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apparentlyaswarmofbees · 4 years ago

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I've been asking around this one question for a few people now, because I like hearing what people have to say about it...

So I wouldn't mind it if you shared a list on who's your favourite (from Most to Least) from the Obey Me! Crew (Brothers & Formally Undatables)...

Also, please feel free to ramble on about why you placed them in each space...

O-oh dear-

First off, you spoil an infodumper like me too much lol (I am happy sfjsjjdjn) and I am going to go overboard (and changing the order of things) for my own pleasure.

And so...

Second off...

Gladly

Here is My List of LEAST to MOST Favorite of The Obey Me Boys ^^

That I just did on spot because I didn't have one ready because it's hard for me to rate the characters as they all have their traits and even their flaws add something good to the character but I'll be dammed if I don't enjoy deep frying my brain for fun.

Please take note I am taking this literally and all characters in here are FAVORITES, just some will be more and some less, which mean I LIKE ALL OF THEM. Yes, I have changed my opinion on a certain two characters I have said to not like, and I am not ashamed to say I was incorrect.

So let's start this off with the right foot shall we?

#12 | Diavolo

He is still infuriating I won't deny that. And I won't pity him though he is a tragic character that is so lonely he overrates any kind of affection, that doesn't know how to interact with others without exagerating, that has no one to give an oposing opinion because of his status and so it's increasingly hard for him to learn to make good decisions, and with his goal to unite the realms I could almost say he is naive. He's a bit of a puppy always wanting some pets, but as a not dog person, I don't have enough in me to be always playing, so to me an overly needy puppy can end up getting annoying, though of course, I can't help it but at least give it a few pets before going my way.

#11 | Simeon

Yes in the end I actually liked him all along but was just in denial after I thought about it. Simeon is a good character, he's a dick even though he's an angel and he doesn't bother to be any different, he definetelly has his own set of rules he follows and I believe he would be a Chaotic Good just like me. He's well made. And as much as he is pretty unlikeable, the mystery, the questions, the fact that he has always been the same we just didn't get to interact with him much to see it, to have a naturally asshole character put down some of his walls to help us even if part out of possible self interest. And of course he's also fun. Simeon is charming, and I have come to appreciate all of him.

#10 | Luke

A kid. A brat and a tsundere. I Absolutely love the character development and it's extremelly adorable. He's now officially our guardian angel and I love that. He was just a prick that I rolled my eyes so hard whenever I encountered him in the game and now he's just a lil' bratty brother that is fun to tease and squish the cheeks off. He's a really nice kid in the end, just previously ignorant, but still nice because he was willing to learn and change despise saying he didn't want to. I personally can understand Luke as I was pretty alike as a kid. Again, he's a nice kid I would gladly buy some balloons and cotton candy for.

#9 | Barbatos

The number 1 buttler, he's just, a good dude l o l. He has his distance from everyone due to his position but that doesn't make him any less interesting. He is mysterious and powerful and yet he feels, so chill. He's also fun and actually has a pretty soft personality in which he knows exactly when to switch off to strict. He's a character I respect and wish existed in real life so I could be friends with (╥﹏╥).

#8 | Solomon

Shady sorcerer is actually a pretty good guy though mildly insane. He is actually responsable (and takes it pretty seriously seeing he's basically the representative of the human realm). He's kind though again, mildly insane, and diligent. He may have terrible food but the fact he does it with good intentions is pretty adorable, he just likes to follow his instincts and be spontaneous because he likes new and exciting things. He probably has quite a bit of angst to him due to his not only immortality in not aging but also by not being able to be killed but even so it feels that, contrary to how many human immortals end, he still hasn't lost the light in his eyes and can still enjoy things and enjoy being alive, and that is most likely thanks to other immortal/long living beings such as demons.

#7 | Lucifer

Yep. Lucifer is actually a really fucking great character, he's fond of his family, hard worker to the point of destroying himself, self punisher, elegant, pretty af, cute at times. But not exactly my most favorable cup of tea. Seeing I can see through his bullshit all his posessiveness, all his pettiness, all his actions just becomes ridiculous and annoying. And theres also a problem with the fact we always end up submiting to him, I don't want that. For every time he disrespects me I want him to kneel and kiss my feet. His pride collides with my own, and his decisions do too. But even so he is very reliable and so he has my respect for that, I do want to hug him and tell him he deserves nice things and that he can rest now this is not the war anymore you don't have to bow down to anyone anymore you didn't doom your brothers but freed them instead, but then again he makes bad decisions because he has zero braincells for emotional intelligence and that pisses me off and makes me just want to yeet him off a cliff. Yeah Lucifer, I would gladly kick you in the balls with ♡°.•love•.°♡.

#6 | Leviathan

Surprising is it not? But it's true, I often focus on Levi due to him not only being pretty alike to me but also because he's related to many things I have been familiar with since I was born: animes and games. His anxiousness is relatable, the outcastness is relatable, the awkwardness is relatable, the obsession is relatable, the references are relatable, the infodumping is relatable. He's very relatable to me, but not my most favorite, and all because of his envy. He's a guilt tripper, and though I am long immune to it in real life due to extreme exposure to it from my family, it still is enough for his rank to go down. I still love him though, but mostly as the character that represents the thing I am most familiar with in life: myself.

#5 | Beelzebub

Big puppy, he's the type of guy who will talk to plants. He has big and strong hands that could crush anything and yet he will do his best to handle some things gently. He's chill and non judgemental, loyal to the core. Once you win him over, you win him over, he would die for you. He is purposely childish at times and it's cute. He is amazing. I wish I could enjoy eating like he does. He's the only character I truly feel hurt for, as he is deeply inflicted by survivor's guilt and it just pains me I can't comfort him because he isn't real ಥ‿ಥ

#4 | Belphegor

Hoh boy. The brat. The fandom itself is pretty divided on their liking of Belphie and it's understandable lol. But I personally understand Belphie. To hide hurt behind anger, hate and spite, to turn to agression to prove a point but you end up just fucking up. But the guilt and wish to fix things can lead one to giving themselves up, and so it becomes a constant battle of getting close but not too close for the sake of both parties involved. I get this boy more than I wish I ever did, and that's why he's high on the ranking. And because he's cute ngl.

#3 | Satan

H o h b o y, another one that reminds me of myself, only it's the aftermath of the above where one bottles up all their negative feelings because being emotional is not being rational and who the fuck even wants to not be rational. Where you have no fucking idea who you are because all you know is to stomp your feet and scream for the sake of making an statement but that just proved all your enemies a point so now you turn to smarts to prove yourself. To make others angry, to make them frustrated and infuriated with your knowledge because you want to prove yourself, be reconized for who you are, to be someone and also, hopefully, change other people's ways, to make them understand they are wrong because you deep down actually want to get along with them. Yeah, Satan is high on the list, and it's also because he likes detectives uwu.

#2 | Asmodeus

What a fucking icon he is I love him okay. It frustrates me when people use cheating as a angst prompt for him as he's obviously someone who just isn't made for monogamy, and he's pretty honest and I feel he would have nothing to hide and would talk it all out with all his partners. He's a sweetheart that works hard on daily basis and hour after hour to mantain an image, he likes the attention, he wants to be loved. If anyone mildly self centered ever told me 'I love you as much as I love myself' I would marry them on spot. Asmo is just incredibly sweet and I love all his affection and respect him for all the work he does to make a good impression and look up to that self confidence even though most of it is actually just him trying to convince himself. Also perfect example off gender is an ilusion lol.

#1 | Mammon

Yep, our number 1, The Great Mammon, the most lovable dumbass that has been by our side from the start though with a bit of whining. This man is perfect. He has incredible self control over his powers, and as someone who used to be an angel to be able to use money all you want bro. I wouldn't feel bad either. He's our protector from start to end to the point he focuses on us instead of the queen in the Dame event. He isn't stupid just has selective focus just like me! And all the people with ADHD and many other neurodivergents. When he wants something he does is perfectly and diligently, he just needs the right push at the right time. He's the most good of all demons and even angels and he loves all his brothers deeply, he is always there to support everyone to the point of even allowing himself to be the punching bag for the sake of them not turning too much on one another. He was literally our first SSR card, our first call, our first pact, our first and the best. He IS great, truly.

#god I need to sleep #any typos are due to sleep deprivedness and I will be fixing later #obey me #obey me!#obey me shall we date #obey me! shall we date?

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the-writing-mill · 4 years ago

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assassin au with the "making a deal to save the other" and jangobi?

Okay, this one’s actually even a bit longer than the other one, so it’s going under a read more lol

Jango is a merc/bounty hunter/assassin guy, Obi-Wan is an information broker with an editing cover job and a “rental property” to embezzle money

These two have never met, and have no idea about each other’s identities beyond knowing their underground reputations, until Jango is hired to assassinate Obi-Wan’s little brother, Anakin

Obi-Wan is visiting Anakin for the weekend on the day of the planned assassination, and notices things are a little off, setting off all of his learned criminal world/underground alarms

(Anakin, btw, is a part time mechanic, part time engineering student. Obi-Wan has very carefully kept the boy out of his world since becoming Anakin’s official guardian after their adoptive father, Qui-Gon Jinn, died in an accident)

Obi-Wan gets paranoid enough after spending an evening with Anakin that he fakes a pillow body in the guest room and sets himself up in the living room to guard

This is somewhat fortunate for him when an apparent burglar (who moves much too professionally and dangerously) breaks in through a window near silently

Jango barely has half a second of realizing something’s up before being side tackled

The fight is pretty intense, if odd for being so quiet, since they both coincidentally don’t want Anakin to wake up (at some point Obi-Wan manages to get Jango’s ski mask off)

In the end, Obi-Wan ends up pinned under Jango, hands restrained above his head, knife against his throat, straddled

Jango grumbles sardonically about how Obi-Wan couldn’t make Jango’s job easier and just sleep through the night and call the police in the morning, tipping Obi-Wan off to the man being there for Anakin instead of him

Obi-Wan is, of course, a self-sacrificing idiot and gets Jango’s attention by wondering out loud about what a small-time mechanic going through school could have done to get a high-level assassin sent after him

(Jango’s plan, as Obi-Wan has figured out, was to stage a break in/burglary and wake Anakin up and kill him in the resulting “fight” to make it look like the burglar had killed Anakin in the heat of the moment)

With the man under him clearly having figured out too much, Jango decides he’ll have to kill him too, but first thinks it’s worth learning what gave him away

There’s a bit of back and forth until Obi-Wan is able to piece together who exactly Jango is (should his assassin name be Mythosaur? I think that would be fun and the “myth” bit can refer to his work being so subtle and Jango being such an unknown outside of his assassin rep)

Now, someone figuring out exactly who Jango is an even bigger no-no, so Jango goes right for the kill

Jango doesn’t manage to kill Obi-Wan before Obi-Wan offers a deal (didn’t think I’d take “making a deal to save the other” this way, did you?)

Jango’s pressing a blade into Obi-Wan’s neck enough to draw blood but finds himself intrigued enough to let the man talk for another few seconds (Obi-Wan really is quite the negotiator)

Obi-Wan offers free information for life, basically, and to be support for a set number of missions a year. In exchange, Jango won’t kill Anakin and will let Obi-Wan find Jango’s client and kill the client to nullify the contract (and prevent Jango’s rep from being tarnished)

It’s an utterly absurd proposal but also clearly made with knowledge of the underground, so Jango of course asks who Obi-Wan thinks he is to make that kind of offer

Jango finds himself reluctantly impressed by Obi-Wan’s identity (I have no idea what his underworld identity is, but I don’t it to be “The Negotiator”) and finds himself considering the deal, which Obi-Wan catches onto and he manages to convince Jango

(Part of the final deal includes the fact that Jango technically has two more months per his contract to carry out the hit. If Obi-Wan can’t find the client by then, Jango will kill Anakin anyways. Obi-Wan is desperately confident that he can do it, despite Jango having basically zero info beyond the contract and a clearly shell company in Hong Kong to wire the money to)

Jango gets Obi-Wan to give him a glut of information over the next few weeks, to the point of them spending a few hours in a private booth/room in a very private club so Obi-Wan can safely give it all to him. Obi-Wan is both desperate to meet expectations and tries his best; and is also very annoyed at getting pulled away from hunting down who’s trying to kill Anakin and therefore sasses Jango quite a bit.

Obi-Wan is really having trouble figuring out who wants to kill Anakin, finally giving in and starting from the other end, Anakin himself. Why would someone want to kill Anakin? Specifically why would the sort of person who can find and hire Jango want to kill Anakin? This is in some ways even harder to figure out, but Obi-Wan has many more leads and information to access

After a few weeks of this dynamic, the first change is when Jango and Obi-Wan end up complaining about a mutual acquaintance during an info drop off, which leads to more mutual bitching

Then Jango drags Obi-Wan across the country (we’re just going to assume we were in like… NYC or Chicago before) to assist him in another assassination in LA

Obi-Wan is somewhat tempted to get Jango caught, since that would be an easy way to save Anakin, but decides against it for multiple reasons (including a few that he will not yet acknowledge, including developing fondness for Jango and, even worse, the first few seeds of trust)

So instead of going to prison, Jango returns from a smooth assassination to an already half-drunk Obi-Wan, shirt very scandalously unbuttoned halfway down

The have a nice night of just drinking and relaxing and then wake up the next morning curled around each other in bed (they didn’t have sex, as the lack of certain types of soreness and their clean, still on, pants from the night before prove. But they still have the knowledge and a few sensations of sleeping together with their guards down)

When they get back, things are a little awkward, but it’s fine, they’re professionals, so they’ll keep meeting to keep up their deal. Obi-Wan keeps giving Jango any info he wants, and they keep accidentally falling back into their habits of doing things like complaining about mutual acquaintances who annoy them

Obi-Wan is also making some headway with investigating who wants to kill Anakin, finding many questionable decisions on Anakin’s part, especially regarding friends/social circle, but not anyone who would be able to hire Jango that would dislike Anakin

With about a week and a half left, and leads running out, Obi-Wan starts to freak out a little, which Jango notices, which in turn makes Jango realize that he doesn’t like Obi-Wan being stressed out and afraid and tense and looking at Jango like he’s a cat about to pounce on a wounded canary

But Jango also puts work before all else so when he has another job (coincidentally in the same city), Jango drags Obi-Wan with him, unfortunately making the mistake to literally bring Obi-Wan with him

When Jango starts cursing about the job going to hell part way through a shoot-out, Obi-Wan casually comments that it’s not even that bad, prompting a sass battle between the two of them while they’re still fighting their actual opponents where Jango realizes that Obi-Wan, as brilliant as he is, has the worst on-the-ground luck ever

In the end, they win, with a very damaged, limping vehicle that they, for handwavey reasons, need to get to some spot that the car won’t make it to as is. Thus, they have to go slide into the mechanic shop Anakin’s working the graveyard shift for

Obi-Wan really does hate, in many ways, finally having his two worlds collide, bringing Jango and the shot-out car directly to Anakin, and is almost distracted from how bad he feels about it when Jango tries to comfort him

Jango is, thankfully, a very good actor, and Anakin is a bit oblivious. He very easily starts clumsily probing Jango about what Obi-Wan and Jango quickly figure out Anakin thinks is a romantic relationship between them (and, to be fair, Obi-Wan has been acting strange, and spending much more time “with a friend” in the past two months or so)

At some point, Obi-Wan gets so uncomfortable with the idea that he and Jango are in a romantic relationship that he makes what is, to him and Jango, a mistake, and draws attention to the bullet holes again

Jango vaguely looks like he wants to kill Obi-Wan while Anakin casually explains it’s not that big of a deal, although he might have to find a better patch if this sort of thing keeps happening

This stops any murder plans Jango was making, and any counter plans Obi-Wan was making in favor of carefully probing Anakin to figure out when else he had fixed a bullet ridden car

Anakin reveals pretty easily that his engineering school’s dean, Sidney Palpatine (Sidney=Sid-=Sidious lol) had dropped in about two and a half months ago with a car in similar condition. As well as a few other people that Anakin describes well enough for Jango and Obi-Wan to identify as members of a local crime organization and a private army (like Blackwater/Academi), as well as mention a weird package in the trunk

This is clearly the who and why for Jango getting hired to assassinate Anakin, but they both play it cool until Anakin’s done and they can go on their way to drop off the vehicle

Cue Obi-Wan having a panic attack, which freaks Jango out quite a bit, since he’s so used to Obi-Wan being very calm and controlled and not showing vulnerability. Obi-Wan even gets outwardly angry

Cue Jango’s “oh. Oh.” moment

Jango basically drags a near catatonic Obi-Wan back to the apartment he’s been staying in and drugs him to sleep (in Jango’s mind, if Obi-Wan was too out of it to notice a drugged drink, then he clearly had no more business staying awake)

By the time Obi-Wan wakes up and starts panicking, less than yesterday (thanks to a good night’s sleep), Jango has some basic information on the legal and illegal lives of Palpatine, and a few half-formed assassination plans

Jango also has toast. Which he makes Obi-Wan eat. Obi-Wan grumps about not having been forced to eat breakfast since he was a teen. Cue a small sassy back and forth that further calms Obi-Wan down

Jango offers to kill Palpatine for free, which startles Obi-Wan because that is not how the criminal underworld works. Jango half-heartedly puts forth some logic about how Obi-Wan succeeding with their deal means that Jango gets to keep the best information broker on his side. Obi-Wan can tell that that isn’t all, and recognizes that Jango is probably being kind, but won’t outright admit it

They eventually decide on a plan where Anakin will bring Obi-Wan with him to go visit dean Palpatine who he’s friends with, and that Obi-Wan will bring some poisoned tea in a travel to mug to share. Anakin will refuse the tea, being Anakin, and Obi-Wan and Palpatine will both drink the poison. Obi-Wan will have the antidote (either disguised as something innocuous or to be taken during a bathroom break) and cure himself before there are any symptoms, leaving Palpatine to die of what will look like a natural heart attack

The plan goes awry, due to Kenobi luck, when Anakin accidentally has them barge in while Palpatine is meeting with another criminal. Cue a fight in the office, a secret passage, and more criminals to fight while Jango scrambles to get to the new location to help

Obi-Wan manages to actually word his way into delaying their defeats and deaths until Jango gets there. Jango manages to take out about half of the enemies before he gets defeated/captured as well

At this point Obi-Wan tries to make a deal again, to save Anakin and Jango. It seems to work/Palpatine seems interested, only for him to pull the rug out and basically say he’ll be either killing all three or making them wish they were dead, including some conjecture about Obi-Wan’s looks (aka sexual slavery)

Cue Jango getting incensed enough to break free again and start fighting again. He gets to Obi-Wan, frees him, and thus ensues a battle couple take down from the cheesiest of action flicks

In the end, Palpatine is the last one standing. Before either of them (or Anakin, who is beginning to get over his shock) can kill Palpatine, he runs away. Jango, Obi-Wan, and a confused Anakin give chase, stopping at the end of an alley as they realize that Palpatine has been hit by a bus

Jango and Obi-Wan drag Anakin through a convoluted path back to Obi-Wan’s apartment and confirm that, yes, Palpatine died. Jango and Obi-Wan quickly confirm that there’s nothing linking them to the crime scene (Palpatine had told his secretary that Anakin and Obi-Wan had left out the back when he realized he was going to have to kill them, giving them an alibi)

Obi-Wan and Jango tell Anakin a mostly true story and prod Anakin to decide to go back to [insert some place here] and live with some half-distant bio relatives (the Lars family), maybe finish his degree online

Cut to a few months later, Obi-Wan is reading an update text from Anakin before Jango comes into the room. Obi-Wan gives him a good luck kiss before sending Jango out to his job, reminding him that “I’ve always got your back”, Jango responds in kind, Obi-Wan accepts this/informs Jango that he knows before letting Jango drag him into another kiss

#assassin deals AU #Kenfetti #Jangoobi #Jangobi #Obijango #asks #ask meme thing #Anonymous

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lesbianlovelanguage · 4 years ago

Text

i want to feel something (i’m numb inside)

It’s another HfBLM Prompt for imperfectabstraction on AO3, who requested pining!Billy who’s bad at communication. Thank you endlessly for your donation!!

