gay romance with the guy on the right and someone else. The one on the left dies the first episode so I did not even bother after that. But you can be the judge of it.

Doom Patrol: Larry (left) is a superhero, kinda. There’s something haunting his past, though. Something that involves being gay.

The Umbrella Academy: Klaus (left) my favorite character. He’s kind of a hero along with his other siblings. There’s a deep gay storyling along the way.

Weird City: anyways... all I’m gonna say is that Dylan O’Brien played a gay for one episode in a show. Wish there wasn’t this huge ugly age difference.

Roswell, New Mexico: cowboys, aliens, bisexuality, homosexuality and all that. Didn’t really see the show but there’s a lot of content with these two.

Good Trouble: never saw the sow but the guy on the picture is a main bisexual characters. There are some mlm scenes.

The Society: Grizz (right) and Sam (left) literally the highlight of the show. Just watch it, it is worth to see it for both of them. Sam is also deaf. The show is basically about a bunch of teenagers getting stuck in a town with no one else in or around.

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The High School Musical tv show has just started airing on Disney+. Carlos (left) is confirmed to be gay and to be getting a nice development this season which will probably involve Seb (right) as well.

The Heights: Australian tv show. Sully (left) is gay. Got a thing for Ash (right) at the start. Then things were messy. Then they suddenly kissed. And the things are messy again.

El Club (The Club): very interesting show. The gave these two really (like REALLY) spicy scenes. Some romantic stuff. But there’s really not much depth in my option. Check and see.

Volevo fare la rockstar: didn’t see it but it’s an Italian show and there’s a romantic storyline between these two.

No Good Nick: Jeremy (right) came out this year on this sitcom. Nice and very weid sitcom. Unfortunately it was cancelled, but the way they handled his gay storyline was rather nice.

World on Fire: follows lives of ordinary people from Britain, Poland, France, Germany and the USA during World War II. Two of them are gay. And yeah one of those two is Will from sense8.

TV SHOWS (1 SEASON+) WITH MAIN GAY CHARACTERS/SHIPS

Andi Mack: the show that made history. Andi Mack is a Disney Channel show and for the first time in Disney Channel history, Cyrus (right) came out using the word ‘gay’ and made it official with the recurring character TJ (left) this year. The two-season slow-burn was really worth it.

Shadowhunters: Malec got married this year. Yay.

Grey’s Anatomy: Levi and Nico still going strong.

La Casa de las Flores (The House of Flowers): despite the first season making it seem like it was the end for Diego and Julián, that’s not the case. In season 2, they’re stronger than ever, the scenes are spicier than ever and the show is gayer than ever.

Baby: first season was mostly focused on Fabio (face on right) realizing he’s gay. The second season has shockingly showed us that Brando (face on left) is gay as well. Very toxic ship so if you enjoy Gallavich this is probably for you.

Élite: Omar and Ander continuing their journey.

Shameless: Ian (up) and Mickey (down) came back to Shameless season 10 as main characters. About time.

Station 19: new love interest (left, a deaf character portrayed by a deaf actor) was introduced for Travis (right) in the season 2 finale. Let’s see what happens in season 3, which airs in 2020.

Ackley Bridge: they pretty much baited us with Cory (left) and Naveed (right) this season. They stayed just friends, but Naveed found a love interest, so that’s nice.

Find Me In Paris: Never saw the show, but Jeff (on the picture) is gay and his love interest Isaac gets introduced in second season that aired this year.

13 Reasons Why: Tony and Caleb going strong. It was also revealed that Monty (right) is a closeted gay and had a storyline with Winston (left). There’s probably more to come with them in next season.

Insatiable: unfortunately they didn’t serve much Bob (right) & Bob this year. But they introduced detective Rudy (left) and there were some scenes and twists and turns. Whatever.

Riverdale: I don’t care. Kevin (left) is still there. There are some gay charcters based on wiki, but yeah. Crumbs, I bet. Whatever.

Charité: second season (which has the two main gay characters) takes place in Berlin in 1943. You don’t need to watch the first season at all, to understand the second one with them, it’s basically a stand-alone.

Animal Kingdom: Deran and Adrian’s story coming to an end?

The Magicians: Well, they killed off the central bi character Quentin (on the picture), so fuck them.

How to Get Away With Murder: Connor (left) and Oliver (right) still there.

Dear White People: haven’t seen it, but Lionel (on the picture) is still there and he’s gay.

Zoe Valentine: there’s this web series and these two have a storyline in second season that aired this year.

SOAP OPERAS AND TELENOVELAS

Sturm der Liebe: Boris (left) and Tobias (right) are married and lived happily ever after. Really cute and sometimes dramatic storyline overall. Check it out.

Malhação: Vidas Brasileiras: Santiago (left) and Michael (right) had a gay storyline but the show ended this year.

Malhação: Toda Forma de Amar: Guga (right) and Serginho (left) have a gay storyline in the show.

Eastenders: Ben (left) and Callum’s (right) storyline has begun this year.

Neighbours: David (right) and Aaron (left) aka husbands still in the soap.

REALITY SHOWS

Queer Eye: five gay guys helping others. Season 3, 4 and a special have aired this year.

Are You the One?: for the first time in the show’s history, season 8 of this dating reality show had an all-sexually fluid cast this year. Which means mlm and wlw and anything else. Really fun show.

MOVIES

Benjamin: don’t even remember what the movie was about but I rec because it was cute and I mean hello Merlin.

Boy Erased: homosexuality and religion. Has a Troye Sivan in it. Very decent movie.

And Then We Danced: my favorite gay movie of this year. All the things they had to do to be able to film this in homophobic Georgia (the country)... just wow. It’s a must-watch.

Who Would You Take to a Deserted Island?: didn’t know what to expect from this movie. It is based on a play and it shows. Watch and be the judge of it. The acting was really highlight of the movie.

This Is Not Berlin: hasn’t seen it yet since it was just officially released. But it is included in an LGBT+ section so... hopefully they didn’ lie.

Rocketman: movie about Elton John with Taron Egerton and Richard Madden... I mean, phew.

Un Rubio (The Blonde One): gonna watch this, apparently it’s amazing based on what some of my mutuals have said.

The Death and Life of John F. Donovan: Jon Snow being gay and kissing Chris Zylka. Made by Xavier Dolan. A literal tripple threat. Genuinely enjoyed the movie and the soundtrack.

Ranchlands: haven’t seen this but my friend said it’s amazing.

Steam Room Stories: this movie was something... Eating Out levels of ‘I-’ but without all the sex. I guess watch this if you are bored.

Posledice (Consequences): very spicy and intriguing movie. Slovenia snapped with this one.

Papi Chulo: didn’t like this movie and the concept of it but... you can check out and see for yourself.

Dolor y gloria (Pain and Glory): Antonio Banderas kissing a man. Hopefully it really is a gay-related movie because I haven’t seen it yet.

Die Stropers (The Harvesters): brilliant cinematography but I expected much more from the movie.

Giant Little Ones: what happens when you’re into your best friend’s sister but the best friend gives you a BJ. Well... watch and see.

Kanarie (Canary): a war musical about a small town boy who gets chosen to serve his compulsory two year military training in the South African Defence Force Choir and Concert. Loved the involvement of the Boy George music, aesthetic and story. One of my favorites this year.

Luciérnagas (Fireflies): haven’t seen it yet but the description says that the main gay character (right) “flees from persecution in Iran and ends up living in the tropical town of Veracruz.”

El Angel: haven’t seen it but apparently there are some implications it was lowkey gay... so yeah.

Dear Ex: from wiki “San Lian was devastated when she discovered her late ex-husband left his insurance payout to his male partner Ah Jie. She decided to bring her son to fight for their rights, but her son instead chose to stand on the other person's side.” Will watch this soon, sounds interesting.

Sauvage: one of the best gay movies this year. Don’t know how to describe it so let me copy paste the description “ Léo is a sex worker who uses drugs whilst longing for love.”

Sócrates: haven’t seen it yet as it was just released.

Marilyn: story about a farm worker who discovers his sexuality in a hostile environment. Didn’t see it since someone has told me there are some scenes that are really HARD to stomach and I ain’t about that life.

Les Crevettes pailletées (The Shiny Shrimps): the movie is about an Olympic swimming champion who makes a homophobic comment in a television interview, and is disciplined by the national swim team with the responsibility of coaching a gay water polo team who aspire to compete in the Gay Games. Sounds and looks like an amazing comedy and can’t wait to watch it when I will be able to.

Fin de siglo (End of the Century): it’s not out yet as far as I know, but it’s about two men who meet in Barcelona and realize they have met already 20 years ago.

Matthias et Maxime: another excellence by Xavier Dolan. Story about life-long friends who question their sexual identities after they kiss. Looks amazing and I can’t wait for it to get released finally.

The Goldfinch: not a gay movie, but I’ve seen many people considering it as LGBT+ cinema because of the book and you know what, they kissed after all so you can perceive it beyond friendship if you want. If not, then just skip it. I feel like it is worth mentioning it tho.

Mapplethorpe: movie is about the life of photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Didn’t see it but Doctor Who plays him so there’s that.

UPCOMING

TV SHOWS

9-1-1: Lone Star: The spin-off of a popular show 9-1-1 by Ryan Murphy is premiering 19th of January 2020. It’s confirmed that the main character TK (a firefighter, left) will be romantically involved with the main character Carlos (a police officer, right). The show will also have a main trans man.

Love, Simon: The Series: A Disney+ Love, Simon spin-off is on its way and will premiere in 2020. The series will follow Victor (right) and his coming-out story at the same high school where Love, Simon took place. Didn’t find a photo with his love interest. The guy on the left will most likely be his enemy.

#lgbtcinema #gallavich #tyrus #ballum #lgbtedit #love simon #the goldfinch #hsmtmts #brunol #wtfock #lgbt #gay #text #*#gay rec

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gallavich-rules · 3 years

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I love how my fic started off on the idea of Mickey accidentally becoming a well known event planner on the West Side, and, since writing, it’s evolved into whatever the fuck it is right now lmaoo

#shameless #gallavich #mickey milkovich

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violethowler · 4 years

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The Things That Matter

I’ve talked a lot over the last two months or so about the many different ways that the characters, story, and themes of the Kingdom Hearts series align with the framework of the Heroine’s Journey. For the final chapter in this series of essays, I’d like to talk about what it means for this series to follow this narrative formula. Because the fact that Kingdom Hearts fits into this storytelling pattern is critically important now more than ever.

The three most recent series I know of that aligned with the Heroine’s Journey framework all ended up missing the landing in various ways. Two of the three - Voltron: Legendary Defender and the Star Wars sequel trilogy - abandoned the formula in their final installments, while the third one - the Frozen movies - managed to fit into the formula almost completely, but suffered in the second movie from a lack of clarity as to which of the two leads is the main protagonist and which is the Animus. Two of these were under the Disney umbrella, and all three have had evidence found that executive meddling or other behind-the-scenes conflicts over story direction played a role in how the final installments ended.

As I mentioned in my essay “Into the Unknown,” when a story deviates from the structure it appears to be following, it produces a visceral sense of wrongness in the audience. In stories which up toward the end aligned with the Heroine’s Journey, that effect is amplified. The framework of the Heroine’s Journey was designed to uplift the experiences of identities outside of what society considers the default option in storytelling. The lived experiences of those identities are mirrored in the narrative’s themes. So when a story set up around calling out prejudices and double standards about those identities that are ingrained into the audience’s culture deviates from that formula, the result inevitably ends up reinforcing those biases instead, on top of the brokenness of the narrative in general.

In terms of how this applies to Kingdom Hearts, Sora and Riku’s individual character arcs have been noted by many LGBTQ+ fans to have notable parallels with elements of their own lived experiences:

Riku’s arc of learning to accept his darkness as something natural that’s a part of him and which he can express in a positive way mirrors how many LGBTQ+ people grow up with the idea that same-sex attraction is “sinful” and “unnatural” and have to unlearn that mindset in order to realize that there’s nothing wrong with them. Likewise, Mickey’s line in Re:COM about how spending time with Riku has positively changed his opinion about Darkness can be read as an analogy for straight people who are initially unsure of or hostile to LGBTQ+ identities changing their minds with education and first-hand interaction to become staunch allies. Esmeralda’s talk with Riku about how “There are just some things we need to keep separate from the world at large, at least until we have time to figure them out”[1], while on one level is referencing Riku’s Darkness and his inner turmoil relating to Ansem, can also describe the common LGBTQ+ experience of being in the closet and hiding that part of yourself from the people around you[2].

As for Sora, in Kingdom Hearts III he responds to Davy Jones’ comments in The Caribbean about the romantic relationship between Will and Elizabeth by saying that “I still have a lot to learn about love[3],” indicating he lacks understanding of his own feelings in the area of romance. This is supported by the official Kingdom Hearts Character Files book published by Square in February 2020. Short stories in this book featuring Sora’s POV depict him as actively confused about what romantic love is[4], and struggling to define the nature of his relationship with Riku[5][6]. This can be a common experience for LGBTQ+ youth growing up surrounded by media that only ever depicts romantic relationships as one boy, one girl. Many people who grew up like this—myself included—have had similar experiences of struggling to understand our own feelings about someone of the same gender because for our entire lives up to that point we had little or no exposure to the idea that being romantically interested in someone of the same gender as you was an option.

Sora and Riku are each written in ways that speak to common LGBTQ+ experiences, and the fact that so many things—the canon parallels to Disney romances, the match with how love interests are portrayed in the Heroine’s Journey, the fact that one of the series’ Lead Event Planners Michio Matsuura was described by the Co-Director Tai Yasue to be “head over heels for the bond between Riku and Sora’s hearts[7]”, in connection with his enjoyment of “pure love dramas[7]”—are all pointing to the conclusion that these similarities did not happen by accident, but by design.

It makes so much sense for Heroine’s Journey narratives to be used to tell LGBTQ+ stories because there are so many ways that homophobia and transphobia overlap with and are rooted in the very same gender and cultural norms that the framework challenges. Many countries have come a long way towards public acceptance of LGBTQ+ identities, but in terms of the stories that we tell, mainstream fiction is still skewed in favor of stories with protagonists who are straight and cisgender. Storylines with straight romance are treated as a society-wide default, while creators in countries like the U.S. who want to include even the smallest background references to LGBTQ+ relationships have had to fight and push back against corporate pressure to remove them.

This is especially true for media aimed at children and teenagers, as the fact that being openly LGBTQ+ is still widely considered problematic in many countries is frequently used by entertainment executives in ostensibly more progressive countries as an excuse for censoring LGBTQ+ storylines and characters. Multiple creators working on animated shows for Disney and/or its competitors have spoken out in recent weeks about the resistance they faced to including LGBTQ+ relationships[8][9][10] and how they were told that openly acknowledging characters as non-straight was too controversial or “inappropriate for the channel"[9].

