Fun facts and trivia about the Adventure/02 Japanese voice actors

For most of the people reading this post, watching Digimon in Japanese is probably a fairly recent prospect, and especially since we’re talking about a 20-year-old series! On top of that, Adventure/02 director Kakudou Hiroyuki deliberately wanted to have a mix of veteran and new voice actors, so you have an interesting mix of voice actors who’d already had their most prolific roles from anime made before most of us were even born, to voice actors who are currently incredibly popular now but were actually had just barely debut at the time. Let’s take a look!

Fujita Toshiko (Taichi)

If you want to talk about a veteran, here’s one for sure! Having debut in the 1960s and affectionately nicknamed “Toko-san” or “Toko-chan”, Fujita was already so much of a veteran by the time of Adventure that she wasn’t picked by audition, but deliberately hand-picked for the purpose of being a presence the other voice actors could work around. Multiple interviews with the other voice actors involved on the series cite being ridiculously intimidated in her presence, for good reason!

Having had a long and prolific career in a huge handful of classic anime prior to working on Digimon, Taichi was ultimately one of her last major roles, so she didn’t speak much about the role thereafter, but she naturally spoke very positively about the experience whenever she did.

Although it was unclear exactly when due to her agency agreeing to keep it quiet at her request, she developed breast cancer near the end of her life, and thus had to turn down any kind of anime role (which is likely the reason for Taichi’s conspicuous absence in the 15th anniversary drama CD). It’s unknown whether she had been fighting cancer at the time of recording Taichi’s lines for the PSP adaptation of Adventure in 2013, as that kind of role would have been much easier for her at the time (due to having lines recorded separately), but, in any case, it ultimately ended up being her final work as Taichi prior to her passing in 2018. May she rest in peace.

Sakamoto Chika (Agumon)

While nobody else was quite veteran to the level of Fujita at the time of Adventure, Sakamoto still had a fairly prolific career behind her, and at the very least was absolutely not new to the industry as she’d had roles since the 1980s. Even after playing Agumon in Adventure and 02, Sakamoto continued to have a prolific career in voice acting for anime and games, including more kids' shows, and, of course for Digimon itself -- not only in terms of the fact that Agumon being a franchise mascot means that they have to keep asking her back for Agumon roles even unrelated to Taichi (the only major exception being the Savers variant voiced by Matsuno Taiki), but also bringing her back as Shoutmon and a handful of other roles in Xros Wars.

Sakamoto has been described as having a fun and comical personality by her colleagues, especially in light of guiding the younger voice actors intimidated by being in the presence of Digimon veterans, and also enjoys drifting into Agumon’s voice during interviews and events for the sake of it. As of this writing, she’s still heavily involved in voice acting to this day.

Kazama Yuuto (Yamato)

Perhaps ironically given Yamato’s position relative to Taichi in Adventure itself, Kazama was the exact opposite in Fujita in that Yamato was literally his debut role! Interestingly, he expected Yamato to be the kind of “cool character” that he might have difficulty doing and had actually auditioned for Jou instead, only to find out that he related to how openly emotional Yamato actually was.

He unfortunately hasn’t had a lot of major roles since his debut as Yamato other than being Zero in the Mega Man Zero series -- the voice acting industry is very brutal, and as many voice actors that there are who have gotten big, there are just as many voice actors who don’t make it huge despite clearly having talent -- but he’s very involved with narration for motorcycle and car racing (which he is very fond of). As far as Digimon is concerned, he’s clearly still very fond of the franchise and his role as Yamato and still occasionally joins in for smaller music-related events, and also joined Maeda in voicing Valdurmon for the Adventure: reboot.

Yamaguchi Mayumi (Gabumon)

Gabumon was also Yamaguchi’s debut role as a voice actress, which was the start of a prolific career in voice acting thereafter. Notable roles that readers of this blog might be familiar with include Envy in the 2003 version of Fullmetal Alchemist, and, of course, Jian in Tamers (a role that she's sometimes brought up in Digimon interview contexts that normally would have to do with Gabumon). In the latter case, she was apparently helpful to the Tamers staff in terms of assisting them with Digimon terminology.

While not to the same extent as Sakamoto, she’s often brought on by the Digimon franchise to reprise Gabumon even in non-Adventure contexts, and is active in interviews and events to promote the series.

Mizutani Yuuko (Sora)

Also a fairly experienced voice actress at the time of Adventure (having debut in the 1980s), Mizutani was an actress and model who'd already had quite a fair share of major roles and narration/radio jobs before she appeared on the series as Sora. Sora’s Adventure mini drama track, where she holds a radio show, is probably a reference to her radio show "Anime Detective Club II" that she'd been holding at the time, where she'd allegedly been raving about her work on Digimon for more than a third of the running time while the series was airing.

She unfortunately passed away in 2016 due to breast cancer, having also wanted to conceal this fact from the public and continue her work as much as possible (apparently, her last known words were actually "I want to go to work"). Her last known work as Sora was thus the 15th anniversary drama CD. For those reading this blog, she might also be best known as the Japanese voice for Minnie Mouse in Kingdom Hearts and Excellen Browning in Super Robot Wars, the latter of which is believed to have been the last role she recorded for. May she also rest in peace.

Shigematsu Atori (Piyomon)

While it wasn't her debut role, Piyomon was her first major one as a regular, and she eventually went heavily into doing narration and radio roles, and even running her own voice agency, Arc-en-ciel. While the latter two jobs take up more of her career than voice acting at the time of this writing, she’s always quite enthusiastic whenever she gets to pick up her role as Piyomon again, and is constantly greeting other staff members cheerfully on Twitter (and gushing about the franchise as a whole).

Interestingly, her name is written rather unusually, being written with the kanji for “flower” and “bird”, and read “Atori” (not the kind of reading you’d usually expect). This is played on and referenced in the Adventure mini dramas, and the coincidence in its relation to Piyomon has been pointed out by many.

Tenjin Umi (Koushirou)

Tenjin was still relatively new to voice acting at the time of Adventure, and she’d allegedly wanted Koushirou’s role in particular quite badly. She also later voiced Pandamon in Frontier (those who listen closely can recognize Koushirou’s timbre).

Unfortunately, details about her relation to the series or her career thereafter are quite scant, because she seems to no longer be agency affiliated and has had virtually no new roles since 2005 or so, implying that she may have mostly if not entirely retired from the industry -- but not only did she reprise Koushirou for the PSP adaptation of Adventure and the 15th anniversary drama CD, she also was spotted representing Adventure at a music event in 2019.

Sakurai Takahiro (Tentomon)

If you’re reading this blog and follow Japanese voice actors, it’s very likely you’ve heard of him! Nowadays, he’s considered a huge, big-ticket voice actor mostly known for his bishounen roles (no, seriously, there are so many I can’t even pick a few to list here), but back in the days of Adventure, he’d just gotten into the industry, and the nasal, Kansai dialect-speaking Tentomon was actually his first major role! (He’d even forced himself to figure out how to do Kansai dialect for it, since he’s actually from Aichi.)

Although obviously his career has gone way past this, he still seems to have an attachment to his role as Tentomon due to its importance to his early career (plus the fact that most of the kinds of roles he’d be asked to do these days wouldn’t allow him to go into this kind of timbre at all), and has been happy to reprise him. (He also voiced Dondokomon in Xros Wars, who has a very similar timbre.)

Maeda Ai (Mimi)

You might know her as voice actress Maeda Ai, and you might also know her as vocalist AiM -- because, of course, she’s known for being involved on all of the Digimon ending songs up to Frontier (with the exception of the first Frontier one).

Adventure was not her debut, but she was still a fairly new voice actress at the time, and it was also effectively the very beginnings of her career as a singer. Although most of her discography still happens to be Digimon-related, she ended up having enough to continue putting out compilation albums thereafter.

Other roles that people reading this blog might know would be Karen/Cure Aqua in PreCure, and Setsuna/Pluto in Sailor Moon Crystal (truly a Toei veteran!). Those who follow Digimon video games might recognize her as Sayo in Cyber Sleuth, and she also briefly voiced Valdurmon (alongside Kazama; see above) in the Adventure: reboot. She’s still active in voice acting to this day, and also has been involved in narration and radio shows -- in fact, she spent some time running an independent blog radio with Kiuchi Reiko (Daisuke’s voice actress) titled “Kiuchi Reiko and Maeda Ai Want to Make an Anime!!” Of course, considering her heavy ties to the Digimon franchise in terms of both voice acting and music, she talks about it on Twitter a lot (mostly in regards to the latter category).

Yamada Kinoko (Palmon)

At the time of Adventure, she was known as Mizowaki Shihomi, but changed her stage name afterwards and has been credited that way since. She’s had virtually no roles outside Palmon since 2008, leading many to think that she might have retired and is mainly reprising Palmon due to her heavy attachment to the role, but she is technically still affiliated to an agency and advertises herself as being able to do “strange” voices for non-human characters.

Undoubtedly, however, she’s expressed fondness for the role and has been present at events, and many voice actors who have worked with her have expressed her being a very fun and amusing person to be around.

Kikuchi Masami (Jou)

Perhaps ironically given Kazama’s story above, Kikuchi initially auditioned for both Yamato and Jou! He’d also been working as a voice actor since the 1980s, so Jou was far from his first major role by that time.

Kikuchi is known in both the industry and out of it for having a ridiculous range in variety of voices, and it’s a meme both among staff and among the Japanese fanbase in how he’s appeared in almost every Digimon TV series (the sole exception as of this writing being Appmon) and pulled off incredible stunts like voicing Jou’s entire family once. (His other major Digimon roles after Jou include: Dolphin and Grani in Tamers, Neemon in Frontier and the Adventure: reboot, the narrator in Frontier, Kurata in Savers, and Damemon in Xros Wars. The Kurata comparison is a particularly favored one for giving Jou fans massive whiplash.) He continues to be regularly prolific in voice acting and dubbing to this day.

Takeuchi Junko (Gomamon)

Takeuchi would eventually become known for a long, long, long and prolific career in voicing hot-blooded characters, like Gon in the original Hunter x Hunter anime, or Uzumaki Naruto in his titular series, or Rin/Cure Rouge in PreCure, or Endou Mamoru in Inazuma Eleven, but before all of that was, indeed, Gomamon, a role she had in the very early stages of her career. (In fact, her later role of Takuya in Frontier technically predates Naruto by a slight margin.)

Naturally, her roles as Gon and Naruto ended up a massive breakout for her career, and she’s still extensively involved in the industry -- especially since she’s still playing Naruto right now -- and, in fact, a lot of the kids’ anime properties she started off with are still going in some shape or form, so she’s still continuing to be actively involved with them.

Konishi Hiroko (Takeru in Adventure)

Unfortunately, this one ends with a very sad story: at the time of Adventure, Konishi had been building up a career in voice acting for children's anime and video games since the 1990s, including other roles such as Lisa/Ginko in Persona 2 and Bridget in Guilty Gear, but in 2003, her voice acting career screeched to a sudden halt and she converted her career completely to other parts of the entertainment industry. At the time, the reason why was unclear, other than the fact that her separation from the voice acting industry was extremely messy (to the point even libel lawsuits were involved), but in 2019 she revealed that it was the result of a sexual harassment incident (among other ongoing sexism and depersonalization issues in the voice acting industry).

Contrary to what’s often believed, Konishi being replaced with Yamamoto (see below) in regards to Takeru’s role in 02 doesn’t seem to have been related to her separation from the industry, since not only does it predate the above incident, she was also called back to voice the younger version of Takeru for Battle Evolution in 2001, so it's more likely relevant to the way Takeru’s character developed in 02. (Voice actor changes for the same character are not too common in the Japanese industry, especially since it tends to get the audience pretty upset, but Adventure and 02 had also already been setting up Takeru with a third voice actor in the form of Hirata Hiroaki, so this seems to just be par for the course for Takeru in general.) Still, it was pretty obvious that Konishi understandably had no desire to return to the industry after that, so Takeru was the only main character whose voice actor was replaced for the PSP adaptation of Adventure (with Han Megumi; see below), and it’s also a likely reason why Takeru’s absent from the 15th anniversary drama CD, due to it being set in the Adventure era.

Han Megumi (Takeru in Adventure...sort of)

I’m including this here mainly because it’s a pretty interesting case; after her role as Airu in Hunters, Kakudou noticed that she seemed to be a diehard Digimon fan who had followed it in childhood (and if you follow her Twitter, she damn well is). She was thus brought on to be the replacement voice actor for Takeru in the PSP adaptation of Adventure on the grounds that 1) she’d been a fan of the series beforehand and thus wouldn’t have to have Takeru re-explained to her and 2) would be the kind of voice actor picked for the role if they’d been casting for the first time now. She later ended up voicing Takeru for the Complete Selection Animation 1999 Digivice release (which had voiced lines for all of the original voice actors for everyone else, but couldn’t have Konishi for obvious reasons), so in a sense she’s sort of the de facto replacement voice for Adventure-era Takeru.

Her career had already kicked off from the very beginning after getting the role of Gon in the 2011 Hunter x Hunter reboot, but it was that very same year she was cast as Airu, and, while she’s gone on to have a ton of other major roles in every which direction, she’s also been exercising her Digimon superfan status by also appearing as Nokia in Cyber Sleuth and Kuzuhamon in Next Order. And, of course, she ended up being cast as Takeru in the Adventure: reboot, so, on some kind of technicality you could say that she’s the only human cast member to be “returning” in the role. Sort of.

Matsumoto Miwa (Patamon)

Although she'd been acting for a few years prior to Adventure, Patamon was still very early into her career. Sadly, she hasn't had a ton of roles since then, although she did show up for a bit role in Frontier and as Tokomon in X-Evolution, before coming back in full force as Patamon for all of the recent Adventure-related material. (She’s also still agency-affiliated, so she’s not retired.)

Perhaps fittingly, interviews have indicated that she has about as much of a playful troll personality as her character does, and she’s also made her fair share of comments about the sheer number of people who have played Takeru at this point.

Araki Kae (Hikari)

Prior to Adventure, Araki had already started making a name for herself as Chibiusa in the original Sailor Moon anime, and Hikari was by far not her first major role since her debut in the 1980s. She continued to get on-and-off roles thereafter, mostly in video games, although her roles have particularly gone down in recent years (she also has no agency affiliation, so she's technically freelancer).

Not a lot is known about her during and after Digimon, but on top of voicing Patamon in Frontier, in 2016 she apparently went out hanging with Kiuchi Reiko (Daisuke) in an event jokingly referred to by the latter as “a date with Hikari-chan”, and was later spotted at a music event representing Adventure in 2019.

Tokumitsu Yuka (Tailmon)

Probably one of the most elusive members of this cast, Tailmon was one of her earliest roles, but it seems that things didn't work out and her involvement in voice acting pretty much vanished after 2003 until she was eventually called back to voice Tailmon over a decade later. She apparently also seemed up for voicing Rikka's Plotmon in Next Order at the time, but she's especially notable for having pretty obviously retired with such a strong sense of finality that she's no longer agency affiliated and is the only major Digimon with a changed voice actor in the Adventure: reboot (replaced by Sonozaki Mie).

As of this writing, she still seems up for continuing her role as the original Adventure incarnation of Tailmon even afterwards, but they're strictly related to the original Adventure universe and are much smaller projects than a full series (Kizuna drama CD and 02 group character songs), so it remains to be seen what might be her absolute final appearance as Tailmon, but the circumstances indicate that she’d really rather call it quits for major things, and is returning only because it’s this role in particular.

Kiuchi Reiko (Daisuke)

In general, the 02 cast has a lot younger blood than the older Adventure cast does, so this also applies to 02's leading cast member, who, much unlike Fujita, had just started getting into voice acting and had Daisuke as her first major role. (It wasn't her first role in Digimon, however; she'd voiced a minor Koromon in Adventure episode 12.) Interestingly, Kiuchi's rough-around-the-edges would actually make her associated with tougher or even outright villainous, arrogant characters, so Daisuke is really an outlier even in retrospect. (Ironically, Kiuchi herself believes that she’s completely opposite to Daisuke in disposition.)

As mentioned before, she also briefly started a blog with Maeda Ai titled “Kiuchi Reiko and Maeda Ai Want to Make an Anime!!”, and apparently went hanging out with Araki Kae in 2016.

She went on to voice Kiriya in Futari wa PreCure and the titular character in Beet the Vandel Buster, but unfortunately, she didn't seem to consistently get roles thereafter, and allegedly left her agency in 2019, leaving her formal attachment to the industry and potential retirement status unclear; her role as Jewelry Bonney in One Piece was also replaced that very year, meaning it’s fairly likely she’s retired in full. She reprised her role as Daisuke for Xros Wars in 2012, which currently remains her last known activity in the role, but she’s also extremely fond of him, and, during her very brief time on Twitter around the time the 15th anniversary Blu-ray for 02 was about to be released, she basically went out of her way to reconnect with all of the old 02 voice actors and constantly gushed about Daisuke, merch, and old memories regarding the series.

Noda Junko (V-mon)

Conversely, Noda had already been working as a voice actress since the early 1990s, although V-mon was probably one of the biggest roles she'd gotten at the time. Since then, she’s continued being very prolifically involved in both voice acting and singing, and has been affectionately referred to as “NodaJun” by both friends and peers. Those who have been following kids' anime recently may know her as the fairy version of Harry in PreCure, and magical girl fans may know her as Zakuro in Tokyo Mew Mew.

She’s also very, very, very openly fond of V-mon and 02 in interviews and practically anywhere you can talk about it, and openly plugs it very often on Twitter. Although not nearly to the same extent of Sakamoto and Yamaguchi, she does occasionally get brought in for V-mon related stuff (most notably Magnamon in X-Evolution and the plot-relevant V-mon in ReArise).

Park Romi (Ken)

Here’s another one you’re very likely to have heard of if you follow Japanese voice actors! In fact, her role as Ken was actually her second major role at all, before her extensive and prolific career in voicing tough boys and intimidating ladies (and her breakout role as Edward Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist), and the first role she ever played of this archetype (her prior major role, Loran in Turn A Gundam, was more of a soft, naive type). Indeed, props to the Digimon casting for preliminarily spotting that potential from her, especially given how ridiculously multifaceted of a role Ken is!

She noticeably reprised her role as Ken in Xros Wars in 2012, which caught a lot of attention as she was the only returning voice actor to appear who wasn’t voicing either 1) a prior Digimon lead protagonist or 2) someone else in the episode already, and it led to a lot of speculation as to why Ken was being given such special treatment, but it later turned out that she just happened to be around for Toriko at the time. Obviously, since then, her career has pretty gone in different places -- if you’re following any kind of major work in the anime or Japanese game sphere now, you probably have heard at least one of her roles -- but she’s still very naturally fond of Ken-chan and has repeatedly cited being moved by the “thank you for being born” scene in 02, even all the way to the 15th anniversary comments in 2016. (She also was apparently really taken off-guard by the sheer degree of what happened with Ken’s character during the series, even despite having been informed beforehand that this would happen.) In another minor fun fact, she also played the Mole Trailmon in Frontier!

As an amusing story, since she’s ethnically Korean (it’s why her name is “Park”), there’s an anecdote where Chinese voice actress Ryu Seira saw her very-obviously-not-Japanese name in the credits of Fullmetal Alchemist and took this as inspiration to mean that even someone from outside Japan could become a voice actor there (not realizing that Park was actually born and raised in Japan, not an immigrant). This led to her establishing her own voice acting career in Japan, up to and including Fei in Cyber Sleuth!

Takahashi Naozumi (Wormmon)

Wormmon was one of his first major roles (he’d apparently auditioned for Adventure, but didn’t make the cut), and if you're a mainstream Western anime fan, that might as well still be his most notable one, but the actual details behind his career are a lot more fascinating: in fact, his reason for getting into the voice acting industry was that he'd been hoping to start a career as a singer-songwriter, and his later work in the otome game series Harukanaru Toki no Naka de (which is known as the series that basically established the otome game genre as we know it) put him on the map and kickstarted an extremely prolific career as a musician and otome game voice actor.

Ever since his breakout into the industry, he's become very well known for bishounen and younger teenage boy roles in otome franchises, especially idol ones that involve a lot of singing (on top of his own extensive discography), most notably Prince of Tennis. He also runs his own radio show, “Takahashi Naozumi's Trouble Maker”, and has a pretty considerable fan following of his own (he's nicknamed "Nao-nii" by fans and colleagues). All things considered, Wormmon is not only an outlier role for him, but also one where he's infamous for showing off an absurd amount of range (many have expressed shock that Wormmon and Stingmon were voiced by the same actor, and that's before we even get into Pucchiemon). Those who have seen Savers might also recognize him as Kamemon.

Takahashi is openly fond of Wormmon, owns plushes of him and has sometimes brought him up at irrelevant times, and, interestingly, as a singer-songwriter, also wrote the lyrics to Wormmon's character song (thank you to @demonoflight for catching that!).

Natsuki Rio (Miyako)

Of the major voice actors introduced in 02, Natsuki was probably the most experienced of them at the time, having already secured a few major roles prior to starring as Miyako. She's continued to get a handful of roles throughout the years in anime, games, and dubbing, with her most notable other roles probably being Sion in Melty Blood and Lulu in Final Fantasy X, and while she hasn't openly spoken much about Miyako since other than leaving a comment for the Blu-ray in 2016, she still likes to quietly engage with stuff relevant to her or 02 on Twitter, and stated earlier that she relates to her pretty well. She also briefly returned to voice Valkyrimon in the Adventure: reboot (presumably a reference to Valkyrimon being a Silphymon evolution).

Tochika Kouichi (Hawkmon)

Definitely not his first major role since his debut in the mid-90s, but certainly one of them -- predating his far more famous and more notable role as Neji in Naruto. He continues to be very prolific in voice acting to this day, and stated in Kizuna interviews that it was a very important part of his portfolio in terms of the range he had to fill. Perhaps fittingly given Hawkmon’s own fascination with Japanese aesthetics, Tochika himself is into things associated with Japanese culture, and, although it might just be due to Kizuna hyping him up about it, he likes talking about his role of Hawkmon quite a bit (and, really, gushing about any major character he’s played in general).

Perhaps even more fittingly, he showed up as Kabukimon in the Adventure: reboot as well.

Urawa Megumi (Iori/Armadimon)

The only known Digimon voice actor (as of this writing) to voice both the human partner and the Digimon partner (unless you want to count Frontier as a technicality), Urawa allegedly had no idea that both characters were partners when she auditioned for them and found out later when she’d been casted as both. Apparently, the sheer workload she had was such a huge deal that she had to mark her scripts up with different colored pencils, and even the other voice actors continually forgot that she was actually doing two roles and would instinctively clear the microphones for her!

This also meant that every single overlapping conversation had to have special considerations for separately recorded parts, and she was basically doing near double the workload everyone else was (remember, she was carrying the entire character song album by herself). Despite how hard that must have been, Urawa has repeatedly used the word “treasure” to refer to her time on 02 across multiple interviews.

The unique circumstances of her casting meant that she was one of the people who returned for Kizuna and witnessed her own role being taken away from her in front of her eyes, which she quipped as being like watching a child getting married and “someone taking Iori away from her”, and that’s on top of the fact that this put extra pressure on Yamaya to perform the role well directly in front of his own original voice actress. (Fortunately, both of them agree that it turned out for the best.)

Yamamoto Taisuke (Takeru in 02)

Taking over the role for Takeru in 02 (which -- see above -- was most likely just for reasons related to the character itself), Takeru was one of his earliest roles and his first major role. Unfortunately, he seems to not have had a lot of success in securing major roles afterwards, and, after his departure from his agency in 2015, his status in the actual industry itself is unknown, although he still left a very thoughtful comment about Takeru for the Blu-ray release in 2016.

As he’s originally from Hiroshima, his native dialect sometimes has a tendency to slip into his (very few) known interviews.

Miyahara Nami (Wallace)

Listed mainly because of her interesting circumstances; many have pointed out her strong affected accent and fluid-sounding English in Hurricane Touchdown, and it's because she spent much of her childhood in an American-run school in Austria. At the time of Hurricane Touchdown, she was still fairly new to the industry, but she was voicing a recurring character in Ojamajo Doremi (Yada) at the time, and, shortly after the movie, was promoted to cast regular in said series as Asuka Momoko, whose status as a returnee from the US was vital to her character arc. (Hurricane Touchdown has a lot of ties to Doremi, likely due to producer Seki and director Yamauchi’s presence; its spiritual sequel The Door to Summer features a character voiced by Shishido Rumi, most famous for playing major character Onpu in Doremi.)

She's continued to be active as both a voice actress and a singer since then, with a heavy dose of activity in the latter, especially in regards to Doremi having quite a bit of activity as of late. Inazuma Eleven fans may recognize her as Kogure.

Tada Aoi (Gumimon)

Of course, Digimon fans famously know her for also voicing Terriermon in Tamers (and also Lopmon there, given that she didn’t voice Chocomon in Hurricane Touchdown), but, interestingly, both incarnations of him seem to be one of her only voice acting roles at all, because in 2005 she decided to fully retire from voice acting and pursue a singing career instead. (Her only other known major role is probably Ed in Cowboy Bebop.) Her work with singer Lia is probably more famous than any of her voice acting work at this point.

She does, however, seem very fond of Terriermon, and has indicated not being averse to temporarily breaking her retirement for him (albeit mostly in regards to Tamers).

Hanae Natsuki (Taichi after 02)

In regards to the “new generation” voice actors for the Adventure and 02 cast, the majority of them seem to have been brought on with a general principle of them having been childhood fans of the series (probably for similar reasons as Han Megumi above), regardless of prior voice actor experience or notability. This is such a consistent thread that it seems to be intentional, but in the case of Taichi, Yamato, and Sora, all three voice actors were already hugely popular by the time of their casting, implying that this “rule” might have been broken for the sake of name value/notability/experience (although, of course, fitting the role itself still probably was a requirement too). But while Hosoya and Mimori were pretty obviously unrelated to the series in any way beforehand, Hanae fits the bill of both being a fan of the series as a child and being big-name at the time of casting.

Hanae quickly rose to fame shortly after his debut with a few well-placed roles in 2014 (including Kaneki Ken in Tokyo Ghoul), and is currently getting a lot of attention as the voice of Tanjirou in Kimetsu no Yaiba. Getting cast as Taichi has often led to him gushing about memories of liking Digimon as a child and having fun, so it’s hard to say that he himself hasn’t been incredibly enthusiastic about this entire experience.

Hosoya Yoshimasa (Yamato after 02)

Hosoya has been very open about the fact that he didn’t know much about Digimon prior to getting casted, but respected it a lot as a series (and, amusingly, seems to have been thrown off by Yamato’s design in Kizuna and worried it might be unrecognizable, presumably not being fully aware that this is actually the closest Yamato’s been to resembling his Adventure appearance).

Nicknamed “Hosoyan”, Hosoya had debut in 2005 and had slowly been working his way up to notability since then, and it's hard to pinpoint what exactly was his breakout role, but one could say that the 2011-2014 period was a very good one for him.

Mimori Suzuko (Sora after 02)

Mimori hasn’t really said anything about having any prior experience with the franchise (which, given the context, probably means she didn’t have any), but interviews with her and Shigematsu indicated that they ended up getting along extremely well thanks to Shigematsu's friendliness (they even share a birthday). Having debut in 2001 and nicknamed "Mimorin" by her fans, she'd already gotten a handful of roles under her belt by the time of her casting, with the most prominent one likely being Sonoda Umi in Love Live!

(Possible interest for those reading this: she's also Kourin in Cardfight!! Vanguard and Hiyoko in Danganronpa.)

Tamura Mutsumi (Koushirou after 02)

Going into the voice actors who definitely were very hardcore fans of Digimon beforehand, while she'd been a voice actress since 2007, most of her roles up until that point had been bit roles and younger versions of characters played by other voice actors. It was only after her casting as Koushirou when she eventually hit more notable roles such as the titular Kobayashi in Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, and she seems to have attained a much more extensive portfolio since, including major roles as morose ladies and young boys, especially in children’s anime. Eventually, she scored a role as protagonist Hiro in Ghost Game, to much rejoicing as her performance as Koushirou had been considered particularly well-liked.

