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#this is based on very recent events and I don't know how it will turn out for him or me...
dumbass-404 · 3 months
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If Dirt Lifter was a song:
https://youtu.be/BE40pO2r1oU?si=2ytr2gsCVVS7PWvY
So Craig-core. He listens to this on repeat and stares at the wall.
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It's forty minutes into the latest state of the company press conference and Bruce has had to mute his mic entirely to avoid being turned into a meme AGAIN for sighing too much at his own event. For all that he's spent almost 20 years coaching his own children on not making scenes, he's really not much better. It's hot and he doesn't want to be here. His ribs hurt. He's tired. He's hungry. He's every excuse Dick or Jason have trotted out over the years.
(Tim understands company manners and can almost always be trusted to stick it out as long as he's allowed to vent his frustrations afterwards. He's recently taken to smashing ugly thrifted dishes. Stephanie and Damian have been collecting any ceramic not entirely pulverized and turning them into pavers for Alfred's garden.)
(Bruce gave up after Tim. He really only needs one kid to tag along to social events. If the kid start to outnumber him they start getting IDEAS.)
His distraction is why it takes two very rude repetitions of his name for him to take notice at the young reporter pushing his way to the front. Lucius stands, cutting off the project manager currently presenting and speaks into the mic.
"Please keep hold all questions until the end of the presentation, thank you."
"Mr. Wayne," the reporter tries again and Bruce waves away Lucius's further protests.
"Can I help you?" He asks, smiling with the full force of Brucie Wayne's charm behind it. It's been awhile since his last scandal, but if the press is inventing drama then it's less work for him.
The man holds up a photograph almost accusingly. He reeks of gotcha journalism.
Bruce squints towards him, unable to fully make out the contents of the photo. Dick may have been right when he gently suggested Bruce add glasses to his Brucie Wayne persona but that was a hill Bruce was still willing to die on. It was bad enough he had to have a prescription COWL.
"What do you have to say about the presence of your adopted son, Timothy Drake at the illegal mob in Robinson Park last Saturday?"
"Drake-Wayne," Bruce corrected because Tim hyphenated, damn it. He was the first of his children to let Bruce tag the Wayne name on and it mattered, damn it. "Wait do you mean-"
"How about reports of him kissing a man while there?"
"A blond man?" Bruce asked, finally giving up and crossing to take the photo for himself. "Oh. No, that's his boyfriend."
There was a beat of silence before Bruce realized his mistake. Just as the reporters began to squall, he dropped the blurry photo and began to speed walk off, phone suddenly in hand.
Through the podium's microphone, the gathered reporters heard one thing as Bruce evacuated the immediate vicinity.
"Tim? Don't be mad."
---
Despite Bruce's best efforts, he becomes a meme.
---
Immediately following the bombshell that Timothy Drake-Wayne had a boyfriend, social media blows up, clamoring for more information. They're ravenous for it, desperate. Tim doesn't have a personal social media presence but they stalk his professional accounts religiously. Bruce does have personal social media, but he maintains radio silence.
In the end, a Gotham based "influencer" stumbles across Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne getting donuts at Kosher Donuts and Co. Dick is personable, as always, and stops to speak with the young woman briefly.
"Yeah, Tim wasn't mad," he laughs when asked. "Just disappointed. But man, he knows how to milk it."
"Bruce is in the doghouse, huh?" she asks, full of false sympathy.
"A little bit," Dick says as Damian mumbles, "Titus would never share."
"But," Dick continued. "Tim's spun it so Bruce is on the hook for like, half a million in donations for local LGBT charities. Tim says it would hurt less if he sponsored a new shelter too, so that's something to look forward to."
"That's a lot of money! Where's it all going?"
"Oh you know," Dick says and gestures vaguely. "A lot of different programs."
"Yeah? Anything you personally want to see done with the funding?"
"Drag story time," Damian answers before Dick can. He looks intense. "But not for children. For dogs. In the shelter."
---
A day later, Tim breaks the silence. He goes live on Bruce's Instagram.
"So the problem was that Bruce thought the reporter was saying I was being unfaithful," Tim explains. "He totally forgot I wasn't out to everyone yet. Bruce was just worried because he's already told me if I break up with my boyfriend, he's not uninviting him from any future family events."
"Luckily, I was in fact just kissing my boyfriend at PRIDE. Just because people got shifty with the permits at the last second because of protestors doesn't make it an illegal mob. If you wanna hear about Wayne's and illegal mobs, talk to Dickie about his younger years. Nothing I do can compare."
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ateliersss · 4 months
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TOP GUN
…is part of The Bookshelf.
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Jake "Hangman" Seresin
This Isn’t What It Looks Like Summary: Hangman is totally, 100% over his ex… he just needs a fake girlfriend to prove it.
Baby, you down? Summary: 5 times Bradley was blissfully unaware of who you’re dating and the 1 time he wasn’t.
Saviour
Major Mistakes Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Clock Don't Stop Summary: After a big fight, you need some time away from Jake. A song that you are listening to reminds you of a very important lesson. Can you and Jake fix things?
Try Losing One Summary: After a big fight, Hangman takes a drive to clear his mind. A song that comes on the radio fits perfectly. 
Karma Summary: The fight that leads up to the events of "Try Losing One" and "Clock Don’t Stop".
It’s Not Me, It’s You Summary: Your ex is back in town and that might be the kick in the ass Hangman needs to change the parameters of your situationship.
Aw Honey Honey Summary: Jake isn't sharing his sugar.
Sleep Tight Summary: Jake Seresin knows he’s a good pilot. But what happens when skill and luck run out and you find your husband in the hospital for the first time?
You're Not My Type Summary: You only spent one evening with Jake, but it was enough to leave you wanting more and also have you hoping to never see him again.
Just Friends Summary: Everyone seems to think you’re Jake Seresin’s girl. It’s easier than explaining to them that you’re just friends with benefits. But that arrangement doesn’t seem to be working for either of you anymore.
Married? Summary: After Jake is called back to Top Gun for a mission, him and the Dagger Squad go out to the Hard Deck one night where Javy gets absolutely hammered and lets it slip that Jake has a wife.
I Just Want You To Like Me Summary: You’re a bartender at the Hard Deck while completing grad school, which is how you met Jake Seresin. You and Jake began a “friends with benefits” type deal, using Jake’s aviation obligations and your education as reasoning why things couldn’t get too serious. Over the months, you have started to harbor deeper feelings towards him, afraid to speak up about it and potentially ruin everything you have with him. But when Jake returns from a two-month mission, your feelings for him reach a turning point in a moment of self-consciousness.
The Beanery Summary: Jake goes from drinking the base’s stale coffee to bringing in cups from the cafe down the road from the hard deck, and the Dagger Squad is determined to find out why.
Opposites Attract Summary: How can Hangman, cocky, arrogant Hangman fall in love with a girl who is so different than him and raise a family completely opposite of him?
Rule Number One
Long Time Gone (Series) Summary: Penny Benjamin’s niece works at The Hard Deck, saving the money she earns to get out of the west coast and put herself through Graduate School. What happens when a pretty boy pilot ends up as her fake boyfriend?
Coffee For Mrs. Seresin?
Never Knew (That I Could Fall So Hard) Summary: You and Jake are friends. Just friends.
Ice Ice Baby Summary: He knows he annoys you. You know he annoys you. And he’s made it his mission to melt your cold, dead heart. 
Right Back To You
A Ghost Playing Hangman (Series) Summary: Ghost was one of the most recent graduates from Top Gun quickly making a name for herself. When she gets recalled with the best of the best, she realizes her work is cut out for her if she wants to make the team. And one of her biggest obstacles is a blonde hair pilot with the world’s most annoying smirk. Will she make the team? And if so, at what cost?
Touch and Go Summary: You and Jake had been sleeping together for months, and as sure as you were of your feelings for him, you were unsure of his for you. He, however, certainly knew how he felt about you, and after you decide to go on a long trip without telling him, he lets you know just exactly what’s on his mind.
Wants and Needs Summary: Jake "Hangman" Seresin sets his sights on you, Rooster's best friend, but it doesn't take long for you to understand what type of man the cocky, blond pilot is. Unfortunately for Hangman, you have no interest in a womanizer. 
Who Did This To You? Summary: In your most vulnerable hour, Jake "Hangman" Seresin is the one to find you, and the one to ask you the ultimate question: "Who did this to you?"
Until Him Summary: He's all bronzed confidence, a stupid fly boy you should hate. Yet, you can't help the little thoughts that plague your mind.
Hooked From Hour One Summary: He watched as Rooster took you around, introducing you to everyone and Jake's eye twitched. The two of you looked awfully comfortable around each other, with tons of physical contact. You and Jake hadn't been dating long, but he thought that you were on the same stage as him when it concerned your relationship. Were you cheating on Rooster with him? But you wouldn't do that, right?
Nightmares Summary: In which you were in an accident during a mission, and have a nightmare that night, but Hangman is there to help and finally confesses his feelings.
Split Summary: You break up with Jake because his actions make you question everything you've had between you, but he wants you to take him back.
You Left Me No Choice But To STay Here Forever (Right Were You Left Me) Summary: You and Jake have been best friends for years and eventually he becomes the love of your life - which makes it that much harder to cope when he starts pulling away with no explanation.
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Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw
A Nice, Big Rooster Summary: Rooster is surprised to run into you on North Island. He's not, however, surprised to find that he still wants you as much as always.
It's Only My Heart (Save Yourself) Summary: Rooster's very bad, terrible day.
M.U.R.P.H. Summary: An undisclosed pregnancy that you and your husband try keeping a secret ends up being the reason you end up in hospital during a PTI session with the Dagger Squad.
Webb Of Unfortunate Events Summary: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw was and always would be the love of your life. When the pair of you are brought back to Top Gun, neither of you expected Pete Mitchell to be your instructor — a series of unfortunate events leads to your hospitalisation, with Rooster by your side.
The Ironies of Life Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 Summary: A few weeks after breaking up with her long-term boyfriend because he wouldn't commit to marriage and kids, Naomi finds out that she's pregnant with his baby.
I Would Never Hurt You Summary: Bradley saw the bruises and knew what was going on, but he also knew you didn't need him the way he needed you.
Red Flags, Green Flags Summary: Hangman complains about his date's red flags, but Bradley thinks this girl sounds amazing. 
I Still Want You Summary: Bradley had been an idiot when it came to you. He still wanted you, but did you still want him?
My Future In You (Masterlist) Summary: Bradley’s twenty-two years old and not where he’s supposed to be. He’s supposed to be out of the academy by now. Instead, he’s retaking his senior year of college and praying to god that he gets into flight school. Mav’s gone, his mom’s gone. He’s mad at the world. Then, a hook up at a Halloween party changes his future even more than he could have imagined.
You don’t want this, do you? Summary: Reader is pregnant, but it's not Bradley's baby.
Misinterpretation of the Heart Summary: With Rooster away on a mission, you're left feeling lonely and missing him. That's when a past love comes back into your life just as Rooster returns home. 
