#but don’t worry it’s not like. organized religious trauma :))))) but that does fit too. if you squint. more gallifrey than either of them.

[canisonicscrewyou]

nobody touch me I’m starting to make a religious trauma inspired thoschei playlist for reasons.

[cienie-isengardu]

What's with the Black Dragon in MK, they confuse me?

I know they are a branch off of the Red Dragon, who they left because they thought the Red Dragon was too moral.

And they are lead by Kano, who has no morals and as an absolute piece of shit.

Kano doesn't confuse me.

Kabal "I used to be B.D. but decided to be a good guy cop, and even Raiden wanted on his team" and Erron Black "I might be a feminist/sexist man, because I never throw the first punch with women, and also seem soft of kids, unless they pay me a lot to shot them"

Both of these guys, who are the only other B.D. members I know of, are morally gray at best, which is what the what the Black Dragon left the Red Dragon because of?! So why aren't they just Red Dragon, and why does the Black Dragon even exist (other than to pad Kanos crotch)?!

To be honest, I’m not sure myself what is the deal between Black and Red Dragons (not the fraction / era of games I’m familiar or interested in) but I suspect it is something similar to the situation of Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu. At some point some rogue element decided to leave and created his/her/their own organisation and since then both groups hate each other’s guts. And somehow along the line Kano took over Black Dragons and extended its operation to Outworld. I’m unable to comment on the “moral code” of Red Dragons because really, what is an honor in a crime organisation anyway, but sadly, alternative timeline doesn’t focus much on this conflict so Kano has (on screen) monopoly on dealing with weapons and other black market deals.

Whatever the excuse was to split, it was most likely about power and control or revenge than any morality whatsoever.

As for the members alone, I think it is less a matter of their morality and more why they joined or worked with Black Dragons in the first place. People join criminal organizations for money, for the thrill of danger, for protection or because they lack better options. Not sure how it was before Outworld Invasion and Netherrealm War, but the game does not show us the actual state of modern (alternative timeline) Earthrealm, or at least modern USA society. I mean, in a short period of time, out of nowhere came armies of monsters twice, murdering people right and left, destroying cities. The rebuilding for sure took time but beside the lasting psychological trauma, I’m sure the survivors demanded answers as to what the hell happened and did the governments know about other realms. It is not stated how much common people know now about Mortal Kombat and Outworld or general history of conflict, but the last invasion and the Netherrealm War changed the world in an irreversible way. We don’t have an idea about the situation of average citizens nor how countries managed to stave off political, cultural or economic post-war crises. We have a clue about show business like movie making and military operating inside and outside Earthrealm and cooperation between fractions representing different countries and/or continents. Our main heroes seem to do well, money-wise at least, but they all are in this or another way related to the military thus working for the government (or United Nations / NATO / whatever political-economic union happened post-war). That however does not rule out the possibility there are people who were abandoned or forgotten by their government, who were marginalised for whatever big or small reason. With what happened it is easy for me to imagine how humanity was militarized in case of another attack, and in result, how societies were controlled more tightly by their governments. In theory all for the security means but it easily could escalate into social inequalities increasing with each passing year.

There is a lot of worldbuilding the games did not tell us about but would help greatly to understand the relationship between characters, fractions and countries. Are there arenas that are now closed off due to some magic contamination or became the lawless zones but people live there because they are too poor to move into safer places? Are there more young people with special powers due to raping or magic means, as the remnant of the war? How religions work now, when humanity saw an army of demons? Are religious wars escalated, especially if faith in Elder Gods get renewed? Did religious fanatics start cultural crusades against certain social groups (like LGBT+, atheists, anyone tied to Outworld or at least looking unnatural, like orphaned Frost?).

And the more society is tightly controlled, divided into poor, unwanted and written off against the privileged ones (military), the more people rebel against authority. Which is how Black Dragons may fit into the new times, as a niche for desperate, angry people with little to none perspective on life. Under Kano’s guard, they can be as violent and uncaring as they want. They can hurt a government (military), get good money and fun and until they are caught, there is only Black Dragon’s laws (or lack of therefor) to worry about.

(Looking how extremely violent the Special Forces were during the raid on Black Dragon’s hideout, how Cassie went straight for killing instead of just injuring to arrest the criminals and put them before justice, I wouldn’t be surprised if the army was not popular anymore. And yeah, Cassie wanted to save her parents but as a soldier, she is bound to respect law… that may be much different than we known from our reality)

We, as gamers (viewers) know what scumbag Kano is because we see his crimes and how he interacts with other characters. To what awful level he managed terrifying strong heroes like Sonya. But most of Black Dragon members may know him just as the charismatic leader that time after time outsmart the Special Forces and always get a good-paying job for them, whatever it is a deal in the country or a totally different realm.

And those named characters that left are those who actually experienced on their own skin what a nasty bastard Kano was. Like in Mortal Kombat X Comics Series, Erron joined forces with Black Dragons out of desperation to help Kotal which ended badly for him because Kano left him to die, thus Erron’s personal hate for Kano and his buddies. Similar thing seems to happen with Tremor, sent on a suicidal mission and then also left behind without any care or remorse. Frankly, only MK9!Kabal seems to have left Black Dragons for moral reasons and actually made proper life changing decisions like joining the police and help citizens instead of serving criminals.

Because of that, I can see why Kano, despite his true nature, is actually admired or followed by a bunch of angry, rebellious, sociopathic people and why Black Dragons are doing well despite Special Forces (and Red Dragons) hunting them for decades.

