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youcouldmakealife · 2 years

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David/Jake; looking askance

For the prompt: Protective David which it basically doesn’t even follow, because David wanted to add like ~backstory, and ~lead up and I am as helpless to David as Jake Lourdes is, though a lot more exasperated about it.

David doesn’t like Tampa Bay.

It isn’t anything personal, really, has nothing to do with the city or with the team, no matter how frustrating they can be to play, especially when Sebastien Boucher decides that night is going to be one of those nights. They happen less than they used to, but they’re still irritatingly common.

It has nothing to do with Tampa, it has to do with how David feels when he’s there. And David’s feeling the mix of feelings he always faces in Tampa: frustrated, on edge, and irritated at everything and everyone. The Panthers are the second game on their trip to Florida, so he’s in a better mood than he would be otherwise, but he’s also jittery, impatient, all the time he’s spent away from Jake coalescing into one last day that feels intolerable after all the rest.

It makes no sense, but it happens every time. Well, every time he isn’t in Tampa on the back end of the road trip, missing Jake more than he rightfully should after a single day.

So he’s already tense before he catches the night’s highlights over a post-game dinner with Raf at the hotel bar, their eyes flicking up occasionally, lingering for especially exceptional plays. And for people they know, David supposes, because he typically would have looked right back down the second he saw two players circling one another — he does not consider that to be a highlight of any game, particularly because it is, by all accounts, against the rulebook, and shouldn’t be encouraged the way it is — but he saw the Panthers jersey, and then a split second later, recognised the way Jake holds himself. He apparently recognises it even when he’s fighting. David wasn’t aware of that until now.

Raf sucks a breath through his teeth when Jake goes down. Not down — not out cold, not his head hitting the ice, all those worst case scenarios that make David go cold every time a fight involves someone he cares about. Thankfully most of them aren’t fighters, with one notable exception.

Jake gets up again quickly, nothing too hurt but, David imagines, his pride, because if he’s remembering correctly, Jarvis probably isn’t even legal to drink yet. When he pulls out his silenced phone he already has texts from Jake waiting, im fine! followed by lost that one lol.

David does not consider there to be anything worth laughing about.

He also has one from Robbie, who’s sitting with Elliott down the bar, hahaha he’s such a dumbass and David scowls down at it, but he doesn’t send a text arguing the point.

David looks it up when he’s back in his hotel room to see what had sparked it. It wasn’t something he would consider an explanation — none of it is an excuse — not retaliation for an earlier hit, or an escalation of previous hostilities. As far as David can tell, it was just Jake trying to get his team invested in the game, down 4-1.

David’s always found that to be specious reasoning. He’s certainly never grown more invested in a game solely because one of his teammates took a few punches. If anything, he just gets distracted, worrying they’ll be juggling lines for the rest of the game if his teammate gets injured. And even if it did work — wouldn’t that work just as well on the other team? A net zero impact at best is not something worth punching someone over.

He doesn’t say that when he calls Jake, of course, just asks how he’s feeling — fine — and whether he’s icing his face — yes, but David has suspicions that isn’t true, or if it is, it was a cursory icing at best.

“What time are you guys getting in?” Jake asks. “I’ll pick you up at the airport.”

“Are you even safe to drive?” David asks.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Jake asks.

“Your eye,” David says. It was already purpling in his postgame interview, and David imagines it’s significantly worse now.

“It hasn’t swollen shut or anything,” Jake says.

“That’s not an answer,” David points out.

“I’m safe to drive,” Jake says. “I’ll pick you up at the airport?”

“If I can clear it with the coaching staff,” David says, but they both know that means yes.

David deplanes ten minutes late onto hot tarmac and a text from Jake letting him know where his car is. He has cleared it with the coaching staff, as expected, so he splits from the team at the terminal, enduring a parting elbow and wink from Robbie.

Jake pops the trunk so David can put his carry-on in, thankfully not getting out and insisting on doing it himself, the way he usually does. David doesn’t know if that’s because he doesn’t feel up to it, or if David’s finally convinced him that, Florida or not, it’s an entirely unnecessary risk.

When he opens the passenger door he decides it’s probably the former. His eye’s a purple so deep it must look black in worse lights. Even on a sunny day, all David can see is shadow.

“Not as bad as it looks,” Jake says. Either David’s face gives something away, or that’s the way he’s had to greet everyone today.

David imagines he’s heard disapproval from his coaches. He’s also sure that among the back and ass slaps, he’s been chirped by his teammates for losing to a kid, even if that kid was bigger than him. He suspects Allie and Natalie have also chimed in with their opinions on the fight, and he doubts they were complimentary.

“That was a stupid fight,” David says anyway.

“I know,” Jake groans, exactly like someone who has heard that repeatedly since yesterday.

David reaches toward the bruise, livid, cresting his cheekbone, but Jake sucks in a breath before David’s fingers even make contact, and David pulls his hand away, puts it in his lap.

“Sorry,” Jake says.

“You look awful,” David says, and Jake laughs, then winces.

“I know,” Jake says.

“I don’t know why you keep getting into fights,” David says.

“Eh, it’s usually the other guy looking like this, not me,” Jake says.

David frowns. “That’s not better, Jake.”

“You’re right,” Jake says.

“It is better,” David says, “I didn’t mean it isn’t better for—“

“No, you’re right,” Jake says, “it’s not.”

David looks down at his hands, catches sight of Jake’s. They look sore, winter chapped but worse, his knuckles red and raw. He starts to reach out, then pulls his hands into his lap again. Flinches like it’s his own injury when Jake reaches out and threads their fingers.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” he asks, but Jake just squeezes his hand in answer, so if it does, David supposes Jake doesn’t mind.

#SOTM #fic snippet #David Chapman #Jake Lourdes

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bsaka7 · 2 years

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hi! a while back I wrote my first smutty pierresteban fic on ao3 and you wrote the nicest, most thorough review I’ve ever read in my life and it honestly made my entire month 💕 so thank you!!

not sure if you’ve spoken about this before but I wanted to ask - what goes through your mind when you write reviews / read fic? how are you able to just capture the essence of what spoke to you and at the same time convey such appreciation to the writer? it’s truly an art. as a writer yourself, what kind of reviews make you the happiest / most satisfied?

omg!!! I'm so honored that my comment made such an impact - I'm sure what you wrote was absolutely lovely!! It's really nice to know that my comments have an impact for you as well as for me bc I do rlly enjoy writing them. This is also such a nice question - I don't think I've been asked it before - and I definitely have thoughts hahaha!! Many thoughts. Many more than are even below the cut perhaps...

What goes through my mind when I write a comment?

I guess it's a couple of different things. For me, the fic I like best catches on something - a theme, a twist on a relationship - that I don't find elsewhere. I really like fic that makes me think about something differently. I think part of this is how I like to engage with texts generally - I read a lot but like, you can't tell the author of a novel what you thought so easily. So those thoughts I have generally get harnessed into comments bc I know someone will read them.

Within that, I'm like... I guess I try to be a critical thinker and consider things deeper than surface level and that of course applies to fic. So I try to pull out a couple of ways I think the author did things differently than maybe I would expect - a plot twist, or a characterization choice, or a thematic engagement. Idk i want people to know that I take their writing just as seriously as anything else I read. A big worry when I'm commenting is being accidentally mean - I've been called condescending a lot in my life hahaha - so that is also always on my mind as well.

I don't really think about my comment til I get to the end of a fic where I usually ask myself what was the most memorable and then I give it a little bit of time to percolate and then write the comment... Idk. Some of this is probably also affected by both like... how being a history major trained me to think about reading and also bc - I'm fairly picky about what I read (I don't read that much fic and I honestly am not a great commenter overall - I do have to really like it/want more of it/find something of interest in it), I read a lot, and I'm very confident in what I like.

How do I capture what spoke to me and convey my appreciation to the writer?

Okay to be honest I worry about this a lot... Like is it too much of what I thought?? Am I getting away from the meaning of the text? I feel like also I am kind of a hater generally but I 1) never want to make anyone feel bad about their writing and 2) especially don't want to do so accidentally.

So for me, when I'm writing a comment, I try to chunk it out into the different ideas that I liked (for example: main ship dynamic, external friendships, and fate), and jot my thoughts down for them. I try to focus on those ideas over like idk writing technique. Once I get down all my vague thoughts, I'll go back and flesh them out into sentences and include something specific about each of those points. For at least one point, I try to include a line I particularly liked. Then I go back through again and try make sure I didn't say anything accidentally insulting (I generally do also have critiques when I read but I try and lean as heavily into the positive as I can and make sure I only ever tell someone that if they ask me). For shorter fics, I'll do maybe only one or two ideas, but for longer ones my comments can get... Long. I'm not sure if that totally answers your question but that's the like... balance I try to strike?

As to what kind of reviews make me the happiest/most satisfied...

I was actually talking to one of my very good friends about this the other day. Unsurprisingly, the comments I like to get are similar to those I try to write. My favorite comments are the ones that go deeper - what themes did you like and did you see, how do you see the characters thinking about their lives. I really enjoy when people make external connections whether that to be of other books/articles or music (but this can be hit or miss based on if we have similar taste lol) or pieces of art, especially bc its often stuff that idk about!! For me, I try with most of my fic to weigh in on some larger theme or question and I really like when ppl engage with that because they're always going to bring in new thoughts and ideas that I can't come up with on my own!!! My friend says that I like debate (I love debate) hahaha so I do like stuff that pushes me about the text can be understood.

That being said like. I also really appreciate when people tell me lines they like, or even just a single line that they enjoyed the fic. I don't want to sound like I'm complaining about engagement bc I'm not!!! I just love when people are willing to go deeper. I do also think like I'm a person whose very willing to have a conversation in the comments which like... Idk not congrous with current ao3 culture hahaha.

I also really appreciate when people say my fic is like.... very understandable but still has a lot to say because that makes me very proud (especially because I don't consider myself a very strong writer... I consider myself middling in both quality and popularity). I also really appreciate stuff from my friends bc like... They know me, yknow? But anyway, I really do appreciate all comments but that's a bit of what makes a comment special!!

Anyway... That's the gist!!! Thank you for the questions and I'm sorry if I accidentally said something cruel in all my rambling. I would say this is fairly accurate to how I read and comment and I hope it's interesting at the very least!!! Please feel free to weigh in with your thoughts/comment strategy etc as well!!!!

