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ferret-not-microwave · 3 years

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Les Amis Modern AU: What They Wish Others Believed About Them (Part 1).

[I'll do this series in 4 or so Parts].

[I kind of wrote this in response to some general trends in characterising the Amis. There are some stereotypes which I'm not quite comfortable with. ]

Enjolras:

• Wants people to know that he isn't always angry and uptight.

• That he can giggle for hours on end and even snort like a malfunctioning car when supplied with enough puns and Penguin videos.

•That people can walk around him without being on eggshells all the time. He doesn't like the idea of Christmas Capitalism, but that DOES NOT mean that people need to stutter "Chris-sorry-non-denominational holiday party" to him all the time.

• That he does hang out with Bahorel, Joly, Bossuet and Chetta as well. And they know he's scared of nightclub crowds, so they also find nice places to go with him. Enjolras has a photo of them in front of an amusement park carousel pinned on his headboard.

• He's also super unhappy that people think of him as a pretentious wokeboi who never accepts a different point of view. He tries too hard to undo whatever prejudices he has, and frequently cries in the shower when he thinks he has been horrible to someone. He apologizes almost instantly if he fucks things up, and tries his level best to fix the situation.

• That he likes other colours too. Enj has a blanket which is a soft shade of mauve, which he simply cannot do without at night. He also loves porcelain blue, rose gold and emerald green. He had a dark academia phase once.

• That he has had high school crushes. A few, intense ones. Except remembering them hurts him still.

• That he does like his caffeine, but he's careful enough to not overdo his coffee intake. In fact, Enj does take remarkably good care of himself and people around them. He's meticulous in following grocery schedules and house-cleaning routines, and actually enjoys them. He's a brilliant plant parent, second to Jehan.

• That people sometimes wait for him to "open up" and ultimately "reveal" his softboi self. He's what he is, not a coconut. -_-

• The Amis do know all this, and live him for what he is. Just, some others don't believe him. :(

Combeferre:

• Wants people to know that he is not always so "put-together". That there are days when he has crippling anxiety and self-doubt and can't get out of bed, let alone shower and make breakfast. There are also days in which he can't stop himself from crying in the Musain's bathroom, for inexplicable reasons.

• He also has extremely short bitten-off nails.

• He's frustrated when people don't believe that he has ever received horrible feedback on his dissertation drafts and has a few fail grades in his school report cards. The last thing he wants is people brushing off his sadness at bad feedback because "ofc you'll bounce back, duh!"

• He's super scared of brain fart moments, or being cornered with things he's not clever at at all. Like card games. He's clever at some things, not so in others, and is NOT a know-it-all.

• His favourite birthday gifts are never books.

• His temper is actually shorter than people think it is. He can snap fairly quickly when someone is actively being an asshole. He resorts to sarcasm usually, because if he gets angry angry, he starts crying.

• He wishes that people don't look at him simply as an over-serious, nerdy, kind-of-dull Deputy Enjolras. He has a completely different style of leadership to Enj, which often helps the Amis a lot, particularly in non-protest events like fundraisers, awareness campaigns and bake sales.

• He is actually pretty good at displays of affection (even the cheesy kind), which he combines with acts of service.

• He knows when people are absent-mindedly nodding away when he launches into his nerd rants about moths, science, art and cinema. He has reduced his rants to a bare minimum, and most people think it is him being quiet.

• There are days when being the mediator/ "mom-friend" burns him out.

• He's extremely picky while shopping. He'll spend HOURS looking for the perfect sweater vest/cardigan/turtleneck and shirt combination. Even though they are almost always shades of blue, black, white and grey, they often come with neon yellow or pink accents. He DOES NOT like argyle, and barely tolerates beige.

• He has ridiculously dramatic classical music choices. Courf once found his "angry playlist" (it had Verdi's Requiem, Beethoven's Fifth, Grieg's Hall of the Mountain King, and Wagner's Ride of the Valkyries). Ferre often plays it while proof-reading his papers, or after a fight with Enjolras.

Courfeyrac

• He gets really miffed when some people infantilize him. He's the eldest sibling in his family, for fuck's sake, he knows how to take charge and be the adult in the house! And no, he doesn't break things at the drop of a hat.

• He has trust issues. He can make small talk sound like really friendly conversations, but it takes him months to trust people enough to tell them about what he really likes, dislikes, wants and opines. The ultimate trust test? When he finally trusts someone enough to cry in front of them.

• He's just as good a "mom-friend" as Ferre. Taking care of R when he's low? He's there. Applying first aid to all of them after protests? He's got it. Making sure to check on Eponine when he babysits Gavroche? Yep. Goes out of his way to look for Cosette to stop Marius's pining? Yes again. He feels a little low when the same people he had "mothered" over treat him like an overenthusiastic kid.

• He likes glitter. He isn't obsessed with it. And certainly doesn't carry bucketfuls of it, because it can get inconvenient af. His pink colour choices are oddly specific (he loves baby pink, and dislikes Barbie pink).

• He needs his alone-time to recharge. A LOT of it. He walks all around the city in those days, headphones on, blocking out the world. He likes calm classical music then, instead of his usual repertoire.

• He was really good at schoolwork. It's just that he didn't want to walk the academic path for his career. He loves to indulge in loooong, nerdy debates about anything and everything with people. And he ABSOLUTELY rips people a new one when they look at his pink denim aesthetic and try to peg him as airheaded and stupid (if the other Amis don't get to the people first).

• Marius does Courf's nails better than he does it himself. Far better. Also makeup.

• Contrary to popular belief, he doesn't randomly talk to everyone he meets. He just happens to participate in a lot of group events.

• Like Enj, Courf is extremely scared of his own prejudices and problematic sides.

• For the longest time, he hid the fact that he loves wearing makeup, dieting, watching Queer Eye and reading cheesy romance paperbacks because he was super scared that people would judge him. The Amis doesn't, so he showers them with trivia on these.

• Courf is actually really punctual, but on reaching the venue he usually finds someone needing his help, so he dumps his bag in the Musain and runs out again. The bag is evidence of his punctuality.

#les amis #modern au #les miserables #enjolras #combeferre #courfeyrac #please don't stereotype #enjolras isn't always terrible #combeferre is more than a nerd #courfeyrac isn't childish #ferret's freshly microwaved post

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lucemferto · 3 years

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WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT PH1LZA (or Why Philza is a Victim of Narrative Circumstance)

Heyo! Per request I am posting the script to my video of the same name here on tumblr. I must warn you that just reading the script will probably not give you the full experience, so I would encourage you to watch the video (linked above).

There might also still be a lot of grammatical errors in the text, because I don’t proofread.

Intro

LAST TIME ON LUCEM FERTO

Okay, so! I don’t want this to turn into a reaction channel OR a Dream SMP channel for that matter! [echo]

Well, I lied.

[Intro to “Luc is pretentious about the funny blockmen. Episode 2”]

I swear, I’m working on other stuff. It’s just that my dumb lizard brain has only capacity for one interest at a time!

So, something you might not know about me, is that I am on tumblr – who am I kidding, most of you will know me from tumblr. Before starting this whole YouTube thing, I thought that website died years ago – but as per usual reality proves me wrong. I’m also on Twitter and Reddit, but I get the most engagement on tumblr – by far! – and I need those sweet, sweet numbers for the serotonin!

Anyways, one of my favourite past-times on tumblr is to razz Philza Hardcore Minecraft – that’s his full name – for being a frankly awful father [clicking away] – wait, wait, no! Philza fans, this isn’t a hit piece on him, I promise! Please come back!

This is video is meant to be a companion piece to my previous video about Technoblade and the Doomsday event – you can tell by the shared nomenclature – so you should probably watch that one before you proceed. Unless you don’t want to, which is also perfectly understandable.

DISCLAIMER: This video is mostly about the character Philza plays on the Dream SMP. Whenever I talk about the content creator Philza, I will say so properly. Also, Spoiler Warning for Dream SMP Season 2.

… What is that? You’re wondering what the Dream SMP is? Well, if you had just watched the other video like I told you to do, you would know, because I explained it pretty well there. But in case you don’t know, here’s the cliff notes.

Dream SMP is the hottest New Media Series on Twitch right now! It has it all: gaslighting, child soldiers, Machiavellian political intrigue, Hamilton roleplay, desecration of the dead, shounen protagonists, SO! MUCH! AMNESIA! Filicide, furries, a red egg that’s definitely homophobic and teenagers inventing nuclear warfare. And it’s all done in Minecraft – yes, the funny block game where the only way to emote is to crouch.

And you say the perfect brief doesn’t exist!

Now, you might be wondering, why do I want to talk about this? Well, it’s because Content Creator Philza is one of least controversial internet personalities that I can think of. That man exudes pure comfort. So, it’s just very, very amusing to me that his character became one of the most controversial figures on the SMP, only outshone by Tommy and Technoblade.

And it’s not just amusing, it’s also extremely interesting! I want to dig deep to uncover and discuss the dynamics behind why that is. How did it come to this point? How did a man who appears genuinely so pleasant create a character that inspires so much discourse!

Now, if you watched that Technoblade video – like I told you to twice now! – you might know, that I am the resident character analyses hater of fandom! And that impression is false and slanderous! Don’t tell other people that I hate character analyses! I love them!

It’s just that, in the Dream SMP in particular, there is an abundance of character analyses! Every streamer has at least two very good essays written about them, exploring every possible angle to view their characters and backgrounds and everything. All I’m saying is: I don’t have anything to add on that front.

So, instead I want to pursue a different approach – something, that I feel is a bit underrepresented in the fandom! And I’m not just talking narrative analysis – that’s right, this episode we’re going even more pretentious! – I’m talking Transtextual Analysis!

Now, what is Transtextuality? Well, unfortunately it has very little to do with actual Trans people – #transrights, just in case that wasn’t obvious – but instead describes a mode of analysis with which to put – to quote French literary theorist Gérard Genette – “the text in a relationship, whether obvious or concealed, with other texts”.

Basically, you know how the L’Manburg War of Independence heavily quotes and borrows from the hit musical Hamilton? That’s transtextuality! A lot of the analyses surrounding how Tommy mirrors the Greek hero Theseus, who was invoked by Technoblade multiple times in the series, are already doing transtextual analysis! So, it’s really not something that’s new to the Dream SMP fandom.

But how does this apply to Philza and how he is looked at and judged by his parental skills? Well, there are multiple forms of transtextuality, two of which we will discuss today.

But before we continue, I gotta do that annoying YouTuber thing. I know these videos don’t look like much, but I spend a really long time making them. I work fulltime and I try my best to keep up, but sometimes I can’t. So please, like, subscribe, comment to give me some algorithm juice – I really need it – and most importantly share it! Share it with your friends, share it with your family – I’m sure Grandma is very interested in what I have to say about Philza Minecraft.

And I’m trying to be better! If I sound at all different for this video, it’s because I finally bought a new pop filter, so I can hit my plosives without it sounding like there’s a thunderstorm in my room. I hope it makes a difference; it was a very cheap pop filter, so maybe it doesn’t. Maybe it sounds worse – that would be bad!

What was I talking about? Oh yeah, CHILD NEGLEGT!

Intertextuality: Why is Dadza?

You know what’s really interesting about the Dream SMP – aside from, you know, most things about it? Very few of the characters have concrete, fleshed-out backstories – and that’s pretty weird! In no other medium or genre could you get away with something like that – at least for long-form storytelling!

So, how does Dream SMP get away with this? Well, it’s because every character on the Dream SMP is basically a self-insert – and I don’t mean that in the “This character is based on me”-kinda way, but in the “This character, for all intents and purposes, is me!”-way. This, like many things that are fascinating about the Dream SMP, is owed to the fact that this series didn’t start off as a continuous drama – it started off as a Let’s Play.

And while we can talk about how someone’s on-camera/on-mic persona is in some ways a character, it’s still miles off of being an actual, fully-realized, separate character in a storyline.

This is where Intertextuality comes in.

Intertextuality is a subset of Transtextuality. It describes how the hypertext, which is the text, you’re currently engaged with, uses another text, the hypotext, to supplement itself. The interconnection the hypertext establishes with the hypotext, through stuff like allusion for example, uh-hum [Hamilton], can colour how an audience interprets the hypertext. Basically, Hamilton and Theseus are the hypotexts; the Dream SMP is the hypertext.

So, what does this have to do with backstory? Simple: The backstories of the characters in the Dream SMP consist basically of nothing but intertextual references. Through intertextuality their content effectively substitutes their character’s backstory.

You can see it everywhere. Wilbur’s and Schlatt’s relationship and rivalry is hugely enriched, if you are aware of their shared history like SMPLive, for example – I think anyway. I haven’t watched SMPLive, because … there’s only so many hours in the day and I cannot keep up with the Dream SMP and catch up on SMPLive and live a healthy life – which I already don’t do, so…

BadBoyHalo’s and Skeppy’s relationship, which has become the crux of the Crimson-Storyline of Seasons 2 and 3, is hugely supplemented if you know that they’re also very close as streamers and in real life.

Another great example of intertextuality is basically Technoblade’s entire deal. If you just look at him completely within the text of the Dream SMP and try to transplant his entrance to any other medium: It would be extremely weird! Like, he’s just this guy that comes in in the middle of a very climatic arc, no build-up, no explanation what his deal is, and he’s treated like he has always been there. In any other medium that just wouldn’t work – at least not without a flashback or some sort of exposition!

But because of stuff like Minecraft Mondays, the Potato Wars, his Duel against Dream and SMPEarth, we understand that he is a Big Deal!

Anyways, to bring all of this back to Philza Minecraft: What kind of hypotext informs how the audience sees his character? Well, this is where I will have to talk about SBI.

SBI is an acronym that stand for State Bank of India, the 43rd largest bank in the world and…

It also stands for Sleepy Bois Incorporated. Sleepy Bois Incorporated is a loose assembly of content creators, consisting of Philza, Wilbur Soot, TommyInnit and Technoblade. It is most well-known for its very endearing family dynamic – a dynamic that is frequently acknowledged and played up by the creators involved. Tommy is the youngest brother, Wilbur and Techno are the two older brothers and Philza is of course the dad. And when I say, it’s played up, I really mean it! Wilbur seems to be especially enamoured with the idea and leaves no opportunity untaken to bring it up – which we will come back to.

And I’m not saying that they’re faking this and this is somehow an act. While I know none of these people personally, it appears to me, that this is genuinely how they interact – if a little exaggerated for the streaming experience. Even when they’re not consciously playing into the family dynamic, their interactions still very much lend themselves to that interpretation by the viewers.

Philza especially just radiates Dad-Friend energy – so much so that it has become a huge part of his brand identity – yay, I can bring that back (check out my Christmas video if you want to hear me ramble about that). The nickname Dadza stuck even before SBI was a thing.

So, even if we completely disregard SBI – which we shouldn’t for reasons I’ll get back to – Philza has cultivated an image of strong paternal guidance. He is, in my opinion completely deservedly, regarded very positively. He is highly respected and in turn seen as a voice of reason.

All of this would eventually inform the hypotext of the character Philza within Dream SMP.

Interlude: Before Dadza & November 16th

Okay, so now we have established that a) Dream SMP heavily hinges on intertextual readings by the audience to supplement character backstory and b) that Philza’s entire deal is that he’s the dad-friend – more specifically that he’s the dad of SBI (not the bank). I think you know where this is going.

So, yeah, ever since it was on the table that Philza could join the Dream SMP, it was immediately assumed that he would take on the paternal guardian role all these traumatized people on that server so desperately needed – and with good reason! Like I said before, the audience at this point was trained to take intertextual interpretations as basically canon or at the very least canon-adjacent.

I want to emphasize that this is most likely not done deliberately. I’m sure content creators Wilbur and Philza didn’t sit there and said: “Yes! We will rely entirely on the audience’s inclination to interpret our characters intertextually to define character Philza!”. Like, obviously that did not happen.

But it’s also important to remember that unlike with traditional media and the fanbases cultivated there, the separation between the Dream SMP and its audience is almost non-existent – and purposely so. The story events are streamed live, Chats are acknowledged in canon and even outside of livestreams creators are extremely involved with the fandom. So, the weight of fan-expectations is equally amplified and will more likely be incorporated into the writing process. Case in point:

[Wilbur “I miss Philza”/Philza about Wilbur]

During Wilbur’s villain arc, even before his official involvement, Philza became a prevalent point of discussion. The hope that he would be the one to snap Wilbur out of his downward spiral was not only wish-fulfilment on behalf of the fans; it also very much played off of the intertextual reading of the SBI-dynamic in relation to the Dream SMP.

Of course, this still doesn’t make Philza and Wilbur canonically blood-related – but it definitely used the “paternal”-dynamic of SBI to build-up tension and drama.

And that ultimately brings us to November 16th. The Grand Finale of Season 1 and Philza’s first canonical appearance on the SMP.

Now, for this I want to pull back from the transtextual analysis and talk about simply narrative analysis: What is Philza’s narrative purpose on November 16th?

Philza serves as the last threshold on Wilbur’s Villain’s Journey – to appropriate Vogler’s version of the monomyth for a minute here – he is what Vogler calls the “Threshold Guardian”. He is the last enemy the Hero faces before completing his quest – in this particular case Wilbur’s quest is to blow up L’Manberg. Multiple people have at this point tried to dissuade him from this course of action: Tommy, Quackity, Niki and others. So how come this Philza moment is not redundant in terms of dynamics compared to these prior scenes?

Well, it’s through our intertextual understanding of Wilbur’s and Phil’s relationship. Because Philza does not just occupy the role of the Threshold Guardian – he is also implicitly the Mentor. Before Phil there was no character in the storyline that held a higher position of moral authority than Wilbur – Dream and Schlatt, while at points more powerful in terms of actual authority, were never positioned by the narrative as Wilbur’s superiors in the same way as Wilbur was to Tommy, Tubbo or even Niki.

Before November 16th all challenges Wilbur faced were from people narratively subordinated to him. But that trend is broken with Phil. That is why he is the Threshold Guardian, why this confrontation is at the climax of Wilbur’s arc. Because Phil is the last thing tethering Wilbur to whatever morality he held before his villain arc; Phil is the last, moral obstacle Wilbur has to discard before gaining his reward.

And, just a quick sidenote, because I’ve seen it around the fandom a bunch: When I’m referring to Wilbur denouncing his morality, I’m using that in terms of narrative analysis. I’m mentioning it, because Wilbur’s character can very easily be read as mentally ill or neurodivergent and some people have – rightly! – pointed out that the excessive vilifying when talking about his character is … problematic, to say the least.

