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10underoot2 · 6 months ago

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Character Study - The chilling warmth of Haein

Haein is a really misunderstood character. She has dark humour. She cares immensely but doesn't show it very openly. She hides her feelings cause she doesn't like to be vulnerable. She's very quick to say things that protect her emotions and she bites with her words just to protect herself. But all of this assertive feistiness comes at a cost. People tend to misunderstand and write Hong Haein off as mean, rude, cold and difficult to live/work with.

Her personality and tendency to appear uncaring has a lot to do with the lack of warmth she received by her family especially her mother. When she meets Hyunwoo she's no different, she puts on no pretences. Over time she warms up to him and shows him her softer more vulnerable side - all of which I'm sure aided in him falling for her deeply. But then that damned chasm occurs, and Hyunwoo much like the rest of the world forgets Haein's soft heart and soul that live underneath the iron clad armour she wears. It hurts me when I think about the pain she experienced realising she's misunderstood even from the man who once showered her with unyielding love and warmth.

Some incidents of Hyunwoo misunderstanding her are so interesting:

- The scene where Haein requests/orders Hyunwoo to accompany her to the hospital.

I love that it was shot from both perspectives. In her mind she sounds extremely soft and worried. It was a request meant to be delivered that way. I'm sure Haein couldn't register what her tone was because her intention were so soft. Why would he reject my request, He's free I'm just asking him to accompany me? But Hyunwoo had just heard about the will. That paired up with the continuous blows he's received the past two years were too much for him to take a moment and understand that this is how she's always spoken.

-The rain scene after their Yongduri night stay (I hold the belief that Haein did indeed often wait up for him).

Haein says: 'I really wasn't waiting for you.' to which Hyunwoo replies 'I know better than anyone, you're not the kind of person who would wait up for me.' In the scene you can see Haein slightly taken aback and offended by that. Because she is the kind of person who waits up for him. Her offence seems so justified. Because why can't Hyunwoo of all people see the real her. When did he forget to understand her? It must be so hurtful for her to think Hyunwoo's forgotten how warm she was with him. I imagine she used to wait up for him before the miscarriage but here she's listening to her husband say she's not that kind of person. (That little scene where Haein sits on the sofa waiting but Hyunwoo chose not to ask her if she was okay is my evidence! There was a post on this as well a while ago!)

It's also evident in her desire to run a hand over his shoulder to remove the dampness there. Her screaming at him to hold the umbrella properly. But he's so oblivious and deaf to her love that it hurts to witness.

- The bar after their day at the Lavender field in Germany at their honeymoon

Haein smiles and says, she wasn't angry after he told her that he had noticed no one else and that his eyes were only on her. But Hyunwoo remembers her being angry for another two hours. This scene was such a small example of it. What if Haein's anger did immediately dissipate but Hyunwoo just interpreted it as her still being angry. I can't offer any evidence as we don't see this scene but their different accounts make me think what if she was just feeling down but he assumed it was a continuation of her anger.

There are so many other examples sprinkled throughout the show as well. I started off really disliking her character but I've grown to really appreciate it. Because once you see how warm Hong Haein is in love, you'll see just how fierce, loyal and undying her conviction and mind is. She'll show and tell you in the most beautiful ways just how much she cares without ever telling you she loves you. She's not cold, she's just misunderstood.

Unfortunately though, life isn't a drama. So when people like this do exist, they tend to be written off as cold, harsh, unlovable. Humans have the potential to be infinitely complex creatures which is why it's been so interesting to see Haein's multi faceated character these past 8 weeks.

Just an additional thought: I also love the difference between Haein and Hyunwoo's business ideologies. Haein is sharp, to the point, efficiency, money and loyalty oriented. While Hyunwoo is soft, caring, warm and people oriented.

We see Hyunwoo's ideology against his father in law. When the FIL wanted to stab his long serving employee it was unfathomable for Hyunwoo. Hyunwoo's ties with the past employees of Queens got him so much information and support. His logical request to the manager of maintenance to make it snow comes after a long, good relationship - it's pretty evident in that scene. I loved how the show displayed Hyunwoo's ability to make deep and good relationships and how it ended up helping them to get Queens back. It's a hugeee contrast to how things run in the Hong Family. It was very fresh to see him show from his actions 'You can be nice and still get the job done'.

But even Hae-in's contacts, though acquired differently, are just as instrumental. The employee she took a stand for, the juice guy and Secretary Na. None of them would call her warm or soft but they would sing her praises if you ever ask them. It's such an interesting parallel between their characters. It also goes to show Haein is a good person, she just tends to show it very selectively and rarely. I do think the 1 Trillion club made her think of only money and efficiency for a while, but I still do believe she had been doing good away from public eyes, changing people's lives - it's just that no one was there to witness or publicize them.

#i relate with Haein in some ways #she's a very interesting character #the show gives such an interesting contract between both of them #queen of tears #baek hyun woo #hong hae in #kdrama #kim soo hyun #kim ji won #baek hyunwoo #hong haein #baekhong #character study

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 4 months ago

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⭕️👋Hi I’m new, I really like your character analysis, world lore analysis etc,…I think they’re very accurate and provide more insight into the twisted wonderland world,

do you think NRC gets enough funding cause they’ve been losing to RSA for like almost 100 years now and the Magift incident where the recruiter’s and scouts probably didn’t really pay attention to most of the players cause of Malleus .I know they probably get funding and tuition and stuff from affluent parents who care about the quality of education & environment of their children but is that really enough? Is Crowley secret Stressed about funding cause of their losing streak to RSA???

I just wondered what your thoughts were on the matter

Hello and thank you very much ^^ It always warms my heart to hear that people enjoy my more analytical writings!

Now to answer your question, I don’t think NRC is hurting for money. Like, at all.

You did bring up a fair point about NRC’s almost a 100 year loss streak to RSA + the lack of interested Spelldrive/Magical Shift scouts in book 2, but that’s not enough of the big picture. RSA is only one rival magic school out of several. Just because NRC is not doing well against one other school doesn’t mean that NRC is suddenly deemed “lesser”—NRC is still considered a top arcane academy and eclipses other magical institutions like Noble Bell College. In regards to the pro recruiters, I don’t think it has a huge impact?? Sports is only one sector at NRC; they’re still doing relatively well outside of it (such as in academics, extracurriculars, and connections for internships) in the grand scheme of things. Things like not winning VDC and not being noticed by scouts seems to only really impact the career prospects of students who were interested in the entertainment/sports industries; I doubt that this would seriously hurt whatever funding NRC is receiving.

Night Raven College is a private school, so they are most likely receiving money from tuition and not the government. Though tuition is not explicitly mentioned in TWST (at least not that I am aware of), if we assume the average cost for one student to attend a British boarding school—for which NRC is modeled after—that means 25,000 pounds per person, PER YEAR. Let us assume that NRC had only 800 students (this is the rough estimate TWST provides us). That means, from one year’s worth of tuition alone, the school is raking in 20,000,000 pounds or 4,058,310,000 madol. Note that this is just money in, not yet factoring for expenditures, taxes, etc.

The school also receives 10% of Mostro Lounge’s proceeds, and while we cannot put an exact number to that, we do know that most menu items range from 600 to 1500 madol. The lounge must also make significant enough money to pay for its ingredients, nice silverware (something which Azul stresses to give customers a high class experience), and even provide pay to workers (Ruggie would not be doing labor for free and refers to his time at Mostro Lounge as “a job”; see: his Ceremonial Robes vignettes). While this doesn’t make up a large part of NRC’s money, it’s still a nice little bonus to account for.

NRC also has many, MANY wealthy students, including literal celebrities and royalty. In fact, the upper middle class to flat-out rich make up the majority of the main cast (close to like 70-75%). If this is also the case for the regular mob students, then there are many other ways for the school to get huge donations. In the main story alone, two significant donations are mentioned: Kalim's dad gave enough money for NRC to completely renovate Scarabia and the Shroud parents paid for all the damages caused to the school's buildings. Additionally, Crowley says that the Shrouds made "substantial contributions toward expanding [NRC's] facilities."

