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avaritia-apotheosis · 3 years ago

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Phantom Children Ch. 8

What's this? An update! Massive thanks to my betas for helping me get through this chapter <3

In Which: A few answers are given to the family and Danny is rudely awoken

[Side note: If you wanna know the general ages of the batfam, its listed in the AO3 version. I also talk about katanas in the end notes ^-^]

AO3 | Prologue | 7 | [ 8 ] | 9 DAMIAN INFORMED TODD—and Drake when he arrived on his bike sometime later on—that the boy whose face is plastered across the monitor was neither a picture of himself nor of Father.

Drake took one glance at the monitor and sighed, pressing his fingers against the bridge of his nose. “Just when I thought this day was getting better.”

“What, did that café on 5th finally let customers supersize their drink?”

“God that would be the dream, wouldn’t it?” Drake sighed wistfully. “Nah, but I did get a lead on where some of that stolen Cadmus tech might’ve ended up. I was gonna spend the night following up on it, but I guess we have to deal with,” he gestured to the monitor, “whatever this is.”

Todd leaned against the edge of the computer, arms crossed over the red bat insignia on his chest. “What are we dealing with this time, brat? A clone? An alternate universe counterpart? Magic shenanigans?”

Maybe. Perhaps. All of those were perfectly valid conclusions for the enigma that was Daniel James Fenton. (Why Fenton and not al Ghul? Or even Wayne?)

Damian, too, was a genetic experiment; a ‘test tube baby’ as Drake put it at times. Damian was born for greatness, created to be perfect. The perfect soldier. The perfect assassin. The perfect heir. Was this boy—Daniel—like him as well?

A failed one, then. Perhaps the precursor to Damian’s own existence. But that would not explain why the boy was allowed to exist for so long. His grandfather demanded perfection, especially from those of his own blood. If the boy was a failure, he would have been eliminated immediately, not sent to live with some eccentric scientists in the Midwest.

Damian was not naïve enough to think that his mother and grandfather did not keep secrets from him. On the contrary, he expected it. The League of Shadows dealt in secrets as often as it did in death. Certain information was worth its weight in gold, whether it was given or buried away.

But he could not help the sharp pang in his chest. A lightning strike, quick and electrifying at the notion that they kept secrets about their family from him.

His father’s face flashed in his mind. The shock turned into a slow, dawning horror. That flicker of light, of recognition, as he scrutinized the contents of the flash drive and cross-referenced it with a public database.

And grief.

Damian recognized the grief.

Alfred, too, nearly dropped his tray of fresh-baked cookies when he stepped in front of the monitor. His usual unflappable demeanor was momentarily broken at his father’s whispered “Sixteen years. Alfred— he’s sixteen years old.”

His father knew of the boy. He was allowed to know of Daniel when he was not allowed to know about Damian.

------

Grayson returned to the cave with a distinct lack of energy in his step. His mask dangled off the tips of his fingers, chin angled downwards and covered largely by his hand. For a split second, their eyes met. Grayson shifted his gaze away, scratching the back of his neck. Father told him, then. Damian wondered how much Father revealed to his favorite son.

Damian clucked his tongue and buried himself deeper into the chair, arms crossed and pointedly looking away. If it was not for his accursed ankle, he’d have headed out to the training ring to take his frustrations out on the dummies.

“Oh, thank god you’re here, Dickface. Damian’s completely out of it.”

Damian shot him a look. “Shut up, Todd.”

“Leave him alone, Jay. Is Tim back yet?”

Drake emerged from the changing room in a dark green shirt, a fresh cup of coffee in hand. He took one long sip before exhaling. “Yeah, I’m here.”

“O-kay…” He pressed his hands together, mouth thinned into a grim line. “Uh, hey Tim, glad to see you back safe. Bruce is coming down soon to explain some things.” He let out a deep sigh, carding a hand through his hair. “This kind of thing would probably be better with the girls around, but I—god, I don’t know.”

Todd raised an eyebrow. “Don’t know whether to call Steph and Cass in Hong Kong, or don’t know what’s going on?”

“Yes.”

------

When Father arrived, Pennyworth following dutifully behind him, it was with an aching slowness in his gait. His steps measured and precise, preternaturally quiet as he made his way to stand by Damian’s chair. Damian sat up straighter, shoulders squared and back an inch away from the backrest. The rest, even Todd, stood at attention; an ingrained habit among Robins and an amusing instinct even among the senior heroes of the Justice League when it came to facing the Batman.

His father kept a steady hand on Damian’s shoulder, and Damian, shamefully, leaned into the touch; his head inclined towards his father’s hand so much so that he could feel the ends of his hair being pushed up slightly as he brushed against his father’s forearm.

He spoke with his usual monotone, as if he was heading a Justice League meeting as opposed to unveiling the secrets surrounding that boy. He brought forward the few photos they obtained from the flash drive. “A few weeks ago, we were alerted of suspicious movement from the League of Shadows in Amity Park, Illinois. Their objectives are, as of now, unclear, though it appears to be tied to the death of Amity Park resident, Daniel Fenton.”

One photo was a standard ID picture people get for their driver’s license, the lighting deliberately horrible so that any attempt to look decent would always end in failure. Another photo was a little better; a candid scene of him chatting with two others his age, a Caucasian girl in gothic-style clothes and an African-American holding a sleek, but still very outdated PDA. His blue eyes crinkled at the corners, hand reaching up to his face to stifle a laugh. There were other photos like this, some candid, others posed. At the forefront of each, a boy that looked too much like his father, too much like Damian.

His father glanced at the photos. He shut his eyes and when he opened them again, he fixed them on some distant stalactite in the Cave. “Around six months ago, Daniel was pronounced dead in a vehicular accident. A body was present, but according to police reports, he was identified via his driver’s license as opposed to any kind of DNA profiling.” He leaned over Damian’s chair to pull up a profile of Masters. “Our source—Vladimir Masters, mayor of Amity and a friend of the Fenton family—indicated his belief that Daniel is actually alive. I am inclined to agree.”

“He’s your son, isn’t he,” Drake said, more of a statement than a question.

Father gave a curt nod. “I cannot say for certain until I can perform a DNA test, but I highly suspect that to be the case.”

“First the demon spawn, now this. Great.” Todd made a hand motion towards the screen. “You know, Bruce, not knowing you have a kid once might be a coincidence, but twice? How do you do that?”

“As of three hours ago, I was still under the impression that my son never made it to term.”

“What?”

“Over sixteen years ago I was involved in a mission that put Ra’s and I on the same side. During that time, Talia and I entered a relationship that resulted in a pregnancy. Though initially ecstatic, she eventually led me to believe she miscarried the child and pushed me away. For what ends, I do not know, but trust me Jason, if I knew—” He paused, the hand that was not on Damian’s shoulder curled into a tight fist.

Father pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why she hid it from me then doesn’t matter. Why Talia wants him back now is important. Judging from Daniel’s records, he was adopted into the Fenton family as an infant and has since lived a seemingly normal life as a civilian. His adoptive parents, Jack and Maddie Fenton, are brilliant scientists and engineers focused on the field of paranormal studies. Eccentricities aside, they have zero connections to the League of Assassins or any other concerning parties.”

“So why now?” Dick asked, shifting his concerned gaze from Bruce to the static picture of Danny’s tired smile. “Why, after all this time, decide that now would be the best time to recover him?”

------

Danny’s experienced plenty of rude awakenings before, but waking up at the ass-crack of dawn to avoid his kidnapper-slash-assassin-slash-biological-mom launching a surprise attack takes the fucking cake. He can’t believe he’s saying this, but thank god for all those late night ghost attacks that conditioned him to be a light sleeper. And, of course, the League’s insistence that everyone be in optimal condition regardless of how little sleep you actually got.

Danny kicked Talia off of him, ripping his blanket away before scrambling to his feet. Seriously, if the universe decided to spontaneously give him powers again, he’d really like an upgrade to his ghost senses, please and thank you. Something that works on humans and not just ghosts. Like spidey-senses. He’d really, really like some spidey-senses.

“Your reaction times have improved considerably,” Talia said.

He eyed the katana sheathed beside his bedroll. “Thanks. Who could have guessed that constantly challenging someone to a spar in the unholy hours of morning would make them paranoid to sleep too much? Really, how am I supposed to grow taller at this rate? ” If he could just get it--

She smiled, taking a step forward. “Prepare yourself.”

“Heh.” Danny stepped further away from Talia, keeping his back to the mouth of the cave. One hand stretched in front of him and the other, coated in a green light, was kept hidden behind his back. “Am I actually gonna get some answers today?”

“Let us make it interesting. Last 10 minutes against me and I shall tell you more about your brother.” Talia twirled her blade. “If you happen to draw blood, you may ask any one thing of me.”

“Anything?”

“Within reason.”

His face caught between a grimace and a smile. He’d rather be sleeping right now, but if he had to be awake, then he’d better make the most of it. “Deal.”

Talia’s smile dropped. She veered her body to the right, barely dodging the streak of bright green that whizzed from behind her. The ectoplasmic energy that surrounded the katana bled away as the handle connected with Danny’s outstretched hand.

She quickly glanced back at Danny’s bedding. Beside it lay an empty sheath. “You have telekinesis?”

He shrugged. “It comes and goes.” Yeah, no way was Danny gonna admit that seven-out-of-ten-times he forgot that he had telekinesis. Besides, that shit was hard to do when he wasn’t Phantom.

“A surprise attack from behind is a sound strategy, Daniel. Though it’ll take a lot more than that to harm me.”

Danny pointed to the side of his cheek. “Are you sure about that?”

Talia frowned. She reached up to her face. Her fingers brushed against her cheek and came away with a thin streak of blood.

Danny grinned, pointing his blade at his opponent. “First blood goes to me.”

------

Fact: most fights don’t last long. An average street fight could last anywhere between 25 to 40 seconds, and sword fights rarely last over a minute. Like Talia said, the goal of a fight was to end it with as few injuries to oneself as possible. Humans, even the most skilled ones, can rarely last long in a fight. Prolonged combat is suicide; it makes you tired, makes your muscles heavy. It’s nothing like what Hollywood would have you believe.

Even with Danny’s own enhanced stamina and Talia holding back, he couldn’t last a full ten-minute spar. If Talia didn’t finish him within twenty-five seconds, then he’d fall by his own human limitations.

But the goal wasn’t to spar continuously for ten minutes.

He only had to last that long.