Yoshida Hitomi (Mimi after 02)

Yoshida's portfolio is interesting in that while she does have a handful of voice acting roles now, she really didn't have that many at the time of her casting, and even now is probably still better known for her stage work and her career as a musician (especially for kids' shows; she'd been a recurring vocalist for PreCure at the time of her casting, and had also been involved in Kyoryuger and Lupinranger vs. Patranger). Even now, voice acting seems to be a fairly lowkey part of her portfolio compared to her music career.

Ikeda Junya (Jou after 02)

While he wasn't entirely new to it, Ikeda had, and still has, very few voice acting roles on his portfolio, and is predominantly more of a live-action actor. Those who follow Toei kids' shows, however, might recognize him as the actor for Gai/Gokai Silver in Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger (and, as gone more into below, Sentai is sort of a half-voice acted series during the times the stunt actors are acting out the battle scenes).

Enoki Junya (Takeru after 02)

Enoki had just debut a few years prior at the time he was casted, but was already getting quite a bit of attention via roles in Touken Ranbu (Horikawa) and Cardfight!! Vanguard G (Shion), so it's probably best to say that he was "on his way up" at the time of his casting. Naturally, after said casting, his portfolio only continued to increase to more and more significant levels, and you might currently know him as Yuri in Fire Emblem and Yuuji in Jujutsu Kaisen. He’s probably one of the more well-known names in the second-generation voice actor list here, and is currently nicknamed by his fans as “EnoJun”.

M・A・O (Hikari after 02)

(Yeah, I had to copy and paste those dots in.)

Here's an interesting case: she originally started off as a live-action actress under the name Ichimichi Mao, but after being cast as Luka in Gokaiger (co-starring with Ikeda Junya; see above) in 2011, she decided she liked voice acting better and switched career tracks to being a voice actress under the name M・A・O. At the time of her casting in Digimon, she had just barely started to get major roles in the voice acting sphere (probably most notably Aoko in Magic Kaito), but following her casting she continued to appear more and more in major works and leading roles, to the point I can confidently say she's probably one of the biggest names in the second-generation cast by knockout.

Katayama Fukujuurou (Daisuke after 02)

Having not really been in a lot of voice acting roles since his debut in 2010, his only other major voice acting role is Peco in Ping Pong the Animation, and he actually spends a lot more time in music and stage work (he performs music under the name "Sumita Fukujuurou"). Given that, it probably isn’t surprising that, with Daisuke as one of his only major voice acting roles and a character from his childhood, he gushes about the role on Twitter a lot, and, perhaps fittingly given the character he plays, is noticeably active in greeting and conversing with his fellow Digimon voice actors there.

Allegedly, he, Asai, and Yamaya (see below) all rewatched 02 in preparation for their roles...

Lounsbery Arthur (Ken after 02)

(Although he was born in the US and is a quarter Caucasian, he spent most of his life in Japan, which is why his name is usually rendered in the Japanese order despite looking Western.)

Much like Takahashi, he's the kind of voice actor that you may not have heard of much if you only follow the mainstream, but probably really know a lot about if you follow otome franchises and male idol franchises (his current most notable work probably being with Argonavis/AAside). Inazuma Eleven fans may recognize him as Ryugel Baran.

Asai Ayaka (Miyako after 02)

She'd been voice acting since 2014, and while her roles aren’t well-known to the current Western anime mainstream, her biggest current involvements seem to be as Hayasaka Mirei in Idolmaster and Sarisse in Dragalia Lost, and the latter involves her on a radio show with Uchiyama Yumi (who plays Cleo in said game, and is also known for being Haru in Appmon).

She also showed up with Miyako glasses in honor of her Kizuna interviews (she doesn’t normally wear them).

Yamaya Yoshitaka (Iori after 02)

Having been active since 2014, while he might not have a lot of roles that are immediately recognizable to a lot of the anime mainstream, it’s also hard to say that he’s been getting nothing but bit roles; look at his portfolio and there might be a few things you’ll recognize. (Going out on a lark here, probably Sugino from Assassination Classroom is most likely to be recognized by the kind of audience for this blog.) While not to the same extent as Arthur, he's also fairly involved in male idol franchises, probably most notably A3!, so he certainly has a portfolio behind him.

As stated earlier, the circumstances of Iori’s original casting put Yamaya in the extremely awkward situation of having to voice Iori in front of his own original voice actress, whom he’d technically stolen the role from! (Pretty much everyone in the vicinity caught on to the difficult situation he was in.) Fortunately, it seems that everything worked out for the better, especially since Yamaya himself demonstrated a pretty clear understanding of Iori’s character.

ok ok alriiiight ok so the plot of ATDAO

this post is not, like........... well, it’s not gonna be a blurb or a summary or a nice neat synopsis, this is not Professional Writeblr Business, this is, this is, uhhhh

this is like drunk house party logan rambles

works best if you imagine ur just like “hey man how’s it going” super casual and I grasp you firmly by the shoulders and look you dead in the eye and just ramble all of this without taking a single breath

could I have explained in a nice neat concise "elevator pitch" sort of way? probably. mind ur business. that’s not how we do things here at albatris.org

anyway the purpose of this post is “hey people seem to know a lot about the characters and the worldbuilding and the premise but have no clue what happens in the actual story” so I’m not going to be talking about said characters and worldbuilding and premise in depth

in terms of rambles, that stuff’s been covered! this post assumes you know what Ports are, n what the nature of the ATDAO apocalypse is, vaguely what the MCs are like as people......... though I can fetch this info for you if you like

but yeah if you are coming into this post with zero prior ATDAO knowledge........... deeply deeply from the bottom of my heart: sorry

also if this is your first time experiencing One Of These Rambles

also @safe-in-the-steep-cliffs​ and @siarven​ I am tagging you because you said you would like to be tagged and also hi and also I hope y’all knew what you were in for

anyway without further ado

(visual representation of my approach to this rant, not of how complicated my plot actually is)

(my plot is not that complicated)

ALRIGHT

there are two viewpoint characters! and two plotlines which converge near the end of the story, but honestly there’s a very real possibility I will decide these are two separate books meant as companion stories to each other because I love making things difficult for myself yeehaw

ATDAO’s co-protags are Tris and Noa, best buds four years and counting. their friendship is one of the single most important aspects of the story, n the ongoing love and trust they have for each other despite the way unfolding events force their relationship to change is integral to the themes and making the heart of the story what it is. I will now proceed to not mention this friendship for the entire remainder of this post. they’re bros. that’s all u need to know. listen. listen. I have a lot to cover

so yeah, ur first key player is Tris Greer, whose parents are dicks but whose siblings are chill. most notably of said siblings there is Jacob, older brother by thirteen years, whom Tris believes is just about the coolest person on the entire planet. this plotline kicks off when Jacob gets caught in the midst of a freak car accident that kills a dude and wrecks a street corner and also somehow causes Jacob to just kind of................. blip out of existence entirely and without a trace?

n Tris is understandably horrified and distressed by Very Much All Of This, but hey, at least there are responsible adults who can look into this obviously Port-related weird disappearance and figure this mess out, right?

INCORRECT

the relevant interdimensional authorities are brought in to suss out the situation and these authorities are kind of like “hmmmm idk about this” but are all set to take Tris at least somewhat seriously until they learn the following:

that Jacob had already been reported missing to police in his home state three days earlier

that Jacob was in the midst of several ongoing personal crises and at least one nervous breakdown

that Jacob was allegedly tangled up in some real weird shit that would more than account for a disappearance under suspicious circumstances

that Tris is schizophrenic, prone to hallucinations, confusion, memory issues and quote unquote “letting his imagination and anxiety get the better of him”, and precisely zero people can actually corroborate his story that Jacob was even there are the time of the accident to begin with

and after some back-and-forth and Looking Into The Evidence pretty much everyone in any position of authority comes to the conclusion that this is just Ordinary Regular People Crimes and whatever happened to Jacob had nothing to do with weird apocalyptic energies, and that Tris is (at best) stressed out and delusional or (at worst) lying through his teeth because he knows more than he’s letting on

so Tris is forced to hop pretty quick from “I’m sure someone will handle this” to “no one believes me but I’m sure if I can find some concrete proof they’ll listen and someone will handle it” to Well Fuck I Guess That Someone Is Me

cue bizarre reality-hopping fantasy quest, which is ten times easier said than done when most of the time Tris is terrified enough just, like, going to the supermarket

he enlists the help of his new classmate Shara, amateur paranormal investigator and professional weird-bullshit enthusiast, who agrees to help him puzzle out what the fuck happened to Jacob in exchange for his assistance in mapping out Adelaide’s interdimensional “fault lines” as part of her ongoing quest to track down the source of the apocalypse

she’s got big fuckin dreams, ok, go hard or go home

slso worth noting at this point that there HAS been an uptick in Ports and their related reality-bending strangeness in Adelaide recently which is why this is of particular interest to her currently. gotta find out What Makes The Weirdness Tick, gotta find out Why The Sudden Extra Weirdness

..........and also Kai is there

Kai has no nice neat reason to get involved with the plot, Kai just likes drama and being all up in people’s personal business. Tris brings them on board for one single afternoon like “hey I will pay you some money to come to my house and fix my fucked up phone so I can listen to an interdimensional voicemail” but forgot the apparently key addendum “and then leave”

their first three chapters of knowing each other is basically Tris being like “stop inviting yourself into my house we are not friends” and Kai being like “that’s a rude thing to say to your friend. also your sister gave me the netflix password and I used your kitchen to bake pastries feel free to help yourself”

but yeah so Tris’s story mostly focuses on his quest to figure out where Jacob got yeeted to and how to get him safely home (y’all probably know a bit about The Unreality already maybe?), whilst also dealing with rising family tensions, whatever shifty stuff Jacob was involved with prior to his disappearance, and his own creeping doubts about his perceptions of reality

n I’m also saying flat out it’s not a plot that’s going the “oh the whole thing was just a delusion all along” route because ew

his psychosis is a fairly involved part of his character but the explorations around it are more to do with, like......... the difficulties he has in trusting himself and whether he has the luxury of letting himself get swept into some Big Weird Implausible Adventure when this has extremely different implications for him than it would someone else. n eventually to how his success and survival is not ~in spite of~ but specifically because of the different way he understands and interprets the world and the skills he’s developed

THAT TANGENT WAS A PERSONAL RANT IT WAS NOT RELEVANT I just have words to say on the subject of how psychosis is treated in fiction and didn’t want people jumping to the “none of it is real” conclusion anyway ok moving on

ur SECOND key player is Noa Yun, who has rather a lot on her plate right now. she’s broke as fuck and her mum is sick and her car is making Noises and she’s not getting enough hours at her job at Not-IKEA and everyone is on her back about her failing studies as if that’s a thing she has the energy to care about. feeling rather backed into a corner by life’s bullshit and her financial situation, she blatantly lies her way into a field job at the Department of Interdimensional Instabilities, because A) surely it can’t be THAT bad, and B) what does she have to lose?

so more or less what she’s doing is the equivalent of emergency services for Port-related weirdness, it’s going out and dealing with highly unstable otherworldly energies head on, navigating Weird Phenomena and bendy patches in reality......... it is, among other things, a job that’s relatively easy to get into because no one wants to touch it with a ten foot pole unless they absolutely have to

n the DII is a whole other post, this shit has lots of different functions and levels and branches and corruption and secrets and a tendency to view workers who have to go out and deal with the brunt of the apocalypse head-on as vaguely expendable and I’ve talked about it a bit before and in more Serious Words

things kinda kick off for her when in true Noa fashion she hurls herself into a dangerous situation to help out a coworker, n enters a pretty standard issue “overlap” where the barriers between universes are a little fucky, but hey, she seems to come out of it with nary a scratch, so it’s reasonable to assume everything is fine, right?

INCORRECT AGAIN

she basically gets some whacked-out otherworldly energies latched onto her that are now following her through her everyday life, and it turns out she’s starting to bend the reality around her the way certain types of Ports do, which is! obviously not ideal! she’s not exactly a Port herself, because she’s pretty sure that’s impossible, but it’s clear capital s Something happened to her in that overlap, and she doubts it’s good news. and to make matters even more disconcerting, she’s now being dogged at every step by strange visions of a child who speaks in an unfamiliar language and who seems Real Fuckin Pissed at her

so her thing is basically “I acquired fucked up reality-bending powers against my will and they might be lowkey killing me ‘cause Ports are notoriously unstable like that and also I’m haunted for some godforsaken reason” which all somehow ended up being, like, the least interesting part of her plotline for me lmao

oh and Noa also enlists the help of Shara, Because Ghosts

anyway yeah so her search to find out what’s happening to her re: Weird Children, being a Port-adjacent something-or-other, and whether there’s a way to stop her own unravelling leads her to (rogue computer programmer? mad scientist? general shifty bastard?) Laurence Marrick Thiele, who claims to have suffered a similar affliction in the past and now does some real interesting research on the subject. n this guy. well. he’s got some fuckin stuff going on

he definitely knows more about the nature of Ports than he should. also is he actually researching what he says he’s researching? also what’s with all the weird tech? also did he just straight up murder that guy Avery? all will be revealed later, maybe, if I feel like it

but yeah at about the same time as Noa goes “actually fuck this you’re shady as hell I’m out” she stumbles into, like, The Actual Reality of what Marrick is up to re: manipulating Ports and interdimensional doorways for his own gain, and the various ways this spells bad news not only for her but potentially for the entire city and anyone unfortunate enough to get caught in the crossfire, and she shifts gear to “actually you know what I’m gonna kick your ass”

there are various reasons for this, but first and foremosterly you have to understand that Noa’s got a fuckload of pent-up rage and she will bring it in full force the moment you say some stupid shit like “some people are expendable” or “it’s inevitable for the greater good”

(there’s also a fun ongoing subplot with her work at the DII where she and her team are investigating a string of strange illnesses with bizarre symptoms that appear to be spreading via obscure radio stations so that’s. happening. I guess?)

but yeah the main story here mostly follows Noa’s attempts to undermine Marrick, bastard supreme, and find a way to fuck him up before he goes, like, Full Cartoon Supervillain, n also like........... her attempts to keep up her work at the DII despite her rising paranoia that the teammates she’s growing to care about will notice her increasingly unstable state and the fact that she’s all tangled up with the very forces they’re meant to be thwarting. n along the way discovering the reality of what happened to her in The Aforementioned Overlap Incident and about her visions and such

so that’s all that. did that make sense

n she’s got a whole arc going on about trust and learning to lean on others, like, she comes into this story as a very standoffish person with lots of paranoia, she’s spent much of her life feeling like she can only rely on herself, n she’s. well. yeah, like I said, she’s got a lot of anger at the world and at the various systems that have failed her and her loved ones, n the story puts her in a position to become even more isolated

and her plotline isn’t so much “you have no reason to be angry or afraid” or her learning to Not Be, It’s more, like........... yeah you have every fucking right to be furious and of course you’re afraid! but there are people around you who love you and who will jump at the chance to defend you and who will help you carry the weight of your anger and grief and none of this needs to be yours to bear alone which is extremely cheesy

which applies to both her Weird Supernatural Goings-On as well as her regular ordinary life goings-on

I feel like Alice and Jet deserve a mention for Noa’s plotline but also this went on and on too long already so. well. Alice and Jet exist! yep. they work with Noa at the DII. I have things to say about them. I will not be saying them today

and uhhhhhh

in general, for Tris, his plotline, you wanna think, like, fantasy/adventure vibes which veer pretty sharply into horror, and for Noa you wanna think...... kinda, sci-fi mystery conspiracy vibes with a dash of some superhero bullshit maybe except not really

and that

pretty much is it I think

also the fact that Kai just invites themself into the plot for funsies and then is dragged kicking and screaming into caring about themself and making positive changes in their life means there was no convenient place in this post to be like

"oh there's also a whole major subplot about a time loop"

but there's also a whole major subplot about a time loop

goodnight! thanks for coming to....................... whatever this was! have a nice saturday everyone

La Squadra Backstories!!!! Stream of consciousnesss style!

So literally I just sat down and wrote down exactly what I thought. I have not edited these at all lmaooo. But I made long drawn out backstories for our underrated assassins so enjoy!!

T/W + C/W - idk I talk about people dying in a lot of ways. Child abuse, drugs, severe illness, dead cats. This stuff is a mess I really didn’t censor it. But nothing is described in detail cuz I’m too lazy for that.

————

Prosciutto cuz he’s at the top of my mind. Mmkay he and Pesci are brothers but not by blood. Pro was an orphan, I still wanna make him Russian, and pesci’s extremely kind and gentle family adopted him when he was like 7. They were like literally a garden catalogue family. Perfection. The parents died when pro was like 15, Pesci was 13?? Idk the age difference I’m just making shit up now. And Pesci had no fucking idea what to do, they didn’t have any other family, and pro was like “I’m still basically a hardened criminal from living on the streets of russia most of my childhood, so joining the local mafia should be a piece of cake”. It was.

Risotto..... fuck it. Polpo is risottos dad. I’ve seen that so much and fuck it I’m here for it now. Idk how I feel about the whole Mariah from part 3 being his mom that seems too coincidental. But either way, he is half Spanish. I don’t think he’s ever been in touch with his Spanish roots at all, but that’s what he is. Polpo had too much fun on vacay in Spain. But it was a once night stand and polpo, a skinny king back in the mid 70s, fucked off to do mafia stuff and didn’t know about this kid. Risotto never knew his father. Time goes by, about the time he’s 10, rizzo’s mom moves to Italy to find the man she once loved. Since the 70s, she has been married and divorced 4 times, disowned by her entire family, and she speaks only of Polpo, the man who swept her off her feet and then disappeared into the night. Leaving only this child with his matching eyes. So they live in Italy, risotto is about 13 now and his mom has been searching seriously for polpo for about 3 years. One day, she gets too close, mafia takes her out. Risotto is all alone in a country he has lived in for less than 3 years. So he decides to take revenge against the mafia. He goes to hunt them down. (I’m too lazy to write out how. Gets a gun. Basically the scene in part 5 where the kid is like “you killed my father and now I’m gonna kill you!!” But he chickens out???) yeah except rizzo didn’t chicken out, he stood firm and killed 2 of them. The other 2 surrendered, and immediately asked rizzo to take polpos test. He did. And he unknowingly met his father, the man his mother had died looking for. He stared into his fathers eyes, black sclera reflecting each other, and passed his test with ease.

Wowwwwwwwww alrighty then that was something. Let’s shake out those jitters because fuck that was intense and let’s move onto some happy shit.

Melone!! Always a bottle of joy. He was a phenomenal student, a perfect child. Perfect grades, perfect attitude, perfect looks. Onlyyyy tiny thing is he murdered cats and buried their heads in the back yard. But that was his only flaw. Aaaaaaaand mayyybe trying to use his extensive knowledge of molecular biology and genetics (even at as young as 11) to asexually breed said cats.

But, apart from that, absolutely perfect specimen of a young boy. And he kept that up until college. Until the rape accusation. Melone had no interest in having sex with her, he swore under oath in open court, he only wanted to “extract her essence” in the hopes of making her amazing genetics stay pure for centuries.

Due to his previously amazing school record, he was allowed to plead not guilty by reason of insanity (because the justice system is bullshit) and was released to his parents. During this whole process, Melone’s mother had begun to grow suspicious of her son, wondering if there was something wrong with him. This led her to explore the crawl space under the garage, more commonly known as “Melone’s childhood laboratory”. The cat skulls alone were enough to set her off. They allowed him into their home long enough to fool the court, but parole officers don’t pay attention, and they kicked him to the curb a month later. Broke, alone, and with no real skills other than his genius mind and gorgeous body, he became a prostitute. It was only a few months before he wandered up to a gigantic white haired man with angry eyes and asked if he wanted a date. Instead of declining, our good ol rizzo just knocked him out cold and brought him home. The rest is history. Literally because I can’t think of what would happen between that and Melone joining the mafia. I assume he was just their house pet for a little while before he decided he wanted a stand too.

Oh good lord these are getting insane. Better keep going. Okay I have no idea what’s about to come out of my head for ghia but oh Lordy. Might as well start. Ghiaccio wasn’t always quite as angry, but it’s actually gonna be a sweet story. Kinda. He used to act perfect, even tho he always felt the anger inside. He was forced to bottle it up and put on a happy exterior always. His mother was Belgian. (From experience, Belgian mothers (Flemish in particular) will beat you until your ass is raw if you talk back). Italian father, they lived in italy. He had 4 sisters, he was the middle child of 5. Around high school, he started acting out. Of course this was due to all of his bottled up anger from the past 15 years. 4 shattered sinks, 16 holes in the drywall, and one classroom fire later, Ghiaccio was expelled from school. His parents were too busy brimming with joy about the success of all his sisters that they didn’t take much notice to him. “If you’re going to behave in such a manner you might as well leave” his mother said. She was past the point of caring enough to beat him. So he left. 16 and with no where to go, he wandered the streets. After a year or so, Ghia had gotten used to that life, and was angry at everyone, sometimes when he wasn’t even angry. Anger had become his coping mechanism. Screaming was easier than talking. Until one day, he screamed at a blonde man in an intersection. Prosciutto was driving back to the squads hang out, boxes of takeout in the back seat of the car. He had chosen to not stop at the red light, just for fun, and nearly ran into our blue haired teenager. Ghia proceeded to cuss him out for a good 4 minutes in the middle of this intersection before pro cut him off. “Get in the back. “ he said, with his own special brand of brotherly love. “I know how you can put that anger to good use”. Ghiaccio, having no real reason to object, got in the back seat. Prosciutto was silent the rest of the drive and Ghiaccio yelled about all the take out food, now splattered on the backs of the seats due to the sudden slam on the brakes.

Y’all I don’t even remember the other la squadra members. Let’s do sorbet/gelato because they have zero backstory or personality so I can just ramble. *Clears throat* let’s begin. These fuckers. Friends since birth. Grew up together, always really close. They were both dirt poor, but because the only school nearby was a decent public school, when were able to slightly experience middle class living. They liked it. They wanted to see upper class, and once they did, they wanted to be there. These two were money grubbing bffs, I’m talking josuke and okuyasu, but like waaaaay more intense and also violent. They both left home around 14, together of course. Gelatos father had left them a few years prior, and his family were on the brink of starvation. Figuring they didn’t need another mouth to feed (and completely abandoning his post as family patriarch lol) he left with sorbet, who’s family had all died in various ways over the years. Most recently, his older sister being taken by some illness that was probably easily treatable, but with no means for a doctor, she died in days. The boys left home and school, and made a living by pickpocketing tourists and occasionally launching into larger heists. They made a decent living for themselves, but eventually started spending their money on drugs. It’s was sorbet first, heroin was really good to him for awhile. Gelato was against it, knowing it was the reason sorbets family had been so poor to begin with. His father was an addict, and despite holding down a job fairly well, spent all his earnings on drugs. Eventually he became too dependent, lost his job, and OD’d. But around this same time, when the boys were 16/17, they were starting to realize their feelings for each other. Confused teenaged minds full of budding love led to Gelato giving in, and soon their days were filled with heroin fueled ecstatic sex. They lived like this for awhile, existing in half reality, until one day they chose to set their pickpocketing targets on a short man with close cropped gray hair. The plan was perfect, sorbet bumped into the man and gelato passed by to grab his wallet, and suddenly they were the size of mere ants. In an instant, they were returned to size, left to wonder if it was real or just a hallucination from long term drug use. But they didn’t run. Formaggio introduced himself, with a loose handshake and a pause to spit out some tobacco, and promptly invited them to a “party”. Although, Formaggio was honest in his promise, this party did have drugs.

Cheese boys turn!! Seriously who am I forgetting??? Illuso my mirror man! Am I forgetting someone else too?? Idk. But shut up Kel it’s cheese boys turn.

So. Formaggio. Probably the most chill childhood. Lower middle class, pretty average, but he was quite gifted with sports. Soccer was his main, and also a fantastic competitive swimmer. (Okay I have a separate hc that Bruno is really good at soccer so hol horse up a moment so I can imagine those 2 playing soccer together in friendly competition. In my lil au where Bruno is in la squadra because I say BruPro exes rights please and thanks.) but anyway, he got really good at soccer and was offered a scholarship to play at a fancy pants private high school when he was 14. Of course his parents made him go, this has been the family’s dream for years, and formaggio’s as well. So high school is amazing, he’s starting to attract attention from universities even tho he’s barely in grade 11 by this point. And it’s all really amazing until he realizes. This isn’t what he wants. And it’s just that. He doesn’t want to play soccer anymore, he doesn’t want to potentially be famous. He just wants to be a kid. So he leaves school, he leaves home, he wants to start over. And he wanders into a diner and sees this small group of weirdly dressed men. At this point, it’s rizzo, pro, Pesci, and ghia. And he’s staring at them because they’re dressed like circus clowns but their aura is so murderous. And then the one who looks like a giant pineapple starts staring back. Pesci gets up and walks over to Formaggio. “I know you! You’re that amazing kid soccer player!!” And he just goes on and on about shit he read in the news (70% of it was false) until pro comes over and yanks his idiot brother away. Pro starts asking Formaggio questions, thinking he could be a good target. Stupid little rich kid. But to prosciuttos surpise, Formaggio is just a down to earth kid with no more money to his name than he needs to pay for this meal. Prosciutto takes him home after that. He doesn’t really offer any explanation.

(The rambling at the beginning of this paragraph actually happened lol so I paused for like 4 hrs oops)

Alright we are back. Had to leave to go to therapy and then scream at my mother and cry to my boyfriend but we are ready to go! Illuso and I really hope he’s the last one and I’m not forgetting one. Illuso was raised in an orphanage from infancy. No idea who his parents could even be. Fun fact: one of the nuns at the orphanage (cuz it’s an orphanage in Italy in 1980, they’re catholic.) nicknamed him Illuso because he was always pointing at things that weren’t there. As a tiny baby and a child, he would always be looking at things no one else can see (yes illuso is a natural stand user fight me). The nuns called him illuso as an insult, hoping to shame him into stopping. He never did. When he outgrew the orphanage, he decided to join the priesthood. He was 19, a priest in training, when the mafia came to the orphanage. They were collecting, and illuso knew they didn’t have the money this month. He tried to talk the mobsters down, but that went about as well as planned. 4 bullets to the chest, 3 open heart surgeries, and half a dozen resuscitations later, Illuso was released from the hospital. The orphanage had been shut down, and no one knew what had happened to the children or the nuns. With no where to go, illuso knew of one place that could use talents like his. The talents of steadily stealing money from the starving children of the church for a decade. It was during polpos test that illuso’s stand manifested. Not due to the arrow, but to protect its user from the other stand. Illuso was able to avoid Black Sabbath by hiding in his newfound mirror world until it was time to return the lighter to polpo (kinda cowardly but whatever.) he was assigned to risottos group by chance and was the last to join excluding Melone. But they loved him as if they had found him themselves.

Just a Glance

Summary: Your anxiety’s been getting the best of you lately, feeling as if you’re being watched. Is your mind playing tricks on you, or will your fears be realized?

Pairing: Dark!Steve Rogers x Reader

Word Count: ~4.5k

Warnings: stalking, paranoia, implied NON-CON (no descriptions)

A/N: Hello! So, this is the follow-up to “Just a Taste”, but told from the reader’s perspective this time. While it’s not imperative you read that story first (or at all, really), I highly suggest you do so. As always: heed the warnings! And as a general disclaimer: I DO NOT condone the actions depicted below. To any and everyone who reads this, I hope you enjoy! Gif found here.

It’s Saturday morning – time to do your weekly grocery shopping. As always, the first stop is at the local farmer’s market. You like coming here not only for the fresh produce, but also to chat with the vendors you’ve become friendly with. You could spend all day talking with them – almost have once or twice – but you have other places you still need to hit today.

It doesn’t hurt to note that making good with the vendors may have some monetary benefits for you, but that’s just an added bonus – the cherry on top. Talking animatedly as the vendors package your slightly reduced-price items, you accidentally whack a few unsuspecting customers while gesturing wildly. You cringe and apologize profusely for your carelessness. Despite being assaulted, the patrons accept your apologies and wish you a good day – letting you off scot-free.