Please note that this is just donations from current students’ families. Think about potential donations coming from NRC alumni too!!

It should be noted that NRC has the financial power to spend liberally, and no one really says that this will put the school in a touch spot. For example, Crowley literally buys up Sam's entire stock of goods during Ghost Marriage... and if you know anything about Sam, it's that he can magically keep things "IN STOCK NOW!!" Crowley even indicates in one of his voice lines that he is in constant competitions to buy out Sam's stock and has scarcely managed to one-up him--so the fact that Crowley does buy out Sam during an event is meaningful and speaks to how much of the school's money he is throwing to save it. He also tells Sam to bill the school for the cost of the fairy dust in Fairy Gala.

Both times, Crowley complains about how he would rather not spend money, but he does so anyway. This in of itself does NOT prove that NRC is in need of money, this is just proof of Crowley's cheapness. (We see many other examples of this greed and stinginess of his; he guilts Yuu for spending money on them, constantly tries to get free food and souvenirs from his students, and cuts costs for Halloween candy.) If NRC were truly hurting financially though, then they would not be able to throw lavish events or donate back to the community, both of which still happen multiple times. For example, NRC holds a huge Halloween event every year in which they open their campus to outsiders. This event is entirely free and involves a budget large enough for each dorm to create intricate decorations and costumes for 800ish students. There is also enough money to throw a celebration party for the students at the end of it—and let’s remember, NRC has the money to afford five star ghost chefs to regularly cater, serve in the cafeteria, AND teach their Culinary Crucibles/Master Chef courses.

While explaining the nature of the Halloween events, Crewel cites that NRC has survived this long in part due to the "While explaining the nature of the Halloween events, Crewel cites that NRC has survived this long in part due to the "understanding, cooperation, and subsistence of Sage's Island locals." This implies that the immediate community on the island also supports NRC in some ways. Perhaps it isn't financially, but it's clear that NRC still has social capital and a good reputation in spite of its losses to RSA.

In Port Fest, Crowley states that setup, food supplies, and all other expenses will be covered by the school. Half of the proceeds will then be donated to charity and the other half will be granted to the students to celebrate their hard work. Again, would NRC be giving away this money if they really needed it for the institution itself? They're not obligated to give money to the students, yet Crowley easily agreed when Azul asked for an incentive.

And let's not forget the school cultural festival, which was largely open for the public to attend. If they choose to spend on additional things (such as food and drink or VDC tickets, which are a "hot commodity"), that's on the individual. The school itself is hosting the event for free.

Yuu is offered a large sum of money (if the NRC tribe wins VDC)... and Ramshackle renovations (from Crowley) in book 5 in exchange for letting the boys host their training camp in their dorm. Look at how old and run-down Ramshackle is; there is no doubt that such repairs would be pretty expensive—but Crowley doesn't complain about the cost, he's not above bribing someone to make himself and his school look good.

Crowley caring about his reputation isn't new either, it's a pattern. We see him getting upset at NRC's loss in book 5 and lamenting bad publicity/being excited about good publicity in numerous events (Ghost Marriage, Wish Upon a Star, etc.) The school has been under his care for a long time, so naturally he will feel proud and/or slighted whenever NRC is involved.

This leads me to the conclusion that Crowley, the figurehead and headmaster of NRC, and his own personality quirks are being misconstrued as an indication that NRC is in a bad financial spot. His own fixation on triumphing over their rival school, acquiring and maintaining material goods for himself, and wanting positive attention do not reflect the state of the school. Notice how no one but Crowley whines about the financials and how while Crowley still complains about spending money, he has no qualms with spending lavishly himself on school events and holidays. This means NRC has money to spare, but Crowley is just stingy about how those funds are allocated.

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hystericalgynophobia · 1 month ago

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i'm no longer fearful. men are all seemingly rapidly becoming like this. if they can go full radical (extremist term) why can’t we go full radical (root term) too? check this blog for updates over the next coming day/weeks/month. a big change is coming. we are stronger together, by the way. let them be distracted by tearing each other down over race/class/sexuality etc and other minor differences. the old “die heretic!” joke has never been so accurate. let’s focus on our commonality for now. that’s how resistance works, it cannot work in isolation. it needs community and solidarity. i’m considering a book, for free, online, drm free, no profit motive. donate if you want, it’ll go straight to the resistance. i’m making huge lists of recommendations (books, documentaries, etc. anything that isn’t PURELY fiction for the fiction website to read something else for a change). i’m making lists of links of terms and people to look up. if you don’t want to look, fine, it will still be there if/when you do. i’m turning off my privacy blockers and re-enabling search. i’m purging my blocklist, all 11 years of it. i’m making a community, maybe communities. join if you want. there will only be limited moderation to prevent predation and sadistic cruelty. it will be 18+, not for nsfw content, but because <18 need to socialize with their own. if they want to lie and sneak in like i used to, fine, but that’s up to and on them. maybe i’ll blaze them when it’s ready. 11 years with an account on here and 2 more before that and i still can’t pony up any money besides the monthly ad free fee? it’s given so much, why not? it’s under attack too, like the internet archive. why not?

in the meantime, i’ve switched to ecosia (both search engine and browser). go check it out. there’s an invite link at the bottom. it doesn’t do anything other than say how many people have signed up using it. it doesn’t cost or confer anything. all ad revenue supports the trees they plant after every whatever number of searches. your ad blockers don’t fully work anymore anyway. the privacy toggles are equivalent to duckduckgo and much better than chrome.

the link below will take you to the android or ios app or pc. whatever.

Check this out: Ecosia plants trees when you search the web! 🌳

Join me and 20M+ others and start planting today.

https://ecosia.co/app?referrer=friends-93lihr

If you’re using an iPhone or iPad, tap here to confirm you’ve joined:

ecosia://invite/friends-93lihr

/e/os is an os running on the android open source kit. no google, no apple, all functionality.

go get it on a freephone, the completely modular and right-to-repair smartphone made of ethically and sustainably sourced recycled materials.

all of this is the same functionality you already have but free, except for the fairphone obviously. think of the discontinued amazon smile program. speaking of. this third one (raiseright) even lets you buy an amazon giftcard and use between 6-20% of the money for the nonprofit of your choice with 100% same value, if you absolutely must purchase from amazon.

of course, bookshop is always better for books.

don’t see it there? older title? go check thriftbooks.

but first check your library. this extension will automatically check any and all libraries you choose for physical, ebook, and audiobook copies.

there are always alternatives. “no ethical consumption under capitalism” is true, but you still have a choice. you always do. a new world is possible. i hope to see you there. i’m pinning this, btw, because it is 4:30 am and i doubt many people will see this. maybe blaze it later without the top screenshot portion.

#ref #longposts #k #fav

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justmediocrewriting · 10 months ago

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Luffy x Reader; maybe she steals away his hat and a huge chase ensues and she lured him to the marines bcs they made a deal that they’d relieve her village of their debt? Straw hats help her out ?? :)

Stealing Hats, Stealing Hearts {m.d.l}

Summary: when the captain of the Marines comes to you and offers your village’s freedom in exchange for luring and capturing the Straw Hat pirates, you thought it too good a deal to refuse. You were rather adept at conning, and you were sure stirring up a ruse good enough to lure the crew would be easy, but when you meet the infamous Straw Hat pirates, you can’t help but feel hesitation towards the mission, as they are the complete opposite of what you expected.

Genre: fluff(?), slight angst

Requested: ✅

Word Count: 4.9k

Pairing: Luffy x fem!reader

Warnings: themes of coercion, language, manipulation, canon-typical violence, strawhat shenanigans

A/n: this request was so much fun to write, thank you so much for blessing me with it anon! I know it took a while to get out, but I was so in love with the theme and scenario that I wanted to reflect it in the writing. I did my best to polish and refine it to the absolute best it could be. I truly hope everyone enjoys reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To say you were nervous would be a major understatement.