[lebenspurpur]

33 and 21 bestie

33. what is the best way to spend Halloween, in your opinion?

I love just strolling around my city's streets, dressed in a costume but one that captures my original personality. I love scaring other "older" people out in the streets and I love gifting the trick-and-treating children my candy, I have a really weird soft spot for kids.

21. is there a scary story that really frightens you or that just really stuck with you? a legend, a myth, something purely fictitious?

I know so many scary stories, sometimes it's really difficult to keep track of all of them.

Something unfortunately really real that stuck with me until today though (TW religious trauma??):

Also haha long story ahead, I think it's worth reading but hey, your decision, champ. My therapist would be so proud of me for sharing this *wipes tear*.

As a child, around 8 years old or so, I was in a summer camp around an hour's drive away from my town. It was for around 7 to 11 or 12-year-olds.

I didn't know anyone in the camp but it was about horses and trust me, at that time, horses were the shit for me. It was organized by this free protestant church. I wasn't raised as a catholic and I remember being worried about them finding out. My mom reassured me that nothing would happen to me.

So everything's fine, I arrive there, my mom leaves and I meet my "tent mates". They've been at this camp before and I asked them how it was, hoping for a good time.

They told me it was a great camp and I, relieved, proceeded to enjoy my first day. The camp was around 10 days long and after one night, I already noticed weird things.

Not only did we have to pray in silence every single morning at 7 o'clock and before meals, riding was also really not the main focus of the camp. We spend maybe an hour a day doing it.

The main supervisor told us he wanted to surprise his girlfriend and propose. He also told us he'd need our help. We'd have to make a "hallway" out of our hands that she could walk through.

Excited, we all did as he asked. She walked through our little tunnel, super confused. He asked her the question and she... said no.

Heartbroken, the main supervisor started crying and we all confusedly watched his girlfriend rush away into the fields behind our tents. That was the last time we saw her.

The next morning we overheard the other counselors whispering over her disappearance and how they saw her leave in a black van with a stranger. They joked about a secret boyfriend but most of them were truly concerned, thinking about a possible kidnapping.

We were in the middle of nowhere so everything seemed a little more threatening.

During the next two days, things got worse.

The girlfriend didn't show up not did she contact anyone. By now we were sure it was a kidnapping. The counselors told us they knew about who might've kidnapped her and we had to help them find that person.

Worrying about our all safety, all the children agreed to help them. By now, more supervisors, as well as children, had started to disappear.

The counselors proceeded to send us on these very long searches in the middle of the night. They made it seem like a scavenger hunt, something fun, but they had us search for ominous, threatening notes sometimes hid in bushes, human-looking dolls,, or traps (I don't think they were dangerous but they looked real.).

I went on one of them but it scared me to death.

The second night I stayed home, much to the dismay of the supervisors. They shamed everyone who wanted to stay in the tent, threatening them to leave them alone in the camp.

I stayed in my tent anyway, too frightened to leave again. It didn't help that these little "scavenger hunts" took place in the forest.

They told the truth, I was left alone in the tent for the time of the hunt, which was around two to three hours.

The only thing these notes we found told us anyway, was that there was this huge, powerful, and influential person that kidnapped the one girlfriend.

Suddenly the supervisors told us a different story. Apparently, this influential person didn't mean anything bad, and we were supposed to help them.

So the next day we made a shrine with the notes, we even picked flowers. This person was a god now, we even kind of had to pray to it.

The camp was nearing its end and I could not have been happier. I don't think I had ever felt that scared before.

The last evening we made a giant meal. They had us hang a huge cross on the wall across from us.

We ate, everything seemed calm for once. Then, one adult stood up and told us that they'd made a speech.

It was about the influential person, the missing people, and how we'd fix all this.

The solution was easy, the person wanted an offering, a sacrifice and it'd have to be one of us children.

The table went quiet as the supervisors walked through our seats, looking for a fitting offering. They had an unbelievably frightened little girl in their grip as everything stopped. And they laughed.

The next hour was spent with the supervisors explaining that this all had been a joke, a story they told. They read the bible to us, especially the story they based this whole shit off was read multiple times.

At that time, I only felt relief, not anger. Nowadays I feel mad at how delusional someone has to be to scare little children into believing they're not safe for a whole fucking week.

End of the story, the children and the adults reappeared, healthy and having a good time. The man who wanted to propose told us the, apparently hilarious, story of how he had to dribble lemon juice into his eyes to get that "i-cried-the-whole-night" look.

My mom got me the next morning, interested in what I had to tell. I didn't say anything until we were in the car, numbingly explaining the events that had happened to me.

My mom was shocked, too shocked to confront them about this. She drove me home, I felt safe again and it slipped to the other memories from my childhood.

In the end, the thing that I keep wondering about is the other children. There were definitely kids who had been at this camp before. Why didn't they tell anyone about this story? About the supervisors plan?

What did they get bribed with? Or... in the worst case, threatened?

The camp doesn't exist anymore. The church who planned it, does.

I still play with the thought of revisiting the whole place, see if it brings up any other emotions. My therapist loves that idea but we don't listen to her here.

I hope you got freaked out hah.

ʟɛɮɛռֆքʊʀքʊʀ

[jonthethinker]

Does the Cerberus Assembly need to be reformed, or destroyed? And can it really be either?

