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gunterfan1992 · 3 years ago

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Episode Review: ‘Wizard City’ (Distant Lands, Ep. 4)

Airdate: September 2, 2021

Story by: Adam Muto, Jack Pendarvis, Kate Tsang, Hanna K. Nyström, & Charley Feldman

Storyboarded by: Maya Petersen, Hanna K. Nyström, Anna Syvertsson, & Aleks Sennwald, & Haewon Lee

Directed by: Miki Brewster & Jeff Liu (supervising), Sandra Lee (art)

An episode focusing on Peppermint Butler’s dark side is something that the fandom has craved ever since the little guy demanded Finn and Jake’s flesh in season two’s “Death in Bloom.” While installments like season five’s “The Suitor” and season six’s “Nemesis” did much to scratch that itch, the story of the Dark One remained mostly unknown…

And after “Wizard City,” it still remains largely unknown. But that’s OK, because instead of focusing on the character’s history, this special focuses on Peps’ quest to relearn magic at a magic school. Put most simply, this special is largely a fun excuse for the show to riff on Harry Potter and The Owl House-style “magic school hijinks,” and it mostly all works.

The special follows Peps quest to go to WizArts (a definite play on CalArts, the school that Pen Ward and Adam Muto, among many others, went to) so that he can relearn magic and once again become one of the greatest dark wizards of his time. Initially, Peps tries to make friends with cool kid Spader and his posse, but once they learn that Peps is not as talented at magic as they had initially thought, they kick him to the curb. It is at this point that Cadebra, Abracadaniel’s adorkable niece who is fascinated with stage magic, enters the picture. Cadebra tries everything in her power to befriend Peps, but Peps pushes back, since she’s not “cool.” It does not matter, though, because both Peps and Cadebra are sorted into the same “house”—the “Skink House—and are forced to work together.

While Peps and his cohort begin learning more and more complex magic, a secret cult of school professors, led by the otherwise caring Dr. Caledonius, are scheming to resurrect Coconteppi, a powerful dark wizard whose putrid heart has been discovered underneath the school excreting a very powerful ichor. The school cult kidnaps Spader and gives him some of the ichor to drink; they hope that because of his talent, he will be able to house the spirit of Coconteppi. This does not go as planned, and Spader is graphically killed (albeit off screen). (In a more humorous moment, Bufo, the scam wizard from season one’s “Wizard,” also ingests some of the ichor, believing himself powerful enough to handle it, but it kills him.)

Eventually Peps and Cadebra learn what is going on. Dr. Caledonius welcomes Peps, believing that he is strong enough to handle the ichor. When Cadebra’s life is put in danger, Peps reluctantly gives the putrid fluid a swig, which infuses him with the power of Coconteppi. Coconteppi-Peps then kills all the cult members before Cadebra manages to remove the ichor from Peps body. For uncovering a heinous plot, Peps is promoted to the highest house, “Salamander,” but he decides to remain a Skink and learn magic “the hard way” with Cadebra as his friend.

As I mentioned near the start of this review, “Wizard City” spends most of its time riffing on the “magic boarding school” trope, with much of the episode feeling like a light-hearted parody of Harry Potter: The characters, after all, are “sorted” into “houses,” they learn various types of magic from skilled “professors,” and they bunk in different parts of a large castle-like campus. Of course, Harry Potter didn’t invent the idea of a boarding school, but when setting your story in a school for magic, it is very hard not to lean at least somewhat into the Hogwarts relation. And this really is a double-edged sword, for while Harry Potter references can be fun here and there, they can also make the overall story feel like a fanfic parody. This special does a good job focusing more so on the characters rather than the setting, but I won’t lie, at times it did feel as if they show was really trying to make you realize it was making a Harry Potter joke.

Of all the characters introduced in the special, the breakout star is easily Cadebra, voiced by Chloe Coleman. Radiating a sort of Mabel Pines energy, Cadebra is the beam of optimism who shines brightly in an otherwise macabre special. There is something about her plucky personality and sense of wacky individualism that charms the viewer. I appreciate how the show compared and contrasted her with her uncle, the one and only Abracadaniel: like her uncle, Cadebra is a good person who wants to help others, but unlike Abracadaniel, she has a sense of courage and fortitude that results in her taking on a Coconteppi-possessed Peps at the episode’s climax. (Say what you will, Abracadaniel stans, but our favorite custodian would never have done that!) Thanks to her bravery and dedication to Peps, Cadebra is easily the heart of the special.

The episode throws an interesting little curveball into the mix by having the ‘ghost’ of Past Peppermint Butler constantly haunt Peps in the here-and-now. Past Peppermint, it seems, was so determined to become a great wizard, he cursed himself, so that if anything were to go awry, his Past self could materialize and set him straight. It’s confusing, but I do think that mixing the “overbearing parent” trope with a curse is a clever idea; it gives the whole special some dramatic heft. The whole setup is made even funnier by the special’s conclusion: After Future Peppermint Butler is ‘defeated’ and the day is saved, Peps reveals to Cadebra that he still wants to be a great and powerful dark wizard… but he wants to earn that power through hard work and determination. (Peppermint Butler might commune with demons, but he would never sell his soul to one for power; Glob helps those who help themselves, ya know?)

One of the special’s strongest points is its background art. Adventure Time always had some beautiful set pieces, and this special goes above and beyond to give WizArts an ancient sense of grandeur and mystery. Ghostshrimp, a freelance artist who was the show’s lead background designer during seasons 1-4, return for this special as a “visual developer”—basically, he mocked up a bunch of rough designs for the locales, and then the episode’s background artists worked up the final pieces in his style. On his podcast, Ghostshrimp mentioned how hectic he found Adventure Time to be, because he was used to taking his time on pieces. As such, the decision to bring him on for just development was smart, as it allowed him to still come up with iconic background designs while also playing fast and loose with everything. Hopefully the show will continue this approach with the Fionna and Cake miniseries that is coming up. After all, Ghosthsrimp’s style is the look of Adventure Time.

Another strong point for the episode is its voice acting. For one thing, you have your regulars like Tom Kenny and Dana Snyder, and Duncan Trussell, who all give a solid performance. But to voice many of the special’s new characters, the show brought on a bevy of fun actors: Saturday Night Live’s Bill Hader, for instance, is now voicing Bufo, and he does a solid job hamming up his role as the old fogey. And then there’s Toks Olagundoye, whose British accent gives Dr. Caledonius a sense of knowledge and expertise. To my delight and surprise, SungWon Cho, an internet personality and voice actor perhaps better known as ProZD, was tapped to voice Brain Wizard, and he does an excellent job. And finally, Anthony Stewart Head, a very talented actor who I know best as Giles from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, voices Con Wizard, and is even given a fun little ditty to sing. I can safely say that the voice acting in this special is likely the best of the bunch, and it’s obvious that the actors were all having a great time playing their parts.

What drags the whole thing down, in my opinion is the excessive murder. (I joked on Twitter that during the climax of “Wizard City,” it felt like I was watching an Adventure Time-ified version of Invincible!) Infused with the power of Coconteppi, Peps goes on a brutal killing spree, boiling Potable Wizard into steam, zapping Dimension Wizard into another plane of existence, smashing Berdzerd, and—perhaps most graphically—excerebrates (had to look that word up!) Brain Wiz. On Twitter, @sometipsygnostalgic argued that while, yes, the scene is startling, it does wonders to transmute “a poor Summer Camp Island knockoff [into] Adventure Time chaos.” The more I think about it, the more I think that’s a fair point; after all, this is hardly the first dark thing that has happened in Adventure Time. But the part that I cannot really stomach is the fact that Spader was murdered for no real reason, and the special ends without anyone really expressing their horror at the situation. Sure, Spader was a schoolyard bully, but he was also a child. And killing a child—either for the drama or the lulz—feels decidedly out of place in an Adventure Time episode. It’s hard to express, but it just felt unnecessarily nihilistic and mean-spirited.

All things considered, I think this was a fun episode, but it was somewhat underwhelming for a ‘finale.’ Much of this is because it had to air after the perfection that was the back-to-back “Obsidian”/”Together Again” wombo combo. But I can’t help but feel like this special just felt a little... off. A little too meanspirited, and it leaned a bit too much on standard tropes. Still, it was a fun spin, and I know that I’ll rewatch it.

Mushroom War Evidence: As Peps rides the bus to school, he passes a bunch of abandoned houses, some of which are buried in the ground. There is an unexploded bomb above the fossilized elephant in the school. Cadebra has a dream that takes place in the ruins of a city.

Final Grade: B+

#adventure time #atimers #atdl #distant lands #adventure time distant lands #wizard city #peps #peppermint butler #abracadaniel #Cadebra #Ghostshrimp #Adam Muto #Hanna K #ProZD

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sokumotanaka · 2 years ago

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my thoughts on the new pokemon direct (they might come off as negative i’m sorry)

now please note, as a long time fan of the franchise, i’ve found myself growing disappointed more and more with the games since the release of pokemon sword and shield. Pokemon X and Y fine, Sun and Moon? Awesome. All the games before the jump to 3D? Addicting as hell. But I was hugely disappointed by how empty Sword and Shield in comparison to its predecessors. In other words, I’m kinda looking at this stuff through the opposite of rose-tinted glasses.

I think my biggest issue right now is the recurring theme of gigs each of the new generations has been adding that never make a return in later games. In Gen Six, it was Mega-evolutions. Gen 7? Z-moves. Gen 8? Gigantimaxing. And now Gen 9, it’s crystal pokemon I guess. Brought to you by Swarvoski!

I get that Game Freak is coming up with ways to try and change up things on the battlefield and bring old players back, but I’m also kind of wishing they’d keep some of those gigs back in (particularly Z-moves, since it’s way more equal than say mega evolutions that are given to already powerful pokemon and not the ones that actually need it. Dunspacre, kecleon, smeergle, luckitung and girffarig are three pokes that come to mind that could use any sort of buff to be viable ) Gigantimaxing I can do without , but idk, I’m having mixed feelings / thoughts about the Terastal Phenomenon.

I don’t wanna come off as a negative nancy about the new stuff, I just generally try not to keep my hopes up since Game Freak has really been cutting corners and shit in my eyes.

I’m also on the fence about the designs of Miraidon and Koraidon. I’m thinking I might get Violet because I think Miraidon’s design flows a bit better. I love Koraidon’s prehistoric vibe but for some reason I’m bothered by the fact that the wheels on its body don’t move as it runs-- Also I bet ten bucks that Clavell is gonna be the villain. He just looks like the type of guy who is exploiting the school for his own gain and I’m very suspicious about this “Treasure Hunt.”

Things I like though, because there are definitely things.

FUCKING FINALLY MULTIPLAYER .As long as the game is balanced enough that a player can either do singleplayer or multiplayer without much change, I’m kosher with this. I’ve always liked the tropes in the Pokemon anime where trainers travel together and form little posses, and I’m down to do that with some of my own friends online.

Apparently, it’s gonna be fully open world. No linear paths, no broken up map sections, no individual Wild Areas, completely Open World. I’m both excited and nervous, because the graphics look like a huge improvement from SWSH and Legends Arceus, but there’s both so much and so little you could do with Open World. My biggest fear is that it’ll be a largely empty environment, with very little to do besides capture wild pokemon. BoTW pulls off the Open World aesthetic wise, but unlike most people; I kinda feel like BOTW has alot of issues with it's world feeling very empty; and that's the point. You're exploring the world after a massive tragedy that left the world largely ravaged and empty.But even after 100 or 200 years, there's no signs of reclaiming things.

sometimes you'll see an NPC and talk to them and they could be a normal person or a yiga clan member. But for the most part it's link alone.I also had issues with how weird they treat the world's races capital towns, being as small as villages. Like Gerudo town feels so small and this is suppose to be their origin point, there's multiple hylian towns but there's not other zora domains, no places built on islands or under water falls or near the ocean? I digress; my point is that BOTW could of worked better to make the world feel alive, even skyrim has several random encounters with NPCS and stuff and yeah they recycle them but seeing my companions run around slaying monsters, or the cannibal club noticing your ring and giving you a wink or seeing other thieves wander around etc made it feel like; you're not the only one out there.

And Game Freak has all the money and power to make something great with an open world setting. The question is, will they? I can’t speak with confidence given their recent entries.

I also want to say I like that you can do more than just the gym challenge this time around; personally I never got why they think this is brand new? All pokemon games give you minigames and gimmicks each region, and the motto for pokemon used to be “gotta catch them all and battles” so I’ll never get someone popping in a pokemon game going “Yeah but can I not do the gym challenge? You might as well play a different game at that point. That being said I’m also not against it, I just don’t fully understand it.

More regional forms always get a plus from me, I love seeing old pokemon get new spins. Love that Wooper. That’s a good Wooper. I just hope we get more regional forms for pokemon outside gen one and not another fucking charizard form!

Oh and it seems you’ll be building a bond with the legendary mascot of each game since you get to ride that thing everywhere, that’ll be fun.

#pokemon #pokemon scarlet #pokemon violet #pokemon sv #pokemon scarlet & violet #pokemon scarlet and violet #pkmn sv #personal takes

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smorgasbordofobsessions · 3 years ago

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liveblog: kingsglaive final fantasy xv

some absolute king put the movie to the internet archive - thank you. of course, i hope i'm watching the right thing haha.

regis honestly just so -chefs kiss-

it's crazy how long the wall around Insomnia was up

love when the niffs fuck up a royal gathering

young ravus! love it

ravus yelling for regis to help them :(

wow this flashback is different than the one in the anime

luna's clothes are different

but the acitons are te same

so not that different

getting some lotr the two towers vibes from this battle scene and i'm here fo it

and i LOVE this dude's invisible power nice

nyx's voice sounds so familiar!

nyx: i'm worth the wait

loving him already

but i'm liking seeing the way all these warriors are interacting with each other. can definitely tell they've spent plenty of time in each other's pockets

oh the cerberus!! i really liked that entrance

oh wait, no, what fun daemon is this?????

in love with the way nyx is using the warp

now i can ask the question: where the fuck are they? clearly not in insomnia, unless this is set during noctis' rest? but it can't be since this is 12 yrs after lunafreya became a prisoner...

hm, it'll get explained to me

nyx is nothing without the king. please remember that nyx

hm, yes, we love king regis

an envoy from niflheim????

oh it's ardyn!!!!!

god, yes, yes, yes, we love ardyn

oh he's delicious i loe his grandstanding

oh he mentioned noctis, that's a no-no

oh??? ardyn proposed noctis and lunafreya to get married??

oh this is so fucking great wow thank you ardyn

hm so this one insomnia soldier doesn't like nyx, how nice

oh shit night life in insomnia??

whatever the music is is banging

i missed his name but the dude makes sense

but where did these kingsglaive soldiers come from if they're outsiders?

i love a strategic meeting

especially because of how you can see regis actually tremble from weakness

also, gotta say, it's amazing that regis has the strength to support the wall and the kingsglaive

hm regis accepted the truce

who the hell is clarus?? i know who he is, but more like where is he, so who is he in regis' little posse

commencing operation: infiltrate tenebrae

lunafreya looks GREAT

oh hello ravus

"whatt you believe does not concern me"

god, knowing what i know about ravus, it must've hurt him hearing his own sister call him a lap dog to the empire

they have cartoons????

going back a bit, wonder what was up with the van that crow saw. bit suspicious

mm what a sexy car

i fucking KNEW it was an audi

"what good will you be without the king's magic?"

oh that IS clarus okay

yo they really just came in and said "we'll take lunafreya thanks"

hm.. i have suspicious feelings about lunafreya

like maybe she's ardyn??

