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jayoctodot · 3 years ago

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The Silent Patient vs The Maidens

I will start by saying that I understand the appeal of these novels as page-turners. They are easy to read and if you want a twisty reveal at the end, you will probably be entertained and satisfied. That being said, I am SO CONFUSED by the near-universal adoration of The Silent Patient and the reasonably positive reception of The Maidens. The weaknesses of the two are strikingly similar, as well, which doesn’t give me much hope of seeing improvement from this guy, though I am intrigued to see whether he keeps repeating the same (apparently successful!!) patterns. These books were at least super fun to hate.

(For context, I read The Maidens for a bookclub I'm in, because several of the members had read and loved The Silent Patient, and one of them gave me a copy of the latter to read on my own time. I loathed The Maidens and then read The SP for comparative purposes. And because I'm a masochist, apparently.)

SPOILER WARNING! Do not read on unless you've finished both books (or unless you care not for spoilers). Sorry if it gets a bit shouty.

Here are the similar weaknesses I noticed in both:

PSEUDO-PSYCHOLOGY

-> Weirdly similar “group therapy” scenes early on where a cartoonishly unstable patient arrives late, disrupts the meeting by throwing something into the middle of the circle, and is asked to join the group after the therapist(s) speechify on the importance of boundaries (HA! None of these therapists would know an appropriate boundary if it kicked them in the ass) and debate whether to “allow” the patient to join. Both scenes are so transparent in their design to establish the credibility/legitimacy of the narrators as therapists, but instead both Theo and Mariana come off as super patronizing. The protagonists are less and less believable as therapists at the stories progress (though at least Theo’s incompetence is explained away by the “twist” at the end; Mariana, on the other hand, is confronted in the opening pages of the novel by a patient who has self-harmed PRETTY extensively, and rather than ensure he get proper medical attention, she essentially throws him a first aid kit and tosses him out the door so she can pour herself a glass of wine and call her niece... and it devolves from there).

-> Ongoing insistence throughout the narrative that one’s childhood trauma entirely explains the warped/dysfunctional way a character behaves or views the world, which is why the books go out of their way to give EVERY potentially violent character a traumatic childhood; when Theo insists that no one ever became an abuser who hadn’t been abused themselves, I wanted to throw the book across the room. (That is a MYTH, SIR. GET OUT OF HERE WITH YOUR ARMCHAIR PSYCHOLOGY.)

-> Female murderers whose pathology boils down to “history of depression” and “traumatized by a male loved one/family member.” Because, as we all know, depression + abuse = murderer!

-> The “therapy” depicted in both books is laughable and so so unrealistic, mostly because neither narrators function as therapists so much as incompetent detectives, obsessively pursuing a case they have no place pursuing (or skill to pursue - both just happen across every clue mostly by way of clunky conversation with all the people who can provide precisely the snippet of info to send them along to the next person, and the next… until all is revealed in a tired, cliched “twist”). Their constant Psych 101 asides were so tiresome and weirdly dated (also, the constant harping on countertransference got so ridiculous that at one point during "therapy" Theo literally attributes his headache and a particular emotion he feels to Alicia, as though the contents of her head are being broadcast directly into his mind... and I'm PRETTY SURE that's not how it works???)

CHARACTERS

-> Psychotherapist narrators with abusive fathers and pretensions of being Sherlock Holmes, which results in both characters crossing ALL KINDS of ethical lines as they invade the personal lives of everyone even tangentially connected to their cases (and, in Theo's case, violate all kinds of patient confidentiality. Yeah, yeah, by the end, that's the least of his offenses, but before you get there, it's baffling that NO ONE is calling him out on this).

-> All female characters are either elderly with hilariously bad advice, monstrous hulking brutes, or beautiful bitches (except for ~MARIANA~, who is Bella Swan-esque in her unawareness of her own attractiveness, despite multiple men trying to get with her almost immediately after meeting her. I'm so tired of beautiful female characters being oblivious to their own hotness. Are we meant to believe all mirrors and male attention have escaped their notice? If it’s to make them “relatable,” this tactic really fails with me).

-> All characters of color are shallow, cartoonish side characters, and most of them are depicted as unsympathetic minor antagonists (the Sikh Chief Inspector in The Maidens continuously drinks tea from an ever-present thermos, and his only other notable characteristic is his instant dislike of Mariana, whom he VERY RIGHTLY warns to stay out of the investigation that she is VERY MUCH compromising… the Caribbean manager of the Grove is universally disliked by her staff for enforcing stricter safety regulations at the bafflingly poorly run mental institution, because HOW DARE SHE. There's a very clear vibe that we're supposed to dislike these characters and share the protagonists' indignation, but honestly Sangha/Stephanie were completely in the right for trying to shut down their wildly inappropriate investigations).

-> "Working class" characters (or basically anyone excluded from the comfortably upper-crust, educated main cadre of characters) are few and far between in both stories, but when they show up, he depicts them as such caricatures. We got Elsie the pathologically lying housekeeper in the Maidens, who is enticed to share her bullshit with cake, and then a TOOTHLESS LEPRECHAUN DEALING DRUGS UNDER A BRIDGE in the SP. I kid you not, a man described as having the body of a child, the face of Father Time, and no front teeth, emerges from beneath a bridge and offers to sell Theo some "grass." I was dyinggg.

-> There are no characters to root for. Anywhere. Partly because they’re all so thinly drawn — and because we’re clearly supposed to view almost ALL of them as potential suspects, so they’re ALL weird, creepy, or incompetent in some way.

-> The flimsiest of flimsy motives, both for the narrators and the murderers. Theo fully would have gotten away with his involvement in the murder if he hadn't gone out of his way to work at the Grove and "treat" Alicia and his justification for doing so is pretty weak; his rapid descent into stalking and murder fantasy and his random ass decision to "expose" Alicia's husband as a cheater with a spur-of-the-moment home invasion and staged attempted homicide is ONLY justified if the reader hand waves it away as WELP, HE'S CRAZY, I GUESS (after all, he DID have an abusive father and a history of mental illness, and in Michaelides novels, that's ALL YOU NEED to become a violent psycho). I guess we're lucky Mariana didn't also start dropping bodies (because the logic of his fictional universe says she should definitely be a murderer by now... maybe that'll be his Maidens sequel?). But she especially had NO reason to randomly turn detective - and she kept trying to justify it by saying she needed to re-enter the world or that Sebastian would want her to (??), even though she had no background in criminal psychology... or even a particular fondness for mysteries (really, I would've accepted ANYTHING to explain her dogged obsession with the case. WHY were Sebastian and Zoe so certain she would insert herself into the investigation just because one of Zoe's friends was the first victim? WHY?). As for Zoe and Alicia, their motives are mere suggestions: they were both abused and manipulated, and voila! Slippery slope to murder.

WRITING STYLE

-> Incessant allusions to Greek tragedy and myth, apparently to provide a sophisticated gloss over the bare-bones writing style, which opts more for telling than showing and frequently indulges in hilariously bizarre analogies. Credit where credit is due — the references to Greek myth are less clunky in the SP, and I liked learning about the Alcestis play/myth, which I hadn’t heard of before - but OMG the entire characterization of Fosca, who we are meant to believe is a professor of Greek tragedy at one of the most respected universities on the planet, is just absurd. His "lecture" on the liminal in Greek tragedy is essentially the Wikipedia page on the Eleusinian Mysteries capped off with some Hallmark-card carpe diem crap. The lecture hall responds with raucous applause, clearly never having heard such vague genius bullshit before.

-> Super clunky and amateurish narrative device of interludes written by another character; Sebastian’s letter reads like a mashup of Dexter monologues and Clarice’s memory of the screaming sheep, but by FAR the worse offender is Alicia’s diary, where we’re supposed to believe she painstakingly recorded ENTIRE CONVERSATIONS, BEAT-BY-BEAT DIALOGUE, even when she’s just been DRUGGED TO THE GILLS with morphine and has mere moments of consciousness left… and even before that, she literally takes the time to write “He's trying the windows and doors! ...Someone’s inside! Someone’s inside the house! ETC ETC” when she thinks her stalker has broken in downstairs. WHO DOES THAT?)

-> Speaking of dialogue, the dialogue is so bad. Based on his bio, Michaelides got a degree in screenwriting, which makes his terrible dialogue even more baffling.

-> HILARIOUSLY rendered voyeur scenes where the narrators spy on couples having sex. Such unintentionally awkward descriptions. First we had Kathy’s climax sounds through the trees and then the bowler hat carefully placed on a tombstone before the gatekeeper plows a student. Again, I died.

PLOT/"TWIST"

-> The CONSTANT red herrings make for such an exhausting read. Michaelides drops anvils with almost every character that are so obviously meant to designate them as suspects in our minds. There is absolutely no subtlety in his misdirections.

-> The “crossover” scene between the SP and The Maidens makes no sense - when in the timeline does Mariana’s story overlap with Theo’s? They confer just before Theo starts working at the Grove, obviously (though Mariana appears to be the one who alerts Theo to the job opening there? Whereas in the SP, Theo has been obsessively tracking Alicia since the murder and had already planned to apply to work there?), but then are we supposed to believe that while Theo has been psychotically pursuing his warped quest to “help” Alicia, he’s also been diligently treating Zoe, so invested in her case that he repeatedly reaches out to Mariana to get her to visit Zoe and even writes Mariana a lengthy letter to convince her to do so??? And then a couple days after The Maidens ends, Theo is arrested???

-> But the thing I really did hate the most is how Michaelides treats his female murderers (who are both also victims themselves) as mere means to deploy a “twist”; there’s no moment spared to encourage our sympathy for Zoe, who was groomed and manipulated by the only trusted father figure in her life, and even after spending a decent amount of time getting to know Alicia via her ridiculous diary, where it’s so apparent that she’s been demeaned, objectified, manipulated, gaslit, and/or used by EVERY man in her life, she’s sent packing to spend the rest of her days in a coma… HOW much more satisfying would it have been for her to succeed in exposing Theo and reclaiming her voice? But no, she basically rolls over when he comes to finish her off (SPEAKING OF — ARE WE SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE THERE ARE NO SECURITY CAMERAS IN THIS INSTITUTE FOR THE CRIMINALLY INSANE????), writes one last diary entry, and drifts off forever. And then a couple pages of nothing later, the story is over. GOODNIGHT, ALICIA!

Both books kept me rolling throughout (by which I mean eye-rolling but also rotfl). Maybe I will check out his next effort — I’m morbidly curious what he’ll turn out. It does leave me wondering whether I should give up on thriller novels entirely, though. Are many of the weaknesses of these novels just characteristic of the genre? Maybe I'm just holding these books to unfair standards? I'm mostly only familiar with thriller films — many of which I think are amazing — but maybe you can get away with more in a film than you can in a novel.

...I really only intended to write a handful of bullet points, but more and more kept coming to mind as I wrote, to the point where subheadings became necessary. Whoopsie.

#the maidens #the silent patient #book review #alex michaelides #thrillers #books

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procrastination-queenie · 4 years ago

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Still with you || JJK

Pairing: scientist!au husband!au Jungkook x scientist!au wife!au reader.

Synopsis: you were going on about with your boring life until you accidentally meet unexpected guests. Was it accidental though?

Warning: slight angst, the reader has a bad relationship with her parents, one sexual reference, kissing, long-haired Jungkook😂, few swear words, I don't think there's anything else.

Word count: 3k

A/N: italics are the reader's future-self talking.

This is loosely based on a tiktok video I saw on Pinterest.

You puffed, kicking a pebble that was by your feet as you waited for your driver to pick you up from school. You honestly wanted nothing other than going back to disappear in your room for the rest of day. Why you may wonder! Well, you got an A- on your latest exam, and you know how your parents are going to react. To them, you either get an A+, or you're a failure. They want you to become a lawyer like them, and take over their law firm after your graduation. Your whole life has been planned out before your birth; an arranged marriage took place between your mother and father, to merge the most famous two law firms in the country. Now, your family owns the biggest law firm in the country leaving you with no options other than having your whole life planned out for you without getting a say in it. What was expected from you is to excel in your studies, go to the most prestigious university then run your family's firm. Life really sucked, and you were only sixteen years old.

"Good afternoon, Miss. Hope I am not late!" Your driver, Richard, said interrupting your thoughts as he opened the door for you.

You shook your head with slumped shoulders, "No Richard, you're always on time," you said getting in the car, but not before you could feel his gaze that was full of pity.

It was nothing new, the whole staff that worked for your family knew what you were going through, and while many may envy you and the position that you hold within the society, the staff knew better than to think in such a superficial way.

"Young lady, I thought we made it clear concerning your grades! An A-? Seriously?" Your birth-giver whom you haven't seen for the last 6 month, slammed your report card onto the counter as she looked down on you as if you were a disgrace to the family. You sighed heavily in response wanting nothing other than to disappear in your room, nothing seemed to satisfy your parents; it's like you only become visible when grades are brought up, other than that they barely notice your existence. "I am sorry, what was that?" She asked hearing your sigh as she raised her perfectly shaped eyebrow at you daring you to defy her. Sometimes you wondered why did she treat you like that, why was there so much hatred in her tone. You would sometimes think that she hated that her life was planned out for her as well, so she takes it out on you.

"Nothing," you answered quietly, wanting to get this one-sided conversation over with. "Thought so. Go to your room. I don't want to see you for the rest of the night," she said, jaw clenching as she pointed towards your room upstairs.

"And when do you ever want to see me!" You muttered quietly under your breath as you made your way towards Your room.

As you neared your room down the hall, you heard voices from inside, making you wonder who could be in your room, seeing that the maids usually clean it after you leave for school in the early morning. Nearing the door, you tried to be as quiet as possible to eavesdrop. "Jungkook be quiet, and stop fussing!" You heard a girl's voice say. Her voice was somehow familiar, but you couldn't quite put your finger on it. "Sorry babe, I didn't know you used to live in such a luxurious house," this Jungkook guy, you assumed, answered back chuckling.

What? Who lives here other than your family? And used to live? What does he mean? Who are these people?

You suddenly entered your room to see two people ,just as you suspected, looking back at you as if they were not expecting you at all. "Shit! When did you set the machine, Jungkook?" The girl standing not far away from the guy asked with a clenched jaw. "Ops!" He replied looking back at her. "Seriously, Jungkook? Are you kidding me? That's when I arrive from school! I told you we need to do this before I arrive!" She whined as she hit his arm lightly. "Hey, at least the machine works!" He shrugged biting his bottom lip. "Yeah, you're right," she said calming down a bit.