You were shaking like a fucking leaf in your ratty boots because of your nervousness; when you’d accepted the request from the Marines, you hadn’t truly taken every detail into account. All you’d understood was that by doing this simple thing, your village would finally be free of their debt, and the Marines would gladly walk away from their post on the island. It sounded almost too good to be true, and now the reality of that was hitting you with a heavy impact.

You’d heard of the Straw Hat pirates; of course you had. They were vicious, unforgiving, brutal and animalistic — what they’d done in Orange Town was proof enough of that, not to mention the way they’d put down and hurt many Marines in Shells Town, all for a ratty slip of parchment. There were many rumors surrounding the crew, but you’d never given too much thought to their authenticity before — but now, staring straight at the Straw Hat pirates, in the flesh, you could believe every single one.

The one that made you the most nervous was the swordsman; the three katanas resting against his right hip were intimidating enough, but the glower on his face and the rippling athleticism that was potent beneath his clothes made for a rather frightening combination — it was one which you didn’t want to experience for yourself.

“No harm will come to you, girl,” Captain Akubi had promised you earlier that morning. “I will have Marines stationed everywhere to watch your every move; if things begin to get dicey, they will intercept.”

The captain’s promise had given you a small semblance of reassurance, but with knowing what the Straw Hats themselves were capable of, and seeing them in the flesh, you highly doubted any Marine here in the town would be strong enough to protect you should you incur their wrath — especially not against that swordsman. It was enough to almost send you running back to your decrepit shed with your tail between your legs.

But this was your home — and you had to protect it, at any cost. Even the cost of your own life at the hands of a vicious pirate group.

It was with this conviction that you’d raised from your seat and approached the table the pirates had chosen to occupy in the dingy tavern. Plates were scattered and piled across the surface of the table, and the captain, the one you’d recognized as Monkey D. Luffy from his wanted poster, was currently digging into a separate, still full, plate when you stopped feet from him.

You cleared your throat to catch his attention, but you truly weren’t prepared for the sheer depth he held within his chocolate eyes when he flicked them up to meet yours. Your breath stuttered momentarily as you were taken aback by just how attractive the man was, how the dim lighting sharpened every angle of his face, and not for the first time since you’d agreed to this mission trepidation clamped your gut; but this time, it wasn’t from fear, but rather a strange sort of nervousness tightening your throat and making it difficult for you to speak. You were aware of four other pairs of eyes on you, and your skin prickled uneasily.

“Yes?” The man asked, not impolitely, but rather loudly, and you wanted to shrink back as some of the clamor around the tavern settled down. Others were looking at you now.

You swallowed down every unpleasant feeling and crossed your arms over your chest, feigning a sense of confidence that you didn’t really possess.

“You’re pirates, aren’t you?” You asked accusingly, and the man’s face simply brightened, as if being recognized as a pirate somehow brought him happiness. He reached up and briefly resituated his hat atop his head, and when he spoke it was with an adorable little accent that left you feeling slightly weak in the knees.

“We are. We’re the Straw Hat pirates!”

You didn’t think it was possible, but when the man gestured to the other four occupants of the table, his features somehow lit up brighter than the sun, and you were slightly shocked. The man seemed so gentle, so kind, maybe even a bit naive and exuberant to a fault; how could a gangly, bright boy like this be the captain of a heartless, ruthless pirate crew? A slim glance to the other occupants left you feeling and thinking along the same lines — the swordsman was openly glowering at you, but his eyes were hardened in something akin to suspicion rather than blatant cruelty, and when your eyes met with the blond, well dressed man’s he sent you a charming smile that had you blushing slightly. The other man, a darker skinned boy with a bright smile and bandana wrapped around his head, gave you a shy wave, and the only woman of the crew, redheaded and simply beautiful, also smiled kindly.

Were these people really the Straw Hat pirates? They seemed… different, than what you’d heard.

“Are you really?” You couldn’t help but ask, and the man in the straw hat looked a little confused by your suspicion. He glanced over to his crew mates briefly before returning his eyes to you.

“Why do you sound as if you find that hard to believe?” He asked, and his tone was so genuinely curious and kind, and you found that you really liked the sound of it; for the first time since you’d started this mission, your muscles relaxed.

You thought you’d feel a lot more fear from the act of staring the captain of the Straw Hat pirates in the face, but for some reason, you just didn’t — instead, you felt genuinely baffled and curious.

“Because the Straw Hats are notoriously ruthless,” you stated, flicking your eyes briefly and suspiciously over the group. “You guys destroyed Orange Town.”

The redheaded woman who was previously smiling at you now narrowed her eyes, and when she spoke to you, her voice was lowered and full of venom.

“We saved Orange Town. Buggy and his band of bastards were the ones that destroyed it.”

It was clear that you were itching beneath the woman’s skin, and that was sort of what you wanted; it would be easier to draw them out if you angered them, and their emotions would blindside them and make them lousy to their surroundings. Ultimately, capture would be much easier if they were in that state; but part of you wanted to recoil from the sheer aggression in her tone, but the freedom of your village weighed heavily on your shoulders, and you forced yourself to stay strong.

“Even if I gave you the benefit of the doubt on that one, you still stormed the Marine base in Shells Town and slaughtered numerous innocent men.” You bit back, hoping beyond everything that your tone came out just as scathing as the woman’s had, and didn’t reflect the new wave of nervousness that had crashed over you.

The redhead didn’t react exactly in the way you expected, but she did roll her eyes in exasperation and sigh heavily. “We never killed anybody. Geez, just how many rumors have been flying around about us?”

“A lot,” you couldn’t help but say, and now the swordsman was no longer glaring, but the way he eyed you with a strange sort of intrigue made you somewhat prefer the glare.

“What kind of rumors?” He asked, and you nearly swallowed your own tongue. You narrowed your eyes at him and forced your tone to stay even.

“The bad kind. That’s why you aren’t welcome here.”

Now the captain spoke up again, and his words were filled with so much confusion that it made you feel a little guilty for your fib.

“But none of those rumors are true, so why would we be unwelcome?”

Now a genuine anger was curdling within your gut, the oppression and helplessness that your village had been subjected to over the many years boiling hot beneath your skin and muddying your usual stone-cold resolve.

“Because this village has dealt with enough, and the last thing we need is a ragtag group of lowlifes sullying it with their presence. Even if you aren’t what the rumors chalk you up to be, you’re still pirates, and that’s bad enough.” You didn’t have to force the way you scathed this time, and the anger beneath your skin burned just a little hotter when the man simply stared at you with no reaction to your insults — his eyes were narrowed, but not in irritation, and he was looking at you as if he were trying to read you, trying to reach into the very depths of your soul and figure you out from the inside out. It was making your skin crawl in ways that were simultaneously pleasant and unpleasant.

The man was silent for a long time, and when he finally did speak, his voice was lowered, but the volume did not alter the genuine curiosity or the cryptic-esque quality of it.

“What kind of pirates do you think we are?”

You blinked at him, momentarily baffled and caught off-guard. You worked your lips for a few seconds, but no sound escaped, because how were you supposed to answer that question?

Quite simply, actually.

“The only kind there is,” you stated bluntly, and when you tried to turn your glare onto the other occupants of the table, it fell from your eyes at the way they were looking at you. The woman’s expression was the worst; she looked sympathetic, and even a little understanding, and it confused it you to no end, but it also angered you. Why would they feel sympathy or understanding towards you? There was no reason; and even if there were, you wouldn’t want it from pirates.

“There’s more than one kind of pirate,” the man said, and this time, his voice was kind, almost wistful, and there was a strange sort of nostalgia dancing in his brown eyes, and you swore you could see a hint of distant admiration too.

