#by no means did I discourage them they’re crazy talented and I would never be a dick or anything

[spookyboywhump]

How would you recommend someone who's been here awhile as a whump blogger get more... engagement? I will post ask games and get virtually no ask or such. :( when I first started I had crazy engagement but now it's just gone. Makes me feel a little bad like I did something wrong? Aaa I'm sorry xx

Ahahaa anon this is an interesting ask to get at an interesting time. I’m going to do my best to help and give advice with what I’ve been wanting to try out as this is something that I have been thinking about a lot lately as well. I’m going to put this below a cut as I often feel. Weird talking about things regarding engagement and I understand some people don’t like those conversations but y know it is what it is

Let me start off with, I’m sure you didn’t do anything wrong friend! I have noticed engagement has gone down a lot lately, not just in myself but in blogs that I follow that were VERY active and got lots of engagement back when they first started posting, and while they’re still very active and absolutely fantastic and talented writers, they still aren’t getting the attention they used to. I want to add a quick disclaimer that I understand engagement and attention is not everything, that we are supposed to create for ourselves, we are not simply content machines here to please an audience but also. When you go from having constant engagement with your work to what feels like none, it does feel a little discouraging, if not a lot discouraging and leave you wondering what changed. I think that’s normal. While we should create with ourselves in mind, it’s also just human nature to want to connect and interact with others who also enjoy our creations!

Onto the next thing, I have a few theories as to why engagement in general may have gone down. Obviously, I don’t know who you are or what your specific situation is so these may not apply! But they are things I think about when I think about this

Personally, I joined as a whump blog in 2019 and gained a bit of a following RIGHT before Covid lockdowns. Around this time a lot of people were home, a lot of people had way more time to write, to read, to interact with each other, I recall this time as being very active for everybody, between the Whump community online and whump discord servers, nobody had anywhere to go or anything else to do so we were all online indulging in what may have been a new hobby and new and exciting space for some people.

Following that, Covid lockdowns ended. People went back to work, back to school, and suddenly a lot of us just. Can’t be as active as we used to. This community seems to be full of neurodivergent people, I imagine a lot of us are struggling to balance school/work, household responsibilities, and our hobbies and things like writing or keeping up with our favorite series may fall to the side unfortunately. People graduated high school, started college, started jobs, these will take up a lot of time so I’m not really surprised to see a decrease in general activity.

So just like those things mean a lot less people are likely to be active as much as they used to, it may also mean you aren’t as active as you used to be. Again, I don’t know your situation personally, but I went back to work in February of 2021 and since then I have written. Less and less. It’s actually kind of depressing when I see time stamps on things and realize how little I wrote at all in 2022 because work was such a drain on me and even now, I struggle to have the time, energy, and inspiration all at the same time to write when I have other things that need to be done as well. My own engagement has gone down significantly since when I first started, so I understand exactly what your talking about, I post about my oc’s constantly but I struggle to really write and it’s very rare to get asks about them the way that I used to (that’s not to say it never happens and I love seeing the ones I do get in my inbox but I have noticed a change that I don’t think is exactly significant to just myself)

(Split this up cuz it was too long for one lmao) I mostly assume it’s due to less people being active as per the reasons mentioned above, there are names I used to see often that have since disappeared and I think about often, but also I know it’s partly on me because I just. Don’t write as much as I used to. People engaged when I had writing for them to engage with. I don’t have that very often any more so they don’t have anything to work with. That’s understandable. I often find myself getting in a mood where I’ve convinced myself everyone has lost interest and if I’m being completely honest that poll I posted was to see if something I was wondering about was correct because I have always noticed a slight uptick in asks or requests regarding one OC but unfortunately I still write primarily for myself and that one OC just. Isn’t the one I want to focus on all the time and I worried I was failing a lot of people by focusing on what I liked.

Anyways that’s all to say. I understand what you mean and this has also been on my mind a lot lately. But I’ve also been thinking about what to do about it.

For one thing, for the same reasons I don’t write as much as I used to, I also don’t read as much as I used to, I miss connecting with other people over THEIR work as well. That doesn’t always mean they’ll be into my stuff, they don’t have to be! I love that they’re creating at all and I want to enjoy it and engage with them over their creations as well! Of course I understand we shouldn’t be interacting just in the hopes it’ll draw attention to ourselves, but it’s also the natural outcome of things. If we aren’t able to reach out to others, they likely won’t reach out to us or look into what we’re doing. There’s quite a few of us, it’s easy to miss some really awesome blogs and really awesome work just because we end up in our own little circles.

Posting your writing or art or whatever it may be regularly, especially being sure to put it in the Whump community tags allows for more people to keep up with it or new people to find and support you and potentially garner new interest if you feel like people have lost interest in what you make. Personally, my goal with doing whumptober is to start writing and posting somewhat regularly again, in a way that more and new people may see it. This is also something I need to fix up but having a good master list is great for people who are new and want to catch up!

And not to sound like hopelessly optimistic but like. Don’t give up. And focus on creating with yourself in mind. You didn’t do something wrong, things have just changed, I forgot to mention this above as it just came to me but I remembered tumblr started doing that thing where you need an account to send anon asks which will have axed a lot of people who were lurking without an account and didn’t want to make one. I know it feels disheartening and discouraging because we want people to enjoy our work but the only way to get that is to keep working. Your work still has value even if people aren’t engaging the way they used to and I’m sure that it’s great! The people who love it the same as you do will find it I’m sure, and I’m wishing you the best of luck!

#I’m sorry anon I hope that this can be of some assistance #I think there are some things we can do to help the situation and other things are just kind of #how things are given everything going on y know #I don’t think you’ve done anything wrong and I know this can be very disheartening #I’ve talked about it on my other blog some but I often worry people have just. completely lost interest #but then I’m like. no. those people are still here. and /I/ haven’t lost interest. so even if everyone is sick of me #I will continue posting because it makes me happy #do what makes you happy friend and I know we can’t control others actions #but I think the people who share our interests will find us #if we put ourselves out there enough #anonymous

[silverdecepticon93]

I have this crazy idea of an assassination classroom and young justice crossover where the light found out klarion's s/o was part of the class that had to kill Koro sensei and Deathstroke and Lady Shiva lowkey wants them as a protégé.

Okay, I love this idea but I’m not sure if it turned out well, I also have no idea what to title it but I hope you enjoy either way!

     When Slade Wilson first joined The Light as a partner rather than an enforcer, Klarion could honestly care less. After all, Deathstroke wasn’t a threat to Klarion in any way, or at least, that’s what Klarion had originally thought. Then Deathstroke seemed to have gotten the impression he could just help himself to whatever he wanted, and what he wanted, Klarion will not let him have.

      “I would like to request a transfer of one of your subordinates under my watch.” Deathstroke was quick and straight to the point the moment all members of the Light had joined the meeting.

     Klarion sighed, of course, it wasn’t anything exciting. He couldn’t believe that Slade had the nerve to call a meeting at such an ungodly hour, not to mention that this was keeping Klarion from visiting you, so he could only hope that Deathstroke would get the approval for the subordinate transfer quickly so he could go and meet up with you.

     “It depends on the subordinate, Slade, but we will hear you out.” Vandal answered, the Light members nodding their head in agreement.

      Deathstroke then looked dead at Klarion, “The Witch Boy’s enforcer, I feel they would be a great ally under my guidance.”      Enforcer?

      Klarion was hardly the type to keep around henchmen.

So who could Deathstroke mistake as Klarion’s enforcer?

Then it hit him like a freight train.

“Are you talking about (Y/n) (L/n)?” Lex interjected, raising an eyebrow. Queen Bee also decided to chime in, “If that is the case, we cannot approve your request. (Y/n) was promised to Klarion for not only his benefit but for the Light’s as well.”

Klarion knew what she meant was that you were just a way for the Light to control him, which wasn’t really wrong, in fact, Klarion would happily admit that he had a soft spot for you. However, he didn’t like that Deathstroke had the nerve to even think of trying to take you away from Klarion.

“Yeah, they’re mine!” Klarion hissed, “Plus, I’ve seen the way you treated that geo-brat, no way am I letting you do that to my (Y/n)!”

The Light began to mutter amongst themselves, Klarion sat back in his spot with a smug look on his face, and waited for the Light to tell Slade ‘no’.

“Do you have a reason to ask for this transfer?” Zviad asked, leaning closer to the camera. Klarion sat straight up making Teekl hiss at her master’s sudden movements and jump from his shoulders, “It doesn’t matter what the reason is! Their mine! Just tell him ‘no’ and we can all go home!”

Vandal only looked at Klarion, “Deathstroke, much like everyone else on this planet, is aware of your...attatchment to (Y/n). Which is what makes this request curious since he would know better than to ask something from you.”Deathstroke nodded in agreement, “Exactly, you see. During one of my side projects of trying to find an apprentice after Terra’s betrayal, I stumbled on some interesting things about (Y/n) (L/n) when my enforcer, Lady Shiva, stole this file from the Japanese government.”

Lady Shive then appeared from the shadows and handed Slade a USB, which he plugged into a control panel near him. A computer screen flickered to life, revealing an almost organic-looking monster that had two black beady eyes and a wide grin. Klarion recognized it immediately from your (rather odd) unique yearbook photo, however, he didn’t like how Deathstroke planned to use this as a way to sway the Light in transferring you under his watch.

“What is that thing?” Queen Bee asked in a very disgusted tone.

“That thing was bio-engineered to be unkillable and is actually the reason why we now have a crescent moon,” Slade explained, “It was given the name ‘Koro-Sensei’ a playoff of the Japanese word ‘Korosenai’ which means ‘can’t be killed’.”

“That thing destroyed part of the moon?” Klarion gaped before looking at his other members, “I thought that was something the Light did.”

“We assumed that you were behind it, that is why we did not question it,” Ultra-humanity grunted and looked over at Klarion, who shook his head as a way of saying he was not the one behind it.

When Vandal recovered from the shock, he then narrowed his eyes and looked at Deathstroke, “While that is a very urgent matter, what does it do with (Y/n)?”

Deathstroke then stood aside and allowed Lady Shiva to explain, “If you search deep enough in other government files, you will find they also have similar reports regarding this creature. All of them telling the same story, it asks to be assassinated by students of a certain high school where they will be given an entire school year to kill it before graduation or else the Earth would’ve been destroyed.”

Zviad spoke up again once more, “By the way you talk about it, I assume the class was successful in destroying this unkillable creature? I find that hard to believe.”

Lady Shiva only looked up at him with a determined look in her eyes, “While it may be hard to believe, we can confirm it has happened and the Earth was saved because of these students. Which brings us back to (Y/n).”

“I am looking for an apprentice, someone to carry on my legacy,” Slade began, “and the reason I have chosen (Y/n) is that they were apart of that class that killed Koro-sensei. Isn’t that right, Klarion?”

Klarion’s eyes widened before the became red and beady, “So what? Do you think that’ll be enough to convince me? Get it through your head, you dumb mortal, they belong to me.”

However, Slade wasn’t going to let Klarion discourage him.

“(Y/n) is a remarkable assassin, even beating my own record. They wouldn’t have to face the same harsh training Terra had to endure since they’ve already completed the basic training for an assassin, however, I’ve noticed that they still have a little ways to go before they are a perfect assassin, “ Deathstroke then bowed towards the Light making Klarion roll his eyes, “If put under my supervision, I can assure you that I can mold them into the Light’s greatest weapon. Especially if they were able to kill the unkillable.”

Klarion didn’t like the stares the other members of Light were giving one another, as if they were actually entertaining the idea of approving Deathstroke’s request. 

“You guys can’t take them from me! You promised me! You promised!” Klarion pouted.

“Their talents are wasted by your side,” Deathstroke argued, “You think too small, Klarion, denying the Light of what could be their most powerful ally.”

“I am the Light’s most powerful ally!” Klarion retorted, “(Y/n) stays with me! Forever and ever, like I was promised.”

“Indeed, this is very conflicting,” Vandal nodded, “I say we move on and discuss this matter later.”

“A wise decision.” Slade nodded. Klarion wasn’t as agreeable as Slade, “There is nothing to discuss! They love me and told me they’d never leave me and I told them the same thing.”

Lady Shiva scoffed, making Klarion narrow his eyes towards her.

“Would you like to say something, Lady Shiva?” Klarion dared her to speak.

“Actually, yes,” The ravenette responded, “I agree with Deathstroke when he says their talents are wasted on you. Which begs the question, do you truly love them or are you just acting out because your favorite toy is close to being taken away?”

If Klarion could’ve cursed her from a computer screen, he would’ve done it in a heartbeat, instead, he settled on slamming his hands on the desk in front of him.

“HOW DARE YOU QUESTION MY FEELINGS TOWARDS MY (Y/N)?!” He snarled. Lady Shiva seemed unfazed while Deathstroke looked amused, “See? It’s the way you speak about them that concerns you. You say their ‘yours’, that they were ‘promised’ to you, almost as if you see them as a toy of some sort.”

Klarion started to laugh dramatically, “You’re going to accuse me of seeing them as a toy? You’re the one talking about how to weaponize them!”

“We will settle this matter later,” Vandal said, his tone telling everyone that his word was final, “We will see how things are in the future and perhaps have (Y/n)’s thoughts on the matter.”

“They’re going to say ‘no’.” Klarion huffed.

Vandal sent Klarion a severe look, making the Witch Boy roll his eyes and grumble slightly. With the meeting adjourned, most members logged out of the meeting except for Klarion who was still glaring at Deathstroke.

“You can’t have them, I won’t let you.” Klarion jeered.

Deathstroke only smirked, “We shall see what the future holds, Witch Boy.”

#Deathstroke #Klarion x reader #Klarion Bleak x reader #(platonic) Deathstroke x reader #Lady Shiva is a queen #Klarion The Witch Boy x Readee #Klairon the Witch boy x reader #Klarion the Witch Boy #klarion the witch boy x reader #Young Justice x Assassination Classroom #Yj x reader #I need requests #I hope I did well.

[godtierwallflower]

When I say I think Gai was the best sensei, I really, sincerely mean it. His relationship with all of his students is sweet, the practical benefits they get from training under him are things they couldn’t have gotten better from anyone else, and his emotional intelligence and background makes him able to sympathize with their specific needs. 

Gai & Lee

Most obviously, we have Gai’s deep, father-son-like bond with Rock Lee.

We know that even just seeing Lee as a little kid training in the academy, long before he was Gai’s charge, Gai reached out to offer his encouragement and let him know that he had someone strong who fully believed in him, probably building off the words of encouragement from his own father that kept him going when he was that age. As soon as he saw that this was a boy that no one else was reaching out to, Gai took it upon himself to immediately let that boy know that he wasn’t alone in the world.

Lee’s skeptical of Gai at first, but he makes Lee smile and giggle, and Lee remembers that meeting forever.

Gai sees the lonely kid with no ability and gives him the same things that Dai gave to Gai: hope.

Lee thought he was corny and weird at first, but he started to emulate Gai when he was truly convinced of how strong and true he was. Gai really did become a father to Lee.

And Gai knew Lee was a little kid who Gai had pushed too far after his match with Gaara, so he refused to let him return to feeling like that hopeless little failure who was alone in the world. Gai instilled the feeling in Lee that, no matter what, I can make it, and no matter where I end up, I don’t have to go alone.

