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shslskaterboy · 2 years ago

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protagonists for the character questionnaire!

Oh goodness I hope you’re ready for another essay

Makoto my dear boy

Favourite thing? He’s the most some guy ever. Just a little creature. He’s so relatable because who among us hasn’t been in a situation where we feel wildly outclassed and surrounded by people who are cooler and more talented than us? Despite everything he just keeps going, what a legend

Least favourite is people who are wrong about him. How does anyone play that game and say he’s a nothing character? I just don’t get it, stop disrespecting my son

Honestly he’s got way more excellent lines than people give him credit for, but my favourite has to be “I always choose meat over veggies because I’m still in my teens… my meat teens.” Like WHAT are you talking about king I love it

Brotp probably him and Aoi. It’s the positivity besties

Otp is Naegiri. There’s just so much mutual respect between them and the story does a great job of writing them together that I can’t help but love him

Notp is probably just him with anyone that’s not kirigiri, or togami really. Whilst I personally hc Byakuya as aroace I do get why people ship naegami and I do think it’s kinda hilarious

I hc that him and Komaru are besties. Absolutely attached at the hip. They hang out all the time and he loves doing stuff with her, and is so so excited to introduce her to his new friends

The song I associate with him most is Fireflies by Owl City

Favourite art of him is the one where he’s tripping and his shoe just flies the fuck off. What a silly little man I love him

Hajime my beloved (I’m gonna be normal I swear)

To put it as succinctly as possible, he is just my favourite type of guy. He’s such a bitch, he’s so snarky about everything, he’s simultaneously the smartest and dumbest person in any given room, and he actually cares very deeply for things but he won’t readily admit to it. He’s got one of the more interesting arcs to me and in general I find him very relatable. He’s the best, my favourite protagonist probably

Least favourite is maybe less about him and more about Izuru Kamukura, and that is how underused he was. Obviously this is an opinion many people know about me, but it bears repeating because the concept of Kamukura was SO COOL and they barely even touched it and I’m mad about it every single day

Another guy that has so many good lines, but I think my favourite is “I thought I’d finally become someone I could be proud of, not some fucking backup student.” It just hits me so hard every time

Brotp probably him and Fuyuhiko or him and Impostor. I just think those three are the ones in the group with the highest sense of responsibility and they are the tired parents of this silly goofy pack of weirdos

Otp. It’s Komahina. Everyone knows this about me and I will refrain from writing an entire essay about why but suffice it to say. They are prefect

Notp is really anyone who’s not Komaeda, but specifically Nanami and Tsumiki are big on the No list for me

I have so many headcanons that my adhd brain can’t even begin to process them in a cohesive way, so I’ll just say that emo-punk autistic Hinata is my absolute beloved. Also man’s definitely has an anxiety disorder. And nooooo I’m definitely not projecting why do you ask

Unpopular opinion (so far the only character I’ve had one for) is that he’s not bi, he’s just gay. And look I love headcanoning every character ever as bi (again tooooootally not projecting) but whenever I replay/rewatch the game I see him being so gay about the men and being so uninterested in the girls (excepted for the super-forced hinanami stuff that I ignore)

I have sooooo many songs so I had to think about this a lot but I think I’m gonna say the best Hinata song is Life Less Frightening by Rise Against

Every image is the best image of him but specifically this one is so good

He’s fucking tired of this shit and he wants to be done with this despair nonsense and I love him for it

Shuichi Saihara, whom I am also normal about

It’s so hard to pinpoint why I love Saihara so much, but I think part of it is the fact that underneath his anxious exterior, he is actually very snarky. I’m always a slut for the sarcastic characters and I like the he is that as well as being generally polite to his classmates. He cares deeply and has a tendency to overthink things (totally not relatable) and I just need to give this poor man a HUG

Least favourite thing is how he interacts with Ouma in the canon outside of ftes. A good example of this being when he finds Ouma bleeding from the head on the floor and doesn’t seem to show any actual concern for him, which seems very out of character to me. I just think there was a lot more they could’ve done to build a connection between protag and antag that would’ve served to make the story more interesting, much the way the relationship between Hinata and Komaeda does

Short and sweet, my favourite Saihara line is simply “I refuse.” I am a big supporter of the idea that Shuichi should’ve been allowed to go a little crazy in chapter 6, and his whole telling off hope and despair speech was very fun. He really went “fuck you and your stupid game” and I just love it

Brotp has gotta be Kaito and Maki. I love the training trio and I think they have a great dynamic

Otp is saiouma. And yes I know I just raised a complaint about their lacklustre interactions in the game, but hey, canon can’t hurt me if I don’t look. There is a lot of potential for excellent character dynamics and that’s what I’m gonna focus on

Notp is saimatsu. Sorry anyone who likes them but it’s so comphet to me. Again, that is a gay boy and a lesbian, not a romantic couple

I hc that he really likes singing. Not to a professional degree or anything, but he does it while he works and it serves as a calming vocal stim for him. His voice is definitely very soft and sweet, which doesn’t lend itself well to his preferred genre of music (my sweet sweet emo boy) but that doesn’t stop him from trying

Again, so many songs I could choose from, but I will go with Swing Life Away by Rise Against because he’s just my sweet guy, my love, my boy

And once more, every image of Shuichi is my favourite, but I very specifically love his Serious Face sprite

I guess the takeaway is I like it when the protags get serious and start to shut shit down

#long post #like very long holy hell #thanks so much for the ask tho #I love my boys #also sorry for not including Komaru or Kaede but #this was already a million years long #and I’m not familiar enough with them unfortunately #anyways this was fun #lov u bestie #danganronpa #makoto naegi #hajime hinata #shuichi saihara #ask game #skaterboy answers

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wistful-pigeon · 1 year ago

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https://www.tumblr.com/cartoons-asfuk-blog/131237661529 This really got on Cartoon Network. It’s the episode that was delayed and screened at sdcc to. That had to be fun lol. Teen titans go probably does worse but still wow

I mean I assume that whomever you are, this is in my inbox because of my recent Ramblings-

I'll be honest, I don't quite understand the tone implied in this message but I know that I remember the character (Cheshire? Listen it's been a solid 5 years since I had the emotional capacity to watch YJ again but I did in fact watch Season 1 at least 3 dozen times)

I'm going off of context cues alone here and granted, I don't have a whole lot but I feel like this is about Her Legs; and man I can't think of any way to fight in a long skirt (or skirt in general) that doesn't involve Your Opponents Seeing Your Whole Ass and that's why I personally always wear shorts or leggings underneath if I'm wearing a skirt/dress (one has to always be prepared for combat at any moment).

I *did* check just now to make sure, but Cheshire is 19 already in Season 1 so honestly? I don't necessarily see this as being an "inappropriate" or even particularly sexualizing scene- I've seen clips of the latter seasons and whenever Starfire is introduced (no spoilers there please y'all istg I'm going to be watching it soon I just need to emotionally prepare myself and after Good Omens Season 2 I'm still reeling here) I have seen a multitude of GIFs involving... a more sexual nature than what this gives off to me.

So like I think what I'm saying here is that given how female superhero outfits have always been, this scene is nothing particularly raunchy in my eyes; I'd say the whole "Oriental" aesthetic of her character may or may not be in the best of tastes (I would listen to what people of East Asian ethnicity have to say about it rather than say "it isn't problematic at all" cuz I don't know the intricacies of it all) and the overall sexualization of Cheshire's character does sorta play in to the whole "sexualizing East Asian culture" trope that IS indeed a long existing problem; but in the way they tell her story (as far as I recall and up until S2), I think that the overall story of her character is generally handled well without anything that my younger self noticed as being particularly problematic.

Although I do feel there is a difference between how one can show that a certain character may display their attunement with their sexuality (and I don't mean sexuality as in sexual identity per say it's more about one's own image of themselves and how one wishes to be perceived by others, as a Sexual Being) as opposed to the perception of the character through the lens and to the audience and the OVER-sexualization of characters and people that is an ongoing Issue and remains one of the reasons why I have never gotten fully otaku-level obsessed with anime bc it is a very prevalent issue within that form of media.

Don't have a clue why this answer became an essay but here I am, 7am, and I hope that this all comes across in a more cohesive manner than it felt writing it.

And I swear I'll go ask my girlfriend for the HBO password and finally WATCH the show again and the new seasons and maybe then I will understand better? Honestly if you can't tell from all of this I'm AUDHD so if I misconstrued things lmk

#Also f*** teen titans go I'm sorry but I'm still upset that they ended the Teen Titans show to make that #I'm sure some people enjoy it and I don't have a problem with that at all #Just felt like a major drop in story quality and overall quality #But I was watching Young Justice instead anyway because I knew that TTG wasn't my thing #Hot take I know #Anyways ty for the question whomever you are #Hope this answers it??#Cat Rambles #Asks #Answers #Anon #anon ask

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kitten4sannie · 2 years ago

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aly your scene/setting description skills get me EVERY TIME!! i rly do believe it's one of your strongest abilities when writing;; i feel so immersed and the visuals come to me so easy like YES I AM SEEING THE VISION 100%‼️‼️

it's one of the main reasons why your works are my favorite like ✨️YOUR VOCABULARY✨️ is literally to die for!! i look like the surprised pikachu meme when i read your stories bc they're just that good fr!! (ik i sound like a broken record BUT IDK ENOUGH WORDS TO SAY HOW I FEEL) don't even get me started on your dialouge. that is another love filled essay for another day

–vamp anonnie (aaaaaaaaa)

that’s you holding me back from absolutely destroying you with my love and affection shsgsg ahhh vamp anonnie you have no idea how much i needed to see this ;-; i’ve been really struggling and doubting my ability to write cohesively with the latest fic i’ve been working on and i’ve rewritten parts like 20 times and stared at the doc and just closed it so many times bc i just can’t seem to trust myself and believe that people will like it but your reassurance really really helped me out 🥺 ilysmmm <33 you always send me these wonderful asks at the perfect time i swear!!

#ask #my vamp anon ❣️

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yantao-enthusiast · 1 year ago

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I totally get what you’re saying re Maroon, but I just think that Taylor has made such a point about connecting it to Red— both with the overwhelming red imagery that connects to how she initially described loving him in the song Red and the fact that she wore the Red album ring in the mmwm video revealing Maroon— that it has to be her looking back now on what initially inspired that album. The “real fucking legacy” line imo is very directed at Jake, who has talked extensively in interviews about how he’s very concerned with the legacy he’ll leave behind (I would imagine that’s also something he brought up while they were dating, since it seems very important to him).