As a consequence of this environment, creators wishing to depict non-heterosexual relationships have had to resort to creative methods of getting the implications past the censors in a way that LGBTQ+ audiences would recognize while still maintaining plausible deniability so that the executives could make money off the story in anti-LGBTQ+ markets. The downside to this is that because these efforts are more subtle, most straight audiences will either not notice the implications, or else dismiss them as an accident. Some will go as far as coming up with alternate explanations to justify why any potential LGBTQ+ subtext about a character or relationship could not possibly have been put there by the creator intentionally.

This extends not only to audiences, but also to people who interact with these stories in a professional capacity, such as translating and marketing a story’s international release. Animated shows that feature same-gender relationships have had international dubs change the gender of one character in the pairing to make it straight, for instance. Or there's the infamous example of how the English dub for Sailor Moon in the 1990s changed two girls from lovers to cousins in order to provide an explanation for their closeness that didn't involve acknowledging that the characters were not straight. In terms of the Kingdom Hearts series, the English localization has routinely downplayed LGBTQ+ subtext in the series while in some cases adding romantic undertones to interactions between a male and female character that did not exist in the original Japanese script. Kingdom Hearts III was one of the most egregious examples of this:

Hercules’ recollection of how he dove into the River Styx to save Megara’s soul in KH2 is thematically connected to Riku sacrificing himself for Sora at the Keyblade Graveyard through the phrase taisetsu na hito (literal meaning: “precious person”) when Hercules is talking to Sora in Olympus and when Mickey is talking to Riku in the Realm of Darkness at the beginning of the game. The English version translates this as “person I love most” for Hercules, while changing it to “what matters” for Riku and Mickey to call back to his meeting with Terra in Birth by Sleep, which the scene includes a flashback to. While Mickey and Riku’s original meaning can still be deduced from the conversation around it, especially with Mickey saying "sometimes you care about someone so much," changing the line for the sake of a callback downplays the evolution of Riku’s goals from protecting “things that matter” to protecting “the *person* who matters”.

Donald and Goofy’s teasing Sora in the scene at Galaxy Toys where Sora comments on how much he or Riku resemble Yozora is framed in the English version as “Riku would be a great action figure because he’s cool, unlike Sora.” However the original Japanese indicates that the teasing is centered around the fact that Sora said a character who looks like Riku was good-looking.

When Kairi offers Sora a paopu fruit, she says in the original Japanese that it’s simply a good luck charm so that they don’t get separated, while in the English localization, she says “I want to be a part of your life no matter what, that’s all.” While “that’s all” still fits with how the parallels to Winnie the Pooh indicate her connection with Sora has weakened and she wants to maintain it, the first part of the English line calls back to the legend of the fruit introduced in KH1, which was openly referred to as romantic by Selphie in the original and localized versions of the first game. As a result, this adds romantic implications that contrast with Sora’s unreceptive body language and facial expressions[11] as he reacts to the initial offering of the paopu fruit.

In the original Japanese, Riku’s words to Sora before his sacrifice at the Keyblade Graveyard translate to “I believe in you. You won’t give up.” The English localization changed it to “You don’t believe that. I know you don’t.” Not only does it remove a callback to the original game, but this phrasing dowplays Riku’s faith in Sora and ignores Sora’s very clear feelings of inadequacy.

During the scene where Sora and Kairi are floating through the dark tunnel toward the Keyblade Graveyard, Sora’s line in English, “I feel strong with you,” was originally an acknowledgement of Kairi’s strength that called back to how he wouldn’t let her come along on the return trip to Hollow Bastion in the first game because he thought she’d “kind of be in [his] way”[12]. Removing this callback takes the focus away from Kairi’s growth and brushes aside one of the ways the game shows that Sora’s view of her has changed over the course of the series.

Some fans defend changes such as these insisting that the development team had to have approved of them. However Testuya Nomura himself feels strongly enough about the subject: he stated in a 2018 interview several months before KH3's release that “an incorrect or defective translation risks compromising the comprehension of the whole story,” referring especially to the Kingdom Hearts series[13], and the English localization of Re:Mind—which was much more accurately translated than the base game—directly references the original meaning of Kairi’s words during the paopu scene in one of the DLC’s Kingstagram posts. This all indicates that changes such as these that remove important connections or change the meaning of the conversation are ones that the development team very much do not approve of.

LGBTQ+ fans of Kingdom Hearts who recognize their own experiences reflected in Sora's and Riku’s journeys know that Disney has not had a good track record when it comes to depicting LGBTQ+ characters in properties they are affiliated with. The most we ever get in their movies are background moments or nameless characters that are only there in one scene that easily can be cut out for distribution in countries with heavy anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. And that’s if the character’s orientation is even mentioned out loud in the film at all instead of simply being confirmed by interviews before or after release but never acknowledged on-screen. Television has fared better, but until recent years we never had any main characters who were confirmed in-show to be anything but straight. But things are slowly starting to improve. Within the last few years shows like "Andi Mack" and "The Owl House" have depicted major characters as openly interested in others of the same gender[14], and Pixar recently released a short as part of their Sparknotes program called “Out”, which openly centers on a man worrying about telling his parents he’s gay.

This is why it is so important that the Heroine’s Journey of Kingdom Hearts follow through to a structurally appropriate conclusion, with the development team being given the freedom to tell their story in full without restriction or censorship. Deviating from the formula this late in the series would represent a continuation of the recent trend of Heroine’s Journey narratives being structurally broken by inference from forces other than the main creative team. But if the Kingdom Hearts story is able to complete it’s Heroine’s Journey without executives or localization teams getting in the way of the intended story, then the LGBTQ+ themes already present in Sora and Riku’s journey will break so many barriers,challenge people’s expectations of what is possible, and convey powerful messages of self-discovery and acceptance—just like the framework was designed to.

Sources

[1] Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance; Square Enix; 2012.

[2] Tumblr post by @blowingoffsteam2; December 3, 2019. https://blowingoffsteam2.tumblr.com/post/189461796759/blowingoffsteam2-dont-mind-me-over-here-just

[3] Kingdom Hearts III; Square Enix; 2019.

[4] Translation of KH Character Files Beast’s Castle story by @lilyginnyblackv2; February 3, 2020. https://lilyginnyblackv2.tumblr.com/post/611420864489062401/character-files-beasts-castle-story-english

[5] Translation of KH Character Files Arendelle story by @lilyginnyblackv2; March 3, 2020. https://lilyginnyblackv2.tumblr.com/post/611490139845345280/character-files-arendelle-story-english

[6] Translation of KH Character Files Arendelle story by @notaseednotyet; March 1, 2020. https://twitter.com/notaseednotyet/status/1233993459670765569

[7] “Message from the KINGDOM” Updates!; April 11, 2012. https://www.khinsider.com/news/-Message-from-the-KINGDOM-Updates-2427

[8] “”Steven Universe” and “She-Ra” creators on Representation”; Paper Magazine; August 5, 2020. https://www.papermag.com/rebecca-sugar-noelle-stevenson-2646446747.html

[9] Twitter thread by Gravity Falls creator Alex Hirsch; August 9, 2020. https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/1292328558921003009

[10] Twitter thread by Owl House creator Dana Terrace; August 9, 2020. https://twitter.com/DanaTerrace/status/1292321440029478917

[11] Frame by frame analysis of Sora and Kairi’s body language during the KH3 paopu scene by @notaseednotyet; September 14, 2019. https://twitter.com/notaseednotyet/status/1172774158167506944

[12] Kingdom Hearts; Square Enix; 2002.

[13] “Nomura stresses the importance of direct translations on story comprehension, and talks about world development as well as the Gummi Ship;” August 27, 2018. https://www.kh13.com/news/nomura-stresses-the-importance-of-direct-translations-on-story-comprehension-and-talks-about-world-development-as-well-as-the-gummi-ship/ [14] Disney’s The Owl House Now Has a Confirmed Bisexual Character; August 9, 2020. https://io9.gizmodo.com/disneys-animated-series-the-owl-house-now-has-a-confirm-1844665583

#kingdom hearts and the heroine's journey #kingdom hearts meta

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bigfan-fanfic · 5 years

Text

Batdad and Sons (Batdad!Reader x Batfamily Headcanons)

Bruce

Despite both being men, you two remind Gotham of Thomas and Martha Wayne.

Because one of you is a gentle ray of sunshine who is deeply involved in charity work and seems utterly committed to making the world brighter.

Thomas was rather hands-off towards Wayne Enterprises, preferring instead to focus on his medical career and charities that actually affected change for the underprivileged in Gotham. Bruce remembers Thomas always having time for him, stopping everything if Bruce needed to talk with his father.

And the other is a strong, ruthless businessperson with style, grace, and sensuality, who can somehow manage a dizzying array of businesses while still being the ideal spouse and parent in the public eye.

Martha was the head of Wayne Enterprises and an involved boss - she personally saw to the upkeep of each branch of the company (she was the one to hire Lucius Fox). And even with all of these heavy demands on her time, she always appeared in public with Thomas at all of his charities and was involved enough with Bruce to help Thomas plan every family outing.

So, yeah, up to you which one the public thinks you are

Bruce has a constantly-updating social media presence that is run by the Batcomputer’s AI - it keeps tabs on where he is fighting crime and discreetly has Bruce’s account post things about being on the other side of the city

Bruce will occasionally post a romantic photo of you two

You run your own social media account - the Batcomputer automatically reblogs/retweets/likes whatever you post.

You have a lot of cute pictures of the family which the public goes bananas for.

Bruce is a Slytherin. He no longer visits the Pottermore site.

You find yourself making puns a lot while the family is on patrol.

Example: Mr. Freeze has just been defeated by the team.

YOU: Alright, time to put him on ice!

Bruce tends to groan at these because you have a tendency to interject them at inappropriate times. Once you got him to giggle in front of Selina because whenever she talked you just matched her tone but only said “meow”

“Meow meow meow, meow-meow meow meow-meow-meow meow. Meow.”

You do end up kidnapped a lot, as an important Gothamite public figure, and Bruce is generally quite impressed when you escape, because you can either talk an adversary to distraction, or use trickery to escape, or -most impressive - you once convinced a member of the Penguin’s gang to reconsider his life choices and let you go.

Once he got out of jail, Armand became your go-to party planner.

He also now helps Penguin with legitimate events at the Iceberg Lounge. Go figure.

Alfred

The two of you are avid devotees of “The Great British Baking Show”

Alfred never has a soggy bottom.

Dick spends the most time hanging out while you two make stuff, so he’s into it as well

Jason pretends not to be interested, but he’ll still tell you when bread is overworked.

Alfred is so full of wisdom and advice

And he is not afraid to get physical when needs must

Riddler once broke into Wayne Manor

The two of you basically dismantled him using Alfred’s combat medicine training and your own knowledge from working with him

Riddler had several broken bones, severe lacerations, and a mild concussion when he was wheeled to Arkham Asylum’s medical ward

“Y/N Wayne and Butler - BATMAN AND ROBIN????” said the tabloids the next day. Dick couldn’t stop laughing.

Alfred enjoys opera while cooking and baking, but isn’t averse to classic rock.

He also enjoys Beyonce.

You insist on Alfred having a regular day off, but he insists that he doesn’t need one.

“Please, Alfred. For me.”

*sighs* “...Very well, Master Y/N.”

Ravenclaw. He’s a Ravenclaw, definitely.

Dick

You two know all the choreography to “We’re All In This Together.”

And all the songs from the High School Musical series

Since he was little, you took him to every premiere of every Disney movie he wanted to see, press be damned if they made snide remarks about your son wanting to see a princess movie

This tradition has not stopped. Dick’s social media shows pictures of you two still going to every premiere - only now the two of you bring underprivileged children and kids from the orphanage to share in your fun

There’s a picture of you looking very Zen and sitting cross-legged on the red carpet as a bunch of kids swarm around you and one somehow has ended up on your shoulders. Behind you Dick can be seen wearing Mickey Mouse gloves and grinning wildly at the camera, kneeling with his arms around the shoulders of two young orphans

You personally don’t like clowns and trapeze scares you to death, but you never deny Dick when he asks you to go to the circus.

You once bought Haly’s Circus back from the people Mr. Haly had to sell to and gave ownership to Dick. So, technically, the two of you co-own Haly’s Circus now.

Dick once auditioned for Disney Channel (unbeknownst to Bruce). He still can’t quite bring himself to watch Wizards of Waverly Place, knowing that he almost had a role.

Speaking of Wizards, Dick thinks of himself as a Gryffindor - but he was sorted into Ravenclaw.

Jason

Jason gets really emotional over romance - whether it be real or in a movie or a book

He will never forgive Mr. Wickham for what he did

You have had to talk him down from chewing out people who think Catherine and Heathcliff are an ideal couple

And of course, he has shot his television at that one scene in every romantic comedy where things go wrong just before the two leads get together.

A Gryffindor.

Has a sleeveless shirt that asks if you’ve bought tickets to the gun show. Since he has an extensive gun collection, the irony is somewhat lost.

Doesn’t like to be questioned. Likes to question. You bridge the gap using sarcasm, mainly.

He is a superhero movie fanatic. However, he hates it when the love interest dies.

He does smoke, but he knows better than to do that around you. Roy always snitches on him

Roy is very intimidated by you, for some reason

More intimidated than by Jason, that’s for sure.

Maybe because you’ve made Ollie cry before (long story involving too many bottles of tequila, Oliver asking if he was your type, and you responding)

He tends to listen to you when he won’t listen to anyone else

You’ve proven that you don’t put up with much when it comes to him

“I’m gonna shoot this guy right now-”

“Jason you sit your butt down right now!”

“...yessir.”

Tim

Slytherin.

Sleepy. Too sleepy to do much.

Can be found sleeping in the weirdest places. Once he was asleep on top of the wardrobe in Dick’s room, and had no clue how he got there.

You have since insisted that he maintain a strict sleeping schedule.

Unfortunately, you are ignored.

You once gave him glasses that had pictures of his opened eyes instead of lenses as a gag gift. He uses them daily.

Tim likes to watch Jackie Chan martial arts movies. Or the Office. Or Friends. Depends on how many hours he’s been awake.

Tim is always listening to music - anything with a beat.

It helps him stay awake. The longer he stays awake, the louder his music gets.

Tim does not like ice cream - on family outings, he gets sherbert.

He’s very picky. You spent five days picking out the color of the sheets in his room because the current combination “bummed him out.”

He forgets that you aren’t supposed to draw on walls and uses his room’s walls as a piece of scratch paper.

You make him clean it himself.

This was unwise. He leaves it as is until there’s no more room.

Has an addiction to online gaming. He doesn’t know it, but you are his biggest rival online.

Because he always tells you “just one more round” or “until I lose”

So two hours later, when he still hasn’t logged off, you log on and grief him until he rage quits.

Then you console him as he complains to you, and you suggest he take a break from the game for a while.

You wonder sometimes if this can be classified as emotional torture.

It’s for his own good, honestly.

Damian

Hufflepuff and proud of it

As I mentioned, he is a startlingly good performer.

