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chirp-featherfowl · 4 years ago

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summertime is not a good friend.

- Tommy is 12 when he's assigned as a right hand man to a war general. Far too young, the world thinks. Far too immature, the world says. It is a war for peace, but not one a child should not carry the burden of. It is a war for hope, for prosperity, for freedom, but not one a child should be the right hand man of. The child that is the subject of discussion does not understand, nor does he disagree with his placement. It is not for a long, long, time that he realizes. - In a few months time, the ages of the rest have been revealed. A friend that is 13. An enemy that is 19. An outsider that is 19. A son that is 15. A girl that is 18. The words pass through the minds of the watchers, only fueling them to have the world they carefully spectate fall in shambles. Some say it's sadistic, that it's cruel, but no one listens. Not even they can stop themselves from seeing what comes next. - [Discussion Board Opened!] all hail sir billiam 23 min. ago lmao these losers saying its "problematic". get off of ur skyblock island sweetie, they're fictional <3 -- 18 replies Skye [on hiatus!] 23 min. ago Um they're not fictional? These are reall people - Hati 20 min. ago Lmao yes they are. They might as well be seeing as they shouldve known what they were signing up for -- 4 replies ami | MOD | 18 min. ago hello! please get off this discussion board and delete this post. we do not condone discourse here, try and find another site! thank you. - all hail sir billiam 18 min. ago um no thanks. the mods here r shit anyways, go get the owner if u wanna talk to me -- 8 replies - Tommy is 13 when he learns that his suffering is being watched and condoned by millions of other people. He is angry, and rightfully so. It just so happens that his anger has fallen on deaf ears, though, as his brother, his dear brother, is trapped in delusions of his own creation. It is too late for his brother, and it is too late for himself. - puddle ;; shay @soggy_mem0ry Stop stanning problematic world groups and go back to playing on fucking mineplex or something. This site disgusts me 456 Retweets 34 Quote Tweets 6,282 Likes

el \ DON'T PRIV QRT @el_i god the discourse on here is horrible. i'm not going to be on this site for a while. i don't like what it's becoming. 293 Retweets 2 Quote Tweets 1,497 Likes - It has been over six months since Tommy has been without trust. He cares for his brother, he does his best for him, and he knows he loves him back, despite the situation they're in. Tommy has done his best to bring his brother back to the way he was once before, and even though they both know it won't last long, they both put on a facade for each other. - A young boy, the age of 16, watches as another boy, only three years younger than him, loses almost all his hope. This young boy does not matter to the state of this world, and he never will, but it is the impact that makes it so important. The boy sits near a tree on his island, giving up hope himself. - A girl slaughters her way to victory in small matches in her area, knowing much due to her ability to find sufficient role models. Sufficient role models that happen to be revenge-filled adults that seem to not know they're torturing children, but it doesn't matter to her. It doesn't matter to anyone, in fact. No one cares when the world hinges on the fate of 14 year-olds who shouldn't know how to handle a crossbow, but so do nonetheless. - frog-enthusiast - Follow man. i never thought i'd be making this post, seeing as i'm one of the more popular members of the dsmpblr community, but i'm done. i won't deactivate this blog so other people can still see it, but i probably won't be posting ever again. fuck everyone who condones this shit. - Tommy is 14 when he begins to finally lose his hope. He hasn't yet, despite what everyone else thinks. He is still holding onto it, not for long, but he hasn't let go. But the world seems keen on having him release his grip, and he does, eventually. That day is not today, though, and Tommy Simons still lives. He lives in a, sadly, different and changed mindset, but is still the same Tommy Simons. He cannot say the same for his brother. - THEORIES ABOUT THE DSMP Kadoodles 696K views - 3 days ago MCC 9 Interview - Tapl's thoughts on DSMP, HBomb94 talking about L'cast, and more! MCC Highlights 3.2M views - 5 months ago Tommy confronts Wilbur about Manberg Obli Intel 52K views - 1 day ago - TAPL: Well, I'm not surprised you've asked me this. More that I was the first one to be asked, I guess? TAPL: If I'm being honest, I don't really want to talk about it. What does on in that world is none of my business. Though, that's not the answer you want, is it, huh? TAPL: I don't like it. It gives off such a bad energy, if that's the way you want to put it. I just... don't think it should exist, really? It shouldn't be shown off. - Tommy is 15 when he finally, finally, crumbles. Where he, the final judge, the youngest, is corrupted, is taken down to be who he finally is. Prey. - Various teenagers from all across the world watch as friend gets separated from friend, and foe takes over foe. It's no surprise to the people who chose this demise, but it still is a burden to carry. To be known as one of the people that sentenced a child to an early grave is something not a lot of people personally like. They keep on watching, though. Nothing will stop them. (But it is not as if people try.) The world might crumble there, and they will watch. The world might disappear there, and they will watch. - Replies jumpy-the-alien - frog-enthusiast I'm sad to see you go, but I totally get where you're coming from! I really hope you come back, I love your art, but don't feel pressured. vlaired-spear fuck off with the "fuck everyone" thing. you watched this shit too. you can't put down other people while still doing the same thing. flameo-hotman @vlaired-spear holy shit this is why i hate this website. suck a dick flowgastrell @vlaired-spear I know right! Its not like the ccs will see this anyway flameo-hotman @flowgastrell yeah, maybe not in a discord server, but there's still a high chance when you post it on the fucking internet - TAPL: I know I'm probably going to lose a lot of people saying this, but you asked for my opinion, and here it is. I don't want to lie about it. Especially not when fucking children are at risk. - Tommy remains 15 for a very long time. It is not of his own volition. He is bored, and time passes slowly. Not until his friend arrives, that is. His friend with the mask, his friend with the lies. His friend that's not his friend. But Tommy doesn't know that. - [Discussion Board Opened!] all hail sir billiam 45 min. ago it will be a long day in hell when i give up dsmp content lmaoooo got banned from that other board the other day mods were toxic as shit might report it idk -- 4 replies Gertrude Supremacy 44 min. ago :O Oh no what happened - all hail sir billiam 44 min. ago just the antis being toxic again lol -- 2 replies - Tommy remains 15 when he his abused by the one he thinks is a friend. He remains 15 during the explosions, the traps, the hitting, the fighting, the party, the- The things a 15-year-old should not have to deal with. He stops saying sorry for being too weak-willed. He starts saying sorry for being too disobedient. He does both, and gets punished "suitably" for both. It is a game, and he does not know the rules. to be continued!! may make a follow up post explaining the au

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egumal · 4 years ago

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Best Birthday Ever

Daisy knocked on the door to the apartment, trying to suppress the nerves in her stomach at having to see Lincoln again. She hadn’t seen him since their adventure on the Iliad and she didn’t know how he thought about her. True, he had saved her from Alisha, she had confided in him about her mother trying to kill her, and they had traded phone numbers and contact information, but she hadn’t seen him in-person since.

The door to the apartment opened and Daisy was greeted with seeing her Inhuman transitioner for the first time in almost a month.

“Hey!” she said. “Long time, no see!”

“Skye?” Lincoln looked startled to see her. “What are you doing here?”

“No, hi? No, it’s good to see you? No how have you been doing these last few weeks?” Daisy asked, smiling teasingly at him.

Lincoln gave her a faint smile. “Hi,” he amended his statement. “How are you?”

“Been better,” Daisy admitted. “I need your help.”

Lincoln rubbed his forehead. “Skye, I -”

“Actually, it’s Daisy now,” Daisy corrected. “I, uh...well, I kinda came to terms about my parents. Or at least...as much as I’m going to. And because I know who I am...well, I figured accepting my birth name is part of accepting who I really am.”

Lincoln sighed. “That’s...great. I just want to get away from who I am. Away from Afterlife, away from our powers, away from….” He paused. “Wait, why are you here?”

“What do you mean?” Daisy asked, a little confused. “I’m here to see you? And to ask for your help?”

“On your birthday?” Lincoln asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Daisy stopped in mid-sentence. “Wait...today is July 2nd?”

Lincoln smiled at her, but it was just a faint reminder of all the happy, genuine grins that he had previously given her in Afterlife.

“Okay, Daisy,” he said, still smiling. “Accepting who you are means that you have to accept that today is your birthday as well, you know. And you...shouldn’t be working on your birthday.”

“It’s about Jemma,” Daisy protested. “She got swallowed by the Monolith, the Monolith that Raina saw in her vision. Do you...do you know anything about that? Fitz has been going out of his mind with worry and I honestly don’t blame him because I’m really worried too and -”

“Whoa, Sk-Daisy,” Lincoln said, raising his hands in an attempt to prevent her from rambling. “Calm down. You’re going to burst a blood vessel.”

“Is that the med student in you telling you that?” Daisy teased.

“Actually, I graduated,” Lincoln said, giving her a rueful smile.

“Wait, you graduated?” Daisy asked. “Lincoln, that’s amazing! We need to celebrate!”

“Today is your birthday and you want to celebrate my med school graduation?” Lincoln asked. “If we’re celebrating anything today, we’re celebrating your birthday.”

Daisy paused. “I have...never celebrated my birthday before.”

“Well, it usually involves cake,” Lincoln said teasingly. “Cake, candles, friends...don’t your friends at S.H.I.E.L.D. know that today is your birthday?”

Daisy shrugged. “I mean, I forgot about it, so….”

“Friends remember friends’ birthdays,” Lincoln said. “Come on. Let’s celebrate your birthday.”

Daisy and Lincoln wandered the streets of Cincinnati, chatting about anything and everything, and it felt like old times, back when they had been at Afterlife, when everything had been easy. No S.H.I.E.L.D., no wars, nothing. Easy. Simple.

“Do you have a favourite cake place?” Daisy asked as they walked past a bakery.

“There’s this one around the corner that my sister and I always got birthday cakes from,” Lincoln said. “I don’t think I ever told you about her. She’s not Inhuman...doesn’t know anything about that side of me. But she’s...she’s all I’ve got.”

Daisy gave him a rueful smile. “Family is complicated.”

That was probably the understatement of the year.

“What’s her name?” Daisy asked.

“Amanda,” Lincoln replied. “She’s the lucky one in the family...the Inhuman gene didn’t manifest in her.”

“Wait, so you know how to...monitor that in Inhumans?” Daisy asked, turning to face him, deliberately ignoring the fact that he had called Amanda lucky for not inheriting Inhuman powers.

“Yeah,” Lincoln said, shrugging, his hands in his pockets. “I’ve been studying it. In addition to med school, I mean. I’ve been studying how it affects us, changes us...trying to see if scientifically, that change is reversible.”

“Wait, why?” Daisy asked, holding up a hand to stop him from talking. “Why are you trying to do that?” He of all people shouldn’t be against Inhumans going through the Mist. She paused. “Did you hear about the...start of the Inhuman Outbreak? The fish oil pills?” That was the only reason she could think of that might explain why he was suddenly against Terrigenesis. After all, he was one of the most kind and compassionate people she knew; his concern for the suddenly transforming Inhumans was the only reason she could think of that might explain his sudden reversal of opinions on Terrigenesis.

“Yeah,” Lincoln repeated. “I figured...these people don’t have a choice in what’s happening to them. They don’t know about Inhumans; it’s got to be absolutely crazy for them. Suddenly developing powers, no transitioners, nothing to explain why they’re suddenly biologically and fundamentally different? Plus, I don’t trust anything we were told in Afterlife anymore. If Jiaying told us that Terrigenesis is irreversible, well, I’m not sure if I believe that anymore.”

“Lincoln….,” Daisy began, not even sure of what to say.

Lincoln caught her concerned look. “Hey, let’s not talk about it okay? Let’s just get cake and celebrate your birthday in style. It’s not every day you turn 27.”

Daisy laughed. He was right and she had never celebrated her birthday before. It made perfect sense that she would celebrate her birthday with the one person she still trusted who had been around when she had first found out about her parents, about her birthday, about her Inhuman powers.

“Okay,” she said. “But one last thing before we drop the subject...you should join us at S.H.I.E.L.D.. We could really use you as a doctor, as a transitioner for Inhumans, as a powered person…. Coulson gave me the green light for an Inhuman team and you’re the first person I’d want on that team. I trust you. Even though you say I’m not a very trusting person.”

Lincoln couldn’t help smiling as she referred to one of the first things they had talked about on that first day in Afterlife. He had surmised that she wasn’t a very trusting person and now...well, he knew how much it meant when she said that she trusted him.

Lincoln caught her gaze. “I trust you too, Daisy,” he said. “It’s S.H.I.E.L.D. I don’t trust.” He paused. “Let’s talk about it another time.” He gestured to the bakery just ahead of them. “Cake shop awaits.”

Daisy grinned. “Okay. Your med school graduation cake is on me.”

“And your birthday cake is on me,” Lincoln countered, making her laugh.

The night went...amazingly well. They bought two slices of cake and shared them, eating at a table in the street. When they finished their cake, they wandered around downtown Cincinnati, with Lincoln pointing out places that had been influential in his youth. Talking came as easily as breathing; it was like they were in Afterlife again, bonding, enjoying time together, having someone ‘normal’ to talk to.

All too soon, Daisy’s S.H.I.E.L.D.-issued phone was vibrating; it was Mack, asking why she was still not back at the Playground and if she still needed a lift back.

“Does S.H.I.E.L.D. not know that you’re here?” Lincoln asked as they walked back towards his apartment.

Daisy shrugged. “Mack wanted to come, but I figured you’d trust me more if I came alone. Plus...the last time you met Mack, he clobbered you on the head, so I figured now would not be a good time for re-introductions.”

Lincoln laughed. “Yeah, well, he was protecting you. I can’t fault him for doing that.”

Daisy looked at him, a warmth seemingly spreading through her veins. It had been a while since she’d felt that; she hadn’t even realized at first that she had been developing...feelings for Lincoln. It had felt so instinctual, so natural...and now she was only just realizing it. But if he didn’t want to be a part of S.H.IE.L.D., didn’t want to be a part of that world...she couldn’t just drag him back into it. It would be selfish of her, as much as she wanted him there.

“Thank you,” Daisy said.

“What for?” Lincoln asked. His voice sounded playful when he next spoke. “Showing you the Seven Wonders of Cincinnati?”

Daisy laughed. “No...well, yes. But also, for saving my life. From Hydra, from Alisha...even back in Afterlife. Thank you.”

Lincoln smiled faintly. “You saved me too,” he reminded her. “Back with Hydra and you enlightened me to Jiaying and Gordon….”

“We saved each other,” Daisy corrected him.

Both of them looked at each other; Daisy thought she felt...something sparking between them. And she didn’t just mean his powers. It was something else entirely.

“Lincoln, I -”

At that moment, someone called, “Daisy!”

Both of them turned. Mack was standing in the street, his massive arms crossed over his chest.

“Coulson asked me to come,” he said. “He was worried about you...he said you shouldn’t be alone.”

“Mack, it’s Lincoln,” Daisy said, raising her arms defensively. “He saved my life countless times; Coulson has nothing to worry about.”

“Don’t worry,” Lincoln said, waving her off. “Coulson cares about you, that’s why he’s worried.”

She glanced at him as he spoke; their eyes met. For a split second, it felt like Mack wasn’t there and they were the only ones in the streets of Cincinnati. Daisy bit her bottom lip before she realized what she was doing; her gaze had drifted down to his mouth as well.

“Lincoln...you should come with us,” Daisy urged. “S.H.I.E.L.D. would be happy to have you -”

Lincoln cut her off. “No. Thank you...but no. But you should come out again. It was...fun tonight.”

Daisy smiled. He really didn’t have anything against her; it was just his fear about S.H.I.E.L.D.. And she didn’t blame him, when he had first met S.H.I.E.L.D., they had seemed a lot like Hydra to him. And Hydra had cut him up, sliced him open and experimented on him, just like they had with Jiaying. She was just incredibly grateful that he didn’t hate humans the way her mother had. Lincoln’s attitude towards humans after his Hydra experimentation had reinvigorated her faith in both humans and Inhumans; her mother’s reaction to torture didn’t have to be everyone’s.

“Yeah. It was really fun. I had fun,” Daisy said, looking up to meet his gaze.

She wanted to touch him, to hug him or something to signal the end of their night, but it felt strange doing that in front of Mack. It felt like much more than a Bobbi-Mack hug or a her-Fitz hug…. It felt like...something.

“Oh, and Daisy?” Lincoln called after her as she reluctantly turned away.

“Yeah?” Daisy asked, turning back to look at him.

“I’m really sorry I don’t know anything about the Monolith,” he said. “And I’m sorry about your friend. And...happy birthday.”

Daisy smiled. “Happy graduation.”

They shared a smile, eyes locked on one another. It was only when Mack made a slight movement to Daisy’s right that she remembered that he was there. Reluctantly, she turned to leave; Mack followed suit. Once they were out of earshot, Mack looked at her quizzically.

“Today’s your birthday?” he asked.

Daisy was pretty sure she blushed. “Yeah.”

“And you told Sparkplug about it and not the rest of us?” he asked.

He didn’t sound hurt by her admission, but still...they were partners. Daisy felt a twinge of guilt all the same. But it wasn’t like that...or at least she hadn’t intended for it to be like that. She hadn’t meant it to seem like she had chosen Lincoln’s company above the rest of her S.H.I.E.L.D. team. Although she certainly felt differently towards Lincoln than she did towards everyone else on her S.H.I.E.L.D. team.

Daisy shook her head. “It’s not like that,” she said. “He was with me when I found out about it, so there was nothing to tell. He just remembered, that’s all.”

“Right…,” Mack said, nodding his head. “So...date night, huh?”

“Mack!” Daisy protested.

Mack held up his hands. “Hey, I’m not judging. Or saying or doing anything. If anyone deserves a night off, it’s on their birthday. And if that’s how you want to spend our birthday, that’s cool with me.”

Daisy was pretty sure her blush got even deeper. But she couldn’t help smiling at the thought of her night out with Lincoln. As she and Mack walked away, she glanced over her shoulder at where she had last seen Lincoln. Ironically, at that moment, he looked over his shoulder at her and their eyes met. Each smiled sheepishly at the other and then turned away. Mack raised an eyebrow at her; she bumped him with her shoulder.

“Don’t make a big deal of it,” she warned.

“He’s not Grant Ward,” Mack replied matter-of-factly. “And that makes me like him.”

Daisy laughed. “He’s definitely 100% not Grant Ward. He’s...so much more.”

“Hmm.”

As Daisy and Mack walked into the Quinjet, heading back to the Playground, Daisy couldn’t help smiling. Best birthday ever.

P.S.

