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infinite-xerath · 3 years

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Runeterra Retcons 7: Twitch

Ah, Twitch. Even among League’s roster of Champions were negatively impacted by the reboot, he’s something of a special case. How is his lore special, you ask? Well, quite simply… He doesn’t have any.

OK, that’s a little bit of an exaggeration, but to give you a clear image of what I mean, we’re going to be doing things a little differently this time. Normally I start with the Champion’s OG lore states before addressing their current one, but with Twitch we’ll make an exception. I don’t even have to provide a link for you guys this time, since I can literally just copy-paste it right into the script.

Here’s Twitch’s summary on the Universe page:

“A Zaunite plague rat by birth, but a connoisseur of filth by passion, Twitch is not afraid to get his paws dirty. Aiming a chem-powered crossbow at the gilded heart of Piltover, he has vowed to show those in the city above just how filthy they really are. Always a sneaky sneak, when he’s not rooting around in the Sump, he’s digging deep into other people’s garbage for discarded treasures… and perhaps a moldy sandwich.”

And here’s his extended bio:

“A plague rat by birth, a connoisseur of filth by passion, Twitch is a paranoid and mutated rat that walks upright and roots through the dregs of Zaun for treasures only he truly values. Armed with a chem-powered crossbow, Twitch is not afraid to get his paws dirty as he builds a throne of refuse in his kingdom of filth, endlessly plotting the downfall of humanity.”

No, you are not seeing things. Twitch’s “extended” bio is actually shorter than his summary blurb, and neither actually tells us much of anything about the character. The most we really know is that Twitch apparently wants to destroy Piltover/humanity, but… We’re not really given a reason why.

Now, it should be noted that Twitch is more of a comedy-relief character than anything. He’s a deranged rodent with human-level intellect but still maintains all the stereotypical behaviors of a rat. He hates bright lights, lives in unhygienic environments, loves moldy food, etc. That’s kind of always been Twitch’s personality, to be frank, and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. He’s not a particularly deep character and he doesn’t have to be, but I do think he deserved more than just two long sentences for his “extended” bio, especially since Riot HAS given him a much more fleshed-out backstory before.

So, with that out of the way, let’s look back on Twitch’s history and see what he once was, compared to what he is now. He’s got two prior lore states, so of course, we’ll begin with the first.

Alright, so immediately we have something a bit more compelling to work with. We have a clear explanation as to how and why Twitch was mutated into a large, intelligent rat, as well as a general motivation for him. Obviously, it’s not much since he still doesn’t have a goal beyond “representing himself.” It’s a start, at least, so let’s see how Twitch’s second bio expands on these ideas.

So, in this version, Twitch’s origins are more-or-less the same with an added emphasis on his insanity. What’s most interesting about his second bio is that it actually gives Twitch a goal to work towards: in essence, he wants to make more of himself. Now THIS presents a lot of possibilities: a mutated, hyper-intelligent rat seeking to reproduce the accident that led to his own existence.

So, across all of Twitch’s bios, there’s been a single consistent theme: his origins as a mutated rat. Now, by this point you all probably know my stance about the Vastaya, and how infuriating I find it that Riot only ever half-committed to using it as a concept to bring League’s animal people together under a single umbrella. Even still, in Twitch’s particular case, I’m willing to accept and embrace his origins as a mutated rat, rather than a Vastayan. So, how can we flesh out this concept in League’s modern lore state? I’m thinking a little something like this…

The sumps of Zaun are often regarded as a nightmarish place: a den of toxic fog and chemical run-off funneled down from the cities above. Few beings are capable of thriving in such a hostile environment, but among them, it is said Twitch reigns supreme.

Twitch began life as an ordinary rat living in the sewers of Zaun. He scavenged for food, hid from predators, and mingled with others of his kind when the mood struck him. It wasn’t always easy, but the life of a rat was simple… Until he found himself abducted by humans.

Lured into a cage by the sweet smell of food, the once-simple rat found himself taken to a strange place filled with people in unusual uniforms. There, he was subjected to all manner of experiments and injected with chemicals alongside other rats. While most of the other test subjects simply perished, Twitch simply writhed and shuddered about while the chemicals took hold in his body, earning him his new nickname.

Though the experience was agonizing at first, Twitch found himself changing in ways he could not comprehend. Over time, his body grew larger and his mind sharper. Twitch was subjected to a series of increasingly complex puzzles alongside the other surviving test subjects, yet he alone proved capable of solving them. Mazes, traps, and several other obstacles were raised before Twitch, yet he overcame them all. The humans seemed delighted, but Twitch’s resentment for them only grewas the tests became more and more deadly. He longed to escape his confinement, and so began concocting a plan.

Just as they studied him, Twitch began to study the humans from the confinement of his cage. He started learning the meaning of words and the general workings of their contraptions. Finally, the day came when, during one particular trial through an obstacle course, Twitch surprised his captors by exploiting one of the traps to break a hole into the walls of the maze. The humans panicked as Twitch escaped, but by this point he had a general understanding the laboratory and where its exits were.

Using a floor grate in what humans called the ‘rest room,’ Twitch escaped their lab and found himself returned to the sewers. At last, he was free, but Twitch’s troubles did not end there. The chemicals injected into him continued to warp the rat’s mind and body, causing him to grow even larger over time and develop even more complex thoughts.

Soon, Twitch found himself alienated from his own kind, no longer able to fit through the narrow passages and cracks he was accustomed to. Instead, Twitch roamed the sewers alone, desperately seeking to understand what was happening to him while continuing to indulge in his rodent instincts. Twitch eventually came to develop an intricate understanding of Zaun’s sewer system, using the garbage and waste from the world above to create his own personal den of refuse. For a time, Twitch became content with his new life style…

But then the humans came again.

Not wanting to lose their most valuable test subject, the people from the lab had sent troops armed with chemtech crossbows to hunt down and subdue Twitch, intent on bringing him back for further study. They’d anticipated the task to be a simple matter, but Twitch had only grown smarter and more dangerous over time. The soldiers came to hunt the rat, but found themselves hunted instead as they fell victim to Twitch’s makeshift traps and poisons. Now, the humans were trapped in Twitch’s maze, and he delighted in watching them succumb to obstacles not unlike what he and the other rats had endured in their laboratory.

One by one, the soldiers fell until not a single survivor remained. Twitch was delighted to see that his own experiment had been a success, but he knew that this would not be the end. The humans had come for him twice before, and it was likely they would come again. Taking up one of the chemtech crossbows from the fallen soldiers, Twitch began to train himself in its use.

Just as Twitch suspected, more humans soon came, but they too found themselves no match for Twitch’s ingenuity, nor his newly-acquired crossbow. As before, Twitch took what he could from the fallen soldiers, making a habit of claiming trophies each time he felled the intruders. From one he looted a tattered jacket, and from another he took a metal shoulder plate. For a time, this cycle continued, but each new batch of soldiers became more and more relentless in their approach.

Eventually, the humans gave up on recapturing Twitch. They had decided that if they couldn’t reclaim their test subject, they would eliminate him instead. The soldier came bearing explosives and weapons of fire, setting the sewers ablaze. Twitch watched in dismay as his den burned, yet narrowly managed to escape using the smoke as cover. Believing their task successful, the humans finally left, but Twitch was not content to let their actions go unpunished. He desired revenge… But Twitch knew he wouldn’t be able to claim it alone.

Thus, Twitch began to embrace the twisted sciences that transformed him. Through sheer trial and error, he aims to recreate the serum that transformed him and raise an army of mutant rats to one day overthrow the surface world. Though his attempts have thus-far been largely unsuccessful, the self-proclaimed Sewer King is determined to see his goals to fruition, rebuilding his realm of refuse all-the-while.

So, that’s my take on Twitch. The biggest change you’ll notice is that, rather than having his mutation be a complete accident, it was engineered in a lab by a group of scientists. I was honestly never a fan of the whole “random chemicals just happen to mutate wildlife” trope, because honestly if a rat started drinking water polluted with all kinds of random drugs, they would probably just get sick or die.

That aside, there’s another issue with Twitch’s lore that always kind of bugged me even before the rework: his intelligence. Twitch is insane, but he’s also smart. We see in his short story that he’s clever enough to ambush and outsmart humans, and even learn to use human weaponry like his crossbow to astounding proficiency. He can speak fluently and even concoct his own poisons that he uses in the game! I’m fine with the mutation given him a higher capacity for thought, but there’s no way a rat living in the sewers all his life would suddenly become perfectly fluent in human language or have immediate knowledge of alchemy.

That knowledge had to have come from somewhere, and I think having him pick it up in a lab while being experimented on is just one of many ways you can explain it. I’d like to think that the lab rat backstory also serves to better justify his hatred of humanity and why he wants to take over the surface world, even if the goal is still fairly unrealistic. Twitch is, after-all, a comedic character at heart and while I make an effort to play up his intelligence a fair bit in this bio, I still try to convey that he’s ultimately just a rat who wants nothing more than to live in filth and scavenge in garbage.

But, what do you all think? Is this portrayal of Twitch to your liking? As always, let me know your thoughts down below, and I’ll see you all next time.

#Runeterra Retcons #Twitch #League of Legends

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cyberramblings · 4 years

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Sonic & Tails: Ideas for a new Sonic Plot and Partner System

So, first off, there is a game called Sonic & Knuckles. It is basically just the second half of the overly ambitious Sonic 3. It is not Sonic 4, but it is a standalone game. Anyways, there isn’t a game called Sonic & Tails yet, so let’s make that happen.

Regardless of that, I wanted to talk about my vague conceptualizations of a Sonic game plot. I WANTED to continue my thoughts on other Sonic characters, but my stupid brain can’t stop thinking about “what if Sonic and Tails fought?” Again, this is getting into some borderline fanfiction territory, but I write the blog AND the rules.

Piggybacking off my previous post detailing my thoughts on Tails, I had said that I liked the idea of Tails taking over Robotnik’s lab after he is defeated once and for all (or temporarily, I don’t expect Sonic Team to kill off the main villain, as much as I’d pseudo-ironically love Sonic Adventure 3 to open with Eggman’s funeral while Sound of Silence plays like the overly edgy funeral scene from Watchmen 2009).

