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tayloredreputation · 3 years

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A Note to Taylor for Her Birthday

I know I’m a day late in writing this note. Actually, if we’re being honest, I’m about 318 days late to writing this. I’ve been wanting to get these thoughts down since I first saw Miss Americana back in January. But, work got in the way, and then I got the flu, and then we, ya know, had a global pandemic and all.

To be perfectly honest, the chances that @taylorswift actually sees this are pretty slim. I hope somehow she does. But it’s also just as much for me as it is for her. So here we go.

Dear Taylor,

First, let’s get this out of the way. HAPPY BIRTHDAY! It’s almost as exciting as your golden birthday since it’s your golden birthday backwards. Turning 31 is weird right? I thought it was going to be harder than 30, but as a fellow 1989 baby I can attest that it felt a lot better than 30. I felt a lot more at peace with it, even in the midst of essentially losing a year to a pandemic. Ok, you didn’t really lose a year you made TWO amazing albums, but I essentially wore sweatpants and ate ice cream all year, so let’s just say one of use was a little more productive.

Second, thank you so much for being a constant in my life for the past 14 years. I could literally never thank you enough for the ways in which your music has spoken to me, has saved me. I know I speak on behalf of swifties all over the world when I say this. I truly don’t know where I would be without your music.

Third, the thing that sparked this note were some words you shared in Miss Americana. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about them since I saw the movie, and I thought, for what it’s worth, it might be nice to know that other people relate. The words were this: "We do exist in this society where women in entertainment are discarded in an elephant graveyard by the time they're 35,as I'm reaching 30, I'm like, I want to work really hard while society is still tolerating me being successful.”

I literally have not stopped thinking about this since I first watched the documentary. Even as someone who is not in the entertainment industry, it’s just so incredibly relatable. I think women all over the world feel this in some sense, and it’s not something we really talk about. When I first heard you say it in Miss Americana, it really struck a chord. At that time, I would have never known what this year was going to look like, but as we’ve spent days and days locked in our homes, limiting our social contact, not going into work, it has rung even truer than I thought back then.

There are so many time-related pressures for women that men don’t have to face. Let’s start with the obvious, if we want kids we very literally have a physical timeline. If we want kids AND a career, we have to meet certain milestones to make sure our career is secure and grown by the time we head out on that first maternity leave. Sure, there are legalities in place for this, but let’s be honest about how minimal those are in the United States. Our jobs may be protected for a whopping 3 months, but there are often inherent advantages that go to men or women without children. Sure we’re no longer at a point in time where you can ONLY have one or the other, but the reality is that we’re often forced to choose between children and a successful and long career.

Careers and children aside, it’s fascinating in general to just watch the pressures women have to endure to be respected. We must be in shape, not get grey hair, spend hours on skincare routines each night so we don’t show a trace of age. Why is this?

And generally, even for men, there’s just this insane attitude that life ends at 30. I constantly see things online about how you have to live up your 20s because they’re the best decade of your life, and how your 20s should be for finding yourself, and so on. Maybe I’m just feeling extra sensitive lately because I’m 31, or because I feel like I’ve lost a year of being “young and carefree” to the pandemic, but lately I find myself watching an older movie and calculating how old the actor was when they starred in that movie that launched their career. Or I find myself wondering when an author had their first book published (this is a career I’m working toward) and comparing myself to them. Worrying that at 31 without a book finished, I’ll never get that opportunity. Sometimes, even as much as I love it and play for the sheer joy, I find myself wanting to put down my guitar because I didn’t start playing until I was 25 and now it’s too late to do anything with it. Why do we do this to ourselves? Why isn’t it normal to write a debut album at 45, or pick up a new instrument or hobby in your 50s. Why do we have to choose between family and things that bring us fulfillment?

I guess what I’m getting at is you’re not alone. As a household name with tons and tons of success, and plenty of friends and family to reassure you, I imagine you know this in some way. But I also thought maybe it’d be good to hear it from someone your age who leads a super regular life in a super regular town. It’s always nice to relate. And again, if we’re being honest, I think I needed to type out all these frustrations for my own outlet.