Has secret aspirations of being on Broadway - either in the Hamilton revival he’s planning for twenty years in the future or perhaps in something by Sondheim

His artistry continues into other realms

He writes fanfiction. This is not a drill.

To your eternal embarrassment and silence, you have become an avid reader of his work. (You created a fake account just to reblog and comment your support. Damian is unaware of this)

If you decide to send him to school (Gotham Academy or wherever), he gets into a lot of fights.

Mostly in defense of others, but also the occasional “he looked at me funny” or “said something about my parents”

I’d recommend home-schooling or online school for Damian. It fits better with his schedule so that his sleep cycle isn’t completely thrown off, and it keeps him away from the little creeps running wild in Gotham (there’s a statistic floating around that 80% of the Joker Gang is under 18, and it isn’t completely inaccurate).

He is a history buff, particularly when it comes to battles and battle tactics.

He knows battle strategy back to front

And yet he struggles with Checkers, and for some reason, Monopoly.

Damian was not given a middle name, so whenever you want to middle-name him, you make up some absurd placeholder.

“Damian Fingercrumpet Wayne, get down from the chandelier!”

“So help me, Damian Stipplenibbler Wayne, I will take away your zoo membership!

“Damian Montague Sasparilla Carthaginian Wayne, I want to talk to you right now!

#batdad reader #batfamily x male reader #batman x male reader #batparent reader #batman headcanons #dc headcanons #male reader #headcanons

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ilovemybirdy · 5 years

Text

When Heartbeats Collide Chapter 1

Kairi, a budding pop star is out of luck when her music producer suddenly has to take a leave of absence. But an up and coming producer by the name of Sora could be just what she needs to finish her album (and spice up her life).

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Chapter 1: A New Partnership

“Click, tap tap, click.” the sounds of my laptop echoed in the small studio room. Often times, I liked to coop up in here whenever inspiration struck; and last night I had been fortunate enough to strike a gold mine of it. I had been re-watching sleeping beauty for the millionth time and upon this particular re-watch the movie had made me think about the implications of love at first sight. Or I guess, in her case love at first sleep. I thought that it might be an interesting metaphor to talk about love from a dream like state of mind or perspective. I wanted to emulate an airy sound and make the listener feel like they were up in the clouds listening to angels.

I had finished the first verse, the chorus, and had settled on doing the song in Bflat minor. As I hummed potential melodies to myself, a sudden knock interrupted my thoughts.

“Come in!” I called. The door clicked open and my assistant Selphie entered.

“Hey Kairi! How’s the song writing going today?” she asked. She gently smiled at me and walked over.

“Well… I’m having trouble thinking of a bridge and a second verse, but other than that I’m making good progress.”

“I’m glad to hear it!” she exclaimed. “I know you’ve been having writer’s block lately, so it’s great you finally un-stuck yourself. Unfortunately, you’ll have to finish working on this later; your meeting starts in 10.” She checked her watch and gave me an apologetic look. I glanced at the time on my phone: 11:50PM. Right on the dot, as Selphie always was.

“Oh fun,” I groaned. “My favorite part of the month.”

“That’s why I brought you your favorite: iced caramel coffee with a shot of espresso and extra creamer!” I had been so absorbed in my work that I hadn’t yet noticed the coffee in her hand. “I also got you one of those overpriced snack boxes at Papoubucks because I know you forget to eat when you go into these creative frenzies. Seriously! You’ve been in here for hours.” The time had really flown by; we had gotten here around 8 and it was already noon now.

“Thanks Selph. I swear, I don’t know what I’d do without you sometimes.”

“Probably starve to death and go into cardiac arrest from caffeine withdrawal.”

We erupted into a fit of giggles at the snide remark. As I took a much, much needed sip of coffee (my insomnia had been particularly bad lately) Selphie helped me pack up my belongings. On the walk to the conference room I began explaining my new song to her.

“Have you decided on a name yet?” she asked.

“Some contenders I have are dreamy, cloud, and maybe rem? You know, the stage of sleep you have dreams in. Or at least that’s what web MD said.”

“I never like looking up medical problems on there, it just always tells me that I have cancer and that I’m going to die or that I’m pregnant,” she chortled. “Out of those names though I think I like rem the best.”

“Selphie, you’re supposed to take the advice from websites like that with a grain of salt.” I giggled, before continuing. “But yeah, I think I’ll go with rem; it has more meaning behind it than the other names.”

“Look sometimes I get curious and can’t resist looking my symptoms up! Anyway, it sounds like you’re making a really sweet love song! It’s a pretty interesting concept too. I’m sure I’ll love it when you’re done with it.”

Our conversation came to a halt as we arrived at the conference room. We took our seats in the black leather chairs, and unpacked our belongings as members of my team arrived. Selphie readied a pen and notebook to record important points from the meeting. Glancing up, I saw my manager Aqua make her entrance. We made eye contact and she smiled warmly at me; I grinned back. She always wore suits, but today she was sporting a slightly more casual outfit: a navy button up shirt tucked into a pair of black jeans. Her black heels clicked on the tiles and I noticed that she had her sleeves rolled up; probably due to the recent heatwaves. Destiny Islands was famous for having the highest temperatures out of all the worlds, especially during summer.

The rest of my team followed suit behind Aqua: Olette (the head of my PR team), Xion (head of my marketing team), and Marluxia (performance coordinator). Olette was donning a flowing orange sundress with wedge sandals, Xion was wearing a sleek grey suit, and Marluxia was sporting a pink polo shirt with jeans. Aqua briefly scanned the room to make sure all members of my team were accounted for before starting.

“Alright guys let’s get started. I know I want to take my lunch break just as much as you all,” Aqua said. The room filled with soft laughter at the cheeky comment.

“First things first, let’s check in with you Kairi. How much progress have you made on your album since our last update?”

“Well…” I fidgeted with my pen as I skimmed over my notes. “I have about 5 songs that I finished writing lyrics for. I’m in the process of finish a 6thsong right now. How much time do I have left before the album has to be finalized?”

Aqua paused for a moment and glanced at her laptop.

“I met with Mickey, the head of the department and he said he’d like to have it finalized by September so… that gives you about 4 more months. He also said you needed to have at least 10 songs on the album, if not more.”

“That’s cutting a little bit short but as long as I have Pence to help me finish writing it should be okay. Is he going to be back soon?”

“Well… about that. Pence’s younger brother finally found a kidney donor.”

“Really?! That’s great!” I smiled and clasped my hands. They had been waiting for 6 months at this point. I sighed in relief, things would finally be okay for Pence’s family again.

“I know!” Aqua beamed back at me. “However, because of that he’s decided to take a leave of absence to help out his family back in Twilight Town. Which unfortunately means we have no music producer for you for a while. However, no need to fear manager Aqua is here! I’ve already recruited some local producers to replace Pence in the meantime. If you don’t click with any, I can always look for more candidates, but it would be easier if you chose one of them for convivence’s sake. I’ll email you their resumes and sample songs for you to look over later. I even took the liberty to schedule interviews with them for this evening so we can get the ball rolling ASAP.”

My anxiety began to flare up at the prospect of interviewing strangers. Writing music was such an emotional and personal process for me; not to mention with someone completely new. Pence had helped me write some of my greatest radio hits and I trusted him so much. It was going to be difficult having to go without him this time.

“Thanks, Aqua, I’ll look over them during lunch. When are the interviews?” I responded, trying to mask the shakiness in my voice. I hid my hands under the table as they shook.

“I have 3 candidates; interviews start at 3PM with 30 minute time blocks for each candidate. Don’t worry, you’ll get out of here no later than 5 today. And with that out of the way, let’s move on to the next topic!”

Chatter broke out into the room and I began munching on my snack. Olette and Selphie discussed some modeling opportunity for ‘Destiny’ magazine, but I was barely paying attention. I breathed slowly, trying to calm down from the anxiety eating away at me until Olette interjected.

“Hey Kairi, have you heard of the Radiant Garden Met Gala? Yuffie is one of the fashion designers for this year; I met her at a networking conference last week. Apparently, she’s a big fan of yours and asked if she could have the honor of designing for you!” She pushed a stray hair behind her ear as she beamed at me excitedly.

The Met Gala was one of the biggest annual fashion events throughout all the worlds. While I never really cared for the press at big events, getting dressed up and admiring all of the designer’s hard work was my favorite thing about red carpet events.

“I’d love to attend, Selphie do I have room in my schedule for it?”

“Mmmmm…” she paused as she flipped through her planner, “Yeah! It is cutting it a bit close to your performance for the Island’s summer fest but definitely doable. Olette, can you give me Yuffie’s email so that I can coordinate the consultation and fitting?”

Olette nodded and began typing away at her laptop. Xion then stepped up to show some new merch designs for the team to look over on the projector. Aqua and I approved some, and requested alterations on others for her team to work on. Marluxia and Selphie then discussed some future performance dates. By the time the meeting was finished, my coffee and snack box were no more. Everyone fled out of the room saying their goodbyes quickly, excited for lunch.

“Hey Kairi, what are you in the mood for? Why don’t you go prepare for those interviews while I go pick up lunch?” Selphie asked.

“How about comfort food? Maybe some pad thai from that Asian place on Shinjitsu street?” I desperately needed something to calm my nerves with how on edge I felt.

“Oh, I love their orange chicken! I’ll head out now, be back in a flash! I wanna take a look at those resumes too when I get back. A new producer, how exciting!” she squealed. Grabbing her purse, she dashed out the door. I quickly packed up and headed back to my studio room. Once there, I made myself comfortable at the desk and pulled up my email.

Hey sweetheart!

Here are the 3 candidates I’ve picked out for you: Hayner, Seifer , and Sora. The first two have worked with some of my other artists I manage, and Sora was a recommendation from Xion herself. Apparently, they went to college together and he works with some of her other merchandise clients. As a reminder, interviews start at 3PM! I’ve told them to just meet you in your studio. Good luck and remember to check in with me tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Aqua

Artist Manager at Destiny Island Records

Deciding it was best to just go in order, I clicked on the first file titled ‘hayner.docx’. Previous artists he’d worked with included big names like Yuna and Paine. Yuna was well known for fast paced hip hop EDM songs and Paine did a lot of alternative rock. At least he was multifaceted, but neither genre was exactly my cup of tea. I clicked on the links to the sample songs listed but was only slightly impressed.

Then, I pulled up Seifer’s resume. Apparently, he’d been behind some of the top hits lately; many that I knew and enjoyed. I didn’t even need to take a listen to the samples; I knew the songs already. However, his style didn’t fit the vibe I was trying to go for on this album. It was way too… club music-y and sexual. Before I even got a chance to look at the last candidate, Selphie waltzed in.

“Kairi! I’m back!” the plastic bags crinkled loudly as she set them down on the table. She handed me my food and started to dig into hers before barraging me with questions.

“So, have you looked at the resumes yet? What do you think so far?”

“I’ve only looked at two. I’m not particularly interested in Hayner and Seifer is a maybe. I haven’t had a chance to look at this ‘Sora’ guy yet though.” I turned my laptop to her.

“Wow the first two guys seem pretty accomplished! What’s wrong with the Hayner guy?”

“His style doesn’t really fit with my vision for this album. I’m also not a punk or rock singer.”

“Oh, I guess that’s true. Why is Seifer a maybe?”

“I feel like he has a good track record for making hit singles, but that’s the only reason I’m considering him.”

“You don’t need a producer to make hits! You have some of the best, no, thebest vocals I’ve ever heard. Don’t go with him just because you think he’s the technically correct choice. Why don’t we take a look at the last guy tog-e-herfmmf?”

“After I finish my lunch. And Selphie, I love you but please don’t talk with your mouth full of food.”

“Hey!” she pouted, and her face made me burst into a fit of giggles.

Selphie scarfed down her lunch in 2 minutes while I ate my pad thai at a reasonable pace. She may have looked tiny and ladylike on the outside, but the girl was a monster when it came to food. There was a reason she didn’t do dinner dates on the first date; I’ve never met anyone with a more bottomless stomach than her.

“Kairiiiii, I’m trying to be patient but you’re taking so long to eat! Can I just start looking at the Sora guy now?”

I rolled my eyes. “It’s not my fault you eat at the speed of light. Are you sure you’re human?”

She smacked my shoulder lightly and pouted.

“Sorry, sorry. Yeah go ahead. Once Selphie had finished skimming the written portion, she played one of the sample songs. The song was soft and gentle, and a beautiful tenor voice sang over it.

Don’t get me wrong I love you

But does that mean I have to meet, your father

When we are older, you’ll understand what I meant when I said no

I don’t think, life is quite that simple

I was hooked. It was exactly the tone I was looking for with the added bonus of meaningful lyrics. Selphie noticed my eyes widen and sniggered.

“There’s more sample songs listed, I’m assuming you want to hear the rest?” “Yes please.” I immediately answered. She giggled once more at my eagerness.

A sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah

Where fears and lies melt away

Music in time

I need more affection than you know

What’s left of me, what’s left of me

The first song had been a bit more upbeat but this one sounded heavenly and dreamy… which is exactly what I had wanted for the song I was working on this morning. I quickly scarfed down the rest of my food before beckoning Selphie to give the laptop back.

“Quite the eager beaver we have here huh?”

“Shut up. I just happen to like these samples okay?”

I wiped my hands off on a napkin before scrolling back to the top of the resume. He had only worked with lesser known artists, and only had two years in the industry under his belt. Experience or not, it was obvious the guy was gifted. I absolutely needed to meet this man.

#sokai #fanfiction #au #kairi #sora #kingdom hearts

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bird-was-here · 5 years

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HIYA FOLKS! Mickey here to bother y’all with the one and the only Oz Lamar (TAKE 2). This tall glass of water can’t turn off his big dick energy, loves his planner, and rather slash his own tires than go to Sunday dinner with his mother. Sorry, give him one sec he’s facetime’ing with his godparents the Obamas.

Alrighty! Below is some background info on everyone’s favorite wizard. If you’re into fact/info pages click “here.” Moodboards? Click “here.” More headcanon goodies to be posted soon! So without further ado...

Here’s the skinny...

(tw: child abuse, gun mention)

Oz comes from a fabulously wealthy family, frequently in the public eye.

His mother is a renown brain surgeon; his late father a respected judge and investor. Both have/had connections with various politicians, business moguls, and law enforcement.

But don’t let that spread in Time magazine fool you! Oz (often) had the shit beat out of him by his father, resulting in serious injuries such as the deafness in his left ear. Daisey had been the only person who knew about this abuse.

Speaking of, he and Daisey lived a couple doors down from each other as children. They were close enough to have their own little imaginary kingdom in the wood behind their homes — their very own Bridge to Terabithia.

When they had gotten too old for make-believe, Oz opted to climb the tree by Daisey’s window. They would have their late night conversations from there or inside. He remembers many a night sneaking out before her father could discover them. It was a fun game they played for years, leaving dating officially until well into their time at St. Etienne.

