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nobodyfamousposts · 5 years ago

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BURN THE WITCH! Part 5

Yes, I WILL finish this.

Lila was soaking wet and didn’t even have to feign how miserable she was when she managed to make it back to dry land and into the first open store she saw.

Said open store just happened to be the Dupain-Cheng Bakery, where none other than Marinette’s own parents were there to greet her.

And fortunately for Lila, they were all too willing to take her under their protection once she explained the “horrible story” of what had happened.

“Oh you poor girl!”

“Come on upstairs. We have a daughter your age. She should have some extra clothes you can change into.“

“Thank you,” She said with a sniffle. “You’re too kind.”

Lila hadn’t even had to do much to get the gullible couple to let her in. She wished she could be proud of that fact, but their determination to help her probably stemmed more from the fact that she currently looked like a drowned rat.

On the plus side, it meant less effort to get what she needed.

On the down side…she did look like a drowned rat.

It seemed that when the owner of the boat had said for Lila to be “thrown overboard”, she meant it literally. The boat residents were rather unreasonably cross with her and hadn’t been feeling patient enough to hold out for the mob to arrive to collect her. And thus the two had cruelly and rather foolishly tossed Lila off the side of the ship.

It was for the best, as unbeknownst to them, Lila could swim perfectly well. And a dip in the cold water was still preferable to being burned alive.

…Except that contrary to popular belief and portrayal to tourists, the water of the Seine is actually rather polluted, not to mention completely disgusting. The mayor’s incompetence and focus on other arbitrary and more self-centered issues (aka: Chloe’s whim of the day) was no doubt part to blame. So Lila not only looked like a drowned rat, but smelled like one, too.

Gross. Gross. Gross!

At least Sabine had been polite enough to hide her disgust as she led Lila to a bathroom to try and clean up. Not that Lila could take full advantage of that, unfortunately. As much as she wanted to, there was too much risk of something happening. Members of the mob could track her down. Marinette could return and out her. And despite her warnings to the parents to keep the TV off or risk becoming more minions of the akuma, there was still the chance that either might get curious and try to get an update on the Ladyblog.

There was also no telling just how the akuma’s influence could spread. Her classmates had turned against her almost immediately after Rose started talking. Anyone close enough to the akuma seemed to fall under her sway—possibly hearing distance? Then the idiots on the boat had thrown her out immediately after hearing the news report showing the akuma, being so enraged that they didn’t even care about the mob searching for her. The mob which, from what she could tell, was steadily growing in numbers and fanfare. Was that carnival music playing out there? Seriously? It was like her torment was entertainment or something!

And where the hell were Ladybrat and her sidekick? On vacation? They should have made an appearance to try and fight the akuma by now.

Lila huffed.

They were probably taking advantage of her situation to enjoy her suffering. She wouldn’t put it past them. Both of them were annoyingly self-righteous. Looking down on her and using their powers to make themselves seem “special”.

If SHE had powers, none of this would even be happening.

She growled in anger.

And what was taking Hawk Moth? Hadn’t he let this go on long enough? He should be trying to rein in the akuma by now! Or at least have it focus on the real job of dealing with the fake “heroes”.

“Dear, is everything all right?” Sabine asked, knocking on the door.

“Yes, I’m fine!” Lila answered quickly. It wouldn’t do for Marinette’s mother to hear her ruminations, after all. She opened the door, making herself appear shy and insecure. The sort of appearance anyone would see as being innocent and not think twice about her true inner thoughts.

“That’s good.” The older woman said with a smile. Lila had to hold back a questioning look at just how…blasé she was.

What kind of parents were these that they’d just let a random teenager into their daughter’s home and allow her use of her daughter’s belongings? Much less one whom their child had clearly been at odds with previously. Did they not even remember her? Or were they just blinded by their need to help?

It explained where Marinette got it, at least.

“Here is a spare shirt and some pants.” Sabine said, placing them on the table nearby as Lila finished drying off as much as possible with the towel.

“Thank you, but I couldn’t possibly.” Lila falsely tried to decline. “I know your daughter and I aren’t exactly friends and I wouldn’t want to impose…” She trailed off and lowered her eyes, the picture of a sad and pitiable.

Sabine frowned at that, her eyes seeming to flare in indignation at the thought of her daughter being so cruel. “It’s for a good cause. She’ll understand.” The tone of voice made it clear that Sabine wouldn’t accept anything less, which made something inside Lila laugh with glee.

“I hope so.” Lila said, making herself sound uncertain. “I wouldn’t want to cause any problems.”

Marinette’s own mother looked at Lila with more sympathy than she had her own daughter when she was accused. “It won’t be any trouble.” She reassured her as she took Lila’s wet clothes.

“Thank you!” Lila said with a smile. ��I’ll make it up to you somehow.”

Not.

Really, you would think her parents would have better sense. But she couldn’t say she was surprised given what she’d seen of them so far. If they were so willing to believe the worst in their daughter with a couple flimsy lies, they really weren’t that dependable. Especially when they were willing to let the very girl who framed their daughter into her home.

Oh well. Marinette’s loss.

Sabine smiled back and left the room. As soon as the door was shut, Lila looked at the clothes with distaste.

Ugh. As if she would want to wear anything owned by little miss “Perfect”.

But beggars couldn’t be choosers at this point.

Knowing Marinette, the girl had probably intended to bring Lila here in the first place. Not smart, given that she would be giving access of her home to someone she knows can’t be trusted, but Marinette more than anyone could be foolishly nice, even to her own detriment.

In retrospect, Lila really should have gone with her in the first place. It would’ve made things so much easier. At the very least, she would have been able to skip the dip in the Seine.

If she cared, part of her would pity Marinette.

The problem with being “kind“ and “helpful“ was that the more you did it, the less people actually appreciated it. Because of course the nice person would be willing to be imposed upon or have to go out of their way for others, because they always do and that’s just the sort of person they are. No need to even ask them.

It became common—expected even. To the point where people would easily get upset and react poorly even more on the occasion if you weren’t kind as they would if you were actually mean.

It was why Lila feigned so many injuries. Not only did it get her sympathy and patsies to do things for her for a time, but it cemented the exact impression she wanted people to have of her. That she was “delicate”, which led them to avoid imposing on her as they didn’t want to overburden her. This allowed her to avoid having to do too much while still maintaining The impression of being a kind and sweet girl who would do anything to help them, “if only she could”.

It was why she was able to get free lunches and ice cream while Marinette was overwhelmed with requests and work for her friends. Because if Marinette “always” helps, then of course she can take each request they make of her and handle it all. It’s just expected of her.

And if she ever dares to say “no”? Regardless of her reasons or even just sheer inability to make the time, people would still be disappointed in her. She would even be disappointed in herself.

Honestly, Lila wasn’t wrong when she said she would win. How couldn’t she when she was playing with such an advantage while Marinette didn’t even know the game? Lila probably didn’t even need to do anything to win. Either Marinette would tire herself by working endlessly to appease everyone or risk alienating herself by trying to set limits. Lila didn’t even have to be a factor for that.

Of course, that didn’t mean she couldn’t help it along...

Which was why she decided to take advantage of the opportunity to go snooping through Marinette’s room for something to use.

After all, her charade may be over, but Lila at least still had an escape. She could simply go to her mother and complain of bullying, and the woman would act. She would move Lila to a new school, or even transfer to a new placement in her work altogether. She’d done it before. And it had gotten Lila out of situations that were becoming dicey.

Marinette wouldn’t be so lucky. Even if Lila didn’t get to steal Marinette’s friends for herself, she could still turn them against her before she leaves. At least in that way, she would keep her promise that Marinette would end up alone.

It would be a final present to herself as she says goodbye to Paris.

She didn’t even bother to hide the smirk as she made her way up the stairs to what could only be Marinette’s room. It had to be, since it was the direction Sabine had left in to get the clothes for her and none of the other rooms she’d passed looked were what she imagined the goody two-shoes’ room to look like. Once she reached the top of the stairs and opened the door into the final room…

…Yeah, this was more of what she had thought Marinette’s room would be like. Lila sneered in distaste as she was assaulted with an overabundance of pink, dolls, “cutesy” furniture, and fashion designs. And that was all the obvious details at first glance.

She glanced around the room in annoyance, noting just how big and open it was in comparison to her own apartment bedroom. It was bright. Even without the pink it was cheery and warm, with two windows and a balcony overhead. A balcony with its own garden, too! And a perfect view of the city on top of everything else! How fair was it that a baker’s daughter got to make use of such space?

All the more space to hide things, even. Lila’s hands twitched with an urge to destroy the room and its contents. It would be worth it for the look on Marinette’s face once she saw it. But she wasn’t here for that and there was every chance that Ladybug’s cure could fix it. No, what she needed was something more permanent.

Now where were the more…”incriminating” details?

Lila started a search of the room for anything she could use to solidify Marinette’s isolation from the rest of the class. Something that would make even Adrien want nothing to do with her.

Marinette’s computer was locked and it would take too much time to guess the password. There was no book in sight that could be a diary. There were plenty of designs and Marinette’s sketchbook, but any ideas she had to use those would require her to stick around to complete them.

Nah, she needed something more straightforward. Something like…

Hello. Against the wall closest to her bed was a plethora of Adrien posters that might as well have been her wallpaper.

A pull of a string revealed a scrolled up calendar with Adrien’s schedule.

And what’s this? Hidden in the closet was an entire stack of presents. All labeled for Adrien.

Oh, this was too good. She was practically giddy as she started taking pictures with her phone camera. Pictures of the wall. Pictures of the schedule. Pulling the presents out of the closet and scattering them across the room to take pictures of each of those. She couldn’t have asked for a better opening!

She’d known Marinette to have a huge crush on Adrien. It was obvious from how she acted around him, which was why Lila tried to buy her friendship with false promises to help her win his heart—not completely false though, as she may very well have let Marinette have him…once Lila herself was bored of him. Still, she clearly underestimated the girl’s crush. This was extreme and just ripe for humiliation. An entire wall of pictures of his face to watch her sleep. His daily schedule to always know where he is. Presents for years—as if they’ll even still know each other that long!

It might not have been as good as say a diary or some other dirty secret, but this was just enough for Lila to spin it against Marinette. Imagine how Adrien would feel about all this? Or if his FATHER knew? Ooooh, Marinette’s dreams, whether as a designer or as Adrien’s love would be completely dashed!

And speaking of which, it was perhaps fortunate that Lila just HAPPENED to be on such good terms with the father in question! Surely he would want to know about this.

Why hadn’t she called on him sooner? Gabriel needed her. She was useful to him. So surely he would be willing to help her. He had a private mansion with its own defense system that could protect her from any unruly mob. Honestly, she should have gone there first.

Might as well kill two birds with one stone, she decided as she tapped his contact number. She could ensure her safety with Gabriel and ruin Marinette with one phone call.

“What is it?”

Lila frowned in surprise. Her call had been picked up immediately, but rather than Gabriel, she was stuck talking to his assistant.

“This is Lila Rossi. I need to speak to Mr. Agreste.”

“Mr. Agreste is busy at the moment.”

Lila barely held back a huff of irritation. “This is important.”

“Whatever it is you have to say is not important enough to disturb Mr. Agreste at this time. Or ever, for that matter.”

What was this? The woman wasn’t even listening!

“But it’s about his son!” Lila exclaimed. It wasn’t, actually. Lila needed a safe place to hide and that was priority, but if there was one thing Gabriel cared about that could ensure he would listen long enough, Adrien was it.

“There’s a horrible girl who has been obsessed with him!” Lila exclaimed with overly grandiose affect. “She has invaded his personal space, harassed him in public, and followed him into unsanctioned areas. I think she’s a stalker! Gabriel needs to know!”

“We are already aware of your antics, Miss Rossi. Although it is useful of you to admit them. This will be included in your file.”

Lila balked at that.

“MY file?”

“I assumed you could only have been speaking of yourself, given your history.”

“No! I was talking about Marinette! SHE’S the one who—”

“Did you think we wouldn’t find out what you had been doing? You lied and manipulated your way into the mansion. You’ve been frequently touching and hanging on Adrien in a way he is not comfortable with and is against company policy. And then there are the ‘rumors’ you’ve been spreading of being his girlfriend without speaking to Adrien or clearing it with Gabriel Agreste first. And then there were your outright attempts to use Adrien to get close to the head of the company brand and try to manipulate said head of the company in regards to his own son.”

“I didn’t!” Lila insisted. This was going all wrong!

“Our cameras and reports say differently. Which is why we will request that you cease any and all contact with the company and its employees henceforth.”

Lila froze.

“What?”

“In light of recent allegations, the Gabriel brand has decided it would be in the company’s best interests to cut ties with someone of such…unsavory background.”

“What do you mean—”

“Your contract with Gabriel is terminated. There will be no further communications with Mr. Agreste or Adrien. And a restraining order is in process of being issued.”

“But…” This couldn’t be happening!

“Goodbye, Miss Rossi.”

There was a final resounding click. Then silence. And Lila found herself choking on dread from within a hatefully cheerful and pink room where no bad things should happen.

This couldn’t be it.

This couldn’t be the end!

All her efforts…for nothing?

And…that meant she didn’t have the mansion as a safe house. If she was forced to run again, she had no backup plan. She had to rely on Ladybug to…

Wait…

Ladybug?

It wouldn’t leave her. Ladybug. What about Ladybug? It may have been the shock of everything, but even the thought of the spotted heroine didn’t hold animosity for her for once. Not compared to the desperate hope that the connection and slow realization brought her.

This was…

This was just the akuma!

That’s right! Lila spun back as she realized.

The akuma was controlling everyone. No doubt Gabriel and his people were caught up in it as well. The man had to have spies everywhere. And if the influence spread by word of mouth, it would have been easy for him to fall under its sway as well.

That meant that Ladybug would fix this. Everything would go back to normal and nobody would even remember this. She would still have her contract. She would still have her ties to Gabriel and his influence to serve in her favor. Hell, maybe it would be confusing enough for everyone that she could spin things to her classmates to convince them it was all a misunderstanding or the akuma’s work?

There was still a chance!

She wasn’t finished!

Lila Rossi has not fallen yet!

Except then she did. Literally. By tripping over one of the spare presents she had left out in the middle of the floor to photograph. Unable to regain her balance, she hit the floor with a thud. That thud turned into a clatter as her sprawled form making contact with the ground sent a number of the other packages and a few other objects falling over in a small avalanche of noise that seemed to resound throughout the room and no doubt to the floors below.

Maybe…maybe nobody heard that?

The stomping of feet from below heading in her specific direction told her that yes, her unfortunate tumble had indeed been heard. Stupid! She should have put the gifts back sooner! She only had a few moments to act. Lila barely managed to pull herself up into something close to a standing position before the door to the room flung open.

Sabine entered the room with baking peel in hand, looking wary and concerned. Her eyes scanned the room in seconds. Seeing the presents scattered across the floor. Seeing several objects moved from their proper places. Seeing Lila sitting in the middle of it all.

In an instant, any trace of a sympathetic authority figure in her corner was gone. Instead, she was replaced with a very protective and very ANGRY mother who just found a threat in her home.

“What do you think you are doing?!”

“Oh, Mrs. Dupain-Cheng!” Lila exclaimed, looking relieved. “I’m so glad someone found me!”

“What are you doing up here?” The woman demanded, looking substantially less pleased to see her.

“It’s a bit embarrassing.” She explained, appearing bashful. “I took a wrong turn and got lost.”

The mother’s eyes narrowed.

“You got lost.”

“Yes!”

Maybe she would buy it?

“And took stairs clearly leading UP instead of DOWN.”

Yeah, she wasn’t buying it.

“Yes?” Lila tried anyway.

“And why is the room in disarray?” Sabine continued to question—oh who was she kidding, it was an interrogation at this point.

“I got scared.” Lila stated, only acting slightly more anxious than she actually felt. “I was worried the akuma would find me and I wanted to find a place to hide. Her closet seemed big enough.” She finished, gesturing to the now roomier closet space.

Sabine’s eyes followed her gesture. Her expression became slightly more uncertain. She was considering it at least. While the story seemed suspicious, Sabine had no proof and Lila’s explanation was at least plausible. She couldn’t argue it at any rate.

“Come downstairs.” Sabine ordered, unhappy but appearing to buy her story for now. “We’ll find a place to keep you hidden that isn’t our daughter’s room.”

“Oh, thank you!” Lila cried gratefully. She moved towards the exit with no further hesitation.

She had already gotten what she needed, after all.

But as Lila passed by, the woman suddenly gripped her shoulder. Hard enough that she could very well bruise. Precise enough that pressure points were hit which caused more pain and a sense of numbness in her arm.

“If you take advantage of our kindness to harm my daughter, you’re going to burn in a very special level of hell. A level they reserve for politicians and people who talk at the theater.”

Lila couldn’t help the wincing. She didn’t need to fake it, but she didn’t even try to hide it, either. “Ow! Yes! I got it! Ow!”

Sabine relaxed her grip but didn’t release it, walking Lila down the stairs and back to the main part of the shop. Tom looked up, a bit confused as they entered. But despite not being the one to catch Lila, even he was looking at her suspiciously.

This wasn’t good.

Lila was already working out what she could say to turn this in her favor. But—

“Honey, I just got a text from Nadja.” Tom stated, seeming worried.

“Oh?” Sabine asked, curious.

“She said that the ‘Witch’ was in our daughter’s room trying to find Marinette’s secrets to humiliate her and ruin her future. Do you know what she means?”

A long pause.

Lila gulped.

“Honey?” Tom asked, though from the silence, he was starting to draw his own conclusions as slowly his gaze started to settle on Lila. His eyes narrowed as his expression morphed into anger.

But even that was nothing compared to the other...

“Really?” Sabine drawled.

Lila felt everything in her freeze as the woman slowly—all too slowly turned to smile at her.

That was not a nice smile.

“How very…special.”

Lila’s eyes widened, catching the meaning.

NOPE!

And she immediately booked it out of Sabine’s grasp, out of the room, and out of the bakery altogether.

#ml fic #witch hunter #lila sucks #tom and sabine #tom dupain cheng #sabine dupain cheng #sabine is the boss

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zankivich · 5 years ago

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The Assistant: Shawn Mendes x Personal Assistant: A One-shot

a/n: this is just me seeing if I could even still write for this man tbh. I’ve been getting very good at separating my emotions about the pr stunt, and I think that’s because I literally have blocked it from my social media in every way, shape, or form. Honestly when I wrote this I envisioned a black woman because that’s just where I’m at in life, but I never specified so....do with it what you will. K bye.

WARNINGS: mutual pining, fluff, love.

“Stop it, jackass.”

“No Shawn, seriously. Stop!”

“Stop! We’re going to be late, and if I have to hear Andrew complain one more time about it, I’m kicking your ass, do you hear me?!”

Being the personal assistant to Shawn Mendes is basically the best job in the world. You got to travel all the time. You got to learn more about the music industry than your internship at a record label had ever taught you. And he just happened to be the sweetest, most wholesome person on the planet. Except for when he was getting on your goddamn nerves. This just happened to be his favorite past time.

You’d been his PA for four years and no one knew him better. You knew his coffee order, what size underwear he wore, and the brand of cough medicine he trusted most. You knew what made him scared in life, what one sigh meant from another when it came past his lips, and when he was hungry or tired or emotional. What you hadn’t been prepared for was for Shawn to learn these things about you. And what you should have prepared yourself for was the trouble that this would bring.

Shawn had spent the last twenty minutes playing with some nerf gun that Brian had bought. He thought it would be a wonderful idea to see if he could hit you with it from multiple points around his hotel room. Shawn was usually business all the time, and so you loved any opportunity for him to get to relax and be a twenty-one year old. He had taken advantage of this and was more excited for a nerf battle than the business meeting he needed to be at in forty-five minutes.

“You have goooooot to relax a little bit.” He sighed rolling his eyes and dropping the gun.

He made his way over to you and slid his oversized palms onto your shoulders. Screw him. He was so warm and tall and chiseled. Dumb. So dumb.

“I could relax a lot more if you just let me do my job.” You pouted.

He snorted softly and let his thumb touch your chin.

“Is this you pouting now? You’re gonna try and guilt trip me with a pout?”

“That depends....Is it working?”

He licked his lip and you honestly could have swung on him. There was no need for him to behavior is such a sensual matter. Damn him.

“I’ll get my shoes on.” He hummed in defeat. “Just don’t be sad.”

You smiled up at him. “Thank you.”

He paused for a second, his hands still poised on your shoulders. There’s a moment of silence where it’s just the two of you looking at each other. You up at the mammoth you called a boss, and him down at you with those honey brown eyes. You hated when he looked at you this way, like he might wanna try something, like he might actually care about you the way that you cared about him. All it did was cause you unnecessary hurt, and very vivid daydreams.

See there’s a running joke in the Shawn Mendes team. If you want Shawn to do anything, then you simply just call y/n. The two of you were closer than closer, and he seemed to trust you with his life. Eventually you had become friends. Close friends. And so it suddenly became less “go buy me a juice” and more “can I lay my head in your lap until my migraine passes”. When the road was cold and lonely and he had no one, it was you he cuddled up to. For Shawn it was the convenience of it. You were there and you could provide him with what he needed. But for you? God touching him was like lightning. And you hated every second where it wasn’t real, where it didn’t mean the same thing to him. More than anything you hated the way that you loved it, because it meant being in his orbit.