#Ask game #Omg i wrote so much and spent so long on it hahaha #Anyone who reads... Cheers for REAL!!!!#I also like hardcore fall back on the same phrases in comments which sometimes I feel bad about idk #With like my friends who I workshop fic with for real.... We can get rlly nitty gritty hahaha #So idk... I guess the gist is. Ideas I like. Phrases I like. Be nice about it!!#Idk if I've ever actually been mean in a comment but boy do I worry lol #Ok i gotta go for a run for real now... Rocky here I come #I've also gotten crazier about writing comments in like the last 8mo #Bc i have. Time #Lbr the catchphrase here is i like critical engagement in both sides lol #But that feels like a whack word to use when talking about fic #Like I'll just as happily talk about ur fic like this as like idk. A long form journalism article.. Or a novel.#It's all writing it all has different purposes and angles. I like it all

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castlebyersafterdark · 3 days

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(Do yall know how many asks I get requesting details and preferences on the intricacies of anal sex prep? Yall. Suspension of disbelief. There's so many advice and sexual health articles out there to read up on if you're so curious, it's... implied. No offense to the curious mind, I appreciate the genuine approach, but I ain't including all that in a fic hahaha. ANYWAY

you thought you could hide this in the strikeout but vinny dahling, i can read Strike (TM) AAAHHAHAHAHAHHAHA CRUELLA DE VIL LAUGH

anyway. so i have never asked for this in an anon lol but i have to empathise with the dear and curious readers (most likely girls but maybe baby gays or straight guys who are curious???? shoutout to all the lurking straight dudes here on vinny's blog lol). i think sexfic can be hot and heightened reality, but its also nice to add some realism and it can be aspirational too. youre kind of a king of realistic sex in hcs and fics in the spicy byler fandom tbh. youre invested in realism and emotion in a way many other writers arent. and ofc, you have life experience.

so i think its just a case of - well, for me, i think its just interest to see how the practicalities could be worked into fic. because yes there is info available, but those articles dont tell you how to incorporate the necessities into an actual scenario or story thats still sexy. i just think it would be incredible and so sexy to read a fic (or see a film!) where the nuts and bolts of everything were included. messy, maybe it fails, but yeah. it makes younger people especially hopeful, because it validates the frequent fails of early sex experiences. and thats byler! i know youre working on a fic of their early relationship so I'm sure you'll grace us with some Very Realistic details about anal sex prep and make it poetic in its realism, too. if anyone can, its you! whenever youre ready, im sure lots of us will be happy to read that.

love you vinny.

HAHAHA well 😉

And it's no shade to those lovely, curious, inquiring minds. It's realistic!! It's obviously going to cross the mind, I get it! Maybe, just getting too nitty gritty and acknowledging all the hyper-real aspects of stuff has a twinge of embarrassment, a sort of mindset where it's like, oh I'm enjoying writing about fictional sex and sharing little hints at personal sexcapades, but there are times where I don't want to be seen as a beacon of real advice and especially not become a go-to sexual health educator hahaha. I'm just being silly or creative most of the time.

But... yeah. I can't deny the fact that I do enjoy having my niche being a little bit of a realistic approach to my fanworks. It's pretty fun, because I've mostly dabbled in the ridiculous or lofty before now - but I switched up styles and approach and what I always wanted was an honest sort of insight and writing style. Found it in this fandom of all places, wild. So, yeah. Authenticity. Love that, strive for that. I appreciate the kind words and faith in me!!

Very true though that more very realistic media in general would be super interesting, and I think more things these days are surprising me in positive ways. We do need more realism for many aspects and depictions of the intricacies of intimacy and relationships. For sure. I will say... I do think you and others will find a lot of this in that fic I'm slowly working on. That's why it's gonna take awhile! I think something like that is gonna be more long form if I want to say what I want to say. Of course here's stuff in the fic meant to be hot, but most of it is just... exploratory and trying stuff through storytelling. Depicting how two young men entering a sexual relationship together with very little reference points might deal. Ohhh, it's got awkward moments, it's got not-so refined sex, it's got realism in what is actually happening - I think you'll find what you and others are looking for there. It's my realism fic while a lot of my other stuff does have that typical fanfic mystical world where things just somewhat... gloss over reality to an extent haha.

Love you too anon ❤️❤️

#asks #Yall if there are straight dudes lurking this blog I am shocked but impressed and obsessed with that. Love a curious ally hahahahaha. Hello

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purplesurveys · 20 days

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1916

Did you exchange a walk-on part in the war for a lead role in a cage?by ausmuh

01. What would you say your favorite day in history is, or a day you find interesting? If you could, would you travel back in time to experience or witness it? Rizal's execution, I guess? It was taught to death in schools (rightfully so), so I guess I'm just naturally curious how that day went for the those who were alive at the time. Was the mood somber everywhere? What were my countrypeople feeling? Did they think all hope was lost for the Philippines by that point? What happened immediately after? things like that I can't help but think about.

02. What's the most embarrassing thing you've ever had an obsession with? Do you still like that thing? I'm not ashamed of things I enjoyed at one point.

03. Describe the last movie you watched, but do not give its title. The next person who takes this survey must try to guess the film that the previous survey-taker watched. You may give hints, such as the actors and actresses that starred in the film, the director, the year the film was made, etc. Then the guesser has to describe the last movie they watched, and so on and so forth. David Dastmalchian is a struggling TV show host who pulls out all the arcane stops for a pivotal sweeps-week Halloween episode. Nightmare scenarios ensue. ^ Unfamiliar with the plot, but a quick Google search tells me this is likely to be Late Night with the Devil(?). Hahaha. Anyway, my last movie sees Nicolas Hoult being a mega-dick in a swanky fine dining dinner set curated by Voldemort. Things get hilariously weird, people die. Anya Taylor Joy orders the most delicious-looking cheeseburger.

04. If you could draw any place that you could be magically transported into, what would you draw? What would you do there? I'd draw a field that never ends where all my pets can run around freely. Kimi is there, and he's playing with Cooper, Agi, Miki, Max, and Arlee.

05. Do you have the LiveJournal app downloaded onto your phone? No, I don't use it.

06. Have you ever played any of the Animal Crossing games? Do you have the new game, or do you plan on buying it? Nope and nope.

07. Do you talk to anyone from Xanga or LiveJournal on anything other than those two websites? If so, who do you talk to and through what? No, but I also don't actively keep in touch with my mutuals here. It's cool enough for me that we're tracking our own lives on our feeds.

08. Has anyone ever showed up at your doorstep unexpectedly (besides people selling things and Jehovah's Witnesses)? If so, who was the last person to do so, and why were they there? It was just the roaming security guards letting us know there'll be a power outage the following day and to prepare accordingly, lol.

09. When was the last time you were nauseous? Do you know what caused the feeling of nausea? Like a month or two ago. I felt weak and pale the entire afternoon and evening – immediately felt better as soon as I threw up. Turned out to be food poisoning because I accidentally drank coffee with old milk.

10. Are you embarrassed when you make a grammatical error, whether it's in a paper for school, a survey, or a conversation? I'm very conscious about grammar and tbh never make mistakes. I always catch them immediately, especially when it's written/typed.

11. Describe the last outfit you saw that you really liked, or if you want, post a picture. That I wore? It was just this cute ensemble of a windbreaker + tube top + high waist jeans I wore a week ago when I watched Seventeen in the cinema. I felt like a college student again hehe.

12. What was the last late night show you watched? Do you regularly watch these types of shows? Who is your favorite late night TV host? No clue. I only watch them when BTS/a BTS member is on, lol.

13. What brand of earbuds / earphones do you own? Do you like them? I have Airpods, and yes I love them. My parents got them for me :)

14. Did you ever think you were going to get into a car crash? Did you or didn't you, and why did you think this? Were you the passenger or the driver? Yeah, there was one instance in college where I was going relatively fast and the car in front of me suddenly braked. I knew it was going to be bad for my car, but I braked with every power on my leg in an attempt to not hit it; I was successful, but it was still stupid close.

I was pretty shaken up, and once I parked I had to spend a few minutes in the car to absorb everything and Go Back To Earth.

15. What is the most annoying thing your friend does? Do you ever call them out on it? I don't find Angela annoying. We're pretty much at that point where we're set to be best friends and sisters for life. We haven't bickered since we were like 11.

16. Do you have a journal or diary that you write in on a daily or weekly basis? Did you used to keep one as a kid? Just this one. My sister and a co-worker also got me journals with writing prompts on them, but I've been absolutely horrible with updating them. I do so when I have the extra time.

17. For special occasions, do you make cards for others, or do you purchase them? I never send out cards.

18. Do you have difficulty swallowing pills? How often do you take them? Not usually, but they do freak me out still every time I need to take them because I'm always worried that it'd take me forever to push them down.

19. In your dreams, do you mostly see things through your own eyes, or do you see yourself through a third person view? Always through my own POV.

20. Can you remember the last time you saw a rainbow? June.

21. What month of this year has been the best for you so far? What was so nice or special about it? What about the worst month? I really liked June. We went to Vietnam and also got to throw a surprise party for my dad's parents.

Worst were undoubtedly April and August. Just a bunch of work that needed to be done, and I barely got a weekend out of them both.

22. Do you have a Vine account? Who are your favorite Vine users that you follow? You bet I had a Vine account, hahaha. I didn't have favorite users per se; I just had favorite Vines. My top fave will always be "...A child."

23. Have you ever tried poutine? (Have you ever even heard of it?) Never tried it, would LOVE to.

24. Do you have any plants or flowers in your house? What kinds? Do you like having plants in your home? My mom does, but I'm not familiar with any of them. I'm not a big fan of plants.

25. What was the last e-mail you sent in regard to? Removing any work-related stuff, last email was just about a BTS album I ordered and me thanking the shop after they updated me that my order was already arranged for shipping.