So, on this 31st (and one day) birthday of yours, I hope you remember that you’re not alone. As I said before, we don’t speak about it much (hey we should change this!), but I think women all across the world can relate to it. Please keep trying new things and leading by example. Please keep shattering records, and doing things that make you happy. There are so many of us out there that look up to you for this. We need you, and we’ll tolerate you being successful for as long as you want. Thank you again for all you do!

Sincerely,

Adair Brown

@taylornation feel free to share with @taylorswift

#taylorswift #happybirthdaytaylor #happybirthdaytaylorswift #taylurking #evermore #taylornation

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imaginecredence · 6 years

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“I’ll see you again.” (part 74)

Summary: A Credence Barebone imagine (Credence x Reader)

~Credence is free

Note: This is the 74th part to this imagine so make sure you check out the first two! I hope you like and reblog it. There also will most likely be a grammar mistake so bare with me. Anyway… I hope you enjoy!

Date published: September 26, 2018

Warnings: none

Year: April - October, 1929

Word Count: 2,632

MASTERLIST

PLAYLIST

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Credence was growing so much in London this time around. Newt was taking him all around Europe more than last time, and focusing a lot on familiarizing him with being around other witches and wizards. He took him to meet many of his mentors and people he knew would be a good influence on Credence. After they had traveled for over two weeks, Newt decided that he should take Credence to the place he knew would have the biggest impact on him. Hogwarts. Yes, he had been expelled many years ago, but he still had some contact with Albus Dumbledore and had written him a letter, asking permission to bring Credence to the castle. Being the kind, welcoming person he is, Dumbledore was more than happy to have the two of them come.

At home, you spent a lot of time doing your spring cleaning. It had been about four months since Elsie was born, and you were finally starting to feel completely normal again. Elsie was also starting to get on a better schedule and didn’t wake up as often in the night.

You went through all of your things, hoping to feel more organized. The weather outside was so nice and breezy, that you opened up all the windows. The curtains blew around in a magical way. Nowadays, you just felt so content. The little things brought you the most joy.

Credence couldn’t believe the castle. It was the biggest, most beautiful thing he had ever seen. As he walked through the halls, following Newt, he watched in awe as all of the paintings moved and some even spoke. He would never get over how amazing magic was.

In a large room, they were greeted by a kind looking man.

“Newt,” said the man.

“Albus,” Newt smiled, shaking his hand. “Oh, th-this is Credence.” Newt turned to Credence who stood behind him.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Credence,” Dumbledore said kindly, wrapping both of his hands around Credence’s hand, shaking it slowly. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

“It-It’s nice to meet you, too,” Credence smiled nervously.

There was something about this man, he was so kind that it felt like Credence had known him for years.

“Where are all of the students today?” Newt asked as Dumbledore headed back to his desk.

“They went to Hogsmeade for the day, so I thought today would be the perfect time for you two to come,” he explained.

Newt agreed and they began to talk about Credence and what they could begin to teach him. Dumbledore told Newt that he had done reading about Obscurials and with the information Newt had given him about Credence, he had a theory on how to give Credence control over the dark force inside of him.

“Credence,” Albus began, causing Credence to look over from his gaze at the many books in Albus’ office. “Newt has told me about how you have struggled with many simple spells and of course, the Obscurus.”

Credence nodded, feeling embarrassed that he was so incapable of even the simplest of magic.

“I think I know why it’s such a struggle for you to reach your full potential with your magic,”

Credence listened intently.

“For so long you have been holding in your abilities, unable to truly free yourself. And even now, you don’t let your magic fully come out, scared that the Obscurus will follow, causing harm to the ones around you.”

Credence nodded, thinking about you and Elsie, wishing he was stronger for you both.

“Credence,” he heard, lifting his gaze from his feet to see the two men through teary eyes.