“Go get your shoes on. Please?” You whispered.

He nodded slowly and pulled away finally giving you a moment to breathe.

The ride to this meeting was a quiet one. You struggled with Shawn’s affectionate touches and the ridiculously soft glances. Every now and again it got to be too much, and you had to preserve yourself if you were going to stay afloat. Working for Shawn was a joy, but that didn’t stop it from hurting sometimes.

The car pulled up to the destination and Shawn went to open his door only to stop when you didn’t follow him.

“Aren’t you coming?” He asked.

You shook your head. “I’m gonna go pick up your suit for your party.”

“Oh...Well you’re still coming to the party right?”

“Of course. I’m on duty, Shawn.”

He frowned. “No you’re not. I invited you as a friend.”

“Yea well Andrew knows better than to let you go to an open party with alcohol without me, so...I’ll be there regardless.”

“Okay well...I’m sorry you have to put up with me for the night.” He mumbled closing the door.

You sighed and let your head fall back against the headrest. Now you were both in a bad mood. Ugh.

***

New Year’s Eve was testing your patience. Here you were looking good as hell, ass all poised and waiting to be grabbed. What did you get instead? Nothing. Not a look, not a squeeze. You took another sip out of your vodka soda and went to stand up only to figure out that the previous two drinks before it, were a little stronger than you remembered. Shit.

“Woops! I’m sorry!” You gasped knocking into someone behind you.

“Sorry I--Oh, hey.”

You bit you lip and peered up at Shawn. The suit looked even better on him now then it did when he first stepped into it. And then there were his rosey cheeks and the heat of the room getting to his curls by the moment. He was absolutely stunning, and you couldn't believe you were about to enter another year of being practically suffocated by the weight of him.

“Hi.” You murmured reaching one of his arms to stabilize yourself. “How are you doing?”

He shrugged. “I’ve been alright. It’s been kinda hard to have fun though. My best friend’s been MIA.”

You snorted. “Is that so?”

“Yep. She got mad at me earlier, and I’m not really quite sure why. Perhaps you could tell me. I hear men are pretty dumb.”

You let your body weight lean into him, and sighed happily when his hands fell to your waist. Usually you’d do anything to stay away from this kind of contact, but vodka is a hell of a thing.

“It’s fine. I’m over it.” You assured him.

His eyebrows scrunched together at your words. That sort of Canadian pout of his. It was extremely effective.

“See, but I don’t even understand why you do that. Sometimes it’s like you're pissed at me, and then maybe you decide to get over it all without ever telling me what I’ve done in the first place.”

“Look let’s just enjoy the night, huh? It’s New Year’s Eve. All your friends and family are here. Let’s not make it more complicated.”

“Fine. But only if you promise to stop sulking in a corner and come have fun with me.” He mumbled. “I’ve like missed you all day.”

It was moments like that that you just wanted to shake him and yell. How could he not see what he was putting you through? How was it not incredibly obvious how in love you were with him? But you could tell just by the look on his face that he was being as sincere as ever. Shawn was just too kind for his own good, and for yours apparently.

“Yea, okay. Let’s have fun.”

*two hours later*

You are drunk. And the only reason you know how drunk you are is because you’ve lost your ability to measure other people’s drunkness. As far as your ass is concerned, everyone is living their best life and no one is any drunker than one another. Dumb. You should have known Shawn was drunk off his ass the minute he started hugging strangers. But alas, if Andrew’s expectation was that you were meant to keep him out of trouble then...you just might be fired tomorrow.

“You smell amazing.” Shawn whispered in your ear as he threw himself onto your back, arms wrapping tightly around you. “Where have you been all my life?”

You giggled. “I’ve been here, kiddo. You know, controlling your day to day life, keeping you afloat?”

“Not like that. I mean...I mean like...where have you been ya know?” He mumbled taking a sip out of a champagne bottle.

Sober you would’ve gotten him straight to bed at this point. Drunk you was a little dumber.

“No I don’t!”

“You just...God you’re so beautiful ya know?” He huffed bringing your foreheads together. “It drives me crazy.”

“What? What did you say?”

“Y/n I--”

“Shawn!”

And just like that, one minute the boy you like is hovering over you with heart eyes and the next his friends are practically picking him up. Jon, Brian, and Connor descended like wolves, quickly rushing Shawn away from you.

“We’ll be right back!” Bryan called over his shoulder.

You were left to your own devices and the only thing you could think to do in your drunken state was...to go complain to Aalyiah about how dumb her brother was. You know, like a crazy person.

“Hey what’s wrong?” She asked softly, not nearly as drunk as you. It must have been the whole underage thing.

You shook your head. “Your brother is an idiot.”

“Oh I’m aware. But why in particular is he an idiot this time?”

“He just can’t communicate jackshit unless it’s in a song. Can’t tell anyone how he feels. Just likes to stick his dumb, big head everywhere with his dumb big eyes and his dumb smile. I’m sick of it, ya know?”

Aaliyah smiled softly at you and squeezed your shoulder.

“Oh you poor thing. You want me to talk to him?”

You eyes widened. “No. Oh no, ‘Lyiah, not at all. I was just blowing off steam.”

“Uh huh…”

“No seriously. Promise me you won’t say anything.”

She rolled her eyes. “But y/n--”

“No promise me!”

“Alright, alright, Jeez. I promise.” She groaned. “But for the record if this is how complicated adults liking each other is, I want no part in it.”

“‘Liking’? Who said anything about liking?”

“Oh y/n...Please.”

“I liked you better when you were younger and shyer.”

*meanwhile in the corner on the opposite side of the party*

“What the hell guys!” Shawn muttered still trying to peer over the heads of people to see y/n.

Jon clicked his fingers in front of his face. “Excuse me? You told us not to let you get carried away with y/n tonight, remember?”

“...No. not really. And I retract my statement, now if you’ll excuse me...Goddamit, guys!”

They weren’t budging. And Shawn was pretty sure he was thinking clearer than he had in years. Save for the bottle of champagne in his hand.

“Bro, stop being an idiot, you’re blowing my high here!” Brian yelled at him. “You don’t want to fuck things up with y/n remember? You don’t want to mix business with pleasure! These are your words.”

“But...But...she’s so pretty.” He whined closing his eyes in despair. “So pretty.”

Jon snorted. “Oh to be young and in love. What a travesty.”

“Look we’ve got ten minutes until the ball drops. Let’s get you a fresh bottle of champagne and try to relax, aye?”

Shawn couldn’t quite do anything but pout.

“Fine. Let me go dammit.”

And thus the two were separate as the party began to re-hype for the ball drop. Brian got Shawn a bottle of champagne, his friends surrounding him on all sides so that he didn’t make any mistakes. Y/n was left to chill back in her corner. Without Shawn to hang out with, and his friends--which used to be her friends--being assholes, it was a lost cause.

At some point you were just waiting for the night to end. You wanted to go back to your hotel and sleep and forget all about Shawn’s dumb face when he told you how beautiful you were. What a joke. This whole night was a joke. Usually Jon and you would’ve spent the whole night making fun of all the white people, Connor would have hung on your hip like he always tended to do. Even Brian was a cocky son of a bitch who let you give it right back to him. But Shawn didn’t want to be near you for some reason. Friends. Yea right.

It wasn’t until everyone begin counting that you realized you weren’t in the mood at all. The excitement. The joy. It just wasn’t there. So you decided to leave. Meanwhile, at the clock struck midnight, Shawn busted open a bottle of champagne to spray his friends with. It’d been a hell of a year and he knew he deserved to celebrate a little bit. So the hugs go all the way around and he squeezes them tight enough that he hopes they know how much he loves them. He’s drunk and he’s happy and when those two things happen there’s typically on one person he wants to share that with. But it only takes one look around the room to see you’re not there. And that’s the opposite of what he wanted.

“Hey! Hey! Have you seen y/n?” He asked Jon who had quickly discovered his girlfriend’s throat after the ball drop.

“No man. And you shouldn’t either.” He huffed.

But Shawn had no time for his friend’s bullshit. This was the woman of his dream they were talking about here.

Brian was practically tripping balls and extremely ineffective. Connor was sympathetic but hadn’t seen her. His next best guess was Aaliyah, who was looking a little wobbily like maybe she’s stolen a drink or two. (He was too drunk and too fixated on y/n to remember that he’d been the one to give them to her).

“Sis, have you seen y/n? I can’t find her anywhere!”

She rolled her eyes. “No! But she probably got tired of the games and went back to her room.”

“What games? What are you talking about?”

“She’s tired of you acting like you want her until it gets too serious and then backing away and pretending you’re just friends. It’s bullshit and it hurts and she probably got fed up. Let me guess tonight’s plan was to have the guys keep you away from her?”

Having a sixteen year old sister who’s smarter than you is truly terrible.

He stared at her dumbfounded. “I…”

“Yea, that’s what I thought. Look if you don’t want to be with her just leave her alone. She’s not some play toy, alright?”

“I’m not--that’s not even remotely what’s going on!” He muttered at her.

“Well that’s what it looks like! Women aren’t stupid and you’re not clever, dumbass. Stop messing with her. It’s driving her crazy.”

He rubbed his hands over his face thankful when the music finally cut down as people took the time to huge and squeeze their loved ones for the new year. His little sister had never been one to let him off the hook, and it was nice to know some things weren't going to change in 2020.

“I’m in love with her!” He bursted. “I’ve been in love with her since the moment I saw her, and I didn’t want to let her go, okay? She’s amazing at her job and she’s my best friend. And I need her in my life. So, I thought I’d rather have a part of her forever than ever face the possibility of losing her. She’s not some plaything alright...she’s--she’s everything.”

And just like that the anger on her face twisted to happiness and she quickly reached to pat him on the shoulder. Teenage girls were practically navy seals mixed with ninjas or some shit.

“See, now was that so hard?”

“Look don’t take this the wrong way but I think you might be a sociopath.”

Aaliyah rolled her eyes again and pointed over his shoulder. He turned to see y/n standing there with her jacket in hand looking about as shocked as he felt. Suddenly the room was much warmer than he remembered, and his hair felt sweaty against eh back of his next. The cat was out of the bag.

“H--How much of that did you hear?” He asked you, walking slowly in your direction.

You bit your lip. “I showed up around the ‘love’ part.”

“Oh...okay. Do you wanna--can we maybe go somewhere and talk?”

“I don’t know. I’m drunk. You’re drunk. I’d probably just go to sleep thinking I made the shit up.”

He shook his head. “That couldn’t be y/n. I meant it. Every word.”

“Yea? Then prove it.”

“Prove it? How?”

“I don’t know! I’m drunk, shit.” You whined.

He rolled his eyes up at the ceiling and stalked closer to you until you had to peer up in order to see him. His warmth was intoxicating, the smell of campagne still fresh on his lips. This is dangerous territory. There are witnesses. No room for him to go back when he changes his mind in the morning. His fingers cup your cheek.

“Shawn.” You warned jaw going slack in his grip.

“You drive me absolutely crazy, you know that?” He whispered, breath fanning your face.

“Yea, the feeling is mutual...Don’t play with me right now.”

“I’m not. I swear to you. We can figure the rest out tomorrow, but for now, I love you.”

“Don’t say that unless you mean it.”

There were tears in your eyes threatening to fall, and your body as lose as it was from the alcohol was still struggling to let go. You’d dreamt about these words long enough that reality has begun to blur. Who knows what’s real and what isn’t.

“I mean it.” He hummed so softly against your lips. “I mean it, I mean it, I mean it. I love you. Let me show you.”

Leave it to your New Year’s kiss to come fifteen minutes late. But there’s not a care in the world when his lips are on yours. Your toes dig into the carpet as you lean up to kiss him something soft and chaste turning more dominant by the second. If this was a dream, let them never wake you up. Because it felt so real. So right. So soft.

“Happy New Year sweetheart.” He whispered against your ear.

And a happy new year it was.

The End.

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callmeasyouwantidk · 4 years ago

Note

3, 6, 12, and 21 for the Writer Asks, please! 🤗 💜

Thank you for the ask Hiro!

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3. What is your favorite/least favorite part about writing?

My favorite is the feeling you get when you have finished writing so you reread it to make sure everything is correct.

My least favorite is writers block. AHHHGHHHHGHGGGGGGGG

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6. Favorite character you've written?

I never wrote originals yet (even tho I'm thinking on it) so my fav is Butsuma with completely different attitude in my mid-century AU. I made him like, as strong, as serious, but now he takes everything close to heart and just had to go with it because a good king can't allow himself to be a crybaby in the war. He was suffering and I loved to reread about it. Usual writer stuff, nothing new)

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12. Which story of yours do you like best? Why?

Honestly I'm not sure here. There are like three stories that r good enough to be my favs. I can't decide... Ugh. Whatever. Basic review of them 😅: First story is basically about Tobirama getting kidnapped when he is a child (like, 6 months or so) by Tajima. That happened while Butsuma was at his mission and Tobi's mom was about to give birth to Itama so Hashirama and Tobi were with their nany. But what can a regular human nany do when at the window she sees the head of the Uchiha clan? Only try to get the children to safety or get help. Unfortunately, Tajima got his hands on one of the boys before nany could. Now Tobirama grows up among the Uchiha as one of them, with only one goal - to kill his father, brothers, mother, and his own clansman. He succeeded at killing two of his brothers at young age, and killing his mother while a teen. Tajima gets physical pleasure when he sees Butsuma clutch his teeth in anger and dispare every fight Tobi includes. Not gonna go farther, too long, but you got the spirit.

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Second story is about Hashirama getting caught prisoner while Tajima is still ruling the clan. He learns that he was caught when he used himself as a shield to save Tobirama from a wicked two way attack that would have killed him. He also learns that even tho he did save him, the poisoned blade did a little cut, so Tobi will die from it in few days. Gotta get out. While trying to find his way out, Hashi stumbles upon his father and father's good friend who went missing four years ago, who's also held prisoners. Same story - too long to tell, but you got the spirit.

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3rd story has two versions. This is Ver 1. It's the AU I'm currently working on. Mid-century AU, where people have wings (type and colour of wing depends on personality, hair colour, and mobility of the person. Also it might depend on the wings your ancestors had.) and magic. Butsuma is the king, Tajima is the king. Senju kingdom grew weaker lately, because many of their blacksmiths have been slaughtered in one of the attacks on kingdom, and the army needs weapons. Because now the knights gotta run around the field looking for a weapon in case they don't have their anymore, they grow more and more tired after every fight. The Knights of the Round Table (which includes Butsuma and his knights) decided that the kingdom is growing too weak, and judging from Uchihas actions, they realize it too and don't hesitate to use the opportunity. They have decided that if the Uchiha kingdom does one strong enough strike with all their power, it might even be the end of it. To prevent this happening Butsuma calls Tajima for negotiation. He says that both armies are tired and that it might be good to take a break and form temporary peace, let the armies rest for a while, heal up, and continue. Tajima, of course knew where it was coming from, and it was far from the deal he was willing to make, so he asked for a payment. He said that he will consider such deal, if Butsuma gives him one certain payment to stay away. The payment is Butsuma himself. Tajima asked Butsuma to give himself in as a prisoner. A slave. Only in such case will Tajima agree. Having no other choice Butsuma agrees, signs the contract, and gives himself in, leaving a wife and his four children. While being an Uchiha slave he is treated even worse then a homeless alcoholic. Leaving in a cell in dungeons. In summer/autumn and spring working on the fields, and in winter helping as a servant. For every little mistake he was punished with a certain amount of whip blows that would leave him a bloody mess, and a lot of deep bruises. He was given only the things that he need not to die to quickly. In cold winters he had to swallow his pride and beg for something warm. The only way to get a little food for him was to pleasure Tajima in a naughty way (if you know what I mean ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°). His status here was lower then a dog's, so anyone and everyone could do whatever they wanted with him. He had to do every request regardless of anything. Because of constant physical and emotional stress of more or less regular punishments and the inability to say "no" to all the perverted guards around the castle he aged greatly in a not so long amount of time, even tho he also did a lot of work to adapt. Madara was helping him tho, as much and as well as he could. He would call him in for said "naughty time" but would let him just sit and rest for an hour after which let him go. He would bring him a little of bread if Butsuma didn't eat for more then 3 days. He would help him get treatment if Butsuma got ill. Ten years later, when Madara grew to be 24 he made an assassination on his father because didn't agree with his perverted way of spreading tyranny not only on Butsuma, but through the kingdom itself. He became the king, and let Butsuma back to his family, shortly after which they made a permanent peace treaty.

Ver2. All the same but instead of asking for Butsuma to turn himself in, Tajima asked for one of his children. Through days of thinking of a way to get out of the situation, and Tobirama saying his word, Butsuma sends Tobi to Tajima as a prisoner. For Tobi it's all the same story but only that people get their wings only when they turn 18, and in the Uchiha castle it is forbidden for anyone to use wings except the royal family. Tobi had to learn to control his wings while always being at risk of them opening randomly and getting him in a lot of trouble. Bit again, Madara helped him with that.

Very 2 has a different ending tho. At some point when Tobi is around 22 the Uchiha kingdom suffers an attack from a big enemy coming for Tajima. During that attack, Tajima dies, but so does Tobirama. Tobi goes to the other world, but instead of resting in peace he spends a his time looking over his family and kingdom. With years passing, he becomes the Guardian of the Senju kingdom, and he looks over it and all the people living in until the end of times.

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21. What aspect of your writing are you most proud of?

Um... I guess that I make kinda very dramatic content, and a lot of people actually like drama but usually are ashamed (for whatever reason) to say about it so there are not much actual dramatic fanfics.

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Hope you had good time reading my 3 page essay answering these. I really couldn't decide on the story could I?😅

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thesaltyoceanwaves · 5 years ago

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Nice Guy Adrien the Musical Outline - ACT II

@lenoreofraven

→ The second half of this act from “Meant to Be Yours” to “Breathin” has been adapted into my fic “Bewitched,” for those who want a better idea of how things would play out.

→ In “Bewitched,” Viperion has a hypnosis power, which I refer to as “Snake Eyes” in my other work “The One to Make It Stay.” This was because this was written prior to “Party Crasher” airing, so we didn’t know what the snake’s power would be. I think “Second Chance” could still be used in this scenario, but I’ll leave it vague for the time being.

→ Like I said before, I’m going to write Act II with Marinette being akumatized into Bewitched in mind. Now, it should be possible to akumatize Marinette into something else and have roughly the same outcome, depending on the powers that you give her. Anyway, Bewitched’s outfit is a slightly altered version of this one that NS Yoon G wears in the music video:

However, I changed the bottom half of the outfit to be more appropriate for a fourteen year old girl, so instead, she’s either wearing a black tulle mini skirt (which would fall just above her knees) or black biker shorts of the same length. Underneath them, she’s wearing black and white striped leggings similar to this outfit:

As well as black boots and lots of chunky, spiked jewelry, and a black witch’s hat on top. She hides her akumatized object in her blouse pocket. So, yes, her akumatized form is essentially cosplay of NS Yoon G, but toned down for a fourteen year old girl.

