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ohwiseswami · 1 year ago

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WARNING: LONG POST.

NCT Wish is the most compelling boy group to debut in awhile and that's no shade to any of these other boy groups. They just have a perfect combination of talent, potential, good production/vision for what they're going to be, charisma, hyung line visuals, and it-factor.

Like when Sion performs he serves in a way that reminds me of Yeonjun. Man dances his ass off and adds his own sense of musicality to every move. His lines are always so precise and his body shape adds to the look of the moves (long ass legs).

When Riku exists, his face card and charisma is unmatched. And he performs like old-school YG idols. Plus, he has that confident idgaf but am grateful for my opportunity vibe (lmao) that is so hard to cultivate in kpop idols. I straight up cannot name a single idol, ever, let alone one that has debuted under SM, that has that type of it factor.

Vocal Line. Their vocal line is solid for 4th/5th gen standards and I can definitely see them improving to the NCT standard. But what they already have with a 19-year-old leading the pack is wild already and covers different tonal ranges (Yushi and Daeyoung for the higher register light and round vocal, respectively; and Ryo and Sion for the lower register light and round vocal, respectively).

Rap Line. Flow-wise rap line is already one of the strongest in SM. Listen, we all know that's not SM's strong suit so it's not a high bar to clear lmao. But even within NCT--with SM's strongest rappers--you can see Wish's rapline's placement. I think Riku and Sakuya are really only second to Mark and Taeyong and we shouldn't even argue this point. Also, Wish's rap line has rule of cool w/Riku fronting which adds a lot. Cherry on top is that, like other SM rap lines, Riku and Sakuya also have pleasant vocals (especially Riku) to go along with their nice rap style.

Dance Line. Dance line is led by one of the most musical and natural dancers I've seen in awhile (Sion). Then there's a lot of young talent in Ryo and a cool/confident-efficient style in Riku. Some might consider Yushi to be one of the best dancers in Wish but--and I say this respectfully--no. (S/n: Respectfully, their dance ranking is like this: Sion, Ryo, Riku, Yushi, [a brick wall] Sakuya, Daeyoung. I think Sakuya's big problem is his taller height making him look a little awkward at times--but that can be overcome with age and practice). A Sion-Ryo-Riku dance line has potential to be one of the better dance lines in their generation (though Ryo will need to grow more since sometimes I notice his small stature physically limits him, and Riku will have to execute every move with the same power and fluidity as he does in killing parts).

Overall Performance Skills. Their overall performance style is energetic and visually interesting, if a bit stiff/awkward sometimes (probably due to nervousness). But one thing I can really appreciate is their stable live vocals while dancing. No one else can do that in the past couple of generations' boy groups and I commend them for that. And they've gotten some really unique choreographies so far that would look stupid if performed by anyone else, yet look nice on them (kind of like some of SHINee's choreos). Lastly on this point, their sound is very appropriate and matches their voices.

Variety/Personalities/Image. As for their variety skills, we haven't seen much from them and SM is obviously pushing certain images on them. Like it's clear what they're going for:

parent-type leader Sion

hot guy/possessor of a single brain cell that sometimes works Riku

complete idol/perfect role model-type Yushi

pure vocal/older brother-type Daeyoung (or Jaehee, whatever they're wanting him to go by)

super baby genius/atheletically gifted Ryo

chaotic maknae Sakuya

Despite the personalities SM is assigning them, their real personalities seem to shine through (which heavily contrasts their assigned roles in the group). This is a good thing. And as they get more experienced, I expect that what seems to be their real personalities will come out more in variety, social media, and interviews (a la TXT). This will do wonders for them because everybody knows that SM's assigned personalities are always boring and patronizing lmao.

The Issue All The Dumb People Have With Them. Now, the elephants in the room: the two 16 year olds and predominantly recent trainees under the NCT brand. Honestly, this doesn't bother me as much as it does other people. I know people want a mature/suave concept but like...that doesn't mean the kids aren't talented? I admit I'd like to see Sion and Riku do something a little more akin to 127 style but what they have so far is actually pretty good and very on brand with 127. Despite the fact that they skew younger, they don't sound too kidz-boppy like when Dream first debuted.

And when it comes to watching their content/you hoes wanting something to thirst after, you can just choose to only pay attention to hyung line lmao. Like the group as a whole is super talented and ready to debut to the world. HOWEVER, to me, clearly Sion-Riku-Yushi catch your attention very easily, with Sion and Riku feeling like damn near generations apart from Sakuya. I've watched some of their variety and Sion and Riku give similar vibes with Sakuya as Taeyong & Doyoung do with Mark & Haechan. And when it's just Sion and Riku, you feel a completely different vibe than when they're with the other members. I like that, so I tend to gravitate toward Sion-Riku (and sometimes Yushi) content.

I find the line of thought that you have to bias every single member weird because it puts people in fucked up positions. You don't have to force yourself to be interested in every member. Of course there's even downsides to that (like people thinking you only like, say, Sion, for his visuals/so you can thirst), but it's not nearly as dire as the other scenario. If you naturally like Sion more, even if it's for a superficial reason, you shouldn't feel bad about being perceived as an akgae. You don't have to want to get to know all the members. Plus, if someone is policing the way you consume your entertainment they're a loser lmao.

Also, that being said, if you're over 18, it's not that you can't find Sakuya/Ryo entertaining. You can obviously think they're talented, funny, etc.

Also want to say that all the people mad at this group for existing because of their ages are moving real weird because half of y'all stan enhypen and also stanned older groups when they had underage maknaes (despite you yourselves being adults at the time). It comes off as hateration.

Then there's the folks mad at them for not being RIIZE lmao. Those people are just weirdos that honestly don't even deserve to be addressed. Like who cares that SungTaro aren't in NCT? They got to debut, didn't they? They're successful, aren't they? And they will probably continue to interact with 127, Way-V, and Dream more than even Wish will lol. You can still ship RIIZE with NCT folks (since that's really what this is about...), calm down.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to Wish and hope SM will give them bangers.

#nct wish #sion #riku #yushi #daeyoung jaehee ryo sakuya

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vodkagirlfriend · 3 years ago

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i dont fucking care i do not care near is the best character he is unmatched. the absolute balls on him to tell LIGHT YAGAMI "you and i are no different" when he is undoubtedly the person light respects least. when absolutely nobody in the manga hated near more than light. to smack him in the face w reality like that minutes before emerging the victor was incredible argue with the wall

#near #moonriver #sort of...hahahahhaahsh #death note

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intuwam · 5 years ago

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world building no one asked for. slightly inspired by legend of zelda. including the ragtag crew [ x ] : june, hyuck, minjae, jaejin, myungsoo, jaehyun, jaejin, junsu ( we have a lot of boys what the fuck ). @urianius

featuring, the knight academy.

the Knight Academy, similar to hogwarts in creation is a school dedicated to producing knights/soldiers/guards/warriors for the Empire ( that will have a name one of these days ). every recruit dreams of being chosen for the princess’ personal guard, the closest most end up is chosen as guards for the castle grounds, or guards for court members, the cosy jobs. others will end up on the front lines. knights are usually chosen from all around the kingdom, no matter the province, however most boys are required to go into the academy if the kingdom is at a shortage by age 11.

if not conscripted as a castle guard then they will be either, frontlines, sent to provinces that need control or work for the official court of knights, and complete missions as ordered. some knights end up straying ( deferring ) from their oath and/or inflicted by magic ( think witcher lore for them ) and have a bounty put on their head.

royal guards.

shadow guards.

castle duty.

town/province detail.

