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starsandsoulmates · 3 years

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Bedwars God

Dream x Reader

Request - So this is a dream x reader in real life the reader is a Minecraft youtuber, so I want their personality based off of LDshadowlady, basically like a soft girl, very friendly that can build cute stuff but know hot to pvp etc etc. And dream is like the biggest simp every. Anyways hope you have a good day bai bai

Summary - You are a twitch streamer and Dream donates to you asking for a 1v1.

Word Count - 1.6k

A/N - I’m a little bit rusty with my writing skills but I hope that you guys enjoy this! Keep the requests coming in so I can keep working on my characterizations!

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When the Twitter notification had popped up, you honestly hadn’t been expecting it. You stared for a few moments at it before it fully registered. Dream, the Dream, had just followed you on Twitter, the manhunt, Dream smp, Dream. After a brief moment of intense freaking out, you decided to draft a tweet, and a few failed attempts later you finally sent the tweet.

@yourtwitterhandle

Dream followed me so I’m basically in the big leagues now. I’ll remember all of you once I’m famous. 😎

You smiled a little and scrolled through the replies of your fans freaking out about this news. They honestly were almost as excited as you were about this new development.

Dream had been a huge inspiration to you when you had started streaming only a few months ago. Seeing the success he was able to achieve just by having fun with his friends was enough to push you into finally pressing the start stream button on Twitch. Of course, it had been a rocky start but now you had gained a following and were averaging about 10,000 viewers per stream. Your streams consisted of anything from Bedwars to building on your Minecraft world that you started the day you started streaming.

After a bit more time of scrolling through the replies on your tweet, you decided to finally get up and start to set up your stream for the day. You sent a quick tweet about streaming in 20 minutes and started to get ready. You checked all of your devices to make sure that they were running properly before turning on the stream starting soon screen. The chat exploded to life when the stream went online. It was filled with hellos and disbelief about the Dream follow. You giggled a little as you read through the chat before unmuting your mic for a moment.

“Hey guys just finishing up setting some things and I will be on. I’m going to drop a poll in chat on what you guys wanna see today,” You said happily as you booted up Minecraft.

You muted the mic again and started the poll before turning back to opening up Minecraft. You glanced at the poll and saw that Bedwars was winning by quite a bit so you decided to just log into Hypixel now. Once you were in the Hypixel lobby and you had nicked yourself, you finally let the stream see your screen. You turned on the camera and unmuted your mic.

“Hello, guys! How are you guys doing today,” You paused for a few moments to let your eyes roam over the chat, “I’m doing good, thank you so much for asking!”

“Okay let me do the donos I missed when I was setting up…” You read out all the donos you had missed and the gifted subs as well thanking your viewers and finally, you joined the Bedwars lobby.

“Okay so I think we are going to start off with some Bedwars today and then we can decide what to do after. How long am I going to stream?” you read from the chat, “I’m not exactly sure yet at least an hour or so we’ll see how long I can go before I get tired.”

You started to play Bedwars and got a mixed bag of good clutches and the inevitable failing at speed bridging. The stream was going perfectly with your viewers interacting with you and you having fun as well. At least until the dono came in that made you walk off the bridge you were in the middle of constructing to Blue’s base.

The monotone voice readout, “Hey, love your content we should definitely 1v1 sometime.”

The dono wasn’t particularly unusual but the fact that it was $100 and from dreamwastaken was the part that made you fall off the bridge.

“DREAM! You didn’t have to donate that much,” You paused to collect yourself and reorientate in the Bedwars game. “I would love to 1v1 you some time, I mean I think I’m pretty good at pvp but I don’t think that I’m that good at pvp.”

The chat was going absolutely insane at the dono and they were also calling the both of you simps. Dream for even donating in the first place and you for falling off the bridge when he donated.

You laughed softly at the chat, “Chat shush I am not a simp, it just caught me off guard that’s all.”

The stream from there on out was relatively normal with a few more Bedwars victories in the bag. After almost two hours of streaming, you decided to wrap up the stream.

“Okay, guys I think I need to head out and get some work done. I love you guys all so much and thank you for being here today. And an extra thank you for anyone who donated, subbed, or gifted subs. Remember to follow my Twitter it's the exact same as my twitch name. I usually announce when I’m going to stream on there as well as any other updates. Thank you guys so much and I will see you next time,” You said with a huge smile covering your face as you ended the stream after sending all of your viewers over to Tubbo who had started streaming towards the end of your stream.

Once you turned everything off and pulled up the latest video you had been editing, the notification ding distracted you away from your computer. For the second time in the day, you stared in disbelief at a Twitter notification.

Dream - Hey, I would really like to 1v1 you some time. I have been watching your content for a while now and I am a huge fan of what you make. Let me know when you want to do the 1v1. We can do it for a stream or a video. It's you to you :)

You - It means so much to me that you have been liking my content, I am a huge fan of yours as well. I am honestly free pretty much whenever. I need to make a new video so if you want to record a couple of rounds of pvp and maybe some bedwars with me then I can upload it to my channel.

Dream - Yeah that sounds good, I am actually free right now if you wanna hop on Hypixel and record now?

You - Yeah that sounds good I just sent you a discord friend request.

Your hands were practically shaking as you booted Minecraft back up. Dream was going to make a video with you. You were going to play with Dream. Your anxiety was only heightened when Dream accepted your friend request and added you into a VC. You took a slow breath and clicked on the VC and joined.

“H-hello,” You stuttered out softly as you tried to calm your nerves.

“Hey! Sorry if this seems out of the blue I really have been a fan for a while and I thought a 1v1 challenge would be fun,” Dream said and you could practically hear the smile in his voice.

“It’s fine, I just didn’t expect it. Like I said, I’m a huge fan so I’m just a bit shocked,” You chuckled a little feeling your nerves relax, “I’m on Hypixel now if you wanna get on, I say we do some 1v1s first.”

“Sounds good, are you recording now?” Dream asked as you glanced down at your recording software.

“Yep, but don’t worry I’ll send you the video before I post it so you can make sure you don’t mind any clips that I add,” you said as his character in the game ran towards you.

“You ready?” Dream asked with a smirk in his voice.

“Don’t get cocky yet green man, you’re going down,” You quipped back.

You and Dream 1v1ed a total of 11 times with Dream winning 6 and you winning the other 5.

“I told you not to be too cocky,” you giggled as he yelled about how you had managed to beat him 5 whole times.

“No! I only challenged you because I thought I would destroy you,” He said jokingly with a loud laugh accompanying the statement.

You laughed as well before rolling your eyes, “I told you not to get too cocky Dream, now let’s play some bedwars because I am going to destroy you.”

Dream scoffed a little and joined the party you had created. The beginning had been a little awkward but now the two of you were slowly falling into a rhythm. You started to feel more and more comfortable with the man and the teasing had only been heightened. The taunts during the bedwars game had both of you in stitches with Dream’s iconic kettle laugh only making you laugh that much harder.

“Oh sorry did my beauty distract you?” You laughed as you watched Dream fall off of his bridge.

“Oh shut up,” Dream countered weakly which only served to make you laugh that much harder.

The two of you ended up playing 4 rounds of Bedwars with Dream winning only a single round. He had raged for a few minutes after you had finished up the final round.

“Sorry Dream but Bedwars is my territory. You should have known better than to play with me,” You said with a huge smile.

“Oh come on, you were definitely using hacks. That was like a 1 in 7.5 trillion chance,” Dream said which sent you and consequently him into a fit of laughter.

“You’re so stupid,” You said with a smile before turning off the recording software. “Thank you for playing with me today, it’s always good to help people practice their bedwars skills.”

“You’re so annoying,” Dream whined before chuckling softly. “But yeah I had a really good time today, we definitely need to do this again.”

#dream minecraft #dream smp #dreamwastaken #dream x reader #dreamwastaken x reader #sapnap x reader #georgenotfound x reader #georgenotfound #sapnap #mcyt #mcyt x reader #wilbur soot x reader #wilbur soot #wilbur #wilbur x reader #karl jacobs #karl jacobs x reader #quackity #quackity x reader

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sebkijk · 3 years

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Zack Snyder’s Justice League (2021) - Movie Review | SebKijk

This movie review was originally published on: https://sebkijk.nl.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League is finally here. I can joyfully say that this movie has been well worth the wait. This movie is truly amazing. Not only is this my favorite DC Comics movie since The Dark Knight, but it is also one of my favorite superhero movies of all time. I’m just going to say it. Zack Snyder’s Justice League is also one of my favorite movies of all time. It is currently my number one movie of 2021. I have to limit my enthusiasm so I don’t just type in capital letters full of joy, but nonetheless, I’m going to fervently tell you why this movie is simply epic. My thanks to Warner Home Video and Day One MPM for their cooperation and screener copy of the film.

Synopsis Zack Snyder’s Justice League

In Zack Snyder’s Justice League, we see how Bruce Wayne is determined to make sure that Superman’s ultimate self-sacrifice was not futile. That’s why he teams up with Diana Prince. Together they try to form a team of meta-humans that can protect the world from an upcoming threat of catastrophic proportions. The task proves tougher than imagined for Bruce, as each member must deal with their own demons before they can form an unparalleled team of heroes together. United, Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Cyborg and The Flash may not be up to the task of saving the planet from the cruel plans of Steppenwolf, DeSaad and Darkseid.

Snyder’s Vision

I want to take a moment to talk about the making of Zack Snyder’s Justice League. This film is the director’s cut of the 2017 American superhero film Justice League. It’s directed by Zack Snyder – duh! The film reflects the original and true vision of director Zack Snyder. Zack Snyder outlined his visionary foundation for the DC Extended Universe with his films Man of Steel (2013) and Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice(2016). Snyder’s original plan was to create a five-film arc. The films Man of Steel and BvS were to be succeeded by a Justice League trilogy. Snyder’s original vision was to show the dark and epic mythological side of superheroes.

This did not please everyone – including myself. I am not exactly a fan of Man of Steel, but I could appreciate BvS. However, I have only seen the theatrical version of this movie and not the Ultimate Cut. This ultimate version is also, according to many, the better version. After seeing Zack Snyder’s Justice League, I have also been itching to see this Ultimate Cut. Batman v Superman was mainly poorly received due to its dark tone, slow pace and lack of humor. Distributor Warner Bros. reconsidered changing the tone of the upcoming DCEU films, including the Justice League film which at the time was a month away from shooting.

Reshoots & other Difficulties

The shooting of Justice League began in April 2016 and concluded in December of that year. Months later, multiple versions of Snyder’s Justice League were shown to Warner Bros. executives. These executives considered these versions to be unwatchable. For this reason, Warner Bros. hired director Joss Whedon. Whedon had worked on superhero movies before. For example, he is the director of the Marvel Studios films The Avengers (2012) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). He was hired to rewrite the script and help with extensive reshoots. CEO Kevin Tsujihara determined that Justice league should not exceed two hours in length, and Warner Bros. also decided not to push the release date. This made it more difficult for the filmmakers to finish the film properly. Zack Snyder was expected to film the scenes that Whedon rewrote.

They worked together until Zack Snyder’s daughter Autumn killed herself in 2017. Zack Snyder continued working on Justice League for two more months to distract himself, but finally stepped down in May. His wife – and producer of the film – Deborah Snyderalso left the project. Whedon took full control of the production, although Snyder retained directorial control. It is estimated that Whedon’s version used about 10% of the footage Snyder shot. Composer Tom Holkenborg was also replaced by Danny Elfmanmidway through post-production. The scenes Whedon wrote or reshot for the theatrical release had a different tone and more humor. In addition, the level of violence was reduced in Snyder’s darker direction.

#ReleasetheSnyderCut

More than 90 minutes of Snyder’s footage was removed, but the result still remained the basis of the story. Although the initial cut was poorly received by test audiences, the early screening of Whedon’s cut scored as high as the first Wonder Woman film. For this reason, Warner Bros. decided to go ahead with it. Justice League was released in theaters in November 2017. Many critics and fans were disappointed. The film was described as one in which the work of two different directors – with competing visions – totally failed to come together. Warner Bros. lost about $60 million with this film, according to Deadline Hollywood. Fans rebelled against this version of the Justice League film and created an online petition to see Zack Snyder’s vision of the film.

The movement to see the Snyder Cut continued to grow tremendously on social media under the hashtag #ReleaseTheSnyderCut. On May 20, 2020, Zack Snyder announced that his version of Justice League would be released on HBO Max in 2021. Fans around the world reacted to this news with enormous happiness. Additional scenes were shot in October 2020 that featured cast members such as Ben Affleck, Henry Cavill and Ray Fisher. In January 2021, it was announced that Snyder’s version of the film was completely finished. So this film has a long history, but how glad I am that this film still came out.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League is DC’s Crowing Achievement

Zack Snyder’s Justice League feels like an epic comic book movie adaptation that evokes profound emotions. The film may be longer than 4 hours, but the strong quality makes it feel even too short. Snyder put his full vision and passion into his version of Justice League. The film is full of scenes that you’ll have not seen before. These are not only incredible action or mythological scenes, but also storylines where more empathy is generated for the characters. All the main and supporting characters are more strongly underpinned with backstories and motives in this film. Even a weak villain like Steppenwolf is much better fleshed out in Zack Snyder’s version of Justice League. As a viewer, I almost couldn’t believe it, but Steppenwolf genuinely came across as a danger to the heroes. In the 2017 Justice League film he looks and acts like a joke.

The villain’s design may be slightly over-the-top, but in terms of visual effects and CGI, it is certainly as good as the Marvel villain Thanos. Zack Snyder’s Justice League feels like DC’s epic. This is their answer to franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universeand The Lord of the Rings. Zack Snyder’s Justice League is grandiose, spectacular and exceptionally deep. For example, the character elaborations are so good that as a viewer you start to care about fairly weird DC characters like Cyborg and Aquaman. Your empathy is not only created by the strongly written story and great acting. The camera work and editing also provide many symbolic shots that develop the characters.

Zack Snyder’s Justice League is the Better Version

Take for example shots where Cyborg is looking out of a broken window. This symbolizes the fact that this is a broken character with a damaged view of the world. Each superhero gets a chance to steal the show, in that each character is much more fun and better than the characters in Whedon’s version. The Snyder Cut is simply a dream come true. Not only for Snyder, but also for the fans. For those who weren’t already aware; in my opinion, Zack Snyder’s version of Justice League is way better than the 2017 version. The film may be very long (and, according to some, slow), but this does not take away from the fact that the added material has a purpose. It doesn’t just consist of extra fan-service scenes.

These new additions serve a purpose and do not feel like a weakening of the material. On the contrary – it strengthens the entire film and its supporting characters. In Joss Whedon’s version, the superheroes only come together because it’s a superhero movie. In Zack Snyder’s version, the choices and motives are so much better substantiated. As a viewer, you believe that these characters must come together to stop the enemies. This is due to the sincerity of the new scenes. You get to see how these characters must learn to appreciate and understand each other. You get to see how they must learn to function as one team. According to some critics, the story still does not feel earned. The reasoning behind these criticisms rests mainly on the idea that all the characters should have been worked out in solo films first.

Unnecessary Criticism and Minor Flaws

While I can appreciate the idea of previous solo films, I personally think this is bad criticism. It is not based on what the end product is, but on what the end product should have been according to the reviewer. In my opinion, this is not how (film) criticism should work, even though I sometimes understand the urge to review like this. Of course, every reviewer is free to write however they want. The problem is that these critics allow their written opinion to be presented as the truth, when in fact it is their personal opinion. Still, I must say that I (also) have some minor problems with Zack Snyder’s Justice League. For example, there is an overuse of slow-motion scenes in the first and last hour of the film. This can get quite irritating at certain points, but that’s a personal taste issue.

In addition, the CGI and special effects don’t look quite finished at some points. For me, these are the only two minor points that I would like to criticize. Other than that, I for one thoroughly enjoyed Zack Snyder’s Justice League. Also, the work of composer JunkieXL is simply brilliant. It brings together musical themes from different films and characters perfectly. The acting by the entire cast is top notch. In this movie I particularly enjoyed Ray Fisher, Ezra Miller and Ben Affleck. The powers of the superheroes are also used to their full creative potential. This makes for spectacular scenes full of action and suspense. After watching Zack Snyder’s Justice League, I have a huge desire to re-watch Man of Steel and BvS. It has also created desire where I hope Zack Snyder gets to continue and finish his vision for this franchise.

Conclusion

Normally I write an extensive conclusion, but I only want to say two things briefly now. My thanks to Zack Snyder. Not only for creating a top-notch movie, but also for continuing your original vision. And also I hope Zack Snyder can make his two other Justice League movies. In short – #RestoreTheSnyderVerse.

★★★★★

#zack snyder #justice league #snyderverse #deborah snyder #snyder cut #zack snyders justice league #justice league 2021 #sebkijk

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wexhappyxfew · 4 years

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HAPPY TRIVIA TUESDAY SHANNON!! Why did you start writing and how did you get from your starting point to here? (Like- basically can you talk about your development as a writer?)

