#making them all family members is... missing the point to a truly impressive extent...

[cookinguptales]

every time I remember that the most popular version of the haunting of hill house is the version that makes theo and eleanor sisters I'm just like

[princeblack]

It startles him a little each time, the way she talks about him. To Bee, he isn’t just a member of the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black, ancient Pureblood royalty with status and money to show it off. She talks about him like he’s just another person, not something to gossip about like the rest of the school. Ernie Macmillan once said that Regulus was only ahead of the class because he was a secret minion of You-Know-Who, along with the rest of the Black family ‘and that Sirius Black in Azkaban’. It was true to an extent, but what Ernie didn’t understand is that Regulus isn’t a threat to him or the school, instead wanting to follow the Dark Lord’s greatness to protect their world and make it better. But what would Ernie know about that, when his family didn’t care about mixing with the muggle world? Regulus is used to being misunderstood, gossiped about and envied. He’s used to turning heads in the corridors, making girls and boys alike watch him. But what he isn’t used to are Bee’s gentle blue eyes, gazing past every surface level he has and into his very soul, as if she can see everything that’s there and she cherishes him for it anyway. He’s never felt so safe… comfortable. And it should be ‘wrong’, according to his mother. 

“Your father is missing out, too,” he points out gently. “Maybe it doesn’t seem like it because you look up to him, but he’s a fool. You’re the most interesting and beautiful girl at Hogwarts… everyone knows it and he should be proud.” He looks away, green eyes sparkling with a sort of sadness for their lost time. He wishes he hadn’t wasted so much of it settling for Daphne all to impress his mother, afraid that Bee wouldn’t want him. How could she, when her house mates like Ernie talked so poorly of him? He never understood why people were so rash to think the Dark Lord was completely evil, as if people usually worked like that. All Regulus knew was his family, and they looked up to the wizard, praising his ideas about keeping them safe from muggles and protecting their family power. Regulus never thought of power as bad— their magic was sacred; something to cherish and be respected. When so many of their ancestors were lost in the witch hunts, it was all he could do to help make sure that never happened again. But how, he wasn’t so sure anymore… Bee’s mother deserved to be in their world just like she did, so what was the answer? If Voldemort lead them, would he protect them from the dangers of muggles that feared them? Or would he kill every last muggleborn, like Emma Diggory? The thought hurts him even more than the thought he’s unworthy of Bee, just like Ernie seems to think.

“I’m not saying Cedric isn’t great, but you underestimate how special you are. Do you even know how many people want you? Even other boys in Slytherin…” Sure, Bee is the quirky girl who is obsessed with creatures, but she’s also the hottest in the school and everyone seems to notice. Regulus can’t blame them, but he does get jealous, wishing he could shut them up because she’s only his. Even if she doesn’t know it yet. “Of course, I’d hex them if they tried to be with you…” He pouts a little, thinking about Dean again. “You don’t understand how much I had to hold myself back from hurting your ex– he didn’t even know what your allergies were.” It brings a disconcerted frown to his lips, hating that she was anything less than worshiped by that idiot.

One thing bothers him about what she says… about how he doesn’t need his family truly, and blood isn’t everything. He’s done everything for them and it’s almost impossible to imagine not having them in his life– what would it be like, for his mother to hate him so much she burned his face from her wall? Even the thought made his chest ache, tears stinging his eyes. He didn’t want to be alone… And Bee deserved more than to deal with him, a Death Eater, when she had so much life ahead of her that wasn’t tied up in a cult or an old, complicated family like his. “I’m top of my class and a Prefect and still don’t have peoples’ love, really… I’m not even sure my own girlfriend likes me. I’m just a tool for them, maybe with a pretty face. What if I have no one in the end, without my mother and father?” His chest aches because he wants her to say she’ll be there for him; love him. But he knows how much of an ask that is, especially when she doesn’t know the full story. Hell, he was fake, too– fake to Daphne, and everyone around him but Bee. How could he expect anything from others besides what he gave them?

The fact she cares enough to wish happiness for him should be enough; that the most beautiful girl in his world wants him to be happy. But it’s not. He needs her in ways he never could’ve anticipated… It’s a desire he can’t ignore any longer, regardless of what he’s doing to Daphne because of that. Maybe he doesn’t deserve anyone, with the way he’s been acting, but he doesn’t care. His heart wants what it wants, and if Bee wanted him too, why couldn’t he have her?

“They’ve been talking about you?” Regulus asks, brows furrowing because even the thought of Pansy and Daphne speaking about Bee makes him angry. “Saying what things, exactly? Is it because of me?” His special treatment towards the Diggory was obvious, with it being apparent to probably everyone in the school how badly he wants her. What he doesn’t expect is for it to have hurt her, seeing him kiss Daphne. He was so sure she had moved on from him, and yet watching her with Dean had ripped his heart from his chest. “I didn’t know that it was hurting you,” he says honestly. “I never wanted to hurt you.” He frowns, hating that he did and hating himself for it. “But my heart was broken, thinking you didn’t care…”

Only Bee could feel sorry for Mrs. Norris like he did– another reason why it felt like they were meant to be. Why was everyone else so determined to hate the cat because of Filch’s actions? “I wish you would do that for me… Maybe I’ll become an animagus and hope that my form is a cat. I would rather lounge in your lap and be fed sardines the rest of my life than face the rest of the world.” He wishes he could hide away with her; his only real safe space. If that’s even what she wants with him, after all of this.      

She looks beautiful, how he walks to the railing and tilts her head back, immediately looking at the stars overhead. Hogwarts is the most beautiful place on Earth, with a view of the sky and mountains that was unbeatable. The Forbidden Forest is something special; so special that he’s always loved breaking the rules to visit it with Bee. “I think about it, too… Being alone with you, especially up here. The view is almost as beautiful as you are.” He smiles at her a little softly, walking up to stand beside her next to the railing. “Hermione seems to have forgiven me for that… Maybe it had something to do with my perfect grades, or when I rescued her and her friends from Draco. But I still haven’t forgiven her for interrupting the best kiss of my life.” He looks at Bee up and down almost shyly, stepping towards her. “That day on the train is my best memory.” He felt safe; happy, in love… all with the incredible girl he’d just met.

before regulus she lived a pretty lonely little life, sure she had her childhood friend luna and her brother cedric, a mother who loved her but something always felt like it was missing....like a dark hole inside of her that could not be filled with boys like dean or trying to get the approval of her stubborn father. it's not that regulus defines her life, she's learned the hard way that she can live without him but living without him was a darkness she never knew, everyday aching in her chest watching him be with someone else even if it wasn't technically his choice he was still holding the hand of a girl who wasn't bee, who could never love him to his fullest the way she did. it makes her feel sick inside the more she thinks about it...she never knew what being in love exactly meant until now.

love was beautiful and refreshing, it was a feeling greater than all the stars in the sky, it was aching and pain when you couldn't be near them. it was seeing the best in someone even if he didn't always see it within himself. she saw the world in regulus black, he was more than just his namesake, more than the blood that flows through him. he was the sweetest most sensitive and smart boy she's ever met, he taught her so much not just educational like potions but he taught her how to truly feel a genuine sense of happiness, slowly but surely she was becoming more comfortable in her own skin, enough to tell him every little thing that was on her mind even if it wasn't the most flattering thing to hear.

her eyes soften as he talks about his family, how it makes him feel and it's one of the things she understands most about him. though she figures his situation is a little more extreme than hers, it's already hard having a family who expects so much of you but to have awful rumors about you and your family going around the school like being a death eater...even if he was, she knew it wasn't really his choice, none of this was. he was just too good to say no, too naive to an extent. "they're missing out...their selfishness keeps them from discovering what an amazing son they have. " she says softly. "my dad always expects me to be like cedric, at least be as good as him...he's never been proud of me, not since I was a child and I know how much it hurts but if the cost of happiness is losing your family than they were never truly family. it's not only about blood you know?" she bites down on her lip, hoping she didn't overstep too much but she just wishes he would let himself be free, partly selfishly so he would love her but mostly because she sees so much in him that he wont set free because of his parents. "astoria got lucky to have a dad who loves her so much, I almost envy her for it..." she laughs sadly, even though astoria didn't really agree with her father he still cared deeply for his child, sometimes bee wonders if amos would ever feel the same. she frowns a little when he says he's still scared, squeezing his hand gently. "I just want you to be happy regulus..."

daphne seemed so proud to be near regulus but it wasn't for the right reasons...bee tried not to be hateful, she tried to be understanding of even the most unlikeable of people like regulus's cousin draco, who seemed more concerned with making his family proud than letting himself form his own outlook on life. he wasn't a bad person, he just seemed, confused...butt bee struggles to find that same grace for the males girlfriend, maybe it's jealousy but something about the blonde rubbed her the wrong way. she wasn't like regulus or astoria who seemed more like victims of their up bringing, if anything she truly seemed proud of who she was and where she came from. "it doesn't make it hurt any less seeing you with her...seeing you kiss her and have her knowing you were hers. I hated it so much and I guess it doesn't help that she and pansy have apparently been talking about me." she shrugs, shaking her head a little.

after kissing him on the lips regulus leads her out of the dungeon and towards their special place in the astronomy tower. it was her second favorite place in the school after the greenhouse, it's often where the pair would meet just to get away from the world because students didn't often use it unless it was during class hours. she holds his hand tight as they walk despite it being past curfew by now. just as they're about to take another step mrs.norris is standing there, looking up at them with her eyes. that poor cat, bee would be rather grumpy too if her owner was a grumpy old man with an unhealthy obsession with punishing teenagers...still, bee wishes she could befriend the poor kitty. but before she can think about it too long regulus is tugging her back, pressing her against the wall as their hands still interlock. she holds her breath without really thinking of it, eyes closing as his warm breath brushings against her ear whispering a spell inside as the pair go invisible for a moment and foot steps of the old man come closer, muttering something to his cat as bee leans into regulus a little looking for comfort as her heart pounds, hoping mrs.norris doesn't tip off the squib. eventually the footsteps get quieter as he walks away, the cat not fair behind leaving the pair to get away with their sneaking around.

it's like he reads her mind, showing pity for the kitty as he jokes about her needing a raise. "sometimes I wish I could whisk her away and give her all the belly scratches and sardine's her little heart desires, poor thing." bee says softly, smiling up at him as they approach the winding steps. she misses his hand when he lets go but she walks ahead to reach the top of the tower, the cold night wind brushing against her exposed skin as the fresh air and smell of wood makes her feel a little more comfortable, it has become a bit of a safe place for her and a good alternative outside of the smoke filled party.

she walks over to the railing, tilting her head up to look at the stars in the sky tonight, they were so beautiful especially when it was so quiet out tonight. "it's so beautiful up here at night." she says softly, smiling a bit as she looks over at regulus for a moment before looking back at the sky. "you know, it sounds silly but I always look forward to being up here with you...it's like my favorite thing in the world. I thought about it all summer...no daphne or dean, no classes to worry about. just you and me, alone...like the first day we met other than hermione of course." she laughs at the embarrassing part of that memory, when the frizzy haired girl interrupted her perfect kiss. "I sometimes still look over my shoulder to see if she's lurking, ready to ruin my perfect moments with you."

[bafflement]

Deaged Oz - Atlas Hospital Scene Part II

"... James?" Oz ventured, tentatively, as he re entered the room. "What is it? What did they find... who do they think I was?" "I can give you good news and bad news. On one hand, you do have several living family members, assuming this information is correct. On the other, I'm not so certain you would wish to claim them all..." "You said there was a kidnapping ring? How many others went missing in it, and would there be anyone beyond your sister that..." "Was important enough to merit extra attention? No one missing child case should be more important than any other... but. As said, if the scroll is right, then there have been people looking for you for a quarter of a century."

