#and in a game where years have been dedicated to making you sympathize with the devil
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solomiracle · 4 months ago
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really sucks that like... the only beel scenes that aren't about food in nb s3 are about the celestial realm. the man's been starved of development, even just decent characterization, for years, and writers decide the new direction for him should be... to like the celestial realm??? the place that killed his sister and caused his survivor's guilt? i know the narrative can only work if the celestial realm is portrayed in a good light, but this was one of the worst ways to try that.
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raspberry-vinaigrette · 3 months ago
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alright drop ur main jack headcanons please i will gladly slurp them up :3
HAHAHAHAH I AM SOOO GLAD YOU ASKED
i have a post with some big ones over here but i ALWAYS have more! putting them under a cut since idk how long this'll be when i post
i mentioned this before and never elaborated but i've always interpreted that one scene in the good ending with davetrap and jack in the saferoom while davetrap holds the kid hostage and the layout of the scene fades from the normal first-person visual novel style into a top-down pixellated tycoon segment/flipside segment style as jack dissociating. it makes sense, especially because it's triggered when jack has to claim that he's a good person who wouldn't hurt kids -- he knows (or at least believes) this isn't true, given that the evil ends of dsaf1 and 2 happened by dsaf3, even if they were "reverted" in some way or another -- and also jack just like. has a lot of self loathing and dehumanization issues. he does not perceive himself as human in most senses of the word.
^ because of this i've always viewed jack as having derealization and depersonalization issues ! it's mostly triggered by situations of high-stress in which he disconnects to detach his emotions from the situation because he kind of just wishes he was as lackadaisical and apathetic as he tries to present himself as early on. but he Isn't. and that causes Problems. he's aware of it happening and it's concerning but honestly especially with the fact that henry and blackjack are both constantly in his head and he already perceives himself as a vessel of some kind? he's just ignoring it. It Happens!
fazbender's frights was set up in 2003 to keep with the xxx3 year motif that's in the games (1973 is when dee and jack died, 1983 is when henry disappeared i think? + bite of '83, 1993 is when roger's location shut down, 2023 is when dsaf3 happens)! it stayed up for around the same amount of time as jack's dsaf3 restaurant before jack burned it down and believed his work there was done and started focusing on the flipside machine. i think there's a couple mentions in dsaf3 that miiight contradict this but whatever i'm chalking that up to "davetrap has a terrible memory between the soul-split, the trauma, and the years of isolation" since i like the idea the xxx3 years match up
i also have an event in mind for 2013! it's been a running thing in my headcanon that during the 35 year gap jack went to vegas at one point to try and relive the thrill of being with dave in hopes it would help him move on. this did not work. jack immediately got lost, could not handle everything going on, and just ended up scrambling outside and buying some cheap liquor before taking a taxi to a nearby hotel. he got wasted and tried to purge this from his memory. this happened in 2013 and he still never told peter what happened he just said he was out on "business" and peter kind of looked at him funny but didn't ask.
jack only finally quit his addiction to smoking + alcohol when roger talked about his history with addiction in his big lore speech + theres that one cutscene if you offer roger a cigarette where he mentions spending all his paychecks on liquor. roger's concern and the fact i think jack sympathized with roger's issues a lot personally probably is what got jack to finally make an effort in the good ending. granted good end jack ended up burning the place down with himself inside but i think jack poured out his bourbon along with the gasoline before davetrap arrived. "bourbon is only flammable from the cask--" it's SYMBOLIC let me have this
i like to think jack salvaged davetrap from the initial bakersfield location for frights himself. davetrap didnt recognize jack because jack made a point to wear a mask -- an official fredbear mask, it's really rare merchandise! ...which probably should've given jack away, given there's few people who would be that dedicated to fazbender merchandise collection -- and gloves and such to hide his identity. i think jack mumbled something to davetrap at the time ("dave... i missed you." to parallel the dsaf3 dialogue, mayhaps), but with davetrap being kinda half-lucid at the time, he chalked up that voice that sounded so much like jack's to just being "i miss sportsy :("
i think. when dave does that rant at the end of dsaf2's good route where he says peter and him just view jack as a tool. for one i think this is a not-uncommon instance of "dave saying shit he doesnt mean because he's impulsive and shortsighted and this can be seen in ESPECIALLY reality dave (look at the entire jacktrap plan)" but thats not the point. for two i think jack like genuinely was fine with this exchange albeit for fucked up reasoning, that being... well... he thought dave was right. jack IS just a tool, a means to an end, a vessel for saving these kids. he is soulless, he is an empty shell who will never be fixed. he will never be a person. and he wants people to forget him so its easier for everyone to move on. this is why legacy jack is so distinct to me btw because hes been so influenced by henry in a lot of ways that for once he wants to have a legacy. but thats besides the point. basically jack was like oh cool ive finally driven him off and he sees me for what i am! maybe then he'll finally be able to be saved now that he's moved on and i can work on what i'm made for.
^ if they talked about this i think jack could come to be more normal and healthy about this thought process albeit with a lot of time. especially given even after that rant dave carefully puts jack into his suit and doesnt hurt him and even says "i almost wish we couldve worked things out". but thats a whole other ramble. i NEED them to be undoomed
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danganronpafan777 · 2 years ago
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I’m going to rant about the side story a bit cause I have no where else to rant about it
(Spoilers for dra and sdra2 omake 2 obv)
Ugh that Side Story hurt. Like genuinely hurt me.
Rei just straight up saying “The Rei Mekaru of the 79th class of Hope’s Peak Academy also died along with Teruya Otori.” Did a blow on me man, I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I read the side story
You can really see how much Rei’s grown here
Ironically, maybe it’s cause she’s talking to Tsurugi or is under influence, but I actually really see and recognize the Rei I remember in this scene unlike with how unrecognizable she was in the actual game. Now she’s disconnecting herself from the past because god she did not deserve to experience any of that - none of the dra students did
And then we have Tsurugi- for once I actually sympathize with him here (love hate relationship yknow-). It really opened my eyes to see that the Tsurugi Kinjo of the 79th class was… really not dead. It surprises me he still has that side of himself especially with all the in dislikable crap he did during sdra2 - but that’s what I’m talking about when I say Tsurugi should’ve been smart enough to rethink his actions between the years and I guess seeing the side story confirms that he DID think about them. And that really opened my eyes to his character - I mean of course I never doubted he was the best written character but the side story definitely made me like how his character was written even more.
And ugh seeing Rei in that state hurt me so so badly - she has every right to be upset and feel the need to drink if she wants to but ahdjs it brought my heart to agony like, I usually love angst but for some reason Rei in this side story just makes me really sad and not be able to get out of my head for literally an entire day. I just want to give her a gigantic hug. God Linuj why is this the first thing you post after half a year 😭
I absolutely agree with everything
This reminds me of why I write fanfiction, cuz literally everyone deserves better, (reader included-)
It’s surprising to see that Rei was wrong about the Kinjo of 79th class being dead, he was just buried deep down. Tsurugi silently screaming was just… wow. He just needs someone to vent to…
*insert pic of Tsurugi reading All My Friends Are Dead*
I want to hug them both sm
I’m mad that Teruya always thought he was a burden but never knew how important he was to keeping the Kisaragi Foundation together
Rei went from calling Teruya a dumbass in DRA to being loyal to him even after his death
Both Rei and Tsurugi are so well written, and Rei being angry because she knows Teruya wouldn’t be mad at them even knowing what they did (and he dedicated his last moments to tell them not to feel guilty) broke me
Seeing their guilt and Tsurugi’s dilemma really humanizes and brings the characters to life
I don’t really know why, but Rei denouncing herself, saying class 79 is dead just struck a chord, along with her telling Tsurugi, “If I hadn’t done this,” (Refering to her getting drunk) “I’d have actually killed you.”
The whole freaking story was heartbreaking
I’m kinda scared to see what event is being foretold that will completely changed the foundation…
LINUJ HOW THE HELL COULD THIS GET WORSE??
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faeiapalette · 2 years ago
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Just wanna drop some personal opinions. I. I swear to god i have heard people complaining for a thousand times about how Ayato’s LE route was “horrible” and all of them has the same reasoning being “it’s unfair”, so i came to share my point of view:
His route wasn't even that bad? 😅 Yall r pissed bc he got treated like shit in his route (yeah, bc he hurted his brothers. He blinded Laito and broke Kanato’s leg. Accidentally or whatever.) What everyone has already known is the S boys' relationship is trash from the begining, ofc they'll act like that? Kanato the one who will scream at your face and treat you with the "idc what tf your reason is i want YOU to take responsibility" and Laito who has grudges with Ayato all the way at the begining? Then comes Reiji who tried so hard for years to become the leader/ leader's right hand man just to serve a person he view as narrow and incompetent (bruh idk about Kanato but everyone else' has something that makes others respect them for. In the Sakamaki family. Shu's smart and know how to act like a big bro when needed, Reiji's a strategist and has been studying to be the heir for years, Laito's intelligent af, and Subaru is the purest among vampires, it’s will be pretty hard to explain this now but all i can say is “it’s smth related to politics in the DL world”), with the last straw being that one hurting his own people? And Ruki who longs for the king's title, who's as dedicated to Karl as Reiji, and is able to seethrough the same Ayato who's unfit to rule all along? 💀 girl. If you people's going to play blame game, blame everyone including Ayato then. He DID made a big mistake. Even it isn't his intention to do so. Try to walk in other people's shoes (in term of mindset and feelings cuz you're oh so capable to do so when it comes to Ayato in other people's route ^^.)
This IS the route suitable for smo with the title "main hero". Because it's different from every other routes. S boys have to deal with both personal problems and their leader position. Now, what kind of personal problem does Ayato have? ^^ Egomaniac, solved. Hatred for Cordi, done in DF. Hating his father? There are some, but not as much as Laito, cuz Laito’s a big personal grudge that can make him going from borderline suicidal to try everything in everyway to khs because he has to receive smth from Karl (No takesy backsy~ Your supplier Karl’s ded). Ayato doesn't. The writers tried their best to make a big ass personal problem for him ya know ^^. 5 other routes r pretty much… peas in the same pot, but Ayato got the element of surprise 👍 Wouldn't that make his route stand out from his brothers', like what a "main hero's route" will be? ^^ Talking about surprises,
Rejet's marketing strategy. Do you know what do Ayato's Daylight aka the most “well-liked daylight cd” and Ayato's LE route have in common? They doesn't follow the stream every other routes does. They stand out. Yes. Because what people like, isn't just sweet moments and fanservices. They long for new things. Creativity. Ayato's route has both of these. Decent amount of sweet moments with Yui, a tear he never shed. So not too much Overall, balance 👍.
II. “The M boys are so narrow-minded when they be like “Aristocrats this aristocrats that” to the S boys, S boys went through traumas too”
THEY-WON’T-KNOW?????? If the S boys don’t share????? Where do you think they’d get that information from? Karl casually telling his surbonates “I traumatized my sons”? The players, aka us, know about their pasts because Rejet puts them in every opening of the prolouge/ epilogues, so we can read their thoughts, sympathize with them, whatever, but can the M boys/ any other boys see them too? You finish the puzzle.
(Trivial matter, if my memories is correct M boys, (for example Kou) have been showing sympathy everytime S boys told them something about their past (in that drama cd where 2/3 of the triplet doing recalls about Cordi’s cooking)).
In conclusion, the “narrow-minded” one is the one saying the similar statement above. ^^
III. There’s no “main character” in otome games.
I don’t think i have to explain the reason, since someone has already said that out loud (“If there’s one “main character”, what are the other 12 for?”, i recall) And i thought everyone knows this already. Because there’s has already been a term for that in the otoge community, being “posterboy”. Yes. The one appearing in almost every posters, the one having the most screentime if the project has an anime adaption, whose cd is the 1st ever to be released. Ect. So. Let’s talk about Young Blood. I see a lot of people thinks that “Oh the story revolves around Ayato and Karl in this manga favors Ayato more than any other sons of his. He must be the main character. If otherwise, why didn’t they make 5 more mangas?” Have you ever thought about how making 5 more manga, with the same plot would spill the budget and no company is dumb enough to not realize that so they just do one that revolves around their representative aka the posterboy and let their audiences do the math that if we change to other boys’ perspective the story would go on the same way (with some tiny events/ details being changed?)
I hope people grow some perspective.
IV. Nothing much. I’m just a little disappointed on how most people i’ve seen here have nothing to say about but how “nice and helpful” the boys is (judging characters based on their moral. I mean there’s more to talk about than just that?)
V. Ruki along with Reiji, Kanato and Laito (idk about other boys) are the most misunderstood character in this fandom (Ruki alone, all because people doesn’t understand his action and try to rationalize them in their own one-way, tunnel-liked, logically wrong way of reasoning, causing the action to look totally stupid and meaningless. Even some resources of him are translated wrong causing even more misunderstandings. (By the way, Reiji fans, Kanato fans, please tag me in posts solving misconceives about your oshi please. I would love to read them. 😔) P/s: Oh and something about Ruki, ofc him killing that cat is wrong, no question asked 👍 Though “=> He should not be entrusted with a pet of all kind bc he’ll kill them” + “=> he hates cats” is also wrong (yall be paying too much attention to the cat and forgot about the bird scene. Those birds he refused to feed. Did he lay a hand on them may i ask?)
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thatoneguy031 · 1 year ago
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Once again, my buddy Dres comes in clutch!
Since I'm already a fair way through Prism(I'm at the area where you play that board game with the wild Pokemon), I decided to play through a game he suggested:
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Pokemon Black & White 3: Genesis!
It sorta just made sense. Jason's adventure takes place in Unova(If you can't tell, I'm really struggling to write his story), and it's also my favorite region(Being a Samurott has nothing to do with this, I have my fair share of beef with this place). That, and I've never really gotten the chance to beat the original B & W or their sequels. The furthest I've gotten was that one farm area in Blaze Black(I was there for hours, trying to evolve my Riolu into a Lucario).
I heard that it's literally just Gen 2 Unova, so I'm excited to see what they do with that. GSC has some of my favorite spritework, since a lot of them have very dramatic and dynamic poses, and some even show a side of a Pokemon you'd never see before.
With that being said, let's do this!
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I'll play as the male, mostly because I'm a guy, but there's no preference besides that.
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...What the heck did you do to Juniper?! Where is she??
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OH! As relieved as I am, the question still stands: Where's Ex-Professor Juniper?
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Hi to you too, Bianca! Nice to know that you're doing great!
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All this within the span of two or three years? Talk about dedication! (I get that Sonia did basically the same thing, but I don't count her yet since I don't know how long she's been the Professor's assistant).
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Yeah, I know that much. No offense, but you do see who you're talking to, right?
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A name, huh...?
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My go-to is Jason, since he's sorta just my trainer sona, but I want to do something a little different.
So... Let's do that "something different."
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I've probably(most likely) never told you about him. Snow is another trainer that traversed the Unova region at some point. I'll tell you more in a future post.
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Thanks! ...I mean, "...It does the job."
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"It's not as though I have much say in the matter..."
*Snrk-*
Hmhaha...
HAHAHAHAHA!
I freakin' refuse to keep up such an edgy attitude!
I forgot for a bit exactly how I wrote Snow. I swear, his backstory is depressing as all heck, and you'd really sympathize with the dude, but I'm losing it because of my impression of him!
Ha ha... Ha...
Anyways, with that being said, that's the beginning of BW3! I'll make a part 2... sometime tomorrow, I guess! Or today. Honestly, who knows.
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bangtangalicious · 4 years ago
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death valley (m) | part 8
summary: welcome to death valley. once you’re in, there’s no telling whether you’ll make it out alive. a summer internship turns wild with blurry nights of dangerous men, dirty money, and extremely hot sex. you soon get caught in a savage game of greed, power and obsession, only to find out that you are the grand prize
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pairing: ot7 x f.reader smut ft: jin x reader, jungkook x reader, taehyung x reader
genre: smut. yandere. mystery. thriller. gang!au rockstar!au fightclub!au
wordcount: 9.0k
warnings: reader discretion advised. rough sex, physical roughness, sadism kink, pain kink, breast play, fingering, elevator sex (semipublic), praise kink, dirty talk, unrealistic endurance (this is one day LMAO), attempted fire play, bondage, guns, attempted shootings, knife play if you squint, spanking, degradation (name calling, slut shaming, being really mean lolol thanks jin), crying kink? lot of crying, toxic and manipulative behaviors, jin steps on you so there’s that, character death, heavy drug use, paranoia/fear, voyeurism, sex while intoxicated, me trying to put some humor where i can, sweet dom!jungkook, wild dom!jin, and a sprinkle of dom!taehyung ;) ALSO eyebrowpiercing!jungkook. very important. 
a/n: s/o soowoozoo!bts for being my inspo. 
part 0 | part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7 | part 8 | part 9 | part 10 | part 11 | series navi | masterlist |
F L A S H F O R W A R D--
Goosebumps spread across your skin as the silence set in. The room was chilly, air conditioner buzzing in contrast to the slick humidity of the summer night waiting for you outside. The white light made your eyes ache, the walls were plain, dry, empty.
You stared blankly at the table in front of you. The sound of the pen scratching paper made you ache, remembering kinder days when you and Hobi would be goofing around and writing songs. How did you get here? How did you let this happen?
The previous night, you had dreamt of being at a concert, somewhere far from Death Valley. Losing yourself to music and molly, a soft pair of hands on your hips as you danced the night away, singing at the top of your lungs. Those same hands wrapping around your waist, nose tracing behind your ear to whisper to you how pretty you were. How hot you looked and how badly he wanted to tear your clothes off with his teeth. 
You allowing him to pick you up so easily, take you back to his car where you scrambled into the back seat. Like children. The first kiss was magic, you were glued to him and could barely move on. He wouldn’t leave you for a second, he wouldn’t let you breathe. Your lips were hot on each other, soft moans and giggles. Swallowed smiles as you drank one another in, bodies like waves crashing against each other.
Hands wandering until he had you where he wanted. Where you wanted. He loved you down so incredibly good. How he was able to tear you apart while still being so sweet, you could barely even fathom. His teeth dug into the flesh of your breasts, fingers hooking around your panties. 
His tongue ravished your figure. There was no part of you left untouched, no part of you that wasn’t completely ablaze with arousal. You would arch your neck back as he lapped away at the sweetness dripping between your legs, your hands combing through his wavy black hair.
His tongue knew where to go, he knew how you liked it, and your fist clenched as he fucked you with his mouth through and through. He always made sure you came first. Always. Every single time.
Whether you had mere minutes or long hours, he loved the way you tasted, making sure you knew that at every chance he got. Sloppy wet kisses traveled up your stomach to your chest, up your neck, hands caressing your ass, scratching your back, holding you close for a moment. 
You were whisked away into heaven, just briefly, as his thick cock would push into you. Your pussy pulling him in, wanting to feel the familiar but oh so incredible stretch that only he gave you. 
Taehyung. You sobbed as he fucked you, allowing him to kiss the glossy tears off of your cheeks as he rolled his hips, angling so perfectly to nudge deep within you. His sinister grin, his giggles, his chaos. You were in the hands of disaster but you never felt more safe. 
Why are you crying dumbass? He would find your state amusing, continuing to fuck you, thrusts long and smooth. Quick, but slow enough for you to savor each second. Your whining lost behind the wet sound of your bodies colliding.
Where are you? Are you watching this right now? You’re not really dead are you?
Stroking your cheek, he leaned down to whisper against your mouth. The words he would keep on saying, echoing back to you. Play along. I won’t hurt you.
What exactly you were playing, you were unsure. 
“Look at me” Your eyes darted up to meet Jin’s deceivingly innocent eyes. “I’m gonna ask you again, did you kill Kim Taehyung?” 
You gulped, sweat collecting onto the cold handcuffs around your wrists. Jin glanced at the mirrored wall, before letting out a heavy sigh. 
“It appears that Kim Taehyung was murdered about two hours before the party. We found your gun near the body.” Jin holds up the custom weapon Yoongi had given that was unmistakably yours. “Where were you at that time?” You felt your eyes getting heavy.
“I was” You lips were chapped, mouth clammy with a bitter taste. You looked him dead in the eye, stomach sickened by the amusement glistening within them as you struggled with your response. You knew he was getting a kick out of it. You wanted to spit on his face. You wanted to slap him, to scream, to flip the table and break out of the windowless room that caged you.
“I was with...y..” Jin smirked, leaning back. You cleared your throat, mind running a mile a minute.
“With who Y/n?”
You glared at him. He was treating this as some sort of role play. You felt queasy at the thought. Someone was dead. Dead. 
“You. I was with you”
F L A S H B A C K--
The morning rays slid through the expansive glass wall of the hotel room, causing Yoongi’s eyes to flinch, squinting as they opened and took in the day that presented itself. He sighed heavily, the weight of the previous night still on his mind. You were still asleep, but he could see through the chaffing beneath your wrists that you were not comfortable. He took the leash and fastened it to the headboard, ensuring you had no escape. 