Danny sprinted out of the cave. The sun barely peeked out of the horizon, a thin line of deep orange breaking apart the wide expanse of blue-black sky above. He couldn’t see shit; great news since that meant there’s a good chance Talia couldn’t either, but that doesn’t fix the fact that he can’t see.

Nearly stumbling on the ice, Danny veered to the left. The edges of the lake stopped at towering rocks twice Danny’s height, leaving little room for cover. Though if he remembered correctly, there should be a few crevices here and there to hide in.

“You’ll have to be faster than that, Daniel.”

Shit—

Danny stopped. He brought his sword up to parry Talia’s strike and twisted away, putting distance between them.

Well, so much for just avoiding her for 10 minutes.

He adjusted his grip, keeping his sword steady and eyes trained on Talia as they circled each other. Danny lunged with an overhead strike. Talia used one hand to block the downswing by gripping his wrists. She thrust her sword forward, the tip harshly poking Danny’s abdomen.

“Less than three minutes.” Talia let his wrist go, Danny’s arms slumping to his sides.

He sighed as he sheathed his sword. “Damn, I thought I’d last longer than that.”

“You made a good effort,” Talia assured him. “Putting as much distance between us at the beginning was a good strategy. You recognized the win conditions immediately and attempted a battle of attrition.” She placed a hand on his shoulder. “I am very proud of you habibi, especially as you managed to draw first blood.”

A warmth grew in Danny’s stomach at the words, heating his cheeks. Sheepishly, he scratched the back of his head. “I wasn’t entirely sure that would work, honestly.”

“It was clever; half a second later and you might have even killed me. You are an al Ghul through and through” She brushed his hair out of his face. “What would you like as your prize, then?”

Danny’s heart clenched. He frowned, dropping his arm to his side. If I was such an al Ghul, then why didn’t you keep me? The question lodged itself in his throat, stifling his thoughts. It was something he’d been wondering for a while, actually, in the moments of solitude he had at the compound. Talia, during their training, would always remark at his potential. How talented he was, how adaptable he was, how much greater he would have been if he had been trained at a younger age.

Well then, why wasn’t he? Why did she give him up?

But each time he tried to ask, his tongue would turn to lead and the moment would pass, the question still left unsaid and simmering at the back of his mind. A Pandora’s Box that held none of the world’s evil but all of Danny’s possible shortcomings.

He could ask the question now.

He could.

He didn’t.

“Why did you take me?”

Talia tilted her head. “It is because you’re my son.”

“No. Not that. It has to be something more than that. You had sixteen years to come back for me—or, hell, you could have just never left me.” His breath hitched, fingers mussing his hair and hiding his eyes. “Why else did you take me?”

“It is true that there was more than one reason why we decided to retrieve you from Amity Park. One of which is because you are my son and an heir of the Demon’s Head.” Talia stilled. The dark skies of dawn made it impossible for him to read her. “The second reason was to protect you.”

“You kidnapped me…to protect me?”

“Knowledge of the ghosts of Amity have spread through the more insidious parts of the world. There are many out there who would pay exorbitant fees to study one of you or to use you.”

Use him? What did she mean by—

Oh.

Ghosts—Amity Park’s brand of ghosts—were a new element that the world had to contend with. Amity Park might have a crime rate of zero but that wasn’t the case everywhere else. Theft, assault, murder; the world was rampant with crimes and criminals clawing their way to the very top. Having ghosts, even ones with the most basic powerset, would be a huge advantage.

“There’s no way that would work,” Danny insisted. “Most ghosts just want to be left alone, and the ones that want to wreak havoc would never work with humans. The only reason they even work with halfas like me at times is because they still consider us as ghosts.”

“If my sources are to be believed, ghosts might not even get a choice.”

Danny’s blood curdled in his veins.

No.

Someone’s found a way to control ghosts.

#danny phantom #batman #danny phantom x batman crossover #dp fic #phantom children.txt

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anarchy2021 · 3 years ago

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PSA Day! (Rp etiquette)

{ID: A person standing next to a flipchart. They're thin, and have medium-length brown hair, pale skin, and dark brown ears. The ears are angled horizontally. They're wearing thin-rimmed glasses, and their expression reads as confident. Their hair is partially tied up in a bun. They also have a long tail the same brown as their ears, with brown fur the same color as their hair on the end. They're wearing black trousers, a black waistcoat with a white shirt underneath. Additionally, a black overcoat with gold edges is draped over their shoulders. The inner lining of the overcoat is red, and partially visible behind the person. They have their right hand on their hip, and with their left hand, they're holding a stick up to the flipchart, which reads "RP 101 :)". The 101 is underlined. END ID.}

Greetings! You may not recognize me (unless you were watching the debate perhaps, then, sup) as I admit I’ve been a bit…. Behind the scenes as it were (as secretary of VOID there is a lot of looking at the void, usual routine for me mhm mhm). Regardless, I’m Days (or Nights, either or) and for today’s PSA I’m here (along with some words from our recently freed from totally-not-prison president, Graphite, at a later date) to talk to you about roleplay! More specifically, rp etiquette and terms and how that relates to the DSMP and how it should be talked about.

Now now, you might be wondering “oh but what is your experience?” Glad you asked! I’m a long term text rper with over 5 years of experience- and my main avenues of rp are rps similar in structure to that of the DSMP- long term improv driven sandboxes that also have important events planned ahead of time in some regard but are often player driven most of the time. Now, let’s get into it!

Head writers/admins

Let’s start off with a pretty hot topic regarding the server, which is the existence of a ‘head writer’ (usually in reference to Mr. Soot). Now, mainy take this as meaning quite literally a writer- like in a show, but, with what information we have I think it’s safe to say he’s not really that and more along the lines of an rp admin/head. The admin’s main purpose is to keep things structured and organized, as well as putting together the events they’re in charge of. This is pretty much how everyone treats the man anyways, BUT, while an admin is in charge of a lot they do NOT have the final say over everything, particularly in regards to the characters and their players.

Players in an rp for the most part have full control over their characters (within reason and the confines of the rp setting) and an admin enforcing their will onto a character (such as enforcing certain backstory choices that don’t seem particularly wanted. For example, the fridge with c!Phil) is often frowned upon unless there is a good reason for it and discussed with the rper.

It is also notable that just because there is an admin, that doesn’t mean they’re the sole writer/organizer/etc. It is not at all uncommon for specific subplots and or other important events to be headed by players involved in it in this type of rp. This can be seen in practice with how the Eggpire plotline was headed by BBH and the prison plotline was mainly written by Dream and Tommy.

Summary:

- head writer/admins do not and should not control everything

- organise and structure events

- players might admin their own smaller plots within a rp

Narrative consequences

Now, another hot topic- especially in regards to character discourse (my abhorred personally). Narrative consequences. These are generally referred to when someone thinks a character is not getting the consequences for their actions in the story that they should, or (more rarely in my experience) when they feel a character is being punished too hard for their actions. While this is an understandable feeling to have, at the end of the day narrative consequences just aren’t much of a thing in roleplay, at least not to the same extent as a book or tv show.

This is for one simple reason, consequences rely on the character’s actions and how they respond to others around them, if a character does not feel like it’s fit to react or if it angers their character- it is 100% within their right to respond accordingly.

However, there is also an argument that can be made if a character responds to something in a way that doesn’t align with a character’s usual actions. For a personal example, one time in a rp I was playing a character who was intervening when another character was being hurt, however, my character was met with scorn from being somewhat aggressive regarding it- I felt that this was unfair as none of these character showed the same scrutiny to characters who did worse things, and none of these characters had been established as hypocrites.

This grudge lasted the entire rp until my character died. This is a point where believing that the consequences to a character are unjust is more or less fair, but, a character simply not getting immediately smited or a character getting scorn is not automatically a point against the character, especially since an rper cannot reasonably make their fellow rpers react a certain way.

Summary:

- narrative consequences are not the same in RP as in other mediums

- can't force characters to react, or force players to react in a way they don't feel is fit

- but can critique RP if things feel unfairly ooc/inconsistent

Retcons

Next up, retcons. What is a retcon? It’s short for retroactive continuity, in essence it’s when in a piece of media something is changed retroactively- such as a character’s personality, how an event occurred, etc. for an outsider audience perspective retcons are often looked upon unfavorably, as it’s changing something already established which can cause friction among those attached to certain ideas, but in reality retcons are both a neutral concept and fairly normal to occur in rps.

Rps are (generally) not professional writing, they’re things made up on the fly with perhaps a base to work off of (and depending on the rp, not even that. However in the rps I’ve done we generally had character sheets and the like for backstories and all) and thus sometimes mistakes happen. One of the main causes for minor retcons is when details are confused or left out that would have realistically affected the situation or how characters would have responded to it, unless in severe cases these usually happen on the spot and don’t cause much of a fuss.

Major retcons often fall along the lines of players and how they choose to present their character. This is especially common when a player is using a character for the first time or even if they’re just new to an rp in general, sometimes as we rp we simply decide to take things in a new direction and sometimes that direction may cause things already established to be retconned, even if not outright stated.

A good example of this is the enderwalk with c!Ranboo, the enderwalk as it was first introduced is very different than it is portrayed now, likely as a result of Ranboo taking a new direction with his character since then. More widespread retcons may happen if people are unhappy with a certain plot thread, in this case an example would be the canon status of SBI, Wilbur used to push it but Techno (and later Phil) didn’t want it to be canon, so anything about it previously said has been soundly retconned.

In my own case character retcons very often happen to me when I first use an oc, as the character takes a different shape than what I put on the paper in practice, even sometimes within the same rp (one of my first ocs was practically unrecognizable as the same character in the beginning of an rp as compared to even just a few weeks later).

So, retcons are fine and normal to occur, but, like I said- they’re neutral. A retcon can very well be done poorly and cause problems. This is mainly in issue with retcons made that affect highly established and built upon aspects without discussion with all those who’d be effected, this can cause confusion, plot holes and cause characters to be in a weird limbo if they don’t know how to have their character act without whatever was retconned. Major retcons need to be discussed in order to prevent these problems, and in some cases should be avoided entirely- instead it being better to work for a compromise and rework events rather than removing them.

Summary:

- retcons are normal and neutral

- small retcons happened frequently in RP to help keep things going in an improv heavy medium. Usually unnoticeable

- large retcons tend to have with new players, or if the story is taking a new direction.

