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that--unusual-person · 4 years ago

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Pillar Men Anatomy

Documented 16 March 2021 (10:23 PM)

By. Tekely von Unusual (that unusual person)

((This was only made for fun so everything here i tried to make similar to canon as possible. Plus, i love science. And studying ancient beings.))

Bone Structure

There seem to be bones in a Pillar Mans body. But when in contact with hamon they seem to vanish. -Example: Santana’s body being split in half. His bones are gone and all that shows is the flesh, blood, and muscle of the body.-

Hamon could possibly destroy a Pillar Mans bone easily being directly struck with a ripple. -Example: Kars’s Bone Blade. His Bone Blade is made of his own forearms bone, extending outwards, sharpened to act as a knife with a metallic-like look to it. In contact with hamon via Joseph striking the blade, the weapon is shattered immediately along with hamon coursing through the bone to the flesh of the arm.- -Counter: Esidisi’s arm. His arm was rotating with ripple flowing around it. The second the skin and muscle melted and the rotation stopped the bones were still intact but sizzling.-

It is possible Pillar Men have a flexible bone structure that surpasses reflexive limits but are very weak to hamon.

A Pillar Man can rearrange their bone structure and break it at will. Their bones can heal in a matter of seconds. -Example: Santana’s configuration to fit in a 2cm vent. Wamuu bending his spine in his first fight with Joseph.-

They’re bones can also be sharpened or dulled. -Example: Kars’s Bone Blades and Santana’s Rib Blades.-

Final Analysts: Bones are infinitely jointed and mandible but very weak to hamon.

Muscles

Body is made of mostly muscle. When damaged the material of the tissue in the wound is coated in a strange glow to keep an open wound from being infected(?). Glowing is a sign of healing in progress(?). -Counter: The sunlight reflecting off the moon (possibly) effects the Pillar Mens body.- -Counter: Glow shows even in areas where sunlight can’t hit and the moon is not present.-

Since Pillar Men don’t need to feed through their mouths, they absorb food through their bodies. Possible with no stomach they have digestive cells in their muscles that swallow food and reproduce it as energy and muscle. -Example: Santana eating the vampire prisoner. As Santana absorbs the vampire the energy transfers from one to another. When he’s finished Santana’s muscles begin to bulge expanding in mass with some of the vampire still being absorbed, proof that he is consuming nutrients on a cellular level causing muscle growth.-

Final Analysts: Muscles are a very important asset of a Pillar Mans body and are the source of power and energy.

Skin

Same as humans but with more mutant-like abilities. The skin can stretch without being broken. -Example: Santana fitting into a 2cm vent and a human body. Wamuu dodging Joseph’s surprise Hamon Clacker Valley attack by shifting his upper body a foot or two away from his legs at high speeds.-

The flesh can be manipulated, turning into something similar to soft liquid or solid like rock. -Example: Santana avoiding Joseph’s attack. When the knife Joseph used on Santana came in contact with Santana’s arm the flesh around the knife became rubbery, never piercing the skin. When Joseph tries using hamon through Santana’s eyes, his head deforms while turning his eyes and head into a rubber-like substance.-

-Example: Kars taking bullet fire. Kars turns his body to rubber to absorb the impact of the bullets/possibly absorbing them. (There is no evidence of blood when Kars is hit.)-

-Example: Santana solidifying his body. Santana hardens his body the second he comes in contact with the sun, but the armored body he wears can not protect him for long; his body begins to crack and chip away indicating the stone is still apart of his body and the sun still has a deadly effect on him. When the sun overpowers his stone armor, he turns into a statue, protecting himself completely in solid rock, a last-minute of protection from the rays of the sun.- -Example: Pillar Men sleeping. When they rest their bodies turn to stone for protection and security.-

They possibly morph into a wall and turn to stone, during their stone form they are able to absorb life or turn it to stone when in contact with them. -Example: Pillar Men absorbing Caesar’s father and Santana turning a snake into stone. They are still alive and are still feeding on nutrients through the stone.-

Final Analysts: Flesh can be manipulated into any shape or form of material.

Blood

Their blood normal aspects are similar to a human’s normal blood minus control over it. They can control their blood flow and how hot it can get. -Example: Esidisi. Esidisi’s Heat Mode allows him to shoot his blood out of his veins at will. The blood is boiling reaching 500 degrees max.-

Cells that break down food are also in the blood. They will work the same way as the muscle but only absorbing food if it stays in the Pillar Mans body. Their blood is similar to stomach acid, only breaking down food once it reaches the inside of the body but not having an affect once it meets oxygen outside the body.

Final Analysts: Pillar Men can manipulate their blood at anytime.

Horns

A Pillar Man’s horn(s) can mean multiple things depending on the Pillar Man’s purpose. It is possible the horns can be attracted and retracted. -Example: Wamuu and Kars. Wamuu can bring out his horn at command at any time. Kars hides his horns under his head wrap, with no signs of them it’s confirmed that they are retracted into his head.-

Some may use it as a weapon. -Example: Wamuus horn. Wamuu uses his horn as a weapon or to see wind better than light. It is used similar a radar feeling wind flow through objects and against them, Wamuu is able to sense where the wind flows and when it stops. His horn is also used in his ultimate mastery, Atmospheric Rift, where razor blade winds are shot out from the base of the horn. The spirals on his horn allow the wind to circulate around it and flow out like a tornado giving it enough power and rotation to cut through stone.-

The horn or horns can be changed in size. -Example: Wamuu awakening. When Wamuu wakes he uses his horn to stab a German Soldier holding him in the air and soon after mowing down more with his horn rotating at speeds that slice a human body in half. The horn is extended to reach what looks to be 9-12 yards long.-

Or it may be seen as a sign of honor or declaration of battle. -Example: Kars revealing his horns. Kars said to Lisa Lisa before their dual that bestowing his horn to her marks their battle.-

Another way showing their horns could be as a sign of aggression. -Example: Esidisi’s last stand. Upon inescapable defeat, Esidisi reveals one of his many horns through his form when he quotes Joseph of ‘pushing him too far’. Esidisi’s horn could be shown as an act of rage and transformation (his head turning into something similar to a beast).-

Final Analysts: Horns can be controlled and be used as symbols or weapons.

Marks

The Pillar Men’s tribal marks are given to them at birth similar to birthmarks. -Example: Baby Wamuu. During the flashback about Kars’s uprising, we see Wamuu as a babe with his horn yet to have grown but the mark he wears is there.-

Some marks are passed on by families, all are different in shapes and colors(???). The mark of the Pillar Man’s meanings and or history is earned and titles behind the marks. -Example: Strength. Wamuu’s strength physical and mental strength in battle is how he earned his tribal marks meaning.-

Final Analysts: Pillar Men tribal marks are compared to human birthmarks.

Regeneration

Cells in a Pillar Man’s body is boosted to reproduce new skin tissue rather than scar tissue. Bone modeling is enhanced, the regrowth is shortened to near minutes of completion. Bones seem to grow after the flesh and muscle are attached or regrown. Any dose of hamon to a Pillar Man’s body will slow down the regeneration. -Example: Kars’s injured arm. When Joseph struck Kars’s Bone Blade with hamon, it shattered the blade along with hamon radiating through the arm. In the span of minutes Kars’ arm continues to ooze with the glowing substance.-

Final Analysts: Regeneration abilities are quicker versions of the body healing wounds and modeling bones.

Before the masks

Pillar Men were possibly similar to humans before Kars invented the mask. They live longer lives but reproduction is rare. They seem to hunt animals instead of humans, showing they need nutrients as humans do. -Example: Kars’s flashback. It is seen at a wide dinner table the Pillar tribe is seen eating nutrients such as meat and other fruits and vegetables.-

Final Analysts: Pillar Men before the mask have similar traits as humans.

Final Evolution

The final mask used to complete a Pillar Man’s evolution seems to give them extra genes and immunity to sunlight. The genes given to a Pillar Man are connected to nature. They are able to form their bodies into different parts of an animal. -Example: Kars. He is able to create wings from his arms to his back, scales that reflect bullets that are capable of turning into paranas to tentacles from his arms or even from detached parts of his skin.-

They also have the power to create other living beings from their body but at the cost of their body. Essentially playing god. -Example: Kars creating a squirrel. Kars is able to create a squirrel from his hand and is possible a part of his mind in the form of an animal, sharing the same body and genes. On the squirrels return to Kars, it then morphs into different living objects of nature.-

Final Analysts: The final evolution of a Pillar Men gives them extra genes from different living organisms of nature.

Modes

A Pillar Man’s mode is powered by their body. Esidisi’s being heat, Wamuu of wind, Kars of light, and Santana a master of the body and flesh. It seems they can only control the element of their mode only through their body. -Counter: Wamuu. Wamuu retracting Caesar’s blood bubble towards him with his wind mode or lighting the fire more.-

It could be possible Wamuu spins his body at such speeds unseen by the human eye that the wind is attracted to him, or Wamuu uses his pipes from his chest to suck air in, he could possibly pull wind into his body and is able to shoot it out through his fingertips like Esidisi releases his veins. Wamuu’s divine sandstorm is caused by high-speed rotations of his arms. They rotate at a max velocity similar to a jet engine on a plane causing great winds enough to damage stone to appear. Kars can only use his light from his body, it’s possible he uses his bone blades to reflect artificial light off one another to add a blinding light to it. It is unknown how Kars is able to form light through his body. Esidisi is able to control the temperature of his body with ease. Similar to a human getting a fever, Esidisi heats his body up boosting fever-like symptoms burning his body and boiling his blood during the process. Similar to a fire under a kettle of tea.

Final Analysts: Pillar Men modes are centered around their bodies’ natural capabilities and movements.

Conclution: They evolve like Pokemon. lol

#just me typing away after hours of research and squabbling #jjba #battle tendency #pillar men #random shit

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willowaudreykeyes · 4 years ago

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Monster AU Idea that I don’t know what to do with

Literally what the title says. Idk what to do with this, but its in my head and so i need to write it down and share it before my brain explodes. Talk about it or ask about it; whatever you want. As long as I know about it as it is still my idea, go nuts.

@ladyedwina @sparrowofsong

Warning: Does involve murder, being captured, lots of depressed Roman because I’m mean to him for no reason and it makes me sad, gory removal of fingers (not detailed but it is there), suicide mention, me swearing a lot, stabbing(not detailed), hints of Roceit; Intrulogical and qpr Pattmile

Spider Monster Who-Realises-That-His-Race-Sucks Virgil

Born like this. Was raised to be alone but he likes being around others to feel safe, so it makes him a little awkward and even anxious around others.

Hates the rest of his kind because he’s the only one who doesn’t want to eat people. So now they all wanna kill him.

He can retract his extra legs but it leaves small bumps in his back, so he likes to wear his over-sized hoodie to help hide them.

Janus saved him from one of his own kind. Travelled with him and Logan before getting separated by Monster Hunters and running into a lonely wolf-Patton.

Is now Patton’s spider child, despite the fact that said father figure is afraid of spiders. And that Virgil is technically older then him. He does try to look past the ‘too-many-eyes’ and ‘long, hairy legs’ thing; which Virgil appreciates.

The only one of the group that knows how mobiles work and he finds it funny as fuck.

Werewolf Underdog (ha) Patton

Runt of the litter.

Can shift between a humany appearance, an actual grey-brown wolf and a bipedal werewolf. He isn’t the third one often and actually enjoys being a more typical wolf as he can be passed off as a wolf-dog hybrid and has gotten free bones and pets.

Ran away from his pack as they didn’t want him to die but also didn’t want him to get stronger, then raised a bunch of homeless orphans at a young age and also defended them from a trafficking ring by ripping out a bunch of people’s throats.

Yeah... he brought them to an orphanage afterwards as it’s safer then the streets. Then he ran away again; at this point he’s only 15-16.

Lives alone and homeless for a few more years before running into Virgil and immediately adopting him.

Patton helped Virgil find Janus and Logan so now he has more children (who are all older then him but he ignores that).

No one will go hungry EVER with Patton is around. He is the caretaker of this pack and he will not let his pups feel hungry ever-

He’s not over how shitty his pack was to him and it’s very obvious.

When he meets Emile though, it lifts a lot of weight off his shoulders as he learns not to be so all-bearing of others issues. And he also feels safer talking to him about his old pack as he doesn’t want to be pitied by anyone.

Tired-As-Fuck Vampire Logan

Who’s like 600 years old and knows that a lot of History that the modern day tells everyone is wrong and HATES that he’d be found out if he started yelling at people how wrong they are.

Parents wanted him to drop science and be a farmer. They, and his younger siblings, all died when their crops were poisoned two weeks after he moved out to do his science elsewhere.

Oh and he was bit by the person who 1. Was his partner in science and 2. He was head over heels for them because they let him take risks but still made sure he was safe as he did them.

So that pissed him off quite a bit. Because he almost instantly killed the couple who took in the sickly scientist because the wife cut her finger. He managed to kill the cow instead but he ran away afterwards and never saw them again.

Ran into Janus 300 years later -after travelling a LOT and learning a LOT and nearly dying a LOT and feeling so much that he doesn’t wanna feel anymore because that’s 300yrs of friends dying- and decided to travel with the one type of guy who won’t die of old age!!!

Then Virgil appeared. Then Patton. Then the Twins. Then Remy. Then Emile. He wishes that his dead heart would stop making him want to protect them all to his last breath but what can ya do?

He will murder anyone to save the others- but much prefers to just stay inside and just experiment on the occasional new thing that he finds.

Protector. Leader. Professor. Tired. Doctor. Cantor (yes he was Jewish for a little while after the bite but now he’s Atheist). University Chancellor. Lots of titles and he got them all legit too, although some are a little out of date.

Do not ask how he feels about the others. Especially Remus. He will glare at you without a word before moving on with his life.

Naga Will-Steal-You’re-Last-$5 Janus

Age? Social construct. He hints at being around Logan’s age but that could be give or take a hundred years or so.

He can shift between having a tail and legs- but ofc much prefers the tail. But he hates that his teeth change with it as it makes him hold his ‘s’ more when he talks.

When no tail, the left side of his face is very scarred. Someone tried burning off the scales on his face but the scars only appear when he’s trying to look human. When he has his tail, his scales replace them and they look fine.

Do not touch his hands or he will strangle you with them. They’re sensitive as hell without his gloves and he doesn’t know why.

He can hypnotise you to take a fucking break and he’s not afraid to do it (except on Logan as he’s somehow almost entirely immune)

Doesn’t like hypnotising his friends unless its just to take a break or to pull them out of an anxiety/panic attack. Every other living thing isn’t off limits though.

Lived alone until he met Logan. He also liked killing everyone he met until he met Logan. The only reason he didn’t kill Logan was because the nerd almost chopped off the end of his tail. The others don’t know this and it’s staying that way.

Has a cane to walk with for days that his legs decide that they wanna be a tail but he’s in public for some reason and he can’t and it sucks.

Almost killed Remy when they first met. Literally- he stabbed him in the side. Now they’re best buds over it and it was weird how quickly it happened too.

Has stolen Roman’s last $5. He will not be returning it. He hasn’t spent it because he finds him cute funny when he’s mad.

Siren But-Flips-Off-The-Sea-And-Heights Roman

Was born a Prince! With his weirdo of a twin. They were well liked and he was next in line for the throne and he was gonna be given a wife-

He wasn’t happy that it HAD to be a wife and when he argued that he wanted a guy; everyone turned on him and threw him into the ocean. So... fuck them.

Sirens saved him by turning him into one. He hates it.

Was forced to eat kelp or people. He chose kelp. He hated it.

Was dragged out of the sea by his brother who had been thrown into the evil swamp nearby and is now a banshee. Not as bad but he’s still rather pissed.

Although he was a little sad when he heard, 100yrs later, that his entire kingdom died of the plague. He moved on quickly though.

He hates the sea and doesn’t go near it. If it all dried up one day, it’d be the happiest day of his life. He doesn’t even eat seafood anymore as it makes him upset just looking at it.

He still likes to sing. He can control if it’s going to mind-control those who hear it or not; but it’s a little annoying as he can’t get too into it without accidentally losing control. Doesn’t stop him though.