Grabbing his keys, Yoongi quickly got dressed in a white hoodie and left the room. He needed to find out the truth for himself. He couldn’t afford to have you lying to him already. 
It was so frustrating to him that you couldn’t just be honest with him. He had been immensely open with you even if he was not proud of what he had to share. Why would you hide things? Hadn’t he proven himself to you? Hadn’t he done everything to win your heart?
Yoongi sighed. His anger issues were core to his being. It was part of his true self, but he had spent years trying to become someone you would fall in love with. All he wanted to do was make home in your heart, but no matter how many of your suitors he ended up threatening, beating to a pulp, and forcing them to bail on you, there was nothing in his power that could tear down that goddamn Park Jimin poster on your bedroom wall.
There was nothing he could do to stop you from writing small fantasies in your journal that you kept stashed in your bedside drawer. 
Yoongi would be lying if he said he didn’t come close to killing Jimin multiple times before. But he realized that would not have delivered him a solution. If Jimin died, you would mourn. You would still harbor that love for him and never have an opportunity to see what he really was. It was because of this Yoongi, with Taehyung’s helpful insight, had orchestrated a way to destroy Jimin in your eyes. 
Jimin was then introduced to Yoongi’s two weapons of destruction, Taehyung and cocaine. Yoongi worked hard to build himself up as a successful music producer. He had to be better than Jimin, had to make sure he could offer you everything Jimin could and more. 
To his surprise, you did move on from Jimin, at least the reality of him. But this fantasy of who he used to be remained pinned to your heart. After Jimin quit music, the mention of his name would still cause you to blush and smile. It made Yoongi want to throw up.
You had to see for yourself. Yoongi learned what it was that attracted you to Jimin and embodied just that. You liked that you had to chase him, you liked that he didn’t give a shit about you. You liked that he never noticed you and you had to pine for his attention. You liked that he was dedicated to his music, you liked the lifestyle he was associated with. You liked his lack of emotion and fantasized of him showing his true colors to you and only you, a sensitive, sweet, charming guy. Anger was not a part of this persona at all. 
When he felt like he had driven Jimin crazy enough with the drugs, he decided to plant rumors on stan twitter that Jimin would be signing with his label. Using his personal relationship with the singer, he was able to sign him on. He conveniently then offered you a summer internship, knowing full well you would be coming for one reason alone. Park Jimin.
Yoongi wanted you to fall straight into his arms. He rented out every available apartment for the months you were searching for a place to live, forcing you to reside in his building. He wanted to win you over naturally. He wanted you to work with Jimin, hook up with Jimin, and end up loathing him. Loving Yoongi instead. 
Jimin’s gang activity was getting on Yoongi’s nerves. Taehyung told him Jimin was in Death Valley, that you saw Jimin at Death Valley. When Yoongi heard from you, not Taehyung, that you had been kidnapped, along with Namjoon nonetheless, Yoongi had enough. He was used to giving Taehyung plenty of unsupervised jurisdiction, so Jimin’s accident was not a surprise to him. 
But you sympathized with Jimin, which was not what he wanted. He then decided to take things into his own hands, threatening Seokjin into throwing the fight to leech Jimin of every cent he had. He broke into your apartment, fucking everything up so that you had no choice but to come to him. To need him. 
And when Jin didn’t lose, he had no choice but to reveal to you who he was. Even after all his honestly, all his trust, you still lied to him. 
Yoongi was furious. He arrived at Death Valley, using the front entrance. Pulling a mask over his face, he barged in, surveying the silence as a sign that the bar was empty. Through the kitchen he arrive at the back storage room, accessible only by key, where all of the surveillance had been set up years ago. 
Monitors were spread across the wall, but Yoongi’s eyes narrowed in at one that was coming up with no feed. Your apartment. Someone had fucked with the cameras. Yoongi types away at the main monitor, enlarging your apartment footage and reeling back to find the moment the device was destroyed.
He sees Taehyung, whispering something to you. Next thing he knows the stream is blank. He grits his teeth, as all the pieces fall into place. He was a fool. How could he have been so blind? Taehyung must be in love with you. He must have, after watching you for so many years. Yoongi scowled at the thought of the ways Taehyung may have seen you, naked, vulnerable, ways that only he should. 
He had trusted Taehyung. Taehyung had only ever shown interest in money and Yoongi thought that was enough. Taehyung must have fucked you over and over again once the cameras were dead. What a whore. It made sense then that he had cut the line through his branding on you. He was the only one who could have. He had access to you and he was psychotic! He must have forced you to lie. You wouldn’t ever hide anything from Yoongi, no, Yoongi was the man of your dreams. You felt grateful that you had him, didn’t you?
He tilted his head, cracking his knuckles before he punched the glass screen, causing the feed to go haywire and sparks to erupt. Kim Taehyung. You are dead to me.
Yoongi growled lowly before picking up his phone. “It’s me. I need to see you. Now” 
-
Hobi kept his hand on the small of your back as he led you down to the hotel bar. The two of you nodded politely at the staff members who were busily preparing for the big event. The bar was empty aside for a few guests enjoying their brunch-time mimosas.
Hobi couldn’t really revel in the fact that the two of you were getting drinks together, almost like a date. His mind was too caught up in the initial shock he felt when he saw you tied up in his boss’ bedroom. He felt upset, but moreso he felt violated. He wondered if you were getting taken advantage of. Did he promise you a promotion? Was he manipulating you?
Punishing someone like that, Hobi was never one to kink shame, but it seemed a bit much. The name burned into your skin did nothing to ease his concern. Someone who was possessive, violent, impulsive. It reminded him of...
Hobi didn’t know. He didn’t know who gave him orders. He really didn’t care once the cash rolled in, but it began hitting too close to home. He wasn’t thrilled about hurting Namjoon, but two duffel bags of cash were enough for him to momentarily set aside his morals. 
“What should I get?” You surveyed the small menu of cocktails. “What’s gonna fuck me up the fastest?”
Hobi snorted, “Tequila” He twirled your hair as your gaze remained glued to the menu. The thought of you being in danger upset him greatly “Y/n...when did Yoongi brand you?" You called the bartender ordering a line of shots to which the they glanced at the clock before giving you a weird look.
“The night of the rematch” You told him, reacting before you realized what you had said. Your lip tucked between your teeth as you tried to conjure an excuse. A row of shot glasses was placed in front of you. You took one, gulping it down before letting out a heavy sigh. The bitterness burned down your throat. You basked as the liquid hit your mind, easing you slightly.
“Yoongi was at the fight?” Hobi recalled the wild night that the three of you had been at Death Valley. It was the first time he ever saw the man giving him orders. The man was tall, broad, had dark hair and wore dark clothes, face covered in a mask. Could it have been...Yoongi?
“Y/n!” The two of you turned to see Jungkook approaching the bar. He had changed his hair, the blue swapped for a short black cut, and you couldn’t help but double take at his new eyebrow piercing. 
You downed another shot, glancing at Hobi who had raised his eyebrows seeing the drug dealer. Jungkook gave you a light hug, waving timidly to Hobi. You smirked, another shot down the hatch. “Easyyyy Y/n” He placed a hand on your back as he slid into the seat next to you.
“The fuck are you doing here?” Hobi sneered. Jungkook rolled his eyes, used to the condescending treatment of gang members. "Didn’t you get stabbed or something?”
“I did!” Jungkook grinned, “In fact, that’s exactly why I’m here. I think I figured out who Mr. Bossman is, and I wanna fucking kill him”
Hobi rolled his eyes, “Oh really”
“Kim Seok-motherfucking-Jin baby. He stabbed me. He’s the one who showed up and threatened me to move out of Y/n’s apartment, so he’s probably also the one who called for the kidnapping. And he might have called for Jimin’s accident. It makes so much fucking sense”
Jin did what? There was not enough alcohol in your veins to act like you didn’t fully understand what he had just said. Jin had Jungkook move out? It wasn’t impossible. And that’s what scared you. You blinked at Jungkook incredulously, “But he’s literally a police officer”
Jungkook’s grin widened, “Exactly! It’s fucking brilliant. He’s a cop, he fights for the other side. He wins no matter what and can never get caught. No one would ever suspect him. Winning despite being threatened? Who threatened him huh? It’s a fucking ploy. You’re not dead and neither is he I bet. Kingpin. Boom”
You felt sick, knowing that Yoongi was not the only person you needed to be worried about. It was almost funny how blatantly misinformed Jungkook was. “Wow you guys are idiots.” You muttered under your breath, taking another shot before coughing roughly. Should I tell them? Why did Jin lie? Is this even the truth? Jin always tried to pin things on Jungkook, but you defended him. Hearing his words now made your head spin. He’s lying. Jungkook is lying. You wanted to scream, frustration flooding through your veins as you clenched your fists.
“I’m gonna tell Jimin and Taehyung what I know. They will give me so much money dude.” Jungkook chuckled, “And then they’d kill him, oh God finally”
Hobi pursed his lips, mouth feeling dry as he reflected on Jin’s eerie words before he shot him in the leg. He didn’t know where Jin was anymore, handing him off to be taken somewhere. It didn’t make sense. His orders were to seize Jin if Jin won the fight. Why place an order like that all? Why do any of this?
“Y/n, come with me.” Jungkook tugged at the sleeve of the oversized Nirvana shirt you had thrown on after your shower session with Hobi. You giggled, the thought of Taehyung coming into your slowed thoughts like a hurricane, tearing up any understanding you thought you had of the situation. There was only one thing you believed. Only one thing you knew with full certainty and it was all you could hold onto.
“Oh my goodness it’s Yoongi. It’s Yoongi. It’s always been Yoongi” The words spilled from your lips like the tequila that dripped down the side of your lips as you took yet another shot, giggling like a ditz. Jungkook and Hobi exchanged confused looks with each other, only making you laugh more. “I would fucking know okay!” Your laughs grew loud, “I was locked up in his fucking apartment and where the hell were all of you huh? Dumb fucking idiots!” You buckled over, laughing into Jungkook’s chest.
“Jungkook” Hobi sighed, “I gotta get back to work. Can you get her sober please?” Jungkook nodded. He held your waist tightly helping you stand, walking with you carefully to the hotel elevator.
The laughter wouldn’t stop. Passerbys shot the two of you dirty looks as Jungkook pulled you into the elevator easily. Through it’s glass walls you could see the midday skyline, where outside people hustled through life as if everything were normal. Must be fucking nice. “Y/n” Your laughs began to choke in your throat, turning instead to the sobs you tried to suppress with whatever will you had left. 
Jungkook placed his soft lips on your shoulder. Hands sliding onto your waist as he peered at you curiously, “Y/n, is everything okay?”
You shook your head, the elevator door closed as tears began forming in your eyes. Your voice croaked, “I’m dead. He’s gonna kill me. T..taehyung is gonna kill me. I...I know he will. He’s everywhere. Everywhere.” You looked around frantically, suddenly feeling hyperaware of the security cameras littered throughout the public space. “I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone...I” You hiccuped. Jungkook pulled you into a tight hug.
“It’s okay ssh” He stroked his thumbs them across your cheeks, cupping your face affectionately. “I’m here aren’t I?” You sniffled, nodding lightly. “I got you okay. No one is gonna hurt you”
You stared into his kind brown eyes. You did not trust him, your entire body was screaming at you not to trust him. His fingers danced down your figure, freely gliding over your heaving chest, desperately trying to breathe with the fear that choked you from within.
You blinked at him, eyes glancing down at his pouty lips before finding his eyes again. “Y/n” Jungkook whispered, barely inches from your lips. “I won’t let anyone hurt you okay. I promise”
Fat tears rolled down your face at his words. Jungkook clicked his tongue, cooing at you as he continued to wipe away your hears. “Oh you poor thing” He held you to his chest, kissing the top of your head, before tilting your face up to his. 
He leaned in, eyes fluttering shut as his lips landed on yours, swallowing you into him. The taste of tequila was evident on your lips as he kissed you softly, and you allowed yourself to surrender to his warm touch.
You felt heat pooling in your chest as his fingers trailed up your legs. He traced circles into the inside of your thighs, letting his fingers tease the edge of your shorts. 
“Jungkook” You inhaled sharply, his hot breath tickling your neck as you tilted your head back. He licked his lips before sloppily latching onto your collarbone, sucking down to litter your skin with wet kisses as his fingers slid down your shorts, just barely so that he could roll his hips into you.
He pushed you back against the glass, fingers trailing across your bare thighs before sliding beneath your panties. Jungkook ran a finger over your clothed folds, making you clench down. 
“Y/n” His voice sounded equally as desperate as yours, barely audible over the sound of his heavy breathing. “Fuck I missed you” You gasped as his fingers slid under the fabric. He pushed a finger in, allowing your tight cunt to accustom to it before adding another finger not long after. 
His other hand slid beneath your shirt, pushing your bra up so he could run his thumb over your nipples, his touch featherlight, leaving you breathless. You rolled your eyes back in pleasure, bucking your hips up as he slowly pumped you with his fingers.
“That’s it baby, just like that” He whispered, lips pressing into your neck. You let out a shaky moan as his fingers quickened, pumping in and out of you as you latched onto his shoulders. “Look at me. Look right at me baby”
He brought his lips over yours, just brushing them across your skin so he could gaze deep into your eyes as you fucked yourself onto his fingers. You cried out his name as the friction began to overwhelm you. His fingers easing you right where you needed them, pleasure searing through you as he watched your every move.
"So good for me” He pulled his fingers out, doused in your sticky arousal before he placed them into his own mouth. Your eyes widen as he licked of every last bit of you and smiles. “You taste so fucking good baby”
He kisses you again, harsher this time as his hips roll against you. Your fingers grip his hair as he pulls down his sweats, allowing his cock to spring out. 
“You want my cock?” He ran his tongue over your lips, tugging at them slightly as he stroked his cock. You could feel his hand moving between your legs. “You want my big cock in your little pussy?”
You gulped, nodding as Jungkook looked down, lining his tip against your folds, pushing in only slightly before meeting your eyes again. “So warm and wet for me, fuck” He pushed in further, groaning as you spread your thighs wider, allowing him to thrust as deep as he could. He stilled briefly, kissing you again “You take me so well baby fuck. So fucking tight for me. My pretty baby” He stroked your face, thumb pushing into your mouth slightly.
“Does it feel good?” He mumbled, pulling out just slightly before rolling his hips back into you. He picked up a rhythm, fucking you deep and slow, hands clawing at your breasts.
“Yeah...feels really good” Your eyes fell shut, enjoying the fulfilling pleasure of his movements. He pulled your shirt up, burying his face between your breasts as he continued to fuck up into you. 
“Mmm yeah I bet” He pushed your bra up, allowing his fingers to pinch you nipples. He took one into his mouth, wrapping his tongue around the small bud as he began to suckle you, looking up to your face and enjoying your reactions. “You’re so fucking pretty you know that right?” He sucked on your breast harshly before leaving it with a soft kiss and moving onto the other. “So perfect for me”
His thrusts quickened, driving you up the wall as his hands fell to your hips. You burying your face in the crook of his neck as you felt your high approaching. “Jungkook...I’m...”
“Yeah?” Jungkook’s voice was raspy with lust, “You wanna cum baby? Cum for me baby, cum all over my cock, wanna hear you make those pretty little moans when you cum”
You cried out with every thrust as he pushed you over the edge, and you felt your pussy burst with pleasure as you came, the sloppy sounds of your arousal echoing through the small space. Jungkook groaned as the hot liquid covered his cock, allowing him to slide in and out of you with ease. 
“There you go. Good girl. Good fucking girl, just like that” He gasped, feeling his cock twitch slightly, buried deep in your cunt, “Want me to cum inside you baby?” You nodded, whining slightly, “Yeah? You want it baby? Huh?” Jungkook’s hips thrust furiously at you, and he cupped your face, bringing his forehead against yours so he could look into your eyes as he came. “Want my cum? Want me to fill you up baby?”
“Yeah. I want it. Jungkook please,” Your whiny voice was enough to have him spurting through you.
“Holy fuck” Jungkook buckled over, holding you tight as cum shot out of him, filling you up and leaking out onto the floor.
He pulled out of you quickly, pulling up his sweats while you fixed your own clothes. Sweat painted his forehead as he looked at you, panting with a big smile on his cute face.
“I missed that” He confessed, pulling you back into him by the waist. He knelt down and pressed his lips on yours, letting his hands slide to your ass and squeeze them softly. 
You heard a familiar ring as the elevator door reached it’s destination. You jumped away from Jungkook, unable to get far as the strong boy’s hold on you remained steady. 
"I see stabbing you once didn’t really drive home the message huh Mr. Jeon Jungkook” 
You felt goosebumps spread as you heard the sinister tone of Jin’s voice. He stood leaning against the elevator as if he had been waiting for you, twirling his knife around aimlessly between his fingers. “Too bad, I unfortunately can’t kill you yet” He turned to you and winked, “Both of you come with me”
-
Sweat trickled down from Namjoon’s neck, his eyes glued to the tattered punching bag in front of him. His muscles were still sore, bruises still spattered across his bare chest. He didn’t care. He was sick of feeling helpless. Under the dim lights of the boxing gym, he pushed himself, another hit, more force, ignoring the pain shooting through his limbs with every strike.
“Don’t overdo it” Namjoon rolled his eyes at the sound of the familiar voice. “Last thing you want is to get injured again” He turned to the sound of loafers echoing across the concrete floor.
“What do you want Yoongi?” Namjoon sneered. The producer smirked slightly, patting the punching bag playfully before pacing around Namjoon.
“I’m gonna kill Taehyung, and I know Jimin is gonna break hell. I need you to protect Y/n for me. Can I trust you, Namjoon?” His voice was stern.
“Man, fuck you Yoongi” Namjoon groaned, “I put my life on the line for you constantly and you still have to fucking ask? Promise me. I want out after this. Promise me a record deal”
Yoongi shrugged, “Okay fine. I’ll sign you. Don’t let her out of your sight.” Yoongi inhaled sharply, “And I swear to God Namjoon if you even think about touching her, you’re dead to me. And I will know if you do.”
Namjoon rolled his eyes, lips parted, desperately trying to catch his breath. “Yeah okay. Just get me my fucking record deal”
Yoongi pursed his lips, pulling out his phone and handing it to Namjoon. “Paperwork is ready. You have one job. Don’t fuck up again” Namjoon clenched his fist as Yoongi chuckled in amusement. “I have some business I need to deal with personally. Keep her safe Namjoon, please”
-
You gagged, a puke-ish feeling clogging your throat as you coughed out. Your head was throbbing with pain as you squinted against the gleaming lights from the chandelier above your head. Glancing around, you realized you were back at Jungkook’s place, large dark wooden floors adding to the ambiance that just screamed rich in your face. The plushness of his large bed evident beneath you. 
You get up slightly, peering across the room where you see Jin handing a large duffel bag to Jungkook, whispering something into his ear. Jungkook nods eagerly, shaking Jin’s hand before exiting. He turns back to you, smiling as he realizes you are awake.
“Hey party girl. Recovered from our little day drinking session have we?” Jin chuckled. You scowl, searching around you as your throat desperately demanded water. Jin handed you a glass. “I just got Jungkook caught up, but you and I need to have a little talk” 
You exhaled before emptying the entire glass down your throat. “I know everything” You scoffed in spite, “I know everything you did, you fucking maniac”
Jin smiled wide at the term, “I know. Jungkook told me you think I was behind all of the stuff that’s been going on, stabbing him and kidnapping you. I mean,” Jin laughed, a tinge of condescendence in his voice, “You don’t actually believe that do you? Like, seriously how dumb are these guys. At least you’re smart”
You frowned at his tone, unsure of how to respond. Jin raised his eyebrows at your silence before continuing, “Oh come on Y/n. Use that little brain of yours hm? What the hell would I be gaining from all this? It was Taehyung.”
He extended you a hand, helping you out of the bed and pulling you up to stand before him, “What did he tell you huh? That he’s Yoongi’s friend or some shit? Taehyung doesn’t give a fuck about Yoongi. And I know you know about him screwing over Jimin. He’s trying to take over both gangs, not just Jimin’s, and he’s been lying to you this whole time.”
The bargaining chip. “What do you mean?” You followed the flat echoes of his footsteps down the hallway into the same office that you had Jimin tied up only a few days ago. You suppressed a smile as you noticed the curtains were still torn.
“He’s distracting Jimin and Yoongi with you. He wants them to get up against each other so that he can sway the gang loyalties towards him by showing that their leaders priorities are off. Look here” Jin motioned towards a laptop on the large desk, playing security footage of what appeared to be Death Valley’s parking lot, where people were loading bags of cash into what could have been Taehyung’s car. “He’s robbing them. And you know what else Y/n? When he’s done with all of this, he’s gonna kill them both.” 
No. No way. Betrayal stung you as you process Jin’s words, “You’re just a pawn in his game. You were bait. He just needed to you get Jimin and Yoongi to fight amongst each other. And you let him, didn’t you?” Jin chuckled, patting your cheek. “I know he kept telling you that you could trust him. That he wouldn’t hurt you. It was bullshit Y/n. This man only cares about one thing. Himself”
You thought back to the first night you laid your eyes on him, back when his hair was a faded green, his sweaty tan skin contrasting his dark leather jacket. The look of familiarity in his eyes and the gleam from his diamond studded watch. You were a fool. He strung you along.
