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rachelbethhines · 3 years

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Tangled Salt Marathon - Short Cuts

So the reviews for Rapunzel’s Return are taking longer then expected and due to real life complications I’ve now fallen behind in my intended schedule. So in order to catch up, I’ll be doing a series of rapid-fire mini reviews of all the official shorts that the series released in addition to the usual reviews.

Summary: Ten shorts were released throughout the three seasons of the show detailing Rapunzel’s misadventures in Corona.

Check Mate

Pascal tries to get Max to play chess with him, but the horse is too busy with guard duty to play. Pascal’s antics wind up causing a fire and Max must save him.

This short, plus the later Unicorn-y short, and the episode Pascal’s Story pretty much confirms that chess is pascal’s favorite game. Shame that’s the only idiosyncrasy that the series gives besides being the conscious of the group that sometimes gives the other characters guilty looks.

I said it before and I’ll say again, the animal sidekicks in the franchise don’t have enough personality to carry whole episodes by themselves, but shorts like this are ok and where things like this should have stayed.

Prison Bake

Attila recounts how he used his baking skills to break his fellow pub thugs out of prison back before they met Rapunzel.

This just raises so many questions. Why were they arrested? What was their punishment besides jail? Why weren’t they just re-arrested later after escaping? If they were all wanted criminals before meeting Raps then why did they try to call the guards during the movie to collect the reward money on Eugene’s head? Do we really think “crack-down on crime” Frederic would pardon them before Rapunzel’s return? How do we know they weren’t just framed given how shitty Corona’s legal system is?

Like I just need a tiny bit more context show. Two to three minutes isn’t really long enough to set up conflicts. These shorts should have been more like five or six minutes really.

Also Ludwig the Castle Cook is also just wasted. They built a model for him and hired a VA and everything and all he does is appear in this one short and nothing else. Like I think he makes a non-speaking cameo in The Alchemist Returns or something, but that’s it. It’s a clear mismanagement of resources.

Make Me Smile

Rapunzel tries unsuccessfully to make Old Lady Crowley smile, but it’s not until she holds an honest conversation with the woman does she find a solution.

This is best short out of the bunch, and not just cause it stars the great Pat Carol either.

This is how Rapunzel should have been handled in the main series proper. Which is why I screen-grabbed this whole convo. It’s perfect.

Rapunzel spent 18 years lock in a tower. Of course she doesn’t understand different perspectives from her own cause her development has been stunted. She’s compassionate but lacks empathy. So she has a hard time connecting with others, but once she slows down an actually takes the time to listen to people she is capable of learning.

We needed more of this; just on a larger scale. Have Raps make mistakes, have people be annoyed with her or right angry when she messes up, and then have her learn.

Why the series thought it was a good idea to have everyone kiss her royal arse instead while she dug in her heels and consendinly took charge of everything even while still screwing up, I’ll never know.

Hare Peace

Feldspar asks Rapunzel to take care of his “precious”. Rapunzel thinks he means a pet rabbit, and is run ragged trying to keep up with it, but it turns out he was talking about his prized cabbage instead.

These shorts overall work a lot better than the main show. They know what they are and don’t try to be anything else. Therefore they deliver what is promised competently. They’re nothing amazing nor groundbreaking and in truth I wouldn’t want a whole series of them, but I get the feeling this is what the head executives at Disney were expecting when they signed off on the show and not whatever mess the main series turned out to be.

Night Bite

Rapunzel, Eugene, and the animals are out camping for the night and Max gets irritated by all the bugs.

What doesn’t work so well is the placement of some of the shorts. This particular short aired during season two and indeed that would make sense given that they are camping out here. Which why would they do that if they were still in Corona...

Yet some of the later shorts, which also aired during season two, clearly do take place in Corona debunking that theory. Just some context would be nice show, that’s all.

Also this short is meh.. not bad, not, good, just there.

Hiccup Fever

Rapunzel gets the hiccups and everyone in Corona seems to have advice on how to get rid of them, but only Eugene has the solution.

I’d argue that this is the funniest of the shorts. I legit laughed out loud at some points which is rare.

However it does sadly prove on thing.

Rapunzel was always a shit girlfriend, even before season three.

Being a douche to your boyfriend isn’t funny show.

Snowball

Rapunzel and Pascal plan to have some fun in the snow and things go awry.

So where and when is this exactly?

Unlike the other shorts, the context and setting for this one is paramount to whether or not Rapunzel is a simply lazy or a an outright dick.

For you see, Rapunzel had never been outside in the show before Queen for a Day. Ergo, this can only take place during the latter half of season one or during season two.

Now season two makes a lot of sense. They’re at some cabin in the woods that was never mentioned are seen on screen before and this did air during season two anyways. If that is the case then Raps just avoiding her planned road trip like always.

However, the last short and the next two also aired during season two and all of those do take place in Corona during season one and even the wiki states that they were all meant to take place during season one in original concept.

Yet if that is the case then Rapunzel is ignoring Varian right now and playing around in the thing that almost killed him...

Oh and that still doesn’t explain where this cabin is. Is it the mountain retreat that the King and Queen were going to spend their anniversary at?

What’s really mind boggling though is that they made this short in order to reuse the character models from Queen for a Day in order to save money, but then went and built this whole set that’s never seen outside of this short.

Like seriously who was on charge of the budget decisions in the series?

Hairdon't

Rapunzel offers to cut Eugene’s hair but then messes it up. She spends all day trying to stop Eugene from seeing his new do, but turns out the hairstyle becomes a hit with the Corona townspeople.

Rapunzel seriously lucked out here and it borderlines on the main series style levels of BS. She asks Eugene not to get upset before he sees what she’s done and, guess what, he is rightly upset.

Honestly the series needed to let Eugene get angry at Rapunzel for stuff. That’s what happens in relationships, you will make your partner mad at times and that’s ok. It’s all about how both of you handle that.

We never get to see how Eugene and Rapunzel would handle a real ordinary conflict and not just magic/ex girlfriend shenanigans that don't end with them putting off talking about it.

Even their best episodes in season two still are over conflicts that don’t have any immediate impact on their lives and are mostly hypotheticals to them, like kids or how other people should approach dating. And of course by season three Eugene is just reduced to a doormat.

Unicorn-y

Rapunzel tries to help Vladimir find his missing prized unicorn figurine in this spoof of old detective movies. Turns out Max and Pascal had found it and were using it to play chess.

Ok, first off, Eugene has the patience of a saint and deserves so much better than Raps and her bullcrap here. Same goes for Lance who is tied up as well during this scene.

But also this is another short that needed to be more than three mins long. The “mystery” is over before it even starts and the film noir parody only barely has time register in the viewer’s mind and then it’s over with.

Shorty’s Theme Song Takeover!

The last of the shorts aired after the show had ended as part of the Disney Channel’s on going promotional gimmick “Theme Song Takeover!”

Shorty finds Rapunzel’s journal and sings his own version of the show’s theme song, “Wind in my Beard”.

It’s ok.

All of Disney’s animated shows for the 2019/2020 line up has done one and some are funnier than than this and others not so. The Shorty one is pretty middle ground but what makes it work is that Rapunzel is completely oblivious to what’s going on and only Shorty, always the anomaly of the series, can perceive the fourth wall. Thus proving he was never really human.

As for placement, we know it’s season three cause of Rapunzel’s dress and they’re mostly likely inside the Snuggly Duckling right now. So just slot it in wherever you see fit.

Conclusion

That’s it for the shorts. The rest of Rapunzel’s Return should be up later this week and then hopefully I’ll be all caught up in time to cover the next episode next week.

#tangled #tangled the series #rapunzles tangled adventure #short cuts #anti-rapunzel #anti-tangled

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kissjane · 3 years

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ANIMAL COMPANY / (Not so) Short fic

#13 from this prompt list

Guys! That’s it! This is the last one from the list! I did it! The file for these is 64.5k words, and I did them all in two months. It was super fun, but not gonna lie, I’m glad to be done with it. And as promised to a certain evil mastermind, “Mouse AU” is the last one posted.

Both going to grab the same thing and touching hands, then making eye contact

For all Lucas’ lamenting about wanting to live alone, so he could walk around naked, eat pizza at every hour of the day, and never have to listen to any of his roommates get it on ever again, now that he actually was living out that long-desired dream, he was… lonely, for lack of a better word.

When he had realized he was talking to himself, and replying, he had figured he needed something alive to keep him company.

And so he had decided to go to the pet store, to see if he could actually commit to the immense job of keeping an innocent animal happy, healthy and alive.

It was, however, not an easy task. He’d had a staring contest with a black-and-white cat, and he’d been playing for a while with a cute Pomeranian, but he hadn’t fallen in love. The birds had been entertaining for a while, and he actually felt a connection with this yellow puff that kept flying into the cage and seemed to love taking baths and ruffling its feathers, but when the store clerk had started explaining about shells to sharpen their claws and different grain mixes and fake eggs for the bird to breed on, he’d given up.

The fish were pretty, but boring, and the tortoises had a temper. Lucas didn’t feel like sharing his flat with a snappy, mean animal – he was perfectly fine filling out that slot all by himself, thank you.

He had tried to find the walking sticks between the non-walking ones, and given up after a few minutes. The ant farm reminded him too much of a middle school science project. A chicken sounded good in theory – a fresh egg daily was a big boon – but the idea of a chicken in a flat was preposterous. And while he was all for recycling and taking care of the environment, a worm composting station just sounded dirty.

So he was getting a bit desperate, wandering further down the aisles. He turned a corner, and suddenly found himself in front of a cage with one single white mouse in it.

The animal was sitting up on its haunches, looking at Lucas, its whiskers trembling as it sniffed. It looked kinda cute, and Lucas wanted to pet it, to see if maybe he could take this tiny thing home. He opened the cage and reached out for the tiny animal, when suddenly a large hand, with silver rings on multiple fingers, carefully grabbed the mouse right before Lucas could.

“Hey!”, Lucas protested without thinking, turning towards the intruder. “I was going to pet him!”

“Well, I guess…”, a male voice replied, and the hand was extended towards Lucas, not letting go of the mouse.

Lucas gingerly extended a finger towards the animal’s fur, and touched it, trying hard to stroke the frightened little thing, who was now squeaking loudly. However, the hand of the guy was kinda in the way, and so Lucas looked up, and – promptly forgot all about the mouse.

The hand with all the silver rings appeared to belong to some sort of ethereal creature right out of Lucas’ gayest fantasies.

“So did you pet him enough?”, the god in front of him said, but Lucas suddenly had difficulty understanding French.

“Huh?”, he croaked out, undignified, sounding rather like the frogs he had given wide berth earlier.

The guy laughed, and fuck, if it wasn’t like the sun broke through the clouds and lit up the whole store.

“Did that satisfy your urge to pet him? I mean, I don’t mind if you want to do it again, but I promised Brian a mouse soon, so, yeah…”

His voice died off apologetically, and Lucas swallowed back a lump.

It was stupid, really, to get disappointed. Men like this weren’t put on earth for Lucas, as much as he might wish it to be otherwise. Of course this guy had better things to do than stand in a pet store with a mouse in his goddamn sexy hands, being drooled over by a total stranger.

“Oh! Oh, uh, yeah,” he said, praying his cheeks weren’t as red as they felt. “Sorry, uh, yeah, sure. Wouldn’t want to keep Brian waiting.” He chuckled in embarrassment.

The guy nodded emphatically.

“Yeah, my baby boy gets a bit impatient sometimes, so…”

Oh. Lucas hadn’t given too much thought as to who or what Brian might be, but it made sense. He pictured a cute toddler with the same messy hair and grey eyes as his dad – fucking adorable, there was no other word for it, waiting anxiously for its new pet. His vivid imagination played the scene out with full-colour detail – a spacious flat somewhere in Paris, a pretty wife holding on to Brian, the guy stepping through the door with the mouse in a small cage, Brian escaping his mom’s hold and hugging his dad’s legs, jumping up and down in excitement.

He had to swallow down another lump.

“Oh, yeah, I understand,” he said, while stepping aside so the guy could pass him on his way to the register. “Does he like mice, your son?”

“They’re his favourite,” the guy said, putting the mouse in a small box and moving past Lucas. “And it’s been two weeks, so you can imagine he’s pretty hungry. Have a nice day!”

Wait. What? The scene in front of Lucas’ eyes changed screeched to a halt, and then picked up again, this time with a creepy toddler biting into the mouse, blood smeared around the corners of his mouth, while the pretty mom wiped the back of her hand around her own lips, stained red, as the guy looked on proudly.

“He’s gonna… eat… that mouse?”, Lucas squealed in horror. The guy, who had almost turned the corner, slowed down and looked over his shoulder at Lucas.

“What else would he do with it?”

Lucas’ mouth fell open. He pinched himself, convinced he somehow entered a fucked-up horror dream, but he flinched at the pinch, so he must be awake.

“What… fucking parent lets his kid eat mice?”

The guy stared at him for a long beat, and then suddenly, that sunshine smile broke through again. He stepped closer to Lucas, who recoiled in disgust.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!”, the guy said as Lucas kept backing away from him. “I guess I did call him my baby, didn’t I? Brian is not my son, though, he’s my pet snake!”

Lucas’ head spun.

“First of all,” he spluttered, “who the fuck calls his snake Brian? What kind of a name is that?”

The guy shrugged.

“It suits him. If you saw him, you’d know.”

Lucas shivered visibly.

“Oh, come on,” the other man said. “Don’t tell me you don’t like snakes. Brian is cute, I swear.”

Lucas wasn’t convinced.

“If you say so… But anyway, more importantly, you can’t just let that tiny mouse be eaten by a snake! Look at him!”

The guy did look at the mouse, and then back at Lucas.

“But Brian needs to eat.”

“But I wanted to buy that mouse! I wanted a pet!”

It was a lie, because Lucas had in no way committed to the wretched thing, but he couldn’t just let it be taken to an early, gruesome death.

“Ah.”

The guy seemed to understand the issue, as he looked from Lucas to the mouse with his piercing eyes, biting his bottom lip. Dammit, Lucas really couldn’t look too closely at that, because he felt his resolve weaken. He might just agree to be fed to Brian himself, if only to keep the guy’s eyes on him.

“What if I helped you find another pet?”

