#but apparently when it���s A) with friends and not with family and B) primarily just in my head and not on a deadline

[unproduciblesmackdown]

oh yeah addendum in also the other day seeing someone autistic talking in that context abt what they want from genuine relationships in that they said they don't want to be Admired Or Desired. that one time someone was like, you're one of the best people i know, like well neat compliment sure i'll take it lmao, but also, that's somewhat confusing and even disheartening when it's like, i have no way of knowing this; we don't really interact? or times i have to ""unilaterally"" assess that i don't feel Friends with someone b/c i don't feel like, for one thing, i can just up & message them even lol; the feeling that to whatever capacity there's a relationship, it's been continual "don't mess this up" masking / efforts to "do things Right" from me....whilest also times it's been like, oh someone's apparently choosing to be around me? enjoying interactions? while still kind of confused about it. and then it's like oh it was Romantic Interest apparently lol :( like even if i wasn't aromantic which i so am....where was the [there is anything to feel is genuine] like again we never even got to any part where i wasn't masking and [do things Right] and on edge and certainly not at whatever point i apparently had whatever appeal. much less "when cishet men are just sprinting straight at you" but that's all the more, like, [you as a Person are certainly irrelevant] but not like it doesn't still feel ultimately mostly irrelevant even if people have more discretion / a more considerate approach in general. also that again there would not be a Right way lmfao. it just sure could be a totally neutral expereince rather, please. how i've had too many situations having to try to fling myself out a window figuratively, even w/those theoretically more considerate approaches

or even when people will be talking about what makes someone Deserving outside of the most conservative(tm) approaches like. this person isn't someone who just waits for things to happen :) like well hell yeah for them lol, meanwhile, i sure kinda am. being aware that in any given way i may not impress anyone / may be negatively assessed; only turns into "there go my power levels increasing again. shrugmoji" when correspondingly it's like, and i don't have to care, or certainly then blame myself about it if like oh boy, society when you have to be "objectively" judged as Worthy by randos, whatever their perspectives lol....or when like, the concept of social support is like, get a romantic partner, primarily, an ounce of backup from friends, the Real backup being family, or friends "as good as" family....or the ongoing journey of realizing like; it was never Just gonna be managing to leave [abusive childhood/family house]. the ways that other experiences outside that were Consistent, really, when being around peers means an immediate sense of doing something wrong / not being as good as them; authority figure adults sometimes acting just like an abusive parent does; no ways to regularly exist flexibly and/or less supervised/monitored, e.g. couldn't walk from [home] to [anywhere]....catching on like, ah, outside of That Situation? i'm still not inherently more valued by randos, still not Not liable to be regarded/treated with disdain / expressions of authoritarianism....Aren't We All; for real. but truly like oh hey, i didn't even realize i was getting all this Political experience in that [when you have a one on one personal abuser and You're Responsible For How They Treat You and Their Own Power Is The Whole Thing and You'll Never "Earn" Better But It'll Always Be Your Fault You Haven't] and all those kinds of logics and realities it's like of course this resonates crystal clear with logics and realities re: [political enemies] lmao. ofc they can be as "hypocritical" as they want b/c [you can just say whatever while you do w/e you want and other people have to deal] is an expression of power. of course "for [xyz]'s own good; individually or as a group" is really about ensuring the power to control their existences as property by shrinking the space in which someone can enact autonomous choices: anything For Children is about (conservative) parents controlling children as things they own and can do whatever they want with; like making sure kids Can't be gay or sm shit, it Is about children, just keeping them from being able to exist outside the sphere of control of an isolated Family life. hell yeah when they do anyways / tragically it always turns out people are actually people despite your wanting to disbelieve this / always have the power to ignore it..........but then yknow, the truth is we out here, and ofc it's like [police protect Property; enforce these property/owner relations] but what's Normal yet obviously harmful is also so borne by regular ordinary """harmless""" interpersonal interactions / people who feel supposedly well-intended but that's more superficial than in essence....even merely the Exhaustion in knowing interactions as Just chitchat w/supposedly amicable parties is like, a scrutinizing test that can only go wrong and lead to antagonism / animosity that can easily accumulate &/or compound. much less existence In Public and shit going wrong out of nowhere, and potential stakes....being like Lol at, again, years back thinking like "a horror short should be like, the premise that you might just be at a grocery or some ordinary asf situation but at any given moment, doing Nothing extraordinary, some rando suddenly goes Deeply Hostile Mode for a second. where even then suddenly disengaging from that mode is not a relief in that the [this could happen at any time] is emphasized" like lmfao that's [being in an abusive situation], that's [being autistic], isn't it so Zany that there's so much overlap / resonance.

Not At All being Lol abt how much actual discrete examples of produced horror is just like "what if there was disabled people." this is its own line b/c of the characters per block limit. but also disdainful emphasis

anyways lol wuh oh in conclusion, antifascism....isn't it always

[didanawisgi]

Martin Luther King Jr., Guns, and a Book Everyone Should Read

BY JEREMY S. | JAN 15, 2018

“Martin Luther King Jr. would have been 89 years old today, were he not assassinated in 1968. On the third Monday in January we observe MLK Jr. Day and celebrate his achievements in advancing civil rights for African Americans and others. While Dr. King was a big advocate of peaceful assembly and protest, he wasn’t, at least for most of his life, against the use of firearms for self-defense. In fact, he employed them . . .

If it wasn’t for African Americans in the South, primarily, taking up arms almost without exception during the post-Civil War reconstruction and well into the civil rights movement, this country wouldn’t be what it is today.

By force and threat of arms African Americans protected themselves, their families, their homes, and their rights and won the attention and respect of the powers that be. In a lawless, post-Civil War South they stayed alive while faced with, at best, an indifferent government and, at worst, state-sponsored violence against them.

We know the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision of 1857 refused to recognize black people as citizens. Heck, they were deemed just three-fifths a person. Not often mentioned in school: some of that was due to gun rights. Namely, not wanting to give gun rights to blacks. Because if they were to recognize blacks as citizens, it…

“…would give to persons of the negro race . . . the right to enter every other State whenever they pleased, . . . and it would give them the full liberty of speech . . . ; to hold public meetings upon political affairs, and to keep and carry arms wherever they went.”

Ahha! So the Second Amendment was considered an individual right, protecting a citizen’s natural, inalienable right to keep and carry arms wherever they go. Then as now, gun control is rooted in racism.

During reconstruction, African Americans were legally citizens but were not always treated as such. Practically every African American home had a shotgun — or shotguns — and they needed it, too. Forget police protection, as those same officials were often in white robes during their time off.

Fast forward to the American civil rights movement and we learn, but again not at school, that Martin Luther King Jr. applied for a concealed carry permit. He (an upstanding minister, mind you) was denied.

Then as in many cases even now, especially in blue states uniquely and ironically so concerned about “fairness,” permitting was subjective (“may issue” rather than “shall issue”). The wealthy and politically connected receive their rights, but the poor, the uneducated, the undesired masses, not so much.

Up until late in his life, MLK Jr. chose to be protected by the Deacons for Defense. Though his home was also apparently a bit of an arsenal.

African Americans won their rights and protected their lives with pervasive firearms ownership. But we don’t learn about this. We don’t know about this. It has been unfortunately whitewashed from our history classes and our discourse.

Hidden, apparently, as part of an agreement (or at least an understanding) reached upon the conclusion of the civil rights movement.

Sure, the government is going to protect you now and help you and give you all of the rights you want, but you have to give up your guns. Turn them in. Create a culture of deference to the government. Be peaceable and non-threatening and harmless. And arm-less, as it were (and vote Democrat). African Americans did turn them in, physically and culturally.

That, at least, is an argument made late in Negroes and the Gun: the Black Tradition of Arms. It’s a fantastic book, teaching primarily through anecdotes of particular African American figures throughout history just how important firearms were to them. I learned so-freaking-much from this novel, and couldn’t recommend it more. If you have any interest in gun rights, civil rights, and/or African American history, it’s an absolute must-read.

Some text I highlighted on my Kindle Paperwhite when I read it in 2014:

But Southern blacks had to navigate the first generation of American arms-control laws, explicitly racist statutes starting as early as Virginia’s 1680 law, barring clubs, guns, or swords to both slaves and free blacks.

“…he who would be free, himself must strike the blow.”

In 1846, white abolitionist congressman Joshua Giddings of Ohio gave a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives, advocating distribution of arms to fugitive slaves.

Civil-rights activist James Forman would comment in the 1960s that blacks in the movement were widely armed and that there was hardly a black home in the South without its shotgun or rifle.

A letter from a teacher at a freedmen’s school in Maryland demonstrates one set of concerns. The letter contains the standard complaints about racist attacks on the school and then describes one strand of the local response. “Both the Mayor and the sheriff have warned the colored people to go armed to school, (which they do) [and] the superintendent of schools came down and brought me a revolver.”

Low black turnout resulted in a Democratic victory in the majority black Republican congressional district.

Other political violence of the Reconstruction era centered on official Negro state militias operating under radical Republican administrations.

“The Winchester rifle deserves a place of honor in every Black home.” So said Ida B. Wells.

Fortune responded with an essay titled “The Stand and Be Shot or Shoot and Stand Policy”: “We have no disposition to fan the coals of race discord,” Thomas explained, “but when colored men are assailed they have a perfect right to stand their ground. If they run away like cowards they will be regarded as inferior and worthy to be shot; but if they stand their ground manfully, and do their own a share of the shooting they will be respected and by doing so they will lessen the propensity of white roughs to incite to riot.”

He used state funds to provide guns and ammunition to people who were under threat of attack.

“Medgar was nonviolent, but he had six guns in the kitchen and living room.”

“The weapons that you have are not to kill people with — killing is wrong. Your guns are to protect your families — to stop them from being killed. Let the Klan ride, but if they try to do wrong against you, stop them. If we’re ever going to win this fight we got to have a clean record. Stay here, my friends, you are needed most here, stay and protect your homes.”

In 2008 and 2010, the NAACP filed amicus briefs to the United States Supreme Court, supporting blanket gun bans in Washington, DC, and Chicago. Losing those arguments, one of the association’s lawyers wrote in a prominent journal that recrafting the constitutional right to arms to allow targeted gun prohibition in black enclaves should be a core plank of the modern civil-rights agenda.

Wilkins viewed the failure to pursue black criminals as overt state malevolence and evidence of an attitude that “there’s one more Negro killed — the more of ’em dead, the less to bother us. Don’t spend too much money running down the killer — he may kill another.”

But it puts things in perspective to note that swimming pool accidents account for more deaths of minors than all forms of death by firearm (accident, homicide, and suicide).

The correlation of very high murder rates with low gun ownership in African American communities simply does not bear out the notion that disarming the populace as a whole will disarm and prevent murder by potential murderers.

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimated 1,900,000 annual episodes where someone in the home retrieved a firearm in response to a suspected illegal entry. There were roughly half a million instances where the armed householder confronted and chased off the intruder.

A study of active burglars found that one of the greatest risks faced by residential burglars is being injured or killed by occupants of a targeted dwelling. Many reported that this was their greatest fear and a far greater worry than being caught by police.48 The data bear out the instinct. Home invaders in the United States are more at risk of being shot in the act than of going to prison.49 Because burglars do not know which homes have a gun, people who do not own guns enjoy free-rider benefits because of the deterrent effect of others owning guns. In a survey of convicted felons conducted for the National Institute of Justice, 34 percent of them reported being “scared off, shot at, wounded or captured by an armed victim.” Nearly 40 percent had refrained from attempting a crime because they worried the target was armed. Fifty-six percent said that they would not attack someone they knew was armed and 74 percent agreed that “one reason burglars avoid houses where people are at home is that they fear being shot.”

In the period before Florida adopted its “shall issue” concealed-carry laws, the Orlando Police Department conducted a widely advertised program of firearms training for women. The program was started in response to reports that women in the city were buying guns at an increased rate after an uptick in sexual assaults. The program aimed to help women gun owners become safe and proficient. Over the next year, rape declined by 88 percent. Burglary fell by 25 percent. Nationally these rates were increasing and no other city with a population over 100,000 experienced similar decreases during the period.55 Rape increased by 7 percent nationally and by 5 percent elsewhere in Florida.

As you can see, Negroes and the Gun progresses more or less chronologically, spending the last portion of the book discussing modern-day gun control. It’s an invaluable source of ammunition (if you’ll pardon the expression) against the fallacies of the pro-gun-control platform. It sheds light on a little-known (if not purposefully obfuscated), critical factor in the history of African Americans: firearms.

On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I highly recommend you — yes, you — read Negroes and the Gun: the Black Tradition of Arms.

And I’ll wrap this up with a quote in a Huffington Post article given by Maj Toure of Black Guns Matter: 

https://cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/huffpo-maj-toure.jpg”

[neutinya]

Thinking about an AU where Iwa and Oiks exist in my OC universe;; (the one with Jayce, Cassius, Mallory and Miles!!) Iwa would be a demon in this universe, and Oikawa an angel. This is suppose to be after a really long fight between the two of them, where neither wins After blood, sweat and tears, Tooru cracks, no longer able to carry out his orders to kill his best friend The battle ceases and they retreat together into the dying sun. - Please note this is an AU based of my original story!! I included some world building under the cut to give you a guys an idea about what it revolves around;; But Essentially, it's a story about how Angels have grown vain and have decided to "liberate" humanity. Demons have long coexisted among humans and are well integrated unlike angels;; It's meant to subvert the traditional trope!! In my story, for the most part, angels are "bad" and demons are "good", of course that's just generalisation,,, but yeah;; It's a story I really want to work on;; so to share it with you guys I thought I could introduce it to you guys through Oiiwa;;

Demon-borns are individuals who are demons by blood. Demon deviants possess a primal instinct known among the demon community as bloodlust. This instinct is only triggered in dire and perilous situations where individuals act on an uncontrollable rage that would not cease until the source of their anger is eradicated. The demonised are individuals who are made demons by either demon-borns or those who wield dark magic.

Demons are often seen as tormented souls who have fallen from the grace of god. People believe that demons are created based on the belief that it is easier to be ruled by hatred and greed than to live by morals that are typically associated with “good”. However, while this is the perception that angels and humans live with, in actuality, their nature and actions are shaped by their environment, experiences, much like the human spectrum of personalities.

The common misconception people have of demons is that they are inherently evil or bad. However, what distinguishes demons from angels are primarily their appearance and core magic.

Their powers thrive on negative energy, negative emotions/trauma the main driving force to their power. Regardless of tier, the more emotions welled up within a demon, the stronger they are.

Most demons fall within the tiers of A, B, C and D, with A being the strongest out of the four and D the weakest. However, there are also the S-class demons, which exist in 5 categories. The least powerful of the bunch is, well, S, second SS, third SSS, fourth 4S and the most powerful category, 5S.

The higher up the tier, the more markings/physical characteristics a demon would present. While there were exceptions, this was often the best indicator of a demon’s prowess. The stronger they got, they would often develop more physical characteristics displaying that power.

Unlike angels in this aspect, low-tier demons had the capacity to move up the tiers, however, it is rare for low-tiered demons to transcend into the S-class

This is the reason for the fluidity of Demon influence. They are not ruled by a monarchy like the angels but have an ever-changing hierarchy.

S-Class demons are often the product of pure-demon blood, for a low-tier demon to come close to becoming an S-class, one has to undergo severe psychological/physical trauma that often awakens the primal instinct that exists amongst S-class demons.

Again, that being said, there are always exceptions. Demonised-angels have higher-chance of becoming S-class demons due to their culmination of light magic. Their magic becomes tainted, while most of it gets turned into dark magic/energy, there have been cases in which it turns into a very rare form of mixed energy known as “Grey magic”.

Angels cannot be created unlike demons. Their supernatural and magical powers are based on the idea of purity, that the only way to become an angel is to be born pure and maintain that purity.

They are extremely particular about what they deem an angel and what they do not. Half-bloods for examples are referred to as anti-immaculates. While they may come from a lineage of angels and have angel blood running through their veins, they are not considered to be an angel.

When an angel becomes tainted, their wing feathers start to turn black and their halos start to dim. Angels who have their purity fully tainted do not have the typical golden haloes but rather black rings of darkness. They no longer radiate light, but rather the opposite, absorbing any light to amass that ring of nothingness.

People often believe that angels are inherently good, saviours and a sign of hope. However, the reality is that Angels have grown vain. The majority of the angel population believe that they are the rightful saviours of humanity and that any favour done is a reason to be indebted to them.

Unlike the supernatural powers of demons, their power is a culmination of magical light essence. Angels often drink the blood of other “angels” to revitalise their magic essence, which in turn mutates with their own and creates a stronger power. While there were other methods such as light pills or apples from the apple tree, pure angel blood was the most reliable way to grow one’s power.

This has been the reason for the royal family’s history of powerful angels. Feeding angels exist to fulfil this purpose and demand, while there is a minority of volunteers who offer up their blood in exchange for glowstones, most of their supply is taken from angels imprisoned for whatever apparent reason.

Removing their wings can cause a lot of complications since many nerves in the wings are connected to their spine. This is a common punishment method used to those who have been stripped of their role.

[lostinthewinterwood]

Worldbuilding Exchange 2021

Hey there friend!

Apparently you share some of my taste in obscure novels with gaps in their worldbuilding—impeccable, truly. I’ve got some expansion on all the tags I’ve requested below, though if you want to just get started feel free to ignore all that; some of them are distinctly longer than others, but don’t worry, just because I didn’t use as many words for any given prompt doesn’t mean I want it any less!

Anyway, thanks for writing for me! And if any of you lovely people are inclined towards treating, I will happily accept treats in any medium for any of the fandoms, including media I didn’t actually request there :D

  General DNW

·       non-con/dub-con;

·       explicit sexual content;

·       incest (incl. adoptive/chosen family);

·       a/b/o;

·       mpreg;

·       non-canonical permanent major character death;

·       complete downer endings;

·       hurt no comfort;

·       heavy angst;

·       on-page deliberate self-harm*;

·       on-page suicide;

·       gore;

·       graphic physical trauma;

·       character bashing;

·       cringe comedy;

·       fic-as-writer-soapbox;

·       setting AUs**;

·       unrequested identity headcanons;

·       romance as the main plot.