Let’s start with an opinion we can all agree on; Trent Ikithon sucks. He’s clearly a very bad person, and our collective hatred of him is one of the rare things this fandom seems to actually agree on. What he’s done to his “disciples” is horrifying, and his general ideology is monstrous and abhorrent, although not surprising considering the role he plays in the Empire. We can, on this, agree that the world would be a better place if he was removed from power, correct?

Now this is where I start explaining my probably very divisive opinion.

A lot of people would say that all it takes to make the Cerberus Assembly better would be to replace the members like Ikithon with Good People. Maybe Caleb Widogast, for instance. If you simply put someone with a stronger moral character into that position, then its output in turn will also be Good.

This, whether knowingly or not, implies that institutions, even those like the Cerberus Assembly, are by their nature at the very least morally neutral. That all it takes to make an institution like the Assembly be Good is have Good People run it. You do that, and with time, all is well.

But what if institutions did have a moral character? what if the responsibilities and powers given to a body like the Assembly and its requisite components are not Good or even neutral, but instead very, very bad? And what if the incentives the people deciding who stands on the Assembly, namely the members of the Assembly themselves, are actually antithetical to any ideas of a substantially reformed Assembly in the first place?

Let’s think for a minute about Trent and his job. We are all horrified by his methods of creating his Volstruckers. But as much as it bothers me, what bothers me more, personally, is what they are for. While we tend to view them as arcane assassins, what they really are is a wholly unaccountable means of performing all of the Assembly’s, and by extension the Empire’s, dirty deeds not meant for public notice. And seeing as they fall under the sole purview of the Archmage of Civil Influence, this is largely going to translate to “managing dissidence and discontent” in the polite language a body like the Assembly would use to describe its work.

What this means is that its job, and the job of Trent’s office as a whole, is to keep the wrong ideas from getting too popular and the people from getting too loud about the awfulness of their everyday lives, and inside a broader system like the Empire, this is usually going to be dealt with by means of coercion and outright violence. While it’s easy to feel sorry for the incredibly abused and tormented people under Trent’s power, like Caleb and Astrid and Eadwolf, I feel like I’m one of the few in the fandom who has really considered the true extent of terror being unleashed on so many whose faces we’ll never know.

Peasant farmers’ organizing for lower taxes on their grain sales. Laborers gathering to raise hell over the low wages they receive from mandatory state projects. Citizens concerned about the unchecked brutality of the Crown’s Guard. Religious worshipers worried the Empire is straying from the path set by their gods. The mentally ill and other people who simply don’t comfortably fit into the grand scheme of things. Races of folks seen as outsiders suspected of conflicting allegiances. How many people like this have vanished in the night, either to be imprisoned or tortured or killed, or I guess in many cases, all three? How much suffering has been caused, hidden away from any measure of accountability?

And this brings me to my next point; While Trent is truly awful, his title, and the role he plays, are also awful, and I think you don’t get into a position like that in the first place without being someone like Trent. I say this because we’ve gotten to meet a handful of people on the Assembly outside of Trent, and they’ve all generally had the same things to say about him; he gives them the creeps and they don’t like him personally, but he has his uses. I interpret this to mean he performs the responsibilities of his office well enough, and while his methods and general demeanor may be off-putting, it isn’t worth causing a fuss about so long as the work gets done. If they simply ignore what he’s doing, they get the benefits of a suppressed polity with very little of the personal hangups of what it requires to make that happen.

So let’s say, for some reason, Trent dies or is imprisoned and disgraced, and Caleb assumes his role. Caleb has experienced a remarkable amount of personal growth, although not without his own stumbles and set-backs like any victim of severe trauma such as he. He is, in my humble opinion, a Good Man. I know if given the power of this office, he’d be motivated to end the traumatizing of children, and killing of parents, and perhaps even the wholesale disbanding of the Scourgers itself. He’d maybe seek to alleviate the suffering of those his office is meant to contain instead of inflicting more pain upon them. And wouldn’t that be nice?

But when you’ve got this entrenched elite like the Empire does, those sorts of efforts are not going to go unnoticed, and in many cases, are going to cause one hell of a backlash among the powerful, who more often than not believe in their heart of hearts that those lowly commoners deserve their lot in life, and to spare the lash is to spoil the child, and soon you’ll have a bunch of peasants thinking they can go so far as to ask for actual power, actual control over the direction of their lives, and for any empire, but especially this one, how do you imagine that’s going to fly?

I’m reminded of an anecdote out of Brazilian politics. Former President Lula da Silva is one of the the most popular Brazilian political figures of all time, and managed to massively alleviate poverty in Brazil while also working with Brazil’s entrenched elite to make sure not to piss off the wealthiest of the wealthy. But the comfortably upper middle class, or “petite bourgeoisie” as Marx would call them, were disgusted that all these poor people were suddenly climbing the ladder. According to some folks, they complained “The airports are starting to look like bus stations,” because for the first time, working class people in Brazil could actually afford to fly. This discontent among the comfortable led to a chain events ending in the false arrest and imprisonment of Lula and the rise of their current terrifying president Jair Bolsonaro. I learned from this, and other tales like it, to never underestimate how angry some people will become when their special status ain’t so special anymore.

This is to say, that while Caleb is an undoubtedly brilliant man, without the potential intervention of DM magic, I don’t see someone with his lack of political savvy either holding power long or holding onto his convictions long enough to do anything meaningful, if someone like him is considered for the job in the first place. AND even if he does accomplish all those wonderful things through this office and survives until he’s old and gray, he will eventually die. And judging solely on the general quality of character among the wizards we’ve met thus far, I’m not so optimistic about his potential replacement.

