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nightswithkookmin · 2 years

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How did Tae have so much power as to have a different contractual agreement

Uhmm, do you understand the concept of contracts? A contract is simply someone making you an offer and you agreeing to that offer or making your own counter offer if their offer don't sit right with you.

He doesn't have to be powerful to have a different contractual agreement, he simply must have different needs, different goals, and different aspirations.

For instance, hybe may offer to buy each member a million dollar house in exchange for unlimited use of their publicity rights as celebrities.

If he decides he would rather stay in his mother's house and commute to work and thus limit the ways hybe can use his publicity rights his contract will of course be different from anyone who agreed to the offer of the million dollar house.

Or much complexly, he might decide to pay half of that money on the house upfront with his own money while offering to produce two whole albums for Hybe in exchange for Hybe paying the remaining half of the million dollar house.

And when Hybe agrees and he gives hybe the Album them hybe can use that album however they want without needing Tae's permission or even crediting or paying him for it. Or of course Tae might insist he is given credit at least.

BTS as a band collectively have a band agreement or partnership agreement between themselves and between themselves and the company. As a collective. This agreement may spell out who owns the rights to the music they make, how they are gonna share money- either equally or based on age, based on who contributes what, who gets credited for what, how their brand image is to be managed- like they said, they all agreed not to come on vlive drunk. Things like that.

But individually these are also artists that are managed by the company- separately. In terms of their publicity rights and how long the company can profit off of their images, the specific geographical locations within which the company can hold these rights over them. An example will be how members of a certain kpop group were allowed to pursue a career only in say China while the company maintained the rights over any work they'd done in Korea.

The contract could even cover the type of content the company can create based off of the artists image. For instance, an artist may be comfortable having their images associated with adult content or fanfic while some may want nothing to do with it. Example, the seven of fates wattpad stuff they did and the controversies around it. I recall some of the members expressing discontent with it. Then you'd have moments where Jungkook had said he preferred a certain color over what the others went with.

These individual differences exist. And while some are resolved by the dictates of the collective contracts or partnership agreement- which may say majority carries the vote or RMs word must be the final in determining certain choices, it's much harder when it comes to matters that affect them individually.

Separately, they all have different concerns and different goals and different directions they want to take with their career and the company is there to make it happen for them.

Just because they all work under the same company in the same band don't mean they all must have the same terms and conditions in their contract. If they did, all of them would be actors for example because the agreement that allows Taehyung to be an actor would bind the others as well and they will all be doing the same gigs all the time. But clearly that hasn't been the case.

I remember during a live when Jimin wanted to do one of his solo choreos and they were quick to point out he was plugging and promoting his solo work so he stopped. If they all benefited equally from his solo projects why make a fuss about it?

Contracts don't work that way.

One person may agree to hybe having 100% control over their image for X duration of time in exchange for say a higher pay check while another might agree to less pay if it means only giving hybe 50% of control of their image for little amount of time while they retain the other 50% therefore can contract individually with brands without necessarily involving the company.

Similarly, some members could have a contract that allows them to own the rights in the music they make while others sign off their rights fully over to the company and so any work they produce would be owned by the company- especially those who owe large debt to the company.

So for instance, hybe could sell off the right to friends to marvel without necessarilt involving Jimin if Jimin although a producer don't own the right to song because he'd sold it to the company. Hypothetically speaking.

So while for instance Tae or Suga can make music on their own and promote it however they deem fit through whichever channels they want, that autonomy might also bar them from collaborating with any member of BTS at will in their personal projects. To do that they might have to pay the artist like he would any other artist outside BTS because not everyone is as autonomous. Again hypothetically speaking.

So you hear certain members complain they couldn't work on a project with another member because someone in the company didn't let them.

Namjoon does a lot of work for the members and as an artist under a management that management is entitled to a certain percentage of the money he earns from every work he does. So if he is doing all this work for free then the company gets nothing.

Contrastingly, Jungkook couldn't possibly use his image and reputation to promote his brother's business if he wanted to. His brother couldn't use Jungkook's face on his products to promote them either. If he did the company could sue him. Just as they would sue any of us if we tried.

I don't how long you've been in the Fandom, but there was a time the boy's contract forbade them from even taking photos with fans on the streets. And during their vacation the company would issue statements requesting fans to leave them alone. When certain memebers were alleged to be dating the company issued statements saying they asked their artists and their artists said no- these days they just say it's their private matter and leave it at such.

The boys have also complained about moments where the food they eat are billed to them and taken out of the monies they are supposed to earn.

If someone like Jimin doesn't want the company providing his meals because he thinks they charge too much it is within his right to say we'll take that out. Don't provide me with food. I'll provide my own food from now. And if during a live, everyone was served with food and he wasn't then you'd know why.

There's just so many possibilities.

Aha, take Tae doing all these fashiony stuff now. Before it used to be all seven always because they couldn't be contracted individually as brand anything for companies- not sure if they still can but they headed that way for sure.

Now, do you think the others will get a cut out of the income and revenue their individual projects will generate? Or they only get to share royalties and revenue from the income their collective bond BTS generates?

Let's take it all the way back to their trainee period. Some members were flown to the us to get dance training. Others couldn't even get adequate voice training. Why would the company choose to go all out on others while playing stingy on another? Favoritism? Perhaps. But it could also be the contracts. Hybe is an investment company that invests money in people and hope to reap it later. The more they invest in you, the more you have to pay. Not all members would agree to the company pushing too much money into them. While others would take the offer and go.

Some might agree to fly first class and pay for it later, some won't. But I sure hope, these days their flights are taken care off by sponsors if not they should release Jimin to me. So help me I will fly him on my private broomstick wherever he wants. Hang on baby

I wager Jungkook is or was more indebted to the company more so than say Jimin or Tae. And the hyungs, RM, Suga might be earning slightly more from the company than the rest for producing for the company along side being band mates.

Thus, I don't expect them to have the same contract as the others.

Freedom to contract gives Tae the power to determine what his terms and conditions are. It's not a one size fit all situation. The same applies to the others.

Hypothetically.

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voyd-is-in-a-portal · 4 years

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How to End Up Being an Inventor (In 5 Actions).

We consulted with numerous expert inventors to boil down the tricks of the craft. Some have made jobs out of an invention, others have found markets. If you're sitting on an idea that might be the next terrific American invention, below's your playbook.

1. Cultivate an Idea.

The record of the invention is studded with one-hit marvels, inventors whose solitary blockbuster suggestion made them a fortune. However one of the most prolific inventors can not switch off the idea maker. They are also troubled as well as creative. Inventors just see life's many obstacles in a different way than the average person, according to medical-devices inventor Robert Fischell. "The key to inventing is the awareness that a problem is a trigger from which an invention can be created," says Fischell, who holds more than 200 patents for advancements such as an implantable heart defibrillator and also enhanced stents. "When I'm in the operating room as well as a doctor tosses a device against the wall in irritation, I claim, 'Great, here's an opportunity.'".

Fischell, who at the elevation of his profession filed a new patent application every six weeks, wastes no time in determining whether his most recent concept satisfies the patent test of being brand-new, beneficial, and also nonobvious. He goes right to the U.S. Patent as well as Hallmark Workplace's database of released patents (patft.uspto.gov) and performs a search. "If you review a patent, as well as someone, has currently resolved the issue, after that you're still an inventor. You just arrived late," he says.

If, after an initial search, your idea verifies unique, after that continue developing it. Be reasonable concerning what you're obtaining right into. "The moment you commit will be dual what you believe it will be, as well as the buck amounts you devote will be 4 times what you assumed," Leatherman states.

Make drafts, execute examinations, expand principles, and keep comprehensive notes. Patent lawyers suggest their customers preserve a visit a completely bound notebook that obtains stamped by a notary public frequently. A logbook becomes essential in cases before the U.S. Patent and also Trademark Workplace including similar technologies, as the burden of proof is up to patent applicants to demonstrate that they were the initial to conceive of an invention.

At this onset in the video game, your investment of personal time and money will have been minor compared with what is around the bend. Before the case, you'll need to ask some hard questions about both your concept as well as on your own: Is my idea significantly different than any that precede it? Exists a large market for the product? Can it be developed and made at a reasonable expense? That is the client, and why should they get my product as well as not a competitor's? Am I prepared to devote myself fully to making this concept do well?

Inventors who have been via the process care not to undervalue the psychological and mental determination called for. "If you can't afford mentally and intellectually to fail if your vanity would certainly be wiped out after that don't do it.". see also InventHelp TV Commercial

2. Develop a Model.

With the schedule of powerful computing and computer-assisted layout software application like Autodesk Inventor as well as SolidWorks 3D CAD, inventors today live in what Kamen describes as "the utmost sweet-shop." The earliest versions of Kamen's first invention, a wearable mixture pump that provides specific dosages of medicines such as insulin, sprang to life out a computer system display yet in a workshop set up in the basement of his parents' home on Long Island, N.Y. Kamen was a teenager at the time.

Also when made in a highly exact digital CAD atmosphere, an item ultimately has to leap to the genuine globe in the kind of a model. Depending on the materials entailed and the complexity of an invention, the expense of making a high-quality prototype can empty a financial institution account as well as compel an inventor to look for financing at an extremely early stage.

Tim Leatherman supports taking a DIY technique. During an experimental phase lasting three years, he constructed prototypes of his groundbreaking multitool from cardboard, wood, as well as steel till he picked advanced layout. "By collaborating with my hands," he says, "I found out about barriers to performance as well as manufacturability.".

When you have your prototype, it's time to repair your invention. Obtain outside your head and go-to experts in the field, Fischell suggests. "Ask, 'Do you believe my suggestion has business benefit? Would certainly you utilize it?' Make them authorize a privacy arrangement," he says. For inventors, the possibility of copyright burglary is very actual, but way too much caution can become immobilizing. Privacy, or nondisclosure, the contract permits you to field-test in confidence.

Responses from Mario Salazar's target audience-- woodworkers-- compelled the Colorado Springs inventor to adjust his digital miter gauge. The mechanical prototype he constructed in the cellar with a blowpipe, an oscilloscope, and also a milling maker noticed eBay worked efficiently as well as felt ideal to Salazar, yet the tradespersons wanted it bigger as well as much more inexpensive. "You can't fall for your invention," he states. "Obtain responses and also make alterations accordingly.".

In the agitated company world, a patent protects the inventor by providing the unique right to leave out others from making, making use of, or offering his invention for 20 years. "When other people see you making cash, your patent will be the only methods you have for keeping control of the market," claims Lonnie Johnson, founder of Johnson ElectroMechanical types of equipment as well as the inventor of the Super Soaker water weapon. Follow inventhelp for more advice:

https://www.linkedin.com/company/inventhelp

https://twitter.com/inventhelp

3. Submit a Patent.

Patent law is made complex things, so get an experienced patent lawyer to write and also file your patent application. Anticipate to pay in between $3000 as well as $10,000. "Work with a patent lawyer who additionally has a level in the field you're making an application for a patent in and who understands your market," Salazar encourages.

A knowledgeable lawyer can prepare a wide patent that safeguards an invention against violation from any angle. In the case of Richard Phillips, proprietor of International Survival, his well-crafted patent application made it impossible for anybody to replicate the slim, shock-absorbing material he developed for his protective paintball vest. "My legal representative spread out the patent out thus far over and below my laminated foam product's residential properties that a competitor's vest would certainly have to be so hefty the wearer couldn't walk approximately light that the vest falls apart when struck," Phillips states.

On standard, patent authorization takes 3 years and may call for going back as well as forth several times with patent examiners. From the moment a patent application arrives at the USPTO up until it is either provided or abandoned, an invention is covered by patent-pending standing. In the situation of John Marsden, that created Pour 'N Shop, a bartending system of plastic containers, and also put spouts for beverage mixers, a pending patent amounted to a suit of paper armor.

