#is briefly touched on but not thoroughly explained. if I get better in this class it won't be from inspiration it'll be from spite

[straightfacedstrangeness]

Me: Well we're into Figure Drawing Week 3 and the teacher still hasn't answered my question of how we're supposed to construct our drawings, but I think I've figured out a way to do it that really addresses my problem areas :)

Teacher: *at the very end of class* Don't draw like this, why would you draw like this

[rosileeduckie]

The Claw

In retrospect, there isn’t really any way to lose.

Look I love y’all, and that’s that. Noticed I have a habit of starting on day three, but what better way to get back into the swing of writing? Also, I’ll be jumping between @august-anon’s and @lizzienaut’s prompt lists for this month, and I’m only hoping to beat my total from last year, which was a whopping 5. I’ve got ideas, but I’ll leave prompts open for a bit ☺

Bakugō and Kirishima get silly after visiting the arcade. My love letter to the tickletober day 4 prompt: games. (Also a little bit of ‘suspense’ from yesterday)

SFW. Potential warnings: return-to-writing level fluff, but other than that, none! My Hero Academia / Kiribaku tickle fic.

Word count: 937

~*~

“Fine. Since you’re gonna keep whining about how I wouldn’t waste my money to win you a prize so big you needed a train ticket for it, I’ll play your stupid claw game now, alright?”

It was hardly fair for Bakugō to expect a response out of Kirishima, after having so thoroughly knocked the wind out of him by pinning him on his back to the bed and knocking the butterflies in his stomach to flutter up into his head. If being kissed and straddled hadn't set his heart cantering and head spinning, Kirishima might have been able to verbalize his confusion at Bakugō's words. Play the claw game? When they'd only just gotten back from their class’ day-off trip to the arcade? Sure, Kirishima had teased Katsuki in hopes of getting him to be all romantic and show off to win something for the sturdy student's honor. But he hadn't been serious, certainly not enough to leave the comfort of his room after turning in for the evening just to go all the way back to the arcade. 

But, no, as it were, the game Bakugō had in mind required little more moving than to trap Kirishima's right hand under Bakugō's knee and to clasp Kirishima's left hand in Bakugō's right. Pressing a kiss to Kirishima's knuckles, Bakugō guided the arm to lay at Kirishima's side with elbow bent and forearm thus upright, hands still held. The last piece of the game manifested when Bakugō's previously uninvolved left hand lifted, hovering in a clawed shape inches above Kirishima's stomach. 

Oh.

Kirishima bloomed a thousand shades of red as he realized whatabouts the claw game would entail, and then one more shade of red when Katsuki bowed down to press a kiss to his lips. "My token to play," he explained, chuckling fondly at the warmth in Kirishima's cheeks as righted himself and reassumed his position as both claw and player. "Now, what prize to go for first?"

The only response Kirishima could offer was in the form of the anticipatory giggles that seemed to bloom from his lips in the wake of Katsuki’s kiss. The poor red-headed hero-in-training could only bite his lips and hold tight to Bakugō’s hand as it began to move, taking Kirishima’s along for the ride.

From its starting spot above Kirishima’s middle, the claw moved slowly down, swaying tauntingly above his navel and lower belly, and then, after a considering hum from Bakugō and a gentle toggle of his makeshift joystick, it crawled through the air, slowly as if through molasses, until it sat above Kirishima’s hip. 

Whatever prize Bakugō was aiming for, he was really taking his time deciding. Maybe it was a good thing Kirishima hadn’t convinced him to play the claw while they were still at the arcade. 

Kirishima’s soft giggles spiked briefly with a squeak when Bakugō’s hand dipped farther down than previously, close enough that Kirishima could feel the warmth in his villainous fingertips. He stuck his tongue out when Bakugō pulled his hand away once more, but Bakugō only chuckled, spidering his hand across Kirishima’s chest and hovering it above his ribs. And then it climbed higher.

There had been two sides sparring in Kirishima’s mind up until that point. One, the instinctive part, wanted to suck in his stomach and twist away from Bakugō’s imminent touch; the other, much brighter and much louder part, had happily resigned him to his fate. The first part seemed to kick into overdrive when Bakugō’s hand diverted further up Kirishima’s ribs, because instinct said to keep him away from the most ticklish spots, even if the second part was cheering him on. So, Bakugō’s joystick piloting, smooth until then, stuttered when, rather than actually fighting to get out, Kirishima grappled with just the hand he had held in Bakugō’s. It was impeccable logic, truly, that more effective than shaking off the person controlling the claw, he just fought with all he had to keep the claw from moving.

Well, evidently not all he had, since Bakugō had little trouble getting his joystick moving again. To prove a point, he didn’t just direct it up; he fully raised and pinned Kirishima’s arm, smirking all the while. And, even still, his claw hand moved as dedicatedly slow as ever, ghosting up Kirishima’s ribs and chest and holding for an impossibly long moment over Kirishima’s exposed underarm. Kirishima’s eyes were fixed to those wiggling fingers, daring, begging for it to strike already. Only when his gaze met Bakugō’s, warm and impish, did Bakugō at last break form and attack.

Scritching fingers dug into Kirishima’s armpit, crawling up his bicep and down his ribcage in their fervor. Kirishima’s head hit the pillow, eyes scrunched and smile wide amidst deep and deeply happy guffawing laughter. Instinct prompted him to wriggle, and he did manage to free his hand from under Bakugō’s knee in the process. He made good use of it by wrapping his arm around Bakugō’s back and pulling him close enough that he could laugh into the crook of Bakugō’s shoulder, feel Bakugō’s warm chuckling breath tickling his ear.

It took Kirishima a number of dizzy moments to realize Bakugō had relented, trading the tortuous previous work of his fingers for running them through Kirishima’s hair until his breathing evened. Suddenly, Bakugō was kissing him again, and Kirishima giggled and drew back, brushing the tip of his nose against Bakugō’s. “What was that for?”

“Well,” said Bakugō, towering above Kirishima once more with a blazing grin, “figure I gotta put a coin in every time I want to play, don’t I?”

~*~

Taglist:

@kanene-yaaay

@hexalianrebel-blackfeathers

@wordsofa

[purecantarella]

All For You

i wanted to write a lisa imagine in honor of her AMAZING solo. kept me pumped up over the weekend HAHAAH i initially wanted to write a smut for her, but i couldn't do it for some reason this time round so yall are getting a short but sweet HHAHA

i'll try to write some more smutty fics but for now, fluff and angst for all of you! enjoy!

disclaimer/s : this is just fluff so i think yall are safe

It wasn't often that you were in a bad mood. After all, you were your group's happy pill and your fandom's ray of sunshine. You had a reputation and you liked sticking to that. But after a week of taking blow after blow from your company, you didn't feel like being the usual ray of sunshine you always were.

It hit harder when your mom got sick and you weren't permitted to see her because of time constraints with your comeback schedule.

You sat quietly in the leather seat of the recording studio, waiting for your turn in the booth. Mindlessly, your fingers tore away at one of the label's of your water bottle. Your members eyed you subtly, a wave of sadness flushing in each of them as you were so deflated.

After a while, you felt their gaze on you. You looked up at them, offering them a soft smile, but they knew better. How you felt could be masked with your small, tired, and forced smile. They knew the one person who could cheer you up, in fact she was in the building, but they knew that you would be livid if any of them told Lisa, your close friend, what was going on.

If you asked anyone, they'd say that you and Lisa were one of the cutest pairing in YG's company but at the same time both of you took your careers above one another. Despite that, there was always that pull that kept you both on each other's toes. You knew that you could rely on her and she could with you, but as she was in the thick of her promotion for her own solo so you never wanted to distract her like that.

Make no mistake though, you would love to have her by your side right now but you couldn't stop the feeling of guilt that began to creep inside you when you thought of disrupting her for your own selfish needs. Your other member walked out of the recording booth when your managers called you for lunch.

You brushed them off and with a half-hearted smile, "I'll just chill out here. Maybe practice the song..." You explained as you threw your cell onto the leather seat. The group's leader eyed you suspiciously. "I don't think I've seen you eat the past few days, N/n..."

The smile on your face tightened uncomfortably. "Just heavy midnight snacks, unnie! No need to worry, but you should all get something for lunch. I'll be here." You said rushing them out of the room despite all their questions and concerns.

When they didn't push further, you sighed a breath of relief and slid towards the mic in the booth. Sadly poking the base of the mic. You did your best to sing the parts you knew they needed for backing vocals but your heart just wasn't in it and you found yourself repeating the same lines over and over again. Leaving a frustrated pit in your stomach.

"As much as I love your voice there could be some variety in words." You tore the headset from your ears, letting it fall onto your neck at the familiar, teasing voice. From the back of the producing board stood a smiling, banged Thai woman who made your heart flutter in your chest, almost masking the disappointment that reigned there.

You stared briefly into her bright brown eyes, a brow quirked up on your face your gaze shooting to the floor. "You aren't supposed to be here, Lisa." You said making your way back to the main room, eyes not meeting hers. The dancer leaned up against the edge of the table, the same charming smile over her plump, pink lips. "Never stopped me before, N/n."

Her smile grew as she pushed herself off the table and made her way over to you. Your skin jumped as you felt her hand on your arm, like she always did when she missed you. You avoided eye contact, a heavy blush taking over your cheeks made Lisa smile even wider. "Y-You could've at least called, Lisa."

"I was going to but when I saw your members all leaving together without you, I thought I'd shoot my shot." She paused, her eyes staring into yours. "And I missed you."

Though you could feel yourself melting at the thought, but again you simply turned around not wanting her to see how broken you were. Lisa was always the first to tell, even as friends. Without sparing her a second look you said, "Your comeback is dropping soon, you shouldn't be here."

Lisa tilted her head to the side curiously, "Is that why you haven't looked at me the entire time, Y/n?" With her words, you stoped fiddling with the items in your bag. You bit the inner layer of your cheek, feeling her draw closer. You felt her hand over yours, the warmth from hers lighting a flame in your skin.

