#eko speaks

[vampirefvggot]

yea yea i get it

[otogariado]

mentioning LOST's church ending got me riled up about the racism in LOST again lol. i obviously am aware that some actors just did not return to production for possibly other reasons, but also especially in the case of harrold perrineau (michael dawson) he felt like his character (and walt, his son) was treated like shit by the writing. and he was absolutely right. i've already made posts about this (will try to dig them up later), but michael was treated absolutely bullshit and unfairly wrt the story. michael betrayed them and killed two people, yes, but what did he do it for but to protect his son? he felt like nobody gave enough fucks about walt and there was some truth to that claim. his whole character arc is about being a dad to walt and their improving relationship over the course of being stuck on the island, so of course he would do that. it just makes sense.

which is why i don't think it's all that fair to punish him for it immensely in the narrative. harrold perrineau said it himself that he didn't want michael and walt to be another case of the absent black father stereotype [citation needed, i'll look for it but he said it in an interview] yet that's what he ended up being anyway. after his and walt's escape from the island, apparently walt cast him away because he doesn't agree with what his father did—which i actually think its interesting to explore: walt disagreeing with michael's actions and trying to grapple with it, but i don't think separating him from his dad was the best writing choice to make. walt is being punished for caring about his son by making his son be the one to cast him away. you can argue it's supposed to be tragic, michael is supposed to be a tragic character, but with the context surrounding michael's character? there's better ways to make his character be tragic than this.

which brings me to his next punishment. i was happy to see michael again on the kahana (just happy to see him in general), but it didn't last long when he gets killed, sacrificing himself to prevent/prolong the kahana's explosion from happening. (put a 📌 on this bc it's similar to how sayid dies and we'll come back to that later.) michael dies here and walt doesn't know about this. and then michael joins as part of the whispers, his soul trapped on the island (presumably forever) and that's why he's not in the church ending.

i'm gonna be frank. michael being trapped on the island because of his guilt or remorse or perhaps repenting for his sins is just bullshit to me. a lot of characters seen in the flash sideways and in the church ending are characters who've done "bad things". it's bullshit to have michael be the only one doomed to pay for his misdeeds forever. his misdeeds for... killing two people. not that killing two people is Nothing, but moreso if you examine the circumstances it's hardly anything to be damned eternally for.

remember the 📌 we had wrt sayid and michael? both of them died trying to prevent an explosion from reaching everybody else. which makes this more egregious imo. i can say 1000 things about sayid's arc (points to url), but this is about michael and not him, so i'll just focus on this: sayid was grappling with "being a bad person" for torturing and killing so many people. he worked as an assassin for ben. and yet, somehow, you're telling me sayid is not being damned eternally for his misdeeds but michael is? if you don't see the BS in that i don't know what to tell you.

i'm also aware why some characters don't appear any more re:conflicts with their actors (or just availabilities or other reasons for declining to come back), but even then arguably any conflicts with harrold perrineau stemmed from a justified place because of how michael was treated.

i think mr eko had a more dignified arc (he's one of my fav characters, thematically speaking) and honestly he had some of the rawest shit i've ever heard:

I ask for no forgiveness father for I have not sinned, I have only done what I needed to do to survive. A small boy once asked me if I was a bad man, if I could answer him now I would tell him, that when I was a young boy I killed a man to save my brothers life. I am not sorry for this, I am proud of this. I did not ask for the life that I was given but it was given none the less, and with it I did my best.

but despite this it doesn't change the fact that his absence in the church ending is very noticeable. he had meaningful connections with charlie, with locke, and interestingly like michael he kind of parallels sayid but this time thematically through their arcs. sayid is constantly burdened with feeling like he's a bad person and resigning to it as some sort of self-fulfilled prophecy, but mr eko is very firm about how he sees himself as not necessarily a bad man, just a man whose hands were forced because of the cards he was dealt. i wish we could have seen a more direct parallel between them, because it would've been interesting. back to the main point: i think it's such a missed opportunity for mr eko to not be here. especially since even after his death, hurley was able to communicate with his ghost, showing that he still had connections with his fellow losties even long after his death.

ana lucia being "not ready to move on" is interesting. but ultimately you can't help but raise a few eyebrows at it anyway. you can argue that, unlike mr eko she died an unresolved death, but most of the LOST characters died with an unresolved death. (she was killed early.) that's the whole point of the sideways segments. so what makes ana lucia so different from the others? yeah she killed shannon, but that was completely a freak accident. her people (the tailies) were being picked off one by one by the other so she was understandably on edge. she was kind of a hated character but i think a lot of it is just racism and misogyny combined tbh. (LOST is...notorious for a lot of misogynistic character writing decisions.) ana lucia was just as complex and morally "ambiguous" as the rest of them. i find the decision to make her corrupt in the sideways segments interesting (negative). cz like, there was never any indication she was like this in real life. what does that corruption symbolize? because obviously that corruption is a key to why she "can't move on yet". what exactly is she supposed to be repenting for? they hinted at a possible direction her arc is going towards before killing her off, ie. her ultimately choosing not to kill "henry gale" because she no longer wants blood on her hands. again, in a way, she's just like sayid! someone who decided they'd turn away from ceaseless violence. only right afterwards she got killed. so what does she need repenting for so much that she's left out of the church ending? much to think about.

i don't really know how to conclude this post. but my main point is that the lack of these characters during the church ending is and has racist implications. (again, i understand the casting issues, but it's still a writing decision you can critique as a viewer at the end of the day). i'll try to find the old posts i made last year abt michael and mr eko and their parallels to sayid and link them here (and self reblog).

edit: go read/look up "burn it down". it details a lot of the behind the scenes mistreatment of the staff (including racism and sexism), including actors and writers. the quote from an interview from harold perrineau that i mentioned was also linked in a reblog. (post link)

[viviennevermillion]

Welcome to my newest AU: Lost but everyone who ever stepped foot on the island has some type of usable magic power from that moment on. Rules for this is every power has a drawback and it only activates at a critical moment to their character arc. Here's what powers I assigned them:

Jack Shephard: Can heal people using his own life force. He can only give up to 50% of his own life force to do this, if the injury can't be healed by that, he can't save a person. Jack's power doesn't activate until way into Season 6 because he didn't have faith in the island.