He also very infamously had a roommate while they were dating (there was a lot of speculation about him and his roommate potentially being more than friends at the time), so the “your roommate’s cheap ass screw top rosé” line definitely fits. I also believe he was living in New York at the time but I may be mistaken on that— I do know that the first time they were spotted together was at the filming of an SNL episode in New York and the infamous photos of him and Taylor out together with Taylor’s arm around his shoulder were taken in New York, where they also spent Thanksgiving together. They clearly spent a lot of time in New York while they were dating, so the “dancing in New York” line fits with him as well.

And according to songs on Red, they went off and on again for a while after the initial end of the relationship— it’s what’s described in WANEGBT, in ATW10 she talks about how he “never called it what it was / til we were dead and gone and buried / check the pulse and come back swearing it’s the same / after three months in the grave” aka that they broke up then got back together three months later with a much less cohesive/healthy dynamic, The Last Time describes a relationship that keeps ending then starting over again because they keep coming back to it despite promising that this would be the last time, etc. I think Maroon is describing one of those times where they came back to it even though in retrospect they both should have known better. Overall I just think it fits Jake a lot better than it fits Harry— that’s just my opinion though.

But I totally agree on Question being about Harry — she literally samples OOTW at the beginning of it as an indicator (which imo is also what she was doing with the red imagery in Maroon and dropping “at nineteen” in WCS— she made a point of including these very clear obvious references to her previous work to indicate what she was looking back on/re-examining in these songs)

i don't know if you're the same anon that also gave me a long ask also kinda related to taylor but either way damn guess i'm just the kind of wrong that evokes the need to write scholarly argumentative essays (lighthearted LOL) i gotta say i do appreciate being told these things especially with all this evidence despite my jest!!

also yeah i was thinking "if it is about harry, what is the point about all the dark red imagery...." like ten minutes after making that post lmao.... sometimes i do just be talking out my own ass and someone needs to set me straight! and with all the things you mentioned with her being in new york with jake and all the back and forth in their relationship also mentioned in red... some could say i'm impressionable (or maybe i just have the ability to listen and have an open mind) but yeah after reading that i would say you're right that it's much more likely it is about jake lol also... the braincells were not clicking At All, they were having wine and harry was literally like 18 when they were dating.... (i know underage drinking is a thing but still much less likely)

and yes!!! i do love how midnights looks back on all these things in her life, not just in her recent life, sharing more perspective on these relationships. and another thing about question (in my opinion) is how a lot of the 1989 vault tracks give off midnights vibes!! like especially question easily could've been a 1989 vault track, which tracks even more with the fact that it's about harry. but that's just like a vibe thing, nothing really solid !! (watch this be another horrible take askjdkdsfh)

anyways thanks again!!! tbh i always love receiving asks even if they're just a couple hundred words (rightfully) telling me why i'm wrong AHAHA

#thank god i have swifties to correct me on my half awake k cup coffee fueled theories #i could technically tag question but it's not really that touched upon here sooo #maroon #maroon taylor swift #actually i changed my mind i will tag it #question...?#question...? taylor swift #midnights #midnights era #taylor swift #it's kind of embarrassing how much i love my brackets here #<3

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helliontherapscallion · 4 years ago

Text

(Y/n) and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week: Wednesday

Monday Tuesday Thursday (Part 1) Thursday (Part 2) Friday Saturday Sunday

Spotify Playlist (collaborative)

Warnings: panic attacks, swearing, getting outed, f slur and d slur, homophobia, puking, toxic friends

Word count: 5,160

(A/N): woah, thank you all so much for all the positive feedback, that really makes my day!

The room was quiet with the exception of the clacking of the keyboard and the soft chirping of crickets outside your open window. The stars twinkled in the sky as the night droned on and on. There was a loud rustling outside your window, but your sleep deprived mind didn’t think anything of it. It wasn’t important at the moment, the only important thing right now was finishing your work.

Throughout the night, you worked endlessly on your friend’s work. The essays were relatively easy because Adrian and Annie had luckily chosen topics that you’re somewhat interested in, so at least finding the sources was enjoyable. You had gotten your essay completely written and proofread, Annie’s outline finished, and Adrian’s sources analyzed. You would start on Sammy’s presentation after you finished Adrian’s outline. Hours upon hours passed by you as you worked, yet you didn’t notice the time once. You worked uninterrupted with no breaks. Well, one break to talk to your dad about how you weren’t hungry, but you got back to work right after he left your room. You couldn’t waste any more time than you already have.

Your eyes felt heavy as you typed on your keyboard, working on putting Adrian’s sources together cohesively so that the writing would flow seamlessly. You paused your typing to rub at your tired eyes so you could keep working, you couldn’t afford to fall asleep. You had to get these done as soon as possible if you wanted their forgiveness.

The blaring of your alarm startled you out of your focus, making you fall backwards out of your chair with a yelp. Landing painfully on your back, you laid on the floor trying to calm your racing heartbeat. You looked out your window. Hints of pinks and yellows were starting to make a gradient with the lightening dawn sky. Shit, you were so focused on getting your work done that you didn’t take account of the time. You just knew today was gonna be long. At least after school volleyball practice was shortened because of finals tomorrow.

You groaned as you pulled your tired form off from the ground. You made your way downstairs and plopped yourself down at your usual place at the table, burying your face into the crook of your arm. You felt yourself drift off into a blissful sleep, the wood of the table suddenly seemed very comfortable at the moment. Not long after, you were jolted out of your peaceful sleep by a loud crash. Jumping up and looking around with wide eyes, you saw Tubbo looking at you apologetically. There was broken glass in front of his feet on the floor.

“Sorry, (y/n).”

You just stared at him blankly as you slowly blinked. Philza didn’t spare you a glance as he whisked the short boy away from the glass. “(Y/n), can you please go get the broom and sweep this up?”

You nodded, hauling yourself to your feet and walked over to the storage closet, pulling out the broom and dust pan. You mindlessly sweeped up the glass, your limbs feeling heavy. After throwing the glass away, you rummaged in the cupboard and pulled out a mug. The bitter smell beckoned you welcomingly, working its way through your nostrils and digging itself deep into your brain. Just as you were about to pour yourself a cup, a hand snatched the coffee pot away from you.

“You shouldn’t be drinking this.”

“You let Techno and Wil drink it, so why can’t I?”

“(Y/n), you’re a full year younger than them and you haven’t eaten anything since breakfast yesterday.”

You felt your eye twitch, “I’m only a year younger than them! There’s literally no-”

“(Y/n),” his warning tone cut you off, putting the pot back into the coffee maker, “you aren’t going to drink this. That’s final. Get a glass of water.”

You huffed and pushed past him to the sink to fill your coffee mug with water. You’ve been drinking coffee for a while behind his back, so you were used to its effects on your body. You supposed that you’d just beg Wilbur to take you to the cafe so you could get your sustenance. He always relented for you.

You heard him chuckle, “you’ll thank me when you’re older.”

“Mhm.”

You plopped down next to Tubbo nursing your mug of water, trying to make small talk with him. One by one, your brothers made their way to the table. Tommy was talking and gesturing wildly to Tubbo like he normally did, Wilbur looked as dead inside as you felt, and Techno made it a point to ignore you. When someone pissed him off, he can hold a grudge better than he could hold onto his knowledge of Greek mythology, and that’s saying something. Man is obsessed with Greek mythology.

Breakfast went by in a daze with you struggling to keep your eyes open. At one point, you almost fell asleep sitting up, only to be woken up by Tubbo shaking your shoulder to get your attention. When breakfast was almost done, you had only eaten about half your breakfast.

Drifting off again, you were startled awake by the screeching of the chairs against the wooden floor and loud shouts coming from your brothers. You didn’t have the energy to race them to the bathroom like you usually did, you’d just freshen up after they were done. You tried to stand up to go to your room to get dressed, but you were stopped by a hand on your shoulder forcing you to sit back down. Looking up, you were met with the concerned, yet stern eyes of your father.

“You’re not leaving this table until you’ve eaten at least a few more bites and tell me why you’re so tired.”

“I just stayed up later than I normally do finishing up some homework, it won’t happen again.”

“It better not or else I will make you stay home next time. When’d you go to bed last night?”

You avoided his eyes, “around one thirty or two.” You couldn’t tell him that you didn’t actually go to sleep last night, he’d flip.

“You know, you’re a terrible liar.” Shit.

Looking him in the eye, you spoke more confidently. “Three in the morning.”

“(Y/n)-”

You felt a sudden rage start to twist inside you as he started to lecture you about taking better care of yourself. He was treating you like a child and you were not having it.

“-young kids like you need to- are you even listening?”

You set your jaw and willed yourself not to explode at him. “Dad, I’m not a child. I know how to take care of myself.”

You saw him narrow his eyes and purse his lips in frustration, “well, obviously you don’t if you’re not eating or sleeping well,” his eyes softened. “I’m starting to worry about you.”

“Well, you shouldn’t because I’m fine,” you snapped at him. “I’m going to get ready.”

You stalked out of the room and stomped upstairs. Passing a shocked Tommy and Tubbo, you made your way into the bathroom to get ready. The person that stared back at you in the mirror looked pale and had dark eye bags accentuating her tired eyes. She had red pimples dotting her face more than she usually did. She was ugly, revolting. The girl you remembered her being was confident in her appearance and walked with an air of importance. Now, she was a decrepit thing that was run down and scared of her own shadow. You couldn’t recognize the girl that stared back at you anymore. You should’ve been able to; after all, she was you and you were her.

You rushed through your morning routine in the bathroom avoiding looking at yourself in the mirror. You opened the bathroom door only to be met with Wilbur’s chest, his hand poised in the air in a closed fist ready to knock on the door. He stepped back.

“We’re gonna be late if you don’t hurry up.”

You glanced at the clock on the wall. “Wil, we still have twenty minutes before school starts. We don’t have to leave for another ten minutes.”

He gave you a smirk, “well, you want coffee, don’t you? You look dead.”

“Oh thank god. I feel dead, I didn’t sleep at all last night.”

“When’d you go to bed?”

“I didn’t.”

“Christ, (y/n) I knew you were a dumbass, but not that much of a dumbass.”

You rolled your eyes, walking around him and into your room. You felt a stab of hurt in your heart. “Fuck you.”

Before you could close the door, he shouted out a cheeky “love ya too (y/n)!”