So, I just want to make clear, this isn’t a character analysis, I’m being purposely broad when talking about Wilbur and Phil.

In the end, Wilbur takes that final step and gets his “reward”: As his final request his mentor takes his life and vanquishes the evil – the dragon of Wilbur’s story slays the dragon of L’Manburg. It’s very Shakespearean in its tragedy – but beyond the larger theatrics it’s not really used to further characterize Phil – at least in the context of Season 1. There’s not a lot of focus on his characters internal conflict during November 16th.

Phil, like Techno, is very utilitarian in how content creator Wilbur writes him: He serves as a moment of hype; an obstacle Wilbur has to face; a participant in the tragic climax of Wilbur’s character and ultimately takes on his implicit and expected role of mentor and guiding figure to the rest of L’Manburg.

I think not a lot of people talk about how Philza does not join Technoblade during November 16th. He takes the side of L’Manburg – he fights against the withers and he joins Tommy, Tubbo and the others at the L’Mantree, thus framing him as loyal to the L’Manburg administration – even though Season 2 would make his loyalty to Techno central to his character. But more on that later.

What’s also important about November 16th is that this is the day when the general intertextual interpretation became canonized text.

[You’re my son!]

Wilbur is made Phil’s canonical, biological son. The intertextual interpretation of SBI as it pertains to these two characters on the SMP was completely reinforced by the narrative. Or to put it in Fandom terms: The headcanon became actual canon. At least when it came to Wilbur … but what about Philza’s “other” children?

Well, that leads to our second form of transtextual analysis:

Paratextuality: Is Dadza?

These titles are just getting better and better.

The Paratext is defined as all those things in a published work that accompany the text. It comes in two forms: One of them is the Peritext, which are non-diegetic elements directly surrounding the text – like chapter titles, author’s notes, and stuff like that. Translated to the medium of the Dream SMP, it would be stuff like this:

[Examples]

And, trust me, I could make a whole separate video about how people on the SMP use their peritext as a tool for storytelling – I’m looking at you, Ranboo – but that’s not what we will talk about in the context of Dadza.

Instead, we will focus on the second form of Paratext, the Epitext, which consists of all authorial and editorial discussions taking place outside of the text. That’s stuff like interviews, private letters or J. K. Rowling’s Twitter Account – you know, before she decided to become a full-time asshole.

[Wilbur: Transrights]

After Season 1 ended, Wilbur indulged pretty heavily in providing epitext for the Dream SMP, something he had not done prior to November 16th. His paratextual additions ranged from the playful, like assigning DnD alignments to various SMP members, to the extremely impactful, like the whole three lives system!

You probably think, you know where this is going. Wilbur provided some epitext about how Tommy and Techno either are or are not biologically related to him … and I have to be honest I thought that too. But then I began looking into the impenetrable web that is the SBI-canon on the Dream SMP and found this!

[Ghostbur explains family]

So, it wasn’t paratext, it was just straight text. Said in character, in canon, without any implication that we the viewers should question this. The text of the SBI family dynamic was explicitly linked to Dream SMP-exclusive lore, namely Fundy being Wilbur’s and Sally the Salmon’s son. This is as clear as Philza’s anguished declaration on November 16th in establishing the intertext as text. And because Wilbur also had a very heavy hand in the discussion of paratext around that time, it gave his character’s words even more “canonical” weight. Metatextually speaking, this very much read like the author giving exposition through his character – exposition that we should understand as reliable.

And, by the way, before I continue, I need to give a huge, huge shoutout to kateis-cakeis on tumblr, I hope I pronounced that right, who was just so quick in providing me with these crucial clips. Without him I would have looked for days because these people don’t archive their shit! And the Dream SMP Wiki was NO help, by the way! I love what you guys do, but stuff like this belongs in the Trivia section on characters’ pages!

Anyways, basically during the entirety of early Season 2 the SBI family dynamic was basically canon to the SMP. Sometimes it was only alluded implicitly, again letting the intertext fill out the rest.

[Philza clips]

But just as often it was just explicitly talked about – both in the text and in the paratext.

[Fundy clip/Wilbur “Twins” clip/Tommy clip]

So, I know what you’re thinking: “Why is this part called paratext, if the entire family tree is just textual”. Well, that last clip might give you a hint, as to what I will talk about. Notice how Tommy, one of the people most directly impacted by the canonization of SBI lore, is both unaware of and seems generally unenthused about it, to put it nicely? Well, that would soon turn out to be a much bigger deal than anyone could have imagined as he wasn’t the only one.

[Technoblade decanonizes SBI]

Yeah …

This happened on 20th of December. Regular viewers of this channel will remember that I put out a 90-second joke video, where I complain about this very development. And while I was mostly kidding around, the core idea is still true. The paratext provided by Technoblade and established text were in direct contradiction with one another – and that brought a lot of confusion into the fandom. Confusion, that would soon be followed by frustration.

Because Techno only decanonized himself as part of the SBI family dynamic – but what about Tommy and Tubbo, the latter of which was incorporated into the dynamic exclusively within the lore of the Dream SMP. Was this still canon or wasn’t it?

What followed was a muddled mess of contradictions, intertextual implications, text and paratext in conflict with each another. It was for the most part inscrutable to figure out how Tommy and Philza related to one another. I’ll spare you every comment made about this – mostly because I want to spare myself from looking for all of them.

In the end, the current status is that their familial relationship is … unclear. Philza said, again in paratext, that it’s ultimately up to the writers to decide, whether or not Tommy is his son … which, I personally think he and Tommy should be the ones to establish that, but I’ll come back to that later.

But why is all of this important anyway? Why would this ambiguity create such an uproar, such controversy – especially when it comes to Tommy’s character? What makes Tommy’s and Philza’s relationship such a target for discussion in the fandom?

Well … this is where we will have to talk about the storyline of Season 2.

Interlude II: Tommy’s Exile and Dadza in Season 2

Okay, Season 2. This is where the spoilers are, so I will just sneakily drop this again. It took me five seconds to google this gif and I will milk it for every penny it’s worth!

At the beginning of Season 2, Philza’s narrative role has not changed much from where Season 1 ended. He is in L’Manburg dispensing earthly wisdom, being a paternal figure to Fundy, Ghostbur and Tubbo, helping with the nation’s rebuilding efforts; just generally occupying the role of the mentor.

[clips]

And then came … the Exile. The Exile Arc took place between December 3rd and December 15th during Season 2 of the Dream SMP. It revolves around TommyInnit getting exiled from L’Manburg and slowly getting psychologically tortured and broken down by Dream. It’s a really great arc, at least in my opinion, that explores and deepens a lot of Tommy’s character relationships, whether that be Tommy and Dream, Tommy and Tubbo or Tommy and Ranboo. One relationship, however, is noticeably missing.

So, yeah, Philza spends basically the entirety of the exile doing pretty much nothing of consequence. And that’s not a problem specific to him – One big criticism I would levy against the Exile Arc is that a lot of characters are left spinning their wheels. Which is why we get zany stuff like El Rapids, Drywaters, Eret’s Knights of the Roundtable, Boomerville – anyone remember Boomerville, that was a thing for 5 seconds, wasn’t it? – basically a lot of storylines are started and then unceremoniously dropped. Now, I will talk more about this, when I make a video about Season 2 of the Dream SMP … in ten years, look forward to it.

In the case of Philza, this inaction was especially damning, because at this point it was still a considered canon that he was Tommy’s dad. So, the fans were left with a situation, where just a few weeks prior Philza was occupying a paternal role for Fundy and Ghostbur … but now, that his youngest son was in a very concerning predicament – to put it lightly – he was nowhere to be found.

So why is that?

Well, the most obvious answer is that Dream and Tommy didn’t write him into the storyline. We’ve seen that Tommy wasn’t particularly interested in exploring a familial relationship to Philza, at least at the time. And it would just not fit in with what Dream and Tommy tried to do with the Exile Arc: they wanted to tell the story of Tommy being isolated, completely under Dream’s mercy, slowly worn down and manipulated. If Philza had been constant presence for Tommy during that time, it would have definitely shifted the narrative focus. That doesn’t mean that they couldn’t have done that, it’s just a matter of fact that they didn’t.

This also reveals another truth about content creator Philza’s character work, that I think is extremely crucial: He takes what the writers give him. Outside of a few choice moments, he doesn’t seem particularly interested in expanding or even solidifying his character on the SMP.

What I’m saying is that he is very go-with-the-flow: Wilbur wants to enact a Shakespearean tragedy? Philza’s up for it. Fundy wants him as a parental figure and mentor? Philza’s here for him. Tommy, conversely, doesn’t want him as a paternal presence, even though it would make sense for Philza’s character, as it was established so far, to be there? Philza will oblige.

The reason I’m mentioning this is because, while Tommy and Dream were unwilling to utilise Philza in their storyline, someone else was more than happy to. Which leads us back, like it always does, to everyone’s favourite Porky Pig-kinnie in a crown: Technoblade.

Technoblade and Philza, from everything I’ve seen of them, seem to be very good friends – and they share a lot of history even outside SBI. So, it’s commendable that they would collaborate on a storyline together.

A consequence of that, however, is that Philza’s narrative purpose shifts completely with very little transition. His entire character changes from being the Mentor-figure of L’Manberg to being pretty much exclusively defined as Technoblade’s ally; his man on the inside. It is a very sharp turn from the end of Season 1. Their relationship is once again informed via intertext – this time the Antarctic Empire on SMPEarth serves as the hypotext – but there isn’t a huge effort made to smoothly integrate that aspect of Philza’s character into the larger narrative framing around him.

How much the narrative utilisation of Philza has shifted can be very easily observed through the Butcher Army event on December 16th, a story event that I like less and less the more I think about. Here Philza is used to show just how corrupt and violent Tubbo’s administration has becomes. He is no longer the respected mentor, he is now the stand-in for the oppressed populace, similar to Niki’s role in Season 1. On a narrative level, he is here to prove a point.

If you’ve seen my Technoblade video, you know how I feel about … just that entire storyline, so I will not reiterate too much on it. I just want to make clear that I’m not principally against this development – if they wanted to truly explore Tubbo going down a dark path and getting corrupted by power, so much so that he would even treat the person who effectively raised him like a prisoner, I would be extremely here for it, I cannot stress that enough.

The problem I have is that it’s just so sloppily done. It is not coherent with how these characters behaved and, more importantly, how they were narratively framed prior to the Butcher Army event. Fundy gets one token line about Phil being his Grandfather – a far cry from the very emotionally complex relationship they had established at the beginning of Season 2 – and Phil then callously disowns him.

The major problem simply is that we don’t see how Philza changes from Mentor-figure to embittered, oppressed citizen. And there was enough time to build to that. During the entirety of Tommy’s exile Tubbo was pretty much spinning his wheels and Quackity and Fundy were opening up plot cul-de-sacs that didn’t end up going anywhere. This is time they could have spent on developing their relationship to Philza and the dark path they were going down – but again, Season 2 video.

There is not much to say on Philza’s narrative purpose and framing beyond the Butcher Army event. He remains pretty much exclusively Techno’s consigliere with his role as Mentor to L’Manburg a distant memory. He has some cute character moments with Ranboo, because content creator Philza is just big dad-energy whether he wants to or not, and whenever he and Ghostbur share a scene suddenly the narrative remembers that there are people other than Technoblade that should exist in Philza’s inner world. But aside from that, Philza’s storyline in Season 2 remains … pretty definitive is the nicest way I can put it.

Most importantly his relationship with Tommy continues to be completely unexplored – whether by chance or choice – and that combined with ever vaguer paratext leaves “Dadza” in a very peculiar situation.

Conclusion: Is Dadza a Good Dadza?

So, the question to end all questions. The big, obnoxious text, that I will probably have put in the thumbnail – I haven’t made it yet, but I know myself. The honest answer is: I couldn’t tell you.

I have, in the past, been expounding the virtues of narrative analysis. That is because I feel that Narrative Analysis and Textual Analysis, like in this video, can provide certain tools that Character Analysis lacks. Often times I see people trying to get at a writing problem or query and getting frustrated because they’re not using the toolset, they need to figure out what they want to figure out.

But I’d be a hypocrite if I pretended like everything could be solved through the modes of analysis I prefer. And I think the Dadza-issue is exactly such a case.

I set out to explore why the Philza-Tommy-“Dadza”-relationship has become so controversial. It’s a combination of expectations build up through intertextual readings, that were partly canonized – something that is very common for the Dream SMP – conflicting pieces of paratext, which only serve to muddle the issue further and a text that is not only completely uninterested in actually exploring Tommy’s and Philza’s relationship – as it stands right now they might as well be strangers, narratively speaking – but also completely changes Philza’s narrative purpose as it relates to characters like Fundy or Tubbo about half-way through with little to no transition.

That is why I say, that Philza’s character is a victim of narrative circumstance. Because unwittingly, through all of these factors and decisions, there is not coherent reading of Philza that frames his parental skills in a particularly kind light.

The question of how we can judge Phil as a paternal figure ultimately falls within the purview of the character analysis – and that’s a very multifaceted issue, highly dependent on which POV you focus on and how you interpret the other characters in that POV’s periphery.

To put my cards on the table, I think that Philza is a very flawed father/father-figure – and I find that absolutely okay. Flaws are the spice of character building. He is not Cinderella’s Evil Stepmother – but he’s also definitely not Mufasa. If we were to read Philza as a paternal figure, then he would have made a lot of mistakes and decisions to the detriment of his “children” – least of all everything that happened on Doomsday.

But I also have sympathies for Philza fans who are tired of the Dad-Debate and would like to have his character judged independent from his relationship to Ghostbur, Fundy, Tubbo and Tommy.

Ultimately, to bring it all to a point, I’d like to end with saying, that I think that Philza, out of all the characters on the SMP, has the potential to be on of the most intriguing, multifaceted ones. There are all of these different patches of story, character moments and narrative and transtextual implications, that, if brought together, could create a beautiful tapestry of the character Philza.

You have his relationship with Techno, which holds the potential for so much emotional conflict and vulnerabilities, you have his time as mentor of L’Manburg, which is just criminally underused; the complex relationship between him and Ghostbur/Wilbur; and – for me, personally – most intriguingly this weird, almost uncomfortably distant non-relationship with Tommy. That last one is intriguing to me, because it contrasts just so much with our intertextual understanding of the characters and streaming personas – and it just holds the potential for so much conflict, so much drama, so much angst. Which I live for!

And, yes, I do believe that most of this is narrative happenstance, that this was largely not intended by Philza or really any of the writers. It’s just what happens when hybrid-roleplay-improv a long-running, livestreamed storyline in Minecraft.

But I want them to realize the potential they have on their hands, because it could – with barely any adjustments – turn Philza from a victim of narrative circumstance to a champion of it!

Outro

Thank you so much for watching this video. Usually, I don’t record outros this standard, but after this beast of a video I felt it necessary. I hope that whether you’re a Philza fan or a Philza critical or just completely uninvolved in the whole thing, there is at least a little entertainment you could get from this.

I want to take this opportunity to say that my next few videos will probably not be Dream SMP related – a sentence which undoubtedly lost me a bunch of subs – simply because I don’t want to burn out on it. I genuinely enjoy watching the SMP and being exhausted by it would be something I wouldn’t want to force on myself.

But who knows what will happen? The Karl Jacobs video was something I did spur of the moment because the idea just came to me – so I can’t guarantee that the next video won’t be a three-minute joke about Purpled or whatever.

Anyway, my concrete plans for future Dream SMP videos are essays on Season 1 and Season 2 as well as one for Tales from the SMP.

Before that I have a longer video in the works, which I’ve already teased a bunch, so I hope it will finally be finished sometime. And I also may be working on something … eboys-related? Maybe. I’m not making any promises!

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haloshornsinkstains · 3 years

Text

First Dates with Middle Blockers

Featuring Tsukki, Tendou, Suna, Aone and Mattsun.

Gender neutral fluff. Warning for being a bit all over the place timeline wise for when the first dates happen.

Tsukki

You and Tsukishima meet in the college library, you've both noticed the other there several times before, but only gather the courage to talk to each other when you're forced to share a table in the busy period before exams.

He's already working part time at the museum, and when he notices the topic you're studying also happens to be the subject of a special exhibition at the museum it seems too good of an opportunity to pass.

Technically he doesn't actually use the word date when he asks you but he also doesn't deny it is one when you ask and that's good enough for you. (Yamaguchi scolds him for being emotionally constipated later, and Hinata will never let him live picking a museum for a first date down).

It is, by far, one of your favourite dates you've ever been on. Tsukishima doesn't shoot your enthusiasm down, or make fun of your nerdy passions. And he's more than happy to engage in discussions and debates with you as you go through the exhibits.

He walks you home afterwards, and while he's not entirely honest about his feelings, he does admit he wouldn't mind doing it again.

Tendou

Tendou is extremely nervous about asking you out on a date. He's pretty sure you like him, and his friends are 110% certain you do, but still it's pretty nerve wracking. Boy has some self esteem issues beneath it all.

When you say yes he's so excited, straight up forgets how to speak or even breathe for a bit there. But once you left to let him practice it suddenly hits him, he has zero clue what to do on a first date.

The team is full of ideas, from cinemas to a restaurant meal, but it's Ushijima who comes through best with his straightforward honesty. "There is no point going on a date if you do not enjoy it too. If you both like the same thing shouldn't you do that?"

He takes you on a trip to Sendai, wandering around EBeanS and the other geeky stores in the area, before taking you to a Butler Cafe. At first he was going to take you to one of the Maid Cafes in the area, but he worried how you'd react and when he heard about the Butler Cafe he thought it might be better for you.

It nearly backfires on him horribly. All these men who look incredible, with impeccable manners, and seeing you giggle and play with your hands nervously as they take your order… his anxieties start playing up, worried you'll see him as the monster everyone else does now.

But once the other man has gone to prepare your orders your gaze is straight back on him, eyes bright and grin dazzling as you tell him how much fun you've had and how great this date has been. Tendou is ready to melt in his seat, you're so perfect it's almost unreal.

On the way back to the dorms after a delicious (if overpriced) tea at the cafe, you keep thanking him and telling him how great his is and honestly, as much as he's trying to play it off he's ready to combust.

Outside your dorms you learn up to press a kiss to his cheek, leaving the same shade as his hair. Asking if you could see him again shyly.

Tendou has never said yes so quickly or enthusiastically in his life.

Suna

Suna is, above all, kinda lazy. So don’t expect any big nights out or dramatic shows of courtship, at least not for a first date.

