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aawesomepenguin · 3 years

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SONIC RANGERS, EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT IT, LINK FOR ALL SOURCES AT THE END

Ok, the time has come. I spent my entire day doing some searches on the 4chan website, picking and trying to find every nugget of information I could find that I was 100% sure it was connected to Sonic Rangers.

I’ll get this right out of the gate: I’m 95% sure the next main Sonic game will be open world, and what will follow is all my evidence towards it. It’ll be uncharted territory for the Sonic franchise, and we’ll need to see how it pays off.

Also, spoilers for Sonic Rangers, but kind of broad ones, so in my opinion, your experience wouldn’t be ruined if you read all of this. But if you’re one of those that want to go 100% blind, then I think the time to jump off this ship is now.

Here we go.

As it turns out, as I did some digging of my own, and thanks to other observant people, I can confirm that the “Sonic Rangers” name has been circulating on the Internet way, WAY before the accidental leak revealed on May 27th. I will show an entire timeline of these discoveries, and how they connect.

But okay, before we dive in, a general vision of Sonic Rangers: the game will take a brand new approach with the character, placing Sonic in an open world for him to explore. Where through his speed, he’ll do platforming challenges, do puzzles, fight against badniks, etc. When fighting against enemies, the player gains XP, that can be used to give Sonic different abilities. Spread through this world are bosses, where after you defeat them, Sonic obtains orbs, and when enough of them are gathered, Sonic can enter Special Stages, that are structured like a Sonic Generations/Sonic Unleashed boost level. When you complete them, you get a Chaos Emerald.

Ok, now let’s go to the 4chan leaks. From what I can tell, SEGA has been inviting different test groups to testplay their next main Sonic game, under a strict NDA. After it, SEGA collects feedback from the testers. I can’t exactly pinpoint when SEGA began to do these tests, but if I had to guess, it has been around as early as March 2020.

1st Occurrence

In July 2020, another fake leak claiming to be the 30th anniversary game showed up on 4chan, but then, as an answer to it, a person that has really played a test version of the next main Sonic game called the fake leaker out. The person that has put their hands on the next main Sonic game had the following to say:

“I playtested the game back in march and played it for an hour. There were no levels just an overworld. You’re full of s***.”

In another post, the person that got their hands on the testing version of the next main Sonic game, had the following to say:

“It was called Sonic Rangers when I played it.”

1st Occurrence analysis

I believe that the person that played the test version of Sonic Rangers has erroneously interpreted the open world as an overworld, which makes sense. Sonic Rangers name gets dropped for the first time.

2nd Occurrence

In August of 2020, another person that played a test version of Sonic Rangers, stated the following about the next title on the Sonic series:

“It’s not an adventure remake. I playtested it. They ARE working on something, but if they take feedback me and the other panelists gave them, SEGA might change quite a bit from what I ended up playing.

Open World

Set on a gloomy, grassy, uninhabited island dotted with ruins.

Big BOTW influence, little korok-like puzzles scattered everywhere.

Robot/alien bosses scattered throughout the island, defeat them and you get a Chaos Emerald.

Get all Chaos Emeralds and you gain entrance to the final boss area, a foggy forest you couldn’t enter before.

No major characters appeared aside from Sonic.

No story, just dumped in.

Turn Super Sonic to fight the boss, he’s a giant colossus-like entity that you climb, hit his weak points.

These could all be changed because I played a couple of months ago and there still hasn’t been any reveal, so I assume they might be reworking a lot.”

2nd Occurrence analysis

As you can see, in this version, some of the elements that were talked about in the most famous leak aren’t present, some missing elements were added later, but the basic was already present and in place. Sonic can travel through an open world, doing puzzles, defeating badniks and fighting against bosses, to then fight against a final boss as Super Sonic.

The most interesting thing is how the person that leaked these details claimed that they played it “a couple of months ago”, meaning that this version could take place after the build shown in the first occurrence. Some things have changed since then.

Another cool thing that I wanted to point out was that this build uses placeholder from previous Sonic games. During the final boss, the theme for the first boss fight against Infinite from Sonic Forces is used.

3rd Occurrence

In January of 2021, another anonymous 4chan user talked about Sonic rangers, once again mentioning the name “Sonic Rangers.” As their version is pretty edgy, and negative because Sonic Negativism gets clicks, I’m going to present it in a unbiased manner, and be direct to the point on what they said.

Sonic Rangers, around the end of 2020, was presented once more to a select group of people, two demos were shown. The first one allows exploration of the open world under a time limit of twenty minutes, and another demo that has an apparent Final Boss battle.

Open world is filled with small enemies, puzzles, and platforming challenges.

Completing puzzles, challenges and defeating badniks gives XP to the player as a reward, that can be used to unlock abilities for Sonic.

Among the abilities that Sonic can unlock, there is the “spincycle”, where after pressing the Y button, Sonic begins to create a line behind him, and if the player creates a circle-ish shape around the enemy or a group of enemies, Sonic attacks all the enemies that were “marked” within the spincycle line.

Homing Attack that can target multiple enemies at once, from Sonic Lost World, is back.

There are lots of bosses spread through the open world, when they are defeated, Sonic gets some “orbs”.

If the player gets enough orbs, he can access the “Cyberspace”, essentially this game’s special stage.

The cyberspace levels are like the boost levels in Sonic Generations.

When beating a cyberspace level within a certain amount of time, the player obtains a Chaos Emerald.

New voice clips for Roger Craig Smith were used.

Some new music was made for this build.

In regards to the demo where the player faces the final boss:

After reuniting all the Chaos Emeralds, Sonic can go through a dense fog that the player couldn’t access before in the open world.

A Giant Tree Robot is the apparent final boss.

Fly as Super Sonic using the spincycle and other abilities that were unlocked throughout the game to help defeat the final boss.

Can’t take damage, on a timer of rings. A Ghost girl refills the player’s ring count multiple times.

Demo ended after defeating the boss.

3rd Occurrence analysis

As you can see, this version polished even further the concepts that were talked about in the second occurrence. Instead of getting Chaos Emeralds after defeating a boss, Sonic gains orbs, where after this Sonic has to go after EVEN more bosses to get more orbs. With these orbs, the player can access a Special Stage, named Cyberspace, where you’ll be able to play a more traditional like Sonic game, to get the Chaos Emeralds.

This certainly helps the game longer, which is a plus for me. We’ll probably have seven boost levels, with them being treated like a Special Stage. They also added a XP system, and the main gimmick of this game, the spincycle, was shown in the trailer for Sonic Central.

Sonic will keep building up abilities, which is something I believe the player will be able to use them as different strategies on how to beat different types of bosses.

4th Occurrence

youtube

Sonic Central takes place, with a trailer for a new Sonic game at the end. Sonic is running through a forest, and then he begins to glow blue, creating a pixel effect, with a line following him. Sonic then runs in a circle with this new ability that makes him glow blue, and then exits screen.

4th Occurrence analysis

With the context we’ve piled up from previous occurrences, you can put some pieces together. Sonic is clearly activating a spincycle, the main gimmick for this new game, just like how it was said in the January 2021 leak. And just like how the leaker said, Sonic formed a circle-ish shape with this ability in the teaser trailer. Sonic creates a blue energy, creating a line behind him, allowing him to make patterns with it, maybe creating a shape that could surround his enemies?

5th Occurrence

Dataminers and modders are able to get their hands on the 4K trailer for the new Sonic game, finding out that the name of the game is, Sonic Rangers.

5th Occurrence analysis

It perfectly fits with what was stated previously in 4chan threads, specifically, the one from July 2020 and the one from January 2021. Helping give the 4Chan leaks even more credit.

6th Occurrence

SEGA, while sending out press kits to news websites, ends up slipping out the name for their next main Sonic game, Sonic Rangers.

"Announcing new console experiences, Sonic Colors: Ultimate and Sonic Rangers, further details on Netflix's Sonic Prime, mobile news, musical events and much more!"

-SEGA

It was an accident, and SEGA stated they sent an erroneous version, and when pressed about the Sonic Rangers name, it didn’t dwell into it any further.

6th Occurrence analysis

Coming straight from SEGA’s mouth, the name for the next main Sonic game is gonna be Sonic Rangers. This fits a lot with the rumours that came from 4chan from July 2020 and January 2021, making it EVEN MORE likely that the next main Sonic game is gonna be an open world game.

Conclusion

And that’s where we’re at now in terms of Sonic Rangers news. In my opinion, I’m 95% certain that these leaks are legit. Keep in mind that after the Sonic Rangers name came to light, 1001 other rumours were created, but these I have my doubts, since they now have a sturdy base, they can make up more stuff to go along with it.

My opinion: I’m particularly excited for this next main game. Sonic Rangers deals with uncharted territory for the Sonic series, and I feel like it could be very fun. But of course, I’m a guy that’s mostly chill and cool with most Sonic media out there, so form your own opinions.

Anyway...

HYPE FOR SONIC RANGERS!

Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4, Source 5 and Source 6.

#Sonic Rangers #Sonic the Hedgehog #SEGA #Sonic News #Sonic Speculation #Sonic #Sonic 2022 #SC2021 #Sonic Central

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marleneoftheopera · 3 years

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10 Underrated Christine’s!

Was asked by an anon to do this and I absolutely love the idea! Figured I would give it its own post. I also made a companion podcast episode about this topic, which you can listen to here.

Also put links to some audio/video of them, so those who haven’t heard of them can have a listen! There are definitely other clips of all of these Christine’s online, and on Tumblr some gifted audios. And of course, all of these Christine’s I have a recording of, so I am always open to trade for them.

There are so many I think are underrated, so this was a hard list. But here 10 I will put up for now (in no particular order).

1. Charlotte Page (London 1999-2000):

I wish she had stayed with the show longer. Stunning all around. Lush, full, operatic voice. Some great acting chops, with some little touches in there. She vocally was different from the Christine’s they had at that time, in the best way. While we only have 2 audios of her, we do also have a full video. Praise.

Here is her Wishing.

2. Sarah Pfisterer (US Tour 1991-95, Broadway 1999-2001):

Was Christine for quite some time, and yet there are no videos of her. Maybe 3 audios, and a handful of photos. i hear she was pregnant a few times, so her being out on leave might explain why. But has such a gorgeous, porcelain look. Beautiful voice, with a perfect balance of vibrato and operatic sound. I sometimes call her the Charlotte Page of Broadway because 1) they were in the show at the same time and 2) I think they had similar voices in terms of that bigger operatic quality. I always liked her vocally and look-wise, but I sat down a few months ago and really listened to her, and she has become such a favorite of mine.

Here is her Wishing, and here is the only video we have of her actually singing in the role.

3. Corinne Cowling (London 2019-2020):

Had a lot of shows as the understudy since the principal and alternate were out or doing too many shows. I would love to see her get a principal run, as it seems do a lot of other phans. Pull a real-life Christine. She reminds me a lot of Holly Anne Hull; this really strong voice full of emotion. She really proved that not only was she able to step into the role when needed, but that she could do it well. Her sister Morgan was Meg in the Restaged US Tour, and I dream of a world where they play Christine and Meg together.

Here is her Wishing, though I definitely recommend getting a full audio. It is well worth it.

4. Jan Hartley Morris (London 1988-89):

Another Christine I wish would have stayed with the show longer. But we do have a video of her, albeit being not of amazing quality. Looks so lovely in the part, and has an absolutely gorgeous voice. Full, lush, reminded me a tad of Amy Manford in how she seemed able to just twist each word out just the way she wanted to. Total control.

Here is her Think of Me and Angel of Music.

5. Adrienne McEwan (US tour 1993-94 + 1996, Broadway 1998-2003):

Was in the show for some 9 years, including being the alternate for the 10th anniversary on Broadway. Had such a beautiful and unique voice, and not a ton of vibrato like some of the US Christine’s at this time had. So pretty in wig and costume. There are a few videos of her, and a decent amount of audio. And yet, we don't talk about her nearly enough.

Here is her Wishing.

6. Maria Listra (Estonia 2015-16, 2020):

A non-replica Christine! She just looks so lovely in the part and sounds gorgeous. There is a video of her in ‘All I Ask of You’, and she is wonderful in it. I would love to see her do the original version someday. A hidden gem.

Here is her Think of Me, but I would definitely watch the ‘All I Ask of You’ of her on YouTube in the part. She’s so good and the Estonian Raoul and Christine are adorable.

7. Astrid Giske (Oslo 2018-19):

Another non-replica Christine! And a blonde one too! The Oslo production remains a favorite in my book, and Astrid is one of the main reasons. She had a real-life Christine moment, being the understudy Christine, but having to take over for Mira Ormala, who had to depart the production early on due to health reasons. Astrid got a bunch of pictures, and a feature on a Broadway site, and did every show afterward until the production. Besides the very last show; Astrid herself got sick and could not go on. Looked so lovely in the part, and has such a strong and angelic voice. I wish someone would put her in another production.

There are quite a few videos on YouTube of her which you should all watch (including the pro-shot clips from the production), but I put her “soar” here because I just adore it.

8. Julie Goodwin (World Tour 2007-09):

One of the youngest Christine’s; I think she was only 19 when she did the part. Absolutely stunning voice; reminds me a lot of Claire Lyon. That full operatic glory. From pictures and one video we have of her, she seems to have been pretty nice acting-wise. Looks really pretty as well.

Here is her Wishing.

9. Elisabeth Berg (Stockholm 1989-91):

For a Christine who was the principal in the first ever Swedish production, and is featured on said cast recording, she is really not talked about at all. I figure it’s mostly due to her being in Sweden and not in one of the flagships in the pre-Internet days. But still, a Christine on a cast recording I would think would have a bit more notoriety. Anyway, absolutely stunning voice. Like, beyond amazing. I would listen to her sing the alphabet. Such control, so much emotion, I adore her. When they invent the time machine I am going back to see her.

Here is the Swedish soundtrack.

10. Isabel Schwartzbach (Copenhagen 2018-19):

I love how clear and light her voice is. To me, she is the perfect ‘modern’ Christine. Meaning she has that lighter, almost pop sound to her voice, but without the squeaky-ness that we sometimes get. I really wish she would have gotten some promo shots or something. But she looks really pretty in the role, and from what I have heard she was quite good overall.

Here is her Wishing.

There you have it! I could add at least 50 more to this list, so don’t think that these are the only ones I think could use more love. But this is a nice way to experience other Christine’s with varying kinds of voices in different languages. Especially for newer phans, who have probably only heard Sarah, Sierra, Emmy, and/or their first live Christine.

Again, if you would like more clips of any of these Christine’s or some more actresses to have a listen to, feel free to message me!

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woah-were-halfway-there · 4 years

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The Sweetest of Them All

A/N: just another little bonus part of the AFTR universe that I came up with out of nowhere. Also, I left this as third person instead of second. Enjoy!

Word Count: 3.2k

Y/N has never been a big fan of Valentine's Day.