Act II opens with the students having returned to school after break (either for All Saints or Christmas, depending on how much time has passed since the beginning of school), and classes in session. Adrien has been none stop trying to text Marinette and get her attention, but to no avail. She has blocked his number by this point, and he’s resorted to contacting her through other social media sites and apps. Despite trying to flaunt his relationship with Lila in Marinette’s face, it seems to have entirely backfired, and at some point, Adrien broke things off with her. Alya continues to play cheerleader for Team Adrinette, but we see signs of wariness from Nino. Bustier’s class is going to discuss Romeo and Juliet, but everyone seems more interested in the status of Ladybug and Chat Noir. A fan sent in a video of Chat confessing his love to Ladybug and sent it in to the Ladyblog, where it was immediately posted. Adrien decides that this is his opportunity to make big romantic gestures to Marinette and win her over. However, Marinette has decided to move seats by this point to keep Adrien away from her, and is now in the back. He doesn’t have as many opportunities to talk to her. As class begins, Ms. Bustier calls for everyone to return to their seats so they can start discussing the reading. Alix makes a comment about how Romeo and Juliet has the lamest, most nonsensical plot she’s ever read. Everyone gasps, clearly offended and asks how she could say something like that. (I Hate Shakespeare)

The school day comes and goes, and once again, we find ourselves at Chloe’s hotel. She is relaxed upstairs, turning her bedroom into a summer simulation of sorts. She’s being waited on by Sabrina and Jean, while complaining about the events of the day (“Ugh, Adrikins has been so weird lately! First, he said he liked Dupain-Cheng, of all people! Then, he decided to date that girl with the sausage hair just to make her jealous. And now he’s pretending it didn’t even happen?” “That discussion we had about the play today was utterly ridiculous!”) To wash away the events of the day, Chloe has ordered a full day of pampering for herself, including a trip to the spa. She’s even nice enough to arrange a package for Sabrina and Jean. After all, she needs them in tip-top shape. (Fabulous)

Gabriel has been noticing an increase in negative energy lately. He thinks it’s his chance to evilize someone into his most powerful akuma yet. Adrien returns home from school in a rather snappy mood, complaining about a girl. This makes Gabriel pause for a moment. He’s a bit worried that his akuma might end up picking the girl that rejected Adrien and going after him. However, he can’t afford to just give up on saving his wife, either. He won’t let anything stand in the way of reuniting with her, not even his own feelings. Surely, Adrien would understand someday. (Standing)

Adrien is frustrated about how things aren’t going his way. He’s messaged Marinette about 273 times in the past week, and hasn’t gotten a single response or reaction from her. He even had to give up on Operation: Jealousy, because it made her less interested in him. How is that even possible, he wonders to himself. Plagg points out that if Adrien continues this behavior, the Master might decide to pull his miraculous away, but Adrien isn’t convinced. How else are they going to defeat Hawkmoth? And speaking of his power, he decides it’s time to pay Marinette a visit. Plagg is against using Chat to get close to Marinette/Ladybug, but he doesn’t listen and uses his freedom and mobility to find her. (Macavity Part 2)

Marinette, tired of the influx of messages and how Adrien won’t leave her alone, decides she can no longer handle being Ladybug. She heads over to Fu’s and lets him know that she can’t afford to be Ladybug, since she’s at such high risk of being akumatized. She’s returned the earrings to Kagami, and told her to meet Fu, because she can’t handle it anymore. Fu tries to convince her otherwise, but Marinette won’t change her mind. Running out of the room in tears, Marinette laments how everything could have gone so wrong. Maybe Lila was right. Maybe she was cursed. What an irony, she thinks to herself. (No Good Deed)

As Marinette is running home, she ends up stopping in front of a store with some mirrors. An image flashes in her head - her as Ladybug. She tries to go for a quick change to get rid of it, and takes out her hair ribbons, stuffing them into her pocket. Before she can get any closer to home, Chat pops in, and after her avoiding him all day. Once again, he proclaims his love for her, reminding her that he’s dumped Lila, so there’s nothing standing in their way now. Then he realizes she’s been crying. Marinette snaps and tells him he’s the problem. There’s back and forth arguing until Kagami appears as Ryukōun, and tells Chat to back off. The two of them get into a fight as Marinette runs off, not sure where to go. Hawkmoth akumatizes her into Bewitched (not shown on stage/screen until next scene) and she promises him that by morning, neither Chat nor Ladybug will be a problem. (Meant to Be Yours)

The next day at school, everyone is gathered outside to share gossip, with quite a few people surrounding Lila as she launches her next story. Adrien quickly finds Nino and Alya and relays what happened the previous evening. Alya assures Adrien that things will turn out alright, but Nino points out his concerns with Adrien’s behavior. Before a full fight can escalate, Bewitched enters the scene and blasts Lila with her curse beam and frightens everyone around her. Bewitched forces Lila to tell the truth, lest she get hurt by her own words. Lila ends up revealing that she and Ladybug were never friends and that the interview she did for Alya when she first arrived was a lie. Bewitched then goes on to curse Alya to always or do the wrong thing, and turns Nino into her familiar. As the scene goes on, more and more students get either cursed or familiarized (Nino and Juleka are absolutely spared; Nino because he defended Marinette’s honor and Juleka because Bewitched doesn’t want to upset Luka). Adrien, Kagami, Felix and Chloe all manage to escape prior to getting hit by Bewitched. (Reason to Become a Witch)

Managing to get far away enough from Bewitched, both Kagami and Felix berate Adrien for his actions. If he just left Marinette alone after the rejection, things wouldn’t have turned out like this. Kagami points out that he doesn’t deserve the ring, completely outing Adrien as Chat Noir. Luka arrives on the scene and is caught up by everyone. He is not pleased and calls Adrien out for being so selfish. He’s even less pleased when it’s revealed that Adrien only became interested in Marinette after it was revealed that she was Ladybug. Before the fighting can escalate, Kagami decides to split up the group. She gives the snake miraculous to Luka and Felix, telling them to go after Bewitched, while she and Adrien go and give Chloe the bee. (Congratulations)

Kagami and Adrien arrive to give Chloe the bee. However, a bit of arguing causes the cat to be let out of the bag, and now Chloe is in on the secret identities (both Ladybug and Chat). She is infuriated by Adrien and how ugly his attitude has gotten. And disappointed in herself after realizing that doing nothing didn’t stop any akuma victims. That was the wrong thing to do in this case, she realizes. Instead, she needs to work on standing up to people like that and use the power that she has to her advantage. She’s going to be the hero that Ladybug, no, Dupain-Cheng, believed she could be. (Ugly Heart)

Luka and Felix run into Bewitched. Felix saves Luka from getting hit, but becomes a familiar. Queen Bee, Ryukōun and Chat Noir arrive on the scene, but Chat’s ego quickly causes him to lose the cat miraculous to Felix after Bewitched turns Queen Bee’s power against them. Luka transforms into Viperion while Alya arrives on the scene to apologize. Satisfied, Bewitched familiarizes her. Using his power, Viperion is able to calm down Bewitched and convince her to give up the akuma. After Kagami purifies it, she, Luka and Felix all take Marinette home. After the long day, Marinette tries to find ways to make herself fall asleep, but the events of the day weigh heavy on her mind, and she’s anxious as to what comes next. (Breathin)

#nice guy adrien #nice guy adrien au #nice guy adrien the musical #ml salt #ml salt au #lenore's au

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commentaryvorg · 5 years ago

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Danganronpa V3 Commentary: Part 6.5

Be aware that this is not a blind playthrough! This will contain spoilers for the entire game, regardless of the part of the game I’m commenting on. A major focus of this commentary is to talk about all of the hints and foreshadowing of events that are going to happen and facts that are going to be revealed in the future of the story. It is emphatically not intended for someone experiencing the game for their first time.

Last time as we wrapped up chapter 6’s investigation, Flashback Lights were clearly fake, Himiko was a very great mage and was probably acting kind of like Kaito on purpose, Shuichi was being the kind of hero Kaito always saw him as and unfortunately playing into Monokuma’s hands in the process, Keebo became mind-controlled again and immediately started making more sense than before, and he still lacked any remotely well-written justification for not having used his weapons sooner.

Before we start the trial, this one requires some more specific skill setup than most trials, because of a couple of parts later on which are exceedingly stupid and should not be allowed to be any harder than they absolutely have to. First off, Librarian’s Glare, which immediately silences loud voices in Mass Panic Debates without you having to do anything. Then, every single skill I have which makes Argument Armaments easier (thanks, Gonta! and also there’s a couple from the casino). This also includes one that increases my health, which was not remotely necessary for the rest of this not-blind playthrough where I wouldn’t be getting any answers wrong, but it definitely helps here. I didn’t quite have enough levels to fit everything new on so I had to drop a couple of the more general-purpose skills that I like to use, but it’ll be worth it. I kept the Psyche Taxi ones on, though, partly because I still want to make those go by as fast as possible, but also because I just want to keep using Kaito’s skill, too.

Anyway, Shuichi is out to prove that Kaede didn’t really kill Rantaro and therefore that Monokuma got a verdict wrong, which is the exact thing Kokichi and Kaito were aiming to make happen in the previous trial in the hope of “winning”/ending the killing game. If Kaito hadn’t managed to prove that there’s definitely an audience and Monokuma definitely isn’t allowed to get things wrong, Shuichi wouldn’t even know it’d be worthwhile to do this right now. Kaito’s efforts did not go to waste.

Monokuma: “Puhuhu… So in the end, the first case has become the focal point yet again… What a twist! What an interesting twist!”

Narrative bookending! This wasn’t a planned part of his script, but Monokuma’s totally fine with Shuichi doing this for him because it’s good storytelling!

…Though, as we’re going to see later in this trial, maybe I’m giving Monokuma too much credit to assume he knows what “good storytelling” looks like.

Shuichi begins by talking about Rantaro. I’m sure there’s a part of him that just wants to immediately prove that Kaede didn’t kill anyone (because he definitely already knows how to prove that), but he’s restraining himself and taking this one step at a time.

Shuichi: “The Monopad also contained a video Rantaro recorded for himself.”

No, it didn’t. It contained a note. The video in Rantaro’s lab was a completely different thing that Rantaro never saw before he died.

Every single English line in this trial referring to Rantaro’s Monopad note is going to insistently call it a video – and this is a localisation change, because the original Japanese calls it a note like it should do. I have no idea what kind of confusion happened during the localisation process to convince not just one but all of the localisers – because multiple characters make this mistake – that Rantaro’s Monopad note was supposed to be a video and the original somehow got it wrong. This is the most bizarrely consistent mistake in the whole localisation. It’s even actually a relevant plot point that it is just a note, because that means there was no proof Rantaro himself wrote it and it was most likely actually written by the mastermind as a trap. That would be a lot less possible if it really was a video! Come on, localisers. Kaito’s arm in the trial 5 video had to have been a genuine careless goof one way or another, but this mistake is somehow very calculated and deliberate, and that is ridiculous.

Keebo: “But if Rantaro had a clue like that, why didn’t he come to us with it?”

Shuichi: “I assume because he didn’t trust us. The killing game had just started, after all. What he said in his video message certainly didn’t help either. He told himself to only share this information with people he could trust.”

Yep. It’s almost like the message was actually specifically designed to make Rantaro afraid of sharing the information so that he’d get killed because it wasn’t a video and therefore could have easily been from the mastermind!

It’s also incredibly silly that Shuichi is calling it a video over a shot of Rantaro’s Survivor Perk Monopad and its very-not-a-video note. Did… did nobody playtest this and realise the characters were talking about something that doesn’t exist?

Maki: “He didn’t have any recollection of filming this message, right? That means he must have had trouble believing it as well.”

He would have had a lot less trouble believing it if it really was a video, because it’d be hard to deny seeing himself there in the flesh. But this is from Maki’s original correct line about writing the message, in which case of course Rantaro would doubt whether it was really from himself.

(If it really canonically was a video, then this’d be the one time you’d see me being completely sure that Tsumugi was cosplaying and faking a video of one of these students, because its content is so definitely the mastermind trying to get him killed. Tsumugi faking a video rather than just writing him a note would in fact be a better way for her to do this, because Rantaro would be less likely to doubt the message if he could see himself saying it. So the fact that she didn’t make a video for his Monopad suggests that using her cosplay skills to fake videos isn’t a thing that’s likely to occur to Tsumugi as an option in general.)

Shuichi flashes back to a couple of things Rantaro said: one that hinted at the existence of his note, and one of him declaring his intent to end the killing game. These two different things were actually mentioned during two completely different conversations… and Shuichi wasn’t there for the second of them (because this is when we were playing as Kaede). Kaede also never relayed to Shuichi in detail what Rantaro said back then. The writers maaayyy have forgotten this.

Shuichi: “The only people who knew about the hidden door at the time were Rantaro and I… I had Kaede with me and I thought I could trust her. So I told her about the hidden room… That was the difference between me and Rantaro, I suppose. I had Kaede…”

The difference was friends. Or, well, the difference was the lack of a mysterious note encouraging paranoia, plus an overly dependent personality causing Shuichi to latch onto and rely on Kaede despite a situation that discourages doing that kind of thing. But also friends. If Rantaro had had someone he could trust like that, maybe things could have been different. And if Shuichi hadn’t trusted Kaede like he did and had kept his knowledge to himself, things would have been different too.

Monokuma: “And Kaede’s the one who killed him!”

…

Shuichi: “…”

Shuichi is still sitting on the bombshell that no, she didn’t. He knows, but he’s going to clear up everything else first, probably to make it so that when he does get to that point, there’ll be no doubt about it.

(In this particular post, whenever I put an ellipsis to indicate that I’m skipping other characters’ irrelevant line(s) of dialogue, assume it’s probably the Monokubs. I am sparing you and letting you mostly forget they exist.)

Sigh. I use to like reading all the white noise and picking out fun bits to comment on, but now it’s all just the Monokubs spouting distracting nonsense. I suppose they’re doing it as an excuse to give you more white noise for endgame difficulty despite the far fewer characters left, but.

Shuichi: “What? Ugh, keep quiet, will you? I don’t have time for your nonsense right now.”

This is Shuichi’s reaction when the cubs butt in for a Rebuttal Showdown, and, yes, Shuichi. We all feel you there.

The typography in their Rebuttal Showdown involves the words spinning around a lot and being vaguely difficult to cut just by their speed, probably representing how annoying and distracting this whole thing is.

Shuichi: “The outline of his fingers matches how he was holding it in the picture.”

I mean, not really when you look at them like that. But also one can imagine that his fingers might have splayed out in sudden shock the moment he was hit, so yeah, close enough I guess. Danganronpa has never been super careful about getting the details of its evidence exactly right.

Here’s the final proper Psyche Taxi in the game (thank god), which could also contend for the title of the stupidest one simply based on the fact that absolutely none of the questions are asking you to figure out anything new. The final question is “Who can enter the hidden room?” – and the answer is just “the mastermind”, not the actual identity of the mastermind. Because I am definitely only just figuring out now that the hidden room belonged to the mastermind, and this definitely required me to answer four obvious questions to figure out this very secret conundrum.

(At least Kaito helped me crash my way through some of the cars without slowing down to make this go by faster. Thanks, Kaito. Yes, I am still shamelessly using every possible opportunity to mention him, of course I am.)

Tsumugi: “Oh, that’s true… In order to get to the hidden room, you need to move the bookcase, right? But Shuichi and Kaede set up those hidden cameras, so… If the mastermind was using that door, they would’ve been caught on camera.”

Tsumugi, you know full well about the intervals, we discussed them at length in trial 1. The fact that you are making such a point of trying to argue something that’s already obviously wrong is making you look quite suspicious.

(If she was arguing about how the dust on the card reader means they couldn’t have entered through the library door, then that’s one thing, since she supposedly doesn’t know about the hidden passageway. But that’s not what she’s doing.)

Shuichi: “The mastermind was probably terrified by the idea of us picking up Rantaro’s perk.”

Monokuma: “No, that’s wrong!”

Shuichi: (…What?)

Monokuma: “I wasn’t necessarily afraid… The Survivor Perk was for Rantaro’s eyes only. Sure, he could’ve shared the info with you… But that’s not the same as getting the info directly from the Monopad. Cuz then, you can’t say it was for Rantaro’s eyes only, right? So when he died, I took it back. That’s all.”

Monokuma’s excuse here does actually make a reasonable amount of sense. One general principle of this game is that anyone can make basically any claim they like, but they aren’t necessarily going to be able to prove that what they’re saying is true, and it’s up to others to decide whether or not to believe them. Monokuma is not (supposed to be, trial 5 aside) allowed to give any information that would directly prove any student’s claim to be true or false, hence the Monokuma Files sometimes omitting details. Rantaro’s Survivor Perk would also sort of fall under that idea. Rantaro was allowed to tell people about it, but that claim of his wasn’t allowed to be conclusively proven to be true.

If you’ve ever played the game Mafia/Werewolf/whatever else you might call it, it’s a lot like how you’re not allowed to show everyone else your role card/role PM/whatever it was you got from the gamemaster to tell you what your role is. That would prove certain claims to be true or false, and that’s not in the spirit of the game. Monokuma is trying to run a similar kind of game here. He did admittedly make it much harder for himself to enforce that rule by giving Rantaro extra info that was meant to be for his eyes only in a format that someone else might be able to get their hands on. Rantaro’s video in his lab was also supposed to be like this – he mentioned in it that Monokuma might try to shoo people away from him to stop him from telling anyone else about it. That sure would have been a very awkward way for Monokuma to try and enforce that.

Of course, note how Monokuma only says he wasn’t necessarily afraid before explaining why this was all totally within the rules of the game. The rules might be part of it, but he totally was also afraid of others seeing the Survivor Perk just because it would give them information he didn’t want them to know regardless of the rules. The hint that Rantaro has been in a previous killing game, and the possibility that him checking out the hidden door might have been a trap to get him killed, definitely weren’t things that Monokuma wanted to be known.

Shuichi: “The Monopad clearly stated that there was a mastermind in the academy. If we knew then that a mastermind was behind everything, we would have worked together.”

Also that. Shuichi knows what’s up.

(Oh, hey, remember who was always still convinced there was a mastermind even after Kaede’s trial but just decided to never fucking tell anyone that he thought that? Yeah, he sure would have helped us out a lot more if he ever actually had, huh.)

Himiko: “If they wanted to retrieve the Monopad, they shoulda used Monokuma to do it!”

Monokuma: “Nope, that’s impossible. The rules state I can’t participate in a murder, which includes tampering with the crime scene.”

…Not really? The rules state, “Monokuma will never directly commit a murder”. That’s all. There’s nothing specific about Monokuma being unable to participate in more indirect ways or tamper with the crime scene, so if he wanted to do that, he totally could while claiming it wasn’t technically against the rules.

This appears to be a localisation thing, because looking at the Japanese wording of that rule, a more direct translation would be something like, “Monokuma will not participate in a murder”, which matches with this line here. You’d still think that the rules should better clarify exactly what “participation” entails in order for them to explicitly ban Monokuma from tampering with the crime scene after the fact, though.

Regardless, if one of the reasons he wanted to hide the Monopad was for the abiding-by-the-rules reason of keeping it for Rantaro’s eyes only, that definitely seems like a situation in which Monokuma would be allowed to step in even when he usually couldn’t.

…Not that he’d have wanted to anyway, because Tsumugi had to be there just in case she needed to do the murder, which Monokuma definitely wasn’t allowed to do.

(Also, in case 4 of Danganronpa 1, Monokuma very much did tamper with the crime scene while arguing that it totally didn’t count as being against the rules. Different killing games with slightly different rule technicalities, sure, but I could definitely buy him weaseling his way out of this one too if he’d wanted to.)

Shuichi tries to insist that Monokuma’s strictness about the rules means they’re being watched, and Monokuma conspicuously changes the subject.

Shuichi: (I still don’t have the whole picture… but it seems that we’re all being watched. In that case… this plan should go well.)

You already knew you were most likely being watched! Kaito sacrificed everything to prove it! It’s honestly quite disappointing to me that the narrative doesn’t connect trials 5 and 6 together as well as it really should. It seems on the surface that the only reason this trial is happening is because Keebo went rogue after Kaito’s execution completely coincidentally happened to break his antenna. This is really a lot more connected to what happened in trial 5 than just that, because it’s also about Shuichi now knowing there’s an audience thanks to that trial. But it’s not emphasised as much as it should be, not with lines like this that gloss over the reason Shuichi began to assume they’re being watched.

Monokuma: “In the end, Kaede killed him… There’s no shaking off that truth.”

…

Shuichi: “No, that’s not the truth. I’m certain of that. It’s a lie that you made up.”

Finally, Shuichi’s getting down to business! Looks like he’s got everything else that he wanted to out of the way now. Proving that the mastermind was in the hidden room at the time of Rantaro’s death is helpful for proving who really did kill Rantaro if it wasn’t Kaede, after all.

Shuichi: “The most important fact we discovered during the investigation is this… The shot put ball that Rantaro was killed with, was different than the one Kaede had!”

Aww, look at how he sees the fact that Kaede shouldn’t have been executed as the most important thing he found out, despite having found several other things that are also objectively preeeetty important (Flashback Lights being fake, for one).

Shuichi: “It was wrapped in her spare vest. Her *pink* vest.”

Despite how the writing makes Shuichi refer to it, her vest was totally purple and not pink, by the way. I’m bringing this up for a more meaningful reason than just being nitpicky about my mental categorisation of colours, because Kaede’s vest was a lighter shade but almost exactly the same purple hue as Kaito’s jacket. Have I mentioned those two were so very similar and the writers knew exactly what they were doing with them, even to the point of making them visually reminiscent of each other in their colour palettes.

I am somewhat disappointed that the order in which Monokuma blows up his cubs here doesn’t match the original order they died in, in that Monodam is killed earlier than last time. He was the most tolerable one! I didn’t talk about it at all because it was still completely extraneous and unnecessary, but he actually had something vaguely resembling an interesting character arc! They could have at least kept him around for longer than his much more annoying yellow brother this time too.

Tsumugi: “The mastermind killed Rantaro… but why?”

Shuichi: “I believe the reason had something to do with the time limit motive.”

That’s definitely part of it – they didn’t actually want to kill everyone when the time limit ran out, so they needed a murder to happen, which they could conveniently pin on Kaede – but that’s not all of it. It’s also just because Kaede being so determined to save everyone that she was willing to kill the mastermind and yet tragically killed an innocent instead was such a good story that they didn’t want it to go to waste by pure bad luck of the shot put ball missing. Even if there hadn’t been the issue of awkwardly being obligated to kill everyone upon the time limit if Kaede’s plan failed, they’d still have done this just for the story.

Himiko: “S-So… Kaede was executed on false charges!?”

Shuichi: “Yes… yes, she was. She didn’t actually kill anyone. But she was executed nonetheless.”

See, the thing is… for all meaningful intents and purposes, Kaede still was a murderer. She very much meant to kill someone, and so she deliberately took actions that she believed would lead to someone’s death, that wouldn’t have done if she hadn’t taken them. And, indeed, it wouldn’t have done – because if Kaede hadn’t tried to kill someone, Tsumugi wouldn’t have stepped in and finished the job for her and Rantaro wouldn’t have died. Kaede is still just as responsible for Rantaro’s death as Tsumugi is. I’m certain that if she were still alive and aware of this truth, she’d be furious at Tsumugi for killing Rantaro when he’d had the chance to live after all, but she’d also still be blaming herself for Rantaro’s death, and she’d be right to.

Shuichi: “And you want to tell us that this game is fair? That there are rules? That’s all bullshit! This game makes no sense at all!”

Maki: “If Monokuma twisted the truth for this case… then he could’ve twisted it for the other cases, making this killing game unfair.”