- large retcons require a lot of communication, and sometimes whould be avoided, instead working to compromise and rework the direction of the RP

Metagaming and godmodding

Metagaming and godmodding are two very important terms to know for rp etiquette and if you’ve done any rping you’ve probably seen these words thrown around in rules lists and such already. These are both ultimately negative things that should be avoided at all costs. What are they? Metagaming is when you use information that you know OOC and use it IC even though your character should not have that information. Godmodding is when a character is taken over by another person for one reason or another against the player’s will- such as having a character react to something without letting the actual rper do it.

The former is a big issue when it comes to discussion of the DSMP and how people interact with it, mainly in the chat and donos. When you are trying to get a character to react to information that they shouldn’t have you are trying to get them to metagame, which is heavily frowned upon in an RP. This is also important to note in discussion, a character not responding to certain important events is not a mark against them if the character has no way of even knowing what was going on, or would not reasonably respond to it with the information they have.

Summary:

- both frowned upon

- god modding is taking over someone elses character

- metagaming is using out of character information to do in character acting

- Meta gaming is relevant to DSMP particular in how it relates to donos and chats. Don't encourage meta-gaming

All of these factors are important to consider when discussing the DSMP and it’s narrative, it’s not going to function the same as other forms of media nor should it- as once you go in that direction you’re competing with the big boys over at tv and at that point things would fall apart. Improv and it’s unique variables is what makes the DSMP, and anything else like it, special and interesting to follow!

#dsmp #dreamsmp #rp etiquette #mcytblr elections #anarchy2021 #mcytblr election 2021 #PSA day #art by Days #long post #editted by zaph :]#first post from yours truly #(thats days not zaph... i post a lot i will not shut up <3)

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zhansww · 4 years ago

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210227 — Xiao Zhan's weibo update | translation by xzhan1005

Today, I have some things I’d like to say to everyone. I thought about various methods, and in the end I decided to use the simplest one, which is to tell everyone my feelings and perceptions this year. These thoughts may not represent anything, and may not solve anything, but I still hope to say this openly today.

This time last year, the storm happened very suddenly, and like a bomb that suddenly exploded, it sent me into a state of shock — my phone rang off the hook, my Wechat notifications never stopped, everyone’s suggestions and questions all came at me at the same time. I wanted to speak out, but I didn’t know what to say. I had many concerns, and I was scared that any word or sentence would be over-analyzed and exaggerated, causing further disturbance. So at that time, I chose to not say anything.

I didn’t expect for the feelings of opposition between various circles and levels of online discourse to snowball bigger and bigger, with more and more ramifications. Gradually, it was out of one person’s control, and even though afterwards, I wanted to speak out to recover it, nothing could have worked out the way I had hoped for anymore.

This kind of life clamored and tore at me until now. And this year, my condition was as if I had been through countless long and dark corridors. Uneasiness, reflection, struggle… I also once questioned, what did I do wrong, why did everything after that day sail off like an uncontrollable ship?

I spent a long time digesting all this, and I spent even longer to understand everyone’s actions and words. Slowly, I began to understand what everyone’s criticisms were of me. From the moment that I didn’t express my attitude, I had already missed the window to rationally communicate with everyone; from the start, I was wrong.

At that time, I hadn’t gotten a clear understanding of the entire issue, and I didn’t understand everyone’s emotions. Further to that, I didn’t understand what kind of responsibility I needed to take on at times like this. Therefore, I missed the timing to communicate with everyone, and missed out on taking the responsibility to guide those oppositional emotions. Now, I clearly realize and understand that in this year, everyone’s criticism towards me being “idol without a voice” is correct. In this year, I constantly reflected that as a public figure, aside from improving my skills continuously, it’s even more important that I bear responsibility, take on my social duties, and bravely express correct values. Within my limitations, I should guide those who love me, and pay attention to me. Even though in this year, my studio and myself have expressed this attitude through Weibo and interviews, the storm caused because of me and the harm brought to others due to opposition of different circles is hard to heal.

No matter how late, I must correct my problems. I hope to make my first stance — Xiao Zhan hereby apologizes, to the people who were hurt last year and continue to be hurt because of my “loss of voice”. This is the first responsibility I should take on towards the public; face the problem straight on, and accept my mistake.

At the same time, I hope to use this chance to say some things to my fans. This is the second responsibility I need to take on. In an interview last year, I said, I don’t agree with “managing” fans, because everyone is their own individual person, and whether it’s me or my studio, we don’t have the right to treat this relationship like a senior-junior management relationship. Later on, I repeatedly thought and reflected, and maybe I can’t use the word “manage” for the relationship with fans, but I have the duty to “guide correctly and encourage actively.” So today, I want to tell my fans, everyone has the right to like or dislike, and regardless of whether it’s liked or disliked, it should be respected, and allowed in its respective spaces of expression. Of course, this right applies within the boundaries of correct values and if it’s rational and doesn’t hurt others. I hope that my fans can understand, no matter what industry or age group you’re in, your likes and actions cannot reach outside of those boundaries, and definitely can’t be against the rules of the profession or beyond moral limits. Whether it’s online or in the real world, each person should be responsible for their own words and actions. Furthermore, I hope that each of us do not let ourselves be represented by the self-created label of “so and so’s fans”, and don’t form a distinct position from this, and even more importantly, don’t judge good and bad from this position. Everyone has their interests and likes, please respect each person’s choice and freedom of speech. Whether they like me or dislike me, it’s in their own right. Love should be the source of strength for us, and I hope that this source doesn’t wear on or hurt others. Maybe I cannot change the overall environment, but at least we can start from you and me; today is a new starting point.

Finally, I want to chat with everyone about myself. From the moment I entered this industry, until now, I’ve always had labels on me. But my original reason for coming into the industry was my love for acting and music. And because of this, I’m always working hard to become a more professional actor and singer. In the face of the sudden criticism of “idol without a voice”, I realized that aside from focusing on my own skills, I need to take on my rightful responsibilities and duties as a public figure, as an idol. I was born in an ordinary Chongqing family, and like many people, I lived an ordinary life for more than twenty years. Today, I want to take this opportunity to express my apology for inappropriate remarks I made as a regular person, and to the people I unintentionally hurt. I will work had to learn to become a better “public figure”, as I do my own tasks well. I’ll make it so that these two Xiao Zhans can accept each other and merge so that I can become a better version of myself.

I need to be responsible for the various disturbances that arose because of me in this past year, whether big or small. I can have requirements for myself, but I cannot force them upon others. I just hope that the people who truly like me can listen seriously to me; please add a level of “rationality” beyond a person’s likes and dislikes. Live positive and healthy lives, and put your focus and most of your energy in your real lives. Spend less time fighting, battling, opposing virtual IDs in the online world, and more time working to improve in the real world. It’s just for the sake of becoming better versions of yourselves.

#xiao zhan #210227 #weibo #ggwb #I want to perish

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miniwolfsbane · 3 years ago

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Sweet Tooth S1 thoughts (BIG SPOILERS)

First off, I am disappointed we were shown a PURRING PUPPY BABY in the trailer and had 0 follow up with it? Did he/she escape to Istanbul with it’s parents? Get captured? Live a nomadic life? Live in the forest? I WANT ANSWERS!! :( Also, puppies don’t purr, so I want answers to that too. Unless they were trying to go for a whimper or an animal noise and just went with that instead.

BIG SPOILERS under the cut

Anyway, the only two things, aside from the bits of gore and violence (Reviews are all like “IT’S A FAMILY SHOW!” And I counter back with “I would not let any child under 13 watch this and I have never seen a family show with three seconds of guts being removed and two scenes of implied, live vivisecting on sentient beings without anesthetic.”), the only things I didn’t like about this were using 2 overused cliche’s. One being the hero hanging off a bridge for what seems like 12 years above peril, and the other I can’t remember. It was Jeppard nearly missing the train. The only thing that saved it was the flashback.

The other thing was that, while dark, there’s a bit of predictably and not much depth to the story. I realized last night that the comic source material my have the depth I’m craving out of the story. Just because it has child actors doesn’t mean the story can’t be dug into deeper and have more meaning. I applaud them for what they did and how they handled it, mixing in human-ish vivisecting with neighbors burning down their friends houses and being murderous hypocrites into a story about children, but it wasn’t enough for me. I wanted more. Edit: Not more violence, obviously, just more to the story. dig into the universe, hard. Like gardening, just shove both metaphorical hands into that story soil and root around in it. Find all the gems that are the interesting parts of this universe and answer our questions.

Sadly, I see someone on tumblr called it...something. Like, were we even watching the same show?? A multi-racial cast that gives all it’s characters dignity isn’t...that.

Bobby isn’t creepy to most and not shown that much. If you really think Bobby is that creepy, you need to go see original Bobby and get back to me. https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=mv4YBZHa&id=071BD6BDAA183CA5965247E7F8F68E873375399B&thid=OIP.mv4YBZHau8dTzxGoK0L0ggHaHD&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fvignette.wikia.nocookie.net%2Fmarvel_dc%2Fimages%2Ff%2Ffc%2FBobby_Sweet_Tooth_001.jpg%2Frevision%2Flatest%3Fcb%3D20150813115735&cdnurl=https%3A%2F%2Fth.bing.com%2Fth%2Fid%2FR9afe180591dabbc753cf11a82b42f482%3Frik%3Dmzl1M4eO9vjnRw&pid=ImgRaw&exph=616&expw=647&q=sweet+tooth+comics+bobby&simid=608026455638091252&ck=7A4DBACCF6BFE43E3B1E799F7F88C55A&selectedindex=0&adlt=demote&shtp=GetUrl&shid=3fb5000d-4d63-494a-986d-006fedeb28d5&shtk=Qm9iYnkgKFN3ZWV0IFRvb3RoKSB8IERDIERhdGFiYXNlIHwgRmFuZG9t&shdk=Rm91bmQgb24gQmluZyBmcm9tIGRjLmZhbmRvbS5jb20%3D&shhk=NjRWN4Jv1KDrxu8T30I3UN0IQ71oVtCAEnsLIeSmFl4%3D&form=EX0023&shth=OSH.nyb0RMh%252Bnm%252B%252B%252FIH1cnkhHw

Okay, kid does sorta look like a gremlin mixed with a Furby in the show, like one post said, but I’ve seen worse. https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=F9mlBjUo&id=49C0257935E4A941563E579C7E9DCF48B72BEC01&thid=OIF.eyTVbAuEqt0R%2bKFmrIK4gA&mediaurl=https%3a%2f%2fepipoca.com.br%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2021%2f06%2fE3NUK2kVoAE5Ct_.jpg&cdnurl=https%3a%2f%2fth.bing.com%2fth%2fid%2fR17d9a5063528805f1ade0ea77464df86%3frik%3d%26pid%3dImgRaw&exph=675&expw=1482&q=sweet+tooth++Bobby&simid=297111136187&ck=7B24D56C0B84AADD11F8A166AC82B880&selectedIndex=49&FORM=IRPRST&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0

Sometimes stuff goes over my head. I had no idea that the babies were being born and not made in a lab. When they showed them in the maternity ward, I genuinely thought they had been experimented on and didn’t come out of the womb like that. Apparently I missed that it was a maternity ward in a hospital. That’s my other problem with this show I forgot to mention: It defies logic and you really have to turn off your brain to accept the hybrid concept. I’m guessing the virus or other means (possibly according to the comics, I tried to avoid big spoilers), mutated them in utero. That still doesn’t satisfy me. Thankfully, Gus was somehow lab created, so that helps. (More information and context would be appreciated. Was it, like, they were experimenting with in-vitro or what?) Edit: This article https://screenrant.com/sweet-tooth-theory-purple-flowers-cure-sick-virus/ explains that putting the virus in a chicken egg produced Gus. Which makes even less sense. Edit: This MAY or MAY NOT be right. Someone on YT pointed out they never said this in the show.