@daisylincs Hey, Lily, not sure if I’m tagging you right, but either way, I love you, miss you, and cannot thank you enough for listening to my endless ramble and constant verbal spam!!! 😍😍😍 I hope you like your Secret Santa gift!!! 😍😍😍

@agentsofchallenges

#aos secret santa #@agentsofchallenges #@daisylincs #staticquake #daisyandlincoln

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unknowncountrygirl · 3 years ago

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The New Chaser Pt.6

Final part of this story.

They arrived in the Great Hall and it was alight with life. Students were everywhere, even on the tables. Quaffles flew threw the air like ping pong balls. Banners were hung with Gryffindor colors. Frosty mugs of Butterbeer were being passed around, and all but shoved into their hands upon arrival.

“Blimey, Face Paint kid wasn't joking. Look at the turnout from our house! And look at the pride in our Gryffindor Quidditch team. And look at how everyone's looking at the three of your like rockstars! And look at-”

“Yes, Murphy, we can see it all.” Iris smiled.

“Support can be quiet or exuberant, but it is always powerful.” Orion stated.

“Right, I'm glad we all came here together.” Skye admitted as she cheered a butterbeer and all but chugged it.

“Let us go and celebrate our Quidditch win with our Housemates.” Orion suggested, his arm once again seeming to wrap around Iris's shoulder, seeming a little tighter then previously. Murphy felt his blood boil. For the next hour, he tried to get Iris's attention, but she was quite the popular person at the party. People were wanting her autographs, wanting to talk, and interview her. He also had a few people coming to talk to him about the new strategy that was used in the game which he was more then excited to chat about.

The party was winding down and he found himself in a circle that consisted of himself, Iris, Skye and Orion again.

“Chatting with our house's Quidditch fans has got me excited all over again about the match!” Iris exclaimed happily, but her joy was short lived.

“So are you saying if you had to play all over again, you'd choose the same move in the match?” Skye inquired. The look that crossed Iris's face was one of thinly veiled anger and disbelief.

“Yes. I'd make the same choice.” She stated firmly. “We won, after all. Think of all those points we scored! Points are what matter if we're to win the Quidditch cup.”

“This time we won. We got lucky.” Skye crossed her arms over her chest, pouting.

“Let us not escalated any discord here. Remember, it is a Gryffindor celebration.” Orion tried to smooth Skye's ruffled feathers.

“Speaking of, look who just crashed our party.” Murphy muttered, nodding in a direction. Skye, Orion, and Iris turned to see a trio of blue.

“Erika Rath. She and her mates passed by me and Penny at the pre match party.” Iris informed them.

“And then what happened?” Orion asked, sounding surprisingly irritated.

“Rath stopped, looked at me, and then just walked away.” She shrugged.

“What!” Skye shouted, “Rath can't do that!”

“She can.” Murphy snickered.

“She just looked at me.” Iris stated, not seeing an issue.

“She and her Ravenclaw Quidditch mates can't just sit over there and ignore us!”

“They are.” Murphy stated, knowing he was just poking the bear. Iris kicked his wheel, trying to get him to shut up.

“What are you so bloody excited about, McNully?” The blue haired girl snarled.

“A relevant riveting rivalry to talk about! Ravenclaw is the team to beat this year!” He explained.

“Indeed, Rath and her mates are playing mind games.” Orion stated.

“Alright, so let's win. Put my decisions today, whether you like them or not, behind us. We need to be a united front.” Iris practically pleaded.

“I concur.” Orion agreed.

“Right! I'm in too.” Skye nodded.

“So what's next?” Murphy inquired.

“Practice of course!” Skye exclaimed raising a fist in the air.

“Right now?” Iris asked.

“It is a wise decision. Rath cannot play mind games with us if we are not here.” Orion nodded.

“Did Orion call me wise?” Skye questioned in shock. “This 'united front' idea of yours might just work out after all, Iris. Let's head to the pitch.”

“Um, I have other things to do. We didn't have a scheduled practice.” Iris admitted.

“I will allow us a brief rest before we practice, I'll call on you when the time comes.” Orion allowed them. Murphy had a feeling, by the way Iris darted out of the great hall, that she would have not shown up for practice even if he would have called for it.

Part of him wanted to follow her, but he decided against it despite his heart strings. Iris had a life outside Quidditch and he could live with that even though the voice of jealousy and inadequacy played with his mind.

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He actually was using the breezeway when he finally saw Iris again, with Charlie Weasley, and Barnaby Lee coming from the Care of Magical Creatures paddock. He breathed a relative sigh of relief because he knew she was not rushing off for a romantic date but a date to take care of some sort of animal. The trio was laughing and joking and he could tell by simple body language that there was nothing romantic about the situation, so his mind rested for the time being. When Iris got close, he waved at her and she beamed brightly, waving back.

It seemed her foul mood over the pressure put on her had lifted by time with friends and critters. She had turned to head towards the courtyard, and he thought that she was coming to see him, but saw a more golden haired blonde go bouncing her way, along with a raven haired girl.

Rowan Khana and Penny Haywood, his mind supplied. She looked his way and he gave her another wave and let her talk with her girlfriends. He wasn't going to rush over and interrupt, he wasn't that needy. Yet. So he decided to head up to the dorms and decompress a bit, and he was sure there was still a party going on in the common room over the victory.

Sure enough, there was still a party going on and a bunch of people approached him to talk about that move Iris used, which he was more then thrilled to talk about. The sun was starting to set, and he finally made his way towards his room. A shower and some freshly laundered pajamas sounded just right. He did note that Iris hadn't returned to Gryffindor Tower yet.

He rolled into his room and saw Orion looking rather beside himself, refusing to look up as he was meditating. Backwards. Back to the door and facing the wall. He though that was odd but really paid him no mind and went to grab his bathing things.

“Good win today Orion.” He stated just in passing to be friendly.

“Quality of wins are ever changing, much like the wind.”

“OOOOK.” Murphy nodded. “Well, unlike the wind, the win will move us closer to the Quidditch cup.”

“Perhaps. But is the Quidditch cup may not be what we are all chasing.” There was a bit of spite in Orion's tone that Murphy picked up on.

“Well, taking into consideration that all but myself are on the Quidditch Team. I'd say yeah, 97% sure that the Cup is what we're after.”

“And it is you who's motivations I question.”

“Excuse me?” Murphy immediately went into fight mode rather then flight. “What does that-” He shook his head, “is this about Iris? And the Thimblerig shuffle?” This was out of character for Orion, he was always mister balance and peace. Something about this entire situation had really thrown him off. Which would mean-

“I have made my peace with it, what gives me unrest is if her choice was unbiased and truly what was best for the team.” Orion stated, his normally cool and calm voice having some venom in it.

Murphy could tell it was there.

The only thing that could throw off balance, would be envy. At the root of envy was one's heart, which meant that Murphy wasn't the only one chasing more then the Quidditch Cup. The Chaser was chasing, and he was also chasing Iris.

He knew he should just ignore him, because he was being lead down a path that he knew better to engage with, but his feelings got the better of him.

“What are you getting at Amari?” It came out much more defensive the he had intended.

“We all know how you can talk, and talk, and talk. I'm wondering what you may have said to convince Iris to choose your untested maneuver rather then ones known to work. She has been nothing but team oriented, but she admitted to choosing with her heart rather then her mind.”

“Perhaps it was the fact that it was new and no one expected it? Wasn't that the whole point of you choosing her to lead and make the choices? To throw off the team with the unexpected.” Murphy replied sarcastically. “Or are you insinuating that I somehow showed her affection that she's so hard up on? Because I can assure you, she's not hurting for male affection, or hell even female affection if she swung that way.” Orion stayed silent, so the blonde finished with, “trust me, it wasn't my sexual prowess that won her over.”

“I am not saying that you and Iris had any sexual relations, I am stating that she chose with her heart. She is, in my opinion, an empath, and I simply wonder if you may have abused that character trait of hers in order to make her more empathetic to your plight.”

It took Murphy a moment to fully dissect what it was that Orion was getting at. He felt a swell of anger, and a bubble of dread and guilt.

'No, she chose the Thimblerig Shuffle because she cares for me, not because she pities me'.

He told himself like a mantra.

Like he was trying to talk himself into something.

That thought, hit him like the Hogwarts Express. Perhaps he was the one so starved for attention that when Iris showed him some, perhaps as simply a friend, he had completely misread everything.

He needed some fresh air. Without saying a word he turned his chair and headed towards the door, admitting his defeat in the argument. He rolled his way down the hallways, his mind running numbers, interactions, scanning over every word and smile that Iris had ever sent his way.

He had made it down towards the Great Hall, perhaps a drink and a snack to mull over his life choices would help. He was so focused on this, he almost ran into someone.

“I'm so sorry, I wasn't paying any attention.”

“It's ok, Murphy.” The voice stated happily, causing him to look up at the blonde in front of him. Penny Haywood, and by the way Iris spoke, one of her best best friend. An idea struck him,

“Penny, you and Iris are close, right?”

“Yeah, she's my best friend.” She giggled gently. She was a pretty girl, Murphy thought, not as pretty as Iris in his opinion though. He thought it was a funny turn of events that the two prettiest girls in their year had teamed up and became probably the most intimidating duo to the male half, and probably some of the female half, of the Hogwarts dating pool.

“I was wondering, do you know if she likes anyone?”

“She likes everyone, Murphy.” Penny said with a knowing smile, teasing him a bit.

“Well, I- yeah-but-” He stuttered. She giggled and decided to end the teasing.

“Yes, she does like someone, if you are referring to the romantic sense.”

“You two have talked about it?”

“Yeah, what do you think girls do when we hang out?” Penny smiled. “I'm not the only friend she's confided in either. Honestly, I'm surprised you don't know.”

“Well I don't. You know who, though?”

“I do.”

“Would you tell me?” Murphy practically pleaded.

“I think that you should ask her something that personal, she's in the greenhouses working on her year end project.” She told him, and he could tell that she knew something he didn't and he hoped to God it was what he hoped for.

“I'll do that, thanks Penny.” He said as he started to head for the greenhouses.

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

He opened the door to the third Greenhouse, where most of the Student projects were housed, and saw that he hadn't attracted her attention from her work. She was tenderly holding a flower in her left hand and dabbing at it with a paint brush before turning her attention to a second flower and dabbing it with the same brush, then placing a light net-like bag over the bloom.

Her hair was pulled up in a messy knot on top of her head, pieces falling down here and there around her face and neck. She had dirt up her arms, staining her skin and her rolled up sleeves. She had on a gardening apron with various tools and supplies stored in it hanging from her hips. She looked like a little garden fairy, and not for the first tie Murphy found himself running the percentage of how much Veela blood ran in her veins.

“Oh! Hey Murphy!” She finally had spotted him and smoothed back some of the hair in her face, smearing some dirt across her cheeks. “I didn't hear you come in, I'm a mess!”

“It's ok, I kinda snuck up on you.” He admitted as he rolled up near her. “What are you doing?” He had never really seen her immersed in her other studies or hobbies, and seeing her enjoying herself outside of Quidditch was refreshing.

“Oh, I'm working on my Dahlia breeding.” She said excitedly, “I'm working on crossing the Platinum blonde as the mother plant with the Polka variety and seeing what happens there. They're both anemone varieties, so I think it will just be more of a color variation then anything. Then over here I'm working on some zinnia's, I have the Senora here, it has more cactus like blooms, and I'm planning on crossing one mother plant with the Zowie and one with the Oklahoma Salmon.” She pointed out every breed of flower for him, delicately cupping the blooms in her fingers.

She practically beamed, she was so passionate about her flower projects he had a realization that this was where her passion truly was, and he wondered how many people actually cared to ask her about her Herbology and Botany projects. She was the Cursed Vault girl, constantly helping everyone and anyone, caring for Magical creatures with Hagrid and doing extra projects with Professor's and the Headmaster, she was also active in dueling club, Hippogriff, Sphinx, and Dragon club, she had also been a standout for her grades, AND she now played Quidditch. Flowers fell at the least interesting thing about her, for most people at least. If they made her this happy though, Murphy would buy her a entire field to breed and plant flowers with.

“Is this what it sounds like to everyone when I talk about Quidditch?” He asked with a sly grin. She laughed and placed her hands on her hips.

“Do I sound that dorky?” She teased, throwing him a wink and a playful smile. “My grandmother always had the most beautiful flowers, she grew iris's and bred them, won all kind of shows and accolades for her specialty blooms. So my mother grew up around them, which is how I got my name.” She told him proudly. He had never heard this story before, and the way she talked and the way her face had this wistful far off look, he knew she didn't share it with most people.

“I've always liked your name, it suits you.” He told her, hoping he didn't sound to corny.

“Thank you.” She smiled, and they fell into a silence that felt slightly awkward as she worked on a few flowers. “Is there something you wanted to talk about? You're not normally this quiet... Ever.” She asked. He let out a long breath and ran his fingers through his hair.

“Well, actually, yes there is.” He nodded, “I was having a disagreement with Orion.”

“Oh?” This peaked her interest and he could see a bit of nervousness cross her afce. “He does that, ha, I thought that would throw off his center or whatever.” Iris joked, pruning a dead head, slipping it into a pocket of her apron. She wasn't telling him something.

“He does have his moments, we've been roommates for years so I've seen him at some of his worst.” He cleared his throat, “it was actually about you.”

“Me? What on earth would you two be having a disagreement about-” He watched as the realization hit her. “He's still upset I didn't choose the inspired broom surfing, isn't he? Gosh, Skye doesn't even hold a grudge this long!”

“I mean, it was kind of about the broom surfing-”

“It was his freaking idea to put that pressure on me, did he think that letting me have the choice would make me choose his idea? If he wanted to do inspired broom surfing he should have just done it himself! He's the fucking Captain! Act like it!” He jumped, he had never heard a swear word pass over her lips. Iris vented to Murphy, angrily snipping at more dead flower heads and shoving them into her pocket rather aggressively.

“Iris.” Murphy called her name hoping to snap her from her angry tirade.

“He's just mad and taking it out on you because-” she stopped mid sentence and shook her head. Murphy moved his chair closer to her and reached out one of his hands to hers and grasped it gently. He had only seen Iris angry once, and he didn't like seeing her this upset.

“Did... Something happen between you and Orion too?”

“Yes.” She sighed, making no effort to take her hand from his. “He met me in the courtyard earlier, after I saw you, and we also had a disagreement. He was asking me why I chose the Thimblerig Shuffle and I gave him my answer, that didn't seem to satisfy him. So we continued to argue and... You came up, and I ht hmmm.” She mumbled the last part.

“You what?” Murphy asked, not really understanding what she had said.

“I said I hit him.” Iris stated.

“You what!” He exclaimed, not expecting that at all, 100% shocking to hear. Orion had not mentioned it when they had their words but it mad sense now why he wouldn't look at him. He probably had two black eyes and a swollen nose he was hiding.

“It hit him. I gave him a bloody nose.” Iris admitted. Murphy was speechless, he had come to talk about things of romantic nature and then the conversation had turned to Iris admitting she had decked Orion, seemingly in front of a courtyard of people. He wondered if this is why Penny had such a giggly attitude earlier.

“You hit Orion?” He asked again, just to be absolutely sure at what he was hearing. She nodded. “What on earth did he say that got you that mad at him? I unleashed pixies on you and you still didn't hit me.”

“He just, pissed me off.” She stated, and he felt like she wanted to drop it but he wasn't going to let her.

“Why? What did he say?”

“Just a back handed comment-”

“About me, that irritated you enough to give him a bloody nose.”

“He was mad that I rejected his advances, alright?” Iris blurted. “For some reason he couldn't accept it and drug you into it.” She explained further, “he insinuated that you basically used...” She struggled for the words and he knew what was coming. Iris was one of the few people that had seen him for himself, and not the chair first. “That you used your disability to control my feelings.” He nodded, and felt her fingers tighten around his and he saw her eyes begin to blink rapidly.

“Iris, if you feel like I did-”

“No! Absolutely I don't!” She shouted, pulling her hand away to wave it in the air then rub at her temples. “You were at least honest with me, saying you could actively petition for the Thimberlig Shuffle and be my friend. Orion used his past of being an Orphan to try and get me to use inspired broom surfing and it seemed forced, like he was trying to get me to feel sorry for him so i'd choose the surfing method. Theres no correlation between his past and inspired broom surfing other then Quidditch making him feel like he has a family. I'm not dismissing that, I'm sure it does, but his choice of scoring play doesn't have anything to do with that!”

“Iris, I'm sorry that he put you in a hard spot, it's not fair and-”

“I just feel like he put me in that position to manipulate me, not because he actually thought I was an asset.”

“No it was your assets.” Murphy coughed into his hand.

“What irritates me is that he doesn't act like I'm capable of thinking for myself! He completely just disregarded that I could actually just feel for you without being manipulated into it.”

Oh God. Oh. Oh. OH! Did she just-she just- his brain felt like it was short circuiting.

“Iris, I'm going to have to ask you to explain more, because there's a lot of information to process.” Was all he was able to get out.

“Orion misread me, ok? He thought that I had romantic feelings for him. I don't. So when he asked me to go out, I turned him down and apologized for any misunderstandings that I caused. He then became defensive and accused you of manipulating my feelings, when I just... I just care about you and he just can't understand that.” She looked down to his face and their eyes met, for the first time he saw vulnerability in her wide blue eyes.

“What you mean by care-”

“Oh my God Murphy! I like you! Everyone with eyes can see it!” Iris was beyond frustrated at this point. He almost wanted to snicker because she was waving her arms around and stomping her feet, and with her stature she looked like a child throwing a tantrum. “Maybe that did cloud my vision when it came to picking out a scoring drive, but I also thought it was the best out of the three presented to me!”

Murphy just looked up at her and batted his eyes for a moment, his brain feeling like it turned to mush. She had just fully informed him, and rather fanatically, that she did indeed feel the same way for him that he did for her.

“Iris. I appreciate you picking the Thimblerig Shuffle. But, fuck that right now.” He said honestly. “You truly mean what you said?” He watched her pick at the skin around her nails before she looked at him a bit nervously.

“Yes. I do.” She nodded. “I'm sorry I yelled it at you, that's not exactly how I imagined telling you.”

“I really don't care how you told me!” Murphy exclaimed, “I just care that you told me! You've invaded my mind ever since I met you on the pitch!”

“When you dumped books on me?”

“Yeah! Why do you think I spluttered, dumped, and ran? You intimidated me and I had no idea what to say!”

Iris laughed a bit and held out her hand to him, which she snapped up quickly. He had held her hand before but this felt so much different. She leaned down and gave him a swift kiss on his cheek,

“I got dirt on you.” She told him with a smile as she tried to duct it off, only smearing more on him. “Oops, I'm so sorry.”