To her, it was overrated and expensive. But, she'd be lying if she said she didn't love the fact that it gave an extra reason to love on Auston a ridiculous amount. Sure, she did that every day, but to be fair, she loved how the title of Valentine's Day added a bit more fun and excitement to something she'd normally do any other day. It felt different for some reason, so even though she didn't love the so-called holiday, she still tried to plan something special for it every year.

Admittedly, she and Auston almost got competitive about it with trying to one-up the other with affection. They didn't care about gifts. They cared about the time they spent together and the thoughtfulness behind it.

Usually, it was Y/N that came up with something ridiculously sweet for Valentine's Day to do for Auston. However, this year, he had her beat.

For some odd reason, Y/N woke up very early that day. Maybe it was the baby waking her, or perhaps it was her internal clock saying sleep was no longer necessary. But, regardless, she was awake much earlier than usual. She also knew Mia wasn't awake or else she would've heard her, so she took that time to lie back in bed and relax for a few minutes on her own.

The bed felt incredibly empty, given that Auston was with the Leafs in Washington and wasn't expected to be back in Toronto until late that night. Frank was a good cuddle buddy alternative, but sometimes the Goldendoodle just wasn't enough when Y/N was missing her man. Of course, this was one of the days when she missed him a lot, so she took that as an excuse to text Auston and at least get this so-called holiday kicked off.

Y/N Happy Valentine's Day, Aus 🥰 can't wait to see you tonight

She wasn't expecting him to message back right away, seeing as it was only 7:30 in the morning, but much to her surprise, he did.

Auston Happy Valentine's Day, babe 💕 Can't wait to see you either. Did the flowers for Mia get delivered?

Y/N Yes, they got here last night. They're beautiful. I set them on the kitchen counter, so once she's awake and we go downstairs, she'll see her little V-Day gift from you

Auston Perfect. I got part of your Valentine's thing with me right now too. Ready for it?

Y/N Is it going to make me cry?

Auston Probably

Y/N Great. Hit me with your best shot

She stared at her phone screen for a moment, expecting it to light up with the notification of an incoming FaceTime call from her husband or a picture, but instead, he sent her a link. But not just any link, it was the link to the video recording of a new Spittin' Chiclets podcast episode that was over an hour-long called 'Love Day: Part One.'

Confused, but also insanely curious, Y/N then leaned over to grab her laptop from the bedside table and got into the most comfortable position her growing baby bump would allow so she could watch the video like that. As soon as she was about to press play, her phone buzzed with another text.

Auston This was filmed a couple of weeks ago when the Chiclets guys were in Toronto. They interviewed at least 10 different guys in the league at different times, and they're kind of long, which is why there's more than one part. Just watch the intro, then I'm the first interview. Mitch is on part 2 if you want to watch that as well, but yeah... call me when you're done 💕

Still unsure of how to process what was going on, Y/N just shook her head and followed the link.

The video started with Biz, Whit and Rear sat all-around a table, each wearing a different red, white or pink shirt with heart-shaped balloons positioned behind them. Empty bottles of Pink Whitney sat on the table, acting as vases for bouquets of roses, making Y/N roll her eyes and chuckle at how far these guys would go for good product placement. But, she kept watching, and unsurprisingly, Biz was the first to speak.

Biz: "For Valentines Day this year, we wanted to do something different. Something more soft. So, we're going to tell, well, I guess, show some love stories."

Whit: "Bet you all didn't know that some of the greatest love stories to ever be told have happened to some of the guys that play in the NHL. Don't believe me? Guess you'll have to listen to find out what they are."

Rear: "We asked some players to come in and talk to us about their relationship stories and give as many details as they were willing to give. And let me tell you, they were great. To start us off, we have Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs telling us his fairytale romance."

The video then clipped to a shot of Biz sitting next to Auston in what Y/N assumed was the hotel downtown that the Chiclets guys were staying at. Auston wasn't dressed extravagantly or anything, just wore a grey hoodie, black pants, and his signature Raiders snapback.

Y/N immediately recognized his outfit. She remembered Auston coming home in those same clothes early one afternoon after he did some running around downtown with Mia, and started thinking of how not once did he mention doing anything for the podcast. He kept this very on the down low, and Y/N was excited to see how it would all play out.

Biz: "Alright, with us today, we have none other than the Leafs number 34, Auston Matthews. Welcome back to the show, Auston. How ya doin?"

Auston: "I'm great. Thanks for having me. How are you guys?"

Whit and Rear: "Good."

Biz: "Great, real good. Now, Auston, you know what you're here to talk about, right?"

Auston: (chuckling) "You're acting like you didn't spend the last week blowing up my phone until I agreed to do this."

Biz: "Amazing! You do know. So, here's how it's all going to go down. We've got a list of questions about your relationship with your significant other. Your obvious better half. And are going to take turns asking them so the people listening at home can get a bit of insight on your, and I quote, iconic love story. Why don't you give us a little summary of your relationship before we dive in?"

Auston: (hesitantly) "Sure, okay. So, my wife Y/N and I have been married for almost two years now. Our anniversary is at the end of July. She accidentally forgot it last year, which I haven't let her live down. Y/N, babe, this is your six month in advance warning that our anniversary is indeed coming up again this year… She's going to hate that I mentioned that. We, uh, we've been together since my first season in Toronto, so for a pretty long time now, and it's been amazing. We have a daughter, Amelia, but everyone just calls her Mia unless she's in trouble. She just turned two on January 25th, and we have our second baby on the way. They're due to be making their grand appearance in late June. We also have our firstborn, Frank, the Goldendoodle. Can't forget about him. But, yeah, that's my little family."

Whit: (nodding along with Biz and Rear) "Fair enough. Now, how and when did you and Y/N meet exactly?"

Auston: "We met on the night of my first NHL game back in 2016. She was at that game."

Biz: "Oh, yeah? Was she there for a reason?"

Auston gave him an unimpressed look.

Biz: "What?"

Auston: "You know why she was there!"

Biz: (shrugging) "Our listeners don't. C'mon, refresh my memory. Was she there to cheer someone else on?"

Auston: (shaking his head) "Yeah. She, uh, she's a cousin of one of my teammates, so she was there with their family to watch him during our first game."

Biz: (grinning widely) "What teammate?"

Auston: "The one out in the hallway keeping my daughter occupied while you keep being annoying and asking me questions you already know the answer to."

Everyone laughed at that, including Y/N, as she shifted onto her side, being mindful of her growing bump that seemingly became more noticeable each day, and got comfortable as she braced herself for what the rest of this interview would entail.

Biz: (still laughing): "Just to clarify for everyone who still doesn't know, he's talking about Mitch Marner."

Auston: "Yeah, yeah, laugh it up."

Rear: "I take it that Mitch and Mia get along really well? I haven't heard a peep from her since you came in here."

Auston: "Oh, she loves him. Yeah, that's her Mitchy, alright. Him and Steph, who you will hear all about once Mitch comes in here, are Mia's godparents and some of her favourite people."

Whit: "That's awesome. And how was that at first, though, being romantically involved with one of your teammates' family members? Sounds like grounds for some chaos, if I'm honest."

Auston: "It sure made meeting the family a bit more nerve-wracking. I'm just kidding. No, it was fine. It was definitely a little awkward at first trying to figure out how I was going to tell Mitch that I wanted to date his cousin. Like, he and Y/N are very close. Always have been. And the last thing both me and Y/N wanted was for Mitch to be uncomfortable. He did handle it really well, though. It's because of him I was even able to get to know her in the first place, which I'll never be able to thank him enough for."

Rear: "Now, you're a pretty private guy. You post the odd picture of your little family from time to time. Y/N is rather private, as well. So, really, no one knows your guys' story other than those who have lived it with you or watched it unfold. I'm sure many people will jump right on the chance to listen to this, seeing as you and Y/N are one of the most beloved couples in the NHL. But, what exactly made you want to come on here, give a bit of insight into your private life, and talk about it all?"

Auston: "Well, for one, Biz would not stop asking me to do it. Literally kept calling and texting me for days until I finally agreed."

Whit: "Shocker."

Biz: "Hey, now."

Auston: (chuckling) "That and also I figured, why not. I love my wife, and I love our little story. It's nice to think back on everything that's happened and see how it all got us to where we are now. With all the ups and the downs, its uh, it's been an amazing ride for sure, and I wouldn't change it for a thing. Also, it's for Valentine's Day. I haven't told her I'm doing this, so when you guys drop the episode, I'm just going to send it to her without much context."

Whit: "Do you think she'll cry?"

Auston: "Absolutely. I know this kind of thing would make her tear up regularly, but those pregnancy hormones have got her bad. Without a doubt, she's going to call me crying once she's done watching this."

Y/N scoffed as he said that and grabbed some tissues to wipe away the waterworks she already felt coming on.

Biz: "I've met Y/N many times now. The first time being back in what, 2018?"

The screen then showed an old picture of Biz sitting in a restaurant with his arm wrapped around Y/N's shoulders, both smiling widely as they held up their drinks, with Auston seemingly moping off to the side a little bit. Y/N chuckled at the image, instantly thinking back to the day she first met Paul Bissonnette and how wild it was before the photo faded away and showed the guys again.

Biz: "Yeah, it was when she was in Scottsdale visiting you during the summer. Great girl, completely out of Auston's league."

Auston: "Hey!"

Biz: "I'll never forget you sassing her when she commented on how hot Arizona was, with her being Canadian and all, but damn she was fast putting you in your place by calling you a, what was it?"

Auston: (grumbling) "Desert Boy."

Everyone burst out laughing again, except Auston, who just rolled his eyes and sighed dramatically.

Auston: "Whatever. She sasses me all the time when I complain about the snow, but the one time I do it back, I get called a Desert Boy and can never live it down."

Biz: (still laughing) "Ugh, amazing. Okay, moving on because we don't have much time and can probably fit in like two more questions. So, Auston, tell us how you knew that Y/N was the end game for you. How did you know that she was the one?"

Auston: "Oh, man. I don't even know how to explain it. Growing up, you see all these movies and shows, or read books where people always find someone who is their soulmate. Their perfect match. And I never knew what the feeling of finding that person was because I had never experienced it. My mom would tell me that when I did find that person, I'd know. That it'll be such an intense feeling, and to be honest, I didn't believe her. Until I met Y/N, I know that sounds cheesy, but it's true. The first time I met her, something drew me in, and I knew I wanted to get to know her better right away. Mitch spoke so highly of her, so did the other guys on the team that had already met her and over the first couple of months of us knowing each other, I saw what they meant. She quickly became one of my best friends ever. When we started dating, I saw more of how good a person she is, which attracted me even more. She is so selfless and caring for everyone around her; it truly blows my mind. I had never seen my family welcome a girl I introduced them to as quickly as they did her, and I trust their judgment the most. But even if they didn't do that, I know they would have accepted her regardless because, honestly, I probably seemed like a lovesick idiot. I still do. Y/N became this significant light in my life that I knew I wanted to be there forever. I began thinking about what it'd be like spending the rest of my life with her. Then it became something that I knew I needed. I can't imagine my life without her, and I never want to. She makes me so happy and has given me more than I could ever thank her for. I'll never understand how I, of all people, was the one to capture her massive heart, but I do know how lucky I am."

As he spoke, the screen showed a little picture slideshow of Y/N and Auston over the years of their relationship. It started with one that Ema took the first time Y/N had ever gone to Scottsdale. Y/N was sitting on the edge of a pool, and her legs dipped into the water. Auston stood between them as he wrapped his arms around her middle and leaned against her while looking over at where Ema stood taking the picture. The next one was from a Christmas party where the two were under a mistletoe as Auston leaned Y/N back and was kissing her cheek as she laughed and held onto him for dear life. There was a picture of them with Auston's family, one of them with Mitch and Steph, and another of Auston with his arms around Nate and Mya, Y/N's younger brother and sister, as the three smiled at the camera and Y/N was in the background looking confused.

The last few pictures were a bit more recent. They showed Y/N holding Frank as a puppy, a maternity photo of her and Auston posing when she was pregnant with Mia, and one of them on their wedding day with Mia and the rest of the gang. Then, the slideshow concluded with a very recent picture of them taken just a couple of weeks prior at Mia's birthday party, where Auston has his arms wrapped around Y/N from the back, showcasing her growing belly. At the same time, she leaned against him and glanced over her shoulder at him lovingly. The photos then went away and showed the guys again as Auston finished speaking.

Auston was right. Y/N was full-on bawling by that point.

All the guys were smiling as Auston finished saying his thing, but were soon interrupted by a knocking noise followed by a door opening.

Mitch: (offscreen) "Wait, no! Don't let her in!"

Mia: (also offscreen) "Daddy!"

Mia then came into the frame as she ran towards Auston, not caring about what was going on or who was there. Auston was quick reacting as he smiled widely and scooped Mia right up into his arms, making sure to place multiple kisses on her cheek as she giggled and squirmed in his hold, while Mitch became visible too and shrugged.

Auston: "Hi, mini. I missed you. Did you have fun with Mitchy?"

Mia: "Yeah! Where's mommy, daddy?"

Auston: "She's at home, baby girl. I'm almost done, then we can go get a Timbit while we wait for Mitch to be done. Sounds good?"

Mia: (knuckling at her eyes, tiredly) "Mhmm."

Rear: "This is adorable."

Biz: "Hi, Mia."

Mia: (shyly while hiding against Auston's chest a bit) "Hi, Biz."

Whit: (laughing) "Okay, I think we've kept you long enough now, Auston. Is there anything else you and Mia would like to say to Y/N?"

Auston: "Yes. Happy Valentine's Day, babe. I love you so much, and I'm sorry I'm not there right now. You're going to hear a lot more from me on actual Valentine's Day, but for right now, I think that's just about it. Mia, can you blow a kiss to the camera so mommy can see it and say 'happy Love Day!'"

Mia: (blows the kiss) "Happy Love Day, mommy!"

Auston: "Can you tell her that you love her?"

Mia: "Love you!"

Auston and Mia then waved to the camera and said bye as the clip faded out, and a new interview of another NHLer began playing.

Y/N's heart felt so full. She couldn't stop crying over how much she loved her family and how badly she needed to hear something like that. Life had been particularly hard on her as of late and seemed to keep throwing her curveballs, but this, this was exactly what she needed. To be reminded of how loved she is and that she genuinely is never alone.

She then grabbed her phone to call Auston and remind him of how much she loved him, that day and every day. The two talked for a few minutes before Y/N was pretty sure she could hear Mia waking up. After saying their goodbyes, Y/N found herself thinking about how, regardless of how she feels about the actual day, this was a Valentine's Day she will never forget.