According to Salazar, any kind of inventor has to be all set to do battle. "I'll have my attorney send out a cease-and-desist letter if somebody infringes on my patent. As well as in the end, a patent is just as great as the thickness of your pocketbook.".

4. Examine the Market.

When the patent application is in total, the inventor needs to change from developing a suggestion of developing a service. Rare is the innovative brilliant behind an invention that likewise has business chops-- or the interest-- to look after the manufacture, advertising, and also selling of his production. Even the brightest innovative minds can drop victim to the countless rip-offs and also doubtful invention-promotion companies whose advertisements clutter the Internet. Many expert inventors urge care with any kind of attire that requests for cash upfront to shop your suggestions about.

Tim Leatherman built up important know-how in business and also production by joining with Steve Berliner. John Marsden, the Pour 'N Store designer, partnered early on with service school grad Ed Harrigan. "If I had not had Ed, I probably would not have made it," he says.

Marketing research studies-- perform your own or appoint a market research company-- will certainly provide you data concerning market patterns and customer demographics. There is no substitute, nevertheless, for putting your invention in front of potential consumers as well as manufacturers, providers, and distributors to get a sense of its market value. For the inventor, this is an anxious time.

Salazar is a big believer in showing your items at trade shows. "You'll figure out who is doing what, whether you'll be able to contend and if somebody wants to get what you have," he claims. "However you're additionally dropping your cabinets and every person will see what you've obtained. Your item had better be 95 percent complete. Be ready to answer concerns: Just how huge is the market? That's mosting likely to buy it?".

5. Sell It or Make It.

Inventors make cash in two means: collecting aristocracies by certifying the right to produce their invention or production, distributing, and marketing the invention themselves. Louis J. Foreman, owner, and also the primary executive of Enventys, an item style as well as a design firm in Charlotte, N.C., and writer of The Independent Inventor's Handbook, has personally encountered that problem several times as the holder of 10 licenses as well as has encouraged many inventors as a lead court on the PBS program Everyday Edisons.

Then it's time to ask yourself one more round of questions: First, exists enough upside potential to merit the threat of bringing the item to market on your own? "Consider opportunity costs also," Foreman says. "If you have to quit a job that pays $100,000, can you make enough to counter that?" Second, do you have the financial resources to pull it off? If you don't, then where is the money most likely to originate from? And lastly, do you have the competence to run an organization? "It's one point to come up with a remarkable item, however, are you comfy marketing it, can you distribute it, restore it as well as satisfy orders if Walmart offers you a 5-million-piece purchase order?" Supervisor claims.

No question licensing is the less complicated path to getting an invention to market. It requires less dedication of time as well as up-front resources and frees inventors to do what they do best: invent. However, expedience comes with an expense. Royalty prices on patents-- created on the list price, production run, as well as various other variables-- average less than 2 to 7 percent of retail sales. Still, for a first-time inventor brief on funds and also know-how, a licensing contract can be the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

#InventHelp #InventHelp phone number #InventHelp address #InventHelp locations #InventHelp twitter #InventHelp linkedin #InventHelp blog

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raptured-night · 4 years

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Alright here are other ones that I had asked for to deathdaydungeon but they seem to be occupied for a while... There is a theory saying that Neville had a Snape Boggart because Snape had threatened Trevor, which represented Neville’s “proof” that he wasn’t a Squib, as he feared so. In this case, why didn’t he have a dead Trevor as a Boggart instead? Do you think that Snape expressing his worry over how James fancies Lily could be consistent evidence he wanted to date her or not?

I do believe that @deathdaydungeon has shared a few of their thoughts on Neville’s Boggart before that you may find of interest since they’ve not yet been able to respond to your ask. Indeed, the entire discussion following their own thoughts is well worth a read, and here’s another version where I share just a few of my own thoughts.

That being said, I’m going to cite from a much older and very lengthy discussion post I once wrote regarding Snape as I went into a great length and detail exploring the potential symbolism of Neville’s Boggart to Neville and some of the psychological implications. Because that particular meta covered such a broad range of topics concerning Snape and that particular bit came at the very end of what proved to be a 20k word essay simply linking you to it and expecting you to search through it all to find the sections that pertain to your ask seems less reasonable than simply quoting from that portion of the meta here (although if you find yourself with a bit of time and the interest for it, here is the link to that monster of a meta all the same). So, with that said, here are my thoughts on Neville’s Boggart, Trevor, Boggart!Snape, and Boggarts overall.

I have often challenged Harry’s narrator as one that is intentionally designed to be biased or unreliable (notably it is a limited-omniscient perspective) in order to demonstrate how it can influence reader perception of characters and even the world the characters occupy. However, the discrepancy between Harry’s perspective of how he is treated by the Dursleys and Neville’s perspective of his own family and how he is treated is revealing exactly because it is made more apparent for being presented through Harry’s narrative. From the start of HP: PS, Harry’s narrative wastes little time in painting for the reader a picture of abuse and unhappiness where Harry’s life with the Dursleys is concerned. With Dudley serving as our counterpoint to emphasize the extreme neglect, abuse and more general mistreatment that Harry suffers while under their roof (e.g. being forced to sleep in a cupboard with spiders while Dudley has a second room, being bullied and beaten while Dudley’s is doted on, even having his hair cut in a humiliating fashion while Dudley receives a new school uniform, etc.), Rowling’s narrative also expresses to the reader Harry’s awareness of the injustice of his situation and his feelings of resentment, discontent, and helplessness. When it comes to the Dursleys and their cruel treatment of Harry the narrative does function as a mostly reliable gauge for the reader to go by. Thus, when the reader is confronted with Neville’s account of his own family experiences in HP: PS I would argue that what makes it the most jarring is the fact that it goes against the precedent set by Harry and his narrative, in that Neville does not appear to recognize anything out of the ordinary in how he has been treated:

"Well, my gran brought me up and she's a witch," said Neville, "but the family thought I was all- Muggle for ages. My Great Uncle Algie kept trying to catch me off my guard and force some magic out of me -- he pushed me off the end of Blackpool pier once, I nearly drowned -- but nothing happened until I was eight. Great Uncle Algie came round for dinner, and he was hanging me out of an upstairs window by the ankles when my Great Auntie Enid offered him a meringue and he accidentally let go. But I bounced -- all the way down the garden and into the road. They were all really pleased, Gran was crying, she was so happy. And you should have seen their faces when I got in here -- they thought I might not be magic enough to come, you see. Great Uncle Algie was so pleased he bought me my toad."

Notably, Neville joins the other first-years like Seamus Finnegan in very casually relating details about his home life to his new peers and the reader learns that he would appear to come from a family that would risk potentially killing him over the possibility that he might have been born a Squib (the way that Squibs might function as an allegory for neurodivergence and disability is, in itself, an interesting subject to explore; especially given the attitudes of Neville’s grandmother and uncle, whose behaviors might be compared to those of modern anti-vaccers, so-called “autism awareness” groups like Autism Speaks that promote an idea of autism as a disease to be cured, and those parents who treat their disabled children in abliest ways). Indeed, it would appear that Trevor was a gift from the same uncle who had constantly tried to catch him off guard (in the same way Dudley and his friends always forced Harry to be on the defensive) and held him out of a window before thoughtlessly dropping him, which does add a new dimension to his emotional attachment to his toad (a reward from an abusive uncle just for not being so inadequate that he failed to get into Hogwarts). The stark difference between Neville and Harry’s perceptions of their families and their unique responses to how they are treated does give us some potential insight into their insecurities and measurements of self-worth.

Additionally, it gives us some potential insight into the possible sociocultural attitudes of wizarding society and might suggest that behaviors like those from Neville’s family are normalized and not regarded as abusive so much as they are accepted as just another extension of the “eccentricity” of their world. It is of interest that when Harry receives his first acceptance letter to Hogwarts addressed to “The Cupboard under the Stairs” the Dursley’s appear concerned at being caught out and move Harry to Dudley’s second room. They are also temporarily said to have tried to seem “nicer” to him, likely for fear of being watched. Moreover, the Dursley’s do show some indication that they may be aware that their treatment of Harry is abusive and would be viewed negatively by most of their Muggle society when Harry joins them at the zoo and Vernon Dursley reluctantly buys him a lemon-flavored ice cream to save face when the vendor draws attention to Harry being excluded. Overall, the very fact that Neville did feel so comfortable openly discussing his Uncle Algie’s treatment of him and the low opinion his family all appear to share about his magical capability does seem to support a point of contrast between Muggle and wizard societies and their views on abuse and child endangerment.

Furthermore, the different ways that Harry and Neville react to Severus is also revealing. Especially as there have been numerous discussions about the psychological factors that may have contributed to Severus’s seeming disdain for Harry and Neville but fewer discussions seem to be devoted to exploring Harry’s own strong animosity for Severus or the source of Neville’s potential fear of him. Significantly, we can observe that for Harry the protection afforded by Lily’s sacrifice does create a scenario where he must return to the Dursley’s at the end of each school year (in some ways, one could observe that the consequences of Lily’s death bind both Harry and Severus to an environment where they sustained most of their trauma). Thus, we see where any outward defiance within the household of the Dursleys is complicated by the requirement that Harry must remain with the Dursleys even after he learns he has magic. Instead, Harry has to mostly resort to cunning acts of self-defense (e.g. taking advantage of the Dursley’s ignorance of the Underage Secrecy Laws to lead them to believe he can use magic against them) or we see that his resistance assumes a more passive-aggressive tone (understandable given the retaliation he can expect from direct confrontation) with the exception of HP: PoA, when Aunt Marge’s sustained verbal abuse and threats over the course of two weeks manages to trigger an explosion of magic in Harry.

Whereas, at Hogwarts, we see Harry buck against authority more and more each year and Severus remains the focal point of his more active resistance. His refusal to address Severus using his title or forms of respect, even in the face of correction by multiple sources, culminates in Harry openly sassing Severus in his sixth year (”You don’t have to call me sir, Professor.”). He becomes more openly brazen in working around Severus, confronting him, and defying him when challenged. As the series progresses, Harry’s enmity toward Severus grows until we see a rancor of mutual proportions between them that culminates in Harry chasing Severus out of Hogwarts throwing curses in HP: HBP. Thus, where Harry cannot so openly defy the Dursleys, in many ways, Severus becomes a figure of authority (one who seems to unfairly hate him and who is biased against him and his house) that he can more safely (i.e. where resistance with the Dursleys might result in real harm or consequences defying Severus results in detention at worst and lost house points at best) resist in their place. Therefore, where Harry may function as a less threatening proxy of James for Severus to project onto, so too does Severus potentially function as a more secure stand-in for the Dursleys that Harry can lash out against and rebel from.

In the case of Neville, I would posit that Severus may also function as a representation of sorts. Specifically, he may serve as a symbol of the deeper anxieties and insecurities that Neville formed as a result of the pressure that his family placed on his magical capability. A pressure that the Hogwarts environment and its preferencing of a culture that fosters competition between houses and depends upon a performance-based reward system may only have exacerbated. As Harry observes in HP: GoF, McGonagall wasn’t the only professor while at Hogwarts to seldom compliment Neville, rather it would seem that “...Neville very rarely heard that he was good at anything.” His first-year alone began in an inauspicious manner, as we see Neville struggle in almost all of his classes from Charms to Potions to Flying (which lands him a broken wrist and Harry a spot on the Quidditch team). While we can debate the extent to which Neville’s magical struggles are the result of him being on a different level of skill and/or learning curve to some of the other children, we can at least acknowledge that his anxiety may have contributed significantly to many of his mistakes (”But Neville, nervous and jumpy and frightened of being left on the ground, pushed off hard before the whistle had touched Madam Hooch's lips.”), just as Merope Gaunt’s magical ability was considerably hampered by the constant criticism and abuse she sustained from both Gaunt men in her household (notably, just as Neville’s grandmother implies that he was nearly a Squib, so too does Merope’s father criticize her magical abilities by calling her a Squib).