And Gai is obviously the best sensei in the world that could have had Lee. He understood his struggles and was the best taijutsu master in the village, if not the world, and he was an underdog story himself, so he knew what Lee was going through and what words to offer to counter it. Gai earned Lee’s respect and adoration, and it was well-deserved.

Lee’s importance to Gai and Gai’s importance to Lee as the found family and hope in each other is one of the most beautiful father-son relationships in all of Naruto, second only to the one Gai had with his own father.

Gai & Tenten

Gai’s bond with Tenten and importance in her training can’t be understated either.

Tenten’s struggles are a lot like Lee’s and Gai’s, for one thing. She had a specific goal, and even though she’s visually coded as somewhat other and an outsider (sd goes out of its way to mention that Tenten is the only Chinese girl in the anime), she has her goals set high and has been shown to be easily discouraged because she lacks skill in things that come easily to others. She’s no genius, she’s not from a notable clan, she doesn’t seem to have anyone in her corner prior to Team Gai. She just has a goal and heroine she wants to be like.

And the thing is, Tenten can’t be that goal she had in mind. Gai sets up some chances for her to train her medical ninjutsu, acquire a summon, etc., and like Lee and Gai, she lacks the aptitude for it despite her efforts. 

But from those failures, Tenten lights up when Gai praises what he notices that she can do well, space-time ninjutsu. 

And working under Gai was the perfect way for her to utilize that. The databooks clarify that although Gai avoids using bladed weapons out of personal preference, he’s very skilled with all kinds of weapons, so he was definitely the best teacher to train her to use the wide variety that she wields. 

She also benefited from his philosophy of training hard and never giving up, building up her confidence and her physical strength and endurance, since it’s shown that Gai trained all his students hard and instilled in them all the desire to become better and better versions of themselves (as seen in the doppleganger fight.)

And most of all, Tenten loves Gai and Lee. She loves playing the straight man to their antics, and she admires Gai as much as she fondly remembers all the times she played along with their crazy dramatics. Tenten was happy and she found a place she belongs, and in Konoha Shinden, her love for Gai is made really clear.

Gai & Neji

Gai’s relationship with Neji is sadly the one we see the least of, even in the anime.

Early on, we know Gai acknowledges Neji’s strength and Neji respect’s Gai’s abilities.

We know that Gai had spoken to Neji about the clan issues, that Neji made it clear to Gai how he felt, and that Gai gave him advice about it before the chunin exams. We know that Neji made a promise to Gai to be careful and not lose his head, a promise he seemed like he was going to honor at first before his anger really did take priority over it. Gai stepping in probably had to do with his concern for Neji and the consequences Neji would face if he broke that promise.

We know that Neji specializes in taijutsu, something that there’s no one around who could teach him better than Gai. We know that Neji, despite being straight-laced, actually did get caught up in Lee’s and Gai’s dramatics and seem to have fun with them. We know that Neji is inspired by Gai and was instilled with the same drive to be a better version of himself as Lee and Tenten were.

Another thing is, Gai is the perfect antithesis to Neji’s original belief that no amount of hard work can ever match or surpass natural talent. Gai is living proof that hard work can be enough. Gai, who wasn’t given an important legacy or any kekkai genkai, who initially had no skill in ninjutsu or taijutsu either, has become one of the most powerful, amazing ninja in the entire village, even if others don’t give him the respect he deserves for that. Neji respected and acknowledged Gai’s strength, and being under Gai was a great catalyst for his growth.

In the episode where Kakashi and Gai have a race, Gai tells Kakashi that they have to do it now, but is vague about why. In a conversation with Tenten while they’re watching Kakashi and Gai have yet another challenge, Neji mirror’s Gai’s statement perfectly, smiling and saying that he understands why they’re doing it now and right they have to do it now of all times, in contrast to Tenten, who thinks this isn’t the time. Neji understands and accepts Gai’s philosophy at this point better than Tenten does, and it makes him happy to see Gai act on it.

In fact, we see that Neji understand Gai and is on the same wavelength as him whenever Gai is serious. When Gai sensed that something was off during the Pain arc, the only student who intuitively understood what he meant and voiced his agreement that he noticed something was wrong was Neji. When Gai was demonstrating to Lee how he could see 100 moves ahead of a battle, Neji was the first one to recognize exactly what Gai was doing to make that happen. When Neji and Tenten see Gai race, Tenten doesn’t understand why Gai would do that now, but Neji understand perfectly, and even smiles fondly. Neji understands Gai on a level that neither Tenten nor Lee do.

They were a close-knit group, and Neji loved all three of them dearly, but I do lament the lack of direct screentime we got of Neji and Gai specifically.

#Team Gai #Maito Gai #Tenten #Neji Hyuuga #Rock Lee #Might Guy #meta #Naruto #just felt like reminding the world that we stan the best team on this here blog

[rqs902]

.

probably unpopular opinion but i feel like “we are blazing” is a r1se promotion scheme and it’s kind of scary 

I’m not surprised that this tencent show is heavily biased towards r1se, but I feel like the fact that r1se keeps winning 3:0 is really discouraging to everyone else involved :( I’m mostly disappointed that they won 3:0 even against rocket girls. I watched Produce Camp and know every member of r1se, and I’m honestly not very familiar with rocket girls. But, I’m still disappointed r1se beat them 3:0. I’m sad because this makes it feel like r1se is never going to lose to anyone on this show and that is disappointing. it’s scary that tencent is literally going to create an image of them being the best group, with zero competition. 

I’ve watched zhou zhennan on 3 shows: the coming one, cyzj, and produce camp, and I respect him and know he’s popular. being the og survival show girl group, I respect rocket girls and I know they are popular as well and I don’t think they deserve to be treated like this by their own company. rocket girls’ stage presence was undeniable on “we are blazing”, and their performance was well executed. it feels like tencent is disrespecting them and their fans by allowing r1se to step all over them, and it’s likely because rocket girls is about to disband (i believe?) and that makes it even more sad, because it feels like tencent is abruptly dropping them without supporting them to shine brightly until the end. these last few performances they have together are precious, and if tencent is going to ruin their final memories as a group, that would make me really sad if I was a rocket girls fan. (at least iqiyi never purposefully tried to make nine percent look bad... it makes me sad to imagine if this had happened to nine percent. if iqiyi let unine win over nine percent in a competition show iqiyi put on, as a nine percent fan, I would be SO MAD.) 

I’m also bothered by the fact that “we are blazing” is really painting a picture that boy groups are superior to all girl groups. 

I appreciate that r1se put in the immense effort to make their own song and stage for this episode, and I admire xia zhiguang immensely for his courage and hard work to practice his extremely difficult part. I’m sure zhou zhennan and zhao lei and everyone involved worked very hard and I don’t discount that at all. when I watched produce camp, xzg, zzn, zl, and many of the other kids who made it into r1se were the kids I was looking out for, some of the kids I supported most. But the fact is that rocket girls is their predecessor, and I am 100% sure rocket girls worked hard too, and 100% sure rocket girls deserved to at least get 1 single point out of the three. despite all of this, tencent made it so r1se destroyed rocket girls. and that makes me sad. 

dont even get me started on blackace.... from day 1 they’ve been taking part in making their own stages, AJ has literally choreographed every dance, and him and other members also take part in making the songs themselves too. But do they get nearly as much camera time or recognition for it as r1se? nope. I knew blackace would be at a disadvantage going into this show, so I’m not surprised at all that they’re not doing as well. youku has failed to promote them and tencent has no reason to help them except to appease pinlin stans, but even tho pinlin was crazy popular compared to all the other trainees on afo, his popularity is marginal in the context of r1se. the fact that they have not even acknowledged any sort of interaction between pinlin, huadi, and liu ye makes it feel like they’re trying to downplay the existence of swin to avoid any sort of boost to blackace’s recognition. tencent has always downplayed liu ye in general, so they have no motivation to bring up swin anyway. (the fact that they didnt even consider liu ye as a contender for a dance soloist for the killing part made me so sad.... but im not surprised. liu ye is an AMAZING dancer but they often forget he exists....) 

anyway, I’m happy for r1se that their management really supports them so much post-debut. produce camp was partly a torture camp for all the trainees involved, but since debut, r1se has been given so so many more opportunities to perform together, film shows together, garner recognition and win awards together, etc. compared to any other chinese survival show boy group. and it’s something I would’ve wished for all survival show debuting groups. but seeing them completely beat out all the competition without fail like this just makes me sad.... r1se deserves recognition, I wholeheartedly agree, but other groups have worked really hard too, and they also deserve some recognition. 

I’m hoping that in the future, rocket girls will be able to get at least one point on r1se. I’m guessing the only reason tencent let snh48 win over r1se this week in the overall percentage is so that rocket girls wouldn’t be dead last / have to perform without yamy, so at least that means tencent hasn’t completely dropped rocket girls yet. apparently they’re willing to drop sis for rocket girls, but that’s not surprising either. 

from the next ep preview, im SO scared they’re gonna paint naicha as some overbearing dictator, without painting the whole picture of his tough love leadership style. his strong leadership is what got his team (tuo xian mu ou) to the final round of ayo and thank goodness for it. he’s not afraid to push his team members to their limits because he knows they can do better, and if tencent tries to make him look bad for it, i will be very disappointed. they already tried to make pinlin look bad this ep, and it made me sad. 

literally tencent doesn’t acknowledge AJ for his efforts to make the choreo (yet again) and focuses the entire blackace segment on making it look like pinlin was uncooperative and refused to follow the rules and failed to do the killing part well. I felt like the main reason why they highlighted long ge being so self-sacrificing towards pinlin and why they highlighted other people acknowledging long ge’s talent was just to make pinlin look bad in contrast. 

I think pinlin did well, and since everyone in blackace understands the backstory as to why and how blackace was formed, it makes sense as to why pinlin would do the killing part for this performance. the show mentions how the killing part is supposed to be representative of someone killing or overcoming their past selves, but completely ignores that this stage was a big step forward for pinlin to do a 30+sec dance solo. it represents a HUGE improvement for him since he started out on Super Idol as a vocalist who couldn’t dance at all and was always struggling to keep up with the rest of the trainees. but "we are blazing” doesn’t give him any credit for his improvement. (but they continually mention how much ycy has improved lol...) Yes, blackace could’ve easily given the dance solo to long ge, AJ, or even huadi, but they chose pinlin. Pinlin was afraid to let them down, he knew his own limits, but he still did it. and he did it to the best of his ability and I think he did well. all the blackace members know that pinlin is the most popular person in the group and the most capable of drawing in fan support through his undeniable stage presence. they trust him and tencent makes it look like he didn’t deserve that trust, as if he should just be grateful that he barely made it through to the next round. 

#rants

[courtinginsanity]

An Open Letter to Negative Reviewers

Let me preface this by saying thank you. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to drop me a comment. We live in a fast-paced world so I do appreciate you choosing to reach out to me when you could be doing something far more worthwhile, like cutting your toenails.

We teach our kids not to give out personal information on the internet to keep them safe, and we teach them about the importance of the block button in a bid to prevent them from becoming another statistic of cyberbullying. When do we teach them not to be the asshole? And for that matter, why is it that I feel like I need to write this open letter to grown women who should know better than to choose nastiness over kindness? Why do we need reminding that if you wouldn’t say it to someone’s face, you shouldn’t be typing it online?

As a fanfiction writer, I’m no stranger to critical reviews and downright horrible comments. The culture we’ve cultivated teaches us that we should embrace this meanness, that if we receive a ‘flame’, that’s how we know we’ve ‘made it’. While this is well and good in private groups and chats between writer friends, how do we really feel when we lay in bed at night wondering if we should even bother posting the next chapter of the multi-chapter we’ve spent months, perhaps even years, planning and writing and editing? At what point did we give our power over to the reader, and should we be demanding it back?

Now let me say that you, dear reader, are absolutely entitled to your opinion. Absolutely. I’ve read fanfiction I don’t like—hell, I’ve read actual published books I don’t care for. Do I feel the need to tell the author I didn’t like their story? No. Why? Because honestly, I have better things to do with my time. Also, I’m a proud feminist and I believe that as women we should be focused on supporting each other rather than finding reasons to tear each other down. Call me crazy!

Dramione is my home. I feel a little bit like Sybill Trelawney here, standing in the Hogwarts courtyard all teary, begging not to be kicked out of the one place she truly felt like she belonged. Think about that for a second. Think about the analogy and what it represents—the reality that some of our writers face; this is their home. This is their safe space. You have no right to enter it and attempt to tear it down. Sure, come in and enjoy the warmth and sense of family by all means, but don’t go putting on your fluffy pink cardigan and strutting about like Dolores Umbridge; the world is definitely too small for more than one of her.

“But it’s the internet—writer’s know what they’re getting into when they post online.”

We do. And maybe the reason the fandom isn’t even bigger is because potential writers see the shit we deal with on a daily basis and (perhaps wisely) make the decision not to post their work. Reflect for a moment. You may actually be responsible for someone feeling like they can’t share their craft because of the comments you make online. And you know who that affects? YOU. You, as the reader, are missing out on what could be some of the most amazing Dramione fics, because you are actively discouraging people from either joining the ranks of Dramione writers, or continuing to produce Dramione stories that you claim to love so much.

Reviews are not there for you to dump unsolicited opinions and advice. If you really want to help a writer improve, PM them and start a conversation. Don’t open with ‘hey, I think you need to work on these areas of your writing…’ Actually get to know them! Tell them what you enjoyed about their story, and then ask if they’d be open to hearing some constructive critique. If you want to offer some solutions, be prepared to offer your services. Don’t dump your opinions on the writer and then walk away; you clearly have knowledge and skills that could be valuable, so offer to beta or alpha.

The Specify and Respect Movement

I’m making it my mission to promote this at every opportunity. This was actually started by a friend of mine and it is so powerful. As writers and readers, we should all adopt it. The S&R movement lets writers signpost whether they are open to constructive criticism or not. It is your responsibility, as readers, to respect the wishes of the writer. So writers, let your readers know if you’re open to concrit or not, that way if you do receive a not-so-nice review, you can refer them back to your request that they don’t offer unkind opinions.

There is no excuse for being nasty. You get to choose your actions and behaviour in life, and no one is forcing you to leave a review at all. There is another human being on the other side of the screen and it is not okay to use your opinion to hurt their feelings. I’ll reiterate—there is no excuse for being an asshole. Your opinion is not necessary and not helpful, no matter how much you may think otherwise. If you have the knowledge and skills, then use that to make a better decision about how you interact with people you may be able to help. Yes, they made a choice to post their story online, and YOU are making a choice whether or not to be a decent person.

Choose wisely.  

My writer sisters

I see you. I see you slaving over that multi-chapter fic that just won’t come together the way you thought it would, the multi-chapter fic that feels like it will never be done. I see you comparing yourselves to other writers; I see you obsessively checking your emails for reviews. I feel your elation when someone fangirls in your inbox, and my heart breaks along with yours when someone has chosen not to be kind to you and your awesome talent.

I’m here to tell you that you are my sister and I love you and appreciate what you do for this fandom. Without you, there wouldn’t be a fandom, simple as that. You are incredible and amazing, and you deserve to have people read and praise your work.

Let’s start a kindness movement. Use S&R, and tell your friends about it. Link it in your response to nasty reviews, and call people out on their bullshit. Don’t answer with emotion, but rather the womanly intelligence that can only come from being a powerful freaking goddess. Find your friends and support them with a fierce fire; lean on them for support when you need it.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by a negative review, please reach out to me. I’m happy to chat, to help you cultivate a response, to talk to you until 3am when the tears have finally stopped. We are a family and I will support you with everything I am.