IRL, Virus + chicken embryo=would never randomly produce a human/deer hybrid baby. It’s so freaking random it sounds like nonsense or the delusions of a madman, not a rational comic book author with a presumably sane mind. Just...I’ve said it before...things have to make sense, even in fiction. 5 step process of anything cannot equal random result. It goes against all science, right? And made up worlds have to have rules, even silly worlds. Like I said, you have to turn your brain off, but this stretches even my disbelief. Hybrids, I get, fine, but that? I’m sorry, what? *headdesk* I don’t know, maybe the comics had something I’m missing since I never read them.

I’m eager to learn the connection to the kids and the virus as we go. And if we don’t get a season 2, I’ll be getting the comics to satisfy my thirst for this show.

Gus is my baby and I don’t understand how a kid could be that cute. Jeppard is the GOAT (lol) Bear could use better line delivery at times, but her acting will improve I’m sure. Nice to see Diana Ramierez acting again, her character is likeable. Wendy is cute, but kinda just there for me. Needs more traits or character development to get on my favorite characters list. Bear also needs more than just backstory and a tough girl persona. She’s not bland, she just needs more spark to her as a character. More personality, if that makes sense.

Lastly, I wanted a tiny bit more from the make-up department. Wendy and rabbit kids (yes, I took note of this detail and I love bunnies) make-up is on point, but the rest look like kids dressed up in dollar store feathers and fur for a school play. Get more creative if you’re gonna show these hybrids, even if it’s just for a few seconds. You have the budget!! (But I think most of that went to Bobby’s puppetry/CGI and Jeppard’s baby, to be honest.)

I wanted a cat girl or boy, because the lulz for the anime community (Also, because I have 2 cats and stuff), but at least we got bird kids, even if they weren’t cockatiels like mine. I’m ready for Season 2, hurry Netflix!!

I can see why people wouldn’t like this show or wouldn’t recommend watching it, but I see many have embraced it. It’s either you’re thing or it’s not, but you should give it a chance and see. Just don’t shoot it down if you hate it, there’s enough wet blankets out there and we all have different tastes.

Edit: One last thing. I do have a problem with hybrids being half-human. Like, you would think that being half-human, they’d still have all the problems humans have with causing wars and all. I know it’s a dark story with a good outcome, but there’s something too saccharine about hybrids having “The best parts of us.” What exactly are those best parts? Last I checked, humans are selfish and vain at their core. Even the most altruistic, giving person can be greedy about something or want more. It’s like Genie said in the new Aladdin, “You can have all the money and power in the world and it still won’t be enough”. Wouldn’t bird people and pig people and deer people all want to side with each other instead of living in some grand utopia? Fighting over land and resources? Portraying hybrids as taking over the earth after people are gone from extinction and everything going peachy doesn’t quite work for me. Not that I’d want it to still be dark, but, eh, they’d have to have SOME problems, wouldn’t they?

#Sweet Tooth Netflix #Gus #Jeppard #hybrids #Sweet Tooth spoilers

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marauder-exe · 5 years ago

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Sick of it- Aaron Hotchner x Reader

Request: I’m not sure if you’re taking requests rn...but I would love to see a fic with hotch where maybe he has feelings for the reader who’s in her 20s and she gets injured on the job, leaving her deaf. She’s able to continue working with the BAU but can’t do any extensive field work. She just gets sick of everybody questioning her capability of doing her job. Sorry if that’s too much lol 🤷🏻‍♀️🤦🏻‍♀️ Word Count: 1.1k

Warnings: bomb explosion, loss of hearing, angsty but happy ending kinda.

A/N: Welcome back to: Reid loves cliffhangers (in actuality she can just never finish fics)

“Hotch I've told you I'm fine, We got everyone, we detonated all the bombs. Morgan and I are doing a last clearing of the scene, then we’ll be on our way back” You spoke into the phone while continuing to search the area. “Okay, I just-” He hesitated. He couldn't let you know about his feelings. “Your one of the greatest agents this team has ever had, we need you.” He decided to say instead. He always covered his feelings with business. He sighed on the other end of the phone. “Thank you, Aaron” He could've sworn his heart skipped a beat every time you called him Aaron. “i am fine though I prom-” Your words were soon cut short when an ear-splitting explosion echoed through the receiver, quickly followed by a scream of your name from Morgan. His heart dropped. There was a deathly silence. “(Y/N)! Morgan! Whats going on?” His heart clenched at the thought of anything happening to you. He had gained feelings for you around year ago. You had been transferred from Interpol, and quickly proved to the team that you where everything you got cracked up to be. The day he realised it, he felt so guilty. You were 24, he had feelings for a 24 year old. You where old enough to be his daughter. He couldn't do that to Hailey. He tried to repress his feelings. Push so much stuff down on top of them, so he couldn't feel them any more. It never worked though. He turned around to the startled faces of his team, confused by his shout. “Hotch? Whats wrong?” JJ asked, taking in his pale face. “Its-Its (Y/N). i-i heard an explosion and then Morgan shouting her name and then-and then nothing” He dropped the phone he was holding, as if the shock had just knocked him back into action. He ran from the small police room that the team had set up into his jeep. Turning it on, ignoring the shouts of his team, he sped off down the street. “JJ, update the sheriff, me and Reid will go after him” Emily said, loading into her jeep.

The wait was horrendous. It was perhaps the longest wait of his life. Or at least it felt like it. He sat in the uncomfortable hospital chairs, his knee bouncing rhythmically. He was surrounded by the team, it was clear him and Morgan were the most affected though. Morgan having been there when the bomb went off. He thought about everything. The time you shared together. All the days off that were sent together. The laughs that were shared. The tears that were shed. He thought of it all. He also thought about how he didn't tell you. Didn't admit his feelings for you. And no you might die thinking that no one loves you. It was bitter torture, watching the doctors walk in and out of the waiting room, none of them for you. Until finally, a young male doctor approached the team. “uh, Mr Hotchner?” He asked towards him. His head shot up as he immediately walked over to the doctor. “Thats me” “Shes stable. But she did suffer extensive injuries, im aware the bomb was directly next to her?” He nodded. “Shes lucky she survived, but he did. There wont be much permanent damage. Although we don't know to what extent, we imagine she suffered massive hearing loss. We've assessed her and right now she cannot hear anything, she's completely deaf. We don't know if that will improve in the future” The young man informed Hotch. His stomach dropped. He couldn't believe he let this happen. It was all his fault. He let you go. He didn't even come with you to the scene. He could've stopped it. He completely derailed your life. You where 24. You had so much more that you could do. “You can visit her now, she's lucid so she should be fine” The team sprang up to go to your room. They carefully entered the room, hoping not to startle you, Although you already looked panicked. They assumed the doctor told you about your condition. Your head perked up when you saw your team coming through the door. Tears still streamed down your face as Hotch rushed over to you. “Hotch-Hotch, im deaf, im not- im not gonna be able to my job i-” You sobbed as he cradled your face into his hands. He knew you knew sign language but he didn't. He looked around as his teams sad faces. Prentiss looked at him. “I- I know sign language” Emily stepped forward next to your bed, and began explaining everything.

“I can do my job Hotch! Just because I cant hear any more doesn't mean im less able than anyone else out there” You snapped, gesturing to the room full of profilers. It had been a hard 6 months. You had recovered perfectly well, you hearing, not as much. You weren't aloud to do field work any more. You were constantly stuck doing paperwork, or in some stuffy police room. An ignorant comment from a police officer on your recent case had caused you to snap. “i know you can” He tried. Since the explosion, you had mastered lip reading, as well as gotten a hearing aid, as it was more convenient. “So why! Why has everyone been baby-ing me for the past months? Im so sick of everyone, even people I don't know, treating me like im unable to do the job Ive been working for my entire life! Im sick of it” You burst out, glad for the soundproof room. “No one is babying you” He returned. You scoffed and raised your eyebrows. “no ones been babying me? Okay. Dont act stupid Hotch. You see the way everyone acts around me. Constantly stepping on eggshells. I may of lost my hearing but I still have my profiling skills. Even you Big bad boss Hotchner has gone soft, something I never thought id see” “I haven't gone soft” He insisted. He had gone soft. Well he had always been soft for you, but now he showed it. “No? So whats all of it for? The driving me home, checking my place everyday, bringing me take out, making me dinner, bringing Jack around more often, Whats that for then?” You threw your arms around angrily. He was gonna say it. He couldn't stop it. “Its because I love you! I recognised you need help, now I finally have an excuse to do everything ive wanted to do for the last year.” He snapped back. He couldn't believe he had just said that. And by the look on your face, you couldn't believe it either. “What?” You whispered, heart race speeding up.

#aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotchner #hotch #hotch x reader #criminal minds #criminal minds x reader #spencer reid x reader

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kpopfanfictrash · 5 years ago

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The Supers and the Not

Member: Jimin (BTS)

Prompt: Okay. The original request was for Cyborg!Jimin, but I made a few tweaks. I’ve been recently intrigued by this Stephen Hawking excerpt, where he warns about the future of designer genetics v. humanity. So.... Jimin is not a cyborg, but a genetically engineered superhuman. AND, GO. (OH, + this dialogue: “Are you warm enough?”)