#auston matthews fanfiction #nhl imagines #hockey rpf #nhl rpf #auston matthews imagine #auston matthews imagines #nhl fanfiction #nhl imagine #toronto maple leafs fanfiction #nhl headcanon #hockey fanfiction #hockey imagines #hockey imagine

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userjungkook97 · 2 years

Text

best of 2021✨✨

i've been tagged by my loves @userjiminie @heybaetae @jiminswn and @bisexualrapline to post my favorite and/or most popular post from each month from this past year.

first of all, i’d like to thank you all for thinking of me, because i’ve been only more actively giffing since november and being mentioned by so many talented people that i admire and look up to was sort of a boost for me! you all did amazing works throughout the year and i can’t wait to see what 2022 holds for you! i hope you all know just seeing your creations sometimes gives me a bit of motivation and i hope i can make giffing a hobby more than i did since i started because i was back to enjoying myself while doing so, not only for the outcome on notes and all (even though it’s pointless to deny that those things do help a little, i remembered why i wanted to learn giffing in the first place - to have fun!).

okay, so, as i said, i’ve been only actively giffing more for the past month and a half or so, so i haven’t done many edits this year (lack of motivation was one of the many reasons why hehe), so i’ll just link my most popular here and some of my favorites from other blongs on months i haven’t done much on this blog.

below the cut because i ramble a lot for someone who wasn’t very much an active gifmaker this year hehe.

january: i didn’t do much back then because i was so stressed about an exam i had i only giffed one thing for all my blogs and it was for rosé teaser solo debut, so this has to be both the popular and favorite

february: again, i was busy with uni and wasn’t much active here (even though blackpink just had their only concert AND I DIDN’T GIF A SINGLE THING!!!!). so the only post i did was a birthday post for even bech naesheim on my skam sb because yes i celebrate fictional characters’ birthdays.

march: so march happened and rosé debut too! my post popular post is this rosé/roseanne edit and my favorite one some bits of the on the ground music video. i really enjoyed myself exploring bigger gifs and i really liked the colouring on both of these!

so it happens that from april until july i didn’t do much on this blog (uni and some uni break probably lmao) but i’ll like what were my favorite posts on my other blogs. april: this wandavision edit from my multifandom (mostly marvel) blog was my favorite edit to make. i don’t usually adventure myself with typography because i always think they turned out lame when i try but this one i enjoyed SO MUCH not only the result but also the making of it all. may: i’m torn between this favorite skam season or favorite skam episode because i liked exploring the things with the background image we had from season 3 and the texts. and i think they turned out really cool 🥺. june: once again, i only existed to celebrate another fictional character birthday, this time my beloved son isak valtersen last but not least, july: 0, zero, none edits this month. i apparently forgot to exist on the month of july, 2021.

august: look at this, back at giffing, who knew! but again, i was pretty much inactive and this lisa teaser trailer debut was my only edit, so, again, it’s both my most popular and my favorite (i really like it even though it’s pretty simple).

september: for this month i have a most popular post that is lisa in the lalisa mv but my favorite one is lisa on the money performance video - i liked the colouring of this last set so much.

october: once again, i was a ghost on this blog, but i was a bit active on my other blogs, so i’ll just like my favorites from each hehe. this lights up edit; this october 3rd edit and even clip and 21:21 clip (the way this one made me exhausted…)

november: okay, okay, the month i said OKAY LET’S MAKE GIFFING A HOBBY AND A HABIT. and i enjoyed it a lot. my most popular post was jimin tweeting army to thank for the AMAs wins and it’s one of my favorites, but my favorite from november is, for sure, a celebratory set of gcf tokyo - i liked pretty much all the edits i made on november, if i’m not too happy with a edit sometimes i don’t even post, but this has been happening less lately.

december: my most popular post fom this month is bts x lv for gq/vogue teaser and my favorite is namkook live ft. jin - maybe it’s because i’m soft for namkook but i also liked the colouring a lot.

so that’s it! since i’m a bit late, i’ll only tag a few people that i love their sets and you can do it if you’re up to it, but if not, it’s all good hehe. @taeunwoo @kimtaegis @supertunajin @jungkkyuk @blooodsweatandtears @plaids @bangguks

#tag games #choked that i had trouble choosing my favorites from november #and that october and may had some really nice ones too #hoping that 2022 i'll have some more inspo but i already have some ideas so that's a plus because i usually go: head empty #bibs stuff #ANYWAYS HAPPY NEW YEAR FOR EVERYONE WOOP WOOP

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inmyarmswrappedin · 3 years

Note

hello you probably already talked about this but why did you drop robbe season?

Hi anon! 🧩 I have mentioned it before, yeah, but I don’t mind talking about it in a bit more depth.

Admittedly Robbe’s season was already a hard sell for me before it even premiered. I have watched every Eva season, and that has always given me an indication of how things are going to go for the Isak season. Like, even though remake teams tend to go all out for their Isak season, and try harder than with their previous seasons (and I don’t think it’s controversial to say remake teams know their Isak season will majorly increase their viewership, even fandom has pointed this out as a reason Skam NL should’ve stuck it out for VDH’s season), you can already get a good idea in s1 about what they want to keep from Skam and where they’re going their own way.

I love Eva and I also tend to like her remakes. Honestly, I find Eva’s story really interesting, Jonas a good character when handled well, and I’ve generally enjoyed getting introduced to yet another iteration of the girl squad. I like the familiarity of the story beats. I also think how Jonas’ ideas are handled is a good indicator of how politically minded the team is, and how they plan on using their platform.

And the thing is, despite all this, I found Jana’s season a struggle to get through. I had to try twice because I couldn’t get through the first time. At first, I thought it was because the writers had been super lazy with the adaptation. I loathe what they did with Jonas’ character, how little Jens knows about social justice. I was really put off by how, since they couldn’t write Yasmina into parties, they gave the drink throwing moment to Luca instead, but then more or less kept to the original storyline. Even back then, I was really concerned by how aggressive they made Moyo during the cabin trip clips. But then a friend binged the season after me, and brought up how terrible the pacing was (with Friday clips being moved to other days, destroying the momentum Skam builds through the week), how most of the actors sounded like they were literally reading from a script, and the utter spam of meaningless social media pics (with very few texts to go with it). And so I realized that this season I generally enjoy bored me, because Wtfock is generally just slapped together carelessly.

Another issue I had was... Well, I’m not sure this comes across given my rabid love for David, but I actually think Skam s3 is as close to perfect TV as it gets. I don’t think this is a season that needs fixing. And as the Isak seasons succeeded each other, I realized I didn’t care for an Isak season that pretty much just took Isak and Even and put them in another country. I prefer the Isak seasons that did something Skam s3 never did, because they were never going to improve on Skam s3, and to do the same thing would just remind me how much better the acting, the music, the photography, the writing, etc. was in Skam. So I was hoping that maybe Wtfock’s Even would be a moc and they’d touch on racism for a change. However I knew the chances of Wtfock casting a trans man or a moc for their Even were slim to none.

But at the time it was kind of unthinkable that there would be an Isak season dropping, and people would not watch. And I in particular was a bit of a completionist, like I haven’t watched most Noora seasons, but I’ve watched all of the Eva seasons, and all the Isak seasons except for the last few episodes of Lucas L’s. These days I’m comfortable not tuning in (esp after trainwrecks like Arthur’s or Kato’s seasons), but at the time it felt kinda wrong to not give a season a chance, you know. Besides, a lot of people whose opinion I trust said s2 was great! Zoe and Senne one of the best noorhelms, if not the best! They really had fixed everything that was wrong with noorhelm, their social media game was so good, etc... I mean, you were there for s3 I assume, you know how people were hyping Wtfock at the time. And, for instance, Druck majorly improved in s2 after a more or less okay s1, so it’s not like remakes had never fixed their shit before.

So I started watching, but right away, I didn’t like the way they introduced Noor. She almost kinda seemed like the actual love interest in how cool she was, and how happy Robbe was hanging out with her that first night. I posted this, speculating about why Wtfock would introduce her that way. I should note that I posted that link on twitter as well, and Bram Renders liked my tweet... not too long after his tweet complaining about fans who read too much into the show would surface. 😂

Since I enjoyed writing that post, I thought I’d post weekly reaction posts in the style of Nat (@lightsandlostbells) and some others. The problem is that I’m just really good at procrastinating (I’ve been promising reaction posts in the same style for my favorite Skams seasons for... years now lol). And I wanted to keep my reactions fresh, so I stopped watching in real time. My plan was to watch the clips when I had enough time to write. This was like... Middle of week 2, I want to say. At the time, Sander hadn’t even been introduced yet!!

Even though I wasn’t watching, I still followed Wtfock-related accounts, like translators and subbers, so I still kinda knew what was going on. I was actually really let down by the way Wtfock didn’t take advantage of having Robbe and Sander in the same location for an entire week. Like, Sander was sticking a sandwich in Robbe’s mouth in a ~sexy way a few hours after exchanging their names, and yet it all kinda simmered down? No tension over social media really. Idk, I just feel like if Isak and Even, or Cris and Joana, or Matteo or David, had been stuck in the same house for an entire week shortly after meeting, Skam, Druck and eskam wouldn’t have let us forget about it for even a second.

In the end, I never did write those posts, and I ended up washing my hands off the season because the tone of the discussions around the show was legit starting to get to me in a bad way. Like how LGBTI people were attacked for disliking the gay bashing scene. Or the discussions over whether the shower scene had gone too far or if Julie Andem had exploited Tarjei Sandvik Moe just as much. I disliked Moyo but also disliked the way white fans were writing about him. And the Britt bashing was just so gross. I was getting irl upset about a season I wasn’t even watching or following, so I put it out of my mind.

#ask #wtfock #Anonymous

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nothingunrealistic · 3 years

Text

just for fun, some snapshots of this fic as it was being written, with commentary. under a cut to avoid dumping dozens of screenshots in a row on anyone’s dash. also i’m going to reblog this and add some more because tumblr is cutting me off from saving any more changes but i’m not done saying what i wanted to say.

i got this prompt back in july, dropped it into a new google doc, and then didn’t do anything with it until october. as you can see, i didn’t immediately have any good ideas, so i just let it percolate in the back of my mind (along with one or two dozen other writing prompts and projects) for a while.

then, three and a half months later, i finally had an idea! at three in the morning! (not pictured: half a dozen links to pages about autistic burnout, meltdowns, and shutdowns. research is important but it’s not as fun to look at.)

sometimes you think of dialogue well before you think of how to fit it into a scene.

this was eleven days later.

finally! some actual prose! and a way to tie the story to the events of canon! (after this, i worked on this particular fic every day until it was done.)

just putting stuff in brackets works basically every time. the bracketed notes start out as a more high-level interview of what’s going to happen, then get broken down / separated / elaborated on further until they pretty much stand in for individual paragraphs / sentences / lines of dialogue or inner monologue.

see: stuff from the Big Block Of Text getting copied and pasted to where it should be.

pretty sure *this* big block of text got written on one of the rare occasions where i actually managed to write for the entire hour i have set aside specifically For writing. if i were to break down the revision history further, it’d almost certainly show that many of these paragraphs started out as bracketed not-quite-prose, some of which still remained at this point. (also pictured: one particular line from mafee that did not make it into the final draft.)

more details from canon and just details in general.

mafee does Not have rights. (also, it turns out it’s much easier for someone to press their hands against their whole face if they’re not wearing glasses.)

by far the funniest change i made while writing this.

writing any new character’s pov is an adventure in trying to nail down how they’d talk inside their own head. doubly true for any new billions character given that no one talks like a normal person on billions; triply true when it’s a character like rian who Knows no one talks normally and is trying to fit in with the Accepted Dialect.

i’m like dropping hints that winston is having a bad time right now.

winston is having a bad time right now.

rip post-it note fidgeting; long live pen fidgeting. (another research topic: what *do* quants do all day that they might still be working on late at night? well, possibly, backtesting and optimization of algorithms.)

two character threads that started here: rian trying (and ultimately failing) not to make it obvious that she Cares about winston, and winston speaking more tersely than usual, for obvious reasons.

i watched Many clips from the show trying to figure out whether the doors at axe capital ever stayed open on their own, what sound they made when people opened them, and if it was even plausible for characters to hear construction noise through the glass when the doors were shut. (on that last point, i ultimately decided that if the mase cappers could hear becky lynch yelling through a closed door — and most likely they did hear her before they saw her — they could certainly hear power tools.)

“everyone else went home” was the best reason for mafee to walk back into the tmc office that i could think of. he just wants to hang out with Someone yknow?

mafee’s made the noise worse not only by leaving the door open, but also by sitting down loudly and talking a lot!

mafee’s use of “quisling” is a very specific shoutout to the incident he’s describing. axe declared that there was a quisling in the office; mafee had to ask what that meant, and donnie defined it for him; a few episodes later, mafee went out of his way to drop “quisling” into the conversation when talking about it to someone he wanted to impress.

getting the wording of this exchange just right was tricky. also rip mafee’s chair spinning.

switched up the placement of hammer noises and drill noises so that it’d be a Continuous, unrelenting noise that forced mafee to talk louder still and ultimately became too much for winston.

also had to figure out how to fit this comment from mafee into the flow of the scene.

mafee jumps to act as soon as he realizes something’s wrong; rian thinks about what the best course of action would be first.

rian’s got a pretty idealistic perspective on how taylor operates. (this connects nicely to a canon comment from wendy about how taylor tries “to solve every problem [they] see.”) she’s also still working out How people talk here.

wanted to include this early point about it being quieter in taylor’s office, but i couldn’t really make it work.

this was the first point at which i had a clear idea of how this fic was going to end / would conclude in any satisfactory way. bringing that “rian cares but doesn’t want that to be Known” detail full circle.

punctuation pickiness! (and the door is finally closed!)

you know what sounds even worse than metal on wood? metal on metal!

i spent so much of one day just working on these few paragraphs.

and then i got the idea to throw in rian’s recollection of winston’s description of the mase cap office either late that night or the next morning and wrote most of it down while sitting through a meeting. (ft. more emphasis on the Separation between rian and winston & taylor.)

DUMBO is an acronym (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) but it isn’t always written in all caps. i found a style guide (from a college department in nyc, though i can’t remember which one) that declared it should be written as Dumbo rather than DUMBO and decided to go with that.

mafee is WELL out of the loop here. no wonder he wants to leave.

i went pretty hard on “mafee is being Less Than Kind And Understanding about this whole situation” and eventually had to have him walk it back with “well i didn’t WANT him to suffer or anything.”

this is everything i managed to get done in the Designated Writing Hour (and then some) the night that the supernatural finale aired. oops.

i was torn between rian hearing Something to alert her of taylor’s presence and hearing nothing at all; ultimately i chose the latter. (this revision was also from the brief period of time where i changed the google doc to a landscape layout in the hopes that the Changed Visual would shake some more ideas loose. it worked, a bit.)

see: rian Not hearing taylor.

this detail was added pretty late — one of the last changes i’d made the day before posting. (i’d also switched the google doc back to portrait mode at this point.)

