#these people are so far into the negative in terms of any sympathy whatsoever

[askshivanulegacy]

/rant ahead

You know, I'm a suuuper lazy person. When I order stuff in the mail, I don't care when it arrives, just that it DOES. I'll wait months. It's fine. I love Kickstarters and I don't care how long it takes them to start shipping stuff out. I love independent crafters and sellers and I know people have lives. All I want is my stuff while I still remember that I ordered it.

I draw the line at two. fucking. years.

And this isn't even a Kickstarter, you know, because for Kickstarters I don't care. This is. A normal fucking website, where you place an order like a normal person. Like Etsy. Like Amazon.

It had hands-down, THE nicest, prettiest, most gorgeous selection of ultra detailed enamel pins I have ever seen. These were ART. Dragon pins. Fantasy pins. Pokemon pins. All the pins! Not just one or two, no, I'm talking the PIN MOTHERLOAD of GORGEOUSNESS.

I placed a very generous order and was looking forward to new releases and going back for more.

And then they proceeded to string me along for two years. Every time I turned around, there was some other "emergency." And it's not even like I was bugging them about it. I waited for holidays. I waited solid MONTHS between reaching back out. But every time, it was something new.

Meanwhile, other people were receiving their orders and they were still sending out website updates and advertising their Patreon, and the website constantly said "still taking orders!" across the top.

I'm sorry. Going on two years for my single order and you're still accepting payments from people and fulfilling their orders, but for some reason, you can't do mine??

Maybe you need to stop taking people's money if you can't keep up, and fulfill your existing obligations.

I WAITED for any kind of apology. I waited for them to say they would give me a discount. Or a refund. Or throw in some freebie pins.

I have the entire email trail and not a single time was I offered any kind of apology. It's just a pure string of excuse after excuse after excuse. Like, at some point, as a business person, it literally doesn't matter if you feel sorry or not, but you are obligated to say it. If you actually care about your customer service, if you actually care about your customer being sympathetic to your life events.

These people clearly did not.

So, after two years, I finally opened up my package and got my lovely two-year-old pins. Do you think there were any freebies thrown in? Pins? Stickers? Prints? Cheap apologetic garbage???

No. There was nothing. And not once was I offered any kind of a discount. At this point, you know, 5% would have been expected. 25% would have been realistic and reasonable. PLUS one or two free pins, especially if they ever wanted me to come back, given my sizable order in the first place.

Anyway. I thought about calling this shop out just to warn people off of it, but the pins are just that good that even if I did, it would only give them more business. Which I don't want. I even went back and browsed their entire website and there are whole handfuls of premiumly priced pins that I would throw money down for right now, if I hadn't just had to wait two years for them to find their own asses and deliver after constant lies.

So I'm not going to say who they are. If you ask me to name them, I cannot in good conscience tell you. But if you see an independent pin website out there with a "hiatus but still accepting orders!" banner across the top, then order at your own risk. You can privately send me the name of a place and I will say yes or no.

But that's it. This shop is dead to me. I wish it wasn't. I would order again. For any sellers out there, take note: if you screw up THAT royally, you need to be acknowledging it, and you need to be offering freebies and/or discounts. I would have come back if they had just thrown me a damn bone. I wanted them to. I was waiting for it. It was so, so, so, so obvious that, two years later (!!!!) maybe even a small kind word would have been warranted!

But they didn't.

[persephoneflouwers]

can u elaborate more on ur tags about h not doing mp promo? 👀

Alright, but I just want to say this is not a statement whatsoever. I just like the elaborated process behind every possibility lol so im very open to discussion

But first, let me ask you a question and I want you to be as honest as you can. If you were a director (a normal one), would you want your movie to be strongly associated with H now? Not acting wise, but in terms of the negativity and bad attention Harry brings to your projects? It’s not even his fans, because many would support him, rightfully so. It’s more like the negativity following him from his non-fans and literally any person outside his professional bubble.

I am trying to fact check the news of the anticipation of the london premiere, but many My Policeman UAs reported the premiere in London was on October 18th. For some reasons, it turns out to be on October 15th when Harry’s show in Chicago has already been scheduled for months. It felt weird, right? The 18th news could be false, as far as I know, btw.

It’s not even the fact he’s not there, but it’s the way they keep making sure he’s seen anywhere else. It was the fan pics and the dog vid (?????) in Chicago, it was the pics from the Wolf Alice concert, it was the video for the mercury award (was that a towel on his shoulder? Was it there because he was recording it in a hurry? Was it there to cover the merch name on his sweater because he’s a walking billboard but only if his team can profit out of him? But that video was… telling to say at least - mind you, I know he’s a singer and that was for his career but it would take him literally 30 seconds to record a message - or a tweet, a wink on the story, anything! - if he couldn’t make it to London). All meant to let us know he’s simply not there for the movie. I want to go in the other direction a little, because it happened in the past before, so he doesn’t come from nowhere. How would people take this behaviour if it was related to the other movie? They would say he doesn’t care, that he doesn’t want to be involved. They would consider the director words about his fans absolutely fake and they would find shady things in posts (like David’s, bless him, he seems such a sweet and nice angel). The “every publicity is good publicity” state of mind doesn’t always apply. Sometimes, some things need a smoother approach and a movie like my policeman could benefit from it. It’s not like a “vade retro Harry Styles”. Nothing like that. I think they genuinely appreciated H there, but still my opening question stands. It is also possible this was the deal and conditions from the very beginning. Some sort of restraint to the rumours about the sexuality. Like he could do the movie as long as he wasn’t part of the promo much (share some trailers and go to the TIFF premiere and that’s it), there’s no way to know for certain.

Not to mention the way they keep giving the fandom hints of something new coming, like the you are home site first and the gill thing yesterday night. If you’re just sitting there and getting second hand information about what is happening around him, It feels like stealing the thunder a bit? Maybe? Again, this could be just the poorest timing schedule in the history of the world.

It’s sad because for him, knowing what we know and knowing what his reputation is, all this is even more alienating from the community. I don’t want to sound as a person who doesn’t have sympathy towards a closeted person or whatever, because I do. As a person who’s not out myself, I know. Really I do. And that’s why I can’t be here and watch how this punishment is constantly pushed on him. I’m not looking the other way, but there’s nothing I can do and for someone like me who has devoted her own life in helping people and swore on the Hippocrates vow, sometimes it’s too much. I’ve been silently protesting and in my little world that is working because I’m still standing for my own values. I had to take several steps back and that’s why I don’t engage with his content that much. I will jump on anyone else’s throat if they don’t love him the right way. Still. I couldn’t care less of these movies, but it’s so sad the constant favouritism they have been showing. I just can’t help wondering what the hell he signed for and who is really having his back at the moment. I call him my Persephone for a reason. At the end of the day, I hope he’s just doing fine and that the things he’s getting out of all this are worthy on the long run. Obviously people are allowed to live the fandom experience in the way they are more comfortable. So please be kind on somebody else reaction.

