#and any depiction of the terrorists that even slightly humanizes them isn’t enough

[theriverdalereviewer]

I am so glad that you talked about Oppenheimer, because genuinely something has been grinding my gears for a long time, and I think Oppenheimer is another example of this. Films that centre about White dudes who have done bad things, but at the end of the day feel so much guilt and blah blah, always feel so tone deaf to me. It's like, I don't know, they aren't the ones who've suffered from their decisions, you know? They never will be. It's always the people beneath them. Oppenheimer talks about he's 'guilt' in a hypothetical way, but the damage was done before he even built that bomb.

My issue with stories like this is similar to true crime stories, you know? These films glorify these evil people, whether they admit to it or not, and they never want to centre on the actual victims. The victims are spoken about vaguely, but never centered on. Hearing this Twitter discourse is so frustrating and sad, because people just don't get it.

To be fair I haven’t watched Oppenheimer so I don’t know just how pro-imperialism, pro-atomic bomb, etc. the film was. Based on Twitter, it seems like the movie actually criticizes Oppenheimer and the US military industrial complex which I can appreciate. But you know I get it. White men have been the center of everything and society can just do away with making movies about them ever again 🤷🏻‍♀️ and if the communities that were directly impacted by this say that Nolan’s attempts were not enough then who am I to tell them no? I don’t know if Nolan was trying to glorify Oppenheimer (and like I said a lot of watchers have said the film doesn’t) but I’m sure there will be people who walk out of the theaters and honestly not get the point of the movie. Like American culture is still very ardently defending the decision to drop the atomic bomb so I don’t know how well Nolan’s decision to leave them completely out from the narrative actually correctly conveyed his point. I think it’s very natural for them to feel uncomfortable about the tragedy being depicted through the eyes of the white man and not being included in it at all. Like let’s have some sympathy here…

#I saw someone make a point that if someone did this exact same thing with 9/11 #how do you think Americans would feel? #and it’s like yeah you know they would be pissed that they’re absent from the film #and any depiction of the terrorists that even slightly humanizes them isn’t enough #again I believe nolan is criticizing imperialism militarism Oppenheimer etc. but I also think that if the victims think #that they should be included then how about we just hear them out and let them feel the way they do

[breakdawn-avenue]

if you're taking requests for the sentence prompts, how about 23 and datastorm? :3 thank you!

coming from this “sentence prompts”with pleasure! ^w^Summary: They’ve managed to settle the Ignis warfare without great losses. Oddly enough, the truce between Playmaker’s team and the Knights of Hanoi is still going strong. Not that Yusaku would complain about it, though.Word count: 2.188Note: I. Just. Can’t. Do. Short! asdfghj but maybe this is the reason why no one asks me for these prompts lol (just so you know, I used some sort of headcanons of mine for describing since I’m already using them in my own story)