This example does spill out my major beef with the whole “Good Person in power” idea of reform. Good People either can’t live up to their values and actually wield power, or the clock itself defeats them and everything they ever stood for. This is also my problem with governmental models overly dependent on norms, as all it takes is someone willing to just completely ignore them,and for the people in power around them to have no incentive to stop them, for things to completely go off the rails. This is why reforms generally don’t last unless they universally redistribute power itself, from the top to the bottom, and even this is going to come with its own backlashes, and it generally doesn’t happen from polite attempts at reform by well meaning leaders, at least not all on their own, but through the sheer force of mass movements or outright revolutions.

And its not just Trent’s office that has this problem. It’s every single seat on the Assembly. His is just a particularly egregious example. Vess DeRogna didn’t get her job by being polite, of that much I’m sure. She’s clever, devious, and patient, not to mention her skill set and interests directly line her up for the role as Archmage of Antiquity. I don’t really think her sole interest is making sure nobody gets hurt by all these artifacts lying around, and neither do I imagine the Empire itself has any intention of keeping her discoveries behind lock and key; they pretty clearly want them mass produced where they can and immediately wielded against their enemies, both foreign and domestic.

And I’ve hinted at this earlier, but if you think Trent is a unique monster in the halls of Dwendalian mages, I’m going to have to disagree. I’m certain there are more than a few wizards in service of the Assembly and the Empire, who if not already believing similarly to Trent, could easily be convinced of his convictions, and ready to use his power themselves in an eerily identical manner. People like Trent aren’t as rare as we’d like them to be, and they’re all ready to grab power just as soon as they can.

So it would seem I come firmly on the “burn it all down” side of things. If only I believed it were that simple.

You see, I see the Cerberus Assembly as an institution that exists, in its entirety, for the cementing of power of the Dwendalian Elite and the progression of its interests. It protects them from threats both from inside and out, it teaches their children magic, it helps negotiate its trade, it aids in putting food on its table, and makes sure its armed for bear with the deadliest of magic only the Age of Arcanum and ancient elves could provide. It’s very reason for existence is to uphold the way of life for those on top. Even if it competes idly for who sits at the head of the table, it very much is invested in maintaining the structure of that table.

So if it were sundered and destroyed as an institution, what is to stop its functions from simply being absorbed by the broader Empire? What’s to stop the Empire from simply recreating the Volstrucker program under a different name? What’s stopping them from hiring its wizards to perform their original tasks, just under the sole discretion of the king? So I’d wager the problem isn’t the Assembly, but the very distribution of power required to maintain an Empire like Dwendal’s in the first place. The assembly is an immoral institution upholding a much larger, equally immoral institution. And you can’t truly solve the problem without tearing the whole damn thing down.

Do I think this campaign is going to be one in which our lovely players start a revolution? Hell no. I expect Trent at least to die or be deposed, and with the aid of some DM magic, things will get a little better. But Matt has given enough consideration to the political forces present in his world building, that I wanted to treat his world as if it were subject solely to the forces and motivations our own is. Just to see how things could turn out without a generally kind god like Matthew Mercer at the helm.

Plus I just really love trying to understand how fantasy political structures would really work. It’s usually a lot less depressing than real political structures, at least in so far as there are no real consequences for their abject failures. But I’ve rambled long enough. Thank you to the poor souls who read this ramble. You’re truly wonderful.

[laurent--stpierre]

ORIGINS & FAMILY:

Name: Laurent Saint-Pierre.

Nickname: None. He hates when people try to shorten his name to anything. Last name is generally abbreviated to St. Pierre, though.

Birthday: December 28th. 

Age: 37.

Gender: Male.

Place of Birth: Élysée, Paris, France.

Places Lived Since: Launceston, Massachusetts, and Porto Velho, California, United States. Messina, Sicily, Italy.

Current Residence: Chelsea, Kensington & Chelsea.

Nationality: French. Doesn’t hold dual-nationality.

Parents: Grégoire Saint-Pierre, Céleste Évreux.

Number of Siblings: Four. Odile, Agnès Saint-Pierre (sisters), Étienne, Jean-Paul Saint-Pierre (brothers) Laurent is second youngest, after Odile. 

Children: One (that he knows of) a daughter, Gaia Cacace. That is something he has shared with nobody. Not even Odile.

Relationship With Family: It’s complicated. Growing up, Laurent’s parents were always more focused on working and their own hectic lives. It meant that the kids pretty much fended for themselves, despite the nannies, and whilst it might seem like that would have driven him closer to his siblings, the only one he ever really bonded with was his sister Odile; the single relative from Paris he still actively keeps in contact with. It was the rejection of his parents as a young boy that drove him into the streets of Paris in the first place. When he stole, they simply threw more of their wealth at him, thinking that if they bought him what he needed then he would stop. Obviously, it didn’t work, and he’s not really sure they’re sorry about it. Don’t get him wrong, it’s pretty fucked up (considering they essentially abandoned him during his prison time) but he still loves them. He just…doesn’t like them. Laurent saw them briefly when he got engaged to Claudia, but hasn’t bothered trying to see them since.

Happiest Memory:  Without a doubt, his best friend’s wedding. Laurent might not have always approved of Oliver and Aurélie’s relationship, but finally seeing the man happy after all the shit they’ve been through was important to him. That was a good fucking time. I think all of the French took count of the things they had to appreciate in their lives at that point. It was a few days where they could just celebrate and forget about all the shit they had to go back to in Launceston.