Also as I’m writing this, gems (interlude) by little simz started playing. It seemed very fitting. Go have a listen <3

[mc-critical]

Something I can never bring myself to understand is the MY fandom’s seeming obsession with *proving* Mahidevran or Hürrem as the more morally correct, more noble, more respect-worthy etc sultana. Or measuring whose actions and beliefs were the most justifiable or who suffered the most unfortunate circumstances. It seems to completely ignore the fact that most characters in the franchise, sans a small handful of characters, fall into the category of morally questionable or ambiguous. I feel like both Mahidevran and Hürrem are both victims to the same terrible circumstances and the enviornment in which they both lived and were forced to adapt to was a catalyst to a lot of their deplorable actions and beliefs. They both came to the palace as concubines with no family nor money to their names (I can’t recall if this was held consistent in the TV series for Mahidevran’s case or not but I know this is the case for her historically as well), both of them had their worth and their livelihood tied to their ability to produce princes and please the Sultan (who will take any opportunity to remind these women that they are a mere piece of property to him anytime they attempt to assert themselves in any way.) Then there’s the looming threat of the principle of fratricide that basically haunted them throughout the entirety of their motherhood. I’m in no way saying the immoral decisions they made was justifiable or somehow okay (Mahidevran killing Mehmet, Hürrem killing Mustafa, etc.) I just feel that there’s a lot of black-and-white thinking at play whenever the Mahi/Hürrem discourse comes up. What do you think?

Thank you for bringing this up, because it's probably the thing that bugs me the most about this fandom (outside of Tumblr currently). You voiced my overall thoughts into words so well!

I think these double standarts come from many places that can be both the only reasons for a person or just one of the many. In my experience, this "black or white", "all or nothing" attitude stems from the absolutist belief that people should pick sides and root for only one character (usually the protagonist) in a narrative. They're using the standard, superficial narrative roles of the protagonist and the antagonist in terms of Hürrem, thinking that for some reason the protagonist is always morally right in all she does, simply because she's the protagonist and we're supposed to unconditionally root for her. And if they don't like the protagonist, they choose root for "the other side" instead. They're better than that anyway, so of course, we should root for them!!

To be honest, the earlier seasons of the show make an attempt in justifying this assessment, with them having the narrative voice be rooted in Hürrem's favor, despite of all possible problematic actions that tell a different story altogether. MC Hürrem was given very understandable and sympathetic motivations, thorough character exploration, gradual character development and the privilege of far too obvious Plot Armor (make no mistake, every historical figure in the show has Plot Armor, but with the many attempts at her life, Hürrem's in particular, was way too glaring at points, sometimes to a ridiculous degree.) and the writers making her enemies doom themselves by their own failings, with her seemingly only enduring the "charade". (Valide's flanderization post-E38 is the most egregious example of this.) People I've encountered that are excusing Hürrem's behavior, are citing precisely the first episodes to present their arguments, often refusing to go beyond that. Mahidevran's motivations, while as nuanced as Hürrem's, don't seem as delved into in comparison at first (the origins and backstory of MC Mahidevran are shrouded in ambiguity, and while this is thematically appropriate for her character arc, as I explained here, it definetly doesn't help her case in bringing in more vocal sympathy.) and it could seem that her character is simply antagonistic to Hürrem, doesn't go anywhere and later revels in the depths of her ambition and wounded pride earlier than Hürrem began that similar development of hers. Some Mahi stans could see that probable difference of treatment in narrative and support her simply because of that, as well.

Assessing moral ambiguity isn't all that easy in the grand scheme of things, but it especially falls short when the narrative voice seemingly doesn't support it at first. But many miss that there's a very thin line between the actions and the narrative voice, that only turns into a very deep incongruity as the series progresses. I don't know, perhaps determing the moral ambiguity is indeed so complex, confusing and conflicting, since the whole story could get too complex and many might wonder who they'll root for now when everyone is so problematic. And that's a show that began as a simple soap opera, no less! Why would they even put in the effort in this case?

Not many people are used to ambiguous and questionable character development and are still trying to prove that there is one main positive characters in the show, which is why they try to make Mahidevran or Hürrem more morally right and justifiable than they actually are. They are so passionate about the debates they engage in, because this time period and MC is truly so ripe in analysis and it could be very fun to figure out where these characters come from and go through their 4-seasons long evolution in one chosen context, but by doing this, they so often miss the depth and nuance of the subject at hand and it all turns into a one-sided discourse that drives me nuts.

There is a historical context of the issue is also important to note, in my opinion. Both Mahidevran and Hürrem are historical figures and quite a bit of facts and deeds of theirs are now widely known. Most people in the fandom have opinions of them in advance or could've gained opinions of them a while after they began to watch the show. (There are also numerous fictional interpretations of the events during Süleiman's reign and the players in it, which may also play a part in the overall judgement.) Either way, the known historical facts about them (and other fictional interpretations one could've read, of course) could influence their points of view by a certain amount and use these general impressions to present them while analyzing the characters in the show. I've heard numerous arguments that this Hürrem isn't like the Hürrem the history knows about, that she isn't "their" Hürrem and what they read about her isn't depicted all that much in the show, which takes a lot away, according to them. I especially hate when they call MC Hürrem a one-dimensional "evil" caricature that only has vileness and smug about her, no conscience, no complexity whatsoever. (no, MC Hürrem isn't as simplistic and is much deeper and more nuanced. As far as fictional interpretations go, what they're describing is Hürrem in "The Sultan's Harem" from Colin Falconer, not MC Hürrem! In the MC/K franchise's terms, all they're doing is reducing her to the level of MCK Turhan Sultan, which is disrespectful to this character, to say the least. Turhan is the exact thematic contrast to Hürrem smh while Falconer's Hürrem is the most absurdly evil caricature imaginable, at least IMO, please and thank you!) Or even more unbelievably and outright hilariously, considering Hürrem's actions and the Sultanate of Women overall the downfall of the Ottoman Empire o.o and that's why Hürrem is so ruthless, so cruel, always intentionally, of course. This is plain ridiculous. Mahidevran, on the other hand, is presented by this clique as her "victim", as a completely innocent victim that had everything taken away from her. That Hürrem had stood between her and Süleiman and "ruined" their family. This take ignores every other factor of this falling out (Süleiman, that is) and a part of the nuance of Mahidevran's character. Reducing her to a simple "victim" doesn't cut it at all. Conversely, we have fans that simplify MC Mahidevran's character beyond every belief, loving the historical figure, but claiming they made her an "evil" and "stupid" bitch that cries and whines all the time. It's limiting and one-sided and even if it appears so, there are way far more layers to her character, that develop consistently throughout the narrative. The historical context of the time period itself is usually brought up in the debates, too, justifying whoever they want to justify by "It's a war, only the strongest ones survive!" or "You eat or get eaten! We should understand their time period, not judge by our contemporary times !", which is understandable and valid, but the only thing they end up doing is applying this logic only to their preferred characters when it should be applied to everyone. They try their best efforts to make one more morally right than the other, but they continually fail in the process, because the metric they judge them from is plagued by double standarts.