Kate Austen: Has the same power as Blake Belladonna in RWBY. Both are characters who are established as people on the run because of their past. Their powers reflect that. Whenever Kate is attacked, if she reacts fast enough, she can leave behind a shadow of herself to take the hit for her.

James "Sawyer" Ford: The angrier he gets, the more damage his punches do. On the other hand, if he gets genuinely sad and devastated, his physical abilities are significantly stunted and damage is almost non-existent.

Charlie Pace: Can focus on a person and play or sing a song that reflects their true nature. This can be used to gather information about them. He can only do this once per person.

Claire Littleton: She can sense danger, even when there otherwise isn't any indication of it.

Hugo "Hurley" Reyes: Can speak to the dead. Activates off-island.

Sun-Hwa Kwon: Can accelerate the growth of plants and the natural healing process of animals and people. She has to know and understand the species to do this.

Jin-Soo Kwon: Can communicate with the ocean to go with the "son of a fisherman" theme. If his head is underwater the ocean tries to kill him tho.

John Locke: Is the only one who doesn't have a power. He's like Mirabel Madrigal. He's deeply important to the story but he has 0 magic. He himself and other characters throughout the story think that he does during varying points of time but it's always the MiB messing with him. He realizes this at the end. Can you tell I like angst yet?

Michael Dawson: Can create a magic shield using his own stamina. Shield disappears when his stamina runs out.

Walter "Walt" Lloyd: Astral Projection. Self-explanatory.

Vincent: Ages normally and can die of old age but is otherwise virtually indestructible. Usually animals don't get any powers but Vincent's was given to him by Jacob directly to assist the survivors.

Sayid Jarrah: Can burn a person with his touch when he wants to. Doing this inflicts an equal amount of emotional pain to him as the physical pain he causes. I like angst.

Shannon Rutherford: Can master any skill within 30 minutes if she puts her mind to it. Never figures this out because she has been told that she's useless all her life and believes it. Only uses this once when she translates French but thinks those are lucky guesses.

Boone Carlyle: Blood-bending. Mostly gave this to him because everytime he angrily stares at someone you can tell that his blood is boiling. Never uses this once during his lifetime though.

Rose Henderson Nadler & Bernard Nadler: Have a soul link with one another. They can always tell how the other is feeling and neither of them can die while the other still lives as long as they're on good terms. Virtually indestructible unless you kill them at the exact same time but why the fuck would you.

Ana Lucia Cortez: Pyromancy. Fits her vibe. Also bound to stamina.

Elizabeth "Libby" Smith: Can read people's emotions.

Mr. Eko: Precognition. Can tell what he needs to do when and can anticipate things a couple seconds before they happen.

Benjamin Linus: Everytime he lies (to convince someone of his lie, sarcasm not included), it slightly alters reality in an unexpected way to make his lie appear like the truth. This is how Anthony Cooper gets to the island after Ben tells John about the magic box. The result of his lies is always unexpected and can backfire. He can't make something specific happen intentionally. His power activated during the purge.

Juliet Burke: Ice-bending. This has nothing to do with her character but I've previously seen Elizabeth Mitchell in Once Upon A Time and The Santa Clause and both times she plays a character that has something to do with winter. Also bound to stamina.

Ethan Rom: Superhuman strength. Self-explanatory. It actually takes multiple shots from 6 guns to take him down in this AU.

Harper Stanhope: Can see people's time of death over their head. Was very confused that Juliet's said 1977 and Ben's was way past his normal life expectancy.

Goodwin Stanhope: Idk what his power is but it's certainly not danger sense. 💀

Roger Linus: Can sense fear. Terrible power for a terrible man. I love Ben, I promise. I also love angst tho. The moment Ben killed him was the only time he didn't sense any fear from him, which scared the shit out of him.

Desmond David Hume: Activates his power after the events of "The Constant". Can see glimpses of people's past and future upon touching them. Can only do this once per person.

Frank Lapidus: Always lands safe. Literally always lands on his feet like a cat. Also applies to planes / helicopters he flies.

Charlotte Staples Lewis: Can speak any language after hearing it spoken once. Growing up with this was very confusing off-island.

Miles Straume: Reading the final thoughts of the dead. Self-explanatory.

Daniel Faraday: Stopping time for up to an hour. After using this power, he can't use it for 24 times the amount of time he stopped time for. Only can use it in present time.

Illana Verdansky: Able to tell when people lie.

Danielle Rousseau: Her bullet or arrow always hits the target unless the target specifically blocks it.

Alexandra Rousseau: Can make herself invisible. Used for stealth.

Karl Martin: Can accelerate his speed. Bound to stamina.

Mikhail Bakunin: Telepathy.

Eloise Hawking: Chain Reaction. Once a day for 5 minutes she can see the effects of every action of hers she thinks about.

Charles Widmore: Can take a glimpse at people's destiny. Only can do this once per person.

Richard Alpert: Can't be killed by anything ever. Can't even die of natural causes. Can't die.

[lost-inanotherlife]

Lost S2 Rewatch - Final thoughts

Following this post, here are some more random thoughts about S2:

They did it once, they've done it again: killing off a female character for the sake of the paired male character's manpain. They did it with Shannon and they've done it again with Libby. Twice in a season. At this point I think it's a pattern and I totally hate it. The writers could write extremely well, they could've written something better but they just didn't do it. Totally uncool.

Speaking of Libby, I wish they didn't kill her off before telling us her story. Up until her death her character's main purpose is being the possible love interest of Hurley. Which, yeah, okay cool, I'm down with it. But maybe show us more as well? It's a shame that we come to know about her connection with Desmond literally after her death. And yes, I know, "plot reasons" and it kinda made sense too. And yet I felt a bit disappointed. We saw 0, nada, nothing, of her arc. Again, totally uncool.

"What Kate Did" is the season's best episode and I fucking love it.

I still have mixed feelings about Kate and Jack. What I mean is that they're definetely connected and they somehow click and not click together. I love thier dynamic. However in S2, although we have a kiss and a "caught in the net" moment (lol, Sawyer I luv u), they didn't share much screen-time together. Yes, yes, I know, this is a common way to write romance (a kiss, an "I'm sorry. I'm not", a bit of lack of communication, circumstances bring them apart and yadda yadda) but to "buy" their love story I needed a scene of the two of them together, without any interruptions, in between the kiss and the net. There wasn't so I don't know how I feel about them: do they like-like each other or are they just projecting *stuff* onto one another?