Oz swallowed, taking in that information, mind racing as he tried to recall any cases from that time that he'd ever really heard of. The fact that there had been a kidnapping ring did tickle something in the back of his brain, but he was still so tired that whatever it was wasn't coming to him. This was another reason he hated hospitals, the drugs they gave him tended to slow his mind down to an unacceptable extent. Even without the full merge, he was used to knowing these things. But would he, now?

Qrow, getting impatient, jerked the scroll away from James, glaring at him as the latter snarled. Dammit, Oz was his friend, whatever this was sounded like something they would need to deal with together. Besides... Qrow had been eleven when Oz would have been snatched and, unlike the others, he had a sudden, horrible incling of just who the database would have believed Oz to have been. Because Atlas plus Oz's rather unique coloring painted a rather terrifying picture. He wasn't right, of course. He was very, very certain that the child in question had been murdered, there'd been certain consequences to that action that the Branwen tribe as a whole had been gossipping and snickering about for months afterwards. But then stranger things had happened. Some of them even to Oz.

Oscar leaned closer to his brother, Ruby moving to his other side, one hand raising only to drop it again, a guilty expression on her face. Oz himself was watching Qrow, eyes narrowed but trusting that he knew what he was doing. After all, this was probably still a dream. The others were being so nice, so friendly, even though he'd done nothing to earn that sort of trust from them again. It was a very nice dream, though. Even the thought that the child he had once truly been had actually had a family that missed him was nice. He doubted it, after all he had been rather prominant in Vale later on, but still. It was nice.

Qrow swore, too. His vocabulary was even more extensive and impressive than James' had been, and Oz could feel Oscar blushing into his shoulder. In fact, he was pretty certain he was the only one in the room not learning new words from the rant. He stilled, though, as he heard a single surname repeated several times.

"Qrow? Please tell me I'm hearing things, that you didn't just say Schnee? If I'm related to Jaques Schnee, I'll kill him myself." His voice was tight with a fury the others hadn't really heard from him before, but his hatred for that particular public figure bled through loud and clear.

"You're not. Not directly, anyway. Have you ever heard the story of Winter? Not the specialist. The other one."

"... the missing one." At that, Oz couldn't help but swear, too. Thankfully he knew enough languages that he doubted the others would that they were unlikely to understand. From Qrow's impressed noises, though, he at least got the gist.

"Not that I don't agree wth you about Jaques Schnee's ancestry, Oz, but... maybe tone it down a bit? Little ears. Technically including your own. And Oz? I'm sorry. You're my best friend, you know that. I just... yeah. Well, won't happen again."

"It might, if I ever make you all as angry as I did that day. Speaking of, at some point soon, James, we'll need to talk. There's information that I need to share that I've been, well... scared to."

"Scared, Oz? You? I'll believe that when I see it."

"Another version of me asked the wrong question, ever since, I've been... well. As said, we'll talk in private. Just promise me you won't hate me?"

"Hate you? NEVER, Oz, I couldn't even if I wanted to."

Oz just nodded, face pensive, as a set of footsteps echoed down the corridor towards them. James looked like he wasn't really looking forward to seeing whoever that was, but since he had to have been the one to have summoned them, Oz felt that was probably very much a him problem. He had enough on his mind with the revelation that he was apparently another Winter Schnee... but he had heard of the boy in question, the fact that their father had used the name for a son not a daughter had rather tended to stick in the mind, given the connection to the story of the maidens.

A white haired young woman in military garb entered and saluted James, before turning to look at the others. Her eyes scanned past Oscar, Oz, Ruby and Nora to land, glaring, on Qrow, who glared right back.

"Great, the ice queen. I know why she's here, Jimmy, but can we get some of the kids out first? I doubt Oscar will leave, but Ruby and Nora probably should..."

"Agreed. You two? Dismissed. See if you can send Weiss Schnee back up here, while you're at it?"

"Yes sir, general Ironwood sir." Ruby stuttered before dragging a protesting Nora from the room. Winter watched them go then turned to James again.

"With all due respect sir, just why am I here? And who are these children?"

James sighed. "That's not really an easy answer, but... Specialist Winter Schnee? Meet Oscar Pine... and Winter Schnee."

She stared at Oz for a minute, who met her gaze as evenly as he could, before snapping. "Sir, that is not a funny joke."

"I'm not laughing, Winter."

"My uncle never lived long enough to carve out his own path. If he had, he would be a lot older than that boy is."

"As said, it's complicated." Ironwood said, gently. "But it boils down to this. You know of magic, after all, I have briefed you on the maiden powers before and you know what it means to accept them. However, as much as the maidens are real... so is the wizard. The current incarnation is apparently your uncle."

"But sir, you said that the current incarnation was..." She turned back to Oz, staring at him again, taking in the dark glasses, the pale hair.

"Oh." She said, weakly. "I'm not sure this is a situation I would wish for my father to find out about, he'd try to manipulate things. You are Professor Ozpin, correct?"

"Yes," Oz confirmed. "Although I prefer Tip Pine at present. Also, I challenge your father to try to manipulate me. It would not end well. For him."

"You... hate him almost as much as I do, don't you?"

"Quite probably. For how he has treated you and Weiss, he had my hatred. Now that I know that your mother may in fact be my sister... there are rumors as to her current state and the reasons behind it. That he could do that to someone he claimed to love is unconscionable. As such, I intend to find a way to rescue her from him. Young Whitley, too."

"Whitley is currently older than you, I think. How are you a child, sir? If I can ask."

"Nobody really is certain of that, including myself, however the theory is that it was an unfortunate confluence of various factors that resulted in a rather unexpected response."

"Do you remember? Anything, really?" She sounded far more tender now, but Oz wasn't sure he quite liked the look in her eyes.

"Before waking up in Vale? Nothing. Snatches, perhaps. Also, I am not the child I appear to be, Winter. I don't need mothering."

"I wasn't!" She sounded indignant. "I... wait, was I?"

"Very slightly, yes." James interjected, still sounding amused. There was a noise as Weiss entered, blinking at her sister. "Hello, Winter. Hello again Oscar, Qrow. Oz. General. Why am I here?"

Oz shrugged as Winter sighed. "We came into some interesting information, sister. It appears that Professor Ozpin is our uncle."

"Excuse me? How is that... Uncle Winter?" She sounded strangely happy at the revelation, something else that rather convinced Oz he was still dreaming.

"Apparently." he muttered as Oscar started to laugh, Qrow following suit. They both sounded slightly hysterical, in fact. But then, it had been that sort of a day. In the back of his mind, Ozymandias sounded rather relieved that, if nothing else, at least he knew who he had once been, at last.

They talked for awhile longer, but Oz was fading in and out as the drugs took hold once more and soon enough they left him to sleep. He did so smiling, softly. For a dream, it had been a rather nice one.

[mediaeval-muse]

Book Review

These Violent Delights. By Chloe Gong. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2020.

Rating: 3/5 stars

Genre: historical fiction

Part of a Series? Yes, These Violent Delights #1

Summary: The year is 1926, and Shanghai hums to the tune of debauchery. A blood feud between two gangs runs the streets red, leaving the city helpless in the grip of chaos. At the heart of it all is eighteen-year-old Juliette Cai, a former flapper who has returned to assume her role as the proud heir of the Scarlet Gang—a network of criminals far above the law. Their only rivals in power are the White Flowers, who have fought the Scarlets for generations. And behind every move is their heir, Roma Montagov, Juliette’s first love…and first betrayal. But when gangsters on both sides show signs of instability culminating in clawing their own throats out, the people start to whisper. Of a contagion, a madness. Of a monster in the shadows. As the deaths stack up, Juliette and Roma must set their guns—and grudges—aside and work together, for if they can’t stop this mayhem, then there will be no city left for either to rule. Perfect for fans of The Last Magician and Descendant of the Crane, this heart-stopping debut is an imaginative Romeo and Juliet retelling set in 1920s Shanghai, with rival gangs and a monster in the depths of the Huangpu River.

***Full review under the cut.***

Content/Trigger Warnings: violence, blood, gore

Overview: I love the premise of this book. A Romeo and Juliet retelling? Set in 1920s Shanghai? Sign me up! There was so much to love about These Violent Delights: the setting, the characters, the prose, the complexity of the social and political situation... so why didn’t I rate this book higher? Well, despite all the things I loved, I didn’t love the pacing and the plot. In my opinion, Gong had the tendency to kill a lot of suspense and over-explain things, which not only made the main plot feel slow, but I felt like I was being told a lot of things about characters instead of shown. Thus, it was hard for me personally to absorb the significance of things and become emotionally invested. Overall, though, These Violent Delights is an ambitious book, and I look forward to reading the sequel.

Writing: From the first page of the prologue, I was hooked on Gong’s way of describing the look and feel of Shanghai. I love the way she describes settings, using vivid imagery and almost poetic phrases to evoke feelings of seediness and poverty. Gong ensures that her prose doesn’t get too purple, however, so I think she overall strikes a nice balance between being literary and being accessible.

I do, however, think that Gong had the tendency to tell rather than show when it came to descriptions of the characters’ backstories, motivations, or other things, such as the bloodfeud between the gangs. We are told, for example, that there is a bloodfeud, and we get scenes where gang members bristle at the sight of one another, but we don’t really have any scenes where the bloodfeud serves as a major antagonist or threatens characters in a real, tangible way. Juliette’s and Roma’s pasts also don’t feel very laden with pathos, and I got the impression that we were supposed to feel sympathetic without really seeing how their pasts continue to affect them in the present. For example, we’re told that Roma’s mother was killed by Scarlets, but Roma barely ever thinks about her, doesn’t have any longing for her, etc. Perhaps some flashbacks would have helped make these pasts feel more impactful, or maybe a change in the way characters think and act, but as it stands, I didn’t feel like much of the violence was really “present,” so to speak, because everyone who dies isn’t really given a real presence in the novel.

I also think Gong had the tendency to interrupt the flow of her story by inserting unneeded descriptions or background information at inopportune moments. For example, when Roma and Juliette are running from the scene of a crime at one point, they agree to meet up at a restaurant nearby, and Gong proceeds to give us a paragraph on what that restaurant is like. It has no real significance to the action - the characters don’t really spend a lot of time there, and it never comes up again. As a result, we get some descriptive or expositional passages in the middle of a scene, which I think really slows down the book’s pace and removes a sense of urgency. In other words, form didn’t match function in places where it really mattered.

Lastly, I think Gong over-wrote some of her passages to the extent that the reader was being told things that could have been inferred. We would read, for example, passages where Gong would tell us why a character was speaking quietly or why a character was acting in a certain way, and some of those things would be obvious from context. I think Gong could have benefitted from pulling back a little bit and letting readers piece together some things on their own.

Plot: This book mainly follows Roma and Juliette, to heirs to Shanghai’s two most notorious gangs, as they track down a monster which has been causing a mysterious madness to sweep across the city. In my opinion, this madness/monster plot was a little weak - not only did I feel like the mystery itself wasn’t very clever, but I didn’t get the sense that the madness was truly a threat. As I mentioned above, violence doesn’t really have a tangible impact on our named characters - the gangs aren’t shown to suffer much from the impact on their operations (Juliette doesn’t have to make do with less income, for example, and she doesn’t seem all that connected to the common resident of Shanghai to be altruistic) and even if we just accept that Roma and Juliette want to solve the mystery to prove something to their fathers, I didn’t feel like I cared enough about their statuses in the gang to want them to succeed or fail. To solve this problem, I think I would have liked to see more stakes; if they fail, would the gangs be entrusted to more violent people who would do more harm than good? If they fail, would they be chased out of town or sent away? Something a bit more urgent, I think, to show us that. Granted, wanting to impress their fathers is a good motivation, but I wanted more urgency.