If I can leave you with one final, parting thought, I want you to remember something: Hermione wouldn’t take this crap, and neither should you.

Love always,

CourtingInsanity xx

Link to S&R movement: http://malreviews.blogspot.com/p/the-s-movement.html

#dramione #dmhg #dhr #be kind #reviews #negative reviews #s&r movement

[hiddenbeats247]

Spotlight - Teigen Gayse

The new Spotlight – Teigen Gayse. We got to spend some time chatting with the talented and lovely Teigen about her new self-album which drops today. Its great seeing more music coming out especially since we are still under lock down and no concerts currently. Check out what Teigen had to say below.

Now that your album has dropped, what is the story you are trying to tell with your music? Are you relieved to finally share it with the world? This album is pretty much my Diary, and also therapy for me haha. I usually write what I’m feeling, or going through at that time. The biggest message I’d like to get across to people through my music is that they’re not alone. Everyone gets cheated on, everyone has a crappy day, everyone has loved someone who doesn't love them back and it’s always nice to know that someone else out there is feeling the same way and they can relate to that. What was your process like with the new album? The process has been pretty intense but I’m enjoying every bit of it. I’m learning lots which is great. For anyone who thinks that when you release an album, you just record it and release it. That is not the case! You can’t just hope that the world likes it. How can the world like it if they don't know it exists? There is a lot of promo and prep that comes with it. I’m thankful to have the team that I do working with me.  If you had the chance who would your dream collab be and why? Oh gosh that's a tough one, probably changes every week for me to be honest haha. If I had to choose one though it would probably be Kacey Musgraves. If I had to choose a guy artist right now, I'd probably choose Parker MCcollum, love that guy’s music and his voice.  Your new single, “Fly Away Boy”, it reminds me of the saying if you love something let it go, because if it’s meant to be, you’ll come back to each other down the road. Is travelling around and the musician transient life hard? That must be tough to leave people you love. That was the message I was trying to get across for sure. Yes it is hard but it is what it is. I think when you find the right person, you make it work for each other, but I'm still trying to figure that part out haha.  You put out your video for “your girlfriend’s crazy” when you were 23. What was it like being so young and working on it, did you find folks were more collaborative with you and your control over the process? Walk us through that experience. The music video for “Your Girlfriends Crazy” was such a fun experience. It was my first time ever going to Nashville and my sister got to tag along with me. Everyone that worked on the video was so nice and professional, it was my first video and first single so I had no idea what to expect. I was so young and didn't really know what I was doing I just let people do their thing. I didn’t have too much input in that video but that’s okay, I didn't really have any input haha

You’ve been writing since 15, what are some of your inspirations, and what artist would people be surprised you’re a big fan of? I grew up loving all genres, a good song is a good song. But I think what really inspired me was the family channel haha. I would see all these young kids singing and writing their own music and i thought “if they can do it then so can i” so that's exactly what i did. The first song I remember writing and recording was called “In my Dreams” and I wrote it about Nick Jonas haha. I had the biggest crush on him.  You have a lot of fun songs, lots of throwbacks too Sara Evans/Dixie Chicks/Carrie Underwood. Who would be your dream collab? If I had to choose to collab with one of those 3 artists I would have to choose the Dixie chicks. I got to meet the lady who wrote “Wide Open Spaces” while I’ve been down in Texas and I thought that was pretty cool!  Are you from a musical family? I imagine the music scene in Kelowna is pretty varied and interesting? My grandpa could pick up any instrument and play it, unfortunately he died right before my mom gave birth to me so I never got to meet him. Makes me sad because no one else in my family is musical like me haha. My uncle loves guitar and can play pretty good actually, but his thing is more fixing broken guitars, trading and selling them. Every guitar I've ever owned is from him, so they’re all very special to me and I'm very lucky to have him as an uncle What are some of your favorite venues you’ve played at back here in Canada?  I love playing at the OK Corral in Kelowna. It’s the only country bar in town so it gets pretty wild there. I also really enjoy playing outside at events, like Parks Alive, because you never know who’s cruising by so you can gain a wider audience. Now that this album is released I am looking forward to doing some touring and festivals.   As a female artist, do you find it difficult to break out as yourself, without a flood of people trying to compare you to other country-pop artists? Yes and no. People are always going to talk and compare, that’s just how it is. I’m still growing and learning about my style and sound and this whole process with releasing my album has really helped me along the way. I just want to be the next Teigen Gayse. 

What is some advice you would give musicians that are working towards their goals? Don’t give up, you never know if tomorrow will be your day. Learn as much as you possibly can, talk to people, get out there and go experience life. Making mistakes only means you’re getting better so keep making mistakes and keep fixing them till you get it right. There is no right or wrong with music so don't feel discouraged if you don't play like a certain person, maybe what you're doing is special. Play with as many people as possible and learn from each other. GO FOR IT, don’t miss out on opportunities because you don’t think you're good enough, believe you are good enough.  What would you like to tell your fans?  I love anyone who is a fan of my music. It means the world to me that I made an impact on someone. My ultimate goal with music is to make people feel something. When I hear a good song, I am so happy whether it’s a sad or happy song, just to feel something and escape for a few minutes is a feeling I don't really know how to explain, but it feels good. That is my goal in life and that is what i want my fans to feel like when they hear my music and if I do that to them I want them to tell me about it, it makes me feel like i'm doing my job right  The Spotlight – Teigen Gayse is in the books. We want to say thank you for taking the time to talk to us about your music and inspiration’s. Looking forward to more music to come.

Check out the new album - Teigen Gayse out now! https://www.teigengayse.com Make sure to follow instagram

To get your own Spotlight send us a message. Contact Us Now! Read the full article

#Interview #NewMusic #Spotlight

[sillyxkittyy]

Writing Prompt Day 2

AU Yeah August- Day 2: College (Adrinette)

“Girl, look what I found!”

Marinette turned around as her best friend Alya ran towards her, her phone in her hand. She was always happy when she was greeted with her smiling face each morning; that girl had news to share almost every time. She was curious to see what she had this time.

“Hey, Alya, what’s up?” Marinette grinned as she leaned against her locker.

“There’s a fashion show coming up soon. Even better than that, the tickets are actually affordable!” The brunette exclaimed in excitement, holding the phone tightly in her hand. Marinette’s eyes widened.

“Are you serious? Girl, you better be serious” it had always been her dream to go to a real fashion show. She had been to a few photoshoots and seen many fashion shows on TV, but it wasn’t enough. As a future fashion designer, it would mean the world to her to see real models walk on the runway and maybe even take notes of their clothings. She had carried this dream with her since high school, maybe even before that, and she was still hopeful that it would happen. Maybe this was finally her chance.

“I really am!” Alya replied with a smile. “Although... I’m not sure how we’re gonna get the tickets. They may be affordable, but they’ll go away really quickly.” She added, pursing her lips. She had a point. Marinette sighed slightly before smiling hopefully as the bell rang.

“Guess we’ll figure that out later. I have to go to class, but I’ll see you later?” Alya nodded before walking off and Marinette went her own way as well. As much as she enjoyed college, it pained her not to be in the same class as her best friend anymore. In high school, she was always in her class. It was crazy how things had changed. As soon as she entered the class, she sat down and continued to sketch a design she had started. Usually, she liked to chat with other people, but if there was a fashion show coming up, and she could maybe go, she had to make sure all her designs were done, in case a fashion noticed her. It seemed a bit stretched, but we never know. She was so concentrated that she didn’t even notice someone coming towards her.

“You really have a lot of talent, Marinette” a familiar voice spoke from above her. The girl simply smiled.

“Thank you-“ Marinette started, although she froze when she looked up and realized who was talking to her. Adrien Agreste, one of the youngest and most popular models in Paris. She was still surprised that she was such close friends with him, even after all the time. She was also surprised that she still liked him just as much, probably even more than she did back then. She could already feel her stomach knot and all of her saliva leave her mouth. She was so nervous that she started playing with her papers and dropped a few on the floor. Adrien was quick to kneel down and pick them up. When he put the papers on her desk, he noticed her drawing.

“Is this a new hat? It looks a lot like the one you drew for me a few years ago” the blonde chuckled. Quick, quick, Marinette, say something smart.

“Um yes, it is a hat. Oh, it does? Well, it’s because it’s inspired from it- I mean, not inspired from it, more like it’s the same type- but it’s a coincidence though, i didn’t even notice! No, I did notice because it’s also my design...” Marinette fumbled on her words, flustered. She ended up just shutting up to avoid looking stupider. How could she still be nervous around him after all those years? In her defence, it was Monday morning and she really wasn’t into it. She had grown out of always stuttering in front of him, but it still happened a few times. She probably looked so weird... Luckily, Adrien didn’t seem to think so because he chuckled.

“I like it.” He simply said with a smile. “Hey, have you heard about the fashion show coming up?” Of course he’d know about it. He was a model, after all.

“Uhh, yeah, I have! Alya was just talking about it-“ Marinette replied with a shy smile, trying not to trip on her words again. “Apparently, the tickets are affordable! Except... we don’t know how to get the tickets. They’re probably gonna all disappear soon” the girl sighed in discouragement. She started playing with her pencil nervously. Adrien pursed his lips thoughtfully.

“I can help you with that”

“What?” Marinette lifted her head, confused.

“I can help you. I already have a reservation, considering my father wants me to attend it. I can make reservations for you and Alya too” he clarifies with a smile. Marinette’s eyes widened.

“You can do that?” She asked, clearly still in shock.

“Yeah, I can. One of the perks of being famous” he winked. Marinette knew that Adrien wasn’t one to use his fame to his advantage, so to know that he’d actually use it to help Alya and her made her want to scream. How could be be so sweet and nice at the same time?

“You’d... you’d do that?”

“Why, of course! Anything for a friend” he grinned. A huge excited grin came across Marinette’s face. She was going to go to a fashion show. Her! Of course, nothing was confirmed, but the possibility was still there! Going to a fashion show with her best friend and her crush? A dream come true, really. Overwhelmed with happiness, she immediately stood up and hugged him.

“Oh, thank you, thank you!” She exclaimed excitedly. As soon as she realized what she was doing though, she quickly pulled away. Adrien smiled.

“You’re welcome.” The blonde replied before going to sit as his seat. Marinette watched him as the bell rang, announcing the beginning of class. She still had a slight blush on her cheeks and a big grin plastered on her face. She slowly looked back at her drawing. She took out her books and looked at the teacher but she couldn’t concentrate on what he was saying. She was happy, overwhelmed with excitement. It was almost impossible for her to wait until lunch to tell Alya the good news.

“Wait, you’re serious girl?” The two girls started jumping around excitedly. “Hold up, but if we do get in, we need to pay right?” Marinette almost didn’t think of that. Of course they had to pay. She was so excited that she forgot all about the price.

“At my place tonight so we can plan everything?” She suggested.

“Hoping we didn’t lose all our money after paying our student loan, yes” Alya replied jokingly. The two girls sat at a table nearby and started eating. Alya spotted Marinette staring at Adrien from the distance and chuckled.

“Girl, you’ve been pining on that guy for years now, can’t you just go and ask him out?” She crossed her arms. Marinette immediately shook her head.

“Oh, no way. You know how I get near him, Alya. I can’t even speak to him correctly. I made a fool of myself earlier” Marinette looked down in embarrassment. Her friend simply laughed.

“You’re really something, aren’t you? Cheer up, it’ll get better. You’re already much better than you used to be. Hey, who knows, maybe you’ll bond with him at that fashion show?” Alya said. Marinette glanced over at the blonde boy and smiled slightly.

“Yeah. Maybe”

#miraculous ladybug #au yeah august #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #adrinette #writing prompt #my writing #this is sucky i know #but idk how college works so haha

[girlsbtrs]

Featured Artist: Meet Me At The Altar

A pop punk act that started with members meeting via YouTube, Meet Me At The Altar is ready to take the scene by storm. With an EP, Changing States having been released earlier this year, MMATA has hit the ground running since. Girls Behind The Rock Show sat down with these lovely ladies and chatted about women in the music industry and how to get kick started in the industry. See what they have to say below and be sure to keep up with MMATA on Twitter!

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Please introduce yourselves

Tea: My name is Téa Campbell and I play guitar and bass in Meet Me At The Altar

Ada: My name's Ada Juarez and I'm the drummer of MMATA

Edith: My name is Edith and I’m the singer of MMATA

How did MMATA form across different states?

Ada: It started back in June of 2015 when Tea came across one of my YouTube videos and contacted me. We got along really well and very quickly and the band kind of just started off from there through texting and occasional FaceTime calls and then the more the band grew the more members we came across and eventually we re-contacted Edith (after knowing her from our first ever audition process we did) and here we are now.

What does it mean to you to see more women involved the industry?

Ada: To me personally, it means a lot to see more women in the industry because I grew up not seeing very many women in the alternative scene and it was very demotivating and it almost felt like I didn't belong and that I was an outcast, or something. I just really want to see more young girls engaging and getting into this scene and hopefully being able to grow up with more role models like them.

Tea: Women being involved in the music industry is so important to us. Specifically the alternative scene being dominated by mainly white men, there's a stigma that women don't really belong in the scene which is quite ridiculous. We didn't really grow up seeing women like us in the rock scene, so we hope to be the representation for girls that we didn't have.

Edith: Seeing more women in the industry (especially this scene) makes me even more proud to be a woman! It makes me feel empowered, loved, and accepted. I grew up not seeing very many woman in the bands I loved. So now, whenever I see other young women in this scene it makes me feel like I am a part of something; that I belong.

What was the writing process like for your EP, Changing States?

Tea: For Changing States, the process was actually mixed. The first few songs we wrote, I would come up with a guitar riff and Edith and I would be on the phone coming up with melody and lyrics for the songs. In our song 'Changing States', Edith said the lyric "you put me in a toxic state of mind" and I finished it with "I'm Changing States this time" literally right away. Edith and I write so well together, it's kinda crazy. The last few songs we wrote for the EP, we actually wrote in person while Ada and Edith were here in Florida for one of our shows

Edith: Our writing process is a lot different than many other bands writing process. Since we all live in different states, it was a matter of using technology and sending each-other ideas and stuff. Tea is so talented writing Changing states seemed like one of the easiest things I’ve ever done. Tea would come up with a sick guitar part, send it to me, and we’d both do melodies and lyrics. When you put talented people together it’s amazing what you can get done

Are there any women that you’ve been listening to that inspire you?

Edith: My number one inspiration as a young woman and a vocalist has been Hayley Williams from Paramore for pretty much most of my teen years. I am also very inspired by Jenna McDougall from Tonight Alive, and Lynn Gunn from PVRIS. All of those bands in general inspire me every day.

Ada: Paramore has been a huuuge influence for me ever since I was in Elementary School. Hayley Williams was basically one of the first girls I ever saw in an alternative band and it helped me open my eyes and say "I can do it too", you know? As I got older I came across a lot of other bands like Courage My Love, Tonight Alive, PVRIS, and We Are The In Crowd which continued to push me forward.

Tea: I know we're all gonna say it, but Hayley Williams has been one of the most influential women in the scene to me. Very few people have that much raw talent and seeing Paramore live in 2014 is actually what made me realize that I wanted to perform for the rest of my life. Other bands that inspire me (that don't have females in them) are Capstan, they're from Orlando are incredibly sick musically and lyrically, and Knuckle Puck which I get a lot of inspiration for guitar parts from. The new music we've been working on has been heavily influenced by Belmont as well, and each of our influences are meshing together to solidify our own sound.

