#this basically happened on the wave react video and i choked

[mothmansbutt]

Guy listening preachers daughter for the first time: wow we're really in a dark place aren't we

Guy who's already heard it: haha yeah um... anyway this next one is called ptolemaea,

[mariaiscrafting]

ahhhh ty ty ty <3

ok, so I think that what makes Dream act this way (iykyk) is how dreamwastaken became so big so quickly. and by quick I mean fucking lightning speed.

he didn't have enough time to learn enough about cc etiquette, especially in these three aspects: influence, boundaries and fanbase/stans/whatever you call it. I'll try to explain it:

• Influence: Does he know the influence he has? Like, when he hears that he is the myct with the largest fanbase, does he really process that? I remember he talked about not being able to control all of his fanbase and there's bad apples everywhere -- which is true, and that only like 1% of his fanbase breaks his boundaries (that include sending hate for him, harassing, doxing, etc. yk, basic twitter culture lol) but, honey, with your big ass fanbase, 1% is still a lot of people. As a content creator you *have* to be aware of that.

let's take the hbomb situation. First off, as a streamer, it's you that set the mood of the stream. Even if he was only messing around with his pals, even if they did say to do not send hate to hbomb, dt dunking on him created a toxic environment, which caused his fans being toxic towards hbomb and you know what happens next. Hell, when this happened, I was watching Tapl and he was watching them and he was crying laughing over them screaming bc they were just. so loud and so aggressive that it was kinda ??? Sirs, this is literally a Minecraft Stream lmaooo

my point is, that was not the road that dreamwastaken, 21M fans, should've taken. he don't condone his fans actions but he knows his fans are diehard and will always be on his side, he should be more careful before stating negative opinions, especially if its towards another person.

• Boundaries and Fanbase: He posted a list of his boundaries a while ago, idk if you know or seen it (btw please george copy your bestie for the love of god <3) but I'm not talking about those boundaries, I'm talking about the basic boundaries between cc and viewer. boundaries that, in my opinion, should exist between cc and viewer. I get that Dream is an open person, an oversharing type of open person if I may add, but I think he should take a step back regardless. When I heard that he was taking a time from twitter, I genuinely got so glad, not because he couldn't start any drama then, but because it would do so so good for his mental health. I'm not even that fond of him, it's just that for me, any cc taking a break or outright leaving twitter is a win for me. I know how RSD is hard to deal and honestly letting shit out it's better but dream you have dt you have bbh so please don't make things worse online 😭 I know how good can be to feel validation from millions of people but. it's not a good idea, especially in the state that his fanbase is on rn (this topic is kinda sensitive to talk abt for me bc people be outright ableist and hide it as criticism like. say that shit's not helping his reputation and whatever without acting like he's fucking. manipulating his fanbase for being affected by his rsd💀 or, on the other hand, don't say that hes just being adhd🤪 when he's just being an asshole like damn that's a Him thing bro lol)

(omg it's so big I'm so sorry and theres a part two I'm so sorry tumblr user messed-up-gal ToT) - morango 1/2

pt. 2:

Dream is the proof that the people who loves you can be your downfall. istg. Have you noticed that every drama that Dream enters, people usually get more mad abt how his fanbase reacts (85% they'll react in a bad way) than Dream himself? it's not always, but its definitely more likely. I'm not saying Dream is saint, he Is petty and his ego does him dirty and made him choke multiple times before,, But! i dont think hes a bad guy. he's literally just a dude. ok, he's a 21yr old white gamer man that has a trumpie past (maybe?? idk. I think hes cured now ig lol) so he's bound to do some shitty things but he still tries to get better and hopefully he'll mature. 21 is old enough but it's still so young, yk? I kind of lost my mind during the end and my eyes are literally begging to be closed so tl;dr: Its gonna be hard for him to become a better cc bc his fans don't let him be criticized (by infantilizing his adhd symptoms or the mob mentality as soon as someone says anything abt him), the honest criticism get lost between lies from antis that don't know shit, he still has a lot of growing up to do and overall he became famous too fast and he needs to learn things even faster bc as soon as there's not a single one dream hater on sight they'll turn their back and attack him instead lmao I hate twitter i definitely have more to say but I'm tired and my memory is shit. just-- hate dream if you want, love dream if you want, nobody is obligated to have an opinion but I wanted to express mine. have a lovely day! -morango 2/2

Aight, there's a lot to unpack here, so Imma try to only go into the points I have something to add to (here's what I talk about in each paragraph, if you want to jump to a specific point):

Speed of Dream's rise to fame

The "bad apples" in the Dream fanbase

Post-MCC HBomb stream

Not condoning versus actually condemning his fans

Manipulation & RSD

Criticism of Dream, his fanbase, and his brand

The “just a dude” argument, flipped

First, I agree that one of the many factors that has resulted in the current image Dream has set up for himself, the way his fanbase functions, the ways people hate on him, and the way the Dream brand functions, is the speed of his rise to fame. It's unique, and there are probably a hundred social/psychological angles that could be used to examine the exact effects of that speed upon all of these facets of the Dream Name; did rapid fame beget the rapid rise of unrighteous hatred, did those waves of hatred then instigate the rise of a surprisingly overdefensive fanbase, did that rapid fame get to his head and/or result in an inability to appropriately handle all the after-effects of rapid fame, etc.? That point you bring up, about how the speed of his rise to fame requires him to learn even more quickly, is so interesting to me. I think that maybe Dream expected to get pretty famous pretty quickly, hence the preparedness in regards to some mechanics of influencer fame- merchandise, business-building, networking, knowing how to manage his fanbase to best benefit him. But I don't think he expected to get this famous this quickly. This is all speculation of course, as are this entire post and your ask, but I think that he just couldn't anticipate having to learn how to handle enmasse controversy, waves of antis, or every Youtuber speculating/knowing about him; and yeah, that results in him having to learn all of these things very quickly, lest he allow his whole brand and fandom to fall apart.

Second, I disagree with the frequent argument that Dream's fanbase is only marginally toxic. Personally, I think that the circumstances of Dream's fame, his personality and management of his fanbase, and his brand of content have resulted in the very specific kind of stan that Dream stans are. I don't think this is simply a case of "all fandoms have a small percentage of assholes who take it too far;" rather, the nature of the community itself breeds the kind of mentality of "an asshole who takes it too far." I only even know this because I was a Dream fan (kinda a stan, I'm ngl). At one time, I watched every single Dreamwastaken & Dream Team video multiple times; I listened to the Manhunts on repeat, as though they were podcasts; I followed mostly smiletwt and dttwt accounts on mcyttwt; I had upwards of 10 tabs for AO3 DNF fics open on my phone at a time; I watched DNF and Dream Team Being A Family-esque compilations on repeat; I watched every George and Sapnap alt stream I possibly could; I went out of my way to defend Dream against Redditors and Twitter antis regarding the cheating scandal. For the latter half of 2020, and a couple months of 2021, I lived and breathed this part of the fandom; so when I say that Dream stans are a whole other breed than any other kind of mcyttwt stan, I say that because I used to be like that, too. I usually use parasocial very loosely or ironically, but Dream stans are genuinely one of the most parasocial fanbases I have ever seen or been a part of. The level of investment Dream stans have in this man's life, the lengths they will go to to defend him, the amount of psychonalysis and digging they do on his life and character, the amount of emotion he can evoke in them- it's taken to another level, man. This isn't just characteristic of a fraction of his fanbase; this is what the fanbase is like as a whole.

