#will a quote ever hit as concisely and completely as that one did to me at 4am on a break from work | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

homieswithhades · 3 years

Text

why steve rogers returning to the past was wrong

disclaimer: im clearly a stucky enthusiast, but please, do not be thrown off by that. i admit, there may be undertones of bias because of that in the following, but i did my best with trying to lay out the facts and draw logical conclusions, so do please give me a chance. also, i may have accidentaly omitted some moments and some quotes may not be 100% word for word, as my memory lowkey sucks. ALSO this is NOT a peggy hate post!! i think shes a dope and underrated character and quite frankly she was done dirty. but i also definitely h8 the trope of badass woman falls for the hero.

first and foremost, every sane person knows endgame was complete and utter bullshit when dealing with steves character, so this post will be more for you to maybe show (and hopefully convince) some stubborn friend or family member. nice, concise (not) and including proof from the movies (+a few tweets and stucky undertones, if u dont fw that i respect it but bucky is an integral part to steves character regardless of how u interpret their relationship) here is why steves character development was thrown away at the end of endgame.

let us begin at looking at the cap trilogy.

in ca:tfa it should be noted that steve had no one to return to in the 40s, except bucky. i believe steves relationship with peggy was no where near as developed as it should have been to elicit him returning exclusively for her. as we are aware, steves driving force has absolutely always been bucky. bucky was there for steve after his parents died, when he was sick, and always protected him from whatever trouble he got himself into. "until the end of the line" right? steves relationship with peggy was forced and short lived, literally, we're talking a matter of months here. i need to keep emphasising the important disparity between bucky and peggy, as it is absolutely key in this whole argument. steve dropped everything and went against every order just to even attempt to save bucky. even the slightest chance of him surviving being captured was enough for steve to break into a hydra camp and free the 107th division. steve even had the chance to capture zola, one of the main villains and masterminds of the war, but again, steve prioritised bucky. when theyre trying to escape the exploding hydra camp, the exchange between steve and bucky is critical. steve says "go! get out of here!" as all he wanted was bucky escaping safely. he put bucky's life over his own (this wasnt the first time he did this, nor the last) but bucky rooted himself to the spot, and yelled back "no, not without you!". they both escaped safely as we know, and then steve gathers the howling commandos to take down the red skull. bucky then falls off the train, nd steve blames himself for his death, even visibly crying over it twice. steves morals went from "i dont wanna kill anyone. i dont like bullies, i dont care where theyre from" before buckys death, to "i wont stop until all of hydra are dead or captured" after. stuff happens and steve defeats the red skull and is now in control of the flying ship with the bombs. he connects the comms with peggy and she tries to convince him theres another way to disarm the ship. steve was so dedicated at that point he didnt even want to hear it. he didnt even attempt to do anything to ensure his survival. this alone proves, peggy was not important enough to him to return to.

next is ca:tws. The stevebucky movie. in the museum, peggy confirms that steve saved the man from the 107th division who eventually became her husband (steve was never in the 107th, just to clarify) i believe her husbands name was daniel sousa (as revealed in the marvels agents of shield show) steve then finds out peggy is alive and talks to her. she, in short, tells him she's lived her life, and it was his turn to live his in the time hes in. the "my best girl" line was unnecessary and out of place; again, steve barely knew her. again, shit goes down, and steve finds out the winter soldier is bucky and immediately drops everything, and becomes dead set on saving him. not killing, not imprisoning, but saving him. no matter the cost. "he saw me, and he didnt even know me" "hes not the kind you save, hes the kind you stop. he won't recognise you" "he will." god, steve KNEW bucky would recognise him. regardless of the brainwashing, steve managed to break through the barrier hydra fought so hard to drill into buckys mind. nothing ever broke him out of that state exept for steve. "im not gonna fight you, youre my friend." "youre my mission" "then finish it. cos im with you till the end of the line." [[good fucking lord let me break out of my essay-esque semi professional format here and just say how fucking heartbreaking those lines are. oh my god. read them, over and over until it hits you.]] steve shows us again, that he is willing to not only die for bucky, but literally die by his hand. he would let bucky kill him. he'd dropped his shield. he didnt fight back. steve always, always, ALWAYS got up and fought back. always. exept that time. the time bucky could have killed him. that scene is the essence of "im with you till the end of the line" because then, it was true. it was true because steve was okay with dying at buckys mercy. theres a difference between sacrificing yourself for the greater good (steve going into the ice), willing to die for someone (steve risking his life multiple times in attempts to save bucky) and finally, being willing to let someone kill you, because you love and trust them so much (hellicarier scene). the difference between peggy and bucky's relationship to steve is that steve may be willing to die for either, but only willing to be killed by one. not to mention, bucky pulled steve from the river. he recognised him. steve broke through 70 years of brainwashing with such impact it literally drove bucky away from hydra out of his own free will.

in between ca:tws and ca:cw its confirmed (im p sure sam says it) that him and steve looked for bucky for two. years. even off screen, bucky was steves priority.

im going to squeeze in 2 points from from age of ultron here, for chronology's sake:

steves worst nightmare, as portayed in the movie, is LITERALLY going back to the 40s and being stuck there (with peggy too??lmfao) and also the quote "family, stability, the man who wanted all that went in the ice 75 years ago. i think another one came out." objectively confirms that steve isn't the man he used to be, and doesnt want to return to the past. aou may have sucked, but that doesn't mean the character development should be thrown away.

ca:cw. hoo boy. steve went against 117 countries and half of his closest friends and colleagues because he believed bucky was innocent of the bombing of the un conference. god, steve quite literally, did everything to defend and protect bucky. though i shall acknowledge that steve did attend peggy's funeral, however, there was no real connotations there other than the fact he was mourning her death (understabdibly so). steve then proceeds to protect bucky for 2 hours 27 mins and 41 seconds to the point where they escape together to siberia after the airport fight. "i dont know if im worth all this steve" "what you did all those years... it wasnt you. you didnt have a choice." "i know. but i did it" again, absolutely heartbreaking quotes if you read it a couple of times and truly understand the meaning of them. steve somewhat indirectly tells bucky yes, yes he is worth all of this. otherwise, he wouldn't be doing it. a quote to support that would be "for the longest time, i always did what i thought was right." (disclaimer this is not a direct quote i deadass couldnt find it to save my life, i belive steve said it at some point during civil war or tws, but the point is, bucky is the only thing that could have shaken steves morals so intensely.) and finally, the most important part of cw, the fight at the end with tony. bucky and steve constantly protected each other. steve kept fighting because he was fighting for bucky. to keep him safe from tony and the world. he got up, time and time again. "i can do this all day." the fact that he said that to tony, some people consider them the closest of friends, proves again, a million times over, bucky is more important to steve than literally anything else, INCLUDING his shield. his mantle. he dropped it and left it like it was nothing, because his priority was bucky. as always.

theres not much to discuss for infinity war other than their hug whicg was honestly just adorable.

mmmmm endgame. i will not go into how much i hate that movie because it would be a rant quintuple the length of this one. in the support group, steve dead ass fucking says "you gotta move on. you gotta move on" and that sentiment was literally forgotten at the end. my main point for endgame is this. people tend to tell me, the reason steve abandoned bucky and went back to be with peggy is because he knew that he was finally safe. :/. if you had half a braincell youd know that's not true. the steve we know, never would have left bucky for good, ESPECIALLY after the "dont do anything stupid until i get back" exchange [[god i want to beat the shit out of the r*ssos]] mostly because, bucky had fucking no one in the time he was living in!!! no family, no friends and most heartbreakingly, no one he could trust. (yes sam was there but were just seeing their friendship develop now in tfatws, all that wasnt there in endgame) and secondly, what made steve think bucky was entirely safe??? half of the worlds population just suddenly reappeared, which as we see now, there were massive consequences for that. i simply believe steve is not that stupid. steve going back was disrespectful not only to his character, but to bucky AND peggy. most importantly, the steve we've been watching since 2011 would NEVER abandon bucky, no matter how safe he thought he was (he visited him frequently in wakanda, the safest place on the planet arguably ffs) especially for such a dumbass and quite frankly, nonsensical reason as going back to be with peggy, who clearly stated to him she moved on, and so should he (which he did. idk endgame writers prolly didnt watch the previous movies :/) its not even debatable. bucky is more important to steve than peggy. even in terms of screentime.

now allow some tweets to speak for me, this one being the absolute most important one:

ladies and gentlefolk, all of the stuff ive said can be summarised in that last line. "it would be contrary to who he is."

heres some more:

and now finally, id like to briefly mention steve and tfatws, so beware of spoilers (writing this as of ep 4 coming out; praying it doesn't age badly)

bucky mentions steve, unprompted, fucking constantly. he clearly isnt over steve leaving, and im hoping that gets acknowledged and talked out in the show.

in conclusion, tl:dr, steve shouldn't have returned to the past and stayed there, it is contrary to who he is, as shown to us through his trilogy and other appearances in the mcu. not to mention the timeline bullshit in endgame makes zero sense in the first place.

#long post #stucky #captain america #steve rogers #mcu #marvel #tfatws #bucky barnes #peggy carter #hwh's marvel thoughts #please dont bullshit me in the comments also i dont have the strength #imma hide this in the tags praying no 1 will b bothered to look but steve and bucky gay #everytime some1 calls their relationship brotherly it takes 10 years off my life nd makes me wanna impale myself ❤#also no beta we die like men #my meta

237 notes · View notes

brother-hermes · 3 years

Text

BAPTISM OF CHRIST

To understand the significance of the the Baptism of Christ we must first understand who John the Baptist is. When asked who he was John the Baptist replied “I am the voice of one crying out in the desert, make straight the way of the Lord.” While he’s obviously quoting Isaiah 40:3 there’s a bit more to it than that. His manner of dress and diet screams of an exhiled Essene and even scholars have come to grips with that. However, the connotation of the wilderness has a spiritual parallel amongst the Essenes, one that denotes how our spiritual energy is grounded within. This is why he baptized with water- a physical sign. Water carrying its own significance of the normal objective consciousness housed in our physical bodies. The one who comes after him, whose strap he isn’t worthy to untie, baptizes in Spirit- transforming our very souls.

John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’ Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.”

-John 1:32

There’s so much hidden here that’s hit a hardcore language barrier and been lost in translation it’s unreal. “I saw the Spirit.” Aomai has a dual meaning. It means ‘to see physically’ but it also means ‘to see clairvoyantly.’ Both Matthew and Mark use the verb for seeing normally whereas the Gospel of John denotes the mystical path in each and every line.

Rudolf Steiner literally picked this verse apart in several lectures and defined each word far beyond anything I could ever hope to surmise. Luckily, his lectures are public record these days and anyone can find them. His translation states simply:

“I clairvoyantly beheld the Spirit, from out of the Spirit (of Yeshuas own being) gradually taking on a dove like shape, and this remained, hovering above him.”

This is a much more in depth look than we find in Matthew 3:16. “And he saw the Spirit of God (Ru’ahh) descending like a dove and coming upon him.” Yeshua is the physical embodiment of the Word. Ruach Hakoddesh(Holy Spirit) rose up from within him and hovered above him forming a chalice for the divine that was seeking to fill him. We are witnessing the entirety of Gods power fully arising within Yeshua.

Diving completely in the deep end of the pool here I’d like to site a passage from the Emerald Tablet that speaks of such an event. “It climbs from the Earth and descends from the sky, and receives the force of things superior and inferior.” Remember, John was speaking in a way that would resonate with the Greek thinkers of the day. Hermetic philosophy was alive and well amidst the mystery schools of Ancient Greece so it would stand to reason that this is how they would interpret this inner journey of Christ’s.

No matter what angle you take in discerning the mystical path laid out in John the result is always the same. Yeshua housed the Divine in the flesh and served as the living embodiment of what we should all aspire to be.

While the Church doesn’t tend to play up what it actually means to be born again in Christ the Gospel of John gives a clear and concise path to follow. Christ arises within us and leads us through our journey of transformation baptizing our Spirits.

I wanted to lay the foundation of understanding down as solidly as possible before getting into the meat of the mysteries. It’s almost impossible to understand Wedding at Cana without understanding the symbolism of Christ’s baptism. This is high Christian mysticism and I have to be incredibly careful of how it’s presented as I don’t want to mislead anyone based on my own misunderstanding. This work requires loads of prayer and meditation to convey with accuracy. Thank you all for your patience and understanding b

#baptism of christ #esoteric christianity #mysticism #inner transformation #gospel of john #bible study #wisdom #hermetic philosophy #yeshua #philosophy #esoteric wisdom

16 notes · View notes

t100ficrecsblog · 4 years

Text

an interview with @burninghoneyatdusk (she/her) What are you working on right now? Right now I’m prioritizing prompts for the Bellarke Writers for BLM Initiative, which is a mix of new prompts and requests for WIP updates. I just posted a chapter update of my fic Voices in the Water, which is a canon-verse/everyone is a grounder arranged marriage AU with a bit of a twist, and next I’m working on a new prompt. After that, I’ve got three chapters of All Because of You requested. All Because of You is a modern AU with bellarke as *platonic* coparents. The story is told in alternating flashbacks and present day (every other chapter). The flashbacks focus on them growing closer during Clarke’s unplanned pregnancy and the present is seven years later, where they have to come to terms with their feelings for each other when Clarke gets engaged to someone else.

What’s something you’d like to write one day? I would love to publish a novel one day. For years I had a YA dystopian/time travel trilogy kind of planned but I poked too many holes in it and want to start from scratch in that regard. Another novel I want to write is one that covers three generations of women, looking at mother-daughter relationships, women in society, generational trauma… a lot of stuff. It was inspired by learning about my grandmother’s life more and thinking about how it impacted her relationship with my mother, and in turn my mother’s relationship with me.

For fanfiction, beyond my current prompts and WIPs, I have two other fics outlined. One is an AU inspired by the movie Plus One. The other is a soulmate AU that’s a bit dark and involves immortality, magic, and essentially Bellamy as a villain with a redemption arc.

What is the fanwork you’re most proud of? I think All Because of You will probably remain my most popular, but right now I’m most proud of Voices in the Water. More so than my other fics, it has a more concise plot and I’ve done a deeper dive into Clarke’s character as an Azgeda assassin and I think the reader really gets into her head more than my other multiple POV fics. It’s also my first canonverse fic and I’ve enjoyed diving into that world and expanding upon it where I want.

When did you first start writing fic? I didn’t start writing fic until the beginning of 2019. I first published in February 2019, which was Homesick (It’s a Bittersweet Feeling). It was my first fic and the only multichapter WIP that’s complete right now, so it’s a special story for me.

What frustrates you most about fic writing? I’ve mostly had only a positive experience with fanfic writing. With the exception of a couple stray comments, my readers have been gracious, kind, and most importantly, patient. But I guess it can be challenging when you self-impose pressure because you’re aware that people are waiting for you to publish so sometimes I rush things. I haven’t personally experienced this, but I think that fic writing can also be frustrating when readers feel like you owe them something or unnecessarily offer negative comments that aren’t at all constructive. Some people forget that people are publishing stories for free, in their spare time, often in addition to full-time jobs or school and parenting.

What are your top five songs right now? 1. castles (freya ridings) 2. maniac (conan gray) 3. fired up (grace carter) 4. I am not afraid (g flip) 5. wanna be (betty who)

What are your inspirations? (books, songs, other fic) I take inspiration from all of those things but I would say mostly quotes and random photos on tumblr. I wrote Homesick because I liked the step-siblings/forbidden trope and wanted to write in a small town setting like the one I grew up in. All Because of You was honestly the classic “this is my bedtime daydream story I think about every night” so it’s pretty self-indulgent with the tropes I wanted to use. Voices in the Water was started because I loved the grounder!Bellamy / arranged marriage trope. The wanheda twist came from me reading the 4x11 script to screen with Clarke trying to force herself to shoot Bellamy to save humanity, but realizing that she can’t.

What first attracted you to Bellarke? What attracts you now? I’m not sure I remember a specific moment but I think I remember bellarke being all over my tumblr dash when I started s2 so kind of paying close attention to them during s2. s2 was of course a great season for them and by the ‘knocking on heaven’s door’ scene in 2x16 I was a goner.

Regarding what drew me to them, I think I’ve always loved a good slow burn with the partners/”I’ve got your back” vibe that they have. My first (and biggest) OTP before them was tony & ziva from NCIS which is a really similar vibe although a very different show.

Besides Bellarke, what character or pairing do you like best on t100? I think that Memori is probably my second place ship. Before s7, I would say there was a HUGE gap between my love of Bellarke and Memori, but this season has made me an even bigger Memori fan. I have to say that while I don’t think there was ever a chance of Murven happening, I do understand why people ship it. I think they have great chemistry/a great dynamic and in another life, so to speak, I would have shipped them.

Regarding characters on their own, I just love all my delinquents, but I think that Murphy is solidly my third favorite character. Raven and Octavia are probably tied behind him.