A Misinterpreted Loss Summary: Bradley finally asked you out, but what happens when he walks out with another girl? Running to your best friend seemed like the only logical answer.
This Is Me Trying Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 Summary: Bradley Bradshaw was the bane of your existence back at UVA. You practically burnt yourself out trying to outdo him. Now, you've quit your big shot engineering job in search of something more meaningful. The wind blows you across the country and into fightertown, where a familiar, sandy haired jackass is crooning away at the stupid piano in some naval bar. And you're not sure if you should wait for the next gust or plant your feet down.
Protective Summary: "He would've just kicked your ass... now he's gonna kill you."
What Have You Done? Summary: Pete's daughter is as wild as him, she's also as passionate as him. However, an incident during high school drove them apart until they were called back to Top Gun. The uranium mission too, took them from each other, leaving her helpless as she couldn't do anything to make the situation better and save the people she loves.
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Beau "Cyclone" Simpson
Banished
Mav's Daughter Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
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Tom "Iceman" Kazansky
The Engineer Summary: You're just the engineer, a man like Tom Kazansky should have no reason to pay attention to you. Or at least that's what you thought.
Promise? Summary: You hear something that you’re not supposed to. Ice tries to explain himself. But is he too late?
She's His Girl Summary: Maverick has a talk with Iceman after the events in the locker room. Once you finally have a chance to explain yourself, Maverick realizes just how much you love each other.
Touch Summary: Ice notices that you have become more distant since you moved in together. When it’s been nearly weeks of you avoiding his touch, he confronts you about it.
Brothers Best Friend
Fatal Attraction Summary: Muchlike every other person that came across Tom "Iceman" Kazansky, you had developed quite the crush on him. What made you different, though, was that you were the niece of his direct superior. He knew it was wrong, and he knew he shouldn't entertain the idea in the slightest, but a little teasing never killed anyone, right?
Biggest Regret Summary: His biggest regret was that argument. It escalated beyond anything he wanted, but he gave you what you wanted. Would you still be waiting for him 6 months later?
Who Would've Thought Summary: When Iceman gets a pleasant surprise during the Top Gun training, it’s safe to say he isn’t the only one surprised.
Dash Summary: Being Slider's little sister is anything but easy, especially when you are placed among the best of the best.
Best Behavior Summary: Iceman has never been known as one to lose his temper. Secure in every single thing in his life, you, his girlfriend, happened to be no exception. During a night out at the bar, he witnesses a man with an ego almost as big as his try to flirt with you. Naturally, he contemplates murder.
Love of my Life Summary: Tom hadn't told his fellow pilots he's a married man. There's great satisfaction when he witnesses their reactions after you do it for him.
For What It's Worth Summary: Sometimes all it takes is a RIO who likes to gossip and some friendly competition to help you understand what you feel for Ice.
Wrong Answer, Sweetheart Summary: This man? Jealous? Possessive? Wherever did you get that idea?
Hurry Back to Me, Soldier
My Doll Summary: Who knew that Mister "Ice Cold, No Mistakes" could be with literal sunshine personified?
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Nick "Goose" Bradshaw
A Little Gosling Part 1, Part 2 Summary: Some frantic goodbye sex with your secret boyfriend Goose yields a little surprise. Four months later, Goose comes back stateside to attend Top Gun. Now, all you need to worry about is telling him before your brother Maverick finds out.
You Know Why Summary: You're a sexy sweetheart with a past and a toxic boyfriend. Goose sees that and wants better for you. Why? You know why.
Family Is What You Make It Summary: When Goose and Carole decided for a mutual divorce after realizing that they worked better as friends and co-parents rather than as Mr. and Mrs. Bradshaw, they knew that along the line they would meet new people on their journeys — and now Nick wants Bradley and Carole to meet you, because he really likes you, and he wants them to like you too.
Gold Rush Summary: All the years of silent pining and anticipation between you and Goose are put to test when he realizes that if he doesn’t make his move, he's going to lose you — and maybe Maverick and Bradley help a little.
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Robert "Bob" Floyd
King Of My Heart Summary: An accident during training and a little liquid courage has Bob finally making his move.
The Kind of Girl I Could Love Summary: Bob has a secret admirer, but he’s convinced it’s actually Jake and Nat messing with him.
Devil Doesn't Bargain Summary: Bob has spent months watching your boyfriend be someone completely different than you think he is. The WSO is there to hold you when your world stops. All because of a man that you thought you could change.
Enterprise Summary: Bob likes to keep his personal life and work life separate. But returning to San Diego has been difficult so what better time to introduce you to his new friends than Halloween. It is a night for surprises, after all.
Radar Summary: After Phoenix and Bob are forced to eject after a freak bird strike — the Top Gun class find out a little bit more about their quiet back seat weapons systems officer.
Mission Impossible Summary: After Bob is picked to fly the mission with the Dagger team, memories of moments you both have shared together come flooding back—leading to a shock discovery.
Another Statistic
Baby On Board Summary: Being placed on a top secret mission weeks before his wife's due date was not what Lt. Floyd had imagined married life would be like.
The Captain's Daughter Summary: An unlikely candidate has you breaking your dad (and brother’s) “no pilots” policy.
Candy Summary: Bob falls for a beautiful barista over the course of a few encounters.
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Back to The Bookshelf
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veone · 1 year
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GSHADE 3.5.0 Cracked Tutorial Feb.2023
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‼️Update:3/2023‼️ Due to gshade somehow being online again! You can still install the program with this tutorial but to avoid the update to version 4.2 notification keeping you from proceeding-Download the program from mediafire and then turn your pc to airplane mode and continue the process below! Note that when you turn your internet back on that your going to get the notification still ignore it. That what I’m doing.
Alright with the recent events regarding the development team of GShade figuratively going under and the current version of this program available being far from perfect. It would be lovely to back to a version of GShade that doesn't have malware, the changes that disabled the depth of field effects, and the removal of some older shaders. So here's a tutorial on how to install 3.5.0 of GShade. It's the version that we as a collective switched to all those months back, when GShade popped off in the community. Also the version I used to take this picture and got from @toskasimz who sent me the files. She's the reason why I have my pretty pictures back. It took a long time to get my preset to look like this and the modern versions of Gshade and Reshade don't have the shaders for this anymore. The suggested skill level for this is basic knowledge of how to install Reshade/Gshade and knowledge of where to find the game Bin file and Program Files on your pc.
Note: This version is before the code that shut down your PC, if you manipulated the code of the program, was introduced. Use at your own risk. I personally have no issue with using it. I'm using my laptop I do school work on and I have no money to buy a new one so that's my assessment on how safe it is.
To start download this media fire file. It's a Rar file. Unzip it.
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In the unzipped version of this file, you should have a folder that's highlighted below called GShade.
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Inside that file are two folders. Program Files-G-Shade and TS4 Bin Folder. These folder names correspond with where the contents of these will go on your pc.
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Alright inside the folders you should have the following content in the Program Files-G-Shade
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Inside the TS4 Bin Folder, you should have the following contents inside it.
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Place the GShade folder from the Program Files-G-Shade into your computer's Program(x86) file. This may have a different name based on your computer.
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Next Place the contents of the TS4 Bin Folder which should be the G-Shade configuration file and the folder of GShade-Shaders into your Bin folder. (note I have gshade installed already so you won't have the extra files before installation.)
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Now go back to the Program(x86) file on your PC and go into the G-shade folder.
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Double Click to run the program.
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This is where you gonna need to pull your Reshade/Gshade knowledge. You just install the program as normal to the game. I will say I don't know if this will work with other games.
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Alright, this is what you should be left with after installing G-Shade. Everything transferred to the Program Files with the exception of this folder. Leave it be and go to the Program Files file on your pc.
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Once in the Program Files folder double click the GShade Control Panel.
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You should get the following screen Go to the Installations tab. Delete this file path. This is a very important step. It's not gonna work if you don't reinstall the program. Delete it and click Add New.
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Install the program as viewed above. Click Next and set up your screenshot folder.
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Click No on viewing the guild. You should have a control panel on your desktop. You can go in a convert you reshade presets if needed.
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Alright if everything was done correctly open your game. It'll take a moment to load and when it does you greeted with the following screen on start-up.
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Ignore the yellow text on the top. It says that your effects are disabled because it's not online. It works I could be misinterpreting what "effect" means but my shader work so I'm not complaining.
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And there you go. Installed, and works perfectly. Don't update it. I don't know what it'll do. I have not tried. I will upload an edited version of my preset later this week or tonight. I have to tweak the color of the fog and make a decent post. Enjoy! I am open to helping under this post and in dms!
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teaboot · 2 months
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Hi! (just a personal ask. Sorry if it's not okay to ask for advice out of nowhere but I wanted to see an outer perspective and didn't wanna ask my friends. No pressure to answer of course but I would love to hear your thoughts!)
Is it normal for me to feel overwhelmed about something I want? I am just starting med school and it's a lot but I am fighting. And in my culture, parents buy their daughters their like things?? (like towels and bed sheets and a fridge. Anything they can buy except the apartment basically) for marriage from a young age. But my mom just started recently. And when she first bought me something. The idea of getting married & being a doctor (both things I want) felt like too much I teared up. My mom said I was being spoilers I guess?? Like I was ruining a good moment? Of course it is not that serious since I wasn't outright crying, and I just laughed afterwards as I felt silly lol ,but It got me thinking if I was being that dramatic.
This honestly felt like the moment in the movie where the mom hugs her daughter and says something like "oh how much you've grown" . Her retort felt like it was out of the script.
If you find time to answer, please be extremely blunt. Because I know for a fact I have a tendency to exaggerate things.
You are not overreacting. You are not exagerrating things. And I'm going to tell you this, because I experience this, the tendency to downplay your own feelings and recollections of events very often comes from having other people do it to you first. People tell you your feelings are wrong, or stupid, or irrational, and you learn to listen to them instead of yourself.
It makes complete sense that coming up on a major cultural milestone would make you feel excited, or scared, or overwhelmed. It sounds like you came upon the first step of a very big change and the reality of it all hit you at once, which sounds completely normal and expected!
Fuck, *I* used to get that about moving houses, and YOU'RE expecting shit like marriage? Holy fuck! I'd be a complete mess! The fact that you're level-headed enough to ask questions and process your feelings and talk things through is impressive, because I think I'd be losing my mind.
Personal story, but when I turned 17, my mom asked me if I wanted to go to a restaurant to celebrate. When I told her that it sounded nice, but I'd rather have dinner at home with the family, she told me I was a selfish narcissist, and that I was so busy thinking of myself that I didn't consider that other people might have been excited to go out.
At the time, I thought she'd been harsh but ultimately correct.
Now, I see that she had decided what kind of perfect evening she had wanted, and had expected me to play the part in the movie she had written herself. It had never been about what I wanted at all- it had been about her personal desires and expectations.
And it's normal to feel frustrated about things that don't go the way we want or expect, but lashing out at others is not an appropriate way to handle those emotions.
