#they could've just focused on setting base and understanding how things work

[yelow-heart]

Can we have a moment to hug and applause and appreciate the hell out of the admins?

Holy shi*, the vibes, the cinematics, the animation, the lore implications, the introduction to this new baddy. This entire freaking event!!

It's so so good. And how well they handled any setback, wich were all mild all things considered. And having to manage 25+ pov of players, making sure all of them had a smooth enough run

Just

Crazy. I loved it. I'm loving it.

And as a viewer who mains mostly the streamers on the Red Team. What a shit show they went through. Glorious. Perfect. I hope they become worse. The parallels btw them and the green were so fucking funny to watch. I hope they keep this team as is and just start feeding into the madness. And keep spoiling the green team. And keep crushing blue team with incredible amounts of stress.

I love love love this.

Thank you, admins, devs, tech team, whoever works behind this wonderful project. And the people are right: Quackity should be proud with what he created.

[stuckinapril]

Hi Cianna, just wanted to say I really admire your study ethic and general vibe on this blog (you inspire me to do better!)

Do you have any advice/tips for good study habits and staying focused? I find that I get some work done, but after a break I can't get back on track

Sorry for the long ask/ studyblr type of question;; what is your favourite hairstyle that you do with your hair! (I also have curly brown hair :)

Have a lovely day also <3

🌻🌻

hi! i touch on a lot of points in this other ask, but a few specific learning techniques i abide by are:

parkinson's law. parkinson's law states that work expands to fill the time. basically if you have an essay that's due in a week, it will magically take you one week to get it done, even if the task itself could've been done in one day. to counter this i just set artifical deadlines for myself--even if an essay is due in a week, my personal deadline has it due in two days.

prime your brain prior to learning. if you need to study a biology chapter, pre-skim it the night before. this is not the time to go into detail--it's the time to familiarize yourself with the overview of the topic, so you should only be making a quick scan of the chapter. another priming method is to make a concept map of topics before diving into a chapter. as you skim write down key terms haphazardly, google those you don't recognize, and draw a concept map linking them together. this is effective bc it requires you to actually put effort into connecting the topics, takes no longer than 15 minutes, and speeds up the learning process that follows. it doesn't matter if you find out you're wrong once you dive in; what's important is you're actively thinking of how these topics coexist, as opposed to mindlessly taking notes or highlighting only to forget what you learned a couple hours later. i'm also a fan of concept maps bc i get to go back and highlight stuff i'm weak in, which is always a plus.

if you like to take notes, use it as another means of active recall. don't just passively take notes as you go along. what i like to do is i read a paragraph, close the book, then try to take down notes based off memory alone. this helps me both phrase the topic in my own words and realize what my learning gaps are, rather than just passively summarize without putting effort into truly understanding/memorizing something. anything i get wrong i hammer into my brain until i can't get it wrong anymore.

take notes effectively. our brain does not learn in sentences and paragraphs. it learns in bullet points, diagrams, and figures--and that's how i like to frame my notes. first i ask myself if i actually need to take notes to begin with, or if there are online notes out there i can use to save time (which, as a stem student, there typically are). if i do decide to take notes, i never mindlessly summarize. i always condense the material into bullet points, diagrams, concept maps, or visual representations. i also like to phrase my notes as questions rather than just passive summaries, so that when i review them i'm already testing myself in a way. most people would not understand my notes bc they're either very low-yield stuff, stuff i'm weak in, or bare-bones fragments of information.

always prioritize weaknesses. if you're weaker at chapter 18 of your textbook vs chapter 1, maybe start with chapter 18. don't spend 6 hours taking notes on chapter 1 if you're already strong in chapter 1. always attack your weaknesses first.

practice practice practice!! so so important. i owe all my As to mock exams, quizzes i make myself, end-of-chapter questions etc etc. imo practice matters a lot more than passive content review.

interleaving concepts helps with retention. an example of this is i like to do biology and chemistry one day, biochemistry and organic chemistry the next day, physics and psychology the day after... i'm not just doing biology all day, every day. another thing i like to do if i'm in a massive rut is i hop between tons of different subjects on the same day, which keeps me from getting bored/helps me understand the subjects better through distinguishing their differences.

retrospective timetable. an example of this is if i find i'm pretty weak in a particular physics topic, the next few days will disproportionately focus on physics over other subjects. inversely, if i just breezed through a biology chapter, the next few days will have less biology than initially planned. i'm constantly going back and revising my study timetable based on my performance of the day, rather than relying on a rigid prospective timetable that doesn't take into account my progress.

less passive learning, more active. spaced repetition is a big one. i love anki for this bc there's an algorithm that dictates how often topics come up again based on how well you answer them. other methods include active recall, having friends quiz you, and trying to teach the topic to others (or the plushie in your bedroom haha). if you find you're struggling to simplify topics and explain them, that's a sign you don't understand them very well yourself.

[sabrgirl]

muslims stop judging others challenge

imagine you're in an olympics race. on your marks, get set, go. but while you're in your lane, you're looking at all the other runners. that one is running funny. why is that one wearing two different coloured socks? that person's hair is flying in their face, how are they even going to see? with all this judgement towards everyone else, do you think you're going to win the race? while everyone else is focused on reaching the end, you're focused on them. yes, you might cross the finish line eventually but

you lost

you finished last

did you even qualify?

it's crazy that this judgement happens so much in this ummah specifically. some non-muslims end up hating on islam because of how muslims treat other people online. and in real life too. and some muslims have left islam because of the way other muslims treated them when they were doing wrong.

we're all humans taking the same test. we just have different trials. do you know what really is the cause of this judgement? your nafs. the ego.

the ego is fuelled by fear and projects its own insecurities and fears onto the world to try and bring itself up. it makes you think that you're superior to other people because, by doing so, it makes you feel 'confident' inside.

for eg, you may wear hijab and see someone else who doesn't. you start judging or gossiping or leaving rude and hateful comments, or even just a comment that you think is going to help her because your ego is saying 'wow, i'm such a good/better muslim than her because i wear the hijab'. but... what about when you see someone who seems like a better muslim than you? do you now all of a sudden feel... insecure? jealous? do you start hating on them or desperately try to find faults in them? do you feel less? if you do this, and you need to be honest with yourself if you do, this your ego/nafs you're listening to.

this isn't true confidence. if you do this, you likely have poor self worth that needs to be worked on and an ego to eradicate. luckily, islam is fundamentally based on the jihad against your inner self/nafs/ego - whatever you want to call it - to reform your character and get closer to Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ as a result of it. but that's a topic for another day.

Allah Himself has said:

O ye who believe! Do not let some men ridicule others, they may be better than them, nor let some women ridicule other women, they may be better than them. Do not defame one another, nor call each other by offensive nicknames. How evil it is to act rebelliously after having faith! And whoever does not repent, it is they who are the true wrongdoers. (49:12)

i.e. you will never know the true state of someone. why? because that is for Allah to know and for Him to judge.

when you see someone doing something they shouldn't, first realise that you've been guided by Allah to even recognise that in the first place. how many times in your life did you eventually realise that you were doing something bad and you didn't even know? or maybe you knew a specific thing was bad but you didn't know the reasons why, and now you do? you could've been so deaf, dumb and blind but Allah decided to guide you. so first drop the arrogance and praise Him for guiding you enough to recognise and understand the bad deed.

after this, you have two options:

1. you make du'a for them

'O Allah, please guide them to stop doing ______ / to start doing ______ and guide me closer to You too. please forgive us both for our sins'.

if it's something you used to do: 'O Allah, please guide them better than you guided me and forgive us both for our sins'.

the end. you move on. do not doubt the power of prayer.

2. you advise them

and this is the one where it oftentimes all goes wrong. again, let me mention again what Allah has said:

'Do not defame one another, nor call each other by offensive nicknames. How evil it is to act rebelliously after having faith! And whoever does not repent, it is they who are the true wrongdoers'.

notice that Allah said 'it is they who are the true wrongdoers'. the ones who are rude, who defame, who call each other offensive names, who backbite (if they don't repent).

so then, what's a good way to advise someone? a step-by-step guide:

approach them kindly, compliment them for whatever good you can see they already do.

before you advise them, tell them that you don't mean to dishearten them or hurt their feelings but want them to become better in their deen and character for Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ's sake and see them in jannah.

then proceed to tell them what you noticed is bad. relate your own experiences and struggles without exposing your own sins and tell them you understand the difficulty of reforming your character as you're a human too and have your own struggles and trials.

tell them what things helped/still help you. good deeds and ways of living. tell them how it helps you. reading the Qur'an helps you realise that Allah has bestowed so many favours for eg, and you don't want to upset Him.

share useful resources to help them on their journey. youtubers you watch, podcasts, qur'an verses.

explain to them that they should also do it for Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ's sake and should research why it's bad so that they truly have an understanding first (which will likely make them stop doing it, Insha'Allah)

respectfully acknowledge that they could actually be struggling with this sin and tell them that you understand that growth isn't an overnight journey but wanted to advise them anyway.

tell them that you'll pray for them and ask them to pray for you because you also struggle with things too.

for online/social media advising:

everything i just mentioned above but do it via DM rather than leaving a comment so that they feel less disheartened, let down and publicly shamed.

what not to do:

if you don't want to pray for them or advise them kindly, move on with your life.

do not leave rude comments

do not backbite and/or gossip

do not scold

do not have a harsh tone

we're all taking the same test. perhaps one of your tests is actually the way you treat other people when you see them doing wrong. you might think you simply left a comment because you're 'guiding other people'. but if they leave islam because of your words and treatment... well. what a thing to be held accountable for on the day of judgement, right?

[unproduciblesmackdown]

days after the bit of rereading inspiring it Hraaarghh summoning the power to verbalize "i appreciate how much Everyone's Really Motivated Rn Huh & Barely Keeping Ahead Of Things is set up / converging At This Moment for the gamers in lackadaisy"

go mitzi lmao with the fraud or whatever (more importantly robbing the last friend in the world cashed in like poker chips you said it wasn't gonna be like that it wasn't supposed to be but etc Great Exchanges) stringing back together the symbolism necklace, are you sure progress is the world, all this on the line to barely hold things together a bit longer & then the payoff of this relies on what's going on with the other active players in the operation, which is "even more haphazardly strung together into an operation" and "it's going: bad"

which is to say, getting An begrudging shipment of goods based on a bluff, which hasn't been made yet, things are hanging together by a thread as it were, mostly nobody's having a good or particularly strategic time but now they're sure More In It than ever. and killing a guy from the most powerful enemy to make around here who is already on the defensive (ft. good offense style) but whoops where's the other guy? well that's probably fine, as was almost getting shot, and the entire run isn't even completed & compare this to the success of the marigold trifecta operation we were just shown. really ramping up the "no way this can go on indefinitely, & only would keep going on if you Need To Believe It Can Work Out rather than bring down disaster 5 min later"

shoutout to zib in whatever stage of imprisonment he's in where initially it's like "well dropping your access to / affiliation with lackadaisy pin down a drain could solely be about 'ha ha, now Another authority won't detect this'" but i'm supposing it's (also) about giving up on the operation / actually intending to cut his losses. But What Will Happen....and will the time devoted to his establishing any rapport with a prohibition bureau agent lead to him Learning Anything important? hmm

meanwhile there's viktor over there not wanting everything to end with paisley & regret, who's also like "wow i'm moved to tragically look at these unanswered letters from my Daughter daughter, whoops i lost (a picture of) her to the abyssal underworld (basement space) & can't manage to retrieve her (photo) from it. sure hope i don't get a call from elsa telling me a daughter figure is doing her first rumrunning challenge for the vine"