front lines.

knights of seven.

the current war is a war against magic ( go figure ). not because magic was seen as some wild dark arts no one heard of but because magic was once used in the kingdom as a means to conquer but the advisor to the king ended up poisoning him and his mind and using the people as test subjects.

the princess now runs the kingdom, after the king was killed and a war broke out between witches and their enchanted creatures ) minions or dark magic some believed to have been transformed from human subjects. though unlikely to admit it, the knights of seven, well renown and respected are known for their particular affinity for magical elements and though humans don’t like to admit it, the only surefire way to destroy these creatures is with magically enhanced weapons or sometimes extensive training. ( for reference on the types of these creatures, i imagine somewhere between orcs, trolls, cyclops, etc, zelda creatures come pretty close to what i envision actually ).

so the academy was created, a way to harness the body and the mind and forge loyalty to the crown so that a knight may never fall for the temptations of the dark arts.

knights do not use magic that isn’t approved and for the purpose of enhancing clothing or weaponry. they use enchanted blades stolen from witch compounds as well as clothing but apart from that their bodies and minds are honed by extensive and intensive years at the academy. knights with specific affinities ( elemental for instance: water, fire, air, lightning, ice ) are coveted but all are welcome.

the affinities, for clarification aren’t enhancements like waterbenders or airbenders, etc, they’re enhancements for weapons. people with lightning affinities their blades are encased in lightning and their clothes are well making them immune to damage from witches who specialize in that and able to wield and last in areas troubled by that kind of magic.

at the start of the journey, the news comes out that the current knights of seven have gone missing and there was a betrayal, the princess is barricaded in the castle and the war against witches has been a decoy to rid the land of the good magic and spread dark magic throughout the kingdom. the boys - though not exactly graduates, embark on a journey to save their kingdom ( though no one really told them to ) and to maybe see who actually is the fated member of the legend. there are seven of them so - one of them has to be it right? the prophecy says that when the world needs them the most, the knight will emerge.

minjae

so, i think minjae is just good at things, he doesn’t have a particular affinity, though he works best in swordsmanship, that just fits him to me. i think he joined the academy out of boredom yes, but also I never give mina a break so i’m gonna assume in this au she’s been missing ( not kidnapped but missing ). i also think he has nothing against magic because he knows there’s something fishy up, i’ll say that mina was probably accused of dark sorcery as well.

not a day goes by when he isn’t questioning the academy’s orders and the knight’s guards as well as the entire war and the system, often getting him in a shit ton of trouble and punishments.

a third year, a pain in everyone’s behind because he doesn’t pay attention but weaponry comes easy to him, i think minjae just has a lot of steam to let go of and he does so through sword-fighting. he’s charming and uses that to get through everything else, battles, assignments he’s missed, morning duty punishments. i like to think minjae is very clever and good at critical thinking, he’s quick on his feet.

he’s the one who suggested they all go on the adventure together, though he has a knack for seeming selfish. he values each team member’s contribution though he can be a little cocky about his own.

minjae gets into a lot of fights, mainly because of his mouth, so his wit is needed to get out of them, or his speed, his speed is the usual option.

it takes a lot to keep his attention, but the prospect of this adventure seems to be the first time he’s been so readily excited to do something.

( claims to know who the fated knight will be, everyone thinks he’s lying. )

hyuck ( open for changes! )

if there’s anyone more thoroughly uninterested in the gossip about who the next fated knight will be it’s hyuck, though perhaps hyuck has more of an inkling to wonder about it than minjae does. and an even strongest inkling to envy it to avoid his friend’s teasing.

has a good eye, a very good eye and his agility is unmatched except by jaejin, he would have higher marks in stealth if he weren’t so loud all the time but he’s got a better eye than most it’s why he holds the candle in marksmanship, bows and arrows, slingshots and even throwing spears. those are his strengths and it’s something to be proud of really, even minjae can’t match his accuracy. it’s something that comes from survival too and it’s something that the two boys know well. they grew up in provinces affected differently by the war but they still had to survive and for hyuck it was using whatever methods he could to keep the spotlight off him and his family.

it’s the biggest surprise too because while minjae is going in balls to the wall, hyuck always has his back and that’s how the two work together, the same as if hyuck were in unfamiliar territory in a cornered fight, minjae is always watching, always at his side. hyuck probably didn’t expect to have an affinity at all, but minjae often hints that maybe there’s a bit of air affinity with how accurate his shots are ( hyuck just says he thinks too much ).

he doesn’t discuss his reasons for joining the academy, and most people don’t ask as everyone comes from their own walks of life but it’s assumed he wasn’t a volunteer. due to how much he fools around in class he always surprises people with how well he does on his scores, he jokes but he does make sure he knows what’s going on, just because it helps him get around well, and soon it helps them on their journey. it’s the little things, the smaller lessons often left forgotten that hyuck is the one remembering and pointing out when they’re in a pinch.

he doesn’t exactly dislike the idea of them traveling, but he’s well aware of the dangers it poses. still, he and minjae are inseparable.

jaejin

i’m thinking a lightning affinity. i think he’s very fast, and he would have large marks in stealth that only hyuck can rival. i think jaejin doesn’t discuss his abilities much either, tries not to make a big deal of them as he gets his grasp on them, also because it’s a pretty hard affinity to control and no one wants the attention that comes from having a lightning affinity.

because he is the youngest and the smallest. marksmanship is his skill and stealth, he is the smallest one of the boys as well as the youngest and though it benefits them on missions, he gets the short end of the stick in raw power. jaejin is calculating, which is why he can hold a candle to minjae in witty comebacks but he doesn’t speak up much or voice his ideas.

jaejin keeps to himself and his studies and doesn’t like the bloody nature of battle, which is why he prefers the distance granted to him by lightning. he has studied up on lore but not enough to be interested in who would be chosen and why and his calculations are only enough for angles and such, survival tactics they’e read about but not ones that will save him in quick situations. he’s not a quick-thinker but he is decisive where it matters.

jaejin has admiration for the knight court but never expected to be anything other than a front line guard, sent to be destroyed as fodder for the kingdom’s war. it’s why myungsoo spends so much time training him in combat and minjae in swordsmanship, they worry where he lacks will be his downfall.

jaejin isn’t soft though, his appearance in the academy was not by choice, he was the last one available from his village and such he is here. he didn’t expect to have any bit of use but found that all his time reading and studying paid off.

he is the first to oppose the journey, the first to cry when he has to kill a creature and often babied by the group though they can’t help it. he and minjae argue the most on decisions even if their decisions are both focusing on the right thing they have different methods of getting it.

is rather popular around the academy actually.

myungsoo

conscripted and almost immediately, mainly because he comes from a family of knights, a brother who made it to the royal guard, and another who is a leader on the front lines. myungsoo is expected to be picked as the princess’ fated knight but he has no desire of it, as the shoes to fit for his siblings and family are hard enough. though the knight identities are secret there is a rumor his third brother is a member.

a fire affinity which is why most of his family ends up being coveted knights, fire is strong and easily destructive. myungsoo has a short temper though he isn’t a fan of his affinity and is even less of a fan of the expectations everyone has of him. he and junsu are the eldest along with june though they both treat june like a younger brother.

in terms of build he is the biggest muscle wise while junsu is the tallest, both spend a lot of time honing their physical and mental minds because of the toll their affinity can take on them.

myungsoo is always ready for a fight, always, he’s the bravest one amongst them and won’t hesitate to go against the odds. it can be a problem though as he’s sometimes too wiling to rush in without regard to his life, something that they always argue on. he’s also skilled at mending weaponry, and forging it as well, something he’s often spent time teaching minjae about.