The way we feel cannot be controlled like a machine. The way we feel is usually not a problem. The problem is what we do, and the choices we make based on those feelings.
Children throw tantrums and sat mean things because they haven't learned better yet. They don't have the practice or experience. Adults like your mother and mine should have that on lock, but often don't, especially if culture or tradition or social expectations tell them their actions are justified.
If I had to take take guess, I'd say it sounds like your mom gave you this gift with an idea in mind of how she wanted you to react. She probably wanted you to be grateful and praising and sweet, so she could fulfill the role she envisioned for herself, and when you deviated from that picture, she was disappointed. From that perspective, it would seem that she felt slighted, and that she was owed your gratitude, and you were at fault for withholding it.
This perspective makes sense, in an emotionally immature sort of way, but would completely overlook your feelings, which are just as important.
Your exact situation is not one I've been in before, but if I'm correct in my assumptions (which I may not be) then I'd suggest keeping an eye out for other instances of your perspective and feelings being minimized.
Are you often told you are behaving irrationally? That you're over-emotional? That you're self-centered or greedy or entitled? Are you told that you don't remember things or do things as you're told? That you see problems where there aren't any? That you male trouble where there is none? That certain conversations aren't worth having, or that "you're always like this"?
It sounds like you know that something is off. I'd encourage you to keep asking questions and follow your instincts. At the end of the day, your life is your own, no matter where it came from.
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pumpkinbxtch · 9 days
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hey, ik requests are closed but if you could do this one, i'll be very grateful. just remember, if you don't want to, you don't have to.
i was thinking if post-trial apollo, meets the reader, after the trial (can the reader be a child of Hades? like a child of Hades would be so iconic), love at first sight (fuck, why is this so cliche 😭😭) and tries to spend more time with the reader. the reader is new to the entire camp thing, and is getting more used to it, and grows closer to Apollo. but he's like scared to admit he's in love bc he thinks, that just like all his past lovers, the reader would run away, or kill herself, or fall into deep trouble, but after some really had event in which he almost loses y/n, he goes all haywire, confessing everything and it becomes a cute, fluffy scene together
AGAIN ik you aren't taking in requests, so if you don't want to do it, it's totally fine. love so many of your fics btw ♥️♥️
i love you, isn't that the worst thing you've ever heard?
— apollo/lester x child of hades!reader
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warnings: none a/n: Hello beautiful person. You're seeing this, now you know that I take your request and I want to say why and it's because you asked me so nice that I couldn't resist. I have corazón de pollo which is something like being very sensitive or being warm-hearted. Anyway, let me know if you liked it. I hope it was like that and thank you for reading me, for your support. ❤️ Kisses from Pluto! ha ha
Your legs settled back over Apollo’s knees, and he kept them in place with his hands, letting out a snort.
— You’re pretty comfortable with a god, aren’t you? — His pretentious tone just made you smile and shrug.
— You didn’t move my feet, did you? — you replied in the same tone, and he leaned against the cabin wall. It was true, and if it were up to him, he never would.
— Whatever…— he muttered, watching you lie back down, putting your attention back on a comic book Will Solace had lent you, saying it was based on one of his favorite movies, which made you interested in reading it. You thought you and Will weren’t that different, and you liked him but not in ‘that’ way, just as a friend. After all, Will was becoming part of the family with your brother Nico because they seemed to have something slowly brewing.
— How many times have you said I love you?— you asked out of the blue, still not taking your eyes off the comic. Apollo almost choked on his own saliva.
— What’s that about? — he said evasively. He didn’t want to talk about it because if he remembered correctly, all those times had ended badly. He tried to catch your eyes but found the glossy cover of the comic in the way.
You shrugged and turned the page, continuing with the same topic.
— I heard Nico say that to Will once when they thought I was out of our cabin, but I was just in the bathroom.
— Hmmm. And?
— Nothing, just that Nico doesn’t say it often. I’ve only heard him say it to his sister Bianca, his real sister. Also to Hazel, to me, and to Will.
Now Apollo understood but played dumb.
— I don’t know.
You tapped his thigh with your foot.
— Of course you do.
And obviously, he did, but stayed silent, hoping the comic would distract you enough.
— I think they’re falling in love — you stated, laughing at something you read. Apollo could never understand how demigods managed with ADHD; now, it just seemed like a curse.
— Well, I suppose.
His half-hearted responses annoyed you, and you put the comic down with a frown, and he apologized with his eyes.
— Have you fallen in love recently?
That question threw him off. Apollo gently moved your legs aside to sit on the edge of the bed with his heart racing and a pout on his face.
— Where are you going? — you asked, concerned, setting the comic aside and sitting next to him. Apollo smiled sheepishly. He didn’t like lying to you, but whenever you started guiding the conversation that way, he had to find a way to escape.
— I need to do something in olympus, they just told me.
You made a face and nodded. You never got involved in that; after all, he was a god.
In the end, Apollo sat moodily on his throne, watching time pass at Camp Half-Blood. Since his return as the sun god, things had changed in his heart, so he found himself more in that place despite what the gods said, which reminded him of when he met you.
You had recently arrived and caught attention for reaching an age where any demigod would have died, but shortly after, if not the same day, everyone knew you weren’t just any demigod. You were a child of Hades. Of course, the most delighted with this was Nico, who welcomed you and made sure you were never alone.
Things were fresh, so Apollo ended up in your close circle until it became very close. If Apollo was at Camp Half-Blood, you were with him, and it didn’t take long for him to fall in love with you, though you hadn’t realized it yet.
You felt safe growing up by his side; no one would mess with you since you were a child of the big three and a close friend of a god. Some fools judged you for your company, but they were afraid to approach when you were – according to Apollo – an adorable person.
The god watched through the fire as you thrived in camp after his unexpected departure, and to him, you were doing too well, though some things were too good for his liking, and he couldn’t deny it; you were charming in more than one way, which obviously attracted campers like Harley, that son of Hephaestus who sometimes gave you cute things like that pomegranate made of metal leaves. A gift that seemed very familiar when he saw Leo flirting with Calypso.
Leo flirting with Calypso.
Leo flirting.
The god stood up and admired the scene closely. Harley had blushed cheeks while giving you the gift, and you smiled gratefully. No way, he knew the sons of Hephaestus were bold, but he never imagined someone would be so obvious with you due to your lack of understanding of indirect hints. They approached but never that close, and he should have guessed, but also, he wasn’t one to get angry.
You received the gift and admired it closely, but only thanked him briefly, which seemed enough proof of your affection to the son of Hephaestus, something Apollo obviously loathed as well as keeping him awake the rest of the night.
He didn't know why (well he did) but the god ended sitting at the dining pavilion, his nails digging into the table.
— Everything okay? — Your voice snapped him out of his trance, and he smiled. You always seemed to have a radar for when he was near.
— Will fell in love with Nico, and Nico with him. Do you think they both realized it or just one?— His question took you by surprise, and more than making you think twice, it excited you that he finally answered that kind of question since he always seemed to have a repulsion to them.
You sat beside him, and Apollo gave you a sweet look, waiting for your answer.
— Maybe Nico and Will know, but Will could be waiting for Nico to give clear signals about it.
— Maybe Nico is scared.
— Does he think Will isn’t?
You both fell silent. It was clear; it was in the air, you weren’t really talking about your brother and Will.
— What’s the worst thing he could say to Will? — you asked, your hand reaching for Apollo’s to intertwine your fingers. The blonde swallowed and suddenly felt breathless.
— I don’t know, but I can think of something.
Apollo made a face and turned a little more towards you, his cheeks red and his eyes shiny. He was afraid of hurting you, of things not working out as they did with his previous lovers; he could never afford to make you suffer when he already knew the degree of consequence it would have in his life, but beyond his good or bad karma, he cared about you. He loved you enough never to try to have you.
Your patience was reaching its limit, and although the son of Hephaestus was cute, sweet, a good match… your heart belonged to someone since the first moment you saw him.
—Apollo… —your voice called him with a bit of seriousness, a peculiar tone that made the god realize his time for redundancies was over.
— I love you, isn’t that the worst I could say?
Your eyes widened with hope, and you moved a little closer to him, bumping knees.
— From Nico to Will? — you asked, not wanting to humiliate yourself.
Apollo’s blue eyes examined you suspiciously. The responsibility would fall on him; he was never the best at hiding his feelings, but if your happiness depended on it, the first moment he saw your life in danger, he wouldn’t hesitate to disappear from it. For now, a confession was something very innocent.
The sun god turned to you with a bit more evident confidence and didn’t let go of your hand; instead, he kissed it.
— No. From me to you…
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morose-marble · 4 months
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Incoherent ramble bc I have the brain worms about Apo
I am very annoying and also unwell, which is why I have taken to scrubbing through a not-insubstantial amount of episodes from Apo's lakorns (without subtitles) to form some kind of picture of what kind of roles he was cast in while employed by channel 3, and sending screen caps to literally anyone with a messaging app in my immediate social circle (they are in hell, thanks for asking). So, now that I have run out of people to torment with my obsessive tendencies, I am left with posting into the void on good ole tungle dot com.
So far, it seems that Apo's bread and butter was a wholesome, boy next door, nong type character (this is based on quite shaky interpretations of Sut Khaen Saen Rak, Buang Banjathorn, Chaat Payak and Prakasit Khammatep) with some exceptions, such as Tiang in Chat Suer Pun Mungkorn, a hot-headed young gangster. These aside, I have not yet formed a comprehensive understanding of his profile as an actor, as I can't seem to get my hands on some of the dramas at all.
The aforementioned roles were all supporting ones, and I could only find episodes for one of his two lead parts, that of Pong Khun Boon Jirakit in Pra Teap Rak Hang Jai, an enemies to lovers story(?). His character sells artisanal traditional Thai silk(?) and ends up falling for a rich woman (Preeyakarn Jaikanta) down on her luck who needs to become independent and better herself as a person(?). Quite a straightforward premise. (He wears a bunch of plaid in the show, he looks uncomfortable.)
Now. What I have noticed about Apo's career in supporting parts is that the male leads he supports are very...narrowly masculine, in comparison to him. Apo has talked about having faced homophobia/general cishet discriminatory nonsense in the industry at that time, and flicking through these shows really illuminates how rigid the concept of a lakorn romantic male lead was (maybe still is, I don't know). Obviously, I gathered that lakorn gender roles were a tad more conservative, but I still struggled slightly with understanding why Apo was treated the way he was, bc I feel like he is relatively conventionally masculine (my european perspective impacts my perception of what constitutes normative gender roles, I know) to the point where picking up on any ~queer~ vibes would be a gays only event. However, I feel like I get it a bit better now.
Apo is very handsome. He is also beautiful in a way that a lot of these leads aren't. They are pointedly conventionally masculine, not necessarily hypermasculine, but going towards that direction, something that is emphasised by their role in the narrative and acting style. Lots of stoicism and displays of quiet suffering and anger. I know, it's very reductive to place gendered presentations onto a spectrum etc etc, but if one were to operate within rigidly delineated binary requirements for gender presentation that exist in media (and society, there's nuance), Apo does not quite fit the criteria of a leading man within the given parameters. Which is terrible, of course. I can absolutely understand why Apo got fed up with the industry and decided to leave it all behind.