On the other hand, my baby girl Jack and Sawyer shared A LOT of intense scenes together. Like the one where Sawyer tells Jack that he's his friend (well, close to one) <3. Or when they play cards. Kate literally left them alone, lol. It was INSANE. I'm sorry but this confirms my reading that the real meaty love story is between the two of them. If the show aired totay we'd all be talking about the homoerotic subtext in Jack/Sawyer scenes. I said what I said.

Jack, please my love, listen to Sayid. His character faded a bit in the background this season, I mean something had to give with the introduction of FIVE new characters. But he was quite right about everything and I wanted to scream at Jacko everytime he was like "uh but Sayid we don't know!". Listen to the soldier/torturer/communication officer, doctor! You do you, let Sayid do Sayid, lol.

As I've said, I didn't enjoy Ana Lucia's connection to Christian. However, I like her story. Unfortunately her arc meets a brutal end: she was on her way to come to terms with her actions and she was stopped too soon. Honestly? I don't agree with this choice: the writers took their sweet time to let us discover Ana and her complexities, I'm sad her story ended beforehand. :(

I'm quite torn about Mr Eko. On one hand, interesting, brilliant character, on the other I feel like the last episodes made him act a bit OOC. We're showed a Mr Eko who's both ruthless and compassionate: he's a paradox and it's stimulating, we wanna know more about him. But then he goes all "I've received Revelation in my dream" and acts a lot like a dick. Like when he doesn't go to Ana Lucia and Libby's funeral. Dude, come on. Intellectually I know that it was all there, the moment he met Locke signed the fact that they'd first be united in their shared belief about the island and then they'd have split over their faith or lack thereof. Still, like with Ana, I think it was done too fast, I personally think they wasted quite some time with the Ben storyline. Too bad.

This rewatch reminded me of how tragic and absurd Locke's life is. Has he ever had ONE happy day in his life? Also, I always find myself a bit irritated that they didn't cast an older actor to play his father. I'm sorry I don't know the actors' age but Terry O'Quinn definitely looks older than the guy who plays Anthony Cooper.

Okay, I have more to say but I'll stop here! On to s3!

[fukuokanodivision]

“Let’s make some noise, The silence is killing me.”

Introduction Eko Seishin [Known as “Aoi” in rap battles], Is a blockbuster idol and part time Chuohku agent. Radiating heavy idol energy, He’s able to easily captivate many locals on the streets of Fukuoka. Originally planning to overthrow Chuohku in the DRB, He decides to shift gears on a brand new plan — Securing OverDrive as Fukuoka Divisions rightful team.

Eko is a young adult of average height with a rectangle figure. He has cold electric blue eyes and short jet black hair reaching past his ears.

He wears a now grey t shirt topped with a black leather jacket. His lower body is covered with black sweats with electric blue tech details and a similar wrap out the left side. He wears a pair of shiny and new black sneakers. For accessories, He wears a light blue wristwatch with a grey chain sporting an electric blue music note. Name Meanings *Eko [エコ] - Echo *Seishin [精神] - Spirit Aliases *Onii-san = Mai *Eko = Yuno *Boku = Pronoun *Poltergeist Biographical Info Gender = Male Age = 25 Birthday = December 15th Ethnicity = Japanese Hair Colour = Jet Black Eye Colour = Electric Blue Height = 170cm/5’7 Weight = 50kg Star Sign = Sagittarius Piercings = None Markings = Blood Trace On Cheek, Larcerations [Back/Neck/Chest] Family = *Mother *Father *Younger Sister Voiced By = nqrse [Rapping] Fun Facts MC Name = Aoi Occupation = Idol/Agent Division = Fukuoka Team = OverDrive Position = Leader Favourite Food = Takoyaki Least Favourite Food = Olives Likes = *Singing *Hanging With Teammates *Teasing Others *Pushing Forward In DRB Dislikes = *Threats On Teammates *Chuohku *Entitled People *Selective Individuals In Other Divisions [Particularly MIHANASA] *Perfectionists *Being Assaulted Hypnosis Microphone Eko’s Microphone is an advanced tech stylized MP3 player with a grey & electric blue colour scheme. His Speaker takes the form of a dark blue stage, Many multi sized speakers both located around and inside. A presumed silhouette of himself is centred in the spotlight, Harbouring a few speakers across the silhouettes body. A few Chuohku security cameras in place of stage lights can be spotted with mini circular speakers inside the cameras lenses. His rap ability, Resound allows him to manipulate sonokinetic power at will. This ability can be used multiple times in battle and on any of his opponents. However, The more times used can deplete his stamina depending on the amount of energy he has remaining during battle. Eko’s raps centre around being a supposed “DRB trump card.” His raps mainly speak about his rising power levels [Though he isn’t one who abuses his strength/popularity] and his will to act in “2nd Place” in order to set his true plans into action. He usually compares himself to a Rogue Idol who won’t take orders from anyone else [Often using the phrase “Pawa-Hara,” which is mostly slang for “Power Abuser” on his opponents.] He sometimes uses bits of English or Korean, Signifying himself as a multilingual speaker. Personality For exterior, Eko retains the popular idol charm with no difficulty. Playing the safe side with others, He mostly partakes a neutral approach out in public or various media. Thus, His true motives are shrouded in mystery with only his teammates understanding what he has planned for the future. Although, His interior is what shows his true character. Originally being the “No More Mr. Nice Guy”, He’s taken it to a way bigger level. Despite keeping it to a slight minimum, Eko spills in an insult or two just to spice things up between DRB contestants, Honing a sly and now cunning nature he’s able to let out when things get interesting. Background Born to Aoi and Shoji Seishin, Eko had a nice childhood by learning the secrets of Fukuoka from his father. Not only that, he is deemed the older brother by having a younger sister Kairi Seishin. During his early idol days, Eko was an easy target to many assaults. If no perfection was in his activities, his superiors would commit disgraceful acts. These included battery/aggravated assault, placing him on strict diets/starving him deeply, placing him in deafening environments and the worst of all…detaining him in “idol confinement.” Now becoming OverDrives leader, he’s downright loathed people with perfect lives. His raps speak how perfection won’t exist and will end anyone who tries to put his team under the bus, resulting in his fixed goal on becoming Fukuoka’s rap team. Trivia TBA

[there-are-4-lights]

This was a sort of decent primer on the political debates that have happened so far.