AHHHHH JAMIE HAPPY TRIVIA TUESDAY!!!! and omg thank you so much for the ask you wonderful human, you’re such a supportive bean thank you!!! <3

and these questions *chef’s kiss*

One of the main reasons I started writing is actually something people may not suspect. Growing up, I actually HATED writing because of experiences in a 3rd grade or 2nd grade class - I can’t remember exactly. But we were supposed to write a short story and when I presented mine, I was told that it didn’t have good enough ‘context’ or a real drive or plot, even though for me I thought it did. Supposedly it just ‘wasn’t what the hopes of writing a short story would be’. I was later told it was because I needed a simpler topic. Smh. So that set me off really and all through elementary I strayed from writing, writing classes, anything and I mostly just read because I was like just not confident at all with writing. And I struggled big time with essays, reports, story writing. In 6th grade, my ELA teacher tore apart my story as well - so yeah I wasn’t exactly happy about that either :( I was already off on a bad foot.

But when I reached 7th grade - this was after my best friend introduced me to Wattpad and such - I started seeing the impacts of fanfiction actually and that you can base it off something and then make it completely your own! WHICH I LOVED! Because I like a bit of structure BUT THEN I LIKE GOING WILD!!! I like having that model a bit, but then being able to go and do what you want with writing.

And honestly, I’ll be honest, I have written over 20 different works, but Band of Brothers is my only published work :) It’s short stories, other fics based on stuff like Stars Wars, The Maze Runner, etc...a bunch of stuff like that!

And then I really discovered the impact of writing on me. I found that it became a hobby for me and I knew that when homework was done - I had the ability to go and write and escape to a completely different world. And for me, since I have trouble focusing in school and then it makes stuff more difficult to complete homework and such, I liked being able to escape to a different world through writing. And writing saved me more than anything in quarantine.

At the beginning of quarantine, I just was not in a good headspace especially with everything happening, but being able to go and write The Soldier of Stars with Hazel Parker, and being able to develop a deeply flawed character and write interactions with others, and then go and write a strong female bonded friendship as well as strong female characters who were also deeply flawed, really helped me through because it was rough. I don’t know what I would’ve done without it.

But writing truly, I saw a change in myself even in school. Because of writing fanfiction really, I saw improvements in my essays at school surprisingly by 8th grade! They were used for examples, I was getting good grades on them - even if it were just a science report - and the teachers were complimenting my way of writing and my style. I remember in 8th grade I was partnered with a girl, where we were given 10 vocab words and had to create a story with it and we would share our stories with each other and I remember looking at me after I read it and saying, “ YOU wrote that? ITS AMAZING!” and she was just super shocked. And I think that’s where I really started writing after that tbh.

Through high school I had major improvements and by my AP Lang Exam I took, I was nervous bc it was 45 mins for it, which isn’t exactly normal bc of COVID, but I was just like “Focus, you write FOR FUN for HOURS ON END, you can write for 45 minutes.” And that really focused me. And I got a 5 on the exam, which I was very happy about. But I swear it’s simply because of how much I write, and how OCD I am about making sure it is all perfect and up to my standards. I swear on it. Because with my writing, I like a flow and I feel if you don’t have a flow it just doesn’t work - and having a flow helped me AP exam bc without it, I would’ve done worse. But flow helps and being able to write with a flow helped more than anything! SO YES fanfiction helped earn me a good grade on my AP exam LOL

And for me writing has just been a place to express who I am. Sure, I like clothes, but most of the time for school, I’m too tired to try super hard and end up throwing on a sweatshirt and leggings and I’m not super talkative either, I’m quite shy. So writing, is where I really feel I can express myself and just BE myself. I can purely just write for fun and if people read it COOL! THANK YOU! But I’ve always written for myself, for personal enjoyment, and to see my characters, so when others love them, it’s always so nice!!! But writing has always been such a personal thing for me, and I love it more than anything in the world, where I feel I can truly express myself! <3

AND...my development as a writer is something I can definitely talk about!! <3

For me, each new story I write, I can see myself developing. Because when you start out, you’re not perfect - I SOOOO was not perfect - I wrote in 1st person (NO HATE AT ALL I JUST SUCK AT FIRST PERSON), I barely included any emotional value or ideas focused simply on timeline, I just wrote without second thought or really a care. But with Band of Brothers, I really developed. I write in 3rd person heavily, so I can explore different heads and emotions and character arcs, and ideas and interior monologue, which for a quiet person like me I LIVE FOR!

For Sunshine Soldier, I wrote with Charlotte Tarvers and developing her character, as she is someone who is very similar to myself, is something I have loved more than anything in this world. She’s my OG OC, my original little BoB Beeb. And her story I really focused on relationships and friendships of characters, simply because of what I was trying to portray with her of the fact she was a character who was called ‘Sunshine’ and loved everyone and was loved by everyone and was really that light in Easy. But in that story, I didn’t develop emotions (as I go back and reread) and descriptions as much as I wish I had. I feel there’s parts EVERYWHERE, where I could go in and add a little bit more of everything there

For The Soldier of Stars (+Ad Astra Per Aspera) I feel you see A BIG CHANGE in writing because this is where, with a quiet character like Hazel Parker who is heavily and deeply flaws, where we see the emotion and description that Sunshine Soldier misses at some points, comes out. Writing Hazel’s character (+that of Catherine and Lizzie and their bond) we focus more on an internal monologue, heavy and deep set emotions, and a constant questioning of reality from someone who is deeply hurt, and quiet and humble and soft-spoken like Hazel. And for me, there’s just so many lines in The Solider of Stars that I love with all my heart, because there are so filled with emotion and deep meaning and such and ACK I LOVE IT! One of my favorites is from Ad Astra Per Aspera - Chapter 4: The Little Bird, where all it is, is Hazel’s interior monologue after her wound. Her struggle and mental battle to simply stand and use the bathroom normally - from bed to bathroom and back. And there’s no present dialogue - very in character for Hazel, and simply just flashbacks and her mental mind having it’s own battle with having to constantly push herself to get over this fear and keep pushing herself to get better, to keep fighting. It’s a hard chapter, but so deeply beautiful of a raw struggle of simply being human.

And I feel with The Soldier of Stars (+Ad Astra) I felt myself simply just write with so much pure and raw emotion, which I held from Sunshine Solider a bit, even though Sunshine Soldier has A LOT I feel still LOL. But I definitely saw growth between these two stories, a whole lot, and I feel as I keep going I’ll just keep growing and growing with it all.

I feel with The Soldier of Stars (+Ad Astra ) I finally took the time and care to focus on my characters, and each of them individually, and really focus on emotions and feelings, which is something present in war for many and especially having a quiet character makes it easier I feel because they don’t say much but they FEEL so much.

I would talk about Landslide - but I don’t want to get out of hand and spoil anything, so I’ll leave it at that for the moment <3

I’ve just truly seen myself really develop and grow as any writer would and it has been so fun to see where my writing has taken me!! Thank you so much for the question Jamie, this was truly SUCH a good one to ask, because I can tell just a bit of my own story and personal struggle with it all. Thank you!!! <3

#writing!#asks!#jamie!#ask about my writing #writing is such a lifesaver and i can just express who i am and i love it sm <3

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teruthecreator · 5 years

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if you're comfortable, could you say what specifically you hated about the finale? i never got into amnesty but i liked balance so i would like to know how disappointed i should be ://

okay i’m gonna explain this in-detail exactly Once bc i’m trying rlly hard to just forget about the whole epilogue and keep it moving like that shit never happened, so for anyone else who is asking me why i don’t like the finale (and im not saying you’re wrong for asking, anon, it just seems that when you vocally do not like a thing there are hundreds of people who come out of the woodworks to ask you why and i think thats kinda Huh, Weird of everyone but like whatever) i’m gonna lay it all out here on the table and you can take this as you will.

i’m not gonna be getting into fistfights with people abt this so if you disagree please don’t try and banter with me. i am running on

also, CRITICISM OF ART DOES NOT MEAN CRITICISM OF THE ARTIST. I AM NOT CRITICIZING THE MCELROYS AS HUMAN BEINGS, BUT RATHER THEIR ARTISTIC DECISIONS IN TAZ: AMNESTY. MORE PEOPLE NEED TO UNDERSTAND THAT THERE IS A SEPARATION BETWEEN ART AND ARTIST, AND ONCE YOU (AS AN ARTIST) POST A PIECE, IT BECOMES SUBJECT TO CRITICISM. I AM NOT BRINGING GRIFFIN, JUSTIN, TRAVIS, OR CLINT’S CHARACTERS INTO QUESTION; I AM SIMPLY GIVING A CRITICISM ON THE SHOW THEY’VE CREATED AS A WORK OF ART.

oh, this goes without saying, but i will anyway: SPOILERS FOR AMNESTY (IN GENERAL, BUT ALSO FOR EPISODE 36)

i’m gonna start off by saying, i don’t think the whole episode was a total disaster. there are two things mainly that have ruined the whole experience for me, but for the most part i thought the like first 2 hours of this episode were a lot of fun! the fight scene was a little bogged down in the rolls imo, but it didn’t deter me too much from the overarching boss battle. the intro was a sick concept, i enjoyed the callback bits spliced in w newly scripted bits from mentioned past encounters, that was all well and good. i loved beacon in the episode, and god do i wish he stayed for the whole thing.

my problem mainly sits with the epilogue, which is why i think the whole episode turns sour in my mind. because the epilogue is supposed to be what satiates your desire to know more, right? not to reference balance too much (bc these are two completely different stories w different premises, and for people to so readily compare them is kinda wack. that being said, they are two stories made by the same people that use an epilogue to wrap up the loose ends, so im gonna make this one comparison), but the epilogue told us, the listener, all the things we wanted to know about after the day of story of song. we got to know what they did, a little bit of their interpersonal relationships, and we even got a big group scene with the killarey wedding!

this epilogue, though, feels like it left so much still on the table. one of those things i will swing back to later because it is the largest part of my argument, but after all of this time we still don’t know why everyone at the lodge got exiled! no one talks about it! we don’t know how dani ended up there, or jake, or barclay, or moira, or anyone! they don’t reference the banishments at all, which i think is a huge shortcoming figuring that is the core premise as to why these characters exist in our pc’s world in the first place.

i also feel like the concept of the worlds being divided for a long time is kind of a dumb way to go about framing what they do After The Fact. like, they could have had those scenes happen without the looming concept of them being divided, especially when their big reunion scene is like 2 minutes long and basically does nothing. what would have been a cooler premise is if billy connected the worlds, and the worlds worked together in rebuilding themselves. we still could’ve had the same bits happen (for the most part), but i just think that whole separation bit kinda alienated the pc’s (especially thacker).

but everything up to aubrey’s epilogue bit is fine. i have some problems, but it’s fine. where i started to completely abandon the work itself though is duck’s bit, and i’m gonna get into it by saying this: I know Justin Mcelroy is not legally required to make all of his characters gay, but this whole scene was just a big reminder to me that this show is done by 4 straight white men

and yeah, my big problem with this scene is the fact that justin had to make Duck/Minerva a thing. because it adds nothing to the story while also being a very skeevy concept in-general, and it reduces minerva’s character down to the Hero’s Girlfriend trope and it’s so comphet and she doesn’t deserve it.

my first grievance with this: It adds nothing to the story.

had justin not even mentioned the relationship part of their interaction before the scene actually took place, this scene would be like every other scene involving duck and minerva prior to this. duck says honey once, and even that could’ve been played off as duck just being affectionate to his friends (which is a thing, i call several of my friends “my love” irl and it isn’t a big deal). minerva doesn’t even use pet names, she calls duck by his full name, which is exactly how she addressed him in every other scene! duck’s speech is a genuine heart-puller, but it was completely soured by the fact that justin had to premise this entire scene by saying duck and minerva are a thing.

my second grievance: it’s a skeevy-as-all-hell concept.

this whole premise is nasty seven ways from sunday, and it is my biggest problem with duck’s bit as a whole. for starters, and i think more people need to mention this, minerva meets duck on the night of his 18th birthday. which means duck has literally just stopped being legally considered a minor before minerva appears before him. and honestly, i would still consider duck a minor in this case because he has literally just turned 18!!! his brain has not developed past one of a 17-year-old on the exact date of his birthday, and i argue it will not until he is at least in his twenties. keep in mind, your brain does not stop developing until you are about 25. so while in the legal sense, duck is an adult, in both the mental and emotional sense at that exact moment, duck is still a minor. AND he’s still in high school, as referenced in his response to her call to duty: “i got class tomorrow”. and minerva is old enough to have become the minister of defense for her homeworld, go through an entire war, and have several other chosen ones (including leo tarkesian, who is at least 20 years older than duck) before meeting duck. so that makes her much, much older than duck when she meets him. and i don’t care if they had barely any interaction after that first moment (though they did, as justin legit talks about when he introduces minerva as a concept to the show), that still establishes their initial interaction at a massive age difference. which, regardless of anything, makes their eventual relationship so genuinely messed up.

sure, you can argue that when you get older age doesn’t make that much of a difference, and i would agree. my mother is 53 and her husband is 63, that’s ten years. but my mother and step mother did not meet at 8 and 18, they met at 50 and 60. the initial interaction makes all the difference between “older people meeting and having a relationship” and “a very messed up situation”.

also, in this same argument, taking the mentor-student relationship and turning it into a romantic relationship IS SO MESSED UP!!!! GENUINELY AND HONESTLY MESSED UP!!! i feel like i don’t need to explain this because there have been so many examples already as to why this is a relationship you Should Not turn romantic, but i will anyway because it frustrates me so much that justin completely glosses over this!!! the power dynamic of a mentor-student relationship, in whatever way it is portrayed, displays a power balance that is heavily leaning to one side. there is not an equal distribution of power amongst the two because one person is teaching the other. the one person is weak to the others wills and whims because of lack of experience. think of your high school teacher or college professor; if you started a relationship with them, people would raise so many questions because you are not at equals to the teacher/professor. even if they treat you different, and even if they no longer teach you, it all has to do with the initial interaction. and minerva was still duck’s mentor up until either episode 34 or 35, when she handed off the title of Herald of the Astral Mind to duck. that means for nearly all of their interactions, there was a mentor-student dynamic. to have that turn into a romantic relationship is so sketchy and weird and leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

my third grievance: it reduces minerva’s character down to a girlfriend trope, and it’s comphet as hell

my friend tin (@taako–waititi) phrased this so well in the big group chat im in w her, so imma just quote her on this and then go into the comphet stuff:

“i was dming max about it and they also mentioned, quote, ‘her story was never about romance. it reduced her down to ‘competent woman becomes endgame girlfriend’ trope’ and they are so right it makes me fucking pissed. regardless of any ‘mutual respect’ and ‘emotional intimacy’ kind of thing going on that some people are arguing for, it’s something that didn’t need to happen because minerva’s character becomes that. my thing is mutual respect and emotional intimacy between two people can. exist. without it being. romantic. like. friendship is. also valid. i personally don’t think that mutual respect and emotional intimacy are two buttons that you press to make the machine churn out a romance”

not only does it reduce minerva’s character to tropes, but it also is extremely comphet for a woman who is so heavily wlw-coded or lesbian-coded and it just angers me. you could argue that she could be bi, but if we look at canon for just its face-value, the only romantic interaction she ever has is with a man, which basically makes her straight. this isn’t like aubrey’s situation, where travis clearly states she is a bi woman who is just in a relationship with another woman in amnesty. griffin doesn’t state anything about minerva’s sexuality and then she’s paired off with a man right at the end. and you could argue that she isn’t wlw or lesbian-coded, but i am not the only one who is wlw and thinks this, so i feel like i have more of a ground to stand on in this opinion. and this just feels so, like, textbook compulsory heteronormativity it made me feel physically sick when i heard this bit in the podcast.

so that’s my first big issue with the finale, fully explained. my second issue with the epilogue is that ned’s death continues to be disappointing and his character arc is never completed, which just tanks the whole show for me.

i’ve talked about this several times since ep 28 about how ned’s death was stupid and did nothing for his character arc, but i’m gonna reiterate my main points for the people who find this post without knowing my whole blog:

1. ned’s main interpersonal conflicts are just brought to the surface and never fully delved into before his sudden death. ned doesn’t ever get to explain his history with boyd and why he had to steal shade tree to mama or barclay or really anyone besides vaguely to aubrey.

2. every character is just immediately expected to feel sad about ned’s death, despite the tension that still remains right up until the very end. aubrey shouldn’t have even known that the shapeshifter framed ned because that’s all explained once she goes to sylvain, but i think travis just assumed she did because he heard the interaction between ned, mama, and barclay. so she should’ve had Way more conflicting feelings about the whole thing, but ned’s death is just angst-bait so that doesn’t happen.