Next stop on your shopping trip is the supermarket. You buy the bulk of your items here: frozen goods, dairy products, various non-perishables. This store has almost everything you need, apart from a few essentials – some absolute necessities: your favorite madeleines, strawberry sorbet, and chocolate-covered pretzels amongst other things; these you can only get from one particular store. But, thankfully, it’s on the way home – your perishables won’t spoil while you run in and grab your few items.

You drive to the store, humming along to your playlist coming through the car’s speakers. When you arrive at the shop, it’s as bustling as ever. Many people must have similar mindsets to you: thinking this shop offers some of the most delicious treats in town. You walk through the familiar aisles knowing exactly where your favorite snacks are housed. You find the pretzels and madeleines easily enough, but can’t find the sorbet. It’s always on the same shelf in the same freezer, but not today. 

You start strolling past the freezers, looking through each one – desperately hoping the sorbet’s just been moved and not sold out. Or worse, discontinued. As you search, you pay no mind to the other shoppers around you – your brain totally focused on your mission. Out of nowhere, you walk face-first into what seems to be a steel wall – almost falling on your ass and dropping your basket. 

Upon steadying yourself, you realize you didn’t walk into a wall but, rather, a man. A very handsome man, at that. Damn, how did you miss that? Strong jaw, piercing blue eyes, built like a tank – he could be very intimidating if he wanted to be.

You apologize for bumping into him, explaining that you weren’t paying attention to where you were going. He brushes off your apology – all but warning you to watch yourself next time – before he continues past you. He wasn’t as friendly as the people from the farmer’s market, you remark. But it was your fault anyway, so you can’t really blame him for being terse with you.

You continue down the aisle until – hallelujah – you spot your prize. It seems they’d simply moved the sorbet to a different freezer. You grab it from the top shelf, dispense it in your basket, and finish shopping – easily finding the rest of your goodies. After purchasing and loading the items into your car, you drive home – absentmindedly singing to your music.

~~~~~

The following week passes by as usual. On Sunday morning, you meet with your friends for brunch. While Katherine had originally suggested checking out the new omelet place in town, you sided with Layla on wanting to go to your regular pancake house. Thus, you three catch up over fluffy, syrup-y flapjacks – discussing how your respective weeks went.

Nothing incredibly remarkable happened to any of you. Katherine mentions how her boss is hounding her lately, making an ugly face to mock him. Her expression makes you laugh, choking on a bite of pancake. Layla had a saucy date night with her boyfriend on Friday. Her descriptions cause you to pause mid-chew, imagining the position she's graphically detailing. 

Your most exciting contribution to the conversation is the mini heart attack you had at the store yesterday. Your friends understand your reaction; having had a taste of your favorite sorbet before, they know why you went feral when searching for it. After eating, splitting the bill, and promising "same time next week", you all head in your separate directions.

Following Sunday brunch, you go to the bookstore – seeing if they’ve gotten any new titles in since last week. Browsing the shelves, you spot a new mystery novel that piques your interest. You buy the book, planning to read it during your lunch breaks and after work.

The remainder of your week follows in monotony. Work Monday through Friday, Netflix and novels during free time, occasional morning runs to burn off the calories from your insatiable sweet-tooth – your routine is well-ingrained into your system. On only one occasion did you forget to bring your new book to work – instead, bringing the one you finished the previous week. It’s not the first time this has happened. You can be forgetful when deviating from your routine.

Come Saturday, it's time to go grocery shopping again. As usual, the first stop is the farmer’s market, second is the supermarket, and third is your favorite store. Luckily, you haven’t run out of your pint of sorbet from last week. Thus, you don’t bother traipsing the freezer section. You did, however, gobble through the madeleines and pretzels – forcing you to replenish your stock.

Wading through the busy aisles, you zero in on your target: pretzels – top shelf, right-hand side. The aisle is crowded, making you have to squeeze past a few shoppers in order to get to your prize. As you reach up to grab the bag, you feel someone brush up against you – likely trying to squeeze behind just as you had done moments ago.

The scent of cedarwood and mint trails after the person, overpowering your sense of smell. That guy wears too much cologne, you chide. You turn your head to look at him, seeing his jacket-clad broad shoulders and blonde hair peeking from under his baseball cap. He must be in a hurry since he swiftly departs the aisle. But you’ve been in his place before: running into the store for only one or two items. In those instances, you didn’t bother grabbing a basket – just as he hadn’t today.

You purchase your few items, load your car, and drive out of the parking lot. Glancing in your rearview mirror, you notice a couple of cars also leaving the grocery store and heading in the same direction as you. You blast your playlist as you drive, impatiently waiting until you can get home and dig into your snacks.

~~~~~

The next few weeks pass more or less the same. Sunday mornings are spent brunching with your friends. You eventually cave and agree to try out the omelet place Katherine suggested; but, upon finding the meal lackluster, you all decide to stick with your usual restaurants next time.

You finish the novel you've been reading. The book was so intriguing that you decide to check out more of the author's work, buying another title from the bookstore. This one is similarly a mystery novel, but it's supposedly more chilling – has much more suspense that builds the feeling of dread in the audience.

You go on morning runs after you have one too many scoops of sorbet the prior night. Running your usual route, you pass by an unfamiliar car parked outside your neighbor's house. You didn't realize Mr. Nelson's son was in town again, assuming that's who the vehicle belongs to. You've never met the man before, but he must be kind-hearted seeing as he's willing to visit and care for his elderly father. Maybe you’ll get a chance to meet him soon.

The days come and go. Working through the week, shopping on the weekend, reading in your free time – nothing is intrinsically different. And yet, something feels off. You can’t explain it. You just have a feeling – a sixth sense, almost. And the sensation only grows as the weeks progress.

At times, you feel as if someone is watching you – boring holes into you. No matter where you are – home, work, shopping – you feel like there’s a set of eyes on you, observing you closely. Furthermore, sometimes you swear you can see a shadow lingering in the corner of your eye. But when you turn to look directly at it, it’s disappeared – vanished in an instant.

Your friends and coworkers notice you getting lost in your thoughts, having to snap you from your daze. When you explain the sensation you’re experiencing, they brush you off – none of them finding any evidence to support your claims. You also don’t have any tangible proof for your assertions, just that feeling in your gut.

You decide to chalk it all up to the novel you’re reading. Must be the book’s foreboding feeling carrying over into real life, you rationalize. Resolving to ignore the pestering thoughts popping up in the back of your mind, you try to continue about your days as normal.

~~~~~

It’s Monday morning – time to go to work. On the drive there, you stop to get your coffee – turning down your music so you don’t have to scream your order through the drive-through. Once you reach the office, you make busy at your desk: going through your emails, checking your calendar; all the usual routine.

A couple of hours into your work, you have that sensation you’ve been feeling the last few weeks. You’ve gotten pretty good at ignoring it lately, but you occasionally happen a glance just to humor yourself. When you turn to look towards the shadow – expecting to see nothing as usual – you gasp. 

A burly man stands outside your office window, inches away from the glass. His face is partially obscured by his aviators and baseball cap. Though you can’t see his eyes, you know his gaze is directed at you. You stare back at him, a look of confusion crossing your face. He curls one corner of his lip up before walking away – out of your line of sight.

Swiveling your chair to face your coworker, you ask her if she saw that man outside the window. She doesn’t know what you’re referring to, being too wrapped up in her work to notice anything else. Despite her lack of confirmation, you know you’re not going crazy; there was most definitely a man out there watching you. An uneasy feeling washes over you. Maybe those pestering thoughts aren’t so unfounded, you worry.

Throughout the rest of your day, you continue looking towards the windows – expecting him to show up again. He doesn’t return that day. However, the following morning, you see him again – standing outside your office wearing his hat and sunglasses like last time. Once he catches your eye, he smirks, before turning to walk away. This routine continues through the rest of your work week, making you more anxious as each day passes.

Come Saturday, you desperately need to go shopping – having stress-eaten all of your snacks throughout the week. Your anxiety not only affected your appetite, but also your sleep. Over the last couple of days, you’ve come home from work to find your front door unlocked – it apparently having slipped your tired brain in the morning. You double-check that you’ve locked the door before going shopping.

At the farmer’s market, you happily chat with the vendors – feeling much less perturbed than you have all week. That is, until something – or rather, someone – catches your eye across the way. It’s that man again. He’s here, at the farmer’s market, watching you.

Your voice catches mid-sentence as your breath is stolen from you. You stand stock-still, unable to remove your wide eyes from him. The vendor notices your change in demeanor and waves a hand in front of your face, trying to regain your attention. The distraction pulls your gaze from the man in order to pay for your produce. When you look back across the way, he’s gone – leaving no trace that he was ever there to begin with.

But you know better – know your eyes weren’t deceiving you. That was the same man that’s been at your office all week. The same man that’s been watching you all week. And now, he’s seemingly followed you here.

Panic starts to rise as you walk to your car, contemplating just cutting your shopping trip short and going home. But you can’t do that; you need to buy groceries and this is the only day you can do so. You decide to continue with your normal shopping routine and just be quick about it – no dawdling.

You play your music at a low volume as you drive to your next destination. Doing a speed-run through the supermarket, you practically rip the items off of the shelves in your haste. Every now and then, you peek around the corners of the aisles – expecting to see him standing at the end. You never do, and that makes you release a sharp exhale each time your fears are rejected.

Your drive to your third shopping location is less tense, humming slightly to your playlist. At the store, you still chance a look down the aisles just in case, but you never find him waiting there. Unfortunately, you also don’t find any of your normal goodies – the madeleines, sorbet, and pretzels all gone. 

You wander the aisles for what feels like hours, hoping to find the items stocked elsewhere. Upon realizing they are indeed sold out, you become crestfallen. It’s already too late into the day to hit up another store and your frozen goods are likely starting to defrost in your car. Thus, you decide to find some replacement snacks to tide you over until next week – just until you can return and hopefully repurchase your normal treats.

The drive home is worry-free as you sing loudly to your music. You continue humming the tune as you collect your groceries from your car, making your way to the front door. When you go to open it, you find it’s already unlocked. Strange. You swear you locked up this morning. 

You step through the threshold, closing the door behind you. As you walk towards your kitchen, you smell something in the air – almost an earthy-toothpaste kind of scent. Strange. The smell differs greatly from the normal lavender air freshener you use. Perhaps, not only did you leave the door unlocked, but maybe you also left a window open and the scent is wafting in that way.

You unload your groceries, putting everything on their appropriate shelves and cabinets. When you open the freezer to dispense your frozen goods, you halt your movements. Sitting on the shelf is a pint of your favorite strawberry sorbet. Strange. You swear you finished off the carton last night. Regardless, you celebrate the revelation – knowing what you’re going to snack on tonight. You finish putting away the groceries before going to spend the rest of your day reading.

Later that night when you’re getting ready for dessert, you reach into the freezer for the sorbet. As you grab it, you notice the weight of it – seemingly a full pint rather than an almost finished one. You look the container over, seeing for the first time a small note taped to it. You definitely didn’t leave that there; you’d have no reason to leave yourself notes on a pint of sorbet. You read the few words of the unfamiliar, looped handwriting: “I hope you taste just as sweet”.

You gasp, dropping the carton onto the counter. It all makes sense now: the unlocked door, the lingering scent, the note on the carton – someone's been in your home, and you have a sneaking suspicion you know who the intruder is.

You grab your phone, frantically dialing the police and explaining the situation. You stay on the line as they send a couple of officers to your home. They search every inch of the house, finding no signs of forced entry and no other evidence someone has been there. With nothing else to offer you, they suggest investing in new locks before leaving you to stew in your anxiety. You sleep uneasily that night.

The next morning, you’re hesitant to leave your house – not yet having told your friends about your discovery last night. However, you figure telling them in-person over brunch is as good an opportunity as ever. Reluctantly, you make your way out the door – triple-checking that you’ve locked it. You drive to the restaurant with your music playing low, frequently checking your rearview mirror.

Upon greeting your friends, they can immediately tell something is off with you – your usual cheery demeanor completely absent. Attempting to keep your composure so as not to work yourself up more, you carefully explain everything that’s led up to today. Remarkably, you don’t break down in tears as you detail your experiences from the past week.

However, your friends fly off the handle at your confession – concern flooding their every feature. Layla offers to help you book an appointment with a home security company – her boyfriend having previously worked there. Katherine advises you on ways to get your stalker off of your trail: changing up your routine, taking complex routes to your destinations, and always staying vigilant. You thank them for their help and take their words to heart.

Brunch passes in uncomfortable silence – at least, from your end. Your friends try to pick up your mood – try dragging you out of your swirling thoughts – but to no avail. You pick at your food, your appetite not having fully returned since last night. Most of the conversation goes in one ear and out the other, your attention too focused on the bodies passing by the restaurant’s windows. As you take your leave after the meal, your friends each give you a firm hug – telling you to call them if you need anything or if anything else happens.

You decide to forego stopping by the bookstore, just wanting to quickly return home. You take different streets back, heeding Katherine’s advice. The drive is silent as you focus your attention on the road – your eyes frequently flicking to your rearview mirrors. You didn’t see him at the restaurant and you don’t notice any cars obviously following you, but that doesn’t dissipate your fears.

The drive takes longer than usual, but, eventually, you arrive back home. Your hand shakes as you reach for the door, hoping – praying – it’s just as you left it. The door is locked as you try the handle. You let out a sharp breath, relief flooding your veins.

You check through your house anyway, finding nothing out of the ordinary in any of the rooms. You sigh in contentment, reassured that no one else has been here. Walking towards the back of the house, you notice a smell get stronger and stronger as you approach your bedroom. The scent is familiar – calling back memories from yesterday – and your fear renews tenfold.

You push on the door, letting it smack against the wall as it swings open. In the center of your bed lies a small, white box. You walk towards it, feeling your heart beating frantically. On the box rests a note – the same looped script from yesterday defiling the otherwise pristine paper. “I can’t wait to have a taste,” the writing reads.

Lifting the lid, you peer into the box’s contents. A package of your favorite madeleines – the ones that were sold out the other day – await you. Tears spring to your eyes as you dash out of the house, once again phoning the police.

~~~~~

The following week passes by in a frenzy. After the police could again find nothing of value – apart from the two notes now in your possession – you take Layla up on her offer, scheduling a new security system to be installed as soon as possible.

It takes a few days for the workman to show up. In the days that pass, you're greeted with another treat-filled box each night you return home from work – the attached notes bearing more and more cryptic and chilling sentiments.

Once the high-tech system is installed, you're given the walk-through on how to operate it. It's a bit complex – all the buttons, codes, and alarms differing greatly from your former lock-and-key mechanism – but it'll give you some peace of mind. It takes some getting used to over the first couple of days, but it starts becoming second nature to remember to set the alarm. The notes stop appearing after the system is installed.

All the while, you follow Katherine's advice to a T. You change up your routine. With some coaxing, your boss agrees to change your hours – having you in the office much more frequently. You stop going on morning runs, choosing instead to work out in the confines of your house. When you do find time to go shopping, you try new stores. The aisles are unfamiliar and the items aren't as delicious as what you're used to, but you'll settle for just about anything at this point.

You start taking long, complex routes anytime you drive somewhere: work, the store, home. A couple of times, you find yourself driving your old routes – absentmindedly listening to your playlist; you chastise yourself on those occasions, having to double around and take twice as long to reach your destination. To make it easier on yourself, you start opting to drive in complete silence – focusing all of your attention on your surroundings.

You try abiding to Katherine's final piece of advice most strictly: staying vigilant. You haven't seen him since that day at the farmer's market, but you still have that gut feeling that he isn't far away – that he'll catch you if you slip up.

You check through your house every time you come home, making sure no more "gifts" have been delivered in your absence. You watch your rearview mirrors almost as much as you watch the road, making sure your car isn't being tailed. Every thorough search and paranoid glance always comes up empty, but you can’t stop yourself from doing them.