The pair of you bonded over laughing at viral videos in the back of a very boring lecture, which quickly developed into discussions of films and games. Why would he want to change up the things that seemed to be working so soon? Besides, he’s not entirely certain how he feels about you yet.

So your first date takes place at his house. He is, at least, clear with you that he means for this to be a date. Suna might not be clear on his feelings yet, but he wants you to know the feelings could exist if nothing else.

When you get to his house he has your favourite snacks ready on the table and a movie the pair of you had been talking about earlier in the week ready to play. You grin and settle onto the couch next to him.

Your evening is spent watching and discussing movies, laughing at videos he still has saved on his phone of the Miya twins back in highschool. It’s over too soon, as good things usually are, but Suna at least has his answer.

Just as you’re saying goodbye he stops you. “Can we do this again some time? I could… take you out somewhere?”

The speed with which you agree is a little embarrassing but he just smiles back at you.

Aone

Oh gosh someone help this baby.

His first date with you is something of a blind date, not entirely since you've texted each other and exchanged pictures, but you've never met in person before. It's also entirely Futakuchi's fault (he's trying to be helpful, honest).

Aone invites you to a cafe to meet, thinking you'll feel more secure in a public place. He knows he comes across as a little scary, and as much as he's enjoyed your conversations he's worried you'll be scared of him.

When you meet him at the cafe you don't shy away like he worried you would, instead your smile is so bright and warm it's blinding. You happily sit across from him, filling in spaces where needed with conversation, but happy to sit in silence when that fit the mood better.

Aone thinks you’re wonderful, just as brilliant in real life as you have been over text. You give him time to talk where warranted, and listen to every word he has to say when he does, but at the same time you’re happy to fill silences with gentle conversation.

Once you’re finished with your drinks he leads you to a nearby park and the two of you walk around hand in hand. The silence is comfortable, occasionally interrupted by Aone pointing out and interesting plant or your excitement over local wildlife.

After the park he walks you to your bus stop, he wants to offer to see you home but Aone worries too much and never actually manages to ask you. At the bus stop you thank him over and over for being such good company and agreeing to meet you, his cheeks flush pink and he’s pretty sure the words didn’t come out how he wanted them to, but you're smiling regardless and promising to see him again even as the bus pulls up.

On his way home he sends Futakuchi a text to thank him.

Mattsukawa

Dating is hard when you work in a funeral home, it’s not exactly the sexiest of jobs and the superstitious types tend to avoid him.

So he's pretty excited when you agree to go on a date with him after Makki introduces you to each other (he still has no idea how you and Makki know each other, but there's no need to look a gift horse in the mouth).

Issei is generally a pretty chill dude, and his date plans reflect this. A movie and dinner, it's a classic and just casual enough to let you both be yourselves.

He buys the movie tickets, which he may or may not have chosen to give him just enough opportunities to hold you without potentially ruining the date with terror. You insist on buying the popcorn however "it's only fair".

The restaurant he takes you to for dinner is one of his favourites. A little family owned place that's cosy and comfortable, just fancy enough for a date with none of the pretentiousness of upscale restaurants.

He impresses you with his knowledge of the menu, you pick one of the dishes he recommends and it's divine. Conversation is easy, the movie provides a great starting point but it isn't long before you're off on tangents, retailing each other with stories of your lives.

He doesn't even make it to your house before you're asking if he wants to do this again. You had such a great time and you don't want it to end. He agrees of course, he doesn't want the night to end either.

#halo.writes #haikyuu #tsukishima #aone #mattsukawa #suna #tendou #first dates #reader insert #gender neutral #the irony of me writing this when I've been on exactly one first date and that involved a LOT of drinking

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battlestar-royco · 4 years

Photo

here is part 2 of my sci fi recs masterlist! again, i could’ve gone on with even more recs but i decided to draw the line here. this set for the most part errs on the darker side, thematically, visually, conceptually etc. i personally find it super thought-provoking and intriguing but that’s just me. i highly recommend reading the tw under the cut if you’re thinking of watching, especially the matrix and space gothic slides. please view at your discretion <3

part 1/2

If you like WLW (um idk why I only made this slide based on identity; it just kinda happened lmao but I think it works):

Siren: (tw: parent loss, grief, thalassophobia) a mermaid surfaces in a cove town looking for her lost sister. Polyamorous relationship between a man, a black/indigenous woman, and the mermaid!!!! Environmentalism! As a person who has thalassophobia, I didn’t find this too hard to watch. There aren’t that many underwater scenes, thankfully.

Black Mirror: San Junipero: (tw: grief, but otherwise none that I recall; it’s pretty lighthearted) two women meet in a beach resort in the 80s and fall in love. Interracial wlw!

Orphan Black: (tw: suicide, infertility, rape implication, VB, language, drug use) a woman realizes she is one of several clones and uncovers an elaborate corporate conspiracy. This is one of my personal favorites with great rep of complex women of all ages and bodily autonomy. Several central queer characters and a black male secondary character!

Starfish: (tw: grief, a few jump scares and brief monstrous imagery, blood) after the death of her best friend, a young woman breaks into the deceased’s apartment and discovers a chain of music tapes that could save the world. Weird, subtle, and experimental. Not to sound like a surfer but you kinda have to allow yourself to be in the vibe. The main character and her friend were definitely a thing imo.

Annihilation: (tw: body horror, VB, disturbing imagery) a team of women scientists explore an anomaly that rapidly mutates genes. There are canonical and coded wlw and multiple (light-skinned) POC in this but the rep is short-lived. I put it on because although it should’ve been more ambitious with the casting, I think it breaks *some* ground for Hollywood sci fi with the all-woman team and more than one WOC. Wack ending though.

Mad Max: Fury Road: (tw: rape implication, violence) I think everyone knows about this one but: in the apocalypse, a woman breaks 4 younger women out of a harem. A badass car chase across the desert ensues. A bit light on plot/worldbuilding, but sooooo cool-looking and very thematic!!!!

If you liked STRANGER THINGS:

It: (tw: VB) don’t actually watch this lmao I’m serious. It’s really stupid, and not in a funny way. But I do think Stranger Things was inspired by this story overall. The modern It films are better but they’re also really kjslsklskls stupid? Stephen King in general is obsolete imo.

The Thing: (tw: VB) an alien that can take the form of others wreaks havoc on a scientific facility in Antarctica. It’s dark and vibey, but I feel like it’s just Alien in Antarctica with truly terrible special effects tbh?? Others feel differently. It’s also classified as sci fi/horror, so stay away if you’re easily scared! Not too good on representation.

Super 8: (tw: some language) a group of preteens witnesses an alien-caused train crash as they’re filming a home movie. Not diverse but I definitely think it inspired a lot of sci fi for the 2010s, ESPECIALLY Stranger Things. Not too scary either!

ET: (tw: it’s been a really long time since I watched so I don’t remember but it’s rated PG) I think everyone knows what this is about!

Alien: (tw: VB) truckers in space discover a deadly evolving alien. One of my favorite movies of all time! I love the aesthetic and the mood and worldbuilding so much. Ellen Ripley is one of the first Final Girls in the horror genre. I personally found this more of a sci fi than a horror movie but I’d say stay away if you’re nervous!!

Terminator: (tw: VB) a deadly android is sent to kill a woman who’s destined to birth the man who saves the world. Terminator 2 is way better imo because it centers on Sarah rather than the dudes saving her and trying to kill her. But it’s still worth a watch, you know, for the culture.

If you liked CONTAGION:

War of the Worlds: (tw: blood) pretty straightforward aliens come to Earth to take over. Sorry to rec another T*m Cruise movie but I really like the alien design and the apocalypsey feel of this one. Baby Dakota Fanning is in it too!

Falling Skies: (tw: VB, body horror, rape) alien invasion yada yada but the alien lore gets more interesting as it goes on. It’s kind of cheesy and yeah maybe I did discover it by looking up the iCarly boyfriend (and what about it??) but it’s nice to have on in the downtime. An Asian woman co-stars.

Knowing: (tw: blood) school students unearth a time capsule that contains a sheet from a girl who predicted all the tragic world events between 1959-2009. This is NOT a good movie but it’s SO hilarious to me because of the acting and contrivances. Fun to group-watch!!!!

10 Cloverfield Lane: (tw: VB, emotional abuse) a woman wakes up in a bunker to a captor who tells her that the world has fallen to alien apocalypse. I think this movie elevates the original Cloverfield in pretty much every way. Again, super tense and moody. The conflict revolves around whether or not the captor is being truthful.

Train to Busan: (tw: extreme VB and disturbing imagery) a man and his daughter are on a train when a zombie hops on at the last minute. It’s Korean with an all-Asian cast; Choi Woo-shik co-stars. I definitely wouldn’t watch if you’re scared of blood and gore. It’s very gross and violent.

12 Monkeys: (tw: ableism, violence) a man from the 2030s is sent back to the 1990s to prevent the plague that will end the world. I think the aesthetics of this are really cool but otherwise it’s not a favorite. But I think it appeals to people who like apocalypse and time travel stuff!

If you liked THE MATRIX:

Strange Days: (tw: rape, sex, nudity, VB, racism, police brutality) memories can be saved to hard-drives and sold on the black market for exorbitant prices. Very problematic and triggering presentation of rape, but young Angela Basset stars and there’s a condemnation of police brutality that’s still relevant 20+ years after its release.

Upgrade: (tw: ableism, VB, fridging) a disabled man installs an AI in his spine to help him move and investigate the murder of his wife. The premise is glaringly ableist and I feel weird even recommending it tbh but it’s got great visuals and a few good twists.

Altered Carbon: (tw: VB, weird interracial body switching, uhhh I haven’t finished this one IDK) in a society where human bodies are interchangeable, a man wakes up in a new body after 300 years of his mind being dormant. A Latina woman co-stars, two Asian characters in a subplot, a few other POC here and there as well. I think season 2 stars a black man.

eXistenZ: (tw: VB, anti-Asian racism, general weirdness? IDK it’s hard to describe. There are guns made out of bones and weirdly sexual visuals.) after someone tries to assassinate her, a video game designer and her bodyguard must play through her virtual reality game in order to save the only copy of the game.

Minority Report: (tw: VB, eye removal/insertion) all crimes are predicted and criminals reported before they are committed. The main character is preemptively accused of murder. This one is really white but it was one of the first movies that got me into sci fi. Early 2000s Colin Farrell <3.

If you liked WESTWORLD:

Humans: (tw: uncanny valley, objectification) androids are household helpers and public assistants throughout Britain until one day they start developing consciences. It hits a lot of the themes of Westworld without all the unnecessary pretentiousness, “edginess,” and “grittiness,” and it stars Gemma Chan and Colin Morgan!!

Blade Runner 2049: (^) an android is ordered to find and kill a human/android hybrid. It’s not without its issues but it’s one of my favorite movies of all time, right up there with Alien. So beautiful, so thematic, so thought-provoking (to me, anyway. I know a lot of people thought it was way too slow).

Ex Machina: (^) a man is invited to a private estate to help test the intelligence of an android. It’s kind of predictable imo but you know Oscar Isaac and Sonoya Mizuno are in it so we have to stan, and so is Domhnall Gleeson, for the SW fans! I like how isolated and quiet it feels.

I Am Mother: (tw: blood, gaslighting) after an extinction event, a young woman is raised by a lone android in a human repopulation facility until one day a woman knocks. It starts off slow and a bit generic, but I’m obsessed with the 2nd and 3rd acts of this movie---good acting, dialogue, and fantastic visuals. It has that same isolated feel as Ex Machina with only three characters, all of which are women/woman-coded!!!

If you liked ALIEN (space gothic):

Battlestar Galactica (2004-2008 reboot): (tw: genocide, war, colonization, VB, uncanny valley, rape, infidelity) space opera that follows humanity as it fights the ever-evolving and powerful enemy of their own creation: androids named Cylons. Um? I L O V E THIS SHOW SO MUCH and I truly do think it’s everything sci fi should be. There is a really unfortunate Miss Saigon-esque romance plot in season 1 and a lazily-written love triangle involving a black woman in season 3, but otherwise it’s one of my all-time favorites and I highly recommend. It’ll spin your mind and tug your heartstrings for years.

Black Mirror: Men Against Fire: (tw: genocide, war, nudity) soldiers in the near future protect citizens from mutant zombies, but one soldier starts experiencing strange hallucinations in the field. This is such an underrated Black Mirror episode starring a black man. There’s brief objectification of a black woman but it’s very anti-military and it has an interesting sterile aesthetic that reminds me of Alien.

High Life: (tw: rape, black holes/space anxiety, very disturbing) prisoners are given the option to join a space expedition and serve as experimental subjects en route to a black hole. Please please stay away if you are triggered by sexual violence of any kind. There’s almost no physical violence in this movie but it’s psychologically haunting imo.

The Faculty: (tw; VB, drug use) high schoolers discover their teachers are being possessed by an invading alien race. I LOVE THIS MOVIE LMFAOOOO. The cast is SO wild---Elijah Wood, John Oliver, Usher, Salma Hayek, Josh Hartnett??? And I’m probably forgetting more. The combination of the cast, the terrible dialogue, and shitty special effects is PEAK comedy imo. But bear in mind it’s bloody!!

Prometheus: (tw: body horror, VB, uncanny valley) a crew of scientists heads on a deep space mission to find the aliens who created the human race. A prequel to Alien, but I kind of view it as its own thing. Despite the plot holes, I love this movie too! It was one of my sci fi gateways and the visuals are stunning. It’s pretty gory though so if that’s not your thing stay away.

Life: (tw: extreme VB) a lesser Alien, but it provides all the space gothic tropes (jokey crew, shots of space, really pretty spaceship, everyone dies, creepy alien) with a well-known cast---Gyllenhaal, Reynolds, etc.

The X Files: (tw: a few episodes contain 90s racism, sexism, queerphobia etc but you can skip them) a lot of people have watched this so I barely have to explain, but it’s one of my favorites. Two FBI agents investigate multiple aliens and get involved in government conspiracies along the way. A good gateway!

A Quiet Place: (tw: child loss, VB, tension) I think most people know what this is about too. Alien apocalypse with aliens that hunt by sound. The daughter in the family is deaf, and so is the actress who portrays her. The representation of deafness was critically acclaimed.

#maxine talks sci fi #movie recs #maxine did you read/watch

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queenlua · 4 years

Text

The Good Game Critics TM (a giant post o’ links)

yesterday i was complaining:

damn, how come the only people who are writing The Good Video Game Criticism TM are exclusively relegated to… abandoned Blogspots and Tumblrs that haven’t been updated in five years…?

and someone asked:

addadashofpepper: can you like, post links to some of these? cause the thing about these is that they are really hard to find!

oh boy, tumblr user @addadashofpepper, i would be DELIGHTED to share. i dug through my RSS reader / bookmarks, and here’s what leapt out at me:

[under a cut because this got LONG and i got EXCITED]

ella guro: indie dev and creator of Problem Attic, which made a splash back in the day (a somewhat Braid-inspired platformer iirc). she’s mostly removed herself from the game scene these days, but she still blogs about artsy-culture issues from time to time, and if you dig through the archives, some of her old posts on games (probably circa 2012-2015?) are so so good

prophet goddess / blood church: i discovered them literally two days ago, but i’m digging what i see (their ladykiller in a bind review was the first post i stumbled on)

dead genre chronicles: a group of three friends did a monthly JRPG podcast, where they’d play a JRPG in its entirety and talk about it. see, they found mainstream discussions around JRPGs annoyingly stilted, including the term JRPG itself—like, we’re still using the term “JRPG” to mean “turn-based combat with funky anime aesthetics,” but that airbrushes over so many weird and fun and distinctive mechanics that developers inside-and-outside of Japan have been experimenting with, right?

they had a blog attached to the podcast, and the blog was ALSO excellent

unfortunately, they took their main website down a while back :( however:

you can get some of the old blog posts by fiddling with the wayback machine

becky backed up a bunch of her contributions to the site (i particularly liked her ffxv post & this sort-of ffxiii post that punched me in the face in a good way)

leeroy, one of the other contributors, blags here, though i don’t think he backed up his stuff from the original site

the entirety of the podcast is archived on libsyn and is very good if you’re into podcasts!

no don’t die: okay, this blog/interview series is AMAZING. and still active!!! ahh!!!

the whole concept is, this dude finds people who work in games. or used to work in games. or who ran a weird fansite for video games back in the early 00′s. or curate some video-game-shaped things as part of a museum exhibit. and so on, and so forth.

the dude has a knack for finding really interesting people with all kinds of windows/perspectives on games, and manages to get them to talk about really interesting things. two of my fave interviews: rebecca heinman, who ported Doom to 3DO in ten weeks on her own in utterly batshit conditions, and mustin, because i’ve got that overclocked remix nostalgia

my friend pokey: so, they’re on tumblr, they write in all lowercase, and their writing style tends to be on the dense and referential side, which ordinarily has all the warning signs of “all pretentiousness, no substance,” right? (i am not exempt from this, by the way; look at me typing in all lowercase like a scrub.) but, i’ve reliably gotten interesting insights out of their posts & have been surprised how often i mention their blog to a Friend Whose Aesthetic Tastes I Respect and they’re like “ah! i LOVE that blog!” also i liked their notes on chrono cross at the end of this post because i literally want to talk about chrono cross every waking moment of my life, come talk to me about chrono cross friends, etc

em reed’s blog is excellent. i really liked this post about what the phone/gacha game experience is like

auntie pixelante: anna anthropy’s old blog; still not sure why she didn’t archive it somewhere? but whatever, the wayback machine has your back. this early review of Gone Home is reasonably representative

tim rogers: i have kind of mixed opinions on him, but i do find something in his work compelling enough that i keep coming back to him, so.

the dude made his initial splash with his extremely long mgs2 review back in the day; there’s a slightly more recent archive too; he also does a lot of sadposting on medium that ranges from “guy in my MFA” to “fuck i can’t believe this dude’s making me feel feelings” in quality, ymmv. (he also apparently does video reviews now? that are like many hours long? and i am just not the youtube generation so i tapped out on that one bud)

tevis thompson: another critic i have mixed feelings about, but if you’re the kind of dork that enjoys reading stuff that Made A Splash At The Time, and like, nerd subculture histories, you'll have to read his “on videogame reviews” for that reason alone. i also really dug his 100-word video game reviews series

ludus novus: i haven’t read this dude’s blog in ages, but i liked it a lot when i read it in 2012ish and there’s TONS in the archives

emily short: an IF writer who goes way back. i haven’t read her blog lately, but the archives / older posts definiely have cool thoughts on the structure of interactive fiction

jonas kyratzes: indie game dev, creator of The Sea Will Claim Everything. he tends to blog about lefty politics and general arts stuff more frequently than he blogs about games, but he does blog games from time to time. i liked [1] and [2], for starters.