Many different emotions were gnawing at your chest from this whole interaction; there was confusion, envy, intrigue, attraction, but most of all, there was anger. Anger that you had been put in the position to feel these emotions, that you were the one forced to bear the weight of the entire village, anger that these damn pirates weren’t falling for your tricks, that they didn’t even really seem perturbed by your words or opinions, that they were completely rewriting your entire view on them, and now you just wanted them to snap; to show their true colors, and then get thrown behind bars where they belonged.

It was with this impatience that you said and did what you did next.

“There is only one kind of pirate, and I can prove it.”

The man furrowed his dark brows in confusion for a total of a second, but his expression turned quickly to shock and anger when you reached forward and yanked his hat off with barely-concealed aggression. There was a soft snap noise that seemed to reverberate around the tavern when the strings below his chin broke apart from your roughness, and to you, it sounded less like a string snapping and more like the single shot fired into the sky to signal the drop of the guillotine at an execution; your execution.

Panic gripped your muscles as you stared into pools of swirling anger, and your adrenaline spiked, and before you could even grasp any coherent thoughts you turned on your heel and ran.

Chairs scraped behind you, and your heart thundered in sincere fear when multiple footfalls immediately pounded after you. You dodged multiple patrons, from sitting to standing, and beelined straight for the back of the tavern, the route that had been given to you somehow taped to the forefront of your mind instead of forgotten in your state of near panic.

He will definitely kill me if he catches me, was what was bouncing around your skull, pushing you further than even the thought of saving your village as you led the individual behind you on the invisible path, feet kicking up clouds of dust along the roads. Your breath felt frozen in your lungs, and your legs were already aching, but you knew what was at stake, and you’d be damned if you gave in to the pain and lost everything; it wouldn’t happen, not when you had already come so far.

You just narrowly avoided crashing into a woman as you crossed a rather busy road, receiving a multitude of insults and curses; your pursuer wasn’t as lucky, as you could hear gasps and shouts of indignation as well as stumbles and a small crash, and the distraction was enough for you to gain a few more feet on the man.

Just a few more turns, you thought as you whipped around the corner of the bakery, heart thundering even harder as you pursued gathered himself quickly and the pounding of his feet closed in. The warehouse is just a couple more meters this way.

You gripped the hat tightly in your hand as you ran, every shout and command to stop that reached your ears only propelling you forward, and before you knew it, you were banging open the large doors of the warehouse and skidding to a halt in the middle. The man’s footfalls entered not too long after, and a sense of dread filled your body as you whipped your eyes around the warehouse. It was empty, save for you and the man behind you. They were supposed to be here.

Did I go to the wrong one? You thought, chest heaving with large breaths as you tried to desperately search for the signature sea-blue of a Marine uniform. But there was none in sight, and your entire body froze when the man spoke up from behind you.

“Listen, lady. I don’t get what you’re doing, and I don’t know why you’re doing it, but it ends now. Give me my hat.”

Mustering up as much courage as you could manage you whipped around to face the man. He was standing just feet inside the warehouse, and his red vest and cropped jeans were covered in dust, and his shoulders dropped heavily with his panting. You were immensely relieved to find that he was the only one who’d followed you, but at the same time disappointed, because your goal was to capture all of the Straw Hat pirates. Would captain Akubi really be happy with just the captain? Said captain’s eyes were narrowed and his fists balled at his sides, but he made no move to attack you, and it drove your nerves up the wall.

Why was he hesitating?

As if reading your mind, the man spoke again. “I don’t want to fight you, so just give me my hat. Please.”

You hardly believed what your ears were hearing. Did a pirate just ask you to do something? That didn’t seem right. This was all too confusing; it was supposed to be simple, damn it! So why were you finding it so difficult?

You glanced around once more, and hope fluttered minutely in your chest when you caught movement just left of the pirate’s flank; it was a Marine, with a gun clutched in hand, and he was advancing on the man in front of you. With a shout he whipped the heel of his gun into the back of the man’s neck, and you watched with mixed feelings of relief and guilt as the man’s eyes snapped closed and he groaned as he crumpled to the floor of the warehouse.

“Very well done,” you recognized the husky voice as captain Akubi seconds before the man himself appeared at your side. His hands were clasped together in front of his thighs, and maybe at any other point in time, you’d feel pride at his praise, but at the moment you couldn’t feel anything of the sort. You kept your eyes glued to the man on the floor, who was groaning and attempting to rise to his feet, only to have the Marine behind him slam his gun against the back of his neck and bark an order to stay still.

“It’s only the captain here, but my men are rounding up the others as we speak. They were much easier to catch since they were separated. And it’s all thanks to you.”

Your skin crawled and you wanted to coil back from captain Akubi as he purred at you, his fingers slinking up to rub at your chin.

“Don’t touch me,” you nearly whispered, eyes still not leaving the sight before you, and your breath caught in your throat when the man raised his head, eyes locking with yours. They were wide, but there was no anger within them, just worry and plain confusion. Akubi sniffed once and tore his hand away with a click of his tongue.

“Well, go ahead and cuff him, men. Our business is done here.” Akubi ordered with a snap, and you startled when there was a shuffle of movement, and four more Marines fled from their hiding places within the warehouse, one with a pair of sea-prism handcuffs clasped in his hands.

The pirate was forced to his feet with his wrists bound behind him, and the metal clink of the cuffs locking sounded much louder than they truly were — the sound sent unpleasant shivers down your spine, but you refused to let yourself feel any guilt. These people were pirates, and their capture meant the freedom of your village, and you would never allow yourself to feel regret for doing what you had to.

But the man was making it extremely hard not to, what with those eyes blown wide and those lips slightly parted, looking at you as if he couldn’t believe you could truly do something like this. You had to tear your eyes away, or you might do something stupid; like attack captain Akubi and spell the end for your village, all for the release of some measly pirate who you knew nothing about; who was rumored to be heartless and aggressive.

But there was something in your gut, something screaming at you, telling you that this man just wasn’t that type of person, and every interaction you’d had with him thus far simply proved more and more truth to that ascertainment.

“Alright, men, time to head north. We will bring this miscreant and his crew to headquarters, and finally get the recognition we deserve.” Captain Akubi said, clapping his hands together gleefully. Your heart sunk as you stared at the man’s broad back as he approached the cuffed pirate, and you cleared your throat. Captain Akubi sighed heavily and barely turned to glance at you from around his shoulder.

“What is it?”

“My village. We have our freedom now, right? That was the deal. I honored my end. Will you honor yours?”

Your heart clenched and fell even further at the look of faux sympathy captain Akubi sent you.

“Oh, my dear, that’s really not in my power. But, given how well you did here, I will surely recommend it to headquarters.”

Anger and fear gripped your chest in alternating waves, and you stumbled forward with a splutter on your lips.

“That wasn’t what you told me! You said you would give us our freedom!”

The pirate currently held prisoner flicked his eyes between you and captain Akubi, his brows furrowing as he drank in your interaction with the man.

“I got you the Straw Hats. Now free my village, Akubi!” You demanded, and you nearly tumbled on your rear when the Marine captain turned completely on his heel and advanced on you in mere seconds, towering over you with a snarl on his lips. You winced when his hand whipped up and pain exploded across your jaw as he squeezed your cheeks with his hand.

“I am a Marine captain, and you will not give me orders. I have no obligation to honor your request, and there’s nothing you can do about that, so just pipe down and slink on back to your little ramshackle hut.” With that Akubi released your cheeks and pushed you back roughly, and now you really did fall to your rear, tears stinging at your eyes as you watched his retreating form.

“This isn’t fair,” you whispered through quivering lips, anger and helplessness wracking every nerve ending in your body. You balled your fist and slammed it down against the floor, not even wincing when pain bloomed through your palm. “This isn’t fair, Akubi!”

Akubi only laughed loudly and threw his shoulders up in a shrug. “Life isn’t fair, girlie. You’d better get used to it.”

“So you did this for your village,” the pirate said, and all eyes snapped to him. You expected to find anger or resentment, disbelief at the very least, etched into his face, but instead his lips were pulled into a small smile, and his eyes crinkled with what you could only identify as glee.