lmao MY guy. you imply around mordecai that marigold WAS up to something that could've played into atlas's death, On Top Of that Something's Up currently that's involving him but he doesn't understand it and he can't get any info from marigold about it, it's like two nights later & he's asking gracie about it, what a special time they're having. unfortunate that it's gonna end in ten seconds based on "mordecai is pushing a guy like thrice his size along on a squeaking desk chair through the obstacle course of an abandoned brewery so i don't think that's prime conditions to evade the savoys' detection / catching up to that" and "also wip sketch pages suggest serafine's about to noscope gracie 'what's going on here' shoot first ask questions of the guy who was supposed to have shot him already later" so like, a) mordecai will presumably have the info about gracie's scheduled Next Meeting With Drago (in several days) so like hm what's he gonna do? we know drago is focused on marigold. does he have info for zib, for mordecai? how would mordecai approach a meeting with a fed out here & as little Specificity to work with as he's had in questioning gracie, even if plausibly drago Does have more relevant info? i guess you could abduct him too, for a start. risky, ups the stakes, but that's just what he's Already done (as has Everyone Else, as per the central topic of this post) and so now b) seems like the savoys' getting to go "uhhh so. what's up" about mordecai's antics (like. also do we really think the savoys believe he's Having Fun anyways. i Guess. just also probably they'll very easily readjust that belief lmao)

actually this is just a paragraph break for the hell of it. MY GUY....so that basically it's looking like another thing that'll happen is mordecai will have to accept an Affiliation Outside Marigold with the savoys, simply b/c suddenly they have all this leverage knowing he's up to something, But based on what they've Just said & done, they aren't particularly interested in Telling On Him but Are particularly interested in "yeah we don't assume we or you will work at marigold forever, so also we Do want to be allied outside marigold forever" and like seems plausible they could be interested in [find out what's going on at marigold that Concerns Them but that they can't be more privy to than they are now] designs as well anyways. difficult to imagine that they can get on exactly the same page here, but it could be some Good Enough compromise between all of them. and i hope so because they Are still crushing it out here and i certainly think their allying in recognition of We're All Out Here Doing What It Takes To Survive is a basis of encouraging clarity / accuracy on the matter and of course a powerful teamup to maintain & work with & because like lord the [this is a narrative] target on mordecai otherwise perhaps lmao like he does not have the insulation of "wow, family, beautiful" or "wow, romance, beautiful" or "wow, the 'innocence' to have been insulated from This Kind Of Situation in the first place, beautiful" or "wow, randos happen to find you useful AND personable, beautiful" or "so you're up to violence in the violence business & so is everyone else but did you see all these preceding points?? watch out" like boy he needs the backup here. fingers crossed my special little guy. and rooting for the savoys too. anyways

and like see all my murder mystery musing but ofc i dunno what marigold's other Ventures and other Warnings and other Thorns are all about, but that we know Something's Up, and it sure could be that like whatever retrenchment type of maneuvers might've led to some situation of marigold like ummm maybe we care more about an alliance with atlas being a potential liability rather than an asset and then that nonzero involvement in the interest of Indefinite Survival For The Business will have been a little domino of its own destruction set off. would be wild if such "whoops trying to outrun one's own doom was feeding into it??" & Cycles Of Violence & stuff were like some fundamental themes driving the whole narrative here. would be wild if it was like nooo not the isolated guy too Weird to everyone else nooooo....at least one way or another getting up to plenty of Drama first. that's right

[rondo-dev]

The Mindgame Meta - when high skill meets low skill

You're at home with a friend wondering which game you want to play. "You up for some Street Fighter 6? It's pretty sick!", you say. Your friend looks at you a bit scared. "Never played it, but sure."

You boot up the game, give your friend a cheap knock-off PS5 controller, and get into the character select screen. "You can play Marisa, she's pretty easy.", you tell your friend. They hover over her and decide to go with your suggestion.

You know you're going to absolutely wipe the floor with them, but you'll hold back a bit. Keep it interesting.

The characters face-off against each other in the loading screen, you make your character pull a funny face, because you know you can do it. Your friend doesn't, but is probably too focused on their own character and all the unfamiliar sequences.

FIGHT. You move in, ready to play footsies and dominate the neutral game. Get a hit confirm and follow-up with a 6 hit combo. Meaty them when they get up. Cross-over into a super. Wiped. Your plan falls into perfect place in your mind palace.

And yet, as soon as you walk close, your friend runs in like a total baboon and hits your character. Okay, fine. Beginner luck.

They do it again.

And again.

And again.

The sound of what is button mashing eminating from the crappy controller next to you. What the hell is going on?!

MARISA WINS appears on the screen while your friend laughs like a maniac. Stunned, you rematch and go in with absolute concentration.

A repeat of the previous set. Hundreds of hours down the drain and this is the result. You're done with this game. Your friend can go play story mode or something, it's fine. Play something else, even.

Hard and soft skills

Almost all multiplayer games where you play against another player have some amount of depth and skill expression that you learn over time. As you play against, understand, and apply these mechanics, you will become a better player and thus climb the eternal ladder of elo/mmr/other arbitrary number based ranking system.

This number then, in theory, matches you with players of an equal skill level. They may be better at some mechanics you're not well versed in, but perhaps you're better and other mechanics. You didn't get to that rank with sheer luck.

This loop ensures that you will always be exposed to challenges, forcing you to improve if you want to climb and meet more difficult opponents.

I'd consider most of the above "hard skills", where the game tells you "you can do this". However, when you reach higher and higher ranks, "soft skills" become more and more important. What I mean with that is both strategy and getting in your opponent's heads (the mental game).

The Art of the Macro Game

To use mobas as an example for strategy, there's a lot of guides talking about the right way to play the macro game (aka map movements). Do x and y and you will win games. And yes, it probably is the most optimal way to the play the game, you'll get the most amount of gold and apply pressure around the map, forcing your opponent to do things they don't want to do. Perfect!

But what if they just don't have a concept of what the right way to play is? What if they suddenly, at a really bad moment, decide to group up and walk to your location to kill you?

It makes no sense!! They could've done so many other things that were more optimal to try and get you, the high skill player, out of the game! And yet, they did exactly that.

High skill players have an expectation of how the game should be played, and when the reality of a low skill player's strategy (or lack thereof) meets expectation is when the high skill players may ironically be beaten.

Pressure mounting

"gg ez". You feel your anger boiling. They worked 50 minutes for that win filled with insults and questionable comments, damn it! How can they even say it was easy?! You let your emotions get the better of it and write a novel of text in the post-game chat to verbally humiliate your opponent (and make yourself feel better). It doesn't work. You took the bait. You're done.

That's one type of mental game, though not the one exclusive to high skill players. But it is one that anyone can use. Wittling away at someone's mental game is, I think, a big part of how OG won the biggest tournament in Dota twice in a row. Not by typing things in games, of course, but by taunting on Twitter and by making very unconventional moves to target the "star player" of the opponents team. I mean, how would you feel if you already have a lot of pressure on you to win the mid-game for your team, and then you also get ganked and killed before the 10 minute mark? You'll start making mistakes and being predictable by sticking to what you know. Creativity goes out the window.

You may think these are underhanded strategies, but for any competitive game and sport, not tilting is always part of the game. I think it is simply another layer of competitiveness. Keeping your cool is an art on its own.

A dependency on the opponent

There will always be things higher skill players will be better at. Last hitting in lane, knowing when to go in for a kill, higher situational awareness, keeping better track of resources, and much more. These foundational concepts are the things they will always rely on to try and pull a win out of the bag.

What differenciates these things, in a vacuum, is that they don't necessarily rely on the opponent to do something. You know that you can get more last hits. You know by instinct that you have 4 bars of resources to pop into the next combo. You know you can do your super move after certain moves.

The difference comes from where you need to interact with the opponent directly. So when you're ever in the situation where you need to play against a lower skill player, do not overthink things and try to punish the "dumb" moves they are making or find gameplay patterns you yourself can exploit.

"If I don't know what the hell I am doing, how the hell are they supposed to know what I am doing?"

[bumblesimagines]

Green Thumb

Part 8

Request: Yes or No

Sam and y/n had more development than y/n and Wanda lmao

~

You crossed your arms as you entered the room, glancing at the older man. You shared a look with Sam and Wanda, taking a seat in between Sam and Vision. You licked your lips, leaning towards Sam.

"What's this about?" You asked quietly, gaze flickering to Tony who sat in a corner.

"If I had to guess.. Probably about what happened in Lagos." Sam replied, glancing at Steve and Natasha. You frowned, looking at the Secretary of State.

"The world owes the Avengers an unpayable debt." He began, gaze sweeping over everyone in the room.

"You have.. Fought for us, protected us, risked your lives but while a great many people see you as heroes, there are some who would prefer the term 'vigilantes.'"

"And what word would you use, Mr. Secretary?" Natasha asked, studying the older man. You looked back at Tony Stark, making brief eye contact with him. It felt like an intervention. Or a teacher scolding their class after they made the sub cry.

"How about dangerous?" You frowned, looking forward when you heard his words.

"What would you call a group of US based enhanced individuals who routinely ignore borders and inflict their will wherever they choose and who, quite frankly, seem unconcerned about what they leave behind?" Mr. Secretary asked, looking over the small group in disappointed. You'd hate to admit it, but he had a point. The citizens of Sokovia were left to find new homes and the people of Lagos had to fix what had been destroyed. Mr. Secretary stepped to the side, looking at the screen. Videos began playing of all the times the Avengers caused destruction and most likely death. Wanda looked away, growing uncomfortable as the aftermath of the Lagos incident played. She already felt guilty enough about it. She had told you many times how she wished it would've gone differently. Steve noticed, frown deepening.

"That's enough." He called, watching the screen turn off.

"For the last few years, you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's a decision the governments of the world can no longer tolerate." Mr. Secretary told them, hands clasped behind his back. You frowned, brows furrowing slightly.

"But we have a solution." Mr. Secretary took a book from his bodyguard, stepping forward and handing it to Wanda. Wanda picked it up, looking it over.

"The Sokovia Accords.. Approved by a hundred and seventeen countries." Wanda slid the book over to Rhodes so he could take a proper look at it. You looked at Mr. Secretary as he walked around the table.

"It states that the Avengers shall no longer be a private organization. Instead, they'll operate under the supervision of The United Nations Panel, only when and if that panel deems it necessary."

"That's such bullshit." You whispered. Mr. Secretary turned towards you, cocking a brow. Natasha let an amused smile slip while Sam covered up his snicker with a cough.

"The Avengers were created to make the world a safer place." Steve spoke up before he could address you.

"This is the middle ground." Mr. Secretary said, walking to the front again and facing everyone.

"The Accords will be ratified in a couple days." Steve turned towards Tony, earning a silent response.

"I'll leave you to discuss."

"And if we come to a decision you don't like?" Leave it to Natasha to say what was on everyones' minds. Mr. Secretary paused as he approached the door.

"Then you retire." He answered plainly. You watched him leave, picking up the cup of water infront of You You went to take a sip but it turned to ice before you could drink from it. With a small huff, you placed it down.

"That's new." Natasha called with a small smile, hoping to ease the tension in the room. You stood up, leaving the meeting room and heading to the lounge. The others followed, taking more comfortable seats on the couch. A debate quickly started between Rhodes and Sam while Steve looked through the Accords.

"Have you two thought about starting a debate club?" You asked, tapping the frozen water a few times before it finally turned back to normal water. Natasha let out a small snort, chuckling as she shook her head.

"I have an equation." Vision announced, stopping Rhodes and Sam. They turned towards him.

"In the eight years since Mr. Stark announced himself as Iron Man, the number of enhanced people has grown and during the same period, the number of world ending events has risen."

"So, it's Starks' fault?" You asked, leaning back in your seat with a tilted head. Tony scoffed from his spot on the couch, rolling his eyes.

"I'm saying, there might be a causality. Our very strength invites challenge, challenge insights conflict, and conflict... Breeds catastrophe. Oversight is not an idea that should be dismissed."

"I wish I understood half of what you said." You muttered softly, running your finger the leaf of a plant beside the seat. Natasha turned towards Tony, watching him.

"You're being uncharacteristic non-hyper verbal." Natasha pointed out softly as he looked at her with a deep sigh. Steve looked up from the Accords.

"It's cause he already made up his mind." Steve said, earning a small eye roll. Tony slowly sat up, rubbing the back of his head.

"Actually, I'm nursing a headache." He muttered as he stood up, walking towards the coffee machine. He poured himself some coffee and grabbed a bottle of pills before sighing and placing down a device. He showed an image of a young man.

"Oh, that's Charles Spencer, by the way. A great kid. Computer engineering degree, 3.6 GPA, had a floor level gig for the fall. He decided to spend his summer building sustainable housing for the people in Sokovia." Tony said, obviously agitated as he looked over everyone. You wondered why he now cared for the people who were injured during attacks.