He learnt how to play multiple instruments, made anonymously published books, the money-earner of the two. Although he was jealous that Remus was better at more hands-on stuff and is slowly, but happily, learning how to craft things from wood.

He and Remus never separated. Even when Monster Hunters sprayed him with water, forced his tail to appear, and took him to a facility to be imprisoned forever. That’s another thing he was mad about since Remus refused to just fucking RUN but he was happy to see his brother be proud of him when he dug VERY sharp teeth into a mans arm.

Had to be carried out by Janus when he, Logan, Patton and Virgil decided to free everyone inside. Every other creature could run except him, which led to him and Remus staying with them.

He definitely, 100%, no-doubt-about-it got a massive gay crush on Janus when he taught him how to fight. And sword fight. And dance. And how to look after his rather pretty scales.

In the 200-300yrs since he’s had a tail, he hasn’t ONCE really looked after them. So when Janus helped him out and made his scales less gross and more gorgeous, he actually started liking his tail a bit.

The Ocean can still go fuck itself though.

Oh and the one time they visited the Seattle Space Needle? Yeah, fuck heights too.

Banshee Will-Eat-Your-Fingers-If-Given-The-Chance Remus

After Roman got thrown into the ocean, he went on a rampage. He didn’t kill anyone, but he sure as hell got close to murdering their shitty father.

They tied him up and tossed him into the nearby swamp, where he nearly died. He inhaled days worth of magical fog that eventually turned him into a banshee. Which is just the ability to scream so loud that he makes people pass out, which is useful. Oh and sharp teeth that he looks after really well.

He managed to escape the forest, he screamed at a passing merchant and took his horse, and went to the ocean where he found Roman depressingly eating kelp on a rock off in the distance.

He literally got on a boat, dragged the surprised but happy fish into it with him, and made sure that they would never be separated again.

Didn’t care about what happened to their old kingdom.

He learnt how to make weapons, how to blacksmith, how to glassmith, how to make clothes- Literally anything he could since Roman kind of sucked at making anything that wasn’t music or a story of some kind. Fine by him since he knew the quality of the weapon he was stabbing people with.

When the hunters forcefully made Roman’s tail appear, he tried to scream to make them all pass out but they were ready and punched him out. He would have found it a little funny if he didn’t wake in a jail cell with a thing over his mouth.

The two worst things about it: He couldn’t see Roman and know if he was okay and he couldn’t cuss out the guards.

When that nerdy but very murderous vampire broke in and helped him out of the prison, he returned the favour by biting off the fingers of a guard that had broken Logan’s glasses. He later on fixed said glasses as well but he thought the fingers removal was a better thank you.

Loves Logan; only Roman, Janus and Emile have figured it out. Virgil thinks he’s plotting to kill the vampire one day, Remy doesn’t pay attention and Patton thinks that Logan is a good influence on him (he’s not wrong as he slowly stops describing brutal murders and talks about gross facts that Logan does and doesn’t know)

Remy No-It-Isn’t-Short-For-Remington-Yes-I-Am-A-Dragon-Roman

Born as a shapeshifting dragon. Was supposed to live like a recluse like the rest of his kind but said ‘fuck that’ and now works at a clothing store in a town full of morons for entertainment.

His kind does get tired rather easily so he lives off coffee. He is addicted and luckily for him; his body won’t get used to it so he doesn’t have to heighten the dose of caffeine in every drink. Yay!

Two things happened when he first met Janus and Roman. The first is that he got stabbed by the Naga because he may or may not have seen him wearing some shiny rings that he REALLY wanted. He wanted it more then Janus, so he found it okay to do- but got stabbed for it.

Two; he then bit Roman (who kinda deserved it when he tried to ‘slay the dragon’ when Janus had saw his unnaturally-bright brown eyes) and was dragged to see everyone to figure out what to do with him.

He managed to talk his way out of being murdered by Remus by sheer amazing personality (he’s x5 sassy when afraid and Remus thought he was hilarious) and just decided to hang around everyone just because he could.

Being stabbed turned into a joke between him and Janus and now they’re besties who totally don’t steal from random assholes that they run into down the street. It’s a now competition to have the shiniest collection (Janus is winning but gives Remy the occasional shiny thing as he knows that dragons get very mad about hoard sizes sometimes)

When they all moved towns, he dragged them to one where his old friend Emile was. He also introduced Virgil to Starbucks and their coffee and is still getting berated for it to this day.

Oh and when he does manage to let himself be a dragon, he’s about as large as a horse and has really pretty black scales with a light brown underbelly. His eyes turn bright green too. Virgil calls him Starbucks’s best mascot.

Emile Is-A-Disney-Fairy-Stereotype

Can grow and shrink on command; can also make his wings appear and disappear although it does hurt not to have them out almost daily.

Pink wings and pink hair. Very popular fairy attributes (for both fairies and Monster Hunters)

Can see aura’s of humans and monsters. They look very different depending on species but he LOVES seeing human ones the most as they are often filled with more colours.

Is a therapist, is a cartoon nerd, is able to make you a dress that disappears at midnight

... Can also see your dreams but doesn’t like doing it as its intrusive and it feels like he’s breaking some kind of human Confidentiality agreement

Being a therapist has changed a lot of his views on personal space (like the whole dream thing he has). He’s very in-your-face when excited, but as a kid he would CLING to people at every chance he had. Even strangers. It wasn’t a good habit.

Became a therapist, an independent one too, because a human friend of his died of suicide and he blamed his therapist who was telling him a lot of bad advice. And said therapist wasn’t supportive of his friends gender-identity crisis as he was very strict on ‘born a boy is a boy’ kind of thinking.

Now Emile takes in teenagers for free and adults at a lower price then a normal therapist. He doesn’t have a great living space (upstairs from his office don’t tell anyone) but he doesn’t care!

Met Remy as he was one of his patients once. He can tell when someone isn’t human due to their aura’s and nearly fell out of his chair when a FUCKING DRAGON walked in.

After Remy finished his sessions, he still visited occasionally and always remembered his favourite drink (chocolate smoothie with whipped cream and caramel shavings and a chocolate stick or five sticking out- and Remy thought his coffee addiction was bad)

And after not seeing Remy after six months, only to find that he has made friends with a lot of other creatures made him so happy.

Then confused when they all dragged in this fairy therapist into their group. Where Logan asked for the occasional emotional advice (not at ALL related to Remus-), Janus made sure he got a better living space, Remus and Virgil gave him someone to talk to about darker cartoon ideas, Roman (after the 18 times he asked for a magical dress) started making cartoon-stuffs for him, and Patton...

Patton helped him realise that he was still very gay despite the AroAce that he was. He gave him head scritches when stressed, the help he needed trauma-wise, the cartoon marathons with the doggo using his legs as a pillow-

And Patton gave him someone to talk to about all his feelings about his clients (without breaking any rules ofc). And about his old friend and the terrible therapists that he’s met.

He will admit to anyone that he squealed when Janus told him that Patton was pan aroace. Seriously, just ask. He is not ashamed of his excitement of the fact that he has a CHANCE WITH THE CUTE WOLF DAD.

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lustresky · 5 years ago

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all i ask [peter parker x f!reader]

summary: You question your true feelings for Peter after missing out on five years of your life.

wc: 2400ish.

themes: angst(ish), fluff, happy endings, best friends to lovers trope, mention of dermatillomania, existential questionings...

a/n: this is the first x reader that i have ever written, so sorry in advance if it’s awkward:’’’) english also isn’t my first language, so please do hit me up if i make any mistakes/some things sound wrong! still, i hope that some of you out there will still like this lil thing. i just want to keep peter in my pocket gawd what a bby:’’’’’’’( p.s. title is a song by adele! just had to name this that cuz it unexpectedly came into my playlist while i was writing this and the song just fit so well that it shocked me haha

requests are open! & pls don’t forget to like and reblog, thank you! c:

THIS TAKES PLACE AFTER ENDGAME, RIGHT BEFORE FFH. IT EXCLUDES THE LOVE STORY BETWEEN LIZ & PETER IN HOMECOMING.

available on ao3.

The rom-com flickered on the screen in front of your and Peter’s eyes, the only light illuminating the small living room.

Your legs were sprawled on top of Peter’s own, your arms becoming a bit numb from the fact that you haven’t moved them from their cramp inducing position for the past fifteen minutes. It wasn’t your fault— the small sofa could only leave you and Peter enough space to lounge about.

He had invited you over for some much needed “hang out” time. Considering the fact that both of you had missed out on five years of your life, you had suggested you both catch up on all of the movies the two of you had missed; but one thing led to another and now you were both watching late 90’s and early 2000’s films.

You were surprised, and maybe even mildly offended, when Peter had said that he had never watched Mean Girls nor Clueless. The boy who spew out pop comic references every other second had never watched the classics for every teenage girl? The blasphemy!

You fiddled with the fluffy throw covering your legs and partially, Peter’s. Your attention wasn’t really on the movie anymore, you’d seen it multiple times. Could probably recite it by heart, you thought, if you concentrated hard enough.

Speaking of concentration, your eyes inadvertently found their spot upon Peter’s face. It was quite funny, and maybe even adorable if you wanted to go that way, how concentrated the geeky boy was over such a cliché film. You had never once thought, with all of the years that you had known him, that he would listen and take Cher Horowitz’s words to heart.

Peter didn’t notice your gaze, and so you took that as an unspoken permission to roam your eyes over his features: the small lines already appearing beside his eyes, a tell-tale sign of how much he smiled— or at least, tried to, these days. There were those chiseled cheeks and the sharp jawline that he somehow managed to maintain despite eating delivery food every other day. (You can’t blame May, she tries her best, really; but sometimes Thai or Chinese is just way more palatable.) His nose, a bit crooked, from an ”accident.“ (You still don’t really know the exact details about that one, and frankly, you think it would hurt just hearing about it.) Soft curls of his brown hair fell over his forehead, messy and barely brushed.

Truly, you could probably spend a whole hour just staring at him. It’s weird, you know, who the hell stares at their own best friend for long periods of time? Well, MJ probably does, but then again she draws people most of the time so that’s socially allowed... and well— she’s MJ. She just… does that. You suppose.

Maybe she does have a point, you mused. People-watching seemed fun, seeing the way that people processed information was interesting, but you couldn’t really imagine doing that to anyone— anyone else but Peter, at least.

You loved Peter. It wasn’t even a question. Truly, you did— he was family. However, after the Snap, you started to question how you truly felt about him.

Did you ‘love’ him? You had asked yourself that question multiple times already. Then again, he was cute, goal-oriented, stubborn, loyal, smart, geeky, strong... (not just physically, between his difficult childhood and what you both had just gone through, you think that he may just be the strongest person that you know, mentally.) He knew how to make you laugh, how to make you feel safe… God, he was your exact type.

However, you had always put your feelings aside ever since you came back from the dead. What if it was just your mind craving for affection, afraid that you would never be able to experience the love that you had always wanted? Were you just terrified of the thought of not living your life to the fullest, that you started to ’love’ the first person to have ever given you warmth, just because the choice to do so was taken away from you?

Did you actually love him in that way? Would you still have loved him in that way, even if that purple fucking raisin didn’t come out of the fucking sky and take you both away from reality without even asking? Were you just blindsided? Were you wearing rose-coloured glasses?

What type of love for him did you feel, exactly?

It didn’t really help that Peter was way more clingy and touchy now. Sure, you were best friends even before then, but you never really touched each other so often before. His actions only further spiraled your pondering.

His hands seemed to linger more on your shoulders, nowadays. Now, he would, absentmindedly, lay his hands on your thighs while you were talking. Now, his hugs were tighter, warmer, and always included both of his arms— unlike those casual, one armed hugs that you would give each other while saying goodbye after school, right before you both ceased existing.

While talking, his eyes seemed to stare straight into yours, which always made you falter with your words before you shook his gaze off. Once, you saw him fixating his eyes on your lips while you vented to him about a mathematical formula that gave you a hard time.

He never really did that before— whenever you didn’t understand something, he would always just give you a small grin before shaking his head and finding a way to better explain the topic to you. At first, you thought that maybe he just had a lot on his mind, that he was just staring into space…

Or maybe, just maybe, he loved you. In that way.

Though, now that you thought more about it, maybe he just craved affection like you did. He went through a lot. His life was never devoid of danger, and it wasn’t questionable to want comfort after all of the things that he had gone through. Did he truly feel that way about you, or did he only see you as a comfort tool? You wouldn’t be angry if he did, out of all the people that you knew that deserved more reassurance and love, he was definitely on top of the list.

You didn’t mind. You understood.

Was he in the same boat as you?

You startled yourself away from your thoughts when Peter suddenly retracted his body further back into the couch, as if he wanted to bury himself in it. His brows were furrowed, nose scrunched, lips curled up in disgust; though to your relief his eyes were still glued to the screen and he hadn’t just seen you checking him out. You chuckled at the unexpected reaction, “What’s gotten you so worked up?”

Peter shook his head from side to side, as if that would help him from his current situation. “I get that they aren’t really related, but it’s just— weird.” He replied.

Intrigued, you shifted your eyes over to the screen, and was welcomed by Cher and Josh kissing. You laughed at Peter’s disgust.

“How is it weird? They’ve had— like, very evident tension for half of the movie, Pete.” You replied, eyes watching the way Josh held Cher’s face in his hands. As much as you would never admit it, your stomach fluttered at the scene. “Don’t tell me you didn’t expect it to happen.”

Peter groaned. “It’s not that I didn’t expect it to happen, it’s just— Josh is what, almost twenty or something? And Cher is our age!” He rattled off. “I’m having flashbacks to when I learned that Luke and Leia were actually related.”

You shook your head and let out a snort. Typical Peter, always finding a way to reference Star Wars.

“It’s just a lil’ kiss scene Pete, don’t get so worked up about it.” You chuckled. You let out a dreamy sigh, your lip unknowingly curling into a small smile. Truth be told, you've always wanted something so passionate yet so soft like that to happen to you.

You couldn’t help but let the next words tumble out of your mouth. “Isn’t it romantic though? The fact that the person that Cher has been searching and looking for so hard was actually just right there.”

“Always there…” Your voice slowly found itself becoming quieter, until it was only a ghost of a whisper. “Right by your side.”

You felt your cheeks grow hot. What the fuck was all that sudden sentimental bullshit, Y/N? You thought to yourself.

You hoped that Peter just didn’t pick up on what you had just said. The movie was loud enough to cover it, right?

With a reassuring breath, mostly to yourself, you turned your gaze back to Peter’s face.

Only to find him staring back at you.

Fuck, what were you thinking? With his enhanced senses, of course he would’ve heard what you had said.

Your breath got caught in your throat as your brain almost short circuited from the unexpected eye contact. His stare was unrelenting; from the dim light of the television, you can see his dilated irises, swimming with what you can only assume was longing… and hope.

The air suddenly seemed thick with tension. What kind it was? You weren’t really sure, but the movie and its noises were now just background noise and lighting. From the corner of your eyes, you see Peter’s Adam apple bob up and down as he opened his mouth to speak.

“Y/N…” He started, slowly, seemingly unsure of how to word his sentence. You mustered up a small bit of courage and sent him a small smile, patiently waiting for his brain to catch up with his mouth. It was one of his quirks that you adored so much, how much he struggled with the right words to say, because he knew the gravity of them; even if he did end up just spewing them out in the end.

“I— I don’t really know how to say this exactly, but,” Peter chewed on his bottom lip. “God I just— I just need to man up and say it because it’s been on my mind ever since I came back and I don’t think I can put it off any longer because I’m scared that you’ll disappear again and that I’ll never have the chance to say the truth and I—“ He stopped in his tracks, seemingly running out of words to say. His head dropped to look at his lap, as he started fidgeting with his hands and picking at his cuticles. A nervous tick that you recognized.

You straightened up from your lounging position, and slowly reached out your arms to lay your own hands on top of his, effectively gaining his attention and stopping his quite destructive habit. Bit by bit, he faced you once more; albeit now his eyes seemed to be more glassy.

“Y/N,” He took a shaky breath. “You— you mean so much to me.“ His eyes stared straight through you, and by now you felt your eyes start getting teary too.