3. ned’s death doesn’t make roll sense because clint rolled a mixed success and mixed successes, by definition, are supposed to be less severe moves than a failed roll (which gives the gm the ability to make a hard move). there isn’t really anything harder to do to a character than kill them, but even if you wanted to argue that if clint failed the roll the hard move would’ve been ned failing and letting dani get shot, it still doesn’t change the fact that clint rolled a mixed success when slamming into the pizza hut sign at full velocity and came out of that alive (severely injured, naturally, but still alive).

so, yeah, there’s that. and then theres the fact that griffin doesn’t ever give us any other scenes involving ned directly. ned only becomes a reference from 28 on, which is so disappointing given ned’s importance to the other two pcs. and i understand that the mcelroys have a lot of trauma related to death, but griffin shouldn’t have killed ned off then if he did not want to talk about death in graphic detail. we all have trauma. we all want to avoid topics. but to kill ned off and then never talk about his death in great relation to the others is a genuine disservice to ned’s character.

the day episode 28 aired was the same day i buried my grandmother. i would have loved if death wasn’t brought up, but i don’t control the podcast. the mcelroys do; they had the ability to avoid this topic in a more servicing way to the characters and they didn’t. that isn’t to say they are bad people for not doing it, but it makes the finale even more disappointing because it means we never get the full rounding out of ned’s character arc. he becomes this like brief reference that is, once again, angst-bait or emotional fuel and i feel like he didn’t deserve that. he deserved a genuine reference, a genuine moment. even a dream sequence i would have appreciated!!!

griffin had sylvain directly point at ned in aubrey’s flashback in ep 35, and then did nothing about what that could have implicated in the finale. it sours the entire episode in a major way and disappointed me immensely. there should have been more done with that topic and there wasn’t and i will never forget how deeply it hurt me and turned me away from canon as a whole. not to be ned kin on main, but ned was the backbone of this show and the exact moment he left was the exact moment the whole thing went downhill. it turned less into a story about growth and adversary and amnesty and more into a waiting game for when this very loose end was going to get wrapped up.

i wanted to enjoy this episode. i tried so hard, y’all. but just the thought of ned loomed over me the entire time and i was waiting for a more proper completion to his arc, and it never happened. and coupled with that very bad and skeevy duck/minerva bit i was just so frustrated and hurt last night.

so, yeah, that’s my whole spiel. you are free to disagree with me, but keep that opinion to yourself because i’m not getting into it with anyone. i will just block you; it’s better for us both, anyway.

#taz spoilers #taz amnesty spoilers #ignorance cloud on #im not putting this into the main tag bc i dont want people to bitch at me abt that #so if this shows up in theres its bc tumblr has a terrible algorithm

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monstersdownthepath · 5 years

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Spiritual Spotlight/Theme Finale: The Monad

True Neutral Overseer of Creation, the Infinite, and Truth

Domains: Artifice, Darkness, Knowledge, Void Subdomains*: Toil, Night, Aeon, Stars

Concordance of Rivals, pg. 11

Obedience: Spend 30 minutes in meditation, clearing your mind of needs and prejudices. Then briefly wander and observe your surroundings, seeking a source of excess, accomplishment, or emptiness. Spend at least 30 minutes counteracting that phenomenon in some way, such as by creating something where nothing exists, providing comfort to a morose stranger, or thinning the excess population of ants in a field. Benefit: Upon completing the Obedience, select two Knowledge skills; gain a +4 sacred or profane bonus to the selected skill checks.

(*IMPORTANT NOTE: The Subdomains are my best guess; Subdomains are not listed in Concordance of Rivals. Anywhere!)

What a delightful Obedience! Meditate for a bit, and then help balance out the world! Awwww :)

Don’t worship the Monad if you’re a Ranger, or any other class with a Favored Enemy-Esque mechanic, because it won’t end well. I do enjoy that the Monad still allows its followers to pursue wants, though I’m sure that wasn’t the designer’s intention and likely just me toying with loopholes I see in sentence structures. Such as the loophole that you can view just about anything as excess, accomplishment, or emptiness.

Destroy a building, or help build a new one. Steal from the rich and give to the poor, or do the exact opposite (and be hunted down by me, personally). Kill bugs or introduce new ones to an environment. Destroy someone’s most prized possession, or give your own to someone in need. Comfort a stranger, or antagonize an ally whose ego is becoming unbalanced. Help to grow a crop, or take a torch to the whole thing. Really your imagination is the limit here, which could potentially lead to choice paralysis... but this also makes it incredibly easy to just Background Detail it without a need to elaborate. If your DM rudely demands details, you can turn it around and ask them details about the environment in order to find something you could correct. Two can play at that game!

Don’t be needlessly rude to kind or curious DMs, though. That’s not cool!

What IS cool is that benefit. While it’s not outstanding, becoming just a bit better at being a smart guy is always nice. Choosing Arcana and/or Dungeoneering is usually the way to go, but you can tailor your Knowledge bonuses day by day if needed. Heading into the wilderness? Pack Nature. Going into town? Might as well get Local and Nobility! The possibilities are endless! (actually there’s only ~45 combinations but y’know)

Boons are gained slowly, gained at levels 12, 16, and 20. Servants of the Monitors, though, can enter the Proctor Prestige Class as early as level 8. If entered as early as possible, you can earn your Boons at levels 10, 14, and 16. You MUST take the Monitor Obedience feat, NOT Deific Obedience. Monitors grant only a single set of Boons.

Boon 1: Aeon Arbiter. Gain Unseen Servant 3/day, Spectral Hand 2/day, or Gaseous Form 1/day.

Well right off the bat, Gaseous Form is painful to use most of the time. It reduces your speed to an agonizingly glacial 10ft, making it useful for getting into or out of a sticky situation but basically nothing else. You can’t really properly scout with it since you still look like a you-shaped gas cloud, but the defensive bonuses it confers means that if you get trapped in a tiny room or with a monster you don’t want to be with, any space that isn’t airtight can’t contain you. The fact it has no components also means you can cast it while grappled or restrained, so if you think you’ll end up snatched up and/or tied up, surprise your enemies by changing matter states!

Unseen Servant was, is, and always shall be one of my favorite spells in the game, even if it’s not a particularly useful one when you’re facing down a dragon, or even a single bandit. Your invisible buddy can perform all your menial tasks you require since it has an enormous 1 hour/level duration, and there’s a LOT of items that weigh less than 20lbs you could have your pal cart around. If you can’t foresee needing them later in the day, conjuring all three of them at once and setting them out on various tasks will multiply your own productivity immensely. I recently read a cute little guide online that pointed out a shovel weighs only 5lbs and a shovelful of soil will rarely surpass 3, so having a team of invisible workers digging trenches can help fortify any positions you hold. It’s just a fun spell! And it rewards knowing exactly what you can do with 2 Str and understand the limits of the servant’s manual dexterity.

Which leaves Spectral Hand, which is probably the most useful thing on this list, if less fun than UnSe. Using touch spells that aren’t Save-or-Suck is always dangerous when you’re a squishy caster, but Spectral Hand allows you to stay safely at a range to deliver them. With a range of Medium (100ft + 10ft/level) and a decently lengthy 1 min/level duration, Spectral Hand can likely last through one to three encounters to let you slap multiple foes with spells you’d otherwise never get to use. Don’t forget you can also use it to deliver buffs and healing to your allies, too! At 2/day, the only reason NOT to take Spectral Hand with this ability is if you adore Unseen Servant as much as I do, or are already in a situation (like a prison) Gaseous Form could save you from.

Boon 2: Immaterial Flesh. You gain the constant benefits of the Moderate Fortification armor special ability. If you already have a similar defensive ability, you increase that ability's chance to negate the additional damage by 10%.

This means that critical hits and Sneak Attacks have a 50% chance of doing no additional damage, for those who can’t keep track of all Pathfinder’s wild armor enchantments. It’s a boring ability, but a lifesaving one that can shear hundreds or thousands of points of damage off incoming attacks over the course of your adventuring career. Most creatures armed with Sneak Attacks have low damage on their normal attacks, so this ability can mean the difference between taking 4 damage and taking 40. Sure, it’s a coin toss as to whether or not it works, but a coin toss is better than having no way to avoid it at all!

I like the fact that if you’re already fortified or have some other method to dodge precision damage (it works on SIMILAR powers, not just fortification!), it’s increased. If you can get your hands on some Armor of Heavy Fortification, the chance to block the incoming damage becomes 85%.

I’m sad that no flavor details are given regarding what this power does to your physical body. It says ‘immaterial flesh,’ but what does that mean? Do you become a gaseous nebula or crystalline formation like the other Aeons? Do you get all swirly and galactic like the Monad? I wish it gave us more details, because it’d lighten up an otherwise bland but useful ability.

Boon 3: Creative Destruction. 1/day as a standard action, you can touch two creatures adjacent to you, or yourself and an adjacent creature. One takes 150 points of damage (Fortitude half; DC=10 + half your HD + your Cha modifier), and the other regains a number of hit points equal to the damage taken by the first target.

Ever wanted to just reach over and slap someone hard enough to kill them instantly? 150 damage--150 untyped damage, I should clarify--is not something to be taken lightly. That instantly kills most humanoids at that level and severely damages hardier monsters, with CR 16 creatures rarely exceeding 280hp at the highest. Hitting a squishy enemy caster with this power can end a battle faster than Power Word Kill, though with the downside that you must get close enough to boop them on the nose... but you aren’t required to make a touch attack. No, no attack roll is required. The only way this ability can miss is if you can’t physically touch your target, meaning incorporeal enemies are immune, and a DM may rule that certain gaseous creatures are, as well. While this ability may also intend for you to use your hands to do the touching, it simply says “touch two adjacent creatures.” You can technically use this ability by tackling someone, kissing them, or just poking them with your foot!

Now, this ability grants a saving throw for half damage, negating some of its burst potential... But that’s still 75 untyped damage that works against ANY CREATURE you can touch. Constructs, Undead, Outsiders, demigods, Great Old Ones, creatures with resistance or immunity to every element in the game and every negative condition you can think of, anything! 75 is less impressive but still impressive! It’s an enormous chunk to shave off any foe and you can indeed shave it off any foe, and they don’t have the option to avoid or lessen it at all! The fact it bypasses all forms of immunity and requires only a touch is AMAZING, and we haven’t even covered the fact that the second target regains HP equal to the damage the first victim took!

Like... 75 HP is big enough by itself. It can take a normal encounter two or three rounds to deal 75 damage, and you only need one action to undo it. And 150 HP? That’s typically enough to take someone with a d8 or smaller hit dice from 0 to full in an instant and restore anywhere from half to 75% of a Fighter or Barbarian’s health bar. But, here’s something else important: much like the destruction, the healing is also universal! Constructs are notoriously difficult to keep running due to their specific healing requirements, and Undead are similarly finicky, but Creative Destruction’s health transfer is accepted by ANY creature with an HP bar. Even yourself! That’s the best part! Even without an ally or another enemy nearby to transfer the health into, you can siphon it into yourself to beat down a bad guy!

And I suppose you could also transfer your own health into an ally that really needed it, but uuuuhhhhh 150 damage is a lot. That tactic should only be use if you have no other option!

And all you need to do to obtain all this power? Remove all your prejudices and help keep the world running smoothly. Perfect for a character of any alignment! except probably chaotic evil.

You can read more about it here.

#Spiritual Spotlight #Neutrality Notes #pathfinder #Dungeons and Dragons #Theme Week 19

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penguin-writes-books · 5 years

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DIRECTOR’S CUT THAT DAMNED UNIVERSE. -L

Spoilers!That Damned Universe was heavily inspired by a couple of books I once read, and I think it has a lot of meaning that goes under the radar of a lot of people, instead being registered subconsciously (the whole point of my writing, frankly). Here’s a ridiculously in-depth rundown of each chapter, from the writer’s point of view.Chapter 1The first chapter was meant to introduce the storyline, and show some exposition. Lincoln Academy was named after my elementary school, and is structured in a ridiculously unconventional manner, given the strong academic drive of the academy. We find out quickly that Cyrus, TJ, Andi, and Buffy all room in Stanford Dormitory along with the rest of the freshman class, and Amber is in Halsey. Halsey was named after my favorite building of the college in my hometown, while Stanford was after the university, where Cyrus would end up going to major in psychology if TDU extended that far.I put Cyrus on the fourth floor and Andi and Buffy on the second for the sole purpose of creating conversational periods between characters as they go between one another’s rooms or to and from classes. This set up the framework for TJ and Cyrus’ first kiss later on.I intentionally wrote Cyrus to react to his arrival at Lincoln with minimal homesickness for two reasons. The first, of course, is that Cyrus grew up with four incredibly overbearing but well-meaning parents, and he is eager to take a deep breath. The second is that Cyrus, as all characters and people must be, is a psychologically complex character, and his immediate lack of emotional displacement comes from that fact. He’s so overwhelmed upon arriving at Lincoln that he doesn’t have the time to catch his breath, let alone miss his parents.Finally, the last line. TJ almost immediately tells Cyrus he finds him fascinating upon meeting him, which feels almost rushed, but was planned to feel as such. TJ’s first impression of Cyrus is so sudden and rushed because he immediately likes Cyrus, and isn’t quite sure how to express his emotions, so he naturally does his best to make Cyrus happy.Chapter 2The first line of the second chapter (Cyrus woke to his alarm, going off at exactly 5:55 am, as it always had - Cyrus was sure it always would.) is a representation of how Cyrus follows a schedule in his life that doesn’t change, and he assumes it never will. However, in chapter 6, he doesn’t wake to his alarm, because he’d fallen asleep with TJ the night before. This was coded to imply that TJ teaches Cyrus to let himself be human and have a little more fun.Cyrus wakes to TJ gone, because I wanted to show TJ’s elusive nature early on in the story, then introduce his character a little bit later. His leaving confuses and intrigues Cyrus, effectively prompting him to get to know TJ better.He spends an exorbitant amount of type getting ready on the first day of school, which was to further cement the notion that he’s a touch over-specific in all areas of his life, especially when he’s in a new, unfamiliar, or stressful environment (Lincoln Academy just so happens to be all three).Their odd choice of cereal (both Rice Krispies and Cap'n Crunch) is a little reference to Gilmore Girls, in which Paris and Rory both make interesting and unique cereal and milk mixtures on a couple of occasions.Cyrus’s offhanded comment that TJ hates the universe is not only the root of the title, but a slight character development from TJ, giving him a human characteristic. This at the very least proves that Cyrus and TJ had a conversation of substance the night before, and had learned more than trivial things about one another.Andi and Buffy lightheartedly making fun of him for his taste in unobtainable athletes was meant to allude to his crush on Jonah back home, and to show that he’d grown more comfortable with his sexuality since coming out to them.Lincoln’s class periods are 40 minutes, with a 20-minute break between. This seems absurd at first, but later we’ll find that classes constantly run lat, justifying the minor absurdity.Cyrus and TJ’s conversation between 5th and 6th period is meant to show their friendship and the way Cyrus affects TJ in a positive way. They joke back and forth naturally, complimenting one another and letting the conversation carry without trying too hard.Chapter 3This chapter follows my own change and interpretation of actual things from Andi Mack, turning some of my favorite pieces of the show in relation to Tyrus into my own plotlines. The first is, of course, TJ’s acrimony towards Buffy. In the show, this is expressed as jealousy of her basketball skills, whereas I chose to change it into jealousy of her close relationship with Cyrus. TJ immediately leaving when Cyrus and Buffy walk into the dorm room is meant to further stabilize the notion that TJ thinks she and Cyrus are together, though at this point it hasn’t been confirmed.Buffy and Cyrus getting into a fight over his feelings for TJ shows that Cyrus isn’t ready to admit how he feels. This also allows for TJ and Cyrus to become closer when Cyrus can’t turn to Andi and Buffy for constant friendship.Cyrus’s conversation with TJ in the library is interesting, as the second TJ finds out that Cyrus and Buffy aren’t dating, the conversation lightens. They’re then able to have a conversation that moves along without the weight of their mutual awkwardness resting on it. Their academic banter throughout the conversation was meant to show that TJ and Cyrus were both highly academically minded, despite showing that trait in very different ways.Cyrus being unable to stop himself from asking if TJ is okay shows two things about him and his relationship with TJ. The first is that Cyrus is the type of person who cannot refrain from helping others. He shows unconditional empathy for others, and those he loves are never free from his well-meaning comfort. The second thing this shows is that he has grown so comfortable with TJ in under 24 hours that he’s willing to risk stepping possibly outside of his boundaries as an acquaintance/friend to ensure that TJ is going to be alright.