 *I don’t include things like, say, punching a wall in a fit of emotion under this. However, something like cutting would not be appreciated.

 **This doesn't mean that I'd expect you to hew very narrowly to what we know for sure in canon; after all, this exchange is for worldbuilding. However, for this exchange I'd prefer not to have anything that fundamentally alters the character of the world--eg elements like a/b/o, or things like a post-canon zombie apocalypse in a canon where that doesn't really fit in with the established tone/genre/world, that sort of thing.

    General Likes

– I really like plotty fics

– A focus on family and/or friendship, especially characters realizing they’re not nearly as alone as they think they are, and just generally characters who like each other and enjoy spending time together

– Found family; families of choice

– Character studies

– Worldbuilding (obviously lol)

– Canon-divergence AUs and missing scenes; things set pre- or post-canon; wriggling into canon and poking at it to see what it spits back at you, if that description makes any sense at all.

- for a list of unconventional media/formats I’ve requested before, along with some commentary on them, please see my fic in a box letter.

     Mother of Learning - nobody103 – in-universe meta

Any or No Characters (Mother of Learning)

Kirielle Kazinski (Mother of Learning)

Original Character(s) (Mother of Learning)

Original Eagle Shifter Character(s) (Mother of     Learning)

Xvim Chao (Mother of Learning)

Zenomir Olgai (Mother of Learning)

 fandom-specific dnw: romantic and/or sexual Zach/Zorian; physical parental abuse within the Kazinski family; significant exaggeration of canonical emotional neglect/abuse/general family dysfunction

  WB: aranean languages (Mother of Learning)

So, we get at best a very vague description of the aranean language in canon; I’d love something that somehow expands on this! A brief grammar? Some other kind of profile? An attempt to turn their idea-morphemes into words, or outline what they are more explicitly? Up to you!

WB: Folklore and Literature (Mother of Learning)

Over the course of the story we learn plenty of things about the world and about their magic system; we learn a lot less about specific cultural things that aren’t directly relevant to the plot, and that includes folklore and literature—they have novels, we know that much, but that’s about it.  So tell me more!

WB: how language and gesture and mana interact to     form spells (Mother of Learning)

For all that the novel tells us about many different spells, we never really get to see the mechanics of spellcasting, or the underlying form of the mana—tell me how it works!  And there’s also the fact that when you know the spell better you can cut parts out; how does that work in combination with all of this?

WB: Ikosian as spell language: how comprehension     affects outcome (Mother of Learning)

Unless I’ve embarrassingly forgotten how canon actually goes, they use Ikosian (possibly a more specific dialect? I don’t remember, I’m sorry) for their incantations, but iirc they don’t speak that day to day, and even if they do not everyone does—so, you know, how does comprehension of the incantation affect the outcome of the spell?

WB: Oral Traditions (Mother of Learning)

If we don’t get much of literature, we get less of the oral traditions of… well, anywhere, tbh.  So tell me more there!  If you’re looking for something more specific, I’d love to hear about witch, Khusky, morlock, or shifter traditions, but really anything would be great.

WB: the development of unstructured magic and     shaping exercises (Mother of Learning)

We know that way back in the past, human magic users were less adept with unstructured magic; now, if they want to be, they can be very good indeed with it.  How did we get from Point A to Point B?  How did that develop, who discovered all this?

WB: the Winter Mountains (Mother of Learning)

There’s very little to be heard about the Winter Mountains in canon; all we really know is that the eagle shifters flew off there, and the place is Very Dangerous.  So… what are they like? How are the eagle shifters doing out there? What else lives there?

     Mother of Learning - nobody103 – in-universe meta, fanart

Any or No Characters (Mother of Learning)

Kirielle Kazinski (Mother of Learning)

Original Character(s) (Mother of Learning)

Zenomir Olgai (Mother of Learning)

 fandom-specific dnw: romantic and/or sexual Zach/Zorian; physical parental abuse within the Kazinski family; significant exaggeration of canonical emotional neglect/abuse/general family dysfunction

  WB: Architecture (Mother of Learning)

We get a little bit of the architecture in Eldemar, mostly in Knyazov Dveri, but not too much of it; I’d like to see more of it, and from anywhere in their world really.

WB: Artistic Traditions (Mother of Learning)

If we only get a little bit of the architecture, we get less of the art—we know that they have carved doors and Kiri does pencil sketches, and realism is a style they have (or Zorian wouldn’t be thinking about how realistic her drawings were without any hint of that being unusual were she not nine) but what else can you tell me?  What does their art look like; where do these traditions come from; is there some art that’s respectable and other art that isn’t?

WB: Clothing and Fashion (Mother of Learning)

Now.  We get a bit of architecture, less of art, and approximately three lines in the whole 800k about clothing, and none of it very specific, so you’ve got pretty much total freedom here—show me what’s going on!

WB: how language and gesture and mana interact to     form spells (Mother of Learning)

See above section—I just thought this would lend itself well to art as well as meta!

     The Rhianna Chronicles - Dave Luckett – in-universe meta, fanfic

Antheus Northstar | Serenir (Rhianna Chronicles)

Any or No Characters (Rhianna Chronicles)

Arwenna Songsinger | Arwenna the Wise (Rhianna     Chronicles)

Eriseth Arwensgrove (Rhianna Chronicles)

Original Character(s) (Rhianna Chronicles)

Original Male Eldra Character(s) (Rhianna     Chronicles)

Rhianna Wildwood (Rhianna Chronicles)

 Worldbuilding tags:

WB: academic magic and spellcasting techniques     (Rhianna Chronicles)

We don’t see a whole lot of traditional spellcasting that actually works—mostly we see Rhianna’s attempts, which tend not to go all that well, lol.  Other magic we see is primarily from people who know what they’re doing and aren’t explaining things in detail.  Show me some that actually works!  How is it different for schoolchildren and old archmages?  What are the rules and mechanics—they don’t make sense to Rhianna, but clearly some things work and some things don’t, so there’s something going on there at least.

WB: Eldra magic (Rhianna Chronicles)

Since our main Eldra character is Eriseth, we don’t see much of their magic—tell me about it! How does it work? How do they channel it, what do they use it for?

WB: Eldra society (Rhianna Chronicles)

Again, we don’t see a lot of Eldra society—we see a few characters outside of their social group, and the one meeting thing, but not a whole lot of their day- to-day life.  What’s it like?  What’s the role of men in their society; we know they don’t do magic, so what do they do?

WB: Wild Talents and wild magic (Rhianna     Chronicles)

To be fair, we do know a fair amount about how wild magic is worked from canon; I’m interested in going farther—go deeper into things! What can or can’t be done? Why are some people wild talents—how does this happen?

WB: Wizardly College (Rhianna Chronicles)

We only see Wizardly College through Rhianna’s eyes; she doesn’t get all that much of a look at it, either.  So tell me more about it!  What’s it like if you’re actually involved, not just a visitor?

     The Farwalker's Quest - Joni Sensel – in-universe meta, fanfic

Any or No Characters (Farwalker's Quest)

Any Storian(s) (Farwalker's Quest)

Ariel Farwalker (Farwalker's Quest)

Ezekiel Stone-Singer (Farwalker's Quest)

Misha (Farwalker's Quest)

Original Character(s) (Farwalker's Quest)

Scarl Finder (Farwalker's Quest)

 fandom-specific dnw: works that rely on knowledge of later books in order to make sense--i'm not gonna care all that much about spoilers? but i haven't read 'em, so.

  WB: Essence and the Trades (Farwalker's     Quest)

In some ways, Essence—or at least how it’s presented in relation to humans—seems kind of like an inborn specific magical talent, but in other ways it isn’t; Zeke’s tree talks to him, and then later the stones, but the tree talks to Ariel too, if only a little.  Scarl was a Storian before he was a Finder; Ariel’s feet drag her where she needs to go, but she can also learn the basics of Finding and could have been a Healtouch if she’d not messed up the plants.  So how closely are they tied together, Essence and the Trades? How much of an affinity do you need? How much can you make up for lack of affinity with desire and skill?

WB: Folklore and Fairytales     (Farwalker's Quest)

We know a fair amount about the history of this world as people know it, but less about their folklore and fairytales—they have trees that talk and telling darts and Essence and ghosts, they definitely have folklore about those, or other things too.  Do they tell children stories of what lies outside the village? Do they have spirits or Good People who may or may not actually exist?  Who tells these stories—is this still a Storian’s job, or is it the purview of anyone who knows them?  Did there used to be more, before the Forgetting?

WB: ghosts and how they work     (Farwalker's Quest)

Misha’s dead, has clearly been dead for quite some time, and he can do a weird assortment of things—can other ghosts do them? He’s the only one we really see, so we don’t know if he’s special or not. And how common are ghosts anyway—how do they come to be?  What’s up with them, overall?

WB: how Tree-Singer Abbey came     to be (Farwalker's Quest)

Clearly, Tree-Singer Abbey is very old.  If I had to guess, I would say it must have been made either before the Blind War or right after the sight came back—but most likely, given that it contains the Vault, it’s from before.  But Essence, as far as the characters know, wasn’t discovered until afterwards; nor were the Trades.  So who built this abbey, up there in the mountains, with all the trees? Why build it there in the way they did? Was it never widely known that it was also the Vault, or was that forgotten somewhere along the way?

WB: the nature of trees     (Farwalker's Quest)

…so.  What is up with the trees, anyway, and have they always been this way, or did the used to be normal trees?  How sentient are they; how much can they move; what are they like, especially among each other?  Zeke’s tree tries to catch him, so we know they can move on their own; is that typical? Can they do it whenever they want, or only under duress?  Idk man, I just want to know more about the trees, y’know?

     Star Split - Kathryn Lasky – in-universe meta, fanfic

Any or No Characters (Star Split)

Darci Murlowe (Star Split)

Lana | The Prima (Star Split)

Max Lasovetch (Star Split)

Original Character(s) (Star Split)

Original Umbula Character (Star Split)

Vivian (Star Split)

 fandom-specific dnw--all of this is for the narrative level (not addressing it is fine; having characters who believe or do these things is fine): eugenics apologetics; segregation portrayed as good for society/the people living under it; infantilization of disabled characters; portrayal of low-prestige dialects as being "bad grammar" versions of higher-prestige dialects

fandom-specific note: the “setting AU” dnw is here amended to “surface-level setting AUs” and is expanded on as follows: This is a pretty loose dnw for this fandom, given that the canon leans very hard on the line between straight scifi and science fantasy; it acts like it's grounded future dystopia, speculative but not fantastic, but... well. Based on canon events, I can't fully consider it as such--so as long as you keep the surface elements more or less the same, no matter what the underlying justification for them is we'll be good. Is your explanation Aliens Did It? sweet, go for it. or anything else in that vein. this world is your oyster.

  WB: "tears in the mind"/ancient     word memories in masked chimeras (Star Split)

Okay.  Okay. So.  Most of this book’s worldbuilding is plausible, you know?  If not real-world plausible, at least future scifi dystopia plausible, right?  But. The word thing.  There is no reasonable connection as far as I can see between the genetic condition of masked chimeras and having sudden, unexplained epiphanies about the meanings of words—since the relevant aspects of language are arbitrary, and Darci doesn’t have any particularly detailed knowledge of Modern English (being herself presumably a speaker of Future English, although I have to assume that Future English is surprisingly similar to Modern English given the time scale since the poetry fragments she’s reading don’t seem to have needed any translation for her to understand them, which would generally not be the case with Modern vs Old English—and that is the time scale we’re dealing with here—anyway, let’s move on), there’s no way for her to come up with this?  So please, just, explain how all this works to me?

Really don’t feel you need to stay within the scifi world conventions here lol, especially since this element pretty much… doesn’t.

WB: disability in the Bio     Union (Star Split)

We don’t see much of how disability works here—Darci doesn’t seem to consider herself disabled, and there’s no other character who could really be interpreted as such.  Given how very eugenicist the Bio Union is, I have to wonder how they deal with disabilities they can’t engineer out of existence—tell me how it works!

WB: divergence/difference     between Genhant and Original dialects and mannerisms (Star Split)

So we can see the effects of a long-term social separation here; the dialects used by Genhants and Originals seem fairly different.  Darci observes that Originals’ grammar “might not be as good” but obviously that’s her perspective, being a kid who speaks the prestige dialect; the grammar within their dialect would be no better or worse than Genhant grammar in their speech.  And the Original dialect seems to also include more specific nonverbal communication; if they’re talking less, but (presumably) communicating similar amounts, then they must either be able to convey more information in the same amount of time through their speech, or their dialect includes informal signed elements—Vivian doesn’t seem to parse it as such, but although Darci observes less dialogue from the Original kids, Vivian’s conversations with her uncle aren’t presented any differently than Darci’s conversations with other Genhants.  A tragically unused opportunity, in my opinion.

Show me how these two dialects differ, in more specific ways, rather than just telling me they do!  Tell me about potential miscommunications!  Is there a lack of documentation of the Originals’ dialect due to its low status?  How does this affect scholarship on it?  Are the hand gestures elements of the language in some way, or are they nonlinguistic?

WB: growing up as a Laureate's     umbula (Star Split)

So… how does this work?  They try to replicate the childhood as closely as possible, but obviously it can’t be perfectly done.  Do the kids grow up knowing they’re clones, that they’re meant to be Important Person The Second, Just The Same, or is that hidden from them?  What happens if a Laureate’s umbula decides they don’t want to follow in their predecessor’s footsteps; what if they want to forge their own path in life?  Is that allowed?  No one forced the Laureate into being what they became, after all.

WB: growing up as an Original     (Star Split)

Things that are not entirely clear in this book include the answer to the question of how much of the high degree of segregation we see is socially and economically enforced, and how much of it is legally enforced.  This is interesting—clearly, the original divergence was economic, with the wealthy being able to afford genetic enhancements and the poor not being able to afford them; however, it strikes me as slightly unrealistic that there would be no Originals in Genhant schools or at non-scholarship Genhant summer camps, etc, if there was no segregation on a legal level.  Of course it would be more difficult for Originals to become wealthy enough to afford these, but the fact that none of them seem to have reached that level is very revealing; that tells me there’s far less social mobility than we have in our modern society (which isn’t very mobile, much as we may like to think otherwise) or there’s legal discrimination and segregation keeping things this way or both.

…and with all that being said, I’d love to hear something about what it’s like to grow up in the underclass of this society. We see most things from Darci’s point of view, and she, being a thirteen-year-old who’s basically comfortable in her own life, doesn’t really see that much.  What’s it like, being raised as an Original?  What sort of expectations do Original parents and schools have for their children?  What sorts of jobs do they typically do?  Do they go to university? Can they go to university?  Are there summer camps for them, or do they only get to do things like that on scholarships?  What’s it like, being the Scholarship Kid due not only to your family’s finances but also your very genetics?  How does that change your dynamic with your other Original friends, when you got a scholarship and they didn’t—what do they think about that?  I’d assume they have less obsession with Genetic Predetermination, since they don’t get a map of their probable life at conception… how does that work, in this society that runs on genetic predetermination for so many things?

[foulplayhq]

FULL NAME ►Jacob “Jake” Timothy Martin AGE ► Twenty-One GRADE ► Junior MAJOR ► Business Communications ROOMMATE ► KC Guthrie

A B O U T:

+ funny, friendly, laid-back - childish, negligent, stubborn

►THE ACCIDENTAL HERO - someone who had no intentions of becoming a hero of any sort, they were living their life perfectly fine beforehand, but something happens, and they opt to step up to the plate and do something rather than turn a blind eye.

H E A D C A N O N S:

Jake’s parents had undergone a messy divorce when Jake was a senior in high school. He has nothing against his new stepmother, but he feels like a stranger trying to call them his “family.”

Jake moved to California with his girlfriend while she attended college. The logical next step, he assumed, was for them to get married. But young love didn’t last, and it ended within a few short months. Though the time spent in the state gave him the motivation to finally start attending college.

At the request of his then wife, Jake had started seeing a therapist, helping him cope with major losses he had suffered that had caused him nightmares since he was 18. It was something that he did only a few times a year, but with the loss of his sister, it’s now a weekly visit.

Still an expert with his hand, Jake has been working with his father in a different way, less in the field, and more on the sidelines, guiding, directing, and supervising jobs with new technology and implementing eco-friendly materials. He’s set to co-own Martin Construction once he graduates college.

Jake had taken a knack to guitar in high school, and over the years, he’s become somewhat of a drifter while he plays. When he’s not working or studying, he’s playing his guitar around campus, the coffee shop, the quad..pretty much anywhere he’s allowed to be over a certain amount of decibels.

C O N N E C T I O N S:

► Bianca DeSousa (hooked up) — Jake and Bianca have ended up in each other’s beds on a couple of occasions, sometimes in a drunken stupor, other times they’ve been completely sober and just found themselves needing. But both parties insist on hiding these encounters from their mutual friends because they don’t want to risk things becoming awkward. Besides, it’s always sexier when it’s a secret. 

► Jacinta Morley (half-sister) — Unlike your typical siblings, Jake and Jacinta didn’t get the chance to meet until they were already teenagers. With Jacinta being born out of Glen Martin stepping out on Jake’s mother, it took some searching for the boy to finally come across his long lost sister. But once he did the pair was determined to stick by one another and make family work. By the time of her death they were very close. 

► Owen Milligan (dislike) — Jake and Owen’s rivalry dates back to high school. Owen had always been on the top of the high school totem pole, held up primarily by his ability to puff out his chest and put down all the little people. Jake had never been shy is making his distate for the other boy’s attitude apparent, even calling him out for being a jerk the few times he’d gone after some of his friends. The peak of their pissing contest came when Jake won prom king his junior year over Owen, posing a threat to his popularity. 

