#one day i will be motivated enough to move forward with gen 4

[intoxicatedsims]

So instead of working on my shadowmoon gameplay (which is going nowhere fast btw) I’ve been playing around building cute lots and making cute posts 😄 I have some fall aesthetic posts coming tomorrow 🍂

[absolutebl]

Gen Y 2 - The Glorious Trash Watch Reborn

Trash watching season 2 commences! (Season 1 is here. In my defense I didn’t know that was trash until about half way through, but I still had a lot of fun.) A short review of season here. 

As of Dec 2021 you could watch Gen Y 2 on Starhunter’s YouTube channel! Be pleased, season one was a bitch to get ahold of.

Because it’s amusing in light of the start of season 2, here were my...  

Final thoughts on season 1:

There was not enough Jack & Jew. There will never be enough.

I feel like they could have rounded out MarkKit a bit better. But it was fine. They were fine. Whatever.

I’d love it if Sandee went seriously dark/evil in season two.

Jock/nerd had the best chemistry. Bummer about their story arc. “What story arc?” you ask me. Exactly.

I have unfounded hope that Jack/Koh may some day still be a Thing.

I liked the actor playing Thanu and I hope we get to see more of him in something solid. (He reminds me, screen presence wise, a little bit of Kao AKA Korn in UWMA).

As of Ep 1 of season 2? 

Jew seems to be gone. I’m heartbroken. 

Still whatever. 

MY WISH IS GRANTED. YES! 

Still the best chemistry, now how they gonna fuck it up? 

Possibly no longer unfounded due to My Mate Match. (Jack & Koh are also Match & Mix or actor couple JameJet. So now we know they kiss. Very well, actually. In BL, lightning does strike twice.) 

I still like him. And I don’t mind the love triangle.* 

* Have I come around to love triangles in my old age? If so, Light on Me has A LOT to answer for. 

And now...

SEASON TWO! 

Look... my trash fire soap opera is back and I am THRILLED. I really don’t care much about what happens in this show, it’s a delicious buffet of random tasty nonsense and presentation is irrelevant to me because it tastes DELICIOUS. Ah, that metaphor got away from me. But you either like a buffet or, ya don’t, and I happen to be a buffet person. As with many things in my Thai BL relationship you can blame Make it Right for this. 

Ep 1 - Reservoir Bois

A lot happened in the first episode. Including flash backs to remind us of the previous season (thank you for that, Starhunter). 

Firstly, this show feels calmer. Maybe because I now know (or mostly remember) all of the many MANY characters. This show is such a soap opera, like the ultimate BL soap: All the couples, all the drama, random evil scheming, what’s next? Evil twin? (Oh wait, no that’s Not Me.) Back from the dead? (Oh wait, no that’s Peach of Time.) 

Opens with a Reservoir Dogs BL shot meets musical montage getting ready for school that had me cackling.  (What if Reservoir Dogs were a BL? Mind boggles.) 

Already, I have questions. 

Why does this dumb ultra melodramatic show make me so happy? 

Why is Kimmon so bloody charismatic in this role? 

Could Wayu just grow a spine and dump all of them? 

Why was P’P gone? Soap opera solutions = Witness protection. (Do they have that in Thailand?) Or kidnapping and evil rich family shenanigans must keep it secret. Or identical twins & murder. Or terminal illness. These are our 4 options. 

Akay, moving on. 

(oh look, my type) 

also, weirdly I just thought of the underpants gnomes, and I think Sandee is going to have about as much motivation 

I love Big as P’Pa. Perfect casting. Oooo, P’Pa = daddy vibes to that name, is that intentional? Big is definitely serving up daddy. It’s nice to see him successfully portraying such a different character from Ryu in My Mate Match. Good boy! You can actually act. We don’t expect that from Thai BL but it’s nice when it’s served up. 

How much did we all want Mark (or better Wayu himself) to punch P’P on that rooftop? SO MUCH. 

Meanwhile, winner winner chicken dinner. I think they went with option 4: terminal Illness. Most sympathetic choice, Gen Y. Very nice. 

So much happened already in this episode, and most of the characters are starting out in working relationships. I can only hypothesize that this is going to be a hot mess moving forward. 

So far, though, I like it. It feels a lot less like end of season 1′s shitshow. But it could always go there if the writers forget to actually write again. 

I like that MarkKit are now side dishes. I like ThanuWayu versus DESTINY. I want more PokTong being arses to each other. I want more Jack & Koh getting together, but I feel pretty confident that this is gonna happen. So yeah!!!! 

Ep 2 - Darth Sandee 

Only the first ep was on YouTube and I had a snafu while watching this “alternately” which means no screen caps. I can’t be arsed. I mean I could get them but that would mean watching it again and here’s the thing. 

Right now this one isn’t bad enough to be good. It isn’t good enough to be good either. 

Here’s my thoughts.... 

P‘Pa = def the cancer mom trope. 

Yay! more reasons for Wayu to cry. 

Suffer sweetheart!! SUFFER! 

Honestly? All three actors (Big, Cop, Kim) did a great job with this opening scene. 

COUPLES RUN DOWN! 

MarkKit = not much screen time except at the beginning, but that was good. I like that MarkKit are being challenged by some big picture stuffs around friendship like loyalty, trust, and the value of truth. It makes for a good external stressor for their relationship. It also mirrors a burden carried only by Kit in season one, now shared by them as a couple. 

JackKoh|KohJack are CRAZY. They only care about competing over something as an excuse to be together. There’s someone out there who’d pay good money for a threesome under such criteria... Lots of someones, actually. (Maybe that’s why they filmed My Mate Match?) 

PokTong are cute. And boyfriends competing against each other for Moon is a new one for the franchise(s). Also PokTong make out music is HILARIOUS. Very 80s amateur porno. This is a fun couple, I admit @heretherebedork​ , that I am coming round. 

ThanuWayu - only episode 2 and they are already boring me. But That’s a soap opera for you, there’s always a couple you could care less about. I like Phai though. 

Phai has discovered that Darth Sandee is EVIL! Now... make them fuck! 

Am I weird that I just want a moral compass trope to happen with these 2? Forget about Thanu, Darth Sandee is your real destiny! 

Okay, fine, never mind. 

Meanwhile it’s always fun to me when extras are involved on a scene because you can see how much taller than average most Thai actors are. 

Finally we end on this weird running thing to kill the time slot with flashbacks. BL does Chariots of Fire! 

(Chariots of Fire, definitely a sports bromance.) 

I’d ban BLs from flashback abuse but then everything would be K-BL length and all K-BLs would be microfilms.

-- Oh, I’m feeling SALTY this afternoon. 

Ep 3 - Why So Annoying? 

Would we call this a recap? Can one recap a show in which NOTHING HAPPENS? 

Is that an existential question? 

In other news MarkKit are VERY cute, Jew is back (yay!!) KohJack are like the 3 stooges of BL, and this show is pissing me off. The swim team thing was weird and Thanu & Wayu remain duller than dishwater, but also begin to have that pong of dishwater left out too long.

Wayu is punishing Thanu for having loved someone else when Wayu is basically is dating Thanu as a backup because he himself loved someone else. This relationship started out as a shitty thing to do to someone, but now Wayu is being hypocritical and shitty. 

Here’s what I want. Wayu and Pha to get back together, Pha to die, and then Wayu will know what it really means to suffer. 

(Don’t we all Sandee? Don’t we all?)

All this to say, Evil Sandee is the only interesting thing happening right now and I really wanna root for him yet they show is making even THAT difficult...

As characters figure out he is evil, there is actually a conversation as follows:

C1: Why is Sandee evil?

C2: We have no idea, but the point is he must be stopped. 

This is the ultimate in bad writing. It’s basically the show telling us that Sandee having any kind of motivation isn’t necessary. And I’m like, JUMP BACK GEN Y, I am sorry, you can give him a dum motivation (and you probubly will) but you don’t actually think he can’t have any, right? 

This show is a soap opera dumpster fire being feed by wooden performances (ThanYu), modest cuteness (MarKit), and mustache twirling without reason (Darth Sandee). But I’m going down with the dumpster because I am trash. 

Stinky horrible trash on fire. 

THIS SHOW WILL MAKE MONSTERS OF US ALL.

Ep 4 - The Poke Tongue Shower Scene 

ThanYu... whaka whaka whaka (and not in the good Monsta X way). 

Jack & Koh are fun and I realized why I like them, Love Rivals to Lovers is my favorite trope, because it’s innately queer, and they are getting one. Plus they are comedy relief and they’re funny about it. 

And MarKit are what they are. 

But PokTong and the SHOWER SCEEN. 

What. 

I mean to say. 

WHAT?!

Jump back! 

No, jump forward. No, now you’ve slipped in the shower. 

This is a shower scene we’re getting, people, from Starhunter! 

I feel like I stumbled backwards into the TharnType glory days (should that be glory holes? eh, don’t bother me with trifles).

Where was I? 

Oh yes shower scene. Remember what I said then (with TharnType) BJs in yaoi are ALWAYS acts of penance performed by the seme. Having the uke character do it is either serious (actual) punishment or we have gone straight through BL into gay af. 

Apparently all bets are off with this couple. Even BL bets. They are off the BL script. Way off. Somewhere down the drain even. 

Who knew Gen Y would go there?  

Plus the first kiss = goodbye kiss is just chef’s kiss. 

I can tell ya what tho, PokTong are already STRONG contenders for 2022′s WinTeam Award AKA the side couple we secretly wish were the main couple (PitchBank in Golden Blood won it for 2021). In fact, I’m not gonna sugar coat it - they SHOULD have been the main couple. The betrayal and outside stressors to their relationship are excellent, chemistry is spot on, acting is great. 

Also, anyone else wants to make them Poke Tongue? 

No? Just me. 

What, I gotta keep it low brow. This is still Gen Y. 

BUT THAT SHOWER SCENE. 

(This series = weirdly obsessed with fully dressed boys stepping into showers? Remember Mark & Wayu back in early eps of season 1?) 

Oh look we are back in classic Gen Y territory, we up one week, we down the next, we boring one moment, we riveting the next. 

I gotta start drinking when I watch this show. 

Ep 5 - Plot Bunny Whip Lash

(Honestly tho, that could be another name for upcoming Unforgotten Nights).

My baby boys are broken up and still Tong is trying to take care of Pok. They PRECIOUS and tragical.  

Darth Sandee’s motivation remains hella confusing, unless he’s supposed to be some trickster cupid or spirit of fate. 

Fine. Yess. I’lI nominate Sandee for godhood. Can’t get any weirder than this show already is. Would explain why Wayu & Thanu are so crap with a bow & arrow, that shizz is Sandee’s domain. 

I like that Thanu didn’t hide Pha’s illness from Wayu. 

I also like that it is circumstances breaking up MarkKit (as opposed to ye ol’ miscommunication), but hot damn that plot bunny came out of nowhere and spun on a dime. 

Does anyone else miss ForthBeam energy? I miss them so bad in this show right now. 

Ep 6 - I Got Nothing 

Jack & Koh are collectively the most extra and why can’t we just have more of them? 

Tong & Pok are in a different show - Unforgotten Night maybe? And why is Pok getting beaten up? I’m so confused.

I spend most of this show confused. 

The brothers are cute together and Phai may be my favorite character. But frankly MarkKit are dumbasses, I can’t feel sympathy when they are doing this to each other. 

And now... this fucker: 

What WAS that with Sandee & Phai? I mean I wanted them to get together from what back in the cafe days but I do NOT UNDERSTAND what is going on with these two. Why did Sandee do what he did? Why did he changed his mind? Why suddenly nice? WHY WHY WHY????

“A plague o' both your houses! Zounds, a dog, a rat, a mouse, a cat to scratch a man to death!”

You made me trot out Shakespeare, you bastards. Next up, Catullus, and then we are all done for. 

Ep 7 - Sigh 

MarkKit are truly absurd. ThanuWayuPa are truly boring. PokeTongue are in a different show with actual plot, and they are interesting but tiny idiots. Honestly SandeePhai are the only couple I really care about at this point and 

they got no screen time this ep 

we aren’t sure if they ARE a couple

they are adrift on a sea of destiny and lack of motivation 

Oh and JackKoh, I forgot about them.

SEE? They’re my favorites and this ep just made me forget they existed! 

The weighting of this soap is all off. Both the story and the screen time is uneven, by which I mean the focus and dwelling of the camera on some characters over others. So editing is partly to blame. 

If filming and screen time had been more evenly distributed than we would all be happier. But Starhunter put all their eggs in the baskets of their most seasoned actors and established pairs, and we are being punished for that decision with deeply unsatisfying omelets. 

(Actual gif of the Sandee egg.) 

Ep 8 - Why Am I doing this to myself?

Lack of Sandee makes me sad but we got the return of Padbok.

Yay!

One fecklessly evil character with no motivation is exchanged for another! 

Why so angry? Why so pretty? Why so silent? 

Oh please just make SOMETHING happen. 

So basically this episode was the same as last week.

Play it again Sab? 

Wayu is a pretty elf tho. 

What? What do you expect from me? I got nothing. Imma go watch Love Stage!! it’s about 100x better. 

Episode 9 - OMG WHY is this so boring? 

Poke Tongues are literally the only thing interesting about this show anymore. Pok’s apology was nicely handled. I even get where Tong is comign from, there’s too much miscommunication between them how can he be confident it won’t just keep happing. They could just be dysfunctional boyfriends. 

I am growing to hate the play within a BL conceit. Shakespeare overdid it and that was long time ago. Costumes are fun tho. 

Thanu and Wayu puzzle me, I now spend most of my time trying to figure out why they aren’t working for me on screen, because frankly the actors are cute as friends in the BTS stuff. So why aren’t they working as a romantic couple in front of the camera? Still, that’s not what I should be doing when watching a BL. 

How do we feel about the fake coffee spill in order to strip scene? Bit manipulative? Or just seme’s gotta do what a seme’s gotta do? 

Meanwhile, hellooooo my dark elf boyfriend! 

Look this brought back way too many comic cons of my youth. But basically = MY TYPE. I might just have a bit of a thing for a person in black lipstick and eyeliner and I blame the 90s ENTIRELY. (Not to out myself but nothing is hotter on this earth that streaks of black liner running down someone’s face ‘cause you made them cry - in the right way, of course. NOTHING.) 

Speaking of crying... 

In addition to the old adage, “Don’t make them sing in a Thai BL” have we forgotten the “Don’t make them cry rule”? Oh Gen Y, what am I going to do with you? 

This is still a dumpster fire, but worse it’s now a boring dumpster fire. So it’s like the excitement of the flames is all gone and what’s left is smoldering trash and THAT smell. 

Episode 10 - He’s Dead, Kim 

Okay but Kimmon in a suit is a thing of beauty and joy forever. 

COME ON.

KIM MON.

Get it?

(I’ll stop now.) 

The funeral ep and still Kit isn’t letting Mark be with him and what the hell, can we all say manufactured drama? I don’t care anymore, dump Kit, he doesn’t deserve you. Especially not in that suit. 

Meanwhile things are going hilariously wrong in the captions department but none cares because there isn’t any dialogue anyway. 

Meanwhile these two chaos monkey love muffin idiots are in a completely different series. 

ThanuWayu did some stuff in a hotel and on a beach and hit up “this pool was made for kissing trope” (and a few others) and that was the episode. 

Honestly, I am starting to worry about Starhunter and all their upcoming projects. 

This is that bad. 

Episode 11 - It’s Doom But Only For Me, Because Guess What? EVERYONE SINGS! 

I feel like I lost patience with this show about three episodes ago. So what’s the other side of losing patience with something? I’ve gone all the way through frustration to annoyance and now what? Apathy? 

Anygay, Wayu went through all kinds of rigmarole to get his man into bed. And then they slept. I’d say I was disappointed, but I don’t think the show can disappoint me anymore. Honestly, if anything they are just too sweet. 

And everyone is singing. 

Please make them stop. 

For me this is a true episode 11. 

DOOOOMMMM! 

I admit half the fun of a soap opera is complaining about how horrible it is. 

But Mark and Kit when they are together are very very good. Nice kiss and fun chemistry. It was a bummer the show decided to keep them apart for most of it. 

Next week is the last installment and rumor is we are in for a Gen Y Season 3. Because, I presume, they actually want to see me lose my ever loving mind. 

Episode 12 - Well That Was... Something

Honestly, I’m not sure how to summate this smack-wompus soap-riddled cheese-fest. 

Serious question: 

Which is worse?

To unexpectedly find cheese in your soap? 

Or to unexpectedly find soap in your cheese? 

Cheese in soap: 

Soap in cheese:

I guess it depends on whether you were watching Gen Y for the camp (me) or watching it for the romance.... anyone? 

Starhunter? 

I decided to do a break down of the different couples and the different shows they each thought they were acting in. 

What? I gotta entertain myself, this show sure as shit ain’t doing it. 

MarkKit

What show were they actually in? A sweet romance. 

We even got a little religious element. They very cute, far too saccharine for me, and painfully domestic. And I am ready to put them safely to bed. I think we can do that safely, no matter what was implied in this episode, they not getting up to anything. Sexual attraction between these too? There is none. 

But I do declare them: sweet. 

JackKoh AKA KohJack

What show were they actually in? A slapstick romcom. 

They figured their shit out, remained totally ridiculous children throughout. I look forward to seeing them fuck around with their next show, whatever it may be. 

I declare them: funny. 

PokeTongue

What show were they actually in? A high heat angsty BL. 

They finally got together but honestly why not just make these two do the Thai remake of We Best Love? It’s kinda what they were gunning for. Anyway, not long to wait for them, their next series, What Zabb Man!, starts in a red hot minute. Emphasis on hot, we hope. Well, it is set in a kitchen. 

I declare them: bankable. 

ThanuWayu 

What show were they actually in? A cardboard picture book. 

I have nothing to say. I suspect in about 5 minutes I will have forgotten their entire existence. 

I declare them: boring. 

I was poking about gifs for this post and this one popped up: 

They had SO MUCH MORE CHEMISTRY together. Just LOOK AT THEM. 

Sigh. 

Oh what might have been.

You know what?

Sandee was right all along. 

Did I grin through the whole graduation sequence? 

Sure I did. 

So I guess all we have learned from this whole damn journey is that I am still a sap who will watch total trash. 

But maybe it was all worth it for this smile...

Goodnight. 

Dammit. 

Could we please not do this again? 

(source)

[chibinekochan]

Angel in Hell Season 2 part 6

part 1 | 2  I 3  I  4  I  5

Gen. reader insert.

Words  2k

Taglist:

@gothjuulpod  ; @purgatoryhall ; @sibit360  ; @a-personnamed-ace   ;  @romy350-romyakari

------------------------------------------------

On your long walk back you don't talk at all but it's still very comforting. 

Finally, you reach the dorm. You can see Luke running towards you.

  "What has Lucifer done to you?" Luke seems pretty worked up. 

"He just said some things that were unnecessary." Simeon doesn't want Luke to know the whole story. 

Luke sighs. "I was very worried." 

"I'm sorry Luke. Let's have some tea and cake. I'm starving." You aren't particularly hungry but you know this will get Luke off your back. 

"You should eat some proper food." Simeon sighs. 

"Come on, I'm having a hard time. Just indulge me a little." This type of banter feels very nice. 

“Alright, but only this once.” Simeon smiles gently.

“I think you both don't take this seriously.” Luke pouts.

“I might just like your baking too much.” You shrug and tousle Luke’s hair.

Luke pouts. “H-hey, I'm not a child.”

You giggle and Simeon chuckles a bit. This feels so nice, it would be great if everyday could be like this.”I know Luke.”

  Luke doesn't complain anymore, since he is also glad to see you smile.

You eat cake for lunch today and then try to not think too much about Simeon's confession. This is pretty much impossible. 

Honestly, you want to talk about it with someone. In situations like this, it would be natural to talk to someone to get your thoughts in order. 

Right now that seems impossible. 

There also seem to be more important matters than romance. 

So you just check your messages. You have been flooded with several comments about what went down in the castle. 

Lucifer took all the blame. 

You just announce that you are safe and more or less okay. 

This seems to help to calm them down at least. 

You can also see that Satan has been banned from using the chatroom but is very regretful. 

You chat a bit about food with Beel and assure Mammon that you don't hate him. 

He feels very bad that he let you go with Satan. 

After this, the rest of the day passes in a blur.

  Your head has a hard time shutting down. There isn't much that keeps you distracted so you just watch some devil tube. 

The day finally ends after watching too many cat videos. 

The night isn't easy for you but being with the other angels helps. Even when it's a bit embarrassing to be so close to Simeon right now.

  The morning is pleasantly uneventful but if you are being honest it's a bit boring. 

You just find yourself thinking about pointless things. 

Then you decide it's enough.

"Luke are you free to bake today? I thought I'd ask Barbatos if I could use the castle kitchen and the ingredients they have. I will pay them back of course." You are done with just sitting around and feel like doing something. Also, your list of people who deserve a nice treat is long. 

"Sounds good to me. Would that be okay Simeon?" Luke is worried about your safety. 

"It's a great idea. I need to talk to Michael anyway. The castle is the safest place for  you right now." Simeon was thinking about what to do while he has to go to the celestial realm. This seems to be the best idea. 

"From all the demons here Barbatos seems to be the least bad one." Luke agrees with this idea. 

"I'm so glad to see that you are such great friends with Barbatos," Simeon smirks at Luke.

Luke huffs. 

"Could you call Barbatos and ask if we can come over?" You don't want to inconvenience Barbatos. 

"Sure, leave it to me!" Luke is motivated, he is glad to be able to do something for you.

  You watch him with a smile and then you turn to Simeon. 

He looks at you with a gentle gaze, something that you are used to but today it makes you feel a bit different.

"Make sure that you don't get hurt while baking," Simeon recalls the one time you accidentally burned yourself. 

"I will be careful, but will you be okay?" You worry about his safety. 

"I will be fine." He looks grateful.

"Do you have any requests?" You want to make something nice for Simeon. 

He thinks for a moment. "I'm fine with whatever, as long as you made it for me."

This is so typical of Simeon. You can only shake your head. 

Then you pump yourself up. "Just watch out. I will knock your socks off." 

Simeon chuckles. "I'm looking forward to that." His eyes linger on your eyes. Your cheeks lightly flush. 

Luke narrows his eyes. "Something has changed between you didn't it?" 

Simeon simply pats Luke's head. 

You feel pretty embarrassed for a moment since even Luke noticed the change in your dynamic.

  Luke frowns a little but moves on rather quickly. "Barbatos has agreed to us coming over. He seems to look forward to it."

"That's great, so let's go." You feel a boost of motivation. Helped by Simeon's smile. 

"I hope you two have a great time." Simeon looks at both of you but he seems to linger just a moment longer on you. 

"We will." Luke looks at you, you can only agree. 

Together with Luke, you head to the castle. 

While Simeon engages in a very difficult conversation with Michael. 

Barbatos is already waiting for you. He has prepared everything you need. 

"I want to thank you in person for letting us use the kitchen. I will fully pay you back as soon as possible." You politely bow to Barbatos. 

"There is no need for that. Lord Diavolo said and I quote 'to go wild and give him some treats'. I assume he feels bad for causing trouble to you yesterday." Barbatos smiles calmly. 

"That is incredibly nice of him. Especially since it wasn't his fault at all." You think it's very thoughtful. 

"I'm glad you see it that way. So what treats are we baking today? Oh, and I have prepared a selection of aprons for you to pick from." Barbatos looks rather existed about the prospect of baking sweets. 

"The better question is what treats we aren't baking. I mean I have a long list of people that I owe and Beel alone will probably need a whole basket to satisfy his hunger.

"You don't need to indulge all of these demons too much." Luke sighs. 

"I think it's very kind of you." Barbatos looks impresst at least. 

"So let's get started. First, we should make a load of black bat cookies and then some angel creme cupcakes. These probably take the longest." You are pretty excited just thinking about it. 

"I will prepare dough for the angel puffs." Luke knows everyone loves these. 

"That sounds very great. I can help with the bat cookies but you will have to show me the other two recipes." Barbatos seems to practically glow.

  It was a great idea to bake. 

Everything goes rather smoothly. The first loads are all delicious. You had to try at least one of each treat. 

"I need to serve my lord his tea. I will give him his share if that is alright with you. Do you wish to join us?" Barbatos has already a great selection of tea prepared. This was the most exciting part for him. 

"I would rather finish the sweet devil roll if you don't mind." You worry that it will fall apart. 

"I'm staying too." Luke is busy making some other cookies. 

"Do as you please. I will leave you some tea." Barbatos doesn't seem to mind and walks off. 

You shove the roll in the oven. Watching it carefully. 

"What are you planning to make for Simeon?" Luke asks while mixing his dough. 

"Hmm, good question. There are so many sweets he likes. Maybe some vanilla and chocolate angel cookies." You remember the first time you made them. They came out slightly burned and somehow raw at the same time. Despite this Simeon ate them and complimented them. It's a nice memory. 

"That sounds great. Did you know that humans choose heart-shaped confectionery to show someone that they like them?" Luke just nonchalantly drops this but surprised you look at Luke. 

"What are you trying to say?" You feel a bit embarrassed. 