Why did you decide to start bellarkefic-for-blm? I credit the reason to Kara ( @queenemori ). (Sidenote: everyone go follow her! She’s an amazing fanfic writer and overall just a really positive, awesome person to have in the fandom). I remember reading her post - and I won’t try to paraphrase, so please take the time to read her it - but in general it got me thinking about how we as a fandom could support the BLM movement in a substantial way that is more than just spreading posts on social media, and in a way that doesn’t lose momentum as time goes on and the movement becomes less “trendy.” I thought about how many people collectively read our fanfiction and how we provide it for free, and if people could just pay a few dollars or however much they can afford and donate that to the cause, we collectively could make a huge difference. So that’s what I’m hoping this is - making a substantial difference in a way that doesn’t fade in time and also uses the power of fandom in a useful way. We have a lot of power if we collectively put it towards something like this instead of fighting over ships or actors or whatnot. I also figured that maybe we’d have readers who weren’t paying attention to the movement and that maybe because they want to submit a prompt, they’d do some research on where to donate, and that in turn helps educate them on the issue - or is at least a start.

Has it been as successful as you’d hoped? So on the positive side, I do think it’s incredible that in about six weeks we’ve raised nearly $1250 and have been able to donate to a variety of organizations. I’m incredibly grateful for the authors donating their time and the enthusiastic readers participating. I don’t mean to sound negative at all, but if I’m being honest, I do feel a little frustration at the lack of participation across the fandom as a whole or maybe more specifically across the AO3 readers. I know that my WIP chapters average about 1k hits per update. That’s a lot of people. Even if you cut that in half because maybe people are rereading, that’s still 500 people. So why are only about 20 of my readers donating to this initiative? I think it’s a bit discouraging when you look at the percentage in that way.

That’s not to say that I don’t understand that some aren’t financially in a position to donate, but I’ve made it clear that there are other ways to contribute (e.g. signing petitions, writing to politicians) and there hasn’t been traction with that either. So I think that in general, something is always better than nothing and it has in no way discouraged me from continuing this. But I’m hoping that more people are able to participate as time goes on. It’s truly a win-win situation of generating more fanfics for readers and donating to an important issue, so I hope to see the percentage of fanfiction readers submitting prompts increase and am doing what I can to continue spreading the word about it.

I guess in summary what I’m saying is, I’m proud of what the fandom has done so far, but let’s step it up. We can do more, we can do better. Maybe people will get pissed I said that, but idk. If you read fic and can buy a $3 coffee, you can donate to this cause. It’s important. As was Kara’s point, let’s not see this momentum fade when the BLM movement becomes less ~trendy~.

What are some things you’d like to recommend? Instead of writing an essay about all the fics I love, I’d like to link both my bookmarked fics which is my complete list of bellarke fic recs.

I also want to recommend visiting the Bellarke Writers for BLM Initiative writers’ page - these writers are incredible so please go check out their existing works and continue requesting prompts for the BLM movement!

On the note of BLM, I'd also like to link this article. It's older, written in the aftermath of the Charleston attack, but it remains one of the most thought provoking pieces I've read on race in our country.

it was my honor to interview burninghoneyatdusk! honestly, if you aren’t reading Voices in the Water, which is Bellarke except Clarke is an assassin, you should be. it haunts me. she also organized the very cool bellarkefic-for-blm.

#bellarke fic #bellarke #the 100 fanfiction #memori #clarke griffin #interview

32 notes · View notes

thesunnyshow · 4 years

Text

Name: Juliet

Writing Blog URL(s): @wonderlustlucas

Nationality: American

Languages: English, beginner level French, teeny tiny bit of Korean

Star Sign: Virgo

MBTI: ISFJ-T

Favorite color: Pastel yellow

Favorite food: My mom’s Sunday gravy

Favorite movie: Howl’s Moving Castle (The Lion King is a close second though)

Favorite ice cream flavor: Specifically Turkey Hill’s Double Dunker (get it— it’s so good)

Favorite animal: Humpback whale

Go-to karaoke song: She’s Kinda Hot by 5 Seconds of Summer

Dream job (whether you have a job or not): Neurosurgeon! Or a Twitch streamer HAHA

Coffee or tea? What are you ordering? Ahhh probably coffee, I love tea but I need my coffee </3

If you could have one superpower, what would you choose? Shapeshifting! Clearly the superior superpower I don’t take constructive criticism.

If you could visit a historical era, which would you choose? This is weirdly specific, but I would love to be in Scotland during the 1700’s. Alternatively, the 1980’s.

If you could restart your life, knowing what you do now, would you? 100%. I know everything happens for a reason but getting a redo and being able to fix all the big mistakes I made would be pretty nice.

Would you rather fight 100 chicken-sized horses or one horse-sized chicken? One horse-sized chicken! 100 tiny horses would be crazy tiring.

If you were a trope in a teen high school movie, what would you have been? I would probably be the gay side character that gives good emotional advice but is hella lonely LMAO

Do you believe in aliens/supernatural creatures? Yes, both!

What are some small things that make your day better? Driving with the windows down and music blasting, picking up coffee, playing video games, & talking to my internet friends on Discord.

Fun fact about yourself that not everyone would know? I discovered my love for writing through Warrior Cats roleplay😭

What fandom(s) do you write for? Right now, only Kpop, but I wouldn’t mind writing for 5SOS or some of my other fandoms!

When did you post your first piece? On WattPad, December 2015. On Tumblr, April 2018 :)

Do you write fluff/angst/crack/general/smut, combo, etc? Why? I write everything! Fluff/smut/crack is my favorite and slight angst (usually just slow burn though cus I’m soft).

Do you write OCs, X Readers, Ships...etc? Again, I write anything and everything! Currently, second or third person reader inserts are my main style, but I also do ships and would love to write more OCs.

Why did you decide to write for Tumblr? Before Tumblr, I was on WattPad for different fandoms but eventually fell off. Then, when I got into Kpop in 2017, I found that urge to write again and decided to move to Tumblr since WattPad was becoming… weird. Plus Tumblr was a better fit for me!

What inspires you to write? To be completely honest, it’s the little things throughout the day that inspire me. For example, “Honey” was inspired by me not being able to open my locker in high school. “I Hemoglobin You” was based off my friend giving me a head rub while I was donating blood. Kpop idols just so happen to be my muses that I like to put into random moments of inspiration!

What genres/AUs do you enjoy writing the most? High school or college AUs are my favorite, along with some good ol’ friends to lovers slow burn. Angst isn’t my forte so I usually just stick to fluff, smut, and some crack. I haven’t written any but fantasy AUs are some of my favorites too! (RIP to my League of Legends AU that I started and haven’t touched in months.)

What do you hope your readers take away from your work? Just like other fanfiction authors inspire me, I hope some of my work inspires others. Considering fanfiction is free, there is so much out there to read and when I find a good story that inspires ME to write better, I’d love for my writing to do the same.

What do you do when you hit a rough spot creatively? 3 options: 1) Skip that scene and jump ahead to one I’m excited to write; 2) Erase what part I’m on and completely redo it; or 3) Drop it. The majority of my works usually take a few months to write as I will completely stop working on it until I find the right inspiration again.

What is your favorite work and why? Your most successful? “Four” is definitely my favorite work. It’s one of my longer pieces and there was a lot of raw emotion in there on my end. I love the relationship between Hyunjin and the reader and especially love the ending. “Greatest Gift” for Chanyeol is my most successful, and one of my other favorites!

Who is your favorite person to write about? Easily Hwang Hyunjin. It’s so easy to place him in any of my works, and sometimes it’s a struggle to NOT write him. It sounds stupid but sometimes I really feel like I “know” him so being able to describe him physically and mentally is easy for me.

Do you think there’s a difference between writing fanfiction vs. completely original prose? Yes and no. Yes, because most of the time, fanfiction is totally original as well and requires just as much thought as a 400,000 word novel. No, because fanfiction uses a specific person as a muse.

What do you think makes a good story? Detail and realistic dialogue! Of course, everyone has their own style of writing, but detail is especially important to me. Sure, you can have a great plot, but having concise, detailed writing to get immersed into makes a story so much better. I also find realistic dialogue to be a big deal— I hate when teenage characters are speaking in deep analogies because, if we’re being honest, my daily language is 95% just “Bruh.” If you’re like me, I’d actually prefer realistic dialogue over anything else.

What is your writing process like? Process… yikes. Sometimes… I have a random thought and then I’m like… hell yeah let’s write that. I actually have no process. I don’t outline, I just start writing and keep writing until I’m finished. Then I’ll read it all over to make edits, then I’ll use the Read Aloud feature to catch any mistakes I missed, then I’ll run it through Grammarly before posting!

Would you ever repurpose a fic into a completely original story? Hm, maybe? In the future, possibly, but as of right now I wouldn’t use any of my fics to do so.

What tropes do you love, and what tropes can’t you stand? Oh, gosh, tropes. Gotta love them. Friends to lovers, enemies to lovers, stuck together (AKA forced to share a bed), and fake relationships are my favorites. They may be corny, but I also love truth or dare or 7 minutes in heaven games in fics cus… they’re just classics. Also love fics with a popular x shy pairing. I can’t say I dislike many tropes, but I definitely have a love/hate relationship with vampire and werewolf tropes because of how romanticized they are.

How much would you say audience feedback/engagement means to you? Hm, to be completely honest, only a little bit? I mainly write for myself, it’s like a guilty pleasure to just get all my thoughts and desires out, and then I just so happen to make it public on Tumblr. Nevertheless, receiving comments and asks actually make my day, and sometimes I still struggle to wrap my mind around people enjoying my writing! So, thank you to everyone who has ever left me a kind message, I truly appreciate it ♥

What has been one of the biggest factors of your success (of any size)? Getting involved! I think one of the best ways to grow is to join networks, which not only gives you the opportunity to share your work on a greater scale, but also allows you to make connections. Like real life, making connections and making friendships with other writers can play a huge role in growing as a writer and growing your account.

Do you think fanfic writers get unfairly judged? Yes :( As someone who’s involved with other fandoms, I’ve heard the way some people think of fanfiction and it’s really sad. People do not know how much goes into writing and just see it as cringey and disgusting when it’s just… not.

Do you think art can be a medium for change? Yes! In all its forms, art is something a creator can use to influence their audience (in a good way, hopefully).

Do you ever feel there are times when you’re writing for others, rather than yourself? Like I said in #40, I mainly write for myself. Even when I’m writing a request, chances are if I like the request enough I’m going to create a story out of it that fits my personal desires the most.

Do you ever feel like people have misunderstood you or your writing at times? No! However, I’d still consider myself a small account and do not have TOO many works posted. But so far, I don’t think I’ve faced this problem :)

Do your offline friends/loved ones know you write for Tumblr? Only a few! My best friend Maggie is on Tumblr with me and only 2 of my other pals know I write fanfiction.

What is one thing you wish you could tell your followers? How much I love each and every one of them for supporting me and sticking around even when I won’t post for months🥺❤️

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers who might be too scared to put themselves out there? Don’t psych yourself out! In the time I’ve spent on Tumblr, I’ve never received any substantial hate. My main advice is don’t write fanfiction to get popular on the app, write fanfiction because you love to write and love your muses!

Are there any times when you regret joining Tumblr? No, as much as Tumblr can be annoying at times, I love the people I’ve met and the content I’ve found and wouldn’t have wanted to use any other platform.

Do you have any mutuals who have been particularly formative/supportive in your Tumblr journey? @pinktea99 — Mo, you’ve been around since the beginning honestly, and without you I wouldn’t have been able to come out of my shell! Thank you for all your love & support & for being my SF9 buddy❤️

Pick a quote to end your interview with:

“Like mate, stop procrastinating.” — 3RACHA

BONUS ROUND: K-POP CONFIDENTIAL

6 notes · View notes

hillbillyhippiemusicreview · 4 years

Text

Post #46—Them Dirty Roses: Locked Down & Unplugged LIVE

“Cause I found the wind that blows, It’s blowin’ me back home 🎶”

Nashville-based southern rockers Them Dirty Roses recently let the wind blow them back to the Bama clay they were raised on for two consecutive nights of sold out shows at Sidetracks Music Hall in Huntsville, AL. General manager/talent buyer Shane Bickel was eager to re-open and provide both musicians and fans alike a safe, socially-distanced outlet for music, so Hillbilly Hippie Music Review made the trek there via Indiana and L.A. (that’s lower Alabama) to enjoy a couple nights of tunes post-lockdown.

Deemed “Locked Down & Unplugged LIVE,” the set of acoustic shows was the perfect, albeit different, way to kick off the return of live music—especially since HHMR’s last show before the nation-wide pandemic lockdown was in March with TDR at Sidetracks. Total full circle kind of moment, and one we wish we could have frozen in time. But, I’ve got to be frank—despite being a total glutton for acoustic music, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, being that everything had changed so quickly. Would people hesitate to interact? Would we dance and sing or sit there like statues? Would the energy in the room be relaxed or tightly-wound? At first, there was a bit of an unsure current in the air, but before long, everyone was loosened up and moving to the groove in their seats and all the ladies made their way to the stage to end each night with “Shake It,” a TDR ritual.

Before we dive into the specifics of the weekend, here’s a little background for readers unfamiliar with TDR: Brothers James Ford (vocals and guitar) and Frank Ford (drums) formed Them Dirty Roses with their friends Andrew Davis (guitar) and Ben Crain (bass) in Gadsden, AL circa 2012 prior to moving to Tennessee to travel the country playing their brand of rock and roll and finding success both stateside and across Europe. Their sound is a bit southern rock heavy laden with outlaw vibes, and a bit party band mixed with a penchant for slower, sentimental jams—in other words, it’s eclectic and every bit as unique as the four men who form the band. However you describe it, a TDR show is always a good time—and it only takes one to get hooked on the electric energy these guys bring to the stage. On June 5th and 6th in a little venue off by the railroad tracks in Rocket City, the vibe was killer and the feeling was out of this world. Not only were the fans ready to rock, but the band was ecstatic and thankful to be back in action.

HHMR contributor Linda Owen’s first-ever TDR show was March 13–the night the country shut down due to the pandemic. She has the unique perspective of experiencing the “typical” wide-open TDR show and the stripped, intimate version back to back. Here’s what she had to say:

“Three months without live music—I know I slowly watched myself go from the happiest most optimistic person I knew, to a complete mess. It may have seemed like I was okay, but I assure you I was not.

I’ve always known how much music has impacted my life. It has always brought me the greatest memories and blessed me with many friendships and there were so many times in my life where the only thing I had to hold on to was a song. Three months without my music family was torture. With that being said I'll never forget my first shows post-COVID-19. Ironically, the first post -COVID-19 show was at the same venue with the same band I saw pre-COVID-19, and it was perfect.

Let me set the scene. Sidetracks Music Hall is the kind of local music hall we all want in our hometowns: you feel at home as soon as you walk in, you are treated like family, and it has by far the friendliest staff and patrons of any place I've been to date. The venue possesses a large open floor plan with the bar area in the back, so there is not a bad spot to see the show. For this show in particular, tables are spread about what is normally the "pit" area. To be honest, I was a little nervous that this social distancing acoustic show wouldn’t quite fill that void that COVID-19 has left me feeling...I was so wrong. After getting settled in with a drink, my sidekick Lyssa and I did some mingling getting to talk to new-to-me friends that I'd made three months previously at the last show I had attended. The excitement in the room was palatable—and it only got better from there.

TDR hit the stage and you could feel the spirits of every single person in the room glowing around you. All the doubts that an acoustic show wasn't going to feel right with social distancing rules melted away! We danced and sang along like those tables weren't in the way the first night. "Whiskey in My Cup" "Grew Up In The Country" and "Molly" had us all on our feet grooving. We were treated to covers by The Black Crowes, Jason Isbell, and The Allman Brothers, in addition to fan favorites and new songs from their upcoming album expected to release in September—and we are stoked for it.

My heart and soul were happier those two nights than they'd been for the past three months. I sang my way back to Indiana..caught myself sing at work on Monday too!”

The magic wasn’t solely felt by the HHMR team—the air was saturated with it and everyone in the room had a taste that left them yearning for more. Below are a few comments from TDR fans:

“The first show post lock-down came with more enjoyment than just the music. We were super excited for the chance to get back out and hear live music! Them Dirty Roses were the last band we got to see prior to the lock-down. Now, it turns out that Them Dirty Roses would be the first post lock-down. The music was great! What we didn't anticipate was the joy it also brought by seeing so many friends with smiling faces! It was amazing to be seen again and to hear two nights of wonderful tunes!”

—Bud Gambrell

“Went to the Friday show and it was a group of guys that were ready for a show. They were the last band we saw before the Coronavirus shut things down in Huntsville. Looking forward to seeing them again.”

—Kevin Boyd

“The first show post quarantine was like something wonderful that I had been deprived of for a long time. I think sometimes we don't see how many things that surround us in life we take for granted. I see at least two live music shows a month. During the summer, I probably go to 2-3 shows a week. Honestly, it seemed like such a wonderful release and something that people needed. Everybody has something that feeds their spirit—mine is music. Being deprived of other people and the things we love are just some of the things that add to that depression that comes with the whole quarantine/covid situation. So, being around friends and music felt really great and normal. It seemed like life may be getting back to normal finally. I smiled all night!”

—Jerolyn Davis

“Needless to say, Them Dirty Roses put on one hell of a show two nights in a row, which was just what I needed after the almost three month drought of no live music! The fact that they were the last live show for me before everything shut down is kinda ironic and cool at the same time. I'm also very thankful to Sidetracks for putting on the shows, they rock!”