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m1ckeyb3rry · 1 month

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Unlocking new habits for theories— yes I should lut disclaimers on things like these from now on. 🤭

Also yea, tumblr peeps definitely not so much of a trying to prove a point in my whole experience so far (especially in Blue Lock fandom). i have a different experience outside of it (TikTok) and it is crazy out there. Pooofff dont wanna 😣

When I saw your tag game this morning this first tag you had got me worried when you said “time to break up with karasu and megumi” I’m like “OH GOD MIRA, WHAT HAPPENED!?” Mind you I was half asleep 😆

HAHAHA i’m like that irl too…whenever i give people advice i always add on a little “but idk though” because i will NOT be held liable for anything 😭

for the most part people on tumblr especially bllk tumblr have been reasonably nice!! ofc there’s always random callout posts and…interesting…takes floating around which i will keep my thoughts on to myself 😰 but otherwise yes the fandom is small enough to be pretty relaxed!! hoping it doesn’t get too crazy after s2 🙏🏻 people on tik tok are a completely diff ball game they’re either super funny and nice or CRAZY 😬 i don’t rlly post on tt or interact w animanga content because my irls do NOT need to know abt my interests 😭 however i’ll drop an occasional comment on a bllk dude bro’s videos just to keep them on their toes and their reactions are always hilarious

HAHAHA omg i’m so mad i’m lowkey incompatible with karasu and megumi 😒 but at least i got yuta yukimiya and (kind of) nagi!! also hiori and isagi apparently but i wouldn’t consider those two my favs as of right now 😟 never say never though because the last few times i’ve been like “i don’t like this character 😄” they end up as one of my favs DHDJDKSJ it’s like a curse 😓

#answered asks

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love-jesus-but-i-drink-a-little · 1 year

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Hello, hello! I read your dead ringers fics, they were amazing!! I love the twins in all their facets, I'm on my third rewatch. I don't know anyone who watched the show though, so I thought I'd ask you, since you seem to have grasped their voices, and I did agree with various 'headcanons' and ideas you wrote about. I was wondering how old do you think they are in canon? I remember reading that the real twins the characters are based on were found dead at 42 together in their apartment, and considering Rachel's age and Beverly's issue with pregnancy, I don't think they'd be any younger than late 30s. On a similar note, I kept thinking how odd Elliot's insult about Genevieve's age was (the daddy issue line and her being Beverly's pubescent five-minute gf). Then I found out the actress who played Gen is an early 90s baby like me. I didn't think Ben and Gen looked like they had a significant age difference, physically at least, but I also have to say the twins were kinda not very mature, emotionally but not only that, so that does check out. What do you think? Plus, when Beverly said her sister never liked any of her crushes, especially when they left the mere infatuation stage, it made me think these two never truly had any big change or emotional distance before Genevieve.

Why, hello! Thank you for your kind words! Much appreciated!

Oh boy, this is going to be a ramble! Brace yourself. You made a huge mistake asking me to talk about Dead Ringers hahaha.

Well. I have to ask, before I move on to answering my (very personal) ideas. What headcanons did you like? Out of sheer curiosity. You obviously don't have to answer. I just like hearing nice things about my writing :)

Okay. Let's get down to business.

Main question being how old do I think the twins are? I find it to be a tricky question for several reasons.

First reason being: I don't care. I mean I know it's interesting but how does it really contribute to the narrative? How does it change the twins being a beautiful, demonic, dysfunctional due? They are magnificent and them being thirty or fifty doesn't change anything.

That being said, I think they are somewhere around Rachel Weisz' age? That's how I see them, anyway. Beverly having trouble getting pregnant and Elliot's comment will make more sense that way. Because even if Genevieve is about 30ish, Beverly being 10 years older doesn't really vatant such harsh response. Right? But if they have more like around 20 year gap between them, it will make so much sense. Not because Elliot's comment will be any truer, but because it will sting more, which was what Elliot was aiming for I think.

But also. I've listened to a podcast with Alice Birch (the bloody genius) and she said that Elliot and Tom were in university together. Michaek Chernus (who plays Tom) is forty five years old, and given that people in university don't have to completely match in age (at least, from my personal experience) it makes sense Elliot and Beverly are somewhere around 50ish? Maybe a little younger.

Rachel Weisz is a goddess on earth and so she desn't look her age (or maybe she does) the point is we're so used to hollywood's standard of people in their 50's looking like our great-grandmothers, it doesn't always match reality. In real life, people in their early 50's look dashing and fresh. Especially today. And people in their 30's look like bloody children. It's unnerving and exciting.

Moving on.

One thing I think everyone who paid attention to the series (those who watched I mean), can definitely tell Beverly and Elliot's relationship are so involved one in the other, they never had the space for anyone else to stay for more than one night's shag. Right? Elliot was sort of warning Beverly about Gen in the first episode, on their way to the Parker's meeting. Remember? I think Beverly wanted to get away a bit from her sister's suffocating presence, but I also think (it's a headcanon I assume) that if Beverly really wanted to distance herself from Elliot, she would have found a way. And the fact that she literally preferred to die and not move away from Elliot (there definitely was more than just that but I strongly believe she couldn't live without her sister being too close) it never happened.

The twins preferred to have each other up their arses and not try and make their relationship more separate, and hence, more functional. I don't know if they could. I don't know if they wanted to.

Did I answer any of your questions, gentle anon? probably not. Did I ramble as hell? Yes. A lot of bollocks, but I did warn your about my rambling and you don't have to really read every word.

Hopefully I didn't wear you down with this answer.

And again, deeply thankful for your kind kind words <3

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duckprintspress · 3 years

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How to Edit an Over-Length Story Down to a Specific Word Count

One of the most wonderful things about writing as a hobby is that you never have to worry about the length of your story. You can be as self-indulgent as you want, make your prose the royalist of purples, include every single side story and extra thought that strikes your fancy. It’s your story, with no limits, and you can proceed with it as you wish.

When transitioning from casual writing to a more professional writing milieu, this changes. If you want to publish, odds are, you’ll need to write to a word count. If a flash fiction serial says, “1,000 words or less,” your story can’t be 1,025 and still qualify. If a website says, “we accept novellas ranging from 20,000 to 40,000 words,” your story will need to fall into that window. Even when you consider novel-length works, stories are expected to be a certain word count to fit neatly into specific genres - romance is usually around 80,000 words, young adult usually 50,000 to 80,000, debut novels usually have to be 100,000 words or less regardless of genre, etc. If you self-publish or work with a small press, you may be able to get away with breaking these “rules,” but it’s still worthwhile to learn to read your own writing critically with length in mind and learn to recognize what you do and do not need to make your story work - and then, if length isn’t an issue in your publishing setting, you can always decide after figuring out what’s non-essential to just keep everything anyway.

If you’re writing for fun? You literally never have to worry about your word count (well, except for sometimes in specific challenges that have minimum and/or maximum word counts), and as such, this post is probably not for you.

But, if you’re used to writing in the “throw in everything and the kitchen sink” way that’s common in fandom fanfiction circles, and you’re trying to transition only to be suddenly confronted with the reality that you’ve written 6,000 words for a short story project with a maximum word count of 5,000...well, we at Duck Prints Press have been there, we are in fact there right now, as we finish our stories for our upcoming anthology Add Magic to Taste and many of us wrote first drafts that were well over the maximum word count.

So, based on our experiences, here are our suggestions on approaches to help your story shorter...without losing the story you wanted to tell!

Cut weasel words (we wrote a whole post to help you learn how to do that!) such as unnecessary adverbs and adjectives, the “was ~ing” sentence structure, redundant time words such as “a moment later,” and many others.

When reviewing dialog, keep an eye out for “uh,” “er,” “I mean,” “well,” and other casual extra words. A small amount of that kind of language usage can make dialog more realistic, but a little goes a long way, and often a fair number of words can be removed by cutting these words, without negatively impacting your story at all.

Active voice almost always uses fewer words than passive voice, so try to use active voice more (but don’t forget that passive voice is important for varying up your sentence structures and keeping your story interesting, so don’t only write in active voice!).

Look for places where you can replace phrases with single words that mean the same thing. You can often save a lot of words by switching out phrases like “come back” for “return” and seeking out other places where one word can do the work of many.

Cut sentences that add atmosphere but don't forward the plot or grow your characters. (Obviously, use your judgement. Don't cut ALL the flavor, but start by going - I’ve got two sentences that are mostly flavor text - which adds more? And then delete the other, or combine them into one shorter sentence.)

Remove superfluous dialog tags. If it’s clear who’s talking, especially if it’s a conversation between only two people, you can cut all the he saids, she saids.

Look for places where you've written repetitively - at the most basic level, “ ‘hahaha,’ he laughed,” is an example, but repetition is often more subtle, like instances where you give information in once sentence, and then rephrase part or all of that sentence in the next one - it’s better to poke at the two sentences until you think of an effective, and more concise, way to make them into only one sentence. This also goes for scenes - if you’ve got two scenes that tend towards accomplishing the same plot-related goal, consider combining them into one scene.

Have a reason for every sentence, and even every sentence clause (as in, every comma insertion, every part of the sentence, every em dashed inclusion, that kind of thing). Ask yourself - what function does this serve? Have I met that function somewhere else? If it serves no function, or if it’s duplicative, consider cutting it. Or, the answer may be “none,” and you may choose to save it anyway - because it adds flavor, or is very in character for your PoV person, or any of a number of reasons. But if you’re saving it, make sure you’ve done so intentionally. It's important to be aware of what you're trying to do with your words, or else how can you recognize what to cut, and what not to cut?

Likewise, have a reason for every scene. They should all move the story along - whatever the story is, it doesn’t have to be “the end of the world,” your story can be simple and straightforward and sequential...but if you’re working to a word count, your scenes should still forward the story toward that end point. If the scene doesn’t contribute...you may not need them, or you may be able to fold it in with another scene, as suggested in item 6.

Review the worldbuilding you’ve included, and consider what you’re trying to accomplish with your story. A bit of worldbuilding outside of the bare essentials makes a story feel fleshed out, but again, a little can go a long way. If you’ve got lots of “fun” worldbuilding bits that don’t actually forward your plot and aren’t relevant to your characters, cut them. You can always put them as extras in your blog later, but they’ll just make your story clunky if you have a lot of them.

Beware of info-dumps. Often finding a more natural way to integrate that information - showing instead of telling in bits throughout the story - can help reduce word count.

Alternatively - if you over-show, and never tell, this will vastly increase your word count, so consider if there are any places in your story where you can gloss over the details in favor of a shorter more “tell-y” description. You don’t need to go into a minute description of every smile and laugh - sometimes it’s fine to just say, “she was happy” or “she frowned” without going into a long description of their reaction that makes the reader infer that they were happy. (Anyone who unconditionally says “show, don’t tell,” is giving you bad writing advice. It’s much more important to learn to recognize when showing is more appropriate, and when telling is more appropriate, because no story will function as a cohesive whole if it’s all one or all the other.)

If you’ve got long paragraphs, they’re often prime places to look for entire sentences to cut. Read them critically and consider what’s actually helping your story instead of just adding word count chonk.

Try reading some or all of the dialog out loud; if it gets boring, repetitive, or unnecessary, end your scene wherever you start to lose interest, and cut the dialog that came after. If necessary, add a sentence or two of description at the end to make sure the transition is abrupt, but honestly, you often won’t even need to do so - scenes that end at the final punchy point in a discussion often work very well.

Create a specific goal for a scene or chapter. Maybe it’s revealing a specific piece of information, or having a character discover a specific thing, or having a specific unexpected event occur, but, whatever it is, make sure you can say, “this scene/chapter is supposed to accomplish this.” Once you know what you’re trying to do, check if the scene met that goal, make any necessary changes to ensure it does, and cut things that don’t help the scene meet that goal.

Building on the previous one, you can do the same thing, but for your entire story. Starting from the beginning, re-outline the story scene-by-scene and/or chapter-by-chapter, picking out what the main “beats” and most important themes are, and then re-read your draft and make sure you’re hitting those clearly. Consider cutting out the pieces of your story that don’t contribute to those, and definitely cut the pieces that distract from those key moments (unless, of course, the distraction is the point.)