"I'm not stupid you know. I have seen how you look at each other. So I'm just trying to help you two." Luke looks away, a bit awkwardly. 

"That is very nice of you. Did Mc tell you about that?" There is no way Luke would just know something like this. 

You face the oven. 

Luke just realizes that he might hurt you by mentioning it. "Y-yeah but you know what despite what these stupid demons say. You aren't the same at all." 

You know Luke didn't mean anything by mentioning heart shapes. Now you are curious. "I can't ask any of the brothers but what were they like?" You carefully peek at Luke. He thinks about it for a bit. "A pretty wild one. Always just getting dragged into some strange hijinks, mostly caused by the brothers. They just went along with it, like it wasn't a big deal. They were always fixing some kind of spell gone wrong or some drama caused by the brothers. There was always something going on. They were also very careless in my opinion. Just going headfirst into danger. Somehow they always managed to succeed. Well at least until the day they died. It was so unexpected. Mc survived so many things that would kill ordinary people. Yet a single moment was enough to end their life. I wasn't there that day but it was very tragic. Everyone was so sad, I admit that I cried too." Luke smiles at some of the memories but ends with a sad expression. 

"That somehow sounds all very impressive. I don't think I could ever be like that." You look at your roll again and sigh. 

"I don't think anyone could be like that and you honestly shouldn't be just like them or anyone else for that matter. You are great. I have never met anyone as caring or strong as you are. To me, you are a great friend and I like you." Luke has a  determined expression. Like he wants to make sure that you know his words are true. 

It's touching."Thank you, Luke. I think I needed to hear that." You smile at him and Luke blushes just a little. 

  Then your timer rings and you take the finished sweet devil roll out of the oven. 

It looks great. You put it to the side and then start to make the vanilla and chocolate angel cookies. 

Luke bakes a batch of other cookies in the meantime. 

By the time Barbatos returns you have finished the cookies and made a special plate full of heart-shaped cookies, just for Simeon. 

Barbatos notes the unusual shape, apparently, he also knows about its meaning. "I see you have made some very special cookies. Who is the lucky one?" He has a slight gleam on his face. 

You suddenly become very shy. "T-that is private."

Barbatos hums. "I hope that it will work out for you. Oh, I have this nice cloth bag here. You should wrap the cookies so they will be an even nicer present." Barbatos rummages through a box and hands you a cute bag. 

You are just glad that he doesn't probe you and take the bag. 

Then you feel Luke tugging on you. "I got this ribbon. You should use that too."

"That is sweet of you Luke and thank you Barbatos." You smile at both of them, wrap the cookies and carefully place them in your pocket. 

By the time you are done, it's already evening. 

You baked loads and most will be delivered.

  You just have a few of the goods you want to bring to Solomon. Partly to thank him for helping you and you also want to see what he is up to. 

Luke is still enjoying his conversation with Barbatos. 

With a slight spring in your step, you make your way to the library.

  -----------------

Luke just wants his 'dad' to be happy and fully ships them. I support this.

  Little bonus: 

Barbatos spreading the 'love cookie' gossip later to Diavolo. 

  Barbatos: "My lord, our angel student has made some special heart-shaped cookies."

Diavolo: "What splendid news. Who do you think they are for?" 

Barbatos: "Well, I have some suspects."

Diavolo: "Really? How scandalous. Should I tell Lucifer about this?" 

Barbatos: "I would advise against that."

Diavolo: "In that case, I will just root for them."

[purplehairedwonder]

Hearts With(out) Chains Chapter 14

Fandom: One Piece Rating: PG-13 Pairings: Gen (eventual Lawlu) Words: 5213 Characters: Trafalgar Law, Doflamingo, Violet, Baby 5, Trebol, Diamante, Monkey D. Luffy, Robin, Sanji, Usopp, Franky Notes: I’m taking my turn at the Corazon!Law AU because my brain won’t leave me alone until this is written down. Tags will be updated as the chapters come out.

Summary: Law is reclaimed by the Family when he's 17 and, with Doflamingo holding the lives of his crew as collateral for his good behavior, eventually becomes the third Corazon. Years later, trapped by his impossible situation, Law finds a strange connection to Monkey D. Luffy, which offers a glimpse of something he's repeatedly had ripped away from him: hope.

Previous chapters: Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13

Read also at AO3 / FF.N

Two Days Ago

Law stood at the helm of the Thousand Sunny, one hand light on the wheel as he watched Dressrosa come into focus. Though Law’s own ship was a submarine, he’d learned how to sail other vessels well enough and directed the Sunny toward the port. The sea, as expected, was calm, so there was little maneuvering he needed to do. With the weather warming up as the ship approached Dressrosa, Law had discarded his coat and rolled up the sleeves of his hoodie, though he was still warm beneath his hat. The ship was eerily quiet, considering whose home she was.

Law glanced down at the hat in his other hand; he could have put it down on the deck alongside his coat and Kikoku, but he hadn’t been able to when the feeling of the worn straw under his fingers was such a stark reminder of those weeks on Amazon Lily two years earlier—where the whole mess Law now found himself had begun.

As Law steered the Sunny into the familiar docks and dropped anchor, the only people greeting him were dock workers, already unwinding ropes in preparation for securing the ship to the dock. Curious. And fortuitous. The last person Law wanted to run into before seeing Doffy was Violet; the less she knew about what Law had gotten into on Punk Hazard, the better for them both. Though she’d obfuscated for him more than once in the past, she’d never outright lied to Doffy for him—and he wouldn’t ask her to, knowing what she was risking. He’d take the small victories where he could find them.

Straw hat still in hand, though with his heavy coat now draped over it, and Kikoku resting in her usual place against his shoulder, Law pocketed his log pose and hopped down from the ship. He peered down the docks to see the Polar Tang shining brightly in the late-afternoon sun. His chest gave a twinge at the thought of the ship that had been home for the last decade. Would she be able to take the Hearts to freedom? Or would she be stuck docked in the Dressrosan harbor without a crew to sail her after today?

He shook his head and glanced back at the Thousand Sunny once more, looking for anything out of place. When he saw nothing, he took a breath and turned back toward the city. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed the harbor master hurrying toward him.

“Corazon, sir!” he huffed once he reached Law. “My apologies for not greeting you immediately.”

“It’s fine,” Law said, waving him off.

He really wasn’t in the mood for this, but the harbor master’s mood could be a good indicator of how he would be received in the city; if news from Punk Hazard had reached Dressrosa and Law was walking headfirst into a trap, Doffy likely would have had the harbor master and his workers watching for Law’s arrival and trying to detain him until Doffy himself could arrive. The harbor master, however, like most Dressrosans, was too terrified of the executives to lie to their faces—even on order of the king. That he didn’t seem to be hiding any ulterior motives was a positive sign.

“Shall I call a carriage to bring you back to the palace?”

“I’ll walk,” Law said, talking a few steps up the dock.

“Are you sure?” the harbor master asked, falling in step with him. “It’s no trouble and would be faster.”

Law leveled a stare at the man, and he quavered. “O-of course, I didn’t mean to challenge you, sir.” He swallowed before nodding at the Sunny. “And this ship?”

Law forced his lips into a smirk. “A trophy from a defeated pirate crew. Keep it in good shape until the king can inspect it.”

Doffy loved keeping trophies, from plundered goods and hijacked ships to defeated crews themselves—many of whom turned into merchandise—from his many victories, so the harbor master didn’t so much as blink at the explanation.

“Of course, Corazon.”

They’d reached the end of the docks, and the harbor master bowed Law out into the city before turning back to the dock workers and yelling orders at them.

Law strode the familiar streets of the city toward the palace, ignoring the eyes and murmured whispers of his title by the Dressrosan citizens and the toys as he passed; Law always drew a fair amount of attention when he was out, considering his status as second to the king. Being watched didn’t mean Doffy knew what had happened. He forced his tense shoulders down as he walked. He was returning from a straight-forward mission, as he had hundreds of times before. There was nothing different about today.

Pushing aside his paranoia, Law trekked the familiar streets until he reached the palace. The grounds were quiet as he stepped through the gates, and he licked his lips. He was used to the palace being busy, members of the Family and servants alike scurrying around the grounds at all hours of the day. In the late afternoon, he’d expect to see preparations being made for dinner, but, as he walked toward the courtyard, he only saw a few figures moving about in the distance.

“Ah, Corazon!”

Law started as Rosalie, Doffy’s personal aide, came hurrying out of a side hallway. Forcing his expression neutral, he nodded at her.

“The Young Master asked me to find you once you arrived. He’s waiting in his office.”

Law nodded for Rosalie to lead the way, and she turned on her heel to head back into the palace. As they walked, Law considered whether he was more or less likely to be ambushed in Doffy’s office. On the one hand, it held fewer people, which meant fewer enemies for Law to fend off in the case of an attack. On the other hand, it was more isolated from the rest of the palace, meaning fewer people would know what was happening—not that Law would find himself with many allies in the palace if he was outed as a traitor to the Family.

He shook his head; there was no point in catastrophizing until he assessed what information Doffy had. Instead, he addressed Rosalie. As Doffy’s personal aide, she was aware of more goings on in the palace than most, as she was regularly required to track down Family members on short notice for the king.

“The grounds are quiet. Where is everyone?”

She looked back at him to acknowledge that he’d spoken before returning her gaze forward as she strode forward with purpose. “I believe Trebol is with Sugar. Diamante is at the Colosseum, making preparations for the upcoming tournament. I believe Machvise is with him. Pica is at the training grounds, drilling soldiers,” she said, ticking off executives with her fingers. “Dellinger is at the beach with Jora and Lao G. Señor Pink and Gladius left for a mission this morning. Buffalo and Baby 5 went to the market an hour ago. Violet retired to the library after lunch.”

Law nodded, the tension in his shoulders easing a bit. None of that seemed unusual and explained why the grounds were as quiet as they were.

Once they reached Doffy’s office, Rosalie knocked on the door and waited for the king’s call to enter. She ducked inside to inform him of Law’s arrival. A few moments later, she stepped back into the hallway and gestured Law inside.

Law took a steadying breath then strode past Rosalie into the office, suppressing a flinch as the door shut behind him. Doffy sat at his desk, papers spread out in front of him and a pen in hand. Law stepped forward but remained just outside of Doffy’s wingspan—not that it really mattered with his strings. He could have Law trapped with no more than a thought. Law’s fingers itched to activate a Room, but he knew that would only give him away. Instead, he did his best to wrap himself in the cloak that was Corazon, second in command to a Warlord and a king.

Even Corazon, however, knew to wait until Doffy was ready (having learned that lesson the hard way), so he waited. Once Doffy finished signing a document, he put his pen down and looked up at Law. He crossed his arms and tilted his head.

“Welcome back, Corazon.”

Law was unable to read anything in his expression or vocal tone so pressed forward. “Thank you, Young Master.”

“I trust you ran into no further complications?”

Law quirked his lips into one of his trademark smirks. “Of course not. I even brought presents. One is in the harbor.”

Doffy chuckled, a deep, pleased sound that rumbled lightly throughout the small room. “I heard.” Of course he had. “Very impressive. What else?”

Law pulled the straw hat out from under his coat and tossed it onto Doffy’s desk. Doffy froze as he realized what had landed in front of him.

“A trophy,” Law said. “From the head of one of the Worst Generation.”

“Take it, Torao. If it’ll make Mingo believe I’m dead, then take it.”

“Straw Hat-ya, I can’t take this.”

“Shishishi, I know you’ll give it back. I trust you!”

“This hat—” Doffy murmured, turning the worn thing over in his hands, the straw crinkling in the quiet between the two pirates. Doffy looked up sharply at Law. “Do you know who this hat belonged to?” At Law’s frown, Doffy shook his head. “Never mind,” he said, voice gentling. “This is quite the prize.”

Law blinked and caught the hat on instinct when Doffy tossed it back to him.

“You defeated its wearer, my Corazon. It is your trophy.” His lips twitched. “Though I think your own hat suits you better.”

Law snorted. “Not a lot of use for a straw hat in the North.” And Law was, at his core, a child of the North Blue—of winter islands and warfare.

“Indeed.”

“Was there anything else?” Law asked, raising an eyebrow. Impertinence was one of his defining traits, after all.

Doffy waved him off, already looking back toward the paperwork in front of him. “Dinner’s in an hour. Get yourself cleaned up.”

Law gave a shallow bow then turned to leave. Presenting his back to Doffy was one of the hardest things he’d done in a long time, but he forced himself to offer that vulnerability, since, if nothing were wrong, Doffy at his back would be no threat. Breath caught in his throat, Law headed out of Doffy’s office, part of him waiting to be impaled with an onslaught of strings…

But it never came.

He let out the breath he’d been holding when the door shut behind him and very nearly slumped against the wall. But the walls had eyes in the palace, so Law instead straightened his spine and headed to his chambers. He wanted nothing more than to make a direct line to the Hearts’ wing of the palace to check in with his crew, but with the distance he’d kept from them in the previous years, doing so would look out of character.

He encountered only a few servants as he headed for his room. Once he shut the door behind him, he leaned back against it tiredly and ran a hand over his face. He hadn’t been locked up in Seastone and thrown in the dungeon yet, so that was a good sign. Maybe, just maybe, he could get his crew out after all. They’d be on the run, but that would be better than the prison they found themselves in now—and they had allies.

Law dropped his coat on his bed and rested Kikoku on top of it. He placed the straw hat on his desk and pulled his Den Den Mushi from his coat pocket. He put the snail on the desk next to the hat then went into the bathroom, as if to wash up; instead, he activated a Room. He Scanned for the surveillance snail in the vents that kept an eye on his room and, with a quick Shambles, switched it with a snail he’d set up years earlier to broadcast a recorded feed of his empty room. Now it would simply appear that Law was in the shower. He’d found the surveillance snail immediately after he’d moved into the palace at seventeen, though he had no idea how often Doffy checked the feed nearly a decade later. The snail had never been removed, though, so Law worked under the assumption that the Warlord regularly monitored it to be safe.

Law then stepped back into the bedroom and went over to his desk. He pulled out a scrap of paper and scribbled a note: After dinner. Crew meeting. He folded it and pushed his Room in the direction of the Hearts’ quarters until he found Bepo’s room. The bear wasn’t in the room at the moment, but that was not unusual at this time of day. Law switched his note with pen on Bepo’s desk then retracted his Room once more.

That done, he turned to his Den Den Mushi and dialed. He only had to wait two rings before the other side picked up.

“Torao, it’s about time!”

“I told you to give me until nightfall to check in, Straw Hat-ya,” Law snapped, glancing out the window at the late afternoon sun. “I’m early.”

“But it’s boooooring on your ship,” Luffy whined.

Law rolled his eyes. Before arriving in Dressrosa, he’d come up with a plan to sneak the Straw Hats in without them being noticed. Because Doffy had eyes on all the ships coming into and going out of the harbor, it was imperative the Straw Hats stay out of sight as the ship approached. They would stay below deck as Law steered the Thousand Sunny into the harbor.

Then, while Law then checked in with Doflamingo at the palace, pretending the Sunny was a conquest of their fight, the Straw Hats would use their submersible to make their way to the Polar Tang; Doffy would undoubtedly have his men examining the Sunny to see what Law had brought him, so it would be a poor hiding place. The Tang, however, was generally left alone except for some basic maintenance, meaning she would be safe for the Straw Hats to hide out in until Law could contact them with an update and to decide their next move. He’d left them with a hand-drawn map of the palace as well as a rough map of the city itself for them to study while they waited.

Luffy had protested, wanting to see the city and, naturally, try the local cuisine, but his crew had reminded him that they were all supposed to be dead; being recognized would put Law and his nakama in danger, and—after his suggestion that they go into the city in disguises was thoroughly shot down—that had quieted his complaints.

Mostly.

“Boring?” Franky called, affronted, from somewhere in the background. “This ship is super! I want to know everything about her, Tra-bro!”

Law sighed. “Please tell Robo-ya to refrain from destroying my ship before we leave Dressrosa.”

“We’ll rein him in, Torao-kun,” Robin promised, though there was humor in her voice. “What happened with Doflamingo?”

“Mm, yeah. What happened with Mingo?” Luffy echoed. It sounded like he was moving around the Den Den Mushi, likely bursting with pent up energy. Law only hoped his ship would survive the Straw Hats’ cyborg and its bored captain.

“He seemed to take my report at face value,” Law said. “But there’s no telling when he’ll hear from his sources in the Marines about what happened. We’ll still need to move quickly.”

“When do I get to kick his ass?” Luffy asked. Several of the Straw Hats groaned in the background.

“That’s not the point of this, Luffy,” Robin reminded him, not unkindly. “The goal is to get Torao-kun and his nakama out of Dressrosa unnoticed.”

“We’re trying to avoid a fight with a Warlord, Luffy!” Usopp added, a tinge of panic in his voice.

“Fine,” Luffy grumbled.

“I’m expected at dinner with the Family this evening,” Law said, breaking in. “If I skip it, it’ll raise suspicions.”

Luffy whooped in excitement at the thought of food, and Sanji snapped that he’d brought food from the Sunny, which only made the younger captain more excited.

Law grimaced, wondering not for the first time why the mysterious pull in his chest had brought him to these people. He knew the Family was its own type of ridiculous, but the Straw Hats took that to a whole other level. Why did he think he could entrust something as important as his nakama’s lives to them?

“I’ll see my nakama after dinner and contact you then,” he said through gritted teeth.

“Good luck,” Robin said over her chaotic crewmates.

“Same to you,” Law replied then hung up.

For a moment, he stared at the snail then at the hat on the desk next to it. This was a terrible idea, but Law was already in too deep to turn back now.

After a quick shower to wash off the travel and battle from the last two days, Law changed into a clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt then switched the surveillance snail back to the one with live feed and dropped his Room. Pulling his hat on, he glanced at Kikoku but decided not to bring her to dinner; he didn’t usually walk around the palace grounds with the nodachi in hand. His head was starting to ache—the concussion symptoms, while improving, were still bothering him—so he took some painkillers before heading to the dining room.

Though Law was on edge, dinner was a standard Family affair. The only executives not present were Señor Pink and Gladius, who were off the island. Law easily fell into his typical standoffish self, meandering into the dining room a couple of minutes late and sliding into his seat with an insincere smirk. Doffy, who was in the middle of a discussion with Trebol, merely raised an eyebrow at him, and Law shrugged. Doffy huffed once before turning back to Trebol.

Law rarely invited conversation at meals, though Baby 5 wanted to tell anyone who would listen—and for some reason, she thought Law was listening—about the wares she’d found at the market. Law ignored her, picking at his plate without much enthusiasm. The food, as always, was excellent—Doffy had high expectations of those who worked for him; Law’s stomach was simply tied in knots. It was a good thing Law rarely finished his meals, so his lack of appetite tonight didn’t appear unusual.

More than once, Law looked up to see Violet trying to catch his eye from several seats down the table. Law shook his head minutely and looked back down at his plate. He didn’t need to get her involved in this.

Law started when he felt a smack on his arm. He rubbed it with a frown at Baby 5. “What was that for?”

“Are you even listening to me, Corazon?”

Law snorted. “Of course not.”

Baby narrowed her eyes. “You’re such a jerk,” she muttered.

“Don’t act so surprised, Baby,” Law replied, lips twitching. It was easy enough to fall into this familiar pattern of banter with her.

She sighed dramatically. “You have been a jerk since you were ten.”

Law rested his chin on his hand, angling himself toward her slightly. “You want me to hear about your day, but you didn’t even ask me how my mission went.”

She scrunched up her nose then sighed resignedly. “How did your mission go, Corazon?”

Law shrugged, turning back to the table. “Fine.”

“You asshole!” she squawked, whacking him in the arm again. “Did you get rid of all your manners with your spots?”

Law gaped at her a moment before laughing in surprise. He would miss this; Baby was one of the only members of the Family he cared about. She’d been one of the few things that made his return to the Family tolerable.

“Just my people skills.” He picked up a piece of silverware from the table. “I still know a salad fork from a dessert fork.”

The rest of their conversation was cut short as Doffy pushed back from the table and rose. He nodded at the members of the Family gathered around the table.

“The rest of the night is yours. I have work to attend to.” He glanced to the side. “Pica, Machvise, a word in my office.”

As the summoned executives stood to follow Doffy from the dining room, Law pushed himself away from the table and headed for the hallway. He had a few things he needed from his room before meeting with his crew so headed that way; he could have just opened a Room and summoned them, but something told him to reserve his stamina for now.

He was about halfway to his chambers when he stopped. “What do you want, Violet?” He turned to see her turning a corner to face him.

She crossed her arms. “Why were you ignoring me at dinner?”

Law suppressed a sigh. “Because I’m an asshole.”

“True, but that’s not it. Try again.”

“I have a lot on my mind. Now, if you’ll excuse me—” Law started to turn back toward his room. He knew he was being unfair to her, but he didn’t want her reading him. Not today.

“Corazon, stop. Something is going on with you.”

Law turned back to her, jaw clenched. “Violet, don’t.”

“I can just read you to find out,” she threatened, lifting her hands.

Law grabbed her wrists before her hands could reach her face. “Don’t.”

She narrowed her eyes. “Let go.”

“Don’t try to read me, Violet,” Law practically growled. “I mean it. Not this time.”

She let out a huff then nodded. “Fine. Now let go.”

He released her wrists, and she rubbed her left wrist absently. “Something happened on your mission.”

Law chewed on the inside of his cheek for a moment before agreeing, “Yes.”

“What can I do?”

He blinked at her in surprise. “What?”

“If you’re in trouble, let me help.”

Law shook his head. She’d been trying to help him almost since he arrived in Dressrosa, and now the only way he could repay her was to keep her out of this mess. She had her father and niece to think about.

“Not for this one.”

“But—”

“Let it go, Violet.” Then he did open a Room and Shamble himself into his chambers, leaving a pen in his place in the hallway.

Years of practice with his powers allowed him to avoid landing awkwardly on his desk, and he dropped to the floor. He opened a drawer in his desk and pushed aside the items inside. He pressed on the right spot, and the false bottom opened. He reached in and grabbed the papers inside then replaced the false bottom and shut the drawer. He spread the papers out on his desk: blueprints of the castle. Violet had once mentioned that there was a secret passageway in the castle that only the Riku family knew about. She hadn’t revealed its location, though, and Law hadn’t asked.

If he could find that on the blueprints now, perhaps he could use it to get his crew out without being detected. He leaned over the paper with a frown, looking for anything that looked out of place or that he didn’t recognize. He could have asked her in the hallway just now, but he didn’t want what he was looking for getting back to Doflamingo—not before he and his nakama were gone, anyway.

He was so focused on the blueprints that he was taken by surprise when his door slammed open, rattling on its hinges. Law jerked upright but didn’t have a chance to react before a wave of mucus slammed him into the far wall. Law’s head slammed back against the wall. His vision darkened, and his body went slack, air leaving his lungs in a sharp exhale.

Goddamn concussion, he thought blearily as the world slowly started coming back into focus in front of him. His doctor side was distantly outraged at the battering his brain was taking, but the rest of him—the part in the here and now—was just trying to breathe.

As he came back to his senses, the first thing he recognized was that he was being held upright against the wall by Trebol’s mucus. Gross.

The shapes in front of him slowly materialized into Trebol and Diamante standing in his doorway.

“What the fuck, Trebol?” Law growled, though his voice lacked the power he wanted to put behind it.

“That’s what we should be asking you, Corazon.”

Law’s stomach dropped as Doffy entered the room behind his two executives. Law could feel the anger radiating off him.

He knows, Law realized. I wasn’t fast enough, and he knows. Fuck.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Law said, glancing around to assess his options. Though the mucus was holding him to the wall, his lower arms were free, so he could still form a Room. Kikoku was on the bed, but he could summon her with a Room.

He just had to do it at the right moment.

Doffy paused at Law’s desk and looked down at the papers. “Blueprints of the castle?” He turned back to Law. “And how did you get your hands on these?” Then he shook his head. “Never mind. I know how resourceful you are. And why would you need blueprints of the castle? Looking for an escape route?”

“Escape? Because that’s gone so well for me in the past,” Law scoffed, though he knew it wasn’t lost on Doffy that he’d side-stepped the question.

“I just heard from some sources in the Marines,” Doffy said, resuming his approach into Law’s space. “You’ll never believe who they have in custody.”

“I’m sure you’ll tell me.”

Law winced as a string sliced through his cheek. It was a shallow cut, but blood dripped down the side of his face. A warning.

“Monet and Caesar,” Doffy said, tilting his head as he looked down at Law. “And I can’t imagine how that could be when you told me you saw them this morning, Corazon.”

Law licked his lips, hating the way he had to look up at the Warlord. “I did see them this morning.” That wasn’t a lie. He’d just… withheld the condition he’d seen them in. “If they were careless enough to get arrested after I left, that’s not on me.”

Another string sliced through Law’s cheek, this one a bit deeper, just below the first cut.

Doffy leaned over to whisper in Law’s ear, “I’d be very careful of what you say next.” The temperature dropping with Doffy’s icy words.

Law swallowed but remained silent. Doffy could probably feel the racing of his heart at this proximity.

“I’m only going to ask once. Did you see Vergo on Punk Hazard?”