“When it was happening I— all I could think about was how I felt about you. I— I felt so fucking selfish. I didn’t even think about Aunt May— or Ned, or MJ. All I thought about was how much I regretted not telling you how I actually felt about you sooner— that I’ll never be able to tell you how much I actually fucking loved you—“

Instinctively, you cut him off with your index placed on his lips. Now it was your turn to let out a shaky breath as your hand descended and found itself laying once more on Peter’s own.

Peter loved you. Even before the snap. Even before you disappeared.

The sight of Peter in front of you: vulnerable, hair ruffled, cheeks and nose and the tips of his ears red, his eyes watering as he poured his heart out to you was the moment that answered all of your doubts from before.

That was when you realized that you loved him, too. Truly. Without a doubt.

You loved him before everything went to hell, you still love him now, and fuck, you would still love him even if you hadn’t died. You weren’t wearing rose-coloured glasses, hell, far from it. You were seeing everything clearly. You were seeing everything just the way that they are.

You opened your lips, and a strangled but genuine giggle came out. “Pete, I love you too. I’ve loved you since— fuck, I can’t even remember when I actually started fucking loving you. You’ve been such a constant in my life that I questioned myself whether I truly loved you romantically, because I’m also a fucking idiot that thought that the type of love that I had for you was only platonic. Turns out they’re both one and the same.” You were laughing now, with a few hiccups here and there from the hot tears streaming down your cheeks.

“And shut up— you aren’t selfish,” With a new wave of courage, you lifted up one of your hands again and cradled his face. He leaned into it, impulsively, sniffling. “You’re one of the most selfless people that I know, hell, you put yourself in danger for people that you don’t even fucking know. I… I honestly think you could use more selfishness sometimes.” You laughed, softly, trying to regain a bit more composure with the tidal wave of emotions washing through you.

Peter, thankfully, found your quip funny. He snorted, shaking his head, as he lifted the sleeve of his Midtown Tech hoodie up to wipe at his tears. He wiped yours too, and you thanked him with a genuine smile.

All hearts now bared, you both just stared at each other, not really knowing what else to say nor do. From what you could tell, the movie was over now, the ending scene just slowly rolling in as it always does.

You opened your mouth, about to break the silence, when Peter beat you to it.

“Can I kiss you?”

A chuckle escaped your mouth before you could reply properly, and a huge grin overtook your face as your cheeks heated up once more. You squeezed his hands, and nodded.

Peter leaned in, and you had never felt more at peace.

#lily’s lil’ stories #peter parker #peter parker x reader #peter parker x you #fanfic #ff #x reader #tom holland #tom holland x reader #tom holland x you #spiderman #spiderman x reader #one shot #angst #best friends to lovers #fluff #subtle (not really) movie references #existential musings #pete n reader's been thru a lot ok:(

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animeman08 · 4 years ago

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Aquaman

Aquaman (Arthur Curry) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by Paul Norris and Mort Weisinger, the character debuted in More Fun Comics #73 (Nov. 1941). Initially a backup feature in DC's anthology titles, Aquaman later starred in several volumes of a solo comic book series. During the late 1950s' and 1960s' superhero-revival period known as the Silver Age, he was a founding member of the Justice League. In the 1990s' Modern Age, writers interpreted Aquaman's character more seriously, with storylines depicting the weight of his role as king of Atlantis.

The character's original 1960s animated appearances left a lasting impression, making Aquaman widely recognized in popular culture and one of the world's most recognized superheroes. Jokes about his wholesome, weak portrayal in Super Friends and perceived feeble powers and abilities have been staples of comedy programs and stand-up routines, leading DC at several times to attempt to make the character edgier or more powerful in the comic books. Modern comic book depictions have attempted to reconcile these various aspects of his public perception, with many versions often casting Aquaman as serious and brooding, saddled with an ill reputation, and struggling to find a true role and purpose beyond his public side as a deposed king and a fallen hero.

Aquaman has been featured in several adaptations, first appearing in animated form in the 1967 The Superman/Aquaman Hour of Adventure and then in the related Super Friends program. Since then he has appeared in various animated productions, including prominent roles in the 2000s series Justice League and Justice League Unlimited and Batman: The Brave and the Bold, as well as several DC Universe Animated Original Movies. Actor Alan Ritchson also portrayed the character in the live action television show Smallville. In the DC Extended Universe, actor Jason Momoa portrays the character in the films Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, Justice League, Aquaman, and Aquaman 2.

> Powers and abilities

Aquaman's most widely recognized power is the telepathic ability to communicate with marine life, which he can summon from great distances. He once stated that this power more relied on encouraging and compelling the subject rather than full control, citing piranha as a species he has trouble commanding under any circumstances due to their ruthlessness and hunger. Although this power is most often and most easily used on beings that live in the sea, Aquaman has at times demonstrated the ability to affect any being that lives upon the sea (e.g., sea eagles), or even any being evolved from marine life (e.g., humans and some aliens). Per the 2011 DC continuity reboot, The New 52, Aquaman's telepathy has been greatly downplayed: acknowledging that most marine life does not possess enough intelligence to carry a meaningful telepathic communication, Aquaman is now stated to simply add compulsions and needs in the mindset of aquatic life, compelling them to do his bidding by a subtle altering of their cerebellum. It is later revealed during DC Rebirth/Drowned Earth that Arthur's ability to speak with the ocean comes from a metaphysical energy known as the Life Force, a vast ocean of genesistic power which enables him to connect with any and all forms of sentience within the cosmos, even from across realities. Through it, Arthur could also use its power to revert lost forms and assert varying consciousnesses within, like making the human shell of Mother Salt's monster daughter, the Cailleach, subservient to her human host's will; even restoring the true forms and divine powers of long-forgotten ocean gods while calling out to them from through his aquatelepathy.

The character has a number of other superhuman powers, most of which derive from the fact that he is adapted to live and thrive in the harshest of underwater environments. He has the ability to breathe underwater and possesses a superhuman physique strong enough to withstand attacks from superhuman opponents and resist machine gun fire. Aquaman frequently displays feats of super-Atlantean (the average Atlantean can lift/press approximately two tons) and superhuman strength. While not on par with Superman and Wonder Woman, he has proven capable of leaps up to six miles. He can swim at extremely high speeds, capable of reaching speeds of 3,000 meters per second (10,800 km [roughly 6,700 miles] per hour) and can swim up Niagara Falls. He can see in near total darkness and has enhanced hearing, granting limited sonar.

Although Aquaman can remain underwater indefinitely without suffering any ill effects, he grows weak if he remains on land for extended periods. However, when Batman invented Aquaman's water suit, he was able to walk on land for an indefinite amount of time and was no longer vulnerable to a "dehumidifier". This weakness was later removed from continuity in 2011, establishing that he grew up on land before learning of his Atlantean heritage, but he still runs the risk of dying by dehydration within incredibly hostile environments. Aquaman had also been bestowed an ability he never showcased before, given to him by an old Sea Monarch, granting him the ability of unaided flight using his own power.

Before The New 52, the Trident, granted by Poseidon to the rightful ruler and protector of the seas, was indestructible and a very powerful melee weapon, which Aquaman wielded with unmatched skill. Apart from its power as a melee weapon, the Trident also had the power to manipulate water, fire bolts of powerful energy and act as a focus to amplify the magical power of others, most notably Tempest. In The New 52, the Trident comes in multiples; one belonging to the aforementioned sea god, and another which is part of a collection of seven very powerful Atlantean magical items, forged by the first king of Atlantis who calls himself 'The Dead King'. initially thought to be the most powerful weapon of the set, with the possible exception of the recently discovered seventh item, the Trident is completely indestructible and able to hurt even the most powerful of opponents, such as the evil New God Darkseid. In one instance, the Trident was shown glowing with magical power when Black Manta used the rest of the items to discover the hidden seventh one. In The New 52, Poseidon's trident has displayed the power to summon tsunamis and deluges, call down thunder and lightning, project and control ice, move landmasses, and grant the ability for Aquaman to teleport himself global and even interplanetary distances using water as a medium. It can also transform into a gladius and back into a trident again at will. Arthur also uses both versions of the trident to boost the range of his telepathy. Sometimes when Arthur utilizes the trident of Atlan's supernatural powers, his eyes glow with arcane power and this further strengthens his abilities as well as give him various arcane energy-based capabilities as well.

After the loss of his left hand, Aquaman initially replaced it with a cybernetic retractable hook, then a liquid metal hand. The mechanical hand was replaced by a magical hand made out of water, given to him by the Lady of the Lake, which granted Aquaman numerous abilities. These included: the ability to instantly dehydrate to death anyone he touched, shoot jets of scalding or freezing water from it, healing abilities, the ability to create portals into mystical dimensions that could act as spontaneous transport, control and negate magic, manipulate almost any body of water he sets his focuses on and the capability to communicate with the Lady of the Lake through his magic water hand. His biological hand was restored when the character was resurrected in Blackest Night #8.

At various times in his life, Aquaman has been transformed into a purely oceanic entity with power over all the seas of the world; this was usually temporary, as he would often revert to normal afterwards.

#dccomics #dcuniverse #justiceleague

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chimbbles · 6 years ago

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mafia boss!jimin x reader 🌸

A/N: I hope you like it, asks is open, come chat or request 💌

T/W: minimal violence

↬ fluff ☀️ + angst ☔

you started off as a stripper, with the typical backstory, just a college student with some extra time off and wanted to get some quick cash

until you had a fallout with your family back home, and proceeded with them cutting you off financially

you ended up dropping out of college, taking up different part time jobs because you refused to go back home and submit

one day you decided the daytime jobs just wasn't enough and you're barely surviving, so you applied for a full-time job at the nightclub

signing up for some weekly burlesque classes at the small dance studio downtown, you think you'd have a better chance at getting promoted if you had a speciality

jimin works as a bouncer at the club for a little over a year now

which sounds odd, because he doesn't fit the stereotype of bouncers, doesn't exude that killing machine vibe and look buff with bulging muscles that rips through shirts

instead, he's calm and professional when he handles troublemakers and pesky customers, with a way with words that's very helpful in sticky situations

you began appearing more often at the club, and that's when jimin starts taking notice of you

the nightclub, well, isn't open for business until night falls, but jimin's always there, like 24/7

you know that because sometimes he passes by the practice room during his 'rounds'

you and the other dancers practice your routines in the afternoon, brushing up on your techniques and dance flow, polishing your final execution for every night's performance

you're hoping to land another promotion soon, working hard during practice and sharpening your skills in burlesque whenever you can

it's your secret weapon, silently simmering in a pot, boiling and bubbling until all the flavours at ready and you'll release it at it's best

if the boss thinks you're good enough he might just promote you to a premium dancer- that means less shift and a higher pay, and you could start taking private sessions with VIP customers, which would earn you a lot more

jimin doesn't realize it until it's too late, but he comes to work early just to get a glimpse of you practicing

he doesn't want to sound like a creep, but it wasn't like he's given full pardon to just stare at you guys practice

besides, he loves seeing you in gym shorts or just normal clothing in general, as opposed to the flashy outfits you always wear on stage

something about the comparisons between behind-the-scenes and on stage live performance

your presence also makes work a bit more interesting

he loves his job, but he also has to take it seriously

he's not just a bouncer, the boss appointed him as his 'hawk' in and outside the club, keeping eyes out for anybody they don't particularly fancy

he frequently run errands for the boss, whether is was checking someone's background or shipment from suppliers- he does it all

his boss treats him like his own, favours him a lot as well, which in turn gives him hell with the others in the gang

they're jealous of him and his success, think he's just a brown-nosing fox

he used to be on the leaner side, so he signed up for some gym sessions and took up those boxing classes and whatever was on the brochure

all in all your presence just makes the sun shine a bit brighter for his day, make his heart beat a little faster, make the people he hate look a tad nicer

he didn't think he would succeed, it was more of a thing he wanted to get over with so he didn't have to think about it anymore

but when he asked you out for breakfast (after the club closes) and you agreed almost immediately

jimin was so nervous his palms started getting clammy and sweaty

and when you reached out to hold his hand his whole body jumped and he retracted his hand like he touched lava

he won't stop apologising afterwards, he can't believe he's blowing his only chance with you

but you find him a total dork, aside from when he's in mafia mode

you guys started dating after a month of morning dates and getting to know each other

jimin pulls extra hours just to see you dance, sexy outfit on or not

it wasn't easy at first, your supervisor was tough on you guys, and they weren't fond of the club bouncer who was just a tad bit too clingy for their tastes

he holds himself back whenever customers seem to cross the line, lets you handle it before it's asked upon him to meddle

the whole point of a striptease is for part of it to remain a mystery, and up to your own imagination

he can't comprehend why the concept of such art is so hard to grasp

other times when you're not in the club and just out on a normal date, jimin's all over you

holding your hands, hugging, kissing- all the lovey-dovey stuff

he doesn't like when others look at you like you're a meal ready to be gobbled up, and trust that he can beat them up, but he's just worried-

worried you're sacrificing some small touches in turn of a promotion, worried you'll be mistreated

your relationship was frowned upon when the boss found out

you were one of his top dancers and jimin was his right hand man, he couldn't lose either of you

but he wasn't expecting a romance to bloom right under his nose, and it took a lot of convincing from jimin for him to accept it

everything seemed to be going swell:

you and jimin had made it to your 6 month mark of dating, and you just made it into elite, jimin got promoted and was finally revealed to be the boss' right hand man, earning him the respect he deserves

you also choreographed a small number for jimin on his birthday, and he thought he couldn't love you even more than he did

and you're set to move in with him next week when he comes back from his errands

but he doesn't make it in time before it happens

the rival gang have plotted this for the past few months, attacking your club at it's lowest point, low security and during peak hours

the news covered it all, hundreds were hurt in the incident, customers or gang members

when jimin got back the club was a mess, restrained by police lines and glass shattered everywhere, blood splatters on the walls

he heard his boss was killed on the spot, right in his chair in the office

none of that was his main concern though, you haven't been picking up your phone for the pass three days, ever since the attack happened and jimin fears for the worst

he searched your house and there's no sign of a break-in, so it's likely the authorities have no idea of your relationship yet

jimin's a known member of the gang and is wanted for investigation so he can't be seen going to public places like hospitals

he sits in his rented motel room everyday, ransacking his mind for just one simple excuse for your absence that doesn't include the attack

it wasn't until a week after the attack police finally reveal details of the attack, and with his stomach full of dread, he sees your picture up on his 90's box television, smiling and beautiful as ever,

with the title stating you're in a state of coma

jimin thinks he's gone insane, he couldn't bring himself to cry no matter how much it hurt, he throws up at the sight of food

how hurt were you? how hard did they hit? or did they shot you? was it only one wound? or multiple? did they do anything else?