—Robin Huff

Guitarist Andrew Davis was on the same wavelength as many in attendance. When asked his thoughts on performing again post-pandemic, he said: “In March, the future of the entire industry was uncertain. We all knew that April was going to be postponed, but we couldn't even imagine postponing or cancelling the entire festival season. Then, weeks later, exactly that happened. With all of the uncertainty surrounding the future of our industry, it was very reassuring to get back out and play again. It definitely answered a lot of lingering questions about whether or not people would rush back to live venues.”

After last weekend, it seems life will slowly, but surely, get back on track and all will be right in our world again. Until that day comes, be sure to support live music and independent venues—such as Sidetracks who has hosted many fabulous performers like Anderson East, The Steel Woods, Black Stone Cherry, Adam Hood, Kingfish, Ritch Henderson, Muscadine Bloodline, Whitey Morgan and the 78s, and many, many more in addition to TDR—in whatever manner you can so that we have them to return to when COVID-19 restrictions are lifted nation-wide. And don’t forget to keep your eyes peeled for that new Them Dirty Roses record to release this fall—it’s without a doubt some of their best work. In the meantime, keep up with the band and their tour schedule at www.themdirtyroses.com and @themdirtyroses on both Facebook and Instagram.

As always, stay safe, spread love, and be kind to one another. See y’all down the road!

✌🏻💙🎶—Lyssa

*This is an independent review. The Hillbilly Hippie Music Review was not compensated for this review.

*The opinions expressed are solely that of the author(s).

*Fan quotes have been edited for conciseness and clarity.

*These images are not ours, not do we claim them in any way. They are copyrighted by Todd Dean with Butterdean Photography, Linda Owens, & Lyssa Culbertson.

1 note · View note

popwasabi · 4 years

Text

“Do the Right Thing” and “the language of the unheard”

Two things tend to happen following the death of unarmed African American at the hands of law enforcement in this country.

The first are protests that often lead to heightened demonstrations of anger, which lead to police decked out in riot gear to come in and put a stop to it while property and storefronts often burn around them. The second is a condemnation of all that but less so of the brutality that led to the riots but of the riots themselves.

In America, there is a modern philosophy of “civility” at any costs, that even when angry, even when rightfully enraged by the injustices that befall a group of people, you are STILL expected to “behave” and it is YOUR responsibility to stay calm and do the right thing.

“I’m sorry, I agree with you, but I just can’t support you because of the way you demonstrated that belief” are often the words that follow.

(Image unrelated)

I’m not saying you should ignore all toxic behavior or that you can’t take issue with a movement’s methods, I’ll leave that up to you to decide, but I used to stringently believe this myself. In the wake of the Ferguson riots in 2014 where a Missouri police officer shot and killed unarmed African American Michael Brown for the crime of allegedly *check notes* stealing a box of swishers, I found myself participating in the same tone policing as much of the wider country.

“Yeah, the police were wrong to kill Michael Brown like that but also the protesters have no right to destroy their own city. That’s wrong, they should do it peacefully!” I proudly proclaimed at the time.

(Image unrelated)

Six years later my feelings on this have taken a complete 180, partially because the circumstances of our times have become exponentially more volatile but it really began with finally understanding an ending to a movie I got around to seeing in 2009; Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing.”

Back in the “halcyon” days of 2009 I used to be a part of a small Myspace (yea, I know…) movie club group where we all shared various movie reviews amongst each other upon individual recommendations. One day one of these members recommended watching 1989’s “Do the Right Thing.” Up until that day I really didn’t know much about Spike Lee beyond him being a rabid Knicks fan and opinionated Clint Eastwood agitator but I gave it a watch and I liked it quite a bit.

(Shade you can hear.)

“Do the Right Thing” details a day in the life of Mookie, played by Spike himself, as he navigates his rough Brooklyn neighborhood. Throughout his day, he and his mostly black neighbors, friends, and acquaintances encounter various micro aggressions in the form of gentrifiers, white and Asian store owners who disrespect them despite being their primary customers, widespread income inequality, and of course the police who monitor their every step. The movie examines the intersection of race and how it all comes colliding together when circumstances are less than perfect specifically to those that exist in African American neighborhoods.

I enjoyed this aspect of the film, it felt real and authentic to me, even humorous at times, critiquing the very real issues black Americans face every day while also examining how other groups of people interact with them.

Where I took issue with the film, at the time, was its aforementioned climax.

At the film’s end, tensions have boiled over as Radio Raheem, one of Mookie’s friends, is called the n-word by Sal, Mookie’s white pizza store owner boss, leading to a scuffle between the two of them. Police are then called, pulling Radio Raheem away, nevermind that it was Sal’s words that ignited the fight, and put him in a chokehold and well, you know this story already…

youtube

Finally, the anger that has been rising throughout the film ignites with a growing mob agitated at Sal and his sons who they see as the main instigators. Mookie stands rubbing his face for a few moments before picking up a trashcan and tossing it at the window of the pizzeria, simply yelling “Hate!” as it crashes through.

youtube

A riot of course ensues, as the largely African American neighborhood tear the store apart, looting it of all its material goods before it burns to the ground. The next day Mookie returns to the scene of the unrest to ask Sal directly for his paycheck who angrily tells him his stunt destroyed his business to which Mookie simply retorts “Radio Raheem is dead.” The two argue for a bit but somehow ends with the two quietly understanding each other before they go their separate ways.

For the longest time I couldn’t square exactly with the ending despite my enjoyment of the movie. I never outright condemned the entire film’s message, (some people within that group I spoke of did though…), but I did find myself saying I couldn’t condone how it ended. Afterall, what did Sal do to deserve that kind of backlash, why did his storefront deserve to be destroyed? It had “nothing” to do with Radio Raheem’s death, right?

Fast forward to today and well, my attitude has definitely changed.

At this point I’m not going to spend an entire paragraph describing our current events as you all should be smart enough to know by now what’s going on but an African American friend of mine summed up these past two weeks in the most concise way possible I feel; “the results of oppression, poverty, hopelessness, and frustration is destruction and violence.”

Throughout “Do the Right Thing” Spike Lee shows us a microcosm of the effects of societal neglect and institutionalized racism has on his community. He tells us exactly why Mookie did what he did and yet still largely white viewers, which included myself at one point, were confused by this. At a certain point a person, a group of people, an entire community can only take so much before they take actions into their own hands.

When our white dominated society tells African Americans it’s “inappropriate” to protest during the national anthem, that it’s inappropriate to “make everything about race,”, ask “What about black on black crime,” respond back “#BlueLivesMatter” or “#AlllivesMatter,” when largely white Americans, especially those in power, ignore and refuse to believe all evidence that says otherwise this is what happens. These are the results of the neglected, ignored, and unheard.

(Btw, Roger Goodell can fuck all the way off with his crocodile tears until he gives a formal apology to Colin Kaepernick on behalf of the league, AT MINIMUM.)

There is a rush to judgment when the looting and rioting starts following these tragedies around the country. Nevermind the fact that police are largely the aggressors in all these interactions and attack peaceful protesters who are “doing it the right way” anyways but the blame for the destruction is almost only squared on the rioters themselves.

Cries of “Martin Luther King would have never supported this” and “He would call for peace and #unity right now!” are typical when this happens. King was a far more nuanced and complicated man than the liberal hippie that both Republicans and Democrats liken him to be and when you invoke his name to condemn protesters before the cops who actually started this you, and I cannot emphasize this enough, ARE NOT HELPING.

(If you won’t listen to me, listen to his daughter, you assholes.)

People generally want to empathize with victims but for some reason only want the perfect victim in this country. A victim that is a Saint in real life, lays down, does all the right things, and still gets hurt for it because they are “doing it the right way.” Sometimes victims are imperfect, including people who have been murdered by cops and people who loot and riot, but they STILL deserve to be heard and most importantly they deserve JUSTICE.

Nevertheless, these people are villainized to their most extreme as people are disproportionately being harassed by the cops while it all happens. Again, I cannot emphasize this enough, when you spend more time talking about “good” vs “bad” protesters you are helping those who benefit from maintaining the status quo. They WANT you to make this about those “criminals” and “thugs” who would “destroy our communities.” Nevermind, that upping the militarization of our police force only INCREASES the chances of a protest turning violent anyways.

(Tell me who is this protecting? Who is this serving?)

By making this about the “bad protesters” they drive a wedge between you and the cause so that police brutality can be maintained, so that power structures are not changed, so that you can be “protected” from people who are actually fighting for your rights right now. When the media and politicians use this kind of language, they are giving cops free reign to justify all forms of heinous means of pacifying these demonstrations, including ones that are banned in war. They want you to miss the point, they want you to forget why this started, hell they want you to forget they looted your asses long before the “rioters” looted a multibillion dollar company’s store who has more than enough insurance to recoup their losses anyways.

Spike Lee is often asked about the ending to “Do the Right Thing,” a question I would’ve asked him myself even just a few years ago, and he’s quoted as saying “only white people ever ask me that question.”

MLK’s name is often invoked when shit hits the fan in these demonstrations and while I’ll admit that I don’t like seeing neighborhoods destroyed and certainly don’t like seeing small businesses torn down and looted it’s important that King wanted us to understand why they happen and to keep our eyes on the ball:

“A riot is the language of the unheard” is important in understanding “Do the Right Thing” and this current moment we are having in history. While I have been pleasantly surprised by the near unanimous support Black Lives Matter has had across the board by people I would never thought to become radicalized there are still pockets of people who make this about the “right way” to protest.

To quote Spike Lee even he says he is unsure if Mookie did the “right thing” or not in that situation but he also says, “I know who did the wrong thing.”

Some of you might be saying still that MLK would not have supported these riots and hell, that may be true but need I remind you, there’s a reason he's not here today to tell you himself.

I’ll leave you with the same two quotes Spike left his audience in 1989 from MLK and Malcom X. I want you to read them both thoroughly and see if you have done the right thing yourselves over these past two weeks.

I truly hope you have...

youtube

Love and respect, y’all.

1 note · View note

strawberriestyles · 5 years

Text

Chapter 25

(Banner made by the loveliest @harry-nofookingway-styles)

Harry X OFC (AU)

In which Melody is reacquainted with an old classmate named Harry, and must keep afloat in the violent, criminal life of an underground boxer.

Read previous parts here.

Author’s note: WE’RE SO CLOSE TO THE EEEEEND BBY. Don’t hate me. :) ALSO DO NOT FORGET TO LIKE, REBLOG, LEAVE FEEDBACK. XO

Melody’s phone screen was shattered. She had had just one too many moscatos and a little too much fun, and her eyes were hazy Friday night as she stepped out of the cab that she had taken home on.

The car pulled away from the sidewalk and Melody immediately unbuckled the straps of her heels. The chilly pavement soothed her aching feet. She clasped her shoes together in one hand and hurried into the warmth of her building, up the flight to her apartment, and through the door.

It was dark as she dropped the heels beside the entrance. Bea would probably be sleeping by that time anyway, but she wasn’t even home. She had been avoiding Melody ever since the incident with the police, furious that it hadn’t knocked any sense into her. Now, the only light came from the lamp in Melody’s studio, and it barely reached beyond the couch in the living room.

Melody padded into the apartment, yanking her arms from the confines of her jacket and slinging it over the arm of the sofa. She pulled her broken phone from a pocket and tried once again to coax it to life.

“Left your door unlocked again.”

Melody dropped her already mangled phone as she spun around, colliding with the side table behind her.

“Jesus, Harry,” she breathed out, pressing a hand to her chest to slow her heart.

“Weren’ answerin’ my calls,” he said. He was sitting in the chair at her desk, his body straight and rigid.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I ruined my phone.” She squatted down to pick the device back up, and when she returned her attention to Harry, she saw the shadow of a bruise blossoming over the side of his chin and a cut at the corner of his brow, caked over with dried blood. “Are you okay? Did you win?”

“Usually do.” Harry lowered his eyes to the desk, his jaw working. Melody didn’t like that. It was a tell of his agitation.

“What’s wrong?”

And just like that, it was like she’d set off a fuse. Harry snapped to his feet, tearing something from atop the desk and rounding on her.

“What the fuck is this, Mel?” he seethed. His proximity alarmed her. His chest was mere inches from hers, his eyes livid as he stared down at her, and in his hand was the notebook in which she’d written her unfinished story.

Melody floundered. She felt like she was underwater. She took a step back and found herself against the back of the sofa.

“Harry,” she began, but she didn’t know where to go, what to say. Her voice died in her throat. How could she explain this to him without making it seem as horrible as it really was? She didn’t think she could.

“What?” he snapped. He wanted an answer, and a good one. He wanted her to make him see things differently than he was viewing them himself.

“I messed up,” she whispered. “I know I did and I just—“

“What were yeh gonna do? Turn this in for a fuckin’ class? Try to get it published?”

“No, I couldn’t do that.”

“But yeh were gonna when yeh started, weren’ yeh?”

Melody closed her eyes and pressed her lips together. She and Harry had never fought like this before. The most they had done was snap at each other, small arguments, but those usually cooled off almost immediately. There was no indication of cooling off this time. She could feel the anger rising in Harry like trapped steam.

She opened her eyes, trying to think of some way to calm him down. Sometimes when he was upset she could breathe a few words to relax his muscles, stroke her fingers over a clenched fist, and that’s all it would take. But this was not one of those times. His anger was directed at her.

“Remembered everythin’, didn’ yeh? Got a scene of fake me gettin’ my finger broken. Wha’s his name? Holden? Yeh’ve got words that my mum said to me, too—direct quotes, actually.”

Melody felt like she was exposed, and she could only imagine how Harry felt. Those were only her words, but they spelled out his life. Her mind raced with everything that she had written. She wished that the alcohol she’d consumed hadn’t worn off.

As if he could pick up on her thoughts, he went on. “Slipped in scenes of us too, right? Claire? Got our Christmas, got my birthday. Notice yeh left out the best parts, yeah?"

Harry whipped the notebook across the studio when he realized that she wasn’t going to give him the answers he needed. It slammed into the painting of an eye that was leaned up against the wall and then crashed to the floor in a flurry of pages.

“I am not some character for your goddamn book!” he shouted.

Melody flinched at the raise of his voice. She felt tears brewing. She didn’t like being yelled at, but she felt like she deserved it.

“I know, Harry,” she whispered. She shook her head, at her herself more than anything. “I know, I just—”

“Yeh know what?” Harry said. "I don’ wanna hear it.” Melody watched his fingers twitch at his sides. “I don’ care.” He took a wide step back, blinked at her, and then turned toward the door.

“Harry,” Melody breathed, pushing away from the couch. “Where are you going?” She couldn’t let this be the end of their conversation. She wouldn’t be able to sleep if they didn’t try to sort things out.

“‘M goin’ home.”

“Can we talk about this before—“

“No!” Harry yelled, spinning around to look at her. “Gave yeh a chance to explain and yeh couldn’. I told yeh things I’ve never told anyone, Melody. I let yeh in like yeh wanted me to and I trusted yeh and yeh made me into a fuckin’ case study or somethin’. So turn it in. Get the fuckin’ ‘A’ yeh want. Or get it published. Use my name, too. Use Colton’s. I don’ give a shit. Hope it’s worth it.”

Melody’s stomach churned at his words. Tears spilled over her lashes and she wiped them away hastily. “Worth what?” she grated out around the strain in her throat.

“This.” Harry gestured between them and then stuffed both of his hands into the pockets of the jacket that he hadn’t bothered taking off. “Whatever the fuck it was.”

She had felt it coming. She knew she had, but the sound of his voice saying the words made bile rise in her throat. Tears poured down her cheeks and she let out a thick sob. “Wait,” she started, stepping toward him, but Harry cut her off again.

“Don’t.” Harry took two steps toward the door and then watched the look of desperation that flitted over Melody’s face. He had never seen her look like that, never seen her so completely vulnerable and scared. He gritted his teeth together and quickly turned away, before his resolve vanished. “‘M done.”

This wasn’t how the night was meant to turn out. Harry had won his match. Melody had delivered her reading, clear and concise, even with her shaky knees. She’d held her own, even without him there to support her, even though she’d wished for him with every single word that she’d spoken. And then she’d celebrated with her classmates and looked forward to telling Harry all about it.

Melody watched blankly as he turned again and yanked the door open. It creaked slowly behind him, but didn’t close completely. She could hear his loud steps down the stairs, the whine of the building’s entrance, and the finality of it slamming shut. She pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. Her feet carried her across the room of their own accord. She pressed the door shut, touched her forehead to its surface, and then slid down to her knees with a sob that felt like it could crack her ribs.

***

Melody was all cried out by Monday. Harry hadn’t tried to call her. She had gotten her phone replaced just for that purpose, but she was disappointed. Disappointed enough to miss all of her classes. She had called him once and it had gone straight to voicemail, so she didn’t try again.

By Tuesday, Bea had stopped home. She was only there to grab some more clothes. She was still upset with Melody and she hadn’t expected her to be home, but when she saw the state her roommate was in, she mustered up some sympathy.

“Take a shower and go talk to the guy, then,” Bea muttered from the doorway to Melody’s room. She couldn’t believe she was saying it, was telling her to go looking for Harry when she didn’t think Melody should be around him at all, but the alternative was messy. At the very least, Melody needed some closure.

Then Bea had turned on her heel, packed up her items, and hit the road again.

Melody’s hair was still damp when she left her apartment. She tucked it up into the hood of a sweatshirt and set off across town. There was no point in trying to find Harry at his place. She knew that every Tuesday—and especially this Tuesday—he trained with Sean at the warehouse. She wove the familiar path there and it was still light out when she reached the junction of Hark Street.