[jamesxns]

KRISTINE FROSETH, CIS FEMALE, SHE/HER, MUSE 47 ╾ don’t look now but kennedy jameson is heading this way. last i heard, the twenty-one year old declared their allegiance to faction 3 during the last town meeting. it definitely makes sense, considering the fact that they’re known for being conscientious. that being said, they can also be quite vulnerable. something tells me it won’t be long before their true colors start to show.

**hi my loves!! this ended up being a lot shorter than i would’ve liked, but i will be doing a full stats page and writing a real bio out soon. hopefully this will suffice for plotting/connections sake atm!

stats,

FULL NAME: Kennedy Leigh-Anne Jameson

AGE/DOB: twenty-one, March 13th

GENDER/PRONOUNS: cis female, she/her

SEXUALITY: tragically hetero, but lowkey questioning so M a Ybe bi? idk.

HOMETOWN: New Ham, Connecticut

MUSE # AND LABEL: MUSE 47, the ebullient ( cheerful / full of energy )

FACTION: three

ALIGNMENT: lawful good

CHARACTER TROPES: The Idealist, Nice Girl, Running Gag, To Be Lawful or Good, Workaholic, there are more but I’ll never get off the trope site if I keep going.

CHARACTER INFLUENCES: Leslie Knope, Kimmy Schmidt, Peggy Carter, April Kepner, Phoebe Buffay.

bio,

Born to two doctors, who for all their faults and neglectful tendencies, put the goddamn stars in her sky. They weren’t around much as a result of their demanding jobs, so she and her f o u r (4) siblings were primarily raised by a nanny. Her name was Eleanor and in more ways than one, Kennedy considered her to be her real mother. 

To make up for their absence???? Holiday’s and birthday’s in the Jameson household are incredible, full to the brim with so much love that it almost made the rest of the year seem less lonely.

The five Jameson kids are, at their core, quite close while they contrast greatly in personality. She’s the middle child with an older brother (utp, potential wc), sister (utp, potential wc), and two younger twin sisters (npc, they’re/were 12). I’m not going to go tooooo into their family dynamics until I sit down and actually allow myself a moment to properly dive in, so this is just gonna be open-ended. She loves them dearly, though.

The girl can make friends with a tree if she stands there long enough, and that’s just the tea. As a result, she was quite popular in school, finding friends in every ‘clique’ or group. 

Due to her parents strict nature, school was taken as seriously as one could. Grades lower than a B were frowned upon, and often lead to punishment. They expected a lot of their children academically, and Kennedy happily complied. A straight A student from the moment she was enrolled, the girl dedicated more time to her studies than being an actual kid.

Which really became apparent when she applied to school after graduation, ‘cause the girl lost her damn mind. Everyone around her experienced so many things, yet she’d suppressed the natural part of her youth. She’s honestly never really let herself cut loose, but she hopes to change that now that societal and familial pressure have dissipated.

Becoming a doctor like her parents had always been in the cards, her interest only growing as she did. An innate desire to help people accompanied her want to stay busy, which made a profession in medicine perfect for her. Unlike her parents, a neurosurgeon and brain surgeon respectively, she focused her attention on becoming a general practitioner, hoping to reach a good few rather than a handful of people.

In all honesty, she doesn’t take her world flipping upside down well AT ALL?? The girl craves stability, which has become fleeting in their new society.

Kennedy chose faction three because she wholeheartedly believes in what they stand by, which is “we survive together, we thrive together”, bc tbh, the community based setup is a huge deal to her.

personality,

Kind, gentle, soft, dedicated, passionate, thoughtful, stubborn. She’s also enthusiastic, eager to please, and wildly ambitious; both at school/work and in her personal life.

She’s a certified Mom Friend™ and proud of it.

Would literally go to any length necessary if it means keeping those she cares about safe.

Kennedy’s got to be one of the most attentive people when it comes to her friendships and loved ones. She is always taking time to spend time with them no matter how busy she may be, will stop whatever she’s doing if they are in need, and gives the best gifts. Her philosophy is that if she’s got to spend her money somewhere, it may as well be on

That same naivety that got her into trouble growing up has ABSOLUTELY stuck with her into adulthood.

She tends to see the best in people, even those who don’t deserve a moment of her time.

Is very, very protective of the less fortunate, be that financially, physically, or in minorities. She doesn’t believe in violence as the answer, but hates any prejudices people may have even more. If she sees anyone being mistreated, she definitely steps in ready for a fight.

connections,

I don’t want to limit myself as far as connections go, so here are just a few ideas!

Friends, friends, all the friends

Frienemies/ex-friends (this is so hard for her bc she tries to see the best in people, but if they’re a hateful person, she’s not against writing them off)

Maybe an ex that ended badly, or maybe it ended fine and they’re friends, maybe feelings linger idk

A ‘bad’ influence that’ll help her stop taking things so seriously and actually attempt to enjoy life

Smt romantic-stylez would be cool but no pressure, whatever happens happens

Ok I’m ??? so bad at this, just literally anything p l s 

[wykedtrolls]

a dissertation nobody asked for, ft. my dysphoric trans ass (on the subject of truscum, cisgender medicine, and stupid assholes)

BOY HOWDY DID THIS GET LONG

I know that nobody asked for this post, and definitely nobody needed it, but you know what? Fuck it. You’re getting this post anyway.

Very recently someone in the community outed himself (himself, because I’m aware that he uses he/him pronouns and am not a piece of shit who will misgender someone under guise of offering anonymity. Cough cough.) as a transmedicalist. A truscum, if you will, because we all know that they mean the same thing and anyone who tries to convince you otherwise is a bitchcoward and a bigot.

Very disappointing, yes, considering the amount of transgender people* I know exist in this community, myself included. Disappointing, frightening, and rage-inducing. Particularly because this revelation followed an encounter said truscum had with a close friend of mine. Which I admit might make me a little biased but shhh. Neither me nor my friend(s) started this. The contents of that conversation had between the truscum and my bro should have been handled privately like an adult but- hey, since we’re putting all this shit out there now, guess I get to put in my two cents! Awesome!

And because we apparently like to bring science into shit, let’s get a lil scientific up in this bitch.

*Note: transgender from here on will be used to refer to as the umbrella of non-cis gender identities just for context and ease of reference. And also because that’s what it is, fuck off.

So, guys. Let’s talk about dysphoria.

PART 1. SEMANTICS

Dysphoria. Most of you have heard of it, particularly those among us (both within and outside of the fantroll community) who happen to be transgender.

But what does it actually mean? Let’s look a little closer. Dysphoria, as defined by Merriam-Webster:

dysphoria (noun)

dys·​pho·​ria | \ dis-ˈfȯr-ē-ə  \

Definition of dysphoria

: a state of feeling very unhappy, uneasy, or dissatisfied

— see GENDER DYSPHORIA

But this is just semantics. Let’s look at it, and gender oriented dysphoria in particular from a mental health perspective-

“Gender dysphoria is the feeling of discomfort or distress that might accompany a difference between gender identity, sex assigned at birth or sex-related physical characteristics. This type of distress doesn't affect everyone who is transgender.

Gender dysphoria is listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), a manual published by the American Psychiatric Association to diagnose mental conditions. Gender dysphoria is a diagnosis that is given to individuals who are experiencing discomfort or distress due to the difference between gender identity, sex assigned at birth or sex-related physical characteristics.”

This is from the Mayo Clinic, a nonprofit academic medical center based in Rochester, Minnesota, lauded as the best hospital in the nation for 2018-2019 by the U.S News and World Report. Do with that information what you will, but most would consider the Mayo Clinic (while not a good replacement for proper doctor’s visits and medical treatment) a pretty credible health resource.

But we’ll come back to this.

For now, let’s look at another definition. That of the word ‘opinion.’

PART 2: FACTS VS. OPINIONS VS. BELIEFS VS. PREJUDICE

opinion (noun)

opin·​ion | \ ə-ˈpin-yən  \

Definition of opinion

1a : a view, judgment, or appraisal formed in the mind about a particular matter

We asked them for their opinions about the new stadium.

b : APPROVAL, ESTEEM

I have no great opinion of his work.

2a : belief stronger than impression and less strong than positive knowledge

a person of rigid opinions

Opinions are inherently biased. It may be influenced by facts, but opinions in and of themselves are not fact. To borrow and paraphrase from Fowler, H. Ramsey. The Little, Brown Handbook. Boston: Little, Brown, 1986.:

When forming personal convictions, we often interpret factual evidence through the filter of our values, feelings, tastes, and past experiences. Hence, most statements we make in speaking and writing are assertions of fact, opinion, belief, or prejudice. The usefulness and acceptability of an assertion can be improved or diminished by the nature of the assertion, depending on which of the following categories it falls into:

A fact is verifiable. [Determinable by] ...researching the evidence. This may involve numbers, dates, testimony, etc. (Ex.: "World War II ended in 1945.") The truth of the fact is beyond argument if one can assume that measuring devices or records or memories are correct. Facts provide crucial support for the assertion of an argument. However, facts by themselves are worthless unless we put them in context, draw conclusions, and, thus, give them meaning.

An opinion is a judgment based on facts, an honest attempt to draw a reasonable conclusion from factual evidence. [Opinions are] potentially changeable--depending on how the evidence is interpreted. By themselves, opinions have little power to convince. You must always let your reader know what your evidence is and how it led you to arrive at your opinion.

Unlike an opinion, a belief is a conviction based on cultural or personal faith, morality, or values. Statements such as "Capital punishment is legalized murder" are often called "opinions" because they express viewpoints, but they are not based on facts or other evidence. They cannot be disproved or even contested in a rational or logical manner. Since beliefs are inarguable, they cannot serve as the thesis of a formal argument. (Emotional appeals can, of course, be useful if you happen to know that your audience shares those beliefs.)

Y’all get what I’m getting at, right?

Oh, but one more thing I’d like to add- And I think this one is important.

“Another kind of assertion that has no place in serious argumentation is prejudice, a half-baked opinion based on insufficient or unexamined evidence. (Ex.: "Women are bad drivers.") Unlike a belief, a prejudice is testable: it can be contested and disproved on the basis of facts. We often form prejudices or accept them from others--family, friends, the media, etc.--without questioning their meaning or testing their truth. At best, prejudices are careless oversimplifications. At worst, they reflect a narrow-minded view of the world. Most of all, they are not likely to win the confidence or agreement of your readers.”

We’ve all encountered our fair share of these sorts of prejudices, disguised as “opinions.” Because isn’t that a much sweeter word for what it is? It’s not bigotry to delegitimize the experiences of other transgender people, it’s just an opinion. Like which is the best ice cream flavour, or something equally harmless.

But when your opinion involves the dehumanization, invalidation, exclusion and harm of other people… Well, that’s not so harmless, is it?

Racism is prejudice influenced by opinions and beliefs. Transphobia is prejudice influenced by opinions and beliefs. They are not fact, they are not based in rational thinking, and in many cases they cannot be argued because these prejudices are willingly cultivated and held.

‘But, Eli!’ I know at least one truscum who may or may not be reading this might cry, ‘It’s a scientifically proven fact that transgender people need to have dysphoria to be trans!’

To which I say fuck you, this is why that isn’t true.

Let’s go back to the definition of gender dysphoria, shall we?

“Gender dysphoria is the feeling of discomfort or distress that might accompany a difference between gender identity, sex assigned at birth or sex-related physical characteristics. This type of distress doesn't affect everyone who is transgender.”

MIGHT accompany a difference between those things, and DOESN’T affect everyone who is transgender. Interesting take coming from a scientific source, right? It’s almost like transmedicalist/truscum thinking is based off prejudice, rather than opinion; much less fact.

Especially considering dysphoria wasn’t even a word we (we meaning transgender people) chose for ourselves in the first place. It was picked by the American Psychiatric Association’s board of trustees to replace the term “Gender Identity Disorder” (GID)

Disorder. A sickness. Because Western medicine, practiced primarily by cisgender people (be they medical experts or not) has never been kind to transgender people. The word doesn’t mean what transmedicalists or truscum think it does. It doesn’t make you more valid than our fellow trans siblings just because the perceptions held by you or others of what your body and gender are worth make you miserable.

Wanna read up a little more on this? Check out these links: 

THIS IS WHAT I WISH PEOPLE WHO IDENTIFY AS ‘TRUSCUM’ WOULD TRY TO UNDERSTAND. 

Not All Transgender People Have Dysphoria – And Here Are 6 Reasons Why That Matters 

Transgender People, Gender Identity and Gender Expression

PART 3: THE COMMUNITY (™)

If you’re dysphoric, my heart goes out to you. I’m dysphoric too. Dysphoric enough to transition despite the medical costs- because I was tired of feeling trapped in other people’s perceptions of me. But you know what? I love that there are transgender people who don’t feel defined by this persistent sensation of wrongness.

You shouldn’t be defined by that. Even dysphoric trans people know (or should, for the sake of their health) that your unhappiness isn’t the only thing that makes you transgender. In fact, in the least unhealthy cases, it’s only the smallest fraction of the gender experience. Being transgender and exploring your gender identity consist of a broad spectrum of emotions. The fact that some of us (US. WE are a community, and have to treat each other as such) get to snip that little fraction out of the spectrum is beautiful.

We’re made stronger by how different we all are, not weaker.

PART 4: IN CLOSING

Whether you’re dysphoric or not, whether you identify with a gender binary or not, you are worthy of celebration and validation and love. All of us have it rough- frankly speaking, cisgender people as a whole barely tolerate us even when our identities do follow the narrative most commonly accept us. It’s not our place to judge, or shun, or invalidate one another.

And as both a personal goodbye and a TL;DR to truscum who like to treat gender identity like a competition, like something you get to gatekeep and police, fuck you. Our identities are ours to decide, our experiences to forge, and if that happens to not include transitioning or dysphoria, no matter what your reasons are that doesn’t make you less valid.

Fuck you, for painting your bigotry as an opinion. Fuck you for hurting the feelings of other transgender people. And fuck you for making posts trying to paint yourself as anything other than an asshole so full of internalized transphobia and misery that you can’t look past it to respect other people and act like that’s only your opinion UWU

Anyway, trans rights.

[dcmhnallach]

demiboy — ever hear people say APOLLO AMORETTO looks a lot like NICK ROBINSON? I think THEY/HE is about 22, so it doesn’t really work. The GRAPHIC DESIGN major is a JUNIOR that is from LIVINGSTONE, VT. They can be ADROIT, but they can also be INDELICATE. I think APOLLO might be A TIER 2 SHEPHERD. They are living in KIERAN. ( snot goblin. 20. EST. she/they. )

ok so i lied and this is after midnight. sue me. his background is a lil inspired by logan from veronica mars so like, sue me 2x. dnjkfmgh but !! give this a LIKE so i can come MESSAGE U FOR PLOTS !!!

TRIGGER WARNING - DEATH, MURDER, MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, GRIEF

a e s t h e t i c s

fingers across keyboards and piano keys, m&m’s scattered, vintage gaming consoles and tangled wires, worn vans and broken skateboards, banging of drums and splintering drumsticks, deep rhythms beating with your heart, the hum of a hefty computer and the buzz of a monitor, green text against black screens, unruly hair unkempt, flannels filling closets, bloody baseball bats, posters lining up and down walls, loud punk music shaking the walls, glares and whispers, the suffocation that comes with loneliness, pills rattling in their bottles, unmade beds.

general info !!

full name: apollo casimir amoretto

nickname(s): cas, polly, lover boy, 2000 (b/c of his screen names lmaoo)

b.o.d. - january 31st, aquarius boi

label(s): the escapist, the hellion, the insurgent, the netizen, etc. etc.

height: hitting 6′0″

hometown: livingstone, vt !

sexuality: bi bi bi bi bisexual

stats

pinterest

biography !!

cristian amoretto and camilla silvestri had a romance that could be described turbulent at best, and downright explosive at worst

cristian, a native italian actor whose career began before he could walk, and camilla, the daughter of two italian immigrants with big dreams in a small town, met on the set of a coffee shop. their love story began quickly, dating within only a few months of knowing each other and engaged before the year was up

camilla walked down the aisle 6 months pregnant with lil’ baby apollo, who was then born in livingstone, vermont, aka the town that camilla’s family had settled in

was raised primarily by his mother and grandparents! his father was often off shooting movies, leaving camilla to take on the role of stay-at-home mom despite her own dreams of making it big as an actress

apollo grew up as a huge momma’s boy – i mean, god, he just really loved this mother, y’know? his relationship with his father was much rockier because of his … lack of being around.

when his grandparents died around the age of eight, that’s when things got…worse. it felt as if camilla’s parents were the only barrier between camilla and cristian’s budding wrath.

it became more apparent that cristian was not meant for the family life, his anger quick and his fists quicker, stinging words and venomous glares. a control freak who couldn’t handle camilla being independent.

this wasn’t apparent to the neighbors, or much of the town in general, because the amorettos were such a prominent family up in their beach-side mini mansion – it was hard to imagine that their life was anything but exquisite and dreamlike.

this was, of course, up until camilla filed for divorce and a restraining order in the same day, face bruised and nearly unrecognizable. she, obviously, got custody of apollo.

at this point in time, apollo was fourteen and…pretty stoked for them to get away from his father. they holed up southside and life continued as normal. for the time being. gossip swarmed apollo at school surrounding the circumstance which was annoying, to say the least. it led to him becoming withdrawn from the other students, not getting the whole … gossip appeal.

in hindsight, they should’ve moved out of livingstone. death threats in the form of letters and the eerie feeling of eyes constantly being on them came to a halt on apollo’s graduation day: the day that his father also, coincidentally, murdered his mother.

for making me miss out on years of my son’s life, was cristian’s excuse as he was escorted from the bloody crime scene at their apartment and into the police car.

cristian was convicted and sent to prison almost a whole year after it occurred. apollo still has dreams about testifying in court against his father as a witness.

and then apollo became known not as the son of two celebrities, but the son of a murderer. total bummer !

