#and i was given free reign to be efficient | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

stelera · 2 years

Photo

I just submitted my entry for a Fakemon contest hosted by Subjectively for their Mazah Region. I figured I could share it here too and let people check it out! I’m still working on learning the Sugimori shading style and I know this doesn’t quite fit right but I am happy with the way it turned out.

Lots more info below the cut!

Pokédex Entry: A constant stream of alternating electrical currents runs between its two brains, allowing them to function as one mind. While other multi-headed Pokémon often disagree with each other, Omehuattl's heads work in perfect synchronicity making it a brutally efficient hunter. Its bite is capable of rendering foes several times its size paralyzed with a potent mix of venom and electricity. When not on the hunt, these Pokémon like to relax coiled around power lines, soaking up inductive current to recharge its body.

Base Stats: HP: 70 Atk: 87 Def: 68 SpAtk: 44 SpDef: 60 Spd: 76 Total: 405

Ability: Twin Strike - The base attack power of every move is halved, but every attack that hits, hits twice. The second attack always uses the accuracy check result of the first attack. Attacks that already hit more than once, such as Fury Attack will have the ability to hit from 2 to 10 times. Only the first hit is able to be a critical hit. Secondary effects that trigger on hit, trigger for each hit. This ability cannot be copied or transferred.

Hidden Ability: Static

Signature Move: Current Winding – The user coils its electrically charged body around the foe, trapping it and shocking it for several turns. – A physical, electric type binding move that partially traps the foe and deals a small amount of damage for anywhere between two and five turns. (Basically an electric type Fire Spin or Sand Tomb)

Type: Electric Category: Physical PP: 15 (max. 24) Power: 35 Accuracy: 85% Makes contact Affected by Protect Not affected by Magic Coat Not affected by Snatch Affected by Mirror Move Affected by King's Rock

Mechanical Notes: I wanted this Pokémon to be a single evolution Pokémon that would still be decent to have in your team. I didn't want its stats to be too incredible, but I will let the game designers have free reign when it comes to any tweaks they want to make to the stats if it ends up in the Mazah Region game. I gave it kind of below average stats for a final form because of its signature ability – I wanted something to offset an ability I know would be very interesting and tempting in competitive play with some kinda sub-par stats. Between the signature binding move Current Winding and the 2x chance to proc secondary effects, especially flinching, (give this thing a King's Rock and say hello to the para-flinch champion of the Mazah Region!) I wanted it to give it less than stellar stats to make it less appealing of a choice for higher level play. Not saying it couldn't make shenanigans happen, I watch Temp6t and PradYT and I know what shenanigans Pokémon with mediocre stats can get up to, but I wanted it to be a fun challenge to make those shenanigans happen.

Design Inspiration: I got the initial idea from an Aztec sculpture of a two-headed serpent made of topaz-encrusted wood – it was a sculpture that had always interested me in the past and was just begging to be made into a Pokémon. Looking at the list of types we'd been given, I picked Electric as my base point and started sketching. I decided pretty early on it needed to be Electric/Poison type, and I started drawing inspiration from horned vipers. Then I remembered a friend's recent trip to Costa Rica, where he got to see Eyelash Vipers and sent us lots of pictures. So I looked at lots of pictures of Eyelash Vipers and decided that needed to be part of the design. The crests over the eyes being shaped like lightning bolts were perfect, and I did a bunch of sketches of head shapes from different angles with the mouth open and closed before I settled on the two heads in my final design.

The zigzag pattern down the back is more reminiscent of rattlesnakes, perhaps, but I was inspired there by a quilt pattern made by the same friend who went to Costa Rica (he also owns like, four snakes so I guess this design is dedicated to him, lol). I picked red and blue as the colors because of red and blue representing the two phases of “hot” conductors in a three-wire electrical system (in the US that's generally the 240V connection you'd see on your dryer hookup, but when looking at a waveform it's generally red & blue – hello yes my day job is electrical transmission & distribution engineering).

Another interesting tie-in here is that “hot” is used by electrical workers to refer to energized conductors, and by herpetologists to refer to venomous snakes and reptiles. There's also a parallel there between electric attacks causing paralysis in Pokémon as well as neurotoxic venom causing paralysis in real life. The fangs are also a copper color to show that they could deliver a venomous bite, or they could be electrical leads and making contact across both fangs would deliver a powerful shock.

Another thing that inspired part of it's Pokédex entry, about it coiling around electrical wires, is the principle of inductance – electromagnetic fields generated by current flowing through conductors can induce electrical currents in wires wound around them called inductors. This is also what makes transformers work. I thought at first of making it's body corkscrewed to emphasize the inductor inspiration, but didn't want its body pose to be too similar to that of Seviper. Instead I gave its body a more angular pose rather than a smooth slender serpentine shape to somewhat resemble a lightning bolt. I imagine it slithers across the ground in a sharp zigzag pattern rather than a smooth sinusoidal pattern. It would either get along brilliantly with Zigzagoon, or hunt it mercilessly.

For the color pallet of the shiny form, I at first had it colored green like a circuit board with the gold and silver zigzag stripes running down its back like conductive leads. I decided the green was too dark and played around with several different colors before settling on a teal to resemble the turquoise on the original Aztec sculpture. I left the zigzag as gold and silver, and made the fangs gold, to make it seem inlaid with precious metals, if I was going to lean into the decorative statue aesthetic. Gold is also a highly conductive material often used in circuit board design because of its low melting point. Silver is also conductive, but not really used in circuitry – more commonly silver-colored conductors are aluminum, or tin-plated copper. Just a fun fact for ya.

Omehuattl Name Inspiration: Dude there are so many meanings tied up in this name. It's pronounced “Oh-meh-watt” Ome: Nahuatl word for “two” Ohm: Unit of electrical resistance Nahuatl: The Aztec/Mexica language Watt: Unit of electrical power Coatl: Nahuatl word for both “snake” and “twins”

62 notes · View notes

ghostflowerdreams · 1 year

Text

Prompt Story Ideas

Here’s a list of possible ideas for a one-shot or a multi-chaptered story. You don’t have to follow them exactly unless you want to. I even offered some suggestions within the brackets to help, but you can put your own spin to it or combine some of these ideas together.

You can also use any character (or more than one) – such as an original character, canon character, self-insert or reader-insert. Whatever you decide to do, you pretty much have free reign with this.

While on a backpacking trip you get lost, but discover a magical town called [Town’s Name], which seems to have been pulled right from a children’s fairy tale book [or the Grimm Brothers' book]. You soon learn that you cannot leave the town until you find true love...

You’re bar-hopping with a couple of friends, but get separated from them when entering a secret bar called [Bar’s Name]. It’s a 1920s theme [or wild west theme, pirate theme, Victorian era theme, D&D theme, etc.] bar that looks to be very authentic and historically accurate. You grow very concern when you discover that it’s actually all real and that you’ve somehow time travel [or dimension traveled to another world, etc.]...

You awaken in a hallway [or inside the air vent, on top of a examination table, inside a stasis tank, in a unlocked cell, etc.] of a deserted mansion [or a laboratory, hospital, prison, space station, island, ship, airplane, etc.] with amnesia. You’re wearing only a medical gown [or a military uniform, lab coat, prison jumpsuit, pajamas, etc.] and sporting a massive headache...

Your world is doom and all of your love ones are gone. As a last resort you’re sent [either by magic or technology] back in time to prevent it or to minimize the loss of life [or resources] as much as possible. However, something went wrong and you’re sent back farther than originally planned [or you’re sent to another dimension, parallel universe, etc.]...

You’re a vampire [or a immortal-cursed human, elf, demon, fae, witch, etc.]. You awaken after centuries of a self-imposed sleep [or you’re inadvertently freed] from your tomb [or cage] and emerge into a very changed world. Gas lamps have given way to neon signs. Horse-drawn [or ox-drawn, depending on location] carriages to sports cars. You certainly feel like a fish out of water, but you welcome the efficiency and convenience that technology innovation brings. The problem, however, is that you’re drawing too much attention to yourself as you try to figured out how everything works...

You get summoned into a fantasy world [or a distant planet, alternative universe, the past, the future, etc.] to serve as its hero [or to grant the summoner’s wish, to be their slave/pet, you’re their soulmate, to be used as bait, etc.]. You’re not exactly what they expected, but they really should’ve been specific [or read the fine print] though, because you’re no one’s lackey or plaything...

You switch places with another person [or an identical twin, doppelgänger, clone, etc.] from another world. You have to play along until you can figure out how to switch back without alerting anyone, or else they’ll think you’ve gone insane and lock you up somewhere...

Your parent(s) [or guardian, sibling, friend, etc.] drags you to a supposedly haunted castle turned hotel to investigate for their work. You've only found signs of the haunt being staged to attract tourists. However, you’re proven wrong when you meet an actual ghost and end up falling for them...

After a plane crash [or shipwrecked, time travel, portal, etc.], you find yourself stranded in a mysterious land inhabited by dinosaurs [or dragons, etc.] and other dangers...

Years after a massive nuclear war [or alien invasion, asteroid, zombie apocalypses, etc.] you set out from the underground shelter, discovering that the world is not the same as it once was...

You get married and are clueless about your spouse’s intentions. They have plans to kill you for your money [or to sacrifice you for their god, etc.] but they end up actually falling for you and try to protect you from their unhinged partner in crime [or mob boss, cult, etc.]...

An angel falls into your pool [or a nearby pond, lake, etc.] with a broken wing. You do your best to splint their injured wing and keep them safe until they’re able to fly to the Heavens, but they don’t make it easy with their child-like attention span and wondering off to pet all the animals they see...

You’re a caregiver, working in a nursing home and you always do the night shift. That’s because you’re a vampire [or some other type of creature that feeds on energy or emotions like a incubus/succubus, etc.] and it’s the perfect position for you to feed and earn a living without drawing too much attention to yourself. But the newest staff member [or a senior’s relative who’s always visiting, etc.] is adamant in befriending you [or uncovering your secret] and you’re finding it difficult to keep them at arm's length...

You and your fiancé are keeping secrets from each other. They are not who you think they are and you’re not human. Your fiancé didn’t think they were capable of feeling love until they met you and you’re trying to keep your monstrous urges and instincts in check...

You’re a mortician, which is a great business for a vampire to be in. Simply because before you begin the embalming, you can drain the corpses of their blood for later consumption. However, things don’t go as planned when the corpse suddenly pops back up alive [or undead, if another vampire, zombie, etc.] and now you’ve got to deal with a hysterical newbie about their circumstances...