"my duty is my destiny, your majesty. i'm prepared to accept whatever my come to pass"

goddamn

oh so crow's defintiely dead

i keep missing his name, but this dude is so torn up over crow's death he ripped off the kingsglaive insignia

hm, so the dude is going rougue, and wow, that was overheard by three other glaives

eve of the signing ceremony...

doesn't that mean that noctis and co have left already, actually?

yes, it must, because regis wanted freya to meet noctis

so, yes, the freya in insomnia is absolutely... not ardyn

crutch dude has now joined a rebel group - i just hope he did some vetting and isn't about to talk to niffs

who is that general in the armor?? hm, interesting

oof nyx with that round bubble butt

lunafreya is missing, how nice and convenient when the treaty signing is about the happen

regis ordered the kingsglaive to go save lunafreya, nice

god, one of regis's last acts as king :(

"for hearth" "and home"

that's actually a nice call and response

god, i'd love to be a legilimens so i could read regis' thoughts. he must know what this is probably gonna be his last day on eos

the hoods are very asassin's creed and i like that inspiration

hm what fun whisper was that to the niff ambassador

oh wait that dude is the niff emperor my bad

hm, yes, we love double talk

mm sexy kills yes

god, yes, the game's afoot!

octopus in teh airship? kinky

we love traitors

oh wow the crystal has been deactivated :(

honestly though, humungous props to niflheim for diong this. like this is a BRILLIANT politcal move, it really is

yes we fucking love regis and clarus fighting together!!

"then let us once more into the fray, old friend"

WE ARE HERE FOR THAT!!!

so sad the outcome though :(

ouch, clarus!!

"we have broken the wall. all that remains is the break the city"

100% correct emperor

nyx is so exasperated by lunafreya

yeah this dude in the vest - like he thought he was gonna somehow be great under niff rule??

oh hello there ravus

ravus put on the ring and, hm, he wasn't found worhty

nyx is fighting the super souped up general

and it JUST occured to me that the reason why nyx sparks when he uses magic is because it's not his

so this is how luna got the ring okay

we love parallels

regis's last stand :(

:'(

oh so the crutch dude didn't do any vetting at all because he only found out that the other refugees were working with niflheim

slacking bro

but, now yo can do what you want and bring refugees into the city

idk why any one would that that niff would keep its word, but that's besides the point

hm, no airbags?

"true power is not something that is found by those who seek it. it is something that is found by those who deserve it."

crutch dude being called 'hero' = irony

haha this traitor put the ring on, idiot.

though lunafreya baited him a bit but i support that

wow this ring got passed around like a hot potato

I WANT TO KNOW THE CONVERSATINO IGNIS HAD WITH THE LUCII KINGS!!!!!!!

nyx has been found wothy - until dawn

crutch dude's name is libertus

libertus threw away the pills, good job!

oh ehll yea the statues are moving!! i iked seeing that in thhe game

caught way caught up in watching the movvie

i absolutely loved the fighting. all the moving parts were done amazingly well and the effects and graphics were stunning

honestly a great fight. truly enjoyed that.

though, both libertus and luna know what nys is definitely come with morning's light, it's nice of them to be optimistic

luna doesn't fit in with the other people but separate paths yes

okay nyx was aaron paul, regis was sean bean

i knew nyx's voice was familiar

what a good movie! i really enjoyed that

love that it helps flesh out what happened prior to signing day, and also showed us how good the kingsglaives are in combat

i liked that everything was so tense and there weren't too many motivations for why people turned traitor or fighting - everything came down to fighting for home (minus niff as a whole but that's an empire so given)

also, liked seeing how the ring got passed around,and seeing ravus try it on, though it was told to us in game he had

overall, good! the backstory provided was great and really does help develop the game more

#ffxv #liveblog

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exciting · 4 years ago

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As requested, books / series I read in 2020 in the order I read them, with a few brief thoughts. (This took me a hot second because there are a few and also I moved cities) Should I keep a consistent goodreads? Yes I should but I didn’t think of that at the time, so bone apple teeth & sorry if I offend you abt your faves x

P.S. I can’t figure out how to do a read more on mobile so long post ahead!

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas - This is one of the most vivid published fantasy books I have ever read... I read it twice in rapid succession. The fandom POPS off. I must say I have issues with certain aspects e.g. fae lore completely ignored à la Twilight, all love interests 500+ years old and technically a different species, etc (I’m not going to deconstruct the entire series here but just know that I could... Nesta deserves better)

Cruel Prince by Holly Black - This fucking slaps, HB clearly has done her research, the lore is near immaculate, and it explores the Fae in such a unique way, tying it to the modern world subtly and seamlessly. My only qualm was that the books felt quite short; truly wish there had been more content.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas (6/7) - So basically I read this in one single, hyperfixated fit which meant I literally locked myself in my room for three days straight and read all six books back to back in a row from morning to the wee hours. Which is not to say it was spectacular; although it was a VERY rich world, sometimes it was too much... this felt like 6 stories in one. Ik she was young when she wrote this but it is my humble opinion that SJM needs a better editor & I personally think Rowan is a grade A asshole / straight up abusive (& personally think the ACOTAR Tamlin plot was born from that?). It’s good but not as good as ACOTAR. Skip-read the last book.

Grishaverse (Shadow and Bone) by Leigh Bardugo (3) - This is essential to read before SOC but was very much simply a YA fantasy book, although the world was cool and the way the love plot played out was, imo, a subtle middle finger to the fantasy trope. Felt very much aimed at younger readers though? Really liked the sandwhich structure of the Proluge and Epilogue, especially in #2

Six of Crows series by Leigh Bardugo (2) - INCREDIBLE continuation of Grishaverse, better than the original series by a mile. It has the range, the diversity, the representation (the male lead is a disabled asexual and still the most cunning of the entire cast of characters), the plot is phenomenal, and it manages such a well rounded plot in only two books which means nothing is stretched out or squeezed in more than need be. Deserves all the praise it gets.

King of Scars series by Leigh Bardugo (0.5/1) - Personally I don’t consider this book canon, and while it’s nice to see the rest of Nina’s journey & the world again & everyone else, I don't like it. I will, however, be reading book 2 when it comes out, so shame on me, I suppose.

Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (1/1) - this was incredibly cool although it went off in a completely different direction than I thought it would based off the first few chapters? One of my favourite YA-author-debuts-New-Adult novels in 2020 though!

Crescent City by Sarah J Maas (1/1) - This was supposed to be SJM/s New Adult debut, although personally I would put her other series in New Adult, and I can’t say a remarkable amount was different with this except they said “fuck” and “ass” a lot. WHY is the romantic interest 500 years old AGAIN. I just... don’t... I just don’t think it was necessary... the world was cool though, and the last half of the book was riveting, but the beginning was quite slow and I thought the sword thing was predictable. I am interested to see where this goes though.

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab (3) - This world is so fucking cool... four Londons aka parallel universes & the one in ‘our’ world is set in industrial era London. Magic, girls dressing up as boys, thieves, pirates, royalty... it all just slaps. Schwab is an incredible writer & I was completely immersed.

Midnight Sun by SMeyer - I didn’t think anything could possibly detract even further from the Twilight story but I was sorely mistaken... seeing the stalking from Edward’s POV - and it was worse than depicted in Twilight, for the record - completely obliterated any sort of romance the first half of the original book may have portrayed. I still hold the opinion that the entire series would have been better if some kind of vampire lore had been abided by, if only to see all of the villains thwarted by someone dropping a bag of rice on the ground, forcing them to have to count them all.

An ember in the Ash by Sabaa Tahir (3/4) - This was just a very stereotypical ya fantasy series, emphasis on the YOUNG... it wasn’t anything to write home about but I remember quite enjoying it at the time.

The Power by Naomi Alderman - This book is FUCKING incredible and EXCEPTIONALLY thought provoking... essentially women alone develop a power of electric shock etc. and then take over the world from men, and it explores feminism and the balance between equality & tipping the scales in the other direction. Written by a friend of M.Atwood in a similar tone to handmaids tale, I would say? Content warning; there are some exceptionally graphic scenes in the latter half of the novel.

Hamlet by Wllm Shksp - I can’t believe it took me this long to finally read it but Ophelia is my favourite name in the entire world & we love to see a woman go batshit (although she didn’t deserve that).

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas - this was unsettling in the best sense of the word... it was a little slow & honestly more of a concept than a big reveal, but I couldn’t stop thinking about it after I finished it? A Secret History vibes but make it blurry like the memory of all those dystopian novels you read when you were young?

The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue by V.E. Schwab - This is without a doubt my book of the year, and probably the best book I read in 2020? I stayed up all night on a friend’s couch reading it, got a book hangover and reread the ending, and then thrust it upon my mother who doesn’t usually read but read this, and loved it just as much. HIGHLY recommend and you HAVE to read it, it’s beautiful and endearing and just plain wonderful.

Captive Prince by C.S. Pacat (3/3) - I went into this knowing it was going to be terrible, because I had received a blow by blow telling me as much; although I must say that it did learn a remarkable amount of new words, the books did get better as the series went on, and it did have a rather charming ending? BIG content warning for almost everything.

Sapiens by Yuval Harari - mind-expanding & must recommend for everyone, there is everything in this and I daresay everyone should posses this kind of knowledge? I listened to it as an audiobook (which I recommend because it’s rather hearty) but will be buying this in hardcopy & rereading it with annotations.

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller - Without a doubt, one of the most beautiful novels I have ever read, and certainly the most beautiful portrayal of the story of Achilles and the battle of Troy I have ever seen. Patroclus deserved the justice that was given to him in this book; indeed, all of the characters were written with justice and grace. Highly recommend.

Trials of Apollo by Rick Riordan (3/5) - Apollo is my favourite Greek God, and the sexiest greek god, and Rick Riordan’s writing slaps, as always. It did pain me to see Apollo, the sexy immortal, have to be forced back into a 16 year old’s body but everything else? Whimsical & wonderful, as expected.

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong - a retelling of Romeo and Juliette, except it’s set in Shanghai in the 1920′s, and the protagonists already have a history. Very well done, characters are incredibly diverse in race, sexual orientation, gender, and ability / disability (and honestly, representation has never appeared so effortless and elegant). Also it includes a monster and possible magic. Incredibly underrated and highly recommend.

The Once and Future Witches by Alix. E Harrow - this was such a unique concept, and truly captivating, the story was charming, and felt like the kind of beautiful fairytale you would read as children but with more grit? ABSOLUTELY recommend this one

The Pisces by Melissa Broder - I hated this so much, not my vibe at all. Mermaid smut x therapy but make it cynical and judgemental (I know there was a moral in there but that’s not my point) also the dog dies.

Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith (1/2) - really interesting & unique concept (all unwritten novels / ideas reside in a special library that is part of Hell and then sometimes the books can come to life) however, my first thought upon reading this was “this reads as if it’s stemmed from one of those writing prompt tumblr posts” bc of the tone and whatever and as it turns out I was somewhat correct, it did stem from a short story (not bad just obvious). It did kind of settle down as it went on but I found reading it kind of a drag, and I don’t think I will read the second one.

Abandon by Meg Cabot - 1. Meg Cabot’s writing always fucking slaps 2. Hades and Persephone but make it modern & very 2000′s & somehow kind of unique 3. I literally loved this, sue me

Medusa Girls (Sweet Venom) by Tera Childs - Like Percy Jackson except they are descendants of Medusa so they are Gorgons and have fangs & venom (hence the title). Gave me very 2000′s vibes? Quite cool but tbh I found the books quite short (like two hours each, if that)? Do NOT read the GoodReads description of the book before you read it, you will spoil it for yourself.

Bring me their Hearts by Sara Wolf - In my opinion, this is one of the most underrated YA series I read in 2020. The heroine is endearing, self aware, witty, and loves to look pretty even while kicking ass which in my opinion is an incredibly underrated trait. Also, immortality without being hundreds of years old? VERY sexy. HIGHLY recommend.

A Deal with the Elf King by Elise Kova - High commendation to be given for the fact that it is a standalone and yet manages to fit in the plot of what would usually be a full fantasy trilogy without cutting corners or being a million miles long? Also sweet storyline & beautiful ending? If you liked ACOTAR you should read this as a “what would have / could have been had SJM had a different editor” (No shade I promise).

The Iron Fae by Julie Kagawa (4/4 + novellas) - Incredibly detailed faerie set around the modern world & our current use of technology & iron in it. Very neat adventure-style series, by the time I read the last novella I was well and truly done with the world (aka provided enough content to be fulfilling). Was definitely aimed at a younger audience though, NO smut / smut was brushed over.

The Modern Faerie Tales by Holly Black (3/3 SS) - This is technically the prequel to Cruel prince, set in the modern world, but with the fae world inside it as it traditional? All I have to say is that it is excellent & I highly recommend it.

Bridgerton series (The Duke and I) by Julia Quinn (9/9) - I read this after watching the Netflix show twice through and I am obsessed, although the books were not quite as elegant as the show, and some parts that made me cringe either by their portrayal (it is very firmly set in the 19th century and thus some things are not handled with tact or grace), the characters were exceptionally loveable and I am so excited to see where the show takes them! Lovely language & an abundance of words I had never seen before (always a plus).

#the number of these which I hate with a passion now #fuck my life #HATE SJM #MAD about grishaverse #ASHAMED of bridgerton and the feminism leeched from my soul after reading this

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moonandstars · 5 years ago

Text

Tainted Sorrow

Plot : You work in the mafia and Taeyong is the boss.You both suck at feelings.

words : 5.8k

warning : violence, mentions of death and blood, nothing graphic just mafia related stuff

details : inspired by Bungou Stray Dogs but this is stand alone and independent. knowing BSD is not required to read this.

A/N : just boss era Taeyong. Thats all.

"I swear boss, it wasn't me. I would never betray you." The man said lying on floor, covered and drowned in his own blood, bruises covering his face and his body barely able to move.

You watch as Taeyong leans down and lands a punch of the man's face, sending him flying few steps back. Taeyong looks invincible as he walks ahead and stops, there's a red light glowing around his form, a thin red border covering his whole body as he stares at the man on the ground.

Taeyong leans down again and places his leg on the man's head.

"If you want an end to your misery, I suggest you speak while you still can." Taeyong spoke calmly.

"I am sorry boss-" You are not even startled by listening to the sounds that come, having witness it countless time. The red glow of Taeyong swallow the man and his body forced downwards towards the ground, almost buried inside. Taeyong takes out his gun and shoots him three time in the chest. The man lies lifeless on the floor and Taeyong is walking back towards you.

There's no words exchanged as you both walk outside the building and get into the car while everyone bows . This is the life in the mafia and this is the life of the city, where a few powerful organisations with people with gifted ability runs the city. The people who are gifted with an ability are few, but still their existence is known. There's no telling who out there might posses what kind of ability. One of those organisation happened to be the Mafia, run and controlled by the Mafia Boss, Lee Taeyong, a manipulator of gravity; an ability that allows him to manipulate the gravity of him and his surrounding; one of the most powerful ability to exist.