Additionally, as pointed out above with the repeated archetypal character traits, I feel that he did not get to flex his acting muscles in the narratives of these shows, which is another thing he has commented on, though maybe not in those words exactly.
Thinking about all of this makes his recent successes with Kinnporsche and Man Suang terribly interesting and delicious. I recognise that narrativising a celebrity's experiences as an affective story like this is mad parasocial brain rot behaviour, but the idea of him taking something that he was disparaged for earlier on in his career (perceived queerness) and turning it into a factor of him surpassing that which held him back is very attractive in a story sense. Like, what a triumph?
I'm not sure if any of this makes sense or if this is completely old news to everyone, but for some reason I had to get it out somewhere. I'll probably read this back in the morning and cringe mightily.
Anyway. What an interesting time to follow his advancement and the changes in the Thai BL industry, namely the increased attention from the government. I have fears, but I don't know how to articulate them yet. Therefore, I will focus on enjoyment for the time-being.
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artist-issues · 4 months
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so here's something I'm curious about: God's Not Dead. The films, not the statement itself.
I first saw the first film when I was younger and I hadn't yet embarked on my journey on examining just what i was taught and what I truly believed, but I remember finding the film a little uncomfortable.
I saw the second film and Ive never watched the third, and I think what I really don't like the first film is how it bashes other people's walks of life (Muslim father, three brands of athiests, and how it continues the myth that Christians in The United States are being Persecuted for their Faith Right Now.
Oh yeah and how the plots are really really dumb too, since the first film centers around a philosophy class with a professor that is skipping a very important part of most College degrees and the second takes place in a Bible Belt State with a high school teacher answering a students question comparing Marting Luther King Jr to Jesus's Sermon on the Mount and being taken to court over it.
I was twelve or so when I saw that movie and I honestly was not convinced by the film That God's Not Dead (in terms of the actual arguments in the class scenes.
The specific Denomination that I grew up with (Adventist) focuses a LOT™ on the end times so I do know about the future persecution thing well but like, I don't think we're there yet.
Anyway if you don't know those movies, feel free to ignore this ask but I'm genuinely curious about your thoughts on them, wether positive or negative or neutral
Hi! I saw the first God’s Not Dead in theaters. Never re-watched it. Did not see the sequels.
The good thing about God’s Not Dead is that people worked hard to make something that might shine a counter-cultural light on the truth that the God of the Bible exists. Stories that try to point to truth are on the right track, baseline.
The bad thing about God’s Not Dead is that it took things that are real, and genuine, and true…and it made them feel fake. By telling the story with strange conclusions and weird-triumph moments.
The thesis of the movie, that God is not dead, is something that only non-Christians would need to be convinced of. But the movie is clearly made for Christians. So. Yeah, it’s uncomfortable.
But you shouldn’t find every experience that the movie tries to portray uncomfortable because they don’t happen. You should find it uncomfortable because they don’t happen in that cheesy, Hallmark-grade way.
When a student stands up to their professor and says, “no, I’m not going to go along with this, and this is super weird that you’re trying to draw this line about the specific Christian God,” guess what? The whole classroom doesn’t usually get up and agree with you. They normally barely react. So even though some professors do put their foot down and try to mock or “kill” God in the classroom, and some students do push back, no. It doesn’t normally happen in that victorious way.
Just like how some young Muslim converts to Christianity genuinely are treated poorly by their families, or their community, not just in America, but absolutely, certainly around the world. Absolutely, certainly. I literally can think of not one, but two examples I’ve recently heard of, directly, from people I know.
Like I said, the events and life-experiences that the first God’s Not Dead movie are based on do technically happen all the time in America, and the West, and the world in general. They just don’t normally come with crowd-agreement, impactful music, wise one-liners, and celebrity appearances. The worst thing that the God’s Not Dead movie does is show you hints of things that are real, and really happen in real life, but cheeseball way it shows you those things, and the caricatures it turns people into, makes the real thing look fake.
As far as “the myth that Christians are Persecuted Right Now in America” goes…you just have to decide what you mean by “persecuted.”
If you mean, are we getting our heads run over by cement mixers, or dragged out of our homes and imprisoned for studying or even owning a Bible, or kidnapped by hired hitmen once our families find out we’re Christians, like they are in Yemen or Africa or basically anywhere outside the West…no. No, we’re not facing persecution like that. We’re not persecuted.
But if you mean, in the context of this conversation, that “atheists and professors and people in the professional sector of our education systems don’t have a weirdly specific bone to pick with Christians,”then you’re wrong. They do. They have. For a long time.
My second semester in college, in my plain old World History class, the Professor legitimately opened his class by explaining to us students that if we wanted, he would allow us to replace our midterm and our final exams with book reports as long as we read two specific books he assigned us. One was a book about how Jesus of Nazareth was not the Messiah and the Bible was false. The other book was a fictional short novel with heavy themes criticizing specifically Christian religion. Those were the two books he picked for his students to skip taking the midterm and the final, if only they would read those two books. And those were the ones he chose.
Not only that, but literally in the first class, I remember being stunned when he flippantly opened his summary of the 18th century by saying, “If anyone ever tells you you should check out the God of the Bible, and follow him, laugh in their face. Don’t do it. He is the kind of God who likes to make His people promises and then strand them in the desert for forty years!” First class. Out the gate. Like it was a joke.
It’s not a joke. Dude just openly mocked two out of the three major world religions that people identify with across the globe. Explain to me how telling someone never to convert to a specific religion and to mock it instead is anything other than “discrimination?”
Can you imagine a Professor getting up in front of a class and saying, “if anyone ever tells you that you should check out Allah ] and follow him, convert to Islam, laugh in their face! And here’s one short novel and one historically inaccurate essay criticizing Allah and making fun of Islam; if you’ll read these, tell you what, I’ll let you skip the two most stressful exams of the semester!”
No, of course you can’t imagine that. A Professor who did that about any other religion, creed, or god would be fired or taken to court or penalized or dragged on social media, at least. But the only student in the whole room who batted an eye when he said that about the Christian God was me. The only one who said anything was me. And it wasn’t a big stand up, dramatic declaration. Momentous music didn’t play in the background. My friends and classmates didn’t’] gasp or support me or stand up and agree with me.
It was just me raising my hand and saying in a shaky voice with a red face, after the sixth time he’d randomly deviated from talking about the Roman plumbing system to describe how the Apostle Paul and the other Apostles supposedly disagreed about who Jesus was (big lie, not true at all, but often used to “discredit” the Bible) to say, “sir, that’s not true. It doesn’t make sense. There’s a verse in the Bible where the Apostle Peter literally tells the church that the Apostle Paul’s words are directly from God.” And then he was like, “okay, I’m going to move on.”
I mean I just felt kind of stupid because the whole class was confused about the interaction; nobody was treating it like it was as important as me or the professor was, so it felt awkward to “make a stand.” But rest assured, all over the freakin’ country, people are excited to use up way too much of their brain power and emotional energy mocking, disparaging, and trying to discredit the God of the Bible and Christianity. They don’t believe in Him, but they’re so he’ll-bent on making sure nobody else does either?? Like, I don’t believe in Big Foot, but I’m not walking around trying to barter my students into reading anti-Big Foot books by giving them a pass on their midterms. But that’s how lots and lots of “athiests” treat the specific Christian God.
That’s not new. It’s not dramatic. It’s not persecution. It’s alllll part of the same old song and dance.
But it is real. The worst thing about God’s Not Dead is it made it feel fake and caricature, when it happens all the time and matters 🤷‍♀️ Anyway. Hope that answered your question.
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anime-aus · 5 months
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More Twisted Wonderland Events I Think Should Happen:
Part 1
Photo Album Event: The first years find a photo album that shows the third years' first year (technically Leona’s second year). The first years ask their third years about it. We get to see what happened in the past as they’re telling the story. I think it would lead to a lot of interesting interactions and I really want to know what everyone looked like and how they acted during their first year.
Haunted Mansion Event: This would definitely be a Halloween event based off of the rides or movies. Multiple characters come across a haunted mansion and get trapped inside. They definitely meet a few odd ghosts (and a few terrifying ones). They soon realize that they have to escape the mansion before they become trapped inside for all eternity!
Pirate Event: This would have to be Peter Pan themed or Pirates of the Caribbean themed. A bunch of students get a chance to sail around the island. One of the students among them is Kalim. Unfortunately for him Kalim gets kidnapped (again), but this time it’s by pirates. The rest of the students go on a mission to save him and Kalim gets a side story where he interacts with the pirates/tries to escape himself. I love pirates, so I think this would be a really fun even to play.
Cowboy Country Event: Realistically, this would probably based off of Toy Story because of Woody, however I would love for an event like this to be based off of Home on the Range! (Please tell me some of you remember that movie.) A bunch of characters go to a town out in Cowboy Country. One of them has to be Epel because he is very much a country boy. The NRC students learn different things, including how to ride horses. Turns out some of the cattle have gone missing and after some talk with the sheriff (and talk of a promising reward) the characters are out to catch the crook.
Dorm Swap: Crowley begins to notice that there have been a handful of student fights recently. In hopes of bringing the student body closer together he creates a Dorm Swap Program. For a temporary amount of time a random group of students is chosen to swap dorms. Some characters adapt to their situation easier than others. At the end everyone learns something about how the other dorms run.
Muppets Event: I just got this idea while watching Muppet’s Family Christmas. I just think a Muppet’s event would be cool. If we can somehow get Stitch and Tsums in Twisted Wonderland we can absolutely get Muppets. I just know Miss Piggy would love Pomefiore.
Cinderella Event: This one is pretty self indulgent, but I just had to share it. There is a party event where Yuu isn't invited due to some unavoidable reason. A fairy godmother finds a teenager who is upset because they can't go to a party. That's just begging for a fairy godmother to do something! With or without Yuu's permission, this fairy takes it upon herself to get Yuu all dressed up sends them to the party. The fairy also uses a spell that would make Yuu unrecognizable so they don't get in trouble for being there. Yuu has a lot of fun, but the next day they come to find that everyone is trying to unmask the identity of this mysterious party crasher. Yuu has to keep it a secret to avoid getting into trouble, but some of these people are making it so difficult.
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An Introvert's Guide to Winning
If you are like me who is an INTJ-T is seems like the world is not your oyster. in fact, the idea that fortune favors the brave still makes you ponder. Does that mean that if I am not brave enough, I won't be fortunate? Now imagine being an introvert who is also shy. Here are ways to win as an introvert.