(Y’all he loVED her and Oz don’t do LOVE so she was real important to him na’mean? Her death fucked him up. It’s good that he doesn’t let anyone close because he was a mess)

The first defining event in his life (the second being Daisey’s murder) takes form in his father’s murder, which was plastered all over the news. It was a grisly homicide, leaving the judge shot a total of 5 times in the study of their home. It’s been a cold case for years.

Oz’s personality (at least the one he outwardly shows) is that of your typical politician. Listen. He knows how to say what people want to hear… look at his dimples! He’s so darn cute. Like Daisey, he maintains a spotless reputation to the public.

In actuality, Oz isn’t the easiest to get to know. Thus, Daisey was special. He never was all that willing to let people in, especially not now. You may think you’re friends with Oz but, more likely than not, he’s merely putting on some sort of an act for you. For lack of a better term, he has different levels of himself he’ll show to certain people.

He smokes but never in public.

He feels indifferent about his mother’s remarriage. He and his step-sibling get along well enough but in all honesty, Oz sincerely hopes they don’t expect them to be one big happy family. The Lamars don’t really do that. It’s nothing personal. Oz hasn’t decided if he considers his step-sibling a Lamar (he most likely doesn’t/will never) but because of their current circumstance, he’s dedicated to keeping them safe. They’re family now after all.

Connections (My connections page is a WIP, but for the time being here are some ides)

Rivals/enemies (Fair warning, Oz is going to play the innocent, bigger person card. Always.)

People Oz will hang around in public settings

People close with Daisey (friends, enemies, etc.)

An “I love to hate you” type of deal y’knowwhatImean?

Someone who pushes his buttons/can crack that perfect mask of his (possibly an offset of the above connection)

Anything really!

#veritasintro #xoxo Mickey #//if there be typos... I'll get to them eventually forgive me

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acuppellarp · 5 years

Photo

Welcome to A Cup-pella, Ari! We’re excited to have you and Michaela Sandoval in the game! Please go through the checklist to make sure you’re ready to go and send in your account within the next 24 hours.

OOC INFO

Name + pronouns: Ari - she/her Age: 28 Timezone: pst Ships: Chemistry Anti-Ships: No chemistry

IC INFO

Full Name: Michaela “Mickey Ella” Sandoval Face Claim: Lindsey Morgan Age/Birthday: 25 / March 20 Occupation: Piano teacher Personality: Bold, proud, insecure, perfectionist, playful, egocentric and disciplined Hometown: San Jose, California Bio: The oldest daughter of a lawyer and an art curator, Michaela had very high expectations placed on her even before she made it into this world by her parents, Olivia and Joaquin Sandoval, who thought of their children as a representation of them and because of this, their children had to be perfect.

In order to make sure Ella, as her parents called her, was well rounded, Olivia enrolled her in extracurricular activities like piano, ballet and when she started elementary school, Joaquin encouraged her to join the soccer team and then the debate club in middle school. On top of that, they expected her to do well in school and they expected the same from her younger siblings that were a few years younger than her. When Michaela became an older sister for the first time, she gained another responsibility as her parents reminded her that she had to be a role model for her new sibling and wanting nothing more than to please her parents, she tried her hardest to meet their expectations. She liked being the oldest since she was the one in charge especially when her two younger siblings were old enough to understand that she was the boss and for the most part, her siblings did what she told them without any questions.

The summer before her freshman year in high school, Michaela’s dad accepted an offer to work in New York and the whole family moved to the other side of the country without even considering that maybe she wanted to stay with her friends. There have been instances when she had been frustrated and annoyed by her parents in the past, especially when it came to not letting her spend the night with friends or go places with her friends because she had to go to her piano lessons but this move to New York was different. She wanted to piss them off but at the same time, she knew that the consequences wouldn’t be pretty so she rebelled behind their backs starting by telling everyone in New York to call her Mickey.

Sarcasm became her default at school and while she was careful around adults, with her peers, she spoke her mind without reservation. By middle school, she had stopped playing soccer since her mother said that it wasn’t very lady-like but taking after her father, she convinced her mother that ballet wasn’t for her either. As a way to rebel against her parents, a little bit more, she joined the soccer team during her sophomore year when her mother and father were too busy to notice and it was around that time that she was free to do anything she wanted as long as she bribed her siblings to cover for her. She began dating a guy that she met while out with her friends shortly after and life was good.

It got better when she met Teddy and while she had friends in New York, she just clicked with Teddy in a way she hadn’t with anyone else since she moved to the big apple. When that fated night happened, Michaela had already broken up with her boyfriend and had decided to just focus on herself before she dated anyone again. It would be a lie that she hadn’t thought about kissing Teddy before that night but she hadn’t planned to do it that night or anything else that followed. She was expected to marry a guy and have children so when she realized what she had done, she freaked out and decided to pretend like it didn’t happen. That night had been a mistake but instead of telling Teddy that or even talk to her, she ignored her. It hurt especially because of how close they were but she didn’t need a reminder of what happened.

By the end of the school year, her dad was out of the house and her mom was forcing them to pack because they were moving back to San Jose. Her world was crumbling and she wasn’t sure how to fix any of it. There was no fixing it but at least her dad didn’t abandon them completely since he traveled to San Jose as often as he could. He was determined to gain Michaela’s mom back and it was shortly before she graduated with a bachelor’s in justice studies that her parents got back together. Her father moved back to San Jose and Michaela waited anxiously to see if she had been accepted in NYU’s school of law which she had.

Instead of looking for her own apartment, she decided to live in campus and for the next two years, she worked tirelessly until she found herself unable to get out of bed. She was so tired since she spent most of her time studying and just thinking about her next exam had her shaking. Her father wanted her to follow in his footsteps but she realized that if she didn’t take a break, she was going drown in despair. Instead of telling her parents that she was taking a semester or a year off, she pretended like she was still going to law school and looked for a job and a place to live.

She worked as a waitress for a while before she was able to land a receptionist job at a nice hotel but she was still living in a crappy apartment even if the pay was a little better. When the pianist for an event at the hotel didn’t show up, she was practically forced to fill in since her boss knew she had played it for most of her academic life and after the event, she was asked by the event planner if she was interested in doing that again. Michaela hadn’t even thought about playing the piano since she graduated but she couldn’t deny the fact that she enjoyed doing it and it relaxed her. From then on, she began making connections and even started teaching piano at a school while still playing the piano at events.

Pets: None but mostly because she doesn’t have the time to take care of a pet.

Relationships:

Teddy Dixon: It would be a lie if she said that she hadn’t thought about Teddy and what happened that night throughout the years but she tries to not dwell on it too much. It happened ages ago and it should stay in the past or at least that is what she wants. The thought of seeing Teddy again is not a pleasant one because she knows her ex-best friend has a right to be mad but Michaela has never been good at apologizing.

Evie Miller & Lara James: Michaela moved in recently so she is not super familiar with them but if she had a say on it, she would be living by herself. Thankfully they have both been nice so she hopes that for however long she will be there that they will all get along.

EXTRA INFO

Twitter name/twitter URL/description: Michaela Sandoval / ellaenchants / Twenty-five, lawyer-in-training, and supreme leader of the Sandoval siblings.

Five latest tweets:

@ @universe, why are you after me? I just need a minute alone 😤

@ I miss home… mostly my room… and my siblings, love you guys 💞

@ Interacting with kids makes it hard for me to want kids, @siblings, can you guys have the grandchildren our parents want?

@ I shall not have that piece of cake that is calling my name, I shall not.

@ I need friends with pets, mainly cats because I could really use a cat to cuddle with right now

#accepted

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disneyworldenthusiast · 6 years

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Here’s the Disney World Enthusiast Weekly Round Up for July 22, 2018!

Latest Disney World Enthusiast Articles

Blueberry Grass Band Now At Canada Pavilion In Epcot For A Limited Time

Helpful Information For Your November 2018 Disney World Vacation

Disney Springs Resort Area Hotels Offering Special “Summer Is Incredible” Rates

2018 Epcot International Food And Wine Signature Dining Events Now On Sale

An Incredible Summer At Walt Disney World Awaits

Guardians Of The Galaxy – Awesome Mix Live! At Epcot

Helpful Information For Your October 2018 Disney World Vacation

2018 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party Tickets Now On Sale

First Details About The NBA Experience Coming To Disney Springs

The Edison In Disney Springs

Tip Of The Week

If your children like to sleep with stuffed animals, be sure to remember to take them out of the bed each morning so that they don’t accidentally get carried away with the sheets and blankets when housekeeping makes up your room.

Looking for more tips like this? Click here!

Disney Did You Know

Spaceship Earth, the visual and thematic centerpiece of Epcot, weighs 16 million pounds — more than three times that of a space shuttle fully fueled and ready for launch. The outer “skin” of Spaceship Earth is made up of 11,324 aluminum and plastic-alloy triangles. Also, did you know that rainwater never falls off the sphere? It’s channeled into the ball and funneled away.

Walt’s Words

“Whether you say you can’t or you can, you’re right.”

Featured Advertiser

Create your own unique look with a personalized Disney MagicBand Skin. Magic YOUR Band has a range of designs to choose from that you can use as-is or customize with your own text. And if you want to take it to the next level, you can even upload your own photos or images to fully personalize, customize, and decorate your MagicBand. With great discounts for multi-buys, why not create one for the whole family? For more information or to start customizing your own Magic YOUR Band Skin now, please click here.

Featured Book

UPDATED FOR 2018! The difference between an average and an outstanding Walt Disney World trip is in the details. Kristi Fredericks helps make your dream vacation a reality with her numerous tips and tricks to save money, time, and sanity while at the happiest place on earth in her new book “501 Ways To Make The Most Of Your Walt Disney World Vacation”. For more information, to read an excerpt, or to purchase, please click here.

Considering A Disney World Vacation

Jennifer Hardy, a Disney Vacation Planner with Destinations in Florida, is the official travel partner of Disney World Enthusiast. She can help you book your next Disney vacation whether it is to Disney World, Disneyland, or aboard the Disney Cruise Line. Currently Jennifer has some incredible deals for discounted travel to Walt Disney World. For more information about Jennifer’s amazing and absolutely free services or to get a free no-obligation quote, please click here!

You’re Invited

Jennifer Hardy, from Destinations in Florida, and I have teamed up to create a brand new Facebook Group called Next Disney Vacation! It is the perfect place to talk about your next Disney vacation, voice your opinions, ask your questions, get them answered, and share the magic. Whether it’s Disneyland Resort, Walt Disney World, or the Disney Cruise Line, Jennifer and I are ready to help. Everyday you’ll find posts, photos, trivia, tips, and more that we find all throughout the Disney Universe. If you’re counting the days until your next Disney vacation or just dreaming of one, we would love to have you join in the fun and conversation! Please click here to be a part of our group!

Coming Up Next Week

Next week I’ll have some planning information plus all of the latest Disney World news!

Have a wonderful week!

Disney World Enthusiast Weekly Round Up July 22, 2018

#501 Ways #Books #Deals #Discounts #Disney World #Facebook #Magic YOUR Band #News #Next Disney Vacation #Tips & Tricks #Trivia #Walt Disney #Walt Disney Quotes #Walt Disney World

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heydaytravelcompany · 4 years

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Disney Pin Trading 101

It is as straightforward as it sounds, you trade Disney Pins with the Disney Cast Members and for many, to a lesser extent, with other guests. While it may not sound all that exciting on the surface, for some it can be really fun. You can think of it as a giant scavenger hunt. There are various collections released, both for sale and some only to cast members. Personally, my son loves just about anything Pluto - so he is always hunting those pins. We started collecting one set (Pluto ‘days of the week’) that took us 3 different trips to finally find all of them! It becomes one more thing to do around Walt Disney World and often leads to some amazing cast member interactions.

"The Trading Tradition"

Disney has always offered collectible Disney pins in each of its parks. With the kickoff of the Millennium Celebration in October 1999 at Walt Disney World, they began a new tradition of Disney Pin Trading. Now thousands of guests trade pins each day with Cast Members and other guests throughout the parks and resorts. Sharing pins is a fun tradition that easily is shared across multiple generations, plus it gives you an opportunity to meet a new friend or start a conversation with somebody!

How Do I Start Collecting Disney Pins?

The easiest way to get started is to pick up a pin ‘starter pack’ at just about any gift shop location. This will have 3 to 5 pins in it and a lanyard. I’d start by checking your resort gift shop. They’ll have a rack of various pins there, a few different lanyards, likely one or two pins exclusive to the resort, and a couple of starter or trade packs (a multi-pack of pins). It is up to you if you’d like to use a lanyard or not. My son used to wear one around the park, but as he got more into collecting pins it got a bit too heavy to wear all day. Now he just displays them on a board at home. There are other options for pins that we’ll explore later.

Alright, I Have Disney Pins. Now What?

Now you get out there and start trading! The easiest is to trade with Cast Members: Meet a Disney Cast Member wearing a pin trading lanyard, sash, or small bag.Find a Disney Pin that you’d like to trade for. Some people focus on specific characters like Mickey or Pluto, some to complete series like Hidden Mickey pins, and others just want them all.Trade your Disney Pin with the Cast Member. Remember: your pin must be metal and display “©Disney” on the back. You don’t have to only trade with Cast Members. You may, of course, trade with other private individuals and guests around the parks. The big difference is that Cast Members will always say yes, with a few exceptions (in the next section). When trading with other guests, there are no rules. We see this breaking down into other casual traders and the more serious traders. Casual traders are typically those that are doing it as something fun to do and enhance their Disney vacation. They’ll often eagerly show you their pins, but trading can be difficult. The more serious pin traders tend to be adults approaching this as a serious hobby. You may see them sitting somewhere in the parks with boards or books out. Again, they’ll often happily show you their pins but trading with them, in our experience, has been rare. Primarily because they’re typically seeking rare or exclusive pins that we just don’t have.

Are There Rules To Pin Trading At Disney?

Yes, beyond your pins needing to be part of the Disney collections, there are a few other things you must follow. When trading with Cast Members they’ll accept any qualifying pin offered in exchange for one of theirs. You are limited to two trades per day with the same cast member. That is two trades per person in your party though, so it can be helpful to at least travel in pairs. One caveat is that they won’t accept a duplicate pin in trade. Beyond Cast Members be sure to ask at Guest Services desks and some store counters for a “Pin Board.” That is a bit of a misnomer because they’re not always boards. Sometimes they’re stuffed animals with pins or, like in the gift shop after Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, it is a snare drum! The same rules of 2 trades and no duplicates applies, but you can often find some great pins there. We also often stop by the multiple Disney Vacation Club kiosks that you’ll pass. Not everyone, but many of the people working there will have pins to trade. Usually, if they don’t have any to trade, they know where you can go find some though.

Which Disney Pins Should I Collect Or Trade?

One aspect we particularly enjoy is the amazing variety. Find YOUR FAVORITE pins to personalize your Disney experience. Guests of all ages can hunt for favorite characters, attractions, and features. Whether it's the Little Mermaid or Mickey Mouse you seek, pin hunting is guaranteed to add thrills to your Disney adventure. My wife and I like to pick up pins to commemorate our trips, as you can see in this photo.

