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tvrningout · 4 months

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does cyrillo have a favorite place in the world? does he like sunsets or sunrises more? does he actively seek out romance or does he avoid it? how does his space look like? what memory does he revisit most often?

unprompted | @metrictita asks about cyrillo!

does cyrillo have a favorite place in the world?

he loves the sea! he grew up in a port town, so he has a lot of nostalgia for beaches and the ocean. if we want to get really specific, then i would have to say the first house cyrillo owned with his wife, which laid on the southern coast not very far from the dreki's land. it was a little fishing town with few people, but it's where he met his wife and had his daughter. the place itself was modest, but the scenery was beautiful and the memories were precious; he hasn't returned to that town because he fears his memory of it won't hold up, or perhaps he'll find that his home no longer exists the way he remembers. kinda like in that thread we're writing :' )

does he like sunsets or sunrises more?

hmm, i think he likes sunsets more bc as a boy, he didn't have time in the mornings to appreciate sunrises bc he was either helping his father with work or sleeping. but sunsets always signaled the end of a tiring day, and the way the different shades of orange and pink would turn the clouds and sands the same pretty colors never failed to dazzle him. i think the same can be said for cyrillo now -- he hardly has time in the mornings to appreciate a sunrise, but he can find a little time to stare at a sunset in the evening and take a breath.

does he actively seek out romance or does he avoid it?

cyrillo somewhat avoids it? but if it happens, he doesn't necessarily resist it. he tends to more so feel out the other person and how serious they really are about him because he has a demanding job. if someone can't compromise with him or understand that his job is kinda?? his " baby, " then the relationship won't work out in the long run. protecting and advocating for vampires has been cyrillo's reason for existing for over a century, so it'll be a big issue if the other person can't be on board with it. that being said!! he does tend to discourage advances if he thinks they stem from superficial interest, but if there's a deeper connection, he won't fight that. he'll just approach it with care and a lot of thought.

how does his space look like?

weeping at the thought of it bc cyrillo's work clearly bleeds into his personal spaces like his bedroom. stacks of documents occupy his bedside table and desk; tomes about politics and customs in different countries are on his bookshelves rather than fictional novels; and ultimately, his space ( work or personal ) is messy and chaotic. the only reason it keeps a semblance of organization is because kaiya comes in after him and tidies up, knowing it'll take a weight off of cyrillo's shoulders if she does. decoration-wise, cyrillo is partial towards dark woods, rich colors, and minimal ornaments -- gold and silver lose their luster if they're flaunted everywhere. you'll also find artwork from various parts of the world ( quite a few depicting the ocean ) lining the walls of his manor but a surprising lack of any idols. cyrillo prefers to keep bias towards any one god to himself as he feels religion should be kept separate from the ideals of his coven and work. his actions are dictated by morals and not by the gods.

what memory does he revisit most often?

we sure are digging deep, huh :' )) honestly, i have a feeling that cyrillo tries to stop himself from dwelling too much on his memories bc he knows how easy it is to be swept up in the nostalgia and the following melancholy. he can never go back. he can yearn as much as he wants, but that will never change. still, i think he revisits one of the nights prior to his joining the army? or maybe prior to being caught after deserting the army? regardless, it's just a simple moment with his family. it's eating a dinner of fish caught in the river near town and vegetables bought at the market with his family, talking as if the world wasn't in shambles. it's eating apple tarts for dessert, and watching his little girl's face light up because it was her favorite. it's feeling his wife hold his face in her hands once their girl is asleep, and it's hearing her tell him it's going to be alright. no matter what comes next. it's torture to return to that day, but he goes back to it time and again because it's one of the last memories he has of them all together and so happy. it's the last memory he has of feeling safe. not that he feels unsafe now, per se, but cyrillo can't relax really. he can never assume anyone's intentions are simply good, can never go anywhere unprepared for the unexpected. he can't rest like he could then. i'm rambling a lil now but :' ) you asked the question vee :' ))))

#metrictita #thank you so much for this and for the other asks vee <3 you're too kind for doing that and i appreciate it from the bottom of my heart!!!#i hope i didn't ramble too much for ya :' )) i spoke more than i even expected tbh!! but i've been feeling really soft for cyrillo lately #so this is what you get hehe #headcanons | cyrillo

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mountphoenixrp · 4 months

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We have a new citizen in Mount Phoenix:

Liu Wei "Timothey" Gao, a 22 year old son of Hundun. He is a student and barista at The Flower Mill.

FC NAME/GROUP: Ricky aka Shěn Quánruì from ZB1 CHARACTER NAME: Liu Wei "Timothey" Gao; AGE/DATE OF BIRTH: 22/20.10.2002 PLACE OF BIRTH: Harbin OCCUPATION: university student and barista at The Flower Mill HEIGHT: 183.9 cm (6’0.4” ft) WEIGHT: N/A DEFINING FEATURES: stormy grey eyes, fined bone structure, a silver scar on his right collarbone

PERSONALITY: Liu Wei at first meeting is a delightful young man with manners and knowledge of his good looks, but not letting it be a defining characteristic. A focused mind and determination carrying through his studies, he is ready to help fellow students or himself put in the hours to get something done. However the longer you are in his presence or even upon the first meeting, you meet a man who has no problem dipping into his menace energy and provoking without reason. The moment he senses chaos and confusion, Timothey is in his element and stokes the fires as long as he wishes with no regard to those feeding him said energy. In general he dismisses certain people and he is aware of it -simply does not know how to build a bridge and hasn't been made interesting for him. Peace and quite bore him to tears, intrigue and even vengeance is what drive him forward - fuelled by pure spite some could say. The concept of "fuck around and find out" is one he plays with a lot and has slowly become apart of his personality. Eloquent and pleasant when need be, he would seem like a loving and nice person - yet he is incredibly closed off to the world when it comes to anything too loving or personal.

HISTORY: Liu Wei is aware and thus sure of two things in his life - the immense expanse confusing and completeness of the universe and the endless chaos within him. Children have such a blessed life not comprehending what was around them, but he never had that blessed state of ignorance and he loathed people for it. Unfairly, perhaps, but then again he has something to balance it - feeding off chaos, making people uncertain in their certainties. The only fairness to him.

His father, the god of Chaos and Creation, had enchanted his mother with the sheer power of his presence and the mood surrounding him. That was at least what his mother, a beloved Chinese actress, liked to tell her beautiful child whose eyes held so much of his father. She spoke of him rarely, giving her child only small fragments of a parent that was never in their life. He never met his father, he met a ghost - until he found out the truth.

Being a single mother meant choices, thus her child was with her on movie sets and behind theatre productions, kept busy by colourful personalities and their endless knowledge. Liu Wei, loving the chaos, blossomed in his surroundings and in his childish glee helped said chaos to grow - at times it ended in creative mastery, but often times in complete misery. Yet no one knew why it happened, except for his mother who started to both fear her child and resent him. Instead of letting him enjoy the chaotic and confusion of creation, she handed him books to feed his mind with it.

Timothey inhaled books, plays, poetry and once older pivoted into non-fiction as well as nothing seemed to oddly calm him. Sourcing chaos and confusion from a coming of age story or intense World War Two retelling was like feeding a dry well - one which for a while was happy with just that. However teenage Liu Wei grew to a point where it wasn’t enough, where his hormones demanded more and no creative piece could sedate him.

Around that time his mother met her third husband - a rich Singapore IT tycoon, who had little love for the teenage boy with eyes that seemed to hold the chaos of the universe. In fact he couldn’t ever look Liu Wei in the eyes as it was looking into a void that was not easily simmered down into 0 and 1. Tension entered the household, which Timothey fed off like a teenager enjoying his first drunk experience. His mother defended him, but also scolded the boy - adding confusion into the mix and leaving her son to feel even more alive. It all ended when he was sent to a British boarding school for his high school years. The stiffness of the upper class ruleset and high society haughtiness down on him made Timothey feel trapped, suffocating and worst drained from energy. The first month he scrambled to find anything to feed his mind, but nothing seemed enough and he grew into a troublemaker with never getting his hands dirty.

Professor doctor Goldenberg, their mathematics teacher, was the man to save the hormonal lost child with a simple move - he gave Liu Wei university level mathematics problems. It had been supposed to be a punishment, but with ended up being what the child needed to find his balance. Mathematics in school was too controlled, too logical and simplified - yet when you took a step further, entered the realm where the square root of minus one was I, everything changed. Suddenly the trouble maker was transformed once more, his mind wrapped up in mathematics and starting from eleventh grade also physics. What followed were successful participation in national events and his name gaining attention from universities. However not everyone was pleased - his mother wished her child for once to live a simpler life and his stepfather felt he was being outshined.

As he was finishing high school Timothey was told about Mount Phoenix, a city more fit for his kind with a respectable university to boot. Told it was a place more suited for his kind and above all closer to home, which all sounded like several half hearted arguments to make him go away just like they had tried to the boarding school. His step-brother was one the way, hopefully a child with a less confusing presence and less trouble to love. Turning down several name worth universities Liu Wei went to Mount Pheonix as his expenses were being paid starting with university and ending with living - anything extra was on him.

His eyes were stormy with a promise of something his mother feared to name as Timothey agreed, in silence putting together a plan to never have himself put back into the shadows again. Chaos and confusion was what the world was sustained on, putting him away in a non descriptive city would only work for so long.

PANTHEON: Chinese CHILD OF: Hundun POWERS:

(major) chaos empowerment - becomes stronger, faster and happier/healthier from chaos. With enough resource, meaning a larger crowd, unlocking enhancing the existing trust manipulation and animation. Can draw sustenance from the chaos, but can't heal faster or stop aging.

(minor) trust manipulation - The user can manipulate the trust and loyalties in only people, increasing, decreasing or changing it as they wish. The person needs to be in close proximity. (minor) animation - can give life to inanimate objects, animating them to act/move on their own accord for no longer than a hour. They function as extensions of the creators will, allowing the animator to potentially be able to command, control and otherwise influence them.

STRENGTHS: hard working, determined and focused WEAKNESSES: easily wrapped up in intrigue, bad at interpersonal relationships, closed.

#kpop rp #tumblr krp #zerobaseone #shen quanrui #zb1 ricky #mp; welcome

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somesadguysdiary · 3 months

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3:22 AM GMT, Monday 11th March 2024

Stap in and strap on, folks, cus it's time for the cast of my life, separated into groups for your convenience! Some people may apply to more than one group but I'm just gonna put em in the group I most associate them with and then put em in brackets in any other group. Bit without further ado, HERE WE GO:

Lunch group: The group of friends I've been with the longest, and I almost always have lunch with them. (We are all special lmao)

AC, They/Them, Ace: chaotic and snappy

RW, She/They, Pan: friendly and... Tries their best

RM, She/Her, Bi: goth, insanely pretty but denies it and is down TREMENDOUS for various fictional men

LW, She/Her, straight(?): very quiet, very mature, insanely smart and so done with all of our shit

MD, He/Him, Bi(?): the only other person on the half of the group that isn't down bad for fictional men, idk too much else ABT him actually...

Party group: A very musically inclined group that I frequently have parties with (also named like this to avoid later confusion) Some of them are in a band

MF, He/Him, prefers no labels: Is actually unironically clinically insane, but we love him for it and he's just a chill dude with a bunch of the same interests as me

JD, He/Him, Bi: The lead guitarist and singer. The most musically talented fucker we all know and yet he denies it, is super cool and also down to do pretty much anything he might find fun (also kind to a fault, like an actual flaw he has is that he is too nice)

LA, She/Her, Bi: Emo, theatre kid and is cold and snappy on the outside, but is chill and understanding on the inside

AA, He/Him, Straight: The rhythm guitarist. rich parents, plays the guitar

IB, She/Her, Bi: is basically with AA all the time and gives off similar vibes (yeah idk how to describe these 2)

RP, He/Him, Straight: The bassist. Very chaotic and unaware of social cues. Like in a "will speak his thought process aloud while thinking it" kinda way

DH, He/Him, straight(?): The drummer. Really chill, a gamer (the good kind), has some kind of disability I can't remember the name of that makes his legs weaker or smn

Music enhance group: I took my colleges equivalent of a musical elective (kinda like an extra, once a week class) and we all just kinda vibed together

AD, She/Her, gay: the nerdiest one in the group, enough to rival me, and is super chill and likes to do art, play music and bake

RH, She/Her, Bi: Massive music nerd and just a really fun person to hang around with

FD, She/Her, Bi: the person I'm least close to in the group, but I can tell she's p cool

HR, She/Her, Ace: massive musical theatre nerd and just nerd in general, also insanely chaotic.

(JD is also here)

Misc. Friends: friends that either don't fit into a group above or a part of too small of a group for me to list above

DP, He/Him, Ace: Chill INCARNATE, in my game design class and we do be vibin every time we interact

HB, He/Him, Straight: Also in my game design class, pretty fun guy to talk to

And that's it!! I'll do my best to keep updating this and editing it to keep it up to date stuff. Also most of the people whose second initial is D stands for Doe, cus idk their last name.

Also

SSGD, He/Him, Straight: ME! HI! I am your host and I'm just a huge nerd in almost all fields and this is my first time trying to keep a steady posting schedule on anything, let alone keeping a diary. If U See SSGD anywhere on any of my posts it is referring to me.

Any more questions? Send me an ask!

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glenrocklibraryteens · 1 year

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BOOK REVIEW: THE GREAT GATSBY

Book Review: The Great Gatsby The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald Genre: Fiction, Tragedy Number of Pages: 208 Rating 5 - Amazing - one of the best books I’ve read Reviewed by: Neil Sahu

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald set in the 1920s which was known as the “Roaring Twenties”. This novel is told from the perspective of a character named Nick Carraway. Nick Carraway is a man who served in World War I, and he moves to West Egg, a wealthy enclave in Long Island. There are two enclaves: West Egg and East Egg. West Egg is where the newly rich live, while East Egg is where people with generational wealth have lived. Nick Carraway gets an invitation to a grand party that his neighbor Jay Gatsby hosts, and from there, Nick’s curiosity of who Gatsby was, had just sparked. Nick learns about the wealthy elites and the glamorous lifestyle, while Gatsby's main motive is to recapture his lost love.

