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thethousandyearwitch · 5 years ago

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The Show Must Go On! - A Youtuber AU you didn’t want and didn’t need

Hisoka Morrow, italian Makeup Youtuber, enjoys his life in the comfort and occasional drama of his profession. But nothing brings more drama into his life than the eldest son of the Zoldyck fashion magazine empire.

Meanwhile, aspiring australian Twitch Streamer Gon Freecs forms a special bond to a Speedrunner commonly going by "Kil".

Chapter 1

FF.net link - AO3 link

Beep Beep. beep Beep. Click

8:00 am. Hisoka rolled over in his queen-sized bed, groaning at the interruption of his beauty sleep. Setting an early alarm after editing until 2 am was a horrible idea.

He grabbed his phone from his nightstand and rolls onto his back, following his ritual of checking all his notifications in the morning. The video he had uploaded after editing was well received, many comments about how he should try more looks with purple eyeshadow. About 3 years ago he had started his channel “Bubblegumbitch Makeup” as more of a throwaway joke after someone insulted his makeup on Instagram. However, an audience grew quite quickly, and Hisoka had to admit that he enjoyed the attention and luxury of it all. Making money by sitting in front of a camera and applying Makeup while people tell you how good looking you are is a great ego boost.

Half-heartedly he scrolled through his subscription feed, just to see what his competition was up to, though barely anyone had really uploaded during the night. Amateurs and their 'healthy' sleep schedules. A true influencer knows that an audience never sleeps.

He disregarded his phone somewhere into the pile of pillows that make up his bed and made his way into the bathroom. His morning showers are more functional than enjoyable, quickly rinsing on whatever spirits of sleep may linger on him.

After that, the Makeup artist applied his usual morning creams, body lotion, towel dries his hair, and threw on a pair of grey low-waist sweats and a comfortable white razor-back shirt. Need. Coffee.

Hisokas flat was a quaint little thing just outside of Rieti. An open imitation marble kitchen, facing the living room equipped with a black leather couch and wall mounted flat screen TV, opening to a relatively small balcony housing a few plants.

Exiting his bedroom, he grabbed the TV remote and switched unto a random morning news show, just needing background noise while he waits for his coffee to brew.

"And preparations are running wild for the annual Fashion Week in Rome. This year the line-up features many new promising designers from all over the globe. Tune in at 10 for more-"

The fashion week! Hisoka grinned, having nearly forgotten about this important event that he had always followed closely. Though rarely attending himself, he had been requested on multiple occasions as a make-up artist for certain models. But there was something more important connected to that special week. He grabbed his fresh cappuccino and strolled back to his room, fishing his phone from the depths of pillow mountain.

"Hisoka: Gooooood Morning! Roma's Fashion Week is coming up, are you going to stop on by? ~"

It didn’t take long before his phone chimed with the familiar Ping of a private Message.

“Bellissimo <3: I will be going to the Show for 4 days. If it proves convenient, I’d drop by for a short collaboration.”

“Hisoka: I’ll be keeping my bed warm~♥️”

“Bellissimo<3: Gross and unnecessary. I will book a room in my usual hotel in Rome. I’ll drop by for the Collaboration on Monday afternoon, and leave after.”

“Bellissimo<3: I will send you some sample pieces later, please come up with a look for one of them, and don’t just ‘wing it’ like last time.”

Hisoka giggled before disregarding his phone again. Illumi Zoldyck, breakthrough Fashion Designer from England, and eldest son of Zoldyck fashion magazine empire, who often uploaded videos of his artistic process on his channel “I. Zoldyck Fashion”. They had met 2 years ago, at a smaller Paris fashion show, the first one Hisoka ever attended. A model had requested Hisoka as her makeup artist, while Illumi had been working on a dress for her, and the two of them ended up working closely together to properly coordinate colours with each other. And though Illumi expressed great annoyance with Hisoka, they exchanged numbers, and started to make collab videos whenever they fell into the same place. Something about working together with Illumi got Hisokas heart racing. Seeing the camera-shy man get increasingly more frustrated with his antics was a joy that could hardly be topped.

But he didn’t have time to dwell in good memories and spine-tingling anticipation. He had work to do. And so once again he chucked his phone back into the pillow-cave system and made his way into his recording room.

It was a small office space, on one side an office Desk with a Desktop Computer, a couple of small succulent plants framing it, and a comfy black office chair. On the other side a set-up to record videos, with a white-pink gradient wall, a stainless white desk with a small mirror standing on it, and a less-comfy stool to sit on. In a smooth motion, Hisoka downed the rest of his coffee, set the cup aside, and started the camera. The night before he had laid out everything for his next video, a review for a new eyeshadow palette released by another Beauty Youtuber, still trying to get into the game. How Cute.

Hisoka clapped his hands together, putting on his best camera smile. “Hey, Scum! ~ Today I have a very special treat for you all. I got my hands on the new Togari Palette ‘Hunting for Your Dreams’, his first release.” He held up the shimmering silver case and opened it up for the camera to reveal 6 eyeshadows in various shades of orange and red. About half an hour and a couple try hard glamour shots later, Hisoka dropped the Palette with a grin, staring directly into the Camera. In addition to his signature Star and Teardrop under his eyes, he had attempted to imitate a flame-inspired eyeshadow look. “Well, this has been an absolute disaster. I feel like I’m losing clumps of eyeshadow every time I blink, and it feels sandy and irritating on my skin. But you have got to give it to Togari: I have never seen a Palette that features colours that are eye-biting and yet completely bland before. Though the surprise gift of a long, brown hair inside the sealed Palette wasn’t for me. But you know, if you see these Palettes in your local bargain bin, I’d say go for it.” He gave a cheeky wink, before rattling off his usual goodbyes, like and subscribe, yadda yadda.

Click.

Hisoka took the camera and set it by his computer. Before he could even think about editing, he must wipe away whatever the hell was in that shabby palette. Of course it wasn’t the worst make-up he had ever worn; it probably wouldn’t even make it in the bottom 10, he wasn’t here to make friends and spoon-feed his competition compliments. If a creator dares to churn out a subpar product, they have to deal with the consequences.

After practically subjecting himself to water torture via make-up remover towels, the man grabbed another whiteclaw from the fridge, and settled into his office chair. Digging through business emails was a boring, repetitive task, deleting promo-email after promo-email, practically begging him to promote some skin-care vitamins or boring phone app. Clicking the nails of his free hand against his desk, he tapped away at the delete button in a rhythm only known to him.

Finally reaching the bottom of his inbox, he switched to his private Inbox with a satisfied smile, an expected email already waiting for him. “From: I. Zoldyck: Roma Fashion Week Promos”. To my private Email, dear Illumi? How shockingly Intimate~ Hisoka mocked in his head while opening the mail.

“Hisoka.

Attached are 3 Designs I plan to show off at the show. Chose one for the collaboration and let me know in time.

Sincerely,

Illumi Zoldyck.”