Any advice for young women wanting to get involved in the music industry?

Tea: Do it even if the odds are against you. You will get 1 yes for every 100 no's. People will put you down and underestimate you, but you have to go at it with all you've got and prove them wrong. What we're learning as a band is that we have to make our own place in this industry, it won't be made for us. That can be discouraging to a lot of women, but we have to push through all the bull and continue to shock people with our talent. Life is too short to not try based on fear of rejection from others.

Ada: Just get out there and do it. Don't let anybody stop you and try to always be confident with what you do and what you want to show.

Edith: NEVER DOUBT YOURSELF EVEN THOUGH YOU WILL BE CONSTANTLY SURROUNDED BY A LOT OF TESTOSTERONE (ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE TRYING TO GET INTO THE POP PUNK SCENE) No but in all seriousness we are just as strong and determined as these men, we can be just as good or even better as them as well. Girl power is often an underrated term. Even if you look a little bit different as the other people that are dominating the area you want to succeed in, YOU CAN DO IT!! Never underestimate yourself! You cannot live in fear of rejection from others. Many people might doubt you, but as long as your heart is in it, that negativity won’t keep you from being successful.

Any local bands you want to shout out?

Edith: Well for Atlanta, I want to shout out Revenge Season ( a hardcore band with a front woman who is BADASS she inspires me everyday ) also I wanna shout out Turf Wars because they are really cool dudes.

Tea: Even though they're not from Orlando, I want to shout out our boys in Glazed from Jacksonville. They're absolutely sick and such great guys.

Ada: For NJ I'll shout out Silent Culture (who are on a slight break right now actually) who have been really tight with us and have offered to help us with shows or gear/equipment that we may need whenever we're in the area. They're great dudes!

- interview conducted by Aliyah English

#featured artist #aliyah english

[tipsycad147]

7 Common Questions About Witchcraft Answered

Curious about the Craft?  The article below discusses some of the more common questions about witchcraft.  If you’ve wondered about these things, you’re not alone.  All of the questions below come up constantly in my inbox, on discussion threads and even over coffee with my friends.

Can anyone be a witch?

Yes!  There is a little magic in all of us.  Like anything else, the more you develop your practice, the better you get.

Never let anyone tell you that you need to be of a certain heritage, or born into a tradition of witchcraft in order to learn.

Certainly, some people are gifted with special talents (like sharp intuition, or a keen ability to focus).

But you have your own special talents.  The trick is to discover what they are and how they apply.

Are you a great cook?  Try the art of kitchen magic.

Love gardening?  You’re a green witch in the making.

From midwifery to a knack for raising parakeets, there’s a way to translate almost any ability into a magical practice.

Do spells really work?

Ah!  This is a tricky one.

It kind of depends on how you expect them to work.

If it sounds absurd when you say it out loud, it probably is.

But I think most people with experience in the magical arts will tell you that spell craft does change your life and your outlook in the long run.

The ways in which this happen are often subtle, barely perceptible, and easy to talk yourself out of.

They also rarely go as planned.  The Universe has a pretty twisted sense of humor that way.

I don’t know if it’s really helpful for me to say “I did X, and the result was definitely Y, and I’m sure it happened because I did X.”  For skeptics, this will always sound like self-delusion, and for me, it kind of prostitutes a very profound, personal experience.

Magic is very personal.  And the way it effects you is, too.

Let me put it this way: millions of people around the world practice some form of witchcraft—whether they call it that or not.  People have been doing this for tens of thousands of years.

I think it is extremely dismissive to say that all these people are simply ignorant and backwards and there’s no merit to a magical practice at all.  Certainly, I know lots of intelligent, rational people who consider themselves magical practitioners.

But ultimately, I think it’s best for you to judge this for yourself and your own life.

Is witchcraft evil?

No.  Of course not.  Not inherently, anyway.

In fact, you probably practice some form of witchcraft without even knowing it.

Ever carried a rabbit’s foot for good luck?  Opened a fortune cookie?  Worn the same socks to win a baseball game?

Did your grandmother ever come at you with some funky-smelling home remedy to cure a cold?

Have you ever seen an herbalist?  Practised meditation?  Carried a good luck charm?  Blessed a meal?  Talked out loud to a dead relative?

(Okay, maybe that last one is just me).

Magic is everywhere if you know to look for it.  It’s no more evil than than plucking petals from a flower and chanting “He loves me, he loves me not.”

There are lots of really messed up historical reasons that mainstream society and religion continues to demonise witchcraft.  For more on this phenomenon, check out How Witchcraft Became Associated with Evil.

That doesn’t mean there aren’t people with bad intentions who also happen to practice witchcraft.  Just like there are people with bad intentions who practice Catholicism or Buddhism.

But most Catholics and Buddhists are good people who practice with good intentions and want what’s best for the world around them.

The same is true for witchcraft.  It is what you make it.

If you practice with malice in your heart, you’re almost certainly setting up yourself for disaster.

But I would no more fear a bad witch than a bad Catholic, and neither should you.  Speaking of which:

Help!  A witch says she cursed me.  What should I do?

First of all, on behalf of the pagan community, I’m sorry you ran into one of these idiots.

Most of us find this behaviour profoundly embarrassing.

Rest assured, 99% of time, these people are either frauds or lunatics or both.

My advice?  Ignore it.  Recognise it for the stupidity it is and move on.  Do not engage.

If the person in question continues to pursue or harass you, treat it as you would any other form of harassment.  Document anything you can document, save any harassing emails or phone calls, and if need be, call the police.

Whatever you do, don’t rant about curses or you’ll make yourself look crazy, too.   Just stick to the facts.

Law enforcement will likely recognise this nutter for what he or she is.

If all else fails, contact a lawyer.

Stalkers are much more dangerous in the physical realm than the spiritual.  Concern yourself with that and ignore the rest.

Can you be a Christian and a witch?

Who are you asking?

If you’re asking me, yes.  I welcome you to the Craft.  I respect your Christian faith, and I absolutely believe you can honour it and still practice magic.

Lots of people do.  Most of my tarot clients are Christian.  At least one of my coven members is a practising Catholic.  There’s a whole Christian witch movement.  I can’t really speak to that branch of witchcraft, because I’m not part of it, but there are almost certainly Christian witches out there who will be happy to help you along that path.

However, I can’t promise you other people on both sides of the coin won’t tell you differently.

Unless you’re a Unitarian Universalist, Christian clergy will likely discourage the practice of witchcraft.

On the flip side, there are, unfortunately, practising witches who have an attitude problem about Christians.

Wait, why do they have a problem?

For what it’s worth, many of them had terrible experiences in the Christian church.  In some cases, they were downright traumatised, and it’s difficult for them for recognise that not all Christians are the same.

In some cases, it’s the opposite.  Some pagans have little actual contact with Christians and only rely on what they’re heard or read about them.

I know it’s a lot to ask, but try to be patient with them.

We need more Christians in our community to show them that there’s more to Christianity than oppression and abuse of power.

Trust me:  it’s the very best way to change their minds.

Also, keep in mind, we’re not all like that.

Personally, my experiences with Christians have been largely positive, and I try to recognise that as often as possible in my own circle.

Bottom line:  your faith is your business.  And I sincerely hope that foolishness does not deter you from pursuing your chosen path.  There are lots of us on it who want to help you along the way regardless of your spiritual background.

I’m interested in beginning a magical practice.  Where should I start?

Wherever you want.

Pick a subject that interests you.  Maybe you feel drawn to tarot cards, or you want to learn more about how to set up an altar.

Start there.  Let your practice evolve as you evolve.

Or, go for the broad overview, and pick up a 101 book on witchcraft.  Here are some of the more common titles (affiliate links below):

The Green Witch by Arin Murphy Hiscock

The Modern Guide to Witchcraft by Skye Alexander

Wicca Herbal Magic: A Beginner’s Guide to Practicing Wiccan Herbal Magic, with Simple Herb Spells by Lisa Chamberlain

The House Witch: Your Complete Guide to Creating a Magical Space with Rituals and Spells for Hearth and Home by Arin Hiscock

A Year and a Day of Everyday Witchcraft: 366 Ways to Witchify Your Life by Deborah Blake

Is it okay to include my children in my practice?

That is a deeply personal decision.  No one can answer it but you.

I’ve seen people go their entire adult lives as practitioners and never once include a child in ritual.

I’ve seen people with children who never miss a full moon.

Certainly, if you decide to, there are lots of kid-friendly ways to introduce your child to a magical practice.

Of course, you should never include other people’s kids in your practice without permission, no matter how benign you think it is.  Holding a bonfire in the backyard to celebrate the Summer Solstice and including your kids’ friends probably seems pretty harmless.   But to someone with deeply religious convictions of another faith, it might be downright blasphemous.

Always respect other people’s decisions about what’s right for their families when it comes to religion.  Don’t get defensive and never take it personally.

moodymoons.com/2018/12/12/7-common-questions-about-witchcraft-answered/

[topimagines]

Meeting the Families- Brendon Urie

Request- I just read your most recent Josh fic and it was amazing!!! I was wondering if you could do a Tyler x readre where he takes her to meet his parents? <3.

A/N: me and this person changed it up a bit so yes it’s now about Brendon Urie. Thanks for working with me as I kind of changed your request <3. Also I added pictures because who don’t need to see some adorable baby Brendon Urie am I right? Anyways enjoy!

“Okay yeah, next weekend will work.” you were on the phone with your parents as Brendon walked into the room and sat next to you. “I gotta go, we’ll see you next weekend. Love you too bye.” when you said we’ll Brendon’s gaze went straight to you.

“We’ll?” he questioned once you hung up.

“Sorry, but yeah, both of us.” you said feeling slightly guilty. Brendon had yet to meet your family and he wasn’t looking forward to it. Either were you. You were the youngest of the family and to say they were protective over you would be an understatement. Not to mention they didn’t approve of Brendon, they thought he was a bad person and that he didn’t know what he was doing with his life. They didn’t care to listen to you when you told them about how he was a successful musician. They tended to be very judgmental and you were the complete opposite of your family.

“Well since I have to go, you have to meet my parents then.” he said. You hadn’t met his parents just yet because you were just too scared to, afraid of them hating you.

“Really?” you said.

“Yup. Now tell me things to be prepared for your family.” he said excitedly. He’s been wanting to meet them for a while, but you always told him no, knowing how rude they could be. You were scared they would scare him off.

“Well my mom and dad will only go by Mr. Y/L/N and Mrs. Y/L/N for now.” you said. “My aunts and uncles will try to get to marry me right away. Oh and stay away from my aunt Linda, she’s a crazy cat lady who will make you a sweater in an hour without you wanting it.”

“How will I know which one she is?” he asked.

“Oh, you will. Okay I have my 2 older brothers who will ask you all the questions about why you think you can date me, and they’re going to try and scare you off.”

“Do you have any people who won’t be giving me a questionnaire when I walk in the door?” he joked.

“Yeah, my grandmother but that’s because she sleeps through the whole party.” you said. “Also be careful, my brothers and dad are probably going to monitor you like crazy.” you continued.

“I wasn’t nervous at first, but now I sort of am.” he admitted.

“Don’t be, because even if they don’t like you I still will.” you said placing a light kiss on his cheek. “Now what do I need to know about your family?”

“Well we’re pretty normal. My mom and dad already love you and my siblings aren’t going to care.” he said and you felt a little better hearing that.

For the next week you prepared Brendon with things to say and not to say around your family. Some of them being no swearing, no mention of drugs or alcohol, and basically just go along with anything they talk about.

“Does this look good?” he asked as he tried on his 3rd outfit that day.

“Yes, it looks fine. Don’t be nervous, you’ll do fine.” you said calming him down. He had been freaking out for the past hour or so about what to wear, how to do his hair, and what to say to your family.

“Okay, okay. You’re right, I need to calm the fuck down.” he said taking a deep breath.

You giggled lightly at how adorable it was seeing him freaking out over this. When really you were hiding your freak out. You knew they were going to make judgements as soon as they saw his tattoos and heard more about his career.

Once you arrived at your parents house that afternoon you turned to Brendon and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze.

“You got this, just be careful. I’ll be right there to help you with answers.

He shook his head and you lead him to the door.

“Your favorite child is here.” you announced as you walked into the house.

“You so weren’t the favorite.” your brother Andrew said to you as he met you with a hug.

“So this must be Brendon?” he said looking Brendon up and down.

“Yes, this is Brendon and back off Andrew before you scare him.” you said pushing past him with Brendon in hand.

“Hey there Y/N how’s it going?” your dad asked from the couch where all your uncles, other brother John, and asleep grandma sat.

“Good, this is Brendon everyone, Brendon that’s my Grandma, uncle Pete, uncle Dan, my Brother John, and my dad.” you said pointing out each.

John sat up in his seat and glared at Brendon.

“Hello Brendon. So, you’re Y/N’s boyfriend?” your father asked.

“Yes I am sir, it’s great to finally meet you.” he said shaking your dad’s hand.

“Well Brendon you’re coming into a interesting family.” your uncle Pete joked.

“We’re going to go say hi to the rest of the family now.” you said pulling him along to the kitchen where your mom, and 2 aunts sat chatting.

“I thought I heard you come in.” you mother said hugging you.

“Yeah got here just a few minutes ago. Anyways, Brendon this is my mom, aunt Linda and aunt Kathryn. This is Brendon everyone.” you said taking in the stare your mother had on Brendon.

“Nice to meet you Mrs. Y/L/N.” he said shaking her hand.

“So Brendon what do you do for a living?” your aunt Kathryn asked him helping with the awkward silence. After listening to him talk for a little bit you saw him relax slightly.

“I’ll be right back okay?” you said and he shook his head while listening to you aunt Linda’s conversation about her newest cat.

You went down the hall to the bathroom, but were stopped before you could get there.

“Y/N, just the person I wanted to talk to.” said your uncle Pete said to you. He and your aunt Kathryn were never judgmental and were open to everyone. “So your brothers and dad are planning on getting Brendon away from you for a while to question him, but your aunt and I got you covered. Did you prep him for the things they’re going to ask him about?” he asked.

“Yeah, he’s really nervous and I should probably get back to him before aunt Linda starts naming all her cats.” you said and your uncle laughed.

“Good luck, he seems like a good person.” he said and you continued onto the bathroom.

You went back into the kitchen a few minutes later to see Brendon missing.

“Where’s Brendon?” you asked your mother.

“I think your brothers went outside with him. Let them talk-” she said but you walk away before hearing the rest.

You went out to the back porch to see to see your dad and both your brothers talking to Brendon. He looked calm and you thought you would let him talk for himself for a minute before going outside. You could heard the entire conversation.

“So what are you looking to do with Y/N? I mean you don’t have a stable joke, are you using her for her money?” you father questioned.

“No, no sir. I would never. I actually do have a stable job, my band is very successful and we are actually going on tour in 3 months. I’m in love with your daughter and I’m just looking forward to spending the rest of my life with her. We’ve been together for almost 3 years and I would never do anything to hurt Y/N, she’s my everything.” Brendon said.

“Why did you wait this long to meet us?” John asked.

“I actually wanted to meet you guys a while back, but Y/N was discouraging it. I’m sorry we waited so long.”