Overall, this book was quite unique and something I hadn’t expected. This book felt a bit more complex to understand, as the societal norms were of a different time period. “The Great Gatsby” takes a dive into what true happiness is for certain people. For Gatsby, he doesn’t care too much about the luxuries of life, he just wants to marry his true love Daisy, and live happily ever after. While Nick often finds himself searching for the true meaning of life, he starts to suddenly realize that wealth and status is ultimately unfulfilling. This type of character development that Fitzgerald integrates into his story is what makes it emotional. People around the world would love to live the American dream - whether it be living in a massive mansion, or just having a stable job - it will not gravitate you to true happiness. This lesson is what makes “The Great Gatsby” so special. It’s the fact that there are so many deep values and principles such as love and happiness, which are roads blocked by wealth and status. Nick starts to realize this toward the end of the book, when he starts to crave a more meaningful life. This book has taught me about the dangers that wealth and societal hierarchy can bring into your personal life, and how it can prevent you from achieving happiness. As humans, we should all look for a meaningful life, and it doesn’t have to be materialistic satisfaction, love works just fine, and that is one of the main messages I took out from this book. I recommend this book to anyone, especially people who care the most about money, there are realities that need to be seen, and this book shows the divisions that material can create.

Playlist:

No Church In The Wild (EXPLICIT) by Jay Z and Kanye West

No Church In The Wild describes Gatsby's crazy and affluent lifestyle that he lives. This song is also a great visualizer of the types of parties that he has, large and grandiose (like the instrumental of this song) while very crazy and chaotic (like the lyrics of the song).

Money by Pink Floyd

This song dives into the root of everyone’s problems - money. This song's message about money is also related back to some of the problems that characters in “The Great Gatsby” face because they don’t have money, or they have too much money. And that creates some distance in some of the characters' relationships.

Young and Beautiful by Lana Del Ray

“Young and Beautiful” describes Gatsby’s desire for love, and some of Gatsby's wishes that remain unfulfilled. This song questions Gatsby’s love for Daisy, as it constantly asks “Will you still love me when I'm not young and beautiful?” Which remains a question that remains unanswered, even after the book ends.

Another Day in Paradise by Phil Collins

This song describes the differences in social class between the rich and poor. This song talks about the economic inequality of the world, and how the rich can be out of touch with reality. In “The Great Gatsby”, there are many instances where the rich and the poor interact, and it creates some problems.

Bye, bye, blackbird by Ray Henderson

This song describes how Gatsby feels about himself. He often finds himself thinking about Daisy, and he is hoping that she waits for him, and he feels that no one understands why he does what he does - and it’s in fact all for Daisy

Sweet Lorraine by Cliff Burwell

“Sweet Lorraine” talks about how Gatsby happily dreams about Daisy daily. He pretty much lives for Daisy, and shows to be overly ambitious for her.

A Little Party Never Killed Nobody by Fergie

This song reflects the ambience in Gatsby’s first party. This song sets the tone for how the party really is, just lasting one night, and people holding drinks in their hand while conversing and dancing.

Bye Bye Bye by NSYNC

This song reflects the change in emotion that Daisy reflects towards Gatsby. When Daisy finds out who Gatsby really is, she wants him out of his life, and she cannot look at him as the same person.

505 by Arctic Monkeys

505 describes the lengths that Gatsby is willing to go in order to see Daisy throughout the start of the book, and it carries on throughout the rest of the book.

Blue Skies by Irving Berlin

Blue Skies fits the theme of the “Roaring Twenties” and the positive aspects of this book. During this time period everyone believed that the future would be bright after the war.

Tags: #book review #glen rock nj #historicalfiction #submission #teen book review

#book review #glen rock nj #teen book review #historical fiction

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drownmeinbeauty · 1 year

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READING IS FUNDAMENTAL

In a marvelous essay posted on the Paris Review website called Misreading Ulysses, millennial Irish It-girl and best-selling novelist Sally Rooney demystifies James Joyce's infamously difficult novel. She says, "Ulysses demands a reader who can respond as a human being, emotionally, intellectually, physically, erotically, even spiritually," concluding that its "chaotic, difficult, radical, exciting prose," is deeply humanistic. Its language, that (still) pushes boundaries of literary and cultural taste, works "so that we can meet all the more directly, the more vividly and beautifully, with Molly and Stephen and Leopold Bloom."

The piece tackles, with aplomb, very big themes: the history of the novel, literary modernism, gendered writing, and most deeply, the epistemology of reading. As Rooney sees it the novel is a form that defines characters essentially in relation to one another, and that brings readers into direct relation with them. So that in giving ourselves over to the richness of the text, reading becomes a full, inventive, sensual act. In this way the novel is "an almost intrinsically erotic narrative form . . ."

I don't care for Rooney as a novelist. Her protagonists -- twenty-something Dubliners with money, time, style, and no apparent inner lives -- turn me off. I prefer the fictional Ireland of her contemporaries like Kevin Barry, Collin Barrett and Doireann Ní Ghríofa, which seems more somewhere-else, and somewhat troubled by history. I'm envious of Rooney's success and celebrity. She appears in fashion magazines wearing weirdly simple separates, without apparent makeup or styling, projecting a kind of banal super-cool. While other famous novelists like Zadie Smith and Jhumpa Lahiri are inarguably beautiful, she comes off as someone who's above all that.

Rooney writes like an angel, particularly about romantic love. There's an unforgettable passage in her first novel Normal People describing the moment a young woman accepts a suitor as an "unlocking" deep inside her chest. That is exactly right. The Paris Review essay, which she originally delivered as a speech at the Abbey Theater, is written faultlessly and joyfully. I slammed through its 8,000-plus words in a single stretch, elated. Rooney understands writing and, even more especially, reading.

Photograph courtesy of Shakesepeare and Company.

#LITERATURE #FICTION #JAMES JOYCE #SALLY ROONEY #PARIS REVIEW #ESSAY #NOVEL #JANE AUSTEN

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grigori77 · 2 years

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Celebrating International Women’s Day this year, I thought I’d just give a shout-out to some more of the awesome ladies who I can’t stop thinking about. Both fictional and real, new and longterm, these woman live rent free in my head and I think they’re just fantastic.

BOBBIE DRAPER, the tough-as-hell Mars Navy marine corps gunnery sergeant who DOMINATES my favourite literary sci-fi series, The Expanse, from author duo James S.A. Corey. Essentially EMBODIES badassery for me. Wonderfully played by the phenomenal Frankie Adams in the TV series adaptation.

CHRISTINA HODSON, rising star screenwriter. After breaking onto the scene with her game-changing script for Bumblebee (the film that FINALLY brought the live-action Transformers movies some genuine quality), she’s now helping craft some of the best new stuff for the DCEU (Birds of Prey & the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn, The Flash, Batgirl), and she’s still just GETTING STARTED ...

CAITLYN KIRAMMAN & VI, from Netflix’ Arcane. (Voiced by Katie Leung and Hailee Steinfeld) This show is just BURSTING with phenomenally well-written characters, but the two characters I am BY FAR the most invested in are these two. Along with ...

JINX, also from Netflix’ Arcane. (Voice by Ella Purnell) Vi’s sister, and one of the most spectacularly chaotic characters I’ve ever come across.

LUPITA NYONG’O, one of the most exciting and incredible “new” actors I’ve come across in quite some time, I’ve been watching her developing career with great interest these past ten years. Thee days best known for Jordan Peele’s Us and the MCU’s Black Panther, but she’s also amazing in 12 Years A Slave (which won her a best supporting actress Oscar), Star Wars, Little Monsters and, currently, The 355.

JESSICA CHASTAIN, Lupita’s co-star in The 355, but she’s also already been on my radar for a while thanks to the likes of It Chapter 2, Zero Dark Thirty, Ava, Miss Sloane, Molly’s Game, The Martian and Take Shelter.

FERRO MALJINN, one of the rich ensemble of main protagonists from The First Law trilogy by one of my very favourite authors of all time, Joe Abercrombie. A spiky, moody, foul-mouthed and thoroughly vicious little fighter who remains unrepentantly immune to character development throughout the entire trilogy, and I love her for it.

NADJA OF ANTIPAXOS, from the FX’s What We Do In the Shadows. (Played by Natasia Demetriou) One of the lead quartet of vampires in the show, and the only person in the show capable of stealing scenes from Matt Berry’s irrepressible Laszlo ...

ZOE KRAVITZ, one of my favourite actors out there right now. Currently setting the world alight as THE BEST SELINA KYLE/CATWOMAN EVER, but I’ve been a fan since she was in X-Men: First Class, and she’s also great in High Fidelity, the Divergent series, Fantastic Beasts: the Crimes of Grindelwald, Mad Max: Fury Road, Dope and, most recently, Kimi.

HARLEY QUINN, one of my very favourite ever agents of chaos. At her very best brought to life by Margot Robbie in the DCEU, particularly in Birds of Prey and James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad. Irreverent, irrepressible, irresponsible and irresistable ...

LADY SHIVA, the deadliest woman in the world according to the DC Universe, and one of the only people that Batman genuinely fears. Sadly, she has yet to be truly realised in live action, but if she ever is I think it’s a crime if she’s not played by Michelle Yeoh ...

GRACE, from Terminator: Dark Fate. (Played by Mackenzie Davies) A cybernatically-enhance supersoldier sent back from the future to protect the latest target of a dark machine-driven future, fully capable of wiping out a Terminator in hand-to-hand combat and the only person I’ve ever seen stand up to Sarah Connor ...

SHOHREH AGHDASHLOO, an incredible actress you’ve probably since in a whole bunch of pretty heavyweight stuff, although for a while now she’s been the living embodiment of take-no-shit boss lady maximum intimidation as Krisjen Avasarala, the deliciously foul-mouthed UN secretary general in the TV adaptation of The Expanse.

CLEO CAZO/RATCATCHER 2, from The Suicide Squad. (Played by Daniela Melchior) My biggest takeaway from the movie was this adorable reluctant “hero” with the ability to control rats, who burrowed effortlessly into my heart last summer ...

GRANNY WEATHERWAX, one of the best and most enduring creators of the late master of fantasy literature, Terry Pratchett. One of the indomitable Lancre Witches, the level-headed people-shepherds who ply their dilligent trade in Pratchett’s legendary Discworld, she’s one of the most stoic and immovably forthright characters in literature. Whenever I find myself baffled by a moral quandary, I’ll simply asks myself: “What would Granny Weatherwax do?”

LEIA ORGANA/SKYWALKER, the undeniable QUEEN of the Star Wars Universe, brought to splendid, empowering and truly immortal life by the indomitable Carrie Fisher. Forget all those other Disney princesses, this is the only one I’ve ever needed ...

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orlandoblumhouseofguccimane · 3 years

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I’m gonna say something that a lot of people are probably not gonna like, for different reasons, about the Loki series, but please here me out.

I wanna talk about the dialogue surrounding Loki and Sylvie’s relationship. I’m going to address the principles in which I, personally, think we should handle dialogues with opposing views and try to provide some general insight into how each side processes the dynamic. The most simple and brute way I can put it is, Don’t Tell People What To Do Or How To Feel. This dynamic that we see now is actually not as common as you think and that’s why we see such diverse opinions on Loki and Sylvie’s relationship to each other. Some people see their dynamic romantically, and some see it familial. Each has valid reasons for feeling that way, therein lies the conflict. And no, most people who see their dynamic as romantic are not pro-incest (🤢that’s disgusting). I want to break down the fundamental reasons why people reach the conclusions they do, that may make them reject other peoples opinions on this matter. I can’t speak for everybody but I’m trying to sum up the general opinions I’ve seen.

For the people who see the dynamic romantically and want to see that dynamic portrayed further, the thing that’s getting lost in translation is, it’s processed as a masturbatory natured act. A journey into self love if you will but with a physical manifestation. I feel that if you were to ask the people who want the romance plot, whether they would fuck their clone or not, they’d say yes because of the same reasoning. It’s masturbatory in nature and a representation of self love with a side a ego. On the emotional side, for Loki specifically, his grandeur and ego/vanity, whatever you want to call it, hides someone who is insecure, starved for positive reinforcement, vastly misunderstood, and feels that they have something to prove. Layers and layers of trauma and defense mechanisms. If this was in a romantic connotation, Loki possibly could find some catharsis in having an intimate relationship with someone who understands him truly, isn’t going to pressure him to change, and accept them for who they truly are, which is something Loki has never had, while also coming to truly love and appreciate all that he is, including his vulnerability by seeing those traits represented outside himself and being attracted to those same traits. A ‘I can’t judge your vulnerability so maybe I shouldn’t judge mine’ type perspective. I don’t think it’s hard for the other side to see how people could have an emotional investment in Loki x Sylvie as a couple if what I described the possible emotional catharsis could be, resonates with what they want in their own lives.