Under his signature, 3 files were lined up, boringly titled “Design Roma 1/2/3”. Hisoka opened the first file and is greeted by a 2-piece suit with a light pink base colour, and blue-green flower highlights that frame the pockets and seams of the jacket, and the belt of the pants. Not bad, not bad.

The second file contained another 2-piece suit, this time with a black base colour, and a repeating roman-vase pattern in eye-catching blues, pinks, and oranges. Lovely pattern, and what a revealing jacket cut~. He was sure he had found his favourite, already planning a matching make-up look. But it wouldn’t hurt looking at the last design for pity, right?

Hisoka audibly gasped in a mixture of shock and flattery and laid a hand over his heart to complete the star performance. Staring back at him was a beautiful white-jeans design, patterned with colourful card-suits dotting the jacket and pants. The pattern was ever so slightly washed out, faking a vintage look. This is it. Mine. His heart was beating through his chest, and for the first time in a while he was truly speechless.

He had 3 more weeks until the show, but his mind was already bursting with inspiration, and when he later laid in bed, he couldn’t contain his grin as he texted.

“Hisoka: You already know which one im choosing~♥️♥️♥️”

--------------------------------------------

Gon had been streaming for a good hour or so, talking excitedly to his chat about the new Season of Fortnite, admiring new skins that he was definitely going to try and get. Every new pass just meant a new challenge for him to prove himself, and it was undeniable that it was satisfying to work and game hard to get what he wanted. Just as he was about to ask chat if he should go another row, or change games for the night, a discord message drew his attention away.

“Kil: Yo, wanna team up? :p”

Filled with even more excitement, Gon returned his attention back to his stream. “Everyone, today we are going to feature a special guest!”

#Hisoillu #killugon #Hunter X Hunter #fanfiction #hxh fanfic

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bluekayanite · 6 years ago

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(SU:F Theories) Pink Steven and Roses

Whew... I struggled a lot with this one, and not because I decided to tackle two subjects at once. XD; Thankfully, I managed to get it done, and BEFORE the next eps came out, so... Enjoy, if you will. =3

EDIT: Added another bit of speculation.

THE Rose is Probably Different

Granted, she obviously would be if she really were Pink Diamond. But as I believe there's more than enough room for doubt, I'm going to tackle the subject as if she were not. (A lot of this may be interesting in either case.)

I'm sure many have noticed by now that Rose has certain features that average Rose Quartzes do not - one that's normally associated with organic women.

(Incidentally, I wonder what the actual odds would be of just getting a Rose Quartz that looks virtually identical to Rose. XD; )

...I will point out that not only did Rose supposedly have the basic shape for them before she'd even met any organic women, but Pearl supposedly suggested that shape.

At any rate, the point is that she's a bit different than usual, and it may not be by choice. Along with her shape, Rose's coloring is different - whereas standard Rose Quartzes all have skin + hair in the reddish-purplish spectrum of "pink," the Rose has more human-like skin, much more in the yellow-orangish range...

In recaps and flashbacks, the narrative seems to be that Pink (more-or-less) swapped her hair and skin colors to achieve the "Rose" look.

(The colors aren't exact, but they're pretty close - particularly with the the Pink hair/Rose skin color.)

...but no clearly-lit shots (or, I'd say, even any shaded ones) of Pink really look like they have Rose's peach-coloring.

...In fact, the only time Pearl clearly remembers Rose having that kind of skin tone is when seeing Garnet's first fusion - otherwise, she looks pink.

One exception to definitely-Rose being peach-colored is in the "Nora" tape... but in that tape,

Greg

is more pinkish, too.

(It looks like they're both being tinted by one of those pink sunsets. =3)

Anyway... sidetracked... compelled to point out inconsistencies with the "Rose = Pink" thing... yadda yadda... While I don't believe that Rose was Pink Diamond, I'm really starting to think that she was specially made. In fact, while I don't think that Rose was the Pink Diamond... I think it's possible that she may have been made as some sort of Diamond-Quartz hybrid. I mean, in Pink's secret room, it looks like she may have been studying the pink stones from a few pieces of rock.

I think it's possible that those stones are from the same meteor/whatever that Pink drew - and specifically pointed out - in her drawing of the other Diamonds, from before she came around.

This said, I've been speculating that the meteor is what Pink may have originally come from (at least supposedly). So if she was studying the crystals that may have come from it, she may have been studying herself... and her composition. And if Pink was planning on making a Gem that shared her powers, it would be a good reason for her to do that.

Heck, it could explain why Rose's Gemstone is different from the other Rose Quartzes.

And even why Pink's form showed up during Rose's/Pink Steven's reformation - part of me even wonders if Pink used a small part of her own Stone, and then healed it.

It could even explain how Blue and Yellow could mistake Steven's aura for Pink's.

...it might conflict with the fact that Steven's aura in reunited has a complete lack of diamond-shapes in it, though. ^_^; (I'm still not ruling out that "recognizing" the aura would be all due to White meddling with their memories.)

At any rate, I've long figured that Pink probably put a lot of herself (maybe too much) into Rose, if not the Rose Quartzes in general. Though now I figure that there's a good chance that Rose may have been intentionally made differently - like how I suspect Amethyst was, except even more so. Maybe she was even made on Homeworld - it would explain why Rose refers to Homeworld as "home."

But most of all, it could explain why Steven is manifesting the kind of destructive powers that Pink apparently had... even if Rose never did.

The New Pink Steven

The main thing I've noticed with the new Pink Steven is that it's... he's? ...that this effect is mostly triggered by anger and frustration - maybe other manifestations of pain, at times. Another thing I've noticed is that said anger is justifiable - at least, in my opinion.

I mean, consider when we've seen the newer Pink Steven, so far:

Not allowing Jasper to talk bad about him (defending self-worth)

Being frustrated about Smokey not having enough time to save the rollercoaster riders (defending people)

Not being able to deal with the idea of Rose/Pink having hurt anybody (defending his emotional wellbeing)

Not allowing Aquamarine and Eyeball to just hurt people - especially his dad - without consequence (again, defending people - also, not allowing blatantly unethical behavior)

Not to say that there's no danger or that he never goes overboard... or loses control entirely. I mean, not only did he end up causing the Reef to malfunction...

(Closest pic I've got. -.-; )

...but he took out a chunk of the forest while fighting Jasper!

(Sadly, no pic on this - I'm a little low on cash, XFinity shows the wrong show right now, and CN only has the latest ep. -.-; And no, I'm not going the YT route or anything like that. >.<)

Still, it looks to me like Steven "powering up" might have to do with righteous anger. The kind of anger that really drives him to try and do something - especially something that has to do with protection. I mean, it doesn't trigger with the anger he's having when Bluebird is beating him up.

And it didn't trigger when he was ticked-off at Jasper for not wanting to join Little Homeschool.

(Again, no pic. -.-; )

So it can't be just any form of anger. There's gotta be some other criteria - like I mentioned, it could be that it has to be the kind of anger that comes from wanting to bring something good... or at least to try and protect something important.