easily he and junsu are the parents of the group, the fourth-years. myungsoo is usually the one they all look up to in terms of leadership skills, and just how bright and generous he is, it’s hard to say no to him, if he says to make up they will make up, if he orders an argument to stop it will stop. he is inspiring, has been training to be a knight since he was young and has a very deep sense of honor and commitment.

junsu

ice affinity! the problem being, most people consider ice affinities to be a corrupted form of water. there are rumors, that junsu’s brother who was a knight became cursed and is now on the run ( there’s also a rather dark rumor that half of his clan was transformed into hideous beasts of dark magic by the witches ). he does not talk about his brother and he does not talk about his affinity, he just knows he has a duty now and it’s to prove his family’s loyalty despite the rumors.

that duty, is pretty bitter for him which is why he dislikes the idea of going out to save the kingdom or the knights where it’s offered him nothing but pain. because he’s taught so much about loyalty, he is the first to suggest they do things together or the first to wish to clear up fights or arguments between the boys, as they are stronger together, very clear-headed. his duty is to family and little by little these boys have become that for him.

very often is the one cooking for the team, and reminding them of how many meals they’ve missed and not to go to far with arguments and such. very much a mood settler, partially because of the water element that’s present in ice, he doesn’t like confrontation and likes things to run smooth. he was arguably, the first to suggest this mission is a bad idea.

he is surprisingly one of the calmer members, very keen on noticing things such as shifts in atmosphere or a spell that might lead to an area trapped in illusions. he is a quick-thinker and will yank minjae or hyuck back from doing something stupid whereas jaejin will say they should learn a lesson and myungsoo is ready to jump on in with them.

june

my sunshine. his affinity is hard to place, sometimes it seems like it’s light, other times water, other times air. june just tries his best to be good at what he does and where people need him. he keeps to himself and isn’t particularly the strongest rather he knows how to use his strength and has a strong build from relentless training he’s been put through. he excels in sword-fighting, excels in his studies, remembers his history well and is decent at strategizing.

he is, thoroughly too gentle for the world of knights leading several questions as to what he’s doing in the academy. some say he was the only one in his town old enough to go, some say his father is a noble and sent him there with a spot in the royal guard already waiting for him when he graduates. despite that, there are a multitude of rumors surrounding where june will end up, his achievements in the academy have made him the topic of discussion and as a fourth year, everyone speculates where he’ll end up.

june however just wants to do what he can to protect those close to him, he thus doesn’t open up easily or entertain such rumors, it’s often hard to place where his loyalty is especially when his first reaction to the journey had been no. he always seems to be working towards something bigger than just the academy and he’s always lost in thought, if he talks to anyone it’s jaehyun.

he’s never rude though, always smiling and kind and agreeing to help others, he just seems to prefer being under the radar and nothing about his life seems to want to allow it. a pain because minjae can never really turn anyone on june because june is just - june, lovable to a fault. perhaps the only teenage thing about him is how competitive he can get and how much fun the boys have pulling it out of him.

jaehyun

air? i’m feeling air for the kiddo. or maybe air or water? can’t decide really.

jaehyun is quiet, different from how jaejin might light up around his friends, be playful and somewhat of a pain in his age, jaehyun prefers the shadows. jaehyun prefers to jsut be around and not be seen, he’s not hiding anything really, not in the mysterious way that others are, he just doesn’t have much to open up again. he’s a simple kid, with a fascination with doing something - being something even if it isn’t that grand.

his affinity was seen as something of a blessing, something extraordinary so he cultivates it and takes good care of it but he’s not boastful. he’s also very thankful for it because in his opinion it gives him something to work with as he doesn’t have any other spectacular skills. jaehyun is good at strategizing though, it’s something that the others praise him for and they often seek his advice though he doesn’t voice his opinion often and isn’t too boastful about it. he’s very excellent at record keeping and back-tracking, it’s saved their ass on multiple occasions.

because of his desire to keep to himself it’s a wonder that he joined the boys, but when he’s laughing at a bonfire with them it’s not hard to see he’s found a place he otherwise didn’t have. and something about the adventure, he lights up when he’s discovering things, when he’s been on use, and like any other young knight, the prospect of making a dent in history is thrilling to say the least.

#urianius #( so ive been watching zelda playthroughs )#( and here's a draft )#( of something i've been thinking about after i saw this cool au on tumblr )#au: knights academy.

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it-will-not-last-the-night · 6 years ago

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-Oil and Water-

4 AM

“Woah, geeze, that was so close,” Ryuji fell back against the wall, tossing his controller aside, and deflated. A sense of palpable relief was evident on his features, alongside a bleary-eyed look of fatigue.

Futaba did not share his same state of fatigue.

“Whew, c’mon, it wasn’t really that close, we had him from about halfway, you just always pop your ulties to early!” She hurried to collect the controller even as she spoke, absently inspecting it for damage.

The two sat in her room, on her bed, magazines, drinks, snacks and pillows spread about them as they faced the monitor they’d been playing on, hooked up to a console. The screen still flickered on the game briefly as Futaba idled through stats and scores at her own leisure.

“I was gonna die! I had to drop the shield!” He protested, weakly, cutting himself off with a rather obnoxious yawn, earning an eyeroll from his younger companion.

“Your health was dropping well within my expected parameters, you wouldn’ t have had to activate the shield for at least another 2 minutes and, then, it would have lasted all the way through his final phase, instead of us having to dodge like crazy for the last bit,” there was no arguing with Futaba on it, in no small part since Ryuji doubted anything she said wasn’t absolutely correct. As a result he settled for just waving a hand at her dismissively, groping about for his phone.

“Whatever Miss Queen of Games-”

“Goddess, if you must,”

Ryuji made an unflattering snorting sound and finally located his phone. “Seriously? 4 in the morning? That was, what, five hours playing? Geeze, no wonder my ass feels numb,” Ryuji remained classy as always.

“That’s nothing, I’ve been on raids that take up to 9 hours solid playing. Of course most of that is when there’s some trick to the raid, so you gotta play over and over on the same parts till someone figures it out, then it’s always way easier in hindsight,” she turned off the console as she spoke, hearing Ryuji’s neck give an audible crick as he stretched out. Stupid, muscled, boy.

“Seriously? That’s like...the whole day. There’s no way I could sit still that long, it’d drive me nuts,” Futaba could only scoff at his plebian constitution.

“You can’t sit still for a minute without complaining so you aren’t a good bar for this at all. You were shifting around so much I thought you were just going to push me off! Not to mention now you rubbed your numb butt all over my precious bed! I’ll have to disinfect the sheets!”

“It isn’t my fault your room has almost nowhere else to sit, okay? Also you’re in school now so you gotta get rest, remember what Makoto said? No more sleeping in the day and staying up at night, ‘ight?”

“Sleep is for the weak, I prefer to just turbocharge with sugar and power through school then stay up all night, it’s a perfect solution!” A perfect solution it was not, and Futaba knew this. Adjusting to her first year at Shujin had come with a number of obstacles. One of those was trying to get back into a normal sleeping pattern, something she hadn’t done for years. Even now she struggled falling asleep any time before 2 or 3 in the morning, leading to more than a few incidents of passing out at Shujin and getting lectured by Sojiro. There was, of course, no way Futaba was ever going to admit that to a bonehead like Ryuji. Even struggling to sleep she still managed considerably better scores than him so, when you think about it, her way was clearly better.