Himiko: “Th-Then it’s not even a killing game anymore. It’s just… killing.”

…But the rules of this game don’t give a fuck about where the moral responsibility for a murder lies. They only care about who very literally and directly carried out the act. That’s how Kokichi got away with killing Miu, even though, during the trial in which Gonta had no memory of killing her, Kokichi was more meaningfully responsible for her death than the Gonta standing in the room was.

And the death penalty is fucked up as all hell. Nobody deserves to die for killing someone, not even Kiyo – he deserved to be locked up for the rest of his life where he couldn’t hurt anyone else, but even he did not deserve to be horribly killed. The only way in which it can be seen to be even remotely, vaguely justified that any of these people got executed is because they were in a game where they knew the rules meant that if they directly killed someone and then got found out, they’d die for it, because that’s just how the game works. (This is of course still not actually justified at all, but it’s what Monokuma will insist on.) So even though Kaede did meaningfully cause a person’s death, the fact that she did not directly kill Rantaro in accordance with the game’s rules means that her death was not fair and not justifiable on any level at all. Like Himiko says, that’s not even a game, that’s just killing.

(This is the one other time in this game that Shuichi uses strong language, which feels very appropriate given the context of this moment.)

Shuichi: “…I won’t forgive them. I’ll never forgive them for breaking the rules and killing Kaede. So cruel… I’ll never forgive them! And I *will* avenge Kaede! I swear on her kindness and her love… and her grave that I will avenge her!”

And note how Shuichi doesn’t linger for very long on the fact that Kaede technically didn’t kill Rantaro and instead focuses his passion and anger on the fact that her death was wrong. That’s the most important part, after all.

I also like to think when he talks about “her love” that he’s not really talking about specifically romantic love, even though he seemingly did happen to have romantic feelings for her. After all, Kaede was such a warm and kind person that she loved everyone here, more than she loved herself. Platonic love is equally important, and Kaede had so much of it to give.

So, I’ve seen people complain that Shuichi acts like Kaede was perfect and innocent and without fault at this point in the trial… but that’s not really what he’s actually doing here. Admittedly, he doesn’t properly acknowledge to himself that Kaede was still guilty, since that’s something I imagine he’d want to avoid thinking about too much, so he is still being a little influenced by his own personal bias of how much she meant to him. But he is also not trying to incorrectly argue, to himself or out loud, that she was ever innocent, and I think that’s important to keep in mind. All he ever says is “she didn’t actually kill anyone”, which is true on a technical level relating to her being executed for it, and that’s the context in which he said that.

(While we’re here talking about moral responsibility for deaths, let’s also talk about Maki in case 5. She very much intended to and tried to kill Kokichi, yes. She landed a lethal blow on him, which one might think would make the fact that Kaito finished the job for her be a moot point, even more so than it was with Tsumugi finishing off Rantaro in Kaede’s case. But the thing is, in Maki’s case, Kokichi was already going to die anyway. He’d already decided on his plan to have Kaito kill him that night, and Kaito said himself that he would definitely have agreed to the plan even if Maki hadn’t been a factor. The “wouldn’t have led to his death if she hadn’t taken those actions” part doesn’t fit here, because Kaito would have killed Kokichi regardless. So while Maki still tried to kill Kokichi, and that’s something she needs to acknowledge and take responsibility for, the fact that she tried to do that ultimately ended up irrelevant to his death. Kokichi did not die because Maki tried to kill him. If Kaede’s shot put ball had missed and then somebody else had come along and killed Rantaro for unrelated reasons that they’d still have had even if Kaede’s plan didn’t exist, Kaede would have been guilty of nothing but attempted murder too.)

Tsumugi: “It’s Kaede’s younger twin sister!”

Oh boy, here we go with this.

Tsumugi: “It seemed sorta weird to me. Junko Enoshima had a twin, too, right?”

Keebo: “Are you saying those same circumstances apply here, as well?”

Tsumugi: “This killing game was influenced a lot by the past one, right? So maybe the mastermind’s identity was, too.”

This argument does not make any sense at all. She’s saying the mastermind wanted to copy everything about Junko’s killing game… so she also went and… copied having a twin??? Funnily enough, that is not how twins work. Either you were born with one, or you’ll never have one. Unless Tsumugi’s saying that twins are somehow genetically predisposed to being despair-loving evil masterminds, there is no level on which she can be arguing that this would be anything more than a coincidence and therefore can even remotely be used as evidence to point to the mastermind’s identity.

The only value that the argument of “Junko was a twin, so maybe this game’s mastermind is also a twin because it’s following the same pattern” has is as a narrative argument. The writers could give the mastermind a twin after the fact to make it follow the pattern. And characters within this story should not be able to make narrative arguments. This is very, very telling.

Shuichi: (The mastermind who snuck into the academy and is making us play this sick game… Is Kaede’s twin sister?) “…”

Shuichi’s somewhat pressured thoughtful face during his silent textbox there reads to me less like he’s worrying about Kaede being connected to this and more that he’s just thinking “but that doesn’t make any goddamn sense”.

If you happen to attempt to agree with Tsumugi’s “theory” during the following debate…

Tsumugi: “Right? The mastermind must be Kaede's twin sister! I'm sure of this now that you agree, Shuichi!”

Shuichi: (...What is this? Why do I feel so uncomfortable?)

…It really does read like Shuichi knows full well how bullshit this is and is wondering why he even seemed to think it might make sense for a moment. His sense of discomfort could even be because this is making him suspect that Tsumugi is deliberately trying to mislead him, and he’s still not ready to accept that she’s the mastermind.

Shuichi: “However, the implications… aren’t good.”

Himiko: “Wh-What an ominous way to say it… But there’s nothing to worry about! We got this far because we’re friends!”

Himiko, you are really tempting fate here. Does it not occur to you that the not-good implications Shuichi’s talking about could be that you’re actually not all friends?

During this part where you’re meant to say the mastermind is one of the participants, if you try and say it’s Kaede’s twin, Shuichi muses:

Shuichi: (No... there's no real proof she has a twin sister in the first place.)

…which is a very valid point and supports my theory that she really actually didn’t, if the narrative is acknowledging that as an option.

Himiko: “Th-That’s crazy! There’s no way one of us is the mastermind! Because… we’re all friends! We swore to fight together!”

Monokuma: “Puhuhu… Then it just means that all your friendship talk was a lie, right?”

Geez, Monokuma, just because Kokichi’s dead doesn’t mean you need to fill in for him. They really are so alike. The fact that one person’s friendship talk was a lie doesn’t mean that it all was!

But man, can you imagine the field day Kokichi would be having with this if he were still here? He never used any of his “maybe you shouldn’t trust each other” spiel to try and get people to actually find the mastermind among their friends even though he knew all along that there was one – but that definitely wouldn’t stop him from now being all self-righteously “I told you so and if you’d all listened to me you’d have found the mastermind sooner!!!”

Himiko: “Whatever! I don’t believe you! There’s no way the mastermind’s here!”

Himiko being so adamant about this is another thing that’s become very Kaito of her! Kaito definitely wouldn’t be enjoying this either if he were still with us. But, since there’s no memory loss involved, Kaito would be able to see the truth in Tsumugi’s behaviour and accept it once she starts acting more and more suspicious. If you get betrayed, it’s your fault for misjudging them, that’s all.

Monokuma: “Puhuhu… I wonder where this discussion will lead. Will it lead to a mastermind in this very room? Or… not? Either way, we’re gonna make sure this trial stays exciting!”

Are you about to head to a commercial break or something, Monokuma? That can’t be it, since the debate starts immediately after this, but it sure sounds like it. Also way to not be even remotely subtle about this thing having an audience, yet again.

Himiko: “I was in the Game Room in the basement. With Kaito and Gonta and Maki… Also, Tenko and Angie were there too.”

It’s odd that Himiko adds Tenko and Angie like they’re afterthoughts, when surely she’d think of them first.

Tsumugi: “Though I did leave briefly to use the bathroom… I couldn’t have killed Rantaro!”

I appreciate how this time around Tsumugi is at least not trying to argue that the reason she couldn’t have killed Rantaro is because she couldn’t have been in disguise and that’s the only way she could possibly ever kill someone. The less said about that stupid argument, the better.

Shuichi: (… There’s clearly something wrong here… If someone killed Rantaro… It could only be them!)

Seems like this here is the moment Shuichi finally realises exactly which of his friends was never really his friend and was putting them all through hell. To be fair to him, Kaede’s case was a couple of weeks ago and a lot has happened since then, so he may well have forgotten that Tsumugi went to the bathroom until now. First-time-me remembered this detail, but that might partly be because I binged the whole game in a very short space of time, meaning case 1 was only like two days ago for me.

Himiko: “… Tsumugi… is this true?”

Aww, Himiko’s making one of her sad faces that we haven’t really seen much of since after Angie and Tenko died. It seems she really did consider Tsumugi a friend, and she said she didn’t want to lose any more friends!

Monotaro: “Please! Please let us win! We don’t wanna die!”

…I actually do feel kind of sorry for the Monokubs here in their second Rebuttal Showdown. They may have been created to have incredibly irritating flat personalities… but even so, they’re still alive, and right now they’re terrified of being killed on a whim by their tyrannical father and have absolutely no control over anything.

Shuichi: “Monokuma and the mastermind are the bad guys here. You don’t want to die? Do you know how many of my friends were sacrificed!?”

Still, Shuichi has every right to not have the energy to care about these so-called-comic-relief idiots when they’re in league with the ones who’ve been killing so many of his friends. I love the emotion he gets across here. He is so done with losing his friends.

Shuichi: (The evidence that points to Tsumugi being the mastermind… I didn’t notice it at the time, but now I know for sure!)

It’s pretty impressive that Shuichi can remember the exact wording of that “birth” conversation to pick up on the suspicious part, given that at the time he had no reason to suspect Tsumugi in particular.

Tsumugi: “Ah! But Keebo wasn’t there, was he!?”

Keebo: “R-Right… Because I was fighting the Exisals.”

Tsumugi: “Did you hear that!? Keebo didn’t try giving Motherkuma a command! So the real mastermind is—”

Tsumugi, you are just making yourself look waaaaay more guilty with your desperation to take the suspicion off yourself.

Shuichi: “I… don’t want to believe it either. That one of our friends, the survivors… could do this. That’s why I’m begging, Tsumugi. I’m begging you to refute me. I might be wrong, I… I was wrong before, about Kaede… That’s why I need everyone’s help! I don’t care if my detective work is wrong, I want to hear your argument!”

Shuichi still hates accusing his friends of murder and still has the least faith in his detective skills out of anyone here. This is a much more notable lack of confidence in himself than he’s shown in a long time, though, which might have to do with Kaito not being there any more. While he didn’t seem to need Kaito’s direct support that much towards the end, just knowing that Kaito was there and unflinchingly believed in him made such a huge difference. Shuichi’s trying to turn to everyone else for help now like Kaito told him to, but that’s still not quite as easy as having that one person he’s completely dependent on. (Even though it’s much healthier.)

This is also just a lot harder for Shuichi to accept because there is no good excuse for this. He told himself Gonta’s consciousness had been affected, and he never doubted that Kaito had to have some selfless reason for his actions. But if Tsumugi is the mastermind, then that just means that she was never their friend and was always the one making them suffer, plain and simple, and that’s the worst thing to have to accept.

Maki: “…What’s the matter? You can’t argue back after hearing that?”

Maki, being Maki, seems to be the first one to really accept this truth. She’s got better at having friends, but she’s still well aware that some people can just be really shitty, despite how they might appear on the surface.

(Monosuke gets blown up around about here while trying to protest that they should all just be friends. That’d have been the perfect thing to use Monodam for instead!)

Monokuma: “See? It’s getting exciting. Shuichi is trying to reveal the mastermind… Trying to overcome despair…”

It’s really got nothing to do with overcoming despair. The fact that one of their friends was putting them through this is cause for despair, if anything. I think the phrase you’re looking for is “defeating evil”, Monokuma?

Shuichi: (We have the mastermind cornered, why is Monokuma so calm? He should be feeling cornered as well… Forget it. We’re on the offensive here.)

Geez, Shuichi, stop doing this! The number of times he notes that something seems suspicious, and then goes “no, it’s not important now, gotta focus on the case” when it could in fact be very relevant to the case is incredible. That Ultimate Detective tunnel vision sure is powerful.

Himiko: “Tsumugi… I don’t wanna suspect you… I wanna believe in you. I want the mastermind to be somewhere else like in the previous killing games… So… if you’re really not the mastermind then don’t give up! I’ll cheer you on!”

Aww, Himiko. I like how she’s accepted the possibility that Tsumugi is the mastermind, but she’s still trying to support the hypothetical Tsumugi who is still their friend in case that really is the Tsumugi who exists.

Monokuma: “Hey, Shuichi. Why don’t we look over the case again?”

Shuichi: “What?”

Monokuma: “C’mon, that’s like, your thing. Present the truth and end this.”

It’s kind of remarkable when you think about it that this is Shuichi’s thing, that he just took to doing these Closing Arguments without knowing that that’s what the protagonist in a Danganronpa is supposed to do. Maybe that was also influenced by the Flashback Light that created him.

Monokuma: “Cuz there are people who don’t know what the heck is going on until they get to this part!”

Does the audience even get the comic books? Team Danganronpa would have to prepare those pretty quickly if so. That’d also render all of my comments about things in the comics being Shuichi’s imagination incorrect, so I hope not. Actually, that notion makes it pretty certain that it really is only Shuichi’s imagination – if Team Danganronpa was responsible for the out-of-character evil grins for Kirumi and Gonta, they’d have also had no qualms about doing that for Kaede and Kaito too, but that’s not what we got.

If the audience really probably isn’t seeing the comics, then Shuichi just giving a verbal monologue of what happened can’t really be the best way for them to understand the case.

Please enjoy these newly-non-ambiguous shots of Kaede nervously getting ready to do a murder, and also Kaede horrified upon having done a murder.

This panel does suggest that Tsumugi specifically hit Rantaro with the shot in her hand rather than throwing it from a distance. That should really have got his blood all over her clothes… but then again, if she’d prepared a change of clothes in the hidden room, she could definitely have changed into them in approximately one second thanks to her cosplay powers. Then she could just leave the bloody clothes in the hidden room and quietly dispose of them way after the trial. (You’d think she’d have disposed of Kaede’s shot put ball at the same time as she did that, but.

The Ambiguous Culprit Figure this time has Tsumugi’s glasses… and it really shouldn’t. The only reason it ever had visible items of clothing before was when they were relevant to the case and therefore needed to be shown. Tsumugi’s glasses do not matter.

At least all evil grins on this Ambiguous Culprit Figure are entirely deserved and accurate.

Shuichi: “If I’m wrong… please, refute me. Please tell us you aren’t the mastermind, Tsumugi Shirogane, the Ultimate Cosplayer!”

I like this twist on the usual ending of a Closing Argument. He really wants to be wrong!

Monokuma: “Y-Yes! What a scorching hot twist!”

The apparently plain ordinary girl with barely any notable personality traits, no character arc, and no real narrative reason to still be here if she isn’t the mastermind is the mastermind? Yeah, no, this isn’t actually that big of a deal, Monokuma, you’re overselling yourself.

Also, that one time Tsumugi made a reference to Danganronpa 2 way before the Hope’s Peak Flashback Light probably tipped the in-universe audience off ages ago, you know.

The two remaining kubs try to beg their dad not to blow them up in his excitement, but…

Monokuma: “Basically, your story doesn’t matter! I gotta watch this exciting development!”

Geez, Monokuma, if you’re actually willing to acknowledge that their story doesn’t matter then why did it ever exist in the first place?

Himiko: “Y-You can do it! You can do it, Tsumugi!”

Tsumugi: “E-Even if you cheer me on… It’s not like that! I didn’t do it! It’s plain to see!”

Monokuma: “Fight back, Tsumugi! C’mon! You can do it, you can do it!”

Pfft, Monokuma is parroting Himiko’s words to make her sound more insincere, which is again very Kokichi of him.

(Himiko’s stuttering a little. She’s starting to realise more and more that the Tsumugi she’s trying to cheer on really doesn’t exist, isn’t she.)

Tsumugi: “In the Hope’s Peak killing game and in the Jabberwock Island killing game… Junko Enoshima didn’t participate. She controlled the game from outside. Even if it’s boring or repetitive, she’s always the mastermind, isn’t she!?”

There she goes making another narrative argument again, even if this one is a “the narrative is usually bad in this way so why can’t this be the same” argument. (Also known as the type of narrative argument that made me a lot less sure Kaito was alive in case 5.)

She’s also hinting at the existence of other Danganronpas that they’re not supposed to know about just from the Flashback Light. Twice isn’t precisely “repetitive” and enough to argue that it’ll definitely keep happening forever, is it?

Tsumugi: “Junko Enoshima is…”

Monokuma: “Junko Enoshima is what!? …Okay, time for a commercial break!”

…Do they seriously do these? Maybe the intermissions work for that a little bit, but otherwise, how do they get the characters doing the trial to stop talking about anything important for long enough to have one? Is that what the Monokubs’ pointless conversations have always been there for?

(Since we’re done with the retrial and are about to completely shift topics, this does however happen to be an appropriate moment for me to put a break between posts, so there’s that.)

---

[Next post]

#danganronpa #danganronpa v3 #drv3 #ndrv3 #chapter 6 #class trial #commentary

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funkymbtifiction · 6 years ago

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Hi, I was wondering if 6 ccore could be the reason why someone is withdrawing from others in certain situations or is it usually just 4? or can 6 core be the reason why someone behaves like a 2 (helping out of loyalty even when they would rather not)? I think that 6 core makes identifying our fixes really hard and I end up wondering if the traits I see are not due to 6.

I’m gonna be honest, because I see a lot of people struggling with this (and not just as 6′s, but with the other ambiguous numbers like 3 and 9).

You will not figure out your lower fixes until you deal with being a core 6.

In other words, shelve the “search” until you have a better self-awareness. Your only and best shot is to grow up your core. So read all you can about it. Study it until you have exposed every raw piece of yourself, until you have identified everything that stops you, until you can see all the lies you tell each and every day, until you stop making your number’s excuses and face up to your fatal sin – because that’s what it is: a lie, a sin, that keeps you trapped. Once you can admit to all those flaws without trying to deny or excuse any of them, you are halfway there. You will learn to see yourself clearly for the first time, with no lies causing you to deflect and refuse to admit to your deep, dark core motives. And then you will have the emotional honesty required to identify your lower fixes without any self-delusions. At that point, you should be able to turn your broken attention to the missing fixes and your crap in those areas.

You cannot know yourself until you are brutally honest with yourself. That is the entire point of Enneagram. That’s why it exists. To expose all your self-delusions to you, so you can know what you are doing when you are doing it, and do something about it.

It’s good you are searching for the truth about yourself but you will get nowhere until you can be honest with yourself. I know being a 6 complicates it, but if I can do it, so can you. Truth be told, I would rather be anything but a 4. Part of me thought, “Oh, gee, they sound romantic and DEEP, man,” but 4 characters drive me frigging insane because they are SO DAMN MELODRAMATIC AND OVER-REACTIVE AND TORTURED AND PATHETIC that it felt like scraping my face on a cheese grater to admit that I am melodramatic and over-reactive and tortured and pathetic. I read through in-depth 4 chapters and while I can’t identify with everything, because I am not a core 4, I identify enough that it makes me wince – over and over, page by page. People who squeal, “OMG, SHE HAS MY CORE!!” have yet to face up to their own dirty laundry.

Since you mentioned “withdrawing from others in certain situations,” allow me to expound on that. A 4 plays stupid games with themselves which include jerking other people around. And by that, I mean when the 4 is with you, they can see all the ways you are not perfect and do not live up to their deep idealism, which causes them to have contempt for you. They treat you like crap, while longing for another relationship – basically, anything other than the one they have. When you abandon them, because they treat you like crap, suddenly they are full of intense longing for what they no longer have – which is you. So they will chase after you, because their entire emotional life is spent envying what they do not have and ignoring / failing to appreciate what they have.

An unhealthy core 4′s life is hell, because they keep doing this to themselves – and other people. Treating them like a yo-yo. Chasing, then hating, then chasing, then hating. Rohr talks about a woman who loathed her husband until he left her, then she desperately wanted him back – only to find out that “my love for him died the instant he entered the house.” It was her intense dramatic FEELINGS that she pursued, not a meaningful connection to her spouse.

You want a visual example? Scarlett O’Hara is a 3w4 with a strong 4 wing. She spends years married to Rhett, pining for Ashley – the person she cannot have. She could have total happiness with a man who adores her and will give her everything she wants, but instead she pines for Ashley and ignores / abuses Rhett’s love for her, failing to appreciate his generosity and love until she loses it, and then suddenly it’s all she wants. When Melanie dies, and she can have Ashley, suddenly Scarlett realizes she does not WANT Ashley. She wants Rhett – the man she now cannot have, because he has had enough of her crap and refuses to take it anymore. Him walking out makes her love him more, just like Ashley repeatedly telling her no made her want him more.

Ashley is also a 4 fixer. Pining for the old days. For Scarlett. Because she represents something beautiful in his eyes, a time that has gone. Granted, it’s hard to find anything to enjoy in that hellhole of post-war “ugh” but Ashley is still not living in the moment. He’s chasing dreams and things that do not exist. Not fully loving or appreciating Melanie, then falling apart after her death. (Melanie is a 2 fixer, btw. Note the difference in their approach to loving people. She loves where she is, in the moment. Every minute of every day. None of this “I hate you, go away… wait, I actually love you, come back” nonsense.)