If so, then this could also say something about Pink: it could be that she wasn't just "throwing tantrums left and right" just because she got angry at everything, but rather because she was prevented from doing things that would genuinely bring something good. It could be that - even if the use of these powers led to some destruction - the emotions behind them weren't inherently destructive. I'm not even ruling out that she didn't even throw tantrums that often, but that it's just another case of White altering memories. (Or if she did throw tantrums that often, White may have changed the memories about the reasons for them. XD; )

That said, if the basic trigger is "defending something important," then it is still possible that the powers could've been triggered for misplaced priorities: just because something was important to her doesn't necessarily mean that it was inherently a good thing. XD;

At any rate, there weren't any signs of that kind of power being triggered in the dream sequence of Jungle Moon, despite there obviously being tantrums involved.

...Though granted, one of my theories is that she hadn't grown into her powers, yet. XD;

Still, I'm not ruling out that the trigger for the powers is less about the reason for the anger, and more about the flavor of the anger. It might be exact enough that I'm not sure of the exact word for it, but so far I'm leaning toward something like "fury." XD;

The Moon Prisoner has Likely Seen Pink Steven by Now

I basically believe that the moon showing up is almost-always a sign that someone - who I believe to be Pink Diamond - is watching the scene through the Diamond Base orb, which she is trapped in.

The moon wasn't in the first two SU:F eps, but it was there for Volleyball.

And it was also at the start of Bluebird.

I also believe that the sky being pink will also indicate that the moon-prisoner is watching; the pinker, the more-intensely she's watching, and the sky is INCREDIBLY pink in Bluebird when Greg is being kidnapped.

And is like that through the point where Greg cuts himself free.

Interestingly, even before Steven catches Greg, the sky takes on more of an orange gradient (on the left) - and stays that way until the end of the ep.

Though it’s still largely pink.

I'll note that I noticed that they apparently used the same orange-pink sky for all the backgrounds from the point where Steven catches Greg, onward - not that I blame them; I can say from experience that doing backgrounds can take a LOT of work. (...but I still find it funny. XD)

Still, if they were intent on saving themselves work, then why change the sky at all? ;3 I would guess that the fact that they did change the sky is a sign that it was important. =3

In this case, I would guess that the moon-prisoner was worried about Greg, and relaxed a bit once she realized that he would be safe. But regardless, she continued to watch the whole fight.

If so, then she would've had to have seen Pink Steven fighting Aquamarine and Eyeball.

...but she probably wouldn't have seen his time-control powers, or his sonic scream (which, IIRC, would've been off-planet).

Basically, I've been wondering if Pink's not supposed to know just how much of these powers he's inherited. She may or may not suspect, but depending on what she sees, she might be left not knowing if Steven can do more with this than fly up and smash things.

(...Or wear hats. XDD)

At any rate, I think there's a good chance that she would know about how these powers work, and have some good advice on how to use them. ;3 83

Rose May Have Been Carrying a Secret Payload

...one that she didn't even know about.

This would be one of the ways that Rose would be special... one of the ones that I think she would probably not be proud of, if she knew about it.

In the movie, White had already picked up on a pinkish tinge.

It wasn't there at the end of Change Your Mind.

But in the SU:F opening, she looks REALLY pink. =O

Everyone else's color in that shot seems normal (for being shaded), so I think odds are good that White really is is going to look like that at some point.

But what would make her that way? I doubt she'd do it on purpose... What would've changed to make her that way?

Well, obviously, the biggest pink-(or Pink-)related thing to come into her life is Steven, and I really doubt that Steven would be doing something like this on purpose. XD; So what seems most likely to me is that it was something that Steven did without even knowing it.

I doubt it's simply an effect of gradual exposure to Steven, since 1) he's been spending most of his time on Earth, and 2) if that were the case - and Rose was Pink - I think it would've happened looooong ago, from exposure to Pink. XD So to me, it seems mostly likely to be a one-time thing that Pink put into Rose that would be activated on its own.

Like... a color-changing virus? =O

A logic bomb is a type of malware that will only get triggered under certain circumstances - for example, "on this date, activate a virus" or "if employee X is fired, erase all employee info." I think that Rose was made with a type of logic bomb, just in case White tried anything funny - like, trying to turn Rose into a replacement for Pink.

If so, then it is both kind of amazing that Pink would have that kind of foresight, and saddening that she would think it necessary to prepare for something like that. It would mean that she knew (or at least suspected) that White was the kind to try something like that.

I will note that one of the things about a logic bomb is that, if the conditions for triggering it never happen, then the "bomb" never goes off - if Rose really was made with such a bomb, then it's possible that Pink put it in there with the hopes that it would never be triggered. If White would prove herself, then she would never get hit with the punishment. But if White did do the worst... well, Pink probably figured it was better not to risk it.

One of those "Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it" sort of things. ^_^;

It's also possible that the color-change is meant for more than just punishment, payback, or exposure: it could be meant as a lesson in empathy, to give White an idea of what it feels like to be "wrong" - and/or treated as such.

EDIT: I also think it’s possible that it could be for learning empathy for what it’s like to have a change forced onto you by someone. (Have I mentioned that I believe that White’s been using mind-control?)

Another idea is that Pink may have done it in the hopes that, if anything did happen to her, it could prompt others to try and find out what had really happened - maybe even find her, if White decided not to break her. XD; (Or heal her, if White did. ^_^; )

Though that said, so far, the effects seem to be fairly harmless... and yet not. ^_^; At the very least, the sudden saturation would be embarrassing for the "White" Diamond. Though even if the change itself is harmless, it could have MASSIVE implications for her position as the "flawless" ruler - at any rate, it could be a very good way to catch and expose her red-handed (or pink-handed, as the case may be).

I do wonder if the malware could've affected more than just White's color (though even just THAT could make for a good payback-prank) - maybe it affected her powers, or even her feelings in some way... big or small. Maybe it's the reason why she was even capable of blushing the way she did.

Maybe White's words were more accurate than we thought. XD;

As for what would've triggered the virus... It could be a number of things. I think the most likely one would be "trying to insert being-Pink-related memories/personality traits," but still, there's no rule that says that a logic bomb can only have one trigger... a programmer could put in as many triggers as they want, really. Pink could have put in any number of possible conditions for White to start getting pink-ified. So while I do think it most likely that White using her powers in certain ways would be the trigger(s), it could've also been triggered by, say, White physically handling Rose's Gemstone... or even removing it from whoever Rose's child would be!

(...I could provide visual examples, but I'd rather not in this case. ^_^; )

Heck, she might've even included things completely unrelated to what panned out, just in case a number of different scenarios happened. XD;

Though that said... it's also not impossible that the trigger was also made to remove any inserted memories/traits of the being-Pink-related sort. ...But not restore any lost ones. Which could explain - among other things - the comment about Pink being "gone."