“What are you, a vampire? Seriously Futaba, sleep’s important for a growing kid, even a pipsqueak like you could still pack on a few inches,” he tauntingly held his hand above her head in the air, grinning crookedly.

Vampire’s weren’t really Futaba’s style, she prefered aliens or orcs, but more importantly; “A few inches? Ryuji! My breast size is not something you should be worrying about! You just want me to grow up like Ann and Haru and Makoto don’t you? Admit it!” If he was going to open the door to taunting than Futaba would give as good as she got and, if history was any judge, she gave considerably more than he could handle.

“W-what? No! No! I meant height! Height! Taller, taller Futaba! I didn’t...I wouldn’t...you’re fine how you are I...not that I care! Or...as long as you’re happy then...I just meant...” he devolved into a Ryuji-esque meltdown, cheeks tinged pink, eyes wide as saucers, babbling and wavings his arms about in an incoherent mess. She couldn’t help but giggle. There was almost no-one as fun to tease as Ryuji, his unique blend of earnesty, foot-in-mouth syndrome and idiocy was simply unmatched.

“It’s okay, doofus, but let that be a lesson to you not to make comments about a lady’s physique! Stick to what you know; meat and muscles and punching stuff,” she poked a finger into his chest accusatorily and tried to ignore how irritatingly solid it was.

“You know I am good at other stuff too,” he sulked, a hand rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Evidence would beg to differ,” she shot back, sticking a tongue out at him and earning another amused snort from the blonde...well, only partly blonde, darker roots were beginning to show again. Ever since Ren had moved away his dedication to keeping his hair blonde had been fading.

“Whatever, look you sure it’s still cool if I crash here for tonight? Sojiro’s cool with it while he’s out?”

“Nah, I didn’t tell him, so when he comes back and finds you here tomorrow morning, er, later in the morning he’ll probably kill you,” stringing Ryuji along was just to easy for her, how could she blamed for pulling his leg when he basically stuck it out for her every single time?

“W-” was as far as Ryuji managed, leaping to his full height, voice dangerously high, before Futaba’s familiar cackle clued him in on what was yet another instance of her messing with him.

“Relax, geeze, obvs I told him,” she shook her head as he calmed down; “Besdes, he’s okay with any of you being here, Inari, you, Ren, so long as it’s you guys it’s okay, so ease up on the paranoia, will ya?”

“Hey! If I’m paranoid it’s cause you keep messin’ with me!” Ryuji shot back weakly, grumbling all the while. Futaba simply shrugged.

“So what do you wanna do next?”

“Sleep?” He said it as if it was some obvious conclusion she should have reached already. She tried to make sure her disappointment didn’t show and, luckily, Ryuji was one of the people she was rather good at hiding things from, though that was probably more just because Ren, Makoto and Haru were, by comparison, far more perceptive than him.

“I mean it’s already way past my normal time and I like gettin’ up early, sleeping in the whole day, just feels like I’m wastin’ time, ya know?” He didn’t mean it as a question, not a real one, Futaba knew a rhetorical question when she heard one.

“So that’s what I’ve been doing, huh?” She kept it to a whisper, not exactly wishing to inject bitterness into what had otherwise been a fun night. There was nothing really for it in the end, he was an early rising, workout obsessed, extroverted meathead, she was a nightowl, introvert, who could barely make the walk down her own stairs without panting. They were just like oil and water, night and day and other cool sounding metaphors.

For some reason that bothered her a bit.

“Okay, okay, fine, yeesh, can’t believe you still have a bedtime, and you call me the kid?”

#persona 5 #p5 #fanfiction #ryuji sakamoto #sakamoto ryuji #ryuji #futaba #futaba sakura #sakura futaba #ryutaba

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wykart · 6 years ago

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Does it Matter (It’s Klaus)

Part 2 of Fifty-one years (and one day) later (read on ao3)

Summary: The truth comes out, and Klaus must come to grips with the fact that his entire life of happiness with Dave was taken away by his own brother.

Chapter 5: Playing on (chpt. 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5)

1 day, 17 hours

Vanya was in the hospital waiting room when Diego found her. She was on edge, playing the events of the previous night over and over in her head. That anger, that fear, building and building as the noise of the engine rattled and roared, consuming her, filling her with energy and then... spilling over. Surging out in a tidal wave. She wished she had her pills, something to take away the tumultuous emotions she was feeling, the guilt, the fear, her shameful sense of pride at what she was, what she’d been all along. Special. She wished she could make it stop.

“Vanya!” She turned to see him, Diego, jogging down the hall in that ridiculous vigilante get up. What the hell was he doing here? “Are you okay, did he hurt you?”

He sounded out of breath, and scared. It wasn’t often that her brother showed fear. “I’m fine.” She said, taken aback. “Diego, what the hell are you doing here?”

“Allison and I were on our way to get you when I picked up the report on my radio, something about an attack at a bar close by, the description sounded like you so I came right away. We have to get you back to the academy, now.”

“W-wait a minute, why were you coming to get me? You guys didn’t want anything to do with me yesterday.”

“Yeah well, that was before we found out your boyfriend is a psycho murderer.”

“What!” She exclaimed. Then it all made sense. Allison was trying to play big sister again, and now she’d roped in her over-protective brothers as well. “Is Allison the one doing this? She needs to get off my case, god I can’t believe you guys.”

Diego looked puzzled. “You mean, he hasn’t hurt you or anything?”

“No, of course not. He was just taking me out on a trip to the lake. We went out for dinner last night and got jumped by some crazies and…” She didn’t know what to tell him. There was no denying it now, though, she had power, power that she didn’t understand let alone know how to control.

“But the police report said two of them were dead. You telling me that wasn’t him?”

“No it was... I don’t remember okay. But I’m fine, I don’t need to go back to the city. I need to stay with Leonard, he hasn’t woken up yet and I…” She trailed off, glancing over her shoulder in the direction of his room.

“Vanya, look.” Diego held out a file brimming with paperwork, stamped with the name Harold Jenkins. Skeptical at first, she took a closer look. It was Leonard, he’d been released from prison just a few months ago.

Diego went on to tell her about what they’d found in his house. The old umbrella academy memorabilia, scratched out eyes, melted heads. All the while, Vanya could feel that power building inside her, and she struggled to keep it pushed down. The rows of fluorescent lights on the ceiling flickered and faltered, dimming the clinical white of the hospital hall. The air felt heavy, alive, answering to her emotions. “We thought he was going to hurt you,” Diego continued, "and Five says that this guy right here,” he pointed at Leonard’s unflattering mugshot, “is going to cause the apocalypse.”

“Ok but Five is-“ She felt awful saying it. When they were kids, they’d tell each other everything, but what Five had confided in her that night had been, well, insane. “He’s deranged. He says he’s been alone for nearly fifty years, and he’s clearly not himself right now.”

“I know it’s difficult to believe, but you’ve missed a lot these past few days.”

“Right, and who’s fault is that? I’m the one who’s a liability.”

“Look,” he smirked, averting her gaze, “I’m sorry Vanya, but you need to trust me now. Allison is back at Jenkins’ grandma’s house, we split up to try and find you. You should head there right away, I’ve got something I need to do.” Diego looked off in the direction that Vanya had glanced over at earlier. She wondered what he was thinking of doing.

“Where’s Five now?”