“Just write your name on there, let everyone know you're mine.” He gave her a wink.

“So that's it then? That simple?”

“You like me, I am head over heels crazy over you, I think it could be that simple.” He ran his thumb over the back of her hand, feeling the graininess of dirt there, but he didn't care. “I can announce it at the next House Match if you want something over the top.”

“I mean, you might even if I say no.” Iris joked. “Whatever you want, really I am not easily embarrassed.”

“Well then, I'll have to practice, I might just roll around practicing all over Hogwarts.”

“I won't stop you, but people might get annoyed.”

“Just because they're jealous that the most amazing witch that ever walked through Hogwarts is officially my girlfriend.”

“Mmmm, that sounds nice.” She ran her fingers though his hair, “girlfriend, boyfriend.” Murphy tugged her hand and gently let her sit on his lap, wrapping his arms around her waist, smiling like a love struck puppy.

“You have no idea how much I've wanted to do this.”

“Have me sit on you?” Iris questioned. Murphy nodded.

“I can't hug in a traditional way, so this is the closest thing, and I feel like it's a bit more personal this way.” He told her truthfully. Iris leaned into him, her head resting on his shoulder, her nose touching his cheek almost tickling him, and her arms wrapped around his neck. He in turn wrapped his arms around her tightly and pillowed his cheek against her hair.

She smelled like Magnolia blossoms, grass, dirt, and crisp linens. He knew smelt like this because he had worked with some Amortenia not long ago, and when he smelled it he knew it was Iris. He could have stayed like this for the rest of time, holding her and talking about any small thing or any deep heavy conversation because he was truly happy.

He knew eventually he would have to return to the castle, bid her goodnight and go and face Orion which made his stomach turn. He knew it would hurt him, but it would have to come up sooner rather then later because he was not about to keep his hands off hers or not talk about as much as he knew he would.

“How are you going to tell Orion?” Iris asked, seeming to read his mind. He let out a sad chuckle.

“That's my problem, not yours to worry about. I think you've had enough put upon you today.” He told her, running his hand over her spine. He could feel her ribs under his fingers, and noted the way she jumped and giggled a bit. “Ticklish?”

“Very.”

“You shouldn't have told me that! I'm gonna use that against you.” He wiggled his fingers and caused her to snap and squirm, eliciting a cry of laughter. She planted her feet on the ground and stood up, noting the darkness outside.

“Oh, I think it's getting close to curfew.” She stated rather sadly. “I have to finish up.”

“Do you need any help?” Murphy asked.

“Sure! Could you held me take some notes while I clean up?” She asked and handed him a quill and parchment. She noted a couple tings, suggested a couple names, added that she needed to make some adjustments to her soil. He knew he was smiling like a fool, but he didn't care.

Iris finished and put everything away a few minutes later so that they could make their way up to the Gryffindor Tower before Filch came and strung them up by their toes. He couldn't hold her hand, but he would at least be as close to her as they made their way down the hallways. Their relationship would not be traditional, and it would take a lot of work and patience but he was fully committed to it like he was commentating.

He didn't have a new dream, but he had definitely expanded it.

#hphm #hphm murphy mcnully #hphm quidditch #hphm jacobs sibling #murphy mcnully

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onisiondrama · 4 years ago

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(Note: I’m not repeating stories he’s told before and just putting them in parenthesis. I have a lot more videos to go until I’m caught up so that would save me a lot of time. If he gives details I never heard from him before, I will type those.)

“Should I Get A Divorce?” Speaks, Oct 6, 2020

- This video is weird. He’s trying to make himself seem smart and insightful about marriage because his marriage is “successful”, while most people complain about their marriage. - There’s one part where he says people don’t understand you don’t have to be lied to or cheated on in a relationship. Which is pretty ironic coming from him. He shows a clip of an upset wife asking her husband what he’s doing with a woman in a bedroom. The husband and the woman are getting dressed. The husband keeps asking “Who?” “What?”, pretending the woman isn’t there. Later he shows more of the clip where the wife is still questing him. He keeps pretending he doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She looks in the bedroom again and the woman is gone. The wife looks confused. Love that gaslighting. Just like when Jamsey boi cheats. “I didn’t cheat. It was the other person who cheated on you, my spouse” “You said I can’t have oral or vaginal sex with your friend. You didn’t say anything about anal.” - In another part he says there are people who constantly complain about their s/o and they hide away in a man cave.. he says this while in his garage man cave. 😑 Which we know he spends most of his time in. Like, way longer than normal working hours. - He says he used to look angry in his old Speaks videos because of his marriage at the time. That’s total crap. He only shows clips from videos where he used his old militant persona for videos like his anti-meat videos. He made plenty of mushy Speaks videos talking about how happy he was with Skye back then too. 🙄 - I think he made this video during his short guru / advise phase.

“gotta say goodbye for a little bit” Speaks, October 8, 2020

- Tells his viewers they can listen to this video without watching it if they like to listen to people talk, like Kai used to do. [This is definitely meant to be another guru / advise type video. I can tell by his tone.] - Says he’s married to Kai for almost 8 years. (How Kai found James story) Says he married a fan and had children with them. He says they now have an awesome dynamic, but he knocks on wood because people who are together 18 years still get divorces. Says you never know, things can suddenly fall apart. - Says it’s cool because at the time he didn’t listen to social standards. Kai was 17 at the time, but lied about his age. Most people would have said don’t go for the relationship because Kai lied and the age gap, even though it was legal. He listened to the law and his heart and now he’s in the happiest marriage of his life. - “F society.” If he listened to society, he wouldn’t know where he’d be or what relationship he’d be in. Says you have to follow the legal system or your life is ruined. - Says he was an air force cop at one point because he believed in justice. He doesn’t think he wanted to shoot people, but he excelled in the cop program. He says he met Magic Johnson in the cafeteria at Lackland Air Force Base. He barely knew who Magic Johnson was, but he thought it was cool a famous basketball player was there. James asked him if he could take a picture and he said yes. He says he took a picture of him like a reporter and not a selfie. He still regrets that. - Says he wants to talk about the future of this channel. Some people appreciate he’s been uploading every day, but he wants to focus on sites that aren’t shadow banning people or algorithmically demoting people. He feels like Youtube is king in letting negative opinions prevail, even if it’s invalid. If the engagement shows people are mad at you, Youtube used to go the harsh truth route. He says that was nice. He says he once made a fake meltdown video in response to a video Leafy made about him. He says it’s fun for him to make fake meltdowns. - He says he and Kai took a quiz today and found out Kai’s IQ is 136 and his is 129, so Kai is smarter than him. - After the meltdown videos, Youtube algorithm didn’t favor him as much. He says maybe it was because he said they were fake. - He says he has been thinking about websites and how they treat users. Says Twitter is one the best because they don’t care about what your opinion is. They just care about their rules. Says if people don’t like you on other sites, they will shadow-ban you and you’re done for. He says his reaction video to Leafy’s video got 1/6th the views Leafy did, so there was a bleed over of traffic. Now when someone says something negative about you, YouTube will only promote videos that agree with that narrative. Says if you only want to hear negative stuff about Joe Biden, you’ll only see negative stuff. He says it’s financially productive, but it’s not ethically productive.

[I just want to pause here and vent a second. Yes, James fell out of the YouTube algorithm, but he’s had plenty of chances to sweep back into it. Like when he was getting tons of views on those fake meltdown videos in January. The reason those viewers didn’t stay is because there is nothing good for them to watch. His Speaks videos are boring, long, rambling messes. He repeats himself, contradicts himself, talks about the same topics over and over. These videos are mind-numbingly boring. His comedy videos are extremely outdated. The characters, topics, and humor he uses are not going to get him anywhere anymore. Like is the Death Note fandom really that strong in 2020? That anime came out 14 years ago for Christ sake. His music is not particularly good or interesting. On top of all this, his reputation is complete garbage.

People just don’t want to watch Onision. If the algorithm tried promoting his Speaks videos, I guarantee most people are actively choosing not to click on his videos. The non-subscribers that do click probably regret it. He’s made ZERO effort into making interesting or engaging content. He’s ONLY been making Speaks content that either fuels his ego or defends himself using the same old arguments he’s used 100+ times before. He’s got to be in some kind of deep denial if he thinks his Youtube views are down because of the algorithm.

There used to be a saying that whenever Onision’s fans grow out of him, there will always be a crop of young teens that start watching him. That’s not happening anymore. It’s not cool for the alt / loner kids to watch edgy Youtube videos anymore.]

- Says people only want to hear things they agree with, people want to take what he says out of context, blah, blah. I’m only 1/4th of the way through this damn video. - He asks why he’s busting his butt when there’s no chance for him to prevail on Youtube or anywhere. He says he’s on TikTok, OnlyFans, Twitch. [This video was from before his partnership was taken away on Twitch.] He says those are slightly less problematic because they are driven by human beings and not drama. - He says when you see him posting less to Youtube in the future, you’ll understand why. He says he wants to wait you guys out, 2 years, 20 years. (He tried to call out Shane story.) He says he had to wait a year or two until people admitted he was right about Shane. He says he has conflicting feeling about Shane because they had a personal friendship. Says Shane told him they were friends. - He says you guys seem to drive your narrative and agendas by emotion rather than science and facts. He can’t reason with them unless he picked a greater evil and wages war on that. You would have to join forces with him because the enemy of my enemy is my friend. He says he wouldn’t do that because he’s not interested in being a professional wrestler and making fake drama. - In time you will feel passionately about other things. You don’t actually care about anyone involved because none of you are consuming yourself with anything that is not pop culture. You’re only interested in things other people are pretending to care about. None of you would care if someone found three bodies in a basement. If they were not celebrities you wouldn’t care. You only want justice for things that will get you attention. - If someone builds their whole platform about anti-person they might get bored and become anti-you. That’s why you don’t want to be friends with dramatic people. - He says he was dramatic about things, but that’s because he did care about those things. He wasn’t talking about 3 bodies in the basement either. - Says a long time ago when a celebrity died, he pointed out 30 people were murdered and washed ashore in another country. No one was talking about it because they probably didn’t hear about it. Nobody actually cares about human lives. If you did, every second that a human dies you’d be tweeting about it. - (Sarah blackmail story.) He says in a number of words Sarah said she wouldn’t ruin his life if she slept with him, then went back on it. [Wow. He really morphed his original story. It used to be: One time she jokingly said she could ruin our lives. Later we wanted her to sign an NDA and she said only if she gets something out of it, meaning sex. James said it was “good vibes” that day and he perceived that as her being kinky. She also said it was just a joke in the “proof” clip he always uses. They signed the NDA, then James pressured / tricked Kai into having sex with himself and Sarah. Then Sarah later came back and he decided they should have anal while Kai was out of town because Kai didn’t say no genital to butt. He only said no genital to genital and no genital to mouth before he left.] He says he decided to no longer sleep with Sarah because it was toxic and he decided he would rather be ruined than be with Sarah. [I have a theory he stopped sleeping with Sarah because he was afraid of Kai finding out. If he was truly afraid of Sarah ruining his life, why did he make those videos about weed smokers and BPD that would piss her off? She didn’t speak about their relationship publicly until he started bashing her through those videos.] Says Sarah went ahead and ruined his life and you fell for it. - He keeps mentioning Joe Rogan. - He says others have said he built an empire, uploaded thousands of videos. He gave so much of his life entertaining people and making them laugh. It was so important to him. He changed a lot of lives for the better. Says if you look on Twitter before the drama, you’ll see a lot of people thanking him. Says he was a positive influence to millions of people. That’s a fact. It all came crumbling down because people lied. They’re all criminals he kicked out of his life. He tries to play hero and he was only right with Kai. Kai wasn’t playing victim, he was on his way to college to be a surgeon. Once he was in the process of having kids, he lost the taste to be in a surgery room. Instead he got a bachelor’s in psychology. Kai’s diagnosis of James is aspects of narcissism, but says he doesn’t meet the qualifications to be a full blown narcissist. - He is investing a lot of time in people who don’t listen and don’t appreciate his content. Social media is a drug that tries to take up as much of your time as possible to make advertisers money. He doesn't create content that lies to you or brainwashing you into thinking your opinion is valid. He doesn’t pander to you to make money. Says when he says he’s one of the most honest people on Youtube, the bar is low. OnisionSpeaks is snake poison because snakes don’t survive on this channel. They aren’t going to have a voice that isn’t questioned. Most snakes on Youtube don’t even know how to activate charities on their channels. - Says he had a conversation with Kai about someone who said they vote for the economy over people. Humans are divided between helping their neighbor and helping themselves. - Says he was never taken to court because he never did anything. He’s still posting to places that he thinks is beneficial to himself and his family. Why would he stop because people have a bad idea of him? You shouldn’t alter your life just because people have an opinion of you. If you quit it makes you look guilty. If you quit you’re either guilty or incapable of dealing with it. He says he’s used to dealing with abuse since he began social media. - He wants to create content and help people and make them laugh. He wants to be socially capable and experienced. His ambitions are aligned with what he’s doing. - He says he can’t forgive his father if what people say about him is true. Everyone else he can forgive. If you are at odds with him, he doesn’t have any hate for you. He understands people can hear the wrong narrative and make mistakes. Says we are both imperfect people and have gone through different things. Says if we went through the same experiences, we’d think the same. Says we aren’t so different. - Says he’s going away and he hopes you watch all his videos so you’ll know a little bit about who he is instead of listening to what Youtube manipulates you into watching. Says his advise is to quit social media. He wouldn’t quit because he’s passionate about it.

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crazy-loca-blog · 5 years ago

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Personal thoughts on… 2019 releases (Part II)

Note: As the title says, these are just personal opinions on Choices books and chapters. Of course, you may agree or disagree with them, I only use this platform to express my thoughts on what I read every week.

Welcome to the second part of this three-part post. As I said in the first post, I will include current releases and books that were released on 2018 but finished in 2019. The list is organized in alphabetical order and it doesn’t include the VIP Books (as I don’t have access to the feature) or the seasonal books (as I’ll talk about them in another post, after all of them have been fully released). You may see Part I here.

PS: I’ll do my best to upload Part III today (Dec. 31), but I can’t make any promises because I won’t be home on New Year’s eve.

Desire & Decorum, Book 3 (August 4, 2019 - December 1, 2019): This is the only wedding book that made real sense to me this year… and it’s definitely my favorite wedding book of the year. It was the perfect closure for a series that didn’t convince me that much at first, but that I learned to love over time. We had this whole new plot with Harry that was a little weak, but at the same time it was a smart move, as it helped to keep a balance and to not overcharge things with the wedding. But can we just talk about the final chapter? It was simply adorable, I loved every part of it (honestly, I haven’t heard of anyone complaining on the final chapter yet). If I have to criticize something, I’d say the writers went too far with Mr. Sinclaire. The man went through hell in the first two books, I thought they would give him a break in the third one… I was so wrong! But overall, I really liked this book, the new characters such as Harry, Briar’s mom and Hamid’s mom gave some fresh air to the story and new plots such as matchmaking Luke and Anabelle’s sister were a nice twist. I’m pretty happy with this book.

High School Story: Class Act, Book 1 (October 8, 2018 - January 14, 2019): New cast, same school. I couldn’t actually say if I like or dislike this book more than the previous series because I actually feel it’s just impossible to compare them. The writers had a very difficult work to do, as they needed to make this cast different from the HSS one within the same environment, and I’d say they succeeded. Not only you can see the problems are different, but also the way they address their relationships is different, and it’s quite evident that they are younger kids that are transitioning into their teenage years more than teens thinking about graduating and going to college. We also went from this super popular MC and being prom king/queen to a MC who embarrasses himself/herself quite often and whose friends (except for Rory) are probably amongst the most unpopular kids in school. Finally, the fact that the story focuses in one specific school area (the theatre club) was a pretty smart move to not make this story a mess. So overall, it’s not one of my favorite books, but I enjoyed reading it and I appreciate the writers’ effort to make this series different from the first one.

High School Story: Class Act, Book 2 (February 11, 2019 - May 20, 2019): This is the theatre book where theatre is not seen anywhere. I’m not sure if this is the weakest book in the series (I think I still need to realize how Book 3 will end in a few weeks), but I admit I had to review the chapters’ summary because I couldn’t even remember what the book was about. The plot was simply lame, there are no big highlights in the story, we spent like half of it in the middle of a fight between Rory and our twin because they both want to be school president (can we talk about the fact that Maria is graduating?) and we appeared on TV. Our MC simply didn’t shine or did anything truly remarkable during this book. If it weren’t for Ajay’s parents’ divorce and the role our MC played on supporting his/her friend, this book would have been easily forgotten.

High School Story: Class Act, Book 3 (October 30, 2019 - Present): Honestly, I’m not a fan of mixing both HSS gangs in Book 3. It feels weird not to be able to control a MC that I was able to manage in the past. I also understand all the hype for going to London, but did we really need as many people as we see in this book? Where are people like Natalie or Danielle? I mean, I don’t like them, but they’ve belonged to this group since day 1. Anyway… I’m guessing this is the way the writers found for us to say goodbye to this series. After six books, I think it’s the perfect time to put High School Story to rest for a while, before it becomes a mess. Even though there are some chapters left, I can already tell what my favorite thing about this book (and this series) is: the issues these kids have to face in their personal lives are serious stuff. In the past, Rory’s mom had cancer and Ajay’s parents got divorced, and now we talk about Skye coming from an abusive family and our twins trying to find their roots. That was enough. I don’t think we needed Rory and Ajay facing new problems in this book. Instead, I would have preferred to see Rory working with Maria or Ajay dealing with the fact that he became “the man of the house” after his parents’ divorce. The idea was to see them “growing” throughout the series; unfortunately, this hasn’t happened yet.

It Lives Beneath (October 10, 2018 - January 30, 2019): This is the only book in the list I haven’t read… and there is a very specific reason for it. When It Lives In The Woods was first released, I noticed that a lot of the screenshots people were posting included spiders… a lot of them. As an aracnophobic myself, I just couldn’t even begin the first chapter of that book. Then, It Lives Beneath was released and I noticed that there were some characters from the first book, so I said “mmm… maybe I do need to read the first book because it might be linked to the second one”, so I never read it. However, I have to agree with the fandom on the fact that we need more mystery and horror books in the app. Sure, I’m a sucker for romance books, but at the same time, I’m totally capable to understand that we need more diversity in terms of books. So I’m totally waiting for this series to be revisited in the future, the fans deserve it.