... (RIP Rose. ='( )

...But yeah. All things considered, it looks most likely to me that the idea was to try and bring things to light should White ever try to replace Pink. If anything, maybe that'll lead to the truth getting out, as well as the true Pink.

(And maybe we could get some laughs along the way about White's new look - as well as what to call her. X3)

#su:f theories #su:f #steven universe: future #pink steven #rose quartz wasn't pink diamond #white diamond's mind control #theories

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pugovkaisafk · 6 years ago

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Comments box

I’ve decided to do something different and instead of leaving notes on my Kobo, I’ll be leaving them here in this post, as I read through A Court of Mist and Fury. This book is longer and I’m sure full of details, so I don’t want to miss any.

Intro

- “Amarantha drawled, her deep red hair” There was an editing mistake in the first book that suddenly changed Amarantha’s red hair into black. I’m glad they didn’t this time

Chapter 1

- “I squeezed my fingers into a fist, blocking out that eye” Use gloves? I’m sure he would see through anyway, but at least it would be a short relief

Chapter 2

- “I don’t have the sentries to spare to escort you” But when she was merely a human and you needed her alive and well, she was barely under any protection? - “Please - please just do this for me”

- “His equal. A union with Tamlin” Is this foreshadowing? - ”[...] childless, and keen to enjoy the finest males the land has to offer” Ianthe is giving me such bad vibes for some reason, sneaky snake - ”Not that he particularly wants anything to do with me” That’s right, my boy Lucien. We would be totally friends bitching about Ianthe. - “I’d wept with joy as I told him yes, yes, a thousand times yes” Proposal “offscreen”? This wedding is so NOT happening.

Chapter 3

- “Did he let you take me today so that I’d stop asking to help rebuild?” I feel like he threatened everyone so they would refuse. Yikes

Chapter 4

- “I’ve another hour before I need to sleep” I hope Ianthe chokes on air and dick. They are all treating Feyre like a newborn. - “A fitting end would have been me in a grave, burning in hell” Oh honey, don’t we all feel like that from time to time - “Then you don’t know Rhysand very well at all” HELL YEAH, let these fools know. - “No wonder Tamlin had laughed” Why would you even agree to wear that hideous dress? It’s your wedding! And Tamlin is such a tool, he doesn’t understand shit. - “And you sound like you’re going to your funeral” Because she is?! She can’t even run anywhere. Where would she go - “As inescapable as the vow I was about to make, binding me to him forever” BIG YIKES. MY ANXIETY. - “Hello, Feyre darling” Boi, it’s about time!! I missed you

Chapter 5

- “You think I enjoy being awoken every night by visions of you puking?” BUT the most important question is.. did you snoop while they were fornicating? -”I barely saw my silk slipper as it flew through the air [...] and slammed into his head”

-”For this week? I want you to learn how to read.” / “No, thank you” You fucking walnut. You just had a trial that almost killed you because you couldn’t read

Chapter 6

- “Forgive me for being excited about having company for once” I already love Mor. So bubbly. - “Everyone else says you are” / “ And what do you think?” YES. Exactly. He helped you so much when he could have left you to rot in that prison. Like c’mon, at least play this “game” intelligently.

Chapter 7

- “But you’re the only one I trust” She’s gonna tell everything the moment she goes back. Because of Tamlin, big dick, love of my life, High Lord yadda yadda -”You are no one’s subject” *claps and nods* -”[...] and I don’t believe for one damn minute that you’re remotely fine with being a pretty trophy for someone who sat on his ass for nearly fifty years, then sat on his ass while you were shredded apart--” That’s what I’m saying!!! Tamlin was sitting all the time like a silent monk and only during the last day tried to contact her, and only for fucking. Not even saying I’m sorry, run away... something. I knew men like that, damn leeches. Rhys, you are too good. I loved so much how he plunged towards Amarantha in the first book, screaming and trying so desperately. - “You’ll probably ignore it, anyway. Sweep it under the rug, like everything else” This is so good. Like I’m only at the beginning of the book and already am sad because it’ll be soon over. I love mature and self-analyzing characters. -”You trashed the study” / “I trashed half the house” Oh, fuck off into the sunset already. -”This feels an awful lot like an interrogation” Imma about to slap the spring out of him -”You don’t need to train. I can guard you from whatever comes our way”

Chapter 8

- “Do not interrupt me” I get it. You've got a role to play as a High Lord, but sometimes being merciful gets you farther in life. Such a lack of compassion. Sarah J. Maas is pushing extra hard on the dislike button. - “Because this is how things are done here, and when you hand that gluttonous faerie the money she needs, it makes me [...] look weak” BITCH, Feyre starved for 8 years! Of course, she’s gonna help? Like do you even know who is your fiancè? All I’m hearing is me, never us. - “Did I ask for your opinion?” Did I ask for you to appear in these books?

Chapter 9

- “It was worse than a crown, actually. [...] A traveling painting kit” I.AM.WHEEZING. Tamlin is one of those people that buys you milk knowing that you are intolerant and gonna shit your pants off. Gets also offended in the process. Tamlin is one of those people that asks you something and a couple of days later goes over the same questions, leaving you to wonder if talking to the walls is more beneficial. - “I cried out, instinct taking over as his power blasted through the room” Hold on. HOLD ON. Let me read this shit again. ... Bruh.

Chapter 10

- “I’ll try to be better. [...] Today - let’s forget, let’s just move past it. Please” Nah uh. I’m gonna write it all down. You hairy pimple. - “It was never the time for this conversation or that conversation” If you feel like you have to walk on the eggshells with your lover, the one you are supposed to live with until your days are over, it’s time to reevaluate life and run to the next available galaxy. - “I already have everything I want” Sheeeit. I’m impressed. Rhysand: *breathes* Me: YES, BEST BREATHING EVER.

Chapter 11

- “But it had filled my time - given me quiet, a steadfast company with those characters, who did not exist and never would, but somehow made me feel less...alone” The bookblr community sends its regards. Girl, I still remember my first fictional boyfriend. Don’t worry, it’s okay.

- “Bastard. Arrogant, presuming bastard” I really dislike this word used as an insult. Sarah J. Maas overuses it. It’s not even a funny one. - “The next morning, Tamlin was waiting in the shade of the gnarled, mighty oak tree in the garden” UGH. Reminds me of someone I used to “date”, that didn’t really respect my wishes and often called only to tell me he was bored. Was I a clown to him? Maybe. I had some great tricks indeed. Though I feel like that the biggest one, the “ sim sala bim I’m gonna disappear”, never really took off with him.

#a court of mist and fury #bookblr #books #acotar #acomaf #comment

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nebulawriter · 8 years ago

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Justice League

So I feel like there are a lot of movies I’ve seen and not reviewed but honestly thats mostly because I feel like I can’t say anything that hasn’t been said about things like Thor Ragnarok or Ninjago. Maybe I’ll get to it. Sorry, just...lot of writing projects.