Third, I partially disagree with your take on the HBomb thing, but not in the way one might think? I actually empathize with the way they reacted much more than I thought I would, simply because I suspect I have RSD (also suspect I have ADHD, have for several months now) and I can see myself getting insanely frustrated because of something like that. Like yeah, it was "just a MC stream" or "just an MC game," but that's kinda disregarding the fact that something that might seem like "just a [insert inconsequential thing]" to a rational mind might have a major emotional consequence/take a major emotional toll on someone with RSD, or really anyone who gets easily impatient/angry about video games (Sapnap reminds me of many of my friends, in that way). The issues I, personally, had with the way they handled the HBomb situation is that these are simply explanations and reasons for my empathy; they are not excuses. I have no excuse when I get irrationally angry about something inconsequential in my own life, for a couple of reasons. One, because I am an adult and I need to learn how to handle my reactions and manage my own anger. Two, because as someone with many mental problems, it is my responsibility to learn coping mechanisms to ensure my own emotional stability and livelihood; this includes learning whatever I need to handle RSD- whether that be isolating myself from others when I know I will become violently/passionately angry about something, creating and sustaining a support system that can get me through bouts of extreme emotion, finding healthy emotional outlets for my negative emotions that won't harm myself or others, or a combination thereof. I don't think what they said about HBomb post-MCC was an irreversibly horrible thing, or anything. I think there were errors committed by two men who should be fully capable of foreseeing and preventing those errors, but I don't unconditionally hate Dream or Sapnap for the post-MCC stream or comments. I just wish they had made amends quickly, publicly, and sufficiently, because the greatest consequences from the whole thing weren't even from those two criticizing HBomb themselves; they were from the waves of backlash because of their immense influence on the MCYT fandom, which could've been prevented, if they had acted maturedly and responsibly after the stream.

Fourth, you’re right, that he doesn’t seem to condone his fans’ behavior. I detest the frequent anti argument that one of the reasons Dream should be criticized is because he explicitly uses his fanbase to attack others, or something of the sort. Personally, I think he created his fanbase in a very specific way and interacts with them in such a way so as to benefit him as much as possible, yes, but he never actually tells his fanbase to go and yell at or harrass anyone. Still, there is a significant difference between not condoning something and condemning something. It might seem unfair, and it might be annoying of me to say this, but I truly think that someone with this large a fanbase, especially one as overzealous as Dream’s, needs to be condemned every single time it goes on some kind of rampage/harrassment campaign. Either that, or Dream needs to make a definitive, permanent statement against any kind of harrassment of others on his behalf. I know he’ll occassionally make the odd tweet or serious stream addressing something his fanbase did, but one of the many reasons his fanbase keeps doing the same damn thing is because he’s so lukewarm and spotty about this condemnation. A fanbase like his needs to be given explicit guidance and boundaries for the numerous things they do in his defense- harrassing/doxing antis, harrassing people who criticize him who aren’t antis (respectful criticism, other CCs, other MCYT stans, etc.), harrassing the people he critcizes (i.e., HBomb), speculating about his personal life (his relationship with his gf, his mental health/ADHD, his romantic life, his childhood, etc.), and speculating about his relationships with his friends and colleagues.  My personal ideology is that, if you have significant influence over someone or a group of people, you are at least somewhat responsible for the things those people do or don’t do, if it at all relates back to you. I’m so fucking tired of the argument that CCs aren’t responsible for what their fans do. Obviously they aren’t responsible for every single one of their fans, and obviously they can’t fully control their fans at the end of the day. But I think there are certain things that reach such a level of extremity that does make those CCs responsible. This can be measured by either scale or intensity; that is to say, if a CC’s fanbase does things on an extremely large scale, or one person from/a fraction of the fanbase does something really extreme, then the CC is made all the more responsible. Another CC I’ve always had trouble discussing with other people on this subject is Pewdiepie, in particular, about the extremists in his fanbase. Because the things a small handful of his fans have done in reference to him and/or in his name were so fucking extreme, I thought Pewdiepie had to take at least some responsibilty. Along a similar vein, because the things Dream’s general fanbase does are so widespread and on such a massive scale, Dream has to take at least some responsibility.

Fifth, okay. Hmmm. I want to tackle this point you made about the ableism he faces in some criticism of him carefully and with empathy, but not coddling. One, I do think a lot of the criticism he receives for the ways he handles criticism (post-cheating Tweets, reactions to John Swan, post-MCC HBomb stream, etc.), disregard his RSD and can be oftentimes ableist. I’ve actually encountered people irl who criticize this aspect of Dream’s character, and have had to explain to them their disregard for how ADHD/RSD affect neurodivergent people’s reactions to criticism. But - and this is a big, and very controversial but - I think mentally ill/disordered people can 100% leverage their mental illness/disorders for the sake of manipulation. This is actually something I’ve learned from a psychiatrist, regarding the ways people I know and I handle our anxiety and depression. This manipulation can be unwitting or intentional, but it is entirely possible, and the possibility shouldn’t be entirely dismissed as ableist. Living with a mental illness or disorder that others know about/that you are very public about puts you in an interesting position to receive frequent sympathy, empathy, and/or pity. I’m not saying that empathy for Dream having ADHD/RSD is entirely unjustified; on the contrary, I have frequently expressed how I can relate to his ADHD symptoms and have defended him for expressing those symptoms, both on mcytblr and in real life. I am saying that Dream fans tend to use his ADHD as a kind of shield for a lot of criticism levied against him, including the supposition that he could be manipulating his fanbase to defend him because of his public expressions of RSD. So yes, my theory is that Dream knows how to levy every aspect of his life for his personal gain and for the growth of his brand, and that includes his ADHD. I think he has courage for his openess about his ADHD, I think his openness has contributed to the rise in awareness of mental health and empathy for neurodivergent people within Gen Z, and I think at least some of his expressions of RSD publicly/online weren’t intentionally made public. All that being said, I also think he has to know just how much his fanbase cares about defending him for his ADHD, and I think he has to know that some of the things he does related to his neurodivergence endear him to his audience, in a coddling, baby-ing, mildly ableist sorta way.  Maybe this is all incredibly presumptuous of me. Of course, I can never know the real intentions behind any Dream video, Tweet, or stream. Maybe I’m just projecting, because I can see myself doing just this, if I had the maturity I had circa 2018-2019. Idfk know, man.

Sixth, I actually agree with you here, people probably do get more mad at his fanbase than him. Dream puts out content pretty seldomly, considering the frequency of content output for other Youtubers/streamers in his field/at his brand size. And yet, he has received masses of criticism. Considering that the things Dream himself does/says do not entirely correlate with the amount of criticism he receives, I think it’s a logical assumption that a lot of that criticism actually goes back to the size of his presence online, rather than the man himself. That is to say, because of the massive community he’s amassed, the exponential growth of his fanbase, their presence on every single social media site and in virtually every single Internet space/fandom, and the size of his metaphysical presence in his fields, Dream is much bigger than the man himself, so the criticism he receives will, at least in part, be a direct or indirect result of all these other aspects of the Dream brand.  Something I don’t think many Dream fans/stans, or even most MCYT fans in general, understand, is that Dream isn’t just “one guy” in the eyes of the Internet- at least, not anymore. He hasn’t been for nearly a year. Like Pewdiepie, Mr. Beast, and other CCs who have amassed similar levels of fame and wealth via Internet content creation, Dream is a brand now, and most people will treat him as such. He isn’t just some uwu soft boy playing Minecraft anymore. He is on a whole other level from any other MCYT in his friend circle or colleague interaction bubble. His words will never again live in a vaccum or private bubble, his friend circle will never again be under anything less than intense scrutiny, his past actions will never again be simple mistakes or silly errors, his words will never again be casual tweets or streams for laughs among a couple thousand followers. Dream’s name represents something much bigger than just the one man. As such, all aspects of his brand, including his fanbase, will tie back to him and, ultimately, to any general criticism of him.