We’ll get a pin with the year, the resort we stayed at, and usually a party or attraction pin that was a highlight for that trip. For example, in 2015 we stayed at the Beach Club Resort and went to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. My son likes to focus on collecting Pluto pins and has a pretty substantial collection of them now as you can see below.

A few common types of pins are: Hidden Mickeys: Common pins with small Mickey heads hidden on them that are available in a series and are unique because they’re not available for sale in stores. These can only be obtained by trading with Cast Members.Characters: Choose your favorite character and trade for as many pins containing that character as you can.Series: These are groups of typically 4 to 8 pins that have a similar theme but are individually different. E.g. Villain ties – all pins are in the shape of a necktie with each one featuring the image of a different Disney Villain.Retro Disney: Pins featuring Disney attractions, characters, and films from years past

A Downside

One downside to Pin Trading is that it can be very expensive. Individual pin prices start at about $6.99 and only go up from there! It can get expensive quickly if you are serious about collecting. With some research, you can buy your pins for trading online before you ever leave home and save some money. You can find online sellers offering pins in bulk for about $1 per pin. This can certainly save you some money, but it is also a bit controversial. If you buy from online sellers, the pins you receive may be what are called “scrappers.” These are legitimate pins for trading (primarily with Cast Members) but are usually considered factory seconds or production overruns. Disney Cast Members will accept them for trades, but serious collectors are unlikely to be interested in them at all. Scrappers are controversial with some Disney Pin Traders. Disney itself seems to be indifferent towards them as Cast Members do accept them in trade. If Disney wanted to put an end to scrappers, they could easily do so by producing the pins elsewhere or instituting different pin trading policies. In any case, the practical reality is that whether you purchase them or not just participating in trading will likely result in you receiving some scrappers.

This is something that, as a family, we’ve become hooked on! While it certainly can become expensive as a hobby, it is just tons of fun too! Sometimes we enjoy looking at the pins and reminiscing, more than looking at some of the pictures. My son seems to really relish “the hunt” and is always on the lookout for Cast Members with lanyards. On a parental note, it creates some great teachable moments for him. Allowing us to reinforce manners and how to approach/ engage in conversation with people.

Celebrating Twenty Years of Disney Pins – 2020 Pin Trading Event

If you did the math earlier, you might have noticed that it's been about 20 years since they started this cool tradition. Although there are not many details out on this yet, Disney will be having a 2020 Pin Trading Event Saturday, August 22 through Sunday, August 23, 2020. Serious pin collectors might want to look into this or you could reach out to a Heyday Travel Company team member that can help you plan the most pin-tastic trip ever!

The photo timeline is from Disney.com

Ready To Trade Some Disney Pins? Let Us Help YOU!

Heyday Travel Company can plan a Disney vacation that’s perfect for you. We are a free Disney travel planner with expert knowledge of the entire Disney catalog and Universal Parks destinations. No matter where you want to go, our experienced team is excited to help you make it happen. We provide our service at no charge, so you’ll only have to pay for the vacation itself. If you want help planning a Disney trip that’ll make your dreams come true while also fitting your budget, let’s talk!

Fill Out Our Form To Start Planning Your Perfect Disney Vacation!

Read the full article

#DisneyPinTrading #DisneyPinTradingCollection #HowtostartcollectingDisneypins?#Howtotradedisneypins?#RulesofpintradingatDisney

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hellzyeahthewebwieldingavenger · 7 years

Link

I’m struggling to remember an article by CBR which has been worse than this one.

Let’s go through this point by point.

“Peter Parker’s Spider-Man is one of the most famous and beloved superheroes of all time. He has had almost a billion movies (rough estimate) and more cartoons than Mickey Mouse. ”

So first of all even if we were obviously recognizing this as not being intended literally it’s entirely disingenuous. There have been FIVE Spider-Man movies, the sixth one being this year. Excluding crossovers, movie serials or animated films there have been six Superman movies and eight Batman movies.

I don’t see the allegations of ‘a billion movies’ directed at them though.

“However, while we all love Spider-Man (after all, he does whatever a spider can and that includes release pheromones that make you helplessly devoted), we’re not quite sure this particular Spider-Man should be in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”

I agree with the latter point but I’m going to place money that it’s not for the same reasons the article is going to list.

As for the former point that’s literally not part of Spider-Man’s powerset and never has been.

“In fact, there’s an argument to be made that the movies would be a whole lot better if he just dropped dead and allowed a different Spider to take his place.”

Yes there is an argument like that. It just happens to be idiotic and ill considered.

“we firmly believe that Peter Parker’s Spider-Man should take a dirt nap right about now and let someone who hasn’t had three different franchise series into his big webbed tights. (Someone like Miles Morales, for instance.) Anyway, this one’s for YOU, true believers!”

‘We’? Who is this ‘we’?

All of CBR?

I doubt every staffer of CBR believes in this attitude.

Or perhaps this is the royal we?

Moving on...two.

Spider-Man has had TWO different movie franchises to his name. The MCU version will be the third. But like I said Batman has had technically a minimum of 4. No one is complaining at least not as forcefully about him. In fact I notice nobody asking for Robert Downey Junior to shove off and allow Rhodey or somebody else become the new Iron Man even though Tony Stark has starred in 6 movies now and will continue to do so for at least 2 more. The same applies to Captain America who actually had 2 other movies before the MCU as well.

So WHERE exactly is this rule of ‘Well look you’ve had X number of movie franchises that’s enough now’. Frankly given how Peter Parker is you know, Marvel’s mascot, the most profitable superhero ever, one of the three most famous comic book characters of all time, Stan Lee’s favourite character, and frankly THE BEST of all of Marvel’s iconic characters he is absolutely OWED more movies.

Especially when you consider the Raimi and Webb movies didn’t get him right and screwed up various aspects of his history. Never have we seen the Death of Gwen Stacy done right. Never have we seen Mary Jane or Venom done right. Nor Green Goblin. And how about all those iconic Spider-Man stories which were landmarks in the comic book industry?

The Master Planner Trilogy

The Death of Jean DeWolff

Nothing Can Stop the Juggernaut

We’ve only had 5 Spider-Man movies and 1.5 of those retold material from the first 3. None of them went beyond Spider-Man’s college adventures when that is nowhere near the entirety of the character’s journey.

But we want to throw him away for...a derivative version who whilst maybe good unto themselves is objectively not as original nor as actually layered as a character.

Yes, this surely is ‘for us true beleivers’.

And you know SOMEHOW I just knew I’d hear Miles’ name brought up. And brought up first. I do ever so wonder if literally ANY other Spider-Heroes will get a mention.

Oh and learn to spell check will you. I’m not perfect but I don’t write for a professional website that pays me.

Seriously

“who hasn’t had three different franchise series into his big webbed tights.”

This is laughably bad sentence construction. I don’t even know what I’m reading.

15)

“Let’s face it, there aren’t a ton of stories to tell about Spider-Man. His villains? Sure, but Spidey himself? He’s unlucky in love, his uncle dies, everyone he knows is actually a villain. That’s pretty much it. ”

Okay so in these few sentences you’ve proven that

a) You don’t know anything about Spider-Man

b) You are thereby unqualified to be writing this article about Spider-Man

c) You are an idiot.

And you see I know all this because nobody who does know anything about Spider-Man, who is thereby qualified to write an article like this about Spider-Man and isn’t an idiot would have ever written that.

Because there are 50+ years of fucking stories across two ongoing universes which prove that you are wrong.

Jesus Christ.

There are a ton of stories to tell about Spider-Man’s villains more than Spider-Man? Yeah, because we all remember those plethora of stories about Electro, Scorpion, Shocker and Mysterio right?

They’re soooooo interesting.

Jackass most of Spider-Man’s villains are gimmick characters with cool costumes. Oh he has deep villains like Norman Osborn and Doc Ock and a few others. But Shocker shoots vibrations, Electro electrocutes things, the Rhino literally up until the 2009 was a rampaging brick. They are not Batman’s villains. Some of them have layers but they are not the psychologist’s wet dream like Batman’s rogue’s gallery.

You’d know that if you’d actually read much Spider-Man, which I’m betting you have not.

Similarly you’d know there is much more to Spider-Man than you pathetically oversimplified things down to.

He’s unlucky in love? Yeah because dating the teen secretary to a millionaire media mogul when you are in high school, having the most popular girl in school wanting to date you, dating the daughter of a respected police captain, a thrill seeking reforming cat burglar and actually marrying someone who’s not only very attractive to you, not only an actress/model but also has your back in a crisis is sooooooooo unlucky right? As is dating all those other people he’s been with.

Everyone he knows is actually a villain? Yeah...no. Harry Osborn, Norman Osborn, Frederick Foswell, Felicia Hardy and arguably Jameson are more or less it. Nobody else he knows is actually a villain. Or do you know something about Aunt May and Mary Jane that we do not?

And franlly...not a lot of stories to tell?

Uh huh.

The death of Gwen Stacy, Spider-Man vs. Wolverine, When Commeth the Commuter, the Wedding arc, the Death of Jean DeWolff, the Clone Saga, the Totem saga, the Master Planner Trilogy, Spider-Man No More, the Owl/Octopus War, the Alien Costume Saga and literally too many others for me to list disagree with you...and also call you an idiot who doesn’t know what the fuck they are talking about.

“You can tell an origin story and a pretty good villain story, but after that you’re left treading water. What can you do next?”

I dunno maybe you could examine the realistic pressures of living with the burden of being a superhero and have him decide to give up that burden only to reaffirm the lesson he had previously learned and then choose to risk it all for the sake of emotional fulfilment by being with the woman he loves?

And then perhaps getting arrogant over his apparent successes and letting power go to his head corrupting him into something he isn’t until he reasserts who he truly should be and then has to deal with the ramifications of his actions in the manifested form of a dark reflection of himself?

OR maybe you could have him learn that sometimes using his power to try and save people isn’t enough because someone he cares about dies inspite of his actions and then he has to go through a realistic human grieving process?

I figure MAYBE those could be sound premises for movies other than his origin story.

Maybe?

“Well, you can kill him.”

This is the laziest and most unimaginative idea for a Spider-Man movie I’ve ever had the misfortune of hearing. And I’ve heard the idea that Spider-Man has sex with mary Jane on top of a bridge.

“See, Spider-Man’s best stories of the last few years have been when he died — most notably in Amazing Spider-Man #700 and in Ultimate Spider-Man #150”

Again...you don’t know anything about Spider-Man and/or are an incredibly pathetic literary analyst.

Because if you weren’t either of those things you’d have noted how godaweful and just plain asinine Superior was and how mean spirited ASM #700 were. You are talking about a storyline which literally only happened because Spider-Man was so stupid that he didn’t try telling the Avengers his mind had been switched with Doc Ock.

That is if you’ve actually bothered to read the stories. I’m not convinced you have though.

“They’re powerful stories that show Peter is true to his word, and that he knows with great power does come great responsibility… no matter what.”

Maybe the USM story is powerful (and poorly built up) but ASM #700 isn’t. Especially when you consider that Peter DIDN’T die in the story. He’s literally alive in his body in Superior Spider-Man #1.

14)

We really do not need Miles at all.

Miles Morales was created less than 10 years ago and has been the subject of decompressed 4+ part stories including multiple crossovers and events.

What does this mean?

It means long term there is entirely too little material about Miles to justify him being Spider-Man long term and what little material there is not movieworthy.

To begin with almost half his history is tied up in events which cannot by their nature function as solo Spider-Man movies due to the presence of other characters and elements that do not pertain to Spider-Man’s core concept.

Or do you think it’d make for a positively thrilling Spider-Man movie to see him run around trying to stop Galactus (who Marvel don’t own) before a giant Kitty pryde (who Marvel don’t own) knocks him out?

All of Miles’ OTHER stories are equally unsuitable for film as Spider-Man stories.

He works as an agent of SHIELD? Spider-Man is about being a normal guy who happens to be a hero so no spy shit shouldn’t be in a movie.

His mother dies because of Venom? Yay, let’s fridge another woman (and a woman of colour to boot) in a story decision that even the original writer regretted and reversed just three years later.

Oh! He could fight Captain America in another Civil War. Oh wait we just did that movie.

HEY how about having his origin story again?

Audiences will just eat up ANOTHER movie about a smart teenager who gets bitten by a science spider, gains super powers, doesn’t use them when he can resulting in someone dying, feeling guilty about it and then deciding to be a superhero.

I mean they just LOVED seeing that for the second time in 10 years so surely they’d love seeing it for the third time in 15.

On top of all that hey genius, MILES IS A TEENAGER!

There exists ZERO stories about his life beyond his teens which means you have NOTHING to base a movie upon when the actor soon enough ages beyond the point where he’s a teenager. With Peter Parker though you have stories of him as a high schooler, college student, grad student, young man leaving education and a married adult.

“Look, we love Peter, you love Peter, but we need Miles Morales. It’s a different world out there than when we were kids, a world which has six different Peter Parker movies with a seventh one on the way.”

Yes it is a different world. We have 8 Batman movies now as opposed to the 5 from 20 years ago.

And if you mean it’s a different world in regards to something to do with race, putting aside how you know...there are still a lot of white people around...just cast Peter Parker with a poc actor!

That’d be cool and keeps the awesome iconic character of Spider-Man rather than the less developed, less original, has less stories to tell version of Spider-Man.

“Peter Parker is cool and all, but we’re pretty sure most audience members would be fine if he had less movies than Harry Potter. ”

I see...you’ve compiled a comprehensive survey about this have you?

A survey which suggests that mass audiances who’ve been used to Peter Parker being Spider-Man for 50 years would be okay with this other character being Spider-Man whom they no little-nothing about.

Okay.

“Miles, honestly, is just a bit more interesting than Peter. His first reaction wasn’t, “Oh joy, Spider Powers!” it was, “Oh no…” He has a different background, different friends, and a different story — one we haven’t seen on-screen almost 10 times. Give Miles a shot, gang.”

Fuck. You.

No seriously.

A character who is scared by his new powers is more interesting than one who decides to use them for personal gain whilst neglecting the good he can do, learns his lesson the hard way and carries that guilt forward into his life driving him to be a hero?

Jackass your saying 1950s DC characters’ origins are more interesting than the 1960s Marvel characters’ origins which are MORE REALISTIC!

Peter Parker had flaws to his character more serious than Miles’ and took more time to get past. Miles is a good kid who does the right thing relatively quickly.

Peter wasn’t, even when he decided to do the right thing he tripped, stumbled had to get passed his personal issues and grow as a person. He wasn’t immediately great at being a superhero, he ran away crying in his very first issue after a super villain fight. He was hated and hounded by the press and police.

He had to provide for his famiy in the absence of his father figure who’s death he had a hand in. And on top of that had to deal with unpopularity at school and life generally taking a crap on him.