Childhood Trauma: Besides his shitty upbringing, and ignorant parents, nothing.

PHYSICAL:

Height: 5′11″

Weight: 177lbs.

Build: As we say in the UK: built like a brick shithouse. Laurent is a big guy in terms of muscle, despite having a smaller frame than some of his colleagues. Serves him well.

Hair Color: Brown.

Usual Hair Style: Usually, he doesn’t do much to it. Has a habit of just falling into a scruffy look that suits him. Is also sporting a beard for the first time in his life.

Eye Color: Blue.

Glasses? Contacts?: Neither, his eyesight is perfect.

Style of Dress/Typical Outfit(s): Laurent is incredibly picky about what he wears. He knows that it’s important to look good to make an even better first impression, and for that reason, he takes a lot of pride in his appearance. Suits make up the majority of his closet. Tom Ford three-pieces for formal, Hugo Boss for daily. If you’re lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the rare, non-suited Laurent, then he’s probably in some black jeans, a plain t-shirt, and a leather jacket.

Typical Style of Shoes: The expensive leather kind. So try not to bleed when he’s kicking you in the fucking head. 

Jewellery? Tattoos? Piercings? No piercings, no tattoos. The only jewellery he wears is his St. Clair signet ring, and it’s a great source of pride for him.

Scars: Far too many to list them all. I suppose his most obvious are the ones when he got shot up at the Versailles hotel opening. Took four gunshots that night, and was lucky to survive. Has some pretty nasty ones from his time in the basement, but thankfully they spared his face. I would imagine the rest of his body looks pretty torn up though.

Unique Mannerisms/Physical Habits: None.

Athleticism: Incredibly fit. Laurent used to compete as a junior boxer, and has definitely kept his skills up. If he’s not at Vixen, sleeping, or on the job, he’s probably working out. Does a lot more strength than cardio. Loves to fight.

Health Problems/Illnesses: Cocaine addiction. Probably only has half of his liver left, too.

INTELLECT:

Level of Education: Secondary education, at a private, Catholic school. Finished at 16.  Nothing after that.

Languages Spoken: French and English fluently. Was in the process of learning Italian for Claudia, and is pretty good at it. Would consider himself intermediate.

Level of Self-Esteem: It’s so hard to tell with him. It’s on the lower side, but he’s still incredibly confident and thinks he’s better than you? Laurent can hate all his flaws, but the rest of you bitches are not allowed to point them out.

Gifts/Talents: Besides his boxing, he is also a rather gifted pianist. It was the compromise he had to make with his mother to be able to go to the gym. As she was adamant fighting was too aggressive, he attempted to appease her with something a little more refined. Though he always acted as if he hated it, he didn’t really, and ended up being quite good at it. He even has a piano that he takes to from time to time, though if anyone asks, he doesn’t hesitate to tell them it’s just for decoration.

Mathematical?: Fuck no. 

Makes Decisions Based Mostly On Emotions, or On Logic?: A mixture of both. Laurent is influenced pretty easily by anger and frustration, and for that reason, his actions can be swayed by that. But when it comes to anything else, his feelings slip into insignificance, and he’s pretty logical.

Life Philosophy: Trust is a weakness.

Religious Stance: Was raised a God-fearing Roman Catholic. Lost his faith in prison and never really revisited the idea of religion after that. Claudia did try to encourage him back to church when they moved back to Italy, though.

Cautious or Daring?: Daring to the point of fearlessness. That’s going to have to change now he’s boss, though, and he knows that.

Most Sensitive About/Vulnerable To: People mentioning Pénélope or Michel. Also Odile. You fuck with his sister, you drive him to violence.

Optimist or Pessimist?: Pessimist.

Extrovert or Introvert?: Introvert. 90% of the time he wants you to leave him the fuck alone.

RELATIONSHIPS:

Current Relationship Status: Single

Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual.

Past Relationships: Pénélope and Claudia are the key ones. More info here.

Primary Reason For Being Broken Up With: Being closed off. Inability to commit. Being an awful fucking person. His infidelity. 

Primary Reasons For Breaking Up With People: Boredom. Laurent usually likes the chase more than actually getting the woman, and so moves on pretty quickly when they start showing serious interest. Also if they’re clingy. Nope.

Ever Cheated?: Yes.

Been Cheated On: Yes.

Level of Sexual Experience: Way too fucking experienced.

Story of First Kiss: He was fifteen, and a particularly pushy girl—the daughter of a family friend who’d been visiting their house for some kind of social function—was adamant that he was going to be her first kiss. It wasn’t like he was going to decline. As soon as she left, he’d run to tell Michel all about it, because they’d made a bet earlier in the year about who could kiss a girl first, and now he’d won.

Story of Loss of Virginity: The same girl as above, a few weeks later. Nothing monumental.

A Social Person?: The thing is, whilst I think he’s instinctively a loner, when he’s not being a total douche bag, he’s actually a really good friend. Some people see that, and really want to stick around. I think he has stages where he really enjoys the company of others (particularly female), but then relapses and hates the world, and wants them all to play in traffic.

Most Comfortable Around: Oliver. Veronika. Odile. Évelyne. 

Oldest Friend: Évelyne is the oldest friend he has that hasn’t fucked him over since.