Now, this is also getting into some serious Marvel Civil War or Batman v. Superman territory, but stick with me. I feel like one of the most underutilized aspects of Sonic as a series is the cast of characters. Maybe it is just me, but I feel like Sonic fans want to see their favorite obscure character return or see as many characters as possible. Even the most trivial characters have a cult following in the weird Sonic fandom. It was really cool to see the obscure Sonic the Fighters characters return for a boss fight in Sonic Mania, even if they were just an illusion. I am proposing a Sonic game where nearly every characters returns to make up the boss fights.

Now, the first issue with this idea is that typically the “rival” battles in Sonic are a bit hit or miss. Fights against playable characters in the Adventure IMO felt pretty flat and uninteresting. Now, 2D Sonic has some better boss battles against the likes of Metal Sonic and Knuckles and the same goes for Generations, so maybe those could be emulated. Regardless of gameplay, I’d like to see all the weirdies like the playable cast of Sonic Heroes, The Fighters, Emerl, Blaze, Gamma E-102, etc. return at least as boss fights, if not as playable characters, even if they are just piloting the mechs that would typically be piloted by Eggman. I get zero excitement from fighting Eggman anymore, but just put Rouge’s model in the cockpit and suddenly its way cooler with more potential for unique boss dialogue.

So far I have proposed a Civil War-style plot where Tails goes a little bit off the deep end and a Sonic game where the boss fights are all the beloved recurring characters. It should be obvious how these two parts fit together. Perhaps the dual story structure of Adventure 2 is overplayed by this point, but obviously it would fit in with these ideas.

To get into the nitty gritty and provide an example of what I am imagining, consider Metal Sonic. I can easily see a plot that starts with Tails reconfiguring Metal Sonic to be “good”. This bring back a classic character in a new way and allows for a lot of angles for the plot to go, of course borrowing from various Iron Man plots and the Buffy-bot from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

One idea from Sonic Adventure that I would really like to see return is the ever-evolving nemesis concept. Even if Sega never really brings back Chaos, I’d love to see a rival that increases in power as the game goes along. This could totally tie in with my previous idea, with Metal Sonic becoming more powerful over the course of the game, possibly with the acquisition of the Chaos Emeralds like Chaos does. Metal Sonic already has been shown to take on a few different forms, such as at the end of Sonic Heroes.

Another story beat that I’d like to see replicated is the end of Adventure 2 where Sonic and Shadow have to team up. Now, in this hypothetical Sonic & Tails game, that would obviously be Sonic and Tails teaming up, but I’d also love to see them bust out Mecha Sonic as a kind of retconned prototype of Metal Sonic from Sonic 2/3 as a last resort too.

I also love the story beat of all the playable characters at the end of Sonic Adventure bringing the depleted Chaos Emeralds to Sonic for the final fight. I would love to see something like this but a little more weighty. I have a clear mental image of something like the Breath of the Wild loading screen that shows your level of progress though the game, but instead with Sonic endlessly walking towards the camera as the game loads, surrounded by more and more characters walking towards the screen as you rescue/recruit them.

Personally, it seems like Sonic games struggle to balance multiple playable characters, so I’d settle for something like Advance 3 where you pick a partner that enables new moves. I would prefer to find a way to include every possible character as playable, but I would settle for a 3D Sonic game where Sonic (and maybe characters that control near identically like Metal Sonic, Shadow, Silver, Blaze, etc.) is the only playable character, with characters like Tails, Knuckle, Amy, Big, etc. are relegated to the partner role, but swappable.

Playable Characters:

Sonic: Everything normal

Metal Sonic: Just make him control like he does in Adventure 2: Battle, so faster than Sonic but with less moves. I don’t think Metal Sonic has ever been canonically playabe, only appearing as a boss fight or playable in racing games or bonus modes, so that would be my biggest request.

Shadow: Just Sonic but slipperier and please give him a teleport instead of a homing attack

Silver: Again, just Sonic but make his double jump more offensive to represent his telekinetic abilities

Blaze: Her name is BLAZE and she has FIRE POWERS in Rush and Rush Adventure, so please just make her control like Sonic but with a fiery homing attack or her fire hover from Rush

Espio: Just give him some kind of limited invisibility or maybe the tornado attack as a reference to Heroes

Mighty: He could probably be thrown in with his moves from Mania, but this is reaching

Jet: Probably asking too much, but he’s never been playable in non-racing game, so even seeing him with his board in a main game as a kind of joke would be cool

Assist Characters:

Tails, Cream, Charmy: Obviously, limited flight with slightly different characteristics. Cream could alternatively have the Chao attack from Advance

Knuckles, Rouge, Tikal: Either a limited glide or the digging

Amy: Piko Piko Hammer as an attack or as a big jump. She could also maybe be a Sonic-like characters, but I feel like she was shoehorned into the speed role in Heroes

Big: I just like seeing this dumb idiot return. It seems like asking a lot for the fishing rod to be used as a grappling hook, so maybe he could just have a big area attack

Fang/Knack, Bark, Bean: I mean, maybe just show up and fistfight some enemies?

Vector: Something music based, realistically

Chaos: Again, this is reaching, but maybe this ties into Tails taking over Eggman’s research

E-1XX Alpha, Gamma, Omega, etc: It is asking a lot to have all the robots return, but I’d love to see them all as slight variants of “shoot a bunch of missiles” or limited hovering

Omochao: Personally I’d love to see this little guy as an assist who just never shuts up, maybe with some hidden secret-unlocking potential

Vanilla: She doesn’t have a lot of game appearances, I’d take anything

G.U.N. Commander: Again, I just think this would be kinda funny. He could summon robots or just fire missiles

Eggman Nega: Not sure why he would help the main characters, but I’m always rooting for weird stuff like this

Wave, Storm: They could function like Tails/Knuckles or grant a temporary board for tricks or whatnot, maybe like the skateboard powerup from Sonic Generations

Tails Doll: This is dumb, but it would be fun to see as a little throwaway easter egg

So, that was a bunch of random nonsense directly from my brain, but you probably get the idea: find a way to include a lot of characters in the plot and the gameplay. Do I expect any of this to ever happen? No. And honestly, I’d prefer to see another game where I can actually play as characters like Rouge, the robots, Amy, and Cream.

ONE LAST THING: There should really be a Sonic rhythm game. They have so much music, both the classic songs as well as the Crush 40 songs, with tons of remixes of both already existing and even more possible. It would fit perfectly with the gameplay of Sonic, you could just have the notes appear as obstacles or powerup boxes. There are a million different ways to slice it, but it just makes too much sense to ignore. I don’t have enough ideas to make a separate post, though. Maybe I’ll make a playlist sometimes of songs I’d like to see included, but the issue is that it would be way too many songs. As with the main point of this post, I would love to see many different playable characters with very slight changes to their properties.

ONE LAST LAST THING: Since Sega hates localizing Puyo Puyo games, they should just make a new Mean Bean Machine with HD graphics and all the various Sonic characters represented somehow and then release it internationally either as Mean Bean Machine or just Sonic Puyo Puyo. Again, I didn’t have enough ideas for a whole post.

FINAL FINAL FINAL RAMBLES: I kinda wanna play Sonic 06 since I actually just recently found out that Rouge, Omega, and Blaze are playable, but the disc is 20 bucks at gamestop for 360. I also kinda wanna play Unleashed, but not enough to buy it. I really get more excited when more characters are playable, which makes me wish I enjoyed playing Sonic Battle more. I also have my eye on Chronicles if I can ever get the patience to actually sit down and play it. At this point, I should just make my own dang original game or story inspired by the things I like about Sonic.

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warriorof-sun-light · 5 years

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( I know it's Roe-vember, and imma get to that 'cause I really wanna gush about Eyri's family too, and I haven't really talked about Eyri period because I don't know how to be a functional blog

but I've had the BIGGEST want to talk about Eyri's Amaroutine self, so BUCKLE UP FOLKS THAT CARE ENOUGH TO READ MORE we're on a wild ride into chilo's subconscious

Euphrosyne is the name of the Greek goddess of joy, mirth, and good cheer. She's also one of the three Charities, sister-goddesses to fill the world with pleasant moments and good will. Likewise, my little Amaroutine is a bundle of cheer and, if I'm being honest, an Ancient copy of Eyri. The OG Eyrilona. The progenitor sunshine.

Except now I excuse her childishness 'cause she's much younger than her fragmented counterpart.

While initially just looking for old Latin/Greek names that I liked (I'm picky, and I kept digging for something or someone with ties to the sea. For extra pickiness, I begged and pleaded there'd be one that started with an E, but I was amendable to ones that weren't. It was a busy day on Wikipedia), I found Euphrosyne to be a good match. I liked the name (my housemate suggested I shorten it to Euphie, because I'm Code Geass trash and he likes to hurt me), and Eyri's already a bundle of sunshine, it'll be funny to reference the goddess of literal joy, right?

Then, I started writing this post, and the rabbit hole went deeper once I did more than just skim the Wikipedia article.

Euphrosyne the goddess is the daughter of Zeus. Euphie of Amaurot is the daughter of @twotonedechoes' Hades. I'm already a big subscriber to Laha, Eli, and Emet being named after the Greek pantheon big three

Her mother is the Oceanid (or ocean nymph) Eurynome (a close second in the decision race tbh). Eyrilona's mother is a Sea Wolf to her grave, a woman of the sea and a Captain in the Lominsan Navy.

Eyri also has three siblings, and while only one sister, her eldest is a forgemaster at Naldiq & Vymelli's. Euphrosyne's half-brother is Hephaestus, the god of metallurgy, blacksmiths/armorers/craftsmen, etc.

Coincidence?! I think not!! (Except it totally is though, and i'm absolutely tickled at the irony.)

Anyway ONTO THE GIRL HERSELF!!

Euphrosyne, nicknamed Euphie, was a child of Amaurot, and daughter of Hades. She was a budding scholar, a rallying force amidst her peers, an excitable and curious sort, always with a smile and kind word to offer those she encountered. Forever striving for a seat among the Convocation of Fourteen, she gave every project, every debate, every moment of her studies both material and magical her greatest efforts, and though perhaps not the most shining of examples, she truly went above and beyond to embrace the community of Amarout.

The Akademia was like a second home to her. An interest piqued could mean moons of study, or perhaps only a few hours, but it mattered not to Euphie if it meant she acquired new knowledge to tuck away for later.