You kept looking back and forth between them, backing up very slowly to get out of the room and call the police. Apparently, these two are crazy and you need to call for help. "Get back here missy, you are not going anywhere," the girl said looking at you with a glint in her eyes daring you to take one more step away from them. "Look, I don't want you to panic. We are not here to do anything bad. I promise, but knowing how you are, you probably don't believe me, so I am very sorry because of what we are about to do!" She said sincerely making you panic even more. Suddenly the guy came towards you and lifted you over his shoulder. Welp, this is it, you're going to die, your parents are probably going to be mad for the lack of an heir to their firm, but whatever! "W-what are going to do?" You panicked even more hitting this Jungkook guy to let you down. "Don't worry, we are tying you up, so you won't go anywhere and expose us which will lead to many complications and malfunctions that nor you neither do I need to happen. We've worked so hard to reach this point." She said tying you up with your jumping rope which you didn't know how she found since you keep it hidden in your closet. She oddly seemed to know her way around the room which was very confusing, have these people been watching you for some time?

She sighed in relief after she tied you up as she leaned back to sit directly in front of you. "Don't you recognise me?" She asked looking at you smiling as if she's your long lost sister and that knowing who she is will bring you immense joy. You looked her up and down, tilting your head to the side when it suddenly kicks in your head, she looks very familiar, how could you miss it. She looks exactly like you but older. She looked exactly like how you envisioned yourself to be ONLY if you possessed the freedom to do what you want. "Are you... No, it couldn't be!" You said shaking your head. You're hallucinating, you're sure of it. "I know, right? But it's true … I am you, but 10 years older." You looked her up and down, again. She looked totally different from you right now. Carefree is the keyword. She looks like she doesn't have a care in the world, she's also sporting a style that you have always wanted to try. "W-wha- .. h-how is this possible?" If you were panicking a few moments ago, now you were on the verge of freaking out. Have you gone mad? Is this a dream? It must be! I mean your whole life you're struggling to fight your parents and become what you want to be, but this is absolutely NUTS! It must be the stress taking a toll on you, must be!

"Oh, it's a long story," your older self chuckled as if this situation was funny. It kinda is, if you were in her shoe it would probably be funny to you. You looked to your left side, eyeing the guy standing next to you who was looking around your room with so much interest. Your older self inspecting you as you eyed Jungkook, chuckling again silently knowing how curious you are. "Who is he?" You blurted out looking at him in disapproval. Jungkook suddenly stopped looking around and looked at you smiling and waving at you with his left hand. "Oh, hi I am Jungkook," A silver ring on his left hand caught your eyes, you involuntarily looked at your older self, searching her left hand, but you didn't need to look for so long because a diamond ring glinted back at you, as if telling you yup I am here to confirm your doubts. You suddenly gasped as you looked between them, Jungkook flinched in surprise as your older self smirked at you. "You figured it out, didn't you?" she said amusement dancing in her eyes. "He's your husband!" Your face scrunched in disgust. "Our husband," she corrected you leaning back on her palms still looking at you in amusement. "Ew! No!" You said looking at him again with disapproval. "Now, I am offended," Jungkook said feigning sadness, placing his hand over his chest. "Your hair is so long!" You pointed out, tilting your head to the side. "Thank you!" He beamed at you happy that something about him appealed to you. "That wasn't a compliment, don't flatter yourself," you answered back glaring at him. Jungkook pouted looking back at your older self for help "Well, believe it or not, you'll come to love everything about him even if he dyes his hair red," your older self averted your attention from your supposed future husband towards her. She looked at Jungkook with a smirk; however, you could feel the love in her eyes. You could tell that she really loved him as her smirk eased into a soft loving look making you wonder what did Jungkook do to deserve your love.

A few minutes passed as Jungkook and your older self swiped places, Jungkook sat in front of you making sure that you don't try and break free to run away as your older self kept looking for something around your room. "You have so many tattoos, are you a criminal?" You questioned grumpily. You heard your older self chuckle behind you as she looked at the calendar on your desk. Jungkook's big doe eyes, which you suspected were your older self's weakness since it's already making you feel things, looked at you trying to find a suitable answer. "Umm, well I've never done anything illegal," he said. "Intentionally," he added gulping when you kept your piercing gaze upon him. His eyes looked upwards toward the left side which according to what you've read in the science of body language indicated that he was probably remembering the illegal thing that he has done. Sighing, you tried to take it easy upon him since he was starting to get more uncomfortable under your gaze.

"What's your job?" You asked as your legs swayed the chair, you were tied to, right and left. The situation was starting to become really funny to you; you were tied up like you were going to be tortured for some information that you possess; however, it seems like the roles are reversed seeing that you were swaying the chair as you kept interrogating your future husband. He hummed, scratching the side of his neck with his lips pursed and his right eye closed, "I don't know how to tell you this, but we kinda lost our job," he said calmly, big doe eyes staring back at you as a small smile made its way onto his handsome features. "What do you mean WE? you lost your job!" You stopped swaying the chair, an act that showed that you were trying to process the information. "Nah, we as in me and you," he said still looking at you as if he was telling you something totally normal like how the sun sets from the west. "Yeah, we work together and we kinda got fired," your older self said as she stood next to you resting her hand on the back of your chair. "What do you mean kinda got fired? What do you guys do?" You asked looking up at her. "Hmm, … we're scientists." She said looking back down on you. "Wait, what? You're not running our law firm?" You turned the chair suddenly making her remove her hand from the back of it. "Nah, dude we are not going through this bullshit that our parents planned out for us." She said shaking her heading with a pure look of repugnance on her face. "W-why did you get fired, then ?" You asked trying to understand more. "Well, you see me and Jungkook were developing a time machine, you know how many novels predicted the occurrence of such invention," you nodded eagerly for her to continue "the bastards at the lab made fun of us for being delusional because and I quote "this only exists in fiction and there could never be a thing such as time machines" the pricks! Don't they know that before the invention of ships and aeroplanes, writers prophesied these inventions, I mean that's how usually things start. People come up with crazy ideas and we scientists try to bring these ideas into life." Her outrage was evident in her tone. You nodded agreeing with her. "Anyways, that's not for you worry about, at least for the time being," she said walking away from you to continue looking around.

You tried to change the topic, but for some reason, you were not gifted with the ability to be smooth, "What made you marry him?" You fired the question still looking at Jungkook who suddenly smirked at you. "I am pretty good with a sword," he answered, and you could feel his ego inflate. "Oh my, Jungkook please don't!" Your older self whined rolling her head. "What?" Jungkook asked going back to his baby Bambi-eyed self before he started acting cocky. "A sword!" You wondered in a hushed tone to yourself, Jungkook's eyes looking over your face as if he can see your mind putting two and two together, "Oh!" You suddenly realised what he was implying, apparently something sexual. "EEWW!" you shook your head trying not to imagine anything. "Jungkook for God's sake, She's still sixteen, and she doesn't know you yet. Besides you know that I married you because I love you not because of … that," your older self said shaking her head at her husband's immaturity.

"Anyways, it's almost time. If Jungkook set the timer correctly, we should be getting back in a few seconds!" Your older self said from behind you, untying you from your restraints. "What? Back where?" You asked turning to look at her. "What do you mean back where! Back to our present!" She answered looking back at Jungkook. "What about me?"

"What about you?" Jungkook asked confused. Rolling your eyes, not really knowing how you will actually fall in love with the guy later on, "I mean … what am I supposed to do now that I met you?" You asked looking back at your older self, eyes begging her to guide you, tell you what to do, to tell you that everything will turn out just fine. Her features softened as she neared you, "hey listen kiddo, everything will be alright. I can't tell you how it will turn out exactly, but I want you to know that you wouldn't want it any other way, I promise!" She said placing her hand on your shoulder, glancing behind you at Jungkook and smiling softly. You were sure Jungkook was returning her smile, as well. "I don't know what to do...how do I become you?" She tilted her head thinking about it. "Well, I can't tell you what to do because you'll know that, but you can start by resisting," she winked at you before extending her hand to Jungkook who took it. They both backed away from you. You felt them start to fade, but before they vanished completely, Jungkook winked at you in a friendly manner and told you, "see you soon!" You frowned not understanding what he meant by that.

Two days had already passed since you met your future self. In the beginning, you doubted the whole thing happening, but then you found a small sticky note by your desk with neat handwriting saying "I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul. ~ William Ernest Henley" which you realised was a quote from your favourite poem, your older self had written it down for you. It was the only proof that what had taken place in your room was real. It was still the beginning of the school day, and you were already bored. "Attention please, everyone!" Your teacher raised her voice over the noisy chatter of the students, bursting your bubble of thoughts and making you look up as your colleagues started to settle down. "I would like you to welcome our new transfer student, Jeon Jungkook," she exclaimed enthusiastically looking around with a hopeful gaze. Jeon Jungkook? What? No way? You suddenly looked up, a shy boy with a shaggy haircut entered the classroom barely looking up, too afraid to make eye contact with anyone. You gasped quietly, that's what Jungkook meant by seeing me soon? He looks nothing like his older self! You thought, inspecting the Jungkook standing by the teacher. He looked up shyly, and the first person he laid eyes on was you. Your heart fluttered when he made eye contact and averted his eyes quickly as he blushed. Oh how cute! You thought smiling slightly. Oh my God, it's actually happening! You were having an internal conversation with yourself now, realising that this was true, you're already harbouring a crush on the boy. "Jungkook, why don't you take a seat next to y/n," your teacher said averting her gaze from Jungkook to you, nodding her head so you'd raise your hand to let him know where you're sitting. "Y/n, would you please show Jungkook around the school later, and help him with what he's missing. If there's anything you're unable to help him with, you can return to me," she said moving already behind her desk and opening her book to start the lesson as Jungkook made his way to the empty desk next to you.

"H-hi, I am Jungkook," he introduced himself minutes after he sat down. "I know, the teacher introduced you at the beginning of class," you said smiling softly at his rosy cheeks that displayed his embarrassment, you chuckled finding him so endearing trying to make a small conversation with you. You turned your head paying attention to what the teacher was explaining. You could feel Jungkook fiddle around in his seat looking around worriedly with his big Bambi eyes that you're sure are now your weakness. You realised that he was nervous because he doesn't have a pen and was embarrassed to ask for an extra one. You silently nudged him and gave him one of yours which made him flash you a grateful smile making you flash him a soft one.

Meanwhile, you and Jungkook were watching your younger-selves interact shyly just as you did ten years ago. "Kookie!" He hummed not really paying you attention since he was eating an ice-cream. You turned your head inspecting his features that didn't really change that much since you first saw him, "you didn't set the machine on that time by mistake, did you?" You asked referring to the time when you asked him about the time settings after your younger self had caught you both snooping around her, well technically your room. You looked at your melting ice-cream, taking a small bite as you could still see Jungkook from your peripheral vision. His movements stopped for a moment, seeing that you smirked as if you caught him in the act. Sensing your sly smile, he shook his head "I don't know what you're talking about!" He feigned dumbness as if you won't be able to tell that he was lying, but who was he fooling? You knew him like the back of your hand. He sighed looking at you in defeat as you raised an eyebrow at him waiting for him to explain himself. "Babe, I know how you were always anxious during that time of your life, and now that we achieved this together and made the whole time machine thing possible; I wanted the first thing for us to do is console your younger-self. I remember how you had a hard time because of your parents," he explained himself all pouty like a child who had done something wrong. However, Jungkook didn't do anything wrong, far from it actually, he wanted nothing but to make you feel less stressed and less unloved. He knows that his younger self has to overcome so many intricacies for you to open up to him. You were a totally different version from who you are right now, and it hurt him to see you doubting yourself or feeling inferior all these years because of your non-existent relationship with your parents. "Thank you, Kookie," you said placing a soft peck on his pouty lips. "You're not mad at me?" He asked, eyes widening, watching you enjoy your ice-cream as you took in your surroundings. You shook your head looking back at him. "I love you," you smiled holding his hand into yours. His worried bunny features eased into a smile and a look full of nothing but adoration for you, "I love you, too." He kissed you passionately while rubbing his thumb over your cheeks. "Finish your ice-cream. We have ten minutes remaining before we go back." You said looking at your digital watch. "What? We don't get to take the ice-cream with us?" He asked, curiosity glossing in his eyes. You shook your head at your husband whom you genuinely believed is a child trapped in the body of a 26 years old man, but as you said: you wouldn't want to have it any other way.

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peter-pantomime · 5 years ago

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Ask Meme

WELP HERE WE GO LMAO

002 | Character

Feelings

How do i feel about love of my life, idiot child of my loins, Richard Richie Dick Trashmouth Tozier? Listen ive been in some fandom or another for like fifteen years straight, some with more intensity than others, and there are some deeply obvious patterns that have emerged in the characters and relationships that make me absolutely lose my MIND. Is there a character who others (my mother) would call a dick, an asshole, a complete twerp? who is loud and obnoxious and performative and NEEDS attention? but who then under that is DEEPLY insecure and has lots of self-hatred and cannot handle actually being seen? sign me the FUCK up. Charles Xavier, Dean Winchester, Bucky Barnes, my loves, step aside - long live the ultimate clown, Richie Tozier.

OTP/Ships

Just gonna save this rant for the Reddie answer below.

Others

Non-romantic OTPs are a delight for Richie. I do love him and Bev when they’re kids, i think there’s a lot there in both of them about being terrified of puberty and what its revealing to them about themselves, and i havent really seen that delved into anywhere, but i think it would be really interesting to see. But i also love Richie and Stan, a lot of fics (Indelicate in particular i think) call them an unstoppable force and immovable object, and I love that dynamic. I’d like to see how that plays out more when they aren’t fighting lol. also in general I just love that Patty is showing up more in fics and I love their dynamic too.

Shitty Headcanons

I don’t know if its unpopular as much as its depressing, but the only way I can cope with the canon ending of the movie is if richie kills himself like, a minute after that last shot of him. In real life, I would never say that but in fiction? Narratively, I think its more in character than just smiling and bouncing along on his way after the love of his life is impaled in front of him BECAUSE said love saved him and he had to leave him to be buried in the diseased and dirty darkness with the corpse of their worse nightmare. Anyway, stay tuned for my Orpheus fic, itll happen eventually.