Characters: Juliette, our primary heroine, is perhaps the most well-developed character in this book. She’s the heir to the most powerful gang in Shanghai, but despite the nominal security of her title, she has to prove herself worthy because A.) she’s a woman, and B.) she spent a lot of time in America, which makes her too Western for her people’s standards, yet too Chinese for the Europeans living in the city. She’s also hot-blooded and impulsive, which gets her into some trouble (a flaw that I think Gong wrote well, as it felt like Juliette was being ruthless out of some sense of insecurity). I really enjoyed her as a character, and I think Gong wrote her well.

Roma, our primary hero and Juliette’s love interest, is somewhat less interesting. He has some qualities that seem good on paper: he’s an expert with a firearm and isn’t enthusiastic about violence. He also cares deeply for his sister and has a complicated relationship with his father. However, he didn’t have the same level of complexity as Juliette. He didn’t have any convictions about why he and his gang deserved to be in Shanghai, nor did his family’s history with the Bolsheviks seem to influence the way he responded to the communist uprising. I wanted a little more from him, and I wanted to be shown why Juliette was in love with him (other than their history and, supposedly, Roma’s ability to “really see” her).

Supporting characters were hit or miss. I really liked Rosalind and Kathleen, and I loved the dynamics they brought to the story. As sisters and cousins to Juliette, they have a complicated relationship with the Scarlet Gang - they’re family, but not family enough to have true power or protection. I liked that the sisters responded differently to this situation; Kathleen seems more desperate to do whatever Juliette asks, while Rosalind feels that people like her have to deal with all the fallout of the Cai’s actions. Benedikt and Marshall, Roma’s companions, also had a nice dynamic; Marshall is somewhat outgoing while Benedikt was reserved, and the two brought out new behaviors in the other that made me think they have a budding m/m romance. However, I didn’t really understand their motivations enough to feel invested in their stories. They felt more like sidekicks than characters in their own right - they wandered around Shanghai doing errands for their gang, but didn’t really seem integral in ways other than that.

Antagonists were somewhat bland, in my opinion. Tyler, a hot-headed Cai who wants to be the heir instead of Juliette, weaves in and out at convenient moments, inserting tension at random moments that didn’t seem to build on one another. I would have liked a more sustained storyline where he is constantly interfering and competing with Juliette, perhaps to raise the stakes. For example, if he had also been working to track down the monster, and the two had had more confrontations about their progress along the way, Juliette’s success might be a little more urgent. Dmitri, another hot-headed wannabe heir on the White Flower side, is barely present and doesn’t feel like a threat. I would have liked to see the same thing be done with him: have him investigating the mystery, but in a way that opposes how Roma does things (perhaps a way that exacerbates the blood feud). Even the people directly involved with the monster plot seemed to be stock characters, and I wasn’t entirely convinced that they were formidable opponents for our protagonists.

Romance: For a Romeo and Juliet retelling, I was surprised that the romance (or the relationship, at the very least) wasn’t more of a focus in this book. I guess if the book hadn’t been marketed that way, my thoughts might be different, but then again, many of the names are deliberately crafted to resemble the names in Shakespeare’s play. Even so, I think I liked that the romance didn’t take center stage all the time, as it allowed Gong to give us a retelling that wasn’t just the same plot points as the original play.

However, I definitely would have liked more tension or angst in the scenes when Roma and Juliette were together. We’re told (rather than shown) that the two have a complicated history, but when they’re working together, there’s no real chemistry that convinced me that the two still had feelings for one another. Juliette tells us in her POV that Roma sees her and understands her, but other than that, I didn’t get the sense that there was any passion or emotional intimacy between the two - just history. I would have liked to see more conflicted emotions in the places when Juliette or Roma are forced to interact so that there is a stronger buildup to the more intense emotions later in the book. But as it stands, the revival of their romantic feelings felt rather sudden, and I didn’t quite understand why the two were in love.

Themes: One major thing that I think Gong did really well was convey her passion about the state of Shanghai during the time period, especially when talking about politics and colonialism. Gong would have her characters meditate on the conflict between nationalists and communists, as well as the presence of Westerners and other foreigners who don’t bother to respect or engage with Chinese culture (or language). For example, Juliette often remarked upon how she felt like a stranger in her own country, and a lot of the ways she had to navigate racism and sexism reflected that. In my opinion, these themes brought out the best in Gong’s writing, as I could tell that she was invested in them and had a lot to say.

TL;DR: These Violent Delights has an intriguing premise and a well-developed heroine, and Gong is at her best when writing about these things while pushing back against colonialism in 20th century Shanghai. However, I ultimately didn’t feel like I could get emotionally invested in the gang dynamics, the romance, or the mystery itself, mainly because of the writing style and the lack of explicit stakes.

[theonceoverthinker]

84. For tonight’s Fair Game HC, let’s TAI up a loose end in Qrow’s life!

So, I’ve spoken about Clover and Raven’s relationship before, and I’ve spoken of Clover and Qrow talking about Summer before. Correct me if I’m wrong though, but while I think I’ve mentioned him once or twice in these HC’s, aren’t I missing a member of the former team STRQ?

Qrow and Tai’s relationship is an odd one. In canon, we’ve seen Tai react to Qrow negatively, both in the looks he gave Qrow in the Volume 3 finale, and how he talked about Qrow to Yang in Volume 4. However, given the context of those scenes, there’s evidence that their relationship isn’t inherently filled with (One-sided) animosity. Funnily enough, it’s the Chibi-verse that gives their relationship more nuance by showing them act as practically co-parents to Ruby and Yang (With at least one episode even implying that they share a home). Oddly, by virtue of making their spats pettier, we kind of get shown a bit of sweetness in there because they are still a loving family at the end of the day.

And so it only makes sense to see how that dynamics changes up when someone like Clover is added to the mix! That’s what we’re gonna do tonight, so let’s do this, and all that.

-Clover instantly gets along with Tai. He sees so much of Ruby and Yang in him, and they’re such great kids. Plus, he keeps his house so neat and his garden so well kept and not to mention, he’s an incredible cook (Ruby was NOT over praising his cookies) -- what’s not to love about him?

-Tai...takes a hit second to get used to Clover. While it’s never been to the extent of Qrow, Tai’s not much of a military fan, and Atlas’ was always a bit too much of all that for his taste. So he’s a little weirded out to see this second-in-command palling around with his family. However, once he and Clover spend more than a minute together, Tai comes around to him. He sees Clover’s playful side and just how good he is for Qrow.

-I think their friendship is what really fuels Tai and Qrow’s reconciliation/process of warming up to each other more. Clover fills Tai in on things going on in Qrow’s life (Qrow likely wouldn’t directly bring up that he doesn’t drink anymore, for instance), and those things that Qrow would never admit actually help Tai realize just how hard things have been for Qrow as of late. And Clover helps convince Qrow that it’s okay to share more with Tai than he has in the past, as well as helps incorporate him into family bonding activities. 

-By the end of the second day in Patch, Tai realizes Qrow and Clover are in love. They’re probably not a couple at this point, but they trust each other so deeply. It reminds Tai of when he was with Summer back before she died/disappeared -- when things were good. They’re always sitting together, always checking in on each other. Tai’s never seen Qrow so forward about his life with anyone -- not even his old team. But with Clover, everything seems to be...FAIR GAME! ( @whipped4qrow, that one was jut for you)

-After three days in Patch, Clover is awake late one night going to the bathroom when he hears something outside the house. He creeps to the nearest window, only to see Qrow and Tai out on the porch. They’re talking so softly with each other -- it’s the gentlest they’ve been with each other since they arrived. Soft smiles appear of each of their faces and Tai even pats Qrow on the shoulder. Clover’s especially happy that neither of them notice him. Both Tai and Qrow are observant men, and to not notice someone like Clover means that they’re truly invested in each other. 

-On the fifth day there, Tai invites Qrow and Clover to go on a supply run with him. It’s a total boy’s day out (Like a good one). They compare bits of knowledge about things, riff on each other, laugh at jokes and old stories. At one point, the three of them are playing a sport or something and Tai and Qrow do an old team move from the STRQ days and team up against Clover. And while Clover’s absolutely not about to give up, he’s honestly so impressed by their teamwork.

-When the group at last leaves Patch, Tai gives both Clover and Qrow warm goodbyes. He subtly not-even-close-to-subtly gives Qrow advice that amounts to “make a move on this man, you bird brain, or I’ll never forgive you!” When it’s time for family get togethers, Clover is never given an invitation (Since Tai figures he’ll be Qrow’s +1), but just to make sure he comes (Regardless of whether or not they’re actually together once the series ends), he calls Clover on his scroll and says that he better be at the party. Qrow and Clover share a laugh, and Qrow shrugs and says “why not?” before kissing Clover’s cheek.

Tagging @homokinetic @skybird13 @whipped4qrow @mooksie01 @luck-of-the-caw @xwildangel @solitude-of-stars @magneto-is-neato @o0nashipear0o @unfairgamey @doctorrwby @clover-and-co @megan-atthedisco @wash-my-brain @bisexualdisasterqrow @baelonthebrave @doubledexterity @rwby-things-i-guess @atlas-heartthrob @the-answer-was-bi-klance @compoterie @thuskindlyiboop @oceansquid @transdemion @deltastream21 @mimiori @xya-hunter @delta-altair

Want to be tagged in future Fair Game HC’s? Of course, you do! So send me a reply, PM, or ask to be added, and I’ll grant your greatest wish! XD

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Anonymous asked: I hugely appreciate how educated you are with your education in the Classics (at either Oxford or Cambridge I think) but I ask with sincere respect how does any of it inform your privileged life in this day and age? It’s easy to say how much we should value our European traditions and heritage it is quite another to live it out don’t you agree? What do you personally get from it?

This is a very relevant question and I apologise if I have stalled in answering it as I was busy with work and life to formulate a worthy reply. But your question is an important one indeed for anyone who harkens to the past as a guide for the present and the future.

I won’t waste space here and tick box all the purely academic reasons why the Classical world is still relevant for us today. I think you can find that in easy to read books and articles written by eminent Classicists who do an admirable service in making the Classical World come alive for the general public (Mary Beard, Bettany Hughes, Emily Wilson, Edith Hall, Peter Jones, Bernard Knox, Robin Lane Fox, Paul Cartledge, and Donald Kagan amongst others that come to mind). But it’s an uphill battle to be sure.

Classics - at least in United Kingdom - has been regressively marginalised with each passing generation starting from school up to university entry. It has an image problem. Few pay much attention to scholars of Latin and Greek. The impression is that Classicists are snobbish and is the education of privileged elitists who master languages that are not spoken. They learn to write them only to read them better. They slap your hands when you write a Latin word common in Sallust or Livy, rather than in Cicero. There is some truth to that sadly. To a large extent Classicists themselves have not been a good advertisement for why anyone should appreciate let alone study the classical world.

At one end those educated in the Classics can come across as encouraging elitism, snobbish pedantry and a sniffy social superiority and at the other end those not versed in Classics but through Hollywood (any sword and sandal film like Gladiator etc) and PC white washed TV series (BBC’s Troy is a good example) have formed a romantic attachment to the ‘heroic’ past by having blue pilled themselves into escapism. Both extremes makes Classics a fetish rather than a guide for life through the beauty and power of the language and culture of the singular Greeks and Romans.

The study of Classics can become the proverbial dog who can dance on two legs, but for what practical purpose? There is the rub. Classics, at its best, offers the historical, philological, and literary foundation and discipline to apply a critical method to every general aspect of learning - and living.

I was fortunate that I had Classicists - both within my family and also my teachers - who were cultured and had led such interesting lives and were able to marry their Classicist mind to their life experiences (often through the experience of war). So learning European languages was not just to get one’s head around arid esoteric articles by 19th-century Frenchmen on the Athenian banking system or Demosthenes’ use of praeteritio and apophasis, but also to appreciate the genius of Dante,Voltaire and Goethe. Classics should never just be about philology though because it can result in a life mostly missed.