adam cadre: this guy goes waaay back in the IF scene and has made a bunch of Inform stuff. i’ve never actually played his games! but i like his blog a lot (convenient tumblr mirror here). he almost exclusively blags about books and movies and such these days, but if you dig you can find him talking about games sometimes. (also, Masterchef Australia, which he loved so much he wrote over fifteen thousand words about it and it’s one of my favorite bizarre blog posts on the internet)

the fool reversed: this blog is focused on LARP game design & issues around that, but i’d say it’s relevant to anyone interested in game-y topics. as a mostly-outsider to that scene, i thought this was a fun find!

annnd a few last ones:

i haven’t kept up with critical distance in ages, but it used to be a great way to find new game writers, and quite possibly still is, i dunno

while i’ve personally bounced off timber owls a few times, i know some folks who like their writing a lot

hope this helps!!! happy digging through internet archives and such

#link post

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florbelles · 3 years

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3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30 + lyra 💕

thank you airika!! sorry this is so late xx | xi answered here

iii. did they have a good childhood? what are fond memories they have of it? what’s a bad memory?

she doesn’t feel especially entitled to consider it a bad childhood, since she was enormously privileged in terms of wealth and position ( or, rather, her parents were, which meant she got the best education that could be afforded and materially wanted for nothing, including extensive opportunities for travel ), but she was miserable. she loathed her status, she loathed her father for the way he exploited both it and her, she loathed the company he kept, she loathed being complicit in it; she wanted to loathe her mother for her complete apathy towards her, but she pitied her; she was constantly running away or getting expelled. she was consumed with feelings of powerlessness, and that turned to bitterness, and that turned to fury.

she does have some fond memories; despite her resentment at being shipped off and unwanted, she enjoyed her time abroad, particularly in france; she enjoyed summers on the island, when she would befriend the summer people and spend her time with them, on the periphery of some semblance of normalcy, friends, or family, no matter how temporary her glimpse into domesticity was; her numerous runaway attempts were exhilarating, and she developed a fondness for being on the road that would carry into her adult life, which she spent almost entirely on the road ( or on the run from herself or lingering ties that could connect her to her work ) prior to hope county. she liked the days she spent on the beach by the ocean; she liked the evenings she spent in the forest or stables. she liked the time lawrence took her out for ice cream without ulterior motives or one of his mistresses about ( she’d cancelled, but lyra didn’t care about that at the time ). it wasn’t all bad. never all bad.

ix. do animals like them? do they get on well with animals?

lyra adores animals, and they love her back. they were often her primary companions as a girl, and that fondness and familiarity never left her. they’re innocent. they’re simple. she understands them. if she ever weeps for the old world, it’s for them.

xii. what is their favourite food?

she loves fresh baked bread, pastries, raspberries, and pomegranetes. her favorite is sushi, though; it’s the one thing she misses about her past life. yes, she has contemplated hope county gas station sushi in desperation. no, she did not ultimately resort to that. that’s how you know she hasn’t hit rock bottom just yet.

xv. are they good at cooking? do they enjoy it? what do others think of their cooking?

she’s a passable chef, but she doesn’t have much need or opportunity to cook for herself with the exception of the occasional evening she spent on her own in her home of the moment ( her loft in san francisco was her longest place of semi-permanent residence, so most of the cooking she did for herself were nights at her loft ). she doesn’t have any interest in letting on that she can cook once she joins the project; given shaggy’s questionable track record, she doesn’t want to get stuck with that responsibility. she wouldn’t have the time, even if the desire was there.

xviii. what’s their favourite genre of books, music, tv shows, films, video games and anything else?

she primarily reads classical or literary novels; she enjoys romantic elements, secretly being a romantic herself, but she’s mostly interested in expressions of emotion and the human condition, the more visceral the better ( her favorite story as a child was hans christian andersen’s the little mermaid, her favorite as an adult was leo tolstoy’s anna karenina ). musically she favors the 60s or older; her favorite album is fleetwood mac’s rumors, preferably the vinyl, and her second most listened to artist is billie holliday. she loves jazz, classical compositions and opera, but she prefers all of those live; she insists that recordings simply aren’t the same, they’re not raw enough, it doesn’t gut you the same way. yes, she knows it sounds pretentious, yes, she knows she deserves it, no, it does not change her opinion. she has little time for television or films later in life, but her favorites as a girl were always film noir or old hollywood; that’s something she picked up from isabela, though she doesn’t remember that part. she similarly doesn’t have time or much interest in video games, but she’s absolutely abysmal at arcade games. it’s one of the few petty things that enrages her. she doesn’t understand it.

xxi. do they have a temper? are they patient? what are they like when they do lose their temper?

yes. yes, she does. lyra carries almost all of her pain as rage, both emotional and physical; she’s constantly trying to outrun it before it consumes her, finding ways to redirect her energy, to use it. the project helps with that, it gives her an outlet for catharsis. it gives her passion a purpose, a direction. she was spiraling, before. she can usually manage to suppress temper flare-ups, but she dislikes doing it; it will come out another way later on, and it will come out worse. she’s an extremely impatient person, but she’s also fairly specific with what will set her off; she’s unconcerned about most irritants, so while her temper is fast and explosive and dangerous, it’s also not likely to be provoked over petty grievances or upsets.

in other words, it’s always there, but it takes something extreme and severe for her to actually take it out someone. she’s not going to throw a tantrum because someone cut her off or her drink order was wrong.

xxiv. what is their sleeping pattern like? do they snore? what do they like to sleep on? a soft or hard mattress?

pattern-wise, nonexistent; she sleeps when she can, which after the reaping sometimes means in the middle of the day face down on a spare mattress in black horse silo for fifteen minutes. she doesn’t snore unless she’s sick, in which case no one else in the house is sleeping, either; fortunately this is a rare occurrence. she’s actually not particular at all, she can sleep anywhere on anything, even if she does initially tell john she’s moving in because he has the only decent goddamn thread count in the county.

he’s her only sleeping condition, tragically; joseph’s prophecies have her paranoid and she can’t sleep without him. very inconvenient as the holy war approaches. catch her passed out in his lap while he’s trying to do some goddamn paperwork.

xxvii. what makes them sad? do they cry regularly? do they cry openly or hide it? what are they like they are sad?

sadness cripples her; she experiences all emotions in an extremely heightened state, she feels very deeply, and with the exception of anger, which she can externalize and use to fuel her, the affects of negative emotions can literally physically incapacitate her. fortunately — perhaps in part because of this — sadness isn’t something she feels often; when she does, it’s profound and soul-crushing, but she can generally either fix and remove herself from the situation ( running away when she was fifteen when she was crippled by her misery ) or repurpose it and experience it as bitter rage ( which is why she mentally snaps and burns the world down in a fury when she’s grieving ). if there’s no way to redirect it, and it’s something she’s left with, she’s gone. she’s done. she couldn’t function or move for months after the collapse. ( after that she doesn’t cry anymore; the worst has happened, she has no tears left ).

she doesn’t only cry when she’s sad, it also can be when she’s overwhelmed, including by positive emotions; her reaction to being told she was loved was to go cry in the shower for an hour. she generally won’t cry in front of others if she can help it, not because she considers it a sign of weakness so much as she doesn’t want to make it their problem or make them feel obligated towards her.

xxx. do they exercise? regularly? or only when forced? what do they act like pre-work out and post-work out?

not exactly for the sake of it prior to to joining the project, when she began training with jacob; she’s always been in good athletic form, she’s had to be with who and what she is — even before the project there was always the chance of needing to make a getaway, needing to defend herself, needing to attack, so she always kept up her physical strength and endurance, but she never had a gym membership or hit a treadmill three times a week. she’s always had an active lifestyle that’s kept her on her toes. she over-exerts, always, and because of the fact that she doesn’t have that disciplined routine, she easily burns herself out; she’s great in the moment, she’s a force of nature for short bursts of time, but she’s going to crash hard.

#answered #chuckhansen #oc: lyra fairbanks #asks: lyra #lore bible: lyra

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hiccanna-tidbits · 3 years

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Hiccanna--100 OTP Questions, Part 2

So I said I would finish this OTP question meme someday--and I decided, entirely on random impulse, that “someday” is today!!! My Hiccanna-centered account has not been producing enough Hiccanna content lately, and this simply WILL not do.

QUESTION SOURCE: https://the-moon-dust-writings.tumblr.com/post/159857601812/100-otp-questions