“Where is he?” You growled, “I wanna hear it from him. I wanna ask him myself”
“Absolutely. In fact, if you’re up for it, I was wondering if you would be down to do another little mission for me” Jin winked at you. You scowled, folding your arms over your chest, “If we don’t kill him first, he’s planning on killing Yoongi tonight before the party. I know because I got him to let me in on his little coup” Your heart dropped, “You don’t want that do you?”
"No” You blurted. 
“So let’s kill him first. Come on, let’s go get you dolled up for this party”
As you left the office, you couldn’t help but notice a familiar figure standing at the other end of the hallway.
Namjoon? Your eyes locked with his. He pressed a finger to his lips before pointing at Jin and shaking his head. What is he trying to say. Namjoon seemed to have a warning look in his eyes. You simply shrugged at him, before running down the hall to catch up with Jin.
Namjoon exhaled, watching from a window as Jin and you drove off, likely heading to the hotel. Looking at his palm he saw the way his nails left imprints in his skin from how hard he was clenching his fists. Namjoon wasn’t necessarily a fan of Taehyung, but he knew a thing or two about him from Yoongi. Taehyung would never kill people. He was averse to it for some reason, Namjoon always thought it was ironic for him to be a gangster given that quality. Taehyung could torture anyone, threaten anyone, but he didn’t have it in him to take a life. 
Which meant that Jin was lying to you. Namjoon never liked Jin. Even aside from all the hits he had taken from the strong man, he always felt something was off about the guy. He feels uneasy about what he had just seen transpire, and decided to go find Yoongi. 
-
“Do you want some coke?” You were in the middle of washing your face when Jin walked in with a bag of powder. “I could use a hit, I don’t know about you”
“Oh hell yes. Thank you” He poured out a line on the bathroom counter using a quarter, watching with a small chuckle as you inhaled the drug, nose pressed against the cool marble. You sighed, wiping your nose and flashing a big grin in the mirror “Damn. I needed that. I didn’t know that you use”
Jin bit back a smirk, “I do.” He poured another line on the same place, this time taking a hit himself. “A lot”
“Oh. Officer Jin is a druggie like the rest of us huh” You teased. Jin poured himself a gin martini, taking a sip, eyes alight with amusement. “Does that turn you on ever? Do you ever have a hottie cuffed up and they’re like please Officer does that..you know..turn you on?”
Jin’s eyes widened at you “Not any hottie, no. Now if I had you cuffed up saying that” He chuckled, pulling you to him by the waist “That’s a whole other story” You pushed him away playfully.
“What?” Jin said mockingly, “Don’t remember that night where I gave you the best orgasm of your life?” His traced his lips up your jaw, and you could feel his smile against you.
“Wow. Cocky are we?” You raised your eyebrows. “I’ve had some pretty good sex in my life. Hard to say if that was the best”
Suddenly, Jin pulled his knife from his back pocket, glancing in the mirror as he traced the blade across your neck just enough for you to feel the sharp cold metal glide on your skin, pinching without actually making you bleed. “Don’t even lie. You loved fucking me. Don’t you remember? How fucking wet you were?” His breath was hot against your lips, but it was the look in his eyes that had you weak in the knees. 
Taking his knife, he slit clean down your shirt, tearing it off of you to reveal your bare chest. “On the floor slut” His whispered, flirty demeanor now shifted into something dark. Something feral.
You gulped, taking care to slide your bottoms off, not wanting him to slice them up before lowering yourself down onto the tiled bathroom floor. 
Jin set the knife aside, pulling out his lighter and setting in on the counter before shedding his own clothes, even he kicking off his shoes. He lifted his foot, and you watched with a curious gaze as he placed his foot on your chest. He kept the weight off of you, much to your relief, and you couldn’t help but feel absolutely filthy as he rolled your breasts under the sole of his foot. You had never done anything like this. It seemed so dirty, but felt so good. 
“Oh my god Jin” You gasped as he switched onto his other leg, taking his foot and shoving it into your mouth, watching in amusement as you gagged over his toes.
“Look at you. On the fucking floor. Naked little whore. Letting me do whatever I fucking want.” He removed his foot from your mouth, letting you catch your breath before you looked up at him with quivering eyes.
He felt blood rush to his cock at your expression. Licking his lips, knelt down, climbing over you to gently trail his fingers where his foot had been moments ago.
“And you love it” He sneered, letting his nails dig into your breast, “You love the pain don’t you you fucking slut?” When you didn’t answer he grabbed your jaw, pushing his fingers into the edge of your mouth. “I asked you a fucking question”
“Y...yes” You exhaled. You felt his fingers tease your clit, teeth tugging on your lobe as he laughed darkly.
Jin reached for the martini glass “Turn over” He growled. You found yourself with your breasts pressed flat against the floor, Jin’s cock pressing into your ass. You gasped as he poured the drink onto your back. “This is gonna burn. And you’re gonna take it like a good girl. I know you are, you let Yoongi do it so I can too”
“Wait what” Jin pressed your face down with one hand while the other grabbed his lighter, “Jin. Hold on.” Your voice rose in fear, which only turned Jin on more. He watched as you writhed under him, trying desperately to get away. “Jin seriously. That’s not funny”
“Shhh. You can take it” He cooed, flicking the flame on he slowly lowered it to your skin, bringing it nearer and nearer to the doused skin. You yelped as you began to feel the concentrated heat. Your entire body was petrified. “Enjoy it baby. You like it. You love it. You let Yoongi do it so why can’t I?”
“Jin. It’s not you, I'm just not ready for something like this please” Jin cocked his head aside in irritation, stopping the lighter before it actually touched you and tossing it aside. “I didn’t let Yoongi brand me he just did.”
Jin stilled momentarily. “And you still love him? Even though he did that?”
You didn’t answer. That alone was enough for Jin to rage. He slammed your face back down, the blow giving you a dizzying sensation that hat you getting wetter by the second. 
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” He growled, “How can you love someone like that?” He pulled your face up, bending you back until you were flush against his chest. “I don’t want any of them touching you again. You understand me?” He let go, giving you whiplash as you fell back to the floor. “Ass up. Now” He spanked your ass hard, causing you to yelp. The stinging pain vibrated to your core. You couldn’t help but love every second of it. 
Jin knew that you were scared of him, he could feel it. He could also see the way your thighs would clench whenever he did anything to you. You were his favorite drug. He was going to ruin you.
He grabbed his belt from the pile of clothes on the side, “Hands under” He demanded, rolling his lip through his teeth as you obeyed him right away. He took the belt tying your wrists to your knees under you.
He took a moment to admire his work, your shivering body all his for the taking. You had no where to run. He had you now. “Who gives it to you the best him?” Pulling you towards him by your thighs, he didn’t care that your knees would burn against the smooth tile as he lined his cock up with your folds. He spat down, a glob of saliva landing on your ass before he used his cock head to rub it all over you. He could hear your shaky breath, your whiny moans that made him want to fuck you even more. 
He slapped his palm  onto the curve of your ass, bending over your to growl into your ear “Filthy whore. You disgust me. You let them all just do whatever they want to you, don’t you have any fucking self respect?” He could see his words were hitting close to home. You pursed your trembling lips as Jin smacked you again in the same place. 
“When will you fucking learn huh? This pussy” He reached his hand to harshly cup your cunt, shoving two fingers inside you without warning. “This pussy belongs to me. You’re mine. My cockslut whore” Taking his fingers out, he shoved them into your mouth “You taste that? That how desperate your needy little cunt is for me”
Your legs were strung together, making it all the more painful when he finally began to push his cock inside you, using his fingers to scissor you open so that he could get deep inside you. His length pushed against your tight walls, your cries and curses only motivating Jin to push further. 
“Who owns this cunt huh?” Jin pulled your hips back, burning your knees each time as he pulled you on and off his cock. Your ass slammed into him with each blow. 
“You do. Holy fuck, you do” You gasped, practically screaming as your whole body ached with pain and pleasure. 
“That’s right baby” He pinched your clit, making you yelp as he flicked at it, pounding into your relentlessly. 
“J..Jin” You mumbled, lips still half pressed on the floor, “Jin please. Feels good” Jin scoffed, “Gonna cum...gonna cum” You inhaled loudly as you felt your high approaching. Your eyes clenched shut as he edged you closer and closer, fingers furiously attacking your clit until he stopped.
You let out a loud sob as Jin yanked you up by your neck “You really thought I would let you cum whore?” His grip tightened, cock twitching at the way your voice sounded choking, the water streaming from your eyes and the drool at the edge of your lips. He kissed you, licking it all up in the process.  
“Look in the mirror. Look at how pathetic you are. I want you to remember the only person who’s ever gonna let you feel this good” You looked at your reflection, seeing only your faces and the way Jin’s nails dug into your neck. He pushed you forward so that your chin was on the countertop. You coughed out, watching as he resumed his thrusts, punishing your clit with the jarring movements of his fingers. 
You screamed, pleasure crashing over you in a wave of tantalizing heat. You gushed onto his cock, tears falling from your eyes due to how overwhelming the sensation was. Jin continued to whisper filth right into your ears but you could no longer hear anything. Your vision became hazy, not minding the blow when Jin shoved you back onto the floor and pounded you to his own release.
On the other side of the wall, Namjoon leaned his head back and sighed, glancing down to see his cock in his hands, now completely covered in cum.
-
Taehyung chewed on his gum nonchalantly as he paced around the luxurious hotel, checking out all the fun features. The pool deck was nice, the lobby exquisite, and his favorite part, the cafe, smelt delicious. 
Yoongi had asked to meet him in his suite. On his way there he ran into you, and you knocked his breath away. He always thought you were beautiful, but tonight you looked elegant. It was such a surprising contrast to your usual getup, but you looked amazing. He was about to tell you just that when he finally registered the hurt look in your eyes.
“You liar” You slapped him with everything you had. Taehyung backed away in surprise. “How could you use me like that? Over and over again. I trusted you. You were really the only one I thought had my back. Without a fucking doubt” You lunged towards him for another hit but Taehyung held your wrist firmly.
“What are you talking about? When did I use you?” Taehyung looked around frantically, “Calm down okay, let’s go somewhere and talk this through.” Your eyes flared in anger. 
“Don’t fucking tell me to calm down! You’re gonna kill them!” You screamed. Taehyung squinted, noticing the slight redness in your eyes. He sighed in understanding, pulling you by the wrist into a corridor. 
“Y/n. Breathe. Tell me what’s going on” Taehyung attempted to calm you down but you were enraged. “And what the fuck are you on?”
Admittedly, you and Jin had ended up doing many more lines of coke, perhaps even molly, you were no longer sure, but you washed it down with the bottle of gin, finding it unprecedentedly hilarious that Jin liked to drink gin martinis. 
“You used me! To fuck with Jimin! And Yoongi! You lied to me! Everything you said was a fucking lie, everything you did, every stupid word that came out of your stupid mouth was a lie! You just want power. You’re selfish, and...and...you’re gonna KILL them” A dramatic gasp left your lips, Taehyung almost laughed, “You’re gonna kill Yoongi. I...I can’t let you do that”
You pulled out your gun, cocking it and pressing it against Taehyung’s chest. He instantly put his hands up. “Y/n. Y/n stop. That’s not true okay you’re not thinking straight. Don’t do something you’ll regret”
Your hands trembled around the gun “You’ll kill them. You’ll kill them both...I can’t let you do that”
“Hold on!”
Too late. You pulled the trigger.
-
Hobi wandered through the parking lot looking for his car. His eyes narrowed on a familiar vehicle, thinking back to when he had loaded the drug money from the last fight. 
So. Is that guy Yoongi then? The one I kept seeing? Hobi wandered over to the car. Peering inside the passenger window, his eyes locked on a small item on the floor of the car. He squinted to read it, it appeared to be some sort of credit card.
He stepped back, realizing what the name on the card was. He glanced around before taking the end of his gun and ramming it into the door handle. The door creaked open, allowing Hobi to swipe the card up. He slid it into his pocket, before hurriedly returning to the hotel. 
-
Namjoon’s eyes widened as he watched you pull a gun out on Taehyung. He had been thoroughly entertained as you yelled and slapped him, knowing full well that you were high out of your mind. 
Namjoon couldn’t understand Jin’s plan at all. He had eavesdropped on everything so far, as per Yoongi’s orders. Why would Jin ask you to kill Taehyung, why wouldn’t he just do it himself? He knew you would hate yourself if you actually killed him. 
He had also been thoroughly disappointed at how easily Jungkook had bought into Jin’s agenda as well. The things people do for money. Namjoon sighed, realizing that he was pretty much acting on similar motivations. 
You were ready to pull the trigger, and Namjoon was almost certain you wouldn’t do it, until he saw your finger begin to curl. He ran towards the corridor as fast as he could.
“Hold on!” He yelled, but it was too late. Taehyung’s eyes flew shut.
Namjoon blinked, not hearing the familiar gunshot sound. You looked equally confused, glancing down the barrel of your gun. Taehyung let out a shaky sigh of relief, sliding down the wall.
“It...was a blank” You mumbled. Namjoon rushed to your side, pulling you away from Taehyung. “What the...what was I just about to do?” His heart clenched as your lips parted in shock.
“Taehyung are you okay?” Namjoon asked. Taehyung nodded, clearly shaken up but managing to get a hold of himself. 
“What the fuck is going on?” He growled, “Who gave her a gun? And who gave her drugs while she had a gun? Fucking hell”
Namjoon stroked your back as you let the gun drop to the floor, the weight of your actions finally hitting you. 
“I’m so sorry. Taehyung I...” You looked into his eyes. Those eyes that always left you questioning what was really going on in that pretty head of his. 
“Yeah. Jin fucking fed her some interesting stories about how you’re using her. At least I hope they’re just stories” Namjoon peered at him. “I’m Namjoon by the way, we haven’t officially met”
Taehyung shook his hand “Hi Namjoon. I heard you make pretty decent music” He chuckled ironically, “Y/n, I need you to tell me everything Jin said. There’s been some sort of misunderstanding, I promise you I wasn’t taking advantage of you.”
Namjoon made a face, exchanging a glance with you as you nodded slowly. Namjoon was not entirely sure he should believe Taehyung. He supposed it wouldn’t matter, when he knew that Yoongi was planning to kill Taehyung anyways. The more information he had, the better he could at least keep you out of trouble. 
P R E S E N T  D A Y--
Security escorted you and Jimin out immediately as the media broke into a frenzy trying to figure out what had happened. You had hoped your acting skills had convinced him. 
After Taehyung sobered you up slightly, the three of you had sat and schemed. Using everything the three of you knew, you were able to figure out that it really was Jin behind Jimin’s accident, your and Namjoon’s kidnapping, as well as Jungkook’s attempted murder. He was able to do all of this using Hobi’s help, but Hobi seemed not to know that he was receiving orders from Jin.
The question remained how and why. 
“I know you’re not going to believe me. So I have proof” Taehyung pulled his phone out, pulling up a recording of Jin tied up somewhere.
All I ask, is that when the dust settles, Y/n is mine. And I get to kill them. My way
You felt queasy seeing his earnest expression through the film. Namjoon’s jaw clenched, recognizing crazy when he saw it, wishing he could have knocked the guy’s brains out beforehand.
“Listen to me. This guy is dangerous. I don’t really understand why he’s doing all of this. He said he wanted to help me, but clearly there’s some other motive here. Otherwise he wouldn’t go behind my back.” Taehyung muttered.
“The only way to know what he wants is to see what he does next” Namjoon pitched in. 
You glanced between the two men, feeling weirdly relieved that you finally had some solid answers. Having Namjoon by your side after so long was the best thing you could ask for at the moment, and you clung to him, hands wrapped around his arm tightly. He thought it was cute.
“Let me fake my death. Let’s see what he does.”
The drivers took you and Jimin to the precinct. You looked around for Namjoon but he was nowhere to be seen. Your eyes met Jin’s briefly as he signed some paperwork. He winked at you.
“Can I have the body taken to get an autopsy report please?” You weren’t phased by this. Taehyung had said he had enough contacts to make it truly believable that he had died. Jimin’s face was void of emotion as he watched the stretcher go past with the body on it.
You left the hold on his hand, your blood running cold as the body nears you. It was loosely covered with a white sheet, but the arm hung out limply from the sight.
That watch. That’s his watch.
Jimin pressed his lips to the top of your head, sliding his arm around your shoulders to pull you closer to him “You okay babe?” 
“I...no yeah, I’m just shocked” You stammered. You looked up at him, allowing him to place a loving kiss on your lips.
Jimin felt for you, he really did. He himself was generally an emotional person, it was not something he ever tried to hide. But he always felt like his emotional energy was valuable. He didn’t feel the need to cry. Not for Taehyung.
Jimin stroked your back softly, “It’s scary, I know. I know baby, but don’t worry” He licked his lips, eyes briefly meeting Hobi’s from across the room. Hobi gave him a knowing look.
“Don’t worry. It’ll all be over soon”
ᐊ——[ previous ] series navi | masterlist | [ next ]——ᐅ
a/n: WOOHOOO. the fun is really gonna start now. did you miss yoongi? don’t worry, he’ll be back. drop your theories in my asks! who killed taehyung? what’s jin’s deal? 
smut pairs are up for next week! poor oc, she really needs to eat some food. yikes.
see you then & thanks for reading <3 happy juneteenth! 
taglist: @imluckybitches @gee-nee @missseoulite @hcneybees @kooookie​ @queenmasterxx @crustycaitlin @virgo-and-libra @un2-verse @winter-melontea @equivocacies​ @infernal-alpaca @shrimpmsg @meowmeowyoongles @rjsmochii @liltangerined @littlrmills14-blog @issysor @arandomblackgirl @adoringinsanity @giadalin @jeontier @kaithezaftig @jinssexytoe @nonnis97@minyoongiboongi @happygirl62304 @just-me-and-myselfs @purplepebbles @channiespup @lilacdreams-00 @kianam @thmrdrs @kpoppin-mel @namjooningelsewhere @lolzerss @planetsope @ohmykim @xyahrinx @bangtan-army @you-are-my-wind
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ichika27 · 3 years ago
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Luke and the Fall of Akzeriuth
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I’m making a separate post about this due to the sheer length of it. I have so many things to say bottled up all the way from the first time I watched Tales of the Abyss. Rewatching it made me feel things again and I have to release those in words. This should’ve been in my thoughts post for episode 8 but it’ll make that super long and it would end up being not just about the episode if I added all of that there.
Plus, Luke is like one of my favorite characters so I want to make dedicated posts about him. This was originally titled “My Thoughts on Luke” but I retitled it cause this is more about a specific arc than just about Luke. And I may or may not make a post that’s about just Luke in general where I could use the original title later on.
These are mostly my personal opinions, by the way. These are my thoughts based on the stuff on the show and extra info about the original game I read online.
[Warning for spoilers from episode 8 and beyond]
Luke is at fault for the destruction of the Sephiroth as it was his power that did it although he was tricked. I’m not gonna say he did nothing and I can understand why everyone got mad at him for not taking even the least bit of responsibility for his actions that ended in tragedy. It can be quite infuriating to see and hear his reaction after something that horrible had happened. He wasn’t even apologizing and kept pushing everything away.
On the other hand, I could understand why he was in denial as well: it can be pretty hard to accept that you did something wrong and much more so if that “wrong” is the destruction of an entire city which kills thousands of people. That’d weigh on anyone especially someone like Luke who recently was just starting to get used to having to kill people as self-defense.
Thing is, I think it’s not just Luke but also everyone else had some kind of fault as to how it all ended up this way.
Luke’s Personality Change:
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First of all, Luke being a jerk through their journey towards Akzeriuth did not help make anyone in and out of universe to sympathize with him. Thing is, rewatching this made me see the difference between how Luke was in the first couple of episodes compared to Luke on their journey to Akzeriuth.
I pointed out before that Luke is kind and understanding when he notices something is wrong. He just doesn’t know how to express how he feels like apologizing to someone or trying to make someone feel better. He’s also defensive of people he likes. The worse about him before was he’s annoying and ignorant due to his very, very sheltered noble upbringing and (now I can finally say it) the fact that he’s a seven year old replica.
Compare that Luke to the one these past few episodes: he’s much more impatient and inconsiderate of others’ feelings. He’s more arrogant and insensitive, too. He was worried about Ion being kidnapped and wanted to save him but before and after that, a lot has happened which I think contributed to why he just became terrible:
-Van telling him things like Luke be used as a weapon, people were lying to him and are gonna keep him “locked up” longer, and that he’d (Van) take Luke away from here after everything is over.
-Luke had always felt like he’s being treated like an idiot because of his “amnesia” with no one explaining things to him and everyone looking down on him. It doesn’t help that it’s happening again on their journey - he’s asking important questions no one wanted to answer.
-Luke seeing Asch’s face. He didn’t know who Asch was but he could feel that there’s something absolutely wrong. This made him more irritable than usual.