I wholeheartedly agree with you that excusing one of them, but not the other for most situations is wrong, because Mahidevran and Hürrem.... aren't all that different. What most people seem to miss, is that their character arcs are so contrastingly paralleling, because both of their endings were far from victorious and they got it for the exact same character reason, gained in a different way and in a different time. The persistent insistence of the fandom wanting a main character necessarily having a triumphant grand finale fails flat immediately, because there is no true victory in the franchise. They also miss the negative character development of both of them, them having to do the exact same stuff in many instances, both of them letting go of their pasts and/or former attachments, becoming vicious and ruthless in order to adapt to the circumstances, both of them had to make moves out of desperation because they felt threatened and they both protected their lives and the ones of their children at the end of the day. Heck, they're way more alike than they're different in my book. There is no morally right, no more noble here. Both of them had no qualms to do whatever it took to secure their own future and as you said, the narrative presented very neat motivations for them to do so as a whole. There is always a shade of grey and yes, who has the lighter shade of gray could be up for debate due to differing sympathies and perceptions, but that mustn't stop people to at least try looking at the "bigger picture" and try to view their characters with a bit more criticality, depth and respect.

Rooting for both conflicting sides is still seen as questionable and contradictory by some, but there really is nothing wrong with exploring their motivations without justifying them, no matter where your sympathies extend. I think it creates a more unbiased outlook on the both these characters and the themes around them and it's always awesome to see people doing that in any fandom, really.

And both Sultanas are worthy of respect, I said what I said.

[marshmallowgoop]

Brand New Animal...

So, the last few episodes of BNA: Brand New Animal dropped on Netflix Japan last week. I was initially really hyped for this anime—I devoted several hours of my life to translating and summarizing the Winter 2020 Otomedia interview concerning it—so I intended to write a lot more about the series, especially upon a wider release.

But having now seen every episode, this is another Kiznaiver and Darling in the Franxx for me. There’s a lot of potential, and I was incredibly invested at the start, but the narrative quickly goes directions and makes decisions that don’t sit well with me at all.

For those interested in BNA, my (mostly?) spoiler-free opinion is that it’s visually beautiful (especially in regards to its colors), but the story feels scattered, and there’s so little time devoted to positive interactions among the leads that their friendships fall flat. Further, speaking as a very character-oriented person, I finished this anime annoyed at the entire main cast. Their growth comes across as dissatisfying and undeserved.

Of course, it is more than worth noting that my understanding of Brand New Animal is indeed limited at this point; I don’t have much of a grasp on Japanese, there are no official English translations yet, and I watched with Japanese subtitles. (At least until episode 12. While there are thankfully subtitles available now, there weren’t when I watched, which is a huge disappointment in terms of accessibility.)

I recognize that my feelings may very well change if I have a better sense of everything that’s being said. But given what I do know, I—at least at the moment—have no desire to rewatch this series. I’m always open to requests to talk about BNA, but I don’t think I’ll be blogging much about it otherwise.

All that said, I do want to share some spoiler thoughts under the cut. As my sister noted, I am “very upset about this furry anime.”

First things first: I cannot stand Nazuna. I’m sorry. I think it’d probably be too much to say that she soured the whole show for me, but she definitely comes close.

Now, I got a (minor) degree in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, so, yes, I can’t help but wonder if my strong negative feelings are related to sexism. Would I feel so strongly if there were a man in Nazuna’s place? There’s been a lot of investigating myself these last few days, let me tell you.

Still, I can’t say I know the answers. But I do have some Thoughts that are maybe best illustrated with another anime I’ve started watching lately: My Hero Academia.

Do note that I’m only on Season 2, but there are also characters I strongly dislike so far in My Hero—characters who are arguably much worse than Nazuna, as far as their actions and behavior go. Bakugo is an angry, abusive bully, while Mineta sexually harasses women. I hate both of them, but—especially regarding Bakugo—it’s a different kind of hate than what I feel for Nazuna.

Why? Well, I won’t deny the possibility that sexism plays a role, but there’s also a profound difference in how these characters are treated by their stories. Bakugo initially gets away with his bad attitude, but upon coming to high school, he’s a pariah. He’s called out for being a jerk, time and time again. Mineta, similarly, is not adored for his actions. These aren’t nice dudes, and the narrative makes this point clear. Regarding Bakugo, I hate him, but it’s not exactly a bad kind of hate. Because I hate him, I’m rooting even harder for Deku to prove him wrong.

But what about Nazuna? She pretends to be another culture’s god, but much of BNA seems dedicated to treating her as a poor victim who was manipulated into manipulating others and needs to be rescued. While Nazuna’s situation is indeed a frightening one that I don’t at all intend to make light of, episode 6 makes abundantly clear that this girl adores masquerading as a goddess and fails to see any moral problem in tricking thousands of people into believing that she’s their savior.

And that, to me, is absolutely horrendous. Nazuna is not in kindergarten. She is not a small child still in the preoperational stage of development. She is an older teenager. I find it disconcerting to paint her as someone in a rough place who was simply desperate for love when she pointedly relishes her false godhood because it makes her feel like an idol. That is so unbelievably gross and disrespectful.

Of course, Nazuna truly doesn’t see what she’s doing as wrong, and I recognize that she is young. In the end, as I hope the Bakugo example highlights, my issues are really less about Nazuna herself and more about how she’s written and depicted. Just as there’s nothing inherently despicable about portraying a smug, selfish teenage boy in a cartoon, there’s nothing inherently despicable about portraying a smug, selfish teenage girl in another cartoon. But while Deku and Bakugo were also past friends just as Michiru and Nazuna, Deku never defends Bakugo’s awful behavior as Michiru does for Nazuna.

And that bothers me. Michiru—our protagonist and so the person viewers are pushed to empathize most with—never really seems to grasp just how disgusting Nazuna’s actions are. More importantly, neither does Nazuna herself. She’s instantly forgiven, and her dream comes true seemingly without any apology or understanding of wrong whatsoever.