But for Justice League....It’s a very subjective film. More than most. I can understand why people would say they loved the movie. I can understand why people would say they hate it.

As for me I’d rated it certainly my 2nd favorite of the DCEU so far next to Wonder Woman, and....If you were thinking of going to see it anyway, know that its not as bad as a lot of its reviews. If you were hesitant to see it, or whatever, I’d recommend sitting this one out, maybe give it a rent once its out on DVD.

The thing about Justice League is that while it is clearly and obviously flawed, its flaws come in a few different categories. 1) Its not this movie’s fault, really 2) Coming off the messy production history of the film itself or 3) Wasn’t really that bad but could have done with another refurbishing. So thats what we’re going to discuss.

Category 1) Not this movie’s fault. Its in fact, Batman vs. Superman’s fault. No matter your opinion on that, which, if you’re curious about a super in depth look on it I’d recommend watching Really That Bad by Bob Chipman but we’re not talking about that right now. What we’re discussing is the premise of Justice League.

The premise is based off the fact that now that Superman’s dead everything’s awful. Which. I just. In BvS it was clear that Superman’s existence was controversial at best. And that he’d only been a real hero for about 2 years. TWO YEARS. And thats just not enough to make me believe that his loss meant that everything was terrible NOW. but, this could have been fixed if BvS did its job so I don’t blame this movie completely. But they could have gotten around it.

Category 2) If you’re not familiar with the production history, short-short version: Zack Snyder was supposed to direct it, then had to leave for tragic family reasons, then Joss Whedon finished it up by reshooting things and recoloring and yadda yadda.

The result is....kinda a frankenstein’s monster of a movie. Like, if you are familiar with the two director’s style, you can see where one leaves off and another picks up (Especially with re-shoot Henry Cavill’s cgi lip). And...it’s okay....mostly. but some scenes were MADE to be in Snyder’s style and then...were edited to turn into Whedon’s and....ehhh?? its weird.

Whatever your opinions on Joss Whedon, the changes, I have to admit, are...better. They’re at least more colorful and...I dunno he stuck in some human stories trying to care about the people who got saved so. Thats a thing.

Category 3) Most scenes were like...so close to being good but could have been chiseled down to make something more cohesive, more of an arc, more HEART to it. Like, what if when Superman returned he had to like, learn about superman is and we could have a collection of him going through articles of who he was as he regains his memory and regains his humanity, his human-ism.

What if at the end we had Wonder Woman giving orders to people, giving them specific jobs, therefore stepping up into the role of leader?

What if there was more about Batman saving people and actually learning FROM Superman, and about him deciding he can be a hero just like Superman, but he doesn’t need all the powers, thus recapturing who he was as a hero.

Flash, Aquaman, and Cyborg didn’t so much have arcs which I’m....kinda fine with because I’d rather see more of that in their own movies, but what if there was like, a SCENE where it showed that the three of them and the big three were a TEAM. They’re FRIENDS they’re TOGETHER, a unit a whatever else.

What if Superman didn’t do EVERYTHING in the finale, and instead did like. One really important thing, thus proving the need for the team

What if Patty Jenkins was brought in to direct the scene on Themyscira so it isn’t terrible.

What if they stopped filming upshots of Gal Gadot’s butt that make me want to die.

LITTLE things really. Just to make it a bit better. Just to bring it together.

and thats the great thing about Justice League. That’s what I mean that it’s not BAD. It may be a frankenstein’s monster, but it has a SKELETON. It makes SENSE. Which is more than what I can say for 3/4 DCEU movies so far.

There is a category 4 which is honest to god what were they thinking, and that category has one contestant: The Villain. ACDC over here somehow manages to be worse than all of Marvel’s villains. Good ole Van Helsing is so bland, so generic, he makes fucking RONAN from Guardians of the Galaxy look like the most interesting and complex character I’ve ever seen. Fucking Metallica’s generic insect-y minions are so bland and badly designed they make the Dark Elves from Thor 2 look like an impressive army. There is absolutely nothing interesting about Black Sabbath, he looks like he stepped out of World of Warcraft and acts like Doctor Fucking Doofenshmirtz. Mr. Guns & Roses over here just keeps talking about how how EVIL he is and no one cares and his main goal was stolen full-scale from Man of Steel (MAN OF STEEL?!) and maybe can only be rivaled by Enchantress from Suicide Squad in his terribleness.

Is it good? ehhhhh. Its fine. It’s fun, sometimes, and it does make me excited for the spinoffs like Aquaman and Flash and Cyborg and the various other hero movies. so, in that sense, it did what it was meant to do.

Is it bad? not really. Certainly not worth its rotten tomatoes score. It’s fine. It’s even funny, a lot (I did like the flash’s jokes, a lot of people didn’t but I did.)

TL;DR if you don’t wanna watch it, don’t, but you SHOULD watch the mid-credit scene with Flash and Superman race. Only really important thing.

#justice league #superman #batman #wonder woman #flash

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gplewis · 5 years ago

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correspondence at its best

in constant conversation with you in my mind

we’ve since become different kinds of readers, learned separateness the hard way, are sentenced to our separate bodies and common language making it seem close enough, or so small the distance between us almost like we shared a tongue; and oh, this poetry of closeness landing only in the fact that longing involves endless distances and infinitely down... // we will never be different readers again, we will never forget this, oh, our years — was youth the time before you understood death? I’m sorry to bother this nice day with the old subjects; I wish I could focus on a shoe or something; oh, if only life could live up to the feral hunger of our perception; if only some celebration of my lucidity could lift me from banality, yadda yadda, could I really curse life like this? Now I’ve lost my bearings in this poem, a swirl of wind casting me down into the center on my knees, wringing some imagined form, a perception at the center of all existence, learning love through learning aloneness, and the world always needing editing and one more viewer...but culture is a thing humans can’t resist (sorry I’ve stopped writing about you); God, my language got so simple... Mon May 17 1:17 PM 2021 pandemic almost over, heart same as before

This can be edited and understood and smoothed into knowledge later.

I listened and am glad you use this space to be visible

and really I don’t know anything more or less, I only know my responses--the varied in and out, up and down, looping of them all

Isn’t love just reading our messages aloud as art?

sometimes I get a fraction of that down and in this space to you-- mostly not... but what I’m appreciating is that there is something about this creative/abandonment conversation that goes on between us that is helping me see myself more clearly

I responded: “...[the psychoanalyst and essayist Adam] Phillips wrote: ‘Somewhere in ourselves we associate being loved with being betrayed, and being betrayed with growing.’” https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/22/books/art-of-rivalry-sebastian-smee.html

The art of rivalry — I kept writing, and remembering...but now this is a third place I’m documenting and it’s tiring. My privacy and my relationship are enough--it’s enough reality

and with that comes thinking I see you more clearly as much as that is possible it’s only a fragment and an idea, perhaps its entirely my projection--if so, that’s what makes it all the more interesting in the meantime, in the midst of it all, there is a deeper response formulating itself around what I hear from you on a regular basis a lot of it has been the tantrum, the refusal to receive, the fight, the anger, the reluctance to be here that runs deep i see what you are naming--that you’ve removed everything from your life that might require something of you that you don’t want to give, and yes therein lies the thing i see a refusal to receive maybe that’s a problem, maybe not I hear you speaking around it as a problem for yourself while at the same time you claim it as a way of being so therein lies the paradox but right now in the last 2 months I hear something shifting in you even in your voice, even in your rants some kind of opening, some kind of willingness willingness to move a little differently but not yet knowing how so those are the things I want to respond to and speak to it’s making me realize my own hesitation towards real honesty--really saying what I think and what I mean I am recognizing that is what you--this space--invites in me

That’s nice

Now: take this urge to destroy and change the world, change the oppression, make life not subject only to love and money — perhaps I’m in trouble and am always brewing a perhaps or maybe and maybe this is my undoing, my constant failure to arrive.