“Oh so you’re blaming this on my sister?”

“No, I- sh-” you saw he was getting nervous so you went outside and interrupted the conversation.

“What’s going on out here?” you asked.

“Just asking him some questions. You can go back inside Y/N we have a few more questions to ask him.” you father spoke.

“No, I’m gonna stay right here. So what kind of questions?” You asked grabbing Brendon’s hand and he calmed down.

“Well just, never mind. Brendon I’m still not done with you. I’m not sure you’re for Y/N. I’ll give you a chance, but only because Y/N seems happy.” you father said before walking away.

“Yeah just know if you hurt her, your will be hurt 10 times worse.” Andrew warned.

“Andrew shut up and leave him alone.” you said and watched them all walk back inside.

“Breathe Brendon, you did fine.” you said kissing him on the cheek. “I heard that you said you were in love with me, are you really?”

“Y/N you know that. I will love you for the rest of my life, I will love you even if your family hates me, and I hope you will love me the same.”

“I do Brendon. Never doubt my love for you. Now let’s get back inside and finish this damn party. I’m sick of my family already.” you said leading Brendon back inside.

You sat in the living room talking to your uncle Pete and aunt Kathryn.

“I’ve heard of some of your songs before. I’m a music teacher and a few kids in my class are huge fans. You’re very talented.” your aunt told Brendon.

“Thank you, I like to think I have talent. That’s really cool that you heard of me before.”

“Brendon do you think you’ll ever tie the knot with my niece anytime soon?” your uncle Dan came in interrupting the conversation.

“Uncle Dan stop.” you said.

“It’s a real question. You’ve been together for what 3 years when will I get some great nieces and nephew. I’m getting old and we both know your brother’s can’t keep a girl for the life of them.” he said.

“Dan stop pressuring the poor kids. They’re young and living their lives.” you uncle Pete said standing up for you.

Finally the food was ready and that meant the party was closer to ending.

You and Brendon sat close to the end where your dad sat. when Brendon rolled up his sleeve his Frank Sinatra tattoo showed.

“Who is that Brendon?” you dad asked.

“Oh this is Frank Sinatra. I’ve been very inspired by him.” Brendon explained and your dad listened. You saw your dad taking a liking to Brendon more and more as they struck up conversation.

Soon both your brothers were in the conversation and you were relieved that they were talking not just questioning.

After you all at you helped you mom clean up the mess.

“So your father and brothers like Brendon. He seems like a good man, I’m glad you found a good one.” you mother commented and you stopped your actions.

“Wait so like you all like him?”

“Yes darling. He’s very sweet. Don’t get me wrong he still isn’t 100% in your father’s book, but nobody will ever be for his little girl. I trust him and I hope to see more of him.” you hugged her before she could finish her statement.

“Thank you mom.” you said.

You finished cleaning the kitchen up and went out to see Brendon laughing while talking to your brothers.

“Bren, I think it’s time we go, you have to be in the studio all day tomorrow.” you reminded him.

“Right, well it was nice meeting you guys.” he said standing from the chair and shaking the hand of your brother’s one last time. “And Mr. Y/L/N it was a pleasure getting to talk to you.” you said goodbye to the rest of the family, Brendon leaving a good impression on all of them.

“Y/N can I have a minute with Brendon alone?” your father asked.

“I’ll meet you in the car.” Brendon told you taking in ho hesitant you seemed, but he felt confident.

You headed out to the car and waited.

When Brendon came back out you saw he had a big smile on his face.

“What did he say?” you asked nervous of what your father might have said to Brendon.

“He said he approves of me.” Brendon said still with a huge grin on his face as he drove.

“That’s the only thing? You look really happy?”

“That’s all you have to worry about love.” he said and kissed your hand. “Now next weekend you meet my family. Are you ready?”

“Sure as long as they are as normal as you said.”

“Trust me they are very normal compared to your family.”

The next weekend

“Hi there you must be Y/N. we’ve heard so much about you.” his mother greeted you with a hug.

“All good things I hope.” you smiled.

“He made you sound like an angel.” his father told you.

“That’s because she is.” Brendon said kissing you. “She makes me the happiest I could ever be.”

You felt so comfortable the entire time. His siblings were all so nice and his parents loved you.

You were currently around the table with his mom and one of his sisters looking some old family pictures.

“This was when he was about 2. His sister Kayla took scissors to his hair.” his mother said pointing to the picture.

“Aww he’s so adorable.” you said.

“Oh god don’t show her pictures.” Brendon said sitting next to you.

“Why they’re so cute. You looked like a dork.” you said.

“I look like a 35 year old women in this one mom. You did you dress me like that.” he said at another picture.

“Brendon shut up. You look like an adorable little kid who did whatever his parents told him to do.” you said poking him in the side so he would stop ridiculing his younger self.

“Just don’t show her my high school pictures. Those are the worst.” he said then leaving the room.

His mom showed you those next and he really did look like a total dork, but you love him.

After many hours of conversation and laughter you and Brendon were about to leave. You finish your goodbye and they all welcomed you back anytime.

“So did you like them?”Brendon asked as you got into the car.

“Yes. I love your family they were all so nice. I’m sorry you had to deal with mine.” you apologized.

“You can’t help that your family is terrifying and that I was anxious the entire time.” he said then you sat in some comfortable silence as you drove back home.

“So did my mom end up showing you all the high school pictures?” he asked.

“Yup.” you laughed.

“I’m so sorry. I went through some awkward stages.”

“You were such a dork yet so cute. Maybe one time I’ll show you mine.” you said.

“You were probably hot in high school.”

“Nope. I wore a hoodie and sweatpants everyday and had pimples everywhere. Growing up with older brothers made me a bit of a tomboy. I finally got to senior year and ditched the sweats for dresses. I’ll never go back to that. Now that I think of it, I’m pretty sure I burned all evidence of those 3 years.” you said and Brendon laughed.

“I could always tweet out the school you went to and the year you graduated. I bet someone will find a yearbook with your picture.” Brendon tease.

“Don’t, I mean it Brendon. Those pictures could be the break point in this relationship.” you warned and he laughed.

“Nothing will break us. I love you way too much for a picture to change that.” he said kissing your hand as he drove.

#brendon urie #brendon urie imagine #brendon urie fluff #brendon urie x reader #brendon urie fanfiction #Panic! at the Disco #panic! at the disco imagine #panic! at the disco fluff #panic! at the disco x reader #panic! at the disco fanfiction

[arrowsbane]

Okay, so there is something to be said for not eating cheese before falling asleep in the mid-afternoon sun, because as fun as it sounds, it can mean for some seriously weird dreams. I am 1000% blaming @shanastoryteller for this, because right before I dozed off, I read this post here that she wrote and it hit a wall, turned 90 degrees east and ran off into the sunset of hell half-frozen over.

So. First let me tell you this, I am not writing this as a fic. Just no. It’s bad enough as it is. Also, while I’m somewhat known for genderbending, I am not really a fan of Fem!Ed. Kind like how I can’t handle Fem!Yuuri from YOI. It’s just… these precious babies are perfect just the way they are and I cannot bear to change them. But, I am down with reading Fem!Ed if there is a reason – like… gender reassignment. (See the aforementioned post). Or maybe Truth just likes to fuck with Ed. Idek.

So. On with the insanity:

So. For some reason, poor Edward Elric is a girl born in a boy’s body. Or maybe he’s just a boy who is more at home in the female shape. I don’t know okay. I’ve always been comfortable exactly as I am, and I’m not going to insult anybody by pretending that I know everything. The point is - Edward is not comfortable in his own skin. Edward knows that his body is somehow wrong. And he’s smart, and brilliant, and a goddamn whiz with Alchemy. And so is Al, who just wants Ed to be happy, no matter what.

So, crazy brilliant brightsparks that they are – with a supernova burning in place of a soul, and the universe in their eyes – they draw up a circle, and Ed goes before Truth.

Truth, of course, isn’t too happy at being faced with a tiny scowling boy who insists that he is a girl; but Truth does understand that sometimes bodies can be uncomfortable at best, and soul-destroying at the worst of times, and this insanely brilliant child is going to be the source of a shit-ton of entertainment for years to come.

So Truth helps.

For shits and giggles, because why not.

...

Trisha is… understandably puzzled. She went to bed the night before, a mother of two sons, and then woke up with a son and a daughter.

Um, what?

They are grounded. Of course they are. Origami cranes are one thing, but this? What were you thinking? You could have been rendered braindead, you could have blown up the house. Or the universe. You could have died!

It should be noted that Trisha ranks her kids’ lives above that of the universe continuing to turn, and reality not peeling apart at the seams.

As any mother rightly should.

...

Time passes, as it is wont to do, and Edward grows into a lovely young woman with a talent for mass destruction and reconstruction.

(although, it must be said that when puberty came rolling around, there were more than a few curses, and Ed had to be physically stopped from reopening the Gate in order to yell at Truth. Because Fuck you asshole!)

Officially, her name is Elizabeth on all the paperwork, but here’s the thing: Ed might be a girl now, but she never stopped being Ed. You can change your shape, but you can’t change who you are. And hell, Ed loves confusing the fuck out of people when she introduces herself as Edward.

[Teacher didn’t discourage this. If anything, she encouraged it.]

It becomes a joke – wherever she goes (and Al is with her, because in what universe would he not be? Don’t answer that. Because that probably means Al is dead in that universe and you can all go to hell before you hurt my little cinnamon roll), leaving chaos and destruction and generally uprooting tyrants for fun; leaving only the whispers of a red coat, long blonde hair and the names Edward and Alphonse Elric: Alchemist Extraordinaires’.

...

[Somewhere in the East, Roy Mustang is tearing his hair out trying to track down a pair of genius brothers. Here’s a hint: It’s not going so well.]

...

Now this? This is not love story for Roy and Ed, oh no. My weird ass dream is twisted, and somehow, I love it. Even though I don’t ship this…

So. It’s summer, and it’s bright, and Edward is now… what? Seventeen? Eighteen? Who cares? The point is, there’s a massive inter-village party going on, and alcohol is involved. She dances the night away, laughing madly the whole time and winds up going for a roll in the hay with a charming chap from two villages over who’s on leave from the military. Not her usual choice, but hey – he’s funny and he pulled out her chair for her, and calls her “ma’am”, and he made her laugh. He also turns out to be brilliant in the sack, so hey – Ed reckons she made a good choice of partner for the night.

She wakes up to a lazy grin, and work-roughened fingers gently teasing straw and dried grass out of her tangled mess of hair – because I’m not joking about the phrase ‘roll in a hay’. It’s round about then that she realizes she forgot to introduce herself, and so she holds out her hand, “Elizabeth,” She tells him. Because hey, he did good last night. He did more than good. She can play nice.

“Havoc,” He replies, shaking her hand, “Jean Havoc.”

Ed fucking laughs at him.

“What?” She asks, “You gonna tell me that you’ve got three brothers called Mischief, Chaos and Trouble?”

He laughs as well, and they’re both still laughing when they tumble over each other and go straight for round two.

...

On and off, the whole summer, these two wind up together. In bed, at dinner, just generally wandering about causing trouble. And then Havoc has to go back to work.

And dammit, Ed finds that she’s missing him. What the hell? Ed doesn’t do pining. She does quick flings, and moves the fuck on. But apparently not anymore.

Al figures it out before she does.

And then when she does, he sits her down and listens while she rants and raves, and curses Havoc out because she did not plan on falling in love. I mean, yeah, she’s got plans to be a Housewife someday, because Teacher was ah-mazing and all that – but no. She had not planned on marrying a military guy. Why would she? The military is E-vil. (And wow, Ed has no idea just how right she is there).

So Ed hmms over it for weeks and then she gets that stubborn look in her eyes, packs her bags, and scoots off down to East City because dammit, she’s getting married. Whether he likes it or not.

Al and Winry are cheering her on, and Trisha isn’t really sure what’s going on anymore.

(Yes, Trisha got ill and shit, but Ed got even more stubborn and kinda maybe might have been more interested in Alchemy and it’s healing properties in this ‘verse, and yeah, she paid a bit more attention when she met Truth. She doesn’t know it yet, but she gave something in trade to the Gate. There’s a reason she doesn’t have Daddy Issues here – she doesn’t even remember him. There’s nothing left to hate.)

...

Ed shows up in a hurricane of energy and barges her way back into Havoc’s life without so much as a by-your-leave. He’s not really complaining. Not even when she storms up to him in a bar when he’s out for a night with the boys, yanks him down by his collar, and tells him that they’re getting married.

“Um… Don’t I get a say in this?” He asks, blinking down at her. Her hair is a mess, and she’s breathing heavily from beating the tar out of a guy outside because he tried to put his hands where they weren’t welcome – but goddamn, she’s still the most beautiful thing Havoc’s ever seen, and in all honesty, his question isn’t so much a “no,” as a bemused “oh really now?”.

Ed straight up growls at him, and he laughs, scooping her up and tossing her over his shoulder.

“Oi! Breda!” He shouts down the bar, “Get your coat, I’m getting married.”

Breda chokes on his drink, and then he starts to laugh. “This I gotta see.”

...

So they get married in an office, with a half-sober Breda and some random person they grabbed off the street as witnesses.

Havoc’s collar is unbuttoned, he smells of beer and cigarette smoke. Ed is wearing jeans and a tank top, her hair is a tangled mess of gold and there’s dirt smeared on her left shoulder.

They don’t have any family members there, and Ed makes their rings out of her earrings and Havoc’s watch. But that’s okay. Trisha and Elaine can yell at their kids for eloping at a later date. And then ask about grandchildren in the next breath. Al will laugh himself sick, and Winry will demand to be Godmother when they get around to it.

Not that they plan to – I mean, practicing making the future babies is fun and all, but neither of them want kids just yet.

...

More time passes, and you know what? It works for them.

Ed is a freaking genius who sometimes gets so into her work that she forgets to eat or do the dishes, but that’s just fine because Havoc grew up on a farm where folk did whatever needed doing. So he cooks, and coaxes food into her. He washes dishes, and folds laundry, and he’s even brave enough to pull her away from her books for long enough to get her to sleep.

And then once she’s done with her bender, Ed spends days making it up to him. Because she’s a hundred percent the kind of person who gives stuff her all.

Havoc doesn’t understand one whit of what she’s doing, but hey, it makes her happy. He doesn’t need to know anything more than that.

…

The first time he accidentally catches sight of her notes over her shoulder, he thinks she’s going to kill him, because Alchemists are nothing if insanely secretive of their work.

But hey, no, not Ed. Not with her husband.

She smiles at him, and then yanks him down onto the floor next to her.

And then she starts explaining the basics to him.

…

Because here’s the truth. Ed’s been worrying over Havoc’s complete obliviousness to alchemic circles for a while now, especially seeing as he’s almost always on the team chasing the crazy (in a bad way) alchemists – and dammit, she wants him in one piece. So come hell or high water, she’s going to make sure he knows what is safe and what means he should be hightailing it out of there.

…

The next time he’s closing up a case with the team – a crazy wannabe alchemist had been messing with the structural integrity of a building, and was also apparently a complete and utter moron, because even he knows better than to use those two particular equations in conjunction together.

He says as much, and is treated to looks of utter amazement and disbelief from his teammates.

“What?” He asks, “I know stuff.”

Breda is sniggering behind his back, because unlike the others, he was there when Havoc married the crazy alchemist lady. Come to think of it… Breda might be the only one on the team who even knows that he’s married. Oops.