Mother Of The Year (August 30, 2019 - Present): This God-tier book is one of those gifts that you don’t expect to be that nice, but it ends up being a treasure. It definitely climbed up in my personal list and went straight to the Top 2 of my favorite books in the app. Nobody had much hope on this story, but we ended up meeting an adorable daughter, a mom that was a warrior, three LIs that were simply adorable, one of the best BBFs that Choices has given us and Luz Mendez, probably one of the best characters in the app. Overall, the plot and the characters (even the evil ones!) were so real and relatable that I have to admit I went through every single possible feeling while reading the book… I laughed, I cried, I screamed, and I got mad at times. And of course, my heart broke when we realized that this was a standalone book. But do I really want it to become a series? I’m not that sure. There is a part of me who wouldn’t like to see a second book because the ending was so precious that I wouldn’t like it to be ruined with a second book. On the other hand, I love the story so much that it makes me sad to realize we won’t be getting anything new from these beautiful people. However, I think the story is perfect to make a Christmas or a Halloween special, focused on the kids… maybe even a summer book! This book definitely deserves to be revisited in the future.

Nightbound (April 24, 2019 - July 31, 2019): I’m not surprised by the end of Nightbound, but I’m definitely sad. I had problems trying to understand the book at first because I’m not the type of person who’s into supernatural and magical stuff (I have to admit this also causes me some problems even when trying to understand the plots in books such as Bloodbound and The Elementalists, despite I think those are good series). I may even have to replay it to fully understand it. But there are some things that are pretty clear to me: the book is well written, the book is good, the book has awesome characters and most importantly, the book is DIFFERENT, something that this fandom has been asking for a long time now. So I was quite shocked when the writers said the book wasn’t doing as good as they thought. Does this book deserve a sequel? Absolutely! Even though I think it got a proper closure, I also think the plot has a lot of potential that could be explored. As that won’t be happening, I really hope to see some of these characters in Bloodblound 3, just as we saw Cal in Bloodbound 2.

Open Heart (February 22, 2019 - June 7, 2019): Sorry, but right now I think my opinion will be completely biased because this is my absolute favorite book in the app. There’s just nothing I don’t love about it. The balance between the romance and the professional stories is one of the bests (if not the best) in the app, the characters are well written, the medical plot is interesting and it addresses many of the current conflicts in health care… it’s just a masterpiece. On the romantic side, it doesn’t matter if you go straight to Bryce or Jackie or if you preferred the slow burn with Rafael (actually, can he be considered a “slow burn”?) or Ethan, the writers took their time for the MC to befriend them, we got to deeply know these people (except for Bryce and Jackie… I’m so waiting to know more about them!) before making a choice, and not all of the romance stories ended up with happy endings and fairy tails, so yeah… it’s my perfect book. Can’t wait for the second one!

Passport to Romance (March 20, 2019 - June 19, 2019): Probably my biggest disappointment of the year. The idea behind this story seemed nice, we could have learned about so many places, we could have laughed about so many of the troubles that people travelling on a budget face, we could have had a series instead of a standalone book. Instead, we got a MC who was always late, who seemed to be quite irresponsible with her job, who lived a life of luxury and who suddenly became BFF with people he/she had just met. Come on, they were nice people (even though at some point I just wanted to make Elliot disappear), but again… we had just met, it’s not like you can’t live without them. On top of that, I can’t even remember how many times this gang violated some rules… sure, Yvette was happy, but it might have cost you an expulsion from Europe, which is not nice if you’re a travel blogger. Let’s add up the non-sense of some situations. I know that books are supposed to be a mix between fiction and reality, but I think they went too far this time. I mean… why would the coach allow Ahmed to travel with a group of strangers instead of travelling with the rest of the team? Especially if he’s a professional athlete and he’s competing in an important championship... sorry guys, but there’s nothing I can rescue from this book.

Platinum (May 30, 2019 - September 19, 2019): This is definitely one of my favorite stories this year, and sorry… but I will never get over the fact that this is a standalone book. This book is so unique in so many ways… for the first time, we heard voices and we heard people singing… we also got Avery and Raleigh, two LIs that were gender customizable… the secondary characters were gold… the plot was so cliché but so attractive at the same time… and I could continue. Reading it every week was a real pleasure, you were actually waiting to find out what would happen the next week, and at some point, it seemed like it was the only book that people talked about. However, creating this book was expensive, and well... that just sucks. It would have been so nice to see our MC touring with her friends, taking new risks, visiting new places, and receiving the rock star treatment that she deserved. This book still has a solid fanbase (especially in Tumblr), so it’s just sad it won’t be revisited in the future.

#playchoices #choices stories you play #desire and decorum #high school story #high school story class act #it lives series #it lives beneath #mother of the year #nightbound #open heart #passport to romance #platinum #hss #hssca #ilb #moty #nb #oh #ptr

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ayankun · 4 years ago

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yalright let’s do this

AGENTS OF SHIELD SEASON ONE REWATCH COMPLETE BREAKDOWN MEGAPOST

hella spoilers for the entire canon up through season 5, but not 6 because I only saw it the once and am having a hard time remembering ANYthing about it.

I cannot determine specifically what it was about this season that caused to be branded “literal garbage” in my mind-hole for seven years.

Best guesses:

there’s some cheesy stuff that probably didn’t sit well with me at the time, and, at the time, there was no way of knowing that that kind of stuff was going to be ultimately eradicated

there’s some good stuff, like character stuff and plot stuff, but it didn’t successfully implant positive emotional responses in my brain-hole, leading me to be frustrated/offended at its own self-importance

there’s some stuff that just Doesn’t Work. I won’t call anybody out, but there are some main side characters whose casting, in my opinion, leaves much to be desired. when it comes to acting ability, I feel that it’s important to have the ranges of your entire cast match each other. if you’re gonna hire B-listers, at least make sure they’re ALL B-listers. if you’re gonna splurge and get some S-tier talent, pleeeeease don’t embarrass the B-listers by thinking you’re doing them a favor by including them on your project. Understood, this opinion is highly subjective and I can’t expect everyone in front or behind the screen to buy into it, but it’s definitely a pet peeve of mine that causes strong reactions in me*

some of the plots are tired and/or straight up boring. I got through them easily this time through because I was able to focus on the things I like, which is largely character interactions and re-learning the backstory for stuff that I know will continue to be important later on. imagine listening to your grandpa’s stories about his life, but instead of telling you the cool stories about going to the moon or whatever, he’s telling you in great detail about the time he got his shoelaces stuck on like, a rusty nail sticking out of a fence. It’s not a great story but it does explain why his mom only bought him velcro shoes after that and one time when they were trying on shoes in the store a couple of years later, some other kid started making fun of him for having velcro shoes and long story short your grandpa’s relationship with that kid is what got him interested in astrophysics and also he married that kid twenty-five years later -- but right now the story is specifically about spending forty minutes trying not to get tetanus.

Now that I’m older and wiser, what really surprised me throughout, though, was that not only was I not having any type of reaction that validated my “literal garbage” classification, I was noticing that there was A Lot of stuff that ticked a lot of boxes.

I’m talking technical stuff, the textbook basic filmmaking stuff, the stuff that I subjectively find objectively “Good” because it means that creative decisions were made with intent and were also executed proficiently enough to make that intent clear.

I’m talking SYMMETRICAL NARRATIVE which has to be one of my all-time favorite techniques, one that I personally use a lot, and I’m very biased in responding favorably when I see it, so I think ultimately this is a huge reason why this season cannot be classified as garbage this time around. Because it shows that they cared! It shows that they had A Plan! It’s an emotionally satisfying technique that can be used to great effect when tipping the audience off to how far we’ve come from where we started. It creates this nice tidy structural loop which I find very appealing.

Just real quick, you see this in individual episodes or even scenes, too. Here’s a classic A+ example from episode 2:

Simmons has given Skye a bottle of water as a gag because that’s what happens on planes, and that bit is a set up to this bit, where Coulson is talking about how he rebuilt the Bus from the “studs up” and it demands to be treated with kid gloves; ergo:

Only to have the thing completely wrecked over the course of the episode. In the denouement, “just starting to warm up to this place,” Coulson says ruefully, righting a broken glass as if that will put the plane back together; Skye immediately tosses a coaster down and moves the glass on top of it.

As a callback, it juxtaposes the starting-state and ending-state in your mind and highlights the contrast between the two. And it’s also a nice character-building beat where you, the audience, get to observe Skye’s character in that she remembers a trivial detail that happened to be important to Coulson. You also get to see Coulson observing the same, and you understand a little bit more about both of them. *chef’s kiss*

So this is a pretty powerful and common technique, and I guess you could say that any well-resolved narrative is by definition going to recall you to the specifics of how it started. Like ep 1 we start with Mike and Ace, their call and response “what are we/we’re a team,” and an understanding of Mike’s desire to be his kid’s guardian and hero and his desperate search for the tools that will allow him to become that. In the finale, we see the pay off where Ace (via Skye) reminds Mike of this motivation, and Mike is finally in the position to protect his kid by taking out the Big Bad.

But I don’t want to go through the list to demonstrate that everyone’s character arcs likewise left them in a thematically resolved position relative to where they started. Obviously this is an expectation of all (well structured) narratives.

(And I don’t really mean to talk about callbacks themselves, such as Fitz’s obsession with monkeys or May’s repeated demand of “don’t call me that.”)

Stuff that only comes up at the beginning and the end. Here’s the kind of symmetry that I mean:

Skye’s use of GPS encryption and the location of the diner where she first meets Mike. Both topics come up in ep 1, and are revisited in ep 20 when she’s stalling for time against Ward and brings him to the diner by telling him that it’s the GPS coordinates necessary for decrypting the drive. It says, last time you were here, Skye, you were living out of a van and fangirling over people with superpowers; now you’re an official agent of SHIELD (fun while it lasted, anyway) and you’re currently doublecrossing your own doublecrosser who was directly responsible for transforming you into the competent spy you are today.

Same thing: the only time we see Lola fly is at the end of ep 1, when Coulson and Skye are heading back to the Bus, and in ep 20 when Coulson rescues Skye from off the Bus.

Ep 2: 0-8-4. We’re introduced to the very first object with the titular designation, and Simmons idly wonders “imagine what it would do to a person.” Ep 22, it’s used to evaporate Garrett. Same ep, we also meet the little, what even is it, that dendrotoxin EMP (??? I don’t recall whether the gadget is named) that Ward uses, and Coulson uses it in ep 17 to incapacitate Garrett.

Similarly, all the cool alien gadgets we spent the first few episodes gathering and locking up, including that first 0-8-4, are all broken out into the wrong hands in ep 18.

Also in ep 2 we are introduced to the idea of being thrown out of the airplane and Skye & co specifically prevent Ward from being sucked out. We’re introduced to the concept of Coulson’s cellist! Fury also makes a cameo (”talkin to me about authority”) !

It’s a little later on, but ep 6 has Simmons jumping out the plane, and Ward proving his Good Teammate status by jumping out after her (while Fitz is struggling on his way to do the same). Ep 21, Ward boots FitzSimmons out the plane, and in ep 22 Fitz finally has the chance to properly save Simmons himself.

Ep 19 Coulson has a chance to save his cellist (again)

Ep 22, Fury comes back all Deus ex Machina and relinquishes authority of SHIELD directly to Coulson.

There’s also some dialogue recycled on purpose to make a point, like Fitz-Simmons introductory scene is recreated almost verbatim in ep 21:

Ep 2, talking to Skye about his mission vs ep 18 talking to Raina about his mission

(gotta admit, the man took this role seriously. check out that cheekbone game he achieved in such a short time)

And again, Ep 1 Ward vs Ep 18 Ward. They even framed it the same!!

All this to say, Season 1 is Structurally Sound and it has my blessing.

Now let’s move on to the list of things I liked that surprised me:

It’s pretty well polished, visually. Joss Whedon’s veteran control of the director’s chair is readily apparent in the pilot, setting the visual tone for the series. There are some made-for-tv shots over the course of the season, sure, and the least impressive compositions tend to involve CGI backdrops, but they do make the most of their interior sets and work hard to dress up various LA locations to, er, inspire the idea of the international scope of the show. In my last update, I talked about ep 8 The Well in the context of Quality Directing, so it definitely goes above and beyond the basic shot-reverse shot when it wants to.

Ward. Just for the record, I think Brett Dalton is great at his job and really brought exactly what they wanted to this character. Eps 1 and 2 are a little shaky and stiff, but everyone’s performances are, as they let these characters coalesce around them. I remember not liking Ward when I was watching this live, and honestly I think this was intentional. He’s that character that you expect that you’re expected to like, you know, the traditional cocky savior type that lots of those fancy heroes are. But because he’s so tropey in his characterization, you’re just ... over it? And then when they flip the script and you’re supposed to hate him -- WOW. It’s like two Christmases at once. They took something you were already doing and rewarded you for it.

I’m not unaware of the “redeem grant ward” phenomenon. I’m aware that the character had fans who were honestly drawn to and appreciative of the character before that persona was revealed to be a lie.

And honestly, it’s not that I like OR dislike Ward at all. As a person. It’s annoying that he’s a cocky bad-boy. But it’s sweet when he plays nice with Simmons. It’s embarrassing that he and May have “a thing.” But it’s cathartic when he opens up to Skye about his past. And Then, the sequence where we know he’s Hydra but Skye doesn’t. And Then, the sequence where Skye knows he’s Hydra but he doesn’t. And Then, his weird yucky confusion where he still wants to pursue something with Skye or doesn’t want to put down puppy-dog-eyed Fitz.

As a character, Ward is a great character. His set up is so bland that the twist does appear to come out of nowhere, but on a rewatch all the groundwork is there. His characterization as a baddie is enthralling. I’m forecasting into season 2 a bit, but you want to follow his nefarious exploits just as much as you want to see his ex-friends smash his face in. Brett Dalton played it right, A+ good job. It makes Framework!Ward just that much more of a beautiful thing, to get to see what it would have been like if the Season 1 persona had actually been the man.

Also as covered in the last update, I was really very pleased to see how much character work was being done in this season. Because I only watch and rewatch starting from the second season, there are important plot points that I’d been grudgingly attributing to this season about which I’d forgotten the specifics, such as, what’s the deal with Gravitonium, howcome we hate Ward so much, where did they get that memory-torture-machine, why are you acting like I recognize Titus Welliver’s character? What surprised me was how much of a focus there is on character development as well. A lot of good origin story stuff, like how green FitzSimmons is and how soft and good-hearted Skye is and all the reasons we respect and trust May and all the reasons we would follow Coulson to the ends of the earth. Watching a found family start to put down roots is worth it, too, ten times out of ten.

The tie-in stuff wasn’t as overstated and stifling as I remembered it being. They were allowed quite a long leash even this far back. Centipede is based on Extremis, but helms a a unique narrative. The Asgardians-of-the-week are just MacGuffins for driving character stories. Turns out all of SHIELD has been Hydra all along! Sucks to be you, a show about the Agents of SHIELD ... oh wait, Daddy MCU’s insane twist is mirrored in the DNA of your team’s composition AND baked into your overall season arc? Well then. Carry on!

Engaging with Season 1 explicitly as a prequel is a powerful thing. First time through, I had the distinct realization that “too much of a good thing” was at play regarding Coulson. He’s everybody’s favorite MCU character in 2013, hands down, but ... getting intimate with him for 40 minutes a week really waters down his mysterious G-man appeal. BUT. After spending six+ years with the man, Season 1!Coulson is a precursor to the 3-dimensional Director you’ll fall in love with, rather than a distortion of the one-liner MCU!Coulson you thought you wanted.

So what’s next! Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and here all all the things I associate with AoS that were not present in Season 1:

Robot hand.

DaISy JoHnsOn

AGENT/DIRECTOR MACK where is he I need him

Fitz’s facial hair

Their underground SSR base with the exposed brick, I miss that place all the time

Hive, Bobbi*, Hunter, Kyle MacLachlan, Maveth (everything** about Seasons 2 and 3, really). Robbie Reyes. Aida and Kasius!! I know these things are temporary, but they’re so important to the best bits and I love them.

Getting to see episode after episode where there are scenes at a time containing a majority (up to 100%) of women and/or POC characters with executive agency, and none of those characters are token or temporary but were placed there with intent to normalize a diversified cast.

My absolute favorite episode of all time, 4x15 Self Control.

Things I am not looking forward to:

**Lincoln. I’ve seen these seasons four times and just now I had to google his name because I wasn’t sure it wasn’t Logan. He’s garbage and I’m glad he’s dead. Other opinions are available.

Misc. Thoughts

*I said I wouldn’t name names but Adrianne Palicki is a C-lister who can swing a B+ if the stars align. I love Bobbi, though, especially the way the character’s reputation precedes her, how her adorableness complements her badassness. In fact, the character’s a great foil to May, who is also a badass lady and S-tier agent but has a completely different approach to being those things. Bobbi’s a reminder that badassness and aloofness are not correlated at all. Also there’s a headcanon out there that she’s non-binary (one of the reasons she prefers Bobbi over Barbara) and that is a concept I can get behind. Bobbi’s perfect and I’ll fight you if you don’t agree.

Poor Trip!!!!!!! When you always start from Season 2, he’s really just a flash in the pan, there and gone. I’ve always been like, “well, he didn’t really have a home here, no carved-out niche, so I guess getting Coulson’d and becoming something to avenge is the best a character like him is gonna get.” But now that I see that he comes late to the game as a literal stand in for Ward, his story is that much sadder. He was never intended to BE a character. He’s introduced with Garrett as a pawn/distraction during this arc’s who-is-Hydra shell game, he’s kept to demonstrate what kind of friend and agent Ward should have been, his defining character trait as a gentle flirt only serves as a catalyst for Fitz’s coming to terms with his feelings for Simmons. The poor guy is just a walking plot point, up until the bitter end. :<

I had entirely forgotten and/or never tracked the fact that Fury put together Coulson’s team specifically to monitor him after project T.A.H.I.T.I. I’d forgotten the distrust Coulson has for May after he perceives that she has betrayed him by being a part of this. It’s a season-specific reveal that is literally never mentioned again. It’s important to the fabric of the narrative of that particular arc, offering up May alongside Ward and Trip as fodder for the aforementioned shell game, but the true inciting incident of this entire show just gets swept under the rug and ceases to matter. I’m kind of :/ about that.

When you’re bi and non-binary, you’ll get a lot of mileage out of wanting to be/be with Daisy and/or Fitz, don’t judge me

In conclusion, Season 1 is the opposite of literal garbage, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is my favorite show and my favorite MCU movie, Daisy Johnson is my favorite Marvel superhero (not related to Season 1 but still true), and nobody had better spoil Season 7 for me pleaAAASE don’t let it happen.