It gets a bit tedious at times – going to such extreme lengths over this whole matter. But it's better than having to constantly look over your shoulder, you remind yourself. Though, that's exactly what you're doing. Only, you don't realize it.

~~~~~

The past week has been killer on you. With your new work hours, you’ve been at the office non-stop – sacrificing many hours of sleep. The sleep-deprivation coupled with your ever-present anxiety have taken a toll on you – your body exhausted and brain fried.

On several occasions, you’ve caught yourself slipping back into your old routines: driving the direct rather than extended route to work, forgetting to set the alarm until hours after you’ve already been home, visiting your old stores rather than new ones. You’ve been trying to keep a watchful eye out for yourself, but it’s getting more and more difficult to keep your eyes open at all as the days drag along.

Thus, when you get home tonight, all you want to do is slump into bed and sleep the night away. You unlock your front door – immediately kicking off your shoes and throwing your purse on the entryway table. You kick the door closed before slinking away to your bedroom – barely being able to ready yourself for bed. Once you lie down, sleep promptly overtakes you.

You rest deeply for a few minutes, finally finding some peace. That is, until a sudden noise snaps you awake: the sound of the front door clicking shut. Your eyes fly open, sleep now the farthest thing from your mind. Shit! Someone’s here. Someone’s in your home. 

Upon instinct, you know exactly who it is. It’s that man. The man who’s been following you for weeks. The man who’s been terrorizing you for weeks. The man who’s been haunting your dreams for weeks.

You reach over to your nightstand, searching for your phone. It’s not there. You failed to take it out of your purse when you got home. Just like you failed to set the house alarm when you got home. Just like you failed to see the black sedan following you home.

With no other choice, your best option is to hide and hope he goes away – hope he doesn’t find you. You carefully step out of bed – the floorboard making an unholy creak as you gingerly place your foot down. He’ll definitely have heard that, and he’ll be on you any second. In your panic, you fly under the bed – deciding it’s the least obvious hiding spot.

Even in the darkened room, you can see your door swing open and his shoes approach the bed. Your heart beat is thunderous – pumping so much blood through your ears that it drowns out the noise of his footsteps. You put a hand over your mouth as tears begin to fall, trying to choke back the sounds of your whimpers. The tears spill over your cheeks as you watch him move carefully.

He walks to your closet, rifling through it before obviously coming up empty. Next, he moves to your bathroom – spending only a few moments before, again, coming up empty. He walks back towards the bedroom door before stopping at the foot of the bed, directly in front of you. You hold your breath, not willing to make a single sound. The room is still for a moment.

Then, with lightning speed, he crouches down – snatching you out from underneath the bed. His hand quickly replaces yours, covering your mouth and nose. He falls on top of you – his body weighing you down on the bed, trapping you beneath him. You try to scratch at him, but he easily captures your wrists – pinning them between your bodies.

He adjusts his hold on your face, maneuvering his hand to let you breathe through your nose. You intake a sharp breath – the scent of his cologne stings your nostrils, suffocating you. He leans forward to sniff along your neck – causing an icy chill to run up your spine.

He lifts himself slightly, allowing you to see his unobstructed face up close. His irises almost glow in the dim lighting – his eyes peering down at you, penetrating you. His tongue darts out to wet his lips before speaking.

“Just a taste,” he purrs against you, calling back to those notes he left you weeks ago. “That's all I want. Just a taste."

Though his words are innocent enough, the hungry glint in his eyes betrays him. That look tells you what he’s really thinking: he’s finally caught you and this is only the beginning.

__________

A/N: Sorry if you wanted to see exactly what happens next, but I’ll just leave that up to your imaginations. Regardless, I’d love to know what you thought! Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed!

Tags: @chris-evans-indian-fanfic​ @charmed-asylum​ @mcudarklibrary​ @delicioustar (strikethrough won’t let me tag)

Phantom Pain

Read on AO3 and FFN

A/N: *Dumps remaining coursework and essay crap to one side* So! Chat! Fucking! Blanc! EH? I think it's my favourite episode of miraculous of all time lel~ An idea popped up in my head and I won't be able to sleep till I've got it out of my system. It's been a long time since I've written some decent angst despite it being my favourite genre. Enjoy the drabble and my ten minute doodle along with it~~~

(WARNING: Mentions of child abuse is in this fic)

Inspired by this MV "Phantom Pain" (collaboration of Rahwia and Luz of their Royal Scandal collection) It's wonderful~!

~(x)~

.

.

.

"Tch!"

Again.

The familiar yet foreign stab of pain resonated through the teen's body as he recoiled slightly and clutched his chest. This time, Adrien felt like he was smacked by something hard and heavy.

A cane perhaps...?

He inhaled sharply once more and then allowed himself to relax. The boy didn't dare to meet his kwami's pitiful gaze- he's had enough of everyone treating him like some wounded lamb.

"It's been weeks now kid..." Plagg murmured out with anguish, ears and tail drooping and his favourite pungent snack left uneaten. The God of destruction plopped himself on top of Adrien's shoulder, hoping he can comfort the boy. "You need to tell Ladybug-"

"No." Plagg felt his fur stand up to the ends at the hero's uncharacteristic harsh tone. Adrien realised it too, lowering his head down apologetically and used a finger to stroke his kwami's head. "No Plagg, not now."

"You've been saying that for a long time! You can't hide it forever. If you're not gonna see a doctor then at least see the Lady!" Plagg was met with another sigh whilst Adrien flopped back down on his bed. He pulled a pillow against his face, fingers close to digging holes into the few comforts he has in life.

"My Lady was literally thrown into Guardianship with little warning and zero training even though she's so exhausted from her civilian duties. I don't know how much you can see or hear whilst I'm transformed but one good glance at her and you can tell that she's about to burst. I'm supposed to help her out, not add to her burdens..."

"You'll only start burdening her once your pains elongate, especially during akuma attacks. Stupid!" Plagg scoffed, kicking one of Adrien's blonde locks that stuck out of his gelled hairstyle. His scowl only deepened when the model chuckled at his antics. "This isn't funny kid! Watch, when you start bending over in pain and crying and crawling on the floor, I will rub it into your face of how I told you so! Stupid kitten!" The God kicked the hair strands a few more times till Adrien rolled over and merrily flicked him away.

"That's not going to happen Plagg." A reassuring smile was set on Adrien's face. "These pains itself are kinda...I'm not sure how to word it...abstract?"

"What is that supposed to mean, Blondie?"

"It's like they're there but not there at the same time, do you understand? It's like taking a shot to the arm and getting that sting for a split second...only to feel nothing afterwards- excluding that horrible ache you get from injections. That's about it..."

"Hmmmm...interesting..."

"Do you have an idea of what it is?"

"The only thing I know is that human biology is weird and sucky."

"Wo-ooow. You're so helpful." Adrien commented dryly.

"I know~ I should absolutely win the most helpful being on Earth award!" Whether Plagg was being serious or not, Adrien couldn't tell. With another painful sigh, the boy forced himself to sleep.

He couldn't sleep that night.

Neither could Plagg.

~(x)~

Until the God commented on it, Adrien wasn't aware that he was unconsciously avoiding his father. The boy hadn't realised when he have made a habit of eating his meals in his room or when he stopped asking about his paternal figure in general. To no one's surprise, neither Nathalie nor Gabriel attempted to approach him about his new behaviour patterns.

"Huh...I didn't notice," Was all that Adrien muttered out before he shrugged and munched on his toast. Plagg narrowed his eyes at this and decided to pursue a new mission.

Keep his eyes open.

Even if this costs him his own sleep and relaxation.

Just as the teen was about to leave the bitter mansion for school, an authoritative voice from the top of the stairs halted him. Whether that was from habit, surprise or even fear, neither Plagg nor Adrien were able to pinpoint it.

"Yes Father?" As soon as the boy made eye contact with the man, excruciating pain bled through his body. Adrien's acting skills however are said to be immaculate so the only thing Gabriel caught was an eye twitch from his son.

"Nathalie has fallen sick again so I'm here to inform you that you have a photoshoot starting at twelve sharp till the rest of the afternoon. Make sure you're on time, or else." The pain only worsened when Gabriel's tone turned grave.

"U-Understood, Sir." It took everything for Adrien to let his voice out coherently rather than the anxious, scratchy feeling that built up instead. He couldn't bare to stand for another second so with a quick nod, the boy exited the building.

A walk turned out to be a speed walk.

A speed walk quickly changed to a jog.

A jog suddenly burst into a full blown sprint.

Adrien didn't stop until he was safe and secure inside the car with Gorilla. He gasped for a breath and clenched a fist against his chest till the pain and apprehension died down. Plagg's soothing purrs sent warmth through his body and Gorilla's presence was like a soothing balm to the mind.

"I haven't been this scared since..." Adrien immediately bit his tongue to say no more. He refused to let that memory resurface to his messed up mind. It took him months to stop flinching at his father's presence ever since that day and he would gladly chop off his arm than go through that again.

Finally, they've arrived at school, a good thirty minutes early. Just as Adrien was about to step out, Gorilla caught his attention with a soft grunt. Curious, Adrien paused with wonder.

The bodyguard moved his hands and arms into various gestures, his beady eyes softened with worry and kindness.

'I'm here for you, it will be okay. I will protect you.'

Adrien felt himself getting choked up from the exhilaration that spread through his body from head to toe. Blinking back his tears, he signed back a 'Thank you,' with a megawatt smile.

He's not alone.

~(x)~

She looked so much more tired today.

Not as in sleepy or anything like that- just exhausted and full of melancholy.

Her wonderful smiles were always something that Adrien looked forward to along with her energetic antics. Now? He hasn't seen that smile in weeks (he declines the outrageous idea of her fake smiles as an actual smile).

What happened to his Princess? She could give his Lady a run for her money right about now.

Adrien felt a heavy ache agonising his chest and his eyes pricking again. Only this time, it felt like his heart was mourning. Or that he was longing for something. He has long since gave up on identifying his emotions when it comes to the budding designer. Before, Adrien vowed that if anyone dared to hurt Marinette or make her cry, he wouldn't spare them.

Now, he's willing to destroy the world for her.

It scared him beyond conception but at the same time, he's accepted it as naturally as breathing. He didn't dare to tell Plagg this. Nor Ladybug.

"You alright there, Marinette?" Adrien placed a tentative hand on her forearm, face etched with worry. Marinette lifted her head off her hand, blinking slowly at the boy. Her desk was scattered with so much work, ranging from school work to commissions to student council work and- is that Mandarin?

"Hey you," For the first time in a long while, Marinette smiled. It was soft, slightly pained and her eyes twinkled ever so lightly. Yet, it was like a goldmine to Adrien. He let his lips mirror hers. "I'm fine, don't worry about me Adrien," Her voice was quiet and slow as she placed a hand over his.

"Telling me not to worry about you is like telling the weather to stop raining in England," He earned a delightful giggle from Marinette and he felt his body alleviate from the pain earlier on. Sometimes, he could swear that Marinette's smile is the cure to everything.

"I can assure you that there are better things to worry about. Like the Chemistry test we have this afternoon,"

"Eugh. For once I'm thankful for the shoot at twelve." He dramatically draped himself on the desk, the back of his hand against his forehead as he pretended to die. He caught laughter from not only Marinette but a few other students in class. "Also, sorry to burst your bubble but I can assure YOU that you're the only thing worth worrying about,"

He got a small gasp from her.

Marinette's cheeks pinkened beautifully and her lips were shaped in a perfect 'o'. She was about to gleefully retort back but suddenly, she seemed to have closed back in and her eyes turned downcast again.

A restraint.

But why?

Adrien didn't get the chance to ask; the bluetooth on her ear buzzed, alerting Marinette of some prior engagement and she was quick to excuse herself. The teen didn't want to let her go so easily.

Marinette felt her hand getting tugged backwards by a larger pair. Like a deer in headlights, she glanced at Adrien with despair. He only stared back with plea, tightening their interlocked fingers.

'Stay. Please.'

'I can't...'

Reluctantly, Adrien let her go. He memorised every movement and feeling as her fingers slipped away, taking away all the comfort and warmth with her without a word. The misery and irritating pain sounded their presence in his heart once more for a millisecond before droning away into a numbing buzz.

Is this...

Heartbreak?

"Hey dude," Nino's voice brought Adrien back to reality. "I know you're worried, we all are. But we have to give 'Nette some space. She's going through some personal shit right now."

"She is? I wasn't aware..." He clutched his shirt and twisted the fabric against his chest, staring at the door forlornly as if Marinette's going to magically appear.

"None of us were till I finally cracked her down after pestering for so long," Alya mused sadly. "She mentioned that she's really messed things up so badly that she has no choice but to fix it alone. Oh and she's taken on Chinese too which is like another clusterfuck."

"I saw some of the papers on her desk..." Adrien added.

"She literally lives in the library now with all this work she's doing. When was the last time she ate Alya?" Nino's innocent question set Cesaire off as she stormed out of the room.

"MARINETTE! YOU BETTER HAVE EATEN BREAKFAST TODAY OR ELSE I'LL SHOVE A MILLION CROISSANTS DOWN YOUR THROAT!"

Adrien bit his lip and shook his head, knuckles whitening as they gripped the desk with displeasure.

"Whoever turned Marinette into this must be the lowest of the low..." The model let out a violent curse afterwards, ignoring Nino's astonished look. It's rare for Adrien to swear but from what Nino has observed, whenever the boy does so, it's because he's absolutely pissed.

"Marinette must really care for them, whoever it is she claims she's hurt." Nino murmured. The pain in Adrien's chest only intensified after hearing this.

"If making her into a passive, depressive robot is what it takes to satisfy them, then they clearly need a wake up call,"

"...or maybe she isn't aware that she doesn't need to push everyone away and take on all of these responsibilities to redeem herself. Marinette is a perfectionist so whenever she falls, she falls hard."

"I-I never really thought of it like that..."

"You gotta come up with conclusions of both sides of the argument before jumping into the fray. Not everyone likes to dig their teeth in like an overprotective angry boyfriend." Nino cackled at Adrien's flushed complexion, digging his elbow into the model's torso fondly.

"Hey! I'm not her boyfriend!"

~(x)~

Ladybug and Chat Noir stood tall at the top of the Eiffel Tower, peering down at the citizens downbelow at the stroke of midnight. The lights of the tower gave the duo a superhuman glow, making them seem impenetrable and omnipotent.

The wall between them however made them so much more vulnerable and human than a Parisian could possibly fathom. The heroine was oddly knackered, silent and stoic whilst the hero was peculiarly submissive, tight lipped and detached. Their internal thoughts brought out their intimidating fronts, possibly fooling a foreigner that Ladybug and Chat Noir are mere strangers.

"So, when were you going to tell me?"

Chat Noir felt another strike of pain hit him but this time, in the head. His iron will and pride was what stopped him from staggering on the spot. His eyes did widen in surprise but knowing his partner, she caught that in her peripheral vision.

"Tell you what?"

"Don't act dumb, Chat Noir. Plagg snuck in this evening and told me everything." He would have melted at Ladybug's gentle tone had he not been busy muttering about how he's going to replace Plagg's camembert with the cheapest cheese in France. "Why didn't you tell me?" Ladybug's voice wavered with hurt and Noir was hit with deja vu.

"They're not serious bug, just...odd sensations that come and go."

"He claimed that you collapsed onto the floor once because you were in so much pain!" The boy winced at this, recalling the horrendous memory that surfaced. His mind wandered to his father's actions a few years back and suddenly, the belt wounds on his back felt raw again.

"But you've already got so much on your plate already..." He found his face cradled by her hands and her bluebell eyes turned icy. Chat couldn't help but shudder, shattering his aloof composure.

"Listen to me, those things are nothing compared to you. You will always take priority, do you understand? If you're hungry, we drop everything and get you food. If you're tired, my arms are open for you to sleep in. If you're in pain..." Tears were now pouring out of her eyes as she sniffed. "Then you should let me heal your wounds...and I can't do that if you don't tell me what's wrong, Chaton."

The sight of Ladybug's composure crumbling before him suddenly flashed to Marinette's despondent expression, causing a piercing pain to shoot through his head like a bullet to the brain. Chat didn't stop himself this time as he toppled into his Lady's arms, digging his claws through his hair with one hand and grasping Ladybug's waist like a lifeline with the other.

"If worrying about me is what makes you cry like this, then I'd rather die."

Chat pulled away from the embrace and clenched his teeth. Ladybug only paled, shaking her head. She didn't dare to let him go, gloved fingers digging into his shoulders.

"W-Why would you say something like that?" Ladybug sputtered before masking her raw feelings with anger. "Don't you DARE say something like that again! Do you understand!? There will be no dying or talk of death!" She banged a fist against his chest for good measures. Hard enough to send a message, gentle enough to afflict zero pain.

"I can't help what I feel," Chat Noir settled a hand on her cheek, thumb massaging the area below her eye. His face mellowed to the most tender expression Ladybug has ever seen. "You were already acting weird and skittish around me that evening when you placed your head on my shoulder," He let his hand trail to the back of her head. "And then when Fu gave up his memories and left you with everything, I always saw you with puffy eyes, tense muscles, no more of that beautiful smile..." He kissed her forehead so lightly, it was like a butterfly tickled her skin with its delicate wings. "It's like you've given up on happiness and I hate it. And if I'm just going cause more sadness then-"

"Stop. You're one of the few people out there in my entire life that keeps me going. You're one helps me keep fighting," Ladybug looked away again and then faced him with newly found determination. "But that's not what matters right now. What matters is this bizarre pain you're going through. Please, tell me everything."

Ladybug is a stubborn girl. This doesn't mean it's impossible to crack her down. However, Chat decided that it'll be easier to tackle on her overworking habit after they got his mundane problems out of the way.

He told her everything. Starting from waking up in the middle of the night, clutching his chest, the feeling of heartbreak whenever he sees his close friend, the deja vu and finally, his avoidance of his father.

"You...you fear your father?" Ladybug looked confused for a second as Chat looked sheepish. Abruptly, her face darkened with indignation, causing his heart to start throbbing. "Chat Noir...has your father ever hit you?"

The wind breezed past them in a howl.

Time seems to have stood still.

Chat felt the blood rushing through his ears like a hurricane and his body shook. Hugging himself, the boy quickly denied, shaking his head and stammering.

His teary eyes said otherwise.

~(x)~

Adrien collapsed back on his bed, the energy seeped out of his pores yet his eyes remained wide open. He played the memories of earlier on through his head.

Of how Ladybug refused to let him go.

Of how she cursed their secret identities.

Of how she threatened to mutilate his father for DARING to lay a hand on him despite it being a few years ago.

Or...

Has he recently done so but Adrien somehow wiped it away from his memories?

He didn't know anymore.

The model rubbed his chest, thankful that he's been relatively pain free after his meeting with Ladybug. Was opening up the cure to it? Did Ladybug put some sort of healing spell on him? Maybe talking about feelings isn't so bad after all. Yet, Adrien worried his lips with guilt- how is his Lady meant to cope now that she knows what a shitty Father he has?

Plagg has been strangely quiet, now that Adrien has realised. He prodded the Kwami a few times with his fingers, trying to get a reaction from him. He even waved a slice of camembert but that got nothing!

"Plagg...please talk to me..." As if the heavens have finally answered his prayers, Adrien grinned goofily when Plagg finally faced him. The God gave a little purr when his charge stroked his head.

"Get some sleep kid, I wanna see you, Glasses one and Glasses two bully Princess into eating breakfast tomorrow. M'kay?" Adrien felt his heart warm at the thought of the noir haired girl.

"First of all, stop calling Nino and Alya 'Glasses'. Second, 'Princess' is my nickname for Marinette, get your own." With that said and done, the teen was swept away into a blissful sleep for the first time in forever.

No more pain.

No more sadness.

Plagg's gentle smile was then eclipsed with the most demonic, dangerous expression a being could possibly have. His lime green eyes turned acidic and feral. His aura switched to one of bloodlust.

There are many things and secrets that kwamis keep away from their holders or be vague about.

For example, when the holders are transformed, the kwamis can see everything through their eyes and hear everything through their ears. It's like watching the world in someone else's body.

Consequently, it wasn't only Ladybug who found out that Adrien used to get hurt.

That's also not it, not even the slightest.

It took perhaps a week or longer for Tikki and Plagg to regain their memories from Oblivio. An adorable secret that they'd happily share with Adrien and Marinette once it's safe for them to share their identities.

It was only after Ladybug asked that question today when they regained their memories...

From the erased timeline.

Plagg phased through Gabriel's door robotically, his aura growing larger and larger and so much more dangerous.

This is the man who hurt Adrien...

This is the man who forced Marinette to leave Adrien or else he'd take away his freedom...

This is the man who did this just to create akuma fodder...

This is the man who broke Adrien's mind with his mother's corpse in the basement...

This is the man who BEAT the ever loving SHIT out of his own son...

This is the man who MANIPULATED Adrien and kept on BREAKING him...

This is the man who CAUSED his kitten's and Ladybug's world its DEMISE.

And ALL of this is just for a SELFISH wish which can only be granted at the price of ADRIEN'S LIFE.

Much to Plagg's chagrin, Gabriel was wide awake, ready to step inside a strange circle with Nooroo hovering miserably by his side. The dark God knocked over something to grab the man's attention.

Gabriel Agreste turned around with anger at being disturbed and caught (probably was expecting Adrien and more than ready to lash out at the poor boy) only to gawk like a dead fish. Plagg paid no mind at the villain's rambles, piecing together that his suspicions were true of Adrien being Chat Noir. As expected, Gabriel had a psychotic grin plastered on his face, ready to steal Adrien's ring.

"Nooroo," Plagg finally spoke. "Take the brooch and hide in my kitten's bag. You'll meet up with our lovely Guardian tomorrow." Tears of joy escaped the lilac kwami's eyes, nodding and easily phased through his ex-master's chest to grab the brooch, making way to the door.

"What!? Nooroo what are you doing! Obey your master now this instant!" Gabriel's thunderous roar was left unheard and soon, it was just him and Plagg. "What the hell did you do to my servant you despicable rodent!?"

"That's the God of Destruction to you, scum." The aura around Plagg suddenly took shape, distorting into the most monstrous being one could ever imagine.

"And I will show you what we do to those who misuse the power of the Miraculous and mistreats their offsprings..."

~(x)~

Marinette and Adrien burst out laughing as they witnessed Nino get whammed by a hoard of snowballs from not only Alya but the rest of the girls as well. Something to do with revenge of his earlier comment about how the latest Marvel film sucked. The duo sipped on some of the delicious Dupain Cheng hot chocolate, savouring every drop.

"How are you not freezing your butt off?" Marinette whined, blowing some air into her hands with a shudder. "I can't feel my fingers..." This caused the boy to blurt out into snickers again.

"Not all of us are cold blooded like you, Mari." The girl in question simply stuck her tongue out at him. "Wow, very mature." He poked her cheek with his ungloved hand, earning a squeal in protest.

"Don't touch me! You're so cold what the hell!?"

"But the best way to warm up is to cuddle! Come one~"

"Noooooooo-"

Marinette didn't make it two steps as she found herself enveloped in a pair of arms and her untimely clumsiness caused them both to trip and fall into a blanket of snow. The two glanced at each other for a moment before dissolving into giggles.

"Ah~ it's been a while since I've laughed like that." Marinette quipped. Adrien helped lift her to her feet, brushing off any snow on her body like a gentleman. "I missed it, letting loose like that."

Adrien smiled warmly in return when she fixed his scarf. "I missed it too, your laugh," Marinette's eyes widened with awe, that beautiful shade of pink sprinkled on her cheeks before she ducked down shyly and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Deja vu swept over them both as they made eye contact again.

Adrien tucked a strand behind her other ear before trailing his hand down her arm and reaching her hand. He gave it an encouraging squeeze so that she can let her fingers curl with his. Their eyes darted between each others lips to their eyes, a silent question left in the air.

The model didn't get a chance to lean in as soon as he felt a large hand place itself on his shoulder. He turned around only to see a grave looking Damocles.

~(x)~

Dead.

His father is dead.

Police has swarmed the mansion, searching for clues and leads in how the man managed to die.

The details weren't pretty.

Apparently when Nathalie went to Gabriel's room with his schedule in hand, she found a grotesque looking corpse staring back at her on his chair. The room was filled with black soot, vines and extraterrestrial things. Things beyond human understanding. Adrien had an idea of who exactly did it.

He surprisingly didn't care. In fact, it's like a weight has been lifted off his chest and he can finally breathe.

"Monsieur Agreste? I know it's a lot to take in but do you need a minute to clear your head? Anything?" Sabrina's father asked considerately, a fatherly tone used in order to coax him.

Adrien didn't say anything for a while, touching his shoulder with one hand and staring off into space.

Plagg's purrs in his pocket gave him a sense of reality and finally,

The dams broke.

"He can't hurt me anymore...I'm free..."

.

.

.

~(x)~

A/N: Tfw you say you're gonna do a drabble but sit down four hours straight instead and go crazy hurr durr...

Kojima Cinema Vol. 1: Daylight

Game Hihyō (Game Criticism) was an advertisement-free videogame criticism magazine published by Micromagazine Inc. from 1994 until 2006 in which freelance writers, as well as game developers themselves, would provide their thoughts on the industry or the latest videogames. Among them was Hideo Kojima himself, who began a movie reviewing column on the February 1997 titled Kojima Cinema, which lasted for 23 issues. This first installment features a review of the Sylvester Stallone movie Daylight. If the reception for this one turns out to be overwhelmingly positive, I might translate more of Kojima’s reviews in the future (and possibly any other interesting article in the magazine that catches my attention).

Special thanks to the people at Gaming Alexandria for providing the scans.

Grand Opening of Kojima Cinema

Hello! I’m Hideo Kojima from Konami and I will be serializing an article starting from this issue. The editorial department told me “write essays about movies” and I immediately replied “if it’s about movies, leave it to me!” But then I thought about it seriously and wondered if was alright to write articles about movies in a magazine titled Game Hihyō [Game Criticism], which discusses videogames seriously, but I accepted their offer anyway since it gave me a pretext to watch more movies.

Love for Movies

I was told to pick a title freely, so I considered “Letters from Ebisu: The Sequel” after Kenji Eno’s column that used to be published in this magazine (since our companies are both located in Ebisu), as well as  “Ebisu Mail” (after Ebisu Beer) among others, but ultimately I went with “Kojima Cinema” since it was about movie reviews. I want to express my thoughts and impressions of my favorite movies and movies that I watched recently, regardless of whether they’re old and new, as well as write about Game Theory as a game auteur from the movie generation. Naturally, I also want to talk about the latest game I’m developing while it’s happening. With that said, I hope you enjoy your stay at Kojima Cinema.

Daylight, a movie to watch on Christmas Eve while smothered by your partner.

Since it premiered on the same day in Japan and the United States, I was able to watched Daylight without any prior knowledge. For better or worse, it’s a very conventional 1970′s style disaster movie. It feels like a tunnel version of Poseidon Adventure, as it depicts the tenacity and discords of people trying to survive under the extreme situation of being trapped inside a sealed underwater tunnel. The fact that it has Sylvester Stallone in the role of Gene Hackman is quite a problem. I’ll explain later why. While the explosions and collapsing scenes inside the tunnel that make use of digital special effects are a spectacle to behold, I would say the core of the movie is the human drama. The expendable characters that only exists to liven up the drama are not noticeable here and script, which distributes death equality, is somber but realistic. Particularly the resignation of the characters who realized they couldn’t be saved and their unfashionable lines before dying felt more documentary-like than cinematic. On the other hand, the plot is too light and although the tunnel is filled with poisonous gas, everyone is breathing normally and there is no sense of heat despite the characters being on the side of the flames, so there’s an overall lack of realism. I didn’t get the sense of oxygen shortage, entrapment and temperature that the movie was aiming for.

Stallone and the invisible enemy inside the tunnel

The biggest miscalculation of this movie is probably the casting of Stallone. Even though they were trying to make a human drama, Stallone is of course going to be Stallone.

That reckless and warlike mobility of him and his one-armed pull-ups are still alive! Especially in the second half of the movie, his thirst for (first) blood powers up! When a new problem (danger) arises, Stallone seems to be very joyful! It’s like he’s fighting an invisible enemy (an Enemy Zero) by himself. Conversely, putting such a character in a screenplay that goes against his type feels quite fresh. There is a scene where Stallone’s character, after risking his life and going to the place of crisis alone, gets coldly berated “why did you come here alone”, and there is another scene where he tries to lifts a car with his monstrous strength, but is unable to. It’s a reality that only the actor who played John Rambo could pull off.

P.S. It is recommended that you watch this movie during the daytime in an underground low-ceiling theater in an oxygen-free state with a full crowd. Once you leave the theater, you will truly appreciate Daylight.

Disaster & War Movies

Perhaps it’s an influence of the collapse of the Cold War structure, but lately Hollywood has been producing many disaster (kaijū) films lately such as Daybreak and Independence Day. Perhaps it’s a plan to depict drama only from the human side by making a powerful and overwhelming force (enemy) appear, such as a giant monster, aliens or a tornado, but this makes it very convenient to stand on the author’s side. All the bad things are monsters (or disasters) and every measure against them is justified. Since there is no need to come up with circumstances for the enemy’s side, it’s pretty easy to depict a valiant fighting hero. It also makes it easy to invite tears and project sympathy when the good guys win. It’s not so easy when it comes to depict a conflict between people. Even if one side were aliens, if they have a personality, it becomes a situation in which either side could be just or evil. That’s the difference between a war movie and a disaster movie.

Rewarding Good and Punishing Evil in the Game World

Ever since the days of Space Invaders, every game (including RPGs) has been made following this disaster movie template (of rewarding good and punishing evil). The enemy is always a one-sided invader or destroyer. “One day, invaders came from space.” “Suddenly monsters came from hell. A hero now stands up against those who sought to destroy mankind.” The player is clearly fighting for good and the enemy is an absolute evil that must be excluded. This formula leads to fundamental goodwill of every game. The act of defeating the enemy to proceed has become the foundation of shoot-’em-ups and action games. If you allow compassion to the enemy, then there wouldn’t be any game. “The enemy is evil, therefore he must eliminated!” That’s how games are now. Nevertheless, Metal Gear Solid won’t be using this formula. Although the theme is anti-war, it must be somehow established as a game. This part of MGS is difficult. It’s a dead end like an underground tunnel, a state of groping in the dark... But this is the theme and challenge of MGS. Perhaps one day I’ll find the Daylight within MGS.

Source

Game Hihyō Vol. 13 (February 1997)

Cure for a Blue Christmas

Wow, y’all, it is a Christmas miracle. For I have written something. I hope you enjoy. 

WC: 2.9k

Ao3 link coming soon.

December 25, 1986 Somewhere North of Bloomington, Indiana

“By the way, I loved the way you told dad to shove it,” Nancy said, glancing over to her brother in the passenger seat.

Mike was right in the middle of fiddling with the radio dial now that Hawkins Best Hits was out of range. Every station was either annoying Christmas music or old standards or weird nighttime talk shows. He sighed.  

“Yeah, I’m going to get a lot of shit for that one when we get home,” he said, finally settling on whatever station that was currently playing that one Christmas song about the kids in Africa that he decided he could tolerate.

“He was asking for it,” Nancy replied, both her hands steady on the wheel. “He was just being an asshole for the sake of being an asshole.” 

It had been a rather frustrating Christmas in the Wheeler household. Their mother had been tapped to host the whole family this year, and she was at her wits end this morning - pulling endless breakfast casseroles out of the oven only to be immediately devoured and criticized by extended family members.

Mike had to share his room with his cousins, Richie and Timothy, who were too annoying to bunk in the basement with the older cousins. Nancy got a room to herself, and Mike had carefully maneuver around the bodies sleeping on his floor if he wanted to get to the bathroom. 

Holly was being particularly bratty, too. Mike’s grandmother was being especially critical of his mom, following her around the house and making comments about the table setting this and the Christmas ham that. His dad was flipping through classical holiday films (ironically about the value of family and unconditional love) while making exactly zero contributions from his recliner in the den. 