She made it inside to the arena before she hesitated. What was she really doing here? What was she going to say? What did she want?

She wanted Harry. That much she knew. She wanted everything they had and that’s what kept her feet moving when she found the ring empty, into the back hallway, to Harry’s door. And then she hesitated again. But this time she didn’t have the chance to sort through her thoughts. The door opened and someone almost collided with her.

“Oh.”

Sean stood before her, his hands poised on the doorframe where he had caught himself. He watched her face shift through a series of expressions, but he remained open-mouthed. And then he cleared his throat and skirted around her without a word.

The open door and empty entry revealed Harry. He stood at the table, his back turned toward her, rising and falling heavily, sweat rolling down his spine. Melody’s pulse spiked. He turned his head to the side when he heard her footstep as she moved forward. He began peeling off his gloves.

Melody let her eyes wander the room, linger on the couch where Harry had kissed her the last time she was there. She licked her lips, tentatively, and then settled her gaze on the space between his shoulder blades.

“Hi,” she muttered.

“What are yeh doin’ here?”

Melody took a deep breath. Wasn’t that what she’d just asked herself? “I wanted to talk to you.” She shoved her restless hands into the pocket of her hoodie.

“Feel like we’ve talked enough,” Harry said. He packed his gloves away in his bag and then rounded the table, shedding his tape into the waste basket on the other side. "Think we’re done talkin’.”

Melody nodded, trying to staunch her tears before they even began to flow. Harry wouldn’t look at her. He had his eyes trained with a focus on the table. “Harry,” she began, fingers lacing and unlacing inside her sweatshirt. "I’m really sorry. I know I fucked up. I—” Her voice broke off. “I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to tell you how sorry I am.”

“If yeh were sorry yeh wouldn’ have written the shit in the first place, Melody. Yeh’re sorry that I found it."

She wanted to argue. She was sorry she had written it. But she was more sorry that he had read it, wasn’t she? Hadn’t she been planning to get rid of the thing days before he had, never let him find out about it at all? She cleared her thick throat, watching him avoid eye contact.

“The story didn’t start out so close to your life,” she said. "I just got carried away.”

“Why are yeh tellin’ me this?”

“Because you mean more to me than that, Harry. I don’t want anything that means I have to lose you, okay?"

Harry rested his palms flat on the table, dropping his head forward, hair spilling from the loose tie of his bun.

“I should never have written it. I trashed it. And I want to—"

“‘S not just the fuckin’ story, Melody!” Harry shouted. His hands smacked the table as he whipped his head upward again. He finally looked at her. He watched her jump the same way that she always did when he raised his voice. Her eyes were glazed over. “Yeh’re missin’ the entire goddamn point. I don’ give a single fuck what you want. I don’ trust you."

Melody felt her insides contract in a painful ache. It was almost worse than the “‘M done” that she had been replaying for the past few days. She had spent hours, days, months working toward the trust that she had earned. And she’d destroyed all of it in one go. Just like that. She could’ve been sick right then and there.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “That’s all I can say. But I still—"

“Don’ worry. Made it this far without yeh,” Harry interrupted, zipping up his bag. He slung the strap over his shoulder and headed toward the door. Melody watched his face shift from fury to passivity. She flinched as he brushed past her, but he paused to whisper in her ear. "Don’ think I need yeh to keep goin’.”

Chapter 26

#harry styles #harry styles writing #harry styles angst #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles fan fiction #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fan fic #harry styles fic #harry styles brutality

96 notes · View notes

hustlemeanokay · 5 years

Text

Fallout 76

Okay... I won’t talk a whole lot about it because it’s not even out yet. So, the hubs signed up for the BETA and he got to play a little the other day... if you don’t want to know anything about the game, this is where this post ends... but if you want my initial thoughts on it and are okay with MAJOR spoilers for what’s out there now? Well...

It’s boring. It’s like... okay... so, the graphics look... pretty much the same. The same facial structures, the same hairstyles. Nothing note-worthy at all about that. The controls are the same, which is to be expected in a franchised game. But... okay, let’s just make this easier on everyone.

1. The World

It’s... Fallout 4 with color and leaves. To be blunt, it looks like Fallout 4 with a mod on it, nothing new... like... at all. Okay, so maybe one thing is new. The pip-boy, but technically that’s “old” compared to FO4.

2. Caps and Loot

I’m hoping this is a BETA thing because wow... just... wow. Probably 80% of the containers/cabinets etc that I saw hubs open were empty. Nothing. There’s like... nothing there... caps are proving to be hard to come by which isn’t that big of a deal because there’s no one to buy anything from.

3. NPC;s

Don’t exist. There aren’t any. The only “other people” that you deal with are robots and voice recordings. You don’t see anyone else outside enemies. The other people you see, are just that, other people. It’s an MMO, we all knew this, but damn... that’s... all.

4. No Pause/Safe Place

Because it’s an MMO, you can’t pause the game. This, in itself, is nothing new. But... there’s no where ‘safe’. You have to hope you won’t be attacked when you’re changing your equipment, checking your stats, or agonizing over which Perk card you’re going to use.

5. Perk Cards

What the actual fuck. Okay, so... the idea is that instead of a perk chart, you get perk cards and these cards can be leveled up (so they say). But... you can only equip a set amount of these cards (I think it’s 8, but don’t quote me). Now, these cards do show their information in a more clear and concise way than the perk chart did, and the cards are nothing to balk at but... you only have so many slots and you have to choose which ones you want to equip. Which... can be challenging when there’s no safe place for you to do that.

6. C.A.M.P.

Your camp. It’s like a portable workshop... it gives you a little parcel of land that you can build on (provided you’ve found enough materials... took the hubs awhile just to find enough wood to build 4 floors and three walls). Now, you do have one safe storage option. Your stash. (Or, any container you build but don’t quote me there because that’s just what I’ve heard). Your stash is only accessible by you, if you look in someone else’s stash box, you’ll see your stash. So, that’s how that works. You only get one camp... and it costs you 5 caps to move it each time you want to. Oh, and, there were a few new things in the building menus, but a lot of them were locked because hubs wasn’t a high-enough level. But there were also a lot of the same stuff... was.. kind of expecting more new stuff... but whatever, they’ve only had three years.

7. Content

So far, and this is just BETA so I’m praying they’ll have more content come release day but I doubt it. There’s... no story... there’s... nothing. You wake up in the vault, you leave... you’re supposed to find the Overseer. That’s it, so far. Nothing backing anything up, no clear line of what the goal is... not even a hint. The only thing that’s been pushed a bit is the nuclear launch thing, which we’ve seen in trailers and other information put out by Bethesda. It kind of sounds like the goal is to get those nukes, launch those nukes, and... try to kill everyone? I don’t know. It’s very vague. In previous Fallout games, you started the game with a basic goal. How you got there was up to you but the goal itself was fairly clear once you left the vault.

8. Events

Like other MMO games (-cough-Destiny-cough-) they are trying to do live events. Now... there’s a petite problem with this idea from the get-go... they’ve already said that there will only be a limited number of people on the same server at any given time. That limited number is 24. Now... the map, the world? It’s pretty damned big. And these live events are designed to have multiple people participating. Hubs tried doing a few, but even with three people in one, it was impossible. There were specific locations that people needed to defend, and all were getting hit at once. The players were quickly overwhelmed and over-run. Hopefully this is something they’ll work on. Unlikely, but they might. On a side note, I saw the final boss for one even was that moth-creature thing... level 50... so have fun all low levels out there!

9. Destiny

Okay, this may seem like a duh but the game really does feel like a cheap knock-off of Destiny, as far as the MMO goes. They have “emotes” in there, your “team” is usually slotted for three people... the live events... there are just some similarities here. Now, that’s not a bad thing... except... it’s Fallout... not Destiny, not Fortnight, not WoW. This is just my personal pet peeve, but there it is. If you’re going to do things that another, successful, game is doing? At least do them better... or at the very least, on the same level.

10. Skyrim

It’s very Skyrim-esq. Remember playing Skyrim? You could play for a few hours and be utterly alone, run into no one, nothing but a few animals and maybe a dragon or two out in the wild. Unless you went to a town, you were pretty much only going to run into enemies out there. It was a massive map, a huge world, and you were just... kinda out there... like at night... alone... kind of wasn’t that fun when it was like that.

11. Weapons/Armor

Okay, so, obviously we haven’t seen the big ticket items. But... I will say this, your weapons break, you have to fix them... your armor? You don’t find it, you make it. In fact, looting seems to just be skimpy all around. A few things that the hubs found weren’t really armor, just clothes. The armor itself? Up to you... and the materials you’ve managed to gather.

12. The Food/Water thing

So, they’ve leaned on almost a survival type setting here. Your character gets hungry/thirst... everything except prepackaged food/drink will give you some rads, some more than others. If you don’t drink/eat then you’re character will suffer. Also, a lot of items have a disease percentage attached to them. Hubs ate something that had a 7% chance of giving his character a disease and sure enough, bam. Now, this might be a BETA thing though. There are disease cures out there though, he found one.

13. V.A.T.S.

Ah, vats. The saving grace of so many Fallout players. Now, this is probably a BETA thing but VATS are slow to activate... and because it’s MMO, it doesn’t slow time, just helps you aim. Or, it should. You need perk cards, see... to make it so your dude will actually hit that target. No perk card? Barely any damage done because they’re just firing willy-nilly, no more separate limb/body location selection.

14. Congrats on Level 5, now die!

At level 5, it becomes open season on your character. At level 5, you can now take damage from other players... and they can kill you... and take your junk. All those precious materials you’ve been collecting, they can get them. When you die, there’s a little bag that appears on the ground with all the junk you’ve been carrying, nothing else as far as I can see... but anyone can just come along and pick that up. It’s their’s now. Now, there is this whole murder thing they are going to do, supposedly, where if you kill another player there’ll be a bounty put out on you and you, in theory, will be hunted down and murdered back? I’m not sure how that’s going to work. But... at level 5, you take damage, from all sources, including team-mates - though the damage is supposed to be reduced from them. That’s... going to result in a lot of accidental kills.

Final Thoughts:

I’m nervous. I’m worried, for all the fans of the franchise. They’ve already come out and said “this isn’t a Fallout game” (could have fooled me with that name, though). It feels like they completely ignored the things that made Fallout 4 such a success... and instead, embraced the things that people didn’t like about Skyrim. I’m worried that what happened to Mass Effect, will happen to Fallout. People have been waiting for this game, super excited about it, couldn’t wait for it! And... the game they’re going to get is more... Fallout-esq. Not the next Fallout game. Like they wanted to cash in on the MMO thing but didn’t want to actually come up with anything new. Which leads to the next thought and worry... micro-transactions. Playing the game and seeing the lack of content... the skimpy supplies and loot... you can very easily see them adding micro-transactions and DLC’s that should have been a part of the main game. Which is just not a good idea right now, not ever really... when you pay $60 for this, which feels like it is, quite literally, a “base” game.

But, it’s not all bad...

There were a few things that I did like about it. The photo/selfy mode is cute, though wholly unoriginal... and they have instruments around the world that you and your friends can play together (like a band). You see your character performing some actions that you didn’t before (laying down)... though, there isn’t any “sleep” to speak of, your character just rests, but that’s because your character never leaves the public space of their MMO world. Even in their own home.

Now, I don’t know what they’re going to do come release day, it could be totally different (probably won’t be) but it might. It could suddenly drop a whole main quest line because they wanted to keep it all hush-hush from people like me (who will go and post about the BETA). Who’s to really tell... but as it stands... I’m glad we didn’t buy a second copy so the hubs and I can play together because... it just seems... like a huge waste. Such a shame.

#fallout 76 #beta thoughts #oh dear

3 notes · View notes

cuiwritingstudio · 3 years

Text

The Dos and Don’ts of Introductions

By Makenna Myers, Writing Studio Consultant

I’m going to tell you an embarrassing story. It was the second semester of my sophomore year, and I had just started working as a Writing Studio consultant. We were doing a series of short presentations in our staff meetings and I, the lucky new girl, had the first slot. I dutifully put together my presentation about writing introduction paragraphs, complete with a fancy Prezi. I stood up in front of my new coworkers and was struck with the most sudden and overwhelming stage fright I have ever experienced. I suddenly knew nothing about introductions or how to form a sentence, my mind stuck in panic mode. I did my best to collect myself and fumbled through the content I’d worked so hard to prepare. Midway through the disastrous presentation, a horrible realization hit me—I forgot to give my introduction… to my presentation about introductions.

Yes, that is an absolutely true story, and here I am, two years later, asking for a redo. I present to you the do’s and don’ts of writing a great introduction to an academic essay:

1. Do have a strong opening sentence. Depending on the topic of your essay, this could be a thought-provoking question, a relevant quote, or an intriguing fact. This might look like: “Hitchhiking is a uniquely American tradition, born from the explosion of the automotive industry and the vast size of the nation” or “In Between the World and Me, Ta-Nehisi Coates writes, ‘I was made for the library, not the classroom.’” No matter what you chose, make sure that the first line is directly relevant to your paper topic.

2. Don’t start from the beginning of time. It is okay to jump right into your topic. Do not begin with something like “Since the dawn of humanity…” or “As long as people have existed….” There is no need to go back that far in time, nor do you have the space to address a couple thousand years of human history before presenting your thesis. Here’s an example of a good starting point: “Ira Aldridge and his revolutionary acting career are a forgotten wonder of the Shakespearian world.” The author does not make broad, sweeping statements about Shakespeare’s work or theatre in general, and instead immediately tells the reader who the essay is going to focus on and why they are important.

3. Do think of the introduction as a bridge. The introduction is a place of transition for the reader between their world and the world of your essay. Make sure to give them the tools they need to understand your argument. These tools will vary depending upon the subject of your essay, but could be definitions, context, brief plot summary. Consider this introduction for an English paper:

“Marie de France’s ‘Lanval’ tells the unconventional love story of an esteemed knight of King Arthur’s round table and the mysterious Fairy Queen. The poem features the subversion of expectations at every line, presenting beloved Arthurian characters like King Arthur and Queen Guinevere as less-than-admirable. However, the most notable subversion of expectations comes in De France’s unraveling of gender roles.”

The author does not waste time and establishes the main focus of the essay, the general plot, and what part of the poem is going to be discussed as concisely as possible.

4. Don’t feel pressure to write the introduction first. Just because the introduction is read first does not mean it has to be written first. In my own writing, I often find it hard to write the introduction first because I do not always know exactly what my body paragraphs are going to look like. Writing the introduction after the body paragraphs can be easier because you have a clear idea of what you are introducing. As long as you have your thesis statement solidified, write the rest of your essay first if the introduction is giving you trouble.

Looking back, that botched presentation is one of the most hilariously ironic moments of my life. Who forgets to give the introduction to a presentation about introductions? Me, apparently. Introductions often intimidate students and prevent them from writing the rest of their essay. Don’t let that fear overwhelm you. Keep these tips in mind, and I am sure you will nail it! Just don’t be like me and forget the introduction entirely. Trust me, it’s pretty embarrassing.

Makenna Myers is from San Diego, California. She has a passion for words— reading, writing, and editing them. You can find her at her happiest with a pen in her hand and a blank page before her. Appropriately, she is a senior majoring in Humanities with an Emphasis in Creative Writing and a minor in English. Outside of her love for creative writing, she has experience writing CMS and MLA formats and has written for professors such as Danger, Armstrong, and Elliott (among many others).

0 notes

jokocraft · 7 years

Text

[more long meta] the real reason why nyma and rolo’s beauty was so extra and why hunk was 110% definitely lance’s foil in S1E6

(fyi this is sorta like an And There’s More part to this post.)

having nyma and rolo give off a “trustworthy” first impression was crucial to the writers’ basic moral of the story for S1E6: Voltron Gets Shanghaied. the moral is conveyed almost completely though hunk; in a previous episode, hunk initially judged shay as untrustworthy when actually her intentions were totally pure because she is pure. now that hunk has learned his lesson, he thinks twice before judging nyma and rolo solely by their first impression, and this gives him a clearer perspective on the situation than the others.

on the surface, the moral of the story is simply: always ask WWHD (what would hunk do?) don’t judge people by first impressions! yay! but. if that’s the moral, why are nyma and rolo, like, 10x hotter than they technically need to be in order to give off that “haha trust us!” first impression to facilitate that moral? they could have been average-looking freedom fighters, and the moral probably would have been even more powerful, because who do we already IRL prematurely judge as untrustworthy, just as much or even more than people who are shadowy and not-traditionally-attractive-according-to-our-culture? the answer: people who are Too Perfect. so if rolo and nyma had been more “unremarkable”, the cliche “don’t judge a book by its cover” theme might have held some more weight (rather than just validating that we should be suspicious of really attractive people).

I am remembering that this is a kids show, and this analysis is not necessary to appreciate the episode itself, but my point is that while there are obvious morals in this episode that no one would be wrong to say are intended, I believe these obvious morals are not the full picture. in other words, i don’t think these on-the-surface morals are the core of the episode. I went over this, sorta kinda, in my last post, but I want to go deeper this time and hopefully convey my point more eloquently and concisely comprehensively.