I’m not saying I like any of this, and I actually think the evolution of influencers from people to a marketable brand with similar mechanisms, responsibilities, and liabilities as a corporation is some kind of late capitalism nightmare fuel; I’m just stating my own observations and theories as to why so much anti-Dream criticism seems to be directed at his fanbase, rather than him.

Seventh, he’s just a guy, you’re right, but I think a lot of the antis on Tumblr understand this more than you know. As I’ve seen it, the sentiment among much of the “DSMP stans DNI” crowd seems to be that of “Dream/other MCYTs are such ‘bad’ people, so why do their fans stick to these mediocre, racist men, when there are so many better people to watch/better content to consume?” We know this argument is flawed for many of the obvious reasons - the conflation of all MCYTs’ actions regardless of individual identity, the equating of a CC’s fanbase’s morality to that of the CC they enjoy watching, the exxageration of any error MCYT CCs have committed as bigotry/racism, the fundamental misunderstanding and misinformation that led antis to believe this exxageration of the facts, etc. But I want to focus on the general, underlying sentiment of, “why not watch someone better, when your creator is problematic?” Sometimes, I ask this of Dream stans. Yes, being mildly ignorant, getting involved in the scandals Dream has, and being a right-leaning/libertarian centrist in the recent past all seem like harmless things, all things considered. One could say Dream isn’t nearly as bad as many antis who are misinformed seem to believe, and that there are much worse CCs Dream stans could be watching and creating fan content for. But I think what Tumblr antis wonder is, aren’t there also much better MCYTs/CCs people could be watching and stanning? Because he’s just some guy, right? Is his content truly so exceptional or is he really so exceptional a person, that people have to stick by him, despite the things that spike up regarding his current or past actions? I think that’s what made me finally decide to stop watching Dream. I realized he was just Some Guy. The Dream Team was a comforting dynamic to indulge in, DNF was a cute ship to read and speculate about, and Manhunts were fun videos to watch; however, once the Reddit posts came out and I read them in-depth, the cost-benefit analysis tipped over to the “not worth it” side for me. I realized Dream’s content, while fun and comforting, was not entirely unique, and wasn’t worth sticking around for, given what I then knew about his past political leanings. If he is just Some Guy, then there are a hundred more like him out there. There a hundred more ships, a hundred more found family dynamics, a hundred more entertaining and skilled Minecraft players. So while I agree with you on the point of people being allowed to love him regardless because he is just a guy, at the end of the day, I think that, if we are to believe that sentiment or use that argument in such a manner, we should also understand the flip side- that, if he is just some guy, why is it worth sticking around? To that I say, maybe because people just enjoy the simple things they enjoy.

Anyways, I wholly agree with your tl;dr. Thanks for that insanely long ask, this was a fun thing to keep me occupied while I’ve been at work, facilitating Zoom sessions this whole morning.

[thepeachgreentea]

this got Real Long Real Quick...

I wanna know more about Luka's soul song gift - like how much do emotions or personality play into it? ((I’m going with a lot)) Does it only work in person?? Or can he get like snippets from videos or vibes from pictures? Like it would make sense if it was only in person...... But where's the fun I'm that? Realistically it wouldn't be as strong as in person but I could see him getting some stuff. Pictures it probably wouldn't be a lot, or even much of anything, unless the soul song really didn't match the picture...

Which means Luka is one of the first people to realize something is Up with Adrien (and the Agrestes in general)

The ads around the city never felt right, never matched up with the snippets/vibes he was able to get - unless Adrien was supposed to be sad or melancholy. Which is... yikes...

Then the Adrien The Fragrance commercial happens. And that's an additional big Fucking Yikes

Like I can only imagine that Adrien isn't particularly big on modelling in general from what we've seen (with the Marinette-exception) so the filming of that could have only been Worse than normal. How many times did it take to get the emotions at the ‘right’ level? How long did it take to get the angles and all the action done?

Anyway: after the first time Luka literally cannot stomach watching it or even listening to it because it is so Wrong. The soul song snippets from the video are longer and more intense and it is just so discordant that Luka can't deal

Adrien is most certainly NOT feeling carefree. Or radiant. Or remotely dreamy. He's goddamn exhausted, frustrated, resigned, depressed, sweaty, anxious, awkward, stressed. It is a whole stew of (teen) angst offset with that upbeat music and the bright blue sky & all that w h i t e and the jumping for joy

It is such a strong dichotomy Luka has a visceral reaction every time and has to either leave the room or mute it and look away,

All of that means that after he meets Adrien in person, and gets to hear his soul song in a couple different situations and can see his emotions matching internally and externally he basically tells him they will always have space for him on the Liberty. (Also the first time he saw the LB + CN movie and heard Adrien's voice acting he only picked up some nerves - easily attributed to a new situation rather than a secret identity - but he was clearly enjoying himself even if it was a terrible script)

Therefore, Luka doesn't have particularly good feelings towards Gabriel, even before seeing any videos of him.

Style Queen was a Time. He was happy for Adrien but the bits he was getting from Gabriel were so rigid and tight... And rather selfish to boot. Which was weird given the situation

He has to try very very hard to not sneer or snarl at the tablet he first "meets" him on - probably at a Kitty Section practice or concert or at some class + family event.

I can also v easily picture him meeting him in person and being super uncomfortable at the sheer amount of manipulation and self-aggrandizing, selfishness, etc that rolls off of Gabriel, basically choking out his soul song. Either Lula barely refrains from punching Gabriel and manages to shake his hand but then desperately needs to clean his hands. Orrrr he does punch him and then basically coats his hands in sanitizer (either way he is Nino’s absolute favorite person for this alone)

Also, this would not be the first time Luka has figured out an abusive situation. It has happened with both his own and Juleka's friends & classmates. He is v much a protective older brother at heart

And because I damn well can have some Lila salt, some of which has been touched on before, unlike with Gabriel:

He had heard about her from Juleka and Kitty Section and was a bit confused about it but it wasn't until Rose was over and the girls were telling him about some of Lila's stories that he saw a picture of her.

And that was The Strongest he had ever reacted to a picture before: instant chills up his spine and an actual hiss escaped him

All 3 of them are shocked. Luka then has to explain that reaction as best as he can. Which is hard when you aren't great at words and while the soul song fragments are rather clear he would never make his guitar suffer trying to recreate them.

He manages tho and Julerose are at least wary of her afterwards. They start observing her more and a lot of her behavior and the way she talks can be very off-putting. They start noticing some of the digs that she makes at others, that she contradicts herself 5 different ways, and how she is constantly bringing the attention back to herself.

During all this they start noticing how both Marinette and Adrien react to her and it is Not Good. Mari gets defensive and will often try to bring up those contradictions that they started noticing. But jealousy is only a minor factor, at most. In certain situations it is possible that it could be involved... except those only happen when Adrien is looking very uncomfortable and Marinette notices or they make eye contact and then Marinette creates an opportunity for him to escape

Which is something that no one else is noticing which is really terrible and unhealthy...

Around this time is when Ivan has started to figure out something is up. and then he definitely knows when Julerose show Luka a video at a private band practice.

Because video and in person interactions make the BadBadBAD feelings worse and Ivan, while he often struggles with understanding & expressing emotions, has definitely noticed Lila - even though she is not actually there - causes a lot of stress and anxiety to Luka and he has gotten really good at methods of lessening those.