for all the 30 days he spent holed up in his room he spent all of them thinking of you, hurting for you

he makes his move once the coast is clearer, police control isn't as tight as the first few months and he gets to sneak into the hospital to get a look at you

and he wishes he hadn't

your wounds have mainly recovered, but there's still bruises on your arms, tubes stuck in your mouth and you just seem- lifeless

and just like you, a look at you made him the same, the image of you lying on the hospital bed sucked his soul dry of any liveliness

it took a lot, struggles and sufferings but he took it all in with open arms, if it meant he was going to get what he wanted

within a year, jimin had rebuilt what he could salvage of his former gang

he took in new recruits and convinced some to turn against their own, with whatever method he can conjure up be it blackmail, threats or bribery

he quickly became the fastest rising mafia on the block, gaining more attention whilst he builds his army

jimin's smart, he doesn't rely solely on the mafia to get the big bucks rolling, he's also a businessman with several side business going

this raise suspicion on him, speculations that said he planned the assassination of his previous boss, robbed him and ran away to make a new name for himself

it didn't help either when jimin bought the club, the one you and him used to work at

he has put the pass behind him, what he does now is for the better of his own gang, people can say whatever they want

he's kept busy for the next few months, demolishing the club and planting a 25-storey building there, his own headquarters on the floors 7,10,11,13 and 23- special dates to you both

he's been so busy keeping an eye on the new businesses coming in at the headquarters, that he hasn't had time to visit you at the hospital

in fact, it's been more than eight months since his last visit

he's been working on new projects, and the income he's earning is directly proportional to the amount of rivals he gains

he just thinks he should wait until the tension dies down a bit before he sneaks a peek at you in the hospital, alone

he always visits alone, acts as if he's got something personal to attend to out of town, before running back to you prior to the curfew time for visiting hours

he misses you like crazy, and he's got so much to tell you, how the government gave him a hard time with the new projects he's got

and how he's bought this land on a hill, getting it ready for renovation, making it your dream house

he's still hopeful you'll wake up, even if it's approaching two years since the incident

and when you do, he'll ask you to marry him and move in with him, have children with him and just be with him forever, by his side

so that explains why he looks like he got hit by a bat when you come walking into his company doors, asking to attend a scheduled interview

his jaw drops when he sees you and he thinks he must've missed his medication or he's lacking in sleep because there's no way you're awake

but there you are, gorgeously standing in front of him, in that office attire you're wearing and he curses, you're wearing one of the shirts he bought for you

you pass by him before going in for your interview, and even with a polite smile it's like cupid struck him a hundred times too much

it doesn't hit him until he's been standing there too long for suspicion to rise, and he realises, you don't recognise him

he doesn't believe it, were you mad? he tests you again and again, asking questions about the diner you guys always dated in and you had absolutely zero clue

so he rushes to get your details, claiming he needs to further analyse you before he decides if you're fit for the job, then follows you home with his car

you still live in the same apartment, and your name checks out, same with your identification card, so he goes back to his penthouse suite that night, confused as heck

the next day before the sky even cracks with the first sign of daylight, he rushes to the hospital, and tries to pry whatever information he can from the bribed nurse's mouth

he gets more than he bargained for and it knocks the wind out of him

you're certified to have lost your memory, having up until your first semester of college to live by

that means you don't remember jimin, nor do you remember the nightclub, and most importantly, what happened to you

jimin wants to play hero, wants to protect you and sacrifice himself in the name of love, set you free from the bad memories, but temptation eats away at his soul, every night

he can't forget, and it kills him to know you have, about him and what once was

he can't deny he wants to try, restart, begin all over again when this time he'll have more power, he has more money, he can fight if you need him to

he tries, all he can, but he can't ignore it, it's only been a week since he saw you and he's already missing you

he clears out the whole floor of tenants on the 20th story and makes it his own office, as a silent marking of the day he saw you again

brings you into the office, hiring you as a new receptionist under the poor excuse of him needing a one for his newly established office just for his elites and trusted henchmen

the whole floor is eerie in general, thick glass that are quite possibly bullet-proof, with high-end security tech, equipped fully with fingerprint, voice, face and even walking style recognition

you knew the company you interviewed for was a rich one, frankly you didn't have high hopes of getting hired, it was a wild shot

but you didn't have much of a choice, apparently your college can't redraw your withdrawal after a certain time limit, and your parents didn't even know you were hurt, you never knew your relationship had turned that sour

you had no idea what was going on in your life, suddenly you're left alone to start anew in a town you barely knew

no more college, nor family and no jobs

you're trembling on your first day, nerves and jitters exuding from your very being

the head receptionist had told you to wait outside the office before being let in by 'the tech guy' and you're wondering who is he, because he's an hour late for work

not long after that this guy in thick rimmed glasses walks out from the elevator, trudging heavy footprints towards you

you briefly hear him mutter something under his breath, like "the things I do" before he pulls you in by the elbow

"this door will only recognize your fingerprints at 9am every morning, and you have a five minute window, before it shuts you out and you're not allow any access unless one of us comes and save you, got it?"

you nod, and he continues giving instructions, and it's very basic and easy

'they' don't even get calls, things are mainly faxed or emailed to them directly, and because you're not trusted enough, you're not authorized filter through emails for your boss(es?)

so your job is basically 'sit still look pretty' until work ends and you go home

he doesn't pass another word to you after he makes sure you're clear with the rules and regulations, and as soon as he's done with you he leaves you alone at the reception area to make an escape to his designated room

you follow him with your eyes and you see him enter a room with "yoongi" engraved in the door

you look around and take in the office layout, it's pretty simply designed- the front entrance leads into some armchairs before the actual door itself, with the security systems and then it's your area, with a wide curved table and a burgundy, wine red coloured design

then there's a narrow corridor that leads into the main office area, again with a security system, but a simpler one. the area spans out to accommodate six oddly spacious cubicles and a staff's pantry

at the end is followed by another secured hallway, housing much larger individual office rooms of five

you quickly realise how small this group of workers are, compared to the one downstairs where you interviewed in

that one was packed full with people and all types of machines, while here it's spacious, the cubicles are luxurious, comfortable seats and wide angle desks, mini fridge provided for every cubicle

only one of the bigger offices can be looked into, and you assume it's the boss', because it's the biggest, taking up the whole end of the the floor

you take note of all the names assigned to each working area, these will be the people you're working with in the future:

[jeong jungguk] , human resources manager;

[kim taehyung] , chief information officer;

[jung hoseok] , engineering manager;

[kim seokjin] , chief financial officer;

[min yoongi] , chief technology officer:

[kim namjoon] , chief resources officer;

and lastly,

[park jimin] , chief executive officer

masterlist ask

#kpop imagines #kpop fluff #kpop drabbles #kpop scenarios #bts fluff #bts imagines #bts drabbles #bts scenarios #jimin #bts mafia!au #kpop angst #bts angst #mine

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bidrums · 6 years ago

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Something about episode 4 that bothered me that I really need to get off my chest

So @strangesurvivals has really good posts about this that honestly made me realize that was exactly what bothered me and they are very put-together posts, so if you want something that’s not as rambling as mine, go check it out. Check it out regardless of what I put on here, because it’s a great blog and they deserve love and attention.

Here’s what rubbed me the wrong way: the stupid Warlock school subplot and the concept of the Alpha.

In a post I made with my general thoughts on the episode, I mentioned that I thought it was interesting about the concept of Supreme vs Alpha but followed it with saying I wasn’t about to start discourse.

Well, I retract that statement and am going to start discourse.

I’ll probably be crucified for saying that Coven wasn’t my favorite season, but it wasn’t. I love the concept and absolutely adore the characters and agree that the season kicked some serious ass, but I couldn’t really jam with the plot. I don’t know why, since I’ve watched and read very similar things, but I just couldn’t really get into it. Sorry. Even though it wasn’t my favorite season, I definitely screamed when they appeared and loved all the scenes they were in. Because they're characters that I love and actresses that I love, and I knew that would up the stakes more than they were already upped.

And then the plot happened.

I make fun of the fact that it started out like Harry Potter with Michael being recruited, but then Ryan took the Chosen One concept a bit too far and decided to call it the Alpha. And I just, no. Just no. No, don’t do that. Don’t do that to Michael. He’s already the Antichrist. That’s more than enough of a role to fill, and he doesn't need some Harry Potter/Star Wars magic Chosen One that’s destined to defeat the Ultimate Evil (TM) on top of being the Antichrist. It’s unnecessary and it took away from that subplot for me. It felt lazy, it felt forced, it felt contradictory, it just lessened the impact of the Antichrist plot and Michael’s harnessing of his powers. At least, the way Ryan did it. I’ll get back to that.

So Michael Potter Skywalker is taken to a magic school to develop his Amazing Magic Powers because something happens that tells The Powers That Be that he’s Super Powerful- more than any of them. Only one of those Authorities is suspicious and hesitant to take this person is because he can smell Big Trouble because This Kid Ain’t Right. But everyone laughs off Cheyanne Yoda Jackson because holy fuck he pulled some Exorcist shit then curled up in a ball crying on the floor he must be The One With The Ultimate Power (TM) we must take this emotionally unstable child in and harness his magic because absolutely nothing will go wrong with taking him in and teaching him to control his crazy strong magic that manifests himself in murder. Cheyanne Yoda Jackson is just being paranoid, he only impaled a guy with multiple knives and blew a guys head up. He may have Much Anger In Him and acts in a way that looks like he’s Demon Possessed, but have you seen his Midichlorian count? We have to bring him in because he might be able to destroy the Sith and bring Balance to the Force and finally dismantle the ever-present fear of Voldemort’s Reign of Terror! Stop being a spoilsport and train him like the rest of us, it’ll be fine! Oh, and we won’t help him adjust to his power gradually in order to make up for the years of training he lost in order to give him the same foundation everyone else has and the skills and trust of the System to not be reigned by his unstable emotions and Much Anger In Him. Nah, throw him in the deep end headfirst, he’ll be fine. In fact, we’ll raise our expectations and push him harder than everyone else and tell him his Destiny from the beginning so he has all this pressure on him. There’s no way he’ll lash out and have a sense of entitlement.

Now, who are The-Sith-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named that oppress the poor, defenseless Warlocks? The rest of humanity? That was in Coven, and it would be interesting to have a Magneto-type background that ties into his disgust at humanity and proves his “evil motherfuckers” point. Is it the Humans? It’s not? Who is it?

The Witches, of course! Those Nasty, Horrible Women who use their Superior Woman Magic to press the poor defenseless Warlocks who just want to Be Equals and not be molotov cocktailed after those Stupid Women didn’t have the foresight to the potential consequences of trying to foster good relations with the Muggle World and being open about their Mutant status because they’re Mutants, and they’re Proud! We need an Alpha Male to save us from the Uterus! A Level Four! The Manliest Man in all of Manhood who will put those women in their place and take them down from their High and Mighty Egos. In Coven they had thinly-veiled metaphors for racism by having European vs Voodoo magic fights that tried to make us see that the Poor White Girls are just Misunderstood and Blissfully Ignorant that the Voodoo Community is just as Powerful and Valid as the rest of them! And they still have that in Apocalypse, but now they also have Gender Inequality in it, too! But like, not showing the tired, traditional Oppressed Women narrative that a lot of feminists tell. No, it’s the Refreshing alternate view that maybe, there are areas of life where Men are not on top? And that’s bad for them? It’s daring and bold and no one has ever proposed this idea ever! I’m so creative and revolutionary!!!

The Supreme title was interesting to me because there’s always the Head Witch or something like that. But Ryan gave her the title of Supreme, because the one to master all fundamental areas of magic has Supreme Magic that is more powerful. Which makes sense and is pretty refreshing to me, because it felt like an acknowledgement while over-glorifying the title. Because Supreme also sounds like a threat and a title everyone would fight over, so whoever has that title has to constantly watch her back because other people will try to take that for themselves. The title was forged in blood, and it’s a constant reminder of that. And the show does a great job showing how hard and how dangerous that title is. It shows work, it shows strength, it shows earning the title.

That is the complete opposite of the Alpha role. Level Four. Honestly I hate the fact that they rank the students with 4 levels because it’s honestly unhealthy competition in my opinion. But we’re focusing on the Alpha. It’s a stupid concept, it’s a stupid plot device, it’s a stupid mentality, it’s a stupid rank, it’s a stupid title. “But you’re a Christian, isn’t that hypocritical of you because you’re okay with calling God the Alpha?” Actually, that’s not His full title. The full title is the Alpha and the Omega- which is FUCKING GREEK FOR THE BEGINNING AND THE END AND IS A PRETTY ACCURATE TITLE FOR THE FUCKING CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE AND DON’T BRING MY RELIGION INTO THIS I AM NOT GOING TO SAY THAT AGAIN

Anyways, the Alpha thing and why it’s hella problematic. Its real-life counterpart is a hideous mentality that really messed-up men have that leads to entitlement issues that lead to violence- usually against women whose bodies they feel they are owed and believe that their superior “Alpha Male” status demands. Just, it doesn’t matter if that’s what he was imagining- which I doubt given the context- or not, the fictional Alpha Male trope and the real-word damage the Alpha Male mentality causes make this fictional title undesirable and uncomfortable. It also doesn’t imply the hard work that the Supreme title does. Like I referenced in my sarcastic rant, it’s why people hated the Midichlorian thing in Star Wars. I actually asked my dad if they were mad because it wasn’t referenced in the original trilogy. He said, and I paraphrase, “Partly. It’s the implications of them not mentioning it in the original trilogy that we have a problem with. When it first came out, the Force was something that everyone had and that some people were more in tune with than others. But it was in everyone, so everyone with the right training could become a Jedi. You might not be as powerful as the other Jedi, but you can be a Jedi or at the very worst, someone with cool Force abilities that can use the Force. Just not at the level of the Jedi. That was awesome because me and everyone else was saying, “I could be a Jedi! I could learn how to master the Force! Then Episode 1 came out and it said, nah, you can’t. It’s twitch muscles. You have it, or you don’t. Your DNA determines wether or not you can actually use the Force. Everyone has the Force, but you can’t be trained to tap into that power. It was like a slap in the face to the people who spent decades with the fantasy of training to be a Jedi. Since you haven’t had the time gap between movies, it’s less of an issue. But to us, it hurts a lot.” And that’s exactly what the Alpha does. It’s not that Michael is powerful and gradually shows the potential to be the Alpha then proves himself to be able to survive the grueling process to earn that status. It’s just that they see that he’s powerful (which I have no idea how impressive that footage is since we don’t have a great example of how weak everyone else’s magic is in comparison, imo) and assume that because he’s super powerful he’s The One. It just wasn’t as compelling to me as finding out about the Supreme. And yes, the witches do inherently have more magic and yes, the Supreme inherently has more magic, but it’s still like the Jedi. Not everyone is Force-Sensitive, so not everyone can be a Jedi; by extension, not all the Jedi can have the highest rank and there are many nuances and strengths of the people’s Force abilities. That’s something that I thought was interesting in Coven and was a bit disappointed that they didn’t play around with it more, but that’s not what this is about. I’m just showing how the Warlocks could have a similar Nuance even with their ranking system and could’ve had more of a parallel with the Witches.

But they didn’t.

Instead Ryan decided to have some weird social commentary about how women could be as bad as men and whenever they have some area where they’re better than men, they abuse that area and twist the narrative to make themselves the victims; in these areas, the men are now the ones who have to fight tooth and claw to get equal treatment. This is the standard “Women can be just as bad as men given the opportunity!” narrative that hurts legitimate activism to get men the same treatment in areas such as domestic abuse, where the statistics of male victims and the numbers of how they receive justice for it are much different than for women. There was a social study where two actors pretended to be a couple having an argument in public that gets violent, with one partner starting to get more and more physical and the other partner getting more and more in danger of being seriously hurt. When the woman was the victim, people rushed to her aid and got in between them and called him out on his behavior. When the man was the victim, a significantly less number of people did that, and most people laughed it off as the male being “whipped”- or, not filling the male role in the relationship. The power balance is suddenly funny when the woman has more power over the women. Now, I’m not going to go into that discourse, and you have my word on that. Domestic abuse is a horrific epidemic that both men and women face, and statistically women are the victims much more than men. But that doesn’t mean that when men are abused, it’s not that bad as when women are. And so when activist groups push for more awareness of this epidemic and trying to change the narrative of what domestic abuse looks like, we should listen and treat it seriously. But when narratives like the Witch oppression of the Warlocks being used to bring attention to “reverse sexism”- which is bullshit, btw- it lessons actual legit activism and make both activism for male issues and activism for female issues seem less important. Less serious. They become more of a joke and people overreacting than things of actual importance. And it’s just bad writing. There are way better ways to have a Warlock vs Witch narrative that Michael is involved in. Way better ways. Way better ways than “oppressed men might have someone who can overthrow the oppressive women because he’s more powerful and men might be able to reclaim their position of power”.

Honestly, I was mostly annoyed by this is that not only was Ryan- consciously or no- even doing it, but he was doing it where the men were just being whiny and had no real argument. They gloated at Cordelia and tried to provoke her by dangling Michael as “The One (TM) who would overthrow the Witches’ power over them” in front of her to try to get her angry. They act like her refusing to put him through the Seven Wonders is proof that she’s scared of being overthrown. Because cowards act like that. And that when she uses Misty and Queenie as examples of how she isn’t all powerful like they believe and to give examples of how dangerous the world of magic is and how just recklessly going forward can land them in trouble, they just scoff like she’s not really worthy of being the All Powerful and can you believe this chick? She walks around like she owns the place but she can’t even save one of her own kind from being perpetually held in Limbo for eternity with possibly thousands of other souls being held captive and suffering unimaginable things. Some Supreme. She can’t possibly think that’s a good reason to not do the test of the Seven Wonders.