All of this combined and I think it made Luke just want everything to be over. He just wants to see his Master Van, fix Akzeriuth, and finally leaving and be somewhere he actually likes. Bonus is that if he did the heroics, people would stop looking at him negatively like they always do. While it’s no excuse for his terrible behavior, it makes it more understandable why there’s like this shift in personality suddenly.
I personally think that if the journey was straightforward (Van hadn’t fed him with lies and manipulation and he hasn’t met Asch), he would’ve happily saved Ion without it ending with complaints and they’d move on and he’d listen to the others. He would’ve not have anything else on his mind to make him impatient and he wouldn’t feel upset cause of Asch.
Anyways, his current attitude made it harder for anyone to listen to him. It ended up being a cycle, cause them not saying and explaining anything made his attitude much worse. In return, the more terrible his attitude is, the more they didn’t take him seriously and hating him.
Luke Knowing Nothing:
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Second, on the topic of information withholding. Luke is sheltered and was a blank slate due to being a replica. Everything had to be taught to him and as he said before, it took a while for him to even learn the basics of what his physical appearance could do. He looked ten when he was created and had to be taught what 10yos could already do and as such, he’s kinda behind on a lot of things most people his physical age or older already know as basic knowledge. He doesn’t know anything he wasn’t already informed of and we see that when he asks questions about terminology and lore stuff episodes before.
Luke knowing the least about plot important information helped make it easier for Van to use him. I have said before that Tear isn’t completely right when she said people should make decisions without depending on others. We all need to have at least some information to be able to make decisions. The fact that all of them kept secrets from Luke and were being vague made it easy for Van to feed Luke with lies and bad information. Luke would have nothing to compare them to other than vague warnings from others.
Van had seven years to get Luke to like and trust him so it’s no surprise Luke would take his word easily above everyone else’s. Guy had knowledge about Van but doesn’t know the entire plan and Natalia is also an outsider like Luke was when it came to all of this and those two were the only other people around who have been with Luke just as long as Van was. Tear, Jade, Anise, and Ion were people Luke met just recently and not really in good ways too (plus it’s not like they’re telling him anything either).
Before I expand on my thoughts on that, I wanna say I know why they don’t say anything. It’s more than just Van after all - each of them have their own personal secrets that they’d have to reveal if they decide to give out important info and like Luke, they don’t know the others well enough to give those things away easily.
-Jade is the one with the most info. He’s pretty smart so apart from his knowledge of fomicry that he created (which would explain stuff about Luke and Ion), he’s also perceptive and have deduced some info about the others through their journey. If he revealed stuff about replicas, he’d have to dig up stuff related to his past as well.
-Ion knew about a lot of other important things but because of his position, he wasn’t allowed to just reveal them. He stopped Jade from talking about replicas when they faced Legretta at Deo Pass cause of who he is himself. He’d have to out himself as a replica and explain a crap ton of backstory things if he revealed things he knew.
-Guy knows Van and knows some of Van’s plans. Not all of them as he doesn’t know about the whole “Qliphoth, Outer Lands, and destroying Akzeriuth” thing. He does know Van isn’t who he was trying to appear to be and that Van has some hatred of the fon Fabre family due to their shared backstory of coming from Hod. If Guy had said anything about Van, he’d have to reveal the truth about himself which he couldn’t.
-Tear knows something about Van’s plans as she had called him a traitor and had tried killing him multiple times. She couldn’t reveal what she knows cause she can’t exactly talk about Qliphoth and the truth about their world to everyone else.
It feels like if they had said something, Luke would have second thoughts. He’s protective about those he care about and he thinks of Van as some kind of father-figure. On their journey towards Akzeriuth, Luke is also easily angry and impatient and if you’d notice, he kept talking about how Master Van is the only one he could trust and how he wants to see Master Van soon. What I’m getting at is that, if they tried something, Luke would probably slip and say something Van told him to keep a secret and they would know something is up.
Remember when Tear heard bad things about Grand Maestro Mohs and she was all defensive like “He’s not like that!” and the more others point out otherwise she starts having doubts? I just think it’d have happened with Luke. If they have said something fishy about what’s going on especially about Van, Luke would sooner or later try to debunk them with some stuff he knows.
Like, Tear would have had to start if off with the reason why she wants to kill her brother and then Guy backing some of the things up with what he knows about Van. Then Jade would piece some things together and Ion would also realize some things in the end.
If Luke had important information and second opinions, he would’ve had doubts about what his master would make him do. If everyone else had some inkling of what Luke knows, they would’ve been there with Luke to stop him. The only one there was Ion and somehow it never crossed his mind that Van was planning to destroy the Sephiroth.
Although I wish he would’ve thought things through more since not only were the enemies who kidnapped him making him open the seals like Van was making him do now but doesn’t he think it’d be dangerous to let anyone near the Sephiroth? You know... the pillars literally holding up their entire world from falling down from who knows how high down to where there’s a deadly miasma?
I mean, Ion is still a kid (younger than Luke as Ion is technically only a 2yo replica) but it’s weird he didn’t notice how fishy it was what they were making him do.
Asch and His Failed Attempts:
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And then there’s Asch.
He didn’t know about the plan for Akzeriuth earlier and seem to only have realized recently but he knows a lot about how terrible Van is cause he was kidnapped by him as a child and the whole replica thing. He knows more than Luke does.
Anyways, he tries to stop Luke by basically yelling at the guy and insulting him. He was vague about it, too. It was not hard to see why Luke wouldn’t listen to him: they’ve just met and are enemies. Asch had tried to kill him and had Ion kidnapped plus Asch is part of the Six God Generals who Luke’s group had to fight against. Luke also felt uncomfortable after finding out they have the same face since, while Luke knows nothing, he feels that this meant something wrong.
And Asch just kept yelling and insulting him the entire time. Why would Luke listen to Asch who never gave a good reason to why he should be trusted? That versus Van who had been kind and helpful to Luke the entire time?
Also, Asch after the incident goes “Did you not think of what would happen if you used a hyperresonance?” and like, that’s the thing... Luke doesn’t know enough of what would happen if he uses a hyperresonance.
-Luke only learned about what a hyperresonance is after it was explained to him how he and Tear got transported halfway across the world.
-Luke only learned he could do it on his own on the way back to Baticul and Van was the only one there to explain things to him. Van also demonstrated he could help Luke do something about it and even teach him which no one else had done which made Luke believe his Master Van would know what he should do. 
-Asch doesn’t really say anything other than basically “Don’t go any further or you’d doom us all, dreck!” and “He’s tricking you, idiot!”. No context, no explanation, but has insults. He gave Luke no reason to listen to him.
Master Van and His Interactions with Luke:
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Luke’s family didn’t know he was a replica and didn’t even know anything about replicas and so they all just think Luke has amnesia. They didn’t know he was a different person and not Asch so they have put on him a lot of expectations they had on Asch.
They expected him to get back memories that he doesn’t have, learn things that would be difficult when he knows none of the basics, and overall, they expect him to be the age he appears to be. And this lead to disappointment which affected how they treated Luke.
-Everyone is disappointed that the smart and responsible Luke is now basically a helpless child that can’t even walk, read, or write. This makes them ask why Luke doesn’t know all of those things already and why can’t he learn faster. This means Luke gets looked down on for not meeting those expectations.
-Everyone wants the old Luke. They kept reminding him of the past and wants him to act the same as he used to. This not only annoys Luke cause he just can’t (as those memories are not his own to begin with) but they’re also making him feel bad cause he’s not the Luke they wanted (which actually gets much worse later when the truth comes out).
-Luke’s kidnapping (and him being the sort of chosen one) also caused those around him to be overprotective enough to not let him out of the manor. They had to make him happy inside which meant they spoiled and babied him which is both a good and a bad thing. This also meant he knows less people and is usually not told of anything happening outside which made Luke ignorant.
Point is, Van isn’t any of this. When Luke knows nothing, Van explains and teaches things to him. Van also scolds him when he does something wrong. Van doesn’t force him to be the old Luke. This makes Luke more comfortable and free when around his Master Van. Van is the father figure Duke Fabre isn’t being to Luke.
Van had seven years to be this to Luke. He showed no indication that he isn’t to be trusted and he gave Luke no reason to not listen to him and believe in him. He was able to manipulate Luke by possibly being one of the more positive interactions he had around him as he grew up.
End Thoughts:
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I wish I could say that what happened to Akzeriuth could have been avoided. The sad thing is that there may have been possibilities of them being able to avoid it or stopping it before it got worse. In the end, there’s just so many factors in and out of their control that lead to this ending.
Everyone had their own priorities and they didn’t know each other long enough to trust the others with helping with whatever problems they had (many of which are either close to or are just personal). They also didn’t know and trust each other enough to reveal secrets that would be uncovered if they decided to give out important information that had any connection to them.
It ended up being this really awful scenario for everyone but much more so for Luke. Everyone else also in a way denied their actions (or inactions) that helped caused Akzeriuth’s fall. They all blamed Luke and let him carry all of it and as mentioned before, Luke is still traumatized at having to kill people before and is just at this point having to deal with the fact that he has to continue doing that in order to survive.
It’s why despite how Luke is as a person and his decisions that lead to this moment, I still can’t help but feel bad for him and not completely blame him when to him, it looked like there was no other choice. The only person who gave him any guidance happened to be a manipulative liar and sadly, a person he wholeheartedly trusted for the entire seven years of his life up to this point.
And now after episode 8, he has to deal with more depressing things: the trauma and guilt of what had happened once he finally accepts responsibility, the truth about Guy, the losses he’d experience and the more deaths he would cause, and of course, an existential crisis.
--
Oh my god, this was longer than I expected it would be! I’m so glad I cut this off from my episode 8 thoughts lol. This had more info that was supposed to be revealed in later episodes too so it isn’t just an episode 8 thing anymore.
I do have a bit more thoughts but that’s for later, I guess. I don’t know who would read all of this or if anyone would even want to but if you did, then thank you. I hope this was at least entertaining enough to read and waste time on.
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ashes-in-a-jar · 4 years ago
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The Purrfect Alternative
Premise: Why would there be a cat in the archives? An archive cat fixit.
2.7K words
Rated G
(Tw: A bit of violence but it's against Jurgen Leitner)
This is a fic dedicated to the @jonsimsandcats event! Hope you enjoy it :)
"Sorry, you haven't seen a cat, have you?"
Jon gaped at the larger man who suddenly barged into the office. 
"I-I'm sorry, a what?"
"Uh, a cat, tabby I think." The man hurriedly explained.
"No. No I haven't. Is it.. Supposed to be here?" Jon knew book shops sometimes kept cats. Perhaps archives did as well. Maybe Gertrude had a soft spot in her after all.
"N-no actually. I, uh, I was feeding it on the way in but when I got up with my things, well, my hands were full you see, so when I managed to open the door it sort of slipped in with me? I'm so sorry, I have to find it before-"
"Okay okay calm down, stop." Jon held up his hand and let out a sigh. First day of the promotion and he's already stressed. But it's fine. He's fine. He can handle a cat. He's good with cats.
"Where do you work? Upstairs? Are you sure it came down here?"
"Yes, I saw it. And I just started working down here today? I'm Martin. Blackwood." He offered a hand. Jon automatically took it. Big and soft. He let go a bit too quickly and coughed. 
"Work here? Are you certain?"
"Yes, I'm supposed to let Jonathan Sims know about becoming an archival assistant. He's the head archivist Elias told me to talk to."
"Well that's one thing to cross off your list." Jon smirked. "I'm Jonathan Sims. Jon, if you please. And Elias did not mention you. Tim and Sasha were supposed to be the only new recruits." Jon frowned to himself. He'll have to have a word with Elias about this. It's fine now that it happened but keeping Jon updated could really help in preventing these kinds of awkward introductions with people he's supposed to work closely with.
"O-oh! Well, here I am now too." Martin chuckled nervously, fidgeting with the hem of his jumper.
Jon hummed "So you are I suppose. Well, let's not waste time on trivial matters, there is a cat that needs to be found." Jon got up from his chair.
"O-oh god, you're right. I'm so sorry for this." The other man apologized, remembering why he was there in the first place. It was clear that he now realized that the fact that the person he's asking to help him clear up his mess is his new boss could be very problematic for him. Jon easily sympathized with that kind of familiar pressure.
"It's alright, let's just, get this sorted." Jon was not willing to admit that a part of him was also just looking forward to seeing the cat. It would help distract him from his own stress, as it were.
Ten minutes later the two of them sitting on the floor in the stacks with a chubby tabby cat sprawled on Jon's lap. Jon was petting it affectionately while amicably getting acquainted with his new assistant. The man turned out to be a library veteran with useful cataloging skills that could help with the mess that was left down here. Having calmed down considerably, Martin had stopped fidgeting and was cooing at the cat who was head butting his large palm. Their presence soothed Jon in a way that surprised him. In the tranquil, quiet atmosphere of the stacks, sounds of cat purrs and Martin's low murmurs, he felt almost optimistic that despite his lack of experience and the large task ahead of them, he would be alright. 
-------
Paper meowed loudly behind him as Martin hurried down the tunnel with Jon and Tim at his tail. Martin glanced back as he reached an intersection and noticed they were too far behind, Jon limping on his injured foot. He hesitated, stopping and waiting for them to catch up. Paper came up and rubbed his leg before trotting down the tunnel on the right, tail held high and confident. Martin inhaled deeply to catch his breath, starting to walk again, this time more slowly. They managed to leave most of the fast worms behind and the ones down here were few and sparse enough to easily stomp down individually. Paper was making a game out of it.  He kept leaping onto some that crawled ahead of them, squishing them loudly with his paw. 
Jon and Tim caught up and the three followed Paper down the dark passage. 
"Yeah, get the damn crawlers." Slurred Tim. The CO2 he inhaled was not helping his coherency. 
"You know," gasped Jon, "I actually think they're larvae, given Jane's statement and-" 
"Jon, I'm going to have to ask you to stop now." Martin said, as calmly as he could, his voice a tad too high and loud. 
"... Sorry." Jon said sheepishly. 
They followed Paper down the forking paths, hoping the cat knew where in the seven circles of hell they were. 
Eventually they stopped seeing any worms as the path sloped up, ending in a sudden door. There was daylight filtering in from beneath it. Paper was eagerly pawing at it. 
"Uh, I think we found a secret way out of the institute." Martin could hardly believe their luck. 
"Excellent, now I can ditch work and no one will know I even left." Tim mumbled. 
"Tim, if you wanted to succeed in that endeavor, you should have not said that next to your boss." Jon commented dryly. 
The worm threat no longer being imminent, Martin allowed himself a nervous chuckle. 
They pushed at the door and with a bit of group effort, eventually managed to pry it open into fresh air. They came out into a narrow alleyway which turned out to be not far from the institute. As they walked (limped) down the street to find access to a working phone they heard someone cry out. 
"Jon? Tim? Martin!" They spotted Sasha hurrying towards them, carrying heavy bags of cat food. 
"Sasha! You're okay!" Martin exclaimed. "We were worried you'd get back and be caught in it like Tim had."
"Where have you been?" Jon inquired, straining to stand upright on his own. Martin came closer, gently supporting him by the hip on the opposite side of Tim. 
"We ran out of food for Paper, I figured I'd pop by the store for a moment to get some." Sasha said. "I came back when the building was being evacuated."
"Oh good, at least the alarm worked." Tim said tiredly. 
"What in god's name happened to you three?" She inquired worriedly. 
"Prentiss, we'll fill you in later. We need to make sure the ECDC is informed regarding the CO2 in the fire suppression system that needs to be activated."
"And get you to a hospital." Martin chastised, squeezing Jon's side. 
"Yes yes." Jon waved dismissively but all the while leaning further into Martin's side. He really wasn't discreet, Martin thought smugly. 
Sasha was about to say something else when a loud meow interrupted her. Paper was nosing into the bag, fully aware of its contents and who they were meant for. 
Jon dislodged from Martin and Tim and hobbled towards the cat. 
The cat turned and moved back into Jon's welcoming arms, as the archivist picked him up and stroked him fondly. 
"We are lucky on all accounts that Paper is such a smart cat." He murmured into the soft fur, injury forgotten for the moment. 
Tim chuckled, "cats always ruin evil people's plans, it's a well known fact. Anyway, Sasha, please call an ambulance for us?" He said, and promptly sat on the floor. 
Martin sighed with relief. For now, they are all safe and together. And that's all that matters. 
-------
It was all almost too much to take in. Luckily Paper was held tight in his arms as he listened to Jurgen Leitner ramble on about powers and fears and monsters and Jonah Magnus. He had been chased by a distorted form of his boss, who was apparently replaced by a monster Jon and the crew tried and failed to destroy, thus separating in the ensuing pursuit. In light of these events Jon now needed something soft to ground him in the face of so much new information. 
The discovery of Elias' death was a shock, especially given the fact that apparently it happened when he was trapped in artifact storage during the Prentiss siege a half a year back. 
He (that is, his doppelganger) told them back then that he was trying to reach the suppression system switch when he tripped down the stairs over one of Paper's many scattered toys, alerting Jane in the process and was driven back into the storage area. His account seemed to check out given he was rescued from there by the ECDC after Jane was dealt with. And given the few toys strewn about the stairs leading to artifact storage. Why Paper kept scattering his toys all over the building was beyond Jon but that wasn't the main issue at hand. After trapping the creature in the walls of the tunnels, Jurgen Leitner proceeded to reveal himself. Once Jon dragged him back to his office, and picked the protesting Paper up to calm himself down, he unveiled the truth of Elias', or Jonah's, whole operation. 
Turns out Jonah Magnus decided life was too short to enjoy once and did exactly what eventually happened to him. Talk about karma. Leitner explained that Gertrude's plan was to stop Jonah from... Something he was planning. Perhaps a ritual to end the world in a way the others would fail to do. That bit of information was on a tape of Gertrude which Leitner played for Jon. By the time they reached the part where Leitner said, “they needed to kill Jonah's main body then burn down the archives.” Martin, Tim and Sasha had arrived back at the office as well. 
"Jon? Jon! Are you okay?" Martin rushed forward, hugging Jon tightly, ignoring Paper's loud yowling at being squished in between them. Jon sighed, "Martin, thank god. I-I'm fine." He hugged him back, relieved his boyfriend was safe, as well as his other assistants of course. "It chased after me but he stopped it."
Tim raised his axe, "Jon are you sure he's not... Another one?"
"Yes I'm sure. That" Jon took a deep breath, "is Jurgen Leitner."
After the team's loud exclamations of disbelief he and Leitner updated them on everything they had discussed. As he was being hugged by Martin and holding the fluffy cat he slowly began calming down.
After Leitner was done a long moment of silence ensued.
"So," Sasha said slowly, "Gertrude's dead?"
"Yes, she was shot and then hidden by Jonah in the tunnels. Unfortunately I couldn't get out to allow for a proper burial, so I had to leave her there." He seemed sad admitting it. Jon did not feel sympathy for him. This man deserved none for his past and cowardice.
"And now, we need to, what, somehow find the center of the maze of tunnels to kill Jonah completely and burn the archives?" Sasha asked skeptically. 
"Yes, the whole institute in fact. I have a gas main in the tunnels ready to be ignited once we find the center." Leitner said.
"How do we do that?" Martin frowned.
"Maybe Michael knows?" Tim quipped. "He just helped us out of that situation with his own… corridor labyrinth. Maybe he'll be able to help."
"Okay, okay let's first take a breather and calm down. We'll figure out how to solve this." Jon said, raising his hand to slow them down.
"Yeah, I'll make us some tea." Martin added, "At least now that... Thing won't bother us for a long while."
"Let it burn along with this hell of an institute." Tim said harshly. Knowing how his brother was killed almost the same way, Jon felt strong sympathy for Tim rush over him.
Which was replaced with a different emotion the moment he turned to the man who saved him.
"Thank you for your help, now Martin, I need you to hold Paper for a moment."
Martin, looking baffled, took Paper out of Jon's arms. "Jon wh-"
Jon swiftly approached the older man and proceeded to sock him in the nose with the full force of his fist. The crew gasped in unison. 
"That's for everyone you hurt with your idiocy, you stupid old coward." Jon seethed and punched him again. He heard Martin chuckle and Tim whoop as the man whimpered and attempted to protect his face.
Jon was glad they were spared the horrible plans of a 200 year old evil man and that they had some semblance of a strategy moving forward. He was, however, equally elated for this opportunity to do what he fantasized about since learning of Leitner's existence.
And, he supposes, all of this can be indirectly attributed to Paper, the archive cat.
-------
Jon woke up to the warm snuggle of his lovely fiance and a mouthful of cat fur. 
"Pffff, Paper geerroff," he mumbled, uselessly trying to push the stubborn cat away. The chirping of birds mingled with the sound of highland cows grazing in the field near their cabin. 