So, Luka sees the video with/of Lila and has an even stronger reaction than the picture before. His eyes get huge, and his face pales (gets slightly sickly?), and he hisses even stronger than the first time

He refuses to try to play her soul song because something like that is nearly impossible to recreate but also doesn’t need to be put out into the world but does his best to try and describe it

Possible: her soul song feels like it is drowning in toxic sludge - there is just so much negativeness that it is barely intelligible. It is being smothered by self-satisfaction and importance, narcissism, aggressive manipulation, pettiness, vile maliciousness, etc

In person interactions are awful. Luka avoids physical interaction as much as possible. Even more than he would with Gabriel, and he wants as little to do with that man as possible, ideally none. But Lila is worse...

There have been multiple times that he has had to step out/away to be able to get some fresh air and breathe again. At least once where he has been or almost has been sick - usually following a hug that he did not consent to or something similar

Ivan is definitely in the fold now, and Julerose share what they have noticed from taking their step back. He realizes he has noticed a lot of those same things but he wasn’t analyzing them and didn’t have the same context for them at the time that Luka, Juleka, and Rose did. But afterwards he picks up on them more clearly, and some other things they hadn’t - benefits of being one of the quiet kids (and a lesser target of Lila’s focus). He is part of the driving force in bringing Marinette and Adrien in first before going to others.

Marinette breaks down because more people believe her?? and support her and Adrien? it is a huge relief of tension. And she didn’t even have to convince them herself!! what a concept... but it is definitely a safe space for her and she can share her own experiences and that certainly is nice

they had all suspected Something was Up but weren’t expecting that so there are lots of hugs and tears and support and mutters of payback 

Adrien eventually cries because Kitty Section + Marinette give him a TedTalk about consent and personal autonomy. And now he has so many people (!!!) telling him he can say no and make his own choices, mistakes, and decisions. (Marinette’s part is largely “I told you so / do you believe us now?” because the Dupain-Chengs have probably already given this same talk as a family but that is just A family’s opinion, others probably think differently) And this is the first time he really truly believes it and... oooof there are a lot of emotions and interactions to unpack and reconsider

but now he knows he really needs to and that he can and should which is new, but so is having an actual support system...

Thus, Luka is ready to fight a bitch the first time he sees Lila and Adrien interacting. There is so much clinging and touching, and Adrien is panicking and no one is doing anything or is being waved off. And (unfortunately) this is one of the things that causes some people to start questioning things about Lila. Because most of them know of Luka as a really chill, laid-back guy who is open and accepting of people. and besides he has no reason to be jealous (((👀👀👀👀 too much to think about and unpack t h e r e))) so why would he be upset about Lila leaning on Adrien and holding his arm??

So, the questioning of Lila and what she says spreads out from Kitty Section and Adrinette to the rest of the class. They take a different approach. They slowly, carefully approach their classmates and take them aside when possible to talk about the situation

This allows them to be able to get their undivided attention and lay out what they have found out in a logical and cohesive manner, rather than attempting something rash or in the heat of the moment. Marinette grumbled about this method initially but when there were actual results and the burden was shared it was a huge relief for her.

In fact, others start coming to them about Lila.

because of the work of Kitty Section and Adrinette Lila’s audience has been steadily decreasing and it is getting easier to notice things. With a smaller audience the focus doesn’t get split as much and there are less questions for her to build off of or go on tangents from and the contradictions start standing out more, or she’s making more to try and keep them around her by holding their interest with different details

Plus, the comments about those outside Her Circle are getting meaner and more frequent. Usually they are still sneaky or underhanded but nowhere near as subtle as they were originally (were they ever, really?) and it is raising suspicions and hackles.

Eventually, Lila is left without an audience because the class has all been brought out of the cloud of manipulation and are working on trust and listening to each other more/better. and on how to not disregard other’s feelings (which is esp important with the high butterfly population in Paris, but is a v good life lesson in general). they are young and will make mistakes and will have to learn from them. but trials, growth, and change are all part of life so it is good for them.

But it essentially all stems from Luka and his ability to hear soul songs and reacting to those songs, or the lack thereof when they are being choked by evil intentions/emotions/actions/what have you

[dragonrajafanfiction]

Dragon Dancer Chapter 26: Turtle

You’ll wait a long time for me...

Master List

Lu Mingfei stretched his arms over his head and yawned. He glanced down at me. “It’s getting kinda late. Shouldn’t you be going home?”

Fingel was already snoring in the recliner, having eaten half the pizza Lu had ordered for us. 

“Yeah probably…” I leaned my head against the back of the couch. Since his roommate was here, unhelpfully chaperoning, we hadn’t been able to share any ‘S-class’ secrets and instead stuck to playing video games late into the night. 

“You don’t think he’s going to write about this in his paper are you?” I asked him.

“Heh. Knowing this place? People are already chatting about it on the forums.”  He reached into the bottom of a bag of chips and pulled out a few fragments to munch on, brushing his hands against his shirt.

“They’re probably going to say nasty things about me. I didn’t think about that.” I sat up a little, stretching my back. “Johann’s supposed to be my boyfriend after all.”

Lu looked puzzled. “Supposed to be? He’s not really? He took you out on a date, right?”

I let out a puff of air, lifting the braids in front of my face. “He said that was just to keep me from getting burnt out, so I doubt that counts as a date.”

“He said that. Wow.” Lu looked away in dismay.

“I don’t mind it. I mean he is older than me, knows a lot more. Way more skilled… Why would he want to be my boyfriend?” I smirked at him. “I’m sure he has… pretty high standards…”

Lu Mingfei let out a little groan. “You sound a lot like someone I know.”

“Oh yeah?” I pulled my feet up on the couch to be more comfortable.

“Yeah!, Once upon a time there was a guy who never confessed to the girl he liked because she was way out of his league. Even though he obviously made her happy and understood how she felt. They enjoyed each other’s company… etcetera” He sighed. “It didn’t help that she was with someone else at the time that was way smarter, richer and more talented….”

“This sounds like a soap opera. He needs to get over her and fast.” I rolled my eyes. “She’s an idiot!”

Lu’s eyes snapped over to mine. “What?”

“Look, I know where this is going. She’s dating this guy for status but she’s not happy with him. She is happy with someone else but she doesn’t dump this guy she’s with… because…” I wave my hand in the air. Waiting for an answer.

Lu Mingfei stared at me, his gaze growing distant.

“Don’t get me wrong. Few people know what they want. And no relationship is perfect. But you can tell… come on…” I give a slow disapproving headshake. “You can tell when someone hits the spot for you. Because even when you’re sad, you can’t stop laughing. You can talk to them and they get you. Anyone who trades that for a big old empty house and parties with people they don’t know and money and stuff… They’re an idiot.”

I picked up a can of soda, feeling that there was not much left inside. I could feel the pang in my chest. “You know. I could give up everything to have my family back. To go back to sitting in Robbie’s beat up car with no heat. Just so I could feel that love again.”

“So… maybe I shouldn’t judge because I don’t know the whole story…” I drank the last of the soda. “I’m a little biased.”

Lu had gone very quiet.

 “Uh oh… this girl’s not a friend of yours is she?” I giggled, flinching. “Whoops!”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “She is.”

“Okay well… back tracking a little bit. I guess they’re both in the wrong. He needs to either let her go, because she’s not right for him, or confess and stop wasting time. The worst that could happen is she says no, which is kinda what she’s saying already… if she’s smart that is.”

“I feel sorry for your friend.” I glanced over at Fingel.