"I can tell your hiding something, you can tell me..." You stood there silent, still not daring to look at her. Her shoulders fell as she saw your defenses beginning to break slowly, your lower lip quivering ever so slightly. Despite her better judgement, Lisa took you hand in hers. "I will always make time for you, solo, comeback, or promotion, I'm here, okay?"

Wordlessly, you finally turned to face her completely, your head falling onto her shoulder. For a moment, you both stand there, magnets just gravitated towards one another. "I don't want to be a burden to you or anyone..." You whispered, voice breaking under all the pressure. Lisa wrapped her arms around your shoulders, wanting protecting you from everything that came your way as a sob cracked from your lips.

You began ranting about everything that had been going downhill lately. Your mom, the company, everything, while Lisa stood there, listening to your stories carefully. Once everything came to a stop, Lisa pulled away. Enough that she could see your swollen eyes and red nose to say, "It's all going to work out, alright?" She began wiping away the tears that stained your face. "In the morning, we're going to YG himself to talk about a break for you to take care of your mom, get all your healths back in tip-top shape, and we're going to get through this."

"'We're'?" You asked, a tiny smile taking over your lips. The most genuine that she'd seen all afternoon. Lisa brushed her lips over your nose delicately before placing her forehead over yours. "Like I'd let you stand up to YG-nim on your own, N/n." You giggled softly, leaning into Lisa's touch, eyes going soft.

"Thank you, Lili." Lisa's grin grew tenfold before pulling away. "I'll pick you up after work? We can watch a movie and order take-out. The L family's really starting to miss you." She asked shyly, a rosy blush coating her cheeks. You leaned up and pecked her cheek gently.

"See you at 6, Lalisa." She rolled her eyes as you giggled softly, your smile slowly returning. Lisa opened the door but took one more look at you, warmth and love running rampant in her stomach and chest.

She'd do everything and anything for you. Whether either of you knew it, it was always all for you.

i did thoroughly enjoy writing that, i hope you all enjoyed reading it! i'm working hard to get back on a steady schedule but also my classes are going to start on October 18th so i'm going to have to do A LOT of adjusting

anyway, remember that requests are open and criticism and comments are completely welcomed 💓stay safe, see you all soon, and i love you all very much

stream lalisa yall❣️

[masterjedilenawrites]

Blueberries and Cowboys: Chapter 4 (Blueberry Path)

A choose-your-own-adventure style fic. Refer to this Masterlist for previous chapters and alternate paths.

Chapter 4: The Party (Blueberry Path)

Pairing: Thrawn x reader

Content: Light drinking, more pining

Length: 2.4k

AO3 Link (In case you like it better over there, it’s okay, no judgement)

The gala was as elaborate and ostentatious as you would expect of a formal event at the Imperial Naval Academy. It was like the whole ballroom shimmered as glasses of drinks were passed around and ornate dresses swished about in dance. You'd certainly never been a part of anything so grand from your home world before.

It was quite a sight, to be sure. But it still paled in comparison to the man who walked beside you.

You could feel the stares from the classmates and superiors around you as you moved deeper into the ballroom with your date. But you didn't let their open judgement get to you. You were proud to be on the arm of Mitth'raw'nuruodo. If anything, these pretentious Imperials should be envious of your connection to him.

You also tried not to let your own insecurities get to you. Occasionally you'd catch glimpses of yourself and Thrawn, reflecting off mirrors and windows. You'd thought you looked decent standing alone in front of your bedroom mirror. But next to him, you were so... plain.

"The music is quite pleasant," said Thrawn from beside you.

Part of the plan for the night was to substitute your targets for other subjects, so any potential eavesdroppers would be none the wiser to your true intentions. Anything related to music was to symbolize one half of the plan: Eva and Arden.

You saw the couple near the entrance, having just arrived a few minutes behind you. Eli was supposed to keep an eye on them, while you and Thrawn were tasked with Burdick. You internally shook yourself free of your complicated thoughts about the gala and your date, and instead turned your focus to the mission.

"Do you think Eli has noticed?"

"Yes, he seems to be enjoying it." Thrawn nodded across the room, where Eli was standing next to his date. He held a drink and was making a show of casually looking around, but you could tell he was paying extra attention to the entrance.

"And how about that assignment?" you asked. Burdick would be referred to by discussions of homework, another innocent topic. "Have you found your thesis for it yet?"

"No, I'm still looking into it," Thrawn said calmly.

You looked up at him to see his steady red eyes were mostly blinking politely at the faces that passed directly in front of you. Every once in a while, ever so subtly, they would flick elsewhere. A gap in the crowd. A far corner of the room. You even caught him looking at a tray of champagne glasses hovering nearby, casting a perfectly angled reflection of the space behind him.

Gods, he was so good.

"Is there something you wish to say?" he suddenly asked, catching you off guard as his eyes made their way to your own.

"No..." You struggled to find balance, not wanting to seem too dismissive or too dishonest. "I was... uh, just... watching you... watch... the room...."

Thrawn's left eyebrow quirked ever so slightly. Almost imperceptible to the untrained eye, but you knew it was a sign that he was amused.

"It would be far more productive if you were to watch the room with me," he stated. His eyes traveled to somewhere behind you and for a moment you thought he had finally found Burdick. But upon turning, you saw it was only a tall cocktail table that had opened up. Thrawn placed a gentle hand on your lower back and guided you toward it.

"Here. Now we can discreetly observe both directions," he said just low enough that only you could hear. He moved to stand opposite the table from you, and while he was right, your positions now covered both halves of the ballroom, you were finding it difficult to focus on your side when Thrawn was also in your view.

"Drink?" he asked, swiping two champagne glasses from a passing tray and placing them on the table before you had a chance to answer. Considering he didn't touch his glass after that, only resumed his scanning of the crowd with hands folded neatly in front of him, you knew it was more for show than anything.

But your nerves were on fire, and so you gladly took up your glass and downed most of it in one go.

"I have decided on my thesis for the assignment," said Thrawn as you clanked the drink back onto the table. You held back a burp as you casually looked over your shoulder to where Thrawn seemed to be looking. Commander Burdick was hovering by an hors d'oeuvre table, a small plate piled high with food in one hand, scowling at every person that passed him.

"Just the one assignment?" You turned back before the commander could notice you staring. You could've sworn you'd overheard during your recon that Burdick had found his own date.

"My last-minute arrangement," said Thrawn quietly, breaking from the code you were supposed to be using. "It occurred to me the commander may end up distracted by his partner, rather than focusing attention on Arden. Thus, I've arranged for his date to be delayed in arriving, possibly even too late to make it altogether."

You nodded and finished off your champagne.

"You're not impressed."

You looked up at him to find his eyes were inspecting you, searching for something. Approval? Praise? Surely not, not from Thrawn.

"Would you like me to be?" you side-stepped the question, mostly out of surprise.

"I don't do these things for clout," he stated plainly. "But I do value your opinion."

You blinked at him a few times, unsure how to process those words. To say you could count on one hand the number of opinions Thrawn valued outside of his own was an overstatement, as there would only be one finger up for Eli. You'd never dreamed you could be included in that count, too.

Thankfully you were distracted from having to come up with a response by the change in music to something much more lively. Several pairs of people excitedly moved toward the dance floor, including Eli and his date, and Eva and Arden nearby. You angled your head to see around Thrawn's body and watched them.

"The music is... uh... going well." You cringed at your own inability to find a way to incorporate the code. Thrawn casually followed your gaze, only sparing the two couples a second of attention before turning back to give you an amused smirk.

"And now we must do our part. With the homework."

He came around the table with an arm extended and gave you a wink. An honest-to-god wink. You thought you were surely going to collapse on the floor, but managed to grab ahold of his arm in time, allowing him to lead you away from the table.

"Commander," Thrawn's ever-calm voice raised in volume to address the man you were approaching. The Commander in question looked up from his food plate and somehow managed to scowl even deeper as he recognized who was addressing him.

"Well, well. If it isn't my favorite student," Burdick said dryly. Though he was a full two feet shorter than the Chiss, he still had an air of looking down on him. "I'm surprised you'd even come to an event like this."

"The Academy has provided a generous occasion tonight," said Thrawn evenly. "It would have been in bad taste for us not to attend."

It was only when Thrawn referred to you collectively that Burdick took note of your presence.

"Commander," you said with a polite smile that he was definitely not deserving of. "It is quite an evening. Are you enjoying yourself?"

Burdick scoffed slightly, which you took as his attempt at a laugh. He turned back to Thrawn as he responded with a grumbled, "Thoroughly."

"And where is your date, Commander?" Thrawn asked, turning to you slightly. "What was her name? Eva?"

You met Thrawn's eyes, and though they perhaps didn't seem much different than usual, you thought you picked up enough in them to understand his game. You suppressed a mischievous smile as you played along.

"Thrawn," you pretended to scold in a low voice, slapping his arm and giving Burdick an apologetic look. You could already see a vein bulging along the man's temple at the mention of her name. "I'm so sorry, Commander.... Thrawn, I told you they're not together, not anymore."

"Ah," the Chiss nodded solemnly. "That explains why I saw her dancing with a fellow classmate of ours."

He turned to cast a look at the couple in question, and to allow enough of a view for Burdick to see them on the dance floor as well. Arden was moving rather intimately with Eva, and though they were a distance away, you could still see the boy's eyes glancing over at Eli and Sadie just a few steps beside them. Your friend was putting on quite a show with Sadie, undoubtedly making Arden feel the need to one-up him with his own partner. How clever.

"Who is that?" you feigned ignorance, squinting your eyes just a little dramatically.

"I believe his name is Arden Fey," said Thrawn. "He is in our flight class."

The two of you watched the couple for just a few seconds more before simultaneously turning back to Burdick. The man's face was as flushed with annoyance as you'd hoped.

"My apologies, Commander," said Thrawn. "I did not mean to be inconsiderate. However, on that note, I have spotted another one of our professors. We really must acknowledge them. Please excuse us."