"These shitty pawns are nothing but headache when lured." Taeyong mutters. And it's all good. The traitor is gone and an example is set for the others and they had the enemy's information.

"You should wait out your violence until I am able to choke out all the information from them, I thought we were clear on that." You said as the car started.

"And I did."

"By a few seconds-"

"You can't seriously expect me to wait killing him after he betrayed me."

"You just use violence and your power every time-"

"And you are just too damn smart for your own good. I appreciate your intelligence but sometimes tearing apart their limbs is more important." Taeyong said with a tone that implied that end of conversation.

"Sure, whatever the boss says after all." You said with a sneer. It was a very common banter between you both, too common. It has been like that since you fought each other as mere kids, kids who were not normal, kids who have had far more blood on their hands than they could give account for. Ever since the day you both met, it has been countless bickering, competitions and the hunt for more successful missions, for you both combined were the mafia's most powerful weapon after all. But beneath those countless fights, lies a trust that neither of you will admit ; a trust that you place in each other that even in the most gruesome of situations, even at the cost of your own lives, you will save each other.

You harbored more feelings for him than just that. It took a long while to admit those to yourselves. After all what even could you call those? Love? Love is for kids who exchange shy notes between classes, for normal people who look for company, for the youth that walks under the cherry blossoms with a smile on their lips and glitter in their eyes not for monster like you or Taeyong. You were kids who learned to use a knife before learning to write; who don't look for company but for blood; mafia leaders that have sin on their lips and death in their eyes.

It was around midnight when you were done making a few important calls for the next mission. You were waiting for Taeyong in his office, which was just adjacent to yours on the highest floor of the mafia's long glass building that stood in the center of the city; also the tallest building in the city. Midnight was when the mafia works, everyone in the city was aware that the nights were run by the mafia and even the government could not interfere.There was a limited truce.

You sighed and looked at glass window which covered the entire floor, the moon was bright and big, staring strongly back at you; asking you; pitying you. You were not strong enough to stare back so you looked at your reflection in the glass; a black jeans with black boots hugging your legs, a white shirt with a black bolo tie, sleeves rolled to your elbow, a black belt choker sitting on your neck; a gift from Taeyong; "It looks so beautiful on your neck." He had whispered in the night, words that only bloom under the moon, forgotten and left in the morning while both walk forward.

Love is not for sinners.

A series of strong footsteps draws your attention towards the big wooden doors, behind those Taeyong appears, walking powerfully as he always does. He can fly as high as he can, defying the very nature of physics but when he walks; he makes his presence as loud as he can; strong.

"It's so the world knows my existence, my power; so that I know I exist."

The black tiles crumble beneath him as he gracefully walks towards his grand table. His usual black attire, black pants and white shirt; a black blazer with a long black overcoat hanging on his shoulders, flowing behind him. His hands in black gloves. A black onyx bolo tie sitting proudly underneath his collar; a gift from you. "This compliments your aura." His hair bright crimson, matching the blood on his face, that's definitely not his.

"Admiring the beautiful moon tonight,__?" Taeyong spoke wiping the blood off his face.

"At least there's something worth admiring here." Taunts flowing from you like a second nature, something that only Taeyong brings out.

"Admire away then, amusing to see your laziness doesn't stops you from that."

You smile, hidden from him, what actually amusing is how riled Taeyong gets from small taunts, all the more reason to annoy him.

"Well shitty Boss, my lazy strategy plans saves your ass multiple times."

"Well fucker my ass can be saved just fine without your shitty plans." It's a lie, he knows it but nobody points it out.

There's a knock at the door before before you can say something. Taeyong presses a button and the door opens, giving a sight of Yuta. He bows and makes his way inside, standing in front of Taeyong's desk. He gives a small bow again and looks up. He looks up ragged up, as if just came here from a fight, which he probably did. But still no signs of any injury, his purple hair a little disheveled but his black jeans and shirt still in place.

"Thirty six total deaths. Five of our own." Yuta says and Taeyong lets out a soft sigh and a pained expression crosses his eyes, gone as soon as it came, at the mention of the death of our own. Deaths of mafia's men has always pained Taeyong more than he shows, as if even after sacrificing his humanity he is still the most human inside.

"What is the result of their lives, Yuta san?" Taeyong asked.

"__'s predictions were right. The special ops department are planning to disrupt the deal tomorrow and most possibly launch an attack. The lead you told me to follow lead into their group today, they also have few gifted ones with them. They possibly have few spies in the company that's arriving tomorrow for the deal." Yuta breathed.

"Then the answer is clear. If they dare to interfere, the mafia will retaliate." Taeyong said lazily, but his eyes spoke sheer danger and revenge.

"The Black Lizard won't let you down." Yuta said, voice dancing with excitement, as if he wanted someone to dare just so he could get the chance to kill. Nakamoto Yuta, the commander of Black Lizard, a special unit under the Mafia which exist only for one reason, to annihilate the enemy. His gifted ability was what made his ways of killing even special, an ability to create illusions on his target, playing with their minds, allowing himself to dissociate them from their reality and kill them within their madness. For such a skilled assassin Yuta is, he can do the job just fine even without using his ability, but you wonder that he just likes to see his victim in pain and confusion while he toys with them.

"I won't expect anything less." Taeyong spoke with a dismissive tone.

Yuta sighed and looked up you and then at Taeyong. "Boss I am deeply sorry for the lives of our subordinates that were lost under my command." Yuta spoke, his eyes deep in grieve.

A small smile ghosted over Taeyong lips as if he was expecting, waiting for Yuta's apology.

"Yuta san, as long their deaths gives us a meaning, all is forgiven."

Yuta nodded and turned around walking towards the door from where he came, his shoulders a little less tense than they were before.

"Yuta san." You voiced out. "Patch yourself up before the fight. It will be more uglier then."

"I wish I could but my boss is very ruthless and demanding employee." Yuta said amusingly.

"That I cannot deny." You spoke looking over to Taeyong, a small smile in your eyes.

"Give yourself a rest after the black caskets are out. We need all the power for tomorrow." Taeyong said annoyingly with affection.

"Sometimes I forget you're such a nice person Taeyong!!" Yuta said teasingly and walked out.

It is all good because it is Yuta, a member of mafia, a men of your own, a friend from the forgotten but longing years of childhood, a small kid who bumped into you and Taeyong and has always been here since then. If it was anyone else, any other mafia member, they would have knelt in front of Taeyong before even daring to look up; If it was anyone else, they would have shaken with fear, kept their eyes down; If it was not Yuta, even an informal breath would have resulted in something cruel and tragic.

III

You were still standing there, admiring the moon. Taeyong standing besides you, his presence bringing a familiar warmth towards you. An intimate silence broken by Taeyong.

"The moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?" He breathed, looking at you. An honest expression, at least as honest as he could muster, spread over his face. You smiled, treasuring this moment with all your heart.

Moments like this which only existed in the darkness, in the quiet of night where the moonlight gave your vulnerable being a protection, a shelter which covered your soul and made it more honest. A few more moments passed like this until you spoke again.

"Do you wanna hear a plan?"

"I was waiting for that." He smiled.

"All the reports that you showed me, I am definite there will be a full attack on us." You started. " And they will bring out the ability users, although I am quite doubtful there will be more than two. The best moment of attack for them would be-"

"In the middle of the deal." He completed.

"They have the intel that the mafia boss would be there, probably from the traitor you killed before."

"They are still no match for the mafia. We will proceed according your the plan." He said and sat on the table looking over the city while stood to his right, like always.

You observed his face, eyes shimmering from the reflection, lashes casting a shadow on his cheeks; the moonlight shining on his face. You were busy in staring, forgetting he was looking back.

"Now who's worth admiring?" He asked.

"Well still not you fucker." A weak jab.

"Stop thinking about tomorrow." He said, rubbing a thumb over your forehead.

"Can't help it."

"None of their armed men compares to ours and as far as the ability users are concerned, we have you." He spoke.

He was right. Ability users had no effect on you due to your own ability. Your gift was a disabling ability, an ability that allows you to nullify any other ability with just a simple touch on their skin. Some say it's a useless ability, Taeyong says it's the mafia's ace. You already knew who to believe.

"You're an ability user too. I could disable your power and get rid of you too."

"You could and you should. But you won't." Taeyong mused.

Your ability takes away the ability of others, makes them vulnerable, takes away a part of themselves that makes them special. It's easy to defeat them because they are so dependent on their abilities, they don't know what else to do. Taeyong is not a slave to his ability. His ability does not define him. Even if it is taken away from him, he's still Lee Taeyong. The man who rules the mafia, the man who kills his enemies mercilessly; the man who makes you feel human in the most inhuman ways.

As you watch him leaning against your shoulder, you can't help but think about what is he to you. You don't often, because it is so tiring to think about the same thing again and again and yet not being able to reach a conclusion. A friend, you both have never used that word, too busy bickering and silly fighting with each other to use the word friends. A lover, that word always stung too deep within you. A word too pure, too beautiful, too normal for someone like you. Lovers cannot define the complex relationship you had with Taeyong. Countless nights of sex, tangled with each other, whispering softly all the things in the night that vanish in the daylight, small gifts hidden somewhere, birthdays celebrated in the company of each other, a silent respect, a strong trust and a hard and sharp instinct of protecting each other at any cost. It was clear that you both were exclusive to each other but nobody ever said that it was a relationship. And love was never on either of yours tongue ever.

Love is for humans. What are you?

You discarded the idea of love a long time ago. You don't know when you fell in love with Taeyong, at fifteen perhaps when you both met or at sixteen when you both became mafia's strongest weapon or maybe at seventeen when you both secretly bought a safe house together, or might be at eighteen when you both were mafia's youngest executives. You don't know. You didn't need to know. A partner, that has always been more intimate to you than anything else. You both were partners as soon as you joined the mafia, a string of successful missions beside your names. You could jump in front of bullets knowing Taeyong would stop them. Maybe a partner was the best word to describe what he was to you.

"You know it's like I can still hear his voices in this office." Taeyong whispered. You tensed, you knew exactly who he meant. A ghost of the past that still haunts you.

"It's like he's angry that I am in his office, in his place." Taeyong continues.

"Taeyong." You tried.

"He just looks at me like he always did with those fucked up eyes and his ugly smile-"

"Taeyong, there's no one here."

"And he keeps asking why I stabbed him that night but he knows, right, he knows why."

"Taeyong" You said lifting his head. "He's not here. He's dead. You're the boss now."

"He keeps whispering in my ear that how am I monster, like he told me-"

"Taeyong! You're not a monster. The old boss is dead, for good. He's gone forever." You said sternly, holding his face.

No matter how many people Taeyong has killed, the only soul that has bothered him was of the mafia's previous boss. A crafty man of great power, who brought you all into the mafia world, who taught you how to perfectly slit a throat, how to manipulate someone to the core; he taught, made you into a perfect weapon, a tool. The hatred for that man runs deep in your skin, even deeper for Taeyong since he was always the target of boss's puzzles. This will make you even more stronger, He used to say, while watching you get tortured by enemies in return for obtaining information. Until one day he went too far, that day he died by the hands of Taeyong, while you stood and watched serving as a witness as his position for the next mafia boss.

"He told me he saw himself in me. What does that says about me? "

"Taeyong. We are not going to believe his words." You spoke taking his hand. "You want to go home?"

"Always."

A place to live for you both was the pent house in the mafia's building, just a floor below the office, provided with every luxury that a man could imagine. Home was an apartment in the city, a place that used to serve a secret safe house for you both, but now it's where the peace resided and where the words come out and bloom and where you feel a little human with Taeyong.

You stepped out of the car with Taeyong at the extraction point, a few steps far away from where the dealing was supposed to take place at a warehouse. You were waiting for the latest information before proceeding any further. You watched as Taeyong in his usual mafia attire, dragged a puff from his cigarette looking up the sky, a cloudy night with no moon or stars in sight. He throws the half smoked cigarette down and crushes it, turning towards you.

"The moon looks beautiful tonight."

"It's a foggy night Taeyong, we can't even see the moon."

"I can."

"Taeyong-"

"BOSS!" Yuta comes walking from the shadows of trees, looking around quickly and bowing to Taeyong.

"What's the news?" Taeyong spoke calmly.

"They will launch an attack. It's given." Taeyong looked at you while he listened to Yuta. "They have men around the warehouse at a distance. Of course, our men have them covered. There are two gifted, we have eyes on one, his ability is related to controlling the wind around him. I will be able to take him down."

"And the other?" You asked, looking at Yuta's expression darkened.

"We don't know. He controls his size. That's all I could gather. How much threat he holds is still questionable."

"He must be an ace considering how secretly his power has been kept." You thought.

"For the special ops to be so brave with launching an open attack like this on us. I just pity for their lives." Taeyong said.

"Boss I don't think we should underestimate them."

"Are you doubting your skills Yuta san?" Taeyong said darkly.

"You know that's not what I meant Taeyong." Yuta spoke quietly. The driver of the car looked at Yuta in horror, wondering how the death will come to Yuta. It was probably his first time watching someone talk to Taeyong like that besides you.

"This is why you were told to patch yourself up. Don't let these morons get to you. This is nothing for the mafia." Taeyong spoke with a commanding voice, but you could hear the underlying softness, a little consolation, a little advise.

Yuta nodded and gave out the position details before disappearing in the shadows again.

"He was not wrong. It's never safe to walk into an unknown enemy, an ability user for that." You spoke as you and Taeyong walked towards the warehouse.

"I know." Taeyong said simply.

It was in the middle of deal, just after exchanging the goods, you heard a loud noise outside. Just as you expected. A message from yuta ten minutes said that he had the first gifted under his control and the second one was heading your way.

"What was that?" The other businessman said.

"Absolutely nothing of your concern. Our deal has been done and the official papers will be send to you." Taeyong said getting up.

"But what-"

"Also If I were you, I would pay more attention to what my subordinates are up to." Taeyong spoke with a glint in his eyes, a warm and powerful desire, an excitement of some action awaiting him.

Outside you saw at least fifty men, all of them armed, in front of the warehouse. A tall man stood in the middle leading the rest. It was just you and Taeyong against them.

"Well partner, let's just get on with it." Taeyong said, activating his ability, a bright red hue glowing around him. You take out your gun. Even though your ability was not an attack one, you were the best fighter in the mafia. It was lasted probably twenty minutes when all of them were in the ground. A few grunts were heard from the ground, a few ones who were just minutes away from their dead. You thought about shooting them again, and again until you could end their painful suffering soon and for once. It would be better to just accept death rather than lying in the cold mud, drowning in their blood. You were about to about pick up your gun again when you saw an unusual movement from the middle of the ground.

"Taeyong!" You shouted, while pointing the gun and shooting at the person of movement but it was useless. The movement continued and as you squinted, you saw the form getting bigger and bigger, like a giant.

"__, what the hell is that?" Taeyong said beside you.

"The ability user." You spoke as you saw the enemy grow as tall as trees surrounding you, various roots covering him, as if he was using them to grow his form. You had to get close to him and touch him, to nullify his ability and return to his normal form, otherwise he could keep causing destruction for you.

"Step back,__."

"Huh, Taeyong?"