Just- it’s really bad. It’s not a good way to even make this lazy writing a passable attempt. Cordelia telling them about how she tried to save Queenie once she found out she was dead in order- this is what I interpreted from that sequence- to help her pass on or come back to life was a great way to show her character. She’s empathetic, she’s protective, she actually cares about the people she’s supposed to be the authority over. And her regret over not being able to save Queenie hurts because she was supposed to watch over her and be able to protect her from something like that, but she couldn’t. And she is heartbroken because people she loves and cares about are casualties of a dangerous world and she’s helpless to stop those casualties. And when she refuses to let Michael do the Seven Wonders, it’s because she doesn’t want an innocent party that is being put on a pedestal to get killed. She fucking says that she doesn’t want to risk him dying and the fuckwads act like that’s a pathetic excuse!!!!! That was so infuriating for me because it was treated like Cordelia was being unreasonable by the characters and Ryan. I mean, in Coven the Seven Wonders was constantly hammered in as dangerous at every level, and as the stakes are raised, the more it’s hammered in, and the more people get hurt. There are actual consequences, and Cordelia witnessed it from the beginning to the end. So she knows that there’s an 87% chance that Michael will die, and she doesn’t want someone else to die in the process that killed her friends. And she gets more and more angry about people talking over her and ignoring all of her very solid arguments against this until she has no choice other than to give into their provocations and get angry, having to firmly shutting it down and ending it before someone gets hurt and when she gets questioned again, she snaps one of the greatest lines in the season and the show: “BECAUSE I’M THE FUCKING SUPREME!” And the men just look at each other like, “I fucking knew this bitch was too scared of being usurped to agree to our very reasonable proposal to take a vulnerable youngster who’s only just started to control his powerful and unstable magic and force him to go through a dangerous test he has a high chance of dying from just to soothe our wounded egos that we’re grooming several impressionable young men to emulate, women are so unreasonable” and I wanted to punch everyone in the face.

So the thing I mentioned waaaaay earlier in this super-long post: the way Ryan was doing this lessened Michael’s character was done really badly. Here’s an idea on how to go through a less-sexist conflict between the two covens that actually makes him more powerful:

Michael is powerful- more powerful than they’ve seen. Cheyanne Yoda Jackson still gets to be suspicious, and they are inclined to agree. After some debate, everyone except Warlock Yoda agrees that it’s probably powerful, unstable magic that is being handled by a teen with anger issues and an obvious propensity for violence. They can teach him to handle the magic and maybe to control his emotions. Everything’s the same until they do their tests. It’s still after a month or two, but this time it’s after he’s had time to adjust and had some basic rudimentary training that everyone has when they first start. They explain that everyone is evaluated at the beginning to get a feel for their magic, and Michael already seems to have some control of his powers. Not much, but it’s impressive considering how insane they are. They start with the mirror. He does it, and they share shocked glances. That’s something that a lot of people have trouble with after years of training. So they hesitantly do the teleporting. Flawless passing, more shock. Then they ask him to waterbed snow, and they have their happy moment before they almost freeze to death. They see how freaked out Michael is and tell him that he has super strong magic and when you push yourself like he did, it’ll get a bit out of hand. Just be more careful and they’ll talk about where to put him then get back to him, okay? Then they talk about how freaky it is that he can do this with little training, Magic Yoda is suspicious, they shoot him down with a lot of irony because Antichrist. Then one of them suggests that maybe, just maybe, they might be seeing a Male Supreme. Use the phrase, “Male Supreme”. It’s less stupid and worrying. There’s banter about how there hasn’t been a male version, it’s only been a woman, you know how many powerful Warlocks have died trying to do the Seven Wonders, he can barely control snow, you think he can come back from the dead? But then they agree and call the Council.

Most of the Warlocks’ bitterness towards the Witches stems from two places: 1) Fiona was a bitch and took her Supreme status to exert absolute control of the Council and 2) Cordelia just announced the existence of Mutants Witches and Warlocks without consulting the Council, a decision that they feel should have been unanimous. So there’s some banter about the Seven Wonders and Michael and she doesn’t want to hurt him because of how many powerful Witches and Warlocks have died and he sounds like he’s emotionally and magically unstable and he most likely will die. It also makes more sense for them to be snarky at her because of the above two reasons, and they can invoke Fiona’s name which will make those of us who are familiar with Coven squeal at the mention of Fiona and remember that yeah, that sounds in character, as well as having Cordelia react to the implication that she’s being the same sort of Supreme her mother was. Like, that has waaaaayyyyy less sexism and provides a great conflict between the two schools. It also has a less cliche Chosen One story arc shoved into Michael’s already-established “I’m the Antichrist” story arc and still shows just how powerful and scary he is.

Again, that’s my idea on how it could’ve been better. I just hate that the potential badassery of rivals schools was ignored to have Ryan Murphy pretend to be revolutionary and critical and thinking outside of the box when he’s really condoning a dangerous and sexist narrative that puts characters that are both potentially awesome and badass and established to be awesome and badass into weak storylines that destroy a lot of great character arcs and characteristics of everyone.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

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revasnaslan · 8 years ago

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Never My Stepping Stone

the title comes from this song, which was a suggestion from my beta :3

happy @planceday!!

link to ao3 | beta’d by @voxiferous

Summary: Pidge just wants to finish her Gen Ed requirements in one piece - is that so much to ask? Fortunately her good friend Lance is there to help her when she has a little mishap at the pottery studio. Her good friend Lance who she kinda, sorta, maybe has a crush on...

Mosaic Class AU | Plance Day Fic 2 of 2

Gen Ed sucked.

Pidge had found that all the interesting classes for a given subject never fulfilled the requirements they needed to. In an attempt to avoid having to deal with Gen Ed, Pidge had been putting off taking several classes for a couple of semesters now. However, with the spring semester of her junior year looming over her head, she had finally acknowledged that she needed to take the art classes that were required for her degree.

That was how she had ended up in an afternoon mosaics class. While Pidge had never really thought of herself as an artsy person, it wasn’t a difficult class. The professor was pretty chill, and he didn’t even care if they came in during their scheduled class period. So long as they were prepared for critiques, they were allowed to continue working on their projects outside of class hours.

Her reluctance to take the class was abated by the fact that she knew several people in her class. Keith, for instance, was a recent transfer from the nearby community college. While he was rarely actually in class, he was always prepared for the critiques. Hunk was her neighbor from across the hall. They frequently had study group together, due to being in many of the same classes. And then there was Hunk’s roommate, Lance. He frequently joined their study group, even though he was in a completely different major—political science to Pidge’s computer science and Hunk’s engineering. He had actually been the one to suggest the mosaics class to Pidge, one time when they had been pulling an all-nighter to get a final paper of his edited.

Now, Pidge wasn’t above admitting to herself that she might’ve… sort of… had a tiny crush on Lance—not that he ever seemed to notice. They were close friends, of course, but she had noticed that how he acted around someone he was actively pursuing seemed to be very different from how he interacted with her. For one thing, he never flirted with her—which she was not complaining about. However, he also seemed to drop the majority of his boastful act when he was around her—most of it was just joking, and never in an attempt to impress her. He was even considerate, asking her when she would be taking extra hours in the studio to work on her projects, so he accompanied her more often than not.

Her current project was a stepping stone she intended to give to her mother once it was completed. She had designed it so that it looked like a forward-facing lioness head, except the lioness was green, rather than tan. After spending nearly a month and a half putting the tiles into place—in between working on multiple other projects and essays—today was the day she would finally be grouting her project. However, the color tile she had chosen for the lioness head made choosing a grout color difficult. They didn’t have a wide variety of colors available and while she could have ordered green grout, she had felt it unnecessary. Eventually, she had settled on black. Lance had actually been the one to inspire the design choice, as he had made an offhand comment about how choosing black grout could make her project appear similar to stained glass.

The critique for this project would be during their next class, a week away, but she really did need to finish grouting it. Lance had been kind enough to offer to keep her company, so they had met up at the studio following their afternoon classes. She sat at one end of the table, working her project, while Lance sat a couple of seats away, cleaning up the work he had already done on his.

Of course, in her haste to leave her dorm that morning, she had forgotten her grouting gloves. Normally, the professor was very strict about having them, but seeing as the professor wasn’t there and Lance wouldn’t snitch on her, Pidge had been grouting with her bare hands. For the first hour, everything had been fine, and she had almost finished the entire project. Then, as she ran her hand over the edge of the stepping stone, she felt a sharp pain as a piece of tile slashed her palm.

She immediately cursed, drawing her hand back to look at the cut. The tile had drawn blood and she hissed as she tried to see how bad it actually was. Before she could do anything, however, Lance was immediately at her side, taking her hand in his so that he could examine the cut.

“This is why you’re supposed to wear gloves,” Lance said.

Pidge frowned at him. “Well, I forgot mine today,” she grumbled, annoyed in part because she had forgotten her gloves, but also because Lance was now chastising her for it. The cut didn’t even really hurt that badly. She was sure she had been in much worse pain when she was younger and scraped her knee after falling off her bike.

“That’s no excuse,” Lance tutted, gently taking hold of her wrist before he led her over to the sink in the back of the studio. “Just don’t start panicking,” he said as he turned on the faucet and started testing it on his own fingers first.

She gave a half-hearted scoff. “I’m not panicking.”

Lance laughed, as he brought her hand under the stream of water and began helping her wash out the cut. ��Sure, you aren’t. Cuz I’m here.”

Pidge’s palm stung as the warm water hit it, but now that she was looking at it, the cut certainly wasn’t worth a trip to the on-campus clinic. While her palm was bleeding, it was not profuse, and the cut wasn’t as deep as she had originally thought it was. Still, she hissed as Lance began helping her wash out the cut. He did most of the work himself, and while his motions were slightly rough, he was taking care to keep lingering grout and dirt from getting into the cut. He seemed to be trying to keep her calm—even though she was calm—by talking. She was only half listening, but she caught bits and pieces about him being inspired by her stepping stone project to do his own.

“Except I would have made the lion blue, of course—blue is the superior color!”

She very nearly snapped at him, not because he was rambling, but because she wanted to tell him that she could handle it. However, there was something so genuine and thoughtful about his actions that she stopped herself and remained silent. It was only then that Pidge fully grasped the situation she had landed herself in by accidentally slicing her palm open on a shard of tile. She now stood in very close proximity to the guy she had been harboring something of a crush on for the last few months. Now she could feel her cheeks burning. She did manage to say a couple of words back to him, but they came out unbearably shaky—which Lance then misinterpreted as her being nervous about the cut, rather than their proximity.

Once Lance finished washing out her cut, Pidge watched as he began digging through the first aid kit that hung on the wall. He fished out a tube of Neosporin and a bandage, wrapping her palm up and fastening the bandage in place. Lance knew what he was doing, even if he had probably overdone it just a touch. A Band-Aid would have been sufficient.

“There we go!” Lance said, smiling brightly at her. “Good as new! I think I did a pretty good job!”

“Thanks, Lance,” Pidge said quietly, retracting her hand. It still stung a little bit, but she was sure that would fade in time. She wasn’t so sure that her burning face would go away anytime soon, though.

“No problem, Pidge,” Lance said as he turned his attention back to the sink and begin wiping water off the counter. “My mom taught me first aid, so you got quality service!”

Pidge bit back a retort, but she did snort softly in amusement. Really, she should just ask him out for… a coffee or something, and hope for the best. The only reason that she had never done so before was because she felt it didn’t really matter—she was perfectly happy having Lance as a friend. A coffee date was innocent enough, right? She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders before nudging Lance in the side. He turned his head to look at her, almost immediately asking what was wrong.

“Would you like to go out for coffee later?” Pidge managed, speaking much more quickly than she had meant to.

Lance tilted his head to the side, appearing confused. “You don’t need to buy me coffee, Pidge,” he assured her. “It was just a little cut. It’s not like I dragged you out of a burning building—of course, I totally would, but this was—”

“No—no,” Pidge cut him off. Her brow furrowed in annoyance and she crossed her arms over her chest. “I meant—I meant as a date?” she tried to elaborate, and cursed herself for stuttering as much as she did. Why was she so nervous about this of all things, when she had a fifteen page paper and a presentation due in two days?

Being asked out on a date by Pidge seemed to take Lance by surprise. His cheeks tinged pink, but he fell silent, and said nothing back to her. It was startling to see Lance so quiet, and Pidge felt her heart leap into her throat. The longer the silence went on, the more overwhelming the situation became, and the more Pidge just wanted to excuse herself and run away like some kind of coward.

“You don’t have to say yes,” Pidge finally said, breaking the silence. She averted her gaze to the ground, clutching her hand to her chest, cheeks going even redder than they had been before. “But I figured I’d ask since—since I kind of like you, and if you don’t want to, then—”

“Wait, wait—” Lance said quickly, cutting her off. Carefully, he reached out to place his hands on her shoulders. “I would love to, okay?” he insisted. He seemed to be struggling to contain himself, grinning and looking ready to jump for joy.

“I mean I know I’m a catch—”

Pidge snorted, rolling her eyes. “You’re a braggart—”

“A braggart you just asked out!” Lance said, grinning at her. “So, no take backs!”

Pidge couldn’t contain her laugh. “When do you want to go?”

“Right after we clean up around here,” Lance insisted. “Are you done for the day?”

Pidge looked back to where her stepping stone sat, almost entirely grouted. The bucket she had mixed the grout in was almost empty, so it wouldn’t be much of a waste to get rid of the last of it. She just needed to clean up her station and put her project back. She could come back in a day or two in order to finish up before the critique period.

“Yeah, we just need to clean up,” she said.

“Allow me,” Lance said, “Since your hand is injured.”

“It’s just a little cut—”

“Shh—” Lance said, wagging a finger at her. “You are gravely injured—what kind of person would I be if I made you clean in your state? Please, I insist.”

Pidge sighed and shook her head. “Alright… you win, but I’ll pay for the coffee.”

Lance agreed to that before he turned away to start cleaning. As soon as his back was turned, Pidge looked down at her bandaged hand. She flexed it a little and was unable to contain her grin.

#plance #pidge (voltron)#lance (voltron)#voltron #planceday #rev's writing again #based in part on a true story #because i actually did slice my hand open on a piece of tile during my mosaic class #and a cute boy actually did help me tend to it #sadly he already had a girlfriend so i was out of luck xd #makes for a cute plance fic tho

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mikey027-blog1 · 6 years ago

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Character bios for The Undesirables

Just as the title says this will be basically all the characters I have for my series so far.

1.Cole Sanders- 25 year old male with red hair that is normally spiked and hazel eyes that turn amber color when transforming into his supernatural form. About 5 feet and 10 inches in height and around 150 pounds. Caucasian with a body build meant for speed over strength. Main protagonist of the story and best friends with Cayden Graham(Avian).Both homeless on the streets of Santa Monica with both not having memory of certain parts of there past for whatever reason. With Cole it is mainly how he was born and came to be, not remembering any parents and being alone his whole life before meeting Cayden and Wyatt on his travels and jumping from foster home to foster home and shelters. Due to Wyatt's unbelievable hacking and techno skills or so Cole thinks, they all often live in luxury in the present rather then on the streets, often taking shelter in homes of others who are away on vocation or business for a long period of time. Cole is in fact something known as a infiniti, the only one of his kind as well. He can be every type of supernatural being in existence at will, giving him infinite possibilities, hence the name for what he is given by the people of Haven after finding out what he is capable of. The mark of Evervee that appears on all supernatural beings only suddenly appears on him near when the story starts and he is out with his friend Cayden who sees it and is astonished. A tattoo forms on his left arm that is the infinity symbol except it appears as such with tree roots. It is way later known that God himself created Cole as a way to take on the Everbeing, the only being to be at the same level of power as God himself. However, during a epic battle with God and the Everbeing they could not finish one another off for whatever reason but only diminish one anothers power drastically. But during the fight, God loses memory of what he did or the battle or who he even is and falls from Heaven down to Earth.