You’re an angel tasked with blessing a woman who was unable to have a child [or blessing an unborn child with the green thumb, blessing a devoted couple with a long life, etc.], but an unexpected comet [or asteroid, beam of light, etc.] hits you and you fall to Earth [or Terra Prime, Helion Prime, Adra, Namek, Vulcan, Pandora, etc.]. You quickly shift into a humanoid form before you hit the ground [or the water] and you’re discover by a human [or a elf, dwarf, vulcan, namekian, android, na'vi, etc.] who nurses you back to health...

You’re content with your life, but sometimes wish that it wasn’t so mundane. Surprisingly enough, the next day a stranger approaches you with the news that everything around you isn’t real and that you're not who you think you are [or you’re the chosen one, etc.]. You’re killed, but instead of the afterlife you’re awaken in a bed at a mental hospital [or in a liquid-filled pod among countless other pods containing other humans, or in a robot body, etc.]...

One late night your fellow camp counselors pulled out a Ouija board. At the sight of it you felt an unsettling feeling in the pit of your stomach, especially when they suggested to use it to contact the spirit of a kid that died in the lake [or was caught in a forest fire, murdered, etc.]. You refused to mess around with it and immediately leave. Unknowingly, your decision saves your life because one by one they disappeared [or get possessed, brutally murdered by a supernatural killer, or die mysteriously, get cursed, etc.]. However, it also makes you seem suspicious...

You're a human with a Gorgon-cursed, which forces you to always hide your eyes behind blindfolds and pitch-black sunglasses. But one day you meet someone at the supermarket who accidentally knocks you over, causing your glasses to slip down. You're shock to find that they didn't turned to stone at the sight of your eyes, but that’s because they’re blind and now you’re intrigue by them...

In a secret laboratory the scientists conduct a genetic experiment with alien DNA in which you are created, a alien-human hybrid. You escape from your containment cell with the help of a old janitor [or guard, scientist, mercenary, solider, agent, full-blooded alien, another hybrid, etc.] and are on the run from the shadow organization [or the government, etc.]. You save a kid’s life from a vicious bully [or from falling off a balcony, from thugs, from drowning in a pool, from a fire, etc.] who then becomes your friend and teaches you how to be human...

You’re a forest ranger who checks up on the sleepaway summer camp after not receiving the usual update from the camp’s director. Only to find out that there’s a masked killer [or a demon, a ghost, werewolf, etc.] on the loose, targeting the campers or the camp’s staff. You do your best to protect the kids, but there's only so much you can do on your own. It also doesn’t help that someone keeps leaving you flowering weeds, especially in odd places and at inappropriate times...

You made a wish on what you thought was a shooting star, only to find yourself in a fictional world of a video game [or a book, a tv show, a movie, etc.]. What’s worst is that you’re not even a human anymore. You’re stuck as the main character’s animal companion [such as a dragon, a owl, a cat, a wolf, a bird, a raccoon, a squirrel, etc.] and have to help them out in order to find the cursebreaker [or the magic spell, true love’s kiss, etc.] that can turn you back to normal...

In a remote region of the sea [or near the bermuda triangle], you and your boat salvage crew [or marine photography enthusiasts, fishing crew, treasure hunters, marine researchers, explorers, etc.] discover the eerie remains of a grand passenger liner thought to be lost over 10 years ago [or 20 years ago, 50 years ago, 100 years ago, etc.]. Strangely enough it looks untouched by time and there’s no traces of the passengers, not even their remains. You can’t help but feel like there’s someone [or something] watching you all...

You’re a killer with a code that only kills those that are proven beyond a reasonable doubt to be killer themselves. You do not go after innocent people, especially children [because you genuinely have a good side or because you think it’s cowardly and isn’t a challenge to do so]...

You’re a toy [or a drawing, a statue, ice sculpture, etc.] that comes to life after a kid [or an adult] makes a wish [or says a magic spell, a freak storm happens, you’re a ghost and possessed it, etc.] to be real in order to have as a friend [or as a guardian, a parent, a lover, etc.]...

You are a princess [or heir/heiress, politician’s daughter/son, reporter, idol, ambassador, etc.] kidnapped by a pirate [or a dragon, a vampire, a werewolf, a barbarian, a obsessed fan, a cultist, a terrorist, etc.] for leverage [or ransom, revenge, to be a bride/mate, slavery, sacrifice, etc.], but you use your genuine kindness [or expert knowledge of how people work] to get them to empathize with you [or it’s a case of Lima syndrome] and eventually let you go free [or you turn the situation around to help everyone win, etc.]...

Without realizing it you are put into a secret test of character by a trickster in a disguised [or a demon, a djinn, a fairy, a god, etc.]. You impressed them for being genuinely a kind [or caring, thoughtful, etc.] person that they grant you a wish without any strings attach to it [or reward you with something you desire like love, adventure, etc.]...

You start every day by first feeding your cat [or some other pet], then going out onto your porch to pick up the milk and the newspaper. But one day you find something else left on your doorstep -- an alien baby [or an sentient flytrap-like alien plant, an mysterious black suitcase, etc.]...

You’re a part of a scientific expedition that uncovers fossilized evidence of an amphibian humanoid. When you’re collecting samples and data, you encounter the real-life fossilized creature. The being is curious about humans, but it quickly becomes enamored with you when you accidentally trigger their mating ritual [or it imprinted upon you, finds your pheromones genetic compatible/highly pleasant, etc.]...

You're abducted by aliens [or the fae, demons, oni, asgardians, pirates, wonderlanders, angels, etc.] and vanish off into outer space [or the Fae Realm, Underworld, Netherrealm, Asgard, Neverland, Wonderland, Afterlife, etc]. Three years later [or five years later, ten years later, etc.] you return to your family, but you’re not quite the same and some of them even believe you're not still a human either...

You're an orphan working as a chambermaid [or a guard, knight, soldier, laundress, undercook, messenger, stable hand, gardener, etc.] in the castle of [Name of the Castle's Location] since you were old enough to look after yourself. However, the visiting of foreign nobles change everything when one of the noblewoman claims that she’s been searching for you since you were taken from her as a baby [or a young child] and the only way she knows you’re truly her child is because of the distinctive birthmark [or scar, eyes, mole, freckle patterns, etc.] on your neck [or arm, hand, face, ear, etc.]...

Outclassed by the aliens and their massive ships hovering above Earth, the humans had no choice but to stand down or face destruction. The aliens offer an agreement with Earth’s government to leave the planet and most of the humans alone, but only if they’re allow to select a few that interest them whenever they want. The only ones completely safe from them are the children, pregnant women, the elderly and the sickly. From that point on life continued on as normal, but everyone would constantly look over their shoulders. You tried your best to keep your head down, but somehow managed to attract the attention of one of the aliens for some purpose [such as a slave, breeding partner, food, etc.]...

You are dumpster diving for food [or furniture, clothing, etc.] when you accidentally witness a man in a costume beat up a group of thugs trying to steal a car [or a vampire sucking the blood from a drunkard, a sharply dressed mobster shooting a man’s kneecaps for pissing off his boss, a couple making out and getting intimate, etc.]...

You go to a local dive bar with your friends. A fight breaks out between everyone [or a fire, a earthquake, etc.], forcing you and your friend to flee and get separated. You get taken by some guys who planned to use you in a satanic ritual in exchange for riches [or for power, beauty, great skill etc.]. However, they forget to actually kill you so the ritual doesn’t go as they planned [or they didn’t realize that they can't sell another person's soul when they don’t have a claim to it; unless it’s their own soul or their unborn/first-born child, you are not a virgin when they needed one for the sacrifice, etc.]...

Your job as a handler is to look out for your agent’s [assassin's, spy’s, etc.] physical/emotional well-being, supplying them with weapons, money, safe houses, debriefing them about the job/mission and instructing or advising them. However, something goes wrong when they pick up the wrong package [or are framed for something they didn’t do, refuse to finish the job, etc.] and it’s up to you to keep them alive...

After inheriting your grandparents' old farmhouse [or house, cabin, boat, etc.], you discovered a secret compartment under the wooden floor [or a secret room behind a bookshelf, secret drawer, hidden compartment behind a painting or fireplace, tucked behind a ceiling tile, etc.] containing a century-old diary/journal of [Name of the Book Owner], which records the activities of a cowboy [or a vampire, a WWI soldier/marine, a explorer, a doctor, a musician, etc.]. The more you learn about the writer the more you fall in love with them and wish you could’ve met them. Your wish is unexpectedly granted when you find a stranger within your home [or you find yourself transported into the past. etc.]...

You’re a medical student that accidentally gets electrocuted by an MRI machine and gain the ability to hear the thoughts of others when you’re touching them [or when they’re in close proximity]. You put your gift to good use by helping your patients with their worries and ease their conditions that they’re too embarrassed or afraid to reveal...

An unknown event caused all electricity around the world to stop working. It wouldn’t be such a bad thing if the blackout was temporary, but sadly not a single piece of technology works anymore. People have adjusted to life without it, but it’s not just bandits that they need to worry about. You are special, because you are a human [or a android, a alien, a mutant, etc.] with the ability to power up all electric device [or fix any electric device as long as it’s still in good condition, etc.]. You certainly live more comfortable than others, but unfortunately the wrong people found out about what you can do...

You fall unconscious and suddenly gain six months [or a year, etc.] of memories [or visions, etc.] from the future. But strangely enough, you're not the only one because everyone in the city had lost consciousness for five minutes by the mysterious event...

You got a job as a security guard to patrol and monitor a large factory building [or island, cruise ship, etc.] containing a massive escape room game. The company behind it is so strict that they have you sign a non-disclosure agreement before you can even sign the employment contract. You didn’t think anything of it because its pays well, until one of the game contestants sneaks a message into your pocket [or confronts you, etc.]...

You are a flight attendant [or a passenger, pilot, air marshal, doctor, etc.] when the plane is taken over by a mysterious virus, causing those infected to become violent and ravenous. You and the other uninfected passengers must fight for survival, because no government will allow the infected airliner to land. And the plane only has about 18 to 19 hours [or 21 hours, depending on speed and altitude] before it runs out of fuel...

You were foraging for medical plants [or fishing, camping, traveling, etc.] when you’re unexpectedly knocked out from behind. When you finally wake up you find yourself bound by the wrists in a horse cart with other prisoners, which apparently the guards have mistaken you as one of the rebels...

You are apart of a small repair vessel containing a crew of mechanical and electrical engineers. Because your ship is in the vicinity you’re contacted by headquarters to find out why the spaceship [or space station, moon base, etc.] has gone dark. When you get there you discover that the ship [or space station, moon base, etc.] has been overrun by dead bodies and the survivors mutated by an alien virus into murderous abominations...

