#for now take my Toy Story 4 sh-t on

[natsuki208]

The problems I have with AOT S4 are like what I HATE about Toy Story 4!

I didn’t realise until now that this pile of trash called a movie is soon turning five years old! Not only that, but it’s problems are similar to the issues with Season 4 of AOT. Now I can officially state those similarities!

(Warning! AOT spoilers for my friend and possible spoilers for those who haven’t seen TS4)

First off, the tones of both of them feel very different from their previous installments. They don’t feel like they’re direct continuations from where we last saw their separate stories - almost like a filler chapter.

Why’s that? For one thing, the characters. Take Eren for example: out of nowhere he became a sadistic, emotionless overlord as if the old Eren wasn’t good enough, even after all he went through. That makes me very ill in my mouth.

Now Woody wasn’t like that in the slightest in this fourth movie, but still, things aren’t better for him here. He gets treated like sh*t like everything that he learned from the previous three movies are wrong. Being himself eventually punished him… but I won’t get into that yet.

-

As for the rest of the cast, they were all side-lined into a van the whole movie! Similarly how our fellow Scouts weren’t introduced until the 6th episode of S4. Making room for newer characters to shine instead, which I wouldn’t have mind if these characters were… you know, interesting!

Did I also say that each cast were nerfed to just being caricatures of their former selves? Mainly in TS4, but you should notice how Sasha was reduced to just being a foodie person after her ‘you know what’.

Don’t even get me started on their smartest characters being reduced to complete morons who don’t know what to do (or think for themselves) the entire time?! One of them is now a dumba** and the other is a complete wuss!

Another thing to point out and compare is the two newest female characters: Gabi Braun and Gabby Gabby. Oh will you look at that! They both share the same name. They were both introduced as egotistic and selfish girls, and yet they eventually ‘learn’ and receive happy endings on a silver platter.

Gabi Braun took away a beloved character, met her family and we’re led to believe she learned her lesson and remains one of the few survivors in the end. As for Gabby Gabby, she was as manipulative as Stinky Pete and almost as sadistic as Lotso, yet she gets what she always wanted after she forcefully performed toy surgery on poor Woody :(

Keep in mind, I’m still very ‘meh’ on Gabi Braun but I think I point still stands on those haters. The doll on the other hand, should’ve been left in the trash!

Lastly, for now, it’s the endings.

Not gonna say much about AOT’s ending, I have my own opinions on it, but one thing it does was the separate the main from the rest of the group. One runs away with a girl who’s been verbally abusive for the whole movie, and the other died. With TS4 it really blew a fuse in me when I first watched it; whatever happened to the franchise being about ‘family stays together’ and ‘being there for your kid’?! Why the forced romance all of a sudden?!

Anyway, I’m worried about making this post too long so I’ll stop here for now. In conclusion, though I have mix feelings about AOT’s final season, it’s no secret that the problems I do have are almost like why I hate this fourth installment and wish it was never made in the first place!

(Not gonna bother showing ending images ‘cause I refuse to look at that ending again) 😡

[snoopdoodle]

OMG!! Snoop, it was amazing! I’m a little sad that, I didn’t find about you until now. Your writing is so great! And are your request open or are you not taking request right now because of the collaborative. (It’s ok if there not)You can make a part 2 of Ranboo dad Reader. 🏳️‍🌈 Anarchy [I say this with all of my favorite authors, but if I’m bothering you tell me please tell me]

Ahh!! Anarchy the beloved!! Of course you can have a part 2!! The link for part 1 is right below !! Also, if I had spaced this out like I was taught in english, this would be hella long-

FIRST PART \\ THRID PART

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Dad, but not // pt. 2

platonic!ranboo x male!reader, platonic!benchtrio x male!reader

pronouns: he/him

summary: kinda angsty second part to my story

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You cackled in the background as your son was blown up by a creeper. Your laugh was contagious as Tubbo started laughing with you. You slapped your knee from laughing so much. Tubbo tried to stand up, but he fell, which made you all laugh harder. “Don’t get an aneurysm, dad,” Ranboo told, and this just made you suffocate more. “Holy sh-i-i-i-t, hehe..” you spoke between laughter. “‘Don’t get an aneurysm’- heh-HEH” You tried to quote, but it just turned into a coughing/laughing fit. You groaned as your throat felt sore. “Dad, please don’t die,” Your son worried, and you pat his shoulder. “Not dying any time soon,” You started, your smile kind of turning forced.

You’d yet to tell the boys, Ranboo and his friends, that you would be leaving soon. You were happy and upset. You were only in England to do work. You could rent out a place here and leave it to one of your English friends who works in England as well. Maybe you could just buy a house here… no that would cost too much- “DAD! Are you ok? You’re zoning out.” Ranboo asked. You hadn’t realized it yet, but you had been ignoring Ranboo speaking to you. When Tubbo tried, you didn’t even reply. The both of them and chat had started to get worried. Ranboo ended up grabbing your shoulders and shaking them a few times.

“Y-yeah, I-I-I’m ok boys, I think I need to sit down for a second,” you informed. Now they were even more worried. You sat down on the couch and put your face in your hands. You had a killer headache. ‘I’m overworking myself.’ you thought, annoyed. You had asked your boss for a break multiple times, but he hadn’t responded. You thought about it for another second before deciding. You would skip a few days of work, hang out with the boys, then you would tell them. Or you’d tell them, then have your fun day…. days. Telling them after seems better. “Alrighty, I think we’re gonna end stream now, folks! Have a good day, bye!” Ranboo spoke. That was what snapped you out of your ideas.

Ranboo turned to you and sadly smiled. “You doing ok, pops?” He asked, He rarely used that name for you. Of course, you felt bad. You stood up, ignoring the sharp pain that came to your head. “Don’t worry about be kiddo… and I’m sorry for making you worry. I was thinking of stuff,” You answered, smiling as you felt Ranboo un-tense and lean into the hug. Tubbo huffed and walked into the hug as well. You moved your arm so it was wrapped around both of the boys. “By the way, Tubbo, do you have any Tylenol… or Aspirin?” You asked, ruining the mood, but making the 2 laugh.

“Yeah, we do. I’ll go get you some,” He spoke as he left the hug. Ranboo let go so Tubbo could get you some meds for your headache. Ranboo smiled, asking you s question. “So, what were you thinking of that had you so…” He stopped, as he couldn’t think of the word. “Disassociated?” You replied, “Yeah, I was thinking we could do something together. Me, you, Tommy, Tubbo, and maybe someone else if you want to invite someone.” You informed. Ranboo’s smile widened and he nodded his head. “Y-yeah! That sounds awesome!” He grinned. He hadn’t taken off his mask or glasses, but you could feel the happiness radiating off him.

“Ok, ok, kid. Let me get it planned, alright?” You spoke, chuckling. You had ford a smile onto your face as Tubbo came back into the room. He handed you the meds and a glass of water. You nodded a silent ‘ thank you ‘ to him. Ranboo grabbed Tubbo’s hand and dragged him to watch a movie. “You coming, dad?” he asked, you shook your head no and pointed to your phone and he gave a look of understanding. You walked outside and took note of the stormy clouds. You dialed the number and gave a smile when she answered. “Hey, Kristin,” you greeted into the phone. You smiled as she gave a polite hello back. “I need to ask you something,” you started. “Hm?” She hummed. You could hear her cooking in the background.

“I have to tell the boys that I’m goin’ back home soo, and I don’t know how..” You ranted, frowning into the phone. You heard a creak and turned around. The door was open. “Hm?” You questioned. You closed that door, didn’t you? Oh well. You walked back to the door and shut it firmly. “Well, I’d say you just flat out tell them. You should see how they take it, and then do something with them,” You laughed into the phone and shook your head. “That was my plan already!” You exclaimed with a grin. She laughed into the phone and you could hear her tap the counter. “Well I say you just go with your plan,” She told you. You grinned and nodded.

“Alrighty then, have a good day, Kristin,” you chuckled. “You too, [Name],” She told before hanging up. You held the phone, taking a deep breath. You walked back to the door, opening it softly and stepping inside. You could hear the thunder roar from outside so you were lucky to make it in soon enough. You walked through the halls. You heard a sniff and you stopped. “Hello?” You asked before stepping into the living room. Ranboo tuned to you and you could see his puffy eyes. “Are you really going back home soon?” He asked. Your eyes went wide and you sighed, putting your head down. You nodded to him and he sniffed again.

You walked back to the boy and pat his back. Tubbo sighed and put his head down, starting to tear up as well. He enjoyed having you here as much as Ranboo did. “I-Is that why you wanted to have a fun day?” He questioned and you nodded. “I was actually thinking of how I could stay longer.” Ranboo and Tubbo’s eyes widened as they listened to your explanation. “I want to stay longer, I really do kid. My company had only paid the hotel for the 2-week stay I have, so I couldn’t stay longer than that,” You told them with a frown. You sighed again and put your head into your arms.

“I’m sorry. Let’s just have a fun day together. You can invite that Tommy kid, if your parents’ll allow it Tubbo,” You sadly chuckled. Ranboo and Tubbo smiled at how you were trying to make things better. Ranboo called Tommy as Tubbo called his parents. Tubbo and Tommy’s parents agreed, so he walked on over. You all decided to have a sleepover-type thing. Tommy would stay over for the next 4 days that you are over. You all would stream, cook, vlog, and watch a couple movies. This should be fun. The first day you all hung out, you decided to do a cooking stream. You made a great bowl of pasta… besides the fact that Tommy spilled the sauce multiple times and Ranboo dropped the pasta noodles, breaking them into bits.

The second day, You all streamed a ‘you laugh, you lose’ stream. You didn’t laugh once, although you were very close. People had found it funny when you clapped to the song “Two Trucks” on beat. Ranboo’s hand had flown to his mouth, Tubbo had busted out laughing, and it took Tommy a seconds since he didn’t know what the song was. Chat had busted out laughing, and you only knew to do that because of how many times you had heard it from Ranboo. The other funny part was when someone donated a clip from the song “WAP”, and you had sung it word for word. Yeah… you successfully made the boys lose 2 lives… each.

On the third day, you all didn’t stream, but instead watched a movie. You decided to watch the Toy Story saga. All of you cried since you are all children. On the fourth day, you all went to a Halloween store that had opened early and vlogged there. It was all fun and games… till you all got kicked out cause, out of surprise and fear, you punched (and broke) one of the animatronics. The vlog was about 20 minutes long, so you thought it was pretty successful. Although, in the end, since you had run out of footage, you decided to do some small clips of you telling stories from America before your met Ranboo’s family.

And then you had the last day, today. Tomorrow you’d be going home. It was about 2 in the morning as you layed down. Captain America was playing in the background as the boys slept. Ranboo was cuddled up to your side, as was Tubbo. Tommy, however, was resting on the other side of the couch. Earlier in the night, he claimed that he didn’t need affection, but you knew he just didn’t want to get ‘picked on’ by Ranboo and Tubbo. You smiled as the boys shifted in their hold. Yeah, you’d miss them like hell. But hey, you just had the best 5 days of your life and, honest;y, you think you might be coming back soon.

[riathenowheregirl]

Gold Dust Women: My Favorite Witchy Singers

Okay, before you burn me alive with “Where’s this certain artist?!” or “Why is this certain artist not here?!” or “Who even uses Tumblr these days?”, uhmmm me bish?? It’s my safe zone. Okay, the last question was a joke. 

Can I just say that the amazing women on this list are artists I listen to all the time. They’re my favorites, so chill (I’m open for suggestions tho). This is not Rolling Stone or Billboard magazine, it’s just ya girl’s good ol’ tumblr blog. Also, I’m not saying that all of them are literal w i t c h e s, it’s just that they portray the same aesthetic through their art and music. 

Alright, now that’s settled, let’s start.

1. STEVIE NICKS 

Do I even need to explain this? Stevie is undoubtedly the Etheral Queen of them all, the Pioneer, the O.G. Supreme whose lyrical soul and spellbinding voice echoes from the distant past to the inevitable future. Everything about her oozes with witchcraft and magic starting from her iconic top hat, to her millions of intricately made shawls, down to her platform boots. Only Stevie Nicks could pull off such Not-of-this-Era outfits and she has been doing it CONSISTENTLY. She’s in a timeline of her OWN. If you listen to her music, you would notice that every song of hers is poetry, like she’s telling a story or conjuring the unknown. She’s every witchy woman’s icon and that’s a fact.

Stevie is an untouchable yet gracious legend, we’ll always be a part of her sisterhood until the day of earth’s decay. Forever the Queen of Rock N’ Roll. 

Current Favorite Stevie Lyrics:  “ You can fly swinging from your trapeze, scaring all the people...but you'll never scare me.”  |   “Once in a million years a lady like her rises. Oh no, Rhiannon, you cry, but she's gone and your life knows no answer.”

Notice how I used the word “current”? Because it always changes depending on the state my life. Here’s a more detailed post on why I love her.   

2. KATE BUSH 

“Heathcliff, it's me, I'm Cathy, I've come home, I'm so cold! Let me in through your window!”

The eccentric beauty, Kate Bush made a genius, artistic move by writing a song about the book, Wuthering Heights, written by Emily Brontë in the 1800′s. Mind you, she was only 18 when she wrote and was the first song written by a female artist that landed on top the charts. Her voice is almost as distinctive as Stevie Nicks. While Stevie’s more nasal, commanding, wailing rock n’ roll goddess, Kate’s voice was high-pitched, alarming, ghostly, queer, and fairy-like. Everything about her is Performance Art. This is a woman who is not afraid to express herself.

For starters, you might think her music is strange and weird. Trust me, I felt the same way when I first heard her songs. But then, it began to grow on me leaving floral patterns on its path. 

Favorite Kate Bush Lyrics:  “Do you want to feel how it feels? Do you want to know that it doesn't hurt me? Do you want to hear about the deal that I'm making? You, it's you and me.”

3. FLORENCE WELCH 

This one is as obvious as Stevie Nicks. Florence Welch from the band, Florence + the Machine, is a poetess, a screaming banshee, and a full-pledged Sister of the Moon. She even started a witch coven during middle school. From her red carpet looks to her everyday outfits on Instagram, Florence vibrates powerful witch energy. Not to mention she has a song called “Which Witch” and that haunting music video for Big God with levitating women. Flo is not a woman to trifle with, I’ll tell you that. 

Photos courtesy of @lillieeiger

In all her songs, Florence will bind you with magic and it’ll leave you breathless. If Stevie’s songs are poetry, hers are spells you could sing out loud. Also, if you haven’t seen her house tour, go check it now! 

Favorite Florence Welch Lyrics: “'Cause I am done with my graceless heart so tonight I'm gonna cut it out and then restart.”  |  “And in a moment of joy and fury I threw myself in the balcony like my grandmother so many years before me.”