LINK TO PART 1: https://hiccanna-tidbits.tumblr.com/post/635744326176129024/hiccanna-100-otp-questions-meme-part-1 51. Does either of them know how to fight? I mean...canonically yeah, they both do??? Lol I mean Hiccup has his fire sword and obviously would know how to fight with the weapons he makes/invents, and Anna literally just instinctively grabs a sword to protect her buddies in Frozen 2 and I mean we all really love Sword Anna anyways and also she PUNCHES A MAN OFF OF A BOAT so long story short yes they can both fight 52. What do they do for Valentines Day? Anna rents a rom-com and pulls Hiccup down onto their couch to watch it with her, and he kinda internally groans because he figures it’ll be something super sappy and cheesy and Anna will just be squealing with delight the whole time. Legit as soon as the first scene begins, Anna begins brutally roasting the main couple. Turns out it’s a really terrible rom-com and Anna rented it solely to make fun of it. Hiccup is like “aight this definitely wasn’t what I was expecting but I’m on board” Also Hiccup gets Anna like 3 boxes of fancy chocolate because...do I really need to explain? Anna gets Hiccup a particularly aesthetic floral arrangement for their kitchen table, something she knows damn well he secretly likes but would never admit XD 53. Who swears more? Anna, for sure. This tends to surprise people, but Anna is actually a notorious pottymouth when she gets comfortable XD Hiccup has a pretty big and borderline pretentious vocabulary, and so he tends to express his frustration in more...articulate ways when things don’t go his way. Like he’d stub his toe and just say “wow, I’d literally rather saw off my other leg than have to deal with this right now” while Anna, in the same situation, would let loose every curse word known to man XD 54. Who has the better comebacks? Hiccup, absolutely. His smart-ass comments to every conceivable situation on earth go absolutely unmatched. Anna can’t help but envy how he can almost instinctually pull out a near-perfect snide remark within seconds, whilst she, at best, thinks of the ideal comeback in the shower 3 days later. 55. Who would start a fight with another parent at a bake sale? I feel like Anna would seek out the most passive-aggressive, bitchy, entitled Karen and just wait with barely-concealed anticipation for her to say something super awful so Anna can just nail her in the face right in front of all the other moms Hiccup and their kids, meanwhile, can’t help but be awed at their wife/mother’s impressive Right Hook 56. Who reads buzzfeed? Anna. Hiccup keeps being like “you know half the stuff on there is total bullshit, right?” and Anna just shrugs like “who cares? It’s entertaining!” 57. Who is the hopeless romantic? Anna, good god, ANNA. After the whole Hans debacle I imagine she’s a bit more subdued about so openly showing this part of her personality, but at heart she just can’t stop being a romantic. Once Hiccup catches wind of this, he naturally makes a point of frequently surprising her with Grand Romantic Gestures and such, which makes Anna’s entire face go bright fuckin red as she cries out “NO STOP WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS YOU’RE TOO NICE” 58. Do either of them know how to do a handstand? Nope! They’d both fall on their faces and it would be hilarious. 59. Who can rap better? I love the idea of them both being looped into a rap battle somehow and Anna just dreading it immensely because she figures they both really suck and then when it’s their turn Hiccup comes out and busts out the BEST, MOST SAVAGE RHYMES Anna has ever heard COMPLETELY ad lib and the poor girl just goes completely catatonic with shock for like 10 minutes. 60. Do either of them want to go sky diving? See initially I was gonna say Hiccup definitely would not because it would give the poor boy an anxiety attack, but then I remembered he basically skydives in canon??? And Anna strikes me as a bit of adrenaline junkie too, so fuck it--yeah, I think they’d both enjoy it. 61. What do they usually text about? They talk a lot about movies, games, books, and shows they both like, I imagine--Hiccup especially likes to overanalyze them to ridiculous extents and Anna thinks this is adorable. The rest of the time, they send each other dumb memes and talk about random animal fun facts. Anna likes to brag that her boyfriend knows more lizard trivia than anyone else on the planet, and how many lizard facts does YOUR boyfriend know? Probably little to none, you big loser. 62. Who is the dramatic one? Anna is INCREDIBLY dramatic. Although Hiccup certainly does have a “dramatic flair,” as he puts it, I still think Anna can out-dramatic him, at the end of the day XD Although perhaps admittedly not by much. 63. Is either one confrontational? Anna certainly can be. She’s usually pretty friendly, but if she ever feels like she’s being challenged, demeaned, mocked, or generally not taken seriously, she’s ready to go to WAR. She certainly not as soft as she might look! I imagine there’s situations where someone is being a dick to either Anna or someone else and Hiccup has to physically hold her back to keep her from just decking them XD 64. What is their favourite cuddle position? Probably just good old-fashioned spooning. Hiccup actually really loves being the little spoon (because Anna just makes him feel so damn safe), but he is loathe to admit it. They also have one I like to call the “Needy Cat,” where Anna just goes and completely drapes herself over Hiccup when he’s sitting on the couch. He’s usually in the middle of doing something else, and is forced to find ways to play video games/read his book/watch his show around Anna XD 65. Who are their favourite musical artist(s)? Hiccup has exactly 3 music moods--pretentious classical stuff (to listen to while working on inventions), obscure underground 90s hipster bands no one’s heard of (to play air guitar to when no one else is home), and some more well-known emo/alt rock stuff (to sing along to in the car dramatically). I can see him liking Panic! at the Disco, The Killers, Fall Out Boy, Linkin Park, that kinda stuff. Anna, meanwhile, likes the trashiest, most generic-sounding pop music and refuses to apologize for dancing to it in the car XD She is most DEFINITELY a Swiftie, no question. She also likes some “edgier” bands like Paramore and Hey Monday. She went through a hardcore Avril Lavigne phase in middle school and she still totally listens to her but is embarrassed to say it. Also I feel like Anna would be into 90s/early 2000s boy bands??? She relates to the boys’ endless pining and just flips the genders in her head so the songs are about Hiccup (before they start dating obs) XD I AM DEFINITELY NOT SPEAKING FROM EXPERIENCE HERE, NO SIR 66. What are their parenting styles? Anna would probably be like...kind of stern, when she needs to be, but intensely nurturing as well, if her relationship with Elsa is anything to go by. Hiccup would be a pretty laid-back, chill dad who would probably try too hard to be cool and make no end of absolutely horrible dad jokes XD They both lowkey seem like the kind of parents who would end up letting their kids get away with a lot though lmao 67. Who would be the more laid back one? Hiccup probably. I mean, he IS the pacifist/diplomat guy, besides have you MET Anna??? Girl absolutely has NO chill. 68. Who listens to more vulgar music? Anna, surprisingly! Hiccup just kinda enjoys what he enjoys and doesn’t really feel the need to “prove” anything by listening to songs that swear a lot. Anna purposely listens to vulgar music to feed her hidden rebellious side and because it makes her feel badass XD She honestly kinda hates being written off as 100% wholesome and innocent all the time and will readily pull out the “I’M NOT A SWEET LITTLE FLOWER I SANG ALONG TO THAT SONG THAT JUST SAID FUCK SEE” line whenever given even the slightest chance XD 69. Do either of them have secrets even the other doesn’t know? Kind of depends on when in both their timelines they meet. If they meet in the middle of HTTYD 1 or Frozen 1, they probably wouldn’t tell the other right away that they have a dragon and an ice-powered supersister, respectively XD I definitely think they would as they came to trust each other, though. Also I read a headcanon that Hiccup has burn scars from the Red Death incident where he lost his leg, and that’s why he wears so much armor and generally long sleeves--and I kind of love that. So maybe Hiccup would be cagey with Anna about how he lost his leg and that whole incident for a while before he finally opens up to her about it. Other than that I feel like they’d be pretty honest with one another, other than maybe trying to hide the more embarrassing parts of themselves to impress the other person XD 70. Who is their go to couple for a double date? Jackunzel, obviously! They’d probably all go to an arcade or an amusement park or something else pretty fun and high-energy. 71. Do they tip the waiter/waitress on their date? I mean yes, they’re not huge assholes????? 72. How do they work out a fight? I imagine Anna tends to get more worked up and yelley and loud, while Hiccup doesn’t raise his voice much at all but can say some damn cutting things if he wants to. Since Anna probably gets angrier, I imagine she apologizes first, whether or not the fight was actually on her or not--it’s just kinda this girl’s default to apologize for everything XD She’d probably say sorry for yelling and probably overreacting, while Hiccup would also be EXTREMELY apologetic if he realized he crossed a line with one of his jabs at her. I imagine a lot of what they fight about is Anna doing some impulsive Dumb Shit^TM and Hiccup just being like “oh god DAMMIT that’s DANGEROUS you can’t just go WORRYING me like that!!!” and Anna getting offended because she kinda views this as him being a little overprotective and not trusting her to make her own decisions. Ironically, Anna occasionally also gets mad at HICCUP for doing Impulsive Dumb Shit, so he’s not always nearly as much the Voice of Reason as he thinks XD Hiccup also sometimes gets mad at Anna for not taking better care of herself (take it from a fellow ADHDer--we tend to Wallow in Despair sometimes, or straight-up forget to do basic care things like eat lunch XD)--I have an IRL friend who reminds me a lot of Hiccup and he’s ALWAYS getting on my case about not eating enough, not drinking enough water, constantly berating myself, stuff like that. I imagine Hiccup sometimes slips into Mom Mode with Anna when she gets in a bad spot, which she appreciates after the fact but kind of annoys her at the time because she wants really badly to be independent and all that. Basically TL;DR most of Anna and Hiccup’s fights can be resolved by Anna and Hiccup agreeing to next time Use A Brain Cell before they do a thing, or Anna agreeing to take better care of herself XD 73. Who brings home an illegal pet? In literally every AU possible I like to think that Hiccup brings home some variation of illegal pet XD I mean, it’s probably just a dragon (”just a dragon” is never a string of words I imagined myself using in that order like what do you mean JUST a dragon lmao) in a standard crossover timeline, which he basically does in canon, but I do love the idea of a modern AU Hiccup showing up to their apartment with some kind of weird exotic monitor lizard from Bali and being like “I found him in an alley, he’s gonna live with us now” and Anna is like “D: Is someone gonna arrest you???” And Hiccup is like “Nah, no cops followed me home” and Anna’s like “Okay!!! :D” and then goes to PetSmart to buy a big fluffy bed for her new scaled friend XD 74. What side of the bed do each of them sleep on? I honestly don’t think either would care much, and they usually sleep in a tangled-up mess anyways so by morning you can’t really tell who started on which side XD 75. What is their favorite photo of them two together? One from before they got together: I’m just imagining a big group photo with the Entire Squad (Rapunzel, Jack, Merida, Moana, etc.), and Anna has her arms laced around Hiccup’s neck and her chin on his shoulder and a GIANT smirk on her face. Meanwhile Hiccup is laughing and trying to push her off, but his cheeks are BRIGHT fucking red and he’s trying really unsuccessfully to hide it because he’s a pale boi. Anna loves it because you can so CLEARLY see Hiccup’s blush, and she loves to tease him about how flustered he got around her. Hiccup loves it because it reminds him of what was probably the first time Anna was THAT openly cuddly with him, and how exhilarated and giddy he felt the first time he had her that close to him. 76. Who takes longer in the bathroom? Probably Hiccup, if only because I HC him as a bit of a germophobe who is a tiny bit obsessive about washing his hands sufficiently. 77. Who has more songs on their ipod? Anna, mainly because literally every time she hears a song she likes she’s like “!!!!! Gotta download it!!!!” LITERALLY EVERY TIME. And she wonders why her ipod is always running out of space XD 78. What movie did they first see together? As of the Modern AU Hiccanna one-shot I wrote ages ago, Revenge of the Ancient Dragon Masters! XD If we’re talking movies that actually exist, I imagine it would be a Marvel movie, a Star Wars movie, or some super-fancy-CGI high fantasy epic. 79. What do they like to see each other in? You mean like...which of the other’s outfits would they find the sexiest??? Aight, I’ll take a stab at this. Anna gets literally SO fuckin thirsty every time Hiccup wears his dragon rider outfit (the one from HTTYD 2), like it shows off his cute skinny body in the most perfect possible way whilst making him look like a badass and oh how Anna DREAMS of feeling him up in that! (One day, she finally gets to! XD) She’s also very into the scale armor from HTTYD 3 when she’s in...a very different kind of mood XD As for Hiccup, his favorite outfits of Anna’s are probably her coronation dress and her queen dress, mainly because he loves how she looks in green. He also really likes her travel outfit from Frozen 2, mainly because it’s sexy AND practical and damn, he’s gotta admit, that’s a nice shade of purple and she absolutely SLAYS in it XD 80. Who makes jokes during inappropriate times? Honestly both of them??? Like neither are great at picking up social cues, and Anna canonically DOES do this in Frozen! (Remember her comment about ice-selling being “a rough business to be in right now”???) I can see both of them attempting to lighten a tense mood by making an ill-timed joke, hoping to make things less uncomfortable, and they end up making everything MORE uncomfortable XD Honestly sue me, I love the idea of these two idiots bonding over how terrible they are with social cues in general 81. At what age do they discuss the possibility of children? I imagine not til like...their early 30s, if ever. Like I mentioned in the first part of the questionaire, I actually am not sure if they would even want to have kids at all, but if they DID decide to, it definitely wouldn’t be until they’re older and have settled down a bit, and have (somewhat) gotten both of their lives together. 82. What do they love about each other the most? Hiccup loves Anna’s energy and optimism, and how she’ll basically cheer him on and believe in him with all her being no matter how high the odds are stacked against him. And oh boy does he LOVE how hard she can kick ass when push comes to shove, and how goddamn overprotective she is of him. The sword skills and the general willingness to punch problematic people in the face are definitely up there as well. She’s like the perfect blend of fun and badass, and there’s never a dull moment with her for him. Anna adores Hiccup’s connection with animals and general animal skills, especially with the more less-loved and “scary” of the world’s creatures (i.e. dragons lol). She also loves and admires the shit out of his intelligence and inventiveness, and wishes she could make contraptions half as cool as what he turns out. And, of course, she loves that he’s a pretty humble dude who's actually pretty insecure about his accomplishments, and isn’t some cocky guy wanting to shove them in everyone’s face. And, of course, she loves his sarcasm and his dry sense of humor, and few people can make her laugh as hard as Hiccup can. Before she met him, she had no idea pessimism could be this entertaining XD 83. Who is the one that sees the big picture, while the other focus’s on the small details? Hiccup is very detail-oriented--he has to be, in order to make any of his contraptions work! Anna is very much focused on the big picture and gets stressed and exasperated trying to keep track of details--she figures she’ll either sort through the details as she goes, or Hiccup will help do it for her XD 84. What would they write on their partner’s social media’s for their anniversary? One of my IRL friends wrote “Happy anniversary bro, you’re pretty great” on his girlfriend’s instagram for their anniversary, and she wrote back “Happy anniversary, you’re a good buddy, I love you” and I just XD That’s the EXACT kind of weird dorky nonsense I can see Hiccup and Anna doing for their anniversary tbh 85. Who is bad at math? Anna, bless her soul, needs a calculator for literally EVERYTHING. Hiccup kinda trained himself to be decent at doing math in his head, since he often has to calculate measurements for his inventions and whatnot, but Anna is absolutely atrocious at it and generally would like overly-complicated numbers to not be anywhere near her. 86. Who googles everything? Probably Anna, mainly because she’s pretty forgetful and doesn’t trust her own memory half the time so she feels the need to verify everything on the internet XD 87. Who does stuff on impulse? Anna 100% canonically does, although Hiccup has some shades of this too more than he would ever admit, in fact, for someone claiming to be the Voice of Reason 88. How do they comfort each other when they are helpless to do anything about the situation? Hiccup’s approach is probably just to try and distract Anna and take her mind off of it, which he’ll do by either trying to make her laugh, telling her a story, or explaining one of his inventions to her (which she never gets bored with btw, because everything that boy gushes about is fascinating to her <3). Basically he figures if he entertains her enough, it’ll take her mind off of whatever is freaking her out and she won’t fixate on it as much. Anna’s approach is more to accentuate the positives in a bad situation (although like I mentioned in Part 1, not really in a condescending “count your blessings, it could be worse!” kind of way, but more in a “I hope he’ll feel better if he focuses on happy things” kind of way, if that makes any sense?) and also focus on when Hiccup DID do great and utterly kick ass and tell him he’s always better than he thinks he is. 89. What is an inside joke they have? If anything, him calling her “Tiger” as a pet name (which I think I mentioned briefly in Part 1??? Can’t remember) is this, because in my mind it developed because whenever Anna is about to do some Dumb Shit, or punch someone she really shouldn’t in the face, Hiccup has to physically hold her back like “Whoa, slow down there, Tiger!” This happens so frequently that eventually it just gets shortened to him nicknaming her “Tiger” and all their friends are kind of baffled as to why XD 90. Who makes the other smile with almost no effort at all? Hiccup barely even needs to start talking in funny accents or imitating his dad before Anna is just DYING laughing. She thinks he’s the funniest damn person on earth. He honestly gets a kick out of her impressions too--she can do some pretty amusing ones, if that deleted coronation dress-up scene from Frozen 1 is anything to go by. So the feeling is mutual!!! They’re super good at making each other smile and laugh with little to no effort!!! 91. What is their favourite holiday? I feel like Anna especially would get REALLY into Christmas/Yule, mainly because of how much Elsa can spice it up with her powers. And judging by the OFA short, Arendelle gets very hyped for the holidays in general, so it’s probably hard NOT to have a good time. Anna probably also like Mayday a lot because the dancing, the spring cheeriness, and the flower-related festivities are definitely to her taste. Hiccup just likes the energy and general vibes, and would rather sit back and relax and watch Anna dance around and have fun XD Also dun best believe they BOTH get hella into Halloween, because they’re dramatic motherfuckers who loves to dress up, and it gives Anna an excuse to buy a shitton of chocolate and eat all the leftovers XD 92. Who is the one that is calm and collected while the other is angry and destructive? Lmao Anna is definitely the “berserker” of the two of them. She DOES tend to get destructive when she’s angry, if being ready to fight a giant-ass snowman and smacking a wolf in the face with a lute is anything to go by. Hiccup is definitely the calm and collected one, and very rarely gets genuinely angry. 93. What is their favourite board game to play? Does Dungeons and Dragons count??? I can totally imagine Hiccup being hyped up over that or some other super nerdy RPG game and being so enthused to show it to Anna, who just falls even more in love with him after seeing how EXCITED he gets about it. Of course he’s super eager to teach her, and TBH Anna has a really hard time getting it at first because DAMN these rules are COMPLICATED, but after she finally gets the hang of it, she realizes she absolutely LOVES DnD and RPG games in general (I mean...have you SEEN OFA??? Girl gets just a little TOO into reminiscing about her old play-pretend toys XD) and she and Hiccup constantly geek out about it together. 94. Who accidental sets something on fire? Anna, 100% also this is an ever funnier question if applied to Hiccanna in my Fire!Anna AU 95. Who has the car ready while the other is robbing the store? Anna is waiting while Hiccup robs the store, if for no other reason than that Hiccup is much better at Stealth Mode than Anna is XD Anna’s uncoordinated ass would probably knock over like 5 shelves’ worth of merchandise before reaching what they were actually trying to rob XD 96. What artist/group did they go to for their first concert? I M A G I N E D R A G O N S lmao Look what can I say Anna likes the Imagine and Hiccup likes the Dragons 97. Who sleep talks? Hiccup. He mumbles about dragons a lot. Sometimes he jolts awake randomly and just yells out “THE DRAGONS ARE IN TROUBLE!” and Anna has to calm him down after she dutifully manages to not burst into laughter at this. Doubly funny if this takes place in a Modern AU. 98. Who is the more social one? Anna! Hiccup generally prefers to either keep to himself or hang out with animals. 99. What are their karaoke songs? For some reason I feel like anything by P!nk??? Idk why, but I can see them like rocking out and singing along to p!nk songs together and getting really into it. Also basically anything by The Killers and, at Anna’s request, The Chainsmokers (Hiccup thinks this is very basic music indeed but goes along with it for her sake XD). AND “Whatever It Takes” by Imagine Dragons. And they sing it LOUD. 100. Who would get up on stage and make a fool of themselves just to make the other laugh? Highkey both of them??? I kinda feel like Hiccup moreso though, if his little comedy routine imitating his dad in HTTYD2 is anything to go off of. He definitely wouldn’t be averse to making an idiot of himself to amuse Anna, especially since she’s so damn cute when she laughs. Anna, for her part, loves returning the favor, and is all about trying to do all sorts of Goofy Antics to amuse her boyfriend. And she’s overdramatic af, so she gets WAY too into it XD

#hiccanna #hiccup x anna #anna x hiccup #hiccup #anna #otp questions #hiccupxanna #annaxhiccup #rotbtd #rotbtfd #httyd #frozen #crossover #hiccup haddock #princess anna #queen anna

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theseerasures · 3 years

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Conspicuous Media Consumption, 2020

it’s that time of year again! *saddest toot from the party horn*

for those of you just joining us: it’s a “consume a different content every week for 48 weeks of the year” challenge. for a longer explanation, check out last year’s write-up here, and as always, feel free to pop in and ask questions about any and all of this content.

(same disclaimer as last year too: content for this project ONLY here, and not certain...*looks at my billion Sad Cop Lady posts*...hyperfixations.)

(man remember when i was big into X-Men comics earlier this year? better times than these, if only because no one's discoursing about Emma Frost’s woobie/war criminal ratio anymore--her w/w, if you will)

(...i swear at one point i didn’t exclusively like platinum blondes but alas)

Bitter Root (comic, 1 issue finished 1/1/2020): still very cool on a basic concept level, but runs into the Image Comics problem of just not having enough content to keep my interest beyond that. part of that is on me, for picking it up again BEFORE the second arc rolled out, but the first five issues didn’t really follow (or resolve) any cohesive story either, so...meh.

Immortal Hulk (comic, 3 trades finished 1/17/2020): still not gonna be something i care deeply about (maybe one of Bruce’s Hulksonas dyed his hair???), but i do want to give kudos to Al Ewing for sheer consistency in terms of sustaining this level of quality storytelling month by month for more than two years now. working with the dense archive of the Hulk mythos and managing to make it interesting and thoughtful is impressive even if i personally would not expend the same effort.

Disco Elysium (game, finished 1/18/2020): honestly i should have twigged onto what this year was gonna be like when the third thing i drew from the barrel was pure uncut Eastern European flavored depression. i faintly recall people ragging on it for being pretentiously cynical, but i actually thought its core slid more towards idealism than people give it credit for. also gratified that i haven’t heard anything about Robert Kurvitz using slave labor to finish it, which is a thing we have to say about our video games now!!! fun.

Watchmen (TV, 7 episodes finished 1/27/2020): i am a fool who wants to believe in Damon Lindelof and I WAS RIGHT!!! honestly still cannot believe that he pulled off this highwire act with such deft aplomb. might be my favorite TV this year, which is a pretty high bar given how much TV i ended up watching.

On a Sunbeam (comic, finished 2/1/2020): Tillie Walden rightly deserves all the praise for inventive queer storytelling, but i will say that on reread--since i first read this as a webcomic--there ARE some issues with pacing here that clearly come from the foibles of its original intended medium. still just excellent, even if after some plot significant haircuts i was having trouble telling a few folks apart.

Lazarus (comic, 1 trade finished 2/8/2020): it’s so good and i want moooooorrrreee--though obviously Rucka and Lark have the right to take all the time they need. the newer longer issues work really well with the epic prestige drama vibes of the story! i’m into it.

The Good Place (TV, 4 seasons finished 2/18/2020): i’m gonna be super honest: i actually wasn’t a big fan of the finale, nor the last season as a whole. it felt like all of Eleanor’s flaws vanished for a majority of the season, and the Chidi-centric episode where they tried to give a legible justification for why he’s Like This was...i didn’t care for it. still, it’s so good and unique on the WHOLE that we’ll literally never get anything like this ever again, and that counts for a lot.

The Old Republic (game, finished 2/21/2020): it’s an MMO so it will never actually Be Finished so long as the servers aren’t shut down, but i caught up on the content i’d missed in the intervening months. Onslaught thus far has mostly been...kinda bland tbh; going back to Imps vs. Rebs after all the shakeups in the previous expansions feels like a waste.

High Road (album, finished 2/22/2020): someone should tell Kesha not to say that word!! otherwise i was very happy with this album, and happy FOR her even though we don’t know each other. being able to find joy again in the same genre of music you made while you were being horrifically exploited is very cool.

Young Justice (TV, 13 episodes finished 2/28/2020): given how much the middle stuff dragged--STOP KILLING YOUR HIJABI CHARACTER IN HORRIFIC WAYS--i was...actually kinda mad by how the end managed to stick the landing anyway. the day being saved by Vic’s self-acceptance and Violet’s sublime compassion was A+, and even the Brion/Tara switchup was a pleasant surprise, though it relied on me caring about Brion MUCH MORE than i actually did.

Manic (album, finished 2/29/2020): do people still care for/about Halsey? i feel like even That One Song that was on every tumblr gifset ever has kinda faded into obscurity at this point. this album was...okay. i feel like people give Halsey a pass for extremely obvious lyrical turns that they wouldn’t for other folks because of her subject material--which is fine. not really my cup of tea, but i also listened to lots of Relient K this year, so that’s probably a good thing.

Jade Empire (game, 3/10/2020): the only 3D-era Bioware game that didn’t franchise out, and for good fucking reason!!! the Orientalism and appropriation really haven’t aged well, and even beyond that the story was...standard Bioware faire. even my usual “my wife’s a bitch i love her” Bioware type didn’t do it for me, and i just ended up romancing no one. it did make me think a lot about what level of cultural borrowing is accepted nowadays, and why: people still look fondly at Avatar and talk about how ~accurate and respectful it was, for example, despite it being staffed almost entirely by white folks, and the Orientalism ALL OVER the monk class in DND is still fine for some reason.

Alif the Unseen (book, finished 3/31/2020): interesting to have read this AFTER reading The Bird King last year, because it highlights how the intervening years have shifted G. Willow Wilson’s thematic interest and improved her craft. i’m actually quite fond of how her characterization work is rougher here--Alif is extremely flawed to the point of being insufferable, but it makes his development by the end more satisfying. Dina is also just good and i love her

Baldur’s Gate (2 games, finished 5/31/2020): well, having finally finished the series i’m happy to say that it...still doesn’t really do it for me, sorry. any awesome story moments were overshadowed by the EXCRUCIATING inventory management system and the combat (i still don’t know what a THAC0 is and at this point i’m afraid to find out). these games crucially lack the Home Base that later Bioware games were so good about, and that (coupled with the huge cast of characters you can drop off and never see again) really hurts the intimacy for me. by the time we finally did get one it was the Hell Dimension in Throne of Bhaal, and i was just...trying to get through it. (yes, i did just say that about one of the most beloved expansions ever to one of the most beloved games ever.) THIS particular iteration of “my wife’s a bitch i love her” was very good, but the game wouldn’t let me romance her :(

The Underground Railroad (book, finished 6/19/2020): honestly what is there even left to say at this point! it was exactly as good as every critic on the planet said it was, even with my usual aversion to hype. draining and horrifying in turns but still insistent upon a future for Black folks.

Steven Universe (6 seasons and a mooooooviiieeee, finished 7/11/2020): yes, i DID finish the show and almost immediately begin a rewatch. this series is now one of my top five most formative things, and the amount of love and respect i have for it is incalculable. that said: i once again did not love how the central conflict of Future was resolved (just the resolution--i loved the finale just fine). for all of Steven’s breakdown was built up, resolving it with “EVERYONE HUG HIM UNTIL HE CRIES” felt...cheap, especially since up until this point the show had been so good about treating trauma and mental illness with the respect and nuance it deserves. it made me wish some of the earlier, less substantial episodes had been cut so we could spend more time at the end.

What It Is (comic, finished 8/19/2020): y’all i love Lynda Barry SO MUCH. for the longest time i was worried that One Hundred Demons was more a lightning in a bottle situation but every book of hers i pick up makes me feel obscure emotions i didn’t even realize existed. the compassionate way she’s able to describe her child self and how weird and fucked up she was (and still is) is honestly aspirational.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (TV, 5 seasons finished 9/26/2020): so here’s a reversal of what i’ve been complaining about with other shows: i was mostly lukewarm-to-warm about She-Ra, but the later seasons and the finale made me much more into it as a whole. more shows should improve in stakes and overall quality as they age tbh!! i still don’t actively love Catradora (my sole quibble with season 5 actually has to do with the way Adora kept backsliding as a character to make certain Plot/Relationship things happen), but i’m very happy for them nonetheless. i can certainly appreciate a show that will go for High Feeling over tight plot. dark horse standout moments: trees growing everywhere proving that Perfuma Was Right, and Hordak and Adora seeing each other--that weirdly intimate moment of recognition.