The positive: - it goes through the history so far and criticisms within various political parties, and not talking about it as straightforwardly a left/right issue - the debunking of the "nothing has affected anything in other countries" argument with the example of Norway (though I think there should have been more information about the prison issue) - i liked the bit that questioned the whole premise that "separating the legal and medical aspects" is by default a good thing. more of that please The negative: - treating the LGBTQ movement as just one thing (despite the detransitioners they bring up often speak about how being bi or gay played a part) - i'm not a fan of the bit in the description about "sverigedemokrater har råkat kroka arm med kvinnoorganisationer" (though it's way better than the other way around) - still treating feminist criticisms with a bit of incredulity, I don't like that tone of "what do those women think is going to happen, really?" as though there isn't a wealth of research and news from the UK and Scotland to look into

[fukuokadivision1]

Ming's Thoughts on OverDrive

Eko Seishin

"I don't really know much about Eko-san, other than the fact that's he an idol. He hosts several concerts a month here in Fukuoka, but his work often takes him across Japan. I couldn't stand traveling around that much. I like having a bit of stability in my life. That's partly the reason why I'm a teacher, and why I teach young kids. It doesn't require me to go anywhere save the schoolhouse and back."

"But aside from that, Eko-san is a popular person here. Like my brother mentioned, he's the closest thing that Fukuoka has to a superstar. Even some of the children here talk about how much they wish to be like him. I'll have to see if I can arrange a trip to take them to see one of his shows here."

Mai Yousei

"Mai-san is a very nice person! I caught them one day performing in front of a crowd in the city, and I asked them when they were over if they could come teach the kids at the schoolhouse how to dance. They all had a lot of fun learning from them! Some of them have asked when Mai-san would return, so I may have to speak with them again when they have time."

"Aside from that, Sanyu seems to think Mai-san's life has been easy. Truthfully, that wasn't easy to spot considering Mai-san's pale body. I can tell that they may have gone through some hardship like we all do. If so, I only hope that things go better for them."

Yuno Kamora

"Like my brother mentioned, seeing another butler isn't all that surprising, though it is a bit of a shock considering the city we live. Like him, I didn't rely too much on the servants in my household when I lived with my dad and stepmom. I mean, I know their job is to make life easier, but if it was something I could easily do myself, why should I waste their time with it? I don't know if God or whoever exists, but if so, He blessed me with good limbs and a body, so why shouldn't I utilize it? ...I wish my stepmom understood that. She seemed to revel in forcing others to do whatever she wanted."

"But besides that, I don't know much about Yuno-san. He seems courteous and polite, but... I've noticed he's a bit of a slow learner. I wonder if he'd be insulted if I asked him to attend my schoolhouse. I know it's centered around children, but I think he'd enjoy it."

OverDrive

Ming sighs. "I'm afraid there's not much else to say that Sanyu or my brother haven't said. I don't know why Chuohku is adding another Fukuoka team when they went to all of the trouble of forcing us into it. But like Sanyu mentioned, trying to understand what Chuohku is thinking is like trying to teach little children the Pythagorean Theorem."

"...Still, it's sad to see another team just use as pawns for Chuohku's sick games. And what's worse, because they're centered here in Fukuoka, that means we (MIHANASA) are going to have to face them, sooner or later. If so, then... I only hope they don't take our words seriously. If so... then I hope they forgive us someday."

[trash-city-radio]

Women Fear Me, Fish Love Me

August 1st (1/5)

The shoreside bar at high noon was filled with company, as the hot summer air filled in the steamy, sunburned water jocks from both the land and sea. These beaches have been the haven of peace between the men of surface and ocean for years, through the courtship at the tides, colloquially known as surfing. The fun distorted guitar softly rang out through the speakers, just under the noise of nasally hoarse voices and the impact of cold drinking glasses. A talkative group sat around a commandingly centered table, consisting of two fossils, and two saltwaters; one of them being the son of the late surf legend, who had just walked in to join the circle.

“Ha-Ran-Go in the hut!” A young man with a drink, leaning near the entrance, chanted, spoiling the presence of the Sailfish Surfer junior. A crowd of vocal, yet low-energy cheers echoed all around the bar, causing the sailfish to huff out a chuckle, waving up in recognition. He sat down at the last remaining chair of the table made of darkened pine planks, scanning his eyes around the table to look at his friends, who are all excitedly looking back at him.

“Hey man, finally!” A tall, many finned latimeria threw his arms up, moving his drink hand more carefully.

“How’s it going, Rango?” The lemon shark, sitting left of the sailfish, chimed in.

An anomalocaris idly floats between the two, blankly staring down the table, presumably.

“Ah… It’s been alright, Trachea.” Rango weakly grins. “I was busy helping the guys with organizing the surfboard shop and all that all week, sorry I haven’t been able to meet up here in a while.”

“It’s alright bro, you’re not the only one that missed the high tide. I had to help my girl out with something before coming here.”

“Sex?” The latimeria did not miss a beat.

“Ekos, that was yesterday, and it was with your mom.” The joke from Trachea prompted a laugh from the whole table.

“Come on, man, don’t talk about my friggin’ mom like that!” Ekos reached around the primitive crustacean to punch the shark in his very muscular shoulder.

“Well your mom is a pretty hot business woman.” The words that casually left Rango’s smiling mouth disrupted the table, even the ‘your mom’ joker was left a bit surprised. The sailfish seemed completely oblivious to the odd silence, turning to watch the gruff bartender showing off with his nimble prosthetic arm. “So, yeah… I really need a girlfriend. It’s been a little lonely in my life- I mean, I have you guys, but… you know.”

“Well, I’m sure you can find one super easily, man, just go up to a girl and have a conversation, you’re the Rango!” Ekos enthusiastically reached out an arm in gesture, towards the Rango.

“Yeah dude, you’re a studmuffin. The girls already love you.”