“We think we know how to help you,” said Newt, feeling sympathy for Credence. He knew how hard all of this was for him, and how much it really affected him, even if he didn’t always show it.

“R-Really?” Credence replied, blinking away his tears.

“Yes,” Dumbledore smiled.

They had gone through the plan many times, not wanting to miss any details. They knew it might not work, but Credence didn’t hesitate to agree, he had to try anything. Anything to keep his family safe from the darkness inside of him.

First, Albus taught Credence a spell that he had never used before. A more dangerous spell.

“You have to let yourself free,” he explained. “You can’t hurt anyone here.”

Credence nodded, closing his eyes as he took a deep breath.

Second was to cast the spell at Newt, which scared Credence immensely. He didn’t want to hurt Newt, and if he did something wrong, he could cause more damage than the actual spell was meant to. But Newt assured him that he wouldn’t hurt him, and that he would use the counter spell to protect himself.

“Use everything inside of you, Credence,” Albus spoke softly to him, “Find that power deep inside of you and use it.”

Credence could feel his hand shaking as he gripped his wand tightly.

The last part of the plan was for Albus to fight against the Obscurus while it was at its most vulnerable state when Credence was fully using his magic. They all hoped this would completely rid Credence of the darkness, but if not, at the least give him control over it.

Newt had once before saved an Obscurus after its host had passed away, containing it in a magical bubble. He hoped to be able to do the same today, ridding Credence of this burden.

They all stood in their places after going through the steps a few times.

“Are you ready, Credence?” Newt spoke from across the room.

Credence just nodded, breathing out a nervous sigh.

“All right,” said Dumbledore, “Whenever you’re ready, Credence.”

Credence closed his eyes, trying to find that power inside of him that Dumbledore had told him to use. He searched, but couldn’t seem to find it. He thought maybe if he sent out the spell that the power would follow. So he cleared his mind the best he could, and spoke the spell out loud. There was a small buzz he felt in his extended wand and a faint spark, but nothing more.

Credence sighed, dropping his head.

“I can’t do this,” he spoke quietly.

“No, Credence,” Albus came toward him, “Don’t say that. You can do this, you just need to use the immense power I know is inside of you.”

“What power?” Credence broke away from the professor’s light touch on his shoulder. “The only power I have is to destroy things. I’m never going to be able to break free from this. I just have to accept that.”

It was quiet in the large room, while Newt and Dumbledore both felt the weight of Credence’s pain.

Albus eyed Newt from across the room, they felt that this could really work, but only if Credence let his magic free. He went up to Credence, and spoke softly in his ear.

“You have a family, I hear,”

Credence nodded, the thought of you bringing more tears to his eyes.

“Think of them, they are your power. They are the reason you want this so very much.”

Albus walked Credence back to his place, giving him one last piece of advice.

“Think of her, and the wonderful times you have had together. Think of your daughter and how one day she will grow up and possibly learn magic too. Think of how you want to keep them safe, and how with everything that you are, you want them to be safe around you.” His voice brought Credence to a place he had never been before.

He stood in an empty, never ending place of darkness, with all of these memories spinning around him.

When he first looked into your beautiful eyes and felt that first glimmer of comfort.

When you took care of him in the glow of the warm fireplace, then snuggled close to him on the couch and fell asleep.

When you hugged each other for the first time, and the way your arms were the safest place he had ever been.

When he told you he loved you for the first time and when you danced around the kitchen, holding each other close.

When you gave him his Christmas gift by the tree, at your parents’ house.

All the times you held him while he cried from a bad dream in the middle of the night.

When you moved out of New York and into your small home together.

When he saw you walking toward him in your perfect wedding gown.

When you both said, “I do” and kissed each other like it was the first time.

When he felt the kicks of the baby inside of you, realizing this was something beautiful.

When he held Elsie for the first time, gazing down at the love you both had created.

When he sat beside you in the hospital all night after she was born.

And when he saw you the last time, standing in the kitchen, holding the baby, giving him a hopeful look that he couldn’t wipe from his thoughts.