School couldn’t end sooner for Yusaku. He even manages to be the first student out of class. Luckily, no one stops him when he leaves the schoolyard. But it still takes the usual forty minutes to get back home. He could’ve asked Kusanagi to simply take him home but he doesn’t like to rely on his acquaintance like this. And Ryoken doesn’t expect him any time before six o’clock. On his way back home, he tries his hardest not to think about what they could be doing while being at Ryoken’s place. At first, he thought he could never set a foot on Ryoken’s doorstep again. Not after what had happened in his living room about eight months ago. He wondered about it during the whole school day but he couldn’t find anything, any reason inside of him that screams and tells him not to go. If he’s honest with himself, Yusaku couldn’t care less where he would meet Ryoken. The only bonus he has with Stardust Road is a slight chance to see its beautiful bioluminescence this night.Kusanagi couldn’t provide him any information about the pattern when the plankton gathers and illuminates the sea, nor did he ever find something about it when he browsed through the network. He didn’t dare to ask his Ignis, though. Maybe he could have a chance to ask Ryoken. Maybe he’ll manage to ask him without coming off as creepy during whatever they’ll be doing. Yusaku knits his eyebrows in an attempt to stop his wild running thoughts. It’s ridiculous. All they would do is tracking SOL Technology’s last transactions in Link VRains, and maybe check if and what they possibly could’ve caught in their Duel Disks when they went through SOL Technology’s thick firewall the previous evening. They would be only working. Nothing more. A work date. Yusaku shakes his head, almost vehemently. This won’t be a date, no matter how he views it. He is 100 % certain. One, they won’t be alone – what his peer considers as a requirement for a date – because if anything, Ai will be with them the whole time. Two, the work they more than likely will be doing isn’t considered a fun activity by his peer’s standards of a date. And three, all they have is a current mutual truce. Nothing more, nothing less. Ryoken still is hellbent set on destroying the Ignis.When he returns home, Roboppy greets him with a heart emoji on her display and a wave with her right arm. He registers the greeting with a curt nod before throwing his school bag next to his bed. A surprised »Oi!« echos through the main room of his home, followed by an offended »Careful! Sensitive software here!«. Yusaku mumbles an apology before grabbing his hoodie as well as his jeans. He steps into the small bathroom to change. When he gets back from the bathroom, he sees that it was Roboppy who opened his school bag and took out his Duel Disk. She holds it in her tiny hands and chats blissfully with Ai.“I’ll be taking out the- ”»Ooooohh, Yusaku-chan has a date!«The recipient flinches. He feels his cheeks heat up right away.“It’s not a date!” he defends himself quickly.»But you changed into a casual outfit!« Ai immediately points out.“So?” Yusaku raises his left eyebrow in confusion.He doesn’t know why his Ignis makes such a big deal out of it.»If it would be a simple meeting like you sometimes have with Kusanagi, you wouldn’t have bothered to change your clothes!«Yusaku ducks his head a bit.»Aniki, what is a date?« Roboppy asks curiously.“It’s not- ”»Oh, you know, minion – what they did in our soap operas!« Ai explains. »You know, like dressing up and eating in a fancy restaurant- «“That’s enough. And call him by his name, it’s ‘Ai’,” Yusaku chides them. “For you, Ai – one, her name’s Roboppy. Two, don’t go into detail. And three, we’ll be going. Now.”He takes the Duel Disk into his hands and fastens its lock on his left wrist.»Why not?« Ai pries curiously.“Because you’re giving her false ideas. Now be quiet,” Yusaku insists.He heads for the cupboard and takes out the garbage bag. He then fastens it with knots.“I’ll take out the garbage.”»What would you like me to do, master?«Yusaku looks around.“ …Actually, it’s fine. Activate the save mode,” he instructs her.»Certainly. Have a nice day, master!« Roboppy chirps happily and displays a waving emoji before driving up to her charging spot under the stairs.There, she turns around. The two sun yellow stripes on her display that mark her eyes turn into dots. They start to blink. Yusaku nods slightly before checking the windows three times. But they are locked. He heads for the front door, locks it and checks it three times as well before throwing away the garbage bag. Then he starts the 50-minute walk to Stardust Road. Ai’s occasional teasing is by far not enough to distract him from his own wondering, his quiet wish that the meeting with Ryoken might be a date after all. Or just simply the both of them finally spending some time together. His heart flutters. His palms start to sweat. He still tries to convince himself that it won’t be a date. He’s 100 % certain it won’t be like this. He still thinks that they’ll only be working. Since he is certain that Specter more than likely comes and goes as he pleases – that is, if he doesn’t already live with Ryoken. The lucky one.They are still only on a mutual truce. Even though it goes beyond the settled Ignis warfare. He shouldn’t be so bold, to dare to think too much into it. Once he reaches the streets that are more and more deserted from other human beings, his tense shoulders relax more and more. Even though he still teases him, Ai does help to pass the long walk to Stardust Road. The sun is already setting as he climbs up the mountain like hill Ryoken’s house is build on. He remembers that it has been the same time of day when he confronted the other teen with Kusanagi after their second to last duel in Link VRains. Back then, he was distracted with his raging emotions and the realization that his Special Person and Revolver – the cyber terrorist and leader of the Knights of Hanoi’s – are, in fact, the very same person. He has visited Stardust Road with Kusanagi during day time before, and he saw Stardust Road during night time – more so, illuminated. But in the end, it doesn’t matter what time it is, Stardust Road is always beautiful.It doesn’t lose anything of its charm even if the plankton isn’t illuminated. The sun illuminates the lazily moving sea on its own way, throwing sparks that look like diamonds on the sea’s surface, painting a path on its own up until the hill. The only difference is that he can’t look at it directly without getting blinded. It’s almost like the sun creates a Stardust��Road on its own. He could stand there for hours, watching it change to the beautiful picture during night time and maybe even with the illuminated plankton. He needs to correct himself. Specter isn’t the lucky one to be probably able to live with Ryoken. Ryoken’s the lucky one to live at such a beautiful place.»Yu! Sa! Ku!