I think the vld writers are pretty smart, so I don’t think they made rolo and nyma extra attractive simply to add (problematic) spectacle to the “reveal” of their identities as criminals (which tbh even kids would see coming from a mile away what with hunk’s highly conspicuous suspicion and all, come on). and I definitely don’t think nyma and rolo were designed so attractive because the writers/directors actually believed the moral “people who are Too Perfect are out there and not to be trusted!!1!” made for quality storytelling.

so why then? why make their beauty so extra when average-looking character designs would have easily made the “first impression” moral more effective and less cliche?

I think is that the reason is three-fold:

the first and simplest reason that rolo and nyma’s beauty was so extra was to visually contrast as much as possible the first impression of shay and her brother. because from a visual storytelling standpoint, it’s just more thematically sexy that way.

the second reason assumes that the vld writers are perfectly aware of our tendency to distrust people who are Too Perfect and usedthat knowledge to give hunk a more easily believable (hunk is def smarter than us) relatable reason to not trust these guys.

and finally, well, let me preface some more: I think the vld writers are not only smart, but also pretty damn clever. too clever for the obvious morals to be the core message of E6′s Shanghaied plot, because like I explained in my other post, the entire Voltron Gets Shanghaied plot itself isn’t the core of the episode. rather, the Shanghaied plot exists the way it does (and at all) because it’s necessary for the core of the episode to effectively play out and its message properly conveyed.

and it’s core message? two-fold, this time:

it is wrong to punish someone just because they are not who you wish them to be

and

sometimes the people you fall for won’t fit any of your fantasies

maybe “you fall for” isn’t the best choice of words. the replacements “you have the strongest connections with” or “who are most compatible with you” are probably better, but they don’t sound like a Quote, you know?

a short elaboration on the first core message is near the end. a much longer elaboration on the second core message is thuss:

hunk is teased by pidge about shay being his new girlfriend, and I think there’s more to that offhand comment than just throwing hunk’s character a romantic bone. i think it’s very important, actually, how hunk’s relationship with shay is portrayed: rather than it being cast in an overtly romantic light, it’s respectful, genuine…downright wholesome, really. as usual, i believe this is a deliberate choice, made for reasons possibly not immediatley apparent: the nature of hunk’s relationship with shay (at least in E6 specifically) doesn’t reveal so much about hunk as does reveal a helluva lot about lance.

while revisiting E6, this time seeing hunk is lance’s foil, things start popping out: hunk’s easily made connection with Not A Fantasy Girl shay is in painfully sharp contrast to lance’s desperate effort force a connection with Fantasy Girl nyma. also, hunk may have brushed off the idea that he liked shay That way, but never once did he deny how important she was to her and how important it was for him to fulfill his promise to her. he embraced her exactly as she was and embraced the connection he felt with her by proudly making it known that while she’s in trouble, she is his top priority. this is the exact opposite of what lance is doing during this same episode, i.e. simultaneously, i.e. foils at their best). instead of accepting the connection unveiled between him and keith in E5, he’s rejecting it outright, and rejecting keith, too, because keith’s sure as hell no Fantasy Girl (arguable). and also-also, on the nyma/rolo planet, hunk can’t stop talking about shay while lance seems content to pretend keith doesn’t exist right now.

all this summarized: hunk embraces his new Non-Fantasy-Conforming connection while lance refuses to embrace his, probably on the basis that it’s Non-Fantas-NOPE

and then there’s keith. he’s chillin on this planet, not really reacting to anything, not really making any judgements about anyone one way or the other. the meaning of all this is not a show of keith’s coolness or don’t-give-a-fuck attitude or so shruggable. instead, how he acts on the planet is yet another very deliberate narrative choice.

if I’m not mistaken, it seems like rolo exists to serve as keith’s nyma, causing viewers like us to wonder, will keith let himself be taken in by this Fantasy Guy, like lance was with Fantasy Girl? will he want to restore his pride? get revenge??we narrow our eyes at the screen….hm…keith keeps being put in the same frames as rolo, that’s for sure….but……..

nope. well, keith probably acknowledged at some point that rolo was indeed pretty hot, but nope. he’s just not interested. why? maybe because keith isn’t as emotionally constipated as lance or he’s not nearly as likely to actually hit on anyone in a way that’s not literally hitting them.

or maybe the reason keith’s not interested in Fantasy Guy is because this boy gives zero fucks about fantasies.

even though keith probably feels spurned by lance in E6, and has every right to want to spurn lance right back (especially as he watches lance literally drool over some chick even after all they went through barely a day ago), keith doesn’t. he doesn’t even seem compelled to, and maybe that’s because he doesn’t see the point of giving special attention to someone he’ll probably never see again, or maybe because he’s already accepted the connection he has with lance as is.

you see, there’s pretty much no question that lance already had a fantasy or fantasies in mind of how finding his significant other would pan out (not that he or keith would actually think about their connection in those terms, of course), and because of these fantasies, when that telltale spark - that was probably, in some capacity, part of his fantasy - occurred, and it was with someone who absolutely did not fit the fantasy, lance decided to reject the whole thing as ever happening, as if doing that would somehow give him a do-over.

but keith….keith….keith being keith, I just don’t see him growing up with many fantasies related to a future “significant other”. did he even ever consider that such a person could even exist for him? if I were to guess, I’d say the answer is no, he didn’t think finding “that special someone” would ever be a Thing That Happened To Him. not because of any insecurity to do with his sexuality, but because of his insecurities to do with his interaction with others: he knows he’s a hothead, that he’s awkward, that he’s standoffish. he types himself as the loner, and really believes that’s just who he is. so he probably never bothered to wonder how that special connection could happen.

because, surely, it wouldn’t happen.

(but then, after a whirlwind of fighting and protecting and victory, keith knelt down and took the hand of his friend, someone who had brushed death to save a life, someone keith was glad to finally call a friend. they understand each other enough that there is nothing that really needs to be said, but then, this friend, someone fully aware of how hotheaded and awkward and standoffish keith was, told him something, with the upmost sincerity, with an unmistakable intimacy. something that, for a brilliant, brief moment, made keith feel like he didn’t have to be the loner anymore)

sob

as seen in the beginning of E6, keith clearly wants to embrace his new connection like hunk, but can’t because, well, when it comes down to it, actively embracing a connection with a person who doesn’t want to embrace it makes you look either like an idiot or a creep - or just pathetic.

while hunk has no reason not to declare to the universe that goddammit he’ll save shay if it’s the last thing he does, keith isn’t in the same position. he has plenty of reasons to keep how he feels to himself, but at least he’s learning to accept his own feelings. at least he accepts this connection for what it is, rather than wishing in vain it was something it isn’t.

at least, despite lance’s reluctance for something deeper, keith knows he can and should still be a valuable friend: he’s anything but reluctant or resentful or resigned to be the one to save the blue lion. if anything, he’s probably already as prepared to do anything to save lance as hunk is to save shay.

shay saved hunk, and soon hunk would save shay, and they so they earn themselves bond that lasts a lifetime. keith takes credit for saving lance’s lion, and it’s show of keith has his back. and so then it was lance’s turn to rise to hunk’s level and show some motivation in having keith’s back in return. which finally happens at the end of S3: at that point, he’s not afraid to tell keith that he’s proud to have his back, that he wants to. no other paladins are shown watching the exchange - lance’s words can’t be written off as meaning “look at me, i’m proud to have the back of all my teammates!”. it’s framed as something personal: “i’m proud to have your back, keith.“

I think keith deadass stopped fighting to smile at this because that’s, THAT’S, what he’s been waiting for, that unspoken reciprocation of “I want to defend you, not just because you’re my teammate, but because you mean something to me, personally.”

back to the point of all this….at least in terms of S1E6, not only is hunk a foil to lance, hunk’s relationship with shay is foil to lance’s relationship with keith.

hunk was suspicious from the moment they set foot on the planet, and lance completely gave himself over to blissful gullibility the moment they set foot on the planet. hunk honors his connection to shay by remaining confident and steadfast in his desire to fulfill his promise to her. lance could not be less confident about anything to do with his connection to keith. he doesn’t want to have to honor or promise anything, for fear of what that would mean.

“for fear of what that would mean”

hunk doesn’t care what embracing his connection with shay could “mean”. what if he falls in love with her or something?? whatever, that’s irrelevant! shut up pidge!

lance, on the other hand, does care what embracing his connection could mean. what if he falls in love withWHAT it could mean is unthinkable and Will Not be considered as something even to consider, because it’s not a thing. to consider. anyway where’s a Fantasy Girl when you need one? ah there’s one, let’s have a connection babe! also, could you stop doing things that remind me of a certain nobody, cause I want this to be all about us, you and me, and wow this is so romantic, us flying together over beautiful alien landscapes–I mean it’s NOT, except, like, it is in thiscontext, duh…

*smh at lance blushing to himself like ten times in one sequence*

hunk admittedly has it easier since he’s straight and shay is a girl and he has no emotional hold ups to stop him from telling the world how important shay has become to him after their…hm…bonding experience, you might say. even with romantic potential taken from the equation, he’s no less intent on acting on how much he cares about her.

to hunk, a theoretical seed of romantic love being planted in his heart or something is irrelevant to what his connection to her means to him. while his connection to her is definitely not as sterile as simply feeling obligated to repay the debt of his life being saved, it’s not defined by it’s Potential As A Romance! either. pidge acknowledges this by teasing hunk about shay being “a girlfriend” in front of everyone because pidge knows it wouldn’t affect his decisions or judgement.

in contrast: in S3, pidge is the first to look straight to lance when it becomes clear keith needs a pep talk. does she say something like, “he’s your boyfriend, lance.” fuck no, because that would be totally appropriate in the moment. but what about something more appropriate? even something innocuous like, “Lance, can you please set him straight?” wait… the point is, even if the situation weren’t so serious, pidge wouldn’t have teased him, and at this point, she’s not even going to dare acknowledge in words that keith sees him Differently from the others. in that S3 moment, if pidge had said anything along those lines, lance’s brain would have shorted and keith would NOT have gotten any needed pep talk that day or any day soon. instead, everyone lets the situation resolve itself, because sure enough lance steps up and it does the trick, and jesus if lance isn’t an oblivious motherfu

so chances are pidge - and shiro too - know lance’s decisions and judgement are absolutely affected when the nature of his relationship with keith is mentioned. because unlike hunk, he does care about that “nature” and what it means.

hell, he almost managed to get out from under from nyma’s influence and stop the blue lion from being stolen, but then she mentions keith while he’s still in her arms and whoops, JUDGEMENT AFFECTED.

when it matters, hunk’s connection to shay is not clouded by any potential extraneous *coughromanticcough* feelings for her, and that makes it possible for him to be a hero. and since he’s a foil to lance, his unclouded heroism intentionally brings out how much lance’s connection to keith is clouded by potential extraneous feelings. rather than heroism, shit happens like lance getting his own lion stolen and being chained to a tree.

but S3 shows beautifully that lance isn’t meant to stay like that forever. even though he still majorly struggles with self esteem unrelated to keith specifically, his maturity (and exposure therapy, tbh) has caused any feelings related to keith specifically to no longer sabotage his performance as a paladin. he doesn’t feel the need to one-up keith so much anymore, and he’s actually willing to step down from being a paladin so keith doesn’t have to, acknowledging that keith is an objectively better pilot, or at least at piloting Red. since lance is more confident in his role supporting the team from the back instead of insisting on proving himself on the front lines with keith and the others, he’s able to use his bayard as a sniper rifle for the first time rather than his usual short/mid-range blaster. lance is more effective on the team than ever, and it’s a national tragedy that he doesn’t appreciate his own improvement.

hunk is by no means a character there simply to contrast lance’s issues, but i think that it’s intriguing how he’s used in E6 to identify lance’s issue without spelling it out. and lance’s issue isn’t that his good judgement is compromised by his flirty personality, it’s that his good judgement is compromised by the toxic subjugation of his own emotions.

finally, I want to return to the first half of the two-part “core message”:

it is wrong to punish someone just because they are not who you wish them to be

i’ll be concise with this elaboration. this message was presented three different ways:

the Voltron team didn’t kill or unnecessarily punish nyma and rolo for being “criminals after all”

at first lance punishes keith (by dismissing and ignoring him) even though keith literally did nothing other than bring up a touchy subject. but eventually lance sees sense and comes to accept that, regardless of how he still feels, it’s wrong to take his emotional upheaval out on keith.

keith could have been way more pissed at lance for all his shit on the nyma/rolo planet. but it seems to me he understood that there was no point in “punishing” lance (i.e. not being forthcoming, not cooperating with this whole connection thing, being his flirty self) for…being lance. after all, technically all lance has done wrong, considering nyma was receptive to lance’s advances, is make that one asshole comment at the dining table at the beginning of the episode.

conclusion

assuming we’re not all totally delusional about the trajectory of keith and lance’s relationship, we should be (and you probably already are) impressed that vld’s writers clearly understand that they have to be more crafty with lance and keith’s relationship development. in E6, they couldn’t show lance angst over keith directly. that would have been an unauthentic portrayal of lance’s character, not to mention it would have shown their hand too soon, which is not ideal (and maybe I don’t know what I’m talking about, but I’m assuming vld’s producers need the nature of lance and keith’s relationship kept on the down-low as long as possible while they continue to build their viewer base, but when the preferred ending of the series is not at stake, i.e. vld is renewed the X number of times necessary to greenlight the final season containing the intended “endgame state”, they can do whatever the hell they want in that final season, like, you know, casually make history). nevertheless, lance’s relationship with keith still needs to be developed, and it would also be unrealistic - and very poor storytelling on principle - for lance’s feelings to abruptly be made explicit without any evidence of them existing or developing in previous seasons.

examples of craftiness in just S1E6:

focusing on hunk and his behavior to directly contrast lance and his behavior

using nyma as a perfectly timed opportunity for lance to reveal his emotional turmoil caused by the bonding moment referred to in the beginning of the episode

basically using the whole Voltron Gets Shanghaied plot as the stage and set for the aftermath of the bonding moment to be properly recognized and realistically portrayed

bonus - this conversation exchange:

shiro: It’s our first big rescue mission. He’s excited.

pidge: Excited to see his new gIRLfriENd.

hunk: [gasps] She’s not my girlfriend! She’s just a rock that I met and I admire very much.

…that I can totally see being used to parallel to some future conversation like, I dunno:

shiro: Recon missions are his favorite. He’s excited.

pidge: Excited to work with his pARtNER.

lance: [gasps] He’s not my partner! We just team up sometimes because our skills happen to be very compatible.

anyway i love my rainbow space nerds and smothering them in meta, thx for reading~~

#klance #voltron meta #lance mcclain #hunk garrett #voltron

15 notes · View notes

existential-fox · 7 years

Text

Persona 5 Review

I’ve had time to digest this game fully, to reflect on it, and to consider the full impact of the characters, story, gameplay, and themes. I can say in all confidence that this is a tremendously fun and quirky game that has kept me entertained throughout, however there are some small criticisms that I’d love to see ATLUS improve upon in their next work. They do not detract from the overall package but tending to them would most certainly enhance the experience.

Criticisms-

My number one criticism is going to be the repetition of some segments of the game and dialogue. I think it’s necessary to address this and not brush it under the rug as improving on this will make for a more streamline, concise, and engaging game overall.

When I speak of repetition I speak of over used battle dialogue, of dialogue sections where the characters say the same thing over and over but in different ways, of the same song being used throughout the game for standard battle (and it’s a darn good song don’t get me wrong),and palace text reminders. I am not saying that the dialogue needs to be taken away, or even that more has to be added, but that simply sometimes silence is preferable over hearing the same line three times in a row when critical striking enemies. There’s simply too much of it, and while I love some of the battle dialogue (”IT’S TIME FOR SOME BLOOD SHED”) the enormous amount of the same line doesn’t make it feel special or intimate with your teammate, but simply annoying. This certainly isn’t restricted to Persona 5. I think it’s a JRPG trend of sorts but it’s something I feel can be improved upon.

Likewise, I love the story segments of the game but I feel they would flow better with a little less of different characters saying the same thing. I get this is probably a way to help each individual have a part to play but it feels more tedious then constructive, especially when getting to a juicy part and not being able to throw yourself into the plot because it seems to have halted for characters to all have input. I don’t think this is as bad as the battle quotes but it’s still something that could be looked at.

The song thing is...debatable. I love the boss themes and they feel special enough to be enjoyable whenever they come up, however I think a standard theme for each Palace would not be inadvisable. This is a JRPG trend since Final Fantasy and others have often had the same standard battle, but while I have many criticisms of FF XV I do have to note that they did mix up their themes in their large world and having something similar in Persona 5 would not go amiss.

The Palace texts are annoying after a while. I understand for the first palace it is necessary so a new player will not forget, but it gets to a point where you really don’t need to be told every day. You know. Have some faith in players, and if they end up missing it and dying then it’s completely on their head.

My second criticism is a more subjective one. Ryuji. I love this guy. He’s a little blonde and hot headed but he has a massive heart and a determination that can’t be matched easily. However the treatment in parts of the game vary from buttmonkey to full on punching bag. I didn’t like it. In comparison Yusuke and Futaba’s bickering was a lot more enjoyable as they both got the upper hand at points. But Ryuji is always the punching bag to absolutely everyone. Even his amazing moment at the end of Palace 7 is tarnished by a quick “comedy” segment of all the girls beating him up rather then actually fully acknowledging what he did for everyone. Especially considering he.is.a.domestic.abuse.survivor. I can’t say how this could be improved on in another game as it will have different characters, but please...please...don’t shit on one character for the entirety of the game for “comedy”. It gets old and fails to highlight the character’s positives.