Chapter 4

All of Cyrus’s teachers (Mr. Marlow, Madame Aguillard, Mr. Stile, Mrs. Elliot, Ms. Anderson, Mr. Smith, Mrs. Barnett, Mrs. Bailey) are slight variations of teachers I’ve had this year or last, most of which teach the same subjects I had them for.This chapter has one last interpretation of a classic detail from Andi Mack - the muffin. Their exchange of sandwich for chocolate-chocolate chip muffin proves that they’re friends, and care about one another enough to insist they have their favorite foods.I chose for them to play a game of 20 questions as a way to reveal exposition without stating their backgrounds, interests, and hobbies point-blank. This also allowed me to build their relationship through verbal learning.Marty being the friend who accidentally outed TJ let me introduce him to the story, and having him, Amber, Buffy and Andi rush into TJ and Cyrus’s room let me introduce them to one another. Amber and Andi’s quickness to flirt with one another showed that TJ and Amber inadvertently learned about love in the same way - they both grew up learning from their parents that those you love can leave quickly. Thus, they both picked up a habit of quickly establishing a close relationship with those they’re attracted to before they leave.Chapter 5 Cyrus wakes with a terrible headache the next day (and jokes with TJ about being hungover) because of the yelling and conflict the night before. I put this aspect in for two main reasons. One is, of course, showing that Cyrus can’t stand conflict, and is consistently trying to resolve it. The second reason I put this bit into the story is so that I could allow TJ to minorly comfort Cyrus in a platonic (but romantically intentioned) manner.Cyrus quickly saving TJ from having to out himself to Buffy and Andi was a move that I wrote in to show Cyrus’s growing ability to cut into conversations and protect those he loves, as taught to him by TJ.The small scene of TJ and Cyrus studying together exhibits the lighthearted, carefree side of their relationship that I thought was very important to introduce at some point in the story.The romantic tension between Cyrus and TJ as the former helps TJ with his compass foreshadows their awkward encounter following their first kiss later on. When it ultimately built to them falling asleep holding pinkies, that was meant to show that they were each aware of their feelings for the other, but reluctant to show them.Chapter 6When Cyrus and TJ wake up the next morning, they’re curled around one another, and it causes intense romantic tension between the pair as they go about starting the day. This ends when they go back and forth in a short exchange of ‘I wasn’t’ and 'well neither was I’. TJ tries to kiss Cyrus, but they’re interrupted by a phone call. This signifies the awkward, fumbling nature of the relationship, especially as they go to help Andi. Their acknowledgment of the awkwardness between them is a huge step in their relationship, which ultimately leads to their first kiss.Their argument in the stairwell being the lead up to their kiss was a choice I made because in the heat of an argument, emotions are heightened. This was important for the scene to work, as if they hadn’t been arguing, neither would have the courage to kiss the other.Final ChapterI had Cyrus start the seventh chapter regretting his kiss with TJ to drive the plot. This forced TJ and him to have an actual conversation about what exactly their relationship was at the end of the chapter.Honestly, there were only two reasons I made Buffy aroace. First, I’m ace and I wanted representation, so I took the opportunity when it arose. Second, I wanted to tease you guys with Muffy (anyone paying really close attention to AO3 will have noticed that I tagged TDU as a Marty/Buffy fic, then took away the tag for the last chapter).Cyrus wagering his asking TJ out for Andi doing the same with Amber was a way for me to close the Ambi storyline in a satisfactory way without dedicating an entire chapter exclusively to it.The mini-monologue of Cyrus deciding whether or not to kiss TJ was one I’d been writing in my head since beginning to write TDU, and completed the fic in a way that was so characteristic of my writing that I couldn’t help but throw it in just to make the story feel completely finished.

#andi mack #tyrus #tj kippen #cyrus goodman #that damned universe #ambi

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brokehorrorfan · 5 years

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Event Report: Rhode Island Comic Con 2018

Rhode Island Comic Con takes place in the smallest state, but the show gets bigger every year. Its seventh incarnation took place November 2-4 at the Rhode Island Convention Center, the Dunkin Donuts Center, and the Omni Hotel in Providence, RI. While the congestion of people between buildings during peak hours is seemingly unavoidable, this year's updated layout across the three locations (all connected to one another) proved to be the best use of space yet.

When not browsing the massive vendor room full of cool geek memorabilia, I spent a good chunk of the weekend in the two panel rooms at the Omni, listening to various celebrity guests discuss their storied careers. Between the gregarious speakers, the considerate fan questions, the enthusiastic hosts (some of whom were celebrities themselves), and the overall energy of the convention, every one one of the eight panels I saw over the course of the three days was supremely entertaining. The first one I attended was with Tim Curry, who received a standing ovation from the adoring crowd, moderated by voice actor Charlie Adler (who worked with Curry as the voice director on The Wild Thornberrys). Curry proudly remarked that it has been almost exactly 50 years since he started his acting career as part of the original London cast of Hair in 1968.

Although a 2012 stroke left the beloved actor in a wheelchair, Curry is still quite sharp on the microphone. The audience went wild when he briefly broke into his sinister Pennywise voice from It as well as his smashing accent from The Wild Thornberrys. When asked about his thoughts on the new It, Curry defiantly responded, "I didn't like it very much." He shared anecdotes about many of his beloved roles, including The Rocky Horror Picture Show (his favorite scene is the floor show, "Because it was all about me. It was very sexy!"), Clue, Legend (for which the makeup took 10 hours to apply the first time), Muppet Treasure Island, and even The Worst Witch (he admitted to getting so drunk on an actress's homemade gin that he later had to re-shoot his big song). He also revealed a few fun facts, such as how he was almost in Alien as John Hurt's chest-bursting character, Kane, which is what eventually led to him being cast in Legend. "I just thought Ridley Scott was the most amazing director," he remarked. He also loved the script for The Silence of the Lambs and was interested in the role of Hannibal Lecter.

Four members of the Loser's Club from It (2017) - Jack Dylan Grazer (Eddie), Chosen Jacobs (Mike), Wyatt Oleff (Stanley), and Jeremy Ray Taylor (Ben) - reunited for a panel that evening as well. The young actors noted that they had immediate chemistry upon meeting before filming and that they are very similar to their characters, which was apparent during the Q&A as well. The camaraderie is palpable when the friends interact with one another with youthful exuberance. Everything except Taylor watched the original It before filming, although he's now coming around to horror movies. Although they were unable to speak much about It: Chapter 2, which just wrapped production, they noted how surreal it was to meet their older counterparts. Friday evening concluded with a rousing screening of the Rocky Horror Picture Show featuring a shadow-cast by local favorites RKO Army.

I anticipated kicking off Saturday with an Elvira panel featuring the Mistress of the Dark herself, but Cassandra Peterson was unfortunately feeling under the weather and was forced to cancel. Thankfully, the session's guest host, Brian O'Halloran (Clerks), was willing to become the subject of the panel instead. He discussed working with Kevin Smith at length. They are mere weeks away from shooting the new Jay and Silent Bob movie, which he promises will be fun and cameo-heavy. Not unlike his character from Clerks, an audience question about Star Wars sent him on a humorous tirade about the franchise. His personal top three Star Wars movies may surprise you: The Empire Strikes Back, Rogue One, Solo.

It was fun to see Danny Trejo - known for playing tough guys in the likes of Machete, The Devil's Rejects, Desperado, Heat, Con Air, and Sons of Anarchy - cracking jokes and being so jovial during his panel. "I play a badass, but I’m not," he remarked as he recounted some of his surprising upcoming projects: the live-action adaptation of Dora the Explorer, a comedy titled Grand-Daddy Day Care, and an AMC sitcom, Food & Familia. He shared stories about the conception of Machete, which dates back to Desperado and then Spy Kids, the time he autographed a living tortoise in tribute to his Breaking Bad role, and his recent branching out into the food (with his Trejos Tacos restaurants) and music (with his newly-launched label, Trejo Music) industries. Perhaps the most interesting moment, however, was when he shared the story behind his signature chest tattoo, which involved being worked on by the same artist in three different prisons after being arrested for armed robbery at 14. It's truly inspiring to see how he turned his life around.

The Office reunion panel with Kate Flannery (Meredith) and Creed Bratton (Creed) was among the most highly-attended of the weekend. It took place in the smaller of the two panel halls, causing a long line of fans to be turned away. Those who were lucky enough to make it into the at-capacity room were treated to a lively conversation that was as funny as watching the show. Flannery was vivacious, while Bratton, true to his character, was dry and straight-faced. In addition to recounting their favorite moments in the series' nine-season run, they expressed their willingness to return for a Christmas special or other such revival if the writers can find a way to make it work and the rest of the ensemble cast is on board.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show panel was an unexpected highlight. Barry Bostwick (Brad) and Meat Loaf (Eddie) needed no moderator; they were old friends having an open conversation with one another. The first 20 minutes were essentially a comedy routine, with Meat spinning a fictitious story about the origins of his stage name while Bostwick occasionally interjected with a question or a dry quip. There was nary a mention of Rocky Horror until they opened up to the crowd for questions. When asked about screenings during which the audience talks back to the movie, Meat was brutally honest: "I wouldn't go to that to save my life." He went on to say that he loved seeing fans dress up, but he found it disrespectful to the movie and those who worked on it to speak out during screenings. Bostwick was quick to add that he believed such screenings are why the film has had such longevity. Meat also relished the opportunity to roast the audience. The actors' remarkable rapport caused the panel to go long, but, since it was the last of the evening, no one seemed to mind.

Rhode Island Comic Con put together a worthwhile after-party on Saturday night. After 90 minutes of DJ Darth Fader spinning music, dancing, cocktails, and mingling with some of the celebrities in attendance - including James Murray (Impractical Jokers), Joey Fatone (Nsync), Bam Margera (Jackass), Bai Ling (The Crow), and Spencer Wilding (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) - it was time for Epic Rap Battles of History. The creators of the viral YouTube channel, Peter "Nice Peter" Shukoff and Lloyd "EpicLloyd" Ahlquist - took the stage to perform many of their fan-favorite rap battles live, full of energy and the occasional prop. They performed such favorites as Goku vs. Superman, Rick Grimes vs. Walter White, Terminator vs. Robocop, and Zeus vs. Thor, in addition to medleys with verses from various battles. They occasionally invited fans on stage to perform verses, and in the middle of the set they made their way into the crowd to perform a few songs, including a freestyle created on the spot by audience suggestion: Spider-Man vs. Christina Aguilera. Although they haven't released a new video in nearly two years, Shukoff and Ahlquist clearly haven't missed a beat. They concluded their hour-long set by revealing that they have a new video featuring Elon Musk coming in December.

Sunday kicked off for me with a panel featuring Impractical Jokers' James "Murr" Murray and Nsync's Joey Fatone. While no one was entirely sure what to expect, it was a standard - but highly entertaining - question-and-answer session, with Fatone essentially serving as moderator and occasionally offering his input. Fatone first bonded with the Jokers over their mutual love of Superman. He quickly befriended the gang, then appeared on the show before becoming the host of the Impractical Jokers after-show, After Party. Murr teased the upcoming Impractical Jokers movie, which is due in theaters next year. He said that it's a road movie, with a scripted beginning and ending, but the rest of the film features the guys pranking one another around the country. While Fatone revealed he makes a cameo in the film, Murr told the crowd that it features "the most embarrassing moment of my life," which left him in tears. He also shared plenty of fun stories from the show, including showing off his driver's license photo with no eyebrows.

Later in the day, the Stranger Things panel with David Harbor (Hopper) and Noah Schnapp (Will), and moderated by Clare Kramer (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), capped off the weekend on a high note. They have one week left of shooting the hit Netflix series' third season. They were unable to speak much about it, but Harbor called it "the most Spielbergian thing we’ve ever done," while Schnapp remarked, "It's even bigger than season two." Harbor revealed that we'll see more of Hopper's backstory as a Vietnam veteran and a New York City police officer, while Schnapp hinted that there may be a love story between Will and Eleven. Hopper also discussed his titular role in the upcoming Hellboy reboot. Filming in Bulgaria proved to be difficult, and the three hours of make-up each day wasn't a lot of fun, but he promised lots of practical effects and a storyline that would be closer to the comic on which its based. He also shared a funny story about a run-in with a wild bull during shooting.

In addition to the numerous celebrities mentioned above, Rhode Island Comic Con's exceptional guest list included Hayden Christensen (Star Wars), Gwendoline Christie (Star Wars), Kiefer Sutherland (The Lost Boys), Jason Patric (The Lost Boys), Lance Henriksen (Aliens), Tom Felton (Harry Potter), Natalia Tena (Harry Potter), Zachary Levi (Shazam), Tom Welling (Smallville), Michael Rosenbaum (Smallville), Alan Tudyk (Firefly), Finn Jones (Game of Thrones), Billy Boyd (Lord of the Rings), Tony Danza (Who’s the Boss?), Levar Burton (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Michelle Trachtenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Dylan McDermott (American Horror Story), Michael Rooker (The Walking Dead), Sarah Wayne Callies (The Walking Dead), Laurie Holden (The Walking Dead), Jenna Elfman (Fear the Walking Dead), Zach Galligan (Gremlins), Morena Baccarin (Deadpool), Ice-T (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit), Billy Zane (Titanic), Dee Snider (Twisted Sister), Jason David Frank (Power Rangers), and many more.

Although all comic conventions have slowly become more of pop culture expos and celebrity autograph shows over the years, Rhode Island Comic Con stays true to its roots by inviting many comic writers and artists. This year included Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman, among others. I had the pleasure of meeting Eastman, who graciously signed one item - complete with a quick sketch of a Ninja Turtle - for free for everyone throughout the weekend. He was very personable, striking up a brief conversation with each fan who waited in line. In addition to dozens of comic creators, aspiring artists were invited to have their portfolios reviewed.

While the headlining guests were the main attraction at the Dunkin Donuts Center, I was very excited to see an It (1990) display, curated by John Campopiano, writer-producer of the upcoming Pennywise: The Story of It documentary. The crown jewel of the collection was one of Tim Curry's actual, screen-used Pennywise costumes, of which fans were allowed to take photos, but he also had many editions of the film and Stephen King's novel from around the world, among other memorabilia. I was disheartened to hear, however, that two props were stolen from the booth during the event, and as a result the collection will no longer be displayed at conventions. I hope the missing items surface, because the display was a real treat for Stephen King fans.

Impressive costumes - from movies, TV, comics, anime, cartoons, video games, wrestlers, pop culture figures, and mash-ups - could be found walking around the showroom floor throughout the weekend, but many of the best cosplayers competed in a costume contest on Sunday evening. Everyone's efforts were extremely impressive, but the cosplay celebrity judges ultimately awarded the winners in three categories. Eleven from Stranger Things (complete with a Demodog) won for beginners, a group dressed up as Mighty Morphin Power Rangers villains shared the prize for intermediate, and a female Pennywise from It (2017) was selected for the master class. But it was a couple dressed as The Sorceress and Battle Cat from Masters of the Universe who were awarded Best in Show. It was a fun way to end the weekend.

In addition to the celebrity guests signing autographs and taking pictures, celebrity panels, cosplaying, and hundreds of vendors with anything a pop culture nerd could ever want, Rhode Island Comic Con includes exclusive merchandise, fan panels, film screenings, geek speed dating, kids activities, live tattooing, and more. It's impossible to experience it all in one day, so I recommend springing for the weekend pass when next year's event rolls around on November 1-3, 2019.

Click here to see all of my Rhode Island Comic Con 2018 photos.

#rhode island comic con #cosplay #rocky horror picture show #stranger things #tim curry #pennywise #danny trejo #impractical jokers #barry bostwick #meat loaf #the rocky horror picture show #david harbour #noah schnapp #event report #article

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your-dietician · 3 years

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Best Amazon Echo smart home devices and Kindle e-readers and more are on sale

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Best Amazon Echo smart home devices and Kindle e-readers and more are on sale

We may receive commission from purchases made via links on this page. Pricing and availability are subject to change.

Nearly every Amazon smart home device and e-reader is on sale. (Photo: Amazon)

Hooray! Prime Day is going strong! Day 2 is here! Amazon has slashed prices on nearly all of its devices for the mega-shopping event, which ends at midnight PST. So if you’ve been reluctant to “add to cart,” there’s still time to save…but not too much.

What’s on sale? Just about all Amazon smart-home devices, Fire TV and tablets. A highlight: The very popular Echo Show 5 is on sale for its all-time lowest price ever ($45!). This display brings together all your smart-home devices, while also serving as a visual companion to Alexa. And right now it’s nearly 45 percent off!

What else is discounted? Audible, for your Amazon devices: Get a whopping 53 percent off the first four months of Audible Premium Plus, so you can up game with great audio books and more; summer “reading” has never been more fun.

Important: These deals, including the Echo Show 5, are exclusive to Amazon Prime members. Not yet a member? You can sign up for a free 30-day trial here and take advantage of all the deals below, plus free shipping and all sorts of other Prime benefits.

Scroll to get your hands on the best Prime Day, Day 2 deals on Amazon devices.

New Echo Buds are here — and they’re 33 percent off for Prime Day! (Photo: Amazon)

The latest Echo Buds feature active noise-canceling (not available with the first generation). Now you can enjoy your favorite music and podcasts free from annoying background noise. Score a pair for $80 with the standard charging case, or $100 with the wireless charging case, for Prime Day.

These second-generation Echo Buds are built for long-lasting comfort with a new, sleeker design that fits securely in your ears (unlike Apple AirPods). They deliver high-quality audio that’s well-balanced and clear with deep bass. These babies are durable and tough, with up to 15 hours of battery life per charge (and an extra two hours with a 15-minute quick charge). And your trusty Alexa voice assistant is built-in.

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“A quality pair of buds. Out of the box, setup was easy,” wrote a delighted five-star reviewer. “I already had the Alexa app on my phone, so all it took was having the app open while I opened the case on the new ear buds…. The audio playback is excellent. Experimented with some heavy metal and classical, and the sounds were great. Even the classics like Sinatra sounded great, with the vocals loud and clear.”

The new Echo Buds come in Black and Glacier White.

Read thousands of e-books with the Kindle Paperwhite — save nearly 40 percent! (Photo: Amazon)

Discounted from $130 to just $80, the Kindle Paperwhite is a great all-around e-reader. Thanks to its six-inch display with a built-in light and 300ppi (pixels per inch) for clarity, it reads just like paper — hence the name. Plus, it’s got lots of on-board storage (8GB), so it can hold thousands of e-books and digital magazines from Amazon’s digital bookstore.

“Best Kindle yet,” said one of many five-star reviewers. “This Kindle is lighter and thinner than the last generation, noticeably so. The flat edge-to-edge screen is an improvement in feel and makes it much easier to clean. It still has an excellent non-glare screen that I love for reading outdoors.”

One of the Kindle Paperwhite’s best features is its looooong battery life — it can go for up to six weeks per charge. That’s weeks, not hours!