Equal parts undeterred pest and dutiful student, she charmed and exasperated those around her. If allowed a moment, Euphie could prattle endlessly on the subjects of her current studies, could weave herself an endless web of questions and answers and theories and debate, and she could just as easily fall into utter and respectable silence, giving her peers and teachers and betters naught but her complete attention when it came their turn to speak.

She attended lectures and debates and exhibits whenever possible, even when those around her insisted the subject at hand was far too advanced for her to comprehend. This often proved to be true, of course; she was still practically a child. However, daunting concepts were but challenges to be faced and overcome, and Euphie always gave it her all in trying to do so.

But she was not selfish in her learning. If she found a peer struggling with their own work, she would offer to assist them in whatever capacity they might require. Whether they simply needed a rallying word or a second mind to pick for ideas, she was always to throw herself into the work just as easily as she would one of her own projects.

It was never to gloat, never to primp and preen over what she had learned. While, yes, she may glow beneath any praise given to her, Euphie loved to see those around her succeed and learn and progress.

This readiness to help and her insatiable thirst for knowledge was obviously not without its consequences. Euphie was notorious for overexerting herself: collapsing while trying to weave magic beyond her limits, staying awake for days burrowed in her notes and the work of others, only to doze off in the middle of it all, or in the middle of a lesson, nearly without warning each time.

And, of course, with mind fit to burst with information, it came to no surprise that creation magicks often went awry from her thoughts wandering to another subject. ( “It’s a lovely day in Amaurot, and you’ve created a horrible goose...” )

Among her teachers and peers, Lahabrea himself found in her the most captive of audiences. To a fault, in some cases. It was often teased that, when not at the heels of her father, she could be found in the shadows of Lahabrea. And there was a measure of truth to it: she had a poor habit of trailing at his heel, often toting around a tome or two, or some other object of interest she’d agreed to carry for him.

She held his opinion on matters in high regard, even if obtaining that opinion meant stretching his patience thin. And yet, it was a rare occurrence for him to lose that patience, or to turn her away. She understood his responsibilities were vastly more important than entertaining her curiosities, and tried to make certain she never overstepped.

It was whispered that she might even one day succeed him, ascend to the title of Lahabrea alongside the Convocation… and perhaps she might have, had the star’s calamitous end not unfolded as it had...

#ooc ;;#au ;; euphie

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espeonage1995 · 6 years

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When the Red Strings are Attached

Chapter 1: When Two People Reconnect

Author’s note: Finally, first chapter is out! And the beginning might be emotional, but I promise at the end and the next chapter will be more funny. Hope you guys enjoy! 😊💕💕🌸

Disclaimer: Some of the scenes and references are from the movies, tv shows, games, etc. Like Friends, Pixelberry’s Choices App game, and more. I don’t any of those.

Tagging: @princessstellaris @blightarts @mind-reader1@brightpinkpeppercorn @scgdoeswhat @queenaryn @itsagoodluckkiss @sophie-summer @xo-endlessmayhem-xo@endlessly-searching-for-you @sceptilemasterr @daniela2510 @choicessa and @mysteli .

Although many people can recalled The Red String of Fate tied two people together and are destined to meet, this legend isn’t specifically limited to “couples” or “soulmates”. Sometimes, the Red String of Fate will weaved a path to those who will cross paths make history and to those who will help one another, which will soon create a scarlet tapestry from the red thread we are born with.

What if we assumed that this whole thing would applied to six different people, who may or may not known each other for a long time? And that once they crossed paths...how would their lives change?

Perhaps...we will take a look at them right now and see how their fates concurs...

It all started in a local restaurant called Red Lotus. A tall, dark hair man dressed in his waiter uniform had just enter the back, taking out the trash. By the time he tossed out the last plastic bag into the dumpster, another guy, wearing the same uniform, ran up to him. “Dude, Aaron! I need you to do me favor!” The other waiter yelled in a pleading tone. “What is it, James?” Aaron asked him. James clasped his hands together and bow down, almost as if he was begging for forgiveness or something. “Can you take over my shift, tonight? It’s an emergency!” “Again?” The dark hair waiter raised his eyebrow questionably, “What’s the emergency this time?” “...Ok. Maybe not that kind of an emergency, but it’s still important,” James confessed but continued on, “I have a date with this girl I met last week, and I just got asked out at the last minute.” “Seriously?!” “Please, please?! I really like this girl and I promise this’ll be the last time I’ll ask you for it. I’ll even let you keep the extra tips from my shift!” Aaron blankly stared at the younger waiter for a few minutes before sighing, “Alright. I’ll take over. It’s not like I have anything else to do at this moment.” “Thanks, man! I owe you one!” James patted the dark hair on the back and quickly sprint back to the door. The latter followed behind and went to the front where all the tables are bustling with many people. Many of them were comfortable and enjoying the lively atmosphere while digging into their meals and/or beverages. Smiling and feeling the confidence, the dark hair waiter quickly grabbed his notebook and pen and went to the table he’ll be serving at. “Good evening and welcome to Red Lotus,” Aaron flashed a smile, causing the couple at the table to look up, “My name is Aaron and I’ll be your server for the night. May I recommend some of the specials we have for this evening?” Meanwhile at the other side of the restaurant, a bartender with auburn hair and wearing a sunglasses is pouring drinks and eventually served them in the glass for the two young women right in front of him, sitting on the other side of the bar counter. One of the women has dark hair with red strands, and the other has light brown hair with blonde ombré. “Here you go, ladies! One sunrise tequila for the gamer girl and one passion fruit cocktail for the teacher.” “Thanks, Flint!” The girls slowly took a sip of their drinks and savor the concoctions before their eyes glint from the taste. “Mmm...I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this,” the women with dark hair and red stands exclaimed, “You’ve outdone yourself again, Flint!” “Thanks, Mel. Just doing my best for my friends here. Especially, you,” The bartender quickly winked at her, causing the latter to giggled, “So how’s the gaming company treating you? They finally let you create your own Game app for an IPhone, right?” “Yep,” Melody, or rather Mel as Flint called her, replied, “Except that they expect me to follow this stupid theme of theirs for the new game app. I mean, who wants to create another game that involves birds again? They already did it for Angry Birds and Flappy Birds!” The gamer girl groaned while her friends started laughing at her reaction. “...At least you’re going somewhere with your new job,” The light brunette with blonde ombré told her, “I’m still stuck in that private tutoring company.” “...Still haven’t found another job, yet, Maisy?” Flint asked her sympathetically. “Not yet,” Maisy replied, “It’s hard to find a teaching job these days. Despite the pay, I really like the tutoring company that I’m working at, but I just want to do something beyond that. Besides, I’m getting tired of getting rejected after ten more interviews.” Melody and Flint glance at her sadly before the former gave Maisy a hug. “You’ll find something, Maisy. Don’t worry.” Before the brunette can reply, a guy with dark brown hair wearing a blue jacket over a scrubs entered the restaurant and sat at the bar counter next to the girls. “Hey, Ryan. How’s your day at the hospital?” Maisy asked him. “It’s fine,” he told her, “Just the usual tasks of taking of the patients again.” “You want your usual scotch on the rock, Ryan?” “Not tonight,” The dark brunette told Flint, “I have an exam coming up tomorrow morning and need to concentrate. If you can make anything non-alcoholic, it’ll do.” “Got it.” Flint quickly gather the ingredients to make Ryan a drink before the latter interrupted him. “By the way, you’re going to have to prepare yourself for a strange encounter at twelve o’clock right at the front door.” “...Wait, what?!” On cue, the door to the restaurant burst opened, causing everyone to become startled and stop whatever they’re doing before looking at the front entrance. From there, they saw a young woman with blonde hair and pink strands looking around frantically while wearing a white wedding dress. Yes. That’s right. She’s wearing a wedding dress at a local restaurant, clearly all by herself. “...What-?” “...the-?” “...HELL?!” Melody, Maisy, and Flint stammered at the scene (with the bartender dropping the glass and letting it shattered to the floor) finally breaking the scene while Ryan was just staring at it cooly. “...Told ya.” Meanwhile, everyone else,both customers and waiters, were murmuring among themselves. “What is she doing wearing her wedding dress in a place like this?” “No idea.” “Were we expecting a large party tonight?” “I don’t think so. If there is, boss would’ve told us soon.” Aaron, who was waiting at the table nearby the group, finally managed to break out of his shock and calmed down a bit. “...Okay. I’ve seen a lot of strange things happening in this restaurant, but this...” he motioned to the bride, “...takes it to the next level.” Out of curiosity, Melody stood from her stool and glanced over at the bride before her eyes widened. “Oh my god. I know this girl!” Melody told her friends before waving her hand at the mysterious bride, “Chelsea? Chelsea over here!” The bride, now known as Chelsea, turned to Melody and gasped. “Oh my god. Mel, it’s you! I finally found you!” The blonde quickly throw herself after the gamer girl and hugged her tightly, nearly suffocating the latter to death. “Easy...easy...” Melody choked. “Oh, sorry sorry!” Chelsea quickly let go of her, “It’s just that I’ve been looking all over for you in the city. I even checked into the building you lived but you weren’t there. I was about to give up until there’s this cute guy wearing some sort of hospital outfit passing by and told me that you might be here, and you are! You are!”

Everyone else turned to Ryan with a blank expression in their faces, knowing that he was the one who sorta lead Chelsea here since he’s the only one not affected by the sudden scene. The dark brunette just merely shrugged it off.

“...Well, c’mon and have a seat with us,” Melody gently lead the blonde to the bar counter where her friends are at and let her sit at the stool next to the former, “By the way, everyone, this is Chelsea. She was an old friend of mine. Chels, these are my friends. Maisy, Flint, Aaron, and Ryan.”

“Hi there.”

“Heyyo.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“‘Sup.”

The rest of the group started exchange greeting Chelsea, who greeted back gratefully with a slight smile before settling down a bit. The gamer girl continued with the conversation.

“So...are you gonna tell us what’s going on or are we going to be waiting for some bridesmaids and a groom?” At that, Chelsea started bursting into tears, which shocks and confused everyone, especially Melody. And come to think of it, Melody noticed that Chelsea’s makeup is messed up and her eyes are red from crying, so she gave the blonde some napkins nearby and have Flint to bring a glass of water for her. It took Chelsea a moment to calmed down and finally found her voice to speak but was still stifling into tears.