“I thought Vergo was here.” Which was true—he had thought that, until Vergo had shown his face on the Straw Hats’ ship the day before.

Doffy straightened and, eyes never leaving Law’s, pulled a Den Den Mushi from his coat. He dialed a number from memory.

The discarded coat on Law’s bed started to ring.

Law cursed silently. He’d completely forgotten to get rid of Vergo’s Den Den Mushi. He’d planned to look it over on the trip from Punk Hazard, but he’d gotten distracted by making plans to get the Straw Hats into Dressrosa, and the snail had remained untouched in his pocket.

Doffy finally tore his gaze from Law and went over to the bed. He grabbed Law’s coat and dug around until he found the buzzing snail. Law’s own Den Den Mushi was on his desk and silent, cutting off that potential excuse.

“This is Vergo’s Den Den Mushi.”

“I…”

“Vergo’s dead,” Doffy said, the snail still ringing in his hand. Doffy’s voice remained low, and Law had, from his childhood, found Doffy’s restrained fury far more terrifying than when the man lost his cool. “His heart had been removed from his chest and squeezed.”

Law was well and truly fucked.

Deciding he had nothing to lose, he flexed his fingers ever-so-slightly in preparation to open a Room—

Then cried out as a blade impaled itself through the palm of his right hand.

It took a moment for his abused brain to register why, other than the pain, this was such a problem.

It was his dominant hand.

The one he used to wield Kikoku.

The one he used to control his Fruit.

The one he led with in surgery.

Oh.

Oh.

“Nuh uh,” Diamante said from the other end of his waving blade. “No tricks, boy.”

“Nene, Corazon. Don’t surgeons need their hands?” Trebol chuckled.

Law made a choked sound as Diamante pulled the blade out. His thoughts spun as his hand dripped blood to the carpet beneath him. He’d felt worse pain than this—nothing he’d experienced had been worse than the final stages of Amber Lead Disease—but this was his hand.

“I can do the other one, Doffy. Make sure he can’t pull anything,” Diamante offered.

“No,” Doffy said, eyeing Law. “He’s no good to me if he can’t use his Fruit.”

Trebol’s mucus retreated, and Law fell forward. Without thinking, he reached out with his hands to catch himself then crumpled into a heap with a cry, hand coming to his chest as an electric shock jolted from his hand through his entire arm. The breath caught in his throat and the room around him fuzzed.

He’d failed.

He’d failed as an executive.

He’d failed as an ally.

He’d failed as a surgeon.

He’d failed as a captain.

He’d failed as a friend.

He’d failed Cora-san.

He barely registered the snapping of Seastone restraints around his wrists, the little strength he had left draining from his body as he went limp on the floor.

From somewhere above him, Doffy spoke, though Law couldn’t make out the words. He winced but didn’t struggle as Trebol and Diamante each grabbed one of his arms. The two executives dragged him bodily down the hallways of the palace, his feet trailing limply behind him. In his peripheral vision, he caught Violet’s shocked expression as the procession passed.

Law grimaced as they reached the stairs to the dungeon but didn’t have the strength to try to get his feet under him, so his legs thumped against each stone step as he was taken down. At the bottom, Trebol and Diamante exchanged a few words with the guard then followed him to what Law assumed was one of the Seastone cells. The guard opened the door, and Law was pulled into the cell and shoved against the wall, forcing the breath from his lungs. The chain between his wrist shackles was hooked above Law’s head before all the figures retreated.

Law slumped forward in defeat.

But he jerked upright at a familiar voice.

“Captain?”

Next chapter

[jackdawyt]

We’ve finally reached the moment my channel was created for, BioWare officially revealed a brand-new behind the scenes trailer that showcased many gameplay prototypes, concept artwork pieces and next-gen footage that each demonstrate Dragon Age 4’s current production stages, building an overall mood of the game’s vision and direction. And it’s just the best thing to come out of this year.  

Saria and myself have already broken down the trailer’s concept art, and gameplay shots in an incredible 45-minute video, that you need to check out if you’re remotely interested in the next Dragon Age game.

However, today I’m delving into every single piece of information that surrounds this new trailer, as we’ve got plenty of news, tweets and tidbits to delve into!  

First up though, before the trailer’s release we had a few related tweets from the team regarding the current production of the game.  

Production Updates:

In late July, Mark Darrah tweeted some updates about Dragon Age 4’s development. He said: “I realize that most of you are here for Dragon Age news and there hasn't been a lot of that lately...

Let me just run down some things I can say:

1. We are working on the next Dragon Age

2. Yes we are working from home

3. Working from home is harder  

4. We are making progress”

Continuing from that, John Epler retweeted Darrah’s post and said: “WFH is hard! But we're figuring it out, a little better every day. I miss lunches with my team, though.”

And, Patrick Weekes tweeted: “An exhausting but productive week, with a bunch of folks across the Narrative team coming together for Writer Voltron to look at some stuff and figure out how to make it better. Harder over Zoom, but worth it nevertheless.”

@stoner_gordon asked Patrick: “Writer Voltron? Maybe I’m slow today but what do you mean by that?”

Patrick Weekes replied: “There are things writers can work on for awhile by ourselves. Followers, or individual quests. But some stuff is owned by multiple writers, so we set aside time for all of us (plus non-writers involved with Narrative) to get together and hash things out. That’s Writer Voltron.

It is mostly a TON of meetings. We go over content and see what works and what doesn’t. It’s also the time where we make big narrative decisions as a team (or make big proposals we then bring to other affected departments).

Examples of stuff we decide at things like this:

- Hey, this big story element doesn’t work

- How should we do romances?

- Hey, this big huge thing is unclear

- Does it feel like we’re all making the same game?

We have a great team. It’s positive. We’re all exhausted by Friday.”

This was a very interesting look at how the writing team are pushing forward during the current world situation, ensuring that each writer can push on with individual work, while tasks that are assigned to many writers are slightly trickier, the team are working it out, while staying as safe as possible. And, I’m always eager to hear how certain things like individual quests, followers and romances are being developed.

Dragon Age Website Update:  

With the new trailer’s release, the Dragon Age website was updated. The trailer itself ended on the notion of visiting DragonAge.com.  

Upon impact to the site, there’s a red lyrium wallpaper with a slogan that says:

The world needs a new hero. Will you answer the call?

“Journey into the world of Thedas in Dragon Age™. Discover new adventures full of striking characters, powerful magic, and rich storytelling. Meet an incredible number of Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Qunari in a realm where every decision you make echoes across history.”

New protagonist, new adventures, striking characters, powerful magic, rich storytelling, a roster of races with every decision having rippling effects in the world. Each quality that truly define a Dragon Age game. Very exciting to see this!  

Behind The Scenes Trailer:

Onwards to the trailer, we have many of the amazing developers sharing plenty of insights into the next Dragon Age game’s vision and development.

Casey Hudson stated their using next generation technology, which will be Anthem’s codebase and tools of the Frostbite engine, to bring the world and characters of Dragon Age to life. And the team are still in early production, I’ve estimated that they’ve been in production stages for around 15 months, since May 2019.  

Casey Hudson (General Manager): “We’ve been using next generation technology to bring the world and characters of Dragon Age to life. We’re still in early production.”  

Gameplay Designer Melissa Janowicz spoke about creating bosses and how she helps with many of the creature designs, mostly doing the big threats we’ll go up against. This trailer’s concept art certainly paints a picture of many dark, evil monsters to defeat.  

Melissa Janowicz (Gameplay Designer): “We’re very experimental here at BioWare, so we’re always coming up with new stuff.”  

“I actually design bosses; I help with the creature design team as well. So, I do all of the big threats you have to go up against.”  

The Creative Director, and previous Art Director, Matthew Goldman shared that Dragon Age is all about mystery, and hard-boiled detective stories, which is an egg-cellent pun. All wrapped up in a fantasy setting, with an original world.

Matthew Goldman (Creative Director): “The world of Dragon Age has really got it all, it’s got frontier stories, it’s got mystery, it’s got hard-boiled detective stories. And of course, it’s all wrapped up in kind of a fantasy setting.”

“This is an original world, original flora, original wildlife, original architecture, that makes it fun to explore and discover.”

Executive Producer, and proficient teaser, Mark Darrah shared that in the next Dragon Age, we get an opportunity to see new things, new places, and interact with people who lived and grew up in these spaces as well.  

There’s a huge emphasis on characters we haven’t met yet, because of course, the Inquisition declared it would look for new people to deal with Solas. We’re going to Northern Thedas, we should expect brand new characters to fall in love with.  

Mark Darrah (Executive Producer): “In the next Dragon Age, we get an opportunity to see new things, new places, and interact with people who lived and grew up in these spaces as well.”  

Mastermind, and Lead Writer Patrick Weekes shared about the game that currently working on, and how they want to tell a very different story about what happens when you don’t have power, what happens when the people in charge aren’t willing to address the issues.  

This time around, we’re playing as a new hero, with not nearly as enough power like the Inquisitor, but instead someone who most likely comes from humble tidings, at a guess, someone like a spy, Antivan Crow, or Lord of Fortune.  

No matter the role, our main character will have many conflicts with the predominate people in charge, as they aren’t willing to tackle the issues at stake. I can assume many ideas of course, perhaps the Tevinter Magisterium, The Qunari Invasion, or the Dread Wolf’s scheme.  

Whatever powerful force that may ignore the ongoing issues, there’s going to be a lot of conflict from what can assume is going forward thanks to Tevinter Nights. 

Patrick Weekes (Lead Writer): “For the game we’re working on now, we want to tell a story – what happens when you don’t have power, what happens when the people in charge aren’t willing to address the issues.”

Arby’s Enthusiast, and Narrative Director John Epler spoke on the things we can expect in the next instalment, there are going to be stories that focus on the people around you, and the friends and family you make.  

Every Dragon Age game is about the family we create along the way, expecting more of that, lightens my heart!  

John Epler (Narrative Director): “The things you can expect in the next instalment are going to be stories that focus on the people around you, and the friends and family you make.”

“I just love the possibilities that Dragon Age offers us, and I’m excited to explore a lot more of them.”

Associate Producer Jen Cheverie shared that something we’ll be able to look forward to in the next Dragon Age are really close relationships with game characters who really become real for you. I’m so excited to see how relationships and friendships develop in the next game.  

Jen Cheverie (Assoc. Producer): “Something we’ll be able to look forward to in Dragon Age is a really close relationship with game characters who really become real for you.”

Foundation Technical Director, Jon Renish, with an amazing beard, spoke on how BioWare want characters to either be loved or hated, the best examples of that is Solas. Half of the community wants to kill him, half the people want to marry him, then another part want to do both.

The fact that the devs can stir these reactions, proves that BioWare can and will create characters that move, and shape us.  

If they can make you love or hate a character, they’ve successfully made you care for this world, even if hate is that motivator. However, if you felt nothing for a character, then you wouldn’t have these strong reactions, and wouldn’t feel as connected to the world, or that character.  

Jon Renish (Foundation Technical Director): “We want characters to either be loved or hated, one of the best examples of that is Solas. Half of the community wants to kill him, half the people want to marry him, then another part want to do both.”

Lead Creature Animator, Esther Ko confirmed that Dragon Age 4 is being created using motion-matching technology, that will ensure characters will be as realistic as possible, from the way they walk, move and interact.  

We saw a sneak peak of Solas’s facial animations, and we can already see the improvement of graphical fidelity and animation quality.  

Esther Ko (Lead Creature Animator): “BioWare and EA have been one of the forerunners in using motion matching technology, and that makes it way more realistic for when you're looking at the characters, the way the walk and move, and interact in the world.”

Writer Slyvia Feketekuty spoke on how players want suspension of their disbelief, to believe that the bunch of pixels that make up these characters are actually a living, breathing soul.  

Slyvia Feketekuty (Writer): “Players want that suspension of disbelief that this wonderful collection of digital pixels is actually a living breathing soul.”

Gameplay Director Andre Garcia said that choice is a big part of what Dragon Age is as a franchise, the decisions you make can affect change in the world. Reiterating that the next Dragon Age will most certainly surround our choices, with consequences for each.

Andre Garcia (Gameplay Director): “Choice is a big part of what Dragon Age is as a franchise, the decisions you make can affect change in the world.”

Adding more fuel to the fire for choices and consequences, RPG Programmer Katrina Barkwell spoke on decision-making meaning that a party member lives, or a party member dies. Ultimately, choice making means owning your outcome and reactivity to the choices that you do make.

Katrina Barkwell (RPG Programmer): “Decision-making can mean that a party member lives, or a party member dies. And it means owning your outcome and reactivity to the choices that you do make.”

I said in my breakdown, and I’ll say it again here, it was very nice to see a few of the developers that we love and support in this trailer, sharing vital information on the next game. The story about Dragon Age 4’s development is all about the people creating it, and I am so glad that BioWare have an amazing, tremendously talented bunch of people who know what Dragon Age is.

Adding to that, it was so wholesome to see many of the other developers on a zoom call, showing how despite the current world situation, they’re doing all they can to push the development of the next Dragon Age.  

Key Trailer Features:

Moving on, throughout the trailer, we had many key features highlighted.  

The in-engine shots showcase the next-gen improved fidelity and quality of the Frostbite engine. The reveal of Solas’s facial animations indicate more realistic and life-like animations and scenes, just look at his pearly white teeth, and how his face folds.

And the Gameplay shots reveal a character playing as a warrior, with a sword and shield, wearing Grey Warden armour. Most certainly, the character is a champion specialization, indicated by the “Line in the Sand” ability.  

We see them evading, blocking, shield bashing, and preparing to strike. The camera placement is solid, I really like the angle it currently has, I’m hoping it stays like this.  

The spider with hands is incredibly frightening, however, beautifully animated. I just hope it’s not going to grab items like the barrel, and throw them at us, when approaching combat.  

Two brand-new voice actors were revealed: Jee Young Han & Ike Amadi

Jee Young Han previously appeared in Anthem, as the character Sentinel Dax. In Dragon Age 4, conceptually, she’s playing a character called “Bellara”, whom I’d suspect is a dwarf, given that Qunari and Dwarves generally have American voice actors. Not to mention her dialogue line of something being “the good kind of rumble.”

Ike Amadi, also appeared in a previous BioWare title, being Mass Effect 3, as he played Javik! It seems he’s playing a character by the name of Davrin. Who is most certainly a Grey Warden, indicated by his dialogue? Perhaps he’s the Grey Warden in Tevinter Nights’ cover, considering none of the characters on the book’s cover appeared in the actual book?

Concept Art:

Moving on, the majority of the trailer features amazing conceptual artwork that reflects the mood, tone, story threads and narrative beats that the developers would like the final game to take inspiration from.  

Equally, that means the concepts may or may not appear in the finished project, it’s too early to tell. However, that doesn’t mean we shouldn't pass on dissecting and inspecting the art pieces, because we get a sense of BioWare’s vision, scope and direction for Dragon Age 4.  

Adding to this, Patrick Weekes tweeted about how concept art is used to create a mood, not to outrightly confirm things, but for a framework. While some concepts may excite you, like “Harley Qun”, don’t get attached just yet because they may, and will change.  

To quote Weekes: “We can't answer questions right now about who is or isn't a follower or what story choices we're making. Beyond giving away too much too early, we could also give you the wrong impression and leave you disappointed later. Or we might need to change things between now and ship.  

What I can say is that I personally am proud and excited about the game we're making. I hope that came through in the video. I also hope you have fun speculating, even if we can't answer questions right now. You all made a lot of devs' days yesterday. Thanks.”

So, while it’s absolutely fun, and amazing to speculate about what these concepts may relate to, and the direction of the next game, don’t get too attached just in case certain plot threads or characters are cut or changed.  

Needless to say, me and Saria still have plenty of speculation videos coming up following the trailer, because we find enjoyment in speculation, and seeing how far off from the truth we were when the game actually does ship, I think that’s a good mindset to have.

Regarding the trailer as a whole, I think it’s fair to say it was created as a reaction to what was shown at EA Play. A lot of the fanbase, and people in general were upset with what was shown, however, BioWare listened to us, and delivered this behind the scenes trailer, two months after.  

We can tell it was recently filmed too, not to get too stalker-ry, but Patrick Weekes dyed their hair on the 19th, June, which was a day after EA Play.  

If they had done so before, Weekes’ would’ve had their natural hair-colour in the trailer.  

So, even with the current world situation, the developers took the time to film and create this amazing BTS trailer. Speaking on behalf of the entire DA fandom, thank you so much BioWare for giving us a trailer while in very early-production stages. It has been the saving grace of 2020.  

Romance Teases:

In other news, we have a few Weekes Tweets that regard romance in the future.

Patrick Weekes retweeted @nevarran-novice saying: “This is my formal request that BioWare give us at least one emotionally damaging romance for every Dragon Age game. Like, literally scoop my soul out and throw it at the wall with the angst. Please.”  

Patrick replied with: “I mean I like happy romances with fun positive endings, but the customer is always right!”

It really is true; we all love pain and tragedy in this fandom, as we play Lost Elf theme at 1 am, sobbing in the night. I’m not the only one, right?

Patrick Weekes tweeted: “Hi, sorry, stumbled across this while looking for something else. Just wanted to say:

- Disliking a character or ship is totally valid and does not hurt my feelings

- Coming into someone’s space to say that what they like or dislike is wrong is bad, sorry that happened to you.

And in games with romances, I believe that the same-sex romances should offer the same spectrum of sweet-to-spicy that the straight options do. If all our m/m romances feel dirty while our m/f romances range from romantic to raunchy, then we need to do better.

This clearly hints to BioWare making their future romances more tasteful for every type of romance, which is always good, more inclusivity for everyone! In my honest opinion, I don’t need sex scenes to drive romances, while I’m sure I’d love one for a potential Qunari female wife, I don’t need, or desire them for every single character. Sex and romance in moderation; while being tasteful, sounds perfect in my opinion.  

In the concept artwork, we saw a sexy, Qunari female, that many of us have dubbed the nickname “Harley Qun”, while it’s really hard not to get attached, it’s nice to see BioWare making this character idea more of a reality.  

In 2017, a fan asked Weekes about the idea of a strong female Qunari companion. Weekes replied: “definitely a chance. We like doing character types we haven’t down before, and that would be a biggie in hypothetical future game.”

 So, while Harley is still just a concept design, there’s much potential for her in the future. I wonder if Patrick is writing her too, not that I’m basing my news on retweets, but Patrick has been retweeting a lot of her fanart. But that could just be because we’re already obsessed with her.  

Final romance related tweet, because I didn’t know where else to put this one... Patrick Weekes tweeted: “Is "Dick in a Box" formally a Lonely Island song, or is it technically SNL? It's for work.”

So, erm. Yep, there’s that.  

Mark....:

Mark Darrah tweeted: “No release date to share at this time…” Obviously as a joke, for those who don’t know, the next Dragon Age is at least 2-3 years away, according to EA’s 2019 earnings call.  

Next Comic:

As a final, very exciting news update, Nunzio DeFillipis, the amazing Dragon Age comic writer, alongside with his wife, Christian Weir posted on Tumblr about the potential of a new comic mini-series:  

They replied to autopotion asking about the future of the comics, saying:

“We have another miniseries planned - and it would have come out this year if not for the current world situation shutting down the industry.  We don’t want to promise anything, because everything is so up in the air with the entire world right now.  But what we can say is that if and when there is another miniseries, it will wrap up the story we’ve been telling since Knight Errant.  We will then aim to tell more stories, but one thing at a time.”  

“Wish we could say more.  Because we have a LOT to say, we promise.  Hopefully we can talk about things soon.”

As an absolute fan of each of the Dragon Age comics, the fact that most certainly another one is on its way, and it will end the narrative since Knight Errant excites the crap out of me. Originally, it seems we would’ve had two comic launches this year, Blue Wratih to start year, and one following from that, ending 2020.  

I imagine we’ll see this project back on track soon. It sounds as if this one may be a conclusion to the current comic roster, and after that, we may get brand new stories explored in other comics. While that’s quite far off, I adore this team behind the comics, and eagerly await an update to their stories.  

With all that said, that’s a wrap for this most exciting news update, I’m honestly so excited to be creating Dragon Age content at the moment, making videos that I’ve dreamed about creating for so long. Check out my latest breakdown, and if you’re new, why not follow me, you’re in the best place to be informed on all things Dragon Age related. From the lore to speculation and news, I have it all here.  

[pikachu78109]

After Thoughts on Pokémon SwSh ((SPOILER HEAVY! TREAD CAREFULLY))

Okay, wow. So, I played and finished the main story in two days (I had so much free time after college classes) and I managed to power through the game in no time at all. Right now, I am doing post game, but I’ll save that for another time. For now, I want to address my overall thoughts on the main story and some of the pros and cons that this Gen has brought. Spoiler heavy content incoming!

Pros

1) The region is f*cking gorgeous!

When the Pokémon team really puts their mind to it, they create Galar to look really beautiful. From past generations, most of the town weren’t really towns, they looked like villages. And though the cities looked big like in Gen 5, 6, and 7, Gen 8 really pushed itself with its graphics and made the design of the towns and cities looks massive and eye catching. The colors pop and the things that stand out really stood out, such as MotoStoke, Wyndon, Hulbury, and Hammerlocke. These games are just so gorgeous to look at!

2) The Wild Area

Grinding as never been as fun when you’re in the Wild Area. Not only can you Dynamax your Pokémon when approaching as Power Spot, you can encounter rare Pokémon and Camp and do some serious training before the next Gym Match. I used this area a lot when playing through this game, and I have collected so many Berries and items and even battled some Pokémon to level up my team. This area has a functional use and something worth mentioning because I found this area to be extremely helpful whenever I need a bit of grinding. There are a few Trainers, heck there’s even a nursery if you want to drop off a couple of your Pokémon there, and they do sometimes give you items in exchange for Watt power. It depends on how much though, but you could get some rare items from them, if possible. Overall, a really great addition!

3) A Good Cast of Characters

Galar has so many characters and the majority of them are pretty good! While there are a few that I felt could’ve been stronger or competent even, most of the characters have different personalities and each one displays vast characteristics that make them stand out. Marnie, Bede, and Hop were great rivals and each one had a personal goal and under went character growth (Bede especially) as the story continued. Other characters like Sonia were present in the story and offered more to the plot, like telling about the legends in Galar or assisting you on your way. Leon was a character who was present most of the time and was a great Champion. Most of the Gym Leaders were unique in their own way (some more than others) and gave Gym Missions that could either frustrate you or not. It’s definitely not like Gen 7 where the cast gets involved one way or another, but in Gen 8, the cast never felt forgettable and had something to offer.

4) The Soundtrack Is Good

If I can pull a Trugreen 7 here, the music in this generation was pretty good. It brought a lot of life to the region and gave it atmospheric energy. My favorites include the Slumbering Weald, the Gym Leader theme, Chairman Rose’s theme, and Hop’s Battle theme to name a few. The Wild Area gets hit with a blast of bagpipes, giving it a distinct identity apart from the routes, cities, and towns. When the OST for this game comes out on iTunes, I’m definitely going to download some of these tracks!

5) Very Immersive

The attention to detail on the games bring out the immersion was pretty good. There’s definitely some humanity to the main character and there are a few things that accompany that. The Pokémon Camp mechanic was a great way to play with your Pokémon, make curry, and even invite other players to join your Camp. Not only that, but you could visit any nearby Pokémon Camps and interact with the Trainer’s Pokémon if you so wished. There’s a lot of upgrades to the character customization where you have a lot of options to choose from, from clothes to hair, so you could give your player character some identity that’s unique to you or look like you. The Power Up Spots found in the Wild Area invites players to join in a battle against a Dynamaxed Pokémon, so the use of teamwork and connecting with other players helps bring out more usage to the Dynamax mechanic. The region can get pretty easy to get sucked into and it shows.

Cons

So, now that I covered some of my personal favorite pros, I will now discuss some my personal cons that I have with this game. Keep in mind that these cons are of my personal opinion and maybe you might disagree, which is perfectly fine! Anyway, here they are!

1) The Story was Lackluster

As a new game on the Switch, the build to the story was something that I was looking forward to. I mean, there have been leaks about the story that were more like rumors, but they sounded really interesting and it got me hyped for the games. After playing through the story, it wasn’t much. The story, for the most part, was hardly a story. You’re just going around Galar, competing in the Gym Challenge and stopping whatever obstacles that come your way, such as Team Yell. Plot wise, there’s nothing. And when I mean ‘nothing’, I mean that the plot didn’t attribute to anything spectacular. The ending to the story felt very anti-climatic with the whole Eternatus situation and could’ve been handled better with the proper timing or with a better build up. Eternatus does not get mention much throughout the entire story and we are led to assume that Eternatus is the cause of The Darkest Day. That detail felt super unclear to me and I couldn’t tell what the f*ck was going on until the very last half of the game. I will get into more of that later, but for now all I can say is that I liked the leaked rumors more than the actual story we were given.