Fuck. Suddenly Lucas didn’t give a damn about the fate of the poor little mouse – it seemed to look at him with hurtful eyes now, upset at Lucas’ betrayal – if the alternative was staying close to this guy while they wandered through the pet store together, discussing the pros and cons of each animal.

“Uh… well, I would have to warn you. That mouse was kinda my last hope.”

“I will take the risk. For Brian.”

Lucas dithered for only a few seconds, in which the mouse didn’t deign him worthy of another look, before he caved.

“I guess.”

“Okay, let’s go then! I’m Eliott, by the way. Brian’s dad.”

He laughed, and the sound of it made a shiver roll deliciously slow over Lucas’ spine. He managed to keep himself mostly in check though, rolling his eyes as he extended a hand.

“Lucas.”

And they set forth on another tour of the aisles, Eliott trying to emphasize all the advantages of the creatures they came across, and Lucas nixing them all with a sad shake of his head. Eliott had to agree with lots of Lucas’ arguments – spiders were too creepy to keep willingly in the house, hamsters were smelly, and chameleons sounded cool, but all they did was lounge around under a heat lamp.

So when they found themselves back where they started out, they both looked at the small box in Eliott’s hand.

“I mean, maybe Brian could wait another day to eat… He did seem very hungry but I’m reasonably sure it wouldn’t kill him…”

Eliott looked at Lucas with a pout and honest-to-God puppy dog eyes, and Lucas couldn’t help but laugh.

“I guess I can survive without a pet, too… It might be a close call, though.”

“Yeah,” Eliott nodded, suddenly serious. “Not a risk I’d be willing to take, though.”

Lucas’ breath hitched. Eliott was watching him intently, and Lucas was pretty sure this time he wasn’t succeeding at keeping the blush off his cheeks.

Suddenly though, Eliott jumped.

“Oh, Lucas! I know! I know exactly what you need!”

He grabbed Lucas’ hand, and for a dizzying second, Lucas was too distracted by the contact to move. But Eliott tugged, and Lucas had no choice to follow him, and before he knew it, Eliott was showing him an enclosure with a grand flourishing gesture.

“What’s that?”

Lucas peered in, and then –

“A rabbit! It’s perfect, Lucas!”

Inside the cage was a tiny grey rabbit with floppy ears, and Lucas felt his heart melt.

“Oooh, you’re cute! Look, Eliott, he’s so fucking cute!”

“He is,” Eliott said, his voice low, and Lucas looked over his shoulder to see if anything was wrong, but Eliott just smiled, his eyes sparkling.

“What do you think, then? Worthy alternative for a mouse?”

Lucas pondered for a minute.

“Yeah. Come on, help me flag down an attendant so I can take him home.”

Together, they listened to a tired-looking clerk enumerating the important points in rabbit care, and loading their arms with the necessary equipment and food before finally taking them to the register where Eliott paid for his mouse and Lucas for the rabbit and all its accessories.

“So,” Eliott said, as they stepped outside. “What are you going to name him?”

“I don’t know yet,” Lucas truthfully replied, looking at the ball of grey fur. “But it’ll be better than Brian, I know that. I’m a way better pet dad than you.”

Eliott laughed brightly.

“I feel like I’m kinda his dad, too. I mean, I helped pick out his house and his toys and everything.”

Lucas was inclined to agree, but sadly, this was as far as things were going to go. Eliott would go home and feed Brian the mouse, and Lucas would pour all his affection into his new roomie.

“Maybe, uh…”

Eliott hesitated.

“What?”, Lucas asked curiously.

“Maybe I could come visit him sometime? And you, too, obviously.”

Lucas whipped his head up in surprise.

“And, you could come see Brian, too, I mean, if you wanted…”

Lucas smiled widely.

“Is this your way of asking my number?”

Eliott mirrored Lucas’ smile.

“Yeah. After all, don’t you think our pets would be better off with two dads?”

And as he punched in his number into Eliott’s phone, Lucas’ imagination got kickstarted again, showing him vividly another flat somewhere in Paris, with a rabbit enclosure next to a glass aquarium in which Brian was leisurely devouring a mouse, and two boys cuddled up in front of them, kissing each other. It beat living alone, for sure.

#I write things #50 cliché prompts #Elu #skam france fanfic #☯#I AM DONE

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sugarsugarmoon · 4 years

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Study Break

Summary: You and Joon need to get rid of some stress while writing your theses.

Genre: Smut, pwp

Warnings: Thigh riding, unprotected sex, public sex

a/n: for beautiful, tropical fish @lynnthevirgo, unedited

Word Count: 1745

You are wandering through the stacks trying to find a specific text that you want to reference in your thesis. You only have your thesis left in your Undergraduate career, and you have been stressing out. Not everyone might be fascinated by the effect of the British Raj on Postcolonial women’s literature in India, but, gosh darnit, you’re not everyone. You have found it absolutely enthralling, but, after writing 20 pages, you have also found it a bit tedious.

You are looking intently at the titles on the shelf, so when Namjoon comes up behind you, you are startled by his voice. You let out a little scream, only to be shushed by a student at a table nearby studying. You wave an apologetic hand, turn, and smack Joon lightly on the chest.

You turn back to the shelf and pull your book down. You grab Namjoon by the wrist and silently lead him to your table in the back corner on the second floor. You have a small pile of books and papers spread across the table and your laptop open.

“How’s it going?” Namjoon asks as soon as the two of you are settled in. He’s pulling his computer out of his backpack. He’s been working on his philosophy thesis for the last few months too. Together, you have been so stressed out that your other friends don’t want to be around you.

“It’s going pretty well. I’m having a hard time connecting all the research I did about the British Raj to the The God of Small Things in a way that doesn’t feel disjointed and choppy. I’m wondering if I should incorporate some postcolonial theory in there?”

“You know, I was just reading a book that involved some postcolonial theory, and I think that you could totally make some connections there. Let me find the name of it.” With Namjoon being a philosophy major, a lot of the theoretical research the two of you do has overlapped, and you think that’s probably why you work so well together.

Namjoon leans down to get something out of his backpack and knocks his computer off the table. As soon as it hits the floor, he sighs, “God dammit!”

His hands clench into fists, and he huffs out his nose. You reach across the table and rub his shoulder. “Joon, it’s okay. I’m sure it’s fine.”

“I’m sorry, y/n. I’m just so stressed out. I haven’t done anything but study for like 36 hours. I can’t think anymore. I need to do something to get my mind off of it, just for a little while.”

You sigh. It’s the most relatable thing anyone has ever said to you, but you don’t know what the two of you could go do on a college-student budget that would relieve your tension.

“I have an idea.” He’s looking at you with this intense expression. His head is lowered a little, and he’s looking up at you through his lashes. “If you’re up for it.”

You raise your eyebrows at him, unsure what he’s suggesting. He gets up from his seat and walks around the table to you. He grabs your chin and forces you to look up at him. Your heart is slamming against your chest, and you feel like everything is moving in slow motion. He leans in until he’s about six inches away from your face. You can feel his hot breath on your skin. He smells like coffee and ballpoint pens, and you inhale him deeply.

“Y/n, do you want to relieve some stress with me?” He’s peering into your eyes expectantly.

“What? Here?” you ask, shocked by his boldness.

“Why not here? No one ever comes back here, and if they do, they should know that we don’t want to be disturbed.

He remains the same distance from your lips, willing you to make the move. You think for a moment considering what you should do. You really need a way to work out your stress, so you decide “fuck it.” You lean up and press your lips to his.

It’s tentative at first. Slow and deliberate. You never imagined yourself kissing Namjoon in the back corner of the library, but here you are. He grabs the back of your head and laces his fingers into your hair. His mouth starts to move more, and you follow his lead. He guides his tongue along your bottom lip, and when you open your mouth further, his tongue finds yours.

He’s bent awkwardly, so you stand to make it easier for the tall man. You wrap your hands around his torso, gently raking your nails up and down his back. He pulls you by the hair to angle your head better, then he slots his leg between yours. His free hand moves down your back and to your hip. He guides your hips to move against his leg.

The friction of his thigh is overwhelming, and you feel that you’ve not only soaked through your pants, but you are starting to soak through his pants too. “Joonie,” you moan, and his breath hitches in his chest. He pulls your hair again, and you feel yourself tumbling into your orgasm. You brace yourself on his chest, and you are clenching around nothing. Quiet moans escape from your lips, and you’re grabbing fistfuls of Namjoon’s shirt.

As your orgasm dies down, Joon lets go of your hips and pulls you against his chest. Tongue exploring your mouth again. He pulls your shirt up over your head and tosses it onto the table. You’re a little embarrassed because you are just wearing a plain cotton t-shirt bra, and you definitely are not looking sexy. Namjoon’s eyes are poring over you though, taking in every inch of your skin. He unhooks your bra and drops it with your shirt.

“So perfect,” he whispers and runs his hands over your breasts, taking each nipple between two fingers and massaging it gently.

You guide his shirt over his head, wanting to feel every inch of his skin against yours. You pull him closer and kiss him again.

“Take those off. I’m not kidding. Take those off right now.” He points to your pants, and then he starts to undo his own, pulling them down his thighs.

You take your pants off, and you’re very aware that you’re completely naked in the library (it’s laundry day, so you were going commando under your pants). Namjoon freezes, taking in your naked frame. His breathing is fast as he looks at your glistening folds.

“Do you want me to fuck you on this table, sweetheart?” he asks, freeing his cock from his underwear and stroking it. The pet name sends heat straight to your core.

You nod enthusiastically, unable to tear your eyes from his thick length in his hand. Your mouth is watering, and all you want is to drop to your knees for him. He seems to have a different plan in mind. Pushes you gently back toward the table, and when you hit it with your butt, he stops. “Do you want to choose how I fuck you or do you want me to?”

You think that you would probably choose to have him fuck you from behind, but you want to do whatever he wants. “You choose.”

He smiles at you, runs his hand through your hair, and lifts you onto the table, facing him. “Lie back, sweetheart, yeah?”

He bends down and starts digging through his backpack.

“Namjoon, is now really the time for that?” You are impatient to have him between your legs, to feel how good he feels inside you.

“I’m looking for a condom, sweetheart.”

“Fuck it. Are you clean? Fuck me raw. I want to feel all of you, Joonie.”

His eyes flash as he turns to you, putting his hand on your leg and pulling himself up. “Are you sure? I’m clean, but you don’t have to do that.”

You shake your head, desperate for him to touch you. You grab his hand and guide it to your core, leading his hand to rub circles on your clit. “I’m sure. Birth control, all that. Just hurry up and fuck me.”

He doesn’t have to be told again. He pushes your legs open and guides himself into you. You gasp at the stretch, and he moves slowly. When he is buried in your to the hilt, he waits for you to tell him to move. When you tell him to, he moves in cautious movements. He is fucking you slow and deep. You love it, but soon you want more.

“Joonie, please. Faster.”

He leans over you on the table, planting his hands above your shoulders. He’s hovering over your face now as he fucks you hard and fast. He’s driving into you, and the friction from his pubic bone on your clit and his cock inside you is pushing you towards another orgasm.

“Cum for me, sweetheart. I want to see your face when you cum.”

He thrusts a few more times, and you are hurtling toward your second orgasm. You bite your hand to keep yourself from moaning loudly. You feel yourself dripping, and you cum around Namjoon’s cock, hard. It’s possibly the hardest you’ve ever cum, and your toes curl, fingers dig into Joon’s back, stomach muscles clenched. Your head falls back against the table, and you can’t stop the groan that rips its way out of your chest.

You hear someone (maybe the same guy from earlier) shush you again.

“Oh fuck off!” you yell, panting, head fuzzy.

Joon keeps thrusting into you until his hips stutter, and he cums inside you, filling you completely with his cum. In the midst of his orgasm, he barely whispers, “I love you.” You jerk your head up to look at him, but his eyes are pinched shut.

When the last spasm leaves his body, he pulls out and immediately starts to get dressed. You grab your pants and start to slide them up your hips. “You know, Joonie, we are going to have to talk about that for several reasons, but I just realized how I can make my writing more cohesive. Can we do talk after we’ve turned in our theses?”

He nods, smiling contentedly. He places a kiss to the top of your hair in your hair and sits down across from you, typing frantically on his computer.

#namjoon x reader #namjoon x y/n #namjoon smut #namjoon one shot #bts fanfic #smutcentralnet #can you tell that this is based on my actual thesis from my undergrad?#because it is #that's what my thesis was about

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starkerkeyz · 5 years

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Inner Heat

I sent Cage a couple paragraphs of smut to feel better a few days ago, as you do for your friends, and she asked me to expand on it so here it is :)

This is also MY 300 FOLLOWER MILESTONE FIC! :D Thank you guys so much for the love and attention and good vibes 🥰

Warnings: NFF, choking, mild cum-play, D/s

"Are you sure?" Peter says from atop Tony's lap like sitting on a man's cock is the best time to check in. Tony pets his thighs soothingly. Peter is one of the best partners he’s ever had but he’ll get the kid, hopefully, to a point where he’s more confident in himself.

"Yes. Trust me, I'm into it." Tony's into a lot of things the kid would feel the need to check in about. They're easing their way to those other kinks. For now they’ve gone over technique and theory and Tony has given his full consent; it’s time to get to the fun part and experiment.

Peter nods and then leans forward enough to flutter his hands around Tony's collarbones. He takes long enough that Tony picks up his hand and gives his knuckles a kiss; then he puts Peter's hands on his neck and lets go.

"Okay. Okay." Peter tightens his hands and unconsciously his pelvis tightens in conjunction. He gasps softly when he feels Tony's cock buck deep within him. Fuck, he really is into this. He can see it in Tony’s blown pupils and parted lips, in the way his tongue darts out and his body relaxes while his cock stiffens. Peter feels a rush of power knowing that he’s the one putting that look on Tony’s face.

“How-how was that?” Peter starts and repeats, easing up on the pressure and removing his hands entirely. His eyes drop to where his hands had been; looking for any red marks or signs of bruising.

“A tease.” Tony says bluntly, taking any possible edge off his words with a grin and a quick swivel of his hips into Peter. He tugs him down to swallow his gasp in a kiss, fingers weaving into brown curls and holding him there. Tony gave a small pull and a gentle kiss, just enough pressure to tickle the nerve endings. Then, he tugged; igniting the same spots and biting into Peter’s lower lip when the younger man’s cock leaked and twitched visibly from the treatment. Tony smirked and let him go with a parting kiss. “See the difference?”