Canon

On that note like, i DON’T want that to have happened in canon, but like, I’ve long ago given up on looking to mainstream media for storylines and characterizations i want to see. I would have preferred Richie staying in the house with Eddie tbh, but again, wasnt looking to the film to give me a satisfying happy or sad ending for him/them.

Crossovers

I don’t really think about crossover stuff much, much more into AUs, so like, lets have Reddie in a The Mummy AU hows that. (also actually edit: theres a fic where Eddie and Carrie White are cousins and i LOVE THAT)

001 | Reddie

in the beginning

This is 100% one of those ships i blame tumblr for. It started with seeing some good reddie art going around before part 2 came out, then laughing at some posts probably, then going into the tags ‘just to see what was happening,’ and then resigning myself to knowing i was gonna see the new movie and watching the first one in prep and just seeing it hit all my buttons. twas inevitable.

happy/sad

I love nearly everything fandom spins out for them. not so much what canon did. I don’t particularly love modern AUs for them, them growing up in the 80s is very important to me, and it doesnt jive for me when richie isnt like, fucked up with internalized homophobia that he works through (even if its just acknowledged that he’s dealt with it before the fic starts, its just an important characterization for me). I don’t like stuff where eddie is super sweet and soft (...”chee”) and all woobie’d, like no, hes a little asshole and i love him for that.

other pairings

Another pattern in this deeply self-exposing parade of losers i go feral over is that i am embarrassingly singular in my shipping for them. Like, ONE true pairing to the heights, motherfuckers. Like, the similarities in the reasons I like Reddie and Stucky are comical. Kids who’ve known each other since childhood, one who’s sickly but absolutely a rage monster and one who’s loud and brash but much more timid on the inside, for whom the very concept of love was grown from knowing each other, who lose each other and literally forget each other for years, who then find each other again through bloodshed, and are now figuring out these teenage growing pains as grown people after a (N E A R) death experience? *anguished elk noise* literally havent gotten tired of it in the slightest yet.

happily ever after

honestly, variations on a theme at this point - living together preferably in LA, soaking up sunshine and each other’s company, just happy and in love and HAPPY. basically a combo of Ithots and bullet in the back.

big/little spoon

nah, eddie sleeping directly on top of Richie

favorite activity

this is just an expression of my own favorite activity, but them at a karaoke bar is still my favorite thought. Mostly because i need something where Richie sings Can’t Take My Eyes off You and it starts silly but then it HITS REAL HARD

#ask meme #reddie #richie tozier #otp

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armillary-spheres-lover · 6 years ago

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Narcissistic INTP - Disgust

Disclaimer: alright guys since I don't know where to start talking about narcissistic/unhealthy INTPs I'll use the five main emotions from Inside Out - and analyze how each one of them is experienced and manifested. I may alternate this with step by step analysis about how each cognitive function is distorted by narcissistic traits. And then order them properly. Maybe. Sources: things I've read about both MBTI and narcissism (and that I may link if you want, but for now I'll link just some silly websites that explain main things quite easily), and personal experience. Yep, quite subjective. But what isn't when we talk about mbti, especially unhealthy manifestations of it? Also, I'll tag posts like this with #narcissistic intp

Ok, so, let's start with "disgust", which is strongly related to contempt.

* Narcissism and contempt: As you may know, the typical narcissist, whether covert or overt (please if you don't know what I'm talking about check this quick site), loves holding in contempt everything and everyone. That's obviously necessary if they want to feel always on top on the world and, therefore, worthy. Sounds childish? You may want to know that everything is childish when we talk about narcissism. In fact, according to Freud, primary narcissism is a fundamental growth phase for an infant, but when something goes wrong, the infant regresses to the previous narcissistic phase, that's then called secondary narcissism. Sounds scientific and maybe pathological and while it surely can be, in the end it's just about a rather common (even though not healthy) coping mechanism called regression, indeed.

* MBTI and contempt: Now that I'm done with digressing (for maybe five seconds or less), let's talk about contempt and disgust in INTPs and narcissists. As you may have guessed, INTPs are usually covert (cerebral!) narcissists. This fits nicely with their general attitude and cognitive functions order. I don't know if you guys noticed that, but when a whatever mbti type gets quite immature you find that they start to think their own primary functions are absolutely the best and that all other functions are useless and pathetic, especially the ones lower in their own stack. Guess why? Not only because they go in different directions in comparision to the most used ones, but also because the xxxx type KNOWS how much they suck at them, and this is a huge threat for self-esteem, even if - or better yet, especially - it's a constructed one. So guess which functions the narcissistic INTP will hate, contempt (and deep inside, envy) the most? Si and Fe. Since they suck at them, they usually also expect (via a thing called narcissistic entitlement) that the world solves problems related to these two functions - instead of trying to do that by themselves.

* Si and contempt: So they will get mad if things aren't in the usual, proper space, or done in the usual, proper way (which often is estabilished based upon childhood memories and caregivers lifestyle. This is an actual problem because the INTP may want to, you know, travel around the world and make some new experiences ((Ne)), but how they can do that if they're scared to leave what they're used to - it could be a threat to their self-image and to their regular, safest intake of narcissistic supply - and won't accept any less?). Will they bother with arranging Si-related things on their own? Of course not, because those humiliating things were done by mommy/daddy/whoever, not by them. They don't have time for those petty issues. They are too occupied, admiring their brilliant intellect and researching about their last, new topic. Even if they are of course counter-dependent, aka clearly contrary to intimacy or being dependent and influenced in any way, (average INTPs tend to be, let alone unhealthy ones), this is the only case in which they will indeed directly depend on someone else. (There are other cases but they are way less overt).

I once saw a nice post about an abusive INTP, I think, a folk who would give his wife a list with all the domestic chores that she needed to do in the exact way that he wanted them done - while also demanding no physical or intimate contact. If any of you guys knows where ended up that post, I would be grateful if you told me - I think that's a pretty nice example of what I'm trying to say here.

* Fe and contempt: If there's a function that causes more issues than Si, that's of course Fe. I could spend an eternity talking about how much I hate and despise this function and people that got it high in the stack. My internal Ti logic of course knows perfectly that every function is useful, necessary, and so on, but my narcissistic side can't help but think that Ti and Ne are the functions that correspond to genius. Especially Ti. The tug of war between Ti and Fe is strongly related to the covert narcissism issue per se. From the source about covert narcissism linked above, for example, we have this point: "Impersonal and Difficult Relationships: As mentioned earlier, part of the introvert narcissist’s insecurity is the inability to genuinely connect with people. To this extent, the aloofness and/or smugness serve as a defensive mechanism keeping people away, lest the narcissist is exposed for her or his interpersonal inadequacies." That really resembles your typical unhealthy low/inf Fe. Of course it doesn't happens only in IxTP folks, lol. Maybe INxx teens in general. By the way, the most difficult thing as an INTP narcissist is, indeed, balancing your need to be alone, indipendent, self-sufficient, withdrawn and not exposed with the need to actually being exposed, seen, noticed - to basically have narcissistic supply.

Since the narcissistic INTP suck at Fe even more than they suck at Si, though, their natural entitlement will make them expect that others are the ones that should be coming for them - showering them with all the love, attention, care, attention, admiration, attention, adoration, attention, friendliness, attention, that they deserve naturally. All in all, they're such a genius - why shouldn't everybody recognize that instantly and give them what they deserve right away? The world can be such an unjust place sometimes. You know what? - the covert narcissist says to themself - I'm gonna deprivate them of my wonderful and glorious presence and intellect, and they will come back to me because, of course, they can't live without it. They're so unjust. Why should I be the one trying to get their attention? That's humiliating and stupid. I'm way too mature and intelligent for that.

And then, once they realize that nobody is coming for them, they'll be like:

Ok, you know what? I don't need any of you anyway, you wretched creatures, human beings, crawling upon the Earth like ants colonies, wriggling, swayed constatly by these petty impulses called "emotions"... you're so fucking pathetic. Why should I even bother with you? My mind is way more interesting than your pitiful, human problems. Yes, that's it, I don't give a fuck. Wait, you should have realized that I don't give a fuck, by now. You see me here? Do you? Are you noticing that I don't give a fuck? THATS RIGHT I DONT GIVE A FUCK IF YOU CARE ABOUT ME OR NOT OR EVEN IF YOU NOTICE ME. YOU HEARD ME?

I wonder if any of you INTPs is familiar with these dynamics. You know, just to be sure if it's a common INTP thing, so/sp thing, teenager thing, or really kinda narcissistic. They don't even have to be mutually exclusive, and probably aren't. So if you do relate to what I've just written, don't worry, you aren't pathological or irreversibly ill. I'm not either. It's just that your Ti and Fe are quite unbalanced. QwQ

If anybody would like to point out some inaccuracies or just thinks it works differently, please tell me. I can't do this very complicated work all by myself, I guess. Not without being a bit too subjective.

Welp, see you next time. I may edit this, because it's really messy. Some time. When I don't feel too entitled and I'm not holding in such contempt my Si. It may mean that I won't edit this whatsoever. Bye.

#mbti #mbti types #intp #introverted thinking #extraverted feeling #introvert #intx #narcissistic intp

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xiaolongpunch · 7 years ago

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Rwby’s redemption

I’ve started watching rwby ever since the summer that volume 2 was released. My friends made me watch the four trailers and I was immediately captivated by the breath of fresh air the show promise from its beginning. Four badass girls with unique weapons and abilities? I was already hooked from that point. I binge watch volume after that day, and I immediately got harry potter vibe with the school aspect of the show. I also understood from the get go the the 8 characters we were introduced to in the beginning would be the main cast, that being team RWBY and team JNPR.

This is where my first critique comes in, and it won’t be directed at rooster teeth or miles-kerry or even monty, but rather at the fandom. Volume 1 wasn't shy at showing us who the important characters were, how? The were coloured in and we got to know their names in the first few episodes. The rest was either shadowed in, appeared a couple of times, or simply never be seen again. We knew the main cast was the two teams, and other subsequent characters were more side characters, exemple: Cardin and team CRDL, Velvet, Ozpin, Glynda, Roman, and the other professors and Sun. And one of the major complaints that volume 1 gets is that it was focused on Jaune to much. Statistically speaking, his arc lasted 25% of volume 1, lasting from episode 11 to 14. Other arcs from this volume included Blake’s, Weiss’s conflict with Ruby and probably other minor ones I won’t speak about. Blake’s arc lasted from episode 15 to 16, buut continued into the subsequent volume. Making for 12.5% of the first volume, and about, well the entire volume. Volume 2 was dedicated into busting the white fang and Roman, which directly tied into Blake’s arc from Volume 1, making it the longest arc up to this date since it is still continuing into volume 5. The third arc was the conflict between Ruby and Weiss, although somewhat minor, this arc still lasted for a couple of episodes spread apart from one another. The point being, Jaune’s arc is minor compared to other arcs happening in the show, since his only lasted 4 episodes in volume 1 alone. Sure he had speaking times in other volumes, but none revolved around him, and yet the fandom is still bitching and moaning that jaune is taking too much space. As mentioned before, Jaune IS one of the main 8, not liking him as a character is totally fine, but saying he is taking too much space is somewhat overreacting since he is one of the main characters.

Let’s go on, from V1 came V2, and to this date, it is probably one of my least favourite volumes. I feel like they focused a bit too much on the characters motivation during the mountain glenn arc. What was the point of Oobleck asking everyone why they wanted to be huntresses? It was a bit awkward and I feel like they could've gotten the same result, if not more, if they made the team sit down around a campfire and make them ask each other their motivation. They would’ve shared some exposition through, shown team rwby bonding, something the fandom has been asking for a while now (Something I will touch later on) aaand they would’ve been able to touch a lot more on Blake’s ongoing arc that way. Btw, this is how critiquing something is done, by talking about what felt wrong and give an example on how they could of improved themselves. I’ve seen way to many people complain and complain and never even explain how they could've improve on what they complained on, and then call what they did ‘critiquing’, but im digressing. Overall, they did what they wanted, expose us to more backstory and motivation, show us a bit more of who the characters are by telling us where they come from. This volume honestly showed me why Ruby is more childish in nature, and it also help set up what they wanted for her next volume. It showed me why Weiss is so cold and distant sometimes, it showed us why Blake acts the way she does..you get the point. It also helped setting up the next volume, which was a real plus.

Next comes V3, and I feel like, like the show, this was where the fandom started to really fall and divide. A reason why people started to become more toxic might have been because of Monty’s death. People started to think that because he died, Miles and Kerry started to ruin the show from his original idea. Especially after a controversial letter came out, you can read it here if you’d like. From that point, it was a shitstorm of fighting, between people who believed shane and people who didn’t. I have read the letter, and personally, I feel like they were some things right and some wrong. Shane seemed to have this idea that Monty was the only one planning the show, but it was with Miles and Kerry, Monty provided the ideas, MK wrote them out. Gray even addressed what the future of RWBY would be, and he mentioned this.

“For those wondering, Monty was heavily involved in shaping the future of the world of Remnant. His story ideas will live on, and you will also be able to see some of the animation he'd begun working on for Volume 3. For some time, the team has known the direction in which the next volumes will be headed, and Rooster Teeth is committed to bringing these tales to you.”

Like I said, you decide if you want to believe shane or not, but I think its clear that Monty planned his show with MK years ahead. And some of the ‘Critiques’ the show got addressed the wrong issues. That volume also sparked the lgbtq representaion controversy, ship wars begun, like I said, a shitshow began. It was also the volume that rwby turned dark and characters died off. And for some reason people got angry at MK for killing them off, because they thought it wasn't Monty’s idea. Except it was, and here is some other complaint. Roman was a major villain, you can't kill him! Actually he was said to be unimportant to the main story plot, and unfortunately I can't find the panel, but I remember that someone in the crwby mentioned that roman was kept alive longer than intended because he was like, but was eventually going to get killed off. Next was Penny’s death, not much complain on that side other then people saying they were sad she died, so nothing to say on that part. But the major character death that got lots of complaint was Pyrrha’s. People had two complaint about, it went too far, and that she was only meant to further Jaune’s character.

To address the first point, I will actually let Gray explain.