Fetch the Bolt Cutters (album, finished 10/7/2020): again i find myself not having much to say that no one else has said. it’s good! once again love it when an artist reclaims something they’d attached with negative affect (anxiety, depression, disordered eating) for better and brighter things.

Solutions and Other Problems (comic, finished 10/25/2020): i was very into Allie Brosh’s ambition with this book, which feels weird to say but i stand by it. it’s cool to see an artist try to make a new medium work for them instead of just sticking to what already works. not all the experimentation was 100% effective, but it was still delightful and occasionally devastating to read, so.

Legend of Zelda (3 games: Ocarina of Time, Majora’s Mask, Link Between Worlds, finished 11/1/2020): this was the third time i’d played Ocarina of Time, which made it the nice, comforting groove i settled into before Majora’s Mask blatted me in the face. i’m not usually a completionist Zelda person because...the gameplay in Zelda is bad, do not at me it just is, but i really felt like i HAD to be one for Majora’s Mask since the whole point is to get attached to the banalities of the town. i’m sure nobody’s surprised that i loved it, even if it gave me an existential crisis about how life goes on in the game for NPCs when you’re not there to save them from it, and there’s not enough time to save them all all the time (also not a surprise to anyone: Romani and Cremia gave Personal Feelings). Link Between Worlds...bad. not like in a “this is a bad story by every measurable gauge” way, but i was already struggling with the 2D playstyle shift enough that for the whole story to end with some “yes it’s v sad that Lorule is Like This but trying to steal Hyrule’s privilege is Even Worse Actually” noblesse oblige bullshit left a VERY poor taste in my mouth, this year of all years. i did audibly gasp when Ravio took off his mask, though. i’m currently playing Breath of the Wild in cautious increments; it’s the first time i’ve enjoyed early Zelda gameplay, but if they wanted fully voiced cutscenes i wish they got voice actors who...knew what words sound like.

folklore (album, finished 11/6/2020): my belief that Taylor Swift is Just Fine continues, i’m afraid. i LIKED this album, don’t get me wrong, and respect her constant drive to innovate, but i didn’t love it substantially more or less than any other Taylor Swift album. mostly i’m just tickled by how she thinks leaning into the indie aesthetic means borrowing Vita Sackville-West’s entire wardrobe, though i will admit to feeling Something when she swore in a song. i think it was like. savage vindication?? you go ahead and swear, Taylor Swift. you deserve it.

Shore (album, finished 11/19/2020): do people still care about the Fleet Foxes? i think there was some Drama with Josh Tillman a while back but i don’t remember where the discourse landed with who was being more problematic. it was nostalgic for me to listen to their new album--made me remember being an undergrad who exclusively listened to men who mumbled and played acoustic guitar all over again.

Star Wars (3 movies: original trilogy, finished 11/27/2020): there is So Much bad Star Wars these days that every time i rewatch the original trilogy i’m afraid that they will suddenly be bad, but guess what! they’re not. i love these children and their hot mess stories, i love that Lando doesn’t know how to say his best friend’s name. what stood out to me this time was the way Obi-Wan described the Force in A New Hope, which strongly implied that ANYONE can be Force Sensitive; that obviously faded with each subsequent movie, but part of me does wish they’d kept it.

X of Swords (comics, 22 issues finished 12/5/2020): i am enjoying Hickman’s X-lines!!! not so much here for the Grand Conspiracy or whatever, but the character work and highkey weirdness is fabulous--they FEEL like X-Men, despite all the shakeups in-universe. this crossover is a nice microcosm of all that: grandiloquently all over the place, but still full of cool standout moments and genuine hilarity. ILLYANA DOESN’T KNOW HOW TO SPELL MAGIC.

Fire Emblem (4 games: Sacred Stones, Path of Radiance, Radiant Dawn, Awakening, finished 12/14/2020): this was the thing that i was closest to giving up early on, but i ended up hyperfixating on it instead. that’s a credit to what the gameplay does to my lizard brain more than anything else, because the story and character writing is...insipid. it was very bizarre to witness this franchise blunder around with its animal-people racism allegory around the same time i was getting back into RWBY, and ITS animal-people racism allegory blunders. Awakening was the first time i felt anything for the franchise beyond “teehee red units disappear make exp bar go up and brain go ding,” so i’m excited for more mature storytelling in subsequent games (they MUST get better. they MUST). the child husbandry thing is...very bad tho, and Apotheosis being “challenging” entirely through the game changing all the rules is also bad.

once again no vidya games that came out this year--i’ll probably pick up Spiritfarer or Hades after the New Year, though (or maybe TLOU II! but probably not. sry Laura and Ashley). more TV and franchises this year, which made me feel In Touch with the Children but was also kinda exhausting. nothing was so egregiously terrible i dropped it without finishing! in a year like this that feels almost like an accomplishment

#conspicuous media consumption

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imaginedisish · 5 years

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Bizarre Love Triangle, Chapter 1 (Bandersnatch) (Colin Ritman x Reader) (Stefan Butler x Reader)

|Chapter 2|

A/N: Heyyyy guys!!! Sorry this took so long to get up! I hope you enjoy my FIRST MULTI CHAPTER FIC!!!! It’s based on two anon requests, one regarding Stefan x Colin x Reader, and another about Colin and the reader working for Tuckersoft and falling for each other. To those two anons, I hope this satisfies your requests :) The title is based on the New Order song of the same name, btws... Okay, that’s all! Thanks guys! Enjoy! Get ready for one hell of a bizarre love triangle...

Summary: You and Colin are best friends, and have been for quite some time. One day, he introduces you to Stefan Butler, and you immediately fall for the emerald eyed boy. However, Colin quickly becomes jealous, and drama ensues...

Warnings: Maybe some language, mega canon divergence, jealous!Colin. That’s it for now...(smut will happen later y'all so just be ready for that)

Word Count: 2,224 :)

Sunlight creeps through your curtains, the rays stretching their glowing arms across your bed, brushing against your face. You eyes reluctantly open, and you turn over in your warm bed. You look over to the clock.

7:29 am, it reads.

“Dammit,” you sigh, pushing yourself to sit up. Suddenly, your alarm starts blaring throughout your flat. You groan in annoyance.

I know when to go out, know when to stay in, get things done, David Bowie sings “Modern Love” from the little clock on your nightstand. You can’t help but dance along.

“Never gonna fall for! Modern Love! Walks beside me!” You sing along with the song cheerfully, until you hear a knock at the door. You assume it’s just the neighbors complaining about the noise. You trod over to the front door, and open it hesitantly.

To your surprise, it isn’t the neighbors. A smile stretches across your face.

“Colin!” You wrap your arms around the pretentious blonde boy, and he lets out a small chuckle.

“You’re chipper this morning,” He says, beaming. You giggle as he hands you a cup of coffee. You open the door all the way, and motion for him to come in. He does so, and you shut the door behind him.

David Bowie’s voice still rings throughout the flat as you pull out a chair from your kitchen table. Colin does the same, sitting across from you.

“Thanks for the coffee,” You say, and Colin nods in response. You and Colin were best friends. You had been through grade school with each other, then high school, and even college. You two faced every hardship and challenge life threw at you together. You held his hand when Kitty left him, and when she took Pearl with her. He refused to leave your side when your mother passed away, when it felt like your life was falling apart. You told each other everything, and you wouldn’t want it any other way.

Now you two worked as game designers at Tuckersoft, an up-and-coming video game studio. Your coworkers had a bad habit of putting Colin on a pedestal, never telling him the truth or their honest opinions on what it was that he created. The other women working in your office were either head over heels in love with him, or incredibly intimidated by him. The men who worked in your office either wanted to be him, or be liked by him.

You, however, made sure to tell him the truth. It was almost your responsibility to deflate his ego every now and again. You weren’t intimidated by his abilities, nor would you ever let how you feel about him get in the way of work. You cared about him too much to allow a game of his to flop, so you always gave him your honest opinion on everything he produced, and he always listened.

“Oh, I forgot something!” Colin says as he reaches into his army green messenger bag. He pulls out a plastic bag. “I picked this up for you.” Colin smiles, passing the plastic bag over to you.

“You didn’t have to do this,” You say, your gaze meeting Colin’s deep blue stare.

“Go on, open it.” Colin beams up at you. You smile back, opening the bag, the plastic crinkling under your touch.

You’re shocked as you pull out a first edition copy of The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, and Transformer by Lou Reed on vinyl. The Bell Jar was one of your favorite novels, since you fell in love with Sylvia Plath in high school, and you had been searching for Transformer for months. Unfortunately, you failed to find it each and every time you and Colin went out to search in the shops. You were amazed to say the least.

“C-colin, h-how…” You trail off, still in awe at Colin’ gift.

“The Lou Reed is first edition too,” Colin says, pointing to the record in your hand. Your jaw drops. “That was a part of the first batch to be pressed.” He adjusts his silver glasses nonchalantly, sitting back in his seat.

“Colin this is incredible. You really shouldn’t have done this. I mean it must have cost you a for-,” Colin cuts you off.

“Don’t worry about cost.” Colin stands up from his seat. “Drinks at the pub after work? I want you to meet a new friend of mine.”

“Yeah, sounds good,” you say, standing up as well. Colin walks over to the front door.

“See you at work,” Colin says, giving you a two finger salute from his forehead with one hand, his other on the door knob. You smile, waving goodbye as he walks out.

The day goes by relatively quickly. Still, you count the hours until you get to leave, looking at the clock every five minutes, expecting an hour to go by each time you take a glance.

Finally, five o’clock hits. You gather your things, and head over to Colin’s cubicle.

You reach his cubicle, but Colin is nowhere to be seen. His things are gone, and his computer is off. You assume he left early, and was most likely already at the pub. You make your way out of Tuckersoft, and onto the streets of South London.

You put your headphones on as you walk down the street, Panic by The Smiths masking the chaotic noise of the city.

After a short walk, you approach the pub. You take your headphones off, and place them in your brown messenger bag as you pull open the door to the pub.

A head of spiky blonde hair immediately catches your eyes across the bar, and you walk over to him.

“There she is! The woman of the hour!” Colin says cheerfully, a beer in his hand. You can’t help but let out a small laugh.

“So who am I meeting, this evening?” You ask, a smile plastered across your face. Colin puts his beer down.

“My friend, Stefan. He works for Tuckersoft now. He’s that kid producing his own game at home,” Colin states matter of factly. You nod your head. “Here he is now! Stefan!” Colin stands up, waving to someone behind you. You turn around.

His eyes glow in the dimly lit pub. It’s almost as if they were carefully crafted with millions of emerald gems. His brown hair his a cute, fluffy mess. His pale, thin, red lips curl into a small smile. He nervously waves, and makes his way towards you and Colin.

“You didn’t say how cute he was, Colin!” You jokingly punching the blonde boy across the shoulder.

“Hey, that hurt! You better watch yourself, (Y/L/N),” Colin says, making the I’m Watching You, gesture with his hands. Stefan finally reaches where you and Colin are. “Hello, whizkid!” Colin pats him on the back.

“Hi, I’m (Y/N), Colin’s friend,” You say, extending a hand out towards Stefan.

“I’m Stefan,” he says, accepting the gesture, taking your hand in his. “Colin has told me a lot about you.”

“Likewise.” You smile at him, hesitantly releasing Stefan’s hand from yours. “So how come I don’t see you around the office?”

“I w-work from home. I prefer working alone,” Stefan says, his eyes still shining brightly.

“I think I’d drive myself insane working at home,” You say back, giggling slightly.

“Music and books tend to keep me sane,” Stefan says, a shy smile slowly spreading across his face.

“What do you listen to? Any favorite authors?” You ask.

“I like Frankie Goes to Hollywood quite a bit, Talking Heads as well. I love Bowie, though. And of course The Beatles, Lou Reed,” He pauses. You can’t help but grin. He likes exactly what you like. “My favorite novel is probably Bandersnatch by Jerome F. Davies. That’s actually what I’m basing by video game off of. It’s a chose your own adventure.”

“That’s amazing! Davies was a genius,” You say back to the fluffy haired boy.

“He really was! Well enough about me, what about you?” He says, his shyness fading away.

You talk about Joy Division, The Cure, The Smiths, Queen, Sylvia Plath, J.D Salinger, Ernest Hemingway, and more. Everything you say, he agrees with. Everything he says, you agree with. You two were really hitting it off.

Colin wasn’t saying much. His lips practically never left his drink. And when they did, it was simply to ask for another.

“I’ll be right back, going to hit the washroom,” Stefan says. You nod, and turn back to Colin.

“Are you alright?” You ask Colin. He turns to face you.

“I’m fine,” He says harshly, turning his head forward again.

“D-do you know if…” You trail off. “If Stefan is single?” You say finally. Colin whips his head back towards you.

“What? Whizkid? No way. You’re not actually into him, are you?” Colin says, anger in his voice. You’re confused as you search Colin’s eyes for some sort of explanation to his rash behavior.

“Why are you acting like this?” You question, annoyed by Colin’s reaction. Colin shakes his head in disapproval.

“He’s single, sure, fine, whatever,” He says, his cheeks becoming extremely red. You don’t understand what the problem is. Colin introduced you to Stefan, so what was the big deal?

“Did I do something?” You ask Colin. You and Colin never fought. He never once treated you like this. You were extremely taken back. You frown, upset. Colin recognizes the sadness in your face.

“No, no. I-I’m sorry,” He says, trailing off. Colin fiddles with his beer, and turns his head back to face the barkeep. “Another, round, mate.”

You see Stefan walking back towards the bar. A few seconds later, he reaches you and Colin, but doesn’t sit down.

“It’s getting late, I think I’m going to head out,” Stefan says apologetically. You hear Colin mumble a finally, from behind you.

“It was great to meet you,” You say, smiling. “But don’t go just yet, I have something to give you.” You grab a napkin from the holder in front of you, and you reach into your messenger bag in search of a pen. You quickly write a set of numbers on the napkin, handing the paper to Stefan once you’re done. “This is my phone number, call me.”

Stefan takes the napkin from your hand, beaming with joy. “Y-yes, t-totally. I-I w-will,” He stutters. Stefan says goodnight, waves, and walks away.

“Y-yes, t-totally. I-I w-will,” Colin mocks as the fluffy haired boy walks out of the pub.

“Colin, come on. I thought he was your friend. Aren’t you two close?” You question curiously.

“Well I’m not the biggest fan of my two closest friends leaving me to be a third wheel,” Colin states, annoyed. There was a certain nervousness in his voice that you hadn’t ever heard before. It was almost as if Colin was lying to you. You knew he wasn’t telling you the complete truth.

“Are you sure that’s it?” You ask, expecting him to say something more.

“Yep. Now can we get out of here?” Colin puts 15 pounds on the bar top, and hops off the stool he was sitting on. “I’ll walk you home.”

The walk home was quiet. Colin usually had something to talk about, but not tonight. After a few minutes, you reach your building.

“Thanks for walking me home, Colin,” You say, smiling slightly. Colin steps forward, wrapping his arms around you.

“Anytime,” Colin says into your neck, sending chills down your spine. This wasn’t like him. Something was up. You pull apart from his embrace.

“Get some sleep, okay?” You say to him. He nods in response. He must’ve just drank too much, You think to yourself.

“Goodnight, (Y/L/N),” Colin says, walking away.

“Goodnight, Ritman,” You shout. You make your way into your building and up to your flat, unlocking the door and stepping inside.

The minute you pass through the doorway, your phone begins to ring. You walk over, picking it up.

Who could be calling so late? You think to yourself.

“Hello?”

“H-hi, (Y/N)?”

“Stefan!” You can’t help but smile.

“I-I h-hope it isn’t t-too l-late,” He stutters nervously.

“No, not at all. What’s up?” You ask, your smile growing wider.

“W-well, I-I was wondering if you,” He pauses. “I-if you w-wanted t-to go on a d-date sometime time?” You eyes light up with excitement.

“Yes!” You practically scream. “I’d love to!”

“Does tomorrow at six work for you?” Stefan asks, no longer stuttering, his nervousness fading away.

“Yes, that’s perfect, more than perfect, even!” Your heart flutters in your chest.

“Great. I’ll pick you up at six tomorrow,” He says, excitement in his voice. You give him your address, and solidify the plans. You say goodnight, and hang up the phone.

Then, your mind lands on Colin. Let’s just hope he doesn’t freak out too much, You think to yourself. How on earth am I supposed to tell him about this?

You try not to think about Colin’s opposition to your newfound relationship as you get yourself ready for bed.

You were going on a date with Stefan tomorrow, and that was all that mattered.

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jayykesley · 4 years

Note

1-30 for Derick and Rosalyn ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

1. If your OC was an action figure/doll being sold at a toy store, what items would come packaged with them? What phrases would they say when their string is pulled?

Derick: obviously a small cat toy, and its just a lot of “sorry, excuse me, sorry”

Rosalyn: her yellow scarf, and “stop asking questions”

2. Your OC’s favorite song just came on the radio, but they’re in public! Do they contain themselves or do they rock out without a second thought?