“So… you and Johann aren’t going to stay together after the three months.” Lu finally said.

“I mean… We’re probably still going to train and study together. We are still on the same team. And Johann told me flat out that he wanted to keep this going. I don’t see that changing.”

Lu sat up straight. “He did?”

“Yeah! I told him at the Six Flags that he didn’t have to do all this boyfriend stuff and take charge of my training and everything and he said he wanted to continue. I said he was free to go. If we were going to end it, we would have already.”

“Wow…” He said quietly.

“Yeah, I was surprised too. I don’t feel like I know him that well. So, I don’t know what he’s thinking. That was the first time I actually got to ask him how he felt. He plays his cards close to the chest.”

“You can ask me. I’ve … known him a while.” Lu said.

I brightened. “Oh okay. He does actually like girls right?”

“What? Of course he does!” Lu exclaimed.

Fingel murmured and stirred in his sleep. We both froze. Thankfully, he didn’t wake up.

“He’s got girls hanging on him, he’s super-talented and single. It’s a valid question!” I whispered.

“He uh… kinda had a thing with a girl before. It didn’t work out. She…” He paused.

“..died?” I finished the sentence.

“Yeah and… before that? She betrayed him on a mission. He nearly died too.”

I gaped in shock. “Are you serious?” When he nodded, I sat back against the chair, looking down at my hands, astonished. “Oh wow… wow… yeah that’ll do it.”

I scooted closer to him. “See… the thing about betrayal is… it makes you question what’s real and what’s not. I saw it a lot in foster care.”

“It didn’t matter how much you told those kids you loved them. There was always this question: Do you really? And that was if they even acknowledged the words. With some kids it was like… ‘No you don’t.’ And that was just it. You can’t get through to them. It makes it really hard to get close to anyone.”

I chewed my lip and then groaned, putting my face in my hands. “Aw man… if I’d known that… I never would have done this…”

I sat back up. “...but he said he was okay with it so…” 

I felt awful. When we fell into silence again, I stood. “I should get going.”

“Are you… going to be alright walking home?” Lu asked. “Text me when you get there.”

I turned to him and smiled. “Sure. Thanks for letting me play your games and eat your food… and talk smack about your friends.”

He laughed. “Hey, any time. Hopefully, next time I’ll get rid of the spy.”

As I walked home, I pulled out my phone. Lu’s questions had gotten me questioning. It wasn’t the first time he’d asked about the nature of our relationship. I scrolled down our text messages together. We kept things friendly, cordial. That’s why the invitation to the theme park was so out of the blue, why his explanation was so credible. 

Once home, I still read and reread, clutching the stuffed bear. Soon an hour had gone by and I hadn’t fallen asleep.

The next morning Johann met me to walk together back to the gym as usual. 

As soon as I saw him and groaned again. “Oh, won’t you cover that up?”

The bruise I’d left him was clearly visible above the collar of his shirt. “Why?”

“Because, I feel guilty about it. Even though you say it’s okay, it really wasn’t. I’m sorry.” That morning I was determined to be more open and honest about my feelings. Being more open myself was a way to get people to be more open with me. That’s why I always felt so comfortable about Lu. I knew he wasn’t hiding anything.

Or at least, not much. 

“You learned quickly and reacted accordingly. But… apology accepted.” Johann responded, turning to start walking. “Schneider told me you fought lab techs too…” 

I flinched. “He did, huh?”

He faced forward, unsmiling, as usual. “Yes, he was very impressed. Not much impresses him.”

“That’s cool.” I glanced up at him. “You talk to him a lot?”

“He’s my mentor. He asks me a lot of questions about your progress. That means he’s set on having you in the Executive Operations Department.”

“Isn’t that where you work?” I kept my eye on him, watching for any signal at all and getting complete facial radio silence.

“That’s right.”

My eyes flickered from his face to the ground. “That… makes me really happy.”

“You should be. You’ve worked hard for this.”

My eyes widened. Did he really just say that?

“What?” He noticed my surprise and paused in his step.

“I was… just surprised you said that.”

“Professor Schneider is not someone who usually goes looking for recruits...” He tilted his head slightly, reminding me of Lieutenant Commander Data from Star Trek.

“No, no… I meant… I was happy working with you!” I said, with more emphasis.

“Oh. Well… thanks…” He hesitated a few more seconds and we continued walking.

That was it? Even if it wasn’t true, the natural thing to say when someone said they liked working with you was, ‘I like working with you too.’ But twice now, my expressions weren’t returned.

I had gotten my hopes up that something might have happened while I wasn’t aware of it. But no… there was nothing going on. I guessed Lu was wrong after all. His curiosity got me to say what I needed to say though, so I was grateful.

We’d arrived at the gym.

Training continued at its blistering pace, focusing more on offense than defense. Johann wore protective equipment, noting with some dismay that I didn’t have any because there was none in my size on campus. He’d had to request it from Manstein.

We were having our noon-break eating in silence on a bench outside the gym when he suddenly said. “I… am happy working with you too.”

My mouth was full of sticky sushi rice and I couldn’t answer without choking. What a turtle! This had to be the slowest turn around time for a basic response I’d ever seen. 

I swallowed my rice, a warm feeling spreading through my chest. 

I liked it.

I gave him a light bump with my shoulder and smiled.  “Hey, let's go out and see a movie later!”

“I can’t…” He replied.

“Oh… busy?” 

His yellow eyes met mine. “No… I’m still on suspension. I don’t have any A-rank privileges. That includes the ability to leave campus.”

I pouted. “I still can’t believe they suspended you…” I grumbled.

He looked down. “I invited you to the Ferris Wheel when I should have taken you home. We left late. Even if we hadn’t had to deal with Hydra, I wouldn’t have gotten you back in time.”

I took a breath, then forced my mouth shut.

“There was nothing I could have said in appeal. It was completely my fault. I accepted responsibility. Don’t blame Manstein.”

Johann Chu, the one who was famous in school for planning his day down to the minute, just admitted that he was late and risked suspension to take me on a Ferris wheel? When he didn’t even like theme parks?

“I’m glad you did…” I suddenly covered my mouth with my hands. 

Was this really happening? If only Robbie were here. He would be able to tell me what to do. He probably would have known long before me. He would have seen right through all the smoke and mirrors, even more than Lu had.

“W...what’s wrong…” His eyes grew wide and he tensed up.

“No, nothing!” I had to calm down. I clasped my hands down in my lap. “I’m just… really happy you did!”

“Oh…” He let out a breath, relaxing again, still eying me.  “I’m glad. Too.”

My thoughts slowly drifted back to planet Earth. Poor Turtle. This must have been so far to go all at once. It was time for a break.

I cleared my throat. “Well… we’d better get back to training.”

He checked the time on his phone. “You’re right. We should have started two minutes ago.” He put it back in his pocket, then did a double take because I was laughing.  “What is it?”

“I’m just really happy!”

[mao-s-mess]

Pulling tides ~Mystic Messenger Saeran/Saeyoung/MC fanfiction

A lot has happened after the MintEye incident and Saeyoung is reunited with Saeran but will Saeran ever open up to his brother again? (also on Fanfiction.net )

Pulling tides ~Mystic Messenger Saeran/Saeyoung/MC fanfiction 

I have not played V's or Ray's route (at the time I wrote this) so this is basically some time after the after ending. I didn't describe MC in detail so it could be any of the 5 MCs or your very custom ones! Disclaimer: do not own any characters. Characters belong to Cheritz

A shrilling sound pierced the night. Saeran Choi screamed, waking him from his sleep, his mint coloured eyes widening in terror.