Then he felt it, that power.

Albus was back in his place, knowing that Credence had reached that part of himself that was buried just below the surface.

Credence screamed out the spell, unable to contain the force of it all. And with the word, a burst of magic exited his wand, heading toward Newt. Newt quickly fought back, almost losing his balance at the amount of force that was blasted at him. Credence let out a yell as the power he had been holding back for so long, finally was free. Albus waited till he was sure Credence had reached his maximum strength, seeing that the Obscurus was obviously losing its hold on Credence. Dumbledore could feel the angry, churning mass as he contained it with his wand. He quickly pulled it out of Credence, struggling to keep it under control. He then forced it into the magical bubble he had created, successfully containing the Obscurus.

Credence fell to the ground, the magic he had cast, evaporating into the air.

“We did it,” said Newt quietly, smiling at Albus, as they both breathed heavily.

Credence was on his hands and knees, his head hanging.

“Credence, are you all right?” Newt crouched bedside him.

He just breathed heavily, his heart feeling like it was pounding out of his chest.

“I’m-I’m okay,” he breathed. He began to stand up, but his limbs gave out.

“Let me help you,” Newt held his shoulders, helping him stand. “We did it, Credence,” he said, after he was completely standing. “You’re free.”

They looked over at the sphere holding the dark mass. Credence smiled weakly.

Later that night, Credence laid in his bed in Newt’s case like he had been doing ever since the events of earlier. He felt so weak and he looked very pale and sick, but he still felt the best he had felt in so long. Yes, he was happy, happy with his life with you and Elsie, but this wasn’t like that. It felt like there had been this weight inside of him that he was dragging around his whole life until now. He felt free.

Newt and Albus were in the other room, talking quietly so Credence could rest. They were both amazed at what they had accomplished together. Newt wrote in his journal, keeping notes, not wanting to forget a single detail.

A little later, Newt brought Credence dinner.

“You have to get your strength back,” he smiled, placing the tray on the bed. He also gave him a potion to help him feel a bit better.

Credence enjoyed the delicious soup Newt had brought him, and fought down the horrible tasting potion.

“Thank you, Newt,” he said softly.

“No problem,” Newt replied. “What do you want to do now? You have a lot more to learn, and now you can.”

“Right now, I just want to go home,” Credence said. All he wanted was to be with you.

The next day, Newt took Credence back home.

“Make sure you write to me, I need to know how you’re feeling,” Newt said.

“I will,” Credence agreed.

“And let me know when you’re ready to start learning again,”

“I will,” he said again. “Thank you, Newt. I’ll never be able to repay you.”

“You can repay me by enjoying your life, enjoying your family.” Newt smiled, a tear falling down his cheek.

Credence nodded, smiling too.

He watched as Newt pulled out his wand, looked up and down your street, then Apparated out of sight.

Credence then turned to face the familiar house that he loved so much. He lugged his suitcase up the porch steps and knocked on the door. A few moments later the door opened.

You stood there for a second, staring at the man you love. It took you a moment to process everything, but you quickly jumped up, wrapping your arms around his neck.

“Credence,” you whispered into his neck.

You felt his hands around your waist, holding you tightly.

“Are you okay?” You asked after you were both inside. You had noticed that he looked quite different. “Yeah, I’m okay,” he replied.

“Come here. Let’s sit down,” you insisted. He looked so weak, like he was about to fall over.

“Where’s Elsie?” He asked as you led him to the living room.

“She’s asleep upstairs,” you sat him down, then sat beside him. “She’ll be up soon, but you need to tell me what happened.” You looked at him with concern that made him beam at you.

“Did you lose control again? Did Newt make you try to contain it again?” You kept talking, “I wanted to talk to him and tell him to take it easy on you, but I didn’t and, Credence, I’m so sorry yo-“ you were cut off by Credence pressing his lips to yours.

“I don’t have it anymore,” he said after he pulled away, smiling like he was the luckiest man in the world, which in his eyes, he was.