#sometimes i write #Soph's Writing Podcast: Text Edition

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aharris00britney · 4 years

Photo

ASKS 19

It’s 6am and Brandon woke me up when he got up to go to work so now... i answer asks bc i cant sleep.

@mileyzangel said: Can you please make a Harley Quinn hairstyle from both Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey?

I went and watched Birds of Prey the other night and it was really good. Brandon went to sleep I think tfgvhb. But I doubt I’ll try doing her hair from either of the films. @enriques4 is working on one for her Birds of Prey look if you are interested in that <3

Anonymous said: is tiny living worth it? im leaning towards the gameplay although i love cas. is the gameplay as bad as people say?

I honestly don’t think the new beds do anything. They’re... there. Lmao I think the CAS and buy items are very nice. If we get some cc murphy beds then that would make them a lot more usable tbh.

Anonymous said: how do you and ayoshi keep making some fantastic collabs?? y'all are literally the first people i go to when I make a fresh install and I can't wait to see what you do next

Anonymous said: AxA CC KINGS!!!

Anonymous said: you guys didnt have to snap like that on AxA

Anonymous said: I LOVE EVERY SINGLE PACK U AND AYOSHI DO PLEASE KEEP MAKING MORE

Anonymous said: another iconic ah00b x ayoshi collab YAS LESSGOOOO

We put a bunch of cc ideas (hair and clothes) in a discord server we have together and then work on the stuff together on call usually so each item is the way we both want me. Like for example i’ll be meshing the Ivy top while he works on texturing the ribbed version. We also only do collabs when they happen, we didn’t plan AxA 2019 or this new set, mainly just made cc starting in May and wrapped it up in July to release in August. Then this time we started making stuff late December and got most of it done by the time I got done with my break. Having a planned collab/deadline makes stuff less stressful and the stuff usually turns out better imo

Anonymous said: hi! ur sims are so prettyyyy what skin texture and eyes do u use?

Anonymous said: hi! wcif the eyes of the sim in the edit that Dogsill edited for you please? thank you!

Anonymous said: Hi! I really love the way your sims looks so, I was what skin and eyes you use?

I actually am changing my default eyes so I need to update my resource page soon ;n; but the skins they use are all listed for each sim on the resource page here

Anonymous said: you always name axa packs by the year but this one was named after a season those that mean.... 👀

We are wanting to do something in the fall, just not sure how our lives will be then ya know? There’s a chance that this will be the AxA 2020. Since we weren’t sure I didn’t want to label it that if 2 AxA’s release this year lmao

Anonymous said: what game is the pokemon thing you're playing!? pls help a guy out i'm in love with the art style

Pokemon Sword and Shield (I have shield) for Nintendo Switch. I’ll prob post more pics once I get some new shinies :P

@kristabunny said: lol is it bad that when I saw your Santana hair I read it as Satan Hair XD

tbhhhhh it was lowkey referencing that lmao. I made the hair in October for a speed meshing video and since it was around Halloween I was like “lemme give her an almost demonic name” also Santana from glee is a queen

Anonymous said: Tbh I absolutely adore your female cc but I LIVE for your male cc!!!

Thank you! lmao the only thing I can take full credit for is the AxA male hairs. I mesh the clothes for packs but ayoshi does the texturing for them.

Anonymous said: Could you have a go at the updo Dua Lipa has on the cover of her Future Nostalgia? The high bun with a flick in it and the strands of hair down the sides. Thanks if so :)

I’m not the biggest fan of the hairstyle tbh ;n; but we will see. (Physical is a serve, just saying)

Anonymous said: So ive never played pokemon before until my friend gave me a copy of pokemon moon. I love cats so of course my starter was a litten, but i had no clue about evolutions or anything like that. I was heartbroken when my cute litten turned into some big man cat :(

omg noooo ;n; yeah Litten is a cutie... incineroar is... well I got used to him tbh and kind of like him now? I absolutely hate scorbunny’s evolution (and most of the SWSH starters final evolution) so I think that made incineroar slightly better in my eyes. My shiny litten will be staying a kitten however :)

@multifandom-slytherin said: Hello! I love your cc! Would it be possible for you to make the bangs from your Bree Hair a separate accessory that you can put with other hairs (for example the BG low ponytail)? Thank you so much!

Anonymous said: have u considered making or allowing someone to make an acc version of your handmade bangs?

I have thought of doing accessory bangs tbh, I just like... don’t like using accessory bangs myself. So I’m not sure if I’ll end up doing it. I might try it for myself and see how many hairs they work with, and if it is a decent amount I’ll release.

Anonymous said: First off I want to say how amazing all of your hairs and collabs are! Second I was curious if you ever thought of going back to your old hairs and updating their thumbnails / display indexes so they matched your stuff now?

I really really wanted to have all my 2019 hairs updated by 2020. It was only January 2019-April 2019 that needed updated (thumbnails and display indexes). But I just lost motivation for doing it. I will focus on it next time I have a big break from school. Also planning on updating select stuff from 2018 and 2017.

Anonymous said: please put Sophia Barker in the gallery. PLEASEEEEE it's the most beautiful sim I EVER seen! >:3 PLEASEEE!!!!!!!!!!

She should be on there? I think? Make sure you have CC enabled and if you can’t find me through the gallery her tray files are here

Anonymous said: Hi! After the recent patch I started having a small issue with Bree hair(without bangs), when I zoom out it looks like a completely different hair, something similar to that one basegame hair that's layered with tips pointed outward but longer. Thought I'd let you know, maybe others have had a similar issue or maybe I need to change a setting or something. Love your work so much!

Really surprised this is the first time someone told me about this lmao. The hair should be updated now on SFS/Patreon <3

Anonymous said: I tried to look around for this on your "Asks" portion before bothering you (so sorry), but do you have a link perhaps for all the lips you use on your models? Are they in game or a cc you create? Thanks so much! Love all of your work! I'm super new to cc stuff and I found yours like 2 days ago and have been going nuts with downloads lol

like presets? None of my cc models use a lip preset. I do use this slider on some of them though. For lipsticks, that is listed for each model on my resource page <3

Anonymous said: i’ve been looking for a hair like lexi that i actually like forever and now i find it but it’s for paterson peeps and i’m like actually broke and i’m like :/

im sorry ;n; at least it wasn’t too long of a wait? :/ I hope you liked the hair

Anonymous said: I can't find your jisoo ponytails in your downloads?

they’re in my retired section... may they rest in peace. scroll to the bottom of my downloads and youll see ‘RETIRED.’ click that for the retired download page.

@eclypt-0-sims said: Hi, I recently started making MM hair and I know you're probably an expert at this but; every time I go into CAS to test a hair, all of my accessories clip with the hair. Like the hair texture would cover some glasses if my sim was wearing glasses. I don't know how to fix it, someone told me to delete an eye weight in blender but I don't really understand weight painting that much, any suggestions? love your content btw

this is a late as hell reply i’m sorry. I think that you have texture where the glasses texture would be. Hair texture should only be in hair section or hat section (if you don’t want it hat compatible). Here is a UV map layout that I use for making hair textures. It shouldnt have anything to do with weights

Anonymous said: Do you use reshade when you take previews for your cc? and also is the tropical punch ombre overlay a palette or did you make it?

I do use reshade when I take cc previews. It adds a bit of saturation to my sims and gives them some shadows under their chin/clothes. Nothing major. Also, myself and @imvikai came up with the tropical punch palette together.

@little-eris said: You probably have answered this before but who drew your tumblr icon? I’ve seen the same art style with other simmers 👉🏼👈🏼 it’s super cute!

thank you! here is their twitter

Anonymous said: The male sim in your Tiny Living review looks soo familiar; was there inspiration from anyone IRL? The person he reminds me of isn't even famous so I don't even know! He is very pretty though *-*

He was a gallery sim that I just revamped a bit so I’m honestly not super sure lmao. But he is very attractive yes I agree

that concludes this ask ceremony please collect your things and move to the exit to your left. fvghbjn if you sent something I didn’t answer and it was off anon I’ll get to you soon (person who asked what beards I used for AxA... I see you)

#asks #not me spending an hour doing this #im actually kinda tired now but do i sleep #or do i just stay up... i have class at 12 #it is 7am now

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wetwellie · 4 years

Text

Back to the Future AU (Ye be warned this is a pretty long one):

The Samwell Hockey team has become used to finding their eccentric alumnus, Dr. Justin Oluransi, hiding out in their attic quite often. He is an 84 year old man, you can’t really scold him for busting out of the nearby retirement home to tinker with experiments and inventions that never work. He never bothered anyone, and no one bothered him. Then Shitty moved in and was freakin stoked for their guest.

“Hey pops, what did they call you on the team?” “…Ransom” “Awesome. Hey. You’re super good at science right? Could you help me brew up something in the tub?”

Dr Ransom was then initiated as the grandpa of the team. He helped with the recipe for tub juice, and they dragged out a bed for him to sleep on when he’s running from the Home.

Dr Ransom also helped with homework from time to time in exchange for said person becoming Ransom’s personal assistant for half an hour or so.

(“Bro why do you have 17 hickeys all over your back?” “Doc put a lot of suction cup things on me last night in exchange for his graphing calculator.”)

Of course, there was a man who never indulged in speaking with the man who even thought about spending time with their Attic friend, and that was Jack Zimmermann. They were sort of pushed into each other’s acquaintance during an epikegster in Jack’s second year. Jack had locked himself upstairs for the night. He hadn’t had the best game performance and kept thinking about everything he could have done better--should have done better. It was overwhelming him and every noise, every movement, every thought had been pretty daunting. He had been curled up on his bed when he noticed that the tapping he’d heard wasn’t from the party. It was from an elderly old man in a labcoat knocking on his window.

It was nearly 10 below (Celsius), so he couldn’t just let him out. Jack unlocked his window and helped Ransom in.

“Sorry about that, pal.” Ransom had said as he plopped himself onto Jack’s bed “Two cats were already...pretty ocupado in the attic when I went to work for tonight. Remind me to wash those sheets thoroughly.” “Is there anything I can do to help you out?”

“Unless you’re comfortable with kicking those people out of my attic. I’m afraid I can only ask for company.”

“I don’t think I would be very good company” Jack said, trying his best to politely refuse.

“I’m sure you’ll do just fine, once you’re comfortable. What’s your name again?” “Jack” “Nice to meet you man! I’ve seen you around, but you always seemed to be focused on one thing or another. I haven’t made it out to any of your games, but I’ve heard from the others that you are very dedicated to hockey” “Well...isn’t everyone on the team?” “I suppose you’re right. But everyone on the team isn’t a hardass captain.” “They called me a hardass?”

“Only during the preseason” Ransom chirped. Jack didn’t laugh.

“I suppose I could’ve been more of a hardass when I was captain of the team.” “You were captain?” Jack asked, trying his hardest to sound like he was interested.

“Co-captain, actually.” Ransom said, with an expression that was unreadable.

“Wait!” Jack threw up his hand and pulled open his laptop. In the google search bar he googled “Google” and THEN started typing a phrase he knew familiar, clicked on a purple link to a bare bones site with barely any bells and whistles. There were only links to years. “What year did you graduate?” “Undergrad?” “Of course.” “1955″

Jack scrolled down to that number and hit click. The page that loaded was filled with scanned articles, and paragraphs of stats and commentary. Ransom only looked at him.

“The coaches wanted someone to go through all of the old stuff and digitize it. The manager who had been working on it before graduated last year, and I volunteered in their place” He then made a noise and clicked at the screen a couple more times. He turned it to face Ransom and pointed at an old photograph from the newspaper. The clipping had removed all of the article below it. In the photo was two young men in their hockey uniforms on the ice. They were holding each other close and raising a large jug in the air that had the words “SIN BIN” written in big red letters.

Jack pointed to one of them “Is this you?”

Ransom didn’t answer. His attention was fully on the photograph being projected on that blue-white screen. If Jack had been paying more attention, he might have seen Ransom’s throat hitch as he gulped, or tears starting to form and just barely being held back. But sadly, his attention wasn’t so focused. He did, however, notice when the doctor let out a howling laugh and pointed at the jug.

“The sin bin! God that takes me back. Do you still have one of those?” “No” “Get one! Every captain needs one.” Ransom explained. “We used that money to buy cheap booze and pricey butter.” “Butter?” “It’s a long story.” Ransom said “But that’s not the point. You put money in the sin bin, and the whole team benefits from it. Your hardassery will have some sort of benefit.”

The two then melt into a conversation about hockey, captaining,the past, and even science for a bit. Albeit, Jack only wanted to know how legit “Breaking Bad” was. “I’ve never made any drugs, believe it or not. But I’m sure the science checks out”

Every once in a while, when talking about the past, Ransom would quickly change the subject. Jack would do the same. They danced around the things they didn’t want to speak of, and usually fell back on chirping each other about their technological ineptness.

It was 4am when Jack heard the party start to die down. Jack was discussing the merits of having the Internet as a research tool as a student. Ransom shook his head. “I know from this side that it is helpful, but it would have been awful during my studies. There would have been so many outlets and so many distractions. I had enough panic attacks as it is, that would have surely worsened it.”

There was a rather pregnant pause before Jack tentatively said “Panic Attacks?” “Yeah. There was a lot of stuff to panic about back then.” he said. He looked at Jack, fiddlling with the loose strings on his shirt, and added “I guess there’s a lot to panic about right now, too. Life can be a bitch.” Jack let out a hollow laugh. The silence never really ended, however. Instead, Ransom took that as his cue. “I should check to see if the lovebirds are post-coital by now. But remembering college, I doubt it.” Jack stared at Ransom dubiously. “And I shouldn’t have said that. Don’t want to scar you with any mental images! Anyways. I should get going”

He ended up walking to the door before being compelled to add “And if you ever need to talk, you can always see me when I’m in the attic. I’ve got a lot of life experience and surprisingly good ears for my age.”

-------------------------------------------------

Jack should have been more surprised at how often he found himself with Ransom for the rest of the semester. Whenever he wasn’t practicing or studying or keeping up with Shitty, he was in the attic. Mostly he helped lift heavy things that Ransom needed to tinker with, while the Doctor chattered on and on about “Important Shit!” that he’s learned in his life that will help Jack.

“Is there anything that has stayed more or less consistent over the past 60 years?” Jack asked one day.

“Hockey Butts are still as toned as ever.” He replied without missing a beat. “And they take years to erode. They are truly God’s gift”

Jack actually laughed at that and said “Amen”.

In the months that came to pass, Jack would grow to call Ransom a friend as well as mentor. However, he couldn’t help the feeling that he never truly knew him. Jack had confessed many things to him: about his pressure to always be better, about the overdose, about Parse. And while Ransom didn’t have the magical words to make those hurts all better, he listened without judgement. That was all he needed.