2) Chairman Rose Is A Weak Antagonist

Why? WHY?! As much as I like his battle theme, Chairman Rose is such a dumb antagonist! Listen, I know that villains in Pokémon can either be weak or great, but it all boils down to their motivation. Their motivations have to at least make some sort of sense, even if it is mediocre or half assed. Chairman Rose’s motive is all based around semi good intentions that can be similar to Lusamine’s from USUM. However, Chairman Rose doesn’t seem entirely aware of what he is doing and jumps into whatever scheme that he thinks might work and help all of Galar. Instead, his plans come off as lazy and last minute. We don’t get any occurrences to his antagonistic intentions because we are devoted to our Gym Challenge while Rose hides behind the shadows. To his credit, he would have to be the most sane antagonist in all of Pokémon and does turn himself in afterwards, so clearly he knew that he f-ed up. That being said, he would have to be the weakest Pokémon villain in my book and I would’ve preferred his secretary Oleana to be the villain instead.

2) Oleana Should Have Been the Main Antagonist

Like I said, Oleana should have been the main antagonist in these games. From the get go, she gave off so many red flags for being a character with less than good intentions but was actually a supposed Admin instead. I mean, she gives off so many bad vibes that I almost believed that she was the antagonist, not Rose. This was just a missed opportunity to me, because in the final stretch of the games, you get a bunch of Macro Officers who supposedly started a fan club surrounding Oleana. Like, wtf?! If you’re lackeys are going to making a fan club dedicated to you, then that has to say something. Oleana has always been a character that just had a cold expression on her face, but she’s left in a position that should’ve been rectified. Once again, this was a missed opportunity.

3) The Champion Battle Could’ve Been Better

As much as I adore Leon, the Champion battle against him didn’t feel as challenging as I hoped it would be. Instead, it almost felt like Gen 6 all over again with me almost knocking out his team completely with little to no effort involved. And he’s supposed to be the ‘undefeated’ Champ in Galar! Shouldn’t he be challenging? Shouldn’t he give me a hard time by providing moves that could put my team in a bind? There’s not much I can say about this other than the fact that this battle could’ve been better. I don’t know about other players, but from this experience, the Champion battle didn’t feel, well, Champion enough.

Final Thoughts

Okay, final thoughts. Obviously, I do have a lot more to say about Pokémon SWSH, but I didn’t want this post to become a lengthy essay. There were definitely some step ups and it’s clear to see where the steps were made to creating this game. Despite the controversy surrounding this Gen, I hope that this generation gets recognized beyond that. There are good things about this game that I pointed out, but there were also some things that felt rushed or didn’t make much sense.

I can’t say that I regret buying these games, because I am glad that I went to Galar and experienced many things from that region. Still, the things that stood out poorly really did show, which is a bummer because these were missed opportunities that could’ve made the games a lot stronger. I don’t think that Gen 8 is a bad game (heck I place that title onto USUM) but it’s definitely in a mixed bag with me.

If I were to rate this game on a scale of 1-10, I would give a 6/10, mainly because of weak story but accompanied with beautiful visuals and a decent cast of characters. The game does have some replay value but I believe that I might restart my game and play through everything all over again. That’s how I usually roll.

Recommending this game to other players would be difficult given the reputation this game has, but as a Switch game, it does an okay job. I just hope that the next games will have more effort and something to look forward to without any unnecessary drama to blacklist it. I can only dream.

[sher-soc-the-famder]

The Show Must Go On- Chapter 4

Word Count: 5002

Pairings: Gen, Platonic LAMP, Platonic Roman&OC

Warnings: Crying, Guilt, Panic Attacks

Masterpost 

Read on AO3 <– Previous Chapter  Next Chapter –>

Panic was his constant state; if it weren’t for the fact it was panic, he almost thought he’d get used to it. He pressed into the shadows even more and held his breath as footsteps passed him by. His arms were shaking, or it could have been the small warmth in them; either way. he frantically prayed that it wouldn't rattled the plastic around them and give them away.

He was starving and exhausted, but he knew that he couldn’t stop moving.

Nowhere was safe, no one could be trusted, and that was the way it always had been and always would be. No matter how much part of him insisted otherwise—said that there was at least one person out there—he shoved it down. He could not afford that weakness.

The footsteps faded and he sucked in a sharp breath for dashing from his hiding spot and down the alley.

Nowhere was safe, and never would be—

The sun warmed Roman’s back as he leaned back in his chair and watched as Victoria bent over the papers and maps she had scattered across one of Darcy’s tables. Really, the theater rehearsal would be done for the day soon, and Roman wasn’t sure if he wanted to be there when his fellow actors walked by. But Vic had insisted that they both needed sunlight so here they were.

The thing was that, as much as he wanted to, Victoria insisted they couldn’t just take off and chase the horizon in order to find the others. Roman felt like he was vibrating out of his skin, from excitement, from worry, he didn’t know anymore. But something was pushing him forward, insting that they needed to get a move on, and needed to have done it yesterday.

“Alright,” Victoria muttered, most likely to herself, since whenever she started talking lately Roman would get frustrated and argue that they could take care of any problems on the road. “I think we’ve got enough funds to travel for about a month, but then we’d be stranded and—”

She ran a hand through her hair, air hissing from between her teeth.

“I just don't know if we can afford this. Not if we want to find all three.” She bent over the papers in her hand and glared at them as if they offended her, and Roman had to agree with the sentiment. He reached out and yanked them from her hands.

“Oh come on, Vic-tange Cassette,” he insisted. “We can do this! We just have to get started!” He didn’t say that there was something about his dreams; about the shadows that chased him in the form of the other sides that worried him. There was something wrong with all of them, he was certain. And being the prince and hero that left it up to him to rescue them. “We have everything we need!”

Vic turned her glare to him, and scowled.

“No,” she disagreed, “we don't. We just don’t have the funds for a country wide search Roman, let alone the possibility of an international one. All we have is a vague direction for each of them, all in different locations may I add, and just–” She let out a frustrated screech and threw her hands in the air– “I’m a broke college student, and you're a broke actor. Face it; travel isn’t something that’s easy for us.”

“But we can’t just give up!” Roman exploded, rising from his chair in the same motion to pace the room. His hands waved through the air frantically, practically flailing. “I refuse– nay I disavow the very idea! They need me, and I won't just– just leave them hanging because something as STUPID as funds!”

His chest heaved and Victoria laid a hand on his elbow.

“I’m not saying that Ro’, sit down,” she said, but he shrugged her arm off and tried to ignore the pang of hurt that passed through her face. “I’m just thinking that we simply can’t do it now. We have to be careful with this if they’re in as much danger as you say. We could make things worse—”

“They can’t get worse!” Roman whirled on her, “We’re not together, I have no idea where Thomas is and I don’t know why I even exist. I was– I am Hopes and Dreams and Creativity, Victoria! If I’m dreaming about them then we’re still connected, and that means they’re true and in danger. We’re not meant to function on our own! I’m not supposed to be alone!”

He gritted his teeth as the silence fell and very quietly, in a whisper that he almost missed Victoria responded, “But you’re not alone.”

His anger faltered because it wasn’t her fault. Whatever in godmother's name was going on; the one good thing that had come out of it was Victoria.

(He ignored the voice that whispered how he would choose the others over her any day.)

“I just—”

“You miss them,” she said softly. “I get it Ro’ I do, but we can’t just charge ahead on this.”

“Charge ahead on what?” Mr. Schneider asked from behind them, and they both jumped.

“Sir!”

“Professor!”

He raised an eyebrow at them and Roman flushed while Victoria busied herself with the papers in her hands. He crossed his arms over his chest, staring down at them and tapping his foot.

“Double. Trouble,” he said flatly. “Why is it I’m getting the feeling that you two are planning something that I’m not going to like?”

Roman tried his best not to flinch. He never really thought about it, but leaving meant leaving his position as lead, and that alone would upset Mr. Schneider, not to mention the part where he runs off alone with his best friend thing for unknown destinations.

“Because you don't like anything we plan,” Victoria snarked, nudging Roman with her elbow lightly. “I mean, the names say it all don't they?”

Mr. Schneider sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, and Roman chewed lightly on his bottom lip. This man had taken him under his wing, had helped him improve his acting—or at least he had memories of it happening—and it didn’t seem far to disappear on him in return. When the director turned a stern eye on them, he felt himself crack.

“We’re going looking for my brothers,” he blurted, and felt Victoria’s elbow dig into his side again, sharper this time.

“Ro,” she hissed, glancing at Mr. Schneider, and Roman glared back at her. He wasn’t an idiot; he wasn’t going to start talking about mis-matching memories or the fact that he thought he was only a facet of a full human’s personality. Not if it would keep him from tracking down the rest of them.

“You’re going to have a struggle finding a lead to replace me,” he continued, “seeing as I am fabulous. But there are citizens who need me more presently; specifically my family, and I can’t let them down.” His chin jutted up and he glared at the director. “And nothing you say can stop me.”

Victoria groaned quietly and buried her face in her hands, while Mr. Schneider��s eyebrow climbed his face again. But Roman wouldn’t take it back—he refused to—and he threw his shoulders back, squared to fight if he had to. He knew that he made bad decisions; that he got caught up in his fantasies and the way he thought life should be.

But this was bigger than that; it was his family.

Mr. Schneider sighed and reached over to dig through the bag over his shoulder. Roman blinked at him, and Victoria slowly raised her head to stare.

“Very well,” he said firmly, and held out a gold colored debit card. “If I cannot talk you out if it, then I may as well assist you in this...quest of yours.”

Roman felt his jaw drop as he reached out to take the card.

“Professor, we–” Victoria breathed, and shook her head– “we can’t take this! We have no idea how long with will take or how much it’ll cost or—”

Mr. Schneider held up a hand and Roman bit down on the urge to snap at Vic. As much as he hated it, she was right. Patton would hate it if he accepted it, and Virgil would worry about debts and ulterior motives.

Mr. Schneider, however, shook his head.

“That is from a special account of mine. I’ve been saving for years, and now I know why.” He laid a hand on Roman’s shoulder and curled the younger man’s fingers around the card pressing it to his chest.

“Family is important kid; much more than a retirement fund I don’t need,” the man said gently. “Don't you worry about cost, or me. You kids deserve this; it’s the least I could do for you talented young adults.”

Roman sucked in a sharp breath, and he heard Victoria wheeze from behind him.

“Thank you,” he breathed out. “I can’t– Sir, this is– thank you.”

Mr. Schneider squeezed his shoulder and said, “Find your brothers Roman, that would be repayment enough for me.”

Roman nodded, and couldn’t swallow the lump in his throat as Mr. Schneider nodded at both of them and turned to walk off, disappearing into the street and getting swallowed up by the pedestrians around him.

Roman whirled around and beamed at Victoria.

“Vic, Vic, Vic!” He threw himself into her arms and laughed, picking her up and spinning her around. He danced past the metal tables and waved at Darcy though the window, who leaned on her counter and waved back, throwing him a thumbs up.

They could do this, they would do this, and Roman felt like he could walk on air, like everything wanted would just drop out of the air for him.

Victoria laughed, hitting his arm lightly.

“Roman, Ro’ put me down!” She grinned down at him, and he hugged her tighter. “But yes Roman, we can do this, we really really can do this.” Her voice faded a bit at the end, but Roman had already moved on.

“But first,” she said, as he finally set her back down. “We need to wrap everything up here. Get Jasmine checked out to make sure she’s ready for the trip. Packing will be weird, seeing as we’re going to gone for who knows how long, but we have to fit everything in Jasmine. We could set a goal to leave...”

“A week!” Roman inisted, “at most!” The sooner they could get on the road, the better. A week would be long enough to give his notice to his supervisor and let the two of them pack everything they needed. They might need to rent out a storage space, but Mr. Schneider had said not to worry about cost.

Victoria hesitated and finally nodded.

“A week, and then we’ll be on the road.” She pressed a hand to her papers and looked down at the map on top. Her lips pressed into a thin line and her mouth opened, then closed. She hissed a breath through her teeth and finally asked, “Who are we going to look for first?”

Roman felt a jolt run through his body, every muscle locking in place as his hand rested on the keys to Jasmine. His face turned white, blood rushing out of it, and he felt his breath hitch.

“What– ?” he whispered, and a part of him knew that it was only logical, (Logan, it whispered) that they focus on one. They had no way of knowing if the other sides were in the same place but still-

Vic’s lips turned white, and she looked on the verge (Virgil) of chewing on her bottom lip in anxiety. Roman took a deep breath and closed his eyes, thinking back on everything he knew, both what he remembered of the others and what he suspected the trouble they were in was like.

“Virgil,” he finally settled on. “Virgil–– I think–– He needs our help most.”

He shoved down on the feelings of guilt churning in his gut at even having to choose, and tried to remind himself that they’d look for them all.

Victoria nodded, and laid a hand on his arm briefly before getting up.

And Roman understood, he did. They had to get things done and running and off the ground, and Victoria most likely thought that he would feel better once he had the others back. Roman certainly hoped that he would feel better once he had the others back.

Roman was probably a little manic, he admitted to himself as he looked around his near empty room. Everything he didn’t need were packed away in boxes, lined up by his door and ready to be stored away. His posters had made him pause briefly, remembering The Nightmare Before Christmas ones that Virgil had kept, which only spurred him to further pack for the trip already; and as a result, he found himself hovering in his own room, wondering what else he needed to do.

He tapped his foot several times before whirling on his heel and stalking out of his room. The moonlight shone through the open windows, but Roman didn’t pause to feel the night wind on his face like he normally would have. He wanted to be on the road right then, no matter how impossible it would have been.

A soft voice drifted from the main room, and Roman blinked. He thought that Victoria had already went to bed. She had been quiet after their talk, simply moving through the apartment and noting down what they needed and what they didn’t. She had offered to talk to the landlord about the lease tomorrow, but Roman had insisted to do it himself.

He didn’t have anything else to do after all.

The closer he got the easier it became to make out what Victoria was saying, most likely on her phone. He peered around the doorway, eyes locking on Victoria from the side as she sat down at the counter.

“—Yes, I’m certain that I need to talk to Dr. Picani,” she said, and Roman winced at the tone. It wasn’t sharp, but it was edged. An exhaustion that came from being too tired to truly fight back.

“Yes, it’s important, yes– it has to be now. Patricia, come on, you know me. Work or personal, when have I ever called for a frivolous reason.”

Roman tilted his head and let out a slow quiet breath, pushing down the urge to reach through Vic’s phone and strangle the lady on the other end. It took a lot to push Victoria to the edge, and he couldn’t help but shuffle guiltily, wondering if he had something to do with it. Victoria had always tried to put him first even to the detriment of herself, and Roman knew that he was too ashamed to admit there were times he took advantage of that.

“Thank you,” she finally gritted out through her teeth, leaning forward in her chair and pressing her arms on the counter. Roman stepped forward quietly, unsure if he was welcome in this conversation.

“Yes Doc, it’s Victoria, I need to talk to you.” He saw her lips twitch upwards for a brief moment and her head shook, even though the therapist couldn’t see it. “No Doc, it’s– it’s not personal today.”

Roman watched her sigh.

“It’s about my internship.”

Roman felt his teeth clamp down on his tongue hard enough to draw blood in an effort to keep himself quiet. Frickity frack, hang his coat on a rack; he had forgotten. Vic had worked so hard to earn her spot in Dr. Picani’s office, and he had a picture of her beaming face packed away in his boxes even now. But if they were traveling—and if they were travelling for godmother knows how long—then she couldn’t keep it.

The right thing to do would be to tell Victoria to stay; that he’d be fine on his own. But Roman was selfish. He wanted his best friends to meet the others. He wanted her to love them the way that he did, he wanted everyone he cared about in one spot and getting along, and he wasn't Patton. He wasn’t Morality in the end. (Though he wondered how much of that still applied before shoving the thought away.)

“Something’s–” Victoria tripped over her words– “Something’s come up.” A pause. “No, no it’s not anything bad, I’m just going to be away, and I know that you– I don’t know, we’re not sure how long this is going to take. It’s– Yeah, me and Ro’, but I doubt that’s a surprise to you.”

Her shoulders were climbing towards her ears and Roman wanted to reach out to smooth down the tension, but he drew back. He clenched his fists and felt himself tremble as Victoria’s voice did.

“Yes, yes it’s so important Doc. He– He needs this– to...to get out of here. He was never one to stay still you know?” Her laugh was watery and he could hear her grip on the phone tighten.

“Me?” Her voice was small. “Yes, yes I do want to be a therapist, I– I don’t want to stop learning from you but Doc, if I can’t help my best friend how can I help anyone else? He– he went through so much for me; things I can never repay but I can try my best. Maybe– Maybe there’s something I can learn out there too.”

Roman gritted his teeth, watching her shoulders shake and listening to her voice crack as it rose then dropped again suddenly, as if she worried about if he could hear it; after all, she always cared about him more than herself.

Roman felt that thought cut deep and make him bleed.

“He’s worth more than me!” She was close to crying, Roman could feel it. “He– he’s the one that’s going to dazzle the world Doc. Yes, I– no, no, I get it, I shouldn’t talk about myself like that.”

Her free hand came up, and Roman knew that she was pressing it to her face.

“No, no, I haven’t started up old habits. I just– Doc, please. Please. I need someone to tell me that I’m doing this for more than my own sense of guilt.” She was sobbing quietly now, shuddering with every breath and Roman couldn’t hold himself back anymore. He lunged forwards and wrapped his arms around her. Her sobbing grew worse, a tiny voice coming from the phone, but not clear enough that Roman could make out the exact words.

Roman waited a moment for the Doc to say his words before he tugged her away from the counter, and spun her chair. Letting her huddle into his chest, he pried the phone from her hand and brought it up to his ear.

“Doc?” he spoke into it and pressed a soft kiss to Vic’s head.

“Ah, Roman!” Dr. Picani greeted him cheerfully before his voice dropped into a more serious tone. “You remember how to calm her down?”

“Mmhm,” Roman agreed. “I’ll have her call you back in the morning.”

“You’re a regular Amethyst to her Pearl,” Picani teased and said his farewell.

Roman hung up the phone and pulled Vic even closer to himself. Her sobbing had quieted to silent tears and the occasional hiccups, so Roman swept her into his arms and carried her to the computer. He gathered the blanket he had never moved from the failed movie marathon, and nudged it off of his chair.

He set her down between his legs and reached around her to turn on the first movie that was on his queue. He leaned back and ran a hand through his friend's hair, talking softly throughout the entire opening of Enchanted, resolving to talk about her breakdown in the morning after Dr. Picani had his chance.

Just like she would do for him.

Everything was—

Empty.

Dark.

Silent.

Lonely.

And in the void, he waited.

Victoria slid the last of her books into the box and rocked back on her heels. It meant that everything around the apartment that was hers was put away. Which meant only her room was left. Something she had been trying to avoid.

An empty room meant they were really doing this. That she was doing this. Leaving everything they had ever worked for—all the progress they had made—being thrown to the wind to go on what was probably going to end up as a wild goose chase.

She leaned forward and laid her head on the shelf in front of her.

Or maybe she just wanted it to turn out that way.

Victoria took a deep breath, shoving away from the wall. She flexed her fingers, the pain from her nails digging into her palm dragging her away from the darker thoughts. This whole trip was for Roman, not her. She didn’t matter in this equation. Not when there were people out there that could make Roman so much happier.

“Don’t be selfish,” she muttered under her breath and bit down on her thumb.

Roman had done so much for her; it was only fair that she do something in return. It was what friends did.

Her stomach rolled at the thought. She shook her head, trying to clear those thoughts. It was more than just that, she wanted Roman to succeed, she wanted Roman to find his brother, other sides, magical companions, whatever they were.

Vic straightened her back and marched towards her room. The sooner she got this done, the sooner that they could get going. Roman couldn’t do this alone, and Victoria wasn’t the sort to abandon him. Which meant that she was going to uproot everything for him again, and she clenched her jaw at the thought.

It wasn’t quite as warm as it had been when they had left their hometown.

Her door swung open, the posters along the wall mocking her. The scattered textbooks, papers, and clothes long since put away so that she could move through the room easier; it felt less lived in—less like her room—already and more like a place she had once stayed.

Victoria chewed on the inside of her cheek, eyes scanning the room to decide what she needed to pack up first. Clothes would be the one of the things she took with her, as well as phone, charger, toiletries. The posters would be useless, but Victoria fingered her bedspread. Some comfort on the road may be nice, seeing as she had no idea how long this would take.

A creeping sort of fear suddenly took hold—that it would take longer than the amount Mr. Schneider had on his card would last—and for a moment she couldn't breath.

Maybe she should have tried to talk Roman out of this more. Maybe they'd be so far on the road for so long that they wouldn't be able to make money by the time it ran out. Or maybe it would be at the worst time and they'd be stuck. And it would be her fault, for not planning better, for not budgeting, for not keeping him safe.

Victoria tore her hand away from the blanket. It would be fine. She brought a hand up to her chest and felt it rise and fall with her breathing. In and out, over and over again. Always faithful, a human body; even when the mind betrayed it and wanted to stop working.

Victoria shook her head and started to tug at the blankets on her mattress. She'd take it with her. Picani did say that routine and a safe bubble would help her cope with her problems.

So Vic folded up the Disney pattern and set it neatly down next to her bags, before rolling up her sleeves and starting the process of boxing everything else up.

It was when she was staring at an empty room— shelves that had held her work empty; walls that held her passions bare; and the closet that, well it hadn't held her heart for real, but it held something that represented it was an empty void; it was only then did she lean back and close her eyes.

Victoria took a moment to mourn what was, and what could have been.

And then she took another deep breath, clenching her fists and tried to convince herself not to mourn the past as well.

Her heart was still with her, loud and proud and extra as always.

Roman hadn't left her.

Victoria slung her purse over her shoulder, shoved her stuff into the pile Roman had been taking out to the car, and headed out the door. She needed air. She needed to see her home one last time before it was replaced with endless road and the fear that they'd reach the end, only for Roman to tell her goodbye.

Or worse, that she'd make it halfway with him only to give up. To run out of energy and roll over onto her back and let the world do what it would with her.

Victoria gripped her purse tight, causing her knuckles to turn white as she walked a little faster. At least Roman wouldn't be as concerned if it happened. Not when he had others to think about, others to love. Something cracked in her bag and Victoria startled out of her thoughts.

It was fine, she was fine.

She was just jealous that was all. She brushed a stray hair out of her face, feeling the wind against her face as the familiar street that lead to Darcy's came into view. Just jealous because she was used to having Roman to herself. Anything other than that could be shoved down into a familiar dark box where everything she didn't want to think about ended up.

Her feet drifted towards the ice cream shop—yes, Roman, shop; no one had a shoppe these days—and Victoria pondered if Roman would like one last cone for the road.

Probably not. He had been vibrating with energy the last she had caught sight of him, hauling boxes and belting songs out at the top of his lungs. If they didn't leave soon, he'd start walking instead just to burn off the energy.

"Aha!" Vic startled at the voice. She whirled on her heel, meeting Darcy's near-black eyes. "If it ain't the girl that I was looking for today."

"Me?" Victoria shoved her thoughts away to grin at Darcy. "Why, I didn't know I was so special!"

" ‘Course you are," Darcy said with a thoughtful hum, and movement drew Vic's eyes to the packages in the woman's hands. Dark hands held the wrapped items out to her.

"These are for you and your platonic love birdie. Use them well."

Victoria took them, tilting her head as she tried to figure out what was in them.

Darcy laid a hand on her head.

"Stay strong Victoria. Shadows can provide a comfort of their own, when the light shines too bright to look at."

"Alright," Victoria said slowly, "If you say so Queen."

Darcy laughed, a soft sound for a kind woman. "You're going to be fine Vic."

The ice cream shop owner ruffled Victoria's hair, wavy curls tangling at the motion. Victoria squawked, tucking the packages under her arm to flatten out her hair. By the time she looked away, the other woman was gone.

Roman shoved the last of the boxes into Jasmine’s trunk and leaned against the door, taking a deep breath. His head tilted back and his eyes found the window of the apartment that had been his home for the past two years. It had been his first true home, but not really; not when his head was insisting that home was farther down the coast: in Florida.

“Yo, The Prince is Right!” Victoria called, and he turned to beam at her, blinked as he caught the package that she threw at him. The plastic crinkled in his hands and he glanced down at it. It was emblazoned with a familiar logo, Darcy’s, staring back up at him.

“Darcy does more than ice cream?” he asked incredulously.

“Apparently,” Victoria said with a shrug. “She tracked me down and said that we had to have these for some reason. The look on her face was really weird, so I didn’t exactly question it. You know how she is.”

Roman nodded slowly, thinking back to the black woman’s cryptic words about heroes and journeys, before tearing his package open. His jaw dropped, and he ran a hand over the white silk that greeted him.

It glittered in the sun and, as he unfurled it, the gold pattern on it was unfamiliar to him; but by godmother was it gorgeous.

“She can make capes!?” he shrieked and twirled it around his shoulders, where it settled as if it had always been meant to be there. The weight of it made up for the fact that he wasn’t wearing the costume Thomas had put together for him so long ago, and something in him settled. He carefully clasped it together, and whirled on his heels to feel it spin.

“Not just that,” Victoria breathed, and held out a pair of golden gloves. The white embroidered around the edges matched his, but the closer he looked, the more differences he could find.