Does any of that ring a bell with you? I wish it didn’t with me, but I have pulled that kind of crap on people. I have spent ages not appreciating the people I have and finding things to criticize about them, only to have them leave me and for me to suddenly be able to only think of the good things about them and how much I want them back and how my life was better before this and how sorry I am that I treated them that way. I once broke up with my best friend. We did not speak for over a year. Six months into it, I broke down in tears after spending the day with someone else – I could not appreciate the person I was with, since all I could think about was my ex-BFF and how much BETTER our conversation post-movie would have been. I look back on my last boyfriend with similar feelings – now he’s gone, I want him back. Except I don’t. I would still find the same flaws in him that I did the first time, once the rosy hue wore off. And in total truth, one reason I broke it off with him was I know I am not healthy in a 4 way, and I would rather not treat him like crap while I work on my health levels. Nobody deserves that kind of emotional mistreatment.

I am working to correct this, but I still catch myself doing it. Having perfectly good, decent, and wonderful people in my life and longing for someone else; if they left me, I would want them back. Except, when they returned, I wouldn’t. I am in love with the idea of something that does not exist. I look back on former friendships with rose-colored glasses and longing. But their return would remind me of their flaws. I would be happy for 12 minutes and then start criticizing them and longing for something else again. It’s bloody hard to admit that to myself, much less to all of you, but it has taken me thirty-five years to become aware of what I am doing when I do this, and to slap myself and tell myself to QUIT.

2′s do not play this game. Oh, no. 2′s have their own mind game. It’s called “I deserve your love because of all the nice things I do for you.” It’s called manipulation. It’s called you being dependent on me is what I want. Helping you seems like the right thing to do (and I tell myself I am doing it because I am a good person) but actually, I look down on you for needing my help, I expect you to give me something in return, and I WILL play the “AFTER ALL THE NICE THINGS I DO FOR YOU…” card if you do not. If you want a raw, brutal look at the sort of crap an unhealthy 2 can get up to, look no further than Bates Motel. You know Norma? I do. “If you really loved me, you would…” “After all the good things I do for you, Norman…” “Why won’t you help me? I AM YOUR MOTHER, I TAKE CARE OF YOU.” Whine, fuss, cry, tantrum, slam door, wait for child to come with hat in hand to beg forgiveness and do what she wants.

That’s an unhealthy 2 in all her glory.

Now, all the types have excellent traits. You should absolutely look into them. Healthy 4′s are not afraid to tackle dark things or to go through emotional times with other people. Healthy 2′s are the most generous, loving people on the planet. But when you focus only on their good traits, and overlook the bad things, you do not get a full picture. You get an attractive image you’d love to put in your online profile, that does not help you decide.

If you really want to know your heart type, ask yourself how you screw with other people and yourself. And it’s going to HURT, when you see your reflection.

To answer your initial question, a 6 should only be withdrawing if they feel threatened by someone. And then, that’s only the phobic 6. A threatened cp 6 will attack aggressively. All 6′s are withholding of themselves. Richard Rohr says you can know a 6 a long time without ever ‘knowing’ them because they reveal very little. But they will test you to find out if they can trust you.

If the 6 is helping out of loyalty, then this loyalty is limited to their friends, family, and close acquaintances, it will not extend beyond that like a 2 might. A 2 will see an opportunity to help as an inroad into a new relationship.

- ENFP Mod

#question #enneagram #enneagram 6 #enneagram 2 #ennneagram 4

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ibelieveinahappilyeverafter · 6 years ago

Text

Villainous Heroics - Chapter 11

Woo! That was quite a long break between chapters - sorry about that! I've been busy with school, trying to get some money until my first paycheck comes in, and also this crazy polar vortex we got going on! Here's the next chapter, though, and hopefully you all enjoy it. We finally get to see Mic interacting with 1-A!

Enjoy!

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Summary: Eraserhead is an underground hero who is constantly busy and doesn’t have time to be dealing with new villains - even if they aren’t all that villainous and make the night interesting.

Present Mic is the latest up-and-coming villain in the world and he has a point to prove to everyone out there - as long as he doesn’t keep getting distracted by Eraserhead.

Aizawa Shota is someone who soon learns that there is more to someone than the mask they show to the world - especially when it comes to playing heroes and villains.

Yamada Hizashi learns that there is more to heroics and villainy than he could have ever thought - especially in a world where some heroes still care about those lost in the shadows.

(Inspired and dedicated to corndog-patrol’s Villain!Mic AU on Tumblr.)

<<First/Chapter>> <<Last Chapter>> <<Next Chapter>>

Chapter Eleven

“How difficult would it be to quit my position at U.A.?” Shota was asking the question as soon as he heard the tone on the other end of his phone that signaled his call had been answered. A moment of silence followed, Shota not bothering to fill it. Eventually, there was a long, tired sigh that echoed with static.

“What did your kids do this time?” It was with a vicious sort of spiteful pleasure that Shota realized Nemuri sounded as exhausted as he had been feeling over the last few weeks. “And no, you can’t quit. Nezu would never allow you and you know it.”

“They blew up a couch.” Shota stared at where the small group of 1-A students were profusely apologizing to the store owner that was now minus a piece of furniture. “Bakugo and Todoroki both are still at the school.”

“Then how… No, I don’t want to know. Asking questions about your kids just gives me more headaches. You’re almost done, aren’t you? You know we have curfews, now.”

“I’m well aware of the new safety measures, Nemuri.” Shota didn’t want to admit he was bitter about the ripple effects caused by ‘the end of All Might,’ but, well… Villains had come crawling out of the woodwork, his students had all been moved into dorms on campus, and he was now stuck on campus any moment he wasn’t out on patrol. “We should be done and on our way back, soon.”

“Good. I don’t want to explain why you and a bunch of kids went missing when you went out to get a few rugs and towels. Honestly, Shota, you give in so easily to your kids.” Nemuri’s tone was warm and teasing and close to giggles. Shota did his best to ignore it.

“They’re not my kids.” With that, Shota hung up and slipped his phone back into one of his pouches, looking to where Kirishima, Midoriya, and Kaminari were bowing to the store owner with apologetic faces. He could only be grateful that not all of his problem children had come along.

“Would I get in trouble if I used my quirk to get them to shut up and behave?” At the tired drawl, Shota glanced to where Shinsou was staring at the students and looking as exhausted as Shota felt.

“Yes, but I might pretend I didn’t notice anything depending on whether or not they can learn from their mistakes,” Shota said simply, pleased to see that Tenya was scolding the other students and getting them back into a group while doing a headcount at the same time.

While it had been odd to become the homeroom teacher to the kid he had helped his friend babysit for the last fifteen years, it was nice to see that Tenya was respectful as always. It also helped that he never called him Shota-nii unless there were no other students around and they were safely out of school.

“So I’ll end up brainwashing at least three of them by the end of the day, then.” Patting at Shinsou’s shoulder, Shota hid his smile in his capture weapon as the teen was soon dragged away by Kaminari and Midoriya. Shinsou wasn’t a part of the heroics course, yet, but the rest of the class seemed to assume it was only a matter of time. It no doubt encouraged them when Shota didn’t bother to deny any of their speculations.

Technically Shinsou should have stayed at the school since he had moved into the General Education dorms the second the opportunity had presented itself, but Shota already had a partial sort of custody over Shinsou due to their training. Besides, his homeroom teacher was Nemuri, which helped immensely when it came to dragging Shinsou away for training.

Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Shota pulled his phone out to glance at the time and mentally swore when he realized just how late it was getting. It didn’t help matters when he glanced outside and saw just how far away from the school their shopping trip had taken them.

“Alright, enough.” Shota interrupted whatever argument was going on now, a quick use of Erasure quieting the students down at once. “Go make your final purchases and meet outside at the front of the store in ten minutes. If you’re not back by that time then you’ll be on dorm cleaning duty for two weeks.”

He barely finished before the kids were scrambling apart and running to different parts of the store, Tenya running after the ones most likely to make trouble while Shinsou yawned and stayed where he was.

“Why did you bother to come when you weren’t going to buy anything?” In response, Shinsou held up a small bag that was stuffed with candy bars, energy drinks, and canned coffee. Shota could relate.

“How’s everything with your vigilante?” At Shinsou’s question, Shota slowly raised his eyebrows. The teenager looked utterly unmoved. “Present Mic, right?”

“He’s fine, as far as I know.” The real question, though, was why Shinsou was asking about Present Mic now of all times. “Why?”

“Curious,” Shinsou shrugged, shuffling closer bit by bit so he was standing near Shota again. “He patrols around here, doesn’t he?”

Hm. Shota should probably let Shinsou know that Mic wasn’t actually a vigilante and the man had been telling the truth when claiming to be a villain. “He does. I figured going to a less know portion of town might give us more peace than if we were to go in the busier areas, though.”

Shinsou nodded, silently trailing after him as he went to wait outside for the rest of the students to show up. Koda and Tsuyu, it seemed, were already there and waiting, Jiro strolling out a moment later. Now it was Tenya and the three problem children of the day that they were waiting on, it seemed.

“Hey, Sensei.” Shinsou was hardly loud enough to hear, Shota glancing down to him as the other students chatted and compared purchases. “Next time you see him, could you pass on my thanks for last time?”

“Sure, kid.” Shota wasn’t sure what to feel at realizing Mic had somehow managed to charm Shinsou, but there was definitely some amusement there. Probably. “Might be a while, though. I haven’t seen him in almost a month.”

Between the League of Villains, All Might’s defeat, Shinsou’s after school training, the ruined summer training camp, and a dozen other things, it felt like Shota had barely managed to find enough time to breathe, let alone check in on Mic. He wasn’t willing to admit how much the lack of talking to the ‘villain’ was getting to him, though.

Starting back to the school as soon as all his kids were in front of him, Shota didn’t even get ten minutes of peace before a glass window was shattered as a body flew out of it. Shota was proud at how every single one of his students fell into a defensive stance, ready to run instead of fight. Maybe he was getting through to them.

“Looks like it won’t be a while, after all.” Frowning at Shinsou’s words, Shota studied the body that had flown through the window of what seemed to be a bar and tried to resist the urge to groan or break out into a pleased smile at seeing just who it was. Ugh, that trope of absence making the heart fonder might have truth to it and Shota hated it.

“Oi, pay attention,” Shota called back to his students, deciding this would make a good teaching moment. “Fighting without a pro hero license is illegal for many different reasons, but it also makes the job of other pros harder as they end up working with unknown quirks and personalities. Those fighting also don’t have access to the proper training or supplies that pro heroes need now and days.”

“Did you just make him into an example?” Shinsou muttered, Shota placing a hand on the teen’s head and tilting his head down. He tried not to show how pleased he was by the snort of laughter - it had taken months for Shinsou to warm up enough to speak to him normally, let alone ask questions. It was harder to hide his smile when Mic realized who was talking, eyes getting wide before he was jumping up and beaming.

“Eraser!” Shota easily dodged the attempt at a hug, binding cloth snapping out to wrap around Mic and pin him in place as he gave him a glare. Mic’s smile only got wider and it was a struggle to hide the urge to smile back. “Fancy seeing you around here, hero.”

“Um, Sensei?” Glancing back to his students, he saw Tsuyu was looking curious, the others still on edge. “Who is this?”

“Aw, you have a bunch of little ducklings!” At the loud exclamation, Shota felt no shame in tightening the cloth until Mic gave him a squeaking cough and a betrayed look. It immediately vanished when he saw Shinsou. “Ah! Hey there, herolet!”

“That’s still not a word,” Shota grumbled, looking back to Tsuyu. “This is an idiot who you don’t need to worry about. If we’re lucky, he’ll go away, and I won’t have to worry about whatever trouble he’s caused now.”

“Is he a pro hero?” Kirishima asked, raising his hand as if afraid Shota would yell at him if he didn’t. It was a good instinct.

“No.” Mic was the one to answer, a complicated expression on his face even as he smiled. “I’m not a hero.”

“Maybe he’s a vigilante,” Kaminari suggested, Shota letting Mic go and returning his weapon to its resting position.

“Close enough.” The word villain would only set the kids into a frenzy, considering the last few weeks. “Oi, Mic.” Waiting until he had the man’s attention, Shota glanced back to the bar. “Is that something I have to worry about?”

“Ah, no, no, they were just being grumpy, was all. I’ll take care of it later, if they’re still causing a mess!” Mic’s bright smile made Shota want to squint by reflex.

“Aizawa-sensei, shouldn’t we be getting back to the school?” Looking to Tenya, Shota threw a glance at his phone and did his best to hide a wince.

“We should. Come on. If any of you try to run off then don’t bother showing up for class anymore.” Shota wasn’t sure if he was proud or irritated when none of his students looked the least bit terrified as they trailed after him down the sidewalk.

They managed to get two blocks in before Shota noticed that Mic was trailing after them, the students looking like they weren’t sure if they should talk to him or not. Shota decided to do it for them, “Mic. Why are you following my class?”

“I’m here as back-up!” Mic beamed, looking as if there wasn’t anything wrong with a villain following a bunch of hero students. “What if you were attacked by a villain, after all? It’s a very sensitive climate, right now, Aizawa-sensei.” Never had Shota felt as great an urge to punch someone as he did in that moment.

“Oi, listen up.” Waiting until every student was looking at him, Shota nodded. “If he irritates you, feel free to punch him or use your quirks. I don’t care.” Ignoring the sudden increase in loud and annoying voices, Shota turned back to lead them along, effectively blocking out whatever question was thrown at him.

He made sure to glance back every block or so, just to make sure none of them were doing anything stupid. Three blocks into their walk back to the school was all it took for Kirishima and Kaminari to question Mic about what it was like to be a hero that wasn’t licensed. It was amusing to see Mic’s panic as he tried to tell the truth without letting them know who he really was.

Four blocks in Jiro was looking as if she was trying to place who Mic was while Midoriya was rambling on about voice quirks - which was the only thing Mic had told them without giving any specifics. Shota made a mental note to get Midoriya more work revolving around quirk theory and study. The teen would have made a great quirk analyzer if he hadn’t made it into the hero course.

Five blocks and Iida and Tsuyu had joined in on Midoriya’s ramblings about voice quirks, Mic looking a mix of uncomfortable and intrigued at the rapid pace of information about the pros and cons of voice quirks. Shota resolved to stop the conversation the next time he glanced back, but instead he saw Mic and Koda using sign language at a quick pace, Koda looking absolutely delighted when Mic was able to keep up with him with ease.

Shota supposed it made sense for Mic to know sign language considering his quirk and his own hearing problems. He made a note to ask about when he had learned in case it ever came up in conversation.

They were almost out of the rougher parts of the area when Shota glanced back one last time to see Shinsou was talking to Mic quietly, rubbing at the back of his neck and awkwardly avoiding any possibility of eye contact. Shota couldn’t hear what Mic said, but Shinsou looked a lot more relaxed when the man finished talking and gave him a reassuring smile. Somehow, Shota couldn’t find himself to be surprised at the fact Mic was good with kids.

“Well, little listeners, it seems like you’re in safe hands with Eraserhead watching over you!” There were quiet gasps from Midoriya and Jiro at Mic’s loud words. Shota resolved to not worry about it unless it involved him. “Think you’ll be alright getting back to the school, hero?”

“It’ll probably be easier without you distracting my students every block,” Shota snorted, hiding his face in his scarf as Mic strolled up to throw an arm over his shoulders.

“Aw, don’t be like that, Eraser!” Before Shota could decide whether to throw Mic’s arm off or throw him over his shoulder completely, there was something being pressed into his hands. “For you, hero. That last fight of yours was nasty enough to actually end up on camera, for once.”

It took a moment, but Shota blinked at realizing he was holding a pair of yellow goggles that looked just like his old ones - his old ones which had been shattered in his last villain fight a few nights ago. The goggles were an exact replica of his old ones right down to the way the strap was reinforced with the same material as his binding cloth.

“I had a favor I was able to cash in,” Mic explained softly, Shota glancing up to see the man giving him a small, genuine smile. The smile quickly turned sly as he gave Shota a wink, murmuring an almost inaudible, “Now you’ll have something to remember me by on those nights we don’t see each other.”

A quick, cheerful goodbye to the students and Mic was gone as quick as he had arrived, Shota staring down at the goggles in his hands as if they would suddenly gain the ability to talk and explain why Shota felt like his heart was going to beat right out of his chest.

There was no way he actually… He didn’t even know the man’s name, yet he still… So much for getting over his thing when it came to Present Mic. No, if anything, it was now certainly more than just a few tangled feelings.

“Uh, sir?” Dragging his gaze away from the goggles, Shota looked to where Jiro had her hand half-raised into the air. “Wasn’t that Present Mic? You know, the Voice Villain.”

Fuck.

#bnha #boku no hero academia #mha #my hero academia #erasermic #villain!mic #corndog-patrol #villainous heroics

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captainnickjohn-blog · 5 years ago

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Hold My Beer. I Need a Career.

Forgive me, I'm a sucker for stupid rhymes.

I normally really don't enjoy bringing attention to myself, but for my first blog post, I wanted to, well....bring attention to myself.

Specifically, I wanted to write about my interest in beer. You might be wondering, "yea, who isn't interest in a beer right now?", or just straight up, "how is that even an interest?"

Well, over the last couple years I've spent time reading books, watching videos, visiting places, speaking with experts, all about beer. It’s something I've appreciated learning more about and I wanted to discuss how this interest has brought me to where I am today. This is an exercise in reflection for me. For you, there are some insights about me as well as some decent photos of beer!

I'll be examining how my beer interest came about and how I threw myself into it. I'll also talk about how I hoped to take this interest and turn it into something of a career. Finally, some thoughts about where my head is now and how my goals may have altered, but not eliminated something that I really enjoy.

Also just FYI, it's been really f**king hot outside. Let this post be a reminder to cool off with a delicious, cold pint. *insert wink face*

Beer Beginnings

It was September of 2016, I was a line cook at Jack Astor’s and I just got moved up to becoming a server. Moving from a line cook position to serving was a lot to take in all at once: learning the steps of good service, carrying three full plates at a time (took a lot of trial and error, and hungry irritated guests), and learning all of the different specialty drinks and beers.

At that time, Jack Astor's had over 20 draught taps and already I was wondering, "how on Earth am I going to remember all of these?" As luck would have it, the restaurant decided to add an additional 20 taps to their repertoire, which made me double down with, "Seriously, how on EARTH am I going to remember all of these??"

Memorizing the names of all the beers was one thing, but retaining every beer's style, flavour profile, aroma, and attitude (I’m kidding, that's not a thing) were daunting to me. My solution: I had to learn about beer!

Back then, I was only drinking classics like Canadian or Budweiser; if it were hot enough I'd even go for a Kronenbourg Blanc or a Shock Top, but for me, that was a bit of a rarity. Hell, I honestly didn't even know that beer was broken up into two categories: ales and lagers, maybe YOU didn't even know that!

So to tackle this problem of mine, I took the time to watch several beer videos and look at beer infographics. Once I felt I knew about enough about the foundations of beer, I went back to the Astor's 40+ draught beer menu and guess what - it took WAY less time than I'd thought to remember all of the beers!

My work was done; I knew all 40+ beer taps and their styles, and I could even somewhat comfortably talk about the beers’ tastes to guests (with a pinch of BS). However, the more I spoke about beer at work and after reflecting on the beer learning I had done, I had the realization that I genuinely LOVED learning about beer. That whole process for me was actually kind of a blast.

While writing this part I've thought about a time before this where I had a blissful learning experience, and I completely blanked. That was very telling to me. So, I figured I should commit myself to learn more about beer.

To get started, I ordered the mother of all beer books from Amazon, "The Oxford Companion to Beer." Given the size and scale of it, I prefer to call it The Holy Beerble:

P.S. I am aware I don't keep a very neat workspace, coffee stains and all.

Over 800 pages of diligent research on almost every single thing about beer that you could imagine. Beer countries? No problem. Beer styles? Yup. Beer history? Child's play. That one famous beer guy who did that one famous beer thing? It’s in there. This encyclopedia was amazing. The sheer amount of research done to create this is absolutely astounding. Even today, I will read through it and continue to make notes. I even ordered a couple more books on beer:

This was fun for me. I didn't mind taking the time to learn more about something I ACTUALLY liked.

Committing to the 'Craft'

Work at Astor’s was slowing down going into the winter of 2017. By then, I would casually read beer articles online or look through some of my beer books. Beer is a fun subject to learn about and share with others. That said, I felt that it was time I should try making my own beer! I knew a solid amount about the beer-making process already i.e. the mash, the boil, fermentation, bottling, etc., and I felt I should apply what I know to make something of my own. Maybe I could impress friends and family, save money on buying beer from the LCBO or The Beer Store, and it would add another layer to this new hobby of mine.

I figured a brewing kit would be my next subsequent Christmas gift to myself, so what I did was start simple: a 1-gallon starter kit, 10 empty beer bottles, bottle caps, bottle capper, other miscellaneous brewing equipment, and some 2-row barley and Cascade hops.