"It's not safe to go close." He said looking at the enemy, fist clenched

."We have to try it." You said going towards the growing structure, but every time you got too close he could try to kick or stomp really hard, and that flow would throw you backwards with a force. His defense was not allowing you to go close to him, let alone touch him. You tried one more time and this time too, you were thrown back.

"__." Taeyong called running towards you. "You okay?"

"He knows our abilities." You said standing up again. "That's why he laid back when you were attacking, that's why he won't let me come close."

"That traitor snitched everything, but we have to stop him anyhow."

"There's only one way left, but it's your choice Taeyong." You sighed.

"Every time you say that, it's not like I have a choice anyways." Taeyong said, walking ahead a little, and started pulling his gloves out; a finger at a time until both the gloves were thrown aside.

"If I am late to touch you, you know what will happen right?"

"But you won't be." He said, looking back at you, eyes intense. "Or I'll kick your ass."

Taeyong walked ahead towards the enemy, a red glow, brighter than ever before started surrounding him. Red marks started decorating his skin, his hands, his face; his coat flew aside. You could feel the gravity shifting around the whole area, the center being Taeyong. He was activating his corruption. Simply controlling objects through their gravity was only the front of Taeyong's ability, that he could use in his full control. Corruption was something else though, something more uncontrollable and devastating to the city, to Taeyong himself. Activating corruption allowed Taeyong to control gravity of a larger area and create black holes with his power that swallows everything that comes it's way and destroys it. He could control gravity to a particle level. After all, he is called the manipulator of gravity. This part of his abilitywas only known to a handful of mafia members and you're the only one who has ever witnessed it. The downside of it was that, Taeyong could activate his corruption at his own will but once it was activated, his mind goes blank and he is not in control anymore. He becomes a destructing machine and keeps destroying every thing that comes his way, until he runs out of his energy and dies.

The only was to stop this was your ability, to touch Taeyong and nullify corruption as soon as he defeats the enemy. You watched as corruption took over Taeyong and he annihilated the the giant enemy in the span of few minutes. You ran over to him before he could any more damage to the surrounding, to himself. You grabbed his hand and watched as his ability became null, the red glow leaving his posture, the red marks disappearing from his skin, as if they never existed in the first place. He fell down on his knees and coughed blood, a normal occurrence after using corruption. You held him. A wave of relief passes over you seeing that Taeyong is safe. It has always been your fear, that you'll be late, that you will break the trust; that you will lose Taeyong.

"Take rest Taeyong, the enemy is defeated."

"You stopped me right after?" He asked, coughing.

"I was about to, but you looked such a red dork like that."

"Fuck, you better take me home right--" He said while coughing and falling onto you.

Thankfully grabbed him at the right time."Rest now."

"__."

"Taeyong-"

"__, the moon--"

"I know. I know. The moons looks beautiful tonight right?" You spoke as you looked up to the sky, the clouds were cleared away; countless stars scattered, dancing across the black canvas but the moon still was shying away somewhere. You could never understood what Taeyong talked about sometimes, you did not needed to anyways.

You lay on the bed next to Taeyong, bodies tired from the fight before. All the fresh wounds covered in bandages. You were a little better than Taeyong, using corruption leaves him tired for a lot of hours. But a fight was won and the boss could use a little rest. You heard some noise as you watched Taeyong turn around in the sheets and settled on his back.

"You should rest properly shitty boss." You spoke.

"Aww is that concern __?"

"No that's a headache because I am the one that has to take your tantrums."

"Well that's--" Taeyong hissed clutching his side. You rose up quickly and helped him sit.

"See, that's why I told you to rest. How's the pain?" You asked, checking the ribs.

"Nothing much. It's the usual one."

"Are you lying to me?"

"Come on partner, don't you trust me?" He asked, a smirk plastered over his face. You just huff and sit beside him on the bed, in front of the large window that looks over the sky and city underneath it. A calm and comfortable silence follows over both of you. You look over at Taeyong. He looks pretty healthy, apart from corruption side effects, there's not any major physical injury. Even the violence in your life has become a second nature, it still does not sit well with you that every fight you go into, could potentially be yours or Taeyong's last fight. You hoped it was yours because you did not knew what to do without the man next you. It could be your years long partnership that makes you so co dependent, nothing else and not certainly love. Love is for people with a heart, not for you who just killed hundreds of men without blinking not just few hours ago.

"What thoughts are interesting enough to keep you invested?" Taeyong asked, still looking ahead.

"I just forgot how beautiful and calm the moonlight feels." You whispered.

"I think we spend too much time looking at the darkness instead."

"We are the mafia Taeyong, even the blood is black. Darkness is where the mafia exist." You spoke looking at your hands, little cuts and scraps littered across.

"No."

"You don't agree?"

"More like, we exist in the stars, in the air, among the wind, under the moonlight. I believe that's where you and I exist together."

"Since when did you started thinking like that? But I understand, you always had more human thoughts than me. "

"I don't know. It just swiped by, I- don't mind, corruption really tires me a lot." He spoke smiling softly.

"Come on now, you never talk to me about this."

"It's not like I need to speak for you to understand." And it's true. He does not need to tell you about his fears. But still when it came to corruption, you had your own fears; or just single fear, that is losing Taeyong. You bear the burden of saving him and not being able to do so, was the single most terrifying thing for you. You always wondered how Taeyong felt during that time. But he refused to talk about all of this, specially since he killed the boss. Its ironic, before the death of boss you were the one who was closed off and reserved but now that you want to get close, it's Taeyong who seems lost. It's like the burden is too much, even for someone as invisible as me.

"Easy there, might sound like we actually like each other." You tried to joke around, tried to change the heaviness in the only way you knew but it did not had any affect on Taeyong. He was still looking at you with a soft smile; a smile that made you believe in your humanity, a smile that made you dead heart shake, a smile that made you fall in love.

"I think you do, otherwise you won't run to save me every time."

"I don't want to burden myself with being a boss, that's why."

"You would be a better option than me." Taeyong spoke, so many emotions swinging in his eyes. You could pick each and every one of them apart, but then again, that's what you always did. Sometimes you wished Taeyong would tell you, explain to you rather than just leaving you with these unspoken feelings.

"I-it's- I would not be. You know that. Besides that's not the point."

"Then what is the point?"

"It's just that you don't have to be so closed off you know. We're partners after all." You said, still trying to maintain the conversation because this is your safe space, a place you and Taeyong call home, if there's any solace in existence, it's right here at this very place.

"I just said you will make a better boss. Someone who can lead an organisation."

"I am not someone who can sacrifice myself for the mafia like you. I don't need an end like that."

"It's not sacrificing myself if I know you will save me in time. I know I am not going to die."

"You can't be sure of that." You said letting the words hang in the air between you two.

"Is that your fear?" Taeyong spoke after a while, voice little shaky. Not used to honest conversations.

"I-Taeyong it's pointless to fear death in the mafia. Either yours or mine. I came to peace with that a long time ago. I believe that death is not opposite of living, it's merely a component in our process of lives."

"Then?"

"If you die some other way, there's always an explanation for that. But if you die using corruption, it's me, that I was too late. I will be the one with your blood on my hands. Your death will be my fault, it'll be on my conscience. I know I won't be able to live with that, I can't survive knowing that I was the reason for you death, that I-" You took a deep breath "that I broke our trust."

"Even if that happens, I am sure there will a reason for you being unable to save me."

"Is it not your fear? You're the one who'll be dying."

"Like you said, a mafia blood should not fear death. Besides I don't think there's any such time when one should chicken out, specially a boss." Taeyong said in a low tone, he was looking ahead in the sky but his eyes seems so blurry and lost. You sighed, the conversation looked like it was over, until Taeyong spoke again.

"The fear, if that word can dare to come close to what I feel, is not simply dying. It's a possibility that every time I use corruption, it might be the last time I see you. Even when I have lost control, mind black and body in red, I know in my heart that you will come. But if something happens to you while I am out, I won't be able to do anything." Taeyong smiled, a sorrowful one, the same smile that laced his face when he came back after killing the boss. But the mourning was not for the one who died. "That is my fear."

The fear of losing you, the fear of not protecting you.

You knew he has always been protective of you, an instinct that came as soon as you met. Something blossomed inside your heart, like a flower that was showing it's petals, so soft and sweet. The fear that was unspoken till now, was something you both shared. The fear of losing each other, the fear of not being able to protect each other; a feeling of not being able to survive without each other. Maybe you both were not human, and maybe love was not for you but that is not what you needed anymore. Love was not beautiful enough to define what you both felt for each other, and there was no need to define those unspoken feelings. As long as I have you here, right with me, I could survive anything. He was not your lover, but he was your partner. Love was not for you, but Taeyong was. And somehow, that was enough.

He turned his eyes away from window and looked at you. Sorrowfulness replaced with softness, Eyes crinkled and small smile dancing on his face, red hair falling unevenly, the stars in the sky, the smell of rain, the sound of his breath when he spoke.

"The moon is beautiful tonight, isn't it?"

----

The moon is beautiful tonight, isn’t is? = I love you. By Natsume Soeseki

At the time, Japanese people were more reserved than they are at present day. They hesitated to express feelings of love directly. I, for one, like this expression 月が綺麗ですね | tsuki ga kirei desune (the moon is beautiful, isn’t is?) -- it sounds literary and intelligent.

This phrase was used by Natsume Soseki as a form of saying “I love you”. For the writer, two people with deep feelings for each other do not need to use those three words to effectively convey their feelings. Sometimes, even the simplest phrases contain more emotion than direct ones.

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if you guys don’t know about bungou stray dogs idk what is up with you. it’s one of best anime’s out there, like i still don’t have feels for anything else like i did for this. Please watch it & you’ll love it even more if you like literature because every character is based on real life author. Just watch it pls :))

anyways y’all if you watched/read Bungou stray dogs you probably realized that taeyong= chuuya & you = dazai ( bc daichuu <3).

ALSO PLS SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS IF U HATE IT, DISLIKE IT, LIKE IT, LOVE IT, JUST PLS SEND IN ASK OR TEXTS OR COMMENTS. IT’S A SIDE BLOG SO I CAN;T REPLY PERSONALLY BUT PLS GIVE ME FEEDBACK.

EDIT : ALSO WHAT DO YOU GUYS SAY ABOUT A PREQUEL WHERE I TELL YOU HOW THEY MEET AND THE BOSS’S DEATH AND TY BECOMES THE BOSS?

#taeyong #lee taeyong #taeyong scenarios #taeyong imagines #nct scenarios #nct fanfic #nct imagines #nct taeyong #nct x reader #taeyong x reader #Yuta #nakamoto yuta #kpop scenarios #nct yuta #bungou stray dogs #inspired #kpop imagines #imagines #kpop fanfiction

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superviza · 5 years ago

Photo

For all the characters I’ve never liked, Master Fu is the only one I’ve ever done a PowerPoint for. Maybe that secretly means I love him.

I created this series just to organize my thoughts regarding Master Fu’s character. Exploring this character was my of asking questions that allow me to enjoy the show more. Just trying to solve a mystery and learn more about a show I like. In that quest these questions arose.

Doing this has made me wonder, do I hate Master Fu? The answer I come back to is no. But Supervisa, people don’t create write whole PowerPoints roasting someone that they like. Debatable. I often judge characters based on a few questions, one of which being, “Can I have lunch with this person?”

The results vary....

No I’d rather not have lunch with Sakura or Leenalee Lee. (For some people, thems fight’n words.) But I also adore Azula and by no means would I have lunch with her. The only way they’d let me in the room is if I were serving lunch. In other words, this calls into question the character’s morals. I personally am a sucker for virtuous persons, or in some cases someone who tries to be, the antihero types. A person with outstanding morals and ethics is the type of person I want to talk to, get to know and above all emulate. That guy I’ll buy lunch for. Now that creates a contradiction. Sakura Haruno is one of the good guys right. Its not like she supports murder or human rights violations. No, but I never saw her as friendly person, between telling Sasuke Naruto was a bad person because he had no parents, to lying to Naruto so she could kill Sasuke with the very limited power she had (at the time, no lie I dig Sakura Uchiha a tad) I’ve just never seen her as someone I wanted to be like. Bringing up Sakura can usually start fights but the bottom line is, if I’m thinking about a character with traits I’d like to possess, I’d shoot for maybe Izuku Midoriya. Specifically his love for people which I could use more of. So do you want to be like Azula? That brings me to the next question.

“Did they do their job?”

That’s the question that separates my Sakuras and Azulas. Azula played the bad guy with finesse. She was tactical, decisive and ruthless and did the job of every and any character in any literary work, she supported the plot. Why am I so passionate about this? I love storytelling. The job of every character, anything mentioned in a story; is to support the plot. Nothing in a book, movie, graphic novel or TV Show, should occur due to happenstance. That’s not how real life works. No one exist for no reason, everyone has purpose and everything that happens to (wo)man is of no coincidence. (If you choose to give it meaning.) Therefore a body of work should reflect that otherwise its a waste of ink on paper, a waste of a polygon in a 3D mesh. A writer should be able to justify every stroke.

I think everyone agrees that Zuko had some of the greatest development the art narration had to offer. However, how often do we talk about the parallel of his growth to his sister’s decent. Azula was who Zuko was trying to become, confident, feared and above all, respected. Imagine if Azula didn’t posses those traits, book 2 would’ve ended differently. Zuko’s growth would’ve been motivated in some other way. In addition to that, she was the adversary that was most difficult to defeat after her father. This is not just because of strength, she was cold, ruthless and calculated, driving the Avatar’s objective. And imagine, once she has everything she wanted, and what Zuko thought he wanted, she came to the same conclusion her younger brother had arrived at. Everything we were taught, the callousness, the rigger and patriotism, it amounts to nothing. Her own mother was afraid of her. No amount of honor she gained could restore that relationship. Thus, I believe this supports my prior statement, Azula is a great character, not due to morality, but because of how she supports the plot and character growth in the series.

Does the character have multiple dimensions?

Everyone loves a multifaceted character, but do we know how to create one? This is another concept the resembles our reality. Humans, animals, creation in general is just a network of stories. (Get’n philosophic) Why else would we create characters ranging from human to bacteria source: Ozzy and Drix. But how do we make that character seem real? We’ve heard “one dimensional” used to describe characters in a negative way but why. This usually means the character needs more traits or lacks realism. It’s the difference between the relationship with your child and the relationship with your co-worker. A good parent is more likely to know what their child is thinking before the child acts. (You know, your mother just comes in with something you wanted but haven’t asked for yet.) A co-worker on the hand, even if you’er friends, the relationship will have to see a lot of upgrades before you have the same level of trust you would with a parent, generally speaking, but by then you maybe married by then. In a literary sense, a character with one dimension is essentially a stranger or acquaintance to you. How do we turn that character into our baby?

We get to know them like a real person. What was their childhood like? What event changed their life? What kind of things frighten them? What’s their hobby? If they could vacation anywhere for free, where would they go? The beach? The mountains? Some place urban? Take Izuku for example, he keeps notes on any and every hero? That’s a dead giveaway that he’s a relatively organized person, even more impressive for a 15 year old boy. It also gives the impression that he has a lot of self discipline. He did pick up a work out regiment from a world renowned hero and completed it in ten months, after he overworked himself. He also found ways to work out in during class. It makes you ask how he developed that self discipline. Even his room, covered in action figures and memorabilia, is organized and the rest of the decor matches. Not something very prevalent in men let alone teenage boys. His mother doesn’t seem particularly strict, but Izuku has proven himself to be very thoughtful. Keeping a tight ship may be the result of an attempt to make things easier for his mother. Theory, but that’s fun part in my opinion. It’s like that satisfying feeling that comes with scratching off a seal with a coin. Even if the conclusion you draw isn’t cannon, every time you ask questions about the character or world, it’s like you read/watched the squeal. And if the theory is proven in the show, film or book, it becomes that much more fun. A one dimensional character isn’t destined to be awful however, it just means we need more time to get to know them.