Everything I’ve said so far is valid. And can be a beautiful story telling moment if done right. Now onto the next perspective. The people who see their dynamic through a familial lens have a different interpretation of the nature of the Loki identity as individual people. Likening them to siblings and/or twins due to their “shared parentage” and “shared blood”. Also valid. But I must say that most of the conflict comes from this perspective as they are the ones to specifically ask of other people not to ship them. I can understand how someone seeing a dynamic that processes as obviously familial may make that person feel vastly uncomfortable by seeing people ship them. I can liken that feeling to how I felt when I found out people shipped Thorki (🤮). Some people find it the same but if we’re being fair, it is not. Thor and Loki are adopted siblings, no two ways around that. But given the not so black n white nature of the multiverse/variants we cannot unanimously say they (Loki & Sylvie) are definitively siblings. But if you choose (or naturally) see and value this familial dynamic, the story has the opportunity to be just as rich and fulfilling for both Loki and Sylvie in an incredibly beautiful way. I feel that on the emotional side of the people who advocate for the familial bond, the dynamic loki and sylvie share of chaotic energy, playful teasing, sobering discussions while also insulting/jabbing at one another, humor and hostility, reminds them of their own siblings or familial bonds. Which is an incredibly valuable thing that you cannot knock. But even if they don’t have that dynamic personally, my point still stands for that as a fantastic sibling dynamic. Or maybe even just as ‘best friends’.

But as far as trying to tell people their wrong and/or immoral for shipping them and telling people “Don’t” is unfair due to the complex nature of the Loki identity and variant logic that hasn’t fully been unfolded to us yet. Neither side is “right”, it’s simply interpretation. I’ve seen people fail to acknowledge or refuse to acknowledge that not everything has a ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ and different interpretations and opinions, even opposite ones, are equal and can coexist peacefully. Not everything is a grave moral issue. We need to keep the hostile energy for the shit that really matters not fictional shit.

On a personal note: Idgaf I just want lokius, thanks for letting me rant lmao

#marvel #loki #loki (2021)#loki spoilers #sylvie #loki x mobius #loki x sylvie #loki series #loki laufeyson #sylvie laufeydottir #bi loki #genderfluid loki #lokius #mcu #mcu multiverse #tva loki

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myglogic · 4 years

Text

Priceless | Bang Chan | 01

Chapter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Pairing: Bang Chan (Stray Kids) x female reader

Genre: Crime, enemies to friends to lovers, angst, fluff

Short summary: Y/N is a journalist who dreams of writing a frontpage article at the Seoul Times. She gets the chance to attend the Bang Charity Gala through her work where she plans exposing Kevin Bang, father of Chan and one of the richest men in Seoul. How is she planning to do that? The Gala is a masquarade ball where no one will recognize her. Y/N just wants justice for herself and everyone Kevin Bang hurt.

DISCLAIMER: Everything in this fanfic is fiction - that includes Chan’s fictional father who of course does not represent Chan’s real father! ♥

The event was full of people. Full of filthy rich people, you might add. It was the event of the year for Seoul’s richest and most famous people. The Bang Gala. What is the Bang Gala, you might ask? It was a charity gala where tons of money was gathered for a good cause every year. The cause is always kept a secret until the gala. Last year the money went to an organization that helps orphans who didn’t get adopted to adjust to society. Sounds like a beautiful event, right? In one year, the money went to survivors of natural catastrophes, another year it went to the homeless. Each year millions of dollars were donated. You couldn’t even imagine how big the sums must be.

Bullshit. That was what you thought. Because the people behind this charity gala were the Bang family. Kevin Bang, the owner of Seoul’s biggest real estate agency, no, you could even say the owner of South Korea’s biggest real estate agency hosted the gala. In the media, he was known for being a generous businessman, always leaving huge tips at the restaurants he was eating at. He was not only known for being generous, but also being down to earth too.

All of it was an act. Because you knew who the real Kevin Bang was. You knew how the real, evil, Kevin Bang was like and how he treated the people around him too. He was the reason why your father lost everything.

You were just a kid when all of that happened. You didn’t like to dwell on the past but you were a girl who hated unfair treatment. The past was the past but it wasn’t easy to forget. In the past two years you have been working for a pretty big newspaper – the Seoul Times. Okay, working would be an overstatement. You were basically there to proofread the articles written by the real authors and bring coffee. But you were still happy to be there because it was a start. You studied journalism but had no experience yet so it was even a miracle that you got a job at such a renowned company. Sometimes you did write small articles but mostly it was about boring stuff, for example, how the private school next door opened their new library which was – what a coincidence – sponsored by none other than Kevin Bang.

Your parents were proud of you because you worked your ass off at university for this degree. It was very underwhelming to get such an underpaid job, but you had to work hard to become the head editor one day. Right now, you worked at the “celebrity” department, where they basically gathered all kind of news about any kind of celebrity. Like for example how BTS got another win for their latest album. It wasn’t what you envisioned. Sometimes you switched departments too and just work wherever you were needed. That is why you needed an incredible story to write, a story that you have discovered. You didn’t only write articles but sometimes you had to investigate too, like doing interviews outside the office if the writer himself was too lazy to do it. But this story was your personal story. No help from Seoul Times or any other editor. You knew that this story, your story, would secure you a job on the top. That story was exposing Kevin Bang.

Exposing the real Kevin Bang. Not the beloved charitable, kind person that everyone looked up to, but the asshole, getting-anything-he-wants Kevin Bang. Why was your hatred for him so deep when everyone seemed to love that guy? The answer was simple. If something didn’t fit into Mr. Bang’s plans then he just bought everything with his money and influence. He was one of the reasons why an orphanage was demolished because he wanted to free some space for his clients, so he built a 5-star hotel on that area. According to your research he made some hefty payments to make sure that this does not reach the media. It hurt you a lot because you volunteered a lot at that specific orphanage. The kids there were not prepared to leave at all. It was a shitty move of him and you hated him more for that.

But that was just one of his many wrongdoings. You hated reading anything about that guy and his family.

♥.

Chaos. The office was very chaotic because of the on-going charity gala. A lot of newspapers used the gala to get interviews with big names, because anyone who had influence attended that gala. But this year’s theme was not optimal to get a lot of interviews: Masquerade. Everyone had to wear masks so no one knew who you were.

It was interesting since all of the people there already had two faces. The theme made a lot of interviewers back out because if you can’t see the celebrity, interviewing them would be difficult.

You were sitting at your desk, trying to find more dirt on the Bang family when you heard a stack of papers landing next to you, making you flinch a little. It was your supervisor, Hana, who looked at you, annoyed. “Proofread these, okay?”, she sighed, rubbing her temples.

“Okay.”, you said, not wanting to annoy her more.

“I need these by tomorrow by the way.”, she added arrogantly.

“Excuse me, what?!”, you said, standing up in shock. “I can’t even get half of those done in a day!”

She stared you down with an angry expression. “Okay, then why don’t you go and try to interview some masked celebrities at that stupid gala, huh? Our top interviewers don’t want to go because they think it’s a waste of their time!”

You sighed. “Just because you have problems, doesn’t mean that you can put all the workload onto me.”

“I am sick of you complaining, Y/N. This gala is stressing me enough already. It’s not like anything happens at these galas anyway, I don’t even know why we have to send so many employees there. The big boss is crazy. Taejoon doesn’t want to go and we have to send someone from our department.”, Hana said angrily, clearly angry at Taejoon who usually does the interviews for your department.

Then an idea popped into your mind. “Wait… So technically if Taejoon goes to that gala thing, doesn’t he get a free pass?”

“Yeah, we cannot identify the celebs there anyway. But we still have to send ten of our people so that they can write down how much money was donated, where the money goes to, blah blah. Also, if anyone decides to show up without a mask, interview them. Stuff like that.”

This was the idea! You gathered information on Kevin Bang for a while now and if you could find a way to get in there, you might be able to turn everyone against him. You just needed to get the attention of the guests and the media. You knew that you wouldn’t get the recognition you wanted but it would be a start to dig the dirt on him.

Maybe, if you tell the boss that it was you who exposed him, he will let you write the big front-page article about him. Nobody knew more shit about Kevin Bang than you.

“You know, if you let someone else proofread these articles, I would go to that gala instead of Taejoon.”, you offered her.

She gave you a tempting look. “You never went, right? Of course, you would be excited to enter such an exclusive event. But please don’t fall asleep, it gets boring pretty quickly.”, Hana warned you. “Also, you can’t wear a mask as someone from the media. You need to stay in the background, especially since you are still a rookie. Got it?”

Yeah, of course, it was because it was an exclusive event. It’s not like you had a huge ass plan to destroy Kevin Bang or something. “Yeah, got it. Can I go?”, you asked innocently.

She sighed. “Okay. But don’t do anything stupid!”

“I won’t!”

‘At least not when you are around.’, you thought.

Now that you got your free pass to the Bang charity gala, you needed to make up a plan. A really good one. Because your operation was big and you couldn’t risk making any mistakes. The gala was in two days and you quickly needed to figure out what to do and how to do it.

♥.

With all the information you had on Kevin Bang, you knew you had to somehow get the attention of the audience that would attend the gala. Through some insider information you found out that there will be a huge projector. It’s projecting at the main stage. So, you somehow needed to get to the tech room to show the audience your evidence.

You found out that a friend of yours, Felix, will be working there on the night of the gala as a waiter for drinks. You were sure that he would be a huge help and approached him but at first, he thought you were crazy. You were basically trying to ruin a charity event. But after explaining why you wanted to do it, he agreed to help you with your plan. There was a designated area for the press, so you needed to get inside and change first to mix with the actual guests.

This was your plan:

1. Get inside the actual building as someone from the press

2. Bring a sexy dress and a mask

3. With the help of Felix get in the employee area to change

4. Act as if you’re a guest and talk negatively about Kevin Bang

5. Get in the computer room to “hack” the projector

6. Expose Kevin Bang

Sometimes you felt like one of those drama Youtube channels. But this was more than just telling everyone about a horrible person. You did this for your family, especially for your dad. Your family was ruined because of him. Your parents worked their hardest just so you could go to university. Of course, you also did this to write an article about him and get a better position at work. But there was more of a personal agenda behind this.

After a long day of work, you finally came home, clearly exhausted. The gala was tomorrow and you were really nervous about everything. Your roommate Jisung walked out of the kitchen and looked at you. Jisung and you met on your first day of university and became friends quickly. He was your closest friend and you knew you could trust him with your life. “Hey, I got a huge ass dress delivery for you today? What are you going to do with such a fancy dress?”, he asked you curiously.

You smiled at him, determined. “I will attend the Bang charity gala tomorrow.”

Jisung’s eyes widened. “What? For real? Because of your job or what?”

You smirked. “Just wait. After tomorrow, I will finally get the recognition I deserve. And yeah, I will get in thanks to my job.”

Jisung looked at you suspiciously as he sat down with a bowl of chips in front of you. “You're planning something, aren’t you?”

You put on a confident smile as you laid down on the couch. “Yeah. Look, I will tell you everything after the gala. It’s a huge thing so…”

“Don’t get arrested or something, dude.”, Jisung sighed. “Well, since you won’t tell me now, why don’t we watch a movie on Netflix then?”

“Sure.”

♥.

The day of the gala arrived quickly and you found yourself with a camera hanging onto your neck in front of the huge ass gala building. You gave your dress to Felix before so he could hide it in the employee changing rooms. Your hands were sweaty as you took some pictures.

“So, we will be at different locations throughout the building. Try to get some good pictures and if you recognize someone, try to get an interview, okay?”, one of the interviewers told the Seoul Times journalists.

As you went to your designated areas you looked around for Felix to get out of here. At the same time, you admired the huge building with a rich history. Literally, rich. The guests were coming in slowly and everyone looked glamorous and fancy. Their dresses probably cost more than you earn in a month. The location was beautifully decorated, the main stage was huge. While looking around you saw the tech people going upstairs. The tech room must have been upstairs. You couldn’t find a good floor plan on the internet and security was high alert. There had to be a way to get up there. Dressing up as someone from the tech crew would be too obvious but no one would suspect a masked woman in a dress. Especially since you were masked, you were even safer.

As everyone was seated Kevin Bang entered the main stage shortly after. His crisp suit looked expensive, his hair was slicked back. His face was half covered by a black mask. Behind him was his wife, probably number 6 by now, and his son Chan. They also wore masks that didn’t do a good job with covering their faces. Your gaze wandered more towards to his son than Kevin himself. He looked handsome, you couldn’t deny that, with his black hair and dark blue, perfectly sitting suit. You also noticed that he didn’t look too excited to stand there. Interesting.

“Welcome to the annual Bang charity gala! I am happy to see so many faces – well, technically I can’t see you but I appreciate every single one of you!”, Kevin said enthusiastically which earned him hearty laughs from the audience. You rolled your eyes. “You for sure have been wondering where the money goes to this year! This year, we are donating the money of this beautiful gala to a brand-new hospital! With the money you donate every year we can build a completely new hospital where everyone can be treated! The best thing about the hospital?”, he started and showed a picture of the future hospital that was projected behind him. “We will get the best doctors! Anything for our residents of Seoul!”

The crowd cheered and clapped politely. The rich were delighted. “Let’s see how much money we can gather tonight!”

You scoffed at his stupid smirk. “What a freaking liar, the money doesn’t even arrive there.”, you whispered angrily.

The event kicked off, classical music was playing in the background. Since the theme was “masquerade” the guests started waltzing in pairs. It did look very appealing but it felt like this wasn’t your world. In fact, this was not your world. You sometimes wished it was. Not worrying about anything, especially money. You knew you could never fit in.

You then got up looking around. Security was everywhere. Then you spotted Felix who walked up to you. “Hey, sorry, I’m late. These rich people never stop drinking.”, he sighed, clearly exhausted as he pushed his blonde hair back.

“It’s fine the event just started. How can I get out of here without security noticing?”, you asked him, feeling the fear inside you coming up.

“Just walk next to me. As long as you don’t act suspiciously nothing will happen.”, he assured you and walked you to the employee changing rooms. You noticed a few glances from some security guards but nobody stopped you.

As you were getting dressed, Felix spoke up. He was hiding behind some lockers so you could dress in peace. “But Y/N… what if you get caught? How do you plan on getting out of here after doing that stunt?”