Also a huge ass thank you to @gideongrace for your patience and help in me writing this and basically betaing it. I love you so much.

Read it on AO3 here or below the cut

-----

1. Welcome to Hawkins.

Billy had been attending Hawkins High for two weeks when he realized what was happening.

It wasn’t anything special, no fireworks or butterflies, but instead a cold frustration frosting over him. Because he realized he had a crush. On the most popular and decidedly straight boy in the miserable town of Hawkins, Indiana. Neil’s beatings could never compare to the sinking feeling in Billy’s gut when Steve Harrington stood in front of their english class and gave a frankly terrible report on Moby-Dick .

It certainly wasn’t Harrington’s presentation that made Billy recognize his crush, but the way his soft hair shined and he stood tall and confident even as the words that poured from his mouth were utter bullshit .

Billy had always been a sucker for confidence and cockiness.

But once Harrington had sat down, and was thus out of Billy’s sightlines, the warmth that came with a new crush turned to the familiar iciness, and it felt as if a great gaping maw had opened below him.

Even after the bell rang and the classroom emptied out, Billy was stuck in his head.

It wasn’t fair, he thought. He was supposed to hate everyone and everything about this town, and be fucking thankful when he got to put everything in his rearview mirror. But here he was with a ridiculous crush.

It wouldn’t couldn’t change his plans. Billy was resolute to not act upon his feelings, to avoid Harrington at every turn.

That resolution to ignore Harrington stayed for the next 5 periods, until he got to basketball practice. Harrington was clearly in his element on the court, no math problems or english reports here. Just sheer athleticism and strategy. And it made Billy angry. Because he couldn’t do anything about Harrington’s breathless panting or the way he was clearly showing off. So Billy did what he always did when he was angry.

He played dirty.

He used every trick in the book to trip up Harrington, guarding him by pushing every body part up against Harrington, using even the tiniest of openings to steal the ball, and he rammed into Harrington to steal the ball. He showed off a little, bolstered by the knowledge that Harrington’s focus was entirely upon him, the anger replaced by the feeling of pride.

When he landed after dunking the ball, he turned and continued to use the excitement of being Harrington’s sole focus to bound over to the tangled heap of lanky limbs and pale, creamy skin. He even put out a hand to help him up before he came back to himself, violently.

What was he doing? This is the exact opposite of ignoring Harrington .

He tried to save face by growling some stupid one-liner about planting his feet, and then dropped him like a sack of potatoes.

When Harrington popped back up and ignored Billy completely to chase after the ice princess herself, he shook his head and continued to play. This time, his showing off and dirty moves turned vicious as he continued to foul right and left before the coach was forced to bench him. He tried to shrug off the anger and left to take a shower.

Thankfully the showers stayed empty, and Billy was able to escape. After the disaster that was basketball practice, he decided to firmly clamp down his feelings and avoid Steve Harrington at all costs.

2. Can’t Ignore Him Anymore

Billy was having a bad night, to say the least .

His plan to head off to Indianapolis and the nearest gay bar with a loose ID policy was ruined because his shitbird step-sister decided to fuck off with her weird ass friends, probably with Sinclair even though he tried to warn her that Neil wouldn’t be happy. He had proof of what happened when Neil wasn’t happy blooming on his back too. At least it wasn’t worse, he thought with a grimace. He wasn’t sure when walking away with bruises had become lucky but it was what it was.

And now he had to run all over Hawkins to find the little shitbird, and with every house that sent him somewhere else his admittedly small patience was dwindling. By the time he was pulling into the dark driveway of the Byer’s house, he was itching for a fight.

And then Steve fucking Harrington walked out of the house. Because God hated him.

Or at least, it felt like the Big Man hated him as Harrington sauntered towards him, dish towel casually tossed over one shoulder and hands tucked into his jacket pockets.

“Am I dreaming or is that you, Harrington?” He felt himself call out before fully processing the words.

“Yeah, it’s me. Don’t cream your pants.” Harrington sounded blase in his response, but a faint blush appeared on his cheeks as Billy took off his jacket. Interesting. As he walked towards Harrington, a familiar bush of bright red hair popped in and out of the window and shocked Billy back to reality. He stopped, leaving plenty of space between himself and Harrington, enough to hopefully let him keep a clear head.

“What are you doing here, amigo?” Billy taunted. Maybe he would finally see some action tonight, at least enough to wipe the bitter taste that flirting with Mrs. Wheeler left in his mouth.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Harrington retorted, sounding exactly like a fifth grader.

“Well, I would. ‘S why I asked, cause I don’t really like the picture that’s being painted here. Max goes missing all day, and then I find her here in some stranger’s house, with you of all people. See what I’m seeing, Pretty Boy?”

“What’s that supposed to mean, me of all people?” Of course Harrington would pick up on that.

“What does King Steve want with a thirteen-year-old girl? Not a great look man.” The adrenaline bubbled up in Billy’s stomach in anticipation of a fight, fists clenching and skin buzzing. But Harrington never reacted how Billy expected, and this was no exception.

“Yeah, but letting demon monsters kill a group of pre-teens isn’t so great either,” he said casually, as if his words would make a lick of sense. Billy gaped a little before shaking his head and laughing a bitter, mean laugh.

“You’re digging your own grave man. I just wanted my step-sister, but it looks like I’m gonna have to kick your ass.” That was the only warning he gave before closing the distance and swinging. Harrington went down like a sack of potatoes and Billy couldn’t help the smugness in his voice when he bent over and spit, “Told you to plant your fucking feet, Princess.” He then stepped over Harrington’s sprawled body and walked inside.

He noticed all of the usual brats that hang off of Harrington, but his gaze zeroed in on Lucas. All of the anger and frustration Billy had felt over the course of the night collided into one comprehensible thought.

He had warned her.

He wasn’t proud of what he did, but at least he had the ability to stop. He just wanted to scare the kid, hoping that if he couldn’t warn Max he could scare the kid off before Neil got involved.

If he got involved, he wouldn’t stop, not until Sinclair was really hurt. Or even dead.

Billy didn’t like himself while he was doing it, knew that his behavior was revolting and monstrous, but he was willing to play the bad guy if it kept the gremlins from the real bad guy. He was thankful when Harrington forced him around and clocked him in the face. Then he had something better to focus his rage and fear on.

They were in the middle of fighting when Billy thought he lost his mind. He had grabbed the fridge door, planning to use it to clock Harrington in the head, when a thing fell out. It didn’t move from it’s spot on the kitchen floor but it left a trail of something slimy and Billy went mental.

“What the actual fuck. Someone had ten seconds to explain what this is,” he growled, and was promptly educated about the Upside Down, demogorgons, and something the brats called The Mind Flayer. Apparently Hawkins was housing some horror movie level shit, and of course Harrington was involved. So much for ignoring him forever.

3. Summer Sweetness

Billy didn’t just enjoy summer. He thrived in the summer. The sun, the heat, the smell of the ocean and the sound of busy beaches filled him with a happiness even Neil couldn’t touch. There were no ocean waves that summer, but chlorine was a close substitute. Anything was better than the disgusting stench of cowshit that seemed to permeate Hawkins in the fall.

And even better was the silent agreement he had made with one Steve Harrington.

It started at Prom. Billy had agreed to go with some girl, he hadn’t bothered to remember her name, only to get the promposals to stop. It was a good ego boost at first, but after six in four class periods, it got exhausting to try and politely decline. So, the seventh girl who came up to him with a big home-made card practically dripping in glitter got a ‘Yes’ from the Billy Hargrove. Ridiculous.

He made the mistake of telling Max somewhere that Neil could overhear him, so he ended up having to rent a limo and buy a corsage and dress up in a full tux. All for a thing he didn’t want to go to with a girl he didn’t care about. To just get through the night, he ended up downing an entire bottle of tequila by himself.

The next morning he would definitely be blaming the tequila, but he would be lying to himself that it was the only reason he did what he did.

It had been building for a long time, but it wasn’t until he saw Steve in the bathroom furthest from the gym that he realized what it was.

He had stumbled down the darkened hallways of Hawkins High, desperate for the escape a cigarette would bring him. He knew the bathroom in the english hall had a busted fire alarm, so he made a beeline towards it. He was so focused on pulling the pack out and lighting up, he failed to notice there was someone else, not until they cleared their throat. His head shot up, ready to fight, only to be met with big brown eyes and pale creamy skin.

“Oh hey, Pretty Boy. What are you doing here?” He tried to play it casual, not letting on that blood was rushing in his ears and his heart was in his throat.

“Could ask you the same question. I’m pretty sure Colleen is asthmatic, won’t appreciate the nicotine smell,” he said, gesturing to the cigarette he had just lit up. It took him a minute to figure out who the fuck Colleen was, until he realized it was the date he had abandoned in the gym.

“Pretty sure she won’t care what I smell like, if you know what I mean.” Billy waggled his eyebrows and dragged his tongue along his bottom lip. He was caught off guard though, when Steve’s pupils dilated. Interesting.

“You’re nasty,” Steve tried to cover the few seconds of silence, but Billy was a shark who had smelt blood.

“Oh really, Stevie?” He asked before taking a long drag of his cigarette and blowing it towards Steve. “You don’t like the idea of Colleen and I getting freaky? What’s a little locker room talk between amigos after all?” He smirked before going in for what he hoped was the kill. “Unless… You’re jealous?” His smirk only grew as Steve stuttered, trying to form a rebuttal.

“I am not jealous of Colleen. I feel bad for her, going to one of the most special nights with you.” Steve’s words were meant to cut, but Billy could hear the uncertainty in his voice.

“Never said you were jealous of Colleen, Stevie. But if you are, I think I have a solution.” That was the only warning he gave Steve before walking over to be right in front of him. They were so close their shoes were touching, and Billy could smell the smoke on Steve’s breath.

“Seems a little hypocritical to yell at me about smoking when you were doing the same thing.” Billy may have noticed that Steve wasn’t the best in school, but he would never say the boy was slow. He seemed to get with the picture pretty quickly.

“Oh yeah?” His voice was breathy and soft. “You gonna do something about it?”

“I think I have to. It wouldn’t be right if I just ignored it.”

“Well, what are you waiting for? Do it,” Steve challenged. And Billy never backed down from a challenge. He lunged forward the few feet between them and smashed his lips against Steve’s.

The kiss wasn’t nice or gentle. It was a battle between two wild animals, only softened when Steve’s hands snuck up Billy’s back and tugged on the golden ringlets. Billy broke the kiss with a moan and Steve grinned.

“Like that, tiger?”

“Shut up and get back here,” was Billy’s only response before they collided again. Shaky hands unbuttoned shirts. As soon as Steve’s torso was exposed, Billy moved down to suck what was sure to be an impressive hickey along Steve’s collarbone, unable to resist marking the pale skin.

Steve’s moan was loud as Billy moved his hands from the small of his back to his thighs and picked him up. Like he was nothing. He was placed on the edge of a sink, and then Billy moved down Steve’s chest, kissing every mole he could find. After successfully making his way down to his knees, Billy unzipped Steve’s pants and proceeded to rock the boy’s damn world.

That was the only time they had sex during school, but it wasn’t the last time they had hooked up, far from it in fact. He was dropping Max off at the ice cream shop, Scoops Ahoy, when he saw Steve again. He was in a truly ridiculous parody of a sailor’s costume and Billy wanted to eat him alive.

He was surprised to find the feeling was mutual. He walked up to the counter to tease Steve about the uniform, and somehow ended up in the storage room getting his dick sucked this time.

The summer proceeded to pass like that, until some time in July when Steve said he couldn’t keep having sex at work and gave Billy his phone number with a wink. Then Billy started sneaking into Steve’s bedroom at ungodly hours and left before the sun had risen.

But all good things came to an end, and Billy was nothing if not a coward. As soon as August came around, and the pool closed, Billy took all of his savings and the four boxes it had taken to pack up everything he cared about, and left. Without a word, a text, or a note. He ran away from Hawkins, ran from his father, and from Steve, who had started talking about having movie nights and cooking dinner together and other domestic crap fuck buddies weren’t supposed to do together.

He ran.

4. Hey Pretty Boy, Long Time No See

Billy loved Chicago. He had moved there with plans of just saving up enough to fly back to Los Angeles, but a year into living there he had fallen in love. Sure there were things he hated, like the winters and the tourists, but there were so many more things to love.

Like the food, and the people he had met. Both of which he was enjoying on a perfect summer’s day. And to top it all off, he was finally going to get a tattoo.

Robin, a girl he had met through work and then started to hang out with after running into her at the annual Pride Parade, had convinced him to finally indulge in it, helped him work out what exactly he wanted, and even gave him a recommendation for a guy at her shop that specialized in the style of tattoos that Billy had decided he wanted.

So, on the day of his appointment, he met Robin during her lunch break where they grabbed some tacos from a street car and walked back to her shop. Billy was silent, nervous as hell, but luckily Robin was enough of a chatterbox to fill the silence and keep it from getting awkward.

“You will love Steve, Billy. Swear to God he’s one of the sweetest people I’ve met.” She let out a small huff. “Of course he’s a total dingus, but so are you. Boom. Match made in Heaven.” She waved her hand around, almost dropping her taco, and Billy couldn’t help but laugh at her antics.

That laughter died in his throat though, and he nearly choked on his own spit, as they walked through the door of The Mind Flayer Tattoos and Piercing because behind the desk was a face he never thought he would see again.

Steve Harrington.

Of course he had fantasized about this moment, had dreamed about those Bambi eyes and impish grin, even years later as it was. He had tried to distract himself, tried to move on, but he quickly realized it wasn’t working. Once he realized he had been silently comparing every other guy to Steve, he gave up, resigned himself to being alone, and had gotten a cat.

Just like in high school though, all of his resolve to move on disappeared when faced with Steve Harrington.

The years since high school had clearly been kind to him, and while Billy had always thought he was pretty, now he was downright gorgeous. His hair was still perfectly styled, but he had grown it out so that the ends just barely touched his shoulders. He was also wearing a pair of stylish glasses with thin golden frames that glinted softly in the warm lighting of the tattoo parlor. Most notably though, Billy could clearly see his left arm where it rested next to a book he bent over, and it was covered in a beautiful, intricate tattoo sleeve. All Billy wanted in that moment was to trail his fingertips over the black lines that formed shapes that resembled flowers. Looking closer though, he realized some of the flowers actually held rows and rows of teeth, and mixed in was the rough outline of a baseball bat with nails. It was a mural dedicated to his experiences that one fall day, a constant reminder of what he had been through.

Steve finally looked up at them as Robin led Billy to the counter, and he clearly recognized Billy, as his mouth dropped open and his eyes widened.

“Holy shit.”

Billy felt a small smile form as he lifted a hand and waved awkwardly at the boy he had left behind. “Hiay Pretty Boy. Long time, no see.” He had hoped that the nickname would lighten the mood, but instead Steve’s shock was replaced by hard lines and tense shoulders.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” His voice was dripping in hostility, making Billy flinch slightly before tensing up as well. He knew he was the one in the wrong, but fuck if that had ever stopped him from being the weak one.

Robin beat Billy to a response however, letting out a small noise before looking quickly between the two boys.

“I think I’m missing something here, and that something is big,so I’m jist going to walk over here and let you two work it out. Please don’t kill each other.” Despite the lingering angst in the air, both boys couldn’t hold back a chuckle as Robin walked away from them and disappeared into the back room. As the door swung shut though, and they were alone in the shop, the tension could be cut with a knife.

“Let’s get this over with,” Steve said with a sigh, and all Billy could do was nod and follow him to a prepared work station in the back corner of the open-plan parlor.

He double checked where the tattoo was going, on his right shoulder, and then gently placed the stencil on and smoothing it over. He removed the plastic to reveal a purple version of the tattoo and then nodded to where a full length mirror had been hung on the wall.

Billy checked how it laid, and took in how the design had turned out once again. He had seen the draft in an email, but to see it on his body was an entirely different experience. It was a depiction of the beach, detailed with old school flowers and a setting sun, and a perfect symbol of Billy’s origins. He had decided that while he didn’t want to return to California, he wanted a reminder of the peace an evening on the beach brought him.

Having confirmed that it was perfectly placed, he returned to the workstation and settled into the chair. The tension remained as Steve silently placed his arm in the best position and loaded the gun with ink. He returned to Billy’s side and sighed.

“You need to relax if you want me to actually do this.”

“Sorry, Pretty Boy. Guess you just fill me with butterflies,” Billy shot back, trying to regain some of the bravado that had conveniently left him. Steve snorted before setting down the tattoo gun and muttering Jesus and rubbing at his temple.

“If we’re gonna do this, you gotta cut that shit out.”

“What shit?”

“The- the fucking flirting and the nicknames. That shit.”

“Sorry, Pretty Boy,” he emphasized the name with a cocky smirk. “It’s just part of the Hargrove charm.”

“Well if you want a good tattoo, you’ll dial back the Hargrove bullshit. Now take a deep breath and fucking relax.” Billy gave a sarcastic salute before deliberately taking a deep breath and dropping his shoulders. Steve rolled his eyes, but reserved all his smart comments in favor of starting the tattoo.