Perhaps others might call it privileged but I consider my childhood blessed because I was surrounded by family members who were educated in the Classics - more rare than one might suppose. Through my great aunts and grandmother they instilled the discipline that the mastery of Latin and Greek fuelled the ability to speak and write good English -- and why the latter mattered as much or more than the former.

By the time I left both Cambridge and Oxford behind, I could cite passage numbers in Greek texts of what Thucydides and Plutarch thought of Nicias. But it was only when I went through Sandhurst to pass out as a commissioned army officer did it truly jump off the page and become alive for me.

Moreover having had long fire side conversations with both my grandfather and father - both Oxbridge educated Classicists and both served in distant different types of wars as swashbuckling officers - did I use that learning to understand why for example was Nicias such a laughably mediocre general of the Peloponnesian War. And this was essentially the practical point of reading Thucydides and Plutarch about Nicias in the first place.

I spent many hours in my down time during my service in Afghanistan between missions re-reading dog earred favourite Classicist texts. I began to see the ghosts of the Greeks in the characters of those with whom I was serving. Some began to resemble Sophoclean characters - especially the less well-known ‘losers’ like Ajax and Philoctetes - the sort of tragic heroes whom we root for but the odds are against them - think of any American Western film or the more pathological Tarantino films. Like Sophocles I saw majestic characters (some special forces operators) out of place in a modernising world who would rather perish than change - but in a context where their sacrifice schools the lesser around them about what the old breed was about and what was being lost.

A running thread from a childhood spent in many other countries - from South Asia to the Far East - to the present day is learning to appreciate our landscape as the Ancient world did. The cultivation of curiosity of cultures was seeded in childhood. Respecting and even admiring other cultures - Indian, Iranian, Chinese and Japanese primarily come to mind - led me to appreciate and treasure my own cultural heritage and traditions. The DNA of both the Roman and Greek world went far and wide and so teasing out their fingerprints was fun. In northern Pakistan, we came across ‘Alexander’s children’ - children with blonde and blue eyes who were said to be descended from Alexander the Great’s time in Afghanistan and India - and wandering around the banks of the Jhelum river imagining how Alexander beat his respected foe (later ally) King Porus at the Battle of Hydaspes in 326BC.

These days despite having a busy corporate career I help support running a French vineyard managed foremost by two exceptional cousins and their French partners. As such the Classics still resonate in how I look at the land beyond the vineyard - bridges, roads, towers, walls  - and imagine the Greeks not with ink and papyrus but as men of action, farmers and hoplites, in a rough climate on poor soils. I suddenly envision them pruning and plowing in Laureion, the Oropos, and Acharnae, more like the rugged local farmers with whom come harvest time I roll my sleeves up and get my hands dirty in the vineyards than as the professors in elbow patches who had claimed them.

Knowing and learning about the Classical roots of our Western heritage isn’t just a question of culture it’s also about what personally motivates us in life and how that determines how we make consequential choices in life.

I live in fear of one Greek word  ‘akrasia’. Ancient Greek philosophers coined the term to explain the lack of motivation in life. Most of the philosophical conundrums explored by contemporary philosophers were already explored in Ancient Greece. In fact, Ancient Greek philosophers laid the solid foundation for all philosophical approaches that appeared throughout history: theories of Kant, Hegel or Nietzsche would never exist without Socrates, Plato or Aristotle.

Among the many problems that baffled the Ancient Greeks, one of them gets quite a lot of attention today. Why don’t we always do what’s best for us? Why do we abandon good decisions in favour of bad ones? Why can’t we follow through on our plans and ideas?

Many people would say that the answer is simply laziness or decision fatigue, but Ancient Greek philosophers believed that the problem lay much deeper, in human nature itself. ‘Akrasia’ describes a state of acting against one’s better judgement or a lack of will that prevents one from doing the right thing. Plato believed that akrasia is not an issue in itself, because people always choose the solution they think is the best for them, and sometimes it accidentally happens that they choose the bad solution because of poor judgement. On the other hand, Aristotle disagreed with this explanation and argued that the fault in the human process of reasoning is not responsible for akrasia. He believed that the answer lies in the human tendency to desire, which is often far stronger than reason.

As with almost all philosophical concepts, a consensus has never been reached and akrasia remains open to interpretation. But its practical consequences are all too real in today’s world. Motivation is what makes us unpredictable and persistent, and the life circumstances of the modern world often make motivation disappear.

Today - regardless how old or young one is - many are more and more tempted to exchange a long-term goal for an immediately available pleasure in all its forms from the emotional band aid of porn from a lifeless relationship (or a lack of one) to escaping loneliness for the false intimacy of social media friendship. The lack of motivation can cause us to reduce ourselves to someone else’s standards when we know we can be or do better. 

The Greeks felt that the way you think and feel about yourself, including your beliefs and expectations about what is possible for you, determines everything that happens to you. When you change the quality of your thinking, you change the quality of your life. I’ve been deeply influenced by Aristotle’s idea that virtue is a habit, something you practice and get better at, rather than something that comes naturally. “The control of the appetites by right reason,” is how he defined it. Another way to reframe this is to say, “Virtue is knowing what you really want,” and then building the intellectual, spiritual, and moral muscle to go after it.

To be cultured - as opposed to be merely educated - is how you put what you’ve learned to work in your own life, seeing the world around you more deeply because of the historical, literary, artistic and philosophical resonances that current experiences evoke. This is the privilege of being cultured. For me Classical stories come often to my mind, and some times provide guides to action (much as Plutarch intended his histories of famous men to be guides to morality and action). The classics then are a part of my mental toolset and the context I think with some of the time. I see that as the real blessing in my life.

Thanks for your question.

[dreamerwithapen1]

may we know some more about tisiphone? 🤲

why of course you can ☺️

ok so fair warning, i got quite carried away with talking about her, and this is much much longer than i anticipated... sorry 😅

background: let’s start with her family! tisiphone was born on december 13, 1926, to hector and cassandra carrow. her mother died during child birth, and her father passed from cancer when tiss was four. so from then on, she lived with her aunt, asteria carrow, and her twin cousins, helios and selene, who were the same age as her. since a young age, tiss was always a bit timid and shy, something that selene mocked her about relentlessly. selene was definitely the most cruel and cold hearted of the family and viewed tiss as a waste of space and a useless member of the family. tiss hates the way that selene treats her but never has the courage to stand up to her, and their ‘relationship��� remains that way forever. helios is a different story. while he does share his sister’s views on muggles and muggleborns, he’s not as much as a fanatic about it as selene; nor is he as vocal about it. where selene is loud and brash and always speaks her mind, helios is quiet, observant, and always thinks carefully before speaking; however, he’s no pushover. he’ll put his sister and anyone else in their place without hesitation. which is a good thing, because the biggest cause of tension between the siblings is helios and tiss’ relationship, which can seem a bit odd to outsiders. to others, it appears as if the two are rather indifferent to each other, when really, they’re each other’s best friends. when tiss arrived at her aunt’s home, helios was the one that took her under his wing and showed her kindness. they share the same calm attitude toward things, the same dry understated sense of humor, and a natural affinity for magic, something that selene struggles with. that friendship carries on throughout all their years at hogwarts. and speaking of hogwarts...

school years: tiss, along with helios and selene, received their hogwarts’ letters and were all sorted into slytherin, the same year that tom riddle was as well. over the years, the twins and tiss became part of riddle’s “friend group”, though tiss was never impressed with riddle. because of her shyness and general lack of social interactions, tiss became very good at observing people, and from the beginning, she felt that there was something very wrong with riddle. she could see the emptiness in him, the lack of any genuine emotions other than a hunger for power, and she saw how easily he manipulated everyone around him- and it terrified her. especially when she started to get on his radar, and not in a good way. throughout the years, she rarely made her opinions known in the group, but the few times she did, it was with a timid show of sympathy for those with muggle blood and the thought that all humans- magical or not- were equal. most people just brushed her off, but not riddle. he noted all of those moments and started to become wary of her, because that unassuming and cowardly exterior of hers hid an incredibly smart mind and an exceptional talent for magic, particularly for creating her own spells. at the start of their seventh year, riddle branded his “friends” with the dark mark. and though tiss had never fully committed to his cause, she knew that she had no choice in the matter and received the mark as well. however, riddle still was not satisfied with her. she was far too friendly to the students with muggle blood, but more than that, he knew that she didn’t trust him as well. he saw the way her quiet, intelligent eyes would watch him, and while he would never admit it, he felt a very slight sliver of fear whenever her eyes were on him. and so, he decided that he needed to get rid of her- permanently. but he couldn’t do it himself, for dumbledore was keeping a very close watch on him during this time. instead, he turned to her own cousins for the job. at this point, selene was like the original bellatrix. utterly in love and obsessed with riddle and willing to do anything for him. helios was also lured in by riddle’s charms and agreed with him on his view of muggles and the sort. when riddle told the twins that they needed to be rid of tiss, that she was a threat to their cause, selene jumped right on board, while helios... did not. you see, the thing with helios is that he is definitely not a good person. like he has no qualms about the murder of muggles and mudbloods, thinks that those with pure blood are superior, and has already committed many little crimes for riddle. but, he is good to tiss. she’s his best friend. he truly does love and care about her more than he does his own sister. and in another life, maybe he wouldn’t have been a death eater, maybe tiss could have talked him out of it, could have made him see that his thinking was wrong... but she didn’t because she wasn’t strong enough in her own beliefs to convince him otherwise. and so helios tried to warn her. tried to give her hints of what riddle was planning, tried to push her away, tried to make riddle forget about her, but he didn’t. and tiss, for all of her intelligence, missed the signs. because she thought that she was safe. she thought that with dumbledore around, riddle wouldn’t dare do anything... and that was her mistake. on the night of may 2, 1945, only a few weeks away from graduating, riddle opened the chamber of secrets, and helios and selene convinced tiss to meet them there. and only shortly after arriving, selene went on a rampage about tiss’ muggle sympathies and how she was a disgrace to the family, and raised her wand to her. now at this point, tiss finally understood what was happening and should have defended herself; however, helios was there. and tiss was so sure that he would stop selene. that he would keep her safe, just as he always had. but she underestimated his devotion to riddle. and he did absolutely nothing, except look away, as selene cast the killing curse. and for tiss, the fact that he did nothing hurt far worse than if he had cast the curse himself. that was a betrayal that will stick with her forever.