#agents of shield #aos #so I guess this is what I ended up doing today #v productive

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danetobelieve · 5 years ago

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I Don’t Pinot What To Say || Skylar and Winston

Winston hadn’t abused their parents trust in a few months now. But it had been years since they had used one of their parents trip to see one of their siblings out of state as an excuse to do something that they wouldn’t necessarily appreciate. Like inviting a girl over to get drunk. Except it wasn’t like it sounded. Ricky had done what they thought was right and ultimately Skylar was doing better for it. But they couldn’t help but wonder if now that their trust had been irrevocably broken if things would have to change between Ricky and Skylar. But Winston was trying to do their best to keep clear of this. It wasn’t really their business and they didn’t want to have to choose between two of their friends. As their came a knock at their front door, they pulled the large green door open and smiled at Skylar before nodding for her to follow. “Come in, come in,” they said quietly, “I promise that I have four other older siblings and that is why this house is so unreasonably large now.” Their parents had had their family home built before Winston was born and though it was well worn now, they wouldn’t change it for the world. “... how are you doing?” They tried not to wince at their own question. After all, it was the elephant in the room but it was a little uncomfortable and they weren’t sure that Skylar was ready to talk yet.

Skylar sighed as she walked up to the front door of the large house, the wine bottles in her backpack clinking quietly against each other as she walked. It was nice of Winston to offer their parent’s place as like… neutral drinking ground. After last weekend, she really didn’t want anything to do with their house, just to avoid seeing Ricky. Knocking on the door, Skylar’s hands fidgeted at her side as she waited for them to open the door. She didn’t usually drink, but this seemed like one of the safest and more responsible ways to do it. And, honestly, the cheapest. “Hi. It’s a really pretty house.” She said politely. It wasn’t a lie either. Like most of the homes around White Crest, the house had a really cute New England charm to it. “Mmm. I’m… Ugh. Wine first.” She mumbled, setting her backpack on the counter and taking out a few of the bottles. “White or red? Or rose, I’ve got that too.” She said, with a slightly sheepish grin. “It takes a lot for me to even get tipsy.”

Raising an eyebrow, Winston held the door open as Skylar stepped through before closing it behind them. “Thanks, I’ll pass the compliment onto my parents,” they replied with a nervous chuckle, “got it … wine first.” They led them through to the large kitchen and nodded for them to take a seat at the round table at the center of the room. Opening the cupboard they pulled down to wine glasses before fishing a corkscrew out of the draw. They usually bought screw top wine but maybe Skylar actually had taste in wine and knew why corked wine was so much more expensive. “Honestly I don’t really drink wine or at all to be honest or maybe just not as much as some of my peers. But whatever you’re having I am happy to try.” They shrugged. “Got to be honest I couldn’t even tell you that Rose was a sort of wine.”

“Hm? Oh, I don’t think we need that for--” Skylar examined one of the wine bottles. Huh, look at that. A really cheap looking cork. Neat. “Well, we’ll need it for the red. But the rest of these are just capped.” She said, unscrewing the top of one of the white wines and pouring a generous portion for Winston and an equally large glass for herself. “That’s fair. I don’t usually drink much either but… Treat yourself? Well, treat yourself as much as you can. Which, in my case, is bottles of basically alcoholic juice.” She offered lamely. “I only know about it because of all the wine mom memes. It honestly just looks like someone mixed a red and a white together.” Picking up her glass, she offered it to Winston to clink. She wasn’t really sure what to toast, but it felt like the right thing to do. “Here’s to… making it through all of this weird stuff?” She asked.

“Oh sure,” Winston, “either way it is there if we need it I guess.” Winston placed the corkscrew on the table and watched as Skylar served them. Scooping up their glass of wine they generously tapped it against Skylar’s glass. “I will definitely toast to weird stuff and I will also toast to treating yourself with a little bit of alcohol when you’ve had a really tough week … month but you know hopefully not a really tough year.” They shrugged gently at Skylar’s description of rose. “I’ve never got wine, it’s cool and it’s gets me super fucked up but I don’t get how people can you know pay thousands of dollars for a bottle of wine. Crazy stuff to me…” they were desperate for anything to talk about that wasn’t the weird stuff before Skylar was ready. This whole situation was so far out of their depth it was almost like they were discovering everything for the first time today. Even though it was basically a month now. “But this wine,” they said swallowing a mouthful of the acidic wine, “well who knows if it is good or not, certainly not me, but it tastes alcoholic which is great news.”

Taking a long drink from her glass, Skylar ignored the less than pleasant taste of wine in favor of focusing on the fact that, the more she drank, the less she’d think about all of the stuff she’d been through. “Tough month sounds about right, mhm. I guess it hasn’t been super easy for you either, what with the… fire stuff and the name thing.” She winced, realizing that she’d been so focused on everything that was going on in her life, she hadn’t really paid much attention to what was going on in their life. “How is that going, by the way? You’re back to your normal self?” She asked. Shrugging at Winston’s opinion on wine, Skylar opened her mouth to mention something about her parents and their ridiculous wine collection, but the memory of her parents soured in her mind. Instead, she took a smaller sip from her glass. “Agreed. Alcohol… is good right about now.”

Twisting their own glass under the light Winston peered through the pale liquid that sat within. “Yeah well I think anyone who has been since indoctrinated into the church of the supernatural is going to be struggling along like the rest of us, experiences might be different but the feeling of being out of your depth must be universal until you get more used to this.” Winston felt like they were way more then out of their depth, they were clinging to a piece of driftwood and praying that they didn’t drown. Noticing Skye’s wince they sighed and shrugged. “Now that the name is back and I can remember it being my name then it is fine, as for the magic I gotta be honest I haven’t done shit with it. I’ve done a tonne of reading and research and my theory is good but practically I have been way too scared to try it.” They shrugged and sighed. “It takes a lot and I’m kind of scared of doing too much and taking too much energy to do it…”

Winston’s way of putting it made Skylar laugh, just a little bit. It was one of the first genuine laughs she’d had since… everything went down. It felt good to laugh again. “I guess it is. But, I think we’ll get the hang of it soon. We’re in this together.” She said with a small smile. Then again… she’d thought she was in it together with Remmy. And look at how that had panned out. Finishing her glass of wine, Skylar poured herself another. It would take a lot more than one big glass of wine to push out these awful thoughts. “I’m glad that you’re back to being Winston. It was a little scary when you weren’t.” Tapping her fingers against the counter top, Skylar chewed the inside of her cheek. “Hm. How big is your backyard?” Skylar asked, tilting her head outside. “If you want to give magic a shot… I can be here as like, your second. Do you have oreos here too? I can stand on the side lines with wine and cookies.”

Skye was just as new to this as Winston was and that in itself made them feel better. Blanche, Nell, Ricky and the others that they’d met were nice, but they didn’t really get why this was so difficult for them to comprehend. Skylar was living this for the very first time and Winston felt like she really got what it was like. “Yeah,” they said with forceful agreement, “we are in this together and you know what one of us is useful and the other one of us might be able to do magic one day so I’m sure we’ve got this.” Her laugh causes a smile to dance across their face. As Skylar finished their glass of wine, Winston did their very best to follow suit but found that was easier said then done and eventually decided that they would just have to drink more regularly in an effort to keep up with her. As she refilled her glass, Winston continued to work through theirs. “Me too,” they agreed, “it was like the weirdest set of cognitive dissonance I could imagine because I knew that all the evidence pointed towards my name being Winston but that just didn’t feel right to me.” They shrugged. “I guess it’s fixed now and not something to worry about.” They just had to be more careful. Considering Skylar’s suggestion they paused before nodding. “Oreos I’ve got, my parents keep this place well stocked when I house sit for them which is always great, my back yard is big but I actually have a better place to do it… if you want to see?” They hadn’t shown many people the place they and their siblings used to play, but now seemed as good a time as any. “Even if I can’t get the magic going, it looks good at night?”

“I don’t know if I’m useful, yet. You’re the magic fire person, after all.” Skylar joked, nudging them with her shoulder. She took another drink, before nodding. “But, we’ve got this, for sure.” Listening closely while Winston spoke, she mulled over their experiences. God, that sounded awful. As bad as she had been, Skylar had honestly been through worse. Which wasn’t something she was going to tell anyone. “For sure. And thanks for letting me know about Regan, I’ve been trying to be careful around her.” Watching as Winston attempted to drain their glass, Skylar’s eyebrow quirked-- did they know that it was a bad idea to try and go drink for drink with her? They were friends with Ricky after all-- Nope. No. “Sure! We can bring the wine and some snacks for you, just in case.” She said with a nod, hoping she sounded more confident than she felt. There wasn’t anything weird happening, just two friends going out to try and do magic. Totally normal.

“You’re smart and funny and resourceful, definitely more useful then potentially being a time bomb that could go off at any moment…” Winston trailed off and frowned, “sorry I didn’t mean to be such a Debbie downer, you don’t need me killing the mood. We’ve definitely got this.” Pausing, Winston would realise later that they should’ve said less then they did. “Just don’t tell her that she can have your name and you’ll be fine, she asked me if she could have my name and so I told her my name and everything happened, but she gave it back to me and it’s all fine now.” They paused and swallowed for a moment, suddenly concerned that they might have jeopardised Regan’s safety. But then they remembered that they were sat with Skylar, someone who they doubted had any malicious intent in her body. “Uh, we can probably find you some snacks,” Winston ran to the fridge and pulled out a small tray of smoked salmon wrapped in celophane, their mother knew how much Ricky loved smoked salmon. ��If you want it, it’s all yours, I won’t eat it and it’ll go off before my parents are back.” Downing the rest of their wine they led Skylar out of the back of the house. They had a big garden, with an old trampoline at the end of it that had definitely seen better days. Everything was well worn, but everything was also neat and in it’s place. Leading them through the darkness, they reached the hedge that marked the edge of their land and after flicking on their torch light they were able to squeeze through a hole in the hedge that they were sure used to be much larger. “You can grab my hoodie if you want,” they said as they stepped into the hedge, “it gets dark in here and it’s easy to trip if you’re not careful but we won’t be long.” They led their way through the hedge, maybe for five or ten meters before coming out on the other side and plucking a leaf from their hair. “It’s not too far from here,” they explained waiting for Skylar to emerge from the hedge.

Listening to Winston bash themself wasn’t super comfortable, but she could understand how they felt. Skylar honestly felt the same way about herself, only that she was a countdown clock, with limited time, and no real way to survive that didn’t involve-- Skylar finished her second glass before screwing the lid back on the half empty bottle. “It’s okay. I can understand being a Debbie Downer sometimes. And thanks for letting me know about her, I appreciate it a lot.” She said with a nod. Blinking when Winston offered her salmon, Skylar smiled. “Oh! Thanks. That’d be great.” Packing it up in her bag, she followed Winston out of the house and into the backyard. As they offered their hoodie for her, she shook her head. “It’s okay, I can actually see alright out here. It’s… um… a selkie thing.” She mumbled. “Sounds good!” She said with a thumbs up as she stepped out of the hedge.

Leading her a little further, Winston walked them through some trees and down to a stream where there sat an old pier that they had made when Winston was very young. It had been a really good day and Winston had some fond memories here. “If we’re going to try and do the fire thing, doing it near water is probably a good idea…” Winston paused for a moment before making their way out onto a very short pier, maybe ten feet in length at the most. They’d swiped a bottle of wine on their way out and screwing the top off of a very sweet bottle of rose. Sucking down a mouthful, they wiped a dribble of it from their mouth and handed the bottle over to Skylar. “So … how is the whole … uh…” they paused before continuing, “how are you doing with the selkie thing?”

As Winston led the way to the small stream, Skylar’s fingers reached up to touch her hearing aids nervously. It was just a small little body of water, it wasn’t a big deal. It was okay. “Yeah, that makes a lot of sense. Don’t want to get Smokey the Bear riled up or anything.” She nodded, forcing herself to follow them out onto the pier. Taking the bottle from Winston, Skylar nervously stared at the water before taking a few long swallows. Her head felt just the slightest bit woozy, but given how much she’d drank, it would take a lot more for her to actually feel drunk. “It’s fine. I’m handling it.” She said dismissively before pulling out her own bottle of wine. Lifting it to her mouth, she realized how this probably looked, “Um. I have a lot of blood? I’m not an alcoholic, I’m really just not feeling anything yet.” She said with an apologetic shrug. “Don’t try to keep up with me, you might get really sick. Besides, fire magic and drunkenness probably won’t mix well?”

Honestly Winston was beginning to feel a little bit too drunk. The world was swaying a little bit and they had to steady themselves against the pier. Tenderly setting the bottle of wine down, they gazed out across the water and into the open night sky. “I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that there was some terrifying supernatural version of Smokey the Bear…” they laughed gently and smiled for a moment at that thought. Looking back at Skylar, they smiled gently and shook their head. “Don’t worry, I don’t think you’re an alcoholic, besides if anyone deserves a night where we get to drink without worrying about other stuff then it’s us.” They raised their bottle of wine in a toast to Skylar before swallowing a mouthful. “Don’t worry,” they said immediately setting the bottle back down and regretting the last mouthful, “I think I’m going to take a break…” they had almost forgotten about the fact that they came out here to do magic. “I guess I don’t really know how to start…?” they didn’t move. The problem was they couldn’t work out a way to trigger it.

“You know,” Skylar laughed with a slight shake of her head, “That wouldn’t be the wildest thing I’ve heard either. Vampires, magical knives, selkies, zombies, ghosts... Angry demon Smokey Bear sounds about right.” She let out a sigh and took another long drink. “Agreed.” She said, shifting the bottle from hand to hand awkwardly as she looked at the nearly empty bottle of white. Her head was starting to feel fuzzy, but that was about it. God, this was why she never bothered drinking. It took too long to even feel anything. “Do you think it’s like a Spiderman thing? Like, if you go all,” She made the Spiderman gesture out at the stream, “It might do something? Or is it more of like… a firebender centering yourself thing?” All she had was pop culture references to go off, really.

Considering everything that they had experienced, Winston themself wasn’t sure if it would even come close to the strangest thing they’d already experienced. “It would definitely be weird and I don’t think my childhood could take it.” They paused for a moment longer and looked out into the water before forcing themselves to their feet and walking a little further away from the pier to make sure no one got hurt. “Maybe, a lot of what I’ve read says that magic requires some clarity of focus and I’ve been practicing breathing exercises at the recommendation of someone that …” they were going to mention Ricky but thought better of, “they’re a friend.” They took a moment and tried to steady themselves. Taking deep breaths and trying to focus their mind and get absolute clarity. They closed their eyes for a moment, though it kind of made their head swim and tried to focus on how they’d felt when it had happened. “I don’t know.” They said, stood silently.

Shifting back to stand behind Winston, just in case they managed to conjure up another flame thrower, Skylar watched with her bottle in hand. “That makes sense, try that.” She said. But, as they began to try and do some deep breathing techniques, Skylar wondered if that was really the case. When they’d been attacked by the karkinoids, it had seemed like their magic had come out in the literal heat of the moment. It had been an instinct more than something willful. Which… gave her an idea. Finishing up the last of the wine, she set the bottle down and pulled her veneers from her mouth, tucking them into her pocket. “Give it another shot, you’ve got this.” She said encouragingly from behind them. Maybe if she gave them a good scare, it would trigger the magic.

The gurgling of the stream settled into background noise and Winston did everything in their power to appear relaxed. Maybe that wasn’t the point but they were trying to convince themselves that they had this in the bag. They opened an eye but couldn’t see Skye, this wasn’t weird after all as she was stood behind them. Pressing it tightly shut with renewed invigoration they took a deep breath once more and tried to reach into their well of power. This was how they’d always imagined it went. You said the magic words, you did the right moves and you reached into yourself and used your inherent magic power. “Fire!” they blurted in an attempt to startle themselves into magic, they were somewhat disappointed to find that there hadn’t even been a spark made, sighing they jammed their eyes closed and tried to ignore the gentle spinning of the world.

Watching as they tried to conjure some kind of flame, Skylar nodded. Her idea seemed to be as good as any and she really only had one shot to try and make it work. Flexing her jaw experimentally, she let out a very quiet breath before running up to Winston and grabbing their shoulder with her left hand, pushing them forward just enough to make them jump. Bearing her sharp fangs so they flashed in the dim moonlight, she let out what she hoped was an intimidating growl. If seals even made that kind of noise. She honestly wasn’t sure what she sounded like other than a dim memory of “ork ork.”

They were pretty sure that they were in the zone. Winston wasn’t sure why but they could almost feel it coming. Taking a deep breath they played upon their feeling of power until suddenly they were shaken forward and a growl rent the night silence. Jerking away from both the sound and the motion, “Woah what the fuck,” they were shocked and surprised by the sound and the movement, as they recoiled away Winston felt something hot explode from their palm and watched as a jet of flame shot into the night. They felt that familiar feeling of energy been drawn through their body before it was expelled as fire. “Oh my god did you see that?” they asked slurring a little as they staggered back upright. A wave of exhaustion enveloped them but subsided much quicker then before, obviously they hadn’t cast a big spell, but it still tired them out.

Ducking on instinct, even though the burst of flame came nowhere near her, Skylar hurried out of the way before popping back up. A grin spread across her face, which she quickly covered, remembering her teeth. Popping her veneers back in, she wiped her hands on her jeans before offering a high five to Winston. “Nice job! That was awesome!” She said, the alcohol beginning to hit her as a wave of pleasant warmth began to wash over her. Skylar reached out to steady Winston, she didn’t want them to walk off the pier or something. “Well done. Here, cookies.” She said, pulling out some of the snacks they’d brought and handed some to Winston. “How did that feel?” Skylar asked curiously before taking a long drink from one of the other bottles.

Standing up right with Skye’s help, Winston straightened up and looked at the darkness that had previously been shattered with some level of disbelief. “Oh my god I did it…” they had actually done magic and they had done it on purpose, they were clearly a long way off doing this stuff but that was a rush like no other. Their whole body tingled with satisfaction at what they had been able to achieve. Gratefully taking a hand full of cookies from Skylar they crammed an Oreo into their mouth before washing it down with a mouthful of wine. Two flavours that definitely shouldn’t go together was cheap Sauvignon Blanc and Oreos. But Winston didn’t have time to regret their decision. Grinning somewhat inanely, they considered Skylar’s question. “Honestly, everytime I use magic it might be a bigger rush then I’ve ever had before…” they laughed for a moment and sighed gently, “always leaves me feeling sleepy as all hell though.”