They sat in relative silence, only broken by the gentle whir of the tattoo gun and Steve occasionally reminding Billy to not hold his breath. It wasn’t until Steve muttered a soft, “Halfway there tiger,” that he found the courage to break the silence. Whether consciously or not, Steve had used one of his favorite pet names for Billy and that action alone gave him hope that he hadn’t ruined their relationship completely when he left.

“Nice tats Harrington,” he said casually, nodding at his left arm. Steve snorted.

“Thanks. Of course, you know the whole story behind it. Robin and everyone at the shop just think it’s some insane movie monster they’ve never heard of.”

“Yeah, not exactly the easiest thing to explain to people,” Billy agreed, nodding his head.

“As chill as Robs can be, I think if I tried to tell her I fought off intergalactic demon dogs with a nail bat and a group of four middle schoolers she would check me into the nearest institute.”

Billy faked an offended gasp. “It wasn’t all middle schoolers, I was there too. Saved your ass at one point too.”

“Bullshit you saved me. If I recall, you screamed like a little bitch until Max threatened you with my bat and then stole your keys. If she hadn’t threatened to drive your car I think you would never have come with.” There was a fire in Steve’s eyes now, a warmth Billy thought he would never be privy to again.

And then Steve looked up from his arm and his face shuttered back into stone. He wiped the excess ink and blood off of his arm and studiously ignored any more attempts Billy made at conversation, which ranged from commenting about the photos littering his workstation to commenting on the fucking weather. Eventually he got the message and shut his trap for the rest of the session.

Steve walked him through the after-care steps clinically, and he faintly picked up the “wash with antibacterial soap twice a day” and “apply scent-free lotion when it starts flaking”, but his brain was mostly stuck on “touch-ups are free up to six months after the first appointment.”

He still had a chance. Maybe the shock was too much, but if Steve was offering up the chance to meet again?

Billy wouldn’t let it slip past.

5. Let’s Try This Again

Billy loved his tattoo. He made sure to take meticulous care of it, applying lotion religiously and steadfastly ignoring the urge to pick at the peeling skin. Luckily, the amount of sunburns he got back in California prepared him for it pretty well.

Even if it was healing perfectly, and he was ecstatic about the final result after it had finished peeling, he still decided to talk to Robin about scheduling a touch-up. She had looked it over when he asked while they were grabbing burritos, and told him that he definitely didn’t need a touch up, but when he continued to insist that he wanted another appointment she looked at him skeptically and agreed.

He had it scheduled for a month after his initial appointment, and the weeks seemed to drag by as he eagerly awaited his second- well, technically third- chance with Steve.The day of, he and Robin agreed to the same schedule of grabbing lunch and then walking over to the shop together, but instead of Robin filling the silence, Billy instead prattled on about a couple cases he was looking over and how well they were going. As much as he could without breaking the NASW Code of Ethics of course.

Robin nodded along agreeable and made all the right noises in the right places, but she was overall quieter than usual, until the shop got into view.

A block away from the neon sign, she stopped them both and turned to Billy. “I’ve been pretty patient, but I have to know before we walk in there. What is the deal between you and Steve?”

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about, Brat. There’s no story there,” Billy tried to brush it off and keep walking, but Robin was surprisingly strong for her slender frame. She grabbed his arm and forced him to stop.

“That’s a blatant lie, and I can’t let you in there if you’re on some sort of weird revenge quest or something. He was seriously shaken up after your session, and I love you, but I love the dingus too.” She paired the serious tone of her voice with stern eye contact and a slight tightening of her hand on his bicep.

“Jesus Robin,” Billy said, shrugging off her vice-like grip, “It’s nothing like that, I swear. If anything, I’m trying to fucking apologize.” She just raised an eyebrow, clearly not satisfied with his explanation. “Fine. We went to high school together and I fucked up in a big way, alright? I regret it, and I want to try and make it up to him.”

“Yeah, well. You seem to have forgotten that this-” she emphasized with a sharp point at the parlor “-is his work. His job. He doesn’t deserve you pestering him here of all places. Just do what everyone else does and fucking ask him out to coffee.”

Feeling slightly chastised as only Robin could do, he looked down at the scuffs on his work boots and muttered, “Yeah, whatever.”

Finally satisfied, she continued their walk to The Mind Flayer Tattoo and Piercings Shop, Billy trailing two steps behind her.

The little bell tinkled again as the door opened, but this time Steve wasn’t at the front desk. Instead a tan woman with long, curly, dark hair was popping bubble gum and casually scrolling through her iPhone. All of the frustration seemed to seep out of Robin at once as she squealed, “Heather!” and launched herself at the girl behind the desk.

Letting Robin and Heather do their thing, Billy wandered over to where he could see the top of Steve’s head peeking over the low wall of his work station. He could see that all of his focus was on a drawing pad, where he was carefully sketching out something in pencil. He was so in the zone that the tip of his tongue was poking through his teeth. Cute.

Loath as he was to break the peace on Steve’s face, he cleared his throat and called out, “Hey Harrington.”

Steve, predictably, shot up out of his chair and whirled around to face Billy. “Jesus Christ Billy. Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“Sorry, amigo. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“What, no Pretty Boy?” Steve spit out as he tried to recoup from being startled. The tone brought back the sense of shame Robin had made him feel earlier, and he held up his hands in surrender.

“No, um,” he tried to start. “Actually, I’m here to ask if we could get a cup of joe? Talk some shit out?” Steve seemed startled by the proposal, but masked it with a suspicious glare.

“Is this some kind of joke? You want to get coffee?”

“Yeah. I want to- want to explain I guess.” Steve continued to glare at him, but after finding or not finding something, he nodded his head and sighed.

“Fine. Fuck it. You were my last appointment, so why the hell not.” Billy blinked, surprised that it had somehow been that easy to get Steve to agree. Maybe they could work it out, at least enough to be friends again.

He decided to wait in the front area while Steve packed up his station and grabbed his bag from the back room, nodding at Heather and Robin when they left.

They mutually agreed to walk the block down to a local coffee shop, called Joe’s Joe. Billy got a black iced coffee while Steve got a complexe medley of coffee, oat milk, and sugar. After they got their drinks, they sat at a table by the window.

“Do you want to start?” Steve asked.

“I mean, I guess. That’s kind of why we’re here or whatever.” Billy hadn’t wanted to start out hostile, but his nerves were starting to get the best of him. He took a swig of his coffee, letting the scalding heat coat his tongue. “Just, I’m sorry I guess.”

“You’re sorry?” Steve asked indignantly, “For what? Fucking with me for an entire summer? Leaving without a single fucking word? Or just being an all around asshole?”

“Technically, I was fucking you, not fucking with you,” Billy corrected absentmindedly, before wincing as Steve’s expression grew even more hostile. “Shit, I’m sorry. For- for everything alright? I was a dickhead, I shouldn’t have left but you have to underst-”

“I don’t have to do shit, Hargrove,” Steve interrupted.

“No, you have to understand that I didn’t have a choice. I packed up and left in the span of like four hours. There wasn’t time to tell you.”

“There wasn’t time to send a fucking text? Call? Something? I thought you were dead in a ditch somewhere. I had to find out from Max that you just pissed off to who knows where in the middle of the goddamn night. And you couldn’t bother to send anything? It’s been eight fucking years jackass.” Steve was almost yelling by the end of his rant, panting and visibly trying to calm himself down.

“It didn’t seem like something to send over text, I just figured it was better to do a clean break. Let you move on.”

“Let me- Fucking hell, you let me move on?” Steve was borderline hysterical at this point. Billy wasn’t sure when he had lost control of the conversation so drastically, but he felt the chances of him and Steve rekindling some sort of friendship slipping away. This wasn’t how he wanted to do this at all. Fuck.

“Yeah, because you shouldn’t be stuck with someone like me, Pretty Boy. I’m sorry I hurt you but I was stupid and young and I didn’t see any better way to do it.”

“You fucking broke my heart Billy. You’re gonna have to do a lot better than that,” Steve said, and walked out of the coffee shop.

6. Billy Does Better

After the disastrous coffee date, Billy steered clear of everything to do with The Mind Flayer, including Robin. He buried himself in his work, doubled his gym hours, and let the weekends pass by in a haze of cheap whiskey.

It took Robin a week to decide she was over him avoiding her. She stormed into his apartment on Sunday morning and forced him to take a shower, put on clean clothes and go with her to her apartment.

Once there, she sat him down on the couch and told him in the sternest voice she had to stay, and then left him to go let in someone else. He really shouldn’t have been surprised at who it was, but he still blinked rapidly when Steve appeared in the doorway.

“Am I dreaming, or is that you Harrington?” Billy asked, his voice hoarse from the lack of water he had drank in the past 48 hours.

“Yeah, it’s me. Don’t cream your pants.” If Billy sounded hungover, Steve sounded wrecked. He looked like it too, eyes rimmed red and puffy, lips chapped and bitten within an inch of their soft, plush life, and skin even paler than it usually was. Robin dragged him by the back of his shirt over to the couch, next to Billy, and pushed him down.

“Alright. I tried to give you two assholes space to work it out yourselves, but I am officially over it, so you’re going to figure it out here and now. I’m going to go in the kitchen to make lunch and when I get back, I expect you both to at least stop moping like fucking widows.” She turned on her heel and marched into the kitchen, where she could give them some semblance of privacy, but would still be within ear shot if they decided to kill each other or something.

Once she disappeared through the doorway, Billy turned hesitantly to face Steve, but when they made eye contact, any words he may have managed to string together left him and he was left there gaping like a fish. Steve saved him the trouble of starting though.

“You were moping?” He asked, voice quiet and defeated.

“Yeah, Bambi. Pretty heavily too if Robin had to step in.”

“What were you so upset about? You broke my heart after all.”

“Because I never meant to. I only meant to break my own damn heart, but not yours. Never yours Pretty Boy,” Billy’s voice was dripping in honesty and vulnerability, the dredges of alcohol still in his system making this entire situation exhausting. He just wanted to go back home and sleep until tomorrow.

“You- you loved me too?” Steve sounded so damn unsure, it hurt Billy to hear.

“Yeah, of course I loved you. That’s why I had to leave. I couldn’t love you and be under Neil’s roof. He would kill me. He would kill you. So I had to leave.”

“A clean break,” Steve finished for him. He didn’t sound as angry as he had at the coffee shop, more defeated.

“Exactly.”

They sat in silence for a few moments that seemed to stretch on for eternity before Steve finally broke it.

“So, where does that leave us?”

“Can we, can we try friends?” Billy asked hesitantly, eager for any opportunity but scared to push his luck.

“Yeah. I think that could work,” he said with a faint smile. As if on cue, Robin burst through the kitchen door armed with a plate of sandwiches and snacks and declared it a movie night.

7. Steve Takes A Leap

It had been two months since Robin’s forced intervention, and Steve couldn’t have been more thankful towards her. He had been scared that having Billy back in his life would drag up the memories he tried so hard to hide from, but it was actually refreshing to have someone to call when the memories came back, someone who understood what he was going through.

He also realized how much he genuinely missed Billy himself. He had grown and changed for sure, but it was only in that he was far less angry all the damn time. Steve had really come to realize just how intense the hold Neil Hargrove had over his son in high school. Now the sharp wit Billy had wielded as a weapon in high school was more playful than hurtful, and his more self-destructive tendencies of driving recklessly and chain-smoking had been replaced by a gym membership and therapy. Apparently, Billy had gone through a lot of therapy.

With all of the changes, he realized that it was just that much easier to find the Billy he had fallen in love with all those years ago. He had started recognizing the feelings a month into their rekindled friendship, but he waited for another month to make sure the spark was still there, that it wasn’t just him romanticising the past. They had added each other on snapchat and had even started a streak. It was at a solid 55 days that Steve finally made his move.

It was a simple snap of his work station with the caption What are you doing Saturday night?

Not even two minutes later he got a response. The picture was of Billy’s coffee mug he kept at his desk and said Nothing, wbu?

He snapped another hasty shot of his station, replied, Thinking about going out. Wanna join?

Another notification, another shot of his mug. “ Sure. What’s the plan?”

He was in the middle of prepping his station for an appointment in twenty minutes, so it was a quick shot of sterile packaging. Dinner and then hit up a club I know in Boystown?

This time the response was immediate. Sounds good.

Cool, I’ll make a reservation for six? Then club at like 8?

Why do we need a reservation? Want to spoil little old me, Pretty Boy?

The old nickname gave Steve the courage he needed to finally take a selfie and stop beating around the bush. He gave the camera an impish grin and raised eyebrows. I just want to make our first date memorable.

There was no response to that. Steve waited with bated breath, chewing on his bottom lip anxiously as the minutes ticked by. His appointment had shown up, and he finished the 45 minute session. Still no response.

Anxiety coursed through him, swirling around in his head. He could see that Billy had opened the picture as soon as he had sent it, a whole hour ago. But no response. No notifications. Nothing.

Steve tried to reason with himself that maybe he had a meeting or a lot of paperwork or something, but that didn’t stop him from bouncing his leg and fidgeting around until Robin finished her final appointment.

She only needed to look at him once to know something was up. She decided they were going to dinner together, and they walked to the diner three blocks down in silence.

It wasn’t until they had sent in their orders that Robin finally broke.

“Okay, what’s going on? I haven’t seen you this nervous since your first date with Julian,” she stated.

“I might have fucked up Robin. Like big time.” She sighed, used to Steve’s dramatic tendencies, and sipped at her strawberry milkshake.

“I doubt that, but I need more information. So spill.”

“I asked Billy on a date,” he blurted out, knowing there was no use in bullshitting Robin.

“And? Seems like a logical move, Dingus. I was getting sick of the intense pinning like ten days ago.”

“But, he left me on read Robin. We were talking about going out on Saturday and then I mentioned it was a date and boom. Radio silence.”

“Okay, chill out. He was probably busy at work. You know how seriously he takes that shit.”

“Yeah, but no response for three hours?” He said, voice raising in pitch on the last words.

“I’m sure there’s some explanation. Have you reached out again?” Robin’s patient and even tone calmed Steve down a little, but his leg still bounced up and down rapidly as he thought over what she said.

“No. I didn’t want to pressure him.”

“Just send something unrelated to the date. Like your milkshake. You’ve done it a million times, it’s safe.”

“Yeah. Okay. I can do that.” He nodded to himself before pulling out his phone, only to see a single snapchat notification amongst the barrage of emails and other random updates. It was from Billy.

He immediately felt his heart leap into his throat, and Robin reached over to grab his hand that was still resting on the table.

“Is it from him?” She questioned, deliberately neutral.

“Yep,” he choked out. His finger shook as he opened up his phone, and he felt paralized by the little blue box letting him know it was a text response. He took a deep breath before clicking on it.

Sorry I was MIA, Pretty Boy. Got busy with work, but I’d love to see where you want to take me. He included a winking and smirking emoji. Steve let out a startled laugh as the anxiety slowly dissipated.

“Code red officially over. I have a date on Saturday,” he informed Robin, and they finished up dinner with casual conversation about their various appointments throughout the day. They paid and eventually parted ways towards their respective apartments.

He trudged up the stairs because the elevator in his building was perpetually broken, but stopped in his tracks when his door got within view. There, resting innocently on his doormat, was a simple bouquet of sunflowers and baby’s breath. He gently picked them up and noticed a small piece of cardstock. In simple black scratch it read I am sorry for the no response. I got nervous. Bill.

Steve smiled gently at the note and pulled the flowers close to smell the soft fragrance they held. He felt another wave of confidence swell and push him to walk into the apartment and pick up his phone. He called Billy and waited in excited anticipation for him to pick up.

“I love them,” he said, and smiled a little more when Billy chuckled.

“I’m glad. They made me think of you.”

“Can’t wait for Saturday,” Steve confessed and Billy finally smiled back.

“Me too, Pretty Boy. Feels like it’s been years in the making.”

That it had been, but man had it been worth the wait.

----

tag team: @lostnoise @gideongrace @stevefuckingharrington @a-magey @trashmouth-hargrove @catharrington (lmk if you would like to be added/removed from the list!)

#harringrove for blm #harringrove #a dash of #bucklway #angst #fluff #hurt/comfort #pining!billy hargrove #billy hargrove centric #billy hargrove #steve harrington #tay writes #holy shit #i think this is the longest thing I've ever written #minus lost boys

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deniigi · 6 years ago

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hhhey, its tuesday!! ive been been thinking about what i should ask you after reading the latest inimitable fic(which was super good btw im???? in love w your writing????) so, we know the spiders can move through verses. im curious now as to either how that works; only spiders?? is it a case of knowing what to do?? the collider affecting spider-based biolology in such a way that it affects the base coding of the spider gene or whatever it's called???hhow does it work im very curioushsusbhdhdbdh

Hi Tues!

I have no fucking idea how it works, I’ll be completely honest with you. I needed a way for them all to be able to talk and move through space, so I thought of the windows.

I’ve given myself a few rules here which might give you at least some parameters but I am many, many things and knowledgeable about physics or science is not one of them (my partner is a physical geographer getting a phd and I literally just ask him dumbass science questions all day long. I absorb about 1/8 of what he tells me and the rest runs off like water on the back of a duck)

Rule 1) Only Spiderpeople can open windows.

Rule 2) Only Spiderpeople can answer windows

Rule 3) Spideys have the easiest time reaching out to people they have a very clear idea about. There are, however, circumstances where a Spidey reaches out in desperation and a Spiderman they do not know or have not met can and will reach back.

Rule 4) Spiderpeople can only open windows after they’ve done it once. They can, however, become aware of people trying to reach out to them at any time.

Rule 5) Spiderpeople can move people/objects through verses, but those people/objects need to be in the company of other spiderpeople or else the verse they’re in will start to reject them.

Rule 6) sometimes, internets in different verses are connected and so messages are able to move through verses, provided they are working with the correct frequencies/etc. Peter, for example, basically lives on the internet in the In Between because he’s able to connect to most of his fellow Spideys and other folks through it (he’s the commonality). This is, however, extremely undependable for most other Spideys.

Rule 7) Peter Parker (ISTV) does not follow these rules. However, he can only move through verses where a Spiderman has or will exist (form does not matter here. Spiderman might exist as a comic book character and that technically counts.). So try as he might, Peter will never find a verse completely devoid of Spiderman.

In terms of how this actually works, I guess I tend to go with the idea that all Spideys are connected by their mutations/mutated DNA. It’s the line that ties them all together through the verses and, since Doc Ock made the Big Machine, that line’s basically been lit the fuck up and its hot now and so kind of rises to their consciousness. If Doc Ock had made the machine for like, Cap or someone, the same thing would have happened, it just happened to happen to a Spidey and now they’re all stuck with it.