Which brings me back to the subject of Severus and the finer points of why he may have become Neville’s Boggart, specifically. Undoubtedly, for a self-conscious and anxious student, having Severus for a teacher would be a harrowing experience and I do not deny that Neville wouldn’t have found it difficult. However, as I’ve also established previously, Severus was not entirely unique in how he approached teaching nor even the only teacher at Hogwarts to criticize, be harsh, or single-out Neville. As such, one must ask themselves why it is Neville that perceives Severus as more uniquely terrible or to be feared. For starters, we could once again point to the unreliable narrative of Harry Potter and what it tells us about the public opinion of Severus, even before Harry had his first class with him, and how that may have also influenced Neville’s preconceived notions of him as well. Notably, when Harry asks Percy (a school prefect) about Severus he’s told this, "Oh, you know Quirrell already, do you? No wonder he's looking so nervous, that's Professor Snape. He teaches Potions, but he doesn't want to -- everyone knows he's after Quirrell's job. Knows an awful lot about the Dark Arts, Snape." Thus, anxious already, it’s feasible to argue that Neville may have entered Severus’s first potions class with an idea of Severus’s “infamy” as well.

More critically, however, one might speculate as to whether Neville even consciously connects his performance anxiety and fear of being perceived as a failure with the treatment he received as a child by members of his own family. Indeed, I would submit that the true source of Neville’s fears does stem from the traumatic experiences of his childhood and what they would have reinforced for him; that is, the idea that he would be better off dead than a Squib, a magical failure who can only become a burden to his family, and the conditioned expectation that any failure his part will always be connected to harsh corrections and/or punishments (such as having your uncle constantly torment you by trying to constantly catch you off guard or even threaten to drop you out of a window). Indeed, within a society where Squibs are treated as sources of shame and second-class citizens, and where you never speak of that “second cousin who became an accountant,” (HP: PS) Neville’s fears are legitimately validated and he would be more out to view other authority figures as capable of doing serious harm to him (if only by rejecting him from Hogwarts, declaring him a near-Squib, and sending him out into the world without a magical education). Thus, he might take them at face value as a genuine threat to his long-term acceptance in the wizarding world and regard his teachers (particularly the overly critical, stern, or harsh ones) with a deeper source of anxiety rather than test their boundaries, as we see with Harry vs. Snape. As such, the boy whose family hadn’t even entirely expected him to get into Hogwarts finds himself faced with the constant pressure of not disappointing them or proving himself undeserving of his place there among the other students. Returning back to Severus, we can find evidence of an interesting symbolism in him being Neville’s Boggart and how that might lend insight into these deeper fears Neville carries.

I do not believe it was a coincidence that Rowling placed the scene where Severus had Neville demonstrate the efficacy of his Shrinking Solution on Trevor before the Boggart lesson with Lupin as the reader is shown (i.e. between HP: PS and HP: CoS Neville is only shown making mistakes in Severus’s classes that would prompt him snapping at him or we are just told Severus was horrible) in more certain terms why Neville might fear Severus enough for him to credibly be his personal Boggart. As we know, Trevor was the gift that Neville received from his Uncle Algie for “surprising everyone” in his family with his acceptance to Hogwarts, which we could argue makes Trevor a symbol of approval from a family who formerly saw him as a disappointment. Moreover, Severus also functions as a symbol in that Neville may have come to associate him specifically with his anxieties over being singled out as inadequate. Quite fitting, as Severus Snape the biased teacher and Head of Slytherin House who hates Gryffindors, fancies the Dark Arts, covets the DADA position, has exacting standards and does not suffer fools lightly is both the safe (in that it’s likely easier for Neville to fear him than it would be for him to unpack all the psychological realities of the trauma his family inflicted on him) and the most obvious candidate for Neville to focus all of the anxieties and fears he may have formed as a result of his family’s treatment of him. Treatment that his world would appear to have normalized in such a way that, unlike Harry, he may not have consciously recognized --or even want to recognize-- it to be cruel, unfair, and even abusive. Ergo, when Severus uses Trevor as his “teaching moment” the symbol of Neville’s fears (i.e Severus) is seemingly threatening the symbol of Neville’s validation (i.e. Trevor) that he is not a complete failure and a total disappointment to everyone in his family.

Ultimately, Rowling does reinforce this psychological symbolism when she has Neville’s Boggart of Severus connected to an association with his grandmother. Also of interest is the fact that prior to Lupin introducing his class to the Boggart, Severus also makes an unexpected appearance in the staff room where he seems to caution Lupin in the form of mocking Neville (something I’ve theorized before may have doubled as a veiled warning about the wisdom of exposing children, especially those like Harry and Neville, to a creature that assumes the form of your fears). So that, once again, the connection between Severus as a source of fear and Neville’s insecurities are emphasized to the reader in such a way that by that point they are very present at the forefront of the reader’s mind and it makes it very easy to accept that Severus would be Neville’s Boggart at face value and leave it there. However, upon closer examination, the symbolic connection between Neville’s fear of Severus and his fears associated with his family is also very present. Notably, when Lupin singles Neville out to lead the class in demonstrating how to handle a Boggart, Rowling makes a point to have Lupin establish the correlation between Severus and Neville’s grandmother:

"Professor Snape... hmmm... Neville, I believe you live with your grandmother?"

"Er -- yes," said Neville nervously. "But -- I don't want the boggart to turn into her either."

Significantly, Neville first admits to Severus being his Boggart and when Lupin brings up his grandmother he acknowledges that he does not want his Boggart to turn into his grandmother, which might support my theory that Severus is a safer focus for Neville’s anxieties and fears than acknowledging any connection between them and his family would be. Nevertheless, his Boggart does become an amalgamation of Severus and his grandmother and it is only by confronting them together that he is able to overcome his Boggart. Interestingly, one can also observe that the majority of the forms the Boggart assumed in Lupin’s class were primarily surface-level fears that some might associate with childhood or more general phobias, such as clowns or spiders. Even Harry, who Lupin expected would see Voldemort, found himself confronted with a Dementor instead, largely because his most recent experience with a Dementor unearthed the traumatic memories of the night his parents died. As such, one can argue that Harry did not fear the Dementor so much as he feared what the Dementor had come to represent to him, which, while connected to Voldemort in a more intangible sense, had more to do with the trauma of the night when he lost his parents and was a more immediate threat for Harry to process and to fear (rather than the more distant and abstract awareness he would have had of Voldemort existing somewhere in the world, the uncertainty of when he would even return, and what that, i.e. actual war, might even be like for him to experience).

In fact, Rowling presents us with another example of the Boggart functioning as a representation of deeper fears and anxieties much later in HP: PoA, which further supports the argument that Snape was not Neville’s Boggart just because he had managed to become the sole source of trauma in Neville’s life but rather because he had come to represent the more complex fears that Neville was not prepared --or potentially of an age of maturity yet-- to be able to consciously process or really confront head-on. It is noteworthy that Rowling makes a point to draw the reader’s attention to the fact that Hermione had not had an opportunity to face the Boggart by the end of Lupin’s lesson (He seems like a very good teacher", said Hermione approvingly. "But I wish I could have a turn with the boggart --") and I would posit that it was an intentional build-up to the reveal at a later part of her book where we discover that Hermione and Neville would seem to share very similar fears:

Hermione did everything perfectly until she reached the trunk with the Boggart in it. After about a minute inside it, she burst out again, screaming. ‘Hermione!’ said Lupin, startled. ‘What’s the matter?’ ‘P-P-Professor McGonagall!’ Hermione gasped, pointing into the trunk. ‘Sh-she said I’d failed everything!’ It took a little while to calm Hermione down.

Ultimately, we might question whether it was wise on McGonagall’s part to encourage Hermione to attempt such a rigorous schedule as she did third-year. Particularly as we see the evidence of the pressure (psychological, emotional, etc.) that Hermione has placed on herself knowing that McGonagall received special permission for her to use a Time-Turner as the third-book progresses and Hermione becomes more and more frazzled and anxious. Nevertheless, one is justified in applying some scrutiny to any assertions that McGonagall was Hermione's Boggart because she was a more literal source of fear or trauma for her, so much as one might argue that she had also become a symbolic focal point for the anxieties of a student and that the Boggart merely provided a representation of those deeper, more complex fears. As a Muggle-born, one might argue that Hermione does have certain fears about being found inadequate or unworthy of belonging to the magical world and that she compensates for those fears by placing a great amount of significance on her grades and the approval of her teachers. Therefore, where Trevor may serve as a symbol of validation for Neville, for Hermione it is her grades and the approval of her teachers that similarly assume a symbolic function and help her feel she has validated her right to be at Hogwarts. Thus, just as Severus served as a representation of Neville’s fears of inadequacy when he threatened Trevor or assumed the form of a Boggart in his grandmother’s clothing, likewise, could we argue that McGonagall functioned as a representation of Hermione’s anxieties about disappointing her teachers and failing to demonstrate she belonged at Hogwarts and, more subsequently, the wizarding world.

Both Neville and Hermione might be said to be very keenly aware of their privilege in being accepted into Hogwarts and, perhaps, the most self-conscious of their right to be there as a result. As a Muggle-born, Hermione was able to discover a world of magic despite not being born into it, and we see where the impact of that does seem to instill in her a conscious desire to prove herself and demonstrate that she has a place in that world and at Hogwarts. In contrast, Neville may have been born into the magical world but the pressures and expectations placed on him by his family would appear to have made his own acceptance to Hogwarts feel less secure; as if he were on shaky ground and the privilege could be revoked from him at any moment. It’s no coincidence that in HP: PS Hermione seems to regard being expelled from Hogwarts as worse than death (even if we do allow for hyperbole) or that Neville most demonstrates his courage when standing up for Gryffindor house to preserve the points they have. Rowling could be said to have drawn some intentional parallels between these two characters as early as the first book, and the similarity of their Boggarts and the anxieties that it reveals only further validate this connection.

Moreover, it also showcases for the reader the key difference between him and Harry as two characters who came from abusive family environments. Where Harry is able to acknowledge the wrongness of the way the Dursleys treat him, Neville exists in a world where such behaviors seem to be more normalized and, as a result, he could be said to project his fears onto Severus in lieu of being equipped with the recognition that he would need to acknowledge the more complex source of his fears. In conclusion, Neville may have been socialized to accept the treatment of his family largely because he does love them and he places greater importance on their acceptance of him. Whereas, Severus is a more safe option for him to channel his fears through given he is someone who already has a reputation of “infamy” --unless you’re a Slytherin-- and could be expected to do exactly what Neville most fears; reject him and belittle his competence as a wizard (a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts). Likewise, Harry can more safely push back against Severus than he can the Dursleys, so Severus does become a more convenient outlet for his feelings of powerlessness and anger and one who can be expected to play the role of antagonist that Harry counts on (until HP: DH when he suddenly doesn’t). This is why any contemporary psychological analysis does fall short unless one is prepared to go beyond the issue of Severus being Neville’s Boggart and fairly examine the matter of McGonagall being Hermione’s Boggart and the psychological underpinnings of Boggarts as a concept overall.

In regards to Severus’s reaction towards Lily, I would argue that it could be interpreted a few ways. One could choose to read it as evidence of Severus’s romantic attraction to Lily and his anxiety that Lily might prefer James as a romantic partner over him. Canon could certainly support such an interpretation and it would be more than valid. However, given the full context of the conversation that came before Severus displayed any anxiety, one could also interpret Severus’s response more platonically. Notably, prior to Severus becoming concerned by the idea that James fancies Lily and that Lily might not mind being fancied by him so much (because she fancies him back) they had been arguing over the behaviors of people from their houses and how objectionable they might be. Lily insisted that Mulciber had used “dark magic” on a classmate (which might be hyperbole given there is never any mention to teachers responding to a student using dark magic openly enough for other students to have a conversation about it later) and that Severus shouldn’t associate with him. In turn, Severus alluded to the very real dangers that the Marauders were capable of based off his own first-hand experience.