could not tell you why he stayed in livingstone, but he did. almost dropped out of college a good few times ( he isn’t passionate about graphic design, it’s more of him wasting time than anything else ) and spends most of his time raiding on WoW or competitively playing overwatch :/

speaking of college ! apollo was kieran’s roommate and like ... a close friend of his. the death hit him pretty hard b/c of his past.

lives in kieran but lately has been switching between his dorm and his childhood home - it’s technically his dad’s but he hasn’t been to his mom’s apartment in years. the mansion has become run-down and pretty grody, a sore sight that pisses off the neighbors.

he does identify as demiboy but he cares abt his identity like ... so little ... 

personality !!

his main focuses are computers / video games, drums / his band, and like … skating … vaping … gamer things, y’know.

from a young age he’d always been very fascinated by video games, and being the Rich Boi ™ that he was, ended up with a whole lot of them to play, on a whole bunch of consoles.

but like … he’s a PC guy :/ he may have a super rare nintendo 64 or two but nothing can beat his dual-monitor set up with his hand-built computer !

he also got real into hacking, y’know, just small things like watching security cameras in different cities and occasionally changing his grades b/c like … who wouldn’t ? also … cheated in dark souls. fucking loser.

his favorite games to play are multiplayer games so !!

he joined a band in high school because he was angsty and young, and like, turned out to be really good on drums ?? they had like … some real big jimmy eat world / green day / say anything / old school fall out boy vibes. just a whole bunch of ‘fuck the government, fuck the authority, anarchy, rebellion, revolt revolt revolt’ angry rock music that got a buuunch of noise complaints during practice.

his role in the band is essentially the ~nerdy~ one, because he’s a gamer, but like he was also Edgy and Angry and wore all black like Constantly ( he still does who are we kidding )

probably paints his nails black and has a nose ring b/c gamers can be edgy too !!

huuuuuge junk food junkie. like … he will consume Everything and Anything unhealthy. has a huge sweet tooth, he can’t remember the last time he’s drank straight up water.

he’s pretty much a loner, minus his bandmates -- having a reputation like his really ... puts off others. wasn’t the friendliest person in high school either, which doesn’t help. kieran and him were kindred souls.

to be honest, he’s really selfish. thinks about himself first and foremost, considers it to be a method of surviving in a fuck-shit town with fuck-shit people. wouldn’t hesitate to toss people to the side if it were to ever come down to it. he’s not a faithful pal.

he’s ruthless, impulsive, does whatever he pleases because he assumes that everybody’s already got their opinion of him due to his father. hard to stop him when he’s on a rampage.

seething with rage on the inside. :/

uuhhh so he’s got this fucking…pomsky, right? her name is tulip. she was camilla’s before she passed away and like, what was apollo gonna do, huh ? put the dog in a shelter ? hell fucking nah. that’s his dog now. give that dog an emotional support animal certification and boom.

this isn’t like a Personality Trait but idk where to put it so ! apollo’s on antidepressants ( and other medications, but y’know. that’s just how it is ) b/c like … y’know … the whole dad-murdering-mom thing sort of fucked him up a lot ! they make him feel pretty blah and diminished his sex drive so like … hook ups aren’t really an option for him 99% of the time.

besides that he smokes a lot of weed b/c self medication.

he’s … sort of an asshole. like … he can be rude and he doesn’t have much of a filter and i don’t know if there’s any softness left to him ! he just really misses his mom and has a lot of wishes involving changing the past and he reacts badly to things because he’s so defensive and on edge constantly.

no but he’s just like. .. sad gamer boi … a man and his dog … who also carries like five knives on him.

like he’s not socially awkward or necessarily Bad with people .. he’s just bad with people :/ doesn’t try hard enough ! is a little too apathetic ! chaotic to true neutral

wanted connections !!

bandmates !! i’d envision that there’s four or five members including him. two electric guitar, one bass, one drums / keyboard ( that me -_- ) , anybody singing ... maybe a triangle player ! or a cowbell ! i dunno ! endless possibilities.

fans of the band mayb ?? try to seduce him so they can party w/ them after a show n apollo’s just like :/ nah ( or yah ! )

people he clashes with hardcore !! people who are one n the same.

uuhh ... big slut for enemies ! ppl he refuses to get along with or they’ve been on bad terms previously for whatever reason. :-)

alternately, people he’s trying really hard to get along with but it’s not working b/c he’s a shithead.

maybe an actual good, close friend or two !! y’know. so he’s not completely alone. 

people he’s fucked over previously by ditching them / being unreliable / messy / etc.

besides close friends, someone who’s soft towards him or vice versa. because as much as i love angst, i love the uwu too.

ex-flings, ex-fwbs, ex-hookups, etc. etc. ex-gfs/bfs. especially from high school.

people he’s known all his life ! childhood friends, childhood enemies, old rivals, etc.

people who like ... stayed away from him / distanced themselves after his dad’s arrest. :/

okay but like ... imagine, okay , some sort of high school romance where he used to sneak into their room / sneak them out, n then they’d like. go wild out. y’know like, parents Hate him.

ppl who end up on one of his benders / night time adventures / whatever chaotic shit w/ him.

a hook-up gone bad could b fun !

gaming pals. gaming enemies.

skater buds ! vaping buds ! stoner buds ! apollo owns like three juuls.

someone he’s good friends with ( maybe ?? potentially developing Feelings at the same time ) but apollo fucks up their friendship / possible Something because that’s just what he Does.

somebody who thought tht like ... his childhood home was just Abandoned and Empty so they started breaking in to like. get high or fuck or whatever and apollo just walks in one day like ... what are u doing.

someone who caught him dealing juul pods to middle schoolers and was like ... what are u doing. idiot.

idiot reckless buddy pals !! wreck shit together !! burn couches !! chaos !

literally i’ll take anything sdjnfkmgh

[arnorcttos]

( ludovico tersigni + 22 + muse 59 ) isn’t that apollo amoretto over there? i heard HE joined faction: nomads after they got back to west ham. it’s funny, ‘cause they were only on the service trip to terrorize his peers. hopefully they fit in there – they’re ADROIT, but also INDELICATE. oh, i’m sure they’ll be fine. ( james, she/they, 20, EST )

okay hi i’m james and this is my baby apollo, who is actually a brand new spankin’ muse of mine so !! we’ll see how this goes b/c i’ve literally never rp’d him before !! and i’ll b frank. his background is inspired by logan in veronica mars. sue me. actually don’t i’m already in college debt but sudfjkfg PLEATHE plot w/ him. leave a like. two likes. that’s not even possible. i may change his fc in the future b/c like ... i’m currently making his gif icons as i go and to b frank ,,, it’s rly hard sdjfkgh but i love him. so we’ll see. sdjnfkmgh

TRIGGER WARNING - DEATH, MURDER, MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

a e s t h e t i c s

fingers across keyboards and piano keys, m&m’s scattered, vintage gaming consoles and tangled wires, worn vans and broken skateboards, banging of drums and splintering drumsticks, deep rhythms beating with your heart, the hum of a hefty computer and the buzz of a monitor, green text against black screens, unruly hair unkempt, flannels filling closets, bloody baseball bats, posters lining up and down walls, loud punk music shaking the walls, glares and whispers, the suffocation that comes with loneliness, pills rattling in their bottles, unmade beds.

general info !!

full name: apollo casimir amoretto

nickname(s): caz, polly, lover boy, 2000 (b/c of his screen names lmaoo)

b.o.d. - january 31st, aquarius boi

label(s): the escapist, the hellion, the insurgent, the netizen, etc. etc.

height: hitting 6′0″

hometown: west ham, kansas !

sexuality: bi...? fucking. it’s pride month ofc he’s bi.

his stats are TBD but his pinterest is HERE !

biography !!

cristian amoretto and camilla silvestri had a romance that could be described turbulent at best, and down right explosive at worst

cristian, a native italian actor whose career began before he could walk, and camilla, the daughter of two italian immigrants with big dreams in a small town, met on the set of a coffee shop. their love story began quickly, dating within only a few months of knowing each other and engaged before the year was up

camilla walked down the aisle 6 months pregnant with lil’ baby apollo, who was then born in west ham, kansas, aka the town that camilla’s family had settled in

was raised primarily by his mother and grandparents! his father was often off shooting movies, leaving camilla to take on the role of stay-at-home mom despite her own dreams of making it big as an actress

apollo grew up as a huge momma’s boy -- i mean, god, he just really loved this mother, y’know? his relationship with his father was much rockier because of his ... lack of being around.

when his grandparents died around the age of eight, that’s when things got...worse. it felt as if camilla’s parents were the only barrier between camilla and cristian’s budding wrath.

it became more apparent that cristian was not meant for the family life, his anger quick and his fists quicker, stinging words and venomous glares. a control freak who couldn’t handle camilla being an independent woman.

this wasn’t apparent to the neighbors, or much of the town in general, because the amorettos were such a prominent family up in their mini-mansion in oak ridge -- it was hard to imagine that their life was anything but exquisite and dreamlike.

this was, of course, up until camilla filed for divorce and a restraining order in the same day, face bruised and nearly unrecognizable. she, obviously, got custody of apollo.

at this point in time, apollo was fourteen and...pretty stoked for them to get away from his father. they holed up in southside and life continued as normal. for the time being. gossip swarmed apollo at school surrounding the circumstance which was annoying, to say the least. it led to him becoming withdrawn from the other students, not getting the whole ... gossip appeal.

in hindsight, they should’ve moved out of west ham. death threats in the form of letters and the eerie feeling of eyes constantly being on them came to a halt on apollo’s graduation day: the day that his father also, coincidentally, murdered his mother.

for making me miss out on years of my son’s life, was cristian’s excuse as he was escorted from the bloody crime scene at their apartment and into the police car.

obviously, cristian was convicted and sentenced to prison. apollo still has dreams about testifying in court against his father.

and then apollo became known not as the son of two celebrities, but the son of a murderer. total bummer !

became even more withdrawn and almost dropped out of college a few good times! the only thing that kept him rooted to west ham was his band.

and now he can’t leave, and he’s surrounded by people who all look at him weird and he feels like they’re all expecting him to be like his father, and he’s not, but god -- when people expect you to be one way, it’s so hard to act otherwise. it’s just not a good time !

pretty much why he went on the service trip tbh ... like, y’know ... if ppl want to believe that he’s just as bad as his dad then damn ! he was gonna wreck sm havoc on the trip, just being an absolute nuisance. 

personality !!

his main focuses are computers / video games, drums / his band, and like ... skating ... vaping ... gamer things, y’know.

from a young age he’d always been very fascinated by video games, and being the Rich Boi (tm) that he was, ended up with a whole lot of them to play, on a whole bunch of consoles.

but like ... he’s a PC guy :/ he may have a super rare nintendo 64 console or two but nothing can beat his dual-monitor set up with his hand-build computer !

he also got real into hacking, y’know, just small things like watching security cameras in different cities and occasionally changing his grades b/c like ... who wouldn’t ? also ... cheated in dark souls. fucking loser.

his favorite games to play were always multiplayer games online like WoW and overwatch so !! he’s pretty fucking mad he can’t play them anymore. like. so mad. genuinely furious. he’s been trying to hack his way into like ... wifi or something dumb, ever since they got stranded in new west ham, but he’s had no luck !

he joined a band in high school because he was angsty and young, and like, turned out to be really good on drums ?? they had like ... some real big jimmy eat world / green day / say anything / old school fall out boy vibes. just a whole bunch of ‘fuck the government, fuck the authority, anarchy, rebellion, revolt revolt revolt’ angry rock music that got a buuunch of noise complaints during practice.

his role in the band was essentially the ~nerdy~ one, because he was a gamer, but like he was also Edgy and Angry and wore all black like Constantly (he still does who are we kidding)

probably paints his nails black and has a nose ring b/c gamers can be edgy too !!

huuuuuge junk food junkie. like ... he will consume Everything and Anything unhealthy. has a huge sweet tooth, he can’t remember the last time he’s drank straight up water.

but like ... he’s a loner pretty much. only friends he really bothered keeping were his bandmates and like ! half of them went missing along with the rest of the town so ! he’s feeling a lil’ lost

but not lost enough to do Nothing, y’know ?? coming back to west ham to an empty town awoke his little baby survivalist in him, probably due to a lot of survival games he played online, and he immediately took over his old home in oak ridge ! it was pretty much rotting there with his dad in jail, but not anymore !!

has also probably broken into a few homes already tbh b/c he’s just. ruthless. impulsive. if it feels like the end of the world then he’s yolo’ing, he’s peace-ing out, u cannot stop him.

uuhhh so he’s got this fucking...pomsky, right? her name is tulip. she was camilla’s before she passed away and like, what is apollo gonna do, huh ? put the dog in a shelter ? hell fucking nah. that’s his dog now.

unfortunately tulip isn’t the most .... tough looking dog. apollo set up a bunch of fucking speakers around the property of his dad’s house and plays large barking noises whenever somebody gets too close, just to ward off intruders, but like ... there’s no fucking big dogs man. it’s just apollo and tulip.

this isn’t like a Personality Trait but idk where to put it so ! apollo’s on antidepressants b/c like ... y’know ... the whole dad-murdering-mom thing sort of fucked him up a lot ! they make him feel pretty blah and diminished his sex drive so like ... hook ups aren’t really an option for him atm !

besides that he smokes a lot of weed b/c self medication

he’s ... sort of an asshole. like ... he can be rude and he doesn’t have much of a filter and i don’t know if there’s any softness left to him ! he just really misses his mom and his bandmates and has a lot of wishes involving changing the past and he reacts badly to things because he’s so defensive and on edge constantly.

he misses twitter the most, tho.

no but he’s just like. .. sad gamer boi ... a man and his dog ... who also carries like five knives on him and definitely knows where his dad kept his gun.

like he’s not socially awkward or necessarily Bad with people .. he’s just bad with people :/ doesn’t try hard enough ! is a little too apathetic ! chaotic to true neutral

wanted connections !!

i envision his band to have like ... four or five members including him. two guitar electric guitar, one bass, one drums / keyboard, any of them singing idk that’s not important. and since two of them have Disappeared, i’d like the One (or two) that Remains ! anarchy boys !

generally .. anybody else who is tryn to survive, that maybe he can bond with or completely clash with ??

i’d love enemies, just ppl he Refuses to get along with or they are just on bad terms for whatever reason

people he’s trying to not ! not get along with ! but it just doesn’t work out b/c like ... lbr, apollo’s pretty bad with other people.

just any falling outs.

uuhh ... maybe a few somewhat-friendships ! like... awkward acquaintances

ppl he knew primarily from high school / haven’t spoken to since

maybe one or two ppl who’s soft towards him or he’s soft towards or vice versa b/c like ! i’ll b real .. it’s pretty nice to have !

ex-flings, ex-somethings, ex-gfs, bfs, anything from the past.

hookup gone bad b/c he couldn’t get it up b/c antidepressants be like that (this is based off of a true story can we get a sad yeehaw in here)

gaming pals from before no wifi.

skater buds. vaping buds. b/c i can confirm that apollo owns like three juuls. stoner buds.

someone he’s like ... hesitantly forming an alliance with b/c sometimes it’s easier when you have someone on ur team ! b/c then drama when one of them betrays the other uwu

somebody trying 2 break into his house b/c u Know it’s got some good shit in there but he’s just like ‘alexa play dogs barking audio’ and then ur muse is like ... there’s no fucking dogs

juul pod dealer. that’s all.

i’m down for anything rly !! pleathe hmu !!

[mortaljin]

BTS Fanfiction Recommendations!

These are some of my very, very favorite fics (like the ones I go and message the authors about). I follow hundreds of blogs so it’s hard to keep up with which fics I’ve read (I stopped tagging them at some point?) so there are probably dozens more. All I will say is that if a writer is tagged here, the rest of their writing is well worth looking at too.

Thank you, Writers, for everything you do. 

SERIES

Seokjin

Stigma; @eris0330 [COMPLETED]

(Seokjin x reader, text au)

As part of Jin’s lifestyle, he is meant to be walking in his father’s footsteps. Even before being born, the LV CEO had big plans. Jin will do everything to please his father’s wishes of finding a partner, and take over the company. But it’s not for the company’s sake, it’s for the secrets that lies within the family business. 

Eros; @kpopfanfictrash

(Seokjin x Reader)

In the futuristic world of Europa, Queen Venetia rules her land an iron fist. None are more feared than the Akeran, an alien race Earth fought eons ago, who bear a remarkable similarity to the angels of lore. When you find yourself at odds with the Queen, it seems there’s no safe place on Earth for you to hide. Nowhere but with your mysterious rescuer, and even he may be more trouble than he’s worth.

Yoongi

A Wish Out of Water; @jimlingss [COMPLETED]

(Yoongi x Reader)

A genie could solve all your problems. Though you wouldn’t even know exactly what to ask for - money, a warmer house, a better job, a better life? But Min Yoongi is no ordinary genie. He’s here to make your life a living hell. Too bad it was hell to begin with.

Suga Daddy; @drquinzelharleen

(Yoongi x Reader)

Yoongi gives you an offer you can’t refuse.

Inheritance; @rbuns [COMPLETED]

(Yoongi x Reader)

After your grandmother passed she left everything to you. Her house, her fortune, and apparently… her cat? The grumpy male hybrid you encounter at her house is anything but the tame housecat you’d expected to find. Fulfilling your grandmother’s last request to look after him becomes a lot harder when he seems to be avoiding you, and your dissatisfied relatives start stirring up trouble.

Di Piano e Forte; @justoneday-namjoonii

(Yoongi x Reader)

Piano; A keyboard of cypress, played with soft and loud. Was it the ivory and onyx keys that let you escape from your reality…Or was it the man with sable hair and ivory skin.

Hoseok

Heartbeat; @joonbird

(Hoseok x reader)

You’ve always stayed far away from the Kingsnakes, the coldblooded gang that runs the dark heart of your city. That is until your life collides with the intriguing and dangerous Jung Hoseok.