Anyways, yes. This makes zero sense. I have zero answers. I’d like to go with ‘suspend your disbelief’ for 500, Alex.

#fic #inimitable verse #science! is! Hard!#My brain functions best on scant evidence and fantasy!

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nadziejastar · 6 years ago

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Analyzing the Weapon Names of Organization XIII (Part 3)

No. III - Xaldin (Whirlwind Lancer)

Founding member. A warrior with a silver tongue. He carries six lances, and can harness the wind.

Xaldin is interesting because he has no dialogue whatsoever after being recompleted as a human. However, his lack of characterization is at odds with his status. He is one of the strongest and most high-ranking members in Organization XIII, as well as a founding member. He has the second-highest chair after Xemans.

He shed tears when Ansem the Wise returned to the castle in KH3, but his characterization in Days and the names of his weapons suggest that he probably had sinister intentions while serving him as a guard. It is likely that Xaldin was originally far more important to the apprentices’ fall to darkness; his weapon names are among the most unique and intriguing.

The names of many of his Lances are derived from terms relating to the sky, air, or wind, and several have names based on constellations. Zephyr, Moonglade, Aer, Nescience, Brume, Asura, Crux, Paladin, Fellking, Nightcloud, Shimmer, Vortex, Scission, Heavenfall, Aether, Mazzaroth, Hegemon, Foxfire, Yaksha, Cynosura, Dragonreign, Lindworm, Broom (joke), and Wyvern.

The Mazzaroth, also known as the zodiac, is the name given to the pattern of stars found on the celestial equator. Crux is also called Rending Crescent Moon in the Japanese version. It refers to the constellation Crux, also called the Southern Cross. Jack London depicts the Southern Cross accompanied by a crescent moon in the novel Martin Eden:

“Overhead drifted a pale crescent moon, and the Southern Cross burned low in the sky.”

Ancient Greeks considered it to be part of the Centaurus constellation. Centaurus represents the beings called centaurs. A centaur was a creature from Greek mythology which was half-man and half-horse. These creatures represented barbarism and unbridled chaos.

Cynosura is another name for the constellation Ursa Minor. Interestingly, one of Lexaeus’ weapons is named Ursa Major. Ursa Major means “great bear” and Ursa Minor means “the lesser bear”. Nomura said that the strongest Organization members are Xemnas and Roxas due to his potential as a Keyblade wielder. Lexaeus and Xaldin are the next strongest. Maybe the constellations refer to how Laxaeus just edges out Xaldin when it comes to raw strength.

Some of his weapons reference Greek mythology. Zephyr was the god of the west wind, and one of the four seasonal wind gods. He was the bringer of light spring and early summer breezes. According to some versions of the myth, Zephyr killed a young man who was the lover of the god Apollo due to jealousy.

Beauty and the Beast is actually based on the ancient Greek myth Cupid and Psyche. Psyche is a princess so beautiful that the goddess Venus becomes jealous. In revenge, she instructs her son Cupid to make her fall in love with a hideous monster. Zephyr was the attendant of Cupid, who brought Psyche to his master's palace where Cupid ends up falling in love with Psyche himself.

Aether was one of the primordial deities in Greek mythology. He was the personification of the upper air that only gods breathe, as opposed to the normal air breathed by mortals. The air encircling the mortal world was called Chaos or Aer, while the Underworld where the dead dwelled was enveloped in Erebos, the mist of darkness.

Nescience is another word for ignorance that is used mainly in a philosophical context. According to the Doctrine of the Three bodies in Hinduism, nescience is the root cause of Dukkha (suffering, pain, dissatisfaction), and is asserted as the main cause that leads to repeated reincarnation. Nescience is an interesting weapon name for Xaldin. His most memorable moment in 358/2 Days happens during a visit to the Beast’s Castle.

Xaldin is definitely one of the most callous Organization members. He has no understanding of love and says that it is only a power of poetry but not practicality. He could not even tell that the Beast was more concerned with Belle’s safety than the rose. This attitude existed even before he became a Nobody. In his report, he admits that he threw away his heart entirely by choice to escape the trappings of emotion.

Watching that foolish beast flail about only deepens my disdain for humans and their incessant need to be pinned down by feelings. We became Nobodies precisely to avoid the shackles of emotion. It was only later that we realized the scale of that loss: that some things simply cannot be done without a heart. Nonetheless, I see nary a pleasant thing about it.

Xemnas: My friends! Remember why we have organized–all the things we hope to achieve. The strength of the human heart is vast. Soon, though…we will have gained power over it! Never again will it…have power over us.

This was an interesting quote from Xemnas that was never expanded upon much. It seemed like Organization XIII wasn’t just trying to regain hearts; they were trying to gain some sort of mastery over the heart as well. This seems right in line with what we can gather about Xaldin’s motivations.

Brume is another name for mist or fog. Foxfire is another term for will-o’-the-wisp. In literature, will-o’-the-wisp sometimes have a metaphorical meaning, for instance, describing a hope or goal that leads one on but is impossible to reach.

Asura, in Hindu mythology, refers to a class of divine power-seeking deities. Asuras are defined by their opposition to the more benevolent devas. In general, the Asuras are associated with the underworld and represent the malevolent nature of the Hindu tradition.

In Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist texts, the Yaksha has a dual personality. On the one hand, a yaksha may be an inoffensive nature-fairy, associated with woods and mountains; but there is also a darker version of the yaksha, which is a kind of ghost that haunts the wilderness and waylays and devours travelers.

Xaldin’s weapons also commonly reference his warrior attributes as well as dragons. Shimmer is called Violent Lightning in Japanese. Paladin refers to one of the twelve peers of Charlemagne’s court. It is also the name of a recurring Job class in the Final Fantasy series as a class excelling at aerial tactics.

Heavenfall is called Conquering Heaven in Japanese. It is probably a reference to his involvement in creating Kingdom Hearts. Though it is also possible that Xaldin, like Xigbar, had some knowledge of Xemnas’ true agenda to forge the X-blade and open the true Kingdom Hearts.

Fellking is called Furious King in Japanese. Fellking is a combination of the two words “fell” and “king”, meaning “ferocious king”. Did Xaldin aspire to be the new king of Radiant Garden? Was this his motivation for betraying Ansem the Wise? Hegemon is the word for “ruler of earth” or “imperial commander”. Xaldin’s Pandora Gear is Dragonreign.

Xaldin’s Zero Gear is Lindworm, his original weapon from KH2. A lindworm is a type of wingless, bipedal dragon known for its venomous fangs. His Mystery Gear is Wyvern. The wyvern was widely believed to be a symbol of power, strength, and endurance. In the bestiaries of the Middle Ages, the wyvern was used as an allegory of Satan and was associated with war, pestilence and sin.

No. V - Lexaeus (Silent Hero)

Founding member. Tremendously strong, but surprisingly quiet—stalwart as the earth itself.

Lexaeus uses weapons called Axe Swords, which possess traits of axes, swords, and hammers. Many of his weapons have names referencing nature. His joke weapon is the Bleep Bloop Bop, a simple cartoonish hammer. His other weapons are Reticence, Goliath, Copper Red, Daybreak, Colossus, Ursa Major, Megacosm, Terrene, Fuligin, Hard Winter, Firefly, Harbinger, Redwood, Sequoia, Iron Black, Earthshine, Octiron, Hyperion, Clarity, 1001 Nights, Cardinal Virtue, Skysplitter, and Monolith.

Many of his weapons are a reference to his size. Colossus (called Orge in Japanese) and Goliath are both giants, and Sequoia and Redwood are two of the tallest trees on Earth. Ogres are man-eating giants in folklore. They are usually cruel and terrifying. Other names are a reference to minerals. Octiron, Copper Red, and Iron Black. Octiron is a fictional element, a magical metal, in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of books. Octiron is unaffected by anything except magic. It is described as being black and heavy.

Harbinger refers to someone who announces something (usually bad) is going to happen soon. Hyperion was one of the Titans of Greek mythology. His parents were the primordial beings Uranus (the sky) and Gaia (the Earth). In these ancient times, Uranus behaved as a tyrant towards his children, prompting Hyperion's bother, Kronos, to plot a coup against him. When Uranus came to Gaia, Hyperion and three brothers pinned him down so that Kronos could castrate him. Thus, the Titans overthrew their father and started a new era. Since the four brothers were responsible for restraining Uranus and keeping him from Gaia, they became the four cardinal pillars that hold up the sky and keep it from colliding with the world. Was this a reference to the betrayal of Ansem the Wise. His Zero Gear is Skyplitter, his original weapon.

Reticence refers to his quiet and reserved nature. Many of his weapons deal with a specific mental state. Clarity is called Clear Mirror, Still Water in Japanese. This phrase refers to a Chinese Daoist concept. When a mirror is dirty or it has something on it, it does not reflect things as it should; it is not working as it is supposed to. When your mind is not clear, it does not work as it is supposed to, either. Moreover, when your mind is not clear or clean, it usually means that something evil thing is going on in your mind.

His Pandora Gear is Cardinal Virtue. It is called Wind, Wood, Flame, Mountain in Japanese. This phrase comes from from Sun Tzu's The Art of War: "as swift as wind, as gentle as forest, as fierce as fire, as unshakable as mountain." Megacosm is another world for the universe at large. In Japanese this weapon is called Heaven, Earth, Man. The three powers of Heaven, Earth and Man refer to the basic elements required to make powerful chi energy in Tai Chi. Firefly is symbolic of self-illumination, teaching that the light within is the power of life.

Terrene is a word derived from Latin meaning of or like earth. It is called Of This World in Japanese. This phrase is commonly used in a spiritual context. In religion, renunciation often indicates an abandonment of the pursuit of material comforts, in the interests of achieving spiritual enlightenment. It is highly practiced in Jainism, Hinduism, Christianity and many other religions. In Buddhism, renunciation conveys more specifically "giving up the world and leading a holy life" or "freedom from lust, craving and desires". Since Lexaeus is still “of this world”, it suggests he has not mastered this ideal and has a strong earthly attachment to something or someone.

Fuligin is a word derived from Latin that means sooty or black. In Japanese it is called Of Darkness. It could be referring to the Buddhist term “fundamental darkness” which is similar to Xaldin’s lance “Nescience”. Fundamental darkness is primal ignorance. The most deeply rooted illusion inherent in life, said to give rise to all other illusions. Darkness in this sense means inability to see or recognize the truth, particularly the true nature of one’s life. The term fundamental darkness is contrasted with the fundamental nature of enlightenment, which is recognizing the spiritual nature inherent in life.

Interestingly, Redwood is actually named Camellia in the Japanese version. In China, the camellia represents the union between two lovers. The delicately layered petals represent the woman, and the calyx (the green leafy part of the stem that holds the petals together) represents the man who protects her. The two components are joined together, even after death.

Sequoia was also called Holly Olive in the Japanese version. Holly olive is also known as osmanthus. A traditional symbol of love and romance, osmanthus was used in old wedding customs. The fragrant plant symbolized true love and faithfulness, and the fruit tree symbolized fertility and peace. The custom had the meaning of "giving birth to noble children" and "many children and many grandchildren". Chinese mythology held that a sweet osmanthus grows on the moon. Osmanthus fragrance is associated with a number of Lunar legends in China, which makes it symbolic at the time of the Chinese Moon Festival.

It might be why one of his weapons is called Earthshine, the glow caused by sunlight reflected off the earth, especially on the darker portion of a crescent moon. When you look at a crescent moon shortly after sunset or before sunrise, you can sometimes see not only the bright crescent of the moon, but also the rest of the moon as a dark disk. That pale glow on the unlit part of a crescent moon, the light reflected from Earth, is earthshine.

Hard Winter is called Great Snowfall in Japanese. Snow and winter are often used to represent sadness, bleakness or death. Snow can also be a symbol of cleansing. It is a blanket that obscures all, which can either be a new, clean beginning, or a blanket obscuring a truth. Another weapon is called Daybreak. Dawn or daybreak suggests the notions of illumination and hope, the beginning of a new day and thus a chance for happiness and improvement. Sunrise is a symbol of birth and rebirth, of awakening.

Those aren’t the only weapons suggesting that Aelaeus probably had a love interest. 1001 Nights is an epic collection of Arabic folk tales written during the Islamic Golden Age. Scorned by an unfaithful wife, Shahryar is the sultan of a great empire, but is brokenhearted. Shahryar chose to marry a new virgin woman every day only to kill her the next morning. More and more innocent women die until one day Scheherazade, the daughter of the king's top vizier, offers to marry the king. The sultan and vizier both protest, but Scheherazade insists, all knowing that the night could be her last. That night, she requests the presence of her sister and tells a story that manages to be the beginning of dozens of stories meant to keep her alive. The sultan falls in love with her over 1001 nights and spares her life.

Perhaps Xaldin’s disgust at the power that love has over humans was related to Aelaeus. This also may have been a reason why Aelaeus chose to give up his heart. Was he heartbroken over possible unrequited love? Probably. In the secret ending of BbS, Master Xehanort tells Terra that many seeds have been sown. Telling Braig and Maleficent about Kingdom Hearts was one part of his plans, but what were the others? We never really see what other seeds were planted. Interestingly, one of Xigbar’s weapons is called Cupid’s Arrow in both English and Japanese. It sounds a bit strange at first. But what if it was related to one of the seeds? Maybe Aelaeus was motivated to experiment on the heart hoping he could find a way to be with the one he loves? Or maybe to rid himself of his unrequited romantic desires?

Lexaeus’ Mystery Gear is Monolith. It is a depiction of one of the heads of Easter Island, known as the 'maoi'. They are described in local tradition as having once possessed 'mana', a beneficial power. The islanders have a legend that the statues were moved to the platforms and raised upright by the use of mana, or mind power. Lexaeus’ other weapons show that he is dedicated to mastery of his mind and body. He probably struggled to master his heart, though. The maoi could also be a reference to Lexaues’ mysterious and quiet personality. Easter Island is regarded as one of the most mysterious places on Earth.

#KH3 #anti-kh3 #anti kh3 #kh meta #kingdom hearts meta #kh org #organization xiii #lexaeus #xaldin #kh aeleus #kh dilan

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sasorikigai · 6 years ago

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LAYER ONE : THE OUTSIDE.

NAME. Kuai Liang (Sub-Zero) EYE COLOUR. Dark brown, has a tendency to cloud over with his cryomancer abilities. HAIR STYLE / COLOUR. Usually kept neat tucked into a headband, trimmed and short. HEIGHT. 6′1′’ CLOTHING STYLE. In a traditional garb and tunic, consisting of shoulder plates, shin guards, elbow guards and so on. Often is prepared for kombat. When he is in his private chambers, he’s often more naked, with his tunic, basic pair of dark pants and underwear. His garbs are rarely luxurious, though they usually range in shades of blue (his preference being his character-defining cerulean blue and soft ultramarines, mixed with white and black). BEST PHYSICAL FEATURE. Everything. He’s a perfection embodied. The exuding confidence in his expression from his eyes. Though they can look cold and menacing, they are truly Kuai Liang’s windows to the soul.

LAYER TWO : THE INSIDE.

YOUR FEARS. “The extinction of the Lin Kuei, with the Earthrealm on the brink of nonexistence.” YOUR GUILTY PLEASURE. “Such concept does not exist in my rigorous schedule and training.” YOUR BIGGEST PET PEEVE. “Questioning my authority and decisions without justifying their reasons. I have enough burden on my shoulders already.” YOUR AMBITIONS FOR THE FUTURE. “The solidified welfare of the Lin Kuei as it thrives and prospers into the foreseeable future.”

LAYER THREE : THOUGHTS.

YOUR FIRST THOUGHT WAKING UP. “Live today as if this is my last.” WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT MOST. “All the perished and lost beneath the vices of the world. I think of Bi-Han’s unlikely redemption, Cyrax’s unwilling enslavement and Frost’s treacherous defect and immaturity getting the better of her.” WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT BEFORE BED. “I try to quell the constant warring in my brain. For every action is questioned ana analyzed, every facet picked apart so I can better myself as the Grandmaster. I constantly hope that the change will appease the numerous cacophonous voices in my head.” WHAT YOU THINK YOUR BEST QUALITY IS. “Disciplined training and my level-headedness when it’s necessary, especially in such trying times.”

WHAT’S BETTER?

SINGLE OR GROUP DATES. “I do not care much about socializing.” TO BE LOVED OR RESPECTED. “To be respected.” BEAUTY OR BRAINS. “The stacked knowledge surpasses the fleeting concept of beauty.” DOGS OR CATS. “Neither. ”

LAYER FIVE : DO YOU...

LIE. “A numerous white lies when it’s absolutely necessary, but absolute honesty is what I strive for in interactions.” BELIEVE IN YOURSELF. “Yes, a healthy dose of self-assurance and confidence will surpass one’s expectations.” BELIEVE IN LOVE. “After so many trials and errors, I doubt that I am fit for a genuine one.” WANT SOMEONE. “Yes, although there is a barring social expectation that restricts both of us.”

LAYER SIX : EVER BEEN...

BEEN ON STAGE. “No, unless the Mortal Kombat arena counts as one.” DONE DRUGS. “No.” CHANGED WHO YOU WERE TO FIT IN. “Yes, for my survival and rise to the challenge of being the Grandmaster.”

LAYER SEVEN : FAVOURITES.

FAVOURITE COLOUR. “Blue and black.” FAVOURITE ANIMAL. “Polar bears. They are magnificent, fierce and formidable.” FAVOURITE MOVIE. “I do not watch them.” FAVOURITE GAME. “Go. The premise of this ancient game is simple enough, but it is a strategic game that will keep your brain on its edge.”

LAYER EIGHT : AGE.

DAY YOUR NEXT BIRTHDAY WILL BE. “July 25th.” (in the records of the Lin Kuei, but Sub-Zero does not know his birthday) HOW OLD YOU WILL BE. “I do not know, while I’m not exactly an immortal, I have gone through so many phases in my life in order to keep a proper track.” AGE YOU LOST YOUR VIRGINITY. “I still am a virgin.” DOES AGE MATTER. “Not at all. It is only a transient factor as there are so many more important ones, like integrity, strength and honor.”

LAGER NINE : IN A PERSON.

BEST PERSONALITY. “Determination and resilience.” BEST EYE COLOUR. “It does not matter.” BEST HAIR COLOUR. “It does not matter.” BEST THING TO DO WITH A PARTNER. “Having a philosophical conversation over a simple dinner and a tea. I do not mind sparring afterwords.”