Take advantage of your introversion and be a great observer. As someone who grew up shy and introverted it was hard to see my friends winning. Most introverts stay away from large crowds, they prefer smaller intimate settings and if they are socially awkward it's harder. So here is what I do, I go to a large crowd and watch people, I look at everyones body language, I walk around like I am looking for someone then I pause in awe of how good looking many of them are and how lucky I am. Then I approach the people who look shy or do not have anyone to talk to and I begin asking them questions and find similarities. Being an introvert means you spend more time in your thoughts but what are you thinking? Think in awe and approach a person based on that. It is not about how many people you can talk to but the quality of conversations you have. often times you become lit because you have found someone who thinks just like you and that makes other people want to pitch into that fun conversation that you have.
Fine tune your body language and style: So, you are invited to your bosses birthday and you have turned down many outings but you don't want to disappoint your boss by not going. So, you decide to show up. But how do you show up? You will show up looking your best, put your best foot forward and radiate the energy that is within you. Often times other people will gravitate towards you or the host might introduce you to other people.
Take the road less traveled: If you are afraid of not having a talking partner, look for other guests who do not have talking partners or look shy. They are easier to approach, so engage them by asking open ended question, show interest, and make them feel very comfortable around you. This has happened to me several times. I would go to an event and be on the lookout for the oldest person in the room that is often ignored or that person that is by the corner in the dark and illuminate their minds with my quiet extraversion.
Be a great storyteller: I do not speak loudly or know everyone in an area. I get tired quickly when I am out and about so I try to give a great story about myself or a random thing that I saw in the mst imaginative, enticing, and romantic way possible. Making the listener feel special about the conversation.
Bring the best in you: Being great at what you do will make people speak of you in rooms you never dreamed of getting into. I was recently introduced to the European Union Deputy General of Trade by my Negotiations professor because he considered me one of his brightest students and gave me an invite to the conference the diplomat attended (I was the only student in the room).
Capitalize on 1 on 1s: See opportunities to be alone with someones as a time for you to shine. During interviews be elated that this person has chosen to spend time getting to know only you. So this is your time to show off the personality that you have been hiding from the world.
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violetdisasterzone · 2 years
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Luo Binghe & Selflessness
There's a great post by @/jayktoralldaylong talking about how all the love interests in MXTX's novels prioritize the safety and well-being of the MCs rather than prioritizing - or even expecting - their love being returned. And image my surprise when the first reply I see is "Except Binghe. That bitch will sleep with your corpse," with others agreeing and calling him the "worst MXTX character" in the tags. I am yet again asking, did we read the same book? Luo Binghe is just as single-mindedly devoted to Shen Qingqiu as any of the others. Evidence of this is found at every turn during the main plot of Scum Villain: the plot during which he was actively possessed by a sentient evil sword. A sword which in a different timeline - a timeline without Shen Yuan - almost single-handedly turned Luo Bingge into a tyrant. He is under this influence for a majority of volumes 2 and 3 (of the Eng. transl.), which is also when he is accused of being "crazy" or "pushy" in regards to Shen Qingqiu.
Since the reply that inspired this post discussed the 5 years in which Shen Qingqiu was dead, that's what I'll address first. When Shen Qingqiu self-destructs, Luo Binghe is caught extremely off guard. It's easy, I think, to forget or disregard just how awful and confusing the entire novel's events have been for Binghe so far. Accepted to Qing Jing and subsequently horrifically abused for 4 years; a sudden, drastic, unexplained change in Shen Qingqiu and a blissful 3 years of peace; pushed into hell and utterly betrayed in an act of what appears to be very out of character hypocrisy. And when he returns (now in possession of the aforementioned sentient evil sword), he stays away from Cang Qiong and becomes a respectable cultivator in his own right, so that maybe, maybe Shen Qingqiu would accept him once again. And then he runs into Shen Qingqiu enjoying the company of someone who looks exactly like him; yet Shen Qingqiu runs from him, acting as though Binghe is the one who is dangerous, who is going to hurt him. Of course, Shen Qingqiu is justified in his fear, based on his own perceptions of the situation. But Luo Binghe does not know this.
Immediately following Shen Qingqiu's destruction is one of the only times we get a firsthand glimpse into Luo Binghe's perspective. This line is from the moments after he catches Shen Qingqiu's body: "Didn't Shizun hate his blood more than anything? Wasn't he unwilling to even be near him, to associate with him at all?" In the following pages is when he learns, for the first time that "Shizun too was...utterly heartbroken" during his time in the Abyss. When the chapter ends, Luo Binghe is still in utter shock, wiping the blood from Shen Qingqiu's face and trying, uselessly, to explain that he was just angry, that he just wanted to make him happy. We don't see the part of the scene where Luo Binghe leaves with the body, but it is not hard to infer that, in his complete state of denial and shock, his mind recently saved from an agonizing deviation, he was unwilling to part from his Shizun.
During the five years of Shen Qingqiu's absence, Luo Binghe kept his body in as perfect a state as possible. As we see in the Deep Dream extra, Luo Binghe brings Mu Qingfang (who he seems to respect, however minimally) to Huan Hua Pavilion some time after the events of Hua Yue City (which we know because Mu Qingfang expects Shen Qingqiu's body to "have long since festered and decayed"). We, as Shen Qingqiu, then get a glimpse into what Luo Binghe does with the body: he cooks countless meals that will go uneaten, and he transfers qi to prevent that decay. Skin to skin contact is the most direct way to transfer qi, as supported in many other scenes, including the flashback scene in this same extra. This type of qi transfer can also be carried out while sleeping, as evidenced in the Bing-mei vs. Bing-ge extra, providing a regulated stream of spiritual energy for an entire night. As Mu Qingfang said earlier, this uses up "an enormous amount of spiritual power" and is only enough to keep his body protected "for a single day" without reversing everything. Luo Binghe is immensely powerful, but even protagonists are not built to drain themselves every night for 5 years, while also fighting off Xin Mo, running Huan Hua, controlling the demon realm, and NOT giving up on everything. When Shen Qingqiu is thought to be dead in the minutes after Maigu Ridge, Luo Binge "almost tried to follow" him. And yet, when he believed there was even a chance he might return, he held on "for almost two thousand more of these days and nights."
The only other time we see Luo Binghe's interactions with the corpse is when Shen Qingqiu, undiscovered in the plant body, witnesses Liu Qingge's infiltration. In this, it is said that "Luo Binghe was unwilling to harm the corpse, so he could only release it." It's worth mentioning that, if Liu Qingge had managed to take the body back to Cang Qiong - or, what sequence is initiated when he does - it will be given burial rights, it will decay, and Shen Qingqiu will never again have a possibility of inhabiting it. Luo Binghe cannot let this happen; it's not merely about possession or attachment. And yet, he would sooner allow this possibility that allowing even the potential of harm to come to him.
When all is said and done, after Luo Binghe has been broken out of Xin Mo's control and Shen Qingqiu does not die - the first thing he does is return him to Cang Qiong Mountain. When Shen Qingqiu suggests that they leave, together, Luo Binghe is "dumbfounded." He fully expected to be left, for Shen Qingqiu to be unwilling. He would have done anything for Shen Qingqiu and expected nothing in return.
At his core, even under influence and in emotional turmoil, Luo Binghe's love is unfalteringly selfless. There are so many examples of this, both in the main plot and in the post-canon extras, but I think this post is long enough already. Suffice it to say that nothing is more important that Shen Qingqiu to Luo Binghe - least of all himself.
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bluesylveon2 · 1 year
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omg, can I request number 13 with sebek please?????
I did it anon! I wrote this! The ending could be better but I think this turned out good. This prompt really fit Sebek too lol
Prompt: 13. We make contact before trying to steal the last seat on the subway/bus/train and I end up in your lap and fuck you, I’m going to stay here because I’ve had a really long day and this seat was mine
Note: Modern au and aged up characters
Word Count: 1691
Warnings: not beta read, possible OOC characters (Sebek is an asshole at first), and an attempt at writing subways (I based it off NYC)
500 Follower Event
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Yuu was having a not-so-good, horrible, very bad day.
It had all started when she had slept past her alarm and woke up to Grim, the recent cat she adopted, making her sofa a scratching post. Then, after running out of her house with a white blouse, a skirt, heels, and a cup of coffee in her hand, she magically ran into someone, spilling coffee on her clothes. 
The person apologized, but Yuu wanted to scream. She only had 5 minutes left until her shift at the office started, and she did not want her boss or coworkers to get on her about it. 
(There was a redhead in the IT department who was strict and infamous for lecturing a coworker who was late by two seconds). 
It was a stroke of luck that Yuu made it on time. Everyone was too busy to notice her arrival except for Vil, who gasped at Yuu's current state. Luckily for her, he had a blouse and a skirt that he lent her (but not before giving her a lecture about her appearance). 
The rest of her shift was boring after that. Yuu quietly sat in her cubicle while the chaos happened around her. It was a typical day, to say the least, until her boss, Dire Crowley, showed up with a mountain of paperwork and wanted it done by the end of the day because he was oh-so kind. It reminded her of the infamous trio in Accounting and Finance, who she was 100% certain were in the mafia. And so, Yuu left her job with a massive headache, a plastic bag with the company label of her soiled clothes, and a list of how to get revenge on her boss. The poor girl was working like Cinderella, and she only wanted to sleep while cuddling Grim.
Yuu made her way toward the train station and mindlessly went to her stop. Yuu could not hold back her yawn as the subway appeared. She tiredly followed behind the crowd into the train, letting her feet guide her inside. It was partially full, and luckily, only a few people entered with her. Her eyes landed on the spot near the door, perfect for her to sit and decompress. 
Yuu only took two steps towards the seat when suddenly, a man with slicked back light green hair, yellow-green eyes, and the strangest green and black outfit she had seen sat down in HER seat. Now slightly awake but more annoyed, Yuu marched toward him. 
"Excuse me, sir. That is my seat."
The man looked her up and down at her appearance, and his lips curled up in disgust like she offended him. "It is clear that I saw this seat and sat down first. Therefore, it is my seat."
Yuu huffed and wanted to say some not-so-nice words to him, but some children were around her. She chose to look down at his stupid-colored eyes with determination. "Look, mister. Don't you know the saying 'ladies first?'"
The man scoffed, "Of course I do. Do you think I was raised like a barbarian?" He said and eyed the plastic bag in her hands. "Unlike some people. Besides, I must be in top shape after spending all day protecting my Master."
Yuu stared at him like he was a crazy person. "You- jjsndgondvisjdf" She could not form words and chose to say sounds instead. One parent covered her child's ears. 
"Do you not know who I am?"
Yuu stopped her rambling and looked at him. "I don't know and I don't care. If you don't move, then I have no choice."
The man's eyebrows furrowed, "What are you? HEY!" He yelled, causing some people nearby to silence him. Meanwhile, the girl on his lap made herself comfortable. "What are you doing?"
"Sitting," She said like it was obvious. She turned her head to look into his eyes; a frown etched on her face. "Look, I had a tiring day today too, but I need to sit down after a long day at work."
The man blushed at the close proximity and looked away. His face was slightly red, and a pang of guilt filled his chest. "I'm sorry for being rude to you. I was unaware."