Thrawn gave a courteous nod as he began leading you away. The Commander only remained rooted to the spot, glaring at his ex as she continued to move provocatively with her new beau.

There did end up being another professor that you spent some time greeting. You tapped your fingers restlessly against your thigh while Thrawn engaged in their small talk, all the while sneaking looks behind you to track Burdick as he continued to fixate on the dance floor. When Thrawn eventually wrapped up, you were practically bounding after him as you went toward the veranda in the back of the ballroom.

"Oh my god," you finally let yourself smile, wide and excited. There were only a few people outside, most briefly checking on the view before returning indoors, and one pair who'd clearly been fooling around in the shadows and hurried away with frustrated looks as you and Thrawn went up to the balcony.

"I can't believe we're pulling this off," you were still gushing.

"You speak as if you had doubts about this evening," said Thrawn. He leaned against the railing beside you, an amused glint in his eyes as he watched your face contort in all its excitement.

"Not doubts, just..." you shrugged, not sure why you were so surprised, honestly. It's not like this was the first, or even the most complex, scheme of Thrawn's you'd been a part of. Maybe it was that glass of champagne, or your nerves from earlier that day resurfacing. "I don't know, it just feels good when a plan comes together."

Thrawn hummed, his eyes lingering on you for a moment longer before he looked away in thought. You let your gaze drift out, too, taking in the twinkling glow of the garden lights. There wasn't much impressive with that small patch of greenery in the daytime; most of the plants were imported and only minimally kept up by ungrateful horticulture students who just needed some extra credits for the year. But at night, there was enough shadow to pretend something interesting might be hiding out there. In fact, now that you thought of it....

"Oh, I heard they're bringing in some featherferns soon," you said, remembering you'd been meaning to tell him before all of this flight school drama came up. "One in the traditional violet, but the other is supposedly a pale yellow. Possibly a hybrid, or maybe sun damaged, they're going to have to study it to be sure. But they'll replace those awful garlic roses."

Whatever thoughts Thrawn had been consumed by were no longer important as he looked down on you with wide eyes. "I was not aware you were keeping tabs on the Academy's flora collection."

You threw him a little smile and a shrug. "Well, ever since someone taught me to appreciate it, I can't help but stay informed."

"I am glad," he said, turning to face you more fully. "And likewise, your enthusiasm for this evening also pleases me. Your good spirits are... infectious."

You gripped the balcony railing in order to steel yourself. Your eyes flitted about his face, once again unsure how to read it. Was he really smiling at you now, or was it your imagination playing tricks? A mere projection of the feelings you wished he had? You usually didn't mind the mystery that surrounded Thrawn; in fact, it was probably what drew you closer to him. If he chose not to show his thoughts and feelings, he did so for good reason, and you were free from the burden of having to interpret or address them.

But now it infuriated you. You needed to know what he was thinking. Where did his mind go every time you said something that caused him to look away? How strongly of a line had he drawn between your usual dynamic and the parts he was having you play tonight? Was he even conscious of the fact you were standing much closer than friends typically did in such a setting?

You shivered involuntarily. It was much cooler outside, but his gaze on you was also unnerving. The slight shake of your arms and the growing goosebumps on your skin did not escape his notice.

"You're cold," he stated.

Despite the truth of that statement, no sooner did he say it did your cheeks flush with warmth. Now you were wondering if he was going to offer you his jacket, picturing how warm it would be, how it would smell like him.

"We should return inside."

But obviously Thrawn's solution was much more practical. He moved away from the balcony and set his arm back in place for you to accept it. You cursed at yourself for letting your feelings get the best of you yet again today. Why were you doing this to yourself?

You took his arm and offered an easygoing comment to cover your silliness. "We should probably check on our assignment, anyway."

He nodded with what could've been another smile, but you were determined not to keep reading into it.

"Yes, we certainly should."

[ay201920review]

EL1101E review

Semester taken in: AY2019/20, Semester 1

Assessment:

Class participation: 30% (tutorial attendance: 10%, tutorial participation: 30%, tutorial presentation: 10%)

Midterm 1: 20%

Midterm 2: 20%

Midterm 3 (closed-book): 30%

Lecturer: Dr Nala Lee Huiying Tutor: Mei Yunbo

Overview: This module briefly touches upon each of the major areas of linguistics, from phonetics up to neurolinguistics. Content gradually increases in difficulty as the semester progresses.

Workload: Each week we were given a problem set to complete based on the topic we'd covered in the previous week. They are about 3-4 pages in length and by about week 9 or 10 you won't be assigned any more of them. On your own, it would take you about an hour or less to complete the entire problem set, but our tutor asked us to work in groups, so doing our own individual parts took no more than 20 minutes. You are asked to present your answers to the class so you can't skip out on doing them.

Lecturer: Dr Nala is very friendly and nice. She's quite approachable too and throughout the semester you can clarify your doubts with her by posting on the forum on LumiNUS (she normally replies within a day). She also mentioned that she wouldn't be teaching this module much longer though.

Tutor: Yunbo is quite approachable. Because tutorials were really just going through questions, marking them and doing corrections, we normally had like 30 minutes left even after finishing our presentations. Despite that, even though nobody had any doubts, she would still explain the logic behind the answers anyway so that even people who were too shy to raise their hands would understand the content. She also accepted questions through email.

Readings: There were one or two readings every week. It's mostly the same stuff stated in the lecture slides, but I'd recommend you read them anyway, even though they're pretty dense — sometimes they'd be 20 pages. However, they're not complicated, just content-heavy. You'll get lost very quickly if you don't read them before coming to the lecture. I got complacent towards the end, which is reflected in my grade.

Exams: The midterms are a lot easier than the final exam, honestly. They're all MCQ, so your mileage may vary depending on whether you're better at open-ended questions or multiple choice. The tutorial problem sets are great practice for the midterms as it's basically the same kinds of questions, but I got pretty blindsided by the final because as I mentioned earlier we stopped being given problem sets by about week 9, after which we continued to learn about psycho/neurolinguistics. That means that although these topics are tested on the final, you won't have any practice with them at all, so make sure you understand that content thoroughly. I'd also add that the questions can be kind of confusingly-phrased, to the point where Dr Nala would email us and say she'd given us all the mark for a certain question because she'd realised it could be interpreted multiple ways. So make sure you read everything properly.

Should you take this module?: Only if you want to major in linguistics or English, which I do. A lot of people who only took this mod to clear requirements mentioned that they hated it because it required practice and studying and they found it boring. Some girl also told me she couldn't differentiate American and British accents (???), so she had difficulty transcribing things in IPA on the exams. If that sounds like you, don't take this mod.

Expected grade: A

Actual grade: B+

[kindofwriter]

The first ever AI: or is it?

Is this an alright story? I’ve been told so many times that my taste in literature is so abstract and removed from what other people like that I’ll never be able to write an enjoyable narrative. Before I develop anything I just want to know if this is ok. Not good, just acceptable.

Briefly (or as briefly as I can):

The story starts with a young man taking out the trash. He’s told to take it to a proper waste removal plant, but decides that that’s too far out of his way. He takes a look at what he’s suppose to be disposing of, and is terrified to discover it’s a human body. Upon closer inspection he realises it’s actually a very convincing human-shaped robot and tosses it in a dumpster.

Then the proper story begins. It’s ~2235. We have robots, but not AI, that have taken over a lot of manual labour, service jobs, and medical procedures. After a huge population spike a few billion were killed due to global warming, meaning there are huge cities that now have the population of towns. Folding phones and interactive holograms are the norm, but some older tech (3D kindles, wireless headphones) has hung around. In the US the middle and lower classes have joined to form socialist state governments, but the upper classes remain in control of large business and the federal government. Average life expectancy is ~90 years.

Our MC Iris, 19 y/o college student studying coding and robotics and part-time teacher, is walking home. Upon spotting an insanely complex robot just discarded on top of a dumpster she puts it on the trolley with her robotics projects and takes it home.

She lives with her mother who used to be a kind, supportive parent, but began to develop symptoms of dementia nine years ago. Now she’s hostile, forgetful, and abusives. Iris avoids her at all costs, and only stays because of monetary issues. She spends as much time as possible out of the house.

In her room, Iris sets about fixing up the robot. The tech’s a little more complex than what she’s used to, but she adapts. The robot looks horrifyingly like a human man, complete with overgrown hair and blood and tissue, but mimicking this is completely possible with 3D printing tech.

The robot has circuitry in its head, with wires connecting to its spine, a robotic hand, trachea, and voice box, a heart-sleeve, a robotic arm, and a faulty robotic foot + shin. Most other things seem to be printed cells.

Once she’s put the finishing touches on the robot’s head it wakes up, instantly panicking and trying to run away, but its damaged foot prevents this. After a lot of struggling, failed attempts to speak, and a lot of shushing from Iris, the robot becomes tired and ‘powers down.’

While it ‘sleeps’ Iris tries to see what kind of tasks it’s coded for, as it behaved very strangely, but she can’t find anything besides basic bodily functions. She fixes its voice box then goes to sleep.

When Iris wakes up the robot is gone, but she can hear her mom in the kitchen so gets up. It isn’t her mom, but the robot, rummaging through her cupboards and eating as much junk food as it can find.

It sees Iris and apologies for last night, and for eating all her food, and introduces himself as Adam (ahaha, see what I did there? THE BIBLE). He says he’ll be leaving now.

Iris is very confused and wants to know more, so when Adam goes to drink some of her mom’s liquor she offers to buy him a drink somewhere else. They swap his hospital-like attire for a hoodie and one of her mom’s skirts (he’s too tall for the pants, but says he’s partial to skirts anyway).

As they leave the house Adam mentions that he has a family, but the wife he mentions created the code for AI 200 years ago, only to have her designs forbidden and confiscated by the feds. Iris assumes he is the first illegal AI, made by someone who found her plans, and is amazed.

Adam talks to her about working for a dangerous corporation - he doesn’t dare give her the details - and being forced to leave his home. Iris begins to piece together that he was created and coded to act like a regular worker, but forced to work like a non-sentient robot.