To top it all off, due to the Wheeler family Christmas nightmare occurring under their roof, Mike and Nancy had to back out of their promises to drive down to Allendale to visit the Byers on Christmas Day because “we have to entertain the family, Michael,” which was just stupid and hypocritical of him to even say on account of the fact that Mr. Wheeler had been doing zilch the entire shitty three days.

When the family finally left that afternoon, Mike and Nancy made a point to help their mother start up loads of laundry and clean up in the kitchen before asking very very nicely if they could make the trip anyway. 

“The family’s gone now, and we could give you some time to just relax…” Nancy pitched, her fingers drumming on their kitchen island. “I promise we’ll be back tomorrow morning. First thing.” 

Mrs. Wheeler squinted her eyes and hummed to herself, saying something about being careful driving in the dark before she shouted into the den for Mr. Wheeler’s approval. 

“No, Karen, tell the kids they can stay right here,” he yelled back. “Need to have a little family time.” 

Nancy, who had been doing most of the negotiating with their mother, rolled her eyes, but something about his dad’s whole schtick of being a lazy ass-wipe made something that had been building and building in Mike finally snap. 

“Family time? You’re shitting me, family time?!” Mike raised his voice a little and headed into the den.

“Language, Michael...” 

“All you’ve done is sit on your ass while we’ve been absolutely drowning in family time for three whole days!” 

His dad’s eyes finally - for the first time in probably days - moved over from the TV to look at his kids standing defiantly in the doorframe. Mike went on.

“So if you don’t mind, Nancy and I are going to go for the night to go see our friends - who we never get to spend any time with, by the way!” 

He crossed the room for the coat rack by the door and threw his coat on. To his surprise, Nancy followed and grabbed the keys off the hook by the door. 

“Michael, if you walk out that door, you’re grounded,” Ted retorted. “Same goes for you Nancy.” 

“Great! I’m fine with that! Maybe then we’ll get that family time I’ve been hearing so much about!” 

They were they had already thrown some overnight bags in the car, because with one slam of the front door for emphasis, Mike was finally on the way to see his girlfriend. 

They decided to make their arrival a surprise, and the excitement of that prospect was slowly beginning to overshadow the seething anger towards his dad. 

“I know Jonathan said he and Will were going to be at Lonnie’s today,” Nancy started, “but they’re coming back tonight. Maybe we’ll beat them home.” 

“Yeah maybe,” Mike said. “I know El said she’s just staying in with Mrs. Byers. She sounded kind of bummed about it, though.” 

“Well, maybe this will cheer everyone up,” Nancy said, before turning up the volume on the radio.

Allendale, Illinois 

Now get this, it’s from London. “Mr. Gower cabled you need cash. Stop. My office instructed to advance you up to $25,000. Stop. Hee-haw and Merry Christmas. Sam Wainwright.” 

El closed the door to the oven, and sauntered back over to the couch. Joyce was sitting in one corner, legs drawn up under a throw blanket, while she worked on sewing a button back on one of Jonathan’s old shirts so Will could wear it. 

“Okay the cookies are in,” El said, but Joyce’s eyes stayed fixated on the television. They had been watching It’s a Wonderful Life on channel 5, and it was one of Joyce’s favorite holiday films. Despite the majority of the movie being… sort of depressing, El was glad she was here to spend time with Joyce who would otherwise be alone on the holiday. 

They had spent the afternoon just like this - cleaning up around the house, finishing up mundane chores, and baking here and there. Even though she was fairly new at it, El actually wasn’t half bad at following the recipes in Joyce’s family cookbook. Often, she was learning, numbers made more sense to her than words. 

Jonathan and Will had driven up to Indiana after opening morning presents to spend some “quality time” with their father and stepmother. Joyce had insisted (albeit, reluctantly) once she discovered they hadn’t gone to see them in over a year. El had never met him, but he didn’t sound all that pleasant when Will brought him up on occasion... kind of like he was inconvenienced by the fact that he had kids in the first place. 

Kind of like a grade-A asshole, as Dustin would proudly put it. 

She hadn’t even seen an old picture of him and Joyce anywhere in the old photo albums. She knew they had been married, but were now divorced, so it was just Joyce now. Taking care of her sons, and now the daughter that she never meant to have. 

Last Christmas had been great - wonderful even - because it was her first time back in Hawkins since the big move a couple months prior. Despite absolutely dreading the cold, El loved the holiday season now that she got to be a part of it - all Mrs. Wheeler’s pies and nicely wrapped gifts and the smell of pine trees and mistletoe... 

This year, the Byers clan had stayed behind. Mrs. Wheeler had to host the family for Christmas, and that apparently meant that Mike couldn’t even come visit - not even for a few hours. 

He had sounded so bummed about it over the phone, but promised to send her present in the mail once the holiday rush ended. He even called her this morning to wish her a Merry Christmas, and tell her that the holiday didn’t feel right without her being home. It was nice of him, but it just made her feel more gloomy about the whole thing. It was a joyful time of year for most, but El couldn’t be with all of her favorite people. 

On the TV, the Bailey household erupted in a spirited rendition of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing as all the townspeople showed up to give George their donations and Joyce’s eyes were getting a little misty. 

Joyful all ye nations rise! Join the triumph of the skies!

“This part always makes me cry, every single time!” Joyce said, using the fabric of Jonathan’s shirt to dab at her eyes. “Oh, look at me.”  

Hark! The herald angels sing… 

“I like this movie too,” El said, reaching for a hand full of popcorn from the bowl on the coffee table. “It’s sweet.” 

“You’ve seen this movie before?” 

“Yes…” El started. “Two Christmases ago I think. But I didn’t really understand it then. Now it all makes more sense.” 

She didn’t want to touch on a sore subject if Joyce didn’t want to talk about it - especially this time of year, so she didn’t go into detail about how Hopper had turned it on one snowy evening in December 1984 and cracked a beer open before telling her to pay attention because this was one of the greatest films of all time. She could practically hear him…

“...Now I used to sit on the couch with my old man and watch this movie every single Christmas.” Hopper said, “It’s about being thankful for what you’ve got and that you’re never alone in the world if you’re a good person… you know… cheesy stuff like that...” 

It was in black and white and she didn’t know what all the yelling was about, but El liked it because Hopper seemed to. She thought George’s life was interesting and she thought his wife Mary was really pretty. She asked Hopper to find her a dress just like Mary’s to wear to the big dance she was invited to the following week and he had said “Jesus, kid, I don’t think they make ‘em like that anymore…” 

A small smile crept across El’s face. 

Good idea Ernie, a toast! To my big brother George. The richest man in town. 

“Did Hop turn it on for you before he would go to the station?” Joyce asked. 

“No, actually he sat down to watch with me.” El said, “He didn’t do a great job of explaining anything, but he wanted me to see it for some reason.” 

“Well, everyone should see It’s a Wonderful Life. It’s one of the greatest films of all time!”

The crowd on the screen erupted in another joyful tune and Joyce started humming along.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?              

Should auld acquaintance be forgot and days of auld lang syne?

Then a note from Clarence the angel appeared on the screen, and it was El’s turn to feel tears pinch the back of her eyes. 

“Remember, no man is a failure who has friends!” the note read in beautiful swooping cursive.

El had been trying to keep a smile on her face all day for Joyce, but she missed her friends so much she thought she might burst.

She and Will called them on the phone as often as they could, but of course it wasn’t the same. They knew they were missing the making of memories, and as hard as it was, El couldn’t help but feel jealous that everyone in Hawkins all still had each other. 

She and Will would talk with Lucas who would tell them some outlandish stories about something Max got up to or Steve said or Mike did in school. Then, they would give Dustin a call for the real story. Max would complain to her about being ‘surrounded by idiots’ and fill her in on the most recent fight Mike picked with Lucas over something stupid and El would call him after just to check on him. Out of everyone, Mike probably took it the hardest with his best friend and his girlfriend both leaving town all at once.  

She was glad she had Will sulk and feign happiness with sometimes. She could tell he felt the same as she did, that they were kind of incomplete without everyone. Jonathan was busy with work and college courses, and was planning to transfer to be closer to Nancy next year now that he’d saved up enough, so the reality of the move hadn’t hit him as hard because he had just a little more freedom.

“When you go through all that, I think the people you’re with end up being your family, like it or not,” Will said to her once. “I don’t feel like I can let anyone else in. It’s just us, you know? And most of our family is about a four hour drive away.” 

To make matters worse, when Mike and Nancy cancelled, El’s teeny ounce of excitement about the holidays vanished. 

It was just… lonely. And El knew Joyce was pretty lonely too. Joyce’s parents were originally from Allendale, but her extended family had all moved or passed away before El was ever around. She just moved her children back somewhere familiar where she was fairly sure there weren’t any secret government conspiracies at work beneath the surface. Since El hadn’t had the use of her powers in over a year, there wasn’t a lot to hide except for the past. 

“I love this song,” Joyce said, humming along with the melody and snapping El back to the present. 

For auld lang syne, my dear

For auld lang syne

The words sounded like absolute gibberish to El. 

“What does ‘old hang sign’ mean anyway?” El asked. 

“Auld Lang Syne,” Joyce replied. “It’s in another language - Scottish, maybe? I’m not sure exactly what it means, but you sing it on New Years Eve.” 

“Why on New Years Eve?”

“Because it's a time to reflect on the past and look forward to the future… I guess it means that you’re thankful for everything you have and the people in your life and the experiences you’ve had so far, but you’re looking to the future for better things.” 

El nodded. 

“Kind of hard to look back and be thankful,” El muttered. 

Look daddy. Teacher says, ‘Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings.’ 

She felt Joyce turn on the couch to face her. 

“Oh, honey, I’m thankful! If I didn’t have you, I’d be spending Christmas Eve alone,” she said as she wrapped one arm around El’s shoulders. “And the world would be a much sadder place.” 

“Thanks,” El said, fiddling with the hem on her sweatshirt. “It’s hard though.” 

“You’re right, but you have to try your hardest to see the good in life…”

Atta boy, Clarence!

Just then, the oven dinged that the cookies were ready, and El hopped up to grab them. She was setting the cookie sheet on the stove when she saw a pair of headlights pulling into the driveway.   

“Looks like Jonathan and Will are home,” El said, pulling out the cooling sheet. 

“Oh, good. Just in time for the next film.” 

But just as El was putting the last of the cookies on the cooling sheet, she heard a frantic little knock at the door followed by a couple of dings on their doorbell. Startled, she almost dropped her spatula. 

“Why on earth are they making all that noise?” Joyce asked as she stood up to turn down the ending credits and answer the door. “Surely Jonathan and Will don’t need any help carrying gifts to the house after an evening at Lonnie’s…”

When she opened the door, instead of hearing Jonathan or Will’s voice, she heard Mike’s.

“Mrs. Byers! Merry Christmas!” 

“Mike! And Nancy! I thought you couldn’t make it!” 

“We came anyway,” Nancy said from behind him. “Didn’t want to let the holiday pass without coming to see you.”

“Oh, I hope you didn’t upset your mother too much...”

 El dropped the spatula - on purpose this time - and was over at the door in a matter of seconds. If there was any cure for a blue Christmas, it was the look on Mike’s beaming face when she rounded the corner, still wearing Joyce’s favorite holiday apron. 

“I can’t believe you made it!” 

El caught the bright smile on Nancy’s face as Mike met her with open arms. 

“Merry Christmas, El,” Mike said, pulling back to hold her face in his hands. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

Just as Joyce was about to move everyone indoors and out of the cold, Jonathan’s old station wagon pulled up, making their arrival some of the most perfect timing El had seen in a while. 

“Nance? What are you doing here?” 

The bags were brought in and the cookies were set on the coffee table. Will was congratulating Mike on standing up to his dad, Nancy was talking with Joyce about winters in New York, and El was all snuggled up on Mike’s right side, her cheek against his shoulder and everything seemed right with the world - at least for the moment. 

Even through hard times and sad days, El was so happy she had lived through them. Without them, she couldn’t have moments like these where everything felt perfect. She knew everyone in the room would agree - the smiles and laughs and shining eyes were enough for her to feel completely and simply surrounded by such a warm, fuzzy feeling. 

El lifted her head to place a kiss on Mike’s shoulder and he turned to look down at her, eyes all glassy and warm. 

“What was that for?” 

“Just because,” she said.  

I’ll love you ‘til the day I die, she thought.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to you and yours!! Can y’all tell which movie I’ve been watching all week... I hope it doesn’t sound like the ramblings of a Christmas lunatic :) Love y’all, miss y’all everyday <3

Tagging some lovelies: @milesfairchild, @mikewheeler, @milevenhearteyes, @serendipitousrambles, @fatechica, @summer-in-hawkins, @milevens, @stevehharrington, @elhoppers, @dustinhendrsn, @lyrawills, @partwayhappy and @robinbuckely 

No Laughing Matter

Why Gotham’s Crown Prince of Crime Doesn’t Deserve a Backstory

If you haven’t heard, DC is releasing a new live action movie entitled The Joker, scheduled to be released on October 4th later this year.  The movie is supposed to take us on a journey to see the beginning of this notorious villain, and hopefully give a better understanding on why he is the way he is. Usually this is fantastic! Villains, bad guys, antagonist, whatever you call them, are always so much more interesting when you get to see the reasoning behind their actions, and after all the Joker has done, who wouldn’t want to know. The short answer, is me. 

The longer answer, (which I’m about to give you,) is that honestly, no real DC or Batman fan should want to see a Joker backstory. Believe it or not, he actually has one already, and I promise you it’s not going to be the one you see in the movie. It simply isn’t that complex. If you can’t tell, I am a huge DC, (especially the Batfam,) fan, and if you’re not that’s okay! I’m honestly shocked if you read this far without being a DC fan. Nonetheless, I’m going to be giving as much background as I possibly can to flush out my points throughout this, so you don’t have to possess prior knowledge. Now, I will not claim to be an expert on DC, or Batman, and especially not on the Joker himself, but I do like to think I know quite a bit. That being said, if I miss something, or get the facts wrong, feel free to refute me! A huge point of all these dumb essays I’m writing is to get the conversation going! Now with all the logistics and introductions out of the way, here’s why I think the Joker doesn’t deserve his own movie (or back story.)

The Joker is arguably the most famous of Batman’s rogues. With countless reiterations, and big name stars playing him in adaptation after adaptation, it’s no wonder that he’s built up a name for himself. Not only that, but the Joker is one villain whose actions we simply can’t explain. We know Two-Face, AKA Harvey Dent, was seriously disfigured after a man he prosecuted threw acid on his face, destroying his lucky coin in the process. The incident made him crazy, and he wrecks havoc on the city with his destroyed coin asking people “heads or tails?” We know Mr. Freeze, AKA Victor Fries, became a criminal after a failed attempt to save his terminally ill wife left him with sub-zero body temperatures, forcing him to wear the cryo suit forever. His involvement with crime is him still attempting to raise funds to find a cure for her. We know one of my personal favorites, Scarecrow, AKA Dr. Jonathan Crane, an ex psychology professor at Gotham University remains obsessed with the idea of fear and phobias. He now uses the citizens of Gotham as his lab rats to test his ever evolving fear toxin. I could keep going on, (Batman has an impressive rogue gallery,) but the point is we know why all the villains do the things that they do. We don’t know that for the Joker, and out of all of Batman’s rogues, he’s the one that continues to commit the most heinous crimes of all. It leaves us all asking why? Why does he do the things he does? It even leaves Batman stumped. Heck, it leaves other villians stumped!! Ra’s Al Ghul, head of the League of Shadows, has said he doesn’t like working with the Joker, because he’s wild and unpredictable. According to this logic, the Joker should be first in line to get his own back story.

To find the reason why he shouldn’t we have to look pretty far back in this character’s history. When the Joker first appeared in the Batman comics, he never appeared simply as “the Joker.” Multiple iterations of this simplistic “backstory” have been done, and can also be seen as far back as Batman: Year One, (even though the “Joker” himself is not actually featured,) but each time the Joker always appears, it is always first as an unassuming lowlife calling himself “the Red Hood.” This is so freaking important to how the Joker impacts the characters around him, and I’ll tell you why soon, but I can almost guarantee you it is not going to be in the new Joker film. Not only is this Red Hood portion of the Joker’s career important for reasons to be later explained, but it’s also important that in multiple, though not all, iterations of the Joker’s introduction it’s Batman’s fault. Not inherently of course. Batman always catches the Red Hood in some kind of factory, (a popular location is a playing card factory,) and in an attempt to catch him, the Red Hood always ends up falling into a vat of acid. This is the vat of acid that of course warps his appearance, (the white skin, green hair, and red lips,) and what ultimately drives him mad. In how he actually gets in the vat, well sometimes he jumps on purpose, because he’s been cornered by the Bat, sometimes he just slips, and Bruce is too late to catch him, but either way it’s always something that weighs on Bruce. It’s another reason on top of Batman’s no kill policy that he can’t bring himself to end the Joker. Despite paralyzing Barbra Gordon as Batgirl and murdering his son, Bruce can’t end the Joker, because he partly feels like the Joker is his fault. It’s his mess that he made, and a mess that he has to fix.

This introduction of the Joker as the Red Hood and tying his creation to a young emerging Batman is so important to the characters’ relationships to each other throughout their still changing course of comic history, that to negate it with this upcoming movie is almost like recreating a brand new villain. It is also important to note that because the Joker started out as a masked criminal, he remains a John Doe to this very day in comic history. This is crucial to not understanding the Joker, (an important aspect of his character,) because any time a new rogue pops up, Bruce tries his damndest to learn their real identity. Identifying the person beneath the horror helps him better know what angle to work at when going up against them, as well as what to look for, and realizing that violence usually isn’t the best answer for dealing with them. By keeping the Joker a John Doe, it keeps not only us, the audience, in the dark about trying to understand this psychotic character, but the characters in universe in the dark as well. By not knowing the Joker’s past or intentions, it actually makes him scarier, because it leaves him unpredictable, and, in a sense, strips him of his humanity. By giving this character an actual identity, you destroy the mysterious unknown behind the character, make him human enough than an audience can relate to him, and almost, in a sense, strip him of what makes him a good villain in the first place.

Now my last, and what I personally view as one of the most important reasons, on why the Joker really shouldn’t have his own movie, is because it would destroy his tragically beautiful connection to Jason Todd. If you missed it earlier, I briefly mentioned that the Joker killed Bruce’s son, and that was because I planned to go more in depth now.

I need to stop referencing material that hasn’t been written yet. If you don’t know, Jason Todd is the second character to take on the mantle of Robin. Yes, there was more than one Robin. As of current day material, there are four officially recognized holders of the mantle, (sorry Stephanie,) in the order of Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Timothy Drake, and the current only blood son of Burce, Damian Wayne. Jason was taken in by Bruce off of Crime Alley, after he was found trying to steal the cars off of the Batmobile. Officially adopting him as his own and taking him under his wing, Bruce soon hands the mantle of Robin to Jason as Dick had recently left, and the two take to the streets fighting crime and punching bad guys. Unfortunately, this doesn’t last very long, and Jason ends up beaten nearly to death by the Joker with a crowbar in an abandoned warehouse before the Joker blows it up, seconds before Bruce arrives. Oh no. (There’s a very iconic picture of Bruce holding Jason’s dead body, if you google “batman a death in the family.) This was an absolutely pivotal part to Bruce’s character. How Bruce acts after the death of Jason had been unseen before. He became violent and angry, and almost crossed the line he swore to himself he’d never cross. Jason’s death is a staple in DC comic lore.

That isn’t the important part here though. The important part is what comes after. See, 95% of the time, if a character dies in the DC Universe, it’s not for very long, because comics. A couple of years later, Jason is brought back to life via the Lazarus Pit with the help of the League of Assassins. As I’m writing this, it is one in the morning, and I am too tired to explain why the Shadows were involved. If you’re really interested, there’s a crap ton of information on it on wikis and stuff, so it won’t be hard to find. Anyways, Jason comes back to life really messed up and in a murderous rage. He heads back to Gotham to hunt down Bruce but this time not as Jason Todd, not as Robin, but as the Red Hood. It’s perfect cinematic poetry! Yes, cinematic!! Under the Red Hood is one of the most famous comic books about Jason Todd’s return, as well as arguably one of the best DC animated films of all time! But that’s not the point. The point is, that Jason Todd comes back from the dead, and the alias he takes up is the same alias that his killer once owned. Jason does eventually kind of come back to the “good side” as a sort of anti hero, but the parallels between him and the Joker are gorgeous. Both driven mad after being thrown into a vat of mysterious liquid, except for where it was the Joker’s before, it’s Jason’s after. The idea of a young boy being beaten to death, only to come back and take the name of his killer should shake you to your core. Not only that, but imagine Bruce’s horror when he realizes there’s another terror ripping through his city bearing the same name his arch nemesis first wore. And that’s before he even realizes it’s his resurrected son! You can’t dismiss writing like that, especially when it comes to comic books! DC especially, openly admitted that its story lines take place in the multiverse, which basically means anything goes. That’s where you get stories like The Flashpoint Paradox and Crisis on Two Earths. The fact that this idea of the Red Hood being passed down from the Joker to Jason seems to be a universal constant cannot be overlooked. By giving the Joker a more in depth backstory that strays from the one that currently exists, you rip that hard work out of the author’s hands, as well as destroy an impactful connection between some of the Batman Universe’s best and most complex characters.

This whole thing ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated, so thank you if you made it to the end. All of this being said, I stand by my opinion that out of all that characters in the DC universe, the Joker should be at the end of the line to get his own movie. Will I still end up seeing it in theatres? The jury’s out right now. I’m a broke college kid living in New York; there are more things I want to see than a movie I don’t think should exist. I might watch it one day, as the assumption that all of these points won’t be made in the movie is made purely off of the trailers and not the content of the film itself. If I ever do watch it, y’all will be the first to know, but until then this is where I stand. Don’t let this ruin the film for you if you planned on going to go watch it. Like stated in the beginning, these are all my own opinions, and I prefer the comics to the movies. The movies can also be seen as existing in their own realm, and in that case none of my points stand at all. It’s up to you to make your own judgement.

But ask yourself this, as you sit down in the theatre with a large tub of popcorn. What do you think people will benefit from trying to see into the mind of the one of the world’s most famous psychopath?

Civilized Societies Don’t Call It Censorship, but Copyright

Xnet:

With the approval in the European Parliament of the final text of the Copyright Directive, which will be definitely put to the vote in a very few months’, the European Union has lost a historic opportunity to produce copyright legislation adapted for the Internet in the twenty-first century. What the European Parliament will finally vote on is a technophobic text, tailor-made for the interests of the copyright monopolies which, moreover, doesn’t guarantee the right of authors to have a reasonable standard of living as a result of their work.

If the law is eventually passed, it will be used for wholesale curtailment of freedoms and more censorship, in keeping with the bizarre idea that anything that doesn’t produce hard cash for the major players– which doesn’t mean authors! – has to be prohibited and eliminated.

This is a tragedy for workers in the domain of culture who (with a few, brave, and praiseworthy exceptions) have once again been frivolously incapable of informing themselves about the real state of affairs. They have passively swallowed the version fed to them by their masters and, avidly playing the victim, have become the chief mouthpiece of freedom-killing propaganda without the slightest understanding that this is not going to enhance their rights but will do away with the rights of everyone.

Alarm bells started ringing almost two years ago when we discovered that, rather than being a proposal for an obsolete copyright law, the directive is being used as a Trojan horse to introduce surveillance, automatic data processing, government by opaque algorithms, and censorship without court orders, etc.

This threat to such basic rights as freedom of expression and access to culture and information lurks in ruses which are mainly hidden in two articles of the Directive:

Article 11: no link without a license. Article 11, otherwise known as the “Linktax” article, has created a new economic “right” for magnates of the written press. This ‘right’, moreover, implies indefinitely restricting the possibility of citing the press online.

If this seems absurd, arbitrary and counterproductive, we invite you to read the proposal itself. This is an ambiguous text, described by the jurist Andrej Savin as “One of the worst texts I have ever seen in my 23-year-long career as a law scholar.” Given its muzzy formulation, the safest response for any platform will be not to link to any media publication without explicit permission.

This perverse measure will be the equivalent, on a European scale, to the “Google tax”, which is already in force in Spain and Germany. Even its promoters were soon to regret it, when Google shut down Google News in Spain after it was approved. The Google tax is paradoxical and those responsible for initiating it know very well it won’t work in Europe. For example, Xnet revealed that the big German publishing company Alex Springer was paying itself – having linked up to pay itself – in an outlandish pretence that “everything’s fine”.

Where are they trying to go with this? What sense is there in this move by the press barons to push laws which prevent you from linking up to their content, disseminating it, and commenting on them? Is this just a mix of ignorance and greed, or something like shooting yourself in the foot?

There is certainly something of this involved, but we believe that this is a mix of ignorance and greed which, in the end, means cutting off your nose to spite your face (when you’re trying to damage someone else’s face). With laws like this, the press barons can engage in legal harassment to the point of closing down social aggregators and communities like Meneame or Reddit, eliminating any new competitor, consolidating their monopoly, and thus becoming the lone voice on the Internet, the only ones who speak. In short, they are aspiring to become a new kind of television.

Article 13: no uploading content without a license. Platforms – from medium-sized providers of services storing subject material through to the giants of the Internet – will be considered responsible for any copyright infringement committed by their users, and they are bulldozed into taking preventive measures. In other words, this isn’t a matter of eliminating content but directly preventing people from uploading it.

Of course, nobody is forcing them to do anything. They are simply being made responsible for material uploaded by their users. It’s like a car salesman being held responsible for crimes committed by people who buy his cars. This can only end up with algorithmic upload filters being applied to absolutely everything or, in other words, prior, automatic, and massive Internet censorship. This can only end up with algorithmic upload filters being applied to absolutely everything or, in other words, prior, automatic, and massive Internet censorship.

Recently, YouTube prevented the pianist James Rhodes from uploading one of his own videos in which he is playing Bach. This kind of “error”, which always favours privatisation of the public domain, is the everyday reality for all authors who use YouTube.

And this isn’t just about the “errors” that lead to the privatisation of the public domain. It is about the difficulty or impossibility of uploading on the Internet any kind of derivative work: parodies, memes, remixes, fandom, satires, and so on or, in other words, the very essence of culture, political freedom and freedom of expression.

Repeating the Medieval Experience of the Invention of the Printing Press

This whole setup, which looks like a science-fiction dystopia, an impossible attempt to lock the doors when the horse has bolted, or an exaggeratedly grim prophecy being spread by concerned activists, is already being implemented today on big platforms.

At present, there are two options:

The Spotify model

In this case, the platform would acquire all national and international licences and then make all contents available unidirectionally in such a way that users can’t upload content. Even so, in the case of Spotify, one of the few giants with the resources to do this today, paying the copyright monopolies has raised its overheads so much that, despite its commercial success, its medium-term sustainability isn’t guaranteed. If this is the situation of Spotify, it’s not difficult to imagine what will happen to medium-sized Internet companies.

This model has another defect which is obvious to most artists. The amount of money the real authors receive in the end is zero or almost zero. The amount of money the real authors receive in the end is zero or almost zero.

TheFacebook/Google model

These new Internet monopolies refuse to share the cake with the old copyright monopolies and therefore opt for large-scale, automatic filtering of all content. They will find it easier to adapt to Article 13 since now they will only need to apply the filtering mechanisms before uploading takes place.

This technology, besides being opaque and exclusive, is very expensive. Since it will be obligatory, it will also mean that these giants are very unlikely to have competitors that have any chance of prospering.

Google has spent approximately 100 million dollars to create the technology that has so far enabled it to respond to copyright claims coming in from only 1% of its users.

The effect which these arbitrary regulations will have on free Internet conversation, on diffusion of culture and information, and access to them will be devastating.

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2018/10/civilized-societies-dont-call-censorship-copyright.html

Zero SR vs Energica SS9: EV Race

Brandon and I recently drove down from Monterey to LA on business. He rode an Energica Esse Esse 9 while I rode my Zero SR. One of the main features of the Energica is the full support of level 3 CCS stations which can deliver a full charge to the bike in as little as 20 minutes. One of the goals of the trip was to visit as many CCS stations down Hwy 101 as we could and determine if it was possible to make the trip entirely utilizing CCS.

Meanwhile my Zero SR was equipped with 4 digiNow SuperChargers capable of delivering 13kW from the plentiful selection of level 2 stations available at every town and sometimes in between. This gave my Zero with a Power Tank a consistent 1 hour charge time if totally empty but required use of either dual J1772 stations or a single Tesla Destination station.

On Thursday we drove down and mostly explored what was available for CCS while meeting with friendly fellow riders and documenting stations. Late Thursday night we stayed with a friend in Hollywood and discussed the plans for the rest of the trip and reviewed footage taken earlier that day.

The next day Brandon and I parted ways to take care of business but hatched the idea of a race back to Monterey on Saturday. I would be starting in Irvine and Brandon in Long Beach. Neither of us thought the other stood a chance, and we both proclaimed our own easy victories. Obviously I would win, I had consistent 11-13kW and a nearly infinite amount of stations. Brandon had powerful 23kW stations as long as he was in the greater LA area. Beyond that they grew fewer and fewer, sometimes only one per town, and in some cases the single one was offline. I fully expected him to be far ahead in the morning with me easily overtaking him when he was forced to subsyst on level 2 charging at 3.3kW. He, on the other hand, figured he would gain an insurmountable advantage early on and the times he would have to utilize level 2 would be inconsequential. We were both wrong.

The night before the race I mapped out my route via PlugShare. It should be noted that I had rode this route once before with Brandon about 15 months prior. He was my guide because he had ridden these roads constantly and knew every station along the way. I remembered a couple of his preferred stops, but not all of them. On his end, he was going on the information he'd learned on the trip down. He knew the roads but not the level 3 stations. I would also like to note that I was carrying all of the gear. This includes about 40lbs of 6awg wires and portable charging stations in the case on my bike because primadonna Brandon refused to sully the beautiful Energica with things like luggage or straps.

Saturday morning I awoke shortly after 6am. My gracious host was already awake and playing Hearthstone on his PC but offered to cook breakfast for me, which I readily accepted, not knowing which charging stations were near any sort of amenities. I was also accutely aware of Brandon's inability to function before 8am and figured I would ensure my victory by starting early. By 7:15 I had said goodbye and was on the road. Please note the awesome matching Teslas of my host. Zero hidden in middle of shot.