Transference; @jeonjagiya [COMPLETED]

(Hoseok x Reader)

During a routine visit to the local bakery, you stumble upon an intriguing business card and figure, what the hell.

Written On Our Veins; @army-author

(Hoseok x Reader)

You and Hoseok are sick of spending the holidays soulmate-less while your friends enjoy Christmas as couples… tired of waiting for fate to make a move, you decide to take matters into your own hands.

Namjoon

Amor Fati; @sugaroons

(Namjoon x Reader)

you’re still settling into your life back at university when you meet kim namjoon. he’s so perfect—sweet, awkward, and exactly your type, especially in bed—that you know there has to be a catch.

Jimin

I’ll Never Be Her; @anon-luv

(Jimin x Reader)

You loved him with all your heart, but he could only give you half of his.

Little Bear; @b-angst-tan

(Jimin x Reader)

You’ve always wanted a hybrid. Not truly being able to afford one makes it seem impossible that you’d have one anytime soon. Until the opportunity presents itself as if by miracle. 

Taehyung

Crimson; @idolxreader

(Taehyung x Reader)

Kim Taehyung disrupts your day-to-day life to make a deal with you.

Sugar daddy au.

Jungkook

Wanted; @rbuns [COMPLETED]

(Jungkook x Reader)

You were a deserter, a renegade, a wanted “criminal”. It was never in your plans to crash land on that planet, and it most certainly wasn’t in your plans to fall in love with it’s handsome ruler.  

Blackjack; @kpopfanfictrash

(Jungkook x Reader)

Bangtan is one of the most vicious mafias on the west coast. Only six members are known by name though, with a mysterious seventh member dubbed only as ‘the shadow.’ When you become indebted to the worst of the worst – how, exactly can you find a way out?

OT7

Tales of Greyria; @cutaepatootie [COMPLETED]

(Jungkook/Taehyung/Jimin/Hoseok/Yoongi x reader pairings)

Five stories that took place during the great times of a kingdom named Greyria, telling us about its glory and its downfall.  How it all started with a red rose, and ended with a burning fire. 

I just finished this and guys. Just go read it.

The Lonely Hearts Club; @cinnaminsvga [COMPLETED]

(?? x Reader)

social media au where y/n and yoongi are mutuals but they’re constantly at each other’s throats for reasons unknown (aka emotional constipation)

Call Me Mistress; @jeonjagiya

(ot7 x OC, not a poly au.)

A collection of stories recounting the titillating work of the dome known only as the Mistress.

Note: This was originally written as a reader insert and recently changed to an OC. It is still so worth reading, and I can guarantee you guys will have seen the Mistress as an OC anyways!

Working Man Bangtan; @jeonjagiya (I love all her stuff too)

(OT7 x Reader, not a poly au.)

A collection of stories where the leading man has a working class occupation.

Golden Goddess; @angel-ofcolordeactivated20180104

(?? x Reader)

You were stolen, swept away in the depths of the night by Park Jimin, the cruel king of the fairies. He’s always seen you as a prize– as something to play with rather than a person, and now he’s finally got his hands on you. He’s captured you, taken you off to a different world and stripped away any inch of your former self. Will you ever manage to escape his grip?

Tales From The Land of Fae; @fireheart-namjoon

(OT7 x Reader, not a poly au.)

A compilation of tales from the four courts of fae: Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring.

Note: This is the masterlist of all the related aus. The Winter Court is the main series of this story line.

Sweeter than sweet; @gimmesumsuga

(Jimin x Reader primarily, smut involving multiple other members)

You would have never expected someone like Park Jimin to notice you;  he's handsome, seductive, and totally out of your league.  Oh, and a vampire.  You're enthralled by him from the moment you meet, addicted to his kiss and his bite, willing to do anything to be by his side - even if it costs you your freedom... and your life. 

The 7 Society; multiple authors

(OT7 x Reader, not a poly au.)

Inside the grounds of the University, rumor has it there exists a secret society. One which thrives underground, comprised of seven individuals; each of whom is only to be revealed upon the hour of their death. The Society is enigmatic, seductive and wealthy beyond belief. There is only one rule, which must by strictly adhered to.

Don’t tell.

Soul Meiteu; @bang-tan-bitch

(OT7 x Reader, literally just fluff?? <3)

Your night at a concert turns into a dream come true experience. All you have to do, is take his hand.

Trust Nobody; @softjeon

(Taehyung x Reader, OT7 x Reader)

The first thing someone should know about you is that you’re an escort. Yes, you have fucked for money. One day your boss made you an offer you couldn’t say no to. One year - seven boys. One rule: never fall in love.

Endgame; @oppamansae

(?? x Reader)

In chess, winning is everything – unfortunately, it is never easy. Y/N knew that as soon as she was ordered to assassinate the ruler of Seoul’s wealthiest mob empire, Park Jimin. The real question was: would she be able to survive this twisted game, all while keeping her identity a secret?

Bound; multiple authors [COMPLETED]

(OT7 x Reader, not a poly au.)

In a world where marriage isn’t by choice and love isn’t an option – will you ever find happiness? Or just continue to search? 

Too Sweet; @justoneday-namjoonii

(OT7 x Reader, not a poly au (?),)

-Vampire!au BTS

ONE SHOTS

Seokjin

Long Live The King; @remembeo

(Seokjin x Reader)

Long live the King, and may he reign forever more. 

Currents; @bread-jinie

(Seokjin x Reader)

Jin thinks he’s loved you since the moment he saw you, back when you were teenagers; Jin knows he’s been in love with you, the soul burning kind of love, since he saw you on your wedding day. He doesn’t mind that you don’t reciprocate on his level, he’s just happy to show you he cares. Until one day, he simply can’t anymore. Until one day, you realize you need to show him you care, too. 

Golden Boy; @kpopfanfictrash

(Seokjin x Reader)

The golden boy of the porn industry, prettier than half his female co-stars. Will sue if you pull his hair. Always bothering his neighbors with pizza delivery.

Note: This is multi-author series. Masterlist here.

Yoongi

Lost Stars; @taegih

(Yoongi x Reader)

-Enemies to lovers au

Smoke; @army-author

(Yoongi x Reader)

You have full moon eyes, and Yoongi wants to cheat the system.

Petrichor; @donewithjeon

(Yoongi x Reader)

You weren’t exactly sure when Min Yoongi had come into town.

Blackthorn Manor; @kpopfanfictrash

(Yoongi x Reader)

After becoming the assistant of professional recluse Min Yoongi, you begin to notice strange things. Noises which shouldn’t take place, shadows which shouldn’t move like they do. You’re almost convinced that you’re crazy - until something happens, something unbelievable to make you realize you’re not.

Hoseok

The First Eclipse; @rbuns

(Hoseok x Reader)

Hoseok reminisces on your earlier times together.

Namjoon

I’m so sorry omg I rarely read any Namjoon stuff omg.

Jimin

20 Things (and counting) I Hades About You; @readyplayerhobi

(Jimin x Reader)

Park Jimin, also known as DJ Plouton, one of the hottest DJ’s on the planet. Arrogant, sarcastic and incredibly attractive; you’d appreciate him more if you weren’t convinced he’d be the death of you on a daily basis. But apparently that wouldn’t matter either, because what’s a bit of death to the God of the Underworld?

Note: I think this author is doing a greek god au oneshot for each boy!

Taehyung

Fireflies; @sugaxjpg

(Taehyung x Reader)

“There’s no hope for people like us, sweetheart. We’re destined to fall in love a thousand times, and have our hearts broken in each one of them. We might as well be miserable together.”

Danse Macabre; @sugaxjpg

(Taehyung x Reader)

-Vampire au

Shelter; @btssmutgalore

(Taehyung x Reader)

Taehyung’s always been a best friend, which is why you think he’s the right person to ask for help when it comes to relationships.

Sacrilege; @writingseoul

(Taehyung x Reader)

You're a sacrifice to Taehyung, the Sun God

Jungkook

Back Home To You; @kthartics

(Jungkook x Reader)

Four years after graduating from med school, and ten after a mutual break up with your high school sweetheart, he comes knocking on your window battered and bruised only for you to find out he’s quit the military and in exchange for the title of Korea’s top mercenary but to you, he’s just a boyfriend you got together with again.

Lust and Love; @bbfairy

(Jungkook x Reader)

Your family forces you to marry a man named Park Jimin in order to gain a profit from their affluence. While preparing for the Park’s arrival, your father hires a butler in the estate. Gradually, you fall for him. You become infatuated with his presence, unwilling to accept the marriage and Park Jimin.

Plans for Wedding Bands; @guksheart

(Jungkook x Reader)

I’ve been meaning to propose to you for ages and i have set up the perfect plan but as we’re driving to the restaurant this tiny little cat on the side of the road that you’re determind to save shows up and now everything is ruined oh god what am i gonna do❜

The Wedding Planners; @gukyi

(Jungkook x Reader + some side yoonseok)

jeon jungkook is three things: cocky, terrible, and your worst enemy. then your best friend hoseok gets engaged to the love of his life, and suddenly jeon jungkook is four things: cocky, terrible, your worst enemy, and the man you will be spending the next seven months with in order to plan your best friend’s wedding. and then, as if your life couldn’t get any shittier, you make the poor decision of sleeping with him on the first day of the job.

A/N: I really hope I linked these properly lol. Let me know if there are any problems!

[codylabs]

Chapter 15: Tale of Two Bots

-date: 13/20/2094-46’\

Hello.

My name is Ɖg@}Nᶌ.

As one of the survivors of the crash of colonial vessel 46.18’\, I am starting this journal to document our experiences on this planet. In the event that we are rescued, or survive long enough to reestablish contact, this log will serve as a record on our experiences. If you recover this and we’re not here to give it to you… Then I guess we’ve failed.

And this is our story.

Well.

As I said, the colonial vessel has crashed. Near as I can tell, we were traveling near-horizontally at an altitude of several kilometers, when some type of interference or malfunction disabled the vehicles artificial-gravity engines. We hit the ground before control could be regained. The impact was directly into solid rock, at a velocity in excess of 400 meters per second. The ship carved a large chunk out of a mountainside, and half-buried itself in its own artificial valley. The impact was sufficient to free the majority of the nuclear fuel from containment, disable the primary propulsion system, and kill the entire pilot and command crew. To the best of my knowledge, I, and 52 other passengers, are the last survivors of the collision.

We have escaped the confines of the ship, and have used salvaged tarps and materials to erect a small camp on the hill above it.

More of us are injured than not. Many terminally so. Since the vessel’s power supply has largely gone into meltdown, all remaining power has been automatically diverted toward containing the damage. Periphery systems, including the auto-medics, have gone offline. I’m no surgeon, but the others are even less so.

They expect me to repair the wounded.

I’ll see what I can do.

-date: 13/21/2094-46’\

My medical tools were designed for my species specifically. They are poorly suited for the others, who are primarily carbon-based. Their bodies are squishy, ever-shifting, mostly liquid. I don’t know how to handle it. Many of the terminally injured have died following my surgery. I was able to fix a few, but… But the others are angry with me. They think I could have done more for the dying. Survivor count now 41. The names of the living are included here for posterity:

Ɖg@}Nᶌ

Klk76y

Zlfo]n

ƉN::ᶌ

&4r(/_^`;~y

iA**5{y

-@N^^>

C0gsJRY

V;M9OZ

4EtR%ibP

WA~/\hi(B

~u81FF:’

S~5VH/’QepKl

3v49EVv

iZxFpLo

wX~~E2VY

IeR&Usp

xE][fo

I6gyvPh

7ncZ9Itx

bC*$l9DSEmm

J86O/\oBZg

v89Z;vHFiv

4g0ORH

Xp;DWstNBYi

0aF2I(zLxyn7k

SGff\mBOfic8

0Xzn

TSpqQfjFn

famESw

W8{A1EdwQ

j0wX

KlcfG;B0lw0

4hArMXj4

qKhcn0U

SXz4;

PxNeLwi

w4A;mVIV5

tVkqZme

oy.}szN;XJCc

og;hgnC5j8Ca…

I don’t really want to talk about it anymore.

-date: 13/22/2094-46’\

Only one other survivor belongs to my same species. We were bound for the same colony, her and I, but now everybody we knew is gone. I’m glad I have somebody to speak to though, especially after the failed surgeries. Her name is ƉN::ᶌ, and she is kind to me. Seeing as how it looks like we’re here for the long haul, I wonder if perhaps we could begin the colony here, with only us two.

No, I can’t think that. It’s indecent.

She’s looking at me.

I am pretending to type something in.

-date: 13/28/2094-46’\

Klk76y has gotten one of the computers online, and has retrieved data from the crash. Apparently, we are on body 3.0 of this system, on one of the northern continents. It’s hellish here. There’s air, it’s hot, the gravity is high, the surface is soaked in unhealthy chemicals like water, and infested by native (and occasionally hostile) carbon-based life. Even its moon, 3.1, would have been better than this. We can survive, but it isn’t well-suited. Natural terraforming processes won’t work.

I just wish we would have crashed on 4.0. It would have been nearly perfect for our needs.

The only metal ƉN::ᶌ and I have to eat is that from the ship’s hull. Livestock and crops could easily survive on this diet, but they would rip the whole craft apart in the process. Since we’d rather leave it salvageable (by the slim hope that we could repair it someday), we’ll keep the farming systems in stasis for now.

I hope our colonial supplies are still intact. They should be tougher than the other cargo, but I don’t know.

Titanium-steel alloy plating is sure getting bland though. Hard to chew. Hard in general.

I want some fruit.

-date: 13/22/2094-46’\

Everything has calmed down now, as much as it can. The fires from the crash have died out. We’ve buried as many of the dead as we can find. The other survivors are settling into the camp, and they’ve gathered some meager supplies, enough to last the winter. ƉN::ᶌ and I can survive directly off the ship’s power, so we should be fine indefinitely. Klk76y has also taken charge as a sort of leader, and everybody seems as content as they can be.

I suppose that now is a good a time as any to give my own personal story.

It all started long ago, and far away.

It was cold and hard and small, one of many solitary, airless moon of a bloated gas giant, bathed in the light of an old, red star. To look at it, you might mistake it for a larger asteroid, or one of the many unnotable, dusty rocks that inhabit the empty voids of space.

But this rock wasn’t any rock. This was a living place, filled with rugged natural beauty. Spreading seas of liquid sand, mountains of the dust of ancient timbers, and the great, towering forests of mighty trees. Fields abounding in fruits and grains, the woods crawling with wild animals, the void alive with the radio singing of the bugs and the birds, the sun shining brightly on the leaves. And a humble people toiling with bliss beneath the stars, picking and eating their food, building their houses and roads, constructing and raising their children. It was a place where families could be happy. A place of peace.

This was my beloved home.

But I never once enjoyed it.

Why didn’t I? It was a paradise. I could have grown old and happy there. I could have been rich and prosperous. I could have had everything that people strive for… Everything but meaning.

Mind you, I wasn’t alone. There were many of my peers who considered it an utterly boring, menial existence, where our young minds had nowhere to explore, where knowledge and learning was scarce, and where our toil and daily labor did not satisfy our hunger for adventure. We were children then, restlessly longing for something more. I wish now I hadn’t been among them… But I was.

Two cycles ago, when I had just finished being a boy, but didn’t yet know what ‘man’ was, another race came to our world. They arrived in an enormous ship from some other dimension, on a mission (so they said) to explore and archive the wonders of the universe, to seek out new and deviant life, to see, hear, touch and explore that which nobody had ever experienced before, and to set up colonies among the far reaches of space. They visited us for this same reason, collecting samples from our planet, examining and studying us. (The reason for their fascination, I found out later, was our metallic bodies and mechanical makeup. Apparently, it’s something of a novelty to these squishy carbon-based people.)

Regardless, I’m sure you can understand my thoughts when they revealed this mission of theirs. How glamorous! How grand! How adventurous! How meaningful! I dreamed to accompany them, to whatever fate lay beyond the horizons of my own mind. Once, I even had the chance to speak directly withCaptain &:V->GN[], commander of the alien vessel.

“I wish I could accompany you!” I had told him. “I wish I could count myself among the colonists on your ship.”

“It’s certainly a hard life.” He had tempted me, with a twinkle in his eye. “Long years aboard a closed metal ship, and at the end of your journey, an unknown fate… It could be dangerous, it could be strange, it could require things from you that you don’t know you had. Even WE don’t know what we’ll find in that great unknown…”

He was telling me precisely the type of tale I wanted to hear, and naturally I fell for it. “I would be willing!” I told him. “And I have friends as well! We would all love to leave our world, and travel with you to the ends of the universe! We would follow you!”

He stroked his chin, and nodded. “We have set down several colonies already…” He said, as if it were my idea the entire time. “Perhaps there would be room among the organic cargo sectors for your… Particular breed of crops and livestock…”

“I hope so!” I said, and I meant it.

The next day, he announced to our people that they would be taking on passengers and cargo, whatever passengers could fit in sector 22, and whatever farming supplies we could fit in stasis in sector 43. They would allow our people to found a colony on a world of our choosing, or even, if we wished, they would allow us to return with them to their home dimension.

It goes without saying that I, along with many of my friends, signed up eagerly.

My father silently watched me as I entered the shuttle, and he had a sorrowful look on his face which I will never remember, because I never once looked back.

And so did I venture forth, to seek my fortune among the stars.

It was a lie.

No sooner had we left the system, but the crew confined us to quarters, and began to treat us harshly. They told us they were cracking down on troublemakers, and that this was just a necessary caution. But among themselves, they were communicating using their suits’ radios. My people could hear such signals plainly, and I learned to understand them.

I learned that our people were not to be set down on a colony of our choosing. Rather, we were all to be brought back to the aliens’ dimension, to be treated as scientific samples, or even used for their own purposes.

They began to experiment on us.

It was a nightmare.

I would hear the communications as they would take our people, one at a time, from the passenger areas. Always young females. Whenever the rest of us moved to intervene, the crew would summon security drones to threaten us, then say it was for our own protection.