“He said he’d meet us here with Klaus and Luther, but I don’t think they expected us to find you so fast. I’ll tell them to hold off if they haven’t left yet, save them the trouble. There a phone somewhere here?” She pointed him towards the wall-mounted landline just outside the waiting room. He went over and dialled the number of the academy while Vanya stood against the wall, trying to catch her breath. She clutched the police file in her hand, the grainy mug shot of the man she’d been coming to love clipped to the front. Harold Jenkins... she couldn’t believe it. Even if he was a murderer, he’d been thirteen, that didn’t mean he still wanted to hurt people now. It made sense for him to want a fresh start after all that. She herself had often wondered if she should shed the Hargreeves name, given the infamy and memories, associated with it.

Vanya heard a deep, muffled voice on the other end - Luther. She couldn’t make out what he was saying. “Five? What about him,” Diego muttered, “shit.”

The urgency in his voice piqued Vanya’s attention. “What? What is it?” She leant closer to the receiver and managed to make out Luther’s words.

“Is that Vanya?” He asked.

“Yeah, we got her, she’s safe.”

“Thank god,” he sighed.

“We’ll be there soon, okay big guy? Mom knows her stuff, he’ll be fine.”

“Yeah,” he muttered, “just be here, okay?” Diego hung up, and turned to see Vanya looking at him with wide, incredulous eyes.

“It’s Five,” he said, already barging past her. “He’s hurt, b-bad.”

“Shit. What happened?” She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him again, despite how strange and distant he’d been since he’d come back.

“I don’t know, Luther didn’t say but I’ll bet it has something to do with this incoming apocalypse.” His movements were rapid, pacing and twitching around on the spot. He was worried. “I’m going to get Allison from the house and we’re going back to the academy. You’re coming too.” There was no arguing with him, she realised. But she was still going to try.

“I’m not just going to leave Leonard here!”

“Harold.” He reminded her, impatient.

“I don’t care! He’s... I...”

“You what.” I love him. She couldn’t bring herself to say it. “Listen, you don’t think he was trying to use you to get close to us? He wants us dead, Vanya, all of us. He doesn’t love you.” She whimpered, and for a moment Diego looked like he might apologise, then his mouth hardened into a line and he clapped her on the shoulder. “Come on, Five needs us.”

…

They caught a taxi up to the house, which Vanya had to pay for. Despite all his conspicuous pockets, Diego only seemed to carry knives. Allison came running out of the house as the taxi pulled up the driveway, and she tackled Vanya with a force almost enough to knock her over as Allison pulled her into a hug.

“Oh Vanya, I’m so glad you’re okay!”

“Err, thanks Allison. I’m fine, though, you don’t have to –“ she pulled back from her sister’s embrace, giving her an awkward pat on the shoulder.

“We need to get going, now,” Diego muttered, clambering out of the taxi. He gave the driver a dismissive wave, and he started pulling out of the driveway, looking bewildered. “Five’s hurt.”

“What!” Allison cried, over-acting as always. She nodded, composing herself. “Well I’ve found something too,” she pulled a familiar red book out from behind her. “Dad’s journal.”

“What the hell was it doing here?” Vanya asked, but she already knew. Just another nail in the coffin. Leonard had been using her, and the one thing in her life she thought was her own, had really been about the umbrella academy. It was always about the umbrella academy.

“So he was reading up on us, getting to know our weaknesses.” He glared at Vanya, “between this and your autobiography he’d have quite the arsenal.”

Allison shot him a dangerous look. “We can work all this out in the car, we need to get back to the academy.’

As the other two moved towards the vehicle, Vanya remembered something. “Wait,” she called, “I need my violin.”

“Already in the trunk,” Allison smiled, “let’s go.”

…

Vanya sat in the backseat on the ride back to the city, during which Diego and Allison were uncharacteristically quiet. She poured over the pages of her father’s journal, that elongated, scrawled hand of his. He was always scribbling in this book, writing down times during her sibling’s exercises, taking measurements, scrawling notes about observations from his latest experiments. She wasn’t featured on many of the pages, which was to be expected, of course, but at the beginning of the book, the notes that were taken early in her childhood, many of her father’s entries were entitled ‘Number 7.’

June 5th, 1990

Number 7 may be responsible for some low-level phenomena. Minute changes in temperature and malfunctioning electrical appliances. Strong aversion to noisy environments. She is the first of the subjects to show any promise.

Ever since she was a child, and she’d been the most “promising” of them all.

July 23rd, 1992

Incredible, simply incredible! Number 7 continues to show heightened brain function and response to audio stimulus. Her potential is unmatched by that of the other subjects –

She kept on flicking through, not knowing how to feel. All her life, she’d been lied to. Was she really that dangerous?

October 2nd, 1993

Number 7 continues to excel in her training, though her childish temperament is less than ideal. She is beginning to understand and hone her powers, using them for her personal gain. It is only natural, but if I cannot contain her, she may prove… problematic.

October 4th, 1994

That’s the third one dead this week. The hiring agency is beginning to ask questions, and I fear that it’s only a matter of time before the girl turns on me as well. She has little interest in my guidance, and the child is unruly, distant, even among her siblings.

She was a killer, ever since she was four years old… she shuddered to think of what she was capable of now. She’d only been off her medication for a few days, and already she felt this power deeply-rooted inside her, laying dormant all these years. It was hungry.

January 12th, 1995

I have constructed a chamber that renders Number 7 powerless. The environment causes the girl much discomfort. The disconnect from her abilities makes her agitated and sickly. Her power is too great for me to contain. I have been developing a counter measure, a medication that should help to level her head – thought it will have side-effects.

She’d been living with those effects as long as she could remember. That feeling like the world was moving too fast, the numbness in her brain, the exhaustion, the quiet misery she never quite understood… it was because a part of her was missing.

September 7th, 1995

Number 7 has been sedated these past few months, and so far has shown no sign of her usual abilities. She is far quieter now, subdued. It may become necessary to increase her dosage as she develops. I must keep the girl, though she will likely be of no further use to me. I must be watchful of her, in the hands of others her power could be let loose, and the results could be… cataclysmic.

The passage was circled in red marker. Leonard.

October 1st, 1999

Without her powers, Number 7 has no discernable talents. Some enthusiasm for music, but mediocre skill – can barely even hobble through a Paganini caprice. Utterly useless.

And that was it, the final entry, after four years of silence. Vanya felt tears sting her eyes. She hadn’t noticed it as she’d been reading, but the sky outside had turned from sunny blue to grey. Rain was trickling down, spotting the windows with clear droplets, as did the tears on her cheeks. Leonard, Harold – she reminded herself – had planned to use her like some sort of weapon, and she’d fallen for it. Who knows what would have happened if Diego hadn’t found her when he did, before Harold had a chance to whisk her away again. She had to talk to Five, he’d know what to do, he always did.

…

1 day, 16 hours

“Five, oh god, Five!” She yelled, seeing him laying there, it kicked her mind into high-gear. He looked so small on the surgical bed, flesh blue and swollen. Grace stood beside him, a crisp apron strung around her waist, and a tray of intricate metal tools balanced on one of her arms.

She smiled, despite the situation. “Hello there, Vanya, so lovely to see you.”

“Is he gonna be okay?” She stood over him, trying to see whether his chest was rising and falling, if only gently.

“He’ll make it,” Grace said, suddenly sombre.

“Oh thank god.” She whispered, sitting down in a plastic chair beside the bed, head in her hands. Luther was standing awkwardly in the corner of the room, head down. Allison stepped over to stand behind Vanya and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“Who the hell did this to him?” Diego asked, “those psychopaths that attacked the house?”

“I, err,” Luther muttered, shuffling from foot to foot. “Five said that it was… Klaus.”

“Excuse me?” Allison said, glaring over at him.