“Y-yeah. I do.” Peter had to resist the urge to squirm and ride Tony into the mattress. This was for Tony. He couldn’t get distracted by his own horniness.

“You can move while you’re doing it.” Tony adds, nonchalant, like Peter isn’t clamping down eagerly with each word. He tips his head so his throat is bared and suddenly it seems so vulnerable and erotic to Peter. He licks his lips and cups his palm around Tony’s neck, slotting his fingers into place, lashes falling down as his eyes flutter half lidded in arousal. His hand looks so soft compared to Tony’s skin.

Peter experiments by lifting his hips without letting go and- oh. Oh, yes. Tony’s cock glides against his inner walls, rubbing him in all the right spots; and when Peter rises up he leans his weight a little forward, each time pressing downwards onto Tony -careful not to lean too much weight, though- and he’s watching the man’s face go red and his eyes hazy. Peter’s dick is a forgotten brand of pleasure against his stomach. It’s ignored in favor of keeping both hands on Tony’s throat.

Peter has no idea why he likes this as much as he does. There’s no denying the way he’s leaking pre all over Tony’s belly or the way Tony’s pulling him closer instead of pushing him away. He lets up on the pressure at the same time he slams himself down and grinds his hips in a slow, sinful circle; using a swivel Tony taught him.

The sound Tony lets out isn’t a word but conveys an entire dialogue of pleasure all the same.

Peter feels like his entire life’s focus is narrowing to that one sweet cry falling from Tony’s lips. It reaches somewhere deep inside of him and pulls out something dark and warm and Peter knows one absolute fact; he’s going to get Tony to make that noise again. And again. And again.

“Look at you.” Peter’s talking before he’s thought about what he’s going to say. Usually that’s a bad thing but right now it’s so easy. He doesn’t need to think about anything but how to keep Tony’s cock hard and his eyes blown until the brown is almost gone. “You’re so beautiful like this. You’re so hard inside me. You like it when I ride you with my hands on your neck?”

Tony nods his head; doesn’t even try to speak. His brain is swimmy and his body is thrumming. Peter’s been squeezing his inner walls in time with his fingers and his inadvertent double stimulation has pushed Tony right out of his own head and into a place of heat and bliss. He’s so close already.

He reaches for Peter’s thighs, misses, lands on his knees instead. He traces upwards, undeterred, and skims the nail of his thumbs over Peter’s inner thighs to get his attention.

“What is it, baby?” Peter’s never called Tony that- not like this. It makes his dick throb so good. Is this how Tony feels when he calls Peter those pet names all the time? Peter lets go of Tony’s neck to give him air to breathe and room to talk.

“Close.” Tony’s single word reply is wrecked. The spot where Peter’s been gripping is red and angry. There’s going to be a collar of bruises for days when they’re done with this scene. Peter imagines sinking his teeth into the bruises and drops a hand down to grip himself and start stroking.

“You don’t cum until I say.” Peter orders -orders!- and Tony nods his head up and down in answer. Peter sits up straighter from the rush of power that gesture gives him. He’s right on the edge himself from riding Tony’s cock while ringing his neck with Peter’s slender fingers. Tony giving in when he asked? Tony obeying someone, willingly, eagerly even?

These thoughts were a kind of power rush all their own. He finds himself rolling his hips, lifting and lowering himself in short rabbit bursts. Fuck, he’s so close.

The short term memory of what he’s just been doing flashes behind his fluttering lashes and he speeds up his strokes. He’s going to remember this night for the rest of his life but he can’t keep his eyes open and tracking for long. He rocks himself so Tony’s cockhead rubs his prostate and he cum’s into his fist, thick rivulets oozing from the tip to slip all across his fingers and dribble downwards towards Tony’s belly. It doesn’t shoot but there’s still enough to leave a visible puddle in Tony’s abs that Peter wants to lick clean.

After Peter’s come down from the initial high he locks eyes with Tony; he smirks and holds up the hand that’s covered in his own cum, cocking an eyebrow in question. Giving Tony an out. Tony reaches; squeezes Peter’s hips in encouragement.

“Your turn.” Peter pauses for a moment, wondering -should he have used a pet name again? Too formal? Is he doing this right?- but then Tony rubs his hips and pulls his attention back again. He leaned forward as he’d originally planned and wraps his hands around Tony’s throat for a third time that night. His cum rubs into Tony’s neck as he starts to squeeze, fingers slotted where Tony had taught him to place them. “Cum for me. Cum inside of me. You’ve earned it.”

He knows exactly what those words have done to Tony; because they do the same to him when Tony uses them.

Tony keens and claws into Peter’s hips as he cums. His cock bucks and throbs for a long eternity, emptying what feels like his entire nights load deep inside of Peter’s thoroughly used hole. His body is one long nerve ending connected by the two points of Peter’s hands and ass. The sticky, wet press of Peter’s fingers below his jaw has his chest heating and groin throbbing.

Peter slowly lets go of Tony’s neck and then sits still for a moment. He looks at Tony and wishes he had his cell phone close at hand. The man is a wreck; eyes hazy and gone, neck red and glistening with white, chest heaving.

“Was that…” Peter’s unsure of the next part. They’ve both cum. Normally they’d be talking and joking by now but Tony’s...not really tracking. Or, he is, but very slowly. Especially for Tony. Which is why it takes Peter sliding off of his softening cock to jolt Tony out of his daze and pay closer attention.

“You were perfect. Let’s get cleaned up, okay?” Tony’s still riding high but he’s fluid enough to regain control here, at the end. He sits up and gives Peter a kiss, cupping his hand around his cheek and ear to feel his heat. He can’t resist teasing Peter one last time before the aftercare really starts.

“You’re going to be applying the concealer tomorrow when the bruises come in.”

Thank you for 300 followers! YOU GUYS ARE AMAZEBALS OMG. In honor of this momentous occasion, here is the first fic long enough to actually GO IN the Long Fic section of my Master List 😂 Go easy on Peter I wrote him intentionally as fumbling at the end because he didn’t think he’d like Doming Tony that much and once he didn’t have a clear goal anymore he lost direction and focus. He’s a baby Dom and needs time to get comfortable with every step, even after care.

#starker #nff #TW: choking #that should almost come standard for my fic istg #300 followers #fic milestone!#LOVE ALL 300 OF YOU 3000!#I can only make that joke once #treasure it

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purplesurveys · 4 years

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985

1. Do you eat your candy in any specific color pattern? (ie: M&M’s, Skittles, SweetTarts, etc) If it’s the type of candy that comes in different flavors like Skittles or Jelly Belly, I just go for the flavors I’m into and leave the others for other people in the house who might want them. Otherwise, I just pick whatever.

2. When’s the last time that you opened a door the wrong way? (Ie: pushed when it said “pull” or vice versa) Ooh I don’t remember. I think I always do this at the vet clinic though; I never got used to the directions at their entrance door.

3. What is the worst illness or injury that you’ve ever sustained? How long did it last? The worst ‘illness’ I had was having to be hospitalized over a weekend for low platelet count, if that counts. OH the UTI I got a few months ago was also bad; I was sick for a whole week... the worst injury I got was a foot infection from snorkeling.

4. When you open your mouth sometimes, does your mother come out? I sound a lot like her and have unconsciously adopted a lot of her expressions and reactions over the years, that’s for sure. Whenever we have family videos that feature both of us it’s usually hard to tell if it’s her speaking or me.

5. Have you ever lived through a significant weather experience? (ie: hurricane, notable earthquake, tornado, etc) What was it like? I mean yeah, I live in one of the most hurricane-prone countries in the world, if we aren’t already on top of that list. You might have heard us in the news in the past too, because the aftermath can sometimes get really bad.

6. When was the last time you ate food off of a plate while standing up instead of sitting down? That’s a good question haha - I genuinely don’t remember. My best guess, and not a very good one, was the time I attended a ONE Championship press conference for my PR class at the start of 2019 and there hadn’t been enough tables and chairs during the free buffet for the media, so my friends and I had to contend with standing up while eating. The food was SO good though, and it made the inconvenience worth it.

7. Do you live in a city, a town, or a village? I live in a gated/private village in a city in a province in a region.

8. Would you do better at keeping pets alive or keeping plants alive? Why do you feel this way? Pets. I have never kept a plant alive for more than a day; I’ve just never learned their love language. But Kimi’s 12 going on 13 and he’s still strong and feisty, so I’d say that I’m definitely better with animals. :)

9. What is the most boring movie you have ever sat all the way through? What was there about it that you disliked, and why did you just keep sitting there? There’s a certain sub-genre within the thriller genre that I just can’t stand, and it’s movies like Knives Out and Now You See Me that have never been able to capture my interest. I think it’s the element of being too fictional that makes them unappealing to me; I find that I flock more to more realistic dramas, so I guess that theory can make sense.

10. Have you ever slapped someone across the face before? What was the reason why? My brother slapped me during a family fight that got out of hand, so I slapped him back. I’ve never been touched that way before, so I fought back in the way I knew how. And then I haven’t talked to him since.

11. How do you feel about children? I like sweet, well-behaved ones. IT’S POSSIBLE. But I honestly have very little patience for kids who run around in restaurants or play their iPad at the loudest volume setting in public spaces or are super rude towards adults...and I feel bad for not liking those children when it’s really not their fault but their parents’. I also can’t help but roll my eyes at 5-6 year old kids who are still being pushed around in a stroller. BUT IDK, I don’t wanna come off as judgy because I know parenting is a goddamn handful. It’s just that well-behaved kids out there make me believe that it’s possible to raise children for them to end up that way.

12. The last time you broke the law (no matter how insignificantly small of an offense) what were you doing? I’m pretty sure I took a u-turn in what wasn’t a u-turn slot yesterday. That city has, like, no traffic rules though and it’s like survival of the fittest over there, so I didn’t get in trouble.

13. Have you ever unintentionally gotten your foot stuck in wet cement before, leaving your mark permanently somewhere before? No. But I see dogs’ pawprints on those all the time and it gives me such a fuzzy feeling inside when I see a trail haha.

14. What is the worst thing that you’ve ever said to someone you loved? Why did you say it to them? I’ve never said anything heartlessly mean to anyone I love. I know how much words can stick, and I don’t plan on doing that to another person.

15. If you knew that this very next meal was going to be your last, what would you want to eat? I’d want all my go-to meals from my top three favorite restaurants: salted egg chicken wings with truffle dip, truffle mac and cheese, and a rosu katsu set. OH and my favorite maki from Torch makes the list too.

16. If you had 3 Poke’Balls, which three Poke’mon would you try to catch? Jigglypuff, Chikorita, and Eevee.

17. Have you ever created something using a Cricut machine before? I don’t think I’ve heard of that before, so no.

18. Who is your oldest friend, and how long have you been friends for? Angela, we’ve been best friends since 2005. First day of first grade.

19. Is there an unusual hobby that you’re into that isn’t as well-known as some others? Or a skill/talent that you’ve perfected, perhaps? I like making spreadsheets about the most pointless things just so that I have things to organize.

20. What is one thing that you’ve always wanted to do, that you’ve never done before? Travel with my own funds. Let’s hope that happens soon.

[bionic-beth]

#survey #surveys

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devinsfm · 4 years

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joe keery. cis male. he/him. ／ jack devin just pulled up blasting video killed the radio star by the buggles — that song is so them ! you know, for a twenty - four year old radio show host, i’ve heard they’re really impulsive, but that they make up for it by being so captivating. if i had to choose three things to describe them, i’d probably say obscure vintage horror comics, blurry photographs of mysterious figures in the woods, and vivid descriptions of spine - chilling tales . here’s to hoping they don’t cause too much trouble ! ( sam, 23, est, she/her )

hey there, demons ! *ba tum tss* i’m sam and i never do this, but i really felt like it was time for a change, so i drew lots of inspiration from some of my favorite ocs and i love what i’ve come up with ! character info is under the cut and please feel free to message me if you would like to plot !

i. stats

𝔣𝔲𝔩𝔩 𝔫𝔞𝔪𝔢: jackson willard devin

𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔣𝔢𝔯𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔫𝔞𝔪𝔢𝔰: jack, spooky guy, the night watchman

𝔥𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔬𝔴𝔫: salem, massachusetts

𝔡𝔞𝔱𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔟𝔦𝔯𝔱𝔥: ocotber 31st, 1995

𝔷𝔬𝔡𝔦𝔞𝔠: scorpio

𝔬𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫: demisexual

𝔬𝔠𝔠𝔲𝔭𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫: host of the graveyard shift, a radio program airing every weeknight from 12am to 5am

𝔭𝔬𝔰. 𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔦𝔱𝔰: captivating, witty, resolute.