The look on his face was so soft, so happy, that it caused your throat to tighten, and you were unable to get any words out, so you simply nodded in affirmation. Why you were even engaging in this with the man, you didn’t know.

“I knew you weren’t bad.” The man said, and he sounded so confident, so sure, that it sent tingles up your spine, and you couldn’t help but preen under the praise. You were equal parts relieved and disappointed when the man tore his eyes from you and pointed a cheeky smile at captain Akubi.

“And now, I get to kick your ass, for terrorizing this village, hurting my friends, and for making her cry.”

Your heart swelled with conflicting emotions at the man’s words, and your cheeks warmed, but the feelings were dashed away when captain Akubi let out a condescending bark of laughter.

“You? You’re going to kick my ass? How do you figure?”

The man didn’t react, at least not with any of the reactions you would’ve; he just smiled even wider, and clicked his tongue.

“With my crew, of course.”

As if those words had simply summoned chaos, a multitude of noises broke out within the warehouse; grunts, groans, bangs, yells, curses, thwacking, thumping — and suddenly Captain Akubi was the only Marine standing, and all the others were on the floor, each clutching at a different part of their body, or nursing a different wound. Seeing them on the floor, and captain Akubi’s speechless gape, filled you with such happiness and satisfaction that you were nearly buzzing beneath your skin. Warmth bloomed in your chest when the redhead swam into your view and offered you her hand.

Despite your earlier aggressive interaction with the woman, you were happy to clasp her hand and heave yourself to your feet with her help. She gave you a smile, and you smiled back. While still gripping your hand, she said, “I’m Nami.”

“(Y/N).” You responded curtly, feeling a little guilty for the things you’d said to her previously. She genuinely seemed nice; they all did.

“Okay, captain guy, what’s it gonna be? Surrender or fight?” That cute accent pulled your eyes like a magnet to the owner, and you felt your skin heat at just how good he looked; now that there was more light, you could see his features more easily, and he was damn attractive. And that accent definitely complimented it. The others were there, too. The swordsman was standing beside his captain, two swords drawn at the ready — and the blond man was currently lighting a cigarette as he stood above a couple of groaning Marines.

The woman beside you, Nami, rubbed a hand against your bicep, and you turned to give her a soft, grateful, if not confused, smile.

“We heard about it from the villagers. When we broke free from the Marines, the villagers explained everything. And when we got here, we heard what the dingleshit said to you. We’re on your side.”

Warmth bloomed completely through your body at her statement; part of you couldn’t truly believe that these pirates were actually going to help you, that they even wanted to, and part of you wanted to reject the help. It was what you were used to, after all. The Marines had taken over your village years ago, and the rest of the village was far too scared to stand up to them. Your rebellion against them was done in secret for the longest time, and as the years went by, you began to lose hope; up until captain Akubi had offered you this exchange. If only you had been able to see it for what it truly was — a lie.

“You’re under arrest by order of the Marines!” Akubi growled, but his voice was a bit shaky, and when you glanced at him, you felt another zing of satisfaction at the trace of fear on his face.

The man, no, Luffy, brought his hands (which you now noticed were free of their restraints) up and cracked his knuckles. His tongue darted out to briefly swipe his lip, and when he drew his arm back, your eyes nearly bugged out of your head when it stretched back yards. It slung forward with a speedy velocity as Luffy yelled “Gum Gum Pistol!”, and when his knuckles made impact with captain Akubi’s face, the cracking result was nearly deafening.

Captain Akubi flew past you to the end of the warehouse, the wall shaking as his back made contact, and when he slid down his shoulders slumped; out cold. Luffy huffed out a snort and his hand returned to his body with a snap, causing him to stumble slightly.

Silence fell over the warehouse, the only interruptions being scraps of the wall tumbling to the floor and the grumbling and groaning of Marines. You stared around the warehouse with wide eyes, and when they traveled back to look at Luffy, you flushed when you made direct eye contact with the man.

Luffy smiled brightly at you, dazzling and so, so breathtaking, and your heart leapt into your throat when he crossed the distance between you two and offered his hand.

“I’m Monkey D. Luffy, and I’m going to be King of the Pirates. I also want you to join my crew.”

You nearly choked on your own spit, and doubled over as coughs wracked your body. Tears stung in your eyes when your coughing ceased and you glanced up at Luffy disbelievingly.

“You what?” You croaked out, and Luffy, completely unperturbed by your blatant confusion and shell shock.

“I want you to join my crew. You’re brave and you can run really fast, and you sacrificed yourself for your village. You’re a good person. Just the kind of person I want on my crew. I would love to sail with you and find the One Piece.”

Your entire body flushed at his close proximity and compliments, but then what he said registered, and you couldn’t help but bark out a laugh.

“Wait, you really think the One Piece is real?” You asked, wiping a tear from the corner of your eye. Luffy’s smile didn’t dim one bit, and he nodded.

“Of course I do. And you will, too. Once we find it. So, come on.”

You shook your head and bit your lip. “Look, Luffy, thank you. For what you did here. I can never repay you for it. But… I can’t join you. The life of a pirate just isn’t the life for me.”

A shock of yellow caught your eye when you glanced down, and with a start you realized you were still clutching Luffy’s hat. Hurriedly, you shoved it into Luffy’s chest and released it before pulling your hand back as if it had been burned. Luffy had to fumble a bit to catch it before it fell to the floor.

“And, um, I’m sorry about taking your hat. And… for breaking it.” You avoided Luffy’s eyes as you mumbled bashfully, but even without directly looking at him, the bright warmth of his smile was still blinding.

“If you really want to say sorry, or repay me, just join my crew.” Luffy said, still offering you a place on his ship, and it was truly mind boggling to you, but you still couldn’t bring yourself to look him in the eyes.

“I’m serious. I can’t join you. I belong here, and I’m not interested in life at sea; I wouldn’t be a very good pirate. I… I also don’t know what captain Akubi would do to the village. We still aren’t free, even if you knocked him out.”

At that, Luffy’s smile did fall a bit, but he didn’t frown.

“I understand, (Y/N). But… maybe once you’ve gotten everything settled in your village, you could think about it?”

At that, you finally met Luffy’s eyes, and you were rendered speechless by the pure hope you found there. There were other emotions there too; interest, eagerness, and something soft, something that made your heart constrict and your skin burn. Suddenly, you wondered about what it would be like to have a life at sea with this man — to see him every day, to be a part of every adventure, to grow close to him and know him.

To know every Straw Hat member for who they truly were, and not who the rumors said they were.

You glanced around at the other members of the infamous Straw Hat crew, and with a small smile, you murmured,

“I’ll think about it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: tbh I’m not sure about this ending, but I hope it was good enough for y’all. The next request I’m working on right now is a Sanji request, so be on the lookout for that! Thank you so much for reading!! ❤️❤️

#opla #opla x reader #opla luffy #opla luffy x reader #one piece

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olichat-reads · 10 months ago

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Imagine | Betraying Villain Bakugou as an Undercover Hero

Villain!Bakugou x ProHero!Reader

Summary: you were a pro hero sent undercover to get close to & gather intel on the notorious villain Dynamight. What you didn't account for was to fall in love with the man you were meant to take down.

A/n: basically undercover cop x mafia boss inspired hehe.

A/n: this was meant to be a proper fic but its been sitting in my drafts for SO LONG as just a concept so this will just have to do for now :')

🌟

You have to tell him.

The longer you wait, the worse it is for you. It won't take long for them to get to you.

To get to him.

Your fists clenched around the covers at the thought.

You can't let that happen.

You won't.

Bakugou Katsuki- or better known as Dynamight was a name well known by the public as the ruthless villain ruling the underworld with an iron fist whilst fitting into the facade of a very accomplished CEO.

He was notorious for his dirty ways & illegal businesses, never bothering to hide his darker persona from the world, making sure everyone knew to fear him. Yet, the authorities never had enough proof to arrest him, never able to trace his crimes back to him, his organization too clean & flawlessly managed to reveal any dirty work below the surface.