So where does Master Fu fit in this complex scale of character appeal I’ve been painting? Can I have lunch with him? Sure. Do I want to emulate him? Absolutely not. Is he invited to the cook out? Depends on who all over there. Did he do his job? This is the moment of truth. Before I characterized this question from a literary stand point. That, I can’t speak to with an ongoing series.(I’m not holding my breathe though) Thus far, the character of Master Fu has supported the plot, giving viewers plenty of information about the world and lore. Does Master Fu perform the tasks he’s given in the duration he’s on “stage.” No, he failed miserably. Is he multifaceted? I’d say so, in fact, that may be the vary issue I’ve subscribed to. He has 186 years of backstory that I enjoyed probing. Even if the question I raise take me down the wrong rabbit hole, it’s like I got to explore the show from a new angle.I refrain from details because they’re in the slides.

So I say all this because I realize I may very well be alone on my Disaster Fu island. So if any viewer is wondering how I arrived at this conclusion, I hope this clarifies that. I can’t hate Master Fu if I wanted to. I have a healthy anger toward him, like the anger one has when their significant other leaves dishes in the sink. (Except your boy/girlfriend probably didn’t destroy a temple.) I think he would be a great cashier, but not a guardian. Master Fu could work at a mall kiosk, but miraculous guardian is not for him. It do be like that sometimes. Art, I am good at, but don’t ask me to play an instrument. I wasn’t planning writing on an essay but I felt an explanation was in order.

I don’t hate Master Fu

I don’t believe Master Fu was a good or even ok guardian

I decide how much I like a character according to their moral makeup or even attempt at morality

I decide how much I like a character according to their role in the plot and how suited they are to the role

I decide how much I like a character according to their different facets.

With that criteria in mind I made this series to organize my thoughts

This is just my way to explore an aspect of The Miraculous Adventures of Ladybug and Chat Noir

That being said I hope you like the series as much I enjoyed making it. Maybe You agree with it or you don’t regardless, I shared it hoping it would make you laugh. I hope it makes you ask questions not just about Miraculous Ladybug but about your work and whatever you fan for. I hope those questions allow you to experience the story again in a new way that’s enjoyable. There will be more soon!

@solembum22 @starcrossedrose @firstdove15

#miraculousladybug #the miraculous adventures of ladybug and chat noir #miraculous ladybug #ladybug and chat noir #ladybug #chat noir #marienette #adrian agreste #rena rouge #alya #alya cesaire #nino #nino lahiffe #carapace #100 miraculous reasons why master fu is a disaster #100 miraculous reasons why #miraculous reasons why #master fu #master fu is a disaster

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clacolu95 · 4 years ago

Text

Aether: Love Solutions

Chapter 1: Crimson Resonance

Next Chapter > Chapter 2: Midnight Blue Sky

_______________________________________

It is funny how colors impact so many moments of our lives. How their hues, their shine, the saturation of the pigments remain trapped in our memories and help us remember those occasions forever. It’s curious how colors manage to make feelings resurface, how they can impact our emotions: Like the surge of confidence you get while wearing a vibrant crimson dress, or the soothing sensation of staring at the blue starry night sky; the relaxing effect of a vast green field filled with flowers, or the coldness in one’s body once the lights are out and there’s nothing else to see but empty, pitch black.

For us seers, though, colors get a completely different meaning, being able to see other people’s colored auras helps us find connections between them. We are able to, quite graphically, identify love compatibility between two subjects; though, if I need to be honest, I’ve found this ‘gift’ to be more of a curse than an actual blessing.

Seers are perfect matchmakers. Helping everyone find their perfect pair... their so-called “other half”. And even though being able to see everyone’s aura could be considered a great power by most; an ability so capable of finding people’s happiness has quite the opposite effect on seers themselves.

A sight so great had to come with a catch of course: The lack of an aura of our own. The nonexistence of our own destined person.

The constant happiness, the endless love we help people find with our matchmaking abilities is, quite ironically, the same gift we seers have been denied of.

A Seer’s Insight, Chapter 1

_______________________________________

“I mean it’s not like I need a boyfriend” The pink and yellow-haired girl declares, though the way she fiddles with her fingers and plays with her long ponytails as she explains her reasoning manage to send Moon the opposite message.

“Mhm…” The seer murmurs sympathetically as she scrolls through her gallery of red tones, catching a glimpse of Plumeria every once in a while to corroborate the vibrant red color of her aura.

“I mean...I’ve got this friend you know…” The punk-looking girl keeps explaining, earning a glance and a polite grin from Moon. “She recently got a boyfriend and she keeps bragging about their 86% match… I mean… It’s kind of a good number isn’t it?”

The short-haired girl suddenly flashes a cocky smile.

“Barely passable by my standards… But sure…” She boasts about her skills quite naturally, though her stare keeps glued to her tablet, scrolling through the red palette as she struggles to decide between the three colors that most resemble Plumeria’s crimson colored-aura. Persian red maybe? Though she could swear she could detect a pink hue of some sort.

Her client smiles, smashing her fist against the matchmaker’s desk effusively.

“And that’s why I am here!” She screams eagerly, the loud noise managing to make Moon’s body freeze for a moment. “Everyone keeps saying you’re the best and I’m certainly starting to believe it!”

“Oh please…” The seer dismisses the compliment with a smile and concentrates on deciding between the two colors that she has found most resemble the bright colored haired girl’s in front of her.

“And what is that?” The punk asks, pointing at the slim tablet in front of the matchmaker.

“Oh, this?” Moon asks eagerly, excited by the simple fact that someone had bothered to ask about her software. The thing that made her different, the one aspect that set her apart from the rest of the seers on the company. “This is my baby…” She holds the tablet and points the screen at her, a wide smile plaguing her face as she proudly presents Plumeria’s profile on the small device’s screen. “I once found a 100% match with this sucker…”

Plumeria whistles in admiration as she watches her entry as the red color palette at the bottom of the form catches her attention.

“But I mean, how does it work?” She asks curiously, resting her whole body on the backrest of her chair. “Is it some kind of database…?”

“Well, it is…” The dark-haired girl explains as she points at the color palette at the bottom. “It is linked to a vast color database and I calibrate it by choosing the color and tone that most resembles my client’s aura…” She then points at the top of the screen “It notifies me whenever I find a 95% color match or higher. It helps a lot with fieldwork” She smiles proudly as she finally presses on the variation of red that she finds resembles the most to Plumeria’s aura.

“Your color is Alizarin Crimson” She explains “And once I find someone close to that shade I’ll let you know” She enters her client’s data, exiting the form and proceeding to the last step “Can I take a photo of you? We can see someone’s auras with just a photo as well”

The punk nods, as she crosses her arms and posses for the picture.

“And why is it that you’re the only one here that uses that software?” Plumeria asks, placing her hands behind her head and placing herself comfortably in her chair once again. “It seems efficient”

The seer smiles sheepishly “Well my boss wouldn’t agree with you.” She answers, closing Plumeria’s registry as it successfully uploads to her database. “It’s far from a perfect system, he doesn’t think it would be profitable in the long run”

“But you make it work” The bright-haired girl insists “And if you can find someone who doesn’t run away from me after learning I’m the president of a fighting club I swear you’ll make me a believer”

Both girls chuckle, though Moon’s smile dies easily and turns into a somber expression.

“Yeah but he’s adamant about it. You see, I still need to calibrate it manually and that alone takes a lot of time to do…”

“Well yeah but…”

“On top of that, the matchmaking system is connected to a pair of glasses I usually carry around, so it only activates when I see an individual that matches one of my client’s aura” She plays with a strand of her short jet-black hair “I spend most of my free time searching for matches on some dating sites on the internet, which is something not all of my fellow seers would enjoy doing”

She sighs, catching a glimpse at Plumeria’s face slowly getting less eager.

“And even if it works, there’s no guarantee I’ll find a 95% to 100% match in this country, or of the gender preference my client has, or even of the same age range!”

She sighs once again, though she forces another polite smile.

“But I’ll find that bad boy for you…” She promises as her eyes meet with her client’s “And you’ll be able to kick your friend’s ass, don't worry”

They laugh in unison, and Moon reminds herself of all the times she’s been told not to bond with her clients, but is useless. How can someone not bond after sharing such intimate details about their romantic preferences? How can a seer not feel empathy at the expectancy of the one they’re helping.

A single knock interrupts her thoughts, as Wicke, the president's assistant politely makes them aware of her presence.

“President Gladion would like to talk to you, miss Moon” She announces with a smile, and Plumeria understands this signal as her cue to leave.

“Well. I guess I’ll see you later!” The fighter expresses, waving goodbye to the now conflicted matchmaker, Though only when the punk girl is out of her sight she finally brings herself to ask.

“The boss?” She asks as she swallows hard, and even though Wicke gives her a sympathetic smile the gesture doesn’t quite reduce her stress. There’s nothing that can reduce her stress after hearing those words.

She follows the purple-haired assistant as she forces herself to remember what she could have done wrong this time, though she can bet the reason her boss wants to see her is something number related. It’s always something number related to him.

She enters the Presidential office, the elegance of the glass walls in the room and the enormous bookshelves filled with the successful matches files always manage to impress her, though when she looks at the huge and surely expensive desk in front of her she finds her bosses’ usual disappointed stare locking with hers.

“Wicke, leave us” He murmurs, and the assistant abides, closing the door behind her and going back to her labors. “Have a seat” He orders, now directing his deep, emerald eyes at her.

She walks towards the signaled chair, nervously sitting on it, trying to fight the urge to play with the hem of her uniform’s shirt.

“You’ve been slacking…” He sentences, sighing in desperation as he remembers all of the previous talks he’s had with her. All of the occasions he has pointed out her scarce results. “I only received three reports from you this month, every other seer in this company has reported at least ten satisfied clients…”

“Yeah. With 89% matches on average…”

“That doesn’t matter Moon” He delivers, her common complaints are something he has already gotten used to “Those people are pleased with our service and that’s all that matters”

“Yeah but for how long?” She questions. It always irritates her to have this kind of conversation with her boss. “I have an average of 97% matches, I help my clients find true love…” She insists. “You haven’t fired me yet because you know I give you quality…”

“Yet” He emphasizes “But I’m giving you one last warning, stop using that software of yours. It’s not functional, it slows your performance and we don’t do fieldwork”

“But it works! And I’m in the middle of a client’s request right now. I can get quicker if only you gave me more time, I…”

“Oh…” He interrupts, his bright green eyes deeply focused on her’s “I’m sorry if I made it sound like it was a request”

She feels the urge to slap him, but she restrains. Tears threaten to fall down her cheeks though she contains them.

She swears she hates him. But she also needs the job, it is the only way in which she can help others find true love, after all.

“My system works. It’s very functional” She insists, still not letting her eyes water.

“Our system works” He repeats, dismissing her comment and defending the matchmaking company’s way of getting people together instead “It’s efficient”

She crosses her arms at the powerlessness.

“I need the job…” She mutters, grasping her shirt from the sides with her fists, trying to calm herself.

“Then do the job” Her boss insists, finally letting out a long sigh. He was rough like a rock, but she could tell it tired him. He had always been hard on her, and even though she wasn’t sure why she could only guess it had to do with the common seer nature: The one that, due to their birth circumstances, didn’t let them believe in love.

Gladion had been the first in a long line of matchmakers in the Aether family to be born a seer. He had used his vast math and probability knowledge, his hardworking attitude, and his parent's trust to climb the ladder of his family’s foundation. He didn’t understand love, as well as many other seers, and even though his parents had been reluctant at first they had ended up making him the president. The president of a company that sells love and happiness to its customers, but that hardly strives to understand love himself.

“Moon I truly don’t understand why you’re so defiant about the company’s system” He asks more calmly than before, his tone still sounding serious but at least not as annoyed as some minutes ago “By dividing our clients into 8 basic color categories we guarantee matches of at least 87.5%, you honestly believe that isn’t close enough?” He diverts his gaze from her and decides to focus it on the documents in front of him instead. A long silence invades the room as he distracts himself from the conversation by signing the papers his assistant had provided him with that morning. “They choose their partners themselves at the color-themed parties the company hosts. The sense of control we give them is one of the things our clients value the most…” His pen slides elegantly against the pages, his posture always perfect, his reasoning never failing. Except for one single aspect.

“You don’t understand love…” She mutters, still mad at her boss for deeming her incompetent “Why give them ‘almost’ when you can give them ‘perfect’?” She’s pushing his buttons, she’s aware of that. There’s a chance that she may lose her job, but she doesn’t care anymore.

“I don’t care what you think about me” He states, his eyes locking with her’s for another millisecond. “I don’t have to believe in love to do my job correctly. I’m a seer, and you’re one too” He continues signing casually, though his voice has gone back to sounding angry at her “You would do right to learn your place in this world. And in this company as well”

He’s an ass. She convinces herself, standing up from her chair in a quick motion, tempted to smash her fist against his wooden desk.

“Stop this fieldwork nonsense” He orders without a single tint of hesitation in his voice “Or I’ll stop caring about the fact that my mother enjoys that you work for this company”

She storms out of his office, smashing the door behind her and not shattering the glass in it by a pure miracle. She looks at the cubicles around her, as everyone seems to catch her brute gesture. She chuckles as she finally feels her eyes beginning to water.

“WHAT?” She screams annoyed at her companions, making them all startle and resume their activities in fear of their fellow seer. She forces herself to look calm as she walks towards her cubicle, and when she’s sure no one can see her she finally lets everything out, crying silently in frustration.

_______________________________________

Red is a strong color that conveys equally strong emotions: It attracts attention, it inspires confidence. Red is courage and determination, but it is also anger, danger, and impulsiveness.

Red love is equally as powerful as the color: It is passionate and strong, it creates a bond that’s hardly broken. People with a red aura generally search for a partner as energetic as themselves, they enjoy their partner’s attention and value tenacity as well as devotion.

A study on color-related tendencies, Chapter 7: Red Auras

_______________________________________

As soon as the clock hits 6:00 P.M. she’s out of her cubicle, walking as fast as she can towards the exit of the building to reduce the chance of crossing paths with her boss again. She avoids the elevator, choosing instead to walk down the stairs in a hurry. Once she gets to the entrance, though, Hau is already waiting for her.

“Whoa, no overtime today?” Her friend asks confused, his wide, gray eyes full of curiosity. He smiles towards her as his carefree attitude kicks in again, his giant white grin contrasts with his tanned, dark skin. “I’m glad you decided to get some time for yourself for once!”

His grin is contagious, and even though just hours ago she had deemed that day to be the worst of the whole week - Or even of the whole month - right now she can’t seem to avoid the small smile on her lips or even the low chuckle that manages to emerge out of her.