Brand New Animal is filled to the brim with social commentary, but one message that stood out to me actually has nothing to do with the human/animal-human conflict. It’s instead that this cute girl never has to face the consequences of her actions because she’s cute.

I know, I know. This is some pretty over-the-top negativity. But I was so excited for this series. Especially considering the ending conflict around being “mixed” and “purebred,” I felt like BNA was an opportunity for writer Kazuki Nakashima to more thoroughly explore concepts he wanted to examine in Kill la Kill but didn’t because a talking outfit just ain’t gonna garner the same amount of sympathy as cute animal-humans. With my recent(ish) Wolf Children posting in mind, I also love that Brand New Animal ultimately pushes for diversity instead of away from it as I feel that film does, even if there are some... unfortunate implications along the way (that I don’t know if I’m personally capable of analyzing).

But 12 episodes simply couldn’t do this show justice. I’m supposed to care for a girl who calls being an animal-human a “disease” and never seems to really reconcile with how messed up that is? I’m supposed to care for a man who dismembers others in the name of “honor” and never seems to really reconcile with how messed up that is? I’m supposed to hope that two friends/lovers get back together when one is rude and dismissive towards the other for the majority of the show, and the other idolizes her and overlooks her truly terrible misdeeds?

Maybe I just don’t get it. Maybe I missed something (or a lot of things). But there is so much here that gets resolved too quickly or never receives the full exploration it deserves. As I said in the start, characters fall flat, their friendships fall flatter, and any good themes or messages that I do recognize in the series hardly impact me because the rushed development of the players soured my positive feelings for them.

I would have loved to see Michiru acknowledge that she’s in love with someone who does bad things. I would have loved a heart-to-heart where she admits this to Shirou, where he then admits that in his long life, there have been times when he’s been in the same boat. I would have loved to see Nazuna truly question her actions, where her declaration that she’s Nazuna instead of a cult leader actually means something because she’s recognized that she’s been wrong and is ready to be loved for herself, not someone she’s not. I would have loved to see a moment where Michiru expresses to Shirou that he shouldn’t control his violent tendencies for her approval but because it’s simply the right thing to do. The list goes on and on.

At the end of the day, I can admit my own garbage tastes. Bakugo is apparently the most popular My Hero character, and I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else express such a harsh opinion regarding Nazuna’s portrayal in BNA. Episode 5 of the show (with the baseball) seems to be its most adored entry, but I thought little of it. My favorite things in anime—and what I’m specifically looking forward to in Studio Trigger anime—are maybe anomalies.

But, gosh. I really wanted to love this.

[bigskydreaming]

PS to earlier post: I am a survivor and I absolutely consider myself a survivor, but that isn’t actually mutually exclusive with being a victim. I also consider myself to have been a victim of the things I survived, and I feel absolutely NO shame about it, because I refuse to feel shame for the choices OTHER people make and how they honestly affect me. 

So I will continue to reference me having been a victim when and where that’s relevant to a point that I’m making, and I will continue to feel no shame in doing so, nor will I concede that its me being a martyr or playing at one or trying to milk sympathy or pity or anything other than the actual stated point of whatever it is that I’m stating. (I’m not a subtle person. Its not really hard to find the actual stated point of any post I make. I usually put it in all caps and frame it with words like “Just to be clear, this is my actual point here).

Just to be clear, this is my actual point here:

Personally, I consider things like guilt and pity and the like to be among the most useless emotions we have, at least in terms of how they usually end up being used. Other people feeling pity for me or feeling guilty for something generally has never done shit for me. I honestly do not give a single fuck if they are emotions I evoke, thus they are NEVER the emotions I am trying to evoke with posts about my experiences as a survivor.

I post what I post because people like to talk a big game about caring about other people while doing things that showcase the exact opposite of care, and much like in everything else I post about, I call bullshit when I see bullshit. I talk about how I personally am affected by the choices others make in fandom and how this has to do with my experiences as a survivor, because MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCES AND FEELINGS are the only ones I can reliably attest to. So I have zero problem using them as Exhibit A for How Other People Affect Survivors In Fandom when a) I am a survivor in fandom, and b) I am affected in the way I am describing.

When my stated point is ALWAYS to make people face up to their own impact on others and acknowledge how the ‘we all live in a society’ aspect of us all living in a society means THEY CAN NOT AVOID OR ABSOLVE THEMSELVES OF HAVING AN IMPACT ON OTHERS VIA THEIR ACTIONS AND CHOICES WHENEVER ITS CONVENIENT FOR THEM....

There is literally NO other alternative means of me expressing this than by.....using myself and my feelings and experiences as my basis for WHY I THINK THIS NEEDS EXPRESSING IN THE FIRST PLACE.

And if your reaction to me doing this tends to be you spinning this to yourself or with your friends as me looking for sympathy or pity, me trying to play the martyr or the victim, or me doing anything other than exactly what I am stating here in no uncertain terms.......pro-tip.....that says far more about you than it does about me.

I know what me saying and doing the things I say and do, like....says about me. LOL. I know where I stand. People can frame it otherwise all they want, it doesn’t do shit to change my reasons or me standing by my reasons and my actions and choices.

But you guys saying and doing the things you do in response to me? Are YOU sure it says ‘oh yeah, this guy is just playing the martyr’ like you claim? Or is it maybe you’re so pathologically afraid of confronting your own culpability in....affecting others in the way they are directly and in no uncertain terms saying YOU ARE AFFECTING THEM.....

Because the only two options that gives you, if you were to ACTUALLY face up to the honest possibility someone like me is telling the truth here.....

Are to a) consider changing something about your behavior and choices that are affecting others like me in this way, or b) refuse to change anything about your behavior and choices that are affecting others like me in this way, and feel bad/guilty/ashamed that you know you’re affecting others negatively and you’ve decided to keep doing it anyway.

And goddamn, but doesn’t that just scare the SHIT out of some of you, who want to pat yourselves on the back about being a good person without putting any effort whatsoever into like....being a decent person?

“OMG, I have to like WORK at being a good person? I can’t just like....innately be BORN a good person and that’s that, or I can’t just say “oh I’m a bad person and I can’t change that” and let that count as an excuse?”

Nah, there be EFFORT lying ahead in those uncharted waters, huh? And you didn’t ask for EFFORT to make an appearance in your escapism, did you? Even if that’s the only way to help other people keep....y’know....trauma and retraumatization out of THEIR escapism, the escapism they have every bit as much of a right to seek as you do.

Its MUCH easier to just pretend the person saying the things you don’t want to hear about the things you don’t want to face is just like....self-righteous and playing-acting at moral virtuousness by saying these things. 