After the success of their plan to end Jonah, after the fire had already burned down the horrors of that evil place, it took a while longer for their troubles to be resolved. They had to endure endless questioning and investigations of the police. Jon, who was weakened by the ordeal to the point of needing hospitalization, took a long time to recover and regain his strength. Leitner claimed it was lucky he was cut off from the Eye this early, or the consequences would have been much more serious. The others seemed to have been less affected, but once the archives were completely reduced to ashes they recovered, their jobs burned down along with everything else. 
Sasha found a new job as a researcher in a prestigious institute, nothing supernatural involved. Tim moved on to journalism, utilizing his curiosity and charm to their full potential. Jon and Martin opened a tea & book shop, if only to make Paper a real bookshop cat. They have been slowly setting it up and settling down until... Well, Jon proposed and they took a break. Traveled to Scotland with Paper on an early honeymoon to see the cows and enjoy the quiet. 
And quiet it was. Until Paper shamelessly began purring as loud as a train right in Jon's ear. Jon huffed in fond annoyance and got up, leaning down to give Martin a kiss on the head and then shooing the crime of a cat off to the kitchen. 
"You can't give me a moment of reprieve, can you?" He stretched and followed the cat out the bedroom. 
He filled Paper's bowl and sat on the floor leaning his back on the cabinet, closing his eyes as Paper chewed his food noisily. 
He must have fallen asleep because the next thing he knew, he was awakened by a soft tap on his head. He looked up blearily and smiled. The cat had long since finished eating and found a home in Jon's lap. 
"Morning love." Martin murmured softly, matching his tone to the serene atmosphere. After hesitating a moment, he bent down and sat next to Jon. Jon looked at him adoringly as he absent-mindedly stroked Paper, humming along to his purrs. Martin joined him, petting Paper, their hands occasionally (and very purposefully) brushing against each other. 
After a few minutes of calm silence, Martin spoke up. 
"You know, this reminds me of that first day we met. In the stacks."
Jon smiled at the memory. "Ahh yes, all three of us had a very fateful meeting there, didn't we? God, I was so stressed back then." 
"You handled it pretty well I have to say. Handled my nervousness pretty well too." Martin chuckled. 
"I was lucky you were there. You really helped me calm down." Jon admitted. "Well, you and Paper." Jon added fondly. 
"Paper was a really good archive cat wasn't he?" Martin said, leaning into Jon, pressing a warm, still sleepy kiss on his cheek. Jon closed his eyes, grateful for the events that led up to this moment of pure happiness, with his fiance and his cat. 
"Yes, the best cat in the world."
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a-womans-rhetoric · 4 years ago
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Natalie Wynn's "J.K. Rowling" and Disruptive use of Women's Rhetorical Tropes: A Defiant Reply to Transmisogyny
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ContraPoints, surrounded by an opulent, candle-lit set and adorned in witch's garb, leisurely pours champagne into her glass — she's ready to breach the internet's hottest topic of January, 2021: her childhood idol being outed as a transphobe (link here). The video itself being over an hour and a half long, I would be hard-pressed to claim that I could ever hope to cover its entirety, comprehensively, in a single post. So to save-face, I'll be dedicating this space only to breaking down her most frequently used rhetorical tropes, one by one.
Irreverence
"Joanne, I wanna talk to you, Joanne! [Fans herself with a rainbow paper fan with the word "BIOLOGICAL" written across it] What is it about Joannes? I can't catch a break from these people" (00:23-00:29, emphasis added).
Wynn's introductory lines immediately open a dialogue with J.K. Rowling — however, this invitation of discourse is defiantly "irreverent" (reminiscent of Nomy Lamm's punk-feminist style in "It’s a Big Fat Revolution” (1995)). Contrapoints, herself a transgender woman, is aware that her very existence is considered in opposition to the TERF-ideology that Rowling subscribes to. Thus, she's rather playful — even openly disrespectful — with her diction: calling the British author by her first name in a mocking-tone and flaunting her own trans identity to the camera (in a way that would likely offend the fragile sensibilities of a transphobe). Her personal tone (with ample use of the pronoun "I") servers a duplicitous purpose: a simultaneous message of "sit down and listen" and a fair degree of "I don't care if you can't accept me."
"So, now that 2020 is finally over, I think we can let the record conclusively show that it was a year whomst is bad. And on top of everything else going on, truly the last thing we needed was the author of Harry Potter coming forward to announce there's two things she can't stand: bigotry, and the transgenders. (00:31 - 00:50, emphasis added).
Finally broaching the subject at hand directly, Wynn employs kairos alongside her irreverence. Kairos, or the rhetorical use of an "opportune moment," holds incredible weight in the first month after 2020: the year in which the whole world fell into a stasis. Characterizing Rowling's transphobia as a collective "the last thing we needed," is also rather dismissive — she unites herself with her audience with the pronoun "we" and invites us all to groan at the exasperating nature of Rowling's bigotry.
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Claiming the Right to Speak / Personal Experience
"This is a painful topic for me all around because, as a transgender woman, I am honestly really hurt by a lot of the things Joanne has said in the last year. But I also know what it's like to be the target of a Twitter mob" (01:36-01:47).
As she begins to touch on the topic, Natalie Wynn claims the right to speak on the issue of Rowling's transphobia — a type of bigotry that directly effects her. However, Wynn also situates herself partially with Rowling in her acknowledgement that receiving Twitter backlash is a terrifying experience (an experience, she argues, that the human brain is not prepared to handle the scale of, 01:49-02:39). In treating her subject with such dignity — and adding her own deeply personal account— ContraPoints creates a credible ethos in the beginning of her video essay. The audience is inclined to listen to someone who has been directly effected by the subject of Rowling's controversy (transphobia) and someone who is, rather compassionately, willing to empathize with those who would wish her harm. Although the generally sassy, glamorous, and irreverent tone of the video still appears soon after (see: the above image), her opening up for this somber moment garners a fair degree pathos in the viewer — we, as human beings, are inclined to sympathize with people who are open about being hurt.
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Metis (Embodied Rhetoric)
[The following ContraPoints quote is addressing the above J.K. Rowling tweet, content warning for transmisogyny] "Transphobes love to play this game where they pretend that trans people just don't understand basic biology, that's our problem! As if I didn't start taking female hormones because I'm acutely aware that my body is not the same as a cis woman's body, that sex is real. "[Fictional TERF character] You will never be a woman, Nathan. Every cell in your body is male and has a Y chromosome." Really? That's crazy. How you'd you learn so much about science? You know I don't really feel the need to have a second X chromosome, I get by with only one, I make it work. I actually like the Y chromosome, I think it's a little more dainty, you know, it's little softer, a little more petite. The X chromosome has a lot of extra appendages, and don't you think? I don't need anymore of those, thanks. No trans person thinks it's possible to change chromosomal sex and to pretend otherwise is to argue in bad faith" (08:47-09:34).
If you can excuse my gargantuan quote, I hope you'll agree that the dialogue ContraPoints builds here was just too good to cut short. Within this excerpt, we see Wynn's use of irreverance and personal experience blended seamlessly together. For this YouTuber, the personal is perpetually political — especially when her own identity is constantly taken as an ideological stance. She uses her own expertise in trans issues to pick apart just how disingenuous Rowling's assertions are — even accusing her of "argue[ing] in bad faith" with her reductive claims (later, taking specific issue with how Rowling treats trans-ness as a costume). But, here, she also directly invokes another rhetorical trope: that of metis, or embodied rhetoric. Natalie Wynn specifically references her transgender body as a sort of counterpoint to the condescending "sex is real" claims by TERFs. She cites her intrinsic desire to pursue hormonal therapy as evidence that she — and other trans people like her — are all "acutely aware" that there are chromosomal differences between themselves and cis women. With this salient statement, she then follows with some humor: which, again, utilizes her trans body in her rhetoric. Her characterization of the Y chromosome as "more petite" and playful declaration of not needing "extra appendages" lightens up the often dark tone that arguing for trans rights and liberation can take. The clever points she makes are by no means weakened by her humor — if anything, the audience is more willing to listen to someone who can "joke about themselves" (so to speak) while still arguing an incredibly important message.
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Naming and Defining Issues
"When I see Joanne tweeting about how trans people think sex isn't real and they're erasing same-sex attraction and they're silencing women, alarm bells are ringing because I recognize these as familiar transphobic talking points, specifically TERF talking points. "TERF" means trans exclusionary radical feminism. God are we still talking about this? I promise this is the last time. So TERFism is a hate movement that disguises transphobia as feminism. ... The fundamental problem with TERFs is not that they're mean. It's that they're politically reactionary, they want to reverse the progress of trans liberation." (14:05-16:02)
In her definition of TERF rhetoric, Natalie Wynn outlines some dog-whistles that are obvious to her, as a trans woman. She calmly explains to the viewer that, oftentimes in the present-day, rhetorics of exclusion are thoroughly disguised; TERFs, specifically, hide their rampant transphobia as a form of feminism. However, she further clarifies that the specific "danger" that TERFs pose is not from their cruelty — it's from their fervent dedication to strip away trans rights through political means. By specifying this danger, Natalie Wynn shifts the conversation away from empty discussion of offensiveness/terminology, to issues which directly affect the lives of trans people every day.
[This portion addresses the picture above] Also an act of naming and defining, ContraPoints makes a distinction between "Direct" and "Indirect Bigotry." She argues that many people envision bigotry as a festering, public, frothing-at-the-mouth hatred — a phenomenon she dubs "the Westboro Baptist Church theory of bigotry" (20:06). In bringing attention to the human tendency to think of people as exclusively practicing "direct bigotry" — envisioning them as a sort of delusional "other" — she then forces the audience to contemplate the relative omni-presence of the more covert (and possibly alluring) "indirect bigotry." This definition, crucially, requires introspection. By allowing ourselves to think of bigots not exclusively as "Westboros," we're made to adopt a much more nuanced view of subjects (most) generally prefer to keep black-and-white. Natalie Wynn uses her J.K. Rowling case study to complicate this 2D view of "The Bigot," inviting others to more carefully examine how politically reactionary views develop.
Phew, this was probably the longest post I've ever typed up on tumblr! Hopefully, I succeeded in demystifying (or at least adding clarity to) some of the specific tropes ContraPoints uses (that are common to women's rhetorics as a whole). Thanks for reading if you stuck around this long, and my ask box is always open!
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watayaaratamblr · 4 years ago
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Arata is an unfortunate character.
No, he is NOT!
But if we wish to make him one, then we don't need one fifth of the effort put into making Taichi the "sad" character that most fans keep labeling as "Poor Taichi", and Arata would have been then the most unfortunate character in Chihayafuru. All we need is a good mangaka (Suetsugu is!) & the intention to make him draw sympathy (the whole point), simply because Arata’s story is well packed with good material serving the purpose.
Starting with the fact that he was an almost blind child … Like “looking through a magnifying glass”, hearing voices outside but being unable to see anything~ A child who had to wear glasses from the age of 3, any writer can make this a touching story if so they wished -But Suetsugu sensei did not want to.
Growing up as a weak boy who is a letdown in everything most boys do, crying alone when he fails to fit in, disappointing his father who kept pushing him to go outside and be “normal” like all the other children all while letting go of Karuta that he was confirmed to have liked since he was very young. Writing a bit of his struggles to find a place for himself within the norms could have made readers cry a lot.
His grandfather thankfully extended his hand to him, offered him a place where he can be himself; But that too, created a situation where he maybe had to take a side & deal somehow with the other side because his grandfather & his father had a fight and he can only be torn between them. I’m no writer myself, but I can make this sentimental.
Then his father took him away to Tokyo where he had to be a part of a poor family, and not only to cancel his needs & desires (like for example having different outfits for school instead of the few he will be noticed to wear frequently) but to also work sometimes to support his parents, to wake up before school time in the early mornings when other children are probably sound asleep in their warm beds, to go outside in the cold, to earn some cash and to give it to his parents … I read some real sad stories with this idea. So yeah, Arata could have been one of the saddest characters if Suetsugu wanted him to be.
And not to mention being bullied and laughed at for not only his impoverishment (which he can hope to change) but for his identity (as a boy from Fukui speaking a “weird” dialect). He received all this with lot of patience, and tried to comfort himself by himself with his grandfather’s “gift”, how it was a refugee for him.
Any writer can make a sob story out of Arata’s unspoken loneliness & yearning for home, his grandpa & for playing his beloved Karuta properly.
Or out the fact that he couldn’t make any friends in his new school either (he was confirmed to never have real friends since his childhood through the fact that he struggled to fit in + he stayed like that even after he grew up (like Murao said), and he is not someone who doesn’t care about having friends because he was confirmed to almost worship his bond with Taichi & Chihaya, Taichi specifically even though their friendship isn’t really a comforting one; he longed for friendship however it is!)
He enjoyed that friendship nonetheless, he might even have felt like he was compensated for everything he wished for through it but he was soon robbed of all of it as he was separated from these friends & while he could still enjoy a bit of it through correspondence (at least Chihaya kept in touch), he wasn't as untroubled as needed for that because he was about to lose his precious grandfather.
And the process of losing him wasn’t something to take lightly either. Having busy (or rather negligent?) parents made him (a boy not even 14 years old) a caregiver for an old man who suffered from paralysis on the right side of his body and later dementia, not as simple as that, he had to watch what his most beloved & respected person turn into day & night, when he worked “really hard” (as stated in the manga) with his rehabilitation exercises, when he helped him with his baths, he massaged his limbs, he fed him, constantly talked to him & showed him Karuta cards to “keep him” in this world. And when it's too much for him, he goes outside the room and cries bitter tears silently, all alone! There was this person who suffered from (PTSD) for years because their sick aunt didn’t recognize them (they were her favorite nephew before & they were 17 yo at the time), this person couldn’t visit her since & couldn’t see her before she died & they developed a fear of “getting too close” & of seeing sick people, they had to seek long & serious therapeutic help. And Arata actually suffered from PTSD for over a year & half, any psychologist can easily recognize that from the fact that he quit Karuta, refused to touch & hated to see the cards (I stress on this), how he answered Chihaya when she called him, how the calm & patient him (that we knew from his childhood) was agitated & treated her rudely when she insisted on playing a match. And it was all confirmed in Arata’s last words in the same chapter: “I wanted to see you, I always had, but I didn’t want you to see me like this” (in the official tr), he knew that he wasn’t himself (contrary to what Taichi thought, his friend who decided to abandon him instead of trying to help. Chihaya still had faith in him but Taichi was louder -ch10)
Still, thanks to Chihaya, Arata was back to his beloved Karuta, though we all questioned how much fun he really felt while playing again, how much of him was involved with the game now. And eventually, he himself expressed the pressure (not the fun) he felt while playing. What took his passion away, what turned the feelings of a Karuta baka into mere obligation, this also is good content for an emotionally charged story, it only needs the intention of the writer.
And he shone in the world of Karuta. YET he was never “proud” of it, that was never received as anything special. When he comes back home, none really cares (or at least, none shows any enthusiasm), he goes to the western-challenger qualifiers and his parents won’t even go watch, won’t even prepare some food for him, he comes back home late & finds none, and prepares everything by himself (apart from Yu’s help). His parents pray for his defeat, meaning that his DREAM to become Meijin/be strongest in Karuta doesn’t mean much to them, and he knows it, and he was never shown telling them the news like when you want to share a happy one. Arata’s mother -before giving up after acknowledging Arata’s dedication- wanted his defeat even though there was enough money to support him, the lack of money being the excuse she & her husband claimed to be the reason of their lack of support.
The support system Arata lacks isn’t only in his family. Since the death of his grandfather he seems to stand alone in Karuta too. Murao was the only one who spared some time for him but only after he realized how “alone�� he was and took pity on him. Murao's realization implies that the training Arata was doing at the Nagumo society didn’t really count for what he really needed. Kuriyama sensei (being expected by fans to be the “Harada” in Arata’s side) was almost useless & he himself expressed his confusion about what to do with him & how to help him. We never saw him particularly guide him in any way either. "Experiences" & "taking chances" were two factors that helped Mizusawa members for example to grow a lot, but these chances are doors without knobs & we know that they were opened for them by adults who were taking care of them in a way or another + being friends ensured that they encouraged each other then proceeded with every idea they got to learn & experience more. Arata lacks both these sources (adults around him rather burdened him with their expectations) so he kept training on his own mostly & we saw how it felt frustrating to him to be relying only on his solo training & an "image" encouraged by a long-dead teacher, he realized the toll of lacking real opponents in practice with whom he can measure his abilities & correct his mistakes to grow stronger. Support can also be emotional. Did Arata ever receive particular emotional support? I can only remember panels where the people worried for him kept watching him from afar while he dealt with it on his own.
Yu was an exception but even her support was written in a way suggesting that Arata was prepared to go on without it. Because with time, Arata learnt to "not expect much" which is also a very interesting trope for a sad story.
And he was described as “a lonely player on top” but this was never elaborated to show how it felt like to be one for Arata himself. This idea is also brilliant for melancholy if the author wanted fans to sympathize with Arata but she didn't go beyond praising Chihaya who could somehow reach him & Shinobu chan.
And while playing on his own (or working part time to support himself), taking care of himself, he met his two precious friends again (they were the only selfish desire Arata has openly expressed throughout the series). But what he felt is that he was left behind & that he was the only one so far away. And he was. They got to experience so many things he didn’t, they made new friends & new bonds & he didn’t, they got closer to each other & he didn’t… At the end he went back to be the outsider & them the two old childhood friends. If the author wrote just a little bit more about these, if she highlighted these facts they could have made a good drama.
Love is the main reason Taichi is "felt for" (because he progressed in karuta but not in Love ..not yet at least). Arata is also a part of the love triangle in Chihayafuru, and if we try to summarize it with the intention of making it sad, then let's go, there is enough to say for that, we just need a good writer (which I'm not sadly). Still in short: Arata seems to have started to develop feelings for Chihaya a long time ago but he had to keep that in check because he thought she was dating Taichi & he kept his distance out of respect for that assumed relationship even though he craved at least connecting with his old friends. When he came closer, Chihaya was interested in him but he never knew, the enthusiasm she showed him was not different from how she is with everyone, no, Taichi received special treatment, while for him, every time he tries to say something to her he is cut off somehow. Everything seemed to be against them getting close. Later Chihaya seemed to have ultimate fun with Taichi too, maybe that was the only thing he thought he could give her, now she didn't need it. Maybe he had that thought again when she praised his game against Harada sensei that's why he confessed but soon, She is once again so far away, she seemed to need Taichi to function properly, he understood that & he used that to cheer her up in her most important tournament. He wanted badly to play with her again to only be totally iced, he couldn't even be seen by her, he was so far away, she belonged to where he wasn't part of (& even her friend kana found a way to express her disapproval of him) Can we not make a drama out of this? Or out of his stuttering, awkwardness & introversion? Or maybe the fact that his parents don't understand him? And did anyone alse feel that in most of Taichi's mother's appearances, we got this feeling that Taichi is a son who should be cared for while when Arata's parents appeared, many times, we can feel how Arata was used to highlight their feelings as individuals & he was drawn there as the member of the family who had to pay attention to that? Anyway, every single one of these points alone is very good material for a "tearjerker" so what about all of them combined? because they are all facts from Arata's reality.
Again, all we need is a good writer (we have it) & the intention to make it that way which isn't there. Suetsugu decided instead to put double the effort to make Taichi the "sorrowful/anguished" one because Arata is not a character written to feel sorry for or to commiserate. He is rather written for the most part of the manga as an inspiring one, an aspiration, to be a drive & a goal. So despite having all the above circumstances, he is instead written as a character who keeps to himself, doesn't complain, hides his hardships, makes it seem that he fine when he notices that someone is watching, tries to focus on what he has & be happy with it however little or simple. That's why it's easy for him to forget & forgive, easy for him to recover & stand up again because there are other characters who need him there as an example, who think that he is perfectly fine so they should only focus on themselves and thus, Bildungsroman can be used for them. And finally- wait, what were Taichi's problems again?
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halothenthehorns · 3 years ago
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All in the Family
Chapter 84: The Second Task
James almost landed on his feet this time, stumbling forward madly in what could have been anything from icy slush, to mud, to quicksand, it was so shocking and repulsive to his bare feet, and quickly found himself face first with a solid block of water. He blinked dazedly several times as he rapped his fist against this new oddity, it didn't even come away wet, then screamed as his eyes adjusted through the murky swill to the sight of the four dead bodies.
He scrambled backwards so fast he found himself tripping right over someone and ruined any pretenses of clean that bath had given by now being covered head to toe in muck like everyone else, heart hammering out of his chest, unable to find his wand, and still looking right at them.
Sirius was trying to get madly to his side, wandless as well and feeling more naked for it than if his boxers had somehow vanished in between jumps this time, but finally getting unsteadily to his feet and hurrying over to Prongs to see the exact same thing. It was a horrifying sight to behold, and looking quickly down to see James uninjured and tangled up, nearly naked with Smith wasn't even distracting him.
Nobody else even looked down to notice the same yet, all eight of them were transfixed at the four floating figures tied down to a crude statue of a merperson carved into a boulder.
"Are they really-" Lily began in a quiet, broken voice, eyes on the little girl, she had to be younger than Regulus...