Importantly, although he is forbidden to discuss the incident with Remus, he does noticeably try very hard to make Lily aware of the danger but she is not convinced. Interestingly, Lily also makes a point to single-out James and defend him specifically while Severus is criticizing all four Marauders. It is ultimately this that leads Severus to the issue of James and provokes his flustered observation about James’s infatuation with Lily. Thus Severus’s anxiety and his relief when Lily denies having any interest in James could also be interpreted through the lens of Severus’s experiences with the Marauders as bullies who only recently escalated the situation between them with Sirius’s prank to new and much darker levels of malice (and that they were able to do so and received no apparent consequences from any of the authority figures at Hogwarts; in fact, one could argue that from Severus’s perspective it would have seemed Sirius nearly killed him and Dumbledore responded by protecting the Marauders by enforcing his silence). Ultimately, the anxiety might also be read as Severus’s fear for a friend who has ignored his warnings about people he has a legitimate reason to believe can be dangerous and he does not want Lily to get involved with James for that reason. So, there you have it, two different ways of interpreting that scene from the book.

Once again, thank you for your ask!

Regards,

Raptured Night

#severus snape #snape meta #pro snape #snapedom #snape community

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joaqqquiin · 3 years

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Legacy of The Past, Promise of The Future Reflection Paper

In the Philippines, many Filipinos are treated unfairly due to the unjust and corrupt system we have. Many of those Filipinos who are treated inequitably are farmers and landowners. How these farmers are treated negatively impact their lives but due to the need of income, they persevere. It is the duty of us Filipinos to help out the people who make and grow the food we eat, thus, this issue must be addressed. Farmers remain as low land agricultural workers and have low income. Legislators won’t allow agrarian reform because they are selfish and do not want the agricultural workers to take their land. Land reform was prominent back then, it was when land was distributed in small amounts and usually benefited the rich people more than the low land farmers. This issue has been ongoing for years but it was famous during the 1980s, specifically, 1986. CARP, also known as the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program was established to distribute land to agricultural workers and hopefully solve land problems and rural poverty. However, this was not the case, there were loopholes in the law made. The congress had the power to decide how much land the landowner will keep and this can be abused. In addition to that, tenants and agricultural workers had to work for a certain number of years in order to receive a portion of the land. The flaws in the law defeated the purpose of CARP since it did not help solve land problems and rural poverty. In opposition to what the farmers are fighting for which is just simply to own the land they till, the government focused on making the Philippines a fully industrialized country. In order to achieve the goal of the government, they had to build centers on rural areas meaning converting agricultural land to nonagricultural use land. The reason for this conversion is because agricultural land is covered by the provisions of CARL thus, it cannot be used for building of industrial centers. The goal of the government firmly contradicted the farmers since some of the land will be used for local industrial centers. Strategy that the government used is agri-industrialization which is the building of centers away from the national capital to promote forward-backward linkages. The government wanted fast track industrialization because the Philippines was falling behind in economic growth.

The issue is an ongoing problem until now and has progressed through the years. It all started with the CARP which allowed the farmers to get land however it had some loopholes. The idea of industrialization then occurred, land was converted into non-agricultural use. The conversion of land to nonagricultural use was implemented to build industrial centers and hopefully attract private sector investments in hopes of helping our economy grow. However, conversion of land had some consequences. It made thousands of farmers lose their jobs and built a wall between the rich and poor. The gap between rich and poor grew and grew, this is also called the Matthew effect. This was evident in the Calabarzon project since most of the people remained poor. They were forced to take jobs even though they were paid less than the minimum wage. Over 100,000 hectares of land were converted to industrial and commercial use. This land could have been used for agricultural uses and helped our farmers. Although, the loss of jobs and poor working conditions are not new to industrialization. In almost all countries or places where industrialization is implemented, the majority of the people lose their jobs. If people do not lose their jobs, it is still a challenge for them since the wage is low. Since many farmers will lose their jobs, they will move into urban areas in hopes of finding a new job. When the majority of the farmers move to urban areas, it will double in size thus overcrowding the city. More people will be homeless and live in the slums. This may have future consequences like causing health problems since the living conditions in the city will be dirty and unhealthy. It may also pose a threat to our economy since the unemployment rate will increase. There will also be scarcity in land, the land that will be used for industrial purposes could have been used for inhabiting or proper housing projects for the farmers and other homeless people. In addition to that, our food supply will also be affected since there will be less agricultural land to plant crops. This can also pose a threat on peace and order. Although there is no peace as of now due to our current situation with the fascist government, the loss of jobs and land may cause an insurgence by the farmers. Farmers will fight for their right to own a land. This issue is connected to the environment, social hierarchy, economy, and politics. This issue will cause harm to our environment in many ways. It will affect the air quality since there will be more air pollution due to all the smoke produced. The movement, import and export of goods will require mobile transportation thus leading to more pollution. In addition, the centers will use up more of the Philippines’ resources. This will also cause harm to the bodies of water. Toxic material from the vehicles and industrial buildings might leak into bodies of water that we Filipinos use. Water was also wasted since irrigated fields were converted into lands which were for industrial and commercial purposes. On top of that, there is also land degradation. Land degradation will always come hand in hand when it comes to industrializing land. Harmful and other unnecessary chemicals and material will mix with the soil and possibly spread to agricultural land. This may affect the growth of crops and harm the food we eat. Additionally, it would be destroying the habitats of the creatures that are abundant there which are mostly carabaws, goats, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. Ecosystems are destroyed just for industrial buildings and such infrastructures. As mentioned earlier, this issue will create barriers between the rich and poor, thus affecting the social hierarchy. The people who lost their jobs or farmers will suffer from depression and other health issues which are very unhealthy. They will also suffer low income and will result in a change in lifestyle, they will have to reduce their food consumption and possibly sell most of their belongings. Loss of jobs will result in a failure in the economy. There will be less workers thus there will be a higher unemployment rate. High unemployment rate means that the economy is very inefficient. The unemployed people will be incapable of buying more products thus will result in lower outcomes in the economy. Having a high unemployment rate is a serious economic problem and will result in a failure in the economy and will further push the Philippines into a recession. The government will be the one making all the decisions for this issue so the lives of the farmers will be in their hands. The government must allot proper funding and time for this project if they are going to focus on it in order to lessen possible future concerns such as the eminent unemployment. This issue is part of much bigger problems. One of which is unemployment. This particular land issue contributes to the current problem of the Philippines. As of 2018, there is a 5.4% unemployment rate in the agricultural sector. This percentage is still huge when compared to the Philippine population. The rate of unemployment will continue to increase if the land issue is not solved since more and more agricultural workers will lose their jobs. Another problem that this land issue is part of is the poverty in the Philippines. Agricultural workers tend to be poor and live in poverty. Agricultural workers are poor because of not making enough money. They have the right amount of money to sustain their livelihood and barely provide basic necessities for themselves. Now, the industrialization of land will force the majority of the agricultural workers to leave their land and property thus contributing to the poverty rate. One serious issue the land industrialization is part of is global warming. In order to achieve the industrialization Ramos envisions, trees would have to be cut so that the necessary infrastructure could be built for the project. These trees are very important to the environment as it filters the oxygen we breath and absorbs carbon dioxide. Increased carbon dioxide can cause the greenhouse effect. Greenhouse effect can pose a great threat to the environment and humans. Climate change, which is caused by the greenhouse effect, can cause respiratory problems, extreme weather conditions, food supply disruptions, and increased wildfire cases. The removal of trees are also part of minor yet dangerous issues such as floods and degrading the quality of land. Typhoons and storms are nothing new to the Philippines since it is very common here so floods always occur. Trees are very essential when it comes to preventing floods since the trees absorb the water. Trees also provide support to the land and help it keep intact. Removal of trees and building on these pieces of lands will make it prone to such natural calamities like landslides. The structures which are built on this land may be easily destroyed when there are earthquakes. This land issue continues to be a problem because the government keeps focusing their attention on other problems which can wait such as the Manila Bay Rehabilitation. This is still an issue because the agricultural workers, which were forced to leave their life in their rural areas, are yet to receive their land from the CARP. Regional agricultural workers have attempted to oppose the government yet their actions caused some of their lives.

This land industrialization project has good intentions of boosting the economy of the Philippines. The Philippines is a third world country and has three social classes: the rich, the middle class, and the poor. As part of the middle class, I have no idea what the poor or farmers go through. I know it is hard to imagine how badly they live with the lack of support from the government. But one thing I know is there are corrupt and selfish officials who are afraid to sacrifice their own land to help some Filipino farmers. We live in a country where there is no proper justice system. What we have is an unfair and corrupt system where the rich are excused and the poor suffer. Learning about this just shows how unfairly Filipino farmers are treated. Land is taken away from farmers in order to build centers to achieve the goal of fully industrializing the country. Industrialization is good however the government must weigh the costs of it. Just because a small percentage of the population will lose their jobs, it does not mean that we are supposed to push through with this project. Fully industrializing the country will only benefit the government officials and rich people and not the farmers and poor people, it is a selfish and biased project. Fully industrializing the country will only mean that agrarian reform will be revoked. There should be a good balance between promoting and reimplementing CARL but with improved provisions and industrializing abandoned and useless land rather than converting agricultural land to commercial and industrial land. When these two are balanced equally, everyone would benefit from it. This problem must be addressed as soon as possible to help the farmers. Agricultural farmers have already tried to ask for help from the government yet they did not do much about it so it resulted in an opposition from the farmers which caused them some of their lives. As Filipinos, we must take matters into our own hands and speak up for the farmers who are silenced and oppressed. No change will happen unless no one does anything about it.

This issue might have been prevented if the government had backup plans for the people who will lose their homes and jobs. As mentioned earlier, it would have been better if the goal was not to fully industrialize the country but maintain a good balance between reimplementing the CARP and converting a fair amount of unused nonagricultural land to industrialized land. In doing so, all social classes would be able to benefit from it, especially the low land farmers. Proper support from the government should also be given to the farmers in order for them to expand their farm and gain more income from it thus they can live a sustainable life. Having a fair number of industrialized land will still maintain the economy and possibly boost it since more people are working. If more people are working, it means then less people will be unemployed and so people would be able to live a sustainable life and provide both needs and wants resulting in a higher outcome and stabilize our economy.

Despite a legacy of agrarian reforms, Filipinos still faced land problems. These land problems have been here for decades and as long as we turn a blind eye to those suffering under its oppression, we will never achieve solving rural poverty and equal and right distribution of land. The only thing keeping the farmers alive are their jobs which is farming on land and we won’t even give them that. The goal of the CARP which is to tackle land problems and rural poverty has never been fulfilled due to the land industrialization taking away most of the land, the conversion of agricultural land to nonagricultural land for industrial use. There are laws, programs, and activities made to help and aid in these situations. There is the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law that promised to give the lands that the farmers till to them. Programs in hopes of destroying the barrier between the rich and the poor by providing help to the needy. All these with one goal of solving rural poverty and providing a sustainable life to those who work hard just to support their families even with low income. Some may claim that agricultural workers are living sustainably in rural areas but tell that to the workers who were forced to flee their homes and property due to the industrial land conversion. Agricultural workers like farmers, fishermen, and millions of other people like them who are downgraded to a subclass of human existence in our country. There is no alternative to equality and justice in this issue. Do we really want to live in a country wherein land is more important than livelihood, and money is more important than humanity. Agrarian reform was ratified at around 1935, it has been about 85 years since then. Let us finally give justice to those farmers who lost their land, livelihood, and lives.