𝔫𝔢𝔤. 𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔦𝔱𝔰: impulsive, gauche, naive.

ii. history

jackson willard “jack” devin was born on halloween day ( yes, really ) in salem massachusetts ( yes, really ). his mother stayed home with him as he was growing up while his father is a boston cop turned sheriff of the county and he’s an only child.

outside of the popular tourist spots, his hometown has a very close - knit, stuck in the 80s vibe. it’s the sort of place where everyone knows everyone for their entire lives because no one ever leaves and no one new ever moves in. phone and internet signals are nearly impossible to come by, so the local arcade and the video store still have quite a booming business in the year 2020. jack grew up in a not - so - typical small town suburban gothic environment, his dad’s income being just enough for them to get by every month.

he was an energetic kid who cycled through all sorts of interests, trying out everything from little league ( disaster ) to music lessons ( not as much of a disaster, but he wound up getting bored of it ). nothing seemed to really stick until he got his first horror comic : a vintage issue of tales from the crypt with tattered, yellowing pages. he was five years old and paid five cents for it at an elderly neighbor’s yard sale and from that moment on he was hooked. it started with the comics, but he quickly expanded his horizons to movies, books, and television in the genre of horror.

he got intro drawing and that was the only thing besides his newfound interest in horror that he could sit still for. at first he would just try to re - draw the panels in his comic books, but soon he was drawing anything and everything that caught his interest and he was getting good. he was being homeschooled by his mother at the time, but once friends and family and, well, everyone took notice of his skill, they were encouraging his parents to nurture his talent.

his parents fought about it. his dad didn’t see the value in his skill and wanted him to instead focus on academics, aspiring towards his son one day becoming a lawyer or a businessman or even following in his footsteps. jack never wanted that for himself. he was homeschooled by his mom up until then and she believed in him. it was with her blessing that he would go to a real school for the first time at the age of fourteen, starting off his freshman year at a high school that was a thirty minute train ride away in boston and catered exclusively to youth who demonstrated an exceptional talent in some area of the fine arts.

jack did well in school, but his grades probably would have been a lot better still if he didn’t start purposely acting out as his relationship with his dad got worse and worse. he started skipping classes, getting caught trespassing in cemeteries at 2am, and smoking a lot of weed.

when it came time for college, jack planned to attend art school. he swears he did. he looked a few schools on the west coast to get away from his dad for a few years yikes and planned to apply, but on the deadline date he got so high that he forgot to submit his portfolios. yes, really.

he loaded up his van ( a turquiose monstrosity he painted to look like the mystery machine ) and headed out to california anyway after telling his parents that he would be attending UCLA. of course, they quickly found it that it was a lie and his dad was furious. the two got into a huge fight over the phone and things were said. the result is that jack and his father haven’t spoken to each other ever since.

he did lots of odd jobs while he was on the road and basically lived in his van, which didn’t change right away when he decided to settle in LA, but he eventually got a job fetching coffee for the late night employees at a local radio station.

it was the typical, cliché story : the regular late night host called out of work at the last minute, there was no one else around and they were going to be on air in ten seconds. jack was thrown in front of the microphone and told to think fast !

he did, and the listeners loved him for it. whether it was his ramblings about horror movies or his thick boston accent or his reckless use of swear words on live radio, he turned out to be a massive hit. the successful night earned him a gig as an occasional substitute deejay, and with each broadcast he grew more and more popular, and about two years ago he was finally given his own program.

the graveyard shift is a radio program that airs every weeknight from 12am - 5am in the los angeles area and on apps such as iheartradio. jack hosts the show as his ( thinly veiled ) alter ego the night watchmen and discusses topics such as the paranormal, conspiracy theories, and all things horror. it’s one of the most popular programs of the time slot in the country.

it’s something that he never expected or picturing himself doing, but now he can’t imagine doing anything else. he’s become really passionate about revitalizing the field and bringing radio into the 21st century. he signed a HUGE contract with the studio when his show first started and now he’s a quite well known radio personality in the area and across the country.

iii. extras

huge stoner. high as fuck 90% of the time, and the other 10% of the time he’s probably still high, just not as fuck.

well known for his on air antics. he’ll light a joint in the middle of his radio show, he’ll prank call a friend and broadcast it to the entire city, he’ll curse in every single sentence and skate by on the after hours excuse when he’s reprimanded for it. he’s so outlandish and bizarre and like nothing that’s ever been heard on the radio before, and it just draws people in.

he often seems shy in person, but it’s more like he’s just a little socially awkward, something which also shines through in occasional non - malicious but blunt remarks and general lack of regard for what people think of him. he really just...doesn’t care.

genuinely seems to believe it’s either halloween day and / or the year 1986 at any given moment as that’s about as recent as his pop culture references get. he’s never heard of the k*rdashians, he doesn’t know what the mcu is, and the phrase yeet means absolutely nothing to him. mention any of it to him and he’ll just stare blankly bc he honestly doesn’t have a clue.

HOWEVER, he did start the area 51 meme from last summer. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

still draws. especially if he has to still for a stretch of time, then he’ll take out his latest sketchbook ( he goes through a lot of them ) and start doodling. he’s still quite good, mostly in his favored comic - esque style.

BIG CHAOTIC ENERGY and ZERO IMPULSE CONTROL

a chatterbox with friends but don’t be fooled...he’s been giving his own dad the silent treatment for almost seven ( 7 ) years now. it’s his preferred method of expressing anger towards someone because he isn’t really a fan of confrontation, but he’s maybe a liiiittle bit stubborn.

most of the time he’s a really easygoing person, a good friend and very loyal to the people he cares about. well - meaning, not the best at advice but he’s more likely to try and cheer a person up anyway.

he has a pet pied ball python named the crypt keeper ( tkc for short ) who he sometimes just carries with him because he likes to just chill wrapped around jack’s hand and arm.

iv. wanted connections

maternal or paternal cousins ( their grandparents probably live in boston or new england but otherwise anything goes for this )

close friends

friends

guests on his radio show

fans / haters of his radio show

people who don’t like him / find him annoying

exes ( 1 - 2, can be on good or bad terms )

“casually dating” but it might get real complicated soon - allie james

( these are just ideas and i’m trash at coming up with stuff, so please don’t feel limited by what’s listed here. )

#excess:intro #drugs tw #i decided that i needed something new but i just ''created'' this ''new character'' instead #countdown until i mess up his name has officially begun

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mollyencrypted · 5 years

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Pacific Rim Fansequels Better Than Uprising

Want to know what happened in the world of Pacific Rim post-Pitfall, because whatever the fuck we got in 2018 sure as hell wasn't it? Well, I have a list of options for you to pick and choose from! I have a couple of things on my reading list that aren't here yet, so this list may well be updated. (Has been updated 24/05/23)

Also, pretty much all of these are Newmann, with the exception of Doorway. I wasn't actively seeking this out, but I think it works quite well for a primary sequel pairing - Mako and Raleigh already seem to have things figured out, after all. Maybe we should give our other surviving set of Drift partners a chance at the same?

So, here we go!

Anteverse Refugee: Okay, this one's actually a bit of a cheat because it's an AU from the very beginning, but if you ignore the very human Hermann Gottlieb seen in the Drift then you can probably get away with slipping this series into your headcanon. It's a pretty great ride, and also has numerous AUs of its own.

Anthology: I found this one through TV Tropes. It's a different kind of sequel to the others on this list, because it's really more of an anti-sequel. The author, rather than inventing a new crisis, just gives the survivors the chance to rebuild their lives in a post-Kaiju world. Good times. Mundane bullshit problems. A faintly alarming quantity of pet fish. Nobody getting possessed. Anthology itself has a sequel in the making, where the original film's characters and the fic's most notable OCs take on a new Anteversal threat ten years after Pitfall, but the author doesn't know if they can continue writing it without having to subject themselves to actual Uprising because, y'know, Uprising. The main story and a collection of side stories are all complete, however, and I can enthusiastically recommend them.

Doorway: This is actually super-short, and could technically be slotted in between the two movies (I do have a theory about the interbellum period that incorporates this idea, but discussing it here would ruin the ambience of the fic.) It's quality over quantity, I think.

Frankenstein And The Newt: I'll be honest, I don't like this series quite as much as some of the others here, but it's very good and can neatly replace Uprising, so it belongs on this list more than a lot of the others do. Maybe it'll be your new favourite? I can't make that choice for you, and it's still incredibly enjoyable. If your feelings re:Vanessa Gottlieb are of the profoundly negative variety then you might not enjoy these stories all that much, but she's portrayed here as a pretty nice person. Also, Pure Blue will never not send me into gigglefits, and a hefty portion of Part 6 is comprised of Take Thats at antivaxxers.

Newt Inherits A Bar: Another anti-sequel, and also a crossover! This one isn't big or plotty, and so maybe I shouldn't even count it as a fansequel so much as a regular post-movie fanfic, but I really like it so I'm going to toss it in, and it's a better ending for Newt than 'spending ten years as a pawn of evil aliens trying to destroy the world' at any rate. It's a one-shot in which lives, friendships, and crappy dive bars are all rebuilt, in a world in which Newton Geiszler and Charlie Kelly are one and the same individual (so there's a pretty standard bunch of Always Sunny warnings for the backstory). This is also another 'Newt and Hermann have a rescued betta fish' story, because you can never have too many rescued betta fish. Look at this little face!

Occam's Razor: The summary sounds a bit daft, but it actually makes perfect sense in-universe; as I said to @argusden, to whom I previously recced this, 'Status Quo was stabbed multiple times and left to bleed out in an alley long before the story even began', and so naturally everything's a bit topsy-turvy. It has some great OCs and does justice to the canonical characters, and there are a lot of Kaiju. So many Kaiju. If you want Kaiju then consider reading this. It lacks comprehensive tags, however, so I will warn in advance for ableism, homophobia, attempted suicide, miscarriage, and abusive family dynamics. (These are not spoilers.) Between the angst and the plottiness, this isn't light reading like some of the other tales on this list, but it is excellent and I highly recommend it. There's also plenty of non-angst to balance out the sadder parts. And also Mudpuppy the giant axolotl.

the sun will rise (and we will try again): Rewrite of Uprising that gives Mako an actual role in the plot, explains what happened to the rest of the old crew, explains why Stacker never thought to call in his pilot son when things were desperate (because Jake never had the slightest interest in getting in a giant robot and so never went to the Academy in the first place, next question), actually makes Shao likeable, and gets rid of the child soldiers. Also, angsty sibling bonding, tragic science romance, and fucked up sea monsters. It's a good time.

Uprisen: Another rewrite, wherein the ethics of child soldiers are examined, the new characters are given something resembling personality, Newt's possession gets the attention it deserves, and somebody acknowledges that Liwen Shao is actually kind of a garbage person. Also, Striker Danger.

you are gigantic as the things that you adore: The one where Newt is kidnapped by Kaiju cultists, and Herc, Tendo, Raleigh, Mako and Hermann mount a rescue mission. The writing itself isn't the best and the climax is a little rushed, but it's a pretty good story nonetheless. Whilst the pairings tagged are Mako/Raleigh and Newt/Hermann, they're quite understated in a way that conveys how these relationships have evolved since the first film without sacrificing the focus on overall group dynamics that made the original so great. Also Hannibal Chau turns up sometimes.

#pacific rim #newmann #fic rec #maleigh #in this house we do not love or respect uprising

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devinfm · 4 years

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hey there, demons! *ba tum tss* i’m sam and i also write parker ( @prkrfm ) which is the best place to contact me for plotting!

i. stats

𝔣𝔲𝔩𝔩 𝔫𝔞𝔪𝔢: jackson willard devin

𝔭𝔯𝔢𝔣𝔢𝔯𝔯𝔢𝔡 𝔫𝔞𝔪𝔢𝔰: jack, spooky guy, the night watchman

𝔥𝔬𝔪𝔢𝔱𝔬𝔴𝔫: salem, massachusetts

𝔡𝔞𝔱𝔢 𝔬𝔣 𝔟𝔦𝔯𝔱𝔥: ocotber 31st, 1995

𝔷𝔬𝔡𝔦𝔞𝔠: scorpio

𝔬𝔯𝔦𝔢𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫: demisexual

𝔬𝔠𝔠𝔲𝔭𝔞𝔱𝔦𝔬𝔫: host of the graveyard shift, a radio program airing every weeknight from 12am to 5am

𝔭𝔬𝔰. 𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔦𝔱𝔰: captivating, witty, resolute.

𝔫𝔢𝔤. 𝔱𝔯𝔞𝔦𝔱𝔰: impulsive, gauche, naive.

ii. history

the graveyard shift is a radio program that airs every weeknight from 12am - 5am in the los angeles area and on apps such as iheartradio. jack hosts the show as his ( thinly veiled ) alter ego the night watchman and discusses topics such as the paranormal, conspiracy theories, and all things horror. it’s one of the most popular programs of the time slot in the country.

iii. extras

huge stoner. high as fuck 90% of the time, and the other 10% of the time he’s probably still high, just not as fuck.

HOWEVER, he did start the area 51 meme from last summer. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

BIG CHAOTIC ENERGY and ZERO IMPULSE CONTROL

a chatterbox with friends but don’t be fooled…he’s been giving his own dad the silent treatment for almost seven ( 7 ) years now. it’s his preferred method of expressing anger towards someone because he isn’t really a fan of confrontation, but he’s maybe a liiiittle bit stubborn.

he has a pet pied ball python named the crypt keeper ( tkc for short ) who he sometimes just carries with him because he likes to just chill wrapped around jack’s hand and arm.

iv. wanted connections

maternal or paternal cousins ( their grandparents probably live in boston or new england but otherwise anything goes for this )

close friends

friends

guests on his radio show

fans / haters of his radio show

people who don’t like him / find him annoying

exes ( 1 - 2, can be on good or bad terms )

“casually dating” but it might get real complicated soon - allie james

( these are just ideas and i’m trash at coming up with stuff, so please don’t feel limited by what’s listed here. )

#excess:intro #just posting for reference!