“Have we said thanks lately? Thanks again for sharing the story with our youngest audience members out there, it means a lot to us and we take the responsibility to heart. In return, we wanted to take a sec to reiterate some things. We've said from the very beginning that the story of RWBY is actually a pretty long journey, with all sorts of complex changes and themes over time. Because we can only put out so many episodes per year, and the story has been focused the way it has the first couple years, some viewers might assume that this is all there is to the show. Nnnnope. Much like other multi-year narratives such as the Harry Potters, Avatars (the airbending kind. well, the animated, not the live... look, the good one) and Star Wars...Warses... Warii? Forget it -- like other continuity-heavy sagas out there, RWBY will grow up over time. Our characters will be put to the test as the stakes get greater and the full scope of the story is revealed. The tone and imagery of the show will occasionally go darker and more mature. ...You did happen to notice the opening sequence that has been in front of the show all year, right?”

This comes from a blog post surrounding how dark rwby has turned. And I want to emphasize one particular point, because this will counter EVERY complaint on how the show is progressing in terms of change. RWBY was never meant to stay light hearted and happy, it was meant to grow and change, just like many other series out there, and the fact that people complain about it, is in my opinion, kinda ridiculous. When V3 came out, I understood this because it was new, but now? Really? You want change and character development, but complain once the plot thickens and the nature of the show changes? What kind of hypocritical shit is that? I also believe that Monty said that he got inspired by Games of Thrones in some aspect, and that was early on in the show, so death was going to be a thing, I guess the fandom just wants to ignore that though.

The second point is actually a bit more founded. But because of two sides. MK poorly handled team bonding, we barely got any bonding from any teams so we didnt know what they meant to each other other then a few things here and there. And the second side is the fandom’s collective hatred towards Jaune. The fandom complains that Pyrrha’s death was solely to further Jaune’s character, so im guessing they totally ignored her arc in v3 that actually explained why she decided to fight Cinder or why she died, or just simply decided to ignore, knowing the fandom, I wouldn’t be surprised with either reason. The fandom sometimes forgets to piece things together, to read between the lines. It was clear that Pyrrha had an internal conflict about becoming the maiden, and Jaune, being her combat partner, decided he wanted to be there for her, which only fueled the fandom’s belief that this arc was somehow around Jaune. I feel like fandom is honestly just pulling reasons out of their ass to hate on Jaune at this point, yes he did wrong things, but did anyone ever sat down to think that this was actually kinda the most natural portrayal of a teenage boy? Im digressing here, but Pyrrha’s was far more then Jaune, it was a sign, the show basically told us “Hey, things are getting serious, how serious? Welp a main character died trying to accomplish her goal” And her death couldnt of been more brilliant. It was extremely well executed, the symbolism behind it is incredible because it shows that the show isnt a fairy tail, not everything ends happily ever after, and most of all, it furthered Ruby’s character.

A lot of people dont realize that one of the premise of the show was loss of childhood and innocence. Ruby’s character is the very essence of that. And they broke her to pieces in V3, they killed her best friend, and then a close friend. She unlocked her powers and loss her innocence she had for the world. She grew so much as a character it that volume and its sad to see people not looking further then their noses to see how much has been happening in the show to focus on jaune and other minor things like ships.

To go back on Jaune’s portrayal, he is literally a fuckboi in v1/v2 and a bit of v3. Like, thats what his character is, you can hate it, hell I did, but screaming and shouting that his character needs to change because of that is fucking ridiculous, not everyone is meant to be liked, sometimes best portrayals are the ones that actually make you feel something strong about them, and the typical mary sue.

Lets move on, V4 in my opinion was the most poorly handled volume, for many things.They took to long to show how certain character grief and they didnt handle character development extremely well. Nora and Ren’s arc was...short, too short. I felt like they could of really digged into their childhood and their relationship since they grew up together, but they missed out on it. They tanked to show Ruby’s grief, or as the fandom would say, complete lack of. And the plot exposition from Qrow was too fast and really poorly handled in terms of delivery. I feel like they could’ve taken more time to explain some things like magic and the maidens, because the way it was delivered was more like it was speaking to the audience. The filled in gaps on what the audience didn’t know rather then explaining to the character what the hell was going on in their lives.

And I have a major problem with how the fandom ‘critiqued’ this volume. Again, the major complaints were not story, or plot related, they decided to complain on ships and portrayal, which btw is a valid thing if there is an actual problem. For exemple, they non-stopped complained on how Ruby seemingly didnt show any grief, but let me explain to you. People are different, whereas one person might cry their hearts out to someones death, another will feel sad for a bit and move on. We saw Ruby react to Pyrrha’s death, she unlocked her powers because of it. And there is many reason why she might have been shown grieving. Think about how much shit she went through, she saw her school get destroyed, three people she knew died in front of her in one night, she unlocked some weird magical power which she knows nothing about, her sister seems to hate life now, and her friends are mostly gone. Do you seriously think her mind has the time and effort to grief about ONE person dying? No, nobody would in fact, she probably is still in shock of everything that happened. Another reason, which was actually proven in V5, is that she doesn’t grief, she moves on. And they also foreshadowed it a bit, but I will talk about it in the V5 review of this.

The next thing people complained about was black sun, and how ooc blake felt during those moments. Again, I want to remind you that character development is a thing, and traumatic events may several affect someone’s view in life. The reason why Blake seemed ooc is because of her fears becoming a reality. Her friends got hurt because of Adam, she became paranoid, to the point of almost drawing out her sword to the captain when she was confronted. Sun on the other hand didnt experience all of that, and he thought he was doing the right thing by following her because he wanted to help her. And I saw sooooo many people saw he is a predator because she flinches when he touches her, but also completely forgets or ignore she acted the same way when her own mother hugged her. She is scared shitless of everything, this was probably one of the better handled character development in the volume, and the fandom seemingly ignored all of it to let their hatred go through.

The most blatant problem with V4 however was the animation, and I will let the youtuber Cake in his series “Animation analysis”. He really nails the head of what is wrong with the animation, and I highly recommend you watch this small serie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxP3lBW7wm4&list=PL-wKaeXzYOmbnc0cRXxGD0TEY5wgCUipw

I wont speak about Yang, because honestly, this was the one time the fandom is right, her ptsd arc was poorly handled and not well executed at all.

Then came V5, or as I like to call it, Rooster teeth’s redemption arc. This volume, imo, was so heavily touched upon to appease the angry mobs of the rwde tags its honestly kind of funny. Ship wars? Heres more character development surrounding all the characters involved in those ship and their view about each other. Poor character development? Heres ruby actual griefing and explaining how she moved and sooo much more character for the main cast. LGBT representation? Here's the first confirmed lgbt character! They did so many things right and so many things to fix past problems, and yet, the rwde tag is still greedy…

Volume 5 has done a lot of things right, and a lot of those things were things the fandom was asking since the beginning of the show. I believe it was partially RT testing out that if listening to us would actually change anything, and Im afraid the rwde side of this fandom is proving to them that nothing that they will do will change anything, and thats saying something about the rwde tag and the fandom in general.

Lets hit a few things that happened that rt did right. First being, Ruby’s grief. In V4, most of the fandom outcried for Ruby to show how she grieves the death of Pyrrha and Penny, and we got it. And just like I had thought, she moves on. The writers pulled our heart strings by using Monty’s signature quote “Keep moving forward”. This probably wasn't a last minute decision, since we did get a hint of it when Qrow mentioned the same thing to Yang in V3. And we all know how close Ruby is to Qrow, and he probably taught her to move on rather the grief when death hits someone close to you. The fandom, of course, was blind to all of it, and it dishearten me to see that. Because the fandom keeps asking for better writing, and when the are shown that MK can foreshadow things and give hints of two people’s relationship and that the fandom ignores it, it shows that they dont really care, and are probably finding reasons to hate rather then actually seeing their wishes come true.

Yang’s ptsd. V4 poorly handled this, they showed some sign of her illness but it was rushed and it felt unnatural. But rt did try to change this in V5. The random jerks of her hand and arm is a genius idea, it shows that she still suffers from her trauma even though she is trying to be strong for her own sake. This might be hinting at an actual ptsd episode later on when she fights. This is one thing rt did right and are showing they are listening.

First Lgbt character. Spoiler warning, if you havent watched V5EP8 then skip to the next point to not spoil yourself. So in the latest episode, Ilia was revealed to be first lgbt character, she is a lesbian/Bisexual character who is in love with Blake. And not surprisingly, the fandom find reasons to hate this decision rather than rejoice that rt is actually listening to them. This next part is a message straight for anyone who is criticizing ilia as the “villain lesbian” and say its problematic. Do you understand how hypocrite you are? You headcanon characters like Cinder, Salem, and Neo as lgbt, people who are actually show to be pure evil but hate and try to villainize the only villain who’s reason to be villain is due to her past? We have been shown why she chose this path, we have been shown why she sides with Adam at this moment. It hurts her to do so, we could see it when she ordered to kill Blake’s family, we have seen how conflicted she was to have captured Blake for adam, the only character who’s villainy is actual ambiguous and actually is a complex character because of it and you downgrade her to a “Bitter/Jealous murderous lesbian”? FUCK OUTTA HERE, that is completely hypocritical of everything you ever said, she is everything you ever wanted in a character and you still manage to be angry at rt for it?! Do you even hear yourselves sometimes? You wanna complain about something that is lgbt related? How about the lack of it, we have one, they have shown us they are listening so keep on insisting on that representation. You want to complain how the lack of complex character? Criticize MK for the lack of backstory for a lot of the main character, and a lack of personality shown. You want to complain about villains? HOW ABOUT THE ACTUAL BITTER AND MURDEROUS ONE ADAM FUCKING TAURUS. Stop being so blind jfc, there is so many other obvious things wrong about the points you are complaining about and yet you chose to bash Ilia, fucking incredible.

Rwby has a lot of issue, im not denying that, but its time for the fandom to stop complaining about ships and minor problems that have been fixed. Start critiquing instead of complaining and demanding. RT wont listen to you if you only demand things from them, start showing them explicitly what is wrong with the show and offer them solutions in a calm manner. Showing no evidence and not showing solutions is not critiquing on your part, its pure and simple entitlement. My final point is this. We dont own the show, some of us pay for a subscription, but that doesn't make them any more entitled to demand things from rt about their show. You can absolutely critique them for errors, but do it right. Show them what went wrong, explain why its wrong, and show and explain a possible solution. Complaining and whining isnt critiquing, its entitlement of something we dont own. Im probably missing some things I have thought of pointing out in this, and this is highly opinionated in some parts. But I hope my points do make some sense, and I hope anyone who reads this actual give a thought about the points I made. If you disagree with me, by all means, point out what was wrong with what I said and offer your counter-argument, like I said, some of it is facts and some of it is opinions, so let’s debate.

#rwby #rwby5 #rwde

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penmansparadise · 7 years ago

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Damon Salvatore Imagine

*I DON’T OWN ANY GIFS ON THIS POST* *CREDITS TO OWNER OF GIFS*

Hey there! So this imagine is the prequel to the first Damon Imagine that I wrote, here is the link https://penmansparadise.tumblr.com/post/164834643798/damon-salvatore-imagine . I hope you all like this one!

_______________________________________________________________________

Everyone was in the Salvatore boarding house pacing, lost in thought, or drowning their frustrations in alcohol. Katherine was back in Mystic Falls and planning her next heinous attack.

You sat comfortably on one of the couches looking around at all of your friends. “Any luck with spells Bonnie?” Stefan asked from his place on the couch across from yours. Bonnie looked up with an apologetic look on her face, “Not yet, but I’m sure I’ll find something by the end of the night.” A collected sigh of displeasure left everyone’s lips. In times like these you were unsure if you should offer your opinions. You were the only human in your group of friends, aside from Matt, but he tried his best to stay out of the way. Although you tried to stay out of the way, it was quite hard when you were dating one of the vampires who was usually in the middle of the whole mess. Damon, with a glass of bourbon in his left hand, sat down next to you and put his free hand on your thigh. Your heart raced for just a second sending Damon’s signature smirk flying to his lips. It had been six months since you two, going against everyone’s warnings, had started dating. “Well,” Damon took a sip from his glass, “Any ideas on how to deal with everyone’s favorite jealous 300-year-old vampire?” Silence followed Damon’s question as everyone looked around at each other. Damon raised his eyebrows, “Not everyone all at once now.” Stefan sent him an annoyed glare before turning to Bonnie. “Anything yet Bonnie?” He asked almost pleading her to say something hopeful. Bonnie tilted her head to the side, “I mean, it may work, but I’m going to need some help.” Stefan opened his mouth to reply, but Damon stood up cutting him off. “Welp! Bon Bon doesn’t have anything good to offer. Any other ideas?” He asked again looking to Caroline and Elena this time. When no one answered, he let out an annoyed groan, “You guys, I’m going to need a little help here. Do I have to remind you that we are dealing with Katherine here? A sneaky, jealous, absolutely insane 300-year-old vampire. Does that not send up any red flags?” Stefan rolled his eyes in response to his brother’s impatience, but didn’t say anything. “Why don’t we just hear Bonnie out? Her idea may actually work if you just listened for once,” Caroline retorted crossing her arms. Damon furrowed his eyebrows, “Are you seriously about to lecture me about not listening?” Caroline lengthened her posture and closed her eyes, “All I’m saying is maybe if you weren’t so rude and actually listened we may have been done with this already.” Caroline and Damon never got along and always ended up in some sort of argument. In fact, she was one of the main people who literally begged you to not date Damon. The two continued to shout over one another as Stefan and Elena separated them. When the arguing surpassed Stefan decided to call it a night. “We can figure this out tomorrow. Hopefully,” he glared at Caroline and Damon, “with a little less yelling.” Both, Damon and Caroline, scoffed at Stefan’s comment. Although they didn’t want to admit it, they could be very alike sometimes.