Instead of, as he’s stated over and over again.....just being legitimately hurt and not afraid to express that as there is ZERO SHAME IN A SURVIVOR FEELING HURT BY THE PROXIMITY TO THE KINDS OF THINGS/ATTITUDES THAT HURT HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE.

Nah, that CAN’T be true, that can’t be a thing. You don’t actually do anything that impacts him and others negatively. He’s just making it all up to feign a sense of moral superiority for....Reasons. 

You’re fine. Everything is fine. Society is fine.

He and anyone else saying similar things are the only problem. They’re the only reason they HAVE a problem in the first place if its even there at all.

Thus, you don’t need to do anything ever, and life can continue as usual with no adjustments needing to be made, huh?

Gosh. Isn’t it super convenient that everything worked out so neatly for you there?

It really is nifty when life just hands you the solution to problems other people raise, all gift-wrapped with the galaxy-brain penned note on the top saying “LOL there’s no problem that needs solving if you just don’t ever admit there’s a problem that needs solving, wink wink.”

Isn’t it? 

[mbti-notes]

ENFJ w/ ENFP brother. Thank you for answering my question. I think you misread or read into things, like assuming I was meddling, when my Aunt reached out to me w/ her concerns. It wasn't prompted by me. Also, I've always been my brother's cheerleader, sending him random encouraging texts throughout his college experience and after. Cheerleading alone didn't get him the outcome he desired, and it's hard to see him or anyone else suffer and not do anything-especially when I've been prompted.

I debated whether to respond because your message was defensive and really missed the point. I will respond once more out of sympathy, but this will be the last time unless there is an obvious effort to overcome the defensiveness. Your focus is misdirected. You ask me for “immediate solutions” to your brother’s problem and resent what is said about your part; however, you are unable to articulate what the source of his problem is, and how can you solve a problem when you don’t know the cause? My contention is that you don’t understand his problem because you are unable to understand his perspective, otherwise, you would be able to help (and I stated that I believe your intention is to help though you chose the wrong methods).

Is it or is it not true that he has no confidence in you and thus won’t listen to you? The point you’ve missed is that it doesn’t matter how great your or my ideas are, they are completely useless if the poor state of the relationship does not allow you to communicate ideas with him. Therefore, the first problem that needs solving is not the job search but your relationship to him, specifically, why it is so broken that communication has ceased. Relationships are a two-way street. You point the finger at him as having the problem rather than looking at why the two of you have a problem. If you are unwilling to reflect on how you contribute to the dysfunctional relationship and want to pin all the blame on him for “misinterpreting” you, then stop reading now, because then we fundamentally disagree about the facts of the problem. I was outlining common Fe vs Fi issues so that you could reflect upon possible dysfunctional patterns in your relationship with your brother, nothing more, nothing less. You mistook it as “blame” and became defensive. My response hasn’t substantially changed:

Your aunt reached out to you with her concerns about him. Are you suggesting that this gives you license to involve yourself in their relationship despite the fact that it is none of your business and he won’t listen to you (i.e. you are unable to offer a useful solution)? Are you aware that you always have a choice to stay out of a situation when you don’t know what to do? Are you aware that you could cause unintentional harm when you try to help without having all the facts (and thus appear to be siding against him or ganging up on him)? 

You state that you don’t think of anyone as being “broken” and have been nothing but a “cheerleader” to your brother. Are you rewriting history to conceal your missteps (something Se loop+Ti grip often does)? Why then does he react so negatively to your “help”? Why then does he explicitly have to tell you to stop it with your “unsolicited advice”? Why then does he feel compelled to “prove you wrong” about him? Are you suggesting that the problem lies entirely with him and his inability to understand you? Are you suggesting that he’s making you into an enemy without any provocation whatsoever, i.e., that he is entirely at fault for the breakdown in this relationship? 

You say that you understand some people don’t like to ask for help but that you are always receptive to help when offered. Are you suggesting that, if this is true for you, then it should also be true for him, or everyone for that matter? Are you suggesting that because your brother is not receptive to YOUR brand of help, then he is not receptive to ANY help? 

You said you gave him suggestions that “play to his strengths” and you don’t understand how it could be misinterpreted as negative. Did he ask you for suggestions? Did he express to you that he wanted your “random encouragement”? If not, why are you giving unsolicited advice/comments, especially when he has explicitly stated that he does not want it?

You said that your advice to get a temporary job was “meant to imply that you have faith in him”, even though I explained to you in detail why this kind of “fixing” advice is destructive to FPs and directly undermines your stated goal (of letting him know that he can move at his own pace). Are you suggesting that there is no need to reflect on how your communication is received because your “intent” is the only thing that matters and people should “just know” exactly what you are “implying”? 

You asked me to let you know if your “Ti is off”. You should use Fe, not Ti, to feel people’s feelings and understand them. From exercising healthy Fe empathy, you will be far better situated to know what he really needs (as opposed to guessing, making blind assumptions, or projecting from your own expectations). Ti, especially the lower Ti style of “dissecting and defending”, does not help because it usually serves to worsen ENFJ personality problems, such as: trouble empathizing, egocentric perspective, hypercritical me vs them attitude, self-victimizing rumination, oversensitivity to criticism, miscalculation of cause and effect, misdirection of blame. Misusing Ti such that it shuts down proper Fe use is the wrong direction to go in.

You’re essentially wanting me to look at him without looking at you, which I believe is useless when your dysfunctional relationship is the biggest obstacle at present. I will speak in the abstract if it is less threatening:

If an ENFJ often suffers from: Fe insecurity that takes everything too personally and doesn’t know how to draw appropriate relationship boundaries, Ni presumptuousness/arrogance that is resistant to deep self-reflection, Se loop twisting of facts and overreaction to negativity, and/or unnecessary Ti grip defensiveness and blame, then the ENFJ is NOT in a good position to provide an ENFP the kind of unconditionally supportive emotional environment that they require to practice self-care and nurture Fi development.

One cannot be helpful without getting a good idea of where the other person is coming from, and one cannot know another’s perspective when their own issues are constantly getting in the way. Whether you suffer from these common ENFJ problems is your job to reflect on; whether these common ENFJ problems create obstacles in your relationships is your job to reflect on - I have absolutely no interest in making these judgments for you or about you. You don’t seem to know that Se loop is negative, you mention “Ti loop” instead of Ti grip - misusing terminology makes your knowledge of function theory appear quite lacking. Fear of brokenness is an unconscious low Ti related fear that makes ENFJs want to defend and deflect blame when criticized rather than reflect constructively on how they can improve (i.e. resistance to Ni and Ti development). Suffering from Se loop and Ti grip directly interfere with the empathic Fe objectivity that ENFJs require to resolve relationship problems effectively.