“What? You don’t have what anymore?” You looked at him in confusion.

“The Obscurus, it’s gone,”

“What? I don’t understand,” you couldn’t believe what you were hearing.

“Newt and this other wizard, Albus Dumbledore, they helped me,” he said, holding both of your hands in his. “They helped me break free from it. I’m free, Y/N.”

You just stared at him, tears flooding down your cheeks.

“I’m free,” he said again.

You didn’t know what to say, so you just lunged at him, hugging him tighter then you had ever done before.

Weeks passed and Credence was starting to feel back to his normal self. Well, not his complete normal self. You could see how Credence was still very much himself, but the best version he could be. He had been writing to Newt almost every day, telling him how he felt and how much of a difference there was.

A few more weeks passed and Credence decided he was ready to start learning more magic. So, Newt came back and they began the journey Credence knew he was ready for now more than ever.

When autumn arrived, Credence was so much more experienced with magic. He knew so much and had become so confident in his abilities. And with the Obscurus gone, he felt so free to really explore his true potential.

Late into October, the owner of the bookstore that Credence worked at, Ms. Frances, had decided it was her time to retire and give over the store to him. He was thrilled to be able to have something like this to take care of. He couldn’t wait to make it his own.

To be continued. . .

PART SEVENTY-FIVE

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vgoccasion · 6 years

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Reader Mail November 2017

Welcome to the first edition of Reader Mail! Thank you to everyone who wrote in with a question for me. Let’s get started!

VGO: Thank you for writing in James! Please take my answer with a large grain of sea salt, as I am not well-versed in World of Warcraft or MMOs in general.

While I think it is easy to categorize anything that Activision does as a cash grab (they are a profit-motivated publisher after all!), I think that the introduction World of Warcraft: Classic begs for deeper analysis. Blizzard telegraphed this move back in April 2016 when they shut down the largest private server, Nostalrius, which itself was a fan operated instance of vanilla WoW. Blizzard acted completely in its rights to stop that fan project (which violates their copyright) and start their own in-house Classic or “vanilla” WoW servers makes sense. Clearly there is a market of players who are nostalgic for the game in its much simpler form. (Sourced this information from an April 11, 2016 article on Polygon.com: “World of Warcraft fans bid farewell to largest legacy server before shutdown” by Allegra Frank)

As someone partially addicted to Hearthstone, I would love a third “classic” or “vanilla” ladder to check out that would limit players to cards as they existed at launch. I imagine that less sophisticated WoW fans may feel the same way. I trust Blizzard to make experiencing WoW: Classic extremely simple. Having not played more than 6 hours of the game in my life, I am not sure that I could find or access Nostalrius. So this sounds like a win for accessibility at the very least.

My train of thought next moves onto the track of game archival and history. I am only cursorily aware of efforts to keep other deactivated online games up-and-running on private servers. As more games become online services, it will be important to empower someone to preserve games on backup servers so they can be studied for historical context and inform the budding game developers of the future.

This phenomenon popped up just recently with the news that Sony and Altus would shut down the online servers for Demon’s Souls next February after 9 years of supporting the game’s online aspects. That game has spawned its own subgenre of action game (“Souls-like”). Exploring early experiments in game design that have had measurable impact on industry trends is crucial. Demon’s Souls online innovations included showing locations where other players perished and allowing people to leave cryptic messages and warnings for each other. These mechanics have continued on in FromSoftware’s Dark Souls and Bloodborne games, but soon curious players will lose the ability to explore their origin. This news acts as a reminder that games reliant on an internet connection are far less permanent than their offline, physical counterparts.

With a game as old as World of Warcraft — it turned 13 this November— the differences between the basic experience of 2004 and the version available in 2017 must be gargantuan. It is one thing to read about the quality of life changes or watch videos of the game in its original state, and wholly another to actually get hands-on with it and experience the flaws and differences yourself. If just for the sake of game archival and education, I am glad Blizzard is creating Classic servers in-house.