Re-read a section you think could be cut and see if any sentences snag your attention. Poke at that bit until you figure out why - often, it’s because the sentence is unnecessary, poorly worded, unclear, or otherwise superfluous. You can often rewrite the sentence to be clearer, or cut the sentence completely without negatively impacting your work.

Be prepared to cut your darlings; even if you love a sentence or dialog exchange or paragraph, if you are working to a strict word count and it doesn't add anything, it may have to go, and that's okay...even though yes, it will hurt, always, no matter how experienced a writer you are. (Tip? Save your original draft, and/or make a new word doc where you safely tuck your darlings in for the future. Second tip? If you really, really love it...find a way to save it, but understand that to do so, you’ll have to cut something else. It’s often wise to pick one or two favorites and sacrifice the rest to save the best ones. We are not saying “always cut your darlings.” That is terrible writing advice. Don’t always cut your darlings. Writing, and reading your own writing, should bring you joy, even when you’re doing it professionally.)

If you’re having trouble recognizing what in your own work CAN be cut, try implementing the above strategies in different places - cut things, and then re-read, and see how it works, and if it works at all. Sometimes, you’ll realize...you didn’t need any of what you cut. Other times, you’ll realize...it no longer feels like the story you were trying to tell. Fiddle with it until you figure out what you need for it to still feel like your story, and practice that kind of cutting until you get better at recognizing what can and can’t go without having to do as much tweaking.

Lastly...along the lines of the previous...understand that sometimes, cutting your story down to a certain word count will just be impossible. Some stories simply can’t be made very short, and others simply can’t be told at length. If you’re really struggling, it’s important to consider that your story just...isn’t going to work at that word count. And that’s okay. Go back to the drawing board, and try again - you’ll also get better at learning what stories you can tell, in your style, using your own writing voice, at different word counts. It’s not something you’ll just know how to do - that kind of estimating is a skill, just like all other writing abilities.

As with all our writing advice - there’s no one way to tackle cutting stories for length, and also, which of these strategies is most appropriate will depend on what kind of story you’re writing, how much over-length it is, what your target market is, your characters, and your personal writing style. Try different ones, and see which work for you - the most important aspect is to learn to read your own writing critically enough that you are able to recognize what you can cut, and then from that standpoint, use your expertise to decide what you should cut, which is definitely not always the same thing. Lots of details can be cut - but a story with all of the flavor and individuality removed should never be your goal.

Contributions to this post were made by @unforth, @jhoomwrites, @alecjmarsh, @shealynn88, @foxymoley, @willablythe, and @owlishintergalactic, and their input has been used with their knowledge and explicit permission. Thanks, everyone, for helping us consider different ways to shorten stories!

#writing advice #duck prints press #original content

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abimess · 3 years

Text

A new addition to the family

Leigh Shaw x Reader

Summary: On a certain day, your routine is turned upside down and all it takes is one little four-legged creature. [4.431 words]

Warnings: only lots of fluff

This story wasn't on the schedule because it was meant to be a surprise haha today is the birthday of one of the sweetest people I've ever met and who is also one of the biggest Leigh stans I've ever known hahaha @yourtaletotell hope you like your gift, nena, happy birthday!

You do NOT have permission to repost or translate my work on any platforms (even with credit)

Masterlist | Library Blog (Read on: Wattpad)

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If your present self were to travel back in time and tell your one-year-ago self how your life is now, your past self certainly wouldn't believe you.

You and Leigh met during your college days, but life happened and you drifted apart. A few years later fate decided it would be a good idea to bring the two of you back together again and so you ended up bumping into each other one afternoon in a coffee shop.

Already in the first conversation you could notice how Leigh was changed, and it didn't take you long to find out why. The cheerful and sarcastic woman you had always secretly loved had turned into a sad and bitter woman. It was painful to watch. Like a flame that had gone out.

On the other hand, Leigh saw hope in you. A way back to who she used to be, a way to reconnect with the happiness that had become her stranger all so long ago. You were the spark that could rekindle the flame.

But for this flame to ignite once more, it took a lot from both of you. It took days of late-night talking because neither of you had the courage to say goodbye, it took longing and silly smiles whenever you thought about each other. And it also took a lot of patience and care to deal with the crises, and even more of those to help each other deal with your traumas and insecurities.

You succeeded, though. The flame was rekindled, stronger than ever, and not only in Leigh but in you too. The love you have for each other is so intense that it's almost palpable, becoming clear to everyone around you.

So it was no surprise to anyone when you started dating, and it was even less of a surprise when you two decided to move in together a few months later.

You had been living together for a little over a year now, and although the insecurities and traumas were there from time to time, everything was fine. It was impressive that you were able to work everything out peacefully, especially considering Leigh's strong personality and your own.

But you always managed, and right from the start you established a calm and family-like routine that you had no trouble at all loving. One day, however, this routine was turned upside down.

Sitting on the couch in the living room with your laptop on your lap, you take care of some work stuff. Not before long you hear the front door opening and a small smile makes itself present on your face, as it does every time she comes home.

"Hi, my love." You speak loudly so that she can hear you and soon the woman you love so much approaches the door, but only so that you can see her face and part of her torso. "Hi, dear." She answers with a smile on her face. A smile bigger than the ordinary ones and that, added to your girlfriend's strange behavior, only makes you even more confused.

"What are you doing?" You ask with your eyebrows furrowed in a mixture of curiosity and amusement. "What do you mean?" She asks playing dumb, but her smile widens and then so does yours. You point at her, about to question her unusual behavior but you hear a noise that surely came from neither you nor Leigh.

"What's going on here?" You ask with raised eyebrows and Leigh smiles enthusiastically as she takes a step to the side, revealing herself completely, along with a small dog.

An excited smile fills your face as you take the laptop off your lap and prop it up on the coffee table. Leigh sits down on the couch next to you, a grin from ear to ear as she offers you the puppy. "Hey, buddy." You say in a goofy voice that makes Leigh chuckle. When the animal gives you a lick on the nose, you chuckle too.

"Where did you get him?" You ask, glancing briefly at her before turning your attention back to the puppy on your lap. "I was leaving the studio. You know that pet shop across the street?" She asks, caressing the dog's back, who wags his little tail in appreciation, and you hum in agreement. "Yeah, I saw him there and he was so adorable. I had to bring him home."

"Since you had to." You retort, but you are not the least bit disappointed with your girlfriend's decision, playing with the puppy who is now sniffing one of the pillows. Leigh watches you interact with the puppy, your excitement making her eyes sparkle.

"Besides..." She begins, and you look at her. She has a passionate smile on her face that makes your heart warm in your chest. "I know you've always wanted a dog, so..." She says, a twinge of shyness in her voice that makes you think you might explode with love at any moment.

With a grateful smile you lean toward her, connecting your lips to hers, and feeling her smile against your mouth only makes you smile even more. The kiss is short-lived, as the puppy barks, attracting the attention of both of you.

"I think we'll have to go after some stuff for you, buddy." You say, taking the dog on your lap once more, and Leigh hums in agreement. "He needs a name first." She comments and you nod.

"Have you thought of one yet?" You ask after a few seconds and she looks at you with raised eyebrows and a smirk. "I've already chosen the dog, (Y/n), I guess you can choose the name." She comments and you giggle. "What an unsentimental way of seeing things." You joke and Leigh nudges you lightly. You look at the little dog with a thoughtful frown, which Leigh watches with an amused smile.

"How about Billy?" You finally suggest and Leigh nods slowly. "Yeah, Billy is a great name." She agrees and when you smile contentedly, she smiles too and gives you a brief kiss on the lips.

"Okay, Billy." You turn your attention back to the puppy as if he can understand you. "Let's go get your stuff."

-----

A few (many) hours later you, Leigh and Billy return home with all the items necessary to have a dog, and several unnecessary ones as well.

When you finally finished organizing everything, it was already late, and the puppy seemed to be as tired as the two of you. "Come on." You say sitting down on the floor and signaling for Leigh to do the same.

"Why?" she asks frowning, but follows your command. "Let's take a picture." You say, taking your cell phone out of your pocket. "So we can keep track of his growth." Leigh smiles, finding your silly behavior toward the dog amusing, but makes no objection.

While you're positioning the cell phone, Leigh approaches you with one hand on the floor for support and strokes Billy's head with the other. You take a sweet, goofy picture and you smile at the result.

"First family picture." You comment and Leigh watches you with a loving smile, placing her hand on your chin and gently pulling you to look at her. When you do, she leans toward you and you meet her halfway, connecting your lips in a soft, tender kiss.

"Come on. Time to bed." She says when the kiss is over, patting your leg and standing up. "We can't leave him here." You say with a confused frown and Leigh turns to you, with a frown of her own. " Why not, (Y/n)?" She asks, not understanding your behavior.

"He's just a baby!" You say, taking the dog in your arms. Leigh crosses her arms, an incredulous smile on her face. "Pretty please." You say pouting and with puppy-dog eyes that match Billy's perfectly. Leigh snorts, uncrossing her arms in surrender.

"I can't believe you got someone to help you blackmail me." She says unamused, turning and walking toward the bedroom next, and you giggle. "Well done, boy." You say, holding his paw and tapping it against your hand in a clumsy high five before picking him up and carrying him into the bedroom.

When you get there, Leigh is already lying in bed and you arrange the dog's bed in the corner of the room, leaving Billy there soon after. "Good night, my love."

"If I’d known you would replace me for the dog I would've left him there." Leigh sneers and you chuckle, rolling your eyes. You walk over to the bed and when you lie on top of her, Leigh chuckles as well. "I would never do that." You say, propping yourself up on your elbows and losing yourself in those green eyes that always take your breath away.

"Good to know." Leigh replies almost in a whisper before pulling you by the neck and connecting her lips to yours.You respond to the kiss with no delay and when Leigh moves her hands down to the hem of your shirt, you smile against her lips. But soon the smile dies and you pull away from her.

"We can't do it in front of Billy." You say, and Leigh's confused frown turns to one of mild irritation. "For God's sake, (Y/n), it's just a dog." She retorts and you look at Billy. "Yeah, but he's looking at us." You insist and hear Leigh huff.

The woman starts to get up and you get off her, lying on the bed in a supine position. You swallow hard at the possibility that she might have gotten angry with you, or worse, might want to get Billy out of the bedroom.

But instead, Leigh picks up the comforter, laying on top of you and covering you both with it. "Better now?" She asks with an annoyed look on her face, and you chuckle. When you nod, Leigh giggles, shaking her head before connecting her lips to yours once again. This time, when Leigh runs her hand up your abdomen under your shirt, you don't stop her.