You sighed, “I need to do everything step by step, Felix. First, I need to get to the tech room and make sure that everyone out there can here hear me. Then I will decide what to do. But I won’t get caught.”, you told Felix while putting on your red dress that had lace details on the top part. It wasn’t tight but still looked really nice. It was a rather flowy dress and you could breathe in that dress. It looked expensive enough for the elite of Seoul. Good thing that you can rent dresses. You then put on some red lipstick and put your mask on that covered nearly your entire face except for your lips. You were unrecognizable, especially since you looked like a zombie normally.

As you turned the corner to meet Felix his eyes widened for a moment. “Wow, you look nice! I bet you will fit in without any problems!”

You smiled at him and then squeezed his cheek. “Aww! Thank you, Felix. I’m really nervous… but I have to do this.”

He looked at you with a worried expression, “Please, be careful, alright?”

You nodded and quietly exited the dressing room. Some people sat at their assigned seats, others were talking about the event. The music was loud but the atmosphere was alright. For now.

You decided to join a group who were talking. They were two women who were gushing about how extravagant this gala was. They were wearing expensive designer dresses.

“I love the gold details in the decoration.”, one of the women, the one who wore a black mask, said.

“I wish they would serve some more seafood. The buffet is horrible.”, the other one said, sighing. Wow.

“But no matter what Mr. Bang does, his galas are still the best!”, black mask spoke up again.

“I don’t get why everyone likes him so much…”, you spoke up, taking a glass of champagne from a waiter that was walking by.

The women looked at you, a look of confusion in their eyes. “Why would you say that? Everyone loves him.”, black mask said, defending the man.

You sighed. “I heard that he's a real asshole in reality. Ever heard of when he bulldozed an orphanage for his new hotel?”, you told them.

They gasped in shock. “He would never do something like that, would he?”

“Well he paid the media so word couldn’t get out.”, you told them.

Then they started discussing if this was real or not. That was what you did for the first hour. While there was some show on the stage, you trash talked Kevin Bang. While some people didn’t even listen to you, others were saying that they had assumptions about him. Kevin Bang was a smart man. He wouldn’t show his real face to anyone.

As you were looking around the room, you felt something or rather someone staring at you. Now that you think of it, you felt that even earlier. Then you saw that in fact someone was staring at you. That suit and mask… He looked really familiar. He walked up to you and held out his hand. “Would you like to dance with me?”

You were surprised and didn’t know what to do. “Uh, I’m not really a dancer.”

“Just follow my lead, you will be fine.”, his butter smooth voice assured you. Damn it.

You then took his hand and followed him to the dance floor. He put one hand on your waist and his other hand held yours. You wondered why he asked you out of all people. You carefully followed his steps, trying not to embarrass yourself.

“So, what’s your deal? Who are you?”, he grumbled, his eyes dark.

“This is a masquerade, isn’t it? Why would you ask me that?”, you told him, slightly surprised by his sudden change of attitude. What was he trying to do?

“I heard you talk shit about my father. What the hell are you even doing here if you hate him that much, huh?”

Your eyes widened. Of course, he was Kevin Bang’s son! You recognized him from earlier. “Why do you act like everyone in this room loves him? As if I am the only person who dislikes him.”

He tightly squeezed your hand and waist to symbolize his seriousness. “Oh, really? You don’t know him. He is a businessman, sometimes he has to make sacrifices like relocating an orphanage.”

So, he was listening to you. Interesting. “You call that relocating? You don’t know shit.”, you said in an annoyed tone.

“And you know that better than his own son?”

It was your turn to give him a tight squeeze on his shoulder. “Yeah, I actually have my sources.”

You were dancing in circles and his gaze bore into yours. You would find it cute that he tried to defend his father if he wasn’t Kevin’s son. “I will find out who the hell you are. I bet you are one of the Lee’s. You guys are always jealous of us.”

You sighed. “I am so jealous of you and your life. Oh, fuck off. You know, I don’t have to like you or your father. And here I thought I would dance with a gentleman.”, you said, trying to sound disinterested.

The music finally came to an end and you looked at the man in front of you. “It was not nice to dance with you. Let’s not do that again.”, you said and turned your back, walking away from him.

“Wait! Who the hell are you?”, Chan shouted, gaining a few looks from the crowd. But before he could follow you, you were lost in the crowd.

You tried to go through busy crowds and then tried to find a way to go to the computer/tech room. You decided that it would be best if you pretended to search for a bathroom or something, so you sneaked upstairs without anyone noticing you for now.

It was time. Time to get revenge. Time to show the world who the real Kevin Bang was. Time to shine.

A/N: Hello guys, this is my first (consistent) series on this blog! This is also the first time I am writing for Chan and I hope I do him justice. Buckle up because this story has a lot of twists and turns. I appreciate every form of feedback and maybe even theories! What do you think will happen next? Thanks for reading! ♥

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jungshook69 · 3 years

Text

Love is a myth :: 01

DISCLAIMER: This doesn’t represent the members’ actions or the army’s actions in any manner it’s pure fiction. This is an original work, do not copy. The taglist is open if you want. Taglist is now closed.

WORD COUNT: 4.1K words

MAIN PAIRING: musician! Yoongi X waitress! female reader

SIDE PAIRING/S: Jungkook X female reader ; Taehyung X female reader

GENRE: FWB! au ; Strangers to lovers! au

WARNINGS: Implied smut (Forgive me cuz I suck at writing it, no puns intended) ; Mentions of alcohol and smoking (I do not condone smoking) ; Profanity ; Mentions of infidelity ; Heavy angst ; Self loathing (Namjoon’s about to wack me in the head with his slipper) ; I apologize in advance if there’s any spelling errors.

SUMMARY: "You covered your bare form with the silk sheets beneath you, as you watched him walk out your door without a word." // "Love is a myth. All that existed between you two was pure lust." // "The last rule was if anyone of the two of you caught feelings for the other, the deal would be off."

SERIES MASTERLIST: Trailer » Meet the cast » Chapter #1 » Chapter #2 » Chapter #3 » Chapter #4

STATUS: Complete

You lay on your bed, chest panting, as you tried to catch your breath. Your hooded eyes fluttered open to meet the familiar sight of a white ceiling fan rotating at a painfully slow speed. Your forehead and bare chest were lined with beads of sweat as you felt the mattress dip beside you. You turned your attention to his presence, as you were met with the sight of his bare back sitting upright, his hands working hard to put his white t-shirt back on. You watched as he pulled on his boxers, followed by his jeans and walked over to your side of the bed.

You covered your bare form with the soft silk sheets underneath you as you watched him come closer to you. No, he did not lean in for a passionate good bye kiss. No, he did not bend over and embrace your petite form against his warm chest, and run his calloused fingers along your naked back. None of that was part of what you both had come to terms with. Your curious eyes followed his movements as he bent down to grab his beanie off of the floor next to your side of the bed.

He slipped on his beanie and his jacket which was strewn across your chair, not moments ago. Without a word, you watch as the man’s dark figure retreated from the shadows of your bedroom. You let out a deep breath you weren’t aware you were holding, as soon as you heard the front door click. Being too tired to get up and wash up, you let your tired eyes take control, as you drifted into a deep slumber.

You awoke to the sound of a woman’s high pitched voice yelling, contrary to most people waking up to the sound of a disturbingly loud alarm. You immediately recognized the voice to be the sound of your neighbors engaged in a routinely loud domestic argument. Maybe this time her husband accidently burned an egg on the stove, or maybe this time her toddler broke a vase, the possibilities were endless. In your time living in your apartment, you had heard your neighbors engage in a variety of arguments. The daily bickering of your neighbors, your parents’ marriage, and a certain someone from your past, were the exact reasons why your take on love was the way it is now.

Was love overrated according to you? Nope, that wasn’t the case. You just didn’t believe love existed at all. You believed that love is a myth.

You had higher priorities in life, like maintaining a proper work ethic, to earn for a living. You were one of the lucky ones whose day didn’t start at 6 in the morning. Instead your job required for you to be present quite later, at around 11 in the morning. But, to be fair, your job extended further into the next day, as far as 2 or 3 in the morning sometimes. But you did prefer your current work schedule better, as you were kind of a night owl.

You freshened up, and had a hearty breakfast composed of a buttered toast and some chai tea. Yes, unlike the people around you, you were one to prefer tea over coffee. You couldn’t count the number of times you’ve had this discussion with your colleagues. You soon got dressed in your uniform consisting of a tight white blouse, a black pencil skirt that hugged your curves, paired with classic black pumps. You didn’t forget to put on your silver ring with a black J carved into it, the one you’d taken off the night before, when you were engaged in a scandalous activity with a certain someone. You grabbed your purse and your warm grey winter coat, as you stepped out the door, ready to start your day.

The bus ride wasn’t too bad, although you wish you had enough strength to pull the window which was stuck, close, to stop the cold winter breeze from grazing your bare calves. But as soon as you entered the warm ambience of your workplace, your coat long forgotten, your mind focused on getting the job done. You walked across the rows and rows of empty tables and chairs, your heels making minimal noise against the rich carpet, as you made your way through a pair of steel doors, tying your apron around your waist. You grabbed a checklist attached onto a clipboard, and detained your responsibilities as the senior head waitress.

“Okay, do we have the 5 kilograms of sundried tomatoes from Tony’s farm?” you’re sharp voice rings through the hustling and bustling of your colleagues. “Yes ma’am!” you here a response over the ruckus of boxes being unloaded. Doing inventory was a hassle, but you were determined to complete the responsibility laid on your shoulders. About an hour of screaming later, you were wiping off the sweat that had accumulated across your forehead. “Good job today guys, we did inventory, 30 minutes early.” You said, a small smile tracing your thin lips. Although you were stern, you knew how to appreciate your colleagues work. They all gave you small smiles as they headed off to freshen themselves up, to get ready for opening up for business in 30 minutes.

You were in the washroom, touching up your deep wine lipstick, when the door flew open, followed by the click of heels against the marble floor. You caught her reflection in the mirror as you turned around and greeted her. “Hey Maria…” you said, not a trace of enthusiasm in your voice. If there was one person who you could stand the least in your workplace, it was Maria. Contrary to you, she was born with a silver spoon. She was the restaurant manager’s niece, and had been given a job here, despite her inexperience. You never had a problem with that, but it’s when she ran against you for the post of senior head waitress, you grew envious. But fortunately, the manager saw beyond just blood relations, and fairly granted you the promotion, as a result of all the blood and sweat you had put into it.

“Hey…” she mumbled, plainly as courtesy, and no real kind intention, as she walked towards the mirror and began brushing through the strands of her short black bob. Unbothered by her presence, you began to tie your long brown locks into a low braided bun and brushed your outfit free from any existing wrinkles. Your eyes drifted to the adjacent female’s form and you couldn’t help but feel a twinge of envy. You were pretty proud of how you looked. It’s just that you failed to be confident about your body, unlike her, who flawlessly flaunted her curves. Before you could overthink you left the washroom.

10 minutes left to opening time, you were setting folded napkins down by the pristine glassware and silverware on a table, when you heard the small bell chime, alerting you of someone entering the restaurant. You look up and immediately lock eyes with a man with deep brown feline eyes, his hair a pale mint green, contrasting with his all-black attire. Min Yoongi. The same man who was hovering over you last night, the same man whose throat was voicing your name out loud, the same man whose teeth had left evident marks on your body, multiple times in the last 2 months. You shifted your gaze onto the butter knife in your hand, and all you could think about was stabbing the man in front of you senseless, and then stabbing yourself, for doing what you did. But then again, lust was a dangerous greed in your mind.

You walked away to a table farther away from the entrance, while your eyes carefully watched as he uncovered his guitar from the case, and began setting up a mic on the center stage, right under the spotlight. “Hey, do you need help setting up?” you heard Maria ask him. You caught from the corner of your eyes, her figure bending over to his seated one on the chair, her hand landing on his shoulder. You were pretty sure his unwavering gaze was fixed down her shirt. “No I’m good.” He huffs and gets back to working on the speaker settings for his performance. You let whatever feeling was building up in the pit of your stomach subside as you left the two, making your way back into the kitchen.

Before you knew it, the whole day had gone by with you running in between tables, jotting down orders on your little notepad, and running back and forth between the loud and chaotic kitchen and the quiet and luxurious ambience of the seating region. This was your life, maintaining a calm composure, fit for a classy 5-star restaurant accompanied by casting several missed glances at a certain musician playing a beautiful rhythm.

You placed a martini at a table with a family of 4. You observed the man to be wearing a rich tuxedo finished with a neatly tucked pocket square, the woman was adorned with elegant pearls and dressed in a midnight blue gown, a small girl, embezzled in what appeared to be her mother’s gold jewelry and dressed in an obnoxious pink frilled dress. A small boy of around the age of 5, who was seated right next to where you were standing, cast you a nasty glance as you watched his hand topple the glass, spilling all the contents onto your skirt. You audibly gasped, but remembered to lower your voice and not make a scene, luckily your skirt was black. The woman at the table said nothing, her eyes fixated upon her rich manicure, while the man glanced your way and muttered a small “sorry”.

You were used to being treated this way. You were used to seeing families like this, all adorned with a picture perfect image on the outside, while you knew that their souls were writhing on the inside. You whispered a small “its okay sir” and worked on cleaning up the mess at the table. The small girl reached out to pick up a napkin and just as she was about to hand it to you, probably to help dry your skirt off, you felt her mother’s cold glare harden on her daughter, as the small child dropped the napkin and sheepishly returned her gaze back onto her lap. You sympathized with this little girl you barely knew, because you too were once in her place.