SECRETS:

Life Goals: Laurent would say he’s doing pretty well, to be honest. I don’t really think there’s anything career-wise beyond this point? He has peaked. I guess his life goal now is to keep up the good work, and maybe try not to be miserable forever. Taking control of London from the Rutherfords would be a nice bonus.

Dreams: Same as above.

Greatest Fears: Terrified of spiders and will act little bitch if he sees one. Getting old scares the shit out of him. Probably because he worries about two things that will follow: Losing his looks, and being less useful on the job. Something happening to his sister. Something happening to him that means he’s not around to look after her anymore. Someone hurting Oliver, Aurélie, or Ronnie.

Most Ashamed Of: How much he trusted Michel. Leaving Gaia in Italy, even though he knows it was the right decision. Still makes him feel like a shit person.  

Secret Hobbies: Besides his pianism, none. 

Crimes Committed (Was he caught? Charged?): Okay, let’s be real, I can’t list all of the crimes he’s committed because I’d be here forever. The only time he’s been caught and charged for anything, however, was when he took the fall for a job both he and Michel had been responsible for. The dick left him injured at the scene of the crime, and ran away to freedom. Laurent ended up with eight years in prison. It should be noted that Laurent’s kill count is relatively high in comparison to other non-assassins in the Organization, but the two biggest names on his list are Michel Chevalier, and Margaux St. Clair.

DETAILS/QUIRKS:

Night Owl or Early Bird?:   Night owl. Unless work calls for the contrary, it’s rare Laurent gets out of bed before lunchtime.

Light or Heavy Sleeper?: Unless he’s crashing from a high/dealing with a hangover, his natural sleep is pretty light. He likes to think it’s a good thing because it means no one can sneak up on him.

Favorite Animal: Cows.

Favorite Food: Dauphinoise potatoes with bacon from Adrienne’s. That shit is banging.

Least Favorite Food: Generally not a fan of Indian. Beetroot. 

Favorite Book: Laurent isn’t a big reader, and doesn’t really have a favourite book. He has neither the patience nor concentration to finish one.

Least Favorite Book: See above.

Favorite Movie: A Beautiful Mind.

Favorite Song: I Want To Break Free - Queen.

Favorite Sport: Loves rugby. Used to get into so many arguments with the bros about it, because they were all football bitches rooting for PSG.

Coffee or Tea?: Coffee. Black, two sugars.

Crunchy or Smooth Peanut Butter?: No.

Type of Car He Drives: Doesn’t have a car in London currently. Had a silver Bentley in the United States, though.

Lefty or Righty?: Right-handed.

Favorite Color: Navy Blue.

Cusser?: Every other word.

Smoker? Drinker? Drug User?: All three. Laurent smokes like a chimney, drinks like it’s going out of fashion, and regularly uses cocaine. Has dabbled with heroin because it was always a big thing back in Launceston. So was marijuana. There are few drugs he won’t touch, to be honest.

Biggest Regret: Same as the things he’s ashamed of.

Pets: A Siamese cat called Franz. Though he usually hates animals, he likes that cats are independent. Also, Franz is a bit of an asshole. Laurent can appreciate the attitude.

[fandomshatelgbtqpeople]

I'll never forget what my girlfriend said to me when she and I were talking about LGBTQ+ representation in the media: "I'd never thought beforehand that my mom would have a problem with me coming out. It wasn't until I read and watched those stories that I started to wonder if maybe, like all those parents, she would kick me out, too."

This is just one of many problems with LGBTQ+ representation in the media. It's getting better, and I can't argue with that. But it's still not where it needs to be. And people are finally speaking out about that, which makes me both excited and nervous. Excited because maybe, just maybe, it means that people are taking notice of the problem. And nervous because I'm worried it's just a passing phase, and it won't sustain the momentum it's picked up.

Bury Your Gays is a trope that exists across all media. It basically means that LGBTQ+ characters have a tendency to die rather than lead happy lives. In addition to Bury Your Gays, LGBTQ+ characters are often: relegated to the background, fetishized, stereotyped or tokenized, kicked out, abused, beaten and bullied extensively. Queer characters, especially before the 2000s, were likely to be trauma survivors, and to have their trauma closely linked to their queer identity. Their family members shunned them, so they developed mental illnesses and wound up homeless and alone. They committed suicide. They ran away from home.

Why does this matter? I think my girlfriend's quote just about sums it up. These representations affect real people. They are the only thing we have to cling to when we're trying to compare our lives to someone else's. In many situations, such as when a queer person lives in a very small or isolated area, they may not know any other out LGBTQ+ people. The media may be their only solution when it comes to looking for advice and someone to relate to.

While I was in the process of coming out, I didn't know very many real-life out LGBTQ+ people. I had two places to turn for support and resources: my online community, and queer media. I read Autostraddle and AfterEllen. I watched LOGO TV. I devoured books with queer characters, like Annie On My Mind.

There were good times, here and there. The L Word, as a show mainly about queer characters, had its fair share of representation, so not everyone led miserable, depressed lives. The problem was that I was coming out as a teen, and The L Word is about adult women, and really aimed at adult women. There weren't very many TV shows featuring queer teens when I was coming out. I watched South of Nowhere and Degrassi, and I learned how damn hard it is to be gay. How your family kicks you out, sends you to ex-gay therapy and bans you from seeing your significant other. How being LGBTQ+ will tear your entire world apart.