Winter turned to Spring without much of a struggle that year. Ransom spent most of his time searching online for the best places to purchase rare ores that he simply has to have, while he mumbles something about a gigawatt. Jack usually spent his time talking about Hockey or the new thing he had seen on this documentary a couple nights before, or Shitty being Shitty. He found himself a lot more empty-handed in the attic in the months before. Jack heard a lot less “fill this cylinder up with exactly 5.74 ml of hydrochloric acid” and a lot more “carry this new clock and hang it up in the attic. Mamrie Cartwright is having an estate sale and this was 2 dollars”.

Soon he found himself packing up his room for the summer, and popping up to check on Ransom before seeing him off. A few days before, the graduating members of the team had given him a “World’s best Grandpa” T-Shirt, with a “dr” scribbled in between the lines in sloppy marker. Ransom had given them all a bottle of Tub Juice to remember the Haus by.

Jack was surprised to open the door to the attic to see Ransom packing a suitcase.

“Headed somewhere?” “You think I don’t deserve a vacation too?” “I never said you didn’t. Where are you headed?” “I’ve met an old friend up at Niagra falls every summer for 60 years, so I’m gonna do that. And then I have to visit a science convention or two” “Sounds like a busy summer. You take care of yourself.” “I should say the same! If I come back and any of you cats have flat asses, I swear I’ll die on you. So eat some protein for my sake.”

“Will do”

---------------------------

It’s July 4th when Jack recieved a call from an unknown number. “Allo?” he answered.

“Jack! You brilliant bastard! It’s me.” “Ransom?” “The one and only. Listen. I don’t have a lot of time. Do you know where the mall called “Le Boulevard” is?”

“I don’t know, it sounds kind of familiar?”

“That’s good enough. Would you be kind enough to meet up with me on the 7th at precisely 3:15am?”

“What? Why?” “I can’t tell you right now, but it’s a matter of great importance. And I know that you will understand when I explain, but I can’t explain now.” “I don’t know how I’ll get there” “Please, Jack! I can’t lone this one.” Jack paused for a long while before saying “I’ll think about it” and hanging up the phone.

------------------------------

Jack’s mother came into the room the moment that the call ended. She asked who it was, and Jack answered. Explaining the whole deal about the man who had been hiding in their attic for the better part of two years. She seemed very worried until he mentioned how he was the captain back in the fifties.

“In the fifties? Do you think he knows about the fire?” “Fire?”

“Yeah. When I was going there, one of my English professors mentioned it. The old hockey house, before yours and that sorority. It burned to the ground. 2 people died.”

“Ransom never mentioned a fire” “It might have been after his time then” said Alicia. “It still seems like such a shame”

--------------------------

It’s 2:45am and Jack has gotten no sleep whatsoever. His group text is blowing up with pictures and videos of ongoing celebrations in the states. It’s times like these that he truly wished he knew how to turn off notifications. He scrolled through the chat and stopped at canadian teammates responses. It’s a picture of him wearing the flag as a cape and eating what seemed to be really old timbits. It’s captioned “Happy 3 days after Canada day”. Jack laughed, so he responded “haha”. Immideately after the response, Jack’s phone starts vibrating like crazy. Ransom is calling him.

“Jackie my man! Are you ready???” “Ready for what?”

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holidays-events · 5 years

Photo

Uncovering the Secret Identity of Rosie the Riveter

Naomi Parker Fraley, the inspiration behind Rosie the Riveter, died in January 2018.

Sarah Pruitt Jan 23, 2018

In 1942, 20-year-old Naomi Parker was working in a machine shop at the Naval Air Station in Alameda, California, when a photographer snapped a shot of her on the job. In the photo, released through the Acme photo agency, she’s bent over an industrial machine, wearing a jumpsuit and sensible heels, with her hair tied back in a polka-dot bandana for safety.

On January 20, 2018, less than two years after finally getting recognition as the woman in the photograph—thought to be the inspiration for the World War II-era poster girl “Rosie the Riveter”—Naomi Parker Fraleydied at the age of 96.

Fraley’s late-in-life fame came as the result of the dedicated efforts made by one scholar, James J. Kimble, to explore the history behind this American and feminist icon and to untangle the legends surrounding the famous poster. “There are so many incredible myths about it, very few of them based even remotely in fact,” Kimble says.

The poster in question was originally produced in 1943 by the Westinghouse Electric Corporation and displayed in its factories to encourage more women to join the wartime labor force. Created by the artist J. Howard Miller, it featured a woman in a red-and-white polka-dot headscarf and blue shirt, flexing her bicep beneath the phrase “We Can Do It!”

Although it’s ubiquitous now, the poster was only displayed by Westinghouse for a period of two weeks in February 1943, and then replaced by another one in a series of at least 40 other promotional images, few of which included women. “The idea that we have now that she was famous and everywhere during the war—not even close to true,” says Kimble.

J. Howard Miller’s ‘We Can Do It!’ poster for Westinghouse Electric, aimed at boosting morale among the company’s workers in the war effort later associated with ‘Rosie the Riveter’, the wartime personification of a strong female war production worker. (Credit: MPI/Getty Images)

Kimble, an associate professor of communication at Seton Hall University in New Jersey, began studying the “We Can Do It” poster due to his interest in the propaganda that was used on the home front during World War II.

During the war, Miller’s poster was far less well known than the image of a female worker created by a much more famous artist: Norman Rockwell. Published on the cover of the Saturday Evening Post on May 29, 1943,Rockwell’s painting depicts a woman in a blue work jumpsuit with a rivet gun in her lap, a sandwich in her hand and a copy of “Mein Kampf” under her foot. The woman’s lunch box reads “Rosie,” which linked her with a popular song released that same year called “Rosie the Riveter,” by Redd Evans and John Jacob Loeb.

But in the 1980s, Miller’s “We Can Do It!” poster resurfaced with a bang, and was widely reprinted on T-shirts, mugs, pins and many other products. Kimble believes this resurgence was due to a combination of factors, including Reagan-era budget cuts, which led the National Archives to license the image to sell souvenirs and raise money; the 40th anniversary of World War II; and the continuing push for women’s rights. Adopted as a feminist symbol of strength and an icon of American wartime resilience, the woman in the poster was retroactively identified as Rosie the Riveter, too, and quickly became the most widely recognizable “Rosie.”

For years, people believed that a Michigan woman named Geraldine Hoff Doyle was the model for the poster. Doyle, who had worked briefly as a metal presser in a factory in 1942, saw a photograph of a bandanna-clad woman working at an industrial lathe reprinted in a magazine in the 1980s, and identified the woman as her younger self; she later linked this photo to Miller’s famous poster. By the 1990s, media reports were identifying Doyle as the “real-life Rosie the Riveter,” a claim that was widely repeated for years, including inDoyle’s obituary in 2010.

VIDEO: Rosie the Riveter

But Kimble wasn’t so sure. “How do we know that?” he says of his initial reaction to reading that Doyle was the woman in the image that (supposedly) inspired Miller’s poster. “Everything else we think we know about that poster is dubious. How do we know about her?”

Though he already knew the artist had no descendants, and had left limited papers behind, with no clue of who his model might have been, Kimble began looking into the 1942 photograph. And after five years of searching, he found “the smoking gun,” as he calls it—a copy of the photograph with the original caption glued on the back. Dated March 1942 at the Naval Air Station in Alameda, it identified “Pretty Naomi Parker” as the woman at the lathe.

Here is the original caption, which speaks volumes about how women working in factories during the war were seen:

“Pretty Naomi Parker is as easy to look at as overtime pay on the week’s check. And she’s a good example of an old contention that glamor is what goes into the clothes, and not the clothes. Pre-war fashion frills are only a discord in war-time clothing for women. Naomi wears heavy shoes, black suit, and a turban to keep her hair out of harm’s way (we mean the machine, you dope).”

Naomi Parker, Ada Parker, and Frances Johnson representing war work fashion at the Alameda U.S. Naval Air Station. (Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, in California, Naomi Parker Fraley had already stumbled on the truth herself. In 2011, at a reunion of female war workers, she saw the Acme photo of the woman at the lathe on display and recognized herself. Then she saw the caption, with Geraldine Hoff Doyle’s name and information. Fraley wrote to the National Park Service to correct the error, but got nowhere, even though she had kept a clipping of the photo from a 1942 paper with her name in the caption.

“Doyle’s tale was so believable by that point, and so widely accepted that even the original clipping couldn’t convince people otherwise,” Kimble says. “So when I called [Fraley], she was just delighted that someone was willing to listen to her side of the story.”

In 2016, Kimble published an article revealing his findings in the journal Rhetoric & Public Affairs, called “Rosie’s Secret Identity.” At the time, the New York Times reported, Fraley gave an interview to the Omaha World-Herald in which she gave a simple yet memorable description of how it felt to finally be known to the world as the real-life Rosie: “Victory! Victory! Victory!”

People magazine also sent a crew to her rural California home, complete with makeup artist and lighting technician, and did a photo shoot of the then 95-year-old dressed like her presumed alter ego in Miller’s poster.

Doubt still remains, however, as to whether the photo of Naomi Parker—which was published in Miller’s hometown newspaper, The Pittsburgh Press, in July 1942—was in fact the inspiration for Miller’s image. Without confirmation from the artist, who died in 1985, there is only the physical resemblance between the woman in the photo and the woman in the poster—and, of course, the polka-dot bandana—to go by.

All that was beside the point for Naomi Parker Fraley, Kimble believes. “I think the most important thing to her was her identity. When there’s a photo of you going around that people recognize, and yet somebody else’s name is below it, and you’re powerless to change that—that’s really going to affect you.”

When he interviewed her, he says, “there was an anguish that she felt. A powerlessness. The idea that this journal article, and the media picking it up and spreading the story, helped her regain her claim on that photo and her personal identity was really the big victory for her.”

Fighting to Save Rosie the Riveter’s Factory

8 Unusual Wartime Conservation Measures

Inspiration for Iconic Rosie the Riveter Image Dies

Uncovering the Mysteries of the Bog Bodies

This Secret Archive Documented Life in the Warsaw Ghetto

How “Tokyo Rose” Became WWII’s Most Notorious Propagandist

https://www.history.com/news/rosie-the-riveter-inspiration

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justanotherskamstan · 5 years

Text

My thoughts and ranking of on SKAM remakes so far

The special thing about the series SKAM as a whole was that it was authentic and a real reflection on teenage lives of Norwegians. The show creates extremely special moments with valuable lessons for everyone through a diverse, age-appropriate cast and shows that its creator, Julie Andem, did understand what the market was missing in terms of teen-drama shows. The show had a huge impact on the lives of its young actors and many viewers, creating a worldwide phenomenon, especially during its 3rd season run featuring the character Isak. The storytelling process of each season changes, because there is a different main character in each one, and the season tells their story and the stories of others through the main character’s perspective. Quite a unique thing to do, because most of the time teen shows feel like how the adult writers think teenagers would like/do, however, SKAM was very honest about the reality of teenagers and how it is not this perfect, pinky, beautiful world where everyone ends up happily ever after. The acting talent of the cast at such a young age was extraordinary, so kudos to Ms.Andem for creating this great melting pot of talented actors, amazing writers and a creative director to form this almost-perfect show. The show is not perfect, and with many pointing out the “problematic” aspects of certain characters, however, I feel like that adds to the realness of everything, since there are no perfect people in this world, especially at the age of making mistake and learning from them. The success of the show has spawned 7 international remakes so far, and I am going to rank them from my favorite to least favorite (most likely to rewatch willingly) with an accompanying analysis of the pros and cons of each. The order in which I watched them was SKAM Austin, OG SKAM, SKAM Italia, Druck, SKAM France, and then I live watched SKAM NL, SKAM Espana, WTFock and the current season of Druck along of SKAM Italia season 2. These are my thoughts and opinions, so please if you agree or disagree, don’t hate!

Druck (1 completed season, and 1 currently airing, future unsure)

Season 1 of Druck focuses on Hannah Jung (Eva) and her relationships with her boyfriend Jonas (Jonas) and her new group of friends, while season 2’s main character is Mia (Noora). There were many that ranks this remake as one of their least favorite, I think because it started airing during the same time frame as SKAM Italia (the most popular remake domestically and internationally) and SKAM Austin, so many did not give it a proper chance. The chemistry between Hannah and Jonas have got to be the best in all the remakes, particularly during the final episode of the season, when they eventually part ways to truly find out what they want before they could consider rekindling. The ways Jonas cried during that scene and the way they touched their noses together, weirdly enough made it very intimate without needing anything too risqué. The dynamic of Hannah’s girl squad was very well executed, as their respective personalities complimented each other’s well. Hannah’s father is probably the funniest SKAM parent character of all the remakes, since he is just slightly awkward enough and old-person enough to be funny without cringing. Druck is one of the remakes that stick pretty close to the original, but changes the characters, plot points, etc. just enough to make it their own without compromising on the SKAM framework. Besides Hannah, the standouts to me where Mia and girl Sam. Mia is an extremely beautiful, caring, but strong-minded character, but differs from the OG Noora in the fact that Mia is bisexual and her character’s actions in season 2 would not be something that Noora would be caught doing, even if it is in the name of protecting her friend. Girl Sam is completely different from OG Chris, as she is very sex-positive, funny, outgoing, and a character unique enough that I haven’t encountered anyone similar in all of the remakes. Mia and Sam are some of the best versions of their characters. Alex (William) is probably everyone’s least favorite William remake because he is so cold during the first season (and “looks like he’s married with kids”), which led to many complaints from viewers about how unrealistic it would be for Mia to fall for Alex in the second season, since she never really responded well to his advances in the first. However, so far into the second season their dynamic seems to have improved and the way the writers go about getting these two together have been very different from the OG. Let’s just wait and see where it takes us. But so far there have been noticeable improvements in the releasing of clips and the characters’ social media activity. During season 1, one of the weakest link of Druck was the real-time social media aspect, as there were irregular posts and the characters did not interact with one another very much. I think that the writers have listened to their audience and upped their social media game, and a noticeable example of this was a text between the girl squad about their respective careers after school which perfectly showcased the race, class dynamics of Germany. The first season was also extremely short compared to the other versions, and so far for season 2, every clip released has been a decent length, so good on them for improving on that. Also, the soundtrack of Druck is my favorite of all the remakes, as their spotify playlist have become my place to find new music. Also, the diversity of their casting is great, Amira, Sam, and Toilet-Sam are all POC, and Amira especially shows authentically how a hijab-wearing teenage girl in Germany is because she is one.