You’re a benevolent Huli Jing, which is a Chinese mythological creature that can shapeshift from a nine-tailed fox to an attractive human. Your goal is to reunite with your friend [or family, lover, etc.] in the celestial realm, but to do so you have to consume enough life essence to transcend into a heavenly being. However, this energy needs to come from nature and not from human beings. Because if you give in and prey on people, you’ll lose the chance to ever ascend to the Heavens. But after becoming a victim to humanity’s cruelty you find it difficult to keep yourself from giving in to your vengeful wrath...

A bunch of drunk college kids summon a demon, in particularly a lust demon because of the sexual charge energy in the air. They also half-assed it and made a very wonky summoning circle which you, the demon, take full advantage of. You temporarily possessed one of them [or a nearby cat, bird, etc.] and look for a comatose patient to make a permanent home in. Unfortunately, you also have to deal with the attachments that come with the body, such as their friends, family and the medical bills...

You are a food writer [or a culinary historian] that has planned a trip to [the name of the country] to investigate the claim of a rising chef, who can recreate the legendary feast of the emperor/empress from the [Country’s Name] history [or The Last Supper from Leonardo Da Vinci's most iconic mural painting, The First Thanksgiving, etc.]...

When a vampire [or demon, witch, warlock, shapeshifter, etc.] meets you they become love-struck and secretly obsessed with you. As time passes their fear of losing you forever increases and they forcefully turned you into a vampire [or a demon, or they cursed you with immortality, etc.]. You’re kept in a luxurious furnished prison, where your every need is provided for and you are treated like royalty. You want your life back, but the vampire won’t let you go until you fall in love with them [or/and have better control of your new self]...

By day you’re a college student [or mayor, stripper, musician, artist, barista, construction worker, projectionist, etc.], but at night you’re a expert masked burglar, that everyone knows as the modern-day Robin Hood called [Name]. You would sneak into the wealthy suburbs and rob mansions, giving most, if not all, of your loot to the poor and homeless...

You were once a combat medic [or a bodyguard, stunt performer, secret agent, solider, assassin, sniper, race driver, etc.] but are now a professionally trained maid [or butler] that looks unassuming and ordinary at first glance. However, you’re actually a badass that always gets the job done whether it’s cooking, cleaning, washing, babysitting, and so on. The only problem is that your boss is a self-destructive idiot [or workaholic, narcissistic, self-absorbed snob, spoiled brat, etc.] that keeps putting [or unintentionally getting] themselves into dangerous situations...

You work at a nationwide company [or you start up your own business] that provides cleanup services for crime scenes and biohazard removal, such as blood, tissue or other bodily fluids [and/or body disposal]. However, it’s not like the others because it specialize in the supernatural which requires a different approach to get the job done...

Notes: Prompt Story Ideas, Pt. 2

#writing #writing ideas #writing help #prompts #writing prompts #prompts ideas #writing fanfiction #fanfiction help #plot ideas #story ideas

53 notes · View notes

marrowwife · 2 years

Text

- A WIP INTRO - Dawnless

He gave her a hopeful little smile, a little crooked as it always was with a hint of mischief, and said, "I love you so so much, but Romi, I've never met anyone more starblind than you."

She couldn't argue with that.

- ABOUT -

queer high fantasy

third person pov

first draft / writing & planning

trigger warnings; fantasy typical violence, tba

- TROPES -

destiny & fate, the chosen one trope, seasonal magic system, queer narratives, the importance of balance, eldest daughter syndrome, a perilous quest, coming of age, the heroes journey, survival vs living

- BLURB -

For the people of Atlas, warmth is a long forgotten dream and dawn only occurs in those few short months of Winterwane, when the ice melts just a little at the edges. During the rest of the year in Winterwax the land is dawnless and bleak; and the Winter King hunts. There used to be four seasons, and four Monarchs to command them, keeping the world in balance. But Winter grew resentful, covetous, and soon, the other Monarchs were dead, their heirs, fate-plucked from any path of life as needed, were hunted. And Atlas fell into Everwinter.

The merfolk died first, imprisoned beneath their frozen rivers and lakes. Then the trolls of the wood disappeared, their trees gone dead with eternal sleep and all that was green long since withered away. Finally, the elves retreated, burying the entrances to their caves and setting themselves free of winter. Only humans remained, stubbornly surviving the cold and the creatures of ice and snow that thrived under the Winter King's reign.

Hundreds of years in the Everwinter has slowly killed Atlas. But fate is not easily ignored. Winter will end, even if it must end in fire.

- CHARACTERS -

Romi; Romi has three jobs within her caravan, mind the pups, the next generation of sled and guard dogs unique to her people. Hone her craft, every Vandri has a craft, something that can help in any settlement they come across in their travels and Romi is the best hunter in her generation. And above all else, keep Willim safe. She must keep him safe. So when Willim falls through a crack in the earth on an expedition to find some missing hunters, Romi has no choice but to follow. Right into a long forgotten Elf Burrow and a fate left dormant for hundreds of years.

Willim; Willim has one job in his caravan. Stay alive. Ever since he and his sister were born, he has been ill, cursed to feel the cold deeper than most in a world ensconced in snow. Too weak to contribute to the caravan physically, he has been hidden away with the Elders, tasked with teaching the history and song of the Vandri and not much else. And, as Romi has continuously been given duty where Willim has received nothing but pity, the itch to prove himself has been getting more painful. But when his first opportunity ends in disaster, almost killing both he and his sister, Willim finds that responsibility is a heavy thing indeed. Willim is the catalyst, the spark igniting the destruction of everything he knows, one way or another, change is coming. There's no turning back.

Theyra Una'Liendewel; Theyra has no love for humans, the Winter King was human, once, and her people have long said it was that humanness that doomed the surface to their long cold. A guardian of the gates, Theyra has witnessed many a breach from the surface, the Winter King's army grown stronger as winter endures, tasked with leaving no part of Atlas free from his icy rule, and she has quelled every intrusion from the surface with ruthless efficiency to protect her people. But when a pair of humans breach the Underald on Theyra's watch, and for the first time in hundreds of years the song of Summer echoes through the Underald's halls, Theyra must lay down her blades and listen. Fate is calling.

???; ... Oh, is it time to awaken? Finally.

- TAGLIST -

(ask to be added or removed)

@houndmouthed @tragicbackstoryenjoyer

#writeblr #wip intro #work in progress #writing #marrow writes #wip: dawnless #fantasy #high fantasy #ch: romi #ch: willim #ch: theyra #intro #writers on tumblr #new wip #ch: the winter king #queer fantasy #elves

53 notes · View notes

defensefilms · 2 years

Text

Reviewing The 5th And Final Season Of Gomorrah

*WARNING: THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS MAD SPOILERS*

Sad to see this show come to an end but it had to end.

As the 5th season begins, Gennaro Savastano is still on the run from prosecutor Ruggieri, who almost came within an inch of getting Patrizia, Gennaro’s most trusted employee, to turn on him, but moreover, Gennaro Savastano is literally and figuratively, in a hole.

He has literally taken to living underground to avoid being seen, and from a business perspective, he is as isolated as he has ever been with many of his block bosses ready to look elsewhere for new supply.

Ciro’s death in the finale of season 3, coupled with Patrizia’s betrayal in season 4, and the attempted takeover by Gerlando Levante’s family, thought to be Gennaro’s last remaining relatives, has all left Gennaro a tad bit desolate.

And add to that, his wife won’t speak to him.

But make no mistake, Gennaro is not a sympathetic figure. He’s a mob prince turned mob kingpin. About as far from relatable as a man can possibly be. Guy went from rich to richer and keep this in mind because it’s going to matter as far as the alliances that are formed later.

Among the things that are very real, and/or genuine, about Gennaro, was his affinity for his best friend, Ciro Di Marizio.

When Gennaro finally gets the prosecutor off his back, thanks to an alibi provided by his wife, Azzura, he wipes out what remains of the Levante clan and then sees to it that some of the their co-conspirators meet the same fate, and it’s here that Gennaro finds out that Ciro Di Marizio is still alive.

While you are more than welcome to have your doubts, given how tired this trope is, you have to bear with me because the writers of this show took it, and absolutely gave it new life with how much subtexts it adds to the themes of this show in it’s 5th and final season.

When the two are reunited, Gennaro appears to embrace Ciro and even talks about bringing him back in to the fold and “taking over the world” again.

When Ciro refuses, he proceeds to calmly sit back as his bestie is kidnapped and taken to what looks like a dog pound to be kept as a slave, because he dared to try to establish any kind of independence from Gennaro.

See that’s the major difference between Gennaro and Ciro.

The reign of the Savastanos, both Pietro and Gennaro, has been particularly brutal and treacherous.

Forgiveness doesn’t exist in the Savastano realm and what cannot be controlled, or manipulated, must be destroyed. There is no room for oxygen at the top of this pyramid and it’s an all-or-nothing game with anyone and everything the Savastano’s come in to contact with.

Contrast this with Ciro, whom upon freeing himself, seeks out SangreBlue, the man thought to have killed him, and allies with him.

This in itself shows the differences between Gennaro and Ciro.

Gennaro could never allow SangreBlue to live even if his reasons for “killing” Ciro were justified, and indeed SangreBlue is still on the run from Gennaro and his business partners in season 5, having lost his territory due to not having any supply because he trusted Patrizia.

That type of benevolence doesn’t exist in Gennaro’s world.

In fact, while Gennaro and Ciro’s relationship is very much built on loyalty, and the two have always insisted that it was them against the world, and that they are two peas in a pod, the way friends do, this season showed they are, in fact very different people.

I mentioned how treacherous Gennaro’s time as a mob kingpin had been, but it has also been efficient, pragmatic, adaptable and reliable. His business partners knew that he could come through, no matter what.

But the drawback of this, is a man who allows his need to control, and moreover his desperation, to get in the way of what is actually best for him, his business and his family.

He makes an unnecessary enemy out of the Gentlemen’s wife when he cannot accept the Gentlemen’s refusal, and that turns out to have long term consequences but also speaks to Gennaro and the Savastano way.

What we are watching, are two conflicting styles of leadership.

Gennaro’s being the more traditional, pragmatic, business-minded, and at times even corporate, leadership style.

Ciro’s style is one that borders more on kinship, loyalty, and most of all, belief.

While Genaro gives his business partners confidence, Ciro gives his closest allies faith, and these things are, in fact, very, very different.

Gennaro’s allies back him because they think his triumph is the likeliest outcome, Ciro’s allies having nothing but a belief in the idea that a man once thought to be dead, is said to have come back to life, and this turns Ciro into something of an urban legend and a unifying force against the Savastanos.

Gennaro has had many different foes throughout five seasons of this show.

He went to war with the old time mobsters in Rome, and claimed one of their daughters as a prize. He built his drug empire up again at a time when it seemed that no one could possibly control the block bosses of Naples, and one-by-one, he has eliminated the top bosses of his father’s generation.

None of those people were like Ciro.