4. LANA DEL REY

Remember when Lana used witchcraft to hex Donald Trump? It was all over the news and Twitter went wild. She was later quoted saying, “I really do believe that words are one of the last forms of magic and I’m a bit of a mystic at heart.” Oh, and she also did a collab with Stevie. 

We. Stan. Forever.

There was even a time that I MEMORIZED the monologue in the music video for Ride. ALL OF IT, HUNNY. 

Lana’s hypnotizing vocals together with her sixties baby doll dresses and Priscilla Presley hair is enough to convince me that she’s not of this era. She has a deep understanding of the beauty of past generation and the looming sadness and nostalgia that comes with it. Whenever I listen to her music, I imagine myself as a rockstar’s muse who is involved with the mafia but then I decided to leave him while taking his gun and convertible. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Favorite Lana Del Rey Lyrics: “Well, my boyfriend's in the band. He plays guitar while I sing Lou Reed. I've got feathers in my hair, I get down to Beat poetry. And my jazz collection's rare, I can play most anything.”

5. LORDE 

David Bowie didn’t call her the “future of music” for nothing. Just two albums under her belt, Lorde already proved that she will one day become a legend herself. Her music narrates an unparalleled interpretation of the anguish and fleeting charm of our youth. She knows what we’re feeling because she’s been there herself and is on the road to healing just like us. 

I think the message she’s trying to say is that we’re constantly losing grip on our innocence, and that life is often wicked so we need to accept that, grit our teeth, get on with it, and make art. She can also see color when she hears music. 

In my opinion, Lorde is one of the greatest artists of my generation. 

Favorite Lorde Lyrics: “The truth is I am a toy that people enjoy till all of the tricks don't work anymore, and then they are bored of me.”  |   “That slow burn wait while it gets dark, bruising the sun, I feel grown up with you in your car. I know it's dumb.” 

6. FKA TWIGS

Honestly, FKA Twigs is literally art in living form, a celestial angel that nobody can easily decipher. This woman has more talent in her fingertips than I could ever have in a lifetime. She somehow reminds me of a young Kate Bush; fearless, experimental, with an intoxicating voice. She never stops reinventing herself and it’s beautiful.

In FKA Twigs’ world, there are no limits, just endless galaxies. She pours her whole being in all of her songs and it shows. She’s not for the faint of heart, let me tell you that. 

Favorite FKA Twigs Lyrics:  “And I don't want to have to share our love. I try but I get overwhelmed. All wrapped in cellophane, the feelings that we had.” 

7. SKOTT 

I say this all the time, but I cannot write without Skott’s music blasting on my earphones. She grew up in a “forest commune run by outcast folk musicians” and was not exposed to contemporary music until her teen years. You would notice it in her songs. 

It’s hard to explain why, but listen to Skott’s music when there’s thunder and rain outside, then you’ll know why this woman is witchy. I kind of want her to be more popular and known, but then again, I also want to keep her to myself. Scratch that, LISTEN TO SKOTT’S MUSIC NOW. 

Start with Glitter & Gloss. 

Favorite Skott Lyrics: “Like an empty canvas, hear me cry. Like a masterpiece, I'm in your eyes. Now your colors are in front of me, we're a picture-perfect oddity.”

8. FIRST AID KIT 

I fell in love with this sister duo when I first heard their song, Emmylou, while browsing YouTube. It’s one of those moments of instant magic. Klara and Johanna Söderberg are a coven of their own. I would describe their music as “Woodland Folk laced with runes and wild flowers”. 

Their voices compliment each other so much that it reminded me of Simon & Garfunkel (they even performed their own version of America in front of Paul Simon!!!). First Aid Kit has this Woodstock seventies vibe, and you know me, I live for that sh*t. 

Favorite First Aid Kit Lyrics: “ When I run through the deep dark forest long, after this begun, where the sun would set, the trees were dead and the rivers were none. And I hope for a trace to lead me back home from this place, but there was no sound there was only me, and my disgrace.”

9. ZOLA JESUS

Zola Jesus’ music deserves to be played with an orchestra inside an abandoned castle in Transylvania while it gently rains and you’re wearing a white nightgown as you roam its empty halls. Is that too much?

 Not at all. 

Like Skott, I listen to Zola whenever I’m having writer’s block. If I ever finish my book, I’m gonna have to thank them. 

Favorite Zola Jesus Lyrics: “I'm on my bed, my bed of stones, but in the end of the night we'll rest our bones, so don't you worry. Just rest your head cause in the end of the night we'll be together again.”

10. ZELLA DAY 

Photo Credits to Harper Smith

I LOVE ZELLA DAY’S MUSIC OH MY GOODNESS. My favorite songs of her are Sweet Ophelia, Hypnotic, Man on the Moon, and Hunnie Pie. ESPECIALLY HUNNIE PIE. I cry whenever I hear that song. It’s just so pure, calming, and beautiful. 

Her music belong in the psychedelic era. 

People labeled her as the “happier version of Lana Del Rey” but I think she’s in a league of her own. She deserves more recognition, honestly! 

Favorite Zella Day Lyrics: “The older we get there's an ocean of people in places we've chosen and you know how mama keeps saying “we've gotta stop the games we're playing””. 

Hope you guys approve of my list! I really like sharing stuff that I love! Feel free to message me for more suggestions, I’d really appreciate to know more witchy artists out there. We’re all in a huge coven of sisterhood. 

Thanks for reading!

Love, 

Ria  🌙

P.S.

Please follow my blog!!! THANK YOU  🔮

[myhahnestopinion]

The AARONS 2018 - Best TV Episode

Peak TV is tearing me apart trying to binge-watch every show that is epic, so defending individual chapters of these shows is a good way to remind oneself to not get so lost in the big picture. Here are The Aarons for Best TV Episode: 

#10. “Captain Underpants and the Costly Conundrum of the Calamitous Claylossus” (The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants, Season 1, Episode 7)

Even more so than the fun but formulaic movie of last year, The Epic Tales of Captain Underpants embraces the irreverent spirit of Dav Pilkey’s children’s books. This charming childishness is no more prominent than in “The Costly Conundrum of the Calamitous Claylossus,” in which the latest vile villain brings the world of the Wedgie Warrior from its traditional genial 2D animation to 3D Claymation, threatening its survival... due to, as the characters note, the budget cuts to their show needed to maintain such animation. This meta-narrative proved that, when it comes to the colossal undertaking of retaining the joy of Pilkey’s series, the Netflix Series is certainly wearing the pants.

#9. “A House Divided” (Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia, Season 3, Episode 10)

Trollhunters rose above the basic tropes at the backbone of its story thanks to the creative spirit of creator Guillermo del Toro. For its final season, del Toro’s influence was felt harder than ever, particularly in “A House Divided,” which marks protagonist Jim Lake’s fateful loss of innocence, a common theme among the director’s works. Jim’s journey has left him with an impossible choice, which renders the viewer nervously unable to breathe for the duration of the episode, only to culminate in an unforgettable ending that features only the sound of breathing. While spin-off series 3 Below may be off to a good start, it will be difficult for any of del Toro’s planned Tales of Arcadia to match the heights of his subterranean world of trolls.

#8. “I’m Not the Person I Used to Be” (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Season 4, Episode 8)

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend’s final season is off to an affecting start, but has suffered from a sense of place-setting in its first half, the blessing and the curse of its extended episode order this year. However, the series’ endgame seems to have finally begun in its tight-knit mid-season finale, which saw the return of season 1 mainstay Greg like you’ve never seen him before… literally. Skylar Astin gets off on the right foot as the recasting of the role, a backstage change used within universe to demonstrate and further develop Rebecca’s changing sense of self as she seeks happiness and reconciliation, noble pursuits that make for notable television. That doesn’t sound so crazy now, does it?

#7. “Winner” (Better Call Saul, Season 4, Episode 10)

If Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has made excellent television out of the pursuit of personal growth, then Better Call Saul’s moral decay can perhaps be designated its mirror image. As with all of the show’s season finales, “Winner” is a product of bad decisions on the part of the characters, and great decisions on the part of the show’s creators. The episode acts as a microcosm of a season filled with exhilarating schemes, striking cinematography, and poignant decisions, culminating in a turn of events that remains shocking despite being known as inevitable. The episode title says it all. This one’s a winner.

#6. “Legends of To-Meow-Meow” (Legends of Tomorrow, Season 4, Episode 8)

As noted in its ranking in the Best TV Shows of the year, there is a large assortment of gonzo episodes of Legends of Tomorrow that deserve distinguished praise, but the show might have snuck its most awesomely oddball episode in just under the wire for this awards show. A teammate’s transformation into a feline following a regretful change to history is but the cat-alyst of an episode that illustrates the multiple revisions to the Legends of Tomorrow (aka Custodians of the Chronology aka Sirens of Space Time) timeline via retro-TV-themed intros, explicitly mocks the comparatively tame nature of the concurrent running “Elseworlds” crossover, and, yes, teaches kids helpful lessons through the power of singing puppets. It’s an episode brimming with loveable moments, but all knit together with a touching story of a lost love that perfectly illustrates why Legends of Tomorrow has clawed its way up to the best of the Arrowverse.

#5. “Time’s Up for the Gang” (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Season 13, Episode 4)

Always Sunny has never shied away from addressing hot-button issues, tackling racism, abortion, and gun control with a biting satirical edge in just its first batch of episodes. Yet, it’s still shocking how much dark humor the show can unearth in the most unlikely of places, a delicate balancing act that succeeds because the show is keenly aware of where its jokes should fall. Written by series standout Megan Ganz, “Time’s Up for the Gang” puts its hilariously-horrible cast of characters through the ringer over their past behavior with rollicking gall and technical grace. There’s likely no other show that can maintain such quality and relevance thirteen seasons in, suggesting that Always Sunny’s time is far from over.

#4. “Jeremy Bearimy” (The Good Place, Season 3, Episode 4)

Written by the bearer of one of Twitter’s best accounts, and the mind behind last year’s eclectic entry “Dance Dance Resolution,” Megan Amram, Jeremy Bearimy brought The Good Place’s third season roaring to life in wild fashion. Kickstarting with the reveal that our universe’s true nature is more “Jeremy Bearimy” than timey-wimey, the episode features a slow descent into existential crises that is, despite the show’s wonderfully heightened reality, presented in the most relatable of fashions: a truly, truly disgusting bowl of chili. The episode’s major resonance lies in the credo cultivated in its final moments, a commitment to doing good in the face of inescapable punishment, but it’s also an unbearably funny journey to get there.

#3. “Free Churro” (BoJack Horseman, Season 5, Episode 6)

BoJack Horseman’s most remarkable episodes, such as previous Aaron winners “Fish Out of Water” and “Stupid Piece of Sh*t,” have been those that have toyed with its animation format. “Free Churro” breaks these conventions in a completely different manner, isolating the entire action of the episode to a single monologue via eulogy delivered by Will Arnett’s BoJack. This striped-down focus parallels the striping down of BoJack’s psyche through a rambling, soul-churning soliloquy that lays bare BoJack’s tragic backstory. As it goes on, the monologue leads the protagonist and the viewer to the harrowing realization that perhaps there will not be a happy ending waiting at the end of all this. It’s heavy stuff, but the cherry on the top of a great episode is the comedic pay-off to the piece, in case you were afraid that “Free Churro” was entire free of cheer.

#2. “Party Monster: Scratching the Surface” (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Season 4, Episode 3)

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, like BoJack Horseman, is a show that address a history of abuse in unexpectedly uproarious ways, and, like BoJack Horseman, produced one of the best episodes of the year by breaking its Unbreakable formula. Framed as an expose documentary on Kimmy’s once-captor, the Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne aka DJ Slizzard, “Party Monster: Scratching the Surface” is at once a staggering assortment of long-running gags, a painfully precise mockery of documentary formats (including riotous instances of narrative tangents and stock footage), and a scathing lampooning of how misogynistic radicalization takes hold.  The show has always been fueled by a righteous fury, but with the fourth season’s no-holds-barred approach to its darker material that never sacrifices the rapid-fire humor, it’s sad that Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt will be ending this year, when it seems like it’s still just scratching the surface.

AND THE BEST TV EPISODE OF 2018 IS...

#1. “Teddy Perkins” (Atlanta, Season 2, Episode 6)

Unexpected even in a show that’s routinely impossible to predict, “Teddy Perkins” is undoubtedly the strangest episode of TV all year… and certainly the best. Fulfilling, and perhaps exceeding, the bizarreness of Atlanta’s oft-cited inspiration Twin Peaks, the episode follows Lakeith Stanfield’s Daryl quest for a particular piano that lands him in the decrepit mansion of the peculiar eponymous Teddy Perkins, an eerie, ersatz late-in-life Michael Jackson, played by star Donald Glover in extensive make-up. It’s surreal without sacrificing structure (in fact, the episode aired unbroken by commercial to enhance the immersion) or the show’s social commentary. For the entire extended-length of the unnerving and unforgettable episode, viewers are rankled by the horrifying possibilities of a show that has so unequivocally shattered all boundaries of television, including the possibility of a fateful end for a beloved central character. A standalone dreamlike masterpiece strengthened by its relation to a superb show, “Teddy Perkins” will undoubtedly perk up your ears if you’ re not already all in on Atlanta.

Yes, I know my puns got worse as the episodes got better.

NEXT UP: THE 2018 AARON FOR BEST TV PERFORMANCE!

[smokeybrand]

Rerun

Apparently, Sylvester Stallone and Dolph Lundgren had a show they were pitching to studios. It was said to be a throwback to all f that, over-the-top, action from the 80s. ABC, owned by Disney, was the only studio to pass on the pitch. They didn’t even take the meeting. Sources say that they passed because the show isn’t “female focused”. As you can probably guess, the white boys are nettled. There’s a myriad of reasons why Disney wouldn’t take this meeting, none of which is sexist or white boy erasure. Just off the top of my head:

Stars are dead in America. There are only narratives and franchises now. No one in the age range of Disney productions even care about Stallone and Lundgren. I’m old enough to remember Rocky IV and i don’t care anything about that.

No one wants to see The Expendables on ABC. Do you know how much that type of show would cost? How much it would have to be edited to just make air? And that’s before Disney gets a hold of it. More than that, what the f*ck kind of story is that to tell in a serialized manner? A twelve hour long Expendables film? Hard pass!

This ain’t the 80s. Cats aren’t looking for a ton of testosterone and bullets in their programing anymore. Disney simply doesn’t make, and has never made, that type of programming. Getting upset because they’re staying on brand is dumb.

Speaking of brand, Disney has gameplan and this type of stuff doesn’t fit into it.Do they have an agenda focusing on women? Obviously. That’s where the future of cinema is heading. Women and minorities are starting to have a voice, a very loud one, and it’s only going to get louder. In this culture of SJW and #METOO, it only makes sense to cater to that growing audience. Black Panther and Captain Marvel made a billion dollars. The female led Star Wars trilogy has made almost 4 billion in two films with a third coming out in December. Where’s the money in going backwards?