Oh...but he’s ‘just not as interesting’ as the kid who had little-none of that to deal with.

I’m not even saying Miles sucks or hasn’t got a lot of merit.

But fuck you no, he is absolutely not as interesting as Peter Parker was.

As for his different background and different friends guess what genius you haven’t seen that for Peter either. You’ve never seen Flash Thompson or Joe Robertson done properly. You’ve seen only the briefest of glimpses into Jameson. You’ve never seen MJ done right, Jean DeWolff or anything like that.

And again...you saw SOME of Spider-Man’s supporting cast in a mere 5 movies which repeated beats from one another which didn’t cover even a 10th of Spider-Man’s wider history.

13)

“Heck, the comics have already killed him and brought him back a bunch of times! Ultimate Spider-Man was the first series to make a thing of it and it’s the series that Spider-Man: Homecoming most resembles. ”

Again...you clearly no sweet fuck all about Spider-Man.

a) If you knew anything about Spider-Man including the Miles Morales version you would know that Holland’s Spider-Man most closely resembles him not Ultimate Peter Parker

b) Spider-Man died and came back multiple times in the 616 universe long before Ultimate ever did it

“But while he’s dead, we can explore a different and cooler Spider-Man; one we haven’t seen before.”

See above as to why Miles isn’t cooler and why you are unqualified to write this article.

“ But the point is that the comics have killed Peter Parker off before and it worked out wonderfully…”

Yeah like remember that wonderful outcome where a super villain was Spider-Man and tried to rape Mary jane for a whole issue. WONDERFUL!

12)

“We might be belaboring the point here (we can already hear you typing your Facebook comments now), but Peter Parker has been the star of two different trilogies in the span of 10 years (though one was mercifully cut short). ”

‘Two different trilogies’? Up top you said three. Whch is it.

But whilst we’re belabouring points see above about the hypocrisy of using this argument given the number of films OTHER characters have had.

Also learn some mathematics. If a films eries lasts for TWO movies it’s objectively not a TRILOGY!

“There’s no shortage of Peter Parker content out there. Plus, he’s not like Batman where there’s a bunch of interesting characters for him to play off of. ”

I’m sensing a Batfan who doesn’t know much about Spider-Man is writing this.

Regardless Mary Jane Watson, J. Jonah Jameson, Joe Robertson, Jean DeWolff, Flash Thompson, George Stacy, Betty Brant, Liz Allan, Ben Urich, Felicia Hardy, Harry Osborn, Randy Robertson, and Norman Osborn (i.e. the best supporting cast of all comic books ever) grossly disagree with you about there being no ‘interesting characters for him to play off of’.

“There’s basically just Spider-Man and his enemies…”

*facepalms so hard it shatters skull*

As if I needed more confirmation.

Hey asshole? Even people who don’t READ Spider-Man know his life involves his normal people supporting cast waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay more than his super villains who’re egregiously less important. THAT’S LITERALLY WHAT MADE HIM POPULAR IN THE FIRST PLACE!

“and all those girls he’s too poor and/or nerdy and/or too devoted to his aunt to date.”

Yeah like Betty Brant, Gwen Stacy, Felicia Hardy, Deb Whitman, Mary Jane, Carlie Cooper, Lian Tang and so on.

He NEVER dated any of them because he was too poor, too nerdy and too devoted to his aunt...who set him up to date one of them.

FFS

11)

“Hey, you know what makes audiences think twice? When you kill off a main character. Remember Phil Coulson’s death back during The Avengers? It was amazing, it was shocking, it was memorable, and it’s a big part of why that movie was better than a lot of other MCU movies — because it had actual stakes. We all genuinely cared about Phil Coulson, as we watched him in all of the different movies.

In the same way, we all genuinely love Peter Parker, and seeing him — especially such a young and hopeful him — dying on-screen would be super devastating and prove that the stakes are real in the MCU. None of the heroes have fallen yet — the closest has been Rhodey getting his back hurt — but at some point one of them is going to have to — why not the one you’d least expect, and the one you might love the most?”

Killing off for cheap shock value and not because it makes sense for the character is a lowly form of writing...also Coulson came back genius.

And if you want this to happen then surely killing off Steve Rogers who also has a black person as his legacy, has had legacies before, had a better death storyline, is a bigger deal to the universe at large and has lived a longer life thus making it less cruel for him to be struck down as a child, would make a million times more sense than Spider-Man dying.

10)

“Peter Parker is more or less regarded as the heart of the Marvel Universe. He’s the youngest, the one most down on his luck, and the one who sacrifices the most to be a hero.”

Yeah...Peter Parker is the youngest hero. As we all know Richard Ryder, Kamala Khan and every Young Avenger ever is older than Spider-Man.

And as we all know he’s the most down on his luck. Daredevil who’s girlfriends have a history of you know...dying looks at Spider-Man and saying “Well at least I’m not THAT guy. He has to worry about his mother’s health. I don’t have to do that because my mother left me to be raised by my Dad whilst she worked as a nun and never sees me.”

“He is the most heroic of all of the heroes in the Marvel Universe and nothing would prove that better than to show him sacrificing himself. Being the true hero.”

We already know how heroic he is and know that he’d give his life to save others. We don’t need him to die to prove that. See Iron man in Avengers Asemble. And you know fucking Quicksilver who already proved stakes are real!

“What would work better to establish him as the beating heart of the Marvel Cinematic Universe than to show that — above everyone else — he is the guy to make the sacrifice play. With all of those others standing so tall, he could stand as the true embodiment of what it means to be a hero. In fact, killing him would show just how much of a hero he always was.”

Again..see Iron Man in Avengers Assemble. And Bruce Banner in Incredible Hulk who wasn’t risking his mortality perhaps but he was willingly condemning himself to a fate worse than death by becoming the Hulk again. It’s established he’d rather be dead than be the Hulk, but he still chose to become a monster again and ruin his life in order to save lives.

Oh and Captain America in First Avenger and Winter Soldier. He was willing to sacrifice himself in the first movie for the greater good and in the second movie it was just to save his BFF.

In fact just see Captain America. In the MCU it’s debatable whether he or Iron Man are the heart of the universe, but Cap is objectively the most heroic.

And you want self sacrifice...dude...Cap was literally a soldier...in World War II.

Spider-Man in the MCU isn’t a hero to that degree yet. In-universe arguably he isn’t that degree of hero yet. Perhaps nobody could top Cap in that regard.

“When Phil Coulson died, it was a rallying call for the Avengers to get back together and take the fight to Loki and help save New York. It was pretty cool but if the Avengers are going to come back together after being so heavily divided, then it’s going to take something big. Maybe something like the youngest Avenger, the one all of them met for a short time, dying in battle.”

So we’re going to kill off Spider-Man not for the sake of his story but for the sake of the wider Marvel Universe thereby reducing him to a prop.

Charming.

Putting that aside this is so stupid because Thor and Hulk don’t even know he exists whilst all other Avengers except for Iron Man don’t know him personally at all. It’d just be some kid who died which is sad to them I guess. Half the team saw him as an enemy anyway.

When Coulson died he was at least on speaking terms with like half the team. He had some sort of relationship with them.

Spidey in the MCU currently does not...at all.

There is more justification for them to be affected by Quicksilver’s death!

“Maybe then the heroes will realize that something needs to be done and the Avengers will… well, you know… Avenge! Spider-Man’s death could be a call for the Avengers to become bigger and greater and cooler than they’ve ever been — and as we know, the Avengers got their name from avenging Phil… why not continue the tradition and avenge Spider-Man?”

How would Spider-Man’s death motivating the Avengers somehow make them ‘cooler’?

And they should probably not continue the tradition by Avenging Spider-Man because it’s cheap and makes Spider-Man’s death more about the Avengers rather than about him. Especially when you consider Spider-Man is about being a normal down to Earth guy. But the global threat fighting taskforce that is the Avengers are going to be motivated by some Goblin nutter offing him?

Or perhaps you mean it’d be appropriate for Spider-Man to die at the hands of a cosmic threat like Thanos even though that’s well outside the remit for his character’s core coneption and theme.

“Unfortunately there are a lot of issues that go against our entirely cool plan to kill the Spider”

Your plan isn’t entirely cool. Merely entirely foolish.

“such as Tom Holland saying he has plans that he’s put forth to keep playing Spider-Man until the character is in his thirties. To wrap your head around that, the Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War is about 15 years old. Holland wants to play this character for 20 freaking years.”

So Tom Holland wants to respect the Spider-Man character and do his story justice by showing him grow and mature into his adulthood which is what Stan Lee his creator and architect of the entire Marvel universe intended and what eventually happened in the comics leading to some of the best Spider-Man stories ever such as the Death of Jean DeWolff.

What an asshole I guess.

“So, unfortunately, it seems like Spider-Man — as Peter Parker — isn’t going anywhere for a very long time indeed.”

Oh no what a shame. Peter Parker who IS Spider-Man, the original, the genuine article, the best one in fact, will remain Spider-Man.

Man...this is almost as bad as when I heard Clark Kent would be Superman.

“It would be like introducing Hank Pym only to have him immediately… oh wait, that actually happened.”

I don’t even know what your saying here. Hank Pym didn’t die in Ant Man.

“nyway, what we’re saying is that grabbing the rights to Peter Parker for the MCU is one of their biggest scoops of recent years — Guardians of the Galaxy big ”

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

‘Guardians of the Galaxy big?

What planet are you living on? Guardians of the Galaxy made a lot of money and was a smash hit. Guardians though wasn’t even as big in the movie business as the FIRST Avengers movie.

Peter being in the MCU is an almost UNPRECEDENTED working relationship between two competing film companies, especially when one of them is Disney.

It’s grossly a bigger deal than Guardians, hence news coverage went nuts when it happened moreso than when Guardians happened.

“Yes, okay, while Peter Parker is incredibly prolific across every single form of media, there’s a pretty fair reason for that. The dude is popular. He’s one of the best-selling comic characters (arguably the best selling) of all time. He’s basically a license to print money, and while Miles Morales is pretty awesome and super popular in his own right, he’s not Peter Parker popular. Yet.”

And he never will be.

Peter Parker as Spider-Man is a 50+ year institution.

You say he’s prolific because he’s popular.

But he’s popular because he’s a GREAT character.

Great in ways that Miles, whilst good unto himself, is mostly derivative of.

“While it might be a great creative move, when it comes to money, Peter Parker’s the safe bet. (Which would probably amuse the permanently poor character to no end.)”

Spider-Man isn’t permanently poor. Putting aside stupid stints like Parker Industries or when Mary Jane was raking in the cash as a supermodel, Peter has had periods of time where he is merely financially stable as opposed to poor.

He wasn’t even really ‘poor’ in Ultimate Spider-Man which I’m guessing is the only source of Spider-Man you have that much familiarity with.

And for many reasons stated above, Peter isn’t the best choice creatively. And it because of that that he’s not the best decision financially.

Creatively Peter has 50 years of history to draw on to make great movies out of. Creatively Miles has less than 10 and not even all of that would be conductive for a movie.

“While this is arguably the most controversial argument, it’s also incredibly true. Marvel has a bit of a white-dude-as-lead problem. As in, all of their movies thus far have had a white dude main character. Sure, Black Panther is coming later but, look, if there was another version of Black Panther that was a white dude… let’s just say Marvel most likely would have gone for that version.”

First of all I’m shocked to learn CBR has this massive insight into Kevin Feige’s mindset that they know for a fact they’d make amovie out of the Caucasian Black Panther if he existed.

But hey...here is a thought. Maybe...just maybe...the reason Marvel’s movies have had white leads thus far is because in the source material they base the movies on...the characters are ALSO white?????????????????????????????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Look...I’m not saying you should always keep a character white if they were in the cource material, but from a branding point of view and a fan point of view (of which Feige is known to be) it makes a shitton of sense that Marvel would want the characters to visually speaking look like they leapt off the page as much as possible.

So no...Marvel wouldn’t have used the Caucasian Black Panther if they could have, they would’ve used the African Black Panther because Black Panther is in fact someone from the African continent.

Same way they made kept Gamora green and Nebula blue because int eh comics they are effing green and effing blue!

Again, racebending is okay under the right circumstances and Spider-Man was one of those circumstances.

But saying Marvel are determined to have as many white leads as possible is despicably idiotic and judgemental.

“Heck, Ant Man and Wasp is going to be the first movie to have a woman even co-headline! While Marvel makes good movies, they’re also a bit regressive. Suddenly making a movie about a young mixed race kid whose uncle is a thief seems like a bit of an inauspicious start for the company. Give them time, and Miles will appear onscreen. Eventually.”

The same applies here.

Marvel makes movies based upon the source material they have and the most successful source material at that, or at least the one which serves their purposes the most.

And unfortunately most of their big characters in the source material are white males.

Does this mean they shouldn’t do female led movies? No of course not.

Should they have done them before now?

Maybe in the case of Black Widow but otherwise from a practical POV probably not.

MCU Phase 1 was designed to get us to the Avengers and do so as quickly as possible. To that end they did movies based upon the biggest Avengers characters, the real icons.

Cap, Iron Man and Thor are the trinity of the Avengers. Hulk is however the most famous classic Avenger in all pop culture so he had to be in there.

Hence Phase 1 was movies about those guys leading into Avengers.

Phase 2 consequently comprised ONLY sequels to those movies in order to as quickly as possible follow up to the smash hit that was the first Avengers film. The ONLY exceptions to those sequels were Ant Man and Guardians of the Galaxy, both of which were made primarily for PRACTICAL purposes more than anything else.

Ant Man had been in development since around the time of the first Iron Man movie so there was a huge financial incentive to just get it finished and out the goddam door.

Guardians meanwhile existed for the EXACT SAME reason Iron man 2 existed, that is to say set up things for the future. Iron Man 2 primarily existed to set up Avengers whereas Guardians existed to set up the cosmic side of the Marvel universe thereby giving the MCU more potential films whilst also setting up Infinity War by explaining who the Hell that guy from the post credits scene of Avengers was and what these Infinity Stones actually are.

Guardians was a movie they HAD to make more than anything.

So we have 2 necesarry movies and then sequels to the established stuff. Could they have done a Black Widow movie? Maybe but at that point in time there was no indication that there was enough interest in Black Widow to do that and they were already taking a humungous risk on Guardians and to a lesser extent Ant Man.

Black Widow got popular to the point where EVERYONE was demanding she get a movie after Winter Soldier, that film came out in 2014 with phase 2 scheduled to end the very next year meaning they literally had no time to give Black Widow her own movie before Phase 2 was done.

Could they do it now? Sure, but they are also doing a male/female co-lead movie as well as their own female led movie in Captain Marvel.

Could they have done Captain Marvel earlier. Not really no. Carol Danvers hadn’t yet reached her current point of popularity circa the Phase 1 movies and more poignantly she was nowhere near the same level of popular, iconic or a surething as a movie as the Phase 1 characters were, let alone being necessary.