“I’m sorry but...it’s just that something bad has happened before the wedding,” the blonde blubbered out while trying to dry her tears, “You remembered a while ago how I told you that I was going to get married to my fiance, Colton?”

Melody thought for a moment, “Yeah. Yeah I remembered how you told me that,” then the dark hair girl’s face soured, “I also remembered how you didn’t invite me to your wedding.”

“...Okay, I was hoping that wouldn’t be an issue,” Chelsea replied nervously to that, taking a sip of her water before continuing, “That aside, I was getting dressed for the wedding. Ready to walk down the aisle while everyone was watching. Just like I dreamed off. But then, I received a text from one of my friend, saying that Colton was cheating on me. At first, I didn’t want to believe it. I mean...we’ve been together for so long and I was certain he was the one for me. Then I decided to confront him about this to see if it’s true or not, even though it’s bad luck to see each other before the wedding. And that’s when I saw him...making out with another woman!”

That was when the blonde woman started crying again, leaving everyone else in the group felt sympathy for the woman and disgusted at what the guy did to her. Even Mel started to feel bad what her old friend was going through.

“Oh god…”

“Alright. That guy is a total bastard,” Flint declared with the guys nodding in agreement. Maisy went over to the crying woman and gently placed her hands on her.

“Do you know who was that woman your ex was having an affair with?”

Chelsea shook her head, “No, I don’t. I was too shock by all of this that I didn’t even get a chance to look at her face. Though, by the way she was dress, I could tell that she could possibly be one of my bridesmaid but that was it.

“...Oh, but it doesn’t really matter who it was. I was so stupid!” Chelsea whimpered before burying her face in her hands, “What went wrong and what’ve I done to deserve this?”

At this point, none of them could’ve give an answer to the situation. It’s been one of the craziest, miserable night so far.

Couple hours later, the gang invited Chelsea to stay over their apartment for the night. She managed to change into a more comfortable clothes Melody and Maisy lent her and decided to take her mind off for a bit by watching Avengers on the flat screen tv with the others. However, the used-to-be bride received a phone call not so much later and is currently yelling through her phone, whom everyone can assumed must be her ex-fiance.

“Good god, this is becoming more like Rules of Engagement. Only with more drama,” Flint commented.

“I don’t want to hear anymore of this, Colton! You betrayed me!” Chelsea cried out while the others sat at the couch looking concern. The movie was paused so they can hear what was going on. “What? That’s your excuse? Well, I wished you would’ve told me that-! Y’know what? Forget it. I don’t want to talk to you anymore. Hell, I DON’T EVEN WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE ANYMORE!”

Chelsea turns off her phone and threw it across the wall, shattering it into mechanic pieces, frightening the five friends in the room. They can see that her violet eyes are glowing red in anger.

“And she have finally evolved into a Gyarados,” Ryan commented.

She calmed down a bit and sat on the couch next to Aaron, who slowly back away from her, mainly because of her rage earlier.

“...Sorry you guys have to see that,” the blonde told them, “I...I never been this frustrated to someone other than my sister.”

“...You have every right to be,” Maisy reassured her, giving her a comforting hug, “What he did...was unforgivable. You did the right thing by ending it with him.”

“Still doesn’t make me feel any better,” Chelsea replied.

The light brunette nodded in understanding. “Is there anything we can do for you?”

“...I don’t know. But I do want to lay down and be alone right now,” Chelsea got up from the couch and head up to a room, making Maisy’s head quirked up.

“Um...Chels. That’s actually-” The door slams shut, making her flinch, “My room,” the light brunette sighed “Guess I have to sleep on the couch this time.”

When she said that, Ryan started smirking, “Y’know. There’s still some space in my room, maybe you can come over and-”

“Don’t even go there, Walker,” Maisy glared at him.

“I really feel bad for the poor girl, though,” Aaron told them while sympathetically glancing at Maisy’s room where Chelsea is in, “She’s been in a committed relationship for while and this happens. That’s a lot for anyone to take in.”

“What do you think she’s going to do now?” Flint asked in concerned.

“Well, Chels and I did discuss a bit before that break up happens,” Melody answered rather uncomfortably, twirling her hair with her finger a bit, “She’s going to stay here for a while and is planning to go back to her old apartment to pick up her stuff. However, it’s the one that she and her ex shared, and with the state she’s in, I don’t think she wants to go back.”

“So...you’re volunteering to do that for her?” The waiter asked.

“...Honestly, I’m starting to feel weird about that. I mean, it’s been a while since I saw her, and…” the gamer girl paused for a bit before deciding to change the subject, “Anyway, can at least one of you guys come with me and help me bring her stuff back? Just to make it less awkward for me.”

“Sorry, but I already told I have an exam tomorrow. Plus, I have to go back to the hospital for work,” Ryan replied.

“Wish I could help you, Mel, but someone already made an appointment with me for the private tutor,” Maisy told her.

“And I have morning shift at the cafe,” Aaron added.

Melody sighed in disappointment. At that, Flint stepped in, “I don’t have anything to do tomorrow, so if you need someone to take you there...I’m your guy.”

“Thanks, Flint. I appreciate it,” The gamer girl smiled weakly at his offered. Although she tried to hide it, it’s clear to everyone else that she’s still feeling uneasy at this.

The next day...

“So…” Flint finally break the silence as he and Melody were walking their way to Chelsea’s old apartment, “What’s the history between you and Chels?”

“...I don’t want to talk about it,” the gamer girl replied bitterly.

“C’mon Mel. Chelsea is going to be staying at your place for a while. The rest of us might as well get to know her a bit while we can. Besides, I could tell that there’s this tension between you two. More from you than her.”

“Stop using that bartender talk on me.”

“Not until you tell me.”

Melody bit her lip in silence before she decided to speak.

“Chelsea and I used to be so close as kids. Kinda like how Maise and Aaron are,” the gamer girl revealed, “We always hang out with each other and help each other when one of us is down. But...we fell apart in high school.”

Flint raised an eyebrow at her in curiosity, “How so?”

“Well for one thing, we became different,” Melody explained, “Maybe it’s partly because we became interest in different things. Me in video games. And Chels in fashion. That didn’t bother me much. No, it’s from a crowd she’s been hanging out with. I mean...some of them were bitches. And I feel like she change because of that. She became a person I don’t even know anymore. We drifted apart during high school graduation. And now that’s she’s back...I don’t know. I feel everything is rushing back to me when I see her again. Plus, why now?”

The bartender pondered for a moment before giving his answers, “I don’t know for sure, but to me, it seems like she needs a shoulder to lean. Someone she can trusts and turn to. And that’s pretty much you.”

Melody scoffed once they reached the apartment, “Yeah, right. That can be anyone, I’m not the only one who lives here.”

“And yet, she still turns to you.” Flint pointed out as he knocks on the door and then they both wait for an answer.

“Whatever, let’s just get over this. The sooner the better.”

For a few seconds, the door opens revealing a woman around their age with a short, dirty blonde hair, who stared at them cautiously.

“...Can I help you, two?” she asked.

The two friends stared back at her in confusion and the auburn hair turned to Melody.

“Question. Is Colton a guy or a girl?”

The gamer girl ignored him. “Um...Hi. I’m Melody and this guy is Flint. We’re Chelsea’s friends and we’re just here to pick up her belongings.”

It took the other girl to ponder and nodded in realization, “Oh, I see. Then, c’mon in. My name is Leah and as for Chelsea’s stuff is on this side of the room. I believe there’s not a lot for you two to carry anyway.”

Melody and Flint went inside and went to the space where the boxes are stacked up, labeled “CHELSEA”. They could see that some of the box contain some fabric, scissors, threads, and other essentials for clothing. One of them oddly appears to be smaller than the others, which caught the gamer girl’s attention and she carefully picked it up.

“So…” Melody started the conversation while absent-mindedly examine the box, “How did you and Chelsea know each other?”

Leah hummed for a bit, “Well...Chels and I worked at this designer place and we’ve known each other since college. I was one of her bridesmaids for her wedding but it was called off last night because she ran off. She must’ve had a cold feet or something.”

“Cold feet, huh? Interesting,” Mel’s eyebrow raised up suspiciously at Leah’s story, “So tell me, Leah. As her friend, did you ever attempt to call her, text her, or at least email her just to check on her? Or find out why she left?”

“Hey, I was exhausted last night. It was a rough time at the wedding because you-know-what,” The dark blonde girl turned to Mel, “Wait a sec, were you at the wedding last night, because I don’t think I ever saw you.”

Suddenly, the dark hair girl’s blue eyes started twitching in annoyance and Flint had to put his hand on her shoulder just to calm her down.

“Then did you, by any chance, heard from anyone that there’s a possibility that her ex-fiance cheated on before the wedding?” The bartender asked the woman in a calm, serious tone.

Leah tilted her head in confusion, “Really? I never heard that from anyone.”

Neither friends really buy that, since they both can tell that the oblivious tone she’s using is fake.

“Hmm. I see,” Flint nodded and eyed her suspiciously, “Y’know, I really find it strange that you, of all people, are in Chelsea’s apartment since it belongs to her and her ex. And it’ll be one thing, if she called you to pick up something from here, but considering she didn’t call anyone else who’s her family or that sick bastard...I find it weird. Plus, Chels never mention any one of her bridesmaids’ names except that one of them is the one he cheated with.”

Melody quickly lean towards Flint’s ear and whispered, “And clearly, this woman right in front of us didn’t even attempt to hide evidence. I mean, look at the clothes she’s wearing. That shirt looks too big to even be a woman’s size!”

For a moment, Leah sighed and held her hand up in defeat and gave them a serious expression.

“Alright. I admit, you two caught me. But I really don’t see why you two are making a big deal out of this.”

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because we care about her and you’re the one went behind her back,” Mel sneered at the dark blonde.

“That might be true but the truth is, Colton and I have a thing for each other and did kinda date for about four months.”

“FOUR MONTHS?!”

“Yes yes. That long. And too be honest, Colt is getting tired of her and tried to end it himself. Though, I can see why. Despite being so sweet, Chelsea is really a klutz and can be really annoying and dense when she’s around other people. I’m not sure why you two are friends with her, but I think it’s about time that she starts to grow a pair.” All of sudden, something snaps inside Melody and her face started to turn red full of rage. Before anyone can say anything, she grabbed a water bottle that’s nearby a desk, opened it, and splashed the contents on Leah, who gasped in shock.