She starts to explain to him about AI and Nita Sarcar’s coding, during which he is captivated, but when she tells him Nita died ~150 years ago he looks horrified and excuses himself to the bathroom.

After a while Iris follows him and finds him curled up on the floor, sobbing violently. She marvels at the humanity of the AI, and how easily he can evoke an emotional response from her.

However as she comforts him he tells her that he’s a person and explains where he comes from. Nita Sarcar actually was his wife. They had two children and lived in suburban New York. He was, if he says so himself, an astounding biochemical engineer. His wife was a computer scientist.

A company hired him to create a cure for death. He took the job, but after a few months and some critical thinking he decided it was immoral to develop something that would allow the upper class to evade death. He quit.

But the company wouldn’t let him. They effectively kidnapped him, locking him in a lab until he finished the cure. For ages he refused, but after almost a year he was desperate to see his family, so began work again.

He was forced to test products on himself, and after a while, just to stay alive, he was forced to perform procedures.

As he developed the technology the people at the corporation began to use it themselves, slowly becoming immortal.

Eventually, after what he assumed to be around thirty years, Adam had created a syrum that would cure death in a single injection. He demanded to be returned to his family, but instead the corporation severed the circuitry in his foot, shutting down his entire robotics system, including the brain. Then they told someone to trash him.

He demands that they involve the police, but Iris explains that society is fragile, and the police aren’t allowed to interfere with upper class, federal business. He decides to interfere himself.

Adam and Iris return to her house where she makes him a crutch and supplies him with some tech (some of her own, some that just exists now, like cool future-knives) while Adam used the weird, futuristic hair styler to get rid of his matted hair. He still doesn’t look like a person and it bothers him.

Adam starts to leave and Iris begs him to let her go too. He doesn’t want her to, he admits it’s probably a suicide mission, but she explains that she doesn’t care. There is nothing left in the world for her to do; so far her life has been 19 years of nothingness. Even if it means dying, she’s desperate to get away from home and do something, anything. She also tells Adam that hearing him talk about his family kind of makes her heart ache. She imagines what her life would’ve been like if her parents had loved her.

Her mother hears them arguing and comes to confront Iris, becoming mad when she sees Adam. She accuses Iris of ‘trying to build herself a new mother again’ and tells her to leave and never come home again. Adam instantly agrees to let her come with him and they run.

Iris tells him that when she was eleven she tried to build her mother a new brain and put it in a robot to test it. Her mom found out and accused her of trying to replace her, destroying her project and locking her in her room, then forgetting about her. After a few days Iris had to escape through the window.

They go somewhere: an old mall, an old library, an old camper van - wherever fits the story, and plan an assault on the corporation. Along the way Adam learns that they concrete jungle they’re exploring isn’t actually NYC but rural New York: at some point it become so built up it was indistinguishable from the city.

Now I get to the point in my planning where I know something else has to happen but I don’t quite know what. I know that Adam and Iris have to bond, that Adam has to feel crushed that he missed watching his children (who were 9 and 7 when he went missing) grow up, that Adam has to express extreme emotional and physical pain. Some actions stuff has to happen too. And it definitely needs some side characters at times.

Anyway, before they infiltrait the corp Iris gives Adam a little pass key, explaining that it will completely shut down and destroy his systems when used. He laughs and says something like ‘you’re giving me a suicide opportunity?’ and she says ‘no, I’m giving you autonomy’ in a very serious tone.

Then, obviously, fight-stuff happens. Disabling security, running from robots, meeting creepy cyborg-like people, like Adam but older (probably should’ve mentioned earlier, part of being immortal is preventing ageing. Adam looks mid-late thirties, these dudes are like 60-70. They’re terrifying.)

Adam has no qualms about killing any of these people, and although Iris is all for disabling systems and knocking people unconscious she turns away from Adam’s violent removal of people’s heads.

They corner the ‘main bad guy’ but he locks himself in a lab. Iris begins to disable the systems, but has a better idea. The building, coded to protect The Bad Guys, is gradually getting its remaining defences to Adam and Iris. She logs into the computer’s system and types wildly while Adam panics. She completes the code just in time.

The building’s system wakes up and, remembering all the horrible things it’s been forced to carry out, kills Bad Guy #1.

Iris, having thoroughly, thoroughly studied Nita’s work, has created the first actual AI. She tells it that they’re going to do some great things for the world (here’s where I need some side characters for her to hire. Definitely some people she teaches with etc.)

Iris takes Adam to one of the few non-built-up places in the state and they watch the heavy, dark cloud-coverage sludge around the sky. Adam tells Iris about travelling the world with his family, and the plans he’d had for the future. He apologises that he can’t stay and be like a father to Iris. She says she never expected him to.

Adam tells her he loves her, he’s proud of her, and that getting to know her was the only good thing to come out of his miserable torture.

Iris says he’s given her everything she ever wanted in life, and she can’t wait to start acting like a person herself.

They cry.

Iris offers to leave. Adam asks her to stay. He tells her that he’s not scared; the most frightening thing isn’t death, but feeling dead while you’re still living.

He inserts the chip into the circuitry in his head.

And that’s pretty much it. I’d probably call it something lame like Alive Indefinitely, because that has the AI and the immortality aspect in there.

Thank you so, so much if you stuck it out this long, I actually love you for it ❤️ Obviously it wouldn’t be quite this bad, this is just off the top of my head, but I just wanna know: is it ok? Not if it’s a best seller, or even a seller at all, just it seems like a story.

Thank you, I can’t tell you how much it means to me that you’ve made it to the end of this post!

[leviathan-supersystem]

ooh this is fun

i’ve long positied that the lesswrong/rationalist ideology is specifically inimical to marxism and leftism in a way it’s not inimical to other political ideologies, and also that the lesswronger ideology has a profoundly anti-democratic undercurrent. so it’s nice to get both of those confirmed by the second banana himself.

now on to dissecting it:

Mistake theorists treat politics as science, engineering, or medicine. The State is diseased. We’re all doctors, standing around arguing over the best diagnosis and cure. Some of us have good ideas, others have bad ideas that wouldn’t help, or that would cause too many side effects.

Conflict theorists treat politics as war. Different blocs with different interests are forever fighting to determine whether the State exists to enrich the Elites or to help the People.

this here is a shoddy dichotomy which vastly oversimplifies reality- people don’t break down neatly into the “mistake theorist” and “conflict theorist” camps, because virtually everyone is in the middle range, because this is reflective of observable reality- in which some disagreements are caused by mistakes of fact, and some disagreements are caused by conflicts of interest. any reasonable person would go on a case by case basis, and thoroughly evaluate the evidence to determine if a particular political issue hinges on mistake or on conflict, and not pre-suppose one or the other.

scott’s framework here is strawmaning marxists as viewing all political disagreements as matters of class conflict, which is ridiculous. for one thing you have to at the very least have to acknowlege that marxists generally don’t view debates with other marxists on these terms.

however, scott’s this framework isn’t completely useless- while very few people actually fall close to his categories, and most are somewhere in the middle, there are occasions in which one side of a debate views the debate as a conflict of interest, and the other as a debate over mistake of fact. however, this has no bearing on how they’d be positioned in other debates.

furthermore, scott’s use of this framework is somewhat revelatory- the fact that scott proposes this sort of dichotomy for his framing, and doesn’t hesitate to align with the “mistake theorist” side, shows that scott really does have a knee-jerk tendency to view all disagreements as mere issues of error of fact. scott is so strong in this knee-jerk tendency that when he encounters someone saying a particular debate is centrally about conflict of interest, scott is unable to parse that person as having a nuanced view, and assumes they are as knee-jerk as himself in the opposite direction, and they must view ALL debates as conflicts of interest.

there are some holes in his strawman, though- even this imagined “conflict theorist” he’s created has to acknowlege that most people on the other side are simply mistaken:

Conflict theorists think this is more often a convenient excuse than a real problem. The Elites get giant yachts, and the People are starving to death on the streets. And as soon as somebody says that maybe we should take a little bit of the Elites’ money to feed the People, some Elite shill comes around with a glossy PowerPoint presentation explaining why actually this would cause the Yellowstone supervolcano to erupt and kill everybody. And just enough People believe this that nobody ever gets around to achieving economic justice, and the Elites buy even bigger yachts, and the People keep starving.

in this scenario, even the strawman conflict theorist acknowledges that the people who believe the powerpoint are mistaken, and could be won over through reason and debate, thus undercutting the narrative scott is presenting in which strawmen “conflict theorists” are generally uninterested in debate.

while he briefly touches on the idea of there being a spectrum between “easy” and “hard” conflict theorists toward the end (with easy conflict theorists viewing all conflicts as battles to the death between good and evil, and hard conflict theorists viewing them as clashes between differing but comprehensible worldviews) the essay at large mostly ignores the existence of the latter group in order to make his strawman a more exaggerated anti-rational stereotype. the whole tendency to caricature opponents as anti-rational also plays in to his assumption that conflict theorists would be anti-intellectual, which ignores that in the context of a conflict, having intelligent people working on your side to win the conflict is obviously desirable.

relating to the way in which the imagined “conflict theorist” archetype is exaggerated into an anti-rational strawman:

What would the conflict theorist argument against the Jacobite piece look like? Take a second to actually think about this. Is it similar to what I’m writing right now – an explanation of conflict vs. mistake theory, and a defense of how conflict theory actually describes the world better than mistake theory does?