One day we heard their purpose… Well, I feel dirty even describing it.

The females of our species naturally have reproductive systems in their abdomen areas. Normally, these organs serve only to manufacture and assemble the bodies of children. The organs are perfectly designed for the task, and they are able to do so reliably and repeatedly. Since the living bodies of children are inherently complex, the organs must be highly versatile.

The aliens saw this.

So the science team, under the direction of Captain &:V->GN[], were downloading foreign code into the women’s organs, to try and make them manufacture artificial systems: Tools. Weapons. Drones. Storage crates. Spare parts. They were trying to turn our people into living factories. This was just a proof of concept, before they returned to their home dimension and refined the idea into an industrial process.

The experiments were invasive and painful, and the women were not willing.

I began to discuss these matters in hushed tones with the other colonists, of both my own species and others. We all agreed that something needed to be done.

So one night, all at once, we staged a mutiny. We sawed through the doors of our rooms, gathered improvised tools and weapons, rendezvoused with the organic passengers, and aimed ourselves for the bridge.

It didn’t work.

They put us under guard from that point on, reinforced the doors, equipped us with stun collars, and pumped all the air out of our rooms to keep us from audio communication with the other passengers. They also encrypted their radio signals, so we could no longer listen in to them.

A cycle passed quietly and despairingly. An older friend of mine likened it to prison.

But then, days ago, it happened.

For reasons none of us know, Colonial Vessel 46.18’\ crashed.

Now here we are. The greatest adventure of my life, more excitement and strange new weirdness than I ever could have hoped or dreamed: aliens, lies, betrayal, mutiny, heroism, bravery, fierce enemies on all sides and a grave mission to follow… This is the adventure of a lifetime.

And I would trade it all away in an instant. What I wouldn’t give to be back home. My quiet, peaceful, meaningless home…

For there is no meaning to be found out here either. We’ve crossed galaxies by now, gone where none have gone, and we are no closer to something higher than when we started out. There is no height to be climbed to reach enlightenment. There is no lesson or sense or justice to bring to our predicament. Life is cruel and short, and our lives are either empty or painful. Some, like mine, are both.

So that is how I, Ɖg@}Nᶌ, got to where I am now.

ƉN::ᶌ says I’m being pessimistic. She says there is a meaning, and that God has a purpose and plan for our lives, even through our pain and misfortune, even though we do not see it.

I hope she’s right.

I prayed for the first time today.

-date: 13/30/2094-46’\

Why are we on this planet at all? Why did the command crew stop here? Did they have to land to make repairs? Did we have to restock supplies? Was there another mutiny we didn’t hear about?

I, for one, suspected the command crew was goaded into it by the science team. They noticed something interesting on the flyby, and convinced the higher-ups of the need to stop and release probes.

It wouldn’t be the first time it’s happened. We’ve had several unscheduled stops over the course of this trip. Always the science team wanting to collect samples or specimens, or examine some readings. Always something new and interesting to look at.

But why here? What makes this valley so special? What drew their curiosity? And what about this valley caused our crash? We may never know; all the sensors are down, many of the computer logs were damaged, and many of the remaining mission files are simply classified to us passengers.

I suppose I’m just complaining. I shouldn’t complain. What’s done is done, and now all we can do is pick up the pieces and make the most of what we have left.

Perhaps it’s just God’s will.

-date: 15/2/2094-46’\

We sent 5 men deeper into the wreck to see what they could salvage. It’s been 6 days now, and they haven’t come back out. I wonder what has happened. The automated security system is coded for all the colonists’ identities, so even if it reactivated somehow, none of them should have anything to fear… I wonder if perhaps some of the more dangerous scientific specimens have been released from containment.

The rest of the survivors are wanting me and ƉN::ᶌ to venture in after them, since our metal bodies make us tougher than the others.

She is afraid, so I will go in alone. I will be their hero. I will be her hero.

-date: 15/3/2094-46’\

I’m back. I found nothing. No signs of a struggle, no weapon damage.

But no bodies either.

Perhaps they got lost down there. I can see why they would; the crash mutilated the vessel into a veritable labyrinth of twisted metal. We can only wait, and hope that that they survive, and hope still that they can find their way back out.

While I was down there, I did stumble across the scientific sample area. It was torn wide open. Everything in the stasis chambers are dead.

But a few of the chambers are open.

And all the chambers that are open are empty.

Specimens must have escaped. Could one have killed and eaten the men we sent inside? I don’t know what manner of subjects they’d stored in the now-empty chambers, but judging by the looks of some of the others… Let’s just say I’m glad most of them are dead. Out of all the nasty things they’ve collected on their journey, I think that living robots are the most harmless of the bunch.

I’m back on the surface now, and gave my report to the other survivors. It frightened them. They don’t want to explore the wreck any deeper than necessary. I understand that.

ƉN::ᶌ is beating herself up for letting me go alone. She swears that whatever happens next, she will be there for me. I’m glad for the promise.

As it stands, Survivor count now 36.

-date: 15/16/2094-46’\

Survivor count now 28.

We don’t know what’s happening. People go missing. Randomly. Unforeseeably. Without trace. As if they decided to just walk away in those moments when nobody’s watching.

After the last incident, Zlfo]n instructed us to watch closely for anyone behaving strangely. He encouraged us to keep up conversation frequently. I don’t know what he suspects, (does he think we’re going mad one by one? Does he know something we don’t?) but I hope he’s on to something.

I modified a few power tools into melee weapons, so that ƉN::ᶌ and I can defend ourselves if the need arises. When I offered her a cutting drill, she said she would prefer to use her teeth, since they’re sharper and easier to carry around anyway.

It’s nice to have somebody to laugh with, even in times like this.

But seriously though, she’s literally going to use her teeth. This girl is crazy!

I kind of… Never mind.

-date: 15/18/2094-46’\

Somebody struck up conversation today with Klk76y. He mumbled his way through a brief exchange, but in the process, he gave something away: he didn’t possess even the most basic knowledge of Klk76y’s life or job. It quickly became apparent that he wasn’t Klk76y at all, but rather something else, looking exactly like him, bluffing his way through a conversation. Zlfo]n, ƉN::ᶌ, and myself attempted to confront him, but he attacked with an incredible physical strength, and escaped into the forest. Zlfo]n suffered several broken bones during the fight, and will not last long. Meanwhile Klk76y, the only leader we had, is gone like the others.

Also, at some point, ƉN::ᶌ managed to clip the enemy with her teeth. This drew green blood, whereas the real Klk76y would have had yellow-white blood.

Something is out there.

Something that’s changing.

It takes us one by one, probably eats us, and impersonates us to learn more before eating again.

Survivor count now 27. Soon to be 26, as there’s not much I can do for Zlfo]n.

-date: 15/19/2094-46’\

Zlfo]n pulled me close today, and told me about the shapeshifter. He described everything he knew of its abilities, its methods, its mannerisms, and its intelligence. He told me where the science team found it, what it eats, where it lives, what it wants.

(Future reader, I have transcribed his analysis, and saved it as a separate file. This is my journal, after all, and not a tactics guide. Suffice to say that this shifter is quite a character herself, and I don’t like it one bit being on the receiving end of her cunning.)

I asked Zlfo]n how he knew so much about the creature. He sighed and he told me:

Zlfo]n was on the science team.

So I took him outside the camp, and I left him to die. By now he will have perished from his injuries in the silent forest, without burial, without dignity, alone except for the memories of the women he violated. Alone, save for his conscience. I hope he has one, so that he suffered. And I hope the shifter finds him, and that she realizes we are not her enemies.

…Did I do wrong, to let Zlfo]n die like that?

I don’t think I did.

Did he deserve better?

I don’t think he did.

Did ƉN::ᶌ approve?

I think she did.

I never asked her if she’d been a part of the onboard experiments. I pray she didn’t have to suffer it, because I don’t know what I could do for her damage. I’m not that type of doctor. Heck, I’m not any type of doctor! What am I supposed to do for a damaged factory, huh? Look at it? I’m a male. Even that’s not proper.

All I can do for her is to be her friend, and love and respect and care for her regardless of anything else. And I really do love her… I’ve been realizing that more and more.

-date: 15/27/2094-46’\

Survivor count now 23.

The other survivors can’t stand it anymore. They need to get away from the wreck. Whatever the shifter wants, it is hostile. And it is near. And since we haven’t the vaguest inkling of how to face it, we need to flee.

They others all agreed to pick up and head North, as far from the crash site as possible. They are carbon-based, and can therefore subsist on native food. They collected all the weapons and tools they could find, and started off. They should be safe from the enemy… Or at least see it coming… I think they’ll be alright. I hope they’ll be alright.

Either way, ƉN::ᶌ and I need to make other plans. We are not carbon based, and therefore need to grow our own crops if we are to survive. We’ll need a farm. We picked out a pretty good spot for it to the South-East, but this planet doesn’t have a lot of dense deposits near the surface, so our crops won’t grow.

We’ll need to improvise some type of soil.

The hull of the spacecraft, combined with the minerals in the native rock, should supply our farm with all the biological sustenance it needs. It would make excellent soil. But we don’t want to stay in the craft’s immediate vicinity, so we need to somehow cut loose a massive section of the hull and bring it all of 20 kilometers to the farm.

How do we do that?

It was her idea to jury-rig the ship’s last remaining artificial-gravity nacelle. Normally, these nacelles create a gravitational dipole large enough to put the entire ship into free-fall in any direction. One nacelle may not be able to do something so grand on its own, but it still possesses a large amount of power. ƉN::ᶌ thinks it should be a simple matter to shrink this dipole and concentrate it, if only we could get to the engine room. This would allow us to ‘jackhammer’ a section of the hull loose. A slightly larger dipole will then be able to carry the disconnected section 20 kilometers through the air, and set it down at the farm. I just hope the craft has enough power left to run this stunt.

To operate the nacelle, we need to get down to the engine room and do it manually. This means risking whatever tricks and tactics the mimic has in store, but we would prefer to risk it immediately, rather than stay above ground and wait for her… Rather take her on our terms: immediately and directly.

We’re going inside tomorrow.

If we never come back out… Let it be known that ƉN::ᶌ and Ɖg@}Nᶌ were here.

-date: 15/30/2094-46’\

It has been 3 days since my last entry, but we are now back. We successfully completed the mission.

But first, a word on what we found down there.

Let’s just say that at this point, the ship would need half again its weight in glue. Its main propulsion system, (everything except the one intact nacelle), is completely offline. 7 of the 8 main reactors have also gone into meltdown, and the computer automatically locked down the last one for safety. The vessel’s long-range communication systems and tracking beacon were in its lower areas, and were therefore destroyed when it contacted the ground. There is no chance of signaling home, or anywhere.

However, there were a few intact things. The perpetual-motive emergency power generators were left online somehow, and should stay remain so indefinitely, barring mechanical breakdown. These were the only thing running the ship until we got down there.

Also, we found we weren’t the only survivors. There were more, some even among the command crew, who had survived the crash but stayed underground. They were barricaded in the ship’s mid levels, and just stayed down there.

But they aren’t alive anymore.

Apparently, the mimic got to them too. Some of their survivors had taken to drawing graffiti on the walls since the computers were down. Most of it was just innocent nonsense, but then there was some stuff like “GweeV7w isn’t what he seems!” and “That’s not the real u*/~h!” and “Specimen has escaped is changing forms.”

And everybody was dead.

Eaten.

The mimic is smart. Smart enough to kill them all without putting itself in danger. Smart enough to use fear like a weapon, and fill her enemies with it. Smart enough to stay in shadows.

Smart enough to learn to hack computers.

The mimic has reactivated the security system, and made several changes to their programming. Firstly, she wiped the drones’ entries for recognized individuals, so that they now recognize everyone, every last man, woman, child and animal, as unidentified intruders. Secondly, she reprogrammed their tactical assessment system, so that they now evaluate threats based on chemical signs of aggression and fear. If any carbon-based lifeform shows fear in a drone’s vicinity, it is programmed to contain or destroy them.

Since the shifter was terrorizing everyone else while remaining calm herself, it worked perfectly: the drones would leave her alone and go straight for any of the other cowering survivors.

As for us metallic life forms, well… The mimic is smart, as I said. She knew we didn’t have a sense of smell, so she rigged a booby trap that sprayed us with hormones. We didn’t even notice, until every drone in the ship started to attack.

That was a dicey couple hours. Those drones are learning and self-adapting, and can sprout pretty much any weapon in the database. We managed to beat them, barely, by modifying one of the perpetual-motive generators into an electromagnetic pulse emitter. We almost killed ourselves with it too, but it took out most of the drones. Enough so we could slip away.

I don’t know that I’ve ever been more scared in my life than when I was down there… But… I think I might have been having fun too. Crazy how that works. It probably just depends who you have by your side in the thick of things, doesn’t it? And while we were fighting down in those dark depths, I had ƉN::ᶌ. And that made it all right.

Anyway, we made it to the engine room, and ƉN::ᶌ managed to bypass a security lock and reactivate reactor 5. From there, she was able to reprogram the art-grav nacelle, and use the immense gravity field to rip apart the hull.

We tore off half of the ship’s upper hull, along with the entirety of sector 43 (sector 43 being the cargo area where all the samples, livestock and crops from our planet were stored.) The gravity field gathered all this wreckage together, forming an enormous ‘fistfull’ of twisted metal and cargo. ƉN::ᶌ then used the gravity beam to guide this mass through the air to the farmland we designated, and spread it out there. The entire process must have been rather eerie to watch, I imagine.

There was only one problem now: if we could make use of those gravity fields, chances are the mimic could too. If she set the field to a high strength and low size, she could use it to physically crush our entire farm, with us inside.

With that kind of power, the mimic could kill anybody she wanted. And anywhere.

So, we removed the power control coupling from the last reactor, and destroyed all the spares. The coupling is small. Small enough to take with us, and keep hidden forever. So that’s what we’ll do.

We made back above ground without much trouble.

Now, everything seems in order. The livestock and seeds will be waiting for us in sector 43’s wreckage, ready to be unpacked, unfrozen, and organized into a farm. A colony. First thing tomorrow morning, we’re off to begin our new life.

-date: 3/14/2096-46’\

Two local years since my last entry.

Farm is going great. Got some trees planted, and some crops. The ecosystem is starting up, and the drilling worms have started breaking down the spacecraft hull. The cats are working as guards, which should be enough to scare away the mimic if she finds us here. I tampered with the cats’ genetics as well, to make them instinctively react defensively toward any unrecognized large organic. Meaning whatever form the mimic takes, the cats will turn on it. I’m just glad this planet doesn’t have intelligent inhabitants; that could make for a rather messy misunderstanding.

I also found an old runabout shuttle stashed in the wreckage. We turned it right-side-up, half-buried it in the ground, and are now using it as a house. Its glass hull should keep it from decay, and its engines still have enough power to run heat, lighting, and farm equipment.

The place is finally starting to feel like home. The trees are supplying power now, so we don’t have to ration anymore. And they’re beginning to bear the first fruit. We haven’t had actual food in so long, and it’s delicious.

And… Well, there’s one other thing. I don’t really know who else to tell, so I guess I’ll tell this journal.

Anyway…

I finally asked ƉN::ᶌ if she would be my wife. And she said yes. I’m not really sure what I expected her to say, since we’re the only two here… But it was the WAY she said it; it made me believe that she would have chosen me out of a crowd. Like I would have been her first choice out of all the men on all the worlds. She said yes… And I’m a married man now! I’m really happy. I really love her. I’m really glad to be alive.

That probably sounded super corny, huh?

-date: 8/9/2098-46’\

Three local years since my last entry.

We lost contact with the other survivors. I don’t know what happened to them. Maybe it was local wildlife or sickness, maybe it was the mimic again, maybe something else. Anyway, let it be known that this farm contains, to my knowledge, the last 3 survivors of the crash.

3 survivors?

That’s what I said.

Because ƉN::ᶌ is pregnant.

I’m gonna be a dad.

Speaking of dad…

If this recording somehow gets to you, mom and dad… If the fabeled Time Giants ever find this log in the far future, and decide to do a favor for my present, and bring it back to you… If you’re reading this now in the comfort of your own home after I’ve left…

I want you to know that I’ve finally found that life I always dreamed of. There’s a little bit of adventure here and there, sure. (This planet seems to harbor some very improbable life. We’re always finding ourselves in some weird situation or another.) But most of all, I’ve found home. I’ve found love. I’ve found peace. And I think… With the help of God, I’ve found a bit of meaning. Here, in a filthy, watery world at the end of the universe. Here, in the valley carved by the crash of colonial vessel 46.18’/. Here, where nobody else has ever been, is where I’ve decided to stay. And here, I am happy. I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

-date: 16/13/2098-46’\

There was a fault in ƉN::ᶌ’s manufacturing system. The child was damaged during final assembly, and… I’m not sure what happened. There was a problem with the release, and something snapped. There were sparks, and leaking oil.

And she died.

Her and the baby.

I made glass coffins so they wouldn’t decay. And I buried them behind the house.

I guess that’s it then, huh?

So much for our life. So much for our colony, and our future, and our children, and our love… So much for all that. Whoever’s reading this, I’d dreamed that one day we would have healthy, happy descendants who’d be able to hand this to you. And they’d say ‘Take this. This is their legacy…’

But what good are dreams?

Dreams are for young men… And today I feel old.

Anyway… If you’re reading this journal, then… Then I guess I’m long dead. The barn and the tractor and the windmill will have been eaten all away by now… Only the glass shuttle-house thing will remain; that and the coffins… Give it long enough, and the farm will probably grow all over the place… The drilling worms and trees will have digested the last of the hull wreckage we drug out here… That will make for the only soil on all of 3.0 that can support metal life, so the little forest will have reached a maximum size and stopped growing. Due to the atmosphere, the crops can’t spread seeds far enough to fertilize on the main wreck, and even the cats don’t explore very far. So. By now all the livestock will be all feral, all the trees will be huge… It will all be totally natural. Just like God intended.