You, Bonnie, Caroline, and Elena all said goodbye before leaving together. Elena was driving and dropped Bonnie and Caroline off before finally reaching your house. “Thanks for the lift,” you said as you got out of her car and headed to your front door. You knew that no one was home and that you would be alone for the night. Your parents took your younger brother on a camping trip for the weekend and wouldn’t be back till the following day. As you fumbled with your house key mumbling expletives, your front door slowly creeped open. Your eyes moved to the small crack now exposing your stairway and foyer. Although you lived in Mystic Falls, home of any and all supernatural creatures, you knew that no human resident would dare break into your house. Standing in front of the slightly ajar door, you looked around assessing the scene. When you deemed it safe to go inside, you took the step over the threshold into your home. Once inside, you turned and shut the door making sure to lock it. When you turned around your breath caught in your throat. The keys you were once holding fell to the floor at your feet. Leaning against the wall in front of you, examining her perfectly molded nails, was none other than Katherine Pierce. Your body shivered and your mind scrambled as your eyes quickly darted to the kitchen door directly ahead of you. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Katherine said looking up from her nails with a devious grin. “You know,” she began pushing her body off the wall, “I honestly thought you weren’t going to come inside. That really would have made this all for nothing and put a bit of a damper on my plan.” Her high heeled boots clicked on your hardwood floors as she moved towards you, “But here we are! I gotta tell you, housing has really gone down-hill since the 1800s. Well, aside from the plumbing.” Your breathing was shallow and shaky, “How did you get in here? I never invited you in.” Katherine was looking at a family photo hanging on the wall to your right, “No, Y/N, you didn’t invite me in, but mommy dearest did.” Your body clenched at the mention of your mother. Katherine sent you a side glance and scoffed, “Don’t worry, I didn’t hurt her or any of your family for that matter. I don’t want them anyway, I want you.” Your eyebrows furrowed as you tried to control how scared you were, “What do you want with me?” By this time Katherine was standing in front of you glaring down at you. In her heels, she was almost a foot taller than you. She gave you a devilish smile, “Stefan.” Your face contorted into pure confusion, “Stefan? What does Stefan have to do with me? I’m not even…” Katherine threw her hand up cutting you off, “I know! You’re dating the other one and that is exactly why I need you.” Confusion was still painted across your face as Katherine took a strand of your hair and began to twirl it. “Oh, come on, you and me both know how close those two are. Stefan’s happiness is Damon’s and Damon’s happiness is Stefan’s. While I’m not trying to ruin Damon’s life, he’s collateral damage in my plan. If I’m trying to ruin Stefan’s life… I have to ruin Damon’s.” Katherine half-heartedly twirled your hair between two of her slender fingers making your shiver. Although you knew she could read you like an open book, you tried to contain your fright, “What exactly are you getting at Katherine?” She dropped your hair before her dark brown eyes pierced yours, “I’m going to crush Damon’s heart.” Before you could argue, Katherine ripped your vervain necklace, the one Damon had given you, off your neck. Her hand gripped the back of your head forcing you to look into her eyes. As badly as you wanted to move or scream for help, Katherine had already spoken. “I’m going to have YOU crush Damon’s heart.”

Every part of your body was working on autopilot as you walked towards the Salvatore Boarding House. Tears crawled down your cheeks and fell to your feet as you walked. In the back of your mind you were screaming to stop, willing your legs to turn around and go back home. Nothing worked and soon you were opening the door and stepping into the Salvatore house. Although you tried to contain the sobs that raked your body, whimpers continued to fall from your lips. You made your way to the living room where you found Damon sipping on a glass of bourbon by the fire. When he heard you, he turned to face you. The smile that normally greeted you, immediately left his face. He was quickly in front of you, both hands holding the sides of your face. “Hey, baby, what’s wrong? What happened? Talk to me baby, what’s wrong?” He coaxed you to speak before pulling you into his strong arms. His large hand stroked your head shushing you. With tears still pouring from your eyes, you pushed him away. Pain and confusion slid over his face, “What’s wrong Y/N?” Your breaths were shallow and unfulfilling, but your controlled mind forced you to speak anyway. “I can’t do this anymore,” you said hoarsely. Damon opened his mouth to reply, but closed it when words escaped him. He reached out to touch your arm, but you pushed his hand away. “No,” you began hiccupping from your tears, “I can’t do this anymore Damon.” Sobs shook your body and your vision began to blur, “I’m… I’m breaking up with you.” Damon’s face fell, pain clouded his beautiful blue eyes. “What do you mean? Did I do something wrong? If I did something I can fix it, I promise,” Damon pleaded trying to move closer towards you. Every time he took a step in your direction you took a step back. Your heart clenched and screamed in pain. With every-word you said, a piece of it broke off. You took another small breath, “I’m not happy with you and I never was.” Loud whimpers filled the spaces between each word that came from your mouth. Your body shook from a wave of sobs before you continued to shatter Damon’s heart, “I never had feelings for you and our relationship was a lie.” You couldn’t see anything in front of you and your mind whirred from the lack of oxygen. Your body felt fatigued and every muscle in your body screamed in pain. Tears continued to fall from your eyes as you finished what you were sent to do. “Damon,” you whimpered, “I don’t love you… I never have and never will,” you said soft enough to be a whisper. Damon stood stiffly in front of your shaking body. His mouth hung slightly ajar as he stared down at you, sadness cloaking his entire being. The silence between the two of you was deafening. You begged him to say something, anything, but he just stood there. His glacial eyes drowned you as he stared deep into your Y/E/C orbs. Although you screamed for your body to stay, you began to turn and walk away. At the door, you turned and gave Damon one last look. As you exited the Salvatore boarding house, you could have sworn one single tear escaped Damon’s eye.

#damonsalvatore #damon salvatore #damonsalvatoreimagine #damonsalvatoreimagines #damon salvatore fanfiction #damon salvatore fanfic #the vampire diaries #the vampire diaries fanfic #thevampirediaries #the vampire diaries imagines #the vampire diaries fanfiction #tvd imagine #tvd imagines #TVD

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pyropsychiccollector · 7 years ago

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Danganronpa: Another IF (Chapter 1, Part 3 - Final)

‘Well, we finally get to find out what’s behind these doors…’ Naegi thought to himself as he, Sayaka, and Asahina made their way through two ornate red doors in the school zone of the academy. It was a small room with an elevator directly across from the doors, and nothing else.

They weren’t the first ones there. Ishimaru, Togami, Junko, and Chihiro were present, and it didn’t take long for the rest to trickle in. Once Sakura brought up the end of the pack, it became obvious that many were wary of each other as they stood there in that compact space. That trust they all possessed in the beginning had been shattered like glass. One of them had succumbed to Monokuma’s motive. One of them had become a murderer.

A lot of suspicious glances were directed at Celes and Togami, and Kyoko got her share as well. No one said anything outright because, at least how Naegi understood it, there hadn’t been a clear “most likely suspect”. He knew Asahina wanted to say something to Togami just by looking at the glare she was sending him, but even she kept silent. Leon appeared irritated, indicating Ishimaru’s alibi probably checked out. And some, like Yamada, Chihiro, and Hagakure, looked as though they were weighed down by the oppressive atmosphere.

Unsurprisingly, Monokuma was the one to shatter the uneasy silence, appearing on the screen next to the elevator.

“Upupu, you all here? In that case… Please board the elevator at the front of the room. That will take you to the courtroom. The courtroom will determine your fate. Upupu… I’ll be one step ahead of you, waiting for your arrival!” The screen went dark.

“A courtroom? They’ve even gone so far as to prepare a goddamn courtroom?” Mondo muttered under his breath. Next to him, Hagakure sighed morosely.

“Come on, dude… They’re seriously holding a Class Trial?” He held a palm to his head and smiled shakily. “If the killer’s gonna come clean, they better do it now!”

Naturally, no one came forward. Fujisaki bowed her head shamefully.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t any help during the investigation… Do you think Fukawa would want her killer to be exposed like this?”

Junko scoffed next to her, examining her nails.

“Kinda, yeah… I mean, she was always petty like that.” The blonde looked at Fujisaki strangely. “And what’re ya talkin’ about? You were loads of help!”

Celes folded her hands in front of her face as she addressed Kirigiri.

“How did it go? I trust the crime scene was illuminating.”

Kirigiri ran a hand through her lilac locks, face betraying no emotion.

“… Let’s go.”

“It’s time.” Togami concurred.

“I did what I could, I’ll leave the rest to you guys!” Leon rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

With all of that said, the teens began boarding the elevator. Sayaka took one of Naegi’s hands in hers at the last moment and gave it a reassuring squeeze. The Luckster smiled gratefully, and they got on the elevator after Celes before Mondo got on last. They then began their descent…

~*~

The “courtroom” was comprised of sixteen “witness stands” arranged in a circle – and the room itself had a gaudy interior that, quite frankly, made Makoto feel physically ill. It’s not like he was expecting Monokuma to respect Fukawa’s death, but this was downright treating her sacrifice like it was an amusing affair. When prompted, the fourteen of them took their assigned places; Yamada and Sayaka were to the right and left of him respectively. On the other side of Yamada was a crossed out headshot portrait of Fukawa, which Naegi deduced was her place to stand, had she lived. Were they all going to be subjected to the same humiliation, if they died?

“Let’s start off with a simple explanation! Your votes will determine the trial’s outcome. Finger the true villain, and only the villain gets punished! But make the wrong accusation… and everyone else gets punished, leaving your deceiver freeee and cleeear!” Monokuma declared in a singsong voice.

“Is one of us… really the culprit?” Naegi grimaced. He still didn’t like to consider that possibility.

“You betcha!” Monokuma tauntingly answered back.

Crossing his arms proudly and with quite the serious face, Ishimaru addressed the whole group.

“All right, everyone, close your eyes! Then, raise your hand if you’re the culprit!”

Mondo rolled his eyes.

“You a dumbass? Who’d raise their hand?”

“Can this wait?” Kirigiri broke through the banter. “There’s something I’d like to ask before we begin… What, exactly, is the purpose of that?”

As one, the group looked to the crossed out portrait of Fukawa. Monokuma giggled.

“Isn’t it sad to be left out just ‘cause you’re dead? Friendship overcomes life and death!” The bear’s words were of no comfort.

“Coming… over… friendship?!” Yamada exclaimed.

Hands on her hips, Celes spoke next.

“In that case, what about that empty seat? There are fifteen of us, so why are there sixteen seats?” A reasonable question, and one that the bear deflected rather unconvincingly.

“No reason in particular. It just means the courtroom can accommodate up to sixteen people. Welp, that should do it for the intro… Let’s get this party started! First, how ‘bout a summary of what went down! Go on, get crackin’!”

Forced to set aside that matter for now, the students reluctantly collected their respective thoughts together. Apparently, this “trial” would be a series of nonstop debates where anyone and everyone could speak up. It would be quite easy for the culprit to steer them down the wrong path at any given moment, so Makoto resolved to stay attentive. If he didn’t, they could all be killed.

“Let it be known, Touko Fukawa was murdered!” The Ultimate Prefect started things off.

“Dude, we know that much already…” Hagakure groaned.

Togami held up a pointer finger to his temple arrogantly.

“The body was found in the laundry room. This begs the question: Was she killed there, or was she brought there later?”

“Well, if she was killed elsewhere, it wasn’t in her room.” Junko asserted with conviction.

“Why do you say that?” Yamada questioned, stroking his chin.

“Because there weren’t any signs of a struggle in her room… Me and Junko checked real thoroughly.” Fujisaki replied, looking down sadly.

“So the killer might’ve cleaned up any evidence, that’s all!” Leon rebutted. Hagakure sighed again.

“You seriously think Fukawa would let anyone in her room, dude?”

“So the killer forced her into their own room! No one saw her go near the laundry room!” Mondo snarled. And that’s where Naegi cut in.

“You’ve got that wrong!” The brunet tried to not come across as too forceful. “Asahina, you saw her, right? She was carrying some laundry, and trying to stay far away from you and Sakura?”

The swimmer blinked in astonishment before nodding quickly.

“O-Oh, yeah! While we were taking a break!”

“True… she did leave her room.” The Ultimate Fighter concurred.

“But did she ever go back to her room?” Leon pressed. “Just seein’ her go to the laundry room doesn’t make it the crime scene!”

Asahina appeared downtrodden at being asked that.

“Oh… We wouldn’t know. We went to the school zone to continue our exercises. We didn’t stay near the dorms.”

The Luckster hadn’t known that, nor had Sayaka; naturally, they were disappointed with this revelation. Sakura hummed thoughtfully.

“It was only after completing our exercises did we go to the laundry room and discover the body… I hazard it was maybe fifteen minutes after we saw her in the hall? Twenty minutes at most.”

Despite the setback, Naegi maintained his usual bright optimism.

“W-Well… That narrows down her time of death, at least! Most of us hadn’t seen her since breakfast!”

“And yet, fifteen minutes is still a rather large window…” Celes pointed out. “To suffocate a person to death, one must hold their breath for at least three minutes. I would think twelve minutes would be more than enough time to tidy up, and give themselves an alibi. That is, of course, setting aside the matter of the crime scene, which is still up for debate.”

Kirigiri was tilting her head in thought, with her eyes closed.

“… For the time being, let us assume the crime scene was the laundry room.”

“Why?” The Ultimate Affluent Progeny’s tone made it sound like more of a demand than a casual question.

“There are at least three reasons.” The mysterious girl explained smoothly. “The first two sort of run hand-in-hand, but I will explain. The first is that forcing Fukawa to enter their room would have been far too suspicious. Anyone could pass by at any moment, and they immediately would have been suspected. The second is that transporting the body, while possible if you wrapped it in a bedsheet, would have drawn attention to them as well. In addition, if the crime scene was elsewhere, there would have been little reason to place the body directly in the washing machine; they could have just dropped the body in the laundry room, and then left as if nothing had happened.”

“What’s the third reason?” Sayaka asked curiously.

“Fukawa did not have her dorm room key on her.” Kirigiri revealed. She didn’t really need to outline why that was unusual. Even if you were planning to your room right away, leaving it unlocked for a few minutes would’ve been just asking for trouble, especially after the motive videos that Monokuma forced on them. Fukawa was not the type to be reckless like that.

Junko nodded her head.

“That is weird! ‘Cause the key wasn’t in her room either!”

“And it wasn’t anywhere in the laundry room… Me and Sakura had a good look around.” Mondo corroborated them both.

Ishimaru clenched his jaw as his eyes narrowed.

“Okay… So the killer must have taken Fukawa’s key with them, but why would they do that? They could have just left the key in her room, if they had to access it for something.”

Kirigiri hummed.

“And what if they were afraid that would have drawn suspicion to the room itself? Say, for example, that the killer left some evidence there that they didn’t want found on their person. They had to know we would investigate that room. But what if we knew something was returned there...?”

“You’re saying… the killer took something else from Miss Touko Fukawa?!” Yamada sounded a little too excited than the situation warranted. Leon groaned exasperatedly.

“Not now, sleezeball! Can’t you keep your mind out of the friggin’ gutter for thirty seconds?!”

“Well now, I think that would depend on the gutter’s contents.” The fanfic writer unashamedly admitted. Leon, and several others, was simply at a loss with how perverted the otaku was.