You took off all your clothes slowly and stood in front of your open closet deciding on what you should wear today. You figured that since you felt like absolute shit, you should probably put a little bit more effort into your appearance. Picking out your favorite flannel shirt and favorite pair of pants. Smiling at yourself in the mirror in your room, you felt slightly more confident in your appearance. You felt like you could walk around the hallways at school without as many peering eyes trying to figure out your every secret. But maybe that was just the sleep deprivation talking. You tend to be more impulsive and emotional when you’re sleep deprived.

You slung the backpack onto your back with less difficulty than in the previous days. Your back was healing faster than you thought it would. Now, it barely hurt and the swelling completely went away.

You went downstairs and slunk past the kitchen where Philza was talking to Tommy and Tubbo. You didn’t want them to notice you, you felt somewhat guilty for snapping at your dad. You slipped through the front door and hopped into the passenger seat next to Wilbur. You three usually rotated seats counterclockwise and took turns driving each day. Now, you were just waiting for Techno.

“Well, you look less homeless today.”

“Thanks Wilbur, I just felt like looking a little nicer than usual.”

“Who’re ya dressing up for? Is it Adrian?” He asked with slight disgust. He hated Adrian almost as much as he hated Annie and Sammy. He thought he was nothing more than a fuckboy looking to get into your pants. Little did he know you were secretly a raging lesbian so deep in the closet that you’re froliking with Aslan through the flowerfields of Narnia.

“Wilbur, I’m gay why would I-” you froze, cursing your sleep deprived self for lacking a filter. Your breath caught in your throat and you felt anxiety start to seep into your veins and pump around your body, filling every single nook and cranny with dread. You could feel tears welling in your eyes as you stared at your shaking hands horrified at yourself. How could you just… just out yourself like that? How could you be so careless? So stupid?

You barely felt it when Wilbur reached over to press a gentle hand on your arm. “(Y/n), are yo-”

“I-tha-that was a joke, I’m not gay, I’m straight.” Your words came out in frantic jumbles, desperately trying to fix your slip up. Oh god, you really fucked up this time.

“(Y/n), brea-”

“I swear I’m not gay, I like men, I do. I-”

“(Y/n), breathe with me.” Wilbur’s firm, yet gentle voice demanded. He placed your hand on his chest and took in a deep breath, held it, and released it slowly. You tried your best to follow him, but after about ten minutes, you were slowly but surely calming down. It was a lot faster calming down from a panic attack when you had someone helping you breathe. You’ve never gotten help with a panic attack before, it was nice. Becoming more aware of your surroundings, you took notice of the soft fabric of Wilbur’s sweater, the gentle thumping of his heart, and his worried expression. You also became aware of the extra hand rubbing small circles into your shoulder from behind your seat. It was Techno.

Taking in a shaky breath, you took your hand out of Wilbur’s grip and clasped your hands tightly in front of you, shrugging Techno’s hand off from your shoulder.

“...Can we please leave? I don’t want Dad or Tubbo and Tommy seeing me like this.”

Wordlessly, Wilbur started up the car and pulled out of the driveway. At the intersection, he turned in the opposite direction of the school. “Wilbur, where are we going? The school’s the other way.”

“We’re going to the cafe for some coffee, my treat.”

“But school starts in five minutes, we’re gonna be late if we go to the cafe.”

“Actually,” Techno’s deep voice chimed in, “school started ten minutes ago. If we’re already late, there’s no harm in skipping first block.”

“Tech, I literally have no idea what’s going on in stats.”

“I’ll give you my notes.”

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to bother you.”

Wilbur pulled into the cafe’s parking lot, “don’t be stupid, (y/n). You can never bother us.”

You didn’t say anything as you left the car and headed into the cafe. You could think of plenty of ways you could bother your older brothers. You bothered everybody just by being in their presence. You just had that effect.

Your brothers followed you into the cafe, glancing at each other worriedly. You three quickly got your orders and sat in the secluded back of the cafe. Soft jazz music drifted throughout the quiet cafe.

“(Y/n), we need to talk about what happened. Was this your first panic attack?” Wilbur asked you gently.

“...No, I’ve had them before.”

“Were they always this intense? You’re still shaking.”

“That one was nowhere near as intense as the ones I usually have.’

“Usually? Do you have them often?” Tecno asked.

“Yeah, usually a couple of them a week since the middle of freshman year. Nothing I can’t manage.”

“So you’ve been doing this on your own for three years? You could’ve gotten us to help you.”

You sighed, looking down at your steaming cup. “...I couldn’t’ve. Don’t get me wrong, I know you guys could help me, but I-I just couldn’t. No one was supposed to find out.”

“Promise us that you’ll come to one of us when you have an attack. We care about you, (y/n).”

“I… I’ll think about it. Thank you.”

The table fell into a comfortable silence as you all sipped at your drinks, the comforting taste of the bitter coffee dancing across your tongue.

“Ya know, we don’t care that you’re gay. A lesbian called me ‘actually pretty funny’ once and I’m still riding the high.”

“Yeah, you’re still you. Nothing changes the fact that you’re our little sister.”

You smiled as you felt warm inside. You knew your brothers loved you, but you didn’t know that they loved you for being you. You didn’t think anybody loved you unconditionally like that, and that made you feel genuinely happy.

“Thank you guys, for everything. I-I can’t put into words how much that means to me, I love you guys so much!”

“We love you too,” Wilbur smiled before he dropped it into a stern frown. “But if any girl hurts you, we’ll have a stern talking to her.”

“Yeah, we can’t beat up girls. We’ll put her in her place alright.” You snorted into your coffee, almost spilling it on yourself. Quickly setting it down before you could baptize yourself with the scalding liquid (though, you did consider coffee to be holy), you wiped at your teary eyes.

“And that’s why I love you guys.”

“We’re serious, she’ll be wishing she got beat up after we’re done scolding her.” Wilbur said seriously before he broke into a grin and started laughing.

The conversation carried on about your sexuality, how you found out, when you found out, if you’ve told anyone yet (they were honored that they were the first people you’ve told, even if you did it accidentally mid-panic attack). Eventually you had to go back to the school before your second block started. You three split ways to your separate classrooms.

Annie and Adrian were locked onto you as soon as you walked through the door. They looked angry at you. What’d you do this time to piss them off?

“Where the fuck were you this morning? We were looking everywhere for you,” Annie seethed.

“Yeah, you wasted so much of our time looking for your sorry ass. You ditch us again?”

Oh, that. “Look, I didn’t mean to skip out on you guys again. It was a rough morning.”

“That’s funny because we also had rough mornings, yet we still hung out with each other. You aren’t special.” Adrian rolled his eyes at you.

“It’s gonna take more to apologize. We don’t let things like the little stunts you pull go off scott free.”

“Oh, Annie I have the best idea,” Adrian squealed, bouncing on the balls of his feet excitedly.

“What is it Dri?” Annie’s eyes shone.

“Our little (y/n) can set you up with one of her brothers and she can go on a date with me on a double date! It’s foolproof, not even someone as dumb as (y/n) could fuck it up.”

“I don’t think that’s a good id-”

“It’s perfect Dri! Can it be with Wilbur? He’s literally so hot! Oh, the way his fingers can work that guitar…” Ew. The thought of Wilbur and Annie together made you scrunch up your nose with disgust.

“I’m sorry, but Wilbur’s actually dating Sally Fishmin right now. They’re actually really cute together-”

“God, how could someone as hot as Wilbur go for Sally Fishmin? She’s disgusting, always smells like fish,” Annie gagged, then gasped. “Wait (y/n) do you actually think that she’s more deserving to be with him than I am?”

“No, I nev-”

“Really? Cuz you just did. Glad to see you care about me, (y/n).”

“Annie, you’re literally so beautiful. I never said that you don’t deserve him. You deserve the world. I can’t split them up, but I can do more homework for you.” She perked up immediately, “awe, thanks love! That’s what happens when you actually put effort into how you look.”

“Speaking of, did you get that shirt out of the trash? It’s really not a look.” Adrian snickered to himself. There goes what little confidence you had. You actually thought you looked decent today. You felt grateful for your friends, they always told you the truth about how you looked when everybody else lied to you.

Before you could respond, the bell rang and everybody took their seats. Luckily, Mr. Todd assigned today as a work day for your final research essays. You had finished Annie’s and got Adrian’s thesis done before the bell rang. While you were working on their essays, they were mindlessly scrolling on their phones and texting someone.

You, Adrian, and Annie met up with Sammy and went into the lunch room. You tried to line up in the lunch line with them, but they laughed and told you that you’re fat enough and you needed to lose weight. What did you do to deserve such considerate friends? You really owed them one for always looking out for and putting up with you.

While you were waiting for them, you pulled out your phone. To your surprise, Haley texted you a screenshot of her conversation with Unknown. You felt a chill run down your spine. All four pictures were of you. You rubbing your eyes as the light of your computer provided the only light in the room. Your bare back facing the camera as you stood in front of your closet this morning. You sleeping a day ago (you felt sick as you realized that whoever took the picture was standing directly over your bed). Lastly, you and Haley holding each other’s hand under the moonlight last night. Attached to the pictures, Unknown had typed “you have one more day or else sleeping ugly gets it. Do not tempt us.”

Hales : )

(Y/n), how the hell did they get these pictures of you

Did you seriously leave your window open???

Why wouldn’t you close your curtains

Oh god, do you think they saw us in your driveway????

(Y/n)

Haley calm down

Hales : )

I know you’re not telling me to calm down right now

You have a stalker

One that can GET INSIDE YOUR ROOM

(Y/n)

We’ll get to the bottom of this

Like I said, I don’t care if my pictures get leaked

I care about your pictures

Until we figure out who’s doing this, we need to lay low

Hales : )

Hanging out last night was a mistake

I shouldn’t have gave you a ride

I shouldn’t have tried to kiss you

I’m straight

And you are too

You said it yourself

We can’t talk anymore (y/n)

(Y/n)

I’m not straight Hales

I’m gay

And I like you

Like you like you

Hales : )

I’m sorry (y/n)

But I’m straight

We can’t talk anymore

Goodbye.

With each text she sent you, you felt your heart drop deeper and deeper into your stomach until you felt your heart shatter in your chest, the pieces lodging themselves deep within you and ripping you open from inside out. How could you be so stupid to think that soemone as perfect as Haley Andrews, arguably the prettiest girl in the senior year, go out with (y/n) Minecraft, a known trainwreck. Annie’s shrill gasp sounded right next to your ear, making you gasp and drop your phone onto the table with a loud bang.

“OH MY GOD (Y/N) YOU’RE A FAGGOT? WERE YOU HITTING ON ME EARLIER? YOU FUCKING PERVERT.”

The entire cafeteria fell into silence as they listened to Annie’s shrieking. Whispers started to meld together.