It’ll be a little tiny drop of home, right in the middle of all this carbon slime. A tiny drop of home…

And that’ll be our legacy.

I’m locking the house up now, and I’m leaving.

I’m going back to the crash site. I go to find our last and greatest enemy, the mimic, and kill her. I go to ensure the safety of anybody who may come to this planet after us. I go in the name of peace. One final battle. One final adventure.

This is Ɖg@}Nᶌ, last survivor of the crash of Colonial Vessel 46.18’\, furthest explorer of a gentle people, last civilized lifeform on this planet, farmer and doctor and husband and father, signing out for the final time. Whoever finds this… I hope God’s plan for you is gentle. Gentler than it was for me.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

Have a nice life.

[skulduggerypleasant]

Twitter Q&A (8/3/18)

Derek did an impromptu Q&A session on his Twitter last night, and answered a lot of tweets in very quick succession. I really do mean a lot, and he’s not even finished with all the questions yet (although I helped him out where I could), so expect an update to this post soon enough! Under the cut, you’ll find a summary of pretty much everything that he said, excluding anything that wasn’t really relevant to a wider audience. There are, inevitably, spoilers for every book up to and including Resurrection. Anyways, enjoy!

We’ll be getting bits and pieces of information about Carol’s death—and it’s consequences—as the books go on, although it won’t be a main plot point by any means. [x]

“China is generally the hardest to write, because I have to force myself to not make jokes. Val's the easiest, because she's the most real to me.” [x]

“Skulduggery has had primarily straight relationships in the past, but pretty much all sorcerers are bi, China included. Val is, at this point in her life, kinda straight, with definite bi leanings.” [x]

Female sorcerers have a monthly menstrual cycle for however long their bodies stay young. [x] (Why do you people ask these things?)

We’re never going to be told Skulduggery’s given name. [x]

The Unnamed will be elaborated on in Phase Two. [x]

Skulduggery brushes his teeth, and he showers if his bones are dirty. [x]

Derek only decided on Ghastly’s grisly fate around Mortal Coil; up until that point, he was going to live. [x]

Derek considers Necromancy the coolest power to write, but thinks that Teleportation is ultimately the best. [x]

“If someone was taken over by [both] a Remnant and a Faceless One, the Faceless One would burn out the Remnant in an instant.” [x]

Derek has no intention of telling us how many books he has planned for the series, but we’ll probably find out eventually. [x]

“[Valkyrie’s] powers will be explored further as we go.” [x]

Only one reflection can be released at a time, and you still have a normal reflection in mirrors all the while. [x]

“I had the first idea [for the series] in the summer of 2005, and I didn't change any of the major aspects since then. The only question was whether to set it in the ‘real’ world or a fantasy world where walking skeletons weren't a big deal. Obviously, the real world won.” [x]

Valkyrie will not be teaching any other sorcerers, as she isn’t in any kind of mindset to teach, and her power set is entirely unique. [x]

We’ll learn how Mevolent died during the war in Phase Two, as well as how the alternate-dimension Mevolent managed to survive where the original did not. Also, it’s implied that there’s plenty more we’ll find out about. [x]

“Harry Potter probably influenced me the most, especially early on. I should have been confident enough to throw off those shackles, but in a way I needed them in order to find my own way of telling stories.” [x]

Derek is suitably—but not necessarily suspiciously—evasive when questioned about possible connections between Valkyrie/Darquesse and The Unnamed. [x]

Skulduggery probably can’t seal his true name, without a heart to carve the appropriate symbols into. [x]

“Okay, but when does Ghastly come back to life?” / “On a Tuesday.” [x]

We’ll find out about Valkyrie’s infamous “vision boyfriend” that Cassandra Pharos saw back in Last Stand of Dead Men. [x]

Again, Derek heavily implies we’ll see the return of alternate-universe Mevolent in future books. [x]

“I've left it open enough so that I COULD link [Skulduggery Pleasant and Demon Road], but I don't think I will, unless I have an awesome idea for a crossover...” [x]

Derek was originally intending to reveal what Saracen’s power is, but now he’s unsure if he ever will. [x]

We’ll find out what strange thing Dusk tasted in Valkyrie’s blood back in Dark Days; it was already confirmed that it was neither her Ancient lineage, or her Darquesse alter-ego. [x]

Necromancers have yet to successfully figure out a way to harness their powers without the use of an imbued object. [x]

Derek is unsure if he’ll ever write (another) Dead Men short story set during the war, as short stories are incredibly time-consuming. [x]

We’ll find out as we progress through Phase Two what, exactly, made Skulduggery quit his job at the Sanctuary. [x]

“China’s charm works on EVERYONE.” [x]

The Reflection would’ve been unable to approach the Book of Names. [x]

It’s possible for a sorcerer who has discovered their true name to achieve power equal to, or greater than, the Ancients/Faceless Ones. [x]

Valkyrie has “not yet” dressed up as Skulduggery for Halloween. [x]

“Love is love, is it not?” [x]

Gracious O’Callahan is based on one of Derek’s friends. [x]

“Where did Skulduggery find the Bentley?” / “In the Bentley shop.” [x]

The Book of Names was not the only way to discover one’s True Name, and the Book itself was created by the Ancients. [x]

“The pop culture references simply reflect the times in which the books are set. The problem is that pop culture can date a book pretty fast, but I tend not to care about things like that.” [x]

Before Skulduggery died, his face was apparently “like, super handsome and stuff.” [x] (As if that surprises anyone...)

“You can use sigils if you're, say, an Elemental, but you can't get to China's level unless you devote yourself to the discipline.” [x]

Lord Vile is not mute, he just doesn’t like to speak. [x]

It’s a possibility that we might see a villain in future who has control over older, more visceral forms of magic. (Although, I can’t say Derek’s response was notably promising, but who knows?) [x]

“Omen has a definite journey in these books. He's just trying to figure out who he is, and find his place in the world.” [x]

“Darquesse is either A) kicking Faceless One ass or B) having her ass kicked by Faceless Ones. Vile hasn't gone anywhere...” [x]

Derek promises that we haven’t seen the last of shunters, again pretty much confirming a return to the Leibniz Universe. [x]

“Solomon always liked the name, which is why he took it... and he HAD [nine] brothers but they all died mysteriously. VERY mysteriously.” [x]

Fletcher was supposed to die early on, but Derek changed his mind. [x]

Solomon Wreath once had a pet gerbil, apparently. [x]

“The Taken Name is a psychological protection, so literally all you have to do is decide on your new name, and there you go.” [x]

We may possibly get more short stories set before the first book. [x]

“As powerful as Vile was, Mevolent was more so.” [x]

There are no plans to tell us much more, if anything, about Skulduggery’s family. [x] (However, we have previously been promised that Midnight will delve a little more into Skulduggery’s past.)

“Is there any way of bringing Tanith and Ghastly back together?” / “Sure. I’ll just have to kill Tanith.” [x]

Derek listens to music while he writes: “Soundtracks only—no lyrics! Star Wars, Marvel, Pirates of the Carribbean—anything big and bombastic.” [x]

Serpine has apparently used Skulduggery’s ribcage as a xylophone. [x]

Darquesse’s personality shifted away from Valkyrie’s because “she changed once her power grew; her consciousness expanded.” [x]

“[Skulduggery]’s unlikely to be the only one who's ever figured out how to do it, but I like to think that anyone else who learned how to fly lost their focus mid-flight and died screaming all the way down...” [x]

Following the death of Anton Shudder, the Midnight Hotel has been passed on to a different (unknown) owner. [x]

There probably won’t be any extra books or short stories about Milo, of Demon Road trilogy fame. [x]

We pretty much already know this, but: “[Skulduggery] is one of the few magically ambidextrous people out there.” [x]

If Derek had the chance to rewrite the series, he would save Ghastly. [x]

Skulduggery’s guilty pleasure is “watching old movies.” [x]

“Tanith is keeping busy, and Militsa SO fancies Val...” [x]

Billy-Ray Sanguine’s magic is earth-focused, so technically it could be classified as an Elemental ability, but because he’s so specialised and his powers are so unique, it’s counted as an Adept discipline. [x]

Elders are elected. [x] (But apparently, Supreme Mages are not...)

“At this point in her life, I'd say Val is probably closing in on bisexual, but heteromantic. So far.” [x]

“[Thrasher] had a mother, but she has sadly passed.” [x]

Apparently, Mevolent’s three generals were “cool with each other,” and “they had game nights and everything.” [x] (Inexplicably, I got scolded by an anon for saying that this was more than likely a joke.)

Valkyrie and Tanith’s dynamic may have changed following the events of the last books, but we’ll have to wait and see “if and when they meet again.” [x]

“There are parts I wish had slightly different rules linked to them, which would have made it easier to use these things in later books, but nothing I regret as such, no.” [x]

Mobile phones still worked when Skulduggery and Valkyrie were in Hammer Lane Gaol (in Kingdom of the Wicked) because... magic! [x]

There are no plans, and there probably never will be, to tell us whether Skulduggery’s child was a boy or a girl. [x]

Derek knew that Erskine Ravel was probably going to end up being the main antagonist in the book in which he was introduced, but he only knew for definite by the time he was writing the book after that. [x]

Again (because when do they not?), someone asked whether there would be a movie or a tv show based on the series, and as always, the answer is: hopefully yes, but no news yet. [x]

Derek would consider writing for Doctor Who again if asked, but he generally prefers having complete ownership over his writing—so he can kill whichever characters he wants. [x]

I don’t know why this was asked, but in case anyone was wondering, Skulduggery and Serpine are not related. [x]

[salmankhanholics]

★ Why Salman Khan Is Unstoppable!

28 JUNE 2018  GIRIDHAR JHA

Salman Khan is running no race, he’s riding high on pure stardom. Content be damned.

#Law and order under the Modi government has gone for a toss. I put two tickets of Race 3 in my car. Some idiots broke the window and left two more.

A surfeit of tweets—some hilarious, others acerbic—has swamped social media of late, cocking a snook at Salman Khan’s latest outing, Race 3, as ‘the biggest bore of the decade’ and ‘a sure-shot cure for the insomniacs’. This year’s much-vaunted Eid release has been mauled just as savagely by film critics, a few of them trashing it as simply insufferable.

Worse still, the film has made it to the IMDb list of ‘lowest-rated movies’ where it shares the dubious distinction with the likes of  Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag (2007), The Legend of Drona (2008), Tees Maar Khan (2010), Himmatwala (2013), Humshakals (2014) and Kya Kool Hain Hum 3(2016)—all unmitigated disasters of our times.

In fact, some of Salman’s die-hard followers appear to be so disappointed with this movie that they have, for once, asked him not to take them for granted. ““Bhai,, don’t do films like Race 3,” a distraught fan tweeted in anguish after seeing the film. “It is not up to your standard.”

Under the best of circumstances, such reactions ought to have set off the alarm bells for a lesser star, but not the reigning monarch of B-town. Far from it, Bhai, as Salman is affectionately called, is having the last chuckle—he’s laughing out loud all the way to the bank. Remo D’Souza’s directorial venture has already crossed a commercial milestone, having notched up more than Rs 160 crore in India and Rs 250 crore worl­dwide in just about ten days. Quite an achievement for a film pilloried for its tacky plot, sloppy direction and deadpan acting!

But then, in an industry where stars are made and maimed every Friday, nothing matters more than what a movie ultimately earns at the ticket window. Race 3 may have been dismissed as a veritable affront to the aesthetic sense and sensibility by many a connoisseur of good cinema, but its box-­office figures have only underlined the enduring mass appeal of the 52-year-old warhorse, who remains a darling of the dress circle regardless of his receding hairline and protracted court cases.

But why is a star with unexceptional histrionic prowess still so popular with the masses? What are the factors that have sustained him as an alchemist at the cash counters? Ali Abbas Zafar, director of two of Salman’s recent blockbusters, Sultan (2016) and Tiger Zinda Hai (2017), puts it conclusively: “It is very important for a superstar to connect, communicate and maintain a relationship with his audiences through his films. I think the audiences see absolute honesty in the way he leads his personal life, as also in the way he portrays his roles,” Zafar tells Outlook. “It invariably touches a chord with the audiences who flock to the theatres to watch his films over and over again. It’s a factor that simply cannot be defined.”

Zafar, now at the helm of Salman’s next, Bharat, believes every movie has its own journey and destiny as far as commercial success is concerned. “We cannot measure it against the superstardom of an actor. While making a movie, nobody knows whether it will click or not,” he says. “It is something indescribable.”

The young auteur thinks that he is fortunate to have worked with as big a superstar as Salman at the outset of his career. “As a director, it is absolutely essential to highlight the USP of a big star in the best possible way,” he says. “You have to develop the character in sync with the superstardom.”

Zafar avers that the audiences are disappointed only when they find a star’s stardom putting his character in the shade. “But if the character and the stardom complement each other, as they did in Sultan, Tiger Zinda Hai and Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015), then it creates pure magic,” he states.

Noted scriptwriter Rajat Arora considers Salman’s loyal fan base to be the biggest factor behind his success.  “What is remarkable is that people from all age groups, from kids to elderly people, like him. In fact, the release of his movie is a celebration of sorts of the star, idolised by his legions of followers.”

Arora, who scripted the Salman blo­ckbuster Kick (2014), says that is why nine of his movies have done business of more than Rs 100 crore while four others crossed the Rs 200-300-crore mark. “He has really worked hard over the years to maintain his stardom. He simply gives to his audiences what they really like to see.”

Figures, of course, don’t lie. Salman has had an unparalleled run in the past decade or so. Since Dabangg (2010), his 13 consecutive movies have minted more than Rs 100 crore, a figure considered to be the benchmark for a Bollywood blockbuster. Only a couple of them, such as Jai Ho (2014) and Tubelight (2017), are considered flops. But that is because of their high production costs; otherwise they too made it to the elite 100 crore club effortlessly.

Curiously, all this has happened des­pite Salman’s apparently cavalier attitude towards his career. At a time when his illustrious contemporaries—Aamir Khan and Shahrukh Khan, the other two of the holy tinsel town trinity—are constantly striving for content-driven cinema, commensurate with their expertise and experience, the youngest of the three 1965-born Khans functions within his own world, relying more on his popularity than the script of his movie. More often than not, he takes up a project purely for emotional reasons and shows no qualms in helping out his family members and friends in bolstering their careers. From Sonakshi Sinha in Dabangg to Athiya Shetty and Suraj Pancholi in Hero (2015), many star kids owe their launches to him. As for Race 3, he has gone a step further, as its ent­ire cast, save Anil Kapoor, app­ears to be piggybacking on his charisma. High on his success, Salman seems to care too little for the criticism that he turns a movie into an extended family enterprise these days.

Critics, however, believe that the Midas touch may not last for long. “He’s not serious about picking good subjects. I thought Salman had turned a new leaf with Bajrangi Bhaijaan and Sultan but Race 3 demolished my hopes,” rues film writer Deepak Dua. “The film has too many non-actors who are in it primarily because of their close ties with him.”

Dua says Salman probably knows his range as an actor and that’s why he restricts himself to his comfort zone of masala entertainers, unlike Sha­h­rukh and Aamir. “Let alone Aamir, even Shahrukh has been trying to do things differently since the days of Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani(2000) and Asoka (2001),” he says. “It’s an altogether different matter that he has not been successful in that.”

Dua fears that Salman, at this juncture of his career, may end up committing the same blunder as yesteryear star Dhar­mendra. “Dha­r­mendra did many eminently forgettable act­ion flicks like Bag­­havat (1982) and Hukumat (1987),” he says. “I am afraid Salman is veering tow­ards the same rut, playing a he-man over and over again. Race 3 is yet another pointer to that, ” he adds.

Race 3’s success, Dua points out, is the outcome of a number of factors. “The film benefited from the brand name of the Race franchise, besides Salman’s superstardom,” he says. “Also, it was released on Eid, an occasion when even his really bad movies have done well. But it has to be borne in mind that the success of a bad movie like Race 3 will only spawn films of similar or worse quality.”

The audiences see absolute honesty in the way he leads his real and reel lives,” says Sultan director Ali Abbas Zafar.

Trade pundits, however, see the success of Race 3, in spite of the trenchant criticism, as yet ano­t­her confirmation of the saleability of Brand Salman. “Jaako raakhe Salman, maar sake naa critics (No critic can harm a Salman project,)” says veteran film trade expert Atul Mohan, twisting a popular adage used by the actor in Race 3.

Mohan, the editor of Complete Cinema, further says that Salman has never been serious about film scripts and yet he has been consistently delivering what the audiences like. “Without the audience’s support, it would not have been possible for Race 3 to earn Rs 160 crore in the first ten days of its release,” he elaborates.

Mohan even goes to the extent of saying that the criticism against and the potshots at Race 3 on social media are part of a ‘sinister campaign’ by a few people who are acting with vested interests. “When somebody becomes popular, certain people try to bring him down,” he says. “In the case of Race 3, social media was used by many as a tool to harm the prospects of Salman’s movie. But people are still flocking to theatres, despite all the trolling.”

That probably sums up the prolonged magic that Salman has cast on the audiences in recent years. Even though most of his movies are bereft of the nous of an Aamir-starrer or the purpose of a Shahrukh project, he remains the ultimate talisman at the box office—somebody who wears his X-factor like  armour and lives by what his character says in the film Kick; “Dil mein aata hoon, samajh mein nahin (I come into the heart,  not the mind.)”

[comfortablynumbonthepuzzle]

Mike/Will Season 2, Episode 2: A Shot-By-Shot Analysis

Hi everyone! I know it’s a little late, but here’s the second installment of my Shot-by-shot analysis of Will & Mike’s friendship in season 2, to celebrate ST’s renewal for season 3! 

If you haven’t, check out my post about Will Byers’ sexual identity, which you can read here. It’s by no means a comprehensive analysis, but it’s a relevant precursor to this series. Note that it was written before I’d heard about the stranger things bible clip, which basically confirms it, which you can read here.