Your parents were just like the many families you had encountered at your job over the years. They maintained a perfect image on the outside while no one knew the hell they put you and themselves through inside the doors of your home. You remembered every time your mom had scoffed at you for helping someone with a lower status than yours. You remembered those endless nights of bickering when your mom and dad had lectured you on how you couldn’t let your proper image waver when you had told them that you wanted to pursue your true passion of playing the piano. You remembered the night that you watched your father slap your mother across her face in his study, the talk of divorce ensuing. You remembered being frightened and packing your bag, stuffing a roll of cash in it, and jumping out the window and escaping.

You were jolted back to reality as you felt a pair of hands grab your shoulders. Maria’s disgusted face appeared as she whisper-shouted in your ear, “What do you think you’re doing? Stop day dreaming and get back inside the kitchen, I’ll take their order!” You were about to correct her for the manner in which she talked to you, her superior, but decided to do yourself a favor, and leave the room before any more humiliation could follow. Although you remained unaware of a certain pair of eyes sharply watching your movements.

You entered the bathroom and worked on getting the stain off of your skirt. As soon as you were done, you looked at your reflection in the mirror. Your attire still remained remarkably presentable, but the dark circles etched below your eyes, were beginning to uncover from underneath the heavy concealer. Your eyes drifted towards the empty bathroom stall behind you, and you couldn’t help but form a tiny smile. You remembered the time, a week ago, when you and Yoongi had occupied the stall in a very risky endeavor in between his 10 minute break, and had almost been caught by the head chef, who had come in there looking for you.

You knew what you and Yoongi had was toxic, but so was your whole take on love. Everyone from your parents to your neighbors and just about everything in your life had convinced you, that true love didn’t exist. You only believed that a greed called lust existed. And all you thought was that you needed relief for the same. About 2 months ago, when you were getting drunk off your ass for getting promoted, you had run into Yoongi. He had been playing at the restaurant, alternating between piano and guitar, for just as long as you had been working there. He had always caught your eye, and if you were being brutally honest, you loved watching him do something that you couldn’t do, play piano.

No sooner had the words “Wanna get outta here?” been spoken, you had ended up, about 20 minutes later, squirming underneath him, grasping his shoulders and moaning shamelessly, your cries contained inside the walls of his bedroom. What was commendable though was that you both had managed to keep your word so far. You both had devised a set of rules, no cuddling, no sweet goodbye kisses after doing the deed (making out before doing the dirty wasn’t counted), no going on dates, consent was always necessary, no leverage, meaning you both were free to engage in personal affairs with other men/women as long as you promised to remain safe, and the last impending rule being, if anyone of the two of you caught feelings for the other, the deal would be off. You knew these rules sounded ridiculous, like you were writing your own constitution, but it was necessary for a relationship, where you both were doing this purely for relief, for lust.

You shook off your smile, and headed out of the washroom. You continued doing your chores, till it was finally closing time. The rest of the hour until midnight passed by as you and your colleagues worked on going through the gigantic pile of dishes. Of course it wasn’t part of your job but you’d rather spend time here with your colleagues than sit alone in the darkness of your humble abode. You also didn’t want to deal with any sort of unnecessary feelings arising, when you saw Yoongi leaving the room, Maria clinging by his side.

“Hey wanna join us for a beer?” said Mark. He was one of the few kind friends you’d made at this job, along with his girlfriend Jackie, and another girl Maya. “Sure what have I got to lose?” you say, grabbing your coat. Before you knew it, your 3rd beer bottle was hooked to your lips, as you gulped the liquid down, drowning your worries.

“Man, Maria’s a bitch huh?” Jackie spoke up. You loved her spunky personality, and she was straight forward like you. “Yeah lol” you say.

“Don’t be so mean Jackie…” Maya speaks up, only halfway through her first beer bottle. She was shy and timid, contrary to Jackie, but she was too pure for this cruel world.

“You’re just saying that because she’s never been mean to you.” Jackie stated matter-of-factly. “Amen” her boyfriend Mark said clinking his bottle with her’s.

“I never saw her be rude to you though” Maya says innocently. “Does her shoving her chest into my boyfriend’s face on purpose in front of me count?” Jackie says rolling her eyes and scoffing.

“I swear I was so freaked out.” Mark said laughing. “If it weren’t for Jackie ‘accidently’ shoving her face into the cake, I don’t know how far she would’ve gone to seduce me.”

“That was the best day of my life.” I said laughing. “Guys don’t be so loud, she’s right there” Maya whisper-yelled.

Everyone’s eyes turned to follow Maya’s line of sight and the image before you made your heart clench involuntarily. You watched with disgust, as you saw Yoongi’s tongue literally down Maria’s throat, his hands running up and down her form.

“She won’t be able to hear us bitching about her over the loud music anyways so it doesn’t matter…” Jackie said breaking your gaze away from the pair. “By the way, guitar guy is hot innit?”

“Yeah he’s pretty cool, he has good taste in music based off of the songs he plays” Mark says. You were not surprised to see that Mark didn’t get jealous over his girlfriend calling another man hot. You only wish you were so secure about your relationships.

After a moment of silence excluding the loud club music you spoke up, “I think I’m gonna head home now guys” you said looking at your watch. “It’s 2, holy shit!”

“Yeah we should get going too actually…” Mark said, getting ready to lift Jackie up. “Maya how’re you gonna get home?” you ask, genuinely concerned.

“Oh actually… my boyfriend is gonna pick me up…” she said timidly. “You have a boyfriend?” Jackie yelped.

“Yeah… see you guys…” she said rushing out of the place before any questions could follow. You bid Mark and Jackie goodbye, not wanting to wait for the war of tongues that was yet to ensue. You glanced over once again only to find a certain pair missing. You tried to suppress the unbeknownst feeling bubbling inside you, as you headed home with a heavy heart.

You weren’t too drunk as you had a high tolerance for beer. You decided since your apartment was only a few blocks away, you would walk. You were used to walking on the streets alone at night, as your job required for you to stay back quite frequently.

Along with the familiar click of your heels on the concrete, you heard a periodic scruff of shoes on the concrete behind you. You turned around to see a man, head hung low, hood covering his face walking at a pace similar to yours. To be honest, you weren’t afraid of things like these. At least that’s what you told yourself to brace your inner coward self. But living alone all these years, basically living with just scraps from when you were 16 years old and had escaped, had prepared you for a lot of conditions for the best. You decided to walk faster, the streetlights casting a warm yellow light across the two of you, highlighting the game of cat and mouse you were playing.

About a minute later, the steps of your apartment came into view, which gave you some new found confidence. You halted and turned around swiftly and yelled, “You gonna follow me up to my apartment or are you gonna make your move any time soon?”

The man walked a few steps forward and uncovered his hood, revealing his pale face under the moonlight, his shocking green hair catching your eyes. “Min Yoongi…” you said rolling your eyes.

You ignored the man and went up to the steps leading up to your building and took a seat. You watched the man linger not far behind you and finally make it to you, as he stood beside you, laying an arm on the rails. “Why were you following me?” you said, obvious annoyance laced in your voice.

“It’s 2 in the morning… I felt like taking a walk…” he said nonchalantly.

You huffed and fished out a cigarette and a lighter out from your purse. Lighting it, you brought it up to your lips and took in a huff of smoke. You leaned your head back, letting out the puff of smoke into the night sky, your head feeling light. “Seriously why’re you here? Do you want sex?” you said rolling your eyes.

“Not everything is about sex Y/N…” Yoongi spoke up, his deep raspy voice sending an untimely shiver down your spine.

“Between us it is…” you say softly.

“It doesn’t have to be…” Yoongi replies almost too immediately.

“We made the contract mutually you dumb fuck” you say huffing in another breath from the cigarette in your hand.

He walked around you and took a seat next to you on the cold steps his hand extending forward. “Who said we can’t talk like normal friends?” he says as you knowingly pass your cigarette into his willing hand, watching him, as he took a puff too, before crushing it underneath his boot.

“Sure” you say sarcastically rolling your eyes. “I’m sure you have your hands full with a certain friend already” you scoff.

He raised his eyebrow at you only to have you roll your eyes again. “Maria seems like a pretty good friend… ya know how she lets you shove your tongue down her throat, anytime you want.”

“Ahhh… So you were at the bar huh?” he says, although you remain suspicious of the fact that he knew of your presence beforehand.

“Yeah, and I for a fact know, that no one can be friends, without any pure intentions of lust hidden behind it.” You state.

“Then what about Mark?” he says looking at the empty street before you both.

“Yeah he’s the only male friend of mine, without any intentions.” You scoff.

“You never know…” Yoongi murmurs.

“He’s dating Jackie for Christ’s sake!” you say annoyed, clearly understanding his tactic.

“Oh…” he says an unnoticeable trace of guilt hidden in his voice.

“Were you seriously trying to make me jealous by hooking up with Maria in front of me, just because you thought me and Mark had something going on between us?” you ask in disbelief.

His silence confirms your suspicions. “Oh lord! Were you dreaming when Jackie and Mark got caught making out in the store room?”

“Hey, I don’t know what the hell goes on beyond those steel doors okay? I get in, play music, and get out… I don’t have a social life at my job like you do!” he huffs out.

“I’m sorry…” you say, although it hurts your pride.

“I’m sorry too, for the whole Maria thing… call it even?” he says giving you a small smile.

“You don’t have to be sorry… it’s part of the deal… you can engage in personal affairs with anyone else, it’s your choice… I have no say in your life…” you say staring at the ground.

“Well I’m sorry for following you like a creepy stalker… I was just making sure you got home alright… call it even now?” he says a small giggle leaving his throat.

You didn’t try to question why he was worried about you walking home, because you knew that argument wouldn’t lead anywhere sensible. “Call it even.” You respond looking into his eyes, returning his smile.

The gaze grew uncomfortably long before you spoke up, “I should get going…” You stood up brushing your skirt. You didn’t know whose cursed soul possessed you, but your heart took control of your actions before your head could stop you, and your hand landed on his shoulder before you pulled him in for a short kiss. You backed away to meet his wide eyes, which was expected as you, the strict rule enforcer, had gone back on the rule, ‘no sweet goodbye kisses’.

“I-I’m sorry I’m drunk…” you blabbered.

“No it’s okay… I didn’t mind…” he mumbled out the last part, too soft to hear.

You panicked and immediately tried to draw attention away from your actions. “Eeeww I just indirectly kissed Maria.” You whined.

Yoongi broke into a loud laugh “Ayy I made sure to rinse my mouth off before I followed you here”.

“Oh… were you expecting to sleep with me?” you ask confused.

“N-No not at all… I know you’re tired tonight.” Yoongi said rubbing his neck and backing away. “Well I should get going… friend” he said smirking.

“Alright, see ya… friend” you said returning his devious smile with a smirk of your own. With that you went up to your apartment and went to bed with a not as heavy of a heart as you expected.

«Previous :: Masterlist :: Next»

A/N: Don’t forget to follow @jungshook69 for more content:) You can check out more works of mine here. Have a great day:)

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ezrasarm · 4 years

Note

Hello! I was re-reading Rapture (again!! I love it!!) And I finally decided to ask for something from you just for me. I'd absolutely love Ezra to take me into a beautiful field at sunset and maybe read some of his favourite books to me in THAT voice hnngh. Whether it gets smutty is up to you. Bonus points if Cee thinks we're gross :-)

I’ll Be You, Be Me

Pairing: Ezra x Reader

Word count: 1.1K

Request: Above + Fictional Kiss Prompt 12: a hoarse whisper “kiss me”

Warnings: 10 ply super soft fluff, Ezra’s voice deserves a warning of its own

A/N: Oh my god! Again? You’re too sweet and I love hearing from you! I know this took me a while to get around to. I’ve been so busy these past couple weeks and I’ve had a few other projects on the go that have been taking up the rest of my time… hopefully you’ll get to hear more on that in the not too distant future but for now please enjoy this little somethin’ somethin’ just for you (and I hope you’ll forgive me for merging both your requests but I saw an opportunity and took it 🤷‍♀️😂). Also, anything in italics was NOT written by me. It’s a quote by Jean-Paul Sartre (the original source of which I spent hours searching for to no avail ☹️) but I thought it fit just right so here it is.

His voice, rich and deep, was almost as warm and soothing as the sunlight itself. Now low in the sky, the sun’s caress was still balmy enough to make your muscles feel heavy with comfortable lethargy. Only offset by an occasional silk-like breeze, the rolling hills of tall grass seemed to dance in the soft golden rays as you felt yourself sink into Ezra’s chest, which thrummed against your back with every melodious note he spoke.

“You stand there, you look at them, you touch them, you are warm, you are full of light,” Content in his embrace, the way the words spilled off his tongue wrapped around you, held you close to him, almost as steadily as the strong arm enveloping your waist. Completely transfixed. It compelled you to cling to every utterance that passed his lips.

“and you are not myself. It’s intolerable.” He crooned through his embellished drawl. He had a talent for reading aloud. For making the words dance off the page and form elaborate vignettes in your head. For turning prose to poetry and poetry to song with skillfully measured pauses and inflections.

“I cannot understand why we are still two people. I should like to become you, and still remain myself.” He went on. This, you were sure, was bliss, as you felt his face nuzzle into the nape of your neck, his thumb absentmindedly rubbing soft circles along the skin exposed just under the hem of your shirt.

You had convinced yourself this wasn’t possible. That any chance of a partner, a lasting relationship, some semblance of a family, simply wasn’t in the cards for you. Yet here you were, so tangled in the remaining limbs of the man you loved that you could hardly tell where he ended and you began anymore.

Though the circumstances that led to your introduction may not have been ideal you had both grown to joke that had it not been for the loss of his arm you two would have never met. It was that, after all, which caused his radical change in career path. That led him to the agricultural planet of Urun and that caused him to take up employment on the sprawling ranch you had recently come to acquire. Turns out raising cattle and growing grain required far less fine motor skills than the tedious retrieval of aurelac he had busied himself with before. And with that, he traded in his career for a new kind of harvest.