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echelonlab-blog · 6 years

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Interview with Hazeleyedleto

Your URL:

Hazeleyedleto: https://hazeleyedleto.tumblr.com

Echelon Fiction (fanfic account): https://echelonfiction.tumblr.com

Your name: Monique

Link to your Masterlist: https://echelonfiction.tumblr.com/mystores What was your first experience with 30 Seconds to Mars? The Kill, when I was an 18-year-old, how amazing was your first time seeing the Kill? Your Favorite Mars song? Attack Has anything ever happened to you solely because of being a 30STM fan? I met my best friend <3 What is your favorite thing about the fandom? Your least favorite? Fav: no matter what I know there is always going to be a place where I fit in, I’ve never had that before Least: The bitches who think they're better than other bitches, and the daddy kink Is there any advice you would give to someone who is new to the fandom? We’re obsessive, protective but not all that bad, the bad eggs are few and far between but they are loud, try to ignore them How long have you been writing? 18 years. Why did you start writing? (Either in general or for Mars specifically) When I was 12, I had so much stationary that I didn’t know what to do with so I started one story. . . then another then another. Still, have too much stationary but am a writer so its okay Do you write for other fandoms? If so, which ones? Depends, I Like writing the Linkin Park guys and Bucky Barnes, but whatever inspires me really Do you share everything you write? If not, is there a reason why? Hmm, no. I only really share mars stuff, my non- fanfic stuff will be turned in to novels and my non-mars related stuff I don’t really have a platform to do so on. Have you written things that aren't fanfic? If so, could you tell us about those works? Many, my writing is 50/50 fanfic vs Fiction. My latest novel that I finished a couple of weeks ago ended about 85k words is about angels and demons and a prophecy that will either unite or destroy them all Of all your works, which is your favorite and why? Iridescent – (mentioned in above question) because it’s the novel that took over my whole life and kept me hostage until I wrote it from beginning to end rendering me with Stockholm syndrome to the point that I still miss them Stand Tall, They’ll Break Your Heart – first novel I ever finished. and Bright Lights – I’ve never had such a positive response from anything I’ve ever written and get yelled at because I don’t update often enough Is there one that was particularly difficult to write? Why? They’re all difficult to write. I write very emotionally driven novels, they can be draining as I take on the characters at such a personal level that I live what they tell me in a way, I’m crazy, ignore me. What is the ideal writing environment for you? At your desk? Quiet? Music? Anywhere anytime, I usually write sitting on my bed, but can literally write anywhere in any environment. Prefer loud music and a comfy place for my butt What type of fanfic are you most comfortable writing (drama, fluff, angst, drabbles, series, etc.) Mushy series filled with drama What is your favorite fanfic trope? I don’t know what that is but I THINK my answer is dramatic chicks being involved with music or rock bands Is there any trope or subject that you won't write? Daddy kink? Are there any special tools that you use when creating or writing your story? My fingers!? My stories are often inspired by songs or video clips or something like that J Do you write your story in order or do you jump around and then string it together at the end? Sometimes, especially with fanfictions. Like with Bright Lights (my biggest Mars fanfic) I have four future versions, but the reason I do that is to better understand them in the ‘bright lights’ version. Do you outline, or do a great deal of prep work or do you 'fly by the seat of your pants'? Up until my novels Attack and Iridescent I ALWAYS prided myself about being a pantser, but I really enjoyed being a planner for those two novels. How do you usually get your inspiration? Music and Video clips, sometimes dreams and other places. Do you have ideas on the drawing board or in progress currently that you haven't shared yet? Yeah, Beautiful Disaster, my bff would kill me if I wrote it though, but I have another one in the holster I am thinking about starting April 1st If you have an unpublished work in progress, please pick two to three sentences and share them without context. “Armani,” Stephanie smiled, “I trust you are well?” Mike looked between the two Angels as the embraced in a slight hug and a kiss in the cheek. Stephanie stepping back between him and Chester. “Of course,” Armani smiled. “I’m betting this isn��t a social call?” the other angel asked. “No, Armani, this is Chester and Mike,” she said pointing to the demon who owned the names. “I’ve come to make a request,” Stephanie said looking to Armani from under her eyebrows, trying to gauge her reaction. Her face was poised, it always was, but the mood in the room changed, it was now tension filled. Armani was no fool, she knew this angel was standing before her with two demons. “You will need to-” “I am a direct crown descendant ” Stephanie said. “You are also standing her with two demons,” “And you are breaking the rules,” “yeah but” “If I was willing I could turn you into ash, right now,” Stephanie pointed out. “and I would be in the right,” she told. Armani held her gaze. “now, are you going to follow the rules and grant me my appearance for request, or am I going to have to take care of things another way?” Stephanie’s lips curl upward Armani’s lip curled downward as she turned slightly. Do you like requests? Would you like more or less of them? I haven’t had any, but would be happy to take them. Is there an upcoming project from you that you are excited about? Why, and what can you share about it? I can’t wait to edit and Publish Iridescent The best piece of writing advice you've ever received? Can never pick just one Put your butt in a chair and your hands on the keyboard and something will happiness. Writer's block is just an excuse, write anything even the crap, it can always be changed later And, Aim to write every day, even just for 15mins per day, get in that habit and you will find you self-finding 5 mins or 10 mins slots more often then you realise The worst piece of writing advice you've ever received? I don’t know. Wasn’t important, was it? What piece of advice would you give to someone just starting to write fanfic? Give it ago, see how if feels, you don’t have to share it, just try. Three (stories, series, scenes, etc) written by others that you really like or that inspire you? Closer – partcually Tomo in this story, even though the whole story is fucking amazing and Black Fuel and Bikes @fyeahproudglambert Provihitofics had a story about camping, it was great she doesn’t fic no more tho

Are any of your characters closer to being “you” than others? Any reason in particular? Hmmmmm, yes I guess. The characters are all like different parts of me, Phoebe is an angry psycho which is a part I never get to express often, but there are parts of her that are not like me. Same with Helena being independent to some extent.

One thing about me is I like to find things I have in common with people, if I look hard enough, it could become obsessive.

Are any of your characters based on someone you know? Hmm a lot of my male characters look like rock stars if that counts. Are any of your plots based on something that happened to you? No, but one day Favorite font for writing? Don’t have one Do you have a 'day job'? If so, what? I am a student studying Bachelor of Social Science (psychology) with hopes to get good enough scores to get into Psychology. I am Also an Author and a qualified Mental health peer worker. Do you consider yourself a reader outside of fanfic? Yup, Your favorite book? Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson Your favorite things to do when you're not writing? What does ‘not writing’ mean? . . . nah I like to watch Safari live, see my niece and nephew, explore the wild and hate on frogs The strangest thing you've ever eaten? My brothers used to make me eat grass stalks, oh oh CAVIAR I got told it wasn’t Caviar, it was freaking caviar Looks at @Fyeahproudglambert Two truths and a lie? I hate frogs, I’ve never met my best friend, I love the feel of fallen out hair Five albums you'd want if stranded on a desert island? Cant I just take my Spotify? I actually don’t think I can answer this? I don’t just listen to albums all the way through, . . . This is war (plus attack and the kill) LLFD Breakaway kelly Clarkson Hybrid theory A thousand suns Something surprising about you? I have a really good memory And I usually come off as pretentious and up myself, because I am highly critical of things and probably way too opinionated, but I am actually a really nice, loyal and caring person who just wants to do good and help as many people as I can Favorite food to enjoy while watching Netflix? Anything, maybe a packet of sea salt chippies. Favorite way to spend a Saturday night? Writing Blankets Tucked or Untucked? Right side untucked, left side tucked Do you have any pets? Would you like to tell us about them? Dog, Ella - She shares my birthday, Sasha – not my dog, my brother's dog but I grew up with her and am temporarily looking after her, Cats: Ollie, Angel, Sully. I got Ollie first (After my cat Joel died) and then my brother got Angel (she was being mistreated somewhere else) Ollie and Angel bonded n such a human love type way, and we decided they could not be separated, so I got Angel too, guess what though, 9 month old cats can have babies, Angel had three Kittens, Lucky, Sully and Heat, my brother kept heat, I kept sully and Lucky went to a loving home J Musicals, yes or no? If yes, what movie/show would you like to see made into a musical? No, thank you Tell us a joke. Mars fans who hate and bitch on everything the band does Are there any particular battles or struggles in your life you'd like to tell us about? Hmm, I mean I am an open book with the things I have been through, and am happy to talk about them at any time, there are many things from abuse, abandonment, isolation, major depression, self-harm, suicidal ideology, my brother was recently in a coma ,my mother’s cancer journey, my heart issues, social phobia, PTSD, horderism and crippling self-doubt and anxiety, to tell the short story. While some things still plague me, I find all of it also drives me to make my life better, and t do the best I can every day. Life struggles are hard, but they also enrich me to not only help people in my ‘day job’ but to help me write richer stories. Anything you'd like to add? You guys are doing a great job. When I started Echelon fiction, this is kinda what I wanted it to be but I never had the drive to pull it off, I love how innovative you guys are being and changing things up getting your followers involved, its really cool! Good job, keep going

#interviews #hazeleyedleto

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antialiasis · 6 years

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TQftL rambling

(Contains severe spoilers, do not read below the cut unless you’ve read chapters 75 and 76)

What ended up as the biggest theme of The Quest for the Legends is imperfection, fallibility, flawed people with flawed motivations doing what they can given their incomplete understanding of the world, and that theme is probably never as prominent as in the revelations in these chapters. Nobody secretly knew exactly what was going on; nobody orchestrated everything behind the scenes; nobody had an amazingly clever chessmaster plan. There was just Mew, who thought Chalenor was dead, spent a thousand years wanting to die either to join him or to simply atone for the guilt that's gnawed away at him all this time, felt conflicted about trying to stop the War as a result, and rationalized it as impossible to avoid confronting it; Chalenor, stuck as a ghost with barely any ability to influence the outside world, desperate just to see Mew again and make some feeble attempt to stop the War if he can, saving Mitch’s life only to inadvertently cause him a lot of anguish; Arceus, who struck back against flawed, arrogant legendaries in anger, with violently disproportionate retribution, distorted by his own emotions, and then disappeared; and Chaletwo, who tried his confused best to stop the War with the information Mew gave him, not knowing he was indirectly the reason behind it or that Mew had lied to him about most everything. Mew made and brought back a copy of Mewtwo's body, not because he had a grand plan that absolutely required Mewtwo, but on a sudden whim, for a plan cobbled together on the spot, in a fit of manic desperation, after traveling through time simply because the uncertainty was driving him mad. Mew created Chaletwo in the unthinking vain hope of bringing Chalenor back, actually dooming Chalenor to a thousand years of isolated wandering, purely by accident. Mew created a world where nobody knew about the War or the Destroyer, and lied about Chalenor having been the Preserver, simply out of sentiment, because he wished, just this once, to create a world where Chalenor would be remembered not as the Destroyer, but as the person that he saw him as. And despite Mew's intentions, Chaletwo grew up half-resenting Chalenor, simply because he was jealous and insecure and Mew wasn't good enough at hiding the fact Chaletwo was a failed attempt to bring him back. It's just people all the way down, people and their mistakes and failures and emotions.

That theme is really important to me and to the story, and I have no regrets about how this all shook out. (I didn't originally set out to write to some particular theme; it just happened slowly as the details came together in my mind.) But that messy, ugly, flawed reality may be underwhelming if you were hoping for something more, some grand aha! moment where everything fits together, some amazing time travel shenanigans where all of Mew's actions turn out to make perfect sense in the service of some grand goal, or where Chalenor had some mindblowingly complex Xanatos gambit going on that was the key to everything. I imagine most readers have developed their own pet theories about what might come to light in these chapters, to some extent; the most extensive speculation I've had the pleasure of reading came courtesy of Negrek and Chibi Pika (thank you by the way - it was incredibly fun and helpful to get that kind of in-depth look into the minds of readers), but I'm inclined to assume their thoughts were probably reasonably representative of, if not the level of depth, at least the kind of thing many people were probably expecting from the story. These speculation posts were fascinating, and if you're interested in comparing notes after reading the chapters, I highly recommend checking them out - both for the various bits and pieces they got right, and for a lot of really neat alternative ways this story could have gone that I never thought of.

But they're also full of plans, intricate rational reasons for things - which is extremely natural, because of course people want things to happen for a reason. I too find something deeply pleasing about stories with clever puzzle solutions, where you learn something and suddenly everything slots together into a perfect unified whole. I don't think this could ever have been that story, simply because of the way it was put together - something cobbled together from random chance elements after the fact is never going to be as neat as something precisely planned from the start - but ultimately I'm kind of happy it's not. I've mentioned before here that I'm a fan of a good deliberate anticlimax, and I think there's some similar instinct in me that finds an elegance in the fact the solutions to the mysteries here are ultimately relatively simple and largely boil down to characters making hasty decisions on the fly in a particular emotional state, in the fact it is all just people. Is that a letdown for regular readers, though? It's hard for me to tell, and probably depends on the reader.

All I can hope is that what the story actually is manages to have some of the emotional resonance for you that it has for me. I have no delusions about the fact that at this stage I'm completely unable to tell if Mew and Chalenor's story can be remotely emotionally effective for someone whose exposure to these characters actually just consists of what's in the fic, instead of having been thinking about it for literally more than a decade. The betas liked it, but beyond that, who knows. (I'm really really interested in your thoughts on it, by the way, if you have any.)

Either way, I love this story and the pileup of mistakes and imperfections that ends up forming the core of these chapters a lot, and I stand by that. I hope you all enjoyed at least some part of it. Thanks for following my ridiculous fanfic and seeing it through to this finally being posted.

#tqftl #ramble #writing

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darkershining · 7 years

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My predictions for the NDRV3 characters

So, New Danganronpa V3 is coming out in Japan in about ten days. I’ve seen a lot of people speculate on which characters will survive and which ones will not. I have some theories of my own, so I thought I’d share them. (my speculations under the “Read More” link will also include spoilers for previous games in the series)

Kaede Akamatsu

She’s the protagonist, so I’m pretty sure she’ll survive. I know some people have speculated that she might end up dying in some twist, but I don’t think that’ll happen.

While the lies mechanic seems to be optional, the whole theme of truth VS lies, along with Kaede being willing to lie in order to get through the trials, makes me feel that Kaede might potentially develop this darker, manipulative side to her character as she keeps trying to find a way to get everyone out of the school.

Again, I don’t think she’ll be killed, and I don’t think she’ll kill anyone either, but I do imagine that an execution for her would involve her being put into some sort of death trap being controlled by Monokuma via a piano keyboard. If Kaede manages to dodge the first few traps, then Monokuma just keeps playing the piano faster and faster until one of the traps finally gets her.

Ki-Bo

I’m pretty sure he will be one of the other survivors, since he seems to be a pretty major character. Of course, previous games have had a character who seemed to be built up as important end up being the first victim, which has had people speculating that either he, Shuichi, Rantaro or even Maki might be the first victim. I don’t think that’ll be the case here, at least not with Ki-Bo.

Another thing that came to mind while thinking about what might happen with Ki-Bo during the game are Alter Ego and A.I. Chiaki from the first and second games respectively. Both of them were executed, but still managed to help the protagonists in some way towards the end of the game. We could get a similar situation, if Ki-Bo’s body were to be destroyed, but he managed to transfer his mind into something else beforehand... but I don’t think actually anything like this will happen. It was just one possible scenario that came to mind.

For some reason, I imagine that a possible execution for Ki-Bo would involve magnets somehow.

Rantaro Amami

I just mentioned above in my speculations for Ki-Bo how previous games have had a character built up to be important, only for them to be the first to die. If they do that again, then I think Rantaro is the most likely candidate. I think he’ll either be the first, or one of the last victims.

Being the ??? character of this game, some people have suggested that they may either subvert expectations for the character to be important by killing him off early, and only revealing his talent later on, said talent either proving to be important or unimportant to the story depending on what happens.

I think there’s also a chance he might end up as one of the last victims instead, basically being the important character he’s sort of been built up to be.