Yuu waved him off, "It's alright. You didn't know." She suddenly yawned and rested her head against his chest. She could feel how fast his heartbeat was going but was too exhausted to ask why. She felt like she was covered in a blanket. "You can just chill until it’s your stop. I'll get up when it is my stop."
The man looked at her curiously, "Where is your stop?"
Yuu yawned again. Her eyes felt heavy. "Ramshackle Street," she replied, her eyes getting starting to close. "You are so warm and comfortable," she said absentmindedly, wrapping her arms around his torso. 
"Hey! What are you?" Sebek stopped talking and stared at Yuu's sleeping face. He moved his arm to shake her awake but stopped. He could see how exhausted she was by looking at the eye bags under her eyes and how she managed to sleep so quickly. It reminded him of Silver, but slower by two seconds.
Speaking of, Sebek's suddenly rang, and his friend's name was on the caller ID. 
"Hello?"
"Ah! Sebek! There you are! We were looking for you. Where are you right now?" His other Master and Silver's adoptive father, Lilia's voice, replied. "My phone died, so I must use Silver's khee hee."
"Father, that's because you misplaced your charger." Silver's voice called out. 
Lilia laughed. “Silly me!”
Sebek rolled his eyes, “Is the Young Master safe?” 
Lilia huffed. “Malleus is next to me, eating some ice cream. You know how he is, but we have a more important matter to discuss. Where are you now? The city must be so big for you to accidentally wander off."
Sebek sighed. He should have been more diligent and kept sight of Malleus (the tallest person he knew) or Lilia, but he didn’t. And now he was stuck on a train with a random girl sleeping on his lap. 
It was like the girl knew he was thinking about her because she mumbled something about 'that damn Crowley' and was loud enough to be heard by Lilia.
"What was that?"
Sebek scrambled to say something, "I apologize, Master Lilia! I am taking a train that will stop in the Diasomnia area, but I might be delayed. You see, there is this girl-"
"A GIRL?!?" Lilia exclaimed, "Why didn't you say that earlier? Is she your girlfriend? Did you meet online and finally get to meet in person? Am I finally getting grandchildren???"
Sebek could tell that Silver was rolling his eyes at the last part. "No, Master Lilia. She was exhausted from her work and ran into me on the subway. She is taking a nap right now."
"Oh, crumbs," Lilia sighed dramatically. "I thought I would finally experience what it is like being a grandpa. You know I am not getting any younger."
"We know." Silver and Sebek said at the same time. 
"Well, make sure that the girl gets home safely, Sebek. Do you know where her stop is?"
"Ramshackle Street."
"Perfect!" Lilia exclaimed. "It is actually nearby Diasomnia, so we can meet you there. Malleus has always wanted to explore it anyways. It is known for its historic mansions, you know. Make sure to send your location or call Silver so we can find you."
Sebek nodded and adjusted Yuu by securely wrapping an arm around her so she did not fall off his lap. "Understood. It should be one of the upcoming stops, so I should be there soon."
"Good. See you soon, Sebek!" Lilia said and hung up. Sebek pocketed his phone and looked down at the sleeping Yuu. She looked peaceful, and she was breathing quietly. However, she did look cold, and her thin long sleeve did not look like it was enough. Sebek took off his coat, leaving him in his white shirt and tie (it surprised him just how he did it, given the complex design), and wrapped it around Yuu's body. He wrapped his arms protectively around her again and sighed. 
"Next stop is Ramshackle Station. Stand clear of the closed doors, please," the intercom's voice called out. 
Sebek gently shook Yuu's shoulder. "Hey, you need to wake up. Your stop is coming up."
Yuu slowly opened her eyes and looked around her surroundings. "Huh?" Her eyes landed on Sebek's face. "Oh, right. I took a nap on you. Let me get out of your way." She moved to stand up but was stopped by Sebek holding onto her hand. 
"You have a few minutes until the train stops. You can stay until then..." His voice trailed off. 
Yuu chuckled, her laugh sounding like music to Sebek. "Where are my manners? I'm Yuu." she smiled, causing Sebek's heart to skip a beat. 
"I'm Sebek Zigvolt." Yuu's smile grew even wider as she clung to Sebek's coat. Realizing the unfamiliar fabric, she looked down in shock.
"Is this yours? Here, let me return it-" She began to take it off only to stop when Sebek shook his head. 
"Keep it. Besides, you can wear it even longer if you allow me to walk you home."
Sebek expected her to say yes, not jump on him, and wrap her arms around his neck. "Yes! Thank you, Sebek!" She grinned. Maybe her day was finally getting better after all.
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Bonus: Sometime during the walk back to Yuu's house. 
"You know, this fabric seems pretty fancy. Are you a bodyguard or something?" Yuu asked while rubbing Sebek’s coat between her fingers. 
Sebek nodded and smiled proudly. "Yes, I am. In fact, you might meet my masters when I drop you off."
Yuu's eyes widen. "Really? They must be important people for you to call them that."
"Of course! It is none other than the great Malleus Draconia! He is so great and powerful-"
Yuu sweatdropped as Sebek went on a rant about Malleus when all she wanted to do was to go home. 
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Disclaimer: I do not own Twisted Wonderland and its characters. Those belong to Aniplex, Walt Disney Japan, and Yana Toboso.
©: This story belongs to bluesylveon2 2020-23. DO NOT modify, republish, or plagiarize my work.
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maleyanderecafe · 6 days
Note
Good day! I was wondering if your review on Restart Heart has changed after the new demo came out recently? If you haven't played it yet, I suggest trying it out and letting us know what you think of it.
After trying my hand at the updated demo, I can safely say that my personal opinion has changed quite a bit since the very first version. The MC seems a touch more like an insufferable prick now with how rude they are towards some characters, how "Mary Sue" they act in given situations, and how they overreact to certain events occurring around them. Their inner thoughts and rational thinking are nothing like mine as well, but that's more of a personal thing. While I'm aware it's currently still a demo and these events aren't considered "canon" by the dev, it isn't exactly doing a good job at persuading me to try out the finished version of the game once it comes out.
I do like that there are more than one "main" yandere now, however unfortunately none of the other characters aside from Ezra and Sammy really appeal to me. Each character seems very "stereotypical" and play into a very specific trope, but it's been like that since the first release so I'm not too bothered by it. I guess I was hoping for more developed and interesting characters in the update and got let down with the lack of improvement from the first version.
I'm also unsure how I feel about how overly "woke" the demo is trying to be? The overuse of Arabic phrases by Bess seems somewhat out of place and repetitive, so many characters are overtly trans or use their ethnicity as a base for their personality (especially seen on tumblr), the NSFW scenes [in the first version] feel like I was being babysat with the constant "consent check ins" and boundary implementations, and characters like Steph talk about their job [a pornstar] as though it's something to glorify or romanticize. The game's job is to make these characters appealing enough for us to pursue but I can't get over how forced/unnecessary their backstories and personalities feel. I'm transmasc myself but I'm put off by these constant reminders being shoved in my face at every turn, especially on the official tumblr page. I like that these sorts of things are being represented in a positive way (much less in a visual novel where it's so rare), but I don't like how constant and overplayed they are.
I will say that the writing has definitely improved in the new demo and it doesn't feel as overtly casual with the grammar and punctuation anymore (almost as if the narrator was texting me rather than talking to me). The characters have established connections with the MC now which I like, though I understand that this may not be everyone's cup of tea. The new CGs are nice too, however I won't comment on the updated art style since I personally prefer the scratchy anime style of games like TKATB, Mushroom Oasis, and even 14DWY [the first version]. I've always liked the music used and the GUI looks good, so I didn't mind not seeing much of an update for them in the new demo.
Overall, I have mixed feelings but I'm hopeful and optimistic that the finished version will be much better if the updated demo is anything to go by. I also hope there won't be a price tag on the finished product because as good as it is now, there is still so much that needs to be improved on to justify even a $5 label. These are my personal thoughts, though I'd love to hear yours as well.
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It took me a while to replay the new demo and then find the older demos since it's no longer on the itchio page (There is still a link for the third day, but I had to watch epsylion's video on the fourth day, which excludes some routes). I admit that while I am generally aware of what is going on with various vns and their updates, I haven't had time to really go through and play most of them, so if there is a game that I have gone over before but it has updated, feel free to send me an ask.
Restart Heart seems to have an interesting conception, with the game going up to it's fourth day, before eventually being pulled back into a shorter demo that encapsulates the first day, likely to revamp and improve on the game as a whole. As such, I'm not sure if I've missed anything specifically as I'm not on the patreon . As a quick recap, the general plot of the first demo was that the MC, Sugar basically went on a huge party rager after finding out their ex fiance cheated on them and got their younger sister pregnant. As a result, the four days that we do spend with Sugar and the other characters are generally Sugar attempting to get back on their feet with the help of Ezra and the other characters, Bess, Blaire, Sammy, Chris and Steph along with sleeping with some of them if you so choose to. The new demo is a bit similar but only covers Sugar before finding out about the cheating, with them having a smaller interaction with the rest of the crew at the chocolate place they work at (namely that they almost got crushed by a bunch of staplers).
I think compared to the four day version of Restart Heart, I actually prefer this new demo's Sugar to the old one, though that's likely going to change once they find out about the cheating that's going on. While I understand that Sugar is going through a generally horrible situation of someone cheating on them, I also find their behavior kind of hard to deal with and not that much fun to play with. This is just my general gripe with a lot of yandere vns, not just Restart Heart in particular, where the MC tends to be very cynical and dislikes doing... well anything, which to me is a touch tedious and kind of annoying at times. I also feel like from the four day version, they feel a lot more bitter and angry (again due to the break up) but also coddled very heavily as well. Understandably it is nice to have someone who is able to care about you and try to make things feel better when everything feels like it's falling apart, but to me it still feels very infantalizing in some aspects, with every character seemingly trying to nurse Sugar back to feeling better. It's likely more of a me thing since I've always been the type of person to drag myself back up by my feet, rather than attempt to rely too much on other people. In the new demo, Sugar has yet to experience this (at least from what I can tell) so is generally more stable and less prickly. I don't think it's particularly Mary Sue like in the new demo, considering that I feel like if my friend almost got crushed by a bunch of staplers, we'd all run over there too and make sure that they're okay, though I can see where you're coming from since most of the characters are revolving around Sugar in that sort of way. It's hard to say what kind of characters the Restart Heart gang will be considering that it is still a demo, but considering it did have four days already out, I can see what you mean. We don't get to see too much into their lives (outside of Blaire, I think which probably has the most characterization out of Chris and of course Ezra). It would be nice for them to do other things as well like go out on dates or just hang out more one on one (like going to hang out at the library with Sammy, for instance) to get to know them a bit more.