Never switch out batteries again with this hardwired gadget. (Photo: Amazon)

Although it resembles a standard doorbell, the Ring Video Doorbell Wired is super-powered. This smart doorbell provides a 24/7 video stream and a nice wide field of view (up to 155 degrees horizontal and 90 degrees vertical), meaning you can see a broad swath of your property and any activity that might be occurring. And it syncs to your smartphone, tablet, laptop or streaming device (it’s easy — there’s a Ring app), so you can keep an eye on your home whether you’re inside, at work or away on that big vacation you’ve got coming up this summer. And this is the exact right moment to snap one up. For Prime members only, the Ring Video Doorbell Wired is down from $60 to just $45.

“I absolutely love this doorbell. I’m thrilled the doorbell doesn’t need batteries. I hated that,” said a five-star reviewer. “The setup is so easy and the doorbell notifications come through my phone and my Alexa Echo Dot…Plus, the quality of the sound from outside is really good too…. I would absolutely purchase this particular Ring doorbell again.”

The Ring Video Doorbell Wired is hardwired into your home’s electric system, so there’s no need to worry about replacing batteries every few months. As long as there’s electricity flowing through your home, this guy is on the job.

Save 50 percent: Echo Dot

Want to turn your home into a smart home? Start here. (Photo: Amazon)

With an all-new sphere design, the fourth generation Echo Dot — marked down from $50 to just $25 (half off!) for Prime members only — is a small but powerful smart speaker with a glow-light base that can not only channel Alexa but can also stream tunes from Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Music, Sirius XM and more. It offers clearer, more robust audio quality than earlier iterations. Pair it with another Echo Dot to create amazing stereo sound — a particularly smart deal now that it’s half off!

Shoppers love the compact dimensions — it’s 3.5-inches high — which make it great for smaller rooms. “This is exactly what I was looking for,” said a happy Amazon shopper. “The sound is loud and clear. Now I am able to hear all online stations with no interference. The design is space-saving, with rubber underneath to prevent sliding.”

The Echo Dot 4 comes in Charcoal, Glacier White and Twilight Blue.

Stream live TV and free TV instantly. (Photo: Amazon)

Watch more TV for less with the Fire TV Stick Lite — on sale from $30 to just $18 for Amazon Prime members. It’s easy to set up: It plugs into just about any HD or 4K TV’s HDMI ports, syncs to Wi-Fi and then provides access to hundreds of streaming apps and channels, including Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+, YouTube, Prime Video, Starz, Showtime and much, much more. For someone looking to cut the cord with their cable provider, this is perfect.

“…I’m very pleased with the Fire TV Stick Lite,” shared a satisfied Amazon shopper. “Alexa is installed, and using voice commands to change the TV is so wonderful! I can also turn the lights off from my remote control when it’s time to movie-watch. I love it! Let’s see the cable companies let me do that! I figure I’ll be saving about $230 per month now, and all for an investment that was less than paying one month of a cable bill.”

For anyone wondering: The Fire TV Stick Lite is the same as the standard Fire TV Stick but with a different remote. This remote has Alexa voice assistant built-in, but it doesn’t have a TV on/off switch or volume controls, which is why it’s deemed ‘Lite’.

The Echo Show 5 is a smart-home display that covers a lot of ground — but takes up very little space. (Photo: Amazon)

On sale for $45 for Prime members only (was $80), the Show 5 is Echo’s smaller, sleeker model. Armed with a 5-inch display, the Echo Show 5 is the perfect compact and lightweight companion to your nightstand. This smart-home display can double as a digital alarm clock with Alexa built-in. In fact, Amazon has a wide range of personalized clock faces to choose from, so you can bring a little bit of your own personality to this device.

“This is the best alarm clock I’ve ever had,” wrote a delighted five-star reviewer. “The clock face is customizable and very easy to read from anywhere in the room. The screen has no distortion or discoloration from any angle, so it is easy to see from everywhere…Perfect for checking the time in the middle of the night.”

The Echo Auto makes your car as smart as your home, and is down to just $15, from $50. (Photo: Amazon)

If you’ve ever called out to Alexa in your car, only to find she wasn’t there, this is for you. The Echo Auto — on sale for a mere $15 from $50 for Prime members only — is a clever gizmo that instantly makes any old car smart. It connects to your car’s stereo via auxiliary input and pairs to your phone with Bluetooth.

The Echo Auto is designed with eight mighty microphones, so it can clearly pick up voice commands (no worries about a loud engine, or noisy traffic). It’s great for making hands-free phone calls and searching for your favorite tunes on Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Music, Pandora and more.

“I’m actually impressed with this little device….” shared a five-star Amazon reviewer. “It always picks up my voice no matter the sound level.”

The Blink Mini HD security cam keeps an eye on your home. (Photo: Amazon)

Some security cameras will set you back hundreds. For Prime Day, you can get this Blink Mini for just $20 — that’s $15 off — if you’re a Prime member.

This smart-home security camera detects motion — it can snap into record mode whenever it senses activity around your home. It comes with free cloud storage until the end of 2021, and It features Full HD live streaming and two-way audio, so you can talk to house guests via the Blink app.

“This is a great little camera monitor,” raved an excited five-star shopper. “It’s easy to set up and easily managed with your smartphone. Can be set up to arm and record at any time. I bought this to use in my master bedroom by my desk where I keep sensitive information.”

Save a third for Prime Day on this Insignia 43-inch Smart 4k Ultra HD TV. (Photo: Amazon)

On sale from $320 to just $220 for Prime members only, the Insignia 43-inch Smart 4K Ultra HD TV — Fire TV Edition is a total steal. This is its all-time lowest price ever, so it’s the perfect moment to grab it for a bedroom or guest room. With a beautiful, crisp image, this TV lets you stream movies and shows from Netflix, SlingTV, Disney+, HBO Max, Hulu, Prime Video and more. Armed with an Ultra HD resolution of 2160p, this model is so popular it has earned a five-star rating from nearly 1,000 reviewers.

“I am so happy with my new Fire TV. The instructions weren’t complicated. I was able to switch flawlessly between my cable and the Fire TV apps,” shared a savvy Amazon shopper. “The clarity of the picture is wonderful…This is so perfect for me.”

Echo

Halo fitness

Luna gaming

Fire TV

Fire TV Cube, $80 (was $120), amazon.com

Fire TV Stick 4K, $25 (was $50), amazon.com

Insignia 24-inch Smart HD TV — Fire TV Edition, $100 (was $170), amazon.com

Toshiba 32-inch Smart HD TV — Fire TV Edition, $130 (was $200), amazon.com

Toshiba 43-inch Smart 4K Ultra HD — Fire TV Edition, $350 (was $240), amazon.com

Fire tablet

Kindle

eero

Blink

Ring

Ring Spotlight Cam, $150 (was $200), amazon.com

Ring Stick Up Cam, $75 (was $100), amazon.com

Ring Alarm 5-piece kit (second generation) , $120 (was $200), amazon.com

Ring Alarm 8-piece kit (second generation), $150 (was $250), amazon.com

Ring Floodlight Cam, $140 (was $180), amazon.com

You know… for kids

The Mandalorian: The Child, Stand for Amazon Echo Dot (third generation), $22 (was $25), amazon.com

Echo Dot Kids Edition (fourth generation), $35 (was $60), amazon.com

Fire 7 Kids Tablet, $60 (was $100), amazon.com

Fire HD 8 Kids Tablet, $70 (was $140), amazon.com

Fire HD 10 Kids Tablet, $120 (was $200), amazon.com

Fire 7 Kids Pro, $60 (was $100), amazon.com

Fire HD 8 Kids Pro, $70 (was $140), amazon.com

Fire HD 10 Kids Pro, $120 (was $200), amazon.com

The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.

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mariajustinteriordesigns · 3 years

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Enrolling: New Course for Creatives + Small Biz Owners - Attract, Engage and Grow!

Hello my dears, I hope you’re doing well and ready for a new week. I’m totally energized because I just started enrolling for my new course, ATTRACT ENGAGE GROW… This is the perfect online class for creative types who run a small or mid-size business (or plan to), and who want to really expand more online to really REACH people and earn a better living…. To figure out new ideas for our business, reach more customers, and grow… But with heart, not hustle! But before we get into all the details, let’s play a little game of “Do You Ever…” small business edition.

If you say YES to even one of these, this course may be the one for you. If not, you don’t really need me. ;) Okay, ready?

DO YOU EVER

Feel like the only way to grow your business online is to put in years of hustle and show up on social media every day, even when you’re feeling burnt out?

Feel called to market your business from the heart, but felt stuck because what everyone is teaching and preaching feels like selling out to you?

Get overwhelmed by influencers and the overall competition?

Wish to be as successful as others in your industry, but don’t want to sacrifice your family life and personal “me” time?

Feel frustrated because you’re not growing and you’re unsure of why?

Can’t figure out where to invest your time and energy, Instagram, your blog, Facebook, Pinterest, email marketing, helllpppppppppp! (insert head exploding emoji.)

Feel like you need fresh new eyes on your work and could use some feedback from me and a community of other small business owners and entrepreneurs for some honest, open feedback?

...did I get you on all 7??!

I completely understand these feelings because I’ve been there myself. That is exactly why I created this course, I have a sense that it’s needed right now more than ever before amidst the crazy past year we’ve all suffered. I want to tell you a little story before I explain what this course is about because I know hearing it can make you feel better.

I left my corporate job way back when because I wanted to be independent and do something creative, on my terms, that felt better than my 9-to-5 job and the excruciating two-hour Boston commute each day. I resigned back in 2005 and never looked back. I solely built my business from nothing using only my blog (the very one you are reading) to grow for the first several years. Man, it was scary at first, and hard, but I was willing to roll up my sleeves because I knew that I was building something for me.

It took time before I figured out a simple formula to success, and that formula changed everything. I became a bestselling author with four books in nearly 20 languages, toured my books in 15 cities, developed a few product collections, started a podcast, lectured at international fairs and moderated panels, won awards for my work, I even ran my own magazine. I also started teaching online in 2009 when I launched Blogging Your Way and here I am, teaching again under decor8 courses, after a two-year pause (I was working on my magazine in Hamburg and I'm a mom so, you know the drill - limited time).

Anyway, I'm back to teaching because I felt like it was time. I have so much more insight into what works and what doesn’t, and this experience is worth gold - and I want to share it. When you run a business and need to market it, you need a solid system in place and when you have it, you really don't need to stress because things organically fall into place, and working for yourself can actually be a lot of fun.

In my course, I want to share my 15 years of experience with you because once you learn what to use, and how, then heartfelt, organic marketing can be so much easier than if you don’t have a clue where to start, and no reliable systems in place.

“You need to be more transparent”

We've all heard that a trillion times, right?

Well, if you’ve ever wondered how I run my business as a self-made one-woman show and mother, minus the fluff and filters, I’ll tell you during this course, I'll be totally transparent for you. In fact, I welcome my students to ask tons of questions (don’t hold back!) because I want this learning experience to be as real and honest as possible.

I also want to challenge you to think differently about how you approach your brand and audience because we’ve all been fed the hype on how important it is to “grow a massive following” and become multi-millionaires. There are lots of us who want to live a happy life, enjoy time with our family and friends, and earn an incredible living doing what we love without non-stop hustling. I can definitely teach you how to do that because my business has made me happy for 15 years, and I’ve been able to support my family financially by doing what I love.

What’s inside the course?

Module 1: Find Your Voice

With so much competition, some of us have lost our motivation, positive voice, and even our way. For Module One, we’ll work together on powering up you and your brand to make you feel more invigorated than ever before and to help you to develop an authentic, likable voice to attract a more dedicated following.

Module 2: Blogging Your Way

More than ever before, a blog is what you need to sell your brand and products. We’ll cover ALL things blogging, from content to design, because it’s still one of the key ways to find, and keep, a happy and loyal audience.

Module 3: Email Marketing That Works

Become a newsletter believer in just one week. Learn the platforms available, how to use them, why email marketing matters, effective sales strategies through email marketing that feel genuine and real, and more.

Module 4: Win at Instagram

It’s time to level up your Instagram game and to enjoy using Insta again! You’ll learn branding, strategy, planning posts, writing copy from the heart, increasing engagement without hustle, growing your account, and tips for Insta Guides and Stories.

Each module is supported by a guest expert on the respective topic, with me always as your teacher and guide.

Meet The Experts

Garance Doré, Founder of Doré - Garance is a beloved French photographer, illustrator, and the best-selling author of LOVE STYLE LIFE who lives and works in Los Angeles, France, and New Zealand with her partner, Graham, and her dog Lulu. She recently launched a membership community for women about love, life, and style called L’île. Garance has built a loyal following with over 700k followers on her Instagram @garancedore through some of the most beautiful storytelling I’ve ever seen. In our 60 minute video inside the course, Garance will share how you can find your voice online and share it to attract a dedicated following.

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33 Fun Facts About Buffy the Vampire Slayer

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33 Fun Facts About Buffy the Vampire Slayer

On the genre-busting television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the heroine saved the world—a lot—over the course of seven seasons. Buffy premiered on the WB 21 years ago today; here are a few things you should know about the show. (And this is just the tip of the stake.)

1. THE SHOW IS A SEQUEL OF SORTS TO A MOVIE.

In the late ‘80s, writer Joss Whedon had an idea for a movie that would subvert the horror genre. “I had seen a lot of horror movies, which I love very much, with blond girls getting killed in dark alleys, and I just germinated this idea about how much I would like to see a blond girl go into a dark alley, get attacked by a monster and then kill it,” he said. “And that was sorta the genesis for the movie, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” The movie, penned by Whedon and directed by Fran Rubel Kuzui, hit theaters in 1992. It starred Kristy Swanson as Buffy, Donald Sutherland as her watcher Merrick, and Luke Perry as her love interest, Pike (David Arquette also starred as Pike’s best friend-turned-vampire Benny). But the film was different from what Whedon had originally intended. “My original script for the movie was kind of dark and scary and it was comedic, but the final product was much more a broad comedy,” he said.

A few years later, the rights holders approached Whedon about making a TV show out of his creation. He wasn’t sure it would work, but “I started to think about it and I came up with the notion of playing all sorts of horror movies in high school and making them metaphors for how frightening and horrible high school is,” he said. “With the show, I kinda wanted to get back to the roots of genuine horror, but with a lot of comedy and a lot of edge and a lot of self reflective sort of examination of horror. But at the same time, get genuinely creepy and hopefully genuinely moving.” And the TV version of Buffy was born.

2. KATIE HOLMES AND RYAN REYNOLDS COULD HAVE STARRED ON THE SHOW.

Could you imagine Katie Holmes as Buffy and Ryan Reynolds as Xander? According to a 2000 biography, before she was Dawson’s Creek’s Joey Potter, Holmes was offered the role of the slayer, but turned it down to go to high school. Reynolds refused the role of Buffy’s wisecracking sidekick. “I love that show and I loved Joss Whedon, the creator of the show, but my biggest concern was that I didn’t want to play a guy in high school,” Reynolds told The Star in 2008. “I had just come out of high school and it was f***ing awful.”

3. GILES WAS THE FIRST ROLE CAST.

According to casting director Marsha Shulman, “Anthony Stewart [Head] was the first person that got cast on the first day we started casting. He was just it.”

Many other actors who read for the part, Whedon said, made Giles too stuffy, but Head’s take was a little sexier. “Tony Head was one of the few people that we saw and instantly knew right away that nobody else was going to play that part,” Whedon said. “He embodied it perfectly.”

4. SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR AND CHARISMA CARPENTER SWAPPED ROLES.

Gellar auditioned for the role of Sunnydale High queen bee Cordelia Chase before eventually being cast as Buffy. “At the time, we were all trying to find our way to make the show something, its own thing apart from the film,” Schulman said in The Watchers Guide. “We didn’t think of Sarah as Buffy because we thought she was too smart and too grounded and not enough of a misfit in a sense, because Buffy was this outsider. How could Sarah be an outsider? She’s so lovely. So we brought her in as Cordelia, and she was fantastic as Cordelia. Then we went to the network, they knew that Sarah was a star from her previous work, and that she could be Buffy, and that we could do that Buffy.”

Carpenter, meanwhile, auditioned for Buffy before being cast as Cordelia. “I think that the way it turned out is the way it was meant to have turned out,” Carpenter told the BBC. “I’m extremely pleased that I wound up with the character that I have for a myriad of reasons. … I don’t know that I would have been ready for that kind of fame if I’d gotten Buffy. So, I think [Buffy] went to the right person.”

5. WILLOW WAS RECAST AFTER THE PILOT WAS SHOT.

Willow, science geek and Buffy’s best friend, was an exceptionally tough part to cast. “We had actually cast someone else in the pilot. It just didn’t work,” Shulman said. “When we got picked up, we always felt that we were going to start again and look for another Willow.”

“I was determined that we wouldn’t have the supermodel in horn rims that you usually see on a TV show,” Whedon said. “I wanted somebody who really had their own shy quirkiness. While the network and I were looking for people, Alyson Hannigan slipped under our radar. She came in and we didn’t really know that she was going to be the guy, and then when she read for the network we were just blown away. She brings so much light and so much tenderness to the role, it’s kind of extraordinary.”