That's why it's so important that mainstream media is covering this issue. We, the LGBTQ+ community, have been outraged for years. Autostraddle, AfterEllen, queer blogs, and other LGBTQ+ publications have taken issue with our media representation for years. And that is important. There's no doubt in mind that actual queer people should be the ones taking the most offense with a lack of representation or with problematic tropes, and that we should be at the forefront and our voices should be heard. But I also think we need allies in this fight. We need non-queer people to be angry, too. We need mainstream publications to cover this. To showcase the issue to a broader audience, to an audience that has never thought about this problem before. That's why the recent coverage byEntertainment Weekly, Vanity Fair and Variety is so crucial.

I feel the tides beginning to change when it comes to diversity in media. Social media and the Internet is a huge part of that. Just look at the #WeNeedDiverseBooks and #OscarsSoWhite campaigns as an example. #WeNeedDiverseBooks grew so much as a hashtag campaign that it demanded a nonprofit be founded. Several studies in the publishing industry have been released. Just last week, in my graduate course on Principles of Management in Publishing, we spent roughly thirty minutes discussing how the industry can change. #OscarsSoWhite sparked boycotts and encouraged The Academy to institute real change in adding diverse members to their board.

This is the kind of momentum I want to see, and I don't want it to stop. I hate being angry. It's tiring, honestly, and sometimes I just want to consume media in a vacuum. I don't want to think about how Pretty Little Liars has de-gayed Emily Fields, or about Lexa's death on The 100. But sometimes I have to get angry, because those strong emotions incite reactions. People respond to anger about a lack of representation in the media, just as they respond positively to fantastic representations. I remember how the Internet exploded when Clarke and Lexa got together, how absolutely overjoyed so many fans were. This past week, too, I've seen a similar reaction about the relationship between Alec and Magnus on Freeform's Shadowhunters. Fans are excited to see characters like this; they're hungry for it.

The most important thing we can do to institute change is to not be content. We need to keep showcasing those strong emotions. We need to show how thrilled we are, as consumers, when diverse characters are represented, when diverse actors are used to play them, when diverse writers and producers are at the helm of a project. We need to show how angry we are when the reverse happens, and like with the #OscarsSoWhite and #WeNeedDiverseBooks campaigns, we need to continually demand better. As part of a business, the media wants fans to be happy, so they continue consuming. We need to prove that if there are more diverse representations, and if those representations aren't pandering or based on stereotypes or problematic tropes, we'll use our spending power to support it. And if there aren't, then we won't.

It's long been a stereotype in the media industry that readers won't pay for diversity. That's why things like #WheresRey happen, and why books about characters of color or disabled characters aren't marketed the same way other books are. But we can break that stereotype if we go about instituting change at every level.

If you're a maker—a current or aspiring journalist, novelist, filmmaker, television producer, or beyond—you can be a part of this change. Take a hard look at the diversity represented in the stories you tell, in your portrayals of events, in the worlds you create. Take the time to ask yourself if you're including a fair representation, or if you're tokenizing: if you've got just one queer character, or just one character of color, or just one character who uses a wheelchair, and if they tend to fit stereotypes or be relegated to the background. Take the time to ask people of the communities you're representing to act as beta consumers of your work, so they can point out potentially problematic tropes you may have missed, and so they can offer advice and insight into a world you may not be personally familiar with.

If you have the power, allow diverse makers to create. Hire journalists of color at your news organization. Include books by disabled writers, about disabled characters, at your children's book publisher. Hire a transgender film producer, and produce more films about transgender characters or real people. Publish that personal essay by an intersex writer. Look for mentally ill actors for your documentaries, even if the film isn't centered on mental illness. If you aren't in a position to hire these people directly, support their work when it is out there. Do everything you can to show the industry that this isn't a trend, and it isn't going away.

As consumers, we're responsible for showing that we do care about representations, and not just the ones that personally affect us. I'm queer and disabled, so it's clear why I care about those experiences being shown. But I'm also able-bodied, white, from a first-world country, college educated, and not a religious or ethnic minority. I cannot ignore the lack of representation for communities I'm not directly a part of. None of us can. This is all of our fight, and it's time we stand together.

[theglowiest-worm]

MIRIUM MIDGE: CHARACTER SHEET

I got a pocket, got a pocketful of sunshine. I got a love, and I know that it's all mine. Oh, oh whoa

Do what you want, but you're never gonna break me. Sticks and stones are never gonna shake me. No, oh whoa

ORIGINS & FAMILIAL RELATIONS:

Name: Mirium Margaret Midge

Nickname: Miri, Short Stuff

*Reason for Name:

Birthday: 17 March 2001 ( Aries )

Age: 17

Gender: Female

Place of Birth: Swynlake, England

Places lived since: None

Number of siblings: One, her twin brother.

Relationship with family (close? estranged?)

Cecil Midge (father):  [FC: TBD]

Meridth __ Midge (mother):  [FC: TBD ]

Thewlish Midge (older brother):

Happiest memory:

Childhood trauma:

PHYSICAL:

Height: 4′8″ (146.304 cm)

Weight: 90 lbs (40.82 kg)

Build: Slight with delicate features

Nationality: Lebanese and English

*Complexion (freckles, acne, skin tone, birthmarks): Mirium has a spattering of freckles across the bridge of her nose and cheekbones but otherwise she’s free of any blemishes. Her skin is a light tan. She has a single scar on her shin ( surprisingly ) from crashing her bike as a kid into her neighbor’s mailbox. 

*Distinguishing facial features:

Hair color: Light brown. In the summertime, Mirium’s hair can turn almost platinum if she’s outside long enough.