“Um… anyway…” Naegi scratched his cheek. “To answer your question, Kirigiri, I would guess we would specifically look for stuff that might’ve been brought there from the laundry room. But what are you thinking about?”

The mysterious girl cupped her chin in her gloved hand.

“I wonder… Fujisaki, Junko, did you find any small blades? Anything small with a cutting edge.”

Junko crossed her arms and cocked her head in thought. A flash of revelation crossed Fujisaki’s face first.

“Ah! There was some scissors on her dresser!”

The Ultimate Fashionista nodded in agreement.

“Yeah! There were four of these totally small weird scissor things! You think she cuts her own hair?”

Realization dawned on Sayaka’s face, just as it did Naegi’s.

“Scissors… so that’s it…”

Togami gritted his teeth as his hand gripped his elbow in frustration.

“Would someone mind explaining? Fukawa was suffocated, not stabbed!”

“Before she died, Fukawa managed to injure her attacker.” Kirigiri intoned. “How badly she hurt them is unknown, but there were traces of blood left on her hand, her body, and the bedsheet. Since Fukawa suffered no other injuries, only the killer could have left that blood.”

Asahina looked at Junko skeptically.

“When you saw bloody scissors, you didn’t think they were related somehow?”

“There wasn’t any blood on ‘em!” Junko snapped. “The killer probably cleaned ‘em off!”

Celes had her hands on her hips again.

“This is all very interesting, but I have a question of my own. Why was the killer so reckless? Instead of attempting this at nighttime, when we all should have been in our rooms, this murderer waited until after breakfast to try and escape. If they were after Fukawa alone for her frail body, that might make sense, but they could have targeted anyone else, if they were foolish enough to break the curfew.”

Mondo rubbed the back of his head, looking down.

“Maybe because at night, their alibi couldn’t checkout? Like… We were all ‘supposed’ to be in our rooms, but that doesn’t mean jackshit when everybody suspects everybody.”

“That, and I am starting to wonder if Fukawa’s murder was premeditated at all…” Kirigiri mused. “The crime scene, the method of killing her, even the cleanup afterward… All of it seems to be done in haste.”

“If the pressure got to ‘em after watching their video, I’m not surprised!” Hagakure laughed hollowly.

“Does anyone have any ideas who the killer could be?” Fujisaki asked, her voice quivering. Of all the things they talked about until this point, not a single name had been dropped as a suspect.

“Well, I’d say since Asahina ‘n Sakura were the last to see her, and the first ones to find the body, I’d say it coulda been one of them, the other bein’ an accomplice.” Leon asserted, crossing his arms and scowling.

The swimmer, understandably, took a step back, aghast.

“What are you saying?! There’s no way I’d kill someone, even if she was a jerk to me!”

“I can vouch that we did not go to the laundry room until we discovered the body.” Sakura folded her arms and glared straight back at Leon.

Before the three could start arguing heatedly, Sayaka played peacekeeper.

“Guys, guys! Before anything else, we should ask Monokuma if it was even possible for there to be an accomplice!”

Naegi nodded in agreement.

“Yeah! ‘Cause we don’t even know if the accomplices would become ‘blackened’, too!”

Unsurprisingly, Monokuma didn’t sound too thrilled to be put on the spot like that.

“Alright, alright! If you all must know, it is always possible for a blackened to bring in an accomplice, but only the killer themselves would get to graduate! So there’s no sane benefit for the accomplices.” The monochrome bear paused thoughtfully. “Besides, there wasn’t any accomplices in this murder. … Whoopsies.”

It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Monokuma meant to let that slip. Though he did want to keep the game “interesting”, he probably also wanted to make the killer sweat. That was just how the sadistic bear operated.

“I suppose our first order of business would be to look into the people doing their ‘laundry’ today…” The Ultimate Gambler mused. “If this was spur-of-the-moment, then it is likely sheer coincidence they went to the laundry room the same time as the victim…”

“Wasn’t there a bunch of people doin’ it today?” Leon scowled.

“Other than me, Sakura, and Fukawa,” Asahina remarked, “there was Togami, Yamada, Mondo, and Hagakure. Yamada and Mondo stepped in there with stuff before breakfast, and Togami and Hagakure went there right after breakfast. I wouldn’t know if any of you guys returned there after me and Sakura went to the school zone...”

“Kuwata and I were in the entrance hall killing time.” The biker grunted.

“Aye, and Mister Kiyotaka Ishimaru escorted me to the school zone after Miss Touko Fukawa said some… rather unsavory things…” Yamada’s eyes darted back and forth unhappily.

“That still leaves Togami and Hagakure~…” Junko sang tauntingly as she leered at the two of them.

Obviously, it was the clairvoyant who spoke up in a panic first.

“H-H-Hey! My laundry wasn’t set to be done ‘til another hour! I killed some time goin’ to the gym!”

Ishimaru nodded firmly.

“As my patrol route took me to the gym, I can confirm that Hagakure was indeed leaving there!”

It did not go un-noted that Ishimaru said ‘leaving’ the gym, but no one else pointed that out, in favor of turning their attention to Togami.

“After placing my bedsheets in the washer, I returned to my room.” The heir coldly answered the suspicious glares “I did not even see that repulsive bookworm, and I haven’t had the chance to retrieve my bedsheets yet.”

“Hmmm… Could it be… Mister Byakuya Togami used his own bedsheets as a red herring?!” Yamada accused the wealthy progeny.

Togami coldly turned on the otaku.

“Philistine. When I make my move, there will be no sloppiness. There won’t even be an atom-sized piece of evidence that will implicate me!”

“What about other people, dudes?” Hagakure nervously chipped in. “I mean, does Celes-chi or Kirigiri-chi have alibis?!”

A dark aura surrounded Celes as she smiled pleasantly. Too pleasantly.

“I was in my room the whole time after breakfast. I had no business with any of you.”

Hagakure did not give up so easily.

“W-Well, yeah… But maybe-”

“I did not have any fucking business with anyone, shithead!”

… That was the end of that line of questioning…

“Umm… How about you, Kirigiri?” Sayaka tentatively asked to get the conversation moving along again, now that Hagakure was scared shitless of the snarling gambler.

“… The entrance to the gym.” The mysterious girl answered simply. She had been aware of Hagakure, Ishimaru, Sakura, and Aoi all passing by her at various points, but right now her mind looked to be elsewhere.

“W-Well… I guess that still leaves Togami and Hagakure…” Naegi nervously scratched his cheek, and again Togami spoke up haughtily.

“I think not. What about Fujisaki?”

The poor girl seemed on the verge of tears at his accusation.

“M-Me…? There’s no way I…”

“Togami, you jackass! Do you really think Fujisaki would be able to suffocate Fukawa?!” Mondo roared. “Obviously, it was a fucking guy that did her in!”

“And before you suggest it, me, Naegster, and Sayaka were all in the A/V room.” Junko growled out. Sayaka scowled a little at Junko giving a nickname, but did not contradict the fashionista.

The heir harrumphed before proposing another theory.

“Very well… then how about this. Ishimaru’s patrol route brought him back to the dorm area, where he cornered Fukawa and killed her. That is certainly possible, correct?”

“No.” Kirigiri ran a hand through her lilac hair. “Ishimaru tried to stop Sakura and Asahina from being too disruptive in the gym.”

“That is correct!” Ishimaru affirmed, arms crossed. “That ate up much of my time, and I had to make haste back to the hallways to make up for it, but I did not set foot back in the dorm area of the academy until Fukawa’s body was discovered!”

“In other words, you and Hagakure are still our prime suspects, Togami.” Leon taunted the heir, who looked none too happy.

“I did not lay a finger on that disgusting cretin!”

“It wasn’t me, dudes! True as truth!” The clairvoyant was clutching his head fearfully.

Celes was scowling as her hands were back on her hips.

“This is getting us nowhere… We could try to guess which of them it was by majority vote, but there is still a fifty percent chance of being wrong.” Not even she would make a bet on those odds.

Sayaka frowned and looked toward the Luckster next to her.

“You’ve been quiet, Naegi… Can you think of a way to break this stalemate?”

Naegi raised an index finger to his lips in thought.

“If we could find out what the killer used to suffocate Fukawa, that might tell us something… ‘Cause, I don’t think they used the bedsheet. It’s a little too… big…”

“How about the killer’s wound?” Sayaka proposed. Monokuma butted in on their conversation at that point.

“Ah, I hope you aren’t thinking of having the suspects strip down~… Because if you propose that, then I will immediately call for voting time after your search, regardless of what you find out!” The monochrome bear cackled at all their uneasy expressions.

The general consensus was… they couldn’t risk it. They could try and call Monokuma’s bluff, but if Togami and Hagakure both had relatively fresh wounds, nothing would change.

“Let’s go over the crime scene one more time, and elaborate on our reasons for suspecting these two.” Kirigiri decided. They wanted to leave as little room for doubt as possible.

As they started going around the room again with everyone talking, Asahina kicked things off.

“I think it’s Togami! He hated Fukawa!”

“If that’s your only basis, you sign all of our death warrants.” The heir scoffed.

“There’s the issue with the bedsheet, too!” Asahina growled. “Hagakure just had some of his clothes!”

“And it doesn’t strike you as possible that the killer rifled through a random washing machine to find something to use to pin the crime on someone else…?” Togami condescended.

“It would be quite the extraordinary coincidence that the killer would have pinned the crime on you, who has no solid alibi…” Sakura intoned.

“Celes does not have a ‘solid’ alibi either, if we are saying those who stayed in their rooms cannot be trusted.” Togami argued.

Junko hummed noncommittally.

“Y’know, while I can see why you guys think it was Togami, I’m startin’ to think it was Hagakure who flipped. I mean, you wanna talk about ‘desperate killer’, that guy would do something crazy like shove Fukawa in the washing machine after he was done...”

“Junko-chiii! I didn’t kill her!” Hagakure whined.

“That’s not a convincing argument, dumbass!” Leon grunted.

“Well, how about this! If I was the killer, I’d have gotten some kinda scar, right? But I didn’t have any on me when I came to check out the body with you guys!” Hagakure cupped his chin and nodded firmly.

“If the killer used their own jacket to suffocate her…” Kirigiri argued. “… Then when Fukawa wounded you, the cut could have been on your upper arm, and all you would have had to do was resume wearing your coat. Lack of a visible wound does not clear you.”

This obviously applied to both teens in question.

“Are there any other clues…?” Fujisaki asked sadly, fearing there wouldn’t be any.

“Glasses.” Togami answered crisply.

“Say what now?” Mondo growled at the heir.

“Fukawa’s glasses were broken right outside the washing machine she was stuffed in.” Togami clarified. “I do not think we have established that yet, let alone how they came to be broken…”

Hagakure nodded sagely at the blond’s input.

“Oh yeah… They looked like they were broken clean in half, dudes!”

Naegi sucked in a breath as he heard that claim. He knew the glasses would come up at some point, though he never would have imagined they would actually be “case-breaking” pieces of evidence… But it was too late to feel any regrets, and he needed to point out the contradiction…

“You’ve got that wrong!” The Luckster shouted out. Hagakure blinked in surprise at him.

“H-Huh? What is it, Naegs?”

“The glasses were broken, but the way you described them…” Naegi clenched his teeth as he looked down in shame. When he looked back up, he gazed around at everyone. “Can you guys recall what state the glasses were in when we saw them?”

Fujisaki poked her index fingers together.

“Th-They were… shattered… “ She gasped as she realized the same thing that everyone was just now seeing.

“S-So I misremembered the crime scene! Happens all the time!” Hagakure laughed loudly.

“That’s not the only thing.” Kirigiri coolly contradicted the clairvoyant. “Those glasses were broken twice. We all saw the state they were in the second time they were broken – after Asahina had accidentally stepped on them – but there was a bit of tape on the bridge piece. This implies they were cleanly snapped in half at some point; we just never worked out how or why, because Fukawa’s glasses were fine at breakfast.”

Togami’s index finger was on his temple again.

“I see… Those of you who investigated the crime scene only figured that out by closely examining them… The rest of us shouldn’t have had any idea about the ‘first’ time they were broken.”

Hagakure was clearly sweating now.

“I- Of course anyone with eyes could see they were broken twice, dudes! I couldn’t look at Fukawa’s body for long, so I ended up lookin’ at the sh-shattered glasses closely! Yep!”

… No one was buying that.

Deciding to put an end to everything, Naegi made a closing argument that would attempt go over all the events that happened. First, after they all broke off after the breakfast meeting, Hagakure decided to do some laundry, and then kill some time by hanging out in the gymnasium. While that was going on, Fukawa was having an altercation with Yamada over his doujinshi, which was swiftly broken up by Ishimaru, who guided Yamada to the school zone. A short while later, Fukawa decided to do some laundry of her own, warily passing Sakura and Asahina in the hall. Sakura and Hina would move onto the school zone after this, and Hagakure would likely pass them by, as he had since left the gym by that point.

For whatever reason, be it coincidence or boredom, Hagakure headed for the laundry room. That was where he encountered Fukawa. Now, having walked through the school and dorm zones, Hagakure happened to have a general understanding of where everyone was and what they were doing. Monokuma’s motive video must have been plaguing his mind, because the clairvoyant inevitably snapped and used his jacket to try and suffocate Fukawa. However, Hagakure had no way of knowing that Fukawa carried some scissors on her; whether they were her personal possessions or something that Monokuma gave to her, it didn’t really matter. She struggled against Hagakure, and managed to wound him… But it wasn’t enough. Hagakure still overpowered her, and he managed to suffocate her.

Wasting no time, Hagakure started rearranging the scene. He looted through Fukawa’s clothes, making sure to take all the scissors and her room key, and then he shoved her body in the washing machine in case anyone else came in after he’d left. In his haste, or perhaps it was Fukawa during their struggle, Fukawa’s glasses were broken in half. After cleaning off the scissors and planting them in Fukawa’s room, he returned to the scene and hastily taped Fukawa’s glasses back together, likely forgetting in his frenzy that he didn’t need to bother since they were broken and Fukawa wouldn’t be needing them anymore. Still, the mistake was made, and he did one other thing to try to obfuscate the events. He took what was likely Yamada’s bedsheets out of the washer, in the hopes of pinning the crime on him and making it look possible that the body was transported to the laundry room. In the end, Togami wound up being the one most suspected, but that worked to his advantage as well.