No. It’s the Baffler’s article saying that public choice theory is racist, and if you believe it you’re a white supremacist. If this wasn’t your guess, you still don’t understand that conflict theorists aren’t mistake theorists who just have a different theory about what the mistake is. They’re not going to respond to your criticism by politely explaining why you’re incorrect.

while i’m not a “conflict theorist”- as i’ve pointed out, in reality no one is- i imagine i’m somewhat close to what scott has in mind with the term, as i am (roughly) a marxist. and i would hope my response to this post would show that this is not accurate, and i am in fact interested in responding to scotts criticism by explaining why he is incorrect.

even if i do think scott amounts to the hypothetical “Elite shill” with a powerpoint saying yellowstone will erupt, proving his claims wrong on a technical level is still my first and most important priority if i want him to not be a successful shill. simply accusing him of being a shill, and pointing out the $1,627,000 which MIRI (which scott is affiliated with) has received from Peter Thiel would be useless if i couldn’t also demonstrate to people that he was incorrect. the insinuation that viewing a particular disagreement as a conflict of interest presupposes any possibility of engaging on a factual level is ludicrous. even if i think the “conflict theorist”/”mistake theorist” is just a cheap rhetorical trick to sell people on anti-democratic ideology, i still need to demonstrate that it’s not reflective of material reality.

also, there’s the way in which scott frames the issue to exaggerate the anti-free-speech tendencies of the “conflict theory” strawman, while glossing over the anti-free-speech tendencies of his “mistake theory.” he says:

Mistake theorists think that free speech and open debate are vital, the most important things.

but earlier, he says:

For a mistake theorist, passion is inadequate or even suspect. Wrong people can be just as loud as right people, sometimes louder. If two doctors are debating the right diagnosis in a difficult case, and the patient’s crazy aunt hires someone to shout “IT’S LUPUS!” really loud in front of their office all day, that’s not exactly helping matters. If a group of pro-lupus protesters block the entry to the hospital and refuse to let any of the staff in until the doctors agree to diagnose lupus, that’s a disaster.

note that even if his hypothetical pro-lupus protesters were not to block the entry of the hospital, and were to engage in a less disruptive form of protest, this would still be viewed within his framework as a complete waste of energy and a public nuisance, to be eliminated for efficiency sake- as, indeed, would all protest. this is not actually an especially pro-free speech framework! while viewing a particular political debate as a conflict is certainly compatible with an anti-free speech perspective, it doesn’t necessarily imply it- while conversely, the mistake theory framework does firmly imply an anti-protest stance, making his claim that mistake theorists are champions of free speech more than a little questionable.

i do like how he acknowledges the strong anti-democratic undercurrent of his analysis:

When mistake theorists criticize democracy, it’s because it gives too much power to the average person – who isn’t very smart, and who tends to do things like vote against carbon taxes because they don’t believe in global warming. They fantasize about a technocracy in which informed experts can pursue policy insulated from the vagaries of the electorate.

gotta stop that electorate!

i like the use of global warming as an example though- it shows what the undercurrent of the whole lesswronger/”rationalist” framework is, which is trying to sell profoundly anti-leftist ideas toward a progressive-leaning audience by dressing them up in progressive shibboleths- in this case, trying to sell anti-democratic technocracy to environmentalists by presenting it as a way to prevent climate change. it’s very clever, i gotta admit. 

at the end of the day, this whole framework is just a cheap trick to convince people to ignore the material reality that conflicts of interest exist in politics, by trying to claim that anyone who acknowledges conflicts of interests must view everything in terms of conflict, and then saying that the only way to avoid becoming this “conflict theorist” boogeyman is to become a “mistake theorist”, which implies an anti-democratic, anti-leftist stance.

it’s ludicrous, completely lacking in nuance, and doesn’t hold up even remotely to scrutiny. 

[bambyeol]

Spring Day (p.1)

pairing/s: bae jinyoung x oc  genre: fluff, angst, Hanahaki disease au , high school

prompt : She found the most gorgeous boy flooded with flowers.

song inspiration : Spring Day by BTS wanna one masterlist

There was a secret passageway located just a little beyond the curve of the school's oval. In between two unkempt shrubs laid a trail which led outside the school premises, and she was a regular of that passageway whenever she ditched practice for track and field, or whenever she stopped by the convenience store to buy a few snacks because the school cafeteria served food that should be checked by the local health office. She shuddered when she remembered the stray hair on top of her food the other day.

With a plastic bag full of chips and soda on her arm, and a popsicle stick on her hand, Park Seulla vanished into the thick greeneries upon exiting the convenience store. She had 15 minutes before the afternoon classes started, leisurely strolling on the path, twirling the popsicle stick and whistling to call for air on that dry, humid day.

Like an answer to her whistle, strong wind blew along with flowers that carried the scent of Spring which was weird because it was Summer. She stopped and opened her hand as a flower slowly descended onto her palm, briefly looking in the sky because it seemed like it was raining flowers except it wasn't, and slowly all the flowers reached the ground leaving only a clear view of what was ahead the trail.

There stood Bae Jinyoung - the flower boy of Lila High. It was supposed to be a metaphor, but gazing at him, the pavement flooded with flowers and with a flower petal hanging loosely on the corner of his lips, Bae Jinyoung became the flower boy literally.

Their eyes met, and the whole setting seemed drawn out of poorly conceived romance manga with all the flowers swirling in the background and them, the two lead characters intently gazing at each other, not daring to speak a word. Until, panic registered on Seulla's face a little tad late, and she dropped everything she carried, "Holy shit."

There, she realized that it wouldn't be like a normal romance manga she frequently read because the flower boy who stood in front of her, the prince whom everyone thought had everything within his fingers was afflicted with the dreaded love disease.

Hanahaki Disease.

Quickly, she swiped her phone and dialed the number for emergencies as she rushed to his aid. "Jinyoung-ssi?" Seulla squeaked totally unfamiliar with how to handle the situation in front of her.

The two of them were classmates, but all their interactions were only for convenience and facade of school works. So, she touched him with utmost uncertainty, her fingers barely grazing the ends of his shoulders. He rubbed away the flower petal, and his eyes told her that he didn't know who she was.

"I'm going to call for help," Seulla informed him and brought the cellphone to her ears, but Jinyoung immediately flicked it away and her cellphone bounced on the hard pavement. She winced as she saw a crack flicker from the distance. "That was - !" She hissed lowly and before she was even able to finish her sentence, "Please. Don't call for help," Jinyoung mumbled and threw a wheezing cough.

"Now, I really can't." Sighing, Seulla fished for a handkerchief from her pocket instead and offered it to Jinyoung who just realized his mistake. He lifted his hand, about to apologize to her, "Apologizing won't fix my broken phone. Save your breath." She rubbed his back until he was well enough to stand up properly without coughing out another flower.

By then, lunch has been long over and the 5th period was about to end. Seulla swept off the few petals that landed on her skirt, and picked up the plastic bag and her broken phone. "Uhm -" Jinyoung called out to her, his eyes directed on the pavement, not bothering to meet hers. "Thank you, and I'm sorry," hands fidgeting. She jumped towards him and met his eyes by bending her body and blocking his view of the pavement.

"Jinyoung-ssi. Do you know who I am?" Seulla inquired and his silence meant no. He averted her eyes, "Hmm. Then, I won't accept your thanks and apology," reverting to her standing position and twirling her plastic bag in a full circle.

"I'd appreciate it better if you learned my name instead. After all, we're classmates, right?" Tilting her head with a small smile for her mischief. She paced towards the school premises, formulating inside her head the excuse she should come up with for her absence. 

"Seulla-ssi." Jinyoung breathe out as he stood by the side of her table as their classmates dashed out of the room because it was finally dismissal time. Seulla stopped from fixing her bag to look up and identify who called out her name because the calm and cool voice was totally not Woojin's.

"That's your name, right?" He voiced out unsurely, and she nodded with a smile forming on her lips. "I thought you forgot about it. It took you two days after all,"

"I asked around. Also, I built the courage to approach you first." He laughed softly to ease the embarrassment he felt. She slapped his shoulders to release the tension. "Are you okay now?" Her eyebrows creased, and he shrugged his shoulders. "I didn't tell anyone what I saw."

He nodded knowingly before frowning, "I'm really sorry about your phone. I panicked back there, and that was so stupid of me." He rambled along with his hands, and even though Seulla tried to explain that the phone service provider handled the issue without payment, Jinyoung didn't seem to buy it as he stood with crestfallen expression similar to that of a scolded puppy.

She crossed her arms to think of a solution, lips involuntarily protruding to the side. She clapped her palm and excitedly, "Treat me to the arcade instead?" A glint of eagerness crossed Jinyoung's face and he nodded multiple times which made Seulla question who was more excited in going to the arcade.

When Jinyoung returned with a long strip of arcade tickets that piled up almost covering his face after clearing another game's top score was the only time Seulla considered the possibility that Jinyoung was an arcade addict. Still, she didn't want to connect the two together because the softness of Jinyoung's character was thoroughly out of place on the energetic vibes of the arcade.

"Seulla-ssi! Seulla-ssi ! Look." He brandished the pile of tickets in front of her with unrestrained joy. A smile similar to his spread across her lips. "We can get that huge bear with this," he pointed to the brown bear displayed on top of the shelf which costed 500 tickets.

Seulla noticed that ever since they entered the arcade Jinyoung was eyeing the brown bear, and it surprised her how different was Jinyoung from her impression of him. She thought that he was one of those untouchable flower boys who moved with measured grace, but here he was, challenging the top prize with childlike vigor.

He looked around once again, and saw two unoccupied machines for Tekken. He tapped her shoulders excitedly and pointed to the two machines, grabbing her wrist "Let's play that next!"

Seulla forgot who invited the other to go to the arcade in the first place.

More than a few forceful tapping and rounding of the controller's buttons, Seulla turned her head towards Jinyoung who leaned comfortably on the chair, fingers touching the controller with ease and head tilting proudly from side to side as the screen emblazoned a bold 'K.O' sign.

"Yah. How can a flower boy like you turn out to be an arcade addict? This doesn't even make sense." Stretching her arms and folding it on her nape as she sunk further into the comforts of the fake leather. Jinyoung turned towards her, his eyes crinkling and lines of his eye-smile deepening as he laughed and clapped over his victory.

It seemed like the awkward atmosphere between them has finally settled, and Jinyoung's shyness has gone through the window. "It's already late. Let's go home, now?" She suggested after being notified of the time by the digital clock on the arcade screen. Jinyoung nodded, slung his bag on his shoulder and carried the tickets to the cashier where he redeemed 2 large brown bears.