Thats where you come in. An undercover pro hero sent as an innocent civillian to get close to him & investigate from the inside.

Who would've guessed on the inside you'd find a grumpy teddy bear of a man instead of the demon of Musutafu. You learned he wore facade over facade. Despite knowing his CEO mask wasn't really him, you discovered he wasn't really the heartless criminal either.

Bakugou acknowledges that his hands weren't clean in his business deals, he knows he isn't all good, but over the time you spent together, you learn that he isn't all bad either.

Because how could the man who visits the orphanage he grew up in be all bad?

How could the man- insisting he only visited to see his Ma Inko that raised him out of obligation and not because he got attached to the little hellspawns at the orphanage, despite always relenting to play with them every single time without fail, because they were annoying, as if he couldn't just walk away if he really wanted to- be as evil as they say?

How could the man that consoles little kids who were nervous to have a new family so gently and softly, that they will be loved, deserved a place to call home, and promise he will make sure they were happy and safe, be totally heartless?

Falling in love was not the plan.

Nor was having the big bad crime boss fall in love with you.

It was most definitely not in your plans to adore the man snoring peacefully next to you while you silently lose your mind, as much as you did.

Looking over at him, his head pressed against your hip, arm draped over your thighs, his chest rise & fall in slow breaths, you couldn't help the smile that tugged on your lips.

Who knew the big scary, angry man whose explosive demeanor never fails to shaken people's hearts everywhere could be so..

Adorable?

He looked so harmless burrying himself further into your side, pulling you closer as he mumbled your name in his slumber, the action making you melt.

You twisted your body just a bit to bury your hands into his deceptively soft hair, letting fluffy porcupine spikes tickle your cheeks as you let yourself be pulled closer by the sleeping mobster.

And who would have ever thought the person who got him to open his heart was the same person sent to bring him down.

How ironic.

You clenched your jaw at the thought, freeing your fingers from those gold strands to fist your palms so tight your knuckles turned white, as you tried to control yourself while still being mindful of the sleeping Bakugou snuggling for your warmth.

You wanted to protect him. To keep him safe. For him to be free and happy. No matter the cost, even if it meant dying by his hands.

You've thought about it. Of course you have. You knew the consequences of revealing yourself to him, your initial motives and the fact that you've been betraying him, all the while the cold, hard man fell in love and trusted you enough to offer his heart.

He would kill you.

You knew that. You hurt him, even if he didn't know it yet. Broke his heart, & betrayed the trust he found so hard to give to just anyone.

There was no doubt he would kill you, and take your life as compensation.

Yet, you've made up your mind. You'd have nowhere to go. Even if by some miracle you get out of this alive, the HPSC would hunt you down. Your life was over with either way.

How strange.

To think dying was the least of your concerns.

As you run your fingers gently through his hair again, unable to placate your twitching fingers, Bakugou slowly stirred awake, soft red eyes fluttering open to blink up at you, before he broke into a sleepy smile filled with so much pure love and adoration you had to choke back a sob.

No. Dying was a show of mercy. Nothing would hurt more than having those warm eyes currently staring at you like you were the best thing in the world, turn cold. No torture would hurt more than having to live, knowing the man that used to attack you with the sweetest kisses whenever he came home, the man that clung to you like a baby koala while you cooked, the man that loved you despite knowing you weren't perfect, would come to hate you.

That was what would break you.

You were certain. Death would be welcomed in comparison to the alternative. Death would be worth having those red eyes only ever look at you the way he was now.

"Hi."

"Hi, you."

🌟

a/n: ohhhhhh mafia au my beloved

#bakugou x reader #bakugou fluff #oliwrites

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gingerandcelery · 7 months ago

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what i would do moving forward if i was watcher entertainment except i don't know anything about business

statement by morning, something like "we've heard you, we're listening. more coming soon." they need to say something, they are loosing subscribers by the minute. including me :D

video posted by monday. here's my vision: the three of them walk into frame with clown shoes (there is sound effects), they have clown makeup and wigs. because this was a clown move. they break down what tf is going on over there and why they felt the need to make this decision?? if your on the verge of bankruptcy just say that. swallow your pride, bring your fucking accountant in and have them break down the costs of things.

delete the patreon, have podcasts on the main channel for free and also on the streaming platform. wild move that they expect people to pay for two platforms for their content?? it's literally just a podcast this is not high budget content, if they want patreon as a cheaper option they could even move things like are you scared, too many spirits on there. bring it down to like $3 a month or something idk people would probably be more willing to pay that than $6 a month.

there needs to be more incentive to sign up to the streaming platform. when dropout launched, it still had plenty of content on youtube for free and continues to upload free content, they also have a large ensemble, and new content daily. watcher will have four videos a month for $6. that's the difference between a meal/ticket home for a lot of people.

so they could put more of their behind the scenes workers as on screen talent (smosh/gmm situation), or take in other buzzfeeders maybe? idk just there needs to be a way to get more content. as it is this isn't enough to justify it.

crowdfund for the pricer projects like worth it, ghost files. this is what starkid does, people are willing to put money towards things they specifcially want to see. but if people are wanting to watch just ghost files & mystery files, theres not enough content to justify $60usd a month.

have a meeting where you realise who your target audience is and understand it is largely people 15 - 35, who do not have income spare/do not have income that can go towards an extra frivolous thing such as this.

most of the audience has followed for shane and ryan, and their dynamic. lots of people have followed for ghost files/mystery files, people don't care about these shows being super high budget!! especially mystery files, that could honestly be filmed with one camera, two of them behind a desk rhett and link style there is no need to have so much money dedicated to such a low budget concept. this would also allow bigger seasons for files.

please watcher revaluate your choices. i think people will permenantly have a changed view of you going forward but you can still save what you have.

#watcher #watcher entertainment #sorry i had to get this out of my head i have been thinking about this all day. its one of the worst business decisions i have seen since #last week

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cheshirecatqueerio · 3 months ago

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hey guys, I am more lenient on HOTD than a lot of the fans, I am down to clown with Rhaenicent shenanigans.... but holy shit, overall, this episode was not good.

I get the parallel they are trying to create between Alicent and Rhaenyra's inverse trajectories (one becoming more free the other confining herself to duty) but there was nothing this season indicating Alicent's stance would shift this quickly this steeply. Even Aemond threatening Helaena, while pushing Alicent to her breaking point should not elicit this response. The son for a son exchange was bogus. Bestie your grandson died to settle that debt please get a grip.

Daemon is probably the character who experienced the most radical change this season and it took an entire subplot's worth psychic torture/ fantasy LSD to get him there. Alicent's outcome, as the writers wrote her, simply was not developed enough.

Also Rhaenyra lecturing Mysaria on the cost of war to the smallfolk? Be so fucking for real. Again wouldn't be an issue if at least a solid 40-60% of Mysaria's contribution to team black wasn't: a) don't overlook the smallfolk and their value, b) when lords quible smallfolk pay the price. Mysaria's stated purpose was that she doesn't really give too much of a shit about who is on the throne as long as the smallfolk are accounted for. And I understand she became more loyal to Rhaenyra and believes in her cause, especially over Aemond, but her take should not be 'but your grace, you must pursue your claim even if war crimes'.

Addendum: why is Otto in a cell? Free my boy (derogatory) please....

The only subplots I enjoyed here are: a) whatever Tyland is doing because it genuinely feels like Essos is a different show (in a positive way), b) Larys-Aegon boyfail duo.