Hulk was the most famous character followed by Cap. Cap along with Iron Man and Thor are THE iconic Avengers, you can’t do a movie without them.

Beyond Carol though all their big female solo heroes do not have the same degree of popularity as other male heroes. Spider Woman and She Hulk are nowhere near as popular as Spider-Man and Hulk so if you are making a billion dollar financial investment in a superhero movie you’re not going to go for the former in favour of the latter, not initially anyway. NOW though we’re in a better position to do that.

Phase 1 had to lay the ground work, Phase 2 had to solidify things and not rock the boat too much, now in Phase 3 the MCU’s place in pop culture isn’t a one hit wonder or five minutes of fame. It is now in a position to be bolder in making different types of movies.

My point. There are legitimate practical reasons as to why Marvel hasn’t yet made a female led movie but we are NOW in a position to make it happen.

“Kevin Feige — the dad of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — has said that Marvel Studios has a clear plan for where Spider-Man’s going to go: and it’s to college. He’s said that he wants to make the Spider-Man movies work similarly to the Harry Potter movies, where each one documents one year of Peter Parker at school. And Feige has said he wants to do at least seven of them, carrying Peter Parker all the way through high school and almost all of the way through college. While Tom Holland’s enthusiasm makes the prospect of Miles Morales appearing as the prime Spider-Man a bit dubious, Feige’s claims make the prospect pretty much dead. Maybe he’ll change his mind, but until then, get ready for years of Peter Parker. Years!”

How dare Kevin Feige wish for Spider-Man to go through the same iconic character arc from the comics which made him popular. And how dare he enter the status quo in which he gained pop culture stardom.

Dropping the sarcasm though this sounds utterly fucking awesome and the correct approach to Spider-Man.

“One problem with replacing Spider-Man is the fact that it hasn’t happened yet — ever. There haven’t been any legacy characters yet, so introducing the idea with Spider-Man would be a bit of an odd step. It would make more sense to have Bucky take over Captain America or War Machine take over as Iron Man. These characters are already set up and their legacies make a bunch of sense.”

Jackass ANT MAN IS A LEGACY!

“Once Steve Rogers or Tony Stark aren’t the men behind their respective masks, the idea of Miles becoming the Ultimate Spider-Man would be a lot more palatable for somewhat squeamish audiences.”

Yu realize Feige has stated he’d rather recast Tony Stark than reboot the MCu right?

I doubt we’re gonna get to the point where Tony and probably Steve get legacied.

“You know what comic books are great for? Advertising. Each comic basically works as an advertisement for all of the toys and movies and video games. That’s how Marvel actually makes all that sweet money from these characters. The money they get from the comics isn’t shabby, but it’s mostly a really well-written commercial.”

Holy crap you really don’t know anything do you?

First of all the comic money is pitiful. It’s chump change in the grand scheme of things.

But more importantly the comics AREN’T COMMERCIALS FOR THE MERCHANDISE!

An issue of Spider-Man is read by at best 100,000 people per month, most of whom are older people who’re less inclined towards buying merchandise. And they are mainly sold through speciality comic book shops which aren’t on the mass goddam market.

This means the comics DOESN’T PROMOTE THE MERCHANDISE THE MERCHANDISE PROMOTES THE COMICS!

How the Hell do you not know that seriously! Whenever a movie comes out the comics contort to be like the movies because they know they’ll get a sales bump from it, not because they think the few 100,000 tops people going to speciality stores and are older people who’ve been reading for decades might be swayed to watch the movie that’s been advertised in trailers and posters everywhere they go in their daily lives!

“Thinking of comics that way, you can see which products that Marvel values highest: and the winner is Peter Parker, who stars in (at last count) three books, with cameos in many more. As for Miles Morales? He has his own and an occasional crossover. ”

*facepalm*

FIRST of all Miles appears regularly in Champions and before that he was regularly appearing in All New All Different Avengers and before that he was regularly appearing in All-New Ultimates.

And what is this ‘occassional crossover’ crap?

Spider-Men

Divided We Fall

United We Stand

Cataclysm

Secret Wars

Civil War II

Miles had tie-ins to ALL of those crossovers and appeared in many of them. In fact he had VITAL roles in the last three I listed.

Wow. I’m shocked because I found nothing objectionable in this final entry on this list.

In summation.

This was laughable and the author should be ashamed of the pathetic levels of ignorance and lack of research evident in this article (for lack of a better word).

I am appalled that the author was paid actual money to make this garbage list.

#spider-man #spider-man: homecoming #Miles Morales #Ultimate Spider-Man #Peter Parker #marvel cinematic universe #mcu #Batman #Iron Man #Ant Man #Captain America #Kevin Feige

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jenbrookmodel · 7 years

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Walter’s Wardrobe: Ruffles & Ready

We’re now five events into Walter’s Wardrobe, with the creaky doors opening in no less than one abandoned Victorian theatre, one gothic castle and three stately homes from various periods. But what really happens behind the wooden doors? As ‘Ruffles & Ready’ took the stage this April, I thought it was about time I explained what goes on within the Wardrobe...

Who is this elusive Walter character and what’s with his Wardrobe?

Walter is my big black tom. Hand reared from weeks old, but born to a farm cat stray, his questionable manners and anger management leave plenty to be desired. Yet there is something irresistible about him. He owns my heart, like my passion for fashion and no matter how much stress he causes, he has an innate ability of sucking me back in. Always.

As for the wardrobe; the concept derives from the imagination of C.S. Lewis and his magical knotty pine that endorsed my childhood. As the wardrobe doors open, photographers are invited to step through the doors of reality, wade past the fur coats of normality and straight into a new kind of Narnia, shooting models in couture costume at alluring locations.

How did Walter’s Wardrobe begin?

The thing with the Wardrobe, is that it was never meant to be. I’m a qualified writer turned model, now working in a 9-5 office occupation. Hosting fashion shoots for photographers, was never my original agenda. Yet, as I tried to leave, I found myself bathing in reluctance.

I knew gorgeous models, great makeup artists, exquisite designers, fascinating locations...and a persistent desire to be involved. I don’t want to be a photographer, but I do want to make photographs.

Walter’s Wardrobe represents a natural progression; from wannabe model, to wannabe stylist and event planner. Nothing more, nothing less.

***********************************************

Ruffles & Ready

After 2016′s autumn production, House of Two Halves, it was set to be a comfortable six month break for Christmas...or so it would seem. The final cracker had barely been pulled before location scouting began once again. Plans for April were imminent; Ruffles & Ready was coming.

The venue needed to follow my strict criteria: an essence of opulence, a bit of baroque, ornate with an abundance of history. Locations with whispering walls are the places that call to me...and this one, most certainly did.

Haunted by the ghosts of the past, once again I stumbled across this location through the tragic historical stories that consume my imagination. This time, entranced by the story of two nineteenth century female photographers, who twirled in front of a lit fireplace. I learned that their creole dresses accidentally caressed the naked flames in the library...and they burnt to death, where they’d danced with nobody watching. A harrowing tale of such heartbreaking coincidence, this story could not remain a secret from the photographers within Walter’s Wardrobe.

Not only this, but the tale of Disraeli’s parrot was a key influence in the styling of the titled production ‘Ruffles & Ready’. The exotic bird was gifted to the Lady of the house by our former Tory Prime Minister of the 1870s. Presumed male, he was a finely feathered masculine beauty....until the day she laid 23 eggs in 24 days and promptly dropped dead in her cage. Although considered another tragic tale, the dark comedy of this story became me - yet another example of how life imitates art. I had to have this venue.

You may have recognised her taxidermy body, as the ‘save the date’ notice:

Her sorry story influenced the creation of the below image, captured by Richard Wakefield, featuring the 23 eggs that sorely killed her.

So the hunt for yellow ruffles began - not a common colour inline with my usual themes, but one that undoubtedly had to pay homage to our 137 year old deceased feathered friend.

With the tale of the two girls and the long perished parrot in my mind, inspiration and planning was freshly underway. So when I explained the story behind the search for yellow, to one of the hardest working designers I know, Mishi May kindly offered to create a brand new design especially for us. The addition of Mickey Mouse inspired ears to this outfit, was a cheeky nod to my upcoming birthday; a fortnight in DisneyWorld Orlando in no less than a dozen days from now; paid for entirely by the attendees of 5 Walter’s Wardrobe events, allowing me to reach a lifetime goal of 5 year old me. The Mickey ears remain one of my favourite looks for this reason - a commissioned product produced by Donna Graham.

A loose rendition of 1950s/Wes Anderson bellboy inspiration, en pointe with makeup and hair by Sophie Battersby (left edit by Znapps):

Nicky Mouse, better known as Nicky Phillips, working the Hollywood look:

Image above by Richard Wakefield (MUA: Sophie Battersby).

Nicky looked equally as fabulous on day one, sporting an oversized Sia homage head bow, designed by Donna Graham, with hair and makeup by Livvy Morewood. Short fashion film below by Laurent Baumann:

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Following hints of bird-like Nicky, the animal theme was continued by model number two, Jodi Lakin; loosely labelled our ‘Silver Fox’ for her natural beauty reminiscent of actress, Rachel Weisz, and the heavily embellished metallic design of her dress.

Likeness uncanny. Left image of Jodi, by photographer, Panikos Hajistilly:

Like most of the looks featured in this production, this dress was a brand new addition to the latest Mishi May collection - made especially to meet our request dates, with an additional ruffled sleeve to fit the theme. I cannot express how hard Mishi May has worked on each and every stitch, ruffle and embellishment to create such jaw droppingly incredible designs at such short notice for us - designs that we were so lucky to shoot before anybody else. I highly recommended her on every level of talent and professionalism, plus genuine loveliness to top it off.

Basking in the light. Image by Znapps:

Next, we had our ultimate ruffle wonder look, (nicknamed ‘Dirty Duck Egg’ due to its colour) worn by supertrooper, Victoria Coutts. Victoria is a full time model and actress who recently completed a three month job costumed in a gut constricting corset. Unfortunately, the traditional female attire left her ribs fractured at the sternum some weeks later. So what did we dress her in? Another corset! Fearless Victoria assured us she was ok to work, however regular top ups of painkillers behind the scenes depicts what absolute superstars Walter’s Wardrobe models are - dedicated to the moment without complaint, every time.

Victoria’s look is inspired by the theme of the event ‘Ruffles & Ready’ and really was the showstopper of this production. £11.5k worth of layered tulle dripping from her tightly cinched waist, was without a doubt a wow moment, as it took 3 pairs of hands to transport this gown from set to set for the photographers.

Victoria in the library with a book...image by Bentham Imaging:

‘Dirty duck’ was accompanied by a further nod, this time to the current season. Sporting Easter bunny ears on day one, the look was accompanied by inspirations of gothic bride millinery; classic of Donna Graham’s unique sense of style, collaborated with the ethereal pale pastels that I adore, on day two. I don’t think I have a favourite between the two looks for the two days and that is why I love working with Donna!

Silvery tones make a picture perfect palette, image created by Jo Rutherford:

Finally, came the simplest, but my favourite look of all: our sugar plum puffball, Polish princess - Kamila.

Puffball moodboard (fact of the day - I modelled at the location featured top left, by Tim Walker, for one of Brooke Shaden’s brilliant UK retreat events...yes, I did stroke the walls):

Heavily inspired by works of the iconic Tim Walker, Kamila’s look leant itself to the surroundings of nature, with hints of the seasoned cherry blossom/magnolia trees, plus the available theme of extensive ruffles. Her long slender legs created an ideal of the look I was aiming for - complemented by pom poms situated on her toes.

Height was everything for this look, wonderfully captured by Jo Rutherford, with china doll-like hair and makeup, by Abigail Pulleyn:

One of my favourite things about the Wardrobe, is that it’s not a workshop - there is no teaching, so there’s no style to replicate and most importantly of all; no egos to please. Yes, the model/makeup/costuming/location is provided, but each photographer creates their own series, meaning everyone comes away with their own shots.

A visionary treat; creative creation by photographer, Mark Legge:

I’m not sure if I can claim the event to be a success just yet, I guess you’d have to ask the photographers about that. What I can say, is that the event went better than ever expected and I am extremely happy with the results. If that’s considered a success, then so be it!

A huge thank you goes out to all those who stepped within the Wardrobe this time, making it another sell out event. If you would like to join the next production in July, join the Walter’s Wardrobe Facebook group for first access to information here. You can also follow the work of the photographers here.

All credit to the outstanding team of Walter’s Wardrobe:

Models: Nicky Phillips, Jodi Lakin, Victoria Coutts and Kamila Nowak.

MUAs: Olivia Morewood, Sophie Battersby and Abigail Pulleyn.

MUA Assistant: Rachel Doig.

Designer: Mishi May.

Millinery and assistant stylist: Donna Graham.

Behind the Scenes Cinematographer: Richard Wakefield.

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BTS Video by the brilliant Richard Wakefield.

Email me to join the mailing list: here

#walters wardrobe #fashion #fashion photography #amazing locations #Model #modelling #jen brook #fashion shoot #photoshoot #group shoot #makeup #video #stylist #milinery #MUA #designer #mishimay

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skyler10fic · 7 years

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Pink and Yellow: The Blog of a Flower Shop Girl

By Skyler10

Summary: Rose Tyler is a lonely florist, resigned to her life of expertise in assisting those who have what she never seems to: a date for Valentine’s. Luckily, she has a blog with loyal followers (you).

Notes:. Note the dates and the changing colors of the flowers. ;)

Thursday, February 12

Those of you who have been reading my little blog here might remember me saying before that the mechanics of floral care are only the beginning. Sure, you have to know about cutting technique and the types of arrangements and even the extensive etiquette around which types of flowers belong at what kinds of events. But there is an art to it as well, beyond cultural knowledge and botany.

When I started The Rose Garden with my friend and colleague, Lily O’Martin, we spent so much time joking about our names and learning the science and studying for our business degrees at night school that we thought we knew what we were doing on opening day. But what we didn’t know is that working in a flower shop, you have to know just as much about people as you do about flowers.

Take, for example, our signature product and my namesake, the English rose. Eternally common and identifiable to even the least educated of buyers, and yet, to the recipient, a dozen roses can mean a thousand things. And not just red for romance, yellow for friendship, pink for that first blush of new love…

For example, a man walks into our shop the other day, browsing for orange flowers to send his wife for their anniversary because he knew she liked the color. He had no idea what an orange rose meant. His idea of a romantic message was “Happy V-day. Cheers.” But I always include a card explaining how we consult with customers on the meaning of their bouquet to assure the right message is sent. Thus, tonight at home, before they head off into the city to a restaurant overlooking the Thames with the city lights flickering in the distance, he will present her with a bouquet of gratitude for their years together, enthusiasm about their relationship, and passion to carry them through the night.

Sometimes they will bring their significant other back to have tea at Lily’s Tea Shop. Sometimes those who purchase elaborately entwined red roses for a special date night will return to hire us for their weddings and even browse through our greenhouse full of houseplants and topiaries and stone garden accessories.