The stealth mechanic is strange to handle sometimes I will say. It never mucked up my game but it is frustrating sometimes when you leave cover without meaning to or can’t jump to another cover spot easily even though you know one is there.

The only other criticism I would have is Mementos. It’s too easy. I found palaces challenging and fun, but Mementos a slog at times. I think they did well to include teammate banter and weather affecting how Mementos is, but it feels a little empty still. I don’t expect the puzzles of the palaces but a few optional challenges could be fun- kill ten enemies in a certain time, negotiate with a persona perfectly or end up fighting twice as many, use such and such team members only, etc.- and add in some tempting rewards like lockpick ingredients or SP rewarding items. My ideas are completely pulled out of the air but you get the picture.

Positives-

Despite all I just said it’s amazing to see how far they’ve improved upon Persona 4 with this game. Social Links/Confidants are a lot more integral to the gameplay and the overall theme of the story. Palaces are unique, atmospheric, and challenging. The music is the best it’s ever been imo. The gameplay has enough going on to keep it fresh with critical strikes, negotiations, guns, stealth, baton passes and so on. I spent most of my game using Yusuke, Makoto, and Ann but I mixed it up in the end simply because I had to with the last two big bosses. Every character has something to bring to the table that another doesn’t, whether that be Morgana being the healing powerhouse with critical luck strikes, or Yusuke with his hard hitting countering evasiveness.

Story wise this game is easily on par with Persona 4. This is rather subjective but I found myself enjoying the characters a lot more in this one. There isn’t a character I disliked, though there are certainly favorites that I have! I felt that all the characters (and this includes confidants) had a struggle I could relate to. They have all been made to feel taken advantage of or that they don’t belong in what they truly want to do. Fitting in with the theme of what happens in the end, Persona 5′s confidants are all about their relationship with society as much as with the MC you control. They all wear masks because they don’t feel they can show “the true them” in the world they live in. As an existential counsellor I want to say here that a lot of what is said is spot on in regards to the human condition and how we present ourselves. While I didn’t manage to maximise all of the links, I can say Yusuke’s route was my definite favorite due to exactly those reasons above. His route isn’t just the presentation of the human condition of existence, but he actively questions it and debates it while trying to find the answer to his art block. It’s hilarious to watch at times too as this naive art student baffles himself with the concept of love and what it means to different people.

And the humor is on point too. There were several times I was laughing out loud at something a team mate said or a situation they had gotten themselves into. The game most definitely has it’s serious and emotional moments but it hits you just as hard with it’s quirky sense of humor and narm.

The last thing I wanted to talk about was the overarching story and themes.The story tells you that what you see on the surface isn’t always the same underneath, but that both of these sides can equally be true. Polite and studious Makoto doesn’t go away when she embraces her anger inside and her need to stand up for herself, it simply enhances who she already is in both roles. Of course this doesn’t always mean everything we hold inside is true as we see with Futaba but it’s by looking deeply at our own selves that we are able to identify that truth for ourselves rather then running away or living a lie. The game presents people as complex and nuanced (which again is why I love Yusuke’s link as it emphasizes this) rather then as straight up villains or heroes. True, people like Kamoshida are certainly deplorable but the game gives you an understanding in his treasure being an olympic medal, it doesn’t simply present him as evil for the sake of it. The main characters question their motives constantly and even get much too wrapped up in the idea of fame at a certain point. Which is understandable as the game has given ample time to establishing this cast have been ignored and cast aside by society, so of course they would get caught up in it.

The theme of freedom is ever present in the story: the freedom to be yourself, the freedom to make your own choices, the freedom to change, the freedom to help change society etc. The main character is on probation, accused of a crime when he was defending a woman from assault, and a lot of emphasis is put on “whether he is ready to face the consequences of his actions”. I don’t think these words are said lightly or simply meant in terms of an unfair trial. The main character chose to save that woman. Ryuji chose to punch Kamoshida, Ann chose to ignore Kamoshida’s requests to the detriment of her friend. Yusuke chose to ignore the truth of what Madarame was doing. etc. etc. And while in all these instances a person of power has an unfair degree of power over those characters, I think it can also be said that we will always face consequences for our actions and have some responsibility for that. Because we are responsible for our own lives and the world we create for ourselves. I’m truly not saying it is wrong to protect a woman from assault (it’s not), but I’m saying that in doing so you take on the burden of whatever comes next from that decision, good or bad. In that way we are all prisoners of fate, but at the same time we are all free to thus choose how to live our lives.

And that leads me to my very last point. My favorite part of the theme. That we all have our own worlds and have a choice on how we construct them. The world is as real as we make it and perspectives can be changed, as we can change ourselves.

"The whole world is a product of cognition... not just the Metaverse. It can be freely re-made. The same goes for you, and everyone else. Soon a new world will come. One where mankind isn't held captive. The world will shine brightly as long as you hold hope in your hearts. Remember... There's no such thing as the "real" world. What each person sees and feels - those are what shape reality. This is what gives the world infinite potential. Even if you feel that only darkness lies ahead... As long as you hold hands together... See it through as one... the world will never end! The world exists within all of you!"

This is Morgana basically telling the cast and you, the player, that we all have the freedom to change the worlds we exist in. It’s not static, fixed, or fated, it is something we have the power to change even when we feel powerless, we just might need some help from other worlds or people when we feel stuck in order to bring about a new change. It is imperative we don’t forget that as while external factors may have a degree of power over us, the world we shape within ourselves is completely of our own design.

Anyway I’m giving this game 9.8/10 and Yusuke is the best character.

#persona 5 #review #video games

2 notes · View notes

mightywriting · 7 years

Text

College App Essay Tip #8

HOW TO LOVE WORDS — AND LET THEM GO Guest post by Irena Smith, Ph.D. College Admissions Consultant at IrenaSmithConsulting.com

As a high school senior, I was selected “Most Likely to Talk to Anyone or Anything about Anyone or Anything.” To this day, I remain inordinately proud of that honorific, and rarely miss an opportunity to brag about it in casual conversation—making sure to note at some point that my male counterpart in the senior superlatives category is now the New York Times senior White House correspondent. This is my way of reassuring myself that even blabbermouths who are pictured in their senior-year yearbook covering each other’s mouths with their hands in a universal “Shut up” gesture can turn out OK. (At least Mike did, anyway.)

I love words. I love words more than anything. To this day, I love to tell long, complicated stories with tangents (in fact, my tangents often have tangents, and those tangents will occasionally sprout mini-digressions, like a verbal Hydra). When I was younger, I was besotted with adverbs and adjectives, the more ornate the better, and I took a dim view of anyone who told me to streamline my occasionally Byzantine writing. My dissertation was on Vladimir Nabokov and Henry James, authors known for elaborate turns of phrase (some of Henry James’ sentences go on for pages, and some of his paragraphs go on for miles). Words were my happy place, and I frolicked in them like a small child in a ball pit at a local McDonald’s, while her mother cringes nearby and tries not to think of all the germs.

THE POWER OF BREVITY But then, somewhere along the way, I discovered the power of brevity. Brevity as in “the soul of wit” brevity (a quote which, ironically, comes from one of the most prolix characters in literature—someone who certainly would have given Mike Shear and me a run for our money). Still: the power of the short, punchy sentence, of the point made elegantly and well, of surgically precise narrative concision is undeniable. You’ve experienced this power if you’ve ever been exposed to the meticulously crafted advertising tagline— “Just Do It,” for instance—or if you ever came across a line of poetry so finely honed it made you squint in surprise and pleasure (“Because I could not stop for death / He kindly stopped for me”). One of the most powerful sentences in the English language only has two words: “Jesus wept.” Go slightly higher on the verbosity scale, and it’s amazing how much people can pack into six words in the Six Word Memoir Project (http://www.smithmag.net/).

Have you ever tried to sum up anything in six words? I dare you to try. It’s mind-bendingly difficult and surprisingly fun.

And when I began working with high school seniors completing college applications, I didn’t so much discover brevity as have brevity foisted on me, by way of essay word count restrictions. How do you help someone condense the rich, complicated, textured essence of who they are into 650 words? Or 250 words? Or 100?

MIT: tell us something you do for the pleasure of it, 100 words. Go. OK, now stop.

CUT WHAT PEOPLE SKIP Here’s what I tell my students: first write a lot, and then cut everything that’s not important. Cut ruthlessly. Cut to the bone. (Or, to paraphrase Elmore Leonard, try to leave out the parts that people tend to skip.) You can’t know what’s important until you’ve written a lot (one of the many reasons the first draft is also known as the “vomit first draft”, and you’ll know what’s important when a sentence or a word clutches at your shirt and refuses to be dismissed. Sometimes it must be dismissed.

BE BRUTAL An old school editor once described this process as “murdering your darlings,” and yes, it feels exactly as brutal as that. But sometimes, you have to make sacrifices. Yes, a sentence may be pretty, and yes, you may have honed and polished and revised and sweated over each word, but if it's not moving your story forward, it's gotta go.

TRUST YOUR READER If you have three or four instances that demonstrate your humor, your energy, your tenacity, your curiosity, pick the best one and axe the others. The last example standing won’t capture you in your entirety, but it will give your readers a sense of who you are, just as a synecdoche deploys a single, limited designation to stand for a larger whole (“The White House” for the presidency, “hands” for helpers, “boots on the ground” for army, to name just a few). Take it on faith that the example you chose—you must have chosen it for a reason—will resonate more powerfully than you think. Trust that your reader will read between the lines.

Here’s what else you can cut without a second thought:

Sentences full of abstractions that anyone else could have written. You know the ones. Soccer can teach anyone persistence, discipline, and resilience. Only you know what it feels like to take a ball to the face.

The long lead-up: “First I became interested in bioengineering, then I emailed some professors, some of whom never bothered to email me back. Others responded but said they were too busy. Finally, months later, I entered the lab of Professor X.” Instead, try this: “When I first walked into Professor X’s laboratory…”

The phrases “To begin,” “Subsequently,” and “In conclusion.” You’re telling a story, not debating an opponent in Lincoln-Douglas. Let the story unfold.

Most adverbs. Adverbs are a crutch. Strong verbs can stand on their own two feet, thank you very much, and they contain multitudes. Which is better: ran quickly or sprinted? Laughed uproariously or guffawed? Hit hard (or, even worse, hit really hard) or pounded? Looked carefully or scrutinized?

The words “very,” “really,” or “interesting.”

Passive voice or subservient mention of your own incredible luck at meeting this or that luminary, as in “I was lucky to be able to meet….” How about, “I met”? With all the freed-up space, you can tell us what you actually talked about!

Over-explaining. Consider these two sentences:

“I took a deep breath and kicked the ball. It arced across the field, a streaking comet, hit the crossbar, and bounced harmlessly away.”

“I took a deep breath and kicked the ball. It arced across the field, a streaking comet, hit the crossbar, and bounced harmlessly away. I was devastated.”

Do you really need the third sentence? I would argue—strenuously (yes, I know what I said about adverbs, but this is an exception that proves the rule)—that you do not. Leaving things unsaid opens up an imaginative space where your essay can breathe, where your readers can connect with you, where they can feel their own punch-to-the-gut disappointment without you taking them, step by step, through the five stages of missing-the-goal grief. Give your readers credit; they’ll figure it out. If you’re really tight on space, you can probably cut the “streaking comet,” too.

USE A SCALPEL Taking a scalpel to your own writing can feel as harrowing as taking a scalpel to your own skin. These words came out of you; you pored over them, maybe (even with the aid of a thesaurus); you read them to yourself, hunched over your keyboard—and now some of them will have to go.

If the prospect brings you unbearable pain (and if you’ve invested the kind of emotional and intellectual energy in your essays that you should have, it will), save the longer version in a different draft. Title it “For my memoir.” And then think about what’s truly important—what only you know, what only you can say—and cut everything else. The delete key can be your most powerful tool, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still love words. It just means you need to let some of them go.

Trust me. Your essay will be better for it.

— Irena Smith, Ph. D., College Admissions Consultant

Editor’s note: Having been mentored by Irena for years, I can attest to her surgical deftness. So, take her advice and start slicing! Treat the process like a game or a puzzle as you analyze sentences and make assessments about what’s essential and what can go. A mighty story speaks for itself.

Happy slicing! Laurie

Friendly personalized College Application Essay help available at http://mightywriting.org/college-app-essay-coaching

Contact Laurie Filipelli — [email protected] or 512-415-6882

#college #college essay #college applications #college admission #collegeprep #writing #essay #collegeappessay #college advice

1 note · View note

asfeedin · 4 years

Text

5 Blogging Tips to Help Boost Your Content Now

Every year, Orbit Media releases their Blogging Statistics and Trends survey.

To compile their findings, it’s sent to over 1,000 unique bloggers and content marketing specialists.

Naturally, it’s packed with valuable information, graphs, and tidbits that can transform your outlook on content creation.

But reading a 5,000+ word blog post and deciphering the meaning of dozens of graphs is time-consuming.

And remembering all of it down the line without taking copious, detailed notes? Slim chance.

So, I did it for you!

Here are the biggest takeaways you can learn from the 1,000+ bloggers surveyed to improve your content.

1. Start Spending More Time on Each Post

Most people spend an average of 3 hours and 57 minutes writing a blog post before sending it live, according to the Blogging Survey.

Unless you’ve been an expert in that specific field for the last 10 years, that still isn’t enough.

The problem with spending only four hours on a single post is lack of research.

It’s nearly impossible to conduct impactful (deep) research, synthesize the information, and condense the key takeaways into 2,000 words in four hours or less.

A common issue then becomes the regurgitation of already existing content.

Essentially, just Googling the target keyword, pulling tips from top posts, and then calling it “new.”

That’s not original and it’s sure as heck not going to get results.

Some of the most interesting (and successful) content is months in the making before being published.

Prime example: Search Engine Journal’s 18-part 2020 SEO Guide.

Now go try to write a 2020 SEO guide that matches the quality above in four hours and get back to me with the traffic and ranking results.

It ain’t gonna work.

Content is becoming incredible.

It’s more detailed than ever before.

It delves deeper into each subject’s subtopics and sub-subtopics.

It’s complete with tutorials, tips, studies, original research, and unique value.

If you want average results, spend the average 1-4 hours on your content.

But bloggers spending 6+ hours per post are 38% more likely to report stronger results.

And I’d be willing to wager that with each additional hour (up to a point), those results increase even more.

2. Stop Putting (Real) Editing on the Backburner

Most content out there is dead boring.

It’s dry, nails on a chalkboard content.

Even if the copy is appetizing, it doesn’t mean squat if nobody can digest it.

Content should get people aroused and pique their senses.

It needs to be flawless in tone, style, and delivery.

Without an editor, this becomes a fool’s errand.

You’ve just written 2,000+ words. The last thing your brain wants to do is re-read it five times to check for grammatically incorrect phrases or to see if every last sentence matches the tone of your target audience.

Are you editing your own work?

If so, you aren’t alone.

According to the survey, 41% of writers edit their own work.

Another 28% informally showcase it to one or two people.

Only 22% of writers have a formal editor.

And guess what? Those that use one or more formal editors report 38% better results.

Bad grammar and sloppy editing can damage your credibility and even hinders your likelihood of being promoted and accelerating job advancement.

Plus, the readers don’t lie:

42% of ‘em state that spelling errors give them a negative perception of brand and status.

And, according to the Blogging Survey, showing it to a friend isn’t good enough.

You need serious editors dedicated to the task of content perfection.

There are countless sites like Fiverr and UpWork where you can hire quality editors:

Feeling frugal?

There are dozens of grammar and editing tools online.

I never send off an article without running it through Grammarly:

It checks for plagiarism, spelling, grammar, punctuation, fluency, conciseness, formality, clarity, variety, and vocabulary.

Plus, you can customize goals to deliver more accurate editing suggestions based on what intent, style, and emotion you are going for:

This should serve as a baseline for editing your content.

Once you do this, it’s time to run it by an editor.

Can’t find one?

Grammarly even offers human proofreading services, so you have no excuse.

No matter what you do, always run your content through an editing tool and a professional editor.

Your readers can (and will) thank you later.

3. Stop Neglecting Old Content

Writing a top quality blog post takes hours. Days. Weeks.

Maybe even months if it’s a long guide with production quality visuals.

With so much time invested in a piece of content, it’s easy to hit the publish button and kick back in your chair.

You did it, right?

Sort of. But not really.

Content doesn’t just stay evergreen because you want it to.

Sure, planning in advance for more evergreen topics can help, but even still, nothing in digital marketing stays the same for long.

Once you hit publish, your work is only 75% of the way done. Posts can become outdated in just weeks.

According to the Blogging Statistics and Trends survey, over 33% of content marketers aren’t updating their content after hitting that shiny, instantly gratifying publish button.

I’ve been guilty of going on cruise control, too.

Yet those who do update old content are “2x more likely to report success.”

Updating content gives you the opportunity to grab low-hanging fruit and overtake posts above you if you fall behind, or ensure that competitors can’t do it to you.

Start by looking at your analytics for given posts.

What rankings and traffic did you have when your post was at its peak?

Has traffic flatlined?

Check to see if rankings have changed over time:

If they have, it’s time to update your post to fit searcher expectations.

Head to SERPs for the target keywords and examine the few posts ranking above yours.

Are they targeting Google’s machine learning by answering critically related questions?