Now, it was Leah’s turn to glare at the two friends in rage. While the gamer girl glared back at the woman, Flint started to trembled.

“...Oh shit.”

Meanwhile back at the apartment, Chelsea woke up from her nap due to the noise that sounds like a blending machine. She slowly got out of Maisy’s room and saw the said woman helping Aaron making a drink while Ryan was setting up the gaming consoles on the Nintendo Switch. The trio looked up, noticing the blonde’s presence.

“Hey you’re up!” Maisy chirped and paused the blending machine and went over to guide Chelsea over to the machine, “How are you holding up?”

“About the same,” the blonde replied before looking around, “What time is it?”

“5:30pm,” Ryan answered.

“...Really. I was out that long?”

“Apparently, so. You needed rest after what happened last night,” the lighter brunette explained, “Why don’t you go freshen up a bit while we’re setting up for dinner?”

“So that’s what all the noise is,” The blonde woman mumbled while rubbed her eyes sleepily. She then eyed on the blending machine containing a yellow, fruity looking drink, “What’s that you’re making there?”

“Pina colada.”

“What’s in there?”

“Um...there’s pineapple, rum-“

“Oki, gimme!” Chelsea snatched the pitcher from Maisy, who was startled, and starts drinking the content through the straw. Then, Aaron walked by and quickly snatched the pitcher of the alcoholic drink from the newcomer.

“Hey!”

“Easy with the potion, new friend, this one’s pretty strong,” The dark hair warned her before turning to his childhood friend and whispered, “Make the non-alcoholic version, quick!”

However, Maisy ignored him. Instead, she have Chelsea sit down at the kitchen table and gave her a reassuring, determined look.

“Chelsea, listen. We know you’re going through some patches right now. And we may not know you as much as Mel does, but we can tell you’re a good person. So, we’re going to help you get through this and I think the first step you should is to turn a new leaf. Set your priorities straight again.”

The guys quickly joined in the conversation in the kitchen.

“Yeah. Melody told us you’re into fashion and that you’re currently working at a department store,” Aaron added.

“She even told us you want to create your own design and sell them to the public someday. Is that true?” Ryan asked and the blonde nodded.

“It is,” Chelsea hummed, “Though, my manager isn’t expecting me back until next week. Maybe I could brainstorm some ideas to keep my mind off until then. Plus, I need a new place to live.”

“That’s a spirit!” Maisy smiled, clasping her hand together, “See, at least you have a plan figured out.”

“Yeah...I do. Although I don’t know if I’ll be able to get over him, I can’t let that bring me down,” the fashion designer let out a small smile at her new friends, “Thanks you, guys. I feel a little better now. You really are good people. I can see why Melody likes you.”

“Well, we tried.” Aaron replied.

“...Come to think of it, where’s Mel and that bartender friend of yours?”

Meanwhile on the streets…

“I’M GOING TO KILL BOTH OF YOU!!!”

Both Melody and Flint were running for their lives from that witch, Leah, who managed to chased them out of the apartment to the streets and is gaining up on them.

“Did ya have to use the move, Splash, on that pathetic bitch?!” Flint yelled at the gamer girl, both in fear and anger.

“Hey, at least compare to the other Pokemon who uses it, it’s SUPER EFFECTIVE!!!” Melody retorted.

They reached to the nearby building where the construction site is going on. Leah was about to grab one of them when she suddenly knocked against the ladder nearby. The ladder managed to regain balance. However, it had a bucket of white paint on top, which tipped over and spilled white content on the dark blonde girl, ruining her hair and her outfit. She then started screeching how much of a mess she is, which made Melody and Flint laughed in triumph and satisfaction.

“Ha! Karma’s a bitch, yo!” The bartender shouted before high-fiving the gamer girl.

Unfortunately, their triumph was short last when another bucket of paint was spilled on them, this time in red. The construction worker looked over and saw what happened, giving them apologetic look.

“Oops. Sorry about that!” “Aw dammit!” Melody cried out when carefully wiped the red paint from her eyes without stinging herself, “This was my favorite Pikachu shirt!” “...And clearly, I spoke to soon,” Flint grimace while trying to wiped the paint from his sunglasses.

Back at the apartment, the remaining trio are showing Chelsea how to play Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on the Nintendo Switch with the newcomer playing as Princess Peach. All of the sudden, the door slammed open, causing everyone to turn around and sport bewildered faces when they see the state the gamer girl and the bartender are in.

“Oh my god,” Maisy stammered. Ryan, on the other hand, made a joke.

“Did you two auditioned for that horror film based on Stephen King’s novel? Because I got to say, you two made a good Carrie and Tommy...covered in pigs blood.”

“Shut up, Walker!” Melody glared at him.

“No seriously. What happened to you two?” Aaron asked them in concern while throwing them couple of wet towels.

“Well..” the gamer girl started, “We stopped by at Chelsea’s apartment when-“

“-when all of a sudden, that affairing bitch went full ‘REEEE’ on us and then this happened!” Flint shouted furiously, putting an emphasis on the REEEE sound that sounds like a dying bird, while scrubbing the red paint off himself with the towel, “Turns out that she is the bridesmaid who made out with the ex. Toxicating shrew she is!”

“Dude, chill. We get that you’re angry considering that you’re already red,” Ryan pointed out, earning a glare from the auburn hair. On other hand, Melody held out the small box (surprisingly, she still has it in her hands) to Chelsea, who received it questionably.

“Here, this is all we can get from your old apartment,” The dark hair woman told her old friend with a frown on her face, “Now you can go ahead and tell your friend, Leah, that you’re going back to your old apartment yourself to retrieve your stuff because Flint and I are not going back there to deal with her again!”

That gotten Chelsea to widen her eyes in shock. “Wait. Leah’s the one who-?!” then she shook her head, “Y’know what. I rather not talk about that now. Did you really went to my apartment to move my stuff here?” Melody stared at the floor in silent for a minute before crossing her arms and speaking again, “Well...they’re not going to move itself and it’s not like I have anything else to do- GAH!”

The blonde woman lunges herself at the dark hair and hugged her tightly and gratefully, not caring if she get any paint on herself, “Oh Mel, thank you so much! You didn’t have to do that!”

“But-“

“Seriously, I owe you one,” Chelsea told her, giving Mel one of her brightest smile for the first time, “I know you and I have drifted apart, but to be honest, I haven’t stopped thinking about you.”

“You haven’t,” Mel asked her.

“Of course I haven’t. Despite everything, I still think of you as my best friend. And if you like...maybe we can start over?”

Melody pondered silently for a moment before smiling a bit and nodded, “Yeah. I like that.”

The two best friend hugged each other while everyone else stared at the scene with smiles on their face.

“You think everything will be okay with these two?” Maisy asked the bartender, which he nodded and gave out a confident grin.

“I know it will. Trust me.”

Maisy nodded and whispered, “By the way, you still need to take care of the paint chaos otherwise people will think you murder someone.”

“Yeah yeah. You think I don’t know that!” Flint grimaced and went back to his place to take a shower while the others laugh at his reaction.

#when the red strings are attached #wtrsa #original story #romance #friendship #comedy #drama #chapter 1

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pr-ay-the-gay-away · 6 years

Text

Astroturfers in MY inbox?

It’s more likely than you think!

As a regular fan, stop and think about what you’re submitting to someone’s asks inbox. Because if you are a genuine anon submitting an ask, you need to do some reflecting on what you’re trying to achieve with that ask. And if you’re just an astroturfer, well LOLS, good game, douches.

I’ve been re-reading @decoding1432 ‘s posts on the Art of Manipulating and Guarding a Fandom which is in several posts and talks about astroturfers and the forms they come in and their strategies. It’s made me re-assess the asks I see on other CS blogs, but also the asks that I receive (which aren’t many).

So I figured with that lens on, I’d describe some types of asks that I generally tend to not respond to

“Do you think <insert person associated with the girls> might actually believe that <whichever PR ship they’re referring to> is real?”

If you read my blog, then you would know that I encourage everyone to practice critical thinking. So you should practice that and come to your own conclusion.

If you don’t read my blog, hi there! You should try reading my blog. You may or may not like it, and that’s completely fine.

“Oh no, <insert some PR relationship stunt here>”

I honestly don’t know what to do with this. Your best bet here is that if you want something PR stunt-related to get answered, the humor has to outweigh the cost of us even acknowledging or bringing attention to the stunt, ya feel me? Or, maybe have your own blog where you can post whatever thoughts pop into your mind. That’s what I do!*

*Background context: I originally started this blog to make crack posts because I was inspired by @toucanhussey ‘s talent for turning shit PR into hilarious shit-posts. Now I’ve started answering asks and I dump random thoughts and go on rants. I realised that the random thoughts don’t really belong in other people’s asks inbox.

“What do you think about <insert PR relationship stunt here>? If it was real wouldn’t <insert something reasonable here>?”

Similar to the previous two. It’s a stunt regarding one of their PR relationships which I have consistently, vocally, and endlessly shat on. Lols. My position on it should be pretty obvious. But regardless of what I think, you should practice critical thinking and draw your own conclusions. It’s an interesting exercise if simply because it will also provide insight into what you do or don’t know, and what your world view/perspective is made up of, etc. Introspection is beautiful :)

The only thing I can tell you here is that if you are sharing reasonable thoughts that seem pretty obvious to me, like too obvious, then I’m probably not going to respond.

If you share what I consider to be an unreasonable thought, I might respond to unpack it and challenge it. But if it’s too basic in its unreasonableness, I will also ignore it. Fine balancing act.

“I agree with <insert some assessment of a PR relationship being fake> but in this instance I think <insert some contradictory opinion about PR relationship being real in some way>”

My entire blog leans heavily towards disproving their PR relationships. So by default I will disagree and will not be swayed. Maybe you want to dig into the specifics of your opinion: in which case you should submit a deep-dive into it and then maybe it will compel me to unpack it.