He really hopes that Hawkeye doesn’t shoot him for this.

…

So yeah, things go fine. Mostly.

Havoc learns when to run away from the crazies, and Ed wanders off with Al to save the world, or sometimes just turns entire cities on their heads by sticking her nose where she shouldn’t – see Youswell, Liore, ect…

And all the while, Mustang rages over the antics of the famous Elric Brothers.

…

It’s actually rather pathetic, and it takes Havoc a long time to put the pieces together.

He’s more than a little bit embarrassed to be honest.

Mustang is halfway through a rant on how Liore has descended into chaos – two raging factions; and Havoc’s eyeing the pin-board, feeling strung out and an odd sense of de ja vu.

Penny in the air?

Huh. Wasn’t Ed in Liore the week before last?

Penny drops.

Oh. Havoc thinks. Oh, shit.

He’s so used to her going by her legal name in public – because while Edward Elric writes alchemical papers and rescues kittens from trees, it’s Elizabeth Havoc who fails epically at knitting, burns scones and actually has a bank account – that he forgot (and wow, is she going to laugh herself sick tonight) that when she’s off gallivanting across the country with Al, she uses her birth name.

Son of a –

He’s been trying to track down his wife and brother-in-law the whole time.

The wife who sleeps in his bed, and the brother-in-law who camps out on their couch.

How is this even his life?

…

Ed does indeed laugh herself sick that night.

Mean.

…

He reckons that he should probably tell Mustang, if only to save Eastern Command from being set on fire the next time the Colonel loses his temper, but hey – Havoc likes living.

So he sleeps on it.

And he sleeps on it.

And he sleeps on it.

Eventually, Friday rolls around, and Ed is giving him that look – the kind that says ‘man up, or I’m buggering off to cause mass chaos and destruction without you,’ and so Havoc swallows his pride.

That day at work, he waits until Mustang is once again ranting on about the Elric Brothers, and then, carefully, warily, pipes up with: “So, um, Chief? I might have a lead.”

Mustang freezes, and then pivots.

Ack. He looks like he might breathe fire at any moment.

“What?”

Havoc gulps. And then he starts to fidget.

“Well, actually,” he admits, “it’s my wife that you’d be wanting to talk to, sir.”

Mustang looks at him like’s gone mental.

“You’re… married?”

“Yes?”

“She’s way too good for him,” Breda snickers, leaning back in his chair.

Mustang blinks, frowns, blinks some more, and then moves his mouth soundlessly for a few moments, clearly furious.

Then, finally, he grinds out a short command of “Call her.”

“Yes sir!” Havoc yelps, diving for the phone line and praying that Ed is at home.

She is.

And she’s more than happy to come down to Command and set the record straight.

She’ll even bring Al with her.

Havoc sort of wants to curl up into a ball and cry.

...

Ed glides into the office, all grace and charm, looking exactly as people would expect an innocent modern-day country housewife to appear. Her blonde hair is carefully braided up into a milkmaid’s style, and there’s a touch of flour dusting the hem of her peasant’s blouse.

Havoc feels like he’s in the twilight zone, because she’s even wearing makeup. Since when does his wild dustdevil of a wife wear makeup?

Al catches his eye and winks – he himself is dressed in neatly pressed clothes and sporting a pair of glasses (why? He doesn’t even need them for fucks sake?) and looks the textbook image of a wet-behind-the-ears scholar who probably couldn’t even find his way out of a paper bag.

“Mrs. Havoc,” Mustang smiles, offering her a seat, with his charm turned up to eleven.

“Hello,” Ed smiles, and there’s a devilsh look in her deceptively innocent topaz eyes, “Edward Elric, at your service.”

She sweeps into a genteel bow, and then gestures to Al.

“Alphonse Elric,” Al grins. “Nice to meet you.”

Havoc sorely wishes he’d called in sick that morning.

…

So… Okay. He’s probably going to die.

Mustang practically has a fit, and Hawkeye’s hand is on her gun, which means Havoc has to try really hard not to flinch.

Once he’s done making a series of choking noises that sound like a dying weasel, Mustang straightens his back, puts on his ‘the military wants you!’ face, and says: “Enlist.”

To her credit, Ed only blinks twice, before her mouth curls into a mischievous grin to anybody who knows her, and a dangerous snarl to the uninformed.

Al grins.

Havoc cringes.

“I,” Havoc’s wonderful Valkyrie of a wife thunders in a flawless imitation of her Teacher, “am a Housewife!”

Oh god. The look on Mustang’s face is priceless. He can’t help it.

Havoc starts to laugh.

BONUS:

Wondering why Father never managed to take over the world?

Funny story actually, Ed kinda might have just happened to be wandering by Briggs when Kimblee (the fucker) conned the Drachmans into attacking the fort, and hey, she kinda likes Amestris you know, being Amestris and not Drachma 2.0

So she drops a mountains worth of snow on them.

Funnily enough – carving a blood crest does not fucking work if all your victims die of air deprivation, or being crushed under several tons of ice and snow. Because, y’know, not enough blood being spilled and all.

Basically? The bad guys ran out of time – and it was all Ed’s fault, because no matter what they tried, she kept fucking up their plans by accident.

And then Honoheim owned their asses.

The End.

#fma #shanastoryteller #ramble fic #rambles #ed is a girl #I am going to hell #I wish I could say I am sorry #but i don't think i am #roy #alphonse #edward #roy mustang #edward elric #alphonse elric #mine #but also... sort of not mine? #what even the fuck is this? #riza hawkeye #jean havoc #riza #breda #havoc

[hogwartselementumrp]

Congratulations Areej! You have been accepted to play Augustus Wood, with Matthew Daddario as the faceclaim! Now, me and Admin Beth absolutely adored your application. Beth was personally drawn to your para sample, thinking it showed you had an excellent grasp of the character. I personally loved how you described Marzia... Just kidding, seriously. Every single part of this application was very well written, and I am very glad Raluca & Lynn forced recommended it! I really hope we get an app for Oliver soon because I believe you will make their interactions super angsty!!!

Welcome the the RP! I hope you enjoy your time with us!

OOC Information

NAME/ALIAS: Hey! I’m Areej PREFERRED PRONOUN: she/her AGE: 17 TIMEZONE: GMT ACTIVITY LEVEL: On a scale of 1 to 10, maybe like a 7?? I have exams in June that I should be studying for but also I am not. That means I’ll try to be on at least once every day/every couple of days at the minimum.

HOW DID YOU FIND THE RP (NEW MEMBERS): Lynn & Raluca made me recommended it :))))

Character Information

NAME OF THE CHARACTER: Augustus Wood DESCRIBE THE CHARACTER IN YOUR OWN WORDS:

In a sentence? Your average playboy Quidditch player.

Wand ━ chestnut and dragon heartstring

( chestnut ) “The wand of chestnut is attracted to witches and wizards who are natural fliers. However, when paired with dragon heartstring, it may find its best match among those who are overfond of luxury and material things, and less scrupulous than they should be about how they are obtained.”

(dragon heartstring ) “As a rule, dragon heartstrings produce wands with the most power, and which are capable of the most flamboyant spells. Dragon wands tend to learn more quickly than other types. While they can change allegiance if won from their original master, they always bond strongly with the current owner.The dragon wand tends to be easiest to turn to the Dark Arts, though it will not incline that way of its own accord. It is also the most prone of the three cores to accidents, being somewhat temperamental.”

Birthday ━ july 25th

( leo ) “can be among the most arrogant, self-absorbed signs of the zodiac, but also the most tender and generous. as the lion king of the cosmos, you are a force to be reckoned with — and you’d have it no other way. full of ego and the insecurity that inevitably accompanies it, you demand respect. the successful Leo, however, learns how to command it. you thrive on the esteem of others, but privately your self-esteem wavers. a natural performer, you can be a powerhouse of creative talent, charisma and instinct. you crave the spotlight and take great pains to grace it.”

( aries moon ) idk i don’t even really know what a moon sign is tbh but from what i gather, it means you’re independent, enjoy confrontation, have lots of crushes or short-lived, physical, passionate relationships but move on very quickly, and are straightforward rather than manipulative.

AND HEY LOOK i found this neat pdf that outlines it some more

So that basically covers personality, right? As for plots, I think right now he’s in a weird space of being a little unsure of himself, which he definitely isn’t used to. Typically, he gets what he wants. No questions asked. Nothing ever gets taken away from him – only handed, usually on a silver platter, so the fact that the Quidditch teams have retracted their offers has left him more irritable than usual. And the rumour that he takes performance enhancing drugs (as if he needs them). As much as he pretends he isn’t bothered and that he’ll get his job back in no time, he’s actually kinda scared, knowing that if the Quidditch thing doesn’t work out, he hasn’t worked hard enough at magic to excel in it like he wants from life.

ANY CHANGES YOU WISH TO MAKE?: FC change to Matthew Daddario pls & thanks  TITLES: ex-Quidditch captain of Slytherin, resident fuckboy RELATIONSHIPS:

Marzia Levi ━ ex girlfriend. After about 2 months of dating the hottest, most charming girl he could find, Augustus realised that she was crazy.

Scorpius Malfoy  ━ old friendship. At school, the two were healthy rivals, competing to make each other better on the field and spending time hanging out off it. That all ended after Scorp’s sickness. Out of loyalty to his friend, Augustus tried at the beginning to stay close, but Scorpius’ bitterness just pissed him off and he left him. 

Roxanne Weasley ━ pseudo-little-sister. She keeps his feet on the ground, as much as she can, anyway. He protects her.

FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS:

Parents ━ Being the oldest Wood boy, Augustus knew that practically the whole world (but especially his parents) had expectations of him to play Quidditch professionally. It seemed to be all his mum and dad would talk to him about growing up. So, as a cause of this, his relationship with them is less of a typical parent-and-son bond and more of a mentor and their trainee. He doesn’t mind much though. As long as he was playing Quidditch well, they never really bothered him getting into too much trouble at school since they weren’t around enough.

Oliver Wood ━ Ever since Oliver got in the way of Augustus and his dreams, he can’t help but be a little irritated at his younger brother. He tries not to blame him. Tells himself, assures Oliver, that this is only a minor drawback, that he’ll get his position back. But the truth is, Augustus isn’t so sure. Oliver’s naivety may have ruined his chances to become a professional Quidditch player for good, and that has caused a strain on their relationship.

Minerva Wood ━ Minerva’s probably the person he’s closest to in the world. With their parents gone a lot of the time when they were kids, he used to spend most of his time around his sister, so they told each other everything. Now they’re living together, they’re even closer. The only thing is his boyfriend who he thinks she can do better than.

PARA SAMPLE:

“What do you mean, performance enhancing drugs?”

There was no way this irrelevant man, clad in a pretentious suit, tie and matching robes (it was July, for fuck’s sake – how was he not boiling?) was serious. He, Augustus Wood, on drugs? Well, Gus thought, running a hand through his recently windswept hair, that part was admittedly believable. But ones to make him better at Quidditch? Ridiculous. It’s not like he needed any help.

“Look, I don’t fuckin’ care,” he said, cutting across the old man’s pathetic reply. “I just need this bullshit out of the papers before anyone sees it.” Saying that aloud made him realise something: that there was a very real chance of his parents reading that morning’s Prophet, stumbling across the blaring front-page headline about their son on steroids. 

If there was anything the Woods had always discouraged from their children, it was scandals. Whether they be (what Augustus had become notorious for) dating scandals, or something more like this, the celebrities grew exasperated when their kids’ names were in the papers, mostly because there was usually some element of truth in them. Not this time, though. Unfortunately, Augustus wasn’t sure they’d believe him if he told them that.  “Most rumours are fine. I can deal with rumours. But this? I get it – I fly so well that people think I must be on something, right? That there’s no way this talent can be natural? It kinda makes sense they’d assume I’m on steroids or whatever, but I swear I’m not. There, that’s the truth. Case closed. Now get this out of the fucking press.”

“It’s not that easy, sir. It’s already been printed, and –” his publicist began to reply, but Augustus already grew tired of his voice.

“Unprint it, then.”

What was possibly worse than his parents finding out? The scouts from Quidditch teams, the ones who’d been practically obsessed with him, asking to recruit him at the earliest opportunity, reading the article. It’d destroy their image of them. If his own mother and father wouldn’t believe that this was only a rumour, there was no chance that these guys would. His career would be over.

Augustus sighed. Oliver had a lot of explaining to do.

#accepted

[her-culture]

Performative Action: The College Admissions Scam is Symptom of Image-Driven Illness

[Note to Reader: The author of this article recently finished working a temporary position at Staples High School where she acted as advisor for the school paper, the staff of which includes the students interviewed. It is important for the purposes of journalistic integrity to fully disclose the author’s relationship with these students.]

Olivia Jade Giannulli was a budding social media star, which meant that by today’s standards, she had it all. The doe-eyed spawn of actress Lori Loughlin and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli parlayed her beauty into brand deals, and her generous bank account (courtesy of her famous parents) afforded her a jet-set, photo-ready lifestyle that incurred envy among the millions of followers she amassed between her YouTube and Instagram platforms. She had seemingly perfected the art of illusion that an “influencer” career often demands—presenting a glossy version of her life and using “likes” as currency.

It seemed almost poetic, then, that someone who specialized in presenting a carefully crafted image to her audience would meet her downfall by the same methods. In the past month, Giannulli has become the face of the recent college admissions scandal, wherein the super wealthy bought their children admission to elite universities. Whether it was by cheating on standardized tests or elaborately faking athletic credentials—or both, in Giannulli’s case—parents with deep pockets found that the coveted Ivy League or Ivy-equivalent bumper sticker was only a price tag away.

But lambasting the wealthy because of what they did to get their kids into college is only focusing on part of the problem. Our image-obsessed culture has afflicted a much larger demographic. With the rise of social media, we have made teenagers hyper-aware of others’ perception, and the idea of “branding yourself” extends to the college application process. Society has placed such high importance on name-brand colleges and, in turn, has nurtured teenagers who do anything for the application just as much as they “do it for the ‘gram.”  In many ways, the Internet and college admissions have become one in the same: we photoshop our lives and present the most appealing version of ourselves in the hopes of acceptance.

“Photoshopping our lives starts way before college,” Poppy Livingstone, a sophomore at Staples High School in Westport, Connecticut said. “But it starts to get unethical when you take opportunities away from people who are less fortunate than you with your photoshopped life.”

Even without photoshopping, Livingstone recognizes that she has privileges most don’t. Staples boasts the title of best public high school in the Connecticut and Westport the ninth wealthiest town in the country. Having grown up in Silicon Valley before moving to the east coast, Livingstone describes both wealthy, achievement-oriented communities as “rich,” “white,” “privileged,” and “competitive,” in that order. With that competition comes extreme pressure to perform.  

“People I know that live [in Silicon Valley], especially my age, a lot of them have some kind of anxiety or depression or a lot of stress in their lives,” Livingstone said. “A lot of them, similar to here, just do a lot of extracurriculars they don't really feel like doing and a lot of them end up going to high-end schools. So I think yeah, the same pressure exists there that exists here.”

Several of the parents involved in the scandal hail from glittery, image-driven areas of California, including Silicon Valley. Livingstone’s mother is even acquaintances with one of the alleged perpetrators. When Livingstone heard about the admissions scandal, she was disturbed on a level that was almost meta.  