LAYER TEN : FINISH THE SENTENCE.

I LOVE. “The refreshing, sempiternal cold and winter of the Lin Kuei Temple, lending me catalyzed peace, and witnessing the growth of Lin Kuei warriors through their dedication and integrity. Nothing will deceive their hard efforts to break through the unbreakable barrier of their limitation. When their body and mind expands, then one can become one step closer to their self-actualization.” I FEEL. “Different. I often feel like my present self is a mere splitted image of the person who had long died before. And my true emotions robbed beneath the endless hemorrhage of tranchant world.” I HIDE. “My pain and grief of losing my brother to the Netherrealm and all that needless blood that has been shed between colliding Lin Kuei politics.” I MISS. “The times when my shoulders weren’t so heavy with all the burdens, without the fading dreams and suppressed yearnings.” I WISH. “My insecurities and doubts of the future did not obfuscate the clarity of my judgment.”

#✗ obsessive cathartic (headcanon)#✗ bone-deep chill of despair (sub-zero)#(to offset my already done scorpion one)

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ofmorninglory · 6 years ago

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im not well versed in crossover AU's in general but go off about them anyway lay it on me

//screams// Guys, Tea is a Literal Blessing™ and I absolutely don’t deserve all this validation but I will soak up on it.

So, the other day I was going through my Ao3 and I realized literally everything I do, ever, is a crossover, so I guess that’s kind of my thing now. Room Enough AU, however, is literally The Crossover™, you know? I have to admit I’ve been working on plotting it for way too many years (I think it was 2016; I’m not gonna lie, it’s been a hot minute) so it’s so much bigger in my head than what I actually have written. Some of the info I’ve managed to actually jot down somewhere is in this little tag right here, but I’m here to provide the basics on what Room Enough AU is and why it’s so important to me.

Under the cut, to keep your dashes clean, my lovelies!

Room Enough for All of Us is a crossover AU between Marvel and DC (because who didn’t see that coming, right?). While most of the crossovers for these franchises I’ve seen and read all start with Bruce and Clark meeting Steve and Tony (who, arguably, are each other’s counterparts) and while I absolutely adore the idea of billionaire Bruce Wayne becoming friends with billionaire Tony Stark, and Clark and Steve bonding over, you know, being seen as literal beings of perfection, Room Enough AU (which we’ll shorten as REAU from now on, although that’s a name I’ve never used for it, but there’s always a first for everything, you know?) actually starts with Tony Stark, betrayed and broken after IM, meeting (or rather, meeting again) one very problematic and highly-skilled pilot, Harold Jordan.

After the events of IM and Tony being betrayed by one of the people he trusted most in the world, Stark Industries starts undergoing heavy restructuring (am I using the right word? Google Translate says so) and among all of these shifts and changes, Pepper insists that he gets a new pilot for his private plane. He goes to Ferris Air, of course, because it’s in California and he’s had contracts with them for years, and when he gets there, there’s this one roudy pilot who manages to not only evade all of the Stark Training Drones in the air, but actually destroys all of them in the process. Tony wants this pilot. He does. He recognizes under-paid talent when he sees it.

Hal has absolutely zero idea of what is happening when Tony offers him the position as his private pilot. Jordan is not all that enthusiastic about being some rich kid’s pilot-for-hire, but after the stunt he’s just pulled? He really should think about getting a new job. Hal doesn’t say yes outright, of course not, he’s got more dignity than that, but Tony just won’t let up.

Not only is Tony Stark some rich billionaire he doesn’t want to be working for either, he’s also one of Hal’s one-night-stands from two years ago. Is Tony fazed at all by this? He is not! Tony Stark is stubborn and he doesn’t care about anything other than getting this man a better salary.

Tony spends about 300 weeks trying to get Hal to actually agree to the job, it’s ridiculous. His gifts are expensive, and they get more extravagant the more time goes on. He even gets Hal Captain rank back for him (if that allowed? I do not know, I have yet to research on this, this is actually a very new development born in the REAU discord chat). Hal draws the line when a Rolex ends up at his home (one of the fancy, classic ones, too, with the green cover) and Jordan calls Tony to tell him to back off.

Twenty minutes later, Hal is agreeing to working for Stark. Carol fired his ass after that whole fiasco with the drones (”They were due for an upgrade, anyways! They’re old and I could do so much better, Ferris! It’s not a big deal.”) so he has to find a way to pay the goddamn bills or move in with Barry, and he doesn’t want to intrude on his best friend like that.

Plus, he loves the sky. Maybe this job isn’t so bad.

Against all odds, and with a lot of difficulties and obstacles, Tony and Hal actually start bonding. Except, whoops, Tony is dying from palladium poisoning, and just as our favorite green boy is warming up to the idea of not only being Tony’s pilot but also his friend, Stark suddenly does a 180 on him and completely backs away.

(It doesn’t help Hal’s confusion that Tony spent the first few weeks of his employment literally changing everything about his life. He gives his company away to Pepper Potts, starts a mentor-apprentice program in which he is the mentor and this girl from Mexico is the apprentice, and just generally starts becoming a Good Man™, in Hal’s eyes.)

Long story short (to wrap this one up, because I could go on for years) Hal finds out Tony is dying with a little help from Natasha (who Hal decidedly stops liking when he finds out she’s been lying to Tony, but who he’ll warm up to again, eventually, and because she loves Barry a whole lot and keeps his boyfriend safe and happy) and then it’s a race against time to save Stark’s life.

And because there is no one smarter (or faster) that Hal Jordan knows, he calls his good buddy The Flash into Tony’s Malibu home and tells Stark that Barry will help him or “so help me god, Anthony Edward Stark, I will find a way to bring your back from death to kill you myself”. When Tony is saved and Barry and him have managed to destroy his entire home, Hal feels like he can breathe again, and Allen smiles at him this sort of way when he catches his shoulders lose all the tension. (”wHAT? WHAT IS IT BARRY?” “You wanted to keep him safe” “He pays my salary, of course I wanted to keep him alive” “Harold” “Bartholomew”)

So, Tony and Hal? They’re really, really good friends. Hal would probably die for Tony, and Tony would absolutely lay down on the wire to let Hal pass (take that, Steve). From the outside, they’re an unlikely pai, except when you look at it closer, they’re literally the only way universes could collide. Barry actually saw it coming from a mile away, but Hal refused to let Tony into his life (Hal is used to everyone leaving; Barry is the exception, of course he is, but that’s Barry there’s no one purer, nicer, or kinder in this whole wide world).

After that, it’s just a lot of JL/Avengers shenanigans, mostly around Barry, Hal, Tony and Steve, once he comes along (and he and Barry aren’t at each other’s throats anymore). It follows losely through IM2, Avengers, probably IM3 (because Harvey Keener) and CA:WS (Barry and Steve bonding!), only to diverge somewhere between that and Age of Ultron (that doesn’t exist, to be all that much honest). I’ve plotted some of the things I want to happen, but since I’m messy and don’t have enough attention span to STAY FOCUSED, I’m still trying to figure out a lot of things.

I’m probably going into Avengers Assemble at some point and work with that. There are some DC storylines I think would fit nicely in there, but I have big gaps in my comic knowledge, so I really have to search for the right things to put.

The funny thing about REAU, however, is how much it has intoxicated every single of my other aus. All of the works that you can find in my Ao3 (right over here) are different iterations of this crossover, brought into different scenarios.

We have Coffee Shop AU, my first non-powered baby whom I love and cherish very much and hopefully will finish one day. We have Hotel AU which is so weird and I have no idea where it came from, but it’s there and it’s some very sweet Clintasha. There’s Prom AU/Childhood Friends AU! That’s sweet and fluffy and features sticker stars and red crayons. We have dumb diner au! The newest published addition to the line of non-powered aus! They’re all great, they’re mostly always the same characters, the same groups of friends (in most non-powered AUs, Steve and Barry don’t hate each other. In fact, usually they know each other from a very long time, along with Bucky, and Steve protects Barry with every ounce of whoop-ass he is) and there’s always some cute-meet that ends up in halbarry ending up together (because yes, they’re all mostly halbarry with a side of stony bcs I’m trash) I’m currently writing blubarry au for halbarry week (which I miscalculated) and it’s actually turned into Paramedic/Blubarry AU and it has absolutely gotten out of control (I’ve finished what could be a first instalment at 13k) and there’s aladdin au for stony that’s still in process and is also a crossover.

Aaaaaaand that’s mostly it, jsjsjsjsj I’m sorry this was so long! I’m so passionate about REAU and all my non-powered aus that it’s overwhelming some times!

Also, that post you did about Natasha? I felt that. My favorite Natasha is the Natasha who gets to be dorky, and cute, and who laughs at and with her friends. My favorite Natasha takes one look at Barry and goes “this one is mine now and if you hurt him I’ll make sure you pay dire consequences”. My favorite Natasha is Natasha painting Tony’s nails on girl’s night (that Tony always crashes, but he also sponsors the whole thing, so it’s alright). My favorite Natasha laughs like a hyenna when Clint makes a dent into their wall because he’s an idiot. My favorite Natasha is Dinah’s best woman, standing right by her, and wiping tears from her eyes without anyone seeing because she still wants to look at least a little bit tough. My favorite Natasha is so beloved by everyone who meets her and I’m !!!!! crying !!!!!

#;ask the author #au;room enough for all of us #i'M ACTUALLY CRYING YOU LET ME WRITE ALL THIS DOWN #Hal Jordan #tony stark #teatitty

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jazzycheshirekitten-blog · 6 years ago

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When Roses Collide

((Meeting yourself can be a strange experience.

@analyticseer

Rose

So.... A pink humanoid cat has been brought in. Also with very interesting circumstances if you may add. Karkat had liked this new person but then again you need to see this person yourself. You have your comfy clothes and phone with you hidden in a pocket, just in case something happens. After all you can never know what might happen and if this is somekind of trick to cause chaos from inside the Hideout, you need to let others know. Walking casually and without actually hiding your faint steps, you arrive and knock before opening the door, letting this person know that you are coming in and hoping Karkat was right and there isn't any trickery going on.

Jazz

You had been napping a little having needed a break from the books Karkat had given you. The knock wakes you immediately and you give the new comer a sleepy cat face. Looking at her is like... looking in a mirror, or at least it feels that way. A strange sensation runs down your spine as you gaze at her. For once you are wordless, partly because you are not quite sure you're not dreaming. It wouldn't be the first time you've had a dream like this since leaving your original universe.

Rose

Same could be said when Rose had got in room and her attempt to close door behind her is half completed. She just stares this person openly with confusion because... This Jazz... Has too many details that remind you at yourself. Suddenly you remember the message you got from some horrorterror at tumblr. Did they mean this person? "... From another timeline...?" you ask a little confused and you just needed to ask it right away.

Jazz

Ah, so straight to the point. And she's actually talking so most likely, not a dream... Unless you're both dreaming? A possibility. "An alternative universe which isn't exactly like an alternate timeline," you say, your cat-ish smile finding its way to your lips.

Rose

Oh... She also sounded quite similar like you do expect she maybe has some kind of... Cat-accent while talking? Is that a thing...? ... Yes, it's an actual thing, you decide. "....Right, Alternative universe then," you say and finally close the door. You now wonder if this is how Dave felt or feels when ever he meets new version of himself. The sensation of this is... Weird but somehow interesting at the same time.

Jazz

"Rose Lalonde the, yes?" you purr. It's been a long time since you've said that name. The last time was when you still used it. "I am Jasmine, mostly called Jazz~" It's very odd to see who you could have been or rather who you are here. Though she is you, she is also not you. The pair of you likely share much and little at the same time.

Rose

You aren't actually surprised when Jazz says your name. She is at least... Some sort of version of yourself so it was kind of your expectation that she already knows your name. Thank of the horrors though she uses different name. This way confusions should be close to zero. "Correct. I heard we have a... Guest whom name is Jazz. Karkat seemed to like you so I wanted to come and see you. I had not heard that you were..." you try to finish but end up gesturing Jazz and yourself because you still try to process that she is and is not you and has cat ears, is pink and.... What else???

Jazz

You see her eyeing you and you wave your twin tails and tentacle whiskers in a sort of playful way. You wonder if she's as interested in the outer gods as you were before being partially melded with them by your father. "That I was so cute?" you giggle mirthfully.

Rose

Did you- no, you mean did SHE actually say that? You wouldn't say that in this situation, so you did not expect that. But now when she mentioned it, she does look cute. You slowly start smiling a little and chuckle. "That wasn't really what I was trying to sat but you do look cute. Especially your hair looks very soft," you admit and wonder if it's softer than your own, which it might be since she is... Part of cat and... Are those whiskers really tentacles? ... Yup, seems to be like that. Cool.

Jazz

"Oh my hair is so very soft~ Karkat can attest to it as he petted me. Meow" you say, wiggling into a sitting position. "You can pet me too if you'd like~" "So~ Do we play a game of questions or do we just proceed accepting one another as unique individuals?"

Rose

"I'm more than curious to play game of questions with you, also with your permission" you say and come closer so you can put your hand on her hair and wow... It's even softer than you imagined so you start petting Jazz with slow and gentle moves, enjoying this experience.

Jazz

You purr quite loudly at her pets. Not quite as good as Karkat but still very good. "Mmm~ Very well, game of questions it is. We go back and forth asking questions and if either of us doesn't want to answer one then the other can make them do a tiny dare? Nothing that would get either of us in trouble of course~"

Rose

"Hmm... That is quite fair suggestion since I might also not be allowed to answer some things you ask, which I'm sure you already figured out," you say. You give it a thought for a moment, thinking the up's and down's of accepting this request. "If we have dare's the same rule must be applied so we have a chance to refuse. In the end, you have upper hand with dare's since I'm free and your actions are quite... Limited."

Jazz

"Hmm.... Fair~ Very well. Terms are accepted. Meow," you mew delightedly. You grin, and gesture to her, "After you~"

Rose

"Very well. First question. Are you actually horrorterror messing up with us?" you ask playfully with smile and scratch now Jazz's behind the ear, trying if she also has the spot some cats have.

Jazz

You giggle a little and look up at her, "Promise not to tell anyone what I'm about to say, under the condition of course that I remain a none danger to you and those you love and work with?"

Rose

You take your hand from Jazz hair and put it on your chest and raise the other one, looking like someone that is about to give a promise though Rose kind of does this a little more theatrically. "For the duty of secrecy I promise I will not tell anyone what you are about to share," you say and then lower your hands on your sides and sit down where ever you can safely sit down.

Jazz

"I, while not a horrorterror, do contain horrorterrors inside me. Given it is you I am talking to, I trust you understand why I would be cautious in who I share this information with. Nya~"

Rose

You lean a little closer to listen this secret and... Wow, that is some secret she's sharing with you. It might or not might explain the way she looks like because horrorterrors and humans don't really mix up well in your knowledge. While you are not hiding your interest towards horrorterrors, you do feel more safe having only Crew knowing about your seer powers actual source. The answer makes you wonder, how it feels to have horrorterrors inside yourself instead of being horrorterror... "I believe I understand why," you nod and lean back to your original sitting position. "Since this is a game, I must wait. You may continue.

Jazz

You beam a smile, take her hand and put it on your head. Pets to continue please~ "What is your relationship to the outergods?"

Rose

You were first a little confused by this gesture but realize that she must be graving some more attention. Well then, you pet her again but this time properly, like you would pet cats. "Hmm... I have been in contact with horrorterrors a long time in human years. They spike my curiosity and are my main subject to study so I would say my relationship with horrorterrors could be described as apprentice since I get in contact with them from time to time to learn more about their being," you answer and to be honest, it IS an honest answer.

Jazz

You nod. Before meeting your father you'd been researching them yourself. In truth they're probably the reason you met your father... You've always felt they wanted you for something. "Very fair~ If any try to deceive you let me know and I'll sink my claws into them," you tell her. Not all the outer gods can be trusted.

Rose

You chuckle a little bit for the words she said because you find Jazz very adorable from that moment. "I'll keep that in my mind. So, my turn to ask," you state and keep petting Jazz's head, while asking a little quieter to be sure no one could hear if they go past the door, "Have you always had horrorterrors inside you?"

Jazz

You're quiet for a moment then you answer honestly because if anyone could spot you in a lie, you suspect it is her. "No." There's another pause then you ask your question in return, "Have you ever had a cat named Jaspers?"

Rose

Okay, so she was maybe a human once and not like this originally. You wonder what happened to her and how she got these terrors inside her. However, the next question makes you stop petting Jazz for a moment and aren't smiling. It's been such a long time since someone mentioned dear Jasper and it's from the time you still had home and Mom around. "... Yes." Simple answer for simple question. You don't even ask right away a new question, because you need to have a little moment to collect your thoughts.

Jazz

"Ah I see.... so we share that then..." you say softly. You mean more than just Jaspers, but it still hurts too much to think of her much.

Rose

"... Did you also write stupidly long speech in Jasper's memory and read it out loud?" you ask, getting back petting Jazz softly.

Jazz

"Yes..." you say then laugh a little. "It may disturb you to know this... but my catness... it's... him..." You wonder, will she draw away? Will she be disgusted and horrified? Horrorterrors is one thing, but your beloved pet is another. You've also managed to forget the game for the moment. She's making you... feel... old things. This is dangerous. You are Jazz. Not Rose. You can never be Rose again nor do you want that.

Rose

This was very unexpected to hear so naturally you are quite in somewhere between shock and just being casually surprised. You don't know what to think about this like... Has she fused together with Jasper like... You aren't for sure but Sock is Dave and bird together like... Is this version of you the same way like Sock? You move your hands to hold Jazz face's sides while looking at her appearance, details that would tell you something, trying to analyse but... "You... You are not only me but also Jasper... Your Jasper?"

Jazz

"Yes... And I love you as much as I love me..." you say realizing it as you say it. Jaspers's knows Rose and loves her in all her forms, yourself and this alternate version included. that's frightening. But at least it's only the love a cat can feel. You can control that you think. If.... When you're father comes, he is what matters most.

Rose

Those words came from nowhere and was like a surprise attack after letting your guard down. It brings you back in the day how your Jasper died because of your stupid mistake. He could have lived longer life if you would have been more careful but you failed and... You once tried to even search if some kind of magic could bring him back but it's impossible. But your alternative self brought him in someway back alive? You can't hold yourself back and you embrace Jazz tightly while closing your eyes from tears. "I'm sorry.... I- I don't know if you understand... I'm- I'm sorry..."