“I’m not sure if that’s what he meant, but just before he collapsed at the doorstep, I asked him who did this to him and he said it was Klaus.”

“How the hell did Klaus do this? He can’t even walk in a straight line, and his arms are like noodles!”

“Yes Diego,” Allison sighed, “we know you work out.”

“All I’m saying is, maybe he got attacked on the way there, or maybe it was a trap.”

“He went to talk to Klaus, who was already pissed with him, and for good reason too. It makes sense.”

Diego scoffed, “It doesn’t make any sense,” he hissed, “Klaus wouldn’t do this.”

“Grace says he should be awake soon, we can ask him then.” Luther said, trying to keep everyone calm. Grace perked up at the sound of her name, looking between them with that vacant smile.

“You’ve done a great job, Mom,” Diego grinned, his voice soft all of a sudden. “Five would’ve died without your help.” Grace smiled lovingly.

“Can we really believe what he says, I mean, he killed an innocent man, a man that Klaus loved. Should we really be on his side here?” Allison asked. It was something they’d all been trying not to think about; what Five had done. He kept on telling them that he’d changed during his decades alone, that he’d killed countless people, but it was all so easy to ignore when he looked the way that he did, like their kid brother.

“There aren’t any sides here, we’re family, and we’re going to help one another.” Luther said, trying his best to keep the peace.

Vanya wasn’t following the conversation at all, but she was used to that sort of treatment when among her siblings. Out of the loop, never included. She gasped, however, as she saw Five’s eyes flicker open.

“Anyone care what I have to say about this?” He muttered, voice groggy and heavy in his throat.

Vanya seemed to be the only one that was genuinely pleased. Diego only looked relieved for a moment, before he donned his signature scowl. “Not really, no.”

Five rolled his eyes. He tried to sit up but the attempted action made his vision swim before him. He decided against it. “Fair enough,” he grumbled, "did you kill Harold Jenkins?”

“Wait, what!” Vanya interjected, looking at Five in shock.

“Oh,” he smiled, "hi Vanya. So yeah, did you kill him or not?”

Diego looked down at the floor. “No,” he murmured, resembling a kid caught in the act of some trivial transgression.

“Diego!” Allison cried.

“I thought getting here was a little more important, Luther made it sound like Five was dying!”

“I was,” he muttered, "but that’s no excuse, I’ll remind you we’re talking about the fate of the world here.”

"I – I might know something about that, actually.” Vanya said, softly. “I think that I… I have powers.”

The others hesitated for a moment, and Vanya was afraid that they were going to laugh. “Oh, come on,” Diego sighed, putting a hand to his brow. Luther gave her an awkward smile, and Allison gave her shoulder a sympathetic pat.

“Hey, let her finish,” Five snapped. He turned his eyes to her (still being unable to turn his head).

“I was reading Dad’s journal in the car and,” she looked over at Five, unsure of whether to continue. They were all staring, it was difficult to form words. He gave an encouraging, minute nod. “It said that I had powers all along, but they were too dangerous so he… the pills… they’re meant to stop them.”

“You’re serious?” Luther asked.

She nodded, staring down at the floor. “It’s not just that. I’ve been off my meds these past few days and weird stuff has started happening. I feel different, for a start. I got angry at you all and the lamp posts on the street started bending, I think I can control the weather and… last night…”

Diego was looking at her, wide-eyed. “You killed those guys?”

“I – I didn’t mean to,” she stammered. She looked around at the others, hoping she wouldn’t find fear, or disbelief. “they were attacking me and… him.” She couldn’t say his name.

“What kind of power is it anyway, cataclysmic violin playing?” Diego chuckled, trying and failing to lighten the mood.

“I don’t know, like telekinesis or something.” She muttered under her breath, “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“Telekinesis.” Luther considered, “of the world ending variety?”

“If it was something that Dad was too scared to deal with,” Five replied, “I’m thinking quite possibly.”

“Shit,” she muttered. “You guys said that Le – Harold,” the name brought a bitter taste to her mouth, “had some sort of murder shine in his house, so I thought… maybe he was trying to, I don’t know, use me or something… to hurt you. He was always more invested in developing my powers than I was, and he knew things about them that… I should have noticed. God, I’m so stupid.”

“It’s okay, Vanya,” Allison said, kindly. Vanya didn’t like to admit it, but sometimes she liked it when Allison played the role of big sister.

“How dangerous are these powers exactly, are you on the pills now?” Luther asked, suddenly stepping forwards from the shadows.

“No.” She admitted, wringing her hands, agitated. Taking them again would feel like failure to her, it would be like letting her father win.

“Should you be?”

“No,” she insisted, a little more forcefully than she’d intended. “I can control it, I can, I just…”

“It’s okay Vanya, I know this must be scary for you.” Five murmured. Vanya smiled gratefully. “And, if this is true, then it could mean that Harold Jenkins can no longer cause the apocalypse.”

“What, really?” Luther said, puzzled.

“I don’t know, but the way I see it, without Vanya, he won’t be able to do anything.”

She hadn’t wanted to believe it, that she was capable of something like that, the apocalypse.“So you really think that I was going to–“

“I don’t know. And, if you were, then I know you would never have done it on purpose, okay?” Said Five. She could tell that he was in pain. His eyes were watering with the strain of it all. “Just stay here, you’ll be safer with me if he decides to come after you.”

“Okay,” she nodded.

“What do you want us to do, Five?” Luther asked. He didn’t seem comfortable with it, asking for leadership.

“Frankly, Luther, I don’t care,” he quipped. “Wait, no,” he reconsidered, “keep tabs on this Harold Jenkins guy, tell this police about his false identity if they haven’t caught up with him in the hospital already.”

“What about Klaus?” Diego asked. “Was he really the one that did this to you?”

Five closed his eyes, “he was.” There was a murmur of discordance from around the room.

“Wait, wait, we’re talking about our brother Klaus, right?” Vanya murmured, though she knew she wasn’t going to get answers for a while yet.

“He’s dangerous, believe me. His powers are stronger now.”

“So, he can see… more dead people?” Allison offered, just as confused as the rest of them.

“No, he can manifest dead people, physically. Actually they’re the ones that did this.” He gestured vaguely to his beaten body. One of his arms was strapped in a splint, and his eyes were barely visible beyond the swollen, blackened flesh surrounding.

“So he summoned a bunch of dead people to beat the shit out of you, damn. Good for him.”

“Diego!” Allison cried.

“What, he deserved it,” Five nodded solemnly to Diego’s assertion, “it doesn’t make things even, but maybe Klaus will feel better about coming back to the academy now that he’s taken Five down a notch,” he glanced over Five lying helplessly on the bed, “or ten.”

“It’s more than that though, he didn’t seem fully in control. It was scary, he was levitating off the ground, his eyes went all blue, the air felt like it was going to suffocate me, and I heard things… he needs our help but I’m worried that he’s becoming too dangerous. We need more information before we can confront him again.”

“I’ve got Dad’s journal,” Vanya offered, “there’s bound to be something in there.”

“I’ll find Pogo, he’ll be able to help,” Luther added. Vanya wondered if Pogo knew about her powers too. She was willing to bet that he did, it cast all that comfort he gave her, as a child and just a few days ago during the funeral, in a darker light. What did he have to say for himself?

One by one, they shuffled out, leaving Five and Vanya alone.

“Do you think Klaus is scared, by his power I mean. It’s terrifying, finding out you can do something like that, hurting people… even though you don’t mean to.”