“You did!” Skylar said, gleeful in Winston’s success. Even if she wasn’t quite at the stage they were, she was happy for them. “For sure, that makes a lot of sense.” She said with a slightly drunken grin, the alcohol beginning to kick in with vigor. “I’m glad that you feel that way. Um, like it’s a rush, not that you feel sleepy. That’s so cool, though. You’re like a real life mage!” She nodded. There was something so amazing about what Winston could do. They were doing something tangible, something real, something dangerous and cool. Whereas all she could do… was be something she wasn’t. With a sigh, she sat down on the edge of the pier, legs folded up criss-cross style, and patted the spot next to her. “Why don’t we sit down, hm? Let you rest a little.”

“Fuck I can actually use magic,” Winston had had this realisation several times before and each time it hit a little harder somehow, the world slowly spun and Winston wasn’t sure whether it was because they were turning or because the world was. Swallowing a few more mouthfuls, they slumped back down on the cool wood and ran a hand over their head. “I can’t believe that I can actually do this stuff…” they paused and looked at Skylar, “this is all really weird right? Like it isn’t just me. This is very surreal?” They laughed a second later, the absurdity of the situation getting to them in that moment. “Well, at least I know that if I need to perform magic all I need is for you to jump scare me …” they smiled gently and leaned back on their arms. “How are you …. Y’know doing after everything?” was this too soon to be asking.

Skylar couldn’t help but grin at the way that Winston looked in awe of themselves. There was just something really… wholesome about them finding this new aspect of who they were and becoming more confident in themselves. “Oh, it’s totally weird. Like, you just created fire with your bare hands. That’s super weird. But in the best way.” She said with a drunken nod, her head bobbling a bit. The world was beginning to tilt at the edges, her vision shifting and spinning ever so slightly. “Hm? Oof.” She mumbled, rubbing the back of her neck before running her hands through her choppy hair. “Not great. Not super great..?” She said, though the words were more of a question than a statement. How was she doing? Taking another drink, she mulled over the words before continuing, “I feel… good. Better than good. I feel better than I ever have. An’ I mean ever. But… I don’t. I don’t want to feel better. Because better means…” Skylar’s voice trailed off as she looked out at the water. It meant that she was really a selkie.

“In the best way?” Winston asked with a raised eyebrow. Pausing for a moment Winston really thought about what they meant. “This whole month, the beginning of this year has really really changed the way that my life … that our life is going to be, which is crazy. To think that we met in a police station because you could sign,” they laughed at that and shrugged before knocking back another mouthful of wine. Pausing, Winston listened to what Skylar had to say. “Sometimes I feel the same, I want to get out of all this weirdness and go back to a mundane life, but I can’t. I’m stuck with something I didn’t ask for and I didn’t need and I didn’t want, but here I am either way. I cannot change what’s happened and I can only continue. Letting go of that resentment is tough so I can only imagine how this must be for you…” they swallowed, hoping Skylar would take it well.

“Mhm. Like… it’s magic, Winston. That’s so cool.” Skylar said. Were her words not making sense? She definitely wasn’t completely out of it, but she was definitely not as focused as she normally was. She just hoped that her words sounded okay. “Right? It’s… a lot.” She mumbled. A month ago, less than that really, she thad thought she was… more or less normal. Normal with quirks. Still human, still definitely human, but with some oddities that her parents never really explained. And now, here she was, sitting next to her friend that could conjure up fireballs when they got freaked out, knowing that she wasn’t in any way human. “Resentment?” Skylar frowned, shaking her head doggedly, “I don’t resent anyone. I don’t. I just… I don’t want to be this way.” Her head was spinning more and more, but she continued to drink.

Nodding, Winston smiled somewhat idiotically. Being drunk wasn’t something they did a lot and they enjoyed Skylar’s company. She had similar interests and she was funny too. They were glad that they were actually getting to know her. “It really is a lot, these things can’t be expected to just pass quickly either. It’ll take a lot of getting used to.” They honestly weren’t sure about any of this new life that they found themselves living. Winston heard everything that Skylar said and sighed. “I know you don’t want to be this way, but I don’t think you can change it. Unless you know something I don’t?” They swallowed more of their wine, this was a conversation they were not sure they were equipped to handle.

Lips pressing together in a thin line, Skylar kept her eyes trained out in the darkness. Draining the bottle, Skylar stuck the empty wine bottle back in her backpack before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “Ricky probably told you about how I’ll die if I don’t turn. But did he tell you specifically how it happens?” She asked, continuing without letting them respond, “First you just feel tired. Like, really tired. So you drink some coffee, you chug an energy drink, you push on. Then, you start to feel depressed. Like, really, really depressed. Like… why does it even matter? Why does anything you’ve ever done matter? And, once that happens, the fun part happens. Every time you move, it feels like your muscles are on fire but are also too tired to do anything. Your back, your joints, your head, it all hurts so bad, so freaking bad and you just want to give up.” Looking at Winston, Skylar nodded once. “I’ve lived like this my whole life. My parents took me to doctors, so many doctors, trying to figure out what was wrong,” Swallowing thickly, Skylar continued, “I thought my parents tried to help me. But, if everything could have just been solved by giving me back my skin… the skin they hid from me-- I--” Her voice cracked and she shook her head. She didn’t want to think about what that meant. She didn’t want to think about what accepting any of this meant.

Reaching out, Winston placed a set of slim fingers over the back of Skye’s hand. Wrapping the tips around the gap between her thumb and her index finger. “Ricky didn’t tell me it in that much detail, they explained what would happen if you decided not to change on your own more regularly…” they trailed off and sighed gently, unsure whether this was really a trauma that they were qualified to be assisting with. Swallowing, they adjusted their glasses nervously with their free hand before continuing. “Your parents, though they may have had the best intentions were obviously misinformed. It may have been this way your whole life, but you know better now, you understand more and you might not have had this same knowledge in the past but now you do.” They paused and swallowed. “Rather then looking at this as a whole thing of what could have been, look at it as if it is a brand new lease on your life.” It felt hypocritical to lecture Skylar when there was just so much about their own life that they were unsure about. “You’ve got the opportunity to use this new found knowledge to live a life that is free from the restrictions you previously faced, and sure, it isn’t exactly the life that you imagined yourself living. Sure it isn’t what you thought it was, but it is still a new take. It is a new opportunity. It could be really amazing. You can either keep going the way you were before, or you can push yourself out into this new comfort zone.”

Skylar let out a long sigh, running her hands through her hair as she tried to sort out the thoughts and feelings that raced through her mind. But, the world was spinning, Winston was talking, and it was all just too much. She didn’t want to deal with it, she couldn’t deal with it. “A new take… A take that means I’m not human. That I’ve never been human. That I’m some kind of monster.” Skylar mumbled, drawing her knees up into her chest and hugging them close to her. “I don’t want to be free, Winston. I just want to be me again.”

Winston sat in silence. Unsure what more they could really say to convince them. “If this has been what you always were, then you’ve always been Skylar. Skylar who is kind and intelligent and cares about the people in her life.” They sighed gently. “I don’t think you’re some kind of monster, and even if you aren’t human that doesn’t mean that I, or anyone else sees you any different. Which isn’t important, because what matters is how you see yourself.” They shut their mouth after that, figuring that they had said their piece. They weren’t going to be able to convince them of more then that if they hadn’t already convinced them.

As much as she wanted to just turn off her hearing aids, shut them off, shut out the world and the painful words, Skylar knew she couldn’t. Ricky, Remmy, Nadia, Winston, they all were saying the same thing. Not in so many words, but they were saying the same thing. That she just had to accept this, that she had to accept herself. But, she couldn’t. Because if she did, every part of her life before now would be a lie. And she couldn’t bare that. She couldn’t handle that fact. Clearing her throat, she nodded at Winston, “I guess. Thanks, though. For listening. And not just… doing what you think is best for me.” She said with a pained grimace.

Looking sadly at Skylar, Winston took a deep breath. “Whatever you’re feeling now must seem so alien and it’s completely valid, I can’t imagine the struggle but if I can do anything to make this a bit easier on your then let me know and I will do everything in my power to support you, because you’re my friend.” Winston felt their stomach flip and looked earnestly at Skye. “I’m sorry we can’t just fix this problem…” they sighed and unscrewed the cap of their wine bottle, draining the last of the dregs they felt the acidic taste burn the back of their throat as they swallowed.

Skylar offered a smile at Winston, but she knew there was sadness still . But, just hearing that they were going to support her meant a lot. “It’s okay.” She said, reaching out to squeeze their hand with her own. “Everything’s going to be okay.” It has to be, she thought to herself. Looking out at the water, Skylar

#wickedswriting #para #p: skylar #I don't pinot what to say

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mass-effect-tales · 4 years ago

Text

Shot in The Dark ch.7

"Mija over here!"

"I ask again! What are you calling me?!"

The children just giggled as they led Skye to their next stop. Ever since Skye mentioned to the kids she used to live by a beach they started calling her Kalahira.

Skye helped a young boy named Hevalt carry the last two pots of usharet blossoms to a couple who thanked them for their delivery.

"I've never seen a human visit Kahje before. What brings you here?" The woman asked while her husband carried the pots into their home.

"Oh, a friend of mine is visiting his mother and she sent me to deliver the usharet in her place." Skye explained, brushing her hair out of her face. Her worn out hair tie had finally broken and throughout the deliveries her hair had slowly unwound from its braid. Luckily she was able to keep the usharet blossom Kjaere gave her by placing it behind her ear.

"Oh, will you be staying for Sinnahan? It'll be starting in a few days."

"What's Sinnahan?" Skye asked curiously. Before the woman could explain another one of the kids, a sweet girl named Setna tugged on her shirt.

"Come on Mija! Sele Verge makes us kepta when we finish our deliveries!"

"Alright alright," Skye laughed, waving goodbye to the woman and letting the children lead her back to Kjaere's house. The smell of spices was the first thing Skye smelled when she walked in with the kids. Kjaere had placed a plate of what looked like biscuits on the table which the kids happily crowded around.

"Thanks for helping the kids. Hopefully they didn't wear you down too much." Kjaere chuckled as Skye sat down on the couch.

"It doesn't matter what species you are one thing is always the same; kids have way too much energy." Skye laughed, giving the kids a hug as each one left.

"The children seem to like you." Kjaere smiled lightly, passing Skye a kepta. Skye was right, it was like a soft flakey biscuit made with spices.

"They kept calling me this name while we were delivering and they wouldn't tell me what it meant. They kept calling me Mija." Skye explained which made Kjaere laugh.

"Kalahira is our goddess of the ocean and by association, afterlife. When we die, our souls travel across the sea to Kalahira's beach. Mija is one of her handmaidens who is said to wait at the shore for arriving souls and welcome them to her home."

"Ah that explains it. I told them I used to live by the beach on earth."

Kjaere laughed, reaching out to take a lock of Skye's hair between her fingers.

"I think it's more like they see you as what Mija would look like; kind, caring, beautiful."

"I think you're giving me too much credit." Skye blushed, looking away.

"Nonsense, come here. Did Nero tell you I was a dressmaker before I developed kepral's?" Kjaere took Skye's hand and lead her to her bedroom. She had Skye stand in the middle of the room while she grabbed a ribbon to take Skye's measurements. "I used to make dresses that Tejhar, the hanar I served, would sell at the Citadel."

"No he didn't. Where is he anyway?" Skye asked as Kjaere gestured for her to undress.

"I sent him out to collect ingredients for dinner. Which leaves us plenty of time to finish this. Luckily your size is similar to a drell so we won't need to start from scratch." She passed Skye a sea green sleeveless top that showed off her midriff and a long skirt that brushed against her ankles.

"So you were a dressmaker? I didn't see many women in dresses when I was out." Skye mused, raising her arms so Kjaere could wrap a coral colored sash around her waist.

"Since most of us work for the hanar, we'll usually wear clothes more suited for the rain and getting wet. Dresses are usually worn during festivals or ceremonies nowadays." Kjaere finished the outfit by draping a sheer white shawl over her shoulders. "There, take a look."

Skye turned around to look at herself in the mirror and almost couldn't recognize herself. The outfit was light and breathable which suited the dry and hot environment the drell lived in.

"Mother, I'm back."

Skye jumped at the sound of Nero's voice. Before Skye could think to change Kjaere had grabbed her wrist and dragged her out of the bedroom and into the kitchen where Nero was setting down the items he bought. Nero turned when he heard his mother walk in and froze when he saw Skye. If he died right now, he wouldn't have minded if she was the last thing he ever saw before journeying to Kalahira's shore.

"You... your hair is down."

Skye couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, my hair tie broke. Also your mother turned me into her personal doll."

"She has talent," Nero mused, reaching out to take a lock of hair between his fingers. Her hair felt like silk. "The outfit suits you Mija."

"Oh no not you too!" Skye laughed. "I keep being called that today!"

Nero froze, "who else has called you that?"

"The children started calling me it when I told them I used to live by a beach when I lived on earth." She could see Nero visibly relax which made her snicker.

"What? Did you get jealous thinking some other guy was calling me that?"

Nero surprised her by smirking, letting go of her hair and hooking his fingers under her chin, tilting her head back to look him in the eyes.

"And what if I was?"

She could feel her face flush at his question. How would she feel about him being jealous?

"Skye, would you like to help me with dinner?" Kjaere asked as she collected the ingredients she needed. Skye reluctantly moved away from Nero as Kjaere shooed him out of the kitchen. Kjaere showed her how to season and cook zhati, a plentiful fish found on Kahje which had a similar taste to flounder when Skye tried a piece. The zhati was paired with roasted vegetables and a drell wine. After dinner Nero and Skye sat in the living room while Kjaere stepped out to bring some of her cooking to her neighbor. Nero looked up from the message he was writing to Mordin to look at Skye.

"My mother said she can accompany us if we give her a week to train an apprentice to take over the care of the usharet. She suggested that we stay the week and I told her I'd ask your opinion on it."

Skye smiled brightly. "Are you kidding? Of course I'd be up for staying! Is there somewhere we could stay?"

Nero nodded, "there's a hotel not too far from here."

"Great, I'll let Nihlus know if you tell Mordin." Skye pulled up her omni-tool while Nero finished his message to Mordin. When Kjaere returned Nero informed her their plan which delighted her. After quick goodbyes Nero led Skye through the bustling streets until they reached the hotel. Due to the upcoming festival they were only able to get a single room with two beds.

"Nero what's Sinnahan? It seems like everyone is excited for it." Skye asked as she sat down on her bed.

"It's a celebration for the goddess Sinna. While Sinna is the goddess of love she is also the protector of innocent souls. It's tradition for someone to give an usharet to someone they wish Sinna to protect."

Skye nodded, laying back in her bed. She wondered what else she'd learn during this week on Kahje.

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

Skye had become well known by both drell and hanar over the last three days. Kjaere had given her extra outfits to wear which Skye was grateful for because she would have probably died if she kept wearing jeans in this heat.

Today to keep the kids out of the way while the adults prepare for the festival tomorrow Skye offered to take some of the children to the beach on the edge of the city. She was able to find a swimsuit that fits at one of the local shops and was teaching the kids how to build a sandcastle while Nero was sitting in the shade and watching. He found it amusing how each child tried to get her undivided attention only to be taken by another child. When she was finally able to sit down her legs were caked in sand from scooping water into a bucket to wet the sand and kneeling down next to the kids.

"You know, I don't think I could have imagined seeing your brooding self sitting in the sand around kids a year ago," Skye noted with a laugh. Nero had changed out of his spectre armor in favor of a white button up shirt and grey pants. Two of the more shyer children were taking a nap on the blanket next to him.

"For the last time, I wasn't brooding," Nero sighed, trying not to chuckle as Skye tried brushing the sand off her legs. "You need to stop watching those action movies."

"Listen, Blasto 4: Rising Tide was good and you just have no taste in movies." She pouted, flicking him with her braid as she flipped it to her other shoulder. Kjaere was kind enough to make a hair tie for her using a ribbon so she could return her hair to its usual braid.

"At least it's not Fleet and Flotilla. I still remember Garrus and Tali spending hours talking about that movie."

"Don't let Tali find out you're bad-mouthing her favorite movie." Skye laughed, smile softening as she looked out at the horizon. "I wonder how her and Wrex are doing."

"Knowing Wrex he's probably either running things on Tuchanka or shooting something right now." Nero grunted, carefully picking up the sleeping kids. It was getting late so Skye called the rest of the kids over to get them ready to leave.

"Do you think we'll ever see them again?" She asked as she helped the kids brush sand off their legs and feet. "I mean, Shepard was the one that brought us all together and with her gone…"

"I have a feeling we'll see them again." Nero reassured her. "Something tells me we'll cross paths again in the future."

#fanfic #mass effect #mass effect oc #shot in the dark #human/drell

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cjsreplays · 5 years ago

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Big Little Lies Recap

Big Little Lies-Season1

I’m not going to lie, the first 10 minutes of this show, I was l little confused. Instantly I saw flashes of these four women in mommy-mode. I'm wondering how they all fit together. To shorten this post, let’s give them nicknames.

FYI: anything in bold is my crazy inner thoughts, so just bear with me guys. lol

Social Mommy: Madeline Martha Mackenzie (Actress: Reese Witherspoon)

MoMoneyMoProbs Mommy: Celeste Wright (Actress: Nicole Kidman)

Brand New Mommy: Jane Chapman (Actress: Shailene Woodley)

CEO Mommy: Renata Klein (Actress: Laura Dern)

Zen Mommy: Bonnie Carlson (Actress: Zoe Kravitz)

Okay, so the nicknames aren’t that short, but you get the idea.

It all starts on the first day of 1st grade for all these children. Chloe is a first grader that acts just like a freshman in college! (Social Mommy Daughter) (btw her music selection as a six-year-old is better than mine as a 26-year-old, so I guess that says more about me than her. Ha!) Then we have Ziggy. (Brand New Mommy’s son) I’m not gonna lie for a first-grader. He struck me as a wee bit scary in the beginning. (Anyone else felt that way?) As season one progresses, he softens up, in my opinion. Next, we have the twins Josh Wright and Max Wright. (MoMoneyMoProbs’s sons) I really thought the twins had the most ordinary life. (... in the beginning) They had the age-old story of the successful dad, the beautiful mom who quit her job to be full-time mommy, etc. (or, so we thought) To complete our little circle we have Skye Carlson (Zen Mommy’s daughter) and Amabella Klein (CEO Mommy’s daughter). Skye was pretty quiet throughout this season, but Amabella plays a pretty pivotal role (*Wink Wink*)

To understand the show, you need to know a little more about the main characters.