“(Y/n)’s gay?”

“How gross”

“Damn, I was gonna hit it”

“We have a dyke going to this school?”

You felt like you were suffocating as the whispers and Annie’s yelling jumbled together in a disorienting cacophony. Adrian and Sammy both glared at you from behind Annie with a hatred that you didn’t know they had for you. You tried stuttering an apology, but you were quickly shut up by Annie harshly slapping you across the face.

“I don’t wanna hear it, fag. You’re going to finish our essays and you’re never gonna talk to us again. Do you understand me?” When you didn’t respond, she slapped you again. “I asked you, do you understand me?”

You frantically nodded your head, grabbed your backpack, and sprinted out the door without any real destination in mind. You sprinted before you found the bathroom that nobody used. Ducking into a stall and slamming the door, you felt yourself start to hyperventilate. You couldn’t feel anything except for the tightness of your chest. You couldn’t see anything. You couldn’t hear anything. You faintly tasted bile rising up in your throat as you bent over to empty your stomach. You threw up everything in your stomach until you were left sitting on the dirty floor painfully dry heaving.

You sobbed on that floor for what felt like hours. Everybody knows your secret now. Your dirty, dirty secret. God, you were a pervert weren’t you? You made people around you comfortable by just being you. Faintly, you felt your phone start to buzz in your pocket, your shaky hands scrambling to fish it out. They were all texts from your brothers.

Wilby

(Y/n) I heard what happened

Are you okay????

Please answer me

Where are you

Technology Sword

I’m gonna kill them

I swear to god they’re dead

Blood for the blood god

(Y/n)

Pls dont do anything or hurt anyone

I’m fine

I’ll see you two after practice

Wilby

Tell us where you are

(Y/n)

I’m fine

I’ll see you two after practice

You silenced your phone and put it back into your pocket, once again feeling yourself start to dry heave again. Your sobs and gags echoed throughout the bathroom. This is by far the worst panic attack you’ve had yet, and it doesn’t seem like it’s gonna stop anytime soon. You heard the final bell ring and students start to rush to their lockers to get home, so you tried to muffle your shaking sobs the best you could. You had at least an hour before you had to go to volleyball practice. Until then, you would stay in the bathroom trying to ground yourself.

Luckily, you managed to calm down to the point where you stopped crying and dry heaving. You were only shaking slightly. You felt numb and completely drained from your panic attack, practice today was going to be a struggle. You cautiously walked through the empty hallways jumping at every little noise. When you finally reached the locker room, you made a beeline past Zara and Jazzy to your locker. You pulled out your uniform and changed in one of the bathroom stalls.

Practice went by with the girls on the team giving you sympathetic looks and Haley ignoring you. Not that you noticed, you were ignoring everyone and putting all of your focus on the ball. The entire practice, you felt light headed and drained. Fortunately, practice ended right as you felt like you were going to pass out.

You changed as fast as you could and pulled out your phone.

Dadza

Come outside, I’m here to pick you up

You felt a dread pool in your stomach as you stared at the text. Did he find out? Was he going to kick you out for being gay? Wilbur and Techno wouldn’t let him do that to you, right? Reluctantly, you left the sanctuary of the bathroom stall and rushed out of the locker room and out of the school. Sure enough, your dad’s car was parked in the parking lot. You glanced over to where Haley’s car was parked last night and saw glimpses of you and her chasing each other and laughing into the night sky without a care in the world before you ripped your gaze away to stare at your walking feet.

You reached your dad’s car and sat in the passenger seat. Your dad grinned at you. “Hey hun, how was practice?”

You merely shrugged your shoulders at him. You didn’t have the energy to talk to anyone at the moment. You felt extremely drained.

“What’s wrong, did something happen? You can talk to me.”

“...I’m just sad that the season’s over tomorrow.”

“Don’t be sad kid,” a gruff voice coming from behind you made you jump. “That’s pussy shit.”

You yelped and whipped your head around to look at whoever said that. Your uncle’s cocky grin greeted you. You felt yourself grin back at him.

“Uncle Schlatt!”

“The one and only.”

“How was your business trip? You’re home early.”

He rolled his eyes, “boring as hell. I’m so fucking glad I got out early, I woulda blew my brains out if I had to stay there any longer.”

“Schlatt!” Philza reprimanded him, glancing at him through the rearview mirror.

“What? I’m just telling the truth. I woulda!” He defended himself.

Your dad gripped the steering wheel. “You didn’t have to say it in front of (y/n).”

Schlatt scoffed, “please, she’s heard me say worse.”

As they bickered, you felt yourself zone out as you looked out the window. Houses and street signs passed by in a blur as the car moved down the road and pulled into your driveway. You got out as quickly as you could and made your way into the house alongside your uncle and dad. As soon as your uncle walked through the door, Tubbo barrelled into him and pulled him into a tight hug. Schlatt laughed loudly and bent over to pick him up into a hug. You smiled at the father and son as Philza gestured for you to follow him into the kitchen. He opened the oven to check on something cooking inside of it and turned to face you, leaning against the counter.

“So what’s really wrong?”

“I already told you, I’m sad the season’s almost over.”

“It’s something more than that,” as you opened your mouth he quickly added, “and you can’t say that it’s because you’re tired. I wasn’t born yesterday.”

You sighed and mimicked his actions. “...It’s just been a long day. I really don’t wanna talk about it.”

Without warning, he pulled you into a warm hug, your face being shoved into his shoulder and him rubbing circles into your back. “That’s okay, just talk to me when you’re ready. I won’t push you.”

That broke you. Throwing your arms around him, you started to sob into his shoulder. He started to rock you back and forth whispering reassurances into your ear.

“That’s good, let it all out.”

“I love you so much.”

“I’m here for you.”

With each sentence to fall out of his mouth, you felt more at ease and safe. Your dad always did a great job at making people feel safe, that was just his natural talent. After a while, you pulled away from him.

“Do you feel better?”

You smiled tiredly at him, “Yeah, I really needed a hug.”

He turned around to check on dinner, “I bet, you look like you’ve been to hell and back. You don’t have to tell me what happened, but just know that I’m always here for you and I love you.”

The rest of the family flooded the kitchen after a while of you two talking. Dinner went by with Schlatt laughing loudly and telling stories about the people he met on his business trip. Every now and then, Wilbur and Techno would glance at you, but you ignored them. You just wanted dinner to end so you could pass out in your bed. Once dinner was over, you helped your dad gather everybody’s plate and put them into the sink. The rest of your little family went to the living room to start a game of Monopoly. The last time you all played that ended in fresh bruises and shed tears.

“I think I’m gonna go to bed, I have to get some rest for finals tomorrow.”

“But (y/n), it’s Monopoly! You love Monopoly,” Tommy exclaimed.

“That’s alright, you look dead on your feet kid. Go get some sleep.”

“Thanks Uncle Schlatt. Goodnight everyone, love ya.”

A flurry of goodnights and love you’s follow you as you leave the room and drug yourself up the stairs. Without a second thought, you closed your curtains and plopped face first onto your bed. You passed out without even making sure you were fully on your bed.

Taglist (comment if you want to be added):

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archivedbyebye · 2 years ago

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Redemption: Harumi’s Only Option For Character Growth.

HIIIIII

What am I doing here? Writing a rant/ essay/ crazy vomit pile of words and half-thought ideas? I don’t know, can you please tell me?

Yeah, probably shouldn’t have written this while I’m drunk on sleep-deprivation and procession of the most recent episode.

Oh boy, that was fun. Yeah, don’t keep that episode in mind when reading this (if you do) It’s not really connected to the most recent episode, more just my jumbled thoughts after the last episode before hiatus was rotting in my brain.

Also, subtitles probably won’t do my understanding of it justice anyways.

For future reference, this was written before the last 22 episode of this season came out, and it’s just my thoughts as far as Harumi and the way this season has handled her return so far (with only the understanding of episodes 1-12 of crystallized, thank you for your time.)

My only criticism for Harumi’s return this season is the probable inevitable repetition in her character arc.

Harumi is my favorite character in this whole fucking series. There, you have it. Ninjago’s full potential in characterization was crafted to her and the entirety of season 8. She’s manipulative, flawed, emotional, conniving, and driven. Her character arc was amazing, ended amazing, and her lasting effects were present in seasons following her death. Utterly perfect. Do I take criticisms? No.

Here’s the thing, despite how much I loved her and season 8, there’s no way I’d ever want Harumi back. Crystallized didn’t get the memo.

Honestly, my biggest concern for her return is the fact that they really did everything for her character. She was a love interest, a character on the good side. The villain-twist really brought the edge to season 8. Her last-minute redemption was utterly amazing, and really brought her character full-circle. Say what you will about season 8, but I loved every minute of it.

So, Harumi survived the building collapse? Good for her, I guess.

Here’s the thing, there’s nothing left but redemption.

If they were going to bring Harumi back, the last thing I’d expect is for her to return to the villain role. If her last minute before death told us anything, it was that she saw error in her ways, and perhaps even felt regret. She’d been at that point where she’s lost control of her pursuits, and now others are suffering because of it. It’s already been proven that she’s willing to break a cycle, see last two minutes before death.

Yet here she is, second-in-command to the epitome of darkness to torture green boi.

It’s not surprising, but it feels overused. Remember when Garmadon was brought back in season 8 as big bad boi? Some were concerned that the writers were reusing Garmadon’s character arc. Is that what happened, though? Personally, I thought it was wonderfully done. (Are you surprised? I mean, it’s not like I haven’t been ranting so much about how much I love season 8 what are you talking about-) I thought that this reincarnation of sort was tastefully done, and even better than previous incarnations of the whole “villian-Garmadon” fiasco.

I don’t feel the same way about Harumi’s return, especially if she’s just brought as the villain. I know this isn’t explained very well, especially as I’m comparing her to Garmadon of all people, but there’s a difference, I swear. For one, Garmadon’s state of mind during his season 8 comeback was in tune with the plot. It was established early-on that this would not be the same Garmadon we had seen in the past, and frankly, this Frankenstein-of-sorts was definitely something cohesive to the plot. With Harumi in Crystallized, it’s really hard not to feel as if she was just shoved in there for shock value.

So yeah, I really feel like there’s a big difference here.

So here’s the cinch, I think that bringing her back into this form as a villain really undermines the last-minute redemption that brought her character full-circle in the first place. Say that Harumi undergoes this kind of redemption in this season? I might think differently about it.

We have what? 22 more episodes to go? I’ve heard that this season’s a doozy, (but aren’t they all?)