She awaited by the entrance, amused how the bears almost covered Jinyoung's already small face. He handed out one of the bears to her. "Uhm. I'm sure that it really troubled you to have your phone broken.."

"so you're giving me a bear?" She hugged it with a teasing smile. Jinyoung nodded, eyebrows slightly creased with hesitation.

"I hope we could be friends." He clutched into his bear tighter.

"Jinyoung-ssi, we're already friends" raising the bear she received from Jinyoung.

They often say that Spring is the season of fateful meetings... maybe it just came a little bit later for her. 

wanna one masterlist

a/n : my 2nd Hanahaki fic and now I’m finally posting something for my bias. I really don’t want to write a Hanahaki for Jinyoung because it just hurts me, but lol PAIN. anyway, contrary to my usual style of posting fics that I have already finished, this one is still incomplete and just sitting in the depths of my notepad and documents because I honestly can’t find the time to write these days >.>

 I have so much school work to do which would last until early March, so this serves as a little announcement as well that I’d be posting lesser or none at all >.< but I’ll make up for it in March ! ! ! For now, I’ll just be ghost surfing in Tumblr and reading fics and building up ideas. 

You can always hit me up by sending asks or messaging me ^O^  

[tilltheendwilliwrite]

Chains

A Loki Laufeyson x Reader Fic Request

Request Fic based off of this post for @kimistry27 (I hate the fact your damn tag won’t tag!!)  Hope it’s everything you were looking for!!

Pairing: Loki Laufeyson x Reader  |  Word Count: 2742 Warnings: Implied sexual conquest, mostly fluff

“Loki?”

“Yes, pet?” the God of Mischief, book open in his lap asked distractedly, not bothering to look up from whatever history of whatever world he'd currently engrossed himself in.

“Can I,” you hesitated, swallowing to wet your throat. The hesitation had those blue-green eyes lifting to peer at you intently, your discomfort finally gaining his attention. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course, darling.” Holding out his hand, he beckoned you closer with a crook of his fingers.

The whisper of the fabric of your Asgardian gown was all the sound you made as you joined him on the divan where he drew you to sit at his side. He’d brought you to Asgard as a gift for your birthday, the one place you'd longed to see, but you'd spent much of your time with Sif or the Warriors Three or Thor playing guides and guards as Loki’s presence in Asgard brought about much unrest. Some of the people felt his past actions out shadowed his current behaviour, his about-face as it were, that saw him siding with Thor and the Avengers many times in the past two years.

He was trying, but it was a tough crowd.

Most of that effort came from when he'd walked into the Avengers compound, bound in chains, and come face to face with you. Had Thor not been there to explain, you likely would have run screaming when Loki had turned a stunning shade of blue, rending the chains which bound him into nothing more than brittle pieces of metal that had fallen to the ground in flaking fragments when he'd glided swiftly toward you and dropped to a knee.

It appeared you were what the Asgardians called a bonded pair. The gods had seen fit to bind Loki to a soft-hearted but harder headed mortal, one who had promptly punched the God of Mischief in the face when his cobalt blue hands had reached for you.

It had taken time - and not a little effort on Loki’s part - to see you coming around to the dark male's charms. He’d done everything within his considerable power to show you he would change, become the good man you wished he would be, and for the most part he’d succeeded. If at times he pulled the odd, well-placed prank, well, it wasn't a big deal to turn a blind eye. After all, who didn't occasionally think of shaving Stark bald, or painting Barton’s bow a vibrant orange? He messed with people, but he was the God of Mischief. You couldn't expect him to be totally reformed.

But you'd heard a few things being in Asgard, jokes and comments which had gotten you thinking. Thinking much too hard and much too wantonly about things which you probably shouldn't.

Biting your lip, you looked down at your linked fingers before glancing up at him through your lashes. “Is it… do you… am I… oh hell,” you muttered, having a horrible time asking your question.

Concern etched across his face when he cupped your cheek and turned your face to his. “What is it? You are happy, are you not? No one has been rude to you?”

“No, no, no!” you were quick to reassure him when his eyes darkened and his temperature ran cold. Protective Loki could swiftly become violent Loki if he felt someone had been unkind.

“Then what is it, my love?” Anger turned to puzzlement.

“Are you… am I… enough?” you asked quietly, a flush burning your face. 

“Enough?” he frowned. “Explain?”

Flushing an even darker shade of red, you bit your lip. “I heard a… a thing that made me think… perhaps I'm not giving you what you need… in bed.” The final two words were barely a whisper.

“Who would say such a thing? And of what did they speak?” he demanded.

Tears welled, uncertain if he was upset with you. “They… they said you like chains. That's why you end up bound hand and foot so often.”

“Oh.” His eyes widened in understanding.

“Am I… am I not enough? Am I too… too soft? Do you need something from me I'm not giving?” you asked, desperate tears sliding down your face.

His lips pressed briefly against yours. “Beloved,” he crooned when you gasped a quiet sob. “They were making fun, my heart. Speaking of how I wound up chained so often in my past. I seemed to constantly get myself ensnared in another set of restraints.”

“Then… you don't want,” you hiccupped, “me to… do anything with… these?” A twist of wrist brought the links of golden chains to your fingers where the heavy weight pooled in your lap. 

A perk of the pair bonding was sharing powers. As you had none, silly little mortal you were, you just got to use Loki’s. He’d relished the days and nights he'd spent teaching you everything he could think of after you’d accidentally duplicated yourself. 

A second twist of wrist had the chains wrapped around him, binding his arms to his sides and sending him reeling into the back of the wide divan. 

“You know these restrict my powers, darling. If you would please unbind me, I'd appreciate not having to repeat the performance of our first meeting.” 

But you couldn't, not yet. Not when you'd thought of this for hours today. “Let’s play a game, Loki,” you coaxed softly, running your hands over his chest, down into his lap, and vanishing his book. 

“You'd best have marked my page, woman,” he threatened, but the darkening of his eyes and rapid beat of his heart gave away his enthusiasm for your new game. “I think, perhaps, it's you, pet, who has the fetish for chains.” 

“Maybe…” you hedged, a smile flirting with your lips. 

“What did you have in mind?” he asked, a quiet, deep sound rumbling from his chest when your fingers delved between layers of tunic.

Your smirk grew slowly. “Two hours. I want two hours where your powers are relinquished in full to me. You can’t beg to be freed, can’t plead for release, and can’t use your abilities as a frost giant to escape your bonds. You have to let me play, Loki, as I wish for two hours.”

“And if I lose?”

“I get to keep the chains and use them once per month for the rest of the Midgardian year.” As it was only March on Earth, that was a fairly long time.

He frowned, clearly contemplating his chances. “And if I win?” he asked cautiously.

“You can use the chains on me for the same amount of time. Two hours, Loki,” you clarified when his eyes brightened.

“Done!” he fairly jumped at the chance.

A surge of overwhelming strength filled you as all his magic suddenly became wholly yours. “Oh… oh wow…”

“The timer is running, beloved,” he crooned, smile wicked and face smug.

Climbing in his lap, tugging the skirt of your dress up as you did, you settled across his thighs, leaning down until the tip of your nose touched his. Brushing it gently, you echoed his smile. “I know, my glorious dark god, but there’s something you should know before we get started.”

“What is that, love?”

Tracing your lips along his cheek, you hovered near his ear, “I haven’t worn panties at all today.”

His sharp inhale had you rocking back and laughing to the ceiling.

***

Exactly one hundred and ten minutes later, you lifted yourself from said dark god’s lap with a twisted smile. Your dress had long ago been discarded, his hair was dishevelled from your hands in it, most of his clothing was askew or thoroughly out of place.

He was panting, cheeks flushed, eyes dark and wild. He looked far more dangerous, far more feral than ever before, but that was likely due to the multiple times you took him to the edge only to deny him what he wanted. The tips of his fingers had turned blue not long ago, and the room had cooled enough to pebble your nipples and give you gooseflesh.

Getting to your feet with a decided wobble, you picked up your dress.

“What are you doing, darling?” he all but snarled.

“Finishing the game, Loki,” you smiled, putting the garment back on.

His brow arched. “You are not leaving this room.”

“I have seven minutes to do with you what I wish, and what I wish is to run… very, very fast,” you grinned cheekily, knowing damn well you were in so much trouble!

“Running won’t save you, (Y/N),” he crooned. “You’re in my soul. I can find you wherever you go. Is it not better to simply stay and take your turn at this game with the class I know you possess instead of running like a scared child?”

Sliding your feet into your slippers, you curtsied with a flourish. “I choose option number two, my lord.” Turning on your heel, you ran for all you were worth.

“Darling? Darling?! (Y/N)!?” Bellowed from the room but you kept running.

Five minutes was not much time to get where you needed to go and Loki, when he came for you, would be on such a warpath. You only hoped he remembered to straighten out his clothing before chasing you down.

At the doors to the large banquet hall, you skidded to a walk, well aware of the guards who watched you with wry amusement. Striding inside with grace, you made your way toward Thor. The look on your face must have caused concern for he was soon hurrying toward you.

“So… yeah. No one panic, okey dokey?” you said with a forced laugh.

“Panic over what? What did you do? How mad is he?” Thor’s question ended, and a mighty wave of power rolled through the palace.

“Ha ha!” you wheezed when a good portion of Loki’s power washed out of you. “Not mad so much as… ha, denied.”

“Oh!” Sif, who’d come over to chat, barked before hiding her mouth behind her hand. “Well, then.”

“Save me?” you begged softly.

“We will do our best,” Thor promised, his smirk wicked. “Make ready!” he called out.

When the doors at the end of the hall slammed open, the God of Mischief in all his finery walked through. He’d done more than straighten out his clothes. He’d dressed with the intention of having people remember who and what he was. He was a god, a dark one, and at the moment he looked it.

“Brother!” Thor bellowed, holding out his arms.

The call had Loki freezing, noticing where he was and the startling amount of people. “Brother. I’ve come for my wife.”