He needs to develop Fi in order to grow, but you’ve shown that you don’t understand Fi, and worse, your tone-deaf Fe-Ti often offends his Fi-Te, so how can you help him with his Fi development? I reiterate these problems: You don’t display enough empathy for his feelings nor deep understanding of his perspective; you suggest “fixes” before you’ve even understood what his problem really is; you shoot ideas/comments at him without knowing how they make him feel; you give him the form of help that YOU believe he should need or that YOU should want if you were in his position (but he’s not you). Are you aware that these behaviors, even when well-intentioned, are counter-productive to building a good relationship between FJs and FPs? Be brutally honest, do you learn mbti to increase your respect for how others think quite differently than you, or do you only learn it as a means to “manage people” into doing what you believe they should do? Are you prepared to reflect on yourself and change any problematic behaviors in an effort to repair the relationship with him so that he might be more open to receiving your help? If you believe that you have no reason to change anything and you should both just be responsible to yourselves and leave it at that, then ignore this entire message.

I don’t hand out short-term bandaids. The long-term solution is to mend your relationship, which means that you must listen to him with genuine openness and empathy - no judgment, no opinions, no blame, no advice, no suggestions, no fixes, no management, no overstepping boundaries - the way forward will naturally present itself when he trusts you enough to open up about his problem and talk about it authentically and explore ideas in a safe space. You can’t force trust, you have to earn it, so what have you done to earn his trust? Maybe the relationship is so broken that he won’t trust you no matter what you do, but there is no way for me to judge that matter, only he can tell you. Perhaps he has too many problems of his own to bother with you. The point is that you’re not able to pinpoint exactly what the problem is between you because you don’t have his perspective.

If you genuinely wanted to get at the truth of your relationship problem, it wouldn’t be very difficult to ask for his side of the story and, without rushing to judge or defend, LISTEN to how he has been impacted by your behavior toward him, then you would know exactly what needs to be changed in order for him to start taking you seriously, then you’d at least know where to begin and have a chance to consider all your options. Are you able to approach him with genuine humility and openness, such as: “I feel sad about our distant relationship. Have I done something to push you away? Have I done something wrong? Is there something I can do to repair the relationship? Is there something you believe I should change in order for us to get along better? How can I support you better?” Are you able to listen to his truth and respond maturely to it? If not, how can he trust you and how can you help him?

[treacherycuphq]

I’m really interested in taking a star player / exploring a “fame monster” dynamic but I don’t want to step on a moderator’s toes - can you guys give some ideas as to how we can explore that without feeling like we’re stealing plots?

FIRST OFF - WE WANT TO SINCERELY THANK YOU FOR THIS QUESTION. IT WAS VERY COURTEOUS OF YOU TO REACH OUT WITH THIS, BECAUSE IT SHOWS YOU'VE READ OVER THE SAMPLE APP AND ENOUGH SKELES TO GET A GENERAL LAYOUT OF CHARACTER TRAJECTORIES & WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY AN OVERLYING CONNECTION. WE APPRECIATE THE LEVEL OF CRITICAL THINKING THAT OCCURRED FOR THIS QUESTION. I'M ( MOD S ) GOING TO ASSUME THIS IS IN CONJUNCTION WITH MY CHARACTER, MARLENE, SO I'M GOING TO FINISH ANSWERING IT.

WE'VE MADE SEVERAL "STAR PLAYER" SKELES FOR THE PURPOSE OF "FAME MONSTER" EXPLORATION PLOTS, SO I WOULDN'T BE CONCERNED WITH "STEALING" ANYTHING FROM ME ! I PERSONALLY SEE THE CONCEPT OF FAME AS A MULTI-HEADED BEAST, AND DIFFERENT ASPECTS / SCENARIOS THAT ARE BORN FROM IT WOULD AFFECT CHARACTERS IN DIFFERENT WAYS. OFF THE TOP OF MY HEAD, I KNOW AUGUSTUS ROOKWOOD, LUDOVIC BAGMAN, LUCINDA TALKALOT, AND EMMA VANITY ARE PRETTY CODED TOWARD "FAME MONSTER" PLOTS OUT OF THE QUIDDITCH PLAYERS. UNDER THE READ MORE CUT, I'M GOING TO LIST SPECIFIC PLOTS I'D LOVE TO SEE !

( SINCE THIS QUESTION SPECIFICALLY MENTIONED 'STAR PLAYERS,' I'M GOING TO FOCUS ON THEM, BUT I 100% SUPPORT THE FAME MONSTER PLOTS APPLYING TO OTHER CHARACTERS, OUTSIDE OF QUIDDITCH, AS WELL ! )

First, you need to address some key "Fame" thematics, before you tap into the monster portion:

Who was your character before they became famous, and who have they become because of the spotlight?

Does your character put on a facade for their public personality, or do they present themselves authentically for public consumption?

If they use a fake public personality, what do they do with the emotional dissonance of pretending to be somebody they're not? Does it affect their private relationships? How do they cope?

If they present themselves authentically, do they maintain healthy boundaries with the public? Can they separate their inner perspective versus the public perception of them? What happens when these two versions don't match up?

Do they have an ability to change back to who they were before fame, or has the appeal of the spotlight changed them, for better or for worse?

The "monster" portion of the fame monster trope really rests in your character responding to a slew of these circumstances negatively - similarly to a "bridezilla," the definition doesn't fit if it's not born of antagonism, y'know?

With all of that in mind, here's a non-exhaustive list of everything I could come up with re: alternate "fame monster" plots / dynamics that don't have any effect whatsoever over me & my current musings.

PLOTS:

BEST OF THE BEST OF THE BEST OF THE...: No one can be flawless forever. No one can be the best until they die. The best is the best until... what? Typically, we see the end of powerful reigns because something else begins to matter more: love, money, power, friendship, self-preservation, addiction, and anonymity are all well-known and valid reasons to finally break ties with the fame monster. Maybe your character did, and is dealing with the fallout from the limelight; maybe your character is about to, but is still trying to figure out what's worth leaving the fame monster behind.

THE LIFESTYLES OF THE RICH & FAMOUS: saying your character has adjusted to their celebrity status would be an understatement; they've flourished beneath the limelight, and now have a personal assistant, an agent, and a public relations manager to help offset even the barest inkling of a bad image. Heck, they've been famous for so long, they barely remember what life was like before - they've become someone that's lost their connection to their roots. However, that's all about to change... because where's the fun in not fracturing everything a person knows, for the sake of conflict?

ICARUS' LANDING: oh how high we fly! oh how far we fall ! your character has found themselves in a typical Icarian tragedy - their fame is hinged on the exploitation of their worst hubris, and they won't stop trying to succeed until it's far too late. Try as they damnedest to touch the sun and dazzle in its spotlight, so too will they find their end and burn beneath its brilliance; whatever your character is using to find fame, they will overindulge and find themselves plummeting toward normality far sooner than they'd ever think.