The biggest issue I have with Druck has got to be the character of Kiki (Vilde). She has expressed ideas of Islamophobia, racism, and has a general aggressiveness to her. In the OG, after Vilde learns her lesson near the end of the first season, her attitude improves for the better, but Kiki has gotten worse in season 2, even though she got what she wanted, which was to get together with Alex. In the first episode her remark about how both Sams are black and named Sam was micro-aggression at its finest, but in season 2 she shows her temper when she exploded on Mia for being concerned about her diet/workout/drug-use. Even though she later apologized to Mia with an expensive gift, I think it would be hard for her to truly redeem herself in the eyes of the audience. The actress’s performance is not bad, but I question the reasoning behind the writer’s decision to make this character act this way, which maybe answered later in the season. Another concern I have about Druck is how its future going to be like. As the girl squad is in their final year of high school, and when they graduate in spring there would probably go off into different universities/jobs. Season 2 ends in March of 2019, so the odds of fitting in a Matteo (Isak) and a Amira (Sana) season before they all graduate seem impossible. The long hiatus between season 1 and 2 contributed to that especially, since they had to fail Alex’s character for German class so he could stay behind for a year to complete Mia story arc. Another minor complaint I’ve heard from many German-speaking viewers is that the language they speak seem very weird to native speakers, this is not really an issue for me as I rely solely on English subtitles to comprehend their conversations, but it has been noted. I’m very excited to see where this takes us, but hopefully they can make it work and renew for other seasons since season 2 has brought in a huge spike in viewership.

2. WTFock (1 completed season, and renewed for a second)

The newest baby of the SKAM remakes family, and a surprising favorite of mine. Season 1 focuses on Jana (Eva) and her boyfriend Jens (Jonas), and follow the storyline of OG season 1 pretty closely. Also another underdog remake in my personal opinion, airing at the same time as SKAM Italia season 2 and the OG SKAM’s bloopers. The most special thing about WTFock is that even though it sticks pretty closely to the OG, its original scenes that is added changes the storyline ever so slightly so that it avoids the errors of previous remakes, which I think is very smart. An example of this is in the OG and several remakes, the character of William apologizes to Vilde in exchange for a date with Noora, however, in WTFock, Zoe (Noora) prompts Senne (William) to apologize to Amber (Vilde) on his own by sort of teasing/mocking his intelligence in an original scene. Many viewers called the OG version “blackmailing” and “manipulation”, so by changing that ever so slightly it gives it a different feel. Another positive change made to the storyline of Robbe’s (Isak) character is that in the OG, he tells Eva that the reason behind his decision to ruin her relationship with his best-friend is that he has feelings for her. However, in WTFock, Robbe confesses to Jana that he feels left out and jealous of the amount of time Jens spends with her, which is much more truthful than Isak’s reasoning. Jana’s mom is my favorite mom character in SKAM, since she is very sweet and caring, even though her job may make her physically and sometimes emotionally distant from her only child. Their mother and daughter bond was strengthened, for me at least, in the scene where it was revealed that Jana’s dad is dead, with the scene itself being very quiet but emotionally captivating at the same time. The best character to come out of WTFock is Zoe in my opinion. Her version of Noora is much more sarcastic, has very quick wit, strong-minded but also very soft towards those that she cares about. The dynamics of this girl squad is great, despite the fact that certain crucial scenes like the party scene was missing Yasmina (Sana), their bond blossomed very nicely. Especially the close friendship between Yasmina and Zoe has its groundwork laid out well, which would help make Zoe’s season more understandable. Also, Zoe’s connection with Senne in this remake is one of the most obvious one early on, as the inclusion of some original scenes in the last two episodes make it abundantly clear, as oppose to other remakes which usually wait till season 2 to build on their relationship further. Out of all the remakes, I can see that this one is the most wholesome, and easiest to like due to changes to make it “less problematic”. Also, their social media posts, especially Zoe’s is very aesthetically pleasing, and they are very interactive with one another on there.

I think the casting of WTFock in general is great, everyone looks age-appropriate, even Senne, who’s actor is actually 22 according to wikipedia. I loved that Jana has braces, and even though they are usually considered ugly, she is still very confident and beautiful with them on. However, there is only 2 POC in the entire cast, not necessary the most diverse cast out of the remakes. I also don’t really like the idea of the only black character, Keisha (original character), befriending Jana and inviting her to a party, only to offer her drugs. I know it is a scene used to help us see Jana’s aversion to drug-use, which affects her relationship with Jens greatly, but did they really have to have the only black character be that type of character. I personally don’t feel like reinforcing bad stereotypes about black people is the greatest thing to do in this inclusive teen series. Maybe her character would have more screen time in season 2 with better character development. Also, the Mexican-themed party where Jana and Luka (P-Chris) kiss is really cultural appropriation at its finest. The beautiful scene where these two characters, whom I greatly ship together, is kind of destroyed by the huge sombrero hanging off of Luka’s neck. Maybe next season the writers can think of better themes for parties that don’t really include taking another culture and not really giving it the respect it deserves. Another problem I have is with the character of Jens himself, and how popular of a character he is compared to the other characters on social media, even though some of the things he says to Jana are very troubling. In the scene where Jana and Jens are talking on a bench by a lake/ocean, Jens mentions Jana’s drinking and comparing it to his choice to smoke weed. For his character to use his girlfriend’s choice to drink alcohol against her, and use it as leverage to justify his decision to skip out on the planned dinner with her mom to smoke weed and lying to her about who he was with seems much more questionable than the OG’s excuse. It was surprising to me how his character has the most Instagram followers out of everyone in the cast, most possibly because he is very good-looking, but still it is quite odd to see a character say very troubling things to be the most followed. Also, the decision for them to have a breakup sex scene I feel like was unnecessary for this remake, as unlike some other Eva and Jonas versions, their relationship seems less physical so it was kind of awkward for them to do that since they haven’t been doing that as much throughout the season. Another minor complaint is with the music choices. I have greatly enjoyed many songs from the WTFock spotify playlist, but the sheer number of them are so many that sometimes it detracts from the scenes that it is included with. Out of all the remakes, I think WTFock have used the most number of songs in just the first season, so maybe they can scale back on that a bit, quality over quantity. Despite not being the international fandom’s favorite remake, WTFock has achieved major success domestically, reaching 3 million views just from being an online series and got a spot to air on TV. The show runners have created the very good framework to expand into the next season, and with a few fixes here and there, I think this remake could get even better. I hope some of the casts’ interests could be incorporated into their characters next season, for example the actor who plays Luka does parkour, maybe we could get a scene where he showcases his skills to impress Jana. WTFock is the remake that has the very high chance of being renewed further. Also, this remake has got to be the show that says its name within the show the most out of any I’ve watch, maybe not say WTFock every episode, cause I’m pretty sure anytime I watch a movie or show where a character says the name of the film/show, my mind goes “Roll credits”, but that’s a personal thing.

3. Tie- SKAM NL (1 completed season, and renewed for a second) and SKAM Italia (2 completed season, and completed filming for a third)

For me personally both SKAM NL and SKAM Italia have some great qualities to it, however, these remakes have some major issues that is harder for me to get passed. Had they been slightly different, these remakes would probably be at the top of my ranking.

SKAM NL:

SKAM NL is one of the newer remakes to come out this year, and it did not disappoint. Season 1 is focused on Isa (Eva) and her storyline similar to that of the OG. The best thing going for SKAM NL is the casting choices. This cast is the most diverse out of all the remakes, Kes (Jonas), Imaan (Sana), Liv (Noora) etc. are all POC. This is the first remake to have a biracial Noorhelm, with the first biracial couple being Emma and Yann from SKAM France. There are so many great characters in SKAM NL, many which differ from the OG’s personalities. Even the pilot episode, which most remakes have copied exactly like the OG, was made very different in NL with Gijs (P-Chris) coming to introduce himself to Isa instead of her trying to find someone with a similar name, and for Isa to be entranced by Liv’s singing before they talk about Olivia (Ingrid) calling Isa a slut. The actress who plays Isa interpreted her role very different from any other version of Eva, which I think makes her the standout for NL. She’s fiercely herself in a way that the other Evas weren’t, and her confrontation scene with Olivia is one of the best, because instead of them both breaking down to tears, Isa makes the remark of something similar to “He (Kes) got both of us here, and look at us now.” which hit me as I came to greatly appreciate her version of the character. Another character which surprised me was Engel (Vilde). Her soft, sweet, and all thing pink personality was somewhat in line with the OG, but in the scene where the girls fought Gijs’ girlfriend, it was Engel who was one of the most proactive participants of the fight. She is one of the most naive Vildes, sometimes a little too naive, but her conversation with Isa on the street where she says something along the lines of “I admire you for who you are, but then you were not who I thought you were.” gave her character more depth than some other Vildes had. In general, all of the performances were great, and the soundtrack is excellent. The song accompanying Noah’s (William) first entrance was iconic and was stuck in my head for a few days.

Because SKAM NL airs on TV as well as is released online, the amount of time for each episode have been an issue for me. Especially during the necessarily longer clips like the one where Isa confronts Kes after the news leaked about her kiss with Gijs, the scene was too short and didn’t give the audience enough time to process what the two were saying to each other and the emotional impact it has on their relationship before Kes stormed off with his skateboard and Isa was left alone. If the show had been online series only, I think the show itself could afford to be a bit longer and would have more success since its air time on TV was making it compete directly with one of the most popular shows in the Netherlands. In general, SKAM NL has been a very good series for me up until the season 1 finale, which had some moments where I really questioned the decisions made by the writers. First, the Isa and Kes breakup scene, where all they did was have sex. I know that their relationship is quite physical, so the scene did not feel weird, but afterwards they did not speak to each other much about their relationship and the impact their choices had to its ultimate doom. The breakup conversation to me is more important than the sex scene because it shows the character’s maturity in that they realize both of them have done wrong and should fix themselves before they can reunite. The cinematography for all of the series are great, but like SKAM NL I need Kes and Isa to talk more about their relationship ending. I think this directly links with the whole TV time slot problem that I mentioned before. It was very disappointing for me to see that the character of Imaan was not very prevalent in the show, not showing up to the final party. I know what it was mentioned the actress had personal issues that made her unavailable for filming, but I hope that come next season her character is more incorporated in the show, since her entrance scene is one of the best Sana introduction in all of the remakes. Another character whom I questioned the choices his character made in the finale was Noah. His character is wildly different from OG William, he’s the cool, artsy, weed-smooking type, which I really liked since it is so unique. However, in the final party when he apologized to Engel about insulting her, he also slipped Liv a note (which we did not get to see what was in it) in front of her friends. I know that most of the William characters only apologized to get Noora to agree on a date, making them have an ulterior motive, but Noah’s apology seem the most sincere out of all of them. I’m not quite sure how the writers are going to take on this characters and his relationship with Liv next season, but I hope they somehow justify his poor apology somewhat. Because I like their relationship’s dynamics, especially after that banter about “If you can count, don’t count on it” and the book head tap thing, but now I’m questioning myself for liking his character a bit. I appreciate that after a text was released where Janna (Chris) made a rape joke, the show-runners saw that the viewers didn’t like it and pulled it from the show, as they are displaying that they listen to their audience. Despite not being a complete success domestically, I feel like many international viewers loved SKAM NL’s changes to the OG, making it their favorite remake, for good reasons. I hope they improve on some of the issues from the first season and I can’t wait to see where Liv and Noah take us.

SKAM Italia:

The golden standard of remakes, also the most popular domestically and internationally, set the bar high for remakes after it. The beautiful cinematography from season 1, along with the best acting performances from all of the remakes from Eva (Eva) and Martino (Isak). SKAM Italia has no many things going for it, the dynamics of the relationships, the girl squad and performances make it the “best remake” in many viewers’ opinions, also its IMBD score is also the highest out of all of the remakes, just a bit lower than OG SKAM. I would say that this remake is the most mature/risqué remake of them all. The inclusion of nudity in Eva and Gio (Jonas) sex scene make it much more passionate and stands out from others. Their relationship as a whole is quite a bit different from others, in the fact that Gio is like Eva’ best friend and boyfriend, as he understands her very well, even knowing where she will be without her telling him. In general, the couples of SKAM Italia have very good chemistry with one another, even Eleonora (Noora) and Eduardo (William), who have only shared a few scenes together, yet have palpable chemistry on screen. As season 3 have been confirmed as Eleonora’s, it would be very interesting to see their dynamics for full episodes instead of a few clips. Season 1 of SKAM Italia many consider even better than OG, I really don’t like saying anything is better than the original, but I will say that certain aspects of it is better, but not as a whole season. Season 2 has garnered critical acclaim, as the performances of Martino and Nico (Even) are very good. They hit many of the same points the OG did, like the underwater pool kiss, Nico having his mental breakdown leading to him running naked around the city, Martino’s home problems. However, I loved that in this remake, Martino and his mom somewhat made up, despite the fact that she can be a somewhat absentee parent, she ultimately loves her son and accepts him for who he is. This season also creates this great bond between the boys of the boy squad, especially Gio and Martino, with Gio being the supportive friend Martino needed during some of his lowest points.

The biggest issue I have, and I think many would agree, is that SKAM Italia’s casting is very strange to say the least. A smaller aspect of it is that most of the cast is in their 20s, with Edoardo’s actor being 27, and most of them look their age, it is quite strange to see the actors looking like older college students playing high school roles. But since most of them are more experienced actors, I don’t think that the age makes a huge difference in the overall series. However, the casting choice for Sana (Sana) on the other hand is my biggest gripe. The actress who plays this character is not a Muslim person, nor is she a POC. The SKAM Italia cast is like all white people, which some may say “no one wants a POC character thrown in for no reason” but since SKAM is a reflection of teenagers in a diverse environment, especially set in Rome, one of the most popular cities in Europe, there is no excuse for not casting POC. The reason why OG Sana was authentic is because she playings parts of herself in the role, as a young Muslim hijab-wearing women in Oslo, and her experiences with discrimination/racism. As a white person who is not Muslim, I don’t really know how that Italian Sana is going to accurately portray the experiences of a young Muslim hijab-wearing women in Rome without having experienced it firsthand. I read somewhere that the actress is learning Arabic and reading the Quran to prepare for her season (don’t know if this is factual), but I hope that if (when) her season comes she can do the role some justice. It’s just kind of hard to get excited for the season where you know that its not going to be truly authentic. My biggest annoyance with season 2 is the cinematography. Compared to season 1, season 2 happens a lot at night, so many things happen in the dark or very dim lighting, making really hard to see what the hell is going on in certain scenes. I had to turn my screen brightness to the highest point to decipher what was happening sometimes. I know it is a metaphor for Martino’s turbulent situation and what not, but if I can’t even see that well what is happening in each scene, then Martino’s great performance has gone to waste. There were quite a few scandals over the run of season 2, like Nico saying the n-word during a scene. I agree that the viewers where justified in being mad at that, but for the director and the actors to try and justify their decision to include this scene was really troubling. The director of SKAM Italia is a very problematic person, in that he doesn’t admit that he’s wrong for casting Sana or the n-word scene, trying to justify his mistakes is just something I don’t want to see from someone who has the creative control of such a good series. Even some of the texts shared between the boy squad is really uncomfortable, as they sort of fat shame Federica (Chris), even though she invited them to her birthday party. The soundtrack is pretty good, but not my favorite, as I don’t really know much about some of the songs they have chosen. Overall, I can’t wait for season 3 to air, as I know it would be good. But for season 4, I’m not sure what to expect. There are some major issues for me with SKAM Italia, but I will continue to watch it until either I can’t stand the director’s decisions anymore or the dark scenes officially get too dark for me to see what’s going on.