6. DAVID BOREANAZ WAS DISCOVERED BY THE CASTING DIRECTOR’S FRIEND.

Whedon, the network, and the casting director saw a number of guys read for Buffy’s eventual boyfriend (and vampire!) Angel before David Boreanaz auditioned. “The breakdown said the most gorgeous, mysterious, fantastic, the most incredible man on the face of the earth,” Shulman said. “I think I saw every guy in town. It was the day before shooting, and a friend of mine and called me and said to me ‘You know, there’s this guy that lives on my street who walks his dog every day and I don’t know what he does but he has all the things you’re describing.’ And the minute he walked in the room, I wrote down on my notes: This is the guy.”

Still, despite the fact that Boreanaz gave “very good read,” Whedon wasn’t sold on him. “He wasn’t exactly my type,” he said. “I wasn’t sure we necessarily had the guy here until I asked the women in the room, who had turned into puddles the moment he walked in. I had to defer to them—they seemed to know better than me, and thank god I did, because David turned into a great star and a very solid actor.”

7. THE FIRST VERSION OF THE THEME SONG WAS A DUD.

Whedon wanted the credits sequence—which begins with “this scary organ and then devolves instantly into rock ‘n roll”—to spell out for viewers exactly what the show was about: “Here’s a girl who has no patience for a horror movie, who is not going to be the victim, is not going to be in the scary organ horror movie,” he said. “She’s going to bring her own youth and rocking attitude to it.”

Dissatisfied with an early version of the theme, Whedon opened it up in a contest of sorts to local indie bands. It was Hannigan who suggested Nerf Herder; the band ultimately wrote and recorded the show’s theme. “They created the show and were filming the first season and the people there … hired some fancy pants Hollywood guy to write the theme song and they didn’t like it; they wanted something more rocking, I guess,” Nerf Herder’s lead singer, Parry Gripp, said. “So they asked a bunch of local, small time bands who they could pay very little money to come up with some ideas and they liked our idea and they used it. And the rest is history!”

The band rerecorded the theme in the second or third season because the first recording was a hasty affair, and the song went off-tempo in the middle, Whedon said.

8. THE SHOW SHOT IN A WAREHOUSE—AND AT ACTUAL SCHOOLS.

In the beginning, Buffy didn’t have much of a budget, so instead of shooting on a soundstage, the crew used a huge warehouse in Santa Monica, California. “We were very much on a tight budget,” Whedon said. “This hall you’ll see a lot of in the first 12 episodes. It is the entire school. We only had the one hall, so we use it over and over again. It’s really kind of sad, actually.” The outside of the warehouse also doubled as the entrance to Sunnydale’s only club, The Bronze. “When we designed the club, we put the door to the club on the outside of the actual warehouse so that we could go in from the outside because that would give it real life and make it very realistic,” Whedon said. “And of course we did it just once, and then once more in the third season, because you have to wait until night to shoot, go in and out and light it, and it’s just enormously complicated.”

Torrance High School in Los Angeles subbed in for the exterior of fictional Sunnydale High. It’s a popular spot for film and TV; you might also recognize it from Beverly Hills, 90210, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, 90210, She’s All That, Not Another Teen Movie, and more. And when Buffy went to college, most of Sunnydale University was shot in the warehouse, but some parts of the first episode of the fourth season were shot at UCLA.

9. THERE WAS A REASON FOR THE VAMPIRES’ CREEPY FACES—AND THE “DUSTING.”

In the Buffy movie, the vampires looked like regular people with sharper teeth and paler skin. But for the show, Whedon wanted to increase the sense of paranoia by making the vampires resemble normal people until it’s time to feed—at which point, they transform into monsters. But there was another reason, too. “I didn’t think I really wanted to put a show on the air about a high school girl who was stabbing normal-looking people in the heart,” Whedon said. “I thought somehow that might send the wrong message, but when they are clearly monsters, it takes it to a level of fantasy that is safer.”

Getting into vamp mode—which required a prosthetic that fit from the forehead down to the bottom of the nose—took about an hour and 20 minutes. “It can be tedious,” David Boreanaz said in 1998, “and taking it off is the worst part, because you have to sit there and you just want to rip the damn thing off—but you can’t, because you’ll take a piece of your skin with you. It has to be removed very delicately. But the end result is definitely worth it.”

The film also had vampire bodies lay where they fell after they were staked. But Whedon had different ideas for the show. “It was a very conscious decision to have [the vampires] turn to dust, clothes and all, because I didn’t think it would be fun to have 15 minutes of let’s clean up the bodies after every episode,” he said. The show’s visual effects artists worked on and refined the technique over the seasons.

10. THE CREATORS DREW ON EXISTING VAMPIRE LORE FOR THE SHOW.

But they didn’t use everything. Vampires don’t fly on Buffy or turn into bats because the show didn’t have the money and Whedon thought it looked silly. Other elements of vampire lore, however, were used: Vampires don’t have reflections; they can’t enter a house unless they’re invited; they’re vulnerable to garlic, crosses, sunlight, fire, and holy water; and they can be killed by beheading or via a stake through the heart.

11. GELLAR HAD SOME PROBLEMS WITH THE DIALOGUE.

The show was famous for its “Buffyspeak,” which was partially inspired by California Valleygirl-isms and how Whedon and the other writers spoke. For Gellar, though, that dialogue sometimes was an issue. “Joss has his own sort of language that’s difficult for us mere mortals to understand,” she said in 1998. “I grew up in New York. We didn’t have Valley girls, and constantly, I’m asking him ‘What does this mean? I’m not quite sure.’ There’s a very funny story about [my audition] where the first line is ‘What’s the sitch?’ And there I go walking in, and my first ‘What does this mean?’ No idea it meant situation. Talk about blowing a job instantly.”

12. HERE’S WHERE YOU’VE SEEN SEASON ONE’S BIG VILLAIN BEFORE.

Underneath all of the Master’s vampy makeup is actor Mark Metcalf, who has appeared in Animal House (he played Doug Neidermeyer) and Seinfeld (he played The Maestro), among many other films and television shows. “Most of the guys we read came in and gave us villain villain villain in a very unimaginative way,” Whedon said. “Mark’s not that character, he’s just sly. He undercut all of the villainousness with real charm.”

13. THE CAST AND CREW HATED THE LIBRARY SCENES.

Head delivered much of the show’s expository dialogue in the library—and cast and crew alike came to dread those scenes. “He’s brought so much to all these really tough speeches, giving them life where they had very little because they’re full of so much information,” Whedon said. “When we finally blew up the school at the end of season three and were in the library for the last time, everybody breathed a great sigh of relief because these became the bane for us when we were filming, to go back into this space and talk yet again about what the peril was going to be.”

14. DARLA WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE IN THE SECOND EPISODE.

The vampire (played by Julie Benz) was supposed to expire at the end of “The Harvest” after Willow doused her with holy water, but Whedon kept her alive because he thought Buffy and Angel’s romance would be more interesting if it was a triangle; Darla, of course, was Angel’s sire. She was eventually killed in episode seven, but would continue to pop up in other episodes—and in the spin-off show, Angel—from time to time.

15. GELLAR AND BOREANAZ WOULD EAT GROSS STUFF BEFORE KISSING SCENES.

In a 2002 interview with The Independent, Gellar called love scenes “the unsexiest thing in the world.” What she and Boreanaz did beforehand couldn’t have made it any sexier. “[We] were the worst,” she said. “We would do horrible things to each other. Like eat tuna fish and pickle before we kissed. If he had to unbutton my shirt or trousers I would pin them or sew them together to make it as hard as I could. Once I even dropped ice cream on him.”

16. THE SHOW BUILT ITS OWN GRAVEYARD.

In the first season, Buffy shot in a graveyard in Hollywood. “It meant going out all night, until sunrise, a lot of times,” Whedon said. “That was back when we had the energy for that kind of thing.” Starting in the second season, they created their own graveyard in the warehouse’s parking lot. “It made our lives a whole lot easier, but it doesn’t give you the scope that you get from [the Hollywood graveyard],” Whedon said. “It’s a really beautiful place. Looks great.”

“We poured in kerb, back-filled it with dirt and planted grass and lots of trees and stuff and that’s our graveyard set,” production designer Carey Meyer told the BBC. “The majority of our cemetery stuff actually takes place in that little tiny parking lot. At night, with a couple of headstones in the background with all the trees and such, you can really cheat to make it look quite large.”

17. WHEDON HAD AN INTERESTING NICKNAME FOR GELLAR.

At a cast reunion in 2008, Whedon revealed—to Gellar’s surprise—an odd nickname for her, borne from the fact that she dealt with so much pain on screen. “David [Greenwalt] and I used to crow, when we realized what Sarah could do,” he said. “We used to call her Jimmy Stewart, because he was the greatest American in pain in the history of film.” Gellar laughed and said “I never knew that!”

18. AT LEAST TWO ACTORS PLAYED MORE THAN ONE VILLAIN.

Brian Thompson, who played vampire Luke in the first two episodes, returned in the second season to play The Judge. “Quite frankly, we were in a hurry,” Whedon said. “We already had his face cast and we knew he could put makeup on and give us a good performance.” Camden Toy, meanwhile, played a number of villains, including one of the Gentlemen in “Hush” (season four), a skin-eating demon called Gnarl in “Same Time, Same Place” (season seven), and Ubervamp Turok-Han (throughout season seven).

19. THE WRITERS HAD THEIR OWN TERM FOR PLOT-MOVING DEVICES.

It was coined by writer David Greenwalt. “A lot of this stuff is based on myth and horror movies, and a lot of it made up for our convenience,” Whedon says. “At one point, when we were trying to figure out exactly what Buffy would be trying to do [in the first episode], Greenwalt just shouted out ‘For God’s sake, don’t touch the phlebotnum in Jar C!’ We have no idea to this day what it was supposed to mean, but it became our word for the vague mystical thing—such as the master’s cork in the bottle theory—so phlebotnum is our constant on the show.”

20. WHEDON WROTE THE LARGELY DIALOGUE-FREE EPISODE “HUSH” TO CHALLENGE HIMSELF.

Season four’s tenth episode, “Hush,” features creepy villains called The Gentlemen, who come to Sunnydale and steal the residents’ voices … so that no one can scream when the monsters cut out their hearts. There are only 17 minutes of spoken dialogue in the 44 minute episode. Whedon wanted to do a largely silent episode because he felt like he was phoning it in. “I had fallen into the ‘people a-yakkin, I can sort of do this without really thinking about it’ style of directing, and I wanted to curtail that in myself,” he said. “On a practical level, the idea of doing an episode where everybody loses their voice presented itself as a great big challenge because I knew that I would literally have to tell the story only visually, and that would mean that I couldn’t fall back on tricks. I wanted to do something harder.” Though Whedon was terrified that he wouldn’t be able to pull off the episode, it was well received by critics, and is a favorite of fans and the series’ stars alike.

21. THE GENTLEMEN WERE INSPIRED BY A DREAM.

A version of Buffy’s creepiest villains first appeared in a dream of Whedon’s; they floated toward him while he was in bed. “What I was going for was very specifically a very Victorian kind of feel, because that to me is very creepy and fairytale-like,” Whedon said. He created a drawing, which he delivered to makeup supervisor Todd McIntosh and John Vulich at Optic Nerve, the special effects house that created the prosthetics for the show. “I was drawing on everything that had ever frightened me, including the fellow from my dream, Nosferatu, pinhead, Mr. Burns—anything that gave that creepy feel,” Whedon said. “We get into a lot of reptilian monsters and things that look kind of like aliens, and what I wanted from these guys was, very specifically, fairy tales. I wanted guys who would remind people of what would they were scared of when they were children.”

Whedon’s ultimate hope was that kids of a certain generation would be as traumatized by the Gentlemen as he was by the Zuni Doll from Trilogy of Terror. The team cast mimes and actors who had done creature work—like Doug Jones—to play the Gentlemen.

22. THE HARDEST CHARACTER FOR WHEDON TO KILL OFF WAS BUFFY’S MOM.

One of Buffy‘s most critically acclaimed episodes is season five’s “The Body,” in which the slayer’s mom, played by Kristine Sutherland, dies of natural causes. Whedon said in a 2012 Reddit AMA that Joyce was the toughest character for him to kill. He did the episode, he said in DVD commentary, because “I wanted to show not the meaning or catharsis or the beauty of life or any of the things that are often associated with loss, or even extreme grief, which we do get in the episode. But what I did want to capture was the extreme physicality, the almost boredom of the very first few hours. I wanted to be very specific about what it felt like the moment you discover you’ve lost someone. And so what appears to many people as a formal exercise—no music, scenes that take up almost the entire act, if not the entire act, without end—is all done for a very specific purpose, which is to put you in that moment of dumbfounded shock, that airlessness of losing somebody.”

The moments after Buffy discovers her mother dead on the couch were done in a single take, which Whedon had Gellar perform seven times (the actress has called the episode one of her favorites). “The cameraman had the camera on his shoulder the whole time and was running around,” Whedon said. “It wasn’t a steadicam—he had no harness because I wanted that urgency of handheld, that you’re in the moment of it. It’s an extraordinary piece of acting from Sarah … to go from the extremity of first finding her, the helplessness of not knowing what to do. All the things that Sarah had to go through in this, she had to go through many, many times. And every take was extraordinary.”

23. ONE SHOT IN “THE BODY” WAS INSPIRED BY DIRECTOR PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON.

One shot in “The Body” follows the coroner after he examines Joyce’s body out to where Buffy waits with her friends in another single take. “I am a huge Paul Thomas Anderson fan,” Whedon said, “and I had been watching Magnolia excessively before I shot this. So these endless tracking shots probably owe something to that. What can I say, I’m a hack. But what I was really trying to get at here was, again, the reality of the space. I wanted to see Joyce very clearly, and then I wanted to walk all the way over to where Buffy was, where her loved ones were, so that you understood she was down the hall, she was really there. We weren’t on a different set.” Whedon gave kudos to production designer Carey Meyer for building sets that would let him get those long takes.

24. GELLAR KNEW WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IN SEASON FIVE WELL IN ADVANCE.

Several moments in the final episode of season three foreshadowed two major events in season five: Namely, that Buffy would get a sister (Dawn, played by Michelle Trachtenberg) and that the slayer would die at the end of season five. “I’ve actually known the [plot of the] entire last season for about three years,” she told the BBC. “There was a dream sequence that Buffy had with Faith. Faith had a riddle, and it was something like ‘Little Miss Muffet, sitting on her tuffet,’ counting down from whatever the numbers were, and I went to Joss to ask what it meant. That’s when he explained to me that I was going to have a sister, that Dawn, the character of Dawn, would be coming on the show. I think that’s exactly when I became aware also of what the future plans were.”

Why manufacture a sister out of thin air? “Part of the mission statement was, let’s have a really important, intense emotional relationship for Buffy that is not a boyfriend,” he told Salon. “Because let’s not have her be defined by her boyfriend every time out of the bat. So, Season 5, she’s as intense as she was in Season 2 with Angelus, but it’s about her sister. To me that was really beautiful.”

25. SEASON SIX WAS THE TOUGHEST FOR GELLAR.

After the fifth season, Buffy moved from the WB to UPN and resurrected its heroine for the sixth season—which was darker in tone (and more controversial) than any season before it. “It was definitely tough for me,” Gellar said at a Paley Center event in 2008. “It’s so hard to separate myself from her, so it was tough for me to see these situations and say ‘But Buffy wouldn’t do this.’ … I know Joss and Marti both had to talk me off a ledge a couple of times because it just felt so far removed from me at the time, and maybe that was the point. Maybe I was struggling the same way she was struggling to find out who she was. It just felt so foreign to me. … We love her, and I think it was hard for all of us to watch her suffer. … It was a tough time. And I think that’s what came through in the end, and that was great. When Buffy herself resurfaced, we sort of found our voice again.”

26. WRITER/PRODUCER MARTI NOXON HAS A CAMEO.

She’s the lady with the parking ticket in “Once More, With Feeling.”

27. GELLAR CALLED THE MUSICAL EPISODE “DAUNTING.”

“I’m a perfectionist, I come from a long line of lots of preparation, and certainly that was not the case with this,” she said. “If I had my druthers, we would have gotten it about two years ago and been in classes for a year and a half, maybe six weeks of rehearsals? Instead of four days.” At a Paley Center event in 2008, Gellar admitted to “begging” to be let out of it. “I begged for Buffy the rat,” she said. “I kept thinking, ‘Bring the rat back.’”

28. STONE TEMPLE PILOTS’ LEAD SINGER WAS A FAN.

Scott Weiland reportedly became a fan while watching the show in prison. Gellar, who later appeared in the band’s music video for “Sour Girl,” had a theory about why the show was so popular among prison inmates: “Hot chicks doing battle. It’s like acceptable porn.”

29. GELLAR KNEW THE SHOW WAS OVER BEFORE THE REST OF THE CAST.

In the March 7, 2003 Entertainment Weekly cover story, Gellar announced that Buffy was coming to an end after seven seasons. “I love this job, I love the fans,” she said. “I love telling the stories we tell. This isn’t about leaving for a career in movies, or in theater—it’s more of a personal decision. I need a rest. Teachers get sabbaticals. Actors don’t.” The rest of the cast found out the day the story hit stands. “I was devastated,” Hannigan said in 2013. “I was just very shocked.”