Look, i get it. White dudes are seeing their grip on everything slipping, even if it’s just a little bit. They’re looking down the road and seeing a world where they are treated just like everyone else and they hate it. These dudes are losing parts and focus from Hollywood. It’s terrifying for these people o they lash out with “feminazi” and clandestine conspiracies of “erasing white culture”. Due, shut the f*ck up with all that. Why can’t Michel B. Jordan play Johnny storm, a fictional comic book character, when Emma Stone got to play Allison Ng, a real life, still alive, Asian woman? Cats are upset Ariel is being portrayed by a black woman. Ariel is a f*cking cartoon fish girl, man! How is that a problem?

I always hear it’s not fair because if they cast a white man in a traditionally black role, there would be outrage. Yes, of course there would be! Black people have had to fight for everything in America. We had to fight to literally be considered people and not chattel. A white person being cast as Blade would be far more damaging to our collective culture and identity than, say, having Idris Elba be James Bond. But that white privilege precludes any notion of sympathy for the “not pink dicks”. I’ve heard people complain about The Whiz after it got remade a few years back. Cats were upset as f*ck that there was an all black Wizard of Oz, saying that it as racist and unfair that there isn’t an all white production. Bro, The Wizard of Oz IS an all white production. Are you serious? It’s that disconnect and denial where all of this vitriol stems. There’s no agenda against white dudes, just a bunch of insecure assholes throwing a tantrum because there are more people playing with there toys than they like.

Ultimately, there’s no stopping this train. I don’t care for all of the PC nonsense that’s being dragged along with it, but i understand why it’s there. This is all brand new. Cats need to figure out that balance. We live in a world where the most successful franchise in the history of cinema, is being lead by women. Where a first time black director can create a scathing indictment about white people and they call that sh*t great cinema. Peele won an Oscar for Get Out and i couldn’t believe that sh*t. Black Panther made a billion dollars and was a hit around the world. That movie is a microcosm of the black experience in America. That sh*t wasn’t for anyone else and yet, EVERYONE went to go see it. Crazy Rich Asians blew the f*ck up and made Awkwafina a certifiable Star. I mean, she was before, ma is MAD talented, but now she has her own film in The Goodbye and there is a ton of Oscar buzz surrounding her. I’m not saying there isn’t a place for those 80s types of films. We got John Wick. What i am saying is that there is room for both Wick AND Atomic Blonde. What i am saying is i’d be more inclined to see Atomic Blonde over Wick because, in the words of Oscar winner Anthony Peele, “I’ve seen that movie before.” And there’s no amount infantile tantrums that will ever change my mind. Or anyone’s mind.

Progress marches onward. Representation steadily increases. Little by little, white, male, faces are being minimized and a more complete picture of the world is growing. We still have a ways to go, but i’m all for it. How is any of that something to stand against? How is any of that a thing worth fighting against? How sh*tty of a person do you have to be to believe any of that is wrong?

[thewadapan]

I rewrote an obscure Transformers comic from the 1980s.

Creator’s Commentary

It’s 1984. Marvel’s four-issue Transformers miniseries has been a smash hit, and they’re already expanding it into a full monthly ongoing. Marvel’s UK branch is looking to import the book, but they have a problem - the newsagents want weekly issues, and there simply isn’t enough comic to fill those pages.

To meet demand, they bring on Simon Furman to write extra comics weaving into the US material. Because he’s the only one with any idea what's going on, he continues to churn out Transformers stories for almost ten years - with only occasional contributions from other authors.

“Peace” is one such interloper.

Written by letterer/editor Richard Starkings under his “Richard Alan” pseudonym for the 1989 Transformers Annual (which was actually published in 1988), it presents one of Cybertron’s alternate futures. Its exact placement in continuity was contentious - even within the comics’ own letters pages, where the editors (writing in-character as Transformers) gave several contradictory answers to questions regarding its canonicity.

The comic opens when the final Decepticon is killed by the Wreckers - an elite group of Autobot shock-troopers. With the war over, the very-very-tired Autobot leader Rodimus Prime announces that he’s going to step down - letting the Wreckers’ leader, Springer, take his place.

Unbeknownst to the Autobots, not all of the Decepticons are dead after all - the double agent Triton still hides amongst their ranks. In an attempt to incite conflict, Triton suggests that Ultra Magnus would make a better leader. The Technobot combiner team agrees, and an argument breaks out between them and the Wreckers. Whirl argues with Triton, Triton punches Whirl, Roadbuster pulls a gun on Triton, Scattorshot shoots Roadbuster, Sandstorm shoots Triton, and the war begins again.

It’s a grimly interesting story, one forever doomed to remain a footnote in Transformers history. Fittingly for a bot of subterfuge, Triton’s alternate mode was a submarine - at least according to Dreadwind in the letters pages. Marvel UK fanboy-turned-creator Nick Roche much later reinvented him as a member of Squadron X - sworn enemies of the Wreckers in IDW Publishing’s Transformers continuity.

In its most recent reprint as part of the twenty-second volume of The Definitive G1 Collection, “Peace” was left stranded as an afterthought alongside Regeneration One - with the rest of the UK strips being collected across the first twenty volumes alongside their contemporary US material. That partwork was curated by Simon Furman, who still writes Transformers stories to this day - despite pleas from some corners of the fandom for him to just call it quits already.

Richard Starkings, meanwhile, went on to found Comicraft - bringing lettering into the 21st century by pioneering the use of digital fonts in comic books.

I wasn’t alive when most of that happened. My first brush with Transformers - at least, as far as I remember - came when I saw Transformers: Armada’s Land Military Mini-Con Team on the shelves of my local Woolworths (a much-loved now-defunct chain of British department stores). I didn’t get it at the time, but when our birthdays rolled around (or maybe Christmas? I was young; I barely remember any of this and neither do my parents) my brother and I got a bunch of Mini-Cons. Our first brush with Generation 1 would come much later, when we found a knackered Strafe at a car boot sale.

For a long time, my only experience with Transformers fiction came in the form of the cartoons - they didn’t show Armada on Freeview so I missed most of that, but Energon and Cybertron both aired in their entirety on CITV. I had the pack-in comics, and the Armada and Energon annuals - which basically just collected random Dreamwave comics without context. All of which is to say that, at the time, I felt pretty starved for good Transformers stories.

Finding the 1989 Annual in a secondhand bookshop, then, was like finding the holy grail.

I won’t lie. I had basically no idea who any of these characters were, or what was going on. But damn if I didn’t pore over every inch of those pages trying to work it out. And I sure as hell was gonna sign the thing, lest those abominable Firecons paid me a visit to finally incinerate what was presumably the only Annual they’d missed back in 1988.

Years passed. Some movies came out. I drifted away from Transformers for a while after my parents said “aren’t you a little too old for these” one time too many. Well, it was either that or the hordes of overpriced Bumblebees clogging the shelves at the time.

Eventually, though, I was drawn back to the franchise. A Humble Bundle of IDW’s comics and Thrilling 30 Sandstorm was all it took.

For some reason, at some point I decided to start a meme page. I don’t know why. Please don’t look at it. I don’t want to talk about it. Most of the edits I made were atrocious, although I’ll admit there’s a few I still find pretty funny. I actually referenced Transformers a bunch of times. There was this whole thing where I tried to work in a plot, so really the whole thing was much closer to a terrible webcomic than an actual meme page.

Perhaps the most involved reference to the franchise came in the form of a relettering of “The Night the Transformers Saved Christmas”, a 4-page comic originally published in a 1985 issue of Women’s Day. Why did I make that thing? I don’t know. Maybe a little more context would help.

Y’see, waaay back when the first Armada toys hit shelves, fans weren’t too impressed - to say the least. They’d seen pictures of highly-articulated prototypes, only to find that articulation completely absent in the finalised figures. To make matters worse, the first pack-in comic was pretty lacklustre - thanks to the trilingual dialogue squeezed into its speech bubbles.

One enterprising fan (Yartek, now better known as Blueshift) expressed their dissatisfaction by completely rewriting that pack-in comic’s dialogue - reimagining Hot Shot as a deranged, jam-obsessed cannibal. It was an idle joke, but one that tapped into the collective consciousness of the fandom at the time. Its popularity grew to the point where it was even referenced on the license plate of a later Hot Shot figure.

By Blueshift’s own admission, the comic isn’t all that great. Nowadays, the atmosphere surrounding Armada’s launch is but a hazy memory for most of the fandom - leaving the comic’s depiction of Hot Shot looking more like an uncomfortably ableist caricature than anything approximating a real parody.

But I digress. I was barely aware of Transformers when all of this happened. My point is that JaAm was like an abridged series, only presented as a comic, and I thought that was a neat idea. I was looking to make a post that was a little bit different for Christmas Day, and remembered the existence of that old Women’s Day comic. Thus was born “its christmas... so what??”

My process for that one was pretty straightforward. After reading the comic once to get a broad sense of its plot, I went through it again panel-by-panel - blocking out each narration box with an autoshape and adding my own text. Mustard features pretty heavily in it... I guess as a reference to jam? Honestly, I was writing this thing entirely by the seat of my pants and - with the exception of the choice panels I’m including here - it’s pretty unfunny as a result. I’m not proud of it. Even at the time, I felt like I could’ve done better. So, half a year later, I did.

When the mood eventually took me, there was only one option in my head - Richard Starkings’ “Peace”. This time, I took a moment to plan the whole thing out in my head before diving in.

I think my idea for the plot came about simply as a result of Rodimus’ body language and expressions on the second page. I reckon I looked at them and thought, “man, he looks like he’s just caught a whiff of something pretty nasty.” From there, my mind jumped to Triton... the culprit, naturally.

When you go back and read some of the early Marvel stuff, there’s a bit of dissonance between the Furman-esque galaxy-spanning conflicts and the more offbeat “the Transformers crash a wrestling match / concert / car wash” stories written by US author Bob Budiansky. At times, the Transformers could be figures of real gravitas - and at others, they were almost like children.

For both “its christmas” and “PASS” I tried to lean into the latter interpretation as much as possible. As a reflection of that, the dialogue and narration - both written in Times New Roman - are completely devoid of punctuation, capital letters, or special formatting. Well, mostly...

There’s a few instances in “its christmas” where capital letters are used for emphasis.

Roadbuster’s dialogue gets to keep its punctuation, and is written in (I think) Arial, because he’s supposed to be more mature than the rest.

Each comic had one panel which retained some of its original dialogue - the fourth on the first page of “its christmas”, and the fourth on the fourth page of “PASS”.

There’s a couple of instances in the comic where characters use swear words, only the wrong letter’s censored - “sh*t” became “*hit”, “f*ck” became “*uck”. That’s simply an artefact of the comic’s origins in my old meme page, where that was a running joke.

In addition to changing the text, I also made a few visual edits...

I changed the comic’s title from “PEACE” to “PASS” (as in, to pass gas) by chopping up and rotating bits of it.

I changed the credits for “RICHARD ALAN” (writer) and “GLIB” (letterer) to “ME” and “ME AGAIN”.

On the fifth page, I rotated Springer’s, Ultra Magnus’ and Sandstorm’s mouths by 180 degrees - changing them from horrified grimaces to jaunty smirks. That’s why they’re kind of lopsided relative to the rest of their expressions! Honestly, the original version looks pretty strange to me now.

I likewise modified Sandstorm’s and Ultra Magnus’ expressions in the first panel of the final page, and Nosecone’s in the second panel.

I scribbled out the question mark in the little “THE END?” box on the final page. This is the definitely the end; no need to beat around the bush.

The idea to make Roadbuster a butt monkey stemmed from the fact that he was the only non-triple-changer to appear on the first page. I saw that panel with the four of them together and thought “one of these guys is not like the others.” And of course, I knew that he’d be dead in a few more pages.

Once I’d established Springer as a bully, I started to get a sense for what life was like amongst the Autobots - but there were still things I wanted to leave open to interpretation...

Why does Roadbuster hang around with the other Autobots so persistently, when all he receives is abuse?

Is Triton’s fixation on “cred” overblown, or is it the only reason he’s survived as long as he has?

Is Rodimus really past his Prime?

Who’s really the coolest Autobot?

Are the Autobots inherently bad people, or simply products of their environment?

If they’re the latter, does that excuse their actions?

If these are the Autobots... then what were the Decepticons like?

Here’s some other miscellaneous notes...

There’s a single speech bubble on the fourth page where the speaker’s off-panel. In the original comic it belonged to Triton, shouting “HEY!” Here, I like to think it’s Whirl speaking.

In the narration of the second panel, I refer to the Transformers as “car robots” - a nod to the Japanese name of the Transformers: Robots in Disguise series.

Rodimus’ “light their darkest hour” line is, of course, a quote from the 1986 animated Transformers movie. Yes, I’m as tired of those references as you are, but no, I couldn’t resist.

I can’t remember if it was deliberate, but I’m pretty sure “if you catch my drift” was a nod to The Transformers: More than Meets the Eye - where original character Drift stars as Rodimus’ third-in-command.

Speaking of More than Meets the Eye - when it was relaunched as Lost Light, Rodimus got a brand new purple colour scheme. In “Pass”, Rodimus agonises over whether or not to get that same paint job.

“Mucho cred” is kind of a memetic phrase amongst readers of the superhero web serial Worm. I feel like “cred” is one of those inherently funny words (along with “cahoots”), so that was enough to justify its inclusion here. If you’ve somehow made it this far into this post, trust me when I say that Worm is a rabbit hole well worth tumbling down.

“Peace” has a very strong atmosphere. It’s about a group of individuals - who’ve known nothing but conflict for thousands of years - suddenly finding themselves with nobody to point their guns at. That exact same scenario played out decades later in IDW Publishing’s Transformers continuity, where it was explored in much greater depth - but in just six standalone pages, “Peace” presents its broad themes with impressive clarity.

I think we’re very much invited to root for Triton - he’s a real worm, but he’s also an underdog. When characters are created whole cloth in Transformers stories, they’re marked for death.

“Pass”, on the other hand, is about a group of kids who’ve lost all sense of perspective. The most important thing to each of the group’s members is how they are perceived by the rest. They’ve been living under ever-increasing social pressure, and things are finally reaching a boiling point - and people die as a result.

And I say “kids”, but the truth is that I still see these dynamics amongst grown adults today - admittedly without the death. For any given subculture, you’re going to find ingroups, outgroups, and the awkward middle ground between them. If I thought there was a clear-cut solution, I would’ve put it in the comic. But oftentimes - like I said in the closing panels - there isn’t really anyone at fault.

If you fart in public, don’t stress about it too much. Nobody really minds. Just own up. And whatever you do, don’t try to pass the blame - or else...