“Are you still listening, my lark?” Ezra murmured against the shell of your ear when the page didn’t turn the moment he ran out of words to read. His breath tingling across your skin made the hair on the back of your neck stand to attention and caused a welcome shiver to run down your spine. You hadn’t even realized your gaze softening to darkness as your eyelids drooped heavily into your line of vision but here you were being pulled from a state somewhere between waking and sleep.

“Mhmm,” You hummed in return but the quiet yawn that fought its way past your lips did nothing to convince him.

“I hadn’t realized I was boring you,” he huffed through mock offence, an amused smile tugging at his lips that caused an abrupt burst of laughter to bubble from deep in your belly.

“You could never.” You assured him, your fingers coming to lace in the hand which he had splayed across your stomach as you turned to get a better look at him. “It was just...” your words failed you as you attempted to define the unbelievable sense of calm, safety, love and comfort that had become so palpable you could hardly bring yourself to move for fear of breaking it.

“I know.” He said the words with the same tenderness as one would say ‘I love you’. As though in that moment he could read every thought that passed through your mind. His eyes darted back and forth between your own as he studied the way the golden light outlined your features with a kind of fondness you'd had yet to see from him until now. The kind of fondness that came out the other end of disbelief. That sunk in as he realized this was his life now. That this, as dreamlike as it was, wasn’t going to slip through his fingers any time soon.

“Kiss me.” The words were hardly audible as you noticed the way his gaze dropped down to your lips. You weren’t quite sure when but his hand had found the junction where your jaw met your neck and his thumb brushed across the swell of your bottom lip before coming to trace the edge of your jaw admiringly. His nose nudged against your own in a playful gesture that made your mouth tug upwards at the corners. Then his lips were pressed against yours. It was soft. Gentle, yet forceful and all consuming as your lips glided nimbly over one another. Your fingertips had abstractedly come to press into soft flesh just above his hip while your other hand played with the strands of overgrown hair at the nape of his neck. You’d gotten so caught up in the pure euphoria of the moment that you could have easily missed the sound of the book slamming shut behind you, but it was enough to make you jump apart.

“Ugh, You guys are adorable.” Cee spoke from where she herself had had her headphones on, face buried in the notebook that she had been scribbling in furiously. She was so quiet you’d completely forgotten she was there. “It makes me want to puke.” She groaned before clamouring to her feet. You didn’t miss the ever so slightly skewed smirk that toyed on her face as she turned to trudge off in the direction of the house.

“We should probably start thinking about putting dinner together.” You went to excuse yourself, motioning to extract yourself and follow Cee back up the hill but his arm had gripped around your waist again. It was firmer this time as he tugged you back into him, shaking his head as he nuzzled his face into your shoulder and peppered it with a few fleeting kisses.

“Just a moment longer.” He hummed, and who were you to deny him that?

Masterlist

Taglist: @agirllovespasta @chaoticspaceidiot @engineeredfiction @pedropascalito @dreamgirl-67 @wickedfrsgrl @hillarymurray4 @din-damn-djarin @yespolkadotkitty @wille-zarr @chaotic-noceur @oloreaa @this-cat-is-dea @marydjarin @roxypeanut @opheliaelysia

#i apologize for the author’s note from hell 😬😂#ezra x reader #ezra #ezra (prospect)#prospect #prospect 2018 #ezra (prospect) x reader #pedro pascal

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rawliverandcigarettes · 2 years

Note

I've been reading your Mass Effect posts as I've been replaying the games and really appreciating them! You have a deft hand at writing and worldbuilding that manages to go into the more scientific areas that Bioware overlooked without coming off as "What does Tali's sweat smell like?" I really appreciate your writing on Salarian reproduction as well.

As a question, how often do you use Doylist viewpoints in your writings as opposed to Watsonian? Cuz I feel like a lot of the issues with Mass Effect (in particular the treatment of the Batarians and Vorcha) make sense from a game design perspective, and a lot of the series issues do come up as the writers failing to align "serious science fiction" with "shooty bang bang action game."

Hey, thank you so much for the ask and the kind words, I'm really happy you enjoy my little words on the internet!!!

As for your question... I don't know if I really completely use that mindset at all? There are issues that are indeed inherent to videogame production and that I am completely willing to accept as the easiest solution to implement in a context that I can only imagine to be impossibly chaotic and difficult to manage. I don't even want to think about the amount of crunch involved with getting the Mass Effect trilogy on the shelves. And while we're at it, I am still trying to figure out how to express my opinions in a way that is at once fair for the devs and truthful to my perspective.

(sidenote: there is a trend among gamedevs -in AAA principally- that, because we are intimately aware of what it takes to get anything out, we shouldn't criticize anything and just move past what bothered us as "not for us" and only celebrate; it's a perspective I understand but don't share, but I also don't want to be vitriolic towards the devs that, most often than not, have almost nothing meaningul to do with the end result and still busted their ass off trying to execute the mangled vision of 5 different people better paid than them all infighting about what that vision should be at all. To clarify my words in general: if I have a harsh word about something present in-game, this is about the actual result and never a judgement about the capacities/moral character of the gamedev behind it. All the love in the world to that gamedev in particular actually! But we also all make an oopsie from time to time, or a decision I find poor -which is not a sin!! it's actually very normal, I have hyperspecific understandings of things and it's not a fair standard to anyone who isn't me-, or sometimes we have to push stuff in the game and we disagree with it and that sucks and that's not on you, or make a compromise that's a way better version than what almost was and nobody will ever know that and criticize you still and that super sucks, and, and... you get the gist)

I guess that, as a narrative designer, I not only believe in the possibility of aligning the two perspectives (Watsonian/Doylist), but getting at close to this, hm, synthesis as possible is actually my whole job! So it's hard not to think of media that way.

While I understand why some decisions were taken due to constaints, I will still critique the way they were implemented; this is exactly in these moments some biases get to the surface and should be examined the most (for example with the batarians, their implementation reveal, in my opinion, a lot of undigested american exceptionalist mindset and white myths about PoC cultures. The premice in itself isn't "bad" and could be a neat jumping point for future subversion, but the fact that 3 games later this premice isn't recontextualized at all and is consistently used as a way to vindicate the player in various ways becomes an actual flaw to the games in my opinion, as it over-simplifies and caricatures an otherwise rich world that presumes to be the opposite of that).

I guess I am driven towards thematic reasonance and vision over lore consistency, for example, but I don't think convenience of function in game design should ignore the message it's still crafting (and I know from personal experience that game designers tend to get away a whole damn lot with not thinking about their game mechanics and what they imply about the game as a larger object, and it's very annoying and makes my job harder!!).

I'm sorry, it's a mess! I don't know if that's helpful at all! If it's not, feel free to send another ask and I'll try to do a better job ;_;

#'asks #gamedev #batarians

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lhs3020b · 3 years

Text

In a very unexpected moment tonight, I found myself writing something. Yes, some actual fiction. Umm, wow. It’s not particularly-polished, I certainly wouldn’t call it “good”, but nonetheless, here is a thing.

This is a ghost from an old, 2015-era writing project of mine. You probably will have seen bits of it before. This would be the opening portion of the novel, if the novel was still in any way a possibility. The two main characters meet and compare notes on themselves and the confusing mess of the world they live in.

(A passing content note: their world is recovering in some ways and has been worse inside both Tai and Corazon’s lifetimes, but it is not a happy place, and some very bad things have happened. So a measure of reader discretion is advised.)

(Also, yes, the ending is quite abrupt - it’s 2 AM so I should probably consider calling it a night.)

Anyway, have about ~3500 words of fiction...

‘We have arrived at the Corazon residence,’ the car said.

Lieutenant Tai Zhang looked up from her phone. ‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘Lock the doors while I’m out, but don’t drive off. I should only be a few minutes.’

The car said, ‘For insurance purposes I’m instructed to remind you that I have an anti-carjacking protocol-’

‘Yes, yes, of course,’ Tai sighed. ‘If one of the locals tries to put you up on bricks, you’ll zap them with a stun charge and zoom off. And howl for the police. Who may even turn up, who knows. And Dr Corazon and I will have to walk back to the Fleet base. I get it, I get it. Now let me get on with my job.’

The car took the hint and shut up. It wasn’t a full Tech Mind, of course – no way could the Navy afford their contracting rates – but its social simulation unit wasn’t entirely stupid either. The door unfolded upwards. Hot, damp January air flooded in, along with the smells of the city. Vegetation, oil, a hint of sewage and a whiff of something rotten. Actually, compared to the New Dockside area, this wasn’t so bad.

Tai climbed out of the car; the door hissed down behind her. She took a look around herself. She was stood on a cracked and pitted curbside. Amazingly, it looked like pre-Contact concrete. There was certainly no sign that it had experienced any recent maintenance. To judge from the fractured blocks, some of which lay out of place, it may well not have had any repairs since the early 2040s.

‘At least there is a pavement around here,’ Tai muttered. New London had a lot of dirt tracks; the first tsunami had sunk a good chunk of the old city and the quakes had done for a lot of what survived. Rock One, after all, had come down right in the middle of the North Sea. Whilst it had been the smallest of the two impactors, nonetheless it had been big enough. It was fair to say that coastal and near-coastal Europe had had a bad day.

Just as the car had promised, Corazon’s house was right in front of her. Tai was interested to note that it was a treehouse, clearly post-Contact. All bulbous and round, big fat leaves hanging over its top. Windows and a door had been incorporated into the bioengineered wood. The house-tree seemed fully grown, and from the lichen on the bark, it had to be at least a few years old. As she looked around, Tai saw that most of the neighbouring dwellings were also treehouses, though confusingly, there was a surviving pre-Contact apartment block on the corner of the street. The brickwork and the old-style PVC windows looked incredibly out of place, the building equivalent of a fly stuck in amber.

Tai fingered the collar of her uniform jacket. She felt uncomfortably-hot. A glance at her phone revealed that the air temperature was hovering around twenty-five degrees Celsius – not exceptionally hot for the time of year, but certainly enough to be unpleasant. No point wasting any time, then. She needed to go and collect their guest.

Tai opened the little picket-fence gate in front of the house and started down the path. Next to her, an array of solar panels was tracking the Sun. Corazon’s garden also had a backup wind turbine, parked on the opposite side of the path. Apparently the academic didn’t trust the municipal grid. Honestly, Tai couldn’t blame him, though on the other hand it did seem a bit excessive. After all, this was the 2060s, not the ‘50s. Even a chaotic urban mess like New London averaged about six hours’ reliable electricity per day.

Tai reached the door. She lifted her hand and knocked smartly on it, rapping three times. It was an Academy instinct, repeatedly burnt into her brain by the Fleet’s officer candidate school. You always knocked three times and waited before entering, unless of course you really liked doing lots of push-ups. This January morning was, in Tai’s opinion, far too hot for push-ups.

She heard some clattering from inside the house. ‘Wait, wait, I’m on my way!’ a muffled voice said. It was male, with an accent she couldn’t quite place.

The door opened. Tai blinked. ‘Uh,’ she said.

The man looked at her, seeming a bit confused. Then recognition flickered across his face. ‘Oh of course!’ he said. ‘You’re from the Fleet, aren’t you. They said they’d be sending a car, though I did wonder if it would actually turn up.’

Tai managed to recover her surprise. She hadn’t realised that her passenger-to-be was old. From his grey hair and wrinkled face, he couldn’t be under fifty. With a slight shiver, Tai realised what that meant – he’d been born, and had grown up, beforehand. Before all of it happened.

‘Dr Carlos Corazon, I assume?’ she said. He nodded. ‘Lovely to meet you. I’m Lieutenant Tai Zhang, and I’ve been tasked with bringing you to the shuttle-dock. We’ll be going up to the Relentless together, for the shakedown flight.’

Corazon blinked. ‘They’re farming out their officers on taxi duty? The Navy really must be a bit strained.’

Oh great, Corazon was one of those people who thought the Navy was a waste of time. It was certainly a common opinion throughout AU-Earth. Certainly it wasn’t entirely wrong. Even the most powerful human-built warship wouldn’t do much damage to even a small Spiral Fleet cruiser. Still, Tai felt this criticism missed the point somewhat. Even if the AU-E Fleet was mostly an exercise in public relations, it was still important to show that the AU-E had something to offer to the wider Concordium.

Also, Corazon had another point, though she doubted he realised it. Tai had no sooner arrived at the ship then she’d found herself immediately ordered off it again, to go and collect some random civilian. She supposed it reflected the last-minute chaos going on within the ship’s complement as it got ready for its first ever flight as an actual ship of the line. A lot of the ship’s officers hadn’t even arrived until yesterday; Tai wasn’t even the latest assignee to make their way to their birth. They were due to undock in less than twenty-four hours; this was not the best use of her time. Tai should be down in Engineering, meeting with her department, getting to know the crew’s names and faces and getting their shift-schedules and duty rosters finalised.

Instead she was here, stood on a doormat somewhere out in New London’s half-resurrected urban carcass.

‘Well,’ she said, ‘the sooner we’re under way, the better.’

The Relentless was the Fleet’s newest warship; its maiden voyage would also be carrying a complement of notaries. Some of them were journalists, some of them were various apparatchiks linked to the current federal coalition government, and a few were people of note from wider society. Dr Corazon was apparently somewhat known within the astronomical community, presumably hence his invitation.

‘Cool,’ Corazon said. ‘Just let me grab my bag…’

He turned around and disappeared back into the house. Tai fought the urge to roll her eyes at his disorganisation. A few moments later, the academic reappeared, clutching a carry-bag. To Tai’s eyes it didn’t look like he had remotely enough changes of clothes – but, she decided that was his problem and not hers.

‘This way,’ she said, gesturing him toward the car.