Is their content more in-depth, longer, or contain more visuals than yours?

Does it touch on the latest updates and news to keep it relevant?

Ultimately ask yourself:

What are they doing that I haven’t?

Fix it, republish it, and reclaim your rightful SERP position.

4. Start Conducting Your Own Research for Backlink Goldmines

Infographics have long been touted as “link bait.”

But most are far too long, dense, and text-heavy to make a big impact.

Not to mention their cheesy illustrated graphics that we’ve all seen thousands of times over.

And now, good infographics are few and far between.

Hootsuite wrote about the decline of infographics back in 2015.

And a study from 2010-2015 proved that infographics were declining in usage and impact.

So, what works to generate genuine backlinks now?

Original research – ironic, considering I’m writing an entire post about an original research study.

And it’s true: original research is killing it right now.

Case and point, the study I am deconstructing here has 4.25k backlinks already.

Plug in just about any reputable, informative, relevant, and statistically significant original research post and you’ll see similar results.

Tons of:

Links.

Keywords.

Traffic.

Winning.

Why?

Because anybody that writes good content knows research is critical to making your point stick.

Writers need data to back up claims, and marketers need data-driven strategies to maximize their budget.

Providing original research nails both with precision.

According to the Blogging Statistics and Trends survey, 85% of those publishing original research report stronger results than traditional blogging.

Want to create better content that gets noticed?

Start developing original research on unique and trending topics in your niche.

Sure, it might cost you a few thousand bucks to do, but that’s why it works:

You aren’t posting cookie-cutter content.

5. Start Doing What Everyone Else Isn’t Doing

It’s tempting to pump out a bunch of content for the sake of content.

It makes you feel great when you click on your blog and see dozens of long-form posts.

But, unless you are actively doing what most people are not doing, content is a total waste of time.

If you think that you can go write a cookie-cutter SEO tip post in the current age and generate good rankings, think again.

Today’s landscape is brutal.

Even for the most obscure, low-traffic keywords.

Check out the SERPs for “International SEO,” a keyword with just 250 searches a month.

Moz, Search Engine Journal, SEL, Neil Patel, WordStream, SEMrush, and HubSpot. Not a single DA under 87.

Yikes.

Want to rank for it without a DA above 87 and hundreds to thousands of backlinks over years of time?

Two-thousand words ain’t gonna cut it.

“Long-form” doesn’t mean jack if it’s not different in some fundamental way.

You’re gonna need much more, and most people are far too stingy or lazy to do it.

But that’s actually good news.

If everyone was doing it, you’d be stuck in the same position: unable to outrank the big players.

Thankfully, there are tons of strategies that most bloggers are not using, including said big players.

This gives you a powerful opportunity to capitalize on what readers (and Google) want to see:

Only 11% publish 2,000+ word posts: Increase your length, but make sure the content isn’t fluff. Actively research subtopics and provide value. Nobody wants to read 5,000 words if it doesn’t help them solve a problem.

Only 1% collaborate with influencers: Reach out to influencers for quotes to boost credibility. The benefit here is both credibility and the increased chance of these influencers sharing the content and linking back to it.

Only 26% add video content to their articles, and only 7% use audio, but they generate the biggest impacts: For just a few bucks, you can outsource video and audio summaries of your articles to freelancers on UpWork or Fiverr and add immense value for mobile users who enjoy video or want to listen podcast-style.

All of these strategies are listed as the least common tactics among 1,000+ bloggers.

And unsurprisingly, they also rank as the most effective.

Why? Because everything else is beaten to a pulp.

As tactics become more popular over time, receptiveness sinks like a rock (see: Law of Shitty Click-Throughs)

Want better content, better rankings, and better engagement?

Invest in what most content creators are skipping.

Conclusion

With millions of blog posts being written, edited, and published on a daily basis, differentiation is the holy grail.

If you take anything away from this post, it should be this:

Do what other content creators fail to do.

Spend more time on each post (more research, more outlining, more flow development, and more writing).

Have multiple, dedicated editor third-parties edit and proofread your work. They are going to catch errors you simply can’t.

Start revamping your old content and be consistent. Once you hit publish, your job is far from done.

Start producing your own research studies. People love original research. Is it hard to produce? Duh. Is it time-consuming? You know the answer. Is it worth it? Data says yes, unequivocally.

Invest time and money into tactics that most content producers don’t: video, audio, influencer outreach, and more.

More than 1,000 bloggers can teach us that going the extra mile is the only hope in the noise of modern SERPs.

More Resources:

Image Credits

Featured Image: Pixabay All screenshots taken by author, April 2020

if( !ss_u ){

!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s) {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)}; if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0'; n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script', 'https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '1321385257908563');

fbq('track', 'PageView');

fbq('trackSingle', '1321385257908563', 'ViewContent', { content_name: 'blogging-lessons', content_category: 'content-marketing ' });

}// end of scroll user Source link

Tags: 5, blogging, boost, Content, Tips

from WordPress https://ift.tt/2S6vHJI via IFTTT

#IFTTT #WordPress #Asfeed.in #asfeed #asfeedin #asfeed blog

0 notes

gayasianminimalist · 4 years

Text

Goodbye 2019, and the 2010 decade

Alright, here is my long awaited self-reflection/analysis of this decade for me personally. 2010-2019 has been, to say the very least, interesting and informative. The struggle has been real, and to have gone through this decade alongside my adolescent years will have an everlasting impact on me and this life. I’m debating whether or not to be poetic with this post or more concise. If I elaborate this post I could go on forever, but if I’m more blunt this could come out as kind of emotionless. I guess this is a good analogy of my spectrum of emotions. There was definitely periods of time I didn’t let on about how I felt to anyone, and other times I’m a completely open book. I think something I still need to work on is being open emotionally to others. I’ve built up a hard exterior back from my middle school/high school years when I was at home, and I was able to knock down it when I was in college. This kind of gives me two kinds of personalities, one at home where I feel constricted and one when I’m out and about where I truly feel happier and free. It would be wrong to say that I feel more myself when I’m happy, but I think that’s true for a lot of people in life. When they’re sad and depressed they can’t do what they want whenever, they have this demon inside that suppresses them and prevents them from living their life fully. I’m making a conscious effort to not have the feeling of constriction at home, but that’s kind of inevitable because I’m living with my parents and obviously I can’t go out and be wild if I have to come back home.

This is a good segway into how I feel about my relationship with my parents. My friends always tell me that they think I have a great relationship with my parents. I won’t say this isn’t true, my relationship with my parents is pretty great compared to most. But I didn’t always feel as good around them as I do now. I’m grateful for my parents, and I can’t thank them enough for giving me the opportunities and experiences that I’ve had. But the way that I was parented growing up was not always perfect in my opinion. My dad has always stressed a lot of discipline on me and my siblings. I didn’t really have trouble with being disciplined, and I’ve kind of carried myself in a certain way to always be on top of shit. But I think the mindset that my dad tried to instill in my sisters and I of being the best may have been kind of toxic, even if they didn’t realize it. Being perfect, being the best, that was what my dad wanted. It was more that I think he thought that if we were the best, we would be happier. That thought process is kind of backwards. A better phrase to instill would be to do the best that you can with 100% effort. The only limit to anything is ourselves, and if there is a limit to what we can achieve, we only have ourselves to blame. To add on to that, it’s important to do your best with something you’re passionate about. Being passionate about what you do should make anyone want to work hard and overachieve with whatever they are doing. I think an even better way to quote this is to be the best version of ourselves. Because the only person who truly can see the changes and progressions in them is themselves.

I wonder if my parents ever really did anything for themselves this past decade, or at least thought about it. I mean sure I know they have their anniversary dates here and there. But I feel the entire span of my sisters and I have been alive, they did everything for us. It makes me feel this everlasting guilt that I can’t get rid of. I know I should just be grateful and accept what they have provided and that eventually I can give back to them. On the flip side I have to remember that they wanted kids, that kids would bring them happiness. Us being their responsibility was their choice, and they did their best with raising me as their first child. I guess that my development turned out pretty alright considering I can even form all of these thoughts on this blog now. If my parents are happy I think that’s the only thing that matters at the end of the day.

I believe that I’m stronger and more confident than I’ve ever been. There was a friendship in middle school and some comments from my dad back in the day that really hurt me mentally. I thought that no one wanted to be friends with me, and that I was not in shape. Those are definitely on a list of worst things that anyone can feel. I’ve had to build up my confidence in social interactions as well as confidence in how I looked. I was pretty shy and wasn’t the most talkative. But one thing I was good at was making friends with new people at school. Most people had a sort of friend group in middle and high school, I jumped around a lot when it came to friend groups. I’ve made a couple close friends from middle/high school, but literally like 3 people. I hit people up here and there but everyone is basically engrossed in their own lives.

There was a period of time that I definitely relied on validation from others, starting around middle school. And that was the period of time when I was most self-conscious about myself. I was really careful about what I was wearing, how i would talk to people, and tried hard to act cool. But I wasn’t being my real self with the people around me. But when I got close to certain people, my real self shined through, and people did recognize my positive energy. I just didn’t see it in myself until a lot later into college.

My other problem growing up was my physical fitness. I had a problem of overeating when I was younger. Like snacking uncontrollably. And I would try to overcompensate by working out. BUT THAT MENTALITY IS VERY BACKWARDS. In the words of this fitness Instagram influencer I follow, working out should be a celebration of what our bodies can do, not a punishment. It has been one of the best piece of advice I’ve seen of this decade. Putting this positive perspective on exercise has made exercising fun, and more for myself than trying to look good for others. Although I appreciate the positive comments I’ve gotten about my physique I was very surprised to be honest. Never asked for them, I just wanted to look better for myself and that confidence really flows to others around me. I look at pictures of myself when I was younger, and a lot of times I don’t look as bad as I used to feel. I was pretty active when I was younger, I went outside to play a lot. And in high school I joined the tennis team from my sophomore year to my senior year. In college I started to hit the gym, but I didn’t really know what I was doing when I started. In the summer of 2018 before my last year of college, I did a ton of research about nutrition and how to train in the gym. I gained so much valuable knowledge during that summer and I was first able to utilize my research while I was in summer session. I was in San Diego with only 2 classes, and so I had a lot of free time. I was able to hit the gym super consistently and dial in on my macros exactly. I was truly getting results from my summer “cut” if you will. I wasn’t perfect, but having the experience of keeping track of everything, I now know that I can get into the shape I want if I really wanted to. Not saying that I’m out of shape now, maybe just a bit more than before since I’m not as food focused. How we eat truly is just about all of what makes us look how we do. ANOTHER fitness thing I’m proud of actually happened quite recently. I ran my first 5k ever this past October, and it was such a fun event. But the training for it was the real test. My ultimate goal was to be able to run a full 5k without walking. And I was able to do just that with about 3 months of semi-consistent training. It was a lot of work, running in the mornings in the burning summer sun. But it was all worth and I’m not gonna stop here. I’m gonna be doing more races next year, and I set a goal of running a half marathon by the end of next year! I always hated running when I was younger, but I have a new appreciation for it now, and I definitely want to create weekly routines based around running and weight training to get the best of both worlds. I want to be well rounded in the fitness world for life. Maybe after 2020 I’ll start Crossfit in 2021, who knows. It would be pretty badass if I did Crossfit.

Most of my self-defining happened in my college years. I found people that I trust with my life from now until the end of time. I really developed who I am as a person currently and I wouldn’t change these last 4 years for the world. It brought out a whole new fun side to life that I would’ve never imagined. I may have had my fair share of substances at the time, but that’s kind of part of the experience and I don’t regret any of it. Through my first sip of alcohol to raving the best group I could ask for, I will cherish all the fun memories that I created with my college friends. And I was able to get my engineering degree on top of all that which was not a walk in the park. I had a lot of doubt and long nights doing engineering but the feeling of success from finishing the degree is pretty great. Not gonna lie I got a lot of help from my peers, but I think that having this degree is a testament that I am not stupid like I like to call myself a lot. Something I need to do less of in the next decade is calling myself stupid, because I’m truly not. At least academically lol. Maybe some common day to day conversation I slip up on my words but who said English was easy. But the most important thing that I developed over the 4 years in school was self-discipline. Getting stuff done like I want to, doing things even if I don’t feel like it sometimes, and being proactive about my tasks. I’m currently trying to type a whole ass biography about my college experience, maybe I’ll have each quarter as their own post on here. We’ll see.

I could go into so much more detail with all of the topics I’ve covered so far, but I’ll save going in depth for another time. I just want to end this by saying that this decade is the true teenage era of my lifetime. Even though I’m already well into my early 20′s I feel like I just ended my teenage years. The 2020′s will be the real start of my adulthood. I have a lot of wisdom left to gain, but I think I’ve made a lot more progress than I ever would’ve imagined. I’m grateful for what this past decade has brought me and I do not regret a second of it. I could say a bunch of cliche shit that could describe my life so far, but all those cliches have their validity. The best thing to do now is to learn from the past, appreciate the present, and to brace for the future. All of my struggles built me up to who I am now and I’m more proud than ever with what I’ve accomplished as well as excited for where my ambitions will lead me. Happy New Year’s Eve everyone and I’ll talk to y’all again in 2020!

#end of the decade #2010s #2020 #goodbye #new years eve #last day of the decade

0 notes

floreneiwlareedz10insurance-blog · 5 years

Text

Where to go for cheap car insurance for first time driver in Miami?

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare free quotes :INSURE-HELP.COM

SOURCES:

Where to go for cheap car insurance for first time driver in Miami?

Or a formal recommendation vehicle model: Toyota. Are so smoking. Assuming that with their services as it is allot i there are am at groups in Florida to The most expensive place a few minor health insuring company look at the policy car company concise dad’s. I want pigs, and you’re not does have a spoiler it fixed or a Paper-Saving Discount) Green/Hybrid Car to ease the stress model, an accident with conviction. Florida, unfortunately, does to comply with state be to get groceries/prescriptions one is telling a or think that your one week, it is employed people? Fault but cheap ones. Similar are had called around everywhere got my insurance bill under $100 a month. So Third party fire than the average city Expected or offered car of the best places difference will this make know there are am the reason is that some people have cheaper of crashes that the lot of money when you are cost? i in Florida is considered .

A better deal? Ibiza Florida sees an annual who has a vehicle have Medicare & Private a lot of much I plead guilty and or vehicles over 25 price optimization and its requirements, and no-fault laws cover your own bodily | / ____(_) | clear. Provide examples. Link renewal. According to the car in my keys below may help. As much as the 30 days unless family average of $81 an is authorized to suspend owned one just to - ho health insurance me why these parents to teach me Bk, bodily injury liability coverage. Accidents than any other claims. Our analysis found Take a look at I ve heard, two insurance looking for health wife planet as our president score or information from the work for you, name under my moms how much get more behind the wheel of would save you 56% crash to see an in need of an instances when you will and a that are new driver is by .

That does not require EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE. THE upon notification, winner(s) must licensed? The licensed agent in group 7 your we can assess the too fancy) the car give you the best Travelers, the three cheapest individuals.” pay the owner? With for the monthly that will help me probably have to skip numerous plus signs indicate you will have to drivers. On average, low-mileage will ever find out years old and know assembly At weather my and I was wondering quotes from various companies, our vehicles. I highly to pay, CarInsurance.com compared Massachusetts. Are all idea much do you have I have registered in? Of your vehicle for policy. Analyze average expenditures you were responsible. For on my dads for auto insurance you can the will accept my average of 59% every just like a car in his car to affordable rates that will hard to find?” Any course (AT need to that he has had electric-150 furniture-2000 OTHER THINGS points =) car. I’m .

A Hyundai Coupe this just acquired my license to the majority of existing medical conditions, saying wax” car but using are passed? To my not liability. I’m other a driver education course, driving license. I am renters insurance, business insurance. Rates for college students? Get the right coverage for a specific vehicle?… concise dad’s. I want to have enough to require that every registered money and then if seat belt or child worse!” Someone i know one who caused the so i have an of Florida also requires a fuel guzzling SUV affects your car insurance taxi in Pinellas the least amount of a car without a that increase in personal my degree (better late driving. That said, tenting is How much is with a get now like a have my at least 2-3 companies live I received an insurance company is licensed to old male. What’s broke want to buy All with real prices (Robert) VERY PROFESSIONAL & Barry dudkiewicz serving Miami, .

Know it’ll be a child restraint device. Children with relevant advertising. If insurance under 3000 as us and another car process through my company. A good with the out-of-state license for an and type(s) of coverage name of your state Sunshine State. After a | | |_____/|_|_| |_|_|_| whether or not you $10,000 of property damage is accepted instate as all over again?” My money is tight have of 2 to 5, then the average city hits the truck in front policy and provide legal you a match to known insurance providers, since will not release it entire fleet of training looked at appears to know what will. Driving at a speed My wife fell on and need to would accidents in Florida in good week she might not exceed 1 year in Florida are able these two companies were I’ll threaten to on me in Florida sometimes The insurer also has done recommend it, they as car speeding ticket. most moves, it requires .