Truthfully, and albeit cynical as I may be, I wouldn’t put my trust in the writers to cover this kind of characterization. (Or Lloyd’s trauma *cough cough*) While I was disappointed, I wasn’t surprised to see Harumi in this state again.

All I can hope for is a return to redemption for her. What will probably come for her: Death / permanent punishment for her actions.

SCREECH.

#Ninjago #harumi #crystallized #rant #long boi rant #what the heck #s16 #s15 #what season is this

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ihaveatypeanditstrickstergods · 3 years ago

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I've just finished Stormblood, and I think that one of the reasons it's generally considered FFXIV's weakest expansion (I haven't played all of them yet so I don't really have an opinion there) is a lack of narrative cohesion between the Ala Mhigo and Doma arcs (and probably a bit too much emphasis on Doma... like, that stuff was good, but my reaction to finishing Doma Castle shouldn't have been "Oh right, I still need to liberate Ala Mhigo, I completely forgot"). The patch content definitely helped rebalance things narratively and better interweave the two, however, and it brought to my attention the one really interesting parallel between the story arcs, namely Fordola and Yotsuyu as foils. I swear I could write a whole essay on those two.

#final fantasy xiv #ffxiv #stormblood #ffxiv stormblood #fordola rem lupis #yotsuyu goe brutus

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rwby-redux · 3 years ago

Note

How do you feel about the Branwen Tribe? Were you satisfied with their portrayal in canon, or will Redux make significant changes to them?

I am so happy you asked me this, anon, because I’ve been wanting to talk about this topic for a while.

The short answer to your questions, in order: meh, no, yes.

The long answer (with emphasis on long) boils down to a handful of factors:

Why do the tribes exist? This question can be answered from both a storytelling, meta, and worldbuilding perspective. Basically, it’s discerning the intentions/motives of the writers, either definitive or presumed.

Do the tribes add anything meaningful to the story? As in, can we quantify the impact that the tribe had on character arcs and plot development. If we were to remove the tribe from the story, would their absence noticeably affect how it’s told?

Are the tribes being used to their fullest extent? It’s worth pointing out that the tribes are, functionally, a writing tool, and therefore a resource at the writers’ disposal. Can we imagine different ways that the tribes could be interacting with the story, but aren’t? What reasons are preventing the writers from doing so?

Does the worldbuilding for the tribes justify their existence, or enrich the lore? As in, does it make sense for the tribe to exist within the context of the story. What sort of forces within the world—cultural, economic, political, natural, or otherwise—created the ideal conditions for bandit tribes to emerge?

Do the tribes complicate/contradict the story, or create noticeable plotholes/discrepancies in the worldbuilding? When we look at the tribes critically, we have to ask ourselves what about them does or doesn’t make sense. How the tribes operate, how characters interact with them, and such.

Before I go any further, I want to preface this post by saying that my thoughts were sort of everywhere. This will be less of a structured essay and more of a bulleted rant, in part because all of my grievances with the tribes (not just the Branwen) intersect and can’t be neatly compartmentalized.

And yes, tribes, as in plural. Because in case any of us forgot (and it’s forgivable that we would, since we only ever see one throughout the series), Mistral has at least a few of them running around.

“Wandering bandits are another threat. These groups of usually fairly-skilled fighters travel the lands, never settling in one place. They often prey on convoys sending goods between Kingdoms. That's not all. These raiders will often wait for a town to be at its weakest—maybe after a Grimm attack or while its fighters are out hunting, before finally moving in at night and striking.” | Source: World of Remnant, Volume 4, Episode 5: “Between Kingdoms.”

Now, the technical reason why we only see the Branwen Tribe is because of contrivance. Raven is, after all, Qrow’s sister, Yang’s biological mother, a former member of Ozpin’s inner circle, and the Spring Maiden. The production team isn’t going to waste time or money writing and animating other bandits, when Raven already fulfills several roles within the story.

The drawback here is that reducing their existence to a few throwaway lines, and omitting them from the story, creates a vacuum. And it doesn’t take long for questions to fill that newly-created space.

1. What exactly are the tribes?

For once, I swear, I’m not asking just to be pedantic. RWBY gave these wandering bandit factions a unique designation—a tribe. Not a gang, or mob, or ring, but a tribe. And that word has a very specific meaning:

tribe /tɹaɪb/ n. a socially, ethnically, or politically cohesive group of people; [1] a social group composed chiefly of numerous families, clans, or generations having a shared ancestry and language; [2] any aggregate of people united by ties of descent from a common ancestor, a community of customs and traditions, adherence to the same leaders, etc. [3]

It’s not some arbitrary label. Tribes have a commonality, something which links its members together into a distinct, recognizable entity. We know this because “tribe” isn’t used interchangeably with other criminal organizations. The Spiders aren’t a tribe. Roman Torchwick’s gang isn’t a tribe.

This word was chosen by the writers deliberately. Granted, the writers could have called them “the Branwen Tribe” in order to make them sound more threatening (which has its own not-so-great implications), but there’s no ignoring that this term is selectively applicable. In RWBY, tribes refer to a group of semi-nomadic reavers who inhabit Mistral.

That, coupled with Raven’s survival of the fittest creed, [4] sounds a lot like the Old Way practiced by the ironborn in A Song of Ice and Fire. If this is true, then it’s entirely possible that the tribes aren’t just a loose coalition of marauding criminals, but a distinct cultural and ethnic group.

That’s a massive revelation from a worldbuilding standpoint, one which holds up surprisingly well under RWBY’s framework.

Let’s keep using the ironborn as an example. In ASOIAF, the ironborn hail from a storm-battered archipelago known as the Iron Islands. The climate of the region has significantly influenced the geography, rendering the soil nutrient-poor, stony, and unsuitable for farming. The only resource that’s readily-accessible is fish. It makes logical sense that the Old Way (their reaving culture) emerged as an outgrowth of their dependence on piracy.

Mistral’s bandit tribes occupy a similar niche. Canonically, the tribes wander from place to place to avoid Grimm. A non-sedentary lifestyle makes agriculture difficult, and thus creates a predisposition for raiding towns and villages in order to survive. Give it a few generations, and it’s easy to see how this practice could have been integrated into the bedrock of their culture.

That, in turn, could lead to all sorts of worldbuilding and storytelling questions: Would certain legal sanctions or concessions have been granted in order to preserve their culture, under the assumption that the tribes represent a protected minority? Are there any tribes that voluntarily gave up aspects of their heritage so they could avoid being arrested? In which case, how would they have adapted to changes in their way of life? If the tribes collectively refused to relinquish their raiding culture, then did the Mistral government retaliate? Would all members of the tribes’ ethnic group be recognized as criminals on-sight? What traditions or customs are exclusive to the tribes? Do they practice their own religion, or speak a language separate from mainstream Mistrali? Do children born in the tribe undergo rites of passage, like going on their first raid, or killing someone for the first time? How would that sort of cultural immersion have influenced Qrow’s and Raven’s childhood? What if someone wanted to voluntarily leave the tribe, and eschew their way of life? Would they be ostracized? Would the tribe do something as drastic as put a bounty on them? How would a person who grew up in a culturally-isolated environment like theirs navigate society? Would it be similar to the trauma faced by ex-Mormons who were excommunicated?

Do you have to be born to parents in the tribe in order to be considered a member? Or do the tribes actively recruit from outside sources? Maybe it’s like in One Piece, where Nami was made a member of Arlong’s crew because she demonstrated a valuable skill (cartography). Or perhaps the tribes recruit survivors from their raids, similar to Davey Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean 2, when he invited the helmsman from the scuttled ship to join The Dutchman after the kraken attacked.

…You know, looking back on the examples I used, it might not be a coincidence that all of them are pirates.

Anyway, the issue here is that all of the worldbuilding I posited hinges on an assumption: that “tribe” actually means something in this context, instead of Rooster Teeth just throwing a dart at the dictionary and picking whichever word it landed on. Without any sort of elaboration, the bandit tribes are left rather vague, with Raven’s group being the sole representative.

All we’re left with is the canon.

And that’s where things start to break down.

2. The way the bandit tribes operate doesn’t work.

Did you know that the Kingdom of Mistral only has ten settlements?

No, seriously. Ten. As in, I can literally count to that number with both hands.

To give you an idea of what those settlements are like, I’ve gone ahead and categorized them.

Major industrial city: Argus, Kuchinashi, Wind Path, City of Mistral

Backwater podunk village connected by dirt roads: Higanbana, Shion, Unnamed Village 1 (V4.E1), Unnamed Village 2 (RWBY #3)

Gone, but not forgotten: Oniyuri, Kuroyuri

Of the ten places I listed, four are massive cities with standardized defense systems that can repel Grimm (and are more than capable of resisting bandits). The other two are derelict villages that were destroyed a long time ago.

This leaves us with four small villages that are susceptible to bandit raids.

Oh, wait, scratch that. Shion was destroyed by Raven as of the second episode of Volume 4. My bad.

That leaves us with three small villages that are susceptible to bandit raids.

Although bandits will attack supply convoys and travelers, destroying towns [5.1] seems to be their primary means of survival. Here’s what that looks like in practice:

The destruction of Shion. | Source: RWBY Wiki contributor user:ChishioKunrin.

But there’s a problem with this business model: it’s not sustainable. With villages falling as soon as they pop up, [6] and typically not lasting more than a year, [5.2] it doesn’t make sense for bandits to systematically wipe them out.

Especially when there are only three villages left.

Especially especially when there are multiple tribes in Mistral all competing for the exact same limited resource.

A more feasible and pragmatic solution would be for the bandit tribes to implement something like pizzo, the protection money that the Mafia extorts from local businesses. In exchange for “payment,” the businesses are “protected” by the Mafia. Think of it like paying your taxes, only instead of your taxes going toward schools and infrastructure, they go toward the Mafia not breaking your kneecaps.

Not only would a system like that be more viable long-term for the tribes, but it would be harder for the Mistrali government to track and put a stop to. After all, smoking rubble is a lot more obvious than, say, a nondescript guy walking into a fuel station/restaurant and collecting lien from the owner.

Just Rite. | Source: RWBY Wiki contributor user:ChishioKunrin.

Wouldn’t you agree?

3. Qrow should have changed his last name. (Bet you didn’t see this one coming.)

While we’re on the subject, I’d like to bring up this exchange:

Bartender: So, what brings you around these parts?

Yang: Thanks. And I'm, uh, looking for someone.

Bartender: Not too many people come out here. Too far from the Kingdoms. Only person worth notin' around here is…well, Ra—

Yang: Raven Branwen.