His old foes were leaders because of their business savvy, their charisma, their money, or their legacy/ family name.

That is nothing like a guy that people believe to be immortal. A guy that fills them with belief in something outside of themselves.

Gennaro’s defeated foes always had someone that would turn on them for the right price. Ciro’s followers appear to be operating on blind faith and an out of place sense of moral justice, much like the Gentlemen’s wife.

As it turns out, it’s way harder to pay people off when they’re fighting for something other than money.

The politics of Gomorrah have always been fascinating to observe or ponder, and this season, it really feels like the writers were more ham fisted in depicting how each situation, or new scenario forces a kind of compromise that otherwise wouldn’t be ideal.

That’s not new as far as this show’s themes are concerned, the difference is for a change it actually harms the Savastano clan in a way that Gennaro cannot recover from.

His decision to trust the Monk and bring him in to the fold of his organization is arguably his worst mistake in the war against Ciro, and he completely misreads The Mistral’s devotion to his wife, a decision that weakens him severely in his war effort.

He also unnecessarily makes an enemy out of Nunzia, who ironically browbeats Gennaro about a lack of respect for his elders and the dead, which pretty much sums up Gennaro better than most.

Up to this point, Gennaro’s leadership is the tried and tested, immovable institution of the criminal world. It’s as set in stone as the monarchies of King Louis the great, and as expansive and as robust as the Roman Empire before Christ. It is the hegemonic power of it’s day.

But even empires have limits.

The Soviet Union, Germany in World War 2, and yes, even the Roman Empire, all collapsed because it is not practical to wage war on two different fronts, and in the same way, Gennaro simply had too many enemies.

Compare this with Ciro, whose leadership is like socialist democracy in action. He unites what remains of his own loyalists with SangreBlue’s that remain in Forcella, then allies with Gentlemen’s wife for financial backing.

However that doesn’t mean Ciro is free, and his unholy alliance with the Gentleman’s wife, is the constant theme of his life and it is really unironic at this point, how his own goals always clash with those in power, leadership, or in this case, positions of leverage.

Ciro really only wants to take down the Savastano clan and claim Naples as his own. The Gentlemen’s wife wants to go a few steps further than this, and Ciro is in the same pattern, he’s always been in, doing the bidding of more powerful forces even when he’d rather not.

Gennaro’s price to pay is that he is betrayed by those closest to him, in very much the same way as he had encouraged those that eventually betrayed his foes in almost every conflict he’s ever been involved in.

See, Ciro and Gennaro, are reunited at very different points of their narratives in this 5th and final season, and for as intelligent, pragmatic and resourceful as they are, neither truly attains what they set out for.

Gennaro is not venerated as the gangster-turned-businessmen, and in doing so also legitimizing his family, and thus becoming the greatest of the Savastano line.

Ciro doesn’t attain any sense of freedom or independence. HIs proletariat visions of the common criminals ruling over the blocks of Naples are never realized.

Gennaro is at a point where years of controlling and monopolizing Naples’ drug market, compounded with the isolation of his time on the run, has resulted in him being pushed as close to breaking point as he’s ever been, as shown when he admits feeling overwhelmed to Azzura on a few occasions this season.

The demands of Gennaro’s business, his ambitions and his family life, stretching him thin before all coming together to contribute to his demise.

Ciro has reached where he is for very different reasons, which are explored better in a prequel called l’immortale, but Ciro realizes how good criminal independence could be, and this is the reason he does not return to Naples, even if Gennaro is his friend.

While Gennaro seeks to maintain control, Ciro seeks to dismantle and disrupt the old order, but the way he approaches this is with a sense of inevitability, a sense that what will be, will be, and always clouded in desperation.

You get the sense that this guy actually thinks he’s immortal.

Ciro assembling a ragtag group of dealers with no funding or arms, to take on the machine that is the Savastano empire, is a suicide mission, and Ciro approaches it with a brazen, devil may care attitude, that requires one to lose all regard for themselves before undertaking it.

In the end, for all the ways these guys differ, they still shared the same ending, and the series end the way it began.

Genny and Ciro in a hail of bullets versus everyone else.

I enjoyed this series more than any other television series in this decade, and it’s rare for there to be a show that I like as much as this given how narrow my tastes can be sometimes when it comes to television.

I mentioned earlier that there was a kind of follow up, with a show called l’immortale, which depicts what Ciro’s life was, in between being thought to be dead and reuniting with Gennaro in season 5.

it’s worth checking out for the Ciro fans like myself, but note to future producers of Italian television shows, don’t bother re-dubbing with English voice actors, the shows are better when dudes are speaking their native tongues and subtitles are still cool.

I don’t care what anyone says, SUBTITLES WILL NEVER BE OUT OF STYLE!!!!

#tv #tv shows #crime #crime drama #hbo #gomorrah #gomorrah season 5 #marco d'amore #salvatore esposito #sky #sky atlantic #long post #napoli #napoli fc #l'immortale #max original

6 notes · View notes

adventurepaige · 1 year

Text

Rekindling our Faith: 2 Timothy

2 Timothy 1:7-8

"For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God."

Every Christian I know has struggled in maintaining their relationship with God. As for me, I know I have personally struggled with some of his truth that contradict what is popular in society. Molding my mind to think more Christ-like has been a primary goal of mine since the beginning of October 2022. I have been gifted quite a few notebooks from my relatives in the last year or so that have not gone to efficient use, so I found one that didn't have much writing in it and started jotting down sermon notes, prayers, and other things I found interesting or inspiring. I graduated in December of 2022 and have been struggling to find a job that needs temporary work since I plan on moving in the spring. With this I have been experiencing anxiety and feelings of self-doubt. I have quite a bit of free time, so I figured it's the perfect time to really dive into rekindling my faith.

In the book of 2 Timothy the Apostle Paul is imprisoned, causing him great discouragement. Paul writes to Timothy advising him to revive his God-given talents of leadership and ministry. In this, Paul is inspired by Timothy's faith and reminds him to not only focus on what he has taught him, but to also remember the grace and love Christ provides. In the Youversion study plan I am completing, the author notes in their devotional that discouragement may lead to you towards neglecting the things that are there to help you most. If we feel discouraged on our walk of faith, it is critical to remember that wandering further from Jesus is blocking the blessings he has in store for you. I often have to remind myself that this is indeed not a sprint, it is a walk of faith. Nothing will resolve itself without time and faith in our Lord that His path is right.

Through all of our hardships and seasons of unknowns, we can remember that Jesus died on the Cross so the Holy Spirit can provide us with the ultimate power of living for Christ. Not only this, we are called to faithfully serve Him through his undying love and grace with the goal of bringing yourself and others closer to Jesus.

A final thought that struck me in the author's devotional noted that we should let His grace be the primary motivation that fuels your faith, regardless of your current circumstances. The world moves at a high-speed pace that we often feel that we cannot keep up with. Good news though - with our faith in Jesus we are able to slow down and remind ourselves that God sets the pace for us, not the other way around. There is no comparison to His divine plan for us, and in most cases earthly desires deter us from it. As a reminder to myself in this time where I am unemployed and starting my new life outside of college, God's plan will carry out the way should as long as I remain faithful. So for now, I will continue praying for guidance and hope that I find God's true calling for me.

To close, one of the biggest lessons I took from 2 Timothy 1 and 2 is that we can all take after Timothy and Paul in our daily lives. We have days where we crave inspiration, and we have those where we give that inspiration to others. Jesus works within you and the His children every single minute we spend trying to know Him more. I pray that He calls me to wherever I am needed to serve Him most in this world, and I pray that He blesses those crave his presence.

Paige Martin, February 3rd, 2023

Verse Notes:

2 Timothy 1:3-4

2 Timothy 1:7-8

2 Timothy 2:14

2 Timothy 2:22

2 Timothy 3:1-5

Verse Highlight: 2 Timothy 2:11-13

"Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself."

0 notes

niemann93stevens · 2 years

Text

Getting The Best From Outsourcing Your Graphic Design

This is an ever growing concern amongst many business owners. Does your web design company own the individual? This may be possible if you've allowed them to host your landing page for you additionally register your web site for your small business. A good business trademark should be one that reflects common history and general image of the business. It ought to have its unique tempt set it apart from logos being used by other businesses. The emblem should be something people can easily spot and recognize. The logo will become associated as well as your business the more it is treated. Copy the new design onto graph paper by placing graph paper into the copy machine. You will then have a 'charted' version of the actual needlepoint design to stitch from. Not working with mediahuman youtube downloader key mac won't get you very far in the graphic design industry. Portfolios are the application of to brand yourself and promote your services. If will not have mediahuman youtube downloader full version , create side projects for yourself, be suitable for friends and family or freelance with real new clients. Using expectations. When design ing your product, don't specify odd-sized screws and hard-to-source compounds. Designing with 'off the shelf' standard components in mind will maintain your design both efficient affordable. People will want added with something because of this easily maintained, so make the design with the end-user as their intended purpose. You get the point! Too much power is offered to the particular design manufacturer. I truly believe that it is the right to buy better prices and it is your right to get the your website address even if you're didn't possess a hand in registering your domain name. The good news is that today if you're looking for an online or new media post, the array of jobs within your budget has mushroomed. Where once HTML skills reigned supreme, today an increasing rounded approach to design is necessary by which is actually as a totally. Yes, technical ability is still required, but this must be supported by using a well defined design way. If you can't use your technical prowess to solve problems, you'll find it impossible to land a job in almost. Job requirements for graphic designers will change slightly 1 company to a higher. mediahuman youtube downloader free download is a good method prepare to formulate your career given it lets you know what you must expect at the job. If it's not necessary to know what your employers will be demanding of you, be a nerve-racking experience transitioning from student to employee.

#MEDIAHUMAN YOUTUBE DOWNLOADER

1 note · View note

ineloquent-tumbling · 3 years

Text

New Boss: This mess of a system is now your responsibility.

My autistic ass, vibrating with anticipation: Oh, this is going to be SOOO satisfying to fix.

#my life #office life #actuallyautistic #I have a five-step plan to make this system efficient beyond his wildest dreams #the first two steps are really the only ones that are strictly necessary #but I have been given free reign and I am going to USE IT

9 notes · View notes

soldier-poet-king · 9 months

Text

I finally got to write formal professional reports again. It's a sort of RFP sort of functional outline. It's not NEARLY as formal as the ones we did in grad school and wouldn't be up to snuff for literally any proper organization, but my workplace does so much stuff slapdash and disorganized and it drives me insane. I am the model of a would-be burecrat. I love paperwork. Forms. Rules. Reports. It needs to be organized if it's going to be EFFECTIVE and EFFICIENT.