As one final nod to Marvel UK’s Transformers comics... here are some short AtoZ profiles for the entire cast!

You can follow me on twitter if you want to see more of my Transformers ramblings. The rest of my writing can be found right here on this blog - I recommend starting with Everything Is Red Now, a dumb comic about Spider-Man.

[ursae-minoris-world]

Fans tend to forget that most Voltron viewers are casual viewers who don’t notice all the foreshadowing

I think a lot of people get frustrated with Voltron’s writing because sometimes it feels like we’re waiting for so long between the moment when we suspected something due to foreshadowing and the big reveal. What makes it worse is that in the meantime we keep projecting how we would like it to happen. And with fanfiction writers, comic artists and so on, we also see how others see it and we get excited about it, and sometimes are a bit disappointed when what happens in the show is not how we expected.

For instance, one of the first things that lets you suspect that Keith might have galra blood is in “return to the Balmera” when he interacts with Galra technology with his hand and it works. At least it’s the first thing I’ve personally noticed (I know he had his knife since episode one, but you couldn’t conclude much about it aside that it seemed important to him). And then evidence piles up, and the wait is kind of agonizing specially considering how we see Keith getting anxious about it...until the actual reveal in “Blade of Marmora”, 12 episodes later, right ?

Well yes, if you noticed this. Thing is... I’m pretty sure most viewers don’t.

Look, I’ve got 3 irl friends who are watching Voltron. They’re all adults, and I wouldn’t even call them “casual watchers” because they can be quite analytical in the media they consume, and some of them are actually storytellers themselves (in one case in a professional way as the person is a comic artist). At least two of them had realized Pidge’s identity from the photo in the pilot episode (which I had missed hahaha), so they’re definitely not blind.

None of them had caught that anything was weird with Shiro after his return. They all were REALLY surprised and not entirely convinced when I talked to them about clone theory and possible brainwashing.

In my case, when Shiro (or Kuron) escaped in “the Journey”, I was already wary at how easy his escape was, and was wondering if it was set up. When he saw that operation room with that other Shiro strapped to the table... for me it was such a punch in the gut that I literally had to pause the episode while cursing like a sailor and trying to catch my breath. Seriously.

Well... None of my friends had noticed anything. They just thought it was part of Shiro / Kuron’s flashback, and they hadn’t thought that usually his flashbacks are triggered by something...

So I asked one of my friends when she had started noticing about Keith’s origins. She told me “well given he looks entirely human, I hadn’t suspected anything at all until the Blade of Marmora episode.”

I’m putting the rest behind a "read more” because as usual this got really long.

Same with Keith becoming a Blade. I think a clever viewer realizes as soon as he sees the BOM episode that it looks kind of like an initiation. I personally only realized it in “Best laid plans” when Kolivan stepped in when Keith wanted to go on what he called a “suicide mission”. I thought something along the lines of “wait Kolivan why are you stepping in here he’s not one of your... oh sh!t he is one of your Blades now, isn’t he ?!” and Thace calling Keith a fellow Blade cemented it. So I got excited : are we going to see Keith join the Blades next season ? But, it was not addressed at all in s3, so I thought the show wasn’t going that route and that I had gotten excited over nothing. And then season 4 , 13 episodes after the BOM episode ? Keith joins the Blades. I was super excited first and then when he left Voltron I thought  “nooo I wanted it BUT NOT LIKE THAT !!!” lol.

I haven’t asked any of my friends about that. But I bet the casual watcher’s reaction is... to not think about this at all until they see Keith being a Blade in “Code of Honnor” and go “Oh ! Cool ! Keith’s a Blade, now !”

From the 2 more in depth conversations I had, my friends hadn’t noticed anything about Keith and Shiro’s backstory either, aside from “they knew each other”. They hadn’t realized at all that Keith got expelled from the garrison around the time where the Kerberos mission failed, and that those facts could be linked. We’re all here, trying to imagine it, writing / reading I don’t know how many “pre-kerberos” metas, fanfictions, fancomics, edits, etc. The average viewer probably just realizes they knew each other and seemed to be friends (and some even miss that). Even if they are curious about the back-story in the moment, when they don’t get it they don’t think much about it.

And look at Allura’s space magic ark : there are 17 episodes between Allura using magic to heal the Balmera, and her using it again against Haggar in “Blackout” ; then 13 episodes again before she uses it in “a New Defender”, and then 6 before the “White Lion”. Frustrating ? Yes. I bet the average, casual viewer, doesn’t think much about it and goes “oh, right, she does have space magic, that’s cool !” when she does use it.

And 23 episodes between Keith’s dad explaining that Keith’s mom gave him the BOM knife in “Blade of Marmora” and Keith finally finding Krolia in “Bloodlines”. But not every watcher expected Keith to find his mom. I know I hoped he’s find some answers, but I didn’t expect him to actually find her.

So here we are, waiting for season 6, and being impatient that “project Kuron” ark to finally come to an end, because we have been worried about it since season 3. Well, if, like me, the foreshadowing about Shiro’s arm being used to alter his memories in “Shiro’s escape” (s2) made you worry, then you’ve been anxious about it quite some time now.

After all, it’s been 14 episodes since “the Journey” so it feels about time for this to come to an end... Which is not that much longer than for Keith’s galra reveal (13 episodes) or Keith becoming a Blade (13 episodes). I admit it’s a particularly distressing ark : for “Kuron” who is in a dreadful situation ; for Shiro, if there is a double, because if that’s not Shiro... where is Shiro ? Is he ok ? Is he even alive ?! (oh please let him be alive). For the rest of the team, because of the way Haggar uses Kuron to spy on them. For Keith because he will be impacted by anything that affected Shiro, and because it really seems to me that his departure from Voltron was at least in part due to feeling rejected by Shiro (and the team).

But the casual viewer ? The casual viewer has only realized something was wrong in season 5 when he saw Haggar actually watch through Kuron’s eyes, and with the mindscape incident. He’s certainly hooked now on what will happen next, but not nearly as worried as the viewer who has suspicions since s3 (or even before).

And those viewers ? The viewers who catch the foreshadowing, and who try to see what’s coming ? They are a very little part of the general viewership of the show. And I’m just talking about the engaged viewer who notices stuff. The fans who discuss all that online, listen to every interview, dissect the show image by image, write long metas, or fanfictions or create art around it ? A very very small fraction of the viewership. We’re immersed in it; because well... we interact, and because we see those who interact (for the best and the worse) with the various creators of the show but... a lot of the viewers just enjoy their episodes, don’t dwell on them, and move on until the next season.

Voltron is written in layers so that different kinds of viewers can enjoy it !

Don’t forget that the most important target are young children who might want to play with the toys. Most of them will enjoy the fight sequences, the action, the funny stuff. Later, they’ll remember something like “oh I watched this show, the transformation sequence was cool, my fav lion was the red one and my fav character was Pidge !” and maybe a few of the most significant plot events. Maybe.

Older children might catch a bit more of the story, character arks, and themes. And start to enjoy the more emotional scenes.

The casual teenage or adult viewer will just... go with the flow and enjoy the plot twists when they happen.

The fans of the 80′s Voltron (another target, specially considering that they can have children in the age of watching too)  will mostly either enjoy the changes, or be frustrated about them. They will enjoy shout outs like Sven in “Hole in the Sky” or Allura’s pink armor, and so on. Other than that, their level of involvement can vary from “casual viewer” to “fan”.

Attentive viewers will notice some foreshadowing. They’ll probably be more engaged than the casual watcher because they’ll be more curious about how things will get solved. They might get frustrated when it takes to long to unfold, but mostly they should enjoy the story. (That was me while watching the first 2 seaons). I think attentive watchers are already a minority in the viewership. Honestly, most people I know are not that analytic about what they watch, and are casual watchers, whatever they’re watching.

And then, fans who are attentive watchers but also discuss and exchange theories on internet, and as such, miss even less of the clues ? They are the most engaged, but obviously also the most frustrated. We notice the most, we get more excited about it, we have more expectations because, as we’ve seen the signs, we start thinking about how we would like the story ark to be solved. Even if it feels there are many fans because we see a lot of them in our online experience... they are a very small part of the general viewership.

So when people get frustrated that we don’t have the answers for everything yet, and say it’s bad writing that it takes so long, or that some stuff isn’t addressed immediately... I’d like them to consider that the show isn’t written only for them. It’s actually quite impressive that this cartoons provides enough depth for us to be involved that much, to make crazy theories because foreshadowing, to make big character analysis because they are that well developed. In many tv shows, even ones for adults, you just can’t analyze that far. Because there’s just not that much to analyze !

But at the same time, it is still targeted towards kids. And it is still meant mainly as, well... commercials for robot toys.

Also, Voltron is clearly written as one, long, story. The seasons are only chapters. It doesn’t work like, say... Doctor Who, where every season is a story ark on its own that reaches a conclusion. It is normal to still have questions at the end of a new season. When we will have all the answers... the story will have reached it’s ending !

-----

So yeah, just my take on this, and I might be wrong but... really, I keep seeing fans being frustrated and considering that every watcher experiences the cartoon as they do but... I know that they don’t. A lot of people don’t.

And yes, people, it’s a cartoon for children. Stop comparing it to stuff written only for adults. Here the writers have to juggle so that children stay engaged and that adult viewers still have fun. And they managed to have a part of the viewers who have become deeply engaged fans. Honestly, I find it quite amazing.

[wewalkadifferentpath]

20 Day Shadowhunters Countdown Gratitude List!

So, as some of you know by now, I’ve decided to do a thing where I give a shout-out to some of my favourite blogs, works, stories, etc. as a way of expressing gratitude for everyone who’s struggled through this painful hiatus and all of the times before with me. You all contribute so much to this beautiful community and I can’t thank everyone enough for creating, sharing, and freaking out about content with me on this ridiculous but amazing hellsite  I’ll be counting down the days until the S3 premiere by 5′s. This week, on t-minus 15 days and counting, is 15 of the most memorable SH fanfics I’ve ever read, in no particular order*:  

*(if you want yours taken off of the list please let me know and I’ll do so asap. Also I’ve done my best to tag everyone based on their ao3 profile/username but if I tag the wrong person or something please let me know!)

1. Destiny Calls by clockworkswan y’all this is legit one of the most impressive pieces of fanfic I’ve ever read in my entire life, it’s literally almost as long as all three Lord of the Rings books put together. It was also one of the first multi-chapters I ever read, and the description of Magnus has stuck with me for my entire time in the fandom and as a writer. Beautiful imagery and characterization, 10/10 would recommend but 0/10 for trying to read it in 2 days like I did @clockworkswans

2. takes on any shape by oh_la_fraise also one of the first I ever read, and right from the description had me snorting. Such an adorable concept and really entertaining and beautiful to read- you’ve got Magnus as a kid, you’ve got bad-ass Catarina, what more could you want? @ohlafraise 3. The Personal Assistant of Magnus Bane by MenckensChrestomethy holy fucking fuck this is funny. I LITERALLY did a spit take the first time I read this with the soup I was eating, at the first two lines of the second chapter. I also just now realized looking it over that the piece about spinach puffs must have implanted in my brain and inspired my Perils of Memory and Spinach Puffs story like numerous months later, so I’m gonna have to go credit that! I’ll leave y’all with this quote from the fic too, which has been like a lens for how I interpret Magnus’s character in many ways since reading it:  “Magnus is a good man… But he is not a nice one” @menckenschrestomethy 4. Somebody out there by mckvch (RaiseYourVoice) (Saphael) I included this on my ace-friendly fic rec list too, but I’d seriously recommend it to anyone who likes Saphael. My first serious Saphael fic, the first time I’d seen “asexual” in fanfic, and just an overall super pleasant and easygoing story that I’d come back to every now and again @mckvch

5. Rainy Nights and Sunny Mornings by NotEvenThat y’all I did not even stand a chance with this fic. Ragnor, Magnus and Alec being raised together and protective af over each other, Magnus being bad-ass AF and hella powerful... just, yeah. Definitely stuck with me, and one particular scene makes me cry every fucking time I read it. @facialteeth 6. The Chariot by bumblebeesknees this is probably one of the most recent ones I’ve read on this list, but it’s already firmly lodged in the study the crap out of this to become a better writer category. A really interesting, real take on Alec and Magnus post 2x20 and a great demonstration of the ways in which relationships build tension (and the ways in which a writer can build tension, enough to make the reader totally hooked and hating their life the whole time they read it) *I can’t find a tumblr for this person, anyone know?  7. an awfully big adventure by Thealmostrhetoricalquestion this made me bawl my friggen eyes out, and laugh, and just.. feels, all the way through. I’m always in love with Future!Malec and I’m normally quite protective of the standard Lightwood-Bane family composition but I fell in LOVE with this family, hard. Just, read it, seriously @thealmostrhetoricalquestion 8. Tired Hearts by DannyAnne another Saphael one. This one stuck with me so much that I actually organized a little bit of a campaign to track it down at one point. Just, beautiful writing, beautiful concept. Beautiful. @boldbones   9. that all depends what you qualify as friends by ringerxo this is an interesting and well-done take on the whole “Magnus is closed off and uses flashiness to deflect from his vulnerability” trope. It also now sort of stands as a study in what Malec could have been like in the show, had show!canon not happened the way it did (it’s actually meant to be book based, I think?). @grrrbarrowman 10. your heart is all i own by  sarcasticfluentry and Teumessian (read the tags before reading!) this is part of the Boundless Saga, but this particular part stuck with me so much as a really unique idea and SUPER emotional @povverbottoms (I can’t find the other authors blog?)  11. When I'm Dead And Gone (Will They Sing About Me) by everyperfectsummer this one is restricted for ao3 users but honestly, if you’re gonna read any of them out of this list, I would recommend this one. It’s the shortest fic to have ever made me cry and it’s such a beautiful, well-written concept. So powerful. And it’s really important to me as someone who loves Magnus and beleives his life doesn’t entirely revolve around Alec (little bit of a trigger warning for that, though). @everyperfectsummer 12. love comes in at the eye by prettydizzeed (Raphael and Meliorn, if anyone’s willing to give it a shot- I definitely don’t regret it) This one’s on my ace rec list too, but I couldn’t help putting it here. I’ve probably read it about 16 times now tbh and every time I love the writing style more, and appreciate the ending more. It’s the kind of writing that transports you and makes you want it to be your life, while making you wish you were also a better writer. And Maia!! @basilhallward  13.  Have Pride by notcrypticbutcoy Let’s be real, you can’t be in this fandom for very long without having read/heard of Fall Without Wings (which is also a rad story and is in the study this to become a better writer category), but something about this one just really, really stuck with me. I think because it was such an easy, lovely read, and had so many lovable characters. Definitely one to go back to in times of fanfic deserts, lol @notcrypticbutcoy 14. Burn Your Fears Away by BiconBane I’m just picking this one specifically because it’s the first part to two amazing series’ that really schooled the fuck out of me and made me love Magnus somehow even more than I already did (and because of this iconic quote: “ You did always look quite like a potato, but I must say you haven’t aged well.”) If you’re looking for BAMF Magnus, here’s your start! (@levayajade was the most recent name on ao3, but seems gone now?) 15. Parabatoy by KaryKu I’m not sure why this one stuck with me either, but somehow when I read it something just clicked for me about the parabatai bond and about Jace’s upbringing. As much as I have problems with the way the show has gone about it, I’m still weak for Jace and Alec as family and how they must have been when they were little, and this just represents that to me. I also LOVE the metaphor of toy soldiers and it kind of frames the childhoods of Shadowhunter children as a whole, which guides my story writing! *(I can’t find a tumblr for this person either? anyone know?) Alright, well that’s it! I told myself I wouldn’t cheat on this one so I won’t, but please know that this is not at all an exhaustive list. I love and appreciate every single thing I’ve read on here and there are so many more stories that have changed me as a writer, as a fan and as a person! If you’re interested in fic recs, please feel free to check out my bookmarks , my ace friendly list, or hop in my inbox and ask- I have about 20 folders for every specific type of fic so I’d be happy to recommend something.  Next one will be 10 gifsets/fanart pieces for 10 days and counting.xx  

[deadlyswarm]

Family is more than blood Ch 3

You know, it owuld help if i remembered i u[upload here too XD  story under the cut!