But in a writing life you can never arrive, there is no place where you aren’t burning and giving, tending to your fire, doing something with it, putting yourself in motion...going away from something. Neil Young said it:

“For whatever you’re doing, for your creative juices, your geography’s got a hell of a lot to do with it,” he said. “You really have to be in a good place, and then you have to be either on your way there or on your way from there.” https://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/23/magazine/neil-young-comes-clean.html

Where. Location. It’s on the earth: it’s beautiful and owned, carefree and expensive. Nature and ownership are at odds. Can I break it? Can I break the world?

The urge to destroy is also a creative urge.

A poem is an empty suitcase you can’t quit emptying. Luckily, I’m old enough in this game to know there is no backstop, no finish line, no being done — no, if anything, I have only just begun.

Thirty three and a half is still a young writer.

I have so many people in my life / I have many friends / who can care for me. Universal traveler. Universal traveler. Universal traveler. Universal traveler. — Air

that’s an artist

there are so many of them

#poetry #memoir #creative nonfiction #personal #love

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bored-arachnid · 5 years ago

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Vanilla Sky is the Weirdest Remake I’ve Ever Seen

All things considered, I hold a lot of respect for remakes. Sure, it might seem like a waste of creative potential to throw a bunch of money and artists on a project that’s a copy of a previous one, but remakes can “reinvent” the film that came before it. Updating the special effects, correcting problematic stereotypes, retelling an important theme, yadda yadda, you get the idea. You may notice that all those excuses for a remake I listed were based on the remake being made a long time after the original. But Vanilla Sky was released just four years after Open Your Eyes, the film it was based on. It even shares a main cast member playing the same role. So...what’s the point in remaking it? According to director Cameron Crowe, it was to bring the story to an American audience while weaving it into a new story. According to me, a viewer of both films, it was to make the same film but slightly worse in every way. And wouldn’t you know it, when everything’s a “little worse”, the quality of the film as a whole drops a lot. First and foremost, the central theme, plot elements, characters, and even most sets are near-identical to Alejandro Amenábar’s original film. So any changes are mostly in things like dialogue, shot composition, and editing. And honestly, the only thing I’m thankful to Vanilla Sky for is birthing the very memorable movie quote “In another life, when we are both cats”, but even that is far less interesting in context. I’d like to clarify that I’m certainly biased by having watched the original film first, but I’ve done my best to focus my analysis on the formal elements specifically.

Why don’t we start with the respective protagonists? The story opens with the introduction of Cesar in Open Your Eyes, and Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky, although I’ll probably call him “David” for the rest of the review. Both are fundamentally the same character; they have the same nightmares, sleep around without much care for the women in question, were born rich, and are paranoid about other shareholders trying to steal his company. There’s a few key differences between them though, and it mostly comes down to acting. Cesar is portrayed as a complete douche. He brags about lay he gets, talks rudely to them, values his vanity above everything else, and is just generally...rude, if such a word isn’t too crass. Tom Cruise is unmistakably Tom Cruise, and despite also being a player, he’s also more, well, playful. He seems to form at least some kind of emotional attachment to the women he sleeps with, tries to keep their identities secret from his friends, he doesn’t come off as exceptionally rude, and there are even a few scenes of him being sentimental to friends to teach us “he’s not that bad a guy”. This is the change I most expected, but it’s still one I wasn’t happy to see. The repeated attempts to make the protagonist “relatable” only made him seem two dimensional. Instead of being an enigma, a character with clear flaws, he’s a character who has his depth plainly told to us. The side characters are all pretty much the same, with one notable change to Sofia, the main love interest (who shares a name and actress between the movies). Sofia is a reluctant love interest, who seems to see Cesar as her date’s annoying friend, although some flirtatious subtext can be picked up. Vanilla Sky’s interpretation has her completely fixated on him quite literally from the second they meet. I assume it’s done to make the relationship more “believable” or “charming”, but it really just makes Sofia static, and reinforces tired tropes about “true love”. It comes off as especially cheap at the end of the film, actually undercutting the theme of the story as a whole. All of these changes, while relatively minor, lead to massive overhauls in tone and dramatic tension.

Why do I care so much about that? Because Open Your Eyes is a brilliant psychological thriller, which induced a lot of genuine stress and discomfort in me while watching it, more so than any horror film I’ve ever seen. Suspense is constant even throughout the calmest or happiest of scenes. With long shots, a lack of music, and occasional discontinuous cuts in time, the film conditions you to never trust what’s coming next. Once a shot begins to linger, you start to worry about what’s going to go wrong: Sometimes there’s an abrupt cut, a shocking image, maybe even a tragic twist, but often, it’s nothing at all. You start to question your own sanity just as you do Cesar’s. The cost of Cameron Crowe wanting to make you like Tom Cruise (which is kind of easy because he happens to have Tom Cruise’s face) is that you no longer question him or his sanity. And the editing changes to match this change: cuts don’t waste time, and there’s always something happening. Sometimes there’s legal mumbo-jumbo, or banter, or a musical sequence, but you aren’t given any time to savor these moments. You don’t get to think about how happy Tom must be in a moment of levity or character development, because we’re already watching him have another conversation, or having pop music blasted at us. Open Your Eyes generates a sense of tension and unease that’s able to penetrate even the most mundane or harmless of scenes, while Vanilla Sky creates an aura of, well, ease, that it betrays any dramatic tension.

Just so you don’t think I’m talking out of my ass, I’ll break down how two versions of the same scene demonstrate this change: the prison portrait scene. In a flashforward to Cesar in a prison cell being visited by a psychologist, we see him repeatedly drawing a portrait of a young woman. The psychologist questions him on the matter, but Cesar doesn’t share much, lamenting about it being a happy memory. Shortly thereafter, we’re introduced to the subject of the portrait, Sofia, and see the game the two of them play, drawing caricatures of each other, giving new context to the prior scene. In Vanilla Sky, the two characters sketch each other before we see Tom redoing the portrait in prison. And in that prison scene, a somewhat glowing, superimposed Sofia is shown inside the jail cell, interacting with Tom and serving as the model for his drawing. That change does two things to the viewer’s impression of the character: it makes Tom’s state of mind explicitly clear to the viewer, and it directs our attention to the obvious hallucination, instead of the bond between Tom and his psychologist. When Cesar was questioned on him compulsive drawing, we’re put into the psychologist’s shoes, wanting to learn about him, which helps us get invested in wanting to see the two characters come to understand each other. Vanilla Sky’s version of the scene brings focus to the cheap trick and breaking of reality, making the dialogue a backdrop rather than an investing subplot. And that’s just one of many scenes to do changes like that.