4. SKAM Espana (1 completed season, and renewed for a second)

The remake with the most changes to its name, SKAM Espana is surprising us viewers left and right with its twists and turns. My thing with this remake is that some of the changes I loved and some were did not agree with me. I was shocked that this remake was renewed for another season even before the first episode aired, as the first clip introducing Alejandro (William) garnered many international viewers’ interest.The main for season 1 is Eva (Eva), who is quite a unique Eva in her own right. She is the one Eva who cries the most often, and is more vulnerable compared to the OG. She doesn’t raise her opinion on things because she doesn’t want to lose her boyfriend, who she suspects has been lying to her. Her boyfriend Jorge (Jonas) is similar to other Jonas but instead of doing drugs behind her back, he was making her a really bad fake ID so that they can drink/club together. I don’t necessarily feel as much chemistry between them as compared to Druck’s or SKAM Italia’s version, so I am very grateful that they spared us the breakup sex scene and instead just had these two talk it out with one another. The scene was beautiful, starting with the barrier in between them and shooting at an angle where they look/feel separated, as opposed to the beginning of the season where they were stuck to the hip. Nora (Noora) and Eva’s friendship is very precious, as Nora stuck by Eva’s side when no one else would. She was the most supportive friend in the group and her interactions with Alejandro have been quite entertaining, with the last clip of them talking on a bench, her showing her jealousy really cute. The most beautiful change this version made was for Lucas (Isak) to come out to Eva that he is gay, instead of being exposed by his internet history by the Evas and Nooras of other remakes. The scene was touching, and the actors stepped up to the plate with his performance of a teen coming out of the closet. I loved that the finale scene was Eva spending her birthday with her girlfriends enjoying themselves, being the happy teenager that she deserves to be.

Many people have an issue with SKAM Espana’s casting, and I kind of agree but for a different aspect of it. A lot of people say that the cast look really young, but since Nora’s actress is 16 and Alejandro’s actor is 18, I don’t really see a huge problem as long as their acting skills are good. However, the cast is really white, not as bad as SKAM Italia, but besides Amira (Sana), there are no other POC. Spain is a very diverse country, so to be so not diverse in casting is very disappointing. Also, the character of Cris (Chris) in this version is a very pretty, popular, skinny bisexual girl, very unlike the OG. My favorite remakes of this character have brought their own unique twists to the character, along with the funny aspects of the OG, like Druck’s Sam or SKAM Austin’s Jo, so for SKAM Espana’s Chris to be a regular pretty girl who kisses both boys and girls and is not interested in a relationship, I expected more out of her character, and hopefully I will see more in season 2. I kind of liked the twist of Lara (original character) being Chris’s girlfriend instead of some random girl Eva didn’t know. But the way the show handle the news being leaked by Viri (Vilde) and how the girl squad, besides Nora, kind of abandoned Eva afterwards is not what I wanted out of the situation and kind of ruined their group dynamics for me. Especially the way Amira, who was suspicious of something between Eva and Ines (Ingrid), tried goading Eva into telling her the story in a game of truth and dare. Also, how she treated Eva when the news hit and left her after saying “I asked you and you didn’t tell me”, even though Amira herself should know best how horrible it is to be ostracized by your peers. The cyberbullying instagram account spread across the school is a very different approach, but to suddenly one day after weeks of harassment, just by Viri posting a photo of Christian kissing another girl, everyone in school started to feel bad for Eva. I don’t really believe that is how it would have happened in real life, and also, Viri never truly redeemed herself after the leakage for me, as she was judging and seeing Eva in pain and still did nothing until things got way out of hand. After that happened everyone’s friends again, like if I was Eva I wouldn’t be so quick to accept these people back into my life after what they have done. Also, Eva accusing Lucas of being the leak and liking Jorge, especially after he came out to only her was a very low blow. Her apology wasn’t really adequate, but hey, if Lucas is okay with it then I guess we’re good. The ending didn’t feel right as it left a few questions unanswered and probably won’t answer it ever, like who was behind that instagram account that posted photos of Eva accusing her of being a prostitute and nasty stuff. The two more minor things that I really don’t get is the herpes/STDs and the cats. Alejandro giving Viri herpes is an important lesson for girls about protection and safe sex, but every time I see Alejandro on screen I see him with this blob of herpes thing on his lip, so does Viri. I know the actor who plays Alejandro is a model in real life, and he’s very handsome, but once you see someone with herpes, you really can’t unsee the herpes. Also, the crown for most confusing/weirdest SKAM scene I’ve ever seen is for SKAM Espana’s cat scene with Eva and Jorge. I was sat there thinking what the hell is this, what does any of this mean, like what am I watching. The soundtrack is ok, not great but not bad, I somewhat appreciate sentiment of including of a slower Spanish song during the fight scene, but it kind of killed the vibe of the scene for me. I am going to watch season 2, as there is potential for this remake to be better, but I’m not sure how they are going to go about it, since they have not announced who is going to be the main character for season 2 yet. The performances so far have been good for such young/inexperienced actors.

5. SKAM France (2 completed seasons, completed filming for the third and fourth seasons)

Everyone says this remake is like the copy and paste version of OG SKAM, and I have to largely agree. Season 1 and 2 have been very cut and dry, not interesting to say the least. The main thing going for this remake is its potential for improvement for the next seasons. As there is a new director for seasons 3 and 4, and I have read somewhere that since France was the first remake, they were forced to follow the OG very closely so they could get the rights to it (cannot confirm if this is factual). What I appreciate most about SKAM France is the chemistry between Manon (Noora) and Charles (William), as they are a couple in real life, their performances show much passion and love for one another. The breakout star to me is Daphne (Vilde), as she is the classiest Vilde, the perfect combination of sweet, kind and also naivety. She is the one character out of the OG 4 that I hope gets her own season to explore her story further. Also, Emma’s (Eva) performance did improve between seasons 1 and 2, which is kind of ironic cause she’s funnier to me in the season that she’s not the main character. Also, the casting for SKAM France I think had diversity in mind, since Yann (Jonas), Imane (Sana) and Alex (P-Chris) are all POC. Besides the fact that the actors for Charles and Alex are really hot, I’m running out of positive things to say about SKAM France.

The thing I think is the thing going against it the most is the filming schedule of this remake. Seasons 1 and 2 were filmed within about a month, and so did seasons 3 and 4. I think that is not enough time to film all of the necessary scenes and make them good. It is hard to take in audience feedback after you have already wrapped up filming months ago. Also, since the show is aired on TV, it runs into the same issue for me as SKAM NL, which is that due to the strict TV time slots, it cuts out important moments from the OG that builds the feel of authenticity and cuts things very short, especially the scene where in the OG Noora played the guitar and sang for William, which I wished the French version did, because the actress who plays Manon can sing. For me, in season 1, when Yann threw his skateboard to the floor I sort of bursted out laughing, which now thinking about it, it really wasn’t funny, but to me at the time the scene made no sense. Why are you throwing your skateboard on the ground, there are more ways to show anger/frustration, physical violence is not really necessary. Also, I am slightly concerned about season 3, as the actor who plays Lucas (Isak) hasn’t really done much of anything throughout the series. I hope that he is capable of taking on such an emotionally damaged character who has gone through and is going to be put through a lot in his season. I will watch SKAM France, but not likely to rewatch it in full. I like certain scenes, but those I can catch the clips of without having to watch an entire episode. I think this remake has a great potential to be renewed for more seasons outside of the OG 4, so here’s to hopping they put all of their creative juices together and make something original for Daphne’s journey.

6. SKAM Austin (1 completed season, and renewed for a second)

The first SKAM series I watched and did not hold up over a second rewatch. It is not a bad show by any means, compared to other US teen shows this is probably one of the most realistic ones (compared to stuff like Riverdale), but as someone who lived in Austin and went through a Texas high school this show falls very short of reality. The thing I liked most about the show was the confrontation scene where Grace (Noora) says “Move!” to Daniel (William), that was iconic and I rewatched that scene several times. The best thing to come out of SKAM Austin is Jo (Chris), she’s a funny, unique, charismatic Latina and I honestly have met people just like her, so I loved seeing a character that resembles real people. A YouTuber that I watched said something along the lines of SKAM Austin guys aren’t that hot, and compared to their European counterparts, they aren’t really. But as someone who’s been through high school here, let’s just say the pickings are slim, and you got the best ones out of it. Also, Shay (Isak) is a very interesting character and I hope to see where her season goes, if they get renewed. Don’t know too much about her, but I liked how Grace discovered that she was already out as a lesbian to Tyler (original character), it is more believable than checking the person’s browser history. Another nice touch was Jo (P-Chris) and Megan having hooked up before, giving it more of a backstory, but that really wasn’t explained further than their discussion on the bowling date, which pretty much went no where.

I’m glad that Julie is getting her SKAM on, but to be honest with you, I would have rather had a different person at the creative control for this show. Because there are a lot of plot holes/things that don’t make sense, which shows that whoever wrote it doesn’t really know much about Texas high schools or American teenagers in general. Football season ends in December-ish, depending on whether your team makes it to the playoffs and advances further to state or not. So football practice in May is not believable, cause summer camp for football players start during the summer holidays. I know we all kind of enjoy the cliche of Americans playing football, but honestly, if you do it, please do it right. The dance team, which also makes no sense to me. The girls’ parents make monthly payments to pay for trips to competitions, uniforms, training camps, etc. Once you quit, your parents would know pretty soon that you’re not on the team, so I’m quite surprised that Megan’s (Eva) parents kept paying hundreds of dollars for something she wasn’t doing anymore. And creating a new dance team takes more than just 5 students, there is the coach, the assistant coach, all of the costume, performance training, etc. And so for Zoya (Sana) to want to join a dance team, aka the girls who perform at football games, is very odd to me because their uniforms are not conservative. The premise them getting together with football guys so they get to perform at the games and be more popular is ludicrous, because the people putting football game performances together are the band director, cheer director and the dance team director, not the football players themselves. Maybe if you wanted to be more popular, then yes, getting with football guys will get you there, but they can’t really help your dance team recruit people. In my high school with over 2 thousand students, there was only 1 hijab-wearing girl, and we had a few classes together. Let’s just say I went to high school in a more conservative part of Texas and I have never seen the girl been treated badly or been ostracized for her religion, and Austin is a much more liberal and diverse city. Since in the school here you go from elementary to high school with pretty much the same people, most of these kids have known each other for years if they hadn’t moved from the school district, so it is hard for me to believe that these girls (beside Grace) have never met each other before. I wish that had picked something else to kind of get the girls together, since anyone who’s been through high school knows this is unrealistic. I also wish they had done something else to show Zoya being discriminated against, cause I am really tired of the dumb blond cliche. I also never got the idea for a regional/city SKAM, cause usually the remakes are SKAM (country name), and so had it been SKAM USA, I won’t have griped on so much, but since it has Austin in the name, I am disappointed it did not capture the authentic feel of a Texas public high school. Some of the actors are not from Texas, so you can kind of pick up their West/East Coast accents, not the biggest problem, but noticeable if you are from here. The use of slang words were kind of all over the place, just because teens say “Lit” a lot doesn’t mean you should incorporate it into every scene, this feels like how an adult would use teen slang, very awkward placement. Also, I am not sure why there weren’t many more trendy things if they were going for the authenticity. No whip and nae nae, no the floor is lava, no flipping a half full water bottle to make it stand straight, and no dabbing. I mean, the best American high school has to offer is not incorporated. Since the show is on Facebook, I know they have to use Facebook products, but seriously, no teen uses Facebook to connect with friends, they do it for the older family members to message them, and maybe see a few racist/homophobic posts made by them. The actors are young and inexperienced, so I can kind of get not having their performances be the best of the best, but Megan is not good at all. I’m sorry, but her performance was the weak link in this whole thing, and her and Marlon are the most annoying couple of all SKAM, and that’s including Vilde and Magnus from the OG, who were sucking faces 24/7. Their relationship was pretty shitty and I was not rooting for either of them, especially after I found out that Marlon was a drug dealer and Megan still stayed with him. All they did was smush and argue, with not good chemistry or emotions from Megan. Marlon is pretty delusional in that he thinks his music is 1) good, 2) something he can live off of. Also, the car wash breakup sex scene is so overdone at this point. Has anyone ever been to a car wash, it doesn’t last that long, so all that passionate smushing probably lasted for a maximum of 3 minutes in real life. The bowling date was weird in that there was no one else there besides them, so did 4 teenagers rent out an entire bowling alley for a double date? The actors are teenagers from Texas for the most part, so I am kind of shocked that they didn’t tell Julie and the writers about how they would act in school to add to the realism. I am very thankful that watching this series led me to discovering SKAM universe, but I am sort of not the most excited for season 2, since having watched how great all of the remakes are, it’s very hard to compete. I don’t know how the show is going to go on after season 2, since Daniel is graduating in May/June, so after that is Grace going to London with him? Because of the long hiatus, the show has 2 more seasons after season 2 to do if they want to do it the OG way, and there’s like one year left on the clock to do so, but like the show only produces one season a year, so I’m not sure how it’s going to work out. Wishing them the best, hope they get renewed so they can improve. When season 2 comes, I may watch it just to see if anything’s improved.

Notes and observations about the way different remakes handle the actors social media:

It was really interesting to see SKAM NL and SKAM Espana come out at the same time, yet have such different approach to the actors’ social media usage. SKAM Espana actors all have their social media on private and they don’t really post anything, according to what I’ve heard. But SKAM NL cast have public social media, and they comment and like stuff if they are tagged on it. SKAM Austin, SKAM Italia, and SKAM France cast also have public social media. Some of the SKAM Italia cast will also answer questions about the show if you DM them, which is pretty cool. On the flip side, Druck and WTFock’s cast is have private Instagrams. But weirdly enough I have seen some of the WTFock cast like stuff on Twitter, along with their director, which is cool since they know what their audience is responding to. The actor who plays Alex on Druck, Chris Veres, posts Instagram lives where he answered questions about the show, but for the rest of the cast they are pretty irregular with social media usage.

Please let me know if you agree or disagree with me, and what things you thought I overlooked in my evaluation of each remake. I’m open to hear your thoughts as well, but please don’t diss one remake/version for another. We all love different things. Sorry for the long essay length, I got so into it and spent 5 hours typing my thoughts it, it may not be very cohesive, but it pretty summarizes my thoughts on each remake and the reasoning behind it.

#skam #skam remakes #druck #wtfock #skamnl #skam italia #skam france #skam españa #skam austin

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martinlawless · 3 years

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National Masters Circuit Race Championship 2021. Age Category 45-49 Race.