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artofkace · 5 years

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here’s a huge comic/doodle dump for my She Ra/Steven Universe crossover AU!!! I might not draw anymore for this but here’s what i have cause why not :’)

PLEASE look under the readmore for a whole bunch more info and explanations for what it’s all about if u wanna know more!

She Ra Gem!AU overview

Rebellion on Earth was started by King Micah (Glimmer’s dad) in order to save it as a haven for gems who did not want to be under homeworld (The Horde’s) rule. Glimmer is half human - her dad having given up his gem form (in some way) to become half of her.

Angella is either a gem who loved her dad (a la Pearl) and learned everything about human culture, giving up her gem name and taking a human one even, to raise Glimmer as a real ‘mom’ or she’s human (a la Greg). Leaning toward the first one. She has a forehead gem.

Glimmer feels heavily the burden of being the Rebellion’s heir. She hates homeworld and everything having to do with them. She wants to step up and be a leader and tries to run missions on her own with Bow a lot (with little success.) She 100% loves Angella as her mom but is tired of being treated like a baby. She’s 19.

Her dream is to reunite all of Earth’s most powerful gems and strike Homeworld hard to hopefully drive them off of Earth once and for all, but nobody else believes in this plan much.

Bow is an earth gem who emerged 6-7 years before story starts. He’s enamored with Earth culture and is super friendly! He and Glimmer have been best friends from day one and both have chest gems (which they love, twins!!!). He designs weapons even though his gem type isn’t specifically made for that.

Adora and Catra are both Earth gems who emerged at the same time and stayed with eachother alone for a bit at their kindergarten until they were ‘saved’ and taken to homeworld by Shadow Weaver. They don’t know that they came from Earth and were taught to hate it and the rebellion. They have their gems the backs of their hands opposite each other (Adora right, Catra left).

Catra emerged a little misshapen and fuzzy (Literally fuzzy? And she has the cat ears and tail bc i say so) because the materials to make her gem type technically weren’t supposed to be in that kindergarten and she would have been shattered as defective if Adora hadn’t vehemently defended her. Shadow Weaver relented bc of her soft spot for Adora, (which she has bc she personally cultivated Adora’s gem type??) but Catra lives in shame of that day bc of how she froze and couldn’t do anything to defend herself.

Pilot Episode Basically

Adora is a gem created for strategy and fighting and she excels at being a leader. She was being groomed to take over as general to defeat the rebellion once in for all when story events happen.

Adora first comes to earth again when she and Catra stole a ship to go on a joyride and nearly crash landed. They didn’t know what the planet was, but found a warp pad there and were shocked it worked. They eventually go back to homeworld, but something there was calling to Adora so the next day she sneaks back (asking Catra to cover for her).

She uses the warp pad, then eventually finds the Sword in the forest half-buried, covered in vines. She thinks it must be gemtech, but it's nothing like anything she’s seen before. While she’s contemplating it, Glimmer and Bow stumble upon her (on one of their ‘missions’) and they tussle and eventually take her captive, grabbing the sword too for good measure.

Adora has no idea they’re part of the rebellion at first, but when she finds out she makes a break for it, grabbing her sword as she goes, Glimmer and Bow in pursuit. Eventually they all run headfirst into a giant gem monster and Adora gets pinned down alone. She’s never fought anything this big and freezes up, yelling for help.

In her mind a voice answers calmly, telling her that it can help, but she’ll have to have faith. The voice calls her Adora instead of her gem name (Adora being a nickname Catra gave her? I want Adora and Catra to have already had their ‘real names’ before Adora defects).

Adora looks on in wonder as the sword she’s holding starts to glow. Glimmer and Bow, running to help from the side, stop and watch in shock as Adora fuses with the sword, turning into She-Ra, who is huge but otherwise not different from canon.

After that then events, events, events. Catra is given a position of leadership and comes down to get Adora with a fleet of ships. She attacks a nearby human village and Adora, who has begun already to admire and like the life on Earth, tries to talk her down (events like canon). Eventually she fuses again into She-Ra and drives the fleet off, Catra, betrayed and angry, going with them.

And then Adora is officially part of the rebellion! She is brought before Angella (the sole ‘leader’ still technically fighting) and takes her nickname as her permanent name (its customary in this rebellion to, since they have so many more gems and there are repeats, and most everyone like having a name!) and she joins the trio to make the Best Friends Squad.

Other Things

All the Princesses are gems of different types and abilities. They were all put in charge of different parts of Earth because they’re extremely powerful (Though most of them nowadays only defend instead of actually fighting against homeworld). Each of their ‘kingdoms’ is made up of mostly humans and some gems. You can travel from warp pad to each kingdom, but it’s sometimes a hike to get to where the princesses actually live.

Despite her being otherwise ‘perfect’, Adora had never been able to summon a weapon from her gem before she found the sword and it had really bothered her.

Glimmer and Bow theorize that the gem placed in the sword is Actually A Gem, which is why Adora can fuse with it, but it doesn’t respond to anyone but Adora and refuses all attempts to remove the gem.

Adora’s stints as She Ra are odd for her, she rarely ever hears the voice again and while its very easy to fuse after the first few times, sometimes she doesn’t feel all in control. Like there’s someone else taking the reins from her who’s ancient and powerful. She doesn’t know what to think about that.

‘Diamond Authority’ is basically Just Hordak. He puts other gems up to lead next to him and almost any gem that shows potential can be promoted thus, but he will allow no other diamonds to be made. He is a Red Diamond, so all homeworld gems wear red.

#steven universe #adora #adora spop #bow #bow spop #catra #catra spop #fanart #glimmer #glimmer spop #she ra #she ra netflix #she ra princesses of power #spop #she ra gem au #idk if i'll draw more for this but i figured i'd post whet i have cause its been weeks lol

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elenathehun · 3 years

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Watching the Clone Wars, part 7

Well, this is a better batch of episodes than last time, solely due to not having to actually skip an episode because it was too awful to watch. With that said, click on keep reading to see reviews of "Brain Invaders", "Grievous Intrigue", "The Deserter", "Lightsaber Lost", "The Mandalore Plot", "Voyage of Temptation", and "Duchess of Mandalore".

"Brain Invaders" (2x08)

I'd rate this as above-average. I am not really into horror as a genre, as I previously noted, so I was pretty grossed out by the brain worms. However, it was a pretty nice Ahsoka and Barriss episode, although I think it's a bit weird that four Jedi Knights/Masters are necessary to interrogate Poggle.

Anyway, it's not an episode of The Clone Wars without some unexpected graphic clone violence. I don't blame Ahsoka or Barris for killing poor Trap - I even think this was well-written and conveyed the desperation of their situation well - but good god, it was startling. Also tense: that final approach to the medical station.

Not good: Kit Fisto entering a ship that's infested with brain worms with no PPE. C'mon, man, I know your headtails are majestic, but keep it covered up! Also not super great: Anakin and Ahsoka's little talk at then end. A lot of their interaction just feels forced. I honestly feel like this should have been a dialogue of some kind between Ahsoka and Barriss.

"Grievous Intrigue" (2x09)

Sort of a meh episode. I understand Eeth Koth is a bit of a bad-ass in the comics, and that does sort of carry over in this episode, but mostly it just seems like a vehicle for various Jedi Masters to quip while crossing blades with this somewhat delightful murder-cyborg. Obi-Wan gives a furious monologue to Grievous, which rings a bit hollow since the clone army has had precious little screen-time (at least relatively speaking) to exhibit their loyalty or spirit.

Shout-out to Cody and those 212th soldiers dog-piling Grievous. If only you'd had a lightsaber, Cody, you probably could have killed him right then and there. And if the writers let you and your fellows out of the background more often, Obi-Wan's speech would have rung more true at the time this episode aired.

"The Deserter" (2x10)

I struggled with accurately summarizing why this episode left me cold. After all, the focus is split between Rex and the pursuit of Grievous, and I love most of the clone-centric episodes I've seen thus far. But after some thought, I realized this episode felt like the culmination of a character arc that never actually occurred for Rex, at least on-screen. After all, this episode is only the third time he's been promoted to something more than the token Clone Character Who Doesn't Die At The End - the previous two episodes I thought were legitimately Rex-centric were Season One's "Rookies" and "The Hidden Enemy". We still barely know the guy, but in this episode we watch him wrestle with doubt about his role and reason for existence when faced with a fellow clone who's made radically different choices than he has, before triumphantly stating his place is with the army. This feels like it would be a great episode, if only we were more attached to the character. Writers have to build-up to those kind of moments, or they ring false.

Anyway, is it just me or is Obi-Wan getting a little angry in this episode?

"Lightsaber Lost" (2x11)

I wasn't expecting much from this episode, but it was actually very good. Aside from the annoying Cad Bane arc at the beginning of the season, the Ahsoka episodes have been improving a lot this season - possibly because she's been separated from Anakin for a lot of them. Losing a lightsaber feels like the sort of problem a Padawan might face, and the solution feels like the sort of thing an impatient teenager would resort to. Tera Sinube is a gem - I am always a sucker for the elderly teaching the next generation, and he does it so well! The animation was well done too, especially in the chase scenes.

I've been ragging on TCW for it's lack of interconnectivity between episodes and episode arcs, but this is a stand-alone episode done right: it focuses on what a secondary character (yes, I know she's supposed to be a main character, but she doesn't feel like it quite yet), allows them to learn a lesson that develops their characters in an organic way, and reverberates through future episodes (I hope!).

"The Mandalore Plot", "Voyage of Temptation", and "Duchess of Mandalore" (2x12 -2x14)

Oof. So, this was the arc that actually made me quit watching TCW the first time around. I am very lukewarm on Mandalorians in general, so that wasn't great. But aside from that, and from the well-attested issue of everyone on Mandalore looking like a Storm Front fantasy, this arc exhibits the same structural writing defects the entire show has shown far - and honestly, life is too short to watch bad TV. At this point, I know this main issue will never be corrected in the entire show run, so I can accept it and push through in the name of completionism and writing research, but at the time I wasn't active in fandom and it was enormously easy to just stop watching and move onto other, better, shows and books.

Now, I thought long and hard about how to review these episodes, but I think it's useful in this case to interview them as a singular block instead of individual episodes. The story is largely cohesive, if a bit strained. It is essentially Palpatine's PT plot writ small: he wants to take over Mandalore (a reason is never really explicated in the actual story, so who knows why), and he's doing it by essentially creating a false war between the CIS proxies, Death Watch, and the Republic proxy, which is Duchess Satine. If all goes according to plan, Satine will be shown as ineffectual and unable to rule her people, and the GAR can occupy Mandalore for reasons of "public safety". This will inflame the Mandalorians, who aren't part of the Republic and don't want to be, and send them rushing in the arms of the CIS-allied Death Watch, starting a cycle of radicalization and violence which will end (at least from Palpatine's POV) with Mandalore firmly in his grasp, and all potential opposition killed in the Civil War he engineered.

As enormously stupid as the whole plot sounds, it's a valid historical tactic for imperial powers looking to expand. And that's lead us the the primary flaw of this story: The Jedi are the Bad Guys. Just ignore the tangled mess of Mandalorian canon, retcons, and expanded universe, past and present - in the show itself, they are presented as a smaller, weaker neighbor-state, and the Jedi are acting as agents of an expansionary military power, interfering with their internal politics specifically for the purpose of a soft invasion. And that's an interesting story! But that story is deliberately obfuscated and hobbled because the writers and producers of TCW were and are ever-so-concerned with making the Jedi as sympathetic as possible, even in situations where they shouldn't be.