-----

A few weeks have passed and you have managed to adapt well to your new routine. Billy was still too young to go for walks, but you occasionally took him to the park.

It took only a few days before Billy no longer needed to sleep in the bedroom with you. In fact, it took longer for Leigh to convince you to let the dog sleep in the living room than for him to adapt to the change of environment. Still, Billy was only a puppy, so waking up in the middle of the night with him crying was more common than you would like.

"Billy is crying." Leigh mumbles sleepily one night. "I know, I'm hearing it." You mumble back in the same tone. You both continue to lie there and Billy continues to cry.

"Go get him." Leigh mumbles once again, beginning to sound irritated and giving you light nudges. "You go, you're the one who bought him." You retort and hear Leigh give a dry laugh. "Yeah, but you're the one who's spoiling the dog all the time." She replies, and you remain silent. Really, there is no argument to that.

Soon you start to hear scratches on the bedroom door and more whining from the puppy. "Go on, (Y/n), I did it last time." Leigh continues to push you and as you are already about to fall out of bed anyway, you get up huffing discontentedly.

As soon as you open the door, Billy starts jumping on your legs and you smile as you crouch down. "Hey, buddy, I got you." You say, picking up the animal on your lap. Although he has grown considerably since the day Leigh brought him in, Billy still fits perfectly in your lap so you carry him over to the bed with no problem.

Lying on the bed, you place Billy between you and Leigh and the woman smiles sleepily, petting the puppy. "Hello, crybaby." She says as he wags his tail and settles on the mattress and you smile. "It's easy when you're not the one picking him up." You scoff and Leigh snorts. "Shut up."

You lean toward your girlfriend and connect your lips to hers, and she smiles as she brings her hand to the side of your face. But the kiss is short-lived because Billy growls displeased and starts pawing at your faces.

The two of you part, laughing, and Leigh strokes Billy behind the ear. "Okay so he's the jealous type." She comments and you hum in agreement. "I saw her first, buddy." You say with an intimidating expression, bringing your face closer to the dog's, but as soon as he brings his snout closer to your nose your expression softens completely and you smile.

"Okay, you two, we should go back to sleep." Leigh says, amused at your interaction with Billy. You both settle down on the bed and it's as if Billy understands too, because the small dog lies down as well. It doesn't take long for the three of you to fall asleep.

-----

"Billy!" Leigh's scream startles you and you almost drop your mug. A few seconds later the two of them appear running into the living room, Billy with a blouse in his mouth and Leigh right behind with an angry face.

"I'm gonna kill this dog." She grumbles through clenched teeth, trying to corral Billy between the couch and the coffee table and you laugh as the dog jumps over the table and comes running toward the kitchen, wagging its tail in amusement. Your laughter does not please Leigh at all, who looks at you with deadly eyes, causing you to stop laughing immediately. "Don't just stand there, do something!"

Faced with the furious tone that you most certainly don't want to make worse, you hold Billy and pull the garment out of his mouth. The dog looks at you with betrayed eyes and you smile apologetically as you stand up. "Sorry, buddy, but she's way more dangerous than you are."

"I'm gonna put you two to sleep outside." Leigh says angrily, taking the blouse from your hands. She examines the clothes with a disgruntled grimace. "Great, now I'll have to wash it again.

"At least it'll be extra clean." You say playfully and Leigh casts you an irritated look, which only makes you laugh harder. She rolls her eyes and you see a small smile form on her face as she walks away.

"I think I'll take Billy for a walk." You say, placing the now empty mug in the sink, " Yeah he's clearly needing it." Leigh retorts as she disappears into the hallway and you laugh. "Hey! Don't talk like that about your son."

You hear Leigh laughing from the other room and then you turn your attention back to Billy, who is watching you with expectant eyes. "Come on, boy, let's go." You call out, and the dog follows you to the front door.

-----

"My god, he's huge!" Emma says with wide eyes and a smile as she pet Billy and you chuckle.

Emma and James have been your best friends since college, and since you got Billy, you and them frequently go for walks together, the two of them taking their dog, Cooper.

"How old is he, again?" James asks and you think for a few seconds. "Almost a year and a half." You inform and James nods as Emma mutters a surprised ‘wow’.

You chat a bit about your lives. You tell them about your work and about Leigh, and they tell you they're planning on having a child and you smile genuinely happy, congratulating them afterwards and the couple flash you a shy, appreciative smile.

"And when are you going to make your move?" James asks after a while with a knowing look and you frown. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, come on, (Y/n)." Emma says laughing, rolling her eyes, and James shakes his head, laughing as well. Their reaction only makes you more confused. "Every time a girl gets a dog it's because she wants to get married."

"What?" you retort, incredulous. "It's a fact." James says, shrugging. "It's bullshit." You say, snorting. "No, it's not! Everybody knows that." James replies, and you look at him in disbelief.

"It's simple: if you can take care of a plant, you can take care of a dog. And if you can take care of a dog, you can take care of a child."

"Oh my God." You say with slightly wide eyes, completely shocked at the absurdity your friend has just said. "Emma, help me out here." You turn your attention back to your other friend, who is watching the whole conversation with an amused smile.

"No can do, friend." She says with an apologetic smile on her face. "That's exactly what I did." You shake your head and say no more. Your friends laugh, but drop the subject as well.

The three of you continue the walk for some more time, talking about all sorts of things, but all the time your mind returns to the marriage conversation.

-----

It was a very bad idea. You got carried away by your friends' conversation and bought a ring, the most beautiful one you could find. But it was a bad idea and now the ring is hidden in your sock drawer.

The conflicting feelings created a whirlwind in your mind, disrupting your daily activities and preventing you from sleeping.

On one hand, you knew that this is what you wanted. Leigh is the love of your life beyond a shadow of a doubt, and there's no one else you can see yourself spending the rest of your days with.

On the other hand, all the baggage seems too heavy. What Leigh went through with her ex-husband sounds like the worst of nightmares, and you can't even imagine the intensity of the traumas caused by her loss, even though you have already witnessed several of their effects. Furthermore, you don't even know if Leigh wants to get married again.

So the days went by, your head remained a whirlwind of doubt and the ring remained in the drawer.

You and Leigh are currently on the living room couch watching the news. You're sitting with your feet propped up on the coffee table and Leigh is lying with her feet on your lap while you massage them.

The exhaustion of the day plus the multiple sleepless nights had turned you into a sleepy mess, and keeping your eyes open was becoming increasingly difficult. That is until Billy appears with something in his mouth that makes your eyes widen as soon as you realize what it is.

"Shit." You grumble, getting up on the couch and chasing after Billy, who starts running around the room, playfully. "What is it this time?" Leigh asks amused, and you feel your heart beating faster and faster in your chest.

"It's nothing, my love, let me handle it." You reply, trying in every way imaginable to get the velvet box out of the dog's mouth and feeling the irritation rise every time you fail.

Noticing the unusual pang of desperation in your voice, Leigh frowns and sits up, giving more attention to you and Billy. With one swift movement, you try to grab the dog, but he's faster than you and swerves. As you fall to your knees on the ground, Billy moves away from you, getting closer to Leigh.

The woman takes the opportunity to hold the dog and manages to get the object out of his mouth. As you stand up, you mentalize every swear word you know.

You watch with your mouth dry as Leigh wipes Billy's drool off the small box with the tablecloth. Her eyebrows are furrowed and the silence would be palpable if it weren't for the sounds coming from the television. When the woman looks at you, you feel your heart stop.

"What is this?" Leigh asks, her eyebrows knitted together and her voice huskier than usual due to astonishment. "This? Well... er..." You begin, uncertain, your body warming up as you make your way clumsily to the seat on the couch next to her. The fact that Leigh's eyes never leave yours doesn't help your nervousness at all. You sit down, and take a deep breath before continuing.

"I was just thinking. I was talking to Emma and James, actually. And you don't have to if you don't want to-it's just that-" Leigh places her hand over yours and you immediately stop talking, finally realizing you're hyperventilating.

"(Y/n), breathe." She instructs, a soft smile on her face that makes some of your nervousness dissipate. But only part of it.

"I think you should just say what you have to say." She says, her voice gentle as she places the small velvet box in your hands. The expectant eyes shining with the tears that begin to form in them are all you need to build up the courage.

Faced with the conflicting feelings for the proposal, you didn't even think of a proper speech. But you take a deep breath and decide to pour your heart out to her.

"I have no idea how to start this." You confess nervously and Leigh's smile widens. "But I guess I should start from the beginning... I remember vividly when I realized I had fallen in love with you."

"We were sitting on one of the benches at the university one afternoon." You tell, a nostalgic smile on your face that makes Leigh's eyes water even more. "The sun was setting and there was this moment when the light hit your face perfectly. Your hair shining brightly and your eyes as hazel as ever. Breathtaking. It was then that I knew I wouldn't mind looking at you forever."

Feeling more confident, you straighten up on the couch, moving even closer to the woman in front of you, leaning your knee against hers and taking one of her hands in yours that is not holding the box. Leigh smiles from ear to ear, giving your hand a gentle squeeze, but remaining silent, as if any words coming from her might stop your own from coming out. Across the coffee table, Billy watches in silence, as if he knows this is a sacred moment that he cannot interrupt, but neither of you notice it.

"I also remember when I realized I wanted to marry you." You continue your speech and Leigh's eyes never leave yours. "It had been an extremely tough day, work was stressful, and Los Angeles seemed to have a way of putting all the streets under construction. Infuriating." You narrate, shadows of the past frustration on your face, and Leigh nods, remembering the day a little over a year ago that you came home later than usual.

"But as soon as I got home I saw you lying here on the couch, with Billy still a puppy lying with you." You recall with a small smile on your face and Leigh feels her whole body filling with love. "You smiled at me when you saw me and it was like all the bad feelings were sent away at once. You always manage to do that." You say and the woman presses her lips together in a smile, trying to hold back the tears that are about to slip from her eyes.

"I'm not trying to be naive here, I know we're not perfect. You annoy the hell out of me sometimes, Leigh Shaw." You say playfully and the woman chuckles, the lift of her cheeks causing the tears to finally run down her face. "And I know I annoy the hell out of you just as much." You add and when she nods in agreement, you giggle.

"But the truth is, there is no one in this world who makes me happier than you." You say with all the honesty that is within you and Leigh's tears flow more intensely. "And without a shadow of a doubt there is no one else I would dream of spending the rest of my life with."

You let go of her hand and she immediately brings it to the side of your cheek, stroking it with her thumb as her big, watery green eyes scan every inch of your face. "So, Leigh Shaw." You say, kneeling in front of her and opening the velvet box, revealing the ring inside of it. Leigh brings her hand that was in your face to her mouth, the other one remaining in her lap as she giggles silly, her face drenched by tears. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes!" She answers happily, immediately after you finish speaking, and you giggle silly, only now noticing that you have tears in your eyes as well.