“As I asked her to make sure you were here at this time, I’m afraid you will both have to stay a bit longer. Come, sit, enjoy!”

“Enjoy?” Loki mumbled, moving toward the long table. “It is not a feast day. What are we celebrating?”

“The return of the prodigal son,” you whispered once he was close enough.

“What?” he gasped.

Thor dropped a meaty fist on his shoulder. “The people of Asgard are smitten with your lady wife. She has proved her goodness and gentle heart to them. Because of this, the people know you would never do anything that would sacrifice the happiness you have with your woman. They welcome you home, brother, your place in my court is reinstated. They welcome you to return to Asgard!” he called out, and the hall erupted with cheers.

The shocked look on Loki’s face brought tears to your eyes, and you reached out to him. “You are a prince of Asgard once more, my heart.”

His eyes darted to yours, emotion-laden as he gently touched your cheek before being swept away by a tide of people wishing to welcome him back to the court, the revelry just getting started as food and drink flowed.

It took an hour for things to settle, or to calm to what you’d come to realize was the least boisterous part of an Asgardian party. The drink had not yet gone to the men’s heads when Loki’s presence at your back appeared, and you were whisked away to the far side of a large stone pillar, conveniently hidden from view. A soft expulsion of breath left your lips when he pinned you forcefully to the stones with his muscular body.

“You were my distraction as they made ready for this feast, weren’t you, my love?” he asked, lips a hair’s breadth from yours.

“Yes,” you whispered, watching as eyes of blue slowly darkened into a deep green, glimmering with shimmers of his power.

“And the chains? Was it all an act?”

“No…” you sighed when his lips skimmed yours, feeling the heat of desire pool again in your belly. “The comment was, as you said, a teasing one, but it put the thought in my head. What would my Loki look like, bound hand and foot, completely at my mercy?”

“Did you enjoy the view, darling?” His voice deepened, rumbled like the growl of a hungry wolf as his teeth tugged your earlobe.

“Very much!” you gasped, turning your head in an act of submission.

“Good,” he growled in your ear. Pulling slowly away, he smiled a dark, devious, devil smile as he released your hands and reached in his sleeve. Something gold and shiny appeared in his fingers, a single link from the chain you’d bound him with now hung like a pendant from a thin necklace. With a flick of fingers, it reappeared around your throat, the link resting above your heart like a dark promise. He placed a fingertip lightly on the link, but his eyes never wavered from yours.

Leaning closer, he pressed a tender kiss to your lips. “I re-forged the chains after I broke them, my love. They await your return to our bedchamber.” His hips pinned you back against the pillar, causing a wanton moan to erupt when he rocked against you.

Apparently, you’d left him in quite a state, one hidden only by the extravagance of his clothing. No wonder he’d changed. “Loki,” you sighed.

“Oh the things I have planned for you, (Y/N), my wicked, naughty girl. Eat and drink your fill, my heart, for you will not see the outside of our chamber for the next few days.” His eyes glowed with mischief.

“Loki, two hours, you promised,” you reminded him, only to have him smile his patented Loki grin.

“Yes, two hours to use the chains, pet. You said nothing of other restraints,” he whispered in your ear, leaving you stunned, shaken, and highly turned on as he laughed ever so evilly and walked away.

Sif found you moments later, still leaning against the pillar. “I think you need this more than I.” She held out the cup of mead, which you took and gulped back.

Once your legs had some much-needed bone back in them, you looked to the tall warrior. “I think I may have started something.”

“I think you may have,” she snickered, leaning around the pillar and laughing. “Loki has not looked so pleased with himself in some time.”

Straightening up, you handed back her cup and lightly squeezed her hand. “Thank you, Sif.” You looked out over the crowd to find Loki laughing with his brother. “But FYI? I don’t think you’re getting those chains I borrowed back.” Giving her a cheeky grin, her face making you giggle, you went off to fill your belly knowing full well your husband’s promise was not one to be taken lightly.

He smiled at you as you went by, grabbing your arm to pull you close so he could press his lips to your ear. “I enjoyed this new game, love. Perhaps I like chains after all.”

Drawing your fingers over his abdomen, feeling the shiver you caused with the action, you gave him a Cheshire cat grin. “Bound hand and foot, Loki? Why I never would have guessed.” Laughing, you walked away, content and happy and not at all concerned with your own upcoming appointment with the mass of golden restraints.

 - The End -

[iason-mink]

Have you seen the new preview clip of the show on twitter? What do you think about the show?

//Alright. I sat and watched the clip. I watched it five times. I am going to explain my thoughts on it below thoroughly. 

Iason.

No offence to the actor’s performance at all because I think this was a directorial and/or casting call error but Todd Haberkorn as Iason Mink???? Come On. His voice doesn’t fit. Like. At all. It’s not deep enough. Not confident enough. Not commanding enough. Not sensual enough. And far too loud. He needs to sound like a cold, terrifyingly-sadistic monster that would whisper sexual nightmares into your ear while you’re sleeping.  Iason needs someone with a deeper register to convey these qualities to an English audience. Even Kaneto Shiozawa, Iason’s original VA, (who had arguably the best seme voice I’ve ever heard) had a register for this character (when he was speaking louder than a whisper) that was too high, if he’d been speaking English. In Japanese it was perfect, but different tones and different ways of speaking convey different things in other languages so simply trying to match the tone and vocal “quirks” of the japanese VA in the English VA, is not going to work. That, unfortunately, is what it sounds like they did here.

They really needed to get someone with a voice like (god and I hate to say this but) Markiplier from youtube. That’s what would be needed here to convey someone like Iason, who if you watch other versions of this, speaks very quietly for the vast majority of his dialogue, because he has the sheer dominating power in his voice and words to do so and still be obeyed without question. In fact Iason only raises his voice when he’s with Riki, for the most part. That shows how unhinged Riki makes him at times and is a crucial point in conveying development and emotional shifts in his character.

The reason I suggested Markiplier is because he is someone with a deep base register and an authoritative, charismatic vocal presence that would still be austere enough to convey Iason’s high-class indifference even when whispering. Like when he does his super serious let’s play voice, the one when he’s reading notes and things in dramatic games that’s low and quiet and sultry and has that hint of something more that you can’t help but want to listen to? That’s the kind of resonance Iason needed in English to get his character across. 

Not to mention the motivation in the scene they chose wasn’t supposed to be about Iason showing power or control, which is what came across in the acting. He’s indifferent and cold toward Riki only because he can’t admit to himself yet that he cares as much for him as he does and he’s putting on a front. Inside he’s breaking watching him run away. His speech to himself internally as he’s getting into his car is just him posturing to himself, trying to convince himself that things are going to go the way he wants them, because he doesn’t know how to process the idea that things might not go that way. 

Riki. 

I’m sorry, but he sounds like a BL uke version of some “BELIEVE IT!” shounen hero character. It’s obvious they didn’t look much at the original anime or the books before casting/directing thisbecause that’s where you see Riki’s history, his life before he came to Eos, and all the suffering he endured with Iason. In the remake these things are touched on briefly. I understand time constraints and scheduling and things like that limit the amount of research a studio can do, I really do. I just wish the director could have done more. The things that we would have seen later on in the series, had it not been cut off at 4 episodes, are the important things about Riki’s character in particular that would be important in conveying his character in English.

Before Iason spent three years destroying him, Riki was a motorcycle-riding street-fighting BADASS. He was the leader of a GANG and not just any gang but the TOP gang in a slum filled with them. He beat the shit out of people for fun on the daily. He oozed so much natural leadership and charisma that people fanatically gravitated to him. He was running shit. At 15. That’s why it took such a monumental effort for Iason to break him, and even then he never destroyed his pride completely. I’m sorry to say, but the actor they chose makes him sound much too naive, young and “bright”. If Riki was a stereotypical uke character with a typical BL “tragic past” then yeah, sure, the voice they gave him would be fine. That isn’t the case with him though. He’s not a typical “uke”. Nothing about this series is typical. If the yaoi genre were Game of Thrones then Ai no Kusabi would be the king sitting his ass on that iron throne surrounded by dragons and knights and shit.

All in all, Riki is a broken alpha-wolf of a man and you cannot hear that in this casting. The thing that makes Ai no Kusabi groundbreaking is that both Iason and Riki are dominant characters in their own respects. They are both bad people in their own ways. Iason, by design and choice, Riki by instinct and circumstance. Only their coming together because of Iason’s whim of fancy makes them take on this bizarre master/slave relationship structure. Both their voices need to reflect a dominant quality in English and sadly the studio has failed to do this for them thus far.

Hopefully my reasoning assuages any misconceptions you may have that I am saying I dislike this simply because I anticipated disliking it from the get go. There really are reasons I don’t like it, this is a thorough analysis and I not only explained why I feel the way I do, but provided suggestions on what needs to be changed to improve it. 

Also, I’ll still buy this and give the whole thing a fair shake once it’s released because I know they aren’t finished yet and things can change.

So far though? I really hate to say this, because I love the ai no kusabi series and really wanted this to be good, but sadly this is the poorly researched mediocrity I was expecting. 

EDIT:

Upon discussing this with a friend, if they digitally deepen both actors voices it would be MUCH better and fix things a bit. Not the acting per say which lacks proper motivation, but just…the tones. Sort of. *sigh* 

[wowthatsabigeconomy]

Reflection Numeral Uno!

Chapter 1- The 10 Principles of Economics.