Social Mommy has a relationship with all the moms (she is the social one, right?). She needs to be involved in everything. First, you think, “well, maybe that’s her way caring about others?” Nah, she just nosey, but we love her anyway. I think she kind of brings everyone together. But her little secret makes its way out.

MoMoneyMoProbs Mommy surprised me the most. She is sweet, kind, understanding, and had the most relaxed little family (at first). Even quit her job to stay out home with the twins. But turns out of the four women, her life was filled with the most turmoil.

BrandNew Mommy was new to Monterey, California. She needed a fresh start and only new Social Mommy at the beginning of the show. BrandNew Mommy does not come from money and did not marry into money. So she’s the cute new mysterious woman.

CEO Mommy is about the bag but is very involved in her daughter’s life. She worked to get her fortune, and you cannot take that from her. She’s married “well” so they have a pretty cushy life, drives a Telsa throws a six-year-old a party of the century (We all know this mom).

Zen Mommy eats vegan, teaches yoga and meditates when she has a bad day. Lives in an eco-friendly home surrounded by wilderness. (You know the type, we all want to be like her if we had the time). Zen Mommy definitely shocks you, though.

Honestly, I thought this show was going to go through the lives of rich women in their expensive homes, raising kids. I automatically thought of the million reality TV shows there are today. I can’t remember who it was (You know who you are), but shout out to you for mentioning this show to me because the first seven episodes really took me for a loop! Once I watched the first episode, I couldn’t stop watching it. I don’t want to spoil too much, but the writers give you bits and pieces of a HUGE climax the show is building toward. At the end of the first season, I realized (Oh shit) these women and their kids are not your norm “well off kids” who want for nothing and bored housewives. Big Little Lies is precisely that! The lies told are small but turn their worlds upside down. Now that I think about it, each mom had their own lies; there were living on top of the BIGGER lie they told together. I’m eager to discuss with other fans their thoughts on the show!

Comment below lets chat!

-cjsreplays

#big little lies #tvshow #hbo #review #tv series #cjsreplays #writers #blogger

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power-of-ages-writeblr · 5 years ago

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GIRLS GIRLS GIRLS Tag

Tagged by uuuuh @scmalarky! :D

The rules are to answer seven questions in the voice of your female characters, and then tag some peeps afterwards! (obviously LMAO)

Okay, so I’m going to answer these in the styles of the ladies from Pandemonium’s Bane – and when I say that, I mean only the ones that I’ve implemented as characters so far, because otherwise there’d probably be too many to be succinct.

So that’s Plue, Raelyn, Rose, Gaia, and Skye.

Let’s do diiis

Who was your mother and what did she teach you?

Plue: Lexi Abernathy. She didn’t teach me anything directly, but you’d be surprised how much not having your opinions taken into consideration makes you both reluctant to share your own opinions and also makes you over-eager to put other people before yourself.

Raelyn: …pass.

Rose: My mother… her name was Chantelle. I think. And she- I remember her teaching me how to draw, a long time ago.

Gaia: I don’t remember my mum’s name! Or, like, anything she taught me! That’s… that’s pretty depressing, actually. Ah, well. Comes with the territory.

Skye: My mum always taught me to be myself. Which is, uh, maybe not ironic. She definitely does that, I guess. Don’t know if the name “Rachel Veil” rings any bells? She’s sort of infamous around here.

Do you have any sisters (related or not)?

Plue: I have one, yeah. We get on decently? Oh, and I have Alia – I mean, she’s not my sister so much as a parallel version of me, but it’s similar enough, I think.

Raelyn: Nope.

Rose: No, I- No. But maybe my friends are like siblings. Some of them.

Gaia: Used to have some biological ones. Now? I don’t think so. I wanna say Skye but we’re more besties then sisters from other misters, so…

Skye: Oh, God no.

How has your gender shaped your path in life?

Plue: I think I’ve been judged a bit for being a girl, although maybe more because of my age. But the fact that I have so much authority means that I’m under a lot of scrutiny, and not all of it’s really fair. Beyond that, though… not so much? Though it does make me way less eager to have kids, seeing as how I’d have to do about ninety-nine percent of the work in that scenario.

Raelyn: What path in life?

Rose: I don’t think it really has, um… maybe it’s led people to underestimate me? But I’m not bothered by that, really! Sometimes it’s just nice to stay out of the way.

Gaia: The ONE thing I can think of is that I get occasional weird looks, because it’s less common for women to be as buff as me. (Either that or they’re jealous, which sucks for them I guess.) But like – that’s literally it? I’d have been a part of Highwing either way, and I’m bi, so like, who I’m attracted too wouldn’t change either.

Skye: Being a woman hasn’t really affected me. Being so short, on the other hand…

What does the woman you admire look like? Who is she?

Plue: I have a lot of respect for my fellow female faction leaders, to be honest – Kaylori and Vanda. They’ve both struggled to get where they are today, and they lead their factions with a lot of intelligence and long-mindedness. I think I still have a lot to learn from them.

Raelyn: My only inspiration, female or otherwise, is me.

Rose: I admire Plue a lot, to be honest. Gaia too. They’re both just so brave! And when things need to be done, they can just… do them. I wish I could do that.

Gaia: I admire ALL women!! I don’t care if they run a planet or run around the park to get fit! They’re all valid!!

Skye: Say what you want about Plue’s leadership of the Nexus Force, but at least she’s got her fucking life together. That’s more then I can say for most authority figures.

Why do you think women are considered the gentler sex?

Plue: There are likely a multitude of reasons. Generally, women are observed to be less strong then men – or at least, be less physically imposing – and women’s position as bearers of children create a power balance wherein it is the women who have to be cared for by the men. Beyond that, long-standing stereotypes exists of women wanting nothing to do with anything violent or demanding – which happen to neglect the fact that a lot of the work that women do is actually very challenging in its own right – and women are often personified as hearts, peacemakers, and passive characters when compared to the stereotypical action-oriented masculine ideal. I think its more societal habit and long-standing stereotyping then anything else, to be honest.

Raelyn: Don’t know, don’t care.

Rose: Well, I, uh… I think it’s because men are discouraged from showing their emotions more. I mean, guys always have to be, like, cool and stuff… so it’s only women that actually get to show how they feels, which means they look like the gentler sex, I guess.

Gaia: *stops flexing muscles* The what now?

Skye: Because men are trash, next question.

What is a piece of your personality that you are proud of?

Plue: My intelligence.

Raelyn: My personality’s jackshit but it’s cultivated jackshit, thank you very much.

Rose: …I’m proud to be kind.

Gaia: All of it! The whole piece!

Skye: The fact that I can get people to fuck off with just a stare.

When did you accept your own body and its strengths/weaknesses?

Plue: Fairly early on, I think. It definitely helped that I spent a lot of time physically training myself, meaning that I was having an active impact on how my body turned out, and making sure that it was more the way that I wanted.

Raelyn: What body??

Rose: I… I don’t know. I guess I just haven’t thought about it.

Gaia: Okay, no joke, but like. It’s been super annoying? Because oKAY I’m super tall and buff and I’m mostly happy with that but sometimes I remember that it’s technically weird and I just have to get over it. And then after dealing with that I got my leg sliced off so suddenly I have to deal with phantom pains and fake itching, and had to get used to seeing myself totally differently. And get more looks from people. It’s… ugh. I’m getting over it.

Skye: I loathe being short and I loathe the fact that short people are stereotyped as angry because I actually am angry a lot of the time.

That was a fun one! I think it was a good thing to do, to delve into the psyches of my female characters xDD

I’m gonna tag @pen-for-sword and @sassypandacandy

#Power of Ages #Plue Abernathy #Roseanne Hargrove #Gaia Eluciss #Skye Veil #Raelyn #Girls Girls Girls Tag

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ilosttrackofthings · 6 years ago

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caring (1/1)

For Grant Ward Week Day 2: connect/favorite version of Grant. Mine is manipulative undercover Grant in s1.

“I’m fine,” Grant says.

There’s a distinctly incredulous squeak from the computers.

“Fitz,” Skye says sharply. “I thought you were gonna oil these chairs.”

Since his back is to that corner of the lab and Simmons is busy giving Skye a stern look, Grant lets himself roll his eyes. No way that sound came from a squeaky wheel.

“I am,” he insists once Fitz and Skye have devolved into mild bickering and Simmons’ attention is back on him.

“No,” she says, “you’re not. But I don’t suppose my professional opinion will stop you exerting yourself.”

It’s on the tip of his tongue to remind her she’s not a real doctor but he stopped that weeks ago when she cured an incurable disease; backtracking now will just lose him all the ground he’s won since then. Assuming that he hasn’t lost it already.

“How about a deal?” he asks. “I’ll promise to take it easy when I’m training here on the Bus if you don’t ask Coulson to bench me next mission?”

Simmons doesn’t look too pleased but Skye whistles, impressed, and Fitz says, “Take it. It’s the best you’ll ever get from him.”

Simmons sighs. “I suppose you’re right. Fine, Ward, but just remember your training area is right outside the lab. I’ll be watching you.”

He reaches around her for his shirt before she can insist on continuing the physical. “I’ll keep that in mind,” he says softly when the space between them is at its closest. Sure enough, she blushes and busies herself with cleaning up her supplies so the others won’t see.

He said he’d take it easy, not that he wouldn’t train at all, so he heads out into the cargo bay. His gym bag’s still where he dropped it on the way to his check-up and he digs through until he finds his earbuds. Yesterday he spent the better part of an hour going at it out here, drowning his senses in heavy metal and the steady beat of his fists against the bag. Today he doesn’t turn the music on at all.

May’s right where he wants her. Coulson too, if that fatherly nod he gave him over breakfast is any indication. And now he knows Simmons’ crush hasn’t suffered after the way he blew up at her under the berserker staff’s effects. That just leaves Skye and Fitz.

As expected, he’s barely started wrapping his hands before they start talking about him, thinking he can’t hear a thing.

“Real talk,” Skye says, “how far from mission ready is he?” Concern is good, but given that Grant’s job on missions is protecting all of them there’s no reason to assume her worry’s necessarily for him.

“I couldn’t say,” Simmons says. “I’m no psychologist—I’m not even a proper medic—and even if I were, it isn’t as though Ward’s been through a typical trauma. According to Randolph the staff will have brought up every trauma.”

“Bloody Asgardians,” Fitz mutters. “Can you imagine? The things Ward’s done, the way he’s gotta compartmentalize just to sleep at night, and it all gets undone because one idiot alien is too lazy to keep a proper eye on his crap.” Grant nearly chokes on a laugh. Yeah, he’s done some bad things, but who hasn’t? At least he has good reasons. At least he’s trying to save lives. That’s plenty to get him through the night.

He rolls smoothly to his feet, ready to start in on the bag, only to freeze at the sound of Skye’s voice.

“That’s not it. It’s not the missions, it’s-”

They’re watching him. He curls his leg back, grabs his foot in a thigh stretch and hopes none of them noticed his hesitation. Just to be safe, he’ll take a little extra care when he switches, let them think he’s hurting.

“What do you guys know about Ward’s family?” There’s silence from FitzSimmons, but they must give some sign they’re clueless because Skye goes on. “They’re bad. Like, bad enough to make me kinda grateful I never knew mine.”

A flare of the rage hits Grant hard but he pushes it aside. He knew Skye would spill his sob story to the others, that’s the whole reason he told her, no point getting pissed about it now. Besides, it’s good news. There’s no mistaking the sympathy in her voice so that’s the whole team. They all care too damn much to be afraid of him. Hell, they might care more now. Maybe he should send Randolph a thank you card.

But the others are still talking. About him. About his crap childhood. About things that are none of their damn business.

He steps up to the punching bag, drowns out the noise with fists against leather and his heartbeat in his ears. Things are all going according to plan and he’s glad.

Now he just needs to get that message to his mounting temper.

#grantwardweek #grant ward #aosfic #my fic #*td #okay maybe there's a teensy tiny blink and you'll miss it biospec moment #but it's in keeping with canon so this is still a gen fic

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transtrendhumanity · 7 years ago

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hello, its roll call time once again. i think today is callon and casey. i (casey) have been at front a lot lately? i guess ive half-usurped nine as our social butterfly, but ze still fronts to talk about fabric & cosplay a lot.

let’s start with hir, since we’re thinking about it. nine is all fluffed up and talking about. nubuck i think. corian is not following very well and also doesn’t care, but is tolerating it admirably. elster seems somewhat more engaged in the topic. oh nine is going off about how secretary birds should not be a person’s first thought for fancy birds, too. ze has Opinions.

ailecent is on the roof in an exceptionally dragonoid form, today. kestrel is keeping aer company. ae’s got Some Thoughts about kaito, but it’s kind of hard to decipher them from here.

nika i think? is in the attic of the main house? ceren and ethan are there too, they’re having some Gay Hours. riley is watching but feeling a bit cautious about participating. nessie is kind of shit-talking the gays to riley, but i dont know that she means it.

haze is still holding a sword.

remm’s door is closed today, but i dont sense any unpleasantness from vir.

instead of heading downstairs, i jump to the treehouse.

yacinthe and kitt are fused in a kind of gem-fusion way, where they still each have a sense of self, but they’re inhabiting one body. a white wolf, shifting between feral and anthro states. it seems like yacinthe enjoys the power of it. we’re not sure if this development means that kitt will be an active part of yacinthe’s new persona, or that kitt is kind of letting go, in general. no i think e’s angry about that idea, so i guess they’ll be equally active, or at least. both active, even if not equally. ce has five eyes, in this form, all of them kind of wild.

nero seems cautious about this development, maybe a bit more nervous than i’d expect, but i guess he does have Trauma. vite and kayden are pretty excited about it. vite literally climbing up yacinthe’s massive furry body and getting playfully thrown down onto the beanbag chairs. kei is watching, maybe more interested than they’d normally let on. honestly, they’ve been super quiet lately and in general, so i wouldn’t be overly surprised if they fold into kayden or someone else, eventually.

it’s sort of strange to think it, but for some reason right now is a good time for system downsizing, even just a little bit. becoming more manageable. not leaving, but folding down a bit.

although, while we say that, cyrren is still back from the dead, hanging out in the kitchen with gabbi. amelia is playing with a like, desk toy, the kind with water and i think, rings that you can propel around? floret is laughing at mer attempts to get it right. perien is chatting with cyrren. gabbi decides to bring fancy little cookies upstairs to the attic. rayn swims in loops until it catches my attention. it seems very pleased when we wave.

nitexx may or may not be around.

echo is sitting on the coffee table, very attentively watching amelia’s game. cilla is stretched out in a sunny spot on the floor near echo’s chair, mostly asleep.

in the side room, vex is drawing. jace is working on something with fancy papers. venic has opened up a closet in the back room, which we had not known existed, and is having a minor existential crisis about what kye actually wants to wear. vaccine, watching, seems pretty unimpressed with the frivolousness of the whole thing.

trysten bursts into gay hours in the attic with a flourish. sier and nika hug and kiss each others cheeks.

downstairs again, raliel comes in as we’re leaving, and pulls up ethan’s chair next to cyrren’s new stool.

in the mansion... kazen is sleeping, sitting against the wall in the upstairs hallway. drohen tells us that they offered him an actual bedroom several times, but he chose to refrain from setting up his own space.

aren is still busy in his workspace, but is paying more attention to overall goings on now.

micah is talking about some manner of blue-collar crime downstairs. darion seems familiar with the topic, which micah is a bit annoyed about, since they expected people to be impressed. tobias is decidedly not impressed with either of them.

jochen is in the library, reading. there’s a second reading nook beside elster’s, which is more in keeping with the overall style of azdien’s mansion. azdien is also in the library, browsing books but also kind of keeping an eye on jochen.

jody.. is also in the dining room, keeping up with the conversation but not divulging much of their own opinions on the matter.

oh, kita either was in the treehouse the whole time or has just recently arrived there. she’s in a small fox form, playing with yacinthe and vite. it seems like they might make quite a mess.

tyto is back in corian’s basement, surprisingly, working on some kind of spell in eir old workspace.

skye checks in with aloe three times, making sure that ae will be ok if fae goes down to main headspace and joins gay hours with nika and the rest.

aloe is a little nervous to see faer go, but only because gail is kind of hovering outside the window. it seems like gail’s basement has been fully installed now, though it might be more accurate to call it a cave than a cellar.

kisoquine is. in xyr room, slicing an apple with xyr claws, and the apple is bleeding. for some reason. little clowny things.

vyrn is pacing in xyr own room, and seems a bit agitated.

i think that’s everyone? oh uhhh since it’s been mostly casey doing the tour. callon actually went to nap beside jace, at some point. good for em.

#[roll call]

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radmanraditz · 7 years ago

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Raxceni-Mun’s Zero Tolerance of Shipping Drama, and OOC Jealousy || The Sequel Nobody Wanted

The last time I covered this topic was two and a half months ago when I had a shipping partner who was dissatisfied and decided to leave while simultaneously acting like I disrespected her special little snowflake muse because I didn’t give them the amount of smut and insta-romance they were looking for. Even when I told them over IMs that there was a reason I didn’t go for doing that sort of thing. (More on that can be read here.) Now I get to bring this topic back up again for a new but similar reason.

A few days ago, on Sunday, it was revealed that one of my oldest roleplay partners and someone who is in a ship with my muse on this blog was being hypocritical and manipulative while trying to spread toxic rumors about another shipping partner and friend of mine, @goodxgonexbad. There was even more going on behind the scenes where Skye made her feel like she could barely post anything without being made to feel awful or guilty for talking about herself on her own blog. I’m not surprised by any of this because Skye has a long infamous history and reputation within the roleplay and DBZ fandom community. We just never knew she’d go this far.

I was extremely disappointed in her when I read and saw all the evidence of what she was doing not just to goodxgonexbad, but pretty much anyone who she felt slighted or threatened by. Many of which are also mutuals of mine. @cruciatusxcervus @data-cat, and others I’ve seen on my dash even if we haven’t interacted before. (Meanwhile she doesn’t seem to mind doing those things to others that she hates having happen to her. Dropped threads, ignoring threads while rping with others etc...)

What 5kye did wasn’t just “voicing her opinions” about goodxgonexbad and the others she was speaking ill of. This wasn’t your average shit talking, or vent session. It was purposefully malicious what she was insinuating to others and she was trying to get people to think ill of another female muse and mun and was motivated by jealousy and other petty reasons. Though Skye’s actions didn’t directly include me, they still had a negative impact on me. A very big, negative one. One that is still making me feel calm rage beneath the surface as I’ve gone about the past couple of days doing what I need to do. One I have a physical reaction to when I think about it. I am not exaggerating on this either. This kind of thing is actually a trigger of mine in the correct sense of the term. This kind of thing hits home hard for me, which is why I said in December that I WILL NOT TOLERATE JEALOUSY OR SHIPPING DRAMA! That includes things done towards my partners and other people in the roleplay community.