I guess my conclusion here is that Vanilla Sky is overrated, and Open Your Eyes is amazing.. So, uh, don’t let me spoil it for you, go watch Open Your Eyes sometime, it’s fantastic. Maybe we’ll all be able to appreciate the underrated gem, one day, when we’re all cats (See? It really is just too damn quotable)

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riichardwilson · 5 years ago

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Smashing Magazine Is Fourteen!

About The Author

Rachel Andrew is not only Editor in Chief of Smashing Magazine, but also a web developer, writer and speaker. She is the author of a number of books, including … More about Rachel Andrew …

This week we celebrate the 14th birthday of Smashing Magazine. We didn’t quite have the year that we planned though! I took a look back at some memories from this year and previous years — with the help of the team and some Smashing friends.

This week at Smashing, we celebrated 14 years of bringing you the best web design and development content — and what an interesting year it has been! Last year, I published the 13th birthday post from our team meeting in Freiburg. Back then, we were about to run SmashingConf Freiburg and our meeting was full of our plans for 2020. We were looking forward to another exciting year of conferences, and everything else that team Smashing creates. Little did we know that a year later we would all be working from our home locations, our conferences moved online, and the whole world struggling with a virus that no-one had heard of at the time.

The last year has been difficult for many people — our little team didn’t escape that. Between us, we’ve dealt with a bunch of stressful life events in addition to the pandemic. We also lost a good friend in Scott Whitehead, who died last month aged just 39. He will be dearly missed by all of us who worked with him.

Through it all, however, there is always a cheerful greeting when I log into the Smashing Slack. Some positivity on days when it seems as if nothing is going right; and a million ideas and plans despite it sometimes seeming like it makes no sense to plan anything. We’re weathering the storm, along with our wider Smashing community, and we hope that our articles, conferences, meetups, and membership have helped to make lockdown just a little less lonely.

Birthdays should be a celebration, even when times are difficult. I asked some of our Smashing Team and friends what their favorite Smashing memories were. Earlier this week, we ran SmashingConf Freiburg online, so it seems fitting that this first memory is from Vitaly about the very first SmashingConf:

“I vividly remember the first time we were waving Smashing Flags at the balcony of the very first SmashingConf in Freiburg. It was a very sunny day, with a few clouds rising above the sky, and I was walking towards Historisches Kaufhaus to get ready for the setup. It was such a powerful feeling: as I was approaching the building, I could see the flags waving from the balcony far, far away. It’s such an empowering feeling to see that something that has always been digital actually became real right in front of you.

Another feeling that had a tremendous impact on me was in a coffee shop in Kyiv, Ukraine. I was sitting and working there at a large wooden table at some point in 2014, and there was a group of young people sitting next to me. Of course, it turned out that they were designers and developers. So at some point, they stumbled upon some issue, and they opened a Smashing article and were all reading it together. It was quite a feeling because it was actually one of my earlier articles from 2010 or so, and it was so nice to see it actually being used and valued. I didn’t say anything but ordered another cappuccino, then put my headphones on and kept on working with a smile on my face.

”

I remember that first conference well, as I was one of the speakers along with many of my friends in the industry. Kristof Van den Eede was an attendee, and told me:

“I attended the first-ever Smashing Conference in Freiburg as a starting front-end developer. The impression it left on me is huge. I couldn’t believe I was offered the opportunity to go by the company I worked for at the time. The overall experience was amazing. I remember having my mind blown by Aarron Walter, Rachel Andrew, and so many other speakers. Since then, I’ve never missed a Smashing update or newsletter!”

Freiburg, as the home of Smashing, always has a special feel and was mentioned in many people’s memories. Sarah Drasner remembers being in Freiburg “for the 10th anniversary for the famous chocolate fondue carpet massacre!” One of our subject editors, Alma Hoffmann, also remembers meeting up with the team at a Freiburg event:

“I love Smashing! Been working with these fabulous people since 2010 when I published my first article. My most cherished memory is meeting Iris, Vitaly, Phil, Markus, Amanda, and everyone else in person at the conference in Freiburg. Vitaly, Iris and I had been working online for so long and had only seen each other on video call. Meeting in person was like out of this world! I also met incredible and amazing people whom I keep in touch with. I love the commitment to quality content we all share and want. It has been a dream to work here. Love you all!”

Marc Thiele was part of the team for the very first Smashing event and was able to host Vitaly (and provide a good camera and internet connection) for Smashing Live. He said:

“This is, by any means, the craziest and strangest year in my life. Luckily the looser restrictions now allowed, that Vitaly came over to my place to run his part of the first SmashingConf Live from my house. It was a lovely and uplifting experience in these dark days. Let’s hope that we are able to meet in person soon again.”

We often refer to our Smashing community as our friends and we love it when you feel part of what we are doing. Greg Vissing remembers his first SmashingConf,

“My favorite Smashing memory was being able to attend my first Smashing Conference in 2018 in San Francisco, CA. I had always wanted to go because Smashing Magazine was one of the reasons I got into web development. When I was told by my current employer that I could pick any conference, it was a no-brainer which one I would pick. Once I met the staff of Smashing in person, it was though I had been friends with them for years because of how friendly and inviting the conference is. I’m so appreciative of how much Smashing has furthered my career and the friendships I have made with the staff!”

I often hear from people how being involved with something at Smashing has led to unexpected things happening. Here is one such story from Eric Portis.

“In 2014 I didn’t work in tech and hadn’t spoken publicly since high school and, after a series of increasingly fantastical events, was invited to speak halfway ’round the world, to tell a few hundred people how they should put images on websites at SmashingConf Freiburg.

It was all very surreal. I met a bunch of heroes who accepted me unquestioningly as a peer. Vitaly kept asking random questions and making insane demands, always with a puckish smile. There were surprise fireworks at the speaker’s dinner. And, in line for lunch, Guy Podjarny told me I should really talk to some friends of his at an image-centric startup called Cloudinary. Yadda-yadda-yadda I switched careers and work for Cloudinary, now.

I’ll be trying to pay all of this forward for the rest of my career.

Thanks, Smashing!”