British Cycling, National A Race E1234 Leicester Cycle Circuit Sunday 4 July 2021

The National Masters Circuit Race Championships… a chance to win a proper National jersey for the year as recognition by British Cycling. There are separate category races in 5-year bands from 30+. Men and Women.

This year is my last in the 45-49 year band. Everyone’s UCI birthday is 1st Jan, so I’ll be 50 next year on the final bong from Big Ben. I did this race two years ago and really enjoyed the event and scene. So I made it a priority to sign up to this one early on and focus in on it.

The race would be on the Leicester Cycle Circuit. I’d never been there before. Turns out to be a very good 1km loop. Tarmac quality excellent and good safe run-offs onto grass (take note Colchester). It’s not technical, really. Though racing makes things technical. A simple circuit means more speed. More speed means more reaction times required on challenges and opportunities that appear in the bunch. And, as ever, the wind and weather makes a virtual hill - turning a stretch into a danger zone that can challenge riders and generate a split. The course is dumbbell shaped, with the northern loop being tighter than the southern one. The northern one rises a bit too.

I set off in the car in very good time. I didn’t have anything to hold back for and get there to see teammate Chris in his 40-44 category race. His field is smaller than ours. Maybe 25 riders. It’s a tough race. Chris goes heroic and into the first break of four from the gun. Hauled in and blitzed, he finds it hard to stick at the back recovering while fresh breaks occur. It’s a reminder to me that in my 75 mins race there will be several attacks. If I find myself in a break, it has to be decisive - or I’m bailing out back to the bunch. I’ll burn up easily otherwise.

I’ve got my crit wheels on. New second-hand Dura-Ace C35 tubular wheels. Ramped up to 110psi just to feel extra bad-ass. Super quick and nippy. I sign in. Pin up. I nearly forget to put on the transponder, which would be a disaster. There’s a good chance of a heavy shower, but it’s warm. So race suit only. Becoming less racy with every wash. Factor 50 suncream. I love my Koo eyewear, but for close-quarters crit stuff, I prefer my “100%” wraparounds that give me brilliant peripheral vision and eyes in the back of my head. I feel like a bit of a doofus Daft Punk wannabe. But - hey, safety first. I do a regular back garden workout. I always add in stretching around the neck and shoulders in simulation of the constant need to look around you in a tight race. I should do pilates and yoga as I get older too.

I have a good little chat with James from Cinnamon-Contour. He’s bandaged up like Roglic having had a crash in the sprint at Hillingdon in one of the rehearsal races last week. I’m impressed he’s back. I also bump into Chris from Verulam. I’m confident he’ll do well. The course suits his atomic finishing sprint power. He finished 3rd in one of the rehearsal races. Other than that, I don’t really know anyone - jut a few of the usual faces and backsides. It’s a good thing: it means the race is bringing in people from all regions - not just the south and east. I hear all sorts of accents. I’m concerned by how fit looking some of these old boys appear!

Our race is the most popular. I’m unsure why, but I have a theory it’s because mid-life crisis is peaking as people get to 50. One last chance to pretend to be Sam Bennett, Cav or Caleb.

This is a proper British Cycling event. The briefing is more stringent than the usual “rock-up with a banana and go” race. This adds nicely to the drama ahead. It feels significant. Points go down to 15th place. The top-third will score today. I am in a bit of a downward points spiral from my current 2nd Cat licence. The points started late this season - early races were zero-points post-COVID. And now I can’t see where I’ll get them from. I simply can’t find the time or BC events. To be honest though: a gentle relegation into 3rd Category doesn’t bother me at all. I’ll have more options to race.

There’s always something to forget or nearly forget. It’s a gel at the start this time. But I remember in time on the start line. I will have another halfway I reckon. I put my finger on my Wahoo to ensure I don’t forget to start the all-important Strava. We have two neutralised laps behind the car to get used to the bends and we’re released.

It’s a steady start. I expect we are all mostly unfamiliar with the course and each other and just want to walk into this one. Eventually, there’s a break and the peloton cranks up.

In a rather unconventional prep, I’d ridden a Hilly TT the Sunday before, a Zwift crit Monday, a tired chaingang Tuesday. Then did the Fred Whitton loop in the Lake District on Thursday with three friends. I’m unsure 110 miles featuring the toughest ascents in England, three sleeps before a short high energy effort, is in any training manual. After the Fred, I did not turn a pedal. I was unsure where my legs would be. In the first few laps I’m relieved to feel they are fine. A sports massage helped. In fact, I feel good. The Fred had raised my pain threshold it felt. When asked to dig deep, it was no problem.

I’m pleased to be lolling around the top third or so in the bunch. The first break gets a third of a lap gap. But the bunch aren’t really bothered. All the same, there’s always a rider or two getting frustrated about the lack of coherence in hauling them in. The laws of physics prevail, and the first break fizzles out eventually.

I can hear Chris cheer me on each lap which is motivating. I concentrate on my line, holding it, seizing gaps where possible and generally keeping my nose clean. As expected, I don’t feel I can be in a small break. I just need to watch out for a big split. I can feel this isn’t going to happen though after a while.

The wind is a bit tasty. As much as it’s valuable to look at those big flags you get at events for the direction, you can’t beat throwing a bit of grass up in the air before a race for the truth.

It gets tight at times. This Leicester doesn’t feel that wide. I go onto the grass on one lap to avoid a clash. In these situations you don’t panic, just glide back on and everything is all right. I get a good backside push on another lap. No problem. ‘On your left’, ‘On your right’. All the good calls you want in a race. No daft riding here which was appreciated.

A second break is brought in. Then on 37 minutes, the decisive break from Ian, who everyone seemed to fear, was made. He would take another rider with him and the bunch would let him go pretty easily.

The last laps approach and the race dynamic changes. The bunch gets top heavy as people prepare for the sprint. The last few laps are very twitchy. We are wide across the lane and very tight as everyone jostles for the sprint. I find myself in the middle of the bunch at times and hate it: locked in shoulder to shoulder. There’s few oohs and aaahs as riders barge each other. I see one rider barged and he has to unclip to save himself. He skips along the road on foot at 30mph+ and re-clips without losing too much momentum. It’s impressive control regained. I can see Verulam Chris inching forward. I want to keep on his wheel but the way through is blocked. It’s always remarkable how you might have a few laps to make a simple move up a few bike lengths - yet it’s just not doable. Stuck.

Into the final lap and final bend, it’s high speed but I’ve got something extra in the tank to give. I am forced wide if I’m to apply any sprint. This puts me out of the draught, and I lose momentum, but I gain a clean run. My sprint is OK. I can hold a decent effort for 10 seconds, albeit I won’t be strong enough to gain ground. The front of the tight sprint pulls away while I come in just off the back of it but ahead of the string of others behind.

I replay the last moments over and over. It’s hard to see what else I could have done except to maybe find more confidence in my endurance to move up and hold a premium position early on. I eventually scan the data. I’m 21st and ahead of me are many names I know to be strong. I’m happy with that.

I return to the car park and change. I have a good post-race chat with Chris. He has crazy high power and he’ll smash a race soon, with a bit of luck, choosing the right break. I decide to have a peep at the Cat 3-4 race going on after ours. As I rock up, there’s a crash at the most basic point of the course. Four riders down. Three get back up gingerly, one a lot slower. I’m thankful our race ended safe and well. Take out the neutralised laps and our race is well over 27mph average. Dynamic and speedchess-like reactions required at all times.

Tired of sugary things, I crave salt, so stop off at the nearby McDonalds on the way back. The most biblical thunderstorm kicks off in the drive-thru. I wonder what would have happened to our race in such conditions. As I carefully navigate the motorway with Lance Armstrong’s ‘The Move’ on Spotify, I wonder if they black flag circuit races for lightning as we all go around a big open field sat on quite metallic things.

I think about next year’s Masters and take a look at the results for this year’s 50-54 category. I’m slightly disappointed to see names of strong riders I know struggle to reach the points. It’s a useful reminder that it never gets easier - we just get older.

Strava link: https://www.strava.com/activities/5574763935

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inquiringquilter · 3 years

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My Day on the Island Batik Create for a Cause Blog Hop

Welcome to my day on the Island Batik Create for a Cause Blog Hop!

This blog hop is all about charity. Quilters are charitable by nature, so this blog hop really celebrates us all!

For the blog hop, each Ambassador was tasked with designing and making a quilt for a local or national charity.

So by hopping from one Ambassador to another during the hop, you’ll see many great charity quilt designs. In addition, you’ll see the latest batiks from the Island Batik Fall 2020 collections, just arriving now in a quilt store near you.

The blog hop also features giveaways from Island Batik and from many of the Ambassadors. Look for my giveaway at the end of this post.

Each Ambassador got a special Fall 2020 collection to use for the hop. I got Lavender Fields, designed by my friend Tammy Silvers of Tamarinis. Isn’t is gorgeous?

We were each sent 1/2 yard of each of the fabrics in our featured collection, along with 2 yard cuts of a light and a dark fabric from the collection to use in our design. In addition, several coordinating fabrics from the Basics and Blenders collections were included in our boxes for use with this project or any project we wished.

So I had a lot of fabric with which to create my design.

When I make a charity quilt, I want it to be pretty of course, but also fast and fun to make. Scrappy quilts that let me use up my stash are also a plus when making a charity quilt. All of these things were on my mind as I pondered the design I would use for my charity quilt.

I call my design Baubles.

I chose a solid black batik for the background because it really made the colors pop!

My design was fast to cut using my AccuQuilt GO! fabric cutter. This was my first time using the 2-1/2” strip cutter and I really loved it!

Since I quilt my quilts using my home machine, I needed a fast and easy quilting plan too. I chose straight lines of varying distances. The quilting enhanced the design I think, and certainly left the quilt soft and supple!

I used the black batik solid for the binding, and pulled from my fabric stash for the backing.

Here are the quilt details:

"Baubles" 60” x 60" Original Design Fabrics: Island Batik Lavender Fields collection and Black (Solids collection) Backing: Non-batiks pulled from my stash Binding: Black (Solids collection) Batting: Hobbs 80/20 Piecing Thread: Aurifil 50 wt. #2692 (Black) Quilting Threads: Aurifil 50 wt. 2545 (Medium Purple) Needle: Schmetz Chrome 80/12 Pieced and quilted by Jennifer Fulton

My Charity

To locate a charity for my quilt, I started with the local Project Linus coordinator. The store where I work acts as a drop off point for Project Linus and as I’m the charity coordinator in the store I’ve gotten to know Julie quite well. Project Linus is focused on providing blankets or quilts to children aged 0 to 18, and we both thought my quilt looked more adult so we searched for another charity.

Julie works with many charities, and she thought that Habitat for Humanity might be the perfect place for my quilt donation. I believe in Habitat for Humanity and was thrilled to donate my quilt to them.

After talking with Liz the local Habitat for Humanity coordinator, we decided to donate my quilt to Mohamad and Nisreen, a Syrian family who are hoping to create a new home in the US after surviving incredible tragedies and hardships.

The home is just now being built so I will donate my quilt later, after the family has a home. Stay tuned!

Donating a Quilt

Here are some things to consider when donating a quilt.

Match your quilt to the needs of the charity

The simplest way to ensure your quilt is a perfect fit for the receiver is to work directly with a charity or a charity coordinator. Most quilt guilds have a charity coordinator, so talk to them to find out the specific needs before you make a quilt.

If you don’t have a local guild, there are many national charities that will accept your quilt such as Quilts of Valor, Quilts of Honor, Project Linus, Quilts for Kids and Victoria’s Quilts.

If you can only make a quilt top, make sure you provide a way for it to be quilted. Some guilds already have a system in place to tie or quilt donated tops, but if not, you can tie your quilt yourself or pay to have a longarmer finish it. Some longarmers will give you a discount or even donate their time if they know it’s going to charity, while others prefer to work directly with a guild to ensure that the quilt really does end up in a charity and not a quilter’s home.

Label your quilt

Include washing instructions for the quilt, and a history of it’s maker, materials, completion date and other details.

clean your quilt

Washing your quilt before donating it will ensure that it’s free of allergens in your home. Also, be sure to clip your threads and remove any loose threads/lint from the top.

Seal it in a bag

If you are mailing your quilt, make sure you seal it in a bag to prevent rain/other contaminants from getting in during shipping.

Make a pillowcase

Make a matching pillowcase for your quilt to be presented in. It’s a great way to use up those scraps!

If you can’t make a quilt for charity, consider making pillowcases. The Million Pillowcase Challenge and A Case for Smiles are two great charities to donate to.

Be Sure to Enter My Giveaway!

I’m giving away a set of 2-1/2” strips cut from the leftovers from the Lavender Fields collection.

To enter, complete the Rafflecopter below.

You’ll get one chance for leaving a comment. Be sure to leave your email address!

You can earn an extra chance for following me—just leave a comment telling me how you follow.

Finally, you can earn one more chance to win by visiting my special Facebook group, Quilting with the Inquiring Quilter. I’d love for you to join my group and get the latest updates from my blog and special content. If you join, be sure to tell me something about you and your quilting projects so we can get to know each other!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: No purchase necessary to win. Giveaway is open to legal residents in the contiguous US only that are 18+ years of age and who are not current Island Batik Ambassadors. Giveaway starts at midnight EST February 8th and ends at midnight EST on February 19th. One winner will receive a 2-1/2” Strip pack from the Island Batik Lavender Fields collection with a total value of approximately $30. Odds of winning determined by number of eligible entries received. How to enter: complete the Rafflecopter above. Winner will be chosen by random.org on February 20th, 2021 from all eligible entries and notified by email. If winner can not be reached via email or prize is unclaimed after three days, a new winner will be chosen by random.org. Winner is responsible for paying any taxes related to the prize. By entering this giveaway, you release Inquiring Quilter from any liability whatsoever. Void where prohibited by law.

Island Batik is also Having a Giveaway!

This week, you can win either a 10” Stack or a 2-1/2” Strip pack from the Mystery collection designed by Claudia Pfeil. Use the Rafflecopter below to enter. The giveaway ends February 12th at 11:59 PM PST. The winner will be notified via email on February 13th and announced February 16th. If the winners do not respond within two days of being notified, two new random winners will be chosen.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Visit the Other Ambassadors!

Every day during the hop, a different Island Batik Fall 2020 collection is being featured. Be sure to visit the participating Ambassador’s blogs every day of the hop to see their gorgeous quilts and to enter their giveaways!

Drop by Emily @ The Darling Dogwood today to see the quilt she made with Lavender Fields.

Click here to see the entire schedule for the hop. Be sure to visit everyone, even the Ambassador’s who have already presented their quilts!

I’d love to see what you’re working on. Come back tomorrow to link up a photo to my weekly Wednesday Wait Loss.

Disclosure: The products featured here were provided to me free of charge by Island Batik, Aurifil, Hobbs, AccuQuilt GO!, and Schmetz.