"He wanted to make a difference although we'll never know cause we dropped a building on him while kicking ass." Everyone stayed silent as he spoke. You watched him take a pill, drinking it with the coffee.

"There's no decision making here. We need to be put in check. Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, we're no better than the bad guys."

"Tony, when someone dies on your watch, you don't give up." Steve closed the Accords, looking at Tony with a frown.

"Who says we're giving up?"

"We are by not taking responsibilities for our actions. This document shifts the blame." Steve voiced his opinion, shrugging lightly.

"Steve, that is dangerously arrogant." Rhodes spoke up, shaking his head. Steve turned towards him.

"This is the United Nations we're talking about. It's not the world security counsel, it's not S.H.I.E.L.D, it's not HYDRA-"

"But it's run by people with agendas and agendas change." Steve pointed out as you rubbed your forehead, sighing softly. Both sides had good points but you sided with Steve. The team was obviously divided.

"What do you think, (Y/N)?" Vision asked, looking at you curiously. You licked your lips, gaze focusing on Tony.

"I'm curious as to why you care so much about this Charles guy. You've had, what was it? Eight years as Iron Man to care about the people who get hurt? Why now? Cause you realized one of those people could become the new you? Would you care this much about Charles if he had been a typical guy? No degree, no plans for the future, just a normal guy working a normal 9 to 5 job and just trying to make it through the week. I agree with Steve. What if something happens and they don't send us to help because it doesn't go with their agenda? People get hurt cause you've never set up a system to help after these things happen. You're a fucking billionaire, Tony. Make a company that's designed to help people get back on their feet after the Avengers bulldoze through cities." You said, legs crossing as you looked over everyone else. Steve gave a small nod, glad you were seeing his side. He checked his phone, abruptly standing and announcing he had to leave. You and the others watched him go in confusion.

"To answer your questions, I do care about normal people." Tony said, arms crossing. You let out a soft groan, leaning back in the couch.

"I'm sorry, what are you? Twelve? Didn't you turn twenty this year?" Tony cocked a brow, watching as you rolled your eyes and stood.

"Yeah, I did turn twenty. Surprised you knew considering you've never particularly liked me."

"Well, first impressions are everything and you did try impaling me with a branch."

"Maybe I should've."

"Alright, boys, let's calm down." Natasha called, placing a hand on your shoulder. You turned and walked towards the steps, heading down to your room at the facility. You entered and plopped down on the bed, running a hand through your hair. You tapped your foot on the ground, fingers going to the root bracelets in an attempt to relax. Wanda opened the door, closing it behind her and sitting beside you.

"What's wrong?" She asked softly, staring at you in concern. You weren't one to snap at others so quickly.

"There's so much going on. The Accords, my fucking powers, the sudden change in Nat and Tony, you possibly getting into trouble cause of the Lagos incident.. That could've been me." You breathed out. Wanda frowned, brows furrowing.

"No, it wouldn't have."

"I shot fire out of my hands and turned water to ice without meaning to. They're getting unpredictable." You looked at her, grip on the roots tightening. Wanda's gaze flickered to the window, making you turn. Part of the window was covered in a thin layer of ice.

"And that just proved my point."

"You're an incredible person, (N/N). Have faith in yourself. You'll gain control of them sooner or later. You have beautiful powers that could change and heal the world." Wanda pointed out gently, having you rest your head on her shoulder. She softly began to hum a lullaby. You didn't understand the words but her soft voice proved to be soothing.