1. What in this chapter made you think about an economic concept differently than your previous beliefs?

A. I’ll say that breaking these 10 principles into 4 broader categories helped me understand them better. I’ve been involved in the economy my whole life. Buying food, clothes, electronics, etc. but I’ve never really weighed the impact of my decisions. Either on myself (outside of being smart with my money) or the broader market. So when I read about ‘how people make decisions’ I was intrigued. We face trade-offs on a daily basis. Every decision we make has a gain and a loss. Should I buy a car or use the bus? (time vs. money) I think this is a good thing to keep in mind throughout life but particularly when studying economics. I took a Intro to Business course last semester so the idea of Opportunity Cost is pretty familiar to me. We briefly touched on it, so having it be explained a bit more has been very helpful. I wonder if the assumption that ‘people are rational’ is a bit naive? I have seen plenty of people act impulsively and irrationally on a daily basis. Especially when it comes to money. That being said, I certainly agree with the definition of a rational person described in the book. The idea of the margin is still a little fuzzy to me. I think it means one must look a bit closer to realize the marginal cost/benefits. As for principal #4, this seems pretty obvious. Right? People respond to incentives, well duh! XP To me this one seems more spot on than #3 lol. The next section peaked my interest. For the most part I understand the rest of the principals. I think the first 2 sections are really cool to think about. The first one is like psychology, what people do and why they do it. The second section is like studying sociology, how people interact with each other and how they affect one another.

2. What new questions do you have now about the US economy based on this chapter?

A. To be honest I can’t think of too many questions about the economy after reading this chapter. Perhaps it’s my lack of knowledge to be able to see holes and questions them. To me it seems this chapter is really straightforward and explains everything thoroughly. I’ll say that I am certainly excited to learn more as the semester rolls through and I will most definitely be finding questions to ask left and right as a get a better feel for the class and its contents.

[daleisgreat]

Diamond Dallas Page: Positively Living

Earlier this year three-time WCW World Champion, master of the Diamond Cutter and yoga sensei, Diamond Dallas Page received his long overdue home video biography from WWE with the release of Diamond Dallas Page: Positively Living (trailer). The biography is only a little over an hour, but it surprisingly hits almost all the notable points of his life and career, and the collection receives the standard extra feature treatment with several hours of bonus matches spanning his entire career. The brief time spent on Page’s childhood years growing up is an inspirational watch as he explains how he had to overcome hurdles such as ADD, Dyslexia and a car wreck at age 12 that wrecked his knee. Page explains how the car wreck left only sport left for him to play was basketball and stated how he was awful at it initially but over many years of practice made the high school’s starting squad. From personal life to professional life it goes to show the theme here is hard work pays off.

I recall reading how DDP was in the night club business, and Page goes into how he spent most of his 20s running night clubs and experimented with wrestling briefly before an injury in his second match got him to exit the business for the time and go back to the club scene. Even though they are now divorced, many fans remember DDP’s ex-wife Kimberly being a big part of his career as his on-TV manager, and WWE interviewed her for the video and she goes on to state how they met at one of Page’s bars and how their relationship evolved. I read Page’s autobiography, Positively Page, that came out all the way back when he was still in WCW in 2000 so I am a little familiar with his early life and how he broke into the business, but that was 17 years ago so this BluRay is a handy refresher and I gleamed many new things throughout. If you are unfamiliar with Page’s journey you may be surprised to learn he broke into the wrestling scene late, and did not make a TV debut until some connections from the night club scene landed him a manager gig in the AWA in 1987 when he was 30. They have clips of his manager tryout video which are awesomely-cheesy, and they are included in their entirety in the extras. WWE interviewed Scott Hall, Eric Bishoff, Terry Taylor and Goldust about meeting DDP in the clubs and helping him land his first job in the AWA.

DDP spent his first five years in the business as a manager in AWA, FCW and WCW, and even had a Wrestlemania VI cameo that DDP reveals on how it came to be. Hearing Page’s story on why he took up wrestling at age 35 and making his proper in-ring debut at the end of 1991 is one of the highlights of the documentary. It seems like an impossible task to start training at that age, but over the years Page kept plugging away and kept putting in the time to get better and the results are easily apparent over the years on how he became a top player in WCW. The documentary spends a little time with him progressing over this time, but the extra features are where it is more noticeable where they include a couple matches from each year of Page’s career. Page’s memories and respect for Dusty Rhodes are among my favorite parts of the bio. Page loves him, and I was all ears for the few big Dusty stories Page peppers out throughout the biography on how Dusty helped him out and motivated him throughout his career. A lot of time is spent on Page emerging as a breakout main event star in WCW in 1997 by feuding with the nWo and his intense rivalry with Randy Savage that lead to a classic series of matches with him. Hearing Page relive his success with Macho Man had me nostalgic for that era and that rivalry was one of the few things WCW did right among their ‘Monday Night War’ success. Ditto with Page recounting his super-successful run teaming with Karl Malone to take on Dennis Rodman and Hulk Hogan at Bash at the Beach ‘98. I had no idea until hearing Page state here that it was WCW’s highest grossing PPV of all time.

The documentary moves along to DDP winning his first WCW World Title at Spring Stampede ‘99 and Page has a good tale on how he met his goal to reach that milestone. I was not so surprised Positively Living skips the final two years of his WCW career since that was when WCW was in a downward spiral to its demise, but there were still a few interesting DDP moments from that era I would have liked to hear Page comment officially on such as his other celebrity team-ups with Jay Leno and David Arquette and DDP’s time teaming with his friends Bam Bam Bigelow and Chris Kanyon in the Jersey Triad faction. Additionally, the Ready to Rumble film is a guilty pleasure of mine and I would have loved to hear DDP’s memories of being the primary WCW wrestler used in the movie. This clip from a shoot video interview will have to suffice instead. His final year in his full time career where he jumped to WWE following the WCW buyout is briefly touched on, and Page tongue-in-cheek admits he was not too big on how the whole ‘stalker’ character was handled but stated he tried his best to make it work. I am a big fan of his ‘positive’ character he introduced later on in 2001 and DDP said he was too and how it was an amped up version of himself. Kimberly has a nice memory of Page walking in and out as a champion at Wrestlemania X8 was a good bookend to his career.

Fans of DDP knows Page has had a ton of success post-wrestling with his yoga business. DDP & Kimberly go into detail about forming the yoga business after yoga helped DDP recover from injuries and after a couple rough early years their hard work turned DDP Yoga into a big success. I am glad they do not gloss over this part of DDP’s life as it has been tremendous for him and the countless others he has helped in the proceeding years. I vividly recall hearing how DDP was starting his yoga business and immediately scoffed at it and all the clichés that go with yoga. Then I heard and saw the success stories (DDP helping Jake Roberts in this Netflix doc is must-see!) of it with wrestlers like Scott Hall and Jake Roberts. Finally, after hearing Chris Jericho vouch for it on how it helped him recover from a back injury last year I took the plunge and ordered the DDP Yoga DVDs when I was dealing with some shoulder issues. After a few weeks I was surprised at how much better the shoulder and my general well being improved. Now, a year later I still routinely do DDP Yoga three times a week. The documentary has a nice final chapter where DDP and his current wife Brenda are interviewed about how they met and how DDP is a proud stepfather. The WWE production crew also capture DDP’s genuine raw reaction to Triple H calling him and informing him that he would be inducted into the 2016 Hall of Fame class in a emotional scene that once again proves that DDP’s mantra of hard work does indeed pay off. I went into a lot of detail than I anticipated for an hour long documentary, but DDP was one of my ‘Monday Night War’ favorites and for the most part I like how this biography was handled.

There are 22 matches to indulge in the extras, or 27 if you go the BluRay route. Again, I really like how the first several matches feature Page in his early part of his career teaming with other before-they-were-stars talent such as Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Raven, Cactus Jack and Buff Bagwell in the early 90s. DDP is very green, but the matches just go to show for far he improved over the years. He has some breakout matches from 1997 in here that established him as a main event player with bouts against Randy Savage, Hulk Hogan and Curt Hennig. His standout PPV headlining encounter with Bill Goldberg from Halloween Havoc ‘98 is here in all its glory, and to this day I still think DDP got the most out of Goldberg in the ring. Both of DDP’s celebrity tag matches from 1998 are in here where he tags with Malone and Jay Leno. The match with Malone actually has some surprisingly decent action, and Jay Leno is wisely only used for comedy spots (minus his armbar of doom). Not-so-surprisingly his tag match with David Arquette is not included. A couple of excellent US Title matches with Bret Hart are however, as well as both matches that saw him lose and regain the title from Sting on the same night (I will never forget being there live for those two matches and going nuts for that first match against Sting!). The extras close with DDP’s successful European title defense against Christian at Wrestlemania X8. I give Positively Living the highest of recommendations. Minus a few nitpicks mentioned above, I was really happy with the biography since it covers almost all the major parts of his personal and professional life thoroughly and it has nearly most of his major matches included as well as a few hidden gems. Whether you were an avid fan of DDP or not, his unorthodox journey and inspiring message is one that should be witnessed by all fans. Past Wrestling Blogs Best of WCW Monday Nitro Volume 2 Best of Monday Nitro Volume 3 Biggest Knuckleheads Bobby The Brain Heenan Daniel Bryan: Just Say Yes Yes Yes Dusty Rhodes WWE Network Specials ECW Unreleased: Vol 1 ECW Unreleased: Vol 2 ECW Unreleased: Vol 3 For All Mankind Goldberg: The Ultimate Collection Its Good to Be the King: The Jerry Lawler Story Ladies and Gentlemen My Name is Paul Heyman Legends of Mid South Wrestling Macho Man: The Randy Savage Story Memphis Heat OMG Vol 2: Top 50 Incidents in WCW History OMG Vol 3: Top 50 Incidents in ECW History Owen: Hart of Gold RoH Supercard of Honor V RoH Supercard of Honor VI RoH Supercard of Honor VII RoH Supercard of Honor VIII RoH Supercard of Honor IX RoH Supercard of Honor X ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Sting: Into the Light Superstar Collection: Zach Ryder Top 50 Superstars of All Time Tough Enough: Million Dollar Season True Giants Ultimate Fan Pack: Roman Reigns Ultimate Warrior: Always Believe Warrior Week on WWE Network Wrestlemania 3: Championship Edition Wrestlemania 28 Wrestlemania 29 Wrestlemania 30 Wrestlemania 31 Wrestlemania 32 The Wrestler (2008) Wrestling Road Diaries Too Wrestling Road Diaries Three: Funny Equals Money Wrestlings Greatest Factions WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2015 WWE Network Original Specials First Half 2016 WWE Network Original Specials Second Half 2016