"N-no!" said Black's voice was shaking too much to even poster at his usually superior nature. "This, this must have something to do with, aha!"
He lunged forward for the book, held down by the blunt end of a trident so half buried in the muck as well as them, and pulled the now dirty blue binding free, instantly flipping it open to reveal the new chapter title, The Second Task.
"So, they had to come down here and find, people?" Frank started rubbing at his chest to get feeling back in it, now leaning against the barrier for support. "That's what they meant by recovering something taken? I bloody hate this tournament."
"I'm long since past," Alice promised, shivering in more than cold despite the mud clinging to her skin. "Mind getting off of me now Potter?"
"Eh?" He glanced down and seemed to realize he was keeping her pinned down, and dutifully rolled off with a quick uttered apology. Then his already pale visage went ever worse as he did a quick look around and didn't see his clothes anywhere, with his wand in it! Oh bloody hell, what happened to the shit they left behind, did they ever find out?!
"Here," James very suddenly found himself with Sirius's pants in his face. "Thought you idiots would like those back."
Sirius did not care that thanks to his brother he now knew what his sock tasted like, he quickly shoved his hands into every available pocket before coming up with Prongs's wand, looking over to see him doing the same with his own.
"You two really are idiots," Peter repeated as he watched Prongs get dressed. "What if he hadn't thought of that eh? And after Regulus went through all that trouble with his shoes?"
"We were having some bleeding fun for once," James scowled, his voice only slightly muffled by his shirt. "Maybe if you lot had joined, we all could have gotten zapped out of there at everyone's convenience!"
"That's all this is to you, isn't it? Fun," Regulus shook his head in disgust.
Neither of them answered, as they did not feel the need to explain themselves to him. Sirius huffily put his pants on and purposely turned away from him to go back studying the no longer dead, but still really, really dead-looking four.
"So, that's Ron and Hermione huh?" He said purposefully loudly to Remus. It was admittedly a guess, but not a wild one, considering the amount of times they'd been described. "Ron's taller than I pictured. Not hard to see why Harry's got a fancy for Cho though, she's a looker, eh Prongs?" Her's was much more wild in said guess, but if Ron and Hermione were down here, logically these were people the champions would care about.
"Eh," he barely cast another look at the girl with long dark hair, he was straightening his shirt and watching Evans, who was now studying the nearest merperson's house with great interest as it sank in for everyone where they must be. Beneath the Hogwarts lake.
It was far too dark down here to get a sense of anything too far from their little bubble of air, but what they could see was admittedly attention-grabbing. The seashells acting as a sort of roadway, the tangled seaweed much shorter than they'd have thought leading to the fun question of what they used to keep that cut down here, and even the houses were something few wizards had ever gotten the chance to see in such detail. The one closest to them was thatched together very cleanly, with no front door apparent.
"I don't understand why we're already at the second task when Harry has no idea what he's going to do to get down here," Frank was frowning heavily at the four victims still. "I'd have thought we'd get a whole chapter dedicated to that at this point."
"I'm not complaining, the sooner this is over, the better," Regulus muttered under his breath as he kept going through Harry's classes, his friends of no more clue than them how any of this was going to work out.
Remus' robes were now dripping with muck and water, he still wanted to kick Sirius for the impromptu bath, but he was frowning at him for a wholly other reason as instead of putting the Bagman jersey back on, he was flipping it this way and that with a frown.
"You don't have to keep showing off Sirius, you swimming around nearly starkers did that plenty," he reminded.
"This turd's been bothering me," he said off hand, before dropping it into the mud and crossing his arms. "Offering Harry all that help, avoiding the twins, something's up with him."
"So, what, you're going to run around shirtless now?" He laughed. "It's February up there Sirius, you'd die of frostbite in minutes."
"You'd keep me warm, wouldn't you Moony," he grinned, uncrossed his arms and leered at him, the scars visible on his chest courtesy of Remus making him wince and try to avoid looking at him.
"Your knackers would fall right off," Remus shot back, very proud he barely had a change in expression.
"You'd keep me warm," Sirius repeated, quite the opposite now with a salacious grin.
Remus was saved the tongue-twisting issue of responding to that by Sirius himself, but in the future. His return note to Harry was more than distracting enough to draw everyone's attention.
"Why do you want to know the Hogsmeade dates?" Evans actually asked of him.
"To take a stroll around, obviously," he rolled his eyes at what he clearly thought was a stupid question.
"And you don't find that the least bit dangerous?" Longbottom asked as if checking his sanity, which clearly slipped a few degrees when he answered.
"Nah, I know that place like the back of my hand. Honestly, can't believe I haven't met up with Harry in there yet."
Potter was now picking mud out of his nails without a care in the world, but at least Lupin and Pettigrew were looking at him with slight concern. It was good to know they weren't all insane, Regulus decided.
He continued on with more build-up instead, including a lesson from Hagrid over baby unicorns and another pep-talk from the gamekeeper. He couldn't help but sympathize heavily with Harry when he didn't ask for help because he was too afraid of disappointing Hagrid, if that wasn't the story of his life in the shortest words possible he didn't know what was. Bolstering quickly past that found the eight of them all laughing in surprise at Ron's response to this challenge.
They all looked affectionately at the redhead floating behind them, his absurd suggestion to just shove his head in the lake and ask for, well himself back was ludicrous, but seeing him here in person really put a funnier spin on that. They were all equally eyeing Hermione with great interest. Her bushy hair was hardly subdued by the deep water, it was almost strange to see her without a book in her hand, even in this place, as that's how they always pictured her in their head.
Frank and Alice would readily admit it was a blessing and a curse not to see Neville down here, to even have the image of how he'd look like this for even a second, while also getting to admire him in the closest thing they would get to see in person.
"Do you think, if we'd ever been in the hospital wing while she was petrified, we would have seen her then?" Alice asked.
"I imagine so," Frank shivered in further unease, thinking they'd look even more dead with their eyes open and glassy.
It was a shame, Lily thought, that they couldn't watch all of this happen in real time regardless, while they stayed hidden away or something. She'd have liked to see Harry ageing before them if that had been the case, but now it seemed she may not even get to see a picture of him at this rate, let alone in the flesh.
As the twins led Ron and Hermione away to McGonagall, presumably leading them down here, they all began looking even more anxiously at his friends. What would happen to whomever Harry was down here to grab if he couldn't accomplish this task? This tournament was still years above him after all, and these two wouldn't be in real danger if he couldn't win at a game, right?
Then Dobby was shaking Harry awake, and the poor kid was having to rush down to this tournament, fearing for his best friend's life while swallowing a what exactly? None of them had heard of gillyweed!
James couldn't stand the tension anymore, he ruffled up his hair, the wet and mud causing a hilarious mess as he suavely turned to Evans and told her, "you know, I'd still come down here and get you even if I didn't have magic to hold my breath for an hour."
She gave him a sour look for joking at a time like this, the boy really had no bounds.
This remark did have the effect of getting someone else's attention though.
"What do you mean it'd be Evans down here?" Sirius Black whined like a kicked puppy. He came over and gave his friend a good prod in the side to make sure he had his full attention.
"Oh come on Padfoot, we all know the merpeople would have murdered you out of sheer annoyance, even if you were asleep. At least I have a chance at getting her out in time," James Potter more than happily teased him.
Lily was watching all of this with a single raised brow and complete disbelief this idiot thought she needed anyone's help, he knew better than anyone what she was perfectly capable of. So then it really was just a show, one her, Alice, and Frank found themselves sucked into. By the time Harry had eaten the odd plant, gotten into the water, and found himself past the grindylows, almost all of the tension had been sapped out of them.
Now Harry was actually down in the village, the first one to do so, and honest fascination as first Krum showed up, transfigured into a shark! James could have kicked himself he hadn't thought of that one, he really had been worried. Then Cedric with something odd, like a fishbowl on his head, they'd never even heard of that one. Then Harry decided enough was enough, he wasn't going to leave the poor little Fleur junior girl down here and took matters into his own hands, dragging her and his best mate up.
It was nice to have the chapter end on such a happy note for once, Regulus decided, as Harry was awarded high marks for his act of bravery, even if he should have realized they wouldn't have just left the kids down here to die, obviously, he'd known that all along... the errant thought didn't stop his eyes from lingering on the four one last time as he warned the others he was almost done, their gaunt faces and the meaning they held leaving him with a sinking feeling heavier than the mud they were still standing in. It was obvious who Sirius would have down here, whom everyone around him would be able to really answer in an instant they'd pick. It was an obvious answer to everyone, except him.
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eueden · 4 years ago
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 ⟨ MAUDE APATOW. CIS FEMALE. SHE/HER. ⟩ though the mist might prevent some from seeing it, EDEN KOPPELMAN is actually a descendent of H E S T I A. it’s still a question of whether or not the TWENTY-THREE year old VETERINARY from CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA has taken after their godly parent completely, but the demigod is still known to be quite THOUGHTFUL & QUIXOTIC.
hi, hello, allô, hola, ciao, ella here again with another character. okay so there’s not much to say about me that most of you don’t already know, i have no life and i’m always lurking even if i never do replies (don’t tell the admins) hgsghssghs anyway, this is eden and in a shocking turn of events i actually have a good idea of who she is and look i even made a graphic, if that’s ain’t dedication then i don’t what it is.
basic information.
NAME: eden atara koppelman
PRONUNCIATION: EE - d uh n
NICKNAME: E?? idk
GENDER: cis female
PLACE OF BIRTH: brisbane, queensland, australia
HOMETOWN: cape town, south africa
DATE OF BIRTH: june 26, 1997
AGE: twenty-three
SEXUAL ORIENTATION: heterosexual so far but secretly curious
MAJOR: veterinary
EXTRACURRICULARS: president of the jewish student association, vice president of the herpetology club, president of the volunteer service, women in leadership member, student government member
SPORTS: captain of the climbing team and co-captain of the track & field team
character inspo.
Jessica Day (New Girl) ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
Elliott Reid (Scrubs) ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
Amy Santiago (Brooklyn 99) ✖ ✖ ✖ ✖
background.
tw: death, infant death, car accident, fire
Eden was born in Brisbane, Australia. She comes from an animal lover family. Her grandparents are very popular down under because they had an animal TV show à la Steve Irwin. Her dad followed their footsteps and it’s a well-known zoologist who also had some TV shows (think of Bear Grylls).
TW: death, infant death, car accident. Matthias Koppelman (her dad) had been previously married but lost his wife and child in a car accident and after that he isolated himself from the public eye and moved to Namibia. 
At twenty-eight, he felt the need to climb Mount Everest as one does, ya know? But ofc this man hadn’t climbed in years (he had experience but he’d been too sad to climb mountains. I mean he could barely leave bed, let alone climb Everest). That didn’t stop him and he did.
He almost d worded there bc as I said he was not ready but that’s when Hestia queen of fire showed up and warmed him (in a non sexual way bc she’s pure okay) and he was like oh that was a near dead experience and didn’t think much.
After he conquered the Everest with the help of Hestia, he moved back to Australia and oh surprise a few months later he opened his door and voilá a bebé was there with a note that said “you deserve to have a family, love hestia” 
He was shocked like “did i just impregnate a fantasy?”  but then Hestia was kind enough to send another and explain everything.
Anyway, Eden lived in Brisbane for four years before her dad took a job in South Africa. They moved to Cape Town (and her grandparents came with them) and pretty much had a happy life surrounded by animals. 
TW: fire. When she was nine, her dad took her to a game reserve in Limpopo and by some reason a fire started endangering animals and flora. Everyone was panicking bc I mean wouldn’t u? But Eden was attracted to the flames like a pyro (the good kind tho) and since everyone had better things to do than taking care of a child, they left her unsupervised and she delved into the fire.
Ofc nothing happened to her because ✨immunity✨ but guess who showed up again? Hestia!!!! Being a great goddess and mom, she taught Eden how to use her powers so she could absorb the fire and save all the animals and people. 
Everyone was like holy shit a miracle and the firefighters were like “the fuck? we did shit but we gonna take the credit lol”
Eden was like “did that just happen?” and yes, it did but she was like “meh that was imagination” and her dad was like *nervous chuckle* “yeah…” because he didn’t want to tell her the truth since that could put her in danger.
At 13, she had her bat mitzvah and it was all fun and games until fire lady showed up aka Hestia. Her dad and Hestia explained everything and Eden was like: 
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Hestia claimed her and off to camp she went. For the next few years she went to camps all over the world as a treat.
She never went on a quest bc she was afraid and also because she couldn’t put herself in danger and risk losing her life bc her dad already had lost a child… so yeah
Her dad remarried when she was seventeen and a year later she welcomed a new baby brother and that’s why she decided to take a gap year to be with her bro and also work with her dad in the reserves.
She moved to Athens when she was nineteen and decided to go into veterinary school. So yes Ella will get her dog one way or another idc what the admins say :chaos:
Ahhhh that’s all folks!!! We did it!
FULL BIO (yes, i completed it this time)
personality.
Eden never loses her sense of curiosity. You could say that she sees life through rose colored glasses as if she lived on the edge of a mirror country where worldly objects come to life, where flora and fauna assume almost human qualities.  
She has the ability to see the good in almost anyone or anything and tends to sympathize with even the most unfriendly person. She often hides the extreme depth of feelings from her, even from herself, until circumstances elicit a passionate response. 
She has a deep sense of idealism that comes from a strong personal sense of right and wrong. She sees the world as a place full of possibilities and potentials and is governed by her intuition. She is quite reserved and is not easily manipulated. 
She is a good listener and considerate, they try to care for and understand others in a deep way. She can be very calm and intuitive with the people around her, being able to search for hidden meanings in the actions and words of others.
Of course, all of life is not rosy and Eden is not exempt from suffering the same disappointments and frustrations that are common to others. She tends to be a perfectionist and often strives for personal ideals that can be exhausting or very difficult to obtain.
She also struggles with time management, always leaving everything to the last minute claiming she “works better under pressure” but the truth is she’s just a procrastinator. 
Very sensible, she cries almost every day either because of a commercial or a sweet story she read on Facebook. It doesn’t matter, if it’s slightly emotional she will shed some tears.
powers.
pyrokinesis: This power first manifested when she was nine years old and she helped to save an animal reserve from the flames with the help of Hestia. Since she was claimed when she was thirteen, she’s learned how to use this power. Now she can summon fire without any problem and put it out just as fast. This is very helpful because she loves baking but she’s a bit clumsy so she often burns herself, but thankfully, she’s immune, so no pain. However, Eden has never been able to create a hot wall of flames nor she has ever asked how to do that, she just hopes she never has to use it.
serenity inducement: Eden avoids conflict at all cost, not only it makes her cry but also makes her very uncomfortable and anxious which is why this was the first power she manifested. She was just a child but from what she remembers it was during a class in preschool that a kid started hitting another one. Eden panicked at such an act of violence she went there and touched the bully’s shoulder which immediately calmed him. Back then she didn’t know it was a power but after finding out about her true identity, many other events like this started to make sense. This is the power she uses the most, also with animals which is why she makes such a good veterinarian because she can calm an animal's nerves.
bond manipulation: She wouldn’t say this is one of her weakest powers but it’s one she didn’t use often growing up because she came from such a stable family that it didn’t seem necessary, however, she sometimes catches herself using it in group projects or at her workplace, you know, to keep things healthy and positive.
ability to summon food: By far the one she uses the least (personally speaking), she likes cooking and baking, so she doesn’t see the point but she does use it to feed stray animals.
headcanons.
Eden speaks fluent English, she has a mixed South African and Australian accent but she can switch. At school, half of her classes were in Afrikaans, so she also speaks it fluently. Greek comes from her demigod side, but she also took some classes back in school upon her father’s request. Growing up in a very Jewish family, her grandparents believed it was pretty important that Eden learned Yiddish and Hebrew, she can read it perfectly but struggles speaking it, especially Yiddish because she also attended Hebrew school. As for French, she learned in high school and she still takes lessons at Eonia but she hates it.
Her father started taking her to a climbing gym when she was five and by the time she was ten she was already climbing 6a routes which is pretty much an intermediate level and very impressive for her age. 
She had her own TV show on Discover Kids titled “Eden’s Wildlife Adventure” in which she explained the importance of different types of animals. The first seasons were shot between Australia and South Africa, but in later seasons she traveled across Africa and South America. The show ran from 2005-2011 (which was when she was claimed).
Dreams of climbing Mount Everest before her 30th birthday.
Her father is a classic rock band and so is she. Her animals have been named after influential musicians. Right now she has a cat named Hendrix, a horse named Cobain, a dog named Mick. Growing up her father took care of a baby lion which they named Little Richard because he was smaller than most lion cubs. Over the years, his father and grandparents have fostered several wild animals while they recover or before they are sent to a reserve. Among the animals they have fostered are elephants, giraffes, zebras, cheetahs, leopards, hippos and more.
While she loves rock, she’s also a sucker for 2000s pop. Please don’t ask her about modern artists because she’s clueless. 
She’s fed up with the Mean Girl jokes, we get it she grew up in Africa and she’s white.
She is a proud Jewish girl and follows many traditions. She does attend the local synagogue during Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah. And of course, Hanukkah is her favorite holiday. Her family practices Reform Judaism, so she doesn’t follow a kosher diet.
Eden was raised as a vegan and her whole family is vegan. In the past years, she has been in the process of becoming vegetarian.
Favorites: Anything written by Agatha Christie(book); Say Anything (1989) (movie); Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fear (song); 
Again, no one asked me but I will reply: “Ella, does Eden hate Iker?” “Well, thanks for asking. In a shocking turn of events, no she doesn’t. How come you might ask? Well, she doesn’t hate anyone but if she ever did then yes, she would hate him.”
pinterest | wanted connections
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ilguna · 4 years ago
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Lacuna - Maltalent (f.o)
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summary: they say the odds tend to favor those who need them. well, they were wrong.
Word Count; 4.5k
Warnings; swearing, DEATH MENTION
NOTES: i give reader a last name to fit the world.
! Takes place between Chapter Twenty and the Epilogue of Lacuna !
You pace the backrooms of the justice building, popping your knuckles and pulling on the fingers that didn’t pop. You fiddle with your mother’s ring, stop in front of a mirror to fix your hair and any smudged makeup. You go back to pace only to be fixing the way that the dress lies on your body too.
Taking a deep breath, you pause in front of the grand doors, the ones you’ll be walking out of in a couple of minutes. The peacekeepers are indifferent to your staring. They have to be.
It’s only a few minutes on stage. All you have to do is stand in front of a microphone, try your best not to cry, address the elephant in the room, and then receive all the rewards they have to provide because of your win. Then, you’re allowed to leave the stage and head right back here.
Only, you’re going to be standing in front of the entire district. The faces of District One will be staring back at you with judgement and hatred. But that’s not the worst part--the worst part is that you get to stare right at the family of the tributes you killed, and see their animated picture too.
And if Finnick doesn’t show up soon, you’re going to have to do it alone. Not with him standing a few feet away, in front of his own microphone with his own speech prepared. No, you’ll have to do this all alone and just hope that he shows up in the next district.
You take a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
The doors behind you open, and a bunch of footsteps accompany it. You turn around, hoping that this is Elysia, your prep team and Mags escorting Finnick into the room. But as soon as your eyes go over the group, you realize that he’s not there.
“Is the train coming?” you ask.
Elysia shakes her head, “No, he hasn’t even left the Capitol.”
“What? Why? We’re right here--”
“It wasn’t his choice.” Laurel explains to you calmly, “He’s hoping he’ll be in District Two, but he’s not sure.”
But he promised.
“Oh.” you turn away now, looking back at the doors.
“The mayor is almost done introducing you, when the doors open, go to the microphone on the left.” Elysia tells you, the prep team makes some last minute adjustments to fix the mess you’d made out of yourself, “Take it easy, don’t rush it.”
“Read from the notecards.” Laurel says, “Look at the families when you address them.”
You nod a little, despite wanting to outright reject that idea. If you have to look at the families, you’re assuming you should be looking up and into the crowd too. Over a hundred people, packed into one little space watching you give a speech on your victory that you hadn’t even written.
“You’ll be amazing.” Cleo assures you, “A lot of the people back in the Capitol are sympathizing with you.”
“I’m going to give a speech in front of a whole district that wishes I had been the one to die.” you look over the people staring at you, “The Capitol’s sympathy is worthless.”
“It’s not like that--”
“I ruined the career’s plans from the beginning.” you insist, “Killed Eytelle, backstabbed Allio, nearly died, Finnick set the cornucopia on fire and I recovered enough to give Lennox an execution that has been the talk since the summer!” you try to calm yourself down, “And now I have the nickname ‘The Executioner’ and I’m being praised for it.”
You turn back towards the doors, “And District One would have had two winners if it weren’t for me. Lennox and Trink would be here, if it weren’t for my plan.”
They have no time to say anything, your name is being called, the doors opening. You do your best to take another deep breath, no longer nervous but a little angry and annoyed instead. As you walk through the doors, you force a smile and grip the notecards tight in your hand.