Interesting take on it. I did notice that Bess uses a lot of Arabic phrases, kind of like someone who is trying to learn the language and is attempting to use it in their every day life so that they can remember it. I don't think that specifically was the intention, but it did come off like that for me. I'm not really sure what you mean by "overtly trans or use their ethnicity as a base for their personality", do you mean as more of like that's their main personality trait? A very minor confusion I have with the game is the use of pronouns that are attached onto the characters. That in itself isn't really a problem but it does seem a touch redundant because there is a character bio for all of the characters that already has the pronouns on it. Not anything huge, but it is a strange decision to make. The checkins for nsfw content is generally a thing that happens in a lot of r18 yandere vns, but I do get that it does feel very babysitting like, especially if it's something that happens after the initial agreement.
I do agree that the writing has improved a lot more, with the characters written in a more lifelike manner and feels more like they have known Sugar for a while. I also agree that it's nice that they have more stronger connections to Sugar this time around. I think the music is good, though I do wish that they would change it up more since the same soundtrack repeated does make it a bit tiring (though this is likely just a demo thing). Lilith did a good job of coding everything as expected, especially with the pronoun, name, partner, nickname choices in the very beginning. There is a lot of variation for people who want to be called a specific way during the NSFW parts (though admittedly I don't really like most of them since well, I prefer submissive yanderes). They are doing a lot of projects right now, so it is hard to say when the full version will come out and what the quality will be right now. Hopefully it will come out well though, and there will be more yandere content that I can shift through.
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risenwrites · 7 months
Text
Title: Hustler
Pairing: Sampo Koski X Historian! Female! Reader
Warnings: The reader is not the Trailblazer. Reader has a BIG crush on Sampo. Some slightly suggestive themes. Manipulation of feelings, aka Sampo, is an asshole. Based off of the “Everwinter City Museum Ledger of Curiosities” Event, so minor spoilers.
Word Count: ~3.4k
Status: Semi-Edited
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You stare at Pela, eyes wide like she'd told you the world was ending. Which, for you, practically was thanks to the favor she asked.
Pela wanted you to catch the person behind the recent thievery of artifacts. You, of all people? The whole situation had been explained to you with, at least you hoped, no details left out. Helping the Silvermane Guards catch a criminal sounded exciting, but at the same time, you fear for your safety. You press your lips together while fiddling with your fingers. The short Silvermane Guard looked at you, eyes filled with hope, and all you could do was look away.
"… I'm not sure about this, Miss Pela. Shouldn't you tell this to the Temporary Museum Director?" you ask, dearly hoping she'll listen to you. "After all, you two had worked so hard to get to this point in the investigation," you added. Pela simply smiled and shook her head. Which had you internally deflate and panic at the same time.
"I don't want to trouble them more since they're getting so close to completing the museum," she explained. "Besides, sending you in their stead will lessen the chance of Mr. Cold Feet escaping since you are– sorry, were Norbert’s friend. Tell Mr. Cold Feet that Norbert sent you, or you could pretend to be Norbert since you know him so well!"
You tried to give her a look to tell her you weren't quite sure, but you could tell she didn't notice as she continued to smile at you. Even if she did, you were sure her mind was already made up. You sighed and placed a hand on your face while shaking your head.
"Miss Pela, I'm a civilian… What if this person turns out to be dangerous? I'm only a historical researcher for the museum. I-I really think sending me is a bad idea." you try to argue.
Again, Pela shook her head with a smile. "I promise you'll be safe. I'll keep in touch with you through text, and if you don't respond for more than a few minutes, I'll head over immediately," she explained while placing a hand over her heart. "I swear on my duty as a Silvermane Guard that no harm will come to you. If it helps, I can add some payment for agreeing to help."
You hated it, but when Pela mentioned payment, you were almost hooked. It took all you had to not agree immediately. Having some extra money would be fantastic, especially with how much your personal funds went toward your research. Maybe now you could pay for some healthy food…
You mentally slapped yourself and shook your head. Swallowing hard, you looked down at your feet in contemplation. Should you really agree to help? Yes, you'd get paid, and there was guaranteed help if the situation went south. Still, this would be very dangerous for you, and something in the back of your mind was telling you to decline. Yet when you looked up to tell Pela your answer, the words got stuck in your throat from seeing Pela's smiling and hopeful face. You chew the inside of your cheek, then sigh in defeat.
"Okay… I'll help," you reluctantly agreed with a weak smile.
Pela practically beamed upon hearing your agreement. You'd never seen her this happy outside of her passion for books. "Wonderful! You should head over to the Grand Gothe Hotel immediately to avoid having Mr. Cold Feet get suspicious," she quickly explained.
You give a slight nod, and while unsure you made the right choice, you wave goodbye and leave for the hotel.
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Upon entering the hotel hallway, you received a text from Pela. You pulled out your phone and quickly looked over the messages.
"Okay... Lightly knock three times, then hard twice. It should be easy to remember," you think as you approach the door.
You take a moment to gather your thoughts and ready yourself before lightly knocking three times, then hard twice. When there was no immediate response, you internally panicked and wondered if you'd somehow gotten the password wrong.
"Uh... Norbert, is that you?" a familiar voice asked from the other side of the door.
At that moment, you froze and felt butterflies appear in your stomach. You'd recognize that voice anywhere, and hearing it had you panic more. There was no way he was the one behind all this trouble. Sure, you'd heard rumors about the shady dealings he had. But now he was an upstanding citizen of Belobog who helped save it alongside the Trailblazers-
You flinched out of your thoughts when the voice spoke again, "Hey... you're takin' an awful long time to respond, Norbert."
With panic running through your veins, you cough a little bit to hopefully get your voice to sound like your old friend. "Apologies, yes, it's me," you answered.
The person on the other side of the door groaned and then spoke, "What took ya so long? I was worried the Silvermane Guards mighta got to ya! But yer not the type to turn someone in at first capture, riiiiiight?"
It took everything in you not to chuckle at how he said: "right." A genuine smile appeared on your face, along with a blush, and you could feel your heart beat faster. However, that also made your heart metaphorically break since there's only one person you know who makes you feel this flustered. Which meant he was the one behind all these thefts.
"Well, it's time for me to get on out of here. After all, we already made a nice little fortune on this trip, huh?" the voice continued and pulled you, once again, out of your thoughts. You blinked a few times, trying to think of how to respond.
"How could I ever betray such a dear friend?" you asked rhetorically, voice still sounding like Norbert.
"Uh-oh, someone is getting a little emotionally overinvested..." the voice almost immediately responded, which surprised you slightly. You'd always thought he'd treat his customers, well, so-called customers, like friends since that's what he liked to call them, at least when he was talking with you.
The voice playfully scoffed. "You know what we are?" the voice continued. "Accomplices. You know what that means? Partners in crime! You know what else that means? We're not friends!"
Your heart sank a little bit, and the smile you had began to turn into a frown. Did... did he think of you like that, too? Even if you had never been one of his customers... you'd helped out before when he needed someplace to stay in the Administrative District. Everything about your friendship with him started to be questioned since now you weren't even sure if the Sampo you knew was the real Sampo.
"Alright, enough chinwagging. So, how much did the microfilm sell for?" the voice suddenly changed topic while you were still lost in thought. You hardly paid attention or thought clearly about how much the artifact would sell for when you answered.
"500,000 credits," you answer almost immediately and, without realizing it, begin to slip back into your normal voice.
The voice on the other side of the door was quiet for a moment. "... What? 500,000?! No offense, kid, but I can't see you haggling that kind of number... Or maybe you... Ugh! What- what kind of hotel is this, anyway?! No peepholes on the door?!"
Upon realizing your mistake, you snapped out of the spiraling thought process you'd been having. Your face paled in panic, and you tried to think of some way to get a better handle on the situation before he could get away. However, he spoke before you could think up some way to have him not suspect you.
"Ya'know, I just realized there's something I forgot, uhh, maybe you can help me remember. That Gears and Wisdom sculpture I told you to take apart and hide away... Can you remind me of how many pieces it had?" the voice asked, sounding suspicious.
"Easy, a little under 60," you said simply since you knew how many pieces were in the sculpture. You quickly froze when you realized that you stopped mimicking Norbert’s voice.
When “Mr. Cold Feet” didn't respond, panic flooded your system as you worried your cover had been blown. You knew this was a bad idea, yet you still agreed to get some much-needed money anyway. Maybe you weren't so different from him as you thought, but there was no time to dwell on that thought. Taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes and forced the door open even though it might have badly bruised your shoulder and arm.
You opened your eyes to see the person you feared was on the other side of the door: Sampo Koski.
He put a hand on his forehead and gritted his teeth together while looking away in some form of shame. "Uh, ugh..." he grumbled and avoided eye contact momentarily. Then he forced a smile and looked at you. Both of you were silent for many seconds.
"Oh... uh guh huh, I mean-- oh! If it isn't my valued friend," he forced out while rubbing his hands together. "What a pleasant surprise to see you again. Isn't it amazing how fate brings people together? Hah? Hah? Our bridge of friendship could extend all the way to Everwinter Hill!"
You weren't sure what your expression looked like, but whatever it was, Sampo looked away very quickly. For your own sake, you hoped the heat in your cheeks was from rage rather than being flustered from looking at him. You swallowed hard and began fiddling with your fingers again.
"... Some people had been guessing you were behind all this... At least that's what I'd been told," you explained, and you could hear the heartbreak in your voice.
Sampo's eyes widened, and he brightened up for a moment. "Guessed? So... they don't have any evidence," he said with a sly grin starting to appear on his face. However, he quickly made that grin disappear as he turned away from you. "Hah, well, I mean, how could they? You already know that yer old buddy Sampo is a model citizen these days! Y'know, the guards on security duty in the restricted zone? I-"
"Deliver their breakfast every day..." you finished for him, having heard him talk about it many times. "Yes, I know... You've told me when you've stayed over at my house."
Once again, the room became quiet as you tried to wrap your head around this turn of events. You could feel some tears of sadness and frustration begin tickling your eyes. You'd so badly wanted to believe the rumors about him were wrong. That he wasn't the conman everyone made him out to be. You desperately tried to not start crying as he turned back to you.
"... So, uh, kinda cold out, haha... Man, this is getting uncomfortable," he tried to make small talk but quickly gave up. "Um, okay, okay, I have a proposal-"
"Do you think of me as a friend? O-or as someone you can use for free housing?" you suddenly cut him off.
His eyes widened in surprise before he blinked a few times. "Huh? Why would ya ask that question in this kinda situation? Aren't ya here to bust me and get me arrested?" he asked in complete confusion.
You ball your hands into fists and press your lips together. Taking a deep breath, you look him in the eyes while a few tears roll down your face. His eyebrows were furrowed together in what you hoped was confusion and concern since you started crying. At first, you didn't say anything since the words kept getting caught in your throat. Like if you were to say anything, all the disappointment would come flooding out in the form of sobs.
"... Is this all because of what I said when I thought you were Norbert?" he asked with a small sigh. "Because if it is, that's pretty silly since what I said was meant for him. Not you," he quickly added with a slight chuckle.
You press your lips together and narrow your eyes at Sampo. You wanted to believe him, really you did, but you still were unsure since, in the past, he never even stayed at your place long enough to have a meal with you. That was something friends did together, right?
He chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head. Then he suddenly brightened up and grinned like an idea popped into his head. Confidence began to ooze from him as he moved into your personal space. Before you could react, he leaned his face close to yours and brushed the back of his fingers against your cheek. With his other hand, he wiped away some tears with his thumb.
Immediately, your face turned bright red, and you tried to look anywhere in the room except him. You could hear your heartbeat hammering in your ears as you tried to calm down from having him invade your personal space. A shiver ran down your spine from his warm breath on your face. 
"Hey, hey, why you lookin' away?" he asked with a hurt tone. "Like I was saying before, I have a proposal for you! I'm sure you'll find it very reasonable," he began with his hands resting on your face. "I've been making a small fortune recently in the artifact business lately... I'd be willing to give a third of my earnings. How about that? In exchange, I only ask you, please don't tell the Silvermane Guards about me."
You swallowed hard and stared into his eyes. You soon glanced to the side and brought your hands to your chest. "If that's all he was going to say, why did he feel the need to invade my personal space?!" you internally screamed.
"I-I doubt they'd believe me if I said something like that... Besides, stealing and selling m-museum artifacts is illegal... a-and I work at the museum so..." you explained, keeping your gaze away from his eyes.
Feeling his sigh fan across your face had you jolting in surprise. You felt his hair tickle the side of your face while he moved his mouth to your ear. He chuckled and whispered, "Y'know something? You're not very subtle, sweetheart."
Your eyes widened in panic, and you went ridged. Did... did he know how you feel about him? Who are you kidding; of course, he would figure that out. The feeling of one of his hands moving from your face stopped your short train of thought. You took in a sharp breath as you felt him run his hand down along the side of your body until it came to a rest at your hip.
 "Maybe along with a few of my earnings... I can also pay up for all the times I've stayed at your place? Maybe something you'd enjoy doing with me? Hm?" he hummed into your ear.
"I-I-I, uh, um, I-I d-don't know this is r-really sudden-" you stuttered out while trying to back away, only to find your back bumped up against the door. A loud "eep!" was forced out of you when Sampo moved and stopped touching your face in favor of leaning against his forearm above you. He pulled away from your ear to have his lips close to kissing yours.
"Aw, come on, I've seen how you look at me. Your face turning bright red whenever you see me in public... heartbeat racing. Gotta tell ya, seeing you get so flustered every time you see me is fun to watch~" he stated with a smirk. Though, for some reason, this smirk felt more... sinister than other ones you've seen him wear.
He let out a breathy sigh and lidded his eyes. "We don't have to go all the way... Just let me give you one kiss~" he whispered despite how he was practically kissing you already. "Then later, I'll swing by and drop off the money. Maybe then you'll be more up to going all the way?"
The world around you spun as you tried to calm down from the onslaught against your senses. All of your senses were completely overwhelmed and filled with Sampo. The idea of kissing him had crossed your mind a few times (okay, maybe more than a few), but the suggestion of doing something more had you nervous beyond belief. He'd never show any sign of attraction to you. You could hardly believe that this was really happening. Your thoughts swirled around to the point you couldn't remember why you'd come here in the first place.
Taking a deep breath, you hesitantly moved your gaze back to look into his eyes. Your breath hitched in your throat from the burning passion in his eyes. You’re silent for a moment since all you can do is admire his green eyes. Suddenly, Sampo moved his arms so your head was caged in on both sides by his forearms.
"... O-okay!" you squeak while closing your eyes tight. "Y-yes, I want you to k-kiss me!"
"Finally," he sighed, and you could hear the smugness in his voice. He softly chuckled momentarily, then lightly pressed his lips against yours. "Keep your eyes closed~" he whispered against your lips.
Then, suddenly, he pulled away. Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion as you waited for something to happen. You waited and waited and waited. It was only when you heard your phone buzz that you opened your eyes.
Sampo was nowhere to be seen, and the window had been left wide open.
You stared at the open window, trying to piece together what had happened. When the realization hit, you felt your heart shatter into pieces. You took a few steps forward, tears rolling down your face as you fell to your knees. You lifted up your hands and stared down at your palms for a moment before hiding your face in your hands as you sobbed. He used you. He used you and how you felt to escape arrest. Sure, you weren’t entirely blameless, but the fact he seemed to care so little about you shook you to your core.
Suddenly, you heard someone knocking on the hotel room’s door behind you. “Miss Y/N?” called out Pela, worry laced in her voice.
More panic flooded your system, and you stood up. Images and thoughts of how Pela would react had your hands shaking. If she found out you practically let Sampo escape, you’d be arrested for sure. You wiped away the tears the best you could, but more seemed to keep coming every second. Before you could tell her to come in, Pela opened the door with her expression full of concern. Her eyes widened upon seeing you, and she rushed closer.
“What happened? Are you alright? Did Mr. Cold Feet hurt you?” she asked while checking over you for any injuries.
You stood there, body frozen in place in a mixture of fear and shame. Slowly, you shook your head while tears kept rolling down your face. “Lier,” you bitterly told yourself. He had hurt you, but the emotional wound was still too fresh. Besides, telling Pela what really happened might get her arrested.
Pela didn’t look at all convinced but still nodded curtly. She gently held your hands to give you some comfort while glancing around the room in search of evidence of what happened here. “Did you get the chance to see what Mr. Cold Feet looks like?” she asked while looking back at you.
You stiffened up, unsure how to answer. The bitter part of you wanted to expose Sampo and make him pay for hurting and toying with you. Yet the fear inside you proved to be a much stronger force as all you could do was solemnly shake your head again. Pela stared at you for a moment, then sighed softly, holding your hands tighter.
“I… I’m sorry. You were right; this is no place for a civilian like you. I shouldn’t have asked you to do this,” she apologized, stepping toward the door. “Let’s get you back home to calm down before I ask more questions. Is that okay with you?”
You felt your heart ache even more. Lying hurt so much that you briefly pondered why Sampo lied so often. However, the thought of him had you wanting to curl in on yourself. You followed Pela as she led you out of the room and glanced over your shoulder to briefly look back inside the hotel room. “Y-yeah… that sounds great,” you weakly agreed, closing the door behind you.
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shuttershocky · 8 months
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Honestly the Sarkaz races being literal demons turned me off of Arknights. It’s kind of awkward to be okay with the Jewish analogue literally being horror monsters.
While I don't think the Sarkaz are meant to be a direct analogue (unlike other settings or cultures in Arknights with clear references to real life places and cultures in their names, languages used, etc, the Sarkaz and Kazdel don't make references to Jewish names or customs as far as I know, and the Sarkaz language is fictionalized rather than using a real life language, I think the closest cultural reference belongs to an actually different setting entirely, as Kazimierz the Polish analogue is named after the old Jewish quarter of Krakow, Poland) I've also had really mixed thoughts about whenever they have used a reference to the history of Jewish oppression. And there have been many, intended or otherwise.
An egregious example would be in Lingering Echoes where Hibiscus, a Sarkaz doctor, gets accused by villagers of stealing blood while doing blood tests. Like yeah she's a protagonist in the story and it's portrayed as an evil thing to happen to her and how she's brave and heroic for refusing to back down from her job in spite of it, it's still blood libel happening to a character with horns. That doesn't look good.
I don't know if HG have realized how weird that looks themselves, but recent stories have felt like theyre trying to lean towards Sarkaz being their own fictional thing more. Some of the new lore implies that the various Sarkaz subraces aren't actually related, but were completely different peoples that joined up together, while the latest Chinese New Year event where Vernal Winds Never Blow introduced a Sarkaz subrace called the Anansa who are based on an animal instead of a monster (they're based on beetles), and who have been living in Yan (China) with completely different experiences than the other Sarkaz we've seen before (such that them actually speaking Sarkaz for their language was a surprise)
That being said, I understand where your discomfort is coming from and I'm also not Jewish so my reassurances won't mean too much. This is very old discourse in the AK community with a lot to say about it that I'm not qualified to explain myself.
At most I can say I still want to give HG the benefit of the doubt that there is no malice intended on their end, but I understand if it turns you off.
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greenerteacups · 2 months
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OK I’ll bite…. can you expand more on the obliviation as murder idea from a recent post?
And do you think it’s realistic that Hermione thought she could reverse it and restore memories after the war?
Okay, basically, I think a person's memories compose an incredible volume of their personality and general 'personhood' (if, simplistically, personhood = action + reason + feeling) to the extent that removing them is a cardinally unforgivable violation at best and straight-up killing at worst. We don't really have an analogy for this kind of wrong in the real world except drugging someone, i.e. taking away their autonomy and senses for a period of time — except obliviation is worse, because you're retroactively doing that for whole swaths of their life, plus you're influencing all their future decisions, because they don't know what they actually would have wanted. Once you're exercising control over someone's literal thoughts — which is what you're doing, if you Obliviate them, you're forcing them to think things that aren't true, or forget things that are — there's basically no way to avoid dominating them on a level real-world normal humans would consider unforgivable.
I have a lot of Thoughts about the ethics of mind magic in any scenario, from love potions to legilimency to veritaserum, but what I find most striking about Hermione is that she views her parents' Obliviation mostly as a loss to herself. That's a fascinating insight into how the books treat mind magic, because you could say, on the one hand; yeah, the Grangers are happy; they're off in Australia, and they're safe from an awful war. Objectively, they are safer there than they would be in a life with Hermione in it. But on the other hand, you could also say: No, the Grangers don't exist anymore. The Wilkins do. You turned your parents into people so radically different that they would not recognize their own daughter, a defining feature of their life for the past 18 years. Whoever they are, they no longer want to live in the city they've resided in for two decades, if not longer. And hey, fuck all of their friends and loved ones, right? Who cares if they get to see their friends from work ever again? Or your aunts and cousins? Grandparents? Gone. That is a death, for all those people. And if I was faced with the choice to get what happens to the Grangers, I'd consider it as someone killing me, too.
I'm astonished that Hermione is capable of a charm that does that, especially since a lot of magic in HP seems to work on the basis of "meaning it." (Intention, admittedly, is broadly understood; Harry is able to perform Sectumsempra without knowing exactly what it does, just that it's bad news bears for the other guy). It is, in my opinion, by far the worst thing Hermione ever does, and it's jarringly outside her moral event horizon — which is itself probably the broadest envelope of any light-sider in the books. Can she reverse it? I mean, maybe! There aren't hard rules to the magic system in Harry Potter, and nothing about Obliviate suggests she's wrong in the assertion she could reverse it. It's Hermione; I'd bet she did her research. (I'm also interested by a different interpretation of your question, which is "is Hermione lying to herself about this, on some level," and/or "is she lying to Harry," both of which are very tasty for headcanon purposes but ultimately strike me as unlikely based on the portrait Book 7 paints of Hermione, which with the exception of this one insane jaw-drop moment is fairly wholesome.)
So yeah, she might be able to reverse it. But I have no idea what she expects to happen afterward.
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