Rating: PG-13

WC: 3,637

↳ part of my 30K milestone drabble game

The term superhuman has held many meanings throughout history.

In comic books, superhumans are superheroes. They are beings who use their powers for good, who protect society from unnatural adversaries. The term has changed greatly since then. When science grew bolder and human curiosity surged, the word superhuman began to transform. It became a label; one which separated a new category of human from old.

The supers from the not.

Back in the old days, designer babies (as they were called) were edited merely for defects. Scientists easily identified potential genetic diseases like sickle-cell or Huntington’s, sending in nanotech to modify and fix the code. Obviously, there was debate around this and obviously, humans were wary – but the benefits were proven to outweigh the cost.

Scientists did not stop there. No longer did they research disease, but the human psyche itself. As the map of human DNA filled in its corners, their research became riskier, more complicated and far more exciting. Once all human defects were eliminated, what else remained but the good traits?

Good traits – which could become great.

The first superhumans were not called super. Super was a nickname generated by an overenthusiastic media before they grasped what their existence truly meant. The supers were a class of human beings all on their own – able to see further, hear better, run faster. They were taller, more beautiful and far more intelligent. This was the real kicker – humans have survived extinction based on their wit alone. The appearance of supers meant regular humans could no longer compete.

The so-called supers were turned against the not.

You are not super. Your parents could not afford you to be. While many your age were conceived in a tube; their embryos tested, operated on and perfected; you were conceived the old-fashioned way, with a virtual roll of the dice.

Still, you have always done well for yourself. In a world where you were born at a natural disadvantage, you have always managed to survive. Survival is truly the best-case scenario given your circumstances. Always, you have harbored the unique ability to assess a situation, determine its risks and choose the right outcome. Some call it luck, others skill, but you know it for what it truly is – the only option.

Take now, for instance.

Currently you sit in a white, pristine lobby on a white, pristine couch in front of a white, pristine receptionist. She keeps glancing your way, wrinkling her nose as though you have a strange smell. Warily, you shift in your seat and wonder if somehow you do. Maybe her sense of smell is so acute she can pick up on an aroma you cannot.

Or maybe she is only an ass. This option seems more likely to you.

When the door to the waiting room swings open, you look up. A woman holds it ajar with her hip, checking the hologram hovering above her wrist.

“Y/N?” she asks, sounding utterly bored.

“That’s me,” you say, rising to your feet.

Swiftly, she looks your way and wrinkles her nose. “Follow me.”

She turns, the door nearly falling shut behind her. You are forced to run in order to catch it, barely grasping its edge before it closes on your hand. From behind you, the receptionist snickers and, glowering, you step through the door. The hallway beyond it is equally pristine and white.

The assistant is already halfway down the hall.

“So,” you pant, practically jogging to keep up with her stride. “The ad didn’t mention what specifically I would be doing. Do you have an overview?”

For the first time since meeting, the woman smiles. Paused in the middle of the hall, she looks at you as though you are something to be pitied and you repress the urge to slap the look from her face.

“And yet you still answered the ad. Most peculiar.”

Drawing yourself to your full height – which is still several centimeters below hers – you glare. “As though I have a choice,” you say coldly. “There aren’t many jobs left which accept normals.”

“Pity.”

She walks past you, opening a doorway you had not yet noticed. The seams of it blend into the wall, barely even noticeable unless you have super vision. The room beyond seems darker than the hall. Finally, the walls surrounding you are not white – it takes you a second to adjust to the lighting.

“He’s waiting,” the assistant says, as though you are a gigantic waste of her time. Maybe you are.

Walking forward, you hear the door fall shut behind you. The new room is utterly silent, nothing to be heard but the sound of your breathing – and his. Your potential employer stands behind a large desk, as though this were a formal gathering of businessmen, and not a rather sketchy job interview.

Fuck, supers are beautiful.

It is hard not to be dazzled by his outward appearance. A sculpted jawline, bright gaze and sharp nose – standing before him, you feel rather meek in comparison. Before you can speak, the man clears his throat.

“Sit,” he says, waving at the chair opposite. “Please, Y/N, sit. Are you warm enough? Sometimes the temperature of this room is far too cold.”

Of course, he would need confirmation of this. Most supers can sustain greater temperature fluctuations than normals. It is one of their many improvements.

Warily, you take a step closer. “You know my name.”

He smiles politely. “You did fill out an application, you know.”

“I know.” Stiffly, you pull the chair back to sit.

Silence stretches between you, both of you staring and trying not break first. Finally, he speaks.

“How silly of me.” Chuckling good-naturedly, the man ducks his head. “I haven’t introduced myself. I’m Park Jimin, but you may call me Jimin.”

“Most supers prefer to be addressed by their surname.”

Jimin’s smile falters. “Yes, well… Ah. All the same, I prefer to be called Jimin.”

“Alright.” You say this as though it is neither here nor there. “Jimin, it is.”

“Wonderful.” Jimin flicks a hand over his desk. A blue hologram appears. “Down to business, then. You’re probably wondering why my ad was so cryptic.”

Uncaring, you shrug. “Not really.”

“Why not?” Jimin pauses. “That would have been my first question.”

He seems genuinely curious and in response, your gaze narrows. The underlying implication is obvious – you normals do not think things through before acting. Not in the same way they do. Normal thought is somehow ages behind that of the supers.

Gritting your teeth, you lean forward. “The ad didn’t surprise me because, based on prior experience, supers tend to be vague about illegal requests.”

Jimin’s cheeks color. Slowly, he lowers his hand and the blue hologram fades. “I see.” Quickly, he glances at the door you entered from. “You’ve answered this kind of ad often, then.”

“Not a question.”

“No, merely an observation.” His gaze becomes shrewd. “I can see you don’t trust me.”

Not wishing to implicate yourself any further, you remain silent.

Jimin arches a brow. “Well, do you?”

“No,” you say simply. “I do not.”

“I can hardly blame you for that. My kind can be… well, cruel to yours.”

Again, you say nothing. Part of survival is knowing when to hold your tongue. Part of survival is knowing when to play the part of the lower, sub-species and when to let them know you understand.

“I need you to trust me, though,” Jimin says quietly. “I need you to trust me, since I’m going to be very, very honest with you.”

Despite your best interest, his words pique your curiosity. Supers do not often care about honesty.

“It will be difficult to undo years of training,” you note.

Jimin laughs. The noise escapes before he can help it. “Yes,” he muses, leaning back in his chair. “I suppose so. Perhaps it would be good, then to tell you who I am.”

“You’re Park Jimin. You’re a super.”

His eyes are dark brown with flecks of gold at the center. The effect inspires warmness, emotion and you trust absolutely none of it. Everything about this man is designed to draw people in. Idly, you wonder how much his father paid for it.

“True,” Jimin says. “But I am also Park Jimin, of Park Enterprises.” Launching into what can only be assumed to be his Wikipedia biography, he continues, “My father is Park Jiwoo, researcher and entrepreneur. I have no siblings. I am 169 cm tall, which is considered below average for a super and I –”

“Okay, none of that matters to me,” you interrupt, waving your hand. Jimin ceases talking immediately, blinking owlishly and you wonder if this is the first time he has been interrupted. “God,” you groan, slouching low in your seat. “You supers are all the same, aren’t you? Listing facts and figures like that’s all people care about.”

Jimin bristles. “That is what most people care about.”

“Not normals,” you say, softening a tad. “Not humans, really. Tell me something different. Tell me something personal.”

The blue light from his desk makes him seem almost haunted. Likely, the lights in his room are intelligent; designed to reflect his mood and adjust appropriately. You wonder what they glean from him now, since he seems stressed in your gaze. Dark circles shadow his eyes, his grip tense on the table before him. Uneasily, you wonder what a super could have to be worried about.

“I don’t really know what you mean.” His brow puckers. “Do you want my government ID number, or something? That’s personal.”

“God, no,” you choke out, trying hard not to laugh. “If you gave me that, they’d just think I stole it.”

His lips lift in a ghost of a smile. “You’re right, they would.”

“I know I’m right. I want something different. I want to hear about…” Glancing around, you wonder what could possibly make you trust this man. What could possibly make you relate to this super. There are photographs on his desk – a family photo, which is interesting. Looking up, you meet Jimin’s gaze. “Tell me the last time you cried.”

“The last time I… cried?”

“Or, can you not?” Politely, you cross one knee over the other. “Are you supers so far removed from humanity that you no longer feel? Were your tear ducts removed along with your defects?”

“I can still cry,” Jimin mutters, gaze heated.

“Then, prove it. Tell me.”

Slowly, he leans back in his seat. “Last Thursday. 10:12 AM.”

“And what happened to make you cry?”

“I learned information which scared me.”

His honesty catches you off guard. Either Park Jimin is a very good actor, or he is telling the truth. He truly does look fearful, which does not bode well for you. Fearful people tend to make bad decisions – and fearful supers tend to make cataclysmic ones.

“What information?”

Jimin shakes his head slowly. “I can’t tell you that. Not without you trusting me. Not without me trusting you.”

“Then, trust me.”

“You say that like it’s so simple.” Jimin slowly exhales. “Meeting you like this goes against everything I stand for. There are so many things which could go wrong... I have done the probability calculations over and over – twice while we were sitting here – and it is ludicrous to think I might find the solution, when –”

“Jimin.” Quietly, you interrupt.

He pauses before he looks up.

You meet his gaze. “Why am I here?”

Jimin’s expression morphs from stoic to helpless. “Because... you’re normal.”

“And?”

“And,” Jimin says, closing his eyes. “That means you are immune to the problem.”

The way he says problem sends a chill down your spine. He speaks as though he has exhausted every option and this is his last resort – and likely, you are. That is what tends to come from meetings like this.

This is not your first meeting from an unlisted number. This is not your first interaction where a person has disguised their voice while answering the phone. It isn’t your first time meeting someone in an unknown location and receiving details of a task said person needed performed.

You do what you must. You receive payment. You survive.

This seems different, though – Jimin seems different.

With his eyes closed, Jimin looks almost human. You suppose that he is, but not in the same way you are. His skin is flawless, the milk of it dusted with blue veins and dark lashes. When he opens his eyes, you expect the illusion of his beauty to fade. It does not.

“What’s the problem?” you say, pushing these distracting thoughts aside.