Derick: absolutely not, nothing he would hate more than attracting attention to himself in public

Rosalyn: not outright dancing, but shes tapping her foot or nodding along unconsciously

3. Does your OC revel in celebrating holidays/birthdays or do they have zero holiday spirit?

Derick: holidays dont bring a ton of happy memories, so on his own he doesnt do much to celebrate. But with his new friends and family, hes more open to making happier memories

Rosalyn: she herself doesnt go big, but she’s not Scrooge or anything if the people around her want to celebrate

4. How much effort does your OC put in when it comes to giving presents to friends?

Derick: i think gift-giving is his love language? so while he doesnt give extravagant gifts, they all come from the heart (flowers, cool rocks, etc)

Rosalyn: all her gifts are purely functional - you mention you ran out of razors? she’s got you. need a tire pressure gauge for your car? that’s your birthday gift. she once bought roswell a box of colorful bandaids and a new belt for their “camp-iversary”

5. Does your OC have a role model or someone they idolize? How would they react to meeting them?

Derick: not really, he’s more intimidated than in awe of people that are “above” him

Rosalyn: she definitely looks up to Dr. Gatling

6. How organized is your OC’s workspace?

Derick: a bit scattered, but mostly somewhat clean

Rosalyn: scarily organized and very minimalist

7. What would be your OC’s ideal vacation destination?

Derick: he’s not huge into traveling, so anywhere that allows him to sleep in his own bed at the end of the day

Rosalyn: anywhere, she wants to go anywhere and everywhere, she wants to see everything and experience everything and just feel free

8. Which of your OCs sleeps the most? The least?

Derick, although he is probably at least a little depressed, so its not exactly healthy

9. Is there anything peculiar about your OC’s teeth? Anything crooked, missing, or discolored?

Derick: hes got that perfect rich boy smileTM

rosalyn: shes got a couple chipped teeth, could possibly stand to whiten them if she felt like it

10. Which of your OCs has all the sass? Who has all the class?

of the two of them, rosalyns got the sass and dericks got the class

11. Is your OC a sore loser or a graceful one? When they do win, do they gloat or are they humble about it?

derick: very humble (again, hates the extra attention)

rosalyn: not a sore loser, but WILL rub it in carson’s face if she beats him in anything

12. Does your OC try to set a good example for those around them or could they care less about the impact they have?

derick: tries his best to be a good influence, maybe tries a little too hard sometimes

rosalyn: could not possibly care less

13. How well does your OC take compliments? Do they get flustered or try to turn them down?

derick: BAD, hes VERY BAD AT TAKING COMPLIMENTS. he dissolves into a flustered stuttering mess he cannot take a single compliment

rosalyn: “I know.”

14. When your OC doesn’t understand something, do they ask for help right away or do they flounder about trying to figure it out on their own?

derick: embarrassed to be asking for help, embarrassed to flounder helplessly, he just doesnt know what to do

rosalyn: might ask for help, might brute force it, whatever she feels like

15. Which of your OCs has the most patience? The least? How would they react to someone cutting in front of them in line?

Derick: pretty patient, but would probably just fester quietly if someone cut in front of him

rosalyn: impatient and unfortunately for everyone around her she is extremely confrontational

16. How does your OC feel about their mortality? If they’re immortal, do they see this as a curse or a blessing?

derick: would like very much to not think about the impermanence of existence

rosalyn: she aint dying until she kills knox. “it’s easy,” she says “just dont die.”

17. If your OC is trained in combat, what kind of opponent would they do best against? What kind of opponent would they lose horribly to?

derick: hes extremely not and will lose

rosalyn: would do best against (obviously) someone unskilled and weak, or another Heavy. Isn’t that great against a Flyer because Rosalyn is very impatient and crude in her fighting style, and Flyers are graceful and lithe.

18. Are there any issues that your OC sees as pretentious or not worth arguing over? Or are they the one getting in heated debates over trivial things?

Derick: generally doesnt argue much bc he just doesnt see most things as worth getting heated over

Rosalyn: is ready and willing to get angry over any and all things

19. Your OC’s favorite ongoing book series/show/etc. just got canceled! How do they react?

derick: disappointed and annoyed. you know how interesting something has to look for him to actually start watching/reading it?

rosalyn: unsurprisingly, shes angry

20. Your OC overhears someone talking smack about one of their friends. Do they come to their defense or get involved in any way?

derick: might actually say something tbh - he wont stand up for himself but he WILL stand up for his friends!

Rosalyn: ready to throw down immediately

21. Your OC’s neighbor is blasting loud music in the middle of the night. How do they react?

derick: pull the pillow over his head to drown it out

rosalyn: Confrontation TimeTM

22. How does your OC react to cheesy pick-up lines? Would they ever use one?

Derick: blushes, flustered and doesnt know how to respond. just a lot of stuttering. it would take a LOT for him to ever feel comfortable actually using a pick up line.

Rosalyn: “are you flirting with me?” - she wouldnt waste time, she;d just get straight to the point with “I like you, wanna do this thing?”

23. Would your OC ever misuse a swivel chair or a chair with wheels?

Both: absolutely

24. Has your OC ever tried to do something with good intentions but it all went awry?

Derick: story of his life

Rosalyn: pretty much every time she tries to give advice or give a compliment

25. Has your OC ever ignored a problem hoping that it would go away on its own? If so, what was it & did it work?

Derick: always, and no

Rosalyn: she usually faces problems head-on

26. Your OC comes across an abstract painting! Do they try to decipher a deeper meaning from it or do they just see some blobs and lines?

Derick: blobs, but the blobs make him feel something

Rosalyn: doesnt like the blobs

27. If your OC was a Pokemon trainer, what pokemon would they have in their party? Would they prefer battling or contests?

Derick: whatever pokemon he comes across first - he cant get rid of them just because theyre weaker! thats mean!

rosalyn: i like the idea that her party is 100% geodudes

28. Even if your OC doesn’t play video games, what do you think their favorite game/series would be?

derick: stardew valley

rosalyn: bioshock/Doom

29. If your OC was going to be in an animated movie or show, who would you want to be their voice actor?

derick would need someone with a slightly higher voice, soft but excitable, always sounds slightly panicky

rosalyn would need someone with a slightly lower, more serious voice, where everything she says is “stated” rather than “explained” or “questioned” or “asked’.

30. Your OC spends an hour looking for something only to realize it was in their hand the entire time. What’s their response?

Derick: feels silly, hopes no one saw him

Rosalyn: huffs, but moves on

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deltaengineering · 5 years

Text

Winter anime 2019 Part 1: Shake it, baby

We open the season with a bang. Ha ha. But you didn’t see the last one coming, waisu guy.

BanG Dream! S2

What: After Poppin’ Party managed to finally play a gig after a season of antics and shenanigans, school idols girl bands are now a nationwide phenomenon. Somehow.

✅ It’s Bang Dream, and I liked Bang Dream S1 just fine. This introduces the other 4 bands so there should be more variety and more potential.

❌ Looks pretty bad, though even with stiff Sanzigen 3DCG it doesn’t look much worse than S1.

✅ At least they take the effort to really animate the instrument playing properly, which is important if you’re going to have as many performance scenes as this.

♎ Nothing really happens in the first episode, because we have 26 characters and 5 musical styles to feature. So no judgement on the writing as of yet.

♎ I’m familiar with the franchise, but this is not for new viewers even if it looks very different. If you haven’t at least seen S1 (and preferably Garupa Pico, and played the game) you’ll probably feel lost because all this is is characters showing up and briefly doing their thing to remind you they exist.

Boogiepop wa Warawanai

What: Someone’s been eating high schoolers, which would be a mystery if the perpetrator wasn’t driven by a psychotic need to spill the beans.

✅ Has good style and directing, which helps set a mood.

✅ The music, especially the OP and ED, is also great. More points for mood.

❌ While it may have stylistic ambition, it’s woefully cheap; especially crowd scenes just die when they can’t animate anything moving.

❌❌ The writing’s atrocious. This is not so apparent in the first episode, which is just a load of nothing, but they helpfully released the second episode as well. Hope you like people in a room bluntly stating background exposition.

❌❌ Said exposition only establishes that this is some generic B-movie schlock about escaped monster people. Well, at least you cleared that up. I’d sooner watch, I dunno, a sequel to fucking Hand Shakers or something.

Egao no Daika

What: Pretty teen princess inherits scenic galactic kingdom, observes a match of Gundam Versus. There may or may not be a twist incoming.

❌ If you’re going to make an anime about princess meeting badass (as the synopsis and the OP seems to indicate), you better have that badass show up in the first episode in any capacity whatsoever.

❌ Instead, they waste half of the episode on playing pointless video games, I mean “combat simulations". We have mechas, we promise! Even if it’s just bland action filler without any tension.

♎ “Bland” is generally the idea here, it looks alright, the characters appear okay, but there’s absolutely nothing interesting. With a title like “price of smiles” it seems like the fluffy tone is supposed to be misleading, but you gotta give me something, man.

❌ Even if it manages to do the big reversal, none of this bodes particularly well for the writing quality.

W’z

What: So this is a GoHands eyesore about a bedroom DJ who streams from another dimension and... Wait. Why are they talking about holding hands...? What is this about things “meshing”!? ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS OH MY GAAA҉A͍̙AA͏̻̀Ą̶͔͟ͅA҉̖̭̜̱̝͕̳ͅA͞҉̡̭̙̙͈̖̣̜̘̮À̼̥̰͢A̷̧̬̬͚͍̦̜̫̠̞͖̯̜̼͎͙

✅✅ Making an explicit sequel to Hand Shakers and not telling anyone about it is almost guaranteed to be the biggest plot twist of the year and we’re 5 days in.

❌ The general style is, of course, just as ugly as Hand Shakers. They’ve managed to sand off some of the roughest edges so this ends up looking “sort of neat” more often than the original did. Of course, this is the first episode and it’s going to get worse.

❌ Same goes for the writing: It’s still extremely dumb, but they changed just enough that it swings closer to “endearingly dorky” instead of “pants-on-head pretentious”. Of course, this is the first episode and it’s going to get worse.

✅ Since this is now about DJing, the music better be fucking good. And it is! GoHands’ nonsense works far better as a music video. They also still have that one really good animator, so the deck spinning is sakugatastic.

♎ What can I say, it’s the best episode of Hand Shakers to date. Extremely faint praise but I’m going to give this a chance just because how magnificently they managed to dupe me with this stealth sequel. Also, someone has to keep an eye on KyoAni’s also evil twin.

#anime #impressions #winter2019 #bang dream #boogiepop #egao no daika #w'z

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waffletoast215 · 5 years

Photo

It’s time for an updated Three Tail cast pic! This one introduces their rival band (whose name I still haven’t come up with yet).

I’m including character bios for everyone in the photo just to keep it up to speed, but I’ll put them under the cut.

Background Texture From: https://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=3090998

Characters from left to right: Chico Perla, Aku Maka, Ji-Ku Maka (Olives sitting on his head), Kento Shimura (Lentils sitting on his shoulder), Sai Fuji and Je-Muzu Masamoto.

Character Bios: Three Tail

Ji-Ku Maka: Multi-talented yet self absorbed, Ji-Ku is a popular guy. His fame goes to his head, so he tends to brag a lot. He’s optimistic, energetic and can be childish. He even likes to flirt with his fans sometimes. He tends to be airheaded and he’ll often make bad decisions because he doesn’t think them through. Because of this he tends to get on the nerves of his younger brother, Aku.

He’s an extrovert who can’t live without attention, which is part of why he loves being an idol. He doesn’t understand it when people aren’t interested in him. Also, don’t mention to him that he’s short: he hates that. He tends to have a short temper at times, but deep down he’s a nice guy. He likes to sing the most, but can also play the guitar.

Aku Maka: The opposite of his older brother Ji-Ku, Aku is introverted, pessimistic and not very confident. If he’s under pressure he can even suddenly start stuttering, or lower his voice so that it sounds much quieter. Despite being an idol, he can get easily flustered when all eyes are on him. However, he’s also the smartest member of the group, and he’s a nerd for music, video games, and pop culture in general. He tries to hide this because he wants his fans to think he’s more “cool”; his main obsession is fashion, and he constantly seeks out clothes that will help him maintain a “cool” image.

Even though sometimes he can doubt his own work, he’s overjoyed when his fans are happy, and deep down, a part of him is proud of himself, even if he might not realize it sometimes. As a result of his pessimism and insecurity, he has a tendency to be very snarky, especially to Ji-Ku, who often annoys him.

He can sing, and he can even play the piano. Performing slowly but surely is getting him out of his shell. He has an alter ego as a drag queen, which he adopted to not only try out more fashions but mainly to help him conquer his stage fright.

Sai Fuji: Sai first ran into Ji-Ku and Aku when they first moved to Sekyuo, and he’s been their best friend and third band member ever since. He’s a reliable and loyal guy who is usually the most calm and logical member of the group; when Ji-Ku and Aku get into scuffles he’ll be the one who stops the fighting. However, he hides a nasty jealousy problem, mainly because he’s a fox within a nation that just adores cats, and he’s less popular than Ji-Ku and Aku are. His jealousy can make him act almost bratty as a result sometimes, and he could even lose his cool and burst into a crying fit if it gets too extreme. However, he’s usually very nice and will go out of his way to do things for people.

He has a habit of getting easily smitten for handsome men, and as a result he can be easily influenced or even pushed around by his crushes at time. He often gets bashful, however, and refuses to admit if he has a crush on someone. He has had playful crushes on both Ji-Ku and Je-Muzu in the past among others, but truthfully he’s easily enamored by anybody in a boyband, as he’s been a fan of boybands since he was a kid, and to this day is still a walking encyclopedia of boyband trivia. Despite his strong emotions, none of his crushes ever actually mean anything however, and he’s okay with just being everyone’s friend.

When Ji-Ku and Aku get into their antics he’ll try his best to stop them; however stern lectures don’t usually work on them, so he rarely gets through. Sometimes he’ll even join them, albeit reluctantly at first. Although they frustrate him, he really does care about them and would probably be alone without them.

He likes to sing but also can play guitar/bass.

Olives: A very bossy cat who’s the group’s manager, and often times their songwriter and producer, too. She’s very honest and is never afraid to say what she thinks. She tries to be imposing in order to make up for her small stature, since people don’t take her seriously; she wants to be a legend and considered an important player in the music industry. She has an affinity for “hip” or street fashions, since she thinks they make her look more formidable. Sometimes she makes the guys do things simply because she has that authority and she loves having people at her whim. She might just hide a caring side for them, though.

Being a cat, sometimes she likes to use her cute charm to her advantage. She can be cute one minute, but loud and scathing the next. Most of the public isn’t even aware of just how vile her attitude can get.

Although it may not be obvious at first glance, Olives is actually quite smart and experienced, and is great at giving advice to anyone who gets on her good side. She even went to college, although she was easily distracted whenever a teacher used a laser pointer.

She and the boys get on each other’s nerves frequently. However, over time she learns to be less harsh towards them as they melt her once-cold heart.

The Rivals (Band Name Still Unknown)

Kento Shimura: He’s half scorpion and, true to his species, has plenty of sting as a result of his mischievousness and wit. He has a “bad boy” image, and presents himself as being edgy. He likes to play tricks on people because he loves feeling like he’s got the upper hand, and he even likes to use his tail to hang upside down and surprise people. He’s prone to making sassy quips. He’s quite pretentious, stubborn, and can even hiss when provoked; this personality leads to him often being at odds with Ji-Ku, his main rival.

Although he maintains a tough image in public, truthfully he doesn’t like how people are often scared of him due to his being part scorpion. Out of the public eye, he likes to write poetry and is also a fan of traditional tea ceremonies. He’s quite confident and proud of his work, but he doesn’t boast explicitly like Ji-Ku does; however, when challenged he always feels a need to assert his superiority.

He’s a great singer, and is surprisingly adept at playing an acoustic guitar, despite what his hardcore image might suggest.

Chico Perla: A chihuahua boy of foreign ancestry. He’s one of the few people shorter than Ji-Ku, but he doesn’t mind. Although he appears to be a child at first glance, he’s only small as a result of his species. However he acts just like a child; he’s very jumpy, fun-loving and adventurous. Because of his constant energy, he usually needs to be supervised, as he has a tendency to break things. He also tends to talk a lot, regardless of people want to listen. Because of his cute, childish appearance, he tends to get things handed to him, and is often taken aback when he isn’t entitled to things.

Not only does he sing, but he loves to act, especially in Broadway-style musicals. His bandmates don’t really understand his love for musicals and theater, but they support him regardless. He also can play drums.

Je-Muzu Masamoto: A close friend of Chico’s and usually the one who attempts to keep him out of trouble. Je-Muzu tends to have “bro”-ish tendencies due to his love of exercising and his obsession with looking at cars, despite the fact that he often doesn’t actually understand how they work. Behind his “bro”-ish exterior however, his main passion is zen culture, and he’s quite knowledgeable about incense and chakras. This allows him to maintain a cool head, even in chaos (most of the time). He even has a miniature zen rock garden he likes to care for, but he has to be careful with it since he’s so strong, he sometimes accidentally breaks the rake and has to buy a new one. He’s also quite the outdoors-man, especially compared to Kento and Chico.

He tends to be proud, especially of his strength, and often can’t relate to other people’s situations; he means well, though, and will try his best to be a protective guardian when called upon. He has a powerful voice, but can also play the piano and keyboard.

Lentils: The band’s manager, a very tiny Scorpion who is close to Kento. However, they’re nothing alike; Lentils desires nothing more than to be loved and to be seen as “cute”. Unlike Olives, she’s soft spoken, polite, and friendly, and she never wants to offend anybody or step on anyone’s toes. She gets quite sad when she sees people shriek and run away from her in fear, though, and she wishes people wouldn’t judge her just because she’s a scorpion.

Just like Olives, she went to college, and she’s very book smart. She’s quite the talented songwriter and producer as well. She has trouble at social gatherings, though, mainly because she’s so small she often has to raise her voice and elevate herself in order to get noticed. She has difficulty even handing out her business card unless Kento holds her in his palms so she can make eye contact with people.

Despite being a manger she is easily manipulated and a pushover due to her wanting to fit in more than anything else.

#three tail #my ocs #my art #this one took me a really long time so I hope you like!

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josbmartinez · 5 years

Text

Reflection of Change

Hey. Long time, no talk. Read my book below? Thank you.

I stumbled upon a letter written to myself from 8th grade while cleaning my room today. It sparked some massive inner reflection. Reading my note, I realized that I’m definitely not the same person I thought I would end up to be almost 10 years ago. Then again, who is? We all change so much in such a short little time. Often we don’t realize it. I just want to tell you some things I realized needed to be changed, and basically an update on my life. I won’t pander any of it to satisfy certain people either; if you disagree with everything once you get to the end... I feel sorry for you.

I had ambitions, dreams, but they weren’t really propped up by anything. They were things I told myself to avoid the frightening, “I don’t know what I’m doing with my life.” Now? I realize it’s okay to sorta be lost, because everyone is. Often we think we know where we want to go, but when we reach the end... we realize it isn’t as fulfilling as we expected.

I remember being so afraid of being alone in middle school. I could not be seen for a second without having someone by my side. That meant even if I couldn’t find a friend, I would fill the void with people I often didn’t even like. Now? I’m such a loner. Big thing is, I don’t really mind it. Over time it became my preference. I realized how harmful it is to keep relationships held up by a facade; fake people. I went from having a group of 10 or so close friends... to only having the two or three I do now. Sad thing is, I rarely speak to those I call friends because we’re all so caught up in our lives. But what makes it so special is when we do end up talking, it’s as though we never stopped.