Jazz

You think maybe you sort of understand. But you're not sure... It's must harder for you to understand feelings, particularly that of others since you became what you are. But she is you and not you... and you think if you were crying that maybe you'd want to be hugged. So you hug her back as tightly as you can with only one arm free. 'Perhaps.... this was part of the purpose...'' you think to yourself. Did the outergods want you here because of her? Did your father know? Would he understand?....

Rose

When you feel that she's hugging you back, it makes even harder for you to hold cry since tears have already won the battle between your eyelids. It's just touchy subject and the fact that there's two of you is making it even harder because you have a feeling that your other self haven't either had easy time in her original universe. This take a little time, before you speak. "I- I'm fine... This... This is just a lot to process..." you murmur and are ready to force yourself to stop hugging her.

Jazz

Slowly you let go and nod, "It is. I am willing to stop the game if you wish it..." The game is what led you to this pain... Perhaps it was a mistake on your part to play.

Rose

With your sleeve, you wipe some tears from your face. Thank god you didn't wear make-up today. "It... Would be wise though I have a lot questions for you but... I would like to continue this game some other time."

Jazz

"Alright. I am... um... Sorry to have given you distress...." and you actually mean it to an extent. You haven't been genuinely sorry to anyone other than your dad since... you changed. But you are what you need to be. You don't regret the change. "I suppose you'll be leaving for the moment then?"

Rose

"It's okay... You are not responsible how I reacted or in control how I feel from this," you assure. "But yes, I could consider to have a moment to collect my thoughts."

JazzToday at 1:30 PM

"Very well..." you close your eyes a moment and compose yourself as well. then you look up at her again with your smile, and you purr, "I look forward to seeing you again, Rose Lalonde~"

Rose

Faint smile comes across your face. It's nice to at least know Jazz looks a little more cheerful person than you are currently but... You wonder what she has gone through to get at this point. "I will come back later Jazz. If you want something that I could possibly bring, now's your chance to ask."

Jazz

"I would say knitting needles but I fear they would be mistaken for weapons and I could possibly be shot given my situation. So best to wait until I've proven myself and been made a member of the Midnight Crew~" you say casually.

Rose

"Well, I can bring you a yarn and teach you how to knit without needles, if you want," you suggest, assuming the way she says this that she haven't been taught how to knit without but you could be also wrong.

Jazz

Oh... she has a skill you do not! That's is rather wonderful and exciting really. You purr loudly and nod, "I'd like that greatly."

Rose

"That's then decided. I'll be back here at least tomorrow night after my work to show you how to do that," you say and get up.

Jazz

"I look forward to it, Rose. Take care of yourself in the meantime," you say. You are talking like a normal person would yes? you think perhaps for once you really are.

Rose

You smile a little amused, because worrying about your unnecessary reaction she should be more worrying about herself in case bosses are deciding something else than letting her join in the crew but.... You really hope she's clean enough to join and not a threat. "I would same to you, but it doesn't really wit in your situation so... I'm going to wish you luck that everything goes well. See you later." With that, you walk out and close again the door behind you. After this brief but surprisingly emotionally straining moment, you feel like having a drink.

Jazz

You'd love a drink yourself but for now... you have books. That must do. You will do what it takes to join the Crew. Not more then ever you feel it is the best and most interesting way to have purpose in this world.

#analyticseer #ic #offline #discord rp #long post

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raincoastgamer · 7 years ago

Text

Anime Ramble: Puella Magi Madoka Magica

Magical Girl anime have this tendency to provoke a binary reaction. Either you see Magical Girls on the promo material and want to watch the show, or else you don’t. So, I’d like to preface this bout of gushing-about-a-show-that-I-watched by saying that your initial reaction to seeing the below poster should be discarded and you should just watch this show.

No, really, I think it’s safe to say that if you have an initial gut reaction of “I’m not interested” then you are probably going to appreciate this show quite a bit, while those who are avid fans of the Magical Girl genre might actually end up being put off by their expectations. Not because of what this show is, but rather by what this show isn’t.

In the same way that everyone knows that Darth Vader is Luke’s father or that a certain noble from the North loses their head, there are some story twists which percolate into the general cultural consciousness due to sheer popularity and end up becoming common knowledge. Puella Magi Madoka Magica is a series which blew up to such popularity in 2011 that you’ve probably seen the characters somewhere before even if you don’t watch a lot of anime. You’ve probably also seen this little guy

around, often in the context of memes in which either 1) he tries to get people to make a contract or 2) people inflict violence on him and his smug little face never changes.

So while I want to say that Madoka Magica will surprise you when it pulls a left turn into darkness and despair, not only have I just ruined that specific surprise for you but the internet at large more than likely already did that job for me. Not only was this show popular, which translates into a more widespread awareness of its overall tone and some of its twists, other more recent shows have pulled a similar deception. Only last year did we have Made in Abyss, which I haven’t seen yet but which I understand exists for the sole purpose of having cute kids set off on an exciting adventure only to be eaten alive by Uncle Lovecraft’s Happy Fun Time Cave. If you’ve been around the anime niches of the internet or, like me, have a former otaku for a sister then you know from the onset that this show is far more than meets the eye based on reputation alone.

To start with, take a good look at the promotional material for this show, such as the trailer. The production team did their damndest to ensure that from the outside the show would look like the most derivative Magical Girl show ever made, up to and including keeping Gen Urobuchi’s involvement in the production a secret. Gen Urobuchi (aka ButchGen aka The Urobutcher) is a writer who is known for being a bit of a downer, having been involved in projects such as Fate/Zero and Psycho-Pass. He’s very outspoken when it comes to his distaste for heroic archetypes played straight and his tendency to drag his characters through the mud, so his presence as the show’s writer was what you might call a dead giveaway.

So what happens when a writer like this tackles a genre known for being all about hope, courage, and the power of friendship and love? There are many people who argue that Madoka Magica deconstructs the Magical Girl anime (Magical Girl Warrior subgenre) as codified by Sailor Moon or Cardcaptor Sakura. Some even say it’s the Neon Genesis Evangelion of the Magical Girl genre. As NGE showed us just how psychologically messed up a Giant Robot show would be if populated by actual human beings, Madoka Magica is about how having child combatants fight monsters in an urban environment with no support network does not make a well-adjusted childhood.

The effects of this kind of pressure and isolation on a bunch of adolescents is one of the elements of Madoka Magica, but fighting monsters with magic isn’t the only thing that makes a Magical Girl story. They’re traditionally as much coming-of-age stories as they are stories about definitions of femininity and self-determination. Madoka Magica has the trappings of a MG show: an all-loving protagonist, a dark and aloof rival, a tomboy friend, a non-magical friend, transformation sequences, fighting against the manifestations of dark emotions, and a cute(?) mascot. It’s talking the talk, but at its heart this is not a story about Magical Girl stories in the same way NGE was about Giant Robot anime (that’s what Revolutionary Girl Utena is for). It certainly plays with many common elements of the Magical Girl anime, but at its heart Madoka Magica is about hope, despair, idealism and selfishness. It’s a psychological drama and grand tragedy. It just happens to be wearing a Magical Girl outfit.

Which is not to say that one is superior to the other, of course. Just set your expectations accordingly if you’re already a Magical Girl fan. If you’re not, well, you might be in luck...

Twelve episodes isn’t a whole lot of time and Madoka Magica does a lot in those twelve episodes, so while I’m willing to spoil the tone of the story discussing the plot itself is a bit trickier. Kaname Madoka is our pink-haired milquetoast protagonist who doesn’t think she’s anything special, and just wants to make friends with everyone. We’re introduced to her via dream sequence, where she witnesses a dark-haired girl fighting against an enemy ravaging the city. A strange white bunny-cat creature asks Madoka to make a contract and become a magical girl, and then she wakes up. It turns out that when not dreaming of plot foreshadowing, Madoka has a pretty good life; a cool mom, a loving dad and good friends. But today it turns out the new transfer student at school - Akemi Homura - is the same girl from her dream. Homura warns Madoka to never change, to stay exactly as she is if she doesn’t want to lose her friends, family, everything she has ever loved. We wouldn’t have much of a story if Madoka never changed, though, so it isn’t long before the bunny-cat creature from the dream crashes into the narrative as well and introduces himself as Kyubey.

Kyubey offers Madoka and her best friend Sayaka an opportunity: make a contract with him and he will grant a single wish, any wish. In return the wisher receives magic powers and must now fight Witches. Not the pointed-hat, broomstick-riding variety, but rather strange, eldritch beings which bring about despair, death and suicide among ordinary humans. It sounds like a good deal: get magic powers and a superhero job on top of a wish? Who wouldn’t want that? But the catch is that this job is for life. If you’re spending all your free time saving the world, you’re not spending time with friends, getting a boyfriend, even just having fun. Is your wish worth dedicating your life to?

This story has a lot to say about good intentions. Our characters are living pretty good lives, so is there really anything worth giving that up for? Perhaps the wish is better spent on someone who needs it. But, remember, make a wish and you’re essentially fighting on behalf of that wish for the rest of your life. Is what you wish for really what you want, or do you really want some other outcome? Say you wish for a dying friend to heal; do you actually want them healed, or do you really want their eternal gratitude? All the characters in this story have the best intentions, but there’s a gap between intention and execution. If you don’t know what you really want, all the idealism in the world isn’t going to save you from your own regrets.

The phrase “I just wanted what was best” is a damning one. It's key to remember that the characters are adolescent girls, with all the contradictory vulnerability and immovable self-righteousness which comes at that age. It's the age at which ideas of how the world should be collide rudely with how the world actually is, and a person can either deal with it by changing themselves and developing coping mechanisms - healthy or unhealthy - or else break themselves on the impossibility of making their ideals fit with the system. Then again, it might be possible to change the system itself... but that’s a long shot.

At one point Madoka’s mother gives her a piece of advice: if you see your friend hurting themselves while trying to to the right thing, maybe the best thing to do is to do the wrong thing for them to break them out of their self-destructive cycle. After all, they’re all still young, they’re at an age where recovering from mistakes is supposed to be easier than when you’re an adult. But this advice happens to come at the wrong time, because these kids are stuck in a situation where a mistake can cost one’s life.

As it happens the relationship between Madoka and her mother is one of the highlights in the series. Mom is a career-chasing businesswoman who still takes the time to talk to her daughter, and though she may not be working her dream job she’s living life on her own terms and is obviously an inspiration for Madoka. Her relationship with Madoka plays a surprisingly important role in the story, which is a refreshing change since parents are usually a non-factor or killed off for backstory purposes. The rest of the characters fit much more neatly into standard archetypes. Madoka herself has a big heart and wants everyone to get along, while her much more outgoing friend Sayaka is the go-getter who will take on problems head-first. We’re introduced early on to a much more experienced magical girl named Tomoe Mami, and she ends up taking a sort of big sister mentor role. All three of these girls believe in helping and protecting others, though each has their own take on the best way of doing so. Homura on the other hand is the dark and mysterious loner who for some reason is fixated on Madoka. We feel like she’s an antagonist, but another character who enters the story later turns out to be even more hostile. The red to Sayaka’s idealistic blue, this new magical girl feels like the antithesis to the magical girl ideals we’re used to: selfish, violent and hedonistic.

As elemental as each of these characters is, by the end of the story each one ends up in a very different place than where they started - or else had their starting position shifted altogether. Not everyone is what they seem. Homura’s backstory in particular hits like a truck when it finally arrives and ends up being key to the resolution of the plot. That said, Madoka Magica is not a story that goes in for particularly complex characterization. Its twelve-episode runtime forces a fast buildup and resolution. Friendships and other relationships don’t really have the time to mature on screen, and a lot has to be left to subtext or inference. Each character’s arc takes them where they need to go for the story to progress, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Some of these character arcs are desperately tragic tales of misunderstandings and misplaced idealism, but in the end these are still archetypal characters, though perhaps not the archetype you expected. Ultimately, they serve more as conflicting views on the show’s central themes than as the driving force of the story itself. The short length of the show is a weakness, keeping the story from being able to develop the cast as much as would have been ideal.

On the other hand, the show’s compact twelve episode structure is also its strength, and the ‘realism’ of the characters is much less important than what each one represents in the story as a whole. It’s hard to say whether or not Puella Magi Madoka Magica would’ve been able to hit as hard as it does if was any longer. This is a story very much focused on building its plot and keeping a steady pace, layering the tone and atmosphere and absolutely killing it in the aesthetics department. It is a straightforward story when all’s said and done, but it is densely constructed and cohesive. Every element of the show works as part of a whole and builds on the others, the visuals, the cinematography, the music, and even in the way the plot is structured. It’s got no time for cheap fanservice, it makes full use of every moment, and it only gets better on repeat viewings. This isn’t a show that supports casual viewing, and it expects you to be paying as much attention to the way a character is being framed in a shot as to what’s being said (or not said) in the dialogue. This is ultimately a simple story, yes, but it’s dense and constantly being told on multiple layers.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica’s ace in the hole is its mixed-media action scenes. Whenever our characters are fighting a Witch the show pulls a Terry Gilliam and starts doing very strange things with the animation. The medium of the art itself changes, with our cel-animated characters fighting against and among stop-motion objects. Paper cutouts and cotton balls. Lace and embroidery. The effect is unnerving and psychedelic and sometimes overwhelming. It can be difficult to follow the action whenever this happens, but then again these are supposed to be things that aren’t quite in sync with reality, beings which practically run on magic. The fact that these unreal things and spaces are being represented with real-world objects intruding into the animation is a clever touch. It’s an effect that I’ve rarely seen used in anime, and never in an action-heavy context.

(Author’s addendum: I’m aware that director Akiyuki Shinbo’s thing is this mix of visual styles. I do think its usage in Madoka Magica is still notable, if only because it works really well here.)

Even when it’s being more conventional Madoka Magica is visually accomplished. Even though the wide-faced character designs threw me for a loop at first (so wide!) they did eventually grow on me. There’s something about how the eyes look almost penciled-in which keeps them from straying into overly-cutesy territory. The cinematography is likewise superb. Strong, stylized color work drives home tone and emotion. The setting often dwarfs people within vast, empty cityscapes, the background itself being a reflection of the characters’ emotions and the series’ tone. In dialogue-heavy scenes we get momentary flashes of expression and action illustrating what’s happening inside a character’s head, and the framing of characters in a scene tells you everything you need to know about their relationships without saying a word. Whatever else you might think about Madoka Magica, it looks beautiful and tells much of its story visually through color, framing, light and shadow.

Going further than that, the structure of the plot is beautifully constructed as well. You could divide the story into four arcs of three episodes, each following the development of a different character, or else three arcs of four episodes, each one ending with a new point of no return. The third and tenth episodes mirror each other as well, each one shifting the stakes and giving us new context for everything which came before. The reason why this show shines so much brighter on a rewatch is because things that seemed like inconsequential melodrama or lazy writing the first time around take on a whole new meaning once backstory and motivation are revealed. It’s for this reason that I’m not terribly concerned about revealing Puella Magi Madoka Magica’s swerve into darkness; high stakes and dark subject matter are not the only secrets that this series has got up its sleeve. By the end of the story we’re not only dissecting the intentions and desires of our characters, we’re asking hard questions about why this story had to happen the way it did at all, questions which lead to what might be one of the most satisfying conclusions to an anime I’ve ever seen.

That is perhaps what makes Madoka Magica the show that it is. Though the ultimate shape of the story is straightforward, we journey there through layers of twisting color and twisting plot. Though we have our perspective on the events of the story constantly re-contextualized about once an episode, it’s always building to a conclusion that both feels inevitable and yet less likely the closer we get. And when the end does arrive, it takes everything that has happened so far, every mistake, every hope, every good intention gone wrong and it makes them matter. Though the ending is theoretically open ended, it’s entirely self-contained. It has introduced us to a new world, revealed the lies underlying this world, and has shown us what these characters do about it. It raises questions, and in the end tells us what it’s been saying all along. Few shows, anime or otherwise, use such a cohesive combination of visuals, narrative, and music to deliver a message. Beautiful to look at, beautiful to listen to, and beautiful in how it unfolds.

As it turned out, a sequel movie was made anyways. I refuse to provide any comprehensive thoughts on Puella Magi Madoka Magica: Rebellion for now, because doing so runs the risk of being flayed alive by the fandom no matter your take. Suffice it to say that it’s incredibly self-indulgent, visually stunning, and it will make you regret wishing that the ending of the original series could have been happier.

Puella Magi Madoka Magica is beautiful, and you really should watch it.

- Taihus, the wish-granting @raincoastgamer

(And I somehow manage to write all of this without actually discussing the soundtrack. The thing is, I don’t really know how to critique a soundtrack. It’s good, its use of leitmotifs is masterful and actually brought me to tears in episode 8, Magia represents the show’s true face behind the pleasant pink facade, and I’ve still got Sis Puella Magica stuck in my head.)

#puella magi madoka magica #pmmm #madoka magica #review #ramble #anime #anime ramble #anime article #anime review #I wrote a thing #gen urobuchi #akiyuki shinbo #studio shaft #aniplex #ume aoki #yuki kajiura

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tyranttortoise · 7 years ago

Note

question: how would red have reacted in bpt if he /had/ seem the reader die without being stuck in the void? how about his bro?

This is definitely my most-asked-for bonus for Broken Promises and Timelines, and I had originally shied away from answering it because of spoilers, buuuuut… after the most recent chapter, I’m in the clear.

I actually decided to make this canon. So, for anyone wondering what happened to Red in Chapter 9 of BPT, this is it.

If you haven’t read BPT and still wanna read this, just note that this takes place in a Mobfell timeline.

There’s something wrong.

Don Asgore keeps droning on and on about a job in another district–something about humans trying to take it back, and how Sans and Papyrus are needed to go restore order–but Sans is barely paying attention. His brother remains standing ramrod straight, repeating back details like the Captain of the Guard he used to be, but even he seems on-edge.

Sans doesn’t trust those girls, the humans that he used to let fill his empty bed when you had seemed all but lost. You haven’t even been gone that long, but it feels like an eternity for him; anxiety pitted heavily in his SOUL.

He’s fidgeting, and Asgore notices. As the Overlord speaks, he keeps glancing over at Sans, and then Papyrus would make a comment and attempt to recapture his attention. By the third time Sans irritably huffs, Asgore finally cuts off mid-sentence and stands from his massive throne, the motion snapping both skeletons to attention.

“Can you not be still, Sans?” he snaps, his voice a low boom in the chamber. "If you have this much excess energy, I can gladly send you to District Zero.“

Papyrus attempts to speak for Sans, “MY APOLOGIES, YOUR MAJESTY. SANS WILL CEASE HIS FIGETING AND–”

Sans, however, cuts him off. "’m sorry, but i can’t jus’ stand here any more. if you excuse me…“ He moved to leave, but the Don raises his voice even more.