“I’m sorry Vanya, and I’m sorry for Klaus too. Let’s be honest, Dad probably messed you two up most of all, except maybe for Ben, but, well…”

“Have a read,” she stood up beside him and adjusted the bed so he was sitting up. She handed him the open book. “Everything we need to know’s in here.” He nodded gratefully, and began to skim over the notes.

Vanya sighed and moved over to the cabinets lining the walls. Harold may have gotten rid of her own supply of medication, but she knew her father must have kept some lying around. Sure enough, she found a row of dusty jars at the back of the cabinet. She unscrewed the lid, already feeling ashamed that she couldn’t do this on her own, couldn’t control the power that was building inside of her. It was too much, seeing Five injured, reading her father’s words, and Klaus… One, two, three. She had to feel numb to this, otherwise she thought her heart might explode right out of her chest. Is this how Klaus felt, that dependency, amplified a thousand times over? She wondered what he was feeling right now. Was it guilt, or fear? Or was he past that entirely, twisted into some other person by the power lying dormant within. That’s what Vanya feared most as she downed the pills, losing herself, destroying the people she loved – just like Klaus.

...

Notes: Sorry for the lack of Klaus in this Klaus fic. I felt it was important to compare the perspectives of Klaus and Vanya while also getting Vanya and her power trip out of the way so that Klaus can step forwards and wreck their shit :))

#tua #the umbrella academy #fanfic #fanfiction #my writing #klaus hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #five hargreeves #number five #allison hargreeves #diego hargreeves #luther hargreeves #grace hargreeves #reginald hargreeves #the seance #angst #umbrella academy #dolphin–squirrel

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ruslpostur · 7 years ago

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Process Journal 2: Acceptance

The best way I can imagine success is with text supporting pictures of the apex predator of our species, Daniel Craig's James Bond. This character represents a Platonic ideal of traits I admire: stoicism, determination, grim satisfaction in defeating his enemies, sense of style and sophistication, good taste, a pitch black sense of humor, professionalism, and efficiency. In short, when I visualize success, I see James Bond.

My Mental State Upon Succeeding

Upon completing the project, I will feel more sophisticated, more accomplished, and deserving of an adult reward such as a martini. When we succeed I will glow with the confidence of Her Majesty's most capable assassin-spy and an unmatched Lothario.

Accomplishing My Goal and Immediate Impact of My Goal

Accomplishing my goal will give me the quiet fulfillment of the professional spy who takes great pride in his service of Her Majesty. My goal or desired outcome is a professionally executed, well-crafted, thoughtful, and clever product which is received well by faculty and my peers. I will look back at a difficult mission pulled off with Bond's aplomb. In an ideal world, it becomes the seed for a business that will make me incredibly wealthy and impactful. But in the shorter term, achieving this goal earns me quiet respect and enhanced camarederie with my group.

Who benefits from my success? Global and Local Impacts

Bond is a loner, but he relies on his team and his various female companions to succeed time and again. I hope that my team benefits immediately from my success. In fact, I don't see a separation of our successes; we will sink or swim together, and am happy being Q as I am being Bond - Q gets shot at far less and keeps more regular hours. Should we find a product for the world to use, then our customers and stakeholders will benefit from our project, and we will all be enriched. Perhaps our project, even if not made into a product, service, or business, can be released to the world and used as the basis for something like an open source project, nonprofit, further research, or world-changing shift in educational policy that launches the human race into a thousand year epoch of unparalleled learning and achievement. Not to oversell our homework assignment or anything.

What kind of rewards could come from the success of your undertaking?

Bond is, of course, rich with excellent, ableit expensive, taste. Obviously, I am hoping that the success of this project leads to personal wealth and the freedom and opportunities that only mountains of money can provide. We could turn this project into a product or service that can be sold, turned into a business, and launches my career into a new, exciting direction. I am looking for entrepreneurial opportunities and have an interest in solving big, difficult problems. I think even if this does not lead to a personal financial transformation and a new business, it will be a great addition to my portfolio and a way to hone my craft of making digital products and working with teams of creatives, businesspeople, and engineers. Plus, I will have three new, talented friends.

What are your motivating factors for succeeding?

First and foremost, I am competitive, and want to beat all of the other teams. I don't know that this makes sense in this context, as there are no prizes awarded nor is there an objective way to say that a project is the best given that there will be different problems addressed. However, my competitive drive motivates me even when I know there are no medals being awarded. I am motivated also by a desire to get the most out of my short time at USC as possible. I see no point in spending all this time and money only to phone in solutions. Lastly, I am motivated by my own perfectionism and pride in having high standards for my work.

What makes you interested in the problem in the first place?

Like Wu-Tang and this photoshopped image, I am for the children. I've had abysmal experiences in public schools and bad for-profit schools, I've had transformative classes and experiences elsewhere. There is a need to change education to make it better suited for our age. Young people need to be exposed to the breadth of career options available and to have STEAM stressed from the minute they enter kindergarten. As a mid-life career switcher, I also know firsthand how expensive and difficult it is to retool and then convince someone to hire you instead of a recent grad. Continuing education, workforce development, and ongoing technical training are going to be essential for modern labor pools and for addressing structural unemployment that is the result of our nation's legacy of inequality and neglect of whole populations. Lastly, automation is going to obliterate whole job classifications in my lifetime, so learning how to learn and creating a better education mousetrap are going to save the proletariat.

What is compelling about seeing this to its end result?

It can be argued that, despite Bond's aristocratic upbringing, Craig's 007 brings a decisively working class sensibility to the character. His Bond is a hardworking artisan of killing and spycraft, a man who is most satisfied when using his talent and training to accomplish his mission. Similarly, I am eager to translate the things I am learning into practice and output for my portfolio. Molding my brain to adopt design thinking is exciting stuff and requires me to finish the things I start. Also completing the mission is entirely the point - Bond doesn't let his targets off with a warning.

What level of investment do you have in the solution succeeding?

Like Bond at the end of Skyfall, I am all in. His back to the wall, he returned to his family home to confront his most dangerous adversaries. I feel like this program is a great opportunity to find fulfillment in my career and every project an opportunity to come closer to achieving that end. I also don't really have a good Plan B, by design, so I don't quit. As Sun Tzu wrote, "Throw your soldiers into positions whence there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight. If they will face death, there is nothing they may not achieve."

#designatusc #processes and perspectives

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hotspreadpage · 8 years ago

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5 Steps to Prime Your Creatives to Produce Outstanding, Clutter-Busting Content

If you’re like me, you’ve had a moment where you thought your content was outstanding, in the true sense of the word – you really thought it stood out above the competition.

Then you looked around and discovered your unique, original, and unmatched ideas were run-of-the-mill. Suddenly, you felt like you were attending the fourth-grade talent show and realizing your kid was just one of 30 equally precious snowflakes with misguided trombone aspirations.

Let’s say you do produce original and engaging content. If so, you’ll likely discover an insane pace of imitation. The minute you create a standout piece, your competition is only three months away from turning that originality into part of the clutter. Your content is only as good as its ability to consistently stand out as original and engaging – and stay that way.

These realizations inevitably lead to a recognition that your team’s creative engine is the real competitive advantage for content marketers. As the marketing lifeblood, it needs to be in peak shape, primed to furiously churn out unorthodox taglines, compelling visuals, and innovative angles that will keep you ahead of the pack.

Yeah, your creatives have your brand’s marketing life in their hands.

Here are five essential steps to prime your creatives – designers, videographers, writers, etc. – to crank out outstanding, clutter-busting content that keeps your content ahead of the competition.

1. Lose the productivity vs. creativity paradigm

Tension between productivity and creativity is real, but the either-or mentality is a paradigm in need of a shift. It’s not a zero-sum game. You can have more of both productivity and creativity.