Anyway for this report I basically got free reign bc no one else knows what I'm talking about or how to do it. And it's just??? Such a relief and a delight to 1) get to do things properly 2) get to be competent, and be SEEN as being comptent, and not just a recent grad bumbling around trying to catch up in a workplace that doesn't follow ANY regular rules or protocols and is just. So disorganized.

Like. Given very little sleep and recovering from mild food poisoning, I've been more productive in 3 hours than I am in a lot of full days. It's like being in school again. Competence. Fully outlined and clear, reasonable goals. A PURPOSE.

I should just be given full control of everything as the benevolent dictator of my department, but alas

#franposting #GOD I SHOULDVE FOCUSED ON RECORDS MANAGEMENT #yea its boring but RULES AND REGULATIONS. Burecracy. LEGAL OUTLINES AND RETENTION SCHEDULES. REGULAR REPORTING STRUCTURES #oh baby you are saying the magic words to me #<is the worlds boringest person when it comes to skills and talents. i love paperwork #yes i have an existential need for meaning and am insane and unhinged. but also I know my talent is for bureaucracy and efficient paperwork #anyway this report is gonna be so fuckin good #like im not doing a full functional breakdown (i COULD to show off. but itd probably be a bit much)#but im still doing essentially an rfp minus the tender process bc they already have a consultant #(why they did it this way without ever outlining the requirements of the proposed solution. idk.#dont ask me im the grunt who gets spoken over in meetings i don't get to ask questions despite being the only archivist #*the only one to understand even vaguely the technical requirements or the system)#I AM SO FUCKIN COMPETENT. nothing is hotter that competence and effective paperwork. this is why wizard hubris is the sexiest dnd class #oh babey give me those colour coded date organized file folders

16 notes · View notes

dycefic · 3 years

Text

Have An Evil Day

No prompt this time, just a sequel to ‘Welcome To Evil-Mart’

Working at Evil-Mart is usually… well, it’s retail. It’s physically exhausting, you have to deal with a lot of idiots without being overtly rude, and your feet hurt. Even though the hours and pay are very good, the benefits are great, and our bosses treat us well compared to most retail employees, it’s still not what I’d call a fun job.

But it’s not what I’d call dull, either. Especially not on days like today.

I was promoted to supervisor after the Food Poisoning Incident, so I have a little more authority and a little less obligation to be pleasant and I got issued a weighted cosh because sometimes Evil-Mart customers get… feisty. I’d never had to use it, though, because those who hadn’t seen what I did to Majority Rules, either in person or on one of the cell-phone videos that circulated afterwards, had at least heard about it. They didn’t give me any trouble.

I was halfway through my shift, and the worst things that’d happened had been running out of croissants and a machine oil spill in Aisle Seven, when our greeter pressed the alarm button, which sent an alert to my handset. As front-end supervisor, that meant me, so I went over. Sam, who is unusual in the henching community for having actually aged out rather than ‘being retired’ jerked his chin in the direction of a tall, swaggering figure. “He just came in,” he whispered.

I did a full double-take before I took it in. Superdyne. Fucking Superdyne.

We’d all heard about his dramatic heel-turn a couple of months ago. The whole world had heard about it. Superdyne, who’d skated closer and closer to the line for years, had decided to cross it in a blaze of bloodshed. He was a villain now, he said. There’d been a whole speech about how ingratitude had driven him to it blah blah blah.

I work at Evil-Mart. I’m from a hench family. If someone becomes a supervillain because they hate Mondays or want to turn us all into dinosaurs or whatever, I don’t judge. I will sell depth-charges and laser guns to anyone who can prove they’re over eighteen without hesitation. But even we get kind of grossed out by the ‘I am forced to turn evil because I haven’t been given enough love’ thing. People who are actually so fucked up by emotional abuse or neglect or some superhero killing their family, we’re fine with them. But they don’t say that’s why they do it, and most of them need a lot of therapy to even realize it. People who actually say that’s why are entitled dickwads.

And now the dickwad had walked into Evil-Mart like he was entitled. Like he thought he was one of us.

“Lockdown protocols,” I told Sam quietly. “On my authorisation.” That takes a minute or two, though, so I went over to talk to Superdyne. “Sir, I have to ask how you even knew where to find this place.”

He smirked at me. “I have my ways,” he said smugly. He’d either bribed or beaten someone, that was my guess. “So this is where the villains shop? We all thought you went to Wal-Mart.” He laughed, like he thought it was clever.

“Yes, so you all say,” I said dryly. I didn’t feel like pretending he was the first person to make the bad joke. “My next question, sir, is what made you think it was a good idea to come in here.”

He spread his hands. “I’m one of you now!” he said happily. “I’m a bad guy! So now I guess I shop where the bad guys shop!” He looked around, frowning a little. “Although I was expecting more weapons and explosives. A… more villainous atmosphere. I didn’t know Evil-Mart had fresh produce.”

“I don’t advise buying herbs here unless you’re a magical practitioner. Some of them have… unusual effects.” A lot of our produce is normal stuff, but some of it not only isn’t legal, it doesn’t exist anywhere else.

“Oh. Well, that makes sense. But the bright lights and the bakery?”

“We have excellent gluten-free breads. In many ways, Superdyne, this is just another store. We have sales, we mark down the breads in the afternoon, we even have a PA system.” I pulled out my handset, and thumbed the button that tied it to the PA. “Attention, shoppers,” I said in my most soothing Customer Service voice, which made him grin. “Evil-Mart wishes to inform you – “ The countdown on my handset reached zero, and I turned to look at the entrance as a huge blast door thudded down. That was the last part of the sequence – staff outside the area were already in lockdown and security were on their way. I smiled, and continued almost without a pause. “- That we are in lockdown at this time, due to the presence of Superdyne in the store. Please remain calm, and be advised that security are on their way to deal with the problem. If you have a personal grudge that you wish to address with Superdyne at this time, he is standing near Register Six with a stupid expression on his face.”

He was staring at me, stunned. “But… but…” he stammered, and damned if he didn’t look puzzled. “But I’m one of you now!”

“No,” I said flatly. “You were always evil, that’s true, but you’ll never be one of us. And for the record, I’m one of the people with a personal grudge. All those henchmen you’ve killed and maimed had families, asshole… and they all shop here.”

He swung at me, then, but I spent years in hench training. Even someone super-strong can be dodged, and once I slammed my cosh into his groin a few times his punches got a lot more aimless. Around then, Tiger Ty came over the register, claws out and snarling, and I figured I should stand out of the way.

About ten minutes later, I turned on the PA again. “Clean-up to Register Six,” I called, in the same special voice. “Category 7, class three. Shoppers, please be advised that lockdown is now lifted but Register Six will be closed until clean-up is completed.”

Hunter, who’d been working Register Six, came out from underneath it. He looked a little green. Well, he was still in his teens, this was probably his first fatal mobbing. “What’s Category 7?” he asked in a shaky voice. “I haven’t heard that before.”

“Biohazard.”

“Oh. Class three?”

“Send three people. He was a juicy one.” I stepped away from a spreading puddle of blood. “Run and get a couple of caution signs we can put around this mess.” I eyed it measuringly. “And one of those fifteen-gallon plastic tubs with a lid, I’ll damage it out.”

He eyed the mess. “Are you sure that’s big enough?”

“Yeah, the average human is only about seventeen gallons by volume, and I’m not going to put all the blood and mush in there, just the big pieces.”

He gulped. “Ah. Yes, ma’am.”

I called after him when he ran off. “One of the black tubs, not a clear one!” Which honestly should only be common sense, but you can’t count on a flustered teenager to have common sense.

We frown on killing customers at Evil-Mart, up to a point… but when a particularly murderous super-hero walks into our store, well, that’s something else. I’d have to fill out a ton of paperwork, though.

I had to chase off one of Doctor Malign’s minons and two members of the Genetic Reign before the clean-up crew arrived, both of whom urgently wanted samples. In the end I scraped a few pieces of liver and unidentified organ into two of the bags we use for possibly-contaminated money just to make them go away. (They’re good customers, and it was just going to go in the trash anyway.)

By the time the clean-up was done, all the big pieces were boxed up, and I’d finished the paperwork, my shift had been over for twenty minutes, and I’d been asked to come up to the boss’s office.

“Listen, I have no issues with how you handled the situation, I want you to know that.” Mr Trent leaned back in his chair, tapping his fingertips together. “It was quick, it was efficient, and… given your personal history with Superdyne, not to mention mine and that of half of our customer base… richly deserved.”

“Yes, sir,” I said. It came out too meek, and I cleared my throat and straightened up. It’s hard not to be intimidated by Mr Trent, when you’re in the same room with him. It’s not his fault, and he does his best, but even under the strictest control his fear-inducing powers tend to unsettle anyone who gets too close. We all know he’s not doing it on purpose and we try not to show our reactions. “Do you have any orders regarding the remains?”

“Doctor Order wants them.” He rubbed his chin. “Get someone from the pharmacy to prepare samples for him, please, including brain tissue. He’s our primary supplier, and we can’t offend him. As for the rest… as you know, I’m retired, and I don’t usually participate in the Endless War.” One of his hands dropped to his left thigh. His prosthetic leg is some of Doctor Order’s best work, but the injury that led to his retirement had been brutal even by our standards. “But this is different. Superdyne came here. To our place of safety. We need to make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

I nodded. “Do you want the remains dumped somewhere public? Some kind of dramatic display?”

“No. Something more direct.” He rubbed his chin again, then tapped the intercom on his desk. “Iris, please send up Miss Fedorova from Marketing and Mr Levy from the warehouse.”

“Yes, sir,” Iris responded, and he clicked off the intercom again.

“The three of you worked together very well, during the food poisoning incident,” he explained. “And I believe they can assist us in a satisfactory conclusion.” He hesitated, then smiled ruefully. “Perhaps you should wait outside until they get here. I can tell I’m unsettling you.”

“Sir, I know you’re not – “

“Not doing it on purpose.” He sighed. “I do appreciate how hard you all work to make me feel… accepted, I really do. But I’m very annoyed right now, which makes control more difficult for me, so I think we’d both be more relaxed if you waited outside while I do my meditation exercises.”

I waited outside. When the three of us went into his office again, the miasma of low-level fear was definitely a bit lighter, and he smiled. “All right. Now, this conversation is going to be very confidential, and I will remind you all of the agreements you signed when you were employed.” We all chorused agreement, and he nodded. “Good. Now, this is very much a secret, even among Evil-Mart staff, but we do have a few online clients who are… ah… on the other side of the fence.”

Ms Fedorova blinked. “What?”

Knuckles sighed. “We ship to a few heroes,” he explained. “The ones who are… less homo than sapiens, if you get my drift.”