Overall, I think the move is primarily public relations management to try to appease fans who may feel alienated by the closure of private WoW servers. This story nicely echoes Nintendo stepping in to shut down Another Metroid II Remake, better known as AM2R, shortly before announcing the game at the center of this month’s issue, Metroid: Samus Returns, Nintendo’s own remake of Metroid II: Return of Samus. So, cynical cash grab? Only to the extent that protecting one’s copyright and providing a service people have demonstrated demand for can be labeled cynical.

VGO: I have indeed played a small amount of Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp. The game does a great job of replicating the surface-level appeal of the series. The music, character design, and dialogue all drip with charm. I got serious flashbacks to my time with the GameCube and DS iterations of the game from the title screen alone. I cracked a huge smile when K.K. Slider greeted me at the start of the game.

Nostalgia and aesthetics aside, I have a fundamental problem with the game’s premise, which has held me back from truly enjoying it. The furniture sets all include couches, dressers, chairs, etc. and while I think the design of each set is visually interesting, it feels extremely strange and stupid to set all of this real furniture outside at a campsite. The items you can craft in this game belong inside a cute house. Period.

Dumb gripes aside, I think the nightmarish memes the game has created in its first week of full release point towards the creativity (and unsettling mindset) of its audience. I hope the game grows over time. The game feels incredibly casual, and I could see myself checking in on it from time to time.

The worst sign for my future with the game is that I already find my interest in logging in on a daily basis waning. The core “gameplay” loop centers around a series of checklists, timers, and meters. None of the mechanics show depth enough to interest me in fishing or bug catching for the challenge, as there is absolutely none.

Overall I would give the game a hesitant recommendation, just to experience the quick spark of joy that comes from exploring a new Animal Crossing game. Sadly, that spark failed to grow into an inviting campfire worth gathering around.

David O.: “Query: Have you an opinion on the new Battlefront game, and what do you think of all the negative publicity around it?”

VGO: I will start answering this question by alienating a large amount of my potential readership: I am not that big of a Star Wars fan. I think 5 of the 8 movies are good. I find the lore and universe interesting, but I don’t think it is the coolest shit of all time. So as a nerd with a less than passing interest in the franchise, I would have been happy to ignore Battlefront II and let it sell like gangbusters.

Sadly for the three development teams behind the game (Dice, Criterion, and EA Motive) the press cycle prior to the game’s release consisted almost entirely of stories focusing on outrage over the predatory loot box design in the game. The entire controversy is too lengthy to present in whole here, but online complaints won the day and EA announced they were putting the microtransactions on hold until further notice. This news story acted as a major distraction from any positive buzz the game may have generated.

In terms of the actual reviews, it seems like game has received mixed reception with some reviewers disparaging the quality of the much touted (and John Boyega requested) single-player campaign. Alternatively, some Star Wars fans have been effusive about the quality of the multiplayer and the outstanding detail of the game’s visual and audio design.

The negative fan, consumer, and press reactions have directly impacted EA’s wallet. The game’s UK sales were reportedly 61% lower than its 2015 predecessor in their respective first weeks. The game still hasn’t broken into Amazon.com’s “Best Sellers of 2017 in Video Games” list. The poor sales and backlash against the loot boxes has caused an 8.5% month to date drop in EA’s stock price, costing their investors $3 Billion in value (according to CNBC).

Call to Action Time!

December is Game of The Year month, and I would love to hear everyone’s personal anecdotes about how they played games in 2017! Which game grabbed your attention the most? Which game surprised you? What are your games of the year? Write in by tweeting your answers @vgoccasion or emailing them to [email protected]. I need your help and input to make each issue of Video Games! (Occasionally) great.

#vgoccasion #video games #gaming #video games occasionally #star wars #battlefront 2 #animal crossing #animal crossing pocket camp #pocket camp #world of warcraft #wow #world of warcraft: classic #wow classic #demons souls #reader mail #q and a #ask #november 2017

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