Don’t make productivity & creativity an either-or mentality, advises @MarcusWorkfront. Click To Tweet

Adobe’s State of Create: 2016 study found that 83% of U.S. respondents felt increasing pressure to be productive rather than to be creative. This reflects a false trade-off many perceive in the professional world – that productivity and creativity are mutually exclusive and somehow counter each other.

In the same study, 81% of respondents said investing in creativity increases employee productivity – overcoming the either-or paradigm. Although more than 75% recognized the value of creativity to society and the economy, only one-third felt they were living up to their creative potential. Take all these stats and you start to see how destructive the productivity vs. creativity paradigm can be to productivity, organizational effectiveness, morale, and retention.

81% of U.S. respondents said investing in creativity increases employee productivity via @adobe. Click To Tweet

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: The 3 Behaviors Driving the Most Creative Content Marketers

2. Make room for creativity-feeding distractions

While Lean Sigma Six project management is a popular option for cutting costs and inefficiencies in businesses, it doesn’t quite work for creative pursuits. In fact, business psychologist Craig Knight explained to us how research shows lean work spaces depress key work variables – including productivity. “No animal, not just homo sapiens, thrives in a psychologically impoverished, high-surveillance space,” he said. “A rat in a lean cage, a chimpanzee in a lean enclosure, and a human in a lean office are all beasts at their lowest ebbs.”

Certain types of distraction can contribute to the creative process. An illustration professor of mine was fond of saying, “You cannot create in a vacuum.” While I know some physicists would argue the scientific validity of this statement, it is certainly true for creativity. “Good” distractions lend inspiration, give your hardworking brain a break, and provide material from which to draw inspiration for your next piece of content.

Certain distractions lend inspiration & can help the creativity process, says @MarcusWorkfront. Click To Tweet

If you visited the work spaces of the special effects artists who fuel the top-grossing sci-fi summer blockbusters – perhaps the most insanely talented but unrecognized creatives on the planet – you might think you took a wrong turn into the studio’s junk closet. The walls are plastered with movie posters, album covers, and disembodied ghoul heads. Shelves overflow with latex appendages, action figures, clusters of paper clips, and modelling clay transformed into miniature monsters in moments of boredom.

Just like rats are happier “scampering under the floorboards, living in a nest of old socks, than living in cages,” humans are happier, and more productive, when given freedom to define their own creative environment. Knight summed it up, “Allow humans to develop their own space and – compared to a lean space – well-being can increase by up to 40%, productivity by up to 32%.”

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: 7 Ways Limitations Can Boost Your Content Creation Productivity

3. Eliminate unproductive distractions

Bad distractions should be identified and eliminated in order for creativity to flourish. Which are the bad ones? Choose any of the squares on this Un-Productivity Bingo card we created.

Hardwire your processes to head off unproductive distractions, like dropping in unannounced for status updates, making creatives manually enter information into spreadsheets, or holding regular meetings where everyone takes turns reporting.

Map your workflow in detail and eliminate the unproductive, non-creativity-inducing tangents. Incorporate into your workflow the tools to automate manual communication and reporting tasks to free up time and space for creativity.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: 7 Productivity Killers for Marketers and How to Fix Them

4. Be thorough gathering requirements

How does the old saying go? “Necessity is the mother of invention?” Creativity may want to run free, but it produces its finest material within established parameters and with specific problems to solve.

Creatives produce their finest materials w/ parameters & specific problems to solve. @MarcusWorkfront Click To Tweet

Constraints drive genius, according to David Sturt, executive vice president at O.C. Tanner, an employee recognition and rewards solution firm. In a study of 1.7 million award-winning people, he found those “who create new value on the job are often inspired by their constraints.” He explains that constraints provide “a starting point and some blocks to work with – a problem to solve, an innovative twist to be revealed, or a person to please.”

Delivering well-defined requirements up front minimizes frustration once the creative process starts – as long as you don’t pull the proverbial rug from under your creatives by changing project goals, vision, timelines, or scope. Embrace the creative brief and stick to the plan.

The responsibility to define parameters falls squarely on the shoulders of the content manager. Gather information on project background, goals and targets, audience, timelines, and core messaging at the start and force requesters to commit to those requirements before any creative work begins.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: The Content Marketing Book of Answers: Managing Your Content

5. Close the feedback loop

Like the rest of us, most creatives are not satisfied with merely creating a great-looking or well-read project – they want that content to do its job. Perform its purpose. When they know how well or poorly their work is doing, they are driven to make tweaks and adjustments to help it succeed.

In fact, feeding your creatives performance data on the work they’ve done has a similar effect as defining parameters and guidelines (Step 4). The more well-defined the challenge, the more they focus their creative powers on overcoming that challenge.

Harvard researchers even identified that the single most important factor to drive creative and productive performance is making progress in meaningful work. A focus on progress also increases employee engagement – and with a 2017 Gallup poll showing that only 33% of U.S. employees feel “engaged” in their work – a vital responsibility for managers.

If you want your content to stand out and actually do what it is meant to do, then prime your creatives to produce clutter-busting content with these five steps. Fuel the creativity and engage your team to produce content. Who knows, you just might hit it out of the park, like the lone fourth-grader who stole the talent show with one as original as Darcy Lynne’s singing ventriloquist.

Editor’s note: We appreciate Workfront’s support of Content Marketing Institute as a paid benefactor. This article was reviewed and edited independently to ensure that it adheres to the same editorial guidelines as all blog posts.

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Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute

The post 5 Steps to Prime Your Creatives to Produce Outstanding, Clutter-Busting Content appeared first on Content Marketing Institute.

5 Steps to Prime Your Creatives to Produce Outstanding, Clutter-Busting Content syndicated from http://ift.tt/2maPRjm

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lucyariablog · 8 years ago

Text

5 Steps to Prime Your Creatives to Produce Outstanding, Clutter-Busting Content

If you’re like me, you’ve had a moment where you thought your content was outstanding, in the true sense of the word – you really thought it stood out above the competition.

Yeah, your creatives have your brand’s marketing life in their hands.

1. Lose the productivity vs. creativity paradigm

Tension between productivity and creativity is real, but the either-or mentality is a paradigm in need of a shift. It’s not a zero-sum game. You can have more of both productivity and creativity.

Don’t make productivity & creativity an either-or mentality, advises @MarcusWorkfront. Click To Tweet

81% of U.S. respondents said investing in creativity increases employee productivity via @adobe. Click To Tweet

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: The 3 Behaviors Driving the Most Creative Content Marketers

2. Make room for creativity-feeding distractions

Certain distractions lend inspiration & can help the creativity process, says @MarcusWorkfront. Click To Tweet

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: 7 Ways Limitations Can Boost Your Content Creation Productivity

3. Eliminate unproductive distractions

Bad distractions should be identified and eliminated in order for creativity to flourish. Which are the bad ones? Choose any of the squares on this Un-Productivity Bingo card we created.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: 7 Productivity Killers for Marketers and How to Fix Them

4. Be thorough gathering requirements

Creatives produce their finest materials w/ parameters & specific problems to solve. @MarcusWorkfront Click To Tweet

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: The Content Marketing Book of Answers: Managing Your Content

5. Close the feedback loop

Cover image by Joseph Kalinowski/Content Marketing Institute

The post 5 Steps to Prime Your Creatives to Produce Outstanding, Clutter-Busting Content appeared first on Content Marketing Institute.

from http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2017/09/creatives-outstanding-content/

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