Homebrewing and commercial brewing are different behemoths, and I knew more about the commercial brewing process. That wasn't really going to help me here because I didn't have 50+ hectolitre tank to brew beer in, so I had to watch a few YouTube instructional home brewing videos to get in the right mindset.

I was eager to brew my first batch: a SMaSH (Single Malt and Single Hop) pale ale. A super simple recipe to start with that would ideally lead to a nice tasting beer. For those who don't know, brewing beer require ALOT of both patience and (ugh) cleaning. Literally, I spent over half of my time brewing just cleaning all of the equipment again and again. Any sort of impurity, big or small, is enough to completely ruin a batch of beer. I already respected brewing as an art form, but I learned more about how difficult it really is to make delicious beer that adheres to a certain style. After a 6-hour brew day plus a few weeks of fermentation, this was the result:

Aesthetically, it's a nice looking SMaSH beer, right?! But the taste....let's just say the taste did not match the look. This was a very important lesson in detecting off-flavours in a beer. There was plenty of them.

I didn't get discouraged; I crafted a chocolate maple porter that tasted pretty solid as well as a decent red ale. Despite my improvements with small batches of beer, I really had a difficult time seeing myself get too serious about it. For one thing, I didn’t always have enough room to fit 10-12 bottles of beer in my fridge. Imagine I start making 5-gallon batches that can yield over 50 bottles of beer, where the hell would I put all that? And if I ruined the batch? That’s a hell of a lot of waste. So, I decided I’d stick with learning and not doing.

YouTube videos and books are great and all, but it's helpful to have a more hands-on learning experience. Enter Prud'homme - a Canadian beer education program with 4 levels of certifications, the top one being "Level 4 - Beer Sommelier."

Prud'homme Level 1 was a lot of fun, and while I knew the lion's share of introductory beer knowledge, the class gave me, even more, to think about. It was a group of 10 in my class (including myself), and each class we were given different styles of beer to try. Up until then, I never really kept any actual notes of the beers I've had, but in class, we would dissect a beer's taste, mouthfeel, finish, colour, clarity, and additional info.

The longer I was in the class, the more I realized that I preferred talking about a beer's characteristics over brewing the beer myself. I'd bought and read all these beer books, I've experimented with brewing, and now I've worked towards my Level 1 Beer Enthusiast certification; clearly, there's something here for me to dive into. I'd been out of school for over a year by that point, and here was this interest of mine that I'd spent time on.

I thought to myself that I should take this more seriously and try to shape this newfound passion of mine into the beginnings of a career.

The Pursuit of Hoppiness

That nugget of internal thinking actually helped influence my decision to apply for a postgraduate degree. Before this, I'd been glancing at different school programs in London, Waterloo, Toronto, etc., but it was mostly looking at programs that might complement my Criminology degree i.e. social work.

If I'd taken this strongly to learning about beer, how can I apply that interest and start a career? I did some thinking over a couple of weeks and ultimately, I decided that getting into marketing could be an excellent opportunity to pursue my interest. Not to mention that marketing is a very versatile degree that would open a lot of doors for me.

I liked the idea of being able to help out the little guy (small-scale craft/micro-brewers) over becoming a cog in the wheel of the bigger beer corporations. Ultimately, I found my way to the George Brown College Digital Media Marketing program web page. It checked off a lot of points on my program criteria list: 1-year in length, a good distance from London, learning all about digital tools used in the workplace, and a semester of work experience!

Getting Forked

Now that I'd made a decision to pursue marketing that could lead to a gig marketing beer, I figured I should find some REAL work experience of being in a brewery.

First and foremost was trying to get a job at Forked River Brewing Company. By then I had met and developed a solid rapport with a few of their staff, and eventually, it led to me landing a job there!

In mid-March, I was hired to help in different areas around the brewery. Sometimes the bosses needed me to work retail or within the brewery, it really depended on the demand of that week. My main goal was to get a very clear idea of how a brewery operates and about their approach to marketing.

On the retail side, I would talk with customers about the beer, sharing with them all of the traits of the beers. There were also other run-of-the-mill retail tasks like handling the cash register, stocking the shelves, or just making sure that people don't steal any beer.

During my time in the brewery itself, I would mostly help the brewmasters with canning (so. many. f***ing cans.) and filling up kegs, but I was also given a chance to help with the actual brewing. I'd go in twice a week early in the morning and work for about 5-6 hours. What I enjoyed the most was the very relaxed atmosphere compared to my time at Astor's. Both were fun, but for entirely different reasons.

I was even given a chance to work a couple of beer festivals around London and in Sarnia. Those days were the most fun because I could speak about the beers with confidence and encourage festival-goers to try our stuff. Overall, I had a great time over at Forked River and I am grateful to have had that opportunity.

George Brown Ale

Before I knew it, September came along and I was starting my program at George Brown. It felt weird to be back in school but I was excited to be taking this step towards a new career. In order to keep my mind fresh on everything beer, I got a job as a bartender at Biermarkt Don Mills; they've got 150+ beers including draught and bottles. Weekends were my game, closing bar Friday through Sunday (goooood times). They were kind enough to give me another beer book that doubled as an employee handbook:

This new program was looking to be a great fit. It's worth noting though that I had spent a lot of my internship search on breweries or beer distribution companies. I wasn't having much luck with that until the next best thing came along - My Wine Canada, a wine/spirits marketing and sales company right down the street from my school building.

Was it beer? Nope. But it's the next best thing.

And also, wine's pretty great! The role itself was "Digital Marketing Manager", very expensive-sounding, right?

What enticed me about it was this internship would give me as close a perspective of what it's like to handle the marketing for beer as I could get. I was setting up social media content calendars, editing and creating photo content, writing wine blogs, drafting weekly emails, and coming up with catchy and funny captions.

Seeing the Bigger Pitcher

The funny thing is, after spending four months with My Wine Canada, I wasn't as certain about wanting to find a marketing job related to beer. Oddly enough, I spent so much time obsessing about finding a job just like it, that I forgot to really sink my teeth into marketing. I was surprised to find that I really liked learning about marketing. Made me reflect (again) on what I was doing.

In my final semester, I've wondered about whether or not my priorities were as straight as they should have been. For most of this program, I've been so narrowly focused on finding a marketing job involving craft beer that I may have completely missed other great opportunities. I don't want that to happen going forward, so I'm taking that into account and keeping an open mind without losing sight of why I got into this program in the first place. Beer is a hobby that's going to stick around in my life and because of it, I have gotten involved in great things and introduced me to some amazing people, and I wouldn't trade that away.

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nidhi9366 · 4 years ago

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Role of Price & Earning in the Stock Market – Fundamental Analysis

The share market recently witnessed a huge fall because of corona pandemic, so is it to be taken as a ‘threat’ or is any hidden ‘opportunity’ there. Let us find out in our today’s blog. The fluctuation in the share market depends upon the play of Price & Earnings in the market. In the near future if the earnings of the companies increase then the prices of their shares might increase as well. Similarly, in the near future if the earnings of the companies decrease then the prices of their shares might decrease too.

If you wish to be successful in the share market, it is very important to check the market valuation before trading or investing. How do we check the market valuation to know whether the market is expensive or not? For this, you need to check the Nifty PE. If the check the history of the market till date, we will find that the Nifty PE has always moved in the range of 10 to 30. So whenever the Nifty PE has been in the range of 10 and 15, the market valuation has said to be ‘Low’ whereas whenever the market valuation has gone beyond 25, the market valuation has said to become ‘Expensive.’ From the past 2 years when the PE was around 28, we had already said that the market valuation is expensive so invest less. Now, due to corona pandemic the market witnessed a huge fall and due to this the market PE fell down to 20. That states the market is at moderate valuation currently. Now, while it may look like the market valuation is moderate but the market might be expensive right now.

Due to the ongoing lockdown, the production of most of the companies have come to a standstill due to which their sales are halted too and so they may not earn that much of profit they otherwise do and all these factors will further affect the Price Earning Ratio.

Let us understand this Price Earning Ratio with a simple example. Consider a company named XYZ limited whose share price is Rs. 200 per share. Now, if we divide this share price the company’s earnings per share then we’ll get the Price Earning Ratio. So if we divide the company’s total earnings by the number of shares then we will get the company’s earning per share (EPS). Co sider the company’s EPS is Rs. 10. So now, 200 divided by 10 is equal to 20. So the company’s Price Earning Ratio is 20. What does this mean? So if we buy all the shares of this company and become its owner then the percentage of returns that we get on all the money that we have invested; in this case the PE 20 tells us that if we invest Rs. 20 then we are earning a profit of Re. 1 here. That’s equal to 5% of earning that we’ll be having here. Now, in the near future if the earnings of the company grow rapidly then the returns that we earned here might increase even more. But for this to happen, the earnings of the company should grow. In other case, if the earnings instead of increasing goes down then? The above trade which we felt was moderate will start looking expensive.

Now the Nifty PE which is at 20 and where the market valuation looks moderate, so then how and when will the valuation look expensive here. Let us understand. When the share price was Rs. 200 and when it was divided by 10, the PE came out to be 20. Currently, there is lockdown in the country; due to which the production of the companies is halted and there is no growth in either sales or profit. Here, the Price earnings that we calculate is of previous period or previous year. So in the upcoming year due to lockdown there will be a fall in the Earnings of the companies. Hence, here if the divide the share price i.e. 200 by 7 instead of 10 then considering the earnings decreased by 30% then the company’s PE will become 28.5 where earlier it was around 20. Now, here PE of 30 means that we’ll be earning Re. 1 by investing Rs. 30 which means the earnings have fallen down to 3% meaning that if the earnings of the company decreases, the PE increases. That means if we become the owner of a company by buying all its shares in this current situation then it isn’t a good deal.

So while investing in any company for a long-term, it is important to think in this manner that we own a company not just buying a few shares. The world most successful investor Mr. Warren Buffet quotes, “I never own stocks, I own business.” So in the near future due to lockdown, where the PE currently is at 20 and where it seems like it is moderate so as the earnings will fall even more, the PE which looks like moderate will start looking expensive.

So lockdown is a temporary phase. The Government of India and RBI are trying that after the lockdown the companies make quick U-shaped recoveries. This means that after the lockdown, when the companies will start their earning again, and if they are able to attend this U-shaped recovery and their earnings increase rapidly then again this expensive market valuation may start looking moderate or in-expensive. Ugh! This seems like a very complicated analysis. But it is important to note that if we divided 200 by 10, the answer comes down to 20 and if we divide 200 by 7, the answer comes roughly close to 30. When the earning falls down, the PE increases .

Now, due to lockdown, there might be a decrease in the earnings. Hence even though the market is at moderate valuation it still seems expensive. So should we invest in the market or not? The entire share market is divided into certain types of companies. So the first category have a few such companies whose top line as well as bottom line are growing despite of an ongoing lockdown. Simply, that means despite of lockdown their sales are still growing and due to which their earning is on as well. Hence, after the lockdown, they will post a quick recovery. The second category includes those companies whose top line as well as bottom line both is not functioning due to lockdown. They will take some time to recover.

So while investing we should plan accordingly as the market might fall down further. So we should invest only 50% here that too by analyzing the risks involved. And we should invest in those companies that are showing some growth in their top line as well as bottom line as these companies will post a quick recovery later. So the best sector now is Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG). Now be it HUL, Nestle, Marico or Britannia Industries, etc. (All these names are for educational purpose only), so here you can analyze and then invest accordingly. We should invest only 50% and not more. If the market goes up, you’ll make a profit if it goes down, you’ll have another opportunity to invest.

While investing, you need to view the market valuation by checking out the Nifty PE and while investing in a company, its business model is way more important than its PE. If you analyze the data from the year 1994, even at that time Nestle was functioning at the PE of more than 60, so if analyze it data of the next 20-25 years, the company has still managed to give excellent returns because it has a sustainable competitive advantage with it. So if you take care of all these details then you’ll be able to earn good returns from the market.

Coming to trading, till Nifty is above 8,821; the momentum is positive. Even in the last week the Nifty momentum was positive, at that that some pharmaceutical stocks like Davis Labs came out of the box and gave a positive signal. What is this box theory? A dancer named Nicolas Darvas had made millions in 18 months using the box technique. We have already uploaded 2 blogs on this topic earlier, do give it a read. So while trading even we use the same box technique. In the 2016 CNBC’s competition, I had used the same technique and performed exceedingly well.

Talking about this week, even though the momentum is positive, we couldn’t find any share according to our technique which has freshly come out of the box. It is possible that in the upcoming period some shares might come out of the box, at that time you can trade by carrying out proper money management, analyzing the risk properly and by setting a stop-loss as well to earn good returns. If you wish to make money via trading by using our copyright method then we have an app Aryaamoney which consists of two powerful training programs Gateway to Wealth and Smart Investor Programs. You can check them out. So if you subscribe to the program, then you even get a charting tool as a hand holding support to guide you in the market. So you can create opportunity out of this pandemic situation too.

Until next time…

learn share market online

Happy Trading, Happy Investing!!!

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whydidireadthis · 7 years ago

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X-Treme X-Men (volume 1, 2001)

When you hear “extreme”, what springs to mind? Naturally, there’s the dictionary-correct definition of “exceptional” or “to the utmost extent”, but most of us who lived through the 90s (or who learned about them after the fact, I assume) can’t hear the word without hearing it as “EXTREEEEME!!”

We can’t divorce it from Mountain Dew, snowboarding, and ludicrous color schemes, of extremity not in reality, but in artifice -- a commandeering of the term in a vernacular sense to suit marketing and lazy youthful pseudo-rebellion, curated and served up ready for consumption by half-assed youth.

Appropriate then that X-Treme X-Men reads like Chris Claremont’s midlife crisis, but expressed through a small, awkward collection of characters seemingly hand-picked to be the least-favorite mutant superheroes we used to read about.

Note that I’m referring to the first series to bear this title, which started in 2001, in the wake of the then-new X-Men movie series...and the less said about that donkey mess, the better. This series is not the same one that came around a decade later, which aside from the last couple of issues was very good, featuring Dazzler and dimension-hopping. Just to clear that up. I’ll deal with that one another day.

The Genocide Slide

X-Treme X-Men slides in on the supremely awkward period where Marvel was desperate to confuse people into reading the comics by having them bear vague, superficial similarities to the movies. So of course, Magneto had to be their archfoe and doing Bad Guy Things, never mind that the justification for those things -- and quite a lot of the issues the X-Men are supposed to be dealing with -- come from a literal attempted genocide with massive casualties, both mutant and non-mutant alike.

And that’s really the first and most glaring problem with X-Treme X-Men and, indeed, every X-Men story and series from this point in time: a scope problem. After Genosha gets attacked in what absolutely has to be an attempt at genocide, an abhorrent evil in the eyes of every single civilization on the planet and several others as well, anti-mutant hysteria is not going to be acceptable anymore, I don’t care how you try to justify it. An entire race of people being targeted and countless numbers dying means you shut the fuck up about how boo hoo, you’re scared the mean nasty muties will take the jobs from hard-working Americunts.

It really shows, in a lot of the writing, that none of the writers even remotely understand the struggle of a mistreated minority. Like...at all. But especially Chris Claremont who, well past his prime as scribe of the X-people, tries to make his version of fetch happen with the X-Treme team.

And yes, one of them does snowboard. I’m not making this up.

But the biggest problem I had with Claremont’s writing is that, again and again, people who should know better (like Tessa and Charles Xavier himself) are either awkwardly forced into the “straight pride” question or presented with it as if it’s an airtight counterpoint.

I realize some of you might not know what this is, so allow me to digress slightly in order to explain.

“Gay pride event, ugh. Why don’t we get a straight pride event?”

I’ll even allow for you to have a moment to think this may be a reasonable question, before you realize how absolutely fucking stupid it is when anyone asks the best question that logically answers it:

“What, you mean like every other thing ever?”

I’ve long campaigned for a reboot for the X-Men, because Genosha even existing in the first place...was really going too far, but Genosha existing as an anti-mutant hell, then turned into a sovereign mutant nation, then getting wiped out by Sentinels...was way past too far. But in a post-Genosha setting as where this takes place, it really is remarkably stupid to hear Tessa (now called Sage for some reason, probably because it’s extreme!) repeatedly bitch and whine about the mutants they encountered not wanting to join them and Xavier being more concerned about mutant rights and advancing the cause of mutants...after an entire nation of them was brutally murdered. And she repeatedly asks the question, what about the non-mutants, are they just making time until their species comes to an end? Who champions their cause?

Oh, you mean like the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the Defenders, the Heroes for Hire, the Invaders, or any other superhero affiliation in the world?

This is yet another reason why the X-Men existing in the same universe as the rest of them makes anti-mutant insanity so nonsensical, but it makes it even worse when even one of the characters in a book centered around mutants -- and she is supposed to be a computerlike mind and one of the most intelligent people in existence -- cannot understand this very simple thing.

Could it be that Xavier is finally understanding that he really has to choose something to concentrate on, instead of trying to deal with every other problem on the planet and mutants too?

Well, that’s something that the other (terrible) titles at the time often ignored or failed to deal with but pretended they were addressing. We had Morrison’s absolutely embarrassing New X-Men, which I’m pained to remember. I can only imagine the pretentious college crowd who wanked to it constantly have either forgotten it by now or pretend they have. Of course, we also had Chuck Austen throwing in his mostly-terrible contributions there too, in both the other X-Men titles and, eventually, New X-Men as well.

Basically, the early 2000s were one of the worst times for the X-Men that have ever happened in the entire run of the whole franchise. And I mean that in both an in-character and a real-life sense; the X-Men series were utterly garbage, and the events happening in-world were wretched and miserable, and usually garbage too. It certainly didn’t help when you had people like Tessa actually lending credibility to blatantly asinine non-arguments.

It’s especially funny that when it’s hurled at Charles -- and by Ororo, no less -- he doesn’t even give it the dignity of a response, which I thought was nice. The school, he maintains, will give refuge to a mutant boy implicated in a murder investigation, rather than giving him over to a court that is obviously going to be biased against him because he’s a mutant. It raises a lot of questions which, of course, it never once addresses; it also points out, probably quite unintentionally, that mutants cannot any longer rely on human society to deliver any of the things that society is supposed to. They cannot rely on impartiality or justice. They cannot depend on fair treatment from government. They certainly cannot take for granted that anyone who isn’t a mutant and in much the same situation as they are would even understand or even could understand and fairly deal with such a problem.

I don’t think this is too complicated an issue to expect a writer of the most put-upon, targeted, and abused minority in an entire fictional universe to be able to understand and portray plausibly and in an engaging, accessible manner. But maybe I’m asking too much.

Regardless, I think it’s pretty easy to figure out why, even if it’s terrible writing, when Magneto decides he’s had it with humanity. After a near-genocide caused by an attack -- using giant robots whose development was sponsored by a government -- on a sovereign nation that made it their thing to be pro-mutant, it’s kind of the fault of every government that didn’t issue any sort of statement of support or protection for mutants, in the light of such a tragedy. It’s hard to feel like you can give over your agency and safety, much less the structure of your society, to people who apparently couldn’t care less whether you live or die. And the people who stayed quiet and didn’t voice their support, didn’t decry the horror of it, and didn’t insist on something being done...well, past a point, it’s kind of their faults too. But all this is way too complicated for superhero comics.

Which kind of makes you want to ask, why did they think it was a great idea to do this if they had no idea how to handle it and repeatedly refused to do so?

X-Cluded X-Men

X-Treme X-Men is, in some ways, better off for being separated from much of anything going on in the other titles, but it doesn’t make it a good series. It’s nice that they kept the same creative team for the entire forty-six-issue run, and Larroca and Liquid!’s art really is distinct and presents a unique vision of the world. Having Claremont write the whole run did at least give him the opportunity to introduce plots that he wanted to do and resolve them as he wanted to do. Consistency means a lot in comics, and in the superhero world, even the very specific X-circles, there is a large problem with that. See also Morrison’s abysmal New X-Men.

And before anyone says a thing about mentioning it twice, yes, I think Grant Morrison is horribly overrated, but the man is capable of decent writing and even good writing sometimes. He’s just never reined in and constantly celebrated as if he’s some sort of genius, whatever he shits out. New X-Men was different, and I won’t lie, the X-Men had needed something different because they were getting stale and uninteresting.

But you can’t just do something different and call it great because it’s different. Just because something has become so bad overall that people are losing interest does not mean that doing something different, whether or not it regains that interest, is an improvement. All it means is that you changed something and piqued people’s curiosity for a while. This is how Frank Miller built his career, on doing things that were different...but wholly inconsistent with anything that came before, and not very good to boot. You can’t just take a sharp left turn and expect IT’S DIFFERENT!! to handwave your lack of giving a fuck about what you were supposed to have learned before coming onto the creative team of a story that’s run decades before you came along.

Which brings me to some of the things that really failed X-Treme X-Men, and were indeed failed by Claremont. While turds like Fantomex and Doctor Douchebag or whoever his fucking name is, show up and never fuck off or die in New X-Men (and oh how I wish they of all people would), X-Treme X-Men is saddled with some newer-introduced mutants itself: a man from India named Neal Shaara who goes by Thunderbird for no reason at all, and Heather and Davis Cameron, Lifeguard and Slipstream, respectively. All three were created by Claremont, which makes it even more utterly bizarre that he just dropped them like hot potatoes during the run. They didn’t even get reasonable justifications for leaving or being utterly forgotten, they just fucked off and were gone, and nobody seemed to remember them afterwards.