after death: now, this is when things get a bit tricky (and i still need to flesh out all the details, so i only know the bare minimum at this point, but i’ll explain what i can). as i said earlier, tiss was a very strong witch and was gifted in the art of creating spells. it’s also important to note that her wand has the tendency to act on its own accord at times, is protective and loyal to its owner, and excels at defensive spells. the basic gist is that when selene cast the killing curse, tiss’ wand, which was on her person at the time, took it upon itself to protect its master; however, there is no spell that can stop the killing curse. so while it could not keep her alive, it chose to protect her soul/spirit, and created a spell so unique and complicated that tiss would not understand the full extent of it until decades later, and even then, she doesn’t understand how her wand possibly created something so complex. anyway, after her death, her body is hid in the chamber and never found. riddle and the twins get away with it scot-free and it’s assumed that she simply ran away. and from that day, tisiphone carrow is never seen again. meanwhile, tiss is living as a ghost, stuck on hogwarts’ grounds. and no one can see her. not people, not animals, not other ghosts. and she exists like this for thirty-one years, all alone, her murder going unknown and unsolved, and all the while, her fear of riddle is replaced by hatred. after all, when one has been killed, what is there to fear? so when we see her again during the marauders’ era, her personality is a bit different. she’s still very much introverted and sucks at social interactions even more so since she hasn’t talked to anyone for decades, but she’s no longer the scared, timid girl she once was. she’s more bold, fearless, and, most of all, vengeful. and that is how our dear fifth year sirius black finds her. a bitter looking girl in her slytherin robes sitting in the room where he’s supposed to serve detention. of course, he can’t help himself and makes some snide remark to her and becomes quite irritated when she ignores him. meanwhile, she doesn’t even look his way, knowing that he’s not talking to her. so imagine her terrible surprise when he steps in front of her, locks eyes with her, and demands her attention. she, rightfully, freaks the eff out and runs out of the room while having a panic attack because holy shit someone just SAW her. sirius, of course, is left incredibly confused, slightly put off (because since when does a girl, even if she’s a slytherin, run from him?)  and a bit curious. he spends the next few days keeping an eye out for her, but she keeps her distance and watches him instead, trying to figure what makes this kid different. eventually, they start having actual conversations with him having no clue that she’s, you know, dead. they start to enjoy each other’s company, tiss loving his devil may care attitude, the surprisingly sweet side that he hides, and the fact that he stood up to his family and chose the right side (something that she wishes she had had the courage to do). and sirius loves her surprisingly quick witted humor, her deep kindness (something he never expected from a pureblooded slytherin), and how wickedly smart she is. this goes on for a few weeks before the truth starts to come out. james happens upon, what looks like to him, sirius talking to himself in an empty room. and sirius doesn’t understand how james can’t see tiss sitting right across from him, and it isn’t until tiss vanishes through a wall that sirius puts the pieces together and realizes she’s a ghost. long story short, sirius does some digging and comes to find out the whole truth about tiss’ past. they spend the next couple years at hogwarts becoming even closer, and all the while, tiss begins to learn some new ‘abilities’ and restrictions in this form. eventually, there will come a time when tiss is no longer tethered to hogwarts but to sirius, so when he graduates, she’ll be able to leave the school and go with him, and she’ll help him with ootp business as best as she’s able. (i’m still debating if i want her to able to perform magic in this form or not)

anywho... i think that’s a good overview of her and her story lol i honestly could go on forever, but i think i should stop it here. however if you have any more questions about her, i’d be more than happy to answer them!

~dreamer

[wokeastroke]

Risal’s families: Written by Risal, obviously. Response B: A foot in the door. An inch. A handhold. Often the hardest part of persuasion was finding one of those to start with. From there, a clever mind could make whatever fragments it held sway over fall into place. But it all depended entirely on that first blow. Get them to surrender once, and with the proper encouragement, they would do it again. And again. And again.  The servant who greeted her at this mansion’s front door for example. Kind, nervous young man. Not difficult to pry little scraps of information out of. There were handholds aplenty and the skinny waif of a boy was all too ready to surrender what he knew. Nobody had come to visit the residence in weeks, aside from an overburdened courier. He was one of the few members of staff who had kept their jobs since the end of the war. The lady of the house was not entertaining visitors at this time, but she was in fact home.  When it became clear that the Ren’dorei would not be satisfied until she was allowed inside, the boy tried to politely make his retreat. And then Risal really put her foot in the door.    It was not long after that Risal stood in the threshold of an impressive bedchamber’s entrance, the doors to the room splayed out to their fullest extent on either side. It had been a struggle to throw them open with a dramatic flair, the solid, heavy things. But the effect was worth it. Especially as the boy who greeted her, now red-faced from nipping at Risal’s heels as she moved freely about the manor, caught up. And also caught a glimpse within the bedchamber.  “Oh- oh gods, my lady, I am so sorry. The elf just-”  A hand rose. And that was all it took to silence the flustered man.  The Lady in question was presently seated at her desk. Even at rest there was something graceful about her, and it started in posture that was effortlessly perfect. And continued in her features. She did not possess the roundedness nor the freckles most born and bred Kul Tirans did. Instead, there were high cheekbones and a starkly defined jaw, a thin nose and similar lips. Her eyes were the most striking of all, grey as a polished blade and similarly sharp.  She did not flinch from Risal’s gaze. Even as the chill of the halls seeped into the room, and the human quickly found herself woefully under dressed in her nightgown. A hearth did little to stave off the growing chill of October in Kul Tiras that penetrated the rest of the building. But, at least the Lady of the house was better dressed than her companion. If only slightly.  Ah yes, her ‘companion’. A whore. From the breasts overflowing from a corset half unlaced to the bare, creamy expanse of her legs, back up to a face painted just exaggeratedly enough to tell the story of what the girl was. Her lengthy blonde locks were a certifiable mess- as were her lips. The cherry red lipstick smeared haphazardly about.  As though her appearance weren’t damning enough evidence, she had been draped over the Lady’s lap upon Risal’s arrival. Quite the thing to discover. And the Ren’dorei was nothing if not a cat with the canary between her paws.  “Make tracks. Both of you.”  At the Lady’s words, both whore and servant fled. As their footsteps faded down the halls, the Lady rose. Every movement made at a pace calculated enough to appear unhurried, but purposeful. When her eyes left Risal’s, she did so to look into her vanity’s mirror. Dabbing away at the lipstick smears that decorated her face until they were but a memory.  She did not speak again. And while it was a purposeful lack of manners on the human’s part, Risal couldn’t bring herself to care. It gave her an opportunity to reconsider the Lady.  Clara Whittles. The last of a minor noble house and sole proprietor of the Crimson Hoof. Before meeting the human in person, she was already something to be respected. Most nobility was entirely useless in a more practical sense, but Clara had done well for her family. A shrewd mind served the woman well in doubling the Whittle family’s holdings during the scant seven years she had been the head of her house. She had turned an average stock of Kul Tiran warhorses into a symbol of superiority. Truly, a shame that the war had been so unkind to her. It almost made Risal expect to find a weeping mess.  Evidently, Clara was made of stronger stuff.  “Bad timing?”  “Quite the contrary Miss Risal. I’ve been prepared for your visit for some days now.” The woman spoke as she stared into the flames that danced around the base of her hearth. Risal was given no more than the verbal acknowledgement, and a slight cant of Whittle’s head. As though the Lady were listening to the buzzing of an insect rather than a guest. “You need no introduction of person nor purpose. Speak your piece.”  “Very well.”Risal replied smooth as a heated blade to butter, not to be deterred so quickly. Nor easily. “I have not come to steal your land as I am sure is the expectation. My offer is joint ownership, everything split as fairly as is practically possible. The finer details are up for debate but I will pledge an injection of funds into the Crimson Hoof of a hundred thousand gold the moment the papers are signed. Not to mention a variety of-”  “Stop.”  There was an audible clack as Risal snapped her jaw shut. Okay then.    “If I wanted gold, I would have accepted one of the dozens of other offers that have been made in the past weeks. Don’t look so surprised, you are scarcely the only one who knows the value of my land. Nor are you the wealthiest.” Clara waved a hand at the disgruntled noise that came from her doorway. “Calm yourself, if I desired nothing from you, you would not be here.”  The Lady paused once more, leaving Risal time to realize her worth. And the fact that it depended entirely on Clara’s own interests.  “You are young for one of your kind, aren’t you? They say an elf’s ears always give their youth away, because the older they are the less they move. Until they still forever.”  “That is to say Miss Risal, this venture may be a pleasurable pursuit to you. A fanciful whim to entertain yourself and Felo’dorah until another war arrives. My family line dies with me, but the others? Generations of Fairworths and Galihans will come and go before you care to notice. And that what will be their birthright? To be neglected servants. Peasants to toil while you reap the rewards. Entertainment you surrendered when your attention was tempted elsewhere, because you’ve the luxury of time to waste.”  “I do not. In the coming years, I will either mould a legacy worthy of my family, or forever be the one who destroyed the Whittles name. With that said, I am of the belief that joining your little… fledgling empire is a wise step towards a satisfactory end. But you will own nothing of my lands, nor the Crimson Hoof.”  Clara held her tongue when she heard Risal step forward, finally crossing fully into the bed chamber. She still hadn’t turned to see it, but it was far from difficult to imagine the scowl on the Ren’dorei’s face. Especially when the woman spoke.     “Perish the thought that I insult you my lady, but these lands will be mine whether you make it an easy transaction or not. Sooner or later you’ll be unable to retain ownership, the expenses of running a place like this being as they are. At which point you’ll be forced to sell. If not to me, then to someone else whom I might find to be a more agreeable individual.”  And of course, Risal could not have been more wrong in her assumption. And, of course, Clara was all too prepared to explain why.   _____________________   “A fine, handsome stallion. Truly deserving of his name.”  Risal watched with quiet distaste as Clara showered Noble with affection. The Lady was not wrong, for the steed was indeed fine and the handsomest horse either woman had ever lain eyes upon. Even still, Risal wished he would be somewhat less than perfect for a moment. Nip at the human’s hand perhaps. Kick dirt up on her dress. Anything really, would suffice.  But Noble did no such thing. Because beneath all the rippling muscle, and years of training that had prepared him for war alongside a seasoned rider, the damned horse was sweeter than sugar. Every affection accepted with soft, appreciative huffs and a look from those surprisingly intelligent eyes.  There would be no apples for him later. Traitor horse. “I am glad you think so. Noble deserves to be appreciated by whomever cares for him, though I know you will far from disappoint, my Lady.”  Clara nodded her agreement. And for a time, that was the end of their conversation. There wasn’t much more to speak of given that their matters of business had been settled, and now, Clara had met Noble. It gave Risal a much needed moment to breathe and admire the lands of the Crimson Hoof. The acres upon acres of fenced off fields. A hedge maze not terribly far from the manor. A private pond just large enough to warrant the little dock and row boat that rested over it’s otherwise pristine surface. Picturesque.  That however, was not what caught Risal’s eye.  It was clearly an abandoned structure. Smaller than the main manor, but not by much. A tad overgrown from neglect and poor ageing but imposing all the same. A tidy sum of gold and the input of a stylish eye would turn the derelict thing into an abode to be proud of. And it just so happened Risal recently found herself in need of a new home. Even if it was essentially right next to Clara Whittle’s manor.  “Lady Whittles. I don’t suppose you have any particular use for that building, have you?”

[nezumiismissing]

Missing Characters Analysis Pt.2

Okay, so! It’s been a while since part 1 of this series, but I’m not giving up on it, because I had a lot of fun with the first one, and I want to explore all the other missing characters. If you missed it, here’s part 1. That being said, probably none of these are going to have the same format because of the differences between the characters and their role in the story, so in a way I suppose this isn’t a real continuation, but whatever.

For this part, we’re going to talk about Getsuyaku, who similar to Rashi, although to a lesser extent, I found to play a mostly symbolic role in the story. While he does directly interact with the characters and the story itself, and therefore has a more grounded role than Rashi, for this post at least, I’m going to focus on more of the symbolism, which means that you now get to sit through me rambling about class analysis for the next 1500 words or so. Sorry in advance.

Now the details of No.6’s class system is a discussion for another time, but I’m making it the theme of Getsuyaku’s analysis because he serves as basically the sole representation of the Lost Town residents, who occupy a position we would most likely consider working class. As a working class citizen, he is in an interesting position of existing both within the city and outside of it, in this case literally, since his job at the Correctional Facility takes him outside the wall, and he therefore has the ability to communicate, at least to an extent, between the middle class of No.6 and the impoverished West Block. Although he is a citizen of No.6, it is shown to us in several instances that he is not treated equally to other citizens, having to do unsanitary work and being given no respect by anyone other than other Lost town residents. On one hand, he is treated as being below the other citizens of No.6, not deserving rights or respect, and being basically equivalent to a West Block resident who had managed to break into the city. On the other hand, he is misunderstood by West Block residents, who believe that because he lives within the walls that he is comfortable and taken care of. This is also an internal struggle for Getsuyaku, though, as we see that he feels an obligation to continue working for the city—although whether this is out of fear or genuine appreciation for No.6 is somewhat unclear— therefore maintaining his position as “above” the West Block residents while at the same time recognizing his position within the city as lesser than other citizens and reluctantly going against it by selling things to Inukashi in order to survive and improve his own life.