Part of that hobbling is Satine's character. Satine is badly written, but she's badly written in a very specific way that has been common to most of the non-CIS political antagonists the show has presented thus far. Satine's most interesting characteristic is that she doesn't want to involve Mandalore with the war - and who can blame her? The Republic and the CIS have nothing to offer to her or her people. The only thing that will happen is the exploitation of Mandalore's natural resources (at best) or the destruction of her people, caught between two Great Powers who obviously don't care for her people's struggle. That's an interesting character, right? A POV we haven't seen in this show so far, which has consistently been from the Jedi POV, which is pretty firmly in the CIS = monsters and Republic = assholes (but democratic assholes!) camp.

But it's a POV that is pretty uncomplimentary of the Jedi role in this war, which means Satine must be crippled by an obnoxious belief in pacifism, like the unlikably-written Lurmen in season one, and also weighted down by a personal connection to an avatar of the Republic, like Senator Farr and his "family friendship" with Padme overcoming the fact that his people are starving and getting no support from the Republic. I have heard people argue that TCW, written as it was in the late 2000s, is reacting against the excesses of the War on Terror. I am less than convinced, mostly because every single anti-war character is reduced to a flat caricature of an annoying pacifist that can be safely defeated by the ever-so-kind warrior monks in the space of an episode or two before being cast aside for the next adventure.

Because Satine's motivations are poorly written, her actions don't make a lick of sense. In "The Mandalore Plot", she's clearly escorting Obi-Wan around under duress - but in "Voyage of Temptation", she's apparently going with the Senators willingly to the Coruscant, to essentially beg the Senate to not invade. Why not write her as an unwilling "guest" of the Republic, invited without recourse to defend her people's sovereignty? Well, that would show Obi-Wan in a very unflattering light, wouldn't it? But in "Duchess of Mandalore" she's back to being a prisoner in everything but name, escaping custody to receive an unaltered copy of her dead minister's speech.

Now, Obi-Wan helps her at that point...but it's clearly due to some poorly-written romantic feelings. I am not interested in any Padme/Anakin parallels, mostly because I find it incredibly tedious and honestly not helpful in exploring Anakin's Leap into the Dark Side. This story is a gigantic missed opportunity to show the Jedi (or at least, a representative of the Jedi) wrestle with their roles as avatars of the republic, when the republic is so obviously manufacturing a reason to invade Mandalore. Palpatine is obviously orchestrating this whole thing, but he still (at this point in the show) requires the consent of the Senate to essentially annex more territory - and the Senate is perfectly happy to give him that consent, by the way. There is a fantastic story on the Jedi side about the clash of ideals vs realities, and the writers totally side-stepped it.

But pulling the focus out a little further, that has actually been par for the course for most of the Obi-Wan stories of season 2. He's been consistently more and more irritated about the war as the season has gone on, and made some off-hand comments about the ungratefulness of the Republic populace that, in the hands of a more competent writer, could have been a multi-season character arc about loss of faith in fallible human institutions, which would dovetail pretty well with his characterization in both RotS and ANH. Instead, his character remains the static wise-cracking Good Guy; Satine is the Designated Love Interest, unable to develop along more interesting and independent lines; and this arc falls deeply flat as a result.

They're not the only characters who are horribly underwritten. I mean, here we are at the end of Season 2, and have we yet seen a sympathetic CIS character, or an accounting of how Palpatine was able to take advantage of already extant fractures in the Republic to create a shadowy cabal dedicated to tearing it apart? No. It's all war crimes and evil laughter so far. The Good Guys always win (until they don't), the bad guys are always Very Bad, and there are no shades of gray in this massive galaxy. Again, ignoring the complicated Mandalorian backstory, Death Watch is extremely under-baked as villains. There could have been a fascinating interplay between Satine and Pre about their different visions for their people's future, but just as Satine is a flat Pacifist caricature, Pre is a dull Terrorist caricature.

I have to give a special mention to the horrible Love Confession of "Voyage of Temptation". This is the episode where Satine is written most consistently as Peak Pacifist. If she had instead been written as anti-war (but not necessarily a philosophical pacifist), her escape from Tal Merrik would have been a great inversion of that trope - and in fact, I thought it was at first, when she "confessed", and then had to make an annoyed face when Obi-Wan didn't immediately play along. Instead, they played it straight, and I've never felt more simpatico with a villain than when Tal Merrik complained about their timing. That fact that Satine's "pacifism" is then used as an excuse for Obi-Wan and Satine to hesitate to kill a terrorist, leading Anakin to kill him...like, c'mon. I get it, the writers want to show his fall to the dark side, you gotta play the ominous theme music, but is this really a particularly evil act by Anakin? I'm gonna be honest, if a cop or an armed civilian kills a mass shooter, no one is castigating them for doing so, but instead congratulating them for stopping a murderer from killing again.

Final note and the only one that explicitly addresses the Mandalorian elephant in the room: I hate the Darksaber. Like, I know we all gave KJA shit for the original Darksaber novel, but the fact that Filoni (or Lucas?) repurposed the name for a SPECIAL MANDALORIAN LIGHTSABER fills me with intense rage. They're fucking gun knights, you coward, stop inserting your weird Arthurian hard-on into my western samurai sci-fi pastiche.

And that's it for this batch of episodes. Up next: Boba Fett makes his first appearance in our chronological viewing, and we return to Mandalore a second time, much to my sorrow.

#watching the clone wars #star wars #star wars tcw #television is hypnotoad

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rejectclone · 4 years

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I’ve been meaning to update the mini bios for my OCs, it took me some time to try to condense their core aspects and backstory stuff into smaller paragraphs but I’m finally done!

NAME: Jared Clements

AGE: 28

GENDER: Male

SEXUALITY: Bisexual

RACE: White (is of Hispanic descent)

OCCUPATION: Detective/Deputy

ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Good

SHORT BIO: Who was once one of the greatest detectives in Neo York City’s police branches, now a shattered former shell of himself after the Incident. Physically and emotionally mauled from the explosion that killed his partners and his reputation, he now ruminates at the station, plotting for his revenge against the criminal organization that led to his fall. Formerly known to be the most kind and upbeat member of the station, he has become cold and callous to everyone, but the new recruit might pull him from his self-imposed darkness.....

NAME: Devon Cox

AGE: 25

GENDER: Male

SEXUALITY: Straight

RACE: ‘White’/Ambiguous (HEAVILY mixed, but he identifies mostly with being Italian)

OCCUPATION: Trainee Officer, former illegal bloodsport boxer

ALIGNMENT: Neutral Good

SHORT BIO: The bastard son of a seedy bookie and a mother who clearly did not take good care of herself, along with being the only mute member of his family, he was deemed a unwanted child. Eventually, his parent’s actions caught up to them one night out, and as they were slaughtered, their son was left alone at home. Soon adopted by his uncle on his father’s side, he was essentially forced to ‘repay the debt’ by becoming a bloodsport fighter, regardless if he wanted to do it or not. As a adult, the illegal ring has fallen due to on-going corruption, he is now again left alone as his corrupt uncle got hauled off to prison. Left to his own devices and lamenting his actions, he now wants to pave his own path by repaying his own debts by joining the NYPD. Unknown to his new coworkers, he has spilled blood numerous times and won’t hesitate to do what must be done in some situations.....

NAME: B055 M4N

AGE: 24 in 4027 (BEFORE DEATH) 80 in 4083 (POST RESURRECTION)

GENDER: Male

SEXUALITY: Straight

RACE: White

OCCUPATION: Lieutenant

ALIGNMENT: Lawful Neutral

SHORT BIO: He was supposed to be the next gleaming star in the NYPD’s legacy of lieutenants, all from the same bloodline spanning across decades...... until he was assassinated at his induction ceremony in front of the general public. Ironically, his fate was not sealed there, as a week before his induction, he was coaxed into signing up for a ‘organ donation program’, to a incredibly specific experimental medicine company. He never expected his corpse to be used in a unethical program to create a supercomputer, devised of a human consciousness instead of a AI, to ensure that it will have a good stance on logical proceedings of organization and the law, and will not suffer from conflicts of interest. Unfortunately for him, the total conversion to a machine was semi-successful, as they could only resurrect his head...... Now doomed to be a severed head in a jar filled with PFC and the inability to speak (well, at least without using text-to-speech), he has been forcibly instated to be the permanent boss of the station. His true appearance is a facade to essentially everyone, as the ‘higher-ups’ creates false non-existent lieutenants to be instated every few years to keep the act going, except a very select few know of his current situation.

NAME: Lydia Hall

AGE: 25

GENDER: Female

SEXUALITY: Lesbian

RACE: White

OCCUPATION: Psychiatrist, uses ‘personal nurse’ as a cover

ALIGNMENT: True Neutral

BIO: She is considered to be one of the ‘greatest’ newer psychiatrists to ever grace the continental US, but nobody expected her to suddenly disappear off the face of the earth, upon getting a ‘promotion’ one day. Unknown to almost everyone, she was coerced into the psychological monitoring of one of the company’s most experimental projects, the undead severed head turned database at the local NYPD station. His previous care taker had to be laid off due to ‘concerns’, and thus she now must monitor him on a near daily basis, cleaning out his tank, making sure he is still sane, and to just stay there to entertain him basically. She never expected her career to be basically reduced to a personal nurse, and yet here she is. Unfortunately for her, the true nightmare unfolds when a certain hazmat wearing being stumbles into the picture.

NAME: Lawrence Grey

AGE: 47

GENDER: Male

SEXUALITY: Straight

RACE: White

OCCUPATION: Geneticist

ALIGNMENT: Neutral Evil

BIO: A famed scientist who has been working for ages for a experimental medicine company. He was renown for his research in advancing certain projects, some more well received than others however. A overall stoic man, his coworkers reluctantly follow his command, never fully knowing what he thinks of them. Dedicated to his work, the higher-ups gave him access to a incredibly hidden cloning program, regardless if he wanted to work there or not. Not wanting to bond to his ‘projects’, he continued his intimidating aura, until one of them in particular piqued his interest. It would have been better if the clone never showed any promise however, as the impeding transport to another lab will lead to his escape, and his ‘father’s’ coma.....

NAME: [REDACTED]

AGE: [REDACTED]

GENDER: [REDACTED]

SEXUALITY: [REDACTED]

RACE: [REDACTED]

OCCUPATION: [REDACTED]

ALIGNMENT: [REDACTED]

BIO: ……………… he wasn’t meant for this world. The forced byproduct of a illegal cloning procedure, made to be a rejected failure on purpose. As for why? The higher-ups of the organization believed that the more malformed and sickly the clones are, the higher the chance they might carry new genes that can cure said sicknesses. The #439th clone to be made, he seemed to be another waste of flesh and blood. If it wasn’t for his ‘caretaker’, he would’ve been euthanized after a month. Desperate to ‘spare’ this subject, the caretaker demanded him to be transferred to another laboratory base, as rumors began to spread that the project has been leaked to shareholders. That fateful night, he was given a technologically advanced hazmat suit to conceal his inhuman appearance, and was shipped off to his new ‘home’. Alas, as fate would have it, the hovervan he was in along with his ‘father’, crashed, leaving him to wonder aimlessly in the pouring rain, hiding in a alleyway until he was spotted by two odd looking officers, trying to close-off the crash site. He was taken in to the station, where somebody claimed it was his ‘son’. Taken up to the lieutenant’s office, much to the confusion of many, this clone will blend into daily happenings of the station.

NAME: Ren Nakamura

AGE: 22

GENDER: Male

SEXUALITY: Robosexual

RACE: Japanese

OCCUPATION: Future heir to the head of a crime syndicate, doubles as a criminal lawyer as a cover

ALIGNMENT: Lawful Neutral/Evil

BIO: The next in line to his family’s criminal syndicate legacy, he is reluctant at first, but must come to terms to what he must do. Raised up to be cold and unrelenting towards his underlings and other syndicate bosses, he will never back down from a fight, always striving to be on top. However, nobody really expected him to come up with a plan to undermine other syndicates, by actually studying criminal law and becoming a legitimate defense attorney in order to coax his clients into exposing future plans (in which he will immediately inform his father of...). Recently he was assigned a personal body guard, who has a ‘unique’ physical composition and will surely make a great hitman. The two of them go along quite well, considering their popular opposites in personality.