"You are not excused!” Sans flinches, hesitating. The guards in the throne room shift, and he can hear their hands move along their weapons. For normal monsters, being riddled with bullets wouldn’t kill them, but for Sans…

Sweat begins to bead on the back of his skull.

“You have never been the most respectful of monsters, but no one can argue with your results, Sans. Right now, however, you are testing me.” Each word is measured, clipped. Sans’s crimson eyelights glance toward Papyrus, wondering if he would back him up in a showdown.

… No, with these odds, he would likely just take a step back. Especially since Sans was stepping out-of-line on a mere bad feeling.

“well, with respect, your donship… i need to check on my human. i told ya before, i like what’s mine stayin’ mine, ya'see?”

Asgore scowls. "You have grown too attached, Sans. Before, your dalliances consisted of throngs of different whores, but ever since you started fucking this one, you’ve lost your edge.“

Sans’s expression darkens, a growl bursting past his throat. "she ain’t some whore!”

“Yes, yes. Whatever you say.” The Overlord waves a dismissive hand, oblivious to the way Papyrus’s eyesockets narrowed. "But that does not change the fact that there have been whispers in my ear.“

Sans’s eyelights shrink to mere pinpricks, and he’s never been more still in his life.

Asgore smirks. "Whispers of you looking to move Districts, to go somewhere more… human-friendly.” He takes several strides forward, watching as Sans grits his sharp teeth together and glares up at him. The Overlord has never seen such open defiance on any of the monsters’ faces. "We cannot have that. I cannot let that stand. You have a role here, and your loyalty is pledged to me. It will not be divided.“

Papyrus realizes what’s being implied. "SANS… THE HUMAN!!”

In that moment, Sans teleports straight out of the throne room and down the hall. He can hear movement behind him–the guards pursuing him, and a row of red-tinged bones shoot up behind him to block their advance. It turns out that Papyrus really did have his back in a show-down.

Sans begins searching through rooms, opening doors to the surprised shrieks of humans and monsters alike. Finally, he spots one with several of Asgore’s humans loitering outside of it with watchful eyes, and when they notice his approach, they put on their best smiles.

“Sansy, won’t you come play with us again~?”

The closest one puts her palms on the front of his suit, and Sans shoves her roughly aside without a second thought. She collides with another human, and both end up knocked off-balance onto the floor. Without a pause in his strides, he swings the door open, his magic buzzing in his skull.

The girls inside gasp, scattering like flies, but he barely notices. He barely registers anything…

Anything except the sight of you.

You are seated at the table, your cheek pressed against the surface of it and your arms hanging limp at your sides. Numbly, he continues forward, his vision beginning to fade around the edges, blocking out all but your visage.

“no… p-please, no…”

His voice cracks, barely more than a pleading whisper. He skirts around your chair, trying to see your face, but at the same time… fearful for the confirmation the sight will bring.

Your eyes are open, staring sightlessly ahead, and there’s a trail of blood from both your nose and the corner of your mouth. There’s a loud rattling sound cutting through the buzzing in his head, and he doesn’t even realize it’s his bones clacking together.

“sweetheart… sweetheart, c-c'mon…” He’s not sure what he’s imploring (that you RESET? That you LOAD? That you wake up and tell him this isn’t happening?), but he reaches out with trembling fingers and brushes your hair back from your face, tucking it behind your ear. The tips of his phalanges graze your cheek. Your skin still feels so soft, so real.

He hears a low grunt and then the sound of approaching footsteps. Papyrus appears at his side, a growl building in his throat.

“WE’LL KILL THEM ALL FOR THIS,” Papyrus vows, his voice coming out more hoarse than usual. "NO ONE WILL LEAVE THIS PLACE ALIVE.“

*looks like paps really did like you…

"y-you’re… right about that, pap…” Sans manages with a warble. They’re included in that–there’s no way they could defeat the entire mansion–but did it really matter?

Thirty years had passed after your last RESET. You died several times right before his eyes, and you always came back. You disappeared across time and space, and yet you still found your way back to him.

Your SOUL is still there, a heart as red as his eyelights. He can see it faintly glowing in your chest, the beginnings of a crack branching from the top, like spider legs reaching toward the center. You are gone, but after death, human SOULs persist.

The last time he glimpsed your SOUL, the crack hadn’t reached that far.

It’s easy enough to coax your SOUL toward him–as easy as crooking his finger. It eagerly floats toward his familiar magic, and Sans’s vision blurs as tears prickle his eyesockets. This is all that remains of you. He could absorb your SOUL, keep you with him until Asgore’s goons cut you both down.

If circumstances were different, he might have. It’s tempting, but he knows you’ll either come back or end up in another timeline. That knowledge is the only thing that stops him.

The bones that barricaded the room’s entrance began to crack and splinter apart. Papyrus stands ready in the center, his magic crackling around him and an elongated, sharp bone in either hand.

“GET READY, SANS.”

“’m ready,” he mutters back, though he’s not. Anger hasn’t had a chance to grip him yet. Instead, his finger’s still trembling as he reaches toward that crimson heart and ever-so-gently caresses the crack through your SOUL.

And then… there’s nothing but black.

It’s as if the color gets sucked out of the room. The walls are gone, Papyrus is gone, the table and chairs are gone–

–you’re gone.

Your SOUL isn’t in front of him; he can’t even see his own hand, it’s so dark. His breathing is coming out in short puffs as Sans begins to panic. What happened? Isn’t this supposed to be where he’s suddenly standing in the living room, with you on lying on his couch in that red dress he loved ripping off you?

“sweetheart?”

Silence.

“sweetheart? are you there?”

He starts walking through the darkness, his hands spread out before him and his footing unsure. The concept of time is lost, but his rising panic is making him feel sick.

It doesn’t take him long to get tired. He’s alone in whatever void this could be. He begins to wonder if this is the Void, the one where the crazy bastard was scattered. Being trapped in hell with him for eternity is even more frightening that being alone.

More time passes. His fear rises to anger, and he shouts and thrashes and kicks at nothing. Enough time passes that his anger fades into numbness. He goes over every choice he made and doubts all of them. Is he dead? Is this where you go between timelines?

Will he get to see you again if enough time passes?

He gives up HoPe and remains idle–unmoving and trapped in his own mind.

And then he sees you. You’re hyperventilating, broken sobs rising from your chest as you attempt to calm yourself. The area is only illuminated by the soft glow of a glitching RESET button.

…Is he hallucinating?

Sans tries to speak, but his voice comes out in a cracked whisper, hoarse from disuse. He clamors to his feet, stumbling forward through the darkness. The button lights up, enough that he can see his arm outstretched before him, reaching for you, and he knows it isn’t a dream. You’re really here.

“hey, you!” His voice finally returns, and your back stiffens. Just as you start to turn, the light extinguishes, and Sans is plunged back into darkness.

“goddammit!” He lets out an inarticulate scream of utter fury and thrashes his arms around, rage seeping into every pore of his bones. You were right there! He was so close! If only he had been faster, reacted quicker! "sweetheart! where’d you go?!“

Suddenly, there’s a shift, like the world tilting sideways. Sans loses his balance and hits an unseen floor with an oomph! All at once, the darkness disappears, replaced instead by stark white nothingness as far as Sans can see. He squints against it, his eyelights barely visible as he shields his gaze with his palm.

Someone chuckles humorlessly from behind him.

"would You like to SEE?”

Sans isn’t alone anymore.

(*Imagine Masterlist)

#broken promises and timelines #bpt #bpt bonus #mobfell #underfell sans #canon bit with what happened to red #this was actually fun to explore from his side of things #drabble #anonymous

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bharatiyamedia-blog · 6 years ago

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18 Must Read Business Books for Emerging Entrepreneurs and Startups

http://tinyurl.com/y6aar45b Reading is both relaxation and training for the mind. Who reads, dives into another world. Learning, entertaining and breaking out of everyday life for a short moment. One could go even so far as to say reading is the second most beautiful thing in the world! Whether it is non-fiction or a novel of all the world’s man has created, the book is the most powerful tool. That is also, why we wanted to find out which business book you should undertake in the new year. Here are 18 business books you might not have heard of but you need to read: 1. Prediction Machines by Ajay Agrawal, Joshua Gans, Avi Goldfarb The book “Prediction Machines” helps to classify the development of artificial intelligence and deal constructively with uncertainty about changes. The book first appeared in October and highlights the changes that AI inevitably brings with it. The three renowned economists give an overview of the possibilities of AI and deal with economic issues related to this technology. This book offers some illustrative examples of use. 2. Growth Hacking with Strategy by Hendrik Lennarz The book by Hendrik Lennarz provides numerous tips and practical examples for the successful introduction of a growth hacking strategy for companies. The spectrum ranges from organization through product development to marketing and customer loyalty. The growth-hacking-readiness checklist is particularly useful here. In my view, the book is a must for anyone looking to maximize user growth. 3. 7 Ways to Effectiveness by Stephen R. Covey A classic among the business advisers, which appeared in 1989, but has since lost none of its topicality. Covey describes the habits of successful individuals and derives universal principles from them. They help me both in my professional and personal life and are reflected in the successful development of extremely strong teams. The book is one of the most influential business books of the last 100 years, according to Time Magazine. 4. Digital Offroad by Ulf Bosch, Stefan Hentschel, Steffen Kramer “Digital Offroad” shows that digitization should not be considered one-dimensional. It touches just every area of a company and must, therefore, be understood as a holistic challenge and an opportunity. The authors argue that digitization has an impact on a variety of factors, including corporate culture. Provocative thesis that reveal important questions, as well as best practices, make “Digital Offroad” an absolute must-read for me. 5. The Startup Code by Johannes Ellenberg In seven chapters, the book sums up clearly and pragmatically what middle-sized companies can and must learn from startups. It clearly represents startups and why they are better prepared for the future. Johannes Ellenberg, who helped set up the startup scene in Stuttgart, explains how companies have to change their course and adapt to changing market conditions in order to remain sustainable. A new mindset is postulated: cooperation instead of competition! “Reading is a way for me to expand my mind, open my eyes and fill up my heart.” – Oprah Winfrey 6. From Zero to One by Peter Thiel “From Zero to One” is full of unconventional perspectives on starting a business. The basic idea of the Silicon Valley veteran Peter Thiel is to build something fundamentally new — a monopoly. He explains what has to happen to ensure long-term success and how to protect this monopoly from imitators. From the book, I was able to draw many valuable ideas for our own startup — a real must-read for anyone who wants to start their own business! 7. The Platform Revolution by Geoffrey Parker, Marshall van Alstyne, Sangeet Choudary Although the book was published in 2016, the content is more relevant than ever. The authors clarify all important questions about the development of a successful platform business model and the concepts can be applied to both B2B and B2C. The examples are very practice-oriented and the analysis of how established companies can adapt to new requirements in the market is sound. Whether founder of a startup or established player in a changing market, this book is a must for everyone! 8. Artificial Intelligence by Peter Buxmann, Holger Schmidt Holger Schmidt is an economist and journalist on platform economics and has even developed a stock index exclusively for listed companies with platform business models. In his new title, he and some colleagues are scientifically dedicated to artificial intelligence and its impact on the economy and society. The book deals with many myths and provides exciting facts and case studies. The book is very inspiring for me. 9. Fast thinking, slow thinking by Daniel Kahneman This excellent book opens your eyes to the countless limitations and influences of your own thinking. It helps to reflect on how decisions and assessments – which you as a founder and entrepreneur must constantly make — actually come about and this often does not go as rationally as you would wish. Admittedly, it takes some time to read — definitely not easy reading — but it is worth it. 10. Founder to CEO by Matt Mochary I can recommend this book to anyone because it covers the most important start-up and growth topics: competencies and motivation in the team, knowledge transfer and productivity, cash flow, finances and scaling — all in all, the perfect sweeping blow. Founders who are CEOs for the first time will find guidelines and answers for challenges. Long-time CEOs can use the guide to reassess their own and the company’s performance. 11. Rethinking Agility by Klaus Leopold The book “Agile Rethinking” by Klaus Leopold is my book highlight for 2019. Just 136 pages of concentrated knowledge with precise illustrations of why agile teams alone are not enough if you want to re-think the entire company and be agile. A case study, which shows all the problems and the appropriate solutions in the practical example. My clear recommendation for every leadership team at C-level — from 50 employees to a global corporation. 12. The Startup Way by Eric Ries Eric Ries is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur who helps large and small organizations with transformation processes. He helps them to focus on their customers and their requirements with little capital and lean processes in order to bring the right products to the market. Based on his experience of the past twenty years, Ries has developed a system of corporate governance that leads to stable growth and sustainable effect. 13. Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari Yuval Noah Harari describes in his bestseller how people have striven to challenge the status quo from the very beginning. At the same time, he explores the question of what a world in which man has become “homo deus” through technological progress looks like. A must-read for the entire tech industry, which deals with future topics and looks for the appropriate modus operandi. Harari points out the potential of innovation and warns to think about developments from the potential end. 14. The Design Thinking Playbook by Michael Lewrick, Patrick Link, Larry Leifer Design thinking is a great approach that defines customer needs and practical use cases for these needs for constant innovation. Too many companies are still pursuing an “inside out” approach, focusing on internal skills and innovation plans in the development of new services and products. The book provides a playful approach to the methods and tools used. It also provides sufficiently detailed and clear explanations for those who want to get directly involved in the practical application of design thinking. Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” – Joseph Addison 15. Smart Business – Alibaba’s Strategy Secret by Ming Zeng Alibaba looks at some digital transformations we are about to face and which an almost unbelievable success is the group’s platforms attract more users than the US, and earn higher margins than Amazon. Alibaba’s chief strategy officer Ming Zeng, who is also a former professor, discusses the guidelines for the world of artificial intelligence. Spoiler: human creativity and innovative ability are essential. 16. Hard Things about Hard Things by Ben Horowitz The book gives an open and realistic view of entrepreneurship, with all difficulties. Through the own experiences of the author and Silicon Valley investor Ben Horowitz, the tips and advice are very practical and have a real added value for the reader. After reading, you are prepared for the next lows as an entrepreneur. Many books and guides ignore the negative aspects of founding. That is not the case here. A real recommendation for every entrepreneur! 17. Digital Vortex by Michael Wade, James Macauly, Jeff Loucks A vortex described in fluid mechanics is a mathematically not precisely formable circular flow, which sucks things with increasing speed into their center. Metaphorically transferred to organizations, they whirl chaotically along the flow, collide, merge or dissolve completely. They head for the center of the movement — a digital revolution. For entrepreneurs, the question of what role they play with their company in the wake of digitization is decisive. Therefore, the question of what incumbents should know as they move in the digital vortex is at the heart of the book. 18. Measure What Matters by John Doerr My must-read for 2019: “Measure What Matters” by John Doerr. He describes how goals and responsibilities can be defined and controlled by means of objectives and key results. In particular, the case studies and knowledge resources in the book help to understand the approach and to find starting points for the implementation in their own environment. In summary, a very practice-oriented book that shows possibilities for direct involvement. Image courtesy of Twenty20.com Source link

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flauntpage · 6 years ago

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Brett Brown’s Media Luncheon: The GM Search, Passport Issues, and his Least Favorite Part of the Job

The Sixers’ preseason unofficially kicked off Tuesday with Brett Brown’s annual media luncheon at Bar Amis in the Philadelphia Navy Yard.

Brett spoke for a little more than an hour and a half yesterday. Transcribing all of that verbatim would be pretty painful, and I don’t think anybody would read it anyway. Plus, a lot of the quotes are outdated now with the announcement that Elton Brand will be the team’s new general manager.

So I think the best way to do this is to go straight through the files and write out bullet points while logging some full quotes for the more interesting stuff that Brett had to say, or the topics that other outlets didn’t focus on.

It was a good session, most of it anyway. A lot of it centered around the GM search, the growth of Ben Simmons and Markelle Fultz, and high expectations coming into a new season.

General Manager stuff

Sam Hinkie was never under consideration for the job

Brown had a say in the decision making process. He was looking for what he described as a “consistent partner.”

The organizational chart and power structure within the front office will be explained later (now on Thursday when Elton Brand is officially presented as the GM)

Brett Brown never wanted the job in the first place. His job is to coach the team first and foremost and he didn’t think he’d be able to help the franchise by assuming both roles at the same time.

Brown says it’s “not true or fair” to think that the lack of a general manager affected their pursuit of free agents. He does not see a connection between the GM situation and not being able to land somebody like LeBron James or Kawhi Leonard. “It has borderline zero to do with that.”

Finding an executive to run an organization doesn’t happen overnight. He doesn’t agree with the narrative that the Sixers took too long in finding their new general manager. The team did their due diligence with the search process.

Markelle Fultz

Markelle has put up around 150,000 shots during his summer workouts. He’s spent a ton of time in the gym and is “seeking out shots.” Brown said he was getting texts from Fultz at the gym at 8 a.m. and 11:30 p.m.

He does want to put Markelle in pick and rolls to utilize his strengths. For context, the Sixers run the second fewest pick and rolls in the NBA, so it goes against what they do offensively, but they will look for a balance there to get Fultz going this season. Brown also thinks they can be successful playing pick and roll with Ben Simmons as a screener, and also running deep pick and rolls with Joel Embiid.

No specific role in mind for Markelle, i.e. will he play with the starters or will be back a backup point guard? They will find ways to use Simmons and Fultz together and navigate the rotation going forward. (I think you’ll be Ben play more power forward at times to allow Markelle Fultz to run the point and JJ Redick stay in the game as the shooting guard).

Brown did say that Fultz does have some form things to polish up when it comes to his jump shot, but he hopes that the shot does not end up “defining” the second-year player:

“When I look at the actual form, there are times from a posture standpoint, he’s a little bit backwards. When you look at him rising up or getting the ball in his shot pocket, sometimes his head will go back and he’ll play a little more out of a fade type of environment, a fade type of fundamental that we’ll try to correct. I think Drew Hanlen has been incredibly caring and has truly connected with Markelle.”

Ben Simmons

Brown thinks Simmons can be confident enough to show a three pointer this season.

He’s been working on his shot with his older brother Liam, which Brown is okay with. Liam Simmons had previously coached at Nicholls State and UC Riverside, among other schools.

Brown on that:

“…the thing that I really like about Liam is there’s no bullshit with him. Like, he can call Ben out. He can let him know about time, he can let him know about work rate and coach him. This isn’t like, ‘You’re hanging with your relative.’ It’s not that relationship at all.”