The conference team has had to quickly put everything they know about in-person events and figure out how to translate that into virtual ones. We’ve now run two conferences, Smashing Live! and Smashing Freiburg, and have two more to go — Austin and San Francisco. Charis and Jarijn are based out in Hong Kong, and were involved with the in-person conferences last year. Jarijn told me that a favorite Smashing memory was in getting to Toronto for the first time, and being able to reunite with a childhood friend who lives nearby. Charis talked about how we had to very quickly change from thinking about in-person events to figuring out how to do online ones.

“I was super looking forward to what 2020 had to bring us. 2019 was a fantastic conference year, and running our conferences in SF, Toronto, Freiburg, and New York was one of my best memories of 2019.

Looking back at what we’ve done the past few months, I can only be super proud. We had our online workshops going very quickly after lockdowns were announced, and it was great to see how well they were received. It was so much fun meeting people on the other side of the world and getting a peek into their lives.

It’s been a lot of fun figuring out how to run events online. Working together with Amanda and Vitaly has been an absolute joy.”

While I get involved with the events, the majority of my work at Smashing is already virtual. The pandemic has sometimes meant delays with writing or editing as people struggled to cope with this new normal, but we have ticked along much as we always do. We’ve managed to publish our usual article-per-weekday throughout the past few months and introduced many new writers to the magazine, as well as publishing pieces from some of your favorite authors.

We’re always happy to see your article ideas, whether you are an experienced writer or have not been published before. Don’t just take my word for it, here is what Eric Bailey had to say,

“I’ve been reading Smashing Magazine for years, and it’s had such a positive impact on my growth and career development. Having the opportunity to give back and write for the website was a dream come true.

The Smashing team is friendly, whipsmart, and an absolute joy to work with. If you have been debating writing an article about working on the web, I enthusiastically encourage you to pitch them.

Happy birthday, Smashing! Here’s to many more!”

For the conference team, however, it’s all about in-person events, and a lot of planning had already happened for 2020. Venues and caterers were booked, flights and hotels arranged, and speakers planned. A memory I will take from this period is the day we realized it would be impossible to run the April San Francisco event. Things were changing so quickly, a week previously it looked as if we could go ahead. Rather than complaining, or sitting about bemoaning our misfortune, everyone swung into action to ensure that speakers and attendees were informed and logistics for postponing dealt with. Within a few days, we had online workshops in place and were building out contingency plans just in case — as ultimately happened — we needed to move the events fully online.

Amanda is our head of events, and she remembers this time saying,

“For many people, 2020 has been a challenging year, and at Smashing this has been no exception. However, when the team made the decision to first postpone SmashingConf SF, there was a lot of unknown, yet a beautiful display of teamwork, respect, and truly love coming through. For those who don’t know, the Conf team is fully remote, spanning 4 countries, and 2 continents, and this is the longest we’ve all gone from being together in person. Yet, this is probably the closest we’ve ever felt as a team and as a Smashing Family.”

I’ve mentioned family quite a lot, and some of us actually are family! My daughter Bethany has helped with video editing for Smashing in the past. With everything moved online and her theatre job furloughed, she’s been on board to help with conferences and workshops. She shared her thoughts on being part of the team,

“Though 2020 has been a bit of a disaster in many many ways I feel really lucky that the lockdown and the fact that I’ve been left without my main job has meant I’ve been able to work more and spend more (virtual) time with the Smashing team. It’s been so nice that even though we can’t all get together we’ve still been able to do so many workshops and conferences and get together over a screen. It’s just been lovely to get more involved with a company who is just full of awesome people and I wouldn’t have had this opportunity without this free time that was suddenly thrust upon us.”

And our CEO Inge Emmler linked family and work too, saying that working at Smashing is all about, “being in touch with nice, dear people only — online and offline — what could be more smashing? Well, perhaps celebrating my Mom´s 90th birthday in March. ”

I don’t think any of us want to predict what will be in store for our next year at Smashing. We are continuing to plan — perhaps with a few more plan B and C options that we had last year! One thing I do feel sure of though, is that we’ll continue supporting each other and our Smashing Community, through whatever the next 12 months bring.

(il)

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scpie · 5 years ago

Text

Smashing Magazine Is Fourteen!

About The Author

Rachel Andrew is not only Editor in Chief of Smashing Magazine, but also a web developer, writer and speaker. She is the author of a number of books, including … More about Rachel Andrew …

”

I remember that first conference well, as I was one of the speakers along with many of my friends in the industry. Kristof Van den Eede was an attendee, and told me:

Marc Thiele was part of the team for the very first Smashing event and was able to host Vitaly (and provide a good camera and internet connection) for Smashing Live. He said:

We often refer to our Smashing community as our friends and we love it when you feel part of what we are doing. Greg Vissing remembers his first SmashingConf,

I often hear from people how being involved with something at Smashing has led to unexpected things happening. Here is one such story from Eric Portis.

I’ll be trying to pay all of this forward for the rest of my career.

Thanks, Smashing!”

It’s been a lot of fun figuring out how to run events online. Working together with Amanda and Vitaly has been an absolute joy.”

We’re always happy to see your article ideas, whether you are an experienced writer or have not been published before. Don’t just take my word for it, here is what Eric Bailey had to say,

The Smashing team is friendly, whipsmart, and an absolute joy to work with. If you have been debating writing an article about working on the web, I enthusiastically encourage you to pitch them.

Happy birthday, Smashing! Here’s to many more!”

Amanda is our head of events, and she remembers this time saying,

(il)

Website Design & SEO Delray Beach by DBL07.co

Delray Beach SEO

source http://www.scpie.org/smashing-magazine-is-fourteen/

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laurelkrugerr · 5 years ago

Text

Smashing Magazine Is Fourteen!

About The Author

Rachel Andrew is not only Editor in Chief of Smashing Magazine, but also a web developer, writer and speaker. She is the author of a number of books, including … More about Rachel Andrew …

”

I remember that first conference well, as I was one of the speakers along with many of my friends in the industry. Kristof Van den Eede was an attendee, and told me:

Marc Thiele was part of the team for the very first Smashing event and was able to host Vitaly (and provide a good camera and internet connection) for Smashing Live. He said:

We often refer to our Smashing community as our friends and we love it when you feel part of what we are doing. Greg Vissing remembers his first SmashingConf,

I often hear from people how being involved with something at Smashing has led to unexpected things happening. Here is one such story from Eric Portis.

I’ll be trying to pay all of this forward for the rest of my career.

Thanks, Smashing!”

It’s been a lot of fun figuring out how to run events online. Working together with Amanda and Vitaly has been an absolute joy.”

We’re always happy to see your article ideas, whether you are an experienced writer or have not been published before. Don’t just take my word for it, here is what Eric Bailey had to say,

The Smashing team is friendly, whipsmart, and an absolute joy to work with. If you have been debating writing an article about working on the web, I enthusiastically encourage you to pitch them.

Happy birthday, Smashing! Here’s to many more!”

Amanda is our head of events, and she remembers this time saying,

(il)

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source http://www.scpie.org/smashing-magazine-is-fourteen/ source https://scpie1.blogspot.com/2020/09/smashing-magazine-is-fourteen.html

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