“Typical Hau” She mutters, catching the boy’s attention “You never fail to lift the mood”

The young male lifts one of his dark-green eyebrows in confusion, and even once they start walking towards her home she can tell he’s worried about her last comment.

“Did something happen at work?” He asks with a concerned tone, and even though her last conversation with her boss is not something she wants to talk about right now she knows she cannot avoid the subject forever. Not with Hau at least. After so many years of friendship, he had pretty much mastered the ability to detect when something was bothering her.

She looks at him thoughtfully, wondering how was it possible that with such a small exchange of words his usual optimistic smile and contagious confidence had turned into a worried stare. They’ve known each other since they were kids, his characteristic green hair had gotten longer and at his 25 years his body had already taken the shape of a man’s, but his protective attitude towards her and their insanely long, trust-based friendship had remained unchanged. He had always been her best friend, and she was sure she was his.

She finally smiles sheepishly, defeated.

“My boss called me to his office again…” She admits, kicking the ground below her as if that action would help her calm down “He complained about my performance”

“Again!?” Hau asks irritated. It’s not common to see him mad, but it is a sight she has already grown used to whenever someone messes up with her. “I’ll talk to Lillie… Maybe she…”

“No!” She sentences, not wanting to involve any more people in her problems, even more so when Gladion’s younger sister had nothing to do with the argument between her and her boss. “I still don’t think he’s at fault you know…” The seer explains, finally shoving her emotions aside and doing her best to put herself in the place of the young CEO “He’s your age, but he’s already the head of a millionaire matchmaking company... Of course he cares about numbers and efficiency…”

“That still doesn’t give him the right to be rude to you…” Hau’s big eyes look soft with concern, but he still flashes a smile for her, doing his best to lift the Mood “Plus, you’re the best matchmaker at that company, and you treat your clients pretty well…!”

The short-haired girl giggles at the compliment. Leave it to Hau to always make her feel better after a rough day.

“You should let me help you out” She states, intensely staring at Hau’s golden-colored aura she has already grown so used to see. “I mean I still got work to do tonight, I’ll browse some dating sites for a female client but I could take a peek at the yellow-colored aura sections for you”

Her comment somehow takes him by surprise, even though it’s not the first time the girl has made him that same proposal.

“I’m fine really…” He answers, once again rejecting the offer. He scratches the back of his head as a light blush plagues his cheeks and his eyes suddenly look lost in thought. “Call me a hopeless romantic but I’d like to do that on my own…”

She still doesn’t get it, but she still gives him a sympathetic smile. “Okie”

Why have ‘almost’ when you can have ‘perfect’?

She reaches for her purse, extracting her glasses from one of the front pockets and cleaning them a little before wearing them.

“Field-work?” Hau asks, watching her concentrate in looking around her. “It’s peak hour and I’m looking for a red-based match, so in the off chance I find that on my way home I may actually have some time off today…” She explains her reasoning as she makes her best to turn around into every direction, letting her special lens scan the biggest amount of auras she could find to increase her odds.

“That’s a pretty long shot…” He states, her house is barely a 15-minute walk, and after all of the years he has spent walking her home after work he has never actually seen her get a match while strolling together. Still, she never seemed to let the chance slip from her grasp.

“And who’s this client?” He asks curiously, entertained by the sight of the very focused matchmaker.

“Her name is Plumeria” She answers distractedly “She’s the president of a fighting club in Alola’s University”

“A fighter…?” He questions, though his attention is suddenly deflected towards a loud scream coming from around the corner. He concentrates on that spot, trying to decipher where the scream had come from until he finally finds out. A group of three-man, seemingly thugs, kicking and punching someone that had already fallen to the floor.

“Uh… Moon…” He tries to catch her attention, but it’s useless. He grabs her by the arm, attempting to force her to turn around and take another route towards her home, but once she does turn around, an insanely loud beeping sound starts coming out from her purse pocket.

“Moon what the hell turn that off…” He panics, watching as the three young - but though looking men - grow aware of the noise behind them. “MOON!” He screams, letting his fear take over, but the girl is speechless.

The sound, he finds soon enough, is coming from her tablet. A light flickers on the top of the slim device as its screen flashes a bright red message.

MATCH FOUND. He reads. He stares in disbelief until he suddenly realizes the gang is now approaching them.

“Fuck, Moon, Let’s go!” He begs her, but his friend’s feet are glued to the ground.

“Hau…” She mutters, still not moving. “That’s Plumeria’s match…”

The loud noise coming from the device suddenly stops, but he panics even more at his best friend’s foolishness and persistence “I don’t care! He’s dangerous…” He grabs her by the arm once more and he pulls, but the white-haired leader is already just 5 steps away from them.

“But… He’s a 100% match…” He watches her in awe, still not believing she was willing to risk herself just for something as banal as that, but there’s no way out now.

He pushes Moon behind him, protectively extending his arms as he tries his best to look intimidating.

“Now what do we have here…?” The white-haired leader speaks with a threatening tone “A couple of snitches” His comment makes his two companions chuckle.

Continue reading on AO3

#gladion x moon #lonashipping #pokemon #pokemon sun and moon #pokemon fanfiction #lonashippingweek2020 #lonashippingweek

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littlestsnicket · 5 years ago

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the witcher: the end’s beginning

Whenever I hear the netflix noise, I automatically start singing Look Away. Doesn’t matter that I haven’t actually rewatched ASOUE that many times.

i very much appreciate how they make this first monster fight look difficult (it gives such scale to how dangerous these monsters are when you compare it to Geralt fighting Renfri’s posse later). And Geralt’s not at all human eyes. The spidering poison is super unnerving and feral looking. Great introduction to the character. (per my understanding of the video game, he absolutely ate that deer raw, when he tells Renfri he’s full later, he is FULL OF RAW MEAT.)

so that paper 100% says kikimora on it. important a scene or two later.

some of the costuming decisions aren’t 100% but I am a big fan of the set design. especially all of the candles.

i want to squish renfri’s cute little face! (her costuming is also on point, i really love the specific red color of her shirt. Although on further examination, the fit is actually a little strange? Or the pleating doesn’t read right on screen all the time.)

“more and more i find monsters wherever i go.” yup... early introduction of *theme*

“I killed a rat this morning with my breakfast fork.” Got to love Marilka!

“You don’t scary me”/“That’s too bad.”

(Geralt will be a good adopted father to Ciri, he’s good with violent, headstrong teenage girls.)

Marilka lied there, the flier was absolutely for a kikimora. She is very deliberately intercepting him to take Geralt to Stregobor. And Geralt is just like, fuck fine? You do sort of get the impression that people refusing to pay him as contracted is something he deals with ALL THE TIME!

“I think that makes you a hero.” (aww, Marilka!)

Marilka and Geralt are so cute together (I think he likes people who will talk at him)

Geralt’s little smile when she says “girls can’t be witchers that’s the stupidest thing i’ve ever heard”

Gratuitous nudity? Nah, we’re establishing something about Stregabor with this. Also, it’s just sort of there... in the background, like we should barely pay any attention to it. (So, per the timeline, Stregobor has already tried to prevent Yennefer from going to the court she wants for no apparent reason. Stregobor is a bastard.)

“I seem to remember that Witcher’s don’t feel anything”

Aw, Ciri dressed as a boy handing out with some rascals. She’s wearing normal pants here...

”Gross”, yes Ciri your horny grandparents are gross.

“Wizards are all the same. You talk nonsense while making wize and meaningful faces. Speak plainly.” Geralt is so done with everything. That’s how we meet him. I question the received fan wisdom that Geralt doesn’t talk very much. He’s just surrounded by people who talk A LOT.

How full of shit is Stregobor? It’s very difficult to tell. Does he actually believe his bullshit? What evidence did he actually have of these internal mutations? How did they die so he could autopsy them? Difficult to say. Also, there is something super weird about how Stregabor talks to Geralt, the way he’s moving and the tone of voice he’s using--like he’s trying to get in his head. Is it strictly psychological or is he attempting to do what he accuses Renfri of and manipulate him with magic? Make him kill Renfri?

“Pretty ballads hide bastard truths.” (Rewatching, this makes me think of episode 4, they’ve met Jaskier. I wonder if Jaskier wrote anything about Calanthe — there are so many references throughout the series of the power of song to change perception of the past, which changes the present.)

I can’t unsee how the bodice of Crir’s dress doesn’t lay quite right and the fabric is weirdly modern looking. (Her face when she is doing the kicky part of the dance--she’s so right, what the hell even is that.)

GERALT’S FINDING SHIT TO MAKE A POTION!

“Queen Calanthe of Cintra, she just won her first battle” — if you are paying attention, the timeline stuff is actually pretty clear, the clues are all there. I was explaining to a friend that i have trouble watching things that are of midrange complexity; i can follow this and i can follow a sitcom, but I often have trouble following things inbetween.

“Because then I am what they say I am” — Geralt is morally incapable of rehabilitating his own reputation, he’s too concerned he might deserve it

renfri says “no more princess” and then Geralt calls her a princess. He is SO DELIBERATE with words.

The violence in this battle is something. The visuals are weird; it’s not torture porn, it’s frantic and horrifying. There is this unbelievable level of squelching and bits flying around, but very little blood. And I don’t think i’ve seen a battle sequence that is washed out in that precise way--the overcast sky reflects the sun everywhere until you can hardly see. That’s got to be a horrible circumstance to fight under.

I hope we see Ciri comfortable enough to be this impetuous again.

Does Mousesack know Stregobor? Why does he choose to tell Ciri a story where a wizard systematically kills young girls? There’s no real moral relevance or connection to what they are talking about, unless it is the cruel callousness of fate.

Calanthe is so devastated when Eist dies :(

Ciri looks so scared and like the world is ending, talented actress, she’s wonderful!

Geralt’s giant monologue talking to his horse. Yeah, perceived fan wisdom isn’t quite right. He talks. He’s pretty verbal and good with words. He’s just so very careful around people and cultivating this very specific image.

“She took one look at me, screamed, vomited and then passed out. Yeah I thought the world needed me too.” I bet he is still thinking about Marilka calling him a hero.

Back in Cintra... the color has shifted so drastically from the glaring white to the orange burning.

Geralt is THERE, right NOW. escaping from the prison cell Calanthe put him in. DESTINY! But why?!?

The way Mousesack looks at Ciri when she does the magic yelling thing for the first time. He does not look surprised.

“Find Geralt of Rivia, he is your destiny.” I should have counted how many times the word Destiny is said. I’m sure it’s off the wall.

Note to self: Mousesack and Calanthe know that Nilfgard is here for Ciri. They say so. Were they too in denial about it to take appropriate action? Cause strategically, if they knew that, nothing they do makes any sense. And they could not have gotten new information since Calanthe went off to battle.

Cintra doesn’t have a court mage, and hasn’t for ages. Pretty sure Mousesack is a druid, but is it hard to convince Calanthe to let him stay? (should get back to this train of thought in episode 4)

This bit with the soldiers handing out the poison drives home how scary Nilfgard is so much more effectively than seeing them graphically torture people. (Not that what we see of the slaughtering people isn’t graphic enough.)

Calanthe just tipping out the window gets me every time. The soundtracking is great, the way is gets quiet and picks back up again.

Geralt is so fucking close to Ciri in this moment, but not close enough!

What is Renfi’s intent in sleeping with Geralt? Is it just because she wants to or does she have some ulterior motive? Does she think it will sway him? They both look at eachother so softly though. The way it is done in this weird prophesizing flashback is so strange.

“You have to choose the lesser evil.”

Geralt goes from resigned fuck to snarling so so fast when it becomes obvious that Renfri’s posse is not going to back down.

“They created me just as they created you, we’re not so different.” — what does she mean by that? Does she mean it philosophically that they have both been badly mistreated by society, or is she implying that her mutations are deliberate. And she was created, like a Witcher. Not a coincidence of being born during an eclipse. If that was the case, Stregobor would know, possibly even have been the one to do it, that creepy fucking bastard. I don’t have easily searchable transcripts handy, but I *think* Geralt mentions something in another episode about how he’s found mutations to be deliberate. Going to keep an eye out for that. I’m proposing that Stregobor was out to create an army of female witchers and it went... badly and he killed them all off. Maybe he was even doing it to replace Tissaia and Aretusa. This could be a *thing*.

I am 90% sure Geralt just grabbed the blade of the sword. Yup, he’s definitely holding the sword in his off hand by the blade when he kills Renfri. The fuck Geralt? Does that not hurt your hand?

Renfri’s giant eyes when she’s dying. God.

So Ciri legit causes a giant crevice to form in the earth. WHAT IS SHE CAPABLE OF?!?

The way Stregobor looks at Renfri’s corpse. So upsetting. He doesn’t look at her like a person. Stregobor is definitely using the idea of Renfri’s mutation manipulating people to turn the crowd against Geralt; make him seem more untrustworthy and shut down any attempt for him to defend himself. Protecting Renfri’s corpse from horrible wizard dude is 100% in character for him.

Shit. Geralt’s resigned but completely devastated face when Marilka tells him to leave and not come back. And she is so soft and quiet about it too, that must make it so much worse. And Marilka looks like she’s about to cry too--she’s lost something: her innocence, her chance to escape, both. What does she really, deep down, think of Geralt here? Will she lie awake at night wondering if she should have said something else? I wonder what becomes of her. What does she think about Stregobor after this? Her face though, she has to know something is wrong here. Does she leave Blaviken? Does she hear tales of Geralt the White Wolf as an adult? What does she think of them?

Close up shot of the pin he took from Renfri.

And then the clear visual cue that Ciri is the girl in the woods. If you just roll with it and assume things will get explained a little better later, this really isn’t confusing. You just need to let go a little.

#the witcher #mayo blogs the witcher #this was fun/easy--will totally do all eight episodes

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barchiefanfiction · 6 years ago

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Welcome to Barchie Halloween!

(Excuse the terrible graphic)

Everyone is welcome to participate, the more people the better!

Rules:

Pick a prompt to fill

Ways to fill a prompt: fanfiction, graphic, moodboard, fanart, playlist, gifs or whatever else takes your fancy!

Fill as many prompts as you want

Prompts can be filled multiple times

When You Post:

Remember to include the prompt

Tag as #barchie and #barchiehalloween18

If you want to create something Halloween themed that doesn’t relate to a prompt, that’s fine too!

Reblog this post to spread the word!

Questions?

25 Prompts under the cut.

our halloween costumes accidentally happen to be two romantically involved characters

that pumpkin pie sucks but i will eat three slices because you look so proud

“there’s a leaf in your hair”

“Bite me”

Haunted house 1: trapped and locked in overnight

Haunted house 2: Betty bets Archie that she can spend longer in the haunted house without getting scared

Haunted house 3: Betty and Archie get seperated from Veronica and Jughead

stuck in a corn maze

Vampire AU

Archie (dressed as a vampire): How hard do you think I’d have to bite you with these fake teeth before it hurts? Betty: I don’t know why don’t you try and we find out?

Red Riding Hood/Werewolf AU

Ghost hunters

Harry Potter/Hogwarts AU

Betty as a soulless demon and she meets Archie and she’s like “I’m supposed to posses this guy?”

Betty wears a sexy costume for a party, and Archie can’t take her eyes off her

silent masquerade ball AU

Betty and Archie are exes who dress in slutty costumes for trick or treating with their friends

Archie and Betty form a tradition of watching scary movies together every Halloween

Stranger Things AU

Betty is a witch whose powers aren’t working properly

“Apparently, at midnight people turn into what their costumes were.”