Her tribe—the Branwen Tribe—is known by name across Anima, despite the fact that they regularly pick up and move their camp. The bartender is terrified by the mere mention of them.

Enter Qrow, whose reputation not only precedes him, [7] [8] but whose legal name on his license is the same one used by an infamous gang of thieves and killers.

Seriously, how has this not backfired on him? I mean, for Christ’s sake, he was a teacher at a school. You don’t think there weren’t students whose parents read his name on the faculty list and didn’t immediately have heart palpitations? Or, like, bars in Mistral that caught a glimpse of his license and didn’t immediately call the cops?

What about instances where Qrow sees a group of people in danger, so he jumps in and whips out his license to reassure them that he’s there to help. He wouldn’t be able to get the first three words out before the people around him started panicking because oh my god it’s a bandit from the Branwen Tribe we’re going to die.

Or what about victims that might have survived encounters with Raven, and forever bear a grudge against her? Branwen is undoubtedly a hated name in Mistral, and could be a sore subject for someone who overhears it. Why would Qrow risk his safety and invite unnecessary conflicts by hanging onto a name that’s a relic of his past?

For that matter, it’s a relic of his past. Qrow defected from the tribe to serve Ozpin, and do some good in the world by becoming a Huntsman. Why would he want to continue identifying with the name that represents a source of trauma and pain? I find it hard to believe that Ozpin, if asked, couldn’t have used his status as headmaster and pulled some strings to get his surname changed.

There’s so much more I could say about the tribes, and how I think they’ve been underutilized (especially by Cinder et al) but this post is getting long. Suffice to say, the tribes in the Redux are getting overhauled big time—their culture, their history, their relationship with other criminal factions, how many tribes there are, how the Mistrali government deals with them, how Salem uses them to meet her goals, and so on.

[1] Tribe. Wiktionary. Online definition. [https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tribe#English]

[2] Tribe. Merriam-Webster. Online definition. [https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tribe]

[3] Tribe. Dictionary.com. Online definition. [https://www.dictionary.com/browse/tribe]

[4] Volume 4, Episode 4: “Family.” Raven: “The weak die, the strong live. Those are the rules.”

[5] World of Remnant, Volume 4, Episode 5: “Between Kingdoms.”

[5.1] Qrow: “This is also why bandits never stay in the towns they conquer.”

[5.2] Qrow: “If you don't have at least a few of those, then the chances of a town lasting more than a year isn't great.”

[6] World of Remnant, Volume 4, Episode 1: “Vale.” Qrow: “Welcome to the world of Remnant. Not the best place to live, but depending on where you're staying, it can get a little easier. You've got towns and villages that pop up as fast as they fall.”

[7] Volume 3, Episode 4: “Lessons Learned.” Qrow: “Hey, I know everybody to some extent. [Team STRQ was] pretty well known back in the day.”

[8] Volume 4, Episode 7: “Punished.” Tyrian: “As I live and breathe, Qrow Branwen. A true Huntsman has entered the fray!”

#asks #anon #i speak #characters #character meta #qrow branwen #raven branwen #kingdom of mistral #bandit tribes #antagonist meta #antagonist meta asks #meta content #character meta asks #worldbuilding #thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk about the tribes #readmore

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neocatharsis · 4 years ago

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NCT’s Mark Lee on Dreams, Instagram Poetry, and Growing Up

Mark has a lot going on — but he’s making time for poetry, introspection, and, of course, the members of NCT Dream. - Vivien Wu

“I’ve been thinking about dreams a lot these days!” Mark Lee exclaims over Zoom from SM Entertainment’s Seoul headquarters.

The 21-year-old leader of NCT Dream is enthusiastic as he mulls over the meaning of dreams, his back against a wall of pink and yellow flowers assembled by his fellow NCT members. He’s wearing a simple, white tee, and when he gestures with his hands, you can catch glimpses of the friendship ring that all seven members of NCT Dream wear as a symbol of their bond.

“I actually feel like dreams hold a large portion of a life, and I’m not just talking about the subconscious dreams that we all have when we sleep,” he continues. “If you put it in a way where dreams are actually things that motivate us, and the drive that keeps us going, especially as a strongly driven person myself, I feel like… a guy with no dreams is like…” He looks up, thinking. “…A car with no engine. So, I think it’s as important as yourself. That’s how deep I go with dreams.”

His interest in dreams is fitting, considering that they are also the central, underlying concept to the lore behind NCT Dream’s parent group, NCT. They connect their three subunits, NCT 127, NCT Dream, and WayV, in a complex, Inception-inspired fictional universe where dreams are the only way they can find each other, and where upon uniting they can mix to form new subunits collectively referred to as NCT U. In practical terms, this has resulted in a 23-member mega-group that is multifaceted in every way — from their musical styles and visual aesthetics to their cultural backgrounds and spoken languages.

NCT Dream’s original teenage concept meant that members were supposed to “graduate” when they came of age, and as the oldest, Mark was the first to leave the group at the end of 2018. Having grown attached, however, fans were devastated at his departure; after a year of separation, SM announced that the graduation system would be scrapped and that he would rejoin the group. Their new album, Hot Sauce, is the first with Mark in over two years. As fellow member Haechan declared in an interview with Teen Vogue earlier this week, “Mark [is] very special. NCT Dream means Mark.”

But before the rapper led NCT Dream, and before he joined NCT U and NCT 127 and SuperM — the man is in high demand — Mark’s childhood dream was writing. He grew up in Toronto, and through doing school projects and essays quickly discovered that he had a natural way with words. Inspired by Percy Jackson author Rick Riordan, Harry Potter, and James Patterson, Mark dreamt of becoming an author, long before he was recruited by SM at a global audition in Canada in 2012. “When I was in school, I was always the kind of guy who would write more than expected, and that became a thing that clicked for me,” he says. “I was like, ‘Maybe it’s something that I naturally do?’ But then that kind of turned into rap writing too, so I guess they kind of clicked together.” It explains his prolific career as a lyricist; since debuting, he’s amassed over 30 songwriting credits across his various groups, contributing to songs as iconic as NCT U’s “Boss,” NCT 127’s “Cherry Bomb,” and NCT Dream’s “Chewing Gum.”

Even with such an extensive body of work, however, penning lyrics hasn’t satiated his appetite for literary expression. In an interview with Japanese magazine Men’s Non-No, he revealed that he still hopes one day to write a book, whether that be a novel, autobiography, or something more philosophical.

In the meantime, he’s taken to writing what are basically short poems on his Instagram, which he created just a few months ago. He’s gathered over 4.5 million followers since then, but having such a large audience hasn’t deterred him from being endearingly vulnerable with the way he writes. When I refer to them as poems, he laughs and looks embarrassed, but when I ask him to tell me the stories behind them, he’s enthusiastic again. They’re short, but offer brief glimpses into Mark the writer — sharp, inquisitive, and thoughtful. As pieces of literature, they’re a little rough around the edges, but the sincerity he’s known for shines through, illuminating the introspective, philosophical side that may not be so obvious in person.

His first poem, loosely titled “Late Night Scribbling,” put into words his musings about sleep, thoughts, feelings, and writing. It meanders from topic to topic, hovering between feelings of hope and hopelessness, before ending with a comically awkward “haha.”

“I actually wrote that by imagining how I wanted to organize my Instagram page,” he explains. “I was thinking of creating an Instagram, then I realized that, well, I’m not really a picture kind of guy, I’m not really a travelling kind of guy… I kind of studied who I am first, and I [asked myself], ‘What’s something that I can really portray in an intimate way?’ and it turned out to be writing.”

“I started to brainstorm what kind of topics I could write about, and then from there on, I started to write a little each and every night, and that turned into Late Night Scribbling,” he continues. “That kind of gave me courage to start Instagram in the first place, that piece of writing.”

Two weeks later, he followed it up with “Black Socks,” a whimsical ode to, well, black socks — complete with accompanying photos of him wearing said socks. Immediately, it feels more confident and cohesive than its predecessor. Using the neat and tidy look of black socks as a metaphor, he describes his own mindset for living life: “Pleasure from perfect alignment; That also goes for my ability to be parallel with my thoughts and actions; I try to live out what’s in my mind, and keep it consistent even when forgotten like a working habit.”

Comments on the posts praise his writing and encourage him to continue sharing these small pieces of himself. On the stage, Mark takes on a confident, larger-than-life persona, while in vlogs and spoken interviews, he’s a bubbly character full of laughter and boyish charm. What the poems show is that, beneath these outer appearances, there’s another layer of complexity that is yet to be fully explored, and it’s not surprising that fans want to know more.

His day job as a K-pop idol doesn’t allow a lot of time for hobbies, though, and he confesses to not having written much lately. Despite that, he’s determined to stay in the industry for as long as possible. “Longevity is something that I’ve always been aiming for,” he says. “I’m willing to do this for a long time, and that requires a lot of work. I’m willing to take that as a challenge and I’m trying to stay as long as I can, but with quality.”

That focus on quality informs his preparations for the upcoming promotions with NCT Dream. In both their fictional world and ours, NCT Dream are a central component of NCT by virtue of their unique focus on growth — the seven members were aged between 14 and 17 when the group first debuted in 2016. Fast-forward five years, and the members are now 19 to 21, having reached a milestone in January when the youngest, Jisung, finally became a legal adult in Korea. When asked if he feels like an adult yet, though, Mark gives an extremely relatable answer with zero hesitation.

“I still feel like I’m in middle school, I’m gonna be totally honest. I swear to God, I feel like I’m… All right, I’ll put it up — I feel like I’m in high school!” He laughs. “I even had this talk with Jisung, ‘cos he’s the latest that turned into an adult. He said that he still feels like he’s a student, he doesn’t feel like he’s 20 [19 in international age] right now.”

It’s been a long time since all seven Dream members — Mark, Renjun, Jeno, Haechan, Jaemin, Chenle, and Jisung — have released an album together, and as the first full-length album since their debut, the fan anticipation is palpably intense. Mark himself has mentioned in various vlogs how important he believes this comeback to be, and that conviction becomes obvious whenever he talks about it.

“We had a talk all together, the seven of us, without any cameras or anything. I brought all the guys together and we talked before the whole momentum started, and I said that I’m willing to put my everything on this one. Like, I always had, but I feel like… the whole universe, or like— ” He pauses, trying to figure out how to articulate himself, and his next line is the most emphatic of our whole conversation. “There are things that are out of our control, but we can see and feel when the pieces match together sometimes, and I feel like this specific moment, this particular album, kind of had those essential parts.”