NAME: Deangelo Moore

AGE: 25

GENDER: MALE

SEXUALITY: Gay

RACE: German-American

OCCUPATION: Cybernetic hitman, uses ‘criminal lawyer’ as a cover

ALIGNMENT: Lawful Evil

SHORT BIO: Neither fully man nor machine, this once respected art dealer has gone fully into the seedy underbelly of Neo York. As a escapee convict test subject from a experimental ‘liquid metal’ cyborg program, he is a con man on the run, until as fate would have it, he was accepted as a personal ‘body guard’ for one of his former clients’s son. With no real home to go to anymore as his public reputation has been disgraced, he now gleefully takes in stride that he is a ‘ghost’ among the populous, a potentially unstoppable killing machine who is only curbed by his greed and urge to be respected by other powerful beings. His former life now gone, he now works for his employer as if they were blood relatives, and even agreed to do a surreal operation, to directly siphon information from other rival ‘organizations’ by acting.........as public criminal lawyers who defend them..........

NAME: ‘John’ (he was never properly named by any of the scientists, so he named himself. His ACTUAL name is Specimen - 1257)

AGE: 21

GENDER: Male

SEXUALITY: Straight, but questioning

RACE: Literally nothing

OCCUPATION: Chemist, radiobiologist

ALIGNMENT: True Neutral

BIO: After two nuclear wars ravaged the Earth, odd things will happen to all sorts of life. This is one of them, a human who has the unfortunate pleasure of having their physical composition be mainly nuclear radiation. Much about his early past is kept under wraps by the US government, who sent him away as a infant to a remote chemical research base in Alaska, in fear of him being the next nuclear detonation. Left without proper social interaction and is just seen as a genetic anomaly, it left him with a warped view of life. With incredibly poor socialization skills but a surprisingly large scientific intellect, he has been reduced to hidden-away lab worker, who’s aware of essentially being a captive but is shocking content with it. After all, if he were to be released, the genral public wouldn’t take too kindly to a mannequin-like being with stark white skin and exposed green goo leaking out of his facial orifices, with a near constant glowing aura.

NAME: ‘Mark’ (he was never properly named, and this is just a name given to him by ‘John’. His ACTUAL name is Specimen 1258)

AGE: 21

GENDER: Male

SEXUALITY: Literally doesn’t care at all

RACE: Literally Nothing

OCCUPATION: Convict, former hitman

ALIGNMENT: Chaotic Evil

BIO: What’s more strange than one severely irradiated human being with physical nuclear radiation as flesh and blood? His red colored doppelgänger. With a past even more shrouded in mystery, this ‘man’ seems to originate from the wastes, the former parts of the US that were scarred from the previous two wars. Claiming to be the next step in human evolution, he is incredibly cruel and harsh, and when introducing himself to the criminal underworld as the ‘best’ hitman, he was severely feared by many. Even other rival hitmen who genetically or cybernetically augmented themselves saw him as a legitimate threat to themselves, as after all, he’s a actual living biohazard. They all chipped in together to pin him against who they believe is true my IMMUNE to him, another ungodly hitman with a liquid metal composition. The plan worked, as letting him just step foot into NYC triggered radiation alarms, thus exposing him to the government for the very first time. After a short stint at a supermax prison, he was given a deal: stop irradiating the guards and convicts, and we’ll move you to a more private place where you can do basically almost anything you want. The place in question? A remote research base in Alaska.....

#also I’m now making sideblog for all of this stuff now!!#my ocs #jared clements #devon cox #B055 M4N #lydia hall #lawrence grey #[REDACTED]#ren nakamura #deangelo moore #‘john’#‘mark’#vinyl scratching

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uwunnie · 4 years

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Update + Week 1 recap (Nov.7, 8:21 PM US Mountain Time)

Today marked the final day of the first week since this whole ordeal began. Truthfully, it feels like we somehow transported to the Dramarama video because time seemed to stop, but alas, here we are.

For the recap, I’m not going to put specific dates, but for today’s update, I will title it as such. You’ll see - this should be a pretty easy format to follow (tiki-taka),

For the sake of everyone’s timelines, the recap and update begin after this read more.

When news broke out regarding a Wonho’s sudden departure on October 31 (US and the like time-zones), may have been November 1 for other zones, there really weren’t that many updates in the way of efforts to bring him back. That day was full of shock, so everyone was more angry and depressed - even more so compared to now.

But after a day or two, Monbebes managed to channel their emotions into a bigger cause: Bringing Wonho home, and bringing him home we will.

Let’s recap:

Twitter Monbebes, Carter and Kei, organized the GoFundMe to raise $10,000 USD to purchase an ad in NY Times Square.

Within 45 minutes of initial service, the goal had been met.

After a couple days, the donations kept piling in and finally, as of November 3 - the GoFundMe closed at $25,102 USD ($15,102 USD over the original goal).

The ad’s payment was successful and the ad went up! However, my understanding is that the ad’s run-time ends in a few hours.

Ad’s location: New York, 42nd St. and 7th Ave., facing east.

Photos of the ad:

Reads: We shine brighter as a family, then proceeds to list each name of OT7 along with their logo and a photo of OT7 together with MONBEBE on the photo.

The board kicked off on November 6 and ran 30 times per hour for 15 seconds all day except 2-5 AM.

A petition calling to keep Wonho a member of Monsta X was published. Within a week, the petition is still going pretty strong with over 400k signatures. The goal is 500k, so I predict it will reach its goal within the next week.

The petition can be found here.

In addition, more projects/campaigns have been released since then and can be found in this master-post here.

Since this day, however, more projects have been revealed, so once I compile all of them, I’ll add them to the previous link.

Let’s remember:

K-MBB left sticky notes on Starship Ent.’s building. Eventually, within a few hours, a staff member was photographed collecting them.

News outlets began reporting about Monbebe efforts to bring Wonho back, thus bringing more attention to our goal.

Celebrities reached out and showed their support of Monsta X.

Monbebes began writing everyone to spread awareness - spanning as far as contacting Moon Jae-in, South Korea’s president.

Naver (shockingly) released a positive article - something that’s very rare.

Efforts are still being made to spread more awareness through physical ads in South Korea.

K-MBB’s held a silent protest outside of Starship Ent.

International fans flew to South Korea to participate.

Staff said they can and will welcome Wonho back.

Staff also helped Monbebes greatly:

Met with MBB’s on the day of the silent protest to help them cut out banners.

These plaques read, “I do not want to remain just a memory,” which are lyrics from If Only.

Supported MBB’s in the fan cafe - even went as far as changing their icons, I believe, to photos of Wonho.

Continued collecting MBB sticky notes and even provided tissues at the protests for those who were crying.

Continue encouraging us to continue with our efforts.

Other fandoms have showed their support for Monsta X and MBB.

International MBB are still organizing a silent protest from what I’ve seen circulating the web.

For Minhyuk’s birthday, MBB adopted four whales as gifts. One is a southern humpback named Monbebe, another a blue whale adopted in Minhyuk’s name. I’ve heard another one was named Monsta X, but don’t quote me on it because I’m not 100% sure.

Minhyuk’s birthday tag also reached #1 worldwide trend.

A set of stars were also purchased and named Lee Hoseok and Monsta X.

NY-MBB got a dance group to dance to Follow.

UK-MBB are hosting fundraisers in efforts to raise money for a central London billboard.

As I stated prior, all sorts of ad efforts were, and still are being, made.

Over 30 tags have consecutively trended worldwide for one week - many of them reaching -#1 trend several times.

K-MBB’s used the original fan chant during one of the performances for Follow’s promotions. If you don’t know what I’m referring to, it means that they used the OT7 chant including Wonho’s name.

300 fans were allowed into the Inkigayo recording - 100 over its normal capacity.

Tower Records, international music franchise store, showed their support in their Japan branch’s sector through MX signs and posters.

MX reminders:

Wonho is still active on the fan cafe.

Majority of the members have been active on the fan cafe.

Minhyuk posted this for his birthday:

Changkyun posted this two days ago:

Wonho is still on Starship’s official site.

This photo was posted a day or two ago:

For those that may not understand, the white ink is circling Wonho’s signature and name on the wristband. Some people claimed it doesn’t matter because those bands are pre-made, but to that I’d like to point out that those bands are made out of paper and his name is printed/signed on the end, so it would have been very easy for staff to cut off the end part if they really wanted to, or were instructed to do so.

This was circulating the web:

Speculations:

Nov. 7: Shownu wore Wonho’s shirt.

Nov. 7: Kihyun wore Wonho’s earrings.

Nov. 7: Hyungwon wore Wonho’s chain.

Nov. 7: Changkyun wore Wonho’s, or a similar, earpiece.

Nov. 7: Our boys left a space for Wonho at the end of their performance. Take a look here and see what you think.

Nov. 2: MX left a space for Wonho during Follow and Find You.

Nov. 2: Jooheon’s lyrical slip-up could have been in protest of what’s occurring.

In regards to this speculation, he did this recently again as well, so my interpretation is that it’s probably related to the protest as well as exhaustion.

Starship info and overall legal matters:

As far as my knowledge extends, this is the ONLY official statement SS has released:

The explanation/speculation of this letter can be found here.

SS is involved in their own, personal, controversy. I’ve made past posts regarding the situation, but for the sake of not stirring the pot, so-to-speak, I’m going to exclude them from this particular post. Until further information about their situation is released, or I feel it’s becoming a detriment to MX, I will bite my tongue.

In regards to 🐻’s controversy, SS confirmed the photos were manipulated (fake).

🐻’s searches have been cleared, at least from my knowledge. I’ve been told that they have been, but I’m not entirely sure if they’ve come back or anything.

I know a lot of people messaged me that particular night in regards to a YouTube video talking about 🐻’s situation and everyone was concerned it would spark up the searches again. I didn’t want to say anything until I saw the video taken down, but I messaged KJ and explained the situation to him. He had no ill intent with his video - in fact, he was trying to help clear the negative rumors revolving around MX. He was just simply unaware that, unfortunately, any publicity regarding 🐻’s situation would trigger the searches again, so I explained this to him and told him about MBB efforts. He completely understood and removed the video.

Updates from November 7:

MX received their 2nd win!

The video and post involving Hyungwon’s speech can be found here. HIGHLY recommend watching it.

GOT7 congratulated and hugged each member, and E-Dawn congratulated Changkyun.

Only 10 Monbebes were allowed inside for the performance, so Ahgases (GOT7’s fan club) held up Monsta X light sticks during our boys’ performance in place for the MBB not allowed in. Ahgase also helped MBB with the live voting.

In other words: Ahgase and Monbebe are each other’s sweethearts. 💚🤧💜

Jooheon told MBB not to cry.

They held a fan-sign to which:

Wonho’s photo was projected on the screen behind them. A link to the photo can be found here.

K-MBB informed MX of the Times Square ad.

Changkyun stayed this is the last week of promotions.

Kihyun said he will do a cover of Believer.

I think Shownu earned his PhD? Or is going to?

Jooheon confirmed the release of the studio version of Sambakja, or he said he might. I’ve seen people talking about both, so I can guarantee 100%, but Jooheon, if you’re reading this - please.

Trends continue meaning we’ve successfully trended for one week straight.

Eshy:

Voting for MAMA has been open and Monsta X is a nominee in all except a couple categories.

There’s two ways to vote:

Voting for them in specific categories on the website, here.