The thing that really bothered me the most is that Davis actually started to develop some kind of relationship with Storm that she seemed to be very into, but in the space of a handful of issues, Davis just vanishes when his sister manifests a monstrous appearance. Which, considering everything Davis went through, including stimulating a potentially dangerous mutant power to save her and almost being killed in battle, seems like a whole lot of bullshit totally inconsistent with his character. So he left because he couldn’t deal with her having a weird appearance? There’s certainly no way that could’ve developed into an interesting, character-defining storyline examining the Camerons and propelling them into being well-rounded characters or anything.

At least we got some hilarious addressing of how poorly Nightcrawler had become written since his Excalibur days. Here was a character who had kept his faith in God, in good in the world, but it didn’t define him; he was no preacher or proselytizer, and the few times his faith was shown were dire times where he was in need of hope, like when the X-Men were sure they would die because of implanted Brood.

Not so, said the XTREEEEEME 90S!! This was a time when all of the X-Men were distilled down to cartoonish, shallow, barely two-dimensional caricatures of the more complex characters they once were! Kurt quickly became a bible-thumping jackass it was hard to sympathize with, which of course wasn’t helped by his embarrassing appearance in that cinematic cure for insomnia, X2. It wasn’t Alan Cumming’s fault, but that...was not Nightcrawler.

And neither was it Nightcrawler in the comics. So to have him come to Davis and give him the then-usual “God made me this way and I’m studying to be ordained" and Davis just deciding immediately after to leave and more or less never again showing up in any comic since 2002...is screamingly funny for me. It’s balm for my soul.

Compare and contrast with Kurt introducing himself to Kitty Pryde -- a young teenager -- some twenty years earlier, and her managing to deal with it and get past it, and see him as a person and not as a frightening demonic figure, because he’s charming and kind and shows through his actions that he’s worth knowing. The Kurt at the time of X-Treme X-Men is just an obnoxious loser who really gives any sort of spiritual path a bad name. What happened to the fun-loving swashbuckler who made Uncanny X-Men and the first issues of Excalibur so much fun? Oh well, it doesn’t matter since years of legal trouble with one of Kurt’s creators meant they couldn’t easily use the character. Not that they’ve particularly improved him since being able to use him again, but that’s a story for another day.

Honestly, the Camerons and Thunderneal weren’t bad ideas at heart, but it felt like Claremont just lost interest in trying to make them happen and dropped them. It’s sad to see, especially since Davis and Ororo made an interesting pair, and Heather had some intriguing powers. Thunderneal was basically a giant asshole (like many characters of the time, desperate to show how hard and extreme they were), but he had potential to become something and never did. It’s not like they were around for a long time and just stalled out, either; Thunderneal came from X-Men #100, which was just a year earlier, and the Camerons were introduced early on in X-Treme X-Men! And none of them really ever got to become characters.

There was also some guy called Red Lotus, but I kept forgetting he existed, as I just now forgot he existed while writing this. Apparently everyone else also forgot he existed, because even after the asinine debacle that was Scarlet Witch being a fucking menace to reality, nobody thought to check if he still had powers or not. Because that’s how genetics work.

You Can’t Go Homily Again

Really, characters made up a lot of the problems in X-Treme X-Men. Whether it’s the “straight people baby daddy problems” that pop up in place of actual character development, or whether it’s introducing too many new characters and just having people tell us how powerful and impressive we’re supposed to think they are, few of the cast actually get to do anything meaningful.

The ones that we know by this time also don’t really mesh up with how they’ve acted, ever, up to this point. We have weird Stepford Gambit, and I mean that as a reference to the film, not to the Cuckoos, and Rogue’s powers suddenly work completely differently than they ever have before, which is handled by pretending like that’s how they always worked. I could understand if it were lampshaded as a secondary mutation, like Emma’s, but it was only treated like that’s how we were supposed to believe they had always worked. But that was never how they worked, ever, at any point.

Of course, Gambit can’t have his powers most of the series, for some unknowable reason. He gets treated like absolute shit for his appearances in the whole run though, so you can probably understand why I was glad to see him and Rogue flit off in some hastily-excused jaunt, which seems to be the only idea Rogue ever has when things aren’t rainbows and sunshine in the X-Men. At least it means we get rid of Rogue for a while -- I find her utterly insufferable at this point, and her relationship with Gambit is incredibly toxic -- and as this isn’t the “main” X-title, we usually don’t have to deal with Wolverine either.

Thank god for that.

Storm is basically a bitch 24/7, with the occasional glimpse of the character we once loved. You’d think that, being Claremont, who wrote some of Ororo’s best moments and most characteristic stories that explored her strength as a person and as a human being and not as a goddess or a mutant warrior, he could write her strongly as a compelling leader for a team. Nope! She’s an asshole who is totally okay with people being put in mortal danger, sometimes by her, who has remarkably little in the way of authentic emotion.

The only thing that made her tolerable, for a very short time, was the blossoming thing she was developing with Davis. Good thing Nightcrawler took care of that little problem!

Bishop is boring at best and annoying at worst, and Tessa runs hot and cold at any given point in the series. One issue, she’s the only one that makes sense and nobody listens to her, for no reason. The next issue, she acts the same way but has inexplicably become an idiot and clearly isn’t thinking in any manner that a supposed computer mind should be. Cannonball shows up eventually and there’s something something X-Corps et cetera, which is presented with no context and never explained, but he’s another character who is very difficult to give two fucks about, especially with the dull way Claremont writes him...which is, yet again, nothing short of perplexing given that he had written the character much better before then.

Plodding Plotting

But the lack of context is something that struck me, reading through them; there’s no helpful editor’s note to refer readers to issues of the other series, as there had been. I don’t know if it’s unique to the format I was reading these in, but it seems like a stunt filled with the pretentious assurance that “comic books aren’t for kids anymore” and naturally, referring readers to other events in other series would somehow cheapen the whole experience. By giving them context they could seek out, or you know, any sense of what the hell is actually going on. There’s even a “God Loves, Man Kills 2″ that either needed a reference or the subtitle “Electric Boogaloo”.

The problem is that if you make the decision not to give readers any frame of reference, you have to make it abundantly clear in what you’re writing so that they don’t need that external context. As you might have guessed from what I’ve said up to now, this is another point that Claremont fails on, and almost nothing he writes gives readers that essential context. I had to sit and think back over years of comic knowledge I’d intended to forget, and even then I had to look on the internet to fill in the gaps!

Claremont’s plots are also needlessly protracted, beyond any reasonable measure. Things that could have, and really should have, taken an issue or two to resolve, instead are dragged out into issue after issue of nothing much happening. I could understand if anything happened we could care about, but so much nothing happens in X-Treme X-Men that you start to believe the extreme quality of it is that it dares to make a comic about wasting time. They’re superheroes, they have fabulous powers beyond human ability...and they busy themselves with things that have nothing to do with anything. At times, things happen expressly to stand in the way of the plot advancing, and at those times, it’s almost invariably when you as a reader will want the plot to advance most of all, if only just to get closer to the end of the story and move on to something else.

But most glaring and inexcusable of all is that, despite having the same creative team for the entire run, it feels like Claremont never really commits to any of the storylines he starts. He tosses something at the readers during a perfunctory conflict plot and then seemingly forgets about it, or handwaves a facile non-resolution that confirms he’s basically just wasted everyone’s time that gave a shit about seeing the story resolve in any meaningful way. This contributed to a feeling of being adrift in a sea without purpose, without destination or any means to get there. The X-Treme X-Men could ultimately be removed from the universe entirely and, aside from a very few limited circumstances during the run, not be missed.

Which would be fine, if all they were doing was very pinpoint-specific, niche work. But at times they do things like, say, single-handedly fighting off an alien invasion with about a half-dozen members, while groups like the Avengers are shown on-panel just sitting around doing nothing about it. And for the rest of the Xers to be to determined to help out their comrades in the last issue (with absolutely no real stakes and nothing on the line) they sure didn’t have a fuck to give when the tiny splinter group was all that stood between their home planet and a horrific genocidal alien force.

X-Treme X-Men is an oblique relic of a time when the X-Men very unfortunately hit a broader public eye and a wider range of consumers. And I’m not saying that because it’s always a bad thing when something in a niche goes for mainstream recognition (though it often is), but because Marvel could have maintained the comics as a consistent, if not spectacularly creative, home for the X-Men we knew and at least tolerated.

Unfortunately, Marvel went for the brass ring, knowing it was brass but thinking that because it was shiny, it would be just the thing. It wasn’t, of course, and they ended up with several very different writers’ very different concepts of a team that had enough problems before their publisher decided to mix things up a bit. There was a tremendous disconnection at the time, both between the teams and their titles, and between the readers and Marvel’s creative staff.

You could read X-Treme X-Men over and be bored and mildly frustrated by the uninteresting plots dredged up by a tired Chris Claremont, or you could read Grant Morrison’s New X-Men and witness a group of unrecognizable assholes having the opposite of adventures in a world you won’t give two shits about. Those are basically your major options to get a window on the time, not that I think it’s a particularly good idea either way.

At least with X-Treme X-Men, you aren’t reading the painfully horrible X-Men Forever, which would come about half a decade after the end of X-Treme X-Men and show, once and for all, that Chris Claremont was completely out of ideas and had forgotten, if he ever knew, how to write X-Men. X-Treme X-Men’s worst offense is that it’s boring and pointless, and while its writing isn’t great, it doesn’t quite reach the crushing lows that X-Men Forever would in 2009. Overall, you’re probably better off reading X-Treme X-Men than New X-Men, and at the very least, you’ll feel later like you just read the last tired issues of a failing series that went on too long and not the pretentious babbling of someone so far up his own ass that he’s somehow found Narnia.

But it’s still not a good read. It’s consistent, and that counts for something, but consistently boring is still boring.

#x-treme x-men #x-men #writing critique #comic review

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chaserevel · 5 years ago

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I like writing on airplanes, I think. Transition periods, my head in denial of its patience. We need tension for something to talk about, don’t we? It kind of makes sense, story-wise. But you’d think that the benevolent would be a bit smarter. Like I said, it makes sense, but why are we all rooting for the bad guy? In ever other story—well. Actually, what I was gonna say is wrong. The person who causes negative tension is generally the bad guy, always. But, if there is no ability for negative or positive tension, there is no moving forward. There is no becoming something better, something more than yourself, presumably, in this case, because you are at the height of what you can be.

But how could you say that?

It’s not true, at least for humanities sake. Maybe it is more fulfilling, maybe there would be a certainty there, but there is so much beauty in pursuit. In chase. There is so much to be gained from not knowing. And maybe there is pain, but isn’t it worth it? Does it make the accomplishment feel sweeter? I think that it is saying very little of humanity to throw them in paradise and expect them to stay there. Because this follows something’s logic. But humanity’s logic is another beast. A beautiful one, if sometimes not complimentary to reality’s. Humans made those stories. Humans have made all stories, or at least, it takes a human mind to hold a sequence of events in that perspective, probably. Are we really alone out here? Maybe. But again, we have a lot more looking to do. And honestly, I don’t know how the logic works, but a lot of us like more than one project.

It sometimes feels hard for me to take place in reality, which is obviously why I’m working on it. Maybe that’s why not questioning things is considered so great. Not because it’s great, but because it’s the opportunity to be present, which obviously has its benefits. And maybe that is how we’re meant to do things, to move forward, to appreciate what we have. But again, I doubt there’s any way we’re meant to do anything. It’s our choice, but it does seem relatively universal that to act you must be present. But to think you often need to leave. Go somewhere else, your own logic. And there is something to be said for the power of imagination. Because if you can balance here and there, you can bring creations from your mind into the world. But that balance is extraordinarily difficult sometimes, depending on what you’re doing. But we do often imagine a way. It’s simply about having the right tools, organizing/planning, and being able to act. But that’s harder than it looks, sometimes, if you’ve got the kind of mental block that I’ve had. But we’re chipping away.

So what is the block? What is it made of?

Fear, the “if it’s not quick it’s not worth it” impatience, the ending-seeking mindset. Things more deadly than they look. It goes deeper than that too. The way I was raised—money over career choice, the years and years I spent reading about musicians who never really did music, the stories in the news that they have no money and aren’t happy.

I feel like I’ve felt nothing but disappointment, so therefore it’s never worth it in the moment. But that’s not true, in either category. I’ve tricked myself into that because it’s easier to not try. But I don’t want to do that anymore.

But how do you move on from what feels like a life’s worth of disappointment? How do you believe in yourself again? Emotionally?

It’s about emotional proof. So reminders of what you’ve done, right before you try again. Also maybe keeping a schedule so it feels like it’s in control?

I’m really glad that I’ve finally started to look into this Adhd stuff though. Cause if I go through with it, that changes things, that’s moving forward. Hallelujah. Doesn’t really feel the same as I put it in my journals though. Less like crusading for a burning cause and more like four steps forward three steps back, emotionally, for me and everyone involved. I’ll tell you? Four steps forward three steps back does not feel good. It feels like you’re just failing you way to success.

I guess success doesn’t really feel like you’d think it would. I mean maybe you don’t have to think like this, but it feels like most of it could always be better. That’s why deadlines are good, because you get things done, but do they ever really feel done? I guess maybe that’s why multiple deadlines are good. Because at some point you have to transition from seeing all of the flaws to seeing all of the beauty. And that’s why success feels so strange, because you think it’s just watching beauty building, but it’s not. Its: great idea—>how do i do this—>shit this is terrible—>this is horrible—>why did I even try this—>oh well maybe it’ll be okay—>people could really love this, I could really love this, it just has to be done.

So it’s a process I guess. You just don’t wanna end it it too early. It’s so so so many broken pieces until, at the very end of the curve, it’s becomes something tangible. Which feels kinda stupid in the short term, because the whole point is that tangible thing that you can point at and say “I made that.” It’s not exactly something for the impatient, not something for the “if it’s not worth it now it’s not worth it” kinda folks. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be sweet in the end.

It’s funny cause I’ve been drawing this

Over and over again. But I haven’t made something clear. I always assumed that the little man on the ‘now’ side takes a leap, and will sometimes fall into the failure pit and have to climb back up to ‘now,’ and otherwise he’ll leap and make it to ‘success.’

But that may not be it at all, you see? Because yeah, when it comes to immediate-feedback risks, like telling someone you’re interested in them, that is how it goes. Because you can jump straight into success without ever experiencing emotional failure.

But I’m thinking with any goal you actually have to work for? You’re jumping straight into that failure pit, knowingly. And the work is just climbing up the side of ‘success.’ And you could also climb up the other side, just to feel like you can try again, but obviously it’s a better idea to persist because they’re both a lot of work and you wanna get things done.

Maybe that’s what they mean by ‘honoring the struggle.’ It’s less honoring it, and more just acknowledging that it’s something you willingly shoulder and chip at to achieve things, rather than just expecting that you can create something you’re proud of without ever feeling emotional failure/loss.

Ugh. Accepting the things you can’t change, though. What a doozy.

Because, you see, that’s how you be a good leader, that’s how you play the game of reality. But sometimes it’s really difficult to distinguish, because the very things you’re trying to achieve are also considered impossible by others. Fact of the matter is, as fun it is to come in with a blaze of destructive glory, it’s a lot more possible to do what you’re trying to if you know which sets of logic you’re defying. If I’m working on music so I can have a music career but have been unable to do so for 6 years despite desperately wanting too, I’m defying my logic, but complying with the logic of society and reality. If I’m Elon musk, I’m defying society’s logic, but likely not my own, and certainly not reality’s. I think it’s probably impossible for us to fall outside of reality’s logic, especially because we don’t know exactly how it works, but that’s not really the issue at hand.

What I’m trying to say is that you can succeed at the “impossible,” but you can’t defy the logic of success if you want to succeed. And while that logic is gonna vary, and while you’ll never know exactly what you have to do, I think that having this perception of success’ logic is a close enough guide that you might actually have a chance.

#Ideas #Joy Revel #Text #March 2019 #2019

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offpichtechnologies · 5 years ago

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5 Most Common & Hard Interview Questions.

Finding a new job has never been a simple task. However, let’s say you’ve done all the right things and got the reference letters of in your hand. Moreover, now you’ve locked down an interview. Great work, but wait a minute, are you ready?

Interviewers can be harsh, but the questions don’t have to become stumpers. We discuss some common and hard interview questions that can get you signed or distinguished.

Here are the five most common and hard interview questions to prepare for:-

1. Why Are You Leaving Your Current Job?

Careful, here. Don’t put down the boss (he/she might be the colleague in the past) or say you’re looking for a hike (don’t discuss salary so early). Either say something positive about the organization where you’re interviewing (I’d like to explore a new way of doing things or get exposure to a new career) or about obtaining a new type of skills/experience that is not available at your current employer.

2. What Is Your Current Salary?

Primarily, this is a good question because maybe they are a little bit interested to know how much they have to pay to get you. However, don’t pump up the numbers. In future perhaps they will ask you for a salary slip from your current employer (once you have an offer).

However, do feel free to mention other useful perks like health insurance, stock option, and other compensations. Also, consider looking up compensation information on job sites or your job recruiter to find out what is standard in your industry.

3. Tell Me Something About Yourself?

This is a job interview, not a date. So please keep it to things related to a professional journey. Your qualification, a brief history of your work experience, and most recent career achievements (such as impressive sales growth or managing a team.

4. What is your greatest (professional) weakness?

Ugh. This isn’t just a tough interview question; this question asked in every second interview.

Being too honest could backfire. Most of the times, there are chances to give fraudulent responses like “I make work my life,” this not the right answer.

One safe idea is to express it as something you’re actively trying to enhance like "I'm trying to be better at my group presentations.”

5. Why should We Hire You?

This can feel like a minefield, but the trick here is to have done your research on the company. Study their website, read about them, research the bios of their leadership team. Then be prepared to align that information with personal examples.

For example, if this company is relatively new and depends on the brand-new technology, explain how you can help modernize your department by integrating new software or automating the procedure.

Hard Interview Questions Can Become Great Opportunities.

Most interviewers are just trying to judge your experience, your ability to problem-solve, and your emotional wisdom.

Questions like the ones above can feel like a trap, but the person asking it probably knows that. So here’s your chance to look well-prepared and intelligent.

Keep your answers not more than a minute or two, and less is more. Keep it relevant or stop talking and remain calm — they were once on your side of the table.

Thank You,

Offpich Technologies

Visit: www.offpich.com

Don't forget to follow us on Social Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/offpichtech/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/offpich/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/offpichtechnologies/about/?viewAsMember=true

Twitter: https://twitter.com/offpich

#interview #hiring #fresher #jobs #career #offpich #offpich technologies

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fatgirlsguidetodating · 7 years ago

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Blog: Cross cultural & cross religion dating.