The divide between “inside” and “outside” the wall is made extremely clear by most of the characters throughout the story, and yet here we see a rare (or maybe not so rare) example of someone who, for symbolic reasons, occupies both spaces. For the most part, each character in No.6 serves as a way to compare two or more different groups of people or conflicting ideas, perhaps most notably Shion in his representation of both the elite class of No.6 as well as those who have been banished from the city altogether. The importance of these comparisons is often to highlight their differences and incompatibility with one another; however, in this case we see Getsuyaku as a unifying force rather than a divisive one. By occupying both spaces simultaneously, he is able to represent both The Lost Town residents via his citizenship within No.6, as well as to a certain extent the residents of West Block who, like Getsuyaku, are forced into criminal activity as a means to basic survival. Within this dual identity, we are able to see that despite their statuses as either “inside” or “outside” the wall, these two groups are fundamentally almost the same to a great extent. The wall becomes not a great divide between those that are deserving and those who are not, but instead a thin line between barely scraping by and abject poverty that is able to be crossed at any time.

Along with the burden of simply doing undesirable work, Getsuyaku, and therefore the working class as a whole, is also forced to play a significant role in the maintaining of the system through the control of information. No.6, and most societies in general, are built upon the control of information, and the withholding of certain information from the general public. Getsuyaku’s job at the Correctional Facility necessitates that he learn what is likely otherwise classified information about No.6, whether that be the conditions under which he has to work or any suspicious materials he may find while sorting through the city's trash. While this information would clearly be useful to both regular citizens and those working against the city such as Yoming, he is obligated to withhold this information out of fear of punishment by the government, and therefore takes part in his own oppression. This is of course not a voluntary position, as his death shows us, but nonetheless an important aspect in the world building of the story.

Speaking of his death, the murder of Getsuyaku also serves as the first time that we directly see fatal violence enacted upon a regular citizen of the city. While it's clear by this point in the story that No.6 is not above murdering its own citizens, and other instances have been implied, such as the case of Yomings wife, this scene cannot be understated. Other deaths take place within predefined contexts: part of the experimentation with the bees, a direct response to going against the city, culling older people to preserve resources. Obviously none of these things are ethically justifiable, but they come with explanations that we can on some level understand for the purposes of the story. Getsuyaku’s death on the other hand comes with almost no explanation, and even from the perspective of No.6 itself, is less justified than the Manhunt. He is murdered not because the officers know he has done anything deemed to be “wrong”, but simply because they are suspicious of him, because in their minds it is easier to claim that he is to blame for the malfunctioning robots than it is to believe that it was an accident or regular breakdown. The fact that we know the circumstances of the incident don't matter in this moment because we are not in a position to make a decision about him.

Getsuyaku’s position as the first civilian casualty of the last portion of the story also serves a narrative purpose, that of a symbolic catalyst for the revolution that takes up a large portion of Volume 9. As the representation for Lost Town, we see that although other groups will be punished for disobedience, the true targets of No.6's master plan are the Lost Town citizens, the working class. Through their repression, No.6 maintains control over the baseline functioning of the city (waste management, energy production, food production, etc), as well as the vital information that is created and gathered through these industries. Because the working class is in control of these fundamental processes by virtue of being the ones working there, any disobedience on their part, no matter what the reason, is taken as a direct action against the city as a whole, even if another explanation for the incident exists. Through his death, we see that No.6, however incorrect they may be, views Getsuyaku, as well as the rest of the working class, as disposable and replaceable. To an extent, we see that this mindset has been internalized by many members of Lost Town, who, while upset at a person’s disappearance, have accepted it as a fairly normal part of their lives. In Getsuyaku’s case, however, enough of the right characters, namely Yoming, Lily, and Karan, are involved with Getsuyaku and his family that his disappearance serves as a breaking point for this internalization, indirectly resulting in many of the events of the last volume of the novels.

For those in West Block, Getsuyaku’s death serves an entirely different purpose. While it is only witnessed by a few characters, his death confirms for Inukashi what we as the reader already know, that No.6 has no issue with disposing of its own citizens if they are no longer useful. By extension, we also see that he was never really considered a citizen in the first place, but rather an unconscious tool for the maintenance of the city. Being able to see directly the cruelty of No.6 towards those living even within the city disrupts the commonly held belief of the West Block residents that the inside of No.6 is a utopia, and that it instead may be just as bad in some ways as it is outside of the walls. At least West Block doesn’t try to give off the impression of being a safe and comfortable place, right? At this point there is no hope of a better life for the West Block residents, and they are instead faced with the reality that as long as they were not born into power, they would never truly be able to gain it within the city.

So what does this mean in terms of the anime? The exclusion of Getsuyaku from the anime, while understandable given the time constraints and already rushed ending, ultimately still affects the story and our perception of how No.6 and its class system actually function. It draws a firm line between No.6 and West Block, leaving no room for the portrayal of the proximity between the working and poverty classes, and giving no opportunities for them to interact or assist each other in any way. Ultimately, it shows a picture of a world in which downward mobility only occurs to a certain extent, and that even those who have fallen or have always occupied the lowest rung of the working class will still be protected from interacting with or becoming the impoverished “others” by the government. In his absence, we do not get to really see the reality of working class life in No.6, and are therefore unable to make a significant connection to what would otherwise be an important moral center to the story. The cruelty of No.6 is still blatantly obvious, but it is never shown to have been turned directly onto its own citizens. This is starting to drift into some themes I want to explore in another post, but you get the idea. In attempting to reflect an image of our own world, No.6 as an anime fails to construct the world as it really is, with blurred lines between different “classes” of people, and instead draws strict barriers between lower classes that instead serve to reinforce the mainstream concept of a disconnect between working and poverty class people that makes them enemies rather than allies.

If you made it to the end, thanks for reading! I tried really hard to make this not about a bunch of stuff other than Getsuyaku, but he’s so wrapped up in the other aspects of the world building that I’m not really sure I succeeded in that regard. I had a lot of fun with this one though, so hopefully you enjoyed it too!

[rkiny]

˙ ˖✶ im nayeon for trc’s triple threat challenge!               ↬ performing la la love by wjsn // 0:09 — 1:54!

     there’s a distant sense of panic beginning to set in, her heart hammering in her chest, and nayeon can’t help the barrage of doubt and second guesses that begin to cloud her thoughts for what must have been the hundredth time that day— was this the right thing to do? could she really do this? was she really ready to try again, to start back on the path to improvement?

     it had been her grandmother who told her of the auditions, showing her phone in nayeons face the day news of the competition first dropped. she could still hear the old woman's voice ringing in her ears, and it was enough to make a grin ( albeit a small one ) form on her lips. nayeon had tried to talk her way out of it, worry settling in the pit of her stomach at the thought of having to put together another routine, only to be failed one more, but her grandmother had put up a pretty convincing argument— i’ll drag you there myself if i have to, so you better have something ready to show!

     so, she’d given in, and over the last week, had come to familiarize herself with a spare practice room in the dance studio she’d spent the majority of her teen years in. it had surprised her— how happy she’d been upon first walking in, old faces lighting up at the sight of her, and it was then that she truly realized how much she’d missed that feeling. the realization offered her comfort, a small sense of ease and muscle memory returning to her what she’d thought she’d lost little by little with each passing day spent mulling over what she’d be doing once she was called up to the stage.

     now, at the actual venue, waiting to her name to be called, it’s hard to muster up the small bought of confidence she’d built up when practicing on her own.

     “maybe i shouldn’t have come...” her words come out in low mutters, face pensive as her eyes jump between various other bodies, all seemingly stuck in their own bubbles while going through last-minute preparations and quick routine rehearsals as names are called one by one. vaguely, in her own foggy mind, a few faces stand out in recognition, but she keeps to herself regardless— she was in no mood to make small talk with others right now, not while she’s still attempting to steady her breathing ( she also doesn’t want to disrupt anyone else who might also be trying to get into the proper headspace ).

     if she was being honest, she’s glad she’d ended up coming on her own, knowing lighthearted distractions from a close friend or family member were the last thing she needed at a time like this ( even if said distraction was meant to be encouraging ).

     no, coming alone had definitely been the right choice, even if she now had to deal with her neverending nerves and doubts on her own. she was used to doing that by now— used to having to cheer herself up and make herself push through mental difficulties.

     if she could get through this, regardless of whether she succeeded or failed, nayeon had faith in herself that maybe, just maybe, she truly was making proper steps towards the improvement she’s so desperately wanted to make over the last year of inactivity. the rejection she’d faced after her first audition offer months ago had done quite the number on her fragile conviction, a heavy cloud of sadness hovering over her for a good while before it felt like she could breathe again. that had been unexpected, and she didn’t like feeling like that.

     the night before, she made herself a promise— regardless of what happened, she wouldn’t let the disappointment of another rejection overtake and dissuade her so easily again.

     her name is called and it feels like someone’s dumped a bucket of ice water on her head.

     before she walks up into the stage, she gives herself a second to loosen up, to try and make herself seem more at ease than she actually is. the deep breathes she takes help somewhat, her shoulders less stiff and breathing much calmer. walking on, she’s grateful she doesn’t trip over her own feet as she’s met with the hard stares of tiger jk and his group of fellow judges set on her ( she’s glad crowds haven’t become very intimidating for her the way they’d once been when she first started dancing— it’s easy to let her eyes bounce around unknown faces before settling back towards the judges ).

     as she speaks, nayeon is glad her voice stays fairly level, and she lets her smile shine through sweetly as she gives a polite bow. “hello, my name is im nayeon! thank you for having me today, i hope you enjoy my performance!” with her introduction out of the way, she gets herself into position, waiting for the music to start. the moment she hears the songs intro, she moves with fluidity and ease, her body moving with a sort of elegance that was a mix of natural talent and practiced technique.

     as she begins with the opening lines, nayeon knows her rapping isn’t her best skill. really, she’s not ashamed to say it’s definitely her worst, her focus always having been geared towards dancing and a sense of stage presence ( and to an extent, once she’d caught interest in musical theater back in her later years of high school, singing ), but that didn’t mean she was afraid to try— well, that was a lie. but, regardless of her fears, that wouldn’t stop her from trying. if she was required to show off rapping skills, then that’s what she’d do, even if they were subpar. to combat this, however, she’s glad she’d gone with a song that wasn’t heavily reliant on rap, one that went for more of an idol style rap, almost like sing-talking. she gets through it simply, going into vocals are her body moves seamlessly.

La la love (ah) La la la la la love Everything happened in a flash It bloomed in my heart I call it love 반짝 불빛이 반짝 두 눈을 깜빡 내 앞에 넌 서있어 찰칵 또 한 번 찰칵 지금 그대로의 널 담겠어

     she’s sure to keep her vocals as stable as she can, not wanting to go too extreme in making them a stand out within the performance, putting more emphasis in her moves in the hopes that they’ll shine through the most and give off the best impression. what she lacks in other areas, she’s more than happy to make up for with her dancing until she can improve wherever else she needs to.

아무 준비 없이 널 좋아해도 될까 나 그래도 될까? 어렵게 생각 말까? 넌 예고도 없이 불쑥 내게 와서 나를 흔들어 잔잔했던 맘을 울려 Love 이 순간을 가둘래 Stay 찰나를 담은 frame Forever 그 안은 영원해

     as she goes through the pre-chorus, she’s sure to have her expressions match the tone of the song, keeping her features alluring with each glance she throws the judges ( as well as the ones she gives to members of the audience— eye contact was important. it helped leave an impression, and that’s what nayeon wanted to do. she didn’t want to be forgotten ). she keeps her voice clear, letting her moves die down in their intensity only a little bit as the music builds up to the chorus.