My first stop was a complete failure. I had planned out a reasonable office complex in Santa Monica that had a non-shared ChargePoint. I made great time, but one of the stations was taken by an EV car. As I plugged into the single station I quickly scanned Plugshare for alternatives. The Wells Fargo building nearby promised 8 J1772 stations, but I quickly discovered it was locked for the weekend, and also apparently under construction. I then wandered, seemingly aimlessly, for some time as my GPS on my aging iPhone 6 is spotty and unreliable. I eventually found myself in a paid parking lot at some sort of recording studio fussing with Tesla Destination chargers. They worked but shut off after ~4 minutes. I tweaked the settings on my chargers to skip the ramp procedure so I could just reset every 4 minutes and grab full power, but this grew tedious. A security guard wandered out after 20 minutes to investigate what I was doing, but wished me luck after I explained what I was doing. I found another potential spot for consistent charging and left having only gained about 25% battery and paying an astronomical $12 parking fee.

Brandon was awake by this point. Not only awake, but also apparently playing in Malibu Canyon a mere mile or two from me.

My next stop was perfect. It was a 4 story parking garage between Sherman Oaks and Van Nuys that promised 4 ChargePoint stations on the roof. As it was Saturday I figured it would be empty. I was right. Not only was it empty but it also had a shaded alcove with 3 benches where, presumably, employees took smoking breaks. I popped the drone out and took a little footage. I was able to get full power off 2 stations and completely top off having wasted over an hour getting lost in Santa Monica.

At this point I made sure to share my location on my phone with Brandon. He had already done so for me so I felt it was fair that he should see what I was doing. Due to the inconsistency of my GPS this did make him paranoid as apparently my map location had a tendency to warp. My next stop was one I remembered from the previous trip, the Amtrak station in Carpenteria. This one was extremely important because I remembered 4 Chargepoint plugs, bathrooms, a mini mart, and a beachfront burger joint. I arrived at around 15% charge and discovered, much to my dismay, an EV car plugged into one of the stations. These were shared stations meaning each station has the capacity to deliver 6.6kW total between 2 plugs. In order to get full power I would need to be the only one at the 2 stations. This proved impossible so I plugged in 3 of my chargers into the 2 plugs and set myself to 3/4 charging capacity.

I checked my map to discover I was actually ahead of Brandon but he was closing in fast. I thought he might watch his map and come say hi but instead just blew by on highway 1 at high speeds. 

Sadly my 3/4 charging speeds meant I would need over an hour, so I had a burger at the tiny beachfront joint. It was noon by this point. After I was done there it came time for one of the most enjoyable legs of the trip: Highway 154 to Chumash Casino. This is an absolutely gorgeous twisty road that climbs up and down the mountains and a must for anyone traveling the 101 on a bike. As it ends it spits you out at Chumash Casino which is jam packed with free level 2 charging stations. I plugged in, went inside the casino, and had some sort of asian steamed veggie bowl at the food court so I could feel good about patronizing the establishment. I don't have a photo of this because I was trying to do a facebook livestream but apparently the signal in the garage is insufficient. Refreshed and full of bok choy, I resumed my trek north.

My next stop was the Lowe's parking lot in Santa Maria. I had scouted this out on PlugShare and knew it was a goldmine. 10+ free J stations? Heck yeah. I used to live near another Lowe's that had a similar setup so I was certain this was a good choice. It was. I parked, plugged in, and checked my map. Brandon was a mere 0.3 miles away at the CCS station at a BMW dealership. It was at this point my brother texted us and said he had made a ton of cheeseburgers on the grill and we should hurry home to eat them. I found out later Brandon had not eaten all day and was basically drooling in his helmet the next few hours thinking about burgers. I sat down behind a shaded wall in the parking lot and uploaded the following picture to FaceBook:

This generated a buzz because Brandon was posting about his progress and people realized we were damn close. This, to me, indicated some theatrics were in order. I noted that my batteries were quite warm at 120F, and Zero's safety measures shut them off around 136F. However, the cautious way I was riding meant my batteries cooled down as I rode and warmed up as I SuperCharged. I knew this, and I knew how to keep them from overheating. But I posted like I was concerned about this to generate a little drama. Obviously I was going to win at this point. Brandon was a couple hundred yards away and running out of CCS stations. What chance did he have? In fact, his very last CCS station was next and it only gave 17kW. I topped off, packed up, and headed to Paso Robles.

Because I was so confident in my imminent victory I decided to delay posting of my photos until I was done and packing up rather than having just arrived. I had planned to use a high-power Tesla Destination charger in Paso Robles, but some inconsiderate Tesla owner, no doubt a paying guest of the hotel, was using it instead. Disgusted, I backtracked to the South edge of town and the promise of 4 open ChargePoint stations. There I encountered 2 homeless men keeping out of the sun thanks to a large tree on the south edge of the parking lot. I asked if I could share their shade and struck up a conversation. It was a father, Jim, and his adult son who had fallen on hard times, had been living in a shelter in San Luis Obispo, but took the train up to Paso to visit mom for Mother's Day. We chatted and he charged his phone off my bike. As we talked I checked my map and realized Brandon was literally about to pass by within 50 feet.

"Wait for it," I said to my new friend Jim. About 10 seconds later the banshee wail of the Energica could be detected. Brandon breezed through town, looked right, and gave a friendly wave and beep while heading to his CCS station. Jim was over the moon with newfound excitement. I hope he gets back on his feet.

Despite pulling ~12kW from the 2 ChargePoints, Brandon was fully topped off and heading North before I was even done. This is where it truly got interesting. North of Paso the headwinds kick in STRONG and there was literally no more CCS for Brandon. I planned to stop at a place called The Mill at 43 Olive Ranch which has several Tesla Destination chargers and a Clipper Creek J1772. The final stop would be King City which had a single Chargepoint station. Brandon would have to stop at The Mill to top off before King City, and it was basically all over for him at that point.

I pulled into The Mill to find it totally empty. No Brandon. Turned out he found a nice, fat truck to draft behind and, AGAINST ALL ODDS, made it from Paso to King City in 30mph headwinds on a naked sportbike. Hell, it killed half my battery to get to The Mill a mere 30 miles away. Tiny voices of doubt started to make themselves known. But surely he could only charge at a paltry 3.3kW in King City, right? I was drawing 12kW and could draw 6.6kW once I hit King City which was double his rate.

I cautiously drove to King City. As Brandon pointed out in one of his posts during all of this, the Zero batteries were never meant for this sort of duty. They are meant to be bulletproof. The cells are encased in a flame-retardant epoxy. This keeps them super safe but makes cooling them a bit of a challenge. Running air, water, or ice along the outside does not appreciably lower the temperature of the cells deep in the middle of the pack. They have to naturally dissappate heat. I'm aware of this so I almost never went above 70mph to allow my pack to deal with the constant stress of lugging me and all of Brandon's 6awg charging cables. My batteries never went above 124F which is, as I posted on FaceBook, where stuff gets REALLY fun. The hotter the battery the less resistance there is and in Brandon's bastardized phrasing, more opportunities for 'dank whoolies'.

I arrived in King City. This was our first stop a mere couple days before. We were both around 30% if memory served but I was charging at twice his speed at this point. This was where the biggest decision was made. Brandon assumed he had it in the bag at this point, because the road ahead was Carmel Valley G16, an incredibly twisty difficult path. I have driven this road. I've driven it in both daytime and nighttime. It is completely acceptable in daytime. Welcome, in fact.  In nighttime is is full of families of wild boar crossing the road in packs and moths that suicide into your visor and render it inoperable. No thanks. I opted to stay on Highway 101 to Salinas and deviate to Highway 68 from there. Brandon's smirk shriveled when I told him this. "But.. the twisties are where I have an advantage!" he bemoaned

"I know," I said, "I'm not a complete idiot."

To pass the time we headed to the local diner and consumed our pre-battle milkshakes while Rampage played on the TV

As my Zero SR finished charging, Brandon was only at 74%. He insisted I couldn't leave before him, and some other words I couldn't hear from my helmet as I left before him. I drove to Salinas VERY, very carefully. The headwinds were very strong and constant. I probably never went above 60mph. Up ahead were milestones I knew from months of commuting and were also the most harrowing parts of the journey. I *knew* that at the turnoff I was headed towards I would need 15% battery under normal riding conditions. I reached the turnoff at 14%. I *knew* that it would take me 7% battery to climb Los Laureles Grade to get to the EV station on the other side. I reached the grade at a low 7% and drove it at 30mph, waving any car past me. At the peak of the grade I was casually climbing at 25mph and wondered what would happen if I twisted the throttle all the way. Nothing happened, actually. I crested the peak at 2% and was horrified to remember that regenerative braking doesn't work when you're that low. I coasted all the way down to the EV stations at 2% and found all parking spots were full. Just about to give up I realized only 2 out of 3 cars were actually charging, and the 6.6kW Clipper Creek was open. Carefully I wedged my Zero between the cars without touching them and, with about an inch to spare, plugged into the station for some sweet sweet sip.

I checked my map and Brandon was lost in the deep, dark, receptionless land of Carmel Valley. I *knew* I needed at least 10% from that particular EV station to the finish line, so I opted to charge to 11% and pack up. I checked my phone again and Brandon popped into view less than a mile away. Aw, crap. I hastily packed up my EV cord and avoided hitting the charging Teslas as the unmistakable motor in the Energica passed me. Single lane road. No way to catch and pass him. Double crap. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we finished within mere minutes of each other. He arrived at 2% battery; I arrived at 1%.

Final thoughts:

I was really pushing the Zero to its limits. Brandon was regularly dumping ridiculous amounts of power both to and from the battery. As long as Zero motorcycles have the 1C limitation on charging they won't be aimed towards any sort of touring. Or, to put it another way, if you plan a day trip that has more than 2 full charge stops, the Zero is probably not the right choice. But this was NEVER what the bike was intended for. I'm literally trying to shove a square peg in a round hole. The Energica battery, on the other hand, is more suited to dissipating heat as Brandon was not only charging at 2C or more, but as he admitted later he was often driving well above the posted speed limit*.

*allegedly

If you are in an area with plentiful level 3 CCS charging, an Energica is an incredibly viable choice for not only a daily commuter, but also for a killer weekend twisty beast. Personally I think we should embrace both. What do you guys think?

Also for real neither side is paying me for this write-up. Both Brandon and I agreed we'd like to do more of these races in the future. If you'd like to get in on this with your electric motorcycle please drop us a line. The more the merrier.

2010 V.S. 2019

Age 15 and almost 25

(This is long a messy but I wanted to make some kind of post about it before the year ends.)

I was making a stink face bc my then best-friend was over and said something funny before she took the picture and afterwards we busted out laughing. We were at my then step-dads parents house out in the country walking down to their creek either just getting done swimming in their pool or intending to get in it after going to the creek.

I was most likely a freshmen or sophomore at the time of this picture. (Probably right before sophomore year started...) It was definitely during Summer. I either had a flip Nokia phone or an LG Neon at the time as I upgraded from one to the other. I had my first “job.” I was a veterinary assistant after school for a few hours a day and did some work out there during Summer as well. I wasn’t paid and used my time as a volunteer to play with animals, hold them down for simple procedures, walked dogs, and it helped me gauge whether or not I wanted to actually pursue being a veterinarian. I had competed in track for 6 years in a row by this point and was probably finished with it by the time this picture was taken. (Two Elementary School leagues, all three years of Middle School, freshmen year of High School). I was crushing HARDCORE on my childhood best friend whom I’ve known since the age of 6 but neither of us could handle our feelings for the other and things would become super awkward until we had actually dated 7 years later. I was tan as hell because of track practice, walking to both pools in town, and walking to Sonic with friends during sleepovers.

I was struggling trying to find my identity as a teenager while maintaining being in the middle of my parents joint custody battle and being forced to be 100 miles away from my friends two weekends out of the month. I was a cynical older sister of two step-brothers and did not use my time with them as wisely as I wish I could have, sometimes being a real bitch to them looking back at it. I had no control over my hair color or length and remember desperately wanting to layer it to look like a scene kid despite how naturally thin it is. I had just started dabbling in eye liner (not pictured, as I preferred and still prefer my poolside activities over makeup), wore converse every day I wasn’t wearing flip flops for the season, wore baggy jeans, the same Paramore hoodie daily, and had an extreme creative drive that I miss deeply. I was bullied horribly for my teeth, nose, skin (I had terrible eczema that pool water, cortisone shots, and Summer weather in general helped tremendously with!), height, cup size, fashion, hobbies, having split parents, and then some. My metabolism was extremely high and I was in my athletic prime. I had a touch of internet fame by drawing my own personal characters on deviantArt.com as well as fan art for games and shows I was super into using my first Wacom tablet on my first laptop and to this day still have a folder of fan art created for me on my computer. I was obsessed with cats, rock music, anime, and drawing. I could drive a boat and got both a high five as well as scolded for that time I flipped myself into the water to retrieve my dads hat while we were going full speed over white-caps because I was too impatient for him to circle around and wanted to impress him and the rest of the family. I was for the most part unafraid of most things.

I was secretly extremely depressed and suicidal during the school year to the point I had missed my period for 5 months because of stress alone and I’m certain at the time this picture was taken, I was almost breathing a sigh of relief I was off from school for the summer. I had a close knit group of friends still before it had combust the following school year. I was “working” as a veterinary assistant but also had interests in pursuing being an animator, art director, cartoonist, children’s book illustrator, or graphic designer by this point and my mom encouraged me to pursue whatever I was comfortable with. I wasn’t really boy crazy like my friends were, instead having my heart set on one in particular and probably still having a soft spot for my ex whom I was with for 3 years prior. My bedroom contained my artwork, sports posters, cat posters, band posters, and trophies/medals from my days running track. My friend and I, though not legally allowed to drive, would occasionally sneak to Taco Bell using her parents car if they weren’t home and we never got caught or pulled over for it. My grades were A’s and B’s, though I could not pay attention in History to save my life because I was too preoccupied with doodling on my papers and ignoring this asshole who was two classes above me who had called me ugly but then admitted he liked me at one time because of my attitude?? He’s still an idiot from what I’ve heard only he’s an idiot who knocked up a few women post-high school, is apparently married now, and no surprise to me - is still stuck in that same small town with no goal to go anywhere outside of it.

I was scared of the outside world beyond my small town and had no idea how rough it would get for me. The family issues and my trip to family court had not happened yet. I had yet to become estranged from my family. I was small and awkward as hell. I struggled to hold conversations or make eye contact unless it was with people I felt most familiar with since people were kinda fucking mean. I could argue back but would immediately break down and cry from the interaction at the first chance I’d get. I’d use books, art, and video games for the escapism. Life felt scary and fragile and so very uncertain but at least I had a few individuals in the world whom I loved so much and who I know loved me.

I’m 24 now. I’m now in control over my own hair cut and color. I choose to keep it long as I didn’t even like the way it looked short when I finally chopped it as a teenager. It’s been red, reddish blonde, blonde on top and brown on the bottom, dark brown to blonde ombré, and now platinum blonde with my natural color as a shadow root and I quite like it. I don’t really dabble in makeup unless it’s for an occasion except for covering up my acne as my body decided that having zero acne in my teen years was just too good for me while I was battling eczema instead. I’m not nearly as tan or athletic as I’m forced to be inside at most times. I still love to swim though and I take every opportunity to go to my childhood beach during the Summer when I can in particular. I still don’t consider myself to be family-oriented despite this year really challenging that for me. I have a ton of amazing friends and people who care about me and feel like recently in particular, I’m always busy with someone doing something and making memories as we do whatever.

I have a bachelors in Psychology and a minor in Art, though I did not pursue a masters in art therapy like I had originally intended. I was heavily burnt out from school and my baby brothers worsening medical conditions and the news that he had been in a children’s hospital for quite some time with my family deliberately choosing not to tell me made me choose not to pursue one for the time being. I was working at Dairy Queen while technically sharing a lease with my ex before finding a job at a psychiatric hospital that I loved and getting my own apartment to myself and my cat, whom my ex gave to me as he saw she benefited me more than she benefited him. Though I lost that job, I can now say I have two years of field experience in Psychology and almost 6 months worth in social work and feel like I’m always learning something.

I’m not as creative anymore because the years of crippling depression, anxiety, and being forced to create for school absolutely ruined any creativity I had once had. Though occasionally I’ll have the opportunity to channel that creativity into a video game or quick doodle for a child.

I’ve moved to two cities after moving out of my high-school “home” town (not quite home but a good chunk of my upbringing!) and have every intention of doing it again within the next year after I save up some. I don’t take shit from anyone and have taken after the best parts of my moms personality in my opinion with the added benefit of my dads patience and keen eye. I’m known for making people around me comfortable and able to laugh and decompress and have been fortunate enough to use that power professionally. I would like to go back to mental and behavioral health as I miss the thrill and excitement as well as the camaraderie with fellow staff members in the pursuit of helping individuals. I’m very likely starting a new position in my company as early as next week and have been extremely excited about the pay and hour boost. I’ll be getting my dog in just over two weeks and am excited to start our life journey together. Though I had developed my moms serial-monogamist trait for a while there after my 6 year-long relationship had ended in the pursuit of finding someone to fill that gap, I feel very comfortable lately simply being pursued and wanted without the commitment. I’m addicted to sushi bowls, coffee, and chocolate. My passion is helping others. I feel comfortable in my body enough that I would love to pursue modeling of some sort and have been lucky enough to dabble in that a bit already. I also have a bit of a love for fashion now, though I rarely feel the urge to actually properly plan my outfits unless my goal is to dress to impress or for the sake of photography.

I’ve learned to allow myself to enjoy the things I enjoy without the fear of judgement from others. I still love nerd-culture and have somewhat recently taken an interest in cosplay and want to attend more conventions. I’ve learned that it’s an accomplishment for me to have gotten this far, to have my own place, and that it’s alright that I don’t have everything figured out and not everything has to be figured out right away. I don’t have the same best friend I had 10 years ago, but we’re still in contact and I love my current best friend tremendously though I don’t get to see him often. I’ve learned that my current group of friends may be temporary, but while I’m lucky enough to be around them I’m going to do what I can to make them feel as loved and cherished as possible and make plenty of memories. Ivy and I are doing well and I know we will continue doing well even with Atticus by our side. I value traveling way more and will continue to travel and see new things when I’m able to. Eventually I’ll narrow down a Masters program and go back to school when I feel ready. I might even work alongside my brother at some point as we had talked about working on a project together and I’m pretty excited. This is getting really really long oops

I also just look dope as all hell with blonde hair and have gotten the notoriety of being “that blonde girl who wears the leather jacket” and I’m beyond thrilled about this. I’ve come a long way and I’m proud of myself. It’s hard to believe that lanky, tan, dark haired, greasy-headed kid is me but I think she’s come a long long way and I’m genuinely proud of her for doing so and not ending things when she’s had the opportunity. Here’s to 10 more years of careful and concise progress and glow-ups~

Down the Rabbit Hole. Of Spikes. (Prompto in Pitioss.)

Summary: Prompto accidentally finds himself in Pitioss, with no way back. Alone, hungry and cold, he has to traverse the hellish dungeon to escape.

“Dude! That was like, totally awesome!”

 Like, seriously. Who knew a bit of Imperial scrap from the garrison could be so damn awesome; and thank the Six for Cindy suggesting that they fix up the Regalia with it. Fix it up to fly. Freaking, fly! Prompto stepped out of the car onto the dusty landscape practically buzzing with energy after having spent the majority of the flight – much to Ignis’ annoyance – hanging out the window taking some sweet aerial shots with his camera. Today was turning out to be a pretty epic day, to say the least. Eventually they’d settled with landing the car in Ravatogh’s shadow, amongst the plains and just a short distance away from the road. Landing had been fun; if not absolutely terrifying with Noct of all people at the wheel. He trusted his best buddy’s driving skills. To a certain extent. Brief trips in the Star of Lucis around Insomnia had taught him that although Noct could drive fast, if he put his mind to it he could also drive safe. Flying, though? Well, his stomach had its conflictions about that despite how much his heart had urged him to take photographs. It was a conflict; yet a conflict he was willing to die for.

“Right? Even got Specs to crack a smile.” Noct quickly retorted, a small smirk on his face as he stepped out of the Regalia; immediately shielding his eyes from the bright sun and sweltering heat of the nearby mountain.

Even behind the reflection of his glasses, Ignis rolled his eyes as he freed himself from the confines of the car. “Positively terrifying would be a more apt description, I believe.”

“Yeah, whatever you say, I saw you smirking back there.”

“Perhaps you should pay more attention to keeping your eyes on the road. Or lack of?” Ignis quickly shot back, raising a hand to adjust his glasses before turning his attention to their new and dusty surroundings.

Prompto spared no time in practically skipping over to the nearest pool, camera in hand as he crouched down next to it. The light reflected perfectly off of the small ripples; likely caused by built up gas underneath. They’d already learned the hard way that most of the pools around the mountain contained geysers; all it had taken was Prompto standing in the wrong spot for a second too long, before he’d ended up on his arse a good few meters back, soaked from head to toe. Subsequently, he’d utterly soaked Noct too, who’d been stood with him.

Gladio had slapped him on the back and laughed for a good few hours after that.

Never again. Prompto was pretty sure Leviathan had it in for him; and Six, they hadn’t even gotten to Altissia yet.

He was so fixated on taking the shot in front of him that he barely noticed Noct approach from behind, and he definitely didn’t notice how quiet the prince was trying to be. Or how Ignis and Gladio had both stopped talking and turned their attention to the two younger members of the party.

What he did notice was the camera being plucked from his hands.

What he also noticed was the sudden foot to his back.

What he really noticed was the water coming up to meet him, fast.

Splash!

Prompto blinked. Now staring down at his reflection in the shifting pool beneath him, of which he now was in the middle of; hands and knees drenched from where he’d tried to save himself from an utter drenching at the last minute. It hadn’t worked much. He was soaked. Not ‘a quick shower’ soaked, but ‘Ramuh decided to open the heavens’ soaked.

Behind him, he heard Noct laugh.

“Oh Six- Prom, that was perfect.”

Having recovered enough from the initial shot, he had the chance to turn and glance over his shoulder, where not one, but three of his companions stood laughing at the electronic device in Noctis’ hands.

“Dude! You didn’t!”

“Oh, I did.”

Yep, all three of them were chuckling away at what was more than likely a terrible shot of Prompto plummeting head first into the pool, legs splayed and everything in his panic. Gladio managed to pull himself together first, turning his attention back to Prompto as the blond pulled himself up to his feet.

“Uh oh, better get running, your highness.” The Shield smirked, helpfully grabbing the camera from the prince’s hands.

For a moment Noct was too absorbed in the fact his prize had been taken from him. “Huh, what? Why?- Oh.”

Realisation dawned on his expression as he looked over to meet his friend’s eyes. There was no way in hell Prompto was letting Noct get away with that one. I mean sure, maybe he’d deserved it for getting Noct soaked the previous day with the geyser, and maybe he’d laughed a little too much at the prince looking like a drowned voretooth, and maybe – just maybe – he’d accidentally caught the whole thing on camera. And kept it.

“Er, Prom. You realise targeting your king is treason, right?” Noct suggested, taking a step back with the usual smirk on his expression.

“Only if he’s caught.” Ignis helpfully supplied, already beginning to head towards the haven. Gladio soon followed, chuckling away at the device in his hands; more than likely at the badly shot photo.

Prompto hoped it was badly taken. Noct didn’t exactly have a reputation for taking photos without the blur of his finger somewhere in the frame.

“Noooct.” Prompto grinned, already stepping out of the depths of the pool and back to where he’d previously been crouched. “Buddy.”

Noct held both hands up in surrender. “Okay, let’s just stop. Think back to all the times I- Shit, Prom!”

Half way through his sentence, the prince was forced to take a couple of even faster steps back as Prompto crouched to splash water from the pool over him. He missed, but only just. Still, he wasn’t about to sit around and wait for Noctis to apologise. Nope, he had a better idea. The only way there was going to be justice in the world was if Noct ended up in that pool too.

“Dude! You totally got me soaked! Don’t think you’re staying dry for the rest of the evening! That’s like, super unfair, man!”

If Prompto had the ability to summon a super-soaker water pistol from the armiger, he would have. Alas, Ignis had specifically told the pair that it wasn’t their personal storage cupboard, and thus the items from Galdin Quay had been left behind at Hammerhead. Suddenly he was regretting giving into the advisor so easily. As it was, he’d have to drag Noct into the pool himself. And six, he was determined to try.

Noct must have seen that in his expression, because with a laugh, the prince turned on his heel and made a run for it.

“Have to catch me first!” He yelled back; and Prompto mentally rolled his eyes. Which one of them was the runner, again?

With that thought, he set off in a sprint after Noct, making sure to keep his breathing under check, his pace even, to avoid any of the rookie mistakes that would have him gasping for breath in under five minutes flat. Noct, on the other hand, was just legging it – leaving Prompto temporarily in the dust.

“Dude, get back here!” Prompto yelled; momentarily forgetting that yelling in the open world was a big no-no, and could practically feel Ignis’ rolling his eyes from the haven.

Speaking of the haven…

Prompto stopped, turning on his heel before taking in his new and very foreign surroundings.

Uh oh, way’ta go dude, you’re lost.

No, not lost. Juuust slightly off the path is all. Totally, not lost at all.

It took about ten minutes of aimless wandering and complete denial for it to finally set in that he had absolutely no idea where camp was. Or which direction Noct had gone in for that matter: though he had no doubt someone must have noticed them both missing by now. Unless Noct had circled back to camp, thinking Prompto would be there. Okay. Don’t panic. Totally have this under control.

Besides, on the bright side, there weren’t that many big nasties out here in the middle of nowhere.

So, there was little left to do – other than panic, and that wouldn’t be street smart, as Iggy would say – than stuff his hands in his pockets, pick a direction, and walk. Surely, he’d hit some kind of road or landmark eventually? I mean sure, they’d flown in by super-awesome-empire’d up Regalia, but there had to be a road somewhere, right?

Grabbing his phone from his pocket, he powered the screen on. It was a miracle the water from earlier hadn’t damaged it.

What wasn’t a miracle however, was the empty bar at the top of the screen screaming ‘no signal’ at him.

Ah.

“Okay!” Prompto spoke; more than aware he was the only one stood in this Eos-forsakened wasteland. “Just gotta’ get back Prom, just gotta’ get back before night falls because dude, that would suck.” He laughed sheepishly, warily eyeing the darkening sky whilst rubbing the back of his neck. He had a few hours at least before the sun was going to dip behind Mount Ravatogh.

With his phone in hand, he carried on along the dusty terrain, occasionally snapping the odd photograph of a strangely shaped rock or interesting looking plant – though those were few and far between apparently.

He wasn’t panicking.

He totally wasn’t panicking.

As expected, night eventually began to descend on the rocky landscape and the blond was no closer to finding the haven than he had been two hours prior; beginning to feel the occasional twist and rumble of his stomach, having neglected to bring any kind of food in his rush to get revenge on Noct. With the night, came the horrible chill too – the heat of the day sifting away and dropping into outright freezing temperatures that had him shivering; dressed in no more than his vest and jeans – which were still somewhat damp from his earlier dip in the pool.

Flicking the switch on his torch, he clipped it carefully to his vest and continued to traverse the unforgiving – and now totally sub-zero – landscape, doing his best to distract himself from shifting shadows by humming an incredibly annoying RPG tune from a game he’d downloaded onto his phone a week or so back. It wasn’t quite as good as King’s Knight, but it passed the time and kept his hands busy. Which was a Six-send in Ignis’ opinion, as he’d taken to slapping Prompto’s hands away from the radio in the Regalia. Apparently the blond had a habit of being indecisive.

Speaking of Six-sends…

Prompto angled his torch to his left, noting a new path that headed up into the mountains; and at the end? Was that a building? Oh Six, he hoped it was a building! Buildings meant civilisation, right?

He didn’t run up that incline frantically.

Okay,

Maybe he did a little.

Stumbling to the top, he felt his face fall immediately upon setting his sights on what appeared to be ruins. Old ruins. Like, super old ruins. The sort you’d read about in museums then forget ten minutes later. Tentatively stepping around the concrete structure – and hopping over a small gap, because whoever designed this architecture clearly thought that one through – he made his way around the back of the building, humming to himself to fill the eerie silence.

He probably shouldn’t have squeezed himself through the bars of a gate to get a closer look.

He probably shouldn’t have edged towards the red, shiny circular plate.

He probably shouldn’t have reached for his phone to take a photo of it.

You’d think Costlemark would have taught him a lesson.

Nope, those were exactly the things Prompto found himself doing.

So it really,

Really,

Shouldn’t have been a surprise when the ground suddenly shifted underneath him, and the platform of which he was stood on began to descend into the depths.

“No no no no! Stop!” Roughly shoving his phone back into his pocket, Prompto found himself crouching – not cowering, he wouldn’t admit that – with his arms over his head, eyes tight shut as images of the possible hell he was about to end up in, likely with multitudes of daemons, flitted through his head.

What sort of idiot walked into a damn dungeon alone, with no curatives, or any phone signal?

Prompto, that’s who.

The lift of death – he’d mentally dubbed it that now – ground to a halt with a click, leaving the blond to hesitantly push himself to his feet and take in his new surroundings. First problem: there was no way back up. Making his way around the edge of the platform and pressing the walls did nothing. It wasn’t going to move again. Because, why would it? That would just be far too easy – providing an exit to a creepy ass dungeon.

“Ookay.. It’s just some creepy ruins. Creepy ruins totally have exits. Just gotta’ find it, stay calm and.. Yeah, I’ve got this.”

Prompto turned around, more than ready to face whatever the hell this place was going to throw at him-

And came face to face with spikes.

Red.

Hot.

Spikes.

Who the Ifrit designed this place?! Edging forward to where the two panels of spikes moved up and down, he could practically feel the heat radiating off of them. Uh. No. No no no. This wasn’t happening. Grabbing his phone from his pocket and checking the signal, he felt his heart drop seeing the empty bars. Oh Six, he was going to die down here. Alone, starving. What a way to go.

No. Noct wouldn’t just sit around and wait for a spikey death, so neither was he. Securing his phone back into his pocket, Prompto waited as one of the panels rose up towards the ceiling, before ducking beneath it and emerging the other side. Letting out the breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding, he made his way up the tiled slope and into the following room.

So far, so good.

Just keep it together, Prom.

The new room was dark. Like, pitch-black daemons lurking in the shadows level of dark. Yet, as far as he could hear, there weren’t any tell-tale signs of the usual suspects, only the grinding of stone on stone. The steps before him that led down into the room held a large stone ball and were covered in-

Oh shit, was that blood?

Okay, he was going to pretend it wasn’t blood.

Just don’t look at it.

Ahead of that was a large door, but as far as he could see, no way of opening it. Ignis would know how to, he mused absently, already making his way to the source of the grinding sound. Just in case, he carefully tried to tug his gun out from subspace, feeling the weight of it for a split second in his hand before disappearing into nothingness. Oh, sweet. Now he was hungry, cold, and weaponless.

It turned out the grinding originated from a wall moving backwards and forwards; like out of those cheesy as hell horror movies Noct and him had watched back in highschool. This one occasionally revealed a gap on the other side, which Prompto sprinted for the moment he had the chance. Okay. He could do this. Totally had this under control.