Usual hairstyle: When it’s long she leaves it down and it’s natural wavy curl or up in a ponytail and hat. When she has it shorter, it’s usually just wavy or however she wakes up, with very minimal fixes to it since it looks nice when she wakes up.

Eye color: Brown

Glasses? Contacts?: Neither

Style of dress/typical outfit(s): Mirium likes jeans and comfort, big jumpers that you can hide your entire body in or comfy sneakers and a hat. She’s very casual and kind of a tomboy but she always looks adorable. 

Typical style of shoes: Sneakers probably

Health (is this person usually sick? or very resilient?): Mirium can get sick on occasion and, when she does, it sticks around for a bit ( like a week or so, depending on what it is ) but, overall, she’s fairly healthy. 

Grooming (does she/he wear makeup? shower daily? wear only clean clothes? pluck his/her eyebrows?): Mirium’s grooming habits are fairly laid back but she is very meticulous about them. She wears makeup but it’s pretty minimal unless it’s for something fancy and then she’s got eyeshadow and lipstick on. She showers at night because it’s easier than worrying about showering before school. She washes her face and does her teeth in the shower and her brows are pretty well-manicured, though they don’t need too much upkeep. Her clothes she picks out the night before, though she will sometimes change depending on weather and how she feels. 

Jewelry? Tattoos? Piercings?: Mirium has 5 earrings total: two lobe piercings in both her ears and a bar in her right ear. No tattoos. She wears rings and necklaces occasionally, but not very often.

Accent?: Typical British accent ( I assume anyway )

Unique mannerisms/physical habits: Because she uses her hands to speak A LOT, her physical habits generally revolve her use of sign. Her facial features are very expressive, to convey her meaning for words she doesn’t say, and her gesticulations are usually fairly wide. However, her most unique habit is her choice of personal signs for people. She likes to customize things for herself so she knows she has something quick and easy to differentiate people. 

Athletic: Mirium is of average athleticism. She’s not crazy fit but she’s not a couch potato either. 

INTELLECT:

Level of education: High school education. Wants to continue into university if she can. 

Level of self-esteem: Fairly high

Gifts/talents: She can recite the alphabet backward if you can get her to do it

Shortcomings: STUBBORN, my goodness is she stubborn

Style of speech (loud, mumbler, articulate, etc.): When Mirium chooses to speak she is usually pretty hesitant, simply because her comfort level is more in signed language or writing. However, when she speaks her words are clear, if tinged with a bit of a different sound to them because she can’t really hear how she’s pronouncing stuff. 

“Left brain” or “right brain” thinker?: More right brained

Artistic?: Yeah! She likes to write and she doodles.

Mathematical?: Sure?

Languages?: BSL, English, Spanish ( from school ). Wants to learn others too!

Neuroses: She picks at her nails when she’s nervous.

Life philosophy: TBD

Religious stance: Not areligious but not, uh, super keen organized religion as a whole. Probably more agnostic than atheist bc she does believe in something, just doesn’t really know what to call it. 

Cautious or daring?: UH...both? Depends tbh

Optimist or pessimist?: OPTIMIST

Extrovert or introvert?: EXTROVERT

Level of comfort with technology: She’s tech saavy. My only true muse that is tbqh

RELATIONSHIPS:

Current marital/relationship status: Single

Sexual orientation: Gay. SUPER gay. Like omg. Also demiromantic, possibly poly. Idk she’ll figure it out, maybe.

Past relationships: She had a crush on one of her friends first year of secondary but didn’t tell her because she thought it would make her uspet. Would gladly tell anyone that the Avalorian princesses are goddesses. ( Hasn’t really had any tbh )

A social person? (popular, loner, some close friends, makes friends and then quickly drops them): Mirium is very friendly and outgoing and she makes friends easily. I would say she is comfortable with a number of people groups and can easily have friends in various “cliques” in her school bc she is just genuinely so sweet.

Most comfortable around (person): Probably her brother or her mom? If it isn’t family then Reese, hands down. 

SECRETS:

Life goals: TBD

Dreams: To find something she loves to do, something she’s good at, and make a career out of it. 

Greatest fears: To fail her family and her brother. To lose the people she cares about for a stupid reason.

Most ashamed of: TBD

Compulsions: TBD

Obsessions: oh gosh...she likes the royals, lotr, star wars/star trek. I wouldn’t say OBSESSED but she’s definitely a fan of things. 

Secret hobbies: TBD

Secret skills: TBD

Crimes committed (and was he/she caught? charged?): None

What he/she most wants to change about his/her current life: None

What he/she most wants to change about his/her physical appearance: None

DETAILS & QUIRKS:

Night owl or early bird?: Early bird

Light or heavy sleeper?: Heavy sleeper, usually

Favorite food: TBD

Least favorite food: TBD

Favorite book: TBD

Least favorite book: TBD

Favorite movie: TBD

Least favorite movie: TBD

Favorite song: TBD

Least favorite song: TBD

Crunchy or smooth peanut butter?: Crunchy

Lefty or righty?: Lefty

Favorite color: Anything bright!

Cusser?: She’s that person that cannot physically cuss because she feels bad but if she does it’s because you’ve seriously pissed her off.

Smoker? Drinker? Drug user?: Nope! She wouldn’t touch the stuff.

Biggest regret: TBD

Pets?: As a little girl she had an English Sheepdog named Lucy. Now, she has a Basset Hound names Rascal.