The door to his bedroom flung open as his brother Saeyoung and MC rushed in.

"Saeran! Saeran, is it happening again?" Saeyoung asked obviously flustered.

It hasn't been long since Saeran left the hospital but the damage from MintEye was still in his system. He'd often wake up screaming from nightmares and would react violently to himself or Saeyoung as his "hatred" for his brother was still so strong.

Saeyoung's journey to help rehabilitate his brother was a long one but MC and the rest of the RFA were determined to help out, although Saeyoung only allowed MC to physically helps, the other RFA members support came in other channels especially Jumin Han's with the help of Jaehee Kang thorough research and resources.

Saeyoung's room was pretty much empty except for the bed and heavy to lift furniture and hidden security cameras the walls were also padded, like those in a music studio or an asylum. He had a tendency to self harm or destroy items, if it got too violent, he'd had to be tranquillized but Saeyoung and MC didn't want to resort to that as that would mean more drugs in his system.

Saeyoung wrapped his arms around his brother as Saeran hissed, cough, cussed and screamed. He clawed at Saeyoung's back like an angry cat.

MC saw Saeyoung winced, it wasn't the first time this happened but it was the best way to hold Saeran back as countless of times he lunged at Saeyoung's neck, wanting to choke him.

Saeyoung may not look it but his training at the "agency" made him physically stronger than how he looks, he kept his arms tight around his twin, awaiting the time where Saeran would tire from his fit.

"Ssshhh… It's okay..i'm here. I won't leave you again.. I promise" Saeyoung repeatedly says.

After some time, the screaming turned to crying then occasional sobbing as Saeran's strength faded, tired from his tantrum.

His eyes glazed here and there switching from pain, hatred and just dazed and lifeless. His dark circles clearly visible on his porcelain skin, hot tears stained his face.

His arms slowly released from Saeyoung and just fell on either side of the redheaded Choi.

Saeyoung's shirt had tears and rips from Saeran's clawing, nothing new really.. Sometimes there were blood, either from Saeyoung's back or Saeran's fingers.

His breathing heavied but a slower pace now but Saeyoung didn't let go. Not just yet as Saeran might act up again.

According to the doctors, the trauma have resulted him having split or possibly multiple personalities and he can't control them.

The demons inside him felt like an endless cycle trying to surface and gain control. Ray, Unknown, Saeran and God knows what other personas he have, it hurt him but it hurt for Saeyoung and MC seeing him like this.

"I hate you… Saeyoung"

MC didn't need to see his face but for Saeyoung even though he has heard it hundreds of times by now still felt the same hurt as the first time he heard those words.

"I know. I'm sorry Saeran.. I'm so sorry" his grip around his brother tightened. "I don't mind that you do but i am here.. Always now."

He patted Saeran's back whilst still holding him tight as the slow sobs finally turned to whimpers and breathing.

"Get …away ..from me" Saeran hissed but there was hardly any strength from him to push his brother away. He was more tired than anything now.

MC slowly made her way towards the brothers. Saeyoung usually keeps MC away when the fits happened, initially she wasn't even allowed into Saeran's room when it occurs but she finally convinced Saeyoung especially when she knew he was getting hurt.

Sometimes she gets bruises or cuts as well but Saeyoung made sure that is kept to a minimal but they both knew that Saeran would do more harm to Saeyoung than to MC.

"Let… Go…" Saeran's words blended with his heavy breathing.

Saeyoung reluctantly released his brother but he knew Saeran was tired and won't do much harm, if anything his supplies were just outside the door.

MC cautiously made her way to Saeran as close as Saeyoung was, she didn't want to alarm the silver haired with pink tips boy at all.

"Saeran.. It's me" she whispered. "Is it okay if i stay next to you for a while?"

There wasn't any response but that was practically an "OK" from him as he wasn't asleep yet and he didn't reacted in a hostile way.

Still MC raised her hand to stroke his silver-pink locks gently as precaution and reassurance and waited for his reaction. He flinched but accepted her touch.

Saeyoung held his breath during this. He watched as MC sat down next to his brother and stroke his hair a bit more. She flashed Saeyoung a smile and that's when he could somewhat relax a little.

Despite everything that has happened and all the truth that came into light, MC accepted everything. Everything that has happened to the Choi brothers in the past, everything related to the RFA and MintEye, what is happening in this very moment as well as what might happen in the future.

Saeyoung or 707 or Luciel has tried pushing her away but despite it all she stayed true to her words and proving it with her actions.

He thanked the Lord for her, he thanked all possible Gods in all forms of religion and belief for her.

"Saeran, do you want to try sleeping again?" She asked.

He looked down a bit and sank himself into the bed but nodded. He was afraid to sleep but he was just too tired.

"We'll stay with you okay.. Saeyoung will keep his distance a bit but we'll be here" she told him gently.

His eyes flared a bit at the sound of his brother's name but that took him more energy so he just scoffed and lay down in bed, defeated and ready to surrender to the Sandman.

Saeyoung kept a distance but kept watch as MC covered Saeran with a blanket and sat beside him in bed, she faced him and started stroking his hair again.

She instructed him some breathing exercises to calm himself down

"Inhale.. Hold for 1..2..3..4 then exhale slowly.."

This was done repeatedly with MC counting until his breathing was normal again. Saeyoung did this too to help himself, you could feel the atmosphere at peace now as Saeran seemed to have relaxed a bit.

"Saeran…?" MC asked looking into his glazed mint eyes now.

"What." He said as blinked at her.

"Whenever i feel chaotic, there is a song i'd listen to or sing to help myself feel better. Can i share it with you?"

"You? ..Chaotic?"

Saeyoung listened in. He was surprised she could manage a word or two out of him. But this is MC after all, she had always manage to get people to communicate be it via messaging, talking or by body language.

MC gave a small smile and nodded.

"i do get like that. When everything feels overwhelming I feel like I'm a small fish in the ocean when a storm hits causing the waves to be violent and turbulent. No matter how hard i swim, the tides would be against me not allowing me to go with the current."

"…"

Saeran only listened and nodded. He knew those feelings too well.

"Your singing better not suck."

She giggled and he could see Saeyoung smiled a and relaxed a bit.

She stroked his hair again with one hand while the other hand drummed to the beat of the song, a few seconds in she started to sing a slow song she felt dear to herself.

The artist was known but the song wasn't particularly famous. Just one off their album that wasn't on the radio or had a music video but that particular song resonated with her.

Saeyoung heard of this song somewhere, it wasn't the first time he heard of it but the first time he heard MC sang. He was enchanted for a bit.

He then looked at Saeran, his twin looked like a child fighting off sleep. He wanted to listen intently to the song but almost like hypnotism he slowly drifted to sleep as if being lulled to sleep by the sound of waves or falling rain.

His face no longer twisted in pain or rage. His breathing slowed down as he went to sleep. MC could see the resemblance of the twins so clearly now even though Saeran is a lot frail looking than Saeyoung.

Saeyoung came and buried his face in MC's back before wrapping his arms around her tightly. He then let go of MC and came closer to Saeran to pat his head.

"I won't give up on you even if you hate me. I will not." he vowed again. His words were loud and clear.

He then looked at Saeran, his twin looked like a child fighting off sleep. He wanted to listen intently to the song but almost like hypnotism he slowly drifted to sleep as if being lulled to sleep by the sound of waves or falling rain.

His face no longer twisted in pain or rage. His breathing slowed down as he went to sleep. MC could see the resemblance of the twins so clearly now even though Saeran is a lot frail looking than Saeyoung.