“I think that it has imbued in me a deep and never-ending fear that I am also in on this con by doing SAT prep and paying for a college counselor,” Livingstone said. “I mean, am I complicit? It makes me feel super gross. [...] If I’m angry about this, I should probably be angry about myself.”

In affluent Westport, many of the students that I spoke with about the scandal expressed this guilt. But at the same time, SAT prep and college counseling are the bare minimum demanded of applicants, making this exclusive college dream really only a possibility if you have the money to pursue it.

“I think about people who are expected to get into the same colleges I’m expected to get into and how they will not have access to [test prep and tutors],” Livingstone said. “It’s unrealistic for them to get really good [scores] on the SAT, and it’s unrealistic for them to take a billion AP [Advanced Placement] classes if they have to work a job to help support their family, for example. I mean, we’re on a greased slide into college and they’re like trying to skateboard down a staircase with rocks on it.”

Because standardized test results are solely attributed to the test taker (college admissions scandal aside), high scores become shorthand for intelligence. Test takers don’t need to disclose whether they received expensive tutoring, so impressive scores are necessary when aiming to portray inherent genius—and therefore, creating the image of an ideal candidate.

In addition to high test scores and excellent grades in rigorous classes, students should have an incredible essay, ideally attend an elite prep school, display a resume that shows a focused and developed passion, and should have a demonstrable humanitarian streak according to USA Today College.

And hilariously dotted throughout USA Today’s advice about how to get into an Ivy League school—from the mouths of college admissions deans and Ivy professionals—is the key: the student should be genuine. Don’t do this in pursuit of college, we have the audacity to tell our students. Exhaust yourself with rigorous course loads and time-consuming extracurriculars because it feels right.

It’s nice for colleges to peddle the idea that being yourself is all you need to be in order to gain admission, but students aren’t buying it. And the slim admission statistics for elite universities back up their skepticism.

“As soon as you enter high school, it’s not about being in high school and having fun, it’s about how you’re going to get into college,” Staples junior Sophie Casey said. “What clubs you join, what classes you take [...] It’s hard to have genuine feelings that are the primary motivation for doing something.”

Casey began mapping out her path to college in eighth grade. She made a list of the classes she wanted to take, the clubs she was going to join, what level she wanted the classes to be, and which teachers she wanted to ask for recommendations.

“I made a literal four year plan,” Casey said, laughing. “It was neurotic and crazy and depraved.”

“Did you follow it?” I asked.

“Yeah,” she said. “There have been small changes, but I actively continually edit it.”

The plan only shows that Casey has gotten more ambitious. Instead of the original four AP classes she envisioned herself taking, Casey now has 11 between sophomore, junior and senior year.

But the regimented prescription that will help a student get into college—the AP classes, the laundry list of extracurriculars, the off-the-charts scores and the professional tutoring—effectively strangles any chance for students to discover who they truly are during their adolescent years. It discourages them from finding and pursuing their passions because that may involve some degree of failure along the way. And failure is not allowed, as it might potentially derail the perfect achievement streak they need to have in order to compete for admission. Authenticity is the most impossible ask because every other standard demands that students tailor their image to what colleges want to see on paper.

“It’s sad that [students] put so much emphasis on what other people—what colleges—think about [them],” Casey said. “Whenever I’m filling in an application and it’s like ‘what about me’ I don’t know what else to put outside of academic achievements. I don’t know what I am outside of school.”

Casey is not an anomaly, nor should we pretend that prioritizing college in her high school career means that she is somehow doing it “wrong.”  As much as college admissions gatekeepers may request authenticity, their standards demand a very specific brand of teenager. Ideally, elite colleges look for a student with ambition, talent, and preferably money. In exchange, the students will receive access to a network of alumni who will welcome the new generation into the fold and help him or her succeed in the dreaded real world. But the concern for the future isn’t quite in the forefront of students’ minds.

“I feel like it’s more about self-validation and the opportunities that esteemed colleges offer,” Casey said. “Success past the collegiate realm is almost an afterthought because it’s already attached to [the] name.”

But does all that effort to get into an elite college really make a difference long-term? Some say no, that elite bumper sticker prestige ultimately won’t make you happier and that Ivy Leagues specifically have a terrible return on investment. But one banker, who attended an Ivy-equivalent school and agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity, said yes.

“For front end positions [those that are the highest paid] our bank only recruits from a list of maybe twelve schools,” he said. “And those recruits are for region-specific positions.”

A bleak reminder: there are eight Ivies.

In order to secure a job at a large bank, he explained, students are funneled through an employment pipeline. They’re recruited for internships at the undergraduate level and the best interns will be offered a job as an analyst for a select few spots after they graduate the following year if they perform well.

“So it 100 percent matters where you went to undergrad,” he said. “And that’s why you have so much emphasis [placed on the school name], because you have these parents working at these companies that only hire from certain schools.”

“Do you think it’s only a finance career that does that [hires from certain schools]?” I asked.

“No, I think it’s any career that’s good. That’s competitive,” he said.  

The students I spoke with didn’t seem to feel that their parents actively pressured them to go to a specific school. However, they did have internalized pressure that came from growing up in an achievement-driven area. Like the banker, the students tended to equate competition with quality. After all, elite colleges are considered “elite” specifically because the competition for admission is so high.

“What do you think is attached to a person when they say that they’re an alum of an Ivy League school?” I asked Casey.

“There’s definitely...respect but also a lot of envy. And I think, I don’t know if this is true, but I definitely think that people here like to be envied,” she said. “How much of a difference [getting into an elite college] is going to make to you is maybe negligible compared to how it’ll affect others’ perception of you. People define themselves by—or maybe they think that other people define them by—achievement.”

Olivia Jade Giannulli managed to achieve measurable success in the social media realm, a field that is inherently unpredictable and notorious for taking prosperity as quickly as it gives it. Her parents, neither of who went to college themselves, may have believed they were giving her a more stable future through the USC degree they bought for her.

But success without substance isn’t success at all. The banker I spoke with agreed that it’s very hard to fake your way to success in a highly competitive field. Once you enter those competitive colleges, you need to perform at that level or else drown among candidates who will outshine you. His bank weeds out candidates who have coasted on privilege with a 3.3 GPA minimum  requirement (no exceptions) from top universities and tough interview questions that require both industry savvy and classroom study.

“It sorts itself out because if they start their career and they’re not good, they’ll get fired. They’ll be pushed out. That’s part of the sorting process,” he said. “That’s the thing, you can only fake it for so long.”

[druwritesgreatness]

First of all HAPPY NEW YEAR… AGAIN! I don’t know if you follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter but this is completely unedited and 100% me. It’s been a thought to start a blog and was dropping a few topics like “Single is a living too” and “Fuck’em” to give you a little insight on what to expect from me. To know me is to love me so I put this together to serve y’all some transparency in my experiences, and we can link up in the comments, my email… it don’t matter to me. So, here goes…

NAME WOES: At first I didn’t like being called Dru. NOBODY KNEW IT and I absolutely don’t know why! But it irked the shit out of me. My family called me by my middle name which is Rena (most spell Renee). It didn’t start until I went to school, like elementary then high school and soon on jobs now into my career in being an publisher and author- all I hear is Dru. It finally grew on me like  2017, so I’m cool with it now though.

ANXIETY PLAYING TRICKS ON ME: Like Charlamagne’s book Shook One Anxiety playing tricks one me. I Have ANXIETY! It gets unbearable when I overthink about all my goals; personally and professionally. My vision so big it scares me and makes me anxious. Nonetheless, I’m doing a lot better managing it so that I can balance my life without it consuming me because I have shit to do. It’s not easy but ‘one day at a time’ has been the best advice that done it for me in 2018.

FEED MY MIND MORE: I love to read a lot… lately, I’ve been having readers block to urban fiction, urban romance, contemporary romance anything with characters and plots pretty much. I have to find authors to test read for us because it has gotten so bad (thank GOD for the readers). To cure this, I’m reading outside those genres and reading more books like biographies, self help and motivational. Maybe my taste in reading choices are changing, I don’t know. I would like to call it growth.

RESEARCH: videos, documentaries etc. about drug kingpins, underworld criminals, black panther party, FBI… I be on it. In my next life I would be a researcher and a New York Times Bestselling urban crime writer. Most times I’m on YouTube and Netflix watching videos of all the history from the 70’s to 90’s. I compare it to the times of now and man I be amazed. Just know when I write my books I put a lot of research into it.

I LOVE GOALS: Writing down my goals gives me something to look forward to both short and long term. Goals are attainable if you believe and work towards them if you want to see them come to fruition. I change my goals often because I find new talents within myself that can possibly change my life. I learned to write realistic goals so I don’t disappoint myself.

LOYAL

COMPASSIONATE

Trust me I have more facts.

  Let me run it real quick

 Most people can remember when they started writing but not me. I do remember I was young in my teens writing stories for my cousin to read. She thought they were pretty good. My imagination was wild and it showed in my writing style. I lost all of that work.

Before all that my mom always bought me journals and I would jot about my day, a boy I liked, random thoughts or even write a scene between characters. She obliviously encouraged me as well in writing because those journals meant a lot to me which is why I have about a hundred plus.

It wasn’t until I started working at a chemical plant that I stepped out on faith about submitting my book for publication. All the ladies at the job were in love with the chapters I was writing while I was on the night shift. It gave me the extra push to go ahead and submit to the Bayou Soul Writer’s Conference in New Orleans where Ashley and JaQuavis were having a writing contest. It was already pass the deadline, but I decided to submit it anyway, since I was already a big fan. Worth a try, right? YEP! I won the contest in 2011.

    Drusilla Mars winner of Ashley JaQuavis Writer’s Contest 2011

  After winning this plaque, I felt like I could do anything and my writing was going to take me right to the top of the literary industry with them. At the time, I was measuring my expectations off the success they were having with The Cartel and Murderville series. They’re the NYT Bestselling authors doing the damn thing. Unfortunately, the promises of winning the contest didn’t go through and its no hard feelings. I was a little discouraged but it showed me how the industry is and that I needed to research more before getting back into it. Maybe my writing wasn’t all the way up to par… All I could do was write and keep it pushing. I had all kinds of issues going on so life goes on- regardless. At least I know I tried and I got their attention which means I’m still in the game.

One night at work, I was on Amazon and came across books you can read on your phone. Blew my mind and I noticed the prices were like .99 cents to read. NO WAY?! So, I browsed and bought books all night. Real life! I had about twenty books on my kindle. I started with Bawss by Best selling Author David Weaver and it was intriguing; on a level you could understand black history then and why things are the way they are now. Anyway, I finished the book and went to Amazon and found The Bankroll Squad series. After reading part one, I instantly get on social media to find him and found dude on Twitter. I hit his DM and told him how much I love his book. He was a real genuine and thorough businessman to the tee. Even gave me the option to help me self publish if I wanted to pursue it that way. Long story short he signed me to his company in 2012. He introduced me to a group The Bankroll Squad (TBRS) where so much unity, creative and goal oriented minded members were apart of.

December 12, 2012 Black Fire was birthed to the world.

I honestly with my whole heart appreciate everyone who purchased this copy. It was definitely not the best edited book but a damn good book. There were a lot of grammatical errors that irked me when I reread it, finally and in its entirety. There was a lot I didn’t know about being an author besides writing the books, editing and promoting six years ago. Between 2012-2013 I was consistent with releasing books until the drastic changes in the industry and honestly I couldn’t keep up and was getting overwhelmed with a lot; losing my job, my step dad passing and starting a new publishing company. I took a step back from releasing but not writing because I always practice to ‘never stop writing’. In 2018, I decided to start releasing again. But I wanted to start fresh and the right way like I was showing my authors through our author development.

In 2018, I decided to give my first baby a complete makeover; cover, editing and formatting. It was a pleasure working with my pen sister/editor Leondra on my baby. The pain wasn’t bad at all she knew exactly what Black Fire mean to me and I believe she understood my goal. I read and reread it so I know it’s official. Check it out here on Kindle or paperback Black Fire

This year I wanted to show that same consistency as I did when I started and I believe I did good with following up with excellent content. No matter what obstacle I was faced with I managed to be consistent in a twelve month period. My goal was to publish only the books I believe were 100% ready and I did that. The time I’ve taken away from publishing my own work I used to write more and research, and based on my readers I have grown a lot in my writing. I appreciate those who really been down for me because it’s been a ride to get to this point.

My first release of 2019

February is the estimated release month for this one due to the plot changing I had to take a step back from it. Its still coming out. To take a break from these crazy ass characters I started something else until I get motivated to go back in on it.

This year my goal is to write at least four full length books, build my blog and publishing company. If you’re not already familiar hit the link where you can find me.

Publishing: Kindred Soul Publications

Never Stop Writing First of all HAPPY NEW YEAR... AGAIN! I don't know if you follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter but this is completely unedited and 100% me.

#african american #book recommendations #books #boss tips #burban fiction #contemporary romance #love #relationships #romance #self eseteem #single #women

[alejandropagunuran13-blog]

Life of a Blogger

Believe in God

This is my personal experience when I was a kid and I was struggling with our debt burden so we could eat almost all the work of my parents even though they were tired even for them to feed my brother and my mom thought that why my father did not go abroad so that somehow it would diminish our debts one of my family's most severe tests for my dad's pawn abroad to borrow my mom for leaving my dad

And my prayer to God when we do not do it as it seems that nothing happens I say to myself that it will not happen or be fulfilled but my mother says I do not say that because all our prayers are heard by God but not He will now give us our request at the right time if it is necessary that I have really understood everything my mother said and that until the Lord fulfilled our request and that my dad will be left to Saudi Arabia.

But he does not have enough income to reduce our debt so he left his job and applied another job and God heard our prayers again and reduced our debt but as he worked on another the country has come a great deal of trouble in our lives and it is very difficult to go beyond our relatives to leave at the same time to be with the god that the most painful thing in my life is losing our precious grandparents and they are happy in the presence of the lord God.

And all our neighbors our homes are looking at us as they like them they are the ones who are very rich and I am feeling discouraged because of them but my mother says I do not want to plant you in because everything they do for us will come back to them because the God does not sleep all that they do with us he sees and does not enjoy it all the sins that his children do in the world he protects and my mother said we should not turn away from God because he is the only one who knows everything he has done all he can to love forever and forgive many times more times and I believe in everything that he said has entered my mind and my heart and that's all I can understand is my advice to everybody if you have committed a wrong attitude before you and ask forgiveness and do not leave him behind because he Jesus Christ has done everything you can to believe in him and no serious problem cannot be tolerated if the god is abandoned, so believe in God. 

-Alejandro N. Pagunuran

 Dear No One          

 Well obviously I’m not Tori Kelly, I’m not gonna sing. Anyway, dear no one, to those people who don’t often feel like they’re living the life they wanted. Dear no one, please tell them all the things you wanted to do, wanted to have and wanted to let go and you’ll feel like you’re talking to your self, an alternate universe of yourself. Dear no one, this ain’t gonna be your love song, but this will be your life song, please enjoy all the things that makes you happy and take risks if you feel like you wanted to. Dear no one, to myself right now, to my future self and to who I used to be, stay strong, don’t let other people make a choice for you, don’t let them dictate your moves and decisions, don’t let them take you for granted and never ever let someone feel that you’re not good enough. Dear no one, don’t be afraid to love, it’s okay to be selfish sometimes if that what’ll make you really happy. Dear no one, this is me talking to you, saying the things I wanted you to do and the things we should’ve do. Dear no one, especially you— myself, understand this, if only we could turn back time, I wouldn’t have to write this blog about realizations of all the mistakes we’ve done.                 dear no one, once you've reached you endpoints, the time where you'll be struggling of standing on the edge and holding yourself together, please remember that there will be someone who's willing to catch you and embrace you, someone who will lift u up and pull you closer to them and far of the edge. breathe, let go and cry. you've done a good job being strong, lifting up others and making them happy. dear no one, it's time for you to stop thinking others and let yourself to be happy. dear no one, i love you. 