“It’s easier… if I show you.” Reluctantly, Jimin reaches out to pull up a hologram. Blue strands of DNA twist before you in mid-air. “There have been many accepted edits of the human genome. Some are more progressive than others. The ampliointelligens procedure, for example, is the most widely known. It is where –”

“A person’s intelligence is increased,” you interrupt, bored. “I know. It’s Latin.”

Jimin quickly covers his surprise. “Of course. Anyways, the procedure was considered the first of the… super procedures. The ones which diverted from genetic correction to genetic improvement. And, as with any new field… there were errors.”

“Errors?”

This fact is news to you – nothing about mistakes was reported to the public, which explains Jimin’s trepidation on the matter. In the entire history of the supers, there has never once been any admittance of error. Their strength is their narrative, after all. The supers deserve their positions, their wealth and their influence because they are better. Because they can foresee things normal humans cannot. All of this fails to be relevant if they are proven to be imperfect.

“The concept of intelligence.” Jimin uses air quotes on the word. “Is hard to understand and even harder to change. Gene editing is simple. Take something like Huntington’s disease – we know the genetic defect which causes it. We can simply screen the DNA, cut out the harmful bit and replace it. That’s an over-simplification of the procedure of course, but – there’s low risk of something going wrong.”

“If you say so.”

“However, with something like intelligence… there’s still debate about which portions of the human genome are the most impactful. There are several accepted versions of the ampliointelligens procedure because of this disagreement.”

Hearing him say this, you blink. Again, this is news not known to the general public and you wonder why Jimin is telling you this – any one of these tidbits would be worth a fortune if the supers have covered them up for so long.

The surprise on your face must be obvious, because Jimin then sighs. “The variables increase with intelligence. There isn’t one DNA strand to consider, but millions. Trillions. Each tweak a surgeon makes has far-reaching repercussions; ones which geneticists admitted were impossible to know definitively at the time. And yet…”

“And yet, people underwent the procedure.”

“People were greedy. They are greedy,” Jimin corrects with a tick to his jaw. “Once a reasonable procedure was created, people wanted it – no matter the cost, no matter the risk. If there was a chance their children could be super, they took it.”

You notice Jimin says the word super with a bitterness usually reserved by your kind. This surprises you, if nothing else. He doesn’t seem to enjoy what he is any more than you do.

“So.” You tap your fingers against your knee. “Back to the problem you mentioned.”

You assume this problem is why you’ve been asked here. There’s something Jimin needs and the sooner he asks it of you, the sooner you can leave. The sooner you can cease sitting before him, becoming oddly charmed by a man you despise.

He nods. “We’ve known about a mutation for years, but it has recently transformed into something insidious. One of the ampliointelligens procedures is the cause of this mutation. The DNA edit takes over, it spirals out of control and overpowers the human ability to empathize. This leads to rash decision-making, high levels of narcissism and the inability to relate to others. It can be… crippling.”

“Narcissistic and unable to relate?” Pressing your lips together, you keep them from twitching. “However will you separate them from the rest of the supers?”

“It isn’t the same,” Jimin says, a bit heated. “Supers can empathize, even if they place less value upon emotion than normals do. Supers still factor in an emotional response.”

“How noble.”

“You don’t understand.” Jimin leans forward. “Those afflicted by the mutation are incapable of decision-making – and what’s worse, they control every major resource in the country. Yes,” he says, spotting the look on your face. “The problem is bigger than just supers versus normals. If this disease spirals out of control, there won’t be a world left to save.”

“Is that what you intend to do?” you ask, unable to help yourself. “Save the world?”

“I intend to try,” Jimin says quietly.

Maybe it’s this that convinces to you how serious this is. Jimin stares, brow furrowed, and you get the idea he doesn’t lie very often. Slowly, you tilt your head and observe him.

“How many?”

His brow furrows. “I’m sorry?”

“How many supers are afflicted?”

Staring at you, Jimin seems to sag in his seat. If he had a glass of alcohol in his hand, you imagine he would drink it.

“About half the existing supers underwent the affected procedure,” he admits. “And it does not seem to be a question of if, but of when.”

“Oh.”

“Take my father, for instance,” Jimin continues, not looking away. “He began to exhibit symptoms last Thursday morning. I, on the other hand, have yet to show any.”

“How…” You pause, licking your lips. “If the procedure is as certain as you say, how does the public not yet know? How has it been kept quiet so far?”

“Those in power have methods of silencing.”

Not wanting to know more than that, you glance away. “I take it you think these methods will not remain effective for much longer?”

“I do not.”

“So, then why am I…” Glancing sharply upwards, understanding dawns. “You want me to be your guinea pig. You want to perform experiments on me because I’m immune. Because I’m normal.”

“Lord, no.” Jimin winces. “At least – not in the manner you speak of. I would like to compare samples of our DNA, yes. I’d like intelligence testing, brain scans – all of that would be on the table, but what I need you for most is observation.”

“Observation. Like, me in a glass room and a strait jacket?”

“It’s the other way around, I’m afraid. I need you to observe me.”

“You?”

“Like I said.” A sliver of desperation seeps into his tone. “I have no idea when my mind won’t be… my own. I’m seeing firsthand how my father has changed. I need someone neutral – someone not prone to the problem themselves – to weigh in.”

“And that person… is me?”

“Based on this meeting, I think so.” Jimin meets your gaze. “Y/N, has your intelligence ever been tested?”

“Are you serious? Intelligence testing is reserved for supers. Surely, you know that. Normals have no need to be tested.”

“And yet,” Jimin says calmly. “Since you entered this room, you’ve corrected me multiple times, synthesized complicated arguments and even translated Latin to English. Whatever you are,” he says, leaning forward. “It is more than what you let on.”

He sounds so self-assured in this statement, you almost believe him. Pushing the idea away, you glance at the door and gather your thoughts. No matter what choice you make, there’s no good way out. You were stuck from the moment you agreed to this meeting. Jimin has revealed too much to you – and yes, information is power, but not the kind that you hold.

Knowing weaknesses about the supers places a target on your back. Slowly, you return to him.

“I don’t have a choice, do I?” you say softly. “If I don’t agree to your terms, you’ll just send people after me when I leave.”

“No. I won’t.”

“Why not? I would, if I were you.”

“Because.” There’s something hard, something unreadable to his gaze. “I really need you to trust me.”

Variables flash through your mind, a fight or flight instinct warring in your bones. Eventually, you ignore all of it and instead, listen to the voice which whispers in the back of your mind.

“Find,” you say slowly. “I’ll do it.”

Jimin sags into his chair. “Thank the fucking gods.” He sighs. “I didn’t really have a Plan B.”

“You didn’t?”

“No,” Jimin says. “I’m afraid this is my final resort.”

“Then, why –”

“I think that’s enough chit-chat for today.” Pushing back his chair, Jimin stands from his desk. Pressing a button on the side, a noise buzzes in the hall. “I think it’s time you reviewed the terms of the contract. One of my assistants will show you to your rooms.”

“Rooms?”

Without thinking, you stand as well.

“Of course,” Jimin shrugs. “You’ll be staying with me for the duration of the work period. Everything is outlined in the contract – which you will have until the end of this week to make amendments to. Will that be that satisfactory?”

“I…” Blinking at him, your mind reels. “Yes.”

“Good.”

Clasping both hands before him, Jimin morphs back into the image of super. Banished is the distressed man you saw briefly but still, he lingers around the edges.

“I look forward to working with you, Y/N,” he says quietly.

The door opens to reveal the tall assistant from earlier. She glances in surprise from you to Jimin, as though she did not expect you to stay.

Seeing her reaction, your smile broadens. “I look forward to working with you, too, Jimin,” you announce, walking towards the door.

It is mainly for the benefit of the assistant, but you cannot help but realize there is some truth to the words. Despite all you have said, that voice still exists deep within you. The one which usually warns you of danger is unusually silent in his presence. This unsettles you for a moment and then you walk past, stepping into the hall.

#bangtanarmynet #btsbookclub #jimin fanfic #bts fanfic #jimin drabble #bts drabble #bts scifi au #jimin scifi au

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nutty1005 · 5 years ago

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Xiao Zhan: An Unyielding, Ambitious Gentleman

Original Article:https://www.weibo.com/ttarticle/p/show?id=2309404475603653886153#_0 Original Author: 雪色烟波里

I have been reading Portrait Magazine for longer than I have known Xiao Zhan, so when I heard that he was going to be on the cover of Portrait Magazine, my initial reaction was as though the fourth wall had been broken. Portrait Magazine had always been a magazine famous for reaching deeply into people’s lives, and Xiao Zhan, an actor who has just started his career, is he able to give a deep and exciting interview as required by Portrait Magazine? Very soon, I found out that my worry was needless, not only did he match the expectations, he exceeded it by giving a 7 hour long interview consisting of 20,000 over Chinese characters. As such, I decisively put down my order for Portrait Magazine, and entered the world of Xiao Zhan as an explorer.

In psychology, there is this famous theory about halo effect, which basically means that a person’s special or outstanding characteristic may overpower and cover all of his other qualities and affect our understanding of that person.

In Xiao Zhan’s case, most of the first impressions of him are of him being a good looking new celebrity, and maybe like all other looks based celebrities – a crazed fanbase, average acting capabilities and perhaps even shortsighted in terms of his career. However, the Portrait Magazine interview shattered this narrow minded view, and brought forth the true Xiao Zhan.

He is not a natural born star, but just someone who works hard to pursue his dreams.

Xiao Zhan’s experiences are almost legendary. Portrait Magazine describes him aptly – he broke into the entertainment scene by chance, battling without armor, and this means that he is an anomaly. After being an every-man person for 20 odd years, working in an industry totally unrelated to the entertainment business, he participated in an idol search variety show by chance and debuted as part of an idol group. After 3 years, he burst into the acting scene with “The Untamed”, and since then, his burst in popularity meant that he attained what many others tried for years in the short span of a few months.

In the short span a few years, he was able to work with the photographer that he used to follow as a photography senior; he was able to perform on the same stage with the very same idol that he used to fanboy. Just a few years ago, he was being interviewed as a commoner with movie dreams, and now he had became the lead role in a movie. This is almost miraculous, and this is even more so when you realize that Xiao Zhan did not let all of that go to his head. Instead, he is taking things one step at a time – “This is just the beginning.” I started following him because I wanted to see how an every-man person like him would survive the entertainment business with just courage.