“They have nails built into them too, see?” She slid them into her hands and he watched as the lumps in the front of them extended into long, stiletto fingernails.

The designs on them almost seemed to swirl in the light and Roman squealed at the sight of them. He grasped her hands, and pulled them closer to himself.

“Darcy does nails?” He tapped them lightly and grinned. “Armed and dangerous now?”

Victoria snickered and took her hands back, gesturing at Jasmine. “You ready?” she asked quietly.

Roman took a deep breath, and nodded.

[studyari]

26 trying to become an engineer. (2nd attempt)

Hello everyone :-)

Today I’ve been feeling pretty down and thought, well, I may as well do something that might get my mind off of my mood. I thought, “hey maybe I’ll share my story on tumblr.” So, here I am spiraling.

This is not my main blog but I did notice that over the years it was hard to find blogs that were active. Somehow, I came across the ‘studyblr’ community and couldn’t believe how many people were currently using this platform in that way. I’m starting school in the fall so I thought it would be a cool idea to also make one, and maybe it would keep me motivated! We will see. I have a good feeling because there are already sooo many amazing resources and advice tips. It’s very reassuring.

I guess I should start my story off with a few details about who I am and the type of life I had before coming to this point. My name is Ari and I love learning but I never had the vision or drive to look forward into the future very much. I did not concern myself with the responsibilities of adulthood when I was in high school. During that time, I wasn’t really focused on anything in particular. I didn’t sign up for the AP Classes, I didn’t see myself going to college, and the classes I wanted to take, I never was able to get in (my school already had overcapacity classes and it was the oldest high school in my city picture the not having enough books, packed classes, and old and worn learning materials). I really wanted to get into horticulture and signed up for it 3 years straight to no avail. Even though I lacked the competitive spirit and drive, I still had high enough standards for myself to try my best in school even if I didn’t know exactly why I was doing it. I did well and my class rank, I found out was #3. I only found out because the teacher I worked for would tell me “hey you’re really close to having to give a speech” to that I was like HUH? I also was way too shy to even think about that so I just kind of brushed it off. But to this day, I wonder what I could have accomplished if I had the same goals my peers had. 

My counselor nominated me for a scholarship to which I was surprised but I applied to the school (the only school I applied to) and wrote my essay. I did this because I was honored someone actually thought of me. The school could only put up one person per scholarship per university. I’m sure she put me up because of my math scores if I’m being honest. 

By that time I had decided to go into the military, because some guy from the Navy came and talked to our class. I thought, I’m sure I could do that? I was basically doing the things I needed to do my senior year so that after I graduated I could have a job. But unexpectedly, the teacher that I worked for pulled me aside one day and asked me what my plans for the future were. I told him I’m most likely joining the military and that I applied to a university but there’s no way I could pay for it. I already had received a letter that I was denied the scholarship. He sincerely looked at me and told me that I could do anything with my life and that going into the military is great but that I could join that whenever. He told me “not everyone gets to go to college.” I shrugged because I didn’t feel like I was in control of any of that. But then he did something while I was in his computer lab and it was near the end of the school year. He had called up the university I applied to and asked them about my application…. He did that for me. And after getting off the phone with them he told me the lady said “she’ll be very happy.” Although not disclosing any details. For some reason the small gesture moved me and I’m pretty sure that was the moment that I started believing that I could actually accomplish things. I started being able to think about the things I wanted out of life. I could make the decisions of what I want to be, not some recruiter. 

It wasn’t until I got my acceptance letter stating that I had received a full ride scholarship that it all became real. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t think I would ever go to college but now I have a way?

Fast forward to my freshman year of college. I was 17. It was in a new city, I was on my own for the first time in my life, I had met a lot of new people, and I was a first year engineering student hoping to graduate in electrical engineering and I was proud of it. I had felt like I had already accomplished so much just off the fact I was accepted into that program. However, reality started to sink in quick. School was HARD, the classes were HUGE 200 students in most of my classes. I procrastinated, stayed up too late, was not understanding my homework, and failing my tests. I felt like a failure and I failed Chemistry I that year. The next semester, I hoped things would be better but in fact it was much worse. I was horrible and completely lost in my computer engineering course and couldn’t create a working program for the life of me, I couldn’t even create a FLOWCHART. Because of the class size I was deathly afraid to raise my hand and just ask a question. I just kept my mouth shut hoping for the best, for a miracle really. I struggled in Calc 2 and especially in Physics I. I didn’t fail any of the classes but with the grades I received it felt no different. I received D-’s for two of my classes and I felt hopeless. I felt dumb. I thought I need to figure something out, because my scholarship covers 4 years for me. I can’t afford to retake a class I just can’t.

And during that summer I transferred out. I told my mom about my experience and she didn’t have much sympathy for me. Just heard things like “well if it was me, I would have made an A”. I tried explaining to her how hard and difficult it was but I didn’t receive any emotional support that day. In my eyes I thought I tried my best. Honestly, that interaction just furthered my belief into thinking yeahhh it is my fault. I just can’t do it. 

I was in this space where I didn’t know what I wanted to do anymore and it scared me. I talked with an advisor and she helped me make a schedule to explore more majors. I explored art, math, and environmental tech. I ended up completely dropping Calc 3 because I was making like 20% on my first test *sigh*. But I did well enough in my gen eds. I truly thought school wasn’t for me. And keep in mind I also was working the entire time through college and it would take me an hour to walk there and an hour to walk back to my dorm. I really needed money T_T. My priorities were all mixed up back then. I also was dating someone who was very very bad for me. He was a cheater, never wanted to see me, and I would miss classes just because we were arguing. I ended up losing a lot of friends because of my terrible relationship as I was spending all my time on him and not on other aspects of my life. I broke up with him my junior year of college.

After that I found myself really focusing hard on my grades, wanting A’s, wanting to do well. I told myself the difference between an A and a B is just effort. My senior year I was working as well as taking 21 credit hours a semester just to graduate. I actually had to submit paperwork to be allowed to take that many hours per semester. I had little time to myself really and I would sleep on the benches outside in between classes. I was so tired my entire senior year but I know for the first time I was doing my absolute best to graduate. I needed to graduate AND do well.  I ended up graduating in environmental tech which is under the college of forestry at my university. So it was very different than what I started off in. I was proud for a little until I moved back home.

When I got back home I couldn’t find a job in my field. I would get interviews and I would get ‘almost’ hired but I would be rejected last minute. It’s either a hiring freeze, simple rejection, or the ‘you need a car’ to work here. But I didn’t have a car, I didn’t have job to get the car and so what I did was say Fuck IT. I got a job as a cashier making $7.25 an hour at a donut shop. I could hardly save money because my family would always ask me for some. I ended up talking to a recruiter and I was about to join the military for real as I’m from a military town and jobs that weren’t the hospital or military were virtually nonexistent. That’s what I planned to do and I remember writing on my calendar in my room to “save $400” before I left. And that was a goal looking back now, made me realize how much I was struggling in that environment. 

I left. And I joined the military. I knew that I could get a free education and housing so that’s why I did it. It wasn’t a very good reason but I’m so glad that’s what I did. I grew up so much while I was there. I earned an electronics degree while I was there. In fact we went over the same exact things I learned in computer engineering, but this time I could understand and it came easy to me.  Learned a new skill. Learned social skills. Learned how to stand up for people. Learned how to manage others and really really show them that I cared. I got my first car, got my first apartment, and I learned what it meant to live comfortably and securely, even if work itself was more stressful than anything I’ve ever known. I accomplished a lot in the four years I spent there, I met so many people that are now all over the world, I have a network, and I even met my current boyfriend.  

I am now 26. Those four years I spent in the military allowed me to think about my future and what I wanted to do. I am still trying to be an engineer. I think I gave up too easily when I was 17 and I was not in the right mindset. I didn’t think I was as smart as everyone else around me. I didn’t think I deserved to be there. But I was wrong. I did deserve to be there. Now that I’m older I understand I was going through a lot of things and had very little support and I didn’t believe in myself enough. I believe we can do anything we set our minds to, because it’s about effort. This is where my new journey begins.

I’m 26 years old and I don’t think it’s too late. I’m going to be starting my nano-engineering courses in the fall and retaking chem and physics. And I will do well no matter what it takes. I’ve been talking to someone at the university here and they say that I have a good chance at getting into their Materials Science and Engineering M.S. program. Me, someone without an engineering B.S. This is where I’d like to update my story. And hopefully someone out there can relate or share their journey as well. It’s been hard understanding that I am deserving to be here and to ask questions and actually succeed. I’m not giving up this time. No way. The things you love and are passionate about will always come back to you.

[frivoloussuits]

Not Just a Great Lawyer

At the tender age of 21 Harvey Specter storms into the Chilton Hotel, prepared to do battle. His weapons of choice are a well-tailored suit and a briefcase full of cat hair.

Word count: ~3k Rating: G Relationships: Gen

Written for @suits100​, prompt 85-- “Role reversal: lawyer!Mike and dropout!Harvey.”

Mike Ross, Pearson-Hardman’s newest senior partner, is mildly bored by his associate interviews.

It’s not that he expected anyone to match him for sheer intellect, but there are other sorts of genius, other qualities that can catch his interest, and these cookie-cutter Harvard kids haven’t got any of them. He toys with the idea of asking Norma to screen them and kick the least promising out but hasn’t got the heart to actually do it, so he resigns himself to another six unremarkable interviews.

And if he starts replaying movies in his head every time a candidate starts reciting an obviously rehearsed answer-- seriously, Mike recognizes one word for word from a years-old Glassdoor thread-- who would blame him?

The second-to-last slot of the day is empty, so Mike busies himself into one of his current cases. He’s half-way through scanning a patent specification when there’s a knock on the door.

“Rick Sorkin?”

“Actually”—the door opens, and a man swaggers in—“I’m Harvey Specter, and I’m . . . You’re not Louis.”

Mike’s new to Pearson-Hardman’s office politics, but he never imagined someone would be upset to find him in a room instead of Louis Litt. Still, Harvey’s smirk is fading right in front of his eyes. Mike looks him up and down-- he looks young, more like a college kid than a graduate of law school, yet he’s dressed in the smartest suit Mike’s seen today, his hair carefully slicked back, a briefcase in his hand.

“No, I’m Mike Ross. I know Louis is typically in charge of hiring junior lawyers and staff, but since these are interviews for my personal associate I asked to handle them myself.” He frowns for a moment, trying to identify why he knows Harvey’s name. “You’re not in my stack of resumes, though.”

“No, I’m not.” There’s something sharp in how he says it, though his expression has turned utterly impassive. “I’m sorry I bothered you, Mr. Ross. I’ll show myself out.”

As he turns to go, Mike remembers. “You’re from the mailroom, aren’t you?”

“Hang on--” Harvey whips back around with widened eyes-- “the memory trick’s real?”

Mike stares for a moment and then bursts out laughing. “You sure you can’t stay for a couple minutes? I suspect you’re the most interesting visitor I’ve had all day.”

He offers his hand. Harvey considers it for a moment, shrugs, and advances to take it. The moment they touch, the latches on Harvey’s briefcase give out, dropping papers, photographs, and a baggie of cat hair around their feet.

Harvey doesn’t look down, doesn’t even blink. He just keeps his eyes on Mike’s and sighs, “I think I just proved it.”

“This is a solid case,” Mike remarks, poring over the affidavits and transcripts and other evidence that Harvey has arranged on the Chilton desk, “And it shows that he’s opened the firm to multiple workplace harassment suits. How come Jessica hasn’t squashed this behavior?”

“Because nobody tells her,” Harvey answers. “Harold and the other victims of Mr. Litt are understandably terrified of all the upper-level management in the firm, they’d never report anything he does. The reason they talked to me is that I’m basically the polar opposite of upper-level management.”

Mike touches a record, complete with pictures and a bag of the offending material, of Harold Gunderson’s ER visit following a near-fatal allergic reaction to cat hair, and he murmurs, “This kid could have died.”

“Yep. Everyone knows Louis is out of control, but nobody’s actually put together a case.”

“Except you.”

“Well, Louis would say a guy from the mailroom is nobody. Only thing he uses me for is being a fake associate.”

Mike blinks and looks up at Harvey. “What do you mean?”

“He planted me with the first-year associates when they started work, had me pretend to slack off on my assignments, and then he fake-fired me to scare the rest of them straight.”

“Jesus!”

“At least I got a good deal out of it,” he snorts. “He bought me this suit so I’d look the part, just before he reminded me that this was the closest I'll ever get to being a real lawyer."

Harvey says this matter-of-factly, as if it doesn’t phase him, but Mike still winces. “Why’d you go to the trouble of investigating him? This can’t have been easy to put together.”

“Would you believe it was out of the goodness of my heart?”

“Not for a second.”

"Why-- because I tried to approach Louis with the case?"

"Yep. If you just wanted him to change his ways, you probably would have gone straight to Jessica, and you definitely wouldn’t have tried so hard to make sure all your key evidence could be admitted in court.”

"To be fair,” Harvey says, “I was actually going to ask him to stop nearly killing his coworkers."

"Maybe, but that wasn't your main goal. You were going to blackmail Louis into giving you something else." Mike narrows his eyes as he figures it out. "A job. What position, though? Legal Document Services, secretary, librarian . . .”

“Paralegal.”

“Do you have official credentials? A degree in Paralegal Studies?"

"Didn't finish college. What I do have, though, is the ability to interview even reluctant witnesses, and organize evidence, and figure out strategy, and find precedent,” he says, pointing to papers on the desk that demonstrate each skill. "I've also gotten pulled onto doc review before-- long story, and I don’t think I can legally tell you most of it-- and I got last year's summer associate to pawn off frankly staggering amounts of his workload onto me."

"That’s fairly impressive experience, for someone supposedly confined to the mailroom.”

“I’ve done a hell of a lot more in this firm than my job title would suggest,” Harvey declares, voice warm with pride. “Unfortunately, nobody rational is going to willingly hire a paralegal who didn’t finish college, so I figured I needed the blackmail to give Louis a kick in the pants.”

“And what if Louis heard this entire case, and then he just fired you anyway? Would you have threatened Jessica next?”

“I like being alive too much to try that,” he replies immediately. A few moments later, he adds, “I like Jessica too much, too. I’d have just turned the evidence over to her in the hopes that she’d somehow be impressed enough to hire me, and if not I’d go . . . and move on.”

There’s something earnest in his eyes as he says it, as he claims that he’d never actually make good on his bluff and sue the firm, and Mike wants to believe him. Still, he knows Harvey might only be backing down from that possibility because his master plan’s going awry right now.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Mike says, internally flinching as he takes a hard line, “because I’m not going to let you blackmail Jessica. Hell, I’m not going to even let you go back and blackmail Louis, though I do intend to let Jessica know of the complaints against him so she can deal with them. If you go against the firm to advance your own career, I can and will bury your suit and then bankrupt you with a countersuit.”

“You just said I had a solid case--” Harvey protests.

“--against most lawyers, sure, it’s solid. I’ve already found six, no, seven ways to tear it apart.”

“What openings did I leave?”

“I’m not telling you.”

“You could just be bluffing.”

“You’ve heard about me, my ‘memory trick,’ as you called it. When it comes to sheer legal prowess, I don’t need to bluff.  And let’s just say the fact that you’ve explicitly put this forward for personal gain doesn’t do you any favors.”

Harvey doesn’t stumble or cower as Mike expected. Instead, he leans forward, apparently intrigued by the challenge. “If you’re going to turn Louis in, can I at least present the evidence to Jessica myself and ask for a job?”

Mike opens his mouth to answer that he doesn’t know, he doesn’t know what the hell you’re supposed to do in a situation like this, but then he notices at the clock. “It’s 4:02, where’s my actual interviewee?”

“Oh, about that . . .” Harvey shifts in his seat, trying to put on a guilty expression and not quite succeeding. “I met with him earlier this morning and paid him not to show up.”

“What?” Mike splutters.

“I figured I might need the extra time with Louis, and anyway it’s not like Rick Sorkin was going to get the job.”

“Why-- why would you possibly think that?”

“Well, if his GPA didn’t disqualify him, the fact that he settled for half of what I was willing to pay should.”

He says it so straightforwardly that Mike bursts out laughing. “I can’t believe I just heard that.”

“I can’t believe I walked into a fake job interview with a briefcase full of cat hair,” Harvey smirks, “yet here we are.”

Mike looks at him, takes a deep breath, and then shakes his head. “Really though, what am I missing here?”

“What do you mean?”

"You're obviously smart, motivated, good with people-- maybe too good-- and the fact that you're in the mailroom suggests you're also detail-oriented and well-organized."

"So how does someone like me end up a deadbeat dropout?"

“I was going to phrase it more delicately,” he grimaces, “but yeah.”

Harvey's jaw tightens, like Mike’s genuinely caught him off-guard for the first time. "Look, I wanna get places on the strength of my skill and intellect, not because I have a good sob story."

"You sure about that? I've been told I'm a pushover for sob stories."

"Oh, yeah, you are. You actually cared about Harold Gunderson, which is not something anyone else in this city has managed.”

"I especially like sob stories where people face despair and horror and pain and come out on top. I like stories about the human spirit--” he pauses-- “and something tells me you've got an awful lot of spirit."

Harvey watches him for a second. "Tragic backstory it is, then. I'll give you the short version. My dad died last year, when I was twenty."

Though Mike doesn't say anything, something softens in his eyes, and all of the sudden the words come more easily to Harvey. "I was just starting my junior year of college, on a partial scholarship, and there was just enough money to make things work. Then my little brother got diagnosed with cancer." Something gives in Harvey’s poker face, and his frustration bleeds through as he continues, "The insurance premiums shot up, but we have to pay them somehow. My mom's an art teacher, we can't afford it on her salary, so I needed to get more money immediately. I dropped out, started working in the mailroom. Not what I wanted out of life, but I'm not going to sacrifice Marcus just for some degree."

"Can you explain to me how the paralegal job fits into this?" Mike asks, gently as he can.

"I can't pay all my bills on the mailroom job for much longer. Either I get something better here, or I quit and work retail and wait tables 16 hours a day.” When Mike raises an eyebrow, he adds, “Anything’s possible with enough Red Bull.”

“So you want the paralegal job primarily for the money?”

"Pearson-Hardman does pay its paralegals pretty damn well, but that’s not the main appeal.” Harvey takes a deep breath before admitting, “I ended up working here in the first place because I wanted to be a lawyer."

"Wanted or want?"

"Want." He straightens up and raises his chin as he says it, no doubt or hesitation in his voice.

There’s a moment of silence.

Then Mike remarks,  "Did you know I'm admitted to practice in nine jurisdictions? New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, California, all four New York district courts and the second circuit. I’m also a member of the patent bar, but I can never decide how to count that."

He sees Harvey’s initial confusion at the subject change, and then he sees that confusion morph into amazement. “Whoa-- why?”

"I don’t mind tests, and it's convenient to be admitted everywhere in this area. I took New York’s bar exam right out of law school, New Jersey’s exam wasn’t hard to pass a couple years later, and I was admitted into the Connecticut bar--”

“--on motion, because you already got in with New York,” Harvey finishes. “Why California, though?”

“California just looks nice on a resume."

"You took the California bar because it looks nice on a resume," he deadpans.

"Yep,” Mike says, smacking his lips on the “p” before murmuring, “I've been in good standing with them for . . . oh, five years, now."

He says it quietly, casually, but Harvey’s eyes widen. “Are you talking about what I think you’re talking about?”

“Depends. What do you think I’m talking about?”

“Division 1, Chapter 3, Rule 4.29 of the Admissions and Educational Standards of the California Bar.”

Their eyes meet, and suddenly Mike can’t repress a grin. “Per Rule 4.26, an aspiring lawyer can skip formal law school and instead enter the California bar by studying the law diligently and in good faith in a law office. Per Rule 4.29, Section B, the attorney with whom the applicant is studying must be admitted to the active practice of law in California and be in good standing for a minimum of five years.” He considers stopping there, but Harvey’s gazing at him like he’s walking on water and he decides to indulge and show off further. “He must also personally supervise the applicant at least five hours a week, examine the applicant at least once a month on study completed the previous month, and report to the committee on the number of hours the applicant studied each week, on the books and other materials studied, etc. etc.”

“You’d be willing to do that for me?”

“Hey, it wouldn’t just be hard on me,” Mike warns him. “This would be hard work. Long hours. Longer than usual when you throw in the studying, which I doubt either of us can count towards our billable hours targets, no matter how many loopholes we use.”

“You give me this chance,” Harvey replies, eyes bright and serious, “I will work to school those Harvard associates and be the best lawyer—law student—mentee you’ve ever seen.”

“You’d be a paralegal, my dedicated paralegal. If Jessica somehow approves this,” Mike says, pulling a face, “which somehow I really doubt . . .”

“Hey,” Harvey cuts in, “you’re a lateral hire, and an amazing one, too— I’ve seen the press releases. Jessica wants to show you off and keep you here, which means she wants to make you happy. Knowing Louis, she probably had to threaten to fire him to get you control of these interviews today, there’s no way he gave these up easily, and that already demonstrates that she’s giving you a lot of leeway.”

Mike furrows his brow. “I don’t want to take advantage of her—“

“So frame it as advantageous to her.”

“How do I do that?”

“First-year associates are utterly incompetent, you know that?”

“. . . I’m aware of this fact, yes.”

“Even the ones from Harvard, they by and large have no idea what they’re doing in a real corporate setting. I’m already better adjusted than a lot of them, with more applicable work experience, and that should make up for the fact that I’m not as familiar with law. All in all, you’re getting someone only slightly more useless than a first-year associate—“

“And at half the price, even when you account for my lost productivity.”

“Exactly. And if she still complains, just offer to take on some pro bono case as punishment.”

Mike squints at him, confused. “But . . . I like pro bono cases.”

Harvey just gapes back at him before groaning, “Please tell me you didn’t tell her that.”

“No, it hasn’t come up--”

“Good. Do tons of pro bono, but make her think you hate it and that you only do it to curry favour with her. She’ll love you forever.”

Mike leans back in his chair, chuckling. “Do you know why I’m hiring you?”

“I can make an educated guess.”

“Hit me.”

“You have two main reasons. First of all, I’m the only person you’ve talked today who hasn’t bored you out of your mind. Second, you love my sob story.”

“Both true—though how you manage to make the fact that I care about your family sound pathetic is beyond me—but there’s a third reason. I think you’re going to be a lawyer whether I help you or not.”

“That’s pretty unlikely—”

“Yeah, but you seem like someone who gets what he wants, hell with the odds.” Harvey smiles as he says it, and Mike knows he’s read him right. “And going by your investigation, and your deal with Rick Sorkin, and your advice on how to break this to Jessica, you’re going to be a great lawyer.”

He pauses, but for once the kid stays quiet, waiting.

“But,” Mike continues, “it seems to me like someone told you, at some point, that it’s not okay to deal kindly with people or to care. And so, for the public good, I think I should make sure that you become not just a great lawyer—“

“But a good one.”

“Yep. That’s why I don’t just want you strong-arming Jessica into letting you work for the firm, I want you working under me, and training to be as capable and ethical a lawyer as possible. That means, incidentally, that you’ll be assisting me on all my many, many pro bono cases.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Harvey says. He doesn’t put much effort into disguising the sarcasm.

Mike just laughs. “Well then, I’m emailing the firm I just found my new assistant.”

[petaldancing]

wow guys, i learned about yuletide (a fic exchange for obscure fandoms w <1,000 fics on the net.. like.. hmm.. HYOUKA!!) from @brella and am stoked to take part in it this year! you get to write a letter to the person who’ll be fulfilling your request, so here is mine~

hello (future) friend and (current) yuletide writer!!