“[text] Hey, it’s me. I heard banging noises and I’m terrified. Please save me.”

oujia board ghost gets fed up and tells them to get together already

Zombie apocalypse AU

Lost in the woods with something/someone after them

#barchie #barchie halloween #barchiehalloween18

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lovemesomesurveys · 4 years ago

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survey by pandaphant

What was your first kiss like, and who was it with? It was with my boyfriend at the time and it was awkward as first kisses typically are, but I was just all giddy about having had mine haha.

Do you have to be in love with someone to sleep with them? In my case, yes. I know this isn’t a prerequisite for a lot of people though, and that’s okay too. <<<

What's your favorite kind of bear? Winnie the Pooh, ha.

Would you rather see a movie at a theater or at home on DVD? Depends on the movie. Big ones that I’m really excited about and into I for sure want to experience in the theater for the first time. Even movies that just look good and I don’t want to wait until it comes out. Then there’s movies I’m not sure about or think might be okay, but I’m like eh I can wait until it’s available to rent/stream.

Have you ever sent a FWD because you were afraid? Yeah, waaay back in my early internet days. Like we’re talking AOL days.

Are you still madly in love with that *someone*? No.

Have you ever waited for someone? Yes.

You've been given access to a time machine. Where and when do you go? I’d like to go back in time, perhaps to my childhood.

Would you ever date more than one person at a time? No.

Would you rather have pancakes or waffles? Waffles.

Do you hate any of your friend's S.O.s? I don’t have any friends.

What do you eat on your waffles? Butter and syrup.

Have you ever had a major crush on someone that never found out? Yeah, a few.

What is one thing that has changed your life, either good or bad? My health these past few years has changed my life for the worst.

What is a juggalo? A juggalo is someone who is a fan of Insane Clown Posse.

Do you like to cuddle? I don’t have much cuddling experience to be honest.

Have you ever drank alcohol? Yeah, many times.

Which is your favorite punctation mark? Let’s go with “?” cause I’m just like ???? in life.

What is one trait you could not put up with in another person? Refusing to acknowledge their toxic habits or actions and staying the way they are because “this is who I am.” That shit makes me absolutely nauseous. <<< Ugh, YES. People who just refuse to own up and take accountability.

If you could have any super power, what would it be? Time travel, perhaps.

Have you ever worn leg warmers? No.

What's your favorite way to wear your hair? It’s always just up in a bun.

If someone made a movie about your life, what would you want it to be named? Y’all know how much I dislike questions like this that force me to get creative, so I’m moving on. <<< Hahah, saaame. I got nothin’.

What makes you really mad? Close-mindedness and really judgmental people.

What do you like to do for fun? What’s fun?

What eye color do you prefer in a significant other? I don’t care. Like sure, I think green or blue eyes are really pretty, but that’s not important. I’m looking for certain personality traits and at who they are as person. That’s what is important.

American Eagle, Hollister, or Abercrombie? I don’t shop at any of those stores.

What's your favorite ice cream topping? Strawberry syrup.

Have you ever rebounded...or been someone's rebound? No.

Why is your best friend your best friend? She’s always been there, always will be. Has always had my back and best interest at heart. I can talk to her about anything. I can trust her with anything. I know she’s loyal and truly cares. She’s also my mom.

If there was one thing you could do differently, what would it be? I wish I could go back a few years and make better choices regarding some health related things and take better care of myself.

Do you have commitment issues? No.

What do you do when the lights go out in a thunderstorm? I haven’t experienced that, actually.

If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you do today? Jeez. I’d be too upset and scared to do anything but feel that way and be with my family.

Where do you live? California.

Are you scared of spiders? Terrified.

What's your favorite band? Linkin Park.

If you had to do one which would it be, skydiving or bungee jumping? Um, neither!

Do you answer your phone when it's your mother? Yep.

Do you own anything with peace signs on it? I don’t think so.

Do you every buy anything at Bath & Body Works? Yeah. Lately my thing has been their foaming hand soaps and they always have a good sale for them and a large selection to choose from.

Do you like candles? I’m not a candle person, just give me a room spray. I get those from B&BW, too.

What'd all you wear this week? My usual attire of leggings and graphic tees.

Do you know any hippies? No.

Do you refuse to use public bathrooms? Yes, unless I really have to.

Do you know anyone that had Swine Flu? I don’t think so. Man, I remember when that was a big scare for a bit.

How'd you get your last booboo? I don’t even recall what my last “booboo” was.

#personal #text #survey #surveys

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c-robertson · 4 years ago

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Print Essay

The printmaking processes I see myself working towards are Screen printing and lino printing, what are these processes? Screen printing is the process of pressing ink through a stencilled mesh screen to create a printed design, this is an effective technique for creating bold prints, posters and other artworks this style is can even be used to print fabrics and textiles, allowing the user to have great freedom in making custom designs and products. Lino printing is the process of carving out an image on a piece of lino covering it in ink and pressing it on to a surface with use of a printing press or pressure, this technique is good for making both bold and detailed designs with the ability to print on almost anything and once a lino print is made the user will have the cut stencil always for future use, this makes this technique incredibly useful if kept in good condition.

Shepard Fairey born February 15th 1870, he is an American muralist and graphic artist, his work I have picked to look at is his very well-known 2008 “Hope” poster showing the U.S president Barack Obama during his presidential election. Fairey had always show an interest in the skateboard culture, he had started by designed and selling his own designed board and shirts, in 1989 he was experimenting with street art and made his first “sticker campaign” of Andre Rene Roussimoff, a professional wrestler, the work he made was captioned “Andre the Giant Has a Posse”. His work had gained massive attention and made his next work a great success selling at least one million copies and this was another sticker but more refined, this portrait had only one word, “Obey”.

In this artwork we can clearly see the U.S president Barack Obama, this was made during the 2008 presidential election, this gained massive support to Obamas causes and easily did help grow awareness and helped him win the election. The text is big and bold with using the black of Obamas suit to stand out even more, the success of this image come down to the symbolic value with him being the first black president it will be giving America a new start and hope for the future. The use of the mix of colours in this work help to make it look less plain and boring like most political posters, I don’t know if it was intentional but all the colours of the American flag are on this piece although the blue isn’t the correct shade, but the blue has also been used to show tone and light perception creating shadows on the face with the while colouring where the red has been used to completely shade one side of the face. I like this work, I think it’s the use of colour and the deeper meaning behind it, I don’t really take much interest in politics but I remember learning about this when I was younger and I liked how it seemed that America was going to become a better place and there would be far less hate and race crimes, but the current situations beg to differ. This work is overall successful.

Chuck Sperry born February 5th 1962, an American artist known for his many screen prints, he prints on paper and oak panels and have made limited edition posters for rock bands and political protest art, his work has ranged from that of astronauts on the moon to portraits of the famous. In 1984 he lived in Columbia for a year, in this time he made his first punk rock flyers, edited the Java (an underground newspaper) with Ann Wood. Sperry moved in 1985 to New York city and he co-made WW3 illustrious with Seth Tobocman and Peter Kuper, 1994 Sperry got his first commission from Arlene Owseichik, he created a Fillmore Auditorium poster for Bill Graham. Later Sperry joined Ron Donovan and Orion Landau and they made their own printing company called Psychic Sparkplug, where they made many rock posters, this became such a big deal because this was the first time a rock poster artists used metallic gold and silver inks in this genre.

Widespread Panic Lady Liberty, is the name of this poster made by Chuck Sperry. The first thing I noticed was the lady in this piece, she as a light blue skin with darker shades meaning there is shadow in this work telling us the light is coming from off the side, she has a flowery pattern on her skin matching with the flowers of the background. I feel that her eyes are a main focus, it just draws me in her green eyes work well against the pale blue and even with the black of her eyes match well with it. Also her hair is a light orange/ginger which stands out against all the colour used in this piece as there is no other colour that matches it and it covers the whole image, this just draws more attention to the lady. I don’t like the how the text looks, I actually didn’t notice it till I looked into this for further information so I thinks its hard to see the text, the darker blue makes it hidden I think if it was white rather than blue behind the text it would look better. This work feels calm and peaceful to me, the flowers, the women’s expression and the colours are inviting and calming she looks like she is laying on a field of flowers and is content. Now I do like this work, the colour is nice and pleasing to look at, its not plain or flat your eyes follow the image and scan the whole piece but as I said I don’t like the text, I just think its hard to notice.

Cyril Edward Power born December 17th 1872 – died 25th may 1951, English artist best known for Linocut prints. When WW1 broke out Power was commissioned into the Royal Flying Corps, there is some who think that what he saw during his service affected him deeply and its part of the reason why his work changed from architecture to artwork, he left his wife, his family and moved to London becoming an artist beginning his 20-year partnership with Sybil Andrews, 1920. Yes, he did do painting and etching with other art styles but it was his linocut work that showed his masterful use of colour, form, and line, he tried his best to capture the “rhythm” of life.

The name of this piece is The Merry-Go-Round by Cyril Powers. A very great looking lino print, the object in this is a merry go round in motion? I think it is in motion because the “seats” looks like they are swinging and moving around the centre, the use of placement and line art help shows things are moving as they are larger at the front and small in the back showing they are disappearing behind the centre. I’d say that all the swirling shapes in this piece are really good a leading your eyes over the work, I get a slightly dizzy feeling looking at the pattern in this even the stairs leading up to the first platform. I like this, I think it’s the use of pattern and colour I like as I do link prints so I can appreciate how difficult it can be to make detailed patterns and designs and it turns out great. I don’t like how wave all the lines are it makes me feel a little dizzy but overall I like this work.

So, in Conclusion looking all these different works I can say just by looking I have seen something for new interesting ideas and I have learnt some ways I could try stuff I haven’t done. I’d say the “Hope” art is my favourite out of the three I looked into, I just really like the colour, the style and the message/value behind the piece, the others I like too but not as much. Its clear that I have so much still to learn and I am very interested to learning more and making more of my own work.

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Shepard-Fairey

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Sperry

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyril_Power

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amyhendry-contextualstudiesyear1 · 4 years ago

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We The People - Frank Shepard Fairey Essay

Frank Shepard Fairey is an American illustrator and graphic design, who is more commonly known for his politically charged art. His first piece to gain recognition was his piece titled ‘Andre the giant has a posse’ which became a street art campaign in 1989. The piece is a graphic portrait of a professional French wrestler and was soon plastered around cities worldwide thanks to the skateboarding community at the time. However this isn’t Fairey’s most famous piece. The most iconic piece of work Fairey has produced has to be his 2008 Hope poster for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, this piece has reached global recognition becoming a pop culture phenomenon and the main image for Obama’s campaign. The poster is a monochromatic portrait of Obama and although the bottom text is sometimes change to either “progress” or “change” the original has the word “hope” written underneath in bold blue text. Fairey created the poster after seeing a speech in 2007 where Obama’s political views aligned with his and he was delighted to hear that he would be a presidential candidate in the 2008 election. The poster was created to help push the campaign and feared that his reluctance surrounding the election would be ‘problematic’ for him as a street artist. “I decided to make a portrait of Obama largely because I felt his power and sincerity as a speaker would create a positive association with his likeness. I wanted it to be a portrait that was political in nature and that would de-racialize Mr. Obama by using a red, white, and blue colour palette that was patriotic”, Frank Shepard Fairey – Medium.

‘Andre the giant has a posse’ - Frank Shepard Fairey

‘Hope’ - Frank Shepard Fairey

The collection of art that made me want to study Fairey in more detail is his recent Donald Trump inauguration posters. The art itself is very alike to the Obama poster (portraits with the red, blue and beige colour scheme) however the story behind them is the complete opposite. There out of the five posters for this campaign where done by Fairey, those posters are portraits of women (all of which are POC’s) with the words “We the People” written underneath, one depicts a Muslim woman wearing a hijab with the American flag printed on it. The 4th poster was done by Ernesto Yerena (a Mexican artist who has created many political posters throughout his career) and shows what appears to be an elderly Native American woman with one fist raised in the air (this pose has become the symbol for equality and equal rights even becoming the symbol for the recent black lives matter movement), the words “We the Resilient have been here before” is written above. The final poster was done by Jessica Sabogal (a queer Columbian – American artist who is well known for her stencil and spray paint art) and shows two women in an embrace, alluding to and more than platonic relationship, with the words “We the Indivisible” written underneath.

Fairey’s goal with these posters was to oppose Trump by depicting protagonists of the most vulnerable groups in America (those of which being Muslims, Latinos, African Americans and members of the LGBTQ+ community) and use them as the faces of a patriotic American campaign. Fairey even went as fair to have each model shot by a photographer who related to their identity. A spokes person for the Amplifier foundation commented about the campaign telling them “We the People is a broadcast campaign that uses visuals to lift up those who have been insulted, and to pair each image with a value that we cannot lose sight of, like ‘defend dignity’ or being ‘greater than fear”, Mark Gonzales – Quartz

The 3 portraits of woman are remarkably similar to Fairey’s previous work and is clear inspired by his 2008 Obama poster, each on has the phrase “We the People” written underneath with another phrase below that which is unique to each poster. "We thought (they) were the three groups that had been maybe criticized by Trump and maybe were going to be most, if not necessarily vulnerable in a literal sense, most feeling that their needs would be neglected in a Trump administration,", Frank Shepard Fairey – CNN. The poster with the Muslim woman depicts her in an American flag printed hijab which is in reference to the racism that refugees and immigrants face when migrating to safer countries such as the US, and although many Muslim’s and POC’s are born in these countries they are mad to feel as if they don’t belong (which was a statement that was promoted heavily by Trump especially during his presidential campaign in 2015).

‘We The People’ - Frank Shepard Fairey

The other two posters, although not done by Fairey, are still just as important to this campaign so I want to analyse their work too starting with the piece done by Ernesto Yerena. Yerena is a Mexican artist who created the poster of the Native American woman, the piece is titled “we the resilient”. I’m a really big fan of this piece mainly for the way he used colour theory to push the figure forward and make it stand out as the focal point of the image. The way he used warm tones in the woman and had an ombre blue sky behind her made the piece really stick in my mind and gave the piece a very lively look to it. The woman in the piece is named Lakota elder Helen “Granny” Redfeather and this shot of her was taken whilst she was protesting the Dakota Access Pipeline at Standing Rock, she was used in this campaign as the Native Americans are a small and often forgotten group who dealing with oppression just like any other minority, also with Trump making many insulting comments about them and attempting to revoke land from the Natives during his presidency. “My relationship with the U.S. is very complicated… I was born here, I live here, but the government is like an occupying force on this land. The colonization process was so violent. It outlawed people from being able to practice Indigenous traditions and languages. How, through all that, have people been able to survive? Considering how hostile the attempted erasure was toward everything to do with our people, Indigenous people, it’s incredible. That’s resilience.”, Ernesto Yerena – Colourlines

The final poster for this campaign is the poster of two woman embracing by Jessica Sabogal. Sabogal herself is a queer artist so she chose to represent the LGBTQ+ community by depicting two women in what appears to be a happy and loving relationship, with almost love-struck gazes on their faces. With this poster Sabogal only used colours in the background image leaving the figures black and beige to push them forward in the opposite way that Yerena did with his piece. Sabogal chose to represent the LGBTQ+ community as they have received heavy amounts of criticism from Trump who was not shy about his lack of support for the community in several interviews as well as banning trans individuals from joining the army. In short, all posters show woman who are apart of an oppressed group and uses them as the faces of a patriotic campaign to give power and voices to woman just like them who society pushes down.