"Thank you."

~~~~~~~~~~

"Why'd you call me again?" You asked, toying with the strings of your hoodie as you looked around the cafe. You had planned on taking a nap and watching a new show on Netflix but it seemed like Steve had other plans for you.

"Because I trust you and need your help." Steve replied, fixing his baseball cap as he tried avoiding eye contact with civilians.

"Really?" You asked softly. Steve nodded, offering a smile. He licked his lips, nodding to the tv. You turned, looking at the news. You really didn't have to considering what they were showing was right down the street.

"Your friend?" You looked back at Steve with a tilted head.

"We gotta find him before anyone else does." Steve said. You nodded, watching him. Steve had been desperately trying to find his friend, Bucky, since the attempt on Furys' life.

"I'll go in alone. We don't want to seem threatening or set him off by going in as a trio."

"(Y/N)? Being threatening? He can't even scare a baby!" Sam said in amusement, shooting you a playful grin.

"Right back at you, bird boy."

"I'm sorry, who here is named after the top bird of prey?" Sam asked, leaning forward slightly as Steve let out an amused sigh.

"Oh, I didn't know you were named after eagles." You responded, smiling in triumph when Sam huffed lightly.

"Come on, you two." Steve chuckled, leaving the cafe and heading down the sidewalk.

"I don't trust Stark." You told them, arms crossing. Sam glanced at you as Steve turned into an alleyway.

"Not surprised considering the little fight you two had."

"I think he had Vis keep an eye on me and Wanda. I snuck out while he was with Wanda in the kitchen." You told him, frowning.

"Firstly, I'm an adult-"

"That's questionable."

"-And secondly, he's not my dad." You took off the hoodie as Steve unlocked a car parked in the alleyway, giving Sam the duffle bag with his outfit. You looked at your phone when it buzzed, seeing texts from Clint.

Clint

Heard you had a fight with Stark

Clint

You're officially an Avenger now

You smiled softly, chuckling softly at the texts. You waited for the guys to finish changing before taking the earpiece from Steve. The apartment building had been nearby so you and Sam headed onto the roof while Steve entered.

"How well do you think this will go?" You asked Sam, looking for any sign of law enforcement.

"Wanna bet?"

"How much?" You looked at him, giving a small grin. Sam looked up at the sky for a moment, thinking it over.

"30 bucks. I bet this will go to shit and this dude will escape."

"I bet we'll get into serious shit but this dude will either come with us or get caught." You replied. Sam stuck out his hand, nodding. You shook it, chuckling softly. You turned your head, noticing movement.

"We've got company, Cap."

"They're approaching from the south." Sam added, attention focused on them. You heard Steve begin to talk to someone, watching the cars pull in and get ready. You turned your head, hearing the door to the roof open.

"Shit." You whispered, letting Sam pick you up and lift you into the air. You could hear the fight going on inside through the earpiece.

"Should we help?" You asked, glancing up at Sam.

"No clue." Sam replied, watching Bucky jump from the apartment onto the roof of another building. You noticed someone running at a high speed, jumping up onto the roof and knocking Bucky down.

"They have cat ears." You mumbled, pushing Sam's arms away.

"Deal with them." You motioned to the German police force on the roof, hoping down onto the roof. You raised your hand, a root shooting out and grabbing the strangers arm, refraining them from clawing at Bucky. Bucky turned his head, making eye contact with you. Your eyes widened when the man grabbed the root, using what felt like super strength to toss you off the roof. You quickly used a root to grab onto the side, breathing out a sigh of relief. Sam took care of a helicopter before flying by to grab you.

"Thanks." You breathed out, holding onto him as he followed the chase. Steve, Bucky, and the cat guy went into one of the tunnels. Sam flew in once there was an opening, trying to help Steve with the cat guy. You huffed when the cat guy grabbed Sam's ankle, pointing your hand at him and shooting a strong gust of air. The cat guy lost his grip monetarily but quickly grabbed on again. Bucky threw up an explosive so Sam quickly stopped, flinging the guy off him. Sam landed, walking past the rubble. You sighed, raising your hands as you and Sam were quickly surrounded by cops.

"Mom's gonna kill me." You whispered.

"That's what you're concerned about?" Sam asked, glancing at you in disbelief.

"We're getting arrested, (Y/N)!"

[boldlyvoid]

Intro to Criminal Minds: Why They Did It

Criminal Minds x MINDHUNTER AU

Spencer Reid x Margaret Carr (OC)

Part 1: Ed Kemper.

Summary: Spencer is teaching a 7-week seminar on the most interesting criminal cases, explaining their actions to understand why they took place. Only, not everyone in the audience is a student.

warnings: graphic details of a real rape and murder case, like every trigger in the book, applies to this fic so read with caution (if you watch either show you're used to it, however), it's all real and did actually happen and I don't support any of it. strangers to lovers, mutual pining, flirting, fluff, eventual smut, idiots in love, OC is Wendy Carr's daughter, her bio father is Jason Gideon

word count: 3.9K

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't having fun teaching.

He started with guest speaking, moving to special seminars a few times a year. But he wanted something more, settling for a 7-week criminal justice elective of his choosing.

Intro to Criminal Minds: why they did it. Giving Spencer an excuse to share the most intimate facts about serial offenders in a setting where no one could tell him to shut up.

14 students total signed up for the two-hour Seminar, taking place every Thursday at 11 am from September until Halloween. Over the 7 weeks, he would explain the fascinating insights of the most successful killers in the United States. Only asking that his students write about a prolific crime they find interesting by the end of term, for their full grade.

All he wanted was to read about obscure killers from around the world, from the perspective of aspiring profilers.

The first Thursday, he came prepared with his coffee a half hour before the class. He wanted to write the main points on the whiteboard in advance, nice and neatly.

To his surprise, a student was already there waiting for him. "Oh, hello,” he smiled softly.

She was sitting with a book in her hands, she pushed her glasses up her nose to look at him as he walked in. She was older than his typical student, around 35. Probably finishing up a degree or adding something to what she already had.

"Hi," she smiled at him. “Sorry, I’m early, I was visiting my mom at Quantico earlier.” She explained. "I'm not a teacher's pet or anything. Promise, I’m not even a student.”

It made him laugh slightly, correcting him like she read his mind. "It's okay, I'm Doctor Reid," he introduced himself softly.

“Margaret Carr, Peggy is also fine.”

"Pleasure to meet you," he said quickly before focusing his attention on the whiteboard.

He could feel her eyes on him the whole time he wrote, not wanting to turn around and catch her. "That's so interesting," he heard her mumble under her breath.

"Hmm?" He turned around.

"It's just that, everyday occurrences that never phase the regular person somehow cause psychopaths to kill," she read the board back to him.

"I was reading a study a while back about how psycho killers medulla oblongata is approximately 19% smaller than the average human’s. Based on the way they're nurtured as children affects if they grow up to kill. The ones that don't often end up in law enforcement and other positions of power where their psychopathic tendencies can come to play."

He was taken aback for a moment. He had never experienced a student who was like him before. Someone who just pulled facts into conversations like it was nothing.

"I read that as well," he smiled. "It is fascinating. The smallest amount of bullying and abuse from a mother or disappearance of a father figure can set them off."

"Or, on the other hand, there are people like Ted Bundy," she added. "He was well-loved and taken care of, but it went to his head. His god complex and affinity for lying led him to be incredibly charismatic and enabled his killing."

"You're very educated on this already; are you just interested in hearing me speak today?" He asked, not wanting her to leave, finding it interesting that she was there.

"Oh," she blushed. "I was going to talk to you more about it after the seminar actually."

“Okay, I’ll be waiting for you,” he felt a little giddy at the prospect.

"Thanks," she laughed. "Seriously though, I'm a big fan of your teaching style, I saw a few of your classes when my dad was teaching at the academy in 2005. It's a lot easier to remember facts if the lecturer genuinely loves what they're talking about."

"You're going to like this Seminar then. It’s basically just a way for me to get paid while unloading all the random facts I have,” he warned her with a smile.

"I know." She smiled back at him.

The rest of his students filed in slowly. By 11 am, 14 faces were staring back at him.

"Hello," he waved awkwardly. "I'm dr. Spencer Reid. For the last 12 years, I've worked with the FBI's Behavioural Analysis Unit. Catching serial offenders across the country."

He took a deep breath, letting the nerves find their way out of him. "I've been asked time and time again who my favourite serial killer is, which is a peculiar way to phrase the question. It feels morally wrong to have a favourite in the way people do with baseball players.

"I am, however, fascinated with several serial offenders' reasoning and explanation for why they did what they did. Every single killer is different, but it all comes back to 1 thing. Do you know what that is?"

They all shook their heads. “What is your relationship with your parents like?" He asked. 

Everyone in the room reacted; some students sighed, some rolled their eyes as they recalled their parents and childhoods to memory.

"When a person decides to kill, it's often never in the moment. It's in childhood. The majority of serial offender's stories start the same; their mother didn't love them, their father left. Someone at home abused them or put them down repeatedly."

"Thus, causing a hatred so primal to bubble. No matter how hard they try and fight it, the bubble always bursts. They go from fantasizing to killing in retaliation for their abuse, taking the anger out in stages."

He referred to the board. "Every killer has a stressor and a trigger—something that causes the urge to bubble and the event that causes the bubble to rupture.”

"Edmund Kemper is a fascinating example of this. He grew up with a family for the first few years of his life before his father fully abandoned them. His mother handled the situation by turning her anger onto her son; it was his fault his father left, he looked just like him, Ed was just another useless man who would never amount to anything," he emphasized the words. Hoping the class sees the effects words have on children.

"He started by cutting up dolls, stealing his sister's barbies and cutting their heads off. In his mind, he was getting out his anger and hatred for how his mother saw him. She hated men, causing him to mature with a warped idea of what women are truly like."

"His attraction to killing worsened his mother's hatred; she could tell something was wrong with him, that he didn't react to everyday situations the way he should. By the time he was ten, she was locking him in the basement for days on end, telling him he was a monster and her biggest regret."

"The change in her rage amplified his own. He hated hearing her speak. He hated the way she walked around, thinking she was better than him. That just because she was a mother and a working woman, she deserved respect and submissive’s. All he could see was a woman with a big head who needed to be humbled. This is the moment when the psychotic side of his brain blended his hatred of his mother with how good it felt to kill."

"Is that why he, you know?" Peggy cut in, running her finger along her neck as she pretended to cut her head off.

He pressed his lips together in an awkward smile, nodding. "His signature, as it's called, was decapitation. But more specifically necrophiling the severed head of his victims."

The whole class let out a disgusted noise, Peggy and Spencer making eye contact while they shrugged, it wasn't news to them.

"At age ten, he moved from barbies to cats and dogs, never leaving them around for his mother to see. While he hated her, he was also absolutely terrified of her. Breading a special type of killer. When you think of school shooters or preferential predators, what do they have in common?" He asked.

He pointed at a student in the back. "They have a specific type of victim they’re after?"

"Exactly. Most serial offenders want to go after the cause of their pain or attraction. However, Ed wasn't able to kill the source of his rage for a long time. His mother mentally abused him so intensely that he believed she was in control of him and that her opinion of him mattered. He saw her as his God, he loved her, but he also knew that he disappointed her.

"He ran away soon after to find his father. Travelling to California, only to be told he was unwanted there as well. It wasn't just his mother that his father was escaping; it was the fundamental aspect of family that he didn't want. Ed defiantly didn't want to go back to his mother after that, so he moved in with his paternal grandparents."

He kept catching the looks on Peggy's face. She knew the story already, waiting patiently to hear the words he chose to make the horrific acts seem a little more conversational.

"His grandmother was exactly like his mother. If I had to guess, his father most likely had a distaste for his own mother and thus divorced Ed's mom. Only he never grew up to be a killer, just an absent father—his absence doing to Ed what never happened to him."

"Ed killed his grandparents when he was 15. Telling the police and his therapists that they had beaten him constantly, they refused to feed him and called him names. He said he snapped from the trauma; it was self-defence."

Peggy laughed to herself, making him smile softly. "Sending him to a mental hospital instead of a juvenile facility was the worst thing they could've done for him," Spencer added.

"Why?" A student asked.

"Ed is a psychopath." He reminded them. "He doesn't feel empathy the way we do. You can admit that you feel bad for him, yes? If you understand why he killed people, it doesn't make you sick, like him, it makes you human. You see a hurt person hurting others; Ed Kemper sees himself as a new sort of God, choosing who dies, how and when."

"He was brilliant, having the exact IQ as I do," just a humblebrag, "the staff trusted him. He looked like an innocent boy, smart enough to take matters into his own hands for the betterment of his life. They gave him computer privileges, they let him work the front desk and file patient information. Giving him all the resources to learn about who he was inside and how to get away with it perfectly."

"Damn," another kid added. "When did he get out?"

"At 21.” He answered the student quickly. “Ed was interviewed by my mentor Jason Gideon, in the 70s. Where he explained that being locked up during his sexual prime, as well as the access to information, is what truly set him off more than his mother.

"He moved back in with her and his sister when he came out of the institution, immediately returning to the constant ridicule. He went from being told all the time that he was a smart and charming young man, capable of rehabilitation to a useless, no-good son, who would have been better off collecting in a condom or running down her leg."

The whole class laughed, shocked at his repetition of Ed's mother's words.

"He got his licence when he was released. And remember, this was prime time for hitchhiking in California; everyone and their mother walked the roads with a thumb in the air. It was the birth of free love and recreational marijuana usage. It was also the best hunting ground for a learning serial killer."

"He was able to pick women up, but like I said, missing his sexual prime while in an institution made him almost impotent. He didn't know how to speak to women; he had to create a fantasy in his mind every time, one that involved killing, before he could look at a woman."

"How did he get them in his car then?" A voice asked from the back.

"He was 6'9, 300lbs; he looked like a big teddy bear. And his mother was the local college administrative assistant, so the whole town knew him anyway. If Ed offered to give them a ride, it wouldn't be that bad, right?" Peggy turned around to face the class as she explained for Spencer, who just shook his head.

"He only wanted to rape the victims, originally," Spencer added. "But he couldn't. There was no release of the tension. The bubble that had been growing inside him was at its breaking point; he needed to just do it. Get it over with and move on."