Some people suspect he might even be the Mastermind of this game. I don’t know if he will be or not. It seems a bit too obvious that they’re building him up as sort of a suspicious character... Some ways I could see this plot working if he is the Mastermind, is that his memories of being the Mastermind might’ve been wiped along with his talent. Or he might simply have been working for the Mastermind, and... I don’t know.

Or maybe he truly is “not a suspicious guy”, just as he claims. Who knows?

As for what his talent is, I saw someone at some point suggest that he might be a journalist, or something. I kind of like that theory, and think it could make sense.

I have absolutely no idea what his execution would be, or what it might involve.

Shuichi Saihara

I think he’ll either be a survivor, or one of the last characters to die.

He’s the Ultimate Detective, a title previously held by Kyoko Kirigiri, and of course, this is one of the reasons for some of the speculation surrrounding the character, such as him being the first to die, or him being corrupt/evil in some way and that him seemingly lacking faith in his abilities is all an act.

It’s highly unlikely he’ll be the first victim, and from a trailer, it seems he’ll in fact be a suspect in one case, with Kaede trying to prove his innocence.

Despite his lack of confidence, Kaede seems to believe in his abilities, and might come to rely on him for advice and such. This is part of why I suspect he’ll either be one of the survivors, or a late-game victim.

He claims that the case(s) he happened to solve was just luck on his part, which is why he doesn’t think he can be considered a true detective yet. Perhaps he late in the game stumbles upon something that leads to the Mastermind having to “silence” him... In this scenario, he’d at least probably be able to leave some important clue for the remaining students before being killed off.

Alternatively, a similar scenario to the above with him accidentally discovering important information relating to the Mastermind’s motives or whatever might occur, but instead of him dying, he ends up accidentally killing someone trying to prevent him from sharing this information with the others. I don’t know.

If he does die, I also imagine this would have quite an impact on Kaede, who as stated before might’ve come to rely on his advice to help solve the cases.

No idea what kind of execution Monokuma might give this guy if he were to kill someone.

Maki Harukawa

Just like with Shuichi, I think she’ll be either a survivor or one of the last characters to die.

Being one of the earliest characters to be revealed in the teaser along with Ki-Bo and Kaito, there’s naturally been speculation about her and an indication that she’ll be important.

Her talent for looking after children makes me think her role in the story will relate to the Monokuma Cubs somehow. If they end up taking a liking to her, and she ends up dying late in the game, perhaps her death could lead to one or more of the Monokuma Cubs switching sides as they blame the Mastermind for whatever happened to her?

If she does die, her death would also likely leave an impact on Kaede, since a piece of official art has suggested the two might become close.

Once again, no idea what her execution would be... Maybe something involving deadly contraptions designed to look like children’s toys? Maybe one of the Monokuma Cubs gets caught up in it somehow, and Maki uses the last of her strength to get them out of there safely, leading into the scenario described above where they switch sides because of her? I don’t know. It’s my best guess at the moment.

Kokichi Ouma

I think he’ll be a survivor.

It seems like they’re building him up to be sort of a rival-like character, which is part of the reason I think he’ll survive.

Of course, since he is kind of a jerk, there’s always the chance someone might kill him, but I don’t think that’ll happen.

I can imagine him having a few “Pet The Dog” moments towards the other remaining students in the later parts of the game (again, if my theory about him surviving is correct), although he may or may not have some strange ways of showing affection. I don’t know.

Like some others have suggested, I also suspect that this “evil organization” he claims to be the leader of is really just a soda factory or something.

I have no ideas for what his execution would be.

Tenko Chabashira

I think she’ll be one of the survivors.

The games usually have one athletic girl among the survivors. I think Tenko is the most likely candidate to fill that slot, if this particular pattern keeps up.

Tenko dislikes men, and from what I can tell, the demo does hint that this is because of something that happened in Tenko’s past. Depending on what exactly what aspect of her backstory is, I’m not sure if we’ll learn the full story, or only get enough details to make a good guess at what exactly happened.

I imagine that over the course of the game, she might at least reach a point where she better tolerates her male classmates and might even consider a few of them as friends, but still has some ways to go before she fully overcomes her dislike of men. At least that’s what I’m kind of hoping for.

Along with the potential character arc, another reason I think Tenko will be one of the survivors is that I get the impression that Tenko isn’t the kind of person to easily let her guard down, which would make it difficult for anyone to kill her.

If she does get killed, then the culprit will probably be one of the other girls.

Since her talent is fighting related, then her execution would probably be something similar to the executions for Peko in the second game and the unused concept for Sakura’s execution in the first game, with Tenko being forced to fight against something. I’m picturing Tenko fending off male figures that try to grab her, and when one of them does manage to reach her, she instinctively throws them at a hidden switch or something that triggers a trap and kills her. That’s my best guess, anyways.

Angie Yonaga

A lot of people seem to think that she’s going to kill someone, partially because of the whole “blood sacrifice” aspect of her character description. Some have also theorized she might kill someone and claim that the God of the Island made her do it. Personally, I think she’s going to be a victim instead.

I feel like that there are a few characters whose talents and personalities have led to speculations that these characters would be among the killers, but that I personally think might instead be victims in order to subvert these expectations. The two characters I’m getting this impression from the most are Angie and Tsumugi, but I’m currently leaning towards the former. Or maybe they’ll both be victims.

Anyways, even with the whole “blood sacrifice” thing, Angie still seems like a fairly sweet, albeit quirky girl. I don’t think she’ll actually kill anyone.

I’ve seen someone suggest that the “blood sacrifice” might lead one of the other characters in the game to think Angie will kill them at some point, leading them to kill her instead. I could see this happening.

If I’m wrong and she does kill, then I’m not really sure what her execution would be, but it’ll probably be trippy.

Kaito Momota

Hmm... I don’t know if I think this guy will be a survivor, a victim or a killer. I feel he could end up as any of these, really, although I do admit the former two seem more likely... Since he was one of the first characters revealed, and has since been featured in a piece of official art alongside Shuichi, then I guess there’s a chance he might be one of the survivors?

I suppose he might be one of the comic relief characters who manage to make it all the way to the end.

Okay, I think my best guess at the moment is that if Shuichi dies, then Kaito will be a survivor. If Shuichi doesn’t die, then Kaito won’t be a survivor. I don’t know why, but that’s the feeling I get, for some reason.

I imagine his execution would be a bait-and-switch callback of sorts to the “Space Journey” execution from the first game. Kaito gets locked inside a rocket, and we see a countdown going down. However, when the countdown reaches zero, instead of blasting off into space like it’s supposed to, the rocket just explodes. At the control panel, Monokuma looks a bit confused for a moment, then just shrugs and leaves.

Miu Iruma

I have similar feelings about her and Kaito, as in I honestly can’t guess what I believe her fate will be. A lot of people seem to think, or at least hope she’ll be one of the survivors. I guess of the girls I haven’t already talked about, she does seem like the most likely candidate to be another survivor. I could also see her being one of the victims, though.

I think my best guess is that if Maki isn’t a survivor, then Miu will be and vice versa.

If Miu is a survivor, then her talent will somehow come into play near the end, with the students maybe finding some kind of device partway through the game that doesn’t seem to work, and that Miu starts tinkering with. I don’t know.

No idea what her execution would be, but my best guess is that Monokuma would use one of her own inventions to kill her.

Himiko Yumeno

Probably going to be one of the victims.

People have early on speculated that she’d be one of the killers because, well, an execution based on stage magic... Just imagine the possibilities. However, since we now know more about the character’s personality, namely the fact that she’s probably the laziest character in the game, I think she’s most likely going to be one of the victims.

If she and Tenko develop a bit of a friendship as implied by how the demo had the two drinking tea together in the kitchen while someone stole a knife from the kitchen, a moment similar to something Aoi and Sakura did in the first game, then I imagine Tenko might not take Himiko’s death well, possibly feeling bad for not being around to protect her at the time of the incident, especially if she had promised she would keep Himiko safe, or something... Of course, we don’t actually know what their relationship will be like in the full game yet, so maybe I’m getting ahead of myself here. A friendship between these two characters would still be cute, though, even if it would probably end in tears.

If she did end up killing someone, then again, there are probably a lot of stage magic related ways that Monokuma could make the little magician “disappear” in her execution. There’s also a scene in one of the trailers featuring a boo-ing Monokuma audience that has been speculated to possibly be part of someone’s execution, with Himiko being one of the possible characters speculated to be the one being executed.

Gonta Gokuhara

Ah, the big, muscular cinnamon roll of this game. He’s probably not going to live past the fourth chapter.

I can’t really imagine him killing anyone, with the whole gentleman aspect of his character, unless he kills someone by accident. So, I expect him to be one of the victims. Probably the victim of chapter four.

Not sure what his execution would be like, but some people have suggested Monokuma might deal with him similarly to how an exterminator gets rid of bugs, which may be based on speculation relating to a scene from a trailer that has Monokuma holding what appears to be a flamethrower. As long as it’s not getting tied up and then eaten alive by giant robot spiders, or something like that. Ugh.

If Gonta manages to defy expectations and survives the game, then someone please draw a picture where the previous muscular gentle giant-type characters of the series congratulate him on getting through the game alive and thus breaking the curse.

Tsumugi Shirogane

While talking about Angie earlier, I mentioned how I felt a few characters who were being speculated to be killers based on talent and personality were instead going to be victims, just to subvert expectations. I mentioned that I think Tsumugi might be such a character.

People have speculated that Tsumugi will commit a murder, and use her cosplaying skills to create confusion about the identity of the victim and/or murderer. I’m not sure if this will happen, or if Tsumugi will instead be a victim...

Either way, Tsumugi probably isn’t going to be a survivor.

For some reason, I’ve imagined that her execution would feature mirrors in some way. Alternatively, she’d be killed with a giant sewing machine.

Ryoma Hoshi

Ah, yes. This guy. His popularity seems to have increased quite a lot since his backstory was revealed. And what a backstory it is. Killing members of the Mafia with a steel tennis ball. Wow. Anyways, he’s probably not going to be one of the survivors.

Some people have suggested that he of all characters might end up being the character who at some point ends performing some sort of heroic sacrifice to save the others. I kind of like this theory, and I can even sort of see it happening. I mean, he’s probably going to be executed anyways even if he does escape, so he might decide to do something for the others that he knows will result in his own death. What exactly this would entail, I don’t really know.

So, I guess I’m leaning towards him being one of the killers, but that he’ll have some noble reason for doing so. Not sure what that would be, though.

Alternatively, maybe he’ll break one of Monokuma’s rules, and get killed for that.

No idea what his execution would be. I don’t think it’d be similar to Leon’s execution from the first game, so... maybe a giant tennis racket would be used?

Korekiyo Shinguji

I think he’ll be one of the killers.

I’ve suspected him for a while, and I’m not entirely sure why, but I guess it’s just that he seems more likely to be one of the killers than some of the other characters I’ve talked about.

One trailer also shows a few scenes that are believed to be some of the executions, with one of them being believed to be his, although some people have also theorized that said execution could also be either Gonta or Kirumi’s execution, due to a spider web featured in the scene. I agree with the people who believe that execution is most likely Korekiyo’s, due to the vine imagery, and the story someone explained might be the basis for the possible execution depicted in that scene.

I believe the person who explained why that scene might be Korekiyo’s execution also speculated that Gonta might somehow be involved in Korekiyo’s crime, which I hope doesn’t mean that Korekiyo will be the one who kills Gonta during chapter 4. But since they said the person in the story spared a spider’s life, then maybe Gonta comes across the victim of Korekiyo’s crime as they’re dying, but said person dies before they can actually tell Gonta who killed them, so Korekiyo lets Gonta live because he doesn’t actually know who did it? I don’t know.

For some reason, I imagine that if Korekiyo does kill someone, that he’d pose the body to make them look peaceful in death. This may or may not count as one of the clues used to uncover Korekiyo as the killer.

So, yeah. Based on the part of the scene from the trailer believed to be part of Korekiyo’s execution, I’m guessing Korekiyo tries climbing the giant vine/thread, possibly as Monokuma is setting things on fire underneath. Something (possibly the Monokuma Cubs trying to climb after him?) eventually causes Korekiyo to lose his grip or causes the thread to break, sending him falling to his doom.

Kirumi Toujo

All right, last one. Based on the demo, she seems fairly calm and composed. Still, people have speculating for quite a while that she’s going to kill someone, and unless she’s the character who everyone thinks is going to kill someone, but ends up being killed instead, then I’ll put her in probably one of the killers category.

I’m not sure what could motivate her to kill, though, but then again, I guess that’s why I’m not the Mastermind.

Being a maid, she’d probably be good at cleaning up evidence of her crime, but of course, she’d probably miss a few things that allows Kaede and the others to discover the truth.

I have no idea what kind of execution Monokuma would give her.

And those are my thoughts. So, basically:

I think the survivors will be Kaede, Ki-Bo, Kokichi, Tenko, Maki/Miu and Shuichi/Kaito.

I realize that I have a really hard time guessing which of these characters might be killers, so it’ll be interesting to see how things play out.

I’m probably going to be surprised if Gonta survives, or if he dies in a chapter other than chapter 4.

I currently have no idea who the Mastermind might be. Whether it’s one of the sixteen students, or someone else. I just hope it isn’t Junko again.

#danganronpa #ndrv3 #drv3 #ndrv3 speculation

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tokiro07 · 7 years

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Okay, so I’ve got another theory, but it kind of takes little details from across the whole story, so if I really want to do this one justice, I might need to reread all of One Piece again, and frankly I just don’t think I’m ready to do that right now

So I’m gonna write what I can now and if I feel like anything’s missing, THEN I’ll reread wherever I feel like I might be able to find what I’m looking for

(This got really long, actually, so I’m putting it under a readmore)

I’m probably going to be covering a lot of ground that people have talked about before, but whatever, a lot of these theories do that

We all know at this point that one of the major patterns for recruitment is based on either the needs of the crew or things that Luffy just outright wants. Lost at sea, they get a navigator; need a boat, get a boat (and a gunner for the boat); starving, they get a chef; one of them contracts a disease, they get a doctor; need someone to read ancient text necessary for finding One Piece, they get an archaeologist; ship’s falling apart, they get a shipwright; Luffy wants music, they get a musician

Before getting those things, they would always have someone to fill the gaps, like Usopp doing the carpentry. Other jobs that Usopp has done have included manning the crow’s nest as a lookout, upgrading weapons like a blacksmith, and painting the Jolly Roger like an artist.