-Arzel Sagarang Veran

 UNORTHODOX

 This is a tale about the girl who prefers pants over skirts, adores make-up and the likes, loves books over boys, and fawns over food more than anything else. This is the story about Krystel Perez, the girl living behind the curtains, lurking in the shadows, yet still basks in the sunlight. ‘Carpe Diem’ is what she loves to say, but never really applies. She’s anxious, and a cluttered mess all the time, although when it really matters, she’s quite reliable. Scared about people judging her, she favors hiding beneath other people, staying on the surface and laying low, even when flying is the way she goes. ‘Never stand out’ is her life’s motto. People are obsessed with being different; with leaving a mark, while this girl tries everything in her power to blend in with the crowd. A journey where everything is bland and boring, welcome to my life! 

-Krystel Gem Perez

  Myself and my new Family

 Hi I am Marivie Jane Nicolas ,but my friends call me Jen or Jane. My hobbly is singing and acting and my favorite sport is volleyball. My favorite color is nude colors, and about my likes , I like waching disney movies and some horror movies. I love eating nilagang baboy and dinuguan. I also love cooking, playing gun games ,and  coloring. I love attending church every Sunday and participate on some avtivities in church like mentorings ,prayer meeting, and etc. I love also joining in some sports activities like volley ball. I remember last year we won first place in joining volley ball liga in our barangay and my fried won a medal bacause she is the MVP in our team and Im happy for her.About my school this this year ,on the first I was a little bit shy but when I saw Jam I feel that I am not alone because she’s there. And when weeks passed we all became comfortable with earch other and I can say all of them is really friendly and nice. And I feel that tjhis year is gonna be the best year because I meet new friends and teachers or should I say I meet a new family. 

-Marivie Jane Nicolas

 Creating a band on Junior highschool

 It’s not easy to make a band although you like it. First you need to be patient because there's a chance that your band mates have their own schedule, we have different religion, different days of attending on church. Moreover sometimes having a misunderstanding on the day that we scheduled to practice. But after a misunderstanding, we never missed happiness even we have a lot of problems we just laugh at it. In the band, there are things that you don't need to give a big deal like a problem on your band mates if they don't practice their role as a band teach them how to make it right do not take advantage on them it will cause a big misunderstanding. Creating a band on Junior highschool is unforgettable moment because there's a competition that we joined "Battle of the bands" there 4 participants. I think this is the time that we show/share our talents. So don't lose the chances that we can have. 

-Ryan Abian

 Wake up

One Saturday night as I walk in the middle of nowhere, I saw you.

I’m tired, but when I saw your smiles my day lighten up. I’m hungry,  but i feel sorry beacuse you are more than I am. Not a beggar, but someene who’s begging for some love and care. You are a dirty dress, that keeps the bacteria away, protecting us from illness. A slipper with poop, that no matter how used you are,or how dirty, never get tired us, A jewelry also, despite of those scratch and bruises, you keep on shining and giving us the way.

A beautiful Queen with no elegant dress but with those cries unsaid. See it, how closely you are dirt than to us your precious gems. May you show us the pain inside the wrinkles? May you show us the starts slowly fading away? Mom please/ Please stop pretending that you’re okay.

Mom please wake up, I want to see those smiles again. Sorry, But I love you and didn’t show it. 

-Jam Rilveria

 Best Friends

My girl best friend right now A girl that tell me im worth it even seldom A girl that i always want to talk at all times to the rest of my life A girl that always there no matter what happen giving me smilee to each other even its complicated She change my life for a short time with a long conversation full of meanings that we worked each other but not together its hard to say but i know she's a good person of the most beatiful heart person that came through my life my girl but im only one who knows my happy pill for a short time until now but many things running on my mind thinking about her thinking  of she's still happy when she was with me before she's comfortable when im with her talking many things crazy moments of our life and knowing each other but after that one move one day all changes i don't know why i ask myself always where i did go wrong why she want a distances or space many questions iwant to ask but when im with her all preperations and energy goes away then i only ask myself everyday what why i cant tell her my feelings and truth.

 -Dane Geronimo

 My self

This is my first time to write a blog. I don’t even know how to write it and I have no idea on what to write. But since this is our requirement and based on my research about this site, we can write anything on this, even about ourselves, so I’m going to introduce myself as start.

Hi everyone! My name is Rovick Marvin. I'm 16 years old. I'm a STEM student at EAC,Cavite, I'm in the 11TH grade. I'm from Dasmariñas, Cavite, I am fond of playing computer games during my free time and after doing my assignments. I like to play badminton but nowadays I don't have much free time. I’m a homebody person. I rather stay at home than to mingle with some friends.

My father is an OFW for 25 years and my mother is a public school teacher. I grew up missing my father celebrating special occasions of mine. I have to accept the fact that he sacrificed his own happiness just to give us our needs especially for our future. So I’m doing my very best not to disappoint him and as a reward for his sacrifices. I have a brother name Mark Raven. He is now 21 years old. We have opposite personalities .He has a lot of friends and he is an outgoing person, not me. He loves to travel with some friends, but not my type. He has a lot of courage in driving our car, which I don’t have. But one thing I am proud of as well as my Mom, I am smarter than him in terms of studies. He spent a lot of money buying some stuff but I rather save most of my allowance in my piggy bank.We fight a lot even in a small things. But one thing we have in common, we both enjoy playing mobile games. I think this is all for now. 

A pleasure to meet you all.

-Rovick Cantada 

 My favorite Person My Favorite person is named Mark, we've been schoolmates since grade 4 but never noticed each other, so basically we're schoolmates but a total strangers too, not until we turned Grade 9. That year, we became friends ( but ofcourse he's my crush already) and eventually we had our label on September 27th. He's quiet but goofy around me. He's clingy sometimes and comforts me and I'm feeling down, it's like I found a bestfriend inside my boyfriend. He's respectful and gentleman. He's not my ideal man but he's more than my ideal man. Well, I guess it true that when you found you're "The one" you wouldn't care about those anymore. And just like a normal relationship, we started fresh and happy, oh how I wish it was forever, but no relationship is perfect so just like the normal couples out there, we had our misunderstandings, fights, and such.

-Inna Dominique

   Vèlo

First of all, vèlo means bike. Bike is a machine. That has many uses in every way. It can be used as transportation, sports, exercise and much more. Bike is very much easy to use. Just keep on pedaling in order to move your wheels. Bike has simple components on it just frames like our body, it’s the bod of the bike. Next one of course the wheels the feet in human body, the bar is the arms and so much more if I will label it screw by screw lol. My point is. Bike is a machine that can help you on every way you can imagine. Now you know whats is a bike. But let me tell you a more deeper meaning of what is vèlo for me. Bike for me is not just any machine, it’s like us humans. I treat it as a friend, that I can count on everything. Bike is my friend or should I say bestfriends ? I don’t know… but im sure of one thing, it will always be there when I need someone. Yes someone, because my bike ain’t just for transportation , sports or what. It’s like a human who you can talk to alone. Its like every pedal I make, memories are made. Let me describe my bike. My bike doesn’t have any brakes at all. It’s a fixed gear. If I want to stop, I need to stop pedalin’. The gear is fixed it cannot be freewheeled or coast while biking. You need to keep the pedal spinning in order to move. If we think deeper. That’s how our life works. You need to keep on pedaling, grinding no need to stop on life. Don’t put your feet on the ground. Don’t lose hope. Everyone asks me why do I need to ride a fixed gear bike or fixie because it’s so dangerous and so much more dangerous in traffic. I always answer it “I ride reasonably dangerous” I know its dangerous but its part of life right ? Whats life it’s not dangerous. If you fell down. Get up! Life is full of pain. Be thankful if you feel pain. Because if not. Your’e dead homie.

-Jayson Carlos

[thesingerscorner]

An Interview with a Millennial Musician

     College - the best time of a young person's life. A college degree - one of the most valuable things a person of today can have. A college degree in music, however? To many, a degree in the arts is rendered useless. With so many amateur musicians in every career and organization in today's society, helping to contribute to the modern ideal of creative thinking and problem solving, what is the role of the musician-by-trade? What does it mean to be a successful professional musician to a millennial? To Greg O'Keefe, a senior college student studying Music Industry, that role is simple, and essential.

"Ms. Vanacore: Why are you doing what you do?

Mr. O'Keefe: Because I couldn’t do anything else.

Why not?

Because I want to bring other people the joy that it brings me. If people could feel the same way I do when they listen to the music I make, that would be a success. Like, the way I feel when I listen to music other people make.

How have the artists you’ve been listening to gotten you to this point?

They’ve showed me that I’m not the only one dealing with the sh*t I’m going through.

How did others discourage you on the way to where you are now?

Ha. By being so much f***ing better than me. I got here and I thought I was the sh*t. It’s the competition – the fact that you’re raised in a place where you’re a black sheep and you get here and you’re among 400 other black sheep. It’s an environmental thing. The student base was so concentrated, it discouraged me.

I didn’t know how to play a major scale when I got here, but because I knew how to play a pentatonic scale on the guitar back home, people just told me to remember them when I was famous. Now, I'm saying that to some of my peers.

Me and my buddy were the only two that went to school for music, and when I got here I realized that maybe I couldn’t do what I wanted. I wanted to be a performer, but I thought maybe I’ll be something else cause I didn't think I was the best performer. I got here and realized that that was okay cause there are so many people involved in roles in music and I could be any of them.

How did you discourage yourself?

Comparison. That’s literally the main one. Being faced with a bunch of peers who are so much further along the musical ladder just because of circumstance. I came here on a $10,000 scholarship and found that a lot of other people deserve that more than me.

It took me a while to realize that there's a spectrum. On the top of the spectrum are the insanely talented prodigies who work extremely hard. They're the best and they'll end up getting rich and probably famous. Then there are the people at the bottom of the spectrum - the ones that don't really have any talent, but also don't work hard to get better. Then there are the people in the middle - these are the people with different levels of talent who put in different amounts of work. For example, if someone in this middle area had a lot of talent, but never worked on it, then someone with slightly less talent who works really hard could easily surpass them. That can be really discouraging, but also motivating, cause even if you think someone is more talented than you, if you work hard you can get to their level.

What about other common issues? Performance anxiety?

For me, not so much performance anxiety. Being judged during a performance, and whether or not your creative thoughts are quality and valid. You want to be validated as a musician for what you do, but it’s not up to you it’s really up to your audience, which can be intimidating. You really gotta learn to trust yourself and be confident with who you are as an artist, cause that's the kind of musician people are attracted to.

What are some myths about being a musician that you can dispel?

That creativity is entirely natural and comes out of nowhere. Creativity isn’t all just inspired, it’s work. It’s a myth that you don’t have to practice. But even I don’t formally practice every day, my friends and I just “practice” every day - we jam. We get better by messing around. Learning music theory will NOT hurt your ability in any way, shape, or form, despite what some ads I've seen say. "Watch this video and you'll be able to write a hit song!" - that's complete crap. You have to learn music theory and songwriting over time, it just won't happen after paying for and watching a twenty minute video.

Another misconception is that all the greats do drugs. All the greats of today are working their a**es off right now and they won’t touch that stuff. Raw talent that you work for, treating your body right. That’s how you get great.

You have to have talent, but you have to work for it, too. You have to know though, that if you don’t have the talent for performing as a musician, there’s no amount of work that could fix that. You have to realize at some point that you can be good at teaching or working in other aspects of the industry, but there is a ceiling for talent.

Have you even seen another musician do something crazy for money?

Mostly I’ve seen people working at places they never thought they’d end up because they’re taking some time to make money before going deep into music. It’s hard to start out, so I have friends, not giving up music, but taking a break from it being their main thing to make some money. It’s kinda sad, but it’s necessary.

How does fame and wealth play into the picture?

Fame doesn’t, wealth does. I’m not trying to get famous, I’m trying to get rich. Well, rich enough to move to a nice suburb and have two kids. I’m trying to support a family of four and have a decent clientel that recommend me to good people. As far as wealth goes, there’s a 1% of society, and there’s gonna be the same in music. There’s musicians living on the street, there are musicians living the high life, and there’s the working man. I could be a worker for the rest of my life and that would be okay as long as I’m happy.

At this point in my college career, straight out of college, I’m expecting to work a shitty job. If I get my current dream job right out of college, I should be able to make rent. (laughs)

What goals have you achieved?

I went to college. Got my high school diploma. Got away from what my parents wanted. I can improvise, which as a kid I thought was the coolest thing ever. I can hit a low D, which in high school I couldn’t even hit an A. It’s the little things.

What do you still want to accomplish? What are your priorities?

I want to be able to get out of college with a job. I want to be able to do what I love with who I love. In five years, I want to have worked with or for someone famous. Or get credits on something big.

I want to save up enough money for a family. Every single day is going to be pointed to, “In the next 10 years, I want to be happy with where my life is”. I want to be happy with who I’m with, where I’m working. Bare bones. My priority is to work until I get to that place.

Where do you see the future of music headed?

At the moment, I see it going back to traditional instruments. Back to the band, back to organic voices. Guitars, saxophones. People have been hearing electronic for the past few years and they want a combination of that and the organic. For the past decade, people have been like, “Wow, synthesizers are so cool!” and like, “Yeah, they are!” but they there are so many more combinations and people are realizing that and making new things. There can always be something new. People are sampling human voices instead of using synthesizers, and it’s so cool.

Will there ever be a new Led Zeppelin or The Beatles? No, cause there is so much access to even more opportunities. There were so many things that you needed then in order to be a success, and now anyone with a laptop can make music. There are sub-genres and smaller populations of audiences, so if you make something it’s like, you have a better chance of finding an audience for it and people that will like what you create, even if it’s really different.

Some really famous, popular composers today are just doing the wrong thing. You can’t stick to one style the whole time. Too much texture, to many cluster chords. It’s hard to understand if there’s only tension and no resolution, especially to non-musicians. A teacher once told me that music is only based on two chords: V and I, tension and release. I like to think of it more as IV and I. There’s only release and home. I like consistency, but you can’t use it all the time.

Where do you see yourself in that future? What is your role?

I’m the person making the talent sound decent. The one that is refining the raw talent. I make other artists sound good.

What’s my title? Artist. You could be an artist of any type. An artist of a performer, an artist of a producer, and artist of a songwriter. I don’t know. I think maybe a producer, producer of sound. Producers are artists. I think as long as I always have that artist side of me, I think I’ll have a role somewhere."

     The role of a musician of today really is that simple - to make others happy while being a happy artist. The same way that people of all walk of life enjoy listening to music, young musicians want to enjoy making their music. Success to millennial musicians is no longer selling out stadiums and going Platinum - the music market is too saturated with talent for every musician to be in the top one percent. Instead, millennial musicians dream of having a purpose in their job, enjoying their career, loving the people around them, and making listeners happy through their work. A simply beautiful role.

#interview #millennials #musician #future #music industry #blog