A few months passed, months of care, and shared nap times. Papyrus thought Sans was starting to be a bad influence, but at the same time it was often too darn adorable to interrupt. Today Undyne was over with Papyrus chatting with him in the living room as Sans laid in front of Frisk, who playing on her blanket with her favorite toys. Sans was a little ways away and the child tilted her head back to see him. With a little grunt she managed to roll herself over, catching Undyne and Papyrus’ eye.

“Oh hey, what are you up to shrimp?” Undyne said with a smile, as she did so, she saw that Frisk was propping herself up on her arms, with her face brimming with determination. Her legs arched and fell, and she flopped back onto the floor.

“You got this Frisk keep at it!”

“YOU ALMOST HAD IT! GOOD JOB FRISK!” Frisk slammed her hand down, looking more determined than before. Once more, she propped herself up, and this time, she got her legs to bend under her and into a crawling position. A look of elation spread across her face as she put one hand forward, a knee forward, crap wrong knee. Frisk fell back to the ground, this time, she let out a small wail of frustration.

“C’mon punk you can do it!”

“come on over kiddo, you got this.” Sans said as he continued to lay on the floor. Once more Frisk got into her crawling position, and started to move forward. With each successful move forward, she started moving faster, giggling wildly as she neared her father.

“That's it! You’ve almost got him!”

“EXCELLENTLY DONE FRISK, NYEH HEH HEH!” The child crawled to Sans, grinning at his face.

“well hey there, howsit goin?” To which Frisk raised her hands and proceeded to pull herself on top of his ribcage.  Sans chuckled lightly before looking over to Papyrus and Undyne.

“welp, looks like i'm not going anywhere any time soon.”  Sans said as Frisk began to babble, to which Sans’ replied until they both fell asleep.

“Alright fine, but only because this is too adorable.” Undyne muttered, Later on she was definitely going to tell Alphys all about it. But for now, Papyrus and Undyne went outside and into waterfall to spar, letting Sans and the kid sleep.

Papyrus made sure to baby proof the entire house. Since Frisk was now able to move almost freely, she could get hurt! Asgore and Undyne helped set up proper precautions, though the effort was mostly lead by Asgore, as he had done all of this once before. However none of them expected to find that, before they safty-blocked the stairs, Frisk had crawled up it and into Sans’ room and found a fun ride. It was when they heard giggling and laughing upstairs that they began to investigate, to find that Frisk had taken a joy ride in Sans’ thankfully empty trash tornado.  The small child laughed with glee as she spun around, Causing Sans to shake his head.

“ havin a fun time kiddo?” Frisk responded with a happy squeal and reached out to Sans.

“ alright, let's get’cha outta there.” Sans said as he plucked his kid from the mini tornado. Frisk was in his arms, spinning her head around and giggling. Sans exited his room and made his way downstairs, making sure to inform Asgore that they need to put something up around the trash tornado as well.

During night time, Sans found himself or Papyrus up for most of it caring for Frisk whenever she started to get hungry. But what surprised Papyrus the most was that often times, by the time he got up, Sans was already there with a bottle in hand. Some of these times, Papyrus would actually insist that Sans get some rest while he takes care of Frisk, if only so that Sans wouldn’t potentially force himself to stay up all hours of the night.

________________________________________________________________

Often times Sans would take Frisk with him on trips to Grillby’s and let her play with the dogs. Now that she had been crawling for quite a while now greater dog had started getting out of his armor and began to let frisk use him to hold herself up on her feet. Together they both moved slowly around the bar, receiving greetings from the other dogs. He had been spending a little less time going to the old ruins door, but when he did, he usually had quite the tale. The old lady seemed to enjoy it when Sans talked about his kid, just as much, if not more than when he was cracking jokes.

Sans took his daughter to another checkup with Dr. Alphys, the small child smiling and holding her arms out to the familiar yellow monster, Babbling excitedly.

“O-Oh! Y-you want me to hold you?”

“ go for it al, she don’t bite.” Alphys took Frisk into her arms and smiled.

“A-Are you ready for your check up? “ Frisk only responded with a smile, reaching her hand out touching the side of Alphys’ face, still babbling in the most adorable fashion.

“Alright then, l-lets begin then shall we?” While Alphys was running the usual tests, she began to speak with Sans.

“S-So I may have figured out something. Once F-Frisk started crawling, that would mean she was anywhere from s-six to ten months, and sh-shes been doing t-that for a little while, almost a full month!. A-and while Frisk C-Could start learning how to walk soon, she may only m-master it at around the 16-17 month mark. B-By my estimate, Frisk has about 4 or so months until their f-first birthday, so it seems that monster and human babies are f-fairly similar in that regard.” Sans nodded as Frisk yawned in Alphys’ grasp, snuggling into her lab coat. Alphys handed Frisk over to Sans and with a poof, they were back in their home. After a few more months, Sans, Papyrus, Alphys, Undyne, And Asgore gave frisk her first birthday party, and all cheered for many more to come. And of course they had to replace the table because Undyne suplexed Papyrus through it in her excitement. Nobody was surprised.

As the house emptied of guests, Frisk crawled to her father, holding her hands up to be carried. Sans obliged and Frisk patted Sans’ cheek bones.

“Da….da...daddy! Daddy daddy!” Sans’ eye lights turned to stars for a moment, and Papyrus had just walked into the room.

“SANS COULD YOU-.....BROTHER? ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” Papyrus’ voice brought Sans back down to earth, his smile wider than Papyrus had seen in a long time.

“y-yeah bro…...heh, listen to this. whos right here kiddo?” Frisk smiled, patting her father's face

“Daddy!” Papyrus was ecstatic “OH MY GOD! HER FIRST WORD! AMAZING! DO YOU THINK SHE’LL LEARN HOW TO SAY MINE NEXT?!” causing Frisk to look over and hold out her hand to Papyrus.

“Pa….pap….y….Pappy! Pappy!” Frisk said with a smile, earning a shocked gasp from Papyrus.

“OH MY GOD THEY CALLED ME PAPPY! THIS IS THE GREATEST DAY EVER!” and Sans couldn't agree more. Frisk spent most of that day repeating  those words.

After a month had passed, Frisk began her solo attempts to walk. These attempts often consisted of her plopping down before she could stand, or her falling onto her butt. Papyrus and Sans offered encouragement as the child became more and more determined to walk. She got up on her feet, and took a step, and then another, and another. She had begun laughing in triumph as she made her way to Sans, only to lose her balance and fall on her butt again. She let out a frustrated wail and slammed her hand on the ground.  However, Frisk was not done yet, she got herself up again, and finally managed to walk all the way to Sans with a pleased grin on her face.

“Daddy! Pappy!  Didit!” Sans was beaming at his daughter

“you did! nice work kiddo!” and once more, Papyrus had not heard Sans have that kind of energy in his voice for quite some time.

“AMAZING WORK FRISK! NYEH HEH HEH!”

“Nyah hah hah!” Frisk laughed, throwing her arms up into the air.

And if one had listened close enough, one might have sworn Sans uttered a muffled “mweh heh heh.”

[rscenarios]

Jongup - Father and Son

Anon request for when Jongup spends the day taking care of your son! I really love the idea of BAP a fathers oh my gosh. They will be adorable parents some day. I hope you guys enjoy!

- Admin Em

Warnings: none, mildly cheesy fluff

“Joonshin, it's time for breakfast,” you yawn as you finish up the meal you’d prepared.

“No!” The four year old protests, crossing his arms as he pouts. “Not without Appa!”

You give a small smile at your son’s dedication to his father, but you're overly tired today and were about to repeat yourself for the literally the tenth time. You move to the living room where Joonshin sat with his toys and kneel down. “Appa has been working very hard recently,” you say softly, running your fingers through his hair. “We should let him rest as long as he needs, and that may be a very long time. He wouldn't want you to get hungry.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“How about you at least eat a little bit of fruit before Appa wakes up? Will you do that?”

Your son is silent, his tiny face scrunched in concentration as he thinks about it. “Banana.”

You kiss the top of his head before getting the banana off the shelf for him. “Thank you Umma,” he smiles.

“You're welcome sweetie. Do you want to watch cartoons?” You ask, yawning as you do.

Your answer is an enthusiastic nod as you settle down on the couch. Joonshin stays in his spot on the floor, eating the banana as his eyes fixate onto the screen. You chuckle to yourself, thinking about how Jongup was the same way about cartoons sometimes. Your husband is still a child at heart after all.

Your mind began to wander and soon you drifted off. Thankfully Joonshin was too absorbed into the show to get into trouble in the ten minutes of time before Jongup woke up. It was only when Joonshin heard the bedroom door open that he looked away from the TV.

A smile spread across the child’s face as he leapt up and ran to attack his father in a hug. Jongup was quick to squat down so he could hold his son close. “Good morning, I missed you.”

“I missed you too Appa. Umma wanted to have breakfast without you! I said no but had to eat fruit,” Joonshin pulled away enough to show off his banana peel still in hand.

“You are too sweet,” Jongup praises. “Umma must have thought I would sleep longer. Sometimes Appa can sleep for a long, long time.”

“But now Umma is sleeping,” Joonshin gives a small pout as he points to you on the couch.

Jongup glances over, his smile growing at how cute you look. He knows you have to be exhausted to sleep sitting up. He’s immediately torn between letting you sleep more and waking you for breakfast. He can smell the meal you made and he’s sure you wouldn't want your son to be without breakfast much longer.

“Throw away your banana peel and then sit at the table please. I’ll wake her up,” Jongup says as he stands up. Obediently, Joonshin rushes to do as told as Jongup makes his way toward you. He leans over, pressing a kiss to your forehead. “Wake up beautiful.”

Slowly your eyes open. “Jongup?” The realization that you must have fallen asleep comes to you and immediately a fear forms in you. “Joon-”

“Sh, he’s okay. Nothing happened,” your husband comforts you quickly, knowing exactly what was going through your mind. Sometimes you forget how well Jongup knows you. “He was just watching TV. Now he’s waiting for breakfast.”

“Oh. Okay,” you breath in relief. “I don't know what happened. One minute I was awake. The next I wasn't,” you sigh as you get up.

“You work hard. You just need rest,” is all Jongup says before his attention goes to your son. “What do you want to drink?”

“Orange juice!”

“What do you say?”

“Please,” Joonshin adds, making Jongup give an adoring smile.

You heat the food back up as Jongup gets the drinks. Soon the three of you eat together as Joonshin tells Jongup some stories about what he missed during the latest promotions.

“Sounds like I missed a lot of fun,” Jongup comments before he gets an idea. “How about after showers you and I go do something fun?”

“Can we?!” Joonshin’s eyes go wide.

“If it's okay with Umma.”

“Of course,” you smile. No matter how much you saw Jongup tend to Joonshin, or how excited Joonshin got about more time with you or Jongup, your heart swelled happily. “But don't rush breakfast,” you add as Joonshin starts eating faster.

Even at a normal eating pace, it doesn't take him long to finish. “Go wash up,” Jongup tells him while grabbing the dishes for you. Once Joonshin is gone and the dishes are in the sink Jongup wraps his arms around you. “I’m sorry if I woke you when I got back last night.”

“You didn't. I actually slept really well last night so I’m not sure why I’m so tired. Must be the lack of sleep catching up,” you admit, leaning into his embrace. “I’m glad you're home again. Felt like more than a month since the world tour let you have a break.”

“I’m glad to be home too. It'll be a while before our next world tour. We all agreed we don't want to be away from our families that much. I’m glad I can help out again.”

“You do plenty when you're home.”

“Sometimes it doesn't feel like it,’ Jongup admits. “But today I will take care of everything so you can rest. Unless you want to come with us.”

“I think a father-son day would be great for the two of you. We can all do something another time,” you say just before Joonshin rushes to the two of you.

“You can wash up now Appa!”

“Okay, I’ll be quick,” Jongup promises, kissing your cheek before he goes. While he showers you settle on the floor to use some of Joonshin’s toys for a Pokemon battle.

“I win! I win!” your son cheers as the imaginary battle concludes. Jongup walks into the living room just as the victory dance begins.

“Are you ready to go, Pokemon master?” Jongup asks after a moment of watching the scene.

Joonshin nods eagerly before throwing his arms around you. “Bye bye Umma.”

“Have fun and behave,” you tell him as you give him a gentle squeeze. You stand and kiss Jongup. “That goes for you too,” you muse when the kiss ends.

“Of course. Get lots of rest. We’ll be home around five unless he gets tired,” your husband promises before taking his son’s hand. Once the two of them are outside the house Jongup asks, “What do you want to do today?”

“Can we go to the museum?” Joonshin asks eagerly.

“Anything you want,” Jongup smiles as he leads Joonshin to the car, making sure he’s secure in his booster seat.

The drive doesn't take long with Joonshin occasionally singing parts of the songs or watching the world go by. Once he sees the museum he begins bouncing in his seat while Jongup finds parking, which thankfully doesn't take too long.

The two walk hand and hand toward the building. “What do you want to see first?” Jongup asks.

“The dinosaurs!” The boy cheers, immediately leading Jongup in that direction. Jongup gives an amused chuckle, surprised his son could remember the way as he allowing himself to be dragged passed the other exhibits until the two stood before the skeleton of a Brontosaurus. Joonshin stares up in awe while Jongup reads a few facts about the dinosaur. This is repeated at each set of bones.

“Do you want to go see the ones outside?” Jongup asks, referring to some of the model figures in the outdoor area.