30. BUFFY’S ADVENTURES CONTINUE IN COMIC BOOKS.

A number of writers who worked on the TV show have also worked on the comics. Even James Marsters, who played vampire Spike on the show, wrote a comic about his character. “I was at the San Diego Comic Con and I was describing an idea that had been kicking around my head for a long time to [artist] George Jeanty, who draws a lot of the Buffy comic books,” Marsters told io9. “And he thought that it was a fabulous idea and that I should definitely get in touch with [Dark Horse editor] Scott Allie. He made the phone call and then I pitched it to Scott over the phone and Scott liked it a lot. It’s a story that was going to try to be made into a Spike movie years and years ago.”

31. THERE WAS TALK OF AN ANIMATED SERIES.

Whedon and the show’s other writers produced seven scripts for an animated Buffy series, which would have taken place during the show’s first three seasons and been voiced by the cast. Sadly, no one wanted the show. “They were really fun to write,” Whedon said. “We could not sell the show. We could not sell an animated Buffy, which I still find incomprehensible.”

32. THE SHOW SPAWNED ACADEMIC COURSES…

A number of colleges and universities offer courses on the show; they’re called “Buffy Studies.” People have written books and held conferences dedicated to discussing the themes of the show and presenting papers on it. According to the Los Angeles Times, attendees at a 2004 Buffy conference “were presenting 190 papers on topics ranging from ‘slayer slang’ to ‘postmodern reflections on the culture of consumption’ to ‘Buffy and the new American Buddhism.’ There was even a self-conscious talk by David Lavery, an English professor at Middle Tennessee State University, on Buffy studies ‘as an academic cult.'”

An informal study conducted by Slate in 2012 showed that, when it comes to pop culture in academia, Buffy is number one: “More than twice as many papers, essays, and books have been devoted to the vampire drama than any of our other choices—so many that we stopped counting when we hit 200.”

33. … AND A BOOK OF SLANG.

Publisher’s Weekly called Slayer Slang: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Lexicon “a strange marriage of a fan guide and a linguistics textbook.” Said The Kansas City Star: “If you’re curious about the word ‘ubersuck,’ or just want to remember which episode you first heard it in, this is the place to look. As Buffy would say, it is not uncool.”

BONUS: RARE BEHIND-THE-SCENES FOOTAGE

During the second season, Pruitt filmed behind-the-scenes footage of the cast goofing off and getting into makeup, the stunt crew at work, and some of the show’s most iconic sequences. You can watch it above.

Additional sources: DVD commentary; The Watcher’s Guide.

All images courtesy of Getty Images unless otherwise noted.

This piece originally ran in 2014.

#33 #Buffy #facts #Fun #Slayer #Vampire #Facts

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love-stickywitchcollector · 4 years

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FACT: Randy is just 1 of many thousands of customers I've worked with, but I've also helped thousands of other people transform their business and life by putting them on Google’s first page with this exact service. Here’s what another customer, Brian, said to me on Facebook after we worked together... Yep, that's right. Brian found me here on Seoclerks and this service largely contributed to the eventual multi-million dollar sell-out of his online business. Whoa Now I’m not saying you’ll make you 50 million dollars or that Brian’s story is even typical, but I Get Results. That's what this is about.And if that's not enough to pique your interest, we’ll then I don't know what else to say to you and we should just shake hands and part ways here...Still here?...Okay great.So that's me in the video below, and if you have a few minutes, click play and I'll explain a couple of things briefly.Location: A lovely coffee shop...Somewhere in central, ThailandMarch 20th, 201911.48am All done watching the video? Great...

Hey, Barry here and I'm writing this because I know your website can make more money than it currently is right now... I say that with confidence because this is what I do for people every single day. If you stick with me on this page I can help explode your website profits within the next 21 days. (note- It's not uncommon for some clients to 10x their revenue after working with me) Here Are Some Things You Might Be Struggling with Right Now 1. You’re looking for a reliable SEO but still haven't found your guy (maybe you’ve been let down in the past)2. You need an SEO strategy that actually WORKS!3. You need it to start working quickly! "Whatever your reason for making more money online is, I'm the guy that can help you do that" But Who Exactly am I and Why Should you Listen to Me? So...1. I'm the number 1 hired SEO service provider on SEOclerks.I have over 12,000 successful campaigns under my belt and I've transformed tons of people's businesses, all over the world.At the time of talking to you here, my clients have spent over a million dollars on my services- many of them are repeat clients.

*I consistently 10x client investments (or more) and I'd like to do that for you too if you let me.I might even be able to make you 12,000 dollars profit with a single order like I did for Drew below!2. I've helped thousands of people like you become financially independent, by transforming websites that convert better and attract more visitors.3. I've helped agencies provide better SEO services for their clients, which helps them attract and retain high paying customers for the long term.4. I help YOU make more sales, by implementing my proven SEO strategy that's pushed thousands of keywords to page 1 of Google.5. I'm also the guy that other SEO's and agencies secretly hire when they just can't get their websites ranked.and here's what more people have to say...

Here's a Visual Overview of How My SEO Formula Works Are Ready to Take Your Website/Bank Account/Life to the Top Already? Submit Your Campaign Below Right Now Or maybe you want to find out more? no problem... So What Is It Like, Being Able to Rank Websites on Demand Like I Can? Since I discovered how to rank websites in Google, my life changed pretty drastically.Here are some of the things that are possible when you're ranking on page 1You can...scuba dive when you wantLive in a beachfront condo or house in the country you want to live in (Thailand for me)Take trips to 5-star resorts with your girlfriendand have plenty of money spare at the end of every month...That's what's possible and a lot more when your websites are killing it.Basically, you can use your page 1 ranking business to create any sort of lifestyle you want.But it wasn't always like this for me. In fact, my life sucked for a VERY long time. I struggled for over 7 years trying to make a living online I was living in a rented townhouse in Central Thailand for years.I had no savings.I didn't have a carand I didn't have a good looking future ahead of mebut I never stopped trying...I sold wooden frogs on eBay and back scratchers on Amazon…I even drop shippedspy watches from China back before drop-shipping was cool.Shopify didn't even exist then and my websites were always free crappy WordPress themes. (I'm not sure how I sold anything looking back on that actually)So, I made money now again, but could never make enough to make a difference.It wasn't even worth the time I put in really. I definitely couldn't leave my day job(s).I was stuck in a constant loop of jobs I hated and a bit of internet money in the evenings just to get by.Nothing about my situation changed for years, and if I didn't take action, nothing was ever going to change for me. Ever.I was miserable but never shocked enough into taking serious action.It was just a mild toothache that I learned to live with. Until one Day In 2011, My Boss Was Murdered At 8.42 on a Monday morning, I dragged my tired a## to the office in the steaming humidity- after another sh#tty weekend without enough money to do anything fun. Again.I got called to the main office, (which was odd) and the young girl at the desk just looked at me and said – “boss dead bang bang”. I knew at that moment that I was totally screwed. Just maybe not as much as my ex-boss though (RIP)the btw-The boss was sniped at a public charity event the previous day, in front of 300+ people.I was actually invited but stayed at home that Sunday. Close call for me! Phewanyway...and that was that. Without him around, I knew I wasn't going to get paid again and I was already completely broke.I went to my desk, sat down and tried to hide the panic in my face from my co-workers.I don't think it worked.I was sobbing as I looked out the window.So I walked.I walked out with nothing in my pocket, went back to my 100USD per month town-house and cried like a little bitch. I was out of options and money with no family or friends around me to help.and that's why I was forced to get good at SEOFor the next 3 months, I worked like a mad-man to learn everything I could about SEO.4 finishes were normalHere's what my office looked like (yes, that's a bed sheet I used as a curtain) "SEO Became a Do or Die Situation" From there, I applied for every SEO job I could on Elance.com to pay rent and eat, and then eventually started investing in SEO training when I could afford it.I took Matthew Woodward's courses and watched hundreds of hours of SEO training from other guys in the industry. I was determined to get as good as the top SEOs in the industry (if not better).The funny thing is a lot of these people are friends of mine now.(Here's me and Matt Woodward discussing SEO at the Affiliate World Asiaconference back in 2016) And here I am discussing SEO with some of the best brains in the industry, at the Chiang Mai SEO "Invite-Only" Mastermind in 2018. "Oh, how things have changed!"

Back then, I had 31 affiliate sites, so I tested EVERYTHING I learned.These were like my crash test dummies. I could literally try anything I wanted on these sites, just to see how they ranked.After tons of testing, I just removed what didn’t work and was left with SEO that ACTUALLY WORKS and gets sites RANKED fast…"This service is a result of what I first discovered, and then well over 10,000 tracked campaigns here on Seoclerks since"…and that’s why I call this A FORMULA. It's a precise mix of just the right elements, that gets your site ranking to Google's first page.I continually test and track everything, so I’m able to get even better results nowadays, here are a few examples… and here's a few more (of many thousands) of positive reviews- starting with a video testimonial

So Why Hire Me If There are Thousands of Other Vendors Here? Couldn't you just do all this all yourself or hire someone cheaper?Well, yes you could, but SEO is expensive for a start.Here's another question...Do you think someone charging just $25 can do a proper job for you?The short answer is NO. But here's why...Even for BASIC SEO (that's not guaranteed to rank anyway), typical investment looks something like this;1. Link building tool = $149 per month2. Proxies = $20 per month3. Content =$100 per month4. 5 PBN domains and set up = $5005. Backlink Checkers and Audit tools = $49 per month6. Outreach management software = $99 per month "it'll cost you at least $900 with no guarantee of results... plus you'll have to learn a bunch of fancy sh#t that you don't even want to figure out... cause I've already done that hard stuff for you" Unless you're a service provider yourself, (or already own 10 websites that make money) charging $25 or doing it yourself makes no economic sense.Also, doing things yourself, or hiring someone else, means you're going to missout on results like these...(note, this is an extremely competitive niche (hosting) "Listen up - I don't really have to work for you. I'm just offering what I've learned, to help a fellow entrepreneur" So, if you'll let me, I'd like to get you to page 1 of Google and give you my years of experience as an SEO. All my resources and connections, to so you're making more money- fast,In fact, I'm so confident I can help you, that if I don't get you results for some strange reason, the funds will be reversed from escrow and you will have ALL of your investment back without a struggle.and on top of that, I'll continue helping you anyway- Why? Because I know my SEO kicks behinds and I want to make you happy. Here's What I'm Going to Do For You · I will help you double, triple or even 10x your investment- by getting you to page 1 of Google, fast.· I will keep you making money –By maintaining your position on page 1 (because my links are permanent.· I will help you discover more money-making opportunities for your business- with deep keyword research and additional optimization tips for your website if youwant.· I will positively transform your online business (and maybe even your life)· I will make your success online super easy (it only takes 3 minutes to place your order)So this probably sounds good to you, but what if you don’t have the money or it seems too expensive? I get it, it's a fair question.But think about it another way... "If you aren't on page 1 of Google, you're missing out and leaving A LOT of money on the table" and don't think I am locking you into anything either...I have ZERO minimum contract terms and you can choose to hire me just once! Nothing is forced, and you don’t sign a thing- you’re in complete control and all your links are permanent.And…remember ordering takes just 3 minutes, here's what you need to do;1. Click order now and choose your preferred payment processor (we even takecrypto)2. Paste in your URL and up to 10 keywords in the order form3. Hit submit and sit back-I’ll handle the rest. That's it! But, you HAVE TO TAKE ACTION RIGHT NOW. Yep, you can look the other “solutions” here on Seoclerks, and maybe even bookmark this in the hope that you'll remember to come back later. But I can tell you one thing...At the time of talking to you right now, my clients here have spent precisely 1,222,799.46 dollars on my SEO services here alone (not including my blog and private hires) ...theytrust me..and they keep coming back month after month. Quite often every week.In fact, I get so busy, that I have to turn people quite a lot - even with my team, we can only serve a handful of people and still deliver a quality service.Now, what about the cost?I charge $297 for the same service on my personal blog. So why do I only charge these priceshere?One word;TrafficTraffic sent to SEOclerks doesn't cost me a thing. Traffic to my blog does.That is why I charge over $100 less for the same service here- because I'm saving on business costs and I can pass that saving on to you.It's a win-win for everyone.and what about those negative reviews?Like any active business, problems do happen.For me, they're rare and usually down to a few things like;

Accidentally attaching the wrong report

A competitor coming in to pull sh#t apart-in the hope of stealing business

people not being patient enough

A simple miscommunication usually down to language barriers

and something important to note is... I have no way of editing or manipulating reviews here.Everything here is real. I can't fake positive reviews or go in the back end to edit anything. I can't remove negative ones, and I can't force people to leave positive reviews either.All My Reviews are Real including the thousands of positives and the pesky handful of negatives ones too. and remember, you're PROTECTED.My service has a 100% MONEY-BACK-IN-YOUR-UNHAPPY-HANDS-FAST guarantee. Its rare people use it, but it's there- for your peace of mind and mine too!Further Details About Why You Should Order This

This is a tried and tested SEO formula that is not used by any other vendor ANYWHERE!

Updated Alpha PLUS formula V7.6 for Jan 2020, includes updated features such as;

Brand New PBN links added to the back end -Every month more power is added to your completed campaigns

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Rankings that are working right NOW

The fastest and most knowledgeable support team on Seoclerks today! (Our team works on 3 time zones, so your questions are answered FAST and in FULL)

and here's some more happy clients below (-: Answers to the most common FAQsNon-English languages ACCEPTEDHigh rankings in Google does not always guarantee traffic or sales.Please do not expect to rank on the first page of Google for highly competitiveterms such as "make money online" or "internet marketing"for example.Seo competition cannot be accurately measured in theGoogle Adwords keyword tool, or by the number of results pages.Please contact us before purchasing if you would like to know thecompetitiveness of your desired target keywords. The choice of keywords totarget is your responsibility. If you are unsure what keywords to target orwould like a list of low/medium comp variations, we do provide a Killer Keyword Research service.This service is for 10 keywordsReport not provided for the 10 PBN extraPage Rank is not the position of your website in the search engine.This service may not improve Page Rank. (Please look up "Google PageRank" for further clarification)I cannot be responsible for ranking penalties if you are using another service.Backlinks do not appear instantly in Google and software used to analyzebacklinks may not detect all backlinks to your site.Backlinks report provided upon completion Be reasonable and polite with me, andyou will see just how beneficial I can be for you and your online business!***Your displayed Response Times seem very slow, does this mean you have poor support?Not at all. The response times (on the left), are worked out using the "average" time it takes for us to respond in the ORDER form after purchase, not the "conversations inbox" which we useas our support channel.Due to the multiple subscription packages that are automatically generatedacross the services, these particular order forms DO NOT usually permit athe response each time and therefore, automatically lower our displayed responsetime.--------- Here’s what you’ll get when I deliver under 10 days (you get it free if I don't deliver on time) Over 200+ links (including PBNs and my secret sauce)Everything laid out in easy to understand and professionally presented excelreportsYour Reports include

Tier level

Country

Anchor text used

Anchor %

LSI keywords used

Link to the page and post

Additional bonuses

Full support

Optional Rank Tracking

So, if you're ready to give the reigns to someone that actually knows how to get you the results you deserve, then I'llturn your website into a money-making machine starting today! or Hit the Button at the Top Left-hand side of this page and let me skyrocket your business. See you on the inside and thanks for readingBarry A. PagePromo- Want to get this service for just $89 with a fully managed monthly option + lots of FREE stuff? (Cancel any time) Then Click Here InsteadP.S. This SEO formula is my own proven strategy that will put you on page 1.You can't find this strategy anywhere else.It's transformed hundreds of people's businesses and I can do the same for you too-(like Drew above who made over 12,000 USD with a singleorder)P.P.S It takes less than 3 minutes to order.So, if you want to finally transform your business, my proven, customized SEO formula is the last place you need to look.

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kennethherrerablog · 4 years

Text

The Ladder of Freedom

I was walking home from the gym in NYC and I had to stop and take a video of this.

I call it HELLSCAPE ON EARTH.

Watch the entire video here

Looking at this building full of people working at 7pm, what do you feel?

I feel TRAPPED. Ever since I was a kid, I never wanted to work in a cubicle with fluorescent lights. I certainly never wanted to have people walking outside in the fresh air, looking at me through the glass in my conference room window like a zoo animal.

I know it’s irrational, but I’ve hated this since I started working at 14 years old.

Now, I don’t mind working hard and I don’t mind putting in lots of hours when times are busy. But I hate the idea of HAVING to go into an office.

“Dear Boss, can I please take a 2-day vacation? Can I please use the bathroom?” NO!

I remember telling my college friends this. They all looked at me like I was insane. We were all going to go work in cubicles…that’s what you do, right?

Actually, no. You don’t have to.

When I was offered a job at Google, I ran the other direction. I took a massive pay cut, lived in a house with 4 other guys, and chose a different path.

YES — it’s an amazing privilege to even be able to think about what “our path” is. So many people have to work at whatever job they can find to provide for their families. My immigrant parents came here and my dad took what job he could get. But together with my mom, they learned enough to give the next generation — my siblings and me — enough freedom that we could choose what we wanted to do.

I’m very grateful for that opportunity. And now I get to share what I’ve learned with you.

As I’ve met more IWT readers, I’ve asked what your Rich Life is. I’ve learned it’s not simply to make more money (not even $1 million per year).