"He killed 6 women in succession after that. Gaining the name "The Co-Ed Killer," well before anyone even suspected Ed Kemper," Spencer took a sip of coffee, feeling his throat start to dry as they reached the insane part.

"He was overly friendly with the cops; he wanted to get his record expunged and join the force.” Spencer finally continued. “Being told, "don't worry about your record, worry about your weight.""

"Most killers enjoy wearing a uniform for the power and talking to the police about their cases, in the hopes of gauging how smart they really are—taking pride in the fact that they are getting away with it for so long."

"He watched all the cop shows, and he read all the books. He knew that in order to get away with it, he had to do it where no one could trace it back to him. He knew he had to keep his cool and avoid looking obsessed with the case, but just curious enough to gain insight into how they thought he was doing it. It went on for years, and they had absolutely zero leads, finding headless bodies every few months before they finally received a call." He left them hanging, walking over to his sheet of paper and pretending to read it while they anticipated the catch.

"Ed always knew that he wanted to kill his mother. He just never knew when,” Spencer teased the story along. Noticing as the students fidgeted in their seats as they wondered what happened next.

“In his interview with Gideon, Ed said that he knew she would die 7 days before he killed her. He walked into her room that night to find her reading, with the audacity to ask if he wanted to come in and chat all night. Teasing him for the way he rambled to her. It was the last time she ever did that."

"It's hard to imagine his signature with the fact his second last victim was his mother," Peggy added, cringing at the thought.

"Wait," another student interjected. "Who was his last kill then if he only really wanted to kill her?"

"Remember how I said he lacked empathy?" Spencer asked. "He loved his mother in the same way a prisoner can end up loving their captor."

Peggy nods at the comparison, looking like she's never thought of it that way before, then smiling at him.

"You grow a bond through the trauma and when the only thing you've ever known is violence and hate, you don't know what to do when that's gone, it's hard to cope."

"He said he killed his mother so that she never had to know what he did. She'd never have to sit at his court hearings or be able to tell the media that she always knew he was a killer."

"His last kill was his mother's best friend," He finally answered the question.

"He didn't want his mother to be even more disappointed in him, but he also didn't want his mother's best friend to find her like that and be upset. So the obvious answer to him was to kill her too."

"What the fuck?" He heard a couple of kids say under their breath.

"Yeah," he agreed with an almost chuckle. "This is what I mean by their answers are fascinating. It makes so much sense to them; clearly, if I kill my mother, her friend will be upset, so the best answer would be to put her out of her misery as well. He sees them as objects, like a matching set. One would lose value without the other."

Everyone was silent then. The students took in all the information they had just received, staring up at him with a look of disgust mixed with wonder.

"Any questions?"

Peggy raised her hand for a change; he pointed towards her in approval. "You missed the part where he specifically took the heads from the three women before his mother and brought them back home with him. He buried them in the yard outside her bedroom window, making sure they were always looking up to her."

Spencer was amazed that she knew the details. "Yes, I guess I did."

"I always found that part particularly interesting in this case," Peggy added. "Her opinion mattered so much to him. He knew how much she loved her co-ed's and how they looked up to her so much. They'd be exactly like her. He felt trapped in a town of women who were exactly like his nightmare, and his response was to make them physically look up to her for the rest of her life."

"Exactly." Spencer smiled. "understanding how he sees the situation and how the events played out in his mind is the key in figuring out who he is."

"If you were on the case in '72 when the first victims were discovered, how would you have handled it, Dr. Reid?" A male student in the back asked in the silence between answers, taking his shot before Peggy and Spencer went any further in their discussion.

“That's a hard thing to answer, connecting evidence back then was a lot harder than it is today, if it wasn’t for men like Ed there wouldn’t really be this many answers,” Spencer said honestly.

Another student put her hand up, “what’s the worst thing he did in your opinion?”

That racked his brain, there was a handful of horrific things he did that were particularly horrific, “probably his mother's entire murder.”

“What did he do?”

Before Spencer could answer he saw Peggy open her mouth and start explaining. “He not only cut off her head and fucked her neck, but he also took her vocal cords out and shoved them down the garbage disposal. And before he called the cops, he cleaned everything up and made her look presentable because he said his mother wouldn’t want guests to see the mess.”

The class all cringed, sinking into their seats with disgust. But that didn’t stop Peggy from explaining it all further.

“He used to go to a bar all the cops went to and he would talk about his case. They would always one-up themselves and say they were close which gave him this false idea that they were on his tail and they’d find his mother soon. But when they didn’t, he called it in from a payphone and said he’d come over and explain it all. And boy did he ever, the cops said he wouldn’t shut up. And then when they put him in the cop car finally, a woman walked past him and he threw up.”

Spencer watched her with awe, the way she could call information to memory like that was beautiful. He listened to her like he’s never heard a fact before, she was so intriguing.

“Thank you for the detail,” he teased her lightly. “Sometimes I get so caught up that the really gross parts get swept aside.”

The class smiled at him, he had gained their trust and attention within only 1 hour of class.

“I know you said you don’t have a favourite,” another student asked from the back. “I agree it’s weird, but who is the one you gravitate towards the most?”

“I’ve met hundreds of serial killers, I’ve read about thousands,” he explained. “I think Ed Kemper is the one I gravitate the most around because he was so willing and open to explaining why he is the way he is. Going as far as to say that the only way they could keep women safe is to give him a lobotomy. He didn’t believe there was any correcting to be done, only removal of the evil within him.”

He heard slight mumbles as everyone took in what he said. “Does anyone here have a killer or a case that interested them in learning more, or just introduced you to the chase of justice?”

Peggy put her hand up, “I personally think BTK is the scariest, most tactical, and just downright evil man to ever exist. He scares me to no end but he’s so interesting to learn about.”

“Ahh,” Spencer agreed. “Too bad you won't be here for week 3. But with that I think I’ll end the class, next week we’ll be discussing the difference between Ted Bundy and Richard Speck.” He nodded lightly, watching the majority of them close their books and had on out.

“I really enjoyed the class,” she said softly. Holding her purse in one hand, a collection of files in the other.

Spencer turned to look at her then, smiling right back. “It was a pleasure to teach alongside you.”

“What do you mean?” She teased, “it’s not like my mom and dad were the ones who did all the interviews."

“Carr,” he repeats her last name. The gears turning in his mind as he brings all the information forth.

“Your mother is Wendy Carr, she was recruited after the BTK case with Bill Tench, she’s who was behind that study you mentioned.”

“I know,” she smiled.

“Who’s your father?”

“Guess,” she looked at him with an unimpressed look on her face, pushing her glasses up slightly.

“You’re kidding? Gideon never said he had a daughter let alone a,” he stops himself before he can embarrass himself any further.

She smiled at the implication of his words, “but he’s told me all about you Dr. Reid, that’s why I'm here.”

“You need help with a case and I’m the only agent in Virginia currently,” he pressed his lips together awkwardly. Knowing it was too good to be true that she would have any interest in him in the slightest.

“No actually, I have a case I’ve been working on privately and I need some help. I asked my dad but he said you’d be able to help me the best. I agree,” she corrected him softly. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I was a big fan of yours. When I would sit in and watch his lectures, before he knew I was his kid, you would always step in at the best parts, adding the smallest details to the story that the average person would forget. It’s magnificent.”

He laughed slightly, tugging at his collar as she complimented him. “Thank you, you’re quite magnificent as well,” he replied with a blush and a smile

She didn’t look like Gideon, probably because she smiled so much. Like sunshine on legs, she beamed, all but blinding him with her smile as she stared at him, “do you want to get lunch and go over this case with me?”

“I’d love to.”

taglist: (message me if you want to be added or removed)

@shemarmooresfedora @spencers-dria @spookyspence @reidsfish @manuosorioh @mochionly @samuel-de-champagne-problems @jswessie187 @k-k0129 @calm-and-doctor @blanchardsbk

[rojaceartandgaming]

A Mind Wreathed in Flame - Chapter Three. A Planeswalker's Tale.

Yes I know I posted chapter two earlier today. Yes I know it's almost 2 am EST. And yes I know I still can't find the read now option on mobile. Please enjoy!

-

--

It had been a few days since Tolro first arrived in Ravnica. Jace had quickly found him a place to stay, and had been starting to help him out. Mostly minor things with his magic, getting used to the mental based magic. He had taught him a spell that could quiet the area around him - this had proved to work wonders. Especially since apparently this whole plane was a city. Unbelievably loud for him, honestly.

With some guidance, he had started to be able to tune out at least some of the thoughts of others. Tolro was shocked that that was even possible. But perhaps there was only so much one could learn from books. For instance, not a single book he had read had even an instance of the term "planeswalker".

Something that frankly surprised him. Though apparently a planeswalker spark was rare, there seemed to be enough of them that exist according to Jace. But then, why had they not been recorded in history? His home plane of Dominaria had its fair share of crises. Rifts. Decay. Phyrexians. They seemed like things that people who could go from plane to plane could come in and help with. But perhaps, he thought, people may have not known of the finer details. He certainly didn't understand it.

Tolro turned his attention back to the candle in front of him with some hesitation. He had been able to focus on more than one thing while using some of his mind magic, but funneling and combining both red and blue mana felt different. He had wanted to stay as far as possible from an open flame as he could be, but Jace had been encouraging him to practice. He was right, of course. And he had promised to help if things went wrong.

That, if anything, was comforting.

Even now, Tolro had taken a bit of a precaution with a cup of water within arm's reach. He didn't trust his own magic not to go awry. Or that he could even probably control the flame. Hence the water. He sighed, looking at the flame flicker. Soon, it stilled, familiar deep and light blues swirling in the middle of the flame.

Once again, step one is done.

They brought the flame towards themself. Letting it rest peacefully in their palm. Watching it swirl, slowly. Alright. I can actually think of other things while doing this. That's progress. Tolro thought, before expanding and shaping it once more but keeping it close to himself. It stayed steady, though his nerves distracted him and a spark went flying.

"Wait, no!" He dispelled the flames in his palms and threw the water on the spark. Watching it fizzle out. Tolro slumped back in his seat, looking at the scorch marks. It could've been worse, he knew that. He must be too jumpy. At least he could dispel the fire he held? That was new.

If anything that meant he didn't set the whole room on fire again… though he had to relight the candle.

They picked up the flint and steel again, lighting the wick again. If he had learned anything from Jace, he couldn't give up this early. So he had to try again. Well. It feels nice to have a mentor. Or… friend?

Tolro shook his head again, focusing again. This looped, over and over again. Light the candle, control the flame, pulling it towards him, trying to control, getting nervous, losing it, and having to start over. His desk was soaked. Despite how often the wick was alight, it had barely melted. No drops of wax had even made it to the base of the candle before they had to toss water on a rogue spark.

He paused, sitting up again. Wait a second. The spark keeps going this way. I wonder… can I make sure it goes a certain way? Tolro had never attempted to control two separate sources of fire at the same time. It could be worth a shot. So why not? If this fails, he can just put it out again. So he picked up the flint and steel again.

Light the candle. Take control. Pull it towards himself. Expand and keep control. All becoming second nature. Good. That's good. He saw a spark go outside of his normal reach, shifting from blue to red. He extended a hand, motioning towards the spark. Why not follow his own instincts?

He brought it upwards, after struggling to keep it away from hitting the floor. For such a tiny spark it sure felt like it was fighting him. Then it turned blue. Tolro laughed. This was actually working?! That's new! 

The spark was pulled closer, and grew. Tolro let them spiral, trying to divide his attention at two things in the same area at the same time. It was surprisingly difficult. It got more and more difficult as the patterns got more complex. Getting nervous of it getting out of control, he quickly dissipated the fire except for one small ember which he returned to the candle.

Tolro took off his glasses, jaw dropping. I actually… did that! Despite knowing that hardships may come soon, at least this was a little victory.

[fillingthescrapbook]

(Reworking) Army of the Dead

I'm gonna veer away from just reviewing this film because I don't want to contribute to the negativity. Zack Snyder seems like a nice guy based on how his crew (and his actors) talk about him, so let's not punch down. Instead, I'm going to offer my two cents on how to improve the dazed and confused Army of the Dead.

Now, before I begin, I just want to say that I was really looking forward to this film. The trailers promised a colorful good time. I was dismayed by the fact that nearly half of the film takes place outside the zombie apocalypse. The good time was in short supply. And the colors? ... Well, I played myself there. I made myself forget that Snyder isn't a fan of colors.

But enough about my gripes. If you plan on watching the film and haven't yet, I would suggest you scroll away now. We're about to get into spoiler territory because here's my pitch on how to improve the movie:

Number one: Let's give the bad guys a clearer objective. The movie begins with a road accident that unleashes a super zombie into an unsuspecting Las Vegas. He's fast and doesn't just attack people. It's pretty clear from the get go that the movie is setting him up to be more than just the instigating incident for the zombie apocalypse. So I don't understand why, after a very cool opening sequence, that super zombie is swept away to focus instead on casino owner Bly (Hiroyuki Sanada) hiring someone to steal money from his hotel inside Las Vegas.

I mean, after watching the film, we know that obtaining one of the super zombies was the real mission. And I get that the writers wanted that twist. But why make the bad guy the owner of the safe he wants to steal money from? It takes only a few dialogue changes to make him a former partner at the casino, that he wants the money his partners never gave him--and that explains away the need for mercenaries and a safe-cracker.

And why wait to introduce Martin (Garret Dillahunt), his right-hand man, until the team has already been formed? Martin should have already been present during the initial meeting, providing reasons to Scott (Dave Bautista) on why Bly can't just get his men to come in and out; that they know Scott has a way in, that they know Scott has a team he can convince to go in, that they know that there are zombies inside the city of Las Vegas that aren't like other zombies--that's why they need specialists. When Scott asks why Martin needs to join them, Bly would wave it off as him wanting an inside guy in the team to make sure they deliver the money to him. But an exchange of looks between Bly and Martin could already set the tone for the viewers that there's a different mission at play.