If you’re just now discovering this, read part one of the series here. Give it a reblog if you’re so inclined, distribution keeps the work alive :)

Please no negativity or homophobia. I welcome commentary but keep it respectful. 

And so, we begin with episode 2. This one was pretty fun to do. Let’s begin!

1. Will’s room, morning

In this scene, Joyce finds Will’s drawings, and worries he’s had another episode. Will lies when pressed, saying the sketches are meant to accompany a story he’s writing.

This scene is important for a number of reasons, though primarily because we know Will doesn’t normally lie. The basic premise of that first exchange between Joyce and Hopper in season one is that Will does not lie, cheat, or otherwise deceive, so Joyce is able to register the sinister implications of his disappearance even when others don’t. We also see in that episode that Will is unable to lie to Mike about losing in Dungeons and Dragons. That scene between Will and Mike is one of the few scenes we’re given of Will independent of his supernatural trauma and the only one that’s not a flashback, indicating that honesty, or at least integrity, is meant to be a core part of Will’s personality. (It’s worth noting that Will is also repeatedly identified as ‘good at hiding’, which I think is an interesting contrast to his being honest, as well as a metaphor for his sexual identity and possibly a subtextual hint, but that’s another post).

That Will lies to Joyce is an indicator of the extent to which he wants to avoid what we know are the consequences of disclosing his ‘episodes’. For example, he’s pulled out of school and socially ostracized. He’s alienated from his classmates and friends. He’s observed and tested on by doctors who in large part fail to recognize his humanity. He’s robbed of his privacy and allowed no real sense of autonomy or independence. He’s offered no substantial hope of recovery, as doctors are seemingly unable to diagnose or treat him meaningfully. And his episodes are framed, and treated, as a pathology, which likely affects his self-image profoundly.

And beyond the personal and social ramifications of disclosing his episodes, there’s the very real matter of the episodes themselves. Will, whether he recognizes it at this point in the series or not, is facing a very serious, very dangerous threat, and I imagine there’s a part of him that is desperate to believe his episodes are psychosomatic. (We see this play out later on when Will takes Bob’s misguided advice and tries to excise the shadow monster verbally).

And so Will lies.

This demonstrates to us the extent to which his time in the upside down has changed him and his relationships, just as it has changed Mike. I wrote in my last post that Mike’s fundamental character traits change after the events of season 1, and though we see less of this in Will, I think the same is true for him. I also wrote that Mike seems to be his best, true self only with Will. Given that Will tells Mike (and only Mike) the truth about the shadow monster in the “crazy together” scene, it would appear that Will is his best/true self with Mike.

2. Bike/School scene(s)

In this scene, Mike, Dustin and Lucas ride up to the school in their ghostbuster costumes, and are shortly joined by Will. Mike and Lucas begin an argument almost immediately, because both have dressed as Peter Venkman (Bill Murray’s lead character).

The Mike/Lucas relationship is really interesting. It’s worth noting they’re both competing to represent Venkman, who is essentially the leader of the group. I think it’s a fitting argument for describing their relationship, and echoes the conflicts they had in season 1.

While we see less of it in season two, Mike and Lucas clash frequently, and it makes sense. They’re two sides of the same coin: both are leaders and feel very passionately about their friends and relationships, as well as the right course of action in dealing with problems that arise. Both are powerful/fiery personalities, a bit stubborn, a bit sarcastic, and a bit self-righteous. Both are mellowed somewhat by the other boys in the group. Will is a quiet complement to the rambunctiousness of the rest of the party, while Dustin is genuinely good-natured, sweet, and functions as a kind of dopey comic relief. They even out the sometimes fiery temperaments of Lucas and Mike, both occasionally playing mediator between the two. Dustin does so in season one by orchestrating an elaborate apology between them, while Will, to an admittedly lesser extent, tries to pacify them in this scene by suggesting there can be “two Venkmans.”

I think this is relevant firstly because it (to me) makes sense that two fiery personalities might naturally lead to divisions where each passionate person is paired with someone less intense (ie: Lucas/Dustin and Mike/Will) and also because the parallels between Mike and Lucas (including their skepticism of the others’ love interests) could (MAYBE) hint at a possible love triangle with Mike, Will, Eleven, considering that Dustin and Lucas are in one with Max. (But again I'm really not too sold on the idea of a love triangle.) 

What’s interesting about this Ghostbusters-specific conflict is that it highlights how the personalities of Venkman, Stanz, and Egon (or, parts of them) complement those of Mike, Lucas, Dustin and Will. The selection of who is which Ghostbuster is absolutely a conscious decision by the Duffers, but we also learn that the boys themselves selected which character they wanted to represent. It’s interesting to imagine the boys watching this movie and identifying with certain characters, etc.

Stanz, like Dustin, is the goofy comic relief. Lucas and Mike are both Venkman, because they’re both passionate leaders and (kind of) anti-heroes. Will, like Spengler, is an incredibly smart scientist, who expresses no interest in women, even when they express interest in him. I think this part is very important. Ghostbusters is full of overt sexually charged moments: Venkman has a heterosexual romantic storyline, and there’s a prolonged scene where Stanz has a weird sexual dream involving a female ghost (honestly, what?). Spengler, on the other hand, not only does not have a female love interest, but dismisses, several times, a woman who’s clearly interested in him. Spengler’s apparent lack of interest in women is a conscious contrast to Venkman and Stanz (though more Venkman), who are preoccupied wholly with sex. It’s meant to be a part of his personality.

Will, unlike Mike, Dustin and Lucas, expresses no interest in women either. It makes complete sense to me that a) the Duffers would liken him to Spengler at least partially for this reason, and b) that in a movie that frequently depicts straight sexuality, Will would feel drawn to his character. 

Also, this may seem like reading too much into it, but the boys’ costumes are obviously conscious choices. Lucas and Dustin’s are identical, they look store bought, while Mike’s and Will’s are not. We know that Joyce made Will’s, because we saw her doing it. Not sure what this means about anything, but it’s interesting to look at, considering that costume design is a VERY VERY conscious effort. Read an article about it here.

This visual was first evident to me because Mike and Will walk next to each other, and Dustin and Lucas walk next to each other. Also worth noting that dustin and Lucas have lockers next to each other, and it seems like Mike and Will have theirs elsewhere.  

3. Trick or treating

When they come out of the house in loch Nora, Will and mike are walking together while Dustin and Lucas walk with Max.

Will is filming Mike using Bob’s camera. Mike’s clearly mad because Max has come along, even more so that she’s come along without his approval. He asks Will if he agreed to her being invited, and when Will responds that he didn’t think Mike would mind, Mike tells Will he “should’ve checked with [him] first” and that “[Max] is ruining the best night of the year.” He then walks away, leaving Will alone, visibly upset at having angered Mike.

This scene again reinforces, pretty boldly, that Mike and Will are a pair. That not only do they consult each other before doing things, they expect that the other person affirms and approves a decision before it’s made. They’re a unit.

4. Shadow Monster

When Will is again suddenly transplanted to the Upside Down, he calls for Mike, and only Mike, repeatedly. 

Now, this analysis operates under the basic assumption that everything is intentional. This scene in particular reminds me of the one between Will and Jonathan in the first episode, where Will criticizes his friends and family for babying him, and implicates Joyce, Dustin and Lucas but avoids Mike. Of course, we can assume that the exclusion of Mike was accidental, but I think it’s far more likely that the line was intended to communicate something in particular and executed very subtly. I think it’s the same here. The Duffers could’ve easily had Will call for Dustin or Lucas, but he doesn’t. He calls only for Mike, three or four times. Even if it means nothing, it was still a creative choice and that in and of itself warrants notice.

I think Will has come to rely on Mike for some sort of guidance or protection, from both supernatural and human troubles. It’s Mike that comes after Will, saying “I couldn’t find you.” Mike is probably the one who noticed Will was missing (again). He insists on taking Will home, alone, indicating perhaps that Mike doesn’t want to relinquish his caretaker role to anyone in the group. I wrote in my last post that Will and Mike have a sort of symbiosis, where Will needs Mike, and Mike needs Will to need him, and this relationship helps them cope with the traumatic events of season 1. I think this is where we see this dynamic start to play out more perceptibly, and it all culminates in the next scene.

5. “Crazy together”

Tumblr for some reason won't let me add more gifs, so I’m going to do a separate post with a full analysis. Coming soon, I promise! Sorry guys :( 

But anyway... that’s it for episode 2! I hope you liked it and as always let me know if there’s anything I missed! 

[reusmater-blog]

INNER WORKINGS / HEADCANONS ( 1/? ).

In no particular order, below are some of the many headcanons I've been wanting to type out. This makes my first official headcanon post on this blog of mine. Since that's the case, I'll give a quick preface. To make it clear, this is the muse's mindset. Everything here is from her point of view. It's a close look inside of her mind and heart. With the exception of other muses capable of reading thoughts, most of these things are things other muses are / should be unaware of. She doesn't wear her heart of her sleeve, and is difficult to understand because of that.

Relevant trigger warnings I can think of: abandonment, alcohol, death 

During her time at Beacon, she was a notorious thief. Or rather, she would have been were she not so skilled at concealing her acts of thievery. From textbooks to entire meals, her first response - her predominant instinct - when faced with a lack of something required was: scrutinize her surroundings, discover who nearby possessed that which she needed, and covertly misappropriate it. While she mastered the art of stealth at a young age, that’s not to say that no one at all ever caught onto her. It’s just that very few managed to take notice of her inclinations. Also, she actually found a certain immature satisfaction in setting back huntsmen and huntresses. Since huntsmen and huntresses were inconveniencing her tribe - the very people she was loyal to, bothering them in turn felt like seeking vengeance in a way and she’s not at all opposed to seeking revenge. She never has been and never will be.

Part of the reason for her overall bitterness is her profound care for Summer Rose. She was one of the first people to show her genuine warmth and unconditional kindness. It was like being exposed to sunlight after b\growing accustomed to murky skies. Losing her made the world a bleaker place, and caused her cynicism to fester. This actually ties into another thing I’ve been wanting to cover. Before Beacon, it was her and Qrow working together. He was her most dependable ally, most cherished friend, trustworthy confidant, and the closest thing to family that she knew. Together, they’d been tasked with learning about those who caused problems for the group of individuals who’d raised them in order to put an end to it and protect their tribe. Then, she ended up meeting Summer and Tai. It took a good while ( primarily because of Raven’s thorny personality ), but she eventually formed meaningful bonds with them. She watched as Qrow abandoned their first cause / the path that had been established before they entered the schooling scene. She watched as he became enamored with this perilous plight of Ozpin’s and abandoned the people who seemed to have earn his loyalty first. The people she believe he should have continued to offer his loyalty to above all - after her. She watched as Summer’s demise became the price of Ozpin’s interest in their team. Before that, she watched as Tai too sided with a cause she’d found to be futile, daunting, and costly. In the end, due to her perception of these events, she continues to blame Oz for all of it - for taking so much from her. Thus, the reason why she’s so distasteful of him. She believes Tai blindly followed Oz, she believes Summer’s kindness - however inviting and heartwarming - played a significant role in her untimely demise, she believes Qrow willingly betrayed her and the Branwen tribe in favor of supporting Oz in something deadly, and yet she also blames Oz. Yes, there are other reasons why she despises Ozpin, but it’s primarily because of this unknowable hurt that she’s experienced because of those things that she carries such abhorrence. She also blames Salem and this war at large for Summer’s demise. The war has stolen so much from her already that she doesn’t want to lose more because of it and she feels that the last substantial thing that she has is the tribe. It’s why Vernal’s passing wounded her so deeply. She’d formed a particularly close bond with Vernal despite initially intended to keep her at arm's length as she typically prefers to do for multiple reasons. To watch this person who bypassed her barriers and earned a place in her heart fall in the crossfire of an endless battle being waged by two people she believes see others as mere pawns is both enraging and heartbreaking. 

Something that actively contributes to the jaundice that she carries in her heart to this day is this apparent tendency those she's connected to have to use her for some reason or another. Whether it's to acquire information pertaining to some element of the war or to exploit her semblance, it always seems to her as if she's purely being seen for what she possesses or what she's capable of rather than who she is. It's one of the numerable reasons why she can treat most people so coldly. Her experiences have instilled in her a seemingly imperishable belief that most people are inherently opportunistic. The only people who have proven that it isn't the case with every living being are Tai, Summer, and Vernal. It's also because of this that she feels alone more now than ever.

When it comes to liquor, she has an outstanding tolerance. It takes a lot to get her drunk. She prefers hard liquor and red wine. Part of the reason why these preferences came to be is that she's always wanted to be perceived as tough and independent. She also started drinking at a young age, but she never developed the same habits as her brother. She doesn't drink as frequently, it's easier to spot her consuming coffee to tea than liquor. Nowadays, she drinks when alone for the most part. A big reason for this is that she doesn't trust anyone and is so cautious that she actively avoids taking unnecessary risks around strangers or those who particularly come across as ruthless or coldblooded.

She has a tendency to dispense with pleasantries and common courtesy. It's all just frivolous nonsense to her when it's more than likely the person is just trying to determine how best they can use her to fulfill their own needs. She prefers to cut to the chase. If she's thanking someone of her own volition, it speaks volumes of her feelings toward the person receiving her gratitude. On that note, it takes a lot to get her to apologize to someone or admit that she's wrong or has done something wrong. She clings to her convictions and does everything for a reason. Admitting a mistake would invalidate her actions and produce guilt that she'd have to live with. She's someone who runs from her guilt because it can interfere with her actions and worsen the struggle she faces in controlling her emotions as opposed to enabling them to control her. On that note, without going too deep into it since I plan on dedicating an entire headcanon post just to this topic at a later time because there really is so much to be said, she has mixed feelings about her absence in Yang's life. Again, she has a reason for everything and believes she did what was best. The best chance any child of hers could have had at having a good childhood was away from her and away from the tribe. She knew that despite his naivety and foolishness, Tai would be able to offer the kindness and gentleness that she couldn't provide. In addition and secondary to that, she knew that she wouldn't have been able to offer the time and energy required of her as a tribe member while simultaneously fulfilling the duties involved with motherhood to the best of her ability. Her loyalty lied with her origins - with the Branwen tribe, and she was determined to not let her schooling go to waste. In other words, she wanted to remain faithful to the mission she'd been tasked with prior to heading to Beacon. In her eyes, it was the best solution to enable her to remain faithful to those who'd first earned her loyalty, to enable her to provide the best possible chance for her daughter to have a good future, and to sufficiently distance herself from the disconcerting truths she'd discovered during her brief time of assisting Ozpin. Although she still believes there was no better option, there's something indescribable within her that leaves her uncertain. In addition to deliberately allowing Yang to knowingly take an item that would undoubtedly endanger her, that distinct possibility of there having been a different way - a better way - to have handled things in the past prompted her to apologize toward the conclusion of Volume 5's final events. Both things persuaded her to apologize. 

[rainbowrites]

Meme me baby one more time

Tagged by @wellntruly, I am HONORED

@soundingonlyatnightasyousleep, because you’re a part of one of my answers!!

Color(s) I’m currently wearing: I’m at work wearing blue jeans and a white shirt with MAD FRILLS in the front covered by a tight black sweater thing. This sounds like I coordinated, but really the shirt and sweater thing come together. I mostly talk to people on the phone at this job so I don’t bother dressing up.

But YESTERDAY, oh man. I wore some nice black slacks, a plain white T and the COOLEST JACKET EVER. It was a Style jacket, not a Warmth jacket, my mom had gotten it made for her in Bali 20 years ago and it’s a dusky black covered in gleaming gold flowers and trailing vines. I paired it with a necklace that had a black thread and gold pendant. To quote my boyfriend ‘I’ve never said this before but... you look so well put-together’

Last band I saw live: It was Dessa, on a ticket that Elly bought for me which is good because I Hate Buying Band Tickets. I got spoiled by going to Florence concerts for free. It was a cool concert, mostly in that it was SO TINY that I could have literally reached out and touched Dessa any time I wanted. Also remarkable for Dessa hugging me and Elly completely losing their head and yelling THE GAYS LOVE YOU which I followed up with ‘the bisexuals think you’re pretty cool too’

Last song(s) I listened to: I have been listening to Counting Stars every morning as I walk to work for the past two weeks because I get into one song at time lol

Lipstick or chapstick: I love weirdly colorful lipstick, although I’ve been wearing it less nowadays because it inevitably just ends up smeared across my boyfriend’s chin because I’m a LUST MONSTER with no self control. Even with lipsticks I have been specifically told are kiss-proof. They’re not ME proof apparently

Last movie I watched: A Wrinkle in Time and I was so disappointed. Gorgeous visuals but they watered down the characters so much I felt like I barely knew who they were. Yes the adult characters were awesome, but they spent so much time on them that I felt like I didn’t get to know my main three kids, which removed the emotional resonance of Meg’s ‘faults’

Last three TV shows I watched: Superstore, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and Black-ish because I’m a slut for 30 min ensemble comedies. Although Black-ish is doing a MULTI-EPISODE serious arc about marriage and divorce and omg I am Here For It!!!!!! I love when comedies take a knee to say ‘hey, some shit doesn’t wrap up nicely in a bow at the end of one 30 min episode’

Last three characters I identified with: I realize this was a year ago but I still get shook sometimes thinking about Bow in Black-ish struggling with her biracial identity and how much I wish I’d seen that growing up, even though hell, it still made made me cry watching it as an adult (I am half-Chinese, half-white, raised primarily by white people surrounded by white people but looking Very Asian)

also John Mulaney saying ‘My wife is Jewish, I grew up Catholic, so we got married by a friend. Being married by a friend is a beautiful ceremony that alienates both families' religions, while confusing the elderly people at the wedding.’ My boyfriend is VERY Jewish while I am Distinctly Not (Episcopalians what up) so this made me DIE

and finally, this image

Book(s) I’m currently reading: I’m mostly reading school books, but I’m listening to Mark Reads Discworld because a) Discworld is amazing and b) I love watching him freak out over it