Or maybe it’s just an astroturfer just looking to have their ask answered so it appears online so that the seeds of doubt will be sown with the casual readers who don’t critically analyze what they find ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Above are just some types of asks I am not likely to respond to. There are more that go unanswered sometimes, such as:

you’ve asked me something pretty deep and I’m struggling to compose an answer, so it’s sitting there in my asks inbox, torturing me

you’ve shared a theory about indirects that is built on what I consider to be very tenuous examples and I just don’t feel the same, haha sorry!

you’ve shared a really great observation about the PR sloppiness and I don’t want to reveal it to the internet because it’s just more feedback for management to work with

you’ve shared something but it has details that I don’t want to acknowledge (because it brings attention to things or people that I don’t feel deserve to receive attention) in which case I’m likely to address you in a separate post rather than posting an answer to the ask

you’ve shared something that I feel might be a bit sensitive or negative and I don’t want to proliferate the bad ju-ju, in which case I’m likely to address you in a separate post rather than posting an answer to the ask

Anyways, sorry to the genuine fans who are posting anon asks that fall within one of the categories I delved into above. Hopefully I’ve provided some constructive tips on what to put in your asks to increase the chances of them being answered. To be honest I don’t really receive that many asks anyway, so maybe from here on I’ll stop receiving any lols

#camren #astroturfers gonna lay their astroturf

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mr-entj · 6 years

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Extraverted Thinking (Te) vs Introverted Thinking (Ti)

Combined with the following asks:

Can you write about Te from an ENTJ’s perspective? I find most online descriptions of Te are poorly written by non Te users and insufficient/patronizing. I would love to hear the Te-dom point of view. Thank you, Mr. ENTJ

Can you compare Te and Ti? I looked but didn’t see anywhere on the blog yet. Thank yyou for your time :)

Difference between Te and Ti?

How is Te any different from Ti? As a Ti-user I feel that I use Te as well in the way use my logic to make decisions

Related answers:

ENTJ: Auxiliary Introverted Intuition (Ni)

It’s objective vs subjective logic. For comparison:

Te (ENTJ, ESTJ, INTJ, ISTJ) emphasizes truth. Truth is defined as that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality.

Ti (INTP, ISTP, ENTP, ESTP) emphasizes logic. Logic is defined as reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

The reason why we call Te objective and Ti subjective is because Te is untouched by the individual-- we use information provided to us as-is via the real world in forms like: facts, data sets, observations, research studies, news, rankings, academic journals, polls, subject matter experts, etc. Te logic is drawn from external sources to understand (”organize”) the outside world. “Organized” doesn’t mean that Te users are neat and tidy people-- it means our minds sort information by relevance and impact. We first make sense of what is (current state), and from there, use that information to transform the world into what it can be (future state).

Te vs Ti

The main reason why these two cognitive functions (and their associated MBTI types) always clash is pretty simple: what exists in the real world (Te) is not always logical (Ti) and what’s logical in pure reasoning (Ti) does not always work in the real world (Te).

Let’s say you were to ask this question: “How does one become a management consultant at the best consulting firm in the world, McKinsey and Co.?”

Ti method (logical but false): “To successfully be accepted into the best consulting firm in the world, McKinsey and Co., I should first and foremost major in a relevant subject like business or economics, have exceptional grades in my classes, and develop strong skills in public speaking, problem solving, presentation, and preparation because that’s what management consultants need to succeed. If I do well in those areas, I should be a competitive candidate.”

Te method (illogical but true): “To successfully be accepted into the best consulting firm in the world, McKinsey and Co., I should first and foremost research which target schools they recruit from. The major I select and classes that I take have less relevance than the university I attend because without being in the right place, McKinsey won’t even consider me as a candidate. Next, I should excel in academics and network with alums and McKinsey professionals. If I do well in those areas, I should be a competitive candidate.”

The Ti method states a logical but false statement. It’s logical because to be a good management consultant, you certainly need to have all those skills (problem solving, quantitative analysis, presentation skills, etc.). The reason why it’s false is because it omits empirical evidence. The most important determinant in getting into McKinsey is actually the business school you graduate from-- McKinsey doesn’t recruit outside of the top 10-15 MBA programs in the country, it’s extremely rare for them to do so. The Ti user is more likely not to know this.

The Te method states an illogical but true statement. It’s illogical because the university you attend shouldn’t have an impact on your job prospects: there are dumb kids at elite colleges and smart kids at lower ranked colleges. Even so, this is still a true statement because, again, McKinsey doesn’t recruit from universities outside the Top 10-15 MBA programs. Data suggests that school rankings have an impact on getting into McKinsey and other elite consulting firms (data references: McKinsey’s career website, LinkedIn, networking events, Poets and Quants, etc.). The Te user is more likely to know this.

Related: Mr. ENTJ, do things like rankings, reputation, and prestige for which school you attend matter when it comes to your career?

How do you change a Te user’s mind?

If you want the Te user to change their opinion, you must provide empirical evidence that overturns their logic.

If you tell a Te user you’re applying to Stanford University with a 2.0 GPA (C- average, 65-70%) and a 1000 SAT score (35 percentile) but the facts state Stanford’s average admitted GPA is over 4.0 (A+ average, 100%) and average SAT score is 1460+ (96 percentile) (reference: Stanford Admission Data) then Te will say you’re not a competitive candidate. It doesn’t matter if you’re a great student who’s actually really smart “but I’m just lazy/ I don’t do well on tests/my grades are bad.” It doesn’t matter if Stanford is the perfect fit for you and your tech entrepreneurship goals. It doesn’t matter if you think grading scales and test scores are illogical, insufficient, and inaccurate measures of intelligence. You can debate until your face is red, stomp your feet, cry, kick, and scream, but from a data perspective provided by Stanford University itself-- the facts strongly suggest you aren’t getting accepted.

That’s not Te being mean or inflexible-- that’s simply the facts -- and we can’t do anything about the facts because they are what they are. They are objective. What is flexible to the Te user is how to solve the problem. Nothing will change the fact that you’re a poor candidate for Stanford but if the goal is to get accepted, the Te solution is to raise your grades and test scores to match the benchmark set by Stanford’s admission data. The solution is not to debate endlessly the merits of grades and test scores or Stanford’s admission criteria.

I’d love for you to get into the university of your dreams, Stanford is a phenomenal school, but if the data clashes violently with the decision then I can’t side with you. If the data doesn’t support the decision, the Te user won’t budge.

How can Te and Ti work better together?

Te gets frustrated with Ti’s focus on irrelevant details, inability to interpret generalizations, and frivolous nitpicking. Working with Ti can be irritating for a Te user because Ti can get “stuck” on something that doesn’t personally make sense to them, but that makes sense to everyone else, that works anyway, and that achieves the end result. Where the Te user wants to move on, the Ti user wants to stay and dig and dig and dig some more, and this can tie up valuable resources like time, energy, and money.

Professionally, set conditions for success from a third party and work towards meeting them together. For example, if it’s a business environment then let the customer tell you what success is. If it’s an academic environment, let the professor define success. If it’s a hospital, let patient quality and value of care guide you. Treat these conditions for success as a “north star.” From there, Te and Ti can combine their strengths to create solutions that are both logically sound (Ti) and effective (Te) to achieve the best results guided by the third party.

The Te Advantage

The main advantage of having Te is straightforward: Te users have an easier time navigating and succeeding in the real world simply because we listen to it and we make sense of what it’s telling us. We study the world, organize and analyze the information, and make data-driven decisions using our auxiliary function (Ni for ENTJs, Si for ESTJs) based on that analysis.

If you want to get accepted into Harvard University– you don’t tell Harvard what kind of student they want– you collect data on what statistics (GPA, major, test scores) they accept and adapt those traits to your application.

If you want to run a successful company, you don’t tell your customers what they should buy– you collect data on their preferences and create a product to meet their needs.

If you want the world to accept your logic, you don’t unilaterally rationalize it in your mind and then tell the world what they need– you ask them what they want and respond accordingly.

This is why ENTJs and ESTJs are often described as pragmatic and associated with high achievement, our traits are adapted for the environment we live in– reality.

#mbti #entj #estj #intp #istp #entp #estp #intj #istj #extraverted thinking #te #ti #introverted thinking #cognitive functions #mbtiq #faq #mine

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legenwaitforitdarythoughts · 6 years

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Is social media good for politics?

The topic of social media and politics is not something I had given much thought to before now. Yes, it’s hard to ignore how with one tweet, Donald Trump can cost a company billions or worry that one of his Twitter rants might be the start of a world war, but beyond that, I figure it’s the digital age, and anyone not embracing social media quickly becomes irrelevant. However, upon digging deeper into this topic, I realised how much an impact social media has had on modern politics.

Pinpointing ten ways in which social media has affected politics Murse (2018) highlighted how, thanks to social media, politicians can seamlessly deliver their message to a broader audience in real-time and at low-cost. Additionally, Loader & Mercea (2011), attribute social media for creating a participatory political culture where people no longer need to be ‘passive consumers’ but instead are ‘enabled to challenge discourses, share alternative perspectives and publish their own opinions.’ But is participatory politics improving democracy?

Muller (2018) and Trounson (2016) both agree that social media both strengthens democracy by allowing the public to hold those in prominent positions to account for their actions, whilst also weakening democracy through the increased dissemination of false information, xenophobia and propaganda.

As television series House of Cards character, Frank Underwood aptly says, “We are nothing more or less than what we choose to reveal.” Yes, the problem with social media lies in the ability for politicians and lobby groups to control the narrative and exploit 'confirmation bias' through what Eli Pariser coined the ‘filter bubble’ algorithms built into social media platforms used to tailor messages based on an individual's likes, interests, location, etc. (Hull 2017). Further, Dr Aaron Martin (cited in Trounson 2016), argues that where traditional media exposed people to a range of topics, social media is instead creating an ‘echo chamber’ where ‘individual prejudices are endlessly reinforced’ without any differing points of view.

In my own experience, I have seen how politicians try to control the narrative. Only last year, a local politician posted the headline of an article on their Facebook page with the goal of sledging their opposition to win over voters. When my husband shared his opinion by pointing out the inaccuracy of the information along with how wrong it was to use false news to push their agenda, his comment was subsequently deleted, and he was blocked from the page.

Because of false information sharing, according to recent polls, people are losing trust in social media as a source of news and information and turning back to traditional media (Muller 2018). Jericho (2013) states that the centrifugal nature of social media will only be overcome when politicians and lobby groups ‘forego the need to completely control the debate and instead avail themselves of its open culture’.