Rango nervously scratched the back of his neck with a bright smile. “Thanks guys… Maybe someday, right?” He turns his attention towards a nearby waiter, who had just finished jotting down the orders from another table. “Excuse me!” He shouted, raising a hand up.

The waiter was a pink haired person, wearing a bright shirt with a flower design, as well as an out of place white fluffy hat with bunny ears. He perked up, briefly staring wide eyed towards Rango before ducking his head down as he made his way towards their table. “How can I help you?”

“Could I also get whatever he’s making?” Rango pointed at the bartender, who's concocting a colorful and tall drink.

He turned to look for a solid 5 seconds, before curtly nodding and walking away, leaving the interaction without making any eye contact during it.

“Uh, okay, thanks…” Rango trailed off as the waiter quickly disappeared from speaking distance.

…“That guy’s still so friggin’ weird, man.” 

“Yeah, no idea why Benji still keeps him around, it must be so sweaty under that hat, dude.”

More chapters coming soon!

[aoyama-division]

Thank you!

With that, Tomi's birthday has sadly come to an end (though he's probably not complaining). As always, thank you to everyone who sent him a gift (even if it did hurt him in some form or manner). I hope you will all show Ivelisse the same amount of love when her birthday rolls around near the end of October. Until then!

Also, just a reminder: I'm still in need for teams to head the Collab Tournament Event coming up in November. I, so far, have six teams, so I need two more to make the tournament complete. If you wish to see your OC lead a team in the tournament, either PM or IM me. The deadline to submit a team is slowly approaching, and it is sadly first come, first serve, so be quick.

-

Tomi stands outside the balcony in his room, overlooking his city, a void look in his eyes. In one of his hands is a glass of scotch, and in the other, a lit cigar. After the fiasco with that alleged "sex tape" being posted everywhere, the young Chōten boy's reputation was in shatters. What's more, rumors were spiraling that a divorce was now eminent between him and Miho, the woman whom he had deeply loved, yet somehow had betrayed. And what's more, he wasn't even sure how it happened.

So now, here he was... a lone man with nothing safe his money left... and no one to share it with.

"...You know..." Tomi spoke, speaking to no one in particular. Perhaps, he was speaking to himself, but it was unknown. "I actually tried to change for the better. Despite me not understanding a thing about how these peasants operate or how they live, I really wanted to understand them, not the least because of my brother, Kunio, but because I thought doing so would make me a better man and a person."

"Even after all the hate thrown at me, all the ridicules, all the embarrassment, all the foolish, insignificant things sent to me, I still tried to change! ...But what did I get in response? The love of my life left me, and my good name smeared in the mud. The good Chōten name, now nothing more than a laughingstock. All because I wanted to understand those beneath me."

"...So you know what?"

Suddenly, the socialite throws his bottle of champagne at a nearby wall, watching it shatter, the glass pieces falling to the floor, along with what little liquid was inside the glass. His hair covers his face, obscuring it until he slowly looks up, an angry look in his eyes.

"...I'm done. I'm done trying to understand you peons. I'm done trying to be nice to you sycophants and worthless beings. I'm done wasting my time trying to get you to see that I've changed. I'm done letting you filthy creatures walk all over me. Enough is enough. It's time for a change."

Walking back into his room, he walks to his desk where a stack of papers is located. On each one, a familiar face of individuals is shown:

Reika Aichi Worthless Hag

Reiaki Suzubayashi Filthy Vagrant

Eko Seishin Confused Peasant

Kanon Hojo Sociopathic Simpleton

Kito Sakura Less Than Nothing Criminal

Aranai Norikoru Dirty Thing

Sumire Shinomiya Humanity's Bane

"You all think of me as a villain? Some pitiful antagonist for you all to slay? Like in some storybook?"

Crumping the papers in his hand, the socialite throws them into his fireplace in his room, watching them burn up and turn black. The angry look in his eyes still hasn't dissipated.

"Fine then. If a villain is what you all want, then a villain is what I shall be. And when this villain makes each and every one of you beg for mercy, just remember..."

The papers inside the fire are now all turned to ash, showing nothing left.

"...you all asked for this."

[echoesofaheart]

pinned post. finally

hello, you can call us echo/ijo Eko (or just use our actual names (names that will actually be listed! on this post! can you imagine saying smth like that and not listing your names anywhere wow that would be weird. good thing we've never done that (lying)))

we use it/its pronouns collectively

we mainly obsess over silly little guys here. we write fanfic (our ao3 is echoesofaheart). we also speak toki pona! (badly). also we're a system

we have a simply plural! feel free to ask us for it!

some of our interests are: cccc, stardew valley, rpg maker horror, horror in general, in stars and time, slay the princess, house of leaves

tags #echoed whispers = our tag for basically any textpost we make # - [insert name here] = sometimes we sign off posts. not always. if we do then this is how we format it #apostasy au = cccc au #creature au = a second cccc au

we try to tag triggers, but please let us know if we miss something

list of ppl in the brain (that want to be included)

atlas (he/she) (personal is @dividedmask) artemis (he/him) (personal is @culpritorvictim) apollo (any pronouns) (personal is @lawa-ale) jax (he/they/it) styx (he/ona) (personal is @elegyofsilence) ambrosia (it/its) (personal is @cotardsillusion) cain (he/they) lie (he/it/hy) (neos: hy/hym/hys/hymself) pandora (she/her) O (he/it)

[limeinaltime]

Soup.

It's time, to answer the biggest question of the universe...

What is Nathan and India like, as a couple?

Are they more phisically affectionies (?) towards each other, or do they lean more towards compliments, praises and verbal affection?

Do they show public affection or stick to do it between they're house's walls?

How do they're kids react to witnessing it?

Mmm India/Nathan by beloved

They were a happy, young couple during their time together on the exoplanet, and Eko was made when they were young adults. There was a lot of pining from a distance pre-core collapse, with Nathan sneaking out every so often to see his unusually tall (and still growing) girlfriend. They had a passionate dating phase and were beyond thrilled when Eko was made, but Nathan was heartbroken when India, Eko and the other Core drones were forced out thanks to a misconception about the "sky demon" premonitions Nori had as well as bias due to the Core Drones being considered as replacements for the Workers. His biggest regret is not speaking up more, and not going with India and Eko when they left.