Luffy has claimed to want a bronze statue and expressed consistently to prefer to go places that have snow.

Just to get her out of the way, I’ll cover Monet and work from there. If Monet joins, her Snow-Snow Fruit covers Luffy’s desire for snow. Beyond that, if the crew goes to space, her interest in astronomy will most likely prove helpful. Either way, though, there’s only really one scenario where astronomy is helpful, so she would likely need a secondary ability to contribute.

Her ability to fly makes her work well as a lookout or scout. It’s worth noting that the very first thing we saw Monet doing was fulfilling this role for Caesar, going out into Punk Hazard to scout out the intruding Straw Hats. Interestingly enough, the Straw Hats themselves were, at the time, performing a scouting operation with Mini Merry II. Both times that Mini Merry was used were to send out scouts, and in both cases, Usopp was on board (potentially tying into the idea that jobs Usopp does are the ones that need to be filled). This could be to set up that Monet, who can act as a scout, may take over that job so the others won’t have to do so.

If Monet doesn’t join, Mini Merry isn’t put out of a job, but we still potentially need a lookout. If the Snow-Snow Fruit is involved, it may go to Carrot, who has demonstrated an affinity for being a lookout with her incredible jumping skills and eyesight. If not Carrot, the lookout could be Pedro, who can consistently be found in high places, like the crow’s nest.

If Carrot isn’t appointed to the position of lookout, she could be appointed the position of artist, replacing Usopp’s job as artist like Franky replaced his job as shipwright. How this job would contribute is hard to say, but Luffy’s inability to draw has come up at least three times (the Straw Hat and Foxy Jolly Rogers and Laboon), so this may be foreshadowing for the idea of an official artist joining.

A blacksmith is likely incoming somewhere down the line, but up to this point I don’t recall being introduced to any characters who would really match that.

However, lookout, blacksmith and artist have only received minimal foreshadowing, and certainly haven’t been acknowledged as necessary. That said, there are two more crew positions that I believe we have been informed of that, even if they aren’t particularly helpful, have been quite heavily foreshadowed for a long time.

The first is the position of tailor. Thus far, to my recollection, the “need” for a tailor has come up three times. The first time, Buggy damaged the straw hat, prompting Nami to repair it. The second time, Ace gave Luffy his vivre card, which Nami sewed into the band of the straw hat. The third time, Marguerite repaired Luffy’s clothes after they were ruined in his fight with Kuma. Marguerite spent the remainder of that arc as Luffy’s ally, and later mentioned that the Straw Hats looked like a fun group when she saw Luffy reuniting with them.

Based on the need for a tailor coming up three separate times, it seems clear to me that a tailor is going to be added sooner or later, and based on Marguerite’s interactions with Luffy and the crew, it seems likely that it will be her. However, I am not banking on it being Marguerite, as I don’t currently see any way for her to come back into the story, so instead I am willing to believe that Marguerite was simply meant to foreshadow that there would be a tailor joining, not necessarily her. This tailor may even be snake or reptile themed, as Marguerite owned a snake.

What a tailor could accomplish for the crew is a bit up in the air, but I believe something is going to happen to the straw hat again, just like it did in the fight with Buggy, and the tailor will be the only one with the skills needed to repair it.

As for the second position, it may seem far less intuitive, but I believe that it has been even more strongly hinted at than any other position. The second position that I believe the Straw Hats will definitely get is a pet.

Our first, and likely weakest hint towards this is Carue, Vivi’s pet duck. When Vivi temporarily joined the crew, Carue was along for the ride as her companion, and most certainly had his own contributions to the team. Carue even had the X mark like everyone else, demonstrating that he was considered just as much a Straw Hat as Vivi was.

Our second, and likely strongest hint is Chopper, as according to the World Government, Chopper is the Straw Hats’ pet, not doctor. As far as everyone who doesn’t know them is concerned, the Straw Hats already have a pet, so I believe that this is meant to be foreshadowing for the crew receiving a pet.

Our third hint is Surume, as Luffy did claim Surume as his pet. Surume didn’t officially join the Straw Hats, leaving the potential for another pet to come along later, but Luffy taming Surume for the purpose of drawing the Sunny when underwater gives a clear picture of the kind of job that a pet could do. In fact, if my previous theory of the Sunny eating a Devil Fruit is correct, Surume or another large aquatic animal could be the perfect method for keeping Sunny afloat.

Another possibility is that if Sunny eats a Zoan Fruit, its animal form (likely a chicken, as I’ve said before) would be considered the pet, and it could travel on land with the crew as an otherwise unassuming (though probably large) chicken. This could also have been foreshadowed by Carue, a similarly large fowl.

If neither Surume or the Sunny itself becomes the crew’s pet, there is one more option that many of you have likely already pieced together: Laboon. I mentioned earlier that Luffy’s poor art skills came up when dealing with Laboon. If you’ll recall, Luffy marked Laboon with the Straw Hat Jolly Roger, possibly foreshadowing Laboon as an official member of the Straw Hat Crew. This, coupled with the fact that Laboon will definitely want to follow Brook again, heavily implies that Laboon will become the Straw Hats’ official pet.

One more thing on this topic: I said before that although Luffy claimed Surume as his pet, he ended up leaving Surume behind on Fishman Island. What was the first thing the Straw Hats saw after leaving Surume?

A pod of Island Whales with similar scars to Laboon’s, leading to an emotional moment from Brook.

Brook will definitely want to add Laboon to the team, and I personally see no way that Luffy wouldn’t agree.

This said, I don’t believe Laboon will necessarily count towards the 13 crewmates that we’ve all been predicting for years, as I don’t think Laboon will really be able to help with the one-on-one fights, though he will probably be extremely helpful in a ship-to-ship battle at some point.

To summarize my theory: of the likely three slots left for the Straw Hats to recruit, one will almost definitely be a tailor, and independently of those three, Laboon will be added as the Straw Hat’s pet.

#one piece #one piece theories #my theories

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homestudyhelp365-blog · 7 years

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Which theory of motivation do you use to motivate the bus crew Why

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Human Resource Management

Attempt Any Four Case Study

CASE 1: It is Good News Everywhere for Coca Cola

After fumbling in India for over a decade and losing the top slot to Pepsi, the humbled cola giant is dreaming big again and rejigging its strategy with a fresh and sharper focus.

Why did Cola giant fumble in the first place? Here are some mistakes and learnings that Coca Cola has undergone in the past:

Globalization Holds the Key

Coca Cola was among the bluest of blue MNCs to have entered India in the 1990s. It was and still remains among the top five most powerful brands and the largest beverage company in the world. A lot of that MNC arrogance had a rub-off effect in the way it laid out its India strategy. Snapping up the locally popular brands like Thums Up, Limca, Maaza to competition, its brand-building exercise for the mother-brand was often at the cost of the local ones. It was costly and often didn’t work. Thumps Up remains a very strong brand in southern states like Andhra Pradesh and in fact in the Brand Equity Most Trusted Brands listing, it ranks 34—much higher than Coca Cola’s 42nd ranking. As the company redraws its India plans it promises to be far more rooted to the realities like having more local insights, promoting local drinks like Aam Panna and localised variants like Sprite—Jal Jeera.

Delegate, Empower and Be Patient

Five CEOs in a decade, a high employee turnover of 30%, Coca Cola India was in a chaos as constant churn at the top took its toll. “Every time a new CEO took over, he drew out a new strategy and a fresh game plan to win the market”, recalls a Delhi-based ex-employee. Lack of confidence and patience from the headquarters only made matters worse. “The short-term approach to show quick results was talking its toll,” recalls a Bangalore-based ex-employee who was involved in operations.

Worse, with $1 billion of investments and having written off $450 million assets in 2000, penny conscious Coca Cola headquarters began micromanaging issues like hikes. Recalls a senior HR executive who worked in the eastern region: “No hikes above 10% at any level—we got the message from the US headquarter.” Everything was in a flux—not just in people leaving, in roles too changing frequently. There wasn’t much flexibility that the HR department had in managing people.

Slowly, Mr. Singh (CEO, Coca Cola, India) and his team are helping win back the staff confidence here and getting some freedom from the Atlanta headquarters. “When I came, there were complains of low salaries. We undertook a transparent benchmarking study to fix that,” he says. Multiple channels of dialogues have been opened up. Every month now, there is an open house meeting where all employees at the headquarters can air their concerns and issues. “We are trying to bring down the decision-making process,” says Mr. Singh.

Soften that MNC Arrogance

Being the world’s most powerful brand had its flipside. Every time there was a problem, the company pointed a finger elsewhere. “We were in denial mode,” says a senior company executive. “Earlier, we spent more time defending ourselves,” says a candid Mr. Singh. Despite aggressive efforts it realised that in a sensitive business of food and drinks, scientific data matter, but perceptions matter more. “No matter what you did, it (pesticide issue) was a losing proposition,” says a senior ad industry executive. “You could only side-step it to minimise the damage,” he adds. The company too seems to have figured that out. “Let’s focus on solutions instead of debating if we are part of the issue or not,” says Singh. Coca Cola is trying to move beyond the blame game and has learnt to be more constructive.

Engage Beyond Business

For both Pepsi and Coca Cola the world was small and their attention very focused on each other. Just then CSE, an NGO, expanded and complicated their business playfield in India. Suddenly their MNC tag became a noose as the cola glitz and glamour gave way to pesticide, pollution, groundwater depletion controversies. Having learnt lessons the hard way, Coca Cola is now opening up channels of dialogue and engagement with the community it is operating in. it is setting up a Coca Cola Foundation that will engage in a variety of developmental work. To help create employable talent, it is setting up Coca Cola Retail University that will train sales staff. It organises rural games with a consortium of Indian farmers in the South. Water conservation and recycling have become its pet projects even as it aspires to become a net zero water user by 2009 in India. “We want to build a sustainable business model in India,” says Singh.

Perhaps, the highs of the past may never return. India and Indians’ fascination for the West and MNC brands like Coca Cola today may have more earthy—rather than heady—appeal. Of course, the brand itself has come down from its pedestal. “Coca Cola was an insignificant product delivered spectacularly,” says an ad industry veteran. The celebrity endorsements, ad campaigns and their cricket-connect made them glitzy and desirable. “Soon, they came to be seen as frivolous without being pleasurable,” he adds, just when “cooler” brands like Google and Nokia overtook it. From such lows, a company can only go up. Coca Cola India is already beginning to. Hopefully, Atlanta’s confidence in India's growth story will be strong and long-term. And that the global beverage leader – after a slew of bad publicity and poor business track record—has gained a humble confidence to chalk up a successful business in India. For a company with a such a difficult past in India, this may yet be early days.

But the management is upbeat. Neville Isdell, chairman and CEO of Coca Cola, said its India arm registered a double-digit growth in the first quarter this year after a series of negative growth. Earlier in Atlanta it announced that India will be the No.3 market for the company. The company will invest close to $250 million in the next three years—and this is just the beginning. Today things are working for the company. For the CEO, it is good news everywhere.

This could well be the third awakening in India for the world’s largest beverage company. (Forced out of India in the 1970s, Coca Cola re-entered in 1993 sinking $1 billion in over a decade. It began losing its fizz since 2003 when pesticide allegations first surfaced). But finally, after negative sales growth on the back of public backlash, surging attrition (around 30%) and internal chaos, the company seems to be steadying its feet in the Indian market.

Question:

As HR manager, what role do you carve for yourself in making Coca Cola a number one cola company in India?

CASE 2: Prejudices in Workplace: Real or Perceived?

Manjula Srivastav had been head of marketing for the last four years at Blue Chips, a computer product firm. The company’s turnover had increased by two-and-a-half times during the period and its market share in a number of products had also moved up marginally. What was creditable was that all this had happened in an environment in which computer prices had been crashing.

Although she had a talent for striking an instant rapport with people—particularly with the company’s dealers—Srivastav often found herself battling against odds, as she perceived it, as far as her relationships with her subordinates and peers in the company were concerned. Srivastav had to fight male prejudice all the way. She found it unfair that she had prove herself regularly at work and she used to make her displeasure on that score quite obvious to everyone.

Six months ago, Blue Chips had been taken over by an industrial group of business interests and was, more importantly, flush with funds. The change of ownership had led to a replacement of the managing director, had his priorities clear. “Blue Chips will go international,” he had declared in the first executive committee meeting, “and exports will be our first concern.”

Prakash had also brought in Harish Naik as his executive assistant with special responsibility for exports. Naik had been seconded to Srivastav for five weeks as a part of a familiarisation programme. Much of her surprise, he had been appointed, within two months, as the vice president (exports), with compensation and perks higher than her own. Srivastav had made a formal protest to Prakash who had assured her that he was aware of her good work in the company and that she would have an appropriate role once the restructuring plan he was already working on would be put into effect.

One morning, as she entered the office and switched on her workstation, a message flashed on her screen. It was from Prakash. “Want to see you sometime today regarding restructuring. Will 2.30 be convenient?” It went.

Later at his office, Prakash had come straight to the point. He wanted to create a new post called general manager (public affairs) in the company. “With your excellent background in customer relations and connections with the dealer network, you are the ideal material for the job,” he said, “and I am offering it to you.” Srivastav was quick to react. “There is very little I can contribute in that kind of job,” she said. “I was in fact expecting to be promoted as vice president (home marketing).” Prakash said that the entire gamut of marketing functions would be looked after by Naik who would have boardroom responsibility for both domestic and export sales. “If you continue in marketing , you will have to be reporting to Naik which I thought may not be fair to you. In any case, we need someone who is strong in marketing to handle public affairs. Let me assure you that the new post I am offering will in no way diminish your importance in the company. You will in fact be reporting to me directly.”

“You are being unfair and you are diminishing my importance in the company,” reported Srivastav. “You know that I am a hardcore marketing professional and you also know I am the best. Why then am I being deprived of a rightful promotion in marketing? Tell me,” she asked pointedly, “would you have done this to a male colleague?”

“That is a hypothetical question,” said Prakash. “But I can’t thin of any other slot for you in the restructuring plan I want to implement except what I am offering.”

“If the reason why you are asking me to handle this fancy public affairs business of yours,” said Srivastav, “is that you can’t thin of any other slot for me, then I would have second thoughts about continuing to work for this company.”