Xiao Zhan can be considered as the icon of a commoner joining the entertainment business. With some understanding of him, you will realize that he is different from the carefully packaged idols and celebrities. He had a completely commoner education history, mature moral values and had been part of the working class. He went through the pains of society and therefore he does not put on airs, but instead, down-to-earth like every-man. In his words, he is simply “a common person, who happened to be working as a celebrity.” He calls himself “an entertainment business wage earner”, “Beijing drifter” and a “foreign staff”. Like many of us, he is a workaholic, he focuses on whether overtime is needed, and he still cannot afford an apartment in Beijing.

From the Portrait Magazine interview, you can see that he loves his career, finds joy in working hard in all he does, rejoices at the thought of knocking off and annoyance when his off-work time is being interrupted… to many, he might even feel like the “other self”, your alter-ego who is working hard in the entertainment business.

As such, I felt that it was very apt for Portrait Magazine to choose Xiao Zhan for an interview. Beneath the glitz and glory of him pursuing his dreams, we can see ourselves in him. At this point, some may ask, I had already been through a commoner’s lifetime, why would I want to follow another commoner? This, we will have to see what stands him apart from the rest of us.

He is not a perfect idol, but just a proactive perfectionist. Xiao Zhan could be said to be someone who has no shortcomings, or in his fans’ words, good in all that he does.

From his appearance, he has good looks that appeals to the mainstream, great height, long legs and amazing amount of hair on his head. He does not dye his hair, have any piercings, wears minimal makeup. To me, this is where I started noticing him. It is ridiculous that some would consider that as being feminine (not that being feminine is a bad thing, but there is absolutely no correlation here at all), because his clean looks, attitude and temperament points to him being a gentleman.

For his capability as an artist, his singing and acting abilities are good. His representative work “The Untamed” had garnered 7 billion views on Tencent’s platform with positive reviews; his participation in the variety show “Our Song” broke 2.0 on the viewership charts, and received widespread audience recognition and support, as well as the positive acknowledgements from the participating mentor singers. Even his weakness, dancing, received more than a million views on Bilibili, a video streaming platform in China.

Besides all these, he knows how to draw, cook, use Photoshop, etc. He does not display these skills deliberately, but brought up offhandedly in various interviews and shows. He does not want to use these to setup a character or a label of himself – these are just parts of him that shows up occasionally. I used to wonder why he seems to be favored by the stars, but after reading the interview, you realize that there is no all-round talent, but just plain hard work in the background.

Progressive improvements in his acting came from repeated practice of lines and every performance class he took. The perfect look under the camera lenses came from a strict discipline of diet and exercise plus professionalism. Singing and drawing was cultivated from his youthful passion. Diplomacy and tactfulness was learnt from his period of entrepreneurship. “For every single thing, if you want to do it, you do your best for it.” Xiao Zhan said, and also used his own actions to show that. No matter what he did – designer or artist, he did his best.

Many would think that this interview was a channel for him to bemoan about his miseries, but if you studied these 20,000 characters, you will realize that the interview simply laid down his steps and experiences. If you think that the interview showed that he is miserable, then he is, in fact, miserable. To me, the tale of Xiao Zhan is not a tale of misery, but a tale of a man who took the harder path, and an ambitious one at that. He went through the period of being a nameless extra in his acting career, but also attained the period of being a famous actor with countless awards under his sleeve. This is the result of him working hard not knowing the outcome, and this is something which is admirable – for not everyone has the determination to push on not knowing if there would be positive results for all of his efforts. He did, and therefore, he achieved these results.

“If you have the time to discuss, why not just do it?” Xiao Zhan offhandedly said this phrase, which made a deep impression on me. He had always been proactive, one who personifies “actions speak louder than words”.

While others were still mocking him for weak lines, he had already done his work to practice them. Waiting on the horizon were “The Oath of Love”, which would not be dubbed over; “The Most Beautiful Performance”, a series of short clips with acclaimed directors; “I Like You Liking Me”, a play to be performed on CCTV’s Spring Night. It might not be of the highest quality, but the improvement was evident in all of that.

While others were mocking him for needing the director to teach him step by step for his role in “Joy of Life”, he has already found teachers and attended countless performance classes. It is only through Portrait Magazine’s interview that we discovered that the director in “Joy of Life” is actually his teacher, but somehow, that particular behind-the-scenes video was twisted to become evidence of Xiao Zhan’s lack of acting skills. His improvements had always been constant, and so instead, I look forward to his new works coming this year.

While others were mocking him for being nervous in his first fashion show, he had already looked into improving his overall aura, and in his subsequent red carpet events, he is already a star.

While others were mocking him for not being generous in disaster efforts, or even spreading rumors of him faking donations, he never said a word to explain himself, but made arrangements behind the scenes to purchase critical medical supplies and equipment to be sent directly to the heavily affected city of Wuhan. It was only when the medical staff from the receiving hospitals posted pictures when these information were uncovered. There is no need to speak of the good deeds you do – this is Xiao Zhan, and a rarity in our impetuous society.

He sincerely accepts all constructive criticisms and will improve upon it. There is no need to have a negative stance against idol/celebrities, his self motivation is as good as any other artist.

He is not a packaged character, he has his own ideals and principles in his heart.

Like any popular artist, he has his fair share of anti-fans, and there is a group of “professional anti-fans” who are paid to spin rumors on him. With so many different stories about him, some would wonder who he really is. In many compositions by “fans leaving him”, the most frequent trait they brought up would be “hypocritical” and “fake”.

So what is Xiao Zhan really like?

Let’s take a look at how he does that.

youtube

He wants to win, but not because the opponent lost.

He has a strong desire to win, but it always stems from fair competition. He is gentle and patient even to his opponents. While watching this video, I had lost my temper already, but he remained gentle and patient throughout. This is almost the classic example of restraint and courtesy. If you want to understand him further, continue with this series, and you will realize that he is as real as you and I.

Being uncouth and impolite does not represent realism. To someone who had been through the ups and downs of society, and has strict moral values, being polite and diplomatic is also real. A teenager may find having a temper with words to match it being realistic, but after meeting various people, becoming part of society, being polite and diplomatic is a reflection of the education and culture you have received. Being real simply means that you face the world with everything of you, and being truthful, doing no wrong is also being real. There is no right or wrong, the real you is as fluid as your experiences build up. The 16 year old you is not the same as the 26 year old you, but it is still you nonetheless, and the difference is made up by your growth. Our real self should be one who is able to face his/her past and present logically, be always forward looking, and be always improving.

In Xiao Zhan’s words to his 18 year old self, “You can have the frivolity, disdain, arrogance and wildness befitting of your age, but you must always remain respectful of everyone around you, and stay in awe of those around you in your heart at all times.”

You can see a man’s character from the details of the things he does. These details I would not have taken much of a notice, but I should start learning these good habits as well.

When you want to understand a person thoroughly, it is best that you do know it not from what others tell you, but from what his action does. From his works, his shows, his interviews, his words, you will find that you can understand him better with your own eyes.

For more information:

Variety Shows

Dramas

Interviews

Our Song《我们的歌》

Eternal Classics《经典咏流传》

Who’s the Murderer《明星大侦探》

The Untamed《陈情令》

The Oath of Love《余生请多指教》

Douluo Continent《斗罗大陆》

Portrait Magazine《人物》

人民网采访

《文化十分》

His working capabilities has brought him fans from all corners, but also anti-fans from all over. For a short period in my time with Xiao Zhan as a fan, I momentarily gave up on him because there were just too many anti-fans. However, in this 6 months, he has shown to me the kind of person he is – never speaking of his miseries, fighting his way through on his own, always showing a happy face to those around him. He takes care of everyone around him, from his staff to his colleagues, always emphasized on the importance of education to his team mates, and everyone who has worked with him, from his seniors to his staff, have nothing but praise for him. Being an independent person myself, I choose to believe what I see. He is the first celebrity that I took time to write an article on, and would probably be the last as well. I believe, and I hope you to will, that he is that unique person with a universe in his heart.

Easter Egg – Quotable Quotes from Xiao Zhan

Regardless of how life is bringing down the roof on you, there is always a sky of hope beyond.

Idol and fans are actually symbiotic, we support each other and move forward together. When we live our respective lives well, and continue to become better selves. Hence I would say that my fans, I feel that you must first live your lives well, so that you have spare time to like and follow the idol you like.

I don’t think I’m a perfect person, and I don’t want to be a perfect doll.

There is no technique, throw away the vanity, the most precious component would be sincerity, let us use our passion to do well.

I feel that the ideal status is not changed by regrets. What is most important about life is making sure we live in the present and live well, and not regret the past. Present and future is the most important.

Maintain passion, persist, maybe the path forward is not bright and straight, but there will be countless possibilities. Passion can withstand the test of time, protecting each other is not something that is just said.

#xiao zhan #sean xiao #xiaozhan #肖战

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hangingfromchandeliers · 4 years ago

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hey sanne i hope youre doing well! i saw ur post abt u finishing an entire book in a day (congrats btw) and i was wondering if u have any tips on how to improve ur reading stamina? like is there more to it than just reading consistently? because im currently at the 10 pages per day stage and id like to finish dracula by the end of this year cjdjdjdkdk (if u dont have any tips thats fine too im just curious abt how u made it!) have a nice day 💗

nita 💕💕 i love youuu! thank you! i think a huge part that you cannot underestimate when it comes to reading for long stretches of time is your emotional well being. if you’re stressed and anxious it’s gonna be harder to focus so just in general taking good care of yourself (regular showers, meals, bedtimes, exercise etc) helps so much. i know that sounds a bit preachy.. but i think thats why people have this “i was a gifted kid but now im ruined and i cant do anything” mentality. of course you could read finish a book in two days as a kid because you didnt have all the worries you have now. so taking care of yourself as if you were your own parent is the first big step to being able to read more in a shorter period of time. you gotta be in the right place mentally to be able to enjoy reading

ill make a bullet point list of some more concrete tips that arent so abstract hehe

turn off your phone and computer. i swear im the worst with this if i have my phone next to me while i read i start randomly checking the time/tumblr/my emails. its okay to let your eyes wander and to put your book down for a while to just let your mind run for a bit. but for me checking my phone always disrupts my flow

read around the house. read in the living room/the kitchen/while you’re taking a bath. anywhere thats not your usual comfortable space where you chill on social media. for me it helps a lot to get out of my desk chair and sit on the couch downstairs. ive even read that it helps people to stand up and walk around while reading?