This is actually the first year I’m participating in Yuletide! (And also the first year i that i’ve gotten back into writing fic after a 3 year hiatus!) I’m excited, and I hope that my prompts will help spark inspiration for you and that you’ll enjoy writing this piece as the year draws to a close. Thank you so much in advance for this, and I look forward to reading whatever you have for me! 

general

i prefer:

gen, het, or femslash

G - M ratings (if the latter: no to underage (below 18 y/o, for me), yes to character-driven, build-up + pay-off! when the sex isn't the highlight of the story but a nice complement.. wow!!)

any length you have in mind for the fic

you to write a story that you've been meaning to but haven't gotten around to! or one that you'd love to have under your belt! (:

i can't deal with/DNW:

drug use, death, gore/violence/assault, dub/noncon, abuse, angst, kinky stuff, unhappy endings

i will cry tears of joy for:

stories focusing on ladies, their r/s (platonic, romantic etc) w other ladies, their characters & motivations beyond just the romance

(but i still thrive on romance ahaha)

characters losing themselves but then finding themselves & becoming stronger (w or w/o someone's help)

(un)resolved sexual tension, unexpected kisses that take both parties by surprise, almost kisses, being trapped in small spaces, mutual pining etc

characters drifting apart over time but then reconnecting and falling in love again

wacky humour

shoujo tropes used in good doses

unlikely pairings that work

platonic fic on unlikely friends/vitrolic best buds esp between a guy & gal

fics about characters who've hardly interacted in canon (!!)

canon divergence (as long as it leads to interesting r/s between characters)

ten years later post-canon fic!! (esp if characters are high-schoolers in canon)

WITCHES! guy witches work too

recurring motifs/symbols

i also love AUs, particularly:

pacific rim AUs

role reversal AUs

I live for AUs that bring out character dynamics you know & love except in a diff universe! but you don't have to write AU fic!

fandom specific

1. Hyouka to say this is my favourite, most precious & treasured piece of fiction would be an understatement!! i give all my heart to hyouka’s themes (finding your identity & place in the world, relating & empathizing with others, following your passion etc etc i could go on) which were told beautifully through a wonderful core cast of 4 characters! the depth and flaws and emotional weaknesses of hyouka’s main cast is Too Much For Me To Bear and i love them in any and all permutations and just WANT TO READ ABOUT THEM ALL THE TIME!! also i’ve written satomaya to the moon & back but let me tell you... i would still read satomaya content any day ehehe. BUT i am very intrigued by satoshi & chitanda’s r/s which hasn’t been written much about in the fandom yet so maybe??? HMM!!

ships: satoshi/mayaka, houtarou/chitanda but would be also open to mayaka/houtarou or satoshi/chitanda because that always intrigues me

prompts (optional, of course!) - Mayaka & Houtarou having a huge falling out, like SERIOUS falling out, and it’s up to Satoshi & Chitanda to work together to get the two to make-up and get the group back together!! - Satoshi & Chitanda working together to solve a mystery without the help of Houtarou & Mayaka, who’re usually the two who are better at solving cases!! - On the flipside, what about: 5 times Satoshi dislikes Chitanda, and 1 time he doesn’t.  - Soul Eater AU!! this is a specific AU i’ve had in my head for awhile but would love to read someone’s interpretation of it!! who would be the meisters/weapons, what forms would the weapons take?? a fic where the four find each other and become partners/duos would be worth a BILLION yuletides!! - in the same vein, fire emblem AU! here’s a post i wrote about it years ago but still relevant and feel free to tweak the classes - older!Houtarou/Chitanda who stayed behind for college in Kamiyama visiting Satoshi/Mayaka in the big city/Tokyo (optional as to whether the two pairs are dating yet, but wouldn’t it be wonderful if they weren’t at the start of the fic!!) - any mayaka-centric fic, perhaps a fic about her trying to set Chitanda/Houtarou up? w accomplice Satoshi (+10000 points if she and Satoshi AREN’T DATING! YET! !! COLLAPSES) also i guess it works the other way too!! chitanda trying to get satoshi to confess to mayaka, dragging houtarou along in the process... you know it’s good when both pairs aren’t dating yet

2. Hibike Euphonium

this anime is a good example of me loving the small moments and characters so much more than the overarching plot! i liked s1 more than s2 because of the development of kumiko and reina alongside each other, but i loved the spin s2 gave on kumiko & asuna’s r/s! while this anime isn’t a top fav of mine, the r/s between the ladies in this show is SO GOOD!!! would love to see what you can do with it!

ships: kumiko/reina, kumiko/asuna, am p alright w most other ships too except shuu/kumiko, i’m really not interested in that at all, but shuu as a character? yeah OK i guess prompts - 5 fives they climbed the hill together, 1 time they didn’t (kumiko/reina) - a fic about kumiko chasing asuka down but always missing her!! i.e. following her to uni in the big city (only, her uni is like nowhere near close enough to asuka’s), moving out of home and closer to asuka, trying to join the prestigious band asuka’s travelling with etc etc, and finally catching up to her!! - ten years later fic! reina comes back into town after touring with the national orchestra, kumiko (who stopped playing the euphonium) tries hard not to fall in love with her & the eupho once again... and fails, of course - a fic that examines reina falling out of love with taki-sensei and developing feelings for kumiko would be wonderful for my heart too!!

3. Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun

i am so so fond of this anime and its gags! while the character dynamics are incredibly fun to watch, they also feel very ‘predictable’, not only because of the running jokes but cause their r/s never seem to advance that much. so i would absolutely LOVE if you threw me fic about the most unlikely pairs that don’t interact so much in canon and hence have less running jokes, i would love to see what pans out, and the fic needn’t even be romantic!! ships: nozaki/sakura, kashima/hori, seo/waka, also interested in kashima/seo and sakura+hori

prompts - kashima + seo: i find their r/s v interesting?? would love for a fic to focus on their interactions, esp since i vaguely rmb seo being a bit wary of kashima at first - hori + sakura: i think they would work as wonderful partners in anything they do and would love anything that explores their r/s! maybe sakura has to help the drama club for a performance? - ten years later fic would work wonderfully for GSNK! what’s everyone doing now? wouldn’t it be funny if all the r/s were p much the same, but also kinda different? - Akatsuki no Yona AU! (whether yona is sakura or mikorin, you decide! haha)

4. Fune Wo Amu

this is more of a wildcard pick because um, I REALLY LIKED THIS SHOW! i loved the attention paid to the world of dictionary publishing but specifically, the seemingly insurmountable ocean of words & meanings & the desire to bridge the gaps that so naturally form between people... this show calmed my heart so much and i would love fic which brought me back to that calm and reflective atmosphere & those lovely characters prompts -  over the years working, majime learns the definitions of words through his interactions with the people in the office - nishioka becoming a dad leads to everyone in the office inevitably taking turns parenting his kids!! either because they need to babysit, or because he brings em to company functions etc  - sasaki on her first day of work vs last day of work - any fic that explores how majime & nishioka influence and change each other’s lives would be nice as well ahh...

thank u again dear writer, may you have a wonderful end to the year and i hope that whatever good things and bad things that happened this year, you’ll carry on strong and even better in the next!! happy writing and please eat well and stay warm (: 

[sweetlittlelie48]

[Translation] 100% SKE48 vol.1 Saito Makiko x Makino Anna

This interview is interesting…no…it’s precious.

We all think that Makiko is the most appropriate to be captain of SKE but It’s actually not easy for Makiko herself. And Anna-sensei, the person who gave birth to SKE, kindly(?) advised Makiko for that. LOL

I love how Anna-sensei taught them. If it was someone else, not Anna-sensei in that day, SKE wouldn’t be like this today.

Their bond, their passion, their story…it’s so good to know and support this group.

On that day, Saito Makiko’s facial expression showed a bit of nervousness.

However, she still smiled.

That’s right, Makiko didn’t know the true meaning of this.

The confrontation with the creator who gave life to SKE48, Makino Anna, after this.

It’s the way Makiko can’t escape.

Captain Saito Makiko, the first time is the greatest challenge.

No escape match, winner determined in 90 minutes.

Beginning of fortune

- Today, we would like to invite Makiko-san who was appointed as captain in March to meet with Anna-sensei once, that’s why we arrange this interview.

CP: Thank you.

Anna-sensei: Please take care of me. Captain…you mean captain of the whole SKE48?

CP: Yes.

Anna-sensei: Oh!!

- But this new captain can’t even meet eyes with Anna-sensei *laugh*

Anna-sensei: Yeah, she doesn’t look at me at all.

CP: That’s not it. I am looking!

- Though you say that but you don’t look *laugh* So firstly, please introduce how come we have an interview this time. Captain, please.

CP: it started from 2 and a half minutes clip in Team E “Te wo tsunaginagara” stage. In DOCUMENTARY of SKE48 two years ago, there was also this scene; the scene that Anna-sensei was teaching us ‘Pinocchio Gun’

- The one that Anna-sensei yelled at (Matsui) Rena-san “your expression is too plain!” “don’t do things halfway!”, right? That scene is well-known to SKE fans.

CP: I was told that I have to say these famous lines in 2 and a half minutes clip.

- It was noon stage of May.9 last year. What you wanted to say is “you were asked to do”, right?

CP: That’s right. So, it’s not my fault.

Anna-sensei: Hahahaha

CP: I was just acting according to the script.

Anna-sensei: About this, I already knew it for long time from fans’ report in Twitter.

CP: *stunned*

Anna-sensei: I also watched the clip after that. You really did it halfway.

CP: Hahaha

- Though you were saying “Don’t do things halfway!” *laugh*

Anna-sensei: If you want to do it, you should do it exaggeratedly, make people laugh. For this, you made it looked kind of awkward.

CP: I’m sorry…

- Then, another mockery in 2 and a half minutes clip of Jun.12.

CP: it was not mockery! I just went with the flow!

Anna-sensei: Was it all staff’s thought?

CP: Yes!

Anna-sensei: For me, I thought that if it was Makiko, she would go against it for sure. “Anna-sensei said it honestly, let’s not play with it”

CP: …..*lower her head*

- Didn’t you argue?

CP: …No. I’m just realized now that I could argue…

Anna-sensei: Hahahaha

- Have you got in touch after that?

Anna-sensei: We met once in Rena’s graduation concert?

CP: Yes, we came across at backstage. I hadn’t started using Twitter at that time. I got a grasp of Anna-sensei’s reaction from internet. So, when I ran into her, I felt like “she found me…” *laugh*

 Anna-sensei: I was thinking that we might need to talk on the stage.

- The script that day was Rena-san fell during “Pinocchio Gun” and Anna-sensei came out to surprise.

Anna-sensei: That was when I saw Makiko but that was Rena’s graduation concert. If I had got even with Makiko, it would’ve looked inappropriate. Then, I came across Makiko backstage, I thought “I will settle it here”

- Wow! “settle it here” !?

Anna-sensei: I just wanted it to be a bit more interesting. *laugh*

CP: Fufufu

- You also wrote on Twitter “confront directly”

Anna-sensei: Because fans really enjoyed it.

- That’s why you wrote the solution on New Year stage “overthrow Anna!”, right?

CP: Yes. *smile*

Anna-sensei: Was there something like that?

CP: If I wrote something like “moving forward” it would be too boring. When I was thinking what I should write, I talked with Manager-san and finally decided to write that but…

Anna-sensei: But what?

CP: My hand was shaken that I almost couldn’t write it down *laugh*

- You must be afraid to really write it down.

Anna-sensei: About “overthrow Anna!”, can you explain the details how you plan to do it?

CP: *obviously inarticulate* th..this, “overthrow” is…

Anna-sensei: Um, what is it?

CP: it…is “victory”

Anna-sensei: How do you think you will gain it?

CP: er…about that…how will I gain it?

- It may not be good to know. *laugh*

CP: What I wrote was only for fun…

Anna-sensei: No, no, you must be clear. I accepted your challenge.

CP: It’s not like that. That time, I never thought that there would be an interview like this. I was just kidding, really.

Anna-sensei: I also want to try saying “I lost”

- Sensei, saying “I lost” would mean getting “overthrown”, right?

CP: Right.

- For example, if you could make Sensei feel “recently, SKE48 is superb” or “Makiko is doing a great job as captain”, would this mean “overthrow”?

Anna-sensei: That’s what I hope for.

- Moreover, if Makiko-san order “Sokutatsu Nama” (Beer brand that Makiko was chosen as presenter) and deliver to Anna-sensei’s home…

Anna-sensei: That’s how to completely “overthrow Anna” *laugh*

Why Saito Makiko?

- Next, let’s talk about Makiko’s goals and visions as captain.

CP: Of course, there are a lot.

Anna-sensei: Oh! I want to hear it.

CP: For SKE48, it’s got insecure since members graduated one after another. It’s quite complicated. Moreover, captain was changed and new system began for the first time in 2 years. I don’t know what it means that they chose me. Why not 1st gen like Jurina-san or Masana-san?

- Have you found the answer yet?

CP: I still haven’t got the clear answer but maybe, I just think too much to be in charge. Though I wanted to think “it’s just a title” but they announced in such a huge venue. It’s heavy to endure.

- seems like you are still confused. Then, what about visions?

CP: Surely, great performance is SKE48’s image. However, even though seniors have set the goal to catch up and surpass AKB48, but now it’s blurry either it’s good or bad.

- Just when did you feel it?

CP: These past 3-4 years. But, I don’t know what I should do with this blurriness. I don’t know what is the right answer. When I entered (in 2009), there was only Team S. The Team S at that time gave out professional image. It’s like “they are incredible, I wanna be great like them” I think THAT is the true SKE48.

- In other words, you want that image to be more distinctive, right?

CP: That’s right. There are tons of groups in and outside this country. Now, there are also 46 groups. Only this image that I don’t want it to fade away. Members have changed, surroundings have changed, so it’s very difficult to make it. Most members who were there at that time are left. If people say “all that has already passed” then, it can’t be helped.

- About the current SKE48, Anna-sensei, what do you think?

Anna-sensei: Not long ago, I still taught them dancing for the single. But, when lesson’s over, I didn’t talk with them much. For 1st gen, I taught them by myself since the beginning. So, they remember my words, for example, “You need to it through. If there were no other sister groups, how’d you want to compete with AKB48. The answer to this question will lead you the way” “To surpass AKB48, what do you need to do…isn’t it heading fully forward in this road?” something like that. I said these things and taught them for 2 weeks. If they wanted to be good enough to stand on stage within that short period, they needed to squeeze out their power. Anyways, that’s the only thing I could do for them. Would they still go all out? or would they still head towards the same goal after that? I couldn’t say.  

- There were only 1st gen when you teach them, right?

Anna-sensei: What I want to hear from Makiko is “How everybody wants SKE48 to be now”. To be honest, when I was watching them on TV, I couldn’t get the point at all. I’m afraid that, for people, they couldn’t tell now which is AKB48, which is SKE48. SKE48 is the group that every member built up. I really want to know how everyone thinks about it, how do you want to shape this group. The future of this group depends on this. But, I still can’t see it right now.

CP: …*listen quietly*

Anna-sensei: I wonder if you guys ever think about this.

- Makiko-san, how would you say?

CP: The ones on TV were only Senbatsu. I wasn’t there so I didn’t know how everybody thinks. Leaving TV program aside, our performance on stage is also different from the past. It may come from different motivation of each member. However, is SKE48 pride only at the theater? Everyone also thinks about it but um…

Anna-sensei: How is SKE48 at the theater?

CP: The current Team E stage is “Te wo tsunatsuginagara” I could only talk (to members) about performance, so I want to talk out all of it.

Anna-sensei: Then, everybody follows when Makiko says or everybody knows themselves well, which is it?

CP: Even when I’m not there, everybody does it well.

Anna-sensei: Then, what about in concert?

CP: In concert, there are a lot of positions and movements that we need to remember, how we should show to audience…just doing these things right is exhausting enough, especially for Kenkyusei.

Anna-sensei: That’s so? There are lots of details that need to be perfect, right? And what entity are you to SKE48?

CP: um…how should I put it?

Anna-sensei: No matter what, I think since you are chosen as captain, it must mean something to SKE48. For example, you can fulfill something that SKE48 lacks or you can lead everyone the way. If it’s like that, what do you have right now? What makes you confident that you would never lose to anyone?

CP: …*tears fall down*

Anna-sensei: For example, though you have never got into Senbatsu but you didn’t run away. You stay and continue to try your best. Or maybe, it’s your love for the group. I can’t always be watching you and can’t go to theater every day, but from what fans and you told me, I think that might be the reason you are chosen. Because no matter what position you are in, you do it without hesitation. This is the meaning of choosing you as captain.

CP: …*quiet*

- After hearing what Anna-sensei said, what do you think?

CP: …I’m not good enough to say I’m right. I’m not confident that I can be model for anyone. So, when I was chosen as captain, I was very worried. Now, I still can’t say that I understand SKE48 wholly. I also don’t know what is the right answer. But, since I got title “Captain”, I have been thinking if I was asked “What do you want to do from now on?”, I would just lightly answer something nice.

Anna-sensei: That depends on how you express yourself. The most important is that you need to show your true self. You are captain, not superman. No one chose you to be captain just because they expect that you can do everything. “Though I want to improve the group, but I don’t know what to do” just you said that is good. I’m a teacher so I could speak rulingly, but Makiko is one of the members, you couldn’t speak like that. I think everyone pays more attention to your actions than words. No matter how nice you talk, no matter members listen to you or not, if only Makiko can show them your true self, do it with all your might, show them that you do your best for the sake of this group, it will work out well. If you say “I can do it” just to be cool, it won’t reach people regardless of your facial expression. Strengths or weaknesses, just show them. The thing is will you be able to dedicate your heart and soul to it. It’s okay if you don’t feel confident. Anyone would feel worry being like you. Makiko who is always worried is gorgeous.

CP: …yes. (soft voice)  

Anna-sensei: Anyway! Don’t run away! Never do nothing just because you have no confidence. It’s because you have no confidence, you have to do something.

CP: …yes. (soft voice)

Dare to show yourself

- Many days have passed since you became captain. Have you talked with members yet?

CP: I realized that I’ve been forced myself to smile, to be friendly with everyone all along.

- Why is that?

CP: The first job since I became captain was Great East Japan earthquake memorial stage on Mar.11. We hold this stage every year. It’s quite important for us but I still felt that some members didn’t take it seriously. For example, we normally do manicure and hairdressing before stage. That’s not a problem, but on Mar.11, there were a lot more important things to do, weren’t it? Some of them didn’t realize about this. If this happened in the past, I would warn them. But I’m captain now. If I am too fussy with them, they may think “are you trying to be captain”. I was afraid that they would look at me like that. I also have script to remember that day, so I just let go. At that moment, I realized that it must be difficult for me to take care all members.

- In the end, you didn’t say what you wanted to say. You may feel useless, right?

CP: It’s a huge problem to me. I couldn’t figure out. After stage ended, I cried out at the side of the stage. My tears fell nonstop…I heard someone said “eh? Where’s Makiko?” that’s when I knew they were searching for me. But my body wouldn’t move, I sat there at the no.1 side of stage for an hour. *laugh*

- You sat there at the no.1 all along? *laugh*

CP: That time, I can profoundly feel my weakness. I was so worried that I didn’t know if works will go smoothly after that.

- Did any member know about you crying?

CP: No. If they didn’t ask staff-san, I don’t think they would know. Actually, I don’t want juniors to see me like that.

Anna-sensei: You are also a member yet you have to be responsible to lead others. It’s quite tough and lonely. I was also like that. When I was a member of SUPER MONKEY’S yet I had to teach others. To teach them, I had to perfect myself first. There were a lot of pressure. And I’m also afraid whether they will hate me. However, we have to be brave to be hated, otherwise, you can’t change anything. Nowadays, I’m also like that. Scolding others is like hurting myself at the same time. But, for having said these harsh words, isn’t it because of love?

CP: …(listen quietly)

Anna-sensei: Up until now, before entering practice room, I still have to tell myself “If these kids can grow, it’s okay if they hate me” besides, if only you show your exertion, they will understand someday. If you do it halfway, you’d better not start. Since you already decided to do, you have to do it completely. Although I’m 44 years old now, but I’m still shaken when I scold someone. But Makiko, you are only at this age, you became captain. It must be painful to scold others. Even Takamina, she also feels painful. Everybody is the same. But! No matter what, you have to do it. Even me, sometimes when I thought of something before bed, I also regret “I shouldn’t have said that”

CP: …(listen quietly)

Anna-sensei: From now, Makiko will grow little by little to be the true captain, right? You need to learn these things by yourself. You might fall, you might cry, you might be discouraged, 1 step forward 3 steps backward, but doing it again and again will help Makiko learns to be captain. It’s normal to fail at first, but you have to concentrate.

CP: …Yes.

Anna-sensei: The more you overcome difficulties, the more you grow. When Makiko dare to take captain position, your performance, your expression, the meaning of your existence in this group have all changed. Not many people got this opportunity. Even if you fail, just doing your best is enough! Even if you fall, just getting up on your feet is enough! If you already went all out but still can’t get it, that’s not your fault, it’s the people who chose you.

- That’s right because you are chosen.

Anna-sensei: Besides, if they see Makiko’s effort, there will surely be comrades who are willing to walk with you.

- There already are, right? You also went for dinner with members. Did you guys talk about the group?

CP: Um…come to think of it, maybe not. I don’t know how to talk with them about this. I’m afraid our opinions are much different…  

Anna-sensei: That’s because Makiko still haven’t show your true self. Just speak up your mind straightforward, that kid will understand. When it becomes like this, everyone would think “Makiko puts this much effort, I have to support her” Only this way that can draw more and more people to come together with you. The real fight hasn’t started yet. Everyone only communicates in general, not to get hated.

The important thing in this world

- Let’s get back to previous topic, how did you feel when they announce you as captain?

CP: …

- Looked like you were so happy that you cried.

CP: No…it’s not like that. Since Sae-san announced graduation in last December, there were expectation from every direction. Yet, I felt very deeply that I can’t take it. The moment I heard announcement, I thought “ahh it became true” my legs got weak.

- I’m sorry, seems like I misunderstood. *laugh*

Anna-sensei: However, you still don’t feel that you are captain, right? I can tell just by looking at your face today.

CP: …I’m sorry *smile*

Anna-sensei: You still haven’t reach the point that “I will do it!” Makiko, I’m telling you something, don’t think about “can or cannot”, think “will or will not” Right now, you don’t feel “I will do it!” at all. Throw the fear away, it’s okay even if you fail. You have to decide whether you will or will not do it. From my experience, if only we think “I will do it no matter what!”, you can do it. If you keep “I will do it no matter what!” in mind, but still do nothing. That’s failure. If only you overcome your mind, you can do it. When I look you in the eye, I still can’t find that determination. You haven’t looked me in the eye and said “I will change SKE48!” yet, right?

CP: …*keep her head down*

Anna-sensei: If you don’t have that kind of determination, you will be troubled. You will be in anxiety all the time.

- Then, let’s take this chance to turn on the switch. I think members and fans are by your side.

CP: Um…

Anna-sensei: Makiko, why do you keep being reluctant like that?

- There’s still something you keep inside and you haven’t spoken up yet, right? This is the chance.

Anna-sensei: you are thinking of graduation? Is that it?

CP: I “thought” about it. I wonder how long can I be SKE48. It’s always in my head.

Anna-sensei: Is that so? Yet, you become captain at this time, you may not be able to go all out. On the contrary, if you graduate, what do you want to do?

CP: I absolutely love singing and dancing. Though I hope to get into Senbatsu, but it doesn’t matter that much anymore. Even though I’m not sure that I can make a living after leaving SKE48, I still want to give it a shot. So, I thought that I may graduate by this year…

Anna-sensei: From what I feel when I look at you now, you are still too young to struggle outside SKE48.

CP: …

Anna-sensei: If you want to be on your own, you have to grab every opportunity. You must have motivation and courage, or else, you will fail. In this industry, although capability is important, in the very end, it’s faith. No matter what happens, you need to be optimistic. That’s what we call strength. With this thought, the current Makiko is still weak, but you’ve already got the chance to be stronger, haven’t you? Being a captain, getting to do more things, these experiences will be your asset for the next step. You may feel tired with works nowadays, it’s natural. But, there are precious things that will help you grow hiding in these works. Just like Akimoto Sayaka and Sae-chan, “even if it’s complicated, even if surroundings don’t give me favor, I still try my best” so, let’s take it as practice. No matter when Makiko decide to leave, the thing you must have from now on is not dancing skill but living a life.

CP: …*listen quietly*

Anna-sensei: The battle in entertainment world is completely different from ordinary world. So, if you think about your life after graduation, now is a good opportunity. It can’t be that you don’t go through it. In other words, if you graduate without achieving anything as captain, that’s “running away”

CP: …*cry* Yes.

Anna-sensei: It’s okay. Though you fail, it will make you stronger. Just think of it as doing for your own future! Understood?

CP: Yes.

- Experience you gain today is the way to success in the future.

Anna-sensei: Do your best!!

CP: Hahaha *smile comes back*

- Let’s proceed with what you wrote in New year’s stage “overthrow Anna!”

CP: Er…maybe, I can’t *laugh*

- Then, let me conclude Anna-sensei’s words here “Makiko, don’t do things halfway”

Anna-sensei: Hahahaha

CP: Fufufu I’m sorry.

- Makiko-san mocked the word “Don’t do things halfway” and now you got paid back like 10 times.

CP: Hahahaha

- Today is such a meaningful day *laugh* next, let me take a photo of you two…

CP: Let me fix my make-up first! *laugh* Sensei, Thank you so much for today.

[click2watch]

Next-Gen BUIDLers: The 8 Teams Working on Ethereum 2.0

“We don’t want to reinvent the wheel when building [ethereum] 2.0.”

Speaking to the complementary efforts of developers working on two separate upgrades to the ethereum blockchain – one dubbed ethereum 2.0 and the other dubbed ethereum 1x – Raul Jordan insists upgrades to be included in ethereum 1x on a shorter time horizon would have benefits to ongoing research for ethereum 2.0.

Jordan is the co-lead for one of eight different developer teams currently building software clients for ethereum 2.0.

(As background, clients are software implementations usually written in differing programming languages that users deploy to connect to and participate in the ethereum network.)

Maintaining that the “incremental enhancements” being proposed within ethereum 1x don’t affect the blockchain’s long-term roadmap, Jordan told CoinDesk:

“I think both groups are fairly orthogonal but we must at least be aware of what each is implementing.”

Presently, the technical guidelines also called specifications for both upgrades are still very much in the works.

Having been discussed in earnest among ethereum developers only in the last couple of weeks, ethereum 1x is intended to be an intermediary upgrade that focuses on enhancements to the current ethereum network.