Leigh offers her hand to you, and you slide the ring on her ring finger without a second thought. You bring your fiancée's hand to your lips, kissing it, and Leigh giggles. She places both hands on the sides of your face, lifting you up and pulling you toward her.

The kiss is salty with the happy tears of the two of you and charged with all the love you have for each other. Leigh spreads her legs just enough for you to get close to her, and you wrap your arms around her waist in a tight hug.

The embrace only ends when a certain furry creature starts trying to get between the two of you. You break the kiss with giggles, and you pull your face away from Leigh's just enough to look at Billy, who is propped up on the couch on his front paws and staring at you intently with his tongue out.

"Well done, wingman." You say to Billy, who watches you with loving yet completely oblivious eyes to what is going on, and Leigh chuckles. The woman pulls your face gently and connects her lips to yours once more. You smile too much against each other's mouths, but neither of you has any intention of interrupting the kiss.

When the weight of realization fills you entirely, you feel that your heart is about to explode inside your chest. You and Leigh are getting married! The happiness is so enormous that you feel there’s a good chance you might burst. But that's okay as long as Leigh is by your side. And she certainly would be.

───── ⋅ ✮ ⋅ ─────

And that's it for today! I hope you enjoyed it, thoughts and comments are always welcome ツ

Taglist: @yuhloversxx @madamevirgo @an-evergreen-rose @helloalycia @wandas1mp @cantcontroltheirfear @diaryoflife @ironscarletwidowsoilder @cristin-rjd @ensorcellme @aimezvousbrahms @natasha-danvers @purplemeetsblue @randomshyperson @peggycarter-steverogers @b0mbdotc0m @yourtaletotell @ethereal-pxradise @stephanieromanoff @tomy5girls @justagaypanicking @gingerbreadcookieforlife @imapotatao @musicinourlips @xxxtwilightaxelxxx @allfiguredout @olsensnpm @magicallymaximoff @am-just-a-cosmic-joke-to-me @nothing-isimpossible @mionemymind @itsmionet @xastrydx @sxfwap @nicole-rayleigh-hot @wellsayhelloaagin @midnight-lestrange @emptysince18x @tomhollandsslilslut @1-800-depressedlesbian @myperfectlovepoem @b-5by5 @blackwow34 (let me know if you wanna be tagged)

#leigh shaw fanfic #leigh shaw imagine #leigh shaw x you #leigh shaw reader #leigh shaw #leigh shaw x reader #sorry for your loss #elizabeth olsen fanfic #elizabeth olsen fanfiction #elizabeth olsen imagine #elizabeth olsen x you #elizabeth olsen x reader #elizabeth olsen

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shijiujun · 4 years

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Okay I’ve decided to do a single rec after I finish one novel hahaha because if I wait to get around to it all it’ll never happen! Anyway because @sarah-yyy has been reading it and I’ve gotten a lot of asks/replies on this, I’m just going to do one huge list for one of my faves so everyone knows what’s going on and where to find things XD

- Part of Min’s ‘Why You Should Read’ Series -

Summary:

This is set in a historical setting where men can marry other men, but it’s usually reserved for sons who were not borne by the official main first wife of the patriarch of the family, i.e. a son born by a concubine in a family may be forced to marry a man to keep him from being able to become the next family’s patriarch for example. This is because any family’s next leader needs to be able to have children with a wife who married in as a zheng shi (lawful wife), and not a ce shi (second wife) or any other concubines/mistresses etc. Most of these men who marry other men have to take them as their zheng shi and lawful spouse in a sense, and the same goes for the royal family.

The story starts with third prince Jing Shao, who was forced to marry Mu Han Zhang, a Marquis’ second son, by the Empress and Emperor, thereby officially and effectively cutting him out of the race for the throne. He’s mocked by the public as everyone knows what this means, and for the next 10 years, he neglects Mu Han Zhang, blaming him for his predicament, and deliberately showers his three other concubines with affection in front of him, but 10 years later, when Jing Shao is accused of treason, everyone leaves him except for Mu Han Zhang. They are chased to the edge of the cliff by soldiers, and Mu Han Zhang dies in his arms having taken an arrow meant for him earlier, and Jing Shao jumps off the cliff with his dead body, and promises that if there’s a next life, he will do everything Han Zhang says, and love him.

He wakes up immediately on the night of his marriage with Han Zhang, and realizes that he’s been given a second chance to make everything right. Han Zhang is definitely afraid of him, humiliated and angry when he first wakes up after how rough Jing Shao was with him earlier on their wedding night, and he has no memories of their past life. Jing Shao then sets to SHOWER HAN ZHANG with affection, love and basically everything, because he realized that this is the only person who stayed by his side until the end, and then he falls in love with Han Zhang properly this time, and also deals with every single person who maligned and schemed against him in his previous life, with Han Zhang by his side.

Read:

Novel (Online) | Novel (Print) - Not Available | Novel Translations | Manhua (You’ll have to download the KuaiKan app, the chapters are currently all free)

Characters:

1. 景韶 Jing Shao - 3rd Prince and is the first out of his three other brothers to be given a title 成王 (cheng wang). He’s referred to as 王爷, and also 小勺 (xiao shao) by Han Zhang. Went out on his first war when he was 14, and was thus given a title before any of his brothers. He’s known for being a merciless, cold and fierce army general/commander, but this was before his second life with Han Zhang, where he puts on like his doting mode and is basically a dumbass XD who listens to Han Zhang with a lot of trust, which is cool and all.

He marries Han Zhang when he’s 19, and in his first life he was very reluctant and resistant, and neglected Han Zhang for 10 years, until he was charged with treason and hunted down.

In his first life he wanted to snatch the throne, even from his blood-related brother Jing Chen, but more out of spite than anything else because he felt he was dealt an unfair hand by having to marry Han Zhang. Not only that, but Jing Shao is not his father’s favourite son, and he always felt that the emperor was biased against him. Anyway, a huge accumulation of daddy and anger issues, which is fair.

When he realizes that Han Zhang died for him, he decides he will be good to Han Zhang if they are reborn in their next life.

2. 慕含章 Mu Han Zhang - The 2nd son of Marquis Bei Hou’s, born to a concubine. He’s called by his 表字 which is 君清 (jun qing) by Jing Shao. Official First Wife Bei Wei Hou-furen and her son (who is in line to inherit the Marquis title from his father) has bullied him all his life, and wanted to push him into greater desperation by marrying him to Jing Shao, knowing he will suffer at the hands of the supposed merciless/heartless wangye. He has a weak body because of an accident when he was younger, and in his first life he was really sick after being neglected for 10 years, and knowing this in their second life, Jing Shao does everything he can to take care of him.

He is incredibly smart, has a brain for business and sales, and is also very good at handling people, especially scheming ones. He aids Jing Shao in the beginning of their second life, and then Jing Chen later as well, as both brothers begin to fight to put Jing Chen on the throne, against the 1st and 4th Princes. Is an incredibly good tactician in war as well.

3. 景琛 Jing Chen - 2nd Prince, Jing Shao’s blood related older brother who is handsome af too. His title, given later in the novel, is 睿王 (rui wang). He was misunderstood by Jing Shao in the first life as Jing Shao thought it was his brother who led to him marrying Han Zhang, and because he’s not very good at expressing himself and shows his concern to Jing Shao by nagging at him, Jing Shao always thought he hated him. In their second life, Jing Shao already knows that Jing Chen loves him and did a lot for him in his first life, and so trusts his brother and supports him right off the bat, because Jing Chen is indeed the most suited person for the throne.

He has a wife and a concubine, 3 sons and 2 daughters at this point. He ends up helping Jing Shao a lot, and when he realizes that Han Zhang is way more adept at politics and the whole scheming thing than Jing Shao is, he begins trusting Han Zhang a lot more as well! There’s a surprise with Jing Chen hahaha which I loveee and could see, but wasn’t sure until they confirmed it in the last few chapters AHAHAHAHA.

Other Notable Characters:

1. Song Ling Xin (Second Wife) on the left, and two other concubines on the right

They’re pretty much vying for Jing Shao’s attention, but at this point apparently he hasn’t slept with any of them before. Song Ling Xin is the daughter of the Military Department’s Head Song An, and Jing Shao married her initially out of interest. The right most concubine (I forgot her name oops) was a gift given to him by his oldest brother, the 1st Prince. The two of them played a huge role in Jing Shao’s downfall back in his first life, and so in his second life, he especially detests Song Ling Xin. Plus the three of them keep bullying Han Zhang in the beginning, but thankfully Jing Shao is like: “Anything my Jun Qing wants”. They don’t stay around for long either, watch as Jing Shao gets rid of them like he’s swatting flies.

2. Xiao Yuan & Zhou Da-Ge

This is another male couple who’s been married for 7-8 years if I recall. Xiao Yuan is one of Jing Shao’s important allies and friends in the second life, because in Jing Shao’s first life, this was one of the only young officials in court who spoke up for him when the accusations of treason came about. Zhou Da-Ge is his husband, who is a cook running a restaurant in the city. Whenever Zhou Da-Ge bullies Xiao Yuan in bed a little too much, Xiao Yuan punishes him by making him wear colourful clothes out (pink, bright yellow, purple, etc.) and thus he has a reputation for being eccentric and a weirdo, but oh well, all for love.

3. Gu Huai Qing

One of Jing Shao and Jing Chen’s most powerful allies, and he becomes blood-sworn brothers with Jing Shao without realizing who he is. Later he takes a liking to Jing Chen.

(Will update with photos when they come out, but they’re a bit further into the story so we won’t have them for a few months yet ahahaha)

Amazing Scenes:

Jing Shao & Han Zhang first looks in the manhua

Jing Shao being THAT clingy husband and helping Han Zhang to wear his clothes properly so cute!!!!!

Han Zhang and Jing Shao in their first lives (10 years later), about to die, sad and then Jing Shao jumps down the cliff with Han Zhang’s corpse, regretful cuz he a dumb bij

Jing Shao unable to resist kissing Han Zhang’s cheek, realizes what he’s doing, and gets embarrassed LMAOOOO 没出息!!!!!!! (This is different from the novel, because in the novel Jing Shao just kisses and is done with that, the embarrassment part is drawn in only in the manhua hahaha)

Other Things I Like in the Novel:

Jing Shao is like, he does a 180 entirely and he is very cognisant of all his faults and what he did wrong previously, and how badly he treated Han Zhang, so he legit forces his brain to go “I will listen to Jun Qing from now on” and he really sticks to it!