2. Cayden Graham(, Dracula)- A vampire from the mid 1400's who is actually Dracula and one of the first vampires. Every century or so his personality and physical appearance and persona changes and he goes by a different name with his current name being Cayden. Later in the book it is explained that vampires have a ability where they can push back unwanted memories from there minds or even recreate them into something false. Vampires often do this if they feel guilt of something they did in there past. Apparently in every generation that Cayden lives he erases his memories of his past lives. He does this because in all of his past lives he was under the influence of the mark which made him into a uncontrollable killing machine. But at some point in the story he meets a witch who is aware of what he is and what he is capable of and knows that he has tampered with his mind and lets Cayden know who is unaware of his own actions.He then becomes aware that the mark of Evervee is actually a reoccurring thing that has happened multiple times in previous generations pretty much going back to the beginning. A back and forth tug of war match between God and the Everbeing that resorts in using that mark each time to make his army and wreak havoc. He himself has had the mark before in one of his past lives and been controlled and slaughtered many creating a name for himself feared by most known as Night-Reaper. But with this knowledge he comes to understand that there must be a way to end the mark as its happened before and been dealt with somehow if only temporary but try to find a permanent solution this time.Even though hundreds of years old, his current persona and physical form resembles that of a young man with a mix of goth and punk style clothing. His mind set is also that of a young man even though he carries knowledge from hundreds of years. Cayden meets Cole one day while protecting him and Wyatt against a mug attack, forced to use hiss full on vamp abilities to fight them all off. But with his ability of mind compulsion he makes Cole forget what he saw and to remember him as just a badass martial arts fighter who kicked all the muggers butts without breaking a sweat. After this, Cayden became good friends with Cole and Wyatt and became there protector.

3. Wyatt Ellnacks- A 20 year old male often seen as a techno geek and major nerd in most things such as Marvel and DC stuff. He is actually a supernatural being known as a Zelick. Spectral beings of energy and light that cackle and sizzle dangerously like electricity but they can also maintain human form. Friends with Cole and Cayden who all met in the past in a shelter. His ability to hack is usually him actually using his supernatural abilities to control anything electronic, making bypassing most security a piece of cake. When in his spectral form his voice often has a echoing sound. Wyatt has spent most his life hiding his true self from the world and was pretty much born without parents or at least from what he can remember much like Cole making them become fast friends when meeting in a shelter. However Wyatt hides is true nature from Cole but not Cayden as he is afraid of how Cole would take it and possibly jeopardizing there friendship. Wyatt does not know exactly what he is until showing up in Haven but he does know of his abilities and that he can transform into something. Both Cayden and Wyatt already have there marks although for both the mark appeared at different times.

4. Paige Lopinski- A young witch of around 23 in training of her magical abilities to hopefully one day join the Shroud Coven aka The Whisperers. For whatever reason she has a strong dislike for vampires making her and Cayden often clash with one another when they meet in Haven. She has a familiar that helps channel her magic that takes the form of a wolf that becomes a fur cloak that provides protection that can stop bullets and is heat and cold resistant.

5.Piper Hughes- 14 year old young girl known as a miracle in the supernatural world. Granted good luck and fortune since birth due to a priests holy prayer that a angel granted and answered. It is rare, but on occasion angels are allowed to leave Heaven almost like being granted vocation time and able to visit Earth to do as they wish as long as concealed from humans of there true form which is actually harmful to human eyes. Sometimes angels take this time to grant certain newborn babes a special blessing that will protect the child for there whole lifetime and give them good fortune. It is to be believed angels do this only for those they believe will impact the world in some huge epic way so it rarely happens.However there is a catch to a miracle having this blessing, if any were to give into dark temptations of any kind even once in there lifetime or lose there innocence(virginity), there blessing would vanish and instead turn into a curse where they receive misfortune instead. A miracle's blessing effects others around her as well for a limited time. Same is said if a miracle becomes a misfit and is cursed.

6.Riley Mackenzie- The sexy devil every Haven resident drools over and she has wrapped around her fingers. Despite her having a pale ghost like appearance she is still considered beyond gorgeous and captivates most with just a single glance. Age 24 and a demon particularly a Succubus. Often because of her being known as a demon by most, she is always judged as being evil or a agent of chaos. They are all only half right. When around other Supernatural beings she has a tail with a sharp point that could gut a stomach easily and she of course has horns. Cool thing about her wings is they are only noticeable as shadows on the wall behind her, otherwise they never cannot be seen and her wings look like black tentacles sprouting from her back. When disguising as a full on human her horns retract and her tail wraps around her and becomes a belt for her current pants attire. She often likes to pick on newbies at Haven.

7.Abigail Saline(Trinity)- A young 14 year old girl close to being 15 who when just a little girl was abused severely by her father and never new her mother. One day she ran away from home without telling anyone and never looked back. Just as a girl she was terrified of how she would survive on her own but shortly after running away she was ambushed by thugs who threatened her life and she took shelter in a old abandoned building that looked to be on the brink of collapsing where the unspeakable happened to her. A spirit possessed her body and gave her immense strength for her age and physique. The spirit protected her through her own body and took down the thugs and then asked her if she would be willing to be a vessel for a number of spirits trapped to that place in return for protection to her from any threats such as the thugs. The spirit explains they just long to leave the sad place they are trapped to but with a vessel they could all leave and see the world once more, seeing as they are unable to ascend to Heaven or descend to Hell. The girl agreed almost instantly, wanting friends and a family of her own and therefore being a walking home for fourty four different spirits all with there own unique abilities with the exception of a few, however not all residents are what you would call "friendly" spirits but they all are still tied to the pact made with Abigail to protect her. Normally Abigail maintains control of her body but sometimes at certain times of the day she must allow the spirits to control her body, having to fight among themselves as to who exactly gets to have her body at the current time. Apart from that the spirits only appear when she is in need of aid. She is often seen as having severe multi personality disorder.

8.Elijah Parrish- 35 years old with snowy white hair and eyes as black as onyx. His skin color is close to a milky white color and when he moves the area around him tends to shimmer slightly along with him, making it hard to clearly focus on him and his appearance. Unable to control his shimmers he must wear a ring when around humans to keep them at bay as to not attract unwanted attention. Elijah is a Droga, a being who can enter pocket dimensions at will to reappear pretty much anywhere else he wants. Not only that but he can also send objects or other people through these pocket dimensions. His eyes also see things in slow motion constantly making it easy for him to defend himself among attackers when it comes to mainly hand to hand combat. His eyes normally see attacks coming before they even actually do making blocking or countering them simple. Elijah runs Haven and is seen as the leader of the place and even a father like figure to some of the residents such as Trinity. Even though he has a rather scary appearance to most, this is overlooked by almost everyone when they realize he has a heart of gold and does all he can for those he cares about.

9-10. Ari and Arias Gwenzel

Twin sirens who are caretakers and also teachers of Haven. A siren is often seen as vicious creatures to lure there victims with majestic and mesmerizing and soothing music so that they can pray on them. Most sirens are however the total opposite of this and in fact use there amazing voices to rather heal people of any pain they feel physical or mental and emotional. If a siren is really powerful they can sometimes briefly control a person putting them in some kind of trance. Sirens have unbelievable flexible and agile bodies and are unusually quick, matching the speed of vampires. Ari and Arias teach the young supernatural beings of Haven who were unable to teach themselves things such as math or science. Both being beautiful and such gentle beings when it comes to the young ones, they are most favorite teachers.

11.Oran Berathian- Looking in his mid twenties but actually around 150 years old or so, he is a mixture of vampire, werewolf and a witch. Being considered one of the most powerful of The Whisperers he is a member of the counsel of Nine and also one of the founders of Vermillion and a number of other supernatural homes. Known as a Tribrid in the supernatural world and very rare. Originally just a witch in his youth, he was turned by the love of his life who was a vampire who unfortunately was killed by a werewolf. The very same werewolf ends up turning him, forcing him to at least partially become what he hates which is werewolfs due to the one turning him killing his beloved. In anger he kills the one who turned him and shortly after his eyes glow a flame red color before he enters transformation. Despite his hatred of werewolfs and Lycans he still feels a bond among them now that he is one of them to a extent. Once creating Vermillion with the help of others he only usually allows werewolfs and lycans in his underground city with the exception of a few other supernatural beings. Some werewolfs and lycans resent him due to his vampire blood in him as well but due to fear of him and his power none challenge him.

12. Paxton Arcata- Warlock and leader of the Shroud Coven. Age being unknown but has the appearance of someone around there mid 40's. Uses a rare and old type of magic not known by many to keep his appearance young and maintain fit as well as stop him from aging. Due to this, it makes him pretty much immortal and a insanely powerful user of magic. His familiar is a dragon but that can have a human physical form as well. His familiar is a very rare type of familiar's and able to leave his masters side and be his own individual and think for himself. However if Paxton was in ever need of his familiar all he would have to do is call is familiar's name and no matter how far he was he would appear in a instant due to his familiar's flight ability which is more like him using teleportation. Due to his long time spent in the world he is very knowledgeable and respected by most in the Shroud Coven and is one of the counsel of Nine.

13. Ka'el- Paxton's familiar, who can take the form of a almighty dragon or maintain a human form and has ability of freewill and allowed to be his own individual. When in human form his wings become tattoos on his back and his horns retract to barely anything, barely visible in his hair. He often wears beanies as a means to conceal them although normally its not necessary as his hair is long and lengthy blonde colored giving him a appearance of a surfer dude most at Haven often joking of his appearance.

14. Esla Woods- In her mid 20's and a member of the Shroud Coven for 3 years and becomes fast friends with Paige when she later attempts to be accepted into Cloud Nine and the Shroud Coven. Although only being at Cloud Nine for a few years, she is already granted the title of a teacher there and teaches the younger witches and warlocks as she feels sorry for most who were abandoned by there parents or other such horrible stories. Her familiar is a white cobra snake that usually stays wrapped around her left arm and becomes a bracelet and gauntlet like accessory.

15. God(Avis)- Creator of all life or so it is told and takes form of multiple faces and bodies. Literally being able to appear as anything or anyone at anytime. His power has been greatly diminished however due to a epic battle in the past with the Everbeing, someone so powerful and ancient that he is as old as God himself and how he came to be is unknown to anyone including God himself. Even Satan fears this being. During a past fight against the Everbeing Satan and God were forced to team up to attempt to stop him from destroying all creation even Heaven and Hell and Purgatory and Limbo. But among the chaos of the fight Satan was cast aside to a dimension known nothing but as Oblivion. A place where there is nothing, no life, no sound, no scenery, just nothing. God was greatly weakened and his memory of who he is erased and fallen from Heaven onto earth as what humans saw as a comet or meteor. Wandering the world as a lost individual looking much like Liiam Niesson in appearance, he is trying to remember who he is. When he first falls and nearly takes out a home in Miami Florida, he chooses the name Avis after seeing it on a sign nearby for Avis Industries.

16. Mr.Evervee(The Everbeing)- All of creation's biggest threat. This being is of many mysteries. Nobody knows how he came to be or where he came from or how he is as old as God himself and without even God knowing where he came to be. With God being the creator of all things, how then did the Everbeing come to be of existence? This unknown creature or entity is so powerful that even God can't handle him and Satan himself fears the being even when Satan himself is the embodiment of evil and chaos. Currently conceals himself as a human male wearing attire that makes him look like a corporate businessman and is always having a attitude and personality that seems too perfect to where its eerie. He is one of the antagonists of the series.He is the result for the mark that appears on all supernatural life later on to be known because he is trying to build a army. Apparently the mark has appeared in past generations but is not remembered as its Evervee's usual tactic to fight against God.

17. Gavin Braxton- mid twenties male who is part of a large group of hunters known as The Harbingers who goal is similar to that of The Whisperers in the Shroud Coven however both groups often collide with one another. The Harbingers with Gavin being one of the first members, go after supernatural threats when they believe that the supernatural entity is beyond saving and to far gone often due to the mark. Gavin is a unusual type of hunter as he does not use any actual weapons but instead his partner Nora Harper who is a special and rare type of supernatural beings known as Therianthropes or just Therians for short. She is capable of morphing into any kind of object she can see with her eyes so therefore using his phone or magazines he keeps on him or books he will have her look at whatever picture and turn into that particular weapon or anything else he may need even if its car, making him literally be driving her.

18. Nora Harper- Similar age to Gavin and having a close partnership with him making her the only supernatural entity that is part of The Harbingers. Always being by Gavin’s side for most missions they go on, she is whatever Gavin needs her to be quite literally as she is a Therian capable of morphing into any object or tool by simply seeing it with her eyes and then undergoing the transformation. Nora has romantic feelings for Gavin while Gavin mainly thinks of only work and the current job at hand although deep down he to truly values having Nora by his side for nearly everything.

19. Helena Prowl- The woman who is unknowingly the caretaker of God. Residing in Miami Florida, she slowly attempts to heal and make God recover from his injuries. Finding him in a home nearby that is totally wrecked as if smashed by a meteor, she quickly rushes him away from the scene and attempts to heal him, and hopes to get answers on what in the world he is. Meanwhile, police in the area and other government officials attempt to figure out what happened with the home and how it exploded with the residents of the place luckily not home at the time.

#fantasy #supernatural #writing #fiction #stories #magic #creatures #paranormal #witches #demons #hunters #vampires #werewolfs #god #spirits

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thecoroutfitters · 6 years ago

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askwwwwd · 7 years ago

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WHAT WOULD WONDER WOMAN DO?...about the lack of truth in society? (Originally published March 1, 2018)

Christie Marston, granddaughter of Wonder Woman creator is quoted saying that, “Wonder Woman is about two things: Love and Fair Play”. Last year I wrote a “WWWWD about the Inauguration of Donald J. Trump” article which weighed extra heavy on one of her primary messages: Love. It’s been just over a year since his inauguration, and after a cyclone of events, I have no choice but to now focus on her secondary message: Fair Play. Why, you ask? Because over the last 60 weeks there has been a barrage of behaviors encouraging inequality which has included (but is not limited to): name calling, bullying, taunting, intimidation, misinformation, misrepresentation, and just plain ole’ lying coming from the current Executive Branch of this White House administration. It has has both disappointed me and hurt me in multiple ways. I am disappointed because I initially embraced with a open heart, gave the benefit of the doubt, and based my stance on Wonder Woman’s first message (love). As as minority, it has hurt me to see an attempt to retract civil rights, religious groups overtly legally assaulted, and minorities (including many of my own) vilified (often via dog whistle politics). Yet, of all the behaviors, it’s the blatant lying and endorsement of easily provable lies, which has stood out to me as the most problematic.

Truth is a through line which operates as a foundation that unites us. It’s a cohesive material for societal unity and productivity, but over the last 2 years the idea of truth has been corroded, and incendiary behavior has been glorified. At this very moment someone is reading this and pontificating how invalid it is to claim that anyone in power has purported lies, even as evidence exists proving that lies have been purported. Truth plays one of the most important parts in the equation for ensuring fair play. “We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal.” Yet, as we know, all men are not treated equally, and this unequal treatment is reinforced. Since the birth of our great nation, we can trace how the inequalities to which we give merit are often based on misconception, perception, assumption, and preconceived notions; A lack of facts and/or truth.

Seeing this happen with such alarming frequency over the last year, and seeing an entire branch of the Government in support of it, has created an internal conflict for me. I want to support and I want to walk the path of love, but I am torn. Why does history keep repeating itself? What can I do to help in the efforts to ensure Fair Play for all? And how can I walk the path of the warrior of peace? Today, I plan on taking a very good look at why we as humans operate on perception, assumption, and preconceived notions, and how we can correct it by asking what, for me, has become ‘the age old question’. It’s time for me to ask, ‘What Would Wonder Woman Do’ about the lack of truth in American society?