As older adults, they've mellowed out a little and are more content with just spending time together after spending so many years apart while trying to build a family from the one they have now. Nathan sees Hotel, Iota, Seven and Moon as his kids and India is happy to get to know Eko despite missing out on the majority of her younger years. All five pretend to be disgusted when the two snag a kiss every so often, but are honestly happy that India finally has something good in her life to wash the taste of Adam out of her mouth.

[canyouhearthelight]

The Miys, Ch. 228

Another one on the books... so to speak. After so long working on this, I have pretty mixed feelings going into the end of the story.

That said, @baelpenrose and I have discussed doing an AMA once The Miys and Arcadian Inquisition (one of Bael’s 2 current ongoing works) are done. This one would be joint, and probably over Discord.  Obviously, I would love y’all’s opinions.  We’ve already polled our joint Discord server, but spreading this out there to everyone else who follows either of us.

Speaking of.... New and returning readers for the week! @quantumizedinsanity, my first follower after my sister has gotten caught back up - over 125 chapters in less than a week. Absolutely insane! Thank you for the notes on broken links, super appreciated so I can get those fixed. Also, @necromancer04, awesome to see you again and to know that you’re doing okay enough to binge read and catch up. @miniaturehumanman,@stevetoppsculpture, @gingersnap126126, welcome!

Conversation broke out around me, until Huynh raised his voice to drown everyone out. “Miys said the sensors are online, and we aren’t dead yet, so what happened?”

Xiomara cleared her throat as everyone turned to stare at her. After a moment, she took a deep breath and answered. “Somehow, despite the best efforts of Miys, Odvub, and our teams here, something has caused the Eko-mari fleet to change course.  They’re pulling in tight to the Ark, and sensors indicate they are arming weapons.  Miys reached out to me in my role overseeing safety and security, and I asked them to bring everyone here as a precaution.”

“Do we think they intercepted information?” Grey asked in a surprisingly neutral tone.

“Since we were passing it on paper with the exception of Charly’s call several weeks ago, it’s doubtful,” Xio sighed reassuringly. “If they had intercepted that we would have seen something sooner.”

“Fair point,” they conceded. “Also, good to know.”

Arthur spoke up for the first time, shouldering in on the other side of me from Tyche. “Good and bad - it means they have picked up something regarding the S’crirs fleet. And I just don’t believe Ix’al or Brol would let them get that sloppy.”

Charly shook her head. “Their ships are held together with space duct tape and a lot of hope. And we have one of their best engineers - “

“You have got to be kidding” I groaned.

“One of their best,” she insisted, glaring at me. “Something could have just leaked.”

Xiomara took the reins again. “The fleet is here, ostensibly, to be on the lookout for pirates, and we were attacked by some less than a month before they arrived, so the idea that they are on the lookout for any ships other than themselves and the Ark is well within the scope of possibility.”

“Damned Germans and their efficiency,” Arthur growled while Huynh nodded enthusiastically.

“Basically,” Xio agreed in an exhausted tone. “But that also means that the Eko-mari have twigged to the existence of our friendly neighborhood pirates. Which, there is a term in Reid-ish that is really good for this…” She started snapping her fingers loudly and glanced at me, Tyche, Antoine, and Arthur.

I’m pretty sure that she would have snapped at Mav if he hadn’t been doing something that looked super important with Evan and the controls.

“No bueno tacos,” I said. “The tacos are not good.”

Parvati recoiled in disgust. “Who wants bad tacos?”

“That’s the point,” Tyche confirmed gently. “Bad tacos aren’t good for anyone.”

“Ah.”

“Exactly,” Xiomara agreed. “The situation is bad tacos. We were so focused on the fleet doing what they weren’t supposed to be doing but were going to do anyway that we didn’t suspect they would actually do their jobs.”

Eino raised a hand, eliciting an eye-roll from Arthur and silence from the rest of us. “What does this have to do with why we are here?”

“Even if we find another solution to the Eko-mari fleet making a targeted attempt to return us to the Stone Age and trap us there, anything offensive would require the assistance of the S’crirs.” Surprisingly, the flat toned comment came from Charly.

“I’m not telling my niece that her Queen Mother and Captain father are gone,” Tyche insisted, stomping a foot and rubbing her hair threateningly.

“Oh,” Eino exclaimed softly. “I did not think about how our Teeth would think about it…”

My heart softened towards him the second he said ‘our Teeth’. “So, unless anyone is volunteering to tell Teeth and Nixe that Ix’al or Brol is gone - “

A cacophony of “fuck that” and “I’d rather fly the ship to blow up the fleet” erupted, and any objections to our tactics died a quiet and unmourned death.

“So, moving forward,” Xiomara intoned wryly. “We need to think about what to do from here, on a reactionary foot.”

Pranav waved, and I groaned internally. He cut a glance towards me and cleared his throat. “Derek Okafor suggested a two-pronged attack on the fleet, utilizing viruses, both computer and biological.”

Grey’s hand immediately flew up to their brow to pinch the skin. “You are telling me that Derek’s solution to the fleet that believes we are a biohazard is to prove them right?”

“To quote Hannah, our job was proofreading and making sure all the components were there,” I intoned loftily. “The populace was going to vote on it.”

“We may not have a chance to vote on any of them,” Xiomara pointed out, glancing at Arthur as he nodded in understanding. “Unless we send them out now, as is, and figure out how to make them work on the fly.”

Charly bounced on the balls of her feet a couple times before speaking again. “So, all of us are here because we may need to make decisions on the fly. I get that. But why are Maverick and Evan?”

A mellow buzz hit all our ears. “Ostensibly, in the event that the sensors are damaged, the Ark will need line-of-site piloting.  In truth, I am also considering that the Ark is not intended for anything resembling evasive maneuvers, as we are protected under Galactic law.  The ship can take significant damage, but if the Eko-mari fleet decides to turn on us, we cannot withstand their full force.”

“But it’s zero gravity, or micro gravity,” I pointed out. “Shouldn’t that make it easier to - “

Three groans hit me just as Charly grabbed my hand and stroked it gently. “I am not going to repeat what you just said to Conor or Maverick…”

“Thank you?” I was confused.