Loves kissing and teasing Han Zhang, but doesn’t force him into bed after their wedding night, and instead goes to Xiao Yuan and asks for tips on how to make his partner feel less scared about sex

The both of them end up with a pet tiger?!! That’s called Xiao Huang (little yellow) LMAO

They nap together a lot which I love <3333

Jing Shao knows he’s bullied at home, so when they go back to the Marquis Bei Hou manor, he holds Han Zhang’s hand in front of everyone to let them know Han Zhang has someone to back him up

Brings Han Zhang to war because he “cannot concentrate if Jun Qing isn’t with me at all times” - and asks for special permission to do so

Han Zhang notes that since he married Jing Shao, as the ‘wife’ he is supposed to serve Jing Shao, but it’s always Jing Shao serving him - Getting water for him, bringing him to baths, putting clothes on for him, putting food in his plate if it tastes nice, massaging his back and waist etc. - and best is he doesn’t have to deal with any in-laws?!! HAHAHA

Jing Shao gets revenge on those who hurt Han Zhang when he was younger for him, and the outcome is pretty hilarious but well-deserved

EPILOGUES are cute af!!!!

#the wife is first #you own my all #qi wei shang #妻为上 #danmei #danmei novel #stebeee recs #min's why you should read

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stargazer-balladeer · 4 years

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Adopting a Child [Genshin Impact]

Characters Included: Albedo, La Signora & Scaramouche

Notes: All of the character’s I have least experienced with all in one post :D alright— let’s see how this’ll go- also,, hope they aren’t too OOC ;;w;; (and yes,, i made this whole hc bc of la signora- got a problem with it? HAHAHA) hope ya’ll like this!

Additional Information: You aren’t their kid. Just a random kid they found in the street who decided to follow them until they adopted you as their own :D

Reader’s Gender: Neutral

Warning: me cursing like usual 😃

Dedicated to: @meepmonster7 :D

Albedo

For some reason, I can see him knowing how to handle a child, since he takes care of Klee as well- so when it comes to taking care of you, he’s practically a natural at it.

At first, he’ll be a bit turned off by you since he sees you as a bit of a nuisance. But over time, you’ll grow on him. He’ll come to love you as his own-

As an artist man himself, He teaches you how to draw. From plant, to animal, to people. He teaches you the techniques he used for drawing. You bet that he loves every drawing you gave to him, even if its a stickman, this man’ll treasure and cherish it with his life-

This man loves spoiling you with things, it got to the point where you didn’t know how to use all of the things he’s given to you. Sometimes, Jean and Sucrose has come in and told him to stop spoiling you too much-

Albedo’s a scientist right? Head scientist, alchemist, whatever. So you bet your ass that he’ll be teaching you some alchemy at such a young age- bro,, u can be the next einstein with how complicated things he’s teaching you-

Whenever he has free time, he loves spending it with you. He would share his findings with you, even though you can’t understand what he’s saying, he would still tell you. Sometimes, he would put on a show for you while telling stories using his vision and alchemy- he would always smile at your awestruck face as he tells the tale.

Playdates with Klee is a must- he would sometimes leave you under the Knights of Favonius’ care and you’ll be found playing with Klee. At first, he’s worried since he knew what Klee’s like. But if Jean decided its okay, then its okay.

If ever you were attack or gone missing, Albedo would be furious and immediately go to you or search for you. The ones who stole you away or attack you no longer exist btw 👀

Overall, even though you suddenly came to his life and became his unexpected child, he would love you as his own.

La Signora

La Signora is a fucking natural at taking care of a child, change my mind 🤧🙃. Like if a child is crying and can’t be tame, just drag her over and that child would stop crying- maybe its bc she has a motherly aura around her (besides the fact that she almost kills Venti- 😃)

I think she willingly adopts you, not bc she’s obligated. She would guess that it’s because of her motherly instinct inside her when she finds you following her- she takes you in without any hesitation-

“But.. La Signora-“

“Even if you beg in front of me, my answer will not change. I will take this child as my own and none of you can stop me-“

La Signora would take you everywhere with her, but if its a mission that requires some.. blood, that’s the time where she wouldn’t bring you. She would drop you in the Northland Bank for a while before coming back to pick you up. She would let you explore the area since she knows that children likes to venture around new areas-

As much as La Signora is ruthless to the people around her, she would undoubtedly be soft towards you. Like she’ll be like medusa one second then the next she’ll be gushing at you-

She is the kind of woman that shields you from the world, who would protect your innocence than destroy it. So, in order to protect it, she wouldn’t tell you about her profession. All she would say is, “Mother is doing some secret business work.”

La Signora would spoil you rotten, whether from gifts or affections. If you want something, it would be given to you. She’s really rich, ya know? 👀 she loves carrying you, especially during times where she can cover your eyes- 👀

Even though she spoils you, doesn’t mean she wouldn’t be hard on you. If you do something she doesn’t like, she would punish you. She would also train you with your desired weapon, stating that it would help to protect yourself when she can’t-

I feel like she would let you meet her fellow Fatui Harbingers, but its not like their close with one another- 👀 but Childe is one Harbinger that you often play with. Even though he hates La Signora, he wouldn’t deny that he enjoy playing with you- so you can be found either with La Signora or with Childe-

If you ever get attack or was taken away, you can bet that La Signora is livid- furious- and she’ll hunt down whoever attacked you or decided to kidnap you. And she would NOT show mercy.

Overall, she would treat you as her own and would give you the world if she could- she would protect you from the darkness of the world. Whatever it takes..

Scaramouche

Ha! Scaramouche with a child? Everyone is doubtful at best. He was already a whiny bitch. It’s not a wise decision to give him a kid- he can hardly care for his subordinate, what about a fucking kid-?!

You can tell Scaramouche despised your presence just from his face alone. Even as days and months go by, he would still despise you. But if you manage to rub off on him by staying with him for a year or two, he would start accepting your presence… slowly. He would still make that disgusted face whenever you’re around, but you can tell he’s soften around you and acknowledges your presence-

Scaramouche would be hard towards you, even if you’re a kid, he would still treat you just like he treats everyone. But to those people who knew him well (like Childe, Signora and other Harbingers-), they could tell Scaramouche is going easy with you-

Scaramouche isn’t that affectionate so he wouldn’t spoil you with affections or gifts, but he tries. He’ll leave some trinkets he found while he’s out and about in front of you before leaving promptly- (i swear he’s a tsun-tsun :3-) this cycle would continue even as years go by.

Scaramouche would train you harshly and isn’t afraid to force open your eyes to the harshness of reality- just bc ur a kid doesn’t mean ur an exception to the rules of reality. (“You’ve got no choice but to accept it as it is.” Scaramouche said, almost sadly while staring as someone was killed in front of you two-).

He would let you play with Childe (Childe is good with kids, okay? He has siblings for Teyvat’s sake-). He might as well give you to Childe with how often you are seem with the hydro-user instead of the 6th Harbinger- but you would always go back to Scaramouche.

Everyone would always ask you how you handle the harshness of Scaramouche (it’s no secret that he’s the least liked Harbinger-), but your response is always the same- “because I love him! He’s my older brother!” (Whilst Scaramouche is blushing behind the wall-).

Scaramouche is protective of you, believe it or not. So if you are with him while he’s outside, he’ll keep you close with him and doesn’t allow you to wander off. If you do wander off, he would panic as he searches for you. He would most definitely scream at you before hugging you- (he’s relieved that you’re unharm- 👀)

If you’re being attacked or taken away, everyone in the Fatui would be so scared of him as he goes out to search for you. If you’re kidnapped, he would let out a search party. And they aren’t allowed to be back unless you are with them (unless they want to get some beating from him-). He would immediately kill whoever attacked you or kidnapped you, even if you’re there to witness it, he would still kill them.

Scaramouche, overall, isn’t perfect. Afterall, he still despised you even after years go by- but he’s grown attached to you. Just,, be patient with him and continue to love him.

[x] Main Page || [x] Mondstadt Page || [x] Fatui Harbingers Page

#i’m in love with how i made albedo’s and la signora’s banner 💞💞#also hope that scaramouche’s hc is alright-#i feel like its random lmao-#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #scaramouche #scaramouche x reader #la signora #la signora x reader #albedo #albedo x reader #genshin impact scaramouche #genshin impact scaramouche x reader #genshin impact la signora #genshin impact la signora x reader #genshin impact albedo #genshin impact albedo x reader #self req❣️

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jjheejz · 3 years

Text

About Internet Water Army in the case

This is an ongoing update about the case from start to development. List of all related posts can be found on this blog's pinned post (link provided at bottom of each post as well).

19 August 2021 update: Added the scale of his success for reference, before bonus below

18 August 2021 update: Added timeline of events, orange title in post, found out the official English term for Immoral Media = Internet Water Army)

Major updates since first draft: Added bonus, added disclaimer, certain info details

Originally posted on 16 August 2021

[The purpose of this post is to provide a perspective as to why the Media is raised/blamed regarding the issue. Especially for international fans, as all the encounters happened on Weibo. Also, those who were on weibo, do read through if you will. So although it's lengthy, do try to read all, at least if not the last two parts].

The Media referred by most, is not the common perception of the Entertainment Industry (celebrities, directors, shows, channels, staff etc), but the dark side of the Entertainment industry: Antis, toxic fans, toxic marketing accounts. They are called Internet Water Army💧.

Toxic Marketing Accounts is one of the things they do, these accounts on Weibo has millions of followers, each of their post likes are in the hundred thousands (buyable) to give credibility to passer-bys. Some use similar names to Official accounts, some use similar logos. Their posts are usually subjective or aims to steer view points of a certain celebrity/movie/show. Before the latest update of this post (18.08.21), I just group them all together and term them as Immoral Media*.

*Below is my original post using my original term because at point of first draft, I did not know the official term (so have changed/added the term from Immoral Media to Internet Water Army in content below but retain the content based off first draft).

If you have chased before celebrities, or just simply passed by an article about certain celebrities, recall how some title that caught your attentions were like. Clickbaits is one of the many things they do. If GZ is your first and you do not have Weibo, then this read(link) is good enough.

Just as the term Immoral Media (Internet Water Army), it’s immoral and unethical, but they exists because they are paid to do so. Who pays them? Entertainment Companies, and maybe other Organisations

Normal Media/Marketing vs Immoral Media/Toxic Marketing/Internet Water Army

When a show or movie comes out, the normal Marketing department will generate outreach and buzz so that people know a show is airing soon/know the show exists etc. Official announcements are not enough, because there isn’t much context (limited content to put up as well) so having some other Marketing accounts do the buzz in a planned period to gain awareness through posts, some articles about the casts, the plot summary, the production details etc is normal. This is Marketing, bigger companies will probably have stronger Marketing departments (aka influence) and can hire more Marketing accounts to generate buzz. Celebrities (aka casts) themselves, are also Marketing point.