What proved to be his undoing, however, was the fact Asahina would step on the glasses, as well. Whether he was trying to draw an eventual witness to the washing machine Fukawa was in, or if it was a genuine mistake that he left them on the floor, it didn’t really matter. Hagakure still made that ‘slip of the tongue’, and let everyone in on the “first” time the glasses were broken.

“Yasuhiro Hagakure! You killed Touko Fukawa!” Makoto accused the clairvoyant with conviction. Yasuhiro was quivering like a leaf, and yet he looked like he was going to blow up at any moment. That moment came shortly after the closing argument was presented in full.

“Naegs! I can’t believe you doubt me that much, dude! There’s no way in hell I killed Touko!” Hagakure raised his pointer finger and gnashed his teeth. “It mighta hit me real hard that this isn’t some sick joke set up by the school, but there’s no way I’d stoop to murder! And you don’t have a shred of evidence to say otherwise! All you got is one measly little ‘slipup’ I said!”

For the first time throughout the Class Trial, Kirigiri grinned, her eyes closed.

“I’d say he has a lot more than that… But if you’re really so eager to prove your innocence, take off your coat. And I do mean both of them.”

Hagakure winced, his eyes darting about.

“Don’t forget, once you do that, voting time happens~.” Monokuma chirped. Hagakure gaped at him, dumbfounded.

“I don’t even get a chance to explain?!”

“Nope!” The bear immediately shot him down.

“What’s the matter? You’re talking as if you’ve already folded…” Celes said as she leaned forward intimidatingly.

Hagakure took a step back, eyes wide and mouth desperately trying to work.

“N-NO! I…!”

“Man the hell up!” Mondo roared. “If you killed her, ‘fess up!”

Hagakure could do nothing as he stood there, rooted in abject terror. This wasn’t the fear of someone being misunderstood – it went beyond that. Hagakure had the face of the damned, and he knew he wasn’t going to get out of this no matter how hard he tried. In the end, Monokuma had to get things moving again.

“Oh well, time’s up~. It appears you’ve reached a conclusion. All right, then! Let’s begin ballot time! Please cast your ballot using the switch in front of you~! Ah, and just for the record… Make absolutely sure you vote for someone! You don’t wanna get penalized for something so silly~. Alrighty. Let’s end this with a bang~! What’ll your verdict be? Who’s tonight’s villain?! Will you be right, or oh so wrong?!?!”

Once all the ballots were entered, a slot machine activated, spinning all the faces of the students until three faces of Hagakure lined up, and Monokuma Coins poured out in droves.

While the students stared horrified at the correct result, Monokuma chuckled and jumped off of his throne.

“Ohoho! You’re absolutely correct~! The villain who killed Touko Fukawa… was Yasuhiro Hagakure!”

The Ultimate Clairvoyant backed up nervously as all eyes had turned to him expectantly.

“Wh-Wh-What?! H-Hold on… a sec…”

“Hagakure… You really… murdered… Fukawa…?” Naegi grimaced as he looked down miserably.

Asahina covered her mouth in horror.

“H-How could you…?!”

“You son of a bitch!!! The fuck did you do that for?!” Mondo expressed righteous anger.

Hagakure’s mouth opened and closed, like he were a fish on dry land.

“I…! I had no choice!” The clairvoyant whispered. “I… She was gonna kill me! She pulled those scissors out of nowhere! So… So I had to kill her! One wrong move, and this coulda happened to any of you guys! Fukawa just happened to target me… Just my luck…”

Hagakure sounded righteously angry as well, toward the end. Naegi honestly didn’t know what to think. It was true they didn’t know ‘who’ attacked first… They just assumed it was Hagakure because he’d been prone to panic in the past, but if Fukawa really had tried to kill him first…

“On the contrary.” Celes replied, stunning everyone. “Even if you could make a case that she attacked you first, you had a choice to make, Hagakure. You could have just suffocated her until she blacked out, but you went all the way. You murdered her. You could not possibly argue a case for justified self-defense.”

Hagakure trembled as he clutched his head, moaning. Apparently, he had no rebuttal to give to that.

“No…” Makoto muttered as he looked back up, clenching his fists. “We shouldn’t blame Hagakure. After all, the catalyst behind all of this… was those videos, right? They made Hagakure, and maybe Fukawa, act irrationally! They never would’ve attempted murder if you hadn’t forced those videos on us!”

Hagakure seemed to regain some color from the Luckster’s impassioned speech. He gestured toward Naegi emotionally.

“Y-You… You get it, Naegs!” The clairvoyant looked down shamefully. “The truth is… when I saw my video, I was scared. For as long as I’ve been fortunetelling, I’ve been chargin’ people a ton of money to tell their fortunes.”

“In other words, you extorted them for your lousy fortunes.”

“I might cheat them out of their money a bit…” Hagakure pointed at her crossly. Then he sighed somberly. “… But yeah, people weren’t too happy to get fortunes that were at least thirty percent right. Even though that’s way better than any fortune they could get elsewhere!”

Togami clenched a fist.

“Could you get to the point?”

The fortuneteller held up his hands.

“Okay, okay! So, I made a lot of enemies with my business… some of whom may or may not have been with the yakuza. When I saw my video, and that somethin’ might have happened to my mom, I freaked! ‘Cause it looked like the yakuza had gone nuts in my house, and my mom was just… gone. I… I needed to get out of here and find her! She’s the one person I love most in the world, and she puts up with all my quirks… my faults… If the yakuza were taking her as collateral for the money I took from them, I needed to get her back! But…”

Monokuma simply giggled.

“Killing someone over interpersonal relationships? Scaaary! He played the part of a bumbling adult who got held back several times, but when you get down to it, Hagakure was mad as a hatter~. And Fukawa wasn’t much better!”

Sayaka just stared at the monochrome bear.

“Wh-What…?”

Monokuma rubbed the back of his head.

“Yeah~… I’m kinda bummed she got killed off so soon, but there was a part of Touko Fukawa that you guys never got to find out~. Maybe you’ll discover it later, but it’s not quite the same as experiencing it… y’know? Ahh, never mind me. Just talking to myself here.” Monokuma cleared his throat irritatingly. “So! The tribe has spoken. You guys found the villain in splendid fashion. So it’s time for this round’s villain, Yasuhiro Hagakure, to receive his punishment!”

“P-Punishment?!” Hagakure yelped. He clutched his head desperately. “Y-You mean… execution?!”

“That’s right~! You disrupted the order, so now you must suffer the consequences! There are no excuses! Those are society’s rules~!” Monokuma unmercifully replied.

“Please! At least tell me what happened to my mom!” Hagakure tried to make one last plea. However…

“Nope, nope, nope! I do believe I said you only get that information after graduation! There’s no prize for second place~…”

“PLEASE, STOP…!” Hagakure bellowed.

“I’ve prepared a very special punishment for Yasuhiro Hagakure, the Ultimate Clairvoyant!”

“No, no, no, no, nooo…!” Hagakure screamed.

“Let’s get the ball rollin’! It’s punishment time!”

“NOOOOOO!”

Monokuma plopped back down on his throne, and a big red button appeared before him. Monokuma raised a hammer and smacked the button hard, initiating an 8-bit screen that showed Hagakure getting dragged off by Monokuma, with the words announcing he had been found Guilty and that it was time for his punishment. In the real world, Hagakure was shifty-eyed as he looked around the courtroom, surrounded by all of his classmates. Abruptly, a chain came flying from the elevator, and firmly clamped down around his neck, before dragging him all the way back up. Hagakure struggled to get free, but he was forced all the way to his destination, which turned out to be a makeshift fortuneteller tent, where his classmates watched him through the entrance to the tent, and he was flooded by a surge of Monokuma “customers” that were dressed in yakuza suits. They were piling so much money on the table, Hagakure honestly didn’t know what to do, except try to appease them all by telling each and every one of their fortunes.

However, it soon became clear that only a third of Hagakure’s “customers” were content with his services. The other two thirds were bringing out machine guns and other such assault weapons, and Hagakure knew he was in for it. He tried to make a run for it, but the clairvoyant didn’t get far before the Monokuma “customers” opened fire, and his whole body was mowed down in mere seconds, thick streams of blood spurting everywhere. With a meaty ‘thump’, his corpse collapsed to the floor, his head shot clean off, and the rest of him was barely identifiable. Hagakure’s classmates stared in absolute horror and despair at the grim scene as the Monokuma “customers” stalked off with their money, and set the tent and corpse ablaze as they left.

There were… no words. Just like that, Yasuhiro Hagakure was gone, and his remains were being treated even more disrespectfully. They were swiftly returned to the courtroom, but all that some of them could manage were screams and shrieks. What they’d just borne witness to… it could be only called Despair. There was no other word for it.

“YAHOOOO! That was EXTREEEME! I’m DROOOWNING in ADREEENALIIINE!” Monokuma was, obviously, the only one remotely happy with the execution… hell, he was orgasmic.

Sayaka was wordlessly clutching Naegi’s sweatshirt, and she was burying herself in his shoulder as she cried her heart out. Yamada’s hands were twitching around his mouth in terror.

“Ahh… AHHHHHH….!”

“Wh-What is this?!” Junko shrieked.

“I-I can’t take it anymore…” Fujisaki sobbed. “Do we really have to continue this…? I can’t do it!”

“If you’re not a fan of this…” Monokuma said. “… then completely disconnect yourself from the outside world and accept your new lives here! That is, if you guys can do it… Upupupupupu…”

“Y-You bastard…!” Mondo snarled. “What’s your objective in all this?!”

“What’s my objective?” Monokuma tilted his head. “Talk about a guy like he’s an evil secret society… Or, in this case, wouldn’t it be, ‘Talk about a bear like he’s an evil secret society’?!”

“Ummm… Why must such an upstanding citizen such as myself be subjected to this?” Yamada asked.

“Becaaause, how else would you turn something common sense says is impossible into common sense?” Monokuma shot back nonsensically. “That’s like using a scale to measure length. Well, it’s not like you couldn’t do it, but…”

“Whoa, whoa… I don’t think we’re on the same page here…” Leon said with a shaky, nervous grin. Mondo’s hand twitched furiously.

“Damnit…! I dunno who the hell you are, but I’ll have your fuckin’ head on a pike…”

“Upupu~… You’re so mad… Do you hate me? If you wanna hate on someone, you’ve got the wrong bear, bro! I mean, this murder only happened ‘cause you guys want out, right?! It’s your fault ‘cause you can’t let go of your attachment to the outside world!” Monokuma lectured the biker.

“Of course we can’t just ‘drop’ those attachments…!” Junko exclaimed. “We were suddenly dropped and trapped in this screwed up place…”

“Hmm…” Monokuma hummed. “’Trapped’, huh? When you guys uncover all the academy’s mysteries, you’ll most definitely be saying… ‘I’m so lucky I get to live my whole life here!’”

“Wh-What do you mean… by that…?” Ishimaru asked.

“There’s a lot of meaning buried in your words…” Kirigiri mused. “Like earlier, when you said ‘everyone’s waiting’. Just who is this ‘everyone’ you speak of?”

Monokuma just laughed.

“Well, I’ve said everything I’ve can! It’s not as much fun if I don’t save some for later! Bahaha!”

With that last declaration, Monokuma took his leave, and the thirteen remaining teens stood there rigidly, unmoving for quite some time. Naegi was clutching onto Maizono with just as much desperation, as he feared that if he ever let her go… she would suffer a similar grizzly fate to the one that Hagakure did. And Maizono, being so distraught, just buried her face in his shoulder even more, leaning into him as much as possible.

Despite everything that had happened, despite everything that was likely to come, Makoto recalled the promise he had made in the classroom, after comforting her when she had watched her video. And he felt all the more determination to keep that promise. He would not sacrifice anyone, but Naegi would make damn sure Maizono got out of there. No one else deserved to die, and he was going to protect Maizono with all that he had. He could only hope they could stand united against Monokuma… against the mastermind...

Students Remaining: 13

#Danganronpa #Makoto Naegi #Sayaka Maizono #Mukuro Ikusaba #Makoto x Sayaka #Makoto x Mukuro #Naegi x Maizono #Naegi x Ikusaba #Naezono #Naekusaba

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demigoddessofasgard · 7 years ago

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So yesterday there was a "shooting" (in which one person's arm was injured but nobody died) which was on campus but not really; it was on "privately own apartments" but literally across the street from campus like there's a road and a campus parking lot separating them.

So naturally when they started sending out emergency alerts that they put the buildings on that side of campus on lock down, then the rest of the buildings on lock down 20 minutes later, I started panicking a little. Though I'm completely online, I know a lot of my classmates that I frequently see online do both—and regardless of whether or not I know everyone on campus, I was very upset that there was a "shooting" happening.

Only thing is, one (1) whole person got injured by the end of this. But the whole while this happening, the college was all, "OMG HE'S GOT AN AUTOMATIC WEAPON EVERYBODY RUN AND HIDE FOR UR LIVES!!1!1!1" Like they were really playing it up, which made the whole thing even scarier. Then they started screaming about, "HE'S RUNNING TOWARD CAMPUS AHHH!!!" So I'm like holy fuck because you take two steps off that apartment property and you're on campus already, and he was "headed" toward two buildings which I had 2 professors in, and gods know how many classmates. So I'm like "holy shit, holy shit" and I'm sitting in the grocery store parking lot refreshing my damn email waiting for them to update whether or not they had apprehended this guy yet.

So after they played it up big time, and I had a moment of weakness and probably embarrassed the fuck out of myself by reaching out to 3 people I don't really know that well because I was scared for them, turns out I don't even think he really made it on to campus??? And I get why they had to take all those precautions but goddamn they made it sound like he was murdering people left and right.

I'm not really sure what point I'm trying to make but like I'm still not over it. Obviously now we know it wasn't a huge deal, only one person was injured but like. For a good 2-3 hours yesterday no one off campus had a fucking clue and yeah I feel like a dumb-ass for overreacting but they had a huge communication break down I think. And I know, also, that I have less of a right to be freaked out than someone who was actually on campus when this happened because I'm sure it was terrifying.

Idk. When the first alert went out I wasn't even surprised. There's so much violence in this country, I forewent the shock phase directly to mourning because I thought, "Welp, there's another tragedy we'll have to memorialize, and move on from." Because people who have the power to stop these tragedies would prefer to use their thoughts and prayers instead of take action.