Saeyoung came and buried his face in MC's back before wrapping his arms around her tightly. He then let go of MC and came closer to Saeran to pat his head.

"I won't give up on you even if you hate me. I will not." he vowed again. His words were loud and clear.

MC clutched Saeyoung's free hand and leaned against him. Saeyoung then looked at her with a smile.

"Thank you for being here" he whispered to her.

They both turned to leave when Saeyoung felt a tug on the back of his shirt.

"Brother.. Don't..go…"

Saeyoung looked back and saw Saeran looking at him, not asleep or sleep talking but using up whatever strength he had in him to stop Saeyoung from leaving.

Pretty sure the three of them had tears in their eyes at that very moment as Saeyoung hugged his brother tightly.

"I don't want you to sleep next to me tho" Saeran huffed.

You could probably see a broken heart emoji flutter out of Saeyoung at that moment but he got over it quick.

So MC was in between the two brothers, her hands holding each one of theirs.

"Also.. that song made me want to go see the ocean.." Saeran said slowly

MC smiled

"Then let's promise to go together"

That night all of them slept together in Saeran's bedroom. For the first time in a while for Saeyoung and MC and for the longest time for Saeran; peacefully and together sharing the same wish for hope for better things to come.

-End-

[austinpanda]

Dad Letter 053120

31 May, 2020

Dear Dad--

Well! I’ll bet you never thought you’d live to see 1968 a second time, huh? Stuff’s on fire, racial unrest, everyone’s pissed, some politicians are saying, “Perhaps we should listen to the protesters with empathy,” and other politicians are saying, “Perhaps we should ‘listen’ to the protesters with water cannons and angry dogs,” but there’s interesting shit happening with the space program, so there’s that. I watched the SpaceX launch yesterday; that was cool! We just sent two astronauts into space from American soil for the first time since 2011, although it seems like longer ago, doesn’t it?

As you might have predicted, not much has happened in the past week. I spent some time looking for work, but haven’t had much success. I believe it may be related to the fact that it’s still dangerous to touch or stand near anyone not from your own household, without wearing a spacesuit and being decontaminated after. And despite the fact that, as a country, we still don’t have a cure, or a vaccine, or adequate testing, or contact tracing, we feel we’ve done enough quarantining, and it’s time to go back to crowding into public pools again. Ugh. Pardon me while I jump into a vat of hand sanitizer. I think a second wave of coronavirus is about to hit.

In bird news...Zach says he just spotted a bald eagle! Because I’ve always wanted to see a bald eagle, my reaction was to be expected, “You’re a lying scumbag!” But he said it was flying overhead with other birds around it, possibly harassing it. I really want to see one of those! There are other birds I’d like to see more, but a huge white-headed predator, and our national bird, would make a great photo, if I can get one. Probably won’t get one with the birdseed we’re putting out, but we might get a bald eagle with the squirrels that the birdseed is attracting! I just hope the chipmunks remain safe. 

We have more than one chipmunk now. We’re not getting good at spotting different ones, but we’ve had a number of occasions where two chipmunks were in view at the same time. The first one, which we named Old Deuteronomy, had testicles (kind of obvious in the pics I took) so we’ve been referring to them as Doot and Mrs. Doot. Doot and Mrs. Doot like the raw peanuts we put outside, and stuff their cheeks full before boing-boing-boinging away, either under my car, or under the kerosene tank, to safety. I’ve never derived such awe from a bunch of little rodents before, but DAMN they’re cute! 

So, birds. Now that we own a comprehensive, foldable placemat with all the Maine birds on it (yes, all 50 or so!) I think it’s safe to say that I’m an expert on all things that fly. This means I can name most everything that shows up. That’s a grackle. That’s a starling. That’s a cowbird and a catbird and a cardinal. Now it’s easier to spot the new and/or rare ones, or a bird with features, like a woodpecker. Newest thing we learned: the thing they all love most, particularly the larger birds, are peanuts still in the shells. I got us a big bag of raw peanuts in the shells, not salted, not roasted, just boring-ass peanuts, and the animals outside lost their fucking minds for them. Bluejays keep swooping down, grabbing a peanut, and swooping away. If we scatter some now, they’ll be gone in an hour. What gets me is: How do they instinctively know that a peanut is food? When it’s concealed in a big weird-shaped thing like a peanut? I guess it’s not that much of a stretch, I mean, they know a sunflower seed is food, and you can’t see the food concealed inside one of them. They also eat the suet, which is like a paperback made of peanut butter full of seeds and dead bugs. Doubtful they’d run into many of those in the wild. 

About the only other thing of note to happen recently was that I discovered a genre of videos on YouTube called “reaction videos.” Basically it’s video of people watching something for the first time, like the climax of a movie, or a famous episode of something like Game of Thrones. Then when The Big Moment happens in the movie, it’s fun to see them react to it. So here’s an example: there’s one guy who’s made some very popular videos, with over a million views, just of him reacting to the Avengers movies. The cavalry shows up at the crucial moment, and he shouts and cheers. One of the heroes dies, and he gets sad and choked up. Or you get to see a nerd convention full of Star Wars fans watching the newest Star Wars movie trailer for the first time, and losing their minds once the title of the new movie is first revealed. Believe it or not, that shit can be very compelling to watch. 

I suppose it’s like Candid Camera! It’s a chance to watch people having genuine reactions, and sometimes really BIG reactions, with lots of spicy emotion thrown in. It’s like...somewhere on the internet, there’s probably video of a room full of Marines watching Apocalypse Now for the first time. You know they’re going to be on their feet for the helicopter shit. 

More next week. Continue staying safe, and all my love to you both!

[seiche-archive]

really LONG CHARACTER SURVEY. RULES. repost, don’t reblog! tag 10! good luck! TAGGED.  @insolasidera​ TAGGING. Anyone wearing socks! Or if you just want to!

BASICS. FULL  NAME: Lance Charles McClain NICKNAME: The Tailor, Sharpshooter, Blue Paladin AGE: 19 BIRTHDAY: (Dark Voltron tell me Lance’s Birthday) ETHNIC  GROUP: Cuban NATIONALITY: America LANGUAGE / S: Spanish and English SEXUAL  ORIENTATION: pansexual ROMANTIC  ORIENTATION: demiromantic RELATIONSHIP  STATUS: taken  (verse dependent) HOME  TOWN / AREA: N/A CURRENT  HOME: the castle of lions PROFESSION: pilot of the blue lion, guardian of water and defender of the universe

PHYSICAL. EYES: Dark blue eyes that swell like the depths of the sea, the pits of the ocean, sparkling with life, like sunlight dancing on the waves. LIPS: Thin and soft, almost always pulled into a smile or a smirk, always wrapped eagerly around his words. But they can be serious, drawn in a line along his cheeks, not allowing distractions or to be deterred in anyway. COMPLEXION: Soft, light brown skin that never allows room for blemishes to peek through, kept in shape from years of moisturization, a routine grained into habit that kept his skin in mint condition, an almost pristine state. He’s almost too worried to have blemishes, to have imperfections on his skin. BLEMISHES: Years upon years of routine have disallowed blemishes to appear, or stay for very long, so no. None. SCARS: The bane of his existence, the lines of discoloration that decorate his back, tear along his skin where the explosion ripped at him, exposed his flesh. TATTOOS: The only ‘imperfection’ that Lance has ever allowed on his skin, the rippled of black in a sea of brown. The lower right hand ‘corner’ of his back, the silhouette of a bird flying away, soaring through the metaphorical sky. HEIGHT: 6′0 WEIGHT: approx. 165 BUILD: Though broad in shoulders, he is lanky just about everywhere else, muscles pulled over long bones, more strength than given at first sight. FEATURES: The features the ripple the expanse of his face are given to us at angular angles, pointed noses and chins that pull his face to a tight point. ALLERGIES: n/a USUAL  HAIR  STYLE: Dark brown hair that brushes the skin just past his ears, breaching the top of his neck, exposing the skin their. Parted at the top of his forehead right in the middle, curled in both directions curtaining either side of his face, framing his features. USUAL  FACE  LOOK: A look often identified as ‘smug’ or egotistical, one thought to be quite full of himself, his lips pulled into a smirk, an angular eyebrow quirked high on his forehead, eyes pointed in the direction of which the person he is speaking to. USUAL  CLOTHING: His casual outfit of preference is a white and blue three quarter sleeved shirt, light blue relaxed fit jeans and his favorite pair of blue and grey tennis shoes. All brought together with a dark green cargo jacket with muted yellow stripes on either sleeve just below the shoulder.