Then we have the Internet Water Army/Immoral Media, these are what they mainly do:

Create Fanfiction-rumors: Creating rumors about celebrities to shift audience perception of them. [eg. XX was seen with XX leaving a hotel, XX was drunk on Event Y and did ZZZ to AA, XX is dating BB and has been in a relationship for N years etc]

Honing their brain degrading skills: Come up with titled clickbait headings/ trending topics with negative written contents. For articles, exceptionally out of heading content related to the celebrity. [Refer to Baidu, it’s a winner of these, feel free to Google Translate]

Regressing their common sense and understanding skills: Take everything a celebrity does completely out of context in a negative way and create a topic out of it [eg. XX said AA is a ---, “XX raised his finger, a sign of ---?”, XX pushed BB aggressively on Variety Show Y - A competition variety show, XX is in beef with CC because XX was caught giving CC the eye]

Using their fingers to stir shit and bathe each other in it: Escalate all smallest form of possible tension created by fans/themselves into a huge thing by acting as the fandom's fans/lurk in fandom chat groups, and voicing their disguised opinion to spread tension/exaggerate severity of the issue [eg. XX fans mocked AA - in groupchats: tbh I've never liked AA before, AA just gives off a vibe that I dont like and now this? It just disgusts me even more > Yea, i feel this way too. AA has problems / XX Lurkers expressing views on XX about NN, slowly to NNMHFXW - XX did NNMHGT - I cannot accept NNmHfHw, I'm leaving = multiply by 1000++]

Epitome of a self-deteriorate: Creating something out of nothing and react to that something negatively to gain massive attention/reaction [eg. “XX raised his hand on show Y” - dk what XX fans are thinking, are they literally blind? XX fans are tasteless just like XX hahaha / “XX did community service” - they are acting / “XX breathed” - From the start, i thought XX was NN, but I am so ZZZ that XX breathed. Goodbye fandom, i’m leaving. Those who still want to stay I urge you to rethink your life choices] - if I may add, Xiao Zhan’s fanfiction case as well.

Metaphor - Ability to use bare hands to collect paychecks from the urinal/toilet bowl where their boss/client peed in: Doing all of the above.

Apologies for any term offense, but not apologetic of the term context. This is what they do for a living. Any normal human being who do not like anything, will generally not be interested at anything about it in the first place, so to have some antis/toxic fans knowing certain things and inside jokes/references in their posts questions their goal.

On involved in Internet Water Army/Immoral Media 💧

Fans on weibo during these few months witnessed many of the above on GZ. From rumored girlfriend (spammed with articles) to mean and nasty comments on trending topics, to bouts of insults and fake emotional cryouts by certain fan accounts that GZ's office has to release a number of Lawyer’s letter to them.

Aside from WOH there were also a few other BL adaptation films that were actually released this year but they did not reach exponential success like WOH. BL adaptations are so highly followed by because this is the key to wealth. Literally. Successful BLs like The Untamed and Dao Mu Bi Ji saw the amount of wealth fans are willing to spend on the celebrity as compared to say BG or idols (younger fan groups). This is why when WOH shot up exponentially, Immoral Media start to sweat.

Major anticipated adaptations were supposed to air this year eg. Hao Yi Xing(HYX), Sha Po Lang(SPL) etc but was severely held back due to the stricter change in BL adaptations submitting their scripts for approval regulations (WOH manage to submit earlier before the change). Because of this, most final films were rejected and they have to keep re-editing, by then WOH was already months into reaping tonnes of major brand endorsements, shows/movie casting, variety show appearances etc, something that is seen as too successful in the Immoral Media’s eyes, because they have to create buzz for other celebrities, some are specific celebrity oriented and thus circulate rumors about having endorsement opportunities shifted from celebrity X to GZ (think fanfiction-rumors and shit stirrer) causes tension in celebrity fandoms. - A real event just in July:

The Untamed’s cp fandom is called BJYX which had always been in the Top 1 of Cps for 2 years dropped for awhile to Top 2, over taken by LLD. Both of them had a war and hated each fandom, one fandom is somehow not allowed to like the other fandom even casually after everything broke out because it started out with some BJYX toxics photoshopped GZ on of portraits .

Also another case of which he wore the same costume as WYB did in a previous photoshoot and it became a useless comparison of who wore better, who looks better, degrading the other. (Finger stirring shit).

Now apply all of the above things the Internet Water Army do and we have them earning money, while both fandom reacts and hate each other.

In LLD, our own fans started suspecting each other on who is a spy from BJYX and what not.

The first few months of Internet Water Army saw LLDs mostly mocking them because the average age is 30-40s, they know and see through all of their intentions so nothing was big. They were trumpeting and LLDs didn’t even care, what with all the doing tedious stats was not even important to them.

Over time, as the issues they create became more and more serious LLDs did start to care, reporting Toxic Marketing accounts/toxic fans became a daily task, go vote for GZ at certain polls etc, solo fans, and LLD fans also split apart. Solo fans think cp fans use GZ to furnish their fantasies, and cp fans thinks they are the ones furnishing their dreaming-girls fantasy with (aka my boyfriend).

There was also a period where LLD had a habit of continuously mentioning “we are in the 30-40s so we can see through everything about the media, we are all fans for the first time, we are good at spending money (because of purchase power compared to other fandoms)” it was prevalent for so long it felt odd, ‘chasing celebrities the first time’ in particular sounds more vulnerable as a weakness than a strength / sth to be proud of.

Gradually, more secretive/insider confirmed ‘sweets’ were flying around. Fans advised each other to not circulate, and the mindset of “if you know, you know, dont tell.” (This is a problematic mentality, of which fans will still be curious to know and search for it themselves, but this secretive hook is unhealthy. Over the long term, it becomes hard for existing fans to know a lot of things properly to judge for themselves, especially those who knew and publicly reacted, but blasting those who ask and telling those who know to keep quiet, this did not help some to understand why on certain things, even so for international fans, dont know and dont understand, causing misunderstandings. Yes, certain information should not be shared, so why should you react about it publicly in the first place? - Internet Water Army effect)

The last few months (for example the July fan war) created a tonne of seriousness and anger. A period even broke out with a tonne of ‘insider confirmed sweets’ (which is LLD’s daily dose of happiness), it was hard to tell what was real and what was fake. Trending topics became negative and everyone warned each other not to enter because it will give the trends ‘views’ and trend statistics, in reality entering there is to enter an exhibition by the self-deteriorates, collecting the fandom's traffic data (it's a sure lose for fans each time they enter the topic). Everyone even starts thinking that the trend’s popularity was caused by each other (it's true but it can be bought daily and not caused by fans). There was a raise in the number of fans who were getting emotional because they want to protect but Internet Water Army kept coming and got worse, because fans, tbh, not just GZ fans, every other celebrity’s fans are always fighting with an Army, getting played and plotted in that Army's calendar.

Even so, despite all of these, LLD is actually a fandom Internet Water Army may find the hardest to break because they understand GZ so much, they could tell what are fake news regarding GZ, because among everything above, there are still plenty of logical fans to stop many fans from drifting too far and debunking them. Why? 30-40s are grown up adults.

Why 13.8.21 and the Japan issue is plotted?

First of all, in the political climate of China, there are many political dates in a month that is NO-Entertainment news. Because it’s the honoring of certain important political events. It’s like Remembrance Day, thus the sensitivity is higher. On these days, there are usually no news and even the Internet Water Army zip their pants. This year also marks the 100th year of the Chinese Communist Party(link)

Secondly, he had no work schedule on 13 August 2021. A great full day to focus on any other news (because if he had schedules, everyone will turn their attention to his events, what trumpeting outside is just bird chirps).

Thirdly, when the news broke out, especially about the shrine, the reception was actually quite serious within the fandom so the scale of this might be big but to what extent in reality?

Lastly, 15.8.21 marks the 76th anniversary of the announcement of surrender of Japanese in World War 2(link). Also a day of NO-Entertainment news.

Timeline of events:

13.8.21 - [His rest day, Eve of Chinese Valentine's Day, Japan News broke out] His rest day, no schedules = increased attention about him online. Lowered guard among fans because they are getting ready for tomorrow's Chinese Valentine's sweets = Caught off guard = Huge break out of fans' reactions

14.8.21 - [Chinese Valentine's Day, Eve of the 75th Anniversary of the announcement of Japanese surrender] Keep a wishful and happy demenaor to not destroy the mood, suppressed thoughts about ZZH's Japan news

15.8.21 - [75th Anniversary of the announcement of Japanese surrender, Official announcement of ZZH's boycott and all China social media account ban] NO-Entertainment news day, Solemn day, not allowed to voice anything so the fandom can only wait for tomorrow to start voicing out/debunking but before they can wait out, the boycott and social media ban happened, every official accounts about him was gone overnight, fans had no time to react

17.8.21 - [All official fandom accounts related to ZZH and JunZhe were locked/removed]

Forced to be silent since the day his matter broke out, over the course of official news release with everything taken down in a day because of the Japan correspondence, his accounts banned overnight across the Chinese media and the overnight cancellation, fans could not speak anything about it. Overnight cancellation like this scale happened for the first time in China, leaving no time to react by the fandom, by the time they can, they are silenced.

When the period of events occured within a set of special dates, it’s not coincidence.

Conclusion

Because he was too successful and had many actually honorable past things, and a hard to influence fandom, Internet Water Army view him as a huge threat enough to want to destroy him, because it’s hard to defeat. With a chance they have, they will hold it till the end, bringing up this issue to the Government during this period also shows a sign of how scared they were of him and perhaps his fandom to plot something like this.

Updated on 19 August: Here's a screenshot of assumed calculation on the scale of GZ success for reference while chatting with a fellow fan, assuming GJ also has 27 brands, and there are 1000 brands. Rationale of numbers used: Only big brands can hire big celebrities.

Bonus

Mentioned in the first post, will mention again in case. After the news broke out within 2 days, there was a drop on his weibo followers from 18.9mil to 18.7mil. 200k+ drops, if the politics was such a big national issue, there should at least be a huge drop, even at least a million right? Because weibo is a China-Chinese majority right? Nope, we get a puny 200k drop.

What's funny? The self-deteroriates:

Translation: "Are his fans bought? Why didnt he drop fans? Those people got brainwashed to this point?" / "I've never entered his weibo and today i feel like having a look yet it showed I've followed him. All his fans were bought right? It disgusts me, i immediately unfollowed. This kind of process is worse than WYF..." / "i dropped fans because of him...no...I just reposted 2 posts and I've dropped 4 fans?"

Isn't the tone and regressing brain cells, all too familiar and same?

Added above, will remind again to read this link. It has an even more in-depth knowledge on who are paying them.

So what should we do? Link here