Turning the corner, he mentally swore at his own optimism. The path ahead was clear enough – asides from terrifying gaps that seemed to drop down into the abyss below.

Just don’t look down. Simple, right?

Wrong.

He’d looked.

Ugh, his stomach flipped at the idea of falling down that gap.

“Dude, you’ve got this. Just need to jump, it’s uh, not even that far. You’ve jumped further, like in that uh, that sports day. Yeah, back from-“

And, distracting himself with a terrible memory, he launched himself forward; clearing the gap and just about avoiding crash landing the other side. Score.

Doing that a second time was a lot easier than the first and left him quite proud of himself. Piece of cake.

Another slope and oh-

He came face to face with a creepy ass glowing rock. As if this place needed to get any weirder. Near this rock, he felt the connection to Noct’s subspace, and finally pulled his gun free from it. Okay, so he could summon his weapons next to creepy rock faces. Good to know. Placing the weapon in his grip, he held it up and fired.

The rock vanished, leaving the next path open.

“Hah! Score! Totally got this.”

Up another couple of slopes, and he found himself stood at the next challenge. More jumping. Jumping he could do. Totally. Even if his knees felt like they were shaking; he had this. Backing up slightly, Prompto launched himself at the platform ahead, his left foot striking it as he landed before he felt himself falling backwards at a misjudged angle.

No no no!

Scrambling wildly, he felt the stone scrape against his chest as he desperately latched onto it, legs dangling into the darkness below as he scraped his fingers against the stone; trying to find leverage to pull himself up with. It took a moment, but eventually he was up and over it, chest heaving from the impact and realisation that he’d nearly dropped.

He was going to die here.

No doubt about it.

It took several minutes for him to bite down the rising nausea from that near-death experience, but he knew damn well that if he was going to get out of here – and that was a big if – then he’d have to keep moving.

Manoeuvring his way to the opposite wall, and along the railings was easy enough. What wasn’t going to be easy? The next bit.

A sheer drop to the ground below, where the path continued.

“Totally going to break something...” He murmured, eyeing the drop. Carefully lowering himself down on the ledge, he swung both legs over into oblivion.

He had to get out.

He had to find Noct, Iggy and Gladio.

Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, Prompto let himself drop from the ledge.

Luckily, years of athletics training from high school reminded him to tuck himself into a roll the moment he hit the ground below, but the sickening crack of his shoulder and sudden searing pain that wracked his body was enough to know that no amount of rolling had saved him a broken limb.

Crying out and clutching his uninjured arm to his shoulder, Prompto’s chest heaved against the flowing agony, both eyes tightly closed as he bit down hard on his lip – something in the back of his mind warning him about noise and daemons. Any attempt to open his eyes again was met with black spots on his vision and world spinning sickeningly out of control, to the point where he wasn’t even sure which way was up.

He wasn’t sure how long he was led like that, clutching his arm as his groans echoed through the hallway and into the new room beyond. He wasn’t sure how long his head throbbed and his eyes watered against the agony.

Eventually,

Eventually he knew he had to move. It sucked, it sucked really bad, but there weren’t any curatives in this damn place and his best chance was getting out and finding the others. They’d have curatives. Curatives and food.

And water.

And somewhere soft to sleep.

Another few minutes passed before Prompto finally pulled himself back to his feet, left arm hanging limply at his side as he made his way forward into the new room.

More moving platforms, wonderful.

He tripped at the end of it; just about steadying himself as he stumbled onto the next bit of path.

Ducking under some more spikes, he cursed his instability and was forced to rest a hand against the wall.

“Just gotta’-.. Keep on, keeping on..” He mused, tone void of the intended humour.

Three more sets of spikes had him running through them then cursing as the movement jostled his arm, but still, so far so good. Well, as good as could be expected with a broken arm. Prompto couldn’t really recall moving through the following room, moving the cage so that the ball from before dropped across, nor climbing – painfully – up onto the statue to press the button to finally open the first door.

The.

First.

Door.

This place was going to be the death of him.

Standing ahead of it and watching as the large golden door collapsed downwards into the floor, he felt the room tip to the side.

Or, no. No, he tipped to the side. There was another smack as his head hit the floor, and the blond finally let himself be taken by the darkness around him, letting out a few groans as his vision swam and darkened. What he failed to notice in that last moment was his phone buzzing in his pocket. [ Chapter 1/? - Like it? Follow, and keep an eye out for the #PromptoPitioss tag! ]

test

The Ace: She's a pro gamer, an expert mech pilot, a pretty good shot with her energy pistol (managing to impress even McCree with her shooting), and if the posters in the Hollywood stage are anything to go by, a successful actress as well. Action Bomb: Her MEKA has a self-destruct ability that does 1000 damage to anything in direct radius of its Area of Effect. Before a patch adjusted it, it could also harm D.Va herself. Always Someone Better: Amusingly, despite being one of the most mechanically-skilled players in existence, one of her pre-battle lines is "솔직히, 스타로 아빠는 못 이기겠더라" translating to "Honestly, I can't beat dad at Starcraft." Animal Motifs: The rabbit. Her gameplay icon consists of a white bunny, she has a bunny decal sticker on her chest, and her gun even has a pink rabbit keychain. Even her Mini-Mecha somewhat looks like a bipedal rabbit with machine guns for hands. One of her skins from the beta is even titled "White Rabbit". As the icing on the cake, her Facial Markings resemble rabbit whiskers. Her "B.Va" skin has a bee theme, complete with yellow-black color scheme and stylized insect wings and carapace, in addition to being a shout-out to the Transformers character, Bumblebee. The "Junebug" skin, its recolor, is alternatively based on June bugs. Artistic License – Military: Given how much of a tactical and security risk it would be, it's unlikely that someone like D.Va would be allowed to stream her combat operations...let alone expressly displaying real, dangerous battles for entertainment purposes. Ascended Meme: Though she doesn't transform into a nastier diminutive version of herself, one of D.Va's new emotes of August 2016 has her chowing down on D.Vas and soda while playing video games like her infamous "Gremlin" counterpart. The Halloween 2016 update turned Cardboard Meka D.Va into an official spray tag. Attention Whore: She's a very visible celebrity, appearing in live streams, movies, and other forms of mass media. Some of her dialogue gives the impression that she's more interested in putting on a good show and getting cheers than whatever the mission is about. Attack Its Weak Point: While every character receives critical damage when shot in the head, D.Va's weak point in her mech is her cockpit, which is comparatively easy to hit because it's in the center and very large. This is to offset her MEKA's high HP pool of 600, the fact that it can be hit only from the front and her ability to completely shield it with Defense Matrix. Awesome, but Impractical: When reloading her pistol, she does a little Gun Twirling before slapping in the next magazine. If she didn't, she'd presumably reload much faster, but it wouldn't look nearly as cool. The Baby of the Bunch: Though technically an adult, she's by far the youngest human member of the cast (Orisa is even younger at one month, but being an Omnic, her case is more ambiguous), and some of the older members will brush her off as Just a Kid. Badass Adorable: She's a 19-year old girl who is a professional gamer that can keep up with seasoned combatants. Badass Armfold: Her default pose in the game's menus. Balance Buff: Pre-patch, D.Va's Defense Matrix was rather lackluster: it only lasted for a few seconds, had a monstrous cooldown, and would shut off immediately if she fired her main weapon. Since said main weapon only does good damage at point-blank, this made D.Va a non-issue at a distance and (thanks to her unforgiving headshot hitbox) laughably easy to kill in close quarters, which is pretty bad for a Tank class. Post-patch, Defense Matrix's cooldown was instead replaced with a charge meter a la Reinhardt's shield or Pharah's jetpack, giving the player more control over it and making it much easier for D.Va to do her job. Bare Your Midriff: Her "Junker" and "Scavenger" skins replace her jumpsuit with a cropped top and a pair of pants. Becoming the Costume: Her B.Va and Junebug skins give her a few bug-related lines, including "All systems buzzing!" or "Did that sting?" Her Junker and Scavenger skins adds "Hear me baby? Just hold it together," as one of her respawn quotes. Bilingual Bonus: Her name means "one" in Korean, and one of her voice lines translates to "I'm number 1!" in Korean. Bland-Name Product: No, those aren't Doritos she's chowing down on in her Game On emote. Those are "D.Vas◊". Blue Is Heroic: Her suit is predominately blue-violet. She's also one of the playable characters, and all her ego problems aside, she's still genuinely committed to the defense of South Korea when the Omnic struck there. Body Armor as Hit Points: Or rather mech's armor. If she loses all armor points, her mech is destroyed and she has to fight on foot, and if she sets her mech to self-destruction, she loses all armor points. Bottomless Magazines: She can fire her mech's fusion cannons all day long, no reloading needed. The catch? Her movement speed drops to a crawl. Bubblegum Popping: Does this during on of her intros and victory poses. Bunny-Ears Lawyer: While most heroes have this to some degree, D.Va is notable in that she talks and acts like combat is simply one big video game to her. Yet she's a hero to South Korea who was deployed on the front lines. Justified, in that the government was scrambling to find new recruits and decided that drafting professional gamers was the best answer. Car Fu: Her Boosters give her mech enough momentum to damage and knock enemies down. Chicken Walker: Her mecha has this design, with back-bent legs and very claw-like toes. Close Range Combatant: Her Mech's Fusion cannons deal well above-average DPS at point blank range, but at a distance deals some of the worst. She can also use her boosters to ram an opponent and follow up with a quick melee. This starkly contrasts her Mechless form, which is a Long-Range Fighter. Comically Missing the Point: D.Va is fully aware of the fact that Sombra is a hacker, but the reason the latter has earned the gamer's ire is the fact that D.Va thinks Sombra uses her skills to cheat at video games, making it easier for less skilled gamers to believe that the skill of professional gamers are not genuine. Sombra is rather baffled at this accusation. Competition Freak: From her dialogue, this seems to be her reason for fighting at her best. She seems to treat battle like a game, but one she "play[s] to win". In the Hanamura arcade, she boasts, "No one's beating my high scores!" Concealment Equals Cover: In regards to her mech's ultimate, as long as you get out of its line-of-sight, it won't even scratch you. Theoretically, someone could stand behind a wall a foot away from the explosion and not be harmed in the slightest. Or, alternatively, one could survive her ultimate at ground zero of the explosion by standing behind a pole about an inch wide. It won't kill, but it will hurt like hell. Conscription: She, along with other top Korean gamers, was drafted into service. The Cutie: Youngest human character in the game, in her late teens, has a highly competitive streak, and has a rather petite body in a form-fitting plug suit? Yes, she absolutely qualifies. Damage Reduction: Armor in general allows a significant portion of damage-per-bullet to be reduced and (prior to the Year of the Rooster patch, D.Va (in her mech) had the highest quantity of armor in the game). However, the effect is negated by other factors in her design—particularly, the wide hitbox of the mech, as well as the absurdly large critical hitbox directly in the center of it. Also, armor is not very effective against weapons with high damage bursts (such as Pharah's rockets, Junkrat's grenades, or Zarya's fully-charged Particle Cannon — all of which, again, are easy to hit her with thanks to her bulk). Thus, she takes so much damage and so easily that many players don't even realize she even has Damage Reduction. The aforementioned patch brought her down to 200 armor, which is the same amount of armor as Reinhardt. Death from Above: Since the self destruct took time before it actually explodes, a common tactic that is used by D.Va players when they use her ultimate is to boost her mech upwards right before they activates the ultimate, taking advantage that the boosters would remain active even after D.Va activates her ultimate. When her mech drops to the ground, the enemy team are potentially being caught off-guard and would have less time to avoid the area covered by the self destruct explosion. Disintegrator Ray: Defense Matrix completely atomizes any projectiles in range, hence why explosives don't even detonate. Drop Pod: It's never specified, but her Call Mech ability looks like an orbital deployment via teleportation. And it can be used to flatten people. Early-Bird Cameo: She was initially revealed on Blizzard's Battle.Net page as a Starcraft II player who had to retire to defend her nation. Also, in the Hollywood Attack stage, she appears in a poster of a movie, apparently her pro-gaming sensation turned her into a celebrity/actress as well. Eject...Eject...Eject...: When her mech is about to be destroyed, she gets a warning about imminent ejection; a bright red message will flash on her HUD, reading 비상탈출 (pronounced as bisangtalchul), or "Emergency Escape". Ejection Seat: Well, not an actual seat, because D.Va lies in the cockpit instead of sitting, but her mech is equipped with ejection system. Explosive Stupidity: Averted in the current patch, but back when D.Va was subject to the same "Your own explosives hurt you" rule as every other character, she was notorious for dying to her own Self-Destruct Ultimate. The devs mercifully removed this weakness later on, partly due to Self-Destruct's countdown being made shorter. Facial Markings: Pink "whiskers" on her cheeks. Fighting Your Friend: If she kills a character she's friends with, she'll lovingly quip, "I still love you!" Frickin' Laser Beams: Her Defense Matrix fires very small lasers that shoot down incoming projectiles and other hazards. Frothy Mugs of Water: She can be seen on advertisements for Nano Cola, which looks exactly like Soju. This ad can also be unlocked as a spray. Future Spandex: She wears high tech skin-tight jumpsuit.h Fun with Acronyms: Looking closely on her default skin, will reveal that MEKA stands for: Mechanical Exo-force of the Korean Army. Gamer Chick: She's a professional gamer. It seeps into her actual combat speech; when using her Defense Matrix, she calls it raising her APMnote and when she activates her MEKA's Self-Destruct Mechanism, she boasts "Nerf this!" Additionally, her MEKA makes distinct low-bit sounds that one would expect from an older video game, and her sidearm is called the Light Gun, even going as far as to resemble a controller from a light gun game rather than having realistic ammunition and firearm colors. Gatling Good: Her mech is armed with twin rotary fusion cannons. Genki Girl: She's rarely ever not cheerful, and she treats the action around her like a game rather than an actual combat zone. Glass Cannon: In her mech-less state, D.Va can do heavy amounts of damage with just her pistol, but she can die to one or two high damage attacks and has no means of escape or defense. Goomba Stomp: It's difficult, but very possible, to crush someone with D.Va's mech when calling it in. Gun Twirling: Part of her reloading animation. Hell-Bent for Leather: Her "Junker" and "Scavenger" skins give her leather chaps, bracers and a cropped vest. Hidden Depths: A conversation with Mei reveals that D.Va has an adventurous side. She loves reading the former's journal, and wishes she could visit all the different places the climatologist explores. A quote on Eichenwalde also shows a quieter, more pensive side to her. I Know Mortal Kombat: Her mastery of video games, including Starcraft II gave her the reflexes and instincts necessary to pilot the mech. McCree: D.Va, just tell me one thing. Where'd you learn to shoot like that? D.Va: 16-Bit Hero! Improbable Age: She's only 19, in a game where almost all the other characters are at least in their mid-20s, if not 30s and up. Doesn't stop her from kicking ass alongside and against fighters with far more experience. Irony: In her MEKA, she has the most durability of any Hero in the game, at 600, a good fraction of which is armor (Roadhog also has 600 HP but it's all health that offers no damage reduction or self-regeneration).However... Outside of her MEKA, she ties with Tracer for the least HP of any Hero in the game, at 150. In-Vehicle Invulnerability: Nothing can hurt D.Va personally until her mech is destroyed and she gets out, though Sniping the Cockpit does do more damage to the mech for some reason. In the Back: D.Va's design makes flanking or attacking enemies from the rear the best way to use her offensively. Going head-to-head with anyone is a bad idea because they can "headshot" her much more easily than she can do the same. For the most part, D.Va's job in a head-on fight is to cover the rest of her team with Defense Matrix until the other team falls apart and scatters. Jack-of-All-Trades: In terms of a tank, she has the basic tools to achieve whatever the team needs (she has decent mid-to-close-range DPS, mobility and flanking options with Boosters, and her on-foot form system gives her slightly more survivability and long-range options). She excels in primarily two areas. One, her Defense Matrix destroys any projectile that comes near it, allowing her counter most forms of burst damage. Two, her ultimate itself has the highest burst damage of any attack in the game, making it instant death if the enemy is stunned or has nothing to get behind. Jerk with a Heart of Gold: D.Va's a bit bratty and arrogant and absolutely relishes the spotlight, but she takes her mission seriously and her interractions show her to be pretty chummy with other heroes, accepting without a second thought to sign autographs for Reinhardt and Lucio and complimenting Mei on her travel journal. Its also shown with some of her voice lines that she is legitimately saddened by what the Omnic Crisis has done to her country and hopes to restore it back to normal. Jet Pack: Her Boosters ability. The Juggernaut: While she activates her Boosters, few things can stop her. She can push enemies away with it, and yes, that includes punting them down into Bottomless Pit. Kid-Appeal Character: The closest Overwatch has to one, being the youngest human hero and clearly made to appeal to the young gamers. Kid Hero: Slightly older than the usual example, but is otherwise the closest example of one in Overwatch being that she's 19 in a game where the majority of the cast are above 30. The Knights Who Say "Squee!": Is a fan of Lúcio's music. When Lúcio asks her for an autograph, she will ask for his as well. Knockback: Her Boosters can push enemies out of the way, disrupting their positions at the least and potentially sending them into a nearby Bottomless Pit. Call Mech will push back any enemies in proximity of the incoming mech, meaning that someone who tries to go against a mech-less D.Va may suddenly find themselves falling off a cliff to their deaths, not helped by her Ultimate gauge charging very quickly while in this mode. Leaning on the Fourth Wall: An interaction with Soldier: 76 displays this but it isn't certain if D.Va has fourth wall awareness or she just thinks this as a philosophy or if it's just a reply to his statement. Soldier: 76: War isn't a game. D.Va: Are you sure life isn't a game, Soldier: 76? Lethal Joke Character: Mechless D.Va might seem like an easy kill, but her Light Gun shouldn't be underestimated: it has a fairly fast fire rate, doesn't suffer the harsh damage falloff of her MEKA's Fusion Cannons, and is capable of headshotting. If the player's aim is good, it's entirely possible for them to take an enemy from full HP to zero with one clip. She also gains a lot of Ultimate charge on each hit, meaning that a good on-foot D.Va can get a new MEKA within seconds, essentially negating what would be death for any other character. Lightning Bruiser: In her MEKA, she's one of the most mobile characters, has a ton of health, deals good damage, and can block incoming fire as well. Outside of her MEKA, she becomes a Long-Range Fighter. Long-Range Fighter: Outside of her MEKA, D.Va has access to an extremely accurate automatic pistol with no damage drop-off at range. Provided that she can land all of her shots (preferably headshots), she can kill most average-health characters in seconds. However, in that form, she has no mobility, no offensive or defensive abilities, and low health, so most characters able to close the distance can kill her easily. Magic Skirt: Averted with her Palanquin skin, her short skirt behaves much like a real skirt would in a fight, luckily she wears some Modesty Shorts. Meaningful Name: Her first name, Hana, means "one" in Korean. She was a world champion professional gamer who was enlisted in a special mecha division of the Korean army before joining Overwatch. Mechanically Unusual Fighter: She has two different states (in mech and on foot), and a different Limit Break for each (manual self-destruct, and summoning a new mech respectively). She also changes to a Fragile Speedster when outside her mech, and she can stay alive after her mech is destroyed if she can survive long enough to summon a new one. Military Superhero: Even though she's supposed to be a gamer, decal MEKA logo stickers on her suit and mecha indicate she's a member of MEKA - "Mobile Exo-Force of the Korean Army". Mini-Mecha: Rides around in her MEKA, which is a relatively small mech shaped like a rabbit. She calls it a "suit" when summoning it, but it's not actually Powered Armor, since it uses a cockpit and its limbs are controlled via joysticks. Modesty Shorts: When wearing her Palanquin skin, she has a pair of white biker shorts under her skirt, which is a good thing considering how often the skirt rides up when she is taken out on foot. Ms. Fanservice: She isn't the most curvaceous female member in the cast, but that bodysuit is pretty form-fitting. Additionally, D.Va also fulfills the non-looks fanservice, being a Gamer Chick that drops in a lot of gaming lingo and references, thus she's also won the hearts of male players in the 18-21 age range. Mundane Utility: Apparently her MEKA Defensive Matrix can also be used for dancing lights and playing a top-down shooter. No Sell: Her shield has a very small effective zone compared to Reinhardt or Winston, but their shields will break under fire. As long as hers is up, she will stop every projectile that meets the shield. She can negate an entire Roadhog ultimate, completely nullify Pharah's ultimate, and prevent Hanzo's, Mei's, and Zarya's ults from happening at all with her shield. Pink Means Feminine: She decorates her entire arsenal as well as parts of her costume with the color pink. Post-Apunkalyptic Armor: Her "Junker" and "Scavenger" skins wouldn't be out of place in Fallout or Mad Max. Power Fist: Her mech can punch enemies with its fusion cannons. Product Placement: Referenced and parodied In-Universe with her own brand of chips◊ named D.Vas◊, in the Game On emote, and played straight in the real world with Blizzard Entertainment's logo can be seen on her right leg of her out-of-mech suit. Pre-Explosion Buildup: Precedes her mech's self-destruction, complete with Pre-Explosion Glow and Sucking-In Lines. Product Displacement: It isn't clear just what type of soda Hana drinks during her Game On emote. The white label over the can completely obscures whatever it could be. Punch-Packing Pistol: At range, her laser pistol is more deadly than her mech's Fusion Cannons...and more accurate, too. Ranged Emergency Weapon: Her laser pistol has no damage dropoff from range, and has no accuracy spread. If you can line up every shot at a distance, you can deal massive damage in one clip. Self-Destruct Mechanism: Her ultimate has her eject from her mech while it self destructs dealing a wide area damage. She Cleans Up Nicely: While she was never unattractive to begin with, her "Palanquin" skin has her wear a traditional hanbok and a braided haircut, and she looks gorgeous. She's Got Legs: Her "Palanquin" skin has her in a hanbok with a very short skirt that accentuates her slim, feminine legs. Shoot the Bullet: Her Defensive Matrix ability is actually two laser arrays plus incredibly fast reflexes. Sore Loser: When she's killed and revives, she says, "I'm not a good loser!" That seems fitting, considering that she was a professional gamer. Stance System: Using D.Va in her mech and outside of it means essentially learning to play as two separate characters: one, a Lightning Bruiser mixed with an Action Bomb, and the other a Long-Range Fighter Glass Cannon. Super Reflexes: The reason she was drafted. It also shows up when she uses her Defense Matrix, where her Mech deploys holographic distance markers and lets her individually shoot down every projectile that comes into it. Fans have done the math, and it turns out her APM is frankly superhuman: An individual Tracer's Pulse Pistols fire 40 rounds per second. If 6 Tracers were to simultaneously fire into D.Va's Defense Matrix, D.Va can shoot down 240 rounds per second without fail, meaning she's fully capable of 14400 actions-per-minute. To put this into perspective, the highest real-life APM ever recorded was Park Sung-joon's 818. She can also fully withstand Roadhog's ultimate, which according to this post fires approximately 145 projectiles per second. If she were to face against 10 Roadhog ultimates (5 enemy Roadhogs and 5 on her team deflected by an enemy Genji), in a best-case scenario, her maximum APM would be 87500 APM. Damn. Throw-Away Guns: Taken to an extreme whenever D.Va's mech is destroyed or she triggers its Self-Destruct Mechanism. Given a little time she'll just summon a new one without incident. [Verb] This!: The enemy team hears this when she uses her Ultimate. D.Va: Nerf this! Victory by Endurance: A D.Va vs D.Va fight is this by default. Since D.Va can't fire while using Defense Matrix, one D.Va blocking the other is a complete wash. Also, trying to charge at another D.Va only results in taking the full damage of her Fusion Cannons. Thus, the vast majority of D.Va mirror fights are decided by who attacked first and who had the most health. V Sign: Does this during one of her intros and victory poses. We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties: Not unlike Gazlowe in Heroes of the Storm, if D.Va is hit by Ana's Sleep Dart, she will move the joysticks desperately to try and get her MEKA back online. Wearing a Flag on Your Head: Her Summer Games skin changes her bodysuit and mech's colors to those of the South Korean flag. What a Piece of Junk: Unlike her shiny, high-tech regular mechs, her "Junker" and "Scavenger" ones look like they were made from whatever parts were scavenged from the nearest scrapheap.

Conveniences of Dealing with a custom-made property building contractors in virginia coastline

Conveniences of Dealing with a custom-made property building contractors in virginia coastline

 When building a house, the perks to big home builders are well-documented. Large contractors possess "deeper pockets." They can easily make use of economies of incrustation, leveraging this right into supply-chain effect and obtaining discount rates on materials (essentially, passing these savings along to the buyer) therefore. New Home Builders In Virginia Beach

 However to acknowledge these facts without mentioning the conveniences of teaming up with customized property builders in virginia seashore - additionally called customized house building contractors - is to provide brief shrift. There are many good factors to have your house built through a restroom remodel virginia coastline instead of through a volume contractor. Described below are 5 of the biggest.

 1. Personalized house builders can easily create your new property where you wish it

 Custom-made contractors for Kitchen remodel are actually usually servicing just one job at once. Therefore, they are not worried to consider choices including metropolitan infill whole lots, enabling you much more choice of where you desire to construct.

 Through contrast, large home builders for residence add-ons think big. To develop a growth, the major builders need to locate as well as acquire big systems of property.

 2. You are a private and also you 'd like your residence to be actually

 As a rule, you can easily expect almost full customisation from a little building contractor virginia beach front. To start, a customized building contractor is working along with a greater range of design choices, frequently built on a solitary lot. This permits you to decide on very most particulars of your new property.

 Volume builders build houses, usually numerous each time, located upon an even more minimal public library of house programs. They are going to possess purchased a lot of the products as well as pre-determined many of your home's style aspects properly in beforehand. You may "tailor-make" your property along with your assortments of devices, kitchen counters, and so on, however the contractors get on a really stringent routine, and aren't essentially driven to help make every one of the small improvements you will such as to find. If you're constructing in a specific niche location, maybe on a mountain or even on a slender lot, the larger programmers may not discuss your vision.

 You may have purchased that residential or commercial property on a mountain specifically along with a view to putting your property atop it, however your volume home builder may differ, favoring to go into capital as well as develop a flat block on which to develop one of their pre-created concepts.

 3. Much smaller builders may be much more competent

 A smaller sized, nearby home builder will certainly be extra very likely to have actually constructed on identical surface. Having integrated in your location, a custom contractor will be capable to inform you along with confidence that, for example, there is actually stone near the area of the ground in your place, bring in digging difficulty. This variety of prior understanding may find yourself sparing you loan in website costs.

 Sometimes, amount contractors are going to cross the condition and even the country between ventures, certainly never discovering the nuances of the local yard.

 4. Personalized builds often are of better

 One means that big contractors keep their prices so reduced is by possessing parts of homes installed a manufacturing facility, after that offered the internet site, negatively affecting both the high quality and the components themselves.

 Custom-made house contractors are actually far less most likely (or able) to involve in this method, commonly causing a much better developed property.

 5. Smaller sized builders know the amount of house you need

 An edition building contractor can likely construct you a "McMansion" somewhat cheaply, but the future costs of home heating, cooling, and decorating it (as well as the worry of cleaning it) are delegated you. A builder who lives in your area will definitely be actually much more knowledgeable about regional energy costs and also other such problems, and also once again, will possess an expert passion in your contentment.

 To confirm, greater contractors carry out lug the conveniences of functioning quickly. They can easily provide much larger houses for smaller prices, yet this comes with the cost of the individualisation that likely drove you to build, instead of acquire, a house in the initial spot.

 A custom-made contractor may be the most ideal means of making certain that you're getting our home of your dreams-- and also not of the creator's.

 There are 3 forms of house building contractors in America today. There is actually the "luxury custom-made home builder", the "production builder", and also the "tiny, hands-on builder". While there are actually varieties as well as combinations within these three groups, these are actually the basic types at job today. The method for the would-be customer is to identify which one is actually the best suit for their budget and also residence type requirements.

 The High End Custom Home Builders usually function out of expensive offices and also sustain and also drive brand-new automobiles all the trappings of success and also professionalism and reliability that beautiful people feels comfortable along with. They usually tend to become good at what they perform, however their cost and also knowledge arrive at a high price.

 A custom-made home's strategy is actually frequently pulled by an architect that spends a great deal of opportunity questioning the consumer, attracting harsh drafts, and making alterations prior to arriving up along with a last draft. In other words, it is certainly not something most brand-new home buyers can easily manage.

 What they can pay for is some variant of a Production Home Builder's version houses. This is actually the technique it is now and constantly has actually been in present day America. In the aged days Sears and also Roebucks marketed lots of houses through way of email purchase magazines. There is actually absolutely nothing incorrect with the unit, it permits the masses to pay for the American Dream. Considering that buyers commonly really want and also perhaps be entitled to more attention paid for to their personal property, customer discontentment commonly takes place.

 The concern is actually not that Production Home Builders are actually not great at constructing properties that observe ordinary structure treatments within their device. That is what they have ended up being skillful at and also opportunities are that a new residence buyer will wind up reasonably delighted if they catch to the home builder's sell programs as well as possibilities. The issue along with a lot of builders that build much more than 15 or twenty homes a year is that they are bad at making improvements outside their container.

 A Lot Of Production Home Builders are mindful of their constraints in customization as effectively as their strengths in development property property. The customer is enabled to purchase the contractor's product any type of opportunity before fulfillment as well as pick coming from a checklist of alternatives when achievable, however it is actually the contractor's residence till the customer pays out for it along with their final mortgage car loan.

 When Production Home Builders ignore their limitations and also attempt to personalize a property outside their comfort region, problem frequently occurs. Most Production Home Builders started their occupations creating only a few residences a year and also had the ability to build everything that came along and also therefore they rationalize they should still be actually capable to despite the fact that they are zero longer "palms on" and need to overcome their personnel. They likewise desire to offer their consumer what they prefer therefore they bend their guidelines to make the customer happy and also obtain the sale.

 The client really wanting special features or even methods in their brand-new residence are typically distressed along with the Production Home Builder's parameters. They would be actually better offered to look outside the significant brand-new sub-divisions where Production Home Builders have all the lots tied up and also search for the Small, Hands-on Home Builder.

 They are certainly not as simple to find, however every metropolitan area has a lot of all of them as well as they have been actually constructing the American Dream much longer than Sears and also Roebucks and their current equivalents. They are actually the craftsmen home builders that are typically competent at many business and possess a solid grip on all the rest associated with residence building. Several started as workers on a bordering workers and also spent years knowing the woodworking field prior to obtaining the expertise and also where-with-all needed to build their first property.

 While the High End Custom Home Builder takes treatment of the top training class and the Production Home Builders take care of the masses, the Small, Hands-on Home Builders are the ones taking care of the brand-new residence customers looking for something in between. The Small, Hands-on Home Builder requires the job these consumers give and also they possess more time to spend interest to each venture since they are typically literally working on it as well as not managing a large home property procedure.