He’s thinking about all of the context surrounding this comeback: the group’s coming of age, the reunion of all seven members, the scale of the album, the fact that Jisung has only just recovered from a leg injury that meant he couldn’t dance for months — even the fact that 2020 was, against all odds, the best year yet for NCT, with release after release bringing them unprecedented success and momentum.

“I felt that coming and I explained all of that [to the group],” he continues. “This whole period of time has a lot of meaning to it, and we’re not taking that for granted, we’re working hard.” With everything that’s happened, Hot Sauce is a historic moment for NCT Dream, and that’s been reflected in their numbers — the album clocked over 1.7 million pre-orders, obliterating their previous record of 500,000 for last year’s EP, Reload.

Their familial bond and the success that has come with it is the culmination of years spent living, working, and growing up together. The members have collectively missed out on key experiences that most teenagers might take for granted, distanced as they are from normal life, and the group also benefits from an unusually loose adherence to traditional Korean age hierarchy. The result is a brotherhood that goes beyond just being colleagues. “What we have is pretty intimate, and it’s also genuine,” Mark says.

About his role, he is matter of fact. “I’m by far the most easily approachable punching bag for the team. I am not… complaining…” He laughs. “But all jokes aside, I feel like my role for this team… Yes, I am the oldest and I am the leader but I’m also… In Korea, in the culture, age is very important, but we’ve come so far that all those borders kind of just vanished and we’re all pretty much friends, and I guess I’m just a friend of theirs too.”

It’s true that, despite being the leader, his friendly personality and endearingly awkward mannerisms mean that he commands about as much authority as a small puppy. Instead, much like a puppy, he is showered with love and affection (fellow member Chenle refers to Mark as his son and his actual puppy Daegal as Mark’s little sister), but that doesn’t mean he isn’t a dependable leader figure. The opposite is true — in Renjun’s words, Mark’s presence unites the group in a way that makes him irreplaceable.

And while this may be the fifth year since their debut, in the grand scheme of things, the members of NCT Dream are still very, very young — by most standards, they would still be considered to have their entire careers ahead of them. Growth has brought them here, but where does Mark think it will take them in the future?

“Growing just never stops for us, I can see us growing continuously, endlessly,” he replies. “What the future holds is something that we will never know, but we always do try to prepare during the present, and so with whatever time we have currently and with whatever album, or whatever stage, or whatever piece of music it may be, we’re willing to make sure that we have the next one coming too.”

A final thought. “I’m glad that we’re striving for that, ‘cos we started off as…” Mark shakes his head, “…as babies.”

#nct #nct dream #Mark #nct 127

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mollymauk-teafleak · 3 years ago

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Noise

It was the ever incredible and wonderful @minky-for-short's birthday yesterday so I wrote her this fic! Thanks for being such a good friend and also for coming up with this brilliant Artist AU for Thanatos and Zagreus!

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Please consider leaving a comment on Ao3 if you liked this!

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Thanatos wasn’t used to coming home to a quiet house.

When he was younger, he’d always walked in from school or training classes to the racket of a house full of his siblings. There would always be someone yelling, someone arguing, something crashing to the floor, a handful of brothers and sisters sprinting past. And something inside him would sink under the weight of it.

Even for the size of the house of Nyx, there were very few quiet places, driving Than up onto the roof if he actually wanted some peace after a long day. But then there would be Zagreus, on the good days, sitting beside him and telling some story to cheer him up when he could see Than was tired and getting run down. He was there waving his hands in the air, gesturing wildly as he walked across the spine of the rooftop, eyes bright and wild and full. There was all the life and joy inside him bursting out as noise the way, later in life, it would burst out in his art.

Was it any wonder Than had fallen in love with him? He was the only kind of noise that had filled him up rather than worn him down.

And then he’d moved out but you’d really be surprised how much noise Sleep Incarnate could make when it was just the two of you sharing a cramped dorm room. And when your boyfriend was over half the time, bumping his elbows on everything and playing his guitar very badly as you tried to study, making you laugh, or sketching you as you typed an essay and throwing balls of paper at you when you moved and changed the light.

And you’d smile and you’d realise this was the man you were going to marry.

Now they had their brownstone, perfectly placed between Thanatos’ office and Zag’s studio and there was more noise contained in those walls than the mansion and that little dorm room combined. At first it was music, bright, cheesy music blasting as they unpacked all of those boxes and fit their two lives together for good. It was Zag singing in the shower on a morning, it was Than clattering pots and pans as he recreated his favourite recipes of his mothers, pared down for just the two of them. It was Cerberus barking at the birds on the fire escape or whining and kicking in his sleep, sprawled out across the sofa Than had definitely asked he not be allowed on.

And then Theodora happened. When neither of them had been looking, their bright, beautiful baby girl had come into their lives with one green eye and one gold one and all of her daddy’s spark and her papa’s brains and if Than had thought his life was noisy before, he was a fool.

But his life felt fuller than it ever had.

So when Thanatos walked through the door that evening, he immediately froze, overwhelmed with the sensation that something was very wrong. Because his house was silent.

Frowning, he hung his keys on the hook and shrugged out the heavy black coat he’d been sweating in for the last few days of warm weather. He’d had meetings with potential clients all over the place today and it felt like each one had required at least a block’s worth of walking. Of course he could just have taken the heavy thing off, as Zag often suggested, but he didn’t feel quite right without it. But drowning in sweat or not, he’d sold three of his husband's paintings today and he really felt like it warranted at least a welcome home kiss from said husband, followed by his daughter hauling herself onto her wobbly little baby legs, begging him to pick her up. And any other day, he’d have that wall of noise washing over him, loud and comforting and familiar.

So where were they?

The living room was eerily silent too, Theo’s toys lying in boneless patience for the next time she came along to play with them, the radio normally permanently tuned to Zag’s favourite station voiceless. Than frowned, the sense of disquiet getting a firmer grip on him as he passed through into the kitchen. The pots from breakfast were still in the sink, the dregs of Than’s coffee he’d hurriedly downed on the way to his office now ice cold sludge in the bottom of his favourite mug. Normally he’d be coming home to Zag attempting to cook dinner, it was his job to calmly survey the knife edge of disaster it was balancing on and diplomatically extract his husband from the stove so he could turn it into something edible. It was the thought that counted. But there wasn’t so much as a pot of tea brewing, the normally warm and raucous room cold and still.

Than’s frown deepened and he looked for a note, something to explain they’d gone to the store or the park, Zag often scrawled something on the back of an invitation to the latest gallery showing or letter asking for him to submit some work and stuck it onto the fridge. Thanatos had rescued commission requests worth thousands from the front of their fridge before, still valuable even with a request for eggs and milk scribbled on the back.

But he couldn’t see anything. The fridge only held a now week old reassurance that Zag had picked Theo up from his parents’ and taken her to get ice cream. Not much comfort to Thanatos, his heartbeat now increasing significantly.

Zagreus never left him worrying like this, he knew his husband's anxiety was only ever waiting for the slightest little nudge to topple over into overdrive. Hands starting to tremble now, he groped for his phone in his pocket, unsure whether to first dial Zag, his mother or the National Guard.

Fortunately, he didn’t have to work that out because just as he was about to yank his phone free, he heard a noise from behind the back door, something muffled coming from their tiny little walled garden. Laughter. Two kinds of laughter and he knew both of them well.

Relief settling over him, Than tried not to look like he’d been panicking that much as he pushed the door back and walked into the golden late afternoon sunlight. Their little yard wasn’t much, just a square of concrete tiles, but the borders were overflowing with greenery and flowers in sheer defiance to the lack of soil, all thanks to Than’s mother in law. In was in the sparse shades of these towering grasses and flowering vines that Zag and Theo were giggling. They were both grinning the same crooked grin, both pairs of eyes alight with that same joy.

And they were both covered in paint.

“Good evening,” Than found himself smiling too, before he even really knew why, “And what are we up to exactly?”

If Than was still a little miffed at his lack of a welcome home, it was quickly made up for when both his husband and daughter gave unison cries of delight and rushed towards him.

“Than!”

“Papa!”

Than laughed, bracing himself so he wasn’t completely knocked off his feet by their hugs, wrapping his arms around them. He accepted a lingering kiss from Zag before Theo loudly interrupted it with a retching noise, tugging on the bottom of his coat and demanding his attention.

“You gross!” she declared loudly, “Daddies gross!”

“Oh are we now?” Than chuckled, scooping her up and covering her pudgy little face in kisses until she squealed, “Is this gross?”

“No but your shirt might be going that way,” Zag grimaced apologetically, noticing the paint smearing from Theo onto her papa, “Sorry.”

Than glanced down, eyebrows raising, “Ah. And why exactly is my daughter covered in paint? I know a small amount is normal but this rather looks like she’s been rolling in it.”

Zag’s face brightened, “You’re not far off! I had this incredible idea, you see…”

“One that involved an awful lot of mess?” Than’s smile quirked fondly.

“All my best ideas do,” Zag winked over his shoulder before stepping to one side so Than could see the large roll of paper spread out across the ground.

Already it was filled with multicoloured smears and a few handprints, some footprints too, a cacophony of shape and colour. There were a few in different palettes hanging and drying on the back wall in the sun.

“You see, little Teddy’s going to be my new collaborator!” Zag spread his arms grandly over their work, “She starts them off and she can use whatever she feels like, just really moves with the energy of it all, y’know? Then I come in and tie it all together! She’s a phenomenal abstract artist!”

Than looked over the paintings they’d made together. Part of why he was such a good art dealer and such a good agent for Zagreus was that he found more to love in his work than anyone and he was good at making others see it too as he sold it to them. His love for the man spilled into the art, in the shapes and colours and textures he saw the person he’d loved since he was a kid. It was like Zag’s art spoke a language Thanatos was fluent in.

And looking at this art, the art Zag and their daughter had made together, it took his breath away. It was familiar and it was new all at once, it was bright and joyful as the two of them clashed and flowed together in the paint. If he looked long enough he could start to see what was Theo simply having fun splashing around in the colourful stuff she saw her daddy getting to play with all day and what was Zag fondly stitching her marks into something cohesive, something musical and formed.

And in it Thanatos could see his family. He could see noise.

“What do you think?” Zag’s eager smile had started to dim, his eyes getting a little anxious as he searched his husband’s face, tumbling into a nervous ramble, “I will clean her up, I promise, I put her in clothes she doesn’t love love, y’know? I will get the stains out, I swear and I can wash your shirt too if you want? I’ll use the special stuff that works really good, I mean, you might have to show me how but if there’s instructions I’ll just read those...”