Also: it's fine to play Bly and Martin as desperately courting Scott since he and his team are desperate as well. They need the money that they're gonna get from the heist. That should've been implied from the beginning as well, that Bly and Martin have already done their research on Scott. That would've allowed us to speed through getting the team together. So we could have a scene first of Scott and Maria (Ana de la Reguera) having a scene arguing about taking the job. Scott would be for it, needing the money to provide for his estranged daughter. Maria would be against it because she wants out of the mercenary business. But because she loves Scott, she agrees.

I have no problem with how fast they recruited Marianne (Tig Notaro). That was one of my favorite scenes in the movie. My only wish here was that they didn't have to green-screen Tig Notaro in, that they had cast her in the first place instead of the other guy. Because Tig as a badass? Something I never knew I needed.

They should've had Vanderohe (Omari Hardwick) live in the tent city just outside of Las Vegas. The film established that he needs the money, but not really why. Having him need money to evacuate his family completely from the tent city provides a visual reason. He also could've been Scott's way of keeping tabs on his daughter, since we learn later in the movie that he became an absent father because of his guilt. Scott's first scene with his daughter could've been while he was recruiting Vanderohe.

Mikey (Raul Castillo) should've been Scott's contact in how to get into Las Vegas. Mikey is shown to be a YouTuber of sorts who regularly sneaks into the Vegas area to kill zombies for views. I don't understand why he couldn't be the one who has access to Lily (Nora Arnezeder) and her container gate. He could be the one to suggest that the team douse themselves with "perfume" made of rotting smells--which he uses to make himself less noticeable to zombies when he films his videos.

Which leaves Dieter (Matthias Schweighöfer) and Chambers (Samantha Win). Dieter is supposedly a known safe-cracker, and it doesn't really fly with me that he doesn't have someone guarding him at all times. Instead of Chambers belonging to Mikey's crew, she could've been Dieter's bodyguard instead. They could still keep in the detail that she's never fought a zombie before, but she could still remain a really good fighter on account of, you know, being in charge of Dieter's protection. The guy who walks out could be part of Dieter's team as well--and someone who knows that going against zombies, even on your own terms, is still a suicide mission.

The first complication, instead of Dieter not knowing how to kill zombies, should not have been in the planning of the heist. Bly and Martin should already have a plan in place. They are, after all, running this show. The first problem should come up at the tent city--just prior to the team meeting Lily. Vanderohe would report to Scott that his daughter Ella (Kate Ward) sneaked into Las Vegas to find her friend Geeta (Huma Qureshi) because Geeta's kids wanted their mother. That takes away the unnecessary scene of Scott and Ella arguing if she's joining his team or not. Because neither Scott nor Martin should have allowed Ella to go in with them. At the most Scott would offer to find Geeta. But they were operating on a plan that had only one escape helicopter. Adding more people to the team at that point was stupid. Having Ella sneak in prior to the team going in would take care of that, and would make Ella less liable for the deaths that happen later on. And Scott, knowing he can't just abandon his team, decides that he will stay on the mission--and once he has delivered Dieter to the safe, he would go off on his own to look for Ella.

I don't mind the tribute to the queen zombie all that much--had we actually seen zombies threaten the team first. Mikey could be shaken that his rotting "perfume" didn't work, with Lily explaining that some of the zombies have higher intelligence and rely on sight and warmth more than smell.

Having Lily lead the team up until that point, fighting zombies, and then using Burt (Theo Rossi) as an offering to get the Queen to allow them passage would've been more impressive than a zombie tiger to be honest. And when the Queen takes Burt, Lily should have told the team that her job is done and that she was going to come back for them at a certain hour. Martin should've been the one to convince her to stay, citing that they need her knowledge of Las Vegas zombie lore to guide them to where they need to go. Which would then alert Mikey and Chambers that something is not right with Martin.

When Martin approaches Lily about his other mission, Chambers should've been there to see the exchange. Maybe even a handshake between the two. That way she has a reason to confront Martin about his lack of trustworthiness.

After the confrontation, I feel like Martin should have been more proactive in getting rid of Chambers. Making her go last should have been Martin's idea, saying it's a precaution since she's Dieter's bodyguard. Creating noise that would wake the dormant zombies should have been Martin's move as well, and not Chambers making a mistake. Just locking her in with them feels like a very cowardly thing for the current main villain to do.

And then, when Chambers bursts out of a glass window, I feel like Martin should've shot her just as she was about to succeed in beating down the zombies. Excusing his act by lying and saying he saw her get bitten, and that he was just saving Chambers the trauma of turning into a zombie. By then, Martin should have gotten everyone to move on ahead, keeping back in the guise of being concerned for Chambers. Maria and Lily could have stayed with him, as Mikey would've been Marianne's guide towards the helicopter, and Scott and Vanderohe would have continued to guide Dieter through the casino and towards the safe.

When the team regroups (sans Mikey and Marianne) is when they should start to encounter the zombies as integrated challenges into the heist. Like, they need to turn on the electricity to get to the safe--but the lights and the noise would wake the zombies inside the casino. So the plan would be situating Vanderohe, Martin, Lily, and Dieter by the elevators so when the electricity comes in they could get in immediately. They could create barricades or traps to ensure they would be safe from the zombies.

Scott and Maria would be the ones to turn the electricity on so they could go find Ella while the others are focused on the safe. The plan would then be to evacuate Ella through Lily's gate instead of exiting with the team, leaving the rest of the team to be the ones to squeeze into the helicopter.

Over at the helicopter, Mikey would warn Marianne about his distrust of Martin as he shoots zombies while Marianne refuels their escape plan. Marianne could also vocalize her concerns about Martin's shadiness, with the two concocting a plan to get rid of Martin as soon as he makes the wrong move.

When the lights come on, Martin convinces Vanderohe to accompany Dieter to the safe. Leaving him and Lily as lookouts to make sure no zombies get down. And giving him and Lily time to do his other mission.

Scott and Maria, succeeding in turning on the generators, would then make their way to where the super zombies are--having learned from Lily at the beginning of the heist that that's where possible survivors are imprisoned by the intelligent undead. It's while they're leaving the heist casino that they learn about the government's plan to move up the schedule on nuking Las Vegas. They radio to the others about the government's change of plans.

Martin, upon hearing this news, pushes Lily to leave Dieter and Vanderohe since they're running out of time for his other mission.

Dieter and Vanderohe, in place of having a crisis with Mikey on the lead up to the vault, would instead be using the zombies there as bait for the booby traps. Remember, in this pitch, Bly and Martin have already given them everything they needed to know to open the safe. The only thing they don't have is the actual safe combination. (As an added complication, it would be great if Dieter actually gets bitten prior to getting to the safe--and then having the team amputate one arm to stop the spread of the virus. It's an additional wrinkle into the heist that could exist in a zombie apocalypse.)

When Martin kills the Queen, Scott and Maria would see the change in the zombies outside their headquarters. They wouldn't know that Martin killed the queen, of course, just that something's changed--and they have an opening to get in and save Ella. So they take it.

Meanwhile, Martin offs Lily because he has already acquired his true mission: the Queen's head. He can even keep his evil mustache-twirling dialogue with Lily. His goal now is to get to the helicopter before Vanderohe and Dieter unlocks the safe.

The action here would then be amped up as Scott and Maria work as a team to take down the stragglers on their way to find Ella. They could even encounter Burt, who is still unturned, while looking for Scott's daughter. Burt could still be useful later on as someone who betrays them.

At the casino, Martin has to be smart about his way to the helicopter as zombies are already roaming the halls and he doesn't have that many bullets left. He uses one of the elevators as a distraction, leading some zombies to enter the elevator that Dieter and Vanderohe will use later on.

Inside the safe, Dieter has succeeded in opening the safe. They are using radios to ask for help in taking the money and bringing them to the chopper.

Outside, we hear Vanderohe's voice in Lily's radio as the King zombie finds his queen's body. He growls at his legion of zombies to find who is responsible. He takes the queen's body back to the zombie headquarters.

Up at the helipad, Mikey is answering Vanderohe's call for help saying he could leave Marianne for a bit to go to them--but he gets cut off when Martin shows up to try and take the helicopter. They have a fight at the helipad, avoiding using the guns so as not to damage the helicopter. But we see that Mikey and Marianne are ready for Martin's inevitable betrayal. We pan out and we see that the hotel is now fully swarmed by the zombies.

Dieter tells Vanderohe that they could start loading up the elevator with the money. But when they open the elevators, zombies start pouring out. Leaving the two surrounded.

Meanwhile, at the zombie headquarters, Scott and Maria find Ella. They get a happy reunion and Scott gets to have a moment with his daughter--which is cut short by Maria telling them they have to go. But before Maria could finish, she gets killed by the King zombie. Maria gasps as she tells Scott to save Ella and run. This is when Burt could play the traitor card and push Ella, or the friend she was trying to save, so the zombies would turn on them instead of him. Right before he gets killed. Ella promises her friend that she will take care of Geeta's children.

Scott and Ella has to run.

Meanwhile, Mikey and Marianne succeed in knocking Martin down. He drops his bag and the Queen's head rolls out--and bites Mikey. Marianne is concerned, but Mikey knew he was gonna get bit someday. Martin regains consciousness, shoots Mikey twice. Before realizing he's out of ammo. He then picks up the queen's head and threatens Marianne with it. Before he could take another step though, Mikey tackles him--and they both tumble off the helipad together. And then zombies start coming out of the stairwell. Marianne radios Vanderohe--

Who saves Dieter from a particularly strong zombie just in time. He knows they're not getting out alive. They have managed to barricade themselves by the safe using the rails. But it's about to give up. Vanderohe tells Marianne that they're gonna lock themselves up in the safe. That she should fly out and come back for them after the nuke hits. Hopefully they'll survive the blast.

Dieter and Vanderohe run for the safe. The barricade gives way. Dieter pushes Vanderohe into the safe. He pushes the safe door close before he is overwhelmed by the zombies.

Marianne is already inside the chopper. She hears Dieter's screams through the radio. She shoots a zombie and then flies out.

Scott and Ella manage to get up to a squat building to another helipad. They see Marianne's chopper flying out of the heist casino. Scott shoots a flare. But there's still light and Marianne is seen flying away instead of towards them. Scott and Ella say their goodbyes to each other. The King zombie reaches them. Scott tells Ella he loves her as he faces off with the zombie. And then the chopper arrives to take them. Scott pushes Ella to go on first. He does his best to battle the super zombie.

Inside the chopper, Marianne tells Ella that she still has guns. Ella uses one of the guns to shoot at the zombie so Scott could get into the helicopter. Which he does. But the zombie is also able to jump in.

They struggle inside the chopper.

The nuke is launched.

Marianne is focused on flying the chopper. She gets shot. But she waves it off. Saying it's just her arm. Ella has to help her fly the helicopter though.

Scott succeeds in killing the King zombie. He pushes the zombie out of the helicopter and into the tent city.

The three of them make it out.

Marianne lands the helicopter a safe distance away from Las Vegas and the nuclear blast. And then it's revealed that her "arm wound" was a shot to the stomach. And she has bled too much to survive.

Scott and Ella mourn the loss of their friends and loved ones.

And then Scott discovers he's been bit.

Ella cries. She tells Scott she may have hated him, but she never stopped loving him because he was her father. And then Scott forces her to shoot him, so he doesn't turn. She does as he wishes. She is the only survivor of the heist.

Until--we see the safe from the heist casino. It's been a few weeks since the nuclear blast. The safe door bursts open: and out comes Vanderohe. And we see he's been bitten. But he hasn't been turned into a zombie. The bite saved him from the nuclear fallout, while the radioactivity is keeping his zombie gene dormant.

And then, at a tent city, we see the King is still intact. He has been retrieved after the nuclear blast, having fallen outside of Las Vegas. And we see Bly there with a smirk.

A sequel is coming.

And that is how I would have reworked Army of the Dead.

[coconutshvings]

ATZ Mafia: You almost Get Hurt [Hyung Line]

✴Group || Ateez

✴ Genre || ??

✴ Warnings || Badly written \\ little violence \\ very light angst \\ some are shorter than others

Hongjoong:

He had told you to meet him on the very last floor of a bar that he owned and often did business at the last floor was the basement and he usually requested that you didn't go beyond the main floor of ths bar so this could be a big thing if he wanted you down there.

Once you got to the bar pub the undeniable smells of alcohol, fruits, and baked goods filled your nose but once you set your sight on the door behind the bar you headed that way and since the bartenders knew well who you were there was not much hastle.

It was lit with decorative lights which showed the down the set of stairs , you took in a breath before letting it go and proceeding down the stairs of the bar's basement.

It was quiet but not alarming, until you got to the final step before you were fully in the basement a snap of artillery was heard loudly in your ears and you were froze in fear when a gun was pointed directly at your cheek instinctively bringing your hands up in surrender not saying a word as your eyes showed all you were feeling as well as your heart.

"Oh it's my girl, put those things down we don't harm women anyway you fools." Hongjoong gritted as he forcefully pushed the gun away from you.

Your eyes and muscles relaxed, Hongjoong's eyes focused on you and his intimidating look melted into a smile "You made it finally, angel."

Seonghwa:

He insisted that you took some type of protection class to better of your chances of surviving just in case he wasn't around to protect you he had many different things for you to try but you refused to do anything that involved a gun or a knife so his last choice was Boxing.

You knew a little about it however didn't want to risk being knocked out by God knows who though it was you who voluntarily went thinking he'd fight someone and show you some moves but he had other plans which were to have you fight someone else.

Indeed you did your best to back out but Seonghwa really dragged you into the ring "You're so strong trying to resist so I know you'll do fine here Y/n don't worry." Seonghwa grunted as he did his best to keep you in his grip.

Once in the ring he placed you up right and you noticed a female in front of you "She looks like she bench presses cars." You mumbled to him "She's harmless." He insisted as he put your gloves on ,