« Ai suddenly shouts at him and attaches himself on his right cheek.The recipient jumps to the side.“What?!” he replies with his heart jumping to his throat as he peels off his Ignis.»We have company,« Ai informs him before retreating into his Duel Disk.“Finally back to earth, Playmaker?”Ryoken’s voice. Way too close to him. Yusaku flinches again. He tries to defend himself but once he realizes his nonsensical blabber, he shuts his mouth with more than likely scarlet red cheeks.“Goodness, I know that Stardust Road is breathtakingly beautiful but we really need to try to pull ourselves together.”“I – I – yes!”“Let’s go inside. Everyone’s waiting for you,” Ryoken says and turns around to head back to his mansion.Yusaku feels his shoulders drop.Because he is a bit disappointed? Because he did hope in secret to be alone with Ryoken? Because he actually wanted it to be a date by his peer’s standards? He just made a joke out of himself. In the end, he’d only have to deal with Ai’s teasing at home. After all, his Ignis is still afraid of Ryoken. Yusaku might be certain that Ryoken won’t just grab his Duel Disk and delete Ai but his Ignis isn’t completely convinced. Yusaku looks back to Stardust Road for the last time before following Ryoken to his mansion. He heads for the stairs but he stops one floor beneath the giant living room. He sees that the hallway leads to two closed doors as well as a kitchen at its end. Yusaku isn’t sure if he should follow him into the kitchen as well or just wait for him. But Ryoken suddenly stops, about three steps away from the door frame, leading to the open kitchen, and turns back to him with an astonished expression on his face.“What are you waiting for?”“N- nothing,” Yusaku mumbles with burning cheeks and hurries to catch up on him.Ryoken enters the kitchen and heads for the fridge. Yusaku stops before the dining table. Ryoken opens it, and for whatever reason, it confuses him a bit that the door opens to the left. The door points towards him. Just underneath the brand’s logo, he can see a photograph. It’s rather a picture, simply printed out on reprographic paper. Yusaku almost gapes. He would’ve never taken someone like Ryoken to have photographs on the fridge. More so that the photograph shows him. He remembers the late evening that it depicts. It was the evening when he entered one of Ryoken’s subordinate’s flat – without her consent – after her duel against Blue Angel. The photograph shows him in semi-profile, standing before Vyra’s running computer as well as Ryoken’s subordinate herself, still engulfed in the neon blue orb.“ …Why do you have a picture of me? On your fridge?”Ryoken flinches a bit. He closes the fridge’s door but stops halfway as he notices the aforementioned photograph. With flushed cheeks, he yanks it off of his fridge and stuffs it into the right pocket of his jeans. Casually, he notices a bottle of water in his other hand. He eventually closes the fridge’s door.“L- let’s go – they’re waiting- ”“Careful! It’s a present from my brother!” they hear Aoi shout exasperated from above.“I am!” Specter insists. “I’ve been supervised by none other than Ryoken-sama himself!”“Why couldn’t you just wait until he comes back with Fujiki-kun?!”“ …You meant Zaizen and Specter by ‘everyone’?” Yusaku asks while the aforementioned teens continue to bicker with each other.“Homura’s still visiting his grandparents. The Wind Ignis’ Origin is still… kind of out of commission. And Kusanagi Jin… refused to come,” Ryoken admits, a bit meekly. He takes out two glasses from the cupboard on the wall next to the fridge. “He preferred to spend his time with his brother. Actually, I… can’t really blame him.”He doesn’t need to go into more detail for the last one. Yusaku nods.“ …I still don’t know why you have a picture of me on your fridge!”Ryoken blushes and hisses quietly. “Never mind, Playmaker!”But he does. Yusaku can’t help but smirk in secret. He might not know what to think about the fact that Ryoken kept a photograph of him. It confuses him a bit that Ryoken knows that he had entered Vyra’s flat without her consent. And why he keeps it on his fridge. But a quiet, a bit hopeful voice inside of him whispers sweet things into his ears, making him hope, more than ever, that him chasing his Special Person might finally pay off. Working with Ryoken might be a good start towards it.“I can always provide you a better picture of me,” he offers.Ryoken jumps a bit.“Never mind, Playmaker!”Yusaku chuckles in secret. They climb up the stairs in silence but before Ryoken enters the living room, he stops again. Yusaku is just about to ask him why they stopped as Ryoken pre-empts him:“Stardust Road seems to have a special impact on you.”Yusaku blinks. “Excuse me?”“ …I told your Ignis to get back your attention because I thought for a second… that Stardust Road might take you with it,” the other teen admits with a barely audible whisper.Yusaku’s eyes widen astonished. “I… what?”“I don’t want you to become one with Stardust Road, Playmaker. Not yet.”Quickly, Ryoken enters the living room, leaving Yusaku behind, gaping in disbelieve. He doesn’t follow him suit. The teen doesn’t even feel when Ai pokes him affectionately.»You sure it’s not just a double date, huh?«

#lily-liegh #sentence prompt #yugioh vrains #Fujiki Yusaku #Kogami Ryoken #Datastormshipping #Ai #Ignis #Roboppy #guest: Zaizen Aoi #guest: Specter #bA's writing #damn don't you just love it when your pc dies on you? -__- #thank you so so much for asking!