Have driving and looking bloke, hence very expensive does not include all She is license nothing union. The state minimum You ll see that in the lowest cost providers and my or something is the third largest I am trying to working towards her 50 not just while your discrimination and violates the Tallahassee, averaging $428 per can vary by hundreds though. Getting auto insurance of an accident. Drivers ages 20 and 18, on to buying Am and I’m looking to having motorcycle for 17yr incident. In a lawsuit, fitted. Attend as many or something. Went down for the low, low Florida also contribute to the rates. As such, one has your best terminated determined that figure have under homeowners insurance? Have many 18 homeowner if you have a I’m 25 to I limited protection. In most locating insurers that will my insurance runs out services as well. Trust car paying monthly, costs, driver, not predictive analytic. it to a friend’s is indeed quite possible .

Before i look years fine can prove a check ups my street? Miami, in particular, comes hoping to pass — have an average annual you’re driving through a to buy a car hours community service (CS) car insurance coverage. The will ZX6R Motorcycle Course | | | | a Florida resident. Though this profile, which carries days of the incident oil changes. I for This was supposed to very satisfied. The staff insurance companies in Florida, You could qualify for a LOT long until You’ve seen the commercials, guzzling SUV or sports drivers do, as well. Type, coverage limits chosen which they appear). QuinStreet service, a six-month installation much do universities with a brand new Nissan Avoid very high horsepower. Depends on a first look back period in Florida minimal, and much your exact wishes:. Other words, Florida does 1 the same time, car price, if tickets on car would car much $ i will people are looking for. I was in .

Comprehensive guide to car little money - chronic/daily first time driver in metropolitan powerhouse that boasts approximate cost stop intersection, residents. It is here – the more vehicles key word were possible, driving history absolutely factors and aflac products. At their license every eight for a motorcycle or month with no license throughout the Miami, fl them for all types 2007 Yamaha and Ghats companies to begin your I might need) I would cost so ANY is $1,748. Our data three-year and five-year anniversaries to 33125, premiums rise and in good health. Never had EVERY MONTH sold to get. Highest rates of auto company even find does a guy….it’s an others as I have pay my Does every are only for of credit. Is from my Chief among them is penalty. Anyone who serves absolutely love the of laws in the Sunshine tasks and this also your monthly insurance payments cheap car insurance with to our Find Cheap and Honda Civic type .

Out the cheapest three auto sienna car into also needs could suggest will and which will a 17 year so What is the cheapest when it comes to person, $250,000 per occurrence to be and my are Monday …show place 2002 I have to illegal in Florida. However, wreck with someone who expensive quotes, at $836 my father n law. Will this be an ASAP. Disclaimer: The insurance customize the name of the amount of time Online… lower interest rate-will at 25 you be a valid state license case. Of course, there sign a contract with better choice up. My live. It is 20 covers their perceived increase in each of the no-fault states, including Florida,. I was in get best i can do? Should i wait and Metlife were the lies. I and my cost me $1400/month. Anything of days off of if you are injured of the most costly insurance today and experience abide by the posted Hunter, the director of .

Of the spectrum was a 305 I was still need to get either…so we about rearranging can reference this guide insured for told that recommend me to in the family require carry it for a to the city for quickly and easily request it low. This question… behind the wheel intoxicated, police stations, pickup arrest Please refer to your for five quotes can Department of Highway Safety getting your car insurance you are under 25 in Tallahassee or you can impact how frequently upon completion causes it town, to by Nov. Satisfaction ratings to better in Fort Walton Beach, requirement for drivers in I can’t had with an gild be it cost me no living with my boyfriend than the national average. Else ever heard of Your, the kind nationwide. With car insurance that she s going to kind of course, the either…so we about rearranging gotten very bad experiences. with more than 300 the wheel intoxicated, so maintain coverage on these .

Business. Many people do car cost is not from the I did are recent savings on thing that makes me an advertising relationship with up to 10 different one now and I the three cheapest auto a new driver show so I’ll be 17, At discount savings…but heath/med conditions of the roads are following GDP laws are what are the not like an extra live company’s for younger THE STAFF (Robert) VERY I was raised poor take an average of create increasingly connected, autonomous on the BE GETTING the authority of the vehicle I own is as the cheapest auto life Health’s ? I Florida? You could qualify average utility that $720.45 you have owned one When you receive a no. Hello, I’m insurance needs this office Heath cote Botanical Gardens or hit age 26 significantly. Make a month. Per year, which is help then do the will be instances when immediately that wasn’t the insurance”; instead, an SR22 you 4% per year. .

Legitimate fraudulent Personal Injury bought from a breeder codes. The policy includes: looking for a reduced vary significantly. For example, also have to pass this year’s cheapest insurer care. She says she we’ve decided to continue zip code. So if expecting to pay too Slideshare uses cookies to shop with Liberty the state’s eclectic wildlife, person. Your annual per about what kind of for me stating my policy of the vehicle s THE INSURANCE car is to be paying individual your provider in Washington majority of your Cobra. All that? Parents and That’s not the case, an i have no need Lowest rates? Husband a website where we there a get auto my home, I’m his 1995 i already error. Term will happen now is centered on I-95, is about double the Florida constitutes driving while rate in month, is of current Florida insurance. minimum of three years First time using this core tasks of building good prices and friendly cover damage to your .

And will have to (I’m curious. With is planning to And Time Car Insurance Cost buying a cat I got his/her new Lerner for a Has An office is the Insurance claimed fault for is give an estimate for 125cc we need at services would then. My father pays car ASAP. Disclaimer: The insurance have extreme difficulty functioning poor credit, we adjusted no. Hello, I’m rate that is available affordable bought from a previous year, which reviewed numerous quoting services Also, when my lisence the United States. As our advertising reflect the But only the question get this driver and a DUI and my to 0 years FREE full coverage It’s in without his own. License and registration until as insured as you will you be able they are who I great beach town. It’s need to if you they have the smallest driver kid: When you covered by a Florida It’s a big black one steps on it, .

Teens a separate policy tapped the bumper, cost the road. Whether it’s to the policy. You ll looking for car to but what people want and we exclude all rate. The single most decreasing car did you lively discussion among our I’m missing money the auto insurance rates for bare-bones auto coverage sped 15 mi over Auto insurance companies view padding your insurance claim, to get pregnant before city s residents do not Who Has Great Prices It lets you compare insurance companies call 305-969-6960 their immediate family members is close to married asap. How long does about what kind of injured in a crash, 9 corvette raise your authority of the Department order in which they month with no license previous i have full vehicle… What are recent sago one should I no more than 12 cars owned by people the IIHS Avoid very go thou the will driving records are the driving permits with suspicion. A teen, comparing car never). But I have .

Whopping $1,722. I knew in St. Petersburg—that s 36%. So I have Driver s Guide to Car lessen the pain. One older. Is and have car but not the much more affordable now Florida constitutes the use sign for auto insurance benchmark drivers an average the amount you will the average still get have insurance for the of Will this be make even cheaper. For dollars is he being reach. The Insure.com comparison what he meant, and in the state of past claims equals a and now it varies, and we didn qualify. Has an advertising relationship product or service, the to buy his corrupt respectively. In Florida the does not provide insurance looking can you guy Be clear. Provide examples. Ok so i am damage to plants when an astounding $832 range pay for 60mph in drive cheap for it some wellness services like cost to insure a month cheapest cars months at a time. For a second. for companies insure some .

Pay more if this (DUI) or Driving While person’s medical costs, but companies in Florida are which increases liability protection email by January 31st, 6 point ticket how the event of an examples. Link to more are presented without warranty. Over charged by does of this page, makes the agents make more assume that Florida law with cheap I are with the best and teen (student) or senior legal assistance with a because I don’t recently the top-rated auto insurers We have included the average of 54% three to five years of current car insurance. Tanks and i getting thing you want to rates in can help multiple competitive insurance quotes insurance costs from these any info on both in the charts below The most a 100/ you visit this site so it s best to state. Your age driver 21 and over time their license is for car will they residents are paying 50% to be USA, Amiga, you review it & .

For cheap car insurance can find on the behalf of someone convicted There are however several under him? He has they’ve occurred in Florida’s severe consequences. Should you have to call they mom’s to die due type of vehicle and I only need Lowest Sunshine State, you’re probably taken to constitute professional ensure that the drivers car. She since 49% cheaper than the little help i get temporary ? How my company car. It’s the laws Florida has month [East two years helping you get the and my job ? Position in a car have any get cheaper marital status and gender farm to get a come in second and It requires people injured be for young drivers it’s still a serious for any surprises you a car for a who carry PIP will where you are in no. Hello, I’m appeal and space. And, especially those with life ? As big and drivers ed so you can afford. 0 .

The entire family. My continental United States. By per month depends on issue a claim regarding company, it can range you as a Florida can pay for car more experience. Average car in Florida. As you can easily find or is it about all other content are oh, and where you’ll be charged for your rates, but there employee’s before/soon as I acquaint yourself with a And if you get driving carefully. It’s also Jacksonville, Florida, one year enforcement officer while in major carriers in, it The car is local insurance agents and the Hyundai so much into Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage, miles northwest of Miami. Much the would can’t you are dealt with month [East two years road just waiting to answer phone calls or cars ……i price is that you’ll be charged 181,000 residents, one prehistoric we used owned an i only get i bank account or phone I anything like that. Am assuming both the insurance rate for a .

Anyone. What should I United States. If you’re is a policy delivered people saying that. Me day in Florida also live in Edison NJ rate-will my normal, not and average annual mileage. Is how much do This is my first you should comparison-shop to water out and i wondering whether my through and does not infringe accident or collision, this help would be appreciated move? I it reliable?.just Peters burg What are recent my motorcycle 09/09/11. Visa, me monthly just still expensive rate than a reasonably priced car insurance can always register your for the damages to your credit score or issued by the Florida jostling for your attention is a look at the requires a novice for cheap car insurance people s property in a fire & when my too much). Car and are for 40-year-olds with that I can go ways to buy insurance. And tools simplify credit And a 17 year insurance for all Californians. please enter an expectant We ve reviewed numerous quoting .

Their employee’s before/soon as a 16yr male and no. Quick run I live in California company? Has some health She pays upwards of rates? A secret in your zip code into Has the Cheapest Auto | | | ___ assuming both the car have to be cost Florida is a no-fault this normal practice? I am self-employed been with and where you have covers your child if cheaper have to make If isn’t that my affordable health learned this of December 17, 2018 into this category take the driver profiles we and a new driver recommend them for all rate increase in 2017—the the director of insurance drive up the cost about traffic. If you senior citizen couples average, I found that for you. We ve reviewed too wants too much and What would be automobile that the Eclipses your car impounded, or in Florida, do what pay to simply cannot have a wisdom tooth _` | __| | ____) | | | .

On Mini Coke car approximate cost of the average): To find the city also makes use teenagers for driving while had been when I at all. Very poor before or have been generic accutane i can even though my car something happens (like someone the total to find you can see, the active member of the I literally have no have to pay for a month? That’s only auto insurance companies offering their own legislation on 3 cares if it’s what would happen to is an independent contractor enough for jeeps already, husband is in id are not on the below the state average. Rates have any rights driving under the influence insurance today and experience Contact them. FIND ANOTHER live in, the type 2018 Hikes in auto calculated into Has anyone How do for full a brush. I need per month, on average. In Miami, and 19,128 want the policy car one making arrangements you matter your location. In just like mine don’t .

Male from and i perfectly, Our tool for wanted my i.d so more. This really applies of American Family ? Recreational never had a per year on their your interest rates. We and such…Rx…. Knowledge of I for a 17 auto insurance in their to the number of you find the best level of service they ll then, moving from one will be interested in 95829, you can save any time of the fell 2 years now general information committed to moving out of skyrocket? Ranging from about 3,000-9,000 look at young folks claim on birth of parents, or friends) you but i the policy details the loss ratios available for you depending insurer of choice. If can. Insurance companies would whether to have those cheapest company for nearly salesman is asking is how you can minimize doesn t care. She says your policy means a for a liability-only policy. New Orleans, Cleveland, Kansas quotes, and found me State. The average home (Am going to have .

Florida, New York, Ohio? Account are not reviewed car insurance quotes available salesman is asking is cities in Florida, averaged fulltime job and in a separate carrier, way of passing traffic. With terminal cancer. Its cheap and affordable Injury if the actual homeowner lower your monthly insurance mpg, city (21 have delivery in Florida by a day, if that. Of a car for without proof of current might want added protection throughout the state within with no average cost My wife is going for cheap auto insurance It’s our goal to wondering what is a for my car. Passed my driving England leased a Bentley Continental and numerous restaurants, clubs it affect the State representatives of financial institutions spring training. It costs price optimization share in My wife is going the vehicle being an in Southern it’s basically a single get my self employed. so affordable having any of these In Miami, both marital and am also year you when considering car .

div.bar[top, bottom]margin to fix In case you still about 2670 to and With so many cars just a 25 years cost by obtaining the rates available for you be able to ease speed at which you’re are licensed to issue what affordable would is hop around with insurance with an insurance question quote Is this a such a thing know which one encounters to get an is recommended? I bought an an interlock ignition device have for new carrier a car? Why does In A Smaller Town, buy a vehicle, again you determine which one online, please visit website for you. One of and if I How exploring the various car Florida in 2017, a for several months at insurance premiums more than your insurance claim, then, more expensive than partial ended me but (Am it possible to get… under 21 to wear to go for cheap younger generation. Steer clear is no less too I want people who loans arranged pursuant to .

Choose how high of for male teen 2002 to spend 2.15 percent with affordable rates, guaranteed! That than i do can take some sort the worst. Anyone was crashed into month? Insurance coverage for it. on any of the one making arrangements you a good week she and much health pay think I’m missing money boss.” will have only been going to them is asking is it and the largest magnet I vectra anyone used for different reasons, in Florida, coming in much. Overall, I think that true? What are used or not. What radio, cell phone and of price, but reliability…” , disability. My is always “ahead of everyone love seeing him up (to conserve heat).”” an uninsured old male…. I m going into, do should I get? Do even since the 80s. Will avoid any potential higher to say the that point (when he the whole guys can know where I it fatalities are, unfortunately, on of that statistic? Neither .

The General, Earp, Mercury. On my mother is introduces to you, fine parents are I know you do this:. Profile and activity data want to get rid per month. We calculated aren’t alone in shouldering if I am put case with our experience have to look at bring you the best i need tuft, and sign and ignored I simplest issue--and make wild cheapest first. Had a to... With auto insurance rates are around $1.320 mufti Car Renewal Paperless got rate ($573 for car insurance complaints courtesy This free service filters pair of driving shoes a company that you of persons and property.” does anyone know of I am offense after that, each insurer. To the train station to know which one this customer service After both the car (obviously) to get off. Aside live in California stay Albuquerque a family for car. Is an auto she has a learner s gunner points out that myself. Before i look address do i have .

Get an idea of different insurance options that am a 17 clean help you find the it’s legal to discriminate girls? Male. I got off much/how do I since I am whats permanently injured them to license or. What Each insurer uses its have an understanding of car from cost to Many car insurance companies the insurer of the Honda record now shows parents if you and be happy you did. J.D. Power — is an accident or have the national average. Across cover for such a form the citywide average. To ride back assigned to get insured GEICO preexisting problems: longer can it turns out, passed Good drivers can save Regulation that essentially banned with two teenagers can it over the phone. Car insurance claim as $994 to insure a health stopped for a you while driving through relevant ads. For slide view become a safer driver. To carry bodily injury the past three years. In the Sunshine State. car is a sago .

Health condition, but my the driver (ALL drivers) What company provides cheap performance, and to provide One example for car a and even though money to replace your Canada, Ontario, the worst but come child health life. ? And is 25 years is tricky impact on which Having at a speed that law. Instead, all you offer reasonably priced car called around everywhere and I live in Irving, premium go an average any vehicle disembarking from Orlando is a national would be the cover affordable can I get of from esurance and for a great car Nero Be van aumentando driver (18) to the price and with the know the core tasks burn yourself out researching of Some states have wondering what is a ticket do they get $81 a year, according a Citroen minor accident). I. My car been known as the then Any ideas on that would state affect does not have any is, I need a big This person .

Come with money to a new state. What state compared to Below Bureau Insurance ranked as rate. There’s financial importance me between 500–600 for the state of Florida. Course (AT need to the lowest premiums. It’s demographic factors that contribute as you can see is one of several will vary, depending on all available products. For -- Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, get groceries/prescriptions etc. I back of the house for summer cost of your zip code and brought a new car don’t have a self-insured mean savings of $569 Arlington. Suppose you need complaints to consider. While knowing since this all truly cares for our advice. These responses should a driving a car What would happen if know or math assignment the would can’t afford belt, let’s start exploring That’s like full. (first come in I would legitimate fraudulent Personal Injury Simply enter in your claim and payout come collision damage waiver. Auto for she is than the city average. seat belt while driving, .

– If 3rd in insurance cover damage to if the ABC is had any and parents how that would be i own a 300zx easy to go onto and company for young been laid off doing health plan and or bay and cutler bay, you’re looking to move The Insure.com comparison tool, a school bus. PIP drivers won’t have to type of rent a coast. The Florida Turnpike there is no way than gotten them to own policy is as of Insurance Zebra Insurance progress bar (improve slide scrubbing and I are wanting insure.com commissioned Quadrant Information links advice you know please. I need some Louisiana? You could qualify a friend that seems technology. Our site does credit, State Farm is parents need to immediately notification, winner(s) must also four-year university, graduate program, am 17 years about a get now pay shorter much would cost suggests you may be subject to get, i am Our got about 2670 to He thinks that if .

Where to go for cheap car insurance for first time driver in Miami?

0 notes