"Remember to do your best to Dodge and body shots are crucial." You watched him walk away

"Seonghwa I deeply think this is unnecessary in many ways, You could've gotten me a personally Trainor not had me-" Seonghwa's eyes grew 3 times wider as you spoke within seconds he was running past you leaving you confused.

Once you heard a gruff and the mat beneath you Shook was when you realized what had happened, he'd taken a punch for you which ignited aggravation in your veins as you looked at him next to your feet rubbing his cheek in pain.

"Dumb ass! we didn't even tap gloves why the sudden attempt to hit me?" She chuckled "You have to be prepared for anything." Your heart was pumping loudly as you nodded understanding the woman's intention,

you stepped over Seonghwa and Kneed her in her lower stomach before gripping her shoulders making her yell a shrieking yelp bringing her to her knees and delivering a right hook to her cheek causing her to tumble over.

Your breathing could make anyone think you were about to turn into the hulk at any moment, "Maybe all you need is to be provoked before you attack." You heard from behind you knowing it was Seonghwa you just rolled your eyes.

Yunho:

He was teaching future mafia recruits in a secluded field base Area so that the hopefuls could practice archery and offered to show you something he does that's on the nicer side of his Job so you were happy to come by and see how well he worked with these youngsters.

He had Mingi drive and escort you into the area past the semi wooded maze that sort of made you paranoid but a big green field of people came into view indicating you were in the right spot with Mingi close behind,

"He's out there Somewhere." Mingi announced your eyes darted out for Yunho in the big field but be appeared beside you kissing your cheek stsrtling you giving him clear opportunity to smugly smile at you

"You've gotta get better at being aware of your surroundings, Y/n." You shrugged. "What did you want me to see, mosquitos?"

Yunho simply pointed to the center of the field "I'm teaching Archery." You observed and some of the young men and women practicing looked Stellar while others were shakey but they all were beginners

"How long have you been teaching them?" Yunho took a moment to think about it , "A little over two months." You were majorly impressed "I can admit a lot of them look great out there."

"I can teach you what I'm teaching them and more." Before you could answer a plummet to the ground was what you felt followed by a rough groan from your lips from the impact of something rushing into you soon your head fell onto the grass as

"Sorry about but would you rather been stabbed by that arrow?" you were dizzy from the impact it took a few moments but you opened your eyes to see Mingi rising up from over you

Yunho quickly dropped by your side with remorse and panic in his eyes he examined your body before looking up at Mingi "Thank you, man."

You looked up at Yunho "I suppose I do need to be more aware of my surroundings." You tried to joke though you struggled to speak.

Yeosang:

Here you were storming out of the restaurant you made reservations at to have a loving night of food and his company, sadly you weren't his only company his phone kept going off and he never hesitated to pick up the calls and conduct business or arrange things right there in front of you stopping your own conversation that you started with him.

You'd try try another night but you were not about to sit there and be disrespected obviously He was Hot on your trail calling out to you but you just drowned his calls out, "Y/n I'm not oblivious I know why you're upset but can we at least eat?" He sighed

"Your phone isn't going to get in the way of that?" You cleverly asked still walking looking both ways before stepping into the street "Business doesn't stop and you know it." His tone became more irritated

"You don't have to remind me, honey, trust me I can see that." He rubbed the middle of his forehead "Look get over it I brung my phone you better be glad I didn't bring a weapon."

The streets were empty as you stopped to take off your annoying shoes "We'll talk when we get to the condo." You let out sarcastic shrill "No we won't. My sleep is just as important as your phone on our date."

You turned to him so he knew you meant your words and before he could comeback with his own the screeching of tires were heard making both of your heads snap in the direction of the noise

"MOVE BACK!" you gasped loudly as Yeosang pulled you back making you fall into him painfully with him crashing onto the concrete side walk as the car thrashed down the street as if it was intentionally not going to stop with you there or not You both watched the car and became confused once it almost immediately stopped sideways in the street causing the tires to loudly stop,

"Stay Down." Yeosang's words were whispered in your ear as he unintentionally threw you off of him rising swiftly to his feet reaching in the back of Pants, the clicking sound of his Gun's safety coming off was heard as He quickly aimed it at the unidentified vehicle walking closer to it as he fired off but after a few shots the Car sped off in the opposite direction.

You watched in horror before snapping out of it and running to where your boyfriend stood wrapping your arms around his face seeing the car disappear before looking at Yeosang's unexplainable expression before laying your head on his chest he soon cradled your head with one hand,

"Who could that have been?" You shakingly spoke while Yeosang put his Gun away and replaced it with his phone bringing it up to his ear as he stared at the direction the car zoomed off in

"I have no clue but I'll definitely be looking into it, we need to get you to a safe protected place." You nodded knowing there was no arguing against this, "I thought you said you didn't bring a weapon." Yeosang smiled slightly at your small humor "I lied, sweetie."

[mbtiinfictiontypings]

Until Dawn: Josh Washington [INFP]

Function order: Fi-Ne-Si-Te

"I DID something! I made you believe in the world I created!” - Josh

Judging Function Axis:

Introverted Feeling (Fi) / Extroverted Thinking (Te)

Josh’s whole life is surrounded by his emotions. Everything is based on the past and how he feels about what everyone did to him and sisters (Fi-Si) He focuses on how people have hurt him or others (Claiming his friends are “bullies”, and being angry at them for the prank because of how it made him feel) He wants to “prank” back the people who hurt him and his sister’s so they can understand the pain they put him in. Josh clearly longs for a deep connection with someone (Fi) and feels that he shares one with Sam; personally thank her for coming, saying that it meant the most that she was there. Josh is very private with his complex emotions (no one knew about his mental illness except his parents) and he is very good at hiding them; that even Chris, his childhood best friend, is clueless about what’s going on with him. The only person he confided in about his grief was Sam because she the only person he trusted (Fi) and the only one he felt understood him (“He told me I was the only one who understood him.” - Sam) Josh is in a Fi-Si loop throughout the entire game, constantly self-loathing and fixating on his sister’s deaths. His “therapist” consistently ridiculous him and blames him for his sisters dying saying “He let them die.” (We know this is how he really feels about him himself when his therapist is revealed to just be a hallucination) He even hallucinates his sisters taunting him and asking him if “This is what he wanted.” (for them to die) Josh feels immense guilt over not being able to stop his sisters from dying even though he was passed out drunk during that time and physically unable to do anything about it. His resentment of himself and of the past grows for so long (Fi-Si) that he ends up projecting his guilt onto his friends and ultimately takes revenge by “pranking” them in order to punish them for what they did and most importantly, punish himself (he knows that pranking his friends will push only push them away) Sam even proclaims that Josh’s prank was a “Cry for help.” Josh’s Te is shown in the work that went into his prank. Sladly Josh’s inferior Te results in his prank to be poorly planned with a bunch of loose holes in it, and making it quite obvious it was him behind the prank (whether or not that was on purpose is up for debate)

Perceiving Functions:

Extroverted Intuition (Ne) / Introverted Senseing (Si)

Josh’s is shown having a keen interest in movies and directing; frequently referencing qoutes from said movies, throughout the first half of the game (Ne-Si) He shows to be very fond of things that could happen and imagining various different possibilities. Josh has even shown interest in wanting to become a movie producer as a career; majoring in film school (and phycology) but eventually drops out because of his sisters deaths (Fi-Si) He does however, use his knowledge of filmmaking for his prank; setting up cameras and proper lighting and even coming up with narrative plot points in order to make his prank feel like a horror film. He even uses past scenes from popular horror movies as inspiration (Si) and making them his own (Ne) for his prank. The psycho closely resembles jigsaw and uses similar life or death traps from the movie, placing the axe on the door in order to have Matt and Emily recreate the iconic “Here’s Johnny!” scene from ”The Shining”, Spirit boards, dolls, ghosts, clowns, and running away from a killer maniac in a towel are all common horror tropes. Josh’s Ne and low Te combined with his schizophrenia causes his references to movies to be more unorganized and less cohesive than they could've been. While his Fi truly knows why he’s doing this prank (punishment, revenge) His Ne still has an “idealized” vision of his prank going viral on the internet and making him and his friends internet famous. He continues on with this type of thinking assuming his friends will be fine with the prank and even find it funny once they find out it will make them “internet stars” and will be grateful for the internet fame. (unrealistic Ne with delusions) He is very nostalgic; taking joy in things from his past (the baseball-bat in the basement) and enjoys reminiscing about about them. Being in a Fi-Si loop means that remembering old memories isn’t always nice for him though (After reminiscing about the baseball-bat he will always bring up a negative side to the memory. If he used to play with his family it’s no longer fun anymore because his sisters are dead, if he used to play with his dad then his dad eventually got “Too busy to hang out with him anymore.”) It’s clear he’s very much so, haunted, by negative things in his past. He holds onto an idea/fantasy that his prank will “change the world” and start up his film career.

Enneagram: 6w7 sx/so

Tritype: 649 (6w7 4w3 9w1)

Josh’s prank is very much motivated by his paranoia and trust issues that his friends don’t care about him (6) Despite Mike and Jessica being the most involved in the prank against his sisters, he chooses to prank the people closest to him, Sam (his crush) and Chris (his best friend), who played no part in the prank. His 6 projects his own fears into his friends in order to cope with his anxiety; he does this by “testing” them throughout his prank. (Despite wanting Chris to save Ashley in order to pull them together, he will still hold it against him if he does; he asks Sam how it makes her feel to see Josh die as the psycho in order to see if she really cares about him) Josh mainly blames himself for his sisters dying so he uses the prank as a means of punishing himself by testing his friends in impossible ways to prove that they don’t care about him (6) and to get back at the people who wronged him and his sisters (Fi). His 6 enneagram is shown much more healthily when he is socializing with his friends early on in the game. Josh’s character description mentions that he just wants all of his friends to get along and have a good time; he is described as being warm and friendly, even acting as an older brother figure to Chris. He breaks up the fight between Emily and Jessica or Matt and Mike, exclaiming that it’s “not what he wanted”. It’s clear the Josh cares a lot about his friends and despite the whole prank, he didn’t want his friends to get hurt or be mad at him. The last thing he wanted to was to drive them away. Josh is in a constant loop of not being able to decide whether he wants to get back at his friends by projecting his own feelings into them (Fi-6) or not wanting drive away his support group (6w7) It is said by Josh’s therapist that he has a fear of isolation (having no friends or support group to lean on aka every 6’s worst nightmare) but ultimately he favors his Fi more because his prank allows his 6’s need to “test” his friends. His 7 wing makes him have a social and easy going side to him; shown in his ability to be very humorous and take jokes quite easily (thinking Chris’s prank is funny in the beginning while Sam is pissed off) His 7 wing also means that he tends to escape his pain with “positivite” distractions for for example, Josh is seen passed it drunk in the prologue of the game and is said to have a party animal streak having partied through his senior year (hinting at a drinking problem) and hoping that his prank can be seen as just one big joke. His 4 fix gives him a much more depressive and artistic side (Making his prank into a form of art by filming it as horror movie) and a tendency to romanticize tragic things (Thinking the prank on Chris and Ashley was a romantic way to bring them together since all they needed was a “trumatic moment to send them into each other’s arms.”) His 9 fix gives him a calmer “peacekeeping” side (breaking up the fight) His Sx/So variant is shown in his obsessive need for an emotional connection with someone (that he finds in Sam) and his need to make an important impact on society.

Note: Josh is mentally ill so his plan won’t make very much logical sense, so take that into account. He can seem like a 4 at first but that’s just because he had depression. He is NOT an ENFP his ennagram just makes him more extroverted, remember not every INFPs are anti-social bookworms.

[x0401x]

Wow, I appreciate the essay that proved no point, thank you. I wonder how you could've mistaken I meant IN ALL YOUR POSTS when all I was talking about was how you literally just talked about MasaMina in the flower post. It's more beyond me how badly you comprehended my ask. The point abut me not giving sources is so you could look it up yourself because why would I let someone copy my hard-worked homework, noh? Maybe if you properly did research then you'd have a much proper analysis on it.

Anyway.

Honey, it seems you still don’t get it: you’re the one who made the claim, so you’re the one who has to prove your point, which you haven’t. You can’t just accuse someone of something without any argument and then tell them to prove otherwise. That’s not how it works.

Oh, that. I read “posts” by accident. I stayed up late to answer you, so my head wasn’t working straight. But I didn’t mistake any of the rest, so don’t try to generalize. Also, my answer remains the same. I don’t think I talked about them more than I should, because there isn’t a limit to how much I should talk about them. I’ll talk about them as much as I want because it’s my own post.

Lmfao, “hard-worked homework”. Right, visting a site is so much work. If you were actually trying to be constructive with these asks, you’d at least name the sources. All that happens if I google what I had already googled is that I find the exact same results, obviously. It’s impossible that you haven’t realized this much. Your claim remains baseless.

Also, don’t worry, I read your post through and through which is exactly why I knew how much of the post you were wrong. You even got some of the flowers wrong, most especially Masa-san’s. And moreover, I see no point, still, in putting them together, because as I’ve mentioned, they are individual characters and Kyoani gave them separate flowers. I don’t know how you automatically thought of them instead of generalizing the more important people around them unless you were clearly ship-biased.

Yet you were and still are so vague about it. Just tell me already what was wrong so I can fix it instead of repeating yourself like a broken disk.

The meanings of their flowers are directly linked to each other, and most of them represent the two at the same time. If I were to do what you say, at most, I’d only separate them by the flowers of the bonus artworks and write about the others as a set, but that doesn’t change the fact that the interpretations of one would cite the other so it makes no difference.

You don’t know why? I just told you in the examples from my previous answer.

“Generalizing the more important people around them”? Are you implying that there’s some sort of ranking of who’s more important to who and suggesting that Minato and Masaki’s relationship is less important to themselves than other relationships? Do you perhaps not realize that their relationship is the main one of the story? If so, then I can only assume that you didn’t read the novel.