Joonshin nods, allowing Jongup to lead the way. Last time the family visited the museum it had been too cold to go outside so he didn’t know the way. The two stop to look at a few other exhibits as they go. They watch some robots dance to a compilation of various pop songs, which Joonshin also danced to. Jongup was sure to take a video.

They interact and talk about what they see until they reach the dinosaur models outside. A tiny gasp leaves the child as he looks at the T-Rex. “Do you want a photo with it?” Jongup asks

“Okay,” Joonshin smiles, standing in front of the fake beast. Jongup takes the photo before Joonshin asks, “Can I do a funny one?”

When Jongup nods and his son makes a face to look like he’s screaming. He rushes to look at the picture when Jongup lowers the phone.

“Can we take a fun one together?”

Jongup looks around, spotting a bystander nearby. He politely asks for a photo and the stranger agrees. Joonshin is in Jongup’s arms as the two pretend to scream and run away. “Can you say thank you?”

“Thank you sir,” Joonshin smiles as Jongup’s phone is returned to him. The two grin at the photo and Jongup makes it his background, leaving the family picture of the three of you as his lock screen.

Satisfied with the mini-photo session, the two move on. Playing and looking at as much as they can, taking bathroom breaks as needed until their stomachs growl, demanding food. They find a small food area and both get a hot dog and chocolate milk. A silence falls over them as they eat, but as they sit to rest and let the food settle Joonshin starts to chatter about what they’ve seen.

“Do you want to see the space stuff?”

“Please,” Joonshin says as Jongup disposes of their trash. They head to that area, and Joonshin sits down in a model rocket so Jongup snaps a photo. Jongup tells Joonshin about the plants as they look at a large photo on the wall.

“Where is your planet Appa?”

“What?” Jongup blinks in surprise.

“Uncle Zelo told me a story about being aliens, where is your planet?”

“Oh, that was from when Appa’s group first started performing, but I don’t think we ever made photos of our planet. Maybe you could draw what it looks like some time.” Jongup always tries to encourage Joonshin to be creative, and Joonshin loved making drawings for Jongup to take with him anyway.

“Ok,” Joonshin smiles before they move on. As time goes on, Joonshin begins to move slower and he begins to rub his eyes. Checking the time, Jongup sees it’s nearing 4:30. He hadn’t realized how late it was.

“Appa, I’m tired,” Joonshin says, the energy and excitement he’d had was drained, especially without his usual nap. “Can we go?”

“Do you want a piggy-back ride to the car?” Jongup offers, already crouching down. Small arms wrap around his shoulders as legs loop through muscular arms. “Hold tight like a koala,” he reminds his son before standing.

By the time they reach the car, Joonshin’s eyes are drooping shut. Jongup sends you a message telling you he would grab some food for the three of you on his way home. That done, Jongup heads out, stopping at a takeout place near your home. Joonshin sleeps the entire time and only starts to wake up when he’s being carried inside.

“Where are we?”

“Home,” Jongup tells him as he shifts to set the food bags on the counter.

“Did your adventure tire you out?” you ask and get a tired nod in return.

“I’m hungry, “ your son adds.

Wordlessly you start putting the food on some plates while Jongup sets Joonshin at the table. As he starts to eat, some energy seems to return as he tells you about what he’d done earlier. Jongup shows you some of the photos, and you laugh at the one they took with the T-Rex. “My silly boys,” you muse as you eat.

“Can we watch a movie?”

“After you finish your food and put your jammies on,” you promise. You know it's likely he’ll fall asleep during the movie after such an exciting day.

“Okay Umma!”

Once Joonshin is in his pajamas he picks a movie for Jongup to put in the DVD player. Your son happily settles between you and Jongup on the couch. As usual, he asks questions or makes comments on the movie, but as time goes on he grows quieter. You feel a pressure against you and look down to confirm he’s fallen asleep.

When you look up you're met with Jongup’s classic smile. Carefully, your husband moves so he can carry Joonshin to bed. He tucks him into the blankets, kissing the top of his head before turning to see you leaning in the doorway.

Neither of you say anything as Jongup wraps an arm around your waist and leads you out of the room, closing the door slightly behind the two of you.

“Thank you for today,” you start. “You take such good care of him. Of us.”

“You know I would do anything for you both,” Jongup reminds you. You say nothing as you press your lips to his, words didn’t seem like enough. You put as much love into the kiss as possible and feel just as much in return.

[reesebird]

New Post has been published on https://reesebird.com/2019/08/13/meeting-family/

Meeting family?

I apologise in advance this is long and complicated TW (mental abuse/alleged sexual abuse/physical attack) (Note: I am currently 29 years old)

My mother has always been a single mother. I am repeatedly told by her and her friends how she gave up her job and life and everything for me. She never ever ever tells me a thing about the past. To the point where one of her friends would let slip “when we were teens and snuck out to the cinema…” my mum was absolutely furious and got extremely angry at her friend for telling (trying to tell me) a story about her and also at me for “listening to her sh*t” I CANNOT know ANYTHING. And the only friend who let things slip has now died.

She is so secretive about my actual family that any friends (or friend’s parents) who’d ask about my dad or why she never married she’d never let me talk to them ever again (which made school awkward).

She is extremely controlling with my friends, if I go somewhere she HAS to drive me. She also has to pick me up. This is to confirm I am with who I say I’m with. If I’m vague or if she doesn’t see me actually meet my friend she will wait somewhere around the area and sometimes she sends her friends and her friend’s daughters out to spy on me. Example: One time I said I’m meeting “Natasha” at Starbucks at 11. Got dropped off in town. Natasha couldn’t meet until 1 and we went to Caffè Nero. My mum was furious at me because she walked past Starbucks and sat outside waiting for me and I never showed up. “Who were you with, where were you what were you doing, you’re a liar, this is why I don’t trust you” The next day I met a different friend “Kayleigh” and outside the place we were meeting was my mum’s friend’s daughter who watched me go in, who I sat with and immediately started typing on her phone. (I was 28 at the time this happened. Not young!). She’ll also go into shops or cafes or places my friends work and ask if I was in and who was I with and things like that.

She refuses to let me have my own bank card and my own money. I need to say what I want the money for, show her the items I bought and also reciepts.

For some random reason when I was a child (maybe 6,7,8?) she told me my Nan (Dad’s mum) wants contact with me. My dad’s side of the family live a 6 hour journey away but I chose yes, I want to see them. My mum let me meet my Nan briefly but made many snide comments about hating her and contact dropped off. I WAS allowed to meet my aunts and uncles. And their children (my cousins). I could meet anyone I wanted as long as it wasn’t my Dad. And I was to never ask about him (at such a young age I was terrified to go against my mum’s wishes).

When I was 14 I started to ask about my Dad. My mum went cold and ignored me for a week straight then she got her friend to tell me he’s a loser who has no money and he only wants mine (umm, what money does a 14 year old have worth stealing?) They also said he’s a pervert and only wants contact me because I’m young. They said he has sexually assaulted my mum’s friend, my mum’s friend’s daughter and has attacked my mum.

I never saw or spoke to the family much. I only ever remained in contact with one aunt and her children. I was under the impression Dad re-married and had a wife and 3 kids. I contacted the girl on social media and considered her my sister. My mum was so angry and got someone to hack into my account, send my sister a load of abuse and blocked her.

When I was 18 (in 2008) we went to a big family party for my aunt (the first family event we had been to and we could only go because my Dad wasn’t there). My sister was there and it was the only time we’d ever met and she hid because she was terrified of ME.

Now I need to make this bit clear: I WASN’T HERE FOR THIS NEXT EVENT. This happened outside and I was inside at the bar. The one friend I took with me was with my mum. A cousin who my mum has always made it clear she hated and she tried to make me hate (“he stole your toys when you were 4” “his mother got him tickets to Disneyland and all you got was a photo album, isn’t that unfair?” and so many sly comments and looks) had attacked my mum. I got there as he pushed her up against a fence holding a glass bottle to her face and my cousins (his sisters and brother and our other cousins) were pulling him off of her and helping her. He claims she started it but she says she never said anything directly to his face. My friend confirmed this. Though my friend has since been caught out in many lies amd eventually blocked me. And my mum? Well she’s getting more aggressive. Example: She’ll go to a restaurant my friend owns and I temporarily worked at and demand freebies, refuse to pay and call him a tight fisted “see you N tea” and constantly tell other customers (even new ones who just walked in) how much she hated the food there. Eventually he banned her then banned me from working there, because of her behaviour. And (stupidly) it’s only recently I’ve started to think maybe my mum did cause the incident.

My mum’s been extremely paranoid about the incident. She was scared of him for years because he’s “loose” and “got away with it unpunished” (I have since found out he got over £1,000,fine! But for years she constantly told me they “couldn’t find the security footage” so “the whole family have tool his side and it’s a massive cover up and they’re all involved”). She absolutely forbid me to speak to any of the family at all.

The family continued to send me letters, wedding invitations, birthday cards. My mum would rip them up and it all eventually stopped. Around 5 years ago (so about 6 years after the incident) my cousin I was closest to and who helped pull her brother off of my mum added me on social media. I told my mum about it, lucky for me she’s not on social media but as I said, she has spies and I knew her reaction if she did find out. She told me I can do what I want but she won’t be happy. Then she told me to accept so we can spy on the family. So I added my cousin and as many names as I could remember from the family. Only a few accepted.

Only a few months ago a blank profile contacted me on social media with a phone number saying that’s my Dad’s. I’ve been too scared to phone it because if it got back to my mum I can’t even imagine. Also I have always feared he is dangerous because of what my mum and her friend have said. But it’s always confused me how he’s married and has other kids if he’s so “dangerous” One thing I’ve noticed is he is very rarely in family pictures. I must’ve come across around 2 in total. I stalked his children, the girl I think of as my sister. Her dad is not mine. Not the same face, not the same (first) name. She is my dad’s brother’s. She is my cousin. I’m not sure why my mum freaked out all those years ago when I spoke to her specifically. How is she different to my other cousins?!.

Now one of my cousins has spoke about coming down to visit me. I’d love to see her and I hope she has answers. The problem is she didn’t exactly ask. She just sort of said she is coming down to visit and has already booked the hotel and travel. The few people I trust to cover for me and not blab to my mum have all said it’s extremely important I meet her because she’ll have all the answers. I’ve also been encouraged to call my Dad. But I am so scared of my mum and her reaction. She is mentally and emotionally abusive and she gets physical, too. And if I do the slightest thing wrong she gets her friends, and their friends, and their kids to call and message me what an awful person I am (last time was “I forgot my sandwich, can we turn the car round” because how dare I be demanding and spoilt and MAKE my mum turn around etc etc) so I am too afraid to do something REALLY wrong.

I am so afraid of being caught out in a lie that I’ve been honest and told my mum my cousin is visiting. She thinks it’s an ambush. It’s revenge for all those years ago. She thinks I’ll go to meet one cousin and the whole family will be there waiting to attack me. Then she ignored me all night and when she spoke the next day she said I can only meet my cousin if I’m with her and she’s gonna punch my cousin before my cousin punches us. I don’t think my cousin is aggressive or after revenge because we are actually friends and speak all the time (mum doesn’t know this). (Example of my mum’s paranoia: I asked for some money to go on holiday. She gave it to me, my own and she made up what i cant afford. but kept saying the holiday is not going to happen. She still believes it didn’t. All the pictures of me on holiday? Photoshopped! She thinks I ran off with her money. Where did I go if not on holiday?).

I don’t think my cousin is aware of the beef because before she booked the hotel she asked to stay with us. I don’t want to explain about my mum yet as I dont want to put my cousin off coming. It’s so important that I meet her. But I also have no idea how I’m going to hide her! I don’t know how to start explaining to her.

Side note: I’ve had my mum seen to by doctors and she outright denies any mental health issues and refuses to take any meds because “nothing is wrong”

[shyperfectioncollectionme-blog]

Hello, all! 

Now I write a letter to the world, 

High school is over and done with. These last 4 years have left an indelible influence on my life. In the end, I was actually grateful for quite a few things I experienced.   The biggest thing I walk away with is now my present sense of self-worth.

It's easy to feel insecure in high school if it wasn't thousands of books, tv shows, and musicals wouldn't exist today.  I bore you with going my sob story about being bullied in high school because in some way or another we all have that story.  We were all are treated less than kindly by other students and we all did the same to each other. Part of that has to do with growing maturity levels and it doesn't help that we millennials were brought up in the information age.

After all the wrong and good I did, I realized that NOBODY is a professional at being human, normal, or respected. Whether or not you're the cutting edge of your peer group or just a shy autistic kid drawing alone in the lunch room; you are not a professional.  For four years I did everything I could in order to undo my image of being less than a loser. I failed more and more I soured in and out of cliques and social groups and nothing truly satisfied me. I cried and cried for things to change and nothing ever did. 

My senior year in high school, I finally did manage to make a change that I felt would make me the cool dude of my dreams. I got a job. I was a Bagger at a locally owned grocery store in town. This is was it, time to become awesome! I lasted one month. In the end, I called into work with a tear rolling down my face and gave a shaky excuse for why I couldn't keep coming in anymore. This was it, this was the thing that finally shattered my pursuit. I was broken inside, so like a miss-fitt toy, I sailed off to an uncharted island where nobody could find me.  I called this island my room. I locked myself inside and I was determined to stay there until the hurt was gone. 

When that would happen was anyone's guess, but graduation was fast approaching and I felt an urge that I gotta do something with my life. So I was prescribed some new medication and started attending a weekly therapy session. I figured since I'm such a screw-up I should do what all screw ups do, get help! In the beginning, I saw myself as the borderline mental patient, who was just reaching out for dear life.  But, I began to change in the most un-excepted ways!   

When I spoke to these doctors I felt something I never really had before self-worth. When I talked about my past traumas, my present insecurities, and my future hopes, they treated them like they had value. Like I have value. I would leave therapy sessions with an odd mixture of confusion and acceptance. Suddenly, I was just like everybody else made in the image of God beautiful, earnest, and just as capable of following my dreams as anyone else. But sooner or later a storm cloud would blow over my head again and I was right back to square one. Sh*t! 

This back and forth went on and on, until after graduation. When I finally held my diploma in hand a sort of invisible lightning bolt struck me on the side of the head and I finally realized what I had to do to be a happy person. Not a COOL person, but a HAPPY person. I had to marry myself. I was done dating me and decided to make an honest man out of myself and tye the knot. (I mean this figuratively!)    

For better or for worse I am who I am. As long as I try my best, I have no need to feel guilt or shame very long. I know I am a good person because of my actions and that doesn't change if I mess up because I said: "I DO." That means after every mess up, I dust myself off and keep going because I'm ok and I know the love I have for myself is not going to waiver. Because I can't lose my own being, can I? When I'm healthy I'm going to cheer myself on to keep going. When I'm sick, I'll play doctor until I'm back to health. I'll ask for help and doesn't make me less of a person, I'll talk openly and honestly about my autism as it is just a part of that makes more beautiful in the eyes of God. For better or for worse. I committed to myself until I meet my natural end! 