"Love knows no borders, has no nationalities, and doesn't need a visa." A conversation with a guy on dating site oasis left me a little shaken. Supposedly I'm a bigot because I said I didn't think I'd want to be with someone who was super-religious. I don't mind someone who believes in God, just because I don't doesn't mean I'd cut out eight out of every ten men given estimates suggest that many identity as religious of some kind. I just wouldn't want to be with someone who is *super* religious. Supposedly I'm racist because when he asked about whether I'd be with someone of another culture I said that it depended on the culture and how similar it's ideologies were to my own [non religious] ones. For instance I said I couldn't be with a man whose religion or culture saw women as inferior, one where women weren't allowed to drive or venture out unless they were escorted by a male member of their family. Does the fact that I couldn't live in a society like Egypt where the women are required to walk behind the men make me racist? But yet it's okay for men to write "I am very into physical fitness and want a woman who shares that and looks after herself", which, in short, means someone who's not fat? It's okay for them to want someone who doesn't have kids because they want to have travelling adventures before having kids? It's even okay to write- as I saw one guy on I think oasis- that he's more attracted to women from Thailand or Vietnam? How is this fair when my not wanting a super religious man from a culture where I'd be treated as inferior and the man's property make me a bigot and a racist? I don't consider myself racist or bigoted. I support all races and religions and recognise that 99% of them are good people and it's only the minority that doesn't. I don't say ban the burqa, I don't protest the building of mosques and other places of worship, I don't say don't let people from this country, of that colour skin or who believe in that God into Australia. I'm always one of the first to say don't automatically assume the terrorist was Muslim, or the carjacker was Sudanese or the aboriginal man veering from side to side is walking like that because he's drunk. Just because I personally don't believe in their ideologies and think some are quite backwards even in the way women are treated doesn't make me racist or a bigot surely? At the end of the day no matter whether I was in a cross-cultural relationship or not the one thing I will not do for a relationship is not change the beliefs and traditions important to me. (But not would I expect them to either.) My friend J is Jewish. We were talking the other day about how his mum wanted him to only marry a Jew and same for his sister. He dated a non-Jewish girl throughout Uni and honestly I was sure they were going to get married. We lost touch after uni but I ran into him the other day and found out he'd ended up marrying a Jewish lady. "But you and X- you were perfect for each other!" I said, shocked. He agreed but then added his parents made it too hard. I don't know if this is the norm or even if this is the whole reason for the break up or whether there were other factors at play but after being called a racist and bigot it certainly captured my attention and voila- this blog post was born. Can cross cultural dating even work anyway? Between a bunch of friends and strangers in blog land and my own experiences who I asked about cross cultural dating approximately 73% said it's possible they can work provided both parties put the effort in and about 90% agreed with the statement that cross cultural relationships weren't easy. All new couples have obstacles to overcome but in cross cultural relationships both partners may need to compromise by giving up some of their own culture to adjust to their partners beliefs, habits, parenting ways, and perhaps even the other partners family not bring supportive of the relationship- like J. (1.) After all it's only natural that we would feel loyalty towards our own culture and traditions, which may make it hard for us to understand the opposing ones of our partners. (2.) Some of us have a more advanced cultural identity than others. I don't think of myself as super patriotic but I do consider myself a pretty "true blue Aussie girl." (Minus a southern cross tattoo, Australian flag bikini, and Australian sticker on my car.) But others I know are very much into their cultural identity. Sociologically a cultural identity isn't just about the things we see like the fashion, or gods worshipped or even the national dish. Rather it's mainly invisible. Because much of what we say, think and do is shaped by the culture we were raised in. It influences our thoughts about things such what's right or wrong, ideas about birth and death, ideas on how we should behave, our sense of self worth, understanding our place/s in society and our values- like the importance of things in life like money or family. (2.) An example. Once at work we did a day course. I don't remember what it was about but I do recall we got subway for lunch (you know- the important things) and one thing sticks in my mind. I was paired with a guy named Tariq. He was perhaps 5 years older than me, married with a daughter and a Muslim. When we had to rank things as to what was most important to us he had money at the top and love and family down the bottom. I remember wondering if that was a cultural idea- the idea making money and providing is most important. Another example. A friend who is Greek has a similar outlook; she's not happy with her husband but he's a good provider so she stays. So it could well be some cultures value money and men who provide for their family over other things like family time and affection? Me? I don't think I'd stay with someone I wasn't happy with because of money and them looking after me. Although I do think I'd have a hard time standing strong if I was in love with someone from a race/religion/culture who my family and best friends didn't like and therefore believed my partner to be the same. I'd like to say I'd tell them to fuck off but I'm not one for confrontation, conflict or even argument. Sometimes I will simply agree with someone/s just to stop any argument even if I don't agree whatsoever. However as I get older (ugh) I do find I stand my ground a lot more. As a shy child, teenager, young adult, even adult it's been hard for me but I am trying. So given all that why bother with cross cultural love? Why not just say this relationship is doomed to fail and run before it gets too serious? Because it won't necessarily fail. And even if it does- as do many relationships where people are from the *same* culture may I add- a cross cultural romance can "lead to the most exciting adventure of exploring the world though another person." (3) There are some interesting pluses to dating someone from another culture. Like learning a new language, learning to enjoy and perhaps even make native cuisines of your partners, and maybe even travelling to their native country. A German mini series doco looked at thirteen couples who were all involved in cross-cultural relationships and they offered some advice on how to keep it going. (4) Some of the suggestions were: * "Being open-minded and talking about possible misunderstandings is essential in a multi-cultural relationship.” -Ratna and Nele * "Being in a cross-cultural relationship takes a lot of patience and tolerance, and it can take a while until one gets used to the other. But as complicated as it might be, it is always interesting and sometimes rather funny when you get to find out and explore all the cultural differences.” -Andy and Ben * “Learn the language and never compare the two countries. For me, learning the language wasn’t just about something I had to do. The main push for me was for my own well-being. I needed a job and personally needed to no longer feel like an outsider looking in...” –Derek and Marc * "If those in the relationship love each other then they understand each other on a much deeper level, and the language becomes less important. But cultural differences are tougher to overcome. Cultural issues are the big ones." -Dr. Jane Elizabeth Dum * “One thing we can’t agree on, though, is when to celebrate Christmas. Thankfully, Tobias lets me have our Christmas tree up all December long. Most Germans put their tree up right before or on Christmas Eve. Because Christmas is my favorite time of year, I would be so sad if I didn’t get my tree until the 24th! We make both the 24th and the 25th special and combine our respective traditions. I think that’s one of the best things about a binational relationship – you can pick and choose your favorite traditions from each culture and get to know a few different things in the process.” -Sarah and Tobias * “As the age old saying goes, communication is the most important thing in any relationship. If these criteria are met you are in for a world of cross-cultural delights, learning all about the others wonderful and mysterious land, which I have found gives you a lot more to talk about than a regular couple.” –Amelie and Dean And experts all give similar advice like educating yourself about their culture, learning some of their language and traditions, being prepared to possibly deal with family disapproval and strong communication. (5) After all Cross-cultural dating is a great opportunity to expand your learning. Your new partner can teach you so much about his or her country, culture, language, traditions and religion. If you can overcome these first few problems, it is a great chance to learn more about the world we all live in. (6) Can a cross-cultural relationship work then? Yes. With work and commitment. Go into the relationship with no expectations and it could be a great adventure! (7) I'm not saying force yourself to be attracted to someone but I *am* saying if feelings are there don't deny the possibility just because it's all too complicated. After all, just because you’re open to dating someone doesn’t mean it will actually work out. You may not even get past the first date so if you do like someone from a different culture just give it a shot. You never know: you may find yourself a fantastic lifelong partner. (8) Fatgirl. Sources: 1. https://barendspsychology.com/cross-cultural-relationships/ 2. http://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/counsellor-articles/cross-cultural-relationships 3. https://coffeemeetsbagel.com/blog/index.php/best-date-tips/cross-cultural-dating-good-great-awkward/ 4. http://www.young-germany.de/topic/live/family-friends/advice-from-bi-national-couples-on-cross-cultural-dating 5. http://www.multiculturalromance.com/cross-cultural-dating-tips/ 6. https://www.google.com.au/amp/blog.datingwise.com/1444/cross-cultural-dating/amp/ 7. http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/14008/1/Cross-Cultural-Dating-and-Marriage--An-Asian-Western-Perspective.html 8. http://www.eatyourkimchi.com/speakers-corner-cross-cultural-dating/

#culture #religion #tradition #society #socialidentity #crossculture #crossculturaldating #crossreligiondating #binationdating #marriage #romance #newexperiences #fatgirlsguidetodating #daying #relationship

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onlinemarketinghelp · 6 years ago

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10 Best Side Hustle Ideas to Make an Extra $1000 a Month https://ift.tt/2T59vxr

Money. Who couldn’t use a little bit more of it? Whether you’re saving for a down payment, planning a wedding, trying to pay down debt –ugh, will those student loans ever go away? – or putting some money. Who couldn’t use a little bit more of it? Whether you’re saving for a down payment, planning a wedding, trying to pay down debt –ugh, will those student loans ever go away? – or putting some savings aside for a rainy day, a little bit of extra cash can go a long way. Your day job might help you pay for the essentials. But a side hustle, that’s the game changer that’ll make a difference in your wallet while giving you the freedom you’ve always wanted. So here are the best side hustles that’ll help you make more money.

What is a Side Hustle?

A side hustle is a way to make money outside of your 9 to 5 job. It allows you to make more money that’ll give you the freedom to pursue your passions, buy things you need or want, and lower any financial worries.

Truth is, most 9 to 5 jobs don’t pay the bills. Especially if you’re just starting out in your career.

When you calculate the cost of rent, food, transportation, you might realize that after your bills are paid you barely have anything leftover. What a bummer.

The worst part is that your financial growth is always capped. Maybe you get a bonus of a couple of hundred dollars a year with a 1% salary increase on your $30,000. But is that really enough to live the life you dream about? Maybe, but probably not.

So you start a side hustle to make a couple extra hundred or thousand dollars a month. Something that can either help you make more money today, tomorrow or five years from now. To change that $0 bank statement into something greater.

So let’s dive into the best side hustle ideas that’ll help you make more money.

How to Start a Successful Side Hustle

So you have decided that a side hustle is the best way for you to earn some extra money each month but you don’t know where to start. Look no further, we have a list of steps to follow for you to create a successful side hustle today!

Make a list of what you are interested in You need to love what you are doing as a side hustle for it to be successful for you. This job will be done on your own time, and outside office hours if you have a day job, so it will take a lot of energy and motivation to make it stick. Only something that you are passionate about will drive you this much. Brainstorm side hustle ideas around your interests, hobbies, and skills to discover the best business to start.

Decide early if you will invest money Side hustles shouldn’t cost too much money but they may require some investment upfront for things like hosting, branding, and tools. You may decide that you want to do advertising to find your first customers. Whatever your growth and expansion plan is for your side hustle you need to be aware of your spend before it happens so plan your spending accordingly and measure your success to know whether you should continue.

Make sure there are no conflicts of interest If you have a day job or have connections that could lead to a conflict of interest with your side hustle then it is not a good idea to continue with it. Sometimes the best advice is to try something else or to shelf your idea for another time so that you don’t end up doing something you regret. Starting a side hustle with a conflict of interest could lead to costing lessons learned.

Schedule time for your side hustle A side hustle takes time out of your day, daily, so ensure everything is going right. It is not possible to set up your website, schedule your content, and forget about everything until next month. Set aside time in your calendar regularly for your side hustle and outline actionable goals for this time so you know what you are doing is valuable. If you have a day job, aim to give three to four evenings a week and perhaps some hours at the weekend to your side hustle, depending on what it is.

Don’t forget about your day job If you are setting up a side hustle while also having a day job, remember to put 100% of your energy into your day job when you are there. A side hustle will give you some money but you rely on a cheque from your day job which you need to pay the bills with. Don’t try to juggle your day job and side hustle within your 9-5 hours as this is a recipe for disaster.

10 Best Side Hustle Ideas That’ll Make You Money

#1. Start a Dropshipping Business

Dropshipping is one of the best side job ideas. It allows you to sell a product directly to the customer without having to buy any inventory. Why’s that great? You don’t invest any money to buy products, keeping your risk low. The manufacturer not only carries the inventory but he also ships it directly to the customer for you. Your main focus: marketing and customer service – the lifeline of the business. If you’ve got a strong marketing background and want a side hustle that plays to your strength, this is it. It’s one of the rare side jobs that allows you to scratch a true entrepreneurial itch. You get to be the owner of your very own business.

With dropshipping, you can start a business within any of your favorite passions. Do you love decorating your home? You can sell home decor products. Maybe you’re obsessed with fashion. You can start your own fashion store. If you love doing your makeup? You can sell beauty products and build an audience who follows along to your makeup tutorials. Almost any niche can be pursued with dropshipping. Plus, if you’re a creative type, you can run wild with your ideas. After all, as the owner of your own business, you’ll always have final say. Making this a great side hustle to start out with.

How much money can a dropshipper make? Depends on how much effort you put into your business and marketing. You can make an extra couple thousand dollars or higher.

Dropshipping Tip: Want to start your own dropshipping business? Sign up for Oberlo on Shopify. The Oberlo app allows you to choose from millions of products that you can start selling on your store today. Plus, it automates several parts of the business process. You can add products in a simple one click and process orders with the same swift action.

#2. Begin Freelance Writing

Good side hustles, like freelance writing, allow you to make money by trading your time. Since you’re trading time for money, you’re capped at how much you can make. Still, if you’re looking to hit, say an extra $1000 a month, freelance writing is a side hustle that can allow you to predict how much you can make. You can have a contract set up with a client or two that’ll allow you to know exactly how much money you’ll be able to make. The secret to succeeding as a freelance writer is to charge based on the value you’ll bring. Most freelance writers undercharge which results in fast burnout with little payoff.

How much can a freelance writer make? As a side hustle, a freelance writer can make an extra $500 – $3000 a month, depending on what their article rate is and how many articles they can produce in their spare time.

Freelance Writing Tip: The best freelance writing opportunities are on ProBlogger. It’s the platform I used to find freelance work here at Oberlo. I also landed a few other top clients from the side job website. On average, the best paying freelance jobs are on there. However, if you’re just starting out, you might want to focus on building your portfolio and skillset on Fiverr, Craigslist or Upwork first as it’s easier to land your first few clients on those websites.

#3. Become an Affiliate Marketer

Affiliate marketing is one of those side hustle ideas that can either make you a lot of money or nothing. It’s not just about finding the right product to sell, but also finding the right brand to partner with. If you chose to be an affiliate marketer for ecommerce stores, your commission will likely be a lot lower than if you were just to dropship them yourself. However, there are tech companies who will pay a hefty price tag to affiliates who bring them new customers.

How much money can this side hustle make? It depends on what product you’re selling and what affiliate network you use. For example, if you were an affiliate marketer for a tech company like Shopify, you could potentially make an extra $2000 for every merchant you refer. Sweet!

Affiliate Marketing Tip: Ask the affiliate program or content creator for assets you can use to help you market their product. For example, there may be a lead magnet or free tool you can use to incentivize people to purchase the product. Often times, a piece of content can help ease a potential customer from a cold lead into a warm one. Thus, giving you a better chance of succeeding with this side hustle.

#4. Be part of the Gig Economy

Does your 9 to 5 job pay fluctuate? If you don’t have a predictable income, you might need more money some months and a little less others. If this sounds like you, you might choose to take up side gigs. These could be gigs that you create on Fiverr or the occasional freelance project on Upwork. You might design some wedding invitations for a client one week and help someone build their social media following the next. The type of projects you work on could vary drastically. But if you love variety and switching things up, this side hustle could be perfect for you.

How much money can you make with this side hustle? You could make anywhere from $50 to $2000 a month depending on the side gigs you take on and platform you use.

Gig Economy Tip: Platforms like Fiverr are dependent on reviews. If you’re just starting out, pay a friend to buy your gig and review it after you complete the project. This will allow you to have a high star rating which will allow you to get your next few customers. Without a rating, it can be hard for a client to trust you enough to give you your first opportunity.

#5. Start Blogging

Blogging is one of the best side hustle jobs. It allows you to build a personal brand while owning your own asset. You can even write about your passions. Having a singular niche that you write about such as yoga, business, beauty, or cars allows you to build an audience who shares the exact same interest due to the singular focus. You can monetize your blog in a few ways: affiliate links, sponsored posts, or adding a shop link where you sell dropshipping products.

How much money can you make trying a side hustle like this? In the beginning, you’ll make nothing. But some bloggers who stick it out past the first few years have made enough money to quit their job and do it full time.

Blogging Tip: If you’re passionate about blogging, create an online store that you can monetize and add a blog onto it. This allows you to start monetizing your asset before you’ve built your audience. Plus, the combination of content and commerce is a powerful one. As your blog grows, you can use retargeting ads to monetize your blog traffic to land even more sales. If you pump out regular, quality content you’ll quite possibly have a few home run posts that bring you a ton of traffic that’ll be easier to monetize than if you were hoping for a few affiliate sales.

#6. Sell Information Products

If you’re looking for side jobs to make money, why not trying selling information products? This side hustle requires some research, invested time and marketing skills for you to flourish. Are there topics that are really popular right now that you know a lot about? Did you find a popular topic that there isn’t enough information about? Monetize these opportunities by creating content around it. You can publish books on Amazon or sell courses on Udemy.

How much money can you make selling information products? It depends on the niche, your marketing execution and a variety of other factors. But a side hustle like this can result in a few thousand dollars each month. However, most often, they usually have created several different pieces of content (ebooks, courses).

Selling Information Product Tip: With this side hustle, focus on niches where people have a huge problem they need to solve. If you’re in the fitness niche, you can create a fitness workout course or a diet plan with recipes ebook. If people are desperately trying to solve a burning problem, there’s an opportunity to provide value by helping them solve that problem. The content you create can guide them towards a solution. Best part: you could make money while helping people.

#7. Become an Instagram Influencer

Growing up most people dream of being famous. But truth is, not everyone can sing or act. Fortunately, you can still build a personal brand around yourself based on what you can do. Maybe you have a really cool fashion sense or can bake an awesome cake. On Instagram, anyone can start a side hustle by becoming an influencer. If you don’t like the spotlight, that’s cool. You can build an Instagram following around your dog or your photography. You can monetize your Instagram account in a couple of ways: sponsored posts, Instagram takeovers or selling a product on your website.

Is being an influencer a good side hustle? Well, the average influencer charges between $200-$400 a post. This can vary based on your audience size, so feel free to check out How to Get Followers on Instagram.

Instagram Influencer Tip: Be consistent. Be consistent in the type of content you post, how often you post, and when you post. You’ll gain new followers if people know what they can regularly expect from your page. You won’t be able to monetize right away, so invest your time into growing your followers by posting several times a day, every day.

#8. Become a Virtual Assistant

Topside hustles have one big thing in common: there’s a high demand for it. A virtual assistant is an assistant who works in a remote location. They can help with tasks such as administration, social media, bookkeeping and more. There’s been a growing demand for virtual assistants from business owners who need help on various projects. As a virtual assistant, you can specialize in countless areas. In the past, I’ve hired virtual assistants for social media and customer service. And there are countless other businesses around the world who rely on virtual assistants to grow and maintain their brands.

How much money can you make as a virtual assistant? Most virtual assistants trade their time for money so you might get capped based on the number of hours of work you can do each week. You can choose to set a total monthly earning or get paid by the hour. Some make minimum wage while others might make $35 an hour depending on their skills and experience.

Becoming a Virtual Assistant Tip: When starting this side hustle, you can find clients on popular websites like Upwork. However, you could start to see better results when you branch out on your own as an independent contractor. Starting up might be a bit harder as you need to find clients but you could earn more money this way. You can join popular Facebook groups for businesses or online retailers to offer your services.

#9. Sell Your Photography

If you’ve got a camera and some basic Photoshop skills, photography can become your side hustle. If you like taking pictures of your city, you can sell your photography to your local publications such as city newspaper or blog. Sites like Foap allow you to sell your phone pictures on their platform and you can earn money with every photo you sell. If you’d rather not make money with your pictures, you can add your photography to products like canvases, t-shirts, and phone cases to make even more money. And if that’s not enough, you can even seek clients to venture into wedding photography, pet photography or product photography.

How much money can you make as a photographer? If you sell your pictures online you might make an extra couple hundred or thousand dollars a month. If you venture into wedding photography, you could make a couple of thousand dollars or more per event.

Photography Tip: If you plan on selling your photography on a stock photo site, it’s a numbers game. The more pictures you take and upload, the better chance you are to be found. You’ll need to make sure you use the right tags so that people can easily find your photos. The more pictures you take, the faster you’ll develop your photography skills over time. So it’s an all-around win.

#10. Get a Part-Time Job

If you’d rather trade time for money you might choose to get a part-time job. Side jobs to make money include dog walking, babysitter, restaurant server, receptionist, administrative assistant, or barista. You can also find part-time jobs within your industry. Maybe you’re a full-time marketer who takes on a part-time social media gig. The only downside to a part-time job is that you need to invest your time for money. And time is your most valuable luxury. Part-time jobs don’t scale as well as an online business would. Meaning, your total earnings get capped.

How much money can you make with your part-time job? Most part-time jobs float around the minimum wage mark. However, you can find a few higher paying side hustles if you dig around a bit.

Part-Time Job Tip: You can browse job sites to find side jobs you can do on evenings and weekends. Remember: after you work a full day, you’ll likely feel tired and exhausted so pick a part-time job with a flexible schedule. If you have to work a four after shift Monday through Friday after an eight hour day, you could eventually burn out.

Conclusion

Your side hustle can help you make some extra money each month. But it can also help you develop new skills, build your personal brand or portfolio and help you achieve more freedom. So, have fun with it! Take a risk by starting a business or pursue a new hobby you’ve always been curious about. A side hustle is your best opportunity to live life on your own terms. And with some more money in your pocket, there’s nothing stopping you from making your dreams come true.

Want to Learn More?

How to Turn a Side-Hustle Into an Adventure Around the World

Do You Need to Quit Your Job to Start an Ecommerce Business?

How I Built a Dropshipping Business That Made $6667 in 8 Weeks

How to Travel the World as a Digital Nomad (With No Regrets)

What’s your side hustle? Comment below!

The post 10 Best Side Hustle Ideas to Make an Extra $1000 a Month appeared first on Oberlo.

from Oberlo

What is a Side Hustle?

Truth is, most 9 to 5 jobs don’t pay the bills. Especially if you’re just starting out in your career.

When you calculate the cost of rent, food, transportation, you might realize that after your bills are paid you barely have anything leftover. What a bummer.

So let’s dive into the best side hustle ideas that’ll help you make more money.

How to Start a Successful Side Hustle

10 Best Side Hustle Ideas That’ll Make You Money

#1. Start a Dropshipping Business

How much money can a dropshipper make? Depends on how much effort you put into your business and marketing. You can make an extra couple thousand dollars or higher.

#2. Begin Freelance Writing

#3. Become an Affiliate Marketer

#4. Be part of the Gig Economy

How much money can you make with this side hustle? You could make anywhere from $50 to $2000 a month depending on the side gigs you take on and platform you use.

#5. Start Blogging

#6. Sell Information Products

#7. Become an Instagram Influencer

#8. Become a Virtual Assistant

#9. Sell Your Photography

#10. Get a Part-Time Job

How much money can you make with your part-time job? Most part-time jobs float around the minimum wage mark. However, you can find a few higher paying side hustles if you dig around a bit.

Conclusion

Want to Learn More?

How to Turn a Side-Hustle Into an Adventure Around the World

Do You Need to Quit Your Job to Start an Ecommerce Business?

How I Built a Dropshipping Business That Made $6667 in 8 Weeks

How to Travel the World as a Digital Nomad (With No Regrets)

What’s your side hustle? Comment below!

The post 10 Best Side Hustle Ideas to Make an Extra $1000 a Month appeared first on Oberlo.

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