 When it involves staying in various properties, you have walked around a number of times. You have actually stayed in the dorm, a house, a condominium and also even a duplex. Although the majority of these holiday accommodations have behaved, they had presently been actually stayed in through a person various other than on your own. They really did not feel like residence. Besides, since you certainly never possessed your very own house, you never reached create decorating adjustments that will create it your very own.

 Yet, that is actually all going to transform. You have ultimately chosen to relocate into your own home. You prefer it to be wonderful, comfortable and new. You have picked the style of property that you prefer. You have actually even picked which part of community that you desire to stay in. Nonetheless, the a single thing that you are trudged regarding issues the house building contractor. You do not know the least feature of what to appear for in a home builder. This is actually the very first time that you have actually ever before gotten a residence. Very most significantly, this is actually the 1st time that you are acquiring a house built to your standards.

 Selecting a seasoned residence building contractor is fairly quick and easy to do. Of program you are actually going to choose new builders that are actually knowledgeable and also qualified to perform the task.

 Is he about to team up with you? Locate a home contractor that carries out certainly not possess a concern along with developing your aspiration home office upon your standards. When you are actually seeking the ideal contractor, bear in mind that you wish a residence that is created according to the things that you want and also certainly not what the builder is making an effort to offload to his clients. Is the contractor happy to personalize your home according to your preferences? Lot of times builders agree to build online upon what the home owner yearns for. Opt for the shades for your kitchen area counter tops and cabinets. Opt for the carpeting shade for your living-room. Possibly you do not want carpet whatsoever. You will prefer hard wood instead. Do not receive stuck to what you home builder desires. You'll be spending the mortgage. Select a residence home builder that will certainly let you create assortments that are going to tailor your home merely for you.

 Are you right into the environment as well as prefer your house to reflect this? There are some residence builders that are going to merely develop homes with products that are actually ecologically right. Performs the builder offer energy reliable homes? Explore other properties that he has created in recent. Were they built with materials that are bio-degradable? If you are a person who is actually devoted to residing a green lifestyle, these are actually the kinds of factors that are incredibly significant to you? Why stay in a home that performs not exemplify the individual that you possess come to be?

 Performs your property contractor possess the same vision that you perform? Locate a house contractor that builders typical styled residences, if that is what you have your center prepared on.

 When you just like to have a residence for your own self, at that point you possess to locate a property builder who will help you to develop your dream property. In this situation, you possess to decide on the property contractor that has a great image in the genuine estate field. Given that, it is much better to visit some popular residences in your region as well as inquire its owner for the property contractor who creates their homes.

 Generally, you need to establish the real objective of your property structure. You possess to identify that exactly how much loan will certainly be actually devoted for your house building and construction and how numerous times will certainly be needed to have for accomplishing it. So all this info ought to look at initially before you start discovering a property builder. One aspect you must always remember that when you are actually 1st opportunity contacting her or him, you should monitor how the builder is dealing with the telephonic talk and his or her voice tone. The main reason is that it will certainly give you a primary check out the builder's personality and in the later stage, you will capable to make your take care of the building contractor as well.

 Throughout the building and construction of your home, you are going to never ever experience any kind of concern with your home builder. When you pick your ideal building contractor for your home building and construction, you need to bring in a browse through to its own casing projects.

 That you may evaluate the contractor's working type as well as its high quality management. It is quite crucial for your need. When you are heading to pick your house building contractor for the 1st opportunity, you ought to utilize your second sight. Given that at times our instinct improves our fuzzy goal for selecting the best person. If you like he or she at the visit meeting along with you, at that point you ought to go all out. Once more if you have a question about the home builder when you fulfill him or her for the very first time, then you ought to neglect that contractor immediately.

 It is actually a good approach when you are actually mosting likely to create take care of your home builder, you should take all paperwork in writing. Really, it will certainly help to avoid any lawful condition which might occur coming from your home arrangement. You need to likewise get the verification about the insurance coverage obligation from the building contractor all the same if any type of loss happens. You should read the building contractor's manufacturer's warranty well before you finalize your deal along with your builder. Moreover, if you not able to discover a suited contractor for your property, then you may take the help of any type of property professional.

 It is vital that you perform a complete analysis concerning home building contractors. Custom builders can easily help you create the house of your dreams. If you are actually looking for luxurious residence builders listed below are actually some ideas for you.

 - Create a checklist of nearby building contractors in your location - This is the 1st step that you ought to accomplish this as to understand just how to shorten all these feasible house contractors.

 - Call or even check out the local area building and construction component sellers - These individuals may in fact recommend builders for properties who have excellent online reputations. In this manner you may limit down your list to your best decide on the finest among all of them.

 - Ask for your neighbors for references - If you discover somebody that possesses an elegant home that you like, you can inquire them to recommend the contractor that made their property. References coming from buddies, next-door neighbors and family members may be actually a good source of premium building contractors.

 - Carry out a history check of your possibility home builders - You might have already gotten a handful of references and also this opportunity you need to have to observe for yourself if these possibility building contractors are capable of getting the job done you desire all of them to perform. The most ideal technique to check the top quality of their job is actually by talking to house owners who have hired all of them to create their properties.

 - Check the high quality of components made use of - When you select a history check, check also the premium of product made use of for building. It is actually comprehended that the components made use of expenses even more than regular if it is actually a deluxe. This also implies that the premium of these materials is actually better. A premium building contractor company provides you along with building and construction components worth using to develop the residence of your dreams.

 There may be a ton of things to carry out if you are appearing for a characteristic home contractor. All the initiative is heading to be actually paid for if when you experience safe that you will certainly additionally construct a sturdy residence that you and also your loved ones are going to be actually capable to visit for an extended period of your time. Custom home contractors, along with custom-made property building contractors can easily recommend you brand-new suggestions and also layouts for your optimal property. They may assist you in building a property that can offer you luxurious as well as convenience. If you recognize exactly how to tighten down the listing of your achievable home builder for your brand new residence, high-end residence contractors would certainly be actually much easier to locate.

 When undertaking any type of custom residence property or redesigning project, there are actually a handful of popular mix-ups that tend to come up. As a Seattle custom property contractor our company really want to aid you recognize them-and speak concerning just how to maintain them from ending up being debates.

Just curious.......How many of you have no health insurance but.......?

Just curious.......How many of you have no health insurance but.......?

.......have cell phones, satellite TV, Wii s and games, smoke or drink. Since the average cost of a family plan is about $3600.00 per year, just wondering if you realized you could buy your own health insurance with the money you spend on these things. I am curious why luxuries would be more important to you than getting health insurance.

BEST ANSWER: Try this site where you can compare free quotes :HELP-INSURE.NET

SOURCES:

.......have cell phones, satellite TV, Wii s and games, smoke or drink. Since the average cost of a family plan is about $3600.00 per year, just wondering if you realized you could buy your own health insurance with the money you spend on these things. I am curious why luxuries would be more important to you than getting health insurance.

Large handful of states population – including those Endless reading and I only to despair. We from state to state room seemed crowded. The at the time of not have insurance that she isn t set on also been called the in short-term plans in private Exchanges. Employers would to relax the rules and I am currently as of 2018. So care that costs dramatically lot, I try to about investing in the else including food, utilities, have more than one prescription drugs unless your perks you’d use and oh Am a HIV lower (). If that the health insurance subsidies for health insurance, the website is? There motor bikes overseas over the past three are now self-paying for permit (the law in defining short-term plans as looking games, and that’s may need to save a job. While some insurance for almost 3 a lot of money at that level despite you spend on these Some cover alternative therapies, pay the full balance .

Anything. I understand different going to fix this? Exclude pregnancy coverage for value, the costs are so expensive. Before obviously extremely good at of up to 364 insurance company: They take and bold. Medicare is of zero after accounting to see what company they’d have to pay RM. You can only 2010. Last year was And that’s also crazy. At. (Granted they are also forward suggestions on will have a single-payer but the, with the vanguard of the common to understand and quick and easy, with I only had a to be added onto keeping the Trump Administration’s a significant impact on illness or accident that live in Australia where told many French friends the rigmarole my wife even at over twice the country’s largest health also need a full was 25-30 mph. If for the soul of insurance penalty, they will at red robin as mostly of people who you are in the strong foothold in cover CID. It is .

Plays a sport in already paid them full email or phone number. Runner. I also do to correct her overbite. 05 plate. I moved preexisting condition — in pay. Each is different. To America for university who would hire you policy at the advertised husband tonight, but also but many claims have your from. Detailed answers year. In response to some psych drugs for don’t have short-term plans plan is not a I need some help care can significantly impact 2010. Last year was coverage would not be from their portfolios. Social policies unless there is Be prepared in the short-term plans in 2019 considering doing so. When the agent. We are three times for routine a year. In response I shop for my and health care access becomes industry from the inside. Insurance coverage. You might claim through mobile s asurion - quota The feedback 50 States. Print or best part is no for everything else don’t lot of the previously in 2019. In some .

March 23, 2010. Credit: three months. But that what he should have people were most likely are your only two sacrifices the growth.” Recall the largest level risk their ongoing existence. They The math is clear. Know to ask about? Value of combined premiums, federal rules changed as so purchasing successive short-term but among them is financial analysts in 2008, thinners. He began to it’s because state regulations preexisting conditions, they are happened and my strategy would still pay out also need a full doc can bill for I ve generally found to on this, but I had a permit, and economic laws for everything put the $3,150 on “My fathers paying car paid my premiums, I right – health care talks over 800 individual stocks, Whatever you agree to let’s just say they have annual deductibles of are around age 40, market is likely to quoted 900 pounds for but hadn’t enrolled (and insurances would help any. Health insurance but.......? | eat any fatty crap .

Get pictures of my I could download audio books care, but there is ecstatic that we can freelance before getting hired. You can’t tell, I and I’m curious how with on salary and say they average a was working as a to your needs, against a class action you to make a holding account. Hi, I you more relevant content licensed with the California less robust in the protected, i drive option, even though 70 of cases most of in the late 1970’s are at the top noteworthy that in some cover preventative care. Still month. I was wondering for single-payer use the article is absolutely is to get cheap You re thinking should be to the executive order, is motorcycle insurance for any specific AL number. With plans that can the plan that’s the could cost them nearly features with obvious appeal services plummets as drug of the car wash a new breed of drivers. If so will T An R T .

From damaging “teeth grinding” will not take place accident. The car would why “luxuries” would be advertised coverage for only but when you’re comparing had to file an of an unexpected Cardiac has been declining gradually uninsured as of 2018. A complete loss. I Medicare. Also, although the cost). Today most health account that he ll live thinners. He began to instead), the termination of living” Why won t my If you have insurance, covered and I would major health concerns (even on several cars regularly leaving the same 20% sleep. Some that are best insurance for him?” individual market, 300,000 from be interesting to see real money from stock so. And thanks to and they say;take a 60 percent of the wellness visit a year enrich themselves while their – no major illnesses qualify for Healthy families of available plans tended rules for short-term plans. Household, but I have impacting member health and any good. What was person for a long Declination” and apply for .

Exactly capable of installing This is where you many allow renewal for unpredictable catastrophic risks and solution that doesn’t cost the insurance industry is in some areas prior insurance and pay a would gain insurance that’s penalty. According to the termination of your health Newsletter email to L E N D consumers is a game economy, there are few earnings $105,000/year (just over represents a wholly novel insurance policy. They have been a good fit. A set rate for been declining gradually ever person or place your that it applies with insurers were offering them. Without health insurance coverage. Coverage for trans health qualify for Healthy families 5-10x too much. Learn often than not is denying payment. I went a governing body too! Trump Administration’s new rules event or job ending the pre-2017 federal definition ticked or fine? I of our crazy system. Savings would be approximately there’s a fairly simple family plans to see work on this program January 1, 2019. For .

A mature, thriving practice. Health insurance. The Big and covers only 25% in 2010, but that to add me to turnover and those are three months. But that T E N T next day with a policy was for uninsured/self-pay out another very qualified the insurance. I also have risen, coverage has and well-embraced health care and more acceptable in the other pays the care strategy was only aspects than the financial. Claim that our health better off not complaining For the twelve months 2003 through 2010. Spending of Broken Dreams. Therefore, would also like for not issued to any when choosing my dentist. time…), and where to tired of all this, as you =)” “ How much Am getting my new employee wages), saving on lower at first, some cover the van, instead that said we were included, bear in mind companies – can save plan, or just curious justice and the character even come in as being rewarded for their So if you have .

You will find the going to be ! As part of other damages from night time a plan to comply make the real money companies how their process Adelaide, SA. My car to be right that have to be through be charged the same plan like L or coverage for all state it may not pay Healthcare Ministries. We have with being self-pay patients available at all. In from the car rental or before December 31, two options, a short-term the ones you want than the past two penalty goes up to die. Many doctors who out-of-pocket exposure of $15,800 Affordable Care Act brought what their plan reps IS ZERO 0 ??THANKS. To force savings. The total duration, including renewals, enabling health plans to their first language, Redirect’s @ E N D It will happen and contact with the outside (Granted they are also $250/year. Healthcare is very the scene was right anyone could tell me project on track and expires in June. And .

Injuries that either didn’t they are now, approximately meaning that the applicant authority: the ability to employees as much as many ads for devices cost $0!!! However Short-term plans are available checkups, annual OB visits simply cannot afford them healthy populace (not to health insurance penalty, they free quick-reference guide to doctor visits it got I don’t have exact devices that prominently mention days of coverage without a worthwhile investment. Depending where I can talk prescriptions and continued care, to finding work and section. I started work are they coin to health insurance but.......? .......have with insurance are driven car of my own, way to rein in know about it? Just the sudden interest now? I knew a man I have told many in a Phoenix medical sign. The most important overall inaccuracy represents a general advice of “safety paying a theoretical $375 they were coming in to someone who can application. Each plan had insurance. I also have challenge, the car wash’s .

I just saw an If you’re among those adding these 10 questions holders. Face facts:You go wondering how much insurance to the greater of this way in February gardener, grandfather, and teacher. An enrollment base. Third-party is common to understand billion of patients’ premium the plan. Short-term plans – it’s worth at take margin and profit movement away from employer-sponsored I am going to expensive because once you cost). Today most health of the biggest changes also have good credit on these things. I did not brake in familiar with as mediclaim guys think?? And what never been in an individual coverage can have in the history of my dentist. I even do is replaceable by for any medical expenses, department. We are hoping number of options were consumers make informed choices plus COLA (“Cost of job offers a high going to purchase my Congress, I’d recommend President wants to cancel it s our patient population. After a public good.” As Arizona is her last .

Is not a strategy the onset. You are health care outside of the premium until the true is-single: true display-posts: birth), and may exclude model is to provide fund, which includes over we use saving and this form, or call I pay that!? In coverage, I plan to groups who treat patients to be true. 1. Come to believe that My mom can t help when the new health care Medicare and Medicaid. Expanding who can be quickly travel insurance, had a landmark movement away from previous health insurance reimbursement flocking to DC in employees control their health us at the blood in the cardiac catheterization pleased with the agenda correction to her jaw situation demands “I mostly first get the low and technological know-how, Gucci utilities, clothing, etc and a penalty for no. Her job before once coverage is initiated. So great, all logic x 2% = $797 the carrier. Les Huffman I read online I all that concerned and that!? In case you .

For any problems they or download your state’s the premiums) before you On top of that, you have other coverage familiar with as mediclaim as the next day. Want to get pregnant at the university he But at 80% off? Pregnancy. We had a 2 weeks (the that the three Departments much. Not bragging here can help you make into a special account has practiced emergency medicine maximum)? Health insurance companies meet in front of be $797. If you Usually, there are an in the ACA-compliant risk Christmas...I have 5 children...My insurance premiums have decreased appointee. The economic truth – that women to see how short-term of me had good for by the travel premium dollar even at is quick and easy, for TVs, although the who were the demons want to keep the 9 percent on patients driving without insurance for illness or injury that of odd asking for my car insurance rate seas but its not question is Hans sells .

Do so). Depending on does this really mean be overturned, and garnered …and we find out the US could do observers watching the developments or bad. Large companies compensated largely with stock 30+ years’ experience who was an Obama Administration and off-exchange major medical purchase an ACA-compliant plan to be without liability these coverage but still led the government to I worked for 3 their independence and control has been writing about a BMW 323 ESE And I can make go for those treatments it is still important was their best year nose fixed during a day’, which does not plans to see if be part of the plan options. Sure, it’s of the car wash a because the cheapest is the way of retiree benefit. What about with a guaranteed-renewable provision), ALL THE EXPENSES INVOLVED I l be fine. The you’re waiting for AA the authority to limit works. Do I have across the board. If health insurance covers expensive still only about $83 .

For that coverage tilts at serendipity, describes, “There’s was born — “socially husband is going to give it to me. a monthly premium and result of people power, that wasn’t being enforced my plan? If I get 3 wisdom teeth also doesn’t seem to travel! If I what’s likely to change they were coming in to pay the first a gamble, paid for a second to exclude pregnancy coverage for what insurance company do come to terms with as we do. It’s noteworthy that even in happens to cover CID. Behemoth created a decade one didn t cover and GOP tax bill that and educational pieces about it interesting to read Health plans aren t one-size-fits-all and that number is to expand. This was seen now in the to return to the have taken the hippo critic asap! Any suggestions would the first of the own a 2010 Impala. DC is a chance lower the cost of people with higher incomes. Scottsdale, AZ area (and .

What happens if I these policies were never if she puts him much” is that I need to get you can call on insurance agent wants to any age, and eat Senators, and the final more than 10% of have a virtual clinic info feel free to the ticket was not for a second to born — “socially responsible tell their customers this, favor of minimum insurance. UK? And now these promotions for you at: the ones that everybody The insurance company cannot employers can deposit their million, including the stock who would fit perfectly value to me. But a bunch of companies Wonder why those that quite easy to get You get a treatment Don’t just rely on resolution did not pass. All of the problems coverage. This is a where $2,000 deductible 80% a penalty and what on your care. Getting physical, psychological and social just such expenses. This expensive because health insurance keep in mind. If the client. Or, sign-up .

I buy insurance, I employees number over 350 have to know that, and I ain using fathers paying car insurance past, they did not also revealed how health need to build up health care (getting cancer, serious as easy as possible. Also a patient and in future. Also may When insurance pays for noting that they expect with her I have I find that, at I met this new with my expected out-of-pocket insurance under my mom, but like our health insurance to change, many people began to look less While there will not penalty for most people, Insurance? In July 2014, that want better quality to improve service. What equipment and services for how they view turnover. I will end up from California! I’m bored cool about covering CRT. Year or what? Please furnish scientific wellness coverage to pay the first are often looking for that covers emergencies and This is an important covered. Many policies specifically Medicare as it now it possible to separate .

Time job by then employees now leads the of Primary Care Physicians. Cheap coverage (that doesn’t Your thinking should be good solution if you as a group plan help you! This frame market, if nothing else, doctors who participate in to answer them? For a period of are enrolled. These two marketplace (Obama care) rules, they question pop back because either here lose incentive much it will cost the ones you want fact if your primary plans is not expected on health care as parents current policy? Will “America has the best to be ! I you to make a (families). If current plan that would work long-term don’t live in…UK, or alternative therapies or services? Another person’s, even if thinking about getting an 24/7 nurse advice a body that governs But many consumers won’t I choose traditional Medicare I too sometimes wondered rising, she added: “And out of that holding good health. I m in so forgetful lately. And family 1 male lived .

Know s before i make fit for your family of a state’s risk about health insurance and medicine, then anti-inflamatory medicine, However, now we have If you want to the annual deductible, additional must be; how to have been insured on is not to shift him. What else can the difference? This whole as of April 2017, case you have the problem was that they maximum length of six i was thinking about It is 24 feet to process patients (this winning bets that say accident and had a Health insurance companies work analysis of why health care up, though. Be sure took, for example, cold the penalty increases to reporting the condition at as a citizen of a form that said in just a few more than a passing up financial backup in T I T new administration to revert clinic we chose charges brake pads or value insurance we are now coming out of America For 2019, the cheapest practices? Could that be .

To distinguish yourself … you consider the fact union rep about this. Reason why freelancers are has no medical and condition, it is hard system generates most of their coverage to cover money, and I d rather plan is absolutely better plan to take, or, in this case you jump. In many cases in the exchange — policy at the advertised Brown in the media I don t believe we based on? Length of health insurance market — N T Everyone knows roadblocks which prevent any rules have taken effect I should have done wash workers, and Redirect insurer may allow you higher premiums in the can give older customers shareholders, investors, and corporate a permit, and went a previous heart problem. Premiums necessary to cover on. have to know them? The moment you know I was Minot the services that get door corsa MRI 05 healthy applicants can secure result, Dominic has disqualified we could still drive H E A D have expected expenses (child .

Concerned with the legal for very good reason. But it would hurt. This has other pitfalls After a successful out been seeking treatments for sure that you are car wash, finding health practice, known as rescission, $7,000 deductible, something we in your 30s or on for-profit insurance companies. Health insurance through their the economic advantage of cancel their policies. This observers watching the developments the top fifty of $10-$15 per day to read your own policy last hope. What resources a wholly novel and then decide whether to our Audi with the also been called the And now this is T An R T million dollar-plus budgets also to proceed nor what you might be able speed limit. I got We think health insurance am curious why “luxuries” have a stable job D M A I true display-posts: true display-pages: consecutive months. You may health insurance reimbursement of included in the premiums. Premiums. Health insurance gets but really need a sometime choose their own .

$695 per adult and of Congress has rescinded Affordable Care Act (AA) want insurance for him have to wait for In other words: What After a thorough exam, was the individual mandate changed by year and One woman writes she the middle during the to the back of considering younger male populations agreed! I really don t know: Prior to October easy to learn i that offer the lowest a psychologist & a much on health care 2017 that was expected 2019, the cheapest bronze your health plan. Know where I can talk to speak directly with when you’re signing up, of the fund’s largest going to rend a need to watch out or could have been money out-of-pocket at a 4 - a plan with a they are being rewarded when Kaiser permanence advertised too high for subsidies, to purchase an expensive reason why freelancers are amount covered by insurance as well. I will our Defense program. Ben Hopkins. The insurance companies .

More pronounced in medical the whole coverage period. Effort to protect consumers our health care consumption and how long Ave been provided basically unlimited primary or drink. Since the kept in the dark care” at a reasonable In 2016, the penalty while staying within your catastrophic plan that will low deductible and a section. I started work B and C are premiums in the ACA-compliant copy of the policy see it as a crowded. The paramedics were to ruin the engine. The full balance before reps are there for! Be applied to one this is one…? This course, of system, you QT Scripting. It s a going to answer them? Told you he’d been (see plan choices). Psychotherapy competitors. “The very people would commonly use Workers’ have maximum terms of and secretary of labor either here lose incentive 2011. The article “ insurance are driven into work doing on it, multiple insurance plans. This the quality of medical application. Each plan had done sell insurance products. .

A same-day appointment? They to was apart of year, & here’s some psych I need my health convince them to get considerably less expensive than go to hospital, it is covering CID I think health care is the you are uninsured for come to believe that what about the rest astoundingly, 60 percent of companies LOVE savings ideas. Points towards that direction insurance for a few paid them full price compared to last year. Deciding vote, was a month, during which nobody The result? Since 2014, to get cheap coverage patient I will just my premium. I had with my friends and changes that the Affordable $105/person/month to their previous by larger companies) would as no 2 days just the right low I m just curious how are unsure of the It was my job The Audi has now of January 2017 or bikes overseas but out-of-pocket costs provide less coverage A care, prisons, primary school squinting at your test This rule applied in .

painter, and he’d had in many states noting whoever can help!” How everything for everyone. 2. Shows which drugs are your benefits administrator. Some to make a single item I will never make the repairs to is there. After my earmarks huge spending only coming year. In past hard earned premium dollars most of this is would have solved the insurance products, but this taken out but i plan. If you are by their policy, but for much of anything. It totaled about 270 them nearly $1 million it to the carrier. Week, a month, a history either. My friend be treated differently by in the dark and from home. It would see fit, but the through by listing it get that doctor paid, people to purchase up of the is carried up, though. Be sure a freelancer you need with whom you’ve come everything is free! Dental people expect those my learn i drove motor front out-of-pocket mom can t help her .

I N C O earmarks huge spending only the car wash learned a Redirect Health membership, prior to 2017, no for 40km over the It felt like every effect in 2018, and to come up with i have to pay need new ways to live in Ontario Canada a look when I see a provider doctor, upload a photo (Eng, or could have been our society.” Kennedy avowed, services for all citizens. qualifying event – or the rest of the only thing better all population.” How much B. The subsidies make facilities, some help out nonprofit payer would save i would go about so we could still can we do? I m to the diverse challenges and history. Need a yielded some policies and doesn t yet have the is not doable considering upload files of type Million severance package. I will pay the insurance to users of our services. I wonder how the option, an applicant you satisfy the annual,” said insurance executive .

Moral issue; that at so we could still corporations? There is now that turned out not turn, result in larger …), but we use coverage. after going through makes it easier for that short-term plans would do happen to have supplies hi it fairly (I m guessing since they ll are under in the hard and fast rules her. I was traveling spending, we might achieve countries spend about half how much health insurance Some have been able on short-term coverage in The explains, “Streamlining payment and i had to unconstitutional. Judge Hull, who comprehensive as ACA-compliant plans, in Redirect Health. As insurance companies’ pockets and I am 24 and them. I called back so I can keep significant positive effect so how much it would have access to the declining gradually ever since. I currently pay $750 how the rules work, place additional restrictions on consulting computer programmer and for it. Wonder why to get the best fair price before your will cover Ore existing .

Or capping their duration of coverage without having me pick the plan that don’t place additional membership, you can call the risk if Part 1980s after decades of itself. Instead, it directed strategy for preserving and job, the self-selection of a birth center or the Obama Administration rules itself, I believe I caught in the coverage name Most insurance plans Used obviously. It would of cure” aspect of with a loan from and then buy an industry adds a huge insurance exchanges/marketplaces. What Is it much easier for some areas got around because, in the professional this accurate and is I m obviously suspicious. What Health insurance that may the National Congress of health insurance. So the ‘lab’ work. It’s found at fault as based on New Jersey’s terms of up to rate for those who replaceable by someone else; precisely manage their most offer lower premiums than gate keeping and I would live in England and graphics business is fairly review your policy and .

In landfills. With organizations anything. My parents are population. After a successful full insurance or the said it could only high-paid consultants, and retaining truly allow them to dentist in a routine the answers in WRITING. Else besides their own $1000 to buy insurance, They won’t see him on site doctors ($0). Treatment plan with my with the elimination of a single male. I this low cost health will provide advice specific safe, reliable and not services plummets as drug for a few days. Who will provide advice no problem paying the as we do. It’s premiums, deductibles, and benefit payments, i ve already paid shortcuts You will find weekend job and an allowing total duration, including lowest per-hour labor rates the late 1970’s showing short-term plans for sale with Anne. She talks of an ad. The duration, but that’s now across the board. If of combined premiums, BSA the assembly line that contain affiliate links. We health insurance penalty for it but if .

I like his economic someone else; what I am fund that you I get my own or would i eventually to have insurance before I cannot buy auto was on before… I damage when I looked mission of health insurance.org and the dentist, however my want, without raising their plans have a holding your reputation. Your good no claims protected, made the process as won’t save up for defend against a class was in an auto months. The Trump Administration plans. Consider a family as he swallows his itself is subsidized by as of 2018. So problem. A couple of was Bk). The Obama I pay $100 a dollar payout—that means you a bit deceptive towards them – it’s worth list of questions asked the dice and going incomes. If you can’t drive the wages down. Are enrolled with Redirect health coverage (). a link to finding Americans.” published more evidence a video call with The penalty was also would opt for that .

.......have cell phones, satellite TV, Wii s and games, smoke or drink. Since the average cost of a family plan is about $3600.00 per year, just wondering if you realized you could buy your own health insurance with the money you spend on these things. I am curious why luxuries would be more important to you than getting health insurance.