He closed the door of the house behind him, locking then double-locking it. ‘Just let me arm the security system,’ he said, pulling out his phone. Tai waited patiently as Corazon fiddled with the keys. Something beeped and he looked satisfied. His phone disappeared back into a pocket. This at least was an urge Tai could understand.

‘Lots of crime around here?’ she asked.

He shrugged. ‘Some. Barnet’s not too bad. There are worse boroughs, it’s actually fairly good around here. Most people on this street have formal jobs, you know?’

‘That might attract the gangs,’ Tai noted. ‘Rich neighbourhood and all that.’

Corazon shrugged. ‘My security system is a licensed Tech Mind unit. Non-sentient, of course, but advanced enough to handle itself.’

‘That and a treehouse,’ Tai observed. ‘Those are triffid products. You clearly like your aliens.’

They started walking toward the car. Corazon said, ‘Might as well get used to it. They’re here to stay, you know. I probably know that better than most.’

‘If you don’t mind me asking,’ Tai said, ‘how old are you?’

Corazon rolled his eyes. ‘I knew that question was coming. I get that a lot. Apparently I’m the first old man some of our undergraduates have ever seen.’

That was unlikely in practise – even today, about twenty percent of the AU-E’s population had been born before 2040 – but it wasn’t entirely-impossible either. People in the mid-to-late 2040s and the ‘50s had produced a lot of kids, and that was probably just as well given how few of them there had been left. The New Baby Boom was showing signs of cooling down, though honestly, that was probably not a bad thing either. The planet wasn’t in a great state, and overshooting its carrying capacity was probably a bad idea.

‘You didn’t answer the question,’ Tai said.

Corazon looked irritated. ‘No, I suppose I didn’t, did I? All right, if you insist, I’m sixty-three. I was born in 2004.’

Tai blinked. ‘Shit,’ she said.

‘Yeah,’ Corazon agreed. There wasn’t any need to elaborate on that one.

An awkward silence descended as they approached the car. Tai sent the all-clear to the security system. The doors were folding up and quite suddenly, it began to get dark. Tai felt confused – she couldn’t see any clouds and the forecast for the day had been for clear weather.

‘Oh,’ Corazon said. ‘Of course. Right on cue!’ He pointed up at the sky.

Tai glanced quickly upwards. A big bite was eating the side of the Sun. Corazon said, ‘Parasol Two. Bang on time.’

Oh, of course. Tai had completely forgotten about the parasol-satellite’s scheduled appointment with the Sun.

‘Let’s get in the car,’ Tai said. Even though this was a relatively upscale neighbourhood, she didn’t really want to be stood around on the pavement during the parasol-eclipse. There was such a thing as asking for trouble.

Corazon needed no urging. Moments later they were both safely ensconced in the car. Outside, smoothly and without fuss, an artificial night was falling over the city. Lights flickered on inside buildings, stars bloomed across the now-nightfallen heavens and a few of the streetlights even turned on. The rest were either broken or missing their bulbs.

‘Car,’ Tai said, ‘take us to the Fleet’s dockside complex, please.’

‘Acknowledged,’ the vehicle’s electronic voice said.

The electric engine gently purred to life and the headlights came on. The car pulled out from the curb and began its journey through the city.

‘It will rain later, I expect,’ Corazon remarked. ‘Once the Parasol moves over, I mean. The drop in air temperature can drive condensation in the clouds.’

The forecast hadn’t mentioned that, but Tai supposed it wouldn’t be surprising if it was wrong.

‘Do you find the eclipses weird?’ Tai asked. She realised, just a moment too late, that the question was probably too personal and probably too judgemental. Her passenger certainly thought so. Even in the internal lights of the car, his face darkened.

‘Young lady,’ Corazon snapped, ‘I find everything about this world weird. This is nothing like the place I thought I’d grow old in. It’s the same planet, but a different universe. Though I’m sure that won’t make much sense to you. From the looks of you I’m guessing you’re a post-Contact child.’

He was, Tai thought, rather patronising. She wondered if it was deliberate. No, she didn’t think so. It was just how he was. Perhaps this had been normal behaviour, perfectly average for the world prior to June the Eighth, 2040.

‘I was born in 2042,’ Tai said. ‘I never knew my parents. They got Lung Rot and died not long after I was born.’

The academic didn’t appear to have heard her. He was still staring upwards at the sky.

‘No,’ Corazon said, ‘at least the eclipses make sense. Giant mirror-satellites in orbit, blocking out some sunlight, keeping the temperatures down. Stopping a damaged atmosphere from frying the planet. People did have ideas like that, you know, before. The Contact War made it worse, but climate change existed before 2040. Hell, I vaguely remember hearing about it back in the 2000s!’

Tai boggled. ‘You remember back then?’

‘A bit. I was six in 2010, remember? I do recall the family being very upset about something around ‘08, though I didn’t really understand it.’

‘What could it have been?’ Tai asked. ‘There weren’t any problems then!’

‘There was a planet-wide economic collapse,’ Corazon said. ‘Though nothing like as bad as what happened in the Forties – or the Twenties, for that matter. Anyway it hardly matters now. It was something we did to ourselves, without any external help.’ He looked at the sky, and shuddered. A haunted expression flooded across his face. ‘You know, not like that.’

The artificial night had filled the sky with stars. Some of them were moving – spacecraft, on their journeys to and from any number of destinations. A lot of them were concentrated in the direction of the Moon, though there was no surprise there. The Moon was the main reason the Spiral Concordium bothered with Sol and its planets, after all. It was indirectly the source of all this trouble.

But Corazon wasn’t looking at any of that. His eyes were locked on something else, lower down in the sky. It was pitted and cratered, a rough spheroid, greyish in colour. It was currently in crescent phase, hanging low in the sky and close to the artifically-occluded Sun. But there was no mistaking it.

‘Rock Three,’ Corazon said. ‘That fucker. The one that would have ended us.’

It was harmless now, of course. The 3008th Division of the Spiral Fleet had seen to that, stabilising it onto a safe-if-low orbit around the Earth. But the engineers of the New And Bountiful Prosperity Combine had done their work correctly – had Rock Three impacted, it would have been sufficient to end the Earth’s biosphere, and hide all the evidence of New Prosperity’s crimes forever. The Moon would have been theirs, along with all its reserves of precious Lovecraftium, and the uninhabitable neighbouring planet would have been passed off as a tragic cosmic accident.

‘Three hundred miles wide,’ Corazon said. ‘They actually towed it in all the way from the Kuiper Disc. It wasn’t even in our records before they tossed it at us. Not even a tsunami-making rock. An ocean-boiling rock.’

Rock Three was now a de facto second moon and a permanent fixture in the Earth’s skies, but it was also something that had very nearly been the tombstone for an entire planet. For all the horror they had inflicted, for all the hundreds of millions of people they’d killed, Rocks One and Two had merely been the opening salvos.

‘And of course they tossed in Lung Rot,’ Tai said. ‘As a nice little fuck-you parting-shot.’

‘Yeah, had that.’ Corazon looked grim, then he shrugged. ‘Wasn’t fun. It was like doing Covid all over again. Just joyous. Gotta love hacking up fungal slime out of your own alveoli all day.’

He shuddered. It was a whole-body convulsion.

The Contact War and the two Rocks had been bad, but it was Lung Rot that had done the real, lasting damage. During the early Forties, people had been dying fast enough that the survival of the species had seemed in question for a time, though in practise the Spiral Concordium would never have allowed that. Even if it required raising a cloned population somewhere else, in some carefully-sterilised biodome on some other planet, the Concordium would not have allowed an actual extinction-event. The whole point of the galactic union, for all of its many flaws, was preventing exactly that sort of horror. The Contact War itself should never have happened, of course, but once the Concordium had belatedly become aware of what New Prosperity was doing, they had moved to shut it down. New Prosperity no longer existed; the entire organisation had been declared traitors and anyone who survived the Battle of Earth had been mercilessly hunted down. If there were any former Prosperity scions left out there somewhere, they knew better by now then to advertise their survival.

Lung Rot had been a vicious punch in the face, a final little parting-present from New Prosperity, the spores air-dropped into multiple locations across the Earth even as the Combine’s forces crumbled under the Spiral assault. No-one was really sure why they’d done it. It had gained them nothing; if Rock Three had left any questions unanswered, then Lung Rot surely had removed any doubt about the Combine’s intentions. Their fall had been absolute, from one of the oldest, wealthiest and most-celebrated organisations in the Milky Way to one of the most-despised collections of traitors who had ever lived.

Suddenly, Tai had to talk. The urge was abrupt, dominating, complete. It was probably also a bad idea, but you didn’t always get the choice with these things. The words were flowing from her mouth, and like it or not, they weren’t going to just magically turn off.

‘My earliest actual memory is when they sprayed the camps,’ Tai said. ‘I was in one of the refugee ones, just another orphaned toddler. I had a cough by then, of course. Everyone did. There was space in our tent – a lot of people had been taken out. New people weren’t coming in, not anymore. I didn’t really know what it meant then, of course. But then one day people were – excited? It was weird. I’d never seen them like that. There was suddenly not any crying. People were hugging each other and smiling. I remember they pulled me out of the tent. People were coming out of the tents, everywhere. There was an actual crowd. Cheering, even! It was some triffids that came through. They were pulling a spray-tank. They sprayed all of us – one of them even shoved the nozzle in my mouth!’

‘And the retroviral agent re-wrote your lungs,’ Corazon noted. ‘So they now secrete a natural fungicide, keeping the Lung Rot mycelium at subclinical levels. Yeah, something similar happened to me. Kind of crazy, one of the happiest days of my life, you know? The day in 2045, when the aliens came to genetically-engineer all of us.’ He shook his head. ‘Flying saucers spraying the cities with bio-agents, and people dancing in the streets below! Would’ve been unimaginable just ten years before.’

This chatter was, of course, a normal thing. Tai had had lots of conversations like this. It was quite an average event for people to compare their traumas – virtually everyone living in the AU-Earth had some emotional burden that they were carrying around with them. It was true that social conditions were improving – things were merely “bad” now, rather then the “borderline-apocalyptic” of twenty years previously – but an important part of getting to know someone was trying to gently figure out where their personal sore spots and pain-points lay. Triggering someone into a flashback episode was generally considered to be a social faux pas, especially if it was done deliberately. There were also practical concerns too. It was difficult for a workplace to function if half its staff were either lying on the floor sobbing or had been driven to flee the building by their own inner demons.

Corazon sighed, shrugged and opened his bag. Tai read that as his cue to dismiss this topic. He’d said his piece. And so, she supposed, had she. He knew not to mention the camps, she knew not to mention Lung Rot. They’d told each other what they needed to know, and now it was time to move smoothly onwards.

To Tai’s surprise, he pulled out a pair of knitting needles and a ball of wool. Moments later, a pair of half-finished socks emerged. ‘I am glad someone decided to save the sheep,’ he remarked. ‘We lost so many of the others.’

Lung Rot had been aimed at humans, of course, but the mycelium was at home in any warm, enclosed, moist, dark space. There had been extinctions all throughout Class Mammalia. A whole host of species now only existed as captive populations in carefully-maintained bio-domes, and they were the lucky ones. Someone had cared enough to try to rescue them, during the end of the world.

And the less said about that, the better.

‘You like knitting?’ Tai asked.

Corazon nodded. ‘Actually I make sixty percent of my income from it. My lectureship is nice, but academia is more like a hobby with an office.’ He started up on the socks, the needles twisting and twirling through a series of moves that Tai’s eyes struggled to follow.

‘You sell socks?’ Tai asked. It didn’t surprise her that Corazon had a side-hustle – the AU-Earth’s budgetary situation was tight, and that was very visible in public sector salaries. It was just as well that Tai’s role as an officer came with government-subsidised housing, because there was no way she could afford anything minimally-pleasant on the private market.

‘No, scarves, usually,’ Corazon said. ‘They’re mostly bought by ash lizards. I got into it almost by accident, when I went to Nine Shadows And Six Rivers back in ’52. Took my needles and stuff with me, made a scarf on the ship out. It was just something to do, you know? But when we arrived I gave it to one of our liaison team, as a gift – and they loved it. Before I knew it I had a waiting-list of gender-bending alien lizards, who all wanted individual knitted scarves.’ He snorted. ‘I got to live the high life out on Nine Shadows, while the rest of the exchange group had to slum it, down on the cheap floors of the arcology.’

‘Oh of course,’ Tai said. ‘They like decoration, don’t they?’

‘They don’t go in for clothes in quite the way we do – heat retention messes up their metabolisms something chronic. But they do go in for decoration. Necklaces, wrist-sheathes, sashes. Scarves. Natural materials are particularly-prized.’ He shrugged. ‘Who would have known that knitted goods would be a key export from this planet?’

#LHS writes #original work #yes I somehow wrote something #wow

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dereksmcgrath · 3 years

Text

Y’all are talking up Star and Stripe, while I’m impressed how this series finally gave interiority to Stain.

“No Man Is an Island,” My Hero Academia Chapter 328. By Kohei Horikoshi, translation by Caleb Cook, lettering by John Hunt. Available from Viz.

Content warnings regarding rape and violence against women.

Before I get to Stain, let’s start with the end of this chapter, given how much of a splash Star and Stripe, our newest character, has made so far with readers.

Is Star and Stripe All Might’s student? I don’t want to bring out the Todoroki red-string board determining a list of All Might’s potential offspring, and I don’t think that’s her role in this story, as calling her mentor her “master” is far more a student-teacher relationship than anything else. But if she is All Might’s student, what does that change in what I have considered about All Might up to this point? I have frequently derided his skills as a teacher, and nothing in the story has suggested otherwise that he isn’t used to it: flashbacks we’ve had of Nezu talking with All Might implied teaching would be something new for him, his innate learning clashes with someone like Izuku who prefers things explained to him, and the series has made gags about how he needed the equivalent of Teaching for Dummies to know basic pep talks to give to Izuku’s classmates. That’s not to say he was never a teacher to Star and Stripe--but it is to say that it has not been obvious to me that he had such experiences, or was that suited for it. It may be that All Might, despite himself and what he thinks of himself, was indeed a teacher to Star and Stripe, or at least she thought he did a good job as one, whether directly or, as is just as likely, serving as the role model, literally the person she has modeled her look and theming around.