There’s a lot of clapping, no cheering. You steal glances, trying not to avoid eye contact entirely, but there’s a lot of angry faces in the crowd. You’re sure to keep away from Trink and Lennox’s family, not wanting to see them until you have to apologize to their family. 
On the left, you were able to see the mayor take a seat right next to someone else, you don’t know who. Maybe some district official? But off to the right are the mentors, you can just tell. By how they’re dressed and the way they get their own place to sit.
It’s a girl and a boy, they can’t be much older than you. Maybe sixteen, seventeen or eighteen. You can’t really tell, all you know is that they’re no younger than sixteen. The girl is blonde, her hair is curled at the bottom naturally, and she has green eyes. The boy resembles her closely, with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes.
You try to remember a name to their faces. You recognize them, so they had to have been within the last two year. But nothing comes to mind, not even the title they were assigned after either of them one.
Your eyes then wander to the right microphone, knowing that Finnick would have been there, giving you a reassuring smile. He would be right here for you the entire time, not letting you be the only one to go through this. Half of the time up here would be dedicated to him. He would be sharing the unwanted spotlight, and it wouldn’t have fallen just to you.
“Thank you.” your voice is strained at first as you go to look back to the crowd. District One is so bright, with their white buildings and colorful insides, “I am thankful to be here today, to stand in front of a crowd and to be alive. And the only reason I can be, is for the noble sacrifice that District One had made with their tributes, Lennox and Trink.”
You still don’t look up, “I’m sure that if Finnick were here, he’d say the exact same.” you take a peek at the notecards, not knowing where to go. You know that the speech doesn’t have to be long, but it can’t be too short either. Plus, you can’t avoid the families for long.
Biting the inside of your cheek, you look up now, starting with Trink on the left, “I would like to offer my apology to the family of Trink Nenni. I know that losing a daughter and sister can be hard, and life will never be the same without her.” Trink was an only child, it’s only her parents, “Outside of the games, Trink proved to be a great person, and she gave me the benefit of the doubt--”
“That’s because you’re a liar!” someone in the crowd shouts, “You lied to all of them for your own selfish gain!”
The peacekeepers jerk, but they don’t go after the person. You’re glad that they don’t. It would only give the people in the crowd a bigger reason to hate you.
“Inside of the arena, she was a shoulder to lean on, and a great ally.” your attention is then turned to Lennox, and you can feel the world slow and your heart speed, “I would also like to offer my apology to the family of Lennox Laude.” he’s got his younger brother and parents on the platform, “Lennox was smart in and out of the arena, he knew what he was doing, he was prepared.
“I’m sorry that the games ended the way they did, and if I could go back, I wish I had made his death quicker. No one deserves to have a death drawn out that long, no matter what they’ve done in their life.” you’re lying. All of that is a lie. Lennox got what he deserved, and you wish you could have done more.
“I’ll also apologize on the behalf of Finnick, for lighting the supplies on fire. I can’t imagine how expensive all of that would have been to replace, it must have cost their sponsors and District One great fortune.
“Once again, thank you for your sacrifice, and I wish District One well, in the future.”
The clapping is reluctant. The mayor takes the right microphone after, which is when she hands over the plaques--both yours and Finnick’s--that District One is required to make and give. Then, a couple of girls hand you flowers. You bid the district goodbye, and head right back into the Justice Building, where Elysia and everyone else is waiting to help you.
You think that it’s over, and you’re going to get on the train to head to District Two, when Elysia informs you that you have to eat with the mentors of Trink and Lennox, as well as the mayor and the families.
All at once, you can feel your body deflate.
“I have to do that for every district?”
Mags nods, and you can see that she was afraid to tell you this part.
“How long does it last?”
“Two hours at most. It’s a dinner celebration. After, you get back on the train and we head towards District Two.” Elysia says.
“But you’ll all be there?” you ask hopefully.
Laurel nods, “Elysia and Mags will be. It’s not our place.”
“Oh.” your eyes wander, and your fingers glide along your ring finger until they connect with the silver, “Right.”
Despite all of this, you’re taken back to the train anyway. You go ahead and set your plaque and the first round of flowers into a box that Elysia provided. Then, you go to Finnick’s room, standing in the doorway for a moment. 
The bed is neatly made, there’s no wrinkles. It doesn’t look like anyone has touched it. So, you go ahead and neatly lay the plaque and flowers on top of the blanket. 
The next couple of hours is spent in front of a mirror in the bathroom. Laurel has decided to go with one of the nicer, shinier dresses, saying that she wants you to blend in with the other mentors. 
She thinks that if you look like one of them, you’re less likely to be looked down upon. It’ll be harder to hate you or something.
Soon, you’re walking out with Elysia and Mags. At the actual dinner, it’s a lot easier than you expected. Instead of being sat near the family, you’re across from the mentors instead. There, you’re able to enjoy yourself a little bit.
Until they speak, “(Y/n) Gallows.” The girl draws out your name, her voice is sweet, smooth, “Gallows as in hanging?”
You stare at her, because her name seems to be right on the tip of your tongue. There’s something about her voice, like it’s dripping sugar. Entrancing, inviting, friendly. But no matter how friendly it is, there’s some hidden intentions.
“Yes.” you answer, eyebrows drawing together, “In my family, we take the last name of our mothers, because my great-grandmother used to hang Capitol commanders during the Dark Days.” 
It’s true, and it’s a wonder how your family’s bloodline hasn’t been wiped out because of it. Especially since your great-grandmother was so good at it, and she wasn’t caught until she turned sixty. That's when your grandmother and your mom went into hiding until your great-grandmother’s investigation died out.
Of course, they killed her and tried to make an example out of her too. But your last name still turns heads. You’re still surprised that it hadn’t clicked in the minds of the Capitol officials when they constantly had to read your last name.
The boys’ eyes widen, and the girl raises her eyebrows. For a moment, you think you’ve got them off your back, finally. But then, she smiles. 
“Cashmere and Gloss, but I’m sure you know that.” 
It clicks, now. It’s the back-to-back wins. The brother and sister duo. Gloss won the sixty third games, and Cashmere won the sixty fourth. Gloss is eighteen now, and Cashmere is seventeen.
“Nice to meet you.” you smile back.
The dinner is so much easier after that. Soon, you’re having to bid Cashmere and Gloss goodbye, and offer your condolences one last time to Trink and Lennox’s family. On the way back to the train, you can’t help but to think about how Cashmere and Gloss didn’t seem to care that you killed their tributes.
Maybe it was the impression you left, because that’s the only reason you can think of.
--
District Two. Allio and Eytelle. Both tributes you killed.
And there’s still no sign of Finnick.
“He’ll be at the next one.” Elysia promises, fixing the headband in your hair, trying to offer you a polite smile, “Here’s your cards, the microphone to the left, okay? Big smiles.”
“Right.” you say, staring at the dark oak doors. These ones are much more engraved than the ones in District One. However, by no means does it make them look nicer. In fact, it looks so cluttered.
If you reach out, are they smooth? Or will you get a splinter the second your finger touches it?
You aren’t able to know. The doors open at the mention of your name, and you’re walking through them the second after. Today, the notecards are a light orange, and so is the dress you’re wearing. The headband is white, and so are your shoes.
District Two is also bright, but not as colorful. Just like District One, they’ve got rich-looking citizens with what looks like relatively new clothes. Off to the left is their mayor, on the right is the mentors. And since you studied up, you can now name the girl standing there: Enobaria.
She won the sixty second games. Her famous kill was when she ripped the neck out of a tribute, and because of it, she had her teeth sharpened. She’s got dark hair, brown eyes. You can’t name the guy next to her at all, though. You don’t know who he is entirely.
As you stop in front of the left microphone, you hold your chin up a little higher. Caesar and Claudius couldn’t shut up about the fact that your head was down, like you were trying to avoid all of this. So, you’ll give them what they want, and you stare straight into the district.
To further it, you smile, and lower the notecards, because you’ve memorized it now. You want to see their criticism after this.
The clapping quiets, a hush falling over the people. Your eyes wander along the people in the crowd, “Thank you, for your warm welcome. I’d like to apologize for Finnick’s absence, it seems he’s held up in the Capitol. Instead, I will speak for the both of us today.
“I would like to thank District Two for the sacrifice of their tributes. Not only were Eytelle and Allio great candidates, but they were also great people. Eytelle was nice, and even if she didn’t speak very much, she was kind.” you look to her family, “I’d like to offer my apology to the family of Eytelle Josic. I hope that you can forgive me for what I have done. I just didn’t want her to suffer.”
Eytelle’s got a younger brother and sister, it looks like. No father, only a mother. From where you stand, you can see the sad expression on her face. She nods, she understands. She might even be thankful that you didn’t just leave her. And to close out this story, you give the animated picture a look.
Your eyes then travel to Allio’s family. This won’t be as easy, you backstabbed Allio. And his family is angry. His only sister glares angrily, as for his three younger brothers--you don’t know if they have a single clue what’s going on.
“I’d also like to offer my apology to the family of Allio Bevard.” the mother’s lips curl, like she wants to lunge, “I know what I did was cruel, but it was for survival. Allio wasn’t a very trustful person, and that was for a good reason. I’m sorry that it had to end that way.” one look to the animated picture, and then back to the crowd.
“I’m thankful to be standing here today, and it wouldn’t have been possible if it weren’t for Eytelle and Allio. Thank you.”
There’s some angry yelling, but the clapping drowns it out. You accept the plaques for both you and Finnick, and then the nice flowers too. Inside of District Two’s justice building, you pass them off to Elysia momentarily as you try to calm yourself down.
“Please tell me that Finnick will be at the next stop.” you look at Mags, then Elysia. The next stop has Blaire, and you can’t do it alone, “We should run through the Capitol real quick to get him.”
Mags has got her lips pressed together, sealed tight. And Elysia has an expression on her face that you read easily. The answer is right in her eyes.
You slap the notecards into her free hand, picking up the plaques and flowers as you march right out of the building. Back on the train, you set your things neatly into the box, and as for Finnick’s room, they’re on the bed. It’s beginning to look more like a memorium than a celebration.
Maybe it’s a good thing.
At the dinner, you keep to yourself, mostly. Enobaria and the other mentor aren’t as friendly as they looked on the stage. Now, they look big and angry. They might be teenagers too, or they’re just getting out of it, but they don’t like you. And you don’t think you really like them either.
--
District Three, this is going to be much easier.
Blaire and Verda. You didn’t kill either of them, and it helps that Blaire was a friend.
Today’s dress is navy blue, it goes to your knees. With only black flats. Today, there is no hair accessory.
“I’m sorry about Finnick.” Mags holds up her paper, you offer her a smile.
“I’m not.”
The doors open, and you head right out. There’s a distinct difference in the districts now, District Three isn’t nearly as nice as the first two. The only thing that’s nice is the justice building. Behind the crowd, with their business buildings, you can’t think of any compliments.
At the left microphone, you smile to the crowd, “Hello District Three. I’m honored to be here today, to speak for you. Finnick’s not here, so I’ll be speaking for him too. Even if he didn’t know your tributes well, I did. And I appreciate the both of them.
You look up to Blaire’s family, “Blaire Heinle was a good friend to me inside of the arena. And I can’t stop thinking about how I saved him not only once, but twice because something inside me told me it was the right thing to do.” Blaire’s got his brother and his parents. They all look sadder than Eytelle’s family did, “I am speaking from my heart when I say that I wish Blaire hadn’t sacrificed himself to save me from Lennox. I believe he thought he was in my debt, but it was quite the opposite.
“I would like to offer my deepest condolences for the Heinle family. And I want you to know that I haven’t gone a single day without thinking about Blaire. We might not have known each other for very long, but he meant something to me. He was a dear friend.”
Blaire’s animated picture really does sting. You can’t look at it for as long as you want to, it hurts too much. Verda is much easier, though. She’s got two sisters, and both her parents, “As for Verda, she was a pretty soul. We had one conversation inside of the training center, and she seemed to be kind. Even though I had allied myself with the careers, she didn’t care. She was indifferent. I’d like to apologize to you.”
A deep breath as you look back to the crowd, “District Three has been so incredibly kind to me. And if it weren't for Blaire, I really wouldn’t be standing here. Believe me when I say I wish I could do something to show my appreciation.”
District Three is loud, with clapping and cheering. It brings tears to your eyes, and you accept the plaques while fighting off those tears. The flowers are a pretty blue color. You say goodbye one final time, before you’re leaving the stage and going back to the train.
Again, you set your plaque and flowers into the box neatly. But for Finnick’s, you’re barely in there long enough to toss them on the bed.
District Five will be different.
--
Under any other circumstances, you would be excited to wear this deep maroon dress. Now, it just feels wrong.
District Five isn’t as loud with their clapping. You take the left microphone, give a big smile and lift your chin. It feels wrong, especially since you had helped Finnick trap Elodia--the girl--in a net to kill her. 
“District Five, I would like to thank you for your tributes and sacrifices. Under any other circumstances I’d be excited to be here, and would even ask for a tour on how you do things. It’s unfortunate that things are the way they are.”
You look to Elodia, “Elodia and I didn’t know each other. But before the private training session with the gamemakers, we and the other girls were able to share a laugh, even if it was for a second.” next is Moises, “I’d like to offer my condolences, I can’t say that I knew him very well either. The two of them died nobly.”
You accept the plaques and flowers, give one final thank you, and leave. Inside the train, you organize your plaques and flowers. Finnick’s things lay in one big heap on the bed.
You can’t help but to want to set it all on fire. But that’ll only get you in trouble. So, you leave the room and head back to your own. Knowing that District Six is the next one up.
--
“Thank you for letting me be here today.” you force a smile, “Ossie and Amos were two brave souls. I appreciate everything that they did inside of the arena to allow me to be here today. I hope you can believe me when I say that I take no pleasure in knowing that they’re no longer here with us today.”
Eyes to Ossie, “Ossie was a beautiful girl, kind. I wish I would have had the time to get to know her in a more calm setting. Had I not been allied with the careers, I would have gone to her.” next is Amos, “Amos seemed to be great friends with Mac. I didn’t see much of him inside of the training center, so I can’t say a lot.
“Thank you, District Six.”
The mayor hands over a silver plaque and the boys give you yellow flowers. You thank them greatly, and leave the stage carelessly.
--
“In my opinion, I think District Seven provided two very brave people.” you smile at Mac and Cass’ families, “As I mentioned in another speech, I was able to have a laugh with the girls before our private training session. In this time, Cass seemed to happy, and after we exchanged a few words, I realized I should’ve allied myself with her.
“However, it wasn’t only the girls that had talked to each other, Mac also joined in. At the time, it seemed so dumb them, talking about boy trouble. But now I can appreciate the fact that we were all able to be normal teenagers, even if it was for a couple of minutes. 
“Before the games had started, Cass and I shared a competitive look that was all in good fun. It looked like she wanted a race to the cornucopia, and I felt sorry, knowing that the moment we got there, our friendship would be temporary. I’m glad that I wasn’t the one to kill her, because I’m not even sure if I would have been able to.
“Thank you, seven. For producing two very beautiful people that I could consider friends. I hope your district prospers with your future tributes, and I hope that if there is a victor in the near future, I can be friends with him or her.” 
The mayor hands over the same polished, silver plaque that the others do. These flowers are lilies, so incredibly delicate.
Later at the dinner, the families and mentors were tearful. You spent the entire dinner explaining the conversation between all the girls and Mac in as much detail as you can remember. At the end of the night, the mentors requested that you’d come visit whenever you want, if it was possible.
--
The next couple of districts were a blur.
District Eight was easy, Sydney and Nestor were nothing to you. Their plaque was silver, their flowers purple. You thanked their district deeply, and the only mentor that considered your feelings was a nice woman named Cecelia. She was a mother of kids, herself. And she couldn’t help but feel sorry that you had to go through the games at such a young age. You liked her.
District Nine had Kent and Claris. Once again, pretty useless. Silver plaque, red roses. No mentors talked to you, and even though you didn’t kill their children--both of the families glared at you the entire time. 
District Ten was a little harder again, since you killed the girl from ten. You had to assure her family that Hallie’s face haunts you, especially when she seemed so kind. The first death on your hands, and it had to be Hallie out of all people. As for Clay, it was much easier to make a speech. No mentors stood out to you.
And now here you are, in District Eleven. You killed Horace, and you made your hatred for Thyme no secret. 
And surprise, surprise, there is no sight of Finnick.
You’ve had to face all the faces of the people he’s killed for him. Had to apologize on his behalf for not only being here, but also his kills. It’s not your place. He should be owning up to it.
He promised you he would be here. He promised that he’d be going through all of this with you. And where is he? In the Capitol? Watching all of this live from his nice apartment?
Fuck Finnick.
And now you get to face Thyme’s family by yourself.
You thought that you had gotten over all of this, that you weren’t jealous or angry anymore. But with how much time you’ve had to think between districts, it’s starting to bubble again. 
Mags doesn’t want you to be mad, but it’s hard not to be.
Especially when you think he deserves it.
You can hear your name announced through the door, and with gritted teeth, you force a smile. Knowing that this is the second to last appearance before you can finally go home.
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thefilmfatale · 5 years ago
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Jojo Rabbit (2019)
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Who says you can't laugh about the Holocaust? Certainly not Taika Waititi.
The Hunt for the Wilderpeople director’s latest film Jojo Rabbit, set in Nazi Germany with a fanatical Hitler youth at its center, is uproarious, funny, and anything but glib. The story follows 10-year-old Jojo Betzler (played by the effortlessly charismatic and magnetic Roman Griffin Davis), who idolizes Adolf Hitler so much that Hitler (played by Waititi) has become his imaginary friend, popping up like a proverbial devil-on-one’s-shoulder during random moments of turmoil to comfort and counsel our budding young Nazi. 
Jojo’s dedication to the cause is unwavering. Thanks to some imaginative Nazi propaganda, Jojo is convinced that his purpose is to exterminate Jews, whom he envisions as winged creatures that eat children and hoard anything shiny. Alas, after playing cavalier with a grenade at Hitler youth camp, Jojo suffers an accident that renders him unfit to keep training with the other children, including his best friend Yorki (played by the adorably precocious Archie Yates). He’s promptly sent home, where his angst grows due to being isolated from his Jew-hating peers. To add insult to injury, he discovers that his mother Rosie (Scarlett Johansson) has been hiding a Jewish girl in their home. Outraged and beside himself with indignation, Jojo hatches a plan to get rid of the Jewish girl, seizing it as an opportunity to prove himself as a true Nazi believer to his peers. 
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Jojo embarks on quite the character arc, and Waititi once again proves that he is a masterful director when it comes to working with children. His ability to elicit the purest, most delightful performances from child actors is amazing (just as he did in Hunt for the Wilderpeople), and the audience swiftly finds themselves endeared to Jojo and the rest of the cast. Performances from everyone were delightful, with Waititi allowing each actor (such as Johansson, Sam Rockwell, and Rebel Wilson) to bring their signature flairs to their characters. While the film is approached mostly as a period piece from an aesthetic standpoint (with costumes, set design, and color palettes largely faithful to the period), Waititi’s deliberate choices in making it anachronistic serve two purposes: to punctuate the satire, and to help make what should be a very sobering subject matter more approachable.   
The story, a loose adaptation of the book Caging Skies by Christine Leunens, while quirky and sweet certainly doesn't shy away from the real horrors of the holocaust. It’s a tightrope walk to juggle humor and atrocity, but Waititi makes it seem natural. He also knows precisely how to tug at heartstrings without being melodramatic. Jojo Rabbit’s triumph is ultimately in its ability to treat the topic of ideological extremism with the ridicule it so often deserves while at the same time provoking interesting questions about why people get sucked into blindly following charismatic demagogues, entrenching themselves in hate-filled cults, and spouting toxic ideologies. The best part? Waititi does this with so much thoughtfulness and nuance, all while serving up an entertaining, poignant story. 
By the end of Jojo Rabbit, you’re not raising your pitchforks screaming about the injustice of the Holocaust—that would be rather trite. Instead, you’re reminded that humans are complex, multi-dimensional, and capable of both immense kindness and unbridled terror. It’s a celebration of people’s capacity to change their minds. More importantly, it’s a reminder of the beauty of comedy and how laughter can be the best medicine during turbulent times. 
(More—including spoilers—under the cut)
What I love most about Jojo Rabbit is the depth of each character and how there’s so much to dissect and unpack for each one. Beginning with Jojo—we learn that not only is his father far away, in danger, fighting somewhere on the frontlines, but that he also lost his older sister Inge. We’re never told in full detail what happened to her, but the main takeaway is that her death, coupled by the absence of Jojo’s father, were tragedies that may have propelled Jojo to seek out the philosophy of the Third Reich. It’s not uncommon for young fanatics to get swept into hate groups when they are at their lowest points. When you’re angry or feeling helpless and lonely, it’s easy to externalize your pain and find someone to blame, whether it’s an entire gender, people of certain ethnicities, or members of a different political party. It’s simpler, you see, instead of owning one’s problems and acknowledging that the world doesn’t revolve around you. By making boogeymen out of people who are easy targets, we assert control over the senseless things that happen in our lives. It’s a way to feel powerful.