‘We The Resilent’ - Ernesto Yerena

‘We The Indivisible’ - Jessica Sabogal

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theguineapig3 · 7 years ago

Text

“The Renegade”

While the Desian defector had at least hoped to get farther than a few kilometers from the ranch before he met his fate at the hands of one of the Four Seraphim, he was willing to accept his punishment. But when he found himself receiving sympathy rather than judgment, he couldn’t help his suspicions. Why would someone in such a high position risk his status for the sake of someone else’s vengeance?

Tales of Symphonia Week, Day 5: Judgment Characters: Botta, Yuan Ka-Fai Words: 2,901 Rating: T (for graphic violence, because Magnius is a JERKFACE)

[Hi, hello, here’s my obligatory Botta/Renegades story because I love the Renegades brotp and I also love to invent horrible heart-wrenching backstories for characters who, like Botta, don’t get a tragic backstory in canon. Because every Tales character deserves their own Tragic Backstory™.]

Word traveled fast within Cruxis. Botta knew that. He knew that word of the riot at the ranch and the subsequent events would be relayed all the way up to Yggdrasil within a few hours. By then he’d hoped to be on a ship, somewhere out at sea beyond the reach of their surveillance. But it wouldn’t be easy. Magnius had not been happy, and his other minions would surely be making their way to Palmacosta as well.

Funny, how the comrades that Botta had come to rely on were ready to punish him for his misbehavior with no thought to the reasoning behind his actions. Why had it taken him so long to realize how thoroughly Cruxis had brainwashed them all?

Unfortunately, Botta seemed to have underestimated his injuries. He was dragging behind, struggling to clamber back down the mountainside and considering stopping in Thoda to rest before moving on. He was still wearing most of his Desian uniform, after all, and could order the locals to provide him with any medicine and care he desired. But his pride got the better of him and he decided against it. It would delay his arrival in Palmacosta too much, and Thoda’s “fleet” consisted of nothing but washtubs with makeshift oars- unsuitable for a runaway wanting to disappear into the sea.

But Botta never made it to Palmacosta. He never even made it to Thoda.

Instead, after tripping on a patch of unsteady gravel on the hillside and beginning to pick himself up, he heard a voice from behind him. It surprised him, only because he hadn’t heard any sign of movement nearby. Whoever it was must have appeared out of thin air.

“Need a little help, there?”

The mana he felt indicated a half-elf, but it wasn’t Magnius’ voice, or the voice of any Desians he recognized. Botta turned his head, unable to turn the rest of his body in his current condition, and the first thing that caught his eye was the pair of luminescent wings shining behind the figure. This was no ordinary half-elf. This was an angel.

And not just any angel either.

“...Lord Yuan?”

Yuan stared, raising an eyebrow. “I asked if you needed help. Or do you just want to die out here?”

Botta cringed and squeezed his injured arm. “Did Lord Yggdrasil send you here after me? I can’t imagine Magnius having any power over one of the Four Seraphim.”

To Botta’s surprise, Yuan actually sat down next to him. “No one sent me here. Magnius reported on the riot, the casualties, and, of course on your little outburst. You’re in real hot water, you know that? No matter how recently Magnius might’ve been appointed, picking a fight with any Grand Cardinal is a major offense.”

“So are you here to punish me?”

Yuan let out a pensive hum. “Are you looking for punishment?”

“If I were looking for punishment, do you think I’d be running away?” Botta replied with a pained laugh. “But I don’t suppose that matters now that you’re here. What is your objective? Are you going to take me back to the ranch? Or are you going to go over Magnius’ head and take me straight to Lord Yggdrasil?”

“Eh, I still haven’t decided,” Yuan answered with a shrug. “What would you prefer?”

“You’re asking me what I’d prefer? Doesn’t that defeat th-” Botta started with a rebuttal, but he was stopped by a cough and took a moment to catch his breath. He tried to hide the blood that he’d coughed onto his hand, but it was likely Yuan saw it anyway. “-d-doesn’t that defeat the purpose of punishment?”

Yuan shrugged his shoulders. “Perhaps. But sometimes we are far crueler to ourselves than others are to us. With that in mind, I challenge you to pick your poison. Be as kind or as cruel to yourself as you want.”

Botta was intrigued by the question, but he could feel his breathing dampened by what he could only assume was blood in his throat and lungs. Part of him was wary to speak, not wanting to let on just how injured he really was. But as he considered his answer to the question, he realized that it was himself he wanted to keep it from, not Yuan.

It didn’t matter if Yuan knew. Botta had already made his decision.

After taking a moment to clear his throat, he finally responded to Yuan’s question. “I would rather die than return to work for the Desians right now. Leave me to my fate or kill me yourself- I don’t care. But that’s my answer.”

Yuan’s eyes widened in surprise. “Well! If that isn’t a melodramatic reply. You hate the Desians that much?”

Botta glanced away. “I will no longer obey the orders of an organization that does not- not-” He stopped to cough. “-value its members’ lives.”

There was a moment of silence, and a sparkle of recognition took hold in Yuan’s eyes. “I see. That’s how it is. Makes things a lot easier for me.”

Botta opened his mouth to ask what Yuan meant, but he couldn’t get a word out through his clogged throat, and by the time he finally realized what was going on, Yuan had pressed a hand to his forehead.

As his consciousness faded, the last thing that passed through his mind was the name Harun.

The earlier events replayed in Botta’s mind, feeling both as though they were in slow motion and yet all passing in a blur.

When Magnius had arrived as the new leader of the human ranch, none of those in interim command there knew what to expect. There was some talk from Botta’s comrades that he had been unfairly passed over for the recently vacated position of Grand Cardinal, but Botta was too proper a soldier to question Lord Yggdrasil’s decisions. And while Magnius’ practices put the ranch in disarray for some time, Botta felt no ill will toward his new commander. On the contrary; it was Magnius’ arrival that had brought Harun to the ranch as well.

Magnius had arrived with a posse of new recruits, skilled but inexperienced fighters. Harun was the shortest one, with an innocent face that hid a quick temper and a penchant for responding to high-ranking commanders with sass. Magnius treated such behavior with the same arrogance and disdain he held toward the insubordination of inferior beings, assuring Botta that this was something that could be “beaten out of” Harun. But as the attitude persisted, Botta’s curiosity towards it grew... and so did his interest in the soldier to whom it belonged.

It shouldn’t have worked. There was the gap in status, the gap in age, the professional environment, the nature of their work, and a host of other factors to consider. But no one stopped them. No one scolded Harun for openly flirting with a commanding officer. No one scolded Botta for playing favorites among the lower-ranking soldiers. Even Lord Magnius, who kept a sharp watch on everything that went on at the ranch, seemed to turn a blind eye.

Everyone accepted it. And Botta grew complacent in their acceptance.

But where several years under Magnius’ control had seen the Desians more comfortable in their routines, it saw stricter control over the prisoners. The humans at the ranch, at least the younger ones with more energy and will to fight back, became more and more unhappy. A riot was inevitable. What wasn’t inevitable, however, was the way that Magnius handled it.

Initially, Botta had accepted Magnius’ apparent plan. Low-ranking soldiers were sent outside to where the prisoners had gathered, under orders to bring the prisoners back into the buildings. Naturally, the prisoners fought against the soldiers to the best of their abilities, and as the humans used their numbers to overwhelm the Desian soldiers before they could call for backup, the rioting group formed into a belligerent cluster.

That was when Magnius’ strategy became apparent to Botta. Unfortunately, it was already too late to stop it.

Magnius’ laughter echoed off the buildings as the area was engulfed in flames. Botta could feel his face turning pale, as he saw the other commanders’ doing as well. Screams of terror and pain filled the spaces in between Magnius’ laughs, and persisted even when the flames began to die down. Botta was the first one to set foot on the charred earth, shuffling through the bodies, his panic growing more and more fervent as he searched through the scalded remains for a familiar face he knew had been in the middle of the scuffle.

It was a horrible way to die. Harun’s face was scarred and contorted almost beyond recognition- only enough so to elicit a wail from deep in Botta’s throat. Before it could turn into a scream, he felt a hand reach out and grab the hem of his cloak. One of the humans, just barely clinging to life, tried to beg for Botta’s help. But terrifyingly- or perhaps mercifully- Magnius’ boot landed on the human’s neck with a hollow cracking sound.

“Now you see what happens to inferior beings who misbehave! If any other insolent humans want to step out of line, I’ll be happy to watch you burn as well!”

Botta took one last glimpse at Harun’s pitiful corpse. The face that had just been smiling at him hours before was now sickening to look at. “L-Lord Magnius, there were our own within that crowd! You... you... murdered them!”

Magnius turned to look at Botta, his eyes narrowing. “I didn’t send anyone into that crowd who wasn’t replaceable and you know it. We all have to make sacrifices to show these inferior beings who’s boss. If you aren’t willing to do even that, what pride do you have in being a Half-Elf?”

The cracking and popping of embers around them punctuated the silence. Botta waited for some kind of back-up from his comrades... but none came. Not a single fellow Desian stood up for him.

It wasn’t like they didn’t know why Botta was so disturbed. No one could miss the way the usually stern captain would soften his voice when giving orders to a certain cadet. No one could miss the way the usually rebellious little soldier would forego any smart-aleck remarks when orders came from Lord Botta. No one could miss the way Botta and Harun regularly disappeared on “evening guard tower patrol” together, despite it being obvious that there was no such thing.They knew. They all knew.

They knew, and yet they said nothing.

It was Botta’s voice alone that shot back at Magnius. Botta’s fist alone that found its way to Magnius’ face. Botta’s sword alone that was drawn when Magnius invited him to fight.

No matter what the others felt, it was Botta alone who openly mourned. And Botta alone who faced the consequences.

There were still flames racing through Botta’s mind as he returned to consciousness. He glanced around him as he tried to make sense of his surroundings. The walls were modern and clean-looking, as though he were back in a Desian facility. His stomach churned and he started to sit up, but a pain shot through his chest and he collapsed back onto the pillow.

“I wouldn’t try to move too much if I were you. Just because the bleeding has stopped doesn’t mean your wounds are fully healed.”

The voice was familiar enough that Botta recognized it. “Lord Yuan!” he gasped, catching sight of the man watching from the corner. He looked smaller and less intimidating without his wings, but being stuck in bed, Botta had no room to talk. “Where are we?” he demanded.

“Near Triet,” Yuan replied. “This old warehouse was used back when Sylvarant was still flourishing, but it’s since been abandoned. I’ve fixed it up a little- given it my own sort of flair. What do you think?”

Botta frowned. “I think your interior decorating skills leave much to be desired.”

Yuan let out a ‘tsk’ sound and approached the bed. “Harsh words to be saying toward someone who just saved your life. How about a ‘thank you’ for stopping your massive internal hemorrhaging?”

“What’s wrong with you? I asked you to kill me, dammit!”

“If you keep up that attitude, I just might.” Yuan sat down at the foot of the bed and wagged a finger. “You said that you’d rather die than go back to working for the Desians. But since you didn’t seem to understand that there are more options out there for you, I thought you should at least live long enough to make an informed decision.”

“Other options? Besides doing the bidding of Lord Yggdrasil?” Botta replied. “I’m skeptical, but curious.”

Yuan stood up again, holding his arms out with a flourish. “Well, here’s what I’m thinking. There are, of course, the options you’ve considered- dying and returning to the ranch to accept your punishment. But you could always find a place to live here in Sylvarant. Sure, it might be difficult to find a village that would even let you in, much less accept you, but hey! If death is preferable to working with the Desians, then living as an outcast might sound like fun to you.”

Botta frowned, but said nothing. He wondered where Yuan was going with this.

“Then there’s always Tethe’alla. Living conditions are always better in the flourishing world. You’re very smart, so I’m sure they’d give you some sort of laboratory job. Sure, you’d be chained to a lab desk in some underground facility for the rest of your life, but you’d be doing important work... or so I’ve heard. Or...”

“Or?” Botta repeated.

“Or you could stay here and help me with a little pet project I’m working on.”

There. That was it. Suddenly Yuan’s rambling made more sense.

Botta turned his head away. “I see where this is going. You’re coercing me into doing your dirty work. I apologize that you went to all the trouble to bring me here, but rest assured, I stand by my earlier decision. I will never again be a Desian’s pawn-”

“There you go again, not even waiting to get all the information,” Yuan responded with a sigh. “This is strange for you. Your superiors always reported that you were calm and collected, even in dire situations. But I suppose that shock and grief can do this sort of thing to you.” He stopped and moved to the end of the bed, leaning over to look Botta in the eyes. “How would you like to avenge your friend’s death?”

“...excuse me?”

“Do I have it wrong? Friend, family, lover? What exactly was your relationship with the soldier who died anyway?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Botta quipped, turning his head away. It might’ve been a secret that everyone at the ranch knew, but a secret was still a secret, and he had trained himself to deny it.

“You must’ve had some relationship with one of the soldiers who died in today’s riot,” Yuan explained. “I know raw grief when I see it. Trust me. Now who did you lose? A friend? A sibling? A love-”

“A lover.” Botta interrupted.

“I see. And what was this lover’s name?”

“Why do you need to know?!”

Yuan didn’t answer right away. He paced back and forth along the end of the bed a few times and then sat down again, looking toward the other side of the room.

“Martel.”

“Excuse me?”

“Mine was named Martel. We never married- we were engaged when she died. What was your lover’s name?”

Botta felt a lump in his throat, and this time it wasn’t from any sort of injury. He spoke lightly, almost frightened to be too loud.

“Harun.”

“That’s a nice name.” Yuan’s voice was quiet in return, an oddly respectful tone coming from someone who had been so disrespectful so far. “How would you like to help me avenge Harun? To undermine the Desians from the inside, to destroy their plans before they can ever come to fruition? I’ve heard a lot about your skills from Yggdrasil when he was considering who to promote to Grand Cardinal. It’s a shame he picked that brute Magnius over you. With my genius and your strategic planning, we could be Cruxis’ undoing. What do you say?”

Botta finally gathered the strength to sit up, and he did so with a grunt of pain. “Why?” he asked. “Why in the world would one of the Four Seraphim help me with a plan of vengeance against his own organization?”

Yuan shook his head. “It’s not my organization. Not anymore. Yggdrasil has lost sight of what he’s doing- or, rather, why he’s doing it. This is not what Martel would have wanted. Not for either of us.” He looked up again, directing his gaze back at Botta. “But I’m technically still one of the Four Seraphim. To go against Yggdrasil openly would be absurd. It would never work. That’s why I need someone else to be the face of the rebellion. I need an obvious choice- a renegade... and who better than you?”

“A renegade...” Botta clutched at the blankets of the bed, considering the words. “I can’t say I’m sold on the idea just yet. But I am intrigued.”

A satisfied grin spread across Yuan’s face.

“That’s all I need to hear.”

#my fanfiction #tales of symphonia #tosweek2017 #yuan ka fai #botta #theguineapig3

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