NO ONE CAN RESIST THE GOLDEN LASSO

First off, let me address what many who are reading this column for the first or second time might be thinking, which is that Wonder Woman and politics don’t mix. This is false. The truth is that Wonder Woman was born out of politics. She was conceived in 1941 during World War II as a piece of psychological propaganda to assist humanity in course correcting from the atrocious hate and oppression of the time, and was even based off many of the inequalities of the time; Specifically those suffered by women. Love and Fair Play were the messages Wonder Woman brought forth as a necessary antidote needed back then. It would seem they are needed again, and more than ever before. The division in culture and polarization of sides, has required her equally binary message. A vital and absolutely necessary element for us to again course correct in our current era. But how do we include them? Well, we must first have truth. As the bible says, “...you will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:32). Truth and authenticity are a catalyst. An access to power, if you will, which seems to also be a biblical idea, and has transcended the centuries.

As a psychologist, Dr. William Moulton Marston must have been tapped into this idea, as the Amazing Amazon seemed to often utilize truth as a kind of weapon in her fight against hate and oppression during the Marston adventures; Mostly retrieving essential information during brief interrogation to aid her in apprehending villains. As a graduate student at Harvard, he began introducing some of his theory about truth, and became the forefather of the lie detector. So, it’s not surprising that many of Diana’s stories included this and sometimes visually reflected the process used in his systolic blood pressure test machine. I can only guess all of the aforementioned is why the lasso’s power, which was originally that of compulsion, was naturally associated with and evolved to also be a lasso of truth.

There really is something spiritually foundational to the human experience about truth as an access to power. I’ve been so happy to bear witness to so many Wonder Woman writers and artists explore this idea. George Perez , Phil Jimenez, Gail Simone, and Greg Rucka are those that immediately come to mind. In Rucka’s run, aptly titled “Lies & the Truth”, there are two scenes that perfectly illustrate this. The first is a scene drawn by Nicola Scott where the truth was a basic and there was actually space and room for compassion and fairness. This is an immaculate depiction of the exact representation our heroine brings forth. It’s what Wonder Woman is about. It is her message. It is who she is as a character. Her ability to use truth as a tool for love’s healing, unification, communion, and ability to open the door for providing fairness. It’s power is unmistakable and it’s concept has always been an essential component of the Wonder Woman mythos. But how do we emulate her example?

LASSO THE TRUTH

There is one truth to which I’m very present, and it is that lying originates from one place: us. Due to human nature, we as individuals are the author of lies. The genesis of a lie is on the individual level. However, they become potent on the collective level. It’s through the process of agreement reality which spreads lies in virus-like fashion, and gives them the power of creating chaos, division, and inequality. Therefore, I believe that if we can learn to correct a lie at it’s inception, which is on the individual level, we will almost self-innoculate. My theory is that this is cone by following Wonder Woman’s child-like inquisitional example of ‘Lassoing The Truth’ in ourselves.

In similar fashion that Phil Jimenez’s Wonder Woman was forced to be authentic while wearing the lasso, we must develop ways to detect the lies within ourselves. Lie detection seemed to be one of Dr. Marston’s specialties, as some of his most popular professional psychological work revolved around the topic. I think that it’s important to note that WMM III observed that lying puts stress on the body. So it would be easy to conclude that being truthful was healthier. Since Marston began his work as a Harvard graduate, I thought it might be interesting to look at another Harvard graduate’s work, who’s work paralleled his, focusing on how humans “short circuit” reality based on the assumptions and beliefs we develop; Basically how we create lies. I’m talking about Chris Argyris’s Ladder Of Inference. The Ladder consists of seven steps which may happen thousands of times a day, and examines how we (in the blink of an eye) process experiences. I’ve ordered the seven steps into 3 sections with corresponding advice on how we might follow Wonder Woman’s example and lasso the truth in ourselves. I hope you enjoy!

FACTS:

STEP ONE in the Ladder of Inference is where we first take in the facts of a situation. It’s where we get the raw data and observations of our experiences. I put this step in a category all by itself because it’s after this first step that we begin to veer off course. However, if we had not abandoned facts in the first place, which are the foundation of truth, then we probably would not need to move to the next step.

Truth, like love, can be a powerful weapon and force, which can even turn the tide of a war. Screen capture from Wonder Woman courtesy of Warner Bros. Entertainment.

In her early adventures, Wonder Woman’s need for authentic and accurate information in her fight against hate and oppression was invaluable, and we saw in the Wonder Woman movie starring Gal Gadot that this idea hasn’t changed. Yet acquiring factual information is not often an easy task. Being in a brand new and strange patriarchal society, I am sure Diana would often want to reject the atrocities she perceived around her. Yet she continually chooses to understand and accept what is going on around her. She stays true to the circumstances. If she didn’t then she wouldn’t be able to properly affect change. Staying true to the circumstances is not an easy task, but it is one that we can replicate even without gods given powers. Therefore, to me this reminds us that we must follow in her footsteps of ALWAYS sticking to the truth.

FABRICATION OF FICTION:

Next four steps in the Ladder Of Inference (2, 3, 4, & 5) are the parts where we begin to filter and fabricate from the experiences that we have. STEP TWO (Ffiltering) is where we, based on our preferences, tendencies, and many other aspects that we believe are important, we filter specific information and details from our experiences. In STEP THREE (Assign Meaning) is where we begin interpreting what our information is telling us, and assign meaning to the information that we have filtered through. STEP FOUR (Assumptions) is where we blur the distinction between what is fact and what is story and develop presumptions. In STEP THREE (Conclusions) is where we have emotional reactions due to the conclusions we have developed based on our assumptions.

Since all of these steps have to do with bias, I clumped them all together. During the early Marston adventures, the golden lasso was often utilized to get people to obey commands in an effort to help them become better. In Sensation Comics #19, Wonder Woman herself falls off course and is prey to falling off course. The magic lasso is used to bring her back to her senses and get her back on track. To me, this illustrated how we as humans can do our own course correcting. ‘Habitualizing’ following the path of truth, can help us bypass the human need to (often inaccurately) assign meaning, make assumptions, and draw conclusions. Therefore, I see the second lesson is that we must learn objectivity.

FOLLOW BLINDLY:

The last two steps (6 and 7) in the ladder have to do with how we exist in the world around us. In STEP SIX we (including the person or people involved in our current experience) adjust our beliefs about the world around us. Then in STEP SEVEN (take action) based on our adjusted beliefs, we take actions.

If you haven’t based things on fact, and aren’t objective, then these two last steps can have the consequences which lead to us acting upon our personal assumptions and conclusions, or following blindly without the truth. During many of her early adventures, Wonder Woman is seen questioning people in

counseling (‘tell me your story’), investigatory, and interrogatory fashions. Following others blindly didn’t seem to be how she operated. I believe this is because she had a strong core and center. Matter of fact, she even reveals at one very early point that the secret to her strength lies in her confidence. Christianity refers to truth as piece of the Armor of God, sometimes called The belt of Truth, in Ephesians 6:10-18. I find it to be no coincidence that, in the New Testament, truth is depicted as a belt which girds your center, or ‘hara’ as it is called in some Martial Arts, the cradle of the Soul. It is the intersection of mind and body. Therefore, I believe that this brings us to our last and final lesson. In order to have confidence, we must truly Know ourselves.

CHANGE OUR MINDS, CHANGE THE WORLD

Over the past year and a half, I have seen many in society willfully ignoring facts, and still presenting them as a true story. This is what lying is, and It leaves us powerless, creates conflict, and corrodes the cohesive material needed to unify us, which is truth. After reaching into Wonder Woman’s mythology, I found her golden lasso to be a metaphor for how to emulate her example. We must follow in her footsteps and lasso The Truth, specifically in ourselves, because that is the birthplace of all lies. Each one of us are a part of the global society, and share the responsibility of adhering to the ideal of truth. Therefore, Wonder woman’s example can only exult and heal us.

Lassoing the truth in ourselves can be difficult, because it requires a level of vulnerability. But as Marston observed, lying actually puts stress on the body, while being vulnerable, truthful, and authentic allows us to operate in better health, and is an access to incredible power. In a sense, learning this tool is a kind of rigorous Amazon training. Work and training is not an easy path, but the rewards are well worth it. If we practice always sticking to the truth,

practice learning objectivity, and practice knowing ourselves, we will be lassoing the truth in no time! Additionally, the faster that we as a society learn being truthful, the sooner we will see our collective consciousness unify and grow along with our increased productivity. So go out and develop your own practices for sticking to the truth, being objective, and knowing yourself. Share your practices with your friends. It’s how you will lasso the truth, and I truly believe it’s what Wonder Woman would do. And as George Perez’s Diana said, “Remember your power!”. With it, we truly can change the world.

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viralhottopics · 8 years ago

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John Arnold Made a Fortune at Enron. Now Hes Declared War on Bad Science

Brian Nosek had pretty much given up on finding a funder. For two years he had sent out grant proposals for his software project. And for two years they had been rejected again and againwhich was, by 2011, discouraging but not all that surprising to the 38-year-old scientist. An associate professor at the University of Virginia, Nosek had made a name for himself in a hot subfield of social psychology, studying peoples unconscious biases. But thats not what this project was about. At least, not exactly.

Like a number of up-and-coming researchers in his generation, Nosek was troubled by mounting evidence that science itselfthrough its systems of publication, funding, and advancementhad become biased toward generating a certain kind of finding: novel, attention grabbing, but ultimately unreliable. The incentives to produce positive results were so great, Nosek and others worried, that some scientists were simply locking their inconvenient data away.

The problem even had a name: the file drawer effect. And Noseks project was an attempt to head it off at the pass. He and a graduate student were developing an online system that would allow researchers to keep a public log of the experiments they were running, where they could register their hypotheses, methods, workflows, and data as they worked. That way, it would be harder for them to go back and cherry-pick their sexiest data after the factand easier for other researchers to come in and replicate the experiment later.

Nosek was so taken with the importance of redoing old experiments that he had also rallied more than 50 like-minded researchers across the country to participate in something he called the Reproducibility Project. The aim was to redo about 50 studies from three prominent psychology journals, to establish an estimate of how often modern psychology turns up false positive results.

John Arnold managed to walk away from Enrons 2001 collapse with a seven-figure bonus and no accusations of wrongdoing attached to his name.

It was little wonder, then, that funders didnt come running to support Nosek: He wasnt promising novel findings, he was promising to question them. So he ran his projects on a shoestring budget, self-financing them with his own earnings from corporate speaking engagements on his research about bias.

But in July 2012, Nosek received an email from an institution whose name he didnt recognize: the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. A Google search told him that the Arnolds were a young billionaire couple in Houston. John, Nosek learned, had made his first millions as a wunderkind natural gas trader at Enron, the infamous energy company, and hed managed to walk away from Enrons 2001 collapse with a seven-figure bonus and no accusations of wrongdoing attached to his name. After that Arnold started his own hedge fund, Centaurus Energy, where he became, in the words of one hedge fund competitor, the best trader that ever lived, full stop. Then Arnold had abruptly retired at the ripe age of 38 to focus full time on philanthropy.

As Nosek tells it, John Arnold had read about the Reproducibility Project in The Chronicle of Higher Education and wanted to talk. By the following year, Nosek was cofounding an institution called the Center for Open Science with an initial $5.25 million grant from the Arnold Foundation. More than $10 million more in Arnold Foundation grants have come since. It completely transformed what we could imagine doing, Nosek says. Projects that Nosek had once envisioned as modest efforts carried out in his lab were now being conducted on an entirely different scale at the centers startup-like offices in downtown Charlottesville, with some 70 employees and interns churning out code and poring over research. The skeletal software behind the data-sharing project became a slick cloud-based platform, which has now been used by more than 30,000 researchers.

Media reports have declared the field of psychology, if not all of science, to be in a state of crisis.

The Reproducibility Project, meanwhile, swelled to include more than 270 researchers working to reproduce 100 psychology experimentsand in August 2015, Nosek revealed its results. Ultimately his army of volunteers could verify the findings of only about 40 percent of the studies. Media reports declared the field of psychology, if not all of science, to be in a state of crisis. It became one of the biggest science stories of the year.

But as it happens, Nosek is just one of many researchers who have received unsolicited emails from the Arnold Foundation in the past few yearsresearchers involved in similar rounds of soul-searching and critique in their own fields, who have loosely amounted to a movement to fix science.

John Ioannidis was put in touch with the Arnolds in 2013. A childhood math prodigy turned medical researcher, Ioannidis became a kind of godfather to the science reform crowd in 2005, when he published two devastating papersone of them titled simply Why Most Published Research Findings Are False. Now, with a $6 million initial grant from the Arnold Foundation, Ioannidis and his colleague Steven Goodman are setting out to turn the study of scientific practiceknown as meta-researchinto a full-fledged field in its own right, with a new research center at Stanford.

British doctor Ben Goldacre also got an email from the Arnold Foundation in 2013. Famous in England as a sharp-witted scourge of bad science, Goldacre spent years building up a case that pharmaceutical companies, by refusing to reveal all their data, have essentially deceived the public into paying for worthless therapies. Now, with multiple grants from the Arnolds, he is leading an effort to build an open, searchable database that will link all publicly available information on every clinical trial in the world.

A number of the Arnolds reform efforts have focused on fixing nutrition science. In 2011 the science journalist Gary Taubes received an email from Arnold himself. Having spent more than a decade picking apart nutrition science, Taubes soon found himself cofounding an organization with a substantial grant from the Arnold Foundation, to rebuild the study of obesity from the ground up. And in 2015 the Arnold Foundation paid journalist Nina Teicholz to investigate the scientific review process that informs the US Dietary Guidelines. Just weeks before the federal guidelines were due for an update, Teicholzs blistering report appeared in the prominent medical journal The BMJ, charging that the governments panel of scientists had failed to consider evidence that would have done away with long-held worries about eating saturated fat.

Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert referred to researchers who had tried and failed to replicate the findings of one senior lecturer as shameless little bullies.

And those are just a few of the people who are calling out iffy science with Arnold funding. Laura and John Arnold didnt start the movement to reform science, but they have done more than anyone else to amplify its capabilitiestypically by approaching researchers out of the blue and asking whether they might be able to do more with more money. The Arnold Foundation has been the Medici of meta-research, Ioannidis says. All told, the foundations Research Integrity initiative has given more than $80 million to science critics and reformers in the past five years alone.

Not surprisingly, researchers who dont see a crisis in science have started to fight back. In a 2014 tweet, Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert referred to researchers who had tried and failed to replicate the findings of a senior lecturer at the University of Cambridge as shameless little bullies. After Nosek published the results of his reproducibility initiative, four social scientists, including Gilbert, published a critique of the project, claiming, among other things, that it had failed to accurately replicate many of the original studies. The BMJ investigation, in turn, met with angry denunciations from nutrition experts who had worked on the US Dietary Guidelines; a petition asking the journal to retract Teicholzs work was signed by more than 180 credentialed professionals. (After an external and internal review, The BMJ published a correction but chose not to retract the investigation.)

The backlash against Teicholz also furnished one of the few occasions when anyone has raised an eyebrow at the Arnolds funding of science critics. On the morning of October 7, 2015, the US House Agriculture Committee convened a hearing on the controversy surrounding the dietary guidelines, fueled by the BMJ article. For two and a half hours, a roomful of testy representatives asked why certain nutrition studies had been privileged over others. But about an hour in, Massachusetts representative Jim McGovern leaned into his microphone. Aiming to defend the science behind the guidelines, McGovern suggested that the doubts that had been cast over Americas nutrition science were being driven by a former Enron executive. I dont know what Enron knows about dietary guidelines, McGovern said. But powerful special interests are trying to question science.

If John Arnold decided he wanted to beat hunger, I wouldnt want to bet on hunger.

McGoverns quip about Enron, a company that hasnt existed in 15 years, was a bit of a potshot. But given the long history of deep-pocketed business interests sowing doubt in research, his underlying question was a fair one: Who is John Arnold, and why is he spending so much money to raise questions about science?

FORTUNE Magazine once dubbed Arnold one of the least-known billionaires in the US. His profile in the public consciousness is almost nonexistent, and he rarely gives interviews. But among hedge funders and energy traders, Arnold is a legend. John DAgostino, former head of strategy of the New York Mercantile Exchange, says that in Arnolds heyday, people in the industry would discuss him in hushed and reverent tones. In 2006, Centaurus reportedly saw returns of over 300 percent; the next year Arnold became the youngest billionaire in the country. If Arnold decided he wanted to beat hunger, DAgostino says, I wouldnt want to bet on hunger.