Speaking of filling a void, for about 8 years, I was never single longer than 6 months. I felt as though in order to be happy, I had to have a girlfriend. So I spent a lot of time in relationships, convincing myself I loved a girl. For every single relationship, I had to be someone I wasn’t. Doing so obscured my vision; who did I want to love, and who did I want to love me? Wtf is love anyway!? It wasn’t until my last relationship I realized what it meant. For the first time I wasn’t pretending to be someone I wasn’t. For the most part. I felt as though I actually loved this girl for who she was. In the end, I realized that I was still filling a void. Even being with her, I was lonely. As much as I loved her, we just weren’t compatible. I was an asshole. She was a sweetheart. So I realized the good ol’ cliche thing was true: you have to learn to love yourself before you love someone else.

So here I am today. I went from having empty goals, from feeling dread at the thought of being alone, from wanting to be with a girl no matter who it was... to who I am today. So who am I today? I decided that it’s best to leave that question unanswered. Because we constantly change. The society we are brought up in, the families who raised us, the people we chose to surround ourselves with, the activities we partake in... they’re all just molds to shape who we are. Guess what?

You can break those molds, and become your own self.

This is how I learned to love who I am. To accept the reality that I’m different from everyone, and it’s okay. We are all the main characters of our own stories. Once I realized that, my asshole-like thoughts pretty much vanished. I used to be extremely judgmental. Being judgmental to an extent is a good thing; it helps you gauge what type of person someone is, and if you want to surround yourself with their presence. But for me, it got to the point of isolating myself intensely. Of course, life changing rumors helped, but that’s a different story for a different time. Perhaps never.

Realizing how truly unique we all are has changed my outlook so much. I try my best to think with an open mind now. We were all raised with different religions, philosophies, politics, ideals... of course we’re going to run into disagreements everywhere we go. Some people love the molds that have shaped them, and others wish to shape themselves differently. Whatever that reasoning is, I say just let it be. Maybe even lend people a hand in their change they seek. My philosophy is as long as someone isn’t hurting me or anyone else with whatever they’re doing, cool shit. It’s become easier to tell the bitter jerks simply because they are, from those who are jerks because they’re hurt. It’s easier to tell who is true to who they say they are, and who are putting up a facade to fit in, to be accepted. Is it wrong to be fake? It’s situational. Sometimes we have to fake it to make it; humans are social animals. We seek to be accepted naturally.

More often than not, we don’t like who we are though. So we put up that facade. Which was me, with girls, friends, and my family. By living my life with a more open mind, I’ve also learned to love myself. I’m a nerd. Video games are my favorite hobby, I love to listen to piano and orchestra for fun, and I love to read books and watch geeky shows. Before, I would never talk to anyone about such things in public because I feared ridicule for being so different. Certain stereotypes come with everything you do. Sports? Air headed idiot. Video games? Aggressive, lazy. Books? Pretentious. If you want to learn to love yourself with the hobbies and interests you have, then realize that no one’s thoughts on them should effect your love for them.

Only YOU know what is right for you. There are also more positive stereotypes too. Sports? Dedicated. Video games? Uh... we’ll get back to that. Books? Educated, smart. If you feel offended for loving something, then perhaps you are the negative stereotype. Your insecurity is showing. Otherwise, screw the person who gives you shit for being happy doing something you like. You like to read? Play the trumpet? Build legos as a hobby? Love politics? Then rock on. Don’t let people judging you get you down. That goes for the person you love too. I had a hard time dealing with certain people giving me shit for saying this or that girl was cute. Now? Who gives a fuck who we love. We all have certain types we like, both physical and personalities. Love who you love, man or woman. Me? I like the “boring” people because I myself am introverted. And I’m okay with it now.

If you’ve made it this far, cool. Thank you. It means a lot that someone is listening to what I have to say. I just wanted to share some “positivity”. This is all a stream of my conscious, and I don’t feel like editing or anything. I just felt the need to vent, especially since I’m so closed off from everyone for the most part.

Please, do yourself and essentially everyone around you a favor, Appreciate. Love yourself, be thankful for everything that made you who you are, whether it be good or bad. Do your best to think with an open mind, or remember: We’re all the main characters going through our own stories. Lend a hand to those who need it or catch up with someone you miss.

To circle this all back to my 8th grade note, which was mostly on what goals I have after high school... what goals do I have now? Just one.

Be happy.

Do whatever it takes to make yourself happy! Love who and what you want, partake in the things you actually enjoy doing. Just don’t be an asshole about anything. Don’t hurt anyone else in any way; also remember words hurt. A lot. Whether it be the lack of words, or something you don’t want to hear from someone you love. Remember that all your actions have consequences, good or bad. For the last time; We are all the main characters going through our own stories. Remember that when you receive poor service, come across a rude customer, or get into an argument with a loved one.

With all that said, I’m very grateful for my life. My parents support me immensely, my sisters are there for me when I need advice, love, or just someone to bug. I have such good pets which I can smother with love. I have my ideal friends who I know are always going to be there for me, and me for them. I appreciate any “bad” event that has happened to me, because I realized that there’s nothing better to learn from than going through such things. And of course, I appreciate myself for realizing I needed to change. Change will always be necessary in almost everything we do. Because of all this, I know how important it is to love myself and others around me.

Thanks. Catch ya on the flip ✌🏽

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r95irth · 6 years

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me : hey, we could draw the next part of the doodles-comics tonight !

Brain : no, I drew and animated all day at work I don’t wanna.

me : Okay...then, what about writing the next part of our current fic ?

Brain : it implies being sit in front of computer right ? Our back hurt for month, I just want to lie down.

me : okay then video games in bed ?

Brain : Yeah.

*ends up writing a whole scene that has nothing to do with anything and spends two hours sitting with her back hurting*

me : WHY ???

brain : I DOn’T KnOW JuST DO As I SAY !

So here; gift.

“As you all know, heroes business is oversaturated. There are too many heroes on the market and it’s hard to make your own name. Now that the policy of the hero business is team work, since the fall of All might, this is even truer than before. You might all hope to become the next Deku, but there a thousand who dreams like you, and only one get the spot.”

Well, thought Satoru ; that was harsh. True, yes, but still. It wasn’t because it was the truth that it was worth saying ; especially to a bunch of teenagers who were currently studying in hero course. But he supposed that this “teacher” was somewhat special. She wasn’t even a teacher, just a ex-hero that UA invited to help supervise on the mental health of it students on regular basis apparently. If someone asked Satoru about it, he would say she did a terrible job.

Peacemaker, as it was her ex-hero name, and the only name that most of the student could pronounce right, looked as f she had just came out from the hospital, with the right part of her face paralyzed. Her face was awfully scared, and she was missing half of her right ear, and scalp, and missing her right leg. She introduced herself, days ago, by saying “this is what happen when you go fight alone against a bunch of villains and you loose”. The dark tone of her lessons was already here. But there was always a moral, a point, behind each one of his session. So Satoru waited for this one.

“What i mean by that, resumed Peacemakers, as she used her cane to support her body’s weight, is that it’s really hard for new heroes to distinguish themselves. You need to have something special to really stand out and succeed.”

Most of the students in class nodded as she gave them a printed piece of paper. Well except Lazare, who sneezed right into it and looked with pure disgust as he saw the mess he had made.

“What makes you special can be your talent, your quirk, or your looks, let’s be honest here, explained Peacemaker with a sigh, as she handled him a new piece of paper. -But, if i were you, i would rather bet on more...easier to control, particularity. Anyone has any idea of what i’m talking about ?”

“A special move ! Immediately stated Yosuke, proudly. -Like Satoru’s “All is one” move !”

Satoru blushed at the mention of his name, and even more when he heard the “name” that his classmates gave to his special move. It sounded like All might and Izuku’s quirk ; even if they didn't’ know, he did, and so all of his parent’s friends. It was awfully pretentious to even think he could come close to their level !

Though, Peacemakers didn’t seem to be chocked by that and simply half smiled.

“This is indeed a way, but you will, luckily, all get to develop your own special move during the three years you will spend in UA. As you will develop your quirk. So you will all be at the same “virtual” level once you graduate. So. How will you stand out among your peers ?”

Silence followed, as students looked at each other puzzled. Satoru frowned, trying to find the solution, but, sincerely, he had no clue at all. What made a hero popular ? Surely, looks and charisma. But that was not always true. All might wasn’t that good looking, neither was Izuku. Yet they all rose above the rest and earned the number one spot rank. Power ? Surely, but lot of heroes had quirk that were just more...not powerful but showy, than their. Yet they were outshined by such a simple power as “super strength”. Not that Izuku’s power was lame -Satoru would dream to have something close to that- but it was certainly not original nor flashy. It was the way they used it that-

Oh.

“How your use your power ?” He said to Peacemaker.

The ex-hero stopped, and stared a moment at Satoru, before nodding with her half-smile:

“Close call, but no.”

Well. he tried. Some whispers behind his back made him realize that every one of his classmates were counting on him to find the answer for them, and that they just gave up. So did Peacemaker, probably; because she explained :

“It is principles. A line of work : a sense of purpose, call it as you want it. Whatever floats your boat. And this is what i want you to think about for next lesson. You will write down an short essay on what kind of hero you want to be in the future.”

She pointed the piece of paper she handled, on which there were only a couple of questions like “how do you want to be viewed ?” ; “do you have a motto ?” and such. probably to help student figures out the image they wanted to build.

It didn’t.

***

“What kind of hero i want to be?”

The question kept coming back and forth as he stared at the plain ceiling of his room. The deadline was coming closer and closer and Satoru was still unsure of himself. He asked his dad and mom about it, through phone call...but their answer didn’t help much, well...Mainly because it sounded :

“I wanted to be hero worth of respect, unlike my father at the time” or “I wanted to unite heroes under one flag so that our peace symbol would never crumble again”. Outdated, great, admirable...There were many way to call those reasons, but Satoru couldn’t say it was his own.

Why was he even in the hero course? He thought immediately, as doubt made his way to his brain. Immediately, he answered : “To become the greatest duo of hero with Mahô” but again, it sounded fake. It wasn’t his reason, it was their. And Mahô wanted to be a hero for a whole different reason on her own.

“I want to be a hero that makes miracles ! One hero that, when you see them enter the fight, you expect them to turn the tide, one that make you want to get up and fight again because you know you can do it if they are here !”

Which was very Mahô’s. And also very brave and cool, he wished he could have thought of that before. She could probably do it, unlike him. When he was beside her, he certainly felt that way, and sometimes, when they fought together during Kirishima’s duel club, he certainly felt like he was doing miracle with her. Heck, she even managed to make Endeavor see her as a serious opponent in their fight during the festival ! If someone could achieve this, it was probably Mahô. But not Satoru.

But again, was it the kind of hero he wanted to be?

“URGH ! THIS IS SO COMPLICATED!” He screamed into his pillow.

He decided to stop complaining without any chance to get over it, and left the bed. Surely, someone would be willing to help at the common area. After all they needed to return the paper for tomorrow first hour.

Satoru didn’t expect to find half of his class B...and half ot class A, stucked and stressed together, screaming about that damn essay.

“She said Short essay, but what is short exactly ? was panicking Kahei, writing frantically.

-I don’t know, i would say, one page ? Answered Kino with the face of someone who hadn’t sleep for days.

-I know, what about you use your power to turn into the me of ten years in the future, so he can say to me what’s his motive, suddenly asked Arya.

-For the last time Arya ; that’s not how my power work, i’m still me when i turn into your future version!

-Yes but then you have dreams about the future, right?

-And in the extreme case you’re lucky i dream about this subject specifically, when do you find the time to write your essay ? While we eat breakfast tomorrow?”

Arya groaned as her head hit the table, drawn back to reality.

“So many people are clueless about it?”

This realization made him feel a little bit better, but he definitely pushed aside this selfish satisfaction : he shouldn't be happy about his classmates’s troubles. (But he kind did anyways). Instead of taking a seat in the middle of the storm, he sat in the couch, where people watched the mess from distance. Tsubaki, his friend, was among them.

“You already did the essay ? What did you write?”

Silently -as always- His friend pulled out of his pocket a folded piece of paper. All Satoru could read on it was: “I want to be a silent hero”.

Well. That was short. He sure hoped for Tsubaki’s sake that it would not be graded.

“I wrote that i wanted to be a hero my little brother would be proud to call his brother, i hope it’s okay, it sound a bit lame…” Added Goro, suddenly appearing behind Satoru’s back.

His heart leaped in his chest. Dang. He wished the boy could stop doing that. But unfortunately he seemed quite good at appearing out of nowhere ; despite the fact that it was Kyouji who had the astral projection / ghostly quirk, not the bunny boy !

“I don’t think so, th-that’s cute of you...It sounds like my papa’s reason to be a hero...” He explained, as he looked away, feeling his blush reaching his ears.

Goro grinned. And gods, what his smile made to Satoru’s heart, that was embarrassing. He tried to think of something else, in vain.

“Thanks Satoru it’s nice to cheer me up, but it lacks a bit, you know...mondial feel to it, right ?”

Among the working student, Max suddenly stood up, screamed, spilling wax all over, and his fire growing dangerously. Then he sat back silent as if nothing happened.

“This is scary, simply stated Goro.

-Don’t talk about world around Max...His mother is a diplomat, she kinda put pressure on him about how the world will interpret their every move. It’s like a trigger word for him, Satoru explained.

-This is scary, repeated Goro.”

He couldn’t agree more. Satoru started working, though, as his homework would not be done by itself -unlike mahô’s. Some only had redaction problems related and found it difficult to put into words their ideas, and he helped them a bit. That was simple, easy, he did that a lot when Mahô thought about her next enchantment.

Ume wanted to be a hero that made everyone thinking their worth her time, which was such a wonderful idea. But she had troubles to find the right word and it took them half an hour to write it down.

Takashi, though he had a clear vision of what he wanted to be like, was too eager to put example rather than give a clear statement. In the end, they decided on this : “A model hero ; an example of morality”. Which started an argument between him and his step-sister - and gave a reason to satoru to gently step away.

At one point, he offered his classmates a gigantic brainstorm, hoping it would help everyone who, as him, just didn’t know what to do. It ended up in a mess. When Mahô came back from her special training, at 10:30 PM, they were still on it. And when she returned from her bath, none of them had made any progress.

“Wow guys you’re just too tense, just write whatever comes to your mind, i mean it’s supposed to come from the heart right ?” She said as she took a bit of what was left of the diner.

“You’re right Mahô, you’re totally right! This is so obvious, why didn’t i think of it sooner?”

Yuu stood up, looking dead serious and determined as she took her pencil and brandished it like a sword.

“I’m gonna be a cupidon hero ! The protector of the lovers, the instigator of the greatest love stories ever ! I will make every one and-

-And what you’re gonna make the villains kiss and apologize like children ? Mocked Kahei.”

That didn’t end well; the two girls almost fought right here and now. While Mahô just laughed and said : “Sound cool : i didn’t know you could do that as a hero !�� which was, somehow an hasher remark. At least from Satoru’s point of view. Finally, Yuu decided to indeed go for this, adding just a part that sounded like Ume, about giving helping people who felt all alone and unable to love. It might be only a desperate chance because she was tired and done and just wanted to go to bed at this point, but Satoru still found it pretty great. It fit the lovely girl he knew.

The common area was getting lonelier and lonelier, as his classmates found their reason, bullshitted their essay or just simply gave up. And before Satoru knew it, he found himself be almost alone, with only Mahô and a couple of others who were playing video games on the couch. Damn, he wanted to join them and forget this essay : but he couldn’t. His only asset in UA were his grades, he couldn’t afford to get a bad mark.

“I don’t know why it’s so hard for you, don’t you already know what you want to be? asked Mahô, as she enchanted her pencils and papers so it could do her other homework while she slept.”

“I’m not as confident as you, you know…Mahô.

-Well, i will be confident enough for both of us then.

-This isn’t something we can do together. I mean, yeah i want to be a your partner and become the greatest hero duo ever, but myself ? I don’t know. You need two great hero to make a duo, not one and a half !

-Why are you even talking about us? Sure i invited you in my dream when we were kids, but you wanted to be a hero back then, right ?”

Silence. Mahô’s face lost all its color as she looked shocked.

“You didn’t?! Did i force this on you?”

She seemed so lost, Satoru immediately tried to comfort her, and words spurted out of his mouth before he realized :

“No of course not! I wanted to be a hero of course ! But i couldn’t believe someone like me could ever achieve that alone!”

Mahô sighed in relief, and immediatly found back her smile as she whispered :

“Soooo- why did you want to be a hero back then?”

Satoru shut up. He didn’t know how much she manipulated him in order to get this embarrassing confession -and he doubted she even did it on purpose. But yet…Yet it worked.

“I suppose...i wanted to be like Shouto.”

Mahô nodded vigorously.

“Yeah ! We both want to be like our dad, right? That’s a given, they’re so awesome!”

Satoru nodded, another thought running through him. Yes they were : but what made them awesome in their eyes? What made them want to be like them? For once, the answer came easily.

“He picked me up. He gave me a place when i was the world didn’t have one for me.”

He remembered the moment as he sat in the police interrogation room, where Naomasa explained him that Satoru didn’t even exist in regard of the law, because he had no birth certificate. Back then he thought it was stupid : he was there, so how could the world deny even his own existence? Shouto reached for him, and made sure that he saw him and cared. Shouto saved him.

But how many people were like him, back then? Like Big Mother and Death-pair? Thinking that they had no choice but to follow the path in front of them? Thinking that the world didn’t want them? When tomorrow held nothing for you, and you didn’t have even one bit of curiosity or care about what the future could hold. He knew how dreading this feeling could get, how desperate it got, when you wished nothing, hoped for nothing, only surviving, existing but with no purpose. To the point, that one day, you would just wish you could even stop doing that.

Who would save them, then? Shouto couldn’t adopt every lost kid in the world. Neither could he. And some of them were adults already, like big Mother and Death-pair were. He couldn’t give up on them just because they were older, right ? It didn’t sound right or fair. They deserved a place. Everybody deserved one.

He rose his eyes and met Mahô’s, bright and proud, as if she knew that he had found his answer.

One day, they will be a duo. She was sure of that, Satoru still had doubt, but he had decided a long time ago to trust his friend. His confidence wasn’t as reliable as her. But she was also too rash and often forgot details. She liked to go past her limit, and sure she wanted to save people; but she liked fights too much. She would never care about such tiny details as care about her opponent, or people that were not in front of her. That would be Satoru’s job. He would. It would be his role, his place in the duo.

With a bit of a smile, he started to write down the first sentence of his essay :

“I want to be a hero that will save everyone, even villains and people forgotten by society.

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