#asoiaf #got #a song of ice and fire #asoif/got #house of the dragon #hotd #hotd season 2 #tywin lannister #alicent hightower #rhaenyra targaryen #rhaenicent #aemond targaryen #mysaria #rhaesaria #daemon targaryen

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sequencefairy · 7 months ago

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the bad takes i have seen today! like never mind the like, fully racist garbage, but like, just the idea that for some reason the fandom? is owed? this content? for free?

that watcher should what? just fuckin' go under and leave 30+ people unemployed because your sorry ass who probably only watches Ghost Files and hasn't ever given them one fucking red cent because you've bitched about the cost of tickets to the tours and the cost of merch and the cost of shipping and everything fucking else under the sun is mad that now you will have to cough up six whole american dollars to get access to every single Watcher video at any time?

(also i am going to continue to repeat this ad nauseum, but like, i dunno man, make a fucking friend and share an account. if six bucks is too much, then three is probably more manageable, or even less, if you share it with more people. this is not hard.)

so you wanna watch Ghost Files? you subscribe during the month(s) that GF is coming out, watch what you want, catch up on stuff you missed, and then you fuckin' dip. no one at watcher is forcing you to sign up for an annual subscription.

so you think buying merch supports them more? firstly, merch costs money to make. then it costs money to fulfill. then it costs money to host a site from which your fans can purchase it. this is not even considering paying the artist who designed the merch in the first place. all of those costs? money not going into watcher's pocket, keeping them from being able to afford to make more fuckin' videos.

so you think the patreon would solve this? the patreon doesn't keep the lights on. it never did. it was a stopgap and a way to create a bit of community that would help drive the adoption of the new channel. patreon skims a percentage off the top of what they on every month, as well. same as youtube. same as anything else.

you lot talk a big game about how mad you are about watcher selling out and being previously anti-capitalist but like, seizing the means of video production for themselves is actually like, vigorously saying fuck you to the system they have been forced to work within. they are going to make the content they want to make, and they will no longer have to whittle it down to being fucking palatable for whatever youtube advertiser or fucking nonsense product agrees to sponsor the video.

#things jess says #watcher #anyway i have been mad #i continue to be mad #i will be handing out gift subs at some later date #but some of y'all make me feel like you really fucking don't deserve them #and also that you just don't like the guys at all #like be so for real with your nonsense about how steven is forcing ryan and shane to do this #the racism fucking jumped out

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sadkachow · 6 months ago

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And Then It Is Monday - Why Sunday's plan did not (and could not) work

So normally I don't really make longer analysis posts, but I kept seeing people on social media outright supporting Sunday's actions in 2.2, and I wrote something out about why I personally think that Sunday's plan is wrong. I don't know if this is an issue with tumblr as well, given that the people I saw supporting him were on different forms of social media, but regardless.

Before I begin, I'd like to pose a reminder that the opinions in this are mine and mine alone. If you agree, awesome! If not, I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, so long as you're respectful! I have no idea if this is well written or will make any logical sense, but here we go!

(Spoilers for the 2.2 Trailblazer quest under the cut, if that wasn't already obvious)

So the first thing to get off the table: I feel Sunday is a very sympathetic villain, but a villain nonetheless. I understand the people that sympathize with him. I do too, to an extent. He was raised on unhealthy ideals and the belief that he was a "religious figure," one that people looked up to. Other people were allowed to just be, but Sunday always had to be better. He loved his sister, and the people around him, and he wanted to make a better world for them.

But that does not excuse what he did. Making a 'better world' can never come at the cost of taking away people's free will, because that world will never be "better". That's where Sunday's plan falls apart.

Because, yes, there are shitty people in the world, and yes bad things happen. Would it be amazing if we could stop all the bad things from happening ever again, and make the world a much better place? Yes! It would! I would love to live in a world where I don't have to fear for my life and my freedom for an assortment of reasons! But that world doesn't exist--in real life or on Penacony--, and getting it to exist shouldn't be the result of subjugating and controlling other people, because that in and of itself is violence. Albeit a different kind of violence, but violence nonetheless.

Not to mention that things like Sunday's plan and the concept of forcing everyone to act a certain way just to fit this "better world" to me almost serves as a condemnation of human nature and of the very act of choice itself. Your better world starts by saying that some choices are bad, so those choices get taken away, but where does it end? What if someone in charge views a harmless choice as a bad one, and takes away that one in return? Does it stop there, or does it continue, until no one at all is allowed to make any decisions, except those in charge? Who, really, does that benefit?

Consequences for certain choices exist. Generally, society says murder is bad (except for specific circumstances such as self-defense, which technically at that point is no longer even considered murder (at least where I live, it may be different in other areas, but I'm basing this off of my own experience)), so there is a concrete consequence to people murdering people--assuming that they don't get away with it. It doesn't stop people from murdering people, because the liberty of choice is still there, but it shows that just because you can do something doesn't mean you should or that you will escape without consequence.

People are going to do bad things. That is, unfortunately, how humans are. But our responsibility lies in holding ourselves accountable and in promoting growth and healing. That is how you build a better world. Not trapping everyone inside a dream world without any care for their feelings or beliefs, but in getting people the help they need, in fostering a society of positive change and human connection.

And that is why, as "golden" as Sunday's dream may have seemed, it was never going to work. In the end, as the story quest shows, human will and the desire for freedom wins out in the end. When there's a will, there's a way.

#i have otherwise dubbed this as #the reason why if i was in the hsr universe and a part of the main plot the plot gods wouldve sniped me and put me out of commission #just like they did welt and dr. ratio for the 2.2 update because if i were there i would just start yelling at sunday and lecturing him #for being a fucking idiot #if any of this makes any semblance of sense i will be very happy #i can see why people get drawn in by sunday's plan like genuinely #it sounds really really nice #a world where every day is sunday and everyone is at peace #but despite it feeling “nice” i could never really find it in myself to agree with him #at first i thought that maybe i was just being kind of cynical and then i started to think about it a bit more #which is how this came into existence #i sent this to one of my irl friends first #who was like holy shit this is an essay #honkai star rail #2.2 spoilers #honkai star rail spoilers #sunday hsr #character/story analysis #analysis #penacony #penacony spoilers #hsr 2.2 #i dont really know what else to tag this under lmao

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felassan · 1 year ago

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Along with what he recently said on Game Mess Mornings, Jeff Grubb and a co-host/guest also commented on the recent BioWare news on Game Mess Decides, in an episode called "BioWare Troubles". Here is a transcript of relevant quotes:

Grubb: "I saw this story first from Dean on GamesBeat, then I looked into it a little bit more. Let's start from the top. 50 people of the 250 people that work at BioWare are no longer there. These are not necessarily just low-level people, whatever that might mean, it's people who've been there a long time. It seems like a lot of people who might be pretty high in the chain and maybe have pretty high salaries. This feels like an aggressive cost-cutting measure for a studio that is being asked to cut costs for the first time in quite some time, but they haven't put out a game in a while. And EA is getting pretty strict about this sort of thing, and it's hitting BioWare, pretty much on the cusp of them releasing Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, a game that is now expected internally to come out next year [2024]. The summer of next year [2024] at the earliest is what I'm hearing."

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Grubb: "It's rough. I talked about this a lot on Game Mess Mornings, so if you want the detailed reporting, feel free to listen to that. Just to summarize, kind've, what's happening here: EA is changing. Apex Legends is on the decline, I can confirm that. They said, publically they said they were too aggressive and too optimistic with their expectations for that game last quarter. That's what they told investors. [...] In my opinion, taking risks on things people really want, and having the best studio do the thing they're best at is the right answer, I think in EA's mind that would be like, good money after bad, is how I think they would view that. The other factor here is that EA has had this corporate restructuring, it's no longer EA where everything's 'EA'. It is [now] EA Entertainment and EA Sports. EA Sports used to cover everything, where it's like, hey, that money from FIFA Ultimate Team is paying for BioWare to BioWare, they can keep being BioWare. And now those are two separate buckets of money. And Andrew Wilson, when they announced this split, the words he used were like 'financial accountability for our leaders'. Like, the writing was on the wall for this. BioWare doesn't look sustainable, probably, to EA, when they are no longer looking at that Ultimate Money as like 'oh, this pays the bills, we're fine'. So EA made this choice, BioWare made the tough cuts and now they have to go put out Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, a game that was supposed to come out this year - that's what they were aiming, they were aiming to put it out next month actually [September 2023. episode was recorded in August], was internally, was the first original goal. I know, it's impossible to imagine that now. But now they're thinking next summer [2024] at the earliest. It was actually, for a little bit there, gonna be March 2024 at the earliest, that's not happening anymore, no way. So Summer [2024] at the earliest. And they're taking people off of [the next] Mass Effect to work on Dragon Age: Dreadwolf, so that means also [the next] Mass Effect is gonna be even further down the line. So, um, yeah, y'know... games are bigger than ever, they take more time than ever, and so the idea that, okay well, you're taking more time, but you're also gonna have fewer people working on these things, that doesn't feel like the right solution here. Baldur's Gate 3 shows that RPGs can be if not the biggest, among the biggest games in the world, how do you not lean into that, how do you not see that and lean into it? But I mean obviously these layoffs were in motion before they ever saw what Baldur's Gate 3 was doing."