“Mostly because I’m pretty sure I would throw up if I tried.” She squeezed my hand affectionately and turned toward the larger crowd. “For anyone who was wondering the same thing, the issue isn’t gravity or friction.  It’s the fact that the Ark is huge and has an absolutely bonkers amount of inertia.  The laws of motion are not our friend right now.”

“Oh,” I realized softly. “Forgot about that.”

Grey sent a signal to all our databands before picking up where Charly left off. “Additionally, we are currently in a breaking position, so any maneuvering would require significant strain on all of us.”

I flicked my datapad open and boggled for a moment while my brain caught up. “The engine is firing… In the… well shit.”

“Engines in the front, party in the back,” Arthur quipped. “If we want to scoot, the Ark will need to flip for us to do so. Probably several times.”

My stomach was already churning at the thought.

Alice jumped in, thankfully. “So Maverick and Evan are here, not just because they have the necessary training, but because they are specifically trained not to puke and pass out under stress?”

“Lovely image,” Parvati muttered.

“But completely accurate,” I muttered back mournfully.

She winced, swallowed hard, and cracked an eye open to speak. “Engineers, scientists, pilots, computer people, even Eino, I get being here. Why is our office present, aside from being on the Council?”

“Tyche is one of our backup pilots!” Evan shouted as she and Maverick approached. “She’s been training in the sims for nearly a decade, and on some of the smaller stuff can outfly either of us.”

“Low center of gravity and low mass means fewer gees?” Tyche suggested.

“Sure,” Evan agreed, but her mouth flicked at one corner, tempted to grin.

I tossed Maverick a wink before turning to Vati. “And logistics. In crisis, we are the only ones who know exactly where everyone on the Ark should be, so we can direct them to which areas are still fortified from our forced boarding preparation, what resources need to be protected or babysat, what can be destroyed and have minimal impact, who the med teams are….”

“Oh gods.” Her eyes grew wide in horror. “We do know all that…oh gods, off the top of my head, that is…”

“You get used to it,” Tyche and I assured her in unison.

For some reason, her horror only seemed to get worse.

I shrugged it off to deal with later and turned to the group. “Request permission for Alistair Worthington to be dismissed from Level One.”

“I beg your par - “

“Don’t beg, it’s unbecoming,” I cut him off. “Not everything in the Archives is etched yet, so - with the permission of everyone else gathered - I think you would be better leveraged helping Archivist Pol get the Archives secured in case we have to evacuate quickly.”

He blinked several times before his anger dissipated. “Yes, request permission to be dismissed.”

“That’s the spirit!” I patted his shoulder. Addressing the group again, I made my case. “Tyche and Parvati are here, we can communicate with Hannah easily, so it’s not like we’re hurting. But we will be if those Archives are destroyed.”

“I agree,” Grey nodded, raising their hand. “Those in favor?”

The only hand that stayed down was - unsurprisingly - Arthur, who made a point of crossing his arms.

Alistair didn’t even wait for the obvious result to be announced, he just stepped in, kissed Arthur on the cheek, and rushed to the door.

A chorus of catcalls and cheers followed him, and if his face didn’t match Arthur’s ears, I would voluntarily eat my shirt.

“Oh, grow up,” Arthur snapped lazily. “What are we, thirteen?”

“God, I wish,” Xiomara sighed. “Any other pressing decisions before we start assessing the situation?”

Maverick stood to full attention. “Screens and controls confirmed intact, and data is coming from the sensors and cameras flawlessly. We’re ready when you are.”

“Take Tyche and get her acquainted with the set up,” Grey suggested. “My understanding is that it is rather unconventional.”

He nodded and all three left, snagging Derek on the way in case they ran into any issues.  As soon as she saw that, Alice swore softly and trotted off behind them. “Wait up guys, Derek won’t have enough hands!”

I arched an eyebrow at Pranav as his mentee ditched the official meeting.

He just shrugged. “I am not dead yet, and Alice has been Derek’s extra hands for longer than she has been my mentee. All will be well.”

“Yeah, and it’s totally not because you send Alice live audio of everything that happens in meetings anyway.” Everyone turned to Charly as she spoke, and after a beat or two of silence she looked up. “What?”

“You said that out loud,” Pranav advised, eyes twinkling with mischief.

“No I - I did?” Her eyes widened as we nodded. “Well, fuck.”

<<Prev       Masterlist     Next>>

[world-of-pocket-arsenal]

More illustrations.

Mute can morph his body in unnatural ways after centuries of practice, and even split up into multiple clones of himself, though the more he makes, the smaller all the clones get. As his name implies, he cannot speak, but will communicate with pantomime and occasionally he can cause words to appear on the walls in blood. His prototype from the LittleBig Planet years was a fat ghost. The antennae makes him seem like he's inspired by Majin Buu but really, I was thinking of the Game Boy port of Bubble Ghost when I designed him. He was also a hero named Prattley in his living life. He was the same species as Eko and Witchy.

[fukuokanodivision]