I think I'm mostly disappointed that there was such a communication error that it had me, and I'm sure others, so freaked out about what was actually happening; I'm also disappointed we live in a country where we've been so exposed to violence that we're almost numb to it. But I am so very thankful that it wasn't that bad; I hope the injured person heals well, and that justice is done.

#my therapist is going to have a hell of a lot to sort through this week lol #sorry Cindy #i also spent most of yesterday hating myself because i wasnt there to stop it #i know i cant save the world #and every person in it #but this happened so close #i was literally on campus the day before at exactly the same time #i feel like Dr. Strange in that aspect #[cue the Ancient One's death scene from Dr. Strange]#personal #i'll probably get embarassed that i wrote this all out and delete it later i'm sure #heck

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trebaolsmovingcastle · 8 years ago

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Another extremely important read...

Last spring, as the Presidential campaign exposed increasingly toxic divisions in America, Antonio García Martínez, a forty-year-old former Facebook product manager living in San Francisco, bought five wooded acres on an island in the Pacific Northwest and brought in generators, solar panels, and thousands of rounds of ammunition. “When society loses a healthy founding myth, it descends into chaos,” he told me. The author of “Chaos Monkeys,” an acerbic Silicon Valley memoir, García Martínez wanted a refuge that would be far from cities but not entirely isolated. “All these dudes think that one guy alone could somehow withstand the roving mob,” he said. “No, you’re going to need to form a local militia. You just need so many things to actually ride out the apocalypse.” Once he started telling peers in the Bay Area about his “little island project,” they came “out of the woodwork” to describe their own preparations, he said. “I think people who are particularly attuned to the levers by which society actually works understand that we are skating on really thin cultural ice right now.”

A number of the super rich amongst Wall Street and Silicon Valley are looking at the present and anticipating a total collapse of civil society, often with acute awareness that they’re potentially the beneficiaries of the cause or directly related to its imminent occurrence.

Some execs see the cliff coming and aggressively try to invest in industries and groups that will hopefully stave off or otherwise bolster society, but a great many at companies that our society has become quite dependent on are looking for a way out and seem totally disinterested in the people they made their money from.

This is a Masque of the Red Death level of hubris. We’re talking about people with all the money in the world saying ‘Geeze, there’s a lot of poor people, and there’s some pretty serious shit coming their way, and they’re gonna be pissed I made approximately 20 trillion times the amount of money in six hours than they have in the last six years...WELP TIME TO MOVE TO NEW ZEALAND! IF ONLY THERE WAS AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE END OF THE WORLD.’

What’s worse is that the article points out how in the past we’ve navigated such fraught waters, namely the end of the gilded age. The problem here however is that the moguls of the time became infected with a philanthropy bug and started creating foundations and grants meant to improve the stewardship of the country, while behind that you had politicians with uniquely optimistic views of the country's system of checks and balances to quash the issues at their root, break up monopolies and otherwise improve the national distribution of wealth.

The reason this wouldn’t work similarly is that our “Moguls” are hoarding their income and looking to live in an armed compound rather than reconnect with a view of the world that doesn’t end with “And that’s how society collapse and I became Lord Humongous of the Pacific Northwest.” We also lack the political resolve, there aren’t eager up and comers shaking up Washington and these same wealthy elite. Our system is also significantly weaker than it was, we’ve eroded confidence in government, as well as governments actual ability to govern. We also can’t do what they did and simply extend an imperial hand across the globe, because we’re already a declining empire, and Teddy Roosevelt never had to worry about atomic fire.

The issue of course coming back is that the people with the power in this country have no plan to help society and the people that they benefit from survive imminent disaster, they have no goal or aspiration to fix what’s broken to them, instead looking to get while the gettings good and let the mob kill itself or the wasteland take hold. They fail to appreciate that their dreams of being a warlord or petty king of the wastes will more likely see them either isolated and starving at the ends of the earth, or in the grimmest scenarios before the collected mob and Sanson’s guillotine.

#survivalists

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thebookrat · 7 years ago

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I mentioned in another post recently (actually, maybe this is going up first, so maybe I will mention in another post... I've been writing and scheduling in so many posts - for me - that I don't honestly know!) that I have a goal of featuring more books more often, and in more ways, as a general rule on this blog. One of those ways -- and let me know if you like this idea -- is to do a monthly post highlighting some of the books that are coming out that month, that would be my top picks if someone handed me a bookstore gift card and said, "Go crazy." So here are my picks for April. Some are already out, and some will be out very soon. A couple of these are either on my shelves, or will be featured in some other way around these parts very soon. (Ahem, giveaway of one of these coming soon and/or possibly already up, depending on when you're reading this, and when I've scheduled things for! See note above... ;D) Take a look, let me know what you think, and if I've missed any April, 2018 releases that I DEFINITELY need to have, please tell me in the comments! And of course, each cover is >clickable< so you can find out more or pick a copy up! This is in my TBR for this month!

A captivating novel about two extraordinary teens, and the unsolvable problem of life after high school. Sophia is smart, like genius-calculator-brain smart. But there are some things no amount of genius can prepare you for, and the messiness of real life is one of them. When everything she knows is falling apart, how can she crack the puzzle of what to do with her life? Joshua spends his time honing magic tricks and planning how to win Sophia’s heart. But when your best trick is making schoolwork disappear, how do you possibly romance a genius? In life and love, timing is everything. Published April 1st 2018 by Peachtree Publishers

I mean... everyone's buzzing about this.

Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations. But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems. Published April 3rd 2018 by Balzer + Bray

I was a big fan of McCarthy's You Were Here.

Fandom and first love collide for Iris on the film set for her grandmother’s famous high-fantasy triology—perfect for readers of Fangirl! Unlike the rest of the world, Iris doesn't care about the famous high-fantasy Elementia books written by M. E. Thorne. So it's just a little annoying that M. E. Thorne is her grandmother—and that Iris has to deal with the trilogy's crazy fans. When Iris gets dropped in Ireland for the movie adaptation, she sees her opportunity: if she can shut down production, the Elementia craze won't grow any bigger, and she can finally have a normal life. Not even the rascally-cute actor Eamon O'Brien can get in her way. But the crew's passion is contagious, and as Iris begins to find herself in the very world she has avoided her whole life, she realizes that this movie might just be amazing… Published April 3rd 2018 by Sourcebooks Fire

*tries not to want book solely based on cover* *fails* *reads synopsis and still wants book, is happy* *realizes book is only in AUS, is sad*

Two very different girls, and one giant hoax that could change – or ruin – everything. Harriet Price has the perfect life: she's a prefect at Rosemead Grammar, she lives in a mansion, and her gorgeous girlfriend is a future prime minister. So when she risks it all by creating a hoax to expose the school's many problems – with help from notorious bad-girl Will Everheart, no less – Harriet tells herself it's because she's seeking justice. And definitely not because she finds Will oddly fascinating. But as Will and Harriet's campaign heats up, it gets harder for them to remain sworn enemies – and to avoid being caught. As tensions burn throughout the school, how far will they go to keep their mission – and their feelings for each other – a secret? Published April 2nd 2018 by Hardie Grant Egmont

I don't know that I've ever come across a more unique-sounding book.

In an alternate reality a lot like our world, every person’s physical size is directly proportional to their wealth. The poorest of the poor are the size of rats, and billionaires are the size of skyscrapers. Warner and his sister Prayer are destitute—and tiny. Their size is not just demeaning, but dangerous: day and night they face mortal dangers that bigger richer people don’t ever have to think about, from being mauled by cats to their house getting stepped on. There are no cars or phones built small enough for them, or schools or hospitals, for that matter—there’s no point, when no one that little has any purchasing power, and when salaried doctors and teachers would never fit in buildings so small. Warner and Prayer know their only hope is to scale up, but how can two littlepoors survive in a world built against them? A brilliant, warm, funny trip, unlike anything else out there, and a social novel for our time in the tradition of 1984 or Invisible Man. Inequality is made intensely visceral by an adventure and tragedy both hilarious and heartbreaking. Published April 3rd 2018 by Amulet Books

Welp. I need it.

The ancient land of Éirinn is mired in war. Ciara, Princess of Mide, has never known a time when Éirinn’s kingdoms were not battling for power, or Northmen were not plundering their shores. The people of Mide have thankfully always been safe because of Ciara’s unearthly ability to control her enemies’ minds and actions. But lately, a mysterious crow has been appearing to Ciara, whispering warnings of an even darker threat. Although her clansmen dismiss her visions as pagan nonsense, Ciara fears this coming evil will destroy not just Éirinn, but the entire world. Then the crow leads Ciara to Leif, a young Northman leader. Leif should be Ciara’s enemy, but when Ciara discovers that he, too, shares her prophetic visions, she knows he’s something more. Leif is mounting an impressive army, and with Ciara’s strength in battle the two might have a chance to save their world. With evil rising around them, they’ll do what it takes to defend the land they love…even if it means making the greatest sacrifice of all. Published April 10th 2018 by HarperTeen

Sometimes I just really crave romances that are fraught with tension and obstacles and SO MUCH HEADBUTTING.

A teen werewolf finally meets her destined soulmate only to discover that he's not quite what she expected in this steamy debut romance. She's met her mate . . . and he's met his match. Megan Ross has been waiting her whole life for her mate to come and sweep her off her feet. But the wolf she meets on the beach is NOT the sweet gentle boy she's been dreaming of. Instead, he's a warrior, one whose suffering has led him to lock his heart away in a prison as cold and hard as a diamond, who fights to resist the bond and their deep sexual attraction. Far from home, with a soulmate who is still a stranger, Megan learns that the path to true love isn't quite as straight and easy as she thought . . . Published April 10th 2018 by Swoon Reads

Spare, windswept, western -- these words didn't make it into my buzzwords list. But they should have.

Ten years ago, a horrifying disease began spreading across the West Texas desert. Infected people—shakes—attacked the living and created havoc and destruction. No one has ever survived the infection. Daisy Wilcox, known as Willie, has been protecting her siblings within the relatively safe walls of Glory, Texas. When Willie’s good-for-nothing father steals a fortune from one of the most dangerous shake-hunters in town, she finds herself on the hook for his debt. With two hunters, including the gruff and handsome Ben, to accompany her, she sets out across the desert in search of her father. But the desert is not kind to travelers, and not everyone will pass through alive. Western meets horror for this riveting story about survival, family, and inner strength. Tense, short chapters propel readers from one action-packed scene to the next, while Willie’s distinctive, introspective voice deepens the emotional stakes with every turn of the page. High concept and character-driven, Emma Berquist’s debut will satisfy fans of The Magnificent Seven, Rae Carson’s Walk on Earth a Stranger, and HBO’s Westworld. Published April 10th 2018 by Greenwillow

Psst! You can enter to win this!

Fourteen-year-old Avery Armisted is athletic, rich, and pretty. Sixteen-year-old Kayla Butts is known as “butt-girl” at school. The two girls were friends as little kids, but that’s ancient history now. So it’s a huge surprise when Avery’s father offers to bring Kayla along on a summer trip to Spain. Avery is horrified that her father thinks he can choose her friends—and make her miss soccer camp. Kayla struggles just to imagine leaving the confines of her small town. But in Spain, the two uncover a secret their families had hidden from both of them their entire lives. Maybe the girls can put aside their differences and work through it together. Or maybe the lies and betrayal will only push them—and their families—farther apart. Published April 10th 2018 by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers

I am just so. damn. fascinated. by everything about this.

How do you live after death? Julie Nolan is a pretty average girl with pretty average problems. She’s been in love with her best friend, Lorelei, ever since they met in grade three. Only Lorelei doesn’t know about it — she’s too busy trying to set Julie up with Henry, her ex, who Julie finds, in a word, vapid. But life gets more complicated when Julie comes home to find her mother insisting that her heart is gone. Pretty soon it becomes clear: Julie’s mom believes that she has died. How is Julie supposed to navigate her first year of high school now, while she’s making midnight trips to the graveyard to cover her mother with dirt, lay flowers and make up eulogies? And why is Henry the only person Julie feels comfortable turning to? If she wants to get through this, Julie’s going to have to find the strength she never knew she had, and to learn how to listen to both her mom’s heart and her own. Published April 10th 2018 by HarperCollins

Again, love the cover, only in AUS. =/

Kit Learmonth would rather die than grow up and leave Neverland … When she was twelve, Kit Learmonth watched her parents drown in a storm as their boat sailed over the Tranter Sink Hole. Now seventeen, Kit doesn’t remember the incident, and she doesn’t want to. In fact, her only clear memories from before her parents’ death are of the fantastical stories of pirates and mermaids that she and her dad invented about the small island where she grew up, a place she calls Neverland. Following Kit’s parents’ deaths, her uncle and guardian, Doc, transformed the island into a boarding school for mentally ill teenagers and sent Kit away to school on the mainland. But when Kit tries and fails to end her life, Doc brings her home to the island and places her in the care of his colleague, Dr Hannah Ward. Resisting her treatment, Kit instead pulls her friends deeper into her world of make-believe. It’s only when Kit and her new boyfriend, Rohan, take the fantasy too far and land themselves in very real danger that her faith in Neverland is shaken, and Kit must find a way back to reality. Published April 1st 2018 by Penguin Random House Australia

Am I the only one getting serious dark fairy tale retelling vibes from this?

Theodosia was six when her country was invaded and her mother, the Queen of Flame and Fury, was murdered before her eyes. Ten years later, Theo has learned to survive under the relentless abuse of the Kaiser and his court as the ridiculed “Ash Princess.” Pretending to be empty-headed and naive when she's not enduring brutal whippings, she pushes down all other thoughts but one: Keep the Kaiser happy and he will keep you safe. When the Kaiser forces her to execute her last hope of rescue, Theo can't keep her feelings and memories pushed down any longer. She vows revenge, throwing herself into a plot to seduce and murder the Kaiser's warrior son with the help of a group of magically gifted and volatile rebels. But Theo doesn't expect to develop feelings for the Prinz. Or for her rebel allies to challenge her friendship with the one person who's been kind to her throughout the last hopeless decade: her heart's sister, Cress. Cornered into impossible choices and unable to trust even those who are on her side, Theo will have to decide how far she's willing to go to save her people and how much of herself she's willing to sacrifice to become queen. Expected publication: April 24th 2018 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Did I miss anything amazing? Or is there a book coming up in the next few months that you're dying for? Let me know in the comments! via The Book Rat

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