“May I reiterate,” said Prakash, “that I value your role and it is precisely because of this that I am delegating to you the work I have been personally handling so far? May I also state that I am upgrading the job not only because it is important but also because it should match your existing stature in the organisation?”

“I need to think about this. I will let you know tomorrow, said Srivastav and left the office.

Question:

What should she do?

CASE 3: Travails of a Training Manager

Ashwin Kumar, who had recently joined Systems, as a training manager, was feeling uneasy at the end of his first meeting with Pesu Shroff, the managing director of the company.

Systems was a ten-year old unit employing 300 people. It had a turnover of Rs 25 crore the previous year. The company traded in several products—both domestic and imported. Nearly 80 per cent of its turnover came from selling electronic component products which were assembled locally from imports of semiknocked-down kits. The landed cost of its imports was about Rs 10 crore last year. The products had an assured demand in the country, with smuggled goods from Taiwan and Korea providing whatever little competition there was. The company had been operating in a seller’s market for years and, as a result, most of its activities were production oriented rather than market oriented.

Early during the current financial year, the Government of India had announced, as a part of its economic liberalisation strategy, several policy measures which made imports costlier. All imports had to be financed by exports – there were restrictions on margin money and interest rates for working capital had shot up at one stroke. With little export income in its account, Systems had no choice but to discontinue importing SKD kits.

The company management had three option before it. First, to build up its domestic trading activity rapidly; second, to assemble at least a few of the component products from raw materials sourced locally and third, pursue after-sales service aggressively both to generate revenue in the short run and to establish an enduring client-base for the company’s products in the long run.

Invariably, this meant that the survival of Systems depended on how quickly it could train its people—beginning from a handful of sales engineers—to become market-centred and customer-friendly in their approach to business.

“The days of easy revenue money are over for us,” Shroff had told Kumar, who had a formal training in HRD and had been an officer in the training cell of a multinational firm before signing up with Systems. “We have to compete now in the marketplace and sell hard to be able to secure orders. Times are changing. We have to change too. And that is where you come in. it will be your responsibility, as the training manager, to ensure that people here acquire marketing skills,” he said, adding, as a clincher, “Frankly, have always felt that a salesman is born, not trained. I have had no belief in non-technical training. In fact, have found no need so far for a training manager at Systems. But I am prepared to do anything to get more sales.”

That punching was what had made Kumar uneasy. But he decided to let it pass. Over the next few days, Kumar got busy evolving specific training packages for workers, shop-floor supervisors, administrative staff and senior functional executives and an intensive module for field salesmen. Deciding to start with the salesmen first, he met the sales manager to ask him to depute 10 salesmen for a training session the next day. The sales manager was skeptical and only half-heartedly consented to release people for the two-day training.

The session was a disaster. No one showed any interest in the proceedings. In fact, one of the salesmen came up to him during the coffee break and said, “You see, all this is a waste of time. Take the client for a drink and you get the sale. It is as simple as that. It has worked in the past and it will work in the future.” Kumar laughed it off but the message had been delivered.

The attendance of the second day session was thin. This lack of interest was again obvious at the session for workers next day. The works manager who had originally agreed to the idea was vague about the absence of so many workers at the training session. “They are sick, I believe,” he said, making no attempts to hide his feeling that to him the whole thing was a big joke.

Kumar had encountered such resistance in the company where he had worked earlier. He also knew that his training capsule was very effective. He was aware that training needs were universal for all companies and so were the training techniques which were also easily transferable from one set of working conditions to another and from one industry to another. He also knew that he had the aptitude and interest to become a professional trainer.

But Kumar began to realise that he had made a few tactical errors in this particular case. He should have perhaps asked Shroff to personally inaugurate the training session to give the whole exercise an air of formality and, more importantly, of authority. He should have perhaps started with the module for senior executives first.

“I must find a way out of this and bring everyone round. There is simply no way I am going to accept failure. Whatever damage there has been must be undone. I must do something,” he said to himself.

Question:

What should he do?

CASE 4: The Resentful Employee

It was a bitterly cold night, and even at the far end of the bus the east wind that raved along the street cut like a knife. The bus stopped, and two women and a man got in together and filled the vacant places. The younger woman was dressed in sealskin, and carried one of those little Pekinese dogs that woman in sealskin like to carry in their laps. The conductor came and took the fare. Then his eye rested with cold malice on the beady-eyed toy dog, I saw trouble brewing. This was the opportunity for which he had been waiting, and he intended to make the most of it. I had marked him as the type of what Mr. Wells has called the Resentful Employee, the man with a general, vague grievance against everything, and in particular, a grievance against passengers who came and sat in his bus while he shivered at the door.

“You must take that dog out”, he said with sour venom.

“I shall certainly do nothing of the kind. You can take my name and address”, said the woman, who had evidently expected the challenge and knew the reply.

“You must take the dog out—that is my order”.

“I won’t go on the top in such weather. It would kill me”, said the woman.

“Certainly not”, said her lady companion. “You have got a cough as it is”.

“It is nonsense”, said her male companion.

The conductor pulled the bell and the bus stopped.

“This bus does not go on until that dog is brought out”. And he stepped on the pavement and waited. It was his moment of triumph. He had the law on his side and a bus-full of angry people under his thumb. His embittered soul was having a real holiday.

The storm inside rose high. “Shameful”, Why is not he in the army?” “Call the police”, “Let us all report him”, “Let us make him give us our fares back”, “Yes, that is it, let us make him give us our fares back”. Everybody was on the side of the lady and the dog.

That little animal sat blinking at the dim lights in happy unconsciousness of the rumpus of which he was the cause.

The conductor came to the door. “What is your number?” Said one taking out a pocket-book, with a gesture of terrible things, “There is my number”, said the conductor unperturbed. “Give us our fares back—you have engaged to carry us—you can not leave us here all night”. “No fares back”, said the conductor.

Two or three of the passengers got out and disappeared into the night. The conductor took another turn on the pavement, then went and had a talk with the driver. Another bus, the last on the road, sailed by, indifferent to the shouts of the passengers to stop. “They stick by each other, the villains”, was the comment.

Some one pulled the bell violently. That brought the driver round to the door. “Who’s conductor of this bus?” He said and paused for a reply. None coming, he returned to his seat and resumed beating his arms across his chest. There was no hope in that quarter. A policeman strolled up and looked in at the door. An avalanche of indignant protests and appeals burst on him. “Well, he has got his rules you know”, he said generally. “Give your name and address”, “That is what is being offered and he won’t take it”. “Oh”, said the policeman, and he went away and took his stand a few yards down the street, where he was joined by two more constables.

And still the little dog blinked at the lights, and the conductor walked to and from on the pavement like a captain on the quarter-deck in the hour of victory. A young woman whose voice had risen high above the gale inside, descended on him with an air of threatening and slaughter. He was immovable as cold as the night and hard as the pavement. She passed on in a fury of importance to the three policemen who stood like a group of statuary up the street watching the drama. Then she came back, imperviously beckoned her “Young man” who had a silent witness of her rage, and vanished. Others followed. The bus was emptying. Even the dashing young fellow who had demanded the number, and who had declared he would see this thing through if he sat there all night, had taken an opportunity to slip away.

Meanwhile the Pekinese party was passing through every stage of resistance to abject surrender. “I will go to the top”, said the sealskin lady at last. “You must not.” “I will”. “You will have pneumonia”. “Let me take it” (This from the man). “Certainly not—she would die with her dog”. When she had disappeared up the stairs the conductor came back, pulled the bell, and the bus went on. He stood sourly triumphant while his conduct was savagely discussed in his face by the remnant of the party.

Then the engine struck work, and the conductor went to the help of the driver. It was a long job, and presently the lady with the dog stole down the stairs and re-entered the bus. When the engine was put right the conductor came back and pulled the bell. Then his eye fell on the dog and his hand went to the bell-rope again. The driver looked around, the conductor pointed to the dog, the bus stopped, and the struggle recommenced with all the original features, the conductor walking the pavement, the driver smacking his arms on the box, the little dog blinking at the lights, the sealskin lady declaring that she would not go on the top and finally going.

Questions:

1. Which theory of motivation do you use to motivate the bus crew? Why?

2. If you were the conductor what would you do?

3. If you were the lady with the pet dog, what would you do?

4. Role play (a) the conversation between the conductor and the lady with sealskin, (b) between policeman and the fellow passengers, and (c) between the conductor and the driver.

CASE 5: Protest Over Job Losses

Bitter it may taste, shrill it may sound, and sleepless nights it may cause, but it is true. In a major shake up, Airbus—the European aircraft manufacturer—has thrown a big shock to its employees. Before coming to the details of the shock, a peep into the company’ resume.

Name: Airbus

Created: 1970

President CEO: Louis Gallois

Employees: 57,000

Turnover (2006): 26 bn (Euro)

Total aircraft sold (Feb.2007): 7187

Delivered: 4598

Headquarters: Toulouse (France)

Facilities: 16

Rival: Boeing

Airbus announced on February 27, 2007, that it would shed 10,000 jobs across four European countries and sell six of its units. On the same day the hapless workers did what was expected of them—downed tools and staged protests. The protesting workers at Airbus’s factory at Meaulte, northern France, were seen picketing outside the factory gate after holding up production a day earlier. To be fair to Airbus, its management entered talks with unions before the job loss and sale was formally announced. But the talks did not mollify the agitated workers.

Job shedding and hiring of units are a part of Power8 restructuring plan unleashed by Airbus to save itself from increasing loss of its grounds to the arch rival, Boeing Co.

Airbus’s Power8 strategy was first mooted in October 2006, but sparked a split between France and Germany over the distribution of job losses, and the placement of future ones. Later, the two countries agreed to share both job losses and new technology.

The Power8 plan, if finalised, would mean a 9 per cent reduction to Airbus’s 55,000 employee strength.

Questions:

1. Why should Power8 focus on shedding jobs to save on cost? Are there no alternative strategies?

2. Will the proposed shedding of jobs and sale of six units help Airbus survive the intense competition from Boeing?

CASE 6: The Office Equipment Company

Office Equipment Company (OEC) must identify a manager to help set up and run a new manufacturing facility located in the Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip. The position will have minimum duration of three years. OEC manufactures office equipment such as photo copying machines, recording machines, mail scales, and paper shredders in eight different countries. OEC’s products are distributed and sold worldwide.

Currently, OEC has no manufacturing facility in Middle East but has been selling and servicing products in Israel since the early 1970s. OEC sells its products in Israel through independent importers, but is now convinced that it needs to have a local manufacturing facility in order to take full advantage of the new, more peaceful situation in the region. Despite occasional turmoil that interrupts new moves towards peace, OEC’s sales in Israel have been improving, with increase in profitability. OEC has recently been contacted by distributors in Jordan and Egypt about possible sales of OEC products. Incentives for foreign direct investment in Gaza Strip could help OEC develop extensive operations in the region at considerably reduced cost.

OEC hopes to begin constructing a factory in Gaza Strip within the next six months. This factory would import products and assemble them. The construction of the assembly plant would be supervised by an US technical team and a US expatriate would be assigned to direct the production. This expatriate manager would report directly to the headquarters of OEC at US.

The option of filling the position of managing director with someone from outside the firm is alien to OEC’s policy. Otherwise the options are fairly open. OEC uses a combination of home-country, host-country, and third-country nationals in top positions in foreign countries. It is not uncommon for managers to rotate among foreign and domestic locations (in the US). In fact, it is increasingly evident that international experience in an important factor in deciding the persons who will be appointed to top corporate positions. The sales and service operations in Israel have been controlled through OEC’s European regional office located in Podernone, Italy. A committee at the European regional office has quickly narrowed its choice to the following five candidates.

Tom Zimmerman Zimmerman joined the firm 30 years ago and is well-versed in all the technical aspects required for the job. Zimmerman is a specialist in start-up projects, and has supervised the construction of new manufacturing facilities in four countries. He has never been assigned to work abroad permanently. His assignments have usually been in developed countries and for periods of less than six months. He is considered to be extremely competent in the duties he has performed during the years, and will retire in about four-and-a-half years. Neither he nor his wife speaks any language other than English—their children have grown and are living in the US. Zimmerman is currently in charge of an operation about the size that the one in Gaza Strip will be after the factory begins operating. However, as that operation is being merged with another, this present position will become redundant.

Brett Harrison At age forty, Brett has spent 15 years with OEC. He is considered highly competent and capable of moving into upper-level management within the next few years. He has never been based abroad but has frequently travelled to Latin America. Both he and his wife speak Spanish adequately. Their two children, aged fourteen and fifteen, are just beginning to study Spanish. His wife is a professional as well, holding a responsible marketing position with a pharmaceutical company.

Carolyn Moyer Carolyn joined OEC after getting her BS in engineering from Purdue University and an MBA from the prestigious Bond University in Australia. At the age of 37, she has already moved between staff and line positions of growing responsibility. For two years, she was the second-in-command of a manufacturing plant in Texas about the size of the new operation in Gaza Strip. Her performance in that post was considered excellent. Currently, she works as a member of a staff production planning team. When she joined OEC, she had indicated her eventual interest in international responsibilities because of a belief that it would help her advancement in career. She speaks French well and is not married.

Francis Abhrams Francis is currently one of the assistant managing directors in a large Mexican operation, which produces for and sells to the Mexican market. He is a Jewish New Yorker who has worked for OEC in Mexico for five years. He holds an MBA from New York University and is considered to be one of the likely candidates to head a Guatemalan operation when the present managing director retires in four years. He is 35, married with four children (ages two to seven). He speaks Hebrew adequately. His wife does not work outside the home and speaks only English.

Leon Smith At 30, he is assistant to the managing director at the Athens manufacturing facility, a position he assumed when he joined OEC after completing his under-graduate studies in the US seven years ago. He is considered competent, especially in production operations, but lacks in managerial experience. He was successful in increasing OEC’s production output in Athens during his tenure in Athens. Leon travelled extensively in the Middle East. He went to the college with a number of students from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt. These individuals came from prominent political and business families in their countries, and Leon has visited them during his travels. He thus has the advantage of being reasonably well-connected with influential families in the region. He is not married.

Questions:

1. Whom should the committee choose for the assignment and why?

2. What problems might each individual encounter in the position?

3. How might OEC go about minimising the problems that the chosen person would have in managing the Gaza Strip operations?

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