Since I try to be optimistic – but not blindly so – when I was new to Tumblr rp I decided I would roleplay with Skye despite all the negative things I had heard about her and her OC. (None of them were as heinous as this incident mind you...) There’s nothing wrong with wanting to give someone new to you a chance because some people can change if they really want to. Sometimes they just need some understanding and patience shown to them, and a chance to learn and grow.

I gave Skye a chance, and I’m not obligated to give another one after what she’s done. Even if those she directly harmed decide to forgive and give her another chance. What she did was inexcusable in my eyes, especially when in December I put my foot down and said this kind of behavior won’t be tolerated. She’s been aware of my feelings on this matter. (Go look at the notes on that post I first linked to and you’ll see she gave it a like.) Had anyone done these same things to her and I found out about it, I would have been just as furiously protective of her as I am of goodxgonexbad. I’ve spent years dealing with the toxic side of the DBZ fandom and roleplay and I really don’t want to waste my time dealing with any of that mess if I don’t have to. But I won’t stand idly by and pretend like I don’t have an opinion on this kind of thing. I do not take toxic people and repeated unhealthy behavior lightly, because I have YEARS of experience dealing with this thing both in roleplay and IRL.

So this is me officially stating that when people violate this very basic code of conduct, I am not obligated to continue roleplaying, shipping, or even speaking to them. Dropping my thread/s and dropping my ship with no intention of picking it back up again is what I’m choosing to do in response to what Skye has done. To continue as if everything is okay would feel like I’m condoning the things I vehemently fought against on GaiaOnline and even IRL. Choosing to “move on and pretend like nothing happened” may even enable her and anyone else to feel like this kind of ugly behavior can be looked over as long as they say “sorry” then delete the evidence of their mistake and possibly try to hide what they do again in the future. (Look at the responses then look at the notes...they’re gone because new partners wouldn’t want to see that now would they? I guess to Skye hiatus means go look for new partners and start her cycle all over again.)

To continue roleplaying and shipping with Skye after all that’s happened would go against my own moral code. I do not easily forgive this sort of thing. Nor do I ever forget betrayal.

I do not enjoy having to make this decision to drop my thread/s and ship with Skye. I explained in great detail a day or two before this happened why I valued the roleplay experience I was having with her. In a lot of ways her ship with Raditz was the most progressive in terms of intimacy, even if it wasn’t a typical fluffy one. I was invested in responding to our thread and having our muses progress as a couple and as characters. But seeing the cattiness and attempts to sabotage goodxgonexbad’s ships with other people and push her out of the roleplay scene out of jealousy – and her being very conscious of her own actions btw – just disgusts me to the very core of my being for a lot of personal reasons that both have and have not been voiced before. It is a valid enough reason to want to put an end to all that.

Know that if you choose to continue to roleplay and talk with her that it is fine. It is your decision to make. All I ask is that you know who you’re dealing with, and you don’t come at me trying to guilt trip me or make me change my mind about what I’ve decided to do in response to this situation. Trust me, I thought long and hard about it.

I do not have to feel obligated to continue interacting with someone I don’t want to interact with and who makes me uncomfortable in any way, shape or form.

Again, I’ve spent years of my life dealing with a group of people who have done exactly what she’s done on Gaiaonline. People who never changed no matter how hard I tried to get them to cooperate and enjoy a healthy rp environment. They fought dirty, used alternate accounts, plotted against myself and others in shadows behind private messages, while I was willing to be seen in the open and criticized for my beliefs, logic, and reason. It is exhausting physically and emotionally to write things like this post and that response to her OOC post from the other day. I also believe that I should not have to continue to put myself in a position where I’ll have to keep dealing with this.

I have nothing more to say to Skye that would be kind or constructive at this point in time. Other than I hope she learns from this if she can, and that she doesn’t continue targeting other female muses and/or muns like they’re a threat or treating roleplay like it’s a competition and she needs to eliminate her “rivals.” Maybe get some help if she “can’t control her emotions.” For her own sake and the sake of sake of others in the future.

So far she doesn’t seem to get why being emotionally abusive and making someone in our community feel unwelcome when they did nothing wrong is bad.

She’s not sorry about what she did to goodxgonexbad. She’s just sorry she got caught and now has lost a lot of partners INCLUDING ME. Something she’s probably aware of since she just made this post and deleted it TODAY!

If you find some way to read this Skye, know that I’m choosing to do this FOR MYSELF AND TO PRESERVE MY OWN ENJOYMENT WITH A HOBBY. NOT BECAUSE I’M TRYING TO BREAK YOU.

YOU ARE NOT WORTH MY TIME TO BREAK.

From this day forth my rules will VERY CLEARLY state that malicious actions and attitudes of this sort will not be tolerated. Ever. Not here or on @nappainanotherdimension.

And I want my current and future rp partners to know they can come and talk with me if something like this happens again with Skye or anyone else. It’s not easy to share your plight because of the fear of not being believed, or sometimes you don’t even know what’s going on, or what to do. I’ve been there too, and you don’t have to deal with it alone. Our roleplay community is kind and understanding for the most part, and chances are you’re valued more than you believe.

Take care of yourselves, everyone. Even you, 5kye.

#long post #tw; drama #tw; abuse #5kye #shipping info for partners #(this wasn't a choice done out of hate or spite)#(I'm dead serious about this thing)#(I've been through too much)#(and I know others who have been through this)#(as well and it's very unpleasant)#(there are consequences for these kinds of things)#(Skye took advantage/for granted my kindness and the kindness of others)#(especially goodxgonexbad)#(sorry I didn't put a read more on this)#(want mobile people to be able to read this too)#(people really undermine how harmful emotional abuse is)#(because they don't leave visible scars)#(unless you know what signs are there)#(and I know she's not sorry)#(I know what she's been doing since this happened)#(I know what people like her do)#(when the truth is revealed)#(I no longer have the patience to deal with this or her)#(so this is what's best for me)#(hopefully others will understand)#Worth the Wait (queue)

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onenettvchannel · 4 years ago

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#OneNETnewsInvestigates: American Netizens & Bashers are Boycotting the Nintendo for Skipping All the Independent Games and Caring for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

KYOTO, JAPAN -- A partner showcase presentation of Nintendo Direct Mini was not in good shape for the bashers around last Thursday at 10am (Eastern local time) for skipping all the Indie Games (which affects the Undertale and Jackbox Games). Miko Kubota (Radyo Patrol #20's Veteran Reporter) was on the scene for our Investigation to OneNETnews.

In case you're wondering on both of these... What is Nintendo, Nintendo Direct & Indie Games? According to the information database from Wikipedia, "Nintendo Co. Ltd. is a Japanese multinational consumer electronics & video game company headquartered in Kyoto City. The company was founded in 1889 as Nintendo Karuta by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produced handmade hanafuda playing cards. After venturing into various lines of business during the 1960s and acquiring a legal status as a public company under the current company name, Nintendo distributed its first video game console, the Color TV-Game, in 1977. It gained international recognition with the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1985".

On the other hand adds, "Nintendo Direct is a series of online presentation or live shows produced by Nintendo, where information regarding the company's content or franchises is presented, such as information about games and consoles. The presentations began in Japan and North America with the first edition on October 2011. While a shorter version of the main type of Nintendo Direct that showcases information about software and hardware across all Nintendo platforms. There is also a separate vertent of this type of Nintendo Direct, named Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase that feature games from Nintendo's developing and publishing partners".

And for the Independent Games however... "An independent video game or indie game is a video game typically created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most (triple-A) games".

#NintendoDirectMini: Partner Showcase | September 2020https://t.co/Nfzd8zXfzF

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) September 17, 2020

Just a few hours before the Partner Showcase, these bashers are deadly unhealthy. This happens before...

Yeah, I hate how nintendo fans begging for more newer nintendo games like Mario anniversary collection for example, than indie games and Third party games treatment which is don’t care about.

— Mat 💫 (@Iczer07) September 1, 2020

personally im skipping these partner showcases and staying uninformed about anything announced in them until Nintendo at least stops calling these streams Direct Minis

— snakehugz (@snakehugz) September 16, 2020

calling these filler streams "Direct Minis" tarnishes the reputation of the Nintendo Direct, please stop referring to it as if it is an actual Direct or Direct Mini

— snakehugz (@snakehugz) September 16, 2020

Nintendo fans thinking smash will be in the mini direct pic.twitter.com/tHiYRjbIhQ

— reyn time (@blackwidow2234) September 16, 2020

Really, Nintendo? Another partner showcase? If this is what you think of your fans, this is what I think of you. pic.twitter.com/QjYFG60Pql

— robothing (@MarioToenails) September 16, 2020

I'm not, and I'd say the same for indies who don't deserve the hate they've got in the last days. I'm just arguing that these last non-first party showcases had a bad timing. It doesn't help on anything with Nintendo's eternal silence.

— DoE (@DevilOfEdginess) August 27, 2020

i canot bleieve nbtendo didn’t give me my mario 64 remastered revengEan e at the indie game showcase!!!!!!!!!! fuck u nintendo idiot sitpid AAAAA AI HATE NINRENDOahahahaaaaaaa stipud idiot ocompany!!!!! pic.twitter.com/HJ5QxJ7qNU

— mindfloww (@mindfloww_) August 19, 2020

And after.

Example: Smashers LOVE to hate nintendo for every decision in any smash game. But then completely ignore or make fun of indie platform fighters. They'll go to great distances to play like....project m, or melee on an emulator. But won't touch Icons, Brawlout, or RoA.

— Jamison (@Ggjeed) July 22, 2020

>Nintendo indie direct >No smash announcement Wow Nintendo do you just like hate money or something? fuck you Nintendo, I'm never purchasing another game from you for the next 26 seconds you hate your fans and you just lost another one

— |VRG| Rusty! (@JohnExodiaWick) March 17, 2020

To be quite honest, I kinda hate watching #NintendoDirectMini and #NintendoDirect because it's usually filled with a lot of toxic fans who hate it even if it has FANTASTIC announcements because "Duh, no Smash means bad Direct, duh."

— Yaboichipsahoy (@YaBoiCh43658878) September 17, 2020

I'm unfollowing #Nintendo twitter. The past 6 months have been nothing but hate against Nintendo, and they had me convinced Nintendo was really doing us wrong. After today's #NintendoDirect, I know they just take their time and do it right.

— Tanishq Kancharla (@moonriseTK) September 3, 2020

STILL NO HOTEL MARIO ON SWITCH??? IM DONE FUCK YOU @NintendoAmerica #Nintendo #NintendoDirect I HATE YOU. THIS IS YOUR OWN FAULT I AM NEVER BUYING NINTENDO AGAIN NO ONE CARES ABOUT 3D MARIO!!!' pic.twitter.com/Xbp4pOuQfg

— lucia ⛓ (@GDDR6X) September 3, 2020

Just a thought, but gaming fans should either A. Appreciate the indie titles that get announced and find the ones that look fun to them OR B. STFU 🤷🏼‍♂️#NintendoDirect pic.twitter.com/VdPwJKP3XC

— 𝔻 𝕒 𝕧 𝕚 𝕕 𝔾 𝕚 𝕝 𝕥 𝕚 𝕟 𝕒 𝕟 (@DaGiltyMan) August 26, 2020

Another crappy showcase. Great job Nintendo. You're the king when it comes to crappy showcases

— Robyn Wolph (@LegendOfZelda77) September 17, 2020

Worst direct ever, there wasnt even a reveal for the rest of the smash dlc 2, botw 2, splatoon 3, super mario galaxy 3, not even smash dlc 3 and 4 😡😡

— Dnamssdup (@DnaDan6) September 17, 2020

THERE WILL NOT BE SMASH BROTHERS IN THIS DIRECT!

— Jaedon Daniels | SirPeelz (@JaedonDaniels1) September 17, 2020

Nintendo: We're going to showcase titles from our developing partners. Twitter: BOTW 2! Every Smash Reveal! PRIME 4!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's like you people can't read.

— Stormageddon222 (@Stormageddon222) September 17, 2020

Most of these reveals are old ones so that’s a bit shitty to do to us. 2.5/10

— Jaxon Skye (@WiiMusicDevil) September 17, 2020

These tweets are subject for boycotting with the honest shameless retards at the moment, in skipping all the Independent Games and caring for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

I hate indie games, leave that for Nintendo’s man!

— Jigen (@yesdimeji) September 16, 2020

Imagine being an indie game developer and working hard on your game for it to be released in the switch. And you have to deal with hate from nintendo fanboys just because you aren't a direct or new smash bros character. Atleast try their games out before assuming its bad. pic.twitter.com/8IqS6VH3RY

— 🖤Andrea Chan🖤 (@real_andreachan) August 31, 2020

I hate Nintendo fans. Count the indies & third parties in 2020 just like the 2017 image, or fuck off with your inaccurate comparison that you're posting just for clout. https://t.co/XTWYOrvL1n

— Billy (@Billybae10K) August 22, 2020

"WHERE WAS SMASH!?!?! I HATE NINTENDO!". Not everything has to be about Smash DLC and stuff like that. Just be happy with what we get. If you can't do that, then just don't watch the Indie and Third Party directs.

— Ruby (@ruby52986) August 26, 2020

YOU MEAN THERE ISNT GOING TO BE 10 NEW MARIO GAMES ANNOUNCED?!? WHAT ABOUT SMASH >:(((TYPICAL NINTENDO, TAKING THEIR TIME AS USUAL. GOD I HATE NINTENDO. I HAVE HIGH EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS DIRECT, AND THE FACT THEY MISSPELLED NINTENDO AS "INDIE" SHOWS THAT THIS DIRECT IS GONNA SUCK https://t.co/Aq7MUIUifG

— Cryptik (@PhantomCryptik) August 17, 2020

I understand why people are upset about the absence of a full #NintendoDirect but the Mini Partner Directs and the Indie Worlds are allowing the third party games to have room to flourish while Nintendo just relaxes and rides the #AnimalCrossingNewHorizions wave.

— Stephen C (@theday) August 26, 2020

You are funny. I imagine you do the same to every person you find that has a different opinion than you. I did not started this conversation to insult you nor boycott or call you a faggot. I just been incredibly underwhelmed with Nintendo recently.

— Hollowboy (@Koukunari) September 17, 2020

SHUT UP THE GAMES RUINED IM NOT BUYING IT BOYCOTT NINTENDO HHH!!!!1!!!1!!!!!

— sour (@sour_yoshi) September 16, 2020

How dare Nintendo draw a red circle around Mario's sexy mustache BOYCOTT THIS FUCKING GAME!!!!! https://t.co/ynnZk8BU3g

— Ελευθερία ή Θάνατος (@TheCutePyro) September 16, 2020

Sucks huh? Hahaha Nintendo fans should boycott this game and play Devil May Cry 2 (Now available on the Nintendo Switch) instead. pic.twitter.com/2n6b0pXzkT

— shhhh (@terukhoe) September 15, 2020

Mfw the entire internet tells me that Mario 3D All Stars is an absolute rip off with a stupid selling window and that I should boycott Nintendo for it pic.twitter.com/gACXQFJBHe

— Alek (@Trail_txt) September 13, 2020

#BoycottZelda #BoycottNintendo #STOPPERREO https://t.co/SUsGYyWNw9

— Маrshall [#AviciiForever ] ◢◤/⚫⚫⚫ #CowboyBebop20th (@MarshalAfterAll) September 11, 2020

Although this happens for Undertale & Jackbox Games are up for boycotting issue on Nintendo.

DON'T GET THE "UNDERTALE" OR "DELTARUNE" THEY WILL GIVE YOU THE COVID Their made by Toby "Radiation" Fox, yes you read that right, the same radiation as 5G!! BOYCOTT UNDERTALE NOW!

— Thomas (@thomasnet_mc) May 2, 2020

Why not cancel @tobyfox ? And boycott undertale while we are at it pic.twitter.com/Yq4sAeOyx1

— Angel Simp Ara (@karikoritene) August 29, 2019

were playing 1 of the jackbox games n i hate this 1

— 🍔 cheese 🌻 erasermic brainrot (@GargoyleHouse69) September 5, 2020

After however many months in quarantine I truly, from the bottom of my heart, hate Jackbox games. I cannot stress this enough.

— Katie Burke (@senicRTKate) July 24, 2020

ALL MY IRLS ARE BORING MEANING THERE IS NO WAY RHEY WOULD GET JACKBOX GAMES HATE IT HERE

— strawberry 🍓 ophie month (@loonacatgirIs) June 25, 2020

NOBODY EVER WANTS TO PLAY THE DRAWING JACKBOX GAMES AND I HATE IT

— Rinzy 🖌️🖋️ 💙 (@RinzyArt) March 25, 2020

The Jackbox games are fun. The Jackbox community is hot garbage. Your experience is a cut of the same cloth from every Jackbox stream I've seen. Inevitably, some shithead will drop in and ruin the fun for everyone. I hate people sometimes.

— G O Λ T S (@lordofgoats_) October 7, 2019

We speak with Justin Smith (@JBN029) on Twitter's Direct Message (a small affiliate from YouTube Gaming) told exclusively to OneNETnews for this response:

Basher tweets are close to unfair for boycotting all the Nintendo products and games with the Hate Speech in a political way. His private response that only handles for the Hardcore fans of Nintendo with the newest games today. That doesn't mean the company of Nintendo has no shame to do and forced to shut down originally in Japan and worldwide.

youtube

Nintendo does not have a comment to OneNETnews as unfornate but... No apologies was made for this controversy at the Nintendo Direct Mini's partner showcase except for the hidden voiceover to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, takes over to Monster Hunter Stories 2.

Special Thanks to DJ Unikitty (formerly ColeThePony from Canada) for sending us a news tip.

SOURCE: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nintendo_Direct https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvCod83ilJ3jwkkOxSS8yNw/about?disable_polymer=1 https://www.shacknews.com/article/120427/monster-hunter-stories-2-wings-of-ruin-will-let-us-befriend-rathalos-on-switch-in-2021

SEVERELY HONEST DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed from this news article are not necessarily those from the Nintendo Co. Ltd. Furthermore, the assumptions of this news article will NOT state, intervene or reflect those of our Radyo Patrol reporters. The station, management, interwebs and the network. Thanks for reading everypony!

-- OneNETnews Team

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