It’s also to choose the LIFESTYLE you want. For me, it was never having to go into an office with fluorescent lights and people wearing Patagonia vests. What is it for you?

Is your Rich Life…

Never having to wake up to a blaring alarm clock?

Being able to travel for 3 weeks at a time — and flying business class?

Being able to buy something without worrying about the price?

Here’s what I decided for my Rich Life.

I run my business from my home office — no commute, no fluorescent lights. I can wake up, have a leisurely morning, and walk 10 feet to start working.

BTW I splurged on a dual-monitor setup:

I HAVE FINALLY MADE IT

I wanted the freedom of traveling now, not 40 years from now. So I built it into my life. Every year, I travel for 6 weeks.

Here’s my office for the day at The Oberoi Vanyavilas in India. I worked for one hour per week — over a 6-week trip — and my business kept growing.

Fun fact: When the picture was taken in India, I checked on the daily sales for my business. Here’s the sales receipt from the previous day that was waiting in my inbox:

On that day in India, my business brought in $14,591 No office, no conference rooms

I know this is unusual — but it’s not an accident.

It’s the result of building a business that supports my Rich Life.

What would yours look like? Would you have a home office? Would you travel more? Would you take the afternoons off to spend it with your kids or a workout class?

Your Rich Life is yours. But it means you have to decide, then create it.

This is a totally different way of thinking about lifestyle. Most people take a random job, look around longingly at travel pics on Instagram, dream of “freedom,” then shrug and walk into a brown-carpeted conference room with lukewarm coffee and a conference room speakerphone. That’s my personal hell.

We wonder why we have a hard time getting out of bed and motivating ourselves to get things done. No, taking a 2-day vacation to “recharge” won’t change anything. 5 minutes of meditating won’t change it, either. You have to be courageous enough to confront the system you exist in…and decide to change it.

We all want freedom. We all want the flexibility to be spontaneous. We all want the ability to say YES when someone or something we love comes along.

Are we willing to make the changes to get it?

Once you start, you’ll discover there are lots of different levels of freedom. And you choose where you want to be.

I call this The Ladder of Freedom.

LEVEL 1: Freedom from $3 worries

This is the ability to stop sweating the small stuff.

A reader told me about taking a taxi in NYC and staring at the taxi sign ticking up by $0.50…block after block after block.

“God,” he said. “I could see the price going higher, knowing I was going to have to skip lunch the next day. I was thinking to myself, ‘Should I just get out here? I could probably walk from here. But it’s raining…’”

I remember being in my early 20s and thinking EXACTLY the same thing. I went to a restaurant and saw an appetizer that looked so good…and then turned the page and just got an entree.

For lots of people, that’s just how life goes.

It’s easy to be worried about small expenses when we’re surrounded by so-called “experts” lecturing us about how our $3 lattes will destroy our lives. (Which is why it’s still surprising to most people to find out that you could cut back on $3 lattes all day…and even over 50 years, it wouldn’t add up to much. You can see the math in my post about multimillionaires lecturing you about avocado toast.)

At a certain point — as you get older, as you earn more, and as your time becomes more scarce — we all reconsider the calculus of is it worth it? For example, my mom would have NEVER bought pre-cut vegetables: They were too expensive. Now, I do. An extra $2 means nothing to me, and the 20 minutes saved is valuable.

Put another way: Would you worry about the cost of a $0.25 piece of candy? No, because it would have no effect on your life at all.

Same with $3 expenses.

This first level of freedom is freedom from worrying about $3 expenses. You never have to worry about coffee or appetizers or picking up a round of drinks for your friends — because the money will not affect your life at all.

LEVEL 2: Freedom to ask $30,000 questions

This is the ability to buy the things you love, guilt-free.

At this level, you’re not worrying about $3 questions — you’re actually leaning into $30,000 questions.

You don’t have to cut back on tiny expenses. Because you’re keeping your eye on the Big Wins, tiny $10 or even $100 expenses are irrelevant.

In fact, you can splurge on the things you love:

Not just getting flowers once a year for your anniversary — getting a fresh bouquet delivered every week

Traveling for 3 weeks every year — and sorting your flight by “direct flights only,” not by “cost”

Treating your friends to dinner, saying, “I’ll get this”

I talked about moving beyond $3 questions for CNBC

If you could spend $5,000/year on something you love, what would it be? Get really specific. Don’t just say “travel.” Say: “I’d fly to Mexico for 10 days with my girlfriend, fly business class (points), stay at this resort I’ve been keeping my eyes on, and take a tequila tour.”

Now think bigger: What if you could spend $50,000/year on something you love? What would you do? Most of us have never thought about this because we’re mired in the $3 weeds. But at this level, you can think bigger.

Here’s what I did:

How about you?

If you had freedom from $30,000 questions, what would you spend more on? What’s the thing you LOVE spending on? Eating out? Travel? Fitness?

LEVEL 3: Freedom from location

This is the ability to work and live wherever you want.

At this level, you have the ability to travel anywhere. You could work from Starbucks or a home office. Or Japan.

And you’re not locked into any location, no matter how cool it is. You can work from Spain for a month, then try someplace else.

You’re not limited to two weeks of vacation a year, either.

Here’s how I use this level of freedom:

Annual CEO trip: Every January, I take a trip with a small group of CEOs. We get a house with a chef and a view, then spend 4 days planning out our year, talking about what worked/what didn’t, and share advice with each other. (If this isn’t your thing, you could do it with a group of friends.)

Annual CEO trip, where we ask for advice, share our lessons from last year, and plan out this year

6-week extended vacation: At the end of every year, my wife and I take a 6-week trip. The trip gives us time to connect with each other, reflect on the year, and most of all, eat the world’s best food!!! I’ll post food pics on my IG account later.

India, Kenya, Italy, Japan…and more trips coming up. Each year, I work with my team to set up more systems that allow me to be off the grid. Last year, I only checked in for 1 hour a week. The rest was pure vacation.

Don’t be limited by my choice. What would yours be? Some would love a beach trip…others would move to Colorado for ski season…and others would take their kids to Europe for the summer. Dream big!

If you had freedom from location, where would you go?

LEVEL 4: Freedom from time limits

This is the ability to do what you want, when you want to do it.

No endless string of meetings that you didn’t schedule. No alarm clocks. No having to remember “that one thing” to buy from the store.

At this level, you can use money to buy back your time.

Note that if you still love something, you can still do it! For example, I love reading emails from my readers, so I continue to read every single one (though I can’t respond to every one). I also love ironing my clothes. But I hate having to sort through travel options, so I’ve outsourced that.

Here are 30 examples of things my assistant handles and that I no longer have to spend time on thanks to my assistant and the systems we’ve built:

Altogether, this saves me 20 hours every week.

If you had freedom from time, what would your mornings look like?

LEVEL 5: Freedom from expectations

This is the ability to completely craft your own Rich Life.

Maybe you want to buy a house — or not.

Maybe you want to have kids — or not.

Maybe you want to travel around the country in a trailer!

I love this!!

It’s not my Rich Life — I live in a Manhattan high-rise — but it’s Steve and his wife’s Rich Life.

This is true “freedom from expectations.”

Guys, if I had followed society’s expectations, I would be wearing an ill-fitting XL t-shirt working at Cisco Systems. That’s my idea of hell on earth.

Freedom from expectations means you’ve mastered the $3 level, the $30,000 level, the freedom from location, AND the freedom from time limits.

This level is the culmination of the others — the top of the ladder — because you’ve truly earned the right to be free from expectations.

Now you can choose the life you want.

Here’s how this worked in my life: When we were planning our wedding, my fiance (now-wife) Cass and I were out to dinner with some friends. We were talking about wedding planning and our friends asked us what we were thinking for a honeymoon.

I told them we were probably going to go on a safari for 7 or 8 days. It was classic American thinking: we’re probably going to go for 7 to 10 days, have a nice time, come back, go to work. We were excited!

Our friends were excited too. One of them said, “That sounds amazing. You know, when we went on our honeymoon, we took three months off and it was amazing.”

Cass and I looked at each other. What?

Then the next couple (also older than us) told us that they took a year off and traveled the world when they got married.

Cass and I walked out of that dinner looking at each other, saying “What the hell just happe—”

We thought they were normal people. But who the hell takes that much time off?

Then we asked another question:

What if?

What if we decided to take a different path than the usual 7-day honeymoon?

What if we decided to stay at some of the world’s most amazing places…and also visit locals and eat street food?

And what if we brought our parents with us for part of it — to create memories we’d truly never forget?

In retrospect, I feel a little dumb because my entire business is advising people how to think bigger, but when it came to our honeymoon, I “bought into” the usual 7-day trip like everyone else.

But I’m so glad we had that dinner. And I’m so glad we asked that magical question, “What if?”

We realized we could do this, too. We have the flexibility. We have the finances. We just needed the courage — and the mindset of freedom from expectations — to say YES.

On a horseback safari in Kenya, surrounded by giraffes. Our relationship rule: If we’re ever on the fence about doing something — a dinner party, an event — we just say YES.

We ended up taking a 6-week honeymoon to Italy, Kenya, India, and Thailand — and having the time of our lives.

One of the big mistakes that people just starting out make is assuming they have to accomplish all of these rungs at the same time. Wrong! You can start methodically and slowly. These can take a lifetime to truly master, and each step up is a win.

Now I want to hear from you:

I shared some of the changes I’ve made moving up the Ladder of Freedom. I’ll share mine on Instagram, too.

Where are you on the Ladder of Freedom?

Where would you like to go?

Be specific — is it visiting a certain place? Is it never doing your own laundry again? Is it spending 2 hours volunteering every Wednesday evening?

Send me an email (I read every one) or post on Instagram and use the hashtag #ladderoffreedom. That way we can all find and learn from each other.

See you on IG,

-Ramit

The Ladder of Freedom is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

The Ladder of Freedom published first on https://justinbetreviews.tumblr.com/

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samuelfields · 4 years

Text

The Ladder of Freedom

I was walking home from the gym in NYC and I had to stop and take a video of this.

I call it HELLSCAPE ON EARTH.

Watch the entire video here

Looking at this building full of people working at 7pm, what do you feel?

I know it’s irrational, but I’ve hated this since I started working at 14 years old.

Now, I don’t mind working hard and I don’t mind putting in lots of hours when times are busy. But I hate the idea of HAVING to go into an office.

“Dear Boss, can I please take a 2-day vacation? Can I please use the bathroom?” NO!

I remember telling my college friends this. They all looked at me like I was insane. We were all going to go work in cubicles…that’s what you do, right?

Actually, no. You don’t have to.

When I was offered a job at Google, I ran the other direction. I took a massive pay cut, lived in a house with 4 other guys, and chose a different path.

I’m very grateful for that opportunity. And now I get to share what I’ve learned with you.

As I’ve met more IWT readers, I’ve asked what your Rich Life is. I’ve learned it’s not simply to make more money (not even $1 million per year).

It’s also to choose the LIFESTYLE you want. For me, it was never having to go into an office with fluorescent lights and people wearing Patagonia vests. What is it for you?

Is your Rich Life…

Never having to wake up to a blaring alarm clock?

Being able to travel for 3 weeks at a time — and flying business class?

Being able to buy something without worrying about the price?

Here’s what I decided for my Rich Life.

I run my business from my home office — no commute, no fluorescent lights. I can wake up, have a leisurely morning, and walk 10 feet to start working.

BTW I splurged on a dual-monitor setup:

I HAVE FINALLY MADE IT

I wanted the freedom of traveling now, not 40 years from now. So I built it into my life. Every year, I travel for 6 weeks.

Here’s my office for the day at The Oberoi Vanyavilas in India. I worked for one hour per week — over a 6-week trip — and my business kept growing.

Fun fact: When the picture was taken in India, I checked on the daily sales for my business. Here’s the sales receipt from the previous day that was waiting in my inbox:

On that day in India, my business brought in $14,591 No office, no conference rooms

I know this is unusual — but it’s not an accident.

It’s the result of building a business that supports my Rich Life.

What would yours look like? Would you have a home office? Would you travel more? Would you take the afternoons off to spend it with your kids or a workout class?

Your Rich Life is yours. But it means you have to decide, then create it.

We all want freedom. We all want the flexibility to be spontaneous. We all want the ability to say YES when someone or something we love comes along.

Are we willing to make the changes to get it?

Once you start, you’ll discover there are lots of different levels of freedom. And you choose where you want to be.

I call this The Ladder of Freedom.

LEVEL 1: Freedom from $3 worries

This is the ability to stop sweating the small stuff.

A reader told me about taking a taxi in NYC and staring at the taxi sign ticking up by $0.50…block after block after block.

I remember being in my early 20s and thinking EXACTLY the same thing. I went to a restaurant and saw an appetizer that looked so good…and then turned the page and just got an entree.

For lots of people, that’s just how life goes.

Put another way: Would you worry about the cost of a $0.25 piece of candy? No, because it would have no effect on your life at all.

Same with $3 expenses.

LEVEL 2: Freedom to ask $30,000 questions

This is the ability to buy the things you love, guilt-free.

At this level, you’re not worrying about $3 questions — you’re actually leaning into $30,000 questions.

You don’t have to cut back on tiny expenses. Because you’re keeping your eye on the Big Wins, tiny $10 or even $100 expenses are irrelevant.

In fact, you can splurge on the things you love:

Not just getting flowers once a year for your anniversary — getting a fresh bouquet delivered every week

Traveling for 3 weeks every year — and sorting your flight by “direct flights only,” not by “cost”

Treating your friends to dinner, saying, “I’ll get this”

I talked about moving beyond $3 questions for CNBC

Here’s what I did:

How about you?

If you had freedom from $30,000 questions, what would you spend more on? What’s the thing you LOVE spending on? Eating out? Travel? Fitness?

LEVEL 3: Freedom from location

This is the ability to work and live wherever you want.

At this level, you have the ability to travel anywhere. You could work from Starbucks or a home office. Or Japan.

And you’re not locked into any location, no matter how cool it is. You can work from Spain for a month, then try someplace else.

You’re not limited to two weeks of vacation a year, either.

Here’s how I use this level of freedom:

Annual CEO trip, where we ask for advice, share our lessons from last year, and plan out this year

If you had freedom from location, where would you go?

LEVEL 4: Freedom from time limits

This is the ability to do what you want, when you want to do it.

No endless string of meetings that you didn’t schedule. No alarm clocks. No having to remember “that one thing” to buy from the store.

At this level, you can use money to buy back your time.

Here are 30 examples of things my assistant handles and that I no longer have to spend time on thanks to my assistant and the systems we’ve built:

Altogether, this saves me 20 hours every week.

If you had freedom from time, what would your mornings look like?

LEVEL 5: Freedom from expectations

This is the ability to completely craft your own Rich Life.

Maybe you want to buy a house — or not.

Maybe you want to have kids — or not.

Maybe you want to travel around the country in a trailer!

I love this!!

It’s not my Rich Life — I live in a Manhattan high-rise — but it’s Steve and his wife’s Rich Life.

This is true “freedom from expectations.”

Guys, if I had followed society’s expectations, I would be wearing an ill-fitting XL t-shirt working at Cisco Systems. That’s my idea of hell on earth.

Freedom from expectations means you’ve mastered the $3 level, the $30,000 level, the freedom from location, AND the freedom from time limits.

This level is the culmination of the others — the top of the ladder — because you’ve truly earned the right to be free from expectations.

Now you can choose the life you want.

Our friends were excited too. One of them said, “That sounds amazing. You know, when we went on our honeymoon, we took three months off and it was amazing.”

Cass and I looked at each other. What?

Then the next couple (also older than us) told us that they took a year off and traveled the world when they got married.

Cass and I walked out of that dinner looking at each other, saying “What the hell just happe—”

We thought they were normal people. But who the hell takes that much time off?

Then we asked another question:

What if?

What if we decided to take a different path than the usual 7-day honeymoon?

What if we decided to stay at some of the world’s most amazing places…and also visit locals and eat street food?

And what if we brought our parents with us for part of it — to create memories we’d truly never forget?

In retrospect, I feel a little dumb because my entire business is advising people how to think bigger, but when it came to our honeymoon, I “bought into” the usual 7-day trip like everyone else.

But I’m so glad we had that dinner. And I’m so glad we asked that magical question, “What if?”

We realized we could do this, too. We have the flexibility. We have the finances. We just needed the courage — and the mindset of freedom from expectations — to say YES.

On a horseback safari in Kenya, surrounded by giraffes. Our relationship rule: If we’re ever on the fence about doing something — a dinner party, an event — we just say YES.

We ended up taking a 6-week honeymoon to Italy, Kenya, India, and Thailand — and having the time of our lives.

Now I want to hear from you:

I shared some of the changes I’ve made moving up the Ladder of Freedom. I’ll share mine on Instagram, too.

Where are you on the Ladder of Freedom?

Where would you like to go?

Be specific — is it visiting a certain place? Is it never doing your own laundry again? Is it spending 2 hours volunteering every Wednesday evening?

Send me an email (I read every one) or post on Instagram and use the hashtag #ladderoffreedom. That way we can all find and learn from each other.

See you on IG,

-Ramit

The Ladder of Freedom is a post from: I Will Teach You To Be Rich.

from Finance https://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/blog/the-ladder-of-freedom/ via http://www.rssmix.com/

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