너무 아름다운 너 stay 날 향한 시선 stay 지금 내 눈 속에 담긴 내 맘속에 새긴 이 순간 어쩌면 영원할 la la love La la la la la love La la la la so stay (stay stay) La la love La la la la la love 머물러 내 곁에 그대로 멈춰줘 잠깐 초점을 맞춰서 찰칵

     with the start of the chorus, while she makes sure not to overdo it too much so her vocals don’t sound messy, nayeon puts more grace into the songs point choreography, never missing a beat with each transition she makes into the next string of moves. it’s almost like a domino effect, precision a key, and nayeon feels good. this had been her favorite part of the whole song, and she wanted to make sure she did justice to it as she showcased it to the audience and panel of judges. she’s glad for the clips pining hair down on one side of her head, knowing that it would have gotten in her face numerous amounts of times by now had it now been for them. it’s easy for her to flip strands from the other side back into place without disruption, giving a pretty smile as she does so ( and maybe even a small wink to an onlooker she’d made eye contact with ).

     as she speaks the last part of the chorus, the song transitioning into the final portion, she takes a deep breath as she readies herself.

     similar to how it’s originally done, she keeps her style of rapping in a more sing-song style, letting it more so flow than spitting bars. for her, it’s more of a time to wind everything down, trying to keep her tone smooth as she finishes with the music and her voice fading out, striking a finishing pose.

어쩜 나의 착각 없던 작은 바람 어떤 장난처럼 또 한 순간에 차오른 너 그냥 이대로 stay (save) 조금의 차이도 no no more 달이 맘처럼 차오르는 밤 날 안고 데려가

     she waits a beat, letting the music fade a moment longer before moving to bow to the judges once more with a small smile before making her way off the stage, her breathing more erratic after moving around so much, heart beating just as madly as it had been before she’d even signed herself up for the competition. as she walks back into the area where people were still waiting for their turn, absentmindedly hearing another name being called for their turn to perform, nayeon can’t help but let out a heavy sigh that she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding in.

     she was done— she’d done it. gone up there and given the best performance she could given the challenge.

     whatever happened now, she’d just have to wait and see. all she was sure of was that, even if nothing came out of these officially, at least she knew she was ready to perform once again.

[millennialmoderator]

10 Great Seasonal Marketing Ideas from Real Brands

Whether we like it or not, our life is organized around seasonal events to a great extent..

Originally published on millennialmoderator.com

Seasonal marketing is a professional response to those culturally long-established occasions and is an excellent example of the skillful taking of every opportunity to keep the business successfully running.

Marketing is the art of attending to the needs of many, while good marketing is the talent to professionally use every significant public event to spice up promotions. The seasonal events are the perfect opportunity for marketers to bring something new on the table by merely implementing all the ready symbols and topics of the particular holiday.

Holidays - an inexhaustible source of marketers' inspiration

The first holiday to sprang up in everyone's mind when talking about holiday marketing is, with high probability, Christmas. So let's cite an example without further ado. In order to prepare content for the Christmas campaign, marketers do not have to face a tremendous obstacle of reinventing the wheel; the set of ready-made, time-tested ideas, marks, and symbols is right here at their disposal. We are talking here about traditional red and green colors, brightly wrapped presents, good old Santa, Rudolph, Christmas miracles, cookies, family reunions - you name it.

The list goes on, giving the perfect, fertile ground for marketers to generate fascinating ideas. Easter, Halloween, Valentine's Day, St. Patricks Day - seize these opportunities of driving more interest to your business, thus boosting the revenue! Customers will not only lose track of their wallets, but also get inspired by festive spirit and, quite often, really enjoy the mastery of marketer's merry-making campaigns.

We have put together a list of great seasonal marketing ideas from real marketing craft professionals - get inspired for new campaigns and do not waste your seasonal opportunities!

Let's Hear it From the Real Brands

1. Grammarly's guide to the faultless Valentine's Day.

Nowadays, it is more than ever difficult to imagine the actual communication percentage that has moved to the online world. And as we all know, written communication leaves a lot of room for error. This unfortunate truth is particularly embarrassing when it comes to a romantic relationship that strives online. Grammarly, a software company that runs an English language digital writing tool, has got you covered. The company's specialists have a campaign each year to come up with the top tips on making a beautiful romantic gesture and not to embarrass yourself with their app's help. What a great idea! If you set out on a quest to write the perfect love note - Grammarly can help.

2. Nintendo's launch of Luigi's Mansion 3 on Halloween day, what a treat!

Halloween presents yet another excellent opportunity to stand out among the competitors. Some brands really know how not to miss this train. We are talking about universally recognized masters of all things scary — video game companies.

On the 31st of October, 2019, Nintendo presented their fans with a spooktacular Halloween gift - the new game's launch, loudly promoted using all the famous Halloween-related codes. The company celebrated the launch with special offers, thematic rewards for users, and impressive social media campaigns. The launch later turned out to be a sweeping success, chartered as the best ghostbuster game ever released. Well played, Nintendo!

Seasonal marketing does not exclusively include holidays; Johanna Bohm, the Head of Marketing at Adsy, shared. There is one big annual marketing event that all the professionals anticipate. And it is, absolute beyond comparison, Black Friday. Both small and big businesses introduce time-sensitive sales to boost their revenue. Make sure your content marketing campaigns are working a few weeks before the biggest sale of the year; for example, by submitting a guest post to Adsy.com and reap the results.

3. Opt outside with REI on Black Friday.

While we are on the topic, there is one intriguing campaign we cannot omit to mention. REI, an American retail and outdoor recreation services corporation, launched a campaign to protest the annual rise of consumerism associated with Black Friday, inspiring people to spend this day outdoors. All the current and potential customers and users of their services were encouraged to share their outdoor adventures on Instagram with the hashtag #OptOutside.

This bold marketing move, which rang true to the brand's values, formed the outdoor enthusiast's; community, loyal to the brand all year round.

4. Virtual Easter egg hunt with Freefly VR

There is no Easter without an egg hunt, and, in this day and age, comes the time to finally test intriguing, ultra-modern approaches to this festive activity from childhood. Freefly VR, a company dedicated to offering robust, highly engaging virtual reality products, knows how to use the time of year to its advantage and set a festive mood for its customers.

The company came up with unique promotions around Easter, announcing a virtual Easter Egg Hunt where customers can find eggs around the website for the chance to win prizes and special offers.

5. HotelTonight: Visit. Don’t Stay.

This is a unique example on our list since it does not relate to any of the seasonal events in particular. At the same time, it applies to all the holidays that involve family gatherings. HotelTonight took a different approach to the joy of family reunions, stressing sheer uneasiness of staying with the family under one roof. We find this plot absolutely brilliant since almost everyone can relate.

The campaign presents the message across many formats, including various visual ads, social media posts, and offers to take part in a competition to win a stay at one of their hotels during the holiday season. Such a brilliant and concise storytelling! They definitely managed to engage human emotions, quickly making people want to share their experience, and, in a joking manner, reevaluate their housing decisions.

6. Hinge - find someone special to share holiday joy with (or maybe even your life journey).

Around Thanksgiving, this dating app sent out an email inviting people to reconsider their everyday dating habits and concentrate on finding someone special to build long-lasting relationships with. Family and loved ones' importance is usually highly stressed in the media and other cultural narratives around Christmas, so Hinge marketing professionals decided not to let this beautiful opportunity of sentimentally reminding their current and potential users of what is truly important leak away.

Within the letter, they recommended to stop swiping the perfectly retouched portraits and instead concentrate on starting a new meaningful relationship, of course, with the help of their service.

7. The Body Shop is sending Kisses!

This deserves a spot on this list because it is an excellent example of how a simple campaign, presented at the right time, still may get the desirable brand exposure and increase revenue around holidays.

Marketers at the Body Shop decided to act by employing an effective method of user engagement. They promoted Valentine's Day launch of a new lip balm by encouraging the audience to share a photo of them blowing a kiss to someone special with a hashtag #SendingAKiss. The campaign went international and included prizes for the most ingenious photo ideas. Needless to say, thanks to perfect timing, the company’s marketing goals were achieved.

8. Macaulay Culkin stays Home Alone again for Google Assistant.

Opening our Christmas-related great seasonal marketing campaigns is the most famous child (well, not anymore) to have spent Christmas alone at his home. Google marketing team members are well aware that seasonal events are fantastic opportunities to provoke positive emotions connected with the particular holiday, and skillfully extrapolate them onto your product. And they couldn't be more right about picking the hit Home Alone as a set for the sentimental setting of Christmas atmosphere to remind what Google's voice-activated gadgets can do.

Being at home alone around Christmas time, the actor uses a Google Home Hub, his phone to check the calendar, set reminders, order pizza, and adjust the house temperature. We think it is a perfect case of skillful appropriation of festive emotions brought around by this iconic classic.

9. Starbucks’ holiday marks.

The company is well-known for its highly professional and diverse seasonal brand amplification. Starbucks lavishly spreads festive cheer, whether it's Halloween o'clock, aka pumpkin spice latte season, or hot cocoa in annual reddish holiday cups around Christmas. Moreover, the company takes many other paths to make the most significant winter holiday their perfect marketing actor.

As mentioned above, one of the time-proven and most popular with the customers marketing ideas is encouraging user-generated content, such as photo competitions. In one of the annual winter holiday campaigns, the company encouraged its customers to design their red cups and share them on Instagram with a specific hashtag. The winners got valuable prizes; the company acquired the desired promotion.

10. Coca-Cola's Holidays Are Coming.

Last but not least, the long-running ad that, with the years, grew into one of the most recognizable marketing Christmas campaigns - Coca-Cola's Holidays Are Coming. The famous trucks have become unquestionable Christmassy icons since they were launched on TV in 1995. Since then, spotting this ad somewhere around the beginning of November marks the sweet starting point of anticipation of the marvelous winter holiday.

Each year, Coca-Cola adds something new, like social networks integration, new outdoor activities, decorations, prizes, and ads that viewers already perceive as mere Christmas family and friends reunion stories. All the ideas mentioned above work perfectly, boosting positive engagement with the brand.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, there are numerous options to choose from. Your main goal is to opt for those most applicable to your niche. Do not worry if you currently find yourself out of brilliant ideas; look for inspiration within ready-made ones that have proven to be effective in the past. Our list above is a great starter pack to get inspired by real brands and unravel your own creative potential.

If you enjoyed this Mod, you might like to read more about these How to Start a Dropshipping Business! Please share this Mod using the social links below. Any questions or comments? Let us know on Twitter!

Originally published on millennialmoderator.com

[yeonki-minnie]

BTS FESTA 2020 PROFILES

SERIES 1/8 

Translations from doolsetbangtan and doyou_bangtan on Twitter <3 

Group name: Bangtansonyeondan (@BTS_twt)  Member composition: Arem, Jwahob, Jaka, Boo, Jaman, Sooga, Jjin  Birthday: 2013.06.13  Age: 7 years old Nickname: BTS What's popular within the team these days: Game RRRRRR ~ Rap Monster! Special characteristic: They're very united to the extent that it's scary, but their power is tremendous...!!

RM: 2019 Self Evaluation: Hm.. fulfilled it well enough in my own way. Let's be more faithful to each moment.  2020 Goal: To decrease resentment and hatred, and not become used to helplessness. To continue to become a new person in some area.

Suga: 2019 Self Evaluation: Hm, released a lot ... let's work hard this year also.  2020 Goal: I really want to be good at English!

Jin: 2019 Self Evaluation: I released it. It was impressive. A cool person who keeps to what he says.  2020 Goal: To go camping with Yoongi

J-Hope: 2019 Self Evaluation: You did so well, jjwehope~ I congratulate you~  2020 Goal: To maintain my energy!!

Jimin: 2019 Self Evaluation: Because of it, I met good friends, learnt about the precious nature of the things beside me, and through its help, recognize joy to be joy.  2020 Goal: I want to make a firm path that allows for my happiness.