When you’re young, there are so many things that are out of your control. You’re caught in this torrent of everyone else’s decisions—your parents, school, your peers, society at large—and you’re looking around, flailing and hyperaware, that you’re living what is supposed to be your life and yet there seems so very little that you have ownership of. That's Jojo’s story. Not only is he caught in the middle of a war, but he’s grappling with some seriously heavy shit: an absentee father, a dead sister, a craving for acceptance from his peer group and, ultimately, a longing for connection that is rooted in positivity rather that hate. 
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At first that connection seems to be cultivated by his mother, Rosie, who is literally and figuratively the most vibrant character in the film. From her bold, striking fashion sense and rouged lips to her joie de vivre, Rosie is, to quote Mulan, a flower that blooms in adversity. Even during the bleakest of times, she finds ways to uplift her son, whom she can tell is hurting. Her bursts of energy, her ability to find excitement and enthusiasm even in the most mundane of things, her rally to dance in the face of tragedy—all were reminders that dwelling on hatred and sorrow, while easy and sometimes necessary, is a crutch in a balm’s disguise. We must always forge ahead and seek hope when all feels lost, like “staring a tiger in the eyes”, as Rosie would say. That’s why, despite the risks of being caught by the Gestapo, she housed a Jewish girl in her home. In some small way, she was doing her part in the resistance against a hateful movement. While Rosie says she’s never stared a tiger in the eyes, her act of defiance came at great risk to herself, and that’s true courage.
In one of the most heartbreaking scenes in the film, Jojo is wandering the streets when he notices a bright, blue butterfly fluttering against the backdrop of hate-filled propaganda smattered on the city walls. He chases it wistfully and accidentally stumbles on the gallows in the middle of the town square. All the audience sees, hanging from the gallows, is a pair of legs with bright-colored shoes, and our hearts immediately sink. It’s Rosie. Waititi leads up to this shocking moment during a previous scene, while Jojo and Rosie are hanging out by a river. Rosie makes fun of Jojo for still being unable to tie his own shoes. She’s skipping gleefully on top of a concrete wall, with the camera trained low at Jojo’s eye-level, so the audience sees a shot of her shoes as she taps into a merry little dance. Waititi counts on viewers remembering this quiet scene to make what follows truly devastating. The effect is quite heart-stopping, and it’s impossible to want to reach out and give poor Jojo a hug as he cries out and wraps his arms around his dead mother’s feet. It’s then that Waititi makes his message known: Yes, there’s plenty to make light of in the world, but you can do this while also acknowledging that there’s plenty of darkness. It’s an impressive balancing act, and Waititi does it with so much wonderful exuberance and earnestness that it’s tough not to commend.
Viewers notice that the more Jojo focuses on the positive things in his life—his mother, his new Jewish friend Elsa—the less we see of his imaginary friend Hitler. And this is a deliberate choice by Waititi to prove a point: when you are consumed with hate, you’ll want to constantly keep feeding it because it’s comfortable and easy. As humans, we have a biological negative bias that we rely on as a means of survival. The very idea of entropy exists as a reminder that it takes more work to put things in order, to be good, to rise above, than for things to decay and distort and devolve. The more you fill your life with things that bring you joy, fulfillment, and contentment, the less you’ll rely on poisonous literature and toxic people. While this isn't exactly an epiphany for most of us, one may applaud Waititi for the inventive way he delivers this message.  
Another delightful character who, on the surface, seemed to be solely there for comedic effect, was Sam Rockwell’s Captain Klenzendorf, who’s tasked with whipping up these little rascals into Nazi-fighting shape. From the very get go, we sense that this man’s commitment to the Nazi cause is entirely for appearances’ sake. From his clandestine romance with his right-hand man (played by Games of Thrones’ Alfie Allen) to his soft spot for Jojo, the audience is led to believe that this man is merely pretending to be a hard-ass because that’s what you were expected to do, else be accused of treason to your nation. One could assume his affection for Jojo had something to do with being able to sympathize with the young boy after Jojo is relegated to doing simple jobs due to his injury (Klenzendorf claims he was benched from the frontlines because of an injury that led to him having a dead eye). But it’s toward the end of the film where we fully realize the totality of his character. In an earlier scene, Jojo is bullied by some older boys into killing a rabbit. They jeer at him as he wrestles with the decision to kill an innocent animal. He’s torn between wanting desperately to ingratiate himself into his peer group and staying true to the part of himself that’s kind, pure, innocent, and staunchly against needless violence. The music builds as we lean forward in our seats waiting to see what Jojo does. He decides on an act of mercy at his own expense, releasing the bunny and yelling at it to flee from danger. Unfortunately, before it has a chance to escape, the bunny is snatched up by one of the older boys, who wrings its neck in front of all the young boys to see. 
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At first this seems like a scene that’s simply supposed to be an obnoxious display of bravado. But Waititi calls back to this scene towards the end of the film twice. Klenzendorf arrives at the Betzler household when it is being searched and ransacked by the Gestapo, who suspect Rosie has been aiding Jews. Jojo is terrified, not just to be discovered as traitors by the Gestapo but for Elsa’s (the Jewish girl they have been hiding who has now become his friend) safety. To get ahead of the situation, Elsa emerges from her hiding place and pretends to be Jojo’s dead sister Inge. When the Gestapo demand her paperwork, she shows them Inge’s old ID card. Klenzendorf immediately intercedes, grabs the ID from her hand and demands that she variate her identity by stating her birthday. Elsa stammers in response. “Correct,” Klenzendorf confirms flatly. The Gestapo consider this acceptable and vacate the premises, none the wiser. We discover immediately that Elsa had actually given the wrong birthdate, and Klenzendorf could have outed her right then, but decided not to. He was helping the bunny escape.
In another scene, when the Allied troops march into Germany and start rounding up all the Nazi soldiers, Jojo (who has a Nazi officer’s jacket on) is mistaken for one of them. He runs into Captain Klenzendorf, who creates a commotion by wrenching the Nazi jacket off of Jojo’s back and pushing him away, telling him to flee while yelling at him for being a dirty Jew so the Allies don’t execute him. It was an act of sacrifice from a man who recognized himself in the young boy. Klenzendorf saw Jojo’s gentleness and purity of heart and knew this kid needed to live. He released the bunny, stared a tiger squarely in the eyes—at the expense of his own life.
Jojo Rabbit, while certainly laugh-out-loud funny and full of amusement, is a moving story about heroism from a group of people who rarely ever get acknowledgment for their acts of bravery. These were Germans who defied their Führer and their Aryan brotherhood at great risk to their own lives. While these acts will never erase the horrors of the Holocaust, it’s a reminder that people are complicated creatures, capable of miraculous acts of mercy and horrific deeds of violence. It implores us to think about how some of the people that get caught up in hate groups are hurting deeply and just looking for something to blame their pain on. It definitely doesn’t excuse their actions or the bile they oftentimes spew, but it merely reminds us that behind every caricature is a human being in pain. 
Even if you see Jojo Rabbit and don’t think it’s that deep—you may say “Starr, it’s just a comedy about stupid Nazis, it’s not even a true story”. What is true about it is that we live in a world of grey, and while it may be simpler to put people in buckets of black and white, hero and villain, good and bad, more often than not we are all just hurting in some way. What’s true about it is that we have more in common than we have differences and ultimately, everyone regardless of race, creed, sexual orientation, craves the same thing: freedom; Freedom from the burdens that we carry on our shoulders, from dead loved ones to strife and war. Freedom from the fear of persecution for being who we are. The freedom to wear whatever we want, screw whomever we want, and to dance like no one’s looking. 
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madeoutofcode · 4 years ago
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The Last of Us Part II ( Playstation Exclusive, Released June 19th 2020 ) Beware of Spoilers at the end. 
Overall ⭐️10/10⭐️
When the undead became popular in the early 21st century I was only a small child, who had yet to be grasped by its grimy hold. Beyond enjoying the Left 4 Dead games, and occasionally watching the Walking Dead, I never got into the genre. Growing up I was very much into Nintendo, from Majoras Mask to Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door. The idea of a deep compelling character driven story had never crossed my mind. By 2009 I got deep into shooters and Xbox. Halo, Modern Warfare 2, the Gears of Wars games. And rarely thought twice about character and story while playing, only enjoying the gameplay.
And in 2013 something piqued my interest: Naughty Dogs The Last of Us.
I had never owned a PlayStation console before, only getting my hands on the second one on the rare occasion I visited a friend’s house. But for some reason I was extremely interested in playing this game.
So, after saving up some money I bought a used PS3 and a brand-new copy of The Last of Us. And I quickly fell in love with the game. From its story, to characters, environment. This world taught me just how much of an impact the gaming industry can have. 
I’m telling this just so you understand how important this game was to me, and just how much of an impact it had on me, 100% influencing me going into this second part of the story.
Gameplay: ⭐️8/10⭐️
The feel of the game is phenomenal. I experienced few gameplay errors. Now I’m not sure if that’s a universal experience. There was only one small moment where I had to reset a checkpoint because of a wonky jump, but no progress was lost.
The controls if you have played the first game, will be like riding a bike. From crafting to combat to stealth. It is extremely satisfying movement for me, whether it’s simply exploring during a moment of peace or getting dragged into a fight for survival, running for your life.
While combat if gruesome gory fun, the game quickly beats into your head that direct confrontation is not always if ever the best option. You are constantly outgunned and outmanned. And during the first few sections of the game I was always low on ammo, health, and crafting material.
The game forced me to rethink my playstyle. And taught me that there’s almost always another away around a fight. Once I adapted to survival rather than fighting, I felt immensely satisfied sneaking my way past opposition or stealth killing the squad of enemies that’s been sent my way.
Traversing the levels, finding collectibles, and seeing just what other people have left behind or remnants of the old world was almost always my favorite part of the game.
With that being said, I think there were moments that dragged on. For me personally, I’d probably blame my refusal to stop playing until I beat the campaign. When I wasn’t working I would start up this game, up until I had to go to bed for work the next day. Because when things kicked off they went off and only reinvigorated my rush for the next story beat.
Graphics: ⭐️9/10⭐️
As gorgeous as this game is, my one gripe would be the constant rain and darkness, which does go along with the story, but I wouldn’t have minded some change of scenery. But from the lighting of the scenery to the places I got to explore, Naughty Dog is constantly impressing me with what they’re capable of, pushing the most they can out of the PS4’s hardware.
I won’t pretend I’ve always been a hardcore Naughty Dog fan, but my recent playthrough of their Uncharted Collection and less recent playthrough of Uncharted 4 has shown me they know what they’re doing and if they keep going this way I’ll have nothing but good things to say.
Conclusion: 
Now the story section will contain spoilers, I’m telling you now, and a few more times after this. But here are some final thoughts before hand, for those who don’t want spoilers. 
This game was a fantastic experience overall. I highly recommend both games to anyone on the fence about it, (though given sales I doubt there’s many people left who hasn’t played it), This game only cements my already solid appreciation for the Naughty Dog team, and can’t wait to see what project they move onto next. 
This has been KryptonDaughter, signing off.  
Story: ⭐️10/10⭐️ (WARNING SPOILERS. LIKE MAJOR SPOILERS. AS IN DO NOT CONTINUE UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE SPOILED)
I’m giving you one last chance to get out, because there will be spoilers!
Okay. So here it goes. I’ve heard about how much hate this game has gotten. From review bombing to actual threats sent to the cast and crew, which is insane. I can understand not liking this story and wanting to keep your first game just how it was. But I respect the hell out of Naughty Dog for telling a very realistic follow up to their last game. By the time I completed the game the story meant so much to me, not only on a story telling basis but emotionally.
The moment Ellie walked into Joel’s house I became 100% invested in where this story was going. I understood her thought process and feelings perfectly. And knowing how badly she needed this closure but also knowing how revenge often goes, considering the world ND has built.
On the other hand the whole time I couldn’t help but think: “Joel probably did something to deserve this.” Because yes, you grow attached to both these characters through the course of the first game, but even then you get hints of Joel’s story and what he did to make sure he and Tommy survived to get to when you play as him in the first game.
I felt such a sense of humanity switching to Abby, playing out those days in Seattle knowing what happens to her friends as Ellie makes her way to find her. I couldn’t hate her character. I could be angry about her killing Joel but even then, when her backstory is unveiled, I sympathized with her so much.
I lost my grandfather growing up. He didn’t get killed or anything, he died peacefully in his sleep, and I got to hold his hand while he did so. But he was someone who wasn’t my father who taught me so much about taking care of myself, from cooking to laundry to driving. I could sympathize with both protagonists. I wanted to give them both that closure they needed.
Seeing Abby grow into the same role Joel had with Ellie, was wonderful. Finding out that killing Joel didn’t help her move on, and by the end of the game, Ellie finding out that killing Abby wouldn’t help her move on, was such a fantastic character story to follow.
I was a terribly angry, hateful person in my teen years, and couldn’t start moving for my loss for a long time. I wanted both of these characters to move on but understood why they couldn’t. And being able to see both stories through meant more to me than the last game.
This game by the end became one of if not my favorite game of the past few years. And I thank Naughty Dog for their incredible dedication and hard work on it.
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chriscolfernews · 5 years ago
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Chris Colfer is renowned for his Golden Globe-winning performance as Kurt Hummel on Fox'sGlee, where he helped bring the story and struggles of a gay teen to an international audience.
However, the 29-year-old actor-turned-writer is also taking the literary world by storm. Colfer has written an impressive 15 novels, most notably his The Land of Stories children's fantasy series. He does not shy away from LGBTQ activism on the page. His latest book, A Tale of Magic..., which centers on people persecuted for practicing magic, "is an allegory for being gay," Hummel told The Advocate in a recent interview.
Evoking a children's version of The Handmaid's Tale, A Tale of Magic presents a world where women have no rights and are barred from reading. Additionally, practitioners of magic are condemned to death or life imprisonment. A young girl, Brystal Evergreen, rebels against this tyranny by engaging in both. In turn, she is sent to a correctional facility to "cure" her of her magic. A mysterious savior, Madame Weatherberry, rescues Brystal from detainment and recruits her on a mission to change the hearts and minds of the kingdom.
In the following interview, Colfer discusses how antigay politics of the real world inspired his magical allegory, which he calls a "manifesto for compassion. I’ve never written anything like it before." A Tale of Magic, now available on Amazon and wherever good books are sold, also recently debuted at #1 on the New York Times Best Seller list, demonstrating how Colfer's message of political resistance has resonated with young audiences.
The Advocate: Congratulations on your new book! What inspired A Tale of Magic?
Chris Colfer: Trauma, mostly. I was 11 years old when 9/11 happened. I remember I was old enough to understand what was happening, but I wasn’t old enough to understand why it was happening. And I don’t think anything is scarier for a child than confusion. I can’t imagine how scared kids must feel nowadays. So I wanted to write a book that parents and teachers could use as a point of reference when they explain the troubling things their kids and students see on the news. I hope it puts things into perspective while giving them a magical adventure at the same time.
You’ve written 15 books. What’s the secret to your productivity? Caffeine. Lots and lots of caffeine. Also, isolation. Sometimes I’ll go weeks without seeing anyone besides my boyfriend and our dogs.
Who are your literary influences? Well, I apologize for sounding like a millennial cliché, but J.K. Rowling had the biggest impact on me. I wasn’t a good reader when I was young, and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone was the first book I actually enjoyed reading. And some of my happiest childhood memories were going to those midnight release parties. I then went on to devour everything by C.S. Lewis, Eva Ibbotson, and Bruce Coville. On some level, I think I’m still mourning the end of Harry Potter. It left a void I’ve been trying to fill by writing my own books.
What appeals to you about the fantasy genre in particular? I suppose it’s the escapism and encouragement it provides. In fantasy, a mouse can slay a dragon if it’s courageous enough. That’s very therapeutic for those of us still battling our own dragons.
A Tale of Magic, much like The Handmaid’s Tale, shows a bleak world where women have no rights. Also, practitioners of magic are subjected to imprisonment or even the death sentence. While writing the book, how much did the real world and the current political climate influence your storytelling? The current climate was the entire inspiration. A Tale of Magic was supposed to be an easy task for me. It was supposed to be the start of a simple prequel series. The working title was The Land Before Stories. But when I sat down to actually write it, I felt so angry and helpless by the state of the world, I had to do something more so I could sleep at night. Even if I was the wrong messenger, even if it didn’t do well, I wanted to do anything I possibly could to guide the next generation onto a better path. It ceased to be a prequel and became a completely original story. Now I consider A Tale of Magic my manifesto for compassion. I’ve never written anything like it before.
What is the overarching message you wanted to send by centering your story on a character who is not only discriminated against for her gender, but also her extraordinary abilities? I want young people to know that just because they’re born into an environment that doesn’t accept or appreciate them, that doesn’t mean there isn’t an environment that will. There’s a lot of love waiting for you out there if you’re willing to look for it. I’m living proof. Also, the more the world discourages you, the more it needs you.
The protagonist is sent to a “Correctional Facility for Troubled Young Women” in the hopes that she will be “cured” of her magical gifts. This storyline echoes the experiences of survivors of conversion therapy. How do you think fiction — your novel in particular — can fight against antigay forces like "ex-gay" therapy in the real world? Thank you for making that connection. In my opinion, the purpose of fiction, besides providing an escape, is to subconsciously plant seeds of reason and compassion in people’s minds. That was the sole mission of the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault. After reading about the horrible and abusive experiences at the Correctional Facility in A Tale of Magic, I hope my readers will grow up with a resentment of conversion therapy already ingrained within them. If I can get them to sympathize with the struggles of a fictitious magical community, then maybe, just maybe, they’ll be more likely to sympathize with the struggles of other communities fighting for acceptance in the real world.
In addition to A Tale of Magic being a novel, do you see it as a work of LGBTQ activism? I’d like to think so. Although, I have no control over how other people will interpret it. For me, the magic in A Tale of Magic is an allegory for being gay. The characters are raised to believe magic is demonic and unnatural. They’re sent to camps where they “pray the magic away.” And they’re all on a mission to prove "magic isn’t a choice." But what magic represents for me may be different for a little girl in Egypt or a teenage boy in Japan. We all have obstacles that hold us back. We’re all assigned different stigmas based on our circumstances. So, whatever your “magic” may be, A Tale of Magic is about overcoming the forces that suppress it.
We’re living in a world when books are still being banned — and the written word itself is under attack. As a novelist, do you see it as your duty to fight against censorship? Absolutely. You have to be incredibly strategic to get your book into the hands of the people who need it the most. Especially when your books have LGBTQ themes. So many authors get criticized when they reveal a character’s orientation or gender identity after publication instead of on the page. But I don’t always agree with those critics. In some places books are instantly banned if they have any LGBTQ characters or LGBTQ references whatsoever. But there are ways of getting representation into those territories that goes under the radar. That’s the purpose of the character Xanthous Hayfield in A Tale of Magic. His orientation is never directly addressed in the first book, but there are enough clues so a closeted little boy living in an oppressive country can relate to him and know he’s not alone. But I don’t think censorship can survive the modern age. In fact, I think governments shoot themselves in the foot when they apply censorship. It instantly triggers a wave of curiosity and publicity you can’t buy. So please, by all means, ban me.
Did you have a Madame Weatherberry, the "fairy godmother" character in A Tale of Magic, in your life? My grandmother was my biggest cheerleader growing up. She made me believe in myself, and I think that’s the greatest gift you can give a kid, even if you don’t necessarily believe their dreams are practical. I used to sit with her for hours and hours on her back patio and talk. We’d make game plans of how I was going to accomplish my goals while she smoked and polished her guns.
You dedicate your novel to those whose shoulders you stand on — presumably LGBTQ pioneers. Did you have any particular figures in mind when making this dedication? There are a hundred names I could list that everyone knows, but it’s really about the people who are unknown. I get pretty emotional when I think about it. There are millions of people who never got to reap the benefits of their courage and honesty, but because they stood up when they did, I get to do what I love and be with who I love. I can’t imagine the bravery it took. Even right now, there are people in other parts of the world reading this website in secret, looking for encouragement as they fight for their right to exist. Wherever they are, I hope they can feel the future’s gratitude.
If you could have any magical ability, what would it be? Honestly, I’d be happy with just a faster metabolism. That sounds pretty magical.
What appeals to you about your literary work, versus the world of television and film? I suppose it’s the control. When I write a novel, it can be anything and everything I want it to be. I get to tell the story and describe the images exactly as they exist in my mind. In film and television there’s always so many cooks in the kitchen it’s difficult to produce a pure vision. There’s a lot of compromising and negotiating and it requires a lot of patience. Also, I can write books in my pajamas. It doesn’t get better than that.
Would you adapt A Tale of Magic into a movie or TV series? I would love to see A Tale of Magic come to life. I guess it all depends on my experience with the Land of Stories film adaptation. For my own physical safety, I hope the Disney/Fox merger settles so we can finish it. There are millions of kids around the world who are going to want to hurt me if they don’t get a movie soon.
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