I admit I stop by the wine and chocolate shop next door on my way home on those days.

Lily is happily married with no kids of her own but enough nieces and dogs to keep her busy for many lifetimes. She met her husband, predictably, in a public garden through mutual lamenting and criticism of the landscaping. He is a city planner with a specialty in public “green” spaces. She adores his every word and he worships the ground she walks on.

I’m very happy for them, of course, but anytime my mum or my adopted brother, Mickey, or anyone else utters the phrase “always the shopgirl, never the Valentine,” I think of Lily and her life and refill my wine glass.

Here’s to the single ones out there this week. Stay strong, my loyal followers. Xoxo

Friday, February 13

Yes, it is Friday the 13th, which seems like especially bad luck that it falls the day before Valentine’s.

It isn’t just superstition either. I have already had three orders canceled today that sounded suspiciously due to ended relationships. One was so bold as to ask for the name on the order to be changed. I didn’t like doing it, but I couldn’t exactly refuse a paying customer, so “to Harriet” became “to Cynthia” and no one’s the wiser. Except all of you, of course. Well, those aren’t their real names, anyway. (I always change the names of my customers I mention on this blog to protect their privacy. Sort of like a sacred lawyer-client, doctor-patient, priest-confessor thing.)

One man came in today with a name so boring you’d never believe me if I told you I have no need to change it. John Smith.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: perhaps he gave me a false name to protect some sort of clandestine affair. But he wasn’t the type. (I know the type.) And unless he is committing credit card fraud (yes, I checked his card before I ran it) and lying about this “Donna” woman being his half-sister, I think it’s safe to say that he simply has the least creative parents in England.

At any rate, he bought her yellow roses. When I questioned this, making sure he knew they had a strictly platonic meaning, he explained about her being his sister, who had recently broken off her engagement with a bloke named Lance who was sneaking around behind her back. As a good older brother, he simply wanted to make sure she was taken care of for Valentine’s Day. I joked that I wish my brother was that thoughtful, though I know very well Mickey is completely unaware it is Valentine’s Day at all. Which is a greater tragedy for his girlfriend, Martha, anyway.

I realized too late that I was sharing all of this aloud with this handsome stranger who wore no ring and was only buying one bouquet. For his heartbroken sister. I was leaning across the counter, dear reader. I admit it. I couldn’t stop staring at his very-touchable-looking messy brown hair (really, really great hair) and I was breaking the ONE. CARDINAL. RULE. of running a flowershop. Never, ever, ever, fall for a customer.

Of course, this rule is meant to protect us from romanticizing already attached men who are only here to buy flowers for someone else. But this someone else was a relation, not a wife, and he certainly wasn’t sending any signs that he wasn’t interested.

I told Lily this, of course, and she lectured me for an hour over our afternoon tea and then served freshly baked cake, so I assume I was forgiven, but she didn’t see him! She didn’t have the whole story: the way his eyes twinkled, the way he flirted after a brief glance down at my diamond-less hand, the way he subtly asked about my plans for tomorrow. Was it hope I saw in those dark eyes that seem far older than the rest of him? Did he really take one of my business cards (specifically making sure it was mine and not Lily’s) with a promise to come again soon?

Am I a victim of Friday the 13th and all the bad luck that comes with it?

I don’t care. I’m enjoying my second glass of bubbly Lambrusco and a truffle that bears an uncanny resemblance to those eyes I can’t get out of my memory.

Good night, loves. Xoxo

Saturday, February 14

I never do this. Or, I’ve never done this before. I think I might be dating a customer. Or soon to be dating one. But I can’t be sure.

Let me start from the beginning.

He was outside the shop this morning, 8 am sharp, when I arrived to open the door. He being the John Smith from yesterday who has such a common, uninteresting name that you don’t believe me that I haven’t changed a letter.

He was carrying two coffees. This is how far gone I am, in full disclosure: my stomach sank, assuming the second coffee was for his girlfriend.

Not his boss, his sister, anyone else. I immediately second guessed everything I had published to the entire internet last night. I was a fool and should have listened to Lily and should NOT have had that second glass or fallen asleep wondering if he would be willing to take my last name because Rose Smith is almost as boring as his.

I digress.

The second coffee was, in fact, for me. He felt badly that he knew so little about flowers yesterday and had caused extra work for me (he hadn’t) and that he had kept me from my other duties (I had no other customers the entire time he was there) and had just generally taken up so much of my time (so he came back for more?). I was trying to use all of my people-reading skills that I had developed in my years of being a professional florist and business owner, but my chronic singleness was crying out louder than any rationality that would have told me this was just a friendly gesture from a grateful customer.

I swiped two pastries from behind Lily’s counter, and we had a lovely breakfast. He stayed at our table, even when I had other customers (forgetful husbands, first-time boyfriends… unsurprisingly, all of my customers were haggard-looking males from the young ones buying a single rose with a teddy bear to the older ones buying a dozen with a sheepish smile and a shrug of acknowledgement that they had only been reminded this morning what today was).

One customer did try to get a bit fresh, an arrogant errand boy for a big name executive (another name I won’t share but if only you knew how many different women he was ordering for…) When I came back with his boss’s flowers, however, he was a different boy. He shot a glance to John, who was innocently enjoying his pastry and coffee.

After the lad hurried away, I asked John what he had said while I was in the back. He only replied that he thought it was time someone spoke to the boy about respecting women and that was all. I raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t elaborate.

Is it wrong that this made me want him even more? He wasn’t exactly defending my honor, just giving a tosser a word about manners, but it didn’t feel like simple decency when I tried to use my not-so-super powers to read his expression. It felt like a desire to have the right to be possessive, but knowing it wasn’t his place.

And it wasn’t. But I was quickly wanting it to be.

He eventually had to get to work at the university not far away. I commented on how lovely it was that he had stopped by, and that he was welcome to take up more of my time whenever he liked and I’d be happy to teach him all about flowers, and he said he’d be glad to. I mentioned that I had never seen him before despite his workplace being so close, and he confirmed that he hadn’t had a reason to come in as he didn’t have anyone but his sister to order flowers for.

I confess this made me smile brighter than it should have. The chorus of “no dating the customer” still played in the back of my head but my heart didn’t care. It was too busy drowning in his next words:

He may not have had a reason to come in, he said, but he always wanted to. He had seen me closing up in the evenings and always wanted an excuse to say hello.

Reader. I am still awash in shame over what happened next.

I said, “oh. Hello!”

As if we hadn’t spent all morning together and I hadn’t been drooling all over his every word all morning. Smooth, Rose Tyler, very smooth.

He laughed and said hello back, then awkwardly, we realized we were in the middle of saying goodbye.

I am positive that he went to work and told everyone how ridiculous I acted and that I am now known as the strange flower girl to everyone in the science and engineering department of that school. Why is it that I can be a perfectly normal human when it comes to being a daughter and a sister and a florist and a businesswoman, but when it comes to meeting men I turn into a complete alien? I mean, I don’t have much experience, of course, but surely that should be something natural, attracting a mate and all?

I already know what you’re going to say: I should probably have spent a little less of my 20s surrounded by plants and a little more of it learning about men.

Alright, that’s the end of my lunch break. More later! Xoxo

Saturday, February 14

Yes, I know, I never blog twice in a single day, but this is important.

[First, to the commenter who said I should just snog him already: my, but you are bold! I had only met him the day before! Blimey. But… well. Just keep reading. ;) ]

I am currently a puddle of dark, molten chocolate. And not just because I have eaten enough of it to where I am fairly certain it is possible to be drunk on it.

Although I am rather tipsy as well.

However, neither of these things are from curling up with a glass and a bag of truffles and a romantic novel as one might expect if you have been following this blog long.

This time the alcohol and chocolate were from a real restaurant. A real restaurant a certain John Smith took me to. His sister had made reservations at a gorgeous exclusive restaurant, knowing her fiancé, Lance, would forget (and judging from my hectic but profitable afternoon, he would not have been alone). Of course, poor Donna would not be needing the reservation anymore.

So this handsome science professor calls the shop not six hours after he had breakfast there this morning, asking me if I was still free. Of course I was. But I simply told him my schedule was “flexible” (by which I secretly meant, my friends and family are all going out with their significant others and my “plans” were of the take-away and Netflix in my jimjams variety). I didn’t want to seem too eager, however. I didn’t need a pity date.

He didn’t sound like he was pitying though as he sighed in relief (!!! Yes, relief. Seriously, I swear.) and said he was very glad to hear it because he happened to be free as well and, as a courtesy to his sister (who was now having a drunken girlie night on the town tonight instead), he would like to use the romantic restaurant reservation. It would make her very happy, and she was so grateful for the yellow roses, and would I please help make his sister’s Valentine’s Day a little brighter by not wasting such an opportunity?

I held back my laugh of delight but not my eyeroll since he couldn’t see it over the phone anyway and accepted. Pleasing his sister, my arse. He fancied me!

I nearly dropped the phone when he told me the name of the poshest restaurant in town and assured me he’d be paying.

Lily and I closed up early (she may have been a tinge jealous. Ok, a lot. But I knew from secretly helping her husband clear her work schedule that she was going to be surprised with a cruise tonight, so I couldn’t be too bothered to care about how long she’d been trying to get him to take her to the same place I had lucked into in one day.)

I wore a dress I only had in my closet from the time my mum dated an executive and he had invited us all to his company’s New Year’s Eve party. Fortunately, it still fit and was just as appropriate for the occasion. I won’t share a photo here because it isn’t the kind of thing a professional posts on her blog. (*ahem, ok, it may have shrunk a bit from the first time I wore it. And my bra choice tonight gave off a very different cleavage situation than when I wore it to mum’s boyfriend’s corporate office party.) But trust me when I say, I was pretty confident that this was a very different look than my usual button-up shirt, jeans, and apron situation which John had seen me in so far.

I am shameless enough to say I was pleased by his reaction.

He picked me up at my flat, looking dashing in his black tie, and we had a perfectly awkward first date conversation that I can’t remember a word of the whole way to the restaurant. Then the waiter showed us to our table. It was exactly like I pictured. I must have seemed like a complete idiot as I stood there taking it all in while he pulled out my chair for me and waited for me to sit down in it.

But it was just like I always dreamed it would be: sunset over the river, city lights dotting the landscape, boats full of couples on expensive dinner cruises out the window. The dinner went smoothly enough, sharing both our food and about our lives. It was such an odd contrast: my awe of the posh romantic setting (a novel experience for a chronically single florist, as you can imagine) and just how… easy it was being with him. We had already talked two hours that morning, a bit on the phone, and all the way through the ride to the restaurant and dinner, and I never found myself losing interest. In fact, it all just seemed so natural, as if we had been together for years.

We clapped for couples who got engaged and ate enough molten chocolate lava cake with chocolate ice cream to make it seem like a proper celebration. All the while, his free hand inched toward mine on the table. We put on our coats and walked along the riverside until we froze, then took a cab back to my place.

(No, not like that.)

He and I did stand outside my front door in the cold for much longer than was sensible as we put off saying our goodbyes. Finally, though, he noticed he was shivering and I was shivering and that it was incredibly uncomfortable standing there in heels (but of course, I didn’t want to scare him off or give him the wrong idea by inviting him inside and he was far too much of a gentleman to ever ask such a thing).

He leaned in and I could hardly let myself believe it until his lips were pressed to mine and we were sharing the Valentine’s Day kiss I’d always dreamed of on those nights alone after days full of sending out bouquet after bouquet meant for some other lucky girl.

We had already been standing so close that it was unquestionably predictable, but also so special and unexpected and world changing.

Like a dozen roses.

Good night, dear readers. I would encourage you to let me know what you think I should do next in the comments, but I know you will anyway, you hopeless romantics. ;) xoxo

Friday, November 13

Friday the 13th again and nine months to the day since John and I met. I can’t help feeling like the world has it wrong. This is the luckiest day on the calendar; at least it has made me feel like the luckiest shopgirl in the universe.

I try to hold on to that feeling these days but it isn’t always easy. I have exactly one day and three months until this wedding, and I am losing my mind. I’ve done the flowers for more weddings than I can count, but no one tells you as the florist how stressful it is planning your own! John tries to help wherever he can and has been generally wonderful as you know, but I am so exhausted these days with preparing for the Christmas rush (if anyone says the words “table centerpieces that don’t take up too much room but still look like they cost more than they do” to me again, I will scream. Or send them vases full of plastic daisies).

John has started helping out around the shop though, which is amusing to me because he approaches everything like an engineer, making our shipments more efficient and fixing whatever is broken. Lily thinks it’s because he’s afraid another handsome customer will come in and snatch me away, but he says it’s because he just likes watching me work. Considering how sexy I find his reading glasses and the way he puts his pen to his lips and the way his forehead scrunches up in concentration when he’s grading papers, I can’t tease him too much about wanting to organize my deliveries for me “so we can spend more time together.”

We’ve begun the process of moving in together and when I’m not out arguing with my mum about china or trying to find bridesmaids dresses that look good on every body type involved or sorting the RSVPs to our invitations, I feel like a princess. His flat is, well, certainly the type that fits an old London family with money and not that of a poor uni professor. Or a florist with a small shop. But with only him and Donna as the heirs, their parents left him plenty of money to cover not only a decently sized place to live but also our honeymoon (which is apparently a surprise! I know it’s somewhere I’ve never been, but that doesn’t narrow it down much as I’ve never been much of anywhere).

All this to say, I’m simultaneously in decorator heaven and wanderlusting and drowning in my to-do list.

I couldn’t imagine doing all of this with anyone else though. Who would have thought that when John Smith walked into my shop to buy flowers for his (utterly hilarious, brilliant) sister that I would be marrying him a year later?

More specific cries for help coming later. I will post a few different arrangements for the bouquets and a poll for voting! Leave a comment with any wedding tips for us as we approach the final countdown. Xoxo

p.s. Someone with a very good memory (or who went back to look at my posts from the first weekend I met John) asked in the comments if I would be taking his name or if I would keep my own. xD Well, let’s just say, I’ve caught him doodling “Dr. Tyler” in his notebooks. Then again, very little about us is traditional, so I suppose I had nothing to worry about all those months ago. Haha!)

Sunday, February 14

Just a quick note before it all begins to say thank you for all of your support these last few months! The garden looks gorgeous, the make-up and hair for the bridesmaids is in progress, and I’ve heard through the grapevine that John has been ready for hours and is driving his groomsmen crazy with his energy. I’ve texted him to calm down and that I love him and to relax, but the only response back was “I LOVE YOU TOOO” with about a dozen exclamation marks, so I’m not sure it did the job.

Oh, the music is starting and they are handing me my bouquet of white and red roses (did you expect anything else?). Time to go!

p.s. I probably won’t be posting for a while… ;) Happy Valentine’s Day, loves! Xoxo

#ten x rose au #ficandchips #flowershop au #rated: g #but slight alcohol tw #flower language #rose x ten #romance #valentines fic #valentine's day fluff

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