PSYCHOLOGY. FEAR / S: Being forgotten, not being good enough, losing those he cares about. ASPIRATION / S: Graduate from the Garrison, Save the Universe from Zarkon POSITIVE  TRAITS: Confident, Funny, flirtatious, always trying to cheer up his team mates NEGATIVE  TRAITS: Self-loathing, self-sacrificial, desperately seeks validation. MBTI: Entertainer (ESFP-T) ZODIAC: Leo TEMPEREMENT: Sanguine SOUL  TYPE / S: Equally Performer and Hunter ANIMALS: Tiger VICE  HABIT / S: Pads of fingers dancing along the edge of his palm, tapping along eachother anxiously. A gentle pinch on the interior skin of his wrist, a gentle tug to ease nerves. FAITH: Raised within the walls of people who hold religion in a high regard, he would say he believes in something, just isn’t quite sure what it is, exactly. He believes that someone, something looks over everyone, that there is an essence that influences all things. He wouldn’t call it ‘God’ wouldn’t attach such a name for it, mostly because all ‘God’ ever did for him was diminish him, swipe away his identity with a few words from a really old book. GHOSTS?: Absolutely. They are here, they are self aware and they are terrifying. AFTERLIFE?: He likes to believe the stories told him as a child, that if you’re good and do well in life then you will go to heaven and live a happy life with ‘God’, but now, with the events that have happened, the string of things that brought him to this point in his life, the point in ones life where reality is too heavy, where good people make decisions at the cause of someone’s life, even if that person is terrible and is doing horrid things. Good people make tough calls, so currently, he isn’t sure. It’s a nice fantasy, but it’s still just that. A fantasy. REINCARNATION: No. ALIENS?: Absolutely. POLITICAL  ALIGNMENT: Besides becoming amused at the angry babblings of his relatives at gatherings, he holds no political statement, no side he would prefer over another. EDUCATION  LEVEL: Enrolled in collegiate level courses and piloting lessons, he didn’t do very well in school but in terms of intelligence he is quite advanced in math and tactical thinking.

FAMILY. FATHER: Alive (To be named) MOTHER: Alive (TBN) SIBLINGS: Older sister, older brother, two fraternal twin younger siblings. EXTENDED  FAMILY: Massive family on either side, too many extended relatives to count them all. NAME  MEANING / S: Lance means ‘Land’ and McClain means “Son of the Servant of Saint John” HISTORICAL  CONNECTION?: No

FAVORITES. BOOK: Action and thriller books that are short and sweet. MOVIE: Movies where ‘the hunter becomes the hunted’ 5 SONGS: Me Too by Meghan Trainor, Stressed Out by Twenty One Pilots, Worth It by Fifth Harmony, Uptown Funk by Bruno Mars, Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira DEITY: none. HOLIDAY: Halloween MONTH: July SEASON: Summer PLACE: Varadero Beach, Cuba WEATHER: Sunny, warm, wonderful weather for surfing or just a day at the beach. SOUND: Upbeat music that’s nice to listen to, reminds you that life gets better eventually, uplifting music that your feet just have to move to. But also relaxing music that allows him to block out the rest of the world, allows him to zone out and hush his intrusive thoughts and grant him legitimate sleep. SCENT / S: Saltwater TASTE / S: fruity drinks, like lemonade. FEEL / S: soft typically, but loves the feeling of sand underfoot ANIMAL / S: likes dogs and cats, don’t make him choose. NUMBER: Number 1, always. COLORS: blue and grey

EXTRA. TALENTS: Providing a different train of thought, a different perspective for his team, sharpshooter, great at piloting under pressure BAD  AT: Self-preservation, thinking highly of himself, taking the high road TURN  ONS: Sense deprivation, lingerie, being tied up, someone taking control over him, but also overthrowing the other and turning the tables, taking back control, spanking TURN  OFFS: forced submission, choking HOBBIES: Listening to music, being with friends, playing video games, watching movies QUOTES: “I don’t mind not getting a happy ending if it means you get yours.”

MUN QUESTIONS. Q1: if you could write your character your way in their own movie, what would it be called, what style would it be filmed in, and what would it be about? A1: This blog is based off of the Netflix original series Voltron Legendary Defender, so pretty much that.

Q2: what  would  their  soundtrack / score  sound  like? A2: orchestral af, weeping strings and a commanding brass and percussion. but also moments of lightheartedness between the instruments. (<--- What Sam said p much)

Q3: why did you start writing this character? A3: Because Lance is me, dialed up to ten in terms of flirtation. We both would much rather take care of others than ourselves. But we both know that we are the shit and fuck you for thinking otherwise. But that way of thinking isn’t always the forefront and definitely doesn’t come without it’s own consequences.

Q4: what first attracted you to this character? A4: The scene where Lance first bonded with Blue, that scene is gorgeous and honestly one of my favorites and it’s very vital to the plot.

Q5: describe  the  biggest  thing  you  dislike  about  your  muse. A5: He flirts to much for my personal liking.

Q6: what  do  you  have  in  common  with  your  muse? A6: Personality (though his is really dialed up from mine), fears, mindset, the ability to make others feel better but not exactly bringing up the issue (aka, making them feel better by forgetting about it momentarily)

Q7: how does your muse feel about you? A7: I hope that we would be able to be friends and that we could help boost eachother up positively, give eachother a nudge in the right direction when they need it. In all honesty, I’d hope that he would like me.

Q8: what characters does your muse have interesting interactions  with? A8: Honestly every interaction is different and unique in it’s own way, no one interaction is the exact same than the other. For example, Lance’s interaction with his twins in twin verses are vastly different. With Alex ( @saltybluelion ) Lance is the younger sibling and tends to be a bit more rambunctious, and then there are interactions with Shiro ( @insolasidera ) where Lance is pretty dwelled in on his thoughts and emotions. On the flip side there’s interactions with Keith, two very distinct reactions, you either get  a really pissed off, easily irritated guy who is ready to fight you on your every word ( such as with @vermiillion ) and then you have adorable, BEAVIE loving Lance who loves his life and his family (such as with @redlionstar ) All of these interactions are different and amazing and I love all of them.

Q9: what gives you inspiration to write your muse? A9: I am heavily influenced by the things around me, so music, movies, literature. For me it moreso comes down to my ability to write a thorough and good response that I’m happy with rather than whether or not I have his muse. Because more or less, I am Lance. I say things, react to things how Lance would.

Q10: how long did this take you to complete? A10: I’ve been stopped quite a bit, so several hours. Plus those tests were long. Shrugs. A could of hours.