V: 2019 Self Evaluation: I think I really did work hard.  2020 Goal: In 2020, also, I would like to be healthy and happy. It'd be good if I became more spirited/active.

Jungkook: 2019 Self Evaluation: Considering what I'd said, I don't feel as though I did anything in particular. C'mon man, put some effort in!!! 2020 Goal: 2020 is passing by quickly, and I want to make sure to achieve one thing at the very least. Let's not be lazy, let's keep moving and try something.

Charming Points of BTS 

RM: Even I don't know now..  They're cute, handsome, sincere, and cool. SUGA: Watch them perform. Please make sure to do so. 

JIN: Old but cute.

J-HOPE: Just... the fact that they're good at what they do!

JIMIN: Such good songs, good chemistry, good performances, good relationship, greedy [for success], bad at games, bad at sports. Aren't they cute?

V: The feeling that the seven feels like one

JUNGKOOK: Honestly, I know so well about how hard the members work, but I think ARMYs would know the charming points better. I'm just going to try my best to grow so that I can show the new sides of me and be cooler!

The Secret to BTS' Teamwork 

RM: All the times we spent breathing together

SUGA: Rather than trying to understand, we now accept each other

JIN: They do things well without being asked

J-HOPE: Communication!!

JIMIN: Conversation, acceptance, reconciliation, love

V: When you build teamwork together for a long, long time, the members become tighter than a family

JUNGKOOK: We know each other all so well and are so close. That's really all. (That's what motivates me and makes me try and work harder!)

Words I Want to Say to Army

RM: I hope that we can be each other's support/will (의지) and role model (귀감)..! I continue to reflect on and examine myself as I look at you all and learn from you. I hope that this year too, you can safely, without fail .. our love ..

SUGA: ARMY, whom I'm always thankful and apologetic to, I wanted to be together with more of you in more places [this year], and it's truly a shame that it couldn't be that way. Let's be sure to see each other soon, okay?

JIN: Live each and every day happily. I'm doing so myself!

J-HOPE: Why is it that I miss you so these days ...~ Please always be healthy and not get sick!! Let's gain strength for this year so that we can work on being happy!!

JIMIN: I am spending sizeable times with you. I believe that these times have grown us, made us able to care for another, and had us recognize once more the reason for our existence. For this reason, I want to continue our precious relationship for a long time, stacking lots of lovely memories for us both. So please always stay by our side. I love you.

V: Kim Taehyung, who regularly acts cute, loves ARMY more than before.

JUNGKOOK: To the ARMYs that I miss, hello! It's JK. I'm writing these words now, but by the time [you're reading this], would we be able to be happily in concert with you?! ㅠㅠ I miss you so! I wrote a song for this FESTA, and it'd be great if you liked it! Please listen to it a lot, please never be sick, and live out a happy day by day~ I love you

[initbmusic-blog]

Making That Occasion Special With The Help Of Live Bands For Hire

Individuals will make a trip far and wide to see their preferred groups. Some even go the extent that following their preferred melodic act all around the nation to see them live again and again and over once more. Unrecorded music and seeing live groups is unquestionably an encounter that everybody ought to have in any event once in their life - it's surely a gigantic surge. A few groups are so outstanding for their live exhibitions and shows that its about difficult to get tickets - they sell out inside minor seconds! Hundreds, even a great many individuals go to these shows and they can sell out a few evenings in succession. Show passes can get costly, particularly for premium seating that is near the real demonstrations - yet it's especially well justified, despite all the trouble to the fans.

All in all, who are the best live groups to see? They're regularly great, well known melodic acts who have been around for a significant long time. They have a huge after, and make a point to convey to their greatest, most genuine fans.

Generally, it appears that probably the best live groups are for the most part shake n' move groups - they will in general have an enormous after, and truly need to dazzle their fans and give them their cash worth. Shockingly, a portion of these live groups are never again together - regardless of whether it's because of passing of individuals, since a large number of them are "exemplary" musical gangs from past decades, or because of separations. So who are probably the best live groups - groups that are never again together incorporate shake works of art and greats like Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd, Queen, The Beatles, Guns n' Roses, Van Halen, Cream, KISS and the Clash. These groups had an enormous measure of vitality when they played live, and tried to give their everything to their crowd. They truly deciphered their energy for music when they played live, indicating their fans that they were veritable with their affection for music. Right up 'til the present time, fans can tune in to their unrecorded music with live collections, and live show DVDs - this truly gives new ages of fans feel like they were there when these groups and entertainers were in their prime. It's incredible to have the option to share unrecorded music with new fans, despite the fact that these groups are no longer near.

There are different groups that are likewise known for being extraordinary when they play live. Fortunate for spectators everywhere throughout the world, these groups are still attached and play today. Tickets can get expensive, however they are clearly well justified, despite all the trouble to their new ages of fans. So who are these groups? They incorporate gatherings like AC/DC, the Rolling Stones, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine and Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band. These are on the whole groups that are still attached, performing music and visiting everywhere throughout the world for venerating hordes of thousands. It's certainly worth attempting to get a ticket on the off chance that they go to a city close to you - no one can really tell when they may quit visiting, and you won't have any desire to miss an encounter that way.

Making That Occasion Special With The Help Of Live Bands For Hire

Having a live band play at any sort of event lifts the mind-set and makes a positive and bright air. Despite the fact that you have the decision of deciding on recorded music it doesn't give a vivacious vibe to the gathering though on account of live groups, they upgrade the state of mind of the gathering and make an enduring impression. There are many live groups for contract and you will go over a wide range of types, for example, groups for weddings, birthday celebrations, commemorations, gatherings and occasions.

There are sure broad principles one needs to pursue with regards to procuring groups for any event. Despite the kind of music picked it is essential to chase and book groups two or three months ahead of time. To spare time scanning for good groups a decent start is to enquire from companions, family members and family, as they are the best dependable source that gives direct data. Moreover, it would be a smart thought to check whether there are any current sites on the web, that could reveal more insight and conceivably empower you to see recordings of past exhibitions.

Despite the fact that there are various live groups for employ it is fitting to do a tad of research as certain groups have impediments to the sort of events they play for. For instance, you can't bear to procure a live band, which is not used to play at a wedding. Be that as it may, there are sure amusement offices out there prepared to help you in your inquiry. Your prerequisites, spending plan and inclinations will be considered by these offices to assist you with searching for the correct band. Before procuring a band consistently look at the scenes where the band has executed as this will assist you with making a decision about their notoriety and level of execution. Requesting references is constantly a smart thought, as this will give you significant serenity that their clients were glad and fulfilled. As referenced previously, scanning for a demonstrations site and looking into surveys posted online alongside watch recordings may help settle on you choice.

Regardless of whether you are vigilant for groups for weddings, birthday events, commemorations, gatherings and occasions it is essential to experience the agreement. The agreement ought to incorporate everything about with the names of every single band part, tune list, appearance, set up, protection inclusion, method of installment and calendar, transportation, break times, clothing, arrangement for extra time and different costs. The size of the band additionally should be thought about concerning the spending limit and the size of the setting. Plentiful space ought to be orchestrated the band to ensure smooth tasks. It is additionally critical to deal with and co-ordinate the break times for the band to guarantee consistent music all through the gathering hour.

For anyone looking around for live entertainment and Booking agency, rock bands ,80s bands, classic rock band, Live band contact us NITB Music.

[initbmusic-blog]

Why Watching Live Bands Is Good

Why Watching Live Bands Is Good

Individuals will make a trip far and wide to see their preferred groups. Some even go the extent that following their preferred melodic act all around the nation to see them live again and again and over once more. Unrecorded music and seeing live groups is unquestionably an encounter that everybody ought to have in any event once in their life - it's surely a gigantic surge. A few groups are so outstanding for their live exhibitions and shows that its about difficult to get tickets - they sell out inside minor seconds! Hundreds, even a great many individuals go to these shows and they can sell out a few evenings in succession. Show passes can get costly, particularly for premium seating that is near the real demonstrations - yet it's especially well justified, despite all the trouble to the fans.

All in all, who are the best live groups to see? They're regularly great, well known melodic acts who have been around for a significant long time. They have a huge after, and make a point to convey to their greatest, most genuine fans.

Generally, it appears that probably the best live groups are for the most part shake n' move groups - they will in general have an enormous after, and truly need to dazzle their fans and give them their cash worth. Shockingly, a portion of these live groups are never again together - regardless of whether it's because of passing of individuals, since a large number of them are "exemplary" musical gangs from past decades, or because of separations. So who are probably the best live groups - groups that are never again together incorporate shake works of art and greats like Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd, Queen, The Beatles, Guns n' Roses, Van Halen, Cream, KISS and the Clash. These groups had an enormous measure of vitality when they played live, and tried to give their everything to their crowd. They truly deciphered their energy for music when they played live, indicating their fans that they were veritable with their affection for music. Right up 'til the present time, fans can tune in to their unrecorded music with live collections, and live show DVDs - this truly gives new ages of fans feel like they were there when these groups and entertainers were in their prime. It's incredible to have the option to share unrecorded music with new fans, despite the fact that these groups are no longer near.

There are different groups that are likewise known for being extraordinary when they play live. Fortunate for spectators everywhere throughout the world, these groups are still attached and play today. Tickets can get expensive, however they are clearly well justified, despite all the trouble to their new ages of fans. So who are these groups? They incorporate gatherings like AC/DC, the Rolling Stones, Radiohead, Rage Against the Machine and Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band. These are on the whole groups that are still attached, performing music and visiting everywhere throughout the world for venerating hordes of thousands. It's certainly worth attempting to get a ticket on the off chance that they go to a city close to you - no one can really tell when they may quit visiting, and you won't have any desire to miss an encounter that way.

Making That Occasion Special With The Help Of Live Bands For Hire

Having a live band play at any sort of event lifts the mind-set and makes a positive and bright air. Despite the fact that you have the decision of deciding on recorded music it doesn't give a vivacious vibe to the gathering though on account of live groups, they upgrade the state of mind of the gathering and make an enduring impression. There are many live groups for contract and you will go over a wide range of types, for example, groups for weddings, birthday celebrations, commemorations, gatherings and occasions.

There are sure broad principles one needs to pursue with regards to procuring groups for any event. Despite the kind of music picked it is essential to chase and book groups two or three months ahead of time. To spare time scanning for good groups a decent start is to enquire from companions, family members and family, as they are the best dependable source that gives direct data. Moreover, it would be a smart thought to check whether there are any current sites on the web, that could reveal more insight and conceivably empower you to see recordings of past exhibitions.

Despite the fact that there are various live groups for employ it is fitting to do a tad of research as certain groups have impediments to the sort of events they play for. For instance, you can't bear to procure a live band, which is not used to play at a wedding. Be that as it may, there are sure amusement offices out there prepared to help you in your inquiry. Your prerequisites, spending plan and inclinations will be considered by these offices to assist you with searching for the correct band. Before procuring a band consistently look at the scenes where the band has executed as this will assist you with making a decision about their notoriety and level of execution. Requesting references is constantly a smart thought, as this will give you significant serenity that their clients were glad and fulfilled. As referenced previously, scanning for a demonstrations site and looking into surveys posted online alongside watch recordings may help settle on you choice.

Regardless of whether you are vigilant for groups for weddings, birthday events, commemorations, gatherings and occasions it is essential to experience the agreement. The agreement ought to incorporate everything about with the names of every single band part, tune list, appearance, set up, protection inclusion, method of installment and calendar, transportation, break times, clothing, arrangement for extra time and different costs. The size of the band additionally should be thought about concerning the spending limit and the size of the setting. Plentiful space ought to be orchestrated the band to ensure smooth tasks. It is additionally critical to deal with and co-ordinate the break times for the band to guarantee consistent music all through the gathering hour.

For anyone looking around for live entertainment and Booking agency, rock bands ,80s bands, classic rock band, Live band contact us NITB Music.