Voting on Twitter as well by utilizing:

#MAMAVOTE #monstax

Current twitter tags to trend as well:

#LoveUWonho

#우리_항상_네_곁에_있을게요

@/OfficialMonstaX

@/STARSHIPent

Overall reminders:

Do not engage in fan wars.

Do not engage in any hate towards the duo. I’ve said this in the past and it’s practically been confirmed: They’re trying to gather sympathy through the situation they’ve caused by trying to play victim. Popular sites are posting articles painting them in positive undertones and netizens are starting to support them because of the hate they’re getting on their social platforms and what not. Those comments can also be collected and utilized in the ongoing legal case, so please, do NOT engage with them. Instead, channel your energy into MAMA voting, campaigns/projects, trends, and other positive things that will bring Wonho home to us.

Messages to MX, project created by @wonderlanddragon, ends Nov.8/9. The posted regarding the details can be found in the campaign link above!

Bunnies for Wonho, created by @thoughtsfromaclutteredbrain, has been ongoing now. They’ve also planned a new project for a video, so please send in your favorite Wonho moment along with your name and/or nickname to them!

@stay-dont-strayy creates an International MBB project. You can find the info on their blog!

Kpop group chats have been created, links here.

@sezy001234 has also created five tumblr kpop group chats, so hit her up for details on everything!

I’ve also made a kpop tumblr group chat, so if you’d like to be added, send in an ask or message!

The source to find the bunny 7-1=0 profile pictures can be found here in seven different colors.

You can leave letters/sweet messages to the boys on the fan cafe. Please be mindful of the situations at hand when doing so and also, give a little extra love to our baby, Changkyun. MBB at the fan-sign have mentioned that he seems to be struggling the most and tbh, it’s been very visible in his performances and photos.

All seven are trying to be strong for us, so let’s try our best to be strong for them. ❤️

We’ve made it through the first week, babes.

We can do it time and time again.

I love you all. ❤️🤧

Let’s bring our bunny home. ❤️🐰

(Posting: Nov. 8, 3:05 AM US Mountain Time // yes, it took me this long to make lol)

#monsta x #wonho #shownu #kihyun #hyungwon #minhyuk #jooheon #changkyun #im #joohoney #updates #first week #monbebe

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internetandnetwork · 3 years

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6 Surefire Strategies to Help You Build More Backlinks to Your Website

Whether you have been around for long or are just getting started with SEO, you must have spent some time researching it and discovered how much links matter to rank organically in the search results. Google sees links as a lot more than just a ‘sweet gesture.’ To Google, it acts as a vote of trust that your site is reliable and credible. Over the years, marketers and SEOs have tried and tested numerous different approaches to increase their site’s backlinks and expand their overall backlink profile. Among these also emerged some unethical practices that made room for link schemes and other black hat SEO practices.

As more and more websites started adopting SEO practices, the link building realm became overly populous – making it all the more so challenging to stick out and earn links from the vastly popular domains.

Simply put, the conventional backlinks outreach is simply no longer as effective as it used to be once. Today, even highly personalized emails can hit the skids. Building backlinks to your site is no longer an easy feat. If you want to increase your website’s domain authority, you need to go above and beyond to seek new options.

And that is exactly why we are here. What follows are six surefire strategies that are a must-try for you if you, too, are struggling to earn backlinks from credible domains.

1. PRODUCE LINK-WORTHY CONTENT

SEO trends will keep shifting, but great content never gets outdated.

However, what ‘great content’ means really depends upon who you are asking – it will vary from person to person. But if you ask the definition of ‘great content’ in terms of link building, then it is simply a piece of content worth linking to.

In order for a piece of content to qualify as ��link-worthy,’ it should meet at least one of the following benchmarks:

Deliver original or aggregated data

Offer a unique way or point of view

Be the most authentic and apt resource on the topic

For instance, in an article featuring the latest update introduced by a brand, most websites will link to that particular brand’s article only about whom the content is written. Why so? Because clearly, it will offer the most accurate resource on the specific topic.

While there would be plenty of other websites covering the particular topic just as accurately, the brand is the original source of this data; thus, it seems to be the most reliable one. Therefore, it is the most ‘link-worthy’.

Your content creation strategy should be aimed at producing A-1 content that builds links by itself. If you are able to make great content and optimize it well enough that it acquires one of the five top-ranking positions in the SERPs, you are in a prominent position already.

It’s very straightforward. Let’s understand it with another example. You are creating a comprehensive piece of content on the topic “link building.” You need to include some examples as well, but you have not covered that subject in any of your articles yet. Now since linking to your own content is no longer the option, the next thing that pops up in your mind is to head out to Google and search for content that will be most useful to your readers. So you search on Google and found that the first-ranking content in the search results best suits your needs and also provides additional information to your readers. So you link to it.

You saw what happened there? A high-quality content optimized for SEO will generate backlinks on autopilot.

However, the crucial thing to note here is that this strategy will take time to yield results. You can’t publish a piece today and expect to earn ten backlinks by tomorrow.

This strategy works best when paired with other effective modern link building strategies.

2. PR DRIVEN OUTREACH

Right after reading this, you might be wondering what does SEO and PR even have in common?

However, establishing relationships is one of the leading techniques to get the job done when it comes to link building, which also happens to be the key to successful PR.

Begin with interacting with the people in your industry or niche and those working at the most sought-after online publications. This does not mean bombarding every connection in your LinkedIn network and soliciting backlinks or media placements. It means building bonafide and mutually profitable relationships.

Start leveraging social media platforms and establishing a brand for your organization as well as your thought leaders. Connect with people in your industry and start sharing creative and original content and ideas.

You do not necessarily need to be the CEO of your organization in order to build yourself as a personal brand.

Moreover, how you demonstrate yourself online is still an extension of the organization you are currently working for. Expanding your own brand will also help increase awareness for your organization.

As you start building connections and become well-recognized among your peers and industry, you will realize that it is a lot easier for you now to pitch them for media placement opportunities.

Again you must be wondering how media placements can result in the generation of backlinks?

It’s pretty simple – when a publisher decides to feature your brand on a webinar, podcast, or live show, they will also promote this feature on their website and across social media platforms.

Once you have successfully obtained the placement, ask your POC (point of contact) to add a link back to your website, as it will be helpful for the audience. Since if the viewers or listeners want to know more about your company, they can do so by simply clicking the link, which will save them the trouble of searching you online.

Building relationships is a long-term game, but the rewards make it worthwhile.

3. CREATE GUEST POSTS FOR EXTERNAL PUBLICATIONS

Guest posting for various external publications comes with a range of marketing benefits. It helps in positioning your brand as a thought leader in your industry, reaching your target audience in a new way, thus expanding your reach, and just like you, though – building links!

However, similar to numerous other link building strategies, guest posting too became too spammy too quickly. People started assembling mediocre content, incorporating as many links as possible into the content and sending it to any site that would post it.

Consequently, the majority of the publications formed rigid guest posting guidelines to wipe out writers who were merely producing content to acquire backlinks.

Google, too noticed this. Recently, one of Google’s Webmaster Trends Analysts warned SEO professionals and marketers to refrain from leveraging guest posting as a spammy link building strategy.

Having said that, guest posting sure works well to grow your site’s domain authority provided that you approach it in an ethical way.

To begin with, only approach publications that your target audience often visits. Putting in the effort to create content for a publication that your audience does not even visit in the first place is a clear-cut waste of time and resources.

You may be able to earn a couple of links, but it won’t be in front of your target audience.

In addition to all this, always focus your efforts on the quality of your content and the value it offers to your readers. Only because the content you are writing will be published on an external website doesn’t mean you should give it any less attention than you would if it was for your own site.

4. BUILD INFOGRAPHICS

Infographics can immediately raise a piece of content from great to invaluable.

However, without the presence of appropriate resources, the creation of infographics might not be the easiest thing to do. These can be easily time-consuming and resource-intensive, all the more so if you are gathering original data.

This is why most content creators and writers choose to hunt for infographics online and link to them in their posts rather than take the time and effort to build their own. And as one can figure out, this brings forward another viable link building opportunity by using original infographics. In place of simply featuring an infographic on your website, you can also choose to pitch it to external publications in exchange for backlinks.

Indeed a great deal of work goes into building a single infographic, but the backlink potential is immense in the long run. Just like a great piece of content can continue to generate backlinks for several months or even years after it has been published, a compelling, informative, and engaging infographic can have the same impact.

5. RECLAIM LOST BACKLINKS

When it comes to increasing your site’s domain authority, you don’t always need to reinvent the wheel.

A great way to rack up a few quick wins is to analyze your own website and look at the lost backlinks. Every link is a reward for all the hard work you have put in, and losing them is indeed baffling but regaining them is not as hard as you may assume.

Various reasons can be behind the loss of your links. Maybe the linking page was removed (404 error) or redirected, or maybe the publisher simply removed the link.

Regardless of whatever the reason is, it is definitely worth the trouble to try and reclaim those hard-earned lost links. At the end of the day, there was a reason that writer chose to link to you. There is also a possibility that they have no idea that the original page is removed or redirected.

You can check for lost links using some SEO tools. There are plenty of them available in the market with in-built features that let you see the links you have lost and why.

As soon as you have discovered all the lost links, the next thing you need to do is reach out to the publisher/writer. While emails are the most convenient way to do this, LinkedIn InMail is just as good. When contacting the publisher, remember to keep your message short and crisp and be sure to point out why your content is still useful enough for them to link to.

Just like in any other type of link outreach, there is a slight possibility that the publisher might not get back to you. This brings us back to the point – it is easier to reclaim a lost backlink from a website that has already seen the value in your page than starting from scratch trying to acquire a fresh one.

6. LOOK FOR UNLINKED BRAND MENTIONS

Another hack for a quick win – check for unlinked brand mentions.

Each and every positive brand mentioned on the internet is a window of opportunity to acquire backlinks. If a website is taking the time to mention your brand somewhere, it is a clear-cut indication that they already see some value in offerings, content, or point of view.

Moreover, if they are citing your brand’s name somewhere, inserting a link back to you will help their site visitors as they will know where to click if they want to know more about your business.

You can utilize advanced Google Search or some third-party tools to search for pages where your business is mentioned.

If your brand name is similar to some common phrase or word, then you might want to narrow down your search using some keywords related to your solution or industry.

Once you discover an unlinked mention, you can quickly send an email or a LinkedIn InMail to the publisher asking for a link. The best practice is always to tell them how it will be beneficial for their readers.

Doing this every now and then is a great way to generate links and also get insights into how people perceive your business.

Wrap Up

To conclude, link building is no easy feat.

Nor is there any silver bullet that will grow your website’s backlink profile overnight. Want to know the actual key to successful link building? – Merging long-term strategies with short-term techniques.

When planning your long-term strategies, consider writing ‘link-worthy’ content, and start building connections with other people in your industry. Besides this ongoing process, take out some time to carry out some more short-term tactics that will help you score some quick wins, like searching unlinked mentions and reclaiming your lost links.

Link building requires a lot more than just sending a few cold emails and keeping your fingers crossed in the hope that the publisher will get back to you. Similar to every other SEO strategy, this too requires all-encompassing planning and lots of patience before you start seeing the results of all your hard work. However, what makes it worth the wait is the long-lasting, immense potential of backlinks that can do wonders in making your SEO efforts successful.

Hariom Balhara is an inventive person who has been doing intensive research in particular topics and writing blogs and articles for E Global Soft Solutions. E Global Soft Solutions is a Digital Marketing, SEO, SMO, PPC and Web Development company that comes with massive experiences. We specialize in digital marketing, Web Designing and development, graphic design, and a lot more.

SOURCE : 6 Surefire Strategies to Help You Build More Backlinks to Your Website

#E Global Soft Solutions #Backlinks #Website #Google #domain #SEO #digital marketing

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