For all the swagger of that description, Arnold himself has virtually none. He is universally described as quiet and introspective. At Enron, a company famous for its brash, testosterone-laced cowboy culture, the perennially boyish-looking trader was reportedly so soft-spoken that his colleagues had to gather in close to hear him at restaurants. People would read into it, and they would say hes just being cagey, DAgostino says. And then, after a couple of years, people were like, oh, no, hes actually like that.

Arnold is still quiet. Usually the division of labor in most of our work is that I talk, Laura Arnold says in a phone interview. By all accounts, Laura, who attended Harvard College and Yale Law School and worked as an oil executive, has been equally influential in setting the direction for the foundation. But when I visit the Arnold Foundations Houston headquarters in June, Laura has been called away on a family emergency, leaving John to do the talking. Arnold is 5’10”, trim, and blandly handsome, his unusually youthful appearance now somewhat concealed by a salt-and-pepper beard.

By the time he was 14, Arnold was running his first company, selling collectible sports cards across state lines.

Arnold grew up in Dallas. His mother was an accountant (she would later help manage the books at his hedge fund). His father, who died when Arnold was 18, was a lawyer. By kindergarten, Arnolds talent for math was apparent. I think I was just born with a natural gift for seeing numbers in a special way, he says. Gregg Fleisher, who taught him calculus in high school, recalls an occasion when Arnold instantly solved a math puzzle that had been known to stump PhDs. But he also stood out for his skepticism. He questioned everything, Fleisher says.

By the time he was 14, Arnold was running his first company, selling collectible sports cards across state lines. Those were the early days of the Internet, and he managed to gain access to an online bulletin board intended only for card dealers. The listings let him see that the same cards were sold at different prices in different parts of the countrywhich presented an opportunity for arbitrage. Hockey cards didnt have much of a market in Texas, he tells me. I would buy up all the premium hockey cards and send them to Canada or upstate New York. He called the company Blue Chip Cards. Arnold estimates that he made $50,000 before he finished high school.

Arnold graduated from Vanderbilt University in 1995, taking only three years to finish his degree. He started working at Enron four days later. A year after that, at age 22, he was overseeing Enrons Texas natural gas trading desk, one of the companys core businesses.

Arnolds work at Enronseeking to capitalize on seasonal price differences in natural gaswasnt all that different from what hed done as a teenager selling sports cards. In Hedge Hogs, a 2013 book about hedge fund traders, Jeff Shankman, another star trader at Enron, is quoted describing Arnold as the most thoughtful, deliberate, and inquisitive person he worked with on the gas floor. But Shankman recognized that he and Arnold were different in one key respect: Arnold had a greater appetite for risk, a quality that seemed at odds with his quiet demeanor. On some days at Enron, Arnold would trade more than a billion dollars worth of gas contracts. In 2001, even as Enron was collapsing amid an accounting scandal that covered up billions in debt, he was reported to have earned $750 million for the company. A former executive at Salomon Brothers later told The New York Times that there were very few incidents in the history of Wall Street comparable to Arnolds success that year.

Arnold has said that the first phase of his life was 100 percent trying to make money and that its now 100 percent trying to do good.

As Enron neared bankruptcy, executives scrambled to hold its operation together, offering bonuses to keep traders on board. Arnold was given $8 million, the biggest payout of all, just days before Enron filed for bankruptcy. He started Centaurus the next year, bringing along a small group of former Enron traders, who worked out of a single large room.

Arnold says he wasnt sure if he could match the success hed enjoyed as a futures trader at Enron. As a pipeline company, Enron had a direct view onto many of the factors that influence gas prices. Now hed have to rely purely on his prowess with data. By law, natural gas pipelines had to make much of their information public, and around the time Centaurus was forming, more of that information began to appear online. A lot of people didnt know it was out there, Arnold says. People who did, didnt know how to clean it up and analyze it as well as we did.

It wasnt long before Arnold had the answer to his doubts. In 2006, Centaurus reportedly generated a 317 percent return overall, after taking the opposite side of a risky bet that another hedge fund, Amaranth, had made on fluctuations in natural gas prices. Amaranth, which was gambling with money from large pension funds, suffered a $6 billion loss and collapsed. By 2009, Centaurus was managing over $5 billion and had more than 70 employees. In its first seven years, according to Fortune, the fund never returned less than 50 percent.

But Arnold had to come down to earth eventually. In 2010, Centaurus experienced its first annual loss. And though the fund bounced back the next year, tighter regulations on trading and a far less volatile marketthanks to a growing supply of natural gas from shale rockmade it unlikely that Arnold would again see the astonishing returns of only a few years earlier. And so, at age 38, Arnold walked away from it all. He announced that he was closing Centaurus in a letter to investors: After 17 years as an energy trader, I feel that it is time to pursue other interests.

Arnold tells me that he had lost some of his passion for trading. At the time, his net worth was estimated to be around $3 billion. In 2010 the Arnolds had signed the Giving Pledge, promising to give away at least half their wealthand he wanted to be as strategic about that goal as he had once been about trading. Arnold has said that the first phase of his life was 100 percent trying to make money and that its now 100 percent trying to do good. As The Wall Street Journal noted, in US history, there may have never been a self-made individual with so much money who devoted himself to philanthropy at such a young age.

John Arnolds brief but legendary career in finance

marley walker

THE ARNOLDS had been dabbling in philanthropy for years, supporting a few handpicked programs in education, criminal justice reform, and other areas that were important to them. But now, with their stepped-up ambitions, the couple entered a new realm. Arnold had always been ready to make huge bets, but it was ultimately his hunger for reliable data that made him a brilliant trader. That same hunger would make large-scale philanthropy far more challenging than he had anticipated.

In a glass conference room at the Arnold Foundations officeswhich occupy the same space as the old Centaurus trading floor, a 15-minute drive from the glass tower whose entrance was once adorned with Enrons famous EArnold explains that his and Lauras initial plan had been to simply locate the most effective organizations and write them checks. But figuring out which organizations were most effective turned out to be vexing. Nonprofits are very good at reporting their success rates and citing the science behind their interventions, but dig into their claimsas the Arnolds would try to doand you find that they often omit relevant context or confuse correlation with causation. The more you read the research, the less you know, Arnold says. It became extraordinarily frustrating.

Then, one day in November 2011, he was listening to the podcast EconTalk, hosted by libertarian economist Russ Roberts. The guest that day was science journalist Gary Taubes, and he was talking about how the prevailing dietary wisdom of the past 40 yearsthat eating too much fat leads to obesity and heart diseasearose from the flimsiest of scientific evidence. The foundational studies, Taubes said, looked at the diets and disease rates in various countries, then essentially guessed at which items in the diet were responsible for the countrys good or bad health statistics. Worse yet, whenever evidence came along that contradicted the consensus about the dangers of eating fatoften evidence that was much stronger than the evidence for the dangersit was ignored or not even published. Hardly anyone in the world of nutrition science seemed willing to question the science behind the low-fat diet, even after Americans grew fat and diabetic in record numbers.

The picture Taubes painted wasnt of a flawed study here or there but of a fundamentally broken scientific culture. During the podcast, he mentioned that he was raising money in the hope of funding experiments that might deepen our understanding of the root causes of obesity. Not long after the podcast went online, he received a five-line email from Arnold. From the little I know about the science of nutrition, your study makes a lot of sense, Arnold wrote. Like Nosek, Taubes had to Google Arnold to learn who he was. Six months later the Arnold Foundation made a $4.7 million seed grant to the Nutrition Science Initiative (NuSI), the nonprofit Taubes cofounded to support fundamental research on diet and health. The next year the Arnolds promised $35.5 million more. (wired wrote about NuSI in issue 22.09).

Arnold is careful not to lump all researchers together when he talks about the problems in science. But he tells me that listening to Taubes and reading his book, Good Calories, Bad Calories, had been an aha moment for him. Science is built like a building, Arnold says. One floor on top of the next. In nutrition, the whole foundation of the research had been flawed. All these things that we thought we knewwhen we step back and look at the evidence baseits just not there.

Rolling Stone called Arnold a young right-wing kingmaker with clear designs on becoming the next generations Koch brothers.

Arnold says that now, unless he trusts a researchers work, he no longer believes the findings of any scientific study until he or someone on the staff carefully vets the paper. A new study shows are the four most dangerous words, Arnold wrote on Twitter.

Together with Taubes work, Arnold was also reading Ioannidis and Goldacres equally devastating analyses. These critiques of science amounted to a deep philosophical quandary for the Arnolds, philanthropists who had dedicated their lives to a data-based approach to giving. In everything they do, they want to be evidence-driven, says Stuart Buck, vice president of research integrity at the Arnold Foundation. But if you look at the studies that cant be reproduced and other issues facing science, you start to think: What is evidence? What do we actually know?

The Arnolds had already decided that, with decades of life ahead of them and almost unlimited resources, they had the time and money to evaluate charitable programs properly, even when that meant paying for expensive randomized controlled trials that could take years to complete. But now they were widening their scope. If they wanted to embark on truly transformational change, as their foundation literature states, it wouldnt be enough to properly evaluate this or that education or criminal justice program. They would also have to take on a far more ambitious project: The Arnolds would have to try and fix science itself.

IN THEIR philanthropy, the Arnolds like to say, they follow data where it leads rather than let themselves be guided by ideology. And its true that, when it comes to political leanings, they are somewhat hard to pin down. The Arnolds identify as Democrats and were major financial supporters of President Barack Obama. In 2013 they donated $10 million to keep Head Start, the early-childhood education program for low-income kids, running through the federal government shutdown, and many of the issues theyve taken on, from criminal justice reform to making prescription drugs more affordable, are decidedly progressive. Yet the foundation is also focused on reforming what the Arnolds see as a broken public pension systema project that, in practice, usually means cutting payments to retirees, raising retirement ages, and switching new workers to 401(k)-style plans. That focus led Rolling Stone to call Arnold a young right-wing kingmaker with clear designs on becoming the next generations Koch brothers. (In 2015, Bloomberg suggested that Arnold may have somehow managed to become less popular as a philanthropist than he was as a billionaire trader.)

Were not looking to create an organization of safe success, Laura Arnold says. Were looking to create an organization of thoughtful failure and fantastic success.

If John Arnold does have an identifiable ideology, it is that of a lifelong trader and quant: unsentimental, metrics-focused, interventionist. He is unapologetic about having worked at Enron, and he can be defensive about the moral standing of Wall Street in the public mind. In 2015, after a cancer researcher was found to have falsified research data and defrauded the government out of millions of dollars, Arnold complained on Twitter that the penalty, a five-year funding restriction, was too light. Had something similar happened on Wall Street, he tweeted, the perpetrator would have been sentenced to 10 years in jail and the bank would have been fined a billion dollars. Is there something special about frauds in the securities biz that they should be penalized infinitely more harshly than other business frauds? he went on. Or is Wall Street just an easy target while cancer researchers and universities are not?

So its no surprise that, in practice, the Arnolds approach to giving has a lot in common with John Arnolds approach to investing. Laura tells me she sees her husbands appetite for riskan appetite she says she sharesas the most obvious link between his approach to trading and philanthropy. Once the foundation has identified areas where they believe they can make the biggest difference, they go all in. Were not looking to create an organization of safe success, she says. Were looking to create an organization of thoughtful failure and fantastic success.

Arnold is, in at least one respect, trying to make science a little more like finance. In recent decades, math and science whizzes like Arnold have invaded Wall Street, bringing a level of scientific precision to trading and often making fortunes in the process. And good traders, as Arnold sees it, naturally come to appreciate something that researchers too often miss: Its very easy to be fooled by your own data. They internalize the risk of mistaking correlation for causationnot because theyre smarter than scientists but because they have money riding on the outcome. As a general rule, the incentives related to quantitative research are very different in the social sciences and in financial practice, says James Owen Weatherall, author of The Physics of Wall Street. In the sciences, one is mostly incentivized to publish journal articles, and especially to publish the sorts of attention-grabbing and controversial articles that get widely cited and picked up by the popular media. The articles have to appear methodologically sound, but this is generally a lower standard than being completely convincing. In finance, meanwhile, at least when one is trading with ones own money, there are strong incentives to work to that stronger standard. One is literally betting on ones research.

Comedian John Oliver spent 20 prime-time minutes on HBO last May mocking the reign of terrible science on TV news shows and in public debate.

In my conversations with Arnold and his grantees, the word incentives seems to come up more than any other. The problem, they claim, isnt that scientists dont want to do the right thing. On the contrary, Arnold says he believes that most researchers go into their work with the best of intentions, only to be led astray by a system that rewards the wrong behaviors. Says Goodman, Scientists really do want to discover things that make a difference in peoples lives. In a sense, thats the strongest weapon that we have. We can feed off that. Figuring out exactly which rewards work best and how to simultaneously change the incentives for researchers, institutions, journals, and funders is now a key area of interest for Goodman and Ioannidis.

At the Center for Open Science, Nosek has already begun to experiment with new incentives for scientists. Because investigating and replicating research begins with having the data and materials necessary to do so, he is particularly focused on making science more transparent. In 2014 he partnered with the journal Psychological Science to offer colorful Open Data and Open Materials badges for papers that met specific criteria for sharing. A 2016 study to determine the effectiveness of the badges showed that the number of articles that reported publicly available data had increased tenfold. Its a stupid little badge, Nosek says, but it works.

Nosek is also still campaigning to convince researchers to preregister what they plan to analyze and report in a study, so that they cant adjust their experiment on the fly or hide less-than-dazzling resultsa problem that Goldacre is also tackling. To promote preregistration, the Center for Open Science offered the first 1,000 scientists who preregister their studies with the organization $1,000 each. Nosek says that the cash offers were Arnolds idea.

Denis Calabrese, the Arnold Foundations president, says they dont expect immediate results. The Arnolds have a multiple-decade timeline to work on problems. Yet the most remarkable thing about the Arnold Foundations research integrity projects is that they already appear to be paying off. For one thing, the problems plaguing scientific research are now increasingly well known. Of 1,576 researchers who responded to a recent online survey from Nature, more than half agreed there is a significant crisis of reproducibility. The comedian John Oliver spent 20 prime-time minutes on HBO last May mocking the reign of terrible science on TV news shows and in public debate: After a certain point, all that ridiculous information can make you wonder: Is science bullshit? To which the answer is clearly no, but theres a lot of bullshit masquerading as science. (Some of the background footage in the segment came from the Arnold Foundation.)

The Center for Open Science’s replication efforts have inspired economists and even tropical ecologists to plan reproducibility projects of their own.

Ioannidis, whose name is almost synonymous with scientific skepticism, says he has seen immense progress in recent years. The journals Science and Nature have started bringing in statisticians to review their papers. The National Institutes of Health is moving forward with new requirements for data sharing; starting as early as this year, all NIH-funded training programs must include plans for teaching researchers the principles of reproducibility. Now everybody says we need replication; we need reproducibility, Ioannidis tells me. Otherwise our field is built on thin air.

The Center for Open Sciences next big undertaking is another reproducibility projectthis one for cancer studieswhich recently revealed its initial findings (two of five studies yielded the same results the second time around). In 2012 the former head of cancer research at the biotech firm Amgen revealed the results of the companys effort to replicate 53 landmark papers in hematology and oncology; only six studies findings could be confirmed. So there is already widespread concern about reproducibility in the field. The centers replication efforts, in turn, have inspired economists and even tropical ecologists to plan reproducibility projects of their own.

Whether all this momentum will lead to transformational change decades from now is impossible to know. Arnold figures that some of his specific grants might not work out as planned. (The foundations funding of the Nutrition Science Initiative is now scheduled to end in November.) More generally, it may not be possible to truly reform a system where the incentives are already so deeply embedded. Its probably too big a lift for us to expect were going to change researchers who have been around for decades, he says. Plus, systems of prestige and advancement die hard. You dont shift a culture overnight, Nosek says. But as many Wall Street veterans can testify, betting against John Arnold is usually a bad idea.

Sam Apple (@samuelapple) teaches science writing at the University of Pennsylvania.

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