FAN BASE FAVOR: your character has fallen into the monotony of catering to their fan bases' every wish & whim, creating a public version of themselves that's simultaneously overly enthusiastic & underwhelming. That means that they constantly stop for pictures or autographs, to the point of near compulsion. If they're always willing & able to provide for their fans, what does that mean in terms of their public identity? Are they constantly putting on a show, in case fans are nearby? Do they feel invalidated if fans aren't screaming for their attention at all times? Do they lose hours upon hours responding to fan mail? How do the other people in their lives feel about this exhaustive fan service?

STARRING IN THE SHADOWS: your character's parent was famous, to a high enough caliber that their star power has created an everlasting shadow over your own reputation; nothing you do, nothing you say will keep them from being mentioned in the next sentence. But fame has sunk its teeth into you, and your left with two complex paths: do you cede under their spotlight, and hope it bolsters your own? Or do you try anything to break out of their typecast, and make a name for yourself, outside your family ties? More importantly, does anyone else in the world care? Do you talk about your complex relationship with your own privilege, or let sleeping dogs lie?

MY OWN WORST ENEMY: your character has a complicated relationship with hedonism; whether it be romantic entanglements, illicit substances, or general gluttony of all things sin, they compulsively indulge, with little to no discipline. Regardless of outside intervention, your character partakes time & time again, refusing help for what they don't see as a problem, just a "good time." There's only so long this lifestyle can be catered to, however, before they gain a level of notoriety that blackballs them from the famous circles they were once included in.

DANCING WITH YOUR HANDS TIED: your character has feelings for a certain someone, but is unable to act on it, thanks to their celebrity status. Maybe you're trying to exploit the pureblood/muggleborn dynamic? Maybe their interest rests on someone outside the public eye? Maybe that person has no interest in being brought into the public eye, making your celebrity status the difference between having or losing that special person? Can your character let go of the validation of many for the love of one? Do they even have a choice - stepping out of the public eye doesn't automatically free you from being a celebrity, ask any former child star !

DYNAMICS:

OBSESSIONS & CONFESSIONS: your character may be too famous, as they're currently trying to sidestep a stalker - or "obsessed fan," depending on your definition. Either way, no one enjoys invasions of your property or your privacy - does your character confront the stalker directly, in an attempt to gain their sympathy? Or do they take increasingly ludicrous measures in an attempt to ward them off? Maybe, they enjoy the newfound level of attention, and begin to build a complicated relationship with them?

CHASE YOU DOWN UNTIL YOU LOVE ME: Paparazzi, baby ! Love to hate them or hate to love them, the physical entity that is tabloid publication follows you around wherever you go. Does your character love the constant audience, or crave the solace of anonymity? Is the paparazzi better or worse than the rest of the world's consumption of you? Does one person in particular rile you up for the sake of a juicy photograph, leading to a cumbersome antagonism that's almost targeted at you? Does their presence give your character confidence or anxiety? Maybe your character gets on good terms with one of their paid stalkers, and hatches a scheme to always be on the front page in exchange for the juiciest weekly scoop? Maybe your character is trying to use the paparazzi to increase their celebrity status, which hasn't been fully realized yet?

PEOPLE I DON'T LIKE: there's nothing wrong with making famous friends for the sake of gaining more fame, but Lord, doesn't it get cumbersome constantly trying to please people you barely even like? The photographs may seem favorable enough, but behind closed doors & velvet ropes, these people are NOT your friends - but then what are they? And honestly, is anyone really your friend anymore? What defines friendship, in a world where the flashing light will always mean more than the people standing in front of it?

UPPER MANAGEMENT: all celebrities hit a streak of their pride where they become more eggheaded than egg-ceptional - whether your character is the celebrity or their support staff, the high horse of the limelight has finally caused a conflict between what you think you deserve & what you currently receive. Whether you're demanding a new agent, coach, assistant, or some other ludicrous proclamation, this sudden inflation of your ego has done nothing but piss off the people around you. Congrats ! Now it's time to deal with the fall out of your holier-than-thou expectations.

ASSIST ME: a niche dynamic of the one presented above, this deals with the relationship between star & personal assistant, and the synchrony needed to sail an exceptionally famous ship. Is the assistant good at their job? Is the star judgmental & opinionated, with unrealistic expectations? What does the personal assistant get from this dynamic? How does it further their career? Do they only do it out of contractual obligation to their client, or does their relationship with their assigned celebrity go far deeper than that?

SELL OUT YOUR HEART: your character wakes up one day to find that somebody close to them has leaked explicit information to the press about you. However, this source is left "anonymous." What does your character do? Do they root out the imposter, who sold their personal information for a quick dime? Do they want to know the identity of the perpetrator? Is it actually a betrayal in their eyes, or a product of their work? Or maybe your character picked out someone in their group who exclusively leaks these pockets of information for the sake of bolstering your reputation?

THE BOJACK HORSEMAN PLOT: your character has been playing the fame game long enough that the public has begun the enamored catcalls for a book about your life ! Your character's agent places them with a well-respected ghost writer to get things started; does your character enjoy their time with the writer, or do they find them judgmental / opinionated over your character's past? Does the writer respect your character's vision, or expect them to bend to narrative style of a story? Do they ruminate on ideas that your character finds hit a little too close to home, or maybe they won't write what your character wants at all? Does your character treat their sessions like therapy? Does it force them to confront deep personal issues & views they'd never questioned before? Or do they simply finish the endeavor & send them off, without ever thinking about their ghost writer again? Do they build a relationship with one another, or does it begin & end with work?

FAKE DATING AU: pretty self-explanatory & a fan favorite, especially for celebrity characters !

BODYGUARD AU: also self-explanatory & a personal favorite !!

[historicalriches]

Spotlights || Part 6

Can you believe in the year of our lord?

2017?

I actually am still writing this????

Me either. 

I beta’d myself this chapter so probably there are gonna be errors somewhere but hot damn I have another +3k words after this I’m working on so this part is getting published now.

~

Part 1 - Here

Part 2 - Here

Part 3 - Here

Part 4 - Here

Part 5 - Here

Part 6 - You Are Here!

~

Paring: Rich History/VladxClockwork

~

The portal closed behind him with a sense of finality. He was going to be here a while, and he knew it. Vlad took a moment to himself, to come to terms with the disaster that seemed to hit the two of them out of nowhere. No doubt his assets would be frozen, his companies would suffer as well, however he made an emergency plan long ago in order to protect them. If he were to become… less than favorable to the public then his position would fall to Daniel.

Not optimal, the boy didn’t know a single thing about the business world, but at least it would keep the poachers from trying to take the position of CEO for themselves.

“This is hell.” He breathed to himself before flying off towards the tower. The look on his face must have been a hell of a thing because any ghost even remotely in his way sped away the moment they saw him. It wasn’t too long before he found the tower, it shimmered into existence as soon as he hit the outskirts of the more populated areas of the zone. Clockwork was already waiting for him out front, looking rather frazzled to say the least. “Thank the stars you're back.”

Actually, frazzled didn’t cover it. Clockwork was a complete mess. It was as unnerving as the first time Vlad had seen him lose his composure. Vlad didn’t fear for his own safety in these rare moments of distress, but it did take a lot to get under the ghost’s skin. It reminded him just how serious this situation was, how close they had come to so much worse.

He wordlessly pulled the ghost into a hug. Clockwork hugged him back tightly, looking like he didn’t want to let go for the rest of all time.

But he had to.

Vlad had to run damage control and it was better to do it now, rather than later.

“Vlad...” The time ghost spoke softly.

“Mhm?”

“We need to get to work.”

“... I know.” He reluctantly let go. Where even to start? He and took out his cellphone and powered it on. It looked like he did receive service here.

Small blessings.

“Is there any advice you can give me or is it all rather muddled at this point?” He knew that Clockwork’s ability to see his future was getting worse and worse the longer they were together. Hopefully it wasn’t completely gone at this point.

“It's mostly a blur. Do call your lawyer first, I can’t be certain but timelines where you do feel a bit more positive.”

Vlad heaved a sigh as the floated inside. This was going to be a fun conversation to have.

Of course his lawyer picked up on the first ring, with everything going on it was to be expected.

“Vladimir Masters you have some explaining to do, and you better make it good.” The voice on the other side rang out quite clearly. Yeah, this was just going to be heaps of fun.

“This is the new burner phone, right Gregory?” Vlad confirmed before saying anything else. He had to cover his bases first and while he was confident in the man’s ability, he was also very aware that anyone with ties to him was most likely being monitored.

“No, I am completely incompetent and the Feds are listening to every word we say.” The sarcasm was palpable, but he finally relented. “Yes, and as far as I know they think you’re trapped in the rubble so they aren’t looking too closely at anyone else yet.”

“Oh how pleasant.” Nice to know they were thinking he was trapped or dead. “You really need to work on your attitude you know. As your boss I really should take offense to your tone.” Vlad replied lamely, not knowing what else he could say.

“Yeah? Find another lawyer in the world that would put up with your shit and then we’ll talk. Now explain. I wake up to see you not only have a boyfriend which, fine, that's easy to work with. Public favor is mostly on your side there, but give me a day before you go public with it so I have the right laws and protections on hand. Is that so much to ask?”

“No.. but-”

“I'm not done yet Masters.” Greg cut in before Vlad could get out another word. “Like I said the boyfriend thing is workable. But you went and broke a reporter’s nose. I want an official apology on that-”

He didn’t owe that shit biscuit an apology, he wasn’t sorry for that and he never would be!

“Wait just one-”

“When I am finished speaking. Now both of those are enough to give me a headache but then we have this… photo… of you and this ghost. This ghost that looks an awful lot like your boyfriend if he were… y’know, dead.”

“It's a bad photoshop.” Vlad said automatically.

“No it isn't. Negatives were provided and no alterations were evident.”

“Negatives… who the hell still uses film cameras?” Probably the same crazy bastard that climbed a story to get the shot Vlad guessed. Damn.

“Tell me the truth, I need to know all the facts so I can figure out how to turn this disaster into something I can defend.”

Vlad hesitated, then sighed.

“He's... a ghost.”

There was dead silence and then a long sigh. “Dude… what the fuck.”

“Language.”

“Language yourself you motherfucking spirit fucker. Out of all the bullshit you’ve made me put up with over the years this… this tops it all. You are paying me triple for this one and you are buying me a vacation home. One of those rich ones. In Hawaii.”

“Okay, triple pay and a fancy house, fine. I will send you the pin for the door-”

“For what door? The house is a pile of rubble.”

He had forgotten about that. Great.

“Okay go into the lab then.”

Clockwork, who had been very quiet up until this point raised an eyebrow. “You locked the po-”

“I know.”

“There's a couple thousand on the shelf next to the portal. That should hold you until it's safe for me to go get the rest.”

“Okay… let's get down to the finer points.”

“Alright.”

“Did you know the guy was a ghost?”

“Yes.”

“Do you know how damn difficult this is going to be considering your very public political stances?”

“Yes.” Oh he knew, he had been trying to quietly backtrack on some of the worst stuff but there wasn’t any way that was happening now.

“Right… so how serious is this?”

He knew that question was coming from a mile away but it still made him just a little peeved. If nothing else, then for Clockwork’s sake. He wouldn’t just up and leave the ghost over something like this.

“Very.” He finally answered.

“No likelihood of it breaking off?”

“No Greg. None whatsoever.” Vlad answered with a firm conviction in his tone.

“I had to ask.” There was a long sigh on the other end. “You make my job a goddamn nightmare Masters.”

“Okay… here’s what we do, play it from the angle that you have been in this relationship for a long time. Your stances against ghosts were an attempt to draw suspicion from your personal life. You draw up sympathy about how you had to hide your relationship and how yesterday was your first try at a proper date in public. Emotions were running high when you hit the reporter and we get that dismissed on a heat of the moment action.” By the sound of a pen scratching furiously on paper he was making notes for his own reference as he talked. “Some sleezy reporter then trespasses on your private property and took a picture of you when you were unaware. You are dismayed and hurt that someone would do that and you and… what's the spook’s name?” Vlad looked over to Clockwork with a frown. He had a reputation to keep up as well.

“Michael Mithra. That is the name we are using.” They already had enough to worry about without throwing ghost politics into the mix.

“Okay, Michael. Both of you need to release a statement. A press conference would be best but I’ll leave it up to your PR team. The press is fucking ravenous right now. You have internet wherever the hell you are?”

“Yes.” Clockwork answered before Vlad could question it.

“Alright. I'll announce that you will be updating people in an hour. You think you can keep the story straight?”

“Yes. It's doable… if rather cliche.”

“It's the best I can do. Give me some warning and you won't be stuck with such a piss poor cover.”

“Duly noted. I suppose we should be getting ready then. I will call you back on this phone after the meeting.”

“Just one more thing Vlad.”

“Hm?”

“Where are you hiding out?”

“The… ghost zone.”

“Of-fucking-course.”

End Part 6

Part 7 - Coming Soon! (No really it is this time!)