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Co-Host/Guest: "There are people who just, love Mass Effect and Dragon Age." Grubb: "Yes, LOVE - IT." Co-Host/Guest: "They still carry giant torches for those franchises. How do you mess that up? Cause they still care so much about those, right? Man, people still freak out about N7 Day and stuff like that. It seems like they should've just been able to make those games, like take breaks here and there maybe, but now, I just wonder, like what happens if Dragon Age: Dreadwolf comes out and it doesn't work quite well?" Grubb: "Now, I don't want people to take away from this that that's what we're saying, that's that's what's gonna happen. That is a concern, and we're talking about that hypothetical. Still, what I've heard about Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is that they are pretty happy with where that game is at, internally. Now, it's taking longer, it's taking more time, it keeps getting pushed back, but that's every game, that's pretty much every game these days, goes through those growing pains. So that's not, some, you know, alarm bell ringing, or anything like that, but, y'know, internally being happy with the game and it being able to live up to, live in a world where all of these other massive games are coming out. Y'know, not just Baldur's Gate 3, Starfield's gonna be coming, Tears of the Kingdom happened, it's like, yeah, if Dragon Age: Dreadwolf comes out and it's just another Dragon Age, and it feels kinda like it hasn't grown much, you know like, if it's as good as Dragon Age: Inquisition, I don't know if that plays as well. But, internally, they're pretty happy with it. So, I mean, take that for whatever it means to anybody, for fans, I don't want people to be like, oh let's go light torches and freak out about this because the game's gonna be terrible now, that's not what I'm hearing." Co-Host/Guest: "That is kinda like my concern though, is that an 'Dragon Age: Inquisition 2' would not be good enough anymore, I don't know." Grubb: "Yes, I mean, that's my feeling, but I don't know. Again, we've noticed this, a lot of fans, maybe they would be happy with that. You know, I think as long as they get the characters that they really love, for the most part, many of those fans actually will be happy, but, we'll see."

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Co-Host/Guest: "Apex Legends, that's like a whole other side of this story. There's been some intense stagnation in the shooter market." Grubb: "By the numbers, the shooter genre is probably the biggest one, like the biggest genre of video game in terms of dollars and people who play, it's probably the shooter genre. There's probably an argument to be made for some others, but it's very very big. And that meant, you know, at certain times throughout our history of shooters, we would have 20 to 25 different shooters releasing over the course of a couple of years. All these other tertiary shooters. [...] [but] It does seem like these days that money is all sort've coalescing in Fortnight, and then a few other things hovering around Fortnight. [...] I mean, I'm hesitant to go be like, well, and this is the problem with live service games. Because obviously live service games have made a lot of money for the shooter genre. And Apex Legends did pay a lot of the bills for a lot of these other games at EA, and enabled a lot of things, and it was a massive hit. So it's like, it did work for many years, and that's okay, right, like you made a product, you put it out there, it succeeded and made all this money for several years, and now it's not doing that anymore, and you gotta make something new. That's just the way it used to work, just on a shorter timeline. So it's like, oh, they expanded that timeline, that's nothing but a good thing. It's just like, okay well, how do you make something to replace Apex Legends. Cause back in the day it would've been like, make a sequel, the old one goes away, here's the new one. And now there's no like, obvious pathway towards making Apex Legends 2. [...] Internally, Apex Legends, on the decline, they're not expecting it to be the big thing for them going forward. Maybe they're able to bring it back, it's not gonna like, go away over night, it'll keep making money for them, but it's not going to be the The Answer to their problems. They will be looking for the next thing."

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A question from chat asked "'BioWare Magic' - still there?" Co-Host/Guest: "You know, I see a lot of people say this, people say it about Blizzard all the time. I get what they mean, and I get that they don't really mean magic, but y'know. Magic's not real. There's only hard work, good management, and other factors like that, and good people. But it's also, there's a part of me gets tired where I'm like, oh, those people aren't there anymore. Well yeah, a company like BioWare, whose first prime was in like 1997, of course, right. But, you know, a lot of people making Zelda today aren't the people who were making it in the past. And that series is still able to manage well, so. It's not necessarily about magic. I know what you mean by magic, but I don't really think it's about that. I think it's just about management and a lot of these other factors. Culture. Culture's the important thing. You kinda have to keep a culture consistent throughout. You can't be swayed by trends like 'let's make everything online multiplayer, let's have fifteen zillion microtransactions, we think RPGs aren't cool anymore'. That's the kinda stuff you gotta work against." Grubb: "Yeah, Walt Disney's been dead for a long time and Disney still has some appeal, and it's like, well how does that work? I mean it works in that the people that get good in a certain discipline wanna go work at these studios, and so it's up to the people running those studios to make sure that they're attracting that kinda people. I think there's a lot of people working at BioWare who came there because they deeply care about BioWare and their games, and their fans, and I think a lot of those people were previously working on Star Wars: The Old Republic and kinda getting that game back into shape. A lot of those people are in charge of BioWare, and I think that's mostly a good thing. I would still expect good things from BioWare. Great things might be difficult, but I think the studio has the possibility to still put out games that really please fans, so. And I think the Mass Effect Legendary Edition, that sorta love letter, kinda proved that to a certain extent. Now let's just see if they can do that with a new game."

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A question from chat asked "Why don't they remaster Dragon Age: Origins?" Co-Host/Guest: "I think I understand why they don't necessarily wanna do a trilogy remaster like they did with Mass Effect, but why not just do Dragon Age: Origins at least? Are they worried that people will bristle because expectations are for a whole trilogy now?" Grubb: "I think the sort've, it makes more sense as a trilogy, if they could do it as a trilogy, cause then you could put it out as this big $60, $70 thing, right. If you're just remastering Dragon Age: Origins, you gotta do a lot of extra work, you basically have to do a remake to get it to a $60, $70 thing, and then the expectation is, well then they'll do Dragon Age II and Dragon Age: Inquisition, and it's like, well they're not, they're not gonna do that." Co-Host/Guest: "I know at least, Dragon Age: Origins looked uglier than Mass Effect 1, but I remember despite coming out after Mass Effect 1, Dragon Age: Origins may have been older tech, or at least was like definitely, was like noticeably an uglier game." Grubb: "It wasn't Unreal Engine." Co-Host/Guest: "And it was in development longer even than Mass Effect. So yeah, it would be harder to probably remaster than any of those Mass Effect games were, even the first one." Grubb: "And the Mass Effect games were one continuous story with the same character, and it was all in the Unreal Engine, so it was just all kinda lined up easy to do a remaster trilogy of that. Dragon Age doesn't really have that going for it. Obviously a lot of crossover characters, a lot of characters from one game to the other, but not in the same way as Mass Effect."

[source]

#dragon age: dreadwolf #dragon age 4 #the dread wolf rises #da4 #dragon age #bioware #video games #mass effect #next mass effect #I'm about a week late posting this up sry :') been lost in the sauce of BG3 #long post #longpost #sw:tor

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