Ethereum 2.0, on the other hand, features a more ambitious agenda that dates back to 2014 and consists of fundamental changes to the blockchain platform.

Known in its early days under project name “Serenity,” the current specifications for ethereum 2.0 can be summarized as a combination of three main components:

A switch to PoS from the current energy-intensive consensus protocol known as proof-of-work (PoW)

Implementation of a network-wide scaling solution called sharding

A revamping of the ethereum virtual machine (EVM) – the engine responsible for deploying decentralized applications (dapps) on the blockchain – to run on new programming code known as WebAssembly (WASM).

And while one of these components – namely ethereum’s implementation of WASM – has the potential of being tested in the earlier roadmap for ethereum 1x, the majority of the work to build out ethereum 2.0 is still ongoing as a separate project.

And that work is being carried out by eight different teams spread out across the globe.

1. ChainSafe Systems

Based in Toronto, ChainSafe Systems is a blockchain research and development startup offering consulting services to a number of different ethereum-based projects including Shyft, Bunz, Aion, and Polymath.

Motivated by a desire to “contribute to something bigger,” project lead at ChainSafe Mikerah Quintyne-Collins told CoinDesk:

“For me, developing ethereum 2.0 was my way to make a mark on the future of the internet.”

Called Lodestar, Collins and her team are currently building an ethereum 2.0 client written in Javascript – the primary programming language for web development.

Privately funded and seeking additional support through the Ethereum Foundation grant program, Lodestar according to Collins is envisioned to “bring a whole host of web developers to the [ethereum] ecosystem.”

“All of these programming languages have their own communities. The whole community might not want to contribute but they’re big enough that parts of it will want to contribute and build on top of ethereum,” said Collins.

Even suspecting development work to help other blockchain platforms progress, Collins emphasized that in her view ethereum 2.0 is not about ensuring ethereum’s future as “the main blockchain,” saying:

“It’s not about who’s going to be the next big thing. It’s more about trying to make these systems work. Rushing it just so we can catch up with another supposed ethereum killer defeats the purpose of working on this.”

2. PegaSys

“Our goal is to bring enterprises to the mainnet. We want to do that by creating software that is easier for enterprises to adopt.”

That’s Faisal Khan, strategy and business development head for blockchain protocol engineering group, PegaSys.

Fully supported by Consensys – the self-proclaimed “venture production studio” of ethereum headed by ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin – PegaSys is building out ethereum 2.0 specifications for an existing ethereum Java client called Pantheon.

Unveiled recently at a gathering of ethereum developers in Prague, Pantheon uses an open-source software license called Apache 2.0 to enable businesses building products on top of the ethereum platform to monetize their intellectual property.

Speaking to CoinDesk, Khan highlighted that extending support for ethereum 2.0 specifications meant close collaboration with Ethereum Foundation researchers and other client development teams.

“There’s a lot of touch points. There’s a weekly call. There’s a research forum, ETH Research. There’s a Gitter channel. The communication is pretty frequent. Obviously, there’s crypto Twitter. It’s pretty rich the conversation between any of the [ethereum] 2.0 teams and the Foundation,” said Khan.

Adding that, ethereum 2.0 would kick-start a new “cycle of network effects, dapp development and user growth” on the platform, Khan reiterated that the biggest need at present for the project was “more people involved.”

3. Harmony

Launched last October, Harmony is ethereum’s original Java client formerly maintained by a group of independent developers called Ether Camp.

Now called simply the Harmony team, these group of developers were recently awarded $90,000 through the Ethereum Foundation grants program to build out specifications for ethereum 2.0.

Subsidized by the Ethereum Foundation, Harmony is expected to continue running as an alternative Java client to the enterprise-focused Pantheon.

Separate to the Apache 2.0 software licence underpinning Pantheon, Harmony operates under a General Public License (GPL) designed to ensure any implementations of the code remain “free software and stay free software,” as described in the official GPL guide.

Likening the project to “building a new internet,” Harmony developer Mikhail Kalinin told CoinDesk:

“The biggest challenges are staying on top of all changes in the research area and following the progress of every part of the work. The scope of it is huge.”

4. Parity Technologies

Co-founded by former Ethereum Foundation chief of security officer Jutta Steiner, Parity Technologies is a blockchain infrastructure company responsible for maintaining the second most popular ethereum client on the platform today.

The name of the client called Parity Ethereum is self-proclaimed to be “the fastest and most advanced ethereum client.”

As detailed on the official Wiki page, Parity Ethereum is programmed in Rust and built for “mission-critical use,” meaning fast synchronization speeds and maximum operation uptimes.

Speaking to renewed efforts to build a ethereum 2.0 client within the organization, Head of Public Affairs for Parity Peter Mauric explained ethereum 2.0 was really the “production-ready” version of the ethereum blockchain.

He told CoinDesk:

“Broadly speaking, I believe that ethereum as it exists today is very much in beta … Ethereum 2.0 is going from this experimental project that Vitalik launched just a few years ago to a more production ready blockchain protocol.”

5. Prysmatic Labs

Building out the first implementation of ethereum 2.0 in programming language Go, Prysmatic Labs launched this January with the goal of helping the ethereum blockchain reach scalability.

Speaking about the endeavour, team lead at Prysmatic Labs Raul Jordan told CoinDesk:

“Ethereum 2.0 is a system that is scalable to the needs of a global computer…What this means is that it will be able to handle the load of real world necessities…Anything from something simple to a completely immense financial system built on top of it.”

Named Prysm, the ethereum 2.0 client will act as a counterpart to the blockchain’s current most popular client implementation also written in Go called Geth.

Not seeing client development as a competitive process, Jordan highlighted that multiple different client implementations is a great necessity on the ethereum blockchain.

“The reason is that when you’re working on a blockchain like this, you want as much decentralization of implementations. So for example if the ethereum blockchain is running on Prysm and there’s a bug in Prysm, everyone can just switch to [another client]. You have options,” said Jordan.

Still, likening the endeavour to building “a public good,” Jordan highlighted support for development work was largely by donation from both the Ethereum Foundation and other private donors.

Receiving roughly $1 million in support to date, Jordan told CoinDesk one of the biggest challenges of building out an ethereum 2.0 client was making sure work corresponded “closely with the research.”

He explained:

“There are new ideas coming out every week, every day, and we’re basically building on a ever changing specifications… So I think one of the biggest challenges has really been multitasking between developing and also making sure that the research is good and we evaluate options moving forward.”

6. Sigma Prime

Founded in 2016, Sigma Prime is an information security and blockchain technology consulting company.

Recently awarded a $150,000 grant from the Ethereum Foundation, the company is building an ethereum 2.0 client called Lighthouse written in programming language Rust.

Being the second client implementation in Rust next to Parity, co-founder of Sigma Prime Paul Hauner told CoinDesk that he didn’t expect there to be “any fundamental differences” between the two products.

Emphasizing that a duplication of work was actually “really desired in a blockchain,” Hauner explained:

“Software has bugs. So, if everybody runs the same client and there’s a bug, everyone goes down. If there’s this diversity of clients, they’re most likely going to have different bugs. One client goes down that’s fine. The rest of the network still stays up.”

And speaking to the importance of the ethereum 2.0 upgrade in general, Hauner added that not only would users notice “a huge increase in transactions in per second” but also significant environmental gains under a proof-of-stake consensus protocol.

“Personally, I feel people are going to use it and it’s going to work. In terms of the actual technology, I don’t have any concerns about is it feasible. Is it bulletproof at this point in time? Absolutely not. It hasn’t been built,” said Hauner.

7. Status

A messaging platform and mobile browser specifically designed to engage users on the ethereum blockchain, Status unveiled this August active development for an ethereum 2.0 client called Nimbus written in programming language Nim.

Funded in part by a $500,000 grant from the Ethereum Foundation, the goal of the project as highlighted on the official website is “to drive mass adoption of ethereum” by optimizing Nimbus for performance on “resource-restricted devices.”

As such, leveraging the lightweight capabilities of running Nim code, Nimbus is expected to be ethereum’s first mobile client connecting smartphones devices and other handheld electronics to the blockchain platform.

With eight core contributors to the project, Status highlighted in a blog post a few months ago that it is looking for additional developer support.

“We are entirely open source and encourage contribution from those who want to get involved,” wrote head of research development at Status Jacek Sieka.

In addition, speaking to CoinDesk, Sieka added that he foresaw development work for ethereum 2.0 being rolled out in multiple stages, with a suspected test network for one of the first components called the beacon chain coming some time in the next year.

“That being said research is ongoing and any timelines are usually in flux but from an end user perspective, a year, two years is a reasonable timeline to expect for [ethereum 2.0] to become generally useful,” said Sieka.

8. Trinity

Last but not least, Trinity is a current ethereum client written in programming language Python.

Championed to be the new standard Python implementation for ethereum, Trinity features upgraded code to the now dormant PyEthApp originally authored by founder of ethereum Vitalik Buterin.

Having launched this year in a preliminary alpha phase, Trinity is comprised of six developers including Merriam all except one of whom are contracted to work by the Ethereum Foundation.

Expected to build support for ethereum 2.0 specifications as well, lead architect for Trinity Piper Merriam highlighted developing “at the boundary between research and implementation” was what he did best.

“I like the application of theory more than the theory. Protocol research is neat but implementing the protocols is more inline with what I’m good at,” said Merriam.

Adding that the work was really “only just getting started,” Merriam likened the process of ethereum 2.0 client development as putting together the pieces of “a puzzle.”

A puzzle requiring many hands, the collective work of all eight teams are expected to mutually reinforce each other and secure the future of the ethereum blockchain.

Merriam told CoinDesk:

“By having many implementations of any protocol … we can derive confidence that the written definition of the protocol is accurate [and] that the individual clients are correct.”

Metal working image via Shutterstock

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The post Next-Gen BUIDLers: The 8 Teams Working on Ethereum 2.0 appeared first on Click 2 Watch.

More Details Here → https://click2.watch/next-gen-buidlers-the-8-teams-working-on-ethereum-2-0-4

[clubofinfo]

Expert: I was emotional. They are only fossils, but they have been human beings and very quickly you make a connection with these people who lived and died here 300,000 years ago. — Dr. Jean-Jacques Hublin, Department of Human Development at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany Human connectedness, the existence of a positive, physical, visual or mental association between two or more human beings, is like a chain across time. Searching for one’s ancestry through DNA testing, for example, is one way to lengthen the chain. As for Dr. Hublin, a paleontologist and director of the Department of Human Development at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, simply seeing and holding the fossils got him emotionally connected to human beings 300,000 years old.1  They weren’t his known ancestors. They were simply human beings like him. He had immediately bonded with them so to speak. I get the same feeling simply from viewing pictures of the fossils. The Disconnectedness of America’s Power Elite If all human beings had the same positive sense of connectedness the world would not be what it is, a place inhabited by countless human beings living in misery and subjugated and terrorized by evil regimes. As it is, there probably have been few if any cultures or countries throughout history that have not been plagued by a certain tiny percentage of people I will call the power elite. And throughout history America remains the land of the most powerful and dangerous power elite in the world. America’s power elite alone is directly responsible for wars, violent regime changes to install puppet rulers, and for human suffering of all kinds on a large scale. Some Self Portraits of America’s Power Elite What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? let them take arms. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. — Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson was certainly disconnected from the common folk. What did he care if some of their blood was spilt for the sake of another revolution?2 —I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races—and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race. — Abraham Lincoln Lincoln was a racist, disconnected from slaves.3 His Civil War, the most deadly for Americans of any U.S. military intervention, was launched not to free the slaves but to maintain the ability to expand the nation’s territory and with it greater markets and resources. I can hire one-half of the working class to kill the other half. — Jay Gould Jay Gould was a ruthless railroad tycoon and one of 24 robber barons during America’s gilded age in the late 1800’s.4 …I should welcome almost any war, for I think this country needs one. — Theodore Roosevelt Despite what he said publicly about matters of war and peace, what the consummate warrior in chief wrote to a confidant reveals his true contempt for the common people.5 Scare the Hell out of the American people. — Arthur Vandenberg The disdain for the American people shown by Senator Vandenberg in advising President Truman on how to peddle his proposed Truman Doctrine is pro forma for America’s power elite.6 Why do you care about the serfs? — Nick Rockefeller Nick Rockefeller is a member of the Rockefeller dynasty and thus also a current member of America’s power elite that speaks and acts in unison. His question was in response to the late Hollywood director and activist Aaron Russo saying in rejection of Rockefeller’s invitation to join the Council of Foreign Relations that he “had no interest in enslaving people.”7 The immigration of Jews from the Soviet Union is not an objective of American Foreign policy, and if they put Jews into gas chambers in the Soviet Union,it is not an American concern. — Henry Kissinger … a massive bombing campaign [involving] anything that flies or anything that moves. — Henry Kissinger The above two quotes are among “the top 10 most inhuman Henry Kissinger Quotes” compiled by the late journalist, Fred Branfman.8 Medea Benjamin, peace activist and former Nobel nominee for the Peace Prize, after dangling handcuffs and holding signs that said “Arrest Kissinger for War Crimes,” was tossed out of a Senate hearing where Kissinger was about to testify. In writing about her experience, Ms Benjamin quoted the late Christopher Hitchens who said that “Kissinger should have the door shut in his face by every decent person and should be shamed, ostracized, and excluded.”9 I think this is a very hard choice, but the price—we think the price is worth it.” — Madeleine Albright That was the heartless answer the former Secretary of State gave to reporter Lesley Stahl’s question about whether the price of sanctions against Iran were worth it considering half a million children died as a result.10 And before any strike is taken, there must be near- certainty that no civilians will be killed or injured- the highest standard we can set. — Barack Obama Obama’s statement is a perfect example of human disconnectedness and moral rationalization and disingenuousness about decisions that have cost countless civilians’ lives.11 Obama clearly sidestepped a higher standard, that of human morality, or even that of animal morality since few species massively kill their own. You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women around for five years because they didn’t wear a veil. You know, guys like that ain’t got no manhood left anyway. So it’s a hell of a lot of fun to shoot them. Actually it’s quite fun to fight them, you know. It’s a hell of a hoot. It’s fun to shoot some people. — Gen. James “Mad Dog” Mattis, U.S. Secretary of Defense War Need more be added about this particular specimen?12 I don’t care how it’s done or its consequences as long as it boosts our bottom line. And don’t tell me how it was done. — Archetypical Corporate CEO In an earlier article I described 255 real incidents of corporate wrongdoing that ranged from the mundane to the deadly.13 The most egregious of them could not have been done without either the explicit or implicit order from the corner office (e.g., causing more climate change from production and waste than any other source; diluted cancer drugs to boost profits; exports for sale more weapons than any other country; makes and sells products deliberately intended to kill; finances wars; launders drug money; builds cars “unsafe at any speed;” etc.). Questions About the Power Elite What is it about this tiny class of people throughout the history of the world that makes them so disconnected to, so contemptuous of, and so deliberately harmful to the rest of humanity? What causes them to be the opposite of what it means to be human in the view of Professor John McDonnell Tierney? To him, being human means being caring, compassionate, and kind sentient entity-stewards of the Earth.”14 I am going to break down these two general questions into three specific ones. Evil? Evil means profound immorality. As this definition goes, evil is simply the deepest of immorality, so should we not expect to find among the power elite some profoundly evil members?  Does it also go without saying that lesser degrees of immorality abound among the power elite? A.Q. Smith, a progressive journalist, undoubtedly would think so for he has concluded that “it’s basically just immoral to be rich,” and adds that “people who possess great wealth in a time of poverty are directly causing that poverty.”15 For me a clear sign of immoral behavior is when the ends of power and wealth justify the means of achieving those ends, and the means always involve wrongdoing from the mundane to the heinous. Pathological? Chris Hedges, journalist, broadcaster, and prolific author, regards the “pathology of the rich white family [to be] the most dangerous pathology in America—cursed with too much money and privilege [and] devoid of empathy, the result of lifetimes of entitlement.” That statement was just his opening salvo in a long article that ends with: “They steal with greater finesse than anyone else.”16 Psychologist William Hirstein has mined the expansive field of research and authoritative opinion on what a psychopathic personality is. Its signature attribute was deemed by the medical profession in the early 1800’s to be that of “moral depravity” or “moral insanity.” Other attributes now included by authorities are uncaring, shallow emotions, irresponsibility, insincere speech, overconfidence, and selfishness.17 Consider for a moment just the 43 U.S. presidents long enough in office to be surrogate murderers and have some experts give us their opinion, which is that being psychopathic fits every single one of them.18 Their assessments go as far as Obama, but we can turn now to a prestigious panel of psychiatrists who concluded before his first 100 days in office that President Trump “has a dangerous mental illness [and] is paranoid and delusional.”19 Greedy? Are the powerful elite “cursed with too much money”, as Mr. Hedges contends, or are they cursed with wanting even more money? Considering the previous two questions, the answer to this third one might seem irrelevant except that greed motivates evil and pathological people. In Closing Can you just imagine if they were to read the quoted remarks of some of their revered, iconic leaders what the responses would be from most Americans, having been indoctrinated from early formative years forward by the power elite to see what they believe? By the way, what, if I may ask, are your answers to the three questions, and do you have more to raise and answer? * Sample, I. Oldest Homo Sapiens Bones Ever Found Shake Foundations of the Human Story. Science, June 19, 2017. * Jefferson, T. “A Rebellion or Revolution is Needed Every 20 Years!” Amin, October 8, 2011. * Zinn, H. A People’s History of the United States. Harper Perennial, 2005, p. 188. * Lubin, G., Kelley, M.B., and Wile R. “Meet the 24 Robber Barons Who Once Ruled America”. Business Insider, March 20, 2012. * Crucible of Empire. pbs.org. * Skidmore, D. Reversing Course: Carter’s Foreign Policy, Domestic Politics, and the Failure of Reform. Vanderbilt University Press, 1996, p. 17. * Watson, P.J. “Rockefeller Admitted Elite Goal of Microchipped Population”. Prison Planet, January 29, 2007. * Branfman, F. “The Top 10 Most Inhuman Henry Kissinger Quotes.” Alter Net, February 12, 2016. * Benjamin, M. “Will the Real “Low-Life Scum” Please Stand Up?” OpEdNews, February 4, 2015; see also, Hitchens, C. “The Trial of Henry Kissinger”. Twelve, 2012. * 60 Minutes, May 12, 1996. * Vitkovskaya, J. “9 Revealing Statements Obama Has Made About Transparency and Drone Strikes”. The Washington Post, July 1, 2016. * Floores, R., Gen. James “Mad Dog” Mattis: “7 Memorable Quotes”. CBS NEWS December 2, 2016. * Brumback, G. An Evil Root.  OpEdNews, March 8; Dissident Voice, March 15; The Greanville Post, March 20; “Uncommon Thought Journal”, March 21, 2017. * Tierney, J.M. On Being Human, Dreamsinger Little Books, 2011. * Smith, A.Q. “It’s Basically Just Immoral To Be Rich”. Current Affairs, March 30, 2017 * Hedges, C. “The Pathology of the Rich White Family”. TruthDig, May 17, 2015. * Hirstein, W. “What Is a Psychopath?” Psychology Today, January 30, 2013. * Howard, J. “Psychopathic Personality Traits Linked With U.S. Presidential Success, Psychologists Suggest”. The Huffington Post, September 13, 2012. See also, Frank, J. Bush on the Couch. Harper Perennial, 2005; and Frank, J. Obama on the Couch. Free Press, 2012. * Bulman, M. “Donald Trump has ‘Dangerous Mental Illness’, Say Psychiatry Experts at Yale Conference”. Independent News, April 21, 2017. http://clubof.info/

[techongq1-blog]

We asked, you replied: Did the fourth-era iPad come too early? Advance is the life of a technophile, yet some stress over future OS updates.

Third-era iPad proprietors: does the fourth-gen iPad anger you? We posed that question of Ars perusers on Wednesday this week, soon after Apple's second fall media occasion which presented the gadget (and also a lot of different items). We pondered what our perusers thought about Apple's shake-up of the item cycle—the fourth-era iPad was discharged just seven months after the third-era, leaving many (yet not all) third-gen iPad proprietors scratching their heads about whether they had settled on the correct decision.

For a lot of nerd sorts—which Ars perusers unequivocally are—the response to the question appeared glaringly sufficiently evident. All things considered, the third-era iPad works similarly also today as it did a week ago, and who needs to back off the advance of innovation? Yet, not surprisingly, our readership offered some all around contemplated reactions on both sides of this dialog. One individual's close to home utilize case doesn't really apply to every other person, and we may not all concur on each answer. Still, plainly individuals have put some idea into this question and into how Apple's activities this week may influence their future purchasing buys.

No irkage here

We'll begin with the individuals who had almost no issue with Apple's presentation of the fourth-era iPad. A hefty portion of the 300+ reactions we got from the primary article conceded some underlying aggravation subsequent to hearing the declaration however said they "got over it" not long after in the wake of acknowledging the amount regardless they esteem their present gadgets.

One such illustration was from Michael Bushnell: "I was rankled for around two seconds, however then I got over it. All I utilize my iPad 3 for is perusing books, perusing Ars, email, and so forth. Exceptionally lightweight utilize. I can comprehend why the individuals who utilize their iPads all the more intensely would feel insulted, however for me it has little effect in my consistently utilize. I'm quite recently happy I have the retina show."

Another client, swholliday, felt a similar way. "I'll admit to some inconvenience on observing the declaration since I purchased a third gen not long ago. Then again, I consider iPads multi-year gadgets, and past screen determination and capacity I'm not worried about specs, so it's not a major ordeal. When I come it down, the Lightning connector is the main thing that truly disturbs me, and that is more since it is pleasant to not need to stress over isolated links (an iPhone 5 is my exclusive other Apple cell phone.)"

Others made it clear that they'd preferably have Apple gain mechanical ground than clutch items to improve clients feel.

"Who cares?! I believe it's a decent move by Apple given that Microsoft's new Surface beats the iPad third gen in a few benchmarks though the new A6X fourth Gen iPad destroys it. That reality that Apple remains in front of the execution bend is something worth being thankful for," a client named Squuiid composed.

"I've been utilizing mine joyfully for quite a long time in the information that Apple would discharge another adaptation inevitably," DavidNielsen included. "I am not goaded by the way that innovation pushes forward however I didn't anticipate that them will revive the iPad this rapidly."

Truth be told, some wished Apple would treat its different items a similar way. "I'm really more joyful if Apple would discharge refreshed items on a more normal premise. In my psyche, Apple's moderate discharge plan frequently makes their items poor incentive as they get on in age (i.e. Macintosh Pro right now or the iMac starting a week ago)," ronm88 composed. "I'm in the market for another desktop (Mac Pro or iMac), and I've been quietly sitting tight for a refresh. I would be more joyful in the event that they would refresh their PCs at regular intervals or thereabouts, and afterward I wouldn't feel like I have to sit tight for the most recent and most prominent."

At that point there were the individuals who said they weren't wanting to redesign at any point in the near future at any rate, and the fourth-gen iPad doesn't entice them enough to make it beneficial.

"Doesn't trouble me, since I had dependably intended to keep my third gen iPad for no less than 2 eras. That had already likened to 2 years, yet in the event that I need to extend it to 3 eras (or all the more), so be it," composed rolphus.

Another peruser named aphoid concurred. "I'm not by any means goaded despite the fact that I purchased a The New iPad in August. Despite everything it works awesome. I have a dispatch day iPhone 4S, so I can in any case share links, not at all like in the event that I overhauled. The processor speed is sufficient, I haven't seen gradualness. The fourth gen doesn't settle my greatest protestation about mine: it's quite recently too overwhelming to hold for long stretches of perusing. Presently, on the off chance that they'd dealt with a huge weight drop notwithstanding the processor update, I may be irritated or if nothing else enticed to overhaul."

In any case, wally626 called attention to that third-gen iPad proprietors outside of the US may have more motivation to be baffled than others because of the gadget's LTE confinements—had they known a more perfect rendition was turning out a large portion of a year later, they may have held up. "Not incensed, I think I would be in the event that I purchased a LTE display in a nation that is not upheld by third Gen. be that as it may, is bolstered by fourth Gen," wally626 composed. "The screen is the same, the new connector may in the end be great, however for the present it is a less. Speedier is more pleasant, however I don't do anything that pushes the current iPad Gen. 3."

At last, Zoolook compressed the general feeling shared by many existing technophiles by indicating out this is the common movement for every single techy device, and the individuals who can't deal with owning immediately obsolete toys ought to escape the diversion.

"In case you're a technophile, you hope to get stung like this regularly. In the event that you purchase bleeding edge GPUs or CPUs or motherboards for gaming PCs (which I accomplished for the best some portion of 10 years) you're continually battling a losing fight. In the times of the "stupid" telephone, new models were discharged with thoughtless forsake; that is as yet the case in Android-arrive. Same is valid with some customer gadgets (just got the most recent plasma TV for $4000... gracious look, here's a superior one for a large portion of the value)," Zoolook composed. "Do individuals whimper? Probably not."