I didn’t, and from her expression Ms Fedorova didn’t either. Mr Trent spread his hands, drawing our eyes to his fingers. Which as a rule nobody looks at, because there’s fourteen of them, with four joints in each finger, and we know he’s self-conscious about it. “The less… purely human ones,” he said quietly. “One of the reasons I created Evil-Mart was to give those who can’t pass for human, like me, a place to be… people. To have dignity. So that the obligate carnivores weren’t reduced to living on pet-food or scavenging for scraps, so that those with complex metabolisms could get the supplements they need so that people who are still people, for all their outward differences, could shop in safety. There are a great many more monsters, demigods, abominations of science and other non-standard persons among our set than among the heroes, and I wanted to meet their needs, as well as selling weapons and Lair-away-from-home sets and so on.”

“And there are a few heroes who order from us for that reason,” Knuckles added. “The ones who can’t get medications to suit their metabolism, or need to eat things that you can’t get easily anywhere else.”

I nodded, because that much I understood. We have some very esoteric ‘dietary supplies’ that start with fresh, healthy, well-treated and disease-free prey animals frozen whole (from mouse up to calf and goat kept in stock, larger sizes by pre-order, halal and kosher certified where possible) and end with human blood (rejected blood bank stock mostly, we have an arrangement), and human flesh and organs (sourced from hospitals, morgues and crematoriums, guaranteed no murder, at least not by us). “Well, I suppose that makes sense. I’m surprised we ship to them, though.”

“Oh, they don’t know we know. It’s all assumed names and secret bank accounts.” Knuckles grinned. “But Mr Trent has all our online customers identified before we ship. And for the ones who don’t have any other options, well… we let it slide.”

“I can see why you don’t want that to get out.” Ms Fedorova tapped her chin. “What does this have to do with disposing of the body? I was planning to set up a really ghoulish display in a public place somewhere, I already have some sketches.” Marketing for Evil-Mart is… well, it includes more than designing our sale flyers.

“No. We’re going to deliver them to a hero… one of the ones who owes us… and make it very clear that just because someone decides to admit he’s a villain, that doesn’t make him one of us and it doesn’t entitle him to union services,” Mr Trent said flatly. “I want to make it crystal clear to all of them that a heel turn does not mean their sins are forgiven, or that we will accept them as anything other than a very brief amusement.”

Late that night – we were all on overtime, but it couldn’t be done in daylight – we wheeled a cart down the run-down hallway of a shoddy apartment building. “This is a terrible address for a hero,” Ms Fedorova muttered. “Are we sure he lives here?”

“I deliver here a couple of times a month.” Knuckles was pushing the cart. “I’m sure.”

“Okay.” Ms Fedorova cleared her throat, coughed once or twice, and suddenly her voice was deeper and her very faint Russian accent was as thick as pea soup. “This is intimidation tactic,” she said, grinning toothily. “Do not act surprised.”

I knocked on the door, but let Knuckles do the talking. “Delivery, Mr West,” he called, using the fake name the guy had been giving.

It worked… the door was unlocked and opened almost immediately. “I scheduled the order for next – “ the mark said, and then we were pushing inside, slamming the door behind us.

“Do not be alarmed, Mr… Dinoid, is it?” Ms Fedorova said, folding her arms. “Evil-Mart is knowing all along your real identity. But you are needing to eat, and we are not turning down regular business, so we make no trouble.”

Knuckles rolled his eyes behind her back at how much she was hamming it up, but I waved a hand. Let her have her fun. So Knuckles started unloading the boxes onto the table while she talked. “First, your Budget Bunny Box. Your favourite, da?” The next box, smaller, plunked down. “Two fresh chickens, halal certified, healthy and having lived good life, gift for good customer.” Knuckles dumped the plastic tub on the floor. “And mortal remains of Superdyne, with note.”

Dinoid was staring at us, but that made him shift into a combat stance, his long claws spread. “The… Superdyne’s dead? And in there?”

“Well. Most of him. The big pieces.” Ms Fedorova shrugged an impressively Russian shrug. I hadn’t even known that was a thing, but when she did it, it was obvious. “You must understand, when a mob tears a man apart, it is hard to find every little piece.”

“I’m pretty sure Doctor Malign and the Genetic Reign took off with doggy bags,” I said, as if I hadn’t handed them over myself. “And Doctor Order probably has some of him too, by now. So looking out for clones would be a good idea, I don’t know if that’s in the note.”

Insofar as that reptilian face could show readable expressions, he looked shocked. “Why on earth would… why? He changed sides? And why did you bring him to me?”

“We know your address, we know you don’t want to turn us in because we’re the only ones who can supply your meals, and our boss wanted us to make this very clear.” I indicated the note. Since Ms Fedorova was hamming up her Sexy Russian Supervillain act, and Knuckles was very obvious Muscle, I figured it was on me to be the Reasonable One. “He might have stopped being a hero, but that didn’t make him one of us. That didn’t make him acceptable to us. Our boss wants it made very clear that your failures shouldn’t expect to be accepted by us… or even spared by us.”

He shifted slowly, the tip of his tail twitching. “I… see. I understand why you would reject Superdyne. He was notorious for killing and maiming people on… your side. But I know other defectors have been accepted. Philomel, for example.”

“Philomel was child of villains. She is young, she is rebellious, she sides with heroes for a while.” Ms Fedorova shrugged. “Is understandable, da? The young do foolish things. She comes home, all is forgiven.”

He nodded slowly. “Tenebrous?”

“That story I don’t know.” Ms Fedorova glanced at me.

I nodded. “Tenebrous was just a kid. He was twelve when Varide recruited him. Nineteen when he broke with the guy. Varide put a kid into combat, left him with massive PTSD, then ditched him when he had a breakdown and went too far. Mx Frantique at least made sure he had a safe place to stay and some therapy.”

“It’s happened a few times.” Knuckles rested his elbows on the cart’s handles, his inhumanly big, strong hands dangling. “But there’s a process. A system. If someone’s sponsored by a villain in good standing, like Frantique sponsoring Tenbrous, they can be accepted. Nobody gets to just choose to join. Especially not a smug, entitled prick like Superdyne.”

Ms Fedorova suddenly leaned forward, scowling. “And why are you called Dinoid? You are not dinosaur. You are clearly monitor lizard. Golden monitor, I think.” She reached out and prodded his arm. “And not healthy, either. Look at colouration! You do not keep environment humid enough. Are having trouble with shedding, da?”

Now we were all staring at her. “You’re a lizard expert now?” Knuckles asked.

She shrugged. “What? Is hobby. Mamma’s little Varanus Acanthurus are pride and joy. Sadly, cannot keep larger monitors in city. Is unkind.”

Dinoid ran a hand over his head slowly. “Not many people realize,” he said slowly. “That’s why I order from you guys. I used to get frozen… food… from a pet supplier, but then I got contacted by someone who told me there was another option.”

“Is good thing. Those pet suppliers, they are rogues. They do not keep animals healthy, can get diseases or mites from those things.” Ms Fedorova sniffed. “I would never buy from them. My babies would get sick.”

He actually chuckled, then, seeming to relax a bit. “You’re not wrong. After… this happened… I got really sick a couple of times before I figured out what to eat, and where to get it. And even the reputable suppliers don’t always have the healthiest stock.” He opened his mouth wide, making a gagging noise. “You have no idea how bad that ‘reptile food’ is. Eating whole animals may be a little disgusting, but it’s nothing to some of that stuff.”

“I believe it,” I said emphatically. “There’s a reason Evil-Mart has such an extensive pet-food line. The horror stories we hear from some of our customers… well, you’d believe it, I bet, but most humans just look confused.”

Knuckles nodded, and spread his hands. “People who can’t pass for regular humans… or even for people, the way most normies see it… are a lot more common on our side of the fence than yours. That’s why we delivered to you. We figured you really needed it.”

“Does he order from the pharmacy?” Ms Fedorova was around behind him now, examining his back. “He is having calcium deficiency, am betting. He needs nutritional supplement.”

“I take a nutritional supplement,” he said defensively.

“The one for normal-sized lizards is not enough for man-sized monitor/human hybrid,” she said firmly. “Check pharmacy section next time. We are having excellent selection of supplements for hybrids, and chart to tell you how much to take for body-mass.”

He looked back and forth between the three of us. “You people are… not what I would have expected from an evil supermarket.”

“We may be… morally challenged,” I said, shrugging, “but we’re not heartless.” I looked around his tiny, shabby apartment. “Unlike some of your lot. I thought you were on a team. Why are you living here?”

He ducked his head. “I couldn’t live at the base,” he said, his tail drooping. “My… I made people uncomfortable. And the stipend isn’t much.”

“Isn’t much? With the merchandising deals they have?” Ms Fedorova sounded shocked, and the accent had dropped back a lot. “I know for a fact that if the accountants ever got hold of their books they’d owe more in back taxes than… well, than Evil-Mart would if our illegal product arm ever got discovered. And we pay our taxes on the legitimate stuff scrupulously.”

Dinoid blinked rapidly, though I couldn’t tell whether he was more surprised by her suddenly dropping her act or the idea that Evil-Mart pays taxes. “You do?”

“Of course. Not under that name, of course, there’s a shell company.” She sniffed. “All villains do. Al Capone, you know. We’re not getting caught that way again.”

Knuckles and I both nodded when he looked at us, and he shook his head. “Huh. Makes sense, I guess.”

“It does.” I looked around again. The place really was crappy. “I know it’s a personal question, Mr… West, but under the circumstances I’d like to know… how much is that stipend?”

He looked down at the floor for a while, then cleared his throat. “Uh. $1100 a month.”

We all stared at him. Ms Fedorova’s mouth fell open. Knuckles looked shocked, and I was horrified. “$1100 a month?!” I asked, my voice coming out louder than I’d intended. “For risking your life on a superhero team?! I have teenaged cashiers working part-time who make more than that!”

He looked almost as startled as we did. “For working a cash register?!”

“Evil-Mart pays pretty good.” Knuckles shrugged. “But that stipend is disgusting.”

“You are being exploited,” Ms Fedorova said, sounding really aghast. “That is terrible. Why, baseline henchman pay is twice that, and there are danger bonuses and…” Her voice dropped suddenly. “You don’t have a union, do you?”

“A union? Of course we don’t have a…” He trailed off. “You mean you do?”

“Of course we do. An extremely well-armed one.” Ms Fedorova folded her arms. “Henchmen And Allied Industries has represented us for generations. The last time a supervillain executed a union henchman for failure, he was boiled in oil… literally. On camera. Oh, of course some of the less reputable villains just pick up small-time trash from the streets, untrained rabble from the gangs and so on, so they can treat them as disposable, but we union members are skilled workers, with rights and protections. I bet you don’t even get overtime.”

“Of course not. Crime happens when it happens, and we have to…” He trailed off. “You guys get overtime?”

“We’re getting double time and a half for this conversation. And an extra day off.”