I know what your thinking. Another loser who is just proclaiming self-help as a way to fix all issues. We've all walked down the isle of self-help books and been confused by the jargon these people throw out. I am saying this as a human being. All things are transient, the world is cruel, and it goes by much too fast. So with these cruel facts of life as they are and not changing anytime soon. I say that if you lose everything else at one point or another if you stare up into the night sky and feel a void( as we all do) then making a commitment of love to the one thing you can't lose and the only thing you take into eternity: YOURSELF. 

Whether you believe you are worth it or not, you've all you got in the end. So take care of yourself. Love yourself as much as you can and do everyone else a favor by treating them as you like to be treated. You can't sacrifice others to yourself. If you do then your back on the road to self-destruction. Do the best you can, but the world is cruel. But as long as you love yourself you'll strive to the horizon. You'll get knocked down and know it's not always your fault then get back up.  You'll make personal changes to be a better person and it's not because of your a bad person. It's because you're a human being and you can attach a greater meaning to your life than just trying to pull yourself up by your boot straps and not mess up again(you will).  In short, you'll survive. 

Go to doctors and ask for help! They'll help you know and understand yourself and then you'll take care of yourself. Once you start taking care of yourself then you'll know truly at heart you are not a bad person. That you have the power to make decisions and decisions change your life and once you've changed your life you realize it can be almost anything you want it to be. You can be a happy person and you have the power to see the silver lining of any situattion.  This isn't permission to do others wrong, this is permission to give yourself the right you've all desired in life. The answer is YES to the question of can I survive as long as I love myself. But, you'll see as you change that now that you're married to yourself you know how to treat and care for others as human beings made in the image of God. So you'll reach out(at your own pace and find people that eventually suit you and help you grow. But in the end you only can rely on yourself, so make sure you've said: "I DO." 

SORRY, THIS IS SO LONG, I JUST GOT ON AN TANGENT AND THIS IS THE RESULT. IM NOT SAYING ALL OF THIS IS IS A PERFECT INTERPRETATION OF MY LIFE OR YOURS IT'S JUST THE BEST I GOT. I THINK MY FIRST POST SHOULD STATE MY CURRENT REFECTIONS ON HUMANITY. THIS POST IS ACTUALLY SHORT COMPARED TO ALL THE THINGS I COULD WRITE ABOUT BEING MARRIED TO SELF, BUT YOU REALLY WOULDN'T READ IT.  I AM NOT EVEN SO SURE HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL READ ALL OF THIS.  

Thank you all, you read this all the way through. I'll write again soon, about things probably not so personal.  I don't like being this candid so much. 

ByeBye!  

[lisarprahl]

The PCAOB Needs to Just Beat the Sh*t Out of KPMG Already

Story time. Many, many years ago when my favorite show was the Snorks and my Big Wheel was my only mode of transportation, there was this kid on my block who was a real little shit. He constantly broke everyone’s toys and once ran over my plastic Good Luck Bear with his bike, permanently rendering the bear’s formerly cheerful tummy clover into a smudge of cheap paint and road dirt. Worse, he would constantly lead the other kids on our block in a chorus of “four eyes” at me, inspiring them to practically banish me from the neighborhood with their whiffle bats since we were obviously too young for pitchforks. The guy was a dick.

Although I could normally handle myself against him (he wasn’t that bright and could easily be bribed to leave me the fuck alone with half a Butterfinger), one day I’d had enough. I broke down crying and ran back into my house, pleading with my mom to do something. She flitted her hand at me and shrugged, “You can handle it.” So I wiped my snotty nose on the shoulder of my grungy Hands Across America t-shirt, marched back outside, stepped up to the dude (who, btw, was two years older than me, 40 lbs heavier than me, and lacking in my opthamologist-enhanced super vision), and decked his ass. Just flipped the guy over and shoved him ass-in-the-air into the pricky bushes lining his front yard. He never called me “four eyes” again.

Now, let’s be clear: I’m not an advocate of violence. I don’t believe in spanking children or screaming at puppies who crap on the floor. But sometimes your only solution is to beat the shit out of someone. And I believe the PCAOB has reached that point with KPMG.

While its Big 4 counterparts have been making strides in audit quality over the years, KPMG has somehow managed to get worse at this auditing thing. And this after they got busted poaching PCAOB talent in order to cheat on PCAOB inspections.

The wait for KPMG’s missing 2016 PCAOB inspection report is over. As proselytized by former PCAOB member Dan Goelzer last September, the delay was directly due to the PCAOB learning about KPMG getting tipped off to which clients were up for inspection, poisoning 11 of the initial audits.

Sayeth the PCAOB:

In 22 of the 51 Audits reviewed and in three financial institution issuer audits reviewed as part of the inspection team’s original inspection plan, certain of the deficiencies identified were of such significance that it appeared to the inspection team that the Firm, at the time it issued its audit report, had not obtained sufficient appropriate audit evidence to support its opinion that the financial statements were presented fairly, in all material respects, in conformity with the applicable financial reporting framework and/or its opinion about whether the issuer had maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting (“ICFR”).

If you’re playing along at home, that’s a 43% failure rate deficiency rate which is pretty hilarious considering the whole point of cheating is A) not getting caught (failure #1) and B) doing better than you would have done had you relied on your shitty merits alone (failure #2).

The AWOL 2016 report would be enough to make fun of, but WAIT, there’s more!

The Santa Clauses over at the PCAOB have also blessed us with KPMG’s 2017 inspection report which somehow managed to be even worse than 2016’s. Of the 52 audits inspected by the PCAOB, 26 were shitty enough for the clients to technically be entitled for a refund if, say, audits were cheap Chinese goods and KPMG was Amazon. As we all know, that’s not how this works. Eighteen of the 26 “deficient” audits had issues with ICFR, for which I guess we can give KPMG a pass since it seems ICFR confounds even the highest caliber of auditors these days.

In its response to the 2017 report, KPMG pledged “continuous improvement” in their audit engagement performance and claimed — despite all evidence to the contrary — that “consistently executing quality audits” is their “top priority.” Yeesh. I hate to know what their lowest priority is if this is how they execute the top one.

At this point in the article you might think we’re done, but just like how I kicked that bully on my block in the shin after I decked his ass, there are even more blows to come. In addition to the pathetic 2016 and 2017 inspection reports, the PCAOB also released revised reports for 2014 and 2015, calling KPMG out for bullshitting about fixing their obvious audit problem. I mean, you can only say “we take the PCAOB’s criticisms seriously” a finite number of times times while continuing to suck at your one job before they finally get sick of your shit and slap you around for blowing smoke up their ass.

Go on, PCAOB, you can handle it.

The post The PCAOB Needs to Just Beat the Sh*t Out of KPMG Already appeared first on Going Concern.

from Accounting News https://goingconcern.com/the-pcaob-needs-to-just-beat-the-sht-out-of-kpmg-already/

[ashleydpalmerusa]

The PCAOB Needs to Just Beat the Sh*t Out of KPMG Already

Story time. Many, many years ago when my favorite show was the Snorks and my Big Wheel was my only mode of transportation, there was this kid on my block who was a real little shit. He constantly broke everyone’s toys and once ran over my plastic Good Luck Bear with his bike, permanently rendering the bear’s formerly cheerful tummy clover into a smudge of cheap paint and road dirt. Worse, he would constantly lead the other kids on our block in a chorus of “four eyes” at me, inspiring them to practically banish me from the neighborhood with their whiffle bats since we were obviously too young for pitchforks. The guy was a dick.

Although I could normally handle myself against him (he wasn’t that bright and could easily be bribed to leave me the fuck alone with half a Butterfinger), one day I’d had enough. I broke down crying and ran back into my house, pleading with my mom to do something. She flitted her hand at me and shrugged, “You can handle it.” So I wiped my snotty nose on the shoulder of my grungy Hands Across America t-shirt, marched back outside, stepped up to the dude (who, btw, was two years older than me, 40 lbs heavier than me, and lacking in my opthamologist-enhanced super vision), and decked his ass. Just flipped the guy over and shoved him ass-in-the-air into the pricky bushes lining his front yard. He never called me “four eyes” again.

Now, let’s be clear: I’m not an advocate of violence. I don’t believe in spanking children or screaming at puppies who crap on the floor. But sometimes your only solution is to beat the shit out of someone. And I believe the PCAOB has reached that point with KPMG.

While its Big 4 counterparts have been making strides in audit quality over the years, KPMG has somehow managed to get worse at this auditing thing. And this after they got busted poaching PCAOB talent in order to cheat on PCAOB inspections.

The wait for KPMG’s missing 2016 PCAOB inspection report is over. As proselytized by former PCAOB member Dan Goelzer last September, the delay was directly due to the PCAOB learning about KPMG getting tipped off to which clients were up for inspection, poisoning 11 of the initial audits.

Sayeth the PCAOB:

In 22 of the 51 Audits reviewed and in three financial institution issuer audits reviewed as part of the inspection team’s original inspection plan, certain of the deficiencies identified were of such significance that it appeared to the inspection team that the Firm, at the time it issued its audit report, had not obtained sufficient appropriate audit evidence to support its opinion that the financial statements were presented fairly, in all material respects, in conformity with the applicable financial reporting framework and/or its opinion about whether the issuer had maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting (“ICFR”).

If you’re playing along at home, that’s a 43% failure rate deficiency rate which is pretty hilarious considering the whole point of cheating is A) not getting caught (failure #1) and B) doing better than you would have done had you relied on your shitty merits alone (failure #2).

The AWOL 2016 report would be enough to make fun of, but WAIT, there’s more!

The Santa Clauses over at the PCAOB have also blessed us with KPMG’s 2017 inspection report which somehow managed to be even worse than 2016’s. Of the 52 audits inspected by the PCAOB, 26 were shitty enough for the clients to technically be entitled for a refund if, say, audits were cheap Chinese goods and KPMG was Amazon. As we all know, that’s not how this works. Eighteen of the 26 “deficient” audits had issues with ICFR, for which I guess we can give KPMG a pass since it seems ICFR confounds even the highest caliber of auditors these days.

In its response to the 2017 report, KPMG pledged “continuous improvement” in their audit engagement performance and claimed — despite all evidence to the contrary — that “consistently executing quality audits” is their “top priority.” Yeesh. I hate to know what their lowest priority is if this is how they execute the top one.

At this point in the article you might think we’re done, but just like how I kicked that bully on my block in the shin after I decked his ass, there are even more blows to come. In addition to the pathetic 2016 and 2017 inspection reports, the PCAOB also released revised reports for 2014 and 2015, calling KPMG out for bullshitting about fixing their obvious audit problem. I mean, you can only say “we take the PCAOB’s criticisms seriously” a finite number of times times while continuing to suck at your one job before they finally get sick of your shit and slap you around for blowing smoke up their ass.

Go on, PCAOB, you can handle it.

The post The PCAOB Needs to Just Beat the Sh*t Out of KPMG Already appeared first on Going Concern.

from Accounting News https://goingconcern.com/the-pcaob-needs-to-just-beat-the-sht-out-of-kpmg-already/

[chuacamille26-blog]

Introduction:

1.) Name:

Camille

2.) Where are you from?

the Philippines

3.) How old are you?

25

4.) Do you have any siblings?

yes. a not-so-little brother. (he’s taller than me.)

5.) Pets?

yes! (a dog, rabbit and a turtle)

6.) Describe yourself

hmm.. I really hate describing myself. let’s see, I’m a boring person. I prefer staying home than going out when I have free time. I’m usually working and I go straight back home after work. so yeah... I’m a plain boring person. But, when I get to hang out with friends, I could be really annoying around them. I could be really random and sh*t. I have this wild and crazy imaginations and I’ll just share it with them out of the blue; like what if all the cops are wearing bunny ears instead of plain cap (LOL!) or what if speed boats are shaped as a unicorn or a bunny and people who’s riding them are wearing a horn or bunny ears (wouldn’t it be adorable? hahaha!) 

7.) What do you do for fun?

for fun? annoying people around me. my colleagues, my mom, my brother, bf and friends.  

8.) Do you have a job? What do you do?

yes. I work in a forwarder/logistic company. I work as an administration clerk. customer service officer? sub assistant supervisor? ads creator? lol. (I’m a very busy person)

9.) Have you had other jobs?

yes. I used to work in a network company, bar, restaurant, fast food chain. I tend to try different jobs to explore. 

10.) What’s your favorite memory?

my childhood memories & when my Dad was still alive and healthy. 

11.) What is one thing you regret?

being too busy (working) and lazy (during my free time) that I don’t get to visit or take care of my Dad when he was still alive. 

12.) What is one thing you wish you would’ve done, but didn’t?

take care of my dad. I wish I spent more time with him. 

13.) One thing about yourself you wish you could change

my time management. 

14.) What do you love about yourself?

I don’t know. really. maybe my simplicity? 

15.) Who inspires you?

a lot! too many to mention. 

16.) Do you collect anything?

yes. pens, notebooks, cute pink stuffs, plush toys and BTS collectibles (magazines.. etc)

17.) Do you have any fears?

yes. losing loved ones, God, insects

18.) Is there anything that annoys you about your job?

ugh! yes!

19.) Can you tell us a secret about yourself?

nope...

20.) How about another secret? :)

nahhh..

21.) Favorite band?

BTS! BTS! BTS!

22.) What music are you currently listening to?

Let Go - BTS

23.) Do you have a favorite song?

a lot! mostly BTS songs such as Spring Day, Mic Drop, Go Go, Let Go, Boy in Luv... 

24.) Do you have a favorite movie?

Marley & Me, Hachi: a Dog’s tale

25.)What’s your favorite color?

PIIINNNKKKKK!

26.) What’s your favorite place you’ve ever been to?

Philippines & Thailand. (I’d say South Korea and Japan but I haven’t been there)

27.) Ever broken a promise?

yes?

28.) Do you have a favorite book?

yes, forgot the title though. I usually read online now.

29.) What’s your favorite school subject?

Chinese lol.

30.) Least favorite school subject?

Math

31.) What’s your favorite food?

Korean food and Filipino food

32.) How about least favorite food?

sushi 

33.) What’s your favorite Holiday?

Christmas!

34.) What makes you mad?

animal cruelty! 

35.) What makes you happy?

BTS! animals! theme parks! beaches!

36.) Do you have a favorite scent?

cherry blossom, cotton candy, bubble gum

38.) Do you have a favorite TV show?

none atm.