OverDrive Drama Track 2 - Speak Of The Devil And He Shall Appear [It was time. After a few anticipating months, OverDrive was finally signing up for the DRB’s official roster. Waiting outside the dreaded Chuohku office, Eko, Mai and Yuno were all showing a shared expression: Nervousness.] Mai: Y-you nervous…? Yuno: Don’t worry, We’ll be fine. Just try to stay calm and positive… [The everlasting silence was unbearable. While Yuno instructed Mai to deep breathing, Eko was lost in thought, Clearly contemplating on something…] Eko: [We are one out of two Fukuoka teams, The other being MIHANASA…Plus, They appeared on the DRB roster before us. So as long as we beat them, We can represent Fukuoka. But…Why am I still thinking about this…?] [Just then, A voice simply directed them to come inside, Saving Eko by the bell. They all sat down as a tall woman with indigo blue hair was staring them down in a seemingly polite way.] ???: Ah, OverDrive. Thank you for your patience. It has been a long time since you’ve been with us here at Chuohku… Eko: The pleasure is ours, Prime Minister Totohen… [It was none other than Totohen Otome, Japans Prime Minister and leader of the Party of Words.] Otome: I suppose you wish to get into the details, So let us get started… [Otome fished out a few legal documents, Setting them up in front of each of them in an organized manner.] Otome: So as you can see, You are the 2nd team of Fukuoka to enter- [Suddenly, The door loudly burst open. On the other side was a tall woman, sporting wild red hair and a luxurious figure. Eko, Mai and Yuno all froze up in place: Ichijuku Kadenokoji, The Deputy Prime Minister had arrived.] Otome: Ichijuku? Is there a problem? Ichijuku: My deepest apologies, Prime Minister. I- [In a flash, Ichijuku caught the sight of OverDrive. Pausing slightly, Her expression changed into a halfhearted smile.] Ichijuku: It’s been a long time, Agent Seishin, Hasn’t it? [Eko paused. Any interaction he ever had with Ichijuku, It usually wasn’t pretty. In fact, He could feel the tension slightly bubbling.] Eko: I guess you are grateful we returned, Deputy Kadenokoji? Ichijuku: It is always nice to see old friends… [The tension was now visible in the room, Mai and Yuno kept stealing glances at each other. Both of them were unaware of Eko’s interactions back in Chuohku, Though they weren’t exactly positive.] Yuno: Deputy Kadenokoji, Prime Minister Totohen…Would you mind excusing us for a moment? [Otome nodded as OverDrive left the room. It looked like Eko and Ichijuku were having a staring contest, Their stares appearing to look into their souls.] Mai: Onii-san, Are you okay? Yuno: She was always a twisted woman… Eko: Thanks you two, But I’ll be okay. It’s only a game cat and mouse from this point moving forward…

[glitxd-shenanigan]

IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER MUSIC + HISTORY INFODUMP FROM YOURS TRULY

TigaPagi is an indie band from Indonesia whose music speaks historical events from our homeland. Their melodies are known to have a strong Sundanese feel, with strings that flows so gently akin to a harp, which makes their music so characteristically unique in our modern society.

"Roekmana's Repertoire" is a result of Tigapagi's seriousness and maturity in their artistic work. This can be seen from the changes they made to the old songs on this album. Their maturity is evident in the concept of adding a string section that cuts through almost all the songs, adding a grayish nuance, as if it is perfectly matched with the tone and delivery of the lyrics. In the lyrics department itself, it's not unfamiliar, from the era before the song "Menari" aired, Sigit, as Tigapagi's poet, tends to write lyrics with dark nuances in the form of metaphors, making them still beautiful to listen to. This is also a plus point that further strengthens their character.

The seemingly unending album tells the torturous events of G30SPKI or Gestapu (Gerakan September Tiga-Puluh) through the eyes of Roekmana. This gruesome historical movement took place on the 30th of September 1965, ending in October 1st 1965 following our second president's election.

A brief note about the choice of the name "Roekmana" reveals that it wasn't chosen randomly. According to their press release (written in the old spelling by Cholil Mahmud and A. Puri Handayani), Roekmana served as inspiration for Sigit Agung Pramudita (Vocal, acoustic guitar, bass, keyboard, theremin, backing vocals), as well as the two brothers, Eko Sakti Oktavianto (Acoustic guitar, piano, kecapi) and Prima Dian Febrianto (Acoustic guitar), in creating Tigapagi's music. Roekmana was a skilled guitar teacher known for playing Sundanese classical music. The album was titled after him and he became the central figure because of his significant influence on their music.

Unfortunately, (whether it's my lack of careful listening) the sound of our traditional flute (suling bambu) that was once inserted into some songs is now gone, replaced by the sound of a modern flute. Although it could have added to the strength of their musical character, I respect their decision on the change. I liken "Roekmana's Repertoire" to an oasis in the desert, successfully quenching the thirst and refreshing their long-awaiting fans who have been waiting for a full album from Tigapagi. And if this album was indeed made in the atmosphere of September 1965, then they have succeeded, both in terms of packaging and music.

Since this post is already long enough, I will share my analysis on each of "Roekmana's Repetoire"'s tracks and their single "Tidur Bersama" in separate posts starting next monday.

[bestbonnist]

Chapter 169.2

Fushi's friends are targeted for their immortality, when the majority of the population has a form of immortality too. Arguably, they're actually more immortal because they can regenerate limbs and don't feel as much pain.

If this were five hundred years ago, people with tag chips would probably be considered inhuman. Their abilities even come from knockers, they have a separate entity living inside them. Nono's classmates were scared of her when they realized she was a knocker, and even further back, Kahaku was called monstrous whenever people saw the left hand. But the definition of humanity has changed so that some immortality is normal and some immortality is bad. I'd guess this was done by Kaibara to acclimatize the population to their new product.

Not sure if it's Kai making shit up or if the doll really is from Kaibara. That would mean Blindfold is affiliated with them, maybe even one of their scientists?

In the flashback we saw of them, it looked like Blindfold was having trouble walking. Kaibara's tag chip is supposed to strengthen bodies, nobody who has one embedded would have that problem. So maybe Blindfold doesn't have a tag chip. Or the tag chip is in the pill around their neck. Maybe the procedure was to remove it so they could stick it in the doll instead?

That would be cool, if the doll was a knocker. Because the knockers have "won" in the sense that they've succeeded in bringing Paradise to earth, but their actions are now completely restricted. They're a product now, they've lost their opportunity to live human lives like they did in the present era. It was established that knockers have the same emotions and individuality that humans do, but the way things are now, they can't express that. A knocker only being able to live as a human when its outside a human body, losing its memory and recalling its wish to have a breathing body of its own... fuck.

Even though I'm a non-verbal Eko fan, I do like seeing her talk. Because she also spoke a bit when she first met Fushi, but to me this confirms that she could speak but prefers to communicate through mud. She's tried talking and she decided she wanted to talk in her way, and she made it possible for other people to understand her.

Since Yuuki figured out how to share his thoughts through her pots, I wonder if he was involved in creating Eko's helmet, or if she made it entirely on her own. Either would be great, but I might actually cry at the thought of Eko getting interested in technology because of Yuuki and carrying around something that they made together to this day.

Ooima also brought up this plot point and has not yet resolved it. A means of communicating that is exclusively material—it can't be experienced by faie or knockers in the spiritual world (I think that's the most fitting term). Sure would come in handy in a world where everyone's got a knocker.