Liam Simmons resigned his position at UC Riverside and moved his family to help Ben work on his shot.

Joel Embiid

Embiid “blew him away” during summer workouts, worked a lot on bully ball during his time with Drew Hanlen

having a full offseason as a healthy player will go a long way in getting Joel off to a strong start this season

Robert Covington

spent a big part of his summer improving his ability to attack close outs (as part of learning from the Boston series)

Jerryd Bayless

Brown has had multiple conversations with Bayless and his agent and doesn’t want the veteran guard “rolling over” this season.

Says Jerryd is certainly good enough and is a legitimate NBA player, he’s not “dead and buried”

#Sixers Brett Brown on Jerryd Bayless: ‘It’s my belief you need to come in and fight (for a spot).’

— Tom Moore (@TomMoorePhilly) September 18, 2018

Zhaire Smith

will return some time in December

Landry Shamet and Jonah Bolden

trying to make them better, “could come with G-League games, could come with who knows?” The team has so many options on the table and coming in as a young player is difficult in the NBA.

Continuity and expanding the playbook

Brett has his starting five returning for the first time in his Sixers tenure. I brought that up in a question about continuity and how he can continue to build their offense from we saw last season:

Brown: Right. So when you look at, ��who are we?’, at this stage of my time in Philadelphia, I would expect everybody at this table should quite understand how we want to play and how we do play. Style of play in my opinion is far different than culture. Ultimately you hope they collide, but style of play is different from behavior in some ways, and you hope they collide and that’s the program. Offensively, we play fast, we share the ball, we ran the second fewest pick and rolls in the NBA last year. We don’t just stand and isolate. We added offensive rebounding last year, which was great, with our size. I think we were top three last year in terms of our length in the league. So if you run, and you share and you crash the boards and shoot as many threes as the team says I can. Now you put that into an environment of, to your point, continuity, and corporate knowledge and consistency, there’s a familiarity that that’s how I want to play. So to incorporate other people into our system, that’s what I anticipate. This year the challenge is going to be getting Markelle the ball, and continuing to grow Ben, who can play some trail and some four. But I don’t expect to pivot too much out of what we’ve been doing. I do hope to use Ben Simmons in some different ways this year, more than I did last year. Does that answer your question?

Crossing Broad: Yeah, though maybe I was hoping for more coach speak.

Brown: Ask me again.

Crossing Broad: Well let me use a football analogy – if you have a senior quarterback returning, you can do a lot more with that player than a sophomore quarterback. The offense can be more than swing passes and dump downs, right? So say you ran maybe three or four horns sets last year, I guess that could be five or six this season, right? Can you take the positives from last year’s base offense and evolve that even further because you have five starters returning and they’re already understanding of the offense and their specific roles?

Brown: Yeah, and this is where I get excited, you said it and I said it – when you have continuity, when you have corporate knowledge, I saw in my (Spurs tenure) that (the offense) just blossomed, it just took off. Structure didn’t change that much. But the nuances and the things that Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker and Tim Duncan found for each other, you know, they ended up teaching us. I’m excited to take our base and add some wrinkles. They’re going to teach us some wrinkles as well. But the good news is that I love our base. I like our offense. I like what we do defensively. I like our called plays. I’m always mindful of how we can be better with Joel and JJ. I think I can coach Dario more. Now you’ve got Markelle Fultz and where are you going to put him positionally? But we’re still drawing from our base. We’re not changing the base offense and some of the sets that we run. Wrinkles will evolve and we’ll place those guys where they should be placed.

Nemanja Bjelica

Brett confirmed that Bjelica reneged on his verbal commitment and was targeted by other teams during a period in which he was having passport issues re-entering the country.

I asked Brett about the backup power forward position and the passport thing:

Crossing Broad: Ersan Ilyasova was such a like-for-like swap with Dario last year, a stretch four, that Euro power forward that can shoot. What’s the plan this year with that spot? Can Mike Muscala give you those stretch four minutes?

Brown: Yeah, he can. And when we studied him, and looked at how much four did he play, for example, he played a lot of five. And when I studied him more we figured out that he’s actually mobile enough to switch, he’s mobile enough to run, and he can definitely shoot a three. He can play some four, more four than I originally thought. I also think Wilson Chandler can come in and play some four. We’ll call it a small ball four, like a Morris twins type of game. I think Cov can slide over and play some four. But when we watched Bjelica and Ersan, Muscala is a good fit, but I also think we have other answers that can slide into that role.

Crossing Broad: Do you have any kind of conversation with Nemanja after he went back on his commitment?

Brown: Yeah. I mean, he was in a tough spot. And I spoke with him and he had a certain window to make a decision. Do you want to come to Philadelphia? He opted to say ‘yes, I do.’ Then, over the course of time, we tried to get him into the city for a physical and he had some passport complications, and there was a window (of time) where people started (getting in touch) with him. On one level, there’s a human side of disbelief and disappointment, and then there’s the other side, where somebody is giving you 21 million dollars (long pause)…

Crossing Broad: Yeah, I get it.

Brown: You can play the ethical card with that, and it’s true. I’m not minimizing that at all. But it’s also not head-scratching how something like that could happen.

Crossing Broad: Was it funky that the guy had a passport issue considering the fact that he’s lived over here for three years now?

Brown: I don’t think so. I didn’t see any conspiracy theory there, or something sinister. His agency, they’re good. I’ve known his agent for a long time. Initially you’re wondering what went south, what actually went wrong, and we started connecting the dots and it’s really just as simple as I just laid it out. We wish him well and we’re excited to have Mike. Initially it was a little bit of a shock, but here we are and we’ll be fine.

The media

This was a media luncheon, so I asked Brown a sort of open-ended question about the media in general. How were his experiences with the Philadelphia media last season? Was coverage fair? Unfair? Too much availability? Too much repetition in the questions? It was an interesting and very honest back and forth between he and I until another media member came in and derailed the conversation.

Crossing Broad: Brett you did a lot of media last year – before games, after games, shoot around, practices, 97.5 the Fanatic, 94 WIP… You probably spoke to us for hours last year. What did you take away from all those interactions in general? Was it fair? Unfair? Positive? Negative? Were there annoying questions or things you had to answer repeatedly? The NBA does require you to do a lot of media.

Brown: It is the least favorite thing that I do, not because of…

Mike Sielski: Gee, thanks. (laughter)

Brown: But Mike, it’s the truth. It’s not because of you all, or the questions that you ask, it’s the repetition..

Crossing Broad: It’s the same stuff over and over again?

Brown: Well it’s not even the same questions, it’s the volume of man hours I spent. I get tired of hearing myself. Really. And it gets, think about it, you do shoot around, you do post game, you do pre game, you do afterwards, and I enjoy talking to you all, right? But the frequency of it, four times in a day, how could you not? So when I say it’s the least favorite thing, it’s based on the volume, not the content. And it’s Philadelphia, and there are times when it’s, that is not true or that’s unfair, for sure, and you move on. I feel like I’ve (handled) that okay. There are some times where you want to fight (back). You definitely want to fight. There are times you dust it off.. and go fishing or biking or whatever. It’s an interesting question you ask.

Crossing Broad: Is there anything to smooth that over then? Make those interactions better? Improve the dynamic for everybody’s benefit?

Brown: Well I feel for you guys sometimes.

Crossing Broad: Well, for example, everybody goes crazy for the Markelle Fultz stuff, the 10 second videos of him shooting free throws, but we asked you about that last year and you said it wasn’t a big deal because it just means the fans are interested in the progress of the team and really passionate about the team..

Brown: And at times like with me, you’re walking on the head of a pin, where you don’t want something to be some rogue sound bite that’s taken out of context. Like there was stuff that went on last year..

Crossing Broad: Well the star hunting quote is not the full quote, right? Because you said star developing after that, too.

Brown: Star hunting, star developing, I’m happy on that (quote). But I’ll use another example..

At this point Brown was cut off by another media member who didn’t think it was the “right time” or “forum” to have this discussion, explaining that we only had 11 minutes remaining and that they “don’t give a fuck about star hunting.”

I thought it was an interesting and candid response from Brown, but I guess we won’t get to finish that conversation.

The post Brett Brown’s Media Luncheon: The GM Search, Passport Issues, and his Least Favorite Part of the Job appeared first on Crossing Broad.

Brett Brown’s Media Luncheon: The GM Search, Passport Issues, and his Least Favorite Part of the Job published first on https://footballhighlightseurope.tumblr.com/

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dhpdaedalus · 8 years ago

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Week 2 of Drumpf: Believe Me: The Last Thing We Need is Trump to Drop Dead from Natural Causes

Typically the Republican Party, the GOP, the Conservatives of this country propound the preservation and importance of religion. This last election was unique in that both parties--the religious right and liberal (sometime secular) left perceived the candidates on the poles of good and evil. Thus, the failure of the Democratic party and many Clinton supporters was not just an election, but the victory of evil over good. The question of civil society and civil rights is the domain of the liberal left, but why is the fight against Trump being framed as a right/wrong, good/bad concern?

What are the dangers of viewing politics on a good/evil axis? I think it’s useful to look at two dissenting voices from the left of center and right of center to see how nimble the debate around Trump policies can be, whether seeing them as ethical or judicious makes sense strategically.

A recent email exchange between Noam Chomsky and Sam Harris can serve as an example of how framing something in the context of good and bad (via good and evil, see Nietzsche “Beyond Good & Evil) can predetermine the sorts of answers that appear to force a concession of one moral value for another. (I didn’t follow the entire stunt of email bating/debating with Chomsky, but the entire discussion seemed to inappropriately concede to Harris’ desired framework, which is a binary between Western values and “non-Western values.” I should stipulate that I actually haven’t read any of the books, in their entirety, that these two authors have produced pertaining to politics. On one hand the dispute between them is an exchange of both referring the other to a book the former wrote, on the other hand the exchange comes off as a PR stunt on behalf of Harris to garner more attention to his platform from Chomsky fans and/but on a third, prosthetic hand that forces the hands of both of the other hands, and on which I’m qualifying my admitted lack of reading either of their books, both have an excess of non-literate media sharing their political perspectives, media that has communicated in the very least that it isn’t necessary to read their books because, if this media is purposeful, effective, and functional, it (the media--interviews, podcasts, speeches, et al.) can disseminate their political perspectives at least as sufficiently as their books. )

A Generalization of Chomsky & Harris Perspectives on American Foreign Policy as It Pertains to the Point of Trump Dropping Dead by Natural Causes

Noam Chomsky’s critique of American foreign policy is that it’s imperialistic. We uproot dissent in foreign countries through covert CIA and/or overt military operations for the goals of imperialist domination and subsequently economic benefit. The banner under which the U.S. government declares its violence against other people--Terrorism, Freedom, Democracy--as part of the manufacturing of the domestic population’s consent, may change but the motivation is constant. The inaccurate rhetoric of American foreign policy is found not only in the inconsistency of how these banner themes are applied across the globe--i.e. some Muslim countries being our enemies while other being our allies--but also in how our own country does not adhere to its own rallying dogma. While U.S. politicians wage war in the name of Democracy, the same politicians may be countering democratic processes at home. Chomsky’s repeated references abroad are to the CIA interventions in Nicaragua, military support of the genocide of East Timor by Indonesia, the invasion of Iraq under the guise of Weapons of Mass Destruction, and World War II.

Sam Harris’ stance on U.S. foreign policy is that it’s the U.S.’s duty to police the world, to protect civil society and this can and may and at times must be done through militarization and tough love (i.e. secret missions, assassinations, et al.). To secure civil society, we must fight against those who oppose it, e.g. Putin. Because there are regimes that do not recognize human rights, its the duty of HR proponents to fight against the tyranny of the opposition in order to affirm women’s rights, create secular governance and end dictatorships. In the debate with Chomsky he emphasizes the “good intention” of the American foreign policy. His references abroad are much narrower than Noam’s, focusing on the Middle East and Russia since the Cold War until the present.

Harris’ argument is pretty close to Samuel Huntington’s “Clash of Civilizations,” which was the popular framework around the 9/11, Iraq War. It’s a world picture that appealed to George W. Bush. We, the West (Western Europe & North America), are culturally incompatible with the non-West, but really they mean Islam. Asia’s fine. They make our stuff. This clarification is the first of many. It’s not just Islam, but Middle East, and just Middle Eat but Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Egypt at times...who else...Yemen? Ok, it’s ad hoc. They could have said, “They’re in our way to drive to Kazakstan and must be destroyed,” and it would have been more accurate. You’ll notice, this is the basic road map for Trump’s “Muslim travel ban,” and it’s echoed by many European nationalists. But before I get to how this doesn’t float as a logical argument, I want to return to the fantasy of some good grace shining upon North America, just below the 48th parallel.

Trump & the Grim Reaper

Ok, so with the context of these two interpretations--Chomsky & Harris--‘twer Trump to drop dead, flat out on the floor of the oval office, not resting but stone dead, deceased of natural causes the entire opposition, the rational center, the apprehensive Michiganders that cast no Presidential vote, the Left and Ultraleft would have no other alternative but to revive the idea and belief of Divine Intervention. There would be no room for secular belief. It would simply not be tenable to have the electoral college hand to leave this flaming paper bag on our doorstep and then, suddenly, not have to deal with it. It would be none other than “miraculous.” Thus, both the right and left in the U.S. would collide in religious fervor. The discord of U.S. politics since the mid 20th Century would simply evaporate, having reached a boiling point with in an orange burst of 5th Avenue egocentricity of smoke and mirrors. You think I’m kidding, but there would be no protection for civil society through/on the grounds of secular or non-belief; there would be only “believers.” Civil society would equate to Christian society in the U.S. The conservative right would simply continue their born-againing, and the left, well, they would born again also. The illogic would be...illogical. Here’s how.

The claim that defending Muslims or Islam in America or the rest of the world by the liberal left while aspiring to secularism, human rights and equality, or at least separation of church and state, is contradictory, according to Harris. (More than Chomsky Harris engages in debate with the religious and spiritual communities as part of the New Atheist movement.) But first and foremost, this is a stereotype about any religious society, not just Islam. What about Buddhists? Are Confucians ‘ok’? Second, to view a society solely by their religious makeup is anti-intellectual, as it discards any other valuable assets of that society. I watched the first Sean Hannity interview with Trump, you know, the one where Sean basically tricks the old fart into agreeing to pardon some people he knows, and what’s more interesting than any of that hour rehearsed interview is that a youtube commercial by the Islamic society directly followed the video. It correctly explained the many contributions to the world that Islam has made. For example, the idea of zero. Where would be without zeros? But the point is that any society, regardless of their origin stories, afterlife beliefs or distinctions between “science” and “religion” (this is a Western distinction, BTW. See ‘China’) have great contributions to the world, knowledge, food, history, language. Third, can you secure secularism while securing a freedom of religion? *(And I should clarify that I’m an atheist, more over secular). The answer is ‘yes,’ and it’s possible only through example, at probably through law, which is what most of these countries that are worried about Muslims already have. They have a higher standard of living which sets the example for people in poorer countries to say, hey, maybe it would be a good idea to go there, or, ‘wait, no one is getting killed there, that’s an example of my kind of neighborhood.’ As for laws, you vote on them. It’s democracy. For those of us who cling to secular society just because we believe it’s superior than sharia law, well that’s is just as dogmatic as those who cling to another belief system.

Having given the Harris-teria a few nods, it’s important to return to Islamophia directly, because it’s pertinent in not just the U.S. What is actually going on here? That is, what’s really at stake right now: is there an overtaking by Islam, or an ebb of civil rights? I’d say, ‘no.’ There is no coordinated effort for Islam to finish the job of the Crusades. In real numbers, no European country crosses 11% of Muslims. What’s the bigger danger, some head garb or fascism turning against the civilian population. Fascism is alive and well in the U.S. and Europe. Why is this a bigger concern? Well, discriminating against 100% of society because you have 10% you don’t like is sad math.

As pointed out during the Weapons of Mass Destruction campaign and Bush: Deux, Islam isn’t the enemy, as we have allies in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco...actually, most of them, at some time. If you’re worried about Islam, go make a friend who’s Muslim and you’ll be happier. If you’re worried about extremist--whether black, brown, or white--the answer is to improve their standard of living. In fact, for you Europeans who are thinking of protecting your country against the influence of refugees, just know that that’s exactly what George W. Bush would have said. You hated that guy. So did I. Don’t fall for him. You’re better than that. Use your creativity and innovation to deal with this in an un-Bush-ly manner.

And when compared to our current and recent allies, the Clash of Civilizations model simply doesn’t hold water. I didn’t buy the rhetoric during Bush Deux and I don’t buy it via S. Harris. Reagan didn’t buy it either, as he sent weapons to Afghanistan to fight the clash with the other spectre: Communism. Not even Trump really buys it. Actually, most of the countries we are fighting in, have been fighting in, funding military conflict, or have special operations aren’t Muslim, they’re Christian. As of 2014, the U.S. had around 134 countries that SOCOM, SOF, training of foreign militaries that was going on. Central & South America. Southeast Asia. Pacific Islands.

(Christian countries)

Apart from their selective cartographic interpretation, they (Bush, Harris, Huntington, but not CIA) also completely omit the civil rights issue pertaining to discriminating against Muslim Americans, which can be traced back to Civil Rights movement, Louis Farrakhan, Malcom X, et al. Discrimination against Muslims is not only illegal under Constitutional right to the Freedom of Religion, but it savagely and disproportionately effects people of color. If Harris preferred a logical, historical continuity, the lines of discrimination are much more ardent than the clash between civilizations in this country and others. And so, calling it the BS that it is catalyzes the liberal left’s defense of Islam: that it’s a false pretense.

The contradiction of Harris, and much of what’s come to be the Nationalist movement across many European countries, that declare the inhumane treatment of outsiders (refugees, immigrants, even citizens of other cultures), is quickly shown outlined in the uncivil actions necessary to maintain the alleged civil society. (But then, is it still civil? Was it ever?) Logically, it’s congruent to the camp that believes the death penalty is necessary to ensure that killers don’t kill in a society where killing isn’t allow or you have to bomb to get peace. What’s curious about Harris and Nationalists who advocate violence to ensure peaceful society is that they never advocate for greater support of non-military organizations whose missions more acutely align with these proposed ideals: Amnesty International, for example, works for human rights not only abroad but also within these “civil societies.” They are just one of the many organizations, non-military organizations, that work to do exactly what this contradictory camp suggests, though without contradiction.

#travel ban #Trump #secularism #civil society #divine intervention #islam #christianity #holy war #isil #spontaneous combustion #sam harris #noam chomsky

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