Miserable purchasers

However, while those reactions may resound with a specific statistic of clients, a lot of different Ars perusers were upbeat to clarify why they weren't excited with how things played out between the third-and fourth-era iPad presentations. The most widely recognized contention laid on Apple's emphatic out of date quality arrangement with regards to future iOS discharges, which, thusly, influences how outsider designers treat more established gadgets. Numerous iPad proprietors are additionally iPhone proprietors, and they comprehend what it resembles to claim a genuinely late gadget that doesn't bolster all the most recent OS highlights.

"It's inescapable that it would happen, and I don't think the iPad 3 is in peril of getting to be plainly old and unsupported at any point in the near future," Tridus composed. "Presently in the event that they drop bolster for it inside one more year? THAT will chafe."

Fulgan concurred. "What truly irritates me is that Apple has an exceptionally surely understood gadget out of date quality strategy: Current and past era gadgets get every one of the treats, the era before that gets less (and commonly overhauling the OS on such a gadget makes it moderate as ice sheets) and from that point onward, it's 'no a greater amount of anything for you' time."

"Better believe it, I was 'frustrated.'" eg0nomic included. "I felt that what I just purchased matured rapidly, substantially more rapidly than I had trusted. It's less about the gen 4 being superior to anything mine, it's that the general life is shorter."

As did iforget: "To be completely forthright, I'm more irritated that the iPad 1 I purchased was out of date just eighteen months after it cleared out the shop racks (regardless of having basically an indistinguishable equipment from the iPod Touch 4, which is still discounted and still bolstered). On the off chance that iOS 7 takes off one year from now and drops bolster for the iPad 3, then I'll be much more pissed, however I truly don't see that event. "

Another peruser, sakanagai, went above and beyond to clarify this line of considering. "The all the more alarming perspective originates from the bolster cycle. Two eras back is about to the extent iOS refreshes reach, and still, after all that the usefulness is constrained," sakanagai composed. "These updates are intended to exploit the most recent equipment discharge, so normally a few elements are forgotten in more seasoned models. Be that as it may, the first iPad is as of now out of the bolster circle. The iPhone 4 and fourth gen iPod Touch have a restricted form of the most recent rendition. Contingent upon the size of equipment revives, this fast turnaround could contract the bolstered life traverse impressively. What's more, if the following equipment isn't a noteworthy update, why dispatch/get it?"

No less than one peruser, tvalleau, highlighted how the short refresh cycle impacts autonomous or specialist designers—a refresh to the iPad line so not long after the last means engineers by and by don't claim the most recent gadget for testing. "As a solitary individual engineer, I should have the most recent and most noteworthy to test my product. $800 in April for an iPad; $400 a month ago for the iPod 5; now $800 more?" tvalleau inquired. "Rankled? YES."

In reality, in spite of the fact that I for the most part fall in the principal classification (the individuals who don't consider it to be such a major ordeal), I can identify with worries about future programming similarity. Notwithstanding the many reactions we got from the first article, I likewise got various individual messages and IMs that reverberated a similar opinion: individuals are worried that Apple may drop bolster for their third-era iPads six months sooner than it may have something else.

Obviously, there were as yet a couple of third-gen iPad proprietors who were irritated at the refresh for different reasons, however paltry they might be. Ars peruser nathanziarek, for instance, unmistakably likes to exchange his old gadgets at a decent cost. "I've generally despised that Apple items crumble after new models are discharged. It appears like they ought to hold some esteem," nathanziarek composed.

[click2watch]

Next-Gen BUIDLers: The 8 Teams Working on Ethereum 2.0

“We don’t want to reinvent the wheel when building [ethereum] 2.0.”

Speaking to the complementary efforts of developers working on two separate upgrades to the ethereum blockchain – one dubbed ethereum 2.0 and the other dubbed ethereum 1x – Raul Jordan insists upgrades to be included in ethereum 1x on a shorter time horizon would have benefits to ongoing research for ethereum 2.0.

Jordan is the co-lead for one of eight different developer teams currently building software clients for ethereum 2.0.

(As background, clients are software implementations usually written in differing programming languages that users deploy to connect to and participate in the ethereum network.)

Maintaining that the “incremental enhancements” being proposed within ethereum 1x don’t affect the blockchain’s long-term roadmap, Jordan told CoinDesk:

“I think both groups are fairly orthogonal but we must at least be aware of what each is implementing.”

Presently, the technical guidelines also called specifications for both upgrades are still very much in the works.

Having been discussed in earnest among ethereum developers only in the last couple of weeks, ethereum 1x is intended to be an intermediary upgrade that focuses on enhancements to the current ethereum network.

Ethereum 2.0, on the other hand, features a more ambitious agenda that dates back to 2014 and consists of fundamental changes to the blockchain platform.

Known in its early days under project name “Serenity,” the current specifications for ethereum 2.0 can be summarized as a combination of three main components:

A switch to PoS from the current energy-intensive consensus protocol known as proof-of-work (PoW)

Implementation of a network-wide scaling solution called sharding

A revamping of the ethereum virtual machine (EVM) – the engine responsible for deploying decentralized applications (dapps) on the blockchain – to run on new programming code known as WebAssembly (WASM).

And while one of these components – namely ethereum’s implementation of WASM – has the potential of being tested in the earlier roadmap for ethereum 1x, the majority of the work to build out ethereum 2.0 is still ongoing as a separate project.

And that work is being carried out by eight different teams spread out across the globe.

1. ChainSafe Systems

Based in Toronto, ChainSafe Systems is a blockchain research and development startup offering consulting services to a number of different ethereum-based projects including Shyft, Bunz, Aion, and Polymath.

Motivated by a desire to “contribute to something bigger,” project lead at ChainSafe Mikerah Quintyne-Collins told CoinDesk:

“For me, developing ethereum 2.0 was my way to make a mark on the future of the internet.”

Called Lodestar, Collins and her team are currently building an ethereum 2.0 client written in Javascript – the primary programming language for web development.

Privately funded and seeking additional support through the Ethereum Foundation grant program, Lodestar according to Collins is envisioned to “bring a whole host of web developers to the [ethereum] ecosystem.”

“All of these programming languages have their own communities. The whole community might not want to contribute but they’re big enough that parts of it will want to contribute and build on top of ethereum,” said Collins.

Even suspecting development work to help other blockchain platforms progress, Collins emphasized that in her view ethereum 2.0 is not about ensuring ethereum’s future as “the main blockchain,” saying:

“It’s not about who’s going to be the next big thing. It’s more about trying to make these systems work. Rushing it just so we can catch up with another supposed ethereum killer defeats the purpose of working on this.”

2. PegaSys

“Our goal is to bring enterprises to the mainnet. We want to do that by creating software that is easier for enterprises to adopt.”

That’s Faisal Khan, strategy and business development head for blockchain protocol engineering group, PegaSys.

Fully supported by Consensys – the self-proclaimed “venture production studio” of ethereum headed by ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin – PegaSys is building out ethereum 2.0 specifications for an existing ethereum Java client called Pantheon.

Unveiled recently at a gathering of ethereum developers in Prague, Pantheon uses an open-source software license called Apache 2.0 to enable businesses building products on top of the ethereum platform to monetize their intellectual property.

Speaking to CoinDesk, Khan highlighted that extending support for ethereum 2.0 specifications meant close collaboration with Ethereum Foundation researchers and other client development teams.

“There’s a lot of touch points. There’s a weekly call. There’s a research forum, ETH Research. There’s a Gitter channel. The communication is pretty frequent. Obviously, there’s crypto Twitter. It’s pretty rich the conversation between any of the [ethereum] 2.0 teams and the Foundation,” said Khan.

Adding that, ethereum 2.0 would kick-start a new “cycle of network effects, dapp development and user growth” on the platform, Khan reiterated that the biggest need at present for the project was “more people involved.”

3. Harmony

Launched last October, Harmony is ethereum’s original Java client formerly maintained by a group of independent developers called Ether Camp.

Now called simply the Harmony team, these group of developers were recently awarded $90,000 through the Ethereum Foundation grants program to build out specifications for ethereum 2.0.

Subsidized by the Ethereum Foundation, Harmony is expected to continue running as an alternative Java client to the enterprise-focused Pantheon.

Separate to the Apache 2.0 software licence underpinning Pantheon, Harmony operates under a General Public License (GPL) designed to ensure any implementations of the code remain “free software and stay free software,” as described in the official GPL guide.

Likening the project to “building a new internet,” Harmony developer Mikhail Kalinin told CoinDesk:

“The biggest challenges are staying on top of all changes in the research area and following the progress of every part of the work. The scope of it is huge.”

4. Parity Technologies

Co-founded by former Ethereum Foundation chief of security officer Jutta Steiner, Parity Technologies is a blockchain infrastructure company responsible for maintaining the second most popular ethereum client on the platform today.

The name of the client called Parity Ethereum is self-proclaimed to be “the fastest and most advanced ethereum client.”

As detailed on the official Wiki page, Parity Ethereum is programmed in Rust and built for “mission-critical use,” meaning fast synchronization speeds and maximum operation uptimes.

Speaking to renewed efforts to build a ethereum 2.0 client within the organization, Head of Public Affairs for Parity Peter Mauric explained ethereum 2.0 was really the “production-ready” version of the ethereum blockchain.

He told CoinDesk:

“Broadly speaking, I believe that ethereum as it exists today is very much in beta … Ethereum 2.0 is going from this experimental project that Vitalik launched just a few years ago to a more production ready blockchain protocol.”

5. Prysmatic Labs

Building out the first implementation of ethereum 2.0 in programming language Go, Prysmatic Labs launched this January with the goal of helping the ethereum blockchain reach scalability.

Speaking about the endeavour, team lead at Prysmatic Labs Raul Jordan told CoinDesk:

“Ethereum 2.0 is a system that is scalable to the needs of a global computer…What this means is that it will be able to handle the load of real world necessities…Anything from something simple to a completely immense financial system built on top of it.”

Named Prysm, the ethereum 2.0 client will act as a counterpart to the blockchain’s current most popular client implementation also written in Go called Geth.

Not seeing client development as a competitive process, Jordan highlighted that multiple different client implementations is a great necessity on the ethereum blockchain.

“The reason is that when you’re working on a blockchain like this, you want as much decentralization of implementations. So for example if the ethereum blockchain is running on Prysm and there’s a bug in Prysm, everyone can just switch to [another client]. You have options,” said Jordan.

Still, likening the endeavour to building “a public good,” Jordan highlighted support for development work was largely by donation from both the Ethereum Foundation and other private donors.

Receiving roughly $1 million in support to date, Jordan told CoinDesk one of the biggest challenges of building out an ethereum 2.0 client was making sure work corresponded “closely with the research.”

He explained:

“There are new ideas coming out every week, every day, and we’re basically building on a ever changing specifications… So I think one of the biggest challenges has really been multitasking between developing and also making sure that the research is good and we evaluate options moving forward.”

6. Sigma Prime

Founded in 2016, Sigma Prime is an information security and blockchain technology consulting company.

Recently awarded a $150,000 grant from the Ethereum Foundation, the company is building an ethereum 2.0 client called Lighthouse written in programming language Rust.

Being the second client implementation in Rust next to Parity, co-founder of Sigma Prime Paul Hauner told CoinDesk that he didn’t expect there to be “any fundamental differences” between the two products.

Emphasizing that a duplication of work was actually “really desired in a blockchain,” Hauner explained:

“Software has bugs. So, if everybody runs the same client and there’s a bug, everyone goes down. If there’s this diversity of clients, they’re most likely going to have different bugs. One client goes down that’s fine. The rest of the network still stays up.”

And speaking to the importance of the ethereum 2.0 upgrade in general, Hauner added that not only would users notice “a huge increase in transactions in per second” but also significant environmental gains under a proof-of-stake consensus protocol.

“Personally, I feel people are going to use it and it’s going to work. In terms of the actual technology, I don’t have any concerns about is it feasible. Is it bulletproof at this point in time? Absolutely not. It hasn’t been built,” said Hauner.

7. Status

A messaging platform and mobile browser specifically designed to engage users on the ethereum blockchain, Status unveiled this August active development for an ethereum 2.0 client called Nimbus written in programming language Nim.

Funded in part by a $500,000 grant from the Ethereum Foundation, the goal of the project as highlighted on the official website is “to drive mass adoption of ethereum” by optimizing Nimbus for performance on “resource-restricted devices.”

As such, leveraging the lightweight capabilities of running Nim code, Nimbus is expected to be ethereum’s first mobile client connecting smartphones devices and other handheld electronics to the blockchain platform.

With eight core contributors to the project, Status highlighted in a blog post a few months ago that it is looking for additional developer support.

“We are entirely open source and encourage contribution from those who want to get involved,” wrote head of research development at Status Jacek Sieka.

In addition, speaking to CoinDesk, Sieka added that he foresaw development work for ethereum 2.0 being rolled out in multiple stages, with a suspected test network for one of the first components called the beacon chain coming some time in the next year.

“That being said research is ongoing and any timelines are usually in flux but from an end user perspective, a year, two years is a reasonable timeline to expect for [ethereum 2.0] to become generally useful,” said Sieka.

8. Trinity

Last but not least, Trinity is a current ethereum client written in programming language Python.

Championed to be the new standard Python implementation for ethereum, Trinity features upgraded code to the now dormant PyEthApp originally authored by founder of ethereum Vitalik Buterin.

Having launched this year in a preliminary alpha phase, Trinity is comprised of six developers including Merriam all except one of whom are contracted to work by the Ethereum Foundation.

Expected to build support for ethereum 2.0 specifications as well, lead architect for Trinity Piper Merriam highlighted developing “at the boundary between research and implementation” was what he did best.

“I like the application of theory more than the theory. Protocol research is neat but implementing the protocols is more inline with what I’m good at,” said Merriam.

Adding that the work was really “only just getting started,” Merriam likened the process of ethereum 2.0 client development as putting together the pieces of “a puzzle.”

A puzzle requiring many hands, the collective work of all eight teams are expected to mutually reinforce each other and secure the future of the ethereum blockchain.

Merriam told CoinDesk:

“By having many implementations of any protocol … we can derive confidence that the written definition of the protocol is accurate [and] that the individual clients are correct.”

Metal working image via Shutterstock

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Next-Gen BUIDLers: The 8 Teams Working on Ethereum 2.0

“We don’t want to reinvent the wheel when building [ethereum] 2.0.”

Speaking to the complementary efforts of developers working on two separate upgrades to the ethereum blockchain – one dubbed ethereum 2.0 and the other dubbed ethereum 1x – Raul Jordan insists upgrades to be included in ethereum 1x on a shorter time horizon would have benefits to ongoing research for ethereum 2.0.

Jordan is the co-lead for one of eight different developer teams currently building software clients for ethereum 2.0.

(As background, clients are software implementations usually written in differing programming languages that users deploy to connect to and participate in the ethereum network.)

Maintaining that the “incremental enhancements” being proposed within ethereum 1x don’t affect the blockchain’s long-term roadmap, Jordan told CoinDesk:

“I think both groups are fairly orthogonal but we must at least be aware of what each is implementing.”

Presently, the technical guidelines also called specifications for both upgrades are still very much in the works.

Having been discussed in earnest among ethereum developers only in the last couple of weeks, ethereum 1x is intended to be an intermediary upgrade that focuses on enhancements to the current ethereum network.

Ethereum 2.0, on the other hand, features a more ambitious agenda that dates back to 2014 and consists of fundamental changes to the blockchain platform.

Known in its early days under project name “Serenity,” the current specifications for ethereum 2.0 can be summarized as a combination of three main components:

A switch to PoS from the current energy-intensive consensus protocol known as proof-of-work (PoW)

Implementation of a network-wide scaling solution called sharding

A revamping of the ethereum virtual machine (EVM) – the engine responsible for deploying decentralized applications (dapps) on the blockchain – to run on new programming code known as WebAssembly (WASM).

And while one of these components – namely ethereum’s implementation of WASM – has the potential of being tested in the earlier roadmap for ethereum 1x, the majority of the work to build out ethereum 2.0 is still ongoing as a separate project.

And that work is being carried out by eight different teams spread out across the globe.

1. ChainSafe Systems

Based in Toronto, ChainSafe Systems is a blockchain research and development startup offering consulting services to a number of different ethereum-based projects including Shyft, Bunz, Aion, and Polymath.

Motivated by a desire to “contribute to something bigger,” project lead at ChainSafe Mikerah Quintyne-Collins told CoinDesk:

“For me, developing ethereum 2.0 was my way to make a mark on the future of the internet.”

Called Lodestar, Collins and her team are currently building an ethereum 2.0 client written in Javascript – the primary programming language for web development.

Privately funded and seeking additional support through the Ethereum Foundation grant program, Lodestar according to Collins is envisioned to “bring a whole host of web developers to the [ethereum] ecosystem.”

“All of these programming languages have their own communities. The whole community might not want to contribute but they’re big enough that parts of it will want to contribute and build on top of ethereum,” said Collins.

Even suspecting development work to help other blockchain platforms progress, Collins emphasized that in her view ethereum 2.0 is not about ensuring ethereum’s future as “the main blockchain,” saying:

“It’s not about who’s going to be the next big thing. It’s more about trying to make these systems work. Rushing it just so we can catch up with another supposed ethereum killer defeats the purpose of working on this.”

2. PegaSys

“Our goal is to bring enterprises to the mainnet. We want to do that by creating software that is easier for enterprises to adopt.”

That’s Faisal Khan, strategy and business development head for blockchain protocol engineering group, PegaSys.

Fully supported by Consensys – the self-proclaimed “venture production studio” of ethereum headed by ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin – PegaSys is building out ethereum 2.0 specifications for an existing ethereum Java client called Pantheon.

Unveiled recently at a gathering of ethereum developers in Prague, Pantheon uses an open-source software license called Apache 2.0 to enable businesses building products on top of the ethereum platform to monetize their intellectual property.

Speaking to CoinDesk, Khan highlighted that extending support for ethereum 2.0 specifications meant close collaboration with Ethereum Foundation researchers and other client development teams.

“There’s a lot of touch points. There’s a weekly call. There’s a research forum, ETH Research. There’s a Gitter channel. The communication is pretty frequent. Obviously, there’s crypto Twitter. It’s pretty rich the conversation between any of the [ethereum] 2.0 teams and the Foundation,” said Khan.

Adding that, ethereum 2.0 would kick-start a new “cycle of network effects, dapp development and user growth” on the platform, Khan reiterated that the biggest need at present for the project was “more people involved.”

3. Harmony

Launched last October, Harmony is ethereum’s original Java client formerly maintained by a group of independent developers called Ether Camp.

Now called simply the Harmony team, these group of developers were recently awarded $90,000 through the Ethereum Foundation grants program to build out specifications for ethereum 2.0.

Subsidized by the Ethereum Foundation, Harmony is expected to continue running as an alternative Java client to the enterprise-focused Pantheon.

Separate to the Apache 2.0 software licence underpinning Pantheon, Harmony operates under a General Public License (GPL) designed to ensure any implementations of the code remain “free software and stay free software,” as described in the official GPL guide.

Likening the project to “building a new internet,” Harmony developer Mikhail Kalinin told CoinDesk:

“The biggest challenges are staying on top of all changes in the research area and following the progress of every part of the work. The scope of it is huge.”

4. Parity Technologies

Co-founded by former Ethereum Foundation chief of security officer Jutta Steiner, Parity Technologies is a blockchain infrastructure company responsible for maintaining the second most popular ethereum client on the platform today.

The name of the client called Parity Ethereum is self-proclaimed to be “the fastest and most advanced ethereum client.”

As detailed on the official Wiki page, Parity Ethereum is programmed in Rust and built for “mission-critical use,” meaning fast synchronization speeds and maximum operation uptimes.

Speaking to renewed efforts to build a ethereum 2.0 client within the organization, Head of Public Affairs for Parity Peter Mauric explained ethereum 2.0 was really the “production-ready” version of the ethereum blockchain.

He told CoinDesk:

“Broadly speaking, I believe that ethereum as it exists today is very much in beta … Ethereum 2.0 is going from this experimental project that Vitalik launched just a few years ago to a more production ready blockchain protocol.”

5. Prysmatic Labs

Building out the first implementation of ethereum 2.0 in programming language Go, Prysmatic Labs launched this January with the goal of helping the ethereum blockchain reach scalability.

Speaking about the endeavour, team lead at Prysmatic Labs Raul Jordan told CoinDesk:

“Ethereum 2.0 is a system that is scalable to the needs of a global computer…What this means is that it will be able to handle the load of real world necessities…Anything from something simple to a completely immense financial system built on top of it.”

Named Prysm, the ethereum 2.0 client will act as a counterpart to the blockchain’s current most popular client implementation also written in Go called Geth.

Not seeing client development as a competitive process, Jordan highlighted that multiple different client implementations is a great necessity on the ethereum blockchain.

“The reason is that when you’re working on a blockchain like this, you want as much decentralization of implementations. So for example if the ethereum blockchain is running on Prysm and there’s a bug in Prysm, everyone can just switch to [another client]. You have options,” said Jordan.

Still, likening the endeavour to building “a public good,” Jordan highlighted support for development work was largely by donation from both the Ethereum Foundation and other private donors.

Receiving roughly $1 million in support to date, Jordan told CoinDesk one of the biggest challenges of building out an ethereum 2.0 client was making sure work corresponded “closely with the research.”

He explained:

“There are new ideas coming out every week, every day, and we’re basically building on a ever changing specifications… So I think one of the biggest challenges has really been multitasking between developing and also making sure that the research is good and we evaluate options moving forward.”

6. Sigma Prime

Founded in 2016, Sigma Prime is an information security and blockchain technology consulting company.

Recently awarded a $150,000 grant from the Ethereum Foundation, the company is building an ethereum 2.0 client called Lighthouse written in programming language Rust.

Being the second client implementation in Rust next to Parity, co-founder of Sigma Prime Paul Hauner told CoinDesk that he didn’t expect there to be “any fundamental differences” between the two products.

Emphasizing that a duplication of work was actually “really desired in a blockchain,” Hauner explained:

“Software has bugs. So, if everybody runs the same client and there’s a bug, everyone goes down. If there’s this diversity of clients, they’re most likely going to have different bugs. One client goes down that’s fine. The rest of the network still stays up.”

And speaking to the importance of the ethereum 2.0 upgrade in general, Hauner added that not only would users notice “a huge increase in transactions in per second” but also significant environmental gains under a proof-of-stake consensus protocol.

“Personally, I feel people are going to use it and it’s going to work. In terms of the actual technology, I don’t have any concerns about is it feasible. Is it bulletproof at this point in time? Absolutely not. It hasn’t been built,” said Hauner.

7. Status

A messaging platform and mobile browser specifically designed to engage users on the ethereum blockchain, Status unveiled this August active development for an ethereum 2.0 client called Nimbus written in programming language Nim.

Funded in part by a $500,000 grant from the Ethereum Foundation, the goal of the project as highlighted on the official website is “to drive mass adoption of ethereum” by optimizing Nimbus for performance on “resource-restricted devices.”

As such, leveraging the lightweight capabilities of running Nim code, Nimbus is expected to be ethereum’s first mobile client connecting smartphones devices and other handheld electronics to the blockchain platform.

With eight core contributors to the project, Status highlighted in a blog post a few months ago that it is looking for additional developer support.

“We are entirely open source and encourage contribution from those who want to get involved,” wrote head of research development at Status Jacek Sieka.

In addition, speaking to CoinDesk, Sieka added that he foresaw development work for ethereum 2.0 being rolled out in multiple stages, with a suspected test network for one of the first components called the beacon chain coming some time in the next year.

“That being said research is ongoing and any timelines are usually in flux but from an end user perspective, a year, two years is a reasonable timeline to expect for [ethereum 2.0] to become generally useful,” said Sieka.

8. Trinity

Last but not least, Trinity is a current ethereum client written in programming language Python.

Championed to be the new standard Python implementation for ethereum, Trinity features upgraded code to the now dormant PyEthApp originally authored by founder of ethereum Vitalik Buterin.

Having launched this year in a preliminary alpha phase, Trinity is comprised of six developers including Merriam all except one of whom are contracted to work by the Ethereum Foundation.

Expected to build support for ethereum 2.0 specifications as well, lead architect for Trinity Piper Merriam highlighted developing “at the boundary between research and implementation” was what he did best.

“I like the application of theory more than the theory. Protocol research is neat but implementing the protocols is more inline with what I’m good at,” said Merriam.

Adding that the work was really “only just getting started,” Merriam likened the process of ethereum 2.0 client development as putting together the pieces of “a puzzle.”

A puzzle requiring many hands, the collective work of all eight teams are expected to mutually reinforce each other and secure the future of the ethereum blockchain.

Merriam told CoinDesk:

“By having many implementations of any protocol … we can derive confidence that the written definition of the protocol is accurate [and] that the individual clients are correct.”

Metal working image via Shutterstock

!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod? n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n; n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0; t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script','//connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js'); fbq('init', '239547076708948'); fbq('track', "PageView"); This news post is collected from CoinDesk

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The post Next-Gen BUIDLers: The 8 Teams Working on Ethereum 2.0 appeared first on Click 2 Watch.

More Details Here → https://click2.watch/next-gen-buidlers-the-8-teams-working-on-ethereum-2-0