39.) Can you share an extremely embarrassing moment?

when I couldn’t control my fart. (didn’t see that coming)

40.) When is a time you were extremely irritated?

summer’s heat! (sweating too much. maybe, it’s just the summer heat here in Hong Kong as it’s extremely humid and hot, that whenever you sweat, you’ll feel really irritated and sticky. Oh! and also, those people who doesn’t take a bath/shower. given the fact that it is Summer. Oh my... their body odor’s unbearable.)

41.) Is there anybody you hate?

nope

42.) What do you look for in a person?

someone who can stay calm when I’m really annoying. someone who’ll listen. (someone like Suga actually.)

43.) How’s the weather?

cloudy and windy and cold. (that’s why I’m currently sick)

44.) Are you currently in school?

nope

45.) What is your goal in life?

my goal is to be successful. not that successful like Mark Zuckerberg (I’m not really sure about the spelling) or Jack Ma. and not as successful as BTS. my goal is to be successful as my grandfather or my cousin. although, they didn’t graduate in school, they’re somehow successful with their business. 

46.) Is there something you should be doing, but keep putting off?

I don’t think so...

47.) Ever been to a concert?

nope. But, if BTS announces that they’ll be doing world tour again. I’ll definitely go. Philippines, Hong Kong and Macau. I’ll be there for sure. (saving up to buy VIP ticket) 

48.) What was the last movie you saw in theater?

Ragnarok? was it ragnarok or justice league? I don’t really remember. 

49.) What was the last book you read?

I don’t remember...

50.) What is your favorite season?

WINTER!

51.) Do you prefer it to be hot or cold?

COLD!

52.) Do you prefer the sun, the rain, or snow?

how I wish I could answer snow. But, it doesn’t snow here in Hong Kong. Especially, not in the Philippines. Sun’s fine, rain’s fine too. depends.

53.) If you could go anywhere, where would you go?

Seoul, Jeju Island, Osaka, Phuket, Palawan, Maldives.

54.) Any current travel plans?

yes. maybe somewhere in the Philippines. Taiwan? Japan? South Korea?

55.) Do you prefer day or night?

night! (Because, I’m already at home at night and I could spend time with my family and pets)

56.) Are you an introvert or extrovert?

introvert.

57.) What is something not many people know about you?

I’m an awkward person & I don’t bite. my friends told me that when they first saw me, they thought I was a snobbish or intimidating person (not sure about the term). I could give you that awkward/cold expression at first as I’m an introvert. I’m a shy person. So, people usually thought that I’m a snob. But, I’m not. I’m just socially awkward. 

58.) Where are you right now?

home

59.) Look in front of you. What do you see?

window

60.) If you could meet one person, alive or dead, who would it be?

SUGA! (Min Yoongi of BTS)

61.) Would you rather look into your future, or fix something from your past?

both

62.) If you could sit down with anyone in the world, and talk to them for an hour, who would you like to speak with?

SUGA!

63.) What was the first CD you ever owned?

I don’t remember

64.) What was the first CD you ever purchased with your own money?

I don’t remember

65.) If you own any Vinyls, which was your first?

none

66.) How many CDs do you own?

I used to own 5 CDs. I think I threw all of those 5 CDs away. But, if I’m able to buy BTS’ album. I’ll definitely keep them. lol (I don’t buy CDs anymore. what are spotify, iTunes are for. But, I’ll probably buy BTS albums to support them)

67.) What relaxes you?

my pets and BTS

68.) Do you have any talents?

I don’t think so. I’m a talent-less person. joke. 

69.) If you could give yourself the ability to do anything, what would it be?

teleportation! It would be easy to go anywhere without being late and without spending too much money for my transportation fare.  

70.) Favorite candy?

candy? I don’t remember the name. 

71.) Is anything bothering you right now?

yes and I don’t know what’s bothering me. it’s stressing me out.

72.) Are you happy with where you are in life right now?

nope. I know I should be contented and happy with where my life’s at. But, I’m not. It feels like somethings missing or idk. 

73.) Is there anyone you regret ever associating with?

yes.

74.) Do you have a favorite memory from your childhood?

a lot.

75.) What is your least favorite memory from your childhood.

hmm.. I don’t remember. 

76.) Favorite memory of your parents?

a lot! when everything was still well and fine. ( i don’t really wanna get there. it’s better to keep everything to myself)

77.) Do you have a least favorite memory of your parents?

I don’t really wanna talk about “memories of my parents” as it breaks my heart. 

78.) How is your relationship with your parents?

good.

79.) What’s your family like?

hmmm..

80.) Are you clean or messy?

both. 

81.) What is your most recent purchase?

BTS songs on iTunes

82.) What’s the most amount of money you’ve spent at once?

2000HKD

83.) What are you saving up for?

BTS concert and money to travel to South Korea and Japan.

84.) How much money do you have to your name currently?

hmmm..

85.) Have you ever done anything last minute?

sit comfortably

86.) What’s the furthest in advance you’ve planned something?

hmm..

87.) Are you an introvert or Extrovert?

I answered this already. 

88.) What’s the latest you’ve ever been out of your house?

latest? well, I didn’t go home for 3 days when I went to my friend’s place. 

89.) Cats or Dogs?

DOGS

90.) How long have you gone without sleep?

2 days

91.) What were you like as a child?

spoiled brat, fat, bossy. I tend to fight with anyone I dislike. (I’ll definitely scold and “palo pwet” my young-self)

92.) What do you miss from your childhood?

complete fam. getting everything I want. I don’t have to work to get what I want. lol

93.) Do you have a favorite memory from work?

when everything goes smooth. I mean, no customer complaints, no arrogant customers. when everyone’s happy and laughing with our stupid story and jokes

94.) What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you?

watching my Dad’s heartbeat getting drastically weak. If only, I could extend his life, I would. If only I could do something to make him stay awake, I would. the scariest part of everyone’s life is losing someone you love. That is scarier than getting rob in the middle of the night.   

95.) What’s a bad habit that you have?

swearing

96.) What are your plans for the summer?

go on a strict diet, sweat all the calories and fats, go to the beach more often

97.) What was the last thing that made you happy?

when BTS released their new album teaser.

98.) What was the last picture you took on your phone?

my turtle

99.) Who was the last person you texted and why?

my brother. something about his plan to travel to Japan. (without me)

100.) Name of your pets

Dog: Goldie

Rabbit: Alden

Turtle: Blastoise

--ask me anything! 

[mrdonaldclark86]

17 Intriguing Books on Harvard Business School’s Reading List

You’re really good at selling real estate and you’ve been doing it a long time. Like any closer, you’ve had this gut-feeling … it’s time to take the next step.

So, what is that next step? Thoughts like “How do I start a real estate team” or “What should I do to improve my business?” run wild. All those smarty-pants blogs (and smarty-pants coaches, for that matter) are telling you to build a system. Copy this or that operation. Follow what this person is doing.

But your spidey-sense is tingling. There’s a disturbance in The Force. You need fresh advice — proven expertise on how other businesses started and evolved. You’ve heard the real estate speeches. You’ve listened to the stories. You’re ready to get one step ahead of competitors.

Stay up-to-date on how real estate leaders are creating their own success. Click here.

We’ve compiled seventeen of the most intriguing books on Harvard Business School’s reading list (some from this year and some years previous). They speak of companies like Pixar and Procter & Gamble. They talk about amazing CEOs and the actions they did to turn their business around.

While compiling this catalog, we noticed one trend: It’s all about leadership. If you’re looking for a reading list to get your brain-operating-juices rolling, then this is it.

  1The Effective Executive

“Effective Executive.” Sounds stuffy, right? It’s most certainly a business book, but I would also classify it as a book to get your act together. Everyone always praises those who have their sh*t together, but nobody really explains how to actually do it. This book does. Things like managing your time, knowing what’s important, setting priorities, being productive, learning to focus, and making good decisions are all critical to a real estate career, and you’ll have it in one book. This one. View the book.

  2When

We all know “timing is everything,” but it often falls by the wayside with many of us. This is Daniel Pink’s 6th book and When lives up to his reputation. It’s loaded with information on the best time to do anything, like what moment in your day you should get work done, or read blog posts like this one. Dan Pink will say this isn’t a “How to” book. It’s a “When to” book. It covers topics that are rarely touched by other authors. View the book.

  3Scaling Up Excellence: Getting to More without Settling for Less

Whether you’re looking to start a business or want to expand an existing one, this book will be your how-to guide. Having won numerous awards, there’s a reason Scaling Up Excellence is first in our list. Authors Robert Sutton and Huggy Rao compiled years of interviews and research from various organizations into this work. Now, they reveal how the best leaders and teams develop, spread, and instill the right mindsets in their people — rather than ruining or watering down the very things that have fueled successful growth in the past. They unpack the principles that help to cascade excellence throughout an organization. View the book.

  4The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*CK

Yes, there’s a bad word in the title. If you’re offended it made the list, you might want to delete your Amazon account too because they’ve literally sold over two million copies. This book offers the core (non-religious) takeaways from Buddhism, so you aren’t diluted into thinking you can turn life’s lemons into lemonade. It’ll show you how to stomach the lemons better, cause we all know there is plenty of sh*t that is messed up in this world, and there’s only so much you can care about. View the book.

  5Many Unhappy Returns: One Man’s Quest to Turn Around the Most Unpopular Organization in America

It’s 1997. The IRS (Internal Revenue Service) is known as a corrupt, much-maligned agency who is mired in scandal and crisis. Now, you’re asked to step in and take leadership as commissioner of the IRS. The story of Charles O. Rossotti and how he transforms one of the most hated organizations into a positive agency is a tale every leader should read. If he can flip an organization of millions into a productive — but customer-service focused — machine, then think about what you can do from his lessons. View the book.

  6ACT Made Simple

Wouldn’t you say emotional health is important? It’s a subject school never really teaches us, which makes this book a good pickup. ACT is a scientifically-validated mindfulness technique and this book makes it something anyone can learn to use on their own. It’s perfect for addressing any problems, motivations, or commitments you’re facing in real estate. View the book.

  7Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works

This book is a tale from the CEO of Procter & Gamble — and specifically how they leveraged strategy to win the marketplace (for their many brands like Tide and Pampers). If you need a beginner’s guide on business strategy, this book will do you service. They outline clear steps you need to do in order to win your own market. And, you’ll be surprised at the ideas you generate just from reading the material. Pick up this book if you want to learn where to play and how to win. View the book.

  8The Obstacle is the Way

Need some wisdom to become more successful? Ryan Holiday draws from an ancient well of wisdom: Stoicism. This isn’t like Meditations from Marcus Aurelius (because that book wasn’t really meant to be read; it was a journal). This book, however, shows how each struggle can be an opportunity to become stronger, tougher, and better. Ryan ties it back to historical examples, ranging from John D. Rockefeller to former governor and movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger. View this book.

  9Talent on Demand: Managing Talent in an Age of Uncertainty

In any real estate business, you want the best of the best (i.e. agents who can sell). Recruiting top talent is a constant struggle in any industry, and Peter Cappelli tackles this challenge with his book: Talent on Demand. Learn how to match your demand for talent with a supply of excellent team members. Peter shows you how to forecast hiring needs, develop talent as you onboard, and maximize the returns on your hiring investments. View the book

  10The No Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One That Isn’t

The title says it all. If your workplace is filled with assholes, then grab a copy of this book. Written by Robert Sutton, this book will show you how a real a-hole of an employee can poison the work environment, reduce productivity, and dampen motivation. And Sutton is plain on how to deal with them: Get rid of them. But besides using common sense on the matter, Sutton provides statistical research on why you should remove the sour apples. Even if the employee is a top producer, if they don’t fit, they don’t stick. View the book.

  11Good Boss, Bad Boss: How to Be the Best and Learn from the Worst

This book is a sequel to The No Asshole Rule, written by Robert Sutton. Before, Sutton argued how to handle “sour apples” in the workplace, but he also learned that bosses can be those as well. To lead a team — to handle assholes in the workplace — Sutton shows you how to be a good boss and shows you what to learn from the worst bosses. He pulls stories from Ed Catmull, Steve Jobs, and A.G. Lafley, giving you direct access to unique wisdom. If you want to increase the impact of your team, check out this book. View the book.

  12Judo Strategy: Turning Your Competitors’ Strength to Your Advantage

This work, by David Yoffie and Mary Kwak, takes the main principles of judo martial arts and applies it to business strategy. It drives home the ultimate principle of strategy: maximize impact while minimizing effort. The book answers the question: How do you compete with opponents who have size, strength, and history on their side? Their solution: Rather than oppose strength to strength, successful businesses use their opponent’s’ size and power to bring them down. Learn how to translate the core principles of judo – a martial art that prizes skill not size — into a winning business strategy. View the book.

  13Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces that Stand in the Way of True Inspiration

Have you ever wondered where all the ideas and creativity come from inside Pixar Studios? Co-founder and author, Ed Catmull, gives you a peek into the process behind stories like Toy Story and Inside Out. If you want to lead your team members to new heights, then this book is for you. Catmull goes against conventional advice and shows you how to really let teams excel. View the book.

  14Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World

In 2004, General McChrystal took command of the Joint Special Operations Task Force in Iraq and Afghanistan. He quickly realized conventional military tactics were failing against Al Qaeda, a decentralized network of enemies. Solving this issue meant revamping how the military organization worked and made decisions … decisions that would impact lives. After citing real-life examples, he shows you how the approach can improve business operations. If you are looking for a book to help you stay up to speed with the changing world, this is it. View the book.

  15Your Strategy Needs a Strategy: How to Choose and Execute the Right Approach

You think you have a winning business model — but do you? Co-authored by the Boston Consulting Group, this book will help you assess your business environment and define a winning strategy for taking the market. It’s meant to be a practical guide to implementing different strategic approaches for your business needs. It’s especially helpful since it gives room for you to think about how it applies to your area of operation. View the book.

  16Arc of Ambition: Defining the Leadership Journey

In this book, you’ll learn how to harness your ambition to achieve new goals. As mentioned by the authors, there is an “arc of ambition,” where everyone starts with an idea and then turns over that idea to others to execute. But how you energize and mobilize people to help you realize that goal — that’s where you need to utilize your ambition. Check this book out for real-world examples. View the book.

  17The New Capitalist Manifesto: Building a Disruptively Better Business

To cap off our reading list, I thought it’d be best to end with this book — a telling tale from Umair Haque. He makes a clear argument on how businesses have outgrown the old model of short-term growth, competition at all costs, and adversarial strategy. Following those old models only lead to “thin value” — something all real estate professionals should take note of. To create “thick value” — enduring, meaningful, and sustainable advantage — Haque shows you five keystones for doing so. To learn more, check out the book. View the book.

  Let Us Know

Whether you read all the books or just one, let us know your thoughts! Share any feedback and recommend other books we should read via our Facebook channel or on Twitter. We’d love to hear from you, and make sure we’re sharing the right books that lead to your success.

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