You’ll also forgive me if I look at that chapter’s title and not still think how much All Might isolated himself for so long, so it’s rich to have such a title like that, when it’s too little, too late, for All Might to suddenly engage in the collaborative work that heroes should engage it, that has been part of Izuku’s ethos for so long, that is at the heart of One For All, when All Might has kept trying to handle everything on his own with no help from others. Granted, I’m being unfair: All Might has seemed to have more coordination with the police than other Pro Heroes from what we’ve seen in the comics, and it’s not like they can’t retroactively change that (Big Red Dot refers to All Might as a “friend” in this chapter, so maybe All Might is a more collaborative hero than I’m giving him credit.) Weirdly, All Might’s tendency to work alone kind of makes him and Stain alike in a lot of ways--but we’ll get to Stain later. And yes, I can also see the island conceit is referring to Tartarus, but I’m looking at the subtext first before the text.

But turning back to Star and Stripe, and without whining too much about this point, it is bizarre this late in the game to get yet another character who was influenced by All Might. But it’s not unbelievable. Of course there are more than just Izuku and Bakugo who modeled their look or name after All Might. Of course there are more than just Melissa Shield and Nighteye inspired to go into support or hero work by his example. And of course, when All Might studied and practiced in the United States, and whose theming is built around Superman, the quintessential United States superhero (albeit one co-created by a Canadian creator), of course we’d get a US Pro Hero inspired by him. And she’s a woman, and I appreciate that inclusiveness and representation.

Too bad, as usual, including another woman in the story leads to two problems I have with fans’ reactions: one, for fans who are fixated on objectifying women characters, and two, for an Edgar Allan Poe scholar like me who keeps reading into things, rightly or wrongly, and thinking everything is going to turn into killing off a woman character to motivate the men characters.

I really wish I wouldn’t have to write this ridiculous disclaimer, but the “horny on main” crowd on social media gets tiresome. It’d be nice to have a new woman character be introduced without immediate reactions being primarily “she’s hot.” Sometimes you just want to enjoy a new character like Star and Stripe as a Captain America-style pastiche and their superpower work without just seeing her as another freaking waifu for someone. Nothing precludes her from being someone that people find attractive; I just find it tiresome when it seems like still that this tends to happen to women more frequently, especially with the long history of reducing women, in real life or in fiction, for objectification and not seeing them as fully realized people where, yes, any sexuality or asexuality is part of them, but just a part, not all of them.

And while I criticize the “horny on main” crowd, it’s not like I don’t have my own problems in writing these reviews regarding women characters: I have set a countdown clock for how long before Star and Stripe gets fridged, because that’s my fear. At least recent art in the newest My Hero Academia volume in Japan features new artwork of Nagant, so fingers crossed she’s not quite dead following All For One’s inevitable explode-y betrayal. And it’s not as if this series lacks diverse representations of girls and women, especially in roles they take (Pro Hero, Villain, Vigilante, or civilian) and personalities. And it’s not fair for me to risk limiting the story’s potential by insisting a character not be killed off. But when I think popular culture at large still limits roles for girls and women in action stories, especially in superhero stories and shonen, it’s hard for me not to cringe with worry that, shortly after a girl or woman character is introduced to the story, that she’s going to be sidelined in some way, whether objectified or killed off, largely for the sake of boys and men fans and characters.

Or maybe I’m just annoyed seeing as this chapter starts with a Tartarus escapee shouting about “females” like Quark from DS9 before Stain kills him. Thoughts and prayers for that dead jackass.

Still, that character’s presence is troublesome. In Horikoshi’s works, and spinoffs like Vigilantes, violence against women perpetuates as a way of identifying someone as really super-duper evil. It feels like that Mark Millar quotation referring to rape as one of the ways to really clue in the audience that this person is evil, no different than if a villain decapitated someone. It’s far more complicated than that when writing in fiction for two reasons. First, it’s victimizing women for a story so that it traditionally falls upon the protagonist, usually a man, to avenge those women--so, Stain killing this guy kind of fits that cliche. Second, it’s not believable, and it does a lot of harm acting like a rapist is that obvious villain over there rather than a lot of people that we keep thinking are nice guys before, bam, we realize they’re fucking awful. It’s the banality of evil that perpetuates, to ignore that rapists in real life are not just mustache-twirling villains but can be people of all types, even people in the highest levels of government, entertainment, and business who are supposed to come across as reasonable, normal individuals who contribute to society but instead are also freaking monsters who committed sexual violence against someone else.

I wish I had any sort of transition to get back to other parts of this chapter, so the best I can say is, let’s turn back to Stain.

I do appreciate what this chapter does with him, especially giving us something we haven’t had from him in a long time, if ever: interiority. Getting into Stain’s mind should be petrifying, like how his stance against the Pro Heroes froze them in place, with or without use of his Quirks. (If it turns out he actually had a “Quirk awakening” like Toga and Shigaraki, I’m throwing copies I have of this manga against the wall.) Instead, Stain is weirdly rational. He assesses the situation, sees how chaotic things are in this prison, realizes things must be chaotic outside, so his first stop is to see who has information, such as any computer data, and that’s where he’s lucky enough to find the last surviving Tartarus guard protecting the hard drive that he passes onto All Might. He’s even weirdly honorable to not take that weapon on his way out, not kill this dying guard, and not just be evil for evil’s sake. As Stain himself said, he’s an ally, but also a beast.

It’s incredible. What character progression.

I was ticked off with the last chapter having Hawks dismiss Stain’s note as a “love letter” to All Might: that’s right up there with UA dismissing Shigaraki initially as a “man-child.” These characters are more complicated than these off-putting insults that seem to be more about criticizing men for failing to stand up to some expected behavior. Like, if you’re going to go after Stain and Shigaraki, I would start with the fact that they are freaking murderers before lambasting one as looking up to All Might and the other as enjoying video games and being immature for his age.

So, after how annoying those character derisions are, I’m impressed how this chapter took us through Stain’s thought process in a way to have him be more than the crazed vigilante we saw in Vigilantes and the Hosu Arc. It added depth to him without negating what evils he has done. It showed his thought process beyond cliches of some Death Wish hyper-violent weirdo without, again, retconning those aspects as if they were never part of him. This chapter isn’t quite a retcon, so much as a fleshing out of a character to show how he was able to get the jump on Pro Heroes and kill or disable so many of them. This makes him look smart and capable rather than, as I will continue to complain about Villains like All For One, just lucky and the beneficiaries of plot contrivances. That contrast, to have Stain looking at All For One, who stands before escaped prisoners like the Messiah (or Anti-Christ) figure he thinks he is, just cements for me how well Stain is written, and how poorly in contrast All For One comes across.

Then again, Stain did just happen upon the guard having those drives of digital information, so he could have just been the lucky beneficiary of a plot contrivance. Or, as at least one person online wrote, All For One planted that evidence to trick the Pro Heroes into thinking Shigaraki is nearing his finalization so he can draw them into a trap. For now, though, I’m choosing to take this as an example for how an antagonist should be written: capable, smart, and not just getting by on the plot deciding they should win.

I had said about the previous chapter how that one felt incomplete. But I can’t say that any of Stain’s story in this arc has felt incomplete. I usually hate bouncing back and forth between flashbacks and timeskips in stories (but I’ll say more about that later when getting back to some Episode 7 posts), but going back to explain how Stain got the information from Tartarus worked for me. It wasn’t just to fill in back story; it also clarified what Stain thinks his role is right now, after what he did in Vigilantes and what he did to Iida’s brother: at least to me, or maybe because by now readers are more familiar with him, he seems to have more self-awareness. There is no glee like there seemed to be when he took down crime bosses and unintentional Villains in Vigilantes, or when he disabled Tensei. He seems oddly more rational--which is terrifying, given how much to shit society has gone in the manga, where someone like Stain seems reasonable compared to All For One gathering enforcers from Tartarus. It’s kind of fitting that the chapter that really re-introduced Stain to this series was titled “Who Are You Really?” which is pretty much the question that surviving Tartarus guard said to Stain, whether he will be a hero or another villain.

(Speaking of that guard: we’re told pretty much all the guards at Tartarus died, whether killed by the prison escape, the building’s damage, or drowning. But wasn’t there one guard that All For One’s team took with them to pilot their escape? I’m not getting my hopes up that Shishikura’s father survived, but it would be a waste to kill him off just to motivate Shishikura instead of that motivation being in part to rescue his dad. Granted, I’m skittish around killing characters before their usefulness is exploited, as awful as that is to phrase, but unfortunately, I just complained about fridging, so I’m being annoying right now.)

After that back story for Stain, we catch up to All Might returning from his pep talk to Izuku to meet with Tsukauchi. For a lot of reasons, Tsukauchi has been criticized by fans, some of inspired for good reasons by our moment of reception (many police not meeting the standards set for them in the wake of their unjustified violence, especially against marginalized people) and some that are either plot-based (he is not the biggest fan of our protagonists in Vigilantes and actively upsets their work) or undeserved (he’s actually been competent by this point in the manga). So, it’s weird to hear him complain about needing Stain’s help--when, given how bad things are in Japan in this story, he’s not exactly doing that great a job himself.

Also, poor Sansa back there has a head scar now.

Where this chapter falls apart a bit for me is its attempt at worldbuilding. I appreciate that we are learning along with All Might just how One For All works. He himself didn’t quite get what Izuku was seeing of the Vestiges way back in the Sports Festival Arc, so it makes sense that he is our audience surrogate to explain to Sansa and readers just what he can and can’t sense of them when near Izuku. The problem I’m having is that this is information related to about a month or so ago when he was with Izuku in the hospital. It wasn’t as clear to me then that All Might had this much of a deep understanding of One For All, so to now have it explained in this detail feels like we’re skipping some steps in logic. It’s not unbelievable that All Might needed that month to finally understand all of this; it’s just bothersome as a reader to have the info dump happen in this manner. I understand that info-dump would have disrupted the narrative flow in those earlier chapters; I also think delaying that information until now is frustrating, the equivalent of having to set down this chapter to go back to the earlier ones. It’s not the joy of re-reading a story with new appreciation for something else to discover in the earlier chapters; it’s more like reading a textbook and having to skip to endnotes at the back of the book to read something in more detail.

And speaking of getting buried in needless confusing self-contradicting explanations: the manga then cuts to a Pro Hero version of the United Nations, full of shadowy people explaining how it’s too difficult to coordinate nations to convince them to let their Pro Heroes go to Japan and help with relief efforts. It’s bad enough how much I hate “shadowy people in government” as a trope: it felt lazy in the first Avengers film, and after more than four years in the United States having to hear deep state bullshit by hucksters and far-right fascists, no, I’m not up for such symbols that don’t put a face on the people responsible. I know I’m invoking Avatar: The Last Airbender so soon after talking it up in the previous chapter review, but we delayed showing Ozai’s face to make him faceless so that, when it is finally revealed, and he looks like a normal guy, we realize how this evil can come from even the most normal looking person, especially as a contrast between his unscarred face and Zuko’s scarred face, where the scar in a lot of stories is traditionally used to mark someone as ugly and therefore evil, while Avatar shows how obviously prejudiced, wrong, and illogical such mental and symbolic associations are. I know it would take more work to draw designs for all these bureaucrats, but give them faces, make them known, make them actual characters. I get that making them relatable causes as much of a problem as making them too relatable and therefore making their absurd points logical, but I can’t stand to keep perpetuating “deep state shadow government” nonsense in destabilized times.

Then again, when it comes to the delays in sending out the Pro Heroes, it’s not that unbelievable or unrealistic, given how bureaucracy hampers international relief efforts all the time in the real world. But it’s just bizarre, for a work of fiction that has shown Pro Hero society making so many advancements yet still bogged down by something so quotidian in a fantastic setting. Granted, I’ve repeated over and over again in these reviews how I thought this setting was a utopia--a world where people of different abilities and sizes had accommodations with regard to clothing, housing, and buildings--only to have later chapters undermine all of that--housing for giant-size people is in inconvenient locations, subsidies are not easy to get for being giant-size, people with non-human appearances are abused and tormented.

But, to the story’s credit, ending with Star and Stripe ignoring such bureaucracy, so, this is very much Horikoshi having his cake and eating it, too.

And I hate to end this review on a down note, but I am cringing at potential unfortunate implications incoming. Star and Stripe is riding atop what looks like a futuristic fighter plane that, I have to imagine, within this plot, is related to the United States government and, if not, at least by her entire US-patriotic theming, might as well be. And she’s flying a couple of these fighter planes to Japan. I really, really am trying not to cringe at potential invoking of the United States’ attack on Japan during World War II, and I’m really trying to hope the story won’t make some misguided references to nuclear bombing. I know this is a stretch, but after the trouble Horikoshi rightly faced for how he named All For One’s doctor, it would not surprise me. Plus, it’s not as if this hasn’t been a difficulty in localizing these Japanese works in United States audiences: I play that Bungo Stray Dogs mobile app game all the time, but there’s a reason that game, upon initial release in the United States, almost immediately changed a special move’s name from “Kamikaze” to “Beatdown.” And seeing as that Bungo film ends with Agatha Christie almost carpet-bombing Japan, yeah, you’ll forgive me if a lot of these thoughts are circulating in my mind anticipating what could happen next in this series.

#my hero academia #mha spoilers #stain #star and stripe #manga review #cw: rape #cw: violence against women

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