To sum up, I feel that social media has strong potential to be a tool for political information sharing, open debate and discussion, however, it is up to our politicians to use it in the right way and not just for furthering their own interests. Will this ever happen? Given the nature of politics, I say no.

References

Hull, G 2017, ‘Why social media may not be so good for democracy’, The Conversation, 6 November, viewed 21 December 2018, <https://theconversation.com/why-social-media-may-not-be-so-good-for-democracy-86285>.

Jericho, G 2013, 'How many votes are there on Twitter?', in The Rise of the Fifth Estate, Scribe, Victoria, Australia, ProQuest Ebook Central, <http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/swin/detail.action?docID=1020873>.

Knoll, T 2016, ‘20 House Of Cards Quotes That Get Me Through Life...and I hope motivate you likewise’, Odyssey, 3 October, viewed 21 December 2018, <https://www.theodysseyonline.com/20-house-of-cards-that-get-me-through-life>.

Loader, B.D & Mercea, D 2011, ‘NETWORKING DEMOCRACY? Social media innovations and participatory politics INTRODUCTION’, Information Communication & Society, Vol.14, no. 6, pp. 757-769.

Muller, D 2018, ‘Why social media is in the doghouse for both politicians and the public’, ABC News, 15 February, viewed 21 December 2018, <https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-02-14/social-media-is-in-the-doghouse-for-politicians-and-public/9446894>.

Murse, T 2018, ‘How Social Media Has Changed Politics 10 Ways Twitter and Facebook Have Altered Campaigns’, ThoughtCo., 1 June, viewed 21 December 2018, <https://www.thoughtco.com/how-social-media-has-changed-politics-3367534>.

Trounson, A 2016, ‘Social media politics: for and against’, Election Watch - Australia 2016, viewed 21 December 2018, <https://electionwatch.unimelb.edu.au/australia-2016/articles/social-media-politics-for-and-against>.

Images

‘16 Badass House Of Cards Quotes’ [image] in Google Images, viewed 21 December 2018, <https://goo.gl/images/zfdCD3>.

‘Political cartoon meme’ [image] in Hill, G 2016, ‘The Trouble With Mass Debating On Social Media’, Gareth J Hill, 24 June, viewed 21 December 2018, <http://www.garethjhill.com/the-trouble-with-mass-debating-on-social-media/>.

#thinkingoutloud #socialmedia #politics #political #socialmediaandpolitics

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drinkupthesunrise · 6 years

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Star Wars Rare Pairs Exchange Letter 2018

Hey! While I’m pretty sure I will love WHATEVER you make me, if you are in need / want of some advice, the following may be of interest to you:

In general, I like: pining, unrequited love that turns out not to be unrequited, people being friends & in love with each other generally, found family, ridiculous references, fic that explores what characters mean to each other in a greater context, alt!timeline shit (ie, what would happen if a character had made x choice instead of y), complicated relationships, baby/kid!fic, hurt/comfort.

Things I do not want: character bashing, unnecessary character death (ymmv here it’s Star Wars, characters die, I accept that, but please don’t kill anyone off in the pairings, canonical deaths are fine), gratuitous / explicit violence, mundane!AUs (coffee!shop, high school/college, etc), dubcon/noncon in any form, cheating, first person POV.

General links that might be useful to you: my ao3 works, my fic writing tag, my ficlet tag, and my general star wars tag.

General note: I like characters, and relationships, best when they’re situated in a world that feels real, and that means having other characters around them, and the relationships between them. While the pairings below should definitely be the focus of any fic, please feel free to slip in other things that you think I might like. I think what’s below should give you an idea of that, hopefully :D. For instance, I adore Wedge’s relationship / friendship with the rest of the Fab Four / his pilots in general, and I find the Han / Luke / Leia dynamic endlessly fascinating (both platonically and romantically on all sides), I’m always up for guest appearances from anyone from any point in canon.

Wedge Antilles/Luke Skywalker

Would happily take anything, but specific loves include stuff with them founding Rogue Squadron and that early part of their relationship, where they’re a little unsure and unfamiliar but still utterly trusting of each other? Or in the aftermath of Endor where Luke’s off founding the Jedi Order and Wedge is off fighting the Imperial Remnant and they’re trying to work out if they could have a relationship in all of that? I really love these two, the relationship between them really is one of my all-time faves.

I am also desperate for pre-and-post-TLJ era fic for them. What does Wedge make of Luke’s choices and decisions? Did Wedge go with him to Ahch-To? If Wedge is present, how does that affect the choices Luke makes?

I would also sell my soul for Jedi Academy-era fic in which Wedge is a teacher at Luke’s Jedi Academy, either with them in an established relationship and founding the school, or where Wedge gets involved somehow and slowly realises, oh, actually, Luke is very attractive and there is a lot of pining, and Luke is off having the same realisations about Wedge.

Wedge Antilles/Mara Jade/Luke Skywalker

In which Wedge Antilles and Mara Jade have precisely one thing in common: they both think that Luke Skywalker is endearing and also kinda useless, and would do anything for him. Which includes teaming up to save Luke when he gets into yet more trouble (insert situation of choice here) despite the fact that Mara is really not very convinced by this short fly-boy with floppy hair who cannot act, and Wedge is not really over the fact that Mara wanted to kill Luke. Bonus points for them discovering that they have far more in common than they think, and for Talon Karrde & Booster Terrik background shenanigans.

(I’d be okay with platonic!wedge&mara, if you can’t get that bit to work, but I would like Wedge and Mara to both be in love with Luke - or on their way there - and for Luke to love them both back.)

Wedge Antilles/Leia Organa

I think Wedge and Leia are very alike, in some ways - both soldiers with a sense of duty that goes far beyond themselves, who’d sacrifice their personal lives for their ideals every time. So anything that builds on that, really; either early Alliance / Rebellion (pre / post Yavin), with Leia still trying to sort out her feelings for Han / Luke and working them out with the person who is the mid-ground between the two (fight me on this Wedge is Han’s smuggling no-good self crossed with Luke’s idealism and good!man nature), or possibly after the Jedi Temple Massacre, or post TLJ, where they are the last two left standing and seek solace in each other?

Also! If you have read the 2013 Marvel Star Wars comic (the Wood/D’Anda one), you should know I was so very very very weak for Leia as Squadron Commander and Wedge as her second, and I cannot believe that was an actual thing that happened in Legends okay??

Wedge Antilles/Han Solo

Okay I can hear you probably going ‘huh what’ and I submit to you these quotes from the X-Wing books, and actually the entirety of Solo Command as a book. Essentially, Corellians giving each other shit. But no seriously in Solo Command there’s a real easiness and willingness to tease and I’d be really interested as to how they got there, and if it ever was anything more.

Also, in new canon – I’ve always figured that Wedge and Han might have a bit of antagonistic start to their relationship, Wedge is much more of a believer and very willing to die for the cause – how does he react when he finds out what Han did in Solo? Aiding Enfys Nest? Does that change his feelings?

Wedge Antilles/Leia Organa/Han Solo

Okay so Wedge spends an astonishing amount of time in the X-Wing books putting Han and Leia’s relationship back together (only for The Courtship of Princess Leia to happen, poor guy.) Like. He’s really invested in it. And also half in love with both of them it seems.

But, what I really want … is new canon, in which during the Aftermath trilogy Wedge ends up staying with Leia, and sort of never leaves, and even when Han comes back he’s still there, and then he helps out when Ben is born, because Wedge is very good with babies and this is a very important fact, and slowly Han and Leia realise, oh, wait, we never want him to leave.

I would also be very happy with drunken hook-ups, or Han and Leia accidentally propositioning Wedge.

Wedge Antilles/Biggs Darklighter

They must have known each other on Yavin, so it’s not inconceivable that they might have met and, y’know, got it on. So quick and dirty introductions, or possibly even something set later, after the Death Star battle, where Biggs!lives and the two pilots who didn’t get that shot off try and find solace in each other.

Wedge Antilles/Bodhi Rook

So – well, Wedge was at the Imperial Academy for a time, as was Bodhi, and although it’s unlikely they were in classes together, I think that their paths could have crossed; what’s it like when they see each other on Yavin all those years later? If Bodhi is the only survivor of the Rogue One team, and Wedge is the only survivor of the original pilots (Luke is too new, really) do they find solace in each other? Do they only really catch up after the war with each other, and suddenly realise that no one else is quite going to understand their grief? (I am heavily into Wedge Antilles has a case of survivor’s guilt the size of a Star Destroyer this ship only compounds my feelings).

Wedge Antilles/Lando Calrissian

They took down a Death Star together, that’s a start. I think the other thing about these two is they’re both very set on keeping their people safe – Wedge with his pilots, Lando with the people of Cloud City, and they have principles and lines they won’t cross but they’ll go through hell and back to try and save as many as they can. So maybe something about that?

Wedge Antilles/Col "Fake Wedge" Takbright

I can’t believe Jason Fry made ‘fake wedge’ an actual thing, but IT HAPPENED, and so we should all take advantage of this glorious fact by making them kiss or something, I dunno, fill in the blanks.

On a semi-serious note, I actually really like the care between them at the end of that story, how Col takes one look at about-to-succumb-to-the-worst-survivor’s-guilt-wedge and just, doesn’t stand for it. And so I would LOVE fic about all the times that Col keeps digging Wedge out of despair. Maybe about how Col turns into Wedge’s most erstwhile defender, and Wedge keeps asking why Col keeps putting himself on the line for him, and realisations about how maybe what’s between them has developed into something more.

Wedge Antilles/Mon Mothma

This was mostly crack, until I incepted myself with last year’s rare pairs letter, and now I have very serious feelings about it and I want them to be in love. And have really good sex.

I think they are both serious impassioned people who want to do what is right, only Wedge is brash and daring and Mon is tempered by experience / diplomacy. So maybe something where Wedge does something reckless and Mon has to take him to task for it? Or Wedge trying to lure Mon out of her seriousness, but also he is a very serious person himself but seriously, Chancellor, you have been at your desk for twenty hours please come to the mess. Love letters – they write letters after the war and slowly fall in love?

Fucked-up power dynamics are also very much a feature: Mon is ultimately Wedge’s commander in chief, his life is in her hands, etc. I like the power play, I like it a lot.