His eyes widened again. “Really? Wow, that’s… even when I was working a regular job, before this, I didn’t get pay like that.” He looked down at his hands and bared his teeth in what looked like an unhappy expression. “And now I can’t work anything but this kind of job. People don’t like having a scary dinosaur in their restaurant.”

There was a long pause.

“You can cook?” Ms Fedorova asked carefully.

“Yeah. I worked in my parents’ restaurant before… this.” He gestured at himself. “They were killed when we were attacked, and I was… changed.”

We all looked at each other. “After you’ve returned Superdyne’s remains to whoever you consider appropriate,” I said, grabbing a notepad and scribbling down my number, “I’d like you to give me a call. Evil-Mart is always hiring in the bakery and deli, and I mean always. Most bad guys aren’t great cooks. We don’t know why, it just seems to be one of those things.”

“You want me to join the bad guys?”

“I want you to work in a bakery. Villains and henchmen need to eat, and so do their families. Nobody’s going to ask you to rip superheroes in half, just maybe make a sandwich that won’t give anyone food poisoning.”

“That’s a regular concern?”

“Six months ago the three of us ran Evil-Mart’s physical store completely unassisted for most of a day because the only people who weren’t down with food poisoning were the ones who’d had the vegetarian and kosher meals.” I shuddered at the recollection. “Trust me. Someone who can cater staff functions without a major disaster would never have to live in an apartment like this working for us.”

“And we get full benefits, including dental.” Knuckles was shaking his head. “I bet you don’t even get hospital.”

“What hospital would take me? I always figured I’d go to the zoo and talk to the vet if – “

Ms Fedorova actually put her arms around him. “You,” she told him firmly, “are going to resign your terrible exploitative job, and then I will personally sponsor you to the union immediately. I have a spare room. You will like it. Humidity and temperature can be set just how you like, and Mamma Yelena will take you to real doctor expert in health of hybrids.”

“Those exist?” he asked, sounding a bit overwhelmed.

“Yeah, the Genetic Reign has like three of them,” I said sympathetically. “Listen, you can take some time to think it over, but you don’t have to put up with this kind of exploitation just because you don’t look human. Nearly a third of Evil-Mart’s staff can’t pass, and they’re treated just like everyone else.”

Superdyne’s dramatic demise got a lot of news coverage. Apparently it came as a real shock to the ‘good guys’ that there were some monsters even the superest villains wouldn’t embrace.

Dinoid no longer exists. Ismail Jameel works at Evil-Mart, and has expanded our fresh food lines a lot already. He’s a nice guy, and after Ms Fedorova told everyone how disgustingly he’d been exploited by those so-called ‘heroes’, he was welcomed with open arms. Literally, in at least one case – he’s dating someone from the warehouse, I’ve heard, though I don’t know who. He says we should rename the store, because we suck at being evil.

But evil is a really relative term. It can mean the blackest depravity, or a moment of viciousness, or even just ‘people on the other side’. Evil-Mart is called that because everyone, at least everyone on our side, is welcome. Plus, we all think it’s funny that the least-evil megacorporation is called ‘Evil-Mart’. What can we say? Bad guys have a sense of humour too.

Have an evil day!

#welcome to Evil Mart #good is not just good #evil is not just evil #people are complicated #and so is retail #tw graphic #tw gore #tw violence #tw murder #it's a supervillain story #supervillain shit happens #you are now warned

6K notes · View notes

deathleads-moved · 6 years

Text

I wanna talk about her Mannequin Soldiers for a second.

They’re dark red, like a burgundy.

They aren’t hunched, they stand straight like soldiers

They listen harder, and obey no matter what

They’re closer to 28dl zombies than the usual sluggish ones we see in the manga.

The downside is that they can hardly think for themselves and can only follow orders. she couldn’t give any of them personalities or a fear of dying. So they’ll just stupidly do whatever you say.

#psa #and by 'hers' i mean the ones she was given free reign over #i just want hers to move fast and kill with 100% more efficiency

3 notes · View notes

meta-enthusiasm · 3 years

Text

You know what I am really fucking tired of seeing in popular media?

The "evil, hysterical woman in power" trope. The clichè that potrays women who are in a position of power as overzealous, unhinged, power hungry maniacs who are a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

Female leaders are shown as less resonable and down to earth as their male counterparts, and are often villainized by either the fandom or the narrative of the story itself. They are doomed to fail because of their womanliness and need to be taken down before they enact their evil plans, preferably by a man, or a woman who performs the 'right' kind of femininity.

This trope relies on the sexist misconception that women are more fragile than men, more emotionally unstable and unpredictable.

"Women aren't cut out to be leaders, they should be nurturing and supportive and tend to their families. Having higher aspirations is against their nature and will eventually break them and drive them crazy."

That type of bullshit that was designed to keep women out of leadership positions and keep oppressing us. To keep us quiet and submissive.

Here are a few examples to further explain this stereotype:

Daenerys Targaryen is one of the most well known characters to fall victim to this trope. She is an abuse and rape victim, seeking to change the current social and political systems of the world because she knows how many people suffer under its injustice. ("Crush the wheel.")

For all her compassion and charity she has shown over the series, the writers decided that it would be reasonable for her to go crazy at the end of the show and, despite promising she wouldn't inflict more damage than necessary, kill thousands of innocent people whose government had already surrendered to her.

And guess who had to kill her in the end? Yup, another man. Her love interest, who was "forced" to betray her.

Next, we have:

Morgana Pendragon, from "Merlin". To remind you, she is an abuse victim who had to endure her father's controlling behavior and bigoted attitude towards people with magic abilities which, suprise suprise, she turned out to have. She had to watch as her father murdered and oppressed people just like herself, and when she challenged that behavior, he would come down hard with punishment. (Going so far as to actually throwing her in the dungeons for a couple days.)

Eventually, she rebelled against the corrupt system and had her genocidal father killed. She led a rebellion against Camelot after Uther's son (Arthur) continued to oppress magicians under his reign, and sought to create a better future for herself and her people.

So far so good, right? Well, no. The problem here is that she is the antagonist of the story. She is portrayed as being in the wrong for not quietly taking the injustice and watching it happen.

Halfway through the show, she becomes obsessed with power and status and desperately chases after the throne of Camelot. She is extremly vindictive, manipulative and cruel to others to archieve her goals. She is a "hysterical woman" who is out of control, emotionally unstable, challenges the patriarchy, and therefore needs to be defeated.

Her death was portrayed as tragic, yet absolutely necessary.

(Of course it had to be a man who killed her.)

Azula is the epitome of this horrid, misogynistic trope. She is a fierce, ambitious leader and highly skilled fire bender, respected and feared among her people. She is highly driven and succeeds at almost everything she sets her mind to.

Ever since she came into this world, she was better at everything than Zuko. She was a better fighter than him, a better bender, better strategist, better child. And that is precisely the reason why she had to lose in the end.

Despite coming from the exact same circumstances as Zuko, the story and the fandom at large see Azula as way less redemable and likable than him. Even though she is an abuse victim whose own mother hated her and is a literal child soldier, she doesn't get any sympathy from the protagonists of the story. The otherwise so understanding and wise Iroh even calls her "crazy", (which is, if you've done some basic research into misogynistic expressions, really fucking problematic.) and tells Zuko that there is no saving her. Why? He doesn't tell, but it's obvious that the writers made him say this because of their own internalized sexist beliefs. She isn't offered a way out of her toxic environment like Zuko was. She didn't get the support from Iroh because he had already given up on her.

To top it off, she has a nervous breakdown near the end and loses her remaining sanity. Because, you know, "She's craaaazy!! And SO unstable!! Typical woman." (Not to mention how this further stigmatizes mental illness and portrays it as something only evil people get.)

She was supposed to become the next fire lord, a position that carries utmost power and influence. Of course, such authority could not be given to a woman. That's why Zuko, a man, gets to be the next fire lord, and we are left assuming Azula will be spending the rest of her days in prison.

The writers assume the audience detests Azula and wants her to suffer. She doesn't deserve a happy ending, or the love and support that Zuko got.

Why? Because she poses a threat to the status quo, the patriarchy. She challenged the belief that men had to be the best and most efficient at everything they do, that women could indeed be better leaders and be happy with having a career and not be nurturing, motherly figures to the men in their lives. And for that transgression, for breaking gender stereotypes, Azula was punished.

(It's also why Katara, someone who performs the "right" kind of femininity by being nurturing, motherly, supportive, healing, doting, and is the care taker of the group, ends up taking Azula, the evil and perverted form of femininity, down. I believe @batboyblog has made a similar post about this.)

This is Carmilla from the popular Netflix show "Castlevania", and if you've payed attention to my previous points, it should be pretty obvious what her character represents and how her story ends.

Note that she is also an abuse and rape survivor who is represented as evil and cruel for being angry at what was done to her.

To top it off, she is also an example of the man hating woman stereotype, whose anger at the misogyny and sexism of the world is portrayed as an "overreaction" and as "too much".

At the end of the story, she had to be taken down by another man (Isaac) so that the status quo could be preserved, and the reign of a crazy bitch like her could be stopped. Horay, the day is saved from yet another unstable, selfish woman who would have brought suffering and pain over her country if allowed to rule. Hysterical women with their demand for equality.

Conclusion:

In all these examples, we can see female abuse victims thriving for power and status, for respect, being represented as something negative and something to avoid. Trying to fundamentally change a system that is rigged against women/female representing people is a fruitless endevour that will eventually fail and drive us crazy, because our minds aren't strong enough to handle this type of responsibility and status.

Holding on to anger and bitterness over what was done to us is the sign of a bad person, and the only morally acceptable path is to forgive/ignore our abusers and let the injustice continue to happen.

Strangely enough though, that same gaslighting, victim blaming mentality gets almost never applied to male characters. Men who seek vengeance are never portrayed as weak or crazy for giving in to the wish of changing a corrupt system/killing bad people. (Batman, the Punisher, Hawkeye, John Wick, Jason Todd, Erin, Scar from FMAB, Iron Man, and so on)

The reason why these stereotypes almost never apply to men but almost always to women is sexism. There is no other explanation for this. These tropes were specifically designed to make society believe that women aren't cut out for leadership positions and are happiest with domestic, easy tasks like watching after our children and taking care of the household.

Women who are angry, women who are dominant are to be feared and distrusted. They are represented as a danger to the general public and need to be taken down before they enact their evil plans.

Feel free to add further examples.