Than took a step closer, careful not to damage the painting, reaching over and putting a hand on his shoulder. As it always did, the touch alone was enough to calm Zag, his nervous stumbling coming to a stop, turning into a self conscious smile.

“Zag, it’s beautiful,” Than murmured gently, moving the hand to brush his cheek affectionately. Fortunately, Theo didn’t deem this unacceptably gross, just pressing her face to Than’s neck and nuzzling contentedly, “It’s really, really beautiful.”

Zag beamed, tilting his head hopefully, “Beautiful enough that you wanna help us make another one?”

Than smiled back, already maneuvering Theo so he could shrug out of his work jacket and let it fall to the floor, Theo giggling and squirming with excitement as she helped him push his sleeves up.

“Well, I’m not a phenomenal abstract artist like you two but it does look like fun…”

The works from this new series would go across the country, thanks to Thanatos. He really was a good agent.

They didn’t sell them, Zag didn’t want them to be sold for money after the initial exhibition. Instead they were donated to art schools and children’s hospital wards and after school clubs. But the one that all three of them had done together, the one with the two sets of bigger handprints in varying shades of red and purple and the flurry of tinier ones, the smudges and smears and bright splashes of eye watering colour, that one stayed firmly where it belonged, hanging in their living room. Over time they would take it down and add to it, especially when they had two more sets of tiny handprints to add to it.

And around it, their house would never, ever be quiet.

#hades #thanzag #artist au #modern au #just some cute #for a real wonderful lady who I love a lot #happy birthday!!

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saladbroth · 4 years ago

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Why Willex Is One Of, If Not The Best Ship(s) Ever

So, as anyone who’s read my fics knows, I’m a Willex stan.

I adore them.

I have a lot of feelings about them.

And I was inspired by @a-tomb-with-a-view‘s absolutely amazing essay on the Wilson’s to rant my feelings out in form of a semi-structured and cohesive essay. Not going to lie, I had some good brain moments and an absolute galaxy brain moment (in my opionion, you’re very free and welcome to disagree), and genuinely like this.

It’s Arial and font size 12, so I hope it’s accessible for all those interested! Feel very welcome to discuss this with me, in dm’s or under this post if you’d like. Also fair warning I do swear a lot so if you don’t like that, I’m sorry, it’s who I am as a person. :D

separate link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14eroBo-h83nk-qpXSqZTxQHUvhNppHNfLkM95vz6gw8/edit

#willex #julie and the phantoms #jatp #alex mercer #willie jatp #caleb covington #julie and the himbos #thank you meg for being an inspiration #thank you to my fellow calebs for boosting my confidence enough to post this #please do actually tell me what you think i need the validation of people reading this #also willie haters interact only if you read this i will get into fights over him #also peep me being salty at the end #yeeeee

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thebadgersknackers · 4 years ago

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i will always maintain the belief that the bbc merlin writers forgot that they had an ending to write. i swear they fucked around, got to like episode 10, went 'oh shit we actually have to write a conclusion' and threw some ideas at a wall in hopes that it would form a cohesive ending.

like, despite some choices, overall the show was written well(ish). sure 90% of the characters were criminally underdeveloped, but i think the plot was actually kinda good. it all went to shit in season 5. if they had actually planned what was going to happen, they wouldn't have left so many unfinished storylines and plotholes. in this essay i will

#at the end of the day the writers made their decisions and we got what we got #but im left with so many questions #why would they constantly talk about how arthur would unite the lands of albion and bring magic back to the kingdom #but then have him die before we got to see that #sure it was implied that gwen repealed the magic ban and everything was hunky dory #but after 5 seasons of saying that merlin would see the day magic came back why would they not show us that??#imho it would have been better if the magic reveal happened maybe in episode 10 or 11 #so that we could have seen the peaceful times that had been promised for 5 SEASONS #arthurs death was inevitable bc destiny blah blah #and I'd be fine with it if we at least got to see some of the good before the bad #his death would have been bittersweet and we'd still get the message about destiny and whatnot #but whatever #its been said a million times but I'LL SAY IT AGAIN BC IM STILL MAD OVER THE ENDING #bbc merlin #merlin #merlin meta #i guess?#the diamond of the day

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inventors-fair · 4 years ago

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A Brief History of Surprise

I feel that with this first round of submissions, I’m seeing a lot of “complexity for complexity’s sake,” a lot of “what ifs” that rely on clever appearances taking precedent over elegant design. With that in mind, I thought I’d do a little bit of a personal essay on what I found surprising over Magic’s history. I hope that you will learn a little more about what I’m after and maybe relate to some of it yourselves.

So, what surprised me?

Incremental Rewards

My first block ever was the Alara block, and I’ll always have some nostalgia for it, despite the weirdness. Following that, though, was Zendikar. Zendikar was a fast, aggressive set, and yet there were payoffs that I found amazing once you got there. Sadistic Sacrament was pretty mediocre on its own, but once I ramped up to ten mana, I could selectively mill my opponent and they would know exactly what I had taken out. Hopelessness! Fantastic! And then I saw my first brand-new build-around-me card: Archmage’s Ascension. You could build up over time, over specific cards, with specific strategies, and then control to your heart’s content. Tutoring every turn! What power! And all you had to do was work for it.

Following this, I will say that the Eldrazi surprised me too. Big creatures with massive rewards, sure, they were...something. But there was something off about them, something that I still find strange. I think that their god-like card value was too much for me to handle. I didn’t focus on playing them — I focused on how to beat them. And that wasn’t fun. I was scared. Keyword soup has its time and place, but ability soup has to be balanced.

That New Recursion

The Return to Ravnica prerelease was the first one I had ever been to. Scavenge, Overload, Unleash, Detain and Populate were all fantastic mechanics, and then came along Gatecrash. The fact is, Extort remains my favorite out of all of them to play, but I keep coming back to Cipher. What a messed-up and amazing flavor, complex and strange, nuanced and difficult. Hitting with a creature and creating spells every turn was hard to pull off, but the design remains one of my favorites, and I don’t know why.

I wish they had brought it back for Modern Horizons, honestly. It’s hard to make flavorfully work in every context, because frankly, it almost sounds like sci-fi. And yet it works! It’s shadowy, powerful, strong-get-stronger vibe. And even though it wasn’t really popular, well, I still loved it. I wanted to give other spells Cipher. I wanted to see more than what was there. I wanted to unlock its secrets.

Just my Type

I groked Bestow. Theros as a whole was the set I played the most socially for a good long time. I didn’t like every aspect, but I think that Bestow was the mechanic I was least expecting. Enchantment creatures made sense, no different than artifact creatures. But now, we had creatures that could become auras, creatures that targeted upon casting, beings that engulfed other beings in light and stars and the power of Nyx!

Bestow was the first mechanic I knew I couldn’t have come up with by any stretch of the imagination, not on my own. I had been making custom cards since high school, and this was early in my college career. I was bowled over, blown away, enthralled — enchanted, if you will. I still enjoy Theros limited. It’s no Innistrad, but it’s fun, a swing between battlecruising, aggressive strategizing, and the occasional God.

Speaking of, the Gods surprised me as well. I loved these things. Their lack of creature-dom, the ability to become real and then swing in with cackling precision, was just what I loved about powerful cards those days. You had to work for them. They didn’t just do things on their own. I liked Magic the most when you had to figure it out. Maybe that’s why I’m liking Party so much in this new set.

Coming Together

You know, looking back on my Magic history and personal journey, I find myself pleasantly surprised by two specific mechanics: Party and Historic. These aren’t mechanics per se like Cipher or Bestow, but the batching made sense in a flavorful way that changed the way I build decks in limited. I searched for specific aspects, played my cards to maximize the benefit of playing other cards, and had to make something cohesive that rewarded me for playing right. That’s really all you want out of a game.

I had a blast playing with ZNR and DOM in the drafts that I was able to do, even if I didn’t do the best compared to other players. Utilizing complex mechanics made me feel good even when I wasn’t the best at them. That’s what surprised me the most, considering my lukewarm reception to the cards at first. I underestimated how much I’d enjoy playing with them because I underestimated myself.

Okay, now I’m going to run down a list of surprising cards to me and why I love them. Most of these cards I was surprised upon seeing them, and many played well as well. Let’s get specific.

Mirror-Sigil Sergeant: I get to play my favorite color AND get hella rhinos out of it? Double double, baby!

Thraximundar: I think this is still one of my favorite legends. I want to know everything about him. That name, that flavor... Oh, and a decent card, I suppose.

Ransack the Lab: This is exactly what black should be doing! Great card, you love to see it and play it.

As Foretold: Holy crap, this card. I love it so much. Combo exploitable, free spell increments, great name, great art. I had to reread it so many times.

Vorapede: I always love my Baneslayers, but I pulled this card blind, and the aggression was more than I was used to.

Elbrus, the Binding Blade: Another blind Dark Ascension card! This was the kind of reward I loved working up to.

Gauntlets of Light: I wanted this card and I got this card. Toughness aggro is a beast to beat.

Klothys, God of Destiny: This card surprised me because I hadn’t expected a multicolored God. But she fit well, she played GREAT, and I love her.

Shaman of the Great Hunt: Repeatable multicolored draw? Jesus, what a beast. I felt my stomach turn when this thing hit the table.

Bestial Menace: Oh, an old favorite. Animal summoning never felt so good. I wanted them all to be friends.

Avacyn, Angel of Hope: So simple, so powerful, and she did exactly what she said on the tin. Feels good every time.

The Adventure mechanic: Never before seen, impossible to conceive, staggeringly surprising, and it played great.

Ugin, the Spirit Dragon: Powerful, yes, but the flavor? Ghostfire, plus removal, and then the inverse of his brother Nicol Bolas. Could not have been better.

Should you play to my favorites? Well, obviously not. Should you push the envelope? Don’t push it off a cliff; it’s not a paper airplane. Should you think about your past and consider how the designers of Magic created your own favorite cards that made you gasp and squeal and swear?

YES. Yes! That’s the whole point of this contest! Delve into yourself! Make something that you love! Do something that’s new and yours but is rooted in the real! You’re not here to show off the possibilities of your custom card maker, you’re here to make something you love! If you don’t love it, start over. If you love it for the wrong reasons, start over. Magic should be for everyone. That’s the thing about all those cards and mechanics and ramblings above there: those are the reasons I love those cards. A thousand other players can love them for a thousand other reasons. Empathize beyond.

We are a community. Never forget that.

@abelzumi

#mtg #magic the gathering #inventor's fair #surprise me #monday blog #long post

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