plan breaks, and try to do something that doesnt involve your brain during those breaks. when i finished that 500 page book in one day i took breaks to make meals, do the dishes, and to go for a walk. do something with your hands or something that involves physical exercise

read about what other people think of the book or read a short summary. this may just be me but going in completely blind doesnt always work for me. its like my brain doesnt have anything to hold onto those first 40 pages and it helps to have prior information so im familiar with the setting. i usually try to avoid spoilers but if im reading classics its not really a big deal for me.

start off with novels that are written in a vocabulary that you fully understand. you can build up to big titles as you read more often. archaic language isnt necessarily a sign of profoundness or intelligence. and if you do start with classics i suggest horror or thriller novels because they cant afford to be tedious! they gotta build tension! you’re almost always in safe hands with those

pick a set time to read. i always read before bedtime! sometimes i only get through 20 pages before i pass out but it creates a routine. and its also better for your brain not to look at your phone before you go to sleep so reading for a bit solves that for me

be proud! share your process with people! reading shouldnt be a solitary experience. post about the books you read and passages you liked and look up reviews that other people wrote. find youtube essays about your favourite books. tell other people that youve been reading more!

don’t be hard on yourself. some days its easier to read than others. some days you get distracted and you have to read the same page 3 times over, and other days its so easy its like youre having coffee with a friend and the book is telling you its story. your head cant always be fully focused so put that book down if you feel like you’re giving yourself a headache

ultimate powerful secret tip: read along with an audiobook. i do this when i NEED to read something usually for uni and i need to force myself to focus. you get all the inflections, jokes, and extra flavour added to the characters from whoever reads the audiobook that you may sometimes read over when you’re not fully focused, and you can’t zone out! because the audiobook keeps going! it helps me a lot especially when i read plays. its great too to visually see how long it will take for you to finish the book on a screen. you can always drop the audiobook halfway and just finish the book yourself if you feel like it.

#omg this turned out so damn long.. i hope there's something in this thats helpful!#i wish i was an old lady in a retirement home with you nita so we could both fawn over the young handsome gentleman #who makes us take our vitamins #youre amazing! tumblr wouldnt be the same without you #lovesickgirlz

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loonyoz · 4 years ago

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You know I love punching racists as much as the next guy, but what I don't love is when that makes a “white savior”. I am by far not the most informed person when it comes to activism and social justice, but as someone with a love of storytelling it is something that has caught my attention. I would love to hear other peoples takes on this. Below I’ll list stuff about the Doctor Who episode on Rosa Parks but first I’ll put some links from TV Tropes.org for descriptions of the trope terminology I use. I might post more about this in another post bc this post is getting long.

White Savior: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/MightyWhitey

https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WhiteMansBurden

Tokens: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TokenIndex

Award for Decency: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/WantsAPrizeForBasicDecency

Special Episode: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/VerySpecialEpisode

Doctor Who, Rosa (Season 11, episode 3)

Good things:

DW finally makes black history the main topic of an episode

They represent Rosa Parks, an empowering female POC

They acknowledge the difficulties and oppression of POC back then

Doctor Who has an impact on a large audience, this makes the importance of this episode increase because it can introduce to or inform the younger generations of a couple different aspects of Black history.

It is in classic doctor who style simplicity. Clear villain, clear good guys, clear threat, clear solution, clear ending. Its very reasuring to watch something where it can be so simple. Like in s10e03 when someones being a racist asshole to Bill (Pearl Mackie), the 12th doctor (Peter Capaldi) punches him.

Iffy things:

The simplicity is not accurate to the complexity of the real worlds problems. A black and white ideology (by with I mean a polarized alignment chart) in a story has its benefits and its negatives. If someone is ignorant and says something insensitive, its not okay, but it doesn't make them Big Bad Evil. People had a rough life then, people also have a rough life now. Victims can be strong and stand up for themselves, just as much as they need other strong people to help them.

The main character of the show, the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) is white, so even though she is not the hero with the main focus for the episode, as the main character, she’s still the designated hero figure. Where as Yaz (Mandip Gill) and Ryan (Tosin Cole) are companions and Rosa Parks (Vinette Robinson) only star in the one episode.

If all of the main characters weren't there (the Doctor, Yaz, Graham, Ryan), then Rosa Parks important moment on the bus wouldn't happen. Its Rosa Parks who makes the stand, and the diverse group of main characters work together it make it possible. Thats great, but ALL of the characters had to be on the bus, meaning the Doctor and Graham (Bradley Walsh) were not only important, but necessary for the black civil rights movement. That is the piece of this sort of unintentional insertion of white people into an episode of black empowerment that bothers me. Of course everyone should work together towards equality no matter race or ethnicity, but activism isn't just about stopping segregation and hate crimes, its also about how we portray different demographics in media and story telling that can have a huge effect on society.

The micro-aggressions of social interactions and social construction. One misstep in a media portrayal may not be a big deal, but it adds up. One story were a white person saves a black person isn't bad, its the ratio and the way in which the saving happens. Obviously creative content cannot abide by a ratio in order to provide equality and respect, but I think it is something often overlooked. It is the unexplained need for the insertion of white people in black narratives and it is incessant. Which is ironic, as I am white, and writing about a black narrative.

It is the only DW episode so far that focuses on Black history and racism, see the link I pasted above on the “Very Special Episode Trope”. Nothing wrong with that, but I don't like the idea that they can make one episode on this topic, get a pat on the back, and move on. Like “getting an award for decency” or “tokenism”. I actually think they did a pretty good job on avoiding tokenism with this episode, as it felt genuine and characteristic to Doctor Who. They do need to keep trying to portray black history, and I hope to see it go well.

I hope to hear responses from anyone! Don't feel like you have to read everything! Id be equal parts shocked and flattered if you did read it all. These are my musings on the episode, not set in stone opinions, id love to hear other people think! My one request is that you stay respectful as possible, and If I or other people say things that are hurtful, let me know bc I like to improve and communicate, and I don't like hurting people!

#dw #doctor who #Rosa Parks #advocacy #activism #activism through storytelling #s11e13 #Rosa #discussion #feel free to discuss #blacklivesmatter #black narratives #POC

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funkymbtifiction · 4 years ago

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OOH that west wing tease is too good, it's such a beloved old show and id love to see you talk about your hypotheses even if you don't end up doing a profile on them... though I think we can all guess who the INTP is lol :')

Ha, ha.

I used to have friends who raved over this series when it was on, but I didn’t have much interest in political shows and was caught up in other shows. But she liked it so much, I decided to watch it with her once a week during the quarantine. I’m eight weeks into it now and I’ll be honest -- I thought the pilot was boring, but then the show got better. The network clearly knew they had something good, but it needed more wit, banter, and crackle. Once they added that, it became far more engaging to watch.

I do plan to type profiles for them eventually, but being only eight episodes into a long-running series doesn’t give me much “proof” for their functional use yet in terms of specific examples, because each episode has so many characters in it. But I will share some of my early thoughts here:

C.J. is by far my favorite character and a glorious 3-core ESTJ. In episode eight, to cover up how she doesn’t know something about what is going on, she shares a bunch of factual information with the press -- when they ask why, she says “Because it’s cool to know these things.” I cracked up so hard. That was great. I envy her Te/Si attention to details and factual retention.

Leo also seems to be an ESTJ. I thought ISTJ at first, but he neglects his marriage to do “more important things” and then is shocked when his wife leaves him, because his inferior Fi failed to factor emotional dynamics into his marriage -- ie, the impact staying until 3am at work all the time will have on his love life. I’m not sure of his Enneagram yet, but it’s either 3 or 1. He is dutiful, hard-working, and a workaholic.

Josh is ENP. I lean ENFP but there is room for Ne/Fe later on, if it shows up. He’s excellent with group dynamics and getting things done, but can also be a bit petulant and inconsistent. I haven’t seen enough of him to get a read on his motivation, but my friend thinks he’s a 2 (which fits ENFP better than ENTP). She said he likes to help / give and feels angry when he’s ignored / no longer needed (I think that’s causing some of his tension with his ex).

President Bartlet is an ESFJ. Very emotional. Tries to forge Fe-bonds with everyone around him. Good at smoothing over tensions in a room -- or escalating them when he’s emotionally driven -- the episode where he’s upset about a friend being shot down in an airplane and wants to bomb the hell out of the country that did it, and then Leo talks “him down” is a perfect example of a Fe vs Te showdown -- emotion and facts. Barlet will, however, back down and see sense, for the sake of the greater good, but at his core he’s all about people, connections, and improving things. I’m thinking 2w1? The scene where he lets his daughter have it, because she just wants to do her own thing, and he reminds her that a dozen secret service agents are putting their lives on the line for her every day, and that if she is ever kidnapped, he would no longer be the president but “a hysterical father” was the most Fe scene ever. And he’s not wrong, because he’s Si -- grounded in Reality, with a touch of idealism. (I’ve only seen his wife in one episode, but she seems like a sensor and a thinker and an extrovert, so probably ESTJ.)

Sam is an ENFP and a sx/so or so/sx1. Very, very moralizing. Very disapproving of anything he cannot ethically agree with, but also clueless about how his decisions are going to spiral out and impact others in the social sphere -- instead of realizing his “sort of” girl friend is never going to change and abandon her profession, even if he hates it, as a call girl -- he decides to reform her and push her toward other ways to earn a living, while being naive about the potential fall-out in the White House. (Literally everyone goes “Sam... this could blow up in our faces, you and the call girl!” but he Ne-dom naively assumes it’ll all be fine.) Yet, terrific at writing awesome speeches at the last second and with no forewarning. Ahh, Ne.

Donna is a cute little sp2 ISFJ -- a hard-working, highly logical, but also feisty girl who “just wants my money back from the government, so I can spend it and keep the economy going.”

Tobey is the INTP. An idealist to the max, but also an introvert, withdrawn, sometimes hard-assed, because he has specific ideas of who things should be and can argue anyone down with ruthless logic. Enneagram 1 is a weird typing for an INTP, but my friend suggested it based on seeing all the seasons and... she may have a point. He’s all about Improving Society.

I’m afraid I haven’t seen enough of Charlie yet to form a view of his type, but given how confused he was about coming to interview for one job and then being considered / hired for another, and how hard it was for him to adapt to this and not linger on it, I would say high Si/likely introvert, so ISJ.

Anyone else not mentioned, I don’t have a sense of yet.

- ENFP Mod

#the west wing #mbti #question

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