Wedge Antilles/Amilyn Holdo

There’s something about the way Amilyn reacts to flyboys doing stupid things, like she has seen it all before. Maybe she has? I feel these two would have really good banter and a very sparky relationship, lots of challenging each other. But also mutual respect, possibly found later – they are both very good at their jobs.

I’d love fic set post-Rebellion era, where they’re both trying to find their footing in the new Galaxy, or maybe fic set around TLJ – what if Wedge is with the Resistance? Does he conflict with Amilyn over her command decisions? (I think Amilyn should still have charge of the Resistance, don’t make Wedge outrank her.) Can he mediate the conflict between her and Poe? What if Wedge is with the Republic and brings a fleet to save the day?

Wes Janson/Derek “Hobbie” Klivian

So Wes and Hobbie are like the ultimate wingpair / brothers-in-arms, they are two peas in a pod, and I love them. I like slow realisation of feelings, the dragging out of the relationship over the years, perhaps one of them pining away whilst the other one wakes up one day and is like ‘oh, it’s you, you’ve been here all along and I never noticed.’ But also! Comic shenanigans, prank wars between them, practical jokes, truth or dare - I’m easy to please, honestly.

Jagged Fel/Jaina Solo/Zekk

Okay, for those who didn’t go and read all of Legends… Jagged Fel is Wedge Antilles’ nephew, Jaina Solo was Han and Leia’s daughter, and Zekk was one of Luke’s students. There was a bit of a love triangle going on. However, in many points, it was less of a love triangle, and more… well. They should have all banged.

Key moments include that time Jaina and Zekk were in a hive mind, and got slightly confused over whose memories were whose, leading to this conversation:

Our boyfriend means business, Zekk observed.

Don’t know that it’s him. And it’s old boyfriend.

Right. We’re so over him.

We?

And also the bit in Legacy of the Force: Invincible, where after Jag and Zekk help pull Jaina out of a sticky situation, she, in a state of confusion due to her banged up head, asks them to both to bunk with her.

So, basically, I want poly shenanigans – fic after the proposed quarters sharing would be great (what if Jag and Zekk took her seriously and had already moved everything about by the time she came round???), messy relationship rebuilding after the Dark Nest fiasco, something where Zekk steps in as Jaina and Jag’s relationship starts to fall apart post NJO? I dunno. But I want them all to kiss.

Plourr Ilo/Evaan Verlaine

They are both kickass lady pilots, and they are both very gay, sooooooooo… it is a crime that they do not exist in the same canon. I want shenanigans. I want an encounter where one or both is undercover and they don’t realise the other is a rebellion / new republic pilot until after everything. I want them on different squadrons trying to one up each other.

#rare pairs #sw rare pairs #fic exchange #exchange letter

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kaette-kita-slayers · 6 years

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Kanzaka Q&As (July-December 2016)

July 2016

Q: After Rezo killed Zel's parents, did he dig a grave and bury them? Does Zel know where their graves are?

K: I think he dug a grave and buried them with great care, though I'll leave it to your imagination whether he did so for appearances or out of genuine feeling. He's never told Zel where it is.

Q: You said in an answer before that "no powerful Mazoku have been created in recent years", but why is that? I thought it might be because they aren't able to increase the numbers of powerful Mazoku any further, since they have to cut away part of their own power in order to create new Mazoku. (Kanzaka already answered this one the previous year. Maybe he forgot?)

K: Of course, the Mazoku accumulate power bit by bit from the negative emotions of humans, but ever since the Demon War, they've been expending more than they've taken in, so they haven't had the reserves necessary to create powerful Mazoku.

Q: In volume 9, from the second half of Slayers, Gourry said he more or less remembered Zel and Amelia, though he pretended to have forgotten them as a joke. So by the time that volume 15 takes place, did he still remember them properly? He remembered Xelloss, and in volume 9, he said himself that he remembers his friends, so I think it's probably all right. It's still bothered me for years.

K: I hope he remembers them.

August 2016

Q: I have a question about Slayers. Two different generations of the kings of Dilse were cursed with Raugnut Rushavna. Is there any possibility that the curse was lifted on one (or both?) of them by the time the second half of the series wrapped up? It seems like there might be, if Dynast wasn't the one who actually cursed King Wells. Also, has the Mazoku who cursed Dilus II appeared or been mentioned in the series?

K: Dynast was the one who cursed the prior king. Raugnut Rushavna is a curse that endlessly inflicts pain and quasi-immortality, and it requires that the person who used it be in good shape, as the source of magical power. Dynast wasn't destroyed but did lose his power. As a result, the curse would have been weakened in some fashion, but it wouldn't have been broken.

Q: Mazoku are fundamentally different from other beings, seeking "destruction". Considering how the Mazoku relate to one another as superiors and inferiors and the various restrictions they have on them---especially the high-ranking Mazoku---they come across as being somehow mechanical (this may be putting it a bit harshly, but like living instruments of destruction), even though they possess individuality. To what degree do they have emotions like humans and dragons do? I've found mentions in the novels of them feeling rage, joy, and attachment to things, but I think that they probably don't feel love, since they want destruction. Can they feel sorrow or admiration, or genuinely care for things? If you've outlined this for yourself, please tell me.

K: The Mazoku try to comprehend the emotions of humans, etc. in order to bring the world closer to destruction. As a result, they display things that appear like human emotions such as happiness, but I don't think that the Mazoku themselves know whether those are genuine or only surface-level imitations.

Q: In the Slayers world, if a mid- to high-ranking Mazoku who can take on human form were to infiltrate human society in order to gather information, which would they enjoy more, something like going drinking with a bunch of middle aged men like Tarim and Daymia and being forced to organize the whole thing, or getting information from girls who are their type (not necessarily romantically)? Do the subordinates of each of Shabranigdu's five retainers have different tendencies? Like the Mazoku under Phibrizzo's command being good at approaching women, or a lot of Gaav's Mazoku being types that are popular even though they don't understand women and lose their motivation if they have to keep talking to men at parties, or the Mazoku under Zelas and Xelloss' command being good at everything.

K: Mazoku are quite diverse in their preferences. There are Mazoku who do things like mingling with a bunch of middle-aged guys out drinking and egging them on when they complain about their own bosses and subordinates, thinking, "Such sweet negative emotions!" There are also types who would mingle with married women and encourage their negative feelings toward their in-laws.

September 2016

Q: Did the piece of Shabranigdu sealed in Rezo's eyes feed solely on the negative emotions from Rezo's own mind? Is it reasonable to assume that the thoughts and feelings of the people around Rezo, such as Zel's hatred for him, had no effect on Shabranigdu? It would be kind of a relief to hear that, compared to Rezo's intense negative emotions, the negative emotions from Zel, who was like night and day compared to Rezo, or Rezo's gang, who weren't really all that bad deep down, weren't that powerful and thus didn't have any effect.

K: The Demon Lord was sealed away at the time, so he wasn't consuming people's negative emotions. However, just by existing, he did in fact have a negative influence on Rezo's mind.

Q: About the Demon Lord of the North---even though the strength of the seal on him has never changed, the most he can manage to do, lately, is to give instructions by talking in his sleep. Does that mean that he's growing weaker? If that's true, then will he eventually be destroyed as time passes? Or will he be reincarnated in another human body? L would be lonely without S.

K: I think you have the wrong impression. In this case, "lately" is referring to a span of time from the Mazoku's perspective. "Lately" means the entire time from when he was sealed in ice until the present time.

Q: Did Rezo's gang ever keep a pet cat at their hideout? Or was it more like "I want a cat, but we'll just have to leave on another journey, so I can't..." since they were always moving from place to place?

K: They had one... ♪ ... to experiment on. (T-T)

October 2016

Q: Why did L base her form on that of the woman Lei Magnus loved?

K: I should explain this so that there won't be any misunderstandings---L has never manifested in that world aside from when she borrowed Lina's body. I meant that the version of L that I've scribbled on greeting cards and things like that looks that way. Though of course, S's lover wasn't a little girl.

Q: Was Rezo ever rejected by someone he liked?

K: To be rejected, you naturally have to approach someone first. I don't think that he would have fallen in love and approached some woman when he had an all-consuming obsession with his research and his eyes.

Q: In Slayers volume 1, page 72, line 10, when Lina and Zel are negotiating over the orihalcon statue, Lina says, "I try to make a practice of avoiding your type at all costs. Call it woman's intuition. (cut) And intuition or not, I'd rather die than be associated with the likes of you." After that point, Zel fights the Demon Lord alongside Lina and Gourry, and then makes it through various other battles along with them. Did Zel kinda think to himself that Lina's "women's intuition" is completely unreliable, despite the big deal she made about it? Or did Zel never believe in the concept of "women's intuition" in the first place? Did Zel not believe at all in something as unscientific as "women's intuition" while Rezo thought "Well, I've been around long enough that I can't say with absolute certainty that it doesn't work..."? (Leaving aside the question of whether Lina's intuition works or not.) (Dialogue from the Tokyopop translation)

K: That wasn't women's intuition in the first place. She was just trying to provoke him, which he was perfectly aware of.

November 2016

(No entry)

December 2016

Q: In Granblue, the Blast Sword was a water element weapon. Is this in any way connected to the original work? Or is it something presented by the Granblue staff that only applies to Granblue? I remember people discussing how the Sword of Light was a dark element weapon because it's a Mazoku...

K: About the elements, I basically left it to them to take care of integrating [the weapons] into the game, so that doesn't mean that the Blast Sword in the original is a water element weapon. By the way, my Granblue party's selection of water element weapons is completely awful. I'd welcome a water event!

Q: I understand that you initially imagined Noonsa as a normal fishman and not a taiyaki. (Of course, I also love Noonsa's current design!) Did you maybe imagine Noonsa at first as something like "a little slimy, but with a handsome face"? (Taiyaki, if you're not familiar.)

K: That's not even possible.

Q: Phibrizzo sent Gourry's Sword of Light back to the Demon Lord of another world. I know it's impossible, but if he could go to that other world, could he get the Sword of Light back? Or was it absorbed as soon as it returned, because it was a part of the Demon Lord, so it's no longer in the shape of a sword?

K: In its original world, the Sword of Light was created in the form of a weapon, just like Dulgofa, so if he could go to that world, he would be able to use it as a weapon, as usual.

#slayers #hajime kanzaka #interview

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