61 notes · View notes

inkykeiji · 2 years

Note

Clariii I’ve been wondering, what does Touya-nii’s room look like? And once he gets a place with reader, does he let her decorate? If not, what style does he use to decorate their home? I’m a super girly girl and my whole room is decorated in baby pinks and baby blues with fairy lights and other nauseatingly girly stuff but surely Touya-nii would oppose that for somewhere HE has to live even though he dresses reader in very girly things like her dresses and the choker he gave her for Christmas.

oh my gosh these are SUCH good questions!!! thank you so much for asking!!!

what does touya-nii’s room look like?

i actually see touya’s bedroom as like…almost sterile in a way (ik that sounds funny given his uhhh REPUTATION hehehe), almost clinical. he’s not messy in the slightest (tbh i could absolutely see him yelling at reader to pick her fucking clothes up or to stop leaving them on the bed/chair/ottoman, goddamn it etc hehehe) and he’s not super into colour—i see his sheets as like, white, black, or a very VERY dark navy that nearly appears black. like he’d cycle between those three. i see his walls as a warm beige colour, and he has a MASSIVE desk in there as well, with several locked drawers. his bed is also mammoth (he sleeps like a starfish 70% of the time), possibly pushed against one wall, and he’s definitely got a full entertainment system as well, even though he barely uses it. and that’s it, really!! i feel like he’d keep his clothes in a large walk-in closet; i don’t see him as the type to have a dresser or a wardrobe. overall it’s very neat, very efficient. he hates clutter, and he doesn’t keep more than what he needs in his bedroom at home.

basically, touya’s extreme need for control almost spills into his interior design, where everything needs to be as organized and efficient as possible!!

once he gets a place with reader, does he let her decorate? if not, what style does he use to decorate their home?

when it comes to decorating, he definitely wouldn’t give her free reign (because she’d be exactly like u and me hehehe <3 the condo would end up a pink, delicate, frilly mess if he allowed her to get whatever she wanted) but he would take her opinions and suggestions into consideration. irregardless, there’s evidence of her presence scattered around the place: pretty dishes in the cupboard—pops of pastel pink in a city of porcelain; a super fluffy pink blanket, folded neatly over the white couch; a stuffed animal or two propped up against their plush ivory pillows, looking sorely out of place, etc.

and, in all honesty, he likes that. despite his neat + clean manner, he likes that there’s proof of her in their space. even though he’ll scold her about it, it sends pleasant sparks buzzing through his veins when he finds one of her well-worn novels dog-eared and abandoned on the couch, or when he finds her uni coursework littering the kitchen table, several different coloured pens strewn across the haphazard mess of papers, the screen of her laptop still glowing.

it’s a sweet confirmation—affirmation—of her existence itself; that she’s here, with him, in their cozy, shared, safe place. something that’s theirs and theirs alone.

in terms of his decorating style, touya-nii favours monochrome and minimalism, with a focus on lots of whites, greys, and dark woods. he likes things that are modern and sleek; all sharp smooth lines and hard defined edges—symmetry, perfection, as if it all fits together like some sort of atmospheric jigsaw puzzle.

as such, those traces of his baby may seem so out of place to any visitors, but it doesn’t matter to him—it’s special to him, because it imbues the space with her essence and makes it feel real, makes it feel lived in, makes it feel like a true home <3

#SUCH GOOD QUESTIONS WAAAAAAH #THANK U SO MUCH!!!!#i loved these!!!!!!!!!!#they were so fun to answer!!! and i actually think about his bedroom quite a bit so it was cool to be able to express that too <3 #such unique questions too aaaah!!!#if u ever have any others please do not hesitate to ask!!!!#i hope your weekend has been incredible so far <333 #have a fantastic week ahead and be safe!!! and warm and hydrated!!! <333 #sending much health n happiness ur way!! <3 #touya nii universe #clari gets mail

23 notes · View notes

loopy777 · 3 years

Note

I'm gonna pick "Sokkla Makeout," just to learn if it actually is what it sounds like.

I'm not going to give away the game, but since it's already complete, I might as well post the whole thing.

Keep in mind this was written in response to a discussion on ASN, which was (surprise!) centered on Sokkla. I forget the full details, but it touched on the possibilities of Sokka and Azula being secret agents together and falling in love. Secret Agent Sokka was a thing in fandom, for a while, and is partially what prompted me to put him in a 'Bond Girl' role for the story where I wrote Mai as 007. (Zuko was the Bad Bond Girl, although not actually bad in any way. It's all about the dynamic in the story formula.) As alwasy, I couldn't avoid putting in my own thoughts of an Azula 'Redemption.'

Also keep in mind that I typically dashed these things off without trying to make them good. Looking at it now, I'm not satisfied with Sokka's characterization.

Anyway, here you go:

Torture is Kind of Like Pranking, Right?

He should have been enjoying his first chance to ride in the new Drake-class Rapid Transport Zeppelin (that he helped design, thank you very much).

If not, then he should have enjoyed being trapped in a tiny passenger cabin with a spectacularly hot girl.

If not, then he should have at least been able to get some sleep, considering that he was on his way to another dangerous mission to preserve world peace or stabilize the price of rice or something.

Instead, he was scared out of his mind for his life.

Azula shifted her gaze away from the small porthole to look at Sokka with those darned-perfect eyebrows raised. "You're shaking. Are you cold? I can heat the cabin a little, if it would make you more comfortable."

Sokka tried to scoot away from her, but since he was already pressed into the wall on the far side of the bench they shared, all this accomplished was to squeeze him further up the metal barrier. Azula was literally driving him up the wall. "No Firebending," he growled. "I see one flame, red or blue, and I'm having this thing turned around and telling Zuko that you tried to kill me."

Azula's brow scrunched up, perhaps in irritation but more likely in evil murderous rage. "I'm trying to be nice; the Socialization classes my dear brother is paying for taught me that the first step in forging bonds with people is investing in the well-being of others. Since we will be working together on this mission, it would be most efficient for us to find a way to 'get along,' and something akin to a working friendship would be the ideal solution."

Sokka's eyes narrowed. "What does that all mean?"

"It means," she hissed, "that there isn't a single reason for me to do anything bad to you, so would you take your accusations and keep them to yourself?!"

There was the gaze- that scary Azula Gaze, the one that said she was about to destroy the entire world just for the joy of watching good people suffer. Sokka tensed and readied for an attack, but it didn't come. Azula just huffed a breath -- a warm one -- and turned to look out the porthole again. There was nothing but clear skies and rolling green plains to gaze at.

Sokka continued to eye Azula, just in case. She was a little different since she got out of the crazy house, but Sokka thought that Zuko deserved to take over her old room there for actually putting his former attempted-murderer to work. Zuko was far too trusting, and relied too much on logic, when it came to his sister. Normally, Sokka was a fan of logic, but Azula was Evil, and Evil is never logical.

Still, she was different, no denying that. She had completed five of these dangerous, off-the-books missions for Zuko, and seemed to be loyal to him, for now. Right here in this cabin, she was wearing a simple red and black tunic, and hadn't put her crownpiece in her hair. The old Azula liked the fancy robes of Fire Nation royalty, and even when she wasn't wearing her crownpiece, she was still wearing it in spirit.

That Azula was different now just meant she had gotten more sneaky.

"Why are you so convinced that I'm out to kill you?"

Sokka's jaw dropped, He hadn't thought she was paying any attention to him. "Maybe because you've done it before, every single time we met? And don't tell me you're a different person now. I've seen Zuko do that whole Evil To Good thing, and you're not working any of that magic."

She shrugged. "Honestly, I don't invest much into the concepts of Good and Evil. Back when I tried to kill you, I served my father, and by extension the nation he ruled. Of course, that drove me to... my bout of weariness. In the time it took me to... return home, Zuko had taken over the Fire Nation, ended the war, and began transitioning our country into peacetime. The only way to make myself useful is to serve him, now."

"And it never occurred to you," Sokka barked with a laugh, "to kill him and make yourself Fire Lord?"

Azula looked at him like he was a spiderfly in the process of defecating in her dessert. "What kind of an absurd notion is that? I'm one of the most reviled people alive, both in the Fire Nation and especially abroad. Even if I could somehow oust Zuko and take over, he's completely reversed our economy and state of readiness. If I tried to restart a war for conquest, I'd be defeated inside of a week, and the Fire Nation would suffer for it. That would be the height of pointlessness. Better to let Zuko rule, since he's trusted, and do what I can to make sure he has a stable reign so that the Fire Nation can prosper. Dear Zuzu has decided that I'm most useful on these covert anti-terrorist missions, so that's what I'm doing to prove my reliability. Maybe one day he'll let me function as an adviser."

Sokka could only stare at her through the whole tirade. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that?"

"I honestly couldn't care less. You're the one who's been staring at me the whole trip. Either you're a paranoid moron, or you're 'checking me out' as the expression goes."

Sokka snorted in indignation, which cleared his sinuses too quickly and set him coughing. As soon as he recovered, he croaked out, "No! I'm scouting the enemy!"

Azula tapped a finger to her chin. "Well, you've misidentified the enemy, but scouting isn't a bad concept. Actionable intelligence is the key to a successful operation, and it's good to know as much about your allies as you can. Perhaps even more important than knowing your enemies. Especially considering the mission that's planned for us."

She said it so nonchalantly that Sokka was immediately suspicious. "What do you mean?"

"Didn't they give you the extended briefing? We're going undercover as lovers in order to infiltrate enemy territory. I was given a wardrobe that even Ty Lee would consider daring. I hope they taught you how to brush your teeth back in the Water Tribes, because we'll probably be exchanging quite a bit of saliva."

Sokka couldn't speak. He couldn't even breathe. He was getting up the energy for a good scream when Azula leaned over him with a predatory expression on her face. "Might as well practice, hm?" Then she grabbed him and kissed him.

Then again, 'kissed' was probably the wrong term for it. Sure, their mouths were connected, and probably their tongues, too, but the degree to which Azula was pressing her body against his, limbs entangling, definitely pushed things beyond kissing. Maybe it was even a few notches above making out, depending on your definition. It certainly had its own power, which is why Sokka failed to even try to break free. If he had to classify it, he might file it under those Magnetik Energies the Mechanist was currently playing with.

Whatever it was, it was heating the room like crazy.

Of course, everyone needs air -- even Firebenders -- so the Way More Than a Kiss ended with stereo panting as the two of them eased back to their respective sides of the bench. Sokka found his voice first. "What- you- we- I... I don't care how great that was, no way am I pretending to be your lover! You're evil!"

Azula sighed. "Relax. I was just joking. My Socialization class that says humor is a very effective way to lighten moods and create superficial connections between people who are otherwise having trouble bonding. I guess I'm no good at pranks yet. Perhaps I'll ask Zuzu for an additional tutor." She turned to stare out the porthole again, leaning her chin on her hands.

Sokka watched her very carefully for the rest of the silent, awkward trip. And it totally wasn't because he was checking her out.

END

#sokkla #sokka #azula #makeout #kiss #fanfic

19 notes · View notes