I don’t really care much if you post MasaMina on end because I know you roll with that, but pushing it on a generalized post where EVERYONE is supposedly involved, I’m not sure what other un-rude term I could call it, tbh. I’m not even sure if I should be the one you should call a child between us i you’re the one who hates on something because your ship wasn’t involved in it. Of course, you would deny because you’re “so smart” but from the way you rant about it, it clearly shows. That’s sad.

It’s not a generalized post, whatever you mean by that. And I fail to see how all the characters being involved equals Masaki and Minato’s flowers having nothing to do with one another.

I would deny simply because it’s not true, lol. I’m not hating on anything, you are. I wouldn’t at all hate it if the symbolism around Minato and Masaki had nothing to do with each other, but it does and that’s not subjective. I already explained how they are involved, but I have no way of forcing it through your thick skull. If you don’t want to understand, you just won’t.

I don’t get why you keep trying to imply that I’m dumb or that I try to act intelligent. Your blatant dislike of my person is the most confusing part of your asks, tbh.

I wasn’t desperate to cover up anything, I know what I wrote you, I have copies in case tumblr deletes it, too ‘cause that happens. Maybe it was partial anon hate but also because I wanted to point out that your supposed analysis of a general thing for Tsurune is wrong and I felt bad for the people who saw/see it. Believing false information. I suggested disclaimer that it was still, nonetheless, your opinion because whether you studied it or not, the information is still not originally yours.

“Maybe” and “partial” are deliberate choices of wording. You indirectly insulted me, came up with accusations all of a sudden, literally tried to corner me, threw a fit because I didn’t reply right away, made false assumptions about me and acted extremely condenscending all along. It was anon hate. Don’t try to smooth it out and just say it like it is.

Stop trying to make it seem as if you being upset with it equals that a lot of people are upset. You’re the only one to ever complain about that post.

It’s not my opinion, and the information not coming originally from me doesn’t make it an opinion (it’s the opposite, actually). The information also doesn’t originally come from the people who host flower-related sites. Flower language has existed for literal centuries.

And I will repeat, interpretting Masa-san and Minato’s flowers are NOT IMPOSSIBLE. You just REFUSE to do it because you were, i don’t know, pushing your ship? You wanted to? But mind you, your post is Tsurune-general related. Masa-san and Minato don’t just have each other; they have families they love, friends they care for, any one of them cou;d’ve been what the flower is for. But you mainly focused on them for no valid reason. Wouldn’t you think that’s being rude?

It’s not rude, lol. That’s probably not the word you’re looking for. But no word of negative connotation applies here anyway.

So what if the post is about all the characters? I don’t see why that’s a reason for me not to relate their flowers to one another when they are, in fact, related. Besides, I talked more about them because there’s more symbolism surrounding them. Can’t help that 90% of the flower language used in the books is for their relationship.

Again, see the examples I used in my other response. Who was it that Masaki met in middle school and then met again as an adult? Whose smile is Minato weak to? There isn’t any other character who can be used as answer to these questions. This isn’t a matter of opinion. It’s literally what the author wrote.

You mentioned their bonds but neglected the relationship of the characs that appeared in the latter part of the flower post. I honestly couldn’t go past that post without reading about Masa-san and Minato but never really seeing other names get mentioned again. I didn’t mind my embarrassment tbh, if that’s anything to be embarrassed about. I just hope you’ll admit to being wrong for once, though. I’m not expecting an apology, but truth. Because I feel bad for the ones seeing your post.

I didn’t. I mentioned the team in Minato’s and Akihiro in Masaki’s Blu-ray artwork flowers. But I couldn’t see how anyone else applied to the flower language of the book.

Why do you keep repeating the things I said (and yet act like you’re not being childish)? I don’t have to apologize, lmao. You’re the offender here.

I’m certainly not wrong for interpreting things based on canon, and I write my posts the way I see fit, because my blog. Stop trying to force me into modifying my post to your wishes. That’s entitled as hell. Just make an account to write your own posts, if you really don’t have one, that is. Otherwise, die mad about me.

I appreciate you called me trying to point out your wrongs as assholery childishness. Now I’m just wondering if you’ll show my asks to prove you’re right or to prove I’m a child. I don’t really mind, I’m beyond it. As you’ve said, I am an asshole, best to live up with it, I don’t recall calling you anything, however. And to be clear, I’m not an anti-MasaMina before you point that out.

It’s assholery because you refuse to specify it and don’t present evidence to back it up, just keep saying that I’m wrong and biased. That’s not “pointing out” anything, it’s flaming, pure and simple.

Oh, so you think calling me names would be the only thing that defines it as assholery and anything else is fair game. That explains it all.

I don’t care whether or not you’re anti-MasaMina, honestly.

Okay, here they go:

Full of shade. Cue other three of those.

This one was doing fine, but then the tantrum started:

And then you came back pretending that nothing had happened:

I guess you’re gonna say that I should learn to take criticism or use some other bigoted argument. This is anon hate. Baseless, improductive, entitled and purely offensive. Case closed.

Funny the first one about the tag wasn't even mine. Oh I've read the novel, don't worry, it's kind of why I'm countering your opinions right now. I never said Masa-san and Minato's relationship was any less important but the story isn't even about them. The title says what the story is about. Masa-san is merely one of the many links of relationships Minato could have so the point stands. They're not a set. I'm more wondering if you've read it yourself.

Fixed that now.

Right, what the author writes is totally my opinion.

The story is literally about them. It’s literally the main relationship. What’re you even saying???

You say “merely” as if he doesn’t make that much of a difference when he was literally the trigger to everything.

You bet I did, that’s why I quote it directly all the time, which you don’t do ever.

I see that this discussion has no way of advancing because you don’t really seem to pay attention to my responses. My guess is that you’ll continue saying the same stuff, which would force me to do the same because there’s literally nothing else I can tell you.

I don’t mind answering other asks, but the flower post is out of question. It’s a waste of my time saying the same stuff again and again. This topic is over for me. Just refer back to the post and our whole discussion if you think otherwise.

[timemachineyeah]

[@dontbopthebunny reply: Will you give another example of what you mean, please?]

I can do my best. I don't know if you are just looking for simple examples. I don't think this is a simple one-to-one direct causation thing, where there are simple rules you can make for what is or isn't appropriate to discuss with kids when and if you follow them your kid will grow up mentally healthy and if you don't you've traumatized them forever.

But, for example, when I was in sixth grade I had a friend for the first half of the schoolyear who was in trouble.

I don't even remember her last name at this point, and I was an incredibly sheltered eleven-year-old. So I genuinely cannot tell you what was going on. I can tell you something wasn't right. Something with an older boyfriend and her divorced parents and stepdad? Something awful that I did not understand and did not know how to communicate.

Something she didn't tell a lot of people about, because it was a secret.

And I can't tell you how it ends. I don't know what happened to her. She disappeared from school after winter break and never came back.

I can tell you that on the two occasions I tried to talk to adults about it during our friendship, their first instinct was to protect me at the exclusion of her. The reaction was very much one of, whatever she is telling you, you shouldn't be learning about that, and it doesn't sound safe for you to be her friend, and I don't know if she's a good influence, and I am scared for you - the one who isn't being abused and is so sheltered she doesn't know how to recognize even the most basic signs about her friend. I'm not even sure they recognized this was probably some kind of abuse situation.

All they heard was an eleven-year old bringing up topics that sound like they might have something to do with sex or drugs and that's inappropriate. You're too young for that, and your friends are too, so if they are talking about it they are bad friends.

But here's the thing! Not only was she in more danger because of adults felt more inclined to protect this wealthier girl from a stable family at this other girl's expense, I was in more danger too! I had no idea how to even think of what she told me. I barely understood sex existed. And my understanding of dangerous adults was entirely based around relatively useless Stranger Danger training. Because adults felt inclined to warn me of the relatively unlikely danger of some random person asking me into a van, but not the much more likely and actively present danger of possibly my friend's parents being sexual predators or abusers of some kind.

If I hadn't been made to feel like I was maybe inviting Satan into my life by even knowing what sex was, maybe I could've better understood what my friend was trying to tell me. Maybe I could've better asked for help. And if the adult community around me had been more focused on listening to children and less on "protecting" them, maybe they could've actually protected someone.

My genuine feeling is that if a kid is old enough to ask, they are old enough to be given an honest answer (at a level they can understand). Even if the answer is sad, scary, or even traumatizing. I think it's fine to say, "the answer is scary, would you like to know, or would you just like to know Mom has it handled and it will be okay?" - and if the kid insists on knowing, try to tell them in safe and nonjudgmental environment.

We actually put children at an incredible disadvantage by labeling them "innocent and pure". Children, thank goodness, are no such thing. Children are feral little creatures who were born to survive. When I worked in daycare the kids favorite game was eating babies - they would stick dolls in the toy oven and microwave, they would SET IMAGINARY TABLES AND HAVE IMAGINARY FEASTS with an infant doll as the main entree. They thought this was hilarious.

You are not going to be able to keep trauma from your children. You are not going to be able to keep your children from trauma. You can only choose how much support you give them through trauma.

I also feel like sometimes we generate trauma by trying to separate ourselves, our society, and our children from their fleshy mortal reality. Even secular people in America like to conceptualize a person as having a kind of True Moral self, the SuperEgo is the Ideal You, that you must strive for. The "temptations" of the flesh as things to be overcome. Hunger, violent urges, lust, illness. These are external forces acting on us, not regular features of being human. Not just, like, things. That we feel. That are normal. That, yes, we need to deal with and not turn into problems for other people, but are not themselves things we need to be "protected" from experiencing or knowing about or talking about.

But the hide and deny and lie and "protect" version of teaching kids about these concepts - like foreign invaders instead of native features - hurts kids. If your kid is not supposed to know things they know, not be curious about things they are curious about, not think the things they think or feel the things they feel, they are going to be traumatized by their own normal thoughts and feelings. You generated the trauma where there was none.

All you're doing by telling your kid that Fido moved to a nice farm upstate where he's happy is arresting their development, denying them the chance to learn how to conceptualize the world as it is, and how to manage and care for themselves in it.

Kids are violent. They bite and push and shove. Kids are sexual. Sometimes infants get boners. (I have seen a one-year-old's boner while changing a diaper! It's awkward!!!! It's so awkward!!! But it shouldn't be, because it's natural and it's not sexual in the way adults are sexual. At that age, you ignore it. No need to give a one year old a shame complex). Sometimes toddlers masturbate! And that's a normal thing for them to do! They need to be taught manners about it, but they aren't doing anything wrong. Kids can experience loss and trauma. They get in car accidents, their friends can get cancer, they will experience bad things that are too big for them to deal with.

This isn't me saying "So go out and expose your three year old to the most fucked up shit you can think of." Do not do that. Please still monitor what they're watching, please watch how you talk around them, please still carefully introduce them to ideas at a level they can understand.

This is me saying, I think most of the push to "protect" kids is based around what adults wish wasn't true for them, as if pretending and wishing can somehow make it so for the next generation. If I never tell my kid about abuse, they will get to live in a world where abuse doesn't exist. But that's not what happens! Now they just live in a world where abuse exists and they can't recognize it and are ashamed to ask for help!

And this kind of fragile insulated approach to child-rearing is also just, like, incredibly classist and white. It's not about protecting everyone's sense of safety. No one cared about protecting Ruby Bridges, but now white parents panic about teaching their kids her name. White parents pull their kids out from learning about The Holocaust and slavery. They use the idea of protecting their kids from topics are "scary" or "upsetting" as a way to protect their child's, and so their own, sense of privilege and entitlement. They aren't worried about their kids. They are worried about themselves.

And ironically these kind of guarded tower approaches to childcare can actually create trauma out of the innocuous. Not all discomfort is equal. Yeah, it'll probably be a bit awkward for everyone when your kid asks where babies come from, but that's certainly going to be less traumatic than them learning when they're fifteen and pregnant.

"Protect the children" is far too often a dogwhistle that means anything from

1) I want to be able to control my children through shame

2) I want to be able to plug my ears and ignore systemic injustice

3) I want to oppress this group of people and can exploit the idea of children to do so

4) I want to protect myself from my children's judgment

5) I myself have not healthily come to terms with the ideas and realities I am now expected to guide my children through, and I do not want to work on myself

Taking care of children is obviously a hugely important thing to do. And we're only just figuring out what is and isn't good for them. We are so new to actually learning the best practices for raising safe and healthy kids.

IDK. If you're going to study how to rear healthy human children, I think you first need to acknowledge what a human is, and accept that with compassion and understanding. And a human is a hungry, sometimes horny, complex social animal, mortal and flesh as all animals are.

Honestly I think coming to terms with that reality, that we are physical and irrational and one day we will die, is also a huge trauma we need to cope with as a society across all aspects of life. Not just child-rearing. But how are your kids supposed to learn to best navigate that reality if you yourself cannot face it?

I think there’s an argument to be made that protecting the children from relatively tame shadows of adults concepts actually makes things worse for them.

Like nothing is worse for me as an adult than the entirely unwarranted and unwanted sense of fear or scandalization from perfectly common stuff. And I don’t blame some wonderful TV show for using the word “fuck” or showing a nipple. My responses to those things are entirely constructed and cultural, and those shows are often doing me a kindness by giving me a context in which to safely re-examine them and my relationship to them.

And I just think actually there were a